Category Archives: Stuff I feel like reblogging
Sciencey LOL of the Week
This made me laugh but also made me slightly uneasy.
There’s a snobbish tone to it that I don’t like. I think it’s probably bad for science, and the image of the science community to be considered snobby. If people think that they will be discriminated against for not being ‘cultured’ enough then they might be put off going in to scientific disciplines.
Opinions?
Five Fascinating Facts about Shakespeare
An educational and humourous list of facts in honour of the Bard’s birth and death day tomorrow.
As tomorrow, 23 April, traditionally marks the birthday of the most famous poet and playwright in the English language, we thought we’d celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th birthday by sharing five facts about him. We’ve tried to steer clear of the very obvious, partly because we’ve already written about Shakespeare several times before (see below for one example), but all of these facts have a Shakespeare link and are … well, facts.
1. He appears to have invented the girls’ names Jessica, Olivia, Imogen, and Miranda. Jessica is Shylock’s daughter in The Merchant of Venice, and the name was quite probably Shakespeare’s coinage (the idea being to create a Jewish-sounding name). Olivia appears in Twelfth Night, and Miranda is Prospero’s daughter in The Tempest. (The name Amanda was probably formed off the back of Miranda, so Shakespeare indirectly gave us that name, too.) Imogen was probably the result of a misprint:…
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Frisian Chieftain Radbod: ‘I’ll See You in Hell’
Beautiful piece of embroidery and an interesting look at seventh century European politics.
In the best known legend about Frisian chieftain Radbod (d. 719), from The Life of Wulframn of Sens, he stuck his toe in the baptismal font and asked a profound question: would he see his ancestors in the afterlife? Told that his kin were in hell while he would be in heaven, Radbod refused the rite. He would rather spend eternity damned with the ancestors he loved rather than be in paradise with the Franks he hated.
We have no way of knowing whether this particular story is true, but it might reveal Radbod’s reasoning for considering conversion but staying with his pagan gods. Both decisions had more to do with politics than spirituality.
Sixteenth century embroidery depicting the legend in which the Frisian chieftain Radbod refuses baptism at the last moment (public domain image via Wikimedia Commons).
Around the 690s, Radbod had been fighting with Frankish Mayor of…
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Let’s Talk About Class: Hierarchies of Taste and Gender
I found this interesting and thought I’d share.
Posh man: I ain’t one
Recently, I found myself at a wine-tasting session with a friend, only to be confronted with the embarrassing reality that I had no idea how to act “appropriately” in the situation. The whole thing wasn’t helped by the fact that I was wearing an outfit much like Julia Roberts circa Pretty Woman, as I sometimes care to do (it’s a great look). Trying to “be myself” rather than affect a more refined countenance turned out to be quite the faux pas in terms of the disdainful/pitying/embarrassed looks I got from other patrons. While on the one hand I was rather “f*** you” about it, it also later resulted in me crying into my pillow.
Ladette to Lady: teaching us how not to be working class
Later, I came across this article about the UK’s Education Secretary Michael Gove, and his comments that
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First Extraterrestrial Waves Ever Spotted On Titan
The history and future of the Universe in four minutes: Brian Greene at TED2014
International Women’s Day 2014
It’s International Women’s Day today, so I thought I’d try to find out something about the history of it. It’s quite interesting.
About International Women’s Day 2014 – Glenda Stone re. Global IWD Arts.
My response for to the WordPress Weekly Challenge: Object
I don’t often do the writing challenges from the WordPress Daily Post but I saw this one and felt the need.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/writing-challenge-object/#more-69275
Continue reading “My response for to the WordPress Weekly Challenge: Object”
Why Characters Play Their Parts: Human Identity in Storytelling
What motivates characters to act and how those motivations make them more realistic.
via Why Characters Play Their Parts: Human Identity in Storytelling.
Excellent piece of writing, exploring fantasy and human nature.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 