Just call me Kit
Yes, last night we went for a ride, to and from Lygon St (so it was a night ride… Knight Rider… Kit… very sad I know). It was a lot more fun and less scary than I had worried – we’ve both got lights, after all, and it was actually warmer riding home at 10pm than it was riding there at 6pm.
The reason we did this was to attend a public lecture, on “Physics, TIme and Archaeology.” It was really interesting – with the amusing bonus that the physics dude and the archaeology dude are brothers, both working at MU. How cool. Anyway, the physics dude had a Geiger tube, so he was demonstrating how you can tell the rate of decay of unstable elements, and he also demonstrated thermoluminescence, using an old TV tube. He talked about how physics can help archaeologists by dating things, basically.
The archaeology guy – well, he wasn’t quite as good. For a start, he didn’t seem accustomed to using a microphone, because he was way too loud. I’m also not really sure what his brief was, because what he gave was an overview of the history of archaeology and attempts at dating (not mentioning Schliemann, interestingly). It didn’t really have relation to physics, as far as I could see, although I think a large proportion of the audience was physics types so maybe it was new and interesting to them.
It was fun, overall, and I’m glad we went.
Rage – for the last time
Yes, watching the last edition of Rage Top 50… until, I guess, the JTV people want a holiday.
Anyway: I cannot BELIEVE that there is a song called “Promiscuous” out! Singing about “promiscuous girl, promiscuous boy” – as if that’s something that they should be proud of! I don’t consider myself a prude (some might disagree), and I guess I would be considered conservative because I’m a Christian, but I fail to understand how anyone can think that being considered promiscuous could be a good thing. Surely no one wants to take seriously someone who is willing to sleep with anybody? I guess it’s good for others who just want random sex with no attachments, but I dont believe that he majority of people really do think like that – and even if lots do in their teens and twenties, later in life it’s definitely something that will fail to satisfy, if it ever did.
Argh.
The Vandals
Vandal, or wandali, originally means Wanderers… makes a lot of sense. I might have to go and find out more about these Eastern barbarians who moved west.
Terry Jones’ Barbarians #2
He just said ‘inevitable’! Ooh-er, tut tut, not meant to say that sort of thing in history….
I do like seeing the landscape of the place in question, in the doco: I think it’s one of the few reasons why docos can be better than books.
Terry Jones and Barbarians
I’m watching the Atilla episode on Google video, which is quie interesting having just read Man’s bio of the man. There are a few differences…. One thing I am really curious about, is whether Jones ever actually questions the word ‘barbarian’ itself, given it’s a farily perjorative word.
I do like Jones, but I think I agree with the people I’ve read on lots of blogs, saying it’s a bit generalised and slams the Romans more than they deserve to make the ‘barbarians’ the heroes. A bit Mike Moore-ish, actually, now I think about it….
Google video
I had no idea google video existed. Today I found it, thanks to blogographos – a couple of Terry Jones’ show The Barbarians is on there, plus a few Monty Python skits, etc etc… Dowload limit, here I come. Especially when you add in BBC Radio, athough that’s not such a huge amount.
Entertaining turns of phrase
From the BBC Radio 4 episode on Charlemagne: he had a ‘legitimacy deficit’ (and therefore used Christianity to prop his rule up).
Cookie Monster
I happened to turn to the ABC this morning, in the process of watching Spicks and Specks (which I taped from Wednesday, and I MISSED THE TIE-BREAK QUESTION!!), and there was Cookie Monster. He was testing which shape of cookie tastes the best – it was really quite funny, he went on a bit about texture and aroma; clearly one for the mums (moms?). Anyway, I have finally figured out how he eats the cookie! Other people might have noticed this before, but I haven’t really paid attention to Cookie Monster for a while. Everyone knows that he is a very messy eater… well, that’s the trick: the hand crumbles the cookie up, so that none of it actually stays in the mouth – it falls out! Very tricky.
Incidentally, J thinks that Cookie Monster has sold out, by now saying that cookies are a ‘sometimes food’.
Chrissy Amphlett
She was just on Denton. What a truly amazing woman – getting over her alcohol addiction, paying off debts, getting herself back together. And it was very funny having her Mum and cousin there, commenting on her performances and antics – Mum comes across as a very tolerant woman, very loving. I think there has been a bio written recently of her – I don’t think I’ll read it, but it would be interesting. [I haven’t even managed to read Jim Morrison’s bio yet, and Chrissy is some way behind him. (Hey, now there’s a reason to go to Paris – go to the cemetery…).] Anyway, she’s very cool, and I hope they do actually play her acoustic performance. And I have to wait up to see Ben Elton, too….
Origins and Forms of Greek Tragedy
I finished Origins and Form of Early Greek Tragedy on the weekend. It was fun – I really enjoyed it. He’s quite convincing, about tragedy not actually starting from satyr plays and Dionysus, but rather developing through Solon’s ideas (that bit I’m not entirely convinced about, not least because I don’t actually know enough about the time or the man), and Athens’ experiences in the Persian Wars, etc. What I really need to know now is why people today don’t take any notice, apparently, of what the dude said – this was published in the 1960s, and yet to this day it’s said that tragedy started from the “goat-songs” of Dionysus. So did someone write a rebuttal? Or has it just been ignored? Very curious… I might have to ask some people.
Randomly Yours, Alex 