Mithra-ndir: Gandalf and the Roman cult of Mithras.
J.R.R. Tolkien described The Lord of the Rings as a fundamentally Catholic work. But a close reading of the epic novel reveals many more influences, including a connection between Mithras and the wizard Gandalf, whose Elvish name is Mithrandir.Continue reading
I really do not have much talent for foreign languages, but I find them fascinating. I studied German in High School and Russian in College. For some years now I have studying Irish. Last summer I took a short introduction to Ancient Babylonian. I have had a interest in Latin for a long time. So when I found on Facebook a notice for Vocatio ad cenamI decided to sign up.
There were three days of video lessons, entirely in Latin. Simplified Latin, but still Latin. We worked through Carmen XIII, by Catullus. The first day was with a very simplied version of the text, while on the second we had a version that was less simplified. One the third day we went through the original text. The class ended the next day with an interactive session to review the exercises and have some general discussion.
Continue readingBent Out of Shape: The Ring of Power and the Wraithing of Humanity.
It runs against human nature to reject an advantage once we have it, but that’s what Tolkien’s heroes do again and again. It seems natural to long to wield power and to have great authority, but Tolkien uses a Ring and a concept—wraithing—to warn us against the terrible, corrupting force of absolute power.
Also
“And here is where I take a brief aside and beg you to please read the books if you have only seen the movies, because Peter Jackson utterly destroyed Faramir’s character in the movie.”
See Tolkien vs. Jackson: Differences Between Story and Screenplay. For myself, I had read LOTR many times before seeing the first movie. Hence when seeing the movies my mind automatically filled in the parts Jackson omitted, and corrected those he changed. The books come first, in more than one way.
From Writing funny stuff on ammo is over 2000 years old:
Know those great photos of World War II crews painting bombs with messages like “Easter Eggs for Hitler” or “To Mussolini, with Love”? It turns out, your ancestors have been doing that for over 2,000 years, because the British Museum has sling shot from 300 B.C. where missileers were telling the enemy to “Catch!” their shot.
The British Museum has a good example.
“Catch” is one of the tamer examples. From Humorous Inscriptions on Lead Sling-Bolts (Sling Bullets; Slingshot) Reflect a Roman War of Words:
Some NSFW examples followThere is a slightly different version of the story at Feasta.
Neimh, e, f., poison venom, virulence, pus. . . neimh na ndúl i ngrúg na gaoithe, all the venom of Nature in the fury of the wind (Kea.). . . Tá neimh na meanadh ar an snáthaid, the poison of the awl is on the needle (of inherited qualities); domlas dragúin agus neimh thríd suaidhte go mbadh é deoch do shuain é ar uair do bháis.. . .
| dúl = dúil | element (of creation) | |
| grúg | Anger, displeasure | f |
| domlas | gall, bile | |
| dragún | dragoon; dragon | m |
| suaidhte | ||
| badh | ||
| suan | Sleep, slumber | m |
Bhí an bhean bheag liath roimhe[?] ina pharlús nuair a d’fhill an tAthair Pádraig Ó Duinnín ón leabharlann Náisiúnta go dtí an bungaló i bPort Mhearnóg mar a mbíodh cónaí air. Ní raibh tine ar lasadh ann agus bhí taise an fhómhair agus taise an tsáile sa pharlús. Bhí an beanín, cuachta ina cóta liath, suite ar imeall cathaoireach. Ainneoin an fhuachta, bhí péacáin allais ar a héadan. D’éirigh sí go scáfar nuair tháinig sé isteach.
The little gray woman was in his parlor before Father Patrick Dineen returneed from the National Library to the bungalow in Portmarnock where he lived. There was no fire lit and the dampness of the autumn and the moisture of the sea were in the parlor. The little woman, wrapped in a gray coat, was seated on the edge of a chair. In spite of the cold, there were drops of sweat on her face/forehead. She rose up timidly when he came in.
| taise | Dampness, moistness, humidity; softness, smoothness, tenderness; mildness, gentleness; kindness, compassion; Fetch, wraith | f |
| sáile | Sea-water, sea; Ease, comfort | f |
| cuachta | bundled, wrapped | |
| imeall | Border, edge, rim, margin | m |
| Ainneoin | notwithstanding, in spite of | |
| péacán | Sprout, shoot, plumule | m |
| éadan | face | m |
| scáfar | Fearful; Frightful, dreadful; Timid, apprehensive | |
Mia and I knew her from Clann Tartan, the Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games, and Convergence. She had a wide range of interests, was knowledgeable, energetic, cheerful, always helpful, and always caring. We miss her.
I found this post on Facebook: Why is it important to know so many digits of pi?.
My comment:
As someone who started computing with log tables and slide rules, the first question I ask is how many significant digits do the other variables in your calculation have? The smallest such number tells you how many digits of pi you need. With electronic devices there is no harm in using more in your calculation, as many as your device has, but do not let that give you a false idea of the precision of your result.
I learned about significant figures in my high school chemistry in 1967-68. (Thank you, Mr. Wheeler!). Use of appropriate significant figures, also from a chemistry class, clearly explains the concept and its use in practice.
I only first saw Star Trek (TOS) after high school, in reruns. Thanks to that chemistry class I gag every time I hear Mr. Spock reporting some calculation to an absurd number of decimal places. His input data could not possibly be that precise!
Back in High School (1964-68) I read a lot of science fiction by Mack Reynolds. His Joe Mauser series is set in a world where the cold war continues into the 21st century, but, to avoid catastrophe, the West and the “Sov-world” have agreed to restrict all military forces to pre-1900 technology. There is still lots of fighting going on at that level.
Recently I was reading about the decades old border dispute between between China and India countries, which actually led to war in 1962. The conflict still simmers on, but a 1996 agreement states that
Neither side shall open fire, cause bio-degradation, use hazardous chemicals, conduct blast operations or hunt with guns or explosives within two kilometers from the line of actual control.
Neither side wants to get the blame for starting a shooting war, so both sides are following the letter of the agreement. However, nobody is backing down. There have been reports that “Chinese troops have used improvised edged weapons, such as nail-studded clubs, in … skirmishes with Indian forces.” and both sides have martial artists in their border forces.
It seems that the Chinese are escalating. We now have Chinese soldiers armed with new devices for hand-to-hand combat with Indians in Tibet. Actually the “new device”, the guan dao, is quite old. It similar to a a western medieval halberd. It will be interesting to see how Indian army responds. They have a rich tradition of edged weapons to draw upon.
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 