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The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason's Tale
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Books
- Hits: 198
Icelandic Sagas, of which I am not too familiar (Beowulf I've read, the rest, not so much so.)
Curious, in that they record the family/tribal history of the first Norse settlers, and in the tone that they're related, where the narrator gives details he/she could not have known, and recites the history in a manner that while concise leaves you to decipher (??) - assign the motives to the characters from the events and their words.
So, bereft of "tone" in the sense that the descriptions of events are lacking in emotional adjectives such as "rage" or "pleasure" or "love", rather the narrator uses others to describe the exterior events and the reader to discern the interior lives of the characters. And good, in that equal attention is given to the strong female leads.
Interesting, and a little different from my usual fare, and good to read (some of) Tolkien's source or inspirational material.
Also interesting, in the sense of community justice, outlaws, the running feuds (and how they're rarely forgiven), and - something I didn't know (but should have) - Iceland when first settled was somewhat (25-40%) forested. It was those damned Vikings that made it the grassy knoll we all think of today.
Anyways, from then on to my next read - Jan Harold Brunvand's "Too Good To Be True" - a compilation of Urban Legends. The same author as wrote "The Vanishing Hitchhiker", and what a change in tone!. Fortunately it's a simple read, I'm looking forward to some more substantial fare.
The City
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Rants
- Hits: 154
And, finally, home, not missing the city, not at all, not one iota, not a teeny-little bit.
It's the summing of late-stage capitalism, where the rich are being divided from the poor, the poor, unseen, invisible, walking the streets addled with their backpacks and shopping carts, and those, the security guards that patrol the malls and sacred spaces, to keep them out, themselves only a few short steps or slight misfortune away from being in the same situation.
The malls, restaurants, thrift shops, overflowing, the panic to buy more stuff, shop more, consume more, the "Live goes on as normal" when the briefest look around would assure you that nothing is even slightly, not even the teeniest bit, normal, but let's all just keep on pretending...
It's as bad here, everywhere, it's a cancer that's spreading, growing exponentially, the numbers of the disenfranchised, those without work, homes, vehicles, it's doubling every couple of years, and we're building taller skyscrapers, digging up roads, paving, the gap between the rich and the poor represented in the vertical stratification of the cities, building up, build +15 levels so that the rich never walk on the street and see the uncomfortable truths of their privilege, not that they would notice, we've become quickly blind to the invisible thousands that wander without hope, purpose or home.
Addiction is not the cause, it's the symptom, when to have 2 jobs is no guarantee that you'll be able to afford lodging or food, and why, then, would you do so? To give up your life merely to survive is slavery, done now under the guise of capitalism, a free-for all where the money's been divided and that little bit of hope is daily grown less and less.
So it goes, and I'm back to my own smaller world, but a world where I largely know the players and can make a small difference in the outcomes.
Six Walks in the Fictional Woods - Umberto Eco
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Books
- Hits: 188
Lectures, in published form, on the meta of fiction, involvement of the reader, etc, etc, by Umberto Eco.
I would probably have preferred to sit in on the lectures, interesting, engaging, fortunately slim (which is why I picked it to read first).
I enjoyed, many wouldn't.
"Walk Like A Sasquatch" - Cam Douglas
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Music
- Hits: 214
At the Poetry Slam Wednesday night, the standard mixed bag. A few of note, one young poet reciting the laws of Hermes Trismegistos, curious, he's disappointing, "Secret Knowledge" isn't so secret if you're giving it all away during a slam.
Various other artists, various degrees of skills, judging all over the map and par for every other slam I've been to.
I try and escape at half time, but another artist takes the stage, older fellow, with guitar, he begins strumming and I'm immediately taken by it: The song, "Walk Like A Sasquatch", by local sculptor/artist Cameron Douglas.
And I so want to share it with you, the perfect blend of humor, irony, self-awareness, funny as hell and it got the crowd cheering, but - search as I may I can find only mention of it on the web, no performances. Which is a shame, this song, performance, it deserves a much wider audience.
Strange to think that even in this day and age some things must be experienced, and have no online corollary or presence to be shared.
Maybe that's his point? Or maybe search again and it will turn up in the future.
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