-
. The POTIS Project
I. Curculio: An Online Journal
II. My Other Sites and Pages
III. My Old Texts
IV. Favorite Sites
V. Blogroll
VI. Other Links
Recent Comments
- Jeremias Grau on Five More Seneca Commentaries
- BAMBOS NEOPHYTOU on Callimachus on Heraclitus
- Raphael Soares on Artemis a Model for Widows?
- Raphael Soares on Artemis a Model for Widows?
- Leonardo de Arrizabalaga y Prado on “Government by Clowns”?
Author Archives: Michael Hendry
Don’t Do It, Canadians!
Colby Cosh reports on efforts to rename British Columbia, and adds: “The good news, for those who dread the idea, is that the proposed alternatives so far are almost all unspeakably awful.” One of the names proposed in the linked … Continue reading
Posted in Orbilius
Leave a comment
Quotation of the Day
Tim was so learned, that he could name a Horse in nine Languages; So ignorant, that he bought a Cow to ride on. (Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1750)
Posted in - Aphorisms, Ephemerides, Orbilius
Leave a comment
Quotation of the Day
Proud Modern Learning despises the antient: School-men are now laught at by School-boys. (Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1758)
Posted in - Aphorisms, Ephemerides, Orbilius
Leave a comment
“. . . is often noted”?
“When people unwittingly eat human flesh, served by unscrupulous restaurant owners and other such people, the similarity to pork is often noted.” (Galen, On the Power of Foods 3, quoted in J. C. McKeown, A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities, p. … Continue reading
Pedantry Pedantically Denounced
On a Latin play about Richard III by the master of Caius College, Cambridge (1579): . . . Legge’s was a poverty-stricken mind; his Latin versification might crimson the cheek of a preparatory schoolboy, and but for the sad fact … Continue reading
Orwellian LOL
I just read Animal Farm for the first time in 40+ years. I don’t often laugh out loud while reading books (as opposed to blogs), but half of one sentence made me ‘LOL’. In Chapter II, the victorious animals inspect … Continue reading
Posted in Culture: Fiction
Leave a comment
Getting More Than I Paid For
Elaine Fantham’s new translation of Seneca: Selected Letters (Oxford World Classics, 2010) is described on the back cover as “the largest selection of Seneca’s letters currently available” (in translation, that is). The Note on the Text (xxxv-xxxvi) is more specific: … Continue reading
Modern Education
Aunt Bernice: “The government’s been overthrown, and guess who’s responsible.” Ajax: “Wait! I know this. Eli Whitney? Harriet Beecher Stowe? Aaron Burr?” Aunt Bernice: “No, Ajax.” Ajax: “Unless it’s someone named Isosceles Triangle, I’ve wasted a whole year of school.” … Continue reading
Time To Watch Rashomon?
Today is Akira Kurosawa’s 100th birthday. I wonder how many culture bloggers will mention it. No one seems to have noticed Hugo Wolf’s 150th, which was 10 days ago.
A 2000th Anniversary, And I Almost Missed It
Ovid was born on March 20th, 43 B.C., and exiled to Tomis (now Constanza, on the coast of Romania) in A.D. 8. There he wrote five books of Tristia and four of Epistulae ex Ponto, lamenting his fate at great … Continue reading
Botulism Strikes French Philosopher
This is the best thing of its kind since the Sokol hoax.
Posted in Orbilius, Philosophy
2 Comments
BBC Shakespeare On Sale
Since I wrote about the BBC Shakespeare DVDs two and a half years ago, prices have dropped on both sides of the Atlantic. You can now get the American discs for $99.99 per set, down from $149.99, but that still … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, Culture: Plays, Theater Reviews
Leave a comment
A Musical Anniversary
Does a 125th birthday count as a significant anniversary? If so — also if not — today is Alban Berg’s 125th. In commemoration, I’m playing the only really tolerable pieces written by the New Vienna School, Berg’s Violin Concerto and … Continue reading
How Hard Is It To Come Up With An Original Joke?
When a visiting friend’s cat stuck its head through my bedroom door at 4:00 am, it occurred to me that we could rename her ‘Snoop Catty Cat’. According to Bing, the phrase has already been used 28 times on the … Continue reading
Posted in Jokes
Leave a comment
Quotation of the Day
Last year, Dr. Esquirol compiled a table of statistics concerning insanity. It reads as follows: “Driven mad by love: two men, sixty women. Driven mad by religion: six men, twenty women. Driven mad by politics: forty-eight men, three women. Driven … Continue reading
Posted in Culture: Fiction
Leave a comment
Quotation of the Day
Like all artists when they are not looking merely outrageous, Onuphrius was very particular about his appearance. It was not that he dressed fashionably, but he always tried to give his lamentable selection of clothes a certain romantic dash, and … Continue reading
Posted in Orbilius
Leave a comment
For Ignorant Tourists
Proposed motto for the city of Staunton, Virginia: Staunton: The ‘U’ is Silent
Truth in Advertising
A local convenience store has a sign out front: Cheeseburgers Buy 1, Get 1
Posted in Orbilius
Leave a comment
Anticipatory Tenterhooks (Is That a Googlewhack?)
What’s the best thing about the American Shakespeare Center’s production of Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, opening tomorrow night? There’s no way to tell, but the best thing I know before seeing it is that the same actor (John Harrell) is playing … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, Theater Reviews
Leave a comment
Now What?
My Oxford Spanish Dictionary, third edition on CD-Rom, arrived today, 65% off in their Christmas sale. The first word I looked up, ‘navecilla’, was not in it. It must mean ‘little ship’, but it was disconcerting not being able to … Continue reading
Posted in Culture: Poetry
2 Comments
