Opinions of a Reformed Dropout

Gettin' back into a hobby.

2010-10-25T08:48:31Z

Hey guys! Man, the past few months have been Not Good. Anyway, I decided t'other day to get back into a hobby I've long neglected- for all my issues (and there are many, especially the treatment of women) with Games Workshop and Warhammer, I do love the games. So I have started a Bretonnian army.

It's a lot of fun a) starting a new army and b) having a set plan, after so long with the ever-expanding Empire. I know that a lot of you, particularly Real World friends, are also in the hobby so I thought I would mention things.

You can follow the army on a forum over here. I'll refrain from posting about it on the old livejournal to avoid boring the pants off everyone who doesn't care for miniature wargaming.

:D

2010-10-16T09:06:00Z

Busy not blogging blah blah. BUT! Catherynne Valente has posted the cover art for her new collection, Ventriloquism. Said cover features a female blemmya! THIS IS THE COOLEST THING EVER

If you don't realise why I feel this way you have never truly known me.

[and now I have the perfect image to create a 'medievalisms' icon yay]

goblinpaladin @ 2010-09-22T22:25:00

2010-09-22T12:25:24Z

When well-meaning Westerners, eager to promote respect for minority religions and cultures, ignore practices like forced marriage and confinement in order to "stop society from stigmatizing Muslims," they deny countless Muslim girls their right to wrest their freedom from their parents' culture. They fail to live up to the ideals and values of our democratic society, and they harm the very same vulnerabile minority whom they seek to protect.

--Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Nomad.

Discuss.

via theweaselking, a place I would eat

2010-08-16T06:46:12Z

And from his comments: http://theblackoven.blogspot.com/

Yes.

2010-08-13T03:00:19Z

On 'Boat People'

2010-07-07T05:13:03Z

Via d_fuses.

On Patriotism

2010-07-06T15:47:48Z

Australia. Fun fact: there used to be four verses to “Advance Australia Fair,” but someone stole the last two. No, no, I kid. In fact what happened is that Australians decided to vote on their national anthem, were offered the opportunity to vote for “Waltzing Matilda,” which is a lovely song and completely endemic of their national character to boot, and instead they all voted for this song, which nobody in the entire country really likes (which is not surprising since it is, shall we say, boring) but which they feel is more “anthemy.” This tells you a lot about Australia. 55

The MightyGodKing reviews national anthems. Unfortunately for my country, this little story really does tell you a lot about us.

Ouch.

2010-07-04T02:40:31Z

Remember the racefail of Avatar: the Last Airbender? Well, even the fans loathe it:

Hail the Red Queen!

2010-06-28T03:25:06Z

So Australia has a new PM, as of a few days ago. She's a member of the Left faction, an unmarried pro-choice childless non-religious woman who can't cook and is shacked up with a (male) hairdresser. I'm a little bit in love.

I am choosing at the moment to be optimistic, despite the fact that it was Right-faction politics which deposed K-Rudd and replaced him with Gillard. I desperately hope this faith does not wind up misplaced- as indeed it was with Rudd. Sigh.

Live in Texas? RUN

2010-06-23T03:06:28Z

A few other people have already talked about this here and there and everywhere. The Republican Party of Texas has the craziest, most racist, homophobic, anti-science weird-arse motherfucker of a platform. Seriously, y'all should go read this crazy piece of shit. (pdf)

I'm at work right now, and so I thought I'd read through it and point out just a few of the items which send me into a red-eyed fury. I got depressed about half-way through, so feel free to leave comments pointing out whatever I missed.

First up, they consider only fetuses to be human! All other human life is not worth preserving:

PRINCPLE #4: The sanctity of human life, created in the image of God, which should be protected from fertilization to natural death. [p.1]

Right To Life – All innocent human life must be respected and safeguarded from fertilization to natural death; therefore, the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We affirm our support for a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution and to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection applies to unborn children. [p.7]

Capital Punishment – Properly applied capital punishment is legitimate, is an effective deterrent, and should be swift and unencumbered. [p.16]

This is an easy one; we already knew that Republicons held human life in contempt unless it was freshly fertilized.

Next up, we have a healthy dose of TRANSPHOBIA! Woo.

Family and Defense of Marriage – We support the definition of marriage as a God–ordained, legal and moral commitment only between a natural man and a natural woman... [p.6]

Yeah, that 'natural woman' thing never gets old. HEY FUCKERS: transpeople are 'natural' men and women. They just have parts that don't match what you ignorantly think are the norm.

I don't even know how to describe the homophobia contained in this document. From now on, anyone claiming to be a Republican in Texas is dead to me. Anyone claiming that they are an 'undecided' or a 'moderate' in Texas is dead to me. How can you read their platform and not realise that these fuckers are the enemy?

Marriage Licenses – We support legislation that would make it a felony to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple and for any civil official to perform a marriage ceremony for such.

Homosexuality – We believe that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases. Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans. Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable “alternative” lifestyle in our public education and policy, nor should “family” be redefined to include homosexual “couples.” We are opposed to any granting of special legal entitlements, refuse to recognize, or grant special privileges including, but not limited to: marriage between persons of the same sex (regardless of state of origin), custody of children by homosexuals, homosexual partner insurance or retirement benefits. We oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values. [p.7]

Texas Sodomy Statutes – We oppose the legalization of sodomy. We demand that Congress exercise its authority
granted by the U.S. Constitution to withhold jurisdiction from the federal courts from cases involving sodomy. [p.7]

Pornography – We urge our governmental bodies to enforce laws regarding all forms of pornography. We urge more stringent legislation to prohibit all pornography including virtual pornography and operation of sexually–oriented businesses. We oppose the sale of “Not Rated” (NR) movies and video games to minors. [p.7]

Adoption – We support reducing the time, bureaucratic interference and cost of adoption. The law should assure mothers of a choice in selecting a traditional home for their children at the time of terminating their rights for adoption. We oppose mandatory open adoption and adoption by homosexuals. [p.10]

Every person who signed this platform is a diseased cock of a human being.

It also seems that they don't want *anyone* to have an interesting sex life, given that bit about Sodomy- no oral or anal sex for you! How dare you think of such things! Or want to watch pornography! Don't you know that would make you GAY.

OH HAY we like to remove women's choices! Remember- even if only a half-dozen cells, a human life is SAAACRRREEED:

RU 486 – We urge the FDA to rescind approval of the physically dangerous RU-486 and oppose limiting the manufacturers’ and distributors’ liability. [p.8]

Morning After Pill – We oppose sale and use of the dangerous “Morning After Pill.” [p.8]

They want AIDS victims to open themselves up to public pressure- and forbid them from marrying. Because Republicans are the FAMILY party.

...[AIDS/HIV] should be legally reported in the same manner as any communicable disease. [...] We urge the return to the requirement of blood testing in order to obtain a marriage license with the previous reporting responsibilities to prevent the spread of dangerous, infectious, and communicable diseases.

My personal favourite (as someone with health issues), is that folks with mental health problems aren't *really* sick. They are just PRETENDING so the US should remove all such folk from the Disabilities Act:

Americans with Disabilities Act – We support amendment of the Americans with Disabilities Act to exclude from its definition those persons with infectious diseases, substance addiction, learning disabilities, behavior disorders, homosexual practices and mental stress, thereby reducing abuse of the Act. [p.11]

They also want to give parents the right to allow their children and those of others to DIE HORRIBLY:

Immunizations - All adult citizens should have the legal right to conscientiously choose which vaccines are administered to themselves or their minor children without penalty for refusing a vaccine. We oppose any effort by any authority to mandate such vaccines or any medical database that would contain personal records of citizens without their consent. [p.12]

One of the favourite methods of various colonial governments (and France) to suppress the indigenous populations of the regions controlled was to prevent them from speaking or even learning their native language. The Republicons want to do exactly that in Texas. Aren't they lovely?

Bilingual Education – English is the language of commerce, therefore a successful tiered language instruction program with the following provisions is recommended:
· Year 1: 70% English / 30% Native language (Year 1 indicates first year of U.S. based education)
· Year 2: 80% English / 20% Native language
· Year 3: 90% English / 10% Native language
· Year 4 and thereafter: 100% English (No bilingual education after year 3)
All students must pass recognized standard tests that verify each student’s English ability for their grade level before advancing. No research based evidence exists that a dual language program promotes the language of commerce. [p.12]

And this isn't even glancing at some of the anti-science and theocratic measures enshrined in the document. I got depressed with what I already had. Most of the other writers who have commented on this appalling platform are amused, but I don't think anyone who lives in Texas ought to be. Why? Well- this is the party's platform, their itinerary of what they wish the world would look like...

Of the 150 seat House of Representatives, 77 are Republicans.
Of the 31 seat Texas Senate, 19 are Republicans.
Governor Rick Perry is, of course, Republican.

They have a majority. Everyone who is not a white, conservative, protestant Christian cisgendered mentally healthy adult male needs to get the fuck out.

from the genius division of the US government

2010-06-16T02:50:39Z

I know! There isn't enough unilateral power in US law, not enough ability to stomp on people's free speech! Let's give the president the power to kill the internet at will! Yeah! That won't ever bite us in the arse!

[of course, this bill was created by Joe Lieberman, also known as 'the Democrat Democrats refused to vote for', 'the doggiest Blue Dog in the pound' and 'a stupid dumb fuck.']

YES PLEASE

2010-06-09T03:09:55Z

deð from ear bleeding

2010-06-08T12:34:43Z

Hwæt, livejournalingas! (Somewhere, my Old English teachers felt me type that, and cried out in pain.) I have had a pretty crazy time of it lately, being busy and stricken with Writer's Block (an affliction deserving of capital letters if ever there was one). In an effort to take my inability to write my papers and beat the thing's head against something hard until it leaves a sticky dark-red trail on my (rented) apartment's beige walls, I present some photos!

"Oooh," you say. "Photos. Cool."

A few months ago I had the urge to plant things. I then did so! It's amazing how events follow along from one another in a time-linear universe. If you want scrambled eggs, you have to first break them! I know this because of SCIENCE.

My little balcony garden currently contains basil, chives, chamomile, rainbow chilli, and tabasco. The basil is pretty great in things, but I mostly just have the rest there to be pretty. A task at which they are succeeding admirably.

On the Sunday just gone, my piercer-of-choice, Polymorph had a nifty $10 to-get-stabbed sale. As one of my double tragus bits of metal had been lost and subsequently healed over, I went on in to get stabbed in the face again. It is a lot of fun- you ought to try it sometime. BEHOLD

Thanks to MS paint for helping me point out things like my inability to take decent photos, and that my glasses are still broken over eighteen months later. Thanks to my friend Oscar for pointing out that my ear looks like someone smiling in a wind tunnel. Thanks to cutselvage for wiring me $10AU and guilting me into going in and getting it done.

Thanks to my own stupidity for leaning on my shoulder at work yesterday, and feeling warm blood trickling over my skin.

What's new with all y'all?

Just as a kind of 'by the way'...

2010-05-16T13:14:49Z

I don't need my enemies trampled, or the world reshaped. This would be just perfect.

I am very, very tired.

Well, okay then.

2010-05-11T10:51:07Z

It turns out that my tutor wishes for me to hand in a 5000 word Beowulf essay by mid-June. At the same time (or earlier), I should also have the translation assessment. This is a chunk of text, translated into idiomatic Modern English- and then a few thousand words of commentary on editorial choice, syntax, all that sort of thing. I am really looking forward to this!

I also must get done by mid-June a draft of my first chapter, and something beginning to resemble a draft of the second- that's another good five thousand words and change. AND I have an essay I want to edit and expand in order to submit it to a competition. AND massage it into a conference paper, then send an abstract to said conference.

Sooo... I have about fifteen thousand words of work to complete by mid June. It is currently mid May.

In that spirit, why not have a meme?

001. What songs are you currently addicted to?

Tim Minchin: Pope Song

002. What are you currently reading?

You mean aside from the MOUNTAIN OF WORK, right? And aside from translating Beowulf?

I have about four zillion books on the go right now. Wheelers, by Jack Cohen and Ian Steward. The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie. The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler. Hard Boiled Wonderland, Haruki Murakami.

I have a good attention span usually, I swear!

003. What was the last movie you saw?

I re-watched Iron Man the other day, theoretically in preparation for seeing the sequel at the cinema. I have yet to go, mostly because I have all this work to do.

004. What makes you angriest/most frustrated right now?

Actually, I've been pretty chilled lately. I KNOW IT IS A SHOCK.

Give it time.

005. Favorite historical figure?

OH COME ON THAT IS NOT FAIR

I mean, seriously. Depending on where my current frame of mind is, I get hundreds of results. King Baldwin IV! Charlemagne! Notker the Stammerer! (look he is adorable okay) Snorri Sturluson! Bede! (look he is amazing SHUT UP)

oh god Alfred of Wessex, Oswiu of Northumbria and basically EVERYONE EVER

I think I should move on to the next question.

006. What is your current addiction?

I am currently re-watching The West Wing while translating Old English. The show inspires me to work. It's very convenient.

007. Favorite & least favorite musicals?

Uhh. Okay, I didn't see this question when I agreed to do this. Avenue Q? I know that one.

008. Something about you that most people don't know? Extra points if it is interesting.

There are points?

When I was seven, I did tap-dancing. I was pretty good at it, too.

009. What was the last thing you bought?

I wandered past the bookstore at university today. They are having a sale. I was weak.

Halting State, Charles Stross and Guernica, Dave Roling. I am a sucker for cyberpunk and for novels about the Spanish Civil War.

010. Do you have more friends online or off?

I don't really know. A lot of my offline friends are twelve hours away and therefore online, so...

011. Something that made you laugh today?

The first line of my Beowulf translation for today was HILARIOUS. Seriously, you had to be there.

And be an Anglo-Saxonist, I guess.

012. Favorite non-alcoholic beverage?

Tea! Earl! Grey! Hot!

Or Mountain Dew.

013. What was the last thing you ate?

Something vile and greasy.

014. Favorite superhero team?

I would normally say X-Men, but contrariangie answered "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" so I am changing my answer to that! WOO

015. Favorite website?

Oh, uh, um, Coilhouse is pretty fan-fucking-tastic, but there's a long list.

016. What are your plans for tomorrow?

Hopefully get up at a reasonable hour, do some work (translation), go to work for five hours, come home, do some work (translation), and then maybe have a cup of tea before I do some more work. Translation.

017. What kind of music is contained in your hard drive?

Once my friends commented that my taste in everything is 'angst', but that is not really that true any more! I now have a lot of things! Lately I have been listening to a lot of soundtracks (Kingdom of Heaven, Myst 3, &c.), some Regina Spektor, Mediaeval Baebes... and stuff.

018. Worst remake ever?

The Angelina Jolie Beowulf was pretty awful, but that was less a 'remake' and more an 'adaption', so I guess it doesn't count. Oh! The movie with Keanu Reeves as an alien made of wood. Um. The Day the Earth Stood Still. That was bad.

019. Pet peeve?

MAN I have so many of these it is probably best to stay quiet and let my friends laugh and laugh in the comments.

020. Guilty pleasure?

Terrible adolescent fantasy! DRAGONLANCE WOO \o/

That was fun!

Oooh, a dialect meme!

2010-05-03T15:12:51Z

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks: creek. Pronounced 'creak'. I suppose I'd use the word 'stream' if I'm talking about something in another country. Maybe because elsewhere, those sorts of water bodies aren't pretty much seasonal.

2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called: shopping trolley. Trolley.

3. A metal container to carry a meal in: lunch box.

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in: Fry(ing) pan.

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people: Couch.

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof: gutters.

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening: verandah. Patio if it's on the ground floor, fancy, large, and covered. Deck is also acceptable, although not if it's fancy- it has connotations of 'kids's play area'.

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages: soft drink.

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup: pancakes. Although I prefer honey, or sugar and lemon juice.

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself: Sub.

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach: Swimmers is the generic term for all swimwear. (Board) shorts for the shorts, or speedos for the teeny tiny things. There are also slang terms for 'em, but I never use them.

12. Shoes worn for sports: joggers.

13. Putting a room in order: Um. Tidying? Cleaning if it's really thorough. Organising if it's putting paperwork where it ought to be.

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark: firefly? I mean, I don't think we have any here.

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball: uh. what?

16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down: See-saw.

17. How do you eat your pizza: With my hands. With a knife and fork if I'm at a restaraunt or feelin' fancy.

18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff: Garage sale.

19. What's the evening meal?: Dinner.

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are: FURNACE? The HELL? Uh, these sorts of things are pretty uncommon in Australia. 'Queenslander' style houses usually have a downstairs area- we call them 'downstairs.' Fancy, I know.

21. What do you call the thing from which you can drink water in public places: bubbler.

HWÆT

2010-05-02T01:35:32Z

Hey, you guys. I know I have not been posting much. At least one of you has been thinking it loudly enough for me to hear, and I appreciate that. I actually have a few posts planned, but finding the time has been difficult. I am writing a thesis, you may have heard? Also I am translating large sections of Beowulf this semester, which is awesome, don't get me wrong, but it is also hard.

Plus I have a new blog! I don't know if I mentioned? It is called For I Have Tasted the Fruit and it has been doing okay. It is even syndicated, here (tasted_thefruit) and at Dreamwidth for those of you who do stuff over there. Anyway, it has been taking up a lot of energy lately.

I have also had computer troubles, pretty girls smiling at me, a birthday, and went to an awards ceremony. I am a busy creature! I have purchased a new computer, which should help me organise my time better. In theory! In practice I will probably spend my time replaying Fallout and watching crime shows and reading the Dresden Files. [This may be what I spent the last two days doing.]

So that y'all feel less neglected, have some of the awesome things I have found over the past few days.

On Captain America's past, an idea for a biography I want to read awful bad. Captain America was a communist in his youth! References to the Spanish Civil War, and union strikes back when they were fierce and angry.

The Real Reason Steve Jobs Hates Flash, Charles Stross on the next ten years of the computing industry. Thing is, I like his vision of the future but Australia will remain five-to-ten years behind it. Sigh.

The Once and Future MP: King Arthur is running for election in Salisbury. No, really.

In Montreal, the police take old ladies out pub-crawling. My favourite part of the whole story is that the ladies spend the night perving on young men, and then come back to the home to talk about them.

Lastly, have some Israeli music:

new blog new blog new blog

2010-04-04T04:57:51Z

I have been discussing doing this for some time, as Livejournal gradually thins and more and more of the people I read abandon this country for other lands. There is also the fact that my writing here is a curious mixture of 'serious' posts, where I discuss medieval studies or atheism, and rants, or discussions of my personal life. In an attempt to define matters more coherently, I have split the serious posts away to their own space.

The new blog is For I Have Tasted the Fruit. Here I shall write about my work, about atheism, about history and languages and poetry. Occasionally there shall be some reviews, although a lot of that sort of thing will remain here.

I have not abandoned LJstan; this will remain a place for half-baked rants, for my personal life, for fiction and the like. For I Have Tasted the Fruit is where the longer posts will go, that is all. One must have a paid account in order to create a LJ-mirror-RSS thing, or else I would do that. [at least, I think that's how it works]

For I Have Tasted the Fruit has existed for a week now, and we are very excited. Go have a look, folks. I would appreciate it.

EDIT: sedesdraconis has created an LJ syndication: tasted_thefruit.

holyschist has created a Dreamwidth syndication.

"...endowed with piety, knowledge, prudence and integrity of life...''

2010-03-25T02:30:21Z

People accuse me -and other Affirmative Atheists- of picking on the crazies in religious movements. "Not everyone's like that!" they whine. "Most people, most faiths, are perfectly normal and helpful if a little homophobic and misogynist ~~to the core~~ around the edges."

I have long believed that anyone who thinks that ought to either a) shut the fuck up or b) do some Goddamn research. Almost every religion is fucking crazy, and the vast majority of religious people seem to believe the same Goddamn thing as their leaders. Or if they don't, they stay bery bery quiet and that is just as fucking bad. Crazy people are leading your church and you don't disagree with 'em loudly? Then when those crazy people claim you believe the crazy, you might as well. There's no difference publicly.

Anyway, I'm distracted because I'm cranky this afternoon -thanks to idiots on the internet- and also because I learned that there is a new Catholic exorcist for Australia. Because Generation Y are in danger of corruption by the devil, thanks to Harry Potter and Twilight.

This isn't some minor Protestant church staffed entirely by crazy old men posting hate-filled screeds on the internet. This isn't a Chick tract we're discussing, however much it sounds like it. This is one of the most powerful nation-churches on the planet, a church whose leader's visit to Australia resulted in my government spending absurd amounts of money. This church is the leader of millions of ~~dupes~~ followers worldwide.

Not only does the Catholic Church believe in fucking devils, they believe that (bad) popular literature is a gateway to dealing with them. Oh, and also that yoga, reiki massages, or tai fucking chi could lead to one's soul becoming corrupted.

What the EVER LOVING FUCK.

[via Pharyngula]

YES

2010-03-22T07:43:12Z

I wholeheartedly support the ideas behind today's Penny-Arcade.

Tattúínárdoela saga

2010-03-19T02:34:53Z

This is the greatest thing on the entire internet: Star Wars as an Icelandic saga.

From the introduction:

The story as presented in George Lucas’s films represents only one manuscript tradition, and a rather late and corrupt one at that – the Middle High German epic called Himelgengærelied (Song of the Skywalkers). There is also an Old High German palimpsest known to scholars, later overwritten by a Latin choral and only partly legible to us today, which contains fragments of a version wherein “Veitare” survives to old age after slaying “Lûc” out of loyalty to the emperor, but is naturally still conflicted about the deed when the son of his daughter Leia avenges the killing on him.

This is also the ending that we infer for the Icelandic Tattúínárdœla saga (the Saga of the People of the Tattooine River Valley), though unfortunately the ending of that saga is lost and has to be reconstructed from the scant remains of the Old High German poem and from references in other sagas.

This is about nine-thousand kinds of wonderful. Thank you, holyschist!

"...and the weaned child shall put a hand on the adder's den."

2010-03-13T10:02:20Z

So, the university has decided that folk who want ~~unlimited power~~ to become student representatives of departments should put up a little online profile and convince their fellow ~~desperate fools~~ students to vote for them. While I'm pretty sure that the Centre of Medieval Studies is evenly divided between 'Who?' and 'Oh, that guy, I hate him' when it comes to me, I'm pretty tempted.

Should I do it? It's a bit of extra work, if I ~~seize the throne~~ get chosen, but it might look shiny on a resume. Also, I might be able to help out in the department. I'm pretty enthusiastic.

DWAGON

2010-03-10T04:34:22Z

Look at this beautiful creature! I don't know why I found it on Ugly Overload when she is clearly gorgeous.

The pretty little thing is a Draco volans, flying dragon, of Southeast Asia. I wonder if we can keep them as pets in Australia?

goblinpaladin @ 2010-03-10T14:24:00

2010-03-10T03:24:14Z

Jonathan Jarrett lost a friend today, and in her honour he posted an amazing piece of poetry she was working on. Those of you with any interest in English history or language owe it to yourselves to read it. I present the first few lines:

Historica irreverentia

Like all things that live, languages evolve.
Words are born, reworked, remade, and dissolve.
Sing, Savage! harsh fire forged words clumsy
Und archaic, complex because unrefined:
Thick tongued scald in rough furs; rotten teeth:
He who sang song when Hengest sailed Swan’s Way,
Broke with magic British blades at fated Mons,
The bear wolf’s legacy: Britannia delenda.
Saxons, gray Woden’s sons, rule the ruins
In Wessex, Sussex, Essex, Mercia.
A rough roll like oars they speak: Sea rhythm.
Then angle angels urged the Latin north,
Crude Kings convert; the cross, Christ, reign restored.
Written word undermines original form.
Gloriam en excelsis Deo Roma.

You can find the remainder of "Historica irreverentia" at A Corner of Tenth-Century Europe. It was posted it so others could recognise that we are poorer without her; seems that we are.

I hear in my mind all of these voices...

2010-03-09T08:51:40Z

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Okay so I am going to put aside my usual 'sober, academic-in-training voice' for this post because argh. It has been the crazy times! I started feeling the madness creeping upon me again, so I fled to Brisbane for a bit. THEN I came back and THEN I went back up for amritsar getting himself engaged!

On Sunday, I flew back to Sydney-town in time to see Amanda Palmer and sneaked a kiss upon her cheek after her show. She is the loveliest person ever to her adoring (and slightly odd) fans; the performance was mind-blowing and basically if you don't love her as much as she deserves I will CUT you.

OKAY SO WHY AM I SCREAMING: I am screaming because I have returned to university! Cue the trumpets! Let forth the flocks of white birds! Release the rose petals, to litter the ground before me! Callooh! Callay! &c.!

Except, uh, now I have to write an honours thesis. Fuck.

In my first visit with Doctor D, I foolishly promised him a proposal in a few weeks. What the hell, B? THAT IS SOME WORKIN' TO DO THERE. Especially given that you have done NOTHING in over three months. Er. Longer. [No, convalescing does not count.]

It's cool, though. I have that plan I scrawled down sometime last year- and I have the research from that Old Irish paper I did which is essentially going to be part of a chapter of the thesis. I can cobble together something, right? Yeaahhh...

OH have I told you guys about my thesis yet? Because if I haven't I am going to tell you RIGHT NOW.

Ecgfrith, King of the Northumbrians 670-685, launched an attack on Ireland under a general called Berht. The sources (ie, Bede) aren't clear as to why- and moreover Bede is pretty unkind to Ecgfrith as a general rule. Modern scholars, when they care at all, seem to think that it may have been an attempt to prevent half-Irish half-brother Aldfrith from gaining a power-base in Ireland.

Seems straightforward, right? EXCEPT that Aldfrith seems to have perfectly content to dwell on Iona as a scholar and a monk. EXCEPT that the region of Ireland attacked has NO connection with Aldfrith's Irish family- in fact, it may have actively opposed Aldfrith's Irish allies. If he had any. Which I doubt.

In 685, Ecgfrith was killed while leading a force against the Picts in modern Scotland- the Pictish force was led by his cousin, Bridei mac Bili. Man, family, huh? Ecgfrith IS then succeeded by Aldfrith, coming all the way from Iona, so it could work. It just-- MAN, it just doesn't FIT.

THEN we can throw into the mix that Bede's Ecclesiastical History is quite mean to poor Ecgfrith, claiming the Irish are a peaceful race wot never hurt nobody (loosely translated) and the Northumbrian king is a great git. This seems a little disingenuous, to put it mildly.

AND AND (my favourite part) Oswiu, Ecgfrith's father, was the king who called the Synod of Whitby- forever dividing the English church from the Irish. I therefore suspect that the whole Irish affair may be related to ecclesiastical shenanigans.

This is especially reinforced when we consider that a) Ecgfrith was plagued continuously by Wilfrid, the Archbishop of York; b) in 682 he donated lands to a monastery- and that's usually done by kings feeling guilt over things; c) the rebellious Picts with which Ecgfrith was dealing had close ties to the Irish church.

THIS IS EXCITING OKAY because it will help reveal a lot more detail about Anglo-Hiberno relations during the period, as well as shedding additional historiographical light on Bede, information upon various Saints whose Lives are primary sources. Plus it will answer actually for reals unknown historical events, and isn't that what history is a little bit about? You bet it is.

I am so excited to be studying again! I have MISSED you, medieval history. I have missed you, dead languages! Did I mention we are translating Beowulf this semester? TRANSLATING BEOWULF *flails*

contrariangie, who is one of two people I have just added because they are AMAZING, had this meme where you post a poem. I have all my poems at home (sigh), but if anyone wants they could click the poetry tag? There is not much there yet but I wanted to join the poetry party. :(

OH that reminds me. Folks, I have some amazing worlds in my head which I would like to write about. So maybe I will? There is one with a post-apocalyptic lesbian teenager. There is a space opera which is kind-of-medieval-western and has no humanoid aliens. There is the nightmare-surrealist 'clockwork guy' project bits of which have been posted here before. AHH I want to write again tell me what you'd like to hear about from me.

Okay, this has been THOROUGHLY CONFUSING. Good night, everyone!