#so i was like okay i'm bringing two

[mishkakagehishka]

Where's my post ab thinking stuff like "x books in x days" is insane bc i genuinely get upset when i read a book too quickly because it doesn't feel like i ENJOYED it anyway yesterday i got ab halfway thru no longer human and got so upset with myself bc i "wasn't pacing myself" and wanted to enjoy it for longer akwnwjdjfnfdn

[artkaninchenbau]

A h-heartfelt reunion..?

Bonus

[gingermintpepper]

hi, i haven't read the iliad and the odyssey but want to - do u have a specific translation you recommend? the emily wilson one has been going around bc, y'know, first female translator of the iliad and odyssey into english, but i was wondering on if you had Thoughts

Hi anon! Sorry for the somewhat late response and I'm glad you trust me with recommendations! Full, disclosure, I am somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to translations of the source text of the Iliad + Odyssey combo wombo, which means I tend to prefer closeness in literal verbiage over interpretation of the poetic form of these epics - for that reason, my personal preferred versions of the Odyssey and Iliad both are Robert Fitzgerald's. Because both of these translations (and his Aeneid!) were done some 50+ years ago (63 for his original Odyssey tl, 50 flat for his Iliad and 40 for his Aeneid) the English itself can be a bit difficult to read and the syntax can get confusing in a lot of places, so despite my personal preferences, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is looking to experience the Iliad + Odyssey for the very first time.

For an absolute beginner, someone who has tried to read one or both of these epics but couldn't get into it or someone who has a lot of difficulty with concentrating on poetry or long, winding bits of prose, I fully and wholeheartedly recommend Wilson's translation! See, the genius of Emily Wilson's Iliad + Odyssey isn't that she's a woman who's translated these classics, it's that she's a poet who's adapted the greek traditional poetic form of dactylic hexameter into the english traditional poetic form of iambic pentameter. That alone goes a very very long way to making these poems feel more digestible and approachable - iambic pentameter is simply extremely comfortable and natural for native english speakers' brains and the general briskness of her verbiage helps a lot in getting through a lot of the problem books that people usually drop the Iliad or Odyssey in like Book 2 of the Iliad or Book 4 of the Odyssey. I think it's a wonderful starting point that allows people to familiarise themselves with the source text before deciding if they want to dig deeper - personally, researching Wilson's translation choices alone is a massive rabbit hole that is worth getting into LOL.

The happy medium between Fitzgerald's somewhat archaic but precise syntax and Wilson's comfortable meter but occasionally less detailled account is Robert Fagles' Iliad + Odyssey. Now, full disclosure, I detest how Fagles handles epithets in both of his versions, I think they're far too subtle which is something he himself has talked at length about in his translation notes, but for everything else - I'd consider his translations the most well rounded of english adaptations of this text in recent memory. They're accurate but written in plain English, they're descriptive and detailled without sacrificing a comfortable meter and, perhaps most importantly, they're very accessible for native english speaking audiences to approach and interact with. I've annotated my Fagles' volumes of these books to heaven and back because I'm deeply interested in a lot of the translation decisions made, but I also have to specifically compliment his ability to capture nuance in the characters' of these poems in a way I don't often see. He managed to adapt the ambivalence of ancient greek morality in a way I scarcely see and that probably has a hand in why I keep coming back to his translations.

Now, I know this wasn't much of a direct recommendation but as I do not know you personally, dear anon, I can't much make a direct recommendation to a version that would best appeal to your style of reading. Ideally, I'd recommend that you read and enjoy all three! But, presuming that you are a normal person, I suggest picking which one is most applicable for you. I hope this helps! 🥰

[cassmouse]

To this day I don't understand how Ghostbusters Frozen Empire had the budget to hire all of these absolutely incredible actors, a surprisingly excellent cinematographer, a SFX team that's second to none, AND a phenomenal composer (HE WROTE THE 2005 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE SOUNDTRACK FOR FUCK'S SAKE)- and yet STILL couldn't manage to hire even semi-decent writers (this also applies to Ghostbusters Afterlife actually)

(whoever came up with the Phoebe/Melody plot goated tho)

[sadokelevra]

the genocide of palestine absolutely needs to end. there's something that keeps striking me weird about fellow americans making palestine their hard line for domestic politics. it feels egregiously performative, it feels like an extension of the United States cultural belief that we as a nation are the World Police and have a right, no, a duty to intervene anywhere we see fit. this militaristic and orientalist obsession with palestine plays neatly into pre-existing antisemitism, because americans on the whole find it more valuable to hate the Jew than to love the Arab. and that's another reason why it strikes me weird to see US citizens compromise domestic politics based on fanciful notions of the police state of America being used in their best interests rather than against it. Fuck that. You are asking the machine to suddenly reverse motion when it is comparatively easier and more meaningful to stop the running of the machine at all. This whole power system needs to be dismantled. It's disturbing to me to put foreign intervention on a pedestal, specifically in regards to US policy, because fundamentally the belief between the two sides is the same - "The United States is morally beholden to interfering with the political state of Eastern nations." The only disagreements are why and how, pure ideological fluff compared to imperial devastation.

This pressure should be placed upon the United Nations, not a single nation, not the political status of a single nation. So much of the United States power as a hegemonic entity comes from people just accepting that the US is a hegemonic entity! Stop playing ball! We need to protect the people of Palestine and we need to also disempower the imperial core! We can do both! WE CAN DO BOTH!!

[ask-artsy-oncie]

I was reminded of the time that tumblr tried to make "monster high but with tumblr sexymen", and one of the characters was (obviously) the daughter of the once-ler.

And the funny thing to me about that is that in the canon of the illumination lorax movie, the once-ler is heavily implied to have an estranged daughter. I don't know all the sexymen off the top of my head but I think he might've been one of the only ones referenced in that trend who actually had a daughter in his own canon.

[hikarry]

Whats your idea of a perfect date

Perfect date? In my eyes, it's all about the little things.

I don't have a license and I don't want to have one, but it would start with a good drive while I play passenger princess, enjoying the open road. I don't trust myself behind a wheel, but I love being driven around, I love velocity and long long trips. Sometimes I do enjoy the car drive more than the destination, but welp

Stopping by a pub or a dark, smoky bar with a jazz band playing in the background. Good drinks, good music...or a cafe and share a good cappuccino - each with their own. I dunnot share my caffeine

Followed by a moonlit stroll in a beautiful park by a river, ending with… watching the stars together

Sitting on a rooftop with a view of the city could also be fun, even though I'm afraid of heights

Maybe some more pleasurable activities afterwards, if we feel so inclined

But, alas, I don't exactly believe in perfect dates. Life is too messy and unpredictable for perfectly curated moments.

[0509-brainrot]

BRING THEM BACK THIS INSTANT !!!

[wildflowercryptid]

i feel like kieran/florian/ortega could be really cute and fun, but i also feel like ortega would see how complicated and intense those two's relationship already is and go " yeah, no way in hell i'm getting caught up in that. "

[sskk-manifesto]

(´；ω；｀)

[attila-werther]

the problem with being an artist online is that people will sometimes start to treat you like you're a thing to demand content from instead of a person, which is the main reason I don't want to have a 'personal identity' on an art blog, like I'm so disinterested in letting people feel too comfy about being even ruder than they are in my inbox on my history blog. I also singled out my history blog here, but I also keep getting anons demanding more musketeers are and it's pissing me off. you are not exempt from the I Dont Take Requests statement in my pinned. either give me a book about french architecture and room interiors from the relevant century or begone

thankfully. that is a very small drop of water in a very large ocean. like, if it was exceedingly annoying, I would not be rewatching the show. the agrippa/octavian people were so fucking rude that they're banned from my blog unless it's as a thank you piece for someone

[supercantaloupe]

getting real tired of every visit with this doctor just being "exercise more, diet more, and lose weight. Now go get this bloodwork done"

[yuelun]

Dark serenity befell it all; the hills, the trees, the water, the homes, their home— and yet it never seemed to be able to capture him quite in the same way. Perhaps this meant that the stars shone down on him just a bit brighter, or perhaps, the true recipients of such an honour were the glaze lilies, the ones he'd found himself in the midst of. Hardly fair of you, Morax.

Her hands, bare and warm despite the chill of night that enveloped them both, came to rest atop his eyes in jest. And though you'd expect the crunch of the blades of grass to be the loudest as she settled behind him, it was, by far, the smile amidst pale and grey that was the very loudest.

The tiniest of starters that marked our very, very first interaction between them. Are you emo like me to move it to Tumblr? // @archoniic

[ends-of-the-wayward-storm]

THE LAD CAME!!💖💖🎉🎉 (Now to keep hoarding for Masquerade Malleus.)

[illdothehotvoice]

Okay I'm in a better mood about all of it now lmfao sdhjgkndfh thanks for listening to my rants dshgjkfdh

[rosesradio]

day 2 of what i call the redneck convention aka a family function