The Lion of Chaeronea

A blog dedicated to classical antiquity, poetry, and the visual arts. All translations of Greek and Latin are my own unless otherwise noted.

[lionofchaeronea]

Now that the Poetry Marathon is in the rear-view mirror, it's time to buckle down and actually write a novel. Here we go...

[lionofchaeronea]

I did it. I completed the Poetry Marathon. 24 poems in 24 hours. Well done, me.

[lionofchaeronea]

As pleased as I am that Scotland won its first group match, I'm even more pleased that the Scottish and Haitian fans danced together afterward. With all the ugliness in the world right now, a moment like that, however brief, is to be cherished.

[lionofchaeronea]

Hour 18 of the 24-hour Poetry Marathon. Beginning to lose grip on reality. Wallpaper conspiring against me. Just had tea with Lord Byron. Pretty sure I can teleport.

[titsay]

[lionofchaeronea]

Sixteen poems down, eight to go in the Poetry Marathon. I can do this. I will do this.

[lionofchaeronea]

I'm going to take some time in the coming months and learn as much as I feasibly can about botany. Why? No compelling reason, other than that I a) love plants and b) don't know anywhere near as much as I ought to about them.

[thelostcanyon]

Mesquite Creek Canyon, Superstition Mountains, Maricopa County, Arizona.

[lionofchaeronea]

Every so often I like to read something that's completely outside my competence zone -- after all, it's the best way to learn something new. With this in mind, I'm reading The Education of a Gardener by Russell Page, originally published in 1962 and brought back into print in 2007 by NYRB Classics. Page (1906-1985) was a world-class garden designer with a career spanning nearly six decades, and in this book, he embarks on a sort of mental tour of the gardens that struck him as particularly lovely and/or well-adapted to their settings. It's beautifully written, with an astonishing eye for detail (Page originally trained as a painter), and above all, it's relaxed -- a word I mean as high praise. So much of life now revolves around a deluge of information, with sensory assaults ever increasing and attention spans ever shortening. To indulge in a book like this one, whose pace is set solely by the rhythms of the natural world, makes for an escape of the very best kind.

[lovecrumbss]

James Baldwin talking about love

[unhelpfultarot]

The World and Nine of Pentacles

Some days you want to dance naked in the open air with your friends, and some days you'd rather wear a comfortable slouchy robe in your own yard, so you're glad both options exist.

[lionofchaeronea]

Exciting news for mystery fans! In the wake of the recent "Young Sherlock" and "Young Poirot" reboots, Britain's ITV has commissioned Young Marple, starring Sydney Sweeney in the title role.

From the official press release:

"Long before St. Mary Mead, Jane Marple was a dancer in the seedy music halls of London's East End. In this series, she'll solve six fanservice-laden mysteries, while growing into the elderly spinster we know and (mostly) love."

ITV Head of Programming Fred Blythewaite is enthusiastic about the project. "I have no doubt that it will be our channel's finest hour," he said, adding "If not, we'll just dump it on Netflix".

[lionofchaeronea]

Title: Study of Sea and Sky, Isle of Wight Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English, 1775-1851) Date: 1827 Genre: seascape Movement: Romanticism Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: 32.1 cm (12.6 in) high x 50.2 cm (19.7 in) wide Location: Tate Britain, London, England, UK

This work, which reflects Turner's lifelong interest in the sea, was completed during July-August 1827, when the artist was staying at East Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight. Art historians speculate that he may have done some of his preparatory sketches on board a man-of-war anchored at Cowes Roads.

[lionofchaeronea]

So, I'm signed up to do a "poetry marathon" tomorrow -- 24 poems in a 24-hour window. It's unlikely I'll succeed, given that I have dinner out with my folks in the evening, but I'm OK with that. My chief goal is to get enough halfway decent raw material out of the exercise to put together a chapbook. (Also, if I get stuck for ideas and need to procrastinate, I'll have an excuse to do some much-needed cleaning around the place.)

[lionofchaeronea]

Sometimes I do miss living within walking distance of a good academic library. I know this isn't a terribly significant problem to have in the grand scheme of things, but it would still be nice to be able to pop over and do some hard-core research whenever I feel like it.

[unhelpfultarot]

Five of Pentacles and Seven of Pentacles

Soon you should take a short break from the grind, to stop and admire your progress.

[lionofchaeronea]

I am so fucking sick of racist thugs, and of the rabble-rousers who deliberately stir up racist thugs for their own political ends. Damn them all to hell.