Potpourri

Okay, let's start with this: Shake That by Eminem. The word "ass" is not acceptable in the chorus, but can be used in the phrase "bust yo' ass." What is up with that?

Second, I finished two books recently, and rathter than over load poor Ehren, I thought I'd put them both into one post.

The first book was The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus by Margaret Atwood. Anyone who likes mythology should find time to read this book; hell, I'll probably even lend it to you. It's pretty self-explanatory, but here are some quotes:

"And what did I amount to, once the official version gained ground? An edifying legend. A stick used to beat other women with."--Penelope, p. 2

"I wanted happy endings in those days, and happy endings are best achieved by keeping the right doors locked and going to sleep during the rampages."--p. 3

"But he must have misheard, or else the oracle herself misheard--the gods often mumble..."--Penelope, p. 8

"Excessive weeping, I might as well tell you now, is a handicap of the Naiad-born. I spent at least a quarter of my earthly life crying my eyes out. Fortunately in my time there were veils. They were a practical help for disguising red, puffy eyes."--p. 10

(on marriage) "All the rest was just copulation of various kinds--rapes or seductions, love affairs or one-night stands, with gods who said they were sheperds or shepherds who said they were gods. Occassionally a goddess might get mixed up in it too, dabble around in pershiable flesh like a queen playing at milkmaids, but the reward for the man was a shortened life and often a violent death."--p. 23

"Cleverness is a quality a man likes to have in a wife as long as she is some distance from him. Up close, he'll take kindness any day of the week, if there's nothing more alluring to be had."--p. 29

(on Helen) "I suspect she used to flirt with her dog, with her mirror, with her comb, with her bedpost. She needed to keep in practice."--p. 33

"And so I was handed over to Odysseus, like a package of meat. A package of meat in a wrapping of gold, mind you. A sort of gilded blood pudding."--p. 39

"At which point I did more weeping, and was comforted in way that were suitable for a wedding night."--p. 48

"Widows are supposed to be consumed with lust, especially if their husbands have been missing or dead for such a long time, as your was."--Antinous on why the suitors wanted Penelope, p. 102

(on Telemacus's silence)"A mother's life is sacred. Even a badly behaved mother's life is sacred - witness my foul cousin Clytemnestra, adulturess, butcher of her husband, tormenter of her children - and nobody said I was a badly behaved mother."--Penelope, p. 111

"There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act."--p. 117

"It's hard to lose an argument to one's teenaged son. One they're taller than you are, you have only your moral authority: a weak weapon at best."--p. 131

(on the gods and answering prayers) "I think they pull a lot of their pranks because they're bored."--p. 135

(on the gossip) "If my husband had learned of the slanders during our lifetimes, he certainly would have ripped out a few tongues. But there's no sense in brooding over lost opportunities."--p. 145

Okay. Then I read The Penultimate Peril, book 12 of 13 in the Series of Unfortunate Events. Of the series, this one seems to be the weakest...too rushed and not enough answers, or even any engaging questions. I don't know what I'm expecting from a book written for the 8-12 crowd, but usually I want something a little more. There were a few interesting quotes, but I'll spare you those.