Oh my gosh ! Jyothisri,I could not believe my eyes on seeing the 'sand painting' link that you have posted. That is incredible talent and amazing artistry displayed by the artist. I was filled with awe on her swift movement and the fierceness with which she recounted the poignant tale in sand.
I am an ardent fan of Greek and Roman mythology and can't tell you how difficult it is for me to escape from any bookstall which holds cornocopia of mythology books ,beckoning me like the Sirens. I was watching the 'Clash Of The Titans' movie the other day and was amazed at the influence of these epic tales on English and the words that have made into vernacular usage. The movie opened up a Pandora's box and I was keen to visit Waterstones before my protean personality forgets all about it and my mercurial memory betrays me. As I mentioned that this was my Achilles Heel and once I crossed the Rubicon,it is very difficult to return empty handed from the store.Though my husband finds the periodical cleaning of our book shelves as a Herculean task , that does not deter me from buying more books as I only find it nothing compared to cleaning the Augean stables which is my kitchen everyday.Well how I can not mention sop to the Cerburus , good dinner on that day, for the generosity bestowed on me since we had to buy another book shelf recently. Before I turn Harpy and hog this thread with our hymeneal details, I wanted to express my delight at the everyday words that we use which have roots in mythical beasts and fabled heroes. P.S: When I was about to post , I realized that this hydra-headed thread was missing in the forum.Behold ! Then it rose like a Phoenix.Ansuya, thanks a lot for making this thread sticky.
Hello ladies: Took me a while to reach here! Amazing thread! While it is difficult to comment on all the posts - I have decided to respond to most recent ones Jyotisri - the youtube video on sand art was really moving. Sabitha - Wow, that was quite a post on Greek influence on English language! Sindhu
Once in a while I mindlessly stare at the landing page of IL. Hungry for a cerebral discourse, I reluctantly click on forum links dreading the banal and the mundane. Forgive me folks; I am not trying to offend anyone here. :hide: Imagine my joy at discovering this thread! Excellent work on the thread Ansuya. It is a pleasure to read your posts. You have near perfect diction! I have only made it through the first 20 pages and have learnt more about the English language in the last half an hour than I have in the last 10 years. I am quite looking forward to reading the remaining 66. Hope to be back soon with some of my own contributions.
Sabitha, thank you for a very clever and very creative post on words that take their root from Greek and Roman mythology. At university, I was so interested in this particular topic that I took two courses (Words and Ideas, and Mortals and Immortals in Ancient Greece) in the Classics department even though they didn't have all that much to do with my other majors. Your knowledge is impressive, and you've taught me a thing or two. I was especially tickled to see your postscript, since my favourite story is that of the Phoenix; it has much personal meaning for me, so much so that I have a Phoenix tattoo - but shhhh! don't tell anyone Sindhu, welcome to English Matters - I'm glad you like what you see, and you don't have to comment on all, or any, of the posts, but I do hope you'll keep coming back Gauri, I am very happy to see you here! Thanks for the words of encouragement - it is high praise, indeed, coming from someone like you. Good luck getting through your 66 pages of homework (yikes!), and we'll be waiting to hear from you again. Those of you who love listening to NPR as much as I do are probably already familiar with the show This American Life. I find Ira Glass absolutely, completely, compelling and listenable (I don't think that's even a word, but what a voice!), his topics are relevant and impeccably researched, and this show is often witty and entertaining without compromising any of its intellectual gravity. It airs every Saturday morning where I am, and it's well worth a listen. This last week, it was all about how a single unscrupulous company contributed to the US financial crisis. Now, I'm off to buy a This American Life T-shirt... In a thread right here on IL long, long ago, someone introduced me to the poem Invictus, by William Ernest Henley. I loved it instantly, so I was pleased to learn that it was one of Nelson Mandela's favourite poems, and that it sustained him emotionally and psychologically while he was imprisoned. You may have heard of the movie of the same name that came out recently. If you are, like me, South African, enjoy rugby and remember the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hero-worship Nelson Mandela, think Clint Eastwood is the bee's knees, and like the poem Invictus, then this movie was pretty much made for you. It's a good watch even if you don't fit into the above categories (and if you do, I'd like to make your acquaintance ASAP!). Here's the poem for some Sunday morning upliftment; you may not have been in prison for 27 years, but sometimes even getting out of bed takes some inspiration Invictus Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. William Ernest Henley
Dearest Ansuya, Thanks for ferreting out this poem and bringing it to limelight here again.Though 'English Matters' began as a thread to acquaint,discover,learn and admire the beauty of English as a language in communication, I must admit that more than your knowledge in English, the tidbits you share on varied subjects is fascinating and enthralls me. It is very rare that I do not look up a dictionary when I read any of your posts.To be frank I enjoy this part the most, and nowadays I clutch a dictionary when I ever I open my laptop. Yes, there it was nestled comfily,beaming with pride the 'word of the post'. Bee's knees I tried to surmise the meaning based on the context it was used, and understood that it had a positive connotation.But what did the macho heartthrob Clint Easthood and fragile Bee's Knees have in common.I looked up the origin of the word and its meaning. The bee's knees Perfect Sense ! This again sends me back to trace the contrail left behind by the fauna. Dog days, dove eyes ,monkey tricks ,cats cradle, big fish and here I go parroting off ..
Thank you for the welcome Ansuya. My journey through the thread continues and I am enjoying it. The first time I read about Invictus (the poem) was in an article on Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma city bomber. He read it as his final statement right before his execution. Who said a terrorist can't be well read? So let me bring up something I have been thinking a lot about lately. Logical fallacies. I don't post much in the family and relationships forum but I do read many of the threads. If only I had a penny for each time I encounter a non sequitur! This post is only peripherally related to the English language but since Latin phrases are commonly used in English sentences, I think it fits the scope of this thread. A non sequitur is a fallacious argument in which the conclusion is not supported by the premise. In Latin non sequitur means 'it does not follow'. The conclusion and the premise may both be separately valid but the argument connecting them does not hold. For example, Ann's English is poor so Ann is obese. Ann might have poor English and she might also be obese but the two statements are logically disconnected. Another similar fallacy that I have come across fairly often on IL is the post hoc ergo propter hoc argument --> correlation implies causation. In Latin post hoc ergo propter hoc stands for 'after this, therefore because of this'. Post hoc is very similar to a non sequitur but in this case the premise and conclusion are causally disconnected instead of logically. e.g., I scratched my head and Beckham scored a goal. So every time I scratch my head Beckham will score a goal. Most marriages in the US are love marriages and the US has a high divorce rate so love marriages lead to divorces. Post hoc reasoning is the basis of many superstitious beliefs and is easily discredited. Just because two things happen one after another does not mean that one causes the other. The causality of any argument should be inconclusively established; Without that the argument is just a post hoc fallacy. One of my current past times is to read posts and try to find logical fallacies in the arguments. But with people being as sensitive as they are I keep my thoughts to myself. Back to my homework now, Adios
Sabitha, my friend Thank you for not minding my personal and sometimes irrelevant musings on this thread. I have come to enjoy being here so much that I sometimes forget propriety and let my mind wander. It is very reassuring to know that you are prepared to indulge me It is so clever how you explained "bees knees" and segued to other animal idioms! I liked Clint Eastwood's action movies from when he was a heartthrob, but I like him even more now as a director and producer. So yes, I enjoy his work very much. There's a great song from the movie Invictus that you all may enjoy - it's called "9000 Days" (refers to the time Mandela spent in prison) and it connects the words from the poem to his life. Here's a trailer for the movie which has the song, and a blog that discusses it all. It's all particularly poignant for me now because South Africa is no longer the same country Nelson Mandela sacrificed so much for, and helped to create
Gauri Thanks for a beautiful first discussion for our thread. You've set a very high precedent! Don't worry too much about it all being strictly related to English, and academic; we're pretty relaxed as to what falls within the purview of this thread. I enjoyed your logical and well-explained list of logical fallacies. I think people generally rely on logical fallacies to reinforce or confirm their own opinions, beliefs, and attitudes. It's easier to be illogical than confront some hard realities! Please come back with more deep thoughts when and if you can... Nelson Mandela was a terrorist too (or freedom fighter, depending on which side of the machine gun you're on) - I can see how Timothy McVeigh could also claim this poem as his own, since the two men have something in common.
Dear Anusya and all others here, I don't think I can add to the contributions here, but I just wanted to let you all know, that I have been following this thread on and off. And most of the time, I have to use the dictionary. I am loving it :hiya. In fact, one day, I thought I should ask you, why is the word "Period" used in some of the sentence. I understand its used to stress a point and say "that's it" .... but I ended up reading the other beautiful posts here and forgot that. Anusya, I have been expanding my knowledge through your musings. Thanx
