A few interesting items for your reading pleasure:
There’s a new translation of the epic Medieval poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Man" and it sounds worth a read. Trying to read the poem in the original Middle English – practically impossible, despite some intriguing words. For instance:
Thou wyl grant me godly the gomen that I ask / bi ryght"
translates to:
You’ll gracefully grant me this game which I ask for / by right."
The word "gomen" in the sentence means "game!" I would never have guessed that in a million years – I was thinking the word meant something like favor or boon!
Read the review of Simon Armitage’s translation in "A Stranger in Camelot."
*******************************************************************************
In the same Book Reviews section at The New York Times, I saw that Joe McGinniss has published a new book about a murder – or was it?
I remember McGinniss from reading his bestseller "Fatal Vision," about the Green Beret surgeon – Jeffrey McDonald, who was convicted of murdering his wife and children whom, he claimed, were murdered by hippies high on drugs, who’d invaded his home (on a military base) in the middle of the night. The case hinged on forensic evidence painstakingly gathered and analyzed, long before CSI type shows became popular on television and long before DNA analysis and other technical analytical tools existed that seem to make crime-solving so easy today (at least, on television). "Fatal Vision" was made into a highly acclaimed mini-series on television, with Gary Cole playing the role of Jeffrey McDonald and Karl Mulden playing his father-in-law, who at first firmly believed in McDonald’s version of events and supported his son-in-law, until the slowly accumulated forensic evidence led him, painfully, to conclude otherwise. The slow revelation of the evidence in the book was relentless – and chilling. Mulden played the role superbly.
Read the review by Bob Shacochis of McGinnis’ new book, "Never Enough."
The "First Chapter" is also available – a verbatim preview.
**************************************************************************************
Okay – so this clerk at a Dunkin’ Donuts store named Dustin Hoffman hits this would-be robber over the head with a coffee cup, and says he was more worried about what he would look like on the surveillance video and whether he could become famous on YouTube than concerned for his safety. Darlings, I couldn’t make this up!
**************************************************************************************
Another – can you believe this – with a Christmas twist. A Christmas card mailed on December 23, 1914 has finally been delivered by the United States Postal Service. Geez, these guys are really efficient, ya know?
There’s a new translation of the epic Medieval poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Man" and it sounds worth a read. Trying to read the poem in the original Middle English – practically impossible, despite some intriguing words. For instance:
Thou wyl grant me godly the gomen that I ask / bi ryght"
translates to:
You’ll gracefully grant me this game which I ask for / by right."
The word "gomen" in the sentence means "game!" I would never have guessed that in a million years – I was thinking the word meant something like favor or boon!
Read the review of Simon Armitage’s translation in "A Stranger in Camelot."
*******************************************************************************
In the same Book Reviews section at The New York Times, I saw that Joe McGinniss has published a new book about a murder – or was it?
I remember McGinniss from reading his bestseller "Fatal Vision," about the Green Beret surgeon – Jeffrey McDonald, who was convicted of murdering his wife and children whom, he claimed, were murdered by hippies high on drugs, who’d invaded his home (on a military base) in the middle of the night. The case hinged on forensic evidence painstakingly gathered and analyzed, long before CSI type shows became popular on television and long before DNA analysis and other technical analytical tools existed that seem to make crime-solving so easy today (at least, on television). "Fatal Vision" was made into a highly acclaimed mini-series on television, with Gary Cole playing the role of Jeffrey McDonald and Karl Mulden playing his father-in-law, who at first firmly believed in McDonald’s version of events and supported his son-in-law, until the slowly accumulated forensic evidence led him, painfully, to conclude otherwise. The slow revelation of the evidence in the book was relentless – and chilling. Mulden played the role superbly.
Read the review by Bob Shacochis of McGinnis’ new book, "Never Enough."
The "First Chapter" is also available – a verbatim preview.
**************************************************************************************
Okay – so this clerk at a Dunkin’ Donuts store named Dustin Hoffman hits this would-be robber over the head with a coffee cup, and says he was more worried about what he would look like on the surveillance video and whether he could become famous on YouTube than concerned for his safety. Darlings, I couldn’t make this up!
**************************************************************************************
Another – can you believe this – with a Christmas twist. A Christmas card mailed on December 23, 1914 has finally been delivered by the United States Postal Service. Geez, these guys are really efficient, ya know?
No comments:
Post a Comment