Tonight we begin book three.
Tomorrow I conduct a new (surprise) interview. You'll not believe who...
I'm starting a blogroll of supporter/subscribers, so if you've sent in a donation and have a blog, please let me know so I can link to it!
I fight (and beat?) the specter of grammar education—and exhaust my wussy self in the process!
Ooh, and go here to see a Dragoon. NICE uniform! Here's David Brin's Earth. Some wild art for you!
And just a little quote to compare someone we all know with the French Revolution:
"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion.
The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is
wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts
they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions,
it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ...
And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not
warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of
resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as
to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost
in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
by: Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826), US Founding Father
drafted the Declaration of Independence
3rd US President
Source:
November 13, 1787,
letter to William S. Smith,
quoted in Padover's Jefferson On Democracy
(1743-1826), US Founding Father
drafted the Declaration of Independence
3rd US President
Source:
November 13, 1787,
letter to William S. Smith,
quoted in Padover's Jefferson On Democracy
Lately I have been suspecting that my previous admiration for Jefferson was misplaced ... and this quote keeps me going in that direction ...
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've listened to a podcast on the day it was uploaded. I'm so SAD I have to wait a week for the next! It was almost more fun being behind.... Great comments by listeners. Odeo IS fun! I have less trouble than some listeners with Lucy's two-dimensionality and the submissive woman role because she seems to be a tool for illuminating other, more important characters (e.g. Mr. Laurie and her dad). Love the street art! My favorite is the orange cone with feet, reminiscent of "Toy Story 2."
ReplyDelete--The Dappled Gal ;-)
Yeah, but it's only OLD Jefferson you're irked with--YOUNG Jefferson was good.
ReplyDeleteIt's that Twain thing about aging...was it Twain? I think it was Twain...about getting more brittle the older we get. Jefferson surely was like that...
; )
Heather
Oh, yes. Jefferson. Creepy.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo..Looking forward to the next episode and I'm all for Jane Eyre, too. I'm also ALL FOR subscription fees to the podcast. I've just made a donation. It's not much, but I know I couldn't buy an audiobook for that amount, or get the fantastic extras that you provide! Your introduction and follow-up to the chapters is so key for me to be able to really understand and enjoy this classic tale. Thanks so much!
Hello!
ReplyDeleteVery Late Commenter again.
I wanted to point out that perhaps the elder Marquis is the Everyman of the Evil Aristocracy(tm) (since he is mentioned as being the typical EA) and Darnay is the Everyman of The People (who aren't crazy) or perhaps the Non-Evil Aristocracy.
Also, there's a certain amount of irony in Darnay saying "I don't want this title or these lands, I want to be my own man" and then immediately reassuming both the title and the responsibility the minute he's pleaded to in that capacity. He never says, at any time in France "no, I am not Evremond, I am Darnay, I renounce Evremond and all his works," which might have helped.
Finally, I was a bit sad to hear you say that you weren't sure _Earth_ was science-fiction because it had real science in it. There's a fairly strong subgenre of SF that is based entirely on "real" science as opposed to projected (or flatly made-up) science, and it's very much still considered to be science fiction by both the people who do bookstore and library shelving and those of us who consider ourselves fans of the stuff.
Thanks for doing this -- I have to say that I was really really hating _Tale_ until the last couple of episodes and I stuck with it because you kept promising it was good, and I'm glad I did. Your commentary is always interesting and I enjoy that you respond to reader suggestions and comments both as a teacher and as a peer.