Pandemonium- (a.k.a. story of my life)

Okay I know that the modern definition of pandemonium is not the same as that of the Greek word and the name of the palace of the fallen angels in Paradise Lost, but I thought that was a funny and eye catching little title.



ANYHOOOO

After our discussion today in cultural history I was a little more attuned to the possible meaning of lines 670-700ish. The fallen angels decide to plunder a hill for its precious metals and minerals and build a giant palace-like structure. I was thinking that maybe this is referring to Spain's plunderous endeavours. We talked about Spain's mercantilistic thinking- they desired to attain as much of the $$metal$$ as po$$ible. Of course those wretched gold diggers were Catholic- which is not quite pleasing to our reformed Milton (just look at his portrait- he's not a label-lover by the way that he dresses, clearly reformed).


Around line 690 we read that no one should "admire that riches grow in hell" and learn that "those who boast in mortal things" and some "greatest monuments of fame" are rejected by God. Is this an indirect slam at the Catholic Spain and its exploits?

As my good friend Rachel would say, "Humdinger."

Torture by Coffee Article

This article has been killing me by name-dropping different London neighborhoods- Westminster, Charing Cross, St. Paul's, Chancery, and best of all Covent Garden (delicious market). Of course I am reading it while downing my first Starbucks doubleshot of the day. I never knew that London "consumed more coffee than anywhere else on Earth" at one point in time. I thought that the coffee wave needed to crash on London, but apparently it did a long time ago. Gloomy and gray, London would be greatly enhanced by coffee I thought. To be honest, the coffee house I frequented most was Starbucks on the corner of Pentonville and Gray's Inn, or Clerkenwell, because there weren't too many places to get a decent cup besides Pret... The drink is now tea so obviously something has happened in the course of history where the market shifted from coffee to tea. I don't know for sure, but I bet it has something to do with the stretching of the British colonies to places like India and other tea infused territories. All I really know is that several times a day one of your coworkers will ask you if you fancy a cup of tea because no one else is keen to get an iced coffee- if they even know that exists.

ANYWAY, enough of my rattling on about how I obviously miss my time at S&S. The really juicy- or shall I say soberintoxicating- part of the article is about the function of coffee-houses. These "vibrant and often unreliable sources of information" served as discussion places where one could stay abreast of the most current developments in a wide range of fields. What's most interesting to me is that "in theory, coffeehouses were public places, open to any man (since women were excluded, at least in London)...Patrons were expected to respect certain rules that did not apply in the outside world. According to custom, social differences were to be left at the coffeehouse door; in the words of one contemporary rhyme, 'Gentry, tradesmen, all are welcome hither and may without affront sit down together.'
...
'Coffeehouses were centers of self-education, literary and philosophical speculation, commercial innovation, and, in some cases, political fermentation. But above all they were clearing houses for news and gossip, linked by the circulation of customers, publications, and information from one establishment to the next."

I guess what really gets my womanly emotions going into overdrive about this is that all were welcome and social differences were to be checked at the door. Clearly, this is not so. What's especially interesting is that these establishments were breeding centers for gossip- a hideously female act. Okay, so maybe the breakdown of social fences actually did happen, since gossiping must have made men degenerate and 'turn' and become effeminate. Oh yeah, this makes sense, women did spend time in coffeehouses because by all of the gossiping that the men did turned them into women... so it was open to all...

HUSTers on TV

I just thought I'd let you all know that there is a show on PBS tonight called "Killer Stress." Apparently, it is a documentary of Humanistic Studies majors at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN. I wish I could watch it, but I'm going to be stressing out about the Sun King instead. Someone fill me in about it.

celtic boston

I just had a little thought while I was reading about the beginnings of Boston and Cambridge. Does Boston have so much Irish pride because, like the Puritans, the Irish were escaping the wretched English and they sailed to the new world? Or is it coincidence? Because it could definitely be coincidental.

OH GEEEEEZ
And now we know who to thank for commencing the drudging of the east coast waterways. My brother will curse Dudley the next time he gives a marine bio lecture... Oh Dudley, what hath you done to ruin the natural life-cycles of veligers and filter feeders in the water column and encourage future invasive species...

John Smith seeing "stones" of oysters

No Nopey's allowed in HUST!

Does anyone remember how Gumby used to be able to ride his bike straight into the cover of a book and instantly be in the story? That's exactly what I wish I could do. Reading about the adventure of the Puritans sailing to what becomes the United States and Anne Bradstreet's experience, as awful as it may have been, makes me really really really wish I could see it and feel it. The most exciting part of reading a book is putting myself in it, and getting genuinely caught up in the story. I think that our readings are a Gumby-like experience, since we do have to put ourselves in the story to understand it, but I think it would be truly awesome to just jump right into the pages and live amongst its characters. One major positive effect of being able to jump into the story is that I would be able to form a new and different account of what happened- so that the story of the every day person, woman and child could be revealed...

I think what fascinates me most about the Anne Bradstreet reading is that it's completely different from what I previously knew about the Puritan conquest of the new world. I always thought that the Puritans came here in search of freedom when really they thought freedom was contrary to fulfilling God's will. There was no freedom to be anything other than a devout and pious Puritan. Besides learning about the actual Puritan mindset I am also excited to learn about the origins of my own country! It is interesting to think about the American idea of manifest destiny and conquering land and capitalism... and where these tendencies originated.

My fantasy, Gumby stuck on books...

On a completely different note- I saw an advert for the Joffrey Ballet performing Othello. I would be interested in seeing this if anyone else would be interested also.

Love at first word

From the first sentence of Bacon's essay on travel, I was hooked.

"Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience."

I could not agree with Bacon more on the importance of travel. Traveling is as beneficial to education as reading a book or taking a class. It teaches with lessons, takes us outside of our comfort zones, and forces us to think. In my travel experiences I have been forced to think about how history has shaped the world and still leaves an imprint. It forces me to think about how my life and the culture I grew up in are unique or connected in some ways to others. Traveling makes me realize how little I actually know, and how much I have yet to learn.

For Bacon, traveling is a part of a scientific theory. He sees travel as comprised of observation, interpretation and reflection. Even though his travels were fabricated, he used travel as a way to express his ideas about the world and the way it should be- or at least the way it could be. I also believe that the travel experience should include observation, interpretation and reflection... maybe not for the purpose of thinking about how the would should be, but how it is (outside of our own small parts of the world) and how we as people/students/women fit into it, AND how we can positively contribute to it...

Basically, I love travel, and I think it is one of the greatest ways to become a more well-rounded and conscious person. It has certainly added many great things to my life and enhanced my state of being (as well as brought HUST to life!)

Okay this was really cheesy. Choc it up to the 'roids for making me emotional.

Believe it or not

Google Sir Francis Bacon's death...

ORIGIN Middle English : via French from Latin locus 'place.'

lieu
in lieu
lieutenant

Lieu seems to occupy a special place in the heart of 17th century Europe. I have noticed the root lieu in several different places throughout our current readings. Iago was very concerned with the lieutenant position and several primary sources in the Military Life and Masculinity section stressed the important of the lieutenant's position. I realized the origin of the word after reading from our Othello book that the lieutenant fills in for the captain- does work in lieu of the captain. King James is also fond of the word when he says that the King is God's lieutenant...

So what's this fixation of lieu all about? It must have something to do with place and filling in the gaps. It seems that there is a need to orientate everything and everyone with each-other. There must be order. There must be rank. There's an obsession with status and place. It is interesting to think about the order social stratosphere of England (and Europe, but mainly England) in the context of our readings and England today. Some of my summer reading discussed England's obsession with status, the country still idolizes the exclusive 2% of its population that fits into the category of noble lineage and inherited titles. Duke This Duchess That Earl of Here Princess of There Sir Him Lady That... and then there's everyone else who is from N7 SW19 went to this Public School (which is actually private over there) and sends their child to That Secondary School is a member of Club ABC. I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that there was a preoccupation with keeping everything organized and understandable. Everyone had to fit a label or remain in their place, I guess, for an ease of operation and understanding. Like this- I am 'A' and she is 'B' so I know how I am supposed to work with her to fulfill 'X.' So is this why they were so terrified of turning? Would the Turks disrupt there neatly arranged society and plans? Is this how they justified their conquering and turning of other lands? I'm not sure, but I think there's something going on with keeping everyone in their proper place.

I also find it curious that the English were terrified of having done unto them what they did unto others. Oh dear, the Turks are coming. What did the Scottish, Irish, and native Americans have to say?

Otto

No, I'm not cretin. I shouted out that Syracuse was related to Prince William of Orange for this very comical reason:

FINALLY I have been converted.

Black magic has been cast upon me, for I have fallen under the spell of Shakespeare. As you might recall (if you posses an eerily accurate memory) I blogged last semester about my ambivalence toward WilS. But oh how O changed all that.

I realized how densely each line is packed with hidden meaning and cleverly produced imagery/similes/descriptions/etc. While reading O with Meghan, I kept screeching about the dreadful Iago and his poor manipulated "friends." It was probably like watching a soap opera addict shout at the tv from his/her couch. It's not just WilS's flowery writing that caught me, but all of the plot and underlying themes (of which I was cognizant) that sucked me in. Why had I not succumbed to the greatness that is Shakespeare before?

It was during a discussion with my brother's girlfriend (a HUGE Shakespeare fan herself) that I had another epiphany. First of all, I had only read Shakespeare in high school and in Colloquium I. High school just doesn't count. In the case of Colloquium I, we read his sonnets... and here's where Katie helped me out. She said that she liked his plays better than his sonnets, and I realized that maybe I needed a longer version of a Shakespearian work to draw me in. Don't get me wrong, the sonnets are beautiful in their own right, but an entire play can really develop a storyline and characters with the effect of prolonging my interest and intrigue. So, maybe it was suspense I was lacking in the sonnets. Maybe I need to read more to be truly entertained. HA! Who'da thunk?

Now, I want to revisit the sonnets with my new eyeglasses crafted of Shakespearian lenses. This might seem trivial and base to some readers, but this is a big deal to me. I have encountered a major turning point in my literary life. It's as if I have discovered a new world and I cannot keep myself from exploring it and extracting its gems and jewels... oh how coincidental!