A couple of interviews you may find interesting, courtesy Pundit Review: 1) Blackfive and Michael Yon discuss the killing of Zarqawi, the latest Haditha developments and the latest on Michael’s copyright dispute with HFM. 2) Victor Davis Hanson on the war on Middle East and the war on terrorism.
The best part? When VDH explains the Palestinian “refugee” situation through an extended metaphor using Hannibal, a pair of constipated elephants, a pitching wedge, and Salome’s dance of the seven veils as filtered through Chapter 11 of Tom Robbins’ Skinny Legs and All.1
****
1And even if he didn’t (which he didn’t), he probably could have. Except for the Robbins’ part, I mean. I suspect Tom R is a bit ribald for Professor Hanson’s more classically-refined tastes—though to be fair, Petronius’ Menippean satire Satyricon is no piece of Victorian-collared modesty. But even so, nothing in Latin seems particularly dirty, which is why everyone spoke English in Bob Guccione’s Caligula, I’d bet.
heh, yeah, like Carmina Burana.
ha ha, i love Tom Robbins the best!
–Still Life with Woodpecker.
Another Roadside Attraction
“Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum viditur”
Ah, Caligula.
My one and only great moment in comedy came in the Empire Leicester Square. Bob had obviously had enough of listening to Peter O’Toole and patched in a lesbian orgy to lighten the mood. Then they had the intermission and the ad came on extolling the delights of the refreshment kiosk.
Some wag in the audience, (me), said in a loud voice: “How are we supposed to get up after that!” (You had to be there, but every guy in the house laughed.)
I’ve often thought that if someone makes a movie of the Israel – Palestine conflict with lots of lesbian orgies, it will contribute greatly to peace in the middle east. (Or maybe that was the secret at the Camp David accords, and maybe Oslo didn’t have enough)
Off Topic, but President Bush has awarded a Presidential Unit Citation to the United States Coast Guard for its response during and after Hurricane Katrina.
Shepard Smith had no comment.
What, no Thermopylae?
I’ve always liked Tom Robbins’ books. Great reads. But, damn, he’s a freakin’ moonbat.
Figures.
One of the most pornographic poems I’ve ever read was in Latin. Ahhh those Roman must have known how to throw a good party.
Hey, Jeff, I love ya man … but don’t make fun of the VDH, he knows where to find a phalanx.
I don’t care who you are, phalanx sounds dirty!
I’ve got a phalanx in my Thermopylae.
If you ever get to Italy, check out the pornographic wall friezes in Pompeii…
Actually, there’s a lot of filthy Latin literature, though most of it’s not on the web. Here are some of the better-known and easier-to-find examples:
1. Horace, Epodes 8 and 12. Vicious abuse of horny old women the poet finds totally unattractive.
2. Priapea. Eighty poems to the phallic god Priapus. The longest and filthiest Priapeum was supposedly written by Vergil, and a facing text and translation will be found in the new Loeb Vergil, Volume II, pp. 512-17.
3. Martial wrote 1600+ epigrams, of which roughly 10% are quite dirty. You can see the first 2 1/2 books of the 15 he published here, in Latin and (stilted) English: as it happens, the last half a dozen posted are all more or less obscene.
4. Juvenal’s satires are often scabrous, including swatches of 6 (on women), much of 2 (gay-bashing), and nearly all of 9 (confessions of a male prostitute).
5. The one other Latin surviving Latin novel besides Petronius’, Apuleius’ Golden Ass, includes a large dollop of hair fetishry and a bit of heterosexual anal sex, though the title refers to a donkey.
There are naughty bits in Catullus and Ovid (advice on sexual positions at the end of Books 2 and 3 of the Art of Love), and some of the stories in Suetonius’ Lives of the Twelve Caesars are highly unsuitable for use in the schoolroom. And that’s not even getting into graffiti and wall-paintings. If you follow GMG’s advice and visit Pompeii or read the write books, don’t miss the wall-painting of Priapus, with a huge grin, weighing his even huger (2+ foot) organ.
Sorry, “read the right books”. I could call that a polar error (read/write) with hints of perseveration, or I could just admit I screwed up.
Doc Weevil. Forgive my inelegance. What I meant was, the filthiness, as presented in Latin, just doesn’t seem as filthy as Robbins’ colorful metaphors about juicy peaches, etc.
Remember that Victorian practice of rendering indelicate matters in Latin or Greek – the “veiled obscurity of a learned language”?
“I don’t know if they are just stupid…” VDH in response to a question about Murtha, Kennedy, Durbin, Kerry and their like, being ignorant to the fact that they comfort, assist and bolster the enemy with their comments, and degredation of the military and the American public. Priceless. Loved it. Should have recorded it so I could listen to it once a day. AWESOME! ~CS
Comes nearer to the end of the interview but I about fell out of my chair and clapped outloud at work. Go listen it will make you happy.