Daily Thoughts 1/1/2010

Statue of the The Roman Poet, Ovid

Daily Thoughts 1/1/2010

I have been watching I Claudius, the BBC production of Robert Grave's book. It is worth reading Robert Graves book The reader over your shoulder : a handbook for writers of English prose. His books on classical mythology are also quite excellent.

The BBC production of I Claudius is wonderful to watch. I like the costumes and the settings. I find it very languid and entertaining. The acting is excellent. The story is quite dark and intriguing. It is the remastered dvd series put out by Image entertainment. There are a dozen episodes.

The actor who I immediately recognized was a young Patrick Stewart with hair. He plays a Roman solider. Patrick Stewart started out as a stage actor before he was a screen star. I rather liked seeing him in this production. Patrick Stewart's most famous role is as Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek.

The story is excellent. I watched four of the episodes today and did not do much else. I am waiting to see the portion on Caligula who is played by John Hurt. It was a nice break from reading. The story is very sophisticated: it is full of poisonings, exiles, Roman oratory, and Roman history. You get to see Rome in all its cruelty and its glory. So far I have seen the rise of Tiberius and the Death of August Caesar.

It has been a pleasant way to spend the new year. Happy New Year to all of you.

Thoughts For Today, Haiku

The Coloseum of Rome. Entertainment for the masses.

Haiku

Empire

Egypt built the pyramids

Rome was not in built in a day

Monuments to things past

Sometimes I get small inspirations while I am reading on various places.

Thoughts For Today

I have been doing some updating on my blog. I went through and made sure every single post on this blog had keywords attached to it. I think this is important to make it easier for yahoo and google to find my blog. I have been getting more traffic from keyword searches lately.

I also spent a little bit of time on the Society of Midnight Wanderers blog to get a better feel for it .

I haven't read that much of The Other Wind yet, I'll probably do some more reading later tonight.

Some Philosophy Books, And A Bit On Widgets

Marcus Aurelius Emperor of Rome

Today is Thursday, I am not quite sure what to write about. I was thinking of mentioning some religious or philosophy books which I have. My father gave me a copy of The Holy Bible designed and illustrated by Barry Moser. The woodcuts throughout are very beautiful. I occassionally like to the read the Psalms and Proverbs.

I used to work in the History, Biography, and Religion department of a large central library at one point. I would order the eastern religion books and mystical christianity books. I don't spend as much time as I used to focused on this type of writing.

I also keep a copy of the Tao Te Ching, and the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi which I read on occassion. They both have a certain poetry to them. Although, I don't keep a copy, Sun Tzu's The Art of War can teach you a lot as well.

If you are looking for a superb piece of esoterica with all kinds of beautiful illustrations throughout, you might want to look at Manly P. Hall Secret Teachings of All Ages. It is a very interesting book.

We get a lot of questions about religion, especially christianity where I work. One thing I can say about some of the christian books is that some of them have a positive attitude. Attitude can get you to the right places in life sometimes. Although many people do not consider it a christian book, Norman Vincent Peale -- The Power of Positive Thinking can help you get pointed in the right direction towards less negativity in your life.

A lot of people have lost their sense of the Greek and Roman philosophers takes on life. A little book which has helped many people keep focus is the Enchiridion by Epictetus, it is the stoics guide on how to live. Another book is the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius who was the emperor of Rome. These are both precursors to a large portion of St. Augustine's philosoophy. Stoicism teaches that the self denial is the highest pleasure.

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I have added a few widgets, namely a bestseller widget, a graphic novels widget, and an audiobook widget. I am still looking for an ebook widget. I haven't found a decent one yet.
I also put in a fish tank widget. It reminds me of fish tv, a popular show on cable, where people have simply put a camera in front of a fish tank the fish swim around.

Anyways, I am still reading A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin, I'll probably finish it today, maybe tomorrow. One of my favorite characters so far is Brienne the Maid of Tarth who is one ugly warrior woman. The writing is crisp and clean, it is very easy to read and enjoyable. The ironmen very much remind me of the vikings in their longships with their raiding, pillaging, and slave taking. This is really well worth reading.