Friday, September 18, 2009

“What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful”

If I had to pick between ancient Greeks and Romans I'd definitely say I'm a Hellanophile because I usually get a bitter taste in my mouth when I think about the Romans (if you really want to know why, ask me in person so I don't have to bore the rest of you). One thing they had going for them though was that they had more apparent respect for women than the Greeks did. And the Etruscans liked them even more! Here're some evidences from art:
First of all, this fresco shows a woman who apparently learned to read and write. Literacy in women was rare in the ancient world. Aside from Sappho, I'm unaware of many Greek women being allowed to learn to write (this fresco is actually sometimes called the "Sappho Fresco" even though it's from Pompeii).
Here's another fresco from Pompeii, this one a portrait of the people that lived in the house where it was found. Not only was the woman depicted literate, she was shown in equal status with her husband, something ancient Greek women were rarely shown as (there's a whole 'nother story to discuss when you mention Penelope, so let's not for now and just say Homer was the exception in Greek views on women).
This is an Etruscan sarcophagus that shows a husband and wife eating together. Greek women were not even allowed in the same room as men during mealtimes (unless they were prostitutes/dancers there to entertain) let alone lie with them on the same couch. Kudos to the Etruscans.
And here's just a nice Etruscan frieze that shows a husband and wife together. I believe this is from a tomb/funerary memorial/sarcophagus, so you could possibly say that this couple wanted to be together after death, which is sweet.

The quote in the title is by Sappho, since we're talking of ancient women.

Monday, September 14, 2009

My Feet are Cold

Autumn is descending like a low cloud on the mountains.
And I am glad.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Shaun the Sheep

I'm sort of in love with this show:

Too bad viewing is limited outside the UK :(

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Blue Skies

Do you like the new look? Summer's officially over I think (well, not the season, but the freedom certainly is) so I thought I'd go for something a little less summer-y. And I took that picture :)
So I found this preview for a movie I think looks kind of cool. The thing is, the only way to watch it (it's 45 minutes...only.) is by buying the special version of this random band's newest album. I'm still working out whether or not it means that much to me (since I don't really know the band or the music, though I like the song in the preview), but if I decide to buy it, you're welcome to borrow it if this tickles your fancy:

Also, a feel nerdy because I'm sort of really excited about these? Think of it...you could give people bread and stuff and never have to worry about them giving your pans back or feeling lame because you just gave it to them in a giant ziploc bag! Wow, I am a nerd. But I'm really getting excited for giving people bread. Haha!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Breakfaaaast...

With my lack of anything to do, I've lately been really wanting to get back into one of my favorite things to do-- cooking. But I have no one to cook for, and admittedly (at present), not a lot of money to be buying fancy ingredients.
This morning, however, I was perusing the many food blogs I subscribe to, and found an article about how to make the perfect poached egg. I tried the vortex method about a year ago to very unfortunate results, but I have now found a method I'd really like to try.
Now imagine this: fresh wheat bread lightly toasted and buttered, topped with a slice of tomato and a few leaves of spinach sauteed in olive oil, and the poached egg sprinkled with sea salt and pepper. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! And I don't even like tomatoes. Maybe a couple slices of bacon for added protein. But man. Maybe I'll go make that wheat bread right now since I have a recipe I know is great.
Does anybody want to help me eat?

Note: Apparently this method of poaching an egg is the most common...don't know how I missed the memo!

Oh, and kudos if anyone can guess what the title of the post is quoting. And I'll be surprised if you get it.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Terrible, Horrible

Please enjoy this lovely find:

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

It's a Walk in the Park

I'm not a parent, but I spend a lot of time with little kids (nephew, niece, and a little guy I just started babysitting) and I can appreciate how not always easy it is corralling/whatever them. But kids are really a lot of fun. Monday afternoon I went with Megan and the kids to Vivian Park up the canyon for a "picnic" (Burger King dollar menu) and some fun. It was incredibly windy. Nathan (for some reason) hates wind, so that was interesting, but even more interesting was watching Megan run all over the grass picking up stuff that got blown away. Here are some pictures from the excursion:
Megan; not actually holding a white ball-- I was just trying to reduce "Cleavage City" as she called it, but I think this picture is super cute so I had to include it.
Nathan with awesome hair. Like I said, it was windy.
All going down at the same time! Nathan enjoyed it, but I'm not sure Rylie did.