About Robin Hood

So, I read this essay by Robert Duncan titled, "The Truth and Life of Myth", which is the first essay in the book "Fictive Certainties", a book I had to read for the critical thesis this semester. The beginning of the essay has quotes from other and then elaboration from Duncan about the myth being proof of fact and not the fact the proof of myth.

Ponder that for a moment, and I'll go on with the blog entry.

I'm also dabbling, when taking time off from the critical thesis, in watching BBC's television series "Robin Hood." It is a merry time, watching the merry men outsmart the Sheriff of Nottingham. But what is more pressing, in light of the TLM essay, is the question: what truth does the myth of Robin Hood represent?

I have a copy of a version of Robin Hood on my children's books bookshelf. I got it for ten cents at the book sale at Tufts library two summers ago, when I first moved back to Mass. I read it this morning, because I had the leisure. (Eye roll. Oh God, I have so much leisure ahead of me...)

This version is very pared down and geared toward boys, because there are no women in the story whatsoever. Also, there's no Friar Tuck and no Prince John. It's by Orville Prescott from Legacy Books. In this one, Robin Hood and his men are loafers, skilled at fighting, charmingly robbing the rich and valiantly giving to the poor. They're like Dude Lebowski's but instead of being burn-out slobs from weed, they're merry and energetic from ale. Today's equivalent of those care-free hippie Bowdoin kids & Batesies, who wear their hair floppy and scruffy t shirts but drive BMWs; who go to keggers and volunteer at the food shelter, but major in finance. One day, when the world hits them, they'll stop trying to Free Tibet and instead invest in Chinese manufacturing plants or something to that effect. LUGs - but in this case I mean Liberals Until Graduation. That's what Robin Hood's merry men remind me of...

[Here is this paragraph translated into Spanish:
Esta versión es muy reducido y orientado hacia los niños, porque no hay mujeres en la historia en absoluto. Also, there's no Friar Tuck and no Prince John. Además, no hay Fray Tuck y no el Príncipe Juan. It's by Orville Prescott from Legacy Books. Es por Orville Prescott Legado de Libros. In this one, Robin Hood and his men are loafers, skilled at fighting, charmingly robbing the rich and valiantly giving to the poor. En éste, Robin Hood y sus hombres son loafers, experto en los combates, encanto, robando a los ricos y valientemente dar a los pobres. They're like Dude Lebowski's but instead of being burn-out slobs from weed, they're merry and energetic from ale. Son como Dude Lebowski, pero en lugar de burn-out slobs de la maleza, son alegre y enérgica de cerveza. Today's equivalent of those care-free hippie Bowdoin kids & Batesies, who wear their hair floppy and scruffy t shirts but drive BMWs; who go to keggers and volunteer at the food shelter, but major in finance. Hoy en día el equivalente de los cuidados libre de hippie Bowdoin, niños y Batesies, que llevarán su cabello disquete y scruffy t shirts, pero en coche BMW; que ir a keggers y voluntario en el refugio de alimentos, pero importante en las finanzas. One day, when the world hits them, they'll stop trying to Free Tibet and instead invest in Chinese manufacturing plants or something to that effect. Un día, cuando el mundo hits ellos, dejaremos tratando de Libre Tíbet y en lugar de invertir en plantas de fabricación china o algo en ese sentido. LUGs - but in this case I mean Liberals Until Graduation. LUGs - pero en este caso me refiero a los liberales hasta la graduación. That's what Robin Hood's merry men remind me of... Eso es lo Robin Hood's alegre hombres me recuerdan ... ]

Anyway, this gets me no closer to the original question of what truth the myth of Robin Hood represents. I wonder if the History Channel ever did a documentary on it, like they do with the Knights Templar and Freemasons...I bet the Robin Hood legend is tied to something like that.

During the Celtics Game...

So there I was, having the Celtics game on in the background, reading, writing, taking notes, as ever.

During commercials, I switched to NECN to see about the latet details on the train accident. This was later in the evening, about 11 PM.

When I went back to the game on ESPN, the programming thingy incorrectly said that "SportsCenter" was on instead of the (loooong) Celtics game.

And this is the cable info description for ESPN's SportsCenter:

A hip, Emmy Award winning daily scrapbook of homers, touchdowns & slam dunks.

So, I decided to make that my new blog description, simply because it is so very lame.

Yay to Celtics. Bummer about the Sox. Suct to be a Detroit anything fan tonight, eh? Take you, your octopuses, your freakish Silence of the Lambs mask, your crap baseball team and your blond rapper and stuff it in the trunk of the car that's no longer made there & instead manufactured in Japan, okay DEE-troit? Nobody likes you.

I think I need a nap. I'm a little grumpy. It's the combination of school work, work work and West Coast baseball games, all conspiring to keep me up late and wake me up early. Plus my stomach is getting all weird again. Pinchers in my intestines. Really lovely and whatnot. I'm glad I shared. Okay, anyway, I'm off to go change my blog description then go to bed.

S'laters....

Are You Effin' Serious??!!!!

A licia alerted us to the biggest bulshisse story in the history of ridiculousness:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24860437/?GT1=43001

Repost: 1984 Reverberations

The following is a repost from the old blog from when I was reading 1984 for the first time.

August 25, 2006 @ 12:20 pm ·

So, I’m at the end of the second section of 1984, and I continue to be flabbergasted by its uncanny mirroring of now. This quote struck me today. Click on the links to view full texts or for definitions, etc.

“For the secret to rulership is to combine a belief in one’s own infallibility with the power to learn from past mistakes.”

-From Chapter 1 of THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF OLIGARCHICAL COLLECTIVISM by Emmanuel Goldstein of 1984 by George Orwell

From 100 Mistakes for the President to Choose From

May 3, 2004

During a prime time press conference on April 13, President Bush was asked to name a mistake that he has made since taking office and what he has learned from it. Bush, who was unable to answer the question, admitted “maybe I’m not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with [a mistake].” But weeks later, Bush still hasn’t answered the question.

Repost: I"m Getting Married So Let's Watch a Bunch of Men Dressed as Women

This blog entry from the old blog is about the time I went to Jacques, a drag queen parlor in Boston.

August 27, 2006 @ 10:55 pm

Yeah, interesting phenomenon I discovered this past Saturday while attending Danielle’s cousin’s bachelorette party: lots of Bachelorette Parties are celebrated at Drag Shows, particularly at Jacque's Cabaret for brides-to-be of Boston.

My favorite was the (wo)man who was so blatantly masculine. At 6' 5″, 250+, the strong black (wo)man amazed the crowd with (her/-is) ability to jump in the air and land in a split while wearing a black-and-white checked patterned catsuit with fluorescent zigs and zags. Oh and, girl, where’d you get those 6-ft-long eyelashes?!! Fancy.

Most the people around me were least enthralled with Destiny, simply because that little lady had as nice or better physique than the rest of us. (Only (s)he had ever-so-fetching bulging plastic surgery scars.)

Drag Queens wear eyeshadow as blush in long dark lines to create the illusion of cheekbones, BTW.

At Jacques, the Drag Queens retrieve their dollar bills out of the bachelorette’s cleavage. Or the audience members stick the bills in the the fake boobs of the Drag Queens. It’s very strange because it’s not necessarily girl on girl action, nor is it girl on guy. It’s this limbo place, which is why—I suppose—it’s such a popular bachelorette destination. It’s ambiguity on the gender scale leads to its ambiguity on the violation of the impending monogamy of the marriage-to-be-made-later.

Anyway, social and sexual issues aside, it was a jolly good time that I highly recommend to anyone. Very funny, very fun, very unique.