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I have not gone to choir because I am coughing and sneezing and do not want to infect people. This is the fourth rehearsal I have missed so technically I am supposed to talk to, um, someone, to let me be in the concert after missing so many; but I am a tenor and they've been begging for more of us so I doubt it'll actually be an issue. (I missed one out of not realising it had started, one out of laziness, and one out of sleeping through it. Yes, it is an evening rehearsal.) I have been awake all day, it is terrible.
I have read three of my library books, here are a few comments.
The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine by Roszika Parker.
Definitely interesting. Could have done with a better editor, imho. Traces the history, and criticises the received wisdom, which is mostly Victorian construction, as per so many other things; e.g. the idea that men did the goldwork and women did the rest of the stitching was basically made up by a nineteenth century historian. Some cool things; a fourteenth-century altar cloth signed by the nun who made it; a piece by Mary, Queen of Scots which has an encoded message saying that Elizabeth has to die for Mary to thrive; the contrast between the depiction of St Margaret in medieval and Victorian times (killing the dragon vs. praying for deliverance). The bits about the different styles of stitching, I found interesting despite little knowledge of embroidery; the evolving designs, context, etc I think of general interest.
The Archimedes Codex by Reviel Netz and William Noel
Also interesting. About a thirteenth-century prayer book sold in 1998, under the text of which lies a tenth-century copy of Archimedes in Greek. It was known and studied in 1906 by Heiberg, then went missing for a while. The maths bits didn't grab me, though they're clearly and cogently explained. The parts by 'project manager' Noel are breezy and chatty, easy to read; an amazing range of people got involved. The history is interesting, generally person-centred. The science is the most interesting, for me; the science of conserving the parchment itself, and of reading the faded, sometimes obscured, text. The contrast between normal light and the processed images is pretty cool.
Normal by Amy Bloom
Annoying subtitle is annoying: Transsexual CEOs, crossdressing cops, and hermaphrodites with attitude. Basically three personal reflective essays about the author meeting groups of people 'outside the norm'; and yes, they are normal, which means some of them are dickheads. First group, FTM transsexuals; a range of personal stories, some with people you just wanted to hug; interviews with surgeons (the most amusing/worrying bit was the male surgeon not understanding why someone might choose the surgery that doesn't involve constructing an entire penis, and that he apparently started out making them nine inches long). Second group, heterosexual cross-dressers; many of them conservative, Republican, etc, trying to say it's not sexual at all, it's about accessing their inner femininity; most of the dickheads I mentioned were in this section; felt oddly sorry for one of the wives, who clearly hated it but was standing by her Baptist minister (dickhead) husband. Third group, intersexed; interesting numbers, something like one in a thousand; truly depressing stories of unnecessary surgery on babies with non-standard genitals; one doctor admitting that a lot of problems are caused by doctors thinking they know best. Generally felt I would like/approve of Ms Bloom IRL, and she has some vivid analogies, but a generally unobtrusive style.
I went to psych-man today, it was not bad, but sometimes I feel like we are repeating outselves; and just because I know something intellectually does not mean I believe it, and he seems to expect otherwise, which is just silly. Some interesting thoughts about self-narrative, how I represent myself as opposed to how others experience me, etc. And I was on time, for once.
Ugh, I have been awake All Day (since before nine in the morning!) and my nose is sore and my throat is tickly and my Lemsip is three years expired, I don't know how that happened. ETA: Now I have run out of tissues. Sigh.
I have read three of my library books, here are a few comments.
The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine by Roszika Parker.
Definitely interesting. Could have done with a better editor, imho. Traces the history, and criticises the received wisdom, which is mostly Victorian construction, as per so many other things; e.g. the idea that men did the goldwork and women did the rest of the stitching was basically made up by a nineteenth century historian. Some cool things; a fourteenth-century altar cloth signed by the nun who made it; a piece by Mary, Queen of Scots which has an encoded message saying that Elizabeth has to die for Mary to thrive; the contrast between the depiction of St Margaret in medieval and Victorian times (killing the dragon vs. praying for deliverance). The bits about the different styles of stitching, I found interesting despite little knowledge of embroidery; the evolving designs, context, etc I think of general interest.
The Archimedes Codex by Reviel Netz and William Noel
Also interesting. About a thirteenth-century prayer book sold in 1998, under the text of which lies a tenth-century copy of Archimedes in Greek. It was known and studied in 1906 by Heiberg, then went missing for a while. The maths bits didn't grab me, though they're clearly and cogently explained. The parts by 'project manager' Noel are breezy and chatty, easy to read; an amazing range of people got involved. The history is interesting, generally person-centred. The science is the most interesting, for me; the science of conserving the parchment itself, and of reading the faded, sometimes obscured, text. The contrast between normal light and the processed images is pretty cool.
Normal by Amy Bloom
Annoying subtitle is annoying: Transsexual CEOs, crossdressing cops, and hermaphrodites with attitude. Basically three personal reflective essays about the author meeting groups of people 'outside the norm'; and yes, they are normal, which means some of them are dickheads. First group, FTM transsexuals; a range of personal stories, some with people you just wanted to hug; interviews with surgeons (the most amusing/worrying bit was the male surgeon not understanding why someone might choose the surgery that doesn't involve constructing an entire penis, and that he apparently started out making them nine inches long). Second group, heterosexual cross-dressers; many of them conservative, Republican, etc, trying to say it's not sexual at all, it's about accessing their inner femininity; most of the dickheads I mentioned were in this section; felt oddly sorry for one of the wives, who clearly hated it but was standing by her Baptist minister (dickhead) husband. Third group, intersexed; interesting numbers, something like one in a thousand; truly depressing stories of unnecessary surgery on babies with non-standard genitals; one doctor admitting that a lot of problems are caused by doctors thinking they know best. Generally felt I would like/approve of Ms Bloom IRL, and she has some vivid analogies, but a generally unobtrusive style.
I went to psych-man today, it was not bad, but sometimes I feel like we are repeating outselves; and just because I know something intellectually does not mean I believe it, and he seems to expect otherwise, which is just silly. Some interesting thoughts about self-narrative, how I represent myself as opposed to how others experience me, etc. And I was on time, for once.
Ugh, I have been awake All Day (since before nine in the morning!) and my nose is sore and my throat is tickly and my Lemsip is three years expired, I don't know how that happened. ETA: Now I have run out of tissues. Sigh.
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Way to miss the whole point, Mr Man. If it was that bloody easy we wouldn't need therapy.
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