In Which Chunklets Takes Up New Media

Yes. Yes, I did. And now back to work.

Blowing Off The Dust

Wow... nearly a full month's worth of absence!

So what's new, you ask? Well, I have a new crop of Latin students, possibly as many as 12(!) when everything gets settled and sorted out. So far, they seem to be quite promising, and willing to participate, and all those good things!

And, of course, the big news. I have decided to switch gears academically, and pursue more closely the technical side of archaeology. So, there's a lot of research being done right now on Museum Studies and related programs. Not much to report on that front so far, but there's a promising looking program at the University in His Majesty's Town (the one by the big river out East). We will see what transpires with that; it will require me to bone up on my organic chemistry and, interestingly, learn "darkroom techniques."

Anyway, expect more here! There's lots to get caught up on...

And Yet Another Picture Of Nefertiti!

Oh come now, you knew I was going to do that eventually...

Anyway, Nefertiti, who lived during the 14th century B.C., was the consort of the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, who later changed his name to Akenhaton. Were it not for the famous bust shown above (now on display in Berlin), she would likely be known mostly for being the mother-in-law and stepmother of Tutankhamen.

And so here, some 3350 or so years on, is another video of her namesake (this is the video to which Chorus refers in the comments below)! Incidentally, the original Nefertiti is described in an inscription from Karnak as "Possessed of Charm, Exuding Happiness, Mistress of Sweetness, beloved one,... soft-spoken in all." Ok, the last one maybe not so much, but the first four definitely apply to the little kittoon as well!

The Saga Continues...

Apologies for the shakiness of the camera in this one!

More from Nefertiti

Oh, I don't think there's going to be any shortage of blogging material this week!

Hey, get back here! * chases down and tackles *

Anyway, here's the kitten dealing with her fiercest nemesis - a wadded-up paper towel (and also the curtains).

Pictures!!!!!!!!

Behold, pictures of a cat! The cat is named Nefertiti, and she is about four months old. And you had better believe that there will be more pictures in the days to come (as always, click on the pictures to make them larger)!

A Milestone And Some Other Stuff!

Dydd-Llun, Dydd-Mawrth, Dydd-Mercher, Dydd-Iau, Dydd-Gwener, Dydd-Sadwrn, Dydd-Sul.

And what are those? Well, if you guessed "the days of the week in Welsh," then good for you! That makes Welsh, I believe, the only living language which has retained the old pagan Roman system of naming the days of the week in its entirety! In Latin, they were:

Dies Lunae, Dies Martis, Dies Mercurii, Dies Iovis, Dies Veneris, Dies Saturni, Dies Solis.

It's worth noting that Cornish and Breton also maintained the pagan Roman system, while the other Celtic languages (Irish, Manx, and Scots Gaelic) had adopted some of the Christian tradition. Cornish and Breton are, of course, no longer living languages.

All this, by the way, is courtesy of one of my students. I gave them my "Roman Calendar" spiel yesterday, and today discovered that she'd sent me a long and interesting e-mail about the Celtic languages and their days of the week. I do like it when they get into what I'm talking about!

In other news, this is the 100th post on this blog! So, to celebrate, have some 100th-post-suitable music:

In Which We Find August Company

Well, this is nice! Commenting on the whole CCF vs. Gencon story is this blog! And, in the middle of their commenting, we find the following (emphasis all mine):

"Because if you don’t take the check, and you can’t come up with a more sensible rationale than “we didn’t want people associating our charity with role-playing gamers”, a lot of people who would otherwise view your charity in a good light are going to ask what the hell is wrong with you. They are going to ask this of you directly and ask their friends, in public and online, at Daily Kos, the Gen Con forums, Pharyngula, RichardDawkins.net, Wizards of the Coast, RPG.net, Live Game Auctions, Giant in the Playground, Steve Jackson Games, Purple Pawn, De Koboldorum Rebus, Unscrewing the Inscrutable, ad infinitum."

Wowzers! And thank you!

Funny!

A large fez-tip to the friend of mine who pointed out this site to me! There's some very funny stuff there; for example, check out Hamlet as told through the medium of Facebook status updates!

Amo, Amas, Amat, And So On

Another September, another group of bright young undergraduates yearning to be Latinists. Well, perhaps "yearning" is a bit strong, at least in some cases. Anyway, I met with my new group for the first time yesterday, and they seem promising. I've officially got 30, of whom 27 showed up yesterday, along with one fellow who wasn't on my class list on account of late registration. So it's a full class, which is nice. The students showed a willingness to come forward and volunteer answers, which is also a good thing.

One interesting thing came up yesterday. One of my "first class" exercises is involves giving the students the sentence "Latin is a(n)_______________ language" and asking them to fill in the blank. Then we discuss concepts like "dead," "Indo-European," and "inflected." Well, one of the suggestions offered up yesterday was "snobby." I sigh heavily at this point, but not in the direction of the particular student who gave that answer. I know exactly where he's coming from; I have had people accuse me, to my face, of arrogance and "elitism" based merely on the fact that I teach Latin. The perceived "snobbishness" of Latin has been used as a weapon to attack its inclusion in the modern curriculum, and if you wish to see that line of reasoning joyfully and deliciously beaten to a pulp, then I recommend Peter Jones' essay "Primal Scream," published in his book An Intelligent Person's Guide to Classics. The battle against the idea of "Latin as snobbery" has not been won yet, but I set out each September to do my bit.

On the other hand, the omens are good. As I mentioned some time ago, I've been tutoring a woman who is now teaching Latin at a local High School. At her first Grade 10 Latin class this past Tuesday, she had more than 35 students. This, I think, is a good thing!

Hum-De-Dum

Postin' links, postin' links...

"Mysterious Decapod Explosion"

I have added the excellent Cowboys for Social Responsibility to the link list for two reasons:

1. They're excellent. I think I mentioned that.
2. They publish the wonderful "Ponoka Police Blotter," written by an RCMP officer who obviously enjoys his/her job quite a lot! This edition is one of my favourites.

Enjoy!

In Lieu of Doing Real Work...

...I'm posting links. Enjoy.

Somewhere, Deep in the Kobold Warrens...

Possibly a Kobold Warren. Possibly not.

* Removes electrodes, pokes blog with stick * "Hey you, wake up!"

Yes, gentle readers, herein you will, all being well, find a shambling Frankenstein's monster of repartee, thought, lack of thought, observation, shortsightedness, permutation, &c. &c. Occasionally, we will touch base with the real world, which should alarm all concerned.

* Goes to the store for more commas *

Anyway, my nom d'internet is Chunklets. Pleased to meetcha, and I hope you'll stop back here again sometime!