Wednesday Media Consumption Roundup

[mousetrappling]

Books

Fiction: Still reading "The Dark is Rising Sequence" Susan Cooper - I'm into the last of the 5 books now. I'd forgotten how much the books actually talk about how the Light might be Good but it's not necessarily comfortable or friendly. There was also a bit that seemed suddenly topical (as well as, of course, topical for 1977 when originally published), where the protagonist is reflecting on a bit of racist bullying he/his family had intervened to stop: "The mindless ferocity of this man, and all those like him, their real loathing born of nothing more solid than insecurity and fear ... it was a channel. [...] the channel down which the powers of the Dark, if they gained their freedom, could ride in an instant to complete control of the earth."

Non-fiction: Still reading "The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East", Robert Fisk - reading about the astonishing increase in cancer amongst the populations in Iraq who live where depleted uranium weapons were used. And how this was made more devastating by the sanctions & the refusal of the US & her allies to admit any culpability.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: The Two Gentlemen of Verona Act 2 Scene7, Act 3 Scenes 1-2, Act 4 Scene 1 - Julia decides to go to Verona, Proteus acts to remove his rivals for Silvia's love (still no idea what Silvia thinks), and Valentine joins with the bandits as a sort of Robin Hood because they were looking for an erudite young man to lead them (!? this kinda came out of nowhere).

Listening

Podcasts: ep 177-196 of The History of England - the later parts of the Wars of the Roses, Edward IV who so nearly settles the whole thing down, Richard III who opens the wounds again (and catastrophically so for York), the Princes in the Tower! And now onto scene setting for the Tudors with the state of Europe at the time (which reminds me to learn about Russian & Spanish history some day) and the state of England.

Sunday Podcast: ep 27 & 28 of Living with the Gods - societies which attempted to run without religion (the French & Russian Revolutions) and how that failed to satisfy people's need for community (because it was imposed from the top down I suspect rather than just coz people like having a religion per se). And the outlawing of minority religions (like Christianity in Japan), mostly as a way for authoritarian states to demonstrate their authority.

Music: While running I listened to Wham's greatest hits & The Cure's greatest hits. To drown out a film J was watching (so I could write) I listened to Belly "Dove", and the third disc of "Best of the Eighties CD3" which had a track by someone called Belouis Some on it (and it turned out I did know it despite recognising neither band nor title (Imagination)).

Talk: "A Middle Kingdom Mortuary Ritual Reflected in Writing" Ilona Regulski - looking at what just a couple of pieces of papyrus discovered at Asyut can tell us about the religious beliefs & practices of the Middle Kingdom. Particularly interesting were the many layers of metaphor in the text written on these pieces, and also that she could build up a picture of how the text was added to over time & how many different scribes wrote bits of it by looking at the handwriting & the alterations to the text.

Watching

The Story of Skinhead with Don Letts - tracing the origins of skinhead style & culture as part of the fusion between black/Jamaican and white culture that also produced Ska. And its subsequent co-option by the far right from which it became the visual style of racist white youth. But also how some people are still skinheads in the old sense and so the better aspects of the movement are still there (tho I wasn't really sold on the idea that this was really anything more than a bunch of older people desperately trying to turn back the tide of a changed culture).

ep 3 of Africa: A Journey Into Music - this one was about Mali, which managed I think to be rather more optimistic about the ongoing conflict there than is warranted by the actual situation. A good series overall, gave us a glimpse into some different musical cultures with some stuff I knew and some I didn't.

ep 4 of Africa's Greatest Civilisations - also about Mali & West Africa during roughly the 14th/15th Centuries. Including, of course, Mansa Musa - a king so rich he could destabilise a city's economy just by tipping the people he met.

ep 1 of Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2017: The Language of Life - Sophie Scott giving this year's lectures & talking about language. This episode covered using sound to communicate in a broad sense, how ears work, what sort of sounds animals use etc. This lecture series is aimed at kids, but it didn't feel dumbed down.

World Cup Football - saw some of the last of the group stage (Japan vs. Poland 0-1 and a bit of a damp squib; England vs. Belgium 0-1 and just as well we didn't need to win). Watched most of the first round of the knockout stage, just missed Sunday's matches and the afternoon one yesterday. So saw: France vs. Argentina (4-2), Uruguay vs. Portugal (2-1), Brazil vs. Mexico (2-0), Belgium vs. Japan (3-2, poor Japan :/) and of course England vs. Colombia where I'm sure you're aware that we won the penalty shootout 4-3 which is historic on several levels and the best England have done in the World Cup for a long while. I'm pessimistic about Saturday, it has to be said ... tho I haven't seen any of Sweden's games so maybe I shouldn't be.