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Cadmean victory

Cadmean victory (kad-MEE-uhn VIK-tuh-ree) noun

A victory won at as great cost to the victor as to the vanquished.

[After Cadmus, a Phoenician prince in Greek mythology who introduced writing to the Greeks and founded the city of Thebes. Near the site where Cadmus was to build Thebes he encountered a dragon. Even though he managed to kill the dragon, only five of his comrades survived with whom he founded the city.]

A couple of months back we looked at the term Pyrrhic victory named after Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, whose devastating losses in trying to defeat the Romans made him lament, “One more such victory and we are lost.” Today’s term Cadmean victory is a near synonym of the former. And this too is an eponym, a word or phrase coined after a person’s name whether from history or fiction.

Found a cache of stuff of my family’s… I though this was lost! I’ll be scanning them in from work tomorrow, if I do go in.

Old Letters… hard for me to read… but I’m a little groggy, and don’t want to wreck them. they’re delicate. Browned, and written in pencil. When I scan them in, I’ll post them.

This book is fantastic. 🙂

The book is organized into sections on “Chaucer’s World” (social, religious, and economic aspects of life), “The Course of Life” (birth, childhood, and adolescence, education, marriage, and old age), “The Cycles of Time” (which concludes with a calendar of the medieval year describing the festivals and events of each month), “The Living Environment” (including houses, villages, towns, and travel), “Clothing and Accessories” (including instruction for making complete medieval male and female outfits and braiding authentic medieval lace), “Arms and Armor” (which describes medieval armor from the point of view of the wearer), “Food and Drink” (featuring a selection of recipes), and “Entertainments” (songs with sheet music and instructions for authentic games and dances of the period). A chronology of medieval England, a glossary, appendixes with information and ideas on organizing a medieval event, and suggestions for further reading complete it. This is an indispensable resource…I’m really quite surprised I hadn’t stumbled over it sooner. It looks to give a true understanding of what it would actually be like to live in 14th-century England.

Now I want the whole set. Maybe Bookfoole can offer me a deal. Some of these are more interesting than others, but I’m greedy and want them all. (it looks like they’re still making more, too..a few of them aren’t’ due out until next year, and the list continues.) Considering that they’re about $50 a pop, I’m probably going to end up with all of them in my library eventually.

Daily Life During the Holocaust (Soumerai)
Daily Life During the Spanish Inquisition (Anderson)
Daily Life in 18th-Century England (Olsen)
Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (Nemet-Nejat)
Daily Life in Chaucer’s England (Singman) – This is the one I already have
Daily Life in Civil War America (Volo)
Daily Life in Colonial New England (Johnson)
Daily Life in Early Modern Japan (Perez)
Daily Life in Elizabethan England (Singman)
Daily Life in Maya Civilization (Sharer)
Daily Life in Medieval Europe (Singman)
Daily Life in Renaissance Italy (Cohen)
Daily Life in Traditional China (Benn)
Daily Life in Victorian England (Mitchell)
Daily Life in the Age of Sail (Volo)
Daily Life in the Inca Empire (Malpass)
Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1939 (Kyvig)
Daily Life in the United States, 1940-1959 (Kaledin)
Daily Life in the United States, 1960-1990 (Marty)
Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians (Brier)
Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks (Garland)
Daily Life of the Ancient Romans (Matz)
Daily Life of the Aztecs (Carrasco)
Daily Life on the Nineteenth Century American Frontier (Jones)

It’s been exactly one year today since I’ve seen a shark in Florida waters. (Last time I went surfing with my brother, too.)

A lot has happened in the last year…

I’ve met a wonderful girl, and have been seeing her steadily for nearly a year. (Folks who read my journal know this pretty well by now.)

It’s getting harder to see my brother, regularly, now that he works Sundays. (He doesn’t seem to want to get together often, either… guilty for my treating him all the time. Heck, I’m happy to share a popsicle in the park with him, as long as we can get together.)

My mom’s called to let me know she’s back from her trip to Brazil (She’s been there since I moved to this apartment…a whole season.) I have to ring her back with my new address, and a time for she, Derek and myself to get together for lunch.

I’m feeling a need to take tomorrow off from work. I wanted to skip Friday, but was needed too much. If I can pull it off, I will.

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Ahhh! Nothing says accomplishment more than having all the bills paid, groceries gathered, the house clean, and a happy orange cat in your lap as you read a good book, and watch Aliens (Alien II) on FX.

Life. Is. Good.

I have a bag of switches

[update 5:35] – I am now playing Aliens vs Predator. Hearing a space marine screaming “Game over, man! Game over!” Time to go on a bughunt.

*singing to my beloved…

If I Were

If I were a poet,
I would write a sonnet.
It would say “I love you.”
Your name would be upon it.
If I were a farmer,
I’d give you a bunny.
If I had a beehive,
You would get free honey.
Fa la la (many times)

If I were a baker,
You could have a cruller
If I were a painter,
Choose your favorite color.
If I had some diamonds,
I’d give you a few,
Anything to show you
How much I love you.
Fa la la (many times)

Did you guess my secret?
I am not a poet.
Couldn’t write a sonnet,
And I think you know it.
I am not a farmer,
Can’t give you a bunny.
I don’t have a beehive,
Sorry ’bout the honey.
Fa la la (many times)

I am not a baker,
Don’t know bread from batter.
And I am not a painter,
And it doesn’t matter.
I don’t need a present,
All I have to do
Is look at you to show you
How much I love you.
Fa la la (many times)

I love you, sweetheart…