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Thursday, October 24, 2013

There's been a hiatus...

...and will be for a bit longer, I'm afraid. Because of two interrelated factors:

1. Personal reasons.

2. The next book I plan to do is Moby-Dick. I'd never read it before I decided that its famous first sentence was worth a look; now I am reading it, it staggers me that I wasted the last thirty-six years of my life failing to read that wild, warm, wonderful, bizarre and beautiful work. I don't know what was wrong with me. Happily, I am in the process of correcting that deplorable absence. The thing is, it's a long book. An extremely long book. And being as wonderful as it is, I'm not going to spoil this first read by rushing it. So unless I can scrape up the time or inspiration to do something else in the meantime - any suggestions, go ahead - it'll have to wait till I've finished it.

If you're short of reading material till then, I suggest you try Moby-Dick. It is fantastic.

13 comments:

  1. I hope you're enjoying Moby-Dick. Amazing, wonderful work.

    I've no idea if you enjoy listening to music while reading, or considering the music of the time, place or activity associated with a book, but just in case, here's a list of whaling songs from Melville's time, along with a few more general nautical songs of the period. (Sea Chanties are an interest of mine.)

    I initially put it together for a friend who was leading a discussion Moby-Dick for a group of senior citizens. You may be able to find much of the music available online, although possibly not from the artists I cited for my friend.

    Here's the list:
    The Diamond
    (Dramtreeo, “Waterside”)
    also known as
    The Bonny Ship the Diamond
    (The Jolly Rogues, “Captain Billy’s Privateers”)

    Down to Old Mohee
    (Wikipedia has one set of lyrics under that name)
    Maui (Dramtreeo, “Dramtreeo”)
    Rollin’ Down to Old Maui
    (Oak, Ash, and Thorn, “Out on a Limb”)

    Farewell to Tarwathie
    (Dramtreeo, “3”)

    Blow ye winds, hi-ho / ‘Tis advertised in Boston
    (The Jolly Rogues, “Captain Billy’s Privateers”)

    The Greenland Whale Fishery
    (The Jolly Rogues, “Captain Billy’s Privateers”)

    And here are a couple of nautical songs of the period,
    "The Mingulay Boat Song,"
    "Fiddler's Green" (lyrics on Wikipedia)
    and "Strike the Bell."

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  2. That's very interesting, thank you!

    The blog is going to remain on hiatus for some time, I fear, as the personal reasons are proving to be really very substantial. Sorry to anyone who's disappointed by that. I'll see what I can do, but there is major stuff going on - nothing that has to do with my writing or the blog, just personal stuff - that's rocketed to the top of my priority list and isn't going away any time soon.

    ReplyDelete
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  4. القضاء علي البق بالريحان
    طريقة القضاء علي البراغيث في المنزل
    ستعمال البهارات للتخلص من الحشرات الزاحفة
    كلنا نقوم باستعمال البهارات في أغراض طهي الغذاء سوى أننا لم نفكر يوما أن تلك البهارات قد توفر علينا العديد من المال لشراء سلع طرد الحشرات والتي لا تجدي نفعا فمثلا يعاون الفلفل الأسود في القضاء على الفئران بواسطة وضعه في الأماكن التي تختبئ بها وعلى الفور ترحل عن البيت ولن ترجع له مكررا ايضا فإن “عشبه الشيح” تعاون في طرد “الأبراص” وأما “النمل” فيمكن بخ اليسير من القرفة على أماكن تواجده لمنعه من الرجوع مرة أخرى.



    سد جميع الثقوب والفتحات المتواجدة بالبيت
    تعتبر جميع الأساليب الماضية فعالة في القضاء على جميع أشكال الحشرات الزاحفة ولكن إذا واصلت الإشكالية فبالتأكيد أن هناك فتحات أو ثقوب تعاون على عودتها مكررا ويمكن سدها باستعمال “مادة الأسمنت” أو “الطوب الحليب” لأن الحشرات تتخذ من تلك الأماكن بيوتا لها فتنمو على نحو سريع وإذا واجهتم أي إشكالية أخرى اتصلوا لحظيا بمؤسسة الأجود فنحن نمتلك افضل مؤسسة مكافحة حشرات بالدمام ولدينا أجدد الأجهزة التي تعاون في القضاء على الحشرات الزاحفة في ساعات ضئيلة لاغير وبأقل التكليفات.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am Enjoying Moby-Dick

    ReplyDelete




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