Category Archives: Myth & Legend

Echoes of Wuruyaaria

Still reading Lucian, and came across a great new-to-me Greek verb: ὠρύομαι (oh-ROO-o-mai). It means (and sounds like) “to howl” (as a wolf or dog). It comes up in conversation between Hermes, who is conducting a party of ghosts to … Continue reading

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“Ixnay on the Ocodilecray!” Lucian Against the Paradoctors

I’ve been reading a lot of Lucian lately, for reasons that are difficult to explain; maybe I’ll write something about that when I figure it out. But I am finding that he reads better in Greek than he does in … Continue reading

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Et Thew, Brute?

Some discussion of thews and thewbilation in the Sword and Sorcery Tavern on Discord made me curious about the etymology of thew. I consulted my friend, the democratic AHD, and it hit me in the face with this. Did not … Continue reading

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October 23: The Day of Might

At the Fortress of Engitude, we’re celebrating the Day of Might, proclaimed by the late, unceasingly great Howard Jones as a day for celebrating sword and sorcery, heroic fantasy, and heroic fiction generally.

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This Means Snore: THE WAR OF THE ROSES by William Adler

I’ve never seen the Danny De Vito film The War of the Roses (1989). It came out during the first Christmas season that I celebrated with my first wife and my first child. I had lots of things to occupy … Continue reading

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Deus Ex Homine: Brackett’s THE SWORD OF RHIANNON and Zelazny’s ISLE OF THE DEAD

I’ve been following with interest Steven Silver’s great series of reviews of the Tor Double books at the Black Gate. His latest, scrupulously fair, review of Brackett’s The Sword of Rhiannon+de Camp’s Divide and Conquer reminded me of one of … Continue reading

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Dumkupf vs. Laocoön

A cartoon from an old (1927-vintage) issue of The New Yorker. It made me smile, even though it’s probably supposed to appeal to class and ethnic biases. “Look, my dear friend Amaryllis Partington-Smith-Symythe-Vanderbilt-Smythington-Smyth–a banausic of foreign abstraction, decorating his shop-window … Continue reading

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Bookalanche!

Past Me is sometimes a deadly enemy. For instance, he only left me two pieces of pizza from the other night so that I could celebrate the first day of True Summer with the Breakfast of Champions–cold pizza and hot … Continue reading

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“I’m Unavailable.”

The Dudley Moore Trio, which I did not know was a thing, plays an instrumental version of “Bedazzled”.

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Dial D for Diogenes

Reading Diogenes Laertius through for the 1st time. Before I’d only read specific bios, like his account of Diogenes the Cynic. DL seems to be agnostic regarding philosophic schools, interested in philosophy more from a historical and literary point of … Continue reading

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