South: the Endurance Expedition by Ernest Shackleton

"Although there have been a number of new books and reprints recently focusing on the Endurance expedition, this is the one book everyone should read, Sir Ernest Shackleton's own story of the tragedy he turned into a triumph. Shackleton fully covers the expedition from its inception, through the loss of the Endurance, the stranding of the men on desolate Elephant Island, the majestic small-boat journey in search of rescue to South Georgia, the many attempts to evacuate the men from Elephant Island, and the little-known story of the Ross Sea Party of the expedition, who established a base on the opposite side of the Antarctic continent to lay depots for the planned Antarctic crossing and in spite of horrible deprivation caused when their ship was swept out to sea in a storm, managed to complete all their work laying the groundwork for a trip that never happened. After rescuing his men on Elephant Island, Shackleton had to rescue this party as well, something pretty much ignored in most modern books about the expedition. Very much worth reading; also read "Heart of the Antarctic," Shackleton's book about his earlier expedition.' - from reader review by Susan Paxton

Oxen of the Sun

I can't help but wonder what the lesson of this episode is, given that Odysseus' men were starving when they were forced to eat the oxen belonging to the sun god, Helios Hyperion. To make matters worse, Odysseus failed to share with them some crucial information before landing on Thrinacia - namely, the prophecy given to him by Teiresias, the blind seer, that foretold their doom. One assumes that some of the men might have shown more restraint if they had known ahead of time that such sacrilege against the god was predicted in advance. As with the prior calamity involving Scylla and Charybdis, there are no easy solutions to certain, messy situations. Given the rift that has emerged between Odysseus and his crew, he has reason to be careful about the information he shares with them, lest by telling them all the bitter truth, he incite them to mutiny and parricide. They have learned the hard way, and perhaps hold this fact against him that Odysseus cannot always guarantee his crew's safety and well-being; his needs, desires, inclinations run contrary to theirs - even to the point of making their lives expendable.

Oceanos

In Book 11 of Homer's Odyssey, Oceanos was that far-off region at the edge of the known earth - home of the Cimmerians - where Odysseus went to commune with the spirits of the dead. I imagine Oceanos as a portal of some sort to the underworld (Hades) where among the souls of the departed, Odysseus would encounter Elpenor (his hapless crew member), Teiresias, the blind Theban seer, Anticleia (his mother), Agamemnon (embittered and misogynistic over Clytemnestra's treachery), Achilles (sullenly nostalgic and bored out of his mind for all eternity) and more importantly Hercules - his role model. Theseus and Perithous were no shows.

Circe's Island

In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus must rescue his crew from the the charms of the wily goddess and sorceress, Circe, who has turned his men into swine. After resisting Circe's "magic" (i.e. withstanding her powerful drugs, chewing the sacred moly that Hermes has provided, and avoiding the  fate of emasculation that might have befallen him) Odysseus finally capitulates to her charms, and ends up spending an entire year with her, languishing in her pleasure palace, enervated by rest and idleness until once again he is reminded of his prime directive to return home. Compared to his previous encounters with giants and cannibals (the Cyclops, the Laistrygonians) offering harrowing examples of savage inhospitality, this episode represents the opposite extreme of danger via seduction. A much needed respite, some would say, when compared with the earlier narrow escapes, but nevertheless, a form of refuge/languor which in retrospect seems like a waste of time. What to make of all this? Does not this visit to Circe's island remain for us modern readers a potent symbol... of human frailty (always choosing the easy path)... a lesson on sloth... complacency... addiction to the status quo? A warning against growing prosperous and stale? A parable about how time waits for no man; there is no stopping, no slowing down in life. Indeed. Perhaps. We all know about "endless summer," "extended holiday" and "being on sabbatical."  I can't help but wonder, nevertheless, about this constant temptation-to-vegetate and how prevalent (even all-pervasive) it is without our realizing it - under the guise of some productive "routine" or "outlet." What follows next may appear on first glance as an exercise in sheer hyperbole on my part or else I had a really bad day yesterday and I'm just venting, but tell me if at least part of it doesn't ring true or at least echo within the realm of plausibility...At such a time as now, when the old opinions, customs and traditions continue to fade, when the normal rules don't so much apply anymore and our somewhat open-ended, "anything goes," "let's-play-tennis-without-a-net" morality is slowly but surely unraveling the fabric of our common quilt... in this crazy mixed up 24/7 hall-of-mirrors (news-cycle that is) where up is down, left is right, the center cannot hold, the tragic is comical, the comical is tragical, where essentials are forgotten and trivia remembered, where publicity hounds are fawned over and the wise remain silent, where millions (of average folks and celebrities alike) are hyped-up or strung-out on some aspect of life (nothing unfamiliar here) depending on the season or else take medication as prescribed by their physician...where magic is sought for not only in pills, but in diets, in clothing, in homes, in vacations, in shopping channels, in food mags, in gold, in stocks, on Facebook, on cruise ships, through oracular pronouncements by trendy motivational speakers, in gadgetry, in flashy "online connections"; in such a world where "work," "labor" and especially "toil" have become passe - unless they bring with them big perks, where people keep pace with their relentless schedules by living vicariously through their children or else go in search of R&R in a demi-monde of their own making, (with emphasis here on the aforementioned artifice) then do restless, aimless, albeit exquisite pleasure-seeking and hedonism become the sine qua non, the  sole raison-d'etre of individuals who resist more austere, demanding, ascetic-minded quests, who conceive for themselves no higher, arduous elusive spiritual goals. In such a milieu, the mildest inconveniences are experienced as excruciating pains. Our collective sensitivity index evokes howls and shrieks of outrage as long as there remains some iota of difficulty that is not being dealt with, that is not shrinking, subsiding, fading from view. Even amid the ongoing shake-up (the lay-offs, the displacements, the downsizings) within the general economy, with people struggling to find work or maintain their old career paths, I discern an attitude of lethargy, torpor, fatigue, distraction, stupefaction mingled with levity in the general discourse (ruled over as it is by stand-up comedians) which I hence refer to as the "Circe's island" of culture. Here on this island, people stretch out, yawn, recline and whisper to themselves "oh what's the use....let just stay numb." The more serious and dire our situation becomes, the more desperately people cling to the glitter, the facade, the confetti of the circus tent. Okay. I'm done. Life goes on. Tomorrow is another day.

Time Capsule - May, 2012

"Duck" Dunn, famous bass guitar player, has died. Nicolas Sarkozy is out of office in France. Angela Merkel is on the ropes in Germany. Financial crisis continues in Spain and Greece. Analysts fear a panic "run" on Greek banks. Fighting continues in Syria. JPMorgan is being sued. Wall Street is still over 12,000 - amid all this. The President has publicly revealed his support for same-sex marriage. The 4th installment of Robert Caro's new biography on LBJ (The Passage of Power) is available (#1 on NYTimes bestseller list). 50 Shades of Grey is the #1 bestseller fiction. (Don't ask...) Rupert Murdoch's media empire is sinking faster than expected. Mark Zuckerberg just turned 28 (years old); his Facebook empire is now worth 100 billion in assets. (But is it a good investment or a passing fad? They're debating that on the financial pages.) The budget crisis in California continues to loom large. Governor Jerry Brown is forced to propose massive budget cuts. Celtics are in the second round of the play-offs against the Sixers. The Red Sox may be turning the corner - riding a 5-game win streak. There's a blazing forest fire still raging in Arizona. The John Edwards' trial is dragging on as well (do they have to publicize this train wreck?). The Oprah network is in trouble. Dr. Oz has a show. The (Marvel) Avengers film is setting records at the box office. How does that compare to Hunger Games? Will the Dark Knight be able to compete? Mad Men is still the talk of the town...Rush Limbaugh has lambasted his numerous critics while being inducted into the "Hall of Famous Missourians." (True story.) Levon Helm has also died - along with Vidal Sassoon, Maria Trejo, April Kauffman, Carl Beane, Maurice Sendak, Carlos Fuentes and Mike Wallace. There's a sniper in Mississippi who pulls people over driving what appears to be an "unmarked police car." The sandwich is celebrating its 250th birthday.

"The Vanity of Human Wishes"

Let Observation with extensive View,
Survey Mankind, from China to Peru;
Remark each anxious Toil, each eager Strife,
And watch the busy Scenes of crouded Life;
Then say how Hope and Fear, Desire and Hate,
O'er spread with Snares the clouded Maze of Fate,
Where wav'ring Man, betray'd by vent'rous Pride,
To tread the dreary Paths without a Guide;
As treach'rous Phantoms in the Mist delude,
Shuns fancied Ills, or chases airy Good.
How rarely Reason guides the stubborn Choice,
Rules the bold Hand, or prompts the suppliant Voice,
How Nations sink, by darling Schemes oppres'd,
When Vengeance listens to the Fool's Request.
Fate wings with ev'ry Wish th' afflictive Dart,
Each Gift of Nature, and each Grace of Art,
With fatal Heat impetuous Courage glows,
With fatal Sweetness Elocution flows,
Impeachment stops the Speaker's pow'rful Breath,
And restless Fire precipitates on Death..."
- from "The Vanity of Human Wishes" by Samuel Johnson

COMPARE WITH THE FOLLOWING:

"In all the lands that stretch from Gades to the Ganges and the Morn, there are but few who can distinguish true blessings from their opposites, putting aside the mists of error. For when does Reason direct our desires or our fears? What project do we form so auspiciously that do not repent us of our effort and of the granted wish?     Whole households have been destroyed by the compliant Gods in answer to the masters' prayers; in camp and city alike we ask for things that will be our ruin. Many a man has met death from the rushing flood of his own eloquence; others from the strength and wondrous thews in which they have trusted. More still have been ruined by money too carefully amassed, and by fortunes that surpass all patrimonies by as much as the British whale exceeds the dolphin. It was for this that in the dire days Nero ordered Longinus  and the great gardens of the over-wealthy Seneca to be put under siege; for this was it that the noble Palace of the Laterani  was beset by an entire cohort; it is but seldom that soldiers find their way into a garret! Though you carry but few silver vessels with you in a night journey, you will be afraid of the sword and cudgel of a freebooter, you will tremble at the shadow of a reed shaking in the moonlight; but the empty-handed traveller will whistle in the robber's face." - from Juvenal, Satire #10

Metroland by Julian Barnes

I've been wanting to sample a novel by Julian Barnes - and this one looks semi-promising despite the conflicted opinions of several readers online who give the book a qualified endorsement with various provisos and caveats.