grex, gregis. n.

Everyone knows that a bunch of crows is a murder and that owls gather in parliaments, but did you know that . . .

turkeys come in rafters?
rhinoceros (-oi?) come in crashes?
hippopotami come in bloats?
giraffes congregate in towers?
a group of rattlesnakes is a rumba?
....
or that Dori nearly died in a smack of jellyfish?

Things to do before I die, part 2.

Last time we addressed this subject, I wanted to fly. This time, I just want to stay on the trail:

Known as the “Number One Precipitous Mountain under Heaven”, Mount Huashan proudly lives up to its reputation through its incredibly dangerous hiking trail. That’s what you have to keep in mind if you plan to tackle this beast: Huashan Trail is not about mountain-climbing but hiking. As such, you don’t get to use special equipment that could save your life - it’s just you, the mountain and if you think ahead, a pair of gloves.

Doesn't it sound like a blast?

Copiousness

co·pi·ous \kō-pē-əs\: adjective
1a: yielding something abundantly b: plentiful in number 2a: full of thought, information, or matter b: profuse or exuberant in words, expression, or style 3: present in large quantity: taking place on a large scale

To fill yourself with matter, to provide the substance which may in future be yielded abundantly, may I suggest the following website: www.veryshortlist.com.

Every weekday, a 300-word-max email will be delivered to your inbox enlightening you on some aspect of our life, or bringing some obscure piece of art to light. My favorite so far: this page of paper cut-out models.

Dragon-spawn

A few bits from a paper I just wrote on Euripides' Bacchae. Maybe you'll be interested.

~~~~~

Commentators have remarked on Pentheus’s early interest in Dionysian ritual, even as he voices opposition to Dionysus and imprisons the Maenads. This conflict makes sense if we understand Pentheus’s relationship to the history of the city. Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, killed a dragon and scattered its teeth into the earth. Echion, Pentheus's father, was born from the teeth, so Pentheus is, in a manner of speaking, part dragon. But Pentheus's mother, Agave, is the daughter of Cadmus Dragon-killer. Half-dragon, half-dragonslayer -- Pentheus is a divided man. In reality, Pentheus has always been part-Dionysian, which is why he succumbs to Dionysus. Peter Leithart notes that the temptation “only works . . . because Pentheus is already inclined to follow Dionysus’ instructions.” And Pentheus’s tendencies are forshadowed in the epithet “dragon-born.”

One passage that seems unfair is the curse pronounced on Cadmus at the end of the play. Dionysus praises Cadmus at the beginning of the play for making a shrine to Semele; Cadmus has been telling the city that Dionysus is indeed the son of Zeus, and Cadmus is one of the few men in the city to acknowledge him as a god. By normal standards, Cadmus has been faithful to his grandson the god. But he must be punished for two reasons. First, he is still the dragon-killer. Fundamentally, he is still opposed to the gods, and he is responsible in a way for his grandson: the messenger who relates Pentheus’s death arrives mourning, “This house founded by Cadmus, the stranger from Sidon who sowed the dragon seed in the land of the snake.”
In addition, Cadmus’s transformation into a snake represents the fate of the city itself. As founder of Thebes, Cadmus can be seen as a type of the whole city, and at the end of the story Dionysus reigns in the city. Thebes has become a Dionysian, and Cadmus has become the god’s symbol. But Cadmus is now more than a symbol – in a manner reminiscent of Oddyseus’ penance as an “evangelist” of Poseidon, Cadmus is sent out into the world to continue Dionysus’ work. He will lead barbarians, easterners like Dionysus himself, into Greece – and he will bring them in war (Ares’ domain, now usurped by Dionysus).