By Ian M Banks
A fun adventure novel, Part of the Culture Series. Banks has a great imagination and loves putting his characters in amazing predicaments
Monday, February 19, 2018
Saturday, February 17, 2018
The Year of Lear
by James Shapiro
The Year of Lear is about the Year that Shakespeare wrote King Lear, Macbeth, and Anthony and Cleopatra. It covers the time that influenced these plays. Some of this has become very relevant to modern times.
In 1606 Britain was dealing with it's own fake news problem. Equivocation. Demonic possession.
There were situations where you could commit a crime and then fake demonic possession as the excuse. Your punishment would be exorcism as you couldn't be held responsible for the devils actions.
The Year of Lear explores equivocation-- lying to people but being truthful to God. For example, suppose you committed a crime in the morning. While the police investigated you, you could say "I did not commit that crime" and then under your breath say "this afternoon." There was an elaborate line of reasoning that this was acceptable in the eyes of God. This all sounds very bullshitty today. But things are different at a time when a Catholic monk could be arrested for practicing his Catholic rituals.
Then there was Guys Fawkes and the conspiracy to blow up Parliament. Its interesting how Guy Fawkes from one perspective was an independent man trying to overthrow a corrupt government. From another perspective he was a Catholic conspirator trying to return the Papacy to Britain.
The Year of Lear is about the Year that Shakespeare wrote King Lear, Macbeth, and Anthony and Cleopatra. It covers the time that influenced these plays. Some of this has become very relevant to modern times.
In 1606 Britain was dealing with it's own fake news problem. Equivocation. Demonic possession.
There were situations where you could commit a crime and then fake demonic possession as the excuse. Your punishment would be exorcism as you couldn't be held responsible for the devils actions.
The Year of Lear explores equivocation-- lying to people but being truthful to God. For example, suppose you committed a crime in the morning. While the police investigated you, you could say "I did not commit that crime" and then under your breath say "this afternoon." There was an elaborate line of reasoning that this was acceptable in the eyes of God. This all sounds very bullshitty today. But things are different at a time when a Catholic monk could be arrested for practicing his Catholic rituals.
Then there was Guys Fawkes and the conspiracy to blow up Parliament. Its interesting how Guy Fawkes from one perspective was an independent man trying to overthrow a corrupt government. From another perspective he was a Catholic conspirator trying to return the Papacy to Britain.
The Stranger in the woods. The extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
By Michael Finkel.
Chris Night was a hermit. He lived 27 years in seclusion on the North Pond in Maine.
He is a most unsatisfying hermit. For those 27 years he supplied himself by breaking in to and stealing from the cottages on the North Pond. He conducted hundreds of these B&E's before he was caught and arrested.
There may not be much "Why" behind this story. After his arrest he talked to a few writers. The most that they could get from him was that Chris wanted to be alone.
The book covers a bit of hermit history and hermit culture (Hermit Culture?!?!?) Hermits have a history, a legend perhaps, of being wise people who stay away from society to contemplate in peace. After his return to civilization, people did seek Chris out for just that. Chris made it clear that he was not a source for hermit wisdom.
There are websites dedicated to hermits. You can get access to private chat rooms if you can prove that you are a real hermit and not just a looker. That amuses me.
Chris Night was a hermit. He lived 27 years in seclusion on the North Pond in Maine.
He is a most unsatisfying hermit. For those 27 years he supplied himself by breaking in to and stealing from the cottages on the North Pond. He conducted hundreds of these B&E's before he was caught and arrested.
There may not be much "Why" behind this story. After his arrest he talked to a few writers. The most that they could get from him was that Chris wanted to be alone.
The book covers a bit of hermit history and hermit culture (Hermit Culture?!?!?) Hermits have a history, a legend perhaps, of being wise people who stay away from society to contemplate in peace. After his return to civilization, people did seek Chris out for just that. Chris made it clear that he was not a source for hermit wisdom.
There are websites dedicated to hermits. You can get access to private chat rooms if you can prove that you are a real hermit and not just a looker. That amuses me.
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