Writers, Lecturers, History, Aeros-update

What makes a good writer?  Good writers write interesting scholarly  books.
What makes a Great writer? Great writers write books that grip you and will not let go -even late or rather early into the morning!

And the same goes for lecturers.A good lecturer will speak on any subject.
A Great lecturer will speak fluently,

but will speak in such a way that the subject comes to life.

He/she, if we may say,  will paint vivid pictures with his/her words.

And fires the imagination of the listener in such a way,
he/she WANTS to keep on learning about the subject.

Mark Twain as lecturer-one can almost hear his satirical observations :-)!



And that reminds me of my history Prof!

I'm still not 100% sure how she did it.

But she did...
make history come alive, albeit tinged by a sense of the absurd,
colored by irony and sarcasm, even.
And boy, did it come alive to invade and persuade minds to keep on wanting more of it!

At least for me, it sure did.

It may have been her very Viennese Galgenhumor, that showed up mankind's follies.

Which, alas, have been, are and will be repeated over and over.

(Mankind's memories seem so darn short..barely lasting a generation. IMO.

And so mistakes are allowed to be repeated, with increasingly bigger horrors.)

Anyway, I blame my interest in history, not the detailed, meticulously researched kind, on her! I don't really want to know the exact hour, day month or even year..

it suffices me to know the approximate part of the century it happened  - say.. 'around the first quarter of the 18th century or some such...this and that happened'.

Of course, I will read even detailed reports, but ...it may take a while LOL!

In January this year I started on an account of  "The Peloponnesian War" by the eminent military historian Donald Kagan. 

And  have proudly arrived  ;-) on page 70 in the Chapter Pericles' war,

subheaded The Athenian Response.

At this rate I can guarantee you, I shall finish it ...
by the end of this year!

It is, of course, well researched - 
all 500 plus pages, including sources and index etc.

It is also a bit dry and thus a bit hard going, because of it.
Naturally my knowledge of Greek History is,
and that war in particular :-), 
somewhat mistily shrouded in the very distant past (;-), 
thus it requires much close attention.
Especially since there are no plays, operas or movies that I know of,
that deal with this part of history-unlike the Caesar and Cleopatra one, ;-)!


So in order to loosen up and refresh my little gray cells -
I turn to lighter fare from time to time.


Such as to historical crime novels (Frank Tallis),  previously posted..
Biographical accounts

(Elsa Bjoerkman-Goldschmidt's Erinnerungen "Es geschah in Wien")

Historical Puzzles ("Who Lies There?" Thomas G. Wheeler)-also previously posted

Not This Wheeler - LOL

and most recently John Lawton's "Second Violin",

a historical thriller featuring Inspector Troy..set in London just prior to and during WW 2, but reaching across the Channel into Europe, as well.

Just started it  - and will continue reading the series and THEN post - you'll just have to wait...lol.

The blame in my, on and off again, interest in history - fact or fiction,
lies squarely at the doorstep of that history prof.
Prof. Glaser, wherever you are now, looking down or up (as the case may be)
I thank you for awakening that interest! 


History of Hockey- 17th century

I have spent, and hope to spend, many pleasurable hours immersed in history, herstory  and  theirstories  :-)!

When not spending time at operas, concerts,

Hockey and Musea.
YOU made wanna do it!

AND BEFORE I FORGET:
Aeros made 'theirstory' last night by beating the Chicago Wolves soundly 6 to 1, by Wellman, O'Sullivan, DiSalvatore, Earl, Rau, even the two fighters got a goal-Kassian with Morency!
Aeros managed 4 PP goals in 10! An improvement I'd say.
With a rejuvenated Hackett, in great form in goal, stopping 32 of 33.
Details can be found as usual on the Aeros, AHL and The 3. Intermission sites...
Standings in relation to Calder Cup Play Offs:
Aeros (96) still in 2. behind the Admirals (98),
trailed by Stars (90) and Oklahoma (89).
Rampage in next to last spot, just ahead of Rockford.

AND WILD HAVE CALLED UP GILLIES AND

MacMILLAN 

Granlund

per Russo's Rants.

He also wrote this: "If the Wild's not careful, it'll destroy the Aeros, too".

Plus he fears that neither of the two prospects

(Larsson and Granlund)

from Europe may be quite ready for NHL.

Now what to make of that? Doesn't sound too good, nor too optimistic on the Wild side!

Vroom, Vroom - Bikers !!

Well, it would have to be..
the same weekend we are in Austin for the Stars vs. Bears games 4 and 5...
the town was full of bikers in all their regalia,
including their 'mamas' ;-) (is that the right term?)!
And proudly showing off tattoos!
(No, we did not get one, even a tiny one!).
And to be fair, a few gal bikers with their 'daddies ' (? ;-D)!
So we had to be hotel nomads to stay that extra night (Game 5) -
And certainly never OVERSLEPT! Varoom, Varoom!
Austin town reverberated, the highways and byways became bike lanes (almost) with big signs everywhere "Share the road with a biker" or "Look twice for bikes".
But not a one said 'Use of earplugs strongly suggested' ;-)!

We spent some time Thursday at the (ah, so blessedly quiet and cool)
Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art

The Texas State History Museum

(yup-it DOES have a LONE STAR Bronze in front on the plaza !

And on Friday at the LBJ Library.

From the JSB Museum of Art:

A really grand Staircase ..what, you did not bring your scuba mask?

Picasso's humorous sketch of Balzac;

a colorful Installation -obviously misnamed ( LoL )-

"Two in One" - I counted `19 elements, ;-) -

but a haven for kid sketchers.. which were there in abundance that day!

A huge wall hanging (aluminum/copper wire) by

Ghanaian El Anatsui (a favorite) oh, those waves of aluminum platelets!

Quite dizzying looking at it sideways! ;-)

being mystified by Jo Baer's "Horizontal Tiered" (empty canvases?);

next to Alejandro Puente's "Estraction" - let me guess it' the red being extracted ;-)

- and the meaning of it all is what?

Sorry, must be obtuse-just don't see much in these 2 art (?) pieces,

well, maybe the Puente is spatially acceptable... but the Baer?

Ben Shahn's "From that day on", a study in blue

(kinda like it-reminiscent of Picasso's Period Blue, maybe);

And Jorge Eielson's "Quipos 58B"-

a white on gray montage in homage to 'Incan accounting' LoL!

A bit of LBJ.. quite humorously talkative in wax,

ensconced in bronze on the balcony (rear )

What a 'paper collection' ;-),

the presidential stacks.

And the 'icing on the cake", an exhibit honoring

Walter Cronkite

(war correspondent, reporter, anchor man, space research promoter,

adventure traveler and story teller,

for me forever "The Voice of the Wiener Neujahrskonzerte"!)