TIL: Today I Learned

[aimeeandbeatles]

TIL that the Navy Seal copypasta is actually newer than I thought. It first showed up around 2010. I thought it was from the mid-2000s.

 

[Dachs]

Apparently (?) the famous inscription at the athena polias (ie athena of the polis) temple at Priene, noting how it was built with funds provided by alexander the great, was deliberately placed six metres above the ground, so as to escape casual attention. Cause it was considered sacrilegious to self-promote at sacred sites.

It was placed quite high, on the north anta of the pronaos.

I don't think that escaping attention was the plan, though. The inscription itself probably dates to 334 BC, but we're not sure, and we don't know if it was placed on the anta of the temple at the time of its inscription. Alexander may very well have had it done that way (or one of his agents, such as Alkimachos or Antigonos, who took the submissions of the Ionian cities that Alexander didn't visit) for that reason, but it's impossible to say definitively.

I think that the argument about sacrilege is hard to substantiate. Alexander's own father, for example, built the Philippeion at Olympia. Most historians seem to believe that Alexander himself thought he was a god from a relatively early age. I suppose it's possible that he or his agent placed the inscription that way for that reason, but it would be a little surprising to me.

We do know that from ~285 BC onward, the Alexander Inscription was on the anta along with several other edicts, inscriptions, and other legal data concerning the polis of Priene and its chora. As Sherwin-White argued several decades ago, the anta of the temple of Athene Polias served as a sort of public archive for Priene in its disputes over the precise boundaries of its chora and the identity of those persons it could tax. Our date of ~285 comes from the fact that it was placed there alongside documents from both Alexander and Lysimachos, and that we are fairly certain that all documents from Alexander and Lysimachos were placed there at about the same time (even though they were composed at different times).

The archive was clearly not meant to escape casual attention; quite the opposite.

As a side note, what's left of the temple of Athene Polias at Priene is rather a mess, and it's remarkable that the epigraphers have been able to figure out as much as they have about it. I only remember five columns still standing, and those were re-erected in the 1960s. The view of the Menderes valley from the temple site is absolutely gorgeous, though.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Today I learned that a Canadian novel about a woman getting into a sexual relationship with a bear won the 1976 Governor General's Literary Award.

 

[Hrothbern]

Today I learned that a Canadian novel about a woman getting into a sexual relationship with a bear won the 1976 Governor General's Literary Award.

typical mid 70ies softcore erotics
the scenery typical at some distance of ordinary life

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Today I learned that a Canadian novel about a woman getting into a sexual relationship with a bear won the 1976 Governor General's Literary Award.

So it was inspired by a Haida artist? I'm surprised people nowadays aren't screeching about cultural appropriation.

But I would disagree that it's a "quintessentially Canadian" book. Sorry, but no. Just. No.

 

[Kaitzilla]

Today I learned that a Canadian novel about a woman getting into a sexual relationship with a bear won the 1976 Governor General's Literary Award.

Wow, the most controversial novel in Canadian history.

The cover is very on point.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I'm kind of surprised it won the award. I guess the governor general that year was drunk.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I'm kind of surprised it won the award. I guess the governor general that year was drunk.

I'm blanking on who the GG was at that time (Pierre Trudeau was the Prime Minister). But the Governor General doesn't choose the winners personally. As with any prestigious award, it's done by committee, and the GG's role is purely ceremonial.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I guess the entire committee was drunk.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I'm kind of surprised it won the award. I guess the governor general that year was drunk.

Reading the article you linked it was very highly regarded, and not just by the award committee.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Reading the article you linked it was very highly regarded, and not just by the award committee.

Back in 1976, when most people thought of Canadian novels, they tended to think about authors like Farley Mowat and Pierre Berton. I've read books by both of them, and they're who I think of as "quintessentially Canadian" (along with Margaret Atwood - first read her material in college, and Lucy Maud Montgomery - it used to be that most Canadian girls either read or had read to them the Anne of Green Gables books).

This book that Aimee linked... no.

 

[MaryKB]

Has she sued George RR Martin for stealing her idea?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Back in 1976, when most people thought of Canadian novels, they tended to think about authors like Farley Mowat and Pierre Berton. I've read books by both of them, and they're who I think of as "quintessentially Canadian" (along with Margaret Atwood - first read her material in college, and Lucy Maud Montgomery - it used to be that most Canadian girls either read or had read to them the Anne of Green Gables books).

This book that Aimee linked... no.

Yeah, I think that part was absurd too. I don't think there is any such thing as 'quintessentially Canadian.' Like the US, Canada is too diverse for any such thing to exist. Here at CFC, off the top of my head, we have a Vancouver Canadian, a Northern Ontario Canadian, a Toronto Canadian, and a Quebec Canadian among our Canadians. I think it would be hard to find a point of universal agreement, much less something 'quintessential' that you all reflected.

But that bit wasn't what I was looking at. The book was well received. There were a lot of references to other writers and reviewers besides the big award Aimee mentioned. There were a whole lot of positive comments about the style of her writing. More about that than the "bold" subject matter, actually. Subject matter is much more...well...subjective, and yeah, "Great book, sex with a bear!" isn't something I'd expect to hear every day. But good writers write well, whatever they write about.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Yeah, I think that part was absurd too. I don't think there is any such thing as 'quintessentially Canadian.' Like the US, Canada is too diverse for any such thing to exist. Here at CFC, off the top of my head, we have a Vancouver Canadian, a Northern Ontario Canadian, a Toronto Canadian, and a Quebec Canadian among our Canadians. I think it would be hard to find a point of universal agreement, much less something 'quintessential' that you all reflected.

You forgot the three Albertan Canadians (one in Edmonton, one in Red Deer, one in Calgary), and the Nova Scotian Canadian (something I've pointed out is that if you get Aimee and I in the same room and have us speak, chances are that we might have different accents), and I think there's someone from up in the Territories (not sure if Yukon or Northwest).

It used to be that the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) helped tie the country together culturally - it's how we got our broadcast news, a significant amount of our entertainment, and there's still a large emphasis on political discussion, political satire, hockey, and literature. I've never heard of most of the books that get shortlisted for these awards, never mind those that win.

Note that we're mostly talking about English Canada. Some time ago, Evie and I compared singers we were both familiar with growing up. She hadn't heard of my favorites until adulthood, and I'd never heard of most of her list. There's still a large cultural divide between the two regarding music and literature.

But that bit wasn't what I was looking at. The book was well received. There were a lot of references to other writers and reviewers besides the big award Aimee mentioned. There were a whole lot of positive comments about the style of her writing. More about that than the "bold" subject matter, actually. Subject matter is much more...well...subjective, and yeah, "Great book, sex with a bear!" isn't something I'd expect to hear every day. But good writers write well, whatever they write about.

I'll concede that. But it still doesn't mean everyone's going to run out and buy it. Farley Mowat was assigned reading in high school (Never Cry Wolf). This book? I can't fathom it.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Oooops. I must admit that when said "northern Ontario" I was actually thinking of an Albertan. My mistake. Add "I'll take Canadian Geography for a thousand Alex" to the list of things Tim will probably never say.

 

[Synobun]

The only "Canadian" book I remember being assigned in school was Hatchet. And it's not even Canadian.

I don't think there was ever a Canadian-focused module in the curriculum at my school, besides the basic "hey we had natives and we treated them poorly" chapters, and there was no assigned reading or anything like that associated with it.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

The only "Canadian" book I remember being assigned in school was Hatchet. And it's not even Canadian.

I don't think there was ever a Canadian-focused module in the curriculum at my school, besides the basic "hey we had natives and we treated them poorly" chapters, and there was no assigned reading or anything like that associated with it.

Seriously?

US History was a required course when I was in high school, as was 'government' which was strictly US government. 'History of California' was also required curriculum in...fourth grade? Maybe fifth. It seems strange to me if there wasn't a focus on Canada in Canadian schools, but maybe that would be quintessentially Canadian.

 

[Synobun]

Seriously?

US History was a required course when I was in high school, as was 'government' which was strictly US government. 'History of California' was also required curriculum in...fourth grade? Maybe fifth. It seems strange to me if there wasn't a focus on Canada in Canadian schools, but maybe that would be quintessentially Canadian.

The greatest thing my county ever exported to larger Canadian society was a hockey player known for getting punched in the face. It didn't have a great education system.

Our history classes just did World War 2. Pretty much it. I think maybe once or twice before the age of 10 they talked about early Canadian history but nothing substantial.

When I was in high school, before dropping out, they were adding an Ancient Civilizations History class. I signed up quickly but the class got discontinued after a week due to nobody wanting to take it. Probably for the best; the module on Ancient Egypt, the only one we got to do before being transferred to other classes, was a whole 12 pages.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

The only "Canadian" book I remember being assigned in school was Hatchet. And it's not even Canadian.

I don't think there was ever a Canadian-focused module in the curriculum at my school, besides the basic "hey we had natives and we treated them poorly" chapters, and there was no assigned reading or anything like that associated with it.

All the schools I went to emphasized Canadian history to some extent (for example, I learned about Louis Riel in elementary, junior high, high school, and college). My junior high social studies teacher put together a unit about history going back to the Vikings, and he also figured that kids aged 11-14 weren't too young to learn about real-time politics. We didn't do anything about ancient civilizations, but we did do a real-time unit on apartheid in South Africa, including a guest speaker who had lived there under that system.

It seems strange to me if there wasn't a focus on Canada in Canadian schools, but maybe that would be quintessentially Canadian.

It isn't. Education is a provincial responsibility, and as long as the teachers put in something about Canadian history, I guess they can tick the box and call it done. It sounds to me like Synsensa had an incompetent teacher, if that's all that was offered.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

We covered Canadian history quite a bit at our schools, but not much on Nova Scotia itself. We also always seemed to run out of time at the end of the year and leave a bunch of stuff uncovered.