Today I Learned #3: There's a wiki for everything!

[Valka D'Ur]

I just stopped reading the list after I saw that Valka D'Ur's preferences did not include cats.

Some things on that list are absolutely stark-raving nuts. I have never been interested in cars, bars, basketball, blues music, extreme sports, I don't have an upper middle-class income (though apparently my interests match those who do), they mistook research on various medical issues for having a job in the health care industry (the times I worked outside the home had nothing to do with health care), I have no interest in metal music, and it's bemusing to think that if Kyriakos' theory is correct in that these lists are based on years-old information, the inclusion of Latin music is more The_J's fault for occasional mention of salsa dancing than my much more recent addiction to Wuauquikuna (a group from Ecuador).

I just realized that there are a few other really obvious things missing: RPG/board gaming, history, and crafts. The very first forum I ever joined was one dedicated to tabletop role-playing games, I belong to two Roman history/Latin language forums, and have accounts on several craft sites.

 

[Ajidica]

Actual sharp weapons like swords and spears are only allowed at ceremonial occasions, and aren't allowed in SCA combat. The weapons are made of rattan, because rattan tends to become mushier the more it's used, rather than breaking into sharp splinters that could injure people. And while sitting around a fire is nice, it's not allowed indoors (again, safety first). Outdoor bardic circles around a fire are common in the SCA, though.

FWIW, when I was at the local SCA (before the Dark Times), they used blunt metal foils for fencing practice, and I'm pretty sure they used blunt metal weapons for armored sparring.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

FWIW, when I was at the local SCA (before the Dark Times), they used blunt metal foils for fencing practice, and I'm pretty sure they used blunt metal weapons for armored sparring.

Blunts on the ends of the foils, yes. The heavy fighters had swords made of rattan and wrapped in duct tape. Or so it is in An Tir and Avacal. I was never a fighter, though I belonged to the Household of the Black Bow (a household dedicated to archery), and the head of that household was our shire's Master of Fence. I attended my share of fighters' practices as an observer.

 

[Takhisis]

Some things on that list are absolutely stark-raving nuts. I have never been interested in cars, bars, basketball, blues music, extreme sports, I don't have an upper middle-class income (though apparently my interests match those who do), they mistook research on various medical issues for having a job in the health care industry (the times I worked outside the home had nothing to do with health care), I have no interest in metal music, and it's bemusing to think that if Kyriakos' theory is correct in that these lists are based on years-old information, the inclusion of Latin music is more The_J's fault for occasional mention of salsa dancing than my much more recent addiction to Wuauquikuna (a group from Ecuador).

I just realized that there are a few other really obvious things missing: RPG/board gaming, history, and crafts. The very first forum I ever joined was one dedicated to tabletop role-playing games, I belong to two Roman history/Latin language forums, and have accounts on several craft sites.

Well, yes. I carefully curate my YouTube feed to exclude a number of nefarious influences. BEcause the worst aprt is that Google, Facebook, etc. jsut keep getting the feeds wrong and offering their users a bunch of garbage.

 

[Kyriakos]

Til that the word Centaur is of ultimately unknown etymology, although it might have been originated by a Thessalian tribe of expert horsemen. Which is certainly believable enough - Thessaly, due to the flat terrain, had professional cavalry long before any other greek state outside Asia Minor (where a few had cavalry as shock troops).
That said, the etymology of centaur is obviously not related to the one of minotaur - the latter clearly comes from Minos + tauros (bull).

 

[The_J]

TIL: The whole country of Greece has exactly 1 zoo.
https://www.euronews.com/2021/01/30/extinction-threat-for-greek-zoo-closed-during-covid-19-lockdown

 

[Kyriakos]

Who needs zoos when you have so many pigeons?
Although I thought there are some more - technically this city had a zoo up to the 90s I think.

 

[Samson]

TIL what happens to whales that get stuck in fixed fishing nets in Japan. It is horrific.

Spoiler Really horrific killing of a highly intelligent creature :

A whale ended up in these fixed fishing nets, and was swimming about for at least 20 days. They made a half heated attempt to release it: 'Initially, he hoped the fishermen would raise the nets and release the whale. He watched as "one guy tried for 10 minutes". "But they stopped trying," he recalls. He suspected the fishermen "did not want to open the net because inside there were too many fish".'

Then they caught it by its tail, and held it upside down in the water until it suffocated, while it bashed itself bloody trying to escape. "Forcing underwater the head of a mammal evolved to hold its breath for long periods, so that it slowly runs out of oxygen, is an acutely cruel killing method by any standards". It was then sold for food at about 398 yen ($3.80; £2.77) per 100g retail, money they would not have got if they had managed to release the whale.

In this net alone three whales have been caught in six weeks, including the minke. The first, another minke whale caught in late November, was released the next day. The third, a humpback whale, was found dead floating tangled in the nets the day after the second minke was killed.

Spoiler Even more horrific video :

 

[AmazonQueen]

TIL why Persians always snigger when they hear the name @Kyriakos

https://greece.greekreporter.com/20...ns-do-not-pronounce-the-greek-pms-given-name/

 

[Kyriakos]

Well... I guess there was a chance I'd go through life without knowing that farsi bit

Although the article is wrong to claim that Kyriakos is derived from... Kyriakos. It literally means "of the Lord", and is a popular monastic name. The non ecclesiastic version, which I use, is stressed on a different vowel.
That said, neither version would be stressed as... three different words - but I can see why the persians would avoid it like Thermopylae.

 

[The_J]

An Iranian friend just told me that the "kos" part is not as obscene as the article makes it, but he still describes the name as "pure gold" .

 

[Kyriakos]

An Iranian friend just told me that the "kos" part is not as obscene as the article makes it, but he still describes the name as "pure gold" .

What do you expect from barbarians...

 

[Arakhor]

I'd pronounce it Keer-re-ah-kos, but obviously I'm not Greek.

 

[Kyriakos]

I'd pronounce it Keer-re-ah-kos, but obviously I'm not Greek.

Not perfect, because he added a dumb "z" sound instead of the "s". Also, because he is an anglo, he stressed the "y" too. In greek you would just stress the "a" for the popular name, or the "o" for the monastic one.

 

[GinandTonic]

He sounds like a native english speaker but his grammar is so poor he has to be a bot.

 

[Arakhor]

It rhymes with tacos?? I wouldn't have guessed that.

 

[Kyriakos]

It rhymes with tacos?? I wouldn't have guessed that.

Probably not by design.

 

[Takhisis]

Kyriákos = little lord
Kyriakós = of the lord

obviously I'm not Greek.

Everybody's imperfect, you barbarian.

 

[Kyriakos]

I don't think it means "little lord". I also am not aware of any single term diminutive of "lord" in greek
Seems that it is just pronounced differently from the monastic version for similar reasons to Christos (which, as you know, also is spelled with a different letter; unlike the Kyriakoi).

So not lordling, just another version of lordian.

 

[Takhisis]

I also am not aware of any single term diminutive of "lord" in greek

Kyrillos.