January 26, 2010

Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta

I recently read this epic poem for my art history class. I loved Lord Aratta "wading around in words as in donkey feed."

This is Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love and war. She was married to both Enmerkar and Aratta, but she preferred Enmerkar (who, according to the poem, invented the written letter).

Science

I work in my college library dividing the mail and distributing it to various library departments. My favorite thing is getting to see all of the different journals, magazines, and newspapers coming in. Recently I've admired the covers of JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association). The type, images, and basic design are all beautiful.


I looked at onion root tip cells in varying stages of mitosis today. Not being a science person (and not having had a decent science class since middle school) I haven't often experienced the awe of seeing something in real life that I've been studying in a book.

January 19, 2010

Lascaux

My professor of Shakespeare reminds me of my childhood doctor, except that he lectures loudly and uses bad language.

I learned about the Lascaux Cave today. It is now closed to the public, but I would love go inside.


There is a small replica of Lascaux in the basement of my college's museum of anthropology. It was built by students in the 50s, but they had to shut it down about ten years ago because of how dangerous it was. The ceilings are only about 5' high, it's dark and moldy, and the floor is uneven. We got to go inside, and it seemed very small and silly, but I like the idea of a class trying to replicate something like Lascaux on campus.