Tag / Joe Dator

by zbicyclist

The Odyssey

The distance from Troy (near modern Çanakkale, Turkey) to Ithaca is a bit over 600 miles. At a rowing speed of 4 to 5 knots, that’s not a terribly long journey, without the involvement of the gods.

If we went from Troy, New York to Ithaca, New York by water (Erie Canal, then portage to Seneca Lake) it would be about 250 miles — shorter, but the same order of magnitude.

One person decided to use the modern Turkish city and make up alternative lyrics to City of New Orleans.

I just finished re-reading the Odyssey. I used the Samuel Butler translation, which is prose and emphasized the story more easily because it abandons any attempt at poetry. I’m also cheap: it’s available for free at Project Gutenberg.

Yesterday, I saw the movie, which didn’t disappoint. Highly recommended. Of course, there are many plot points which diverge from Homer, but overall I think that improves the flow — especially the ending.

by EditorM

Flutter-byes

Previously (in https://cidu.info/2022/05/16/never-wear-around-your-neck-anything-that-comes-out-of-your-tail-end/ ) we explored the precedence of flutter-by before butterfly — to the surprise of many, including me.

Recently Andréa noticed: “BTW – I don’t know if it’s because of Monarch Butterfly Migration Season, or what, but have YOU noticed a plethora of caterpillar-to-butterfly jokes? I think I’ve seen 15-20 in the past week.”

Then almost immediately after seeing her mail, I ran across this from David Borchart in “Bob Mankoff presents: show me the funny (animal edition)” at Comics Kingdom:

Further … we went looking for more, and Andréa took a look for the ones she had encountered. And we all realized it had not been a widespread phenomenon from multiple sources, but an obviously conscious and intended series from the (don’t hold your breath for the duration of this title) “Bob Mankoff Presents: Show Me The Funny (Animal Edition)” people.

Nonetheless, no reason not to share their accomplishments with the CIDU crowd!