Ugh, I am so done with OASOS. Just being there sends me in an anxiety attack. Too many giggly, hyperactive thirteen year olds than any one person should have to deal with. I wanted to stay in order to have coffee afterward with ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
terryn73 and two other people, but I knew that I would lose my mind if I didn't leave early.
I just finished reading A History of the Devil by Gerald Messadie and translated from French by Marc Romano. Overall, I say it's worth reading. The first few chapters are dry and tedious and imperialist prejudices keep popping up. Non-Western cultures are continually referred to as "primitive." Even when the author is describing the jungles of an area that can only be trekked through using a "primitive" tool made by the natives. So, it's the best tool for the job; hell, it's the only tool for the job, but because it wasn't made by white people, let's call it primitive. However, after about five or so chapters it becomes much more readable, and in the chapters about Africa and the Americas, the author takes Western scholars and religious figures to task for their racism. It makes me wonder if the book wasn't actually translated by two different people.
Sometimes the book feels too simplistic, and I don't always agree with his interpretation of the mythology he's discussing. He states that when we think of Greek gods, we think of heroes lounging on Mt. Olympus. I guess I can't speak for anyone else, but when I think of Greek gods, I think of spiteful, jealous, petty, rapists... lounging on Mt. Olympus. Then again, maybe I'm the unusual one. (But also the right one.)
Messadie's description of our current conception of the devil of a sort of "hero of the loser" and a figure to liberate us from the oppressive idea of sin made me think of the Lucifer comic series that starred the Lucifer that Neil Gaiman thought up in his Sandman Series.
( Spoilers for volume four, The Divine Comedy )
Despite the book's flaws, I wouldn't dissuade anyone from picking it up. Once it got going, it was really interesting.
I also saw The Dark Knight Today. I hadn't seen a movie in the theaters in over a year (Ratatouille was the last one), but I wasn't going miss this one. It was awesome! The first scene with the bat-cycle had me practically jumping up and down in my seat. And it was funny too!
Yep, it was all around great. Except...
( Cut for spoilers )
END DARK KNIGHT SPOILERS
In other fandom news, I'm just getting into Heroes. It's enjoyable, though I find myself despising nearly every character at least on occasion. The only characters who escape my sometimes wrath are Hiro, Jessica, and Micah.
( Possible spoilers for up to episode nine. I have not seen beyond this. Please do not spoil me )
And that's just about all that I have to say. Hm, I wanted to bake cookies tonight, but it may have gotten too late.
terryn73 and two other people, but I knew that I would lose my mind if I didn't leave early.I just finished reading A History of the Devil by Gerald Messadie and translated from French by Marc Romano. Overall, I say it's worth reading. The first few chapters are dry and tedious and imperialist prejudices keep popping up. Non-Western cultures are continually referred to as "primitive." Even when the author is describing the jungles of an area that can only be trekked through using a "primitive" tool made by the natives. So, it's the best tool for the job; hell, it's the only tool for the job, but because it wasn't made by white people, let's call it primitive. However, after about five or so chapters it becomes much more readable, and in the chapters about Africa and the Americas, the author takes Western scholars and religious figures to task for their racism. It makes me wonder if the book wasn't actually translated by two different people.
Sometimes the book feels too simplistic, and I don't always agree with his interpretation of the mythology he's discussing. He states that when we think of Greek gods, we think of heroes lounging on Mt. Olympus. I guess I can't speak for anyone else, but when I think of Greek gods, I think of spiteful, jealous, petty, rapists... lounging on Mt. Olympus. Then again, maybe I'm the unusual one. (But also the right one.)
Messadie's description of our current conception of the devil of a sort of "hero of the loser" and a figure to liberate us from the oppressive idea of sin made me think of the Lucifer comic series that starred the Lucifer that Neil Gaiman thought up in his Sandman Series.
( Spoilers for volume four, The Divine Comedy )
Despite the book's flaws, I wouldn't dissuade anyone from picking it up. Once it got going, it was really interesting.
I also saw The Dark Knight Today. I hadn't seen a movie in the theaters in over a year (Ratatouille was the last one), but I wasn't going miss this one. It was awesome! The first scene with the bat-cycle had me practically jumping up and down in my seat. And it was funny too!
Yep, it was all around great. Except...
( Cut for spoilers )
END DARK KNIGHT SPOILERS
In other fandom news, I'm just getting into Heroes. It's enjoyable, though I find myself despising nearly every character at least on occasion. The only characters who escape my sometimes wrath are Hiro, Jessica, and Micah.
( Possible spoilers for up to episode nine. I have not seen beyond this. Please do not spoil me )
And that's just about all that I have to say. Hm, I wanted to bake cookies tonight, but it may have gotten too late.