In the interest of appeasing the masses I think I have come up with a thought. I just saw "Naussicaa of the Valley of the Winds". It's an anime by the creator of "Princess Mononoke", "Spirited Away" and "Grave of the Fireflies"; all of which I've seen and highly enjoy. I have to say that I enjoyed "Naussicaa" as well. It's a great post-apocalyptic high fantasy in classic Miyazaki style. The evil queen and her flunky are reminiscent of Lady Eboshi from "Mononoke" and Naussicaa has much in common with "San". Still, "Naussicaa" isn't merely a re-cycle of "Mononoke". Of particular interest is the very strong Persian aesthetic. The man in blue appears almost as a sort of Ahura-Mazda or a Magi from the Achaemenid tombs (Sorry, won't attempt to correctly spell the place name). If you've got time, this one is worth it. The film clocks in at just under two hours. It's not fast-paced, but I wouldn't call it slow-moving either. That's all for tonight. Remember: The Platypus Speaks Truth.
Thoughts after reading the "Iliad" to prepare a Greece unit for my students: -Hector is a jerk until he's dead. He even advocates the exposure of Achaean corpses and then has the cheek to turn around and ask Achilles to spare his. He rudely ignores Polydamas' prophecies and fights outside the gate to save his pride knowing full well what it will cost his family and city. After he's dead, he becomes a martyr for the cause. -Agamemnon has several moments of true leadership to balance out his pettiness. In this way, he's a haunting foil to Achilles: the two men are more alike than they want to acknowledge. -We see that Achilles is the better man at the funeral games of Patroclos. His lordliness, tact, and generosity there give us a window into Achilles before his fight with Agamemnon and the death of Patroclos consumed him. -Nestor is a boring, rambling, old man who's better days are far behind him, and yet every Achaean treats him with the upmo...
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Harken, rather, to the wisdom of the duck. The duck, who inspired one of the greatest schools of philosophy. Its quack has guided the thinking of kings and prelates through history...