Skip to main content

The Platypus Reviews 2011

This past year represented an unprecedented jump in the number of posts here at "The Platypus of Truth."  Now that 2012 has begun, the official total is fixed at 93.  This blows 2010's 66 posts out of the water and sets the bar high for the new year.  The main culprits seem to be my treks through Terry Brooks' "Elfstones of Shannara" and "Wishsong of Shannara," "The Mammoth Book of Fantasy," and a gloss of Tennyson's "The Passing of Arthur."  Since "The Platypus of Truth" primarily serves as a venue for my literary musings, that's not surprising.

There were some other trends this year at "The Platypus of Truth," however.  For instance, 2011 saw a return to meditations on video and computer games especially new favorites Starcraft II, and Titan Quest, and old faithfuls Final Fantasy III, and The Legend of Zelda.  Branching out a bit, I also attempted a look at the state of the field in light of "Dragon Age" and "Bioshock."

Beyond video games, 2011 saw several forays into the world of film including an attempt to set down my favorite films, and retrospectives on Moulin Rouge and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.  Indeed, by mid-year there were enough film reviews to warrant the creation of a new label: "film platypus."  I'm no expert on film, but I was glad to see that several of the posts sparked conversation and got a link or two.

Finally, 2011 saw some meditations on art and culture in the city of Houston.  I still miss the Getty (both of them), The Huntington Gardens, The LACMA, and the Museum of Jurassic Technology, but the Lanier Theological Library, the Houston Ballet, and The MFAH are nothing to sniff at.

Well, that's a short assessment of the past year over here at "The Platypus of Truth."  No big controversies, no grand causes, just a good, long chat over at the quiet end of Lake Blogosphere.  May 2012 be a blessed year for you all and remember: the platypus speaks truth.   

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Platypus Reads Part XXVII

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...

California's Gods: Strange Platypus(es)

We've noticed lately a strange Californian dialectical twist: there, freeways take the definite article.  In other parts of the country one speaks of I 91 or 45 North.  In California, there's The 5, The 405, The 10.  Each of these freeways has its own quirks, a personality of sorts.  They aren't just stretches of pavement but presences, creatures that necessitate the definite article by their very individuality and uniqueness.  They are the angry gods to be worked, placated, feared, for without them life in California as we know it would cease.  Perhaps that's fitting for a land whose cities are named for saints and angels.  Mary may preside over the new pueblo of our lady of the angels, but the freeways slither like gigantic serpents through the waste places, malevolent spirits not yet trampled under foot.

Seeing Beowulf Through Tolkien: The Platypus Reads Part CXCIX

After spending a few weeks wrestling with Tolkien's interpretation of Beowulf , I found myself sitting down and reading Seamus Heaney's translation of the text during a spare moment.  I came to the place where Beowulf presents Hrothgar with the hilt of the ancient sword that slew Grendel's mother.  Hrothgar looks down at the hilt with its ancient runes and carvings depicting the war between the giants and God and meditates on the fortunes of men.  In a flash of insight, I thought: this is the whole poem! Let me explain.  Tolkien believed that the genuine contribution of the Northern peoples to European culture was the theory of courage.  The Northern heroes, at their best, were men who fought for order against chaos -a battle they knew they were doomed to lose.  If they were true heroes, their souls would join the gods and aid them in the final battle against darkness and its monsters and again go down fighting, spitting in the face of the meaninglessness...