Today I learned

Discussion in 'The Thunderdome' started by Indy, Apr 24, 2013.

  1. Indy

    Indy Pronoun Analyst

    A lot of us are teachers or students. Post cool things you learn in here, and we will all gain random (probably useless), but still interesting knowledge.

    Last night at my Dante book club, I learned that pelicans were often displayed on 14th and 15th century crosses as a symbol of Christ in nature. As the story goes, mother pelicans kick their young ones out of the nest if they misbehave. Then, in order to give them nourishment, the mother pecks her breast until it bleeds, and the young ones feed on her blood. Similarly, God kicks us out of the nest when we misbehave, but we are saved by the blood of Christ.
     
  2. NYY

    NYY Super Moderator

    Jesus, Indy.

    Quit fighting it. Your parents will still love you.
     
    JayVols likes this.
  3. droski

    droski Traffic Criminal

    "Dante book club"

    seriously?
     
  4. CardinalVol

    CardinalVol Uncultured, non-diverse mod

    I can say that I know a few guys who went the Hampden-Sydney and none of them ever talk about poetry or their Dante Book Club. Must be a Wabash thing.
     
  5. InVolNerable

    InVolNerable Fark Master Flex

    If you take Wayne Gretzky's highest assist total for a season (163) it ranks tied for the 11th most points in a season in NHL history (He also scored 52 goals that year, for the NHL record of 215 points in the season). The only seasons better than that are 8 seasons by Wayne Gretzky and 2 by Mario Lemieux.
     
  6. Indy

    Indy Pronoun Analyst

    Oh come the **** on. I thought this was a good one.
     
  7. Indy

    Indy Pronoun Analyst

    Yes. We have a professor here that is really into Medieval and Renaissance Europe, and has lots of connections over in Florence and Siena. He's one of those old dudes (graduated from here in '66) that is like an encyclopedia on certain subjects, and Dante is one of those. So we read the Divine Comedy this semester, and met once a week for him to explain important points to us. It was awesome.
     
  8. OrangeEmpire

    OrangeEmpire Take a chance, Custer did

    Go on
     
  9. Indy

    Indy Pronoun Analyst

  10. InVolNerable

    InVolNerable Fark Master Flex

    Do you hide your poetry books inside of Playgirls while reading to lessen the homosexual aura you give off?
     
  11. droski

    droski Traffic Criminal

    you and him were the only males in attendance right?
     
  12. OrangeEmpire

    OrangeEmpire Take a chance, Custer did

    Awesome, what stuff did you discuss?

    What was a wtf moment?
     
  13. OrangeEmpire

    OrangeEmpire Take a chance, Custer did

    Stop it, I read poetry.

    I text NYY for money shots
     
  14. CardinalVol

    CardinalVol Uncultured, non-diverse mod

    I'm fairly certain when gbc reads this thread, he's doing to rethink his own sexuality. No way is he this gay.
     
  15. InVolNerable

    InVolNerable Fark Master Flex

    Roses are read
    Violets are blue
    Poetry sucks
    and fvck you
     
  16. OrangeEmpire

    OrangeEmpire Take a chance, Custer did

    Thats not poetry ass hole.
     
  17. JayVols

    JayVols Walleye Catchin' Moderator

    Bwaaahahahaha!
     
  18. OrangeEmpire

    OrangeEmpire Take a chance, Custer did

    Indy, Im here bro. Pooch and kat are with us.
     
  19. InVolNerable

    InVolNerable Fark Master Flex

    Talk about a lineup of All-Stars..
     
  20. Indy

    Indy Pronoun Analyst

    No.

    No.

    Way too much to discuss.

    One of my favorite parts: the intro to canto XV of Inferno. I don't have my book on me, but it talks about walls that were built there, and how they were similar to walls built in France (I believe) to prevent certain lands from flooding. The point in France was to free up more fertile farm land to feed the growing population. Dante put the comparison in Hell to show that Sodomites take a fertile process (sex) and make it barren. It was a really good comparison.

    Wtf moment: Ripheus, a very minor character from the Aeneid, in a prominent role in Paradiso. There are a lot of wtf moments, though, and it's one of the key themes. You go through inferno, and you think all the pagans are in limbo, and all the suicides are in hell, and so forth. Then you get to purgatory and heaven and realize there are pagans and suicides there as well. The point: there are some things about God we can never truly understand.
     

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