A nice idea I’ve come across in my reading of the ancient Greeks is what they call “Arete”. Perhaps translated as virtue or excellence. Really it’s about striving to be the best version of yourself. I think I noticed it while reading “The Last of the Wine” by Mary Renault, perhaps when our narrator goes to the Olympics. I could be wrong. I also think it was a theme in the second episode of the great documentary on the Greeks I mentioned yesterday. ...
I continue to read books about Greece, ancient and modern. The timeline was fuzzy, but I started watching a history channel documentary on disney+ and I think I have (some) things straight now. Here’s the documentary, I watched it with my kids, it’s great: The Greeks (3 parts) Importantly, there perhaps three key time periods I needed to sort out: Bronze Age Greece Greek Dark Age (the gap) Golden Age The Greek or Aegean Bronze Age captures the Minoan civilization on Crete (3100-1100 BC), followed by the Mycenaean civilization in the Peloponnese (1750-1050). ...
I finished stuffing my last batch of printed photos into my 2025 photo album yesterday. See My (lame?) Family Photo Backup Process. Anyway, I was thinking that I only print a fraction of the photos taken. The rest are essentially lost, or will be with time. This applies to most people, e.g. most families that take hundreds/thousands of photos every year. So many photos/memories are lost. Now imagine archaeologists/sociologists/anthropologists in 1,000+ years. They would give anything to access middens of these “lost” photos. These candied yet rejected snapshots of places/times/people. ...
I understand why people write travel guides. There are a few times in life when “normal people” (non academic researchers) do a lot more research into a topic than they otherwise would, such as travel, parenthood, marriage, buying a house, etc. They are not used to deep research and don’t want to see all that work go to waste after the decision point. I feel the urge two, but slightly differently. ...
I finished an audio version of a course on ancient Greece yesterday: The Greek World: A Study of History and Culture It was fantastic, great high-level coverage of the topic. I am planning two more: The Long Shadow of the Ancient Greek World Ancient Greek Civilization I also like the look of the following: Great Tours: Ancient Cities of the Mediterranean Famous Greeks And more. Great for consuming and thinking through a the gym. ...
I’ve been reading books about the myth of King Theseus. Specifically, I finished Mary Renault’s “The King Must Die” and am about to finish her “The Bull from the Sea”. These are fun historical fiction versions of the mythos of his life. And it’s myth. According to our gpt5.1 friend, there’s not evidence for a real Theseus: There is no direct historical evidence that Theseus ever existed as an actual king. He is considered a mythological hero, similar to Heracles or Perseus, and appears primarily in Greek mythic tradition rather than in contemporary historical records. ...
Related to yesterday’s post on Lovecraft manga, I also recently read illustrated Lovecraft stories by François Baranger. Specifically his two volume: At the Mountains of Madness vol1 At the Mountains of Madness vol2 The story is good, of course (one of my faves), but the illustrations are beyond words. Sublime. Look at examples on google image search! I want to order his illustrated: “Call of Cthulhu”, but it’s so expensive. These are not cheap books. ...
I’ve been reading manga by Gou Tanabe. Specifically his adaptations of Lovecraft stories. And they are so good! 5/5! More modern, more fun than the origional stories. Stories that I’ve read many times over. I’ve read his “The Call of Cthulhu” and “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”. I have “The Hound and Other Stories” next and am about to order his “The Colour Out of Space”. He has a two volume “At the Mountains of Madness” that I am considering. Although I did just read the story again recently.
I’ve been casting around for good books for my eldest to read about Greece. I came across a series of historical fiction books by Mary Renault that are well regarded. There are one-offs like: The Last of the Wine Two book series, such as this one about Theseus: The King Must Die The Bull from the Sea And three book series, such as this one about Alexander the Great: Fire from Heaven The Persian Boy Funeral Games There’s a complete list here: ...
I was reading and re/reading Mark Sisson books this week. For example: The Primal Blueprint Primal Endurance Good ideas. Eat whole foods. Low carb. Lift heavy with few reps, etc. Anyway, one thing he mentioned a few times across the books was to: Minimize lifetime insulin secretion Now, this does not mean become a type 1 diabetic. It means something like, the mammals/people that minimize insulin secretion across their life live longer/heather. ...