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Friday, September 15
Ever wonder about the spiritual life of the people who live in Queens, the most diverse county in the country?
Yeah, well, I didn't either. However, as part of my Reporting and Writing Class, which is covering Queens, I've undertaking an exhaustive, indepth look at the subject. If you ever plan on studying the Kabbalah or enrolling in an Islamic day school, here's the place to go.
posted at 2:16 AM by Timothy J. Gibbons | link
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Thursday, September 14
Something else I like about New York: You can get on a subway lugging a wooden sword and a medieval looking shield and nobody even looks twice. Sure, some of the first looks you get are pretty strange, but after that, you might as well be invisible.
Next time I'll have to board the 9 train wearing my helmet ...
posted at 5:40 AM by Timothy J. Gibbons | link
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Wednesday, September 13
"No Elvis. No aliens. No UFOs." What's the point?
posted at 11:13 PM by Timothy J. Gibbons | link
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Monday, September 11
Yippee!
posted at 7:57 PM by Timothy J. Gibbons | link
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Sunday, September 10
Let's see what happened today...
* In 1419, John the Fearless is murdered at Montereau, France, by supporters of the dauphine.
* In 1547, the English defeated the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh.
* In 1855, Sevastopol, under siege for nearly a year, capitulates to the Allies during the Crimean War.
* In 1963, President John F. Kennedy federalizes Alabama's National Guard to prevent Gov. George C. Wallace from using guardsmen to stop public-school desegregation.
Oh, yeah, and in 1974, I was born.
I expect presents -- or at least egreetings ...
posted at 4:41 PM by Timothy J. Gibbons | link
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They kill the unicorn!
Everyone has seen the picture of the captive unicorn, the medieval depiction of the magnificent beast penned in a garden. The seven-part tapestry that scene is from is housed at the Cloisters, and while visiting the museum today I discovered that panel was a late addition to the piece. The original final scene shows the unicorn, after a long hunt, being slaughtered.
I became fascinated with unicorns while a youngster -- not the unicorns decorating adolescent girls' school binders, but the unicorns of Marco Polo and Thomas Malory: war beasts, whose fearsome horns were weapons of the deadliest sort.
In truth, the portrayal of the unicorn killed in battle seems more true to the spirit of the beast than does the picture of the captured animal. And make no mistake, it is a battle: soldiers trying to pierce its flesh with halberds, dogs harrying the animal as it runs, the unicorn fighting back -- tearing through flesh with a serious and melancholy look on its bearded face.
But all the unicorn's magic, all its weapons, are not enough in the end.
There's a lesson there. I'm just not sure what.
posted at 2:04 AM by Timothy J. Gibbons | link
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