Proteus says he goes to Elysium

Menelaus, my Betta fish, finally died. I've been expecting it, he's been lingering for weeks, picking at food and only occasionally moving. 'Twas a lovely Viking funeral, mostly because thankfully no one else in the bathroom realized what I was doing, so I didn't get a lot of "EWWWWW"s.

I'll scour the tank and get new ones (two of them) soon. I might pick a different source of Classical rivals for the next two.

This is what you get for lettin' us womenfolk think

There was an article on the death penalty that I was reading today, and I felt the need to put my 2 cents in on the subject.

I believe in the death penalty.

That said-- Texas is bonkers in how much they use it. Like the guy mentioned in this article, who raped and murdered a woman. One woman, however cruelly and violently. Should he be locked up for life? Yes. I also believe that violent rapists for whom there is DNA evidence proving the rape should be surgically castrated. Not chemically, as you stop taking the pills and the desire comes back-- if someone violently rapes a person and there is definite evidence both that he was the rapist and that the crime was violent in nature, they should have their testicles removed and replaced with prosthetics. Cruel and unusual? If a person kills someone with a car, they lose their license. If they shoot at someone with a gun, they are denied the ability to ever own one again. It's just removing a weapon.

And yet, as for the death penalty-- I am of the mind that the death penalty should only be used for repeat offenders. Serial killers and gang members and the like. No crimes of passion, no single-murders, just people who plotted and acted on their plans to murder a stranger, a passing acquaintance, or a rival.

Also, the insanity defense is way overused-- the only way you should be able to plead not guilty by reason of insanity is if a) you actually have a real mental illness, and one severe enough that your crime is plausible-- situational depression doesn't count; b) you were not undergoing treatment (because you were undiagnosed or were not enough in your right mind to chose to) at the time of the crime (or a proper course of treatment was not found); c) you agree to undergo treatment and NOT STOP for your ENTIRE life; and d) you are expected to be a functioning member of society if treated.

So if a person kills someone and blames it on postpartum depression, they should get the same treatment as a healthy person. If they are an undiagnosed schizophrenic and willing to undergo treatment, they can get off. See where I'm going with this? My point is that if you have another Ed Gein, who was determined not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a mental hospital for his whole life-- well, honestly. He wasn't going to get better. And if he had been sane he probably would have been put to death. So if you've got someone like that, just put them to death.

But not the electric chair or anything. Nitrogen narcosis-- unconsciousness and painless suffocation, with mild euphoria beforehand. Plus it leaves the body undamaged so the family can chose to donate the organs or the whole body to science, if they so wish, or inter it intact, if their religion requests it.

And as for the people who claim the jails are too crowded from all the people who deserve to die already-- if we legalized and then regulated (most) drugs and saved jail for people who are a threat to others or who genuinely need rehabilitation.

Also, anyone in jail for life should have the option of painless elective suicide whenever they wish. I think it's only fair, honestly.

I wish I was able to do an overhaul on a prison and test some of my theories about rehabilitation, though. Even if I didn't get to set sentences or allow suicide. Things like work detail, trade education, and not allowing people convicted for certain crimes (pedophilia and gang crimes spring to mind) interact with each other (because that's how they learn techniques). That way I would see firsthand if it failed and accept the system we have now.

Viking Funerals

The ghost [of Deiphobus] replied: "Your piety has paid all necessary rites to rest my wandering ghost; but cruel fate, and my more cruel wife, betrayed my sleeping life to Grecian swords. These are the monuments of Helen's love: the shame I bear below, the marks I bore above. You know in what deluding joys we passed the night that was by Heaven decreed our last: for when the fatal horse, descending down, filled with arms, overwhelmed the unhappy town, she feigned nocturnal orgies; left my bed, and led the dances mixed with Trojan women. Then, waving her torch high, she made the signal which called out the Greeks from their ambuscade. Overworn with watching, I had lain down to rest unhappy, with my cares oppressed, and my weary limbs possessed heavy sleep. Meanwhile my worthy wife mislaid our arms, and carried my sword from beneath my head; she unlatched the door, and with repeated calls invited her former lord within my walls. Thus she placed confidence in her crime, that she would redeem the past with new treasons. What more must I say? They ran into the room, and cruelly murdered a defenseless man. Low-born Odysseus led the way first." ~Aeneid, Book VI

Deiphobus died last night; found him this morning. I had a feeling this was coming; he was very sluggish and not really eating anything, and he used to be a real glutton. At least he died here at school and not like, mid-route home or anything.

Facebook is extreme college!

Floralia continues:



Also, it is Shrewd's birthday today, thus making her OLD. She's 22. That's not really old, but I'm going to pretend it is because she's my big sister and it's my job.

Also born today, though many years ago, was Catherine the Great, who is much more important than Shrewd. However, Shrewd is much less likely to wage war on the Ottomans. She is more likely to wage war on ottomans, though.

Other pertinent things that happened today in history:

1808: The Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation.

1863: In the American Civil War, Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering for the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia 8 days later.

1885: Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.

1933: Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.

1945: World War II: Fall of Berlin - The Soviet Union announces the capture of Berlin and Soviet soldiers hoist their red flag over the Reichstag building. German forces surrender in Italy. German forces surrender to the New Zealand Army in Trieste.

# 1946: "Battle of Alcatraz" - Alcatraz Federal prison, San Francisco is taken over by six inmates following failed escape attempt

1953: Hussein is crowned King of Jordan.

1964: Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the USS Card while docked at Saigon. Viet Cong forces are suspected of placing a bomb on the ship.

1982: Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.

1995: During the Croatian War of Independence, Serb forces fire cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing 7 and wounding over 175 civilians.

2005: Airwork Flight 23 crashes after structural failure.

Trend? What trend?

------------------------------------------------

Anyway, in other news-- I am swamped with homework and will write more tomorrow. Possibly Friday, I have homework tomorrow. Possibly Saturday, there is a party on Friday. No, Marx will not be there, and he will not have a lampshade on his head.

Damn. I forgot to eat dinner.

Okay, so I FINALLY have time to actually sort of write something, for a change.

I have crazy homework this week. Most people were dumped with exams and what not the week BEFORE vacation, when midterms were going on, but no, my professors waited until after I was in post-break mode to dump me with two exams, both in science; an essay, a translation, a quiz for Chem and a presentation on kinorhynchs.

Plus I'm kinda really distracted, anyway. Schoolwork is in the farthest reaches of my mind right now, pushed aside for more important thoughts like how I have a boyfriend and he's very good at distracting me from important things like homework and driving on the correct side of the road (yes I made that mistake, shut up, there weren't any other cars on the road) and blog-writing and sleep.

And besides, I started this half of the semester with a wake. The wake was nice but Grammy greeted Shrewd and me with tears and that was disconcerting; then again, she's now the eldest sister, so I can't blame her. Shrewd is officially not allowed to die until I'm dead or senile. Since she won't want to see me die, either, I think this means that we'll have to be completely bonkers by the time we move on.

But there was a bit of a bright side. I met my second cousin again! I met her the first time at her grandfather's funeral, and then again at her grandmother's, so she's becoming a bit of a funeral buddy since we're the same age and we hang out together after we're done telling the old people about how we like our classes and we're doing quite well, thank you. She's still in high school (she stayed back), but she's fairly close to Durham so I've decided she needs to come visit me. Last time we promised to keep in touch we exchanged a couple of letters then gave up, but hey, we were ten. Now the wonders of the internet mean that I might actually keep my promises to stay in touch. Hopefully.

I Know a Lot About Blogging

I got 5/8 correct! I'm not a total blogging geek yet... give it time.

How Much Do You Know About Blogging?

Apparently I have a REALLY obnoxious laugh. Not that I didn't know that already...

Today I learned that my maternal grandmother's oldest sister, my great-aunt, passed away today. She was very old and frail and we were all expecting it, so I don't think anyone is in shock over this, but she was a sweet old woman and helped out my family several times, and I was sorry to learn about her death.

My grandmother is coming up this weekend. I don't know if she's staying here, but I think she is, so it's probably for the best that I cleaned the house, because it means my mother doesn't have to deal with that right now on top of everything else. I'll just have to clean the upstairs.

---------------------------

Before I learned all this, I spent the evening with Mistake, which was cool. We don't have "girl time" all that much and it was nice to just get to hang out and talk and check out her very cute new hairstyle, and get her advice. Usually at school we can't really talk much because either Closer is loitering nearby or we're in a dorm or a public place.

So it's probably good that I happened to need her advice at the same time that we were at home, and at the same time that I needed to drop off a load of trashy romance novels from my mom to hers, because they exchange trashy romance novels and have for years, which always makes me and Mistake torn between laughter and disturbance. One doesn't like to think of one's mother as a reader of supermarket bodice-rippers.

Incidentally, the presence of a big bag of trashy romance novels in my car was the primary drive behind my telling Writer Guy that the car was "dirty" and suggesting that we take his. And yes, the car was dirty. Just more metaphorically so than literally.

My Hair Should Be Orange

Expressive, deep, and one of a kind. I pull off "weird" well - hardly anyone notices.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

At last

"Ajax, now, went down with his long-oared fleet. First Poseidon drove him onto the cliffs of Gyrae, looming cliffs, then saved him from the breakers-- he'd have escaped his doom, too, despite Athena's hate, if he hadn't flung that brazen boast, the mad blind fool. 'In the teeth of the gods,' he bragged, 'I have escaped the ocean's sheer abyss!' Poseidon heard that frantic vaunt and the god grasped his trident in both his massive hands and struck the Gyraen headland, hacked the rock in two, and the giant stump stood fast but the jagged spur where Ajax perched at first, the raving madman-- toppling into the sea, it plunged him down, down in the vast seething depths. And so he died, having drunk his fill of brine." ~The Odyssey, IV. 560

My Betta fish Ajax finally died last night. He was at least nine months old and had had both his eyes popped out, a flesh-eating fungus consume his face, and a hole in his lip that made it difficult for him to eat. He was past his time; I've been expecting him to die for quite some time now. I'm just glad I didn't have to euthanize him.

I thought the quote appropriate, especially that last line. It wasn't brine, but I'd say Ajax has drunk his fill.

Quick Update and a Funny Bit Of Rambling

There was a death in my family yesterday. A very nice man, my father's brother-in-law's father, died at the age of- well, I can't remember the exact number, but over 90. He'd been sick for a while; I confess I'm not horribly shocked. Still, it's sad. I don't know if I'll be able to go to the funeral or not, considering that it's in Somerville, Mass, this weekend. I feel kinda bad- I want to pay my respects- but I don't think it will work out. It's a pretty long drive, especially when you tack on an extra hour for my parents to come get me.

-----------------------

Not much else to report; my life has been consumed by schoolwork. Tacita's definitely moving out next semester, it's finalized and everything. I've been eating lots of Ramen noodles. As in, an extreme amount. Like, that's all I eat for lunch and dinner. I feel collegiate. Or maybe just poor.

There's a holiday dinner tonight, though. Best go early.

-----------------------

Oh, but today in Myth class, the professor was talking about Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War. See, Achilles' prophetic mother Thetis knew that if Achilles went to war, he'd die there. So Thetis dressed Achilles like a woman and sent him to live on the island of Scyros, hiding among the king's daughters. The Greeks discovered him when they came to Scyros, looking for him, and tested Lycomedes' wives and children by placing out two boxes as if they were merchants. The first box had combs, and jewels, and pretty clothes; the second had cool weaponry. Of course, Achilles went for the swords, while the women looked at the jewels, and the ruse was discovered, so he went to war after all.

Now, I'm sitting there smiling to myself as Clairmont says this, because I'm thinking about what it says about society at that time and the misogynism of Homer that a girl can't play with weaponry (I mean, really- clothes and jewels or a sharp blade? Which would you choose?). Then he says, "Now, one of the girls DID discover that Achilles was a young man, and she became pregnant..."

Oh yeah. THAT'S why girls don't play with swords.

Seriously, can you imagine how that went? Deidameia walks in on Achilles changing or something, and says, "Oh, I'm sorr- OH MY GOD YOU'RE NOT A GIRL! ...you're not a girl... and... WOW you wanna put that away? I mean, uhm... yeah... well... I guess I can overlook the fact that you've been cros-sdressing and hiding amongst my sisters and I for a while, and we'll just have sex right now, shall we?"

And naturally, Achilles is a hero, so he must have superior sperm. Like Heracles, who I like to think of as "Slow-Withdraw McGraw" or "Why They Invented Condoms." Honestly, not even Zeus had that many children in a 40-year-lifespan. For some reason, being a war hero with divine parentage means that you're free from impotence. Luckily for them, patrimony was a later invention.

It's probably for the best that anyone today boasting a divine parent lives in a box and wears tinfoil on their head. Besides the adversity Achilles would have to Trojans, your average hero would spend a FORTUNE in child support.