The Endless Knot
We discuss etymology, history, literature, science, and language, and the connections between them.
We discuss the etymology of Yule & the Germanic roots of Christmas traditions, along with Dr. Seuss & the Grinch, beer, & the unsavoury meaning of 'mistletoe'.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas in Latin
The Twelve Days of Christmas video
The Twelve Etymologies of Christmas song
The Twelve Days of Christmas (traditional lyrics)
We chat about stories, myth, and cognition -- and some of the ways narrative shapes our understanding of the world around us. Includes more Doctor Who talk, and some Latin and Old English.
The Latin word novi, from nosco
"The Storytelling Animal" by Jonathan Gottschall
As We Like It: A podcast about film adaptations of Shakespeare
Just a brief announcement of a new podcast, and the reasons for our recent break in posting episodes. New full episode coming soon!
"As We Like It" podcast: Three friends, united by Twitter and marriage, watch and discuss the merits of filmed adaptations of Shakespeare's work.
We play the audio from "Paddle Your Own Canoe" and discuss metaphor, travel narratives, Greek & Roman epic, Star Trek, and Doctor Who.
Paddle Your Own Canoe blog post
Blog post on Spatial Metaphors for Time
Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica
Thomas Cole "The Voyage of Life"
Ernst Curtius, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages
James Burke, Connections, "Death in the Morning"
A conversation with Dr. Janice Liedl, history prof at Laurentian University, about fandoms, science fiction, Star Wars and Star Trek, a treason trial in the time of Henry VIII, and how history and the study of history connect to all of it.
“The Battle for History in Battlestar Galactica” in Space and Time: Essays on Visions of History in Science Fiction and Fantasy Television (McFarland, 2010).
A special episode, recorded at the cottage! We chat about unplugging, the etymology of 'harvest', poetry, and what to call a group of loons.
Ep. 72 of the Let's Drink About It Podcast with the recipe for The Journey Cocktail (I forgot to mention that I also used the wrong kind of port!)
Horace, Ode 1.11in Latin and English
Robert Herrick's poem "Gather ye rosebuds..."
Blog post and video ("Gimlet") mentioning Erasmus Darwin & the Lunar Society
We discuss Plato's views on writing, the effects of technology and relationships on memory, and the naming, origin, and mythology of Pluto.
We discuss and play "A Detective Story" (6'40'' - 20'40''), touching on Sir Gawain, Sherlock Holmes, memory palaces, and other ways to remember things.
"A Detective Story" blogpost has more information and relevant links.
"Sir Gawain & the Green Knight" at The Toast by Mallory Ortberg, @Mallelis (I mixed up her name, sorry!)
The opening quotation in the video is from "A Scandal in Bohemia"
The text of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"
The cognitive science heptagram
The "Method of Loci" or Memory Palace
The "Sherlock" episode about the blackmailer: His Last Vow (3.3), loosely based on the Doyle story "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"
Plato quoting Socrates in the Phaedrus, arguing that the invention of writing led to forgetfulness
This episode explains the origin of The Endless Knot videos and introduces the podcast, and we play the audio for the Introduction video (from 9mins to 16 mins) and discuss it.