What I’m reading: The Odyssey
What I’m listening to: A bunch of Anthony Hamilton records. Whoa, nelly.
What I’m watching: Outside of American Splendor (on Halloween, because we didn’t get around to watching it on Harvey Pekar’s birthday earlier in October) not much of anything, besides some World Series games.
What I’m drinking: Fifty Pounds gin & Q-Tonic.
What I’m eating: A peach and blueberry pie. It’s the last one of Farmers’ Market season, which saddens me. It was my Saturday tradition (formerly our Saturday tradition, but Little Ms. Gluten-Free Diet can’t participate anymore), picking up a 5″ fruit pie from the Concklin Orchards stand for weekend devourification. The dogs will be sad/confused, too, since they somehow figured out the 7-day schedule and knew that Saturday mornings were when they get to promenade around the market and get love and affection from unsuspecting locals.
What Rufus & Otis are up to: They enjoyed some longish mid-week walks, courtesy of some unseasonably lovely weather. And when things started to cool down again, they still managed to get in another 5-mile grey-hike! Pix here! Spex here! And then, they got dressed up for Halloween . . .
Where I’m going: Back to Ithaca, even if I didn’t think too much of this essay.
What I’m happy about: Getting that first podcast out of the way. Also, discovering that Tyler Brule of Monocle has many of the same poor mannerisms that I do when conducting interviews/conversations: too many “um”s and “you know”s and a tendency to speak in full — and multiple — paragraphs.
What I’m sad about: That he’s much more successful than I’ll ever be. Also, that whole peach and blueberry pie thing.
What I’m worried about: Writing two articles in the next two days to wrap up my Nov/Dec issue. So, um, don’t call, okay?
What I’m pondering: Whether to consider the Odyssey in terms of a whole with the Iliad, or whether to contemplate the Iliad on its own, without considering Odysseus as an alternative to Achilles as Best of the Achaians.
My instinct has always been to assess The Odyssey as, at best, complementary to The Iliad, but never as part of the same work. They are too different in almost every regard, and similar only in setting and characters. Also, I never really liked The Iliad, but immediately like The Odyssey.