Daniel Lavery

Dante's Inferno, Canto VII

Jul 27, 2023 Dante

I didn't quite catch whatever Plutus said – I think it was something about pepper? Aleppo pepper, salt and pepper, something – I don't know, I don't speak Dutch (or whatever they speak in Hell.)

There Are Too Many Little Renaissances

Jul 26, 2023 History

The "Ottonian Renaissance," the "Visigoth Renaissance," the "Carolingian Renaissance" -- everything can't be a Renaissance, you know. You've got to have at least something to Naissance first.

Two Monks Invent Anatomy

Jul 25, 2023 Monks

They're back, baby -- and more confident about the average human neck size than ever before!

It Seems Like You're Not Allowed To Call Anything A Green Man Nowadays

Jul 24, 2023 Artefacts

I had forgotten, but we're not supposed to call them Green Men anymore, aren't we? Nowadays they're all "grassy boys" or "vegetative visages," but God help you if you call them Green M – you-know-whats, I should say.

All About Eve II

Jul 18, 2023 Movies

I've been thinking a bit lately about the difference between movie sequels and movie serials. I remember a lot of complaints in the 1990s about sequel bloat, and I associate that

I Want To Read A Short Story About An Old Astronaut

Jul 17, 2023 Literature

It's okay for the story to be poignant some of the time but it's not a sad story. He can't have dementia or anything, he's not deluded about being a young astronaut, okay. And it's not a commentary on the "decline of empire" after the space race, that's important.