Ides of Macklemore

I've said it before but, yea. I like hip-hop.  A while ago, I posted about how B.O.B. has alluded to  Caesar in a couple of his songs and it struck me as I listened to Macklemore's latest, Can't Hold Us, that he too has a little tip-o-the-toga as well:

"...I got a world to see, and my girl she wanna see Rome,
Caesar make you a believer. nah I never ever did it for a throne.
That validation comes from giving it back to the people..."

Well, someone gets it at least.  ;)

24 April school-wide seminar--Isaiah Zagar

I'd like to share with you all the general thrust of our seminar: what is art worth to you and, more to the point, how much are you willing to lay out for it?

We began with the Isaiah Zagar (see the Wikipedia entry on him as well as this video promoting his work) bio and body of work but swiftly moved on to questioning how one's art/hobby/etc is monetized and can become a living.  We discussed Kickstarter projects and, specifically, I gave them the example of the Darshan Project which is a photography project aimed at creating devotional icons.  Throuhout were questions of 'how will I know that you'll make the art I've donated to/paid for,' 'what do I get in return' and 'it's your art, why should I bother?'

Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf

Leo is a fictional autobiography of a very real man of the same name (See Wikipedia entry) and while I'm not enchanted by it...  I hope that I am informed.  Specifically, there's a fun item early on about nuts.

Countless little dishes were pressed upon the guests, almonds, pine kernels and nuts, dried and fresh fruits, artichokes and beans, pastries and preserves; it was not clear whether this was to satisfy hunger or to intensify thirst.  I learned much later, in the course of my long sojourn in Rome, that this habit of nibbling while becoming intoxicated was already common among the ancient Romans, who called these dishes 'nucleus'; was it perhaps for that reason that in Granada such dishes were known as 'nukl'?  (Maalouf 16-17)

 So...  Is Maalouf on it and honest or...  Is he an author making a false etymology?  I can find no evidence for either stance.  :\

Maalouf, Amin. Leo Africanus. Chicago: New Amsterdam Books, 1992. Print. 

Latin 1 homework verbs

[please note, I made a mistake and saved this as a draft on Monday afternoon; since this was not brought to my attention until today, I am extending the homework deadline to Monday of next week.  Mea culpa]

• Credo, credere
• Peto, petere
• Venio, venire
• Dico, dicere

Three Ides poems

I've yet to scan in all the visual media project...  But at least I got these typed in!  I have tried my best to preserve the original line breaks, caps, etc.

'Ides of March' by J.N.

44
a date of betrayal
a prophecy fulfilled
an eagle and snake
roles reversed
blood spilled in
jealousy + contempt
purple stained
in red.
A legend
dead.
When will the cycle be over?

No title by C.A. (haiku)

THE FATAL DAY WARNED

BETRAYAL, DECEIT, ABOUT

OH! ET TU BRUTE?

'IDES OF MARCH Poem' by M.S.

In the morning, the light shines
on the Nile and the conspiracy
starts there.

By the noon, the light there
shines on Roma

By evening, the
Ides of March begins

And at the end of the day,
a great man is dead, whose
last words were "Et tu, Brute?"

Latin 1 homework--8 to 12 April

On the worksheet I gave you, provide the fully declined forms and translations of the following nouns:

• Civis, civis
• Corpus, corporis
• Digitus, digitis
• Mors, mortis
• Mulier, mulieris
• Urbs, urbis