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GeekNights 091008 - Steppenwolf

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  • I did not know until just now that Faust (which I have not read) was not the same as Doctor Faustus (which I have read and own a copy of).

    I read Siddhartha in high school, and the teacher mispronounced Hesse as well.

    I also took many literature courses in high school and college. I think the reason I had not heard Goethe pronounced is because I was given a choice of which literature classes to take. I chose science fiction once in high school and again in college. I also chose literature of war and peace, one of contemporary novels, and one that wasn't so much a literature course, but concentrated on cyborgs.

    I was only ever made to read Shakespeare twice ever. Other than that, there are many many authors and books I know are classics, but I was never assigned, and have yet to read of my own volition. I had seen the name Goethe written down in the past. I knew it was the name of a great literary figure. That is all I ever knew until just recently.
  • edited October 2009
    I was only ever made to read Shakespeare twice ever.
    Jesus Christ. Which plays did you read? Surely you've seen some of the plays performed.

    I'm beginning to feel pretty sad for you.
    Post edited by HungryJoe on
  • Jesus Christ. Which plays did you read? Surely you've seen some of the plays performed.

    I'm beginning to feel pretty sad for you.
    I've read Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. I've seen Romeo and Juilet Opera, and the Hamlet movie that Rym likes so much.
  • Jesus Christ. Which plays did you read? Surely you've seen some of the plays performed.

    I'm beginning to feel pretty sad for you.
    I've read Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. I've seen Romeo and Juilet Opera, and the Hamlet movie that Rym likes so much.
    That's pretty damn sad.
  • That's pretty damn sad.
    I could have chosen to take Shakespeare class in high school and/or in college. I think Pete did actually take the Shakespeare class at RIT. I opted for nerdier options. If I had chosen differently, then you would be berating me in some other thread for not having read Frankenstein or any H.G. Wells. I've only been alive so long. I will die before I have read all the greats. That's just how it's going to be.
  • That's pretty damn sad.
    I could have chosen to take Shakespeare class in high school and/or in college. I think Pete did actually take the Shakespeare class at RIT. I opted for nerdier options. If I had chosen differently, then you would be berating me in some other thread for not having read Frankenstein or any H.G. Wells. I've only been alive so long. I will die before I have read all the greats. That's just how it's going to be.
    I took two different upper-level Shakespeare classes at RIT. My freshman year intro lit courses also made extensive use of Shakespeare. Then again, I also had a minor in Literature, because it was the only option that really appealed to me.

    My one regret is that I always missed the Viking Myth and Saga class. I always had required major courses that conflicted with it.
  • edited October 2009
    That's pretty damn sad.
    I could have chosen to take Shakespeare class in high school and/or in college. I think Pete did actually take the Shakespeare class at RIT. I opted for nerdier options. If I had chosen differently, then you would be berating me in some other thread for not having read Frankenstein or any H.G. Wells. I've only been alive so long. I will die before I have read all the greats. That's just how it's going to be.
    It doesn't take a significant time investment to read a play. You don't have to take a class to read one. You don't even have to pay to read one these days. You should at the very, very least read Macbeth, Othello, and King Lear. I promise they'll be more satisfying than some of the crap I've heard you talking about, like Atomic Robo.

    Try one of the histories. Henry V is probably the most accessible. Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier both did decent movie adaptations. The try Richard III. They're both a lot better than any other media you're consuming right now.
    My one regret is that I always missed the Viking Myth and Saga class.
    Pete, you are a Viking myth. You didn't miss anything because you're living the hero's journey, dude.
    Post edited by HungryJoe on
  • edited October 2009
    I took so many Shakespeare classes (between my Theatre Major and my English Minor) that I actually requested to opt out of one because the course material was redundant and I wanted to take a few classical literature courses.
    Also, how do you live to your mid-twenties and not know Faust? It is so frequently referenced not only in course material, but also in pop-culture that it appears (to me at least) to be a given that anyone even semi-well read and educated would at least know of it and the gist of the story.

    @HJ: Rym and Scott often mispronounce/alternatively pronounce words and names. I am not sure if it is born of ignorance, pretense, or simply that they receive most of their information solely from text and not from discussion, instruction, etc.
    Post edited by Kate Monster on

  • @HJ: Rym and Scott often mispronounce/alternatively pronounce words and names. I am not sure if it is born of ignorance, pretense, or simply that they receive most of their information solely from text and not from discussion, instruction, etc.
    It's a mix. Sometimes it is intentional mispronunciation for humorous purposes, tiTAN. Other times it is because we have only seen the word in text, which is a subset of ignorance. Sometimes it's just difficult to say something properly because it is in such a foreign tongue, e.g: Cthulhu.
  • edited October 2009
    Hungry Joe, beware lest you turn into Kilarney, the man who seemed to take greatest pleasure in harping on pronunciation. Rym, Scott, and I often mispronounce things unintentionally, but once corrected, we will seek out the proper accent for the word in question.

    I have this problem where I will read a name or word and recognize it, but, not having used it in casual conversation, do not know how it is actually said. I am fairly sure Rym is aware of Faust and Goethe's other works, but how often (unless you are in the habit of constantly talking about classic literature with friends) would you hear it said rather than see it in print?

    Actually, it was my mom who taught me how to say Goethe. His work was never, ever mentioned in High School, as far as I can remember. Seriously. Never.
    Post edited by gomidog on
  • Sometimes it is intentional mispronunciation for humorous purposes, tiTAN.
    Don't try and cover tiTAN, Scott. It is only humorous now because you mispronounced so often and fought with everyone that tried to correct you.
    Rym, Scott, and I often mispronounce things unintentionally, but once corrected, we will seek out the proper accent for the word in question.
    Emily, dear-heart, I know you change once corrected, but I also know that Scott and Rym will often persist in their choice pronunciation owing to stubbornness and affectation. ^_~
  • Don't try and cover tiTAN, Scott. It is only humorous now because you mispronounced so often and fought with everyone that tried to correct you.
    Until I was in high school I said "patron" as Pay-Tron. My parents would always correct me.
  • Don't try and cover tiTAN, Scott. It is only humorous now because you mispronounced so often and fought with everyone that tried to correct you.
    If you honestly believe that I at any time did not know the correct pronunciation of the word titan, you need a new sarcasm detector.
  • I remember when I went to an American high school for a few weeks the only "famous" Germans most students new were Hitler, Heidi Klum, Einstein and if you were lucky Nietzsche.

    Forget Goethe, Schiller, Hesse, Heine or even Kant. As I'd written a long time ago the American school system is great for students who really want to learn, but if you're lazy and smart you can get yourself through to college with very little effort. It may be a bit unfair to compare, but it was mandatory in my school to not only read Schiller, Goethe, Nietzsche, Hesse, and other famous German authors, which is quite obvious being German, but also a few Shakespeare plays, The Catcher in the Rye, Poe or Austin.
    At least every student heard of most famous authors.
  • It may be a bit unfair to compare, but it was mandatory in my school to not only read Schiller, Goethe, Nietzsche, Hesse, and other famous German authors, which is quite obvious being German, but also a few Shakespeare plays, The Catcher in the Rye, Poe or Austin.
    At least every student heard of most famous authors.
    You're . . . you're talking about some sort of dreamland.
  • Don't try and cover tiTAN, Scott. It is only humorous now because you mispronounced so often and fought with everyone that tried to correct you.
    If you honestly believe that I at any time did not know the correct pronunciation of the word titan, you need a new sarcasm detector.
    If that was sarcasm intended to be sarcasm, it was your fail - m'dear. You fought pretty hard for YEARS with several people over it. That isn't sarcasm, that is argument baiting.
  • edited October 2009
    Don't try and cover tiTAN, Scott. It is only humorous now because you mispronounced so often and fought with everyone that tried to correct you.
    If you honestly believe that I at any time did not know the correct pronunciation of the word titan, you need a new sarcasm detector.
    If that was sarcasm intended to be sarcasm, it was your fail - m'dear. You fought pretty hard for YEARS with several people over it. That isn't sarcasm, that is argument baiting.
    Kate, was he doing the whole Pee Wee Herman thing; like, "I meant to do that"?
    Post edited by HungryJoe on
  • If that was sarcasm intended to be sarcasm, it was your fail - m'dear. You fought pretty hard for YEARS with several people over it. That isn't sarcasm, that is argument baiting.
    I didn't fight over it. I just kept saying it the wrong way, and people kept trying to correct me. I just ignored them, and they argued against nothing.
  • edited October 2009
    If that was sarcasm intended to be sarcasm, it was your fail - m'dear. You fought pretty hard for YEARS with several people over it. That isn't sarcasm, that is argument baiting.
    I didn't fight over it. I just kept saying it the wrong way, and people kept trying to correct me. I just ignored them, and they argued against nothing.
    So how is that sarcastic? That seems like stubbornness/purposeful annoyance.
    Post edited by Kate Monster on
  • edited October 2009
    I just ignored them, and they argued against nothing.
    Seen from the perspective of everyone else in the world: You stubbornly persisted in being wrong.

    @Kate: Are you familiar with the "Bell Witch" legend and how she was called "Old Kate"? The Bell Witch stories used to scare the crap out of me when I was a child. Is that what you mean by "kate Monster"?

    Going even farther afield on a tangent, did you know about the Nakajima B5N bomber, called the "Kate" by American fighter pilots?
    Post edited by HungryJoe on
  • edited October 2009
    @HJ: No, I am not familiar with that legend. It sounds neat and I will look it up when I have a free moment. Also, no, I was not aware of the bomber.
    Kate Monster is a character in Avenue Q.
    Post edited by Kate Monster on
  • Uh oh, Katsu will now make a moe girl character and name it Kate.
  • Uh oh, Katsu will now make a moe girl character and name it Kate.
    Why are so many of the moe characters young and female? I mean, this one has a girl's name, so I understand that. However, I like the idea of some things being little old men or mexican wrestlers or menopausal women.
  • I have to say I enjoyed the Steppenwolf episode even though every time Rym said "Goathe" I stuck an icepick in my head. LOL. To be fair, they made it clear that they aren't literary scholars up front. For a first reading without scholarly study of commentary and symbolism, I give them props.
  • Uh oh, Katsu will now make a moe girl character and name it Kate.
    Too late. Japan beat him to it.



    I swear, the only reason I know this girl exists is because she's one of the few Canadian characters in anime. ...I do kind of find her funny, though. "OO! SOU NAN DESU KERR!" XD

    More relevant to the episode: currently doing a skim re-read of THHGTTG, as I still remember the text and plot pretty decently between the BBC TV mini-series and re-reading the book a couple years ago. What I really want to do is use this as an excuse to springboard myself into re-reading the other four books, which I have not read in full since grade 12. I know you guys said you're only talking about the first book, but I do hope you at least gloss over a couple details from the others as well. So looking forward to all this Adams goodness. :3
  • Uh oh, Katsu will now make a moe girl character and name it Kate.
    Too late. Japan beat him to it.





    I swear, the only reason I know this girl exists is because she's one of the few Canadian characters in anime. ...I do kind of find her funny, though. "OO! SOU NAN DESU KERR!" XD

    More relevant to the episode: currently doing a skim re-read of THHGTTG, as I still remember the text and plot pretty decently between the BBC TV mini-series and re-reading the book a couple years ago. What I really want to do is use this as an excuse to springboard myself into re-reading the other four books, which I have not read in full since grade 12. I know you guys said you're only talking about the first book, but I do hope you at least gloss over a couple details from the others as well. So looking forward to all this Adams goodness. :3
    I lol'ed and cringed at the same time. That is funny.
  • edited October 2009
    She's like Patricia Martin, who I love very much. Patty-san is such a fujoshi weeaboo, but it doesn't matter. I love exchange student moe characters.
    Post edited by gomidog on
  • I just remembered that I should mention something in this thread. I read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy last week, mainly because of this bookclub, and did a review on my own podcast. You can listen here: http://www.sfbrp.com/archives/125
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