Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?

[vovat]

So you can make polls without a paid account, but it won't alert you when someone has voted in it? Oh, LiveJournal, what blindfolded chimp with a dartboard decided what the advantages of your paid accounts would be?

Anyway, I've now finished reading the first volume of Age of Bronze, Eric Shanower's series of comics about the Trojan War. As might be expected from those who know Eric's work, it's excellently drawn and very detailed. I'm not really that familiar with the story of the Trojan War. I know the basics, and I've read summaries of the Iliad, although not the epic poem itself. I guess I've generally been more interested in the really fantastic and bizarre Greek myths, compared to which the Trojan War story is relatively realistic and mundane. Eric made the interesting decision to keep the Greek gods offstage in Age of Bronze, so as to focus on the human aspect. While I can respect that, it's disappointing in a way, because I would have liked to have seen Eric's renditions of the gods. Oh, well. I enjoyed the first volume, and and I guess I should pick up the second one sometime.

I've also recently read March Laumer's In Other Lands Than Oz, which is a somewhat odd compilation of Oz and non-Oz stories. It includes some of Laumer's own short Oz stories, as well as Fred Meyer's "Scraps and the Magic Box." This was originally written with the intention that people would come up with their own endings, and I have to wonder whether anyone came up with something better than Fred's own. For as much as he knew about Oz and all he did to spread knowledge of the series, writing wasn't really his strong point. There's also a Japanese story about a train that travels to Heaven by means of the Milky Way, an increasingly absurd parody of traditional fairy tales by Laumer himself, a competent non-Oz-related fantasy story about a boy helping a griffin to defeat a centaur, and some other stuff. I think I've now read all of Laumer's Oz work, aside from The Green Dolphin of Oz. That one actually seems to be the easiest to find, even though it's really bizarre and has little to do with Oz. The little I've read didn't interest me all that much, although I did appreciate that Laumer found something to do with the short fragment about the lake near the Emerald City (later named Lake Quad by John R. Neill) that has been attributed to L. Frank Baum himself, although it really doesn't seem much like his work.

And here's a quiz result:

Your Score: Problem Plays

You scored 36% = Tragic, 53% = Comic, 26% = Romantic, 28% = Historic

You are the "Problem Plays!" The Problem Plays are a group of Shakespeare's plays that cannot be readily identified as either Tragedies or Comedies because they have an equal amount of both. The Problem Plays often present the protagonist with a situation that must be overcome, but after a toilsome journey, the hero almost always comes out on top! Often called "tragicomedies," the Problem Plays contain elements of dark psychological drama, light-hearted comedy, and a bit of romance. This means you are most likely a well-rounded individual with a perfect balance Tragedy, Romance, and Comedy in your life. While you may experience some hard times along the way, odds are you will fight through them and come out on top!

Link: The Which Shakespeare Play Are You? Test written by macbee on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(macbee)

Also, since I'm not sure when I'll write my next entry, I might as well go ahead and give early birthday wishes to yosef (one of the few fellow Oz fans on my friends list) and colleenanne (who isn't an Oz fan, but I like her anyway).

Comments

[dragonxbait.livejournal.com]

The little girl I take care of is named Helen (her dad is a Latin and Greek teacher) and I tried to explain Helen of Troy once. It led to a long discussion of why people wage war (her conclusion, to get stuff back). Figuring out how to have age appropriate conversations with a very precocious 5 year old is challenging.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I think "to get stuff back" is actually a pretty good assessment of why war happens.

[dragonxbait.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she is scary smart. Also super anxious, most of the rest of the conversation centered on the likelihood of having a war in her town.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, I remember one of my history professors saying that there was no reason not to worry about the prospect of war while in Indiana, Pennsylvania. I'm sure he was just trying to get us to care about world events, but it came off as rather alarmist.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Ah, they don't even give you specific NAMES of plays for your example? I think they made that up and there's no such thing as Shakespeare's Problem Plays!

Though I came out as "Much Ado About Nothing," which rocks because that's one of my favorites... and, um, IS rather like something I'd write at least, if not completely my life.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

There's a list of the Problem Plays and some explanation of the term here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_plays_(Shakespeare)). I'd never heard it before, either.

[(Anonymous)]

thanks for the birthday wishes, Fellow One of My Few Oz LJ Friends!

[yosef.livejournal.com]

and that was me, of course!

[vovat.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, Fellow Oz Fan Who Forgets to Log In! :P