Friday, April 22, 2005

This one is bigger.
The above are photographs of public latrines from the ancient port of Ostia, Italy. Romans wiped their tails with wet sponges attached to the end of sticks. Refuse usually drained into rivers (the Tiber in Rome). There were no stalls and no Playboys.
Yesterday after Latin I attended a graduate seminar for the pre-Socratic class. It bored me somewhat, for I knew little about the topics presented, though I have decided Heraclitus was funny and Xenophpanes must be added to my "I must read this author" list.
Comparing A Wizard of Earthsea to Kafka's stories for the final English exam ought to produce a hilarious work. Le Guin uses much vivid imagery, and her angst is rather more subtle than Kafka's. Also, she seemed to like her father.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 10:24 AM]