Easily the best podcast I have ever heard...

Tablet V of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Photo by Osama Amin via Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0

The more I read, the more it all begins to converge. The same happens with listening to podcasts. I've been getting through the great books, including various religious texts, and listening to podcasts on my commute has been enlightening.

I am resigned to hearing the commentary on some books I am yet to read, even though this can colour my first reading, much like reading the book after one has seen the movie.

But this recent podcast from the Art of Manliness brings a number of ideas together in an interesting way.

Jordan B. Peterson is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto. Apparently he is somewhat controversial. But aside from all that, this was hands down the best podcast I have heard so far. 

The Epic of Gilgamesh. The Bhagavad Gita. The Book of Genesis. The battle of ideologies. Jung, Nietzsche, myths, literature, history. Suggested reading. Check out the podcast:

The idea of power versus competence is exactly what I needed to hear...

A Short Adventure on a Fast Literary Journey

"He looked like Walter Abel". Photo Wikimedia, Public Domain.

Prefiguration of Lalo Cura by Roberto Bolaño

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I discovered this short story on the podcast The Joy of Serious Literature. It is not something I would usually read. But that is the point of listening to literary critics. To discover new things. 

But here, I have heard the commentary before I have read the piece. I usually prefer not to do this as it directs my thinking as I read. Like reading the novel after you have seen the movie. One keeps expecting the original to live up to the fidelity of critique. It doesn't make sense. 

Nevertheless, if I would never have read something otherwise, does it matter? I think the answer is no; literature provides life lessons we otherwise wouldn't or shouldn't want to, or couldn't, learn in real life without great harm. 

And that is what I have learnt from this experience, and continuing to do so can only add to my appreciation of literature and my exposure to different forms and cultures. Otherwise, I would never leave the harbour of my comfort zone. Ships are meant to be sailed. Comfort zones are meant to shelter one while resting between adventures. 

And there it is: a new adventure in literature from unexpected journeys. Surely this is an important way to learn. Why have I not discussed the short story? Read it. I have nothing more to say about such things.

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Spring time in Gunning

Spring time in Gunning; Photo by Michael de Percy.

The seasons in the Southern Tablelands region are governed by precision clockwork. The second day of spring and the sunlight explodes over the hill in its last minute glory, jolting me out of the chill. Standing in the same place five days before, the snow made me laugh and laugh for joy.

I grew up in tropical Far North Queensland, where the summer never ends. So the seasons are special to me now. The hearth in winter, the bare trees, and then the burst of life as spring stirs me back into existence.

Winter in Mareeba, Far North Queensland, July 2016. Photo by Michael de Percy.

Soon the winds will come, and I will wonder why I live here. Summer will burn me to a crisp. The winds will carry their blast furnace from the fiery west. The blinds on the verandah help create a vacuum that sucks the air out of my lungs in the long afternoons.

Cullerin Wind Farm, Summer 2017. Photo by Michael de Percy.

But then autumn will bring some of the loveliest weather I have known, and after the three-month ritual the winter shall return. Precision clockwork. In tune with the sun and the moon and the earth and my pets. In peace shall I rest with a good book in front of the fire.

But today, this second day, reminded me of the joy that is spring. And it is here!

Autumn 2017, Retford Park, Bowral. Photo by Michael de Percy.