A.
Life-size statue of Ramses II found in Sharqiya, Egypt. King Ramses II is depicted standing between the goddess Hathor and the god Petah. I’m pleased to get a good look at this particular Ramses since he fights face to face with one of my main characters, Hattusili, future Great King of the Hittites, in one of the opening scenes of my mystery in progress. (I really need to get that “progress” part going more progressively….) Anyone spend parts of their childhood reading about this guy and then trying to “walk like an Egyptian”? Maybe I’m the only one history nerdish enough to have done that. Link here. (By the way, the photo is of Egyptian jugglers, not Ramses, which you probably already noticed. Have to use public domain photos, and this one delighted me when I went looking “like an Egyptian.” Click on link to see old Ramses in his stone glory.)
B.
Deborah Hilcove showed me this article about a newly discovered untouched Etruscan tomb of a nobleman. It goes quite nicely with this week’s review of Elisabeth Storrs’s novel The Golden Dice set in the Etruscan city of Veii. An Etruscan tomb discovered near Tarquinia opens up new study opportunities on the Etruscans. Link here.
C.
10 of the oldest surviving books. It all depends on how you define a “book” but these 10 are pretty fascinating even if this collection ruled out clay tablets, the material of choice for the written word during the period I set my fiction in. They did include a book on gold. Can you guess which culture’s books you’ll find on this list? I’m guessing you’ll be wrong in all but a couple cases. Tell me how you do! Link here.
D.
David Blixt on how he learned to write war from Tom Clancy. David says he writes battles as “big tapestry” w/ multiple characters’ pov’s and he uses escalating cuts of ever shorter scenes to build tension. I tend to write smaller scale than David but I sure learned a lot from this post. One of those wake up and grab you epiphany sort of reactions. David Blixt is a great teacher, isn’t he? Link here
E.
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I keep seeing newspaper articles about productions of “An Iliad” around the country (thanks to my Google Alert set to “Trojan War”). Here’s a great one in Detroit. I wish someone in Phoenix would produce this 90 min. one man show. From the Detroit Free Press: “A bold new updating of Homer’s work by Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson that questions the value of war while also illustrating how a single actor alone on a stage can mesmerize and transport an audience back in time.” Does this sound like a play you want to go see? Link here
I saw the Iliad play at Berkekey Rep and was very impressed. The actor was great. The story well done and i went into the theater with qualms just because I love the Iliad and didn’t want to see it messed up. If you get a chance to see it, do. I am sure they have polished it since I saw it because Berkeley Rep does many shows pre-New York.
Thanks, Priscilla, for the recommendation. I’m definitely going to keep my ear open for a production. I suspect it’s a hard play to produce because it all depends on one man–and you have to have an actor who can pull that off.
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