In the course of my research about this chapter, I found a transcript of Homer’s meeting with his editor where they discuss this chapter: Homer: My loyal friend and staunchest promoter, Oeditus, I bring you greetings from Hellas where the … [Continue reading]
Blogging The Iliad, Book 1 – The Rage of Achilles
January 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment
OK, I finished Book 1 of The Iliad and I'm pretty disgusted with this Achilles guy. He seems like a wus to me. He whines like a little bitch that Agamemnon doesn't appreciate him. When Agamemnon forces him to give up Briseis, the concubine he … [Continue reading]
The Hurricane Relief Pirates
December 18, 2017 by Leave a Comment
When the history of Hurricane Maria is written, I predict it will say that hurricane relief work was too important to be left to the experts. Yes, the Red Cross is here. So are various faith-based charitable organizations. So is the government. … [Continue reading]
Tarping in Chupacabra Country
December 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment
We met at 9:30 Saturday morning at a Thai restaurant in Santurce. The eight of us loaded up three SUVs with water filter kits, tarps, tools, a generator, gasoline, diapers, OTC meds, and water. I lashed a ladder to the roof rack of the … [Continue reading]
United for Utuado
November 19, 2017 by Leave a Comment
It was 60 days after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. After an 80-minute drive from San Juan, 17 of us rendezvoused in Utuado, a down-at-the-heels town in central Puerto Rico. The owners of a fabric store there allow United for Utuado … [Continue reading]
Three Days Back in Puerto Rico
November 17, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The sun was setting when I returned to San Juan. Hard to tell, but I suspect the people aboard the 737 with me were native Puerto Ricans. This was no tourist flight; this was people going home. Loud and extended clapping and cheering broke out when … [Continue reading]
BioMuseo: The Museum of Biodiversity in Panama City
November 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Imagine you blew up a contemporary glass, concrete, steel building. Then imagine you stacked the rubble and painted the roof fragments in the kinds of bright primary colors you find in a kindergartener's crayon box. Then you would have some idea how … [Continue reading]
Motorcycles & Street Art in Panama City
November 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment
My two weeks in Panama were not a vacation for me. On weekdays, I stayed close to my hotel or cafes where internet service was available so I could continue working. I took a lot of photos in that immediate vicinity, namely, the El Congrejo … [Continue reading]
Living Next Door to Roberto Durán
November 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment
I was taught that if your last name isn't Windsor, you have no business having stone lions in front of your house. Unless, of course, your name is Roberto Durán. He's got lions plus Roman statues of women with perfectly hemispherical breasts. I just … [Continue reading]
The Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal
November 5, 2017 by Leave a Comment
It was a 20-dollar/20-minute taxi ride from my hotel in El Cangrejo, Panama City, to the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal. We drove by the port of Balboa and passed scores of cranes loading and unloading thousands of Danish shipping containers … [Continue reading]
