September 07, 2005
I like the second one
Drink at Work: Why the House Canceled Hearings on Katrina Response
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 25, 2005
I've made that drive
Thoughts Entertained During the Long Drive Between Mobile and Birmingham, Alabama
Actually, by the end I'm not thinking at all. All my mental resources are tied up in trying to keep my eyes on the road instead of picking up a book to read at 75 MPH.
The worst part about this drive is that you've gone all the way to Mobile and you're still an hour from the beach!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 20, 2005
Ye Olde Parchement Paladins
The Poor Man Cafe : Keyboard Kommando Klassics presents …
It's a tapestry of fun.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 24, 2005
The Onion inaccurate!
The Onion | Police Sketch Artist Likes How Portrait Of Serial Rapist Turned Out
This is really silly, but it bugs me that America's Finest News Source seemingly thinks that the University of Alabama is in Birmingham.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:28 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
April 01, 2005
Gosh, that looks familiar
TeeVeePad: Celebrity TV Weblogs
What is today, anyway?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:04 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 30, 2005
The Early History of Sarcasm
The Early History of Sarcasm
While forms of sarcasm have existed throughout human history, as an organized system it is traced to the Greek philosopher Sarcastus of Chios (c. 440 BC-c. 370 BC), whose teaching method was to approach other philosophers and ask their own questions back in a funny voice. Little of Sarcastus' work survives (he purportedly claimed it was "too subtle") but an excerpt of a late attack on Plato was preserved:
So Plato says that there's nothing going on between him and all those young men from the gymnasion. It's all strictly nonsexual. Sure.
Many important philosophers are said to have studied Sarcasm, though most gave it up for the most part by the age of thirty or so. Sarcasm also was influential in Hellenistic Judea, as shown by this fragment of the apocryphal Second Testament of Joab:
11. And Joab said unto the Lord, Lord lead me to my flock. 12. And the Lord said unto Joab, Sure, I don't have anything better to do. 13. Only the creator of the universe here. 14. I'll put the Messiah on hold and help you find your stupid sheep.
While Sarcastic philosophy survived into the Roman era, those practicing it were often subject to suppression, in particular during Caligula's "Laughing now, funny boys?" persecutions of 39-40 AD. The Sarcastic School was finally supressed by Constantine the Great in 320 AD, following the pleas of Christian bishops.
Sarcasm continued as an unofficial movement in the Eastern Roman Empire, but fell into disrepute in the West; with the collapse of the Empire, invasions of barbarians, and rise of feudalism, everyone figured things were bad enough already.
However, the next full flowering of sarcasm would only come with the rise of Islam. In the Sunni/Shi'ite split, both sides used sarcasm as a weapon, though taunts such as "At least you Sunni's Caliphs are descended from the Prophet. Oh, wait." lacked the panache that would come in ninth century Baghdad. There, sarcasm would be raised to an art form, beginning a tradition that still thrived even a couple of years ago.
Part II to come. Eventually. If I get around to it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:51 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack