Jan. 4th, 2016

Whilst visiting my sister over the christmas period, she introduced the notion of 'Hygge' (pronounced 'Hoo-gah'), a Danish tradition of 'creating a warm atmosphere' which includes lights, candles, warm food and plenty of snuggly clothes and blankets. I suppose the Nordic regions know a lot about keeping good winter cheer as they have longer, darker days than even their soggy partners in the UK.
Here is a LINK that talks about creating 'hygges' and seeing if the idea is exportable.
Ulysses - Preparation Ground
Jan. 4th, 2016 04:33 pm
Back to work on Ulysses - Joyce is a piece of work, isn't he? Decided that I will concentrate on 'Exploring the theme of Sex' in Ulysses - because there is so much of it. Either 'repressed turned strange' or 'freaky exhibitionism'. Though reading through the 'Lestrigonian' chapter reminds me a lot of his letters with Nora Barnacle which had the class thoroughly silenced (somethings cannot be 'unread'). My former lecturer (and now firm friend) is not pro Joyce and I thought of her when I saw this cover( Under the Cut as NSFW )
A lot of hallucinagenic 'modernist' stuff which I have to not be so 'anachronistic' about - as in 'stop jumping to conclusions of the audience who reads this'. I wonder why the university keep giving us assignments on sex? Because most students will get interested, or that the lecturers want to be titivated on a long winter's night? Or a good laugh (I am not sure which)? I have to write about Lolita straight after this, which doesn't help. Right now, I am trying to decipher Nausicaa and Circe and make it last 3,000 words.
James Joyce, you are one strange cookie.