Circular reasoning

I've just started writing about Shakespeare here and hope to eventually go on a Hamlet bender, but first here's a random thought on great literature: it's impossible to read a work of it the first time. That is to say, in order to read one--especially if it is dense and rich--you have to have already read it. At least once.

That may sound strange, but I'll explain. I remember trying to read things like Hamlet and Dante's Inferno as far back as high school. But I didn't get much of it. If someone would have asked at the time what I was reading, I'd have to say with Hamlet, "Words, words, words."

Even things like William Blake's poetry, which seem deceptively simple at first, take a lot of work to really get.

I've found that really difficult (but good) works demand more than one effort and often require background reading before you can really get anything out of them. I'm not ashamed to say I've cracked open some Cliff Notes or the equivalent on more than one occasion just to get my bearings. There's a whole lot you miss the first time through.

I think it took me at least three or four assaults on The Iliad to really begin to get it. Probably more with Dante. Not that I think I've really mastered either. A lot of Shakespeare is like that. While you always get more if you go back, some are easier to get the gist of than others: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar might be examples. Others, like Lear and Hamlet take more work. But I'd say it's worth the effort.

SIZING UP THE MOMENT (and the Obama administration) is the theme of Krugman's latest.

COAL TO LIQUIDS? The WV Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation raises some serious questions about a proposed plant to turn coal into liquid fuels.

FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY. Also from Coal Tattoo, this post looks back on the fourth anniversary of the Aracoma mine fire.

THE BIGGEST LOSER? Here's a look at some loopy weight loss ideas.

ANIMAL ANTI-FREEZE. This article looks at how some humble creatures deal with winter.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Dying for a job

Seventeenth century painting by Philippe de Champaigne.

An article in Wednesday's Washington Post highlighted the Obama administration's efforts to grapple with rising unemployment in the midst of signs of an expanding economy. Both the administration and congress are going to have try to balance the need for action with concern over federal deficits.

Based on some pretty hard social science, there's one thing we know about recession-related unemployment: some people are going to die earlier than they would have because of it.

As British epidemiologist Michael Marmot summed up research on unemployment in Britain in his book The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects our Health and Longevity, "people who became unemployed had 20 percent higher mortality than those who remained employed at the same social class level."

Obviously, lots of factors could be at work here, including greater stress and anxiety, which are known to have health consequences. Poverty could play a part, but Marmot argues that

it is useful to distinguish the two senses of poverty: a lack of basic material conditions for life; and insufficient resources, private or public, to participate in society. The first is unlikely to be the sole explanation, as unemployed professionals, who might be expected to have some saving,s have worse health than those still employed in the same occupational social class. This is not to say that financial problems are irrelevant. Far from it. Financial strain appears to be the complaint most associated with worse mental health in the unemployed. I would ague that this is consistent with poverty in the second sense--inability to participate fully in society. Whether initially well-off, or poorly off, deterioration in economic circumstances will cause real hardship.

Add to the mix another known factor related to health: being involuntarily unemployed also reduces one's sense of autonomy and control over one's life. Taken together, loss of control and inability to fully participate in society are a poisonous mix.

Economist John Maynard Keynes famously commented that "in the long run we are all dead." For some of the unemployed, the long run is getting shorter.

ON THAT SUBJECT, Congress approved an extension of unemployment benefits yesterday. And while we're at it, here's a call for public jobs creation along the lines of the New Deal.

RAMPAGE. It was a terrible day at Ft. Hood.

IS CLIMATE CHANGE happening in the Senate? Maybe, but we're not there yet. Here's Coal Tattoo on the subject.

EXERCISE AND WEIGHT LOSS. There is a connection, but it's not all that simple.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Tragically hip

The Greek theater at Epidaurus. Image courtesy of wikipedia.

Welcome to Goat Rope's latest series on Everything You Always Wanted to Know (or not) about Greek Tragedy. You'll also find links and comments about current events below. If you like this kind of thing, please click on earlier posts.

As mentioned previously, Greek tragedies were originally performed during the spring festival of the god Dionysus. Attendance was a civic and religious duty for Athenian citizens. It involved a contest between three playwrights who produced three more or less related plays and a lighter and cruder satyr play.

What's really tragic is that so few Greek tragedies have survived. Of the three tragedians whose work survives, we only have

*seven by Aeschylus (circa 525-455 BC) out of 70-90;

*seven by Sophocles (circa 496-406 BC) out of more than 100; and

*eighteen or nineteen by Euripides (circa 480-406 BC) out of more than 90. The authorship of one of these is disputed.

The works of other tragedians has been completely lost. There's only instance of a trilogy surviving intact, the Orestes plays of Aeschylus.

Many of the ones that do survive are really, really good. It makes you wonder about what we lost.

If you read the works by author and compare, you'll notice that they seem more recognizable as plays as time goes by. Euripides seems really "modern" compared to Aeschylus.

People at the time were crazy about the stuff. It is said that the very few Athenian soldiers who survived that disastrous invasion of Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War were the ones who had memorized the latest by Euripides.

Who said this stuff wasn't practical?

WHEN UNEMPLOYMENT GOES UP so does poverty.

SPEAKING OF UNEMPLOYMENT, here's one by Barbara Ehrenreich on what to do with the extra time.

SPEAKING OF THE RECESSION, here's Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz on where we are now.

WV ITEMS. State advocacy groups called for minimizing state spending cuts. At Coal Tattoo, Ken Ward looks at the impact of mountaintop removal mining on recent flooding in southern WV.

TORTURE. Here's an analysis of how Americans think about it.

WEIGHT LOSS. It's no picnic.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

WEEKEND SPECIAL: THE UNTRUSTWORTHY REPTILE OFFERS WEIGHT LOSS

For first time visitors, this blog generally covers fairly serious human issues during the week. Weekends, however, are reserved for the commentaries of various animals in and around Goat Rope Farm.

This weekend, we once more with some hesitation feature a commentary by a snapping turtle who refuses to identify himself and who is known simply as The Untrustworthy Reptile. We do not endorse his message nor do we assume any liability for those who act upon his suggestions. Indeed, it is only by virtue of our deep commitment to the First Amendment (although the extent to which it applies to reptiles is unclear) that we agreed, however reluctantly, to run this feature.

It is our deepest hope that by providing space for the expression of (bio) diverse viewpoints that we can elevate the level of discourse and promote a greater appreciation of both the humanities and the animalities.

THE UNTRUSTWORTHY REPTILE OFFERS PAIN FREE WEIGHT LOSS

Hey you...yeah, you...the fat one. C'mere. Man, I feel the earth shake when you walk.

You are one porkerino--I bet you got your own zip code! A little bit more of dragging that carcass around and you're gonna be buzzard chow. No wonder you can't get any dates...

You know what you need? You need to lose some weight--fast. And I got just the thing for you. It's a special recipe made from centipede mucus. All you gotta do is rub a little bit of it on your bloated self. Then you can just sit back and watch the pounds melt away. And the best part is you can eat and drink anything you want! Guzzle down all the beer and pizza you can hold.

Did I mention it lowers cholesterol and reduces risk of heart disease, stroke, shark attack, and parking tickets? Well, it does!

I tell you what--since you are so pathetic looking I'm gonna give it to you free. I keep some in the back of my mouth in a little vial at all times. One little dose and you're set for life.

All you gotta do is reach in and help yourself. Just stick your hand part way in there for a second. Just for a second and then it'll all be good...

Hey! Where are you going? Come back here, you stupid blimp! OK, fine, pop open and rot! See if I care! I hate you!

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED