The Vote is In

...And I am deeply unimpressed with my readership. Though I am posting this three days late, I have received a grand total of -- wait, let me count again -- one vote. Even I, though I know my readership is small and inconsistent, am underwhelmed.

...

In any case, I suppose I have to take this to mean that my readers are unanimous: the winner of the Bearded Man Challenge is -- drumroll, please -- Owen.
Perhaps I should announce it with rather more pomp and circumstance, but I really don't have much more presentation for it; Owen will receive, as promised, some kind of silly, and utterly superfluous prize, and....that will conclude things.

So, for the last time here,
PLaATS,
--Gazebo

The End (And Week 9 of the BMC)

It is with very little regret that I announce here that this blog is approaching its terminus. I say this, not because I dislike blogging (indeed, when I actually get around to it, I love it, and may continue on another blog -- but I'll address that in a bit), but rather, because as of Thursday, I will no longer be living in Sweden, which makes a blog whose purpose is to report my stay in Sweden rather obsolete. The reason I don't regret this is because it means going home and seeing all (most) of my friends again, the majority of whom I haven't seen in six months now.

On another note, I have the final (belated) entries for the Bearded Man Challenge:

Here I am, grinning like a madman after coming back from Italy:


And my chin (also grinning -- secretly):


Presenting...the Spaniard!


And by "Spaniard," I mean Irishman...with a stache:



And a gor -- I mean, Anna:


I don't have a witty comment for this one...may the gods preserve me:


So actually, this won't be the absolute last post here; for the next week, I will be accepting votes for the final winner of the BMC via email or comments on this (the blog page -- for you Facebookers, I may not check the comments there, so send me an email). As a clarification, I am posting this on Wednesday, August 29th, so the deadline will be Wednesday, September 5th...but if, at some point, I still haven't posted a winner, your vote will probably still be taken.

In other news, as I mentioned, I have just returned from my tour of Europe, having visited England, France, and Italy. As usual, don't expect photos (unless you're reading this on Facebook, and even then, don't count on it), but I might put up a few at some point. Also, if you ask me in person, I'd be happy to tell you stories about it, but I really would rather not type up a full report of the trip here, so I'll stick to the essentials --

Vital Statistics of the Trip:

3 Airplanes
1 Punt
1 Water Taxi
1 Private Car
2 Funiculars
11 Subways
11 Taxis
24 Trains
41 Busses

...and...

57 Pizzas

Obviously the most important information regarding the trip, so what else needs to be said?

Still More News:

Though this blog is ending, I will be working on other projects in the near future, including a webcomic, to be found here, though I will probably move it as soon as I can find a more convenient way to host it (right now, it's a subdirectory of a friend's website), and will post a link to the new location both here and where it is now. In theory, it will update once a week, although we'll see how regular this turns out to be. Additional future projects may include a podcast, another blog, and/or another webcomic, this in collaboration with a friend of mine, all of which will be linked to here, so this blog may turn into nothing more than a stomping ground for links to other projects...
So be it.

For almost the last time, I am welcoming questions, comments, love notes or hate mail at smithw12321@gmail.com

Peace, Love, and All That Jazz,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man -- Eighth Week

So I more or less missed the seventh week, and I'm not going back...the hike was great, though -- there are pictures up on my Facebook, for those of that have Facebook. For those of you that don't....I'm lazy, and it's past my bedtime. Maybe I'll get some up later. I suppose, though, a brief summary wouldn't kill me:
I was with my brother, my dad, a friend of mine, his brother, and their dad, up in Lapland, which, for those of you unfamiliar with Swedish geography, is a section of Sweden far up north, above the Arctic circle. Most of the hike was through huge glacial valleys, which were beautiful -- there were no trees at all (except for the first and last days), so all the mountains around us looked like overgrown hills that you could run up in five minutes. Of course, to even reach the base would have taken at least half an hour; remove anything to give you perspective, and, well, you don't have perspective. It was somewhat odd, actually. On the second to last day, we climbed the highest mountain in Sweden: Kebnekaise. The peak was very strange -- the entire rest of the mountain was bare rocks, but on top of the level section was what looked like a scaled down model of the Matterhorn, or a cartoon of a snowy mountain. It was very bizarre.
That being more or less the highlight of the trip, it proceeded to rain until we got off trail, assisting the rocks in doing nasty things to my feet. But they've more or less recovered since, so all's well that ends well.

Moving on, now, here is this week's update for the BMC:

Anna, as always:


And her chin up close:


Me, post shower:


And (yawn...three twenty in the morning...) my chin:


So, beginning next week, the BMC (and, for that matter, anything related to this blog) will be more or less at random, when I can get to a computer, as I'm leaving on the third (friday) for the "grand tour" of europe -- we're going to England, and then through France, to Italy. By the time I get back to Sweden, it'll be time to pack to come home. Exciting, eh?
So don't expect too much in the way of updates, at least, not regular ones, from now on. But you can still send questions, comments, cryptic messages, love notes, and death threats to smithw12321@gmail.com
PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man Challenge -- Sixth Week

So I lied. I did not get the Paris pictures up, and, as it seems, I'm unlikely to. In fact, if ever I say that I will post pictures of something other than the bearded man challenge, assume I'm lying, because I'm simply not that organized.
In other news, those of you who have long memories (or who feel like reading through my archives) will recall that, back before I left, I was upset, because Metallica was playing in Stockholm and I couldn't get tickets. However, I managed to see them anyways!
The show was on thursday, and took place in an open-air ampetheater. I was able to stand across the street from the entrance and see a good deal of it; I could pick out James (the singer/rhythm guitarist), Kirk (lead guitar), and Rob (bass) some of the time. The only one I couldn't see was Lars (drums), which, I suppose, given the way the man has acted, is as it should be.
Partly because I don't feel like going on for too long, and partly because my battery is not long for this world, I'm going to move on to this week's BMC updates; if you want more details on the show, email me or IM me (for those that have my IM).

So, without further ado, the Bearded Man Challenge:

Anna: that beard's coming along nicely -- and I like the mustache; looks kind of Spanish, turned up at the ends like that.

And her chin up close. Unless I'm mistaken (and I'm not; I checked), that's the first time in a while that we've had a side-chin shot like that.


And now my face, in all its glory...


And my MMMs (see week 4) -- smile!:


One last piece of news, before I depart: next week, I will be unable to update the Bearded Man Challenge on schedule, as I will be hiking in northern Sweden with family and friends. I believe we return on the 25th, which is Wednesday, and will attempt to post then (although I'm not entirely sure that's the date of return, so it may be later). Between now and then...read Deathly Hallows!!
PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man Challenge -- Fifth Week

So...this blog seems to be deteriorating; I haven't posted much in the way of anything in the past couple of weeks except for updates on the Bearded Man Challenge, which take all the effort of....I don't know, swatting a fly, or something. In any case, I am hereby resolving to, on those weeks that I am in town (of which there will be few in the upcoming month or so), put up at least one post that does not relate to the BMC. Hopefully, I will be able to get the Paris pictures up soon, and then next week, I'll rant about something random...

In any case, here is this week's update:

Anna, looking like...like...*sings* "a sweep is as lucky as lucky can be..."
Er...I mean...

And looking like a convict...or something:


And now me, with glasses (gasp!):


But not really using them....and my mug up close:


And, as always, send me death threats or marriage proposals: smithw12321@gmail.com
PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man Challenge -- Fourth Week

I return from Paris! A full description is forthcoming, but not tonight. That must wait until I get the photos (of which there are many) onto this computer; the best of which, I will post here. The rest will be posted on my facebook, and I'll send out emails of some to interested parties (there are really far too many to email them all out).
Now on to the Bearded Man Challenge! Owen and Conner are absent as of yet, but I'm told they will be sending the pictures later, and I'll post them then.

Here's Anna....I wanted to say this last time, but restrained myself; I can't resist now: she looks like a chimney sweep:


And her chin up close (a smile!):


And me, with my ridiculous tousled hair (I've been getting grief for doing that):


And my Massively Masculine Mandibles (tee-hee):


So, until next time (tomorrow or whenever I get around to it),
PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man Challenge -- Week Three

Yet another round of the Bearded Man Challenge. Since Connor and Owen (yes, they are brothers, although they hardly look like it) are in San Diego, they are unrepresented this week, but there are still two of us, and more are always welcome.

So, without further ado...Anna:


And her chin...definitely progressing, that:


And me, handsome as always for those interested (you know who you are):


And my jaw...as a friend of mine said, my "charismatic chin":


And...the usual waffle about join the BMC. Also, send the usual (questions, comments, death threats, marriage proposals) to smithw12321@gmail.com
PLaATJ,
-Gazebo

Paris!

Yep. I'm going to Paris. And it will be awesome. And yes, I just managed to delete my post, so this is the abridged version. We're leaving on Thursday, and getting back on Sunday, so never fear, I shall miss no updates for the Bearded Man Challenge. Speaking of which, there's one due today. But for that, I need the pictures from the entrants. And that's a whole other barrel of flaming monkeys*.
In any case, the Paris trip looks to be incredible, and for those of you seething with jealous rage as you read this (I know you're out there!), or those simply interested, I will make sure to take endless numbers of pictures, the best of which, I will post here. We don't have much in the way of an itinerary yet, but it seems we're to be going up the Eiffel tower (duh. Who doesn't?), and possibly making a trip out to Versailles one of the days. In all probability, we're likely to do the rest of the touristy stuff; the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Champs-Elysees...the list goes on. But, due to my parents' attitude towards computers and family trips, I will likely be incommunicado from Thursday until my return, at which point, I will check my email, and fully expect you to have sent me a flood of questions, comments, love notes, and hate mail, none of which I get enough of. If you're so inclined, my email is, as always, smithw12321@gmail.com.

In other news, you may have noticed some changes to the layout; I've put up a whole bunch of links, and a new poll. And before you ask, XKCD is not an acronym, it's simply a word with no phonetic pronunciation. The best way to explain the links is for you to, well, follow them. Enjoy!

PLaATJ,
-Gazebo

Backlogged BMC Posts

I just got these now, but they're for this week and last week..

Last week's:

Anna -- yes, that's a mowhawk:


And her chin up close -- really looks much nicer when she smiles:


This week's:


And her chin up close....still no smile...:


Yes, I really will take entries from anyone. All you need is a beard, and I'm not overly picky about what sort. Have fun!

PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

Patti Smith

This evening, I went to a Patti Smith concert, which was very good. Unfortunately, most of the people I've told this to have responded with "who...?" So I feel that I should give a sort of explanation. She has been described as the "poet laureate of punk," and, if the term is applicable, or even possible, I would probably call what she plays "progressive punk," meaning that it has a bit of an art-house style to it, which makes it really interesting, and definitely worth listening to. If you really want to read more about her, just head on over to Wikipedia. And if you feel like giving her a listen...I most definitely won't illegally send you copies of it. No, not at all...

So now I get to describe the concert, and the circumstances which led to me being there. A friend of mine (who should be participating in the BMC, but whatever...) had an extra ticket, because he was going to go with his dad, who happened to to be in Norway at the time, which led to logistical problems...so I got the ticket. This was something of a surprise, and when offered the ticket, I confess, my first reaction was also "who...?" This resulted in my friend burning me a disc of some of her songs, so I would be ready when it came time to see the show, and was I ever...
We were down in the pit, right up close to the stage, which meant we were standing for the whole show, which was actually a lot of fun; meant jumping around and screaming a lot. That's not normally my cup of tea, but this concert was cool enough to make me enjoy it...or maybe I just secretly like jumping up and down screaming. Whatever the case may be, Patti Smith has gained a fan.
Oddly enough, the guitarist reminded me of Slartibartfast, but it's possible that that's just because all old men with hair like that remind me of him....

PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man Challenge -- Second Week

Sooooooooo....the bearded man challenge continues! With another contestant -- give it up for Connor!

Connor:


I don't *think* he's usually cross-eyed.....here's his chin up close:


Here's Owen, dashing as always:


And his chin up close:


And me...again, this first one for those of you just interested in my amazingly handsome face:


And this one for those interested in the progress on my chin:


And...another call for anyone who wants to participate, send your chin to smithw12321@gmail.com, along with any questions, comments, love notes, or hate mail you feel like passing along (spam, however, will be deleted without comment).

PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man Challenge -- First Week

As promised, I have the first pictures for the Bearded Man Challenge (at this point, really the beardless man challenge...but whatever). Unfortunately, very few of you (read as: one) sent me pictures, so I'm going to have to change the rules: you may join at any time (I will update once a week), but the first set of pictures must be clean-shaven. Please do entertain us all, and send me pictures!

Here they are:

Me (2 pix)

First one: For those of you actually interested in my chin.

Second one: For those who just want a picture of my dashingly handsome face (you know who you are!)
Owen (of Hedgeblog -- 2 pics):

His chin:

His chin...again. Very handsome, he.

Closing notes...send me your face!
PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

Cheating on My Blog...With Books

For some reason, this feels like cheating...probably because it doesn't require a great deal of thought. Maybe it is. But then, it's my blog, is it not?
In any case, "this" is a questionnaire about books; a worthy subject, even if writing a blog post on a questionnaire is suspect. But time evades me, and horizontality calls, so I will cut to the heart of the matter.
I suppose it would be prudent here to ad the aside "with the exception of The Gawgon and the Boy or Ishmael," much like Shamus Young does with the Bible, as they would be an applicable (if increasingly bland) answers to all of the questions, with the possible exceptions of 7, 8, and 9 -- I love the books, and would never wish nonexistence on them, sadly, I am reading many other things at the moment, and have no spare time (or processing power) to add them to "the list," at the moment. Nine is debatable, because it could be argued that I've been meaning to read them for a while; whenever I feel at a loss for something to do or read, I contemplate picking one of them up, but then usually get distracted by something else, such as Robo being finished with the computer, another book, possibly mindless (Harry Potter, for instance*), or some such thing. Although, really, I suppose, they don't apply to nine, because I haven't made any active plans or intents to read them.

Other books that should be excluded on similar grounds:
The Story of B
My Ishmael
His Dark Materials (trilogy)

On with the show!

1. One book that changed your life:

Hard to say; probably either The Hobbit or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**, because those were two of the first fantasy books I ever read (I suppose one could also include on that list Dragons of Autumn Twilight, but in doing so, my answer strays yet further from the caveat of the question "one book"), both of which I have latched onto. As time progressed I have become more inclined towards The Lord of the Rings, and similar epic fantasies, rather than the light-hearted tomfoolery of Bilbo and the dwarves, but much of fantasy harks back to LOTR, which in turn harks back to The Hobbit -- I also would probably never have read the Lord of the Rings without having read The Hobbit. So, in short, it would suffice to answer the question with simply The Hobbit; amazing as Potter is, and influential as it has been (mostly to other people), I wouldn't say it has changed my life a great deal, at least not to the degree that others have (see the increasing list of books excepted from the answers).

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Of nearly all series and books, the Potter series is the one I reread the most, probably because of it's light prose, and the compulsiveness of the story; even having read them many times (I've lost count at this point), one still wants to experience it again, to follow Harry through every step of becoming a wizard, and perhaps more importantly, a man.
That said, Half-Blood Prince is, for some reason, my favorite so far (although Deathly Hallows may challenge that), because it seems to be the point at which things actually begin to *happen*. Throughout the first five books, JK sets up certain mysteries, questions for the obsessive fans to ask, and finally, with HBP, she begins to answer them.
Also (and I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit it), I like to see Harry have a girlfriend, if just for a short time.

*cough*... I'm not a fanboy -- it's just an easy read, hardly great literature.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:

Des Cartes' Meditations on First Philosophy, partly because I would be able to read it and take it in fully, with no distractions -- a feat that has become increasingly difficult with the all-pervasiveness of modern society -- and because it discusses skepticism and the question of existence, and where better to question the existence of the world than on a desert island?

4. One book that made you laugh:

The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. In seventh grade English, we had a portion of the class set aside for individual reading, supposedly to promote such practices outside of the classroom. "Codswollop, in my opinion." Those who will read, will read anyways, and those who won't will hardly be changed by that. In any case, during one such session, I had chosen Hitchhikers' to read, and upon opening it, began giggling, chuckling and perhaps snorting in what must have been a rather unseemly manner, as I began to attract funny looks from my neighbors, who were all probably immersed in deep literature (read as: books on the level of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants). Of course, I rather resented the attention, but the book was so absurdly funny -- and this was not, I will hasten to add, even the first time I had read it, merely the most dramatic -- that I couldn't help but continue to do so, in spite of the side effects. And that was just the first page. Literally.

5. One book that made you cry:

I cannot recall a book that has made me cry. Not because I haven't read books that would incite that; describing sad or horrible things -- Elie Wiesel's Night, for example, should have made me cry, but for whatever reason, I don't cry at books. Nor movies. Call me cold, if it strikes your fancy, but media just doesn't seem to bring out that kind of reaction in me.

6. One book that you wish had been written:

Sun Tzu's Art of Peace. Because peace is much harder to maintain successfully than war, and I don't know of any really famous books on the philosophy of peacekeeping, and it would be rather less straightforward than one on war -- more subtlety is required, and it would be interesting to see one such great mind tackle such a problem.

7. One book that you wish had never been written:

This is a bit of a tricky question, because although there are certainly books that have caused, or been the focus of no end of suffering (Mein Kompf, various religious texts, and anything on the ninth grade reading list, to give a few examples), there have assuredly been positive outcomes of nearly all literature, and even those without even that saving grace are legitimate exercises of freedom of speech, and to deprive the world of any ideas, however horrible, is always a loss -- perhaps one would quibble over some of the morals promoted in books that may have been found in the library of Alexandria, but one could never deny that it burning was a loss to the world. Likewise, I would argue that one should never destroy ideas or prevent them from occurring, merely prevent the dangerous ones from gaining too strong a hold upon the world.

8. One book you’re currently reading:

Sun Tzu's Art of War -- but only partially. I have a tenancy to start books and not finish them. Then, if it strikes my fancy, I'll pick up where I left off, some months later. Of course, it's rather short, so if I was so inclined, I could finish it in no great length of time. Some things about it irritate me: his continually citing very specific numbers (If you do X, you will lose 3/8 of your troops, if you do Y, 2/3 of the enemy's army will flee, etc), and his continual use of the units "Li" -- a measurement of distance to which I have nothing to compare. Of course, this is not something that he could necessarily have been avoided; it was simply the units in use at the time, but it manages to irk me nonetheless.
That aside, the book is very good for what it is; it makes statements that one might complain are obvious, but if kept in mind, are likely to procure one an advantage. A good example of this is: "Attack where your enemy can not possibly defend, and only hold where he can not possibly attack," or something to that effect. You can find it (and hundreds of other public domain books) as free ebooks at Project Gutenberg.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Again. That is, I've been meaning to reread it. For some reason, I've always been attracted to stories detailing the development of powers of one sort or another (thus explaining my infatuation with both the Harry Potter series and Robert Heinlin's Starship Troopers -- the book of course; I've heard the movie was terrible), and the entire section of the story that concerns Strange, which is about 3/4 of the book is, to some degree, concerned with that; he becomes exponentially more powerful as the story progresses, and always in very interesting ways -- walking in the paths behind mirrors, to name an example -- thus making the book of perpetual interest to me. Also, it is insanely long; eight hundred some-odd pages in type about half the size of the Potter books, which allows it to meander at a rather slower pace than many other books, and to take sidetracks and tangents that only someone interested in the development of the setting (which is awesome, by the way, if it happens to be your cup of 800 page tea) would enjoy. Overall, it is rather more fulfilling than much of the fantasy I find is being produced nowadays -- actually, more than most of the literature of any sort being produced nowadays. I await the sequel.


In retrospect...I'm long winded. One other thing I wanted to mention in this post is that a friend of mine has begun his own blog: Hedgeblog. Bear in mind that he is a newb, not a noob (the difference is explained here), and has not yet reached the peak of his literary prowess. Trust me though, when he does, it will be one hell of a peak.
That's all for now.

PLaATJ,
--Gazebo


* This is not intended to be a snipe at the Harry Potter books; I am as much of an obsessive fan as any of you, and love them dearly. However, they are certainly light reading, and require little thought to enjoy them as passive reading (overanalyzing, however, requires a rather closer read...).

** To any and all Brits reading this (who am I kidding? -- I know who reads this...): I'm fully aware of the proper title of the book...however, *I* read Sorcerer's Stone.

The Bearded Man Challenge

The Bearded Man Challenge is almost exactly what it sounds like: it's a beard-growing contest. On Monday, June 11, I will shave off my beard and mustache, photograph my face, and post it here. I will then refrain from shaving all summer, posting photographic updates about every week or so, as I find time. Your challenge is to do the same, beginning with a full clean shave on Monday, and send me the pictures, at smithw12321@gmail.com, and don't shave at all. At the end of the summer, I will judge (with the help of those readers who care to vote) who has the most impressive beard, and will award them...something silly, that I have yet to decide upon. And massive bragging rights.
Of course, girls are welcome to participate as well, although they may have less exciting effects...however, I have had suggestions that they do this with other parts of the body, such as the legs or head. I'm sure this could be quite as entertaining as the beards.
Please join me! Send in your starting pictures by Monday at 10 pm MY time, which is 4 pm in Hanover and the rest of the east coast. Again (like an advertisement...which, I suppose, in a sense, this is), send them to me at smithw12321@gmail.com. Also accepted are questions, comments, love notes, and death threats.
As always, PLaATJ,

--Gazebo

Testing Methods

Now I have two yellow belts.

That statement probably needs explaining, and as such, I will explain it. Yesterday, I had my examination in Jujitsu for yellow belt, and, due to the fact that it is nearly impossible to fail the first belt test in any martial art (and, if I do say so myself, that I did rather well), I passed with flying colors. Strangely, or so it seemed to me, the actual test was of very little event; myself and the one other student at my level performed all of the techniques we had yet learned for one of the instructors, and were then told to go down to the martial arts store and buy a yellow belt (incedentally, they'll sell you any color of belt you ask for; if you really wanted a black belt, they'd give it to you...just be wary of walking into a gym wearing it), and that was it. No formalities, no running around shouting "yes, SIR!", no to-do at all. The reason this strikes me as odd is that when I earned my other yellow belt, this in Tae Kwon Do, there was all of that foomph; a panel of blackbelts staring at us while we ran, jumped, shouted, etc.. I somewhat prefer the method of testing in this Jujitsu class, as it puts a great deal less stress on those testing (the only person even watching the test was my dad, who was used to coming to to my Tae Kwon Do tests, which were awash with spectators). On the other hand, the informality of it made it seem like a great deal less of an accomplisment; I was always quite proud of myself after a Tae Kwon Do test -- the instructors would come up and tie the belt on you and they'd all shake your hand and say "good job," and you'd turn around and bow to the audience, and then turn back around and bow to the panel, and then you'd go sit down and watch the next group test, while playing with your new belt and feeling incredibly relieved, despite the fact that almost no one ever failed a test. I do seem to recall seeing someone not pass, but it wasn't someone I knew, and as such, it didn't really effect me. That kind of formalities, though, really aren't my thing, and the simple test in Jujitsu strikes me as a better way of going about such things.

PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

Trauma? Not Quite...

So, as is the way of things, events that happen on Saturday are reported on Monday night. Let's hear it for my reliability and dedication...
As for what happened on Saturday that merits reporting...I got up, ate breakfast...yeah, yeah, fast forward to the exciting bit, right? Okay. At around two o'clock, I walked into a jazz club by the name of Stampen, carrying my guitar. Needless to say the statement "I walked...carrying my guitar" is redundant, as I never go anywhere without it, but in this instance it's relevant, I swear. But I digress. I walked into Stampen for the express purpose of participating in what they call a "bluesjam," which was essentially an open mic, with a focus on...you guessed it, blues (no points for guessing that one). It took me all of a minute to realize that I was the only one with an acoustic guitar. Disregarding this, I took my turn at the mic, and played "Under the Bridge" and "The General." As I did so, I was literally shaking, despite not being cognitively afraid. It struck me afterwards that this was my first real public performance, and that was nothing unexpected. In spite of that revelation, the shaking was still quite distracting.
To make a long story short, I played like crap, or so I thought. In retrospect, though, Under the Bridge didn't go too badly, and what's important is that I did it at all; one has to start somewhere. That's what I'm telling myself at least. In any case, I plan to do it again, so it can't have been that traumatic. Or maybe I'm just insane. Only time will tell *cackle*...

In other news, Nasa (a friend of mine's nickname, not the American space agency) has been so kind as to format my transcriptions of the Latin inscriptions of last week into a more conventional text (lower case, with actual macrons and æ's). Unfortunately, my digital expertise does not extend to converting the pdf into a file type that Blogger can handle, but if anyone's interested, email me (or him, if you know him) at smithw12321@gmail.com, and let me know, and I'd be happy to send it to you.

PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

Upsala Cathedral -- Latin Inscriptions

As promised, I have the pictures of the latin inscriptions in the Upsala cathedral, here for your viewing pleasure. Though I have not managed to translate them, I have included transcriptions of the latin, as best I could make out -- errors are, of course, bound to happen, so for you latin scholars out there, feel free to correct me. Enjoy!

Note: In my transcriptions, I use a lower case letter to indicate a macron, and brackets to indicate two letters (usually a and e) joined together. Ex: [AE]

The tomb of Carl Linneus and son:

OSSA
CAROLI LINNE
EQV AVR

MARITO OPTIMO
FILIO VNICO

CAROLO A. LINNE
PATRIS SVCCESSOR
ET
SIBI (?)

************************

Another tomb:




IOHANNIS SCHEFFERI
ARGENTO RATENSIS
IN
ACADEMIA UPSALIENSI
ELOQUENTI[AE] IURIS NATUR[AE] ET GENTIU
PROFE SFORIS
COLLEGII ANTIQUI TATUM AFSESSORIS
ET
BIBLIOTHEC[AR]II REGI
NEC NON
UNORIS EIUS
REGIN[AE] LOCOENI[AE]
DORMITORIUM

*************************

On yet another tomb of some sort:


GOSTAVIS REGVM GENEROSO NOBILIS ORTV
QVI PATRIIa REGIS CHRISTIERNI FRAVD SVBACTa
SERVITIOQ GRAVICVDAQ TYRANiDE PRESSAM
ASSERVI VARIO TANDEM CERTAMINE VINDEX:
QUI REX COMvNI SVENCORVM VOCE CREATVS
ET LEGES VETERES ET IVRA ANTIQVA REDVXI
QVI PACe PEPIGI Cv DANO ET REBVS IN ARCTIS
AVXILIv TERRAQ TVLI PELAGOQ PETENTI:
QVIQ LVBECeSe DOMVIFERO IN [AE]QVORE CIASSEM
OVI SMALANDeSES IN IVRA VETUSTA SVBEGI:
CVIVS OF ADVeTv MOSC FER ARMA RELIO[AE]



ET QVADRAGENOS REX FELICISSIMVS ANNOS
QVI PATRIAM REXI, LAVDEMQ, DECVSQ PARAVI
GOTHORVMQ FVI SCIPIO, QVO CARA RVENTVM
FVLTA SALVS, VELVTI PR[AE]SAGIIT OMINE NOMEN
HIC IACEO TER QVINQ SENEX VBI LVSTRA PEREGI
CHRO ANIMa FAMa TERRIS HVIC MeBRA SEPVLCHRO
SCETRA MEIS MORIENS COMMISI REGIA NATIS
HIS GRATI OBSEQVIVM SVEONES PR[AE]STATEIFIDEIIE(?)
RV VERO EX NRO QVI SaFVINE SCEPTRA TENEBIS
IVSTICIAM COLITO COELORVM QVERITO REGNVM
PARCITO SVBIECTIS ARCETO VIRILITER HOSTES

Alas, it's sideways. Oh well...
ARMA MAGNI
DVCA TVS
FINLANDI[AE]

And again...
ARMA DVCATVS
VILANDI[AE]

MEMORARE NOVISSIMA
ET IN [AE]TERNVM
NON PECCABIS


HIC CATARINA IACET GOSTAVI REGIA CONSORS
SAXONI[AE] MAGNO QV[AE] DVCE NATA FVIT
SPONSASVE [AE]TATIS TER SEXTO HVC VENERAT ANNO
VIX PAST TRES ANNOS TVNERE RAPTA CADIT
NON VITALE TAMEN LVMEN SINE PROLE RELIQVIT
VNO NAMQ THORI PICNORE MATER ERAT
ILLA SED IN PRIMIS HAC NOMEN LAVDEMERETVR
SYNCERA COLVIT QVOD PIETATE DEVM
ATQ VEREOVNDVM SERVAVIT CASTA PVDOREM
PAVPERIEVSQ PVAM FERRE SOLEBAT OPEM
NVNC ANTMAS INTER DECIT CATHARINA BEATAS
ET RIDET MVNDI CAVDIA SPERNIT OPEN


HIC QVOQ GOSTAVI COivX IACET ALTERA REGIS
MARGARIS [AE]ATIS GEMMA NITORQ SV[AE]
QV[AE] GENVS EX VETERI DEDVSIT STIRPE LEONv
QV[AE] CAPITA IN CLYPEO NON SINE LAVDE GERIT
CVIVS IN ILLVSTRI FORMO(Q/O Y/X)(?) MODESTIA VVLTV
ET PVDOR ET PROBITAS FVLSIT ET ALMA FIDES
QV[AE] ERMONE GRAVIS MISERO NON DVRA CLIENTI
PAVPERIBVS COLVMEN PR[AE]DISIVMQ FVIT
QV[AE] DILECTAVIRO ET PATRI[AE] FOECVNDA SALVTI
BIS QVATER EST THALAMI PIGNORE FACTA PARENS
TRES VQVIDEM NAIOS ET NATAS QVINQ RELIQVIT
PAS QVORVM IN COELO VOTA SALVETE FACIT

As you can see, some of the pictures are not of the highest quality, for which I apologize; it's hard to hold my dad's camera steady enough, especially when the light is not very bright. All the same, enjoy it. I'll have a regular post up sometime in the next couple of days...

PLaATJ,
--Gazebo