Without Wax

Hi all,

Well I've been unbelievably behind all my readings, but at least im still awake for lectures and tutorials! Today's Ages of the Mediterranean lecture was so interesting! Incredibly cool.. Ancient history just has this mystic appeal that makes me extremely curious.. it's such a time period removed from our world as we know it, its very Romantic! (not in the romantic love way)

In lecture today, Prof Fairey was trying to find a way to explain how such a small population (the Greeks) could cast such incredibly long shadows in our history! I won't bore anyone with details, but one part which struck me was when Prof touched on sculptures and how the Greeks were the first to move from idealistic stylized to realism sculpture. Simply meaning that before this Greek Miracle occured out of nowhere, sculptures could fit almost anyone (idealism). However, the Greeks managed to mould their sculptures to exact depictions of the essence of a person, and actually able to recognize who the person in the sculpture is.

This struck me because it made me recall one of my favourite trivia from one of Dan Brown's book and Steve Berry's books about the phrase "Without Wax". Some people know it, some people don't. I'm just posting about because I love the meaning behind it.

This little piece of trivia may or may not be real, but the given history behind it is very interesting! Without Wax comes from the latin words "sin" (without) and "ceras" (wax). Some people say that it is the origin of the word Sincerity, some people argue against it. I'm honestly not bothered with the historical accuracy of its origins. I find it sweet for this reason:

According the the story, in Ancient times, 'without wax' first came about during the height of Greek and Roman artistry, when the art of sculpting took flight and became popular. Whenever a sculpture made a mistake, to hide it, he would pour wax over it with the same colour to match the marble. Thus wax served as a cover up, masking all flaws and imperfections of cheap pottery or bad pieces. If a sculpture wanted to authenticate his work, he'll stand 'without wax' as proof that he did not hide anything from the customers, and is selling them a genuine piece of work.

Applied to modern context, the word sincerity hence translates to without wax, meaning that all that one is saying is true, genuine and void of any lies etc. Like wearing your heart on your sleeve.

So when you sign off letters to friends who mean a lot to you, sincerely, then this could probably be what it means! even if it may not be historically accurate, it is so extremely sweet =) haha!

Moving on.. another little piece of Trivia is that our language is founded on Greek words.. If you spoke out of a medical textbook, you'll probably be using 50% Greek words.. Apparently, kids on the street who can speak Greek use words like anthropos colloquially.. any word with ologist, polis etc.. all from the Greek! haha.. Im so amazed by them, but i really think further explanation might bore..

Ooh one more thing about the Greeks, the Spartans in particular.. Boys are taken away from their mother at age 7 to go to military school where they will remain till they are considered matured at 30 YEARS OLD. Then they are allowed to marry, and stay at home, BUT! still have to serve in the army till 60 years old!! Haha.. if some people find NS tough.. omg.. this is 53 years of military! your whole life is literally in the army!

Anyways, after lecture Wendy and I just hung out for awhile before my next General Bio lecture and...

ahahahahah... ah well...

The background actually serves as a nice effect! Central Forum...

Oh, and in General Bio.. our Prof kindly told us that when we eat Broccoli.. we are eating the sex organs of the plant.. right... I don't like broccoli... lol! And he wrapped up a broccoli bouquet.. seriously no kidding... he said women should carry that down the aisle instead to solve the falling birth rate.. omg.. ahaha....

Okay... I really really should get back to work.. =P

Getting into the Studying Mood

Learning from last sem, I'm trying not to lag behind readings.. Thankfully.. Ages of the Mediterranean textbook is quite an interesting read! Ancient History is fascinating.. And when I know more, I shall blog about it!

Also, I got the presentation topic I wanted for this mod! "What Is Love Anyway?" In context of ancient times.. That will be fun =)

I shall share videos from youtube along the way, and so far.. two Hollywood films already link to the module! 'Troy', and 'Tristan and Isolde'.

Troy is one of the two first great epic poems written by Homer around 8thC BC. The specific poem that 'Troy' is from is is Iliad, Homer's epic of the Trojan War, fought between the Greek States of Troy and Sparta. However, Iliad is more focused on the tale of the Greek Hero Achilles, than on the war itself. "True to all great literature, the Iliad abounds in universal lessons." Quoting from my textbook written by Jackson J. Spielvogel.

The other great epic poem is Odyssey which i really know nothing about.. Should probably read up on it..

Apparently, these two poems deal with the heroes of the Mycenaean age of the 13thC BC, but it is believed that they reflect the social conditions of the Dark Age more than anything. Since Homer's world reflects values of aristocratic heroes, it deals with the aristocratic values of courage and honour. Hopefully when I've looked through the texts or movie more carefully, I can see where these values appear and how it shapes the decisions of the people!

'Tristan and Isolde' isn't really as linked to the module as 'Troy', but it's set after the Dark Ages, between the states of Britain and Sparta.

Sparta again.. Haha, I wonder why so many films have them involved, and always portrayed in a way that make them seem more barbaric, ruthless and unlikable. Well, Monday's tutorial will deal with Sparta, so hopefully I'll learn more!

This makes me want to watch the films again =D That will be a nice break! Don't like all the wars though..

Here's a picture from our first lecture, which my prof called "A Portrait of Time". It urges us to look at the large concept of Greece, not simply focus on the fleeting moments.

The Geophysical Structure forms the backdrop of history, Greek islands being a mountainous peninsular, isolated and surrounded by sea. Changes occur very slowly against the whole physical backdrop.

The person pushing the cart represent conjunctures, human systems which lasts hundreds of years, for example, Feudalism. Yet it's nothing in comparison to the timescale of the physical backdrop.

The events such as Icarus falling into the ocean with only his leg being seen, represent singular events that are so insignificant against the whole concept and place it occurred. Haha, I love this painting!

Ok, time to sign off, goodnight!

A New Start and A New Year!

It's been more than a year since my last blog entry.. and though I have been reluctant to continue blogging for some reason, I decided that I want to continue blogging again..

Perhaps it's because my Prof in my module Animal Behaviour told us that the best way to spread knowledge and news nowadays is through each individual student's blog. He said that it would be more likely for youngsters nowadays to check each others blogs than to go to his website.. haha.. I found it very true.. so that was the push that got me started on blogging once more..

I'm going to use this more for recording my little insights here and there that come and go too quickly rather than for a daily documentation of my social life.. I'll leave that to facebook.. I think it'll be interesting to read back and see how the way I perceive things have changed..

so... here is the start of something new =)