THAT'S THE DUCKS ALL LINED UP

Young Alastair and I were talking about the words 'pathos' and 'bathos'.  We know about 'pathos' but what, exactly, is 'bathos'?

Definition: an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous.

Here is an example from the TLS August 5, 2022.  It is to do with  LIMERICKS. What would happen [says the article in the paper] if you asked an Artificial Intelligence programme to write one? “We asked for one, and this plunge into bathos is what we got…”

There was a young lad named John

Who was always very smart

He was always writing limericks

But nobody ever head

What the last line said

And the key difference between pathos and bathos is that the word pathos is about evoking pity and sympathy whereas bathos refers to a sudden change from a serious, deeply moving, important act to a foolish or a trivial episode in a literary work.

* * * * * * * * * AND THE REST OF THE WEEK * * * * * * * * * 

Posters, fliers and display panels all done now for the autumn.  All work off to the printer so that's all the ducks lined up for the winter season of concerts and orchestra practice for the youngsters.

(and apologies to Liz for the ducks appearing under her lovely rowan tree outside her French windows!)

THE TWO WOLVES

I came across this 'parable' and simply want to file it away and here is as good a place as any.  Apparently it has been on the internet for ages. The are numerous videos on the subject but the one I saw, by a family doctor, I simply cannot find again. 

The Wolf You Feed

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Ellie's Tesselations

BAMBOOZLED

I am now paying for a serious mistake I made in the garden.  I planted some bamboo and have found that the rhizomes (roots) spread out into places I did not think possible!  To that end I am now trying to dig out everything. I reckon that I must get it all out as it appears to sprout new growth even deep in the soil where a bit of the rhizome is buried but where no leafy end at the surface.

As Captain Oates of the Antarctic said to Captain Scott when leaving his tent heading out into the night "I may be some time."

I think a section of the low wall has got to come down and then I will simply need to leave it for a year or so and watch for any re-growth.  The good news is that it is the very back of the garden and it also has meant that I have done some 'tidying' of the plants in that area, i.e. taken them out and the space it as made makes moving around the garden a lot easier.

And here are a couple more shots of the garden which has given us a full week of pleasure in the present heat wave engulfing the UK.

Late afternoon sun on the sweet peas

Full moon coming up at dusk, about 9 pm.

SUMMERTIME IN THE GARDEN

It's summer 'n the living' is easy.... just a selection of photos all of which are self-explanatory