Some Spots of Things

My sister's cat, Saffy, in observation mode to-day. I was over there to try a drink my sister had made--it contained carrot, celery, kale, apple, ginger, and cilantro juice. It was really good, sort of earthy, like how I remember chocolate used to taste when I was a kid.

The cat I most frequently take pictures of, Snow, I haven't seen in almost a week and a couple days ago I found out why--one of his humans told me they'd had to have his tail amputated after a dog attacked him. So, I haven't seen him, but apparently the poor guy has just a stub now. He's been out and about, but I guess he's wanted to be alone.



Partly in preparation for Japanese class, which I start to-morrow, I watched Pale Flower again. Well, it was a nice excuse to watch that wonderful, gorgeous movie again. Though, honestly, it's a bit depressing that years after I began studying Japanese I only understood about ten percent of what everyone's saying. I feel like my mental language gears are going pretty hot right now, though. Studying Japanese, watching Der Ring des Nibelungen again, talking to various chess players in SL who want to tell me what certain words mean in their native languages, thinking about English while watching As You Like It--I mean, there are English words I don't even know yet. I don't know if I have room for all this. I may end up speaking Spangermenglese. Well, let's face it, that would be pretty ambitious, too.

Since talking about the Apollonian/Dionysian dichotomy a little while ago, I've been re-reading Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy, of course wondering the whole time if I'm really getting Nietzsche properly in an English translation. Can a translation really suffice in something as specifically worded as a philosophy text?

I simplified the dichotomy as being craft and passion before, and while that might not be strictly inaccurate, it is misleading. It might be better to say Apollonian is art made by projecting one's creativity externally and Dionysian means using oneself as fodder for art.

Again I'm finding I love what Nietzsche has to say about the dichotomy, particularly in how the two forms feed off each other.