Attack of the Three Toed Sloth
Well, I was meant to start study today, bit of cardiovascular physiology and something on sexually transmitted diseases, and I did neither. Instead I avoided work by doing other stuff - did the washing, cleaned out the car, cleaned the bedroom, organised stuff. But no study.
Basically this is down to my sloth.
Interesting that of all of the deadly sins, sloth is the only one with an animal? The only one you can actually lay your hands on and say "here it is"? Perhaps this is because these animals were discovered to the Europeans by the Victorians, and sloth seems to have been one of their least favourite vices. And whoever named it thought "Well, I'd better have something spectacular for my next letter to the Royal Society - how about an animal named after a deadly sin? A really deadly sin. That little monkey thing, hanging upside down from a tree - call it a boneidle. A cantbearsed? A you'resomuchbetteratityoudoitI'lldoittomorrowIpromise? Howabout a sloth?"
Perhaps, of course, there are more incarnations of deadly sins lurking in some of the world's undicovered places. Were earlier Victorian explorers devoured by speckled Greeds, trampled on by Great Horned Angers, discovered in some ghastly venereal commerce with a three-toed Lust?
And that's another thing. "Venereal congress", a deliciously archaic term for sexual intercourse. I've got to use that in the medical notes one time. I could wear severe looking glasses and demand "Age of first venereal congress?" of un-nerved septuagenarians.
But why is there only venereal congress? That derives from Venus, goddess of beauty and love. Don't the other greek gods get congresses? Is there Plutonian congress, Mercurian congress? Martian congress?
Perplexing. Anyhow, have to get off to work, plus organise this new writers group, do some study and kickstart things at the gym.
See you all soon.
Basically this is down to my sloth.
Interesting that of all of the deadly sins, sloth is the only one with an animal? The only one you can actually lay your hands on and say "here it is"? Perhaps this is because these animals were discovered to the Europeans by the Victorians, and sloth seems to have been one of their least favourite vices. And whoever named it thought "Well, I'd better have something spectacular for my next letter to the Royal Society - how about an animal named after a deadly sin? A really deadly sin. That little monkey thing, hanging upside down from a tree - call it a boneidle. A cantbearsed? A you'resomuchbetteratityoudoitI'lldoittomorrowIpromise? Howabout a sloth?"
Perhaps, of course, there are more incarnations of deadly sins lurking in some of the world's undicovered places. Were earlier Victorian explorers devoured by speckled Greeds, trampled on by Great Horned Angers, discovered in some ghastly venereal commerce with a three-toed Lust?
And that's another thing. "Venereal congress", a deliciously archaic term for sexual intercourse. I've got to use that in the medical notes one time. I could wear severe looking glasses and demand "Age of first venereal congress?" of un-nerved septuagenarians.
But why is there only venereal congress? That derives from Venus, goddess of beauty and love. Don't the other greek gods get congresses? Is there Plutonian congress, Mercurian congress? Martian congress?
Perplexing. Anyhow, have to get off to work, plus organise this new writers group, do some study and kickstart things at the gym.
See you all soon.
posted by Bronze John at 1:59 PM
2 Comments:
I love those archaic terms. But having done American Studies, the idea of "venereal congress" just gives me rather unsavoury (and unnerving) mental images of US politics.
following the naming process though, 'venereal Congress' would simply imply that the Members all loved one another? You're correct, Unsavoury.
My soapbox is that cervical cancer is never publicly described as an STD, when it is.
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