De rerum natura

There is quite a while until any eventual epic, so we are free to explore one of the most over/inappropriately -used words in the English language. We are also free to goad each-other into acquiring “les jambes de fer“, to exchange irony and to establish a shibboleth.

De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things) is an epic poem by the Roman Lucretius that gives the core arguments of Epicureanism. The poem is written in dactylic hexameter in six books and explores Epicurean physics through rich poetic language and metaphors. Certainly sounds epic enough.

In a nutshell, Epicurus believed that the greatest good is to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state of ataraxia (tranquility). Now there is a lot of material to explore here: “greatest” good? “modest” pleasures? ataraxia?? But let’s leave it there for the moment; we don’t want to get side-tracked.

The curation section on the right menu is one of the exciting new features to the xmas epic. In the “pro jeans” comp the object is to find and either post (as in you are reading a “post”) or send me (as in email me) pictures of a real pro rider wearing both jeans and a team jersey, preferably on/with a bike. I’ve started the ball rolling with pics of Miss Hatch and Master O’Grady.

Likewise with “tan lines” (must be of self) and “forearm tats” curations (must also include bike, and translation of script), contributions will be handsomely rewarded with ED$.

Why you should participate? Because you can amass “epic dollars” which will be redeemable for chocolate, coffee, beer and croissants during an actual sanctioned epic. The ED currency (assuming everyone is comfortable with the ED acronym) could be worth a staggering amount at the right moment. Don’t be caught short.

Current Rates:

• comments (gratuitous spam comments deleted): ED$ 0.10
• suitable pictures for “tips/motivation/training”: ED$ 0.50
• a valid “tans lines” pic (must be of self): ED$ 1.00
• a valid “jeans pro” pic: ED$ 1.00
• a valid “forearm tat” pic (must have bike): ED$ 1.00
• a full post of your choosing: ED$ 2.00

 
You guessed it; the motivation behind this is to get others to do the work. As before (back in the day: 2009) to “post” posts, you must become a member of wordpress.com. I believe this is a painless process. Some of you are already members: 888riley, kinkanya, 123leah. Logon at wordpress.com; if you have forgotten your password they provide a button to press which will send it to you. All members have been anointed with administrative privileges, go forth and blog. (Remembering that we are trying to keep things work-safe and dog-friendly.) To date only 888riley has taken advantage of this opportunity, and while we thank them for past contributions, unfortunately the ED economy is not retrospective.

Of course, we all know where this leading…. Soon we will be sucked into a virtual “epic world” (Epica) where we’ll all have hot avatars and the 53-11 chain rings won’t hurt. Life’s not like that (its the nature of things).