Bottles, bones and Bibles

Have you ever wondered how the Bible was written? I have, but only because I was forced to by my philosophy professors. Fortunately, some people have a more genuine interest in the topic:



In today's Affordable and Interesting item, this question is extensively pondered by an Englishman named Adam Nicolson. He contests that "Boisterous, elegant, subtle, majestic, finely nuanced, sonorous and musical, the English of Jacobean England has a more encompassing idea of its own reach than any before or since. It is a form of the language that drips with potency and sensitivity. The age, with all its conflicts, explains the book" -- that is, the King James Bible.

King James is described as "brilliant, ugly and profoundly peace-loving", and the text of the Bible has "never been equaled" even though it has many failings and was compiled by a team of about 50 scholars. "How did this group of near-anonymous divines, muddled, drunk, self-serving, ambitious, ruthless, obsequious, pedantic and flawed as they were, manage to bring off this astonishing translation?" How indeed. All the quotations in these two paragraphs are from this book's jacket copy, so you can be sure that the book itself will be more than worth a paltry $7.50!

On the other hand, perhaps all those adjectives drive you to drink. In which case, you should use my Favorite thing in the store today!

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This is basically the most pastoral item I have ever seen. It practically breathes "jug of wine, loaf of bread, and thou ...." The bottle easily lifts out of the lovely green leafy metal bottle-holding cage. I would like to romance someone with this bottle and bottle-holder -- plan a picnic, fill the bottle with fine wine, and go sit at Promontory Point Park while batting my eyelashes at the gentleman. In fact I might do this. I'm still thinking about it. In the meantime, you have the chance to snatch this bottle out from under me for a mere $20.00!

Any gentleman who wishes to be so romanced by a slightly bookish, mildly and morbidly evil-hearted, but innocent-seeming young lady such as myself would do well to study the works of Posada:



Jose Guadalupe Posada was born in the mid-1800s and lived through the early 1900s. Underappreciated in his time, he is now seen as one of the first great modern artistic humorists. He is best known for his awesome skeletons, many of which dance, but some of which engage in other activities:



Many celebrations for Dia de Los Muertos -- or The Day of The Dead, a Mexican holiday -- feature Posada's work, but he's known for far more than that. After all, he didn't only draw skeletons!



This art book -- filled with Posada images, and Posada biography -- is somewhat rare, and our copy is a Collectible steal at $60.00. I should perhaps note, however, that it is in Spanish. I can't witness for the quality of the prose because my Spanish isn't good enough. On the other hand, the images really do speak for themselves, don't they?

I wonder if Posada ever drew skeletons on bicycles? I'll ponder this as I bike home this evening. Stay cool, gentle readers -- perhaps by buying the above bottle and filling it with water rather than wine! We're in heatstroke weather now.