Posted in Contemporary on April 25th, 2009 by Swany – Be the first to comment
ScienceDaily U.S. and Brazilian scientists have discovered that the brain manufactures proteins that act like marijuana at specific receptors in the brain itself. This discovery may lead to new marijuana-like drugs for managing pain, stimulating appetite, and preventing marijuana abuse.”
Posted in myrte on March 31st, 2009 by Swany – Be the first to comment

LIFE: Lit Rabelais Illus. Arobida: “… bien garniz de tous assortemens et foizon d’eau de myrte. (Gargantua, liv. 1, chap. LV)”
Posted in Cannabis on March 30th, 2009 by Swany – Be the first to comment
ScienceBlogs:An interesting paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany published back in December discusses the discovery of 2,700-year-old Cannabis sativa. The discovery was made in the Yanghai tombs in China.
Posted in Scholia on March 5th, 2009 by Swany – Be the first to comment
Free Online Library: Review of Edwin Duval, The Design of Rabelais’ Tiers Livre, Librairie Droz S. A., 1997. “In multiple episodes, Panurge, Pantagruel, and their followers listen to, then interpret, the advice of the pillars of society (theologian, doctor, philosopher, et al.), and, conversely, society’s misfits (a hag, a mute, an astrologer, a fool, a dying poet, and other non-institutional voices) on Panurge’s question: ‘Shall I marry?’ ‘If so, will I be cuckolded’? Duval argues that it is not the content but the mode of interpretation of each speech that counts, with the result that the Third Book becomes a testing ground for humanism’s hermeneutic debate over literal and figurative readings, dramatized by Panurge’s self-interested interpretations that twist speakers’ words to his own advantage. To this phi/autia Rabelais opposes Pantagruel’s example of interpretative generosity (’interpreter toutes choses a bien’), a striking example of which occurs in the judge Bridoye episode, where Pantagruel elects to interpret ‘wrongly,’ rather than condemn a man whose good judgment has been tainted by old age.”
Posted in Scholia on February 23rd, 2009 by Swany – Be the first to comment
Language Log: “French does this sort of thing with the pleonastic ne. For example: Je crains que madame ne vienne = ‘I’m afraid my wife will come’ (not won’t).”
Pleonasm: The use of more words than are required to express an idea; redundancy.
Posted in Contemporary on January 9th, 2009 by Swany – Be the first to comment
Drug War Rant: “Many people assume that marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to be a dangerous drug. The actual story shows a much different picture.”
Posted in Texts on December 25th, 2008 by Swany – Be the first to comment
Gallica

Title : [Illustrations du Tiers livre des faictz et dictz héroïques du noble Pantagruel.] / François Rabelais, aut. du texte
Author : Rabelais, François (1494?-1553). Auteur du texte
Publisher : Claude La Ville (Valence – Lyon)
Date of publication : 1547-1548
Subject : Rabelais, François (1494?-1553). Pantagruel — Illustrations
Copyright : domaine public
Identifier : http://gallica2.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b2200069b
Source : Bibliothèque nationale de France