Sunday, February 22, 2009

Wheel of Fortune

Have you ever wondered where the TV sensation Wheel of Fortune got its name? Of course you haven't, but I'll tell you. The answer lies in ancient and medieval representations of the goddess of fortune Lady Fortuna. Ever heard of Lady Luck? She's the same broad, just trivialized by the ages. Fortune was regarded by classical and medieval authorities as a fickle, harsh, and false goddess, giving and taking wealth and good circumstance from humans with no comprehensible motive. Her whimsy rewarded the causes of evil men and good men alike, and would give gifts only to take them away and ruin their prosperity. One way in which medieval thinkers illustrated Fortune's characteristics was with the Wheel of Fortune, or Rota Fortunae. Men were attached to the wheel, and as Fortune turned the wheel some were rising, some were falling, some were o top and some were being crushed underneath. So while her turning wheel brought some men into prosperity, it crushed others and undid their well-being. Note the king second from the bottom on the right losing his crown as the wheel tips him upside-down. For an insightful treatment of the concept of Fortune, read Chaucer's aptly-titled poem Fortune.

On an unrelated note, a funny thing happened to me today. I received a rather worn original copy of Milo Goes to College by the Descendents in the mail. This of course made sense to me, as I had ordered it on Ebay and was eagerly awaiting its arrival. Also inside the package was a ratty, possibly barfed-on copy of the Germs' infamous live record Germicide. This made no sense to me as I did not order that record. I've heard this record basically consists of annoying banter and sonic bile. The fact that someone would give it away unsolicited is not encouraging. But who knows? Lola seems to like it.

2 comments:

WHITE JESUS said...

Good Post. Germicide is a great record.

Bubble guts and Mud Butt said...

The thing about germicide is that its by the germs which always blew dicks so it cant be good. I mean I don't want to be the guy who points out the obvious but you should use it as a coaster or as a target for cumming distance. lady fortuna was a whore, well I don't know if that's accurate but I do know i got hard looking at the diagram you posted, however the cats made me lose my erection, before i came! looks like blue balls for me! thanks buddy!