Undergraduate Library

Quick Links

Arts and Humanities Questions

Most Recent 15 Questions Answered

Listen to a Podcast of this Question

Question 1:

How would I kill an immortal?

Answer :

Dear Immortal Combat Enthusiast,

While various definitions exist for the word, immortal, the general consensus is that an immortal is, "One not subject to death" (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). So if you're hoping to kill an immortal, let's just say you're in a bit of a pickle, as killing that from which life cannot be taken is a paradox. However, not all immortals are necessarily free of humanlike vulnerabilities, such as nourishment, pain, and suffering; but they are free from death. For clarification, QB is a bit of an immortal purist and will not qualify creatures such as vampires as immortal, since there are ways that exist to take “life” from vampires, rendering them “un-dead,” but not immortal (The Macmillan Encyclopedia).

In regards to humanlike vulnerabilities that exist in immortals, QB would like to note that Greek, Roman and Norse deities were not without sustenance. In “The Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained,” it states that Greek and Roman deities preserved their immortality with ambrosia, the food and drink of the gods, and that in Norse mythology, Freya’s golden apples persevered eternal youth in the gods. Now QB surmises if you put two-and-two together and strip the Greek and Roman deities of their precious ambrosia and the Norse gods of their golden apples, you may have a recipe for semi-defeat!

Further, in Greek Mythological tradition some heroes and titans could also achieve immortality and were certainly capable of feeling pain and suffering. For example, Prometheus gave humanity fire in defiance of Zeus and as his punishment, was shackled to a rock with an eagle pecking at his liver daily. Each day his flesh would heal, and the process would continue ad infinitum (Bloomsbury Dictionary of Myth). In both this scenario and the ones above, the body and soul are entwined with one another in immortality and thus many human-like afflictions can be experienced, excluding death.

If you would like to unleash more secrets about immortality, QB refers you to the below sources and wishes you luck in your quest to defeat the immortal!

Raising my glass of ambrosia to you,
QB

Sources :

The Columbia Encyclopedia
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
The Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
The Bloomsbury Dictionary of Myth
The Macmillan Encyclopedia
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Call Number :

Location :

Date Answered :

12/2/2010

Question 2:

In Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, Isabella states that "more than our brother is our chastity." What did she mean by this and is it as cold-hearted as critics have interpreted it to be?

Answer :

Dear Say It Ain't So,

It's so.

The fuller and much more damning quote from Measure for Measure is, "then Isabella live chaste, and brother, die/ more than our brother is our chastity." There is no hidden meaning. She really does mean that her chastity is more important to her than the life of her brother. As to whether or not this makes her as cold-hearted as you fear and as some critics have alleged, that's a more difficult question to answer. Ensconced as we are in a popular culture where promiscuous vampires are almost as ubiquitous as they are half-naked and completely delectable, and 40-year-old virgins are the subject of smash comedies, the value that Isabella places on her chastity can be a little hard to fathom. Even the word chastity seems about as old-fashioned as referring to your boyfriend as your suitor or your car as your brougham. Don't know what a brougham is? Then you see my point.

To better evaluate Isabella's decision, QB decided that it would be necessary to put it in its proper context within the play. Although QB remembered reading Measure for Measure years ago, he was a little rusty on the names of the characters and some of the intricacies of the plot, so he began to looking for brief overviews of the play in the database Literature Resource Center (LRC). LRC is a good place to answer quick literary reference questions and also find a significant amount of more substantive literary criticism. There, QB quickly retrieved an overview of the play in the English Reference Guide to Literature that puts Isabella's lines into context. Let's recap the play briefly: the play begins with Duke Vincentio temporarily bestowing his title on his deputy Angelo. Angelo, whose fiancee has been impregnated by another man, Claudio, uses his newfound power to crack down on sexual immorality in the city and has Claudio thrown in jail and sentenced to death. Then, "Cold-hearted" Isabella, who is Claudio's sister and a novice nun, goes to see Angelo to plead for the life of her brother. Angelo, inflamed with desire by Isabella's virtue (yes, that's right, you heard me, her virtue), tells her that if she doesn't sleep with him the following day he will have Claudio executed. It is at this point that Isabella decides that her chastity is more important to her than the life of her brother and speaks the lines that troubled you. Afterwards, she goes to see her brother in jail, expecting him to concur with her decision, but he surprises her by at first telling her to go ahead and sleep with Angelo. "Cold-hearted" Isabella, however, doesn't fancy being raped, and instead comes up with a plan to have another woman, Mariana, who was formerly betrothed to Angelo, take her place. Although the ruse works, insofar as Angelo sleeps with Mariana, Angelo decides to have Claudio executed anyway. It is only through the intercession of Duke Vincention that tragedy is averted and Claudio's life is spared. The play ends with Duke Vincentio winning Isabella's hand in marriage.

So, now that we've put Isabella's quote in context, deciding on her moral temperature should be easy, right? Well, maybe not. QB found tons of articles and essays on just this question by searching in the aformentioned database, Literature Resource Center, as well as by searching in another great literature database, MLA International Bibliography. Not surprisingly, however, critics come down on either side of the issue. Some critics, such as S.J. Mary Suddard, in her essay "Measure for Measure as a Clue to Shakespeare's Attitude towards Puritanism," argue that the play indicts Isabella's self-righteous asceticism as being unsuitable for the moral dilemmas of the real world. In this interpretation, Isabella's decision to wed Vincentio at the end of the play instead of becoming a nun demonstrates that she has outgrown the "cold-hearted" puritanism that led her to choose her chastity over the life of her brother at the beginning of the play. Other critics, however, such as Roy Booth, in his overview of the play, draw our attention to the fact that although Isabella may not be willing to give up her chastity, she is willing to give up her life, at one point saying "O, were it but my life/I'd throw it down". Considering that she is willing to give up her life for her brother and works tirelessly to save him, it seems more than a little unjust to call her cold-hearted simply because she will not allow herself to be raped.

Ultimately, however, QB can't decide for you whether or not Isabella is as cold-hearted as you fear. Instead, QB encourages you to check out the literary critcism that can be found in Literature Resource Center and MLA International Bibliography and decide for yourself. Nevertheless, QB would like to point out that it seems a little strange that in a play in which one man seduces another man's fiancee and then tries to barter the body of his sister away in exchange for his life, and another man perverts the law in order to murder his rival and rape a nun, the person whose moral fiber seems to be questioned most frequently by readers is the nun who won't simply give into the wishes of both men and allow herself to be raped. If Isabella's heart is a little frosty, then what about Angelo's or Claudio's?

QB admits that all of these moral dillemmas have left him feeling a little stressed out. Maybe the undergrad has the first season of True Blood on DVD. QB needs to relax.

Completely Yours,

QB

Sources :

1. Booth, Roy. "Measure For Measure: Overview." Reference Guide to English Literature. Ed. D. L. Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991. Literature Resource Center.

2. Suddard, S. J. Mary. "Measure for Measure As a Clue to Shakespeare's Attitude towards Puritanism." Keats, Shelley, and Shakespeare: Studies & Essays in English Literature. Cambridge at the University Press, 1912. 136-152. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris and Mark W. Scott. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research, 1985. Literature Resource Center.

Call Number :

Location :

Literature Resource Center (Online)

Date Answered :

2/11/2010

Question 3:

What information can a web page provide?

Answer :

Dear Internet User,

According to the encyclopedia of computer science (4th Ed.), the World Wide Web, or just ‘web’ for short, is a rapidly growing collection of over 800 million pages (in 1999) linked together in a seemingly disorganized topology worldwide. The Web was conceived by Tim Berners-Lee and his colleagues at CERN in 1989 as a shared information space which would support collaborative work.

A website or a web page is a coherent cluster of one or more pages (on one or more servers) whose home page is accessed using a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A web page resides on a server, a host computer which allows general access for computers connected to the host network. The largest network, the Internet, is a collection of thousands of other networks which are interconnected via common network protocols.

Websites store information according to the tagging conventions of the HyperText Markup Language (HTML). HTML has one important extension of SGML called hyperlinks or just called links which are conduits to other resources including offsets within the documents, other documents, imagery, animation and motion pictures, executable programs called Server-Side Includes (SSIs), Java applets. Typically hyperlinks appear in Web documents either as sensitized text (in color) or as sensitized icons, where “sensitized’ means that selecting a link (usually by a mouse click) produces some navigational effect.

The rapid growth of the Web is the result of a unique combination of characteristics: the Web is an enabling technology; a unifying technology; a social phenomenon; and significantly reduces transaction friction and the expense of commerce.

Despite the original design goal of supporting collaborative work, Web use has become highly variegated. The Web has been extended into a wide range of products and services offered by individuals and organizations, for commerce, education, entertainment, and even propaganda. A partial list of popular Web applications includes: Individual and organizational home pages; sales prospecting via interactive forms-based surveys; advertising and the distribution of products promotional material; corporate record-keeping and databases – usually via local area networks (LANS) and Intranets; data warehousing; electronic commerce; religious proselytizing, propagandizing; digital politics and electioneering; creation of information portals; and low-bandwidth teleconferencing

The Web itself, as well as its growth and development, would have been impossible without programs called browsers which allow access to the pages of the Web, but in order to search for information efficiently it was necessary to develop utilities called search engines. The use of browsers and search engines together is often called surfing the Web.

However, there are differences between email and the Web, were email deals with network, peer-to-peer communication partnership, whereas the present Web remains primarily an information-delivery system.

Yours QB.

Sources :

1. Ralston, A., Reilly, E.D. & Hemmendinger, D. (Eds.). (2000). Encyclopedia of computer science (4th ed.). United Kingdom: Nature Publishing Group.

Call Number :

Call number Q.001.6403 En192 2000

Location :

Undergraduate Library

Date Answered :

8/4/2009

Question 4:

Did Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, "like" little girls?

Answer :

Dear Investigator for the Wonderland Child Services Agency,
Lewis Carroll, born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was perhaps the primary and most influential of the Victorian children’s literature novelists, penning such classic works as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and The Hunting of the Snark. One assumes that in order to write such widely-appealing children’s literature, the author in question must on some like children, but from the implicative quotes surrounding your queries "like" QB assumes you are referring to Carroll’s often debated relationship with the numerous young girls whom Carroll composed these stories for, spent, perhaps, unusual amounts of time with, and photographed.
Carroll wore many hats, not simply those of children’s author and suspected pedophile. He was an accomplished photographer, a Deacon in the Church of England, and in addition to witty children’s and nonsense literature, published a number of respected mathematical and logical works including An Elementary Treatise on Determinants, Euclid and His Modern Rivals, and Symbolic Logic, Parts I and II. He is most infamous for his numerous friendships with the under aged charges of his friends, most notably Alice Liddell the alleged inspiration for the titular character of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and his somewhat suggestive, by modern standards, photographs of these girls, his primary artistic subject.
Much is known of Carroll’s life through his meticulously kept diary. And indeed his camera brought him into contact with hundreds of photographic subjects throughout his life. According to the Dictionary of Literary Biography, he first met Alice Liddell and her two sisters on April 25, 1865, the diary entry ending with Carroll’s peculiar euphemism for a memorable day, “mark this day with a white stone.” Whatever his personal habits, Carroll was an odd dude, and QB can offer no explanation for the use of this phrase. Regardless, Carroll came to spend a great deal of time with the trio of sisters, the majority of his Alice adventures originating on long boat rides during which he would regale the Liddells with fanciful tales. Much has been made of the implied disapproval of the girls’ mother, Mrs. Liddell, who, as Carroll eluded to in diary entries, displayed a certain coolness with the young author and a reluctance to allow her daughters to be left alone with the man. More so than the nudity of some photographs, the allegedly un-chaperoned nature of Carroll’s artistic endeavors invited more disapproval than anything else. Alice was not Carroll’s lone muse, however. His photography and literature translated into friendships with hundreds of children, mostly females, throughout the course of his life.
So it is reasonable, particularly in the contemporary age of scandal, to suspect that Carroll was attempting to mack on the wee ones. However as with so much outwardly questionable behavior, one must view Carroll through the lens of historical perspective and cultural norms. As Amy Leal points out in her essay "Lewis Carroll’s Little Girls," "to understand the nature of his friendships with little girls, one must see his outings and photographic sessions in the context of the Victorian era -- one that also, for example, posed and took pictures of dead children" (2007). And as Kathleen Blake points out in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, "He sometimes expressed a generalized romantic notion of the purity of children as being closer to God than are adults. At other times he revealed more specific, personal tastes. He liked spontaneity, provided this combined with good manners. He applied physical standards and looked for beauty in little girls to please his artist's and photographer's eye" (1983). Carroll expressed a marked aesthetic belief in the fanciful qualities of a child, not uncommon in the Victorian era. His photos often involved the sort of play-acting of which Carroll felt only children were capable. And, as is evidenced in his diaries Carroll sought to do nothing behind the backs of his friends’ guardians, "he scrupulously discussed the kissability of daughters with their mothers, and also went over the family view of nude photographs and the particular child's attitude" (Blake, 1983). Furthermore, no evidence exists that any of his adolescent pals were in any way scandalized, most recalling their friendship with Carroll in the fondest of terms. In her essay Leal summarizes that these photographs and the attendant friendships cannot be separated from the aesthetic vision of children Carroll expressed in his literature. His novels are alternately terrifying and fanciful, evincing a more complex and ambiguous vision of childhood than perhaps any other piece of children’s literature. Final verdict: Carroll appreciated young girls in a manner that may seem alien to our modern attitudes, but certainly not in the same way as that older, single, creepy dude in your neighborhood who just happens to own an ice cream truck.
Sincerely,
QB

Sources :

Blake, Kathleen. "Lewis Carroll." Victorian Novelists After 1885. Ed. Ira Bruce Nadel and William E. Fredeman. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 18. Detroit: Gale Research, 1983. Literature Resource Center. Gale. UNIV OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA CHAMPAIGN LIBRARY. 12 Feb. 2009 .
Leal, Amy. "Lewis Carroll's Little Girls." Chronicle of Higher Education 2007 Nov 2; 54 (10): B16-B17, B19-B20.

Call Number :

Location :

Date Answered :

2/12/2009

Question 5:

What are epithets for Americans in other countries?

Answer :

Dear Freedom Hater:

So, you want to know what are some common epithets for Americans used outside of the United States? QB seriously hopes you are gathering this information for good and not evil. To get pumped up to research your query, QB listened to that thrilling Lee Greenwood song and some Toby Keith. Once she wiped away the red, white and blue tears spilling patriotically down her Main Street-loving cheeks, QB was ready and willing to provide you with the information you requested. That is, after she stomped somebody with her boots.

QB first did some browsing in the Undergraduate Reference collection (Dictionary of Bias-Free Usage was totally unhelpful). She felt totally marginalized by non-English-language and slang dictionaries which expect users to know the language in the first place. Well, QB went to school in America, so she pulled herself up by her bootstraps, as all good Americans should, and turned to the experts: the Department of Linguistics here at the University of Illinois. The fine folks there put her in touch with The Linguist, a web site and listserv devoted to exhaustive study and discussion of all things language-y. QB sent your query on to a 20-person team of international linguists (who all no doubt wear black jumpsuits and sit around smoking in cafes) for help. The responses were pure racist gold!

A researcher from the Center for Research on Language at the University of California-Davis suggested using the search term “ethnic slur database” to find answers. The plethora of response Google delivered exemplify why sometimes you need to start with the experts. QB found five databases, most based around research and data collection for non-hateful purposes, to cull for you. She compiled the best and brightest responses. If you care to pursue these further, please check out the databases yourself. For now, here you go:

• A.I. Stands for American Ignorance as well as Artificial Intelligence-in other words...Americans are stupid and ignorant; they think they have everything and are more advanced than every other country
• Amer (????) – Russian, mild. The stress is on the first syllable. Means Dumb American.
• Americanata – Italian word referring to anything that is of bad taste, vulgar (literally meaning "typically american"). There are similar words in other European languages).
• Americant – pun on Americans' perceived laziness.
• Americunt – employed mainly by UK citizens, this refers to American tourists.
• Americows, from the stereotype that Americans are fat.
• Amerikos (????????) – Russian, more offensive than "amer", but still mild. The stress is on the last syllable.
• Amerikanaki (aµe???a????) ; Greek, literally, "little American". Mildly offensive, used to convey image of ignorance or naïveté.
• Amerikaki – translates from Hebrew: Ameri-shit. Offensive, but in a humorous (not racist) way.
• Amerikkkan- Reference to inherent racism in US society. Entered the language as a part 1960s counter-cultural slang.
• Amerloque – also French slang.
• Ami– German nickname, rarely used offensively ("Ami go home!"), more common to express disapproval nowadays. May be strengthened to "Scheißami."
• Amiland – in Germany sometimes used as nickname for the USA (usually used in a negative context)
• Amistan – stronger variant of the German "Amiland."
• Amoronican – Used in English speaking countries, other than the USA. It refers to the perceived poor education of Americans.
• Ang moh- devil with red body hair
• Bai Gui – a highly pejorative Chinese slur that means "White Ghost" but mainly used to refer to any white person.
• Buddy Blaster- Refers to US troops' inability to distinguish between friend and foe on the battlefield.
• Bushkrieger – a German pun on Buschkrieger meaning 'bush warrior'
• Bushmen – sometimes used in Poland, meaning both "men of G. W. Bush" and men living in forests (buszmen)
• Chopper- There is a high circumcision rate in the United States.
• Coni – Turkish pronunciation of "Johnny", meaning Americans, particularly American soldiers.
• Cowboy – considered patronizing and mockery by Europeans, but many Americans are not offended. The implication, for those who use the word in derogatory sense, is that Americans are tough and primitive. In the United States it is potentially inoffensive as a 'Cowboy' may refer to a fan or a player of the football team Dallas Cowboys.
• Fatasses – Canada, based on the stereotype that Americans are fat.
• FLASH- fucking, lazy, American shithead. Used by Israelis to refer to American tourists who are accumstumed to an easier standard of living.
• Great Satan- Some Muslim leaders have referred to America as The Great Satan
• Gringo – Derogatory term used mostly by Spanish speaking people. Mainly used in Mexico to simply describe something or someone who is American and does not imply a derogatory meaning. Intended to be pejorative in Spain.
• Güero – Mexican term which refers to fair-skinned people in general, but commonly used to describe US citizens. Usually used for those of blonde hair. Not necessarily derogatory, but may be employed negatively if desired.
• Hamburger- Used by Koreans to slur Americans.
• Jake-Used by Jamaicans towards white Americans. May be from "Jake and the Fat Man" TV show.
• Kano, is short for "Amerikano" which is a Filipino term for an American man.
• 'murrican or Merrican – caricature of the way some Americans pronounce the word "American".
• Merkin – A rather more pejorative version of the above.
• MOB- Morbidly Obese Bodies on account of Americans are mostly fat (also could be Morbidly Obese Bitches for women)
• Pig – A derogatory term used to stereotype Americans as obese and fat as that of a "pig".
• Pindos (??????) – Russian, more offensive than "amerikos", but mild all the same. The stress is on the last syllable. Allegedly, the use of this term to refer to Americans originated in Russia during the Kosovo War in 1999 among Russian soldiers and derived from Spanisg "pendejo" and old slang term meaning a homosexual man.
• Ricain – French slang (shortening of the usual américain)
• Round eye burger muncher – primarily used in the video game StarCraft on Battle.net by Korean players generally followed by an Anime Style emoticon
• Septic/seppo – British, New Zealand, and Australian term for Americans (rhyming slang for septic tank = Yank.) Originated from WWII (U.S. people were said to be "full of shit"); a septic tank is used in rural areas for storage and decomposition of human waste.
• Scheiss-Ami-Used by Germans as derogatory reference of Americans.
• SFA-Stupid Fucking American - not very clever, but very prevelent in Europe
• SPAM – British, New Zealand, Australian and occasionally Canadian term for Americans, referring to American luncheon meat product popular in WW 2. Sometimes made more derogatory by expanding to "Spastic Plastic American Motherfuckers"
• UNPROFORac (Bosnian), refers to the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). The 'ac' ending is the Bosnian equivalent of "ian". The term is viewed any number of ways, from endearing ("I married my UNPROFORac") to offensive ("She thinks she's a UNPROFORac").
• Yank – short for Yankees; Yanqui in Spanish, jenki in Hungarian, jenkki in Finnish; usually would not be considered offensive by an American (unless a Southerner), nor is it always intended offensively. Most commonly used in Latin America to refer to American tourist.
• Zelen – (Bosnian), meaning "green". An extremely offensive term, it evokes the stereotype of a "green", or uneducated, American whose only use is to provide a "green" card.
• Zupfer – (German "zupfen" = "to pluck"), probably pertaining to the historical cotton-plucking of African-American slaves, but also used for all US citizens, regardless of heritage. But not very common in Germany.
While some of these are clearly more obviously derogatory than others, it’s important to note that words which might sound benign to our proud American ears carry heavy cultural meanings to the folks who use them. For example, Dr. Anthea Fraser Gupta from the School of English, University of Leeds advises that as far as most Brits are concerned everyone in the US is a 'Yank' with a 'drawl' -- the Texas accent is the archetypal US accent for them.

James L. Fidelholtz, a professor in the Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades at Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla in México says that “the familiar “gringo” in Argentina means 'Italian', while 'Yanqui' means 'US American', and is not nearly as derogatory as 'gringo' is in Mexico. With higher Mexican tourism to Argentina, though, many Argentines are becoming more familiar with 'gringo' as 'American'. In Mexico, the term is occasionally (semi-)affectionate. As always, it depends on who is using it and in what context.” Wise words to remember next time someone calls you a “hot dog eater” (derogatory Canadian word for American tourists).
Quite honestly, at this point, QB had enough of this negativity. And not just because these colors don’t run, baby. One can only search through ethnic slurs databases for only so long. It’s just too depressing.

Monolingually yours, Question Board

Sources :

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Offensive-terms-per-nationality#Americans

http://www.rsdb.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offensive_terms_per_nationality#Americans

http://www.indopedia.org/List_of_ethnic_slurs.html

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/List-of-ethnic-slurs

Call Number :

Location :

Date Answered :

12/4/2008

Question 6:

Would you please clarify the differences between the two versions of Satanism (the hedonistic one vs. the devil-worshipping one) and why the former is referred to as Satanism? Thanks a million.

Answer :

Dear Extravagant Thanker,

QB was raised in the wilds of QBLand and never had the experience of attending a church, so she was delighted to answer your question and educate her readers and herself. To begin with, "the hedonistic one" to which you refer seems to QB to be the Church of Satan, founded by Anton LeVay in 1969. Those in the church, whose membership is closely guarded and whose numbers are unknown but estimated to be few, profess interest in "not 'good' versus 'evil,' but that constant interchange between a need for conventionality and a need for risk-taking by those few who are compelled to explore the murky regions" (http://www.churchofsatan.com/home.html). The hedonistic element appears in the first tenet of the Nine Satanic Statements, written by the group's founder, which proclaims that "Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!" (http://www.churchofsatan.com/home.html). The reason why this church's philosophy would become colloquially known as "Satanism" is quite simple: that is the term that those in the church use to describe themselves, as seen on their self-maintained website.

Onto the next group you mentioned. QB has been so bold as to assume that by "the devil-worshipping one," you were referring to any organization of those who worship the Judeo-Christian Satan, meaning Adversary. QB could find no evidence of a sect that genuinely worshipped that particular devil. The closest she could come was Luciferianism and the Church of Satan; however, neither group worships the Christian Devil. According to the Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, "belief in an actual devil, whether supernatural or otherwise, is unnecessary, and is increasingly explicitly rejected... Satan is a representation not a personal being" (115). This secularization of Satan is not a new phenomenon. An encyclopedia called "Witchcraft Today" notes that "Satan had been made a heroic figure, a rebel against arbitrary authority and injustice, by Western poets and writers since the Reformation; so that modern literature-based Satanism is not at all a worship of evil, but a neo-Gnostic fighting against systemic injustice in the cosmos" (103).

Well, golly. QB's in a bit of a bind, because she was asked to illuminate the differences between two groups, one of which doesn't seem to exist. QB is going to go out on a limb and surmise that your hope was that she would point out that Satanists do not do the things for which they are renown in B movies and popular culture, such as kill puppies, kill children, or kill children with puppies. Fear not, Thanker In The Extravagant Style, QB's got your back. In fact, the ninth Satanic Rule Of The Earth states, "Do not harm little children" (www.churchofsatan.com/home.html). The other rules do not commend violence except in instances of self-defense, so big children have nothing to worry about, either.

QB hopes that this research has cleared things up for you, and for any other readers who might have been a bit perplexed as to the true nature of Satanism. Keep the questions coming!

Nondenominationally yours,
QB

Sources :

Witchcraft Today: An Encyclopedia of Wiccan and Neopagan Traditions
Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luciferianism
www.churchofsatan.com/home.html

Call Number :

299L587w
299.03En19

Location :

Undergraduate Library Reference Collection

Date Answered :

8/30/2008

Question 7:

Is there a question that QB has never been asked that QB would really like to answer? If so, what is that question?

Answer :

Dear Curious,

QB was quite happy to get your question! While no one has ever asked about artists’ books, QB has been eager to write about them, and to offer readers examples of these books in our very own University Library.

For those who have not heard of these books, QB found this definition in Stephen Bury’s "Artists’ Books":

"Artists’ books are books or book-like objects, over the final appearance of which an artist has had a high degree of control; where the book is intended as a work of art in itself... In practice, this definition breaks down as artists challenge it, pushing the book format in unexpected directions" (1).

Bury goes on to assert that writers and visual artists alike benefit from this format because the form and content can be as closely wedded or as firmly divorced as the artist would like. QB has found this opinion to be true in QB’s own bookmaking ventures: despite gluing QB to book in ways unprecedented, QB was able to create a text that quite literally unfolded as QB had imagined.

Thankfully, QB is not the first nor the only one to make these books. Johanna Drucker’s "The Century of Artists’ Books" posits that this format did not evolve until the 20th century, and suggests that the format has been a frequent tool of activists due to the lack of need for a publisher.

If this brief definition has piqued your curiosity, check out the books listed below for further reading, and further viewing.

Inextricably glued to an accordion-fold book insert,
QB

Sources :

References:

Stephen Bury, “Artists’ Books”
Architecture And Art Library
700B959a

Johanna Drucker, “The Century of Artists’ Books”
Architecture And Art Library
709.04D84c

Renee Riese Hubert and Judd D. Hubert, “The Cutting Edge of Reading: Artists’ Books”
Architecture And Art Library
709.04H863c

Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, “The Photobook: A History”
Architecture And Art Library
770.9P246p v.1

Artists’ books (try searching the Subject Heading “Artists’ books” for more):

Sadness because the video rental store was closed & other stories
Oak Street Facility (Request Only)
759.13K848s

Cowboy Junkies XX
Music Library
ML 421.C68A3

Installation view
Main Stacks
Q.709.73M175i

Punzocortante: a sharp object with ability to cut, generally used as a weapon
Main Stacks
709.85T635p

Call Number :

See above

Location :

See above

Date Answered :

6/12/2008

Question 8:

Other than complex, how would you describe Michael Finnissy's piano music?

Answer :

Dear Finnissy Aficionado,
First QB must say that she never refers to music as “complex.” To do so reeks of post-modern pretention that seems bound and determined to say as much as possible without in fact saying anything at all.
It seems a disservice to QB to attempt to explain music through words, since to QB the very essence of music is to escape the limitations of language. Music transcends the world in which we inhabit and gives voice to ideas, thoughts and emotions, which we cannot fully express through the written word. However, for centuries music critics have managed to make a living writing about music, and so QB will endeavor to emulate their example and express the inexpressible.
For those readers who may not be familiar with Michael Finnissy, a brief biographical sketch. Finnissy is an English composer, born in 1946. He studied at the Royal College of Music under Bernard Stevens and Humphrey Searle, and he also studied under Roman Vlad. He has taught at Winchester College, the University of Sussex and the Royal Academy of Music in London, as well as has served as president for the International Society for Contemporary Music. In addition to both performing and composing piano music, Finnissy also composes vocal and instrumental ensemble pieces.
Now, to get to your question. QB would describe Finnissy’s piano music as harsh, jarring, dissonant, grating, unlyrical and all together displeasing to the ear. QB is a devoted follower of classical music and was brought up with the lyrical strains of Chopin, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Brahms and Liszt filling the house. The music of these great composers exquisitely expresses the range of human emotion in a beautifully melodic language that feeds the soul and fills the heart.
In QB’s opinion, Finnissy is unpalatable. Yet, she will acknowledge that many listeners both appreciate and are moved by Finnissy’s works. Critics have described Finnissy’s music as having a “severe uncompromising quality” with “tough angular textures” (Baker 593). Ivan Hewitt of the Telegraph states that “His music reflects the genuine difficulty a composer or any creative artist has nowadays in finding a positive relationship to the society in which he or she works.” For Hewitt, it is the rawness of Finnissy’s work that is its allure. “Finnissy is one of those awkward English visionaries like William Blake or John Bunyan, whose rough edges are a measure of their burning convictions. “ (Hewitt)
So dear reader, in the end QB believes that the importance of the matter is not necessarily on how one describes the music, but rather that one gains something from the experience of listening to the music.

Sources :

Hewitt, Ivan. "The Arts Column: Michael Finnissy" Telegraph. 16 March 2006.

"Michael Finnissy." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 6th Ed. 1980. Ed. Stanley Sadie.

“Michael Finnissy.”Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Musicians. Ed. Laura Kuhn. 1997.

Call Number :

780.3 G91m

780.922 S154b

Location :

Undergrad

Date Answered :

6/2/2008

Question 9:

Q: Does this library have access to programs/audios that can teach a foreign language (for example the Igbo language of Nigeria)? If not where can I find a place that does?

Answer :

Dear Language Enthusiast,

QB has investigated your question and found quite a few linguistically titillating services offered right here on campus and around the ol’ C.U. The Undergraduate Media Collection in the Undergraduate Library contains a smattering of introductory language tapes. So if you are interested in Mandarin Chinese, this might be the place to visit. Unfortunately, no Igbo. In addition, the Modern Languages Library, located in the Main Library, also houses a number of instructional tapes, just behind the desk. The skill levels vary and many of them are designed to work in tandem with an accompanying textbook such as the jauntily titled Oxford Take Off in Italian. QB would also like to point out the possibly more expansive (and perhaps friendlier to the novice) collection of language tapes and CD’s that can be found at both the Urbana Free Library and the Champaign Public Library. After much searching QB is very sorry to inform you that no language tapes can be found here on campus which specifically teach the Igbo language. But, being a mysterious library persona, QB would feel remiss in not pointing out the large collection of language books available in the Modern Language Library, the Main Stacks, and elsewhere on campus, including The Igbo English Dictionary: A Comprehensive Dicitonary of the Igbo Language with an English-Igbo Index and Learn Igbo as a Second Language. However, if you are interested in African languages other than Igbo, QB happily directs you to the Center for African Studies here on campus which offers elementary and advanced classes each fall and spring semester in languages including Bamana, Lingala, Swahili, Wolof, and Zulu. Also the Center for African Studies and the Department of Linguistics present the Summer Cooperative African Language Institute, offering condensed summer courses in a number of African languages including (drum roll, please) Elementary Igbo.

Ka Odi,
QB

Sources :

Agu-Ofodile, Modesta Chinyere. Learn Igbo as Second Language: For Junior Secondary One. Ibadan: During Ventures, 1997.

Echeruo, Michael J.C. The Igbo English Dictionary: A Comprehensive Dicitonary of the Igbo Language with an English-Igbo Index. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.

Di Stefano, Anna and Batelli-Kneale, Tania. Oxford take off in Italian. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Undergraduate Library http://www.library.uiuc.edu/ugl/

Modern Language Library http://www.library.uiuc.edu/mdx/

Champaign Public Library http://www.champaign.org/

Urbana Free Library http://urbanafreelibrary.org

Center for African Studies http://www.afrst.uiuc.edu/

Summer Cooperative African Language Institute: http://scali.afrst.uiuc.edu/

Call Number :

496.33282421Ag5l1997

4960332321Ec43i

Location :

Date Answered :

9/13/2007

Question 10:

What does "horny" and "morning wood" mean in Latin?

Answer :

Dear Woody,

Thanks for your question. Neither "horny" nor "morning wood" are Latin words, so they mean nothing in Latin. Did you want a translation of these words into Latin?

"Morning" used as an adjective is "matutinus," while "wood," as a substance, is "lignum." "Horny" is "corneus."

Good luck with your wooing!
QB

Sources :

Simpson, D.P. Cassell's Latin Dictionary. Cassell & Company Limited, 1959.

Call Number :

473 C2721977

Location :

Undergrad Reference

Date Answered :

9/10/2007

Question 11:

Where can I get lyrics and music for Italian music?

Answer :

Dear Interested In Italian:

QB is pleased to say that there are many ways to approach your question if you have no particular genre in mind. Judging from your inquiry, maybe you are not sure if it is Italian folk music you are looking for. Maybe you’re an opera singer and really want to hear Luciano Pavaroti’s posthumous work or discover a contemporary jazz musician. Or maybe it is your personal mission to track down some Italian liturgical music. No matter what your interests, you can see just how broad the topic of Italian music is.
In the case that you’re open to the idea of serendipitous discovery, QB thinks that your first stop might be the University of Illinois Music Library Homepage—sort of your home base for information a la Italian music. This website is packed full of valuable information: you can make a note of that! You may just find exactly what you’re looking for at the Italian Music Homepage located at http://ospiti.cilea.it/music/entrance.htm, an impressive collection of Italian music resources in many formats. Here, you will find links to a detailed and impressive list of musicians, sound recordings of Italian jazz, blues, classical, Hebrew, rock and dance music, and even a repertoire of related information including Italian music magazines, live performances, and vocal pieces. If vocal music is your forte, you may be as thrilled as I was to discover the “Lied And Art Song Texts Page” that is also accessible from the Music Library homepage at: http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/. It was certainly music to my ears when I realized that you can even search over 19,800 vocal pieces with translations in—you guessed it—Italian (including many others!).
In addition to the above mentioned resources, iTUnes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/), Rhapsody (http://www.rhapsody.com/home.html), and MP3.com (http://www.mp3.com/)are also convenient online resources that may accommodate you in your search; but keep in mind that some of these resources, such as Rhapsody, require a user account and a monthly access fee. Also, you may decide to browse the sound recordings at your friendly University Music library.
Hopefully, QB’s suggestions have been key in helping you as begin your search! May you find harmony along your journey! QB has spoken and will now rest.

Sources :

Italy. Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milano. “The Italian Music Homepage.”Feb. 2001.
http://ospiti.cilea.it/music/entrance.htm

iTunes. http://www.apple.com/itunes/

MP3.com. http://www.mp3.com/

Rhapsody. http://www.rhapsody.com/home.html

Call Number :

Location :

Date Answered :

9/6/2007

Question 12:

Where can I get lyrics and music for Italian music?

Answer :

Dear Interested In Italian:

QB is pleased to say that there are many ways to approach your question if you have no particular genre in mind. Judging from your inquiry, maybe you are not sure if it is Italian folk music you are looking for. Maybe you’re an opera singer and really want to hear Luciano Pavaroti’s previous or posthumous work or discover a contemporary jazz musician. Or maybe it is your personal mission to track down some Italian liturgical music. No matter what your interests, you can see just how broad the topic of Italian music is.
In the case that you’re open to the idea of serendipitous discovery, QB thinks that your first stop might be the University of Illinois Music Library Homepage—sort of your home base for information a la Italian music. This website is packed full of valuable information: you can make a note of that! You may just find exactly what you’re looking for at the Italian Music Homepage located at http://ospiti.cilea.it/music/entrance.htm, an impressive collection of Italian music resources in many formats. Here, you will find links to a detailed and impressive list of musicians, sound recordings of Italian jazz, blues, classical, Hebrew, rock and dance music, and even a repertoire of related information including Italian music magazines, live performances, and vocal pieces. If vocal music is your forte, you may be as thrilled as I was to discover the “Lied And Art Song Texts Page” that is also accessible from the Music Library homepage at: http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/. It was certainly music to my ears when I realized that you can even search over 19,800 vocal pieces with translations in—you guessed it—Italian (including many others!).
In addition to the above mentioned resources, iTUnes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/), Rhapsody (http://www.rhapsody.com/home.html), and MP3.com (http://www.mp3.com/)are also convenient online resources that may accommodate you in your search; but keep in mind that some of these resources, such as Rhapsody, require a user account and a monthly access fee. Also, you may decide to browse the sound recordings at your friendly University Music library.
Hopefully, QB’s suggestions have been key in helping you as begin your search! May you find harmony along your journey! QB has spoken and will now rest.

Sources :

Italy. Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milano. “The Italian Music Homepage. Feb. 2001.
http://ospiti.cilea.it/music/entrance.htm

iTunes. http://www.apple.com/itunes/

MP3.com. http://www.mp3.com/

Rhapsody. http://www.rhapsody.com/home.html

Call Number :

Location :

Date Answered :

9/6/2007

Question 13:

Where can I get lyrics and music for Italian music? (Ode to Pavaroti)

Answer :

Dear Interested In Italian:
QB is pleased to say that there are many ways to approach your question if you have no particular genre in mind. Judging from your inquiry, maybe you are not sure if it is Italian folk music you are looking for. Maybe you’re an opera singer and really want to hear Luciano Pavaroti’s previous or posthumous work or discover a contemporary jazz musician. Or maybe it is your personal mission to track down some Italian liturgical music. No matter what your interests, you can see just how broad the topic of Italian music is.
In the case that you’re open to the idea of serendipitous discovery, QB thinks that your first stop might be the University of Illinois Music Library Homepage—sort of your home base for information a la Italian music. This website is packed full of valuable information: you can make a note of that! You may just find exactly what you’re looking for at the Italian Music Homepage located at http://ospiti.cilea.it/music/entrance.htm, an impressive collection of Italian music resources in many formats. Here, you will find links to a detailed and impressive list of musicians, sound recordings of Italian jazz, blues, classical, Hebrew, rock and dance music, and even a repertoire of related information including Italian music magazines, live performances, and vocal pieces. If vocal music is your forte, you may be as thrilled as I was to discover the “Lied And Art Song Texts Page” that is also accessible from the Music Library homepage at: http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/. It was certainly music to my ears when I realized that you can even search over 19,800 vocal pieces with translations in—you guessed it—Italian (including many others!).
In addition to the above mentioned resources, iTUnes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/), Rhapsody (http://www.rhapsody.com/home.html), and MP3.com (http://www.mp3.com/)are also convenient online resources that may accommodate you in your search; but keep in mind that some of these resources, such as Rhapsody, require a user account and a monthly access fee. Also, you may decide to browse the sound recordings at your friendly University Music library.
Hopefully, QB’s suggestions have been key in helping you as begin your search! May you find harmony along your journey! QB has spoken and will now rest.

Sources :

Call Number :

Location :

Date Answered :

9/6/2007

Question 14:

What was the cause of death of Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone?

Answer :

Thank you for your question. QB is always interested in mystery and intrigue. Adolphe Sax was born in the small town of Dinant, Belgium in 1814. His father was an artisan of brass and woodwind instruments. He was commissioned by King William I to make musical instruments for the Belgian army. As was common during this time, young Adolphe followed in his fathers footsteps as an accomplished instrument maker. At the age of 15 he entered two flutes and an ivory clarinet into an international competition which won him respect as an instrument maker. At age 20 he reinvented the bass-clarinet, which became a standard part of the woodwind group. In 1841 Sax moved to Paris, France and began working on a series of brass instruments the saxhorn, which was an improvement on the bugle which replace the keys with valves; the saxotromba a hybrid between a bugle and a trumpet; and the saxophone which was patented in 1846. He invented it for use in both orchestras and concert bands. He was praised by his contemporaries and decorated with prizes from many international competitions. He suggested to the French government that they incorporate his instruments into their military bands, thus eliminating the need for French horns and bassoons. After a competition in front of 20,000 people, his instruments were adopted for use in the French military bands However, rival instrument makers were jealous of his success and the business they were loosing to this young artist and thus attacked the legitimacy of Sax’s patents. They kept him wrapped up in a series of litigation for much of his lifetime. Sax was forced into bankruptcy twice in 1858 and 1871. He survived by teaching music lessons in Paris and selling his instrument. He was struck by lip cancer in 1853 but made a complete recovery. He died a poor man in Paris on February 4, 1894. The saxophone fell out of use after his death and did not become popular again until it was discovered by U.S. Jazz musicians in the 1920s. If you want more information on Adolphe Sax check out Adolphe Sax and his Saxophone by Léon Kochnitsky available in the UIUC Music Library.

Sources :

"Adolphe Sax." Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians®, Centennial Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, Editor Emeritus. Schirmer, 2001.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007. http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy2.library.uiuc.edu/servlet/BioRC
Sax, Adolphe [Antoine Joseph] (6 Nov. 1814, Dinant, Belgium - 4 Feb. 1894, Paris). (2003). In The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Retrieved September 04, 2007, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/4373775

Call Number :

Location :

Date Answered :

9/5/2007

Question 15:

What was Vachel Lindsay's impact on his audience when he performed his poems?

Answer :

Dear Poetry Fan,

A natice of Springfield, Illinois, poet and artist Vachel Lindsay was apparently also quite a performer. He enjoyed immense popularity, in part due to his poetry readings, which various critics describe as "dramatic," "fiery," and "unforgettably impressive." As one eye-witness wrote, "he threw back his head, closed his eyes, and began to croon, chant, and proclaim." His aim was to return poetry to its vernacular roots, so he read in small villages across America, making several trips- on foot, no less- across the country to perform his verse. Catherine Seeyle calls him a poet out of place in his time: "a 20th century troubadour who toured the country reciting his poems to hugely enthusiastic audiences, a propagandist for America whose exhortations were clothed in bombast, naivete, sentimentality, and theatrics" ("Vachel Lindsay: Overview" in Literary Resource Center).

How were his performances received? It sounds like people enjoyed him as entertainment, not as art. They were readily amused by his booming voice and wild gesticulations, but not taken in by his patriotism and pacifism ( see "Vachel Lindsay" in the Oxford Ency of American Lit). You can read more about him in the sources listed below, and you might also check out the UIUC English department's Modern American Poetry Site, which has a page on his performances:
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_l/lindsay/performer.htm

Sources :

Literature Resource Center
MagillOnLiterature Plus
JSTOR
*Oxford Ency of American Literature

Call Number :

* Q810.3 Ox25 v.2

Location :

*Undergrad

Date Answered :

7/26/2007

Arts and Humanities Questions

Most Recent 15 Questions Answered

Listen to a Podcast of this Question