Pic courtesy Rakka, Flickr
Finally
seated, at night, in secret study
At
rest and alone over the bronze stool
A
slender flame emerges from the wilderness
Unbelievable
deeds are uttered from the wasteland
-Quatrain
1/1, Nostradamus
Mario
Reading's second book on the French foreteller was a fascinating
insight into the more positive predictions made by the 16th
century alchemist. I read it cover-to-cover whilst seated- not on a
bronze stool, but on the exercise bike.
The
book took a little longer to read than I expected. It's a good 2cm
thick, but with fairly spaced-out text. It wasn't quite as spaced-out
as I'd expected, and I basically lost track of time on the bike. The
gym instructor said I put “a good two and a half hours” in. My
stopwatch went full-circle, suggesting I did 100 mins followed by a
futher 82. That's over 3 hours. Is this possible? I still didn't
finish it as the gym was closing by the time I was about 5/6ths the
way through.
It
was a HARD task- Reading's translations of Nostradamus' quatrains are
concise and fascinating, and his grasp of etymology is masterful, but
Goddamn, it's heavy stuff when you're pedalling away. It's more a
history lesson than anything, with additional prophecies that have
yet to occur (expect an island to be created after an underwater
volcanic eruption in 2021). An interesting read.
Here's
some advice for if you want to try this kind of exercise:
- Make a note of what time you start, if you're as forgetful as I am
- Pedal slowly. It's all too easy to burn yourself out.
- Remember to focus on what you're reading. It's also easy to tune out and find yourself “reading for words” when you're exerting physically as well as mentally.
- Drink lots of water. Bring a big bottle-full.
- Bring a bookmark. Reading takes two hands. Frequently, so does opening the cap on a water bottle.
- Pick a bike situated away from the gym's Hi-Fi speakers if possible.
- Don't hold the book directly under your nose, unless you want to drip sweat on it.
- Stretch off afterwards.
I'm
not quite the “slender flame” I once was, but with this day's 92
minutes fat-burning, it won't be long before I am.
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