Alexander Schmid Podcast

In this episode, Mr. Wesley Schantz and I talk about Robert Frost's "Mowing". Specifically, we consider (a) what the American form of poetry is, (b) the purpose of poetic/imagistic self-expression, and (c) who wields the "scythe of time" along the "cutting edge" at present.

Side Quests 038: Final Fantasy VII 23 with Mr. Wesley Schantz and Mr. Alexander Schmid

Fort Condor

Selfish request:

fight

fund

Take all risk

But they are desperate; their wives sent away

Fun strategy mini game; too broke, and then too broke to buy all

Mideel

Fight Weapon after no progress on Cloud

Real bonding moment; don’t need Cloud to beat bosses

Beta and region are killing it

Hitting stride

Fall into the Lifestream

Cid shows real leadership

Tifa assumes role of “piecing Cloud back together”; or rather guide to his process

Though she herself runs from accusations in the darkness

Cloud realizes that he was not the SOLDIER, but he was a Shinra normal trooper. Zach was defeated by Sephiroth and Cloud took Sephiroth from behind, but then through him off the ledge and into the mako of a mako reactor while impaired on Sephiroth’s disbelieving blade; also holding Jenova’s head

Cloud also apparently did not fit in and was not close to Tifa and actually liked her and blamed himself for her injury as a child(impulsive journey by Tifa up Mt. Nibel on the night her mom died)which he felt kept them apart; felt also more mature like character in the Idiot

So journey back to Mt. Nibel all the more symbolic, and Tifa rather than being second string to Aeris (now known to be attracted to Cloud only because he was like Zack) is the primary reason for Cloud’s pursuit of strength and eventual delusion!@

In this lecture, we first (a) recapitulate the beginning of Dante's argument on how a "sweet seed [could] go bitter," and a brief exposition of Aristotle's cosmology; (b) we then consider what the "various" effects and causes of man are, and (c) consider thus the mechanism by which siblings differ from each other and their parents, and why some people feel ill-suited to this world.

In this lecture, we discuss (a) Demodokos' third and final song on Scheria, (b) Odysseus and Euryalos make amends and Odysseus is given gifts, and (c) Odysseus reveals his identity and begins telling of his journey from Troy to Scheria, starting with plundering the Kikones at Ismaros!

In this lecture, I introduce (a) Venus and the Venusians, those whose love transcended their lust; (b) we consider the connection between the "obscured" or "darkened" first three spheres of Heaven, and (c) we learn Aristotle's "trickle-down Theo-nomics" theory of how the primal good is transmitted through the heavens and down to earth.

In this lecture, we observe (a) hospitality gone wrong on Scheria and the confrontation between Odysseus, Laodamas, and Euryalos; (b) the strength and sagacity of Odysseus, and (c) we conclude with a consideration of Demodokos' song about the (cheating) affair between Ares and Aphrodite, and how the gods resolve conflicts!

In this lecture, we lay out (a) Dante's reasoning behind the Incarnation, (b) Dante's argument for why humans ought to be charitable towards each other (as an ultimate ideal), and (c) how the first three spheres of Paradise emphasize the theme that "one's initial sensory perceptions are often wrong"/ "Nothing is as it seems [at first]".

In this conversation, Ms. Sarah Miller and Mr. Wesley Schantz and I consider "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" Chs. 24-26. Specifically, we reflect on: (a) Rita Skeeter's yellow journalism and the difference between truth and propaganda, (b) Hagrid's hybrid nature and the lead-up to the second task (c) and finally, the second task and what it means for Harry to lose one level of the competition by actually winning at a "higher level"--or winning the game outside the game.

In this episode of Side Quests, Mr. Wesley Schantz and I have the opportunity to talk to @AndrewTurnwall who writes as The Ink-Stained Mage  at https://thewellredmage.com/author/theinkstainedmage/. Though usually we talk Final Fantasy VII, in this conversation we ask Andy about (a) Dungeons and Dragons and what it is, (b) what draws one into the game and who creates its mythology (developer or players?), and (c) why the time spent in preparation and playing is good for the soul.