Alexander Schmid Podcast

In this episode, Mr. Wesley Schantz and I continue into Disc 2 of Square's "Final Fantasy VII". Specifically, we consider (a)  Cloud's plight, (b) Cid and Barret as leaders and the new team dynamics, (c) what the difference between the beginning of a game is and the middle-end of a game, and how those trajectories correlate to the beginning and middle-end of a life. Wes also makes a bold claim about Majora's Mask!

In this episode of Night School, Mr. Wesley Schantz and I discuss Robert Frost's most famous poem: "The Road Not Taken". Specifically, we consider (a) two leading theories on how to read this poem, (b) how the method of amplifying (expanding on) a poem brings to light embedded information within it regardless of the reception of the poem, and (c) we conclude with a consideration of what is lost when something is gained.

In this episode of Side-Quests, Wes and I are joined by Helen McCarthy (http://helenmccarthy.wordpress.com), a learned scholar of anime, accomplished craftsperson, and engaging conversationalist. We specifically consider the subjects of (a) Japanese Culture and its perception vs. its reality, (b) mythology and whether anime melds the mythologies of the East and West, and (c) then we focus in on the works of Hayao Miyazaki, his leading ideas, his sense of nostalgia, and ultimately consider what his masterpiece is.

In this episode of Night School, Mr. Wesley Schantz and I conclude our Emily Dickinson unit with two poems of hers about death: "Because I could not stop for Death – (479)", and "A not admitting of the wound (1188)."   

In this lecture, we (a) observe the divine house of Alkinoos, covered in gold and silver; (b) we enjoy the hospitality of the Phaiakians, and the wisdom of their leading men and women, and (c) learn about the history of the Phaiakians and the speed of their far-flung ships.

In this episode, Ms. Sarah Miller, Mr. Wesley Schantz, and I delve into "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" Chs. 18-23. Specifically, we consider (a) the first challenge and the symbol of the dragon, (b) the Yule Ball and the discomfort of dawning "new robes" (roles), and (c) what is the role of transformation in these chapters, and is there a difference between superficial, aesthetic transformation and a deeper, more substantial one?

In this lecture we discuss (a) the interwoven olive bushes beneath which Odysseus spends his first night in Scheria, (b) the dream of Nausikaa and her mythological situation, poised before marriage (major theme), and (c) the interaction between the wild and savage appearing Odysseus and the courageous and taming Nausikaa!

In this lecture, we meet (a) Justinian and Romieu de Villenueve, (b) consider the concepts of just punishment and just reward, and (c) provide Beatrice/Dante's account for why (1) God became mortal, and (2) why God forgave rather than punished man for his death.

On this episode of Night School, Mr. Wesley Schantz and I discuss two poems by Emily Dickinson: "There is no Frigate like a Book (1286)" and "The Poets light but Lamps — (930)". Specifically, we consider (a) classical images of the soul in "There is no Frigate,"(b) Christian and Greco-Roman imagery in "The Poets,", and (c) some analysis of the metempsychotic function of poetry. What is passed on through the poetic art?

In this episode, Mr. Wesley Schantz and I consider (a) our new restricted character list and physical constraints and incarceration, (b) the new immediate threats (WEAPON) and remote threats (METEOR) with which we now must content, down one Cloud, and (c) how to move forward from the idyllic past into the terrible and terrifying present, full of potentially world-ending problems?