Episode 5, Lotus Eaters. When the Linati schema says “skin”, and the Gilbert “genitals” you maybe expect a bit of raciness. This, as Vince mentioned, was a bit of a tease. Do hope Poldy’s correspondent isn’t the early 20th cen. equivalent of those “hot girls standing by to take your call!” tho I suspect she might well be.

Found a couple of Leopold’s musings interesting/funny. Re: weight “What is weight really when you say the weight? Thirty-two feet per second, per second. Law of falling bodies: per second, per second. They all fall to the ground. The earth. It’s the force of gravity of the earth is the weight.” (ML 1946, p. 71) And as Crystal did, Re: the Eucharist “Corpus. Body. Corpse. Rum idea; eating bits of a corpse why the cannibals cotton to it.” (p. 79). Also, how true is Bloom’s observation, “The first fellow that picked an herb to cure himself had a bit of pluck.” (p. 83)

Episode 6, Hades. Totally nerded out on this chapter. Actually read it twice because Bloom/Joyce’s observations and thoughts on death are so rich. Tweeted my favorites out (#TCUlysses peeps!) so I won’t rehash them here. Additionally this episode made me even fonder of Poldy. He lost his father to suicide, intimates about a rather rough childhood, lost a child in infancy, and is constantly ridiculed as a Jew because of his heritage. Even though his father converted to Protestantism. Even though he’s never been a practicing Jew. Even though he himself converted to Catholicism in order to marry Molly. He’s always “other” and “outsider” in the way he’s treated.

Closing observation: boy howdy all those men on their way to the funeral sure had a lot to gossip about. Interesting choice on Joyce’s part, no? Men. Gossip.

Idiom to attempt to casually slip into 21st century conversation: “I’ll tickle his catastrophe, believe you me.”

One very funny bit in 5 (p.80):

Bloom is noticing the word play of Latin in communion and likening it to cannibalism.  Then in the next paragraph communion as a lollipop.

Another great moment at the very end of 5 in the last sentence(p.86):

“limp father of thousands, languid floating flower,” Bloom imagines his spent penis floating in the stream of life.

In 6 I enjoyed the ride we are taken on in the carriage with each character’s search for levity in a musing or joke or rememberence of past deaths of people they once knew as they are currently in the wake if Dignam’s demise.  I am not certain that any of them were actually able to find that levity.

I found myself guiltily entertained rather than sad for Dignam

I don’t have many thoughts on this section.

I enjoyed the phrase: “Weak joy opened his lips.” (78)

Section 6 felt rather morbid with all the rumination on death and dying. But what an interesting sentence to end the section on: “How grand we are this morning.” (115)