Nestor

  • Ep. 70 – Bloomsday 2021

    Happy Bloomsday, one and all! Enjoy a selection of readings from Ulysses by our talented listeners from across the globe. It’s a Bloomsday bash you can listen to anywhere. Just add gorgonzola and burgundy! Cool stuff to support: Sweny’s Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe! U22: The Centenary Ulysses Podcast Ulysses –…

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  • Ep. 45 – Bloomsday 2020

    Happy Bloomsday, one and all! Blooms & Barnacles presents our Bloomsday 2020 episode, a little Bloomsday party you can take anywhere you go. Many friends and listeners came together to record their favorite passages from Ulysses, and we’ve compiled them into one, gargantuan Blooms & Barnacles episode. Sweny’s Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive.…

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  • The Word Known to All Men

    To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. “Touch me. Soft eyes. Soft soft soft hand. I am lonely here. O, touch me soon, now. What is that word known to all men? I am quiet here alone. Sad too. Touch, touch me.” The lines above appear towards the…

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  • Ep. 24 – A Shout in the Street

    Blooms and Barnacles’ series on Mr. Deasy and “Nestor” comes to a close with a discussion of the old headmaster’s biased views of women’s negative impact on history. The relative culpability of four woman accused of causing history’s great evils is explored, along with what exactly Stephen means when he refers to God as a…

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  • Ep. 23 – The Nightmare of History

    Kelly and Dermot deconstruct the nightmare of history shared by the Irish and the Jews alike. We further explore the intricacies of Mr. Deasy’s bigotry and what it tells us about what life was like in 1900’s Dublin. Other topics covered include one possible source of Joyce’s hatred of Gogarty, the correlation of antisemitism and…

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  • Ep. 22 – Perviest Breakfast

    Per vias rectas! Mr. Deasy’s origins – revealed! Kelly and Dermot dive into Joyce’s real life acquaintances and experiences that inspired the gruff headmaster Mr. Deasy in Ulysses‘ second episode, “Nestor.” Topics covered include why Mr. Deasy is so concerned about foot and mouth disease, the relative rebelliousness of voting in favor of the Union…

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  • Ep. 21 – Croppies Lie Down

    This week, Kelly and Dermot explain the nightmarish history tucked into Stephen’s terse rebuttal of Mr. Deasy’s weak grasp of Irish history. The passage covered can be found on p. 31 of Kelly’s edition of Ulysses (1990 Vintage International). Topics covered include the history of the Orange Order, the Battle of the Diamond, the Planters’…

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  • Ep. 20 – Big Words Which Make Us So Unhappy

    History is the art of Nestor, so let’s immerse ourselves in the nightmare of history, at least the bits covered on  p. 31 of Ulysses. Learn about Stephen’s hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.  Mr. Deasy tries to teach Stephen a bit of history, but (spoiler alert) he doesn’t know much about history. Topics covered include Daniel O’Connell, the Orange lodges,…

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  • Form of Forms

    “It follows that the soul is analogous to the hand; for as the hand is a tool of tools, so the mind is the form of forms and sense the form of sensible things.” – Aristotle, De Anima I am absolutely indebted to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the book Allwisest Stagyrite: Joyce’s Quotations…

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  • Ep. 19 – Fogey and Tory

    A character study of the infamous Mr. Deasy, the headmaster of Stephen’s school in “Nestor,” the second episode of Ulysses. We discuss how Mr. Deasy is a stereotypical Dubliner of his day, as well as his defining characteristics (including his impressive mustache!) Mr. Deasy has a lot to teach us, though he is an old…

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