melpomenic

[engineer27]

melpomenic (adj.)
1. Of or pertaining to Melpomene, the Greek Muse of Tragedy.
2. Tragic

I found one whole usage of this word in the internet using Google. But it seems to me like a perfectly good, if eponymous, word.

[Perry]

Was [s]he the muse of melpodramas?

[engineer27]

Was he the muse o[f] melpodramas?

Due to gender bias, all the muses were female.
However, those who obsessively pursue this particular muse were known as "melpomaniacs."

[Bailey]

Due to gender bias, all the muses were female.

But muses ARE female.

mark gender-bias-notwithstanding Bailey

[engineer27]

Due to gender bias, all the muses were female.

But muses ARE female.

mark gender-bias-notwithstanding Bailey

How many Muses have you met recently?

[Perry]

We are not a muse.

[engineer27]

We are not a muse.

This statement no doubt uttered by Queen Victoria to her Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson, on the occasion of his request to immortalize her in verse.

[Perry]

Good to see that you are loosening up!

[engineer27]

Good to see that you are loosening up!

I must have had a visit from Terpsichore (the muse of dance).

I will soon be filling this forum with Terpsichorian prose which will set your brain awhirl!

[Bailey]

Good to see that you are loosening up!

I must have had a visit from Terpsichore (the muse of dance).

I will soon be filling this forum with Terpsichorian prose which will set your brain awhirl!

OK well, talk is cheap, I will hold my breath though.

Due to gender bias, all the muses were female.

But muses ARE female.

mark gender-bias-notwithstanding Bailey

How many Muses have you met recently?

Ah, but if I told you I'd have to kill you, and chimps are notoriously peaceful, I'd have issues......

mark be-mused-for-sure Bailey

[engineer27]

Bene est rex esse

My Latin is rusty, but I read that as "It's Good to be the King." Mel Brooks fan, perhaps?

On the subject of Classical gender bias, perhaps in our modern era it might be proper to broaden the concept of the Muses to include male counterparts for the nine canonical divine beings, to provide inspiration for female artists and poets.

Of course, more strident feminists might insist that "wymyn" are able to function creatively without any external impetus (thank you very much) and look askance at our feeble attempt to improve gender parity.

Which brings us back on topic, since our well-intentioned action will have led to melpomenic consequences.

[Bailey]

engineer, being right-brained releases a typical function of the artistic personality and a foothold those of the feminine persuasion have always held.

While I'm no fan of females-first I believe they deserve equal pay for equal work.

And I am king of the chimps a doubious honorarium bestowed on me in times past.

mark chief-chump Bailey[sic]

[engineer27]

While I'm no fan of females-first I believe they deserve equal pay for equal work.

And I am king of the chimps a doubious [sic] honorarium bestowed on me in times past.

mark chief-chump Bailey[sic]

You are most certainly of the Common Chimpanzee variety, then, since the Bonobo Chimpanzees appear to favor a matriarchal society.

Or, perhaps you are Bonobo, in which case the dubiety of your title becomes even more evident.

being right-brained releases a typical function of the artistic personality and a foothold those of the feminine persuasion have always held.

Ouch. In an effort to re-assert its superiority, my literally-minded left brain provided me with an image of a white-robed Muse trampling on my right brain with stiletto heels.

[Bailey]

You are most certainly of the Common Chimpanzee variety, then, since the Bonobo Chimpanzees appear to favor a matriarchal society.

Where do you suppose the "chief chump" came from? Not to completely negate the fact that as a chimp I cannot spell worth beans.[maybe she was right?]

being right-brained releases a typical function of the artistic personality and a foothold those of the feminine persuasion have always held.

Ouch. In an effort to re-assert its superiority, my literally-minded left brain provided me with an image of a white-robed Muse trampling on my right brain with stiletto heels.

I think not, real women are pacifistic, and nurturing. Aggression should be reserved for the testosterone-burdened.
Remember you get not only what you expect but often what you deserve. [using the generic pronoun here of course].

mark no-one-takes-me-seriously-nor-should-you Bailey

proving that any sesquepedalian can use big words and 'lofty' concepts; but why? I like little words. While I am a chimp, I don't see myself as common at all.
oh and see my tag by Emo.

[Stargzer]

The full articles abstracted below are quite an interesting read. Upon reflection, we seem to get our violent tendencies from the Common Chimpanzee and our mellow "Flower Child" tendencies from the Bonobo.

Chimpanzee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chimpanzee, often shortened to chimp, is the common name for the two extant species in the genus Pan. The better known chimpanzee is Pan troglodytes, the Common Chimpanzee, living primarily in West, and Central Africa. Its cousin, the Bonobo or "Pygmy Chimpanzee" as it is known archaically, Pan paniscus, is found in the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congo River forms the boundary between the two species. Chimpanzees are sometimes informally referred to as "monkeys"; however, biologists classify them as great apes.

...

Chimpanzee differences
Anatomical differences between the Common Chimpanzee and the Bonobo are slight, but in sexual and social behaviour there are marked differences. Common Chimpanzees have an omnivorous diet, a troop hunting culture based on beta males led by an alpha male, and highly complex social relationships; Bonobos, on the other hand, have a mostly herbivorous diet and an egalitarian, matriarchal, sexually receptive behavior. The exposed skin of the face, hands and feet varies from pink to very dark in both species, but is generally lighter in younger individuals, darkening as maturity is reached. Bonobos have proportionately longer upper limbs and tend to walk upright more often than the Common Chimpanzee. A University of Chicago Medical Centre study has found signficant genetic differences between chimpanzee populations.

Common Chimpanzee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), also known as the Robust Chimpanzee, is a great ape. The name troglodytes, Greek for 'cave-dweller', was coined by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in his Handbuch der Naturgeschichte (Handbook of Natural History) published in 1779. ...

Several subspecies of the Common Chimpanzee have been recognized:

-Central Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes troglodytes ... ;

-West African Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes verus ... ;

-West Nigeria/East Cameroon or simply Nigerian
-Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes vellerosus ... ;

-Eastern Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ... .


Basic Facts

Although omnivores, their diet is mainly vegetarian ...

There are also instances of organized hunting... Common Chimpanzees sometimes band together and hunt Western Red Colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus badius) for their meat. Isolated cases of cannibalism have been documented. Chimpanzees have also been known on rare occasions to attack and eat human infants.

The West African Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) is the only animal besides humans known to routinely create and use specialized tools specifically for hunting. Chimpanzees near Kédougou, Senegal were observed to create spears by breaking off tree limbs, stripping them of their bark, sharpening one end with their teeth. They then used these weapons to kill galagos sleeping in hollows.

Behaviour

Common Chimpanzees live in communities that typically range from twenty to more than 150 members, but spend most of their time travelling in small parties of just a few individuals. ... Common Chimpanzees are 'knuckle walkers', like gorillas, in contrast to the quadrupedal locomotion of orangutans and bonobos, 'palm walkers' who use the outside edge of their palms.

The Common Chimpanzee lives in a fission-fusion society, where mating is promiscuous, and may be found in groups of the following types: all-male, adult females and offspring, consisting of both sexes, one female and her offspring, or a single individual. At the core of social structures are males, who roam around, protect group members, and search for food. Among males, there is generally a dominance hierarchy. ...

When confronted by a predator, chimpanzees will react with loud screams and use any object they can get against the threat. As noted above, chimps are preyed on by leopards, but they have also fallen prey to lions as well.

Bonobo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bonobo (Pan paniscus), until recently usually called the Pygmy Chimpanzee and less often the Dwarf or Gracile Chimpanzee, is one of the two species comprising the chimpanzee genus, Pan. ...

The Bonobo was discovered in 1928, by American anatomist Harold Coolidge, ... The species is distinguished by an upright gait, a matriarchal culture, and the prominent role of sexual activity in their society. ...

Physical characteristics

The Bonobo is more gracile (slight in form) than the Common Chimpanzee. Its head is smaller than that of the Common Chimpanzee but has a higher forehead. It has a black face with pink lips, small ears, wide nostrils, and long hair on its head. Females have slightly more prominent breasts in contrast to the flat breasts of other female apes, though not as prominent as those of humans. The Bonobo also has a slim upper body, narrow shoulders, thin neck, and long legs compared with the Common Chimpanzee. The Bonobo walks upright about 25% of the time during ground locomotion. These characteristics, and its posture, gives the Bonobo a more human-like appearance than that of the Common Chimpanzee. Moreover, the Bonobo has highly individuated facial features, as humans do, so that one individual can look significantly different from another, adapted for visual recognition in social interaction.

Psychological characteristics

Frans de Waal, one of the world's leading primatologists, states that the Bonobo is often capable of altruism, compassion, empathy, kindness, patience and sensitivity.

Recent observations in the wild have seemed to indicate that the males among the Common Chimpanzee troops are extraordinarily hostile to males from outside of the troop. ... This does not appear to be the behavior of the Bonobo males or females, both of which seem to prefer sexual contact with their group to violent confrontation with outsiders. ...

Richard Wrangham and Dale Peterson emphasize the Bonobo's use of sex as a mechanism to avoid violence.

"[Common] Chimpanzees and Bonobos both evolved from the same ancestor that gave rise to humans, and yet the Bonobo is one of the most peaceful, unaggressive species of mammals living on the earth today. They have evolved ways to reduce violence that permeate their entire society. They show us that the evolutionary dance of violence is not inexorable". ...

Closeness to humanity

Bonobos are capable of passing the mirror-recognition test for self-awareness. They communicate through primarily vocal means, although the meanings of their vocalizations are not currently known; however, humans do understand their facial expressions[7] and some of their natural hand gestures, such as their invitation to play. Two Bonobos at the Great Ape Trust, Kanzi, and Panbanisha, have been taught a vocabulary of about 400 words which they can type using a special keyboard of lexigrams (geometric symbols), and can respond to spoken sentences. Some, such as bioethicist Peter Singer, argue that these results qualify them for the "rights to survival and life," rights that humans theoretically accord to all persons.