Mythology and Folklore

( cheezburger ) As far as the feedback I have received thus far from my peers and professor, I'd like to give it all high ratings. There have been several instances where a peer's feedback has led me to a new idea, which is always nice. For the feedback I give, I'd like to think I'm being fairly constructive and offering advice that provokes thought about the story I'm reading, as well as helping my classmates to further their writing. I do enjoy having my introduction post as a place where people can learn a bit more about me and understand where I'm coming from. I don't, however, really feel like I know the people whose introductions I comment on. There are a lot of things you can learn about a person and still never really know them, and there's a difference between knowing a person and knowing about them. I feel like that line is toed but not crossed. I think for the future I should mainly continue taking the advice of my peers...

(Simpsons+Odyssey+1 from  DeviantArt ) 1. I think the most relevant thing to my progress so far has been the feedback I've been getting from my fellow students, as well as from our professor. The outside opinions looking at my works have been extremely helpful in correcting small grammar errors as well as helpful in new suggestions. 2. I chose this favorite image because I am particularly fond of the Simpsons. On top of that, the play-on-words of "Homer's Odyssey" correlating to this image was pretty funny to me.  3. Looking forward, I probably need to reread the readings each week to get a better understanding of the material, as well as to understand the underlying pieces of the text. I'm sure there are several pieces that I've read that I have not paid enough attention to, and could have pulled more out of the pieces in my notes.

(Sun Wu Kong from  WikiMedia Commons ) Author's Note: For this story, I decided to take the story of Sun Wu Kung and decided to retell it as a bedtime story in order to ward children off from becoming overconfident. "You got another good grade today I see," mother said. "The test was too easy. All of them are. I never even have to study," I replied with a huff. "Well then, Mr. Smarty Pants, you think all tests will be that way?" "Of course they will. I'm smart, I don't have to work at it like everyone else," I replied. With that, mother sighed and said, "Let me tell you a story tonight before you go to sleep." Some hours passed and it was bed time for bed. Mother came into my room with a book of legends. "This is the story of Sun Wu Kung, a great and powerful being who thought he should rule atop the heavens with his powers." ... There was once a stone ape who was born...

(Sun Wukong, from  Wikipedia ) To expand my vocabulary and look for more words or phrases to use in my own stories, I chose to do something similar to what I did in my last reading notes post, and look for words I'd like to use in my own stories and find their definitions. Midst - In the middle of Endowed - Given a quality Radiance - Light emitted Unconstrained - Not restricted Bliss - Perfect happiness Sainted - Worthy of being a saint Venerable - Accorded a great deal of respect Accorded - Given Disciples - Personal followers Chamber - A large room Reverentially - Characterized by reverence Reverence - Deep respect Murmur - Softly spoken utterance Bade - Uttered Impudent - Not showing due respect Thresh - Separate  Bibliography:  C hinese Folklore, Sun Wu Kung, from  UnTextbook

(Egyptian god Set from  DeviantArt ) Look ye wanderers upon my tale book, and see that which should convince ye to not betray thine kin. Here we have the story of Set, brother of Osiris. Set was a god of Egypt, or more specifically, the god of storms and strange occurrences. His brother Osiris, god of the dead and the underworld, loved him dearly. But Set was not so warm-hearted. He loathed his brother's successes and wished the throne for himself. And for that reason, we have the story of Set's rise, and of his fall. Set came to the place of Osiris bringing good tidings and wishes of merriment. He brought a great gift, a fine chest which he claimed that any man who could perfectly fit could have. Many men tried to fit in the chest in an attempt to win it, but none could. Along came Osiris, willing to play along with his brother's games. When he entered he discovered it was a perfect fit, and cozied up inside. At this time, Set's men came from the shadows a...

(Giza Sahara Egypt Sphinx Ancient Egypt Pyramid from  Max Pixel ) For this reading the character I'm focusing on is not in the story, so I chose to focus more on the style of writing used, and focus mostly on the vocabulary in the story, picking out words I would like to find a way to use in my own story. So I chose to do a list and definitions style of note taking. Alternatively, I chose a word I could replace with the words I chose from the story. As a side note, I liked how the story of Bata and Anpu can be related to modern day scenarios. It often happens that an unfaithful woman will attempt to sway a man, then when the man denies her, she will tell the opposite to her husband to get back at the one who denied her. Garments-in place of clothing Imbued-inspired or permeated with a feeling or quality Yonder-at some distance in an indicated direction Raiment-also clothing Smote-struck with a firm blow Fragrance-in place of smell Seized-in place of grabbed ...

(The Great Pyramid of Giza from  flickr ) The main reason I chose to do this reading was to focus a bit more on getting information about Set, the Egyptian god of storms and terrifying occurrences like earthquakes and eclipses. So for this reading I decided to read through and focus on the parts that talked about Set in order to learn a little more about him. What I gathered: Set is paired with Nepthys  He is very jealous of Osiris's works Very Evil Loved wartime, didn't like times of peace Liked starting rebellions Plotted to overthrow Osiris through deceit  Killed Osiris with a chest and followers, and usurped the throne. Ruled Egypt through tyranny and killed the followers of Osiris and Isis without mercy Found Osiris's body (after it was recovered by Isis) and separated it into 14 parts, casting it into the Nile to be eaten by crocodiles. Usurped by Osiris, once Osiris had grown strong enough. Bibliography: Laura Gibbs, Ancient Egypt , f...