Posts
Sisyphus Learns
Sisyphus heaves the boulder
one mighty shove that first time
trudging ascent
after the tenth time
his chest bruised
he knows he is screwed
he learns to take it slow
to breathe between pushes
like perpetual labor
he measures contractions
and imagines
a green field
he floats in this egg
as his bones crack
Lucy Simpson
Seattle
6/20/2008
And let's face it, had they gone the live action route, no one would remember them. Hell, I can barely recall the live action Narnia series, and they went whole hog on that one (much to Lewis' chagrin, no doubt). Remember, we're talking about the 80's and early 90's, back when synthesizers and filter effects were still cool. Industrial Light and Sound notwithstanding, special effects sucked (yes, even The Neverending Story is painful to watch--and I'll not waste space on the sequels).
So animation, logically, was a mainstay for anyone who dabbled in the fantastic or futuristic. It made perfect sense for Beagle to turn his book into an animated film, after all, who in his right mind would believe for an instant that a horse with a horn on its head was anything else? So instead we start with a unicorn in a forest who overhears two hunters saying that she's the last one and off she goes to find the rest. And just like that, we're in the story. Why? Because animation, like the paintings in Lascaux and the visual koans of the Zen masters, is a medium of the imagination. As such, it is an ideal environment for magic and marvels alike.
Is it any wonder that our love affair with CGI has yet to end? Even Disney, once the gold standard in animated films (from Snow White all the way to the Lion King), has publicly stated that it will no longer pursue hand-drawn films. Granted, with the success of the Shrek, Toy Story, and Monster's Inc brands, who can blame them? Still, there's something amiss with all three, and it's most evident in newer films such as Blue Sky Studio's Horton Hears a Who. Naturally, adaptations are a tricky business, as there will always be the old fans (myself included) who feel that the new work does not do justice to the original. There's also, in the case of contemporary CGI films, the tendency for them to become, as one friend put it, "Shrecked."
Horton's a peculiar case in that it looks almost like the original while sounding nothing like it. And perhaps, if half of Seuss weren't in the words, this wouldn't be a problem; but the fact remains that Seuss was as much a wordsmith as a xenobiologist (and if you've any doubt of that then go to a Geisel exhibit and examine his sculptures).
Looking back, I think that's why I've always been a fan of Burton's. Sure his works are as realistic as Dali's clocks are accurate (although I've no doubt that somewhere, in another dimension, they're as spot on and ours are the aberrant ones). Each time I watch one of his films, I feel as if I'm being invited into a private world of his own making, one that's a much a funhouse mirror reflection of ours as a projection of the warped and peculiar child that lives within him.
Yet the difference between his world and ours is not so much a product of supernatural possession as result of surrealistic diffusion (hence the allusion to Dali earlier). Strange things not only can happen, but do, and they are accepted as normal, or at least quasi-normal. Which is why his films always have a cartoonish (as in animation, not caricature) quality to them.
How ironic, then, that Disney should cling so tightly to his Nightmare materials, which are, in so many ways, unDisneyish (yes, the Mouse has shaped my childhood as much as FenFen has mutated...well, that analogy doesn't actually need o be completed, does it?). Unsurprisingly, Disney still invests heavily in foreign-produced, hand-drawn animations, as if to say, "we can't really be bothered with this, even though we know that when it's done well it's still better than Pixar." My first encounter with this phenomenon occurred when a roommate asked if I wanted to watch Princess Mononoke. I agreed, albeit somewhat reluctantly, and was fairly entertained (then again, my introduction to Japanese animated films was Akira, which is akin to saying fuck the weed and give me the hardest stuff you've got). I was not, however, sold on the endeavor.
Not until Myazaki's Howl's Moving Castle, that is: here, I once again encountered the films of my youth. Like them, it's an adaptation, and, like them, it benefits from the simplicity of the medium. Whereas the book tends to bog down in details and side characters and odd twists and turns, the film sheds these embellishments in favor of a simple telling: the result is a delightful fable about two people who must either outgrow their circumstances or else remain forever trapped by them. The film also demonstrates the importance of realizing that magic is in the affect, not the effect.
Just like Gandalf, whose mere presence is otherworldly, and Schmendrick, whose spells are constantly warped by his insecurities, the fantastic elements in Howl's Moving Castle are shaped both by the characters and by the medium, and no amount of CGI wizardry or technological gadgetry will ever be able to substitute for the magic inherent in animation.
Biblical scholars have long realized that the flood myth in the Bible is compilation of two older but parallel stories, one from the northern kingdom of Israel (called the E source) and the other from the southern kingdom of Judah (called the J source). These stories were combined by some priestly group (the P source) in Jerusalem after the northern kingdom was destroyed by Assyria in 720 BC. The influx of northern refugees into the south required that a new common history be created by merging the slightly different traditions of their common religion. The editorial P source was very concerned with an orderly history which explains its emphasis on genealogy and the covenant theology which gives a framework in which to understand Israel's history (both is triumphs and defeats). A review of a book that attempts to recreate the J source can be found here. What follows is my attempt at separating the two parallel sources.
Rationale for the Flood
J source
6:5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
P source editorial introduction
9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
E source
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.
Comments
In this New International Version of the Bible "LORD" is a translation of the Hebrew word "Yahweh" while God is a translation of the Hebrew word "Elohim". These two different terms for the divinity are the primary characteristics of their respective sources.
Construction Commands
E source
13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. 16 Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark (P editor insert) —you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
J Source
7:1 The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. 4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."
5 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.
Comments
Verse 15 in Hebrew is: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high (about 140 meters long, 23 meters wide and 13.5 meters high).
Notice the difference between the sources in the number and type of animals that Noah was to bring onto the ark.
Entering the Ark
E Source
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, 9 male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.
J Source
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
P Source adds this editorial summary
13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. 14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. 16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.
The Flood Begins
J Source
17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.
E source
18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. 21 Every living thing that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. 24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
The Flood Ends
E source
8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. 2 Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. 3 The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, 4 and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.
J Source
6 After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 7 and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. 10 He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11 When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. 12 He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him. 13 By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.
Comments
Notice that the drying of the earth took much longer in the E source (more than 10 months) than in the J source (two months). Apparently the rest of the E source flood ending was deleted since it does not go all the way to the dry land stage.
Out of the Ark
E Source
15 Then God said to Noah, 16 "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it."
18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ark, one kind after another.
J Source
20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
22 "As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease."
Final Comment
Notice how well the story line of each source flow together, a flow that is lost in the combined version.
Also notice that this flood myth is not based on a raging river flood analogy. Instead the extra water came from a combination of springs and rain that smoothly rose.
Valour is part of a larger sculpture entitled Valour & Cowardice but Cowardice came out blurry :)...
As I explore my options in regards to how to best go about developing and promoting my first work, I find my interests, and my somewhat iconoclastic nature, naturally drawn to the forefront of debates about copyright and intellectual property. In an odd way, it's somewhat of a natural outgrowth from my undergraduate research on rhetoric surrounding the incorporation of the Human Genome Project's results into commercial products. Of course, now that I am in the position of authoring my own works, I find myself at a crossroads. Do I endorse the traditional route and throw my work out to the world, hoping against hope, like Hemingway's Old Man, that someone will bite, or do I involve the world in my work to create something that is no longer entirely mine?
I suppose every artist fancies himself the God of his own world at some point--even Tolkien could not resist proclaiming the artist as "the little maker"--yet there comes a time when he must surrender his desire for demiurge-status and realize that for his work to truly thrive, it must grow beyond the boundaries of his own conception. In a sense, creation is a process of inverse navel gazing, in which the artist, by sheer dint of look through himself, discovers the world beyond him. The intensity of this process, its relentless nature, collapses all that he is into a point--a singularity, if you will--which, due to its own density must either collapse upon itself or explode outward indefinitely. Thus, regardless of whether he claims ultimate authority of the work, there exists the notion that the artist is bound to his creation.
Within such a perspective, reluctance to share is a natural outgrowth of the process. Surrendering control of even a small part of the work is tantamount to giving a part of oneself away, and, as we have seen with organ donation cards, that's frequently a hard sell. Yet I wonder what is truly lost?
As I chew over the complexities of this issue, I will continue to keep you all informed about my thoughts, as well as my final decision. In the meantime, here are some things to mull over:
- Creative Commons: a non-profit organization devoted to establishing a better way of sharing.
- Cory Doctorow's Bio: co-editor of the blog BoingBoing and author of three novels available under the Creative commons license.
- WIPO: the World Intellectual Property Organization, an agency of the United Nations. Established to promote a comprehensive system for international IP rights.
Myths. Legends. Stories. Fables. Folklore. Alternate worlds, realities. To access these, I needed only twenty-six letters. Twenty-six symbols capable of infinite combinations, phonetics be damned. Toss in some commas, periods, quotation marks and whatnot. Stir vigorously, chew constantly, digest patiently. Feed the muse, hungry beast that she is, always wanting more, craving more. Describe my reading style in a word? Insatiable. My writing style? Sensational. But these are merely words; can they capture the entirety? The Zen Buddhist shakes his head, says “the finger is not the moon.” The semanticist nods gravely in agreement and states “the map is not the territory.”
As for me, I say it’s like a Rorschach test, only, to figure out what the blot means, I ask, “should I look at the blot, or the empty space (negative space, my art teacher corrects)?” The answer is both. All. None of the above. What the hell, life is not a multiple choice test. You want answers; become a priest, a scientist. You ask questions; become a writer, and never stop asking. What, you say, you can do both? Well, good for you, then do it, don’t say it (‘Show, don’t tell.’ It’s a classroom mantra chanted by a Greek chorus in my head). There are so many voices. What to do with them? Read. Write. Listen, maybe they have something to say.
I sometimes wonder what it was like before I knew how to read. Was my head quiet? Were the voices merely gibbering and babbling, or had they invented some heretofore unknown tongue that was obliterated by literary convention? I’ll probably never know; it’s been so long. Personally, I blame a two-year-old’s insatiable curiosity; well, that and a plethora of Teaching Teddy tapes. Not long after that, I wrote a book. It was ten pages long, and had only one line, which, incidentally, appeared on the last page.
…And then the Castle died.
Such are the facts of my life that were you to sum them up they would consist only of the ellipsis before the finale, which, thankfully, has yet to come.
If you see something in parentheses, like (this), that's just the name of the mythological figure the word is based on. Not every word has this, but rather, only words that were modified when coming into English to the point where you may not recognize it's from mythology.
A
Aegis - Protection, sponsorship. The shield or buckler belonging to Zeus, supposedly made by Hephaestus, decorated with golden tassels and containing the head of Medusa in the center. From Greek mythology.
Ambrosia - Something extremely pleasing to taste or smell. A food or drink of the gods from Greek mythology.
Aphrodisiac (Aphrodite) - An agent (as a food or drug) that arouses or is held to arouse sexual desire. From Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, lust, beauty, and sexuality.
Atlas - A bound collection of maps often including illustrations, informative tables, or textual matter. From Atlas, one of the primordial Titans in Greek mythology, whose punishment was to hold the sky upon his shoulders.
Aurora - Dawn. From Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn.
Berserk - Frenzied, crazed. From the Norse Berserkers, who were warriors that fought while in an "uncontrollable rage or trance of fury".
Cereal (Ceres) - Relating to grain or to the plants that produce it. Derived from Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture.
Echo - The repetition of a sound caused by reflection of sound waves. A repetition or imitation of another. Perhaps from Greek mythology, a mountain nymph who was punished by Hera to repeat only the last words of other people's sentences. She also fell in love with Narcissus.
Fauna - The animals characteristic of a region, period, or
special environment. From the Roman fertility goddess, Fauna, who was
also either the wife, sister, or daughter of Faunus.
Flora - Plant or bacterial life. From Roman mythology, the name of the goddess of flowers and spring.
Friday (Frige) - The fifth or sixth day of the week. Derived from Frige, the love goddess of Norse mythology, and also the wife of Odin.
Hades - Used as a synonym for "hell" by some (not sure if this one should count). The Greek god and personification of the underworld.
Helium (Helios) - A light colorless inert gaseous element found especially in natural gases and used chiefly for inflating airships and balloons, in lamps, in cryogenic research, and as a component of inert atmospheres (as in welding). From Helios, the Greek personification of the sun.
Hell - A nether world in which the dead continue to exist. Possibly named after Hel, the queen of the Norse underworld. This is, of course, not certain.
Hermaphrodite (Hermaphroditus) - An animal or plant having both male and female reproductive organs. Something that is a combination of diverse elements. From Greek mythology, a child of Hermes and Aphrodite, who was turned into a hermaphrodite when the nymph Salmacis attempted to rape him [Hermaphroditus] and then called out to the gods requesting that they never part.
Hermetic (Hermes Trismegistus) - Obscure, secret, isolated, airtight. From Greek mythology, Hermes Trismegistus, who was a combination of the Greek Hermes, and the Egyptian Thoth. They were both gods of magic and writing. He was not widely considered to be Hermes, but rather, a separate entity.
January (Janus) - The first month of the Gregorian calendar. Named after Janus, the Roman god of gates, doorways, beginnings, and endings.
Jovial (Jupiter) - Markedly good-humored especially as evidenced by jollity and conviviality. From the chief god of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter.
June (Juno) - The sixth month of the Gregorian calendar. Possibly named after Juno, the queen of the gods in Roman mythology.
Labyrinth - A place constructed of or full of intricate passageways and blind alleys. A maze. Something extremely complex or tortuous in structure, arrangement, or character. "An elaborate structure constructed for King Minos of Crete and designed by the legendary artificer Daedalus to hold the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull and which was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus."
March (Mars) - The third month of the Gregorian calendar. Named after Mars, the Roman god of war.
Martial (Mars) - Of, relating to, or suited for war or a warrior. Relating to an army or to military life. From Mars, the Roman god of war.
May (Maia) - The fifth month of the Gregorian calendar. Possibly from the Roman goddess Maia, wife of Vulcan.
Mentor - A trusted counselor or guide. Tutor. From Greek mythology, an old man who was the friend of Odysseus.
Mint (Minthe) - Any of a genus (Mentha) of mints that have white, purple, or pink verticillate flowers with a nearly regular corolla and four equal stamens and that include some used in flavoring and cookery. From Greek mythology, a naiad associated with the river Cocytus. She was dazzled by Hades' golden chariot and was about to be seduced by him had not Queen Persephone metamorphosed Minthe into the pungently sweet-smelling mint
Monday (Mani) - The first or second day of the week. Its name is from the Moon, which is derived from the Norse god of the moon, Mani, who would pull the moon through the sky every night while being chased by Hati.
Morphine (Morpheus) - An analgesic and sedative. From Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams.
Museum (Muse) - An institution devoted to the procurement, care, study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value. A place where objects are exhibited. From Greek "mouseion", a place or temple dedicated to the Muses.
Narcissism/Narcissist (Narcissus) - Love of or sexual desire for one's own body. Egoism, egocentrism. From Greek mythology, a beautiful youth who fell in love with his own reflection (how this happened depends on the story, as there a few different versions).
Nemesis - One that inflicts retribution or vengeance. A formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent. From Greek mythology, the goddess of divine retribution.
Ocean (Oceanus) - The whole body of salt water that covers nearly three fourths of the surface of the earth. From Greek mythology, Oceanus was believed to be a large river that encircled the earth. Oceanus was also the personification of this "river".
Odyssey - A long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune. An ancient Greek epic by Homer, mostly starring Odysseus during his journey after the fall of Troy.
Panic (Pan) - A sudden overpowering fright. From Pan, a Greek god who could cause contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots.
Priapism (Priapus) - An abnormal often painful persistent erection of the penis. Priapus was a minor fertility deity in Greek mythology who wasn't taken all that seriously.
Rhadamanthine (Rhadamanthus) - Rigorously strict or just. From Rhadamanthus, who was one of the judges of the underworld in Greek mythology, and said to be wise as well as just.
Saturday (Saturn) - The sixth or seventh day of the week. From Saturn, a Roman agriculture and harvest deity.
Siren - A woman who sings with enchanting sweetness. A device often electrically operated for producing a penetrating warning sound. From the Greek sea nymph Siren, whose singing would lure sailors to their destruction.
Thursday (Thor) - The fourth or fifth day of the week. Derived from Thor, the Norse god of thunder, as well as the son of Odin and Jord.
Titanic (Titan) - Having great magnitude, force, or power. From the Titans of Greek mythology.
Tuesday (Tyr) - The second or third day of the week. Derived from Tyr, the Norse god of war.
Vestal (Vesta) - Chaste. From the Roman virgin goddess Vesta, who was the goddess of home, hearth, and family.
Volcano (Vulcan) - A vent in the crust of the earth or another planet or a moon from which usually molten or hot rock and steam issue. From the Roman god of fire, Vulcan.
Wednesday (Odin) - The third or fourth day of the week. Derived from the head God of the Norse pantheon, Odin.
Zephyr (Zephyrus) - A breeze from the west, or a gentle breeze. The Greek god of the west wind, who was the most gentle of the winds.
Most of the definitions are from Merriam-Webster, and mythology research was mostly from Wikipedia. Hopefully, there's no factual errors (or any other kind of errors, for that matter).
