Month: November 2003

Full review forthcoming. Initial impressions? Compelling, Couplandesque. Found the middle part to be distracting and overly contrived but it certainly made for an interesting perspective on the rest the narrative. Sometimes feels like a crackerjack response to a really strange creative writing assignment. Still, overall I liked it. Another watershed moment in the history of Gen X literature. Reflects that sarcastic-but-sensitive, overly analytic inner voice so typical of young geniuses of my demographic. That aimless yet hopeful search for meaning in the universe. Kind of the viewpoint of “the glass is half-empty, but eventually we might find a pitcher from which to refill it.”

In case you were wondering

http://www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/willow.htm

Myth of the Day:Ragnarok

Pronunciation

{rag’-nuh-rahk}

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Ragnarok (“Doom of the Gods”), also called Gotterdammerung, means the end of the cosmos in Norse mythology. It will be preceded by Fimbulvetr, the winter of winters. Three such winters will follow each other with no summers in between. Conflicts and feuds will break out, even between families, and all morality will disappear. This is the beginning of the end.

The wolf Skoll will finally devour the sun, and his brother Hati will eat the moon, plunging the earth [into] darkness. The stars will vanish from the sky. The cock Fjalar will crow to the giants and the golden cock Gullinkambi will crow to the gods. A third cock will raise the dead.

The earth will shudder with earthquakes, and every bond and fetter will burst, freeing the terrible wolf Fenrir. The sea will rear up because Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, is twisting and writhing in fury as he makes his way toward the land. With every breath, Jormungand will stain the soil and the sky with his poison. The waves caused by the serpent’s emerging will set free the ship Naglfar, and with the giant Hymir as their commander, the giants will sail towards the battlefield. From the realm of the dead a second ship will set sail, and this ship carries the inhabitants of hell, with Loki as their helmsman. The fire giants, led by the giant Surt, will leave Muspell in the south to join against the gods. Surt, carrying a sword that blazes like the sun itself, will scorch the earth.

Meanwhile, Heimdall will sound his horn, calling the sons of Odin and the heroes to the battlefield. From all the corners of the world, gods, giants, dwarves, demons and elves will ride towards the huge plain of Vigrid (“battle shaker”) where the last battle will be fought. Odin will engage Fenrir in battle, and Thor will attack Jormungand. Thor will victorious, but the serpent’s poison will gradually kill the god of thunder. Surt will seek out the swordless Freyr, who will quickly succumb to the giant. The one-handed Tyr will fight the monstrous hound Garm and they will kill each other. Loki and Heimdall, age-old enemies, will meet for a final time, and neither will survive their encounter. The fight between Odin and Fenrir will rage for a long time, but finally Fenrir will seize Odin and swallow him. Odin’s son Vidar will at once leap towards the wolf and kill him with his bare hands, ripping the wolf’s jaws apart.

Then Surt will fling fire in every direction. The nine worlds will burn, and friends and foes alike will perish. The earth will sink into the sea.

After the destruction, a new and idyllic world will arise from the sea and will be filled with abundant supplies. Some of the gods will survive, others will be reborn. Wickedness and misery will no longer exist and gods and men will live happily together. The descendants of Lif and Lifthrasir will inhabit this earth.

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“Ragnarok.” Encyclopedia Mythica.

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/r/ragnarok.html

[Accessed November 11th, 2003.]

The question being, what to keep mentally focused on:

Jablko(the apple tree):

Knowledge,health and the fruits of one’s labor.

Kretalinia(meander):

Harmony,motion,water,waves,immortality,eternity.

myth of the day

detritus

If remnants are not enough, I shall give you tokens

the moon and sun in effigy

an orchard of an alphabet

vampire kisses

scent of sandalwood

a taste of peppermint and salt tears

Variation on Shrimp Diablo:

Hungry and sick and in need of protein and spiciness, I have become quite resourceful. Put some linguini on to boil. In another saucepan, sauteed about 3 oz of cooked frozen shrimp in a little bit of olive oil and greek seasoning (could substitute garlic) along with a packet of red crushed peppers (garden variety pizza delivery packet)and some bell pepper strips. One could also add olives or mushrooms if one were so inclined. To this, I added about two cups of plain marina sauce and then simmered the whole thing for about 10 minutes until everything was warm. Served over 8oz or so of linguini, it has a nice bite to it, makes roughly three to four generous servings. Me, I’m doling it out to myself for lunches over the next couple of days. Remember, kids, you can always get a bag of medium tail off shrimp at Trader Joe’s for $4.99 to keep in your freezer for your stir-frying enjoyment. And one could also do this with leftover cooked fish or chicken or pork cut into nice little strips. Or clams,for that matter…

Blodeuwedd is a flower maiden of Welsh myth, created for Llew Llaw Gyffes by Gwydion and Math from flowers and nine elements, because he was forbidden to take a human wife.

She fell in love with a hunter called Goronwy (Gronw), and set about creating a plan to kill Llew by trickery. She coaxed Llew into revealing the manner in which he could be killed; he explained that he could not be killed by day or night, indoors or out of doors, neither riding nor walking, or by any weapon that had been lawfully made. Pressed further he explained that there was a way around this. He could be killed by twilight, with one foot in a cauldron of water positioned by a riverbank, and one upon a billy goat, a form of Celtic triple death. She persuaded him to get into this strange position and her lover Goronwy, who has been hiding in some bushes leaped out and threw a spear made on an unlawful day at him. Llew was sorely wounded and changed into an eagle. He is later restored to human form by magical means, and Blodeuwedd is turned into a night owl for her sins, to wander the world of darkness shunned by other creatures in the daylight.

Some researchers believe Blodeuwedd to be the maiden aspect of the triple goddess.

Courtesy Pantheon of British Mythology at Mysterious Britain.

Queen Oonagh

When Queen Oonagh appears in the cards, she indicates the development of practical skills, finding solutions to practical problems, help, good advice, and friendship.

Bogeyman

When the grotesque bogeyman appears in your cards, he indicates unfounded fears and groundless anxiety. You have lost your sense of proportion and are worrying over nothing. Perhaps you are more than a little oversensitive at this time.

myth of the day

detritus

A friend describes Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer as “Biology Porn.” I find this both amusing and apt and can’t come up up with much better in the way of a capsule review.

in other news, updates abound at Perlustrations as well as the myths and portents of the day, as always.

Why?Because I had a coupon. Was it any good? I really haven’t decided yet. It wasn’t neccessarily bad, but I suspect I may become ill in the immediate future. Basically, this was egg,bacon, and cheeze (intentionally spelled with a “z”) between two small,thick,fake syrupy pancakes. It was just weird is really what it was. Neither good nor bad, but simply weird. And I would suggest not having orange juice alongside it, as that could not possibly have helped things…alas, I am a tad queasy from wetness and grease.