The single sentences that change everything...Book II

Book II:
1. Phaethon: The boy indeed seeks adventure by living vicariously through his Sun father, he takes the reins of the gallant and free-spirited steeds, out of control he ignites the world below into deep flames.
2. Cycnus: In response to the fire world, tears came from his eyes and he was repaid by morphing into a white swan, ever searching for clear, cool water to protect himself from the land's ash covered ground.
3. Callisto: Virginity taken by Jove, she unwillingly disrobes in front of her mother nymph, Diana, and she is banned from the tribe where Juno takes her revenge, a bear is born and with it her cub, they retreat to the safe sky above.
4. Ocyrhoe: She becomes an equine, although saddened, isn't there much worse to things to turn to? Imagine a beetle who will surely be squashed, at least she can run hard and free!
5. Europa and Jove: The poor girls are always tricked by the sex-driven Jove.  They then suffer from a jealous Juno, shouldn't the great goddess attack the perpetrator? 

The single sentences that change everything...Book I

Book I:
1. The Creation: A typical reverie where the Earth meets the Heavens and through astronomical thunder, life is birthed.
2. The Four Ages: Gold, silver, bronze, and iron, a declining succession of the world they knew; a flourishing start gives way to savage slaughter.
3. Apollo and Daphne: A hopeless romantic, captured by the beauty of a woman, he cannot live without her and displays the beauty of her by placing a laurel ring upon his head, the crown and jewel of his world. 

Apollo pleading Daphne to return his undying love

4. Io and Jove: A girl's innocence, though stolen, still betrays her in the form of a heifer, and only after much begging and pleading from the great god to his wife does she return to her original beauty.

5. Paethon: An adventurous boy seeks his father, searching for truth and reacting to sheer serendipity, do we see a vivid foreshadow to come within the next book?

My Weekend Trek

"Then answered Ra, “I created the heavens and the earth, I ordered the mountains, I made the great and wide sea, I stretched out the two horizons like a curtain." -James Frazer

Summit of Sphinx Mountain

Today I went on a hike up Sphinx mountain near Cameron, MT.  On my way, I kept hearing "ohhhh, and this is profoundly mythological!" Through 15 miles and 11,000 vertical feet, I noticed the landscape changes were stunning.  Not only through season changes, but through the vegetation that grew in sunny vs. shade areas, the difference in trees from low to high altitude, the dagger like shards of rock that chipped and slid under my every footstep, even the presence of snow on the summit seemed like a scene and a story from Metamorphosis.  There was a beginning: arriving at the base of the daunting mountain, the middle: taking thousands of steps to reach the crest where I could see the series of mountain ranges that emerged from the power of some god, and finally, the end: a delicious bison hamburger from an Ennis cafe. I had to wonder how many trees and rocks were once great worriers, and from which stream a beautiful nymph took a last drink before she morphed into a doe.  I suppose I should remember to be cautious about where my feet fall on the ground. 

Indian Creation Myth of Brahma

In a time before this, there was nothing.  There was no heaven and no earth.  There was only a vast ocean that housed a sleeping serpent.  One day, a resounding "Ohhmmmmmmmm" came rippling across the waves that awoke the giant cobra.  This cobra was Lord Vishnu and after he awoke, he declared that it was a new day and therefore a new world must be created.  He called on his servant, Brahma.  An ornate lotus flower began to grow from the navel of Lord Vishnu and resting inside the flower was Brahma.  Vishnu instructed Brahma of his task and then disappeared beneath the rocking waves.  Brahma split the Lotus flower into three parts creating the heavens, the earth, and the skies.  He used each of his four arms to direct the wind into north, south, east, and west.  Then he set about placing creatures on the earth and gave them the gifts of touch and smell and breathed life and vigor onto all the plants and animals that now inhabited his magical world.

Sari Enters the Galactica

One of my most vivid dreams is also the one I would most wish to experience...

I was sitting in my childhood home(of course) when I felt it begin to shake.  Uneasy, I looked out the window but saw nothing so I walked out to the back porch.  Everything appeared normal so I settled myself on the deck and rested against the siding of the house, relaxing in the sunshine.  All of a sudden, I felt a gush of wind and felt a gravitational pull dragging me towards the railing of the porch.  I remember starting to panic so I frantically grabbed the railing while the pull continued to wrench at my grip.  My feet were lifted into the air and the only thing keeping grounded was my death handle on the railing.  I closed my eyes and tried to think about how to get myself out of the situation I was in.  Then as abruptly as the pull started, it ended.  I opened my eyes and let them adjust to the darkness that now encompassed both me and my house.   I began to see twinkling lights surrounding me and realized my house was floating.  I passed a gigantic mass with even greater rings around it.  I passed Saturn.  I was in space! I remember not knowing what to do but continued to gaze at my new environment.  There were stars, comets, the Asteroid Belt.  It was everything I had always imagined space being.  Except for the fact that I could breathe :)

Memories, Dreams, and Other Embarrassing Moments

"The fear thus entertained of alien visitors is often mutual. Entering a strange land the savage feels that he is treading enchanted ground, and he takes steps to guard against the demons that haunt it and the magical arts of its inhabitants."

I appreciated this quote as something anyone can take of entering a new or foreign situation.  I have experienced that whenever you start a new job, meet a new group of people, travel to a new country, or even take on a challenging project, there is a kind of assimilation that takes place.  Mixed feelings of curiosity, fear, nervousness, excitement, and even sometimes dread rush to your toes and you find your eyes sweeping in the environment. You attempt to soak up all the elements that begin to encompass your presence. Sights, smells, the nervous dry taste in your mouth that creeps up from your belly.  These feelings coincide with one of my earliest memories.  I was about 4 and I was on my way to the first day of gymnastics.  My best friend was already a gymnast so I was excited to have a companion to latch onto, however, the feelings of nervousness overwhelmed me.  I remembered I had to wear my swimsuit because I didn't have a proper leotard and knew the senior gymnasts would know of my impostor outfit. I timidly walked around the corner of the building that lead into the gym.  I felt the scratchy blue carpet on my feet, smelled the lingering sweetness of chalk and sweat, and the sight of a dozen girls bending in half and turning back-flips in the air.  After those first moments, I blocked out the rest of my first session.  However, despite how scared I was, I soon grew accustom to the life of a gymnast and it became a passion of mine for a long time. 

This is a typical pattern seen of someone entering a new environment and I can only relate it back to mythology and all of the transformations and metamorphoses that gods, people, and creatures undergo.  I can't even begin to count the number of men I have now read about that have been unknowingly turned into a bull and go through a state of shock when they see their new reflection in a passing stream.  We are all going through changes throughout our life, and it takes time to adjust and readjust to the muddle that undoubtedly takes place. 

All the World's a Stage

Ok, so definitely NOT happy with Amazon.com. I am still awaiting my hard copy of the Golden Bough! So with that, compliments to the online resource for providing this blog entry's opening statement....

"But if in the most backward state of human society now known to us we find magic thus conspicuously present and religion conspicuously absent, may we not reasonably conjecture that the civilized races of the world have also at some period of their history passed through a similar intellectual phase, that they attempted to force the great powers of nature to do their pleasure before they thought of courting their favor by offerings and prayer—in short that, just as on the material side of human culture there has everywhere been an Age of Stone, so on the intellectual side there has everywhere been an Age of Magic?"

 I appreciated this quote quite a lot because it puts the idea that concrete and material items can be more significant that knowledge and belief.  What would this world be without a little faith in its players? Would we have gotten to where we are today without the storytellers and the passings-on of tradition? I should think not.  The concept that was presented in class yesterday was that 'imitation leads to actualization'.  People go through life watching others, listening to others, behaving like others.  Entire psychological learning theories are based off these ideas.  I'm thinking Social Learning Theory here conceptualized (well, published I guess would be more accurate) by Albert Bandura.  He presented the idea that people learned through modeling others.  We model parents, peers, celebrities, and yes, even the gods.  Bandura conducted a rather famous study about "Bobo" the clown.  Bobo was one of those blow-up life-size dolls with sand in its feet so when it was knocked over, it could pop back up to a standing position. (Ill post a photo).  Anyways, Bandura sent one group of children into a play room filled with all kinds of building blocks, balls, puzzles, stuffed animals, and of course, Bobo.  He observed that the children played with all the toys equally and there was no significant or abnormal behavior occurring.  The second group of children were first briefed with a video that displayed children punching and kicking at Bobo.  He then sent the kids into the playroom.  What he recorded was that the children not only punched and kicked Bobo like the video had displayed, but they even went on to using other toys to attack the clown.  This is a very clear example of how people learn from others and that by modeling others behavior can become inherently your own.  From here, the behaviors only grow and become more elaborate, eventually getting passed on to others who see and choose to follow your behavior.

Sari Albee

I, much like a lot of you, have not yet received my copy of The Golden Bough, however, Amazon has promised it will arrive shortly! Fingers crossed.

That said, I will go directly to my thoughts on Book I and Book II of the Metamorphosis. One of the ideas that had the most profound effect on me was the idea that humans today are unoriginal. We are complete copycats of our ancestors and there are only slight hiccups that truly point out our differences.  It is amazing that we have all been assigned to read the Metamorphosis of Ovid that takes stories from a time most of us cannot even imagine, and yet we can still apply those ideas and stories to our lives today.  They are completely comprehensive and have a way of latching onto a memory or feeling you or I have probably experienced.  There are tales of love, happiness, loneliness, despair, and even adultery.  Although it might seem like a silly adultery reference, a blockbuster film titled Easy A will be opening in theaters next week based on the book The Scarlet Letter, which is further based on ancient mythologies like the one where Jove entices the beautiful virgin nymph, only to be caught by his intimidating wife Juno.  It is a typical story of a cheater: the man who is looking for something more, the angry wife, the other woman, on-and-on...blah blah blah...you get the point.  All of the tales have an origin though, and each generation has experienced these human feelings, only hoping that their tale will be one that is remembered.  If we are so truly unoriginal, I should hope that we can at least learn from past mistakes and triumphs and aim to take the hardships out of the world and (here is my World Peace bit) maybe return to a time similar to the Golden Age.

Practice Blog

Hello Everyone!

This is my very first blogging experience, hope it turns out well! Hope you all have a great semester!

Sari Albee