Let's Talk Mythology and Folklore

I'm a big believer in failing... If there's one thing I know how to do, it's how to fail. Like many others, I've had my fair share of struggles and failures, especially through my high school and college years. In these failings, I've come across frustration. I wouldn't say that I am a perfectionist. I would say that I am a completionist. Not when it comes to books or TV shows or video games, but when it comes to projects. In a previous post, I wrote about my assortment of hobbies that I enjoy outside of my school and work. In these hobbies, I often can get frustrated by the fact that I'll start a project that I am really excited about and then have to put it aside because life and school and work get in the way. Time passes and before I know it, it's been months since I began and the project hasn't advanced at all. In the past, this feeling of incompletion made me feel like I was more of an amateur; unskilled in my various hobbies because I could...

What do you write about when you can write about anything? Creation Stories The Universe As an Egg Creation stories are definitely some of the oldest and most interesting stories out there. I think that what draws me to this topic are some of the great takes and twists on creation stories that I've had the pleasure of reading before. I've attached links to two of my favorite ones down below. They're quite short but well written and both provide unique takes on the idea of a creation story. I think I'd love to take a stab at writing something like this myself. I think it would be really fun to try and branch out and integrate some of the ideas of multiple different creation stories into one story. Short Stories: The Egg  by Andy Weir Reddit Writing Prompt (Story Comment by user Luna_LoveWell) Gods American Gods Poster Quite a broad topic. There is obviously a lot I could do here. I always liked the idea of trying to integrate the gods of different ...

The Lawyer, the Plaintiff, and the Innocent? "Mr. Brahms, please tell the jury how you came to meet the defendant." "Well...it was a Saturday a couple months ago. I was working late at the hospital...maybe 10:00 or 11:00? When I left work, I was walking down the sidewalk to our parking garage when I saw Mr. Tigris lying facedown on the concrete." "What happened then, Mr. Brahms?" "I....I walked up to him to check to see if he was okay. I approached and shook his shoulder to see if he was conscious. When I did, he started moaning and groaning like he was in pain. I tried to see if he was injured..." "Now, Mr. Brahms, you are a medical professional, correct?" "That's right. I'm a nurse." "So you would have been able to fairly easily identify any physical wounds on the defendant?" "Yes, I believe I would be." "But you did not find any on the defendant?" "No, I did not...

Story Information Author: Joseph Jacobs Title: The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal  For this section of reading notes, I chose The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal  from the Indian Fairy Tales collection by Joseph Jacobs. I've always enjoyed a clever trickster character in literature and the Jackal in this story was fun to read about. Notes for this reading: While the main characters for this story were a tiger, a brahman, and a jackal, these three fill archetypal roles and do not necessarily need to be these precise figures. Any combination of predator, prey, and trickster would work. All three characters could be human just as easily. No mention is made of the person who set the trap for the tiger, but they could be an interesting or relevant character as well. The others that the brahman asks for advice before the jackal all seem to project their own hardships in life onto the brahman, encouraging him to suck it up and accept his fate just because the...

What a wonderful assortment of literature... With so many options, how can I ever choose? I've done my best, but I suppose I might always change my mind later. Well, without further ado, here are my picks for reading units! Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4. Week 3: Cupid and Psyche Week 4: Aesop (Winter) Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6. Week 5: Sindbad Week 6: The Life of Buddha Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.] Week 7: West African Folktales Week 9: The Monkey King Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11. Week 10: California and the Old Southwest Week 11: Alaskan Legends Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13. Week 12: English Fairy Tales Week 13:  Alice in Wonderland Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15. Week 14: Grimm (Librivox) Week 15: The Decameron by Boccaccio So, ...