i did the math and the physics. i got hit by this 6 thousand pound monster, but at the speed that it was going which is 50 miles an hour, it was the equivalent of getting hit by 30,000 pounds.

Joseph Campbell and all mythological studies talk about the rites of manhood. I am about to turn into a legal adult.

This Buick is one physical 30,000 pound force that i have slain.

GREAT REHEARSAL LAST NIGHT

super work last night. i am all kinds of excited.

The pictures of monsters below come from four different traditions. The first picture is entitled The Sea Monster, by Albrecht Durer. It is an engraving from around 1498.

The secound picture is The Head of the Medusa by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, from 1617. It shows the severed head of the mythological monster.

The third picture is from a Japanese movie. From a mere film, Godzilla, King of the Monsters has become a major export product of Japan.

The fourth picture is a different approach to monsters. It is the DVD cover of Pixar's Monsters, Inc.


Picture 1: The Sea Monster (Durer)



Picture 2: A mythological monster: The Head of the Medusa by Rubens



Picture 3: Godzilla, the King of the Monsters



Picture 4: Pixar's Monsters, Inc.



what ever.

Four Square

Great Work Today!

Here is the video I was talking about:

Sirens- A different kind of montser.

Sirens are sea demons, half woman and half bird. They are remarkable singers. According to the oldest legend Sirens lived on an island in the Mediterranean and attracted sailors passing nearby with their music. The ships would thus approach rocky coast and got ruined. The Sirens then devoured the imprudent sailors.

Sirens, like harpies, partake of women and of birds, in various ways. In early Greek art sirens were represented as birds with large women's heads, bird feathers and scaly feet and sometimes manes of lions. Later, they were represented as female figures with the legs of birds, with or without wings playing a variety of musical instruments, especially harps. The tenth century Byzantine encyclopedia Suda says that from their chests up Sirens had the form of sparrows, below they were women, or, alternatively, that they were little birds with women's faces. Birds were chosen because of their characteristic, beautiful voices. Later Sirens were sometimes also depicted as beautiful women, whose bodies, not only their voices, are seductive. The fact that in Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Romanian or Portuguese, the word for mermaid are respectively Sirena, Sirène, Sirena, Syrena, Sirenă and Sereia creates visual confusion, so that sirens are even represented as mermaids. "The sirens, though they sing to mariners, are not sea-maidens," Harrison cautions; "they dwell on an island in a flowery meadow."

n Argonautica (4.891-919) Jason had been warned by Chiron that Orpheus would be necessary in his journey. When Orpheus heard their voices, he drew out his lyre and played his music more beautifully than they, drowning out their voices. One of the crew, however, the sharp-eared hero Butes, heard the song and leapt into the sea, but he was caught up and carried safely away by the goddess Aphrodite.

Odysseus was curious as to what the Sirens sounded like, so, on Circe's advice, he had all his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast. He ordered his men to leave him tied to the mast, no matter how much he would beg. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they stuck to their orders (or they couldn't hear him). When they had passed out of earshot, Odysseus demonstrated with his frowns to be released (Odyssey XII, 39).

Some post-Homeric authors state that the Sirens were fated to die if someone heard their singing and escaped them, and that after Odysseus passed by they therefore flung themselves into the water and perished. A varying tradition associates this event with their encounter with Jason, though the incident does not appear in Apollonius Rhodius's Argonautica. Many scholars believe the above vase depicts a drowning attempt on the part of one of the Sirens.

It is also said that Hera, queen of the gods, persuaded the Sirens to enter a singing contest with the Muses. The Muses won the competition and then plucked out all of the Sirens' feathers and made crowns out of them

I chose to research sirens because I found it interesting that they are in fact monsters, but contradict the stereotype appearance wise, which I thought was cool.

What exactly is the Boogeyman?

The bogeyman, boogyman, bogyman, boogey monster, or boogeyman, is a folklore or legendary ghostlike monster often believed in by children. The bogeyman has no specific appearance whatsoever, and can in fact vary drastically from household to household within the same community; in many cases he simply has no set appearance in the mind of a child, but is simply an amorphous embodiment of terror. Bogeyman can be used metaphorically to denote a person or thing of which someone has an irrational fear. Parents often say that if their child is naughty, the bogeyman will get them, in an effort to make them behave. The bogeyman legend may originate from Scotland, where such creatures are sometimes called bogles, boggarts, or bogies.

Perhaps its ambiguity is what makes it so frightening. An example of the fear of the unknown. I think everyone has their own personal boogeyman, or fear of the unknown.

Perhaps it is a way of personifying death, an extremely grey or unknown subject for mortals to think about... so why not just call it the Boogeyman!?

inanimate

the belly of the whale

In Joseph Campbell's "Hero With A Thousand Faces" he talks about the hero, any hero, sitting on the beach, or on a boat, waiting to fling himself into the mouth of the whale, or sea monster, whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Once in side the belly of the whale you are presented with absolute knowing and clarity. In the belly of the whale you can see all things, mountains, rivers, valleys, your future, your past.


Diving into the monster grants you access to beauty within yourself.
Maybe this is why we look for trouble as human beings. Hoping to find some clarity in these frightening situations.

"Medusa was a Gorgon, one of three sisters and daughters of ancient, pre-titan gods, Phorcys and Ceto.

The sisters Sthenno and Euryale were immortal but the third, Medusa, was mortal. All three were so hideous (“not to be approched and not to be described” according to Hesiod) that the mere shock of seeing them would turn anyone to stone. Medusa is called The Gorgon or simply, Gorgon. She is also the “Mistress of the West Gate of Death” because her home lay at the entrance to the Underworld on the side of the western Ocean. She is the Krone Goddess in her most terrible aspect."


This brings us to an interesting case where the subject was a goddess AND a monster. This also states that she was a mortal, which brings into question why she gained the role of a god-like character. She symbolized the female genitalia, and also the female sexuality, sort of like a really really mean Aphrodite.

This makes me think of the whole idea of TRANSFORMATION, which William hit upon in his werewolf post. I think the idea of transformation could be a very interesting idea to physicalize. What if you were faced in a position to actually transform? Even if you were adopting an evil role. How could you resist the transformation? Why are we not transformed into monsters in modern times when we do wicked things? Or are we simply emotionally and spiritually transformed.

As far as her becoming a goddess, how does a mortal deal with the information that they are inherently given some greater task than the simply human routine. What do you think about when this information is given to you?
I think it would be alot of responsibility.

Werewolves - Developed from Human Instinct?

Werewolves are thought to be created in many different ways. In modern fiction often the werewolf is transformed by the bite of another werewolf. Other werewolves are transformed by incantations, curses, and even in some cases a pact with the devil.

When we look at the werewolf we see a beast breaking free of the inner human psyche. Is this the animal instinct of humans breaking free? Maybe the werewolf is created from a tremendous emotional or physical experience. When a werewolf transforms we often see the moon is somehow involved, where did this come about?

In Native American mythology the idea of a werewolf is looked at from a dream state. The dream that you are a wolf or running with wolves. You are being called by the wolf spirit, or on a dream quest to see the wolf spirit. A dream is often at night, the moon shines at night, is this where the idea that werewolves are triggered by the moon comes from?

The most interesting part of the werewolf is the metamorphosis. The transformation from human to animal. Often the victim undergoes a series of horrible spasms and growths. When I think about how the transformation begins, I see a person lying down. They were just in a torrent of wind that left them dazed and confused. This tremendous physical extreme has left them in a weakened state. In this weakened state they can no longer control themselves. They resort to their animalistic instincts and suddenly tear themselves apart from the inside out. The transformation is complete, but what stands before us, human or beast?

some goddesses!

Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She was the goddess of springtime and, after her abduction by Hades she became his wife and Queen of the underworld for six months of each year. The mint and pomegranate is sacred to her.

Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire and beauty. In addition to her natural gifts she has a magical girdle that compels anyone she wishes to desire her. There are two accounts of her birth. One says she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The other goes back to when Cronus castrated Uranus and tossed his severed genitles into the sea. Aphrodite then arose from the sea foam on a giant scallop and walked to shore in Cyprus. She is the wife of Hephaestus. The myrtle is her tree. The dove, the swann, and the sparrow her birds. Her favorite lover is the god of war, Ares. She represented sex, affection, and the attraction that binds people together.

i asked someone today what they thought of when they thought of the word "monster", and she said " my father".

this opened up some thought as to what the possibilities of a monster could be. i think many people would answer the same question in the same light. i just thought that was an interesting answer.

The Inanimate

1: not animate: a: not endowed with life or spirit b: lacking consciousness or power of motion

A couple of the topics so far sparked some thought into my on going study of "inanimate." I think the conscious study started after I read The Floating Opera by John Barth. In one of the first chapters the main character freezes in the street. Later he is told that he suffered from intellectual paralysis. I love that phrase "intellectual paralysis." Thinking literally stopped him in his tracks. And I think this caused an interest of inanimation to invade my life. It has often taken on dark tones. I did a too much light piece where I tell a story about my life through a voodoo skeleton figurine, a dashboard hula girl, and a small globe of the earth. I finally admit that this inactivity through objects is about my own inactivity in my own life, but I only share this personal information with a white expressionless mask on my face.
So these ideas are already in my head but I do think it is a great exploration for physicality in the topic at hand. As the definition aforementioned states inanimate is without a soul. This reminds me of many of the perceived monsters, the vampire has damned his soul, the zombie may not have a soul at all. And what of objects coming to life? It is magical, it is mythical. In Jason and the Argonauts skeletons are brought to life from the teeth of a dragon. Inanimate also are the God idols worshipped by the Greeks, the Eqyptians, etc... that the Christians tried to do away with so desperately in their own religion, only to replace it with a man dead on a cross.
The body is a great tool to be used in the portraying and transformation of the inanimate.

devil dolls or evil toys?

i don't know if these are considered monsters...
but what about devil dolls and evil toys?
like possessed toys.
like chuckie!
hmm?
maybe?

"According to legend, a banshee wails around a house if someone in the house is about to die. When several banshees appeared at once, it indicated the death of someone great or holy. The tales sometimes recount that the woman, though called a fairy, was a ghost, often of a specific murdered woman, or woman who died in childbirth. Banshees are frequently described as dressed in white or grey, and often having long, fair hair which they brush with a silver comb. Other stories portray banshees as dressed in green, red or black with a grey cloak.".


I was thinking that the banshee's presence in death may be the actually cause of death, not simply a symbolic rite of passage into the after life. in the movie "man bites dog" a man literally kills an old women by merely scaring her to death. He did not even have to do anything. I just imagine someone dying of a terminal disease, lying in bed, and one of these banshees showing up, and taking away their life from scaring them to death. But the doctors have no reason to think it is anything other than cancer.

These are not nice creatures.

Gods Attracted to Humans, Say What?!!

This is the story in Greek Mythology where Zeus is taken over by the beautiful mortal named Leda. He believes that with her beauty she is teasing him, and he takes the form of a swan and rapes her.
How can a god such as Zeus who has power and immortality be so taken over by this mortal?
Gods seem to be the equivalent to humans who have no limits, fears, or morals. A life any mortal would die to have (no pun intended). Perhaps the gods too are curious and often tempted by the opposite side of immortality.
This poem by William Yeats and picture by Michelangelo may help to visualize.


A sudden blow: the great wings beating still
Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed
By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,
He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.

How can those terrified vague fingers push
The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?
And how can body, laid in that white rush,
But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?

A shudder in the loins engenders there
The broken wall, the burning roof and tower
And Agamemnon dead.
Being so caught up,
So mastered by the brute blood of the air,
Did she put on his knowledge with his power
Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?
-William Yeats

thanks harry

from the harry potter novels we have learned that drinking a unicorns blood can and will prolong your life.

but what if this theory could be or has been applied to humans?
what will people truly do for love?

muse and three

"Calliope...epic poetry
Clio...history
Erato...love poetry
Euterpe...lyric poetry
Melpomene...tragedy
Polyhymnia...sacred poetry, hymns
Terpsichore...choral dancing
Thaleia...comedy
Urania...astronomy

Melpomene (Tragedy) and Thaleia (Comedy) are still to be found in our modern culture in the form of the two Greek masks frequently used by acting companies as a symbol or logo. Their deeper significance concerns the ancient annual rites: Thaleia, who appears also in later Roman myth as one of the Three Graces (Thalia, or The Bringer of Flowers), is symbolic of spring, the beginning of a new season, and the birth of a new year-god. Melpomene signifies harvest; the end of a season, and the ritual sacrifice of a year-king "


these two characters seem to immediately apply to what we are studying as far as drama and story telling are concerned. somethin mention in this article, which is the "Three Graces" also hits on another point of all this. There is a huge emphases put on the number 3.

for example:
"Three is the number most associated with the goddess. In Greek and Roman myth, it is the number of the Furies (Gk Erinyes); the number of the Graces, the number of the Hesperides, and the number of the Fates (Moirae). This triplicity of aspects of the goddess is referred to in later goddess lore as three women: a young girl; a nubile woman, and a crone. These three represent the three stages of Woman's relationship with Man, or the three stages of a man's relationship with the goddess. The first, the young girl, symbolises the goddess as Spring or Ceres or Persephone, connoting that man is born of woman.The second, the nubile woman, is Aphrodite or Venus, and refers to Woman's role as lover; mother and nurturer of Man. The third, a crone, is the fearsome aspect of the goddess, referring to Woman's role as layer-out of Man, and to a man's return in death to the unknown, to the goddess."

The Parameters

1. This is a space for you to share information that you have discovered while studying monsters and gods.
2. It is best to include actual texts that you find.
3. Each found text should have a few personal sentences or more that discusses why this particular passage intrigued you.
4. Each blog entry should have at least one image accompanying it.
5. Commenting on each other's blog entries is highly recommended. Use the comment area and not a separate post to respond to each other.
6. Some helpful hints as to how this translates in physical work:
a. keep your reading eye and imagination open to visualizing images that you come upon in these historical, philosophical, fictional texts.
b. Allow these actions and images in your head to mingle with passages from other bloggers entries.
c. Have fun with your comments (personal and responses to other's personal) in the blog and talk about striking images, physicality you imagine. If could be a fully played out action or it could be "I pictured a someone siting on someone shoulders rubbing their thumbs together."
d. Avoid meandering. A one sentence post may be all your thoughts needs.
7. Above all, have fun with it. You will live with this material from now until this project is done. So find topics that intrigue you and stick to it!