Wish I May, Wish I Might: Part 4
And still going strong.
And on to June!
Dreams v. 2006.2
What's happening in the land of Wynken, Blynken and Nod? A thread for your dreams, per Otzi's request.
What’s happening in the land of Wynken, Blynken and Nod? A thread for your dreams, per Otzi’s request.
Coy Woodnesse, v. 2006.1
A forum for practicing archaic English, foreign languages, and other off-the-beaten-track forms of communication. Back by popular request.
A forum for practicing archaic English, foreign languages, and other off-the-beaten-track forms of communication. The original Coy Woodnesse thread may be worth a look.
(Coy woodnesse means “quiet madness” in Middle English, the version of our language spoken about 600 years ago.)
Useful resources (additions welcome!):
Accents to paste in:
à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì à î ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ù ú û ü ¿ ¡
“Chaucer’s Middle English” site at the University of California, Santa Barbara
Librarius has another Middle English glossary and a load of information about Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales
World Religions
There's an admission fee for this thread: to post, you must have read at least one chapter of Huston Smith's book The World's Religions or (new) The Complete Idiot's Guide to World Religions. Here's why:
There’s an admission fee for this thread: to post, you must have read at least one chapter of Huston Smith’s book The World’s Religions (known in earlier editions as The Religions of Man), and preferably the whole thing. Here’s why:
- It’s a good book–fair, readable, and full of fascinating information. In a word, Muselike.
- It’s a topic that most people care about but don’t know much about.
- It’s something they don’t teach in school.
Suggestion: read the introduction, then skip to the chapter about your own religion, if any. See if Smith gets it right. Then read the rest. You’ll want to.
*** NOTE (22 May): Some MBers say they’re having trouble finding Smith’s book. For them (and others who find Smith’s book hard to follow), we’ll accept The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World Religions as a substitute.
It may take a while for discussion to get started on this thread, but that’s fine. What are summers for?
Other possibly useful sources of information: The Cartoon History of the Universe; and Wikipedia, for example,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Society_of_Friends (Quakers)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam
The Iliad in Haiku
For a recent Muse contest, three talented lasses in Virginia condensed the Iliad into haiku: one verse per book, plus a conclusion. The magazine didn't have room to print it, so the editors sent it to be posted on the blog. Herewith, this amazing feat of distillation, in honor of MuseBlog Haiku Day (Friday, May 19). Respond in haiku, please!
Dear Muse Contest Judges,
The authors of these
Three ladies most beauteous
Sent their warm regards.
These poems are long
But sum the Iliad well
In perfect Haiku!
Sincerely,
Carrie F., 15
Emily F., 16
Grace F., 15
Book I
Runner Achilles
Makes Agamemnon real mad
Rage is felt by all
Book II
Catalog of Ships
Is at the end of this Book
We skimmed the surface
Book III
Paris Duels Greek King
Aphrodite saves the prince
Helen laughs at him
Book IV
Trojans break a truce
Quite a large battle ensues
What a big surprise
Book V
Fighting once again
Can’t they all just get along?
Someone dies–guess not.
Book VI
The domestic book
Where we see Hector in Troy
And Paris acts dumb
Book VII
Hector fights Ajax
But don’t get too excited
It ends in a tie
Book VIII
Lightning sent by Zeus
Stops the fighting for awhile
Believe me, not long
Book IX
There is a meeting
They want the runner back now
Achilles please fight
Book X
Two Greek Captains sneak
To the Trojan camp at night
Like little children
Book XI
The fighters make war
Trojans die along with Greeks
“No way out–no end–â€
Book XII
Trojan soldiers fight
Despite an evil omen
They really shouldn’t
Book XIII
Sneaky Poseidon
Starts the skirmish up again
Still fighting they are
Book XIV
This book is filled with
Seduction, deceit, and death
This sounds like a soap
Book XV
Hector was wounded
We forgot to mention but
He still kills people
Book XVI
In Runner’s armor
Patroclus will fight and die
His friend will be mad
Book XVII
Ajax slaughters foes
Defending buddy’s body
The Gods help him win
Book XVIII
Patroclus has died
Achilles goes all emo
Thetis gets armor
Book XIX
Achilles gets dressed
While all the other Greeks eat
His armor’s shiny
Book XX
Zeus lets the Gods fight
Playground bullies once again
Stealing lunch money
Book XXI
The river is full
Choked with the corpses of men
Such great imagery
Book XXII
Poor Hector is dead
As if we couldn’t have guessed
Blame foreshadowing
Book XXIII
Funeral games start
The end is drawing closer
Only one more Book
Book XXIV
Why is this book here?
A question much debated
Was Homer crazy?
Conclusion
Summary of Book:
Greeks kill many Trojan guys
Trojans kill Greeks too
Pumpkin Drop Update
This year’s annual Pumpkin Drop at West Virgina University in Morgantown has been scheduled for Friday, October 26. Start planning now! More information will appear soon at http://www.mae.cemr.wvu.edu/ .
To catch a glimpse of Team Muse’s last entry (and of Robert, Nak, and Nak’s son Aaron), check out The Koko Bomb Saga on the Muse Fan Page.
Meanwhile, if you hear about any other pumpkin drops elsewhere, just let us know, and we’ll post the information here.
Comic Strips
Copper Bigfoot’s idea. She says:
I like Perals Before Swine, Foxtrot, and Mother Goose and Grimm.
Mother Goose and Grimm is hard to type out…. anywoof, I loved how they made fun of the fact that the new nintendo is going to be called “Wii” pronounced “Wee”
Focused Topics The Incredible Morphing Chameleon Thread, v. 2006.1
Closed to comments (though still eminently readable) and continued on version 2006.2.
An experiment: the opposite of a random thread. Once a topic is chosen, posts must stay on the topic until people someone agree decides to change it. GAPAs will zap as necessary to keep things on track.
(Thanks to Pink Stalking Penguin of Penzance and Purple Panda for the idea for this thread.)
Plants
Origami and Paper Folding
Musicals
Camp
The May/June 2006 issue
Sheer Joy
It starts at Comment 208.
Bad and/or Useless Advice
We all get lots of advice–especially people Musers’ age. Unfortunately, even well-meaning people can steer you in the wrong direction. When has that happened to you? How can people recognize bad advice when they hear it? How can they keep from giving bad advice themselves?
Families
Special stay-on-topic thread number 1, inspired by Mothers’ Day.
We all have them. What is yours like? Big or small, concentrated in one place or spread out over several continents? Do you keep in touch with your first cousins? Second cousins? Third cousins? Does your family keep track of its history? If so, how far back in time?
Happy Mothers’ Day!
The accepted spelling is “Mother’s,” with the apostrophe before the “s.” But Robert has long felt that as more than one mother is involved, the word should be possessive plural.
Anyway, unlike such bogus holidays as Presidents’ Day, this is one we all have some idea of how to celebrate. What do you do?
Part the third.
Farewell, MontgomeryGurl!
You’ve given a lot to the blog (772 posts in seven months, and a whole generation of MuseBloggers, among many other things), and we have learned a lot from you.
Kali’s Muser-Written Muse Project
She announced the idea on the Tenth Anniversary thread:
I’m working on an extra muse issue for the off – months that would consist entierly of matirial written by readers (that sounded really weird). I’ve asked people to contribute some articles and poems on the latest writing thread. Type “for By the Musers” at the top and end with the name you want the article/poem to be attributed to if it’s published. The magazine will be published three times a year, giving Muse a 12 issue schedule without much work for the editors, and giving musers a chance to have their articles published. Like???
Smiley Practice, v. 2006.3
NOW combined with “Stupid Senseless Smiley Stories.” Sheer silliness. So send some soon.
Advice
When Musers pool their collective wisdom, something is bound to happen. Here’s where.
(Copper Bigfoot’s idea.)
Writing, v. 2006.3
You MBers certainly love to write! Here’s the latest incarnation of this ever-popular, ever-surprising thread: a place to talk about writing, or post things you’ve written and see what other Musers think.
Poems and Songs, v. 2006.2
The old P&S thread was getting a bit long and hard to find, so here’s a fresh notebook to write in.
The Art of Being an Alien
Welcome, visitor from planet Bmralrale — or any other aliens out there. Here's a place to impart your wisdom. (KitKat's idea.)
Welcome, visitor from planet Bmralrale — or any other aliens out there. Here’s a place to impart your wisdom. (KitKat’s idea.)
RRR*, version 2006.4
*Round-Robin ‘Riting. No reason not to have versions .3 and .4 going at the same time. Here’s a place for one of the stories that didn’t jell on 2006.3. If anyone wants individual threads for still other story lines, just say the word.
Your ever-obliging
Administrators
Muse‘s Tenth Anniversary
That’s right: in January 2007, the Magazine of Life, the Universe, and Pie Throwing will be 10 years old. How should Muse mark the occasion? If we get our ideas in soon, there’s a chance the editors and publisher might have time to do something with them. (Unfortunately, there isn’t time to make a movie between now and then. If only…)
You can post ideas here for discussion, but make sure they also reach the magazine at muse@caruspub.com or via this handy online form at the official site.
Theories of Life, Death, the Universe, and Everything
Idea by Emogrl, who says she has 713 theories of her own. Not all at once, please.
Gwendolyn had something to do with the inception of this thread, too, but we’re too lazy to go back and find out exactly what.