Stephanie's Blog

Independent Reading

2007-05-27T21:05:00.000-04:00

Simplicity = Happiness

Books tell of the high and low parts in life. The good things and the bad. “Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart,” was once said by Salman Rushdie. This statement is correct, meaning that books are a way to explore mankind. They contain everything a person could experience in life and more. Books will also help a reader escape reality, bringing one into a world filled with feelings and imagination. It’s Kind of A Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini is a fictional novel that explores a downside of life and its survival. Life comes with several problems. Accompanied with a little reflective thinking, the simplest things in life are the solutions to all life’s problems.
Craig Gilner is the main character of It’s Kind of A Funny Story. At first glance, Craig is an average high school student. He pushes himself to excel in school, and loves hanging out with his friends. After being accepted into Pre-Professional High School, Craig’s life takes a turn for the worse and he starts his downward spiral towards a serious depression.
Craig is on a constant battle with himself, both physically and mentally. He begins to have trouble sleeping. His head is filled with a constant cycling. It interrupts his daily activities, forcing him to think the “same thoughts over and over again. Thoughts that race against each other in a circle” (p 105). Craig’s life is filled with “tentacles,” a term he coins “evil tasks that invade his life” (p 14). He also calls things that “occupy his mind and make him feel good temporarily,” his “anchors,” but he can’t seem too find many at this point in his life (p 15). Craig’s thoughts and actions regarding his life are always discussed between him and a military voice in his head. At times the voice coaches him through tough situations, but also belittles him when he does something wrong. Another dilemma Craig is faced with is having difficulty eating. If he can eat, it’s only in little amounts. Every other time, he either can’t start, or can’t keep it down. After struggling with these problems for a short period of time, Craig decides to inform his parents of his current mental state.
Mr. and Mrs. Gilner are very supportive of Craig and offer to get the best help for his condition. After a handful of therapists, Craig settles with Dr. Minerva. He is completely open with her and even goes as far as explaining his choice of vocabulary for life’s problems and its stabilities. During his sessions with Dr. Minerva, Craig establishes his tentacles and anchors. “School weighs heavily as a tentacle because it spirals into many different things. Craig likes his anchors to be simple things. He enjoys riding his bike and watching others play video games at his best friend Aaron’s house” (p 14-15). These simple things in Craig’s life brings him back to reality. They keep him sane and happy. But before everything can be cured for good, Craig needs to take time to analyze everything.
After a dinner incident resulting in a race to the bathroom, Craig thinks he has the final decision to end this madness. What he’s chosen, to him, “makes a lot of sense: suicide” (p 134).
What will be seen as a miracle, Craig decides to read one of his mothers books for his final few hours sitting at home. In it, suicide hotline numbers are mentioned. After speaking with two suicide hotlines, they convince Craig to check himself into the nearby hospital.
The first evening there, a small shift is made. Craig eats two servings for dinner and, although shy around other kids, manages to acquaint himself with others of the adult psychiatric wing. These two simple things in life make him “feel better than he has about anything he’s done in a long time” (p 213). Craig meets a girl his age and together they form a friendship and a special bond. “They have similar situations and Craig sees it as a chance to connect because they can be open about it” (p 397). While in the hospital, Aaron wonders where he is. Craig returns his call but it turns into an argument showing Craig that the friends he thought he has, are not truly his friends at all because they’re not there for him. Realizing all his tentacles are on the outside of the hospital, Craig takes advantage of his stay and experiences small shift changes from simple group activities.
During an Arts and Crafts activity group, Noelle opens up a part of Craig’s childhood. As a young boy Craig used to draw city maps. “Creating his own city maps made him happy; it was his anchor” (p 27). In the activity group, Noelle suggests Craig draw something from his childhood. He starts to draw these maps and by the end of the group, he’s drawn several. This simple activity from childhood has kept Craig occupied and happy. A special visitor plays a guitar during Musical Exploration. Within a matter of minutes, everyone is up, dancing, and playing instruments, including Craig. Small, simple group activities show Craig just how easy it is to enjoy life, giving him more motivation to gain his victory over depression.
Finally, the last day at the hospital arrives. Craig worries about having to check his email, a tentacle resulting from school. Pre-Professional High School is the main cause of most of Craig’s stress. With the assistance of Dr. Minerva, Craig decides he is going “to call his parents and tell them he wants to transfer schools,” from his current one, to an art school (p 391-392). As a final goodbye and thank you, Craig draws brain maps for everyone. From his short stay at the hospital, Craig has gotten to know and understand each patient. From this he designs the maps of each person to show their personalities and characteristics. Craig also has his father bring Blade II for the entire floor to watch. He asks Aaron to bring Egyptian music for Muqtada, and finally gets him to come out of the room. As Craig leaves, the final shift occurs.
Craig decides to walk home by himself to have time alone and “think things over” (p 440). He’s not better, everything is still the same, only now he realizes he can’t give in to all of life’s tentacles. Craig is a survivor. Thanks to his childhood passion, the shift Craig has been waiting for, has finally happened. All he has to do is live day to day, every simple thing to the next, and enjoy it. “His brain doesn’t want to think anymore, it just wants to do,” simple activities (p 443). Craig just has to live.

Works Cited

Vizzini, Ned. It’s Kind Of A Funny Story. New York: Miramax. 2006.

Reflection

2007-05-18T14:02:00.001-04:00

Throughout my senior year I have kept a blog as an ongoing English project. This blog was a new twist to school assignments that I have enjoyed. Now, almost everything can be done using computers. Assigning school work that could have been hand written onto the computer is a new way to use technology to its fullest.

Altogther there have been seven posts the English blog. The first were sonnets, which I found a little difficult to write poetry using rules and guidelines. The second was the mythology project. This was an interesting research project that allowed me to discover various gods and goddesses within certain religions, and also those within my own heritage. The third, I was instructed to write my own poem. This was a simple assignment that was to imitate the structure of other poems I've read online. The Flash Fiction blog assignment was to read a few flash fiction found online and analyze the literary elements found within it. The fifth blog entry was to research an unsolved crime and then solve it using the information found. The Indepenedent Reading Thesis Paper was a three to four page essay analyzing a book I chose to read. In this paper I proved how problems in life can be solved with simple things, and included explainations of selected elements within the book. The last entry to the English Blog is this Reflection. The whole blog experience has opened my eyes to new ways computers can assist in class assignments.

unsolved mystery

2007-05-03T20:56:00.000-04:00

MARY LOU MORRIS & MARY McGINNIS MORRIS

In the fall of 2000, residents of Houston, Texas experienced not one, but two mysterious deaths. In the middle of October, Mary Lou Morris was found dead in her burning car. Three days later, on October 16, 2000, Mary McGinnis Morris was also found murdered in her car. Suspects in the deaths include a former co-worker of Mary McGinnis Morris, her husband Mike Morris, and a possible hired murderer. Mary and her co-worker were on unfriendly terms. Mary and her husband were having marital problems, he called her cell phone for 4 minutes after the time of her death, and her insurance policy would give Mike $700,000 in unfortunate death of her. The hired killer theory arose when Houston Chronicle received a call between the two deaths, stating they got the wrong Mary.

My thoughts on this murder is that the husband of Mary McGinnis Morris, Mike Morris, is the murderer of both Mary Morris'. He killed the first Mary before his wife to make it seem like there was either a connection in the Mary Morris' murders, or a mistake in a murder due to names. The reason for murdering his wife was to get the $700,000. Evidence that proves this is that the police said he refused to allow his daughter to be questioned and he refused to cooperate and take a lie detector test.

http://www.unsolved-crimes.com/morris.html
http://www.unsolved.com/0203-Morris.html
http://www.lifetimetv.com/shows/unsolved/casefile/twomary_murders.html
http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Morris_Mary_194076366.aspx
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/unsolvedmysteries-lifetime2002.html

Flash Fiction

2007-04-26T10:58:00.000-04:00

http://www.adammaxwell.com/stories/henevertipped.asp

“He Never Tipped,” is by Adam Maxwell. The characters of this flash fiction include a waitress and a man that always comes to the café and orders the same thing. This story takes places inside the café and on its roof. The conflicts that arose in “He Never Tipped” are between the man and himself, and the man and the waitress. The man arrives and orders his usual. He talks to the waitress about problems. Then he leaves and climbs the stairs to the roof of the café. The waitress follows him up there and finds him on the ledge threatening to jump. She tries to talk him out of it. The waitress gets close enough to make contact and hits him in the head with a coffee pot she is holding. He loses his balance and falls to the death. The theme of this flash fiction is to always tip your waiters and waitresses.

http://www.consideration.org/flash/bitterherbs.html

“Bitter Herbs,” is written by Debi Orton. The characters of Bitter Herbs include Carrie Lowell, widow Harrington, Benjamin Hooker, and Mary Kellogg. The setting is Carrie’s house, where she thinks of moments from her past that have taken place in the woods. She remembers the widow Harrington and how the widow taught her all she knew about herbs and its uses. One particular one was a mixture that would make a man crazy for her. She tried it on Benjamin Hooker, but things got out of control and he raped her. Carrie turned out to be pregnant from this encounter. The widow also helped her rid herself of that problem with another mixture. Conflicts are seen between Carrie and Benjamin, and Mary and Benjamin (another woman he raped). The theme of this story is not to try to change nature. What is supposed to happen will naturally occur.

http://www.vestalreview.net/Issue29/homeagain.html

"Home Again," is by Didi Wood. This piece of flash fiction is about a woman that leads a "simple" lifestyle with her husband. She does everything for her husband and he admires her for it. The woman takes piano lessons on the side and has an affair with her piano teacher. Everyone knows the womans secret but she won't confess and hides behind her easy-going, simple life. The conflicts in "Home Again" are between the wife and herself, and the wife and her husband. The theme of this story is there are no secrets and no ways of hiding them.

http://www.wingedhalo.com/mag/garden.html

"The Garden," was written by Kari Livingston. The characters, Lila and Doyle, are a married couple. Doyle has a garden, which Lila isn't a big fan of. Lila likes to keep her house clean while her husband Doyle is always in the garden and enters the house dirty. Lila wants Doyle to pay attention to her instead of his garden. In the end, Doyle becomes sick and can have neither. The theme is to allow others to enjoy what they love and not be selfish and strive for everyone's attention all of the time.

sun shining day

2007-04-24T13:35:00.000-04:00

beyond closed eyes
the world awakens
dew covers the grass
a splinter of sun
can now be seen
birds and crickets
awaken and chirp
the eyelids open
pull back the blinds
outside is bright, clear, and blue
i rush to get ready
pull on some clothes
and tie my shoes
i run to open the door
and outside it is raining.

Original Gods and Goddesses

2006-12-23T19:54:00.000-05:00

Italian God and Goddess

Plutonia was one of the most famous goddesses of ancient Rome. She was once considered the goddess of all and dominated everything, including all other gods and goddesses. Then the other gods and goddesses got jealous of Plutonia and felt inferior to her. They chose to oust her of her goddess status stating she wasn’t qualified to be the goddess of all. She tried to stop them and reason with them but their greed was too strong. The other gods and goddesses ended up killing Plutonia and made a pact agreeing never to speak of her existence again.

Ecliptisis was the most mysterious god of ancient Rome. He was believed to have been responsible of all actions of all gods and goddesses. Ecliptisis watched their actions from an unknown galaxy. To let them know he disapproved of their actions he produced solar and lunar eclipses warning them that he had the power to end it all if he desired. The sign of approval from Ecliptisis would be spectacular meteor showers and the passing of comets. After the time of Plutonia’s murder, he was so angry Ecliptisis just gave up and left, disappearing forever. He dropped all of his responsibilities which included control of the gravitational pull in space. When he did this all the floating masses of rock collided with one another, which became known as the big bang theory, and the famous 9 planets were created.

Hungarian God and Goddess

Otterem was the son of God. He was an adventurous and curious little boy, always going on adventures from the moment he could crawl. He was always told by his father never to go to Earth. One day his father was very aggravated by something, although God wouldn’t reveal exactly what. Otterem wanted his father to go on an adventure with him but his father told him to leave him alone. Otterem thought God was angry at him and decided to run away. He disobeyed his father and ran to Earth. While roaming around the sky grew dark and the air seemed to be motionless. Otterem never saw anything like this in the 7th Heaven and was confused. Then all at once stones rained from the sky. Otterem tried to run and seek refuge but he was struck in the head by one and knocked out. Then arrows dropped out of the sky. One struck Otterem in the chest and pierced through his heart. These were the actions of Gods anger being taken out on Earth. Instead of dealing with his problems, he took them out on others, and this time killed his own son unintentionally.

Onalla is the first born, daughter of god. When it is known that she is female and reported to God, he is disappointed because he wanted a son to become the next powerful God of all. He pushes her away but her mother won’t allow total abandonment. She nourishes Onalla secretly until she is a teen. At this age, Onalla eventually learns her father is God, and she learns the truth of his disapproval. She organizes a plan of revolt and keeps it to herself. She says good bye to her mother and thanks her for everything. Onalla travels to Earth and lives the rest of her life disguised as a human. Here, she teachers others that God and Christianity is disrespectful to woman and they must separate themselves from it and become independent.

Works Cited

2006-12-19T10:46:00.000-05:00

“A Lakota Pantheon.” 18 April 2005. Obsidian's Dictionary of Pantheons. 13 Dec. 2006.
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Alexander, Hartley. Mythology of All Races: North American. New York: Cooper Square Publishers Inc. 1916.

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“Anahita.” 1998-2006. CAIS: The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies. 14 Dec. 2006. <http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Images2/Anahita.jpg>.

“Analyzing Myhology.” 1995. Untangle Inc. 28 Nov. 2006. <http://www.mythome.org/mythII.html>.

"Anog Ite." Encyclopedia Mythica. 2006. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 13 Dec. 2006. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/anog_ite.html>.

“Apollo.” Library.advanced.org 14 Dec. 2006. <http://library.advanced.org/17709/images/apollo.gif>.

"Athena." Encyclopedia Mythica. 2006. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 13 Dec. 2006. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/athena.html>.

"Banba." Encyclopedia Mythica. 2006. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 13 Dec. 2006. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/banba.html>.

Basgen, Brian and Andy Blunden, eds. “Lukacs, Georg.” 1999-2004. MIA: Encyclopedia of Marxism. 15 Dec. 2006. <http://www.marxists.org/glossary/people/l/u.htm>.

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Biti-Anat, Lilanah. "What Is Mythology." geocities.com. 1990. 28 Nov. 2006. <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/2938/poly3.html>.

Cavendish, Richard, ed. Mythology: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Orbis Publishing Limited, 1980.

“Celtic Deities.” The Celtic Connection, Wicca.com. 13 Dec. 2006. <http://www.wicca.com/celtic/wicca/celtic.htm>.

"Dagda." Encyclopedia Mythica. 2006. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 13 Dec. 2006. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/dagda.html>.

“Dagda.” 2006. Celtictale.com and Tuatha. 14 Dec. 2006. <http://www.celtictale.com/images/dagda.jpg>.

Dictionary.com. 2006. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 28 Nov. 2006. <http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=mythology>.

Dove, Laura and Angel Price, ed. “Elie Wiesel.” 1995. 15 Dec. 2006. <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/HOLO/ELIEBIO.HTM>

Doyle, Bernard. "Mythology." Encyclopedia Mythica. 17 April 1997. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 28 Nov. 2006 <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mythology.html>.

“Durga.” Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India (SCFI). 14 Dec. 2006. <http://www.durga-puja.org/gifs/durga-forms.jpg>.

"Enki." Encyclopedia Mythica. 2006. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 13 Dec. 2006. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/e/enki.html>.

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Fox, William. The Mythology of All Races. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, 1964.

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Gill, Sam, Irene Sullivan. Native American Mythology. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Inc. 1992.

“Galilio Galiliei.” Thinkquest.org. 15 Dec. 2006. <http://library.thinkquest.org/22584/temh3003.htm>.

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Hamori, Fred. “Hungarian Mythology 1.” 15 Dec. 2006.
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Hinnels, John. Persian Mythology. London: Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. 1973.

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Ions, Veronica. Indian Mythology. Hong Kong: Chancellor Press, 1967.

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Ethnic Background - Italian

2006-12-17T11:19:00.001-05:00

Philosophers
Giordano Bruno was born in 1548 and died in 1600 by choosing to be burned at a stake. In 1581 he began to give lectures on philosophy. He wrote of places where god did not exist, the mysteries of the virginity or Mary, and the crucifixion and the mass to be meaningless. He also felt the bible was read only by the ignorant.
Aldo Capitini – his beliefs are of Italian idealism. He holds a strong belief against a god of the outside world. He believes reality is a continual creation of man. Capitini speaks of practical mysticism. He wants to change the world.

Artists
Leonardo Da Vinci was born in 1452 and died in 1519. He worked on music, pageantry, portrait painting, decorating, and engineering projects. He also knew much about philosophy, history, science, medicine, and math. His personal goal for each of his portraiture paintings is to find “the intention of man’s soul”.
Umberto Boccioni was born in 1882 and died in 1916. He was a futurist theoretician, painter, and sculptor. His earliest works are romantic, followed by divisionism, the futurist movement, and abstract art.

Musicians
Nicolo Paganini lived from 1782 to 1840. He first received music lessons from his father. In 1809 he became a soloist performer. He performed pieces ranging from tender to forceful. He was also a composer and wrote music for violin, guitar, and cello.
Adriano Celentano was born in 1938. He began his career as a comedian and impressionist. He is now one of the most famous stars of Italian pop music. He has several record hits. Celentano has released several albums with his latest being released in 2003. He also had a successful acting career.

Gods/Goddesses
Ancient Romans believed in several gods and goddesses with each being in control of a certain area.
Saturn - He was one of oldest gods of Rome and a ruler.
Jupiter – God of the sky; the most important ruler.
Juno - She watched over the women in Ancient Rome.
Neptune - God of the seas.
Minerva - Goddess of wisdom.
Mars - God of all wars
Venus - Goddess of love.
Ancient Romans worshipped these gods and goddesses in temples. They made sacrifices of animals and precious belongings to the gods. Worshippers believed after death your spirit went down to the underworld.
By the 4th century A.D., Constantine named Christianity the official religion in Italy.

History Makers
Camillio Golgi was born in 1843 and lived until 1926. He studied medicine, the nervous system, insanity, neurology, and the lymphatics of the brain. He received several awards, including the Nobel Prize of 1906 for his work on the structure of the nervous system.
Galilieo Galiliei lived from 1564 to 1642. His interests include science and mathematics, and he was also an inventor. A few of his famous inventions include the first modern microscope, a compass, and thermometer. He discovered several laws, including formulas involving falling bodies and momentum.

Ethnic Background - Hungarian

2006-12-17T11:17:00.000-05:00

Philosophers

Elie Wiesel – Elie Wiesel was born on September 30, 1928, in Sighet, Romania. He is the author of 36 books. One of the most horrific events of Wiesel’s life was the holocaust, which he fortunately survived. He has dedicated his life to educating others about the Holocaust.
Agnes heller – Agnes Heller was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1929. She has written philosophy of history, morals, and the theory of modernity.
Georg Lukacs lived from 1885 to 1971. He was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher, writer and literary critic.

Artists
Miklos Barabas lived from 1810 to 1898. He is a master of portrait painting and was the first Hunarian artist able to live by means of art.
Jozsef Rona lived from 1861 to1939. Rona is a Hungarian sculptor. He created statuettes of biblical and mythological subjects.
László Moholy-Nagy lived from 1895 to 1946. He was a painter, photographer, and art critic.

Musicians
Bela Bartok was born in 1881 and died in 1945. He was one of the most influential composers of the 20th centuries. He studied piano and composition. His melodies were usually based on folk patterns of the pentatonic scale.
Joseph Szigeti lived from 1892 to 1973. He was a violinist. He performed compositions which included Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. His music is elegant, colorful, and intelligence.

Gods/Goddesses
The type of religion practiced in Hungary prior to Christianity was monotheistic with beliefs that god was a formless spirit associated with the sun and sky. God was called Isten. Isten is the supreme god of Hungarians with attributes which include the arrow, the tree, and the horse. Another title of god is Terem-tö which stands for “creator.” One famous mytho of Hungarian religion is that god lived in the 7th heavens, or the golden kingdom. He never interacted with earth and sometimes, in acts of anger, through stones to earth or shot his arrows down to earth. Some ancient goddess names include Nagy Asszony, Boldog Asszony, and Baba. Bab is the feminine mate of the sun. She was the benefactor of marriages, childbirth, and agriculture.

History Makers
Richard Zsigmondy – He lived from 1865 to 1929. He studied chemistry and physics. In 1925 Zsigmondy received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for work on the heterogeneous nature of colloidal solutions. He also invented the ultramicroscope.
Edward Teller was born on January 15, 1908. He is a physicist and famously known as the Father of the H Bomb. He helped develop the atomic bomb and discovered BET Equation. He did work on thermonuclear energy, added to the quantum theory, molecular physics, and astrophysics.

Sumerian

2006-12-14T11:56:00.000-05:00

Enki (Ea) - the high god, the god of water, sweet water, wisdom, and magic. Enki is the creator god, the source of knowledge, medicine, and semen.
Enki invented civilization and assigned everyone’s destiny. The union of Enki, Ninhursag, and the infidelities of Enki and his daughters, bring the generation of agriculture and its by-products. Day to day affairs are left to him. He organized earth and established law and order. Enki filled Tigris and Euphrates rivers with sacred sweet water.

Ishtar (Inanna) – mother goddess, warrior goddess in Babylon and Assyria, the goddess of fertility, and love. Ishtar is the channel of fertility to men. She is the great lover and mother.
Ishtar is described as an evil, heartless woman, who destroyed her mates and lovers.

Persian

2006-12-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

Vayu - The wind god. He brings life in rain clouds and death in storms. He is a fearsome broad-breasted warrior. He is the worker of good, the destroyer, and the one who unites and separates.
Vayu ventures forth to destroy evil spirits, enemies, and protect the good creation of Ahura Mazda. He rules in the void. Vayu chases the evil spirit with his sharp spear and golden weapons to protect Ahura Mazda.

Anahita – Anahita is the source of all waters on earth, of fertility, and of cosmic oceans. She is the water goddess, fertility goddess, patroness of woman, and the goddess of war. Anahita is the “Glory and life of Armenia, the giver of life, the mother of all wisdom, the source of life.”

Native American

2006-12-14T11:39:00.000-05:00

Aiken – Duck hawk and guardian spirit to a village.
Aiken comes across two girls weeping over their dead lovers. He takes them to their happy lovers and the girls eventually choose to leave and go back to their village because they know their lovers are happy. Aiken gives them a piece of salmon back bone to smear on the deads lips to bring them back to life. When it runs out and death returns to the village, the Karok people don’t grieve death because they know the deceased are happy.

Anog Ite - (Ite) - She is the bringer of quilling, the craft of sorting and the dyeing of porcupine quills. Anog Ite is known as the double faced women. She attempts to seduce Wi, the sun god, and is condemned by Skan and forced to life with two faces, one beautiful and one ugly.

Irish

2006-12-14T11:03:00.000-05:00

Dagda – (Daghdha) – Dagda is the “Good god” and“the mighty one of knowledge,” He is the the god of dividism and the Irish tribal god or father of the tribe. He is the protector and benefactor of the people and symbol of Irish prosperity. Dagda is the ruler over life and death, master of magic, a fearsome warrier, and skilled artisan.
Dagda has a club, with one end to kill the living and the other to revive the dead.

Banba - Banba is the fertility goddess and goddess of war. She represents the spirit of Ireland.
Banba is capable of changing shape from girl to hag, and into birds and animals.

Hindu

2006-12-14T10:54:00.000-05:00

Buddha - Vishnu’s 9th incarnation. He is the form taken by Vishnu to corrupt demons. Buddha taught that the world has no creator and no universal spirit. Therefore the 3 supreme gods are just ordinary human beings.

Devi - (Mahadevi) - Devi is the great goddess, and the most powerful. She appears as the active feminine aspect or power of male deities.
Devi fought a demon called Durga, and after her victory she assumed his name. She also fought Sumbha and Nisumbha, who were immune to harm from gods. She celebrated by devouring them.

Greek

2006-12-14T10:45:00.000-05:00

Athena - Athena is the goddess of wisdom, craft, war, snake goddess, warrior daughter. Athena stands for discipline. She’s also the patron defender of Greek cities.
Her father Zeus was pregnant with her after swallowing the Oceanid Metis, who was originally pregnant with Athena. To give birth to Athena, Hephaestus hit Zeus in the head with an ax to create and opening for Athena.
Athena and her uncle Poseidon both wanted the same city. The one to give the city the best gift could have the city. Poseidon gave the people of the city water, but it was too salty. Athena gave the city an olive tree, which provided food, oil, and wood. She won the city and named it Athens.

Apollo – Apollo is the twin brother of Artemis, and the son of Leto and Zeus.
His son Asclepius, raised mortals from the dead. Zeus killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt. Apollo then killed the Cyclops that created the thunderbolt.
Apollo is the god of healing, hunting, prophecy, the arts, music, archery, colonization, medicine, and the guardian of navigation
He saved his mother by killing Tityus.
His first action was killing Python.

Mythology Definition

2006-12-05T13:34:00.000-05:00

Mythology is a set of myths, or stories, from a culture. The myths usually revolve around traditions or religious beliefs from that culture.

Sonnets

2006-11-28T10:49:00.000-05:00

All I see is this paper uncovered
Lay it on the table in front of me
Possibilities yet undiscovered
I look in my mind and I see a tree

I finger the bottle, the paint drips out
Colors of green, blue, and brown can be seen
Pick up the paintbrush and smear paint about
Bristles slide smoothly across this new scene

Looking at my landscape I see it all
Sharp blades of grass a clear cloudless blue sky
The sun is out and a tree has grown tall
All created in the blink of an eye

I take a step back and am struck with awe
My breath taken from the beauty I saw

I have to envelop in a sonnet
So many rules I must follow to pass
Attempting to start I don’t get one bit
This assignment is a pain in the ass

Struggling and struggling, I struggle to rhyme
I cannot get this whole sonnet to flow
I think this assignment is wasting my time
It’s so hard to do, you don’t even know

Finally on my last stanza to write
I guess it was not all terrible hard
Only took eight hours and now it is night
I don’t like sonnets I think I am scarred

Thank god my sonnet is finally done
I have to admit it wasn’t that fun