Why should the term desensitized automatically assume the pejorative context? Why not that the concept of sensitization assume that disparaging distinction? Perhaps it would be prudent to adopt a position necessitating the piling of shame on the person who would over-protect and shield their children from the real world, thus causing them to be less likely to be able to develop proper coping mechanisms and intellectual techniques for dealing with exposure to certain provoking sights, sounds, and concepts in order to function effectively in this world. Is it appropriate to praise the sequestering away of children from reality in the name of “protecting them” from things of which parents disapprove? Are the negative effects of such actions justified by the sum of perceived positive effects? Does that even matter? Should there be a hard-line position that that is categorically wrong? I haven’t entirely made up my mind, but I think I’m onto something.
In case you take me wrongly, I would not condone acts like cutting off an infidel’s head in front of a two year old (or at all, for that matter). What I am saying is that many people go too far with this, both parents and supervisors of children alike. How does a kid learn that their actions have consequences and that those certain things they do mandate the assumption of certain risks and that those risks need to be assessed along with the potential benefits of such actions? By, for example, letting them ride a bike and crash a few times, that’s how. The same applies for situations that they won’t find whilst under the protection of mommy and daddy, being everything in their adult life. There’s a reason momma bird gives the reluctant baby bird a kick out of the tree, and it isn’t because she doesn’t love it.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Historica Mutum Scholasticum: An Original Myth
Near the end of the period known as Circumspectus Studentii, the great overlord Prudenses enjoyed a long and fruitful reign, producing many offspring who greatly contributed to the good order and smooth operation of his earthly realm of Academia. Some of his progeny, however, were rebellious in nature and, because of the hardness of their hearts and the cunning of their iniquitous industry, desired to usurp the adjuratory supplications of the Pupillum of their father’s realm, thereby effectively securing – in future – absolute dominion over them ad infinitum, bringing all honor and glory unto themselves.
The titan Zuckerbarios was one such son. Since the period of his mother’s confinement, he plotted and schemed to develop ways by which he might overthrow Prudenses. By the time of his release from his ovarian incarceration, his devious machinations were fully formed in his mind and he immediately set to work spawning the minion which he foresaw would carry out his nefarious designs. Countenancia Memorandus he named it, harbinger of gaiety and bringer of sloth, whose very nature is deserving of the deepest opprobrium. The creature worked tirelessly doing the will of the dark lordling Zuckerbarios, but its efforts alone were insufficient to realize the will of its master to confound the work of the Academician priests of Prudenses, protectors of the secret flame, the Bloviatorum. The conspirator needed an accomplice.
Fate, as it would seem, provided him with just such a partner in the form of his bastard cousin, the ever petulant Twitterion, whose insouciant behavior knew no bounds. Through the assiduity of the combined efforts of the golem Countenancia Memorandus and Twitterion, the hearts of the impressionable Pupillum were secured for all eternity. They worshipped these new gods incessantly, providing love offerings and burnt offerings to them at all times, giving no thought to the waning patriarchal Prudenses and bringing about the effectual end of the age of Circumspectus Studentii, to the damnation of all in the realm.
-- Finis --
*Myth explains how Facebook and Twitter overcome prudence among the students of the academic world, distracting them from their studies and pissing off their professors.
The titan Zuckerbarios was one such son. Since the period of his mother’s confinement, he plotted and schemed to develop ways by which he might overthrow Prudenses. By the time of his release from his ovarian incarceration, his devious machinations were fully formed in his mind and he immediately set to work spawning the minion which he foresaw would carry out his nefarious designs. Countenancia Memorandus he named it, harbinger of gaiety and bringer of sloth, whose very nature is deserving of the deepest opprobrium. The creature worked tirelessly doing the will of the dark lordling Zuckerbarios, but its efforts alone were insufficient to realize the will of its master to confound the work of the Academician priests of Prudenses, protectors of the secret flame, the Bloviatorum. The conspirator needed an accomplice.
Fate, as it would seem, provided him with just such a partner in the form of his bastard cousin, the ever petulant Twitterion, whose insouciant behavior knew no bounds. Through the assiduity of the combined efforts of the golem Countenancia Memorandus and Twitterion, the hearts of the impressionable Pupillum were secured for all eternity. They worshipped these new gods incessantly, providing love offerings and burnt offerings to them at all times, giving no thought to the waning patriarchal Prudenses and bringing about the effectual end of the age of Circumspectus Studentii, to the damnation of all in the realm.
-- Finis --
*Myth explains how Facebook and Twitter overcome prudence among the students of the academic world, distracting them from their studies and pissing off their professors.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Of King Herla
The following text was taken -- very much in a cut-and-paste fashion -- from the "highly reputable" and easily amended wiki site which we all know and love (at least for its bibs.).
I think it necessary to explain my screen name's origin; I'll let you decide why it may or may not suit.
[See -Walter Map (born 1140, died c. 1208–1210) and his De Nugis Curialium.]
ab hinc:
In this tale Herla was the King of the Britons in ancient times. The tale seems to date from the medieval period but may have had earlier origins.
One afternoon after a hard days riding, Herla, the wise King of the Britons took leave from his men, and rested for a while among the ancients trees, part of the great forest that had stood in his kingdom for millennia.
As he was dozing he was awoken by the rustling of something passing through the trees. He clasped his hand on his sword in readiness, and was greeted by a strange sight indeed. Into the glade came a large well-groomed goat, upon which sat a tiny man no bigger than a child, but with a strong and stocky upper body and cloven feet. He was ruddy faced and ancient, sporting a huge shaggy beard. He sat smiling at the King and addressed him such: "I have heard of your wisdom and prowess as King, I am King of my own realm and I would to strike a bargain with you. If you give me the pleasure of attending your wedding day you can attend mine." With that he proffered the king a bronze horn of intricate workmanship and bade him drink. The king hesitated for a moment wondering whether to accept such an obvious otherworld bargain, but he grasped the horn and drank deep of its contents, with that the dwarf nodded to him, and promptly disappeared.
Within a year the king had taken a wife, on the wedding day all the guests were assembled in the king's great hall, ready for the feast, when there was a knock at the great oak doors. In came a host of dwarfs bearing precious gifts; golden cups and horns of exquisite workmanship; carved wooden chairs with intricate patterns, and many more valuable offerings. The feast was tremendous, and the food and wine the dwarf host brought never seemed to run dry, so that the castle's food stores were hardly touched. At the end of the night the dwarves left and the dwarf king reminded Herla of his bargain.
Within a year of his wedding night, the king received a summons from his otherworldly friend. He gathered around him his best men, and an abundance of wedding gifts, and set of into the wild country where few men ventured. They travelled for a days around twisting forest paths in the far reaches of the Kingdom, and finally came to a solid sandstone cliff. They stood wondering what to do at such a barrier when there came a sound like the peal of a bell, and a doorway opened in the cliff face, gingerly the company rode through the opening and found themselves in a large cavern, lit by flaming brands hung at intervals on the sandy walls. There was a passage, which led from the cavern into the depths of the earth.
They followed this for some time guided by the torchlight, until they could hear the sound of laughter and merrymaking. At the end of the tunnel they found themselves in a gigantic cavern lit by thousands of torches, that seemed to burn without fuel. In the centre of this cavern stood a huge oak table, and a great gathering of dwarfs. The king proffered his gifts to the dwarf king and the feast commenced.
Time seemed to pass in an instant and they partied for 3 earth days. At last the company made to depart, and the dwarf king gave many precious gifts. One of these was a small blood hound. He took King Herla aside and explained that he was no longer safe in his world above ground, and begged him to stay. He explained that neither he nor his men should dismount until the gifted bloodhound jumps to the ground.
The king thanked him for his advice and continued on his way. When the company rode out of the cleft in the cliff they were greeted by an unfamiliar sight. Fields had replaced the great forests and small villages stood in the valleys, where before there had only been trees. Eventually they came upon an old man who stood watching over his flock of sheep. King Herla addressed him and asked if they knew where the Kingdom of Herla lay. There was a long pause as the ancient farmer stared at them.
Eventually he addressed them in a broken form of their tongue, he explained that the kingdom of which he spoke was only now mentioned in legend, for it was 300 years ago, and the Saxons had now taken over the lands. He explained how local tales told how a king had disappeared, and how his wife had pined away and died from her lost love. At this some of the king's men tried to dismount, but on touching the earth they crumbled to dust. Thus King Herla ordered his men to stay in the saddle until the bloodhound jumped onto the ground. It is said that the king and his men still ride the countryside in limbo to this day, awaiting the time when the bloodhound will jump to the floor and restore them to their lands.
The tale has been associated with the wild hunt, and the differing passage of time in the otherworld compared to this world is a common motif.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wild Hunt is an ancient folk myth prevalent across Northern, Western and Central Europe. The fundamental premise in all instances is the same: a phantasmal group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, horses, hounds, etc., in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground, or just above it.
The hunters may be the dead or the fairies (often in folklore connected with the dead). The hunter may be an unidentified lost soul, a deity or spirit of either gender, or may be a historical or legendary figure like Theodoric the Great, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag, the Welsh psychopomp Gwyn ap Nudd or the Germanic Woden (or other reflections of the same god, such as Alemannic Wuodan in Wuotis Heer ("Wuodan's Host") of Central Switzerland, Swabia etc.)
It has been variously referred to as Wilde Jagd (German: "wild hunt/chase") or Wildes Heer (German: "wild host"), Herlaþing (Old English: "Herla's assembly"), Woden's Hunt, Herod's Hunt, Cain's Hunt, the Devil's Dandy Dogs (in Cornwall), Gabriel's Hounds (in northern England), Ghost Riders (in North America), Mesnée d'Hellequin (Old North French: "household of Hellequin"), Cŵn Annwn (Welsh: "hounds of Annwn"), divoká honba or štvaní (Czech: "wild hunt", "baiting") , Dziki Gon or Dziki Łów (Polish), Oskoreia or Åsgårdsreia (Norwegian: "ride of Asgard"),Estantiga (from Hoste Antiga, Galician: "the old army"), Hostia or Compaña ("troop, company") in Galicia, and güestia in Asturias.
Seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to presage some catastrophe such as war or plague, or at best the death of the one who witnessed it. Mortals getting in the path of or following the Hunt could be kidnapped and brought to the land of the dead. A girl who saw Wild Edric's Ride was warned by her father to put her apron over her head to avoid the sight. Others believed that people's spirits could be pulled away during their sleep to join the cavalcade.
In Germany, where it was also known as the "Wild Army", or "Furious Army", its leader was given various identities, including Wodan (or "Woden"), Knecht Ruprecht (cf. Krampus), Berchtold (or Berchta), and Holda (or "Holle"). The Wild Hunt is also known from post-medieval folklore.
I think it necessary to explain my screen name's origin; I'll let you decide why it may or may not suit.
[See -Walter Map (born 1140, died c. 1208–1210) and his De Nugis Curialium.]
ab hinc:
In this tale Herla was the King of the Britons in ancient times. The tale seems to date from the medieval period but may have had earlier origins.
One afternoon after a hard days riding, Herla, the wise King of the Britons took leave from his men, and rested for a while among the ancients trees, part of the great forest that had stood in his kingdom for millennia.
As he was dozing he was awoken by the rustling of something passing through the trees. He clasped his hand on his sword in readiness, and was greeted by a strange sight indeed. Into the glade came a large well-groomed goat, upon which sat a tiny man no bigger than a child, but with a strong and stocky upper body and cloven feet. He was ruddy faced and ancient, sporting a huge shaggy beard. He sat smiling at the King and addressed him such: "I have heard of your wisdom and prowess as King, I am King of my own realm and I would to strike a bargain with you. If you give me the pleasure of attending your wedding day you can attend mine." With that he proffered the king a bronze horn of intricate workmanship and bade him drink. The king hesitated for a moment wondering whether to accept such an obvious otherworld bargain, but he grasped the horn and drank deep of its contents, with that the dwarf nodded to him, and promptly disappeared.
Within a year the king had taken a wife, on the wedding day all the guests were assembled in the king's great hall, ready for the feast, when there was a knock at the great oak doors. In came a host of dwarfs bearing precious gifts; golden cups and horns of exquisite workmanship; carved wooden chairs with intricate patterns, and many more valuable offerings. The feast was tremendous, and the food and wine the dwarf host brought never seemed to run dry, so that the castle's food stores were hardly touched. At the end of the night the dwarves left and the dwarf king reminded Herla of his bargain.
Within a year of his wedding night, the king received a summons from his otherworldly friend. He gathered around him his best men, and an abundance of wedding gifts, and set of into the wild country where few men ventured. They travelled for a days around twisting forest paths in the far reaches of the Kingdom, and finally came to a solid sandstone cliff. They stood wondering what to do at such a barrier when there came a sound like the peal of a bell, and a doorway opened in the cliff face, gingerly the company rode through the opening and found themselves in a large cavern, lit by flaming brands hung at intervals on the sandy walls. There was a passage, which led from the cavern into the depths of the earth.
They followed this for some time guided by the torchlight, until they could hear the sound of laughter and merrymaking. At the end of the tunnel they found themselves in a gigantic cavern lit by thousands of torches, that seemed to burn without fuel. In the centre of this cavern stood a huge oak table, and a great gathering of dwarfs. The king proffered his gifts to the dwarf king and the feast commenced.
Time seemed to pass in an instant and they partied for 3 earth days. At last the company made to depart, and the dwarf king gave many precious gifts. One of these was a small blood hound. He took King Herla aside and explained that he was no longer safe in his world above ground, and begged him to stay. He explained that neither he nor his men should dismount until the gifted bloodhound jumps to the ground.
The king thanked him for his advice and continued on his way. When the company rode out of the cleft in the cliff they were greeted by an unfamiliar sight. Fields had replaced the great forests and small villages stood in the valleys, where before there had only been trees. Eventually they came upon an old man who stood watching over his flock of sheep. King Herla addressed him and asked if they knew where the Kingdom of Herla lay. There was a long pause as the ancient farmer stared at them.
Eventually he addressed them in a broken form of their tongue, he explained that the kingdom of which he spoke was only now mentioned in legend, for it was 300 years ago, and the Saxons had now taken over the lands. He explained how local tales told how a king had disappeared, and how his wife had pined away and died from her lost love. At this some of the king's men tried to dismount, but on touching the earth they crumbled to dust. Thus King Herla ordered his men to stay in the saddle until the bloodhound jumped onto the ground. It is said that the king and his men still ride the countryside in limbo to this day, awaiting the time when the bloodhound will jump to the floor and restore them to their lands.
The tale has been associated with the wild hunt, and the differing passage of time in the otherworld compared to this world is a common motif.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wild Hunt is an ancient folk myth prevalent across Northern, Western and Central Europe. The fundamental premise in all instances is the same: a phantasmal group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, horses, hounds, etc., in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground, or just above it.
The hunters may be the dead or the fairies (often in folklore connected with the dead). The hunter may be an unidentified lost soul, a deity or spirit of either gender, or may be a historical or legendary figure like Theodoric the Great, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag, the Welsh psychopomp Gwyn ap Nudd or the Germanic Woden (or other reflections of the same god, such as Alemannic Wuodan in Wuotis Heer ("Wuodan's Host") of Central Switzerland, Swabia etc.)
It has been variously referred to as Wilde Jagd (German: "wild hunt/chase") or Wildes Heer (German: "wild host"), Herlaþing (Old English: "Herla's assembly"), Woden's Hunt, Herod's Hunt, Cain's Hunt, the Devil's Dandy Dogs (in Cornwall), Gabriel's Hounds (in northern England), Ghost Riders (in North America), Mesnée d'Hellequin (Old North French: "household of Hellequin"), Cŵn Annwn (Welsh: "hounds of Annwn"), divoká honba or štvaní (Czech: "wild hunt", "baiting") , Dziki Gon or Dziki Łów (Polish), Oskoreia or Åsgårdsreia (Norwegian: "ride of Asgard"),Estantiga (from Hoste Antiga, Galician: "the old army"), Hostia or Compaña ("troop, company") in Galicia, and güestia in Asturias.
Seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to presage some catastrophe such as war or plague, or at best the death of the one who witnessed it. Mortals getting in the path of or following the Hunt could be kidnapped and brought to the land of the dead. A girl who saw Wild Edric's Ride was warned by her father to put her apron over her head to avoid the sight. Others believed that people's spirits could be pulled away during their sleep to join the cavalcade.
In Germany, where it was also known as the "Wild Army", or "Furious Army", its leader was given various identities, including Wodan (or "Woden"), Knecht Ruprecht (cf. Krampus), Berchtold (or Berchta), and Holda (or "Holle"). The Wild Hunt is also known from post-medieval folklore.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Hello
This is my first time with this blogging thing and I have much to learn. My primary reason for setting this up is to be able t0 comment on some friends' pages and have my own "identity" on here whilst doing so. I suspect that I shall also be conducting some garrulous ramblings as well. Cheers!
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