Robert Spiller's Blog: Words From East Plains, page 5

Creation Stories - Chapter 2: Native North American and African: Rising Up vs The World Egg

This is the second installment - see the earlier Scandinavian and Sumerian - in a multiple part series on creation stories. Since there were many North American creation stories, I have chosen the Navajo story. Similarly, there were a large number of African stories and I selected one, the Dogon Creation Story. 


Navajo - Even to this day there are a number of domed worlds - five altogether- built one atop the other. First world, deep underground was centered on a huge ocean and was populated by the Insect People, led by Locust. Because of the wrath of their gods they were forced upwards to the World of the Swallows. Again they screwed up and had to rise up to the Grasshopper World where they blew it again and had to rise up to the Kisani, the Pueblo People.  The two races got along famously and together created First Man and First Woman. These did their job and made many children. Two divine creatures, one called Water Monster and the other The Trickster Coyote for some reason known only to the gods started kidnapping young girls. The people - both The Insect People and the Kisani and the humans they created - were forced to go into hiding. A brave insect, Locust, (kind of a bug Moses) led everyone out of this intolerable situation up into the Fifth World, the world they inhabit to this day.

Dogon Creation Story (Africa) - First there was the World Egg which had been fertilized by the creator, Amma. The egg cracked into two halves each containing a set of divine identical twins, male and female. These four are called The Nummo. Amma flung some divine clay from the heavens and created the Earth. These four took it into their heads to fall to the Earth and copulate with it and each other- thus humans came to be. Once the human race established itself, the original Nummo twins became something that would feed all the world, the grasses of the plains. And from there they eternally watch over their creation.

Creation Myths - Chapter 1

I found myself immersed in one creation story after another (I think Myth sounds a bit condescending) for the past few days so I thought I would share a few - maybe just two this time. There are a bunch from Native American to Buddhist to Scandinavian to Hebrew. All of them are fascinating.

Sumeria -
I'm inclined to start here for no other reason that I think these guys influenced a number of other creation stories and many of the religions that began in the fertile crescent - they had the original flood story.  Okay here's the skinny on how the world got going. An (Heaven) and Ki (Earth) - the original gods and the parents of the other gods - united to form Anki (the universe). The other gods came along later and began right off intermarrying. The children of these gods thought the necessary task of farming was too difficult so they created humans. This was done by the Nammu (goddess of the water) who put her son to the task of making people. Once the humans started in on farming the gods organized the Tigris and Euphrates so the job could be easier. Strangely, it was the trickster god Enki , a notoriously lazy fellow, who got most of this going. Rumor has it that he used his penis to fill the rivers and streams. He also wanted to use that same penis to impregnate the maiden goddess Uttu but she would not agree until he invented vegetation - fruits and vegetables. He must have wanted her pretty bad because he presented her with three of his inventions: apples, cucumbers, and grapes. She gave in and their offspring invented all the other fruits of the fields.

Let's go to another part of the world to see how they started everything. Whereas Sumerians used sex to begin the world - they revered the sexual act as divine, Scandinavians used a combination of sex and murder (strangely enough the Greeks started creation with a patricide).



Norse - When the void, or at least near-void existed there were three regions: Mudspell in the south - all molten rock and inhabited by a demon named Black Surt who wielded a flaming sword always ready to destroy anything even remotely looking like creation. Niflheim in the north, all ice and frost. And finally between them both Ginungagap, a wet place of rivers but still kind of sterile. In this middle region was born a frost giant named Ymir, who had a propensity for other beings to spring out of his orifices. An man and a woman sprang out of his armpits. A family of frost giants emerged from between his legs. From his middle came the first cow, Audumla.  
    Audumla licked at the borders of ice around the rivers and Buri , one of the original gods came forth. He married one of the frost giants and they had a son, Bor . Bor married Bestla , another frost giant - I guess the gene pool was kind of restricted. But here's where things get interesting. Bestla had three children Odin, Vili, and Ve . These guys must have been born belligerent because the first thing they did was kill the original Frost Giant Ymir and from his flesh and bones they created the world. His blood made the oceans and lakes. The sky came from his skull. They made the walls of Mitgard (that's the Earth for you people who didn't see the movie Thor) from his eyebrows - imagine that! They then created Embla , the first woman (I know. I thought a woman sprang from Ymir's armpit) and Ask , the first man. I guess it was a big deal to have dwarfs because they were created out of the maggots feasting on Ymir's flesh. Mitgard was given to these two as their home and they went straight about making all the people who came after. Asgard the home of the gods was the last thing to be created. Of course, in the middle of all this creating there were heavenly wars, ...and more wars...and more wars. Vikings loved to fight.

Coming attractions - Native American and Chinese Creation Stories. Stay tuned.

Cool Shakespearean Insults - Chapter 2

I don't know about you but I'm ready for some more put downs from the Bard. I am continually amazed at his use of common words in uncommon ways to create fabulous burns. So gentle people let the games begin.




I do desire we may be better strangers.

Thou frothy flap-mouthed minnow.

You scullion! You rampallian! You Fustilarian! I'll tickle your catastrophe.

Thou puking dismal-dreaming horn.

Villain, I have done thy mother.

Thou spleeny flap-mouthed harpy.

They lie deadly when they tell you, you have good faces.

Thou rank beef-witted measle.

Thou art the son and heir of a mongrel bitch.

Thou churlish fen-sucked strumpet.

Away, moldy rogue, away!

I think thou wast created for men to breathe themselves upon you.

More of your conversation would infect my brain.

 I wonder that you still be talking. Nobody marks you.

Well, that's all for now. I challenge you to use one of these pithy phrases on an acquaintance who doest thou find irksome.

Comic Book (Graphic Novels) Villains : The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The new 'Avengers' movie will feature the Hyper-Villain Ultron. I recently started up a conversation about this massively powerful super creep. In the entire group I was in, no one even knew who this bad guy was.

Also, with the upcoming crossover between 'Arrow' and 'The Flash' which features Captain Boomerang, I wondered who might appreciate a heads up about this guy - although with all the mega-humans coming out of the woodwork on 'Flash', I'm thinking it might not be the same guy. In any event, I'm going to give you the low down on several of the coolest, weirdest, baddest super (and not so super) villains in both the Marvel and DC universe.

Let's begin with Ultron  - First of all, Ultron is a robot, albeit one with a mind of its own (no three laws for him). Henry Pym (The Ant Man, a superhero destined to have a movie of his own in the near future) created Ultron and implanted his own brain patterns into his creation. Ultron rebelled and decided that the human race needed to be exterminated. Go Figure. Like Wolverine, Ulton - or at least a subsequent upgrade of the robot - is made of indestructible Adamantium. He is also incredibly strong (we're talking Hulk strong), almost invulnerable, can fly, and can put large numbers of folks in a trace with just a glance. And one more thing, if he is defeated, like the robot in the 'The Incredibles', he recreates himself with new enhancements. At last count, there was an Ultron 15.

Captain Boomerang - Alias George 'Digger' Harkness, the good Captain is an enemy of The Flash. First of all, he uses boomerangs like Batman uses the weapons in his utility belt or Arrow uses his specialized arrows. On top of that, he had, in a limited sense, the ability to match Flash's bursts of speed. He has tangled with the Flash on more than one occasion and of course lost.

Dormammu - Rumor has it that Marvel is planning to release a Doctor Strange movie. As a fan of the super-mystic Strange, I am looking forward to this one. Anyway, one of the most powerful adversaries - and I believe the very enemy that Strange will face in the movie - Dormammu is a bad ass. Demonlike, he appears surrounded in a corona of fire. Like Strange he is a master of the Mystic Arts. He has conquered and subjugated a butt-load of alternate dimensions but the one he has set his sights on is ours. He can travel effortlessly between these dimensions, alter his size and strength, travel in time, and is a master of telepathy. Oh yeah, he can transform others into copies of himself and equip them with his powers.

Gorilla Grodd - Recently on the TV show 'The Flash' the mysterious wheel-chaired mastermind Harrison Wells (Just who the heck is this guy anyway?) went into his secret sanctum and addressed a creature in a cage marked Gorilla Grodd. I said--out loud at the time--wait a minute, one of Flash's big time adversaries is Gorilla Grodd. This bad simian is a member of a race of super-apes who have kept their existence a secret from humanity. Grodd can control the minds of others, transfer his consciousness into others, transform matter with his will, and if all of this wasn't bad enough, he is a genius on the order of Lex Luther. What the heck is he doing in a cage in a back wing of Harrison Well's abode?

The Absorbing Man - If you're a fan of Marvel's Agents of Shield you've seen this nightmare on two different episodes. Carl 'Crusher' Creel is featured on the show as a thrall of Hydra (Hail Hydra!!!) but the original Creel was a creation of Asgard (who are also featured from time to time on Marvel's Agents of Shield). Loki, Thor's evil half-brother endowed Creel with the power to absorb and become anything he touches. This includes energy or even sometimes the powers of his adversaries, one of which was Thor the Thunder God. He had fought the Hulk to a standstill by absorbing his strength. He carries a ball and chain which he uses the way Thor uses his hammer.

The Penguin - One of my favorite shows this season is 'Gotham' and my favorite character on this excellent show is Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. On the TV show he is a manipulative genius, a ruthless adversary, and someone who seems destined to rise up through the ranks of Gotham's underworld. In graphic novels (and one so-so movie) he is a foe of Batman. Like Moriarity of Sherlock Holmes fame, The Penguin prefers to remain behind the scenes doing nefarious deeds in secret - pulling the strings as it were. Occasionally he confronts Batman and Robin directly, usually in some plot involving birds. He has also teamed up with a few other of Batman's enemies and has come close to putting the Caped Crusader on ice.

The Riddler - Another character on 'Gotham' is a criminologist named Edward Nigma. Currently, he is just an annoying fidget who seems obsessed with puzzles and riddles. This scenario is slightly different from the one presented in the comics of my youth but the outcome appears to heading the same way. E. Nigma (get it?!) will eventually decide to go to the dark side and will become the criminal The Riddler. In this persona, he will, like The Penguin, become a foe of Batman and Robin. A genius with puzzles, Nigma can't resist leaving riddling clues which eventually lead to his downfall.

The Theory of Everything

I can't deny it. I love movies. For less than ten dollars (sometime a whole lot less) I get to enjoy a film that might cost a half billion dollars to make.

That said, it's a real treat when a movie not only touches my heart, but uplifts it as well. 

The Theory of Everything is a significant section of the life of Stephen Hawking - from 1963 when he was a Science student at Cambridge trying to decide on a direction for his thesis to close to the present. It is not science heavy but more revolves around the relationship between him and his wife Jane Wilde. And of course there is his neurological disorder. 

 The acting is superb. The writing is funny, poignant, sweet, and articulate. I do believe Eddie Redmayne (think Les Miserables) as Hawking never lets us forget there is a living breathing man inside the deteriorating shell of the scientist. There's a scene where he plays with his children, careening around his living room on his electric wheelchair--lovely. Felicity Jones as his courageous wife Jane is powerful at the same time as being breathtaking in her depth. The supporting cast is terrific as well, from David Thewlis as Dennis Sciama, Stephen's mentor who became his lifelong friend to Charlie Cox a music teacher who became so much more.

I could go on and on but I hope I've convinced you to give this one a try. You won't be disappointed.

Incredibly Cool Fictional Horses - Chapter 1

Once I got hooked on famous steeds and their equally famous riders, I found myself staring at an even more fascinating group of equines - Famous Fictional Horses. Here are a few. I hope you find them as entertaining as I did.

Shadowfax - Lord of the Rings fans will know this magical horse who aligned himself with Gandalf. This steed belonging to the city of Gondor, would be Gandalf's (both as Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White) companion through all of his battles to save Middle Earth.

Fatty Lumpkin - While were talking about LOTR we can't forget Tom Bombadil (although Peter Jackson did in his three movie series). Bombadil rode Fatty as he accompanied the Hobbits on a leg of their quest to keep the infamous Ring of Power out of the hands of the Black Riders.

Arion - Some horses in mythology are not altogether normal. Arion the steed of Hercules, had the feet of a human on his right side.

Sleipnir - Another horse that was different from your run of the mill equine, Sleipnir belonged to Father god Odin. And oh yeah, he had eight legs--which strikes me as bit arachnid.

Tornado - It didn't matter if he was being chased by one horse or an army, Tornado, the jet black steed of swordsman Zorro, could not be caught.

Widowmaker - Some horses won't put up with just anybody riding them. This lightning bolt of a pony belonging to the rootenest, tootenest cowboy in the whole west, Pecos Bill, did not take a shine to Bill's girlfriend Slufoot Sue. When she plopped herself down on his back he bucked her clear to the moon. That is why coyotes, to this day, bay at the moon every night.

And let's end with a biblical equine, although this one is a donkey.

Balaam's Ass - It came as quite a surprise to Balaam when what he thought was an ordinary donkey started talking. Balaam who was in the process of disobeying the God of the Old Testament, couldn't see that God intended to slay both rider and donkey but the ass could. After simply balking and refusing to ride into certain destruction, the donkey turned to Balaam and called him a fool. 

Famous Historical Horses and Their Riders

Don't ask me why, but I recently became obsessed with famous people and the horses they rode in on. Hopefully, you'll also enjoy a bit of back story to go with your horsey facts. Soooooo, without further ado, Here are the equines:

Bucephalus - When Alexander was a mere stripling, this formidable steed was deemed unrideable. The beast would have been killed if little Alex hadn't interceded on it's behalf. The deal was that if Alexander could bend the animal to his will, the horse would his. Truth was, the horse from Hell almost killed Alexander on more than one occasion but in the end horse and rider became fast friends. Bucephalus would become the warhorse that Alexander the Great rode into battle.

Traveler - This horse, belonging to General Robert E Lee was considered the 'finest looking horse I ever laid eyes on'. The man doted on Traveler, being seen in the company of the animal in over a dozen photographs. Needless to say, Lee rode his favorite horse into more than one battle.

Comanche - Belonging to General George Custer, Comanche was one of the few horses to survive the battle of Little Big Horn. The victorious Sioux and Arapaho  recognized a good horse when they saw one and kept the animal to its dying day.

Nelson & Blueskin - At Valley Forge, Washington didn't just have one horse, he had two as he struggled through the bitter winter of 1775. Not much is known of these two noble steeds except that both horses, like Washington himself, survived the ordeal.

Incitatus - This horse, belonging to crazy-as-a-bedbug Roman Emperor Caligula lived a charmed life. While the mad emperor was setting fire to friends and members of the senate, he pampered Incitatus, making him a Roman Consul and feeding him powdered gold. 

Morengo - Napolean is shown riding Morengo in the famous painting by Jacques-Louis David. Many scholars question if this horse of legend actually existed while other claim this was the animal that Napolean rode into the Battle of Waterloo.

Brown Beauty - The truth is that Paul Revere did not own the horse he rode on his famous ride. In fact, many scholars say that name of the steed in unknown, but a select group of historians say the horse Paul borrowed that night from chair-maker Samuel Larkin was indeed named Brown Beauty.

 Red Fox - If you rob banks and trains for a living, you need a fast horse. Jesse James had what many people considered the fastest horse in the west. After Jesse quit his thieving ways, he made a bundle (before being shot from behind by Bob Ford) racing Red Fox.

Old Bob - Not much is know about this horse with a less than impressive name except that he was the favorite horse of Abraham Lincoln.  

Cool Shakespearean Insults

I have never met anyone who didn't know some of the Bard's put downs - 'Cankerblossom' comes to mind.

For this list I have chosen some that I think are richer, more textured, and might even be used today - Shakespeare is nothing if not timeless. I will first give the play, so you can go look up the insult in context if you so desire. So without further ado (about nothing, hee hee) let the insults fly.

As You Like It - Let's meet as little as we can.

Henry IV, part 1 - Why, thou clay-brained guts, thou knotty-pated fool, thou whoreson obscene greasy tallow-catch.

All's Well That Ends Well - Methinks thou art a general offense, and every man should beat thee.

Henry V - Thou damned and luxurious mountain goat.

King John - There is not yet so ugly a fiend of hell as thou shall be

King Lear - Thou art a boil, a plague sore, an embossed carbuncle in my corrupted blood.

Measure for Measure - Come, you are a tedious fool.

Timon of Athens - Would thou were clean enough to spit upon.

Troilus and Cressida - Thou hast no more brain than I have in my elbows.

A Midsummer's Night's Dream - I am sick when I look upon thee.

And now one that gets right to the point.

The Winter's Tale - Go rot!

Secret and not so secret Identities of Superheroes - Chapter 1

Obviously, comic book superheroes are fictional characters, so this list is really character names Chapter 3.

A superhero, theoretically, needs a secret identity to protect the folks he or she cares about from bad guys seeking revenge. If you were say, the wife of Batman and the Joker, who everyone generally concedes is bat-shit crazy, knew it, your life wouldn't be worth much. Now that is not to say that every superhero had a secret identity. In the Marvel Universe, Iron Man and Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) both have come out of the closet, so to speak.

For this post I have concentrated on mostly the well known characters. The next graphic novel post will visit lesser know entities. And for the sake of brevity, I have limited myself to ten from DC and ten from Marvel, but be sure to look at the end.

DC
1. Batman - Millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne
2, Superman - Reporter for the Daily Planet, Clark Kent
3. Green Lantern (the original, silver age) - Hal Jorden, Test Pilot
4. Flash (again, the original, silver age) - Barry Allen, Forensic Police
5. Martian Manhunter - John Jones, Police
6. Wonder Woman - Diana Prince
7. Green Arrow - Oliver Queen
8. Plastic Man - Circus performer, Patrick O'Brian
9. Aquaman - King of Atlantis, Authur Curry
10. Captain Marvel (Shazam) - Child, Billy Batson


Marvel

1. Spiderman - Student and Reporter, Peter Parker
2. Iron Man - Industrialist, Tony Stark
3. The Hulk - Scientist, Bruce Banner
4. The Thing - Pilot, Ben Grimm
5. Wolverine - Adventurer, James 'Logan' Howlette
6. Black Widow - Spy, Claire Voyant
7. Captain America - Soldier, Steve Rogers.
8. Hawkeye - Agent of Shield, Clint Barton
9. The Cyclops (X-man) - Student, Scott Summers
10. The Beast (X-man) - Hank McCoy

Next up - Names, powers, and identities of supervillians

The Twelve Labors of Hercules

A little background before we jump into the big man's trials and tribulations. Hercules (or Herakles if you're Greek), was the son of Zeus, conceived in one of Zeus's infidelities. This pissed off Zeus's wife Hera and she spent a lot of effort to make Herakles's life miserable. But her nastiest deed was to make Herakles mad for a day (some say she got him drunk) and cause him to kill his wife and children. When he came out of his madness, Herakles was heartbroken. He went to the oracle at Delphi and she told him to indenture himself to King Eurytheus for twelve years. The famous Labors are the result of this servitude.

Here they are in order:

Labor 1 - Kill the Nemean Lion; Easier said than done since this particular lion had a hide that was impervious to sword or spear. Hercules (let's go with this name since its more familiar) beat the lion to death with his club and skinned him - I know, how did he do this since the hide was invulnerable?  For the rest of his life Hercules wore the skin to make himself invulnerable.



Labor 2 - Kill the Lernean Hydra - This monster was a dragon who, if you cut off one head grew two. For this labor, Hercules brought along his nephew - I'm not kidding. As soon as Hercules cut off a head, nephew cauterized the wound, preventing new heads from growing.

Labor 3 - Capture the Ceryneian Hind - The beast had bronze hooves and golden horns. Hercules had to be careful not to hurt the creature since it was sacred to the god Artemis. I do believe by this time Hercules was somewhat pissed at King Eurytheus because when the creature did take some hurt, Hercules said it was the king's fault.

Labor 4 - Capture the Erymanthian Boar - This creature had been terrorizing King Eurytheus's kingdom and had slaughtered many of the king's greatest warriors. Hercules netted the beast and brought it straight away to the king, who was so frightened by the boar's appearance he hid in a large vase.

Labor 5 - Clean the Augean Stables - These stables belonged to Augeus another son of a god, this time Helios, the sun. These putrid stables housed hundreds if not thousands of horses and had not been cleaned for years. Hercules diverted a river into the stables and Viola, spic and span.

Labor 6 - Kill the Stymphalian Birds - Even though these bad, bad birds tended to kill everyone who had the misfortune to stray into their forest (they had beaks and claws made of iron and a taste for human flesh), they must have heard of the prowess of Hercules because they hid out in the upper branches of their trees and refused to come down to play. The Goddess Athene, who obviously favored Hercules over Hera, gave Hercules a set of golden castanets that drove the birds mad and forced them into the light of day. Hercules then shot them one by one with his bow and arrows.

Labor 7 - Capture the Bull of Minos - Yes indeed, the same Minos of Crete that harbored the dread Minotaur. But wait, it gets better. This particular legendary white bull was the sire of the Minotaur (with Queen Pasiphae who when she saw how beautiful the bull was had to have a little bovine love). Poseidon had ordered this bull sacrificed and the current king of Minos had refused. Thus Hercules's labor. After capturing the bull, the famed hero Theseus found it and fulfilled Poseidon's wish. The Bull was sacrificed on the fields of Marathon.

Labor 8 - Capture the Horses of Thrace - These particular horses, all mares by the way, were fond of human flesh. Their owner, King Diomedes, loved to feed unlucky wanderers to his string of ponies. Hercules killed the evil king, fed his body to the mares, and while the horses were sated captured them.

 Labor 9 - Steal the Girdle of Hippolyte, Queen of the Amazons - A renowned warrior, Hippolyte did battle with Hercules. The girdle which had magical powers, made her even more lethal but in the end Hercules killed her. I think this particular Labor was a nasty bit of business.

Labor 10 - Bring Back the Cattle of Geryon - Geryon was a monster (three bodies, if you can wrap your head around that) in the company of a giant named Eurytion and a massive two-headed Hell Hound (Orthus). These three nightmares together guarded an immense herd of wild red-furred cattle on the plains of Hesperides (pretty much Spain) Hercules did battle with all three and killed them all. He then had do a cattle drive from Spain back to Greece.

Labor 11 - Steal the Apples of Hesperides - Yes the same Hesperides of the 10th Labor. The golden apples were guarded by a a giant serpent named Ladon. To make matters worse Hera herself had owned the apples. They were a wedding present from the Goddess Gaia when she married Zeus. As if Hera didn't already have enough reasons to be pissed at Hercules. Since Hera had her eye on Hercules, he used subterfuge and convinced the Titan Atlas that he would take over his burden of holding up the Earth if Atlas would pick the apples. Rumor has it that not only did Atlas pick the apples but on his way back he freed his brother Titan from the eternal torture Zeus had laid on him. Oh and course, he returned and gave the apples to Hercules.

Labor 12- Descend into Hades and Capture the famed Three-Headed Dog Cerberus - For this one, Hercules need the help of two gods - Hermes and Athene. But they could only get him into the underworld; he would need the cooperation of Hades himself. The dark god agreed that Hercules could take the dog if he could best him without weapons. Hercules wrestled the beast and defeated it. Oh yeah, in his spare time, Hercules found and released Theseus who Hades had imprisoned. 

After all this you would think Hera would be super angry with the god-hero but in the end, hero and goddess reconciled. On his death, Hercules ascended onto Olympus as a god where he married Hera's daughter Hebe.

All's well that ends well.