Myths and Folklore Blog

 The first article I read about giving feedback was How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk  by Adam Grant. I agreed with him that sandwiching negative feedback between positive feedback makes the positive sound disingenuous. I think sincerity is important when giving feedback. I also felt that it was good advice to "take yourself off a pedestal" when giving feedback. I always worry that the person I am giving feedback to will feel like I am being condescending. The second article I read was  How to Provide Great Feedback When You’re Not In Charge  from Farnam Street Media. I felt that it brought up a good point when saying it was important to think of how you are giving feedback and what the intended purpose is. I liked that they broke down feedback into three categories and stated when it was best to use each category. I think it is important when giving feedback to consider which method best fits your intended goal. I've always been hesitant to give feedback...

 Stories Source: Myths of the Cherokee  by James Mooney. The Project Gutenberg eBook . I actually planned to write this yesterday, but I got so caught up reading all of the myths (even ones unrelated to my topic) that it was past midnight by the time I finished. There were a few things in the book that surprised me reading through it, but I will get to those when I talk about the story ideas. Surprisingly, the Cherokee in the book was difficult for me to read because it was spelled like how you would say it. For example,  spelling opossum  as sĭkwă utse′tstĭ instead of siqua utsetsasdi. I am so used to pronunciation being common knowledge that it is strange to see otherwise. Of course, some of the differences could also be a dialect thing. I know the Eastern band spell and pronounce some words differently. In fact, one of the reasons I did not take Cherokee as my required language class is because I speak it with a specific regional accent and language classes usua...

The Odyssea Shanty There once was a man who was lost at sea  And the name of his tale is the odyssey  A tale of hubris and trickery  Go Nobody go  Soon may Odysseus come  To bring sweet wine to a cyclops dumb  One day when the journey is done  He’ll reach Ithaca, his home  Odysseus and crew find land  With fertile soil and giants grand  He gathers an exploring band  To meet his one-eyed foe  Soon may Odysseus come  To bring sweet wine to a cyclops dumb  One day when the journey is done  He’ll reach Ithaca, his home  They find a cave on the isle’s shore  When down on them, a cyclops bore  Their captain called his men and swore  That beast would reap what’s sown  Soon may Odysseus come  To bring sweet wine to a cyclops dumb  One day when the journey is done  He’ll reach Ithaca, his home  Polyphemus maimed and slaughtered  Two of the men for cyclops fodder  And ...

Bibliography: Prisoners of the Cyclops  from "Homer's Odyssey" translated by Tony Kline. Story Source . Notes: So far, the story of Polyphemus is still the most interesting part. I don't think there is much to change besides making the wording better suited to a modern audience. The culture is very clearly pagan and that would need to be explained for a majority Christian audience I think. Things like offerings, and the relationships of deity and devotee. They call Odysseus "scion of Zeus" is there a more modern word that keeps the connotation? The use of epithets is something that I feel is not used very often in more well-known Christian mythology, so that probably needs explained too. Do Hellenist pagans use epithets like Heathens do? Does calling Poseidon "earth-shaker" in this context signify his anger?  If I felt truly masochistic I might try writing it like a poem. We'll see when I get to the retelling. There really is not much to change...

Bibliography: Homer's Odyssey  translated by Tony Kline. Story Source.   Notes Odysseus is a fun character The clever, prideful Odysseus, doomed because he just could not leave well enough alone. I love the story of him tricking Polyphemus I could rewrite it, make some of the dialogue more fitting for a modern audience Still undecided on whether to stop the retelling at Circe's island or before it (Odysseus offering wine to Polyphemus: Wikimedia Commons ) -A.