It’s another month, and that means it’s time to put in your requests for myths for the Mythology of the Modern World series. Tomorrow’s myth might be late, by the by, by which I mean “it’s Labor Day. I can have some time off too, you know.” But it should show up before the day is through. I hope, anyway.
(Followed by Leather. Man, when did this much writing become part of the weekly deal?)
You’ll notice that almost all the myths start off from these suggestions that are made. And you’ll also notice that they tend to answer questions of one kind or other, though the form may be unexpected at best. And sometimes they get combined oddly.
Regardless, put in your requests starting…. now!
How can some people fail to cook rice? I don’t mean people who can’t do wonderful rice, I mean people who simply can’t cook decent rice, even when things are fully explained to them, and always end with a weird paste that is nauseating to look at.
Pidgeons. How come those flying disease vectors and overall polluters are fed by thousands of people all over the world?
What’s the hidden message behind the fact that sometimes, when an ATM is broke, it says the nearest one in order is blocks away, even if you can see that the one next to it is in perfect working condition? Why does it want you to make that trip?
Off the top of my head, just to keep me away from studying. Hope at least one of them is helpful.
Why do people refer to a particularly heavy storm as “raining cats and dogs?”
How is it that the embodiments of colors decide which one has to stand for unpleasant things in any given culture? i.e. white for death in China, or the Blue Screen of Death?
Hi there. Long time reader, first time poster, yadda yadda yadda. As a fantasy nut, mythology geek, and zoology hooligan, I’ve often wondered about the connections animals have on our collective psyche. My own personal obsession in the animal kingdom is the jaguar, and I’ve spent a lot of time studying the symbolism of the jaguar in Latin American cultures. And it makes sense, as the largest and most powerful carnivore south of the Rio Grande, it filled those peoples with respect, fear, awe, hatred, an entire spectrum of emotions regarding the cat, emotions that persist to this very day.
So, my question. In this world where we humans know a great deal of the animal life on this planet, do certain animals stick in our collective psyche and others don’t? For example, penguins. HOW did they get so ultra-popular? And what happens that causes a heretofore unknown species to get its big break, such as the meerkat and warthog finally getting the spotlight in The Lion King?
Why is it that artists of any stripe (writers, painters, musicians, etc.) seem to think that ALL their work is complete and utter swill, and not just the standard 90%?
I mean, even when we realize that there are people out there who like it, possibly even a significant number of people, we tend to ask ourselves “Why does anybody think this is good? is soooo much better!”
^^^ should have “(left angle bracket) insert artist of choice here (right angle bracket) is soooo much better!”
Screaming lobsters, hopping frog’s legs. Why food stuff so damn creepy?
Ninjas. Why the hell them and not one of the other pseudo-religious/mystic cults of killers?
Why do vending machines always seem to invariably eat the last dollar in our wallets?
Hellfury stole my question.
In addition to Lurker’s comment: Why pirates vs. ninjas?
Which weighs more: Sunlight, or an ego?
Why are so many philosophers pompous asses?
Where do babies come from? Not sex or cells or the stork … where do they really come from?
I think that’s enough for this week.
GriffinGuy, I know the answer to your question, as far as penguins go anyway.
Everyone knows that foxes are sneaky, right? Now, foxes of some sort are found on pretty much every continent (even Australia these days) except for one: Antarctica. What do we find there? Penguins. Loads of them. Penguins are therefore foxes in disguise (see sneaky, above) and have already conquered Antarctica. Some penguins live on the southern edges of the other continents, this is the start of world domination where they will rise up and take the world from their less-sneaky, non-disguised fox brethren. You know how conspiracy loons go on about a zionist/jewish conspiracy? They’re wrong, it’s the penguins, manipulating the media so that we love them and are ripe for the taking.
In short, penguins are evil, and want to take over the world. I wouldn’t be surprised if the UK royal family were penguins rather than the baby-eating space lizards we all know and love.
Hope this helped,
Regards, Stable.
When the place you live is in the middle of a drought, and you look at radar pictures, the rain is always taking a path right around your area, and so you think, Damn, oh well, at least I don’t need to carry an umbrella around all day. And then it pours.
Why are all the bees -really- disappearing?
why do humans have cities and suburbs? I’m mostly talking about the outermost suburbs, like how all of New Jersey is a suburb of New York, and people are commuting from Front Royal into DC, and Los Angeles exists at all. Why are people willing to drive for hours to get to their job? why don’t the jobs move out faster?
Why are Americans so darn loud, especially when out of the country? Bonus points if it explains why Texans are even louder.
Why, when I see someone I know coming towards me on the street, do we always play that silly eye contact game? Where you look everywhere around you but straight ahead, and then at the last second look them in the eye and nod politely? Why is this situation so awkward to deal with?
What happens when you never return a library book?
Why am I wasting time on comics and message boards when I have several things to do that would be a huge relief and pleasure to finish?
What’s behind (or under, in front of, surrounding, etc.) that feeling of falling you get sometimes when you’re falling asleep?
I know there’s a scientific explanation, but it left very little impression on me.
Why is there a disconnect between Art and Industry? Why can art not be “useful?” Why can’t industry “inspire?”
More correctly, why are few cases where they overlap the exception and not the rule?
I don’t know if this been explained before but why is it that at certain times in a full blown discussion there are moments when everyone just stops speaking and LISTENS. Is it a throwback instinct to our more primeval ways, a sudden awareness of the group or more likely is all the available oxygen in our blood used up? Also does the colour my brain interperts as green the same shade you see as green, or is it green at all? I have dreamt of falling per se but diving into a mysteriously opening tunnel
Why is it that so many love songs are completely unromantic?
Some of us mortals suspect that our toys come to life at night or when we leave the house, and that they have Rules of which the upshot is prohibiting our knowing they’re alive. Where did the Rules come from?
Okay, I’m loving a lot of this month’s myth call, but that? That just blew my mind.
Why does Richmond keep pulling people back?
Seriously. ‘Boomerang City’, land of the rubber band, the jokes have all been made around these parts. People set forth to make their fortune in the world–far and wide–but eventually, shit happens and they end up back here.
(Come to think of it, change in general is kinda stunted around here, but we are Where The History’s From.)
So this is a bit late but it’s in honor of Pavarotti.
Why is it that we can only ever remember two of the three tenors at any given time?