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Rob P (30 KP) rated Mythos in Books

Jan 22, 2019 (Updated May 6, 2019)  
Mythos
Mythos
Stephen Fry | 2017 | Religion
10
8.7 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
Accessible (2 more)
Simplified
Incredible insight into how much the modern world has taken from Greek and Roman culture
A lot of pretty complex names to remember (1 more)
Constant footnotes (usually at least one per page) to explain certain aspects, or highlight an interesting fact.
Mythos - The Greek legends retold
Ah, what a great read. Stephen Fry writes exactly how you would expect him to, if you've ever heard him speak. He understands the subject matter, and more importantly, realises how easily a reader will be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of players in these myths and answers that problem without condescension.

The book reads as a quasi-novel, from the birth of the universe to the third and fourth generations of immortals (this includes the creators, the titans, the gods, and mythical creatures/characters, spawns of titans and gods, gods and creatures, gods and men and all sorts.) and their adventures, each following on from the other.

I have always had an interest in the Greek myths and gods, and as I suggested above the really interesting part of these stories, beyond the very human nature of the immortals (jealousy, unreasonableness, duplicity, rage, deceit and pride) which makes for so much more of a believable creation theory, is the myriad ways they have influenced English language (any many others I'm sure). To give an example (I'm showing my own ignorance flagrantly here) a simple thing, the alphabet. It never occurred to me, in my own self centered existence, this simply come from the first and second letters of the Greek alphabet. Alpha and Beta. So simple, so obvious, yet I never made this connection.

The stories themselves are wonderful, and the best thing about them is they all tie in with a creation theory. Something, whatever it is, is learned, or created. Some paradigm is set, some moral conundrum is answered, or something in the world is explained by the end of every story told (the tides, the moon, wine, love, soul, war, sex, the seasons, humanity itself just to name a few). It's such an entertaining read, and I find myself telling anyone who will listen some of the revelations I find in this book page on page on page.

As an end note, don't be overwhelmed by the prospect of reading about these stories, this installment ONLY covers from creation, to the establishment of the twelve Greek gods, and their children. It stops before the even greater amount of legends stemming from human demigods (Hercules, Perseus etc) and these are picked up in Fry's most recent offering, Heroes (which I am yet to read).

If you have any interest in the Greek mythology, or etymology, or even history as a whole, this is absolutely one for you.

- Rob
  
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
1968 | Classics, Sci-Fi

"I kind of briefly threw The Shining out there, so that gets its own due, which means I can fall back on 2001, I suppose? I think that film speaks for itself, if I could explain that film to you, then I’d be… I don’t know what I’d be, one in ten who could explain it to you, but there was a followup called 2010 with Roy Scheider, which wasn’t a great film, but if it did anything, it helped explain 2001 a little bit, but 2001… I remember my father took me to see that in the theater, and that was so awe inspiring, and just to see where the imagination and creativity could go on screen as an 11-year-old kid, or however old I was. And to have seen that film over and over and over again and ask new questions every time I do, it’s been a pretty profound staple in my house for years. Then you get into all the conspiracy stuff. You attach the lunar landing — Kubrick shot the lunar landing stuff in it, and the rear screen projection that was used in the space scenes and in the ape scenes in the beginning, and how conspiracy theorists surmise that that’s what he used to shoot the moon landing. Did you hear all that? The theory is that NASA got a hold of the footage from 2001, saw it, and got Stanley Kubrick to shoot all the moon landing stuff in his studio and broadcast it across the country. Now, they’re not saying that we didn’t go to the moon, they’re saying that what the people in America saw was shot in a studio, because at that time we didn’t want to broadcast to the world what we may or may not have found on the moon — which actually makes more sense then it just being… It’s not, “We didn’t go.” We went. But we didn’t want the Russians to see, or we didn’t want Japan to see, or China to see what we’re discovering, you know? In case there’s anything there, or anything that we could weaponize, so Kubrick shot all this stuff in a sound stage, and that was the agreement. That’s why NASA gave Kubrick a super, super special space lens that he used for Barry Lyndon, because Barry Lyndon wasn’t shot with any lights. It was all natural light… candles, or sunlight, or whatever, so he used the lens, and that’s what allowed the light to get in for the film process, but there’s so many layers to the Kubrick stuff and I just, as a conspiracy theory fan, I like to have that in the back of my brain while I’m watching those films."

Source
  
Welcome to Night Vale
Welcome to Night Vale
Comedy
9
8.7 (36 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
Voices (2 more)
Writing
Sound effects
Can get a bit repetitive (0 more)
Amusing Yarn With Lovecraftean Spin
Night Vale was the first podcast I ever listened to. It had me hooked from the start. I did binge listen to catch up from episode one, but after that, I found it a bit annoying to try to listen to more than 5 or so episodes at a time. They're fairly short, but can start to feel repetitive if you get too far behind and have to catch up that way.

Fans of Lovecraft, Call of Cthluhu RPG, and other classic horror, as well as conspiracy theory fans (I'm sure this will fit, but I'm not one to know for a fact), will love Night Vale. It is aired with a serious tone but still somehow light-hearted. The voice acting is superb and the writing top-notch.

Some of my favorite segments are the music breaks. Some episodes have wonderful indie artists on them for one song and they will give out some information about the bands and songs so you can locate them on the internet and find their music. I think this is a terrific idea, using their listener base to help give exposure to working musicians.

Serial stories involve romance, disappearances, aliens, and anything else you could ever dream up. If you're a writer yourself, it might even spark your imagination!
  
War and Peach (Georgia Peach Mystery, #3)
War and Peach (Georgia Peach Mystery, #3)
Susan Furlong | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The local election for mayor is all anyone is talking about in Cays Mill, Georgia, and Nola Mae Harper has become caught in the middle. Just an hour before the last debate is to take place, a fire breaks out in Clem Rogers’s barn, and his body is found in the ruins. Since he had some dirt on his opponent in the race he was going to share at the debate, the people in town are certain his opponent did it. The sheriff has another theory, Nola Mae’s father, who has admitted to visiting the victim just before the fire broke out. Nola Mae doesn’t think either of those suspects could have done it. But can she find out the truth?

If you are tired of politics, don’t let the election angle worry you. That is only one aspect of this fun mystery. In fact, we get some delightful red herrings before Nola Mae zeroes in on the truth in the suspenseful climax. The characters are charming as always, and we get to see more growth in Nola Mae. Plus there is lots of talk about peaches. How can you go wrong with that?

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-war-and-peach-by-susan.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the storyline of this book. I'm usually not a big fan of historical romance, but I wouldn't say that's all this is, there's so much more there. What drew me in was the vampire angle, because I'm a softie when it comes to anything with vampires. The idea behind the different vampire clans, the floated theory about how the vampire lineage, etc., all of it drew me in from start to finish.

This story is just the prequel for The Red Veil series, and it's an amazing start. I could actually get lost in the story, the time period, the characters' relationships, etc. while reading, and that's something I think every author strives for. What really did it for me was the use of period language, phrases, manners of speaking, and so on. I've read a couple other historical works, and while the story may have been set in a certain time, the writing just didn't pull it off. However, this was not the case with Descent of Blood, and I will definitely be on the lookout for Book One in the series, as I just have to know how the rest of the story goes!

5 stars =)
  
The Babadook (2014)
The Babadook (2014)
2014 | Horror
Minimalist Creep
Wow was I surprised by this. My daughters have been after me for a while to watch, but I have to not being a big fan of modern CGI horror like The Conjuring, Insidious, etc. I made the mistake of including this film in that group and I was wrong.

Modern audiences have grown short attention spans even having film studios get rid of opening film credits, so it is refreshing these days when a film takes its time and leaves something to our imagination. I have written in several reviews the last few years that just because modern filmmakers can do something, doesn't mean they should. Modern CGI effects leave virtually nothing a movie maker can accomplish with enough imagination are computer work done to it; however, I still maintain the "Jaws" theory of the less you show the audience the more they have to used their own imaginations and therefore the film's "Babadook" becomes even more scary.

I loved the way the creature was shown mostly in shadow and not really given a good glimpse most of the way through. Even when it presents itself, you don't really get a good look at it and a lot of the scare is also through creepy, haunting sound effects.

I guess I will have to listen to my daughters from now on!
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Andy K (10823 KP) Dec 11, 2019

No I haven't Lee thanks I'll check it out.

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Katey Bassett (610 KP) Dec 11, 2019

Agreed, it follows was good. Very creepy.

    Glorie Biblia

    Glorie Biblia

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