For who is she that unleashed the cruel world upon herself? As curiosity surrounds her like the continental shelf She walks among the dead knowing it is her own blame Hiding her head in the hood of the tame Up a hill she climbs to take his hand and stands Watching as they go the way of all flesh demands So what if she tries to pick up and fight on. So what if she tries to pack up and move on. So what if she tries to make up then to let on.
For who is she that is subject to the oracle on the hill? Beautiful to all but one, who has fated her to fulfill This man or that, it doesn’t really matter who Nothing is so true as the arrows pack it through The warrior of pain leaves less behind to claim For the sorry few who would still love the lame So what if she files all her claims to them. So what if she files all her rows for them. So what if she files down her brain with them.
For who is she to say Hope lays at the bottom? Buried so deep under evil, ills, and love The pithos a gift of revenge for fire’s theft As is the woman who bares the gift bereft Sadness for her as she looks out from under her hood And sadness for her as she still tries to be good! So what if the girls don’t follow the rules. So what if the boys don’t follow the rules. So what if the twain don't follow the fools.
So you tell me, why do we need to follow the rules? Can't we be invincible in the face of the world?!
who wants to photograph me as a steampunk librarian?
And in the meantime, can anyone take me to the Edison please ...Maybe to see Abney Park?
So I am putting aside my current zombie obsession for a second for this! (BTW, you gotta watch Zombie Honeymoon. A fabulous pre-twilight indie film I rented from a library near my house. It's hysterical. You'll see why I call it "pre-Twilight" if you rent it...)
Anyway, my post is kinda long, I apologize, but if you dont have hours to read 8727607863985 posts thereare a ton of links at the bottom of my post with teen blogs and youtubes that show you how into this subgenre followers are! Its kinda spectacular!
When I was at ALA last year, I went to a YALSA panel with teen authors one of which was Holly Black author of Tithe and Valiant ( and of course the famous Spiderwick Chronicles). I don't remember verbatim everything we listened to that day but the one thing that still really sticks out in my mind was the consensus that the Steampunk offshoot genre of Fantasy/Sci-Fi and Historical Fiction was coming on strong and they were excited to be involved in it and watch it progress in the Young Adult arena.
Surprisingly, I had heard of Steampunk, sans name, and as I understood it, it seemed to be in the family with H.G. Wells' Time Machine (For just one classic reference) which I love! But let me step back for a moment.
As far as genre goes I have a pretty eclectic taste but for the most part devour some fantasy, snipets of sci-fi, and I LOVE Historical fiction (esp. when they fall in the Biblical times, the Golden Age or Victorian England, Egyptian, Roman, or French Revolutionary times, just to name a few...). Honestly, I can sincerely enjoy anything if it's based in some intellectual truth that I have yet to explore. Books are to me like mountain climbers and unclimbed territory. I have enjoyed listening to teens who seem to answer that ellusive question, "what kinda book are you into?" with a puzzled look, like uh...all sorts I guess. Then they rattle off titles that fall into what some would say is fantasy while other would argue historical romance, and yet even others would say pa-shaw! that's just a really freakin' cool book that came true one hundred years later...(cue the hot air balloons...)
To me as I think most Teens who fall into this category will agree there is a common thread between Fantasy and Historical fiction (as well as some science fiction). Generally you have a believable setting that has been transformed into a fantasy world that is greater what exists. Imagination applies itself in an intelligent way and usually bases itself in historically rich ideas. If the brain had teeth these book would be a feast! When a reader is done with one of these books there is so much to look up and study. And with the classics its a wonder to compare the eerie realities of prophecy.
Whether it be the world of magic like in the Great & Terrible Beauty series, Westerfeld's futuristic world of the Uglies series it seems that teens with a need to draw "more" out of their fantasy worlds are teens that can think in a complexity that reflects fantasies as metaphors for the world around them.
Herald's text points out that, "in a world of fantasy we do not have to worry about whether the devices we use are logically, scientifically, or even remotely possible," Herald as that teen readers look for instead, "consistency within the fantasy realm." (pg. 85, Herald). Although totally true this is also totally defying another idea that I have seen repeated again and again. Teens seem to take interest in this genre and become MOST passionate about them when they defy science and their daily understanding of life with an antidote of truth (as in the SCI-FI case-THIS is what makes HG Wells such as master and everything that follows him), connections to lost histories, mythologies, or paganism (as in the case of fantasy-see P.C. Cast Marked series which is Steeped in mythology and fantasy), and even in the Horror genre you see History traced and followed all the way to Vlad the Impaler. Often you will see a story such as that of Cleopatra being retold and in it history is followed yet the magic of myth takes of to fill in the gaps and the myth can be traced as well. In fact most of our society is built on myths and I think Teens attracted to this genre recognize that. And those teens that are searchers that look beyond one single genre.
The line between genres esp. that of historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction are blurred more then we give it credit for and I feel like it is to the benefit of the teen that we have a good understanding of the difference between what we are recommending and more non-fiction resources that any given title may enrich. This brings me back to Steampunk. It's so interesting to me because Steampunk takes the idea of reality, fantasy, science-fiction, and history, CHEWS it up and spits it back out into a world of beauty and adventure.
Steaming into us is a physical representation of a past technological revolution juxtaposed with the present. it shows you how the reader has changed. In today's world their is the book, the reader and everything in between! Reading has become a visual experience for mostly every teen I have spoken too. Hop on youtube, hope on the the web, and you will see readers expressing their experiences of their books online everywhere. And the Steampunk genre's movement is visually incredible! It speaks directly to the current "visual" generation with a clunky victorian helmet's nod to the past.
The coolest thing about Steampunk is it seems to cross gender. The allure of the victorian era appeals to the girls as the cool inventions to the boys (although that is so basic and unfair because I think fans of this genre brake gender molds...)
"Steampunk is Victorian elegance and modern technology: steam-driven robots, souped-up stagecoaches, and space-faring dirigibles fueled by gaslight romance, mad scientists, and oh-so-trim waistcoats. It's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Wizard of Oz, and The Golden Compass." http://www.tachyonpublications.com/book/Steampunk.html
Librarything Booklist of Steampunk Books: http://www.librarything.com/tag/steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles, analog computers, or digital mechanical computers (such as Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine); these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or with a presumption of functionality.
Steampunk is often associated with cyberpunk and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each other). Apart from time period and level of technological development, the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk settings usually tend to be less obviously dystopian than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely. Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual craftpersons into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk.
Myth is not something that never happened; it is something that is always happening. ~Joseph Campbell
We do not know the past for what has been told. but aside for what has been given us, history is more complex leaving us with more questions then answers. in early days women were held as godesses. from isis to diana, to the magdalene woman who were priestesses who worshipped what became the pagan goddesses of the latter. During spring the mythology of the Egyptians, Isis & Osiris and the Sun God Horus became the staple in resurrecting spring. In death brings life.
-Clysta Kinstler, author of the novel "The Moon Under Her Feet" explores this idea about the Magdalene in application to the crucifiction and spring rituals. She is a professor who teaches philosophy, religion, and women's studies at American River College in Sacramento, California.
"During Biblical times it was still customary, as it had been for thousands of years before in Sumer, Babylon, and Canaan, for many women to live within the temple complex, in earliest times the very core of the community. As we have seen, temples owned much of the arable land and herds of domesticated animals, kept the cultural and economic records and generally appear to have functioned as the central controlling offices of society. The custom of eunuch-priests who sacrifice their manhood to the goddess is told by Sir James Frazier in The Golden Bough, pp. 369, 78, 467.
The legend of Almah Mari, or the Virgin Mary, is told in “The Protoevalgelion,” Chapters 1-2, in The Lost Books of the Bible, pp. 24-25. The name, “Almah” means “maiden” or “Young woman,” but is usually translated as “Virgin.” See Barbara Walker, in The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, p.1049. “Mari,” see Walker, pp. 584-585, was the most ancient name of the great mother goddess.
The meaning of the term “Magdala,” according to Walker, p. 565, is:
. . . “high place,” or “Temple”; in Herod’s triple palace in Jerusalem, the sanctuary of Queen Mariamne. Thus “Miriam of Magdala” (Mary Magdalene) was either the queen herself or a high priestess, impersonating {representing} the Goddess Mari. The “magdala” or temple gives its name to the high priestess: “she of the high place,” the Magdalene."
but this is not a new idea. none of this is a new idea. the fact that the council of nicaea though astounding to some is only a piece of a greater mythological strain. though many people may except the relation of myths they simultaneously reject them.
We are what we eat. Some version of this story is basic to tillers of the soil in every part of the world. Joseph Campbell even narrates a Polynesian version where the consecrated victim is Hanuwele, a female, but the basic parts of the story are parallel. American indian versions tell of a corn god by many names, whose biography is the same." -C.K.
So here's an easter egg hunt for you:
and just for fun: but remember...keep your eyes open, keep searching, but don't lay convictions down on the first door you knock on. maybe wait until your door is a gate.
Gospel: gos·pel Pronunciation: ..ˈgäs-pəl.. Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English gōdspel (translation of Late Latin evangelium), from gōd good + spell tale — more at spell
Date: before 12th century
1 a often capitalized : the message concerning Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation bcapitalized : one of the first four New Testament books telling of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ ; also : a similar apocryphal book c: an interpretation of the Christian message ..
2 capitalized : a lection from one of the New Testament Gospels
3: the message or teachings of a religious teacher
4: something accepted or promoted as infallible truth or as a guiding principle or doctrine .. ..
5: gospel music — gos·pel·ly ..ˈgäs-pə-lē.. adjective
Please, please, please Follow My Book Blogs... I really do need all the help I can get to get this goin! And the bonus is you can find cool new books!
YES! the answer is Yes!! We ARE invincible in the face of the world! It's the rules that bind us to Death. WE have learned over and over that we shall perish....that it is the "learned" rule of life 101. It's when we stray from the rule's....we become invincible.....
Deep and moving words. So who was you "muse"?