WORD OF THE DAY! 8/5/13!

revelation [reh-vel-ehy-shun]
noun

1. The act of revealing or disclosing; disclosure.

2. Something revealed or disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, as of something not before realized.

EX. The fact that Ariel and Hercules are both related to the Christmas tree of f***ery of the Greek pantheon's family is not really that surprising to me. On the other hand, the following is a revelation that I'm not sure I can accept.

WORD OF THE DAY 10/27/12.

progeny [proj-uh-nee]
noun

1. A descendant or offspring, as a child, plant, or animal.

2. Such descendants or offspring collectively.

3. Something that originates or results from something else; outcome; issue.

EX. Who knew Pikachu was amongst Zeus's progeny?

WORD OF THE DAY! 7/12/12.

partheogenesis [par-thuh-noh-jen-uh-sis]
noun
1. Development of an egg without fertilization.
2. Mythology. Human birth without sex; virgin birth.
3. Mythology. Creation of new life from a single individual or being without sex.

EX. Much like the parthenogenesis of Athena from the head of Zeus, the greatest stories ever told through anime have been born from the head of the Japanese Disney, Hayao Miyazaki. Yet, much like Athena's birth being partly from the result of a prophecy foretold by Zeus's first concubine/wire Metis, so too are the idea of Miyazaki born from a mix of his own personal experiences, philosophies, and mythology from all over the world.

Many of the young strong female characters in Miyazaki's works are based on real people and fictional archetypes, like his friend's daughter on whom he based Sen and like Russian mythology's Baba Yaga on whom he based Yubaba & Zeniba from Spirited Away (2001). In Porco Rosso (1992), the protagonist is an exaggerated satire of Miyazaki himself and the story briefly touches on themes of facism, which were once part of Miyazaki's political life. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) and Princess Mononoke (1997) drew upon his strong belief in natural conservation.

These examples are just a few and it becomes clear through studying any artists works that nothing is original, but that doesn't mean that it can't be unique, inspiring, and enchanting; three adjectives that fit the works of this titan of story-telling through animation.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP 9/25-10/1 2011

WEEKLY ROUND-UP:

Chimera Week

7. WORD OF THE DAY. 9/27/11 Diabolic, Diabolical, Insurmountable

This picture combines elements of the two most infamous fantasy universes of all time and pits the wizard of one story against the diabolical obstacle of another. Every time I see Gandalf face off against the Balrog, I shiver and replacing him with Yoda is a brilliant bit of fanart creativity. This also helped mark the continuation of my less essay styled Word of the Day articles that free up some time in a school schedule that is driving me nuts.

6. WORD OF THE DAY 9/29/11 Livid

5. MUSICAL MONDAY: CONAN THE BARBARIAN

Conan the Barbarian (1986) is one of my favorite films, but I hadn't seen it until last year. Why did I decide to check out the film that I (for some odd reason, being a fan of Schwarzenegger and sword & sorcery) had no interest in before last year? The Kaplan Bros. made an incredible musical medley of the soundtrack with Conan singing over it on youtube. I rented it and fell in love with the film and the soundtrack- which is my favorite film soundtrack (as of right now).

4. THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE KILL IT WITH FIRE. THE WICKER MAN (2006)

I finally reviewed the Cage film I had planned to review for a few weeks. I'm on a bit of a Nic Cage kick...so maybe I'll review Drive Angry for this week.

3. STUFF I THINK ABOUT. FAT 1

Got a little emo on my stuff I think about this week but, honestly, I think it was tongue and cheek enough to be amusing and maybe a little touching. I hope. If not, tell me? Tell me if it came of a little too "How could this happen to me? I made no mistakes." Etc.

2. HISTORY'S BIGGEST BADASSES #1 CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH

I got to talk about one of history's biggest and most controversial badasses. I am a huge history nerd, though I prefer content over exact dates/names, and love to tell a ridiculous but true story.

1. SCI-FI FANTASY FRIDAY! ACTION SOCIETY #4 LUCIUS

The fourth chapter in my serial style novel. This week I introduced an even more fantastic character and forced all of the other characters introduced into one room. Finally, we understand why they've been brought to Doktham and can see that we won't be leaving the dark depths of the Underwold for a good long time. On the note of Lucius, this character is far more dubious than the other heroes introduced so far and I hope I got his perverse observations across nicely. This chapter is dedicated to my friend Zach Stanifer, who has played Lucius in my main campaign for nearly a year.