Thoughts About Comments

For comments to me, the most interesting ones to read are the ones that I can relate directly to. For example, I love reading comments on the introduction page because many people comment about similarities they share with me. I think it is very interesting learning about how alike or how different we are from one another. I also enjoy reading comments that not only compliment the overall flow of my posts, but also the creativity I have put into the piece. When someone likes a new style I am trying for the first time or even has criticism about it, it is also interesting to read their thoughts and comments on it! When I comment on other works, I tend to find things I can relate to and things that are similar to me and state my opinions; this is why I like reading comments that are formatted the same way. It is always interesting learning about other people and their comments they post can say a lot about that person.

Week 5 Storytelling: God Among Man

The follow are the written words directly from the Egyptian god of all gods, Ra.

Century 1:
I have created all the planets and all the stars in this universe, I now walk among the people of a planet which the people call "Earth", blending in as one of them. My intentions of walking among my creation is to learn more about them, for I have granted them the power of free will in order to observe just how they decide their own fate. These beginning times can be described as pure, for corruption and wrong doing is unknown to them at this point.

Century 2:
The people of Earth have developed quite rapidly. Though centuries to them are only days to me, they have already exceeded my expectations. They have not only mastered the ways to agriculture, but also have a profound understanding of science and technology. The people I walk among are becoming blinded by their own ways. The people of Earth are finding beliefs solely in science rather than the gods themselves who created them; for without the gods, man would never be.

Century 3:
Earth is no longer, the inhabitants have destroyed their own planet given to them by over populating and exhausting all of its natural resources. Man has now began populating the planett known to them as "Mars". They deserve this as a punishment for wasting away all that was given to them and destroying their planet. The people of Earth can only blame themselves for their great downfall, for I will make Mars impossible for them to strive on...These are my last days among the people of whom I have created.

(The Eye of Ra: Source)

After the people of Earth migrated completely to Mars and settled, the god Ra made the conditions of the planet exponentially more severe as the months went on eventually killing of its foreign visitors from Earth. Mars was no place for man and their trust in science eventually failed them. If the people restored faith in the gods, Ra would have replenished Earth with resources for the growing population, but Ra's own creation had turned against him, resulting in their final end.

Authors Note:
This is an adaptation to the Egyptian Creation story. In the original story, the god of all gods, Ra, summons the earth from a great body of water and walks among man for centuries. I wanted to keep this aspect of a god walking among his own creation in my story. I also wanted to somehow capture how man has abused Earth (much like I have previously in my stories) and lastly put a science fiction twist on it by man finally making it to Mars and attempting to start life there. I enjoyed my last storytelling post from the diary perspective of the climber and wanted to try something similar so I this style is in the thoughts of Ra while he was walking among his own creation, man.

Bibliography:
Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).

Week 5 Reading Diary Continued: The Green Jewel

The story reminded me of the classic Biblical tale of Moses parting the red sea. This is a tale about a woman who lost a green jewel from her hair while steering a boat; she would not settle for any other jewel for hers was irreplaceable. A magical scribe parted the waters of the sea for her to find the green jewel, returned it to her, and settled the waters as they were before. It was interesting to me how the first thing the scribed offered Sneferu to do because he was sad and weary was to go boating with twenty of the prettiest virgins to paddle and steer. There were a lot of descriptions throughout the story that kept it interesting; one about the splashing water particularly stood out to me. This story does not have any major lesson to be learned like many of the others I have read, but is rather more of an interesting read. One thing I have noticed about old tales from different cultures is that not all of them teach something important about life, but can rather be just an interesting read about that particular cultures history and traditions provide more insight about them.

(Green Egyptian Jewel: Source)

These notes were taken during and after reading the story entitled The Green Jewel written by Donald Mackenzie in 1907.

Week 5 Reading Diary: Ancient Egypt Creation

I have incorporated Egyptian themes into my art but yet have never read any of their cultures stories. To follow the creation topic of my future storybook, I am reading the Creation story from the Ancient Egyptian Unit. My first observation while reading is that is it very difficult to read; as if it does not completely translate so smoothly in to English. Much like Greek or Roman stories, this one also contains several gods; Ra being the divine father and strong ruler of all gods. Shu, the wind god and his consort Tefnut were the first created by Ra and they both shone as stars among the heavenly constellations and were called "The Twins". Seb was the earth god and Nut was the goddess of the firmament; they both were parents of Osiris. The beginning all started when Ra spoke the words for the earth and heavens to rise from the large waste of water. Ra created everything in the entire universe once he uttered the very thought of it. He then walked among men taking the form of them, and to him the centuries were as years.

(The God Ra: Source)

These thoughts were accumulated during the reading of Creation within the Ancient Egypt unit of the UnTextbook. The original story source is entitled Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).