Monday, February 1, 2010

Religulous and Constant Gardener

I'm in a phase of not really being that motivated to do anything except pursue my hobbies and interests. I figure if you only live one life you might as well try and pursue those things which you enjoy the most.

I caught up on some movies recently watching Octopussy, Religulous, Constant Gardener, Seven Pounds and Che.

Che - had an incorrect quote about Dostoevsky writing War and peace but the X factor that Tolstoy wrote about was correct about having the ambition to win wars was the crucial point in most wars or revolutions. The power and mind, ambition and passion of the people are key to what eventually wins. Also i found interesting was the quote about all revolutionary leaders just have love in their hearts. Love for truth and justice. Or the revolution will fade.

Relgulous - Have more respect for Bill Maher now. He has very similar ways in communicating on film as i probably would have if i had been an editor. Essentially adding in tunes and funny bits and pieces in the background that he thinks about when someone is saying something (scarface bits, flintstones). Interesting when he talked about the Egyptian legend of Horus (God of the Sky, God of War and God of Protection). Survey done in Italy of who they would pray to if there was a major catastrophic event that happened. Jesus was 6th on the list.

Interesting the connection with Horus - made me sign out a couple of books from the CPL on if Jesus was a derivation of a bunch of pagan gods; which of course led me to look up stories behind some of the constellations:

ORION:
Orion attempted to gain possession of the maiden by violence. Her father, incensed at this conduct, having made Orion drunk, deprived him of his sight and cast him out on the seashore. The blinded hero followed the sound of a Cyclops' hammer till he reached Lemnos, and came to the forge of Vulcan, who, taking pity on him, gave him Kedalion, one of his men, to be his guide to the abode of the sun. Placing Kedalion on his shoulders, Orion proceeded to the east, and there meeting the sun-god, was restored to sight by his beam. After this he dwelt as a hunter with Diana, with whom he was a favourite, and it is even said she was about to marry him. Her brother [Apollo] was highly displeased and chid her [she was, after all, a virgin huntress], but to no purpose. One day, observing Orion wading through the ocean with his head just above the water, Apollo pointed it out to his sister and maintained that she could not hit that black thing on the sea. The archer-goddess discharged a shaft with fatal aim. The waves rolled the body of Orion to the land, and bewailing her fatal error with many tears, Diana placed him among the stars (Bulfinch's Mythology, 191-192). It is also stated in some versions that Apollo, worried for Diana's chastity, sent a scorpion to kill Orion. Orion is one of the most well-known constellations, visible in the southern sky during northern hemisphere winters. He is generally shown as a hunter attacking a bull with an upraised club, and is easily recognizable by his bright belt of three stars. In addition, his shoulder is marked by the red supergiant Betelgeuse (literally "armpit of the central one" in Arabic), and his left leg is marked by the blue-white supergiant Rigel. According to the versions of the myth which have him killed by Scorpius, the two were placed on the opposite sides of the sky from each other so that they are never visible at the same time.


Heracles
The adventures of Heracles can be paired with the following constellations : (1) the Nemean Lion, constellation Leo ; (2) the Hydra and Crab, constellations Hydra and Cancer ; (3) the Stymphalian Birds, constellations Lyra and Cygnus ; (4) the Cretan Bull, constellation Taurus ; (5) the Hesperian Dragon, constellation Serpens ; (6) Herakles wrestling Apollon, constellation Gemini ; (7) Prometheus and the Caucasian Eagle, constellations Hercules and Aquilla ; (8) the centaur Cheiron or Pholus, constellation Saggitarius or Centaurus ; et. al.

Andromeda
ANDROMEDA A Princess of Ethiopia, daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopea. Her mother offended the gods by boasting that the girl was more beautiful than the Nereids. Poseidon in wrath sent a sea-monster to devour the girl. When she was chained to the rocks, the hero Perseus spied her, slew the beast, and carried her off as his wife. The gods as a memorial, set the whole family amongst the stars as constellations. (Hyginus 2.11 ; Aratus 197)

Aquila
EAGLE APHRODITE When Zeus wished to seduce the goddess Nemesis, he transformed himself into a swan, and bade Aphrodite pursue him into her lap in the guise of an eagle. In this way he accomplished his seduction and in memorial placed an eagle and swan amongst the stars. (Hyginus 2.8)
EAGLE OF PROMETHEUS An eagle which was set by Zeus feed on the liver of the chained Titan Prometheus. When Heracles freed him from his chains, he slew the eagle with an arrow, and Zeus placed the pair amongst the stars as Aquila (eagle) and Sagitta (arrow). (Hyginus 2.15)
EAGLE OF ZEUS 1 The eagle which Zeus sent to snatch the handsome Trojan youth Ganymedes up to heaven. The boy and eagle were placed amongst the stars as the adjacent constellations Aquarius and Aquila. (Hyginus 2.16)
EAGLE OF ZEUS 2 An eagle which appeared to Zeus as a sign of good omen when he was sacrificing on an altar prior to the commencement of his war against the Titans. To commemorate the event he placed the eagle and altar amongst the stars as the constellations Aquila and Ara. (Hyginus 2.16)
EAGLE OF ZEUS 3 When Hermes was wooing the goddess Aphrodite she spurned his advances. Zeus, pitying his son, sent an eagle which snatched away her sandal and delivered it the god, which he used to barter for her favours. The eagle was rewarded with a place amonst the stars. (Hyginus 2.16)
MEROPES A King of Cos whose wife was killed by Artemis for spurning her worship. When he was about to commit suicide in his grief, Hera transformed Meropes into an eagle and placed him amongst the stars in the form of Aquila. (Hyginus 2.16 on Aglaosthenes)

CANIS MAJOR
LAELAPS A magical dog which was destined never to surrender a chase. It was first bestowed on Europa by Zeus, who passed it to her son Minos, and from him to Procris and Cephalus. The last of these set it to hunt down the Teumessian fox, which was destined never to be caught. To resolve the contrary fates of the two animals, Zeus placed them amongst the stars as the constellations Canis Major and Minor to play out the chase unresolved for eternity. (Hyginus 2.35)
DOG OF ORION The dog of the giant hunter Orion who stands above it in the heavens. He leads it in the chase of the hare (Lepus) or the fox (Canis Minor). (Hyginus 2.35)
MAERA The dog of Icarius, a devotee of the god Dionysus. When his master was murdered, and his mistress committed suicide, the dog threw himself down a well. All three were then placed amongst the stars as Procyon (Canis Minor), Bootes and Virgo. (Hyginus 2.4 & 2.35)
SIRIUS The dog-star which crowns the head of the constellation Canis Major. Its rising in conjunction with the sun at dawn was thought to bring on the scorching heat of mid-summer. The Egyptians called it the star of Isis. (Hyginus 2.35)

CASSIOPEA
A Queen of Ethiopia, mother of the lovely Andromeda. When she boasted that her daughter was more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sent a sea monster to devour the girl. She was rescued by Perseus, who slew the beast. As a memorial the whole family were placed amongst the stars, but Cassiopea because of her pride, was set to hang eternally upside down on her throne. (Hyginus 2.10 on Euripides and Sophocles)

CEPHEUS
A King of Aethiopia and father of the lovely Andromeda. He was forced to sacrifice his daughter to a sea monster because the boasts of his wife Cassiopea offended the gods. But the hero Perseus slew the beast and rescued her. As a memorial the whole family - Cepheus, Cassiopea, Andromeda and Perseus - were placed amongst the stars. (Hyginus 2.9)

DRACO
HESPERIAN DRAGON The huge serpent which guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides. After the beast was slain by Heracles, Hera placed it amongst the stars as Draco. (Hyginus 2.3 on Eratosthenes)
DRAGON OF ATHENA A gigantic serpent which was cast at the goddess Athena during the giant war. She caught it in her hands and set it about the northern pole as the constellation Draco. (Hyginus 2.3)

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