tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45718938220378920602024-03-05T20:57:40.723-05:00Stark Raving Mythopath<center><big><b>Musings about Myth and Meaning and Everyday Mysteries</b></big><br><small>(C)opyright 2011 -- 2018, by Patty Kyrlach -- unicorn image by Galetoiles -- All Rights Reserved</small></center>Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-70229039471034387892018-07-30T06:48:00.001-04:002018-07-30T06:48:19.195-04:00The OTHER War of Independence
While it’s true I
may have nodded off occasionally, just now and then, in American History class—okay, maybe most of the time—I'm pretty sure that
most of us aren’t nearly as up to speed on America’s SECOND War of Independence
as we are the first.
It turns out that The War of
1812 wasn’t just a peppy piece of music. In the early nineteenth century, Great Britain, Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-19388908917821651702018-07-23T06:45:00.000-04:002018-07-23T06:45:24.199-04:00Hate Crimes Against Mythopaths
A mythopath ( a term coined by J. R. R. Tolkien) is a person who likes stories — a person who is receptive to stories — a person who is enriched and nourished by stories. Like yours truly. And probably like you too — if you are reading this blog.
A young mythopath in training
Alas, the world is not always kind to us mythopaths. Cause, as you know, haters Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-51907223285416085172018-07-15T18:31:00.000-04:002018-07-15T18:31:15.573-04:00To the Moon and Back
Nineteen sixty-nine was quite a year.
Richard Nixon was sworn in as the 37th President of the United States.
The Beatles gave their last public performance.
Joe Namath was MVP of the Super Bowl that year, between the New York Jets and Baltimore Colts. The Jets won.
Golda Meir became the first woman prime minister of Israel.
Mario Puzzo published The Godfather.
An Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-63749401346235467962018-07-09T07:39:00.000-04:002018-07-09T07:39:51.523-04:00Some Writer: E. B. White
We all know the story of Charlotte, a talented spider who
“saves the bacon” for a pig named Wilbur, in the children’s classic Charlotte’s
Web, by E. B. White.
In the book Some Writer,
Melissa Sweet—a Caldecott Honor Award winning artist—chronicles the life of
E. B. White in a series of collages that combine letters, newspaper clippings, old photos and original manuscripts, Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-64887082944057953362018-07-01T18:02:00.002-04:002018-07-01T18:03:32.555-04:00Yankee Doodle Dandy
If you're an American, you learned to sing "Yankee Doodle" in kindergarten, but you were never really sure what it meant. What’s a doodle? And why would anybody call a feather macaroni? “Yankee Doodle” sounds like just a silly children’s song — until you know the story behind it.
The French attack St. John's, Newfoundland,
in the French and Indian War.
Before the Revolutionary War, the Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-58363188693897197762018-06-24T16:37:00.000-04:002018-06-26T10:41:11.594-04:00Bigger on the Inside
One of the coolest things about the British sci fi series Dr.
Who is the Doctor’s spaceship/time machine. The TARDIS (an acronym for Time and
Relative Dimension in Space) is a police box (about the size of a phone booth—remember
those?).
Dr. Who's TARDIS
But that’s just on the outside. On the inside, the TARDIS is
palatial, with many large rooms and possibly a swimming pool in the Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-4651120055965057292018-06-16T15:41:00.002-04:002018-06-16T15:57:45.609-04:00The Real Super Hero: Dad
Reprinted from June 16, 2012
Look, up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. Oh, never mind...it’s just Dad cleaning out the gutters.
He can’t fly. He can’t morph into the Hulk. He can’t spin spider webs from his wrists. Some mornings, he can’t even find the car keys.
But Dad is a super hero, nonetheless, and he does have super powers. Some of which may include. . .
Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-44166373464695606842018-06-10T22:02:00.000-04:002018-06-10T22:02:52.762-04:00This Train
"This train don't carry no gamblers, this train."
A whole succession of famous folk, jazz, and country singers have performed the song "This Train" through past decades. Singers like Peter, Paul, and Mary; Randy Travis; Louis Armstrong; Bo Diddly; Sister Rosetta Tharp; Johnny Cash; Bunny Walker; Bob Marley; Woodie Guthrie; Ricky Nelson; Pop Winans; and many more. Pretty much a Who's Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-35587973677924718172018-06-04T07:10:00.000-04:002018-06-04T07:10:11.239-04:00What Did You Do Today?
I sort of wish my
friends would quit asking me, “So, Stark Raving Mythopath, what did you DO today?”
Why don't they ask me something easier, like "What's the square root of pi?" Or "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?"
What did I do today? So often I hem
and haw and try to think of something to say. It’s usually writer friends who ask this
question, and so I know Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-89170451552953764962018-05-28T07:11:00.000-04:002018-05-28T07:11:55.385-04:00Peter Pan: I Won't Grow Up!
All children, except one, grow up.
--J. M. Barrie
A recent poll, reported in the Daily Mail, said that this quote from Barrie is Britain's favorite opening line, beating out even Orwell and Dickens. The line, as you may know, is from Barrie's children's classic Peter Pan.
Peter Pan is the boy who never grows up — who returns to the land of Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-87382123867134219912018-05-20T22:23:00.000-04:002018-05-20T22:23:54.495-04:00In Praise of Brit Lit
Okay, so tell me again why we fought the war – that Revolution thing? Um, something about tea and taxes?
As a self-proclaimed Stark Raving Mythopath, it’s sometimes hard to imagine that we ever wanted to split from the Brits. I mean, what’s not to love about the blokes?
Sure, they may drive on the wrong side of the road and they may play football with a soccer ball, but after Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-84374831525309789422018-05-13T09:44:00.001-04:002018-05-13T13:26:16.477-04:00Best Moms of Mythology — 2018We're back!
And we welcome mythopaths world-wide to the reality show that honors the
most mythic moms ever. . . .the B-MOM’s – Best Mothers of Mythology — 2018
edition. And as always, we have an all-star line-up of moms of mythic proportions. So to get
started. . . .
Awwww!
Look at the cute little kitty. Um, I mean kitties —there are two, no three. Now, wait
a Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-31142056756603822302018-05-06T20:24:00.000-04:002018-05-06T20:24:01.098-04:00Ten Children's Books Grown-ups Should Read
"A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children
is not a good children's story in the slightest."
-- C. S. Lewis
The books we read as children stay with us for a lifetime, but we don't have to quit reading children's books just because now we wear long pants and have adult cards at the library. In fact, children's books are for everybody. All of us have Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-1314538041612277702018-04-30T07:10:00.001-04:002018-04-30T07:10:59.538-04:00Everybody's Talking
When I was still a single girl, the Wyman family at my church invited me for dinner. And I was delighted to accept. These people were just my type — creative and crazy. The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Wyman (the parents), and their three grown children — all living at home — along with the daughter's two school-aged children.
Fabulous people. One Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-22474420598053218062018-04-22T22:28:00.000-04:002018-04-26T10:50:38.369-04:00Bard Watching: A Shakespeare Quiz
Huzzah! It's spring — and a perfect time to take up Bard watching.
April 23rd (1564) is the assumed birthday and April 23rd (1616) the recorded
death day for William Shakespeare — aka the Bard of Avon. He is one of the greatest playwrights and poets in
British history, and hey nonny, nonny — that’s saying something.
Billy Shakespeare has Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-57188077251311522042018-04-16T07:54:00.000-04:002018-04-16T07:54:06.613-04:00Surprised by JoyThe world of writer and Christian apologist C. S. Lewis (Jack) was
decidedly masculine.
The Kilns
Jack lived in a house called the Kilns, in a quiet, predictable life with
his brother Warren Hamilton Lewis (Warnie).
Magdalen College, Cambridge
He was a professor at an all-male school.
He had a group of good friends – all men. They met at a local pub for drinksPatty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-27964379894587384562018-04-09T06:03:00.000-04:002018-04-09T06:08:51.670-04:00Doggie Dreams
Not long ago I had a dream. About a dog.
I found it strange, because we haven't had a dog since we moved back to the city. It turns out I'm allergic to dogs, and so I limit my dealings with those of the canine persuasion — however winsome they may be.
But in this dream I had a dog. And apparently a group of people had gathered to watch my dog do his tricks.
Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-18709940249018230722018-03-31T08:10:00.000-04:002018-04-01T10:40:08.543-04:00Who's the Fool?
We’ve all had the experience
of losing someone close to us— an inner earthquake that upends the world so there’s no going
back to the way things were before.
On the Saturday between Good
Friday and Easter, the sky had come crashing down for the family and
friends of Jesus. Surely nothing could ever be right again. They groped,
forsaken and numb, through that Sabbath, with memories Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-21788678462523162522018-03-25T07:45:00.000-04:002018-03-25T07:47:05.309-04:00Kate DiCamillo — Happy Birthday!
The Tale of Despereaux,
Candlewick Press
Despereaux is a very small mouse with very big ears. He is a
major disappointment to his family, because he doesn’t enjoy the normal mouse
activities of scurrying and scavenging and cowering in fear.
Instead, he thinks that music sounds like honey and that
light coming through stained-glass windows looks like heaven. His sister Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-14965227102046114232018-03-19T06:26:00.000-04:002018-03-19T06:28:41.426-04:00Weather. . .Or Not
NARRATOR: Do you remember the story that Mr. Aesop told long ago about a
contest between the Sun and the Wind?
They tried to see which one could get a man to take his coat off. The Sun won, and most people think that was
the end of it. But alas, Dear Readers, that was
only the beginning. . .
WIND: [WindPatty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-49957811402134823672018-03-12T07:56:00.000-04:002018-03-16T10:48:56.938-04:00St. Patrick
Patrick’s story is pieced together like a quilt from many historical documents, letters, and books.
Patrick was raised in Britain in probably the late 4th Century AD, son of a deacon and grandson of a priest. The exact dates are unknown. After all, it wasn't like anybody thought, "Hey, this baby will be a great saint. We should record his birth date."
At about age 16, Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-82599707805784929912018-03-05T07:29:00.000-05:002018-03-05T08:53:12.010-05:00Stopping by Woods
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
March 7th of 2018 marks the 95th anniversary of the first publication of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," a popular poem written by Robert Frost in 1922.
Practically everybody in the USA studies this poem in high school. I Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-14014997102918046812018-02-26T08:01:00.001-05:002018-02-26T08:01:27.582-05:00A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L'Engle
Big name publishers said the book was too hard for children to understand.
The author, Madeleine L'Engle, disagreed. She thought children would understand perfectly -- but she feared it was too hard for adults.
The book, of course, is L'Engle's Newberry-winning A Wrinkle in Time, a book that has been in continuous publication since 1962 -- much to the Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-43356319814124441862018-02-19T08:09:00.002-05:002018-02-19T09:59:13.973-05:00Requiescat In Pace
In case you haven’t heard, I really hate to break the news, but. . . .
BOOKS ARE DEAD.
I have this doleful discourse on good authority from several
reliable sources — the internet, for example. And social media. And even
some people I may have inadvertently married or given birth to.
Apparently, now that our species
has digital information at its fingertips, Patty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4571893822037892060.post-91461634169094999062018-02-12T12:29:00.000-05:002018-02-16T10:41:37.714-05:00Happily Never After?
The shoe fits! [The peasants rejoice!]
To everyone's surprise, the ash-streaked girl who has waited hand and foot on her ugly-wicked-stepsisters for many long years marries a prince. Her life is changed forever. Freedom. Riches. And best of all, True Love. 💗 💗 💗
Wait! There's one more girl to try!
What is this, a fairy tale? You bet.
By magic, a beautifulPatty Kyrlachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12973917888863433765noreply@blogger.com0