For a project I'm currently working on as part of my graduation in Graphic Design, I wanted to compile something like an atlas of fictional cities. These may be from books, legends, stories, video games, advertisements, comics, really whatever... Even "real" cities but alternate versions, imagined or in some way deviate from their real counterpart are valid.
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posted by ahtlast93
on May 18, 2013 -
46 answers
Is it Hercules? Ulysses? Odysseus or some other old mythic dude? What's the myth where he (whoever he is) has to fight a terrible creature, and it keeps changing shape. The key to triumph has something to do with the fact that he's strong enough (physically or mentally) to hold on through all these changes? Is this ringing a bell? What myth am I misremembering?
posted by BlahLaLa
on Apr 25, 2013 -
11 answers
A friend's comment, "Coventry was under martial law you know." about
this video has made me curious about the myth of the Blitz. I've come across references to civic collapse in Liverpool, defeatism in Plymouth and extensive government censorship.
Although there are numerous books covering the period, many seem to either reiterate the same propaganda, or be just too reactionary.
Can anyone recommend a good book to get a balanced perspective on the effect of the blitz?
posted by BadMiker
on Apr 23, 2013 -
2 answers
I'd like to compile a list of sympathetic monsters/villains, portrayed in any medium--film, fiction, art, music, myth.
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posted by ifjuly
on Mar 18, 2013 -
43 answers
I'm looking for myths/stories about books and writing. Not - and this is where I'm running into trouble with google - top ten lists about cafe productivity and self-publishing; I mean more like a hero whittling a pen from the boughs of Yggdrasil and then stealing ink from the Kraken, with the goal of writing down the secrets of Enki in order to embarrass him and get him to pay the 5 goats owed.
Or whatever.
Any location/time is fine! Can be short, can be long.
posted by curious nu
on Mar 5, 2013 -
20 answers
For a friend: I’m writing about a fictional, Polynesian-inspired trickster god for a game. What are some resources I can consult so my storylines are respectful and grounded in authentic myth? Ideally, these sources will be fun to read as well.
posted by cthuljew
on Feb 11, 2013 -
3 answers
I'm looking for some good armageddons. I'm MCing an End-of-the-World poetry reading on December 21st and I want to read a few short passages from apocalyptic texts. I've already settled on the Book of Revelations and Ragnarök, but I'd like to cast a wide net and find some non-Western and/or non-religious/mythological descriptions of the end times. Can you recommend a good doomsday for me to read?
posted by Kattullus
on Dec 17, 2012 -
26 answers
Train ferret to harvest shiny valuables? True? Completely difficult and therefore unlikely? Ferret owners/lovers especially welcome. Thanks.
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posted by the young rope-rider
on Dec 15, 2012 -
12 answers
I'm sure I once read a myth about someone telling a secret to a pool of water--and even this strategy backfiring. The moral of the story being, if you want to keep something secret, never utter a word, not even to the water or the wind. I've tried googling with no success. Can anyone flesh out this memory for me?
posted by uans
on Nov 21, 2012 -
8 answers
Looking for picture books of classical mythology (especially Greek) diluted for a 3-4 year old!
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posted by Alabaster
on Aug 20, 2012 -
16 answers
What is the source of this half-remembered myth/folk-tale about an apple which grew when stamped on?
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posted by unSane
on Jul 3, 2012 -
3 answers
Help me remember a long forgotten poem, Hive Mind! Here's what I remember: spring, a man growing horns and hooves, a fall into roots, red thread.
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posted by WidgetAlley
on Jun 27, 2012 -
5 answers
Trying to identify a myth/fairy tale I read in an issue of Highlights back in the 1990s. It has to do with how animals got their spots/colors, and how the cheetah, who was vain, waited too long and had to use the leftover paint colors to create its yellow coat, black spots, and black "tears".
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posted by These Birds of a Feather
on Jun 6, 2012 -
7 answers
Classicists and folklore/mythology types: how can I go about finding the original source for this obscure Roman (or Greek?) myth?
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posted by Bardolph
on Sep 21, 2011 -
12 answers
I'm looking for movies with scenes involving the ancient Egyptian underworld/afterlife.
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posted by egeanin
on Sep 4, 2011 -
7 answers
Trying to find a myth or story about a god telling a family not to eat the marrow of his animals.
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posted by usagizero
on May 17, 2011 -
3 answers
"Graphic novel" isn't merely a more sophisticated synonym for "comic book." The "H" in the Montreal Canadiens logo doesn't stand for "Habitants" (it's just "hockey"). What are other examples of wrong "insider" info commonly cited by poseur-types? Stuff that only true experts/fans would be quick to refute, and probably snicker at?
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posted by TheSecretDecoderRing
on Apr 19, 2011 -
76 answers
I am looking for new books in the same category as Le Petit Nicolas, Gian Burrasca, and, kind of, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.
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posted by bq
on Apr 9, 2011 -
9 answers
MythFilter: I get these chain emails every once in a while about how dangerous it is to heat water in the microwave. I can't seem to get a straight answer from anybody! Is microwaving water really that dangerous?
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posted by JMB1138
on Mar 21, 2011 -
18 answers
What are the best stories you know? Any kind of stories, written or unwritten. (Examples: the story of the founding of Australia, as written in the book The Fatal Shore; Orpheus and Euridice; Matty Groves (the folk song); [interesting stories here]).
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posted by sully75
on Feb 16, 2011 -
7 answers
Is there any science behind the myth that if an individual loses one sense, the brain compensates by increasing the accuracy of the others?
posted by modernnomad
on Aug 20, 2010 -
15 answers
Now that I finally have some free time on my hands (research proposal is in, huzzah!) I'm looking for something to read that is not affiliated with my degree. The academic in me adores footnotes in fiction. Also, books that blend genres, and particularly ones that feature strange/big cities. I usually read urban fantasy/weird/new weird/steampunk. The following elements make me take notice: magic, science, esotericism, religion, myth, historical influence. Not a big fan of comedy.
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posted by New England Cultist
on Aug 3, 2010 -
45 answers
I'm trying to remember a story that involves finding a castle/king, and following the sound of a flute to get there.
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posted by niles
on Jul 5, 2010 -
4 answers
I'm writing a postgrad research paper on Michael Ende's
The Neverending Story. I'm keen to hear from anyone who has done any academic work on the novel, or those who have a personal interest in understanding aspects of the novel.
Very little in terms of scholarly research exists on the topic to date . My particular focus is a Jungian analysis of archetypes within the novel. It's an introduction of sorts, a quick overview (10 000 words) of a topic I have the potential of working onto a longer thesis.
posted by New England Cultist
on Apr 6, 2010 -
12 answers
Lil Wayne's prison sentence got me thinking- what luxuries will he able to enjoy in prison as a star or wealthy person? If not him specifically what luxuries can be given to a prisoner with enough wealth and influence? How is this legal?
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posted by ejfox
on Mar 14, 2010 -
15 answers
Are there other examples of stories in which a lover travels to the underworld/heaven/hell to rescue their dead love? I'm idly working on a play based on Orpheus and Eurydice, and would like to collect more versions of that storyline.
posted by stray
on Dec 6, 2009 -
40 answers
Graffiti Filter: Looking for a photo or confirmation of a myth of an epic and humorous piece of graffiti.
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posted by GJSchaller
on Jul 22, 2009 -
4 answers
Pequeninos, Thranx, Fithp, Psychlos, Aalaag, Hani, Mahendo'sat, Kif, etc.
Do you recall if any of these science fiction aliens (or any other sf aliens) have their own creation myth? At first glance it seemed a easy research assignment. I have no trouble in coming up with creation myths for real cultures, but I'm coming up with 0 in imaginary cultures.
posted by francesca too
on Oct 5, 2008 -
17 answers
Academic papers and books on the topic of myth in screenwriting?
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posted by sumo
on Sep 30, 2008 -
5 answers
Is the Wendigo purely a Northeast American (and Canadian) myth? If so is there a Northwest equivalent?
posted by Artw
on Apr 29, 2008 -
15 answers
My new doctor is one of those older doctors who believe that vegetarian diets lack protein unless you eat the "right" things. I would like to find an article to give her about how there is protein in everything.
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posted by AllieTessKipp
on Feb 20, 2008 -
28 answers
When I was a kid there was this idea that if you pissed in a public swimming pool the water around you will turn blue and follow you around. Today I asked a few friends and everyone got told the same thing. Is this just a myth invented to stop kids from doing this or is it real?
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posted by dydecker
on Dec 28, 2007 -
15 answers
Obsessivewordenthusiastfilter: I'm writing a paper and I'm trying to portray a certain situation which I feel would be best conveyed with the use of an allusion, preferably to a Greek or Roman myth. More inside!
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posted by Lockeownzj00
on Dec 9, 2007 -
19 answers
I am searching for examples of The Infinite, or the immeasurably large, in our mythologies and archetypes. I am also interested in the categories of Truth which came out of the emergence of Western, ontological thought. Does the trust in a rationally conceivable reality deny us the infinity of the mythological realm? By rooting ourselves in the present, and denying atemporal mythologies, do we also deny the infinite origins from where we came?
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posted by 0bvious
on Nov 28, 2007 -
22 answers
BookFilter: Looking for a book a friend once found containing every myth, fable, and legend the author could find from multiple cultures, with analysis breaking them down into (I believe) a hundred or so archetypes.
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posted by Andrhia
on Jun 18, 2007 -
14 answers
I was told a story once, about an American stealing Non-obese Diabetic (NOD) mice from a Japanese lab, and smuggling them back to the States. But I can't find the story anywhere on the web.
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posted by kisch mokusch
on May 25, 2007 -
4 answers
Is there academic research that claims that viewing of advertising material a ritual of genderization?
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posted by bilabial
on Apr 28, 2007 -
25 answers
