[Movie Review] Sita Sings the Blues

So due to some groups I'm in I stumbled across this charming little movie titled "Sita Sings the Blues".

Now where to begin? I guess from the start right? Well, the movie makes its style seen and heard at the very top of the film where (I think it is Lakshimi) emerges from the water accompanied by a peacock record player which begins spouting Annete Henshaw. When she fixes it an explosion happens and we go through the cosmos and creation then to Earth.

Oh yeah, and it is animated in quite a beautiful style. The whole film is, in fact. 

That sets the stage and tone, and if that sounds uninteresting let me know because it really is kind of a cool scene.

The movie has two story lines, it follows Sita's story from the epic Ramayana. It is a tale of loss, duty, rejection, and devotion that really is quite intense and heart breaking, yet the serious tone is set-off by the director's choice of having many key moments and plot points expressed by Sita singing Annete Henshaw's songs (get the title yet?) which really helps detract from things like Rama killing millions of demons. The second story is that of Nina and Dave, a couple. Dave eventually gets whisked off to India for a job. I won't give away too much, but lets say that Nina's story mirrors Sita's in some ways. . .

Along with this we also have 3 shadow-puppets who pop-up and narrate the story for us from time to time, setting the stage, explaining things, that sort of stuff. They really are QUITE hilarious and narrate in the matter of three very confused puppets trying to sort this story out, bickering a bit and correcting each other. It really is just some brilliant work that they do.

The animation is stylized and strange, and beautiful. I can't really describe it since I don't have the correct terms, but it is an adorable and unique kind of cartoony. Layered in-between these segments we have animation that heavily draws from more traditional Hindu art and culture, which is usually used when the shadow puppets are explaining things. The cartoony style is usually used for when the characters (Sita, Rama, Nina, Dave, Hanuman etc) are acting as themselves Nina and Dave also have a different animation style than Sita and Rama, which makes everything clearly delineated.

I really have no true complaints with this movie, it stands out, it is unique and charming, and it does its job of entertaining while giving us a truly moving story.

Watch it, it is free on Youtube and questioncopyright.org. I'll make it easy and even put up the video for you.

Rating: 8.5/10

Worldviews, Nationalists, and Anger

So lately around the ole internet I have, for whatever reason, been seeing a HUGE increase in the amount of Greek Nationalists co-opting the religion or people claiming that you *must* be Greek to be a True Hellenist™. This argument usually centers around the claim that they are a True Hellenist™ and everyone else isn't because (they claim) that they have reconstructed an 'authentic' Greek worldview, culture, and religion that has experienced the kathartic release from the Greek Christian and Modern Greek culture. Allow me to be blunt, I call bullshit, for a variety of reasons.

First lets look at this whole 'worldview' claim and that anyone else with a deviating worldview isn't a True Hellenist™. The claim usually centers around the statements "The Athenians had a particular worldview, we have it too. Anyone who disagrees with us and doesn't share our worldview isn't a real Hellenist" or something pretty dang close to that. First, there is no *way* that you have the same worldview as the Athenians or *any* other Greek City-State. Worldview is HUGELY shaped by culture and religion (which in turn shape each other) and is also heavily dependent on external factors such as is your group worried about getting enough to eat, are you under constant threat of war, is there a lot of good drinking water in your area, and what is the prevalence of disease in your region to name just a few things.  This means that likely each generation will have a *slightly* different worldview from the previous, and even if Hellenismos (though it wouldn't have that name I suppose) had survived into the modern age, the modern Hellenistai would have a different world view than their predecessors 2300-2500 years ago and this is assuming that a large portion of the worldview was preserved through societal reinforcements. The worldview from 2500 years ago is NOT going to be the same as it was today.

Now lets get onto the cultural bit which is really important. First let me tell you about a good friend of mine though. He is a 72 year old man, bright, intelligent, and Canadian. He has traveled all over the world, but has settled in America. He has LIVED in America for quite some time (40 or 50 years I think) and still does not have a good grasp on American culture, on our nuances and subtleties, as well as certain parts of our own worldview (If you think this is out of place, re-read the above paragraph). It simply doesn't make sense to him sometimes, it confuses him, and this guy is no idiot. I know, we've had conversations spanning a couple of hours that just make my head spin and I'm no moron. This isn't an isolated incident though, even when you move to a country that speaks your language, most folks never fully integrate or understand the native culture even if they are living in the country for decades. Baring this in mind, the fact that some folks have the audacity to say that they have reconstructed the Athenian culture, embraced it, and shed themselves of their old culture is the absolutely most ridiculous claim I have ever seen in my life. It doesn't matter how many books you read, how many things you try  to imitate, you aren't going to bring back that culture fully. You may augment your own cultural background with these things, generating a distinct hybrid of culture by discarding some of the nasty things but to say that you have a 'genuine' Athenian culture is disingenuous and quite frankly ludicrous. When you can't get it be living in a country for 50 years you sure as hell aren't going to get it by reading books for 30.

Moving onto the last point, the religious bit. Many of the folks making these claims are from YSEE I have noticed. Which is kind of funny since I have seen YSEE members in the various Yahoo! Groups come in and outright say that they aren't recons but following a tradition that can be traced back to the 1600s.

So what do we do?

There are some things to consider here. The first is that American Hellenismos will differ from Greek Hellenismos and Australian Hellenismos because we are from different countries and have different backgrounds. Shinto heavily varies from region to region, it does not make one person less of a Shintoist because they practice in an Osaka fashion instead of a Kyoto fashion. The same goes for Hinduism, different regions have different ways and viewpoints. This should be expected, it is just an effect of geography and distance. There is NO need to bring ourselves in line with our Greek brethren because we are not Greeks. We do not live in Greece and we were not born there. We do not need to defer to them on matters, we do not need to seek their opinions on everything, and we do not need to look at them as some kind of god damned chosen and 'special' people for our faith, because they aren't. And you know what, if we keep treating them like they are, we AMERICAN HELLENISTS are going to lose some good folks, we are going to miss out on some good people joining the faith and sticking to it because they don't want to defer to somebody simply because of where they were born geographically.

Our worldviews will be different but have commonalities for certain. That is perfectly okay and to be expected. It would be unnatural to expect the worldview of an American Hellenist and a Greek Hellenist to be the exact same. This does not make me or my coreligionist here any LESS of Hellenistai than those over in Greece. Because guess what? We don't have to defer to them.

We American Hellenists are Americans, we do not need to defer to the Greeks. We are our own branch, and things will develop as they will. 

I don't need a Greek to confirm or approve things for me.
You best believe that.

Zeus by takbggg on flickr

Rain Clouds (Haiku)

The sky is so dark
To me it appears sunny
I stroke your fine hair

Have a show Sunday 7/7!

I am going to be having John Beckett about Druidry on my show tomorrow at 5:30 PM

I'm really looking forward to having him on!

Show Link:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/storyeyedyouth/2013/07/07/john-beckett

John Beckett photo by Tesa Morin

Life with Death

At a very young age I realized I would die.

I recall at the time I was around five years old, and we were living out in rural Virginia. I awoke in the middle of the night once from a bad dream, I had seen myself as an old man in a casket. I looked like I lived to a ripe old age but five year old me didn't care about that. I woke up with a jolt and realized (at the age of five) that someday I will die. I recall bursting into tears and waking my mom up. She came to where I was sleeping (which if memory serves correctly was on a pallet in the living room) and asked me what was wrong. I told her I had a nightmare. She asked about what and I wouldn't tell her. I don't remember why. I just wouldn't.

When my mother died I took the news with mixed and confusing reactions in only the way a child can. I was saddened and upset, yet after I had my moments I went along playing like nothing happened. I understood that her being dead meant she wasn't coming back and that I wouldn't see her, but I didn't quite think about the whole picture. Again in the course of my early childhood I realized that I was going to die someday, but the second time around it didn't make me cry. It made me a little sad, but the second time I didn't cry.

After my mother died some years later I last more folks and pets. Three of my dogs died ( one his chain got wrapped around a tree when we took a day trip and he dehydrated to death, one got out of the fence and got offed by neighborhood dogs, and another got killed by our neighbors out of revenge). I also lost three more family members (my great-grandmother, a cousin, and an Uncle.) I was in a wreck that if the vehicle had been a different model I would not be writing this right now. Death has been present enough in my life to make me keenly aware of it (Though thankfully not as present as it could be. Still haven't had siblings, friends, or a lover die on me yet.) So I ruminate on death a lot.

It changes how you look at others for a start. I find that it makes it almost impossible for me to take my lover for granted. Each moment we are together living, breathing, smiling, laughing, having sex, and talking to one another is a divine gift which I am thankful for. I am distinctly aware that when we part there is no guarantee that we will see one another again which is why even when we argue or get into little spats when we see each other I try my damndest to make sure we end on a good and pleasant note. If something happened to either of us it might wind up being a heavy burden to carry around the regret that the last time you saw one another you were cross with that person. That is what happened to my dad when my mother died. It happens. Never end on a bad note regardless of whether the person is a lover or friend.

It also makes you realize that there is really no appropriate thing you can say to a grieving person. The only thing you can do for them is be there and provide support and comfort as best as you can, but nothing you say can make it better. They are going to be hurt, angry, confused, and maybe a bit lost. Do not tell them "Well, James is in heaven now" in the hopes that it will make them feel better. It doesn't change the fact that a mother no longer has her child in her arms. Do not tell them "Everything happens for a reason" because even if everything DOES happen for a reason, that fact isn't going to help the who has to sleep alone now. It isn't going to change the fact that he still refuses to change the sheets because the left side of the bed still smell's like his wife. It will not make him feel any less disoriented and confused and bewildered. To him there is no reason, and the sun still rising each morning perplexes him because to him it feels like the world has ended. Sometimes the best thing to say is absolutely nothing at all.

Most recently though, it has made me ruminate on how my Gods relate to death. I've been struggling with the traditional interpretation of the Gods association with death and the rejection by the gods of death miasma. Save for a few Gods the traditional (non-philosophical accounts) seem to imply that aside from Hermes, Dionysos, Pluton, Persephone, and Demeter most of the Gods have little to do with you after you are dead. That. . .just doesn't sit well with me, and still doesn't. Surely the Gods that I have felt great compassion from, great wisdom, guidance, and tutelage from aren't going to go "LOL! BYE" when I draw my last breath, right? So, I've been sorting things out, searching and looking. I've begun looking at the Gods from the angle of a dead man because that is an inevitable thing, and I will be dead far longer than I will be alive. How will I relate to the Gods and they to me after I die? I have decided that I'm going to start seeking answers to the issue of death. Maybe the answer lies in a philosophical school. Maybe the answer lies within another faith (in which case I would become two faithed). Maybe the answer lies in some esoteric practice or magical system. Maybe no answer will suffice or ring true and I will have to cast my lot with the traditional interpretation.
Who knows, I certainly don't. I go into this with no expectations and an open mind.
If you have some idea or resource leave a comment (if the comment module isn't working, check back later).
I'll never know for sure until I die, but I need to find something that rings true to me and that I can agree with. Something that at least provides some hope that my Gods will not leave me. I need this.

Do you?

Sonnet for Aphrodite

(Note: This is not a TRUE sonnet since it doesn't follow the iambic pentameter)

How fair are you Aphrodite, fair rose?

I rejoice in your presence great goddess

For your gifts provide, in this world, repose

They give man the greatest joy, true goodness

And through you we come to know great pleasure 

Through you we are graced with the purest love

As our lovers consume all our leisure 

Let your beauty consume us from above

Let our souls rise as you rose from the foam

Unique, renewed, and knowing grand purpose 

Let our hearts be for love like fertile loam 

For men and women you are an axis

All of humanity longs for your gifts

To you, I and they and she and he drifts

The Cornerstone of all Virtues

The cornerstone of all virtues that one can exhibit is simply this, honesty.

Honesty is required for all virtues, be it being honest with yourself or being honest with others. Moderation (which is an important virtue for many hellenistai) requires introspection and the ability to honestly and freely admit to yourself what you can and cannot have. For an alcoholic no alcohol at all is the correct amount, for someone who handles their liquor well, maybe they can handle seven drinks. For some it may be two or three drinks. When you are on a diet and want that extra slice of cake and insist that you will 'be good tomorrow' or something like that you have to really ask yourself 'do I mean it?'. Whenever you say it, you know what you mean and whether or not you will keep that promise. It is being dishonest if you say you will and then decide not to, therefore being honest about your motivation and limits helps you act temperately.

For being a good host you must keep an honest heart. You must not over-exaggerate on what you can provide nor can you offer your guest less than you can afford. You must exhibit full candor to be a sufficient host and therefore fulfill the obligation of xenia.

Piety too requires an intense amount of honesty, and where this should be self-evident it is not to some folks. You must look inward and truly examine the gifts that the gods have bestowed upon you and sacrifice as is appropriate. If you have been neglecting sacrifices and the honors due to the gods you must have the ability to recognize this and make amends. When you have wronged the Gods or have otherwise behaved unfairly towards them you must be willing to admit this and correct it.

In order to properly revive and carry on the traditions of your faith you must be able to analyze and admit to what you will and will not be able to physically do. If animal sacrifice is not possible to you for moral or environmental reasons then don't do it. Likewise if you can do it, have the proper training, and have no ethical qualms about it then you should be doing it -assuming your faith calls for it-. Do not make your faith out to be something that it is not. Those saying that they are practicing the faith *exactly* as the ancient Athenians did (Or Thebians or Spartans or Teutons or whoever) are outright lying to you and lying to themselves. It is extremely similar perhaps, but it is not the exact same, nor should it be. Admitting and accepting this will lead you down the path to properly reconstructing (if you must) reviving and/or carrying on the traditions of your faith.

Honesty before bravery, before moderation, before wisdom.

Cultivate a spirit of honesty first, then work on the other virtues.

by Vasta on flickr