Sita Sings the Blues

Here is a wonderful example of a modern adaptation of a mythological tale.  It's called "Sita Sings the Blues and is Nina Paley's retelling of the Hindu epic The Ramayana. It is a musical, using jazz from the 1920's and blends a variety of animation styles to tell the story of the Ramayana from the perspective of the hero Rama's wife, Sita.

Check it out.  It remains one of my very favorite examples of 'modern mythology.'

Egyptian Birds of Prey

For those of you who have long been wondering if, in fact, the Ancient Egyptians bred birds of prey, we may be getting close to an answer. New Evidence Shows Ancient Egyptians May have Bred Birds of Prey

Egypt

If you're interested in the history of the exploration of Egypt there's an excellent mini-series from the BBC available on Netflix Streaming.

It's called simply: Egypt

The first two episodes are about Champollion and his truly remarkable work on translating the Rosetta Stone.

The next two episodes cover Belzoni, the sideshow strong man turned archeologist, who discovered some of the most important sites in Egypt.  Belzoni was significant not only for what he found, but also for the fact that unlike so many others at the time, he was interested in preserving and studying rather than looting.

And last but not least, episodes 5 and 6 cover Howard Carter and the discovery of King Tut's tomb.

The series is really well produced, it is a beautiful blend of drama and documentary.  Unlike many re-enactments, the dramatic scenes are compelling with some top-notch performances.  If nothing else: it's beautiful to look at.

It makes a great companion piece to the King Tut exhibit currently at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, too.  Go see that too.

Welcome!

Welcome Mythographers!

This blog exists as a resource for the mythology courses I teach at KCAD.  If you are not one of my students you are also welcome and will (hopefully) find this to be a handy collection of mythology related excitements.

More to come soon.