Come Little Children Halloween 2019

Happy Halloween everyone! This year (2019) I dressed up as the Mórrigan. The Mórrigan (are commonly called the Morrigan or Morrigu) is the phantom queen of Celtic Mythology. Being part of the Tuatha Dé Dannan, the Mórrigan is the wife of the Dagda, the Father-God and High King of the Tuatha. She is the mother of all magic, a shape-shifter, and is also associated as a triple goddess (usually seen as three women - a young maid, a motherly-figure, and a crone - and is either referenced as the goddesses Badb, Macha, and Nemain or the land goddesses Ériu, Banba and Fódla). The Mórrigan represents war, death, fate, and destiny, and she is usually associated with ravens, which tend to be seen at battles, waiting to feast on the dead (fun fact, the ravens may also be a connection to Norse Mythology, being all-seeing birds and companions of Odin).



Now I know the song in the video below has nothing to do with the Mórrigan or Celtic Mythology (plus my Gaelic is not that good yet to sing a traditional song), but it is a popular song played during Halloween, originating from the Disney classic Hocus Pocus. If you would please let me know what you think of the video, I would be grateful for your opinions.



I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween. I will write another blog soon :).

Semi-Annual Update 2019

Hello Hipsy followers!

So this blog is meant to update you on everything that's been going on, resulting in not many posts thus far. In truth, I have been writing blogs, but for the bookstore that I work for; if you would like to read any of them, just click on any of the links listed below. Also, my "Which Is Better" challenge is on temporary hold since I was asked to review some novels for local authors in my community (I have finished one of the books, so expect a review soon!)

One major turn of events though that has also put my writing a little on hold (but has freed up my time as well) is that I got a new job! I still work for the bookstore I have mentioned I write for, but I am also now an instructor at a secondary school (something I was always unsure about). This new career choice is actually turning out to be good so far, and my stress levels have gone down. If you have been following me since I created this blog in 2010 or have read some of my older posts, you know that I have a problem with depression and anxiety affecting my writing and my motivation to write; I've even gone on a few hiatuses where I didn't post anything, and I know that has damaged my views quite a bit. But with becoming an instructor, I have realized how debilitating the stress I had working in retail caused, and though I am still in retail only on the weekends, I have had a lot of relief wash over me in the past few months. I have also come to realize how much I am enjoying teaching right now; hopefully, I will enjoy it for the years to come.

But to wrap this all up, it looks as though this year, though starting stressful, is starting to pay off and not be as draining as previous years have been. My writing has considerably gone up, and though not much of it is shown on my blog as much I would like, I am glad to finally find time to get back into my favorite "side job"/hobby. Again, if you'd like to read any of the blogs I have written for my bookstore, feel free to click on any of the links below and make sure to leave me some feedback at any time, be it recommendations, requests, or simply if you liked the article/blog or not. Also, I will be having a book review up soon and when it is, I hope you all get a chance to read it and enjoy its contents. Until then, keep a lookout for any topic you'd like me to discuss and let me know in the comments below or email them to me (yep, that's right! I made an email specifically for my blog) at hipsysview@gmail.com.

Listed are the links to the blogs I have written for the bookstore I work with from February to July of this year:

• Bookman’s Recommends: Valentine’s Day Movies!
• Bookmans Recommends: Top Ten Irish Folktales
• Fun Facts: Ēostre and Easter
• What Bookmans Geeks Geek Out On
• Take A Journey Through Reading
• Read With Pride for Pride Month!
• Mermaids Throughout the World

Hipsy's View: Padmé, A Forgotten Queen?

Hello everyone, and Happy Star Wars Day; May the 4th be with you. This was the first Star Wars Day I had officially celebrated ever. I work at an entertainment/bookstore that highly encourages dressing up and participating in holidays and anything we want to celebrate. But by the end of the day, I was starting to feel a little discouraged (as well as exhausted from a busy day on the weekend) when I kept getting questions of who I was or why I had my face painted. I was fine answering the little children's questions since the ones that asked seemed too young to know all the Star Wars characters, but I felt down when so many of the adults asked me if I was a mime or why I painted an oriental mask on my face. Once I had said "I'm Padmé," most people then knew who my character was.

I know most of my frustration of this was because I was tired towards the end of my day, but part of me thought "How could you forget Padmé? She's literally the mother of the Skywalkers we all learned to love throughout generations!" But I understand if Padmé slips people's minds once in a while; she's not talked about much, and it has mostly to do with how some distaste people have for the prequel movies. Though some of the scenes and dialogue were tough to get through, Padmé's and Anakin's story is just as important since they form the space odyssey we all love to this day.

I know this blog was more of a rant, but there are times when we all need to get our thoughts out in the open, even if they seem silly or ridiculous. This blog helps me express my thoughts and share with you all. Hope you had a wonderful day, whichever way spent the day. Let me know what you think about the costume. It may not have been dead-on, but it's not bad when you need to improvise with whatever's in your closet. Until next time.

Which Is Better?: City of Ember

Note before we begin: I meant to post this originally earlier in the year, but this challenge has proven to be difficult to get off the ground. My time has been limited and the other topics that I have been wanting to review have not taken my interest. Also, I had to decide if I wanted to make a YouTube channel discussing these blogs. Now I know that can capture another audience to spread my reviews, but I am still uncertain if that is the way I want to go. If I do go down that path I, of course, will let you all know. Without further ado, let's begin the review. 

Welcome to the first review of Which Is Better. Today's topic will focus on the popular children's novel The City of Ember, written by Jean DuPrau, and it's film counterpart that was directed by Gil Kenan. Please note that since this is the first review, I will also be discussing how some parts of my blogs will work and that I plan to base most of my future Which Is Better blogs on this format. Also, fair warning, there will be SPOILERS throughout the blog, since it is a discussion of the book and movie.

Which Came First?

In this section, I will mention which one came to me first; did I read the book first, or did I watch the movie? For the City of Ember, it was the movie. I was a teenager when I first saw it and didn't know that it was based on a book series. I thought it was a well-made film and that it had an interesting concept of how a civilization existed underground after "Doomsday." It wasn't until I read the book that I saw and understood more of why the plot went the way it did.

The Plot

With the end of the world coming, a group of people known as the Builders created an underground dwelling space for the sake and future of humankind. In a box that was given to the Mayor and overseer of the city were instructions, that in 200 years time would lead the people back to the surface of Earth. The Builders had hoped after 200 years, the world would be safe for the survivors to return to. What they did not expect was the box to go missing, and that's what it did. After the box opened, it wasn't discovered until almost years later was it found by a little girl named Poppy who tried to eat the instructions.  Her older sister Lina stopped her though, and along with her friend Doon, they discover a way to get to the surface of the world. But will others believe them? And can they make it before the City of Ember, the light in the dark, goes out forever?

Compare and Contrast

The film stays true to the book in most ways of how the box is passed down, lost, then rediscovered, and how the children find a way to leave the city. But there were add subplots. The book is meant for a young audience and is seen through the eyes of the main protagonists Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, who are both twelve years old. But the film was meant to be a family movie, so there were elements added to keep the most of the audience, adults included, interested. Make-shift droids, large insects, giant mole rats, a backstory to Lina's father's mysterious death, and an old organization that was once determined to leave the City of Ember was added to the story.

In my opinion, some of the additives were exceptional; with the evolution of creatures, it can be understood that with rarely or any predators that some insects could get large (of course, the film could also be making up for how Doon was kind of like an entomologist in the book and would study bugs he found). But I think most of the small changes they made or added was so the film could be enjoyed as a family film. As I stated before, the book is told through children's eyes so the audience will see it as they do: there are words they have never seen before because they haven't been used for 200 years; why did the adults they entrusted the knowledge of a way out of Ember betray them and say they the children were liars?; and the amazement of little things such as candlesticks and matches.

The thing I enjoyed the most though is seeing how Lina is portrayed in the book. Though still a child, she sees herself as the main provider since she has to play a mother figure to her sister and take care of her feeble-minded grandmother; and she is, but she still is a child that enjoys things others do. It's not until her grandmother's passing and the discovery of the box with the Instructions to leave Ember does she show how much she has grown into a true provider and leader. This is also seen in the movie, but I feel it is shown more thoroughly in the book. I was upset though how Mrs. Murdo's part was transitioned to Doon's father in the film. Tim Robbins acting was good, but Mrs. Murdo played a more inspiring character to Lina, Poppy, and Doon than Mr. Harrow, especially when she basically volunteered to become the girls' guardian after their grandmother's death.  I feel this change was made to try to make it tie into one of the plots in the film, and perhaps the makers of the film thought Clary at the greenhouses was enough of a missing mother-figure to have in the film.

Final Thoughts

In this section, I explain which one I liked the most, if I liked them both, or neither one was my cup of tea. For the City of Ember, I would say both the book and film were good in their own ways. The book revives a child's spark of amazement and curiosity as you join two children (the third tagging along because Lina didn't want to leave Poppy behind) on a journey to find a way out of their dying town and save its inhabitants from total darkness. The film is a good family movie, filled with danger as they avoid dangerous giant creatures and villainous adults and mystery as they discover how to escape Ember and learn of those that tried before them. I can enjoy them separately, and I would recommend either one.

And that concludes my first Which Is Better blog. If you like this concept of book/film reviewing, let me know in the comments below. Also, if you have any suggestions, I am open to them; recommend a piece of work for me and explain your reasoning (I also like to know other people's thoughts on books and films). Until next time keep an eye out for my other articles, since I still review other books and movies aside from this project, as well as the blogs I write for my bookstore.

Top Ten Irish Folktales (Blog from Work)

Hello everyone. I know it has been a while since I've posted, but I have a reason for this. Working two jobs can be very time-consuming, and I have also been writing for my bookstore's blog. I still plan to write my "Which Is Better" blogs soon, but I wanted to share the writing I've been doing at work; the blog below is actually the second blog I have written for Bookmans (the bookstore that I work at), and I'm rather happy with it. I wrote it for the month of March and if you would like to read it on the bookstore's blog, just click here. If you would like to read the original work, continue reading here and let me know what you think in the comments.

Top Ten Irish Folktales

‘Tis the month of the Irish! When everyone wears green, tries out their own Irish accents, and enjoys a pint of Guinness with their corn beef and cabbage. If you are interested in the background of Irish culture, we at Bookmans recommend these ten Irish folktales*.

10. Midhir and Étain.

Being similar to the Greek story of “Eros and Psyche”, Midhir was a member of the Tuatha dé Danann who fell in love with a mortal woman named Étain and made her his bride. His first wife and a witch of the Tuatha dé Danann, Fúamnach, grew jealous and transformed Étain into a butterfly. Fúamnach then forced Étain from the land of the Ever Young with a strong wind. For years Midhir searched for Étain, and when he found her she was once again a mortal, but she was married to a High King. How did she turn back to a mortal, you ask? She fell into a Queen’s cup when she was a butterfly and was drank down, causing her to be reborn nine months later. Midhir challenged Étain’s husband to a game of chess; when he won the third round, he requested the King to let him have one kiss from Étain. The King tried to trick Midhir and told him in one month’s time he could earn his kiss. When that time came, he had his kingdom surrounded to ensure Midhir could not have Étain. But Midhir was able to appear in the banquet hall and retrieve Étain. When the High King and his men went out of the castle to get the queen, “all they could see were two white swans circling in the starry sky above the palace.”

9. Cú Chulainn.

"Setanta Slays the Hound of Culain"

Sometimes referred to as the Irish Hulk (because of the rage transformation he goes through called a ríastrad), Cú Chulainn is similar to other cultures’ super strength demigods. One popular tale is how Cú Chulainn earned his name. Being named Sétanta at his birth, he gained his name at the age of eleven. While playing a game of hurling with some other boys, his uncle, the king of Ulster, was impressed with his skills and invited him to join him at a feast being held by a smith named Culann. The boy said he would join his uncle once he was done with his game. When the king attended Culann’s feast, he forgot to mention his nephew’s arrival later. When Sétanta arrived, Culann released his ferocious hound on the intruder. Still holding the ball from his game, Sétanta threw the ball down the hound’s throat and smashed it against a stone. With Culann being devastated by the loss of his hound, Sétanta promised to raise him another one, but until that pup was grown he would protect the Culann’s land and home. Thus, he became known as Cú Chulainn, or “Culann’s Hound.”

8. Salmon, the Fish of Knowledge.

Salmon are considered quite important in Irish mythology. In one popular tale, it is said that a salmon had eaten nine hazelnuts that fell into the Well of Wisdom from the nine trees that surrounded it. The poet Finegas had fished for seven years to gain this salmon because it was said whoever ate the flesh of the fish would gain the knowledge of the world. When he finally caught it, he gave it to his servant, Fionn mac Cumhaill, to cook; he warned the boy not to eat it. As Fionn cooked the fish, he burned his thumb on the fish grease as he tested to see if it was done. When he sucked his thumb, he gained knowledge. Learning what happened, the poet gave the boy the rest of the fish to eat, thus Fionn gaining the knowledge of the world. From then on, if Fionn wanted to draw from his knowledge, all he had to do was suck his thumb.

7. Merrows.

Different from selkies (creatures that are seals by day and people by night), merrows are merfolk. If a human can steal away their cohuleen druith (enchanted cap or cloak), they will become obedient to that human. In the tale The Lady of Gollerus, a man named Dick Fitzgerald does just so; he longed a wife, and when he can across a green-haired Merrow on the beach near his home, he stole her cohuleen druith. She became his wife and bore him three children While Dick was away in another town on business, the Merrow wife found her cohuleen druith behind a fishing net. Once she placed it on her head, she instantly forgot her husband and children and returned to the sea. To the end of his days, Dick stayed by the shores, waiting for her to come back.

6. The Dullahan.

The Dullahan might make you think of the Headless Horseman from Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow and is proof of how some cultures integrated into the American legends known today. Though there is not one specific tale for this legend, many that have been told share the same imagery. The Dullahan is a headless horseman 一sometimes a man, sometimes a woman一 that carries its head and a whip made from a human backbone. Riding a black steed or driving a carriage drawn by six black horses, the sight of the Dullahan is the summoning of a dying person’s soul. If he is seen by someone, he rewards them by either throwing a basin of blood in their face or blinding them in one eye with his whip. The only thing that can defer the Dullahan from you is gold, so it’s always best to carry a gold coin if you plan to walk the lands of Ireland at night (If you want to know more about the Dullahan, it’s best to just look it up, since it’s not easy to pinpoint the stories or the background).

5. Leprechaun.

A wee little man in a green bowler hat that if you catch must give you his pot of gold...or his lucky charms. That’s what most think of when they hear about a leprechaun. In truth, these little bearded men were fairies, usually solitary, and were known to be cobblers (shoemakers) or tricksters that would either wear a red or a green coat. If a human catches them, they can grant the human three wishes if they're allowed their freedom Though there are a few stories about these little cobblers, the most interesting thing is that they are actually a protected species under European Union law. There’s a place in Carlingford, Ireland called Sliabh Foy Loop trail, and it’s protected land with apparently 236 leprechauns living there. Interesting, right?

4. Banshee.

The Banshee, or bean sidhe (woman of the hills) in Gaelic, is supposed to be a forewarning of death. Originally only being able to cry for five major Irish families, marriages out of the families made to where almost anyone could hear her cry. If seen, she is usually guised as a young woman or an old crone, and it is certain that you or a family will soon die.

3. Púca.

Pronounced pooka, these little shape-shifting fairies are known to be mischievous tricksters. Usually seen around farmlands and quiet country roads, a púca can take the form of any animal but can be known by its black fur or hair, red or golden glowing eyes, and its ability to speak the human tongue. If you’d like to know more about this little creature that actually has a day set aside for him, I would recommend watching a few videos such as this one here* and decide for yourself whether the púca is malevolent in nature or not (because they don’t always seem to be bad).

2. Tuatha dé Danann.

This race of people were the main deities before Christianity spread throughout Ireland. Being named after the goddess Danu, this tribe came to Ireland. They came to Ireland through a mist that was dark and covered the sun for two or three days. After living in and ruling Ireland for almost two hundred years, they were fought and defeated by the Milesians, the ancestors of modern Irish people. But the Milesians allowed the Tuatha dé Danann to stay in Ireland, but only underground; thus, they became the keepers of the fairies and were called “Aes sidhe,” the “People of the Mounds.”  To this day, they are still respected.

1. Children of Lir.

There are three stories of sorrow in Ireland, and the “Children of Lir” is the second one. Thought to be some inspiration for “Swan Lake,” this story is about the four children of the High King/Sea God Lir being turned into swans by their stepmother Oifa, who was jealous of the love their father had for them. So, she transformed them into swans in order to have Lir all to herself. She told them as they cried and asked her when their curse would end that it would in nine hundred years. When Lir found out what happened to his sons and daughter, he told their grandfather, who then had transformed Oifa into an air-demon, lost in the mist to this day. By the time the children’s cursed had ended, Ireland had been converted to Christianity. It is said when a man betrothed to a princess came to capture the swans for her, they shed their feathers and became human again. But instead of being children, they were withered and old people. Being close to death, Saint Patrick himself baptized the children of Lir before they passed away.

Bonus: The myth and truth of Saint Patrick.

Bet you know the myth of how Saint Patrick chased the snakes out of  Ireland. But the truth is the climate on the Green Isle is too cold for snakes to habitat. More than likely, the “snakes” represented the Druids and paganism in Ireland. Also, he was never originally from Ireland; he was taken from his home in Britain and was a slave in Ireland for six years. After his escape, he joined the clergy, and then returned to Ireland years later. We can also thank him for shamrocks being popularized with the Irish holiday named after him since it is said he used a shamrock to define the Christian Trinity to the people of Ireland. Though this saint served only one god, tales of him have leaked into the old tales of Erin, which makes him and his faith just as much a part of Irish folklore as the Tuatha dé Danann and fairies are.

I hope you enjoyed this list or Irish folktales and legends and that you found them exciting and adventurous as we do here at Bookmans. Now I end this with an Irish saying I think we all can relate to here:

An té a bhíonn siúlach bíonn scéalach (He who travels has stories to tell).

*Sources:

• “Midir and Etain.” Irish Sagas and Folk Tales, by Eileen O'Faolain, Poolbeg P., 2005, pp. 23–26.
• “Cú Chulainn: The Legend of the Irish Hulk.” Mythology & Fiction Explained, director. YouTube. YouTube, YouTube, 27 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgHBGFL9v7s.
• “Salmon of Knowledge.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Mar. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmon_of_Knowledge.
• Crocker, T. Crofton. “Irish Fairy and Folk Tales.” Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, by William Allingham, Fall River Press, 2014, pp. 14–23.
• “Myth of the Leprechaun.” Edited by Steven Forsyth, Myth of the Leprechaun, Celtic Wedding Rings, www.celtic-weddingrings.com/myth-of-the-leprechaun.
• MokongX3M, director. The Legend of the Púca. YouTube, YouTube, 29 Oct. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z39_RBA0xs.
• “Irish Legends: The Tuatha De Danann - Ireland's Greatest Tribe.” IrelandInformation.com, www.ireland-information.com/irish-mythology/tuatha-de-danann-irish-legend.html.
• The Exploring Series, director. Exploring Celtic Mythology: Children of Lir. YouTube, YouTube, 18 June 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=hROVjj0fX84.
• “Saint Patrick.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Mar. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick.

Updates to Anyone that Still Follows This Blog

Hello Everyone!
It has been almost an entire year since I last put up a blog here. If you are still following me, I thank you for staying with the blog. A lot has changed since then: I work now at a local bookstore; my stress levels have dropped; I am posting my blogs on Minds.com, my page accessed if you click here; and I am in the middle of starting up a new blog site with a book vs. film challenge.

Now while writing this blog, I have realized that my new blog (through wix.com) is not yet up, but I am working on getting it up soon. Below, I have left links to all my blogs that I wrote last year on Minds.com; if you have a chance to read them, I would like to know what you think about them.

Also, as mentioned before, I have bigger news; I am doing a challenge for myself this year, which I call "Which Is Better?" With this challenge, I will be reading books, watching the films based on them, and then discussing which I thought was better. I will try to keep you all posted on this new challenge; I plan to write this as a blog and possibly make this challenge a vlog; we'll see how it works.

Either than that, I hope you all have a great year so far, and I plan on writing more this year, so keep an eye out for more from me than the previous years.

Until next time, this has been Hipsy, and I hope to get my next blog up soon.

P.S. If you'd like to personally get a hold of me or leave a suggestion for a blog, I now have an email for my blogs; hipsysview@gmail.com. Feel free to message me.

Minds.com blogs*

*Note: I still have the name for the blog, Hipsy's View, so that hasn't changed, just my main topics, which is mostly books and movies.

Hipsy's View: The Man Who Would Be King

Hipsy's View: Pixar's Coco

Hipsy's View: Pride and Prejudice

Hipsy's View: Annihilation

Hipsy's View: Upgrade (Film)

Hipsy's View: Timeline (Book)

Hipsy's View: Daughter of the Forest

Hipsy's View: Eaters of the Dead (or the 13th Warrior)

Hipsy's View: New Challenge!