I know, I shouldn't be taking time off from just catching up to where I should be anyways, but hey, whatcha gonna do about it? However, in place of an actual substantial update I give you the following, one of my absolute favorite songs (which, considering the source material, is at least tangentially related to the basic premise of the blog):
So, when one thinks of the phoenix, you usually think of one of three things: the decent basketball team, the ridiculously ill-fitting-with-it's-surroundings retirement megapolis, or the Western mythological warhorse of a mystical bird that symbolizes eternal life through it's reported combustion and rebirth through it's own ashes. Being that you're a regular reader of the blog (hopefully), I'm going to assume you're familiar with it, but if not, here's somewhere to get a good overview...
That said, here's an analog that I was -not- aware of...the Chinese Phoenix. While so-called, it's not so much like a phoenix as it is an amalgam of many different animals and portrayed as the King of the Birds, or avian ideal in Chinese culture. Used more as a symbol of luck, balance, and prosperity, the Fenghuang actually struck me as having more than a passing similarity to another Western beastie, the Cockatrice. Which itself is related to a variety of other petrifying creatures, such as this, this and this.
Anyways, the point of this post is currently lost on even the author, but I'll end this somewhat link-heavy and disjointed entry by saying that I was at the very least surprised that there was anything like an Eastern analog to the concept of the Phoenix, even if it turned out that the Chinese Phoenix moniker was of mostly Western invention as well. Also, this.
New week, party people, and the theme for this one is going to be crystals and their properties. But because I feel a bit lazy and it's nice to throw a curve ball here and there, I'm going with something a bit different today, and tomorrow will return you to your regularly scheduled loosely-related weirdness. That said, take it away, Paul Rudd...
