The following questions landed some people here this month. I will attempt to answer them to the best of my inability:
- Why does the Deathly Hallows logo look like the all seeing eye? Because it is one. I would highly recommend checking out John Granger’s work The Deathly Hallows Lectures
- What did Joseph Campbell say about redemption? Lots of things. For one, he thought redemption for a given people comes through the presence of a boon brought back from one of their own number—a hero who left the familiar, journeyed through the obscure and came out the other side alive, wiser and more powerful. Celebrities cannot do this. Only greatness achieved through self-sacrifice can carry out redemption. Of course, I’d add a couple of things to that, but that’s the basic gist—give of yourself to receive it all back.
- What should I use to clean my Harvard Classics books? Restoration leather conditioner, if they’re leather. Check here: http://www.bookthink.com/0071/71alt.htm
- How to end a story with the meaning of laughter? I’d suggest starting with a character who’s wrestling through humor from the get-go, who loses his sense of humor and rediscovers it at the end only after he’s found meaning in his life. Conflict’s the key.
- How to give yourself a good wedgie? Fishing pole. Or cloning.
- Did Joseph Campbell believe in an after life? Yes, but it was more of a Hindu afterlife or transcendental afterlife. Perhaps Hindu monotheism, but nevertheless. You return to the soul of God after death—what some philosophers call “panentheism.” The problem with this is that Campbell believed you retained individuality, an option not available for those who believe such a doctrine. For personal uniqueness, you must go elsewhere theologically.
- What does “sleeper only the mortal sounds can sing awake” mean? First off, for anyone reading, they’re referring to the Penguin Anthology of Poetry post. For the questioner, Galaway Kinnell is referring to their young child who walked in on them immediately after they made love, a child who sleeps through everything, a sleeper only the “mortal sounds” – love making – can sing awake. This holds rings of ancient mythologies, of the sorts of faen creatures who are awoken by the sounds of love.
- Can I write notes on my kindle? Yes. Use a sharpie.
- When is Matt Derouen on American Ninja Warrior Las Vegas? If you find out, let me know. Also, if you find a household in Joplin that will be watching the show on a giant flatscreen that shines out their front bay window into the neighborhood like the beacon of Gondor, also let me know.
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