34 replies to this topic

[Thoth]

Hi Whirlybird,

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 05:50 PM, said:

Do you do anything special to help you keep those areas or words that you may have to rework, etc easily visible to you? It's always nice to hear other people's ideas and see if they work for me.

Sections and Chapters that need major reworking I mark with an asterisk in the Project View (e.g., The End*). Large logical breaks in thought within a Section I mark with three asterisks and a comment within the text itself (e.g., ***Bob's big speech). Parts I simply want to refer back to are marked with a Bookmark or a Bookmark/Comment pair. (The Comment contains the reason I want to refer back to this area.) Potential dialog which I'm not yet sure where to place goes into Notes.

Hope that helps a little.

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 05:50 PM, said:

... If only my fingers wouldn't keep misspelling it.

Fumble-finger afflicts the young and not-so-young alike. Don't sweat it. (It helps to be slightly caffeinated.)

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 05:50 PM, said:

I've decided, since I'll be turning 50 on the 21st, that life only begins from 50 onward. The rest was just practice ;-)

Great minds, etcetera, etcetera.
- Thoth

[whirlybird]

Hi Thoth,

Not sure how to do those wonderful cuts/pastes/inserts type of things that make things much clearer so I'll forgo them for now. My luck I'll crash the whole forum. I will see which of your 'markers' work for me. I like the idea of the asterisk but I've also been using +++++ or ------ in front of paragraph if I rework one while keep the original right above or below it. I also put some of the old versions of paragraphs or sentences that I've rewritten in the Project View under 'rewrites' just in case I come back and like the first version better. I still have to use some sort of color otherwise I know I'll miss something.

I don't know if it's so much fumble-fingers as finger dyslexia. My brother has true dyslexia and I wound up with it mostly in my typing fingers.

On a side note about my avatar (can you tell how proud I am about myself?) I'm the little four or five year old girl on the left spinning around on our whirlybird with no hands or feet. My grandmother was so afraid I'd fall off she actually tied me to the thing. I remember I was so humiliated since up until then I was so proud that I could ride the thing without holding on. Ah, well. One of the many childhood memories I have to remember as I pass into the next half century of my life ;-)

-Whirlybird

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 09:39 PM, said:

... I also put some of the old versions of paragraphs or sentences that I've rewritten in the Project View under 'rewrites' just in case I come back and like the first version better. ...

Good idea!

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 09:39 PM, said:

On a side note about my avatar (can you tell how proud I am about myself?) I'm the little four or five year old girl on the left spinning around on our whirlybird with no hands or feet. My grandmother was so afraid I'd fall off she actually tied me to the thing. I remember I was so humiliated since up until then I was so proud that I could ride the thing without holding on. Ah, well. One of the many childhood memories I have to remember as I pass into the next half century of my life ;-)

Ah. Memories.
-Thoth

[whirlybird]

Thoth,

Please don't tell me your avatar has something to do with your childhood memories. You're not that much older than I am!

Whirlybird

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 09:59 PM, said:

Please don't tell me your avatar has something to do with your childhood memories.

Well, Horus* and Hathor** were cool parents.
But, really, the only childhood connection to my Thoth*** avatar was a teenage interest in egyptology inspired by a college art course.

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 09:59 PM, said:

You're not that much older than I am!

Yes, Whirlybird. Just a year older than Steve Jobs (RIP) and not nearly as accomplished.
-Thoth (Bastet says "Hi".)

* Falcon-headed god of the sky, war and protection.
** Woman-headed goddess of music, dance, foreign lands and fertility (as well as the patron goddess of miners, for some reason).
*** Ibis-headed god of wisdom and the moon. Specifically, he is the god of writing, magic, justice and what passed for science at the time. An interesting character whose consorts include Seshat (woman-headed goddess of architecture, astronomy, astrology, building, mathematics, and surveying), Ma'at (woman-headed goddess of truth and justice) and Bastet (cat goddess of protection). They must have been a fun group.

[whirlybird]

Thoth,

Thank you for the wonderful egyptology lesson. I never knew an individual could be the god of so many things. With parents like that, no wonder Thoth was well-endowed with so many amazing attributes. No wonder you borrow his moniker.

I might be showing what a nerd I am but your description of Bastet reminds me of Isis from the Assignment:Earth episode of the original Star Trek.

-Whirlybird

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 14 October 2011 - 01:25 AM, said:

...No wonder you borrow his moniker.

Well, it certainly seemed like a good idea at the time.

whirlybird, on 14 October 2011 - 01:25 AM, said:

I might be showing what a nerd I am but your description of Bastet reminds me of Isis from the Assignment:Earth episode of the original Star Trek.

Nerd? Assignment: Earth was one of my favorite Star Trek (TOS) episodes. I was very disappointed that the Gary Seven spin-off fell through. I suppose we'll just have to make due with the novels and comics (including a mini-series).

Isis* the cat was revealed to be telepathic in the novels but it was never settled (at least to my satisfaction) whether she was also a shape-shifter or simply capable of telepathic illusion (like the Talosians).

You know, I'm always doing this. Stuff like Star Trek and Egyptology doesn't belong in the Feature Request section.
Sorry Steve.

"That, Miss Lincoln, is simply my cat."
-Thoth

*Isis was the woman-headed goddess of motherhood, magic and fertility. Her parents were Geb (the Earth) and Nut (the sun). She was also the mother of Horus who was the father of Thoth. Bastet was descended from Ra and Atum. No direct family connection between Isis and Bastet in most egyptological interpretations.

[whirlybird]

Thoth,

To keep us on track and on the subject of comments, I'd like to point out that I dislike having to constantly go up to the drop down box in View and then click Hide Comments when I want to get hide them after I've added one. If you, or anyone else, knows of a shortcut or how to make a shortcut for this I'd be very grateful. If there is no shortcut, then this is my request to Steve.

As for Assignment:Earth, I, too, was disappointed when I found out that it was supposed to have become a spin-off that never came to fruition. There was a lot of potential there and I think Robert Lansing especially did an excellent job in the role. I've never read the comic so I don't know if he played it like the character there. Is Miss Lincoln, played by Teri Garr, true to her character in the comic? Thank you for the link to the mini-series. I'm going to have to check it out. Have you ever read the Adaptation, as it's called, of the episode? This is the link http://www.assignmen...adaptation.html and I thought it was pretty good. Since this Storyist is about writing maybe the author wrote it using the program.

I may even use some references to egyptology in some of my stories so keep them coming. Such a small world that Isis is the grandmother (if I'm putting the genealogy together right) of Thoth. She wasn't bad looking in the Star Trek episode.

-Whirlybird

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 14 October 2011 - 11:39 PM, said:

To keep us on track and on the subject of comments, I'd like to point out that I dislike having to constantly go up to the drop down box in View and then click Hide Comments when I want to get hide them after I've added one. If you, or anyone else, knows of a shortcut or how to make a shortcut for this I'd be very grateful. If there is no shortcut, then this is my request to Steve.

A keyboard shortcut for the Show/Hide Comments toggle is a good idea and you should post it separately (IMHO). Personally, I think that every Menu command should have a keyboard shortcut or at least the option of assigning one. (That could get messy, though.) Or am I misunderstanding you? Do you want a toggle button on the command strip near the insert comment and insert bookmark buttons? Or perhaps something else?

whirlybird, on 14 October 2011 - 11:39 PM, said:

As for Assignment:Earth, I, too, was disappointed when I found out that it was supposed to have become a spin-off that never came to fruition. There was a lot of potential there and I think Robert Lansing especially did an excellent job in the role. I've never read the comic so I don't know if he played it like the character there. Is Miss Lincoln, played by Teri Garr, true to her character in the comic? Thank you for the link to the mini-series. I'm going to have to check it out. Have you ever read the Adaptation, as it's called, of the episode? This is the link http://www.assignmen...adaptation.html and I thought it was pretty good. Since this Storyist is about writing maybe the author wrote it using the program.

I think they played their subsequent adventures true to form. Have a peek here. Amazon posted a few pages in their "Click To Look Inside" feature. And yes, I did check out the Short Story Adaptation. Thanks for posting the link for everyone.

whirlybird, on 14 October 2011 - 11:39 PM, said:

I may even use some references to egyptology in some of my stories so keep them coming. Such a small world that Isis is the grandmother (if I'm putting the genealogy together right) of Thoth.

The actual lines of descent can get confusing since the Greeks and Romans had both borrowed some of the egyptian gods, changing both their names and their genealogy. As for Isis being the grandmother of Thoth, I should probably point out that he is often depicted as her consort as well. Of course, being immortal, they all pretty much look the same age. Not surprisingly, there was more than a little incest in the family.

whirlybird, on 14 October 2011 - 11:39 PM, said:

She wasn't bad looking in the Star Trek episode.

A good thing Kirk never got his hands on her*. Poor Gary would have never seen her again. (Then again, she did serve 9 years for shooting her husband.)
-T

*Victoria Vetri Rathgeb

[whirlybird]

Thoth,

As per your good suggestion I will post my Show/Hide Comments request separately. It definitely could get lost in the shuffle here.

I went to your Amazon link (thank you for that) and really enjoyed what they had posted there. So much potential for a TV series especially if they were going to be spending time in (then) current day America and Russia. I'm sure they would have been able to put a different spin on the US v Russia political situation due to the fact that Gary 7 represented an alien race bent on saving the people of Earth from themselves. I may have to get some of these comics for myself. How many did they make?

Ah, I see now how confusing it can be with two separate cultures mixing and matching the egyptian gods all around. I guess when you're a god you can 'date' whoever you want to no matter what the familial relationship. Kind of weird though.

Thanks for the heads up about how deadly Isis can be. She is definitely mysterious in the Star Trek episode. Does Miss Lincoln ever find out more about the human side of Isis because there's definitely some sort of rivalry between the two of them.

-Whirlybird

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 15 October 2011 - 08:38 AM, said:

As per your good suggestion I will post my Show/Hide Comments request separately. It definitely could get lost in the shuffle here.

Separating them out is useful for Steve too.

whirlybird, on 15 October 2011 - 08:38 AM, said:

I went to your Amazon link (thank you for that) and really enjoyed what they had posted there. So much potential for a TV series especially if they were going to be spending time in (then) current day America and Russia. I'm sure they would have been able to put a different spin on the US v Russia political situation due to the fact that Gary 7 represented an alien race bent on saving the people of Earth from themselves. I may have to get some of these comics for myself. How many did they make?

Five.

whirlybird, on 15 October 2011 - 08:38 AM, said:

Ah, I see now how confusing it can be with two separate cultures mixing and matching the egyptian gods all around. I guess when you're a god you can 'date' whoever you want to no matter what the familial relationship. Kind of weird though.

It gets even weirder when you take into account all the family infighting and weird births. (In some interpretations Thoth is self-created out of necessity. Compare that to Athena, daughter of Zeus and Metis, who, in the Classical Olympian pantheon, burst out of her dad's head. Now that must have been one weird pregnancy!)

whirlybird, on 15 October 2011 - 08:38 AM, said:

Thanks for the heads up about how deadly Isis can be. She is definitely mysterious in the Star Trek episode. Does Miss Lincoln ever find out more about the human side of Isis because there's definitely some sort of rivalry between the two of them.

Yes, but mostly in the Star Trek novels not the Assignment: Earth comics.
Enjoy, Whirlybird.
-T

[whirlybird]

Thoth,

Yes, I can definitely see how it would be easier for Steve to see a new request when posted separately instead of having to wade through all the conversations woven into the posts.

My understanding is that Gene Roddenberry wrote the original story Assignment:Earth. Am I right in guessing that the comics would have come after the show aired? Five is definitely not enough. I wonder how long the series would have run if they ever let it get off the ground. It's a shame that TV of the time put the kibosh to so many good shows and/or pilots.

How does anyone keep track of all the gods and demi-gods if their stories keeps changing? I guess one could make a career out of keeping track of them. It's very interesting, though. I, for one, would rather be self-created instead of splitting my dad's skull open. I'm assuming that Zeus survived the skull-birth.

Did the Assignment:Earth comics allude to the fact that Gary Seven was a having a physical relationship with Isis when she was in human form? I think that would be the basis of her rivalry with Miss Lincoln.

-Whirlybird

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 16 October 2011 - 03:09 PM, said:

Yes, I can definitely see how it would be easier for Steve to see a new request when posted separately instead of having to wade through all the conversations woven into the posts.

Which is why we should ask Steve to move this part of the thread elsewhere, like the Writer's Lounge. But as long as we're here...

whirlybird, on 16 October 2011 - 03:09 PM, said:

My understanding is that Gene Roddenberry wrote the original story Assignment:Earth. Am I right in guessing that the comics would have come after the show aired? Five is definitely not enough. I wonder how long the series would have run if they ever let it get off the ground. It's a shame that TV of the time put the kibosh to so many good shows and/or pilots.

The episode aired in 1968, when the story took place. The first comic hit the stands 40 years later, in 2008 (IDW Publishing). Long after Star Trek (TOS) was cancelled. The episode's author, Eugene Wesley Roddenberry, died in 1991. And yes, five is not enough. (I still can't believe that the SyFy channel cancelled Eureka. But there are still six new episodes in the can that will be aired next year.)

whirlybird, on 16 October 2011 - 03:09 PM, said:

How does anyone keep track of all the gods and demi-gods if their stories keeps changing? I guess one could make a career out of keeping track of them.

Many people actually do. But it's not that they keep changing so much as scholars keep reinterpreting them. There are not just the Egyptian, Greek and Roman scholars, but Biblical scholars have been "seeing" the old god's influence in the Old Testament under different names. Also there are Classical interpreters versus the Traditional interpreters. And every so often there is a pseudo-scholar who insists on throwing space aliens into the mix. Keeping track isn't the problem. Deciding which track to follow for your doctoral thesis is.

whirlybird, on 16 October 2011 - 03:09 PM, said:

It's very interesting, though. I, for one, would rather be self-created instead of splitting my dad's skull open. I'm assuming that Zeus survived the skull-birth.

Oh yes. Survived and prospered and went on to have more kids. I suppose that's one of the perks of being king of the gods. Incidentally, Athena* was born fully grown and carrying a sword and shield. The "logic" behind the "skull-birth" went like this: after Zeus got Metis in a family way he was told that the offspring would overthrow him as king of the gods, so, quite naturally, he ate her; swallowed Metis whole. So "clearly" Athena had no choice but to work her way up and burst out of daddy's head. Better that than going in the other direction. Eek. (Or she could have split the difference like the monster from Alien.)

whirlybird, on 16 October 2011 - 03:09 PM, said:

Did the Assignment:Earth comics allude to the fact that Gary Seven was a having a physical relationship with Isis when she was in human form? I think that would be the basis of her rivalry with Miss Lincoln.

I agree but I don't recall. (Typically, I pass any worthwhile comics and graphic novels on to those who will appreciate them. Its been a while.)

If we're going to continue this, could we do it in the Writer's Lounge?
-Thoth

*Athena was the goddess of wisdom, warfare, divine intelligence, and crafts. She never did overthrow her dad (Zeus) but went on to get along very well with him (arguably, too well).

[whirlybird]

Hi Thoth.

I didn't realize the comics came about so long after the episode aired. Of course, I heard about Gene Roddenberry's death so long ago but somehow I assumed the comics would have come out way before the new millennium. I've never seen Eureka though my sister gave me the first seasons on DVD. She really likes the show a lot.

I guess I would have figured that there would be Egyptian, Greek and Roman scholars but not Biblical ones involved. I can see how everyone, even within each group, would have their own interpretation. Must get very, very confusing. I love the space alien additions also. Are you, or have you, done your doctoral thesis on their genealogy?

Sounds like Zeus had a good reason for eating Metis but I would think he could have have come up with a better thought out plan to stop her. Having a fully formed body, sword and all, come bursting out of your head sounds awfully painful. Talking about a killer headache. I guess if she realized she might get too 'friendly' with her dad (ugh!) she wouldn't want to mess with coming out the lower region way. The Alien way would have been a cool way too but not having movies back then Athena didn't realize how cool.

The Writer's Lounge sounds great although I didn't realize there was one. Lead on, Thoth.

-Whirlybird

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 17 October 2011 - 09:54 AM, said:

Hi Thoth.

I didn't realize the comics came about so long after the episode aired. Of course, I heard about Gene Roddenberry's death so long ago but somehow I assumed the comics would have come out way before the new millennium. I've never seen Eureka though my sister gave me the first seasons on DVD. She really likes the show a lot.

I guess I would have figured that there would be Egyptian, Greek and Roman scholars but not Biblical ones involved. I can see how everyone, even within each group, would have their own interpretation. Must get very, very confusing. I love the space alien additions also. Are you, or have you, done your doctoral thesis on their genealogy?

Sounds like Zeus had a good reason for eating Metis but I would think he could have have come up with a better thought out plan to stop her. Having a fully formed body, sword and all, come bursting out of your head sounds awfully painful. Talking about a killer headache. I guess if she realized she might get too 'friendly' with her dad (ugh!) she wouldn't want to mess with coming out the lower region way. The Alien way would have been a cool way too but not having movies back then Athena didn't realize how cool.

The Writer's Lounge sounds great although I didn't realize there was one. Lead on, Thoth.

-Whirlybird

Response under "Star Trek & Greek Gods" in Writer's Lounge.
"I'm already there." - Doctor Manhatten from Watchmen.
-T