The Philosopher and The Snake

The Philosopher

Way back in the year 360 BCE, Greek philosopher Plato wrote about an island that has been the subject of much debate. Over the years, many have assumed the island to be fictional. Others believe that the island did exist, and have offered their opinion as to its possible location.

The island, of course, is Atlantis.

Atlantis, as well as the Atlantic Ocean, are named for the Greek god, Atlas. Poseidon was the father of 5 pairs of twins. Atlas and his twin brother Gadeirus (or Eumelus in Greek) were the eldest. Atlas, the first born, was made rightful king of Atlantis and the Atlantic Ocean.

The people of Atlantis lived in peace at first, but war eventually broke out. In the end, an earthquake destroyed the civilization and the island sank into the ocean.

If this short introduction has piqued your interest, you may read more about Atlantis in this article by New World Encyclopedia.

Robotic Water Snake

Are you comfortable around water snakes? Those that haven't swam off to hide may be interested in a recent article from Gizmodo. In the article, Eric Limer tells of a robotic water snake designed for underwater movement. Read the short article and then take a look at the video at ieee.org. Terrifying, or just good technology? You decide.

Take a look at the comments below Mr. Limer's article as well. A few of them are quite amusing.

For those that may have never seen a water snake before, the photo above shows just one of the many varieties: a northern water snake. No, he's not the robot.


Full Moon

For many of us, tomorrow (28 Nov) will be a full moon. Merfolk, feel free to act a little crazy! Those that watch H2O: Just Add Water will understand.

Don't get TOO crazy though, we want to see you back here next time.


Coming Up

Quite some time has passed since I published a mermaid interview. Fear not, mermaid fans, I have a few in the works.

No water snake interviews, I promise.


Best wishes and starfishes,
-Mermaid Cynthia
cynthia (at) goldmermaid.com

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News Shell 11

Let me start this blog post by wishing everyone in the US a very happy and festive Thanksgiving! I am very thankful for my readers, those across town and those across the seas. Hugs and splashes to all! Join me now as we peek inside today's News Shell.

Is That a Person?

A recent article by George Dvorsky asks an important question, "When does an animal count as a person?" It is not hard to think of merfolk as people. What about dolphins? They are quite intelligent, perhaps more than we give them credit for. What about chimpanzees and other primates?

As Mr. Dvorsky explains in his article, a number of scientists, legal experts, and others are supporting the idea that some non-human animals are persons and deserve human-like legal protection.

How do you define a person? Read the article at io9.com, and share your views in the comments section below. The comments found below the article are for the most part in disagreement with the animal as person concept.

Guardian of Atlantis

If you are a young adult (or a young adult at heart) and you love to read, then you should know about Bittersweet Enchantment, a blog by a nice lady known as Becky. Recently, Becky welcomed Annie Rachel Cole who talked about her fantasy novel, Guardian of Atlantis. The novel is centered around Greek Mythology, and specifically Medusa and Poseidon.

"Sixteen-year-old Raven Weir has a somewhat normal life until she receives a mysterious necklace... a necklace others are willing to kill her to get because it contains the key codes to Atlantis." Looks like someone's normal life is about to change. Read Ms. Cole's entire guest post for all the details, including her inspiration for the story.

The blog post also contains a link to Amazon, where you can purchase Guardian of Atlantis in paperback for $9.99.

Mermaid Poem

The following was written in 1830 by Alfred Lord Tennyson:

WHO would be

A mermaid fair,

Singing alone,

Combing her hair

Under the sea,

In a golden curl

With a comb of pearl,

On a throne?

The full 3-stanza poem can be found here.

Best wishes and starfishes,

-Mermaid Cynthia

cynthia (at) goldmermaid.com

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Magazines for Mer

Clarksworld

Clarkesworld Magazine features science fiction, non-fiction, and fantasy reading from a variety of authors. The magazine also features podcasts of selected titles and works of art.

In an article on Clarksworld that recently ran on a web site called 'Whatever', John Scalzi points out the benefits to subscribing to Clarksworld Magazine... benefits to both authors and readers.

The current issue of Clarksworld (14 Nov 2012) contains a short story by Maggie Clark called Aquatica that makes for interesting reading.

I know a number of mermaids that are also authors. Be sure to visit the Submission Guidelines page to see how to get your science fiction or fantasy story published at Clarksworld.

Follow the magazine on Facebook and Twitter. Links are at the bottom of the home page.

Mermaids & Mythology

At each change of season, mermaids and mermen wait in anticipation of the next issue of Mermaids & Mythology Magazine. The web site has subscription details as well as information on the current issue.

Find the perfect photo of you splashing around and send it to info@mermaidmagazine.com for inclusion in the Your Photos section! Mer themed artwork is also accepted.

Best wishes and starfishes,

-Mermaid Cynthia

cynthia (at) goldmermaid.com

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Rare Whale

Welcome to blog post number 70! A big splash of thanks to my regular readers! You are Fin-tastic!

Rare Whale

As we discussed in my October 28th article, there is so much more for us to learn about the oceans of our planet. In late 2010, the world's rarest whale was spotted for the first time when two of them were found dead on a beach in New Zealand. Scientists knew of its existence from skull fragments, but this was the first time they were actually able to see one.

The whales are known as Spade-Toothed Beaked Whales.

Check out the full story by OurAmazingPlanet at MSNBC. You can follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Links can be found in the article.

Thank-you splashes go out to Caroline W. for first showing me this article.

Mermaids in Comics

Since June 2012, Black Mermaid Productions of Australia has been sharing examples of mermaids in comics that they have discovered. Their latest blog post in the series is their November 6th edition, Mermaids in Comics 5, which features Lucia and the Golden Mermaid. Be sure to look through the past blog posts from June to the present for the other Mermaids in Comics articles.

Lucia and the Golden Mermaid, what a great name!


Be Interviewed

Recently, I have had less time to search the seven seas for qualified interview candidates. If you or someone you know would like to be interviewed for this blog, please contact me at the email address below. Individuals and performance groups are welcome. Thank you!


Mermaid Riddles?

What did the sea say to the Little Mermaid?
Nothing, it just waved!

This and other awful mermaid jokes and riddles can be found at JokesPrank.


Best wishes and starfishes,
-Mermaid Cynthia
cynthia (at) goldmermaid.com

Mermaid artwork by Cowshell Graphics.

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News Shell 10

Tossed on the seas for several days, our latest News Shell finally reaches its destination. As I am originally a New England mermaid, my heart goes out to those affected by hurricane Sandy. I would like to wish my merfolk and human friends in the northeastern US a quick recovery.

Discovery Channel Mermaids

The faux documentary, Mermaids: The Body Found, originally aired on Animal Planet in May and caused quite a stir. Many people took the show to be factual, causing NOAA to issue a statement to the contrary. The show has also appeared on The Discovery Channel beginning in June where it found another group of eager listeners. Unfortunately, none of it is true. Is it ratings that causes networks known for their science and educational programming to run a fictional 'documentary' on a popular subject?

Wikipedia has a short article on the show which is worth a quick look.

Seafaring Robot

As hurricane Sandy approached the New Jersey coast, a seafaring robot named Mercury was 100 miles offshore, transmitting storm data through 70-knot (80.5 mph; 130 km/h) winds. Read all about this hard working aquatic robot in an article by Tim Hornyak for C|Net.

The Secret History of Mermaids

If you are a collector of mermaid-related books, here is one to add to your collection. The Secret History of Mermaids by Ari Berk is "a lavishly illustrated resource offering insight into the lives, origins, language, and magic of these elusive peoples."

Barnes & Noble and Amazon are both out of stock at present, but both offer the book from resellers.

Ari Berk's other titles include The Secret History of Giants and The Secret History of Hobgoblins. In addition to being an author, Mr. Berk is a professor of English at Central Michigan University. You can visit his web site at www.ariberk.com.

Do you own this book? Please send me a short review and I'll feature it in a future blog post.

Disney Meets Star Wars

As you probably have heard, unless you've been hiding in a sea-cave, Disney has purchased Lucasfilm for US $4 billion. What influence will Lucas' Star Wars series of films have on the Disney characters we know and love? John Martz has come up with a few funny concepts, as featured in a Laughing Squid article by Scott Beale.

Would you believe Yoda with Mickey Mouse ears? And what would happen to The Little Mermaid?

Best wishes and starfishes,

-Mermaid Cynthia

cynthia (at) goldmermaid.com

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