From Twitter 07-24-2009

• 08:08:48: I've never found much validity to the "why should I pay for other people's health care?" argument. Isn't compassion a basic human trait?
  
• 08:17:53: @kattmoff Yeah, just ask Matthew Lesko!
  
• 08:27:49: @colleenanne Both, actually. http://www.yousendit.com/download/Y1RwUXVrdVV6NEpMWEE9PQ
  
• 08:31:18: @miscellaneaarts Has he looked to see whether "gullible" is really in the dictionary yet?
  
• 08:34:22: @renlong Wrote a note to Mickey Rooney! (Okay, not really.)
  
• 08:36:14: @JaredofMo It takes more time for me to spell things incorrectly.
  
• 08:38:58: @poisonyoulove I'm not at Comic-Con. Or at Conic-Com, the company that makes cone-shaped objects.
  
• 12:56:03: @colleenanne It's on the fourth CVB album, "Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart."
  
• 14:23:54: How is Rush Limbaugh still making headlines? Dude hasn't changed his shtick in years!
  
• 14:24:38: There are STILL nutcakes claiming Obama wasn't born in this country? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Stupid conspiracy theories never die.
  
• 17:01:52: @intrnlbleeding Yes, by the same guy who killed JFK and brought down the Twin Towers. He's very busy, you see.
  
• 17:02:29: @DVDBoxSet Well, to be fair, his last name IS "old man."
  
• 17:04:40: @littlemissgamer Is Dick Van Dyke there?
  
• 17:39:01: Watching Glenn Beck trying to be funny is even worse than...well, watching Glenn Beck in general.
  
• 17:40:31: I just talked to the rudest phone clerk I've encountered. If you're not on my LJ friends list and want to hear the story, let me know.
  
• 18:15:13: You KNOW you want a Ziggy cake pan! http://tinyurl.com/mdysar
  
• 19:12:33: If you look like Hitler, this could be your big break! http://newjersey.craigslist.org/tfr/1283855790.html
  
• 19:48:28: If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops, we'd probably all be killed by high-velocity candy.
  
• 20:34:29: On Glenn Beck, a guy who'd lost his mall kiosk was called a "free market warrior." Was the guy selling hacked Mario games is one of those?
  
• 20:35:39: @JaredofMo I still say MY town is more haunted.
  
• 20:54:48: A religious radio station played two Christmas songs today. I guess they needed a little Christmas right that very minute.
  
• 21:12:07: The main presidential challenger in Afghanistan is Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. The candidate so nice, they named him twice!
  
• 21:30:42: Berlusconi of Italy hid graves on his property? He must be planning a zombi holocaust! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8168085.stm
  
• 22:04:37: Quote: "If this exploration of the silent cinema of Oz has taught us anything, it is that L. Frank Baum really had a thing for mules."
  
• 22:45:33: So is the Delilah in that Plain White T's song the radio hostess or the Philistine? Either way, I wouldn't want her.
  

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Ever Seen a Horse Fly?

Since I covered Pigasus in one of my Oz posts this week, I might as well address his namesake Pegasus in this mythology post. The winged horse was more or less the child of Medusa, born from the Gorgon's blood when she was beheaded by Perseus. Some versions of the myth say that the blood mingled with sea foam (the original source of horses, according to Greek legend), and hence list Medusa and Poseidon as the equine's parents. He actually had a twin brother named Chrysaor who was born in the same way, but this brother wasn't a horse, but a human. Or maybe he was a flying boar (hey, I guess that would have made him a Pigasus, wouldn't it?), but that seems unlikely if you buy the account that Chrysaor was the ruler of Iberia.

Anyway, the horse was most famous for his adventure with Bellerophon of Corinth, who used a golden bridle given to him by Athena in order to ride the animal. Bellerephon rode Pegasus in order to slay the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster that was part lion, part goat, and part snake.



After killing the Chimera, Bellerophon attempted to ride his flying steed to Olympus, but Pegasus threw him off. Some versions of the myth say that Pegasus did not do this intentionally, but was bitten by a gadfly sent by Zeus. The horse then began serving Zeus himself, bringing him thunder and lightning until his death, at which time he was made into a constellation. The constellation Pegasus is actually connected to that of Perseus, as a nod to the source of the equine's birth, and to the fact that some takes on the story of Perseus also have him riding Pegasus himself.

While I'm pretty sure Greek mythology only had one Pegasus, the term has since become a common noun used to refer to ANY winged horse, in which context it's made its way into many fantasy stories and toy lines.