Posted by
Zonk
on Mon Mar 17, 2008 04:13 AM
from the always-been-a-fan-of-nessie dept.
Pickens writes "Mankind has always had a fascination with monsters, and mythologies from around the world include stories of strange and terrifying creatures. Examples include the half-bull, half-human Minotaur of Greek myths, the living clay Golem of Jewish traditions, British elves and Chinese dragons. Live Science has an interesting photo essay on their ten favorite monsters that may have a basis in real life. Their rogue's gallery includes the Ogopogo, a mysterious monster in Canada's Lake Okanagan; the Chupacabra, that Latin Americans believe is the unholy result of secret US government experiments in the jungles of Puerto Rico; and the perennial favorite Bigfoot."
I cast my vote for the Cookie Monster. They've tried to keep him down in recent years by forcing him to give speeches about vegetables and other such nonsense. But we all know underneath all that blue fur all he wants is more cookies...
The desire to suck blood, howl at the moon, hoard treasure or lure ships onto rocks just don't hit home with me. But stuffing one's face with cookies is something that I can relate too. Plus none of those other monsters have as catchy a song as "C is For Cookie".
A stray I took in when he was more than a kitten, but no where near full grown.
I just know that one morning I'll walk outside and he'll have Gojira's carcase lying at the base of the porch steps.
I used to be a misanthrope myself. Then I worked briefly in college at a convenience store in a shitty part of town. Contrary to what you would expect, you know what it taught me? It taught me that people, by and large, are decent. I expected to have a shitty "Clerks" type experience, but what I got was a more positive view of humanity.
When I overpaid in change, most people would tell me. Most people would help me out when I made a mistake. When someone was looking for directions, people would help them out (even if I couldn't). Shoplifters were very rare. Most people were honest and decent--even in this shitty neighborhood.
Indeed. Real human monster do actually exist, and they are called psychopaths, some of them are violent and usually die young or spend their life in jail, but many more are clever enough to understand that hurting others is bad for them and live a rather normal life. Except that they can't understand things like good, evil, empathy or love, only their profit and their safety.
A friend of my parents was a psychiatrist expert and he told me he preffered working on violent criminals instead of manipulative psych
To Quote Simpsons:
"The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor, and it's time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!"
I read somewhere about the idea that the trolls of Scandinavian folklore had their roots in human interactions with the remnants of the Neanderthals. I quite liked that idea, even if it's almost certainly not true. The troll under the bridge was one of the scariest stories I was told when I was wee. I hated crossing bridges over burns for a long time after that.
There was an interesting fictional documentary programme on a couple of years ago about an archaeologist who was uncovering evidence that dragons had lived alongside the dinosaurs, and survived up until relatively recently. I wish I could remember the name of it.
My favourite kind of troll doesn't live under a bridge. It's the Slashdot troll. Sometimes you can spot them right away, with their feeble attempts to spread disunity and chaos. Other times, you never know who they are. They could be anyone at any time. You could even be reading one right now...
Most Europeans have no clue who bigfoot is, yet he's #1 on that list. There was a monster movie called bigfoot a couple of years ago, but it was forgotten quickly. Actually more famous are the pair of short skis with the same name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiboarding [wikipedia.org]
Took me by surprise when I heard a busker crooning that the other day; I'd not thought about that old song in many years. Brought a tear to my eye. -That part about, "Dragons live forever, but not so little boys."
Shut the fuck up, you don't know what your talking about!!!!!!!! This is why albino's should NOT be given access to computers, let alone the internet, idiot.
I agree. Though I would rather just see the concept of god on this list. What single entity is more responsible for homicide than the concept of god? How many people have died in the name of god over the documented and semi-documented history of humans?
But being a global warming hating pirate I must say that scurvey is also a vicious monster. Now, where are my damned oranges!?!?
Futurama (Score:5, Funny)
Manbearpig (Score:4, Funny)
Futurama (Score:5, Funny)
Where's Cthulhu? (Score:3, Insightful)
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Like the mythos though.. read a loooong time ago, maybe time for a re-read.
Better lists (Score:4, Informative)
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Vampires. Hot, sexy female vampires. Kate Beckinsdale. Need I say more?!
Cookie Monster (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Cookie Monster (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Cookie Monster (Score:5, Funny)
I second that.
The desire to suck blood, howl at the moon, hoard treasure or lure ships onto rocks just don't hit home with me. But stuffing one's face with cookies is something that I can relate too. Plus none of those other monsters have as catchy a song as "C is For Cookie".
Re:Cookie Monster (Score:5, Funny)
Meh. The song's not that great, but it's good enough for me.
Re: (Score:2)
You need to (Score:3, Informative)
Around here? (Score:2, Troll)
Flying Spaghetti Monster (Score:5, Insightful)
Obviously missing option (Score:3, Insightful)
My favorite monster... (Score:3, Funny)
Frankenstein's Monster (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
rock monsters (Score:2, Informative)
See also the Fantastic Four [imdb.com] and The NeverEnding Story [imdb.com].
My Cat (Score:5, Funny)
I just know that one morning I'll walk outside and he'll have Gojira's carcase lying at the base of the porch steps.
Mae Nok (Score:2)
rtfm (Score:2, Interesting)
Humans (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
That's why for Halloween I go as "a homicidal maniac, they look just like everyone else."
Cheapest costume e-v-e-r!
Re:Humans (Score:4, Interesting)
When I overpaid in change, most people would tell me. Most people would help me out when I made a mistake. When someone was looking for directions, people would help them out (even if I couldn't). Shoplifters were very rare. Most people were honest and decent--even in this shitty neighborhood.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Real human monster do actually exist, and they are called psychopaths, some of them are violent and usually die young or spend their life in jail, but many more are clever enough to understand that hurting others is bad for them and live a rather normal life. Except that they can't understand things like good, evil, empathy or love, only their profit and their safety.
A friend of my parents was a psychiatrist expert and he told me he preffered working on violent criminals instead of manipulative psych
My Favorite Monster (Score:3, Funny)
My credit card.
Gamblor (Score:2, Funny)
Reavers (Score:2)
Daleks (Score:5, Funny)
Scariest (Score:2)
Trolls (Score:3, Interesting)
I read somewhere about the idea that the trolls of Scandinavian folklore had their roots in human interactions with the remnants of the Neanderthals. I quite liked that idea, even if it's almost certainly not true. The troll under the bridge was one of the scariest stories I was told when I was wee. I hated crossing bridges over burns for a long time after that.
There was an interesting fictional documentary programme on a couple of years ago about an archaeologist who was uncovering evidence that dragons had lived alongside the dinosaurs, and survived up until relatively recently. I wish I could remember the name of it.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
And where would the Neanderthals find a computer? Let alone the means to connect it to the internet.
Re: (Score:2)
BOOOOOOOOOO!
Hehehe...
Oh no... (Score:2)
Go go Godzilla!
Bigfoot is pratically unknown ouside the US (Score:3, Interesting)
Also, what about the Yeti?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeti [wikipedia.org]
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Why is my comment box on the preview page only ~30 characters wide?
Puff (Score:2)
Took me by surprise when I heard a busker crooning that the other day; I'd not thought about that old song in many years. Brought a tear to my eye. -That part about, "Dragons live forever, but not so little boys."
-FL
Monsters (Score:2)
Runners up: Monsters [allmusic.com], and Scary Monsters [allmusic.com].
Mike Wazowski (Score:2)
Fav? Smaug. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
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Re:Let me just say... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
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But being a global warming hating pirate I must say that scurvey is also a vicious monster. Now, where are my damned oranges!?!?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)