Podcast Benomtad

“The Sun's Shadow” by Von Schonwerth, from The Turnip Princess

Death ruled the world, but when the Sun and Moon grew up, they banished death, who killed everything they’d created in retribution.  Nearly everything perished in a flood, and then the Titans held a meeting in a mountain.  A weasel came from underground and licked their eyes, and the Titans ended up taking Death’s side, but he wouldn’t accept their verdict.  Enraged, ...

What freed Iron John?  LL wonders if doing good, helping the prince fulfill his fate frees him from his curse.  I look at the effects of the enchantment, which in general stagnate the land.  With the relationship with the boy, he provides, he is able to be useful.  This former “wild man” bequeaths his fortune to the boy at the end of the story.  We reflect on real wealth in this story.

Thank you for the likes! A comment and a sub...

 “Prince Dung Beetle” by Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth, from The Turnip Princess 

A poor girl, Barbara, went out to find medicine for her sick mother.  Leaping over a paving stone, she slipped and nearly crushed a dung beetle.  Startled, she is nonplussed, then sobs.  The beetle slides under her and takes her to the druggist and then back home.  He is gone before she can thank him.  

She and her mother see a prince with retinue on...

A hunter, and then another, disappear in the forest, as do those sent to find them, so the forest is left untouched for years.  A mysterious fearless hunter arrives from abroad, and when he ventures in, his dog, chasing game, is stopped by a body of water, and a hand reaches out from it and snatches the dog.  The water is drained, and a rust-colored man with hair down to his knees lay at the bottom…

Thank you for the likes! A comme...

The prince passes out and wakes up after a long time, and tries to search for turnips again.  This part of the story may resemble being asleep in life to a true dream you’ve had. Then we expound on the story’s sleep theme, and relate the bear’s instruction to the boy to the indirect relation between words told and finding wisdom.

Thank you for the likes! A comment and a subscribe helps out!

For the full episode:

https://www.podbe...

My friend IR and I discuss the titular story from The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales.  Summary: A prince lost in the forest takes shelter in a cave and falls asleep.  When he wakes up an old woman and a bear are leaning over him, but they are kind and helpful.  Later, the bear, alone with the prince, instructs him to remove a nail from the wall and bury it under a turnip.  He runs out only to encounter a mon...

LL asks what is with the gnome dropping the bread donation at the door?  Is it a test?  Maybe only the youngest hunter shows himself to be strong enough to detect what the mannikin is doing while hiding behind the propriety of Xenia.  I draw a parallel with Odysseus, who also deals with bad guests.  Anyway, this scene cracks open the story, opening important possibilities for the young hunter and leading to the story’s resolution.

...

A king who was a lover of the variety of his trees forbids anyone from eating of any of them, lest they be buried 100 fathoms deep.  His three beautiful daughters gaze at the trees at harvest time, and especially one, heavily laden with blood-red fruit.  She takes one and advertising its deliciousness, gets the others to eat of it too, and they disappear below.  The king comes and calls after them, and when he is befuddled by the l...

I speculate about aliens as a cultural, psychological or possibly real phenomena, expressing my openness to whatever it is.  Belief is less interesting to me than the desire to do so.  I ask LL what about aliens interests her.  We share a fascination with mystery, although the fascination takes different forms for us.

Please like, comment and subscribe!

For the full episode:

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-r2at7-18a9f97

For more...

A UFO Convention, Aliens & Belief

LL talks about things she learned at a UFO Convention and I talk about the nature of experience and belief.  

Please like, comment and subscribe!

For more in this podcast, please go to:

Podbean:

https://benomtad.podbean.com

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863

YouTube:

https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos

Spotify:

https://open.spoti...

(From a discussion on Grimm’s “The White Snake”)  We discuss the role of the ring in this story.  At the beginning, a queen’s ring is lost from a water animal, then later, across a body of water, other birds bring him a golden apple to get a ring that ends the story and gives him his life that was previously threatened.  

Please like, comment and subscribe!

For the full episode:

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-gbskd-18a398a

For ...

(From a discussion on Grimm’s “The White Snake”) I relate our story to that of the substituted, inferior sacrifice Minos attempted with Poseidon, in ancient Greek mythology.  And what is the meaning of the Servant’s Eating of the Snake?  It seems to be in showing his character’s dissatisfaction with repetition of palace life and giving that character transformation into a higher realm of ability.

Please like, comment and subscrib...

(From a discussion on Grimm’s “The White Snake”) I was surprised they killed the duck (to get the golden ring).  They also killed the horse (he was riding).  These are sacrifices, and they are severances of his ties to the palace, which represents a safe home where material needs are met.  On his journey and in his trials, he gains virtues.  

What do you think of this idea of worthy and unworthy sacrifices?

Please like, comment...

(From a discussion on Grimm’s “The White Snake”) Ascent from the depths: the lowly, fallen animals, the horse beneath him.  And the princess, the prize above, is haughty and demanding.  Only when she consumes same as he does does she become like him.

Please like, comment and subscribe!

For the full episode:

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-gbskd-18a398a

For more in this podcast, please go to:

Podbean:

https://benomtad.podbean.com

(From a discussion on Grimm’s “The White Snake”) I question some aspects of these stories, like the death threat for the prince, or the commoner’s chance at marriage with a princess.  We speculate about historical processes of social mobility.  

Please like, comment and subscribe!

For the full episode:

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-gbskd-18a398a

For more in this podcast, please go to:

Podbean:

https://benomtad.podbean.com

Appl...

(From a discussion on Grimm’s “The White Snake”) We talk about the role of the titular serpent in this story.  He ate the mysterious and hidden snake and it almost killed him indirectly.  He had been a trusted servant in a palace, which represents a place where all needs are met except those of personal/spiritual growth and transformation.  In fact, after the servant gains his preternatural gift, he is threatened with death a few t...

(Grimm’s “The White Snake” Summary Pt. 4/4) The haughty princess gives the Gifted Servant a third and final task to gain her hand: retrieve the golden apple from The Tree of Life.  He wanders for a long time, but one day while he is resting under a tree the three ravens he rescued drop the apple they got from the End of the World.  After he and the princess share the apple their hearts are full of love for each other.

Please like...

(Grimm’s “The White Snake” Summary Pt. 3) The servant, now on foot, comes to a kingdom where the king is having a contest for the hand of his daughter.  The task: a ring is tossed into the ocean and if the servant can’t fetch it, he’ll be thrown in repeatedly until he does die.  Gathered villager spectators grieve.  One of the fish he rescued bring him a mussel with the ring in it, and the servant brings it to the king.  The prince...

(Grimm’s “The White Snake” Summary Pt. 2) The loyal servant, who now can hear the talk of animals and has been vindicated, goes out into the world.  He encounters and saves a series of vulnerable animals.  This includes killing his own horse to save some raven chicks who’ve been thrown out of the nest.  

Please like, comment and subscribe!

For the full episode:

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-gbskd-18a398a

For more in this podca...