The Golem And The Jinni

The Encounter:

And then, down one of the streets, a strange light appeared, seeming to float in midair.  She paused, alarmed.  The light was coming her way.  It grew closer, and she saw that it was not a light, but a face, and the face belonged to a man.  He was tall, taller than she, and bareheaded.  His dark hair was cropped close to his skull.  His face--and his hands as well, she saw now--shone with that warm light, like a lamp shaded with gauze.
     She watched him come nearer, unable to take her eyes away.  She saw him glance at her, and then look again.  Then he too stopped.  At that distance, she could not feel his curiosity, but his expression made it plain.  What, he was thinking, is she?
     The shock of it rooted her to the spot.  Only the Rabbi had ever been able to see her as something different.
     She knew she should turn and run.  Get away from this man, who by seeing her, truly seeing her, already knew too much.   But she couldn't.  The rest of the world had fallen away.  She had to know who he was.  What he was.
     And so, as the man started his cautions approach, the Golem stood her ground, and waited.

 The Golem and the Jinni is about two non-human entities trying to make a life for themselves amongst humans.  Beautifully written, it takes you down the streets of New York at the dawn of the 20th century and down the Bedouin desert roads a millennium before, showing how these two individuals' fates are interwoven and their struggles to become free from their destinies.

A definite recommend!

Ode From A Modern Writer

O mighty blank screen, whose brilliance shines upon me

Like some great god’s halo, beckoning me,

Poor mortal that I am, to fill thy great expanse

With tales of heroes, monsters, and mystical romance.

With dreams of wonders, adventures and lost paradises

You do your best to temp me, adding honeyed promises

Of an enthusiastic fan base and a prompt rise to greatness

Feeding my ever-growing desire of literary success.

Many a time I fall and stumble, before I even reach the chair before you

Succumbing to the terrible vice of laziness, or that of feeling blue.

But always you call me back to action, via threats or cajoleries

Until my fingers are typing away about knights, sorcerers and fairies.

The months course by, the seasons pass and finally my novel is finished.

‘At last!  My time of torment is over,’ I cry with pride undiminished.

Until my reviews come in, filled with criticism and acrimony—

Alas, my victory was short-lived, I realized with agony.

But, like a beacon of light in a tempestuous sea

You beckon me back, and without a protest I flee

To your expansive blankness, to start the ordeal over.

Because to a writer, there’s no better parent, friend or lover…

…Than you.

~Alessa Ellefson

A Nation’s Key To Power

While reading a history book, I came across a very interesting passage:

“History as we know it came of age in tandem with the European nation-states.  As the structure of the modern university coalesced—with knowledge categorized into disciplines, and scholars categorized into academic departments—Europe’s global dominance in technology and economic power was so great that it seemed reasonable to imagine that Europeans had advanced to a higher level than peoples in other parts of the world.”

This brings interesting points, such as the fact that nations cannot become great (and enjoy power, I suppose, if they get high off of that sort of thing) unless there is a structured way of learning that encourages not only the spread of knowledge, but also of reasoning and healthy debates.

Methinks, therefore, that should any of these traits vanish, is when we start to see a country’s downfall…

Source:

The Heritage of World Civilizations: Combined Volume (9th Edition)