well, maybe so but they say a stray dog come howling around Johnny Miller's house, 'bout midnight, as much as two weeks ago; and a whippoorwill come in and lit on the banisters and sung, the very same evening; and there ain't anybody dead there yet.

Great Tom Sawyer ref. It continues, "Well, I know that. And suppose there ain't. Didn't Gracie Miller fall in the kitchen fire and burn herself terrible the very next Saturday?"

While Gracie Miller survives her terrible burns, who knows what happens to her after the novel? A ref I know you'll just love is:

It was written in 1885 by Holger Drachmann as a midsummer hymn (midsommervise) called 'Vi elsker vort land' with a melody composed by P.E. Lange-Müller. Singing this surrounded by people and in full view of a flaming witch on a bonfire can feel very surreal. Burn the witch. Love the land. Burn the witch. Love the land. Drink some beer.

During Sankthansaften/midsommer burning the witch spirits to rid the land of them is a cause for celebration, and along with keeping shoes pointing up at doorways and chanting 7-9-13 after boasting or saying something good (to prevent jinxing it), helps keep the good luck flowing and the harm away. We can respect these parts of cultural tradition and belief, as we respect the people to whom they mean something. :P ;) xx

Ok but I do not think I've ever met anyone who took Sankt Hans as anything serious - that is to say for them it is all tradition (see a thing burn, call it a witch, listen to some tunes, drink some beer, grill out yayyy) and none belief. Of course with my luck I'll end up having an Ari Aster Sankt Hans this year.

But it's a nice reference.

But if there's no belief to it, then why do it? If you stopped doing it, would you feel things were a little off, would other people? Would you sense your year might get worse, and if it did, kick yourself for missing Sankt Hans? Maybe not. Maybe it's just all tradition, no belief. But I think there's belief there, that although not fashionable these days to admit (not least because burning witches has gone out of style), operates as a motivation compelling people to do the same "meaningless" traditions year after year. They're not meaningless because people believe them, on some level.

But maybe Sankt Hans is an exception. But other things, like 7-9-13 why do that? It's not tradition. If you travel, you'll still catch yourself saying it, maybe under your breath if in another culture. But you'll feel weird if you don't do it. You'll feel you bring yourself some bad luck. Even if a person doesn't "believe" that it could be the case, on another level they do believe that, because they'll feel weird if they don't do it. It's a belief that it will affect things. It's not easy to admit in this context, I'm not asking you to "admit" it, I'm just saying it's part of who we are. We believe these things.

Have a happy (and safe!) Sankt Hans this year! :P ;) xx

The ending of your comment gave me a chuckle. Thank you.

Those kinds of beliefs are what lead to anti-vaxers, belief in homeopathy, astrology, etc... It has nothing to do with good or bad imagination. An egghead can imagine Star Wars or Lord of the Rings but that doesn't mean they aren't imaginative when someone tells them a grouse predicted a death as though they actually believed it.

It's interesting you see it like that. I bet there's a story there! :p :) xx

I guess I'm just more open minded about those things. I think you can do that, as well as treat science with respect (I have a chemistry degree after all). I just think it's good not to think the sum of what we have in science is everything that is.

well it does mean they're not imaginative, in a certain way. but it doesn't mean they're not imaginative in other ways.

when I read your comment I was like, "wow coming to the defense of calling other people crazy and not seeing the universe with wonder." yeah, only what you know, or what you're told, can happen, nothing outside of that. all vaccines are safe. only conventional medicine works. there's nothing we don't understand. a little arrogant much? extraordinary conservatism leads to extraordinary ignorance. i believe in astrology, and i love it. i reckon homeopathy definitely works. i don't want to get vaccinated. i'm guessing you enjoy hating on people who don't share your opinions, and you're sure their stupider and you're smarter, but you can't admit that, because it's about "facts". thanks "asiachick"

"those kinds of beliefs", "those kinds of people", "those countries", sounds pretty high-horse judgemental and discriminatory. but also hypocritical. here's how i see it coming across...so beliefs like your mother really cares about you and doesn't resent you? beliefs like praying at the temple is going to help you? and grandma is not supid for doing so? beliefs like what dragged our ancestors out of the incomprehensible universe and gave them a bit of reassurance? oh, now we have a couple "facts" a bit of science, just throw all that away? Because we've become so sure? Beliefs like indigenous people have a spiritaul connection to a piece of land? who cares, log the fuck out of it. beliefs like that scrap of sweater you carry around form when you were a kid is somehow special or lucky for you? beliefs like your worthless life has any meaning beside being a collection of atoms? Oh, yes, science, please account me and sum up my worth and give meaning to my life? without beliefs "like those" we're rootless. maybe you hate that part of your humanness, but you can't "science" your way outta that. you'll face to face it, or be perpetually uncomfortable in your skin and in the thousands of years of human culture that died before you to bring you the privilege of where you are now.

but we can't add it up, and measure it, so chuck it all away right? i'm glad you have solved the riddle of truth in the universe. what's it like being god and knowing everything absolutely? please enlighten me in your infinite wisdom and rid my life of uncomfortable uncertainty and pesky ambiguity and unknowns, actually, nope, i'm comfortable in all that, and i think i prefer a mystery. plus, i could never understand anything significant. my feeble human mind is just not up to the task of grokking reality. i can just tell you what i see.

This isn't an English creative writing class hangout space. It's a space dedicated to intellectual curiosity.

Quite ironic you hoisted yourself on a high horse to write that comment.

I feel you about that. :p Well, what can I say? I thought it was the right thing to do at the time :P ;) xx;p

i'll make this space whatever i want. no one tells me what kind of space this is. i decide what space this is for me. you don't define what "this space is" for me or anyone else, I decide I make this place what I choose it to be for myself, and so does everyone else. seems you have a problem with that.

you dont think stories are interesting intellectually? they're the most effective way to convey meaning.

how intellectually curious is it to assume that you know everything, can dismiss all hidden connections and have contempt for the beliefs of others? that's not great, you're defending your contempt of someone's belief in the context of a story about their relatives passing. and now you try to define what this space is, and I suppose you live by that, do you? the irony is you don't even live by what you say it is.

you, dude, were already up on that high horse before i got up here to address you.

you want me to address you from the ground? yeah, i get that's where you'd like to see people...you just wnat to say your peice and have everyone silent... but if i see you push someone, i push back and now you don't like that, that's a big irony: you're the one up on the high horse. that's the irony, you don't like it if someone comes up there to address you. Ok for you, but not others? if you can't take it bro, don't dish it out yeah.

I'm so glad you think highly of my English, good Sir. You should hear me speak one day!