The Greater Hummingbird (Usages and Researcher sections to go!); Nybelmar

Bard Judith

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Re: The Greater Hummingbird (Usages and Researcher sections to go!); Nybelmar

« Reply #45 on: 23 February 2008, 23:01:04 »

'woman trying to tan' - though the description of the preening Hummer is vivid and attractive, this simile should be changed.

Medieval women would not have sought to tan, as a sun-darkened skin equated one with the peasants who had to spend their days outside. Modern women (and men), ironically enough, now consider a tan desirable because it is a symbol of leisure: only the poor peons who toil under fluorescent lights and can't afford to take tropical vacations are 'fish-belly white'. Of course with the (comparatively) recent association of the sun with skin cancer, we may see society's perceptions shift back again to consider pale (for those whom it is natural) desirable.


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Re: The Greater Hummingbird (Usages and Researcher sections to go!); Nybelmar

« Reply #46 on: 24 February 2008, 00:00:57 »

But assuming this is a reference to the Krean judith....they already have darkish skin as the norm...So I don't think the same logic ('Pale is good') would apply to the Krean...since they are naturally un-pale themselves....


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Re: The Greater Hummingbird (Usages and Researcher sections to go!); Nybelmar

« Reply #47 on: 24 February 2008, 09:17:54 »

Without being judgemental about skin tone in general, I'm simply trying to point out that 'good' is usually defined in medieval and contemporary society alike by what the 'beautiful people' - in this case the wealthy and nobility - have, do, and are. Indicators of working status - whether calloused hands, sun-burnt skin, rough clothing, long vs short hair - are generally perceived as less desirable. The Krean probably have all sorts of status determiners, but I don't recall that exposing themselves to the sun (for whatever reason) is one of them.

Of course, if Coren has written somewhere that the Krean women rise every morning to greet the new day and bare their bodies to the rays as an act of worship, and the more sunbrowned the more devout, far be it from me to disagree! I'd still take exception to the contemporary verb 'tan', but I'm a picker of nits to a refined degree....


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Coren FrozenZephyr

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Re: The Greater Hummingbird (Usages and Researcher sections to go!); Nybelmar

« Reply #48 on: 25 February 2008, 03:12:33 »

I seem to generate debate even when I am not working on an entry

A couple of short remarks:

(1) This entry needs EXTENSIVE re-organization, following Talia's detailed Uri-check above: (i) the main entry will be significantly shortened, with several sections "outsourced" to free-standing entries, (ii) Most of the detail will be transposed to "excerpts"; (iii) the body of the text will be structured by "theme-sentences" to allow a reader to skim through and skip sections they are not interested in

I would need a couple of uninterrupted, "block" sessions (2-3 hours) to finish such an in-depth edit. Regretably, I don't have the time to devote to that at the moment. So, I will have to come back to this over the summer.

(No further uris are necessary until Talia's comments have been integrated. But thanks for the enthusiasm! grin

)

(2) Thanks Judith! I must confess tge anachronism of "tan" didn't occur to me ::shepish grin::

(3) Re: skin-tone of the Krean

They are actually quite light-skinned; not "marble white" but more along the lines of Mediterranean folk: "Shielded by the great canopy of their rainforests the slender Krean figure complemented a soft, light skin touched with the faintest of grain tones." (Krean entry)

Those among the Aestera who make a point of their Aesteran - as opposed to Krean - ancestry, would try to remain as pale as possible (maybe they share the Japanese penchant for walking with an umbrella on sunny days?): the ancient Aestera had a nocturnal cycle, their waking hours from a couple of hours before sunset to mid-morning

I presume the separationist among the Lillivear, on the other hand, would make a point of getting their skin as tanned as possible: (i) opposite side of the same coin of reasoning: the Lillivear traditionally lived 'on the sunny side of life' ;P (ii) since the forest canopy of the northern woods shield the Krean populace from excessive exposure to the sun, I guess a "darker skin" would signify that one has travelled widely & "experienced the world" in addition to one's having - oh, I don't know - a couple of summer residences on the Zhunite plains

(4)

Quote

the Krean women rise every morning to greet the new day and bare their bodies to the rays as an act of worship, and the more sunbrowned the more devout, far be it from me to disagree!

I understand it was intended as a humourous remark but I am quite fascinated by the idea cool

Judith, now I just HAVE to invent a new ceremony to integrate that! I fear we will be seeing devout lobsters in Zhun, who may come to regret having been a bit over-zealous in their worship...

EDIT: Maybe, the common folk sarcastically refer to them as "the Hummers"?


« Last Edit: 25 February 2008, 03:45:11 by Coren FrozenZephyr »	Logged

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Re: The Greater Hummingbird (Usages and Researcher sections to go!); Nybelmar

« Reply #49 on: 07 August 2012, 03:24:31 »

I'm worried that this bird might be too big to hide under the bush.


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Artimidor Federkiel

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Re: The Greater Hummingbird (Usages and Researcher sections to go!); Nybelmar

« Reply #50 on: 04 September 2012, 03:49:54 »

Question here as well: As this one's too big to hide under the bush - could we make a move and shoo this one out of its hiding place? We could put it up, at least what's there so far (might take three updates tough... lol

) - feel free to add dozens of further pages to contribute to the myth of the entry's length, but they could be added later to what we have on site. Or has the entry already achieved such status of immortality that you aren't allowed to touch it anymore, Coren? rolleyes


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Coren FrozenZephyr

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Re: The Greater Hummingbird (Usages and Researcher sections to go!); Nybelmar

« Reply #51 on: 04 September 2012, 03:58:14 »

Quote

Or has the entry already achieved such status of immortality that you aren't allowed to touch it anymore, Coren?

I like that line of reasoning very much! Can I use it as my excuse? buck

Jokes aside, I think this is too long. I will prune it down. Considerably. I don't want you to spend three updates on a bird, mythical or not!

I know I've been avoiding this entry and I know one of these days I should make a start. It's just that... it's so long! I'm procrastinating.


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The Greater Hummingbird (Usages and Researcher sections to go!); Nybelmar