Chrasmologic

David Stockhoff · 08 Jan 2009, 03:24 · from 2009-January.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:24:59 -0500
Subject: (urth) Chrasmologic
In-Reply-To: <mailman.7037.1231378840.15759.urth-urth.net at lists.urth.net>
References: <mailman.7037.1231378840.15759.urth-urth.net at lists.urth.net>
Message-ID: <4965720B.6010201 at verizon.net>

The Bible (along with The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories and a good dictionary) is all you'll ever really need to understand Wolfe:

  Oreb

Meaning: raven [from Hebrew "black"]
a prince of Midian 
<http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/midian.html>, who, being 
defeated by Gideon 
<http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/gideon.html> and put to 
straits, was slain along with Zeeb 
<http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/zeeb.html> (Judg. 7:20-25 
<http://www.christiananswers.net/bible/judg7.html#20>)
Many of the Midianites 
<http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/midianite.html> perished 
along with him (Ps. 83:9 
<http://www.christiananswers.net/bible/psa83.html#9>; Isa. 10:26 
<http://www.christiananswers.net/bible/isa10.html#26>).

But Silk's Oreb is also clearly the Odin-like familiar of a witch, god, or prophet. Shakespeare referenced ravens in this sense:

"But the most frequent reference made by Shakespeare to this bird has regard to its supposed boding power. It is called the ?fatal raven? [/Titus Andronicus ? II, 3/]. A messenger of ill news is said to ?sing a raven?s note? [/2nd Henry VI ? III, 2/]."

Choughs are native to the Old World and very different from ravens, however. See Wiki for a photo.

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Message: 2
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:17:38 +0000
From: "Son of Witz" <sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org>
Subject: Re: (urth) Chrasmologic
To: "The Urth Mailing List" <urth at lists.urth.net>
Message-ID: <W698261462156361231370258 at webmail35>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

***************

While I was writing about laughs in Long Sun, I forgot to mention Oreb.  loving that damn bird. Do you pronounce Chough as "Chuff" "Choff" "Coff" "Cuff"????   I live right near a huge park and we've got fat ravens and crows all over the neighborhood.  My son and I have seen them catching rats and scarfing down on our neighbors' roofs.  I love their obnoxious cackles. If I could have a talking raven, I would. Fuck a parrot.  This is a Shakespeare allusion, no? talking ravens? I remember that from somewhere.

~wtiz

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