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The Platform 2: update and Everything We Know So Far
June 10, 2020 April 21, 2020 by OtakuKart Staff
The Platform is originally a Spanish movie that came out in 2019. This one is a science fiction horror film. The talk about a new sequel that is The Platform 2 is going on. I'll be just talking about The Platform 2 update and other important details about this upcoming new movie. Also, spoilers are part of this post, and this is a quick spoiler warning for all of you who don't like spoiler content. Without delaying the post any more, let us begin discussing the topic.
The Platform 2 update
Platform 2 will be released in 2021, although this isn't officially announced yet, but reports suggest that there is indeed going to be a sequel to the original movie, and it will probably be released in 2021. Netflix has acquired the rights of The Platform movie, and The Platform was released on Netflix in March 2020, which is last year. Netflix, as we know, renew any show based on its popularity worldwide, the same can be said for the movies.
If movies become insanely popular, we'll get to see more of those sequels because they will generate good revenue. This is the reason why the fans of The Platform are positive that the movie will be renewed for a sequel. So far there has been absolutely so much information about the movie released which is sad but the hopes that information will come sooner rather than later.
The Platform Details
The Platform movie directed was Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. This movie was written by Pedro Rivero and David Desola. The main cast of this movie was Alexandra Masangkay, Emilio Buale Coka, Antonia San Juan, Zorion Eguileor, Iván Massagué, etc. Music of the movie has been provided by Aranzazu Calleja and cinematography by Jon D. Domínguez. Haritz Zubillaga and Elena Ruiz were the editors of this movie.
Production companies of The Platform are Basque Films, Mr. Miyagi Films, Plataforma La Película and A.I.E. Owners of the distribution part of the movie are Netflix. This movie was released on 06 September 2019 and then again on Netflix on 20 March 2020. The is made in the Spanish language as its country of origin is Spain. The Platform won People's Choice Award for Midnight Madness in 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. So, let us see if the movie is made, which one of the above people involved in the first movie will be involved in the second.
The Platform Plot
What is The Platform movie all about? The movie is about two main characters who are in a tower-style facility. It is sort of a prison with cells ok each floor. Food is served on each cell via platforms that run over the cells.
What the upper cell prisoner eats and he what he leaves moves to the lower cell and so on. Food is served for just up to two minutes per day. This indeed is a horrible thing to do. Thus, meaning there isn't enough food for the lowermost cell.
There are just two humans in each cell and the prison is completely a vertical building. There is also a woman who comes down the platform every month in search of her loved one and whoever tries to irritate her, she is able to kill them with ease. One main character ended up in this prison for a year sentence for killing people and the other one volunteered in return for a diploma. Sooner or later all prisoners are shifted from cell to cell and they are allowed to keep one item with them which they had in their last sell, remember just one item.
Then the real story is set in motion. The nightmare of being at the end of the hole and the trauma and torture one suffers from it is indeed horrific to watch. The Platform has won a total of 9 awards and 14 nominations to go on with them. The storyline of this movie is certainly pretty intriguing. The movie is a horror one and it is made in the best way possible, as everything seems to be in place in the movie but as we know no human can make a perfect product but overall it is a fairly good movie, to say the least.
The Platform Critic Response
There are some well-known websites that review and rate the movies. IMDb has given The Platform rating of 7/10. Rotten Tomatoes has given it a rating of 83% and an average rating of 7.43/10. The movie became more popular due to Coronavirus pandemic when it was launched on Netflix last month and now has become the talk of the town and fans are demanding a new sequel and but the looks of response received Netflix will be more than just obliged to fulfil their requests.
The Guardian has suggested this movie as a perfect remedy for quarantine content. So, let us see whether the official news regarding The Platform 2 will ever come out or not. Let us know your thoughts regarding The Platform 2 in comments.
Industries of Titan: update, Early Access, Trailer and Features
Succession Season 3: update, Plot, and Cast Details


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Q: Get list of audio mp3 files and play them in Unity 3d I'm trying to build an audio player that gets the mp3 files from an external source along with logic for Play, Stop, Next and Prev buttons but I haven't figured out how to do it.
http://localhost:8383/Unity3d/Audio/BT - Paul Van Dyk - Namistai.mp3"
http://localhost:8383/Unity3d/Audio/Stevie Wonder - Skeletons.mp3
And then with C#, I'm opening a UnityWebRequest for the URI, save it into an AudioClip variable and then to an AudioSource variable but I'm then finding issues with using the length property/saving into some sort of Audio clip array.
Here's my code below:
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.Audio;
using UnityEngine.Networking;
using UnityEngine.UI;

[RequireComponent(typeof(AudioSource))]
public class AudioManager : MonoBehaviour
{
    public AudioClip[] musicClips;
    private int currentTrack;
    private AudioSource source;
    public List<string> externalAudio;

IEnumerator GetAudioClip()
{
    externalAudio.Add("http://localhost:8383/Unity3d/Audio/Stevie%20Wonder%20-%20Skeletons.mp3");
    externalAudio.Add("http://localhost:8383/Unity3d/Audio/York%20-%20On%20The%20Beach.mp3");
    externalAudio.Add("http://localhost:8383/Unity3d/Audio/BT%20-%20Paul%20Van%20Dyk%20-%20Namistai.mp3");
    externalAudio.Add("http://localhost:8383/Unity3d/Audio/S.O.S.%20BAND-JUST%20BE%20GOOD%20TO%20ME%20(SINGLE).mp3");
    externalAudio.Add("http://localhost:8383/Unity3d/Audio/Michael%20Jackson%20-%20Beat%20It%20(Official%20Video).mp3");

    Debug.Log("Hello World");
    Debug.Log(UnityWebRequestMultimedia.GetAudioClip("http://localhost:8383/Unity3d/Audio/Stevie%20Wonder%20-%20Skeletons.mp3", AudioType.MPEG));

    foreach (var audioClip in externalAudio)
    {
        Debug.Log(audioClip);

        using (UnityWebRequest www = UnityWebRequestMultimedia.GetAudioClip(audioClip, AudioType.MPEG))
        {
            UnityWebRequest request = new UnityWebRequest();

            yield return www.SendWebRequest();

            if (request.result == UnityWebRequest.Result.ConnectionError)
            {
                Debug.Log(www.error);
            }
            else
            {
                musicClips = DownloadHandlerAudioClip.GetContent(www);
                source.clip = musicClips;
                Debug.Log("Audio is playing.");
            }
        }
    }
}

// Start is called before the first frame update
void Start()
{
    source = GetComponent<AudioSource>();

    //PLAY MUSIC
    PlayMusic();
}

public void PlayMusic()
{
    if (source.isPlaying)
    {
        return;
    }
    GetAudioClip();

    currentTrack--;
    if (currentTrack < 0)
    {
        currentTrack = 0;
    }
    StartCoroutine(WaitForMusicEnd());
}

IEnumerator WaitForMusicEnd()
{
    while (source.isPlaying)
    {
        yield return null;
    }
    NextTitle();
}

public void NextTitle()
{
    source.Stop();
    currentTrack++;

    if (currentTrack > musicClips.Length - 1)
    {
        currentTrack = 0;
    }
    source.clip = musicClips[currentTrack];
    source.Play();

    //Show title

    StartCoroutine("WaitForMusicEnd");
}

public void PreviousTitle()
{
    source.Stop();
    currentTrack--;

    if (currentTrack < 0)
    {
        currentTrack = musicClips.Length - 1;
    }
    source.clip = musicClips[currentTrack];
    source.Play();

    //Show title

    StartCoroutine("WaitForMusicEnd");
}

public void StopMusic()
{
    StopCoroutine("WaitForMusicEnd");
    source.Stop();
}
}

How can I save the external audio into an AudioClip list and then use them on the play/stop functions logic?

A: So this is a little bit broad but here is what I would probably do.

*

*As said let your server provide a list of URLs for the downloads. This way you don't have to hardcode them into your client.

*So with the previous point, the first thing you do is one single normal GET request to receive that list of URLs, e.g. simply separated by \n (line breaks)
So the first string message you receive could look like e.g.
http://localhost:8383/Moonbeam%20Challenge/Audio/Stevie%20Wonder%20-%20Skeletons.mp3
http://localhost:8383/Moonbeam%20Challenge/Audio/York%20-%20On%20The%20Beach.mp3
http://localhost:8383/Moonbeam%20Challenge/Audio/BT%20-%20Paul%20Van%20Dyk%20-%20Namistai.mp3
http://localhost:8383/Moonbeam%20Challenge/Audio/S.O.S.%20BAND-JUST%20BE%20GOOD%20TO%20ME%20(SINGLE).mp3
http://localhost:8383/Moonbeam%20Challenge/Audio/Michael%20Jackson%20-%20Beat%20It%20(Official%20Video).mp3

*This received list you Split into the individual URLs
var urls = urlList.Split('\n');

*For these you start your individual GetAudioClip requests.

*The results you store in an array/a list as elements. You don't assign the entire musicClips. I would rather use a
 List<AudioClip> musicClips = new List<AudioClip>();

and then from your downloads do
 musicClips.Add(DownloadHandlerAudioClip.GetContent(www));

*you also don't want to assign and play each downloaded clip to the AudioSource as soon as it is downloaded but rather wait until all of them are downloaded (or at least the first one, depending on your needs)
So this might look somewhat like
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.Audio;
using UnityEngine.Networking;
using UnityEngine.UI;

using System.Linq;

[RequireComponent(typeof(AudioSource))]
public class AudioManager : MonoBehaviour
{
    [Header("References")]
    [SerializeField]
    private AudioSource source;

    [Header("Settings")]
    [SerializeField] private string baseURL;
    [SerializeField] private string[] externalAudio;
    [SerializeField] private bool autoStartPlayAfterDownloads = true;

    [Header("Debugging")]
    [SerializeField] private List<AudioClip> musicClips = new List<AudioClip>();
    [SerializeField] private int currentTrack;
    [SerializeField] private bool isInitialized;

    private Coroutine currentPlayTrack;

    // Yes, if you make Start return IEnumerator then Units
    // automatically runs it as a Coroutine
    private IEnumerator Start()
    {
        // block input from the outside until this controller is finished with the downloads
        isInitialized = false;

        if (!source) source = GetComponent<AudioSource>();

        // Here either use the approach with first receiving a list from the server
        yield return GetAudioClipsInfo();

        // OR if you already have the clip urls assigned via the Inspector use one of
        yield return GetAudioClipsSequencial();
        // OR
        yield return GetAudioClipsParallel();

        // allow to do things from this point on
        isInitialized = true;

        if(autoStartPlayAfterDownloads) PlayFirstTitle();
    }

    // This is the routine that downloads the URL list from the server
    // then it starts the individual downloads
    private IEnumerator GetAudioClipsInfo()
    {
        // Make the first request for receiving the list of URLs from the server
        // If not using this but already assigning the urls
        // via Inspector then simply directly use the "GetAudioClips" below
        using (var request = UnityWebRequest.Get(baseURL))
        {
            yield return request.SendWebRequest();

            switch (request.result)
            {
                case UnityWebRequest.Result.ConnectionError:
                case UnityWebRequest.Result.DataProcessingError:
                case UnityWebRequest.Result.ProtocolError:
                    Debug.LogError($"Could not get list of clips! Error: {request.error}", this);

                    yield break;
            }

            var urlList = request.downloadHandler.text;

            externalAudio = urlList.Split('\n');

            // Here you can either go for the sequencial downloads
            yield return GetAudioClipsSequencial();

            // OR run them all parallel
            yield return GetAudioClipsParallel();
        }
    }

    // This version starts one download at a time, waits until it is done
    // then starts the next
    private IEnumerator GetAudioClipsSequencial()
    {
        musicClips.Clear();

        foreach (var url in externalAudio)
        {
            Debug.Log(url);

            using (var www = UnityWebRequestMultimedia.GetAudioClip(url, AudioType.MPEG))
            {
                yield return www.SendWebRequest();

                switch (www.result)
                {
                    case UnityWebRequest.Result.ConnectionError:
                    case UnityWebRequest.Result.DataProcessingError:
                    case UnityWebRequest.Result.ProtocolError:
                        Debug.LogError($"Could not get clip from \"{url}\"! Error: {www.error}", this);

                        continue;
                }

                musicClips.Add(DownloadHandlerAudioClip.GetContent(www));
            }
        }
    }

    // This version starts all downloads at once and waits until they are all done
    // probably faster than the sequencial version
    private IEnumerator GetAudioClipsParallel()
    {
        musicClips.Clear();
        var requests = new List<UnityWebRequest>();

        foreach (var url in externalAudio)
        {
            Debug.Log(url);

            var www = UnityWebRequestMultimedia.GetAudioClip(url, AudioType.MPEG);

            // Start the request without waiting
            www.SendWebRequest();
            requests.Add(www);
        }

        // Wait for all requests to finish
        yield return new WaitWhile(() => requests.Any(r => !r.isDone));

        // Now examine and use all results
        foreach (var www in requests)
        {
            switch (www.result)
            {
                case UnityWebRequest.Result.ConnectionError:
                case UnityWebRequest.Result.DataProcessingError:
                case UnityWebRequest.Result.ProtocolError:
                    Debug.LogError($"Could not get clip from \"{www.url}\"! Error: {www.error}", this);

                    continue;
            }

            musicClips.Add(DownloadHandlerAudioClip.GetContent(www));

            www.Dispose();
        }
    }

    public void PlayFirstTitle()
    {
        if (!isInitialized) return;

        if (source.isPlaying) return;

        if (currentPlayTrack != null)
        {
            StopCoroutine(currentPlayTrack);
        }

        currentPlayTrack = StartCoroutine(PlayTrack(0));
    }

    private IEnumerator PlayTrack(int index)
    {
        // Make sure the index is within the given clips range
        index = Mathf.Clamp(index, 0, musicClips.Count);

        // update the current track to make next and previous work
        currentTrack = index;

        // get clip by index
        var clip = musicClips[currentTrack];

        // Assign and play
        source.clip = clip;
        source.Play();

        // wait for clip end
        while (source.isPlaying)
        {
            yield return null;
        }

        NextTitle();
    }

    public void NextTitle()
    {
        if (!isInitialized) return;

        if (currentPlayTrack != null)
        {
            StopCoroutine(currentPlayTrack);
        }

        source.Stop();
        currentTrack = (currentTrack + 1) % musicClips.Count;

        currentPlayTrack = StartCoroutine(PlayTrack(currentTrack));
    }

    public void PreviousTitle()
    {
        if (!isInitialized) return;

        if (currentPlayTrack != null)
        {
            StopCoroutine(currentPlayTrack);
        }

        source.Stop();
        currentTrack--;

        if (currentTrack < 0)
        {
            currentTrack = musicClips.Count - 1;
        }

        currentPlayTrack = StartCoroutine(PlayTrack(currentTrack));
    }

    public void StopMusic()
    {
        if (!isInitialized) return;

        if (currentPlayTrack != null)
        {
            StopCoroutine(currentPlayTrack);
        }

        source.Stop();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


After the NEM Foundation released an announcement this week about the state of their funds, revealing that they only had about a month of operations left, the crypto community has been questioning how things got to this point. CryptoNewspeople looks at the history of the Foundation and how this financial disaster could have come about.
Forbes' latest edition of "Fintech 50" has been released, this time with only six crypto and blockchain companies, as opposed to last year's 11. CryptoNewspeople examines what made these companies stand out even amid the crypto bear market.
As the controversy around embattled Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX deepens, CryptoNewspeople gives a rundown of the exchange's legal history, current legal problems, and some of the questions raised concerning the death of its founder and the locations of its cold wallet reserves.
And happy Chinese New Year to all our Hodler's who celebrated this week! We here at CryptoNewspeople looked at all of the major events that have taken place during the Year of the Yellow Mountain Dog.


text:
Photos: Students rejected at Afghan universities
Female university students in Afghanistan were turned away on Wednesday after the Taliban administration said women would be suspended from tertiary education.
The decision to exclude women was announced Tuesday night in a letter to universities from the Ministry of Higher Education, drawing condemnation from foreign governments and the United Nations.
The UN mission in Afghanistan called on the Taliban administration to "immediately" reverse the decision.
Students and witnesses said that the presence of security forces outside the universities was higher than usual and that the Taliban armed forces told the students to leave, even if they were going to carry out administrative tasks.
"We went to the university, the Taliban were at the gate and they told us: 'You are not allowed to enter the university until further notice'…everyone was crying," said Shaista, a business administration student at a private university in Kabul. .
According to the announcement, the decision was made by the cabinet of the Taliban administration.
Several Taliban officials, including the deputy foreign minister and administration spokesman, have spoken out in favor of female education in recent months.
The Taliban's supreme spiritual leader, based in the southern city of Kandahar, has the final say on major decisions.
Most girls cannot go to school beyond the primary classes. The Taliban administration has said it is working on a plan for girls' secondary education, but has not given a timetable.
See also Pennsylvania woman found guilty in US Capitol riot case

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
MountainStar Sports Group
Tags : MountainStar Sports Group
Foster, Hunt Families, MountainStar Sports Group Foundation announce $1M Grant
Staff Report April 6, 2020
The Paul L. Foster Family Foundation and the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation, in partnership with MountainStar Sports Group Foundation, have established a matching grant program of $1million to assist El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank (EPFH). The gift will enable the food bank to continue providing food and nutrition assistance to the […]Read More
Chihuahuas recipient of Ballpark Digest's Continued Excellence Award
Staff Report November 13, 2019
Ballpark Digest announced Wednesday that the El Paso Chihuahuas are the recipient of the Continued Excellence Award given annually to a Minor League Baseball organization that has "continued to be a standard of excellence in baseball, create an atmosphere of family fun entertainment and exemplify great community partnership." "It is an honor to be recognized by […]Read More
MountainStar Sports Group, El Paso Chihuahuas host a Minor League
Staff Report September 23, 2019
For the second time in 2019, the El Paso Chihuahuas will host one of Minor League Baseball's (MiLB) premier events – the Minor League Baseball Innovators Summit and the Minor League Baseball Innovators Summit Trade Show. "The Minor League Baseball Innovators Summit is an official proclamation and accurate depiction that our 160 teams are all […]Read More
All Aboard! El Paso Locomotive FC Official Name of City's
Staff Report October 4, 2018
On Thursday afternoon, at a high-energy presentation at the EPIC Railyard Event Center, officials from MountainStar Sports Group announced that El Paso Locomotive FC is the name of the newest USL team in the country. "Thanks to input from thousands of people throughout El Paso and the Borderplex who participated in our Name The Team […]Read More


Let's talk about how the library is worth its weight in gold. If the library's annual budget is divided by the number of people living in Pittsfield ( $82,165.00 /4,120) each person in the community is contributing $19.94 to the library.
The average cost of a new book/DVD/audio is about $25.00.
The library has over physical13,500 items, and over 500,000 digital resources to loan to you!
Here is a library calculator. If each person checked out just one book/DVD/audio per year you would be saving money.
That does not include the savings a community member receives when they attend a free event hosted by the library.
Consider checking out a movie, book or audio book or attending an upcoming library event.


It doesn't matter if you celebrate Columbus Day, Leif Erikson Day or both, as you're probably still on the look out for fun ways to enjoy these special days without spending a small fortune. Luckily, these amazing holidays have a lot to offer anyone willing to do a little looking around. You can easily take this time frame and embrace the explorer within yourself. These tips will help you find adventure and fun around every corner, without forcing you to foot the bill for such an expedition. So, get your explorer hats on and have some fun as these two holidays will help you learn more about the country, yourself and your sense of adventure, even if you're on a tight budget.
Both Christopher Columbus and Leif Erikson were explorers, so while you're celebrating their honorary days, you might want to become an explorer yourself. This doesn't mean you have to purchase airline tickets to a foreign country or even hop in your car for an across the country road trip. Instead, you might want to consider exploring your own town or city. Go to an area you rarely ever visit and see what it has to offer. You might be surprised by how much certain things have changed since the last time you were there. You can also spend some time exploring a park in your area. To spice things up, come up with a scavenger hunt to keep everything fresh and exciting, especially for children. You might also consider hiking a new trail or even trying out a new park. If you do plan on traveling for the holiday then use a map instead of your GPS or take it to a new level and use a compass.
Whether you have kids or not, making a helmet can be a great way to have some fun during both of these holidays. On Christopher Columbus Day, you're going to be working with more of a Spaniard helmet, which can easily be made of newspaper and feather. However, you have a bit more versatility to work with on Leif Erikson Day. This day offers a wide assortment of Viking options, which can be a lot of fun to work with. There're many tutorials online for these helmets, so you can even make a few if you're up for the challenge. If you have a lot of time to spare, then you can even consider making a helmet with a beard by crocheting. No matter what you choose, have some fun with it. You can even parade around the home in your new creations.
Food can really help you to embrace the culture of a holiday while also adding fun to your experience. Luckily, these two holidays actually give you a wide assortment of options to choose from. For Christopher Columbus Day you can choose between Spanish or Italian cuisine. Spanish meals will help celebrate the country that sent Columbus on his mission. One of the most common dishes in Spain is paella, which is simple to make and can be customized to suit your family's individual tastes. Columbus himself was Italian though, so a nice Italian meal should be fun too. You have a wide variety of pasta dishes to choose from here if you're on a tight budget or need something easy to whip up. Finally, if you're celebrating Leif Erikson Day then you might want to look into some Viking recipes. These meals might not be as traditional as you would normally pick. In fact, you will have to keep things simple with meat, bread, vegetables and dried fruit with honey. You can even try your hand at making your own mead for this celebration.
Community events are fairly common for Christopher Columbus, but the events might depend on which area of the country you reside. If you're in the Pacific Northwest, you might find that Leif Erikson community events are more common. No matter where you live, you should try to find an event to help your family celebrate the holiday. This will allow you to learn more about the holiday you are celebrating, as well as the person behind it. Plus, it will bring you closer to your community, which is a very valuable thing to embrace during such holidays.
One of the best ways to showcase this holiday is to learn more about it. There is certainly a lot more to Christopher Columbus Day than him discovering America. As a matter of fact, this claim is widely disputed by so many today. Columbus Day was also created to help boost relationships with Italian Americans during a particularly tough time. Leif Erikson Day is often celebrated by those that have Viking ancestry because they believe this brave explorer was the original person that discovered America. No matter what you believe, knowing the history of the two men will help you learn more about the country you live in, which is always important. You might also want to spend some time learning about Native American history during this time, particularly when it comes to the tribes that might have interacted with the two men.
If you're looking for a family friendly and inexpensive activity, then you might want to consider building your own boats. You can work with a wide variety of styles here, as both Viking and European boats will help celebrate the holidays. There are lots of models for sell as well as tutorials on how to make these boats. However, if you want to cut expenditures substantially then you can always make your boat out of recyclables. See what you have around the house and then let the family create their own boat. You can always compete to see which boat floats the best and which is the fastest. In fact, you might find this activity will keep the family busy all day long, which will make your holiday even more memorable.
One major aspect of both of these holidays is the Native Americans they interacted with. These tribes were here for quite some time prior to explorers. Thus, knowing more about Native American culture and history is crucial to celebrating these holidays. Native American culture and their overall future on the continent were changed exponentially due to the explorers that navigated to their lands. In many cases, the Native Americans actually came to the aid of the explorers. Their lack of hostility also allowed the explorers to return home to share the news of their discoveries. So, no matter how you feel about the explorers and their special holidays, celebrating the Native Americans that lived here first is always a good way to improve on the holidays.
Columbus Day tends to be a three day weekend for many people, which in the retail world is a great opportunity to show off some sales. You should find everything from vehicles to mattresses on sale, so shop around to see if you can score some major deals before the holiday season. You probably won't see another holiday sale until Black Friday arrives, which will signal the beginning of the holiday rush. So, prepping for the holidays now or simply getting the things you need for your household at a discounted price is certain to make your budget a lot happier. Many restaurants will also offer deals too, so you might be able to grab a bite to eat or a drink at your favorite venues for a lot less than you'd normally pay.
A three-day weekend is also a great time to have a get-together. Autumn can be a very busy time for the whole family, so this might be your last excuse to get everyone you love together before the holidays begin. So, try to have a little fun if you can. You can whip up decorations for these holidays with ease too. One of the best options is to simply stick with autumn décor to supplement the items you have to decorate for this holiday. If you don't have any décor then consider printing out maps or hanging up those you already have. You can also make a board that shows where you've traveled. To add more fun, you can purchase different markers to allow your guests to showcase their adventures too. When it comes to food, you can whip up appetizers for cheap or invite your guests to bring their own favorite dishes for a potluck celebration. You can even ask to keep the meals themed for the holiday. As far as entertainment is concerned, you can give almost any game a holiday theme. You might also consider making up a scavenger hunt.
Often, many people like to travel during Columbus Day due to the three-day weekend. However, if you're on a budget, your best option might be to stay home. This will allow you to save money but will also give you a chance to relax and rest before the busy season is in full swing. This holiday is a great time to put your feet up and catch up on documentaries on the holiday, which should be playing on TV or streaming on your favorite services. You can also catch up on work around the house to ensure you'll have an easier week when you do go back to work. Your three-day weekend is entirely up to you though, so use it wisely to ensure you feel brave enough to explore your world when your break is up.
Although these holidays are considered to be quite minor, you might be surprised by the many ways you can enjoy them. These simple tips will help you find your perfect way to celebrate and learn during these holidays, which might give you even more reason to rejoice.


text:
THE SORCERESS OF KARRES — Snippet 32
by Drak Bibliophile | Nov 25, 2009 | FreerSnippet, Snippets
One of the nicest things about Pausert as younger man. Goth decided, was that he looked to her for leadership. Not that she wanted him to all the time, but she could see how their roles would change as they grew older. Now, he was very trusting of her. If she'd said to almost any other person, "'I need to sell this miffel-fur coat," they would have wanted to know why, and formed opinions about her because of that. Pausert had just smiled and said that there really was only one place to sell that kind of thing, and that he'd show her the way straight after school. Now she just had to survive school.
The new uniform prickled and scratched, especially on her Makemake stung parts. The boys and the girls stared. And talked. Taking Pausert's mother's advice, she did not punch them for doing so. She just smiled politely. She did, during the recess on the large quadrangle, 'port a frog from the biology dissections in among a gossiping bunch of them who had been studiously ignoring her. It was foolish of them to assume that she couldn't hear them or it didn't matter if she did. She was able to sit, demurely, hands together on her lap, through the screaming and subsequent fight with the boys they thought responsible.
She went to ad.math class and carefully made two mistakes, just enough to be good but not as good as some of the boys. There'd be time to move soon. Once again Pausert's mother's survival course on 'how to be a social chameleon at school' made that rite of passage possible. Only Pausert seemed in the slightest suspicious — possibly because she'd done one of those problems with him yesterday. Or possibly because he knew his mother. The teacher put her to sit beside him, plainly intended as a punishment, a social solescism. It was the sort of punishment she was happy to endure. He didn't seem too put out by it either.
They left the class with a sea of homework… and smiles on their faces. Goth was aware of the reaction from the other children. The looks. It was a steep learning curve, this. She'd followed the captain, and observed Hulik do Eldel and Sunnat with the captain. She'd of course seen other Karres teens, and the interactions between them. But in a society of klatha-users, with adult teaching patterns resident in their heads, interactions were more restrained and yet more advanced and mature. This was different. She was indeed learning a great deal on her 'very important year'. She hadn't anticipated learning it from ordinary school-children, but from deadly dangers and the defense of Karres and all it held dear.
That would have been easier, really.
Later, with the miffel-fur coat, Goth and Pausert set out for the narrow streets of a poorer part of town. This was plainly one of the first areas settled here on prosperous little Nikkeldepain — back when there had been neither prosperity nor much in the way of building materials. Grik-dogs had bigger kennels. It was the kind of area that spacers avoided, unless they were looking to sell something they shouldn't have or, equally, to buy something stolen or illegal. Goth had to wonder just how come a boy like Pausert knew his way down here. She asked. He shrugged. "We have had to sell a few things. Some of Great Uncle's souvenirs. We're not supposed to do that until the will is finalized, even though all of it has been left to my mother, and they're things he left sitting in Ma's house for her. So we had to sell it down here. And, well, this is Nikkeldepain. You won't get kidnapped or anything."
Goth wondered if she should tell him how wrong he was, but decided it wisest to keep that part of the story to herself, for the next few years. They arrived at an unremarkable doorway — unremarkable except that it had a small surveillance camera hidden in the archway. Goth, well trained by both Hulik and Vezzarn, professional spies, spotted it at once. Seeing as Pausert was knocking and absorbed in this task, Goth did a little light-shift on both of them. One never knew just who was watching.
The door, obviously controlled by some kind of remote locking device, creaked open. They went inside, up a flight of stairs into what, unless Goth was very much mistaken, was a room that would make the the local flatfeet almost ectatic to find — if they were not fooled by the appearance of a small second-hand junk-store. They might be pleased to find the proprietor too. Franco was a lot less pleased to find Goth staring at him. His mouth fell open, and the second or two's shock gave Goth the opportunity to reach over his desk and slam his fingers in the drawer.
Franco clutched his hand and stared at her in naked terror. "How… did you find me?"
"Followed my nose," said Goth. "You should bathe more often."
"She made me do it," protested Franco weakly. He wasn't, sadly, referring to the bathing.
Goth nodded. She'd already got her own back on him, her Toll-pattern said. He could be useful. But she needed him scared. "I think you know who I am," she said in a steely voice. "So don't make me angry. Or you'll suffer the consequences."
"Uh. Wouldn't dream of it," said Franco, wringing his fingers. But Goth noticed his eyes flicker towards the far door.
Escape? Or backup? "Unlike you, I really have got friends," she said as Pausert looked on in puzzlement. "A friend who knows exactly where I am, and who I am with." Goth neglected to mention that he was also standing next to her, but under the circumstances not even the captain could have felt that was dishonest.
"Uh…" He suddenly must have realized that Goth must have at least heard Marshi deciding to kill him. "What can I do for you?"
Pausert provided him with a wobbly smile, trying to smooth over whatever the hidden undercurrent was. "We've brought in this coat to sell."
Goth could literally see Franco's mind jumping to the wrong conclusions, as he looked at a previous seller. He thought Pausert was selling it, not her. That she was accompanying him, not the other way around. "From your mother," he said, attempting a false smile too.
"That's for him to know. Not you," said Goth sternly. "It's not hot property. That's all you have to know."
"As if I would touch stolen property…" He withered under Goth's gaze. "It's not new…"
"It's in good condition and it has a collar of gold-tipped lelaundel. The collar alone is worth as much as the coat. I put that at about four thousand Maels."
"You must be jo… uh, yes. A very fine coat. But not new."
"New would be twice that. Or more."
The fence swallowed. "It's a lot of money."
Goth just stared coldly at him.
He sighed. "Four thousand it is, then. And, uh, no… no comebacks?"
Goth smiled her nastiest smile. "Not about the coat. Give him the money, Franco."
So the fence did. Pausert of course tried to pass it to her. "Hang on to it," said Goth. "I might need a free hand or something. I'll be seeing you, Franco. Don't go anywhere."
The fence's imagination was obviously a vivid one. He started to sweat. "Look…"


At the tourist information you can buy books, postcards, souvenirs, information on events and museums. Even here, you receive free maps. These are usually quite sufficient to navigate in Barcelona.
At the tourist information you can also pick up the booked Barcelona Card and the ticket for the tourist bus.
The Tourist Information is located on the Plaça Catalunya 17 in the basement (compared with the grey El Cortes Inglés building). Accessibity for wheelchairs with a lift into the basement.
In the arrival halls of Terminals T1 and T2B you'll findt he tourist information. In Terminal T2B the information centre is in a booth directly in the arrival hall, in Terminal T1 you'll find it next to the chapel. Just follow the signs to the bus stations.
This tourist information is bit inconspicous and it can be easily overlooked. It is opposite the McDonalds.
This information is located at City Hall.
This tourist inormation is in a booth at the arrival terminals of the bus from Girona airport.
In the basement is a tourist information with a souvenir shop. You can visit the monument and have a wine tasting. Here you'll get the tickets for the monument.
In front of the Monument a Colom to harboeur side.
All tourist information centres are closed on on 25 December and on 1 January.
Several tourist information centres are located in the city centre (in boothes) e.g. at the Columbus-Monument. In those boothes the Barcelona Card will not be issued and they have no shop.


İsmet Çevik, a young Turkish designer, used his 4D modelling skills to create a futuristic car: BMW Sportback Concept. The designer is also known in the BMW community as the creator of the BMW Z5 mid-engine supercar which was showcased back in 2011.
Designed and modeled in CINEMA 4D, the BMW Sportback Concept features some aggressive design lines with some elements inspired by current BMW design. At the front, the car dominates with its wide shark nose and laser headlights with a shape similar to the BMW i8. The headlights also follow the current BMW design trends and they end in the kidney grille.
At the bottom of the fascia we have oversized air curtains and an aggressively sculpted bumper with LED lights.
The rear end is less aggressive and brings us some design cues closer to a production model. Here you have the BMW typically L-shaped taillights that wrap around the body and a subtle trunk lid. The trapezoid-shaped exhaust pipes are surrounding a cool rear diffuser.
No other details are being revealed about this project, but judging by the images below, it could be a successful supercar, if equipped with one fans' favorite V10 engine.


text:
Home ▶ Vol 72, No 4 (2016) ▶	Malan
Gert Jacobus Malan
Department of New Testament Studies, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Malan, G., 2016, 'Ricoeur on myth and demythologising', HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 72(4), a2998. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.v72i4.2998
Research Project Registration
Project Leader: E. van Eck
Project Number: 2400030
Description: Dr Gert Malan is participating in the research project, 'Socio-Cultural Readings', directed by Prof. Dr Ernest van Eck, Department of New Testament Studies, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria.
Ricoeur on myth and demythologising
Received: 08 Apr. 2015; Accepted: 21 Nov. 2015; Published: 08 July 2016
Copyright: © 2016. The Author(s). Licensee: AOSIS.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Since Jean Paul Gustav Ricoeur's passing away in 2005, there has been a significant international resurgence of interest in his work. Coming to grips with the sheer extent of Ricoeur's publications on a variety of subjects can leave one thoroughly perplexed. This is also true when investigating his views on myth and demythologisation. Numerous of his publications expound from various perspectives his insights on myth and its interpretation. This investigation proposes to bring together Ricoeur's extensive contributions on myth, its interpretation and demythologisation in order to present them in condensed form. This will pave the way for a future follow-up study to compare Ricoeur's perspectives to Bultmann's demythologisation program and consider combining their contributions for theological hermeneutics.
Since his passing away in 2005, there has been a significant international resurgence of interest in Jean Paul Gustav Ricoeur's work, as is attested by a cascade of articles and books, Ricoeur study groups and well-attended international Ricoeur conferences, as well as an online Journal for Ricoeur Studies (Stiver 2012:ix–x). Coming to grips with the sheer extent of Ricoeur's publications on a variety of subjects can leave one thoroughly perplexed (Pellauer 2007:1). This is also experienced when investigating his views on myth and demythologisation. Numerous of his publications expound from various perspectives on his insights on myth and its interpretation. This investigation proposes to bring together Ricoeur's extensive contributions on myth and demythologisation and present them in condensed form. The following study will compare Ricoeur's perspectives to Bultmann's demythologisation program and consider combining their contributions for theological hermeneutics.
Theological hermeneutics and Ricoeur's life and work fused in a natural way. Ricoeur (1913–2005), raised by French Huguenot grandparents, by age 17 was already confronting an inner conflict between faith and reason, as the strong appeal of philosophy threatened his religious faith. Roland Dalbiez, his philosophy teacher, urged him to confront his fears, thus setting Ricoeur on the road to becoming one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century with a teaching and writing career of almost seventy years. Ricoeur's work included significant intersections of varied areas of philosophy, as well as religion, literature, psychoanalysis and sociology, prompting the apt description of his career as 'a hermeneutical life' (Stiver 2012:1–2; see also Lowe 1985:vii; Wallace 1995:2–3).
Both Bultmann and Ricoeur were renowned hermeneutical exponents of the twentieth century and Ricoeur took a keen interest in Bultmann's demythologisation program. The concept of myth and the necessity for demythologising were important to them both, as Ricoeur ([1968] 1980)1 aptly illustrates:
At first glance, demythologisation is a purely negative enterprise. It consists in becoming conscious of the mythic clothing around the proclamation that 'the [reign] of God has drawn near in a decisive fashion in Jesus Christ'. In this way, we become attentive to the fact that his 'coming' is expressed in a mythological representation of the universe, with a top and a bottom, a heaven and an earth, and celestial beings from up there to down here and returning from down here to up there. To abandon this mythical wrapping is quite simply to discover the distance that separates our culture and its conceptual apparatus from the culture in which the good news is expressed … Demythologisation, far from being opposed to kerygmatic interpretation, is its very first application. It marks the return to the original situation, namely that the Gospel is not a new Scripture to be commented on but is effaced before something else because it speaks of someone who is the true word of God. Demythologisation then is only the inverse side of the grasp of the kerygma. (p. 57–58)
Like Bultmann, he advocates the necessity of demythologising and views the ancient mythological worldview as a false scandal which hides the true scandal of the cross (see also Bultmann 1967 [1941]:48; Ricoeur 1973a:465). Demythologising the mythical worldview is legitimate, urgent and unavoidable. He regards Bultmann's demythologising as dissolving the false scandal in order to reveal the true scandal. The necessity of demythologising, which he calls a 'deciphering', is a consequence of our irreversible cultural estrangement from the ancient mythological cultural vehicle. He describes demythologisation as a purification of the mythical cosmology from its mythological vestments, resulting in a re-interpretation that we can believe. In this sense, we are in a hermeneutical circle, the nature of which Bultmann forcefully understood as more than a psychological circle, but rather a methodological one, being ruled by the question Worauf hin? [Towards which?] (Ricoeur 1973b:212).
In his 1973 essay, translated into German for Evangelische Theologie as Die Hermeneutik Rudolf Bultmanns, he concurs with Bultmann's view that the mythological worldview becomes a false Anstoβ, which obscures the true Anstoβ of all time, Jesus Christ. He purports to render a correct understanding of Bultmann's hermeneutic by placing demythologisation within the framework of the hermeneutical circle as the exegetical method by which faith and reason interact as text and exegete meet. Bultmann's recognition that cosmological mythological terms become demythologised as anthropological terms in the letters of Paul and the eschatology of John's gospel, which shows that God's future has already begun through Jesus Christ, puts the kerygma on a higher hierarchical plane of imparting existential meaning than mere cosmic mythology and apocalyptic eschatology. Ricoeur views this hierarchy as the key for correctly understanding Bultmann's demythologising program (Ricoeur 1973a:465, 468).
Bultmann's hermeneutic has developed from a theological base, appropriating Heidegger's existential philosophy, while using the Religionsgeschichtliche definition of myth and applying Hans Jonas's demythologising strategy developed for Gnostic cosmology to the New Testament texts (Bultmann [1941] 1967:26–27, [1952] 1965:180, 191–195; see also Hamman 2013:201–216; Perrin 1969:18–32, 70–81). Ricoeur departs from philosophy, moving from phenomenology to symbolism and narrative, developing an existential hermeneutic for interpreting religious texts (Stiver 2012:9–17; Wallace 1995:2–15). There are marked differences in Bultmann and Ricoeur's views on myth and their methods of demythologisation. These will be extensively discussed in the future paper I mentioned above, and will only receive cursory notice in this study.
Myth is not understood by Ricoeur as simply a false story nor as an explanation in the modern sense of the word (Pellauer 2007:34). Ricoeur defines myth in various ways according to the context in which the term is applied, be it phenomenology, philosophical hermeneutics, the interpretation of religious texts, narrative analysis or politics, showing his insight in myth's polyvalence. Initially, in his effort to interpret myths from a philosophical viewpoint, he focused on the functions or effects myths have, especially regarding symbols as expressions of human existence. Ricoeur (1967) states:
To understand myth as myth is to understand what the myth, with its time, its space, its events, its characters, its drama, adds to the revelatory function of the primary symbols. (p. 162)
He explains the threefold function of myth as embracing humanity in one ideal history, narrating a movement from beginning to end; thus imparting orientation, character and tension to our experience; and lastly trying to get at the enigma of human existence, namely the discord between the fundamental reality of man as innocent, and the actual modality of man as defiled, sinful and guilty (Ricoeur 1967:165). As myth points to a connection between our essential reality and our actual historical existence, almost in terms of a concrete temporal universal truth whose narrative form cannot be reduced to a concept, it has an ontological bearing. Viewed in this way, myths are revelatory, disclosing the human condition we all share and can thus have a transformative effect on those who attend to them. No myth is ever fully adequate to what it signifies, causing a multitude of myths to arise (Pellauer 2007:39).
Myth and symbol
A paradigm shift to symbol
Earlier in his career, Ricoeur used myth in the context of symbols. This coincides with his initial phenomenological approach developing into an ontology of the self, following the publication of Fallible Man and The Symbolism of Evil. For The Symbolism of Evil, he explored the symbolism of evil in the Hebrew Bible. This paradigm shift to symbols led him to study symbols in Sigmund Freud's work, then to metaphor, and finally to narrative. His work sparked off and contributed to a similar paradigmatic reconsideration of the nature of language in the Bible and theology in the second half of the twentieth century (Stiver 2012:61). In this regard, his insights on myth are invaluable.
Symbol and myth
In The Symbolism of Evil, Ricoeur related symbols to myth, which he defined as a certain kind of narrative that portrays meaning through a story of origins. He placed significant stress on his conviction that myth cannot be reduced or even fully translated into prosaic form and systematic conceptual thought. An important insight of Ricoeur is that symbols are not only explained by literal language, but also by other symbols. Furthermore, he then proceeds to explore how these symbols are taken up in myths, for example, the biblical myth of the fall and the Greek myth of tragedy. In Fallible Man, he shows that these myths reveal that evil befalls us, but also that people's wrongful choices are a result of their 'servile will', which he describes in existential terms as the 'unavailability of freedom to itself (Stiver 2012:66–67)'.
Regarding the relationship between symbol and myth, one should take note of Ricoeur's observation that 'symbol gives rise to thought'. This phrase, borrowed from Kant, is used repeatedly in Fallible Man. He relates this idea, as Kant does, to the radicality and irrationality of evil (Stiver 2012:67–68).
Myth as bearer of possible worlds
Ricoeur and Kearny (1978:112–118) chose a thought-provoking title for the publication of the transcript of Kearny's interview with Ricoeur on myth, namely Myth as the Bearer of Possible Worlds. This very apt title and the dialogue transcript show that Ricoeur's view of myth coincides with Peter Berger's symbolic universe which legitimates peoples' actions in the social sphere (Berger 1973:18–19; Berger & Lückmann 1975:111). It is also synonymous with Bultmann's mythological worldview as a framework of reference for peoples' actions revealing '… ein bestimmtes Verständnis der menschliche Existenz (Bultmann [1952] 1965:183; see also Malan 1998:83–84, 178–181)'. Ricoeur refers to the ancient three-storied cosmology as 'a system of regions and localities where the destiny of beings is deployed' (Ricoeur 1973b:210). This worldview did not constitute a scandal for ancient people, but became one for modern man, clouding the real scandal of the cross. He calls it 'a false scandal of a cultural vehicle which is no longer ours' (Ricoeur 1973b:211; see also Ricoeur 1973a:465).
Myth as symbolic structure for social dynamics
Ricoeur views myth as part of the hidden imaginary nucleus that determines and rules the distribution of transparent functions and institutions such as the politics, economics and law of any culture. As such, Ricoeur (1967:5) stated that 'myth relates to the events that happened at the beginning of time which have the purpose of providing grounds for the ritual actions of men today'.2 Ricoeur explains that myth forms the matrix of distribution, which assigns the above-mentioned functions their different roles in relation to each other, other societies, the individuals who participate in them and nature, which stands over and against them. The ratio of distribution thus varies from one society to another, causing the differences in cultures. It is in this hidden kernel that we must situate the specific identity of a culture, because it is here that we find its foundational mytho-poetical nucleus. Stated differently:
Beyond the self-understanding of a society there is an opaque kernel which cannot be reduced to empirical norms or laws …, it cannot … be explained by some transparent model because it is constitutive of a culture even before it can be expressed and reflected in specific representations or ideas… By analysing itself in terms of such a foundational nucleus, a society comes to a true understanding of itself. (Ricoeur in Ricoeur & Kearny 1978:112)
Contrasting his view with Levi-Strauss's approach to societies without history, Ricoeur emphasised that societies have a specific historical component. The development of societies is both synchronic and diachronic, meaning that the distribution of power functions contains a historical dimension. Societies thus have simultaneous institutions (synchronism) and a process of historical transformation (diachronism). Any hermeneutic is characterised by a panchronic approach, including both synchronic and diachronic aspects. It is important to understand that the foundational myths of societies also have this twofold characteristic: they represent a simultaneous system of symbols which can be structurally analysed, but they also have a history that keeps the myths alive through processes of interpretation and re-interpretation. Thus, myths are, like the societies they ground, both structural and historical (Ricoeur in Ricoeur & Kearny 1978:13).
In much the same way as Berger and Lückmann (1975:114–120) show that symbolic universes are especially important in clarifying marginal experiences like death and loss, Ricoeur speaks of boundary situations such as war, suffering and guilt, which cause fundamental existential crises, causing societies to return to their foundational myths. In this way, myths show people's capacities and reasons for surviving, for being and continuing to be what they are. Because it is possible for myths to be perverted, myths cannot be viewed naively, but the content of each myth needs to be analysed critically to understand the basic intentions that animate it. 'Modern man can neither get rid of myth, nor take it at face value. Myth will always be with us, but we must always approach it critically' (Ricoeur in Ricoeur & Kearny 1978:114).
Myth as materialistic explanation (alienation)
Myth can also serve as an alienation of this symbolic structure for social dynamics when myth becomes reified and is misconstrued as an actual materialistic explanation of the world. In this regard, it is important to note that Ricoeur views the literal interpretation of myth as a misinterpretation, because myth is essentially symbolic.
It is only in terms of such misinterpretations that we may legitimately speak of demythologisation: not concerning its symbolic content but concerning the hardening of its structures which cannot stand the shock of the logos. (Ricoeur in Ricoeur & Kearny 1978:116)
To his mind, Bultmann confused the two concepts of myth because he ignored the complexity of myth. Bultmann's demythologising of the three-storied worldview is in Ricoeur's view a literal interpretation of myth and thus a misinterpretation. Ricoeur is of the opinion that Bultmann does not realise that there is a symbolic as well as pseudo symbolic or literal dimension to myth, and that demythologising is only valid in relation to this second dimension (Ricoeur in Ricoeur & Kearny 1978:116).
The universality and myth
On the universality of myths, Ricoeur sees foundational myths not as universal but as tailored for a specific community, just like languages. Just as languages are translatable, so are myths, giving them a horizon of universality that allows them to be understood by other cultures. In this way, the horizons of myths exceed the political and geographical boundaries of their communities and the territorial limitations set by politics, emigrating and developing in new cultural frameworks (Ricoeur in Ricoeur & Kearny 1978:116). Ricoeur traces the supranational quality of myths to either a pre-historical layer from which all particular 'mythical nuclei' might have emerged or the finite myth-making powers of the human imagination that ensures a frequent recurrence of similar archetypes and motifs. Ricoeur calls this dimension of myth, which transcends the foundational aspect, the 'wisdom dimension', making up a body of truths valid for all mankind. This potential of myth to exceed the limits of a particular community transforms it to 'the bearer of possible worlds' (Ricoeur in Ricoeur & Kearny 1978:117), from which the title of the publication was deduced.
Ricoeur hopes for a 'recreation of language'3 as language has lost its potential to create possible worlds, as language is fragmented geographically and across the different academic disciplines. Hermeneutics refers the different usages of language to different regions of being, such as the natural, scientific or fictional. Hermeneutics is also concerned with the permanent spirit of language, namely its capacity to open up possible worlds. This disclosure of new and unprecedented worlds is the recreation of language Ricoeur hopes for (Ricoeur in Ricoeur & Kearny 1978:117–118; also Pellauer 2007:25–26).
Myth and narrative
Muthos and mimesis
Ricoeur uses myth in different ways that overlap in meaning but can be clearly differentiated. In the context of narrative analysis, he endorses Aristotle's five narrative pillars, of which muthos is the first pillar. In this sense, myth, as the common form of early narrative, was the storyline or plot (Ricoeur 1974:108; see also Ricoeur 1992:143). Over time, mythic narrative developed two branches, namely historical and fictional. Although Aristotle originally linked muthos to tragedy, the meaning of muthos as plot has endured. Mimesis, the second narrative pillar, is the imitation of an existing plot and a metaphor for reality. Together, muthos and mimesis form a transformative action 'plotting scattered events into a new paradigm' and a 'synthesis of the heterogeneous leading to a creative redescription of the world so that hidden patterns and hitherto unexplored meanings can unfold' (Ricoeur 1977:40–48; see also Duffy 2009:27).
Muthos and logos
Still within the context of narrative and poetics, Ricoeur's understanding of myth relates to Aristotle's views on muthos and logos as described in his Rhetoric and Poetics, but with a difference: Ricoeur re-integrates these two domains, which have been divided by Aristotle, in such a way that logos is subsumed by muthos (Theodorou 2005:130). Regarding poetic plot forms, Ricoeur shows that tragic poetry conveys a message through mimesis's signifying power, or the refiguring of human moral action in the plot, leading him to define muthos as giving a tragic poem structure and purpose, because the fundamental trait of muthos is its character of order (Ricoeur 1977:41, see also Ricoeur 1974:108–119). Mimesis thus shares the character of muthos, since mimesis is the underlying structure of muthos, which does not merely copy human experience in plot forms, but transforms the meaning of experience (Theodorou 2005:131).
Muthos, mimesis and metaphor
A very important correlation which Ricoeur notes is that between metaphor, muthos and mimesis. The main quality of metaphor is its mimetic ability to imitate and reinterpret reality. By rethinking the narrative pillars of muthos and mimesis at work in metaphors, the heart of reality is brought to expression as a new world is generated (Duffy 2009:72; see also Ricoeur 1977:288–289). A following paper on the relationship between myth and metaphor will scrutinise this aspect in more depth, as well as their ideological and utopian potentialities (Duffy 2009:72–75).
Narrative, time and myth
Narrative is never able to totalise time completely as it always works with beginnings and endings. Even historical consciousness is always starting over because it is in essence a temporal form of understanding and self-understanding. The sense of being in time remains problematic, more like a mystery than like a problem we can solve. It is as if we were inside a gigantic windowless room that we have never been outside of, of which we have no idea that there is an outside, or if we do have such idea, the very effort to think of it as 'outside' inevitably must lead us back to myth or some kind of poetic language to express this (Ricoeur 1988: 261; see also Pellauer 2007:84).
Deconstruction is used in the Heideggerian nuance of the fundamental task of thought, namely to deconstruct cultural constructs, thus posing the question of false consciousness (Ricoeur 1973b:204; Stiver 2012:23, 25, 29). Viewing the work of the three 'masters of suspicion', Marx, Nietzsche and Freud together, Ricoeur arrives at a hermeneutics of suspicion, a new critique of culture (Stiver 2012:135–144; Wallace 1995:6–7). Ricoeur (1973b) defines suspicion as:
… the act of dispute, exactly proportional to the expression of false consciousness. The problem of false consciousness is the object, the correlative of the act of suspicion. Out of it is born the quality doubt, a type of doubt which is totally new and different from Cartesian doubt. (p. 206)
Deconstruction as demystification
Demystification departs from a doubtful consciousness as critique of culture and moves towards a new method of deciphering appearances as masked consciousness in order to unmask hidden relations which connects ideology to the phenomena of domination (Ricoeur 1973b:206). In this way, the relation between ideology on one side, and domination and submission on the other side, which is coded in religious language, is decoded and revealed. What starts as a negative unmasking enterprise, concludes in positive affirmation, as man, freed by the necessity of knowledge, re-appropriates his substance by mastering alienated forces and thus enters into transparency, which is the end of false consciousness. As Ricoeur (1973b) puts it:
… to know the moment when what man says is equal to what man does, and when his work is truly equal to his being. And in this kind of equation between being human, doing, praxis, and speaking, there is no longer ideology. (p. 208)
Deconstruction as demythologisation
Demythologisation as critique of culture: Demythologising forms the second part of Ricoeur's deconstruction, namely as internal critique of religion, which he views as unavoidable and urgent. To him, Bultmann's quest is only completely understood from the external problem of cultural estrangement. There is a certain irony to be noted in the process of the initially strange kerygma eventually becoming enculturated and finally has to deculturated, as the cultural vehicle imposed its own law on the kerygma, as for example its mythological conception of the world. Although not a scandal for ancient people, it has become a false scandal for modern man, as it is not the true scandal of the cross. This is not only true for the worldview, but also for the cultural frame of reference it imposes, causing cultural expressions: Jesus' signs become miracles; his divine origin is expressed by the virgin birth and his resurrection by empty tomb statements. These cultural expressions become folly for modern people replacing the true folly of cross and resurrection necessitating demythologisation (Ricoeur 1973b:209–211).
If we are always equally far from the folly of the Cross, if it is no more believable today than it was for ancient man, what has become irreversible is our cultural estrangement from a cultural vehicle which is, for us, to a great extent mythological. In this regard the work of Bultmann is perfectly legitimate, to dissociate the true scandal from the false scandal. To demythologise is to dissolve the false scandal in order to have the true scandal, the original scandal, revealed to all. (p. 211)
Demythologisation as restoration: It is important to note that, in the field of narrative analysis, Ricoeur emphasises that demythologising of symbols results in a second naïveté. Furthermore, he associates myth with symbol. With regard to great religious symbols, Ricoeur (1967) states that
… the dissolution of myth as explanation is the necessary way to the restoration of myth as symbol. Thus the time of restoration is not a different time from that of criticism; we are in every way children of criticism, and we seek to go beyond criticism by means of criticism, by a criticism that is no longer reductive but restorative … [D]emythologisation is the irreversible gain of truthfulness, intellectual honesty, objectivity. (p. 350)
Ricoeur illustrates his point arguing that the creation stories of the Bible are 'incorrect' as historical accounts, but only after digesting this shocking realisation can they by reinterpreted as powerful symbols of creation. Ricoeur stresses that rehabilitation of symbol occurs only after critical thought realised a certain disengagement, which has dissolved the symbols' apparent function of explaining the cosmos. Only then emerges symbol's deeper function of transforming and interpreting human existence, resulting in the second naïveté. Ricoeur (1967) describes the second naïveté as a 'Copernican Revolution' in which
… the being which posits itself in the Cogito has still to discover that the very act by which it abstracts itself from the whole does not cease to share in the being that challenges it in every symbol. (p. 356)
Second naïveté, the notion of religious consciousness which religious symbols once again permit, happens after a time of disengagement when critical thought burns away the apparent function of the symbols of explaining the universe so that their deeper function of transforming and interpreting human being can once again operate (Sawicki 1984:325; see also Ricoeur 1967:350).
Another process Ricoeur identifies, which he calls 'symbolic signification', to my mind, also results in demythologising, or at least demystification. Ricoeur (1967) explains symbolic signification as
… not two significations, one literal and the other symbolic, but rather a single movement, which transfers… [a participant] … from one level to the other and which assimilates him to the second signification by means of, or through the literal one concluding that symbol assimilates rather than apprehends a resemblance. (pp. 355–356)
In this case, symbol is again restored by shedding literal meaning when some things are assimilated to others resulting in us being assimilated to what is signified.
Thus, it is only through rigorous critical examination that symbols regain their meaning-making power, which empowers them to be experienced again and again. This is not an easy process. It is a slow cognitive pilgrimage through the dessert of criticism, not always resulting in the second naïveté for all who embarks on the journey (Ricoeur 1967:350; Sawicki 1984:325–326).
Deconstruction as destruction and reinterpretation
Ricoeur's hermeneutic of suspicion reaches a turning point with his application of destruction, which he views as a positive aspect, because it is a destruction of what destroys the radical question conveyed by the mythological language of another time. This destructive force is the assurances of modern man, which must be destroyed to arrive at a recollection of meaning. Ricoeur describes destruction as '… another kind of suspicion, but a suspicion with respect to ourselves, with respect to those who suspect what is suspected' (Ricoeur 1973c:213).
Destruction is necessitated by the forgetting of the initial question in the ancient language as a result of cultural distance. It is therefore a struggle against our own alienation in relation to the existential challenge the question once presented. Destruction in the sense of recollection of meaning is a turning point because it is the true task of hermeneutics. Our alienation from the initial question is the product of secularisation's two pronged onslaught. Firstly, the extension of rationality to all levels of reality causes universal objectification and leads to an expulsion of the cosmic sacred, the psychic sacred out of our consideration and our language. The once mysterious is reduced to the problematic (see also Lowe 1985:xi). Secondly, the autonomy of man as agent of his own history causes man to view the world as the realm of the explainable, the manageable and the universally available, where we take responsibility for our destiny and exercise domination. The age of science becomes a way of existing and technology becomes a way of viewing the world and thus the axis of our existence, representing a new ontological regime. These two phases of secularisation happens within ourselves, not outside of us. It is at the heart of our culture, which it fundamentally defines, causing a life on the surface, the hollowness of our existence (Ricoeur 1973c:213–215).
Destruction calls into question the process of secularisation and the presuppositions of modern man and his culture, in order to restore the interval of interrogation in which the existential question of the by-gone era can again have meaning (Ricoeur 1973c:216).
Ricoeur proposes a certain pre-understanding consisting of three directions for the struggle against secularisation. Firstly, he suggests a philosophic anthropology, which he approaches with a phenomenological and existential style. For example, a critique of science should not criticise the results of science, but should understand how scientific understanding influences how people comprehend their existence in the world (Ricoeur 1973c:216).
Secondly, the question of humanity as a whole should be re-established, namely explaining the forces at work in humanity. This question has already been articulated from various angles, for instance evil and salvation was interpreted differently by the Church Fathers and Karl Marx. Immanuel Kant on the other hand, suggested 'having, power and worth' as man's great motivations, which qualifies man's being (Ricoeur 1973c:217–218; see also Ricoeur [1960] 1985:106–125).
Thirdly, the level of language should be explored with a view to restore and recreate a language that is convenient to describe existing as an individual in this world, and to pursue an historical quest in a humanity that seeks to become whole. Language should be understood not as one function among others, but as the semantic aspect of all functions, for instance of having, power and worth. Ricoeur concurs with Humboldt that 'man is language' and proposes that it is precisely in this 'being-language' that we should be fundamentally questioned, which should result in the language of the existential and the historic. This language should be '… appropriate to the kind of imagination which expresses most characteristic existential possibilities' (Ricoeur 1973c:218–219).
With this stated pre-understanding, Ricoeur moves further along the road of restoration of meaning, suggesting the next two stages should be the task of validation (justification) and the task of arbitration. By validation he means the justification of modern people still using symbolic language. Symbolism should be shown to be an appropriate language, correct, pertinent and adequate because by its double meaning it releases signification and explores existential possibilities. By means of symbols' oneiric, cosmic and poetic functions symbols generate a semantic structure: an immediate material or physical sense which intends an existential sense. The power of double meaning operates in such a way that we do not dispose of this language, but it disposes of us (Ricoeur 1973c:220–221). Validation recognises the multivocality of symbolic language: it says more than what it says, says something other than what it says, thus creating new meaning with. In effect, multivocal significations causes one meaning to create another meaning, and as the process repeatedly unfolds, shows that symbolic language have an inexhaustible semantic charge, unlike univocal technical and logical language which signifies very precisely, as it is necessary that a meaning remains identical all the time throughout an argument (Ricoeur 1973c:221).
Arbitration suggests that there is a profound unity between destroying and interpreting. Throughout the process of cultural and ideological destruction, there is an intense listening act taking place, trying to hear a more original and primal word. This interpretation act is the driving force of hermeneutics. In this context of the semantics of symbol, Ricoeur explains that the explicative function of myth is secondary and the symbolic function of myth is primary. That is why Ricoeur subordinates the problem of myth entirely to the problem of symbol. In this way, it becomes possible to distinguish the false rationality of myth and its symbolic expression. Therefore, demythologisation works on the level of myth's false rationality in its pretext to explain. Having eliminated myth's explicative function, we must also liberate the symbolic function, which Ricoeur calls 'saving the myth'. The Adam myth of Paradise lost, for instance, has the existential function of permitting us to read human history through the hero of culpability, resembling the hero of tragedy (Ricoeur 1973c:222–223).
The compilation of Ricoeur's insights on the definitions and functions of myth and the spectrum of interpretative possibilities he proposed, supplied from various perspectives, ranging from phenomenology to symbolism and narrative analysis, places his understanding and application of demythologisation in a useful frame of reference. From this synopsis, a future comparison and possible merger of Bultmann's demythologisation program can be made in a meaningful way.
Possible suggestions for comparison between Ricoeur and Bultmann's perspectives from this study are:
definitions of myth
myth as comprehensive frame of reference (mythical worldviews)
literal or materialistic interpretation of myth as alienation
symbolic interpretations of myth
existential interpretations of myth
development of existential language for translating mythical language and worldview
myth as symbol
the relation between myth, symbol and ritual
mythology as symbolic structure for social dynamics
myth as narrative in terms of narrative analysis: existential possibilities.
Aspects from Ricoeur's contributions to be considered for a possible broadening of Bultmann's approach to demythologisation:
wider scope of definition for myth
accommodating symbolic language and viewing myth as symbol
placing demythologisation within the broader framework of deconstruction alongside demystification and destruction
the role of myth in narrative and narrative analysis of myth
social relevance of existentially interpreted mythology.
Such comparisons and possible merger could be meaningfully facilitated from the vantage point of the sociology of knowledge with its extensive terminology and comprehensive frame of reference, especially through the work of Berger and Luckmann (1975) on social and symbolic universes.
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
Berger, P., 1973, The social reality of religion, Harmondsworth, Penguin.Berger, P. & Luckmann, T., 1975, The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge, Harmondsworth, Penguin.
Bultmann, R.K., [1941] 1967, 'Neues Testament und Mythologie. Das Problem der Entmythologisierung der neutestamentliche Verkündigung', in H.W. Bartsch (ed.), Kerygma und Mythos, Ein Theologisches Gespräch, 1. Band, pp. 15–48, Herbert Reich, Hamburg-Bergstedt.
Bultmann, R.K., [1952] 1965, 'Zum Problem der Entmythologisierung', in H.W. Bartsch (ed.), Kerygma und Mythos, Ein Theologisches Gespräch, 3. Band, pp. 179–208, Herbert Reich, Hamburg-Bergstedt.
Duffy, M., 2009, Paul Ricoeur's pedagogy of pardon. A narrative theory of memory and forgetting, Continuum, London.
Hamman, K., 2013, Rudolf Bultmann: A biography, transl. P.E. Devenish, Polebridge Press, Salem.
Lowe, W.J., 1985, Introduction, in Ricoeur, P., [1960] 1985, Fallible man, transl. C.A. Kelbley, Fordham University Press, New York.
Malan, G.J., 1998, ''n Herwaardering van Rudolf Bultmann se ontmitologiseringsprogram in die lig van die kennissosiologie. Die "dag van die Here" in 2 Petrus as voorbeeld', PhD. thesis, University of Pretoria.
Pellauer, D., 2007, Ricoeur: A guide to the perplexed, Continuum, London.
Perrin, N.R., 1969, The promise of Bultmann, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, PA.
Ricoeur, P., 1967, The symbolism of evil, transl. E. Buchanan, Harper & Row, New York.
Ricoeur, P., 1973a, 'Die Hermeneutik Rudolf Bultmanns', Evangelische Theologie 33, 457–476.
Ricoeur, P., 1973b, The critique of religion, transl. R.B. DeFord, Union Seminary Quarterly Report, Vol. XXVIII(3), pp. 203–212.
Ricoeur, P., 1973c, The language of faith, transl. R.B. DeFord, Union Seminary Quarterly Report, Vol. XXVIII(3), pp. 213–224.
Ricoeur, P., 1974, 'Metaphor and the main problem of Hermeneutics', New Literary History 6(1), 95–110.
Ricoeur, P., 1977, The rule of metaphor, transl. R. Czerny, University of Toronto Press, Toronto.
Ricoeur, P., [1968] 1980, Essays on biblical interpretation, Fortress, Philadelphia, PA.
Ricoeur, P., [1960] 1985, Fallible man, transl. C.A. Kelbley, Fordham University Press, New York.
Ricoeur, P., 1988, Time and narrative, Volume 3, transl. K. Blamey & D. Pellauer, Chicago University Press, Chicago, IL.
Ricoeur, P., 1992, Oneself as another, transl. K. Blamey, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
Ricoeur, P. & Kearny, R., 1978, 'Myth as the bearer of possible worlds', The Crane Bag 2(1&2), 112–118.
Sawicki, M., 1984, 'Religion, symbol, and the twenty-year-old Demythologizer', Horisons 11(2), 320–343.
Stiver, D.R., 2012, Ricoeur and theology, Philosophy and Theology Series, Bloomsbury, New York.
Theodorou, S., 2005, Rethinking the relationship between Mythos and Logos: Paul Ricoeur's conception of Lexis as Metaphor, Dialogue and Universalism 3, 129–136.
Wallace, M.E. (ed.), 1995, 'Introduction', in P. Ricoeur, Figuring the sacred. Religion, narrative and imagination, in M.I. Wallace (ed.), transl. D. Pellauer, pp. 1–32, Fortress, Minneapolis, MN.
1. Ricoeur's 'Preface to Bultmann' was first published in the French publication of Bultmann's book Jesus, mythologie et demythologisation and was later published in English as part of a collection of Ricoeur's essays on Biblical interpretation.
2. Kearny uses this citation from Ricoeur in Symbolism of Evil, according to the 1978 transcript of their interview.
3. In answer to Kearny's question as to the meaning of Ricoeur's statement in The Symbolism of Evil, that what animates his research on myth is not 'the regret for some sunken Atlantis' but 'hope for a re-creation of language' (Kearny in Ricoeur & Kearny 1978:117).
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Sheriff - Emergency Management Daily Briefing
[ARCHIVED] Tuesday, March 16, 2021 Emergency Management Daily Briefing for Whatcom County
These Daily Briefings on Incidents, Advisories, Watches and Warnings, current weather and Emergency Management tips are published Monday through Friday, as well as during times of increased awareness or actual events.
The U.S. and Canada have extended an order closing their shared border to nonessential traffic until at least March 21, 2021. This includes both vehicular and boating between the countries.
The "Proclamation of Emergency" signed by the Whatcom County Executive concerning COVID-19 remains in effect. Information about Whatcom County's response to COVID-19 is available at the Joint Information Center's COVID-19 website.
On March 11th, Governor Inslee announced all of Washington will advance to Phase 3 of the Healthy Washington Roadmap to Recovery Plan beginning March 22nd. See the WA State Coronavirus Response website for impacts or any caveats.
Advisories, Watches and Warnings
Weather Around Whatcom County
Whatcom County Inland Weather
Weather around the county today will be mostly sunny skies with a high around 50 degrees and light winds. Tonight will be partly cloudy with light winds and a low in the mid-30s. Tomorrow will see temperatures reaching the mid-50s with light and variable winds. Pt Roberts and Blaine will be a few degrees cooler and an east/southeast wind around 10 mph or less will make it feel a little cooler, but there are no strong winds forecast.  Sumas will have a little breeze out of the east/northeast.  Clouds roll in tomorrow night for all areas which will  help keep the temperature a little higher, perhaps around 40s degrees or so.  And then look for rain to start Thursday and continue through Saturday.  Highs will be around 50 with the low around 40 degrees.  Higher elevations will be 5-10 degrees colder so frost will be a concern. With light winds, it can easily form on bridges and overpasses, and sheltered areas. Likewise, any thawing at the higher elevations may cause some water to freeze on the road and cause "clear ice" to form which you may even know exists until you vehicle starts to lose traction.  The best corrective action is to slow down when these conditions are possible.
The Nooksack River level is still dropping ever so slowly but it will turn upward Friday and Saturday due to the rain.  No flooding expected but it will be up by a foot or so at the Saxon Bridge and Cedarville gauges and maybe a couple of feet at the Ferndale gauge.  All readings are well below a level that would cause concern.
Whatcom County Coastal Weather
For the Strait and Inland Coastal Waters off Whatcom County, the national weather service is predicting the winds will be at or below 15 knots for the next few days.  Wind waves will be two feet or less and the wind direction is out of the southeast today, the west tonight switching to the east and then the southeast tomorrow.
March 16, 2021 2048 7.39
March 1, 2021 2145 7.38
Emergency Management Tips and Reminders
Everyone in Washington State is directed to wear a face covering while at any indoor public space and any outdoor public space where you may be within 6 feet of someone who does not live with you. You can find more info about face coverings and other protective actions here and here.
This briefing line is not updated on weekends unless an incident occurs.


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