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Evolving Systems course, week 1: welcome to "creation"!
Welcome to the course forum area for Making Sense of Ourselves in an Evolving Universe, an Emily Balch Seminar being offered to first-year students @ Bryn Mawr College in Fall 2010. This is an interestingly different kind of place for writing, and may take some getting used to, but we hope you'll come to value it as much as students in other courses have.
The first thing to keep in mind is that this is not a place for "formal writing" or "finished thoughts." It's a place for thoughts-in-progress, for what you're thinking (whether you know it or not) on your way to what you think next. Imagine that you're not worrying about "writing" but instead that you're just talking to some people you've met. This is a "conversation" place, a place to find out what you're thinking yourself, and what other people are thinking, so you can help them think and they can help you think. The idea is that your "thoughts in progress" can help others with their thinking, and theirs can help you with yours.
So who are you writing for? Primarily for yourself, and for others in both sections of our course. But also for the world. This is a "public" forum, so people anywhere on the web might look in. That's the second thing to keep in mind here. You're writing for yourself, for others in the class, AND for others you might or might not know. So, your thoughts in progress can contribute to the thoughts in progress of LOTS of people. The web is giving increasing reality to the idea that there can actually evolve a world community, and you're part of helping to bring that about.
We're glad to have you along, and hope you come to both enjoy and value our shared exploration of evolving systems. To get started, introduce yourself here, and put up a link to a creation myth that “works for” or “connects to” you somehow--ethnically, ethically, historically, philosophically, imaginatively, pragmatically…
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Self-introduction and Creation Myths
Hi Everyone,
This is Aijingwen Li. I am a fan of biology and chemistry and I have studied biology for around 4 years. Actually before taking this seminar, I have never really done a thorough research on evolution and never heard of the term called creationism. I simply studied what was taught on the textbook and I deeply believed in the concepts of Neo-Darwinism. However, after studying the definition of creationism, I think that creationism is a belief which I disagree with. I have to admit that both evolution theory and creationism are so-called stories. However, the creationism is not supported by data and evidence. Hence, from my point of view, the creationism is just imagination. Somebody may argue that evolution theory is not perfect and well-explained and there are many controversies pertaining to the process of evolution. It is also well-known that scientists prefer to point to the examples of birds and moths as proof of the theory, they often refuse to use some other examples which are contradictory to evolution. Actually I agree with this statement. So to a certain extent, evolution theory is also a well-constructive story. I am really confused now. What I am thinking is that if there are flaws or controversies existed in the concept of evolution, why are we studying it? We don't really know how to tell which is right or which is wrong. Dose that mean we as college students need to do our own experiments to search for truth?
Oh, I forgot to introduce the creation myths that I found from the internet. It is a creation myths from Philippines. I used to study and live in Singapore for 5 years and heard many malay fork stories. I think that Southeast Asians have very unique cultures. This creation myths is very interesting and informative. I love this story, especially the part which explains the reasons for human skin color.
Here is the Link: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/creation-phil.html#howtheworld
ohai.
Hi, I'm Christine, and I was raised without religion. My dad believes in the teachings of Buddha, Dao, and Confucius to be the best way to live life, and he has passed on those teachings to me. I was taught to grow up and be the best person I can be.
For the longest time, I have never heard of any creation myths. I read the Adam & Eve story designed for toddlers for the first time when I was fourteen years old. It was something to pass the time at a store while my mom shopped.
I asked my dad if he could tell me any creation myths. He couldn't. He didn't know any. He reminded me that long ago, Asian people did not have a religion. They went by the three philosophical traditions that guides them to the "way of life" and connects them to nature.
Then he started talking about the Big Bang Theory... ? It's late at night. I think he just wanted me to go to bed.
I read the creation myth titled Ainu. I assume it's an African language meaning "People". It's a short story of how the earth and its inhabitants came to be. It explains in short details about how human characteristics came to existence.
This story inspires me to draw out the scenes. When I think of anything African, I think of bright colors. I love making art out of bright colors.
http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/miranda.htm#AFRICAN
Introduction and Creation Myth Round 5
Hello my name is Karina. This is now the fifth time I am posting this. The first time I accidently erased it and the second time I wasn't logged in, and the third time wasn't in the correct blog, and the fourth was again in the wrong place so here I go again.
I am from Wichita Falls, TX.
I have one sister.
My mother and father are both Honduran. Honduras is a country in Central America, so no it is not in Mexico. A lot of the times people assume I am Mexican, and when I correct them the most common response is, "It's the same thing". To which I reply it is not! I am Hispanic, Honduran, and American. I have no problem with Mexicans. I just want people to know who I am and not what they want to percieve me as. After all if I just accepted the fact that people assumed I am Mexican and never corrected them, what would be the next part of my identity that I would lose?
But I digress.
I came to Bryn Mawr because, it is away from Texas, it is an awesome school, and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. I am super excited for what this seminar has in store, and with that I will go on to part two.
My creation myth is a Mayan creation myth. How accurate this is to the actual myth I am not sure, but I think it is close. The link will take you to a website where you can read the myth, while it is being read to you, while animation is going on. I thought this was apropriate since stories can be told in multiple ways. So in the words of Thomas King, "It's yours. Do with it what you will."
http://www.mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/myths/english/2_maya_full.htm
Creation Story
Hey， I am Bingqing, an international student who is from a small city located in the central part of China. I am a member of Emily Balch Seminar 20.
Seldom will Chinese people, especially this generation, beblieve in the religion,the Creator or the existence of heaven. I also never think seriously of creation myths. In some extent, they were just stories which my mother told me in the bed before sleeping when I was a child. I love science and believe in science. It is not hard to explain why I prepfer the scientific theories about creation of universe, which are set after numerous scientific researches and logical thinkings. Chemistry is my favorite subject forever. I am a loyal adherent of The Chemical Origin Thoery.
Here is a link to website about Chinese creation myth, Pangu and The Creation of the World. This is one of the creation stories my mother have told my long before. I think that a lot of Chinese parents told this stroy to their children. The story about Pangu has been passed from generation to generation. It is just a traditional myth created by Chinese ancestors, nothing to do with Chinese belief. Frankly, Pangu's myth is the one I like most compare to many of other creation myths.
The Pangu's story is on the central part of the web wage.
www.livingmyths.com/Chinese.htm
Hey everyone! My name is
Hey everyone!
My name is Valentina, but most people call me Val. I was born in France and am half Italian and half German but have been living in South Florida for the past 12 years. I intend on majoring in Biology and minoring in German here at Bryn Mawr. In my free time I love to play soccer and lacrosse, go running, study, listen to music, sleep, and hang out with my friends.
I chose an explanation of creation from a Jewish standpoint because I find myself strongly connected with Jewish beliefs ever since my conversion to Judaism 5 years ago. I have a strong appreciation for the symbolism in the stories of the Torah and the fact that (reform, at the least) Judaism allows for the idea that creation and evolution both occurred in some form. The link below explains this point of view:
judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_o/bl_simmons_evolution.htm
Hi! As my unoriginal
Hi! As my unoriginal username suggests, my name is Aimee. Should I correctly post the link, you'll find that Genesis' account of creation has special meaning for me. I was raised in a semi-Catholic household, so my parents used the "Let there be light," story to explain the origin of the universe to me as a child. Of course, like most semi-Catholics, we do not view Bible literally, and I personally feel that Genesis is just a very nice lie. However, I am enmeshed in a Judeo-Christian society, so I can never quite escape this "very nice lie."
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1&version=NIV
Intro&link
Hi, I'm Tiannan Zhan.
I think I might be the last one today to post the comment, sorry that I tried several times to enter this page without loginning in..
I'm a Chinese girl coming to America for the first time. It's a big and adventuous dicision to go to a country I've never been to for college. But this will definitely be the one of most wonderful time in my life. I love the free and active atmosphere in class. Though I haven't read much pieces in English before, I wish I can get into the discussion in seminar class smoothly and try to read more in Bryn Mawr life.
Here is a link of Chinese creation myth.
http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00875/text/ChineseC.htm
actually there's different versions of the origin of our world in Chinese sotries. But I believe that Pangu's effort to break down the primary chaos is some sort of metaphor that human beings are trying to put things in order and to understand a clearer world.
Intro & Story
Hi! I'm Yihua Xia from China. You can call me Olivia^_^. I intend to double major in Math and Philosophy, but I am not sure if my English is good enough for Philosophy >.< I am also interested in Politics. Debating over social issues sounds very exciting and interesting to me. I want to be a future leader and to do something to change the world. I also like Arts. I am a fork dancer since I was four and know a little bit of Chinese Opera dancing. I love to see beautiful and creative paintings, architectures, and sculptures, but I can't draw at all and don't want to major in them. I also like to read about creative ideas and little new inventions, which make me excited.
There are two stories I want to share. The first one is the formation of a lake called "Namucuo" in Tibet. I searched online so hard but didn't find any English edition, so I am going to try my best to summarize and translate the Chinese edition. Namucuo is the daughter of God, she fell in love with Dangla, who was a hero and killed the devil. They decided to stay in Tibet to protect the local people. Thus, namucuo became Lake Namucuo, and Dangla became Dangla Mountains, and their love lasts forever.
Here is the picture of Namucuo:
http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&biw=1280&bih=607&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=namucuo&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
The other story is the Tibetan Creation Myth:
http://www.crosby-lundin.com/tibet/culture/folktales/creation.html
I love those stories so much because, unlike other creation stories, Tibetan stories are full of love and care from God. The main characters are always trying to help human beings, trying to protect them, and giving them peace, which I find really interesting and different.
My late Introduction and Myth
Hello my name is Karina.
So this is my second time writing this because I accidently erased my first version.
I wanted to put my post up after finishing the book. Sorry it came so late I didn't remember about the certain time to post it. But anyway introdustions first.
I am from Wichita Falls, Texas.
I have one sister.
My mother and father are both Honduran. It's a country in Central America for those of you who aren't sure of where it is. One thing for sure is that it's not in Mexico. I often get that a lot. People assume that I am Mexican when I am not, and even after I make the correction the most common response is, "It's the same thing".
I am Hispanic, Honduran, American, but not Mexican. I have no problem with Mexicans, but I would like the respect of being known for who I am, and not for what the world wants to percieve me as.
But I digress.
I choose to come to Bryn Mawr, because it is away form Texas, the school is amazing, and I couldn't picture myself anywhere else.
I am excited for what this seminar has to bring and on that note I will get to the second part of this post.
My creation myth is a Mayan creation myth. The link will take you to a website where you read, as you are being read to, while animation is going on. I felt like this was appropriate since stories can be told in many different forms. SO in the words of Thomas King, "It's yours. Do with it what you will."
http://www.mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/myths/english/2_maya_full.htm
Creation Myth (creative title, eh?)
I'm Sarah, and I don't don't know what I'm interested in academically. I'm all over the place when it comes to such things. The creation myth I chose is the Egyptian creation story, because I've always had a fascination with Egypt and its culture. I went to Catholic church for awhile, but I don't identify myself as a part of any certain religion, nor would I say I fully believe any creation stories. I find them interesting, though. What I found especially intriguing about this particular page showing the myth was how it compares the Egyptian version to a similar Hebrew story.
http://www.aldokkan.com/religion/creation.htm
The Chinese myth- Nv Wa
http://wenda.tianya.cn/wenda/thread?tid=1cfc8061e49a7c0e
I chose this story because this is one of the first myths I have ever learned . My mom used to read me the story and tell me about the history in chinese myth. This story represents the civilization of ancient China, which is originated from the Yellow River. It also shows a kind, faithful and selfless goddess who contributes all she has to make people's life better. It reflects the idea of right and wrong, good and evil of early minds and the consequences of one's mistakes.
I hope you will enjoy this story and get to know more about the ancient Chinese culture.
Intro & Creation Story
Hey everyone, I’m Hillary. I’m a freshman from Washington D.C. and I’m primarily interested in Psychology and Neuroscience. I am thrilled to be at Bryn Mawr in such an intellectually stimulating place with so many interesting people. I am Irish and Romanian by heritage, with 2 very politically active parents (hence I live in D.C.). I come from a family that believes that education and intellect are the most valuable preparation for life, along with the desire to always keep questioning and learning about the world around me.
I believe in evolution as Darwin saw it (more or less) and the scientific explanation of the beginning of time—The Big Bang. However, an amusing creation story is that of Greek Mythology, which personifies certain objects and concepts like Earth and Love. It’s an interesting perspective.
http://www.desy.de/gna/interpedia/greek_myth/creation.html
Intro & Creation Myth from "ecollier"
Hello Everyone,
An introduction? Well, I am known as Eva Collier. I was born and raised in small-town rural New Mexico. Quite unoriginally, I want Peace On Earth and to have some part in that process. I’m also passionate about animal rights, dancing, and art. I’m interested and completely open to intellectually/emotionally evolving starting today and lasting for my lifetime. I’m also quite excited to get into this Emily Balch Seminar.
This North African creation myth appeals to me because its so transparently illogical that it becomes more of a fairy tale than a honest attempt at explaining life.
The First Human Beings (North Africa) http://folkloreandmyth.netfirms.com/creationmyths.html#Order%20of%20Life%20and%20Death%20(Native%20American:
Intro & Creation Story
I created an account on this site but my password still has yet to be e-mailed to me, so I'm going to post this without logging in:
Hey everyone, I’m Hillary. I’m a freshman from Washington D.C. and I’m primarily interested in Psychology and Neuroscience. I am thrilled to be at Bryn Mawr in such an intellectually stimulating place with so many interesting people. I am Irish and Romanian by heritage, with 2 very politically active parents (hence I live in D.C.). I come from a family that believes that education and intellect are the most valuable preparation for life, along with the desire to always keep questioning and learning about the world around me.
I believe in evolution as Darwin saw it (more or less) and the scientific explanation of the beginning of time—The Big Bang. However, an amusing creation story is that of Greek Mythology, which personifies certain objects and concepts like Earth and Love. It’s an interesting perspective.
http://www.desy.de/gna/interpedia/greek_myth/creation.html
Creation myths
http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/ariel.htm#CHINESE
I chose this creation myth because I can remember reading it at some point during my elementary school years (I do believe it was in 5th grade). I am not the biggest fan of myths, but I enjoyed this one because I thought it was interesting how different parts of the body became different aspects of the world. I thought that was very poetic. Another reason why I chose this myth was simply because I enjoyed the nostalgic feeling I got while reading this.
Bt the way, this is Kirsten. My password is not working at the moment, so I was unable to log in, but a mew password should be sent to my e-mail soon.
I'd rather not introduce
I'd rather not introduce myself on the internet, regardless of whether this is meant to be a class or not. I was in a bright gold hat, though, so Girl in the Gold Hat should be acceptable to address me by.
The creation story I chose is the Norse creation story:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Ls2F5i6_LeYC&pg=PR3#v=onepage&q&f=false
I chose this story because I have an interest in Norse mythology in general, but the creation story I currently find the most credible is the Big Bang theory.
Intro and Myth
Hello all, I'm Kayla. I've had to do his about 18 times this past week, so next time I'm required to introduce myself I'm going to make something up. For now I'll tell the truth. I'm from Chicagoland, I reside in Merion, I like science, good music, and movies directed by Wes Anderson. Feel free to befriend me if you want to learn more; I also value friendship very highly. That was a strange tangent.
Anyway.
I'm picking C.S. Lewis's creation of Narnia in "The Magician's Nephew" for my creation myth. As a note: I've never prescribed myself to any religion, and although I did attend Catholic Church until around 4th grade, organized religion and its teachings never really clicked with me, who is always wanting clean-cut visual explanation for things. Therefore I don't believe in Creationism. It was a nice story when I was little.
My actual beliefs aside, I think the creation of Narnia is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read/pictured in my head, and that is why I'm choosing it. When I was much younger and first read the books and had no idea about the millions of biblical references and religious parallels in the book, it blew me away. Now that I've read the books knowing that Aslan represents God/Jesus, etc, I feel just as much awe as I did years ago. If the world was indeed created by a higher being, I would want it to be created in that way, with song, light, color, and incredible majesty, and raw power and energy. It is just astounding to imagine whereas Genesis I is pretty straightforward and normal. As far as creating worlds goes.
Ok, the link is kind of confusing. Go to the link, it's a google book, scroll until you get to page 61, read the first big paragraph until it cuts the book out. There it is. Enjoy! I highly suggest reading the Narnia books if you haven't already; they are highly entertaining. See you in class!
http://books.google.com/books?id=XQGhJhEPT10C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Chronicles+of+Narnia&hl=en&ei=Sr9-TOnqD8T48Abo-O3SAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
Page number
Hi Kayla! I visited the link, but there is no page 61; Aslan's creation is the opening paragraph on page 64, just in case anybody else is as curious as I to read (or re-read) this beautiful story. Thanks for sharing it.
Chinese Creation Myth
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I have noticed that there are almost half of the class is from China. I hope you won’t have the feelings that there are so many repetitions on the Chinese stuffs. However, the fact is that Chinese civilizations have many perspectives and levels. And I hope you will all join us Chinese girls in exploring the depth and fasciations of our cultures.
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There are actually two parts of the Chinese creation myths.
1. http://www.livingmyths.com/Chinese.htm The Pangu and the Creation of Word
2. http://www.chinavoc.com/history/ancient/myth_nw.htm Nuwa makes the men and mends the sky
About Me and my creation
Hey everyone! So, about me, or, at least I'm introducing myself. I come from Arlington, Virginia and before that I would say my home is San Diego, California. I moved to Arlington a little more than a year ago. So, needless to say, I'm a little confused about what to say when people ask where I am from. I like aspects of both east and west culture, and I must say that I don't technically fit into either stereotype. I'm basically a mix of both. The link for the story that I am putting up is a creation story from Hungarian myth. I am from Hungarian decent, so I thought it would be cool to kind of relate back to my roots. Here it is:
http://www.crystalinks.com/hungary.html
Self Introduction & Creation Story:)
Hi, I'm Elisa from China. It's so excited to be in a foreign country with a lot of excellent professors and briliant girls~ I'm a freshman, undeclared majoy but interested in international relations. I love shopping( but window shopping a lot), playing the piano in my free time as well as hanging out with my friends~:) I love food, especially spicy food as I mentioned in the class, but worried about freshman 15 recently.
I'm a girl who enjoys creating something new. Years ago, I often plaited garlands by wild flowers and weeds picked on the way. As I grew up, I started to use something like buttons or clips to make paste paintings. I enjoyed the process of designing, sticking tiny pieces of materials onto a white board, and finally completing a painting. Later on, I widened my interest to many other related areas such as cooking (although I can't do it well) and music.
Here is a famous story about creation from China. The story itself is not that creative and funny. But the spirit of Pan Gu greatly inspires me. Hope you like the story and looking forward to becoming friends with all of you~!
http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/178436998.html
Creation Myth
Hello everybody! I have never really subscribed to any creation myths but there are some that I find enjoyable. My conception of creation is a scientific one - the big bang and the subsequent expansion of the universe. I have chosen this story from Hawaii because I like the concept that all life is born from nature. I also find the idea of a universe free of an innate hierarchy appealing. Enjoy!
http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/CS/CSHawaii.html
Introduction and appealing myth
"Introduce yourself" sounds like such a simple instruction, but -- after having to do it for much of this week -- I am finding myself less and less sure of how to go about the task. What do people want to know about me? I inevitably end up rambling off a mini-autobiography of myself each time I am asked who I am -- but surely this is too much. So I offer you this: my name is Julie Gorham, and I am a current McBride student at Bryn Mawr College. If you would like to hear, or read my mini-autobiography, come find me, or send me an email and I'll be happy to oblige.
For the purpose of this course, however, I am speculating that the most pertinent information about myself is why I signed up, and what I hope to achieve from it. In other words, who I am as a student. It is, after all, the student in me who hits the snooze button, then reminds herself that Einstein, or Elizabeth I, had the same number of hours in their days as I do in mine, and this sort of behavior simply won't do! I chose this course because, whilst I am intrigued by most things in life, I am particularly interested in people, cultures and societies, and how they change. How do we interact with one another? How do we learn from one another? How do we structure ourselves as groups? How do we maintain individual identity in the face of these structures? How do we manifest that? An example of such manifestation, in yesterday's class, would be that the vast majority of us (myself included) provided some form of cultural reference when discussing our individual selves. We identified, defined, and shared reference points with others, that provided an association with a larger group of people. In fact, often individuals associated their uniqueness with a cultural conglomerate. As an audience member, references made by others sparked my curiosity and (as I later discovered) provoked me to subconsciously affiliate any former relation I might have had with the culture being presented to the person identifying with it. As a speaker, I made my own references to serve as explanations for why I might be different to some, or most people in the room, as well as suggesting that my differences here are similarities (and thus, belong) elsewhere. Yet, after all of our differences were highlighted, many of us came up with the same, or similar immediate responses to the word "evolution." Situations with results like that fascinate me. As the course presents me with other situations like this, I hope to become a more receptive, and comprehensive listener; I hope to become better at identifying the sorts of relations I have spoken of, as well as discovering new ones; and I hope to improve as a writer, and teller of stories. Perhaps, after this semester, I will be able to mellifluously introduce myself!
Alright: a creation story. I choose J. R. R. Tolkein's creation myth, Music of the Ainer. I find the notion of creation via cerebration, and then music imaginatively appealing, and the concepts and effects of harmony and discordance philosophically intriguing.
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Music_of_the_Ainur
Greetings and Creation Story
Hi everyone, my name is Jordan. I'm in section 21 and I live in Brecon. I've lived in St. Augustine, Florida for the past five years, and Suburbia, Indiana for the ten before that. I'm not quite sure where home is, though.
My current religious perspective is "If we were supposed to know about a God, we'd know already" so I don't really let religious conundrums bother me anymore. In my home, we (my younger sister and brother, and I) weren't really raised particularly religiously, just with a vague Christian vibe whenever Christmas and Easter rolled around and when we had to say grace at our grandparents' house. Four or five years ago I started going to a Baptist church with my best friend, then left when I realized that being there didn't make me happy.
As far as Creation stories go, I don't really believe any particular one more than any other. As I attempted to explain in class, I just think of them as stories. If I happen to be in a discussion concerning religious beliefs, I'll assume that Genesis is the "truth" in the situation. If I'm talking science and logic (or pretty much anything besides religion) I'll go with the generally accepted view of Darwinism. But I don't really care either way, which one's "real" doesn't matter to me because even if something is real, if nobody believes it it might as well be fiction.
Like I said, Creation stories are all just stories to me, but I chose this Apache one for a few reasons. First, I like it. I haven't read this one in particular before, but I've read similar ones and I like them too. Second, it depicts a lot of things that are different from what one usually would think, like how people came from the Underworld, the daughters of the Ancient Man and Woman, and the repetition of the number four. I also find the creation of the first woman amusing. Third, and my favorite, the God-figure in the story makes a lot of decisions for no reason besides the fun of it. It makes more sense in my mind, because so much in life is nonsensical. If there's a god, it has a sense of humor.
http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/CS/CSCreation&Emergence.html
Draining Brains
We got so caught up in "draining what our brains" thought (without thinking) about "conversation" that we never made it to "evolution" (it'll come...).
How much "acceptance," how much "change" has to happen, to make a conversation satisfying, we wondered? What motivates change? What makes us dig in and resist it?? What helps, what hinders, a conversation from evolving???
So now I'm thinking about this as a creation story. In the beginning was a brain. And it began to drain....
Hindu Creation Story
http://www.painsley.org.uk/re/signposts/y7/2-2hinduism/hindu_creation_story.htm
Evolution, PG section
Brain drain and subsequent discussion on evolution, PG section
Introduction and Creation Myth
Hello all,
I'm Mattie. I'm from Boston and I like History and I grew up in a blue house that is now green. And I like cats, as I mentioned in class today.
Here is the link to a creation myth I like, though I don't like narration of this version very much. It was the only one I could find that told the story the way I remembered from elementary school.
http://www.hermes3.net/thoth6.htm