Snowbirds

He Babylonian Story Of Creation

In the beginning, there was Chaos, a huge, boundless, watery mass. Apsu was the fresh water, and Tiamat was the salt water. Their children brought order to the world. Anu took charge of the heavens, Enlil ruled the air and later the earth, and Ea controlled the waters and the abyss that they believed surrounded the earth. Apsu and Tiamat plotted to destroy their revolutionary offspring. In the fierce struggle that ensued, Ea killed Apsu and laid the ancient deity to rest beneath the earth.

The earth rejoiced in its new order, and Ea returned to his temple at Eridu. There his son, the learned Marduk, was born. Yet, all was not well, for Tiamat raged within herself at the loss of Apsu. To avenge his death, she created an army of 11 horrible monsters, with the invincible Kingu as leader.

Ea summoned the gods to a banquet. As the music flowed, the question of how to defeat Tiamat arose. Young Marduk offered to meet Tiamat in hand-to-hand combat, but he had one condition. If he was successful, he was to have supreme authority over all the gods. Despite their eagerness to see Tiamat defeated, the gods decided to test Marduk's powers and commanded him to make a particular constellation of stars disappear and then reappear. When Marduk succeeded, the gods eagerly accepted this condition.

Armed with a net, the four winds, a thunderbolt, a storm, and weapons the gods had given him, Marduk snared Tiamat before she could use any of her magic powers. Tiamat opened her mouth to engulf the upstart god in flames, but Marduk filled her gaping jaws with one of the winds. As the wind rushed through Tiamat's form, swelling and distending it, Marduk pierced her swollen body with a spear and killed her. Chaos was dead, and order and organization reigned.

The world was ready to be created. Marduk stood above Tiamat's body and cut it in half. With one part, he made the vault of heaven; with the other, he created the earth.

The world again rejoiced in its new order. Then, the gods realized they needed people to sacrifice to them. After much discussion, Marduk summoned the imprisoned Kingu. From his blood, Marduk fashioned the human race. To express their gratitude for the gift of humans, the gods built a shrine and temple honoring Marduk (see page 26) at Babylon, Marduk's favorite site.

NOTE: This version of the creation tale is from Hammurabi's time (c. 1750 B.C.), when Marduk was worshiped as the chief god. It was found on the Seven Tablets of Creation, large portions of which are preserved in London's British Museum. As several tablets are broken, historians must make educated guesses about the missing text. (Similar cuneiform tablets are at right.)

By Rosalie F. Baker

Take Me Away

Throughout history, writers have created imaginary worlds. Now it's your turn to take us away … to a land of make-believe.

Here's how: Create an imaginary town, city, country, or world, with distinct features and landmarks. Then write a short story or a poem set in this imaginary place. You can include an illustration of your imaginary world. (Acceptable forms of illustration include drawings, sketches, photomontages, and collages.)

Four winners will be selected by our guest judge, award-winning fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin. Each winner will receive a signed copy of one of her books and a cash prize. Winning entries will be published in the April/May issue of Writing.
Rules to Know

* The contest is open to students in grades 5-12. Categories: Junior (grades 5-8) and Senior (grades 9-1 2). One entry per student, please.
* Poems should not exceed 400 words, and stones should be no longer than 800 words.
* Each entry must include a completed entry form. Incomplete entries will not be accepted.
* All entries must be postmarked by Nov. 22, 2006.
* Download an entry form at weeklyreader.com/writing.
* Mail contest entries to: Writing Magazine "Take Me Away" 200 First Stamford Place, P.O. Box 1 20023 Stamford, CT 0691 2-0023

Writing Advice From Ursula K. Le Guin

Try not to use a setting you've seen on film or in an interactive game, and try to avoid the standard fakemedieval fantasy story setting with princesses.

Go for broke: Try to really imagine a place of your own. It can be based almost entirely on a real place you know or have seen. You just make some changes that suit your fancy, you twitch it a little, add some things that weren't really there…. Or go wild, go to another planet, another world, and stop and look and say what you see. Two things to keep in mind: One, describe exactly. "It was huge" doesn't tell us how much. How huge? Bigger than what? How long would it take to walk around it or dimb it, or eat it, or wash it? Details!

Two, let one thing lead to another. The more you look, the more you see. Suppose you have a purple glass tower that's 900 stories high. Let us see what it looks like with the sun on it. What kind of shadow would it cast? Are there birds nesting in the window ledges, like pigeons in New York? What kinds of birds? Do the people who live in the tower feed them, or shoot them, or ask them what the weather is going to be?

You see what I'm asking for? Everything should be clear in detail, and hang together, work together, in the particular moment you're seeing it — the way it does in the real world.

Twist it, baby

Madrasi Jokes

What are the degrees of egoism in Tamil Nadu?
I, Iyer, Iyengar.

What’s the opposite of Gopalakrishnan?
Comepalakrishnan.

How do they start a road race in Tamil Nadu?
Ready….Steady…..PO

What do you call a really colourful Tamilian?
Rangamannar Rangarajan.

How does a Tamilian introduce the tennis superstar Lendl?
Ivan Lendl (Ivan = ‘he’ in Tamil).

What did the Tamilian call the tall building a Japanese built?
Nikumo Nikado (Will it or won’t it stand?)

A lady arrived at the Madras airport after spending 36 hours in transit. She was fully exhausted after such a long trip with her 6 young kids. Collecting many suitcases, the family entered the cramped customs area.

A young customs official watched our entourage in disbelief, “Ma’am,” he said, “do all these children and this luggage belong to you?”

“Yes, sir,” the lady said with a sigh. “They’re all mine.”

The customs agent began his interrogation “Ma’am, do you have any weapons, contraband or illegal drugs in your possession?”

“Sir,” she calmly answered, “if I’d had any of those items, I would have used them by now.”

James Bond comes out of British Airways at Chennai, goes to his waiting driver and says “I’m Bond, James Bond. James to you”.

For which the driver replies “I’m Subramaniam, Bala Subramaniam. Balls to you…”

What is the opposite of Subramnium Swamy?
Subramanium Didn’t See Me

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