transcript 03/22/2011

Subject was Dragons. We had a few weird glitches. But carried on anyway.

@leapetra 5 minutes until chat. Did anyone see any dragons lately? #mythbeasts
@leapetra hic sunt dracones = here be dragons. Come talk about dragons #mythbeasts
@leapetra Tonight dragons: good vs evil #mythbeasts
@kishazworld @leapetra Where are the dragons? I have to see one! #mythbeasts
@leapetra what makes them so fearful and revered? #mythbeasts
@BookLover73 I believe dragons from the west have been far more popular than eastern dragons. It's a shame since they're very interesting. #mythbeasts
@BookLover73 Hello, btw! ;) #mythbeasts
@leapetra @BookLover73 HI and welcome #mythbeasts
@leapetra @BookLover73 it might be a cultural thing. Eastern dragons were introduced late to the west. #mythbeasts
@leapetra Two movies come to mind: Dragonheart and Dragon Slayer. Are both true to the dragon myths? #mythbeasts
@Isis_Ireland RT @leapetra: Two movies come to mind: Dragonheart and Dragon Slayer. Are both true to the dragon myths? #mythbeasts
@Pyris @leapetra I think the legend of Saint George play a huge part if why dragons are popularly fearsome through history #mythbeasts
@BookLover73 People seem to respond to the evil fire breathing dragon more than the wise ancient creature. In the east they are revered. #mythbeasts
@leapetra @Pyris dragons were the ultimate beast to destroy #mythbeasts
@Pyris Dragon Slayer is true to the western concept of dragons as an evil monster. Dragonheart, not so much. #mythbeasts
@leapetra @Pyris I felt as if Dragonheart was trying to bring in the eastern ideas. #mythbeasts
@leapetra @Pyris Dragon Slayer also had the pagan ways disappearing. via the missionary #mythbeasts
@Pyris @leapetra only because the dragon was said to be kin to the serpent of Eden and thus a tool of the devil/ satan #mythbeasts
@leapetra @Pyris All reptiles got thrown in with the serpent of eden. #mythbeasts
@Pyris I would have to agree that Dragonheart tried just an *ickle* bit too hard. Reign of Fire however was a kick in the pants =) #mythbeasts
@leapetra @Pyris Pure monsters. You can see how they could topple civilization #mythbeasts
@leapetra Responses might be slow tonight, noticed Twitter and Tweetchat are keeping up, but Twitscoop isn't #mythbeasts
@leapetra anyone else having issues too? #mythbeasts
@Pyris On the other hand you have dragons like those in the film Flight of Dragons which are cross cultural and symbolic #mythbeasts
@Pyris Hootsuite is keeping up just fine #mythbeasts
@leapetra @Pyris i love that movie, we have the book too. The explanation of how they flew makes perfect sense. #mythbeasts
@leapetra When I was looking over the dragon lore, what surprised me, it some people still claim to see them #mythbeasts
@leapetra You would think a giant reptile would have been easy to spot earlier. #mythbeasts
@BigWords88 I forget the precise name, but a "leaping" wyrm (dragon) was reported as little as twenty years ago in Greenland (?) #mythbeasts
@Pyris @leapetra I know of at least one pagan magic system that explains them as being trans-dimensional #mythbeasts
@GdL16 @leapetra I know that one "sighting" in Tibet turned out to be a cloud. #mythbeasts
@leapetra @BigWords88 I heard of the Tibet one, but not the one in Greenland. #mythbeasts
@BigWords88 @leapetra It might have been Iceland (I'm not sure the reports were accurate in the first place), but I remember the leaping. #mythbeasts
@leapetra @Pyris Sort of how Pratchett explains how they were not found on Discworld anymore. #mythbeasts
@BigWords88 From memory, it had two small forelegs, and could get six to eight feet in one bound. Skeletons have been reported. #mythbeasts
@tribal_gothic The Chinese kept a record of Celestial Dragon Paths (Strange lights that moved in the sky) #mythbeasts
@leapetra @tribal_gothic meteors and the like? #mythbeasts
@Olivia_Rabbit RT @tribal_gothic: The Chinese kept a record of Celestial Dragon Paths (Strange lights that moved in the sky) #mythbeasts
@tribal_gothic @leapetra Well, John Keel hinted at "UFO's" but hard to tell after all these years... #mythbeasts
@Pyris @leapetra to a point but Pratchett's dragons relied more on human belief/ manifestation of will #mythbeasts
@ufoWatcherbot RT @tribal_gothic @leapetra Well, John Keel hinted at "UFO's" but hard to tell after all these years... #mythbeasts
@leapetra Can anyone think of any place on this planet where dragons have not been "found"? #mythbeasts
@Pyris @leapetra Australia? #mythbeasts
@leapetra @Pyris I did like how he had the small dragon "rewire" his system, so he could take off like a jet. Very new twist. #mythbeasts
@BigWords88 @leapetra Antarctica. :P #mythbeasts
@tribal_gothic @leapetra American Indians has a few versions of ThunderBird legends the large Red ones were similar to Dragons #mythbeasts
@BookLover73 @Pyris They have a real dragon, the Komodo. #mythbeasts
@Pyris I've never heard of dragons represented in Aboriginal art at all #mythbeasts
@BigWords88 @Pyris @leapetra Aboriginal beliefs have things which could be interpreted as dragons in their oral tradition. #mythbeasts
@leapetra @BigWords88 @Pyris I found one called the Rainbow Serpent. http://www.polenth.com/myth/oceania/rainbow.html #mythbeasts
@Pyris oh, my bad! Thank you @BigWords88 I have learned summat new today =) #mythbeasts
@leapetra Dragons are tied into world creation and destruction. #mythbeasts
@leapetra Midgard serpent for example. Kills Thor in Ragnarök. #mythbeasts
@MYTHistories RT @leapetra: Dragons are tied into world creation and destruction. #mythbeasts
@BigWords88 @leapetra Which goes some way to explain their interpretation in Celtic myth as the cause of earthquakes. #mythbeasts
@leapetra @BigWords88 who need tectonic plates,a giant beast makes a much sense :P #mythbeasts
@leapetra tap tap tap. #mythbeasts
@BigWords88 @leapetra You want that I should invoke the term "cryptozoology" this soon, or is that tempting fate? #mythbeasts
@leapetra @BigWords8* :D #mythbeasts
@leapetra @BigWords88 there are a lot of interesting creatures in Cryptozoology, but most stay away from dragons. #mythbeasts
@BigWords88 @leapetra I think they came back with 2 new species, but nothing that could be considered unusual in the extreme. #mythbeasts
@leapetra I'm going to wrap up this chat. I know there were some glitches, #mythbeasts
@BigWords88 @leapetra The only one that really strikes any sort of lasting impression is the South American investigation in the 1870s. #mythbeasts
@leapetra @BigWords88 Thats still interesting. #mythbeasts
@cdreimer Dragons are fairly limited creatures outside of a pure fantasy world. Most stories use dragons in a metaphorical sense. #mythbeasts
@cdreimer I would love to do a short story based on the Chinese dragon. Perhaps a parade Chinese dragon that turns into the real thing. #mythbeasts
@cdreimer Yeah, they would. RT @leapetra: @cdreimer I think the Simpsons did something like that, but they called animal control #mythbeasts
@leapetra @cdreimer I think the Simpsons did something like that, but they called animal control #mythbeasts
@Pyris @leapetra Thank you for hosting #mythbeasts
@leapetra @Pyris We will do dragons again. #mythbeasts

#mythbeasts Dragons

© Copyright Elliott Simpson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons License

If there is one mythical beast that everyone knows, it is the dragon. They are world wide. From the West we have the evil monsters. From the East; benevolent forces of nature. And in between; great serpents, giant wyrms, and other powerful reptiles.

© Copyright Albert Bridge and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons License

They are symbols of power. Some rulers claimed to be descended from them. They were claimed to be the embodiment of Satan. Some helped create the world, others will destroy it. And even in these "more enlightened" times, people still say they see them.

LINKS
Wikipedia: Dragons
Nature: The Dragon Chronicles (looking at real animals that may have inspired the dragon myth)
Eastern Dragons
Wikipedia: Midgard Serpent
You Tube search of "dragon sightings"


So if you want to join in. Use http://tweetchat.com/room/mythbeasts or tweetdeck for ease of use, and find us at #mythbeasts (don't forget the last s) Make sure you follow me too @leapetra