Joshua Dowidat

The Desert’s Hot Summer Sun

Hello Everyone,

Today I’m addressing something a little different from the usual. Although I will be drifting in and out of the pursuit of the “eerie vibe” I want to address the desert heat and sun.

Southeast Arizona:

In southeast Arizona where I live there is a very extreme heat the roles in around May and lasts to the end of August. Don’t’ get me wrong it is usually hot beyond those times and sometimes it’s a shorter or longer stretch but I feel that those dates are the more extreme temperatures of around 100 degrees or more. The lack of rain, minus the monsoons that don’t’ seem to be as strong as they use to, also adds to this intense feeling of heat and dryness as the areas flora shifts colors to dead and the fauna only are usually visible in the early mornings and late evenings. Now the Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Harpies

Hello Everyone,

Well keeping up a little better than I thought and since a few close friends have been harping on me I thought we would talk about Harpies. Just a little corny joke.

Harpies Origins:

Starting in the Greek myth, or at least when they were first mentioned, they first seem to come about around the same time as the Gorgons and Furies. Perhaps it was an era in Greek Mythology for women to be the popular cursed beasts of legend.

In some tales they were not always as we know them today, almost seductive like the Sirens. Tales after Homer who described this way would see them as the hags that grew more popular in our culture and the myths in those times

Harpies:

Harpies were most mentioned as a nuisance rather than anything else. They stole food from the tables before people could eat them. They would Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Mara

Hello Everyone,

Wow, indeed. I have been lacking. Utmost apologies for that but perhaps as the more eerie time of year is starting to set in and everyone’s creepy level begins to climb a good blog about nightmares will redeem myself. Actually it’s not so much about the nightmares themselves but about a creature that helps cause them, known as the Mara.

Sleep Paralysis:

Most people these days are familiar with the term ‘sleep paralysis.’ This is because of modern science and studies that have shown that many people have this occur and some more than others. But back in the days before these studies this was considered to be caused by different aspects in one’s life. The Mara.

rem sleep paralysis

Mara:

Mara are evil spirits that attack when the victim is asleep. They press down, or sit, on the chest of the victim and interfere within the dreams of the person. Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Stymphalian Birds

Hello Everyone,

As we think of birds we usually of soft colorful, sometimes noisy, little birds that charm the morning sunrise and evening sunsets. However, stories and movies have managed to bring a darker side out of birds and it is not always in awe and wonder that the stories portray them. The Stymphalian Birds are one example of that. Probably best compared to stories of Hercules and darker played down versions like Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds movie that made audiences think twice about their little chirping friend.

The Stymphalian Birds:

Since they are most known as the huge swarm of birds that they are we will look at them this way throughout the post. This is how they get their greatest powers anyways, in numbers. The Stymphalian Birds are a large swarm of birds that plagued the ancient lands of myth. They were supposedly set to one location and Continue reading →

Kachina Dolls

Hello Everyone,

 

The Kachina Dolls date back further than many think and were traditionally ceremonial tools. In the 19th century is when they became more well-known throughout the United States as they were made to sell and trade with settlers. Now although some of them have what kind of appears to be an eerie look to me, I decided to keep them out of my Eerie for Thoughts segment and write about them as something else.

 

Kachina Dolls:

 

To the Hopi they are known as Katsina Figures. Which were the traditional deities of the Hopi people who had control over the natural elements such as rain. They also had a large amount of control on society. From this they could bring prosperity and good harvest to the people that were part of the culture.

 

The Hopi Nations are prominently in Northeastern Arizona and that Continue reading →

Seasons are Finally Changing

Hello Everyone,

I know I’ve mentioned it before but something always stirs in me this time of year when the seasons begin to change.

I know it’s not a drastic change, as of yet, but where I live when you stop reaching temperatures in the 100s it is a nice respite from the other 6 months of the year. The nights are what gets me. The cool air comes in a little quicker and compared to summer, the cool air actually comes in at night. But also there is the earlier sunsets. That rush to do things before the light fades away from the horizon when just a week ago you had what seemed like so much more time.

I guess that’s why they call it Daylight Savings Time.

The Mood of the Seasons:

The mood that people get in where I live becomes much more lighthearted. The hot temperatures Continue reading →

Just Thinking about Walls

Hello Everyone,

It’s about walls. I know this blog is about a something different and off the subject from the normal type of stuff that I talk about, so bear with me.

So for the job that I do, there are often times where I cannot perform my function. Whether it be due to the rain or lightning which make it more dangerous considering the fact that I work around electricity.

So what about walls?

So, I sat there waiting for the storm to pass over the other day in my truck. I was listening to the flood advisories coming through on my phone and stayed parked on higher ground out of the roadways. Right next to a brick wall. I noticed that the ground was flooding next to the brick wall. The roadway was also running and the rain was pouring down on the hood of Continue reading →

Setting the Mood: For Writing

Hello Everyone,

Well I was writing some stuff this week and had another little episode of writer’s block. Sometimes we find ourselves wanting to write but not knowing how to initially approach it. Seldom do I get writer’s block so when I do I like to post how I overcome my episodes.

When the Initial Kick-off isn’t there:

Well sometimes I can just sit down and begin to write. Not everything I write will make it into one of my books or blogs or whatever but I have a jumping off point to begin with. Most of the time this is me. I have a general idea that I start writing with and then elaborate on it or will do some research afterwards to enhance the subject material, or to strengthen the plot. Depends of course on what I am doing. But sometimes I need to write and then when Continue reading →

More Creepy Crawlies: Kissing Bugs

Hello Everyone,

Today since we are moving into the summer months in southern Arizona and…well…most of the country I want to address another topic of concern. Kissing Bugs.

Triatominae

These bugs are some nasty little creatures, to me, and are probably the only bug that gives me the hee-bie-jee-bies. They hide out during the day and come out at night, although I have been hit by them even in the daylight while out tanning away from any other source of cover. Just my luck, right?

Anyways, these kissing bugs gets their nickname from the wounds that would occur on sailors while Darwin was cruising his ships around the oceans of the “New World” at that time. The sailors would have their marks around their lips because of most likely the carbon monoxide emitted from the breath that attracted the bug. They feed on blood. I know creepy right. They inject Continue reading →