Contest!

For those that don’t know, May is Military appreciation month in the US; it contains more military holidays than you can shake a stick at (for a full list, see here). In honor of the festivities, I am going to hold a writing contest running through Memorial day.

Up for grabs are two clay cameos, one for each category in the contest: poetry and short essay (see photo below). The “Ares in Naos” design is for the poetry category and the “Thrakian Rider” design is for the short essay category. The former is based on a coin obverse from Anatolia and the latter on a coin obverse from Thrakia.

Rules are simple–all entries must pertain to Ares or the military. One entry per person per category. Winners are selected by the readers, and everyone is allowed to vote only once in each category. You may vote for your own entries. This is an internationally open contest.

Poetry: No style restrictions. 25 word minimum preferred except for haiku.

Short Essay: 500 word minimum. If citations are necessary, you may use whatever style is most comfortable for you. No style restrictions, but non-fiction is preferred (I want to save that for another contest).

Entries are due no later than 2359 Eastern Time Monday, May 27, 2013 (Memorial Day in the US). Please email entries to aspisofares@gmail.com . Good Luck!

Veterans/Armistice Day

So Veterans Day was Sunday, which is also known as Armistice Day. Back in WWI the Allied powers and Germany signed a ceasefire on this day and closed the Western Front, even though Russia, the Austrian-Hungarians, and the Ottomans were still going strong in the East.  The US uses it as a day to remember vets from all wars, as do many European nations, especially those involved in WWI and WWII. All over the Western world you will often see both real and faux red poppy flowers, which are acknowledged in the famous poem In Flanders Field as growing on many of the old battlefields of Belgium and are symbolic of the blood spilled there.

Even while I was in the military, I’ve never felt very comfortable with Veterans Day. In the US, we have Memorial Day for honoring the dead, and thus Veterans Day is more about honoring all vets, especially the living. However, being a vet never struck me as being particularly honorable. I mean, in my view, serving in the military is like paying taxes– it’s just something you’re supposed to do. No one thanks you or gives you free stuff for paying your taxes (or they shouldn’t beyond basic government services, anyway). The day just never struck me as important that way. That being said though, there are some vets that read this blog, so thanks to them for keeping the tradition going and picking up the slack for all the peaceniks.

 

Fall is Ridiculous

There’s a huge part of me that hates Fall. On one hand, I’m my most creative during both Fall and Spring. On the other hand, both seasons are just so damned busy… Anyway, I thought I’d give everyone an update on to what’s going on in the world of Pete and Ares:

1: With 5 Pyanepsion falling on Saturday by Hellenion’s count, that means it’s finally time for the Greater Aresia! Isn’t that awesome? The transition into Fall and October also marks the relative start of the Spartan and Makedonian calendars, both very war-like states who may have set their calendars in relation to the war season, which is now coming to a close. Not that you might believe that, what with the recent attacks on US assets, but hey, modern warfare =/= ancient warfare.

2: I have successfully smelted bronze!!!! It’s not a very large amount, but it is enough to make small coins and the like. I think I am going to make some medallions in honor of the Aresia with my newly created metal bits. It should be fun. This of course only one small piece of a rash of devotional art I have started. For those of you who have checked out the Facebook page, you have seen the beginnings of those two projects. I’m also doing variations of the helmet I made, hopefully culminating in a solid bronze piece.

3: More creativity means more work on my book. Summer was a big lazy period, and may Ares forgive me for that. Luckily, three of my four classes (philosophy, ancient history, and sculpture) should keep me focused and gung-ho on writing, so maybe I can get a manuscript finished by February (no promises though). Speaking of books, Neos Alexandria is re-opening the call for submissions for Harnessing Fire, dedicated to Ares’ brother Hephaestos. I’ve already submitted a photo, and I’m considering doing a piece on the relationship between the two. Seeing as I’m doing that for my own book, it will be done regardless.

4: Last but not least, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite concert videos referencing one of my favorite myths: