Those of you who know me well know that I love research. I'm probably more fully in my element when I'm exploring something, letting the process of discovery take me wherever it goes, weaving in and out of seeming discontinuity and revealing connections and relationships that I'd never imagined or suspected. Sometimes I had suspected there was a connection and found out I was right. And then some. It's a fun game - one of my favorites - and I've spent a lot of time trying to convince others that it's my job, my avocation, my calling. My work space should prove that easily enough. I think this goes back to at least grade school when, having become a lover of reading and exploring, I discovered the set of Encyclopedia Britannica we had in our house and began to browse through them regularly. I loved to browse, I loved the idea of browsing and wanted to become a browser when I grew up. In my own solitude and isolation I discovered worlds within worlds out there that I just didn't find available in school or at home, in my backyard or on random day trips. The encyclopedias became my buddies and the library was our Odd fellows lodge.
Thank God and nerd engineers for web browsers, the common day equivalent of my boyhood aspirations. I can find stuff and stuff linked to other stuff easier, and in most cases have access to or own a copy of an item with simplest of ease. For some time now I've been interested in, among other things, stories from around the world. Several months ago I stumbled upon a great book, World Tales, by Idries Shah (printed by Octagon Press). It's a great book filled with wonderful stories from the diversity of our world culture, but it also has great introductions which trace the roots and development of a tale from it's origins and tracks it's sphere of influence within other cultures. Just the sort of book or slew of books I would have loved stumbling upon as a kid. In similar fashion, I discovered this great site last night, also called World Tales; it's a beautifully, wonderfully designed flash site of stories which are animated well and they give some background to the stories and the characters common to the folklore board of advisers. You can also read the tale if you prefer. I hope you find as much enjoyment in these as I have been, and keep the connection going - tell a friend.
