Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Huzzah!

This is topic Huzzah! in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by pooka (Member # 1738) on :

The "This Forum is for Writer's Age 18 and over" sign is gone. Not that I didn't agree with the sentiment. I just thought a "If you were born before this date in 1988 you can use this forum" sign would have been funnier.

On the OSC discussion board I worked through my disorientation surrounded the Hatrack Menu going from 3 lines to 2. I guess the trick was that all the links they removed were ones that no one used.

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

I wasn't worried. I'm over eighteen---enough for two and a half men...

Posted by authorsjourney (Member # 3569) on :

Yeah, that little redesign threw me for a loop too. I clicked in the places where the usual two links are to go from hatrack.com to the writer's workshop before realizing that I was not where I was supposed to be. The internet has got me trained...

Posted by TMan1969 (Member # 3552) on :

Isn't Pooka the name of the horse in Crewel Lye?

18 x 2 = Still young at heart, but younger people call me sir.

Posted by pooka (Member # 1738) on :

No idea, it probably came from the mythical beast spirits in Harvey but in between was a name of a pet cat I once had.

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

A pooka is a nightmare horse from some mythology or other. Pooka independently coined it as a name for her black cat.

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

quote:

Púca
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Púca (also Pooka, Phooka, Phouka, Púka, Pwca in Welsh, pouque in Dgèrnésiais, also Glashtyn, Gruagach) is a creature of Celtic folklore, notably in Ireland and Wales. It is one of the myriad of fairy (faery) folk, and, like many faery folk, is both respected and feared by those who believe in it.
According to legend, the Púca is an adroit shape changer, capable of assuming a variety of terrifying forms. It may appear as an eagle or as a large black goat (its name is a cognate of the early Irish 'poc', 'a male goat' and it lends its name to Puck, the goat-footed satyr made famous in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream), but it most commonly takes the form of a sleek black or white horse with a flowing mane and glowing yellow eyes.
The Púca is considered by many to be the most terrifying of all the creatures of faery. Not the slightest reason is its appearance, but it is its powers that are most feared. It is said to waylay travellers and others about at night, and if it is able to toss them onto its back, it will, at very least, provide them with the ride of their lives, from which they will return forever changed. A similar creature, the Aughisky (Water-horse), will allow itself to be saddled and ridden, but if it is ever taken next to a river or pond, it will carry its hapless rider into the water and rip him to pieces. The Púca has the power of human speech, and has been said to call those it feels have slighted or offended it out of their homes for a ride. If they fail to appear, it will tear down fences, scatter livestock, and create general mayhem.
Certain agricultural traditions surround the Púca. It is a creature associated with Samhain, the third Pagan (Celtic, Wiccan) Harvest Festival, when the last of the crops is brought in. Anything remaining in the fields is considered "puka," or fairy-blasted, and hence inedible. In some locales, reapers leave a small share of the crop, the "púca's share," to placate the hungry creature. Nonetheless, November Day (November 1) is the Púca's day, and the one day of the year when it can be expected to behave civilly.
In some regions, the Púca is spoken of with considerably more respect than fear; if treated with due deference, it may actually be beneficial to those who encounter it. The Púca is a creature of the mountains and hills, and in those regions there are stories of it appearing on November Day and providing prophecies and warnings to those who consult it.
By the beginning of the 21st century, depictions and conceptions of the Púca have changed from a fierce, terrifying spirit to a harmless, shy, garden-gnomish weevil eater.
In modern times, the word has also been used in Ireland for the hallucinogenic Liberty Cap mushroom (Psilocybe semilanceata). This use is believed to predate the popularisation of the mushroom in the 1970s, and may possibly be of considerable antiquity.