Posts tagged debunking
President MythBuster!
I’m so proud, our president is joining the mythbusting game.
Posted on December 10, 2010 by Brook – 
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Independence Day debunking
As if to answer my prayers for mythography inspiration, the always-genius NPR program On The Media stepped into my vacation-induced void with their July 3rd program all about debunking national myths. Some of their debunking targets: Rosa Parks as meek older lady whose feet were just too tired to move to the back of the… More →
Posted on July 14, 2009 by Brook – 1 Comment
Politics | Tagged debunking, mythography, NPR
Yes, Virginia, there ARE baby carrots!
Carrots the size of (non-giant) garlic! Let no one say the Mythographer is unwilling to correct herself. In a previous post, MM declared categorically that baby carrots “are a myth.” Then what should arrive at my door, delivered by a friend who purchased them at our local farmer’s market, but ACTUAL “baby carrots.”
Posted on June 22, 2009 by Brook – Leave a comment
Paradise Lust | Tagged debunking, food
Debunking debunking
To debunk, from the Oxford English Dictionary, transitive verb: To remove the ‘nonsense’ or false sentiment from; to expose false claims or pretensions; hence, to remove a person from his ‘pedestal’ or ‘pinnacle’. Also absolute. Hence debunker, one who debunks; or debunking. As one W. E. Woodward apparently said in 1923, “De-bunking means simply taking… More →
Posted on June 14, 2009 by Brook – Leave a comment
Creative writing can’t be taught?
Myth: Creative writing can’t be taught. I have to admit, when I first saw the article in last week’s New Yorker about the effectiveness of M.F.A. writing programs, my first reaction was: not this again. Writing classes, writing teachers, and writing degrees are a colossal waste of time–because you either have talent or you don’t–and… More →
Posted on June 09, 2009 by Brook – Leave a comment
Paradise Lust | Tagged creativity, debunking, ritual
Angels and Scientists
The release of a Da Vinci Code franchise always unleashes a flurry of debunking. Is there really an Illuminati? Can you really do that with a particle collider? According to an excellent essay by Dennis Overbye, director Ron Howard is well aware that the quasi-believability of author Dan Brown’s fictions are part of what gives… More →
Posted on June 03, 2009 by Brook – Leave a comment
Politics | Tagged culture wars, debunking, movies
Real Blood; Fake Myth
Watch this video, and tell me if you think it’s anti-Semitic. Seven Jewish Children Go ahead, I’ll wait. When I started to hear whispers of outrage about brilliant British playwright Caryl Churchill’s new work Seven Jewish Children, I was impressed. It’s not every day that a playwright crosses the blood-brain barrier between the arts and… More →
Posted on May 21, 2009 by Brook – 2 Comments
Does the Liberty Bell toll for thee?
The Mythographer found herself in Philly recently, and it would have seemed downright rude not to visit the Liberty Bell. Now, the Mythographer went to public school, so I didn’t even really know what the Liberty Bell was, just that it had a crack in it. But the whole experience got me thinking about the… More →
Posted on May 12, 2009 by Brook – Leave a comment
History | Tagged culture wars, debunking, symbols
Late-Breaking Passover Edition
So the Mythographer arrived too late on the Passover scene to really ham it up, but thankfully other smarter heads than I have been busy unpacking beloved Biblical stories…and in a way which perfectly illustrates the mission of MM. First comes Bruce Feiler, author of Walking the Bible, an earnestly noncommittal (and bestselling) account of… More →
Posted on April 11, 2009 by Brook – Leave a comment
