What's Wrong With the Old Mythology?

Nothing. But that doesn't mean I can't add to it.

I suppose I should do the whole introduction thing. Hi, my name's Jaime and I'm a netaholic... No, hang on, that's not quite right.

But where are the Gods? The Heroes? Those stories fascinated me in my youth and I always assumed that I'd continue to find things in this world that engaged my imagination in the same way.

I'm a teacher. Technically I teach English, but the more I look into it, the more I feel that a teacher is in fact defined as 'one who teaches' and that subjects are artificial distinctions. I have an 8-month old son named Avery, which is Old English for 'Rules with Elven Wisdom'. That said, I think Elves are geeks.

But at least Mythological geeks! It sickens me that this world has nothing left to believe in unless I want to subscribe to a monotheistic set of orders on how to live my life OR join the cult of the almighty dollar! I long for adventure, for the chance to sail a sea in search of treasure or battle a mighty beast from beyond with only my wits to defend me...

I'm quite witty and quite arrogant if this statement is anything to go by. I think the arrogance is a holdover from my youth as a gamer - many of us pick it up as a social defence against the taunts we endured. I guess if you convince yourself that you're awesome, it becomes so. My brain should be registered as a lethal weapon.

The simple truth is that we need a New Mythology, so I'm going to build one. Each post here will offer up a new God or Hero to my personal pantheon and hopefully offer some context as to who I am and why I would make such choices while trying desperately not to just be a big fanboy. Also, I want to be a writer and need to practice.

So, the first god of my New Mythology:

Neil Gaiman, Lord of Dreams

Yes, it's a bit sordid to start with my favourite author, but what an author! This man has single-handedly changed the way I look at the world. Arguably, I'm plagarising his novel American Gods with this blog... His seemless blending of the worlds of reality and fantasy present a real ray of hope to those of us who see this world as banal and disappointing. Even if bad things happen to good people in his stories, at least those good people had a chance to see something more in their time than the crags that make up the lump of rock we fly through space on. Neil opens up worlds of possibility with his limitless imagination and is a constant source of inspiration to me and legions of others. If you haven't read his work, go do it now - he's a better writer than I am.

Remember, your beliefs are your own. 'Religion' is just a tick-box on the census.