#and a bonus Gunhild

[circle-girls-tower]

🕯️Any pair you'd like~

There are many individuals and organizations that I am willing to twist their arm to the fullest extent of the letter and the law. The military is not one of them.

That being said, The Admiral's fears are far from unfounded. Smart woman.

Mrerrrrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrrggrgrgrgrgrgrrgrgg if I get my hands on her again I swear to god-

[whenyousayrun]

I am about 7 hours into Ciconia and my foremost thought is that I am scared and have no idea where this is going.

As a sidenote my biggest complaint is that it didn't show any Swedish when Gunhilds translator acted up. Let me get a bilingual bonus for once in my life :(

[baiheyurisolidarity]

I should probably make this a different post instead of a reblog but remembering which chatacters I put would be a massive pain in the ass so here it goes.

Miyao and Meow are the most obvious in terms of at least one of them being trans by virtue of their two personalities being two different genders with one body with one sex. Personally I'm leaning towards Miyao being the one that's trans due to a theory of mine that Miyao was transplanted into the mind of Meow with the mind of her previous brother but I won't get deep into it here. I think that at least Miyao is bi because he seems like he might potentially be close to Lingji in some way perhaps without realizing it by the end, and with his interactions with Jayden he may have feelings about him that make him uncomfortable because he hasn't come to terms with them.

Jayden practically feels self explanatory but it seems obvious that he's bi in that he has feelings not only for Meow but Miyao as well without realizing it. He thinks he only loves Meow and while he does mix them up it's clear that he loves aspects of Miyao ad well.

Gunhild being trans comes from something I heard in a Ciconia theory youtube video about her heart, possibly in one of the comments. To put it briefly she struggles a lot and may have not only needed to struggle to become a Gauntlet Knight from her poor area with C rankings but also to become a girl as well. She already wanted to become a girl of course, being a girl making a Gauntlet Knight become easier (don't remember how) is just a convenient bonus.

I have so many fucking theories on Lingji I think she literally has some of the most potential based on Ep 1 alone. I definitely think she's bi and trans and maybe a robot or droid of some sort based on her reactions to conversations about identity and whatnot. People REALLY don't pay enough attention to her. Some of her sprites also give me an idea that we may have already seen more than one of her personalities, particularly when she makes a certain "soft" and perhaps affectionate face that can be seen in multiple scenes but notably when they're talking about sex and gender and such.

Andry was at least one of the ones to bring up the difficulties of LGBTQ identities in other countries so he could be gay or bi and talking from experience.

Rukshana from Saudi Arabia literally flirts with the Indian Gauntlet Knight who's name I can't remember when she's in her "excitable" personality. Can't be a more obvious lesbian than that.

Stanslaw, the polish guy, is definitely gay or bi based on his brief reaction to something the yuri nuns say that you might miss if you're not paying attention. He literally closes his eyes and blushes at the mention of gay stuff.

I don't have much evidence for Naomi being trans and bi, she just gives me vibes tbh.

At least one of them yaoi yuri barrier troop nuns is gay. Too much gay love talk for them not to be and I won't take "they're all fujoshi" for an answer.

At least one of Rethabil's body guards might be gay or bi for the same reason I brought up Andry. Not much to say here.

Marianne reminds me too fucking much of Beatrice and Clair from her bio description and "personality" (3 personalities fighting in a body in a stalemate causing delayed and little emotional responses) for her not to be trans. Her and her comrades Noor and Garnet seem self explanatory especially when you include things like Marianne's Rena like treatment of Garnet. I just know she'll be important later.

Valentina comes off as trans to me and Maricarm comes off as gay for her in my mind. No particular evidence why, just a theory.

Sesshat is an avatar of both Valentina and Maricarm according to my theory based on story and bio stuff lining up. By extension she'd be trans and bi.

I think Vier is a trans woman that gave birth with an artificial womb to Miyao. Based on everything about her including her desire and ideology around overcoming or ascending the corporeal form and society going into a digital world to not have to deal with bodily issues in general, she gives off STRONG trans vibes. If she knew Toujiro for a long time, possibly before he potentially transitioned and knew his gender, she might be bi as well.

Jestress is a clone of Vier according to my theory and would logically be trans and bi as well.

Toujiro could be bi for the same reason Vier might be bi. He also may have an artificial penis as a trans person to give birth to Miyao and Meow cause the future is just more fun isn't it? He could however also have a womb or even an artificial womb to birth Miyao and Meow and Vier has the penis so who knows. I think that Miyao and Meow could also be a clone of him so depending on which theory turns out to be correct he could be all sorts of things.

As for who has mental illnesses induced by trauma, 27 of the main cast of Ciconia are child soldiers so that's damn near the whole cast having that baggage. Then there's the whole CPP thing which again, would account for maybe 26 of the main cast. I believe it's based off being plural in general which does NOT have to be trauma related. But again, given their circumstances, what Ryukishi07 has written and written about in the past, and the fact that symptoms of if not outright DID is literally mentioned in the text, they're probably mostly trauma related at least to some degree. It doesn't have to be related to those things either, it could be PTSD among other things.

But yeah, that's my jumbled up thoughts on all that.

I'll elaborate on these in a different post when it's not past midnight on a monday but

Ciconia characters that are probably trans: Miyao or Meow, Gunhild, Lingji, Naomi, Marianne (probably spelled that wrong), Valentina, Sesshat, Vier, Jestress, Toujirou

Ciconia characters that are probably gay or bi: Miyao and Meow, Jayden, Lilja, Koshka, Lingji, Rukshana (probably spelled that wrong too), Andry, polish dude who's name I just forgot, Naomi, at least one of the nun idols, at least one of Rethabil's body guards (can't remember their names), Noor, Marianne, Garnet, Maricarm, Sesshat, Vier, Jestress, Toujirou

Ciconia characters that probably have a trauma induced disability: Look, I could put damn near the entire cast in here.

[wiedzmina-blog]

Norwegian / old norse names and places

Every now and then I come across a book, movie, TV-series, fanfic, game or whatever, that mention a fictional "Norwegian" or "norse" place or person, and it just sounds so wrong it makes me either cringe or ROFL. Really. I still haven't recovered from the 1995 X-files episode, "Død Kalm", which took us to the port of "Tildeskan" where we met "Henry Trondheim", "Halverson" and "Olafsson".  Hopefully this list will keep others from being that “creative” with names. :)

Common names for places, towns and villages in Norway

These names are very generic and suitable for a place, village or town anywhere (and pretty much any time) in Norway. Mix and match prefixes with suffixes for diversity.  Bonus: All of these can also be used as surnames. Name (meaning) - usage

Nes (headland, cape, ness) - Standalone ​ Bø (fenced-in field on a farm) - Standalone Fjell (mountain) -  Standalone or prefix/suffix: Fjell- / -fjell Haug (small hill / large mound)  -  Standalone or prefix/suffix: Haug- / -haug Vik, Viken, Vika (inlet, the inlet, the inlet) -  Standalone or prefix/suffix: Vik- / -viken / -vika Ås, Åsen (hill, the hill (larger than "Bakken")) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: ​ Dal, Dalen (valley, the valley) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: ​ Berg (small mountain) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Berg(s)- / -berg Sand (sand) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Sand- / -sand Strand (beach) -  Standalone or prefix/suffix: Strand- / -strand Li (hill) -  Standalone or prefix/suffix: Li- / -li Gran (spruce) -  Standalone or prefix: Gran- Bratt (steep) - prefix only: Bratt- Myr (bog, mire) - prefix only: Myr- Neset, Nesset (the headland, the cape, the ness) - Standalone or suffix: ​-neset / -nesset Odden (foreland, headland) - Standalone or suffix: ​ -odden Våg (cove, bay) - Standalone or suffix: -våg Lund (grove) - Standalone or suffix: -lund Sund (sound, strait) -  Standalone or suffix:  -sund Skog (forest) prefix/suffix: Skog- / -skog Øy (island) prefix/suffix: Øy- / -øy øya (the island) - suffix only: ​ -øya bakken  (the hill) - suffix only: -bakken  gard / gård / gården (farm / farm / the farm) - suffix only: -gard / -gård / -gården elv, -elva (river, the river) suffix only: -elv / -elva stad (old word for town/place) suffix only: -stad vannet (the lake) - suffix only: -vannet

Common words that can be used as prefix to any of the suffixes above Svart- (black)  Lille- (little/small)  Sol- (sun)  Brei-/Bred- (wide)  Stor- (big) Lang- (long)

Common Norwegian surnames (contemporary)

Heredatory surnames didn't become mandatory in Norway until 1923. Many took the name from the farm or place they lived, or just changed their primary patronyms into hereditary patronyms. Example: Helgessønn/Helgesdatter (son of Helge / daughter of Helge) became Helgesen.

Alm Andersen Anderssen Antonsen Aspelund Bakke Bakken Bang Berg Bjerkan Bråthen Christensen Corneliussen Dahl Dahlberg Danielsen Dyrnes Dørum Eide Ellingsen Erdal Eriksen Falch Fredriksen Foss Fure Fylling Gabrielsen Gran Grønning Halvorsen Hansen Hanssen Hay Hoff Holm Holt Husby Isaksen Iversen Jacobsen Jensen Jenssen Johansen Karlsen Klausen Konradsen Kristensen Kristiansen Larsen Larssen Lie Lien Lund Løvold Magnussen Meyer Mikalsen Mo Moen Myhre Myklebust Mørk Ness Nilsen Olavsen Olsen Paulsen Pettersen Prestegård Rasmussen Riise Rogstad Ruud Simonsen Solbakken Solli Stokke Strøm Sund Svendsen Thorvaldsen Torp Thune Tønnesen Ueland Ulven Urdal Vik Vinje Wahl Wik Wilhelmsen Zakariassen Ødegård Årseth Årvik Ås, Aas Åsen, Aasen

Common Norwegian names -- 1980 - present

Men

Anders André Andreas Are Arne Atle Bjørn Cato Chris Christian, Kristian Christoffer, Kristoffer Daniel David Dennis Elias Emil Espen Erik, Eric Eirik Fredrik Filip Geir Harald Helge Hans Henning Håkon, Haakon Håvard Isak Jan Joachim Johan Johannes John, Jon Johnny Jonas Jonathan Kim Kristian, Christian Kristoffer, Christoffer Lars Lucas, Lukas Mads, Mats Magnus Martin Michael, Mikael Morten Niklas Nils Odin Ole Ove Paul Per Peter, Petter Preben Pål Richard, Rikard Roger Sebastian Simen Simon Sindre Sondre Stian Terje Thomas Thor, Tor Thore, Tore Vegard Werner William Øystein Åge Åsmund

Women

Andrea Ane, Anne Anette, Annette Annika, Anniken Astrid Bente Camilla Carina Cathrine Celine Charlotte Christin, Kristin Christina, Kristina Christine, Kristine Elin, Eline Elise Elisabeth Emilie Eva Frida Grete, Grethe Hanne Hege Heidi Helene Hilde Ida Ine Ingrid Ingvill, Ingvild Isabel, Isabell, Isabelle Iselin Jannicke Janine Jeanette Jennie, Jenny Julia, Julie Karoline (Kine) Katrin, Katrine Kristin, Christin Lea, Leah Lena, Lene Linda Line Linn Linnea Lise, Lisa Liv, Live Mai, May Maja Malin Margrete, Margrethe Mari, Maria, Marie Mariann, Marianne Marte, Marthe Mette Monica Nina Nora Oda Pia Ragnhild Randi Rikke Sara, Sarah Silje Siv Stina, Stine Susann, Susanne Tanja Tina, Tine Tiril Tone Trine Vilde Vera Veronica Wenche Åse Åshild

Common Norwegian names - 1800 - 1980

Men Aksel Albert Anders Andreas Anker Ansgar Arne Arnt Arve Asle Atle Birger Bård Charles Edmund Edvard Egon Erling Even Fred Fredrik Frode Geir Georg Gunnar Gunvald Gustav Harald Helge Hilmar Håkon, Haakon Ivar Ingvar Jens Jesper Jørgen Joakim Karl Karsten, Karstein Kjell Klaus Kolbein Kolbjørn Kristian Kåre Lars Lavrans Leif Lossius Ludvig Magne Magnus Nikolai Nils Odd Oddvar Odin Ola Olai Olaf Olav Ole Omar Oscar, Oskar Peder Per Petter Philip, Phillip Pål Ragnar Rikard Roald Roar (also Hroar) Rolf Rune Sigurd Sigvard, Sigvart Simon Svein Sverre Tarjei Terje Toralf, Thoralf Torbjørn, Thorbjørn Torleif, Thorleif Torstein, Thorstein Torvald, Thorvald Trond Ulf Ulrik Valdemar Wilhelm Willy Åge

Women

Albertine Alice, Alise Alma Anita Anna Annbjørg Asbjørg Astrid Aud Bente Berit Birgit Birgitte Bjørg Bjørgun Bodil Borghild Dagny Dagrun Edel Ella Ellen Elsa Fredrikke Frida Gerd Gjertrud Gunhild Gyda Hanna, Hannah Helga Henny Herdis Hilda Hilde Hjørdis Ingeborg Inger Irene Johanna, Johanne Jorun, Jorunn Josefine Judith Kari Karin Kirsten Kitty Kjersti Laila Lilli, Lilly Lisa, Lise Liv Lovise Mathilde Margaret Marit Martha Molly Nanna Oddrun Oddveig Olga Ragna Ragnhild Rigmor Sara Signe Sissel Solbjørg Solveig Solvår Svanhild Sylvi Sølvi Tora Torhild, Toril, Torill Torun, Torunn Tove Valborg Ylva Åse Åshild

Names usage Double names, like Ragnhild Johanne or Ole Martin are common in Norway. Just keep them as two names and don't use "-", and you'll be safe, even if it ends up a tongue twister. Using only one of two given names is also common practice.

In Norway everyone is on a first name basis. Students call teachers and other kids' parents by their first name, workers call their boss by their first name, we call our Prime Minister by her first name (journalists will use her title when speaking to her though). Some senior citizens still use surnames and titles when speaking of or to  people their own age.

There are some exceptions. For example, a doctor may be referred to as Dr. Lastname when we speak of them, but first name is used when speaking to them. A priest is "the priest" when speaking of him/her and their first name is used when spaking to them. In the millitary only surnames (and ranks) are used. If you meet Harald, the King of Norway, in an official setting you will refer to him as "Kongen" (the king). If you run into him at the gas station, or while hiking, he is "Harald".

If you don't know someone's name it is okay to use their title, or just say "you".

Names for pets (contemporary)

Dogs Laika (f) Bamse (m) (bear) Tinka (f) Loke/Loki (m) + characters from TV/film/books...

Cats Melis (m/f) (powdered sugar) Mango (m/f) (mango) Pus (f) (kitty) Mons (m) (tomcat) Nala (f) Pusur (m) (Garfield) Felix (m)  Simba (m) + characters from TV/film/books...

Horses Pajazz (m) Mulan (f) Balder (m) - cold blood Kompis (m) (pal) Freya (f) - cold blood + characters from TV/film/books...

Rabbits Trampe (m) (Thumper) Trulte (f) + characters from TV/film/books...

Cows (yes, I am serious) Dagros Rosa Mira Luna Sara + characters from TV/film - Disney is popular, as are the Kardashians :)

Road and street names

Storgata (usually the main street) Kongens gate (the king's street) Dronningens gate (the queen's street) Jernbanegata (railroad street) Jernbaneveien (railroad road) Sjøgata (ocean street) Sjøveien, Sjøvegen (ocean road) Skolegata (school street) Torvgata (plaza street) Industrigata (industrial street) Industriveien (industrial road)

Prefixes Blåbær- (blueberry) Bringebær- (raspberry) Bjørke- (birch) Aspe- (asp) Kastanje- (chestnut) Solsikke- (sun flower) Blåklokke- (blue bell) Nype- (rosehip) Kirke- (church) Park- (park)

Suffixes -veien, -vegen (the road)  -stien (the path)

Other Torvet (the plaza) - standalone or suffix: -torvet Havna (the port) - standalone or suffix: -havna Kaia (the port) - standalone or suffix: -kaia

Safe solution: use a first name or surname as prefix.

Old norse

Men’s names Agnarr (Agnar) Alfr (Alf) Ámundi (Amund) Ánarr Árngrimr (Arngrim) Askr (Ask) Auðun (Audun) Baldr (Balder) Beinir ​Bjørn Burr Borkr Dagfinnr (Dagfinn) Davið (David) Drengr Durinn Einarr (Einar) Eirikr (Eirik) Eivindr (Eivind) Erlingr (Erling) Fafnir Flóki Freyr (Frey) Fuldarr Galinn Gautarr (Gaute) Gegnir Geirr (Geir) Glóinn Grímarr (Grimar) Hafli Hakon Hallsteinn (Hallstein) Haraldr (Harald) Haukr (Hauk) Heðinn (Hedin, Hedinn) Helgi (Helge) Hrafn, Hrafni (Ravn) Hrafnkell (Ravnkjell) Iarl (Jarl) Ingolfr (Ingolf) Iuar (Ivar) Jafnhárr Jón Jóngeirr Kál Kiaran Klaus Knútr (Knut) Kolgrimr (Kolgrim) Kolr (Kol) Leifr (Leif) Loki Lyngvi Magnus Mikjáll (Mikal, Mikkel) Mór Morði Nesbjørn Nokkvi Oddr (Odd) Oddbjørn Oðin (Odin) Olafr (Olaf) Ormr (Orm) Otr Ouden Pálni Pedr Ragnarr (Ragnar) Ragnvaldr (Ragnvald) Randr (Rand) Róaldr (Roald) Rólfr (Rolf) Salvi Sigarr (Sigar) Sigbjørn Sigurðr (Sigurd) Skarpe Snorri (Snorre) Steinn (Stein) Sveinn (Svein) Teitr Þor (Thor/Tor) Þórbjørn (Thorbjørn/Torbjørn) Þorsteinn (Thorstein/Torstein) Tryggr (Trygg) Týr Ulfár Ulfheðinn (Ulvhedin) Ulfr (Ulf) Vakr Vani Veigr Viðarr (Vidar) Yngvarr (Yngvar) Æsi

Women's names

Anna Arnfriðr (Arnfrid) Ása Bera Bergdís (Bergdis) Biørg (Bjørg) Cecilia Cecilie Christina Dagný (Dagny) Dagrún (Dagrun) Dís Dísa Edda Elin Ellisif (Ellisiv) Freyja (Freya) Friða (Frida) Frigg Gerðr (Gerd) Gertrud Grima Gyða (Gyda) Hadda Hallbéra Hallkatla Herdís (Herdis) Hildigunnr (Hildegunn) Huld Hvít Ida Iðunn (Idun, Idunn) Ingríðr (Ingrid) Johanna Jórunn (Jorun, Jorunn) Juliana Katla Katrine Kristín (Kristin) Leikný (Leikny) Lif (Liv) Magnhildr (Magnhild) Mjøll Myrgiol Nál Nanna Nótt Oda Oddný (Oddny) Ólaug (Olaug) Rafnhildr (Ragnhild) Rán Rannveíg Ríkví (Rikvi, Rikke) Rúna (Runa) Roskva Sága (Saga) Sif (Siv) Sigriðr (Sigrid) Skaði (Skadi) Skuld Svana Sýn Solveig Tekla Tóra (Tora) Trana Ulfhildr (Ulfhild) Una Urðr (Urd) Valborg Vigdís (Viigdis) Vírún Yngvildr (Ingvill, Ingvild) Yrsa

Bynames Bynames, or nicknames, could be neutral, praising or condescending. Usually bynames described a person's

body, bodyparts, bodily features

age

kinship and descent

territorial origin

knowledge, belief, spirituality

clothing, armour

occupation, social position

nature

Examples: Eirik Blodøks (Eirik Blood-Axe), Gammel-Anna (old Anna), Halte-Ása (limping Ása). I suggest that you stick with English for bynames, or use (relatively) modern language if you are writing in Norwegian. 

Surnames

Surnames weren't really a thing until 1923 when they became mandatory. Before 1923 patronyms (son/daughter of) were used, and the name of the farm you lived on was often added as an address. 

For instance: Helgi Eiriksøn (Helgi, son of Eirik), who lived at the farm called Vollr (grass field), would be called Helgi Eiriksøn Vollr. If he moved to the farm called Haugr his name would change to Helgi Eiriksøn Haugr.

Patronyms

Men: Use father's first name and add -sen /-son /-sønn Women: Use father's first name and add -dotter / -dottir / -datter

Farm names

Farm names were usually relevant and derived from either the location, a nearby landmark, nature or from occupation.  I suggest you stick with the modern forms for farm names.

Old Norse (meaning) - modern Bekkr (stream) - Bekk, Bekken Dalr (valley) - Dal, Dahl Horn (horn) - Horn Vollr (field) - Vold, Volden Lundr (grove) - Lund

The list of common names for places/villages/towns is still valid, although the spelling is modern. Just keep it simple and make "clever" combos based on meaning. 

[nofomoartworld]

MOMENTUM9 – “Alienation is our contemporary condition”

MIT Media Lab’s Mediated Matter Group, Honeybee hives monitoring in the Synthetic Apiary Environment. Image: Markus Kayser, Sunanda Sharma and Jorge Duro

Jenna Sutela, Let’s Play: Life, 2015-2017. Opening of Momentum 9. Photo: Ingeborg Øien Thorsland

Momentum 9, The Nordic Biennial of Contemporary Art, opened a few days ago in Moss, Norway. Its focus is Alienation, a pertinent theme for a time characterized by deep social and economic inequalities, new forms of rabid colonialism, atmospheric turmoil, transhumanism, closing borders and relentless questioning of democracy.

Trailer for Momentum 9

As Momentum 9 demonstrates, alienation is a daunting condition but it also provides us with an opportunity to reevaluate our long-established values and dogmas. If our world is being changed beyond recognition, then maybe we should engage directly with the alien, embrace its many challenges and start envisioning a ‘differently humane’ future.

All of the above means that there is a lot to unpack, discover and mull over in Moss. I’ve got notes, photos, research materials and ongoing interviews all over my laptop but here’s a first group of artworks that explore ongoing ecological and human alienation:

Jussi Kivi, Moon Woods, 2017. Photo by Istvan Virag

Jussi Kivi’s Moon Woods is very familiar but also strangely alien. It is both a piece of sublime Northern landscape and a formidable scene that suggest night creatures, secrets and danger.

The work is shown inside a completely dark room. You need to tentatively make your way across the space and allow your eyes to adjust before you can see the work. The forest is shown behind a glass window, suggesting perhaps a fragile fragment of nature, one that mankind might not have spoilt yet. A relic enshrined in a museum display that clinically abstracts it from a context probably made of highways, mining industry, toxic liquids seeping into the ground and polluted rivers.

With this work, Kivi explores the concept of solastalgia (a portmanteau of the words ‘solace’ and ‘nostalgia’), a new form of distress caused by environmental change close to your home.

The Moss Meteorite (Impact 10;20 A. M., 14 July 2006)

The Moss Meteorite (Impact 10;20 A. M., 14 July 2006)

The Moss Meteorite (Impact 10;20 A. M., 14 July 2006). Opening of Momentum 9. Photo: Ingeborg Øien Thorsland

Right in the middle of the list of participating artists is ‘Meteorite.’ And Meteorite, it turns out, is not a pop band or a performance group as i had expected but a real piece of meteorite fallen on the area in 2006. This particular fragment of the Moss Meteorite, a loan from the Natural History Museum in Oslo, is a rare specimen of Carbonaceous chondrites, a class of outer space debris which makes for less than 5% of all meteorite falls. This rubble from the cosmos deserves a place in the biennial because it comes with a chunk of a rooftop isolation material that had melted when the fireball fragment hit a house in Moss. Unassuming and as black as a Malevich black square, the object perfectly encapsulates a concrete encounter between the man-made world and the extra-terrestrial one.

Búi Adalsteinsson, Insect bar

Anyone eager to travel long distance and experience first-hand this extra-terrestrial world might end up snacking their way to Planet Mars with a pile of Búi Adalsteinsson‘s insect bars.

Búi Adalsteinsson, Fly Factory, 2014. Photo by Istvan Virag

Búi Adalsteinsson, Fly Factory, 2014. Photo by Istvan Virag

Búi Adalsteinsson, Fly Factory, 2014. Photo by Istvan Virag

A few years ago, the designer started looking into the possibility of creating self-sustainable food systems that would use insects as their main component and feed our overpopulated world. He believes that insects can provide us with a nutritious and -crucially- very sustainable source of food if only we would let go of prejudices and knee-jerk reactions to the idea of consuming larvae and creepy-crawlies.

Insects might indeed look terribly unappetizing but no one has ever accused them of producing too much greenhouse gas.

We were offered some very crunchy and very delicious insect bars during the press view and we also got to see Adalsteinsson’s Fly Factory, a piece of furniture that might grace our kitchen in the future. This breeding tank was designed so that it uses leftovers and produces no waste.

Check out this very entertaining and informative talk Adalsteinsson gave in 2015 to try and convince the audience that eating insects makes perfect sense.

The Mediated Matter Group, Synthetic Apiary, 2016. Photo: Istvan Virag. Courtesy The Mediated Matter Group

The Mediated Matter Group, Synthetic Apiary, 2016

The Mediated Matter’s Synthetic Apiary provides an artificial perpetual spring environment in which seasonal honeybees can live and work year-round. The designers hope that by controlling precisely the bee environment, we will have a better understanding of their fabrication capabilities and health.

The long-term goal is to integrate biology into a new kind of architectural environment, and thereby the city, for the benefit of humans and eusocial organisms.

This is certainly a praiseworthy aspiration. Beekeepers and scientists are registering massive decline in bees worldwide. The suggested causes for the crisis include climate change, pollution, loss of habitat, pesticides, stress due to transportation to multiple locations for providing pollination services, malnutrition, etc. Or a toxic combination of several factors. The situation is alarming because a third of the food we eat depends on pollinators -especially bees- for a successful harvest. Which means that the decline of bees and other pollinating insects might compromise biodiversity and agricultural yields.

“Minute 2:33 in the video documents the first birth in a synthetic environment: the only life this bee knows is of an existence in the Synthetic Apiary,” says the project page.

This Synthetic Apiary made me feel deeply uncomfortable. I can’t help but feel sad at the idea that these bees are living in an entirely manufactured environment, feeding on artificial nectar and artificial pollen, experiencing only a bright white world with a few humans who come to monitor their health at regular intervals. Besides, i’m always suspicious of solutions that consist in throwing artificial habitats, unyielding control and even more technology at environmental problems.

On the other hand, the project makes for lovely photos:

Honeybee hive installation and monitoring in the Synthetic Apiary environment. Image: The Mediated Matter Group

Stathis Tsemberlidis, Transmutations of Human Bodies and Flora, 2017. Photo by Istvan Virag

Stathis Tsemberlidis, Transmutations of Human Bodies, Drawing, 2015. Courtesy the artist

With his Transmutations of Human Bodies and Flora drawings, Stathis Tsemberlidis explores transmutations of the human body and how it can be modified by floral and fungal growths to the point of becoming a grotesque, yet highly seducing, new hybrid entity.

A performance by Trollkrem at Alby Beach

Trollkrem treated us to a performance in relation to Deep Down Below, the work they are showing in the Momentum Kunsthall. They kindly offered to paint our faces in unnatural shades and served whale steak as part of the ‘refreshments.’

I’m going to mention briefly Patricia Piccinini’s Atlas sculpture. Everyone i talked to during the press trip loved it. As for me, I’d rather eat one of Aðalsteinsson’s larvae pâtés than spend 2 minutes in the company of her creepy creatures. But i know i’m in a minority here. Hence the photo:

Patricia Piccinini, Atlas, 2012. Photo by Istvan Virag. Courtesy the artist

I need to add that i really REALLY liked Moss. Not so much the city center. It is basically one street with a few shops that make a pathetic attempt at distracting you from the spectacularly beautiful surroundings: the wooden houses, the landscape, the sea, etc. Bonus! It’s a mere one hour drive from Oslo.

Here’s some random photos i took while i was there:

Momentum 9, The Nordic Biennial of Contemporary Art, is curated by Ulrika Flink, Ilari Laamanen, Jacob Lillemose, Gunhild Moe and Jón B.K Ransu. The exhibitions remain open in various location in Moss, Norway, until 11 October 2017

from We Make Money Not Art http://ift.tt/2tcZQMg via IFTTT

[deleriumofyou]

Get into my OC

Tagged by @wardsarefunctioning , yaaaaas!

Name: Aslaug Gunhilddotten

Age: 24 – 27

Gender: Female

Orientation: Eyes and voices (that probably counts, right?)

Profession: Originally, she’d been a hunter, communal cook, and warrior to Lurkerhold and had been eyed for the spot of battlemaster. Now, she walks around with a hole in her hand in the heat and tries desperately tries to not sweat out ten years off her life. She’s currently the Herald of Andraste, and she does a lot of things: has public cultural misunderstandings, starts fights in Orlais, eats weird things, and vocally refuses to understand monarchy. It’s not actually her job, but she acts like it.

Background: After being cursed by her father for her arrogance, she’s flung to Midgard or “Earth” as a mortal without her hammer only to be found by an astrophysicist – oh whoops ~. Nope that’s Thor. She totally doesn’t resemble Thor in any way.

She was born in Lurkerhold, her mother was Gunhild Astadotten, and her father is an unknown man but rumored to have been a Grey Warden. She trained as a warrior and a mage under Hrathgur, the augur of Lurkerhold. She was sent to spy on the Conclave after the augur and their tradesman reported a lot of unrest in the lowlands but had little else information. She tried to do a good deed, and got a hole in her hand for it. Lesson: never try to be the hero. It is a lesson she will never learn, unfortunately.

Physical

Body Type: Muscular, with wide hips and thicker thighs.

Eyes: dark gray or brown

Hair: black and to just below her shoulder blades, mostly just out of control

Skin: white with olive undertones

Height: 6”2

Weight: 170 – 175 lbs

 Skills (S.P.E.C.I.A.L + M)

Strength – 9. She uses a shield and glaive so she’s often on the frontlines in a battle. Also she’s just built very solidly and takes advantage of it. She’s a muscular lady. She has no problem slinging a ram across her shoulders and carrying it back to a camp. She’d probably try stealing Solas at some point, but he’s a fast one.

Perception – 6. Her perception would be higher if I wasn’t counting typical Thedosian cities, but she takes a heavy nerf when amongst other cultures. She’s very new to all of it, and while she’s getting better at the nuances, she’s certainly not the best, or even really “good” at it.

Endurance – 8. Basically a very Tall Energizer Bunny. She’s a 10 when she’s in colder weather or on mountains, or even marshes. She takes a critical 3 point nerf when entering hot weather, as she’s internally screaming the entire time and possibly literally leaving pints of sweat behind. So I average her at a solid 8. In typical battles, she’s not winded easily and firmly believes in a Second, Third, and Fourth Wind, and also Rest When You’re Dead.

Charisma – 3. She’s not particularly charming or capable of being persuasive, in the way we see other people are, but within her own culture she’s pretty decent. As she is now, she’s entirely too blunt and incapable of subtleties, not to mention she’s vocal about concepts she doesn’t agree with or particularly understand (although in her favor she’s vocal about wanting to understand and discuss things that are new to her, and getting better at compromising). She also talks about how all gods exist and how everything has a god. That makes an impression. It’s rarely positive.  

Intelligence – 7. She’s got a great memory, actually, unless she’s drinking heavily, and enjoys learning new things. One of the things she is good at is learning spoken languages; which makes sense as the Avvar do not have a written system, and typically don’t learn to read in other languages, they depend heavily on body and spoken languages. She’s good at math, as well, and more “earthy” or “natural” forms of knowledge like plants, animals, sky charts, reading weather changes, etc. She needs demonstrations to learn, either to see it or have it explained to her, but she gets it eventually. She doesn’t do written instructions. She can’t read very well yet.  

Agility – 5. She’s alright in combat, but she’s more likely to take the hit and roll with it than she is to dodge it if it gets past her shield. She’s not very fleet-footed which is why her biggest enemy on the field is always the rogue. She can outlast them, or break their bones, or freeze them, but they’re fast and it only takes one good hit.

Luck – HAHAHAHAHA. none

Magic – 7. Her focus is on ice and lightning. She’s like all the other Avvar, and prefers ice as it comes to them naturally. Because they specialize so heavily in one distinct class across all the mages, although not all of them restrict their magic to ice, they’ve found new ways to utilize it in combat. This is useful when fighting, but it can hamstring her as she hasn’t yet spread her talents beyond what she was taught in her, admittedly, isolated community. She originally had a 5 for this, but I bumped it up to 2 bonus points when considering her rituals, rites, chants, and general connection to spirits that the Avvar do also encourage.

Likes

Colors: White, black, blue, purple, green – they’re all the colors of the Frostbacks.

Smells: Pine, embrium, fresh water

Food: Roasted onions, roasted meat with a lot of fat, eels, any root vegetable.

Fruit: Anything on hand, but mostly berries. She’s not a big fan of fruit.

Drinks: Water, or the occasional cup of boiled bear fat for energy if it’s available

Alcoholic drinks: Dwarven ale. Mmm. Dirt.

Other

Smoke: Yes, but she doesn’t own a pipe. The Avvar took that custom of smoking with friends from their allies in Orzammar and the tradition never died down.

Drugs: Deep mushroom mixed tobacco; it’ll give you a good buzz. Or make you vomit up your lungs.

Tagging: anyone who wants to do this. pretty sure that I am, once again, late to the party.