#estonian nature

[halljavalge]

Source: Remo Savisaar photo

ℍ𝐚𝓵ｌ נ𝐀 𝔳คĻǤẸ

[dapneleh]

Wild boars in the morning fog.

3.09.2023

[mikfelt]

[yoga-onion]

[Photo above by:  Ossi Saarinen]

Legends and myths about trees

Forest myths, Estonian traditional beliefs (6)

The world of the Estonians’ ancestors – Metsik, the forest elves

Metsik is the elf of the woodlands. According to ancient Estonian folklore, Metsik were wood elves who lived everywhere there were trees, from coniferous woodlands to shallow swamp forests. When Metsik appears to people, they assume the appearance of a bird, a wild animal, or a beautiful tree. A singing bird who truly is Metsik sings songs that humans can understand. They can also understand the language of the aspen tree that rustles in the wind for that aspen tree is Metsik.

If birdsong is heard, it may be a Metsik singing. People can hear Metsik in an aspen tree that rustles in the wind. Metiks are the guardian spirits of the forest. They do not approve of cutting down trees, bonfires and, above all, waste dumping. When people enter the forest with cruel intentions, Metik misleads them away from their sacred home.

木にまつわる伝説・神話

森の神話・エストニアの民間伝承 (6)

エストニア人の祖先の世界 〜 森の妖精メツィク

メツィクは森の妖精である。古代エストニアの民話によれば、メツィクは針葉樹林から浅い沼沢林まで、木があるところならどこにでも住んでいた森の妖精である。メツィクが人々の前に現れるとき、彼らは鳥や野生の動物、あるいは美しい樹木の姿をとる。本当にメツィクである歌う鳥は、人��が理解できる歌を歌う。また、風にそよぐアスペンの木の言葉を理解することもできる。

鳥のさえずりが聞こえたら、それはメツィクが歌っているのかもしれない。人々は風にそよぐアスペンの木からメツィクの声を聞くことができる。メツィクは森の守護霊である。彼らは木を伐採したり、焚き火をしたり、とりわけゴミを捨てることを認めない。人々が悪意を持って森に入ると、メツィクは彼らを神聖な家から遠ざけるよう惑わす。

[k2tlinnn]

[solcattus]

Asari maastik, 1896

By Lilly Walther

[emvisual]

"La medicina del futuro será la música y el sonido" "The medicine of the future will be music and sound." ~ Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) Megáfonos gigantes obra de los estudiantes de arquitectuta de la Academia Estonia de Arte. Un lugar para descansar y disfrutar de los sonidos de la naturaleza en Baumkronenweg Park, Kopfing, Austria.

[illneverbeapassenger]

Tallinn, Estonia. 11/2022

[alackofghosts]

i need to be in a bog

[fleshwerks]

This time, however, I found a living Estonian. Pvt. Lepp might be dead, but Assistant Tamm, for now, lives.

[halljavalge]

Source: Erik Mandre photo - teder. Western capercaillie on a fallen tree.

ℍ𝐚𝓵ｌ נ𝐀 𝔳คĻǤẸ

[mikfelt]

[yoga-onion]

Legends and myths about trees

Forest myths, Estonian traditional beliefs (5)

The world of the Estonians’ ancestors – Magical objects [first part]

White Ship (valge laev) - mythical ship that brings freedom or takes people away to a better land. This myth was born around 1860 when a small sect led by Juhan Leinberg (also known as Prophet Maltsvet) gathered near Tallinn to wait for a white ship to take them away.

Hat of fingernails (küüntest kübar) - makes the bearer (usually Vanatühi) invisible. In Estonian mythology, Vanatühi ("Old empty one", or alternatively, Vanapagan, "Old devil") is a/the devil or god of the underworld, a giant farmer who is more stupid than malevolent. Vanapagan is the ogre character in Estonian versions of the series of internationally known folktales of the stupid ogre.

Letter gloves (kirikindad) – were believed to have protective or magic powers, especially church letter gloves and the gloves that sailors wore. Letter gloves were (are) decorated with special geometric patterns and narrow red stripes; they have many whispers and spells in them because the crafter used to sing while making, dyeing and knitting yarn.

Letter Belt (kirivöö) - the belt had the most ancient and magical patterns of all the craft items, red woven belts and laces were a common item to sacrifice (they were tied to the branches of holy trees). The belt was tied around parts of body that were sick and, pulled tightly around the waist, to protect and give strength to the bearer.

Sacred stones - the last ice age has left a lot of great stones (erratics) in Estonia. Many of them were considered sacred and people came to them to sacrifice silver, blood, red ribbons and coins and ask for welfare and prosperity. Often, the stones have little holes in them, some of them probably used to place the sacrifice in. The meaning and function of the holes is however still disputed; according to a paleoastronomer they may have had a calendary function.

Travelling forests - when people are mean, greedy and cruel, the forests will leave those places. The most stories about travelling forests are found in coastal areas of Estonia.

木にまつわる伝説・神話

森の神話・エストニアの民間伝承 (5)

エストニア人の祖先の世界 〜 魔法のオブジェ（続き）

白船（valge laev）- 自由をもたらし、より良い土地へと人々を連れ去る神話上の船。この神話は1860年頃、ユハン・レインベルグ（預言者マルツヴェトとしても知られる）に率いられた小さな一派がタリン近郊に集まり、自分たちを連れ去ってくれる白い船を待ったことから生まれた。

爪の帽子（küüntest kübar） - 持ち主（通常はヴァナトゥヒ）を見えなくする。エストニア神話では、ヴァナテュヒ（「老いた空っぽの者」、あるいはヴァナパガン、「老いた悪魔」）は冥界の悪魔または神であり、悪意というより愚かな巨大農夫である。ヴァナパガンは、国際的に知られる一連の愚かな鬼の民話のエストニア語版に登場する鬼のキャラクターである。

レター・グローブ（kirikindad）-特に教会便りの手袋や船乗りが身につける手袋には、身を守る力や魔法の力があると信じられていた。レターグ・ローブには特殊な幾何学模様と細い赤い縞模��が施され、糸を作ったり染めたり編んだりするときに職人が歌っていたため、多くのささやきや呪文が込められている。

レター・ベルト（kirivöö）-ベルトは、工芸品の中で最も古く、魔法のような模様をしており、赤い織物のベルトやレースは、生け贄に捧げるための一般的なアイテムだった（聖なる木の枝に結ばれていた）。ベルトは、体の病気の部分に巻かれ、腰の周りにきつく引っ張られ、持ち主を守り、力を与えた。

聖なる石 - 最後の氷河期は、エストニアに多くの巨石（迷子石）を残した。その多くは神聖なも��とされ、人々は銀や血、赤いリボンやコインを捧げ、福祉と繁栄を祈願するために訪れた。多くの場合、石には小さな穴が開いており、そのうちのいくつかは生贄を捧げるために使われたものと思われる。古天文学者によれば、穴には暦の機能があったのかもしれない。

旅する森 - 人々が意地悪で、貪欲で、残酷であると、森はその場所を去ってしまう。旅する森にまつわる話は、エストニアの沿岸部に多く見られる。

[k2tlinnn]

[fxrheisenn]

Andrus Laansalu talked about making Disco Elysium at EKA (Estonian Academy of Arts)

"Initially, the church wasn't a focal point. There were certain characters that needed to visit this location, and I asked, "Seriously, what do we have in our church?" The others replied, "Nothing at all. Our church is completely bare—just a wheel, really. It's quite basic."

That's when I decided to unleash my creativity in the design. For example, they chose to install a glass structure at the top of the church to create a reflective surface. It was like placing an optical clock up there. Therefore, one of the most crucial aspects of designing the church was ensuring the lighting was just right to create the desired atmosphere."

"Let me show you an example of Baroque architecture, which is rich in detail. We're also designing the interior of the church based on large cathedrals. However, the foundation you use might not yield the expected results, because the church itself doesn't require such intricate details. Sometimes, it's about simplifying the design."

"I used Articy for the initial scriptwriting of Disco Elysium. The image only represents a tiny fraction of the text and choice variables involved. This system was also the reason I eventually abandoned the project after a year of outlining the script and shifted my focus to becoming a sound designer. My mind struggled to keep up with the dynamic graphic rules, but fortunately, a more talented writer took over afterward."

"In terms of sound design, it's essential to develop different layers to bring out the charm of the church as a cohesive space. Although this represents only a small portion of the overall design, each layer actually requires a significant amount of time to compose the whole....... Whenever there's a shift or a change due to the dialogue itself, you need to adjust the background sounds. Each time you modify the details in the dialogue, I have to refine the background audio, ensuring that these elements build upon each other like an intricate layer of work."

"It's funny how many scenes involve characters getting smacked in the face. My job was to recreate those, so I locked myself in the bathroom with a recorder and hit my forehead until it turned red.

As a sound designer, I really dig those unsettling, drill-like sounds. So, I mixed in creepy lectures, metal scraping, moans, and cries of pain—because I just love that stuff! (laughs)

Players will be moving through all kinds of areas, so it's super important to make the sound transitions feel natural, trying to create a more immersive vibe in certain spaces.

With all the scenes featuring big cranes, you can hear them from far away, and I wanted to capture that eerie ringing in your ears. That's going to be a thing throughout most of the game. I've found ways to really mess with players while they're playing!"

"I've come across a lot of old objects (like phones and radios) that I needed to perfectly replicate the sounds. I started to become a bit of a hoarder, buying up different models of old phones whenever I found one to add to my collection. The sound effects I can simulate from them are really impressive."

"Some of the devices don't actually exist in real life—just a mix of architecture and tech. When I need to create sound effects, I first look for something similar that exists in our world, then I try to simulate what the sound and appearance of that thing might have been like a century ago.

Towards the end of the game, there's a character carrying a fuel canister. We needed the sound of the canister, so we dug one up from our garage—it had been sitting there since it was five! I realized this would make the sound perfect. So, it had been there for 50 years, and after 40 years, it finally found its purpose.

In some places, I needed unique sound waves, and recreating them was a real headache until one day I happened to walk by a swimming pool and stumbled upon an old wartime torpedo. You can rotate the torpedo's probe, and it slowly rises up, like a proud zombie head. The sounds it made were exactly what I needed!"

🙋How did you manage to get funding?

"Well, since we're in Estonia, you just need to know a wealthy person. You don't need five people—just two who can network, hang out together, and convince them to keep investing! (laughs) Back then, we constantly ran out of money and would tell them, 'Oops, looks like we spent it all! Can you invest a bit more?' That's how we made it through!"

🙋How did you all come together to make the game?

"Luck. It usually doesn't happen this way, and that's the key difference. It has to be. If not, you couldn't create a game of this scale - well, I mean in terms of budget. But creatively, Estonia definitely has writers and artists who can pull it off. With such a small population, there are a lot of quirky folks who are good friends. We were really lucky, though - lots of fortunate circumstances came together. It brought the right people together, allowing those talented fools to collaborate with us. They had experience but hadn't tackled projects of this magnitude before. So yeah, luck is pretty important!"

Lecture experience shared by 白兔YIYANG SUN on 小红书, reposted & translated by me with her permission.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - June 26, 2023

1. California's Lake Oroville now at 100% capacity following megadrought; 1st time since 2019

Once a stark example of the drastic effects of California's yearslong megadrought, Lake Oroville has rebounded and is once again filled to capacity, data from the state's Department of Water Resources shows.

Lake Oroville, the state's most beleaguered and second-largest reservoir, is at 100% of its total capacity and 127% of where it should be around this time of year - a huge boost after the climate-change-fueled megadrought sucked away nearly all its water supply.

2. Blue whales are thriving in California waters – the story of their amazing comeback

If you’ve recently taken a Southern California whale-watching tour, you may have been lucky enough to come across earth’s largest animal. Pacific blue whales grow up to 110 feet long and can reach a weight of 200 tons. Decades ago, blue whales were nearly hunted to extinction, and although still listed as protected under the Endangered Species Act, marine biologists and researchers are heralding a “conservation success story,” unlike any other.

According to a study published in 2014 by researchers at the University of Washington, the West Coast blue whale population has bounced back at tremendous levels, recouping 97% of its pre-whaling population

3. Newborn left in Florida Safe Haven Baby Box adopted by the firefighter who found her

Zoey is now 5 months old. Courtesy Zoey's family

A firefighter in Ocala, Florida, was pulling an overnight shift at the station in January when he was awakened at 2 a.m. by an alarm. He recognized the sound immediately. A newborn had been placed in the building’s Safe Haven Baby Box, a device that allows someone to safely and anonymously surrender a child — no questions asked.

“To be honest, I thought it was a false alarm,” said the firefighter, who wished to remain anonymous to protect his family’s privacy. But when he opened the box, he discovered a healthy infant wrapped in a pink blanket.

That baby would become his daughter, Zoey.

4. Iceland suspends whale hunt on animal welfare concerns

Iceland's government said Tuesday it was suspending this year's whale hunt until the end of August due to animal welfare concerns, likely bringing the controversial practice to a historic end.

"I have taken the decision to suspend whaling" until August 31, Food Minister Svandis Svavarsdottir said in a statement. The country's last remaining whaling company, Hvalur, had previously said this would be its final season as the hunt has become less profitable.

5. He wanted to pet dogs for his 100th birthday. Hundreds lined up.

Alison Moore had a unique idea to celebrate her father's 100th birthday: a pet parade filled with as many dogs as possible. Her father, Robert Moore, has always adored dogs and wanted to pet every one he saw. So, Alison took to social media and invited the community to join in the festivities. Little did she know that over 200 dogs and their owners would gather for the heartwarming event.

The parade brought immense joy not only to Robert but also to attendees like Rodger, who has Alzheimer's disease, and his daughter Denise, who hadn't seen her father smile so much in a long time. It was a day filled with wagging tails, smiling faces, and love that made Robert's milestone birthday an unforgettable celebration.

6. Historic decision: Estonia legalizes same-sex marriage

Tuesday, the Estonian government has survived a vote of no confidence in the Riigikogu tied to amendments to the Family Law Act and related legislation, which is granting same-sex couples the legal right to wed. 55 members of the Riigikogu voted in favor of the measure, while 34 voted against.

It is proposed that the institution of marriage, as defined by family law, be modified so that  any two natural persons of legal age, regardless of gender, may marry. The words "man and woman" will be replaced with the words "two natural persons."

7. US approves chicken made from cultivated cells, the nation's first 'lab-grown' meat

For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer “lab-grown” meat to the nation’s restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves.

The Agriculture Department gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, firms that had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn’t come from slaughtered animals — what’s now being referred to as “cell-cultivated” or “cultured” meat as it emerges from the laboratory and arrives on dinner plates.

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