#nordic roots art

[gifts-of-heimdall-runes]

Nordic Roots [Pinterest]

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey, so you seem to be the the All Knowing in terms of twst. With Glorious Masquerade getting a rerun soon, I was looking at the cards.

So what the heck is up with Jamil's freaking hat? I'm sorry but I can't look at it without laughing. It looks so stupid. The closest thing I can think of that matches it is the combined crowns of upper and lower Egypt, but this is the equivalent of France so that can't be it.

While I’m flattered that people come to me with their questions, I want to take a moment to remind everyone that I’m just another TWST fan like you are! ^^ It’s stressful to be considered “all knowing” or a fandom authority 💦 That puts a lot of pressure on me to speak on certain subjects or to interact in a certain way (since people might put too much stock into what I say), and then that ends up detracting from my enjoyment. I’d rather not be put on such a high pedestal, please and thank you.

Now, onto the question!

According to Rollo in 1-13 of Glorious Masquerade, the costumes the NRC students were gifted are “patterned after designs that are over 500 years old.”

If we extrapolate this to real life, the implication is that these costumes have roots in Renaissance era (14th century to 17th century) French fashion. Interestingly, Rollo’s own hat is similar to a tricorne, which was primarily worn in the 18th century… so technically, his hat is more “modern” than what the NRC students wear 😂

So I browsed through records of hats from the indicated period and guess what? I couldn’t find an exact match—though I did find a lot of hat designs that I found way sillier than what the NRC boys have. Like… sorry, what is THAT 😭

Some headwear which bears a vague similarity to Jamil’s hat are the Egyptian combined/double crown (the pschent), which Anon has already mentioned, and the French hood, which was worn by women in the 15th century.

The actual closest match I came across was the mitre, a liturgical headdresses worn by Roman Catholic officials. If you look at it from the front, it doesn’t look like much, but it definitely has the height of Jamil’s hat. But then look closer and you’ll realize the mitre does not have one single flap of fabric, but rather two.

If you take the front flap of a mitre and fold it back, you would probably get something very similar to what Jamil wears. (Note that the black part of the hat is NOT his hair, but is fabric that is part of the hat.)

Considering that Noble Bell College is styled like a cathedral and that the Renaissance era from which the Masquerade Dress clothing derives is characterized by the rediscovery of classical literature, art, and philosophy… perhaps it’s not so strange to see a hat borne of religious associations.

… Why did Jamil specifically get this hat? Not sure, I’m not religious myself so don’t ask me to psychoanalyze him from that angle 😂

The golden part securing the front is unusual and does not appear in French fashion of the time (at least not from what I could tell?). It’s styled like pschent but more likely is meant to be turban-like due to Jamil’s inspiration, Jafar, having the same feather sticking up in the middle of a bulbous hat. You’ll notice Jamil had a “feather” too, albeit metal:

To summarize, I think the design of Masquerade Dress Jamil’s hat borrows from multiple inspirations and not just one/old French fashion. Yana has stated before in a March 2023 interview with the Apple App Store that the cultures of Twisted Wonderland are unique and that the clothing that appears in the game are not “reinterpretations of existing costumes”. She seems to incorporate elements from both high fashion and from a variety of cultures to arrive at the final designs. For example, there are elements of many Nordic cultures in the Apple Pom outfits, and the Pomefiore uniform has a Japanese kimono-like silhouette despite the dorm being based on the the Evil Queen (originating from a German tale). I assume something similar happened when designing the Masquerade Dresses; Yana and co. wanted to combine elements and make something of their own.

Final comment I'll make, the shape of Jamil's hat looks like a kind of dumpling... It makes me hungry.

[medievildead]

Headcanons about Vanir practices and culture (God of War)

Simply because I like exploring cultural differences in fantasy universes. Also, I can do whatever I want and make shit up.

(CW; some of these have to do with sexual culture, pregnancy, childbirth. The Vanir gods were fertility and pleasure gods in nordic mythology after all, usually depicted with huge erections. So be warned)

-The Vanir are incredibly brotherly to one another, not just their actual siblings. While they do refer to their actual brothers and sisters as such, they also refer to their friends and neighbours as brothers and sisters, their elders as fathers and mothers and etcetera. This is also what started the absurd rumors in Asgard that the Vanir were incestuous, they completely misunderstood the terminology and assumed that, when Vanir would refer to their spouses with familial terms like "sister" and "brother", it was literal.

-Vanir are not completely humanoid, and often times have more mammalian/naturistic (can't think of the word for it) behaviours, that basically translates to adapting to the seasons. Body hair grows thicker for colder seasons and they trim their hair for the warmer seasons, their eyesight adapts to the weather, etcetera.

-ALL Vanir have an animal form, not just Hildisvini and Freya. Freyr can turn into a buck, but he scarcely does this (his own choice). Because of this, the Aesir see Vanir as less than human often times. Rumours about them pollute asgard. They spread propaganda amongst one another about the vanir still being cannibals, and call them untamed creatures, believing the animal forms are their "true forms" and the human appearance is merely a facade.

-Vanir believe its inhumane to waste any part of nature when natures life is taken. If a tree is cut down every branch will be used, every leaf will be gardened and every strip of bark will become paper or fuel. A harvest must always be replanted or recycled. If an animal is killed for meat it is never wasted, the bones are ground or carved, the meat is cooked, the skin is turned to pelt, and the organs are used aswell. If a flower is plucked, the earth must be thanked. They are one with their surroundings, always.

-Vanir are beings associated with peace, fertility, witchcraft, harvest, and wisdom. The realm itself is very magical and consisting of blooming flora and magic fauna, similar to life found in Midgard but much larger and whimsical due to the enchantment of the earth there.

-Vanir practice most commonly Seiðr magic, a magic that is connected with flora and can amplify the potency of root growth, poisons and toxins, regeneration (healing living things), so on and so forth. Anything that can be naturally produced by living things. Seiðr magic is frowned upon and considered disgraceful by Asgardians. Outside of the Vanir, it's mostly only practiced by beings that use dark arts.

-Vanir culture was considered very odd to the rest of the realms, due to yltheir familial culture was different, marriage rituals were different, and birth/death rituals were very different. Even death rituals were a massive celebration of life. Most other realms viewed the Vanir with confusion because of how peace-loving they were.

-A looooong time ago, the Vanir did cannibalistic rituals. Not out of hunger, it was a willing sacrifice to nature and rebirth thing. They no longer practice this in any regard what-so-ever, but it is one of the many stereotypes that other realms bring up to make the vanir seem primitive and barbaric.

-Back when cannibalism was practiced, Vanir bodies were never left to take up space. If a Vanir was ready to die (they usually didn't die like humans died in these rituals, they just decided when their time was up, and wanted the cycle of life to continue) they would sacrifice themself, and a very non-grotesque tradition would play out. They'd be killed cleanly, harvested, eaten in the most clean way possible, and all remains would be fed to the land (think like fertilizer, but magic energy) and they'd in turn be reborn as nature. But all their actual good cuts of meat would be genuinley eaten by the other vanir, filling them with energy and etc, and their bones and hair would be used for tools, crafting, and practicing magic.

- Like I said previously, this is a very old, no-longer-practiced ritual by the Vanir. But it's still known about and its why the Aesir see them as wild animals. HOWEVER. Freyr returned to cannibalism because he had no choice but to. The aesir captured, if they had to get rid of the body, Freyr would take it and work on picking the bones clean on his own time. He was tired, hungry and exhausted, and after the genocide of his people, no more Mr. Nice Guy from Freyr. He can go a little insane. As a treat.

-Vanir could withstand cannibalism unlike humans or Aesir, they could stand it moreso than jotunn even. They wouldnt suffer any negative side effects from it.

-As mentioned before, Vanir have the ability or have a form that is or resembles an animal (Freyas falcon, Hildisvini's boar, etc) and this is another remnant of magic and witchcraft that they utilize.

- Because of the natural fertility magic of the land, pollen from Vanaheim flora is a key ingredient to the most effective tonics, tinctures, philters, elixirs, and fertilizers. It's also used in herbal blends to assist animals with mating.

-Vanir sperm is incredibly fertile, both in the literal and magical sense. This refers to both the Vanir people and the native animals to Vanaheim. So not just pollen from Vanaheim but sperm from Vanahiem (person OR animal) can genuinley be used a key ingredient to fertilizers and aphrodisiacs.

-As beings of both fertility *and* pleasure sex was something done for both fun as well as for procreation, both were seen as seperate activities.

-Sex for fun was a spectacle in its own right! Though expectantly done privately, it was often times done in gatherings, much like bonobos do, as an act of peace and love, and orgies could last for days. Vanir friends and couples would often meet each other for the first time at seasonal pleasure gatherings.

-Vanir procreation was a seperate celebration altogether. Yearly during the beginning of spring, they refer to this time as ástartímabil (lover season) and declare it the optimal time to procreate, as they believe this is the time of year when fertility blessings are blooming from the land. They seek the the land blessed by the spirits and opt to have sex in bountiful areas of the forest, often times surrounded by others at shrines who give blessings of good harvest while the couple has sex. Its not seen as an act of voyeurism at all either, just watching something beautiful, like a tree being planted.

-Vanir pregnancy cycles are much shorter than humans, only lasting around six months as opposed to the average human maternity cycle of nine months. As most vanir mothers become impregnated at the time of spring, the celebrations of birth are held most comminly around the time of autumn and the harvest months.

-All Vanir births are cherished and celebrated as natures blessing, and births can often attract crowds of others wanting to observe and give good heart (think Bambi's birth, and the crowd it drew). Birth is seen as such a gracious part of nature and the beginning of life is such a celebration. The Vanir are as "hippie" as it gets, and they truly are a people of love.

-It's very, very, very uncommon for Vanir to give birth to twins. Because the maternity period is so short, it's rare for the body to be able to maintain such. If a family wanted two children, a mother would simply become pregnant a year after the first birth to have a second child in time. That's also why Freyr and Freya were seen as the most important gifts to the realm, Vanir twins hadn't really been witnessed before.

[octuscle]

Thor - The perfect camouflage

His bosses didn't understand anything about hooligans. Why should he take the undercover job? Just because he had the shortest hair in the precinct. He had been given a soccer jersey as "camouflage", which looked ridiculous to the max over his slim body with the slight belly line. He had googled a little, with the Ultras the skinheads were not so strongly represented. If he wanted to appear credible, he needed a better disguise.

He did a little research on hip brands in the Ultras scene. In normal life, the lads were much more discreet than his superiors probably imagined. Baldly shaved skulls and obviously radical right-wing symbols were the exceptions. Symbolism had become much more subtle. Clothing from martial arts brands that embodied the outsiders rather than the mainstream was in vogue. Let's see if he could find something suitable in the evidence room…

He had taken home a sports bag with clothes he thought suitable. Tomorrow morning he wanted to go dressed up to a boxing club, which, according to everything he had been able to research on the Internet, could be a meeting place for the criminal Ultras. He put on one of the T-shirts. A little better, but he still didn't look like a street fighter. Besides, the freshly washed and ironed clothes looked silly. To make them look at least a little used, he got into bed with a T-shirt and sweatpants. And turned up the heat in the bedroom all the way. Maybe that way he would at least sweat a little. It couldn't hurt for his performance tomorrow.

He dreamed wildly that night. He saw himself in full protective gear facing a pack of hooligans. All alone. And suddenly the pack was wearing police uniforms. They all looked like cloned versions of his boss. And he carried a Molotov cocktail in his hand and hurled it into the crowd. And suddenly he was no longer in a street fight but in the south curve of an absurdly gigantic stadium together with thousands of fans. Drenched in sweat, he woke up. It was still the middle of the night. Maybe he was still dreaming… This wasn't his bedroom after all. It stank not only of sweat, but also of cigarettes and beer. And in the semi-darkness, he could see a large Ultrafans flag on the wall. Dazed, he turned on the light. He was in a shabby one-room apartment. Dirty dishes were piled up in the kitchenette. Dirty laundry lay on the floor and over the desk chair. On the desk, the screen of the laptop, which had not been shut down, flickered. He moved the mouse and the Ultras' Facebook page opened. What had happened here?

He really needed to take a piss. Where was the bathroom? Behind the only door was the small hallway. Bomber jackets hung on the wall. On the floor, sneakers, combat boots, baseball bats. The door with the peephole and the security chain certainly didn't lead to the bathroom. The door with the cracked glass pane did. Thank God, there was the toilet. That could also be cleaned. Fuck, I'm still dreaming, he thought to himself as he used his muscular inked forearms to get his monstrous cock out of his pants. But the dream felt fucking real. And the image in the bathroom mirror was his reflection. An alpha hooligan. He exuded pride in his Nordic roots, hatred of all things foreign, with every single pore in his body. Rarely had the camouflage of an undercover investigator been so perfect.

He exchanged the sweatpants for army trousers, looked for a pair of socks somewhere in the dirty laundry and laced up the combat boots. Then he put on his bomber jacket and gloves, grabbed his packed gym bag and headed out. The boxing gym opened in half an hour. It couldn't hurt to be there first.

[moonriddles]

Hey so i have this oc-

I just fricking love him so much i feel the urge of posting him everywhere

Akio Vé Draxum is a goat yokai of Asian-Nordic descent who exudes an intimidating presence wherever he goes. A tribute to his family's pride, his long hair is adorned with delicate gold ornaments that his mother used to entwine when he was just a baby, keeping it in his honor and as a constant reminder of his roots and heritage.

His childhood marked by tragedy shaped his character. At the age of four, his quiet rural town in feudal Japan was raided by humans, nearly leading to the extinction of his race. His mother, a legendary warrior, made the ultimate sacrifice to protect her children, an act of bravery that Akio carries with him as a beacon of inspiration.

Raised by his older brother, B.Draxum, Akio received an intensive education in the art of war and fighting. However, his relationship with Draxum is complex; although they care for each other, Akio harbors some resentment for his brother's bossy attitude during their childhood. The line between teacher and brother blurred, leaving a feeling of lack of emotional support.

Over the centuries, Akio has forged himself into a formidable warrior, renowned in the yokai community for his exploits in war and his unwavering loyalty. But his scars, both physical and emotional, are evident. He is one-eyed, his face and body are scarred by wounds from past conflicts, and while serious and self-centered, he is also loyal to the core and has a deep sense of duty and family.

The mystical Nodachi that Akio wields is an extension of his own essence. Holding a jade handle, it gives off a powerful and mystical aura that seems to resonate with the strength of its ancestors. Imbued with the energy of his lineage, the saber is a tool he uses with supernatural prowess in the protection of his people and revenge against those who have caused harm to his race.

The figure of his mother continues to be a beacon of hope and pain in his life. Sometimes in his dreams he catches a glimpse of her silhouette or hears melodies that he used to sing to her, but he can never see her face. This inability to fully remember his mother is a constant source of melancholy for Akio.

Akio Draxum is a warrior with unwavering spiritual depth, an unwavering loyalty to his yokai lineage, and an iron determination to protect his own. Although his relationship with his brother is complicated, their brotherly bond is a fundamental pillar in his life, and together, they are guardians of a yokai tradition that fights to endure in an ever-changing world.

And well he hates both human and mutant, he considers this last race as inferior and weak for not being "pure blooded yokai".

I have the headcanon that Draxum is Japanese-Nordic

More than anything due to the fact that Huginn and Muninn base their names on Odin's servants who also perch on his shoulders. So, I wanted to do something similar with Akio and give him companions based on outstanding creatures from Escavandian mythology.

Sleipnir was a gift from Draxum when he began his journey as a warrior, "every noble and fierce warrior needs a steed at his level" was what he said to him

Freky is a mortal falcon that Akio rescued from the surface and turned into his servant and companion, it is his eyes around the hidden city. Like all mortal animals, Freky died over the years, but Akio keeps his soul in his sword to keep him with him even after death.

And that's all i think?? I just love hin he's my baby my skrunkly

[jessicalprice]

you got your known Minoans and your unknown Minoans (part one)

(reposted, with edits, from Twitter)

Image: The famous “Ladies in Blue” Minoan fresco.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the Minoans. Everyone loves the Minoans, right?

(If you love the Minoans, you are not going to love this series of posts.)

Part One: The Case of the Very Victorian Goddess

Let’s start with a description of the pop culture perception of the Minoans: a peaceful ancient Greek culture with sophisticated, surprisingly modernist art, and extremely sophisticated technology like running water, who were lovers of beauty and peace.

So, I read Mysteries of the Snake Goddess: Art, Desire, and the Forging of History by Kenneth Lapatin. The author focuses on the (now, I believe, pretty thoroughly debunked) Boston Goddess, a supposedly Minoan ivory figurine of a snake-handling woman. She was an absolute SENSATION when she was first displayed.

Image: The Boston Goddess

Sir Arthur Evans, the most famous archaeologist of the Minoan civilization, dubbed her the "Minoan ambassadress to the New World." She made a 1967 issue of Mademoiselle's list of "art sensations" alongside Rembrandt, Picasso, and Rodin. The Museum's monthly bulletin for Dec 1914 proclaimed her an icon of a "wonderful prehistoric civilization which, after having lain submerged, like the lost Atlantis, for three thousand years, has been brought to light again..." 

A comparison to Atlantis here is telling.

Victorian "race science" and Victorian occultism were inextricably linked, the latter demonstrating a passion for interpreting the myths of non-European cultures to reflect the ideas of the former. (Its descendants live on as Ancient Aliens theories, etc.) As archaeology became more popular and contact with ancient, sophisticated, and enduring civilizations such as those in India and China increased, white Europeans (especially the Brits) and Americans started to get uncomfortable.

So they started coming up with theories that hey, those people in the East who built all that amazing stuff, who were the "cradle of civilization," who invented the alphabet? They must have been taught by an even OLDER white civilization, now lost.

Image: The Palace of Atlantis by Lloyd K. Townsend, late 19th century, everyone is very Nordic-looking.

Hence the passion for stories about Atlantis and other lost continents. It just couldn't be true that those non-Europeans were building bigger, more sophisticated civilizations long before most (northern) European civilizations built recognizable cities at all.

That longing for proof of ancient European cultural superiority was in the air when excavations of Minoan sites began.

We must have The Oldest Masters

Now, back to the Boston Goddess. Lacey Caskey, writing for the museum, noted that the statuette's distinctive posture "seems not to have been an artistic convention, but a feature of the actual appearance of this aristocratic race."

This aristocratic race. Oof. 

Lapatin observes, in the book, that "Minoan civilization was all the rage, for it seemed to provide Europeans with not only the roots of the ‘Golden Age of Greece,’ long considered the foundation of Western culture, but also a sophisticated early society in its own right, a rival to the 'Oriental' cultures of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia--known as the cradle of civilization..." 

Victorian occultists, of course, tended to claim that their practices were derived from ancient Egyptian or Chaldean rituals. And again, even as they attempted to partake of the antiquity and sophistication of those cultures, they were also trying to prove that white people, or at least divine beings (rather than non-Europeans), built them. (It's always been a bit ironic to me that the Victorians clung to the idea of the superiority of Greece and Rome as the foundation for their ideas of the superiority of white people, while considering contemporary Greeks and Italians not fully white, but I digress.)

And lest you think that I'm hammering too hard on this point, some of the most prominent descriptions of Evans' finds praised the Minoan frescoes as "the Oldest Masters," and his work as proving the culture "bid fair rival to those of the Orient, and to give European Civilization an undreamed of antiquity." 

It's hard to overstate the degree to which the archaeological motivation here was European insecurity.

High-Bred Beauty (and I Am Not, Alas, Describing a Horse)

And why was the Boston Goddess herself such a sensation? Her "exquisite characterization of fragile beauty," her "delicate, high-bred beauty." She is "demure," and "full of resolute charm." Professor Ernest Gardner, at Yale, described her head as "recall[ing] rather the sculptures of Gothic cathedrals of the thirteenth centuries."

Or, to be more explicit and just say the quiet part out loud, her face has also been described as "Anglo-Saxon," "European-looking," "Victorian," "Edwardian," and "Parisienne."

To understand what they’re talking about, let’s do a little compare and contrast. Here are some examples of faces from figurines that, to the best of our knowledge, are actually from Crete c. 1500-1200 BCE.

And here’s a close-up of the Boston Goddess’s face:

And here’s the face of a now-probably-debunked “Minoan” goddess at the Royal Ontario Museum (read more about her here):

To cut to the chase, eventually they did radiocarbon testing on the Boston Goddess, and the ivory was found to date from between 1420 and 1635 CE. (Not BCE. CE. As in the Renaissance.) A similar figurine, the Seattle Boy God, is made from ivory that's about 500 years old. That in itself is pretty fascinating! They were using old ivory for the forgeries.

What do these proven and suspected fakes have in common? Well, among other things, their very Victorian facial features: inset eyes, small pouty mouths, delicate noses.

Spoiler for where I’m going with this: There are reasons why the Minoans were such an archeological craze, and those reasons are highly political. Because of the ways in which a very specific agenda shaped it, fakes that showed people what they wanted to see were accepted as real (and in some cases, are still sort of accepted as real), and we can't trust a lot of what we supposedly "know."

In Part 2: Bagging On Sir Arthur Evans Forever.

[theo-cheveche]

The Fairy

La Fée (The Fairy) | June 2022, watercolor | original content

Already posted this one a while ago but without context.

Despite the fact that I used a very cheap paper, this is still one of my favorite works. The gentleness, colors, overall atmosphere, and style, makes it the drawing that initiated my current art style.

The subject roots back to a drawing I made when I was around 12, showing a green fairy squatting on the branch of a tree, over a meadow. The style however is inspired by many artists I discovered later, such as Ivan Bilibin, Alfons Mucha, the Impressionists, and Nordic painters of the 19th century like Theodor Kittelsen and Ellen Thesleff, among others.

[bonesandpoemsandflowers]

anyway, remember cowboy nordic scholar man, Jackson Crawford? finally bought one of his books (the wanderer's havamal) for my (Chinese Norwegian) beloved, to see if he would appreciate Crawford's translation style. martial arts husband is also a poet turned novelist and his standards are, frankly, insane, so my track record for gift giving books is mostly garbage, minus the time I got him an out of print Vauban book. nonetheless, I was rooting for the wanderer's havamal.

I gave it to him right as he left for a doctor's appointment, so he would have something to read while stuck in a waiting room.

he came back so bright eyed and springy stepped. "It's so laconic and cynical!" he beamed. "perfect."

[grandhotelabyss]

Speaking of, well, everything I’ve been speaking of lately—I am in a clanging and clamoring echo chamber of synchronicity, trying to hang on to this bit of dark wisdom from Coetzee’s novel about Dostoevsky: “he knows too that as long as he tries by cunning to distinguish things that are things from things that are signs he will not be saved”—I was less than halfway through the aforementioned Art of Darkness pod’s five-plus-hour episode on Aleister Crowley when one of the hosts declaimed a text I had no idea existed. The mage, it turns out, wrote a sonnet commemorating Rodin’s Monument to Balzac, as screenshotted above, or else read it here. 

It’s a bad poem overall—as my source for the text reports, Crowley thought himself a better poet than Yeats; compare this to “Lapis Lazuli” and get back to me—though I am not so small-minded as to disrespect the attempt at a Shakespearean coinage with “ennighted,” the otherwise apparently inexistent synonym-antonym of “benighted”  (it seems to mean “endowed with obscurity��) and therefore (perhaps) a hapax legomenon. And “the stunned air shudders on the skin” is, I concede, gorgeous.

I illustrated last week’s Substack newsletter with Rodin’s nude study of Balzac, which I saw at LACMA in 2012; the newsletter jumped off from Justin Murphy’s salute to ambitious young Balzac to consider later writers—Octavia Butler, Ray Bradbury—who used vaguely magical techniques of manifestation, affirmation, and visualization, the kind now viral on YouTube and TikTok, and descended, of course, from some of Crowley’s occult practices. 

Balzac knew all about it, as he writes in his mystical novel about an androgynous angel, Séraphîta, to which synchronicity also brought me, as I report in the newsletter’s footnote. It’s the most boring novel ever written, alas, scaling Nordic fjords of sententiousness I would not have thought possible, though La Paglia pays it a lovely and lyrical tribute in Sexual Personae, assimilating it to her category of “androgyne as Apollonian angel,” calling it “the French Epipsychidion,” and noting that it was the favorite Balzac novel of—him again!—Yeats. And Balzac, as Rodin’s hand-eye rightly intuited, was not, like seraphic Shelley, himself an androgyne, but rather one possessed of “essential manhood.”

From Séraphîta, where Balzac writes, where Balzac’s eponymous and sexless seraph prophesies:

“Fruit of the laborious, progressive, continued development of natural properties and faculties vitalized anew by the divine breath of the Word, Prayer has occult activity; it is the final worship—not the material worship of images, nor the spiritual worship of formulas, but the worship of the Divine World. We say no prayers,—prayer forms within us; it is a faculty which acts of itself; it has attained a way of action which lifts it outside of forms; it links the soul to God, with whom we unite as the root of the tree unites with the soil; our veins draw life from the principle of life, and we live by the life of the universe. Prayer bestows external conviction by making us penetrate the Material World through the cohesion of all our faculties with the elementary substances; it bestows internal conviction by developing our essence and mingling it with that of the Spiritual Worlds.”

Which is to say: affirm, visualize, manifest. Or should we heed Coetzee: should we let the everyday rest in and as the everyday, a human comedy, untransfigured because all-transfigured, every inch God’s work? 

[redstringraven]

9, 10, 14 and 20 :3

\e-e/ EMMAAAAAA 🌷🖤🌸 thank uuuuu

------------------------------

Weirdly Specific Artist Ask Game

9) what are your file name conventions

the art itself doesn't really have a specific naming convention, it's either named after the subject matter, the theme, a song that inspired the piece, or sometimes it's just keysmashing.

but i have a WIP folder and then an art folder, the latter being where i put the finished pieces/stuff i'm ready to call done.

once it goes into the art folder, it's organized by the year, then by the month it was finished in. the folder named 'otherworld' is any art that predates 2018. it's my silent hill, i try not to go there unless i'm in a good headspace for a variety of reasons.

10) favorite piece of clothing to draw

i think i really enjoy drawing jackets. there's something very satisfying about a jacket. i'm also trying to get more confident in drawing shoes/boots, because i love when artists can draw a really good shoe and i want to get to the point i can do that someday.

14) any favorite motifs

glowy shit. really stunning lighting. subtle, but noticeable patterns/commonalities across several pieces of one 'art piece'. shit with a celtic and/or nordic vibe. tree roots. weightlessness. haunting art where something looks fine but then you See It™ and you feel your body go cold, if that makes sense. ... ... am i answering this right?

20) something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

i've started to warm up to drawing hands. i also really love drawing braids, which is a good thing because i've started giving gwyn more beyond just the ones that go up the left side of her head jkjfdls.

[ertharetreats6]

Why Europe is the Ideal Destination for Wellness Travel

Are you dreaming of a getaway that soothes your mind, body, and soul? Look no further than Europe. With its rich history, diverse landscapes, and deep-rooted culture of well-being, Europe is the ultimate destination for those seeking wellness travel packages. But why exactly is Europe the go-to place for wellness and relaxation? Let’s dive in.

The Rich Heritage of Wellness

Europe’s wellness tradition dates back centuries. From the Roman baths to the thermal springs of Hungary, wellness has always been an integral part of European culture. Imagine soaking in a thermal bath, surrounded by stunning architecture, knowing that people have been enjoying these same waters for over a thousand years. Doesn’t it sound like a timeless experience?

When you choose Europe for your wellness journey, you're not just booking a holiday—you're immersing yourself in history. Whether you're enjoying the mineral-rich waters of Baden-Baden in Germany or the holistic therapies of a Swiss spa, you're participating in a tradition that has been perfected over centuries.

This tradition has evolved beautifully into modern-day wellness travel packages that blend ancient practices with contemporary luxury.

Diverse Landscapes for Every Mood

Are you someone who finds peace in the mountains, or does the ocean's rhythm calm your nerves? Europe offers both, and everything in between. From the snow-capped Alps to the sunny Mediterranean coast, the continent is a mosaic of landscapes that cater to every mood and need.

Imagine starting your day with a yoga session overlooking the rolling hills of Tuscany, followed by a day of exploring ancient olive groves and vineyards. Or perhaps you’d prefer the serenity of a lakeside retreat in Austria, where the only sounds you’ll hear are the rustling leaves and gentle lapping of water.

These landscapes aren't just beautiful—they're therapeutic. Each setting provides a unique atmosphere that enhances your wellness experience, making it easy to find a package that suits your personal preferences.

Luxurious Spas and Retreats

When it comes to spas and wellness retreats, Europe is unparalleled. Picture yourself in a serene spa in the French countryside, where every treatment is tailored to your needs. Or in a state-of-the-art wellness centre in Scandinavia, where the focus is on harmony between the natural environment and personal well-being.

These aren’t just any spas—they’re world-renowned establishments known for their cutting-edge therapies and luxurious amenities. Many of them offer bespoke wellness travel packages that combine relaxation with health, ensuring that you return home feeling rejuvenated and revitalised.

The options are endless, from detox retreats in Portugal to yoga and meditation escapes in Greece. Whatever your wellness goals, there’s a European retreat that’s perfect for you.

Culinary Delights for the Soul

What’s wellness without good food? Europe is home to some of the world’s best cuisines, each offering a unique blend of taste and nutrition. Whether it’s the Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil and fresh vegetables, or the hearty, wholesome meals of the Nordic countries, there’s something for every palate.

But it’s not just about eating well—it’s about the experience. Imagine enjoying a farm-to-table meal in the Italian countryside, where every ingredient is fresh, organic, and locally sourced. Or take part in a wine-tasting session in the French vineyards, where you learn about the health benefits of moderate wine consumption.

Food in Europe is an integral part of the wellness experience. It nourishes not just the body, but the soul, making your wellness journey truly holistic.

Perfect for Corporate Retreats

Europe isn’t just for individual travellers—it’s also an ideal destination for businesses looking to invest in their employees’ well-being. Many top resorts offer corporate retreat packages that combine relaxation with team-building activities, making it easy to rejuvenate your team while fostering stronger bonds.

Imagine your team working together on a project in a beautiful Alpine chalet, followed by a day of spa treatments and wellness activities. Or hosting a company workshop in a luxurious Mediterranean resort, where the peaceful surroundings inspire creativity and innovation.

These corporate retreat packages are designed to enhance productivity and morale, ensuring that your team returns to work not just refreshed, but also more cohesive and motivated.

Conclusion

So, why choose Europe for your wellness travel? Because it's more than just a holiday—it's a transformative experience. With its rich heritage, diverse landscapes, luxurious spas, delectable cuisine, and excellent corporate retreat packages, Europe offers something for everyone. Whether you’re looking to unwind alone or rejuvenate with your team, Europe is the perfect destination to find balance, peace, and well-being.

[noisycowboyglitter]

"Gnome for the Holidays: 10 Whimsical Title Ideas for Your Lefse Rolling Team Christmas Story"

"Lefse Rolling Team Gnome Christmas" combines Scandinavian holiday traditions with whimsical garden gnome folklore, creating a unique and charming Christmas theme. This concept celebrates the art of making lefse, a traditional Norwegian flatbread, with a playful twist.

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Imagine a scene where small, bearded gnomes in festive attire work together to prepare this beloved holiday treat. These miniature figures, donning red caps and cozy sweaters, diligently roll out the thin potato dough, flip it on hot griddles, and stack the finished lefse with precision and care.

The "Lefse Rolling Team" aspect emphasizes cooperation and shared cultural heritage, while the inclusion of gnomes adds a touch of magic and mirth to the Christmas kitchen. This theme could inspire decorative figurines, ornaments, or even a full-scale holiday display featuring a gnome-sized lefse-making station.

For those with Scandinavian roots or an appreciation for Nordic culture, this concept offers a delightful way to honor tradition while embracing the fantastical elements of the holiday season. It's a perfect blend of culinary custom, folklore, and Christmas cheer, appealing to both the young and the young at heart.

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A Norway Xmas Ornament Gift embodies the rich holiday traditions and cultural heritage of this Scandinavian nation. These ornaments often feature iconic Norwegian symbols and motifs, bringing a touch of Nordic charm to any Christmas tree.

Typical designs include intricate snowflakes inspired by traditional Norwegian knitting patterns, hand-painted wooden Dala horses, or miniature Viking ships. Some ornaments depict scenes from Norwegian folklore or landscapes, such as fjords or the Northern Lights.

Many are handcrafted using traditional materials like wood, glass, or wool, showcasing the country's dedication to craftsmanship. Popular colors include the red, white, and blue of the Norwegian flag, as well as natural wood tones.

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These ornaments make thoughtful gifts for those with Norwegian heritage, travelers who've visited Norway, or anyone who appreciates Scandinavian design. They not only decorate a tree but also serve as keepsakes, preserving memories and cultural connections for years to come.

Finding the perfect Christmas gifts for teens can be challenging, but focusing on their interests and current trends can lead to great choices. Popular options include tech gadgets like wireless earbuds, portable chargers, or gaming accessories. For fashion-conscious teens, trendy clothing, accessories, or gift cards to their favorite stores are ideal.

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Personalized items such as custom phone cases or room decor can add a special touch. Experience gifts like concert tickets or subscriptions to streaming services are often well-received. For creative teens, art supplies, cameras, or musical instruments can nurture their passions.

Consider eco-friendly products for environmentally conscious teens. Ultimately, the best gifts show understanding of their individuality and support their interests and aspirations.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 5: Fenrir Invades Britain

Sorry that it’s taken me so long to make this post. I've been busy and there’s a lot to get into so let's get straight into it.

I don’t know how or why but Fenrir stole my credit card. He not only stole it but he bought a 6 am flight to London of all places! I think he might be trying to connect with his Nordic roots and is invading Britain. Wanting to save my wallet and save the British people from his merciless wrath, I followed him and hopped on my own flight to London.

The Little monster taunting me, sending me pictures of him spending all my money.

The Flight:

Oh god the flight over to Britain was so bad. I was up at like 2 am because we had to walk 30 minutes to our bus to then take an hour bus transfer to the airport. It was not fun but better safe and at the airport early then sorry and missing our flight. Clearly Fenrir made his way onto the flight and I did too. That little cretin is causing mischief and is taking after his father (Loki). I don’t know why I thought I could help him out. I knew there was no opportunity for me to do anything about him being on the flight so to make sure that I’d have energy to catch him afterward I took a nap on the flight for the long day of chasing him around that I’d have ahead of me. 

The Arrival:

Once we arrived in Britain I lost sight of Fenrir and knew that cheeky little bugger would soon send me pictures taunting me so I’d just have to go track him down later. Instead we made the tedious process of taking a train into London proper and then taking the tube over to our airbnb. Honestly it wasn’t too hard to figure out how to use the tube and get around to our airbnb. The main thing that was a little bit confusing at first was honestly figuring out how to use our ticket at the turnstile to get out. But once we made it through the station and arrived at our airbnb we were met with our lodgings for the next few days and what would be our base of operations in operation Stop Fenrir Before He Commits Treason or Something Worse, or for short Operation SFBHCTOSW. 

Liverpool Street Station in all its glory. Really pretty station that’s all.

After our initial recovery from the tube and planes we realized that we hadn’t eaten anything and thus before going to search for Fenrir we would need some food. We hopped back on the tube and took a 40 minute tube into West London and the SOHO area. We got some fish and chips (more on those later)  and then split up to go and search for him .

Fenrir in Chinatown in London, SOHO. His reign of chaos has already started; he must be stopped.

He had sent his first pic (the one above) since the plane ride. We knew that he would be in the SOHO area and so it was really convenient that we went there anyway for food. He appeared to be in the chinatown area judging by the massive gate in the picture and so we headed that way. We did make a quick pit stop at Tesco express just to get some necessities but that was a quick stop. The bigger issue was where he sent his next picture from. It appeared that Fenrir was getting a little bit more courageous and he was having fun with this chase and teasing us.

Fenrir at the National Gallery enjoying some art. He thinks he’s cultured now does he

HE WENT TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY SERIOUSLY?! I didn’t know he liked art, maybe there’s more to him than at first glance. Maybe he’s gone to Britain for more than just an invasion. Anyways, we went to the National Gallery to try and find the little guy. But, it turns out the place is like a maze. There’s so many different paths and rooms just filled to the brim with medieval artwork and pieces of history. The only saving grace are the arrows pointing to certain artists and their exhibits and the arrow to the gift shop/exit because there’s always a gift shop. We were at the gallery until they closed and then decided to split up to try and find him. Some people went shopping in SOHO, some went walking around, and I just waited in the area until I got the next text. That was when I got the next text.

FENRIR DRINKING BOBA. Like cmooooon please just give me a sip it looks so good.

HE WENT TO GET BOBA ARE YOU SERIOUS?! My bank account is crying as he keeps spending more and more of my money. I went to chase after him but it’s like chasing after someone who is a) faster then you and b) is like 10 steps ahead of you. It’s impossible to catch up to him and it’s hopeless. I just have to wait for him to slip up and spend just a little bit too long in one place after sending a picture. 

Fenrir drinks some really fancy tea from a place called TWG tea. 

NOW HE’S GETTING TEA!! Like seriously?! He’s doing all the things that I wanted to do and enjoying himself while I’m stuck chasing after him. He’s such a little monster. I hope he knows that when I finally catch him he’s going to go into time out and get punished. Anyways, I went back the way that I just came to go to the tea store. It wasn’t too bad of a walk but by the time I got there he was gone so I just bought me some tea myself because I needed some too. 

Fenrir sitting on top of a lego british guard man. He truly is trying to take over, he’s getting the military on his side now!

HA I think he might have messed up! The lego store is right next to the tea shop. I get in line and get in fairly quickly. I started exploring all around the lego store and it’s really cool . They had a massive lego Big Ben which was one of the key showcases of the store. They had the common lego store things like a build your own minifigure station as well as a bunch of legos to buy. The other unique thing about this lego store was the lego shakespeare and lego harry potter. They had a lego voldemort and a bunch of cool harry potter stuff.  But anyways, after my gawking at all the cool lego things I still couldn’t find him. It was getting late at this point so I decided to head back for the night after getting some dinner. I don’t know where he went off to but we will find him!

The adapter monster that we had created. I can’t guarantee that this wasn’t a fire hazard but it didn’t explode while we were there so it was probably fine.

Day 2: The Search Continues 

With no sign of Fenrir in sight we decided to just head into central London to get some breakfast. Which is where we actually got our first message from Fenrir for the day. He was at a cafe and was getting breakfast on my dollar. Like come on man at least let me eat some of it. 

Fenrir eats his breakfast at this cafe. He has a bacon biscuit, tea and, a bottle of water 

After chasing Fenrir down to this cafe and getting some breakfast of our own he was nowhere to be found. I don’t know how but he keeps staying one step ahead of us no matter what we do. I don’t know how we can catch up with him in this massive city. I swear, back in Reykjavik I could probably walk the length of the city in an hour. Now in London it takes an hour just to tube from the airbnb to central London. It’s insane how much larger London is. Anyways, not wanting to waste an entire day just searching for Fenrir we decided to head out to Buckingham palace for a very good reason. 

Video depicting the changing of the guards of Buckingham palace.

We decided to head to Buckingham palace so that way we could try and warn the guards about the threat that has entered their country, Fenrir. But, with the fact that when we arrived it was the changing of the guards and that yesterday was election day and thus there was a lot of chaos with the change of prime minister we weren’t able to tell them. We were able to at least see the pretty horses and the beautiful gates and palace. 

Not really knowing where our next clue would take us we just decided to enjoy being in London for a bit. We headed over to the Borough Market to go and explore and oh boi was it amazing. I personally am a fan of markets like these and they only really are able to pop up in large cities. I don’t think Reykjavik has one like this though and honestly it was amazing. The market was basically a bit of the streets and was filled with a bunch of corridors to different stalls and shops which were selling literally everything you could imagine. If I was in London for longer I would definitely be spending a lot more time and money at the markets. 

A stall selling a bunch of fresh sea-food and fish at the market. 

Honestly I’m kind of sad that I’m not in London for longer but we have a task at hand. There was one thing that made me sad a little bit and that was just how much cheaper a lot of the things were here when compared to Iceland. I saw full loafs of amazing looking sourdough bread for only like $5 compared to the $10 I’m spending in Reykjavik for my bread. We got some food here for lunch and I bought some more tea for me to take home. There were a lot of things to explore and if I ever came to London I would definitely come back here again. 

After the market we felt a little bit lost and didn’t really know where to go and where to find Fenrir. I figured that one of the best places to go would be to go and pray. I wanted to go visit St.Paul’s Cathedral anyways and this was a pretty good reason to. It’s one of the biggest buildings in London and holds the graves of many great war heroes and musicians who served the cathedral. 

St.Paul’s Cathedral from the west entrance

After paying my student entrance fee I started walking around and learning all the history through the provided audio guide. Every hour a preacher comes in the middle of the cathedral and asks for a moment of silence for prayer and prays. This is in addition to the regularly scheduled masses and services. While exploring the cathedral that was where I found him. WE FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO HIM! He was just sitting there in the center of the cathedral. I think he was scared and lost, I think he finally realized that what he did was wrong and he was just trying to have fun. 

Me catching Fenrir at the center of the Cathedral, you naughty little boi.

As part of his punishment for running away, stealing my card, and dragging me around on a chase of him through London (and worrying me) I forced him to climb all the way up the 500+ stairs to the top of the Cathedral with me. It was honestly exhausting going up all those stairs and I think it was more of a punishment for me because he just got a free ride in my backpack. He is a little naughty boi but he’s cute so he gets a pass. Once we finally made it up all the stairs we took a picture together of the amazing view from the top of the tower. 

The picture from the top of the publicly accessible parts of the cathedral tower after my climb with Fenrir finally behaving himself in my backpack.

After our journey to the tippity top of the tower we then went to the basest basement of the cathedral which is the crypt. There are many great heroes here and it’s in part to commemorate the great people of British history. There are even monuments to people that aren’t buried here but are still important in British history such as Winston Churchill. 

Fenrir saluting some of the flags. These were flags representing the British allies during the Battle of Waterloo against Napoleon. Pictures are the British, Portuguese, and Russian

As we were leaving the cathedral we passed by the gift shop. There Fenrir found a new friend, one that might be dear to many of us at heart. Fenrir becomes quick friends with the Queen’s favorite bear Paddington. Seeing that they were great friends and that they were just too cute together (and the fact I was hungry) I decided to take them to Nando’s. We got some food (more later) but just look at the cuties being together.

Us 3 at Nando’s chilling getting ready to eat our dinner.

Now here’s where I get both a little more mad and not mad at Fenrir. He, still in possession of my credit card, decided to buy tickets to go and see the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon for those of you who don’t know is a highly satirical comedy musical from the creators of South Park. It’s really funny and I’ve wanted to see it for a while, that’s the only reason that I’m not ready to throw Fenrir in the streets. 

Look at him acting all innocent after spending all this money for tickets. Was worth it though so I can’t complain lol. 

We made our way to the theatre and paid for a play bill. Something that you don’t normally do in America and on Broadway shows. But, I like collecting play bills so I paid $11 for the play bill and programme. And oh my it was so worth it. I love musicals and plays and this has been one that I’ve wanted to see for years. I’m so happy I finally was able to see it. The set was fantastic and the way that utilized all aspects of the fully customized set was amazing. This is going to get a bit theatrical and nerdy but just stay with me.

I follow the rules and so there’s no picture of the show b/c that’s against the rules and I wanted to enjoy the show in its entirety.

The stage utilized a series of different backdrops for different scenes and such, that much is normal is theatre. The thing that really amazed me and was fantastic was the utilization of a front backdrop that was opaque and applied a tint (sort of like a screen) onto the stage. It was really useful and created a really nice way of showcasing the flashbacks and stories from The Book of Mormon itself. In addition the way that they utilize simple things like a door and an elevated platform for different things just depending on the scene is fantastic. I’ve been in plays where we have to move these things and do them and it’s always amazing seeing it done on a professional level. Shout out to my drama teachers in high school for getting me into all these things and giving me opportunities to nerd out about all these things and expand my knowledge. 

Fenrir getting a spot of ice cream during intermission

Now as in most long shows there is an intermission. After using the bathroom and making my way back to my seat I found out something that is a bit different about British theatre compared to American theatre. During intermission it’s common to get ice cream (which they sell) and to then go back to your seat and eat it there. I’ve never seen this in America, but it was quite nice. I just got vanilla ice cream b/c it was the only good looking flavor that was left and it did taste good 8/10. 

Getting back into the show we got through the 2nd half of all the chaos that happens within the Book of Mormon musical. It was honestly amazing and I loved it so much and it was so worth going to go see. I did end up having a really nice conversation with one of the employees who was a 2nd year uni student (same as me) who is studying theatre. It’s such a different world and just seeing that people are able to be in that life is amazing to me. Anyways, afterwards we just took the tube back to the apartment and settled in for the night.

The Final Day: Enjoying Britain to its Fullest

After drinking a cup of tea, going to the train, drinking another cup of tea, and getting on a bus I arrived at where I was going to be spending today. Greenwich. Do you know what makes Greenwich so special? Have you ever heard of time zones and the term GMT + or - some amount? Well that stands for Greenwich Mean Time and represents the average time in Greenwich where the prime meridian is located. The prime meridian is 0 degrees longitude (imaginary lines that run from pole to pole). I am a nerd and so was really excited to get to see all the cool things here. 

In Greenwich there is a massive park which has a line for walking the prime meridian, the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum, and the Queen’s House amongst many other things. I had a few hours before my scheduled stuff later in the day and so I went to the Maritime Museum with not too much hope for what I would see. But boy was I not disappointed. 

Fenrir looking at a massive scale model of a destroyer class ship. It was honestly really big

The journey through the museum started with the first room which had a lot of artifacts from history and models of famous boats and ships. The model ships were just impressive to see more than anything else. They all had really precise details and were really interesting to look at. The artifacts on the wall were also interesting but for a different reason. They had artifacts from different times, all the way back to the 1400’s. These artifacts varied from everything to a saxtent and a compass all the way up to a Russian AK-47. 

Gotta represent my 2nd amendment and showcase these. What was kinda sad was the fact that the blunderbuss (a weapon from the 1700’s) was undergoing conservation efforts so it wasn't there.

After looking at all the cool artifacts I started exploring around the building to see what else I could find. They actually had a special limited time exhibit about a space photography contest, and this exhibit was showcasing a lot of the higher scoring entries and the winners. It was amazing seeing all these different pictures of space. They had many different categories for people to enter. Things such as, Nebulas, the sun, auroras, people and space, and then categories for amateurs. I honestly found all this stuff so cool. I’m not generally an art person (as I’ve stated before) but trust me when I say that this was so worth it. It honestly gets you to think about how small we are in comparison to the cosmos and how much more there is out there. It was really beautiful and some of these pictures were just amazing and like you can see why the ones that won were the ones that won (in most cases). If anything the pieces that were the winners or 2nd place had judge’s comments explaining why they were where they were. Also, every photo has a paragraph by the photographer where they explain how the photo was taken and why they made certain creative decision and it’s really cool to see the technical side of things from behind the scenes.

“The Dark Wolf - Fenrir” being looked at by the good boi Fenrir, look he’s so happy at seeing himself :D 

After that was onto the pacific front of British maritime history. If you know anything about the British and the Pacific there are two very specific things that happened here that we need to talk about, The East India Company (British Raj) and Opium. Quick history lesson for those of you who don’t know (the exhibit talked about this), in the late 1700’s Britain had control of the entirety of the Indian region and this was all under the control of the East Indies Trading Company. Britain then started trading tea and other goods with the Chinese and tea started becoming extremely popular in Britain and China is where it was grown. However, this trading put Britain in a lot of debt to the Chinese. Thus to pay off this debt, Britain started growing opium in India to then smuggle into China and sell to the Chinese to pay off the debt. The goal was to get the Chinese addicted to opium to pay off the Chinese and it worked. However, the Chinese caught on to this illegal trade and it ended up in two separate wars with Britain over the opium export into China. Britain won decisively and acquired Hong Kong as a trading port because of this. Now the museum had all of this information listed as well as artifacts throughout the time (such as an opium pipe) and that’s all cool. But, the reason that I went through all the effort of explaining the Opium Wars and the history behind them as well as a rough history of British policy is for one singular reason (of which I forgot to picture but it’s fine). In that room, the museum had a wall where you could leave little notes where you would comment on your opinion of the British East India Company and their actions. The entire wall was filled with comments talking about how wrong the company was and how horrible the actions of the British were. I just felt that it is important to note that people don’t like the actions of the British empire at the time, not even the British. 

Picture showcasing a part of the exhibit about the Opium Wars and how they acknowledged it’s unjust

Across the hall was the Atlantic side of the British Empire, of which we originate from. USA TIME!!! Honestly compared to the pacific front this side was a lot more disappointing. There was a small exhibit about the slave trade that was pretty standard, it looked like a picture from a textbook. I would say the coolest thing that I did see here was the bit of the exhibit where they talked about the crops and goods that were grown in North America and had facts about them and their purpose. That was just interesting in that it was the only thing that wasn’t just a picture of text on a wall. Also, I like sugar so I’m biased in that aspect. They did have a small little exhibit on the independance war (AMERICAN) but it was extremely small.

Sugar time. We gonna get sweet with this one

Now was on to the main show of the night which was meeting up with some family that I have in Britain. Since Fenrir was found and I had the time in London that I might as well get my worth out of it. We were going to be meeting at the Royal Observatory which is in Greenwich. This observatory is actually what marks the Prime Meridian so that’s really cool. We were going to be seeing two different planetarium shows. A planetarium show is where you sit in a big dome, lean back, and learn a little bit while staring up at the dome which is having stuff projected onto it. The two shows that we were seeing were about the night’s sky (ie stars and stuff) and the planets that were in our solar system. 

Picture of us 5 at the planetarium getting ready to watch the show. Fenrir is also there, he likes space now. (the last person is taking the picture)

The shows were really interesting. I did know most of the information within them, just because I like to know random things, but it was still cool to see. I also just got to spend time with family and so that was really nice. It was also raining outside and so it was nice to be inside and relax while relearning some cool stuff about space. Plus, when it comes to space stuff you can’t go wrong. After that we just walked around and explored for a bit. We went and got some food (again more on that later) and just kept exploring and walking around. Despite the rain and everything it was still just amazing. Usually they are the ones that come and visit us in Michigan, so it was really nice to be able to come and see them in the UK for once. I am really grateful that they made the trip all the way over to London to come and see me and it was really nice. Fenrir was able to see his cousins and he was really happy after it. Now that he made his new friend and is back safe with me he has tamed down a lot and he’s been behaving himself. 

Us just outside of the Royal Observatory on the courtyard above the park. Pictured from left to right are myself, Fenrir (he’s such a good boi), cousins, and their father.

Honestly it was just a good day so far and I was really happy with the way that things have been progressing. Turns out when you don’t have to run around a massive unfamiliar city looking for a mythical creature worried about what he’s going to do, London can be amazing. Getting to see family was just the cherry on top and it was honestly one of the highlights of my short time in London. I do wish I could have stayed longer to spend more time with them but we must move on, for there is studying to be done. 

Now… there is one more thing I did that day… that was the most unique experience for me personally. I went to a British pub. Fenrir and I met up with one of my long time online friends at a pub in London. For reference, I’ve known him since I was about 8 years old and we played on a minecraft server together. So I’ve known him for a while. Now this was something that we had wanted to do and had been talking about for a bit. But, this is my first time meeting any of the people in that group in person. He was the first person out of anyone of that group that I had actually physically met and it was an amazing time.

Picture of myself and my friend

Today (Saturday) was the day of the Euro 24 football match (Soccer in American terms) of England vs Switzerland. This was a quarter-final match so this was pretty important. Everywhere that I went I saw people setting stuff up to watch this match and it’s amazing how much people love the sport here. We originally were going to go to a certain pub but we had to switch pubs because the one we originally wanted to go to was packed from the game. For my first experience in a British pub it did not disappoint. I personally don’t really drink that much, I’ve had small amounts and the flavor doesn’t really interest me. But, my friend offered to buy me a drink and so I got a kiwi and lime cider. It honestly wasn’t that bad. It did take me an hour and a half to drink the pint of cider that I had which to say the least meant I didn’t really drink a lot. Still I got my pub experience of drinking a pint.

Fenrir takes after his nordic roots and starts to drink. He’ll be a true viking in no time.

Back onto the game. I personally don’t really do sports. I play a lot of video games and occasionally will keep up with ESports (things such as League of Legends) but even I was into this match. The reason being because it was such a hectic match. Now, I can’t give you a play-by-play of what happened because I don’t even know, but I can tell you the general gist of what happened and why this was so hectic. For the first three quarters of the match there wasn’t a SINGLE GOAL scored for either team. That meant the entire game pretty much came down to the last quarter. In which, Switzerland was the first team to score. Now the collective sign and boo’s that I heard there were amazing. The fact that everyone had the same collective reaction at the same time in unison was perfect. Now the demoralized pub goer’s stayed like that for about 5 minutes, if even that. When Britain then quickly scored a goal and caught up. Then I heard this: 

WARNING: headphone users please be careful

To say the least the pub went ecstatic and I myself got caught up in it too. The cheering, hollering, wooing, all the screaming, everything that was loud was happening. It was one of the most energetic things I have ever seen in my life. If you haven’t seen people in a pub when their home team scores a goal just imagine a jar filled with bouncy balls that you are shaking with the balls going every which way. That’s pretty much what was happening but 10 times louder and with people jumping up and down. It was an insane thing to witness and I’m honestly so happy that I got to witness it. It’s something that was only possible to witness due to the unique time that I went to the UK. 

Now if you think that was the peak of the game it got even more insane. There were no more goals scored for the rest of the time, and thus they went into a 30 minute overtime. Now I’m going to kind of speed ahead but AGAIN there were no goals scored during the 30 minute overtime. This is where things get even more insane. The game got into such a state that it went into penalty kicks to determine who would win the game. In the end… ENGLAND WON!!! By 2 penalty kicks… BUT THEY STILL WON!! Despite not being British it was still such a hype moment and I felt so proud. It was really fun to say the least. 

Picture of the pub we were in. It’s called “The Yacht”

After the game my friend and I had to part ways as he had work to attend to. But we said our farewells and I went back to the airbnb. I had a nightmare of packing ahead of me as I didn’t bring a carry-on so everything was going into my backpack. It was a nightmare to pack and it was even worse to carry but I did get everything in it.

Paddington explains to Fenrir something known as “night”. We haven’t seen this in over a month and yet it was common here and it got dark at a certain time. It was kind of nice not having the sun at all times, although this is but a foreign concept to us who have been in Iceland for over a month.

The Return:

This is going to be a bit more short, just in that I’ve kept you here for long enough. We took a train to the train station, took another train (a nicer one with cool chairs), to the airport. Then after waiting around in the airport we got on our plane and I slept for 2 hours. We had an 11 am flight and so it was not fun, but at least it wasn’t 6 am. Once arriving back in Iceland we then had 2 hours of buses and bus transfers ahead of us and so that wasn’t fun. But we eventually did make it back, where I immediately passed out on my bed. I did get up because I had to get groceries for the next day, but god my body was ready to just give out at that point. I had made it home to Reykjavik and I had plenty of stories to tell that much was for sure. 

Fenrir saying goodbye to Britain on the plane ride back

Honestly I was very skeptical about going to Britain. I am someone who thinks a lot about the money that you spend to do things and worries about my finances quite often. But, I was very happy that I went. It was an experience unlike anything I’ve had before and It was amazing. By the way if you have noticed I haven’t included the amount of money that I’ve spent yet for anything in any of the blog posts and that is for good reason, Iceland is expensive. I don’t want to look at the amount of money I’ve spent, and that is with me cooking to save money. There is one thing to look forward to though if you do care about money and stuff. I am planning to make a spreadsheet to detail the amount of money that I spent while abroad and on different things. All that to say, I normally regret decisions that involve a lot of money, or at least contemplate their worth, but this was not one of them. I loved going to London and experiencing Britain. 

Alex Shamoun

Robotics

Engineering in Reykjavik

[graue-substanz]

🌊 Una botella al mar / A bottle in the sea 🌊

En este vasto océano virtual, lanzo mi botella al mar, un deseo flotando en palabras, en busca de amistad sincera. Entre versos y pinceles, entre hojas y estrellas, anuncio mi anhelo: hallar almas afines en esta esfera.

Amantes de la poesía, la literatura y el arte, de la naturaleza y sus secretos, de la ciencia y la constelación, ¿me escuchan? ¿Me leen? ¿Están ahí, en la marea? Soy el soñador que busca compañía, sin prisa ni urgencia.

Me deleito con la lluvia, el café y el té, con el vino que despierta historias en la penumbra. Mi música es un eco ancestral, un susurro antiguo, cantos gregorianos, melodías nórdicas, sonidos que se despliegan.

Esta red social, rara vez visitada, es mi botella lanzada, y en su interior, la semilla de la amistad germina. Quizás tarde, pero florecerá, como un jardín de estrellas, un árbol de palabras, raíces entrelazadas, vida compartida.

____________________________________________________

 In this vast virtual ocean, I cast my bottle into the sea, a wish floating in words, seeking genuine friendship. Between verses and brushes, among leaves and stars, I declare my longing: to find kindred souls in this sphere.

Lovers of poetry, literature, and art, of nature’s secrets and the science of constellations, do you hear me? Do you read me? Are you out there in the tide? I am the dreamer seeking companionship, without haste or urgency.

I delight in rain, coffee, and tea, in wine that awakens stories in the twilight. My music is an ancestral echo, an ancient whisper, Gregorian chants, Nordic melodies, unfolding sounds.

This seldom-visited social network is my castaway bottle, and within it, the seed of friendship takes root. Perhaps it will take time, but it will bloom, like a garden of stars, a tree of intertwined words, shared life.

[leethslifestyle]

Reviving Ancient Food Traditions: Nourishing Heritage and Sustainability

In an era dominated by fast food and globalized culinary trends, there's a growing movement to rediscover and revive ancient food traditions. These traditions, rooted in centuries-old practices and cultural heritage, offer insights into sustainable agriculture, culinary creativity, and the preservation of biodiversity. Join us on a journey across continents and cultures as we explore the revival of ancient food traditions and their impact on modern gastronomy.

1. The Significance of Ancient Food Traditions

Ancient food traditions are more than just recipes; they embody the wisdom and ingenuity of generations past. From the ancient grains cultivated by Mesopotamian civilizations to the fermented foods cherished by Asian cultures, these culinary practices reflect a deep connection to the land, seasons, and communal values. They offer a glimpse into sustainable agricultural practices that prioritize biodiversity and resilience in the face of environmental challenges.

2. Rediscovering Ancient Grains: From Quinoa to Teff

One of the hallmarks of ancient food traditions is the cultivation of diverse grains that have sustained communities for centuries. Explore the resurgence of ancient grains such as quinoa from the Andes, prized for its nutritional richness and adaptability to harsh climates. Discover teff, a tiny grain from Ethiopia that's gluten-free and packed with essential nutrients. Learn how these grains are being reintroduced into modern diets, promoting health benefits and supporting sustainable agriculture practices.

3. The Art of Fermentation: Preserving Flavor and Nutrition

Fermentation is a time-honored technique used across cultures to transform raw ingredients into flavorful and nutrient-rich foods. Dive into the world of fermented foods like kimchi from Korea, sauerkraut from Germany, and miso from Japan. Explore the science behind fermentation and its role in enhancing gut health, preserving food without artificial additives, and unlocking complex flavors that tantalize the palate.

4. Indigenous Wisdom: Honoring Traditional Knowledge

Indigenous communities around the world possess deep knowledge of local ecosystems and sustainable food practices passed down through oral traditions. Discover how Indigenous food sovereignty movements are reclaiming traditional foods like wild rice in North America, bush tucker in Australia, and millet in Africa. Learn about the cultural significance of these foods and their role in promoting community health, resilience, and cultural identity.

5. Reviving Lost Varieties and Heirloom Seeds

In the pursuit of monoculture and high-yield crops, many traditional and heirloom plant varieties have been sidelined. However, there is a growing movement to revive these lost treasures of biodiversity. Explore the efforts to preserve heirloom seeds like the Cherokee purple tomato or the Glass Gem corn, celebrated for their unique flavors, colors, and resilience to pests and diseases. Understand how seed-saving initiatives and organic farming practices are safeguarding agricultural diversity for future generations.

6. Traditional Foodways and Culinary Heritage

Traditional foodways encompass not just what we eat but also how we prepare and share meals. Delve into the rituals and customs surrounding traditional food preparations, from communal cooking practices in West Africa to elaborate feasts in Mediterranean cultures. Explore how these traditions foster social cohesion, strengthen family ties, and celebrate cultural identity through the art of hospitality and culinary craftsmanship.

7. The Role of Chefs and Culinary Innovators

Chefs and culinary innovators play a crucial role in bridging ancient food traditions with contemporary dining experiences. Meet chefs who are incorporating ancient ingredients and techniques into their menus, from foraged ingredients in Nordic cuisine to ancient grains in gourmet baking. Discover how these culinary pioneers are reimagining flavors, textures, and presentations while paying homage to cultural heritage and promoting sustainable food practices.

8. Sustainable Agriculture: Lessons from the Past

Ancient food traditions offer valuable lessons in sustainable agriculture that are relevant today. Explore agroforestry techniques practiced in Indigenous communities, where food crops are interplanted with trees to enhance soil fertility and biodiversity. Learn about polyculture farming systems that mimic natural ecosystems and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Discover how these practices contribute to environmental resilience and food security in a changing climate.

9. Cultural Resilience and Identity

Food is a powerful expression of cultural resilience and identity. Through the revival of ancient food traditions, communities reclaim their heritage and assert their cultural sovereignty. Explore how food festivals, storytelling, and culinary workshops preserve and transmit traditional knowledge from elders to younger generations. Understand the role of food in preserving languages, customs, and spiritual beliefs, fostering pride and solidarity within communities.

10. Future Prospects and Challenges

As we look to the future, the revival of ancient food traditions faces both opportunities and challenges. Explore the potential for global collaborations to exchange knowledge and resources in support of sustainable food systems. Consider the barriers such as industrialization, urbanization, and climate change that threaten traditional foodways and explore innovative solutions to safeguard cultural and culinary diversity.

Conclusion: Embracing Heritage, Sustainability, and Flavor

The revival of ancient food traditions is a celebration of heritage, sustainability, and culinary creativity. By rediscovering ancient grains, embracing fermentation, honoring Indigenous wisdom, and preserving heirloom seeds, we not only enrich our palates but also nurture biodiversity, support local economies, and strengthen cultural resilience. Join the movement to explore, preserve, and savor the flavors of our shared culinary heritage, ensuring a vibrant future where food traditions continue to nourish and inspire generations to come.