dhampyresa

Also known as "The Odyssey". It was an okay movie (not great, not terrible, just fine). I think I just don't really jive with Nolan's style. Everything is always so much greige manpain. I did cry at Argos, though, because of course I did. ARGOS BEST BOY

When Ulysses murders unwanted houseguests it's heroic, but when I, Polyphemus

I know archery is Ulysses' Thing, but there wasn't a single slinger in the entire movie. Also sometimes these alleged Ancient Greeks wore pants. None slingers with left pants. Wild.

Speaking of archery, the set up for the twelve axes was SO BORING. Also, I may be crazy but I feel like there's a proper way to string a bow and nobody was doing it.

If you had told me one Trojan-War-pivotal character in this movie never gets their face shown, I can't say I would have guessed Agamemnon. Lupita Nyong'o is amazing as both Helen and Clytemenestra.

I guess Nolan is making up for using "I am Become Death [etc]" twice in Oppenheimer by not having Ulysses say the "I am No one" line. Also missing: the olive tree bed, any god that isn't Athena, any Greek actors.

There was a trailer for Villeneuve's 3 Dune 3 Messiah beforehand so when Zendaya first showed up berating Ulysses I was like "Wazzup Chani!"

I don't understand how anyone can confuse sheep wool for dry twigs???

I guess Telemachus decided to stop over in Wuxia land for his costume at the trial.

I really liked how creepy Tiresias was and there was an unexpected amount of body horror going on at Circe's place.

Nobody (except Calypso) ate a single goddamn fish in this entire movie about being stranded at sea and I am fucking baffled.

So we're just gonna namedrop the Bronze Age collapse as it's allegedly happening? Okie dokie, then.

Ulysses: We'll sail into the west
Me: Do you want to be in Dante's Inferno? This is how you get in Dante's Inferno!

Absolutely batshit choice to end this movie by declaring nobody knows how to write anymore. The invention of the alphabet is contemporary to the Bronze Age Collapse!

It is stupidly, stupidly hot lately, but I did get to watch the first two episodes of La Quête d'Ewilan (Ewilan's Quest), the animated adaptation of Pierre Bottero's writing. The novel trilogy is called La Quête d'Ewilan, but the first book, which this first season adapts, is called D'un monde à l'autre (From one world to the other).

And aaaaaaaaaaaah I feel so happy!!!!! There are a couple of things I imagined differently (the Ts'liches being taller, forex) and a few things that are different from the book that I could pick up on, but aaaaaaaaaaaaaah it's there! It's Gwendalavir! It's so pretty! It's them! It's Ewilan and Salim and all the rest and I love them so much and I'm so happy!

Watch on YouTube

I don't know if there's any plans for any non-French versions, but I hope there will be! In the mean time, please enjoy the dialog-less trailer.

Sometimes it feels like learning Breton/brezhoneg is an exercise in "this might as well happen". Take numbers, for example.

Brezhoneg English
Unan One
Daou / Div Two (masculine form) / Two (feminine)
Tri / Teir Three (m) / Three (f)
Pevar / Peder Four (m) / (f)
Pemp Five
C'Hwec'h [1] Six
Seizh Seven
Eizh Eight
Nav [3] Nine
Dek Ten
Unnek One-ten (eleven)
Daouzek Two-ten (twelve)
Trizek Three-ten (thirteen)
Pevarzek Four-ten (fourteen)
Pemzek Five-ten (fifteen)
C'Hwezek Six-ten (Sixteen)
Seitek Seven-Ten (Seventeen)

So far so good, right? But is 18 "eight-ten"? You bet your ass it isn't! It's "tri-wec'h", ie "three-six". This might as well happen.

[1] The "C'H" trigram is one letter [2]. It's a voiceless velar fricative (IPA: [x]), ie pronounced like the Spanish "j".

[2] Not to be confused, of course with the digram "ch", itself also only one letter.

[3] That "v" is a vowel, by the way. "V" is pronounced "o" but only at the end of words. THIS MIGHT AS WELL HAPPEN.

"Is swimming from the Château d'If to land actually doable?" (à la Edmond Dantès, the Count of Monte Christo himself)

The answer is very much yes.

Looks kinda fun, honestly.

I saw a trailer for Nolan's Odyssey before watching Project Hail Mary in theaters and at first i was fun trying to guess who each character was supposed to be, but then they showed a dog and I was like "oh so I'm not watching this movie then, ok". Just thinking about Argos is enough to make me tear up ;_;

I am very saddened to hear of Marjane Satrapi's death.

The problem with this book is that I'm French.

Alix E. Harrow's The Everlasting is a novel about deconstructing a country's founding myth. Said myth is inspired by Arthuriana and, especially, Joan of Arc. I'm not against Joan of Arc motifs (hell, it's one of the things I love about Margaret Rogerson's Vespertine). I am also pro deconstructing founding myths! Including French founding myths, including Joan of Arc.

However.

However, I think if you're going to be deconstructing a country's myths it should be your own country. Whether its because the book is in English or the author is USAmerican or the fictional country is England-coded (the main narrator so far (25%) is called "Owen Mallory") or a combination but this feels particularly disrespectful. Leave Jeanne alone and go bother George Washington or something.

Missed May 1 because I was sick, but here's your annual apotropaic picture of (plastic) lily of the valley (with bonus Miss Creant the cat).

I recently read a book that was, in part, a retelling of the fairytale "Donkeyskin". There was a list of trigger warnings at the start of said book, but "incest" wasn't among them. Nothing physical actually happens, but much like in the fairytale, the protagonist spends a not insignificant portion of the book (I want to say at least a quarter, but don't quote me on that) threatened by the prospect of being forced to marry/have sex with her father the king. I feel like that should still warrant a warning? Or maybe "being a Donkeyskin retelling" (obvious from summary/etc) is the warning? Idk, I feel like that's not enough, especially since Donkeyskin isn't particularly well known. Or maybe I'm overthinking things.

I recently bought (the French version of) this Tarot deck because it is extremely pretty and shiny. I know how to play Tarot -- been ages, though -- but never done any divination. Does anyone have spreads that they like?