Author: Eppu

R.I.P. Alan Rickman

Eppu

Actor Alan Rickman has passed. Apart from a fantastic Professor Severus Snape, Rickman brought to life both on stage and screen numerous other characters, including my favorite Colonel Brandon in the 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility.

Sense & Sensibility – Weep You No More Sad Fountains via anotherrainbow2008

I also have fond memories of his performance as Alexander Dane / Dr. Lazarus in Galaxy Quest and the sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (with the unforgettable delivery of “Because it is dull, you twit, it’ll hurt more!”, on the desirability of a spoon as a torture device).

Rest in peace, sir. You will be missed.

New Beowulf Adaptation: Return to the Shieldlands

Eppu

ITV Studios is producing a new Beowulf adaptation. Named Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands, the mini-series puts a modern spin on one of the oldest poems in Old English. According to Esquire Network:

“Based on the complex protagonist of a classic poem written between the eighth and tenth century, Beowulf takes place in a mythological place, The Shieldlands, and challenges the notions of good and evil, heroes and villains, and the rule of law against one’s moral code. The drama stars Kieran Bew (DA VINCI’S DEMONS), in the lead role Beowulf; multi-award- winning actor William Hurt (DAMAGES); acclaimed actress Joanne Whalley (WOLF HALL); Ed Speleers (DOWNTON ABBEY) and David Ajala (BLACK BOX).”

IMDB Beowulf Return to the Shieldlands
Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands, ITV via IMDB

Beowulf: RttS started airing in U.K early January 2016, and Esquire Network is bringing it to U.S. January 23. Location work for the production was shot in the north east of England, in county Durham and Northumberland; 13 episodes have been produced so far. The show has a very perfunctory Instagram account and a more active Facebook page. There’s also a behind the scenes piece with live action clips:

Beowulf Behind The Scenes The World Revealed with Kieran Bew and Ed Speleers via Esquire Network

Beowulf: RttS definitely holds some promise. Apart from being inspired by Actual History(TM) and Anglo-Saxons / Old English to boot, it sounds like there’s some gender-bending (International Business Times reports a “new female thane”); in addition, photos include not just white men among the cast (see MedievalPOC and Farawaysite.com).

IMDB Beowulf Return to the Shieldlands2
Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands, ITV via IMDB

While I’m excited about the recent resurgence of genre films and tv productions in general, I’m discouraged by the apparent lack of quality control that comes with trying to ride the trend to make a quick buck. (Vikings, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, or 2015 Fantastic Four, anyone?)

Sadly, it sounds like Beowulf: RttS might be one of them: according to U.K news site Metro, viewers criticize the series for its “unconvincing CGI, stilted dialogue and unrealistic action sequences” and as “a blatant rip-off ” of Game of Thrones. I can add to the list some decidedly silly costuming and a peculiar combination of plausible and fanciful in the sets and props. I’m torn whether to give it a shot or not – on one hand, it’s based on Beowulf, for crying out loud; on the other, WTF is going on with the design!?

In the Seen on Screen occasional feature, we discuss movies and television shows of interest.

NYPL Releases Thousands of High-Res Public Domain Images

Eppu

The New York Public Library released a treasure trove of 180,000 high-resolution scans of public domain images. They include photographs, etchings, watercolors, sheet music, maps, illuminated manuscript images and other pages from books, stereoscopic views, and more. The oldest materials date back as far as the 11th century. With their visual search you can browse by century, genre, collection, and even color.

NYPL Public Domain Img Collection
Visual browse tool’s color view via NYPL Manuscripts and Archives Division

According to the NYPL:

“Did you know that more than 180,000 of the items in our Digital Collections are in the public domain?

“That means everyone has the freedom to enjoy and reuse these materials in almost limitless ways. The Library now makes it possible to download such items in the highest resolution available directly from the Digital Collections website.

“No permission required. No restrictions on use.

“Below you’ll find tools, projects, and explorations designed to inspire your own creations—go forth and reuse!”

I know I’m going to be using the collection a lot!

Out There is an occasional feature highlighting intriguing art, spaces, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.

The Abominable Sherlock

Eppu

We saw The Abominable Bride on the big screen yesterday, a few days after Europe. (It aired in UK on January 01, 2016.) Unfortunately, I got barely any sleep last night, so these preliminary thoughts are probably very ramble-y and incoherent, but here we go.

And note: SPOILER ALERT. I will also assume that you’ve seen all the preceding seasons and TAB itself.

Continue reading →

One Last Best of 2015 List with a Finn

Eppu

Hello, hello; Happy New Year! Over the holidays I had the chance to catch up on my blog reading and found yet another piece of delightful news for Finnish SFF: Hannu Rajaniemi’s Collected Fiction made it onto NPR’s Guide to 2015’s Great Reads.

hannu-rajaniemi-collected-fiction

The guide contains some 260 titles contributed by NPR staff and critics. Other science fictional books on the guide include Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older, The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth J. Dickinson, and Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho, for example.

Found via Amal El-Mohtar.

Image via Tachyon Publications

Top Five Co-Geeking Posts for 2015

Eppu

Our first half-year of blogging exclusively on our geeky interests is done. We’ve even geeked over our blog stats already. 🙂 The five posts to get most eyeballs are as follows:

  1. Hugo Voting, “Good” Stories, and Politics Erik’s thoughts on the volatile Hugo Awards discussion and voting
  2. 2016 Tolkien calendar Illustrated by Tove Jansson Eppu relays news that the late Tove Jansson’s Tolkien illustrations will be published in the Official Tolkien Calendar for 2016
  3. Sean Bean on the LotR Joke in The Martian Eppu shares a short transcript from an interview with Sean Bean by Yle, the Finnish national broadcast company
  4. Two Finnish Authors on the A.V. Club’s Best of 2015 Eppu shares yet another Finland-related piece of news: Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen and Leena Krohn made it onto a U.S. Best of fiction list
  5. a tie with two of Erik’s History for Writers posts: Recommended Reading: Herodotus, “The Tale of the Clever Thief” and 35 Isn’t Old and Everyone’s a Royal

It was nice to note that the top posts were divided up evenly between me and Erik, and that they were posts where we used our expertise. As if we had, like, a plan or something. 😉

Messing with numbers is messy.

Quotes: That Is a Strange Country

Eppu

“I would say that [the Russians] are located somewhere near the Baltic Sea. There are old trade routes there, and in our own time it is a territory closed to us. Their installation may be close to the Finnish border. They could disguise their modern station under half a dozen covers; that is a strange country.”

– Andre Norton: The Time Traders

Did Andre Norton just insult Russia? (And yay, Finland was mentioned!)

Norton, Andre. The Time Traders / Galactic Derelicts [omnibus edition]. Riverdale, NY: Baen Books, 2000 [originally published 1958 / 1959].

(This quote comes from my 21 new-to-me SFF authors reading project. Note: A free e-version is available via Baen Books.)

This post has been edited for clarity.

Serving exactly what it sounds like, the Quotes feature excerpts other people’s thoughts.

 

Q&A: Answer Questions with Book Titles

Eppu

Quiz time! We pulled questions from a nifty online quiz (the link to which is of course by now lost) that we modified slightly. You’re supposed to answer the questions only by using book titles from your collection. Here goes:

1) Describe Yourself?

Eppu: Hobitti [The Hobbit in Finnish. Good food, comfy home, good company.]151229Hobitti

Erik: The Hermit of Eyton Forest [I like my woods]

2) What do you feel like right now?

Erik: An Excellent Mystery

Eppu: Bättre och bättre [=better and better; title of a Swedish textbook. ‘Nuff said!]

3) Describe where you live?

Eppu: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking [‘Cause America can’t seem to wrap its head around silence. In Finland, silence is common and normal. For me, silence = sanctuary.]

Erik: Utopia [I love our house and our little patch of woods.]

4) Where would you go if you could go anywhere?

Erik: The Far Side of the World [New Zealand is on my list right now.]

Eppu: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles [And come back from the past, too.]

5) Describe you best friend?

Eppu: History of Ancient Rome [This would be the Mister. As the Germans say, Herr Doctor Professor. :)]

Erik: The Age of Bede [My wife the Anglo-Saxonist]

6) Your favorite color?

Erik: The Frogs [The closest I can get to “green.”]

Eppu: The Virgin Blue

7) What’s the weather like right now?

Eppu: Sundiver151229Sundiver

Erik: Cold Days

8) What’s your favorite time of the day?

Erik: White Night

Eppu: Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi [Not Before Sundown in Finnish. This was a tough one; I don’t really have a favorite, nor books with times of the day in the title.]

9) If your life were a tv show, what would it be called?

Eppu: Quiet Influence [Although not sure how many people would find a show on introverts interesting.]

Erik: Antiquity

10) What’s life for you?

Erik: The Historian’s Craft

Eppu: Sense and Sensibility

11) Your current relationship?

Eppu: Arvaa kuinka paljon sinua rakastan [Guess How Much I Love You in Finnish]

Erik: The Truelove

The Truelove12) What gives?

Erik: The Joy of Cooking

Eppu: Cold Days

13) Your future expectations?

Eppu: Home Improvement Guide [Unfortunately. Then again, when it’s done, it’ll be Bättre och bättre again.]

Erik: The Ascent of Man [Or at least the getting up in the morning of man.]

14) You wouldn’t mind…?

Erik: Looking at Greek and Roman Sculpture in Stone

Eppu: Impossible Things [Certain things just aren’t likely to change very fast.]

15) What are you afraid of?

Eppu: Catching Fire [Don’t happen to have any books involving heights.]

Erik: The Fortune of War

16) Your best piece of advice?

Erik: Caveat Emptor151229Caveat

Eppu: Budget Makeovers [Saving money rocks.]

17) If you’d change your name, it would be…

Erik: Henry II

Eppu: Emma [This was a tough one, too. Jane Austen to the rescue!]

18) Thought of the day?

Eppu: Cut the Scraps! [Quilting is fun. :)]

Erik: Hannibal Crosses the Alps [No one thought he could do it, but…]

19) How would you like to die?

Erik: After the Fact [“I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”]

Eppu: Most Wise and Valiant Ladies

20) Your motto?

Eppu: Simply Scandinavian

Erik: The Barbarians Speak151229Barbarians

21) Your favorite activity?

Erik: Homebrewing

Eppu: Creative Ideas for Organizing Your Home

Images: Hobitti via Wikipedia. Sundiver via Wikipedia. The Truelove via Penguin Random House. Caveat Emptor via Bloomsbury. The Barbarians Speak via Princeton University Press

Q&A is an occasional feature in which we share our responses to quizzes, questions, and quirky ideas for your entertainment.