Author: Eppu

Two Finnish Authors on The A.V. Club’s Best of 2015

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Two Finnish authors made it onto The A.V. Club‘s favorite books of the year. Their Best of 2015 list includes Leena Krohn’s Collected Fiction, a whopper of an anthology (at 800+ pages in hardcover) edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, and The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen.

Jaaskelainen Krohn Covers

Keeping company to Krohn and Jääskeläinen on the Best of 2015 list “[a]fter a stellar year for the written word” are renowned authors like Ta-Nehisi Coates, Judd Apatow, and Paula Hawkins. Congrats, both!

For a taste of their writing, try Jääskeläinen’s Where the Trains Turn (orig. Missä junat kääntyvät, 2000), published in November 2014 by Tor.com, or Krohn’s Lucilia Illustris, published in December 2015 by Electric Literature.

Found via Helsingin Sanomat.

Images: The Rabbit Back Literature Society via Pushkin Press. Collected Fiction via Cheeky Frawg Books

Ostrich for Breakfast, Ostrich for Lunch, Ostrich for Dinner

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Or: Some History behind Ostrich Riding, Part 6 of 7

Background: I ran into two historical images from California with ostriches used as transportation. That got me wondering about the history of ostrich riding. And that lead me down quite a rabbit hole.

I’ve divided my findings into separate posts (find them with the ostrich riding tag). Warning: serious early history and language nerdery ahead in Serious Academic Voice.

TL;DR – Tracing ostrich riding to a 3rd century BCE tomb find (a statue of Arsinoe II) from Egypt doesn’t hold up. The use of various ostrich products in human material culture dates back thousands of years. A few ancient depictions involve humans handling ostriches; however, extant sources don’t tell us whether ostriches were merely hunted or whether they were also tamed in the ancient world. The most promising source seems to be a description of a magnificent parade put together by Arsinoe II’s husband-brother Ptolemy II. This Grand Procession included eight chariots drawn by pairs of ostriches, and the ostriches may have been ridden by boys in costumes.

I had hoped to find a nice, neat selection of ancient texts putting the Greek word for ‘ostrich’ in context, but even a cursory look reveals that the history of the word strouthos is complex. At best, we can say that there are no immediate red flags either in the original Greek or modern English translations for Arsinoe II’s statue or Ptolemy II’s Grand Procession. The poem Berenice’s Lock was said to contain further evidence of ostriches as mounts in Ptolemaic Egypt after Arsinoe II’s death. Instead, what we seem to have is a case of poetic ambiguity translated with poetic license and taken uncritically as evidence.

Some centuries after Arsinoe II and Ptolemy II, ostrich riding may appear in the Roman Empire. Claims in some secondary sources turn out unverifiable, however. Researching primary sources helps but a little: on one hand, many of these texts either have problematic histories or their authorship or accuracy may be questionable; on the other, ostriches tend to appear in context of fighting in gladiatorial games, not being ridden or raced. Surviving visual art only confirms the appearance of ostriches in hunting and arena scenes the Roman territories, not riding or chariot-pulling. A description in the life of Emperor Firmus comes closest, but Historia Augusta, the source of his life, is considered unreliable.

Below is the long story.

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New Kaurismäki Film: The Girl King

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The Girl King movie posterI’ve been vaguely aware of the Swedish-Finnish movie production The Girl King (Finnish title Tyttökuningas), which is remarkable for having been largely (according to some sources, almost entirely) filmed in Turku, Finland, including the local castle. It’s one week from opening night now, and reviews and interviews are starting to roll out. Yay!

The movie is about Queen Kristina of Sweden (1626-1689), of the Vasa lineage, directed by Finland’s famous Mika Kaurismäki. In the main roles we’ll see Malin Buska, Sarah Gadon (whom I liked in Belle), and Michael Nyqvist (familiar from the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series). A description from Kaurismäki’s website says:

“Mika Kaurismäki is currently developing a feature film project about the Swedish Queen Kristina, starring Swedish actress Malin Buska. Set in the 17th century, the film paints a portrait of an extravagant and atypical queen, who was the ruler of her country from the age of seven until her startling abdication at 28.

“The film is scripted by Canadian award-winning screenwriter Michel Marc Bouchard and the cinematography will be by renowned Christopher Doyle (In the Mood for Love, Hero).”

Queen Kristina and René Decartes

At the time of Kristina’s life, Finland was a part of Sweden, and Turku (Åbo in Swedish) was the oldest and largest city in Finland. The Turku Castle dates from late 13th century, but it was still inhabited and garrisoned at the time; in the modern period, it’s been restored to its Renaissance state, so it’s an appropriate location even though Kristina didn’t actually live there. (Tidbit gleaned from a news article in Yle uutiset: Kristina’s parents visited Turku early in 1626, and it’s said that she was conceived at the Turku Castle.) Also, kuningatar Kristiina has a special place in the Finnish memory because of her efforts to end the 30 years’ war which was hard on Finland, and because she at the suggestion of one of her statesmen (and twice Governor General of Finland), Per Brahe, founded the first Finnish university in 1640.

The official trailer (with Finnish subtitles) is out, and looking gorgeous:

Tyttökuningas (The Girl King) -elokuvan virallinen traileri via LeffatByFSFilm

Frock Flicks has a interview with the costume designer, Marjatta Nissinen, and a review that includes insights into the costuming. There’s also a documentary on the costuming, with background information from Kaurismäki and closeups of some of the outfits in the latter half (Finnish with English subtitles):

Dressing The Girl King -documentary by Film City Turku and Länsi-Suomen elokuvakomissio via Scene Turku

As an early history geek who lived in Turku for a number of years, I’m very curious to see The Girl King – for freaking once I get the native advantage in location spotting! 😀

Historical Turku Mashup
Turku historical mashup, clockwise from top: 1700s-1800s houses at Luostarinmäki; bell tower of the cathedral seen from the river Aura; Vanha Suurtori with empire style and neoclassical houses; closeup of the cathedral bell tower. Center: Turku Castle

But seriously, what I can see of the sets and locations, especially the Renaissance floor of the castle, looks fantastic. Here’s hoping that The Girl King will have a reasonably wide release in the U.S.!

Images: Poster via Lark Theater. Queen Kristina & René Decartes via Frock Flicks. Turku historical mashup by Eppu Jensen

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

 

Captain America: Civil War Trailer Published

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The first trailer for Captain America: Civil War is here:

Captain America: Civil War – Trailer World Premiere via Jimmy Kimmel Live

Looks cool and MCU-Captain-y! I’m looking forward to seeing more of my favorites – Cap, Falcon, Black Widow, Sharon Carter / Agent 13. I liked Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, too, and T’Challa / Black Panther looks cool.

Six months to May 2016 sounds very long! Fortunately there’s lots to tide us over.

Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.

Quotes: Men Everywhere, Doing Everything

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“When we say men, man, manly, manhood, and all the other masculine derivatives, we have in the background of our minds a huge vague crowded picture of the world and all its activities. […] That vast background is full of marching columns of men, of changing lines of men, of long processions of men; of men steering their ships into new seas, exploring unknown mountains, breaking horses, herding cattle, ploughing and sowing and reaping, toiling at the forge and furnace, digging in the mine, building roads and bridges and high cathedrals, managing great businesses, teaching in all the colleges, preaching in all the churches; of men everywhere, doing everything – ‘the world.’

“And when we say women, we think female – the sex.”

– Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland

View from a 100 years ago.

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. Herland. Edited by Kathy Casey. Mineola, NY: Dover, 1998 [originally published 1915], p. 116.

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

This post has been edited for clarity.

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

Final Mockingjay Mood

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Final mood before seeing Mockingjay – Part 2 tonight:

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 – Official TV Spot “Mutts”

Love the sound design for that tv spot!

I’ve been avoiding the reviews, for I just don’t want to be spoiled of any book-to-movie changes. Although there’s one big change I hope against hope will be made: I’d like not so many members of the film crew (especially Finnick) to perish trying to push deeper into the Capitol.

Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.

Some Mockingjay – Part 2 Prep

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Almost time!

TheWrap Mockingjay Pt2 Poster

A roundup of random Hunger Games stuff (but no reviews, so no spoilers) to prepare for the Mockingjay – Part 2 premier:

Image: Mockingjay – Part 2 poster via The Wrap

Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.

Our Star Wars Rewatch Project: Episode I

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Our Star Wars rewatch project begins a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away with Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

1. Best fight

151112JediEppu: Darth Maul vs. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan on Naboo, hands down. This is how the Jedi fight, not the staid fop-fop-tap of Episode IV!

Erik: Agreed. Whatever else you may say about Phantom Menace, we finally got to see Jedi in their prime fighting a worthy adversary.

2. Best line

Erik: “Her Highness commands you to take her handmaiden with you.” Captain Panaka to Qui-Gon setting out on Tatooine. Less for the line itself than for how Hugh Quarshie delivers it. You can tell that he thinks this is a really, really bad idea, but he’s doing his job of helping the queen do what she wants to do.

Eppu: “What, you think you’re some sort of Jedi, waving your hand around like that?” Watto to Qui-Gon. Delivered in Watto’s bone-dry style, too, it’s hilarious.

3. Best minor character

Pomegranate Seeds Kitster

Eppu: Kitster, one of Anakin’s friends on Tatooine. Very sympathetic young man.

Erik: TC-14, the protocol droid on the trade federation ship. Like C-3P0, more personality than you would expect a droid to have.

4. Best reveal

Erik: When the hangar doors on Naboo open on Darth Maul.

Eppu: The droid army unpacked from the bowels of the transportation drones, unfolding into their full size. I still remember seeing it for the first time.

5. Best save

Eppu: During Queen Amidala’s attack on the palace, Captain Panaka shoots out a window, the group steps out to the ledge, and uses their fancy handguns-cum-harpoon-and-line-shooters to skip to the next floor.

Erik: When Watto tries to back out of a bet, Qui-Gon casually suggests taking the matter up with the Hutts. That’s enough to convince Watto to pay up.

6. Best visual

151112TheedErik: Theed, the capital city on Naboo. Gorgeous landscape and architectural detail.

Star Wars Otoh GungaEppu: The approach to the underwater Gungan city. One of my favorite scenic scenes in the Star Wars universe.

Extra question: Best misdirect

Eppu: Palpatine’s plotting, all of it. Plotwise it’s a step up from the original trilogy, just like the Jedi fights are.

Erik: The opening crawl about conflict over the taxation of outlying trade routes. One of the themes of the prequel trilogy is how momentous events can have tiny beginnings. The taxation of trade routes sounds like the most boring subject for a movie ever, but it leads to the fall of the galactic republic.

Your turn – what’s your Best list for Episode I?

Images: Lightsaber fight via Giphy; Kitster: via fialleril on Pomegranate Seeds; Theed: wookiepedia;  Gungan city: StarWars.com.

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