Christmas and Yuletide Thanks!
I'm late at this, but I want to say thank you for my Christmas presents (one of which only arrived a few days ago. The problem is that I don't know who to thank for two of them. Thank you, whoever gave me the DVD of Princess Mononoke and Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. (The latter is the gift that just arrived a few days ago.) I don't know who you are, and I hope you'll tell me since the packing slips didn't, but thank you! I love these gifts. Princess Mononoke is one of my two favorite Studio Ghibli films. You have to love a movie where uncontrollable rage, which is often praised in Western fantasy as long as it's the protagonist experiencing it, is, in this world, capable of transforming a god into a demon. And given as much time as I spend with quasi-medieval fantasy and Shakespeare fandom, A Distant Mirror is priceless--and entertaining reading, to boot.
Of the presents whose givers I can identify--thank you,
misscam for the DVD of Spirited Away! This is my other favorite Studio Ghibli film. I love Chihiro/Sen and the supernatural bathhouse. Thank you. That was a great present to open on Christmas Day.
And finally, my Yuletide writers:
loathlylady wrote Starling. Rosaline in the hot sun.
This is a version of Rosaline Capulet I hadn't envisioned before--an elderly Rosaline, remembering herself and her cousin Juliet as girls, comparing Juliet to a starling that loved its freedom. The language is lush and vivid and utterly gorgeous.
fresne wrote Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps, the story went this way. Perhaps, it went that way. Perhaps.
Exploring other possibilities for Juliet Capulet...and other universes as well. I love the contrast between Juliet in Faerie, Juliet the Pirate and Juliet at home in the convent of her cousin Rosaline, a herbalist postulant.
El Staplador wrote Confession. Entering the convent, Rosaline looks back, and, reluctantly, forward.
A gloriously alive Rosaline who blames Romeo and herself for her cousin's death but unwilling to restart the old feud. Deals, among other things, with period Catholic beliefs about suicide...which, if possible, makes the play all the more tragic.
abluestocking wrote No Longer a Friend of Narnia. Susan refuses to tell fairytale stories.
Or, in which the Problem of Susan is shown to be more like the Problem of Aslan.
Thank you all!
Of the presents whose givers I can identify--thank you,
misscam for the DVD of Spirited Away! This is my other favorite Studio Ghibli film. I love Chihiro/Sen and the supernatural bathhouse. Thank you. That was a great present to open on Christmas Day.
And finally, my Yuletide writers:
loathlylady wrote Starling. Rosaline in the hot sun.
This is a version of Rosaline Capulet I hadn't envisioned before--an elderly Rosaline, remembering herself and her cousin Juliet as girls, comparing Juliet to a starling that loved its freedom. The language is lush and vivid and utterly gorgeous.
fresne wrote Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps, the story went this way. Perhaps, it went that way. Perhaps.
Exploring other possibilities for Juliet Capulet...and other universes as well. I love the contrast between Juliet in Faerie, Juliet the Pirate and Juliet at home in the convent of her cousin Rosaline, a herbalist postulant.
El Staplador wrote Confession. Entering the convent, Rosaline looks back, and, reluctantly, forward.
A gloriously alive Rosaline who blames Romeo and herself for her cousin's death but unwilling to restart the old feud. Deals, among other things, with period Catholic beliefs about suicide...which, if possible, makes the play all the more tragic.
abluestocking wrote No Longer a Friend of Narnia. Susan refuses to tell fairytale stories.
Or, in which the Problem of Susan is shown to be more like the Problem of Aslan.
Thank you all!