Sunday Inspiration: Opportunity
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
—Thomas Edison
“Shockingly Good”
Thanks to J. Hearne for his glowing review of Children of Pride!
This book is a shockingly good first offering in the world YA fiction. I could not possibly recommend it more highly if you’re looking for intelligent, witty, and carefully crafted storytelling in the YA world. It does not fall into the trap of repetition and derivative adaptation as so many books in the genre do, but rather is bold enough to carefully undermine the tropes so common to the genre.
“A Welcome Change”
Thanks to SingingOwl for her review of Children of Pride!
I enjoyed the lighthearted tone of “Children of Pride.” It is a great read for children to teens, especially junior high age. The up-to-date descriptions of fantasy characters like elves, fairies and dwarves were a welcome change from some more ponderous fantasy works.
Five Helpful Clans of Little Folk
Not all faery beings can be imposing sídhe lords and ladies, sinister jinn, or wild, unpredictable satyrs. In world mythology, some of the inhabitants of the Otherworld are humble, unassuming, and even quite helpful to mortals. Today, I’ll highlight five types of little folk that you probably wouldn’t mind dropping by. They are all good with chores and domestic tasks of various sorts, and are usually happy to help mortals out for a modicum of remuneration. (Offerings of food or milk or cream usually does the trick.) All of these beings are all found in Scotland, Ireland, or surrounding regions.
Brùnaidh/Grogan
A brownie is called a brùnaidh in Scots Gaelic and grogan in Irish. These are domestic spirits who attach themselves to a house or family and often perform domestic chores when no one is looking. The house elves of Harry Potter are modeled largely on brownies.
Uruisg/Fenodyree
The uruisg (or urisk) is very much like a brownie, but is set apart by having goat-like hooves. They are called fenodyrees on the Isle of Man. The are said to have a mischievous nature and also tend to be inclined to perform farming or agrarian tasks. They are thus somewhat similar to a pooka.
Kilmouli
Kilmoulis are faery millers, an ugly form of brownies said to haunt mills. They also hail from the Border counties. They have enormous noses but no mouths, and therefore they have to inhale their food through the nose. Kilmoulis work hard, but also enjoy tricks and pranks.
Gruagach
Gruagachs (the Gaelic plural is technically gruagaichean) are field-folk native to Scotland. Their name literally means “long-haired one.” They love to help mortals with household tasks. Female gruagachs herd and protect cattle, and are also associated with water. They are described as having long blonde hair and wearing a green dress. Sometimes they are said to be attractive; more often, however, they are grotesques hags—although extremely kind-hearted.
Male gruagachs have thick fur, although occasionally they are described as handsome youths dressed in green and red. They commonly work as farm hands shredding and thrashing grain.
Clurichaun
A clurichaun (Irish clobhair-ceann) is thought by some to be a variant form of the leprechaun who goes out to drink after finishing his daily work. They are always drunk. If treated well, a clurichaun will protect a mortal’s wine cellar.
Chozen: A Passover Parody
For those of you who aren’t sick to death of the music from Frozen—and its various covers and parodies—here’s one for Passover:
April Spotlight
Philip Overby’s April Fantasy Writer Spotlight falls on T. L. Bodine, whose newest book is Tagestraum.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Thor’s Hammer
Dan McCoy has the scoop at Norse Mythology for Smart People, and he deserves a link purely on the name of his website!
Thor’s hammer was certainly a weapon – the best weapon the Aesir had, in fact – but it was more than just a weapon. It also occupied a central role in rituals of consecration and hallowing.
The hammer was used in formal ceremonies to bless marriages, births, and probably funerals as well.[4] In one episode from medieval Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, Thor once killed and ate his goats, then brought them back to life by hallowing their bones with his hammer[5] (talk about having your cake and eating it, too). The medieval Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus records that huge hammers were kept in one of Thor’s temples in Sweden, and that periodically the people would hold a ritual there that involved beating the hammers against some kind of drum that would resound like thunder.[6] This could have been a ceremony to bless and protect the community and ward off hostile spirits.
There’s lots, lots more.
Game of Thrones for Geologists
This would have been a cool way to learn about geology back in my college days! A group of geologists who are also fantasy enthusiasts have reconstructed a geological history of Westeros, the setting of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. By looking at the observations of characters in the novels themselves, place names, and even fan wikis, they have reconstructed 500 million years of geological history, which they share in a series of blog posts under the name “A Geology of Game of Thrones.”
I love it when fantasy fiction is (or can be shown to be) scientifically coherent within its own premises.
Sunday Inspiration: Mystery
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
—Albert Einstein
Who Doesn’t Need a Few Pterosaur Facts?
The American Museum of Natural History is putting together a first-of-its-kind pterosaur exhibit called “Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs.” Mark Norell, chair of the museum’s paleontology division, was instrumental in putting the exhibit together. He offered the fine folks at mental_floss an early look, and Erin McCarthy has posted a run-down of ten interesting facts you might not have known about this fascinating creatures.
Darrell J. Pursiful 