This photo was taken in 1886, in England, by Adam Diston – it’s called “Cutting a sunbeam” and it’s very famous.
And there’s enough weirdness in it to fuel some writing.
Any ideas?
Shakespearian Insults – a Primer
We discussed briefly in the past the art and practice of Latin and Greek profanities.
But when it comes to colorful language, I stick by the Elizabethans, and indeed a lot of Shakespearean insults are not only useful as we write fantasy (historical or otherwise), but also in real life.
Sure it takes’em by surprise.
And despite what some may think, a well-placed insult can carry a lot of information and push the narrative forward.
And here’s a short round-up of Shakespearean insults as narrative devices, for starters… Continue reading
The future through the eyes of tomorrow
As I said, today is cheap-gifts-day in Italy.
So, here’s a link with something fun and cheap… free, actually – seven (count’em, seven!) huge collection of pulp science fiction from 1940.
This being the 75th anniversary of the first World Science Fiction Convention, all the stories are eligible for the 1941 Retro-Hugo Awards.
Read all the details and find the links on ThePulp.net.
Enjoy!
La Befana
In the Italian tradition, la Befana is an old hag, a witch-like character that, on the night between the 5th and the 6th of January – what’s known as Twelfth Night elsewhere – flies around on her broomstick and brings small gifts to children… candies and small toys for the nice ones, coal for the naughty ones.
Harking back to pagan traditions and the Roman Saturnalia, La Befana is therefore like a low-budget, working-class or peasant Santa Claus alternative – she too fills stockings, but her gifts are usually small, cheap and of a very earthy and practical nature: candies, maybe a scarf or a pair of socks, small toys, maybe a paperback book or a comic book. Sweets retailers and supermarkets carry packs of sugar-candy “coal” for the occasion.
Back in the early 20th century, la Befana (who had been fully endorsed by the Fascist Regime, quite ironically) could fill a kid’s stockings with tangerines, chocolates or cookies. The Befana gifts are pocket-sized by default. She’s the poor-man’s Santa Claus stand in.
And despite her (involuntary) meddling with the fascists, I like her very much1.
In my family, we were in the habit of exchanging gifts on the evening of the 5th of January – simply because my mother was born on the 7th of January, and so we collapsed the two celebrations together.
Now that my mother is no longer with us, I keep making season’s gifts to my brother – and to some friends – chartering la Befana2.
Sometimes they get back at me.
This year’s twelfth night stocking was filled with five (5!) books. Continue reading
Short and sweet from Seth Godin’s blog…
The crowd, your work, and a choice
My Greatest Failures of 2015
I did my first Best Failures post on the third of January 2015, and people apparently liked it.
So much so, that six months later, a guy on Facebook threw that post in my face as the “demonstration” that my writing career (if any) was a complete disaster.
Some guys have no sense of humor.
Anyway – a Best Failures post is a great way to put a year in perspective, and to find new opportunities to jump-start the new year.
Because, as ever, failures and disasters are not the end of the run, they are a starting point.
No matter what Facebook users may to think.
So, here goes a short retrospective of My Best Failures in 2015. Continue reading
Karavansara 