Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Guest Post: Great Grimms in Literature

My dear guests, I have a very special post for you today! The first ever guest post here at The Grimm Tea Party written by my step-sister Ariel Grimm. Ariel is web-mistress of The Forest and updates her blog far more than I, so check it out! Without further delays, here is her essay, Great Grimms in Literature:


The Brothers Grimm are well-known figures in the literary world, famous for their book of fairytales. Popular stories such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood can be credited to them. But who are the men behind these tales, and how have they inspired countless generations over the course of history? What is it about these stories that make them relevant even in these modern times? Read on to discover the truth behind the tales...

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born and raised in Hanau, Germany, spending a fairytale childhood wandering the Wald of their homeland by day and listening to their mother spin a tapestry of tales by the hearth at night. The brothers lived in a state of bliss until their father, Phillip Wilhelm, died when they were barely teenagers. The whole family was devastated, as the brothers were not the only children in the house.

The brothers went on to study law and linguistics at many different universities across the land. They shared a passion for words, language, and writing. Jacob landed his first major job out of school in 1808, as Court Librarian to the king of a land called Westphalia. Wilhelm continued to study, developing a passion for folktales and fantasy. The tales gave him a sense of patriotism for his divided country, all the states like a patchwork quilt of diversity. However, with Napoleon’s reign over the populace, it was as if the cloth were being cut up with rough scissors. Wilhelm dreamed of a united Germanic nation. He hoped the countrymen would bond over their collective traditional tales. He persuaded his rational brother to help him set out on a pilgrimage across the land, collecting the stories spoken in their childhoods and learning new legends as well. In 1812, their collaboration was complete.

Tales of Children and the Home (Kinder und Hausmärchen) was an instant hit in Germany. Though the brothers did not write these tales themselves, the stories are often attributed to them. In truth, these tales were exchanged decades before the Brothers Grimm had even been born!

Wilhelm married, and the brothers spent the rest of their lives working on more scholarly pursuits. Grimm’s Law, a set of statements that illustrate how sound shifts in the European languages change words over time was named after discoveries made by Jacob in 1822.

Wilhelm and Jacob’s biggest project was a dictionary documenting every single word in the German language, which they worked on together for many years. The dictionary contained 33 volumes! Unfortunately, they died before the dictionary was complete, leaving off at the letter ‘F’. Their children, their children’s children, and future generations carried on the work until 1960. Though their lives were brief, their work left behind a legacy...

Over the years, the tales travelled from their homeland of Germany with immigrants who carried on the tradition of storytelling in America. Nowadays, the tales are still prevailing in popular culture. Most children grow up listening to the famous fairytales read to them at bedtime or watching animated film adaptations. The stories are engraved in our collective consciousness. Countless writers have been inspired by the Grimm Brothers to create original works of fiction. From children’s books to adult literature, these new stories are sure to entertain!

A new series by Michael Buckley titled The Sisters Grimm is aimed towards young readers who like mystery. The plot centers on the lives of two sisters: Sabrina and Daphne, who discover their heritage as descendants of the Brothers Grimm themselves. The girls move to their new hometown, a fairytale dimension separate from our world. In this strange place called Ferryport Landing the characters from the tales are alive and well. These people, known as Everafters, live forever but must remain in the confines of the town because laws set by the Grimm family ages ago. The sisters become fairytale detectives, solving mysteries around town and eventually unravelling the greatest mystery of all... The Sisters Grimm adds an element of detective story to the timeless tales.

A work of fiction that would appeal more to adults is Grimm’s Last Fairytale by Haydn Middleton. This novel is set in Germany, 1863 and focuses on the last days in the life of Jacob Grimm. Having lost his brother and now the sole survivor of the Grimm saga, Jacob travels around the country with his niece revisiting places of key importance in his life. Weaving in and out of the present are tales of Jacob’s past and a re-telling of Sleeping Beauty heavy with symbolism. This fictional book reads like fact on the life of Jacob Grimm, and is a must-read for any fan of the Grimms!

A wacky and wild new series called Grimm’s Circle really branches out on the Grimm genre. In the first book of the series, Candy Houses, the plot of a famous fairy tale gets a darkly grim twist with a dash of paranormal romance. Greta was the little girl who wandered into the woods long ago, but did not get the happy ending we often hear at the end of the tale. Instead, she became a Grimm, a supernatural guardian angel who fights demons and monsters for the good of all humankind. This book is best for young women who want a more exiting bedtime story. The stories inspired by the tales collected by the Brother’s Grimm are as diverse as the states that originally birthed them.

There are too many tales inspired by the Grimm’s to count, but what about people inspired by them? The name Grimm has become synonymous with fairytale author in popular culture. Two new Grimms stand out in particular. Alice and Ariel Grimm are two writers with a penchant for folklore, fantasy and of course, fairytales. An uncanny coincidence of two soul step sisters who have never met in real life, both chose the name of Grimm as their nom de plume and started blogs to perfect their composition skills. The two discovered each other online in 2009 and have been blogging buddies ever since. Some say they are the female incarnations of Jacob and Wilhelm themselves. Ariel Grimm runs a story blog called The Forest, featuring true fairytales and articles on living an enchanted life. Alice Grimm hosts the Grimm Tea Party, a blog about all things macabre. She is always the first to know about fairytale news and movies being adapted from the tales of the Brothers Grimm. Ariel works as a Page in a library and attends school part time. She lives in a world of fantasy sometimes even forgetting to do her homework until the last minute. Alice is a strict scholar who stays up late writing reports for folklore classes and medieval studies. Call it coincidence or kismet; these sisters are stamping their Grimm style on the blogosphere for good!

What is it about the Brothers Grimm and these timeless tales that continue to inspire us even to this very day? With new media coming out inspired by the fairytales all the time, our obsession is only growing… Perhaps it is a longing for the charm of European folk life, or a feeling of wanting to escape to a fairytale world and find out very own happily ever after. Whatever it is, the appeal of the Grimms and their original tales will not be going out of style any time soon. This is the story. I have told it to you, and now I leave it in your hands. Do with it what you will...


And there you have it dear guests!
Thanks once again to Ariel Grimm for sharing her writing with me and allowing it to be posted here at The Grimm Tea Party

Stay Spooky,

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Fairytale Tuesday: Beastly

Happy FairyTale Tuesday!

Originally I was going to talk to you today about the latest Chronicles of Narnia film to hit theatres, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but instead we’ll be looking at another film which I have wanted to talk about for some time, an up coming film, Beastly.


Here’s the trailer:


For some further explanation, here’s the plot synopsis from Dread Central:

Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer) has it all – looks, intelligence, wealth, and opportunity – and a wicked cruel streak. Prone to mocking and humiliating “aggressively unattractive” classmates, he zeroes in on Goth classmate Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), inviting her to the school’s extravagant environmental bash. Kendra accepts, and, true to form, Kyle blows her off in a particularly savage fashion. She retaliates by casting a spell that physically transforms him into everything he despises. Enraged by his horrible and unrecognizable appearance, he confronts Kendra and learns that the only solution to the curse is to find someone that will love him as he is – a task he considers impossible.

Repulsed by his appearance, Kyle’s callous father banishes him to Brooklyn with a sympathetic housekeeper (LisaGay Hamilton) and blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris). As Kyle ponders how to overcome the curse and get his old life back, he chances upon a drug addict in the act of killing a threatening dealer. Seizing the opportunity, Kyle promises the addict freedom and safety for his daughter, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), if she will consent to live in Kyle’s Brooklyn home. Thus begins Kyle’s journey to discover true love in this hyper-modern retelling of the classic “Beauty and the Beast” story.

The film is based on a book of the same name by Alex Flinn. I have yet to read the book but plan to when I get the chance. My knowledge of the book mainly comes from the book review by Melina Pendulum on her Live Journal.

So what does this book (and thus the movie) have to offer us? It is after all based on a fairytale that we all know so well. Melina says in her review, “We know how this story goes and honestly, other than the modern update Beastly doesn’t do anything special. It is a note for note retelling of a story we all know by verbatim.”

And what about the beauty character in the book? “...our beauty is a shy, sweet, book smart, average looking girl named Lindy. Lindy's appearance is the only thing that separates her from “Beauties” of past. With her red hair, freckles, green eyes and crooked teeth, she would have never been the Beast's ideal in his past life.”

Wait a moment, that doesn’t quiet sound like the character Vanessa Hudgens is portraying in the film... Oh dear. Melina ends her review on this note, “There is a movie adaptation of Beastly coming out and since Vanessa Hudgens is playing Lindy, I guess the moral of the story was lost in production.” Melina gives the book a final grade of C+ and if you’d like to read her full review, you can check it out here.

What do you think about the film my dear guests? Have any of you read the novel? Do you think you’ll go see the film in theatres? I’m a great lover of the Beauty and the Beast story, so of course, I’m looking forward to it. And I have to be honest it feels like ages since I saw an Olsen twin in a film, so I can’t lie, I’m excited to see Mary-Kate on the big screen again. What can I say? The twins were part of my childhood.

So, what else can you expect from The Grimm Tea Party this week? On Friday we’ll be having our first Freaky Friday where we’ll talk about Beastly once more, specifically how the Beast in the film looks like, and how I’m a little disappointed. Yes, as an admirer of the grotesque, I’m a little under-whelmed. I’ll show you some “beasts” that are in no way under-whelming.
And tomorrow on Wednesday, we have a guest post!

Stay Spooky,

Monday, December 13, 2010

Music Monday: Jessye Norman

Happy Music Monday to you all!

This post is dedicated to my mom, who will (hopefully) never read this blog, but it is dedicated to her nonetheless. In this post we’ll be looking at some of the Christmas music of Jessye Norman. It is Jessye Norman’s Christmas album Christmastide that is my mom’s all time favourite Xmas album, hence why this post is for her


First, a little background on Ms. Norman:

“Jessye Norman (born September 15, 1945) is an American opera singer. Norman is one of the most admired contemporary opera singers and recitalists, and one of the highest paid performers in classical music. A true dramatic soprano with a majestic stage presence, Norman is associated in particular with the roles of Aïda, Cassandre, Alceste, and Leonora in Fidelio. Norman has been given the nickname ‘Just Enormous’ for her powerful voice and range...”
And believe me “just enormous” is very appropriate Her voice is simply amazing. While her style of singing may not be your cup of tea, I do not think it can be denied that her voice is a beautiful & powerful instrument.

Speaking of her voice, I didn’t realise that there were certain “voice types” I just thought a soprano was a soprano. For any of you who have knowledge of these things, perhaps you can offer your own thoughts on her voice in the comments.

“Norman is most often referred to as a dramatic soprano but unlike most dramatic sopranos, Norman has become known for roles more traditionally sung by other types of voices. … Some vocal critics assert that Norman is not a dramatic soprano but has in fact a rare soprano voice type known as a Falcon. The Falcon voice is an intermediate voice types between the soprano and the mezzo soprano that is similar to the dramatic soprano but with a darker-color. Norman, however, refuses to place any labels on her voice...”

Getting back to her music, it was her Christmas album, Christmastide, which my mom always played (and still does) at Christmas time when I was growing up. Yes, at my home, there’s never a trace of Frosty the Snowman playing, it’s Jessye Norman, the Westminster Cathedral choir, or the album Christmas Goes Baroque, which has in recent years become a close second to Ms. Norman’s album. I think it’s because of all these classical Christmas albums that I found myself, in my teen years (and to this day), drawn to the music of (old) Nightwish, and other bands which feature female leads and have that classical/soprano influence.

So how about hearing some of this fantastic music? Here are some of the songs I found on YouTube. These all seem to be taken from a TV Christmas special at Ely Cathedral. If anyone has any more information about these performances, you can let me know in the comments

O Holy Night
I get cold shivers when listening to this song, especially at about 1:00, now this is what you call epic

Adeste Fideles
The all boys choir at the beginning are simply lovely

Christmastide
This is one of mom’s favourites

Silent Night

Stay Spooky,

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Tangled: a review

Hello my dear guests & happy Sunday to you!

No Fairy Dust & Happy Thoughts today but instead a movie review. Well, maybe not so much an organized review but my rambling thoughts & impressions on Disney’s Tangled. I shall do my best not to reveal too much, I do not wish to spoil the film for you. I was going to wait until Tuesday to post this, as part of FairyTale Tuesday, but why wait?

With the bus strike still happening in my city (today is day 25 of the strike!), I’ve been coming down with a bit of cabin fever... I am a house-rat by nature, but even the most diehard house-mouse needs to get out of her home once and awhile. Last night I went out to see Tangled & do a little shopping... but I’ll save those finds for another post!

To refresh your memory, here’s a trailer for the film:


Hmm, safe to say we’re not dealing with classic Disney here. The people behind the film have said in interviews that they’ve been inspired by the Disney classics, which is great, but it’s not enough to make this a classic, which is what I want, not sure about the rest of you, so I’ll speak for myself.

I hope I’m not coming across too harsh already in this post, because I really did enjoy the film! I’m a real sap when it comes down to it. The Disney logo of the castle shows up in the opening & I’m already feeling emotional. Heck, even before the logo comes up, I’m getting all choked up over the trailer for the new Chronicles and Narnia film! Yes, I am indeed hopeless, in so many ways! Indeed, Tangled does have its sweet & emotional moments. I’d like to get into those, but like I mentioned before, I do not wish to spoil the film for you.

The film is also pretty funny. There were moments when I actually laughed out loud, which is a rare thing for this shy house-mouse to do in a theatre. When I watched the film Saturday night, there were tons of kids there (the early showing in the afternoon had actually gotten sold out!) & all these kids seemed to enjoy it. There was lots of laughter. And better still, they were well behaved.

This may surprise you, since I am not a “kid person”, but I like going to see kid’s movies when there are actually kids there. I love to see, or rather hear, their reactions. Goodness knows there was some excitement when the trailer for the Justin Bieber film came on during the previews. However, what I do greatly dislike about going to see kid’s movies is when there are certain children sitting behind you who kick your seat and throw popcorn at you, while they’re parents are sitting next to them... I have said it before, but it needs repeating: Parents, control your children.

As for the 3-D, well, maybe I’m falling out of love with 3-D, but I don’t think it added to the film. Yes, it did have its moments when it was very 3-D (unlike a certain Dreamworks film, *cough* Shrek 3). But I do not think it was really necessary for it to be in 3-D.

While I really wanted to love the look of the film, with its crisp and clear digital look, which I had originally been excited to see, I just couldn’t. Myself, and many others I am certain, would have loved to have seen traditional animation being used. It was alright, but really didn’t add to the film, much like the 3-D.

It also bothers me that there are no real memorable songs. That’s one of the things that I love about the older films, they always had amazing songs! Even today, if you ask someone what they’re favourite Disney song is, I’m sure they have one, no matter how old they are, and might even be able to sing it for you! They were songs that got stuck in your head, and refuse to leave, and to be frank, you don’t want them to! Even The Princess and the Frog had good musical numbers in it. In Tangled, they leave something to be desired.

That being said, the short song that Rapunzel sings, is rather nice, but it’s no “Be Our Guest”.


And while there are no real memorable songs, the score is rather lovely. It is Disney veteran Alan Menken who composed the score. He’s worked on Disney classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and others. Also, speaking of Mr. Menken, he’s now got his own star on the Hollywood walk of fame! You can read more about it here.

The part of the score called “Kingdom Dance” has to be my favourite. It reminded me of the Celtic inspired score heard in How To Train Your Dragon. The scene that goes along with this part is also one of my favourites in the film. It really does make you want to put on your favourite ankle length skirt and go twirling and dancing! It’s at 1:10 when the song really gets going.


As for our new Disney princess, I like her well enough. Belle already has my heart, so I am really bias in this. But Rapunzel is pretty kick-ass, I’ll give her that. Beating people up with a frying pan? Genius. Not to mention her hair has so many uses, so often in the film she uses it like rope to help someone up her tower or escape from the pursuers.

And I can’t talk about this film without mentioning the show stealer, Pascal


I really feel Pascal, Maximus the horse as well, turned out to be great characters. Pascal has some great moments, with his pestering of Flynn and his cute way of changing color!

Final thoughts: if you’re thinking about seeing it, just go! Even if you have major doubts about it and are a die-hard fan of the classics, I’d say give this film a chance! You may find something you adore about this film. But the film does leave something to be desired. Leaving the theatre I did not feel like my spirits were lifted as high as they could have been. But I am still very happy I went to see it, and would like to see the film again, but I don’t think it’ll be added to my Disney film collection.

Are you planning on the film or have you already seen it?

What are you thoughts on the film?

Stay Spooky,

Monday, October 18, 2010

Music Monday: Music of the Middle Ages



Hello and good Monday to you!

This post comes to you a little late because I took an after supper nap. I’ve been feeling a little sickly the last two days, but I think by tomorrow I’ll be much better

Today we look at some music from the past, Music of the Middle-Ages!

This term one of the courses I’ve taken is the introduction course to Medieval Studies, and I love it so much! It’s one thing to read about gothic cathedrals and Arthurian legends on your own, but studying it in a class takes it to a whole new level, and gives learning the sort of structure that I haven’t quite been able to apply to my own personal studies ^^’

The section we’re dealing with now is what the prof is calling The Latin Legacy. We’re covering cathedrals and the writings of saints and monks. Love it! We’ve also taken a quick look at some of the music. The music is simply beautiful, and got me to start searching... And that’s how I found SwingingRingaDing’s YouTube channel. It was just what I was looking for.

There were a good many songs which were ladled “Music for a Knight”, take a listen to some of my favourite below!

Saltarello


Entre Av'e Eva


A l'entrant d'este


Isn’t that just lovely? It reminds me a little of some of the folk bands I listen to. Fair to say some of them have taken inspiration from the medieval period.

Some other songs were labelled “Music of the Church”. This is my new music to relax to. School life is stressful at times, and it’s great to have a way of dealing with stress. For me I deal with negative emotions with music.

Da pacem


Iacta cogitatum tuum


Adorabo


What do you think my guests? Which did you like better, the music of the Knights or the Church? Or is it just not your cup of tea? Is there music of a particular time period that you adore?

Thanks for reading!

Stay Spooky,

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Fairytale Tuesday: The Candy Shop – A Fairytale About…













The Candy Shop is a short film (that will be released next month) & it is not a pleasant tale. This is something real. So what’s this film all about?
“The film is a Fairytale/Parable about the child sex trafficking epidemic that has overrun our city of Atlanta. We are using the film to not only raise awareness but provoke meaningful action towards this issue taking place in our own backyard.

Up to 500 under aged girls a month are trafficked for sex here in our city of Atlanta. It’s the number one city in the country for child sex trafficking... The 10th in the world.”
Here’s the trailer for the film:

The man who owns the candy shop is like Willy Wonka meets the Child Catchers of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (anyone else remember how creepy he was?!). And I love the outfit the first little girl in the trailer is wearing, yes, my inner Lolita wants the skirt, or something similar ^^

I wish this film all the best; I hope it gets the word out there about these crimes. I also hope that this won’t lead to just people talking about the issue but doing something, & luckily that’s exactly what these film makers have in mind.

You can visit their official website here, Stop The Candy Shop

What do you think of the trailer?
Is this a good way to bring awareness to an issue?

Stay Spooky,

Monday, October 11, 2010

Music Monday: The Company of Wolves Soundtrack


Hello and good Music Monday to you!

Today we’ll be listening to the soundtrack for the 1984 horror fantasy film, The Company of Wolves.

For those not familiar with the movie, here’s the trailer below. I warn you though; there are a few nasty looking moments in the trailer.


The movie was based around three stories by Angela Carter which appear in her book The Bloody Chamber. The stories were “The Werewolf”, “Wolf Alice”, and “The Company of Wolves”. I highly recommend all three stories and The Bloody Chamber, if you are a fan of dark fairytales.

In the film appears the story of “Little Red Riding Hood” with many dark twists and turns. There is also the presence of werewolves, which do show up in some early versions of the Red Riding Hood story. The story is filled with symbolism which conveys the themes of loss of innocence, hitting puberty and awakening of sexuality. The look of the film has a haunting feeling about it, with gorgeous sets, simple cottages in a primeval forest. It’s just the way you imagine a fairytale to be.

In the film, a very young Sarah Patterson (she was only 12 when the movie was filmed!) plays the little red riding hood character, Rosaleen. Her grandmother is played by Angela Lansbury, who you may recall was the voice of Misses Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The very handsome huntsman is played by Micha Bergese.

The movie is my all time favourite werewolf movie, and I cannot say enough good about the film. Being filmed in the 80s, there’s no fancy CGI here but good old fashioned puppetry, used in the bloody werewolf transformations. Also in the film is an amazing soundtrack

There is a haunting violin theme that occurs through the film, you can listen below


I’ve tried to pick out some other favourites from the soundtrack, but I don’t think I want to flood this blog post with videos. I can however suggest you check out YouTuber Borgarborgen channel where the entire soundtrack has been uploaded.

My favourite quote from the movie is spoken by Rosaleen. In the soundtrack it appears on the first track, while in the movie it is spoken at the ending. It is the original moral of the story that appears in an early version of The Little Red Riding Hood tale.

Little girls, this seems to say, never stop upon the way.
Never trust a stranger friend; no-one knows where it may end.
As you're pretty, so be wise. Wolves may lurk in every guise.
Now as then, 'tis simple truth, sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth.





Stay Spooky,




Links

The Company of Wolves on IMDB
The Company of Wolves on Wikipedia
The Company of Wolves soundtrack on last.fm
If you fancy watching some (or all) of the film, it has been uploaded to YouTube by FlightxOfxFantasy

Monday, September 20, 2010

Music Monday: Blind Guardian's At The Edge Of Time



Hello and Good Monday to you, & welcome to another Music Monday!

Today we take a look at Blind Guardian’s latest album (which came out this summer) At The Edge Of Time. Take a look at the album preview below:



My favourite song from the album is “Curse My Name”





BG is a power metal band from Germany, & within the realm of power metal, they are one of the finest bands. With album titles like “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” & “Imaginations From The Other Side”, you can tell that their lyrics are fantasy filled. Their song’s subject matter has been inspired by the works to Tolkien to legends & myths. Their songs truly are epic

The band’s had a special place in my heart since I discovered them in my early high school days. When I got in high school, with the help of the internet, I began to discover music that I really liked. I no longer just listened to what all of my friends were listening to or what was on the radio or television. It was through BG that I discovered many other power metal bands & other types of metal as well, like symphonic metal. Yes, it was BG that helped me find my beloved Nightwish. But my love of Nightwish is another story for another day, they deserve a blog post all their own

How I originally heard of BG was through Neopets. Oh dear yes, Neopets. Does anyone else remember that site? The site provided me with much amusement in junior high When I was on the site, I was part of a guild that had a Middle-Earth theme. Very nerdy, I know, I loved it It was one of the members of the guild that brought up BG, mentioning the album Nightfall in Middle-Earth. I searched for the band, book-marking their homepage, but it was some time before I bothered to look for their music. But when I did, it was love at first sight,err,hearing

One of my all time favourite songs from the band is “The Bard’s Song-In The Forest”. The music video is simple, but the song is beautiful. It’s a crowd favourite when they play live. It’s amazing to hear concert recordings of the song; it’s all the more beautiful to hear the audience sing along. I highly recommend looking up such videos on YouTube.



Tomorrow will take us away
Far from home
No one will ever know our names
But the bards' songs will remain
Tomorrow will take it away
The fear of today
It will be gone
Due to our magic songs


Yes, I am getting very off topic here, considering this post is meant to focus on BG’s new album, but I cannot resist sharing old favourites of the band with you all

Another picture, which is of great amusement to me, I just have to share it with you. The title of the image is “Guardian's Real Audience”, & I believe that title to be true.



So my dear guests, what do you think? Are you a bit of a metalhead like myself? Or is metal not your cup of tea? What of BG’s lyrics/subject matter, does it intrigue all you fantasy inclined folk?

Stay Spooky,



BG official website:

BG on last.fm page:

BG lyrics on DarkLyrics:

Monday, September 13, 2010

Music Monday: Blackmore's Night - Autumn Sky




Welcome to the first Music Monday here at The Grimm Tea Party!

Music Monday is where I will be featuring songs, albums, bands, or artists that are my cup of tea. To start this new feature off, we have Blackmore's Night latest album Autumn Sky.

I only discovered Blackmore’s Night this year, but they’ve become one of my favourites. It’s the sort of music you always wished for, but just didn’t know where to find it. Their genre is a little hard to describe, it’s (as wiki puts it) Renaissance-inspired folk rock. Give a listen to the album preview below:



Just by listening to the album preview, I’ve picked out my favourites: “Sake Of The Song”, “Keeper Of The Flame”, “Vagabond (Make A Princess Of Me)” & “Song And Dance”. Haven’t not yet listened to the album in full I’m still not sure where I would rank the album in regards to the rest of BN’s work, but I don’t think it could replace Fires At Midnight as my favourite BN album.

Autumn Sky teaser & interviews:


Blackmore’s Night CD Autumn Night is now available, having been released September 3rd, 2010.

So, what do you think? Did you like it? Had you even heard of Blackmore’s Night before now? Maybe it’s just not your cup of tea, and that’s fine. Maybe next time I’ll serve something to your liking.

Stay Spooky,
Alice Grimm


Blackmore’s Night Links:

Official site
BN Wikipedia page
Last.fm
BN on Facebook
Ritchie Blackmore on Facebook
Candice Night on Facebook

Friday, July 16, 2010

Disney will be making a live-action gargoyles film?



I have news for you today, dear guests, news of a film in the works, a Disney film. Some of you may recall a television show that was made by Disney and aired in the 90s. Allow me to further to refresh your memory.



It was only when I discovered clips of the show on YouTube that I recalled ever watching the show as a child. Now having re-watched many of the episodes, it is surprising just how good it is, especially the plot. This is often a comment that is made about the series, just how well the series was written. And now Disney is getting set to make a live action film about gargoyles. Here’s the catch, they’re not basing it on the TV series Wait, what?

This I do not understand. Why would Disney want to create a completely new story, when already there exists great source material and a fan base? This is the age of remakes and reboots! It is the perfect time for a live-action film based on the Gargoyles TV series to be made! Not to mention the technology is there. With films like Avatar being made with spectacular use of technology, this is the time for Gargoyles. Maybe there is something I am not seeing in all of this. I’m sure Disney has their reasons. They better be good. They are saying that they will be creating a mythology for the creatures, which should be interesting. I will be keeping my eye on this project.

Further more, another issue that needs to be addressed... So the thing is, what we all think a gargoyle to be, is not what a gargoyle really is. Yes, Disney lied to you, yet again.

If you look up the definition for gargoyle it says:
"In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building."

In an interview with TheoFantastique , Gary Varner author of Gargoyles, Grotesques, and Green Men: Ancient Symbolism in European and American Architecture says that:
"Gargoyles serve a very utilitarian purpose as water spouts. In fact, only these features constitute a true gargoyle—anything else is considered a 'grotesque.'"

Water spout? That doesn’t sound like out Goliath.


And that’s because it is not what he is. Then how is a grotesque defined?
"In modern English, grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, fantastic, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus is often used to describe weird shapes and distorted forms such as Halloween masks. … More specifically, the grotesque forms on Gothic buildings, when not used as drain-spouts, should not be called gargoyles, but rather referred to simply as grotesques, or chimeras."

So now you know, a small tidbit of information which I hope you all keep in mind the next time you are looking at Halloween decorations, or perhaps looking up at the carvings on an older building, with your friends and one draws your attention to the "gargoyle", I hope you will remember, and correct them, politely mind you, that it is really a grotesques. Let’s start a revolution and write this wrong!

What do you think my dear guests? Is this film a good or bad idea? Did you watch the Gargoyles series as a kid? Would you rather see Disney make a film based on the series or leave the series as is and make a start fresh for the film? And, be honest, did you know the difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque? I know for a very long time I didn’t know!

Stay Spooky,


Links:

If you would like to learn more about gargoyles (in architecture that is) I suggest you check out the full interview with Gary Varner, over at TheoFantastique

Articles about the upcoming Disney film:

Disney Getting Back into the Gargoyles Game

Disney Wants To Make A Movie About Gargoyles

Disney Is Developing A Live-Action Gargoyles Film, Not Based On Animated Series

Friday, June 4, 2010

RE: La Fille Damnee

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Good Friday to you Guests!

I have a belated post for you today, very late, very late indeed! I have an update to the post La Fille Damnee (), I now have the proper French-English translation. This is all thanks to Micheline. While it still might not be the exact translation because as Micheline explained to me in an email, her French is Canadian. The French in the song is from France. The two types of French are very close though, and will give a better understanding than the translation I provided you.

So once again, here is the translation of Cécile Corbel’s song “La Fille Damnee”




Dis moi combien, combien de deniers
Tell me how much, how much money
Forgeron, pour ferrer mon coursier
Blacksmith, to shoe my horse
C'est cinq sols, pour vous mon prince
It's five pounds, for you my prince
Seulement cinq sols et un dernier
Only five pounds and the last

J'etends chanter, j'entends chanter
I hear singing, I hear singing
La fille damnée, j'entends chanter
The damned girl, I hear singing
A la lune montante, j'etends l'oiseau chanter
To the rising moon, I hear the bird singing
Ma jolie, ma si jolie, file dans la nuit
My pretty, my so pretty, girl in the night

Au premier fer que tu mettras
With the first iron which you will put
Mon bon père, il va t'appeler
My good father, he will call
Au premier clou que tu poseras
With the first nail which you will pose
Il va t'appeler "mon père"
He will call "my father"

Qui est ce diable qui m'appelle père
Who is this devil which calls me father
Dis moi qui est-il sur le champ
Tell me who is in the field
C'est ta fille, ta chère fille Jeanne
It is your daughter, your dear daughter Jeanne
Ta fille, morte et enterrée
Your daughter, dead and buried

Dis moi, ma fille, qui t'a damnée
Tell me, my daughter, who your damned you
Là bas sur la lande et les blés
There low on the moor and in the wheat
C'est cet homme le long de la mer
It is a man along the sea
Chaque jour Il venait me trouver
Each day He came to find me

Prenez mon corps mon coeur et ma robe
Take my body my heart and my dress
Sous la lune il faut les brûler
Under the moon they should be burned
A la brune vous jetterez mes cendres
To the tide you will throw my ashes
Au vent, au vent vous les jetterez
To the wind, to the wind you will throw them


A big thanks once again to Micheline for the translation,
I hope you all enjoyed it

Wishing you cool breezes on warm summer days,


Links:
Cécile Corbel's Official Site ()
Cécile Corbel's Last.FM Profile ()

Sunday, May 2, 2010

La Fille Damnee

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One of my new favourite artists is Cécile Corbel. Thanks to Ms Corbel, I think I am finally recovering from my hatred of the French language. Allow me to elaborate, living in the bilingual country of Canada, French is offered in school, and I was required to take it from grade 6 until the end of high school. I was not happy about this, and hence French has always been my enemy. Having been out of high school for some time now, I have had time to get over my dislike of the French language, just in time to enjoy the songs of Cécile.

Her instrument of choice is the harp, giving her songs a Celtic sound to them. She sings in both English and French. Her song “La Fille Damnee” is hauntingly beautiful. It is from her album, Songbook Vol 2. There is also a music video for the song, which can be found on YouTube (and I’ve posted it below). One of the things that irritated me about the comments for the video was that people kept asking for the lyrics and yet the lyrics were there in the comments section! This is why before you ask anything in a YouTube video check the video description and the comments section. Your question may have already have been answered. Such was the case in the music video for “La Fille Damnee”.

As for what the song is about, user PoirotAndCo () explained in the comments: “Its the story about a [man] who goes to a blacksmith to shoe his horse. As the blacksmith starts working, the horse starts speaking with the voice of the man's dead daughter Jeanne. She tells her father that she was damned because she met every night with a strange man in the moor. She [begs] her father to take "her body, her heart and her dress", to burn them and to throw the ashes into the wind...”

User BugBug81 () provided the French lyrics...