The Joys of Local Journalism (or How I Discovered I Was Heir to the Throne of Camelot)

Local Man Arthur O'Neill

I mentioned a while back that I’d recently found a new job. Well I haven’t lost it yet, I’m glad to report. It’s up at my local newspaper, where I’ve worked on and off over the years. I love where I live and I love being a journalist so it’s pretty much perfect really. Especially when you get stories like the one I wrote last week; the one where I found out that not only was King Arthur actually an honest-to-god real-life person, but he was from Inishowen!  And there’s more - it turns out there’s even a chance I’m descended from him. You could be too! Seriously folks, the King Arthur.

Let me explain. According to new research by English historian Dane Pestano, Arthurian legend may very well have originated from a historical sixth-century High King of Ireland. Said king being Muircertach MacErca, who ruled from An Grianan and was the great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages. For any of you  not familiar with him, Niall was a legendary Ulster king who was apparently quite the ladies’ man. Genetic studies have found that around 20% of males in the north of Ireland and south-west Scotland carry his Y-chromosome and it’s believed up to six million people in the world today could be descended from him. As I said, he must’ve got around a bit.

An Grianan- the original Camelot?

That means there’s probably a fair chunk of the population round these parts who are related to MacErca too. Until recently not much was known about him, but a few years back Mr Pestano uncovered a lost tale in an old manuscript which led him on his Arthurian adventure. In his short book, Dane explains how the life MacErca, who also ruled from Grianan, almost exactly mirrors that of the man the Welsh and Britons knew as Arthur. Drawing upon both historical record and old folktales, here are just some of the links he identifies:

• MacErca was supposedly the first Christian king of Ireland and ruled at the same time as the mythical Arthur;
• His name can be translated as ‘Arthur’ and his wife’s name mirrors that of Gwenevere when translated into Welsh;
• As a child he was fostered by a driud;
• He conquered Gaul and assumed sovereignty of Britain, The Saxons, Scotland, The Orkneys, and Denmark;
• He was in possession of the Lia Fáil (the Stone of Destiny);
• There was a Merlin-type character, the bishop Cairneach, who guided him in his conquests and who could apparently perform magical feats;
• The idea of Morgan LeFey may also have originated here since there is one folktale which tells of a fairy woman who tried to seduce then murder MacErca;
• Finally, according to legend MacErca succumbed to the symbolic ‘triple death’.

MacErca was also the grandson of Eoghan, whom Inishowen is named after, and he was the uncle of another famous local lad, St Colmcille (aka St Columba), who had the gift of prophecy and was a bit of an Irish Nostradamus.  I think the Glastonbury tourist board are going to have to review their brochures because if MacErca is indeed Arthur then his links to this area are incredible. When I was chatting to Dane on the phone about his work he said that Bettina over at Guarding Grianan Aileach may even have discovered the actual Round Table at the ring fort. How cool is that!

I think by now you lot know how much I love history and folklore, especially anything to do with Grianan, so you can imagine how excited I was about this story. I’m such a geek I was as thrilled working on it as someone else might’ve been if they’d gotten to interview their favourite actor or singer or something. Niall and Arthur are like celebrities to me :) 

 I think everyone at the paper thinks I’m a wee bit loopy for getting so excited about it, but I’m not just saying this - I think it’s the most fun I’ve ever had writing a story.  I even discovered a new favourite word, toppling ‘troglodyte’ from it’s long-held first place spot. It’s ‘Galfridian’, as in ‘pre-Galfridian’ meaning ‘existing before Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his famous twelfth century work on Arthur’.  Nice, isn’t it? The stories about MacErca are pre-Galfridian.

Dane’s introductory book, ‘King Arthur in Irish Pseudo-Historical Tradition’, is available to download or order here. It’ll soon be on Amazon etc too and I’ll add those links as soon as I get them. He plans to publish a full edition next year so watch this space.

Doctor Who, Steampunk Style

Steampunk Dalek by Promus-Kaa

Ok, time for the aforementioned geekiness.  Is it odd that I see Doctor Who as ‘geeky’ but not fairies or the idea of grown women holding a mass virtual tea party while wearing funny hats?  I suppose one man’s geek is another man’s freedom fighter. Or something like that. Anyhow, yes, Doctor Who. There’s been loads of it on TV this week.

Saturday was the best. One of the digital channels was showing nothing but Who all afternoon - the old 60s films, that weird attempt at an American one with I and the Terminator, and some more recent stuff too.  Then there was the new episode on BBC in the evening, and then Barca beat United! Ah, Saturday was a good day my friends.  I didn’t leave the sofa. But back to the geekiness…

You see, it’s not that I think watching Doctor Who is geeky, per se, but talking about it online probably is. And talking about it online in relation to steampunk’s gotta be. Which is what I’m going to do now.  Sort of. I’m no authority on steampunk so I won’t be able to talk about it very well. To me it’s just a word that describes certain stuff. Stuff that I generally tend to like.

Sometimes some of that stuff pops up in Doctor Who. I do realise, by the way, that DW isn’t actually ‘steampunk’ as such (though there are those who would argue that it was a precursor for the sub-genre), but it does have it’s moments. Remember that episode with Queen Victoria and the alien werewolves - didn’t they want to build a coal powered spaceship or something?  

 And then there was that Christmas special from a few years ago, the one that was repeated on Saturday and got me thinking about this.  It had The Doctor floating about in a hot air balloon shooting rays from a sleek old fashioned rifle (ok, so it was a temporal converter thingamajig or whatever but it looked like an old fashioned rifle) at a big giant Cyberking - a dreadnought class starship with a steam engine, no less - which was wrecking havoc on nineteenth century London. As I said, I’m no expert…

Anyway, since then that thing’s happened. You know, when you’ve been thinking about something then you start to notice it popping up everywhere?  I’ve come across so much steampunk inspired Who stuff since Saturday!  Like these lovely drawings by Promus-Kaa on Deviant Art. Be sure and check out the fun little descriptions and anecdotes he leaves with each image.

When you’re over on D-Art, you could also swing by for a nosy at Vladislaus Dantes’ gallery. He’s got tons of handcrafted goodies for steam lovers, including these:

I want that TARDIS! Also on Deviant Art (god, they’re a crafty bunch over there), are Sydeian and the adorable K-1889. Aw, just look at his little wiggly megaphone ears! 

Not quite as friendly but certainly as beautiful is this “sewer maintenance machine” prototype by Alex Holden. It’s made from bubble bath! Confused? Click here. 

Finally, I just thought I’d post this for no other reason than it’s one of the cutest things ever:

Sorry, I can’t remember where I got it from. It is cute though, isn’t it?

Ah, The Good Old Days

By Steve Thomas

I’m aware that the last post was shamefully self-indulgent so to make up for it I thought I’d now bring you something unashamedly geeky. It warms me to know that many of you who drop by this little of corner of cyberspace share my love of all things nerdy, so when I came across these retro-style Sci-Fi posters I couldn’t not post them. The Star Wars travel ones are by illustrator Steve Thomas while the Trekkie propaganda posters are available to buy at ThinkGeek. Enjoy!

Reconnecting With an Old Love

 Oblivion concept art.

Oh my! Has it really been a whole week since I last posted? I knew I was getting a bit slack here, but that’s a tad ridiculous.  The reason for my absence is equally pitiful too, so much so I even thought about inventing a more acceptable excuse to peddle. I couldn’t bring myself to lie to you lovely people though, so here’s a wee brief history to put my shameful story in context:

 

 Once upon a time, in the days before I discovered the wonderful realms of blogging, Flickring and Tumblring, I had another technological romance. My first true love in the computerized world- gaming. Yes folks, I was a bit of a gaming geek. In years gone by I would spend hours on end conquering ancient civilisations, exploring medieval castles, governing mega-cities, or building rollercoasters that would make your eyes pop out. It was everything a master procrastinator could wish for.

Over time this passion waned somewhat and I managed to wean myself off what I eventually came to regard as one of the most unconstructive pastimes imaginable. “They’re rotting your brain!” I’d chastise myself, “Go read a book instead!” And so it was that I was able to reclaim enough free time to pursue other endeavours such as this blog.  At least until this week, when, in a moment of weakness, I succumbed to my addiction once more and rekindled an old affair with possibly the greatest game this world has ever known- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. 

 

It was himself who’s to blame; he was wandering around the house one day humming the main motif from the game’s breathtaking soundtrack and the next thing I knew I was rummaging through my desk looking for the disc. Since then I’ve spent my evenings traversing the wild and varied landscape of Cyrodiil; visiting it’s walled cities, joining it’s guilds, foraging it’s woodland for rare fungi and elusive medicinal plants. I’m now as handy with a blade as I am masterful at all schools of magic; as good an armourer as an alchemist; and as devout an occultist as I am a pious pilgrim. Oh, just talking about it makes me want to cut this post short and get back to it!

No. I have to control myself! I wouldn’t mind only this will be my third  time playing it through. You’d think I’d have bored of it by now but nope, it really is that great. I can’t even use the auld ‘better off reading a book’ mindset to dissuade myself either, for Oblivion really is the closet you could ever come to actually living inside one. Honestly, the whole thing is like a well written and fully interactive fantasy novel. The story lines can change depending on the decisions you make too, and the virtual world is so vast and detailed it would take an eternity to tire of it.

Anyway, there you have it- the reason why I’ve been so anti-social online this past wee while. Pretty pathetic excuse really, isn’t it? Well at least I’ve recognised the problem now and can nip it in the bud. Wouldn’t want this particular obsession taking root again, especially not when I haven’t even started on the Christmas presents I’d planned on making. I’m extra poor this year and  really have to take the DIY route as far as I can; I’d bloody better get round to it! I’ve managed to gather up a list of other things-to-do a mile long over the past week too and catching up with all your blogs is high up there on it. So from Monday on there’ll be no more questing for me for a while.

For now, though, I need one last night with my cute but feisty little dark elf avatar. She’s sitting in there, all bored and lonely in my pc’s frozen memory banks, waiting for me to come and take her adventuring. How could I deny her one last outing when I’m going to be abandoning her for who knows how long? Poor wee thing… ;)

Well folks, hope you’re all having a lovely weekend and that it’s more productive then my own is promising to be. I leave you now with a short clip from the game’s intro, in case any of you wanted to get a little taster of what the hell I’ve been babbling about.  Or maybe you’re thinking about a gift for that gamer in your life? If you are then just make sure it’s someone you don’t want to see too often because if you buy them this they’ll likely disappear until July!

Great Scott!

Hello all. Sorry for my absence over the past few days. I was rather embarrassed by my tipsy talk the other night so I’ve pretty much been avoiding this, my real blog, since and have been throwing myself into my Tumblr instead. But then I came across this earlier on when I was supposed to be doing real work and just had to come over and share it with you! 

 

By Watts Industries

Anyone remember the M.M.M.M., that wonderful little contraption that could convert fairy thoughts to music? Well’s here’s another even more monumental invention that’s been hiding it’s light under an Etsy bushel while the world’s scientists continue to slave away in their conventional labs. Yes folks, they said it couldn’t be done but now a little known Bristol inventor has gone and invented a time machine. A TIME MACHINE!!!

According to the manufacturers it’s a “hand held device for traversing the chrono scape”  which transports a willing volunteer through the vortex of time itself. “Feuled by raw liquid ether held in the containment vessel at the bottom,” they continue, “the user has only to wind the clockwork mechanism at the top the desired number of times to initiate chronoporting.” Fair enough.

Ah, but does it work? At $100,000 it would bloody well need to! Now if it was on offer for £9.99 I’d be a bit sceptical myself, but if it costs that much then it must be real. Plus they have photographic proof of its chronosphere-surfing attributes, apparently, which you can view here: video of Watts Industries Time Machine demonstration. I have to admit I haven’t actually watched it myself, it was taking far too long to buffer with my crappy connection, but I’m happy to take their word for it. As aul Fox used to say, I want to believe!

On the whole I think my favourite part of their sales pitch though, aside from their offer of the chance to navigate the boundaries of eternity itself,  has to be their disclaimer:

Watts Industries Accepts no responsibility for chronofreeze, ingestion by theropods, Vexatious encounters with robots and infantication. If raw liquid ether is ingested seek medical attention yesterday.

Don’t say you weren’t warned!

Doctor Who and The Phonies

**WARNING: GEEK ALERT**

Right, so this afternoon I was looking up novelty betting on Paddy Power (always good for a nosy) when I came across a couple of rather disturbing sets of movie-related odds. The first of these involved a certain Time Lord taking his Tardis state-side.  Now I do realise that talk of a Doctor Who film isn’t really news, but the last I heard the BBC had stated it was all speculation. Yet it seems bookies are still laying on prices for who’s going to play the man himself…hmm, very concerning.

Image via weheartit
  

Aside from the fact that a Hollywood remake is simply a bad idea- most of the show’s quirky charm comes from the fact it really doesn’t take itself too seriously, something that would probably be lost on the big screen-  it’s the actors who are being linked with it that are especially troubling. I’m sure a lot of you have already heard about Johnny Depp’s possible involvement. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got absolutely nothing against Mr Depp and that pretty little face of his. In fact, like most girls, I’ve been pretty much in love with him since I was 14. Look at that picture above, how could you not be!  He’s not bad at the whole acting carry on either. But he’s just not The Doctor.  Though when you look at who else PP are putting in contention for the role you realise it could end up much worse:

Hugh Grant? Orlando Bloom? Robert flipping Pattinson??? Nooooooooooo!!! Give me Johnny and his dimples any day over that lot. At least there’s some real Doctors in there, my personal favourite being Christopher Eccleston. (Am I the only person who thought he was the best of the most recent bunch?) Still, the whole thing’s really quite worrying.

Image via Kamikazee Girl 

Even more alarming, however, are their predictions regarding another big screen adaptation, this time regarding one of my all time favourite reads- The Catcher in the Rye. Obviously Mr Salinger’s passing has opened up bidding for the movie rights,  but some books just aren’t meant to be made into films and I honestly think this is one of them. Believe me when I tell you that bookies KNOW STUFF. Their business depends on it. And when one of the biggest names in the business is putting Jaden Smith, Daniel Radcliffe, Justin Bieber and even bloody Michael Cera into the running to play Holden Caulfield, I think my fears are justified. Please, please, please just leave this one alone! 

A Pleasant Surprise

I think this has to be my earliest post ever, but I couldn’t wait I’m so excited! I just logged on to check my emails and, being the addict that I now am, had to have a wee nosy to see how the Etsy treasury I compiled last night went down. A few people liked it and it got some clicks, so that was nice. Then I noticed one of my previous ones from a few days back had loads of comments all of a sudden, and  I thought ‘that’s a bit weird’. Upon further investigation I realised that the good Etsy elves had put my list on their front page this morning!!! Oh, I’m so chuffed!

Said treasury.
(Though if you were on Etsy this morning you may have seen it already!)

My first journal page…

…didn’t really turn out as well as I'd hoped. In fact, it looked so much better a day or two ago but I just had to keep on adding to it and now it’s a bit of a mess. I think himself summed it up best when he said mockingly: “It’s good for you age”. Oh well. It’s only my first go  at this kind of thing and I definitely learned a lot of lessons for the next one. Plus, it was really fun making it. I actually can’t wait to get going on another. Well anyway, here are some shots of it. 

 Sorry, they’re not great images (the shiny things were too bloody shiny for the camera). The writing on the right is an excerpt from Through The Looking Glass. Here’s the full piece because I thinks it’s just the most wonderful Wonderland quote:

At this moment, the Unicorn sauntered by them with his hands in his pockets . . . when his eye happened to fall upon Alice; he turned around instantly, and stood for some time looking at her with an air of the deepest disgust.


"What—is—this?" he said at last.
"This is a child," Haigha replied eagerly, coming in front of Alice to introduce her . . . "We only found it today. It's as large as life and twice as natural!"
"I always thought they were fabulous monsters!" said the Unicorn. "Is it alive?"


"It can talk," said Haigha solemnly.
The Unicorn looked dreamily at Alice, and said "Talk child."


Alice could not help her lips curling up into a smile as she began: "Do you know, I always thought Unicorns were fabulous monsters too? I never saw one alive before!"


"Well, now that we have seen each other," said the Unicorn, "if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you. Is that a bargain?"


"If you like," said Alice.

Winter Is Coming!

Right, so I know most of you won’t care about this but I just have to share my excitement. It’s an itsy bitsy but oh so tantalising teaser trailer for the upcoming Game of Thrones series by HBO. In fact it’s so short that it’s impossible to make any kind of judgement on what the show will actually be like. I hold super high hopes for it though- not only is it from the makers of one of my most favouritest TV series ever (Rome), but it’s based on the first novel in one of my top five fantasy sagas of all time ('A Song of Ice and Fire' by George RR Martin). The only problem I have with it so far is that it won’t be finished till 2011. That’s an eternity!

As I said, I do realise that only geeky dragon crack addicts like myself will actually care about a vague twenty second trailer for a show that won’t be aired for another year or so. Which leads me to wonder what the point of this post actually is…hmm. Well I suppose I can make this recommendation: if you haven’t watched Rome then watch it and if you haven’t read the Ice and Fire books then read them. Do this and weeks of pure escapist joy will be your reward.

Mouldy Art

Petri dishes, lichen and fungi are the inspiration behind these delightful little crochet and embroidery pieces by ELINtm.

        

       

         

Cultural Recycling

Went on a wee visit to lostateminor today and as ever I’ve returned with some fanciful frivolities to share with you. Now these two finds aren’t the usual type of thing I post about- one’s a fashion/cosmetic type thing, the other a geeky tech gadget- but they are both SO cool. (Yes, I said cool. Is it still cool to say cool?)

The first find comes from design company Paperself in the form of these dramatic Chinese-inspired false eyelashes. As you may have already guessed, they’re made from paper. They come in three different auspicious designs-peonies, peach blossoms and horses- and you can check out more images at the company’s website.

The other absolutely brilliant item I have to share is this totally and utterly amazing laptop typewriter. Why had no one come up with this before now? Seriously, why not? It’s genius! Saying that, I’m still not sure exactly how it works. Anyway, it’s from creativeDNAaustira who describe it using terms like “cultural recycling” and “emotionally appealing” in their blurb. Indeed.

I Want To Go Live In A Tree

Maybe it’s just another unfulfilled childhood ambition but I really want a treehouse. And I don’t just mean a glorified garden shed on stilts. No, that wouldn’t do- just think of the spiders! What I want is a proper house in a proper big tree that I can actually live in. Like these fairytale structures from English company Blue Forest.