We wake to the sound of church bells and crying seagulls. The church bells are lovely, the seagulls really screechy, but not so harsh as crows.
It rained last night but the sky seems to be clearing a bit so we can go out and about and not get wet.
Last night the Red Sox, like the best team in baseball played the Astros, one of the worst, and managed to lose! I tried to go to MLB.com but the site was too busy probably from all the baseball news of yesterday.
I’m off on a wild tangent this morning thanks to my pal Eileen. See below.
Ru
Hi Ruth,
The photo you labeled Valkyries is two characters from the cartoon Asterix. There is an Asterix amusement park somewhere in Europe!” from one of my two college roommates, Eileen.
Thanks Eileen, how you know this I don’t know and won’t ask. Best to George too!
http://en.asterix.com/index.html.en is the website for those of you who also thought these folks were Valkyries and this kid is so cute I don’t mind posting the photo again.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix (French: Astérix or Astérix le Gaulois, IPA: [asteʁiks lə ɡolwa]) is a series of French comics written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo (Uderzo took over the writing after the death of Goscinny in 1977). The series first appeared in the French comics magazine Pilote on 29 October 1959. As of 2012, 34 volumes have been released.
The series follows the exploits of a village of indomitable Gauls as they resist Roman occupation. They do so by means of a magic potion, brewed by their druid, which gives the recipient superhuman strength. The protagonist, the titular character Asterix, along with his friend Obelix have various adventures. The "ix" suffix of both names echoes the names of real Gaulish chieftains such as Vercingetorix, Orgetorix, and Dumnorix. Many of the stories have them travel to foreign countries, though others are set in and around their village. For much of the history of the series (Volumes 4 through 29), settings in Gaul and abroad alternated, with even-numbered volumes set abroad and odd-numbered volumes set in Gaul, mostly in the village.
The Asterix series is one of the most popular Franco-Belgian comics in the world, with the series being translated into over 100 languages, and it is popular in most European countries.
The success of the series has led to the adaptation of several books into 12 films: eight animated, and four with live actors. There have also been a number of games based on the characters, and a theme park near Paris, Parc Astérix, is themed around the series. To date, 325 million copies of 34 Asterix books have been sold worldwide, making co-creators René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo France’s bestselling authors abroad.”
Gallia Est Omnis Divisa in Partes Tres (All Gaul Is Divided into Three Parts). The only thing I remember about Gaul is that it was divided into three parts and that was from two years of Latin of which I only remember the passive endings of something.
http://frenchculture.org/books/interviews/interview-alex-alice “As you look forward to the American release of Alex Alice’s graphic novel Siegfried II: The Valkyrie (available May 21 from Archaia), read an interview with his translator, Edward Gauvin. Here, he discusses working in different formats, the challenges of fantasy, and some of his favourite French and American comic artists.” Funny that I never read that comic but I do sort of remember seeing it now that I read about it here. But I’m not much for any comics now.
http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/13316 is an article that compares German Richard Wagner composer of the Valkyries to Italian Verdi composer of La Traviata …… the music to the film Pretty Woman.” Both, of course, wrote other pieces but as a child I danced around the house to The Ride of the Valkyries. dun da da dun dun, dun da da da! And I’ve seen Pretty Woman several times. Intellectual vs emotional is one way the article’s author Patrick West describes it. I’ve no clue how a small kids dancing around the house to Wagner = intellectual image, but maybe it was. But then I am better at research than watercolor, watercolor needing much emotion to get it right. Anyway, this “off on a tangent” came about because I wanted to see if anyone out there in Google Land thought as I did about the Asterix being Valkyries. Funny all that I remember from elementary school but how little I remember from most college classes. But now I’m done and off to get ready for the day exploring more of La Coruña. You’re probably beyond ready for me to be done.
Actually one more thing… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Brisco_County,_Jr. The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. was a great one season western-scifi that had Valkyrie characters. If you never saw it, get the DVDs because it was clever and funny and created by the same folks who did the script for one Indiana Jones movie.
These are not Asterix characters…at least I don’t think so. It’s a close-up of the mannequin from the shop scene. As for the purple and blue cans, they’re probably something I’ve not heard of either.
Actually the mannequin reminded me of a Picasso face and it probably isn’t such an odd thought as he and his family lived here during Picasso’s teen years.
" Casas Museo de A Coruña. House museums.
The Picasso family lived in A Coruña for five years, when the artist was an adolescent and the city influenced his creation. The Picasso House Museum conserves some of these works and is identical to when the painter lived there.” http://www.coruna.es
I’ll make it a point to visit his house…if I can find it.