Roteiro
de férias I: Exposição de instrumentos medievais de tortura
Sim,
finalmente estou de férias e consegui visitar esta belíssima exposição que já me escapou por
entre os dedos inúmeras vezes. Não faz muito tempo que ela passou por Curitiba,
mas a distância do local fez com que minha indolência superasse meu gosto por
Idade Média. Dessa vez ela está passando por São Bento do Sul e eu descobri com antecedência e bem por acaso enquanto ia
comprar cordas para o meu instrumento, já que o museu que está recebendo a
exposição fica bem no caminho da loja que eu precisava ir. Fiquei tão empolgada
que antes de fazer minha visita ouvi repetidamente a música Heretique da banda
Tristania (para entrar no espírito da coisa). Não contente com isso, é claro
que eu aproveitei a oportunidade para ir trajada à época com minha blusa preta
aveludada de camponesa. Por incrível que pareça o pequeno museu que recebeu a
exposição estava lotado para um domingo. Fiquei tão emocionada por estar diante
daquelas relíquias históricas que as pessoas ao meu redor devem no mínimo ter
pensado que sou louca – isso porque elas nem imaginam que passo grande parte
dos meus dias ouvindo baladas medievais.
Quanto
ao que registrei, o que mais me chamou atenção foi a Cadeira da Inquisição,
como segue na primeira foto. Ela foi trazida do Castelo de San Leo, próximo a
Rimini, na Itália. Instrumento essencial usado pelo inquisidor, a cadeira era
usada na Europa Central, especialmente em Nurembergue, onde é usada até 1846
durante regulares interrogatórios dos processos. O réu devia sentar-se nu e com
o mínimo de movimento, as agulhas penetravam no corpo provocando efeitos
terríveis. Em outras versões, a cadeira apresentava o assento de ferro, que
podia ser aquecido até ficar em brasas. Não
consegui registrar tudo ainda, mas pretendo fazer uma segunda visita no próximo
mês. Entre outros instrumentos que podem ser vistos abaixo estão: Antiga
guilhotina (depois da exposição me disseram que tinha um cesto ao lado onde
caia a cabeça da pessoa, mas acho que fiquei tão impressionada com a guilhotina
que não vi...); esmagador de cabeças, chibatas, ferramentas utilizadas para “salvar
a alma do herege”, empalada, flauta do bagunceiro, entre outros.
Já
que meu blog está largado às traças e ao mofo mesmo eu tendo uma quantidade razoável
de coisas atrasadas esperando para serem publicadas, vou aproveitar esta semana
que estarei de folga na faculdade para começar de uma
vez por todas minha série sobre brechós. Dado meu gosto antigo e refinado, não é de se
estranhar que eu tenha uma quedinha por brechós, por isso pretendo escrever
sobre alguns brechós de Curitiba, focando principalmente naqueles localizados
no Centro Histórico da cidade. Curitiba é uma cidade cheia de easter eggs para aqueles
que gostam de se embrenhar pelos quatro cantos em caminhadas de final de tarde,
de olhos arregalados à espreita de lojas interessantes que apenas os mais
astutos encontram. Quando se fala em brechós então a coisa fica ainda mais
empolgante. Após várias caminhadas na Rua Riachuelo eu encontrei a loja
perfeita para iniciar essa série de postagens: Conhecido como “O Brechó do Relógio”, sua
localização estratégica torna o Brechó Curitiba ponto obrigatório na visita de
qualquer pessoa que passe por ali. A fachada do prédio – onde antigamente
funcionava a relojoaria Raeder – chama a atenção de longe, não só por sua
arquitetura antiga e charmosa, mas também por um grande relógio trazido de Leipzig, Alemanha.
A decoração surpreende qualquer fã de antiguidades: são bonecas antigas,
louças, pinturas de diversas épocas, relógios e móveis restaurados por quem
entende de decoração.
O que achei particularmente interessante nessa loja
é a facilidade com a qual se encontram peças para eventos históricos e
teatrais. Em uma de minhas peregrinações em busca de alguma peça para usar no
Torneio Medieval que terá na região metropolitana eu encontrei um lindo vestido
preto de veludo. O corte dele se assemelha mais às roupas masculinas da época,
mas não é nada que uma reforma não dê jeito. O mais surpreendente? Paguei
apenas R$ 16 na peça! Para quem procura por anáguas, o Brechó Curitiba também é
ponto obrigatório. Atentem para o fato de que infelizmente nem tudo na loja está a venda! Quadros, mobília antiga e algumas bonecas são meramente objetos decorativos. Porém, há algumas exceções: Em uma de minhas primeiras visitas ao local me apaixonei por algumas bonecas com mais de cem anos de idade que estavam sendo vendidas para colecionadores (adoraria ter tirado foto delas para incrementar a postagem, mas os compradores foram mais rápidos do que eu). Lindos conjuntinhos de xícaras e píres de porcelana também estão expostos na vitrine, esperando que ladies à moda vitoriana passem em frente com suas sombrinhas e ao vê-las, acabem se lembrando que precisam de louças decoradas para seu chá da tarde... PS: Perdoem meu hábito de tremer na hora de bater a foto, ah, e também a péssima qualidade da minha câmera!
Detalhe do provador e da vitrine: decorados com obras de
arte, lustre customizado e quadros de pop art:
Já pensou encontrar Homer Simpson, Fofão (e seu irmão(?)), E.T., Shreak, Fiona e um dos três porquinhos no mesmo lugar? No Brechó Curitiba isso é possível!
De acordo com algumas matérias que andei lendo
sobre a loja, o proprietário pretende expandir o local transformando-o também
em um café. Seria no mínimo interessante se além de oferecer café e doces o
ambiente também funcionasse ao som de baladinhas retrô, eh?
Para mais informações:
Endereço: Rua Riachuelo, 147 Centro – Curitiba –PR.
Since I couldn’t make up my mind
whether I preferred elves to witches, I decided to blend them hoping to give
life to a gracious female character for upcoming rpg campaigns and also for the
book I (was/am – not sure) writing. I named this sorcerer-elf after my nickname
(or maybe I was named after her…). She’s often the character present in my
drawings, for every artist needs a muse who can inspire him! I have no interest
in listing accomplishments for the new year like methodic people do as a
ritual, but in 2014 I want to put some old projects on its feet, and the first
thing to be done is to start my dream drawing/painting course! My collection of
pencils, tortillions and ink will definitely be put to work as soon as I go
back to Curitiba. According to my schedule I’ll have a few hours off before the
translation class (Yeah! My translation course begins this semester!) which
gives me half a morning to spend at some arts school near my college.
I fucking love witches!
For most of the vacation I watched a
few movies that were on queue for the past 3 years or more, including Blair
Witch I and II, Season of the Witch, Black Death, Robin Hood, Dark Water, Pan’s Labyrinth,
Dark Shadows, Sinister, Mirrors, The Woman in Black and a few others. It was my
mom who awoke my appetite for movies with the wonderful “Sack of Bones”, adaptation
of Stephen King’s novel. Horror movies are great options especially when there’s
a witch on the plot!
Some funny things happened to me
after hours in front of my computer playing, watching the movies above and reading about paganism and witchcraft:
Curious fact one: the combination of
my pills and fantasy movies before going to bedgranted me with weird dreams involving the middle ages, witchcraft,
zombies, me casting spells from Giants Citizen Kabuto and a nighttime flight with
my victorian umbrella ‘.’
Curious fact two: One night I dreamed
of a Blair Witch Project T-shirt. It was dark and I was flying again, holding
a knife in search of victims!
Curious fact three: my family and
friends are pretty concerned about my mental health :x
Curious fact four: I find it all
amazing and am already searching for shirts to customize with the Blair Witch’s
Voodoo symbol! :D
Now, if you feel like sharing the
experience of psychotic dreams, go ahead! These are my favorite witch ladies
and its respective movies:
The Salem Witches (or The Crucible)
The Witch Trials are intensily explored by the film industry, given its rich background involving sometimes the
middle ages or the beginning of the modern age (the number of people accused of
witchcraft in this time was far worse than that of the Middle
Ages). Despite what people might imagine after consuming countless fantasy
books, in New England the suspects of practicing magic weren’t connected to
paganism like medieval folks, most just didn’t follow blindly what was demanded
by the church. But indeed the most fascinating thingthat comes into our minds when we think of witches
are the pagan rituals, gods and goddesses, Celtic mythology, etc. I was always
curious to know how common men could catch such powerful women! They were
suppose to cast spells to defend themselves, so how… In fact I wish they
existed *-* Anyway, The Crucible is not about magic, but about witch trials
against innocent people.
Black Death
Oh this picture reveals exactly the stereotype in which I slot most witches: a beautiful young lady, with long hair, elegant dark
garments, carrying a basket full of mushrooms and other herbs while she wanders
in the woods looking like a defenseless lady… But try to touch her and wait
until she casts a spell to crush you. This girl is the witch and necromancer in
the medieval movie Black Death. The story begins with a few knights reaching a
monastery in search of some monk who can lead them to a heathen village that
seems to resist the plague. Believing that the locals have broken their faith
and alliance with god, they’re gathering strength to kill the witch responsible
for bringing paganism into the Christian England. Obs: Sean Bean is on the
cast, and yes, he dies ._.
Blair Witch Project
If I was a witch I’d want to have Elly Kedward’s power along with the grace of Angelique from Dark Shadows.
The so called "Blair Witch" actually never appeared in the movie, and it was certainly
a fine ingredient to put our imagination to work. Her habitat and voodoos made out
of wood is very proper for an elf, don’t you think?
Dark Shadows
Good movie, though I’m not a big fan
of comedy. It is
said that a man shouldn’t refuse a witch woman’s love, and if he does, he must
suffer the consequences! The movie begins with the return of Barnabas Collins,
a man who was turned into a creature of the night by the sweet Angelique. She
was played by Eva Green, now do you want to know what is funny? A few years ago
she incarnated in another witch: Serafina Pekkala from the Golden Compass. The
only difference is that Serafina is more like a wicca girl, whereas Angelique is
the devil himself. What I like about her? Watch the movie and see the way she
moves her hands everytime she casts a spell. And what can she do? It’s wiser to
ask: what can’t she do.
The Season of The Witch
The best movie ever!! I remember reading
the reviews years ago before the release. At the
time another medieval movie was in progress: Your Highness. Unfortunately this
one was a totally waste of money and time, for it’s a stupid medieval version
of American pie! The Season of the Witch focus on witch trials, but this time some of the women being chased are really
sorcerers. And powerful ones. The story involves a knight (Nicolas Cage) who fought in the crusades and then deserted. Trying to serve the church again he accepts the mission of taking a girl accused of witchcraft to a monastery (very similar to Black Death, eh?). On the way strange things start to happen and the little faith he has left is put at stake. Great movie, and my favorite :D
Faun is a german band that creates beautiful
medieval ballads capable of taking any dreamer back to the middle ages. The
songs lead us through woods filled with mythic creatures, so that we may
encounter elves, witches and fauns, until we finally reach the high lands of
Asgard, where we dance songs dedicated to Iduna.
They evidently create a parallel between Norse,
Egyptian, Greek and Latin mythology (the band’s name is quite suggestive: Faun
is a mythical creature from the Latin mythology bond to fertility, he’s the
kipper of the woods and is usually associated to music). The most known faun is
the god Pan, always represented carrying his flute, while he wanders through
the forest and dances with the nymphs. Some songs bringing concepts of latin
mythology are: Alba (a city believed to have been founded by Eneias),
Lupercadia (Pan’s Temple) and Arcadia (Yes, this term you for so many times
heard during literature classes is the name of Pan’s homeland). In the Greek
imaginary, Arcadia was full of hills and flock of sheeps, away from the cities
(here comes the idea of living in touch with the nature: the bucolic).
Fortunately for deutsch Lerners like me, most lyrics are
written in this language. If you search the translations you’ll find yourself
staring at lovely poetry (and in this case, listening to it). Read some verses
of the song Isis (an Egyptian goddess connected to the nature and magic):~Ich höre
deine Stimme in dem Wind, Ich sterbe im Winter, ich stehe dir bei, Ich wachse im Regen, ich spüre den Wind, Ich spüre die Erde, ich halte dein Kind~ (Eu ouço sua voz no vento, Eu morro no inverno, Eu cresci na chuva, eu posso sentir o vento, Eu sinto a terra, eu acho que sou seu filho).
Von Den Elben
~Muitos
homens são enfeitiçados pelas fadas,
da
mesma forma eu também fui enfeitiçado,
com o
grande charme da melhor
a quem
um homem pode ter amado.~
♥Thymian und Rosmarin♥:
~Du sagst
Du stehst kurz vor dem Ziel
Ich glaube
der, der ich verfiel
Du
sprichst im Traum von einem Ort
den es
nicht gibt, doch bist du dort~
(Você
diz que está à beira
Acredito que por isso me recusou.
Você fala de um sonho, de um lugar que não
existe,
Mas você fala como se estivesse lá.) Das Tor ~Ich werde dir eine Blume geben und du mir eine Ich werde dir meine Hand geben und du mir deine die Nacht, die Nacht, sie wird nicht mehr sein nur eine Wiese mit Blumen~
(Eu vou te dar uma flor E você me dará outra (tradução: mais ou menos isso)
Vou te dar minha mão você e eu a noite, a noite, ele deixará de ser apenas um gramado com flores) Hymn To Pan ~Listen now, Great Pan he calls us From the green wood in his grove 'neath the waxing moon above us Hear his clear flute sweet and low~
The vocals are alternated among
Fiona Rüggeberg, Oliver Pade and Lisa Pawelke. Since 1998, year they banded,
seven full-lengths were launched: “Zaubersprüche”, “Licht”, “Eden”, “Totem”,
“Renaissance”, “Buch Der Balladen” e “Von Den Elben” – not necessarily in this
order. In the oldest albums the songs used to sound more acoustic than
nowadays, but they always added modern tricks, differing themselves from
Krauka, for instance, a band that tries to make authentic Viking music by
playing old instruments rebuilt by archeologists (this is the closer to
viking music we’ll ever hear). Though Faun make constant use of technological
resources , it doesn’t make their music bad at all, for their use of typical
medieval instruments, like bagpipes, flutes, harp, lutes, hurdy-gurdy (intensely
played by the bards), etc, make it possible for any listener to imagine he’s
dancing around the fire of a medieval village, surrounded by magic creatures.
Watch the video below where some of the previous instruments are displayed with
more details:
Eden is my favorite album and
also the first one I had the pleasure of listening to. The first song to slave
my soul was The Market Song: the sweet rhythm of the flute, the lyrics about
medieval fares, the woods in harvest time, the parties and dances – all this
atmosphere combined with a lovely melody. I find this song very similar to
Diese Kalte Nacht, from the album Von den Elben. Curiosity: Eden’s cover art was
drawn by Brian Froud, who works with medieval fantasy along with his wife.
Their work is a real show of goblins, elves, witches, trolls and so on. One of
the most beautiful songs in this album is called Iduna. I know a nice story
about this goddess:
~In the old tales from the Norse mythology it is believed that
there’s a young goddess called Iduna, who’s in charge of carrying a chest of
golden apples capable of keeping the god’s immortality. Without these apples
they’d perish like any mortal creature. Once Odin ordered that a new world
ought to be raised to give the gods some shelter against their worst enemy: the
giants. This world, that would be later called Asgard (the god’s homeland), was
then summoned. One day, while the gods were all gathered admiring the work, a
horseman came close to the party and noticed that the boundaries that should be
protecting Asgard were nowhere to be seen. He offered his work as master
builder, quickly receiving the god’s allowance, especially Odin’s. The problem
began when Loki (another god) decided to make a dare with the horseman: if he
accomplished the task within six months, he could have Iduna’s hand in
marriage. Loki obviously didn’t think it was possible for a mortal man to do
such a thing. Unfortunately, as time passed by, all signs pointed that he would
indeed finish the boundaries in time. Loki was then under the pressure of the
other gods (they were all suspicious about this mere mortal’s extreme
strength), and had to come up with a plan to discover who was that mysterious
master builder. So, one night Loki disguised himself as a female horse, attracting
the man’s horse into the woods. Without the horse’s help, the man had to
reassume his original shape, revealing to be a giant. Thor, then, thrown his
powerful hammer and smashed the giant’s head, who had his body thrown to the
fogs of Nilfheim (the world of the dead).~ ♥
Diese kalte Nacht♥ Alba♥ The Market Song Tanz Mit Mir
Warte Auf Mich♥ Iduna Rani Hymn to Pan Pearl Ynis Avalach Wenn Wir Uns Wiedersehen Thymian und Rosmarin
Parallel universes, wormholes, reanimation, psychokinesis,
precognition, hypnosis, time travel, teleportation, dark matter, a remarkable scientist, his son (who inherited his father’s
incredible intelligence) and a badass FBI agent: this is the unique combination
responsible for making Fringe a brilliant and unforgettable TV series that will
probably be around for generations. Fringe is brainchild of J.J. Abrams and was
broadcasted on Fox from 2008 to 2012. Unfortunately its good ratings didn’t
last beyond season one and began to decrease dramatically from the third
season on. Anyway, we must be grateful to both Fox and fringe’s producers that
agreed to give it a fifth season to put an end to the story rather than leaving
it undone. (It’s needless to say that given its fascinating background Fringe
deserved at least 10 seasons).
Because
of all scientific issues covered by the series (mixing real theories to fiction)
it turned out to be a good option for readers of popular science that are fond
of speculating into scientist’s affairs, even though the principles of physics
required to understand these matters are beyond our grasp. Fringe helped us to
have a glimpse of what’s been going on in the scientific world and this is much
like the work of guys like Carl Sagan, whose books introduce scientific
theories in a more intelligible way. The difference is that Carl Sagan gives science a realistic approach (unless he shared Dr. Bishop taste in working under
effect of drugs, who knows?).
The
story begins with Olivia Dunham, a federal agent who finds herself involved in
a highly classified investigation after having her partner shot in a
bioterrorist attack. In an attempt to save him from whatever was consuming his
tissues, Olivia went after a renowned scientist whose previous works indicates
he’s the only one qualified to help her out. But before she could reach Dr.
Bishop she had to convince Peter Bishop to release his father from the mental
institution where he was been held.
The
background is based on the Level 3
Parallel Universe taken from the “Superstring Theory”, which claims the
existence of multiple universes. Unlike what narrow-minded people might be
thinking this is a serious theory widely studied by physicists. Its
implications are hard to explain (and the fact that I’m a dummy must be taken
into account D:), basically this Level 3 p.u. is a different dimension that
coexists with ours in the same space and time (sadly we can't cross over to the other side like Olivia– not until the day someone creates Corthexiphan :p).
Although we can’t interact directly to this parallel dimension, every decision
we make causes a bifurcation in the timeline (remember that both our universe
and the Level 3 take place in the same time), consequently creating infinite
possible futures and alternate dimensions (Walter explains that with more details in
episodes like “The Road Not Taken”
and “There is More than one of everything”).
I
still remember the first time I watched Fringe and got blown away by the
quantity of easter eggs and leads for next episodes, the hard-to-spot
observers (you gotta freeze the scene to see them), the perfect opening theme and especially by the
way all theories were carried out!After
each episode I would login to sci-fi forums to discuss over ‘n’ theories on whether
the color of a particular object was a lead to something relevant (like when
Peter said to Walter: “the red toothbrush
is mine” – and in fact it turned out to be a crucial part of the puzzle). There’s
a perfect connection between all fringe events and surely every one of the
characters (including the bad guys) have made their way into our hearts in a
way that only fringe is capable of. What’s to be said about David Robert Jones,
the german guy who escaped from prison using a teleportation device created by
Dr. Bishop? Or Newton, the shape shifter responsible for opening a bridge to a
parallel universe?They’re adorable
villains!
And now it's over. It took me a while to recover my senses from the
chock I felt after watching the series finale last friday. It is chocking not
just because Fringe is no more but mainly because of its sad and totally unfair
end. Despite have been born under the sign of pisces (I don’t believe in
astrology, really xD) and considering myself a quite emotional person, crying
with books or movies are very unlike me. Fringe is an exception. As an old fan(atic) I developed a deep connection with
both the story and its characters in a way that I never did before. Each member of the fringe division (Olivia, Peter, Walter and Astrid (or Asteroid, or Aspirin, or Astro or any
other name Walter might have called her – the list is endless!) had a contagious
persona and somehow completed each other. They’re the sort of people I’d like
to have around.
Dr.
Walter Bishop♥, my favorite character. It is impossible not to fall in love with
him right in the early episodes. At moments he would make us laugh as he went about his lab
helping Olivia to figure out what might have caused human decomposition,
mutation, fast-growing-clones, brain damage, human combustion etc – all cases in which he had
previously worked on with his fellow William Bell - the mysterious owner of
Massive Dynamic. The most amusing scenes are with no doubt the ones in which Walter
is tripping with Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, Brown Betty and so many others homemade drugs. Some
scenes still get a laugh out of me even though I’ve already watched them about
5 times. Here you go some of Walter’s quotes that I’m so found of:
They’re
bringing a dying David Robert Jones into the lab in a hurry and Walter is there
entertaining himself with his cow Gene. Peter will say “Walter put the cow away”. And in another occasion as Walter picks
up Peter’s call: “Hello Peter. This is
me, Walter Bishop. Your father”, “Thanks
Walter, I know who you are”. In the episode “The road not taken”, when Peter finally shows a device he created
in order to digitalize Walter’s old discos:
Walter “Thank you, son”, (and looking to Olivia and Astrid) “You know, when he
was five, he built me a popsicle napkin holder. Dreadful design. Utterly
useless.” Peter: “Thank you”. Walter: “But this is… this is…”, Peter: “You’re welcome”. But this one is by
far the funniest: The Fringe team arrives at a warehouse and as they scan the crime
scene and find a hidden shape shifter embryo curled into a ball Olivia asks: “Walter, have you seen anything like this
before?” Walter: “I think I may have.
It's awfully familiar. Ah, yes. It reminds me of a beanbag chair I once
owned... 1974”. ♥
But
our beloved John Noble is also talented in making us feel heartbroken. Fringe’s last scene is certainly a proof of that, for it showed the sketch of a
white tulip and then the screen went black to never again come alive with the
colors of a new episode. Only old fans can understand the meaning this symbol
has to Walter and why it’s so beautiful. The
seventeen years he spent at a mental institution and his reencounter with Peter
changed him into a better man. Before his reclusion he had worked in an area
called Fringe Science and in all his ambition he knew no limits for science
progress, what led him to conduct drug trials on children, among other anti-ethical
researches. In other words, he didn’t much allowed anybody to stay in his way. When Peter fell ill with a rare disease Dr. Bishop did everything within his
reach to save his son’s life, but in doing so he broke the balance between
universes and caused damage beyond imagination. It’s in this very episode
(Peter) that we are introduced to Walter’s old lab assistant, Dr. Carla Warren.
As soon as she discovered Walter’s plans to cure Peter she tried to stop him “Walter there must be a line we can’t cross”
– referring to what she believed to be god’s domain. Dr. Bishop’s response
came sharp: “There’s space for only one
god in this lab and it is not yours”. And that was when Walter crossed this
line and everything began. After all he went through, the only way he could
have his guilty relieved and feel forgiven by god was to receive a white tulip.
In the end who received the tulip was not Walter at all, but… Well, I must stop here otherwise I’ll reveal too much.
I
thought I could go through all the seasons again and again but now I know things
will end in that terrible way. I got such a void inside me at the point of
waking up at the middle of night to think about all the possible alternative
ends, all the “roads not taken” they
could have chosen in order to give fringe a happy end. I felt hope when someone
asked “There must be another way”. I said to myself “Yes! They’re gonna figure
out a way of doing this just like they always did before.” But this time they
couldn’t avoid this fate.
The
Fringe Division faced daunting challenges in both universes and after five
years the journey is over. As tribute to fringe some movies and other series borrowed
the “observers” and displayed them in random scenes, so don’t get alarmed if a
bold guy carrying a briefcase appears out of nowhere in a movie: you’re not
nuts or obsessed (well maybe a little xD). I’m looking forward checking a 12-issue collection
of comics written by Peter (Joshua Jackson) filled with stories about alternate
realities experienced by him while he went missing between the third and fourth
season. In case the comics aren’t enough to satisfy our thirst for Fringe we
might check “October’s Notebook”, a special edition bringing all the data
collected by this observer through the series (fortunately for us it is not written
in the observer’s codes – probably Asterisk managed to translate it into English!)I swear that from now on, whenever I
listen to Bowie’s old classics I’ll picture Walter in my mind and… smile :)
