A Barrel of Bourbon

I took this picture during the family gathering on my wife's side at a Smith and Western restaurant. I enjoyed my time not so much for the food (although it was all right) than for the company and the ambiance, very much western themed. It was like stepping in a giant playground looking like a saloon. And there was this barrel at the entrance. Wolfie wondered what it was, so I had to explain what bourbon is. It's funny, I didn't notice untilrecently how bourbon was associated with westerns. I don't think I ever drank any, except maybe in cocktails. Some of you ever drank bourbon? How is it? Leave me a comment.

Valhalla

Anybody in the mood for some post about Viking mythology? I know it is not Tyr's Day, or Odin's Day or Thor's Day, that said I have not properly blogged about Viking mythology in a long while, so now is as good a time as any. This picture was taken from this book, my reference when it comes to Viking mythology and the drawing is from Giovanni Caselli. It represents of course the Valhalla, the hall where the brave warriors who fell in battle go in the afterlife to prepare for Ragnarok. The image is a bit heavy on pink to my liking, otherwise it is beautiful and as spectacular and richly detailed as the other images from Caselli. You can see Odin's eagle towering over the fortress, which is made of shields and weapons, a wolf's head over the gate and on the roof the cock Gullinkambi, who will crow only once, on the morning of Ragnarok. All of it surrounded by otherworldly fog. Pink otherwordly fog. All the same, it is still an amazing picture. I thought about this morning, as it was misty outside and cool, and it gave the whole surroundings an eerie feel, and I thought of this image of Valhalla.

The Day of Odin

I know I have blogged about the very same topic before. Maybe this post is just a cheap excuse to upload another picture of Giovanni Caselli from Gods and Heroes from Viking Mythology. But I love this picture, heck all the ones of this book and today is, well, Wednesday, the Day of Odin. At the beginning of each chapter, there is a drawing by Caselli that looks like a bookmark, reprensenting symbols related to the story or the subject featured in the chapter. This one is for the chapter called Odin prepares for the Ragnarok. You see the throne of Odin, his spear, his two ravens Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory), the eagle "from his helmet", his two wolves Geri Greediguts and Freki Gobble-up and his eight legged horse Sleipnir and I think what seems to be at the bottom an hourglass, obviously to symbolise the passing of time and the upcoming doom that it the Viking end of days. Pretty much how I often feel every Wednesday, with a certain ominous unease, as if some catastrophe was about to happen. Apart from this flimsy association, the image is just... cool. With two of my favourite animals, the ravens and the wolves. I hope you enjoy. In the meantime, try to remember all these names and you'll impress people with your knowledge of Viking lore.

Taxidermie

Cette photo a été prise au Keswick Museum, un petit musée plein de vieilleries et de bizarreries intéressantes qui me faisait penser un peu aux musées régionaux qu'on nous faisait visiter durant notre enfance. Cela dit, ce musée battait la plupart d'entre eux. Mais c'est le cas de la plupart des lieux publics et touristiques du Lake District: ils exploitent à leur plus haut potentiel les attraits régionaux, plus que partout où j'ai été. Dans le Keswick Museum, il y avait notamment plusieurs animaux empaillés: un renard, un blaireau, des rapaces de toutes sortes, des canards, des hérissons, des furets et j'en passe. J'en ai donc photographié quelques uns, dont cet aigle (je crois que c'est un aigle, je me trompe peut-être), avec dans ses serres un lapin (ou un lièvre?). C'était de loin l'animal empaillé ayant l'apparence la plus dramatique, le prédateur avec sa proie, avec en arrière-plan un décor qui nous fait croire que l'on est en pleine nature.

J'éprouve une certaine fascination pour la taxidermie. J'ai grandi dans une maison où il y avait une peau d'ours noir et une tête de chevreuil empaillées, produits de la chasse de mon père. Ils étaient devenus nos compagnons de jeux (surtout la peau d'ours noir) et ils ont développé chez moi une certaine fascination pour la vie animale. J'étais aussi fasciné quand nous visitions chaque année à l'école primaire une exposition d'animaux empaillés exotiques (à Place du Royaume je crois). Ma femme trouve cela cruel, mais selon ce que j'ai lu du sujet au musée, d'habitude on n'empaille pas d'animaux morts de la chasse, surtout pas lorsqu'il s'agit d'espèces menacées, et la taxidermie telle qu'elle est pratiquée maintenant a aussi une dimension environnementale et éthique. Elle a également très souvent une valeur éducative, comme c'était le cas ici.