Skull Island

 Oh the many things we enjoy as family (well, as father and son) on Netflix. You might remember that I blogged last year about an animated series freely based on King Kong.Since then, Wolfie has developed a fascination for big apes in general and King Kong in particular. We were happily surprised to find out this year a new animated series called Skull Island, apparently based on Kong: Skull Island, which I haven't seen. As Wolfie and I are always in need of monkey action, especially with giant apes (gorillas?), we watched it and pretty much binged it in a week or so. We enjoyed it a lot. I was hesitant at first, because some of it is surprisingly gory for a kids show, but Wolfie didn't get scared and wanted to see it all. And we did. Sadly, the first season ends on a cliffhanger with lots of loose ends. And there is no second season in sight for now. Apparently the second season has been scripted, but I have no idea what will be the release date, if there is one. Still, we have enough to keep us busy: I have yet to show Wolfie the original movie.

Snakes, Ladders and... Monkeys

I know I blogged on the same topic not long ago, but there are times when a topic comes back very quickly just because. You know my long time interest for Snakes and Ladders, even though it is not the most challenging board game. Something about snakes makes it kind of atmospheric and cool. I always loved it. So anyway we went to see Wolfie's family on his mother's side last weekend. And the grandparents had prepared this game of Snakes and Ladders. It's a very special one, as it is also a jigsaw puzzle (you can see it if you look closely). it also features cheeky monkeys on it. Which changes nothing to the game per se, but it makes it cute. And the snakes don't look too nasty either. So there you have it; two games into one and some monkeys on top of it.

Kong: King of the Apes

Sometimes I try to convince Wolfie to watch something different, just so I can enjoy watching it with him. And sometimes we thus make happy discoveries. I stumbled on an animated series on Netflix, Kong: King of the Apes, freely based on, well, King Kong. It was a short lived series, lasting only two seasons from 2016 to 2018 and I understand it was neither popular nor critically acclaimed, that said we did enjoy it. It is not without its flaws, it might even be bad: the animation is not great, the story is very derivative and cliché ridden, with an environmental message that is hammered in with no subtlety whatsoever. But hey, it's a children cartoon and it has a giant gorilla fighting mecha monsters and so on. And the giant gorilla is freaking King Kong, so it cannot be all that bad. It's just like perfect matinee fun. I know this is not the only Kong cartoon and I hope to watch them all with Wolfie. Eventually, I will show him the original movie.

Singe au musée

Mon père m'a envoyé il y a quelques mois des photos prises au Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. Dont celle-ci. C'est peut-être un bonobo, un chimpanzée, voire un gorille, bien qu'il me semble un peu maigre pour être un gorille. Qu'en pensez-vous? Je le trouve très authentique, dans tous les cas.

Un gorille

Photo prise dans l'Isle of Wight, à Robin Hill pour être exact. Robin Hill est un parc pour enfants que petit loup a beaucoup aimé. On y trouvait notamment de faux et de vrais animaux, dont des faux gorilles qui avaient l'air très vrais. Celui-ci en tout cas nous a beaucoup impressionnés. Par une journée chaude (beaucoup trop chaude) d'été, nous avions l'impression d'être quelque part en Afrique. S'il avait bougé, je n'aurais pas été étonné.

Le Roi des singes

Ce sera bientôt le nouvel an chinois, que je ne célèbre pas, mais ça m'a fait penser que j'ai acheté un livre à Montréal que je n'ai pas encore rapatrié (expatrié?) ici: Le Roi des singes. C'est une adaptation de La Pérégrination vers l'Ouest, une légende chinoise que je connais depuis des années et qui m'a toujours fasciné. Il me semble que ce serait le bon temps pour le lire, même si ma liste de lecture est déjà assez chargée et que je lis lentement cette année. Je voudrais quand même connaître la légende plus en détails.

Des singes et des lions

J'ai pris cette photo à Chastworth House dans le Derbyshire. J'ai déjà blogué sur le sujet de cette oeuvre d'art ici. Hélas, je n'ai pas pris le nom de l'artiste, mais je crois qu'il est asiatique. Je n'ai pas grand-chose à dire, sauf que l'on peut voir un lion et des singes. Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi cette oeuvre me fascine, peut-être pour l'aspect harmonieux entre les différentes bêtes et leur environnement rocailleux.

Les singes du Derbyshire

J'avoue que ce billet ne sert à rien d'autre que partager une photo qui date un peu. Rien que parce que je suis assez peu inspiré, mais j'ai envie de partager des photos qui sont sur cet ordi depuis quelques années. Toujours est-il que j'ai pris cette photo à Chastworth House dans le Derbyshire. Cette famille de singes font partie d'une oeuvre plus grande, faite de pierres et de miniatures. Je ne me rappelle plus qui est l'artiste (l'un des désavantages de publier des photos des années après les avoir prises), alors veuillez m'éclairer si vous le savez. Je crois qu'il était asiatique, je me trompe peut-être, et l'Asie est vaste. Sinon, je ne sais pas trop pourquoi j'ai pris cette photo, à part que je trouvais la famille de singes mignonne.

"Monkey the Monster"

My boy made this drawing and collage today. My wife found on social media (I think) this activity suggestion for confinement days. So yesterday,Wolfie went with his mummy to pick up flowers in the garden, dandelions, grass, stick and other stuff. Of course, when he got home he threw most of his primary material on the floor. But he made this monkey afterwards. Or this monster. He said the creature was called "Monkey the Monster." Maybe he meant that it was a monkey named Monster, although I think he meant that it was a monstrous monkey named Monkey. A cousin of King Kong, maybe? Either way, I find it very cute.

Singe à sonnette

Photo prise au Cardiff Castle. Je regardais les photos hier et j'ai pensé la partager ici ce soir. Ce singe de bois avait une noix ou en tout cas quelque chose dans la gueule, qui était en fait le bouton d'une sonnette pour appeler les domestiques, si je me souviens bien. Ingénieux n'est-ce pas? Je ne crois pas que la sonnette fonctionne encore.

La jungle comme tapis

Ainsi que je l'ai dit il y a peu de temps, nous sommes récemment allés visiter une garderie pour petit loup. Il y avait une section avec ce tapis, supposé représenter une jungle. Bon, je lion n'est pas à sa place (c'est un animal de la savane) et je soupçonne que le crocodile n'y est pas non plus, mais j'ai bien aimé malgré tout. En fait, j'aimerais savoir où ils ont trouvé ça pour pouvoir en acheter un à petit loup.

Le ouistiti du lundi

Hier je faisais dans le calembour atroce, aujourd'hui dans la rime et l'allitération. Un peu arbitrairement. Enfin bref, cette photo de ouistiti a été prise à Branféré et j'ai pensé la partager ici parce que c'est un petit singe mignon et que c'est lundi alors autant essayer de vous remonter le moral un pour la semaine de travail qui s'en vient avec une photo cute. C'est souvent long et pénible, le lundi. Je songe d'ailleurs commencer une tradition semi-régulière sur Vraie Fiction le lundi, avec un billet accompagné d'une photo ou d'une chanson ou autre chose pour vous faire rire ou sourire, afin que la journée passe plus vite.

"There's a Rang-Tan in my bedroom"

You probably all know now about that Greenpeace advert against palm oil that has been banned for being apparently too political, with a cute orangutan and a cute exotic little girl voiced by Emma Thompson. The advert has gone viral. While I understand nothing is as simple as it seems when it comes to palm oil, because the advert talks about the very real issue of deforestation that has terrible consequences and because the advert in itself is so darn cute, I will share it here.

Cocoa, hazelnut, but no palm oil

I was looking for some chocolate and hazelnut spread that was as addictive as Nutella, but healthier and more eco-friendly if possible. Ideally something I could share with Wolfie. And I found this spread by Meridian. I tried their products before, in fact we give this brand of peanut butter to our son. Anyway, the monkey on the label was advertising that it had no palm oil so I decided to try it on my toasts. And that tastes... Quite good, but it is not as addictive as Nutella unfortunately. At least I can enjoy it without feeling guilty.

Face to face with a gorilla

We,, not quite, but it was very close. So as you know, we went to the London Zoo yesterday. There was a section for gorillas, which like for many others, we could barely see the inhabitants. There is a passage above the visitors, which is covered with glass and makes any gorilla passing by very visible. So once we just looked above and there he was. At first I thought it was a fake one, like an animatronic gorilla, but no, he started moving and... Well, it gives you a quick fright, yet leaves you in awe. The intelligence you can see in these eyes. I really felt a kinship with apes at that moment.

Ghosts and green tea

Quick blog post for Halloween. It is both a reading suggestion and a warning and sorry if there is no spooky picture to accompany it. So anyway, I have recently rediscovered Sheridan Le Fanu by reading In a Glass Darkly. For the third time in my life, I read Green Tea, the story of a clergyman haunted by a demonic black monkey which may be an hallucination triggered by... green tea. Or else green tea is the drug used to unleash the forbidden gates of Hell, or something. I strongly suspect that the monkey was embodiment of Darwin's theory of evolution, but nevermind that for now. You can read this spooky tale online here. As for green tea, it appears that it was like heroin or a powerful sort of LSD for the man of God of the Victorian era. So drink it in moderation. That was my warning.

Le petit singe

Photo prise à Branféré, parce qu'elle illustre mon propos. Je crois que c'est un ouistiti, un de ces singes hyper-mignons. Ils étaient très sociables. Je songe à acheter un singe en peluche à mon fils à un moment donné. Son oncle Andrew a déjà fait une imitation de singe assez réussie à la fille d'un de mes amis, qui avait à l'époque quatre ans. Ça l'avait tellement impressionnée qu'elle avait appelé mon frère son "petit singe". Enfin bref, ça m'est venu à l'esprit ce matin. J'ai comme hâte de vivre des moments comme ça avec petit loup, quand son vocabulaire sera développé.

Histoire de singes

Photo prise à Branféré, car elle sert mon propos. Je sais, c'est une excuse comme une autre. Mais enfin bref, je me suis rappelé récemment que j'ai acheté à Montréal un livre usagé qui raconte une version pour enfants de La Pérégrination vers l'Ouest. Il va me falloir remettre la main dessus et avant mon prochain retour au pays, qui risque d'être tard. Je l'ai acheté un peu comme cadeau à petit loup qui était alors encore dans le ventre de sa maman, un peu pour le plaisir de le lire moi-même. Je vais donc demander au prochain membre de ma famille qui vient me rendre visite de me l'amener.

The Year of the Monkey

I know that it was the Chinese New Year yesterday. My wife is teaching children about it and about some old Chinese legends. This year is the Year of the Monkey, as you must all know by now, it seems that it has been mentioned a lot in the medias. Fittingly enough, I bought on my last trip to Montreal an adaptation for children of the story of Sun Wukong the Monkey King, who is one of the main protagonists of Journey to the West. And I didn't even know it was going to be the Year of the Monkey! Unfortunately, as we are crammed with books here and as my luggage was already heavy, I left the book in Montreal. I intend to get my hands back on it as soon as possible and read it before the end of the year. The Chinese one, that is. I should get it on time. Until then, I will read this book, which also features an abridged version of the story of Sun Wukong. So this is how I will commemorate the Year of the Monkey.

Dragons, Gods & Spirits from Chinese Mythology

I have learned that today is the Lunar/Chinese New Year. Strangely enough, I bought two days ago, completely randomly, the book Dragons, Gods & Spirits from Chinese Mythology. I walked in a second-hand bookshop, it was there, I bought it. I spent five minutes in the shop, if that. I promised myself to go easy on books purchases, as my bookshelves are full, but I simply could not resist. And to rationalize it (by insights), it was far cheaper than what I would have paid on Amazon). The worst thing is, I have this book, in its translation in French, since my childhood. It is from the same publisher and the same collection as my book on Viking mythology. I just wanted the original.

So I will revisit, again, a childhood memory. You can see on the cover Sun Wukong fighting a dragon. I blogged about him before, here and here. This was I think my favorite story in the whole book. But I will happily re-read all of them. I am kind of tempted to get my hands on all the books of this collection, which were real treasures. Until then, I will read this one eagerly.