Norse mythology has never been so adorable

All these trailers for the new Marvel comics movie, the Avengers, make me long for a proper film based on Norse myths. Honestly, try looking for one, there aren't many. You're pretty much limited to Erik the Viking and various takes on the Ring Cycle and that's it. Well, thankfully I stumbled on something a bit more interesting; a Danish animated film from 1986 called Valhalla. It's based on a series of comics that are loosely based on Norse myths and it's clappy-hands-and-make-squeaky-noises adorable. Or rather, it is if you like trickster myths and good old-fashioned animations. It follows two cute but somewhat gullible Viking kids who get caught up in the misadventures of Thor and Loki, and the whole thing's up on youtube with English subtitles. Hurrah!




There. Don't you feel all warm and fuzzy inside now? Admittedly the ending feels a little rushed (are the kids stuck in Asgard? How did the little troll thing escape?) but that might have something to do with the film going grossly over budget (apparently it cost over 40 million kroner. Ouch) and effectively bankrupting the company that made it. Which is a shame, because according to Wikipedia, the film was a hit and it would have been fun to see a few more myths get filtered through that charming old-school animation style.

I do like the implication that standing out in the rain is some sort of invitation for an Aesir sleepover, though. Hmm.... if standing around in thunderstorms is all you need to do to get to drink with the gods, I'd better stock up on mead.

Oh and happy Beltane/May Day/whatever-you-want-to-call-it everyone! Hopefully the rain won't spoil too many bonfires... and if it does, well, blame Thor!

Unspeakable horrors and eldritch places

Here's an interesting documentary for all you Cthulhu cultists and lovers of "unutterable horrors" out there, a biography of HP Lovecraft with analysis of his work. The music's a bit over the top, but it has a fairly well-chosen panel of talking heads, including Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, Guillermo Del Toro and John Carpenter. Enjoy!

Oh and just a thought, but does anybody else wish someone would make a creepy animated film based on the Cthulhu mythos? I could just imagine an animated version of Shadow over Innsmouth... that would be awesome...

Here's a bit of nostalgia for you...

Don't you just miss the days when blockbuster movies always had some cheesy, slightly bonkers pop song promoting them with an equally cheesy and bonkers promo video to go with it? Well set the way-back machine to the dark ages of 1992 and witness the bizarre pairing of the Addams Family and crazy person rapper MC Hammer!




I don't know what's more adorable: the terrible 90s CGI boncy head, Christina Ricci with sunglasses on, or Lurch dancing with Hammer's dance troupe.

Charity Shop Finds

Since I've been paid (with added commission! Woohooo!) I decided that today I would ravage Oxford's charity shops. I was actually sort of on the hunt for a new skirt and possibly a blazer to customise the hell out of, but I ended up finding neither.

I did however end up with a cute oversized jacket...

I say "oversized" because it's a size 20 and it's waaay too big for me, but it's velvet with satin and lace trim with little ruffles down the front so I absolutely had to have it. I might add some corseting or at least a tie or a buckle at the back just to make it fit a little better.

Detachable lace collar! I'm already fighting the temptation to tie this round my wrist.

I also managed to find a blouse that actually does fit me...

It's a light cotton ruffly thing (by Red Herring, of all people) with lace and ribbon accents. Very New Romantic, but slightly less gaudy than some of the other ruffled shirts I have. It's certainly less garish than the bright green one I've got.

Lastly, I finally got my grubby little mitts on one of those chain bellydance belts I've been eyeing for years, but for only a couple of quid.

Oooh shiny! Also, jingly bells!

All in all, not an unsuccessful trip. In semi-related musings, I've noticed a lot of charity shops have started stocking their own brand-new stuff, and not just cards and things. The British Heart Foundation have a nice line in semi-precious stone jewelry, elegant scarves with pendants on (I bought one a few weeks ago and it's gorgeous), gaudy accessories and even hair extensions (they have those stripy raccoon streaks that scene kids are so enamored with and some of those chain-and-feather clips too) and Oxfam have a pretty extensive range of fair-trade chocolates, seasonal decorations and wooden printing blocks with styles modelled on textiles from India. I don't know whether this is really a good thing or not, I mean, part of the joy of thrifting is knowing you're recyling all these lovely vintage goodies, and surely charities are having to buy these things which is lessening their profits. That said some of their stuff is lovely and if a charity establishes a popular range it's likely to do better.

Hmm... ponderous pixie is pondering... See you soon!

Things Involving an Evening of Music

It's gig review time! Last night I left work, leapt onto the bus and made my way up to London and into the sticky-floored rabbit warren of Slimelight once more as the club was hosting a frankly rather eclectic night of music, headlined by the Beauty of Gemina, a band you may remember me raving about catching them at last year's M'era Luna. Unfortunately there are no pictures for this one, I forgot to take my camera and sadly my shiny new purple phone (which has a camera on it, look at me with my future technology witchery! I'm practically a cyborg now!) doesn't have a flash on it so it doesn't like dark spooky nightclubs.

Since M'era Luna I've bought a fair few of their records and quite a few tracks have wheedled their way onto my mp3 player (which is my little badge of approval for any track: if it ends up on my mp3 player, it's awesome. If it ends up on my mp3 player and I tend to replay it twice every time it comes up, it's one of my absolute favourites, and there aren't too many of those.) Annnnnyway, I really them and I was really looking forward to 1) seeing them without the haze of (dark) rain and umbrellas and 2) hearing some stuff from the new album Iscariot Blues which I hadn't gotten around to buying yet. Plus there were three support bands, none of which I had seen before. So whooohooo a chance to find new bands!

Unfortuntely, I missed the first support act, Release the Bats, but I'd heard them before and well let's just say they're not my thing. They're fun and all, but not really to my tastes. I wouldn't have minded catching a couple of songs just for the sake of seeing what they're like live, but I wasn't exactly beating myself up for not sneaking off work early or anything like that. I reached Slimes in time to catch up with some friends between acts, then trot upstairs for a drink and to catch the second band, Last July, who were fabulous: a female fronted dark wave trio with industrial overtones and powerful vocals. Their website has loads of sample tracks to listen to and buy, so check it out.

Next up were Cryogenica who...eh... weren't brilliant. Industrial rock with Siouxsie/Xmal Deutschland style vocals... strange combination and it didn't work for me. I don't know whether Slimes' notoriously awful sound system was partially to blame, but the sound quality was pretty muddy throughout their set. Their singer had pretty groovy hair, though, and I did appreciate their Gary Numan cover.

The Beauty of Gemina also suffered slightly from the horrible sound system, poor Michael Seele's improbably deep vocals were rendered largely unintelligible, which is a shame because lyrically there's some interesting stuff going on in their songs. Still, it was a great set with a good mix of older songs and a few choice cuts from the new album, showing quite how versatile and talented they really are. It was also fantastic to see them in a (non-rainy, non-daylight) intimate setting, I'd say they're better suited to dramatic lighting and small clubs than bigger venues or festivals. They're one of those bands that just needs moody lighting and dry ice. So, yes, their set at M'era Luna may have sounded better, but this set felt better, as pretensious as that sounds. Pretty lights, smoke, being close enough to the band to watch their facial expressions, and actually being able to dance without splashing anyone's gothy festival finery definitely made for a fun evening.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and danced through the entire set (and now my obliques ache, I really need to find some gig-friendly dance moves that don't involve hip-wiggly-chest-slidey-oblique-achey actions. Honestly, it feels like I'd been wearing a corset too tight or something...) And now I have a copy of Iscariot Blues which I'm thoroughly looking forward to listening to (today was largely spent sleeping and playing on the internet, as it was about 4 in the morning by the time I got home).

I might even have to put some more tracks on my mp3 player...

One sleepy pixie, signing off!