lunes, 30 de junio de 2025

IS LORD FATIMORE A...?

 Victorian novel A Peep Behind the Scenes surprised me with its secondary characters, in particular John Thomas and Lord Fatimore:

Reading A Peep Behind the Scenes and laughing with John Thomas (because of his very phallic name) 

All right,” said John Thomas, pulling up. “I’ve no objections, if the lass likes to get in"

John Thomas is also slang/euphemism for the male member.

and LORD FATIMORE:

... found Lord Fatimore sitting in state in his own caravan. He was an immensely fat man, or rather an enormously overgrown boy, very swollen, and imbecile in appearance. He was lounging in an easy chair, looking the picture of indolence. He brightened up a little as he saw his dinner arriving—it was the great event of his day.

My headcanon: Lord Fatimore is a eunuch/castrato.

domingo, 15 de junio de 2025

VA EL VIENTO MI NOMBRE A CANTAR

 VA EL VIENTO MI NOMBRE A CANTAR 

(När vindarna viskar mitt namn)

Por Thomas Holmstrand y Linda Dahl

Traducción de Sandra Dermark 

15 de junio, MMXXV

,......

Atrapado en tinieblas, no veía la luz

aunque todo en torno ardió

Mi fe y mi esperanza quemábanse, sí,

mi euforia desapareció...

.....

Dame mis fuerzas,

por mi patria yo quiero luchar,

dame adónde ir,

veo al guerrero su hacha portar...

.....

Quieren que me vuelva y luche

por mi identidad?

Nunca les traicionaré

Va el viento mi nombre a cantar...

.....

La lluvia cayó y ocultó mi sudor,

calmó de mi sed el ardor,

huí a los montes al amanecer,

de pronto escuché una voz...

.....

Dame mis fuerzas,

por mi patria yo quiero luchar,

dame adónde ir,

veo al guerrero su hacha portar...

.....

Quieren que me vuelva y luche

por mi identidad?

Nunca les traicionaré

Va el viento mi nombre a cantar...

(INTERLUDIO)

.....

Dame mis fuerzas,

por mi patria yo quiero luchar,

dame adónde ir,

veo al guerrero su hacha portar...

.....

Quieren que me vuelva y luche

por mi identidad?

Nunca les traicionaré

Va el viento mi nombre a cantar...

Va el viento mi nombre a cantar...



lunes, 9 de junio de 2025

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA

 TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

(THREE KOBOLDS IN A TRENCHCOAT)

Traductora Sandra Dermark

9 de junio, MMXXV

.......  

Cuando los taberneros cerraban su local,

un alto caballero entró, y le costaba andar 

Apuesto y mostachudo, con gabardina talar,

no era humano, no, eran

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

Uno va abajo, fuerte es,

Dos en el medio, lleva a Tres,

Tres está fingiendo no ser

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

..........

Una joven fue de noche al bosque a pasear,

se perdió por desgracia cuando un oso fue a atacar,

cuando aquel caballero alto y apuesto fue a llegar 

No le podía ayudar, eran

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

Uno va abajo, fuerte es,

Dos en el medio, lleva a Tres,

Tres está fingiendo no ser

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

......

Hubo una vez un reino cuyo rey era el peor,

sus súbditos le querían muerto, el fin de su opresión,

Un día cayó muerto sin ninguna admiración,

resulta que cayó junto a

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

Uno va abajo, fuerte es,

Dos en el medio, lleva a Tres,

Tres está fingiendo no ser

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

......

Los súbditos del reino se pusieron a elogiar

a aquel que ellos creían que al tirano fue a matar,

Le dieron trono y cetro, y le fueron a coronar

Mas todos ignoraban que eran

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

Uno va abajo, fuerte es,

Dos en el medio, lleva a Tres,

Tres está fingiendo no ser

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

......

De Escila en Caribdis aquel reino fue a parar,

el nuevo rey extorsionaba, le iba ejecutar,

De su propio reino el pueblo le fue al fin a desterrar,

la economía arruinada por

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

Uno va abajo, fuerte es,

Dos en el medio, lleva a Tres,

Tres está fingiendo no ser

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA

. ...

Si se preguntan cómo yo puedo cantar así,

si soy un simple bardo sin otra persona aquí,

seguro que los más sagaces habréis visto al fin 

que no soy sólo un bardo, somos

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

Uno va abajo, tocando el violín,

Dos en el medio, marcando el compás,

yo estoy fingiendo no ser

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 

yo estoy fingiendo no ser

TRES DUENDES CON GABARDINA 


domingo, 8 de junio de 2025

FELLOWSHIP OF THE GEMS

 Ever since Moominmama and Moominpapa (and Snorken) died when their flying machine crashed on the Snowy Mountains, Moomin and Snorkmaiden live together in Moomin House (with Little My) and struggle with the depression that comes with adulthood and orphanhood. Little My entertains them, but it lasts only for a while.

All of this changes with a sudden visit from Tofslan and Vifslan, and a Call to Adventure. Aside from the King Ruby and the Queen Emerald, there are other two Royal Gems: the Prince Topaz, kept in tunnels deep under ground by a misshapen moomintroll who was corrupted by the gem; and the Princess Sapphire, kept in a tower on the Snowy Mountains and watched by the dragon that Little My once kept as a pet. The Wizard wants to have all four Royal Gems to use them in a mysterious ritual.

Along with Snuffkin and the human boy Toft, a couple of gay amphibians, and a stuffed Tiger and kangaroo joey from the Hundred Acre Woods (Roo has become quite the emo goth), Moomin, Snorkmaiden, and Little My travel across the continent on a quest for the missing Royal Gems, as the Fellowship of the Gems. Along the way they visit the other realms of the continent: the Hundred Acre Woods, the Woods of Frog and Toad, the Land of Make-Believe, Teletubbyland, and Moominville (Muminköping), a walled town inhabited by fully-dressed, xenophobic moomintrolls. And also the Haven of the Prophet, the Wizard's wise seer ex-husband, who reveals that moomintrolls came originally from outer space... On the way, Snuffkin sacrifices himself to save the others from a perilous bridge (you shall not pass!) and returns resurrected and more powerful. And Toft and Roo fall in LOVE!

Moominvalley seems to be under the effect of a curse since that flying accident: the crops won't grow, the fish won't bite, the skies are ever overcast but it never rains. Bringing the missing Royal Gems to the Wizard, so that he unites all four Gems, will bring back the prosperity of yore... Or not?

Hemulen and Fillyfjonkan are now married empty-nesters. Ninni and Too-ticki still live together by the sea. Sniff has now got a girlfriend, Sniffmaiden. Kanga has remarried Rabbit, and Christopher Robin goes to university. The story is set a decade and a half into the future.

MEET THE ARTIST (BLOGGER)!


 Meet the artist (blogger)

Sandra Elena Dermark Bufi 
Half Spanish 🇪🇸 half Swedish 🇸🇪
33 years old
ENFP / 7w6
Ace/Aro ♠️
Autism (verbal) 🧩, ADHD
Sun in Aquarius (31/01/1992), Ascendant in Virgo, Moon in Leo 🌞♒/ASC♍/🌝♌
She (female) ♀️
❤️ Loves
Baroque and Aestheticism/Decadentism
Sweets🍨🧁🍫🍪
Fantasy fiction🧙🧛🧝🐲
Steampunk
Progressive Rock
Helping others
Caffeine ☕ and Lithium
🖤 Hates
Onions🧅, Bell peppers, tuna🐟
Caquetage (when many people speak at the same time)
Waiting and getting bored
Algebra
Cold Water (on my skin, not drinking it)
Landfowl 🦃🦚 (serious phobia)
Injustices (Wars, genocide, child abuse, grooming)
🌈Favourite Colours: Orange and Violet 🧡💜
Favourite Food: fiocchi di pera 🫔🍐 
Favourite Bands: Genesis, Mägo de Oz
Favourite Authors: Victor Hugo, J. K. Rowling 


MAGICAL ANGELS OF CULLA CASTLE

Juliet Capulet, cat lover and party girl and Guardian of Earth. Taurus. Phlegmatic. Raven hair and hazel eyes. In black and gold when she transforms. With ADHD. Left at boarding school by her scheming stepmother.

Ophelia Brahe, music and plant lover and Guardian of Water. Scorpio. Melancholic. Ginger hair and green eyes. In mint green and turquoise when she transforms. Bipolar. Left at boarding school by parents who only have time for her brother.

Desdemona de' Brabanzi, literature and fine art lover and Guardian of Air. Sanguine. Golden hair and honey eyes. Aquarius. In lilac and white when she transforms. Autistic. Left at boarding school by a father who seems to only care for politics.

And Viola de' Montecuccoli, lover of the performing arts and martial arts and Guardian of Fire. Choleric. Nutbrown hair and violet eyes. In orange and red when she transforms. Leo. Antisocial. Left at boarding school by guardians who are raising her twin Sebastian to be the next heir (the twins are obviously orphans).

The four schoolgirls, all of them intelligent yet regarded as outsiders, spend days full of routine in a Catholic finishing school in Culla Castle in Castellón Province, away from royal courts' intrigues and from the carnage of war.

But at night, when no Muggles are watching and only the hoot of owls can be heard, the quartet of friends are elemental magical girl warriors, mentored by Mephisto, a talking black cat who is actually a Matagot and the Guardian of Quintessence. Armed with wands topped with precious gemstones (that also serve as their transformation trinkets), they confront threats each time more complicated. However, if a Muggle should find out that they are magical girl warriors, they will turn into frogs!!!

Visits from parents and from fiancés, the banishment of Ophelia's parents to the Finmark, trips to Castellón and to Valencia, a prisoner King Francis I, a visit from Caterina de' Medici to leave Viola's cupbearer twin Sebastian in Culla (after fleeing from his execution, a decoy shikigami was quartered in his stead), San Juan with Elf King Oberon and Fairy Queen Titania, the heroics of Literature professor Alonso Quijano and the flirts of Andalusian heartthrob Don Juan Tenorio, ever accompanied by his trusty servant Leporello who is sweet on him; mysterious messages on the walls, written in blood, every now and then; Deep Ones on the streets of Benicassim and Oropesa... And the awakening of ancient Lovecraftian Gods, something far more dangerous than the rise of Gustavus Vasa, the Protestant Reformation, or the Habsburg-Valois Wars of that era (the doomsday prophets were more right than it seemed). Not to mention all four of our Guardians discovering that they are bisexual.

How can we get bored if we live in interesting times?