Bit colder again, but the sun keeps getting up earlier and setting later. I’m fine with that. Otherwise I’ve been grumpy the past week due to various reasons, which is not a good thing from a health and social point of view.
Fun at the movies
So I went to see the new Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie in order to loosen up a bit. Just as I hoped, it was a straightforward movie of adventure filled with humor an old role-player like me could appreciate. My subconscious seemed to have fun making sense of it the next night, as I woke myself up laughing while dreaming something bizarre. Or maybe I’m just going mad.
Dug this relic out after the movie. Although I bought this copy of Dungeons & Dragons back in 1988, I don’t have many memories of it as I hardly played it.
I also finished re-watching the extended versions of Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was good, although I think the theatrical versions probably are better (haven’t seen them since they first came out), as these extended versions had a lot of unnecessary scenes (Return of the King’s last 15 minutes being the worst).
Kalevala art
In the public art department, I took a closer look at a bronze statue that was unveiled in 1946. The woman figure is Ilmatar, a goddess from the national Finnish epic Kalevala, while the bird resting on her knee actually was nesting on it. Ilmatar eventually wakes up and the eggs break, forming the universe. No small accident then. Apparently the artistic nature of it is probably inspired by a Greek myth of Leda and the Swan. Learned something new again.
I have to admit, that I never read Kalevala, which is something I really ought to do some day. I tried once a long time ago, but the old poetic Finnish language didn’t encourage me to keep going.
“Ilmatar and the Scaup” by Aarre Aaltonen. National epic Kalevala Art Deco style.