Posts in category “Bewitching Vagabond”
† Posted on . Filed in . Tagged with , , , .

Palaeo Art: Prehistory Brought to Life

Palaeo-art is a work of art that brings the prehistoric past to life (as an illustration, this isn't mad science but it may be mad art).

The Online Palaeo Art Community

† Posted on . Filed in . Tagged with , .

The Most Dangerous Books

Some books, once read, stick with you for the rest of your life whether you like it or not. I can think of a few which won't leave my mind alone. 'The Most Dangerous Game' (written by Richard Connell) is one of them.

Others include 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' and 'The Lottery', both by Shirley Jackson and 'The Monkey's Paw' (written by W. W. Jacobs) which was a short story I read from a book I found at my Grandparent's house a very long time ago. I still remember the sick feeling of wondering what was at the door. If you have never read it and want a good short story, give it a try.

'The Most Dangerous Game' is about hunters and being hunted. Which do you think is the most dangerous animal to hunt? Lions, tigers and bears... oh my! Not any of those, according to the book. I don't want to give away the story for anyone who doesn't already know it. But, I can say there has never been an adventure quite like the chase which goes on in this book. The ending leaves you guessing, unless you choose to assume things ended in a better way and leave it at that.

You don't need to be into hunting to enjoy this book. If enjoy is quite the right word. It is not a story for children, though it was a story we were required to read when I was a school kid. The story impacted me - I didn't stay up late to sneak downstairs and watch horror on TV as my brother and one of my sisters did. I liked to avoid the gruesome stuff. I still do. But, there are some stories you need to read, some ideas which should be explored, or at least tempted a little. Not that I'm taking up hunting, not as a sport, not after having read 'The Most Dangerous Game' at least once in my life.

† Posted on . Filed in . Tagged with .

How to Become a History Buff

I think our interest in history begins with our own family. Parents and Grandparents talk about their own past, their parents and even farther back in your own history if you are lucky.

The first thing I ever did myself was to record my Grandmother's sister, Alice, talking about her life, her past and what she remembered from when she was a girl living in Ireland. In school we made family trees, but that wasn't something I had done on my own initiative. I still have the tape recording, I just don't have a machine I can hear it on. Technology isn't always our best friend.

Many people get into genealogy and stop there when it comes to history. Not me. I have researched many people (mostly women adventurers and fighters of one kind or another) and places (mainly local history, places I have found through my own exploring). I also like to research the history of paranormal things and creatures like dragons. (Can you prove they don't exist?)

Try the history buff quiz for fun.

How to Learn About History on Your Own

Narrow your focus.

Choose a time period, an event, a country, a building, a person or some other smaller area of history you want to learn more about. Narrow your focus a bit because history is huge as a topic. Every moment becomes history as we live it.

Start a journal.

Pick a notebook (or bring a laptop) to take notes, write down facts and information as you find them. Keep notes about the resources you have used too. You may want to use the same book, website, etc. again or find the author of the book for more information, even an interview.

Keep a pen and pencils handy. Along with the journal you might want to draw maps, sketch a face, or use colour pencil crayons to organize your notes. Consider a hand scanner which you can take to scan a document or pages in a book rather than giving yourself writer's cramp.

Review your notes and pull things together in a report.

It isn't enough to have a rambling collection of facts. When you put all your information together to create a report (just for yourself even) it really helps you see everything as a bigger picture. You also notice details which you hadn't seen connected before.

Join a local history society or group.

It's okay to go it alone when you can't find anyone to share your interest. But, most towns will have a local museum and a local history society too. Of course cities may have more resources for you once you begin looking. If the person or place you are researching is something local then the historical society will likely invite you to present your research to the group at a meeting. (Of course, this is up to you to do or turn down if you just can't handle public speaking).

Where to Learn About History on Your Own

  • Visit museums and libraries and talk to the staff there. Let them know about your interest in history - they usually have suggestions you wouldn't have thought of.
  • Get on the mailing list so you will know when a new exhibit comes to your local museum or library.
  • Visit the art gallery and look at paintings/ illustrations from the time period you are looking at.
  • Make the trek to bigger cities and visit those museums and libraries too.
  • Look at genealogy. It's a lot of information but a nice way to track down ancestors and find out where the bodies are buried, literally.
  • Get online and track down other people who share your interest. Read their websites or weblogs. Leave comments or notes for them. Ask questions. If they really seem to know a lot ask if you can send them some questions, even interview them through email.
  • If your interest is something local, get out there with your camera. Take photos of the places where history happened. Talk to people like urban explorers or look them up online and see the photos they have taken too.
  • If your interest is Medieval history talk to people who like Renaissance Fairs and create their own costumes to wear based on the authentic clothing worn in the time period.
  • If you have an interest in prehistory, find out about anyone who has been digging up history in the area you are researching. Try to find them online and get information from the source.
  • Read fictional history books too. In most cases the authors will talk about their research and any liberties they took in changing history for their fiction. Meanwhile, you will be reading an account based on all their own research of the time period, the place or person you are researching too.
  • Keep an eye on the news, online and through the television and radio too. History happens all the time. New finds and discoveries come up in the news more often than you may think.
  • Talk to people who were there for history in this century. Read biographies from people in earlier times. You may even find autobiographies which they wrote themselves versus a biography which was written about them.
  • Watch for TV programs, documentaries, coming up for your history interest. Talk to your librarian and see if any documentary can be ordered in for you. Talk to the people who were interviewed in the documentary and, of course, the people who created the documentary would be a great source of information. (The narrator is not always a great source, look for the people who produced the documentary).

Where to Find History Online

On This Day in History...

† Posted on . Filed in . Tagged with , .

Primeval: Science Fiction with Dinosaurs

Primeval is a science fiction TV show featuring dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles, mammals, insects, etc. who wander into the modern world by way of anomalies.

Nick Cutter, professor of Paleontology and evolutionary zoologist, and his team track down the anomalies try to control the prehistoric creatures while believing there is all something bigger to it.

The team includes: Stephen, Cutter's lab technician, Connor, an uber-geek paleontology student and Abby, a zoo keeper.

The Research, the Anomalies and the Apocalypse

Cutter starts out researching how some prehistoric creatures appear, disappear and then reappear at different time periods. His wife, Helen, is also a scientist in the same field but, Helen has been missing 8 years and is presumed dead. Only she isn't dead at all.

As it turns out Helen has found some part of the answer to Nick Cutter's research. But, her point of view is different. They believe the prehistoric creatures aren't all from our past, some of them could be our future. They think humans are headed for their own extinction and will become some of these creatures in a future time. Helen and Nick both take different slants on how to solve or fix the problem which seems to be caused by these anomalies.

Big Trouble in Modern History

By the end of the second season Stephen has been eaten by prehistoric creatures. Being the security type of guy on the team is hard work. The next security guy is another tall, dark and handsome lad, Captain Becker who has survived so far.

By the end of the third season Nick Cutter himself is deceased. Helen, his dead again wife, is killed by a raptor dinosaur in the next season.

Sarah Page was a good character who joined in season 3 but didn't come back for season 4. They say she was killed during an attempted rescue mission, trying to find Abby and Connor. Sarah Page became a favourite character when she travelled back in time to help a knight and a dinosaur who looked like a dragon. I was sorry her character wasn't there when Primeval got picked up for season 4 and 5.

This TV show has a way of losing main characters, getting temporarily cancelled and yet still coming back with an interesting story and a continuing theme of fixing those anomalies. As of yet, they are not fixed.

My Primeval Favourites

The characters of Abby and Connor have a quiet romance. At one point Connor confesses his love while holding Abby's hand (keeping her from falling over the edge of a steep drop). Later he can't admit he said it and they both let things slide. In later episodes they end a season by having Connor and Abby lost in the time of the dinosaurs, together and unable to get home. Of course, they do get home at the start of the next season.

Even though on and off romances tend to ruin most shows for me, I can't help liking the characters of Connor and Abby as they continue on in their mixed up, quiet romance.

The other character I really enjoy, who has stuck through every season of the show, is James Lester. He's the real stiff upper lip type with a heart of gold. No matter what he is always behind the team, even when he pretends not to care. He isn't the typical leading man and yet he does have many of the usual qualifications in an offkey kind of way. Still, James Lester is the character I like most of all.

The Future for Primeval?

I looked and looked online but there is no hope for a new season for Primeval UK. I didn't read a true, definite 'never', but it looks like it will be a good long wait before we see a return of the UK Primeval crew.

"Primeval New World on Space Channel"), filmed in Vancouver, BC, Canada had one season before being cancelled.  I've seen fans protesting, trying the petition route. But, I have a feeling it won't get a second chance. As a fan of Primeval, I liked seeing the story continue and a couple of the UK characters put in appearances. Actors from Eureka got another science fiction TV show too. But, it was very US-ian. Watching the show I forgot it was Canadian made at all. In that way it was disappointing. I'd still watch if it were back on. I watched every episode of the first season because I wanted to see where they would take the story. So, I would like to see it get more time.

Links to More about the Primeval TV Show

Primeval: New World (The New Version)

† Posted on . Filed in . Tagged with .

Futurology

Are you Afraid of the Future?

I don't see it that way myself. I think things will go on, changing as we evolve. Overall, I have high expectations for people to change for the better and make things work. I don't think the worst of the destruction and mayhem will really happen. Why would we let it? Why would our future people (the children now and their children after them) let things end? We all want to live, to survive. People seem to lose track of that basic fact when they get into creating end of the world scenarios.

So, I look at the apocalypse art, the end of the world stories as fiction, creative and imaginative and a warning to those who can make decisions to keep the really bad things from happening. Actually, that's all of us, in case you were in doubt. We all make big and little decisions which can cause change or leave things the way they are.

What are you Doing About It?

Are you littering or recycling? Isn't that such a small thing and yet it's a choice each person can make everyday, several times a day. On this planet we live on, are you a recycler or a litterer? Do you keep things going, care about what you're doing or do you casually throw it all away expecting someone else to come along and clean up your mess? You might be waiting a long time for someone else to clean up your mess... maybe right to the end of the world.

Think about that next time you flick a cigarette butt out the window or onto the grass. Think about that next time you throw out paper instead of recycling it. Think about that next time you're shopping and buy items you don't really need and then think about it again as you throw out all that packaging from the thing you didn't really need. War isn't the only thing that can end our world, one way or another, it's all about the people in the world and what they do with it.