Month: March 2005
Twin Peaks: Motif Watch
Dave's out in the forests of Northern Finland. He's armed with his knives, his laptop, and the first series of Twin Peaks. Damn fine cup of coffee... Up here, at 69 degrees north, with nothing but thousands of miles of snow and forest in every direction, a man is given to thinking about the dark soul of the forest - and how it manifests in that most susceptible of forest inhabitants - the human. Some time ago, blather.net had a very sucessful article about Withnail & I that attracted lots of comments. As I watch Twin Peaks I'm going to post trivia, details of symbolism, and anything else that catches my attention. And I invite you to do the same. (and yes, I know there's loads of websites that already do this, like twinpeaks.org, but... who cares?)
The Blather Guide to Easter
Giant bunny rabbits, chocolate eggs and the story of some guy called Jesus. As the season arrives, Sue gives you the low-down... When I was a small(er) girl, Easter was a time of great mystery. The statues in the church covered up, the gory story of Jesus’ death and the excitement of egg hunting on Easter Sunday all added to the strange atmosphere on Easter week. It was perplexing, this mixture of crucifixions and chocolate. And what about having to kiss the statue of Jesus? That gave rise to a few strange nightmares I can tell you… I have since been interested in the symbolism of that week, the death and rebirth themes which mirror nature’s cycles, and how religion tries to express and explain them. These themes predate Christianity; in fact the word Easter comes from the Spring Goddess Eostre, who gives her name to the female hormone oestrogen....
The Haunting (part 3)
Blather correspondent Lyra concludes her chilling tale... Some time has passed since I last wrote about my haunted house. So what's happened since then? Did I become possessed by some (rather quiet) evil spirit that is plotting to take over the world from my sitting room? Have I succumbed to such a point where I now have my feet up in a nursing home, watching re-runs of Dallas? No fear - neither of these scenarios have occurred. But let me tell you what really happened. I was at my wits end - I had been attacked in my bedroom, and my flatmates Sorcha and Ruth were scared, and considering moving out. We talked again about asking a priest to bless the house, but the one I approached seemed sceptical. I think he had us labelled as a pack of hysterical women! To me, there seemed only one practical solution. I...
Reindeer Roundup In A Finnish Forest
Article and photo gallery: Dave spends an afternoon in the forest with the Sámi herders as they do a 'reindeer roundup'... Read More » (this blog is no longer on greenpeace.org, unfortunately)
Transmission from Ice Station Reindeer
daev reports in from the the Arctic - 69° north... For the next couple of months, I'll be reporting from Inari, in Lapland, northern Finland. I'm here working on a Greenpeace project - we're working in partnership with the Sámi people, to protect the ancient forests - crucial for herding reindeer - from Finland's national logging company. While much of northern Europe is under snow - we'll be having it for the next while. The Forest Rescue Station is 3 degrees north of the Arctic Circle, and few places are on the same latitude - extreme north Russia, north Alaska, Canada, Greenland, north Norway, and a little bit of Sweden. Spilled coffee on my jacket earlier, while out at the camp. The coffee froze instantly... Weblog: Forest Rescue Station » Greenpeace: Greetings from Ice Station Reindeer »