Gendhb - Untitled

As much as I adore your (highly) interesting takes on medievalism and how it differs from what we actually know (or hypothesize) about the medieval period, I don't think I've ever asked: are there any books set in either the real middle ages or some fantasy approximation of the period that you WOULD recommend? They don't have to be "perfect" representations, obviously, but it would be nice to learn about any books that side-step the usual potholes. Thank you!

Hi, friend! A of all, thank you; B of all, there are and I would. From the following list it will become apparent that my criteria are idiosyncratic. Really, I think, the most important thing for my own enjoyment -- for any historical fiction, but especially for that set in the place/time I know best -- is that the work and its author are exploring the period as a way of opening up a conversation between past and present, rather than looking down on the past from the vantage point of the contemporary. This sententious prolegomenon concluded:

The Book Smuggler, Omaima Al-Khamis (eleventh-century Islamicate world, about knowledge and wisdom and religious intolerance)

Morality Play, Barry Unsworth (fourteenth-century England, about justice and law and vocation and community)

The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco (doesn't need my introduction, hilarious and deeply poignant meta-meditation on the genre of the detective story, also on theological debates and the love of one's neighbor and the nature of fear)

Sword at Sunset, Rosemary Sutcliff (fifth-century post-Roman Britain, has some clichés, also some magic, but is so richly imagined and full of people I love. Also good dogs.)

Cadfael Chronicles, Ellis Peters (twelfth-century England; I was wondering why I love these so much and I think a lot of it comes back to how much Ellis Peters loved the particular place she lived/set the books in, and watching the changing of the seasons there, so that that close observation of time -- very medieval! -- is also central. Inequality isn't made invisible or grotesque here, either, and it's often one or the other in Fictional Medieval Europe.)

Isaac of Girona mysteries, Caroline Roe (C14 Spain, also whodunits, but I cannot resist including this charming series about a blind Jewish doctor and his beloved wife and his daughters and the orphan he adopts and his chess-playing buddy the bishop and and and....! It's great.)

The History of the Siege of Lisbon, José Saramago (C12/C20 Portugal, called "metafiction about the instability of history and the reality assumed by fiction" by Kirkus Reviews and... yeah!)

She Who Became The Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan (C15 Ming China, with ghosts, definitely fantasy rather than regular historical fiction, and on the cusp of early modernity, also so so interesting)

The Apothecary's Shop, Roberto Tiraboschi (C12 Venice, deeply weird -- affectionate -- and drawing on Calvino and gialli as well as medieval history; some inaccuracies about women and medicine but I still found it compelling and thought-provoking)

i drew what I think the golden guard before hunter/darius’ mentor mightve looked like. also I just rlly wanted to draw the dude with long hair 

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'Cinema Futura' movie theater - Zhongshan, China (2014)

Designed by Alexander Wong

"Вased on futurism and inspired by classic sci-fi movies like Ridley Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Avatar, the design attempts to create the first sci-fi cinema in Zhongshan, China. The 36,800-square-foot interior is a complex composition of organic design elements that create original forms. These forms are custom made with fiberglass molds, bold colors, and dynamic lighting to produce a futuristic ambience.

At the entrance, one immediately arrives at the Plaza Pandora, a surrealistic biosphere with an organic ceiling supported by double-layered spiraling columns with an outer skin inspired by DNA strands called chromosome columns and the movie Alien. Here, one will also notice the white leaf-like patterns on the floor with matching metallic pendant lights swirling dynamically above. The plaza is encompassed by the sensual forms of the Pandora Box Office and Bar Pandora where moviegoers can buy tickets and popcorn to begin their unique journey into movie fantasy. Our inspiration here is nature itself. Nature is filled with the most complex geometrical shapes imaginable. In terms of this complexity and the sophistication of our universe in its entirety, sci-fi and futurism only reflect a tiny fraction. We are deeply inspired, or quite simply, in awe of nature. It is the source of all art forms, including architecture and spatial design."

Scanned from the book, Archiphantasy by Alexander Wong (2019)

lets make a videogame how hard can it be

Reposting this because I’m seeing people not having realized this is a thing.

FTF will be available for free in the US after the west coast slot finishes airing. If you don’t have cable you can watch it on YT for free

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