Showing posts with label science of fairy tales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science of fairy tales. Show all posts

Friday, April 11, 2014

Fairy Tale News Hound Digs Up More Than She Can Chew, er, Post (aka Article Roundup From Between the Coffee Stains in a Reporter's Notebook)


It's no secret that I barely get to a quarter of the fairy tale news stories I dig up and there are always a good handful I regret not sharing so I'm going to try something and we'll see how it goes.
I'm going to list a group of stories I haven't had time to post on that I think are worth checking out, giving you links to the various key articles and web pages so you can both be aware of these things happening and research them yourself if they catch your interest. 

This won't be uber-regular as it could turn into a column all by itself (!) but from time to time, hopefully I can pass on a plateful of fairy tale goodies that you can follow up on at your leisure.

My big challenge, considering I'm already interested in them, is to keep my summaries brief and concise so this post doesn't turn into an encyclopedic-sized essay.... 

(Note: Most of these are from last week and any events mentioned are still running/exhibiting.)


Beren and Luthien by Helena Panassol 
From a blog that, studies and critiques Tolkien's work comes a parallel with Rapunzel:
"...the Silmarillion presents a reconstruction of the story of Rapunzel, in which Luthien, trapped in a “wooden house” at the top of “the greatest of all the trees,” causes “her hair to grow to a great length,” and “of the strands… twine[s] a rope” and “climb[s] from her prison” (Silmarillion 203). "
I wish it expanded on it a little more but there's enough there for you to start your won research if you're intrigued. 




A fun post with some silly thoughts that also points out the two-sided nature of the banner and that the dual (and dueling) sides of Maleficent that are likely to be explored in the movie. This does appear to be the driving force of the movie but the article also kind of want to make a whole list of more silly predictions for fun now too. :) The article also touches briefly on the discomfort being felt by money-makers on Wall Street at the darkness of the film (which is the key talking point about the movie this week).
"... if you didn’t already predict a rosy reception to Sleeping Beauty: Dark Side Edition, you can start placing your bets...""... the structure of the poster symbolizes Malificent’s inner struggle: one side is dark and thorny, and the other is lush and community-oriented..."


Try not to get TOO excited just yet... except it's hard not to perk your ears up when the composer is already so enthusiastic.
"..."Wicked" composer Stephen Schwartz... revealed that the "Wizard of Oz" origin story has already "started gearing up" for the big screen. Although, he admitted that there are still no concrete plans for the Wicked movie adaptation. However, after years of false starts, it seems that this year could possible the year for "Wicked" in the big screen.
"... his creative team are already thinking about what to consider in order to do so.
"What are we going to change?" Schwartz said. "What are we going to keep? How do you use a whole new language and medium to tell the story? [We can] really look at it again and say, 'Oh, we can do this, and we've always wanted to do that and we couldn't onstage, but we can in a movie.' We're actually having a blast."

Third year natural science undergrads ask these questions (and more in the same vein) seriously and come up with some interesting answers.
"Pinocchio could only sustain 13 lies in a row before the maximum upward force his neck could exert cannot sustain his head and nose. The head’s overall centre of mass shifts over 85 metres after 13 lies, and the overall length of the nose is 208 metres."Lengthy, extensive lies are advised against, for the health and well-being of Pinocchio." 
"...It is theoretically possible to gain enough energy for the transformation of a frog to a prince from the kinetic energy of air alone."However, extraction of such amount of energy is practically impossible for present science, as it would require extracting all kinetic energy from the air molecule."This would result in an environment of absolute zero temperature. While solar heating would slowly provide the air with energy again, the health of the prince/frog and any other person (princess) in the area cannot be assured.
(A separate article HERE on Rapunzel's hair - what type of hair it would have to be, how strong, anchor points etc)



A brief but good introductory review of this fairy tale anthology that lives on the dark side of the border.
Red Caps might be a rock band. Or they might be something more sinister, a fey source of sounds that are but the backdrop to thrills and misadventures. These thirteen stories provide readers jaded by the traditional, Old World fairy tales with tempting new stories that will entice bored readers from their suburban ennui. Closets are waiting to be explored. Escape from work camp leads to a dangerous encounter on a wet road. That high school year book is magical and might be mocking you…or helping you find love. And isn’t love one of the central premises of the fairy tale? 
These teenage boys and girls need not fear that their love has no worth, because Steve Berman has written for them princesses who love maidens and adorkable students who have wondrous and smart boyfriends. Readers can be assured that, if the tale does not end happily, it ends most memorably.


Both are inspired by Andersen's mermaid but they take their own journeys.
Cate from Something to Read for the Train also had a recent review worth reading (HERE) on the first book as well.
"Not every little mermaid has to follow in the wake of Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved fairy tale. Two new mermaids with tales all their own swim to the surface in “The Mermaid and the Shoe,” written and illustrated by K.G. Campbell, and “The Mermaid’s Shoes,” written and illustrated by Sanne te Loo. These modern mermaids make for a refreshing and amusing departure from their famous predecessor."


Sergeant Wu, a character not (currently) "clued in" to the world of the Other on NBC's Grimm has to deal with seeing an Aswang - a fascinating Filipino folklore addition to the world folklore rearing its head on Grimm these day. Scary as all hell, we still like seeing folklore and fairy tales from all over the globe appearing in our modern multi-cultural world.
"A big thanks to Filipino-American actor Reggie Lee! The Filipino folklore ruled in the United States TV ratings which additionally emphasizes Filipino-American actor Reggie Lee, who plays Sergeant Wu on supernatural TV series “Grimm”. “Mommy Dearest” is the fourteenth episode of Season 3 of Grimm..... In Reggie’s interview, he related his part in helping create the story, how he gave the writers three mythical Pinoy creatures to choose from, and they wound up picking the aswang. “Binigay ko yung manananggal, yung dwende saka tiktik. But they really, really fell for the tiktik. So I was really happy that they stayed true to the Filipino story”, he said."


A very interesting use of the tale - read the excerpt (& the article) for a brief overview. The link above on Theater Nisha takes you to their production photos on Facebook.
Theatre Nisha’s version though, is not as happy as Anderson’s, reveals Sunandha. Where in the book she becomes a ‘daughter of the air’, on stage dies of a broken heart. “We wanted to give a context for the mermaid - a contrast and, at the same time, draw parallels to her story with modern day incidents,” explains the director.
On stage, Ariel not only rebels against what she is expected to do, but her actions are a metaphor for several incidents relating to women and their safety. “Through Ariel, we are confronting issues of honor killing, racism, fascism and maybe a little bit of jingoism that’s gotten a hold of us these days,” she says.
The characters are quite fluid – no one actor portrays the mermaid all by herself..."


Snow White's Apple
by Benjamin Lacombe
An article that caught my eye and stayed with me this week, about colors in illustrations contrasted with the mention of specific colors in fairy tales, as well as the conciseness of language used in fairy tales as opposed to retellings. Reminds me of discussions on the SurLalune boards.
"A fairytale does not have to try hard.  In keeping everything simple, it also keeps everything fresh. ‘Close by the King’s castle lay a great, dark forest’ leaves almost everything to your imagination, and then comes the ‘old lime tree’ and the cool well, and that’s as much as anyone needs to know.  A novelist might add a description of the well, providing it with a carved marble parapet or a rustic stone wall.  It might be beautifully written and very fine – but in a fairytale, it would merely get in the way....Colours in fairytales are strong, simple, basic, and meaningful.... White, black and red are meaningful colours because they are rare in nature and therefore noticeable. White is the colour of innocence, the colour of an untrodden fall of snow under which the whole landscape is transformed. A white dove is an emblem of peace, a black raven a signifier of wisdom. In some variants ofSnow-White, it is a raven which the queen sees against the snow, a more likely and a sharper contrast than an ebony window-frame. Black is unusual. Most birds are brownish: even today with our dulled attention to nature, we notice black crows and white swans.  Before chemical dyes, black was an expensive colour for clothes: it stood out: most people could not afford to wear it. And red of course is the most meaningful of all colours, the most emotionally charged.  Red is the colour that accompanies childbirth, wounds, war, accidents. Red is the stuff of life and death.... Colours in fairytales aren’t decoration, they aren’t even ‘just’ descriptive. They carry information.  They are a form of emphasis. And they can be relied upon. A golden head which rises to the surface of a well may be strange, but won't be evil. ..."


A collection of photos I haven't seen all together before. Some of it is that odd-vintage style but some of it is really wonderful. 

Seeing it all together, gives you a good idea of the mood this particular production evoked in the audience.
“The Blue Bird is a 1908 play by Belgian Maeterlinck. It premiered at Constantin Stanislavski’s Moscow Art Theatre.  
The story is about a girl, Mytyl, and her brother Tyltyl seeking happiness, represented by The Blue Bird, aided by the good fairy Bérylune.”


This looks like a lot of fun. Unfortunately I'm currently on the wrong continent...
Pulling no punches, this production is designed for a world raised on American idol. From the original fairy-tale Myers and O’Brien have created a 21st century music theatre spectacular for all ages. Conceived by the Windmill Theatre and the multi-Helpmann Award winning creative team behind last years hit play School Dance, this very physical, funny and heartfelt musical comedy looks set to accomplish that rare and wonderful feat – breaking new ground on a story we all thought we knew!


The promise of exclusive behind-the-scenes and making-of movie content is quite tempting to go check out, especially because... MALEFICENT!
“We’re about content-driven retail. That’s the beauty of our business model.”...Disney welcomed HSN’s fashion director and other executives on set to gather inspiration for the movie’s aesthetics via conversations with the art department, costume designers and other crew members. That intel was shared with HSN’s merchandise and marketing teams, as well as its go-to designers, who put together an exclusive collection comprising curated items as well as products designed specifically for the event.... Following the 24-hour launch event later that month, HSN will air Countdown to Maleficent specials in primetime every night leading up to the film’s May 30 release. ...(HSN and Disney) indicate that the programming will build upon the precedent set by their Oz partnership, which featured props, set pieces and trailers from the film as well as appearances by star Mila Kunis and the movie’s makeup artist."
UPDATE 4-12-14: I neglected to add a link to HSN in case you want to check them out. Apologies! You can find the site HERE and this HERE is where news on the Maleficent merchandise & specials will be updated. If I get any advance news I will be sure to share that with you too.

Fan Made poster (source)
Slightly older news but if you haven't heard it yet, you need to know: Yes, the Harry Potter spin-off will now be  "three megamovies" and J.K. Rowling will be doing the screenplay (it's her screenwriting debut). 

And check out the fan-made Harry Potter-styled moving poster! I have a strong feeling we are on the verge of "gif posters" as being the new official advertising medium as well. You heard it here first.. ;) 
"That is when Warner announced that Ms. Rowling had agreed to adapt for the big screen her “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a 2001 book billed as one of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbooks. Three megamovies are planned. 
The main character will be a “magizoologist” named Newt Scamander. The stories, neither prequels or sequels, will start in New York about seven decades before the arrival of Mr. Potter and his pals."





Known as Shakespeare's fairy tale or a Roman-era Snow White, this film is currently in production with no release date yet announced. Although this is older news because it's been happening for a while now, I haven't mentioned it yet as details have taken a really long time to trickle in, a trailer released late last year has been removed from everywhere and it's still pretty under the radar overall. It would appear, though, that we're finally getting closer to seeing the film finished and released. 
The cast is stellar, including Dakota Johnson as Imogen (that's the Snow White character), Milla Jovovich as Queen, Ethan Hawke as Iachimo and Ed Harris as Cymbeline. 
(See the link on the title for a little more information and the 'reboot' link for film style details.)
Phew! I'm going to stop there as that's an awful lot for one post but this is by no means everything happening with fairy tales in the last week. Seriously. I'll bring you some more news tomorrow...

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

R.I.P. Dear Little Mermaid

I bring you sad news today.

Shiloh Pepin, the brave little girl born with Mermaid Syndrome and known the world over as 'the real-life little mermaid', passed on away on Friday, October 23rd at age 10, from complications of a cold and resulting pneumonia.

Rather than go into details about her condition I will just celebrate her bravery against incredibly odds and mourn her passing. She was courageous and happy and touched many people in her short life, encouraging others to live well and enjoy life. Many other children with life threatening illnesses and great disabilities reached out to her and thanked her for her example and joy. She will be greatly missed.

Her funeral is set for tomorrow (Wednesday) and she will rest next to the stillborn sister she never knew.

For those who haven't heard Shiloh's story or understand the complications of sirenomelia here are some links HERE, HERE and HERE. Here's her FACEBOOK PAGE and one of many tribute VIDEOS.

Rest in peace little one. The world is a better place for you having been here.

Monday, September 14, 2009

The Science of Fairy Tales (Series) - The Little Mermaid's Voice

Ever wondered just how the Little Mermaid would have sounded, if you'd had the chance to hear her before she lost her voice? Well, there's a new underwater opera that may give us a good idea, beyond scientific sound experiments and singing whales.

The opera, which debuted and performed in May at the Queer Up North festival in Manchester, starred LA Soprano Juliana Snapper. She played a post-human creature surviving in a largely aquatic post-apocalyptic landscape, singing underwater, literally, using a technique she's perfected, for much of the performance.

How, you ask?

Here's her answer, quoted from TimesOnline:
“It’s not that different from singing operatically on land,” claims Snapper... “It uses the same basic process of compressing the air, creating a stream of soundwaves and allowing that to go into the water, with a little bit more care because at the end of the phrase you don’t want to pull any water in.” And how do you not do that? “You monkey with your throat a little bit. Underwater you really want to be able to shut that door.”
The pressure changes are the worst, “especially within the first 30ft or so. The oxygen in your lungs has compressed, so you can be down at the bottom and taking in air, but if I don’t sing on the way up with a lungful of air, then the lungs will burst because as the air decompresses, it gets bigger, so it will pop the balloon.”
OK, so I'm sure there's a whole slew of anatomical differences that would change the way this works for a mermaid. I'm guessing whales would have a better understanding of how to compress and decompress your lungs without damaging them as you sink and rise, yet even aquatic mammals require air to live while, traditionally, mermaids don't so either way we're not getting the whole story on how this would work.

But how about the sound? What would the singing really sound like?

Those of you in my generation would have grown up hearing the news from National Geographic that whale songs had been recorded for the very first time. I still remember the floppy little record my father got as part of the magazine. We played it over and over, marveling at how eerily beautiful these underwater songs were. You can hear some for yourself HERE.

But a mermaid is no whale. They're traditionally much closer to humans in size and vocal capacity. So do we have any idea of how a mermaid would sound underwater?

Again from Juliana's interview with TimesOnline:

Sound behaves quite differently in water than in air — Snapper describes the “airless” sound of a voice filtered through water as “like a humming and mewling”. The bubbles she produces have their own character. “The vocal melody is complicated by the percussive sound of the bubbles. If the bubbles are smaller or larger, then the percussive sounds will come more or less rapidly and they all have pitches attached to them. Sometimes you have a kind of second melody over the voice.” But does it sound like singing? “It does. I think it sounds like singing.”

You can read the whole article about the opera and Juliana's process HERE.

We'll return to The Little Mermaid in a future Science of Fairy Tales post, to discuss scientific possibilities behind another part of the story.

NOTE: Illustrations are by Jeannie Harbour and Gennady Spirin. Click on the images to be taken to more information and works. Photos are of Juliana Snapper in underwater vocal performance. To be taken to her website, click on the images.

Friday, August 28, 2009

The Science of Fairy Tales - Hamelin's Rat Problem Then & Now


It's true.

Hamelin still has need of a Pied Piper from time to time - the most recent being in December just last year.

From luxique.com travel 'zine on December 19, 2008:
Officials in the town of Hamelin in northern Germany have expressed alarm at a surge in the rat population much like the Great Plague in 1284 on which the tale is based.

“Rats usually come in packs of 20 to 30 but these can expand up to 200 or 300 and that what’s happened in Hamelin,” said Rolf Schmidt, who works for a pest control service in the town north of Hanover.

The town, which has 58,000 inhabitants, has added teams of rat-catchers to try to contain the new plague.

You can find the rest of the article HERE.

So what else about the tale is based in fact?


From Wikipedia (which present multiple theories, all suggesting that there is likely some factual story behind the legend):
"Among the various interpretations, reference to the colonization of East Europe starting from Low Germany is the most plausible one: The "Children of Hameln" would have been in those days citizens willing to emigrate being recruited by landowners to settle in Moravia, East Prussia, Pomerania or in the Teutonic Land. It is assumed that in past times all people of a town were referred to as "children of the town" or "town children" as is frequently done today. The "Legend of the children’s Exodus" was later connected to the "Legend of expelling the rats". This most certainly refers to the rat plagues being a great threat in the medieval milling town and the more or less successful professional rat catchers."
You can read the rest of the theories and more about the tale HERE or read about the facts behind the fairy tale at "How Stuff Works" (which I recommend) HERE.

Here's a lovely claymation version of the Robert Browning poem, shown below in three parts:






There are also a few novels based on The Pied Piper tale but my favorite, though chilling, is "Breath" by Donna Jo Napoli. Her well researched story puts a number of events happening in 1284 into a plausible story, giving the tale an even more sobering weight. While the book is YA, I recommend it to more mature readers as the subject matter is rather weighty in dealing with plagues, illness and the resulting societal chaos. A wonderful medieval book - complete with grit.

Friday, August 21, 2009

The Science of Fairy Tales (Series) - Awakened From Coma By A Kiss

So this whole guy wakes girl with a kiss thing works! At least, it happened in this case, in January of this year:Emma Ray suffered a heart attack and never regained consciousness, falling into a coma. After a period of two weeks in which doctors and husband tried everything they could think of her desperate husband asked his comatose wife for a kiss.

From the news article:
'What happened next was beyond my wildest dreams,' he said. 'She turned her head towards mine, puckered up her lips and gave me a little kiss.

'I couldn't believe it. My heart felt like it was going to leap from my chest - it suddenly felt like a huge weight had been lifted.'
It should be noted, this was the second kiss her husband gave her. The first was actually the 'kiss of life' when she suffered the heart attack in a shopping center and collapsed. When doctors were finally able to start her heart and it wasn't possible to'wake' her, they warned her husband, Andrew Ray, that her condition might be permanent.

Thankfully, their story has a happy ending.

But things are still not easy. When Emma's heart stopped her brain was deprived of oxygen, resulting in damage which is still being worked through. Short term memory loss and the inability to walk without assistance are constant reminders of the incident. Her grateful husband and family, however, are just glad she's with them.

Bless you all, Ray family, and thank you for sharing your heartwarming story.

When it comes to the tale from which Emma earned her new nickname however, I wonder: although I've read retellings where Beauty has to cope with time passing and must reacquaint herself with the kingdom, has anyone ever considered Beauty dealing with internal damage from what the curse put her through?

You can read the rest of the amazing 'real life Sleeping Beauty' story HERE.
Note: The above painting is by Thomas Ralph Spence. You can find more information on him HERE.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

The Science of Fairy Tales (Series) - Blowing Down Houses of Straw, Sticks & Bricks




Although we all know how powerful the wind can be in the form of cyclones, hurricanes and tornadoes it still seems a little ludicrous to contemplate houses being blown down by a wolf. But maybe we didn't have all the information on the wolf's circumstances.


Maybe he just put his gassy stomach and heartburn to good use!



Take a look at what a bad combination of gases can do when channeled through this snout, er, cannon:


Let's just hope Big Bad doesn't get 'wind' of this. I like my brick house just fine as it is, thank you!

To get Big Bad's side of the story I recommend : "The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs" (as told to Jon Scieszka)NOTE: The lovely 'Big Bad' drawing above is by artist Caroline Trevella. Click on the image or HERE to go to her website and see more enchanting illustrations.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

The Science of Fairy Tales - New Series at Once Upon A Blog...

I thought I'd start a fun new series:
'The Science of Fairy Tales'.
(No, it's not based on the book above - I just like that there's a science program that teaches scientific method and exploration in a fairy tale setting. Click on the image above to learn more about it.)

I've collected quite a few pieces of information on scientific facts and theories that are relevant to fairy tales - enough that I have around 10 or so to start - so I thought I'd start a general series and add to it every so often as things appear in the news or are dug up out of my archives.

The first one will appear in a couple of days, then a few more next week, just to get things rolling. If you have any tid-bits you'd like to add to this series, please feel free to email me (see the sidebar for the address) and I'll add it.

For today, I thought I'd show you something I found called, funnily enough, "ILLUSTRATED STUDIES IN SCIENCE AND FAIRYTALES" by Julia Y. (a.k.a. DumpsterDivinE on Etsy).

You can click on the images to get a closer look and read her text.

Here's the blurb about these drawings from her WEBSITE:
"Rana Regulus Demutatio" is the first installment in the series "Illustrated Studies in Science & Fairytales." The title is the latin term for "Frog Prince Transformation" and it is the first accurate documentation of the internal processes involved when a frog transforms into a handsome prince.
Are we grossed out yet? Completely - and completely fascinated too. More please!

While the new series on Once Upon A Blog... will actually scientifically based facts, theories and stories relating to fairy tales, I couldn't help pop in the "Rana Regulus Demutatio" for you. Somehow I have a feeling some (demented?) scientist, somewhere, is experimenting to see if frogs can transform/be transformed... (runs off to grab a pencil and start scribbling a new story)

And while we're on the subject of The Frog Prince (or, more correctly The Frog King or Iron Henry), here are two of my favorite retellings: "Fair Peril" by Nancy Springer and "Water Song" by Suzanne Weyn. Click on the book covers to be taken to more information about each.


NOTE: You can find the rest of the images from JuliaY's book HERE and see her awesome website HERE.