Category Archives: magpie

Letter of Recommendation: Christmas Pyramids

I think I’ve already established that I’m pro-Christmas. I have a pretty elaborate decorating scheme this year that I’ll share once it’s all set up, but for now I wanted to put on your holiday radar an old favorite that I’ve recently rediscovered: German Christmas pyramids. They’re called pyramids because the most famous of themContinue reading “Letter of Recommendation: Christmas Pyramids”

Letter of Recommendation: The Seven Citadels

Since I mentioned in my last festschrift post my favorite fantasy publisher, that reminded me of the series, which is Geraldine Harris’s Seven Citadels. There are 4 books in the series, which is now out of print, so you’ll have to find them on used sites: Prince of the Godborn, Children of the Wind, TheContinue reading “Letter of Recommendation: The Seven Citadels”

Ceramics Saturdays: Yaozhou Ware

With the Yaozhou kiln, we complete our series on Song Dynasty ceramics. The kiln at Yaozhou, in Shaanxi province, was active since the Tang Dynasty and transitioned to making celadon wares sometime in the early Northern Song period (960-1127 AD). While never as luminescent as their southern Longquan cousins, Yaozhou celadons were collected by theContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Yaozhou Ware”

Letter of Recommendation: Eighth Generation

Tomorrow’s my 50th birthday, and my family got me a really beautiful gift: a blanket designed by Louie Gong (Coast Salish, Nooksack) from Eighth Generation, an American Indian artist collective that’s looking to counter the wave of “native-inspired” designs that appropriate tribal cultural heritage and capitalize it such that the profits never find their wayContinue reading “Letter of Recommendation: Eighth Generation”

Letter of Recommendation: Pandemic (the board game)

Before you jump to the wrong conclusion: I did not start playing this board game during the COVID-19 pandemic. I actually started playing the game series in 2017. There are 4 games so far in the series: Pandemic, Pandemic: Legacy (Season One), Pandemic: Legacy (Season Two), and Pandemic: Legacy (Season Zero), in order of release.Continue reading “Letter of Recommendation: Pandemic (the board game)”

Ceramics Saturdays: Cizhou Ware

Cizhou ware is both easy and hard to identify. Easy because the distinctive black-on-white designs are difficult to mistake; hard because the style was so popular that it can’t be pinned down to a single kiln or time period–which greatly affects its value. Cizhou-style wares were produced from the Tang to Ming dynasties, first inContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Cizhou Ware”

Friday Favorites: Non-kung-fu martial arts movies

Well, I’m not promising that *no* kung fu happens here: Seven Samurai. This is actually my favorite movie of any kind and all time. I would say you learn a lot more about bushido (the code of samurai behavior) in the Warring States period and how it impacted the surrounding community than you do aboutContinue reading “Friday Favorites: Non-kung-fu martial arts movies”

Ceramics Saturdays: Longquan Ware

If you like celadon, then Song dynasty Longquan ware is for you. Production began in the Northern Song and lasted well into the Ming, making Longquan ware one of the most enduring and popular Song styles. Over 500 kilns were active in Zhejiang and northern Fujan provinces, with the largest “dragon” style ones capable ofContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Longquan Ware”

Friday Favorites: Feedly Clean-up

Some really good stuff in here: At the fabulous Public Domain Review: Aratea, a gorgeous 9th-century Norman manuscript of calligrams (pictures made from words) of astronomical constellations. Perfect for this time of year, also from the PDR: an early English translation of Pu Songling’s collection of Chinese folk tales. The history of heavy metal playedContinue reading “Friday Favorites: Feedly Clean-up”