Category Archives: magpie

Friday Favorites: Kung Fu Movies, Part Two

This time it’s personal…. Compared to the first list, this one is less orthodox, with newer films as well as more wuxia (sort of the MCU for martial arts, featuring fictional heroes mixed in with actual historical ones): Hero. The fight between Donnie Yen and Jet Li in the rain at the teahouse. Nuff said.Continue reading “Friday Favorites: Kung Fu Movies, Part Two”

Ceramics Saturdays: Korean Celadons

Korean celadons began being produced in the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392 BCE) roughly contemporaneously with Song celadons, and that’s not accidental: diplomatic and trade relations between the two regimes facilitated the transfer of techniques for mixing the iron-rich celadon glazes, as well as the kiln structures best suited for reduction firing. Initially, Korean celadons imitated theirContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Korean Celadons”

Ceramics Saturdays: Chinese v. Korean Dragons

I’m going to do a post next week on Korean celadons, but since I was at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco last weekend, a veritable treasure trove of Asian ceramics, I thought I would illustrate a fun fact first: there’s a neat trick to tell if you have a Chinese or Korean vaseContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Chinese v. Korean Dragons”

Ceramics Saturdays: The Moon Jar

The next couple of entries in Ceramics Saturdays are going to be about Korean ceramics. The moon jar (dalhangari) is one of the most, if not the most, famous of Korean ceramic forms. Thrown all throughout the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the most collectible and prized examples today date from the 18th century, when technique andContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: The Moon Jar”

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”