#thomas kinsella

[hyperions-fate]

'Cúchulainn in warp-spasm' (Illustration from The Táin, Trans. Thomas Kinsella) (1969) by Louis le Brocquy

#Louis le Brocquy #Thomas Kinsella #Táin Bó Cúailnge #Irish mythology #Celticism

[thequietabsolute]

Mirror in February

The day dawns, with scent of must and rain, Of opened soil, dark trees, dry bedroom air. Under the fading lamp, half dressed - my brain Idling on some compulsive fantasy - I towel my shaven jaw and stop, and stare, Riveted by a dark exhausted eye, A dry downturning mouth.

It seems again that it is time to learn, In this untiring, crumbling place of growth To which, for the time being, I return. Now plainly in the mirror of my soul I read that I have looked my last on youth And little more; for they are not made whole That reach the age of Christ.

Below my window the wakening trees, Hacked clean for better bearing, stand defaced Suffering their brute necessities; And how should the flesh not quail, that span for span Is mutilated more? In slow distaste I fold my towel with what grace I can, Not young, and not renewable, but man.

by Thomas Kinsella

#thomas kinsella #poems and poetry #february #jesus christ

[yarrystyleeza]

Happy 41st Birthday Charlie Cox!!!

Happy birthday to the most amazing person 🥰🥰🥰

#yarrystyleeza #charlie cox #matt murdock #daredevil #tristan thorn #stardust 2007 #michael kinsella #kin amc #owen sleater #henry eat locals #Charlie Thomas Cox #art #fanart #matt murdock fanart #daredevil fanart

[charliethomascoxuniverse]

Can we take a minute (or five) to stop and appreciate what skimpy little black boxers Michael is wearing??? 🔥🔥🔥

They almost make Matt Manwhore Murdock look modest by comparison. xd

Thank you once again for your dedicated service, Mr Charlie Cox!! ❤️

(Gifs by @gay-bucky-barnes and @moviesycho) 

#a huge thank you to Samantha Thomas too 😂💗 #because she's an exec producer on Kin and she still chose to let us see Michael like this #she's a generous generous woman okay lol #michael kinsella #matt murdock #charlie cox #kin amc #kin amc spoilers #daredevil #shirtless #my random ramblings

[sophsship]

Can’t believe how underrated this movie is.

Like, I know that it’s definitely not entirely accurate to the book, but it’s incredibly entertaining.

Love it.

#confessions of a shopaholic #rebecca bloomwood #luke brandon #isla fisher #hugh dancy #krysten ritter #joan cusack #john goodman #leslie bibb #kristin scott thomas #bea miller #peyton list #ed helms #john salley #sophie kinsella #romcoms

[aaronarmstrong]

中森明菜 Akina Nakamori

#youtube #xuân lan #Lương Ngọc Diệp #clara bow #dylan thomas #carol baum #Гуменюк #sydney sweeney #İnci taneleri #宇多田光演唱會 #鄭華娟 #林志玲 #winnie harlow #laura müller #Giger Samuel #victoria swarovski #laura madrueño #alexandra daddario #김영임 #전혜원 #sophie kinsella #Ирина Подносова #adela popescu #adrian minune

[tudorblogger]

Monthly Reading Summary

Check out my review of what I read in February!

View On WordPress

#amy elroy #Beth O&039;Leary #Book #Books #cari thomas #eric sterling #genevieve gornichec #giles keating #lucy worsley #Monthly Reading Summary #Monthly Summary #national archives #nikita gill #phillipa ashley #Reading #Reading Summary #sarah hodder #sarah-beth watkins #Sophie Kinsella #tessa bailey

[riseupriseupandcomealong]

hi more ulster cycle art based on this passage: “From the Monday after the feast of Samain at summer’s end to the Wednesday after the feast of Imbolc at spring’s beginning, Cúchulainn never slept — unless against his spear for an instant after the middle of the day, with head on fist and fist on spear and the spear against his knee” - táin bó cúailnge tr. thomas kinsella

#i feel like when i read the tbc i constantly seesaw back and forth between “haha he’s only 17” and “oh my god he’s only 17” #this is one of the latter moments #my art #art #me #ulster cycle #tain bo cuailnge #cu chulainn #linocut #irish mythology

[atlantic-riona]

Batgirl #9 (2000) // the Iliad trans. Caroline Alexander // Táin Bó Cuailnge trans. Thomas Kinsella

#cassandra cain #dc #batgirl #batman #web weaving #I've wanted to make this post for years now #when I first read this scene in the comic I almost screamed!! the choice between a short life and glory or a long life and mediocrity. just #AHHHHHHHHH #anyway DC should do more with this Cassandra Cain is SUCH an interesting character with #the way she shares characteristics with classic heroes of myth and legend #I mean all superheroes do to a certain extent #but they're usually not this overt #may never do this again lol I have zero programs for this and it took forever #but also the more I focused on it the more parallels I found #Achilles and his mother #Cass and Lady Shiva #heck even to some extent Cúchulainn and Cathbad #who may or may not be his grandfather #if Cass chooses to get Shiva's help she'll have to come back in a year to fight to the death (and she expects to die) #if Achilles chooses to fight the Trojans he'll die during the war #if Cúchulainn picks up those weapons (choosing to fight for glory) his life will be short #if Cass chooses to do things Bruce's way (choosing her father) she'll can be Batgirl again #but never with the same skill level #if Achilles chooses to return to his father's land he will never achieve fame and glory but he'll live a long life #you can't really see it in these snippets but Cúchulainn's already made the choice and it can't be taken back #but you could parallel it with Conchobar's anger or with Cathbad's prediction of woe coming to that child #they're his mother's family but they are the paternal figures here #and in the end all three choose perfection and glory and fame over a long life of mediocrity #ANYWAY I find it fascinating #dc once again please hire me

[blackcrowing]

Blackcrowing's Master Reading List

I have created a dropbox with pdfs I have gathered over the years, I have done my best to only allow access to documents which I found openly available through sites like JSTOR, Archive.org, or other educational resources with papers available for download.

That being said I ALSO recommend (I obviously have not read all of these but they are either in my library or I intend to add them)

📚 Celtic/Irish Pagan Books

The Morrighan: Meeting the Great Queens, Morgan Daimler

Raven Goddess: Going Deeper with the Morríghan, Morgan Daimler

Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom, Erynn Rowan Laurie

Irish Paganism: Reconstructing Irish Polytheism, Morgan Daimler

Celtic Cosmology and the Otherworld: Myths, Orgins, Sovereignty and Liminality, Sharon Paice MacLeod

Celtic Myth and Religion, Sharon Paice MacLeod

A Guide to Ogam Divination, Marissa Hegarty (I'm leaving this on my list because I want to support independent authors. However, if you have already read Weaving Word Wisdom this book is unlikely to further enhance your understanding of ogam in a divination capacity)

The Book of the Great Queen, Morpheus Ravenna

Litany of The Morrígna, Morpheus Ravenna

Celtic Visions, Caitlín Matthews

Harp, Club & Calderon, Edited by Lora O'Brien and Morpheus Ravenna

Celtic Cosmology: Perspectives from Ireland and Scotland, Edited by Jacqueline Borsje and others

Polytheistic Monasticism: Voices from Pagan Cloisters, Edited by Janet Munin

📚 Celtic/Irish Academic Books

Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200, Dáibhí Ó Cróinín

The Sacred Isle, Dáithi Ó hÓgáin

The Ancient Celts, Berry Cunliffe

The Celtic World, Berry Cunliffe

Irish Kingship and Seccession, Bart Jaski

Early Irish Farming, Fergus Kelly

Studies in Irish Mythology, Grigory Bondarnko

Prehistoric Archaeology of Ireland, John Waddell

Archeology and Celtic Myth, John Waddell

Understanding the Celtic Religion: Revisiting the Past, Edited by Katja Ritari and Alexandria Bergholm

A Guide to Ogam, Damian McManus

Cesar's Druids: an Ancient Priesthood, Miranda Aldhouse Green

Animals in Celtic Life and Myth, Miranda Aldhouse Green

The Gods of the Celts, Miranda Green

The Celtic World, Edited by Miranda J Green

Myth and History in Celtic and Scandinavian Tradition, Edited by Emily Lyle

Ancient Irish Tales, Edited by Tom P Cross and Clark Haris Slover

Cattle Lords and Clansmen, Nerys Patterson

Celtic Heritage, Alwyn and Brinley Rees

Ireland's Immortals, Mark Williams

The Origins of the Irish, J. P. Mallory

In Search of the Irish Dreamtime, J. P. Mallory

The Táin, Thomas Kinsella translation

The Sutton Hoo Sceptre and the Roots of Celtic Kingship Theory, Michael J. Enright

Celtic Warfare, Giola Canestrelli

Pagan Celtic Ireland, Barry Raftery

The Year in Ireland, Kevin Danaher

Irish Customs and Beliefs, Kevin Danaher

Cult of the Sacred Center, Proinsais Mac Cana

Mythical Ireland: New Light on the Ancient Past, Anthony Murphy

Early Medieval Ireland AD 400-1100, Aidan O'Sullivan and others

The Festival of Lughnasa, Máire MacNeill

Curse of Ireland, Cecily Gillgan

📚 Indo-European Books (Mostly Academic and linguistic)

Dictionary of Indo-European Concepts and Society, Emily Benveniste

A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principle Indo-European Languages, Carl Darling Buck

The Horse, the Wheel and Language, David W. Anthony

Comparative Indo-European Linguistics, Robert S.P. Beekes

In Search of the Indo-Europeans, J.P. Mallory

Indo-European Mythology and Religion, Alexander Jacob

Some of these books had low print runs and therefore can be difficult to find and very expensive... SOME of those books can be found online with the help of friends... 🏴‍☠️

library genesis might be a great place to start... hint hint...

#books #book #resource #blackcrowing #pagan #paganism #irish mythology #celtic #irish paganism #irish polytheism #celtic paganism #celtic polytheism #celtic mythology #indo european #indo european mythology #historical linguistics #paganblr #masterlist #irish reconstructionism #irish reconstructionist #celtic reconstructionist #celtic reconstructionism #masterpost

[chrlie-cox]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE THOMAS COX ❤️‍🔥️ (December 15, 1982)

as Tristan Thorn in STARDUST (2007) as Ian Hamilton in STONE OF DESTINY (2008) as Owen Sleater in BOARDWALK EMPIRE (2010-2014) as Duke of Crowborough in DOWNTON ABBEY (2010-2015) as Jonathan Hellyer Jones in THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (2014) as Matthew Murdock in DAREDEVIL (2015-2018) as Michael Kinsella in KIN (2021--)

#charlie cox #charliecoxedit #dailymengifs #dailymenedit #marvelcastedit #marvelcastdaily #cc:gifs #happiest birthday charlie!! hope today would be as wonderful as you are 🫶 i know he's loved from all his fans and family 😙

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Real talk: i have been pretty absent from this blog (i wouldn't say slacking necessarily because it is first and foremost a hobby, a means of communication second, and i do not consider it a job to any degree). Do not worry, nothing bad has happened, and a big part of it is rediscovering my love of literature. Got my hands on a copy of Thomas Kinsella's The Táin, read The Handmaid's Tale, and recently finished Ivanhoe through audiobook.

I've already been singing the praises of the Táin Bó Cúailnge so i'll spare you having to read through that gushing. Ivanhoe is incredible and shockingly sensitive on the topic of antisemitism for something written by an early 19th century Christian author intended for a majority Christian audience. The scenes with Robin Hood also filled me with a childish glee and i think it was suppose to be a surprise that this guy is Robin Hood but he introduces himself as Locksley and wins an archery contest and leads a gang of outlaws in the woods, including a hermit who refers to Alan-a-Dale quite a bit so it's very obvious to a modern reader. Handmaid's Tale was also as good as i've heard it was, but there's a specific detail i want to discuss that feels relevant to how i think of this blog and how others use it.

I've read the reviews and the plot synopses amd analyses, i knew about the epilogue that frames the story as a historical document a century or so in the future. This did not surprise me. What did catch me by surprise, and something i feel is entirely overlooked, is that this story of an oppressive theocratic regime that uses Biblical precedence to excuse extreme atrocities of human rights violations and turned out to not even last very long, is contextualized as the topic of a discussion hosted by First Nations academics who study white people cultures. You can be pedantic and say "oh but technically they're only First Nations coded because it's presented as a transcript with no physical descriptions" and to a degree you would be right; but when you see names like Maryann Crescent Moon and Johnny Running Dog used for professors of a University of Denay (an anglo-phonetic spelling of Diné/Dene) in Nunavit, there isn't much room for speculating what ethnicity they're supposed to be.

There are so many little details in the book referencing Indigenous genocide. Details suggesting forms of genocide Atwood would be familiar with as a Canadian citizen. To only bring up religious fanaticism and patriarchal regressive politics in Middle Eastern nations like Iran and Afghanistan as well as the United States as inspirations for a surface level five minute summary is one thing, but to ignore all the anti-Indigenous policies that are also obvious inspirations (literally just read the passages about how the Narrator/Offred's daughter was taken from her, renamed, and given to a "proper home" to get what i mean, it's that blatant) when the iconic epilogue makes it as explicit as it can be without writing "THESE ARE NATIVE ISSUES" in big red letters? I won't lie to you, it feels like a slap to the face. Especially when the take away message of such a conclusion seems to be that Native peoples will outlive these regimes.

#other interests #the handmaid's tale #ivanhoe #the táin #thus concludes Mostly Mundane's Angry Native Literary Analysis Corner

[tomorrowxtogether]

Tomorrow X Together: “Against all odds, you have to find your true identity”

As the K-pop boyband return with their third album, ‘The Name Chapter: FREEFALL’, they talk with NME about growing pains, camaraderie and the positive side of being in free fall

"I was falling helpless in a shower of waste / Reaching my arms out toward the others / Falling in disorder everywhere around me.”

In his poem ‘Free Fall,’ Thomas Kinsella talks about the “helpless” terror of free falling – hurtling towards the ground with blood-curdling velocity and little to dispel the oncoming crash. As he falls in a “shower” of waste – wasted opportunities, words never said, or simply the debris of his life – he flails about for support, perhaps disregarding the fact that this fall is collective, this agony and fear mutual.

As they bring another chapter of their thesis on youth to a close, Tomorrow X Together are in a similar kind of free fall. On their last album, ‘The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION’, the group was gallivanting on a picturesque island, buoyant joy and liberation propelling them deeper into a dreamscape. Eventually, however, they realise they’re much like Pi and the tiger stuck on the algae island. What they had thought of as a manifestation of their innocent youth and freedom was, in fact, a cunning trap meant to lull them into a false sense of security. The island’s promised abundance was simply a deceptive “sugar rush”, keeping the members locked away from their true potential and dreams.

Thus comes the free fall. The members decide to say goodbye to Neverland and Peter Pan and hurl themselves into the maelstrom, for the sake of maturity and impending growth. This is where ‘The Name Chapter: FREEFALL’ finds them – “falling in disorder everywhere around” them, as Thomas Kinsella put it – confronting the uncharted, but also embracing true freedom, perhaps for the first time ever.

“In the last album, we were swayed by temptation. In this album, we get to face reality. We’re trying to step forward, but in the process of growing there must be growing pains,” says Taehyun of the album. We’re almost a week out from the release of the second part of ‘The Name’ series, and the five members of TXT – Taehyun, Beomgyu, Soobin, Yeonjun, and Hueningkai – patch in through Zoom from a nondescript room. The outside world may be caught up in the proverbial storm of this new release – the group was recently named ambassadors for Dior, and have steadily been dropping concept visuals for the release – but here is a moment of peaceful, rare respite as they try to pin down the core emotions that drive ‘The Name Chapter: FREEFALL’.

“First of all, I think it’s the emotion of feeling freed because we’re finally breaking away from our illusions, [so] there’s that definite sense of freeness,” Hueningkai says. “Also, the emotion of running towards our youth, protecting and holding our dreams and our hopes. The last [emotion] would be the growing pains and the determination to go forward.”

Despite the turbulent connotations of the album’s title, Hueningkai likes to think there’s a sense of peace bolstering it all. “Not being able to get away from the illusions could be a happy moment, when you think about it, but it’s also a circle that we’re trapped in. That’s why there’s a sense of freedom [in this album] – only when you’re freed from that circle can there be change,” he explains.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that this might be TXT’s most self-aware album yet. They know, better than perhaps anyone, that youth is fleeting. Their characteristic indefatigable optimism aside, here is where they acknowledge and reckon with the discomfort of being too comfortable, however seductive the idea of staying young and wild might be.

“I wouldn’t say that we let go of the dreams and whatever we had of [our] youth,” Taehyun reasons, speaking of the album’s concept visuals, which hark back to some of their previous releases. Perhaps a hangover from the past? An inability to truly let go of your previous attitudes? He disagrees: “[Before] we were kind of oblivious to our dreams. Now that we have faced the reality, we realise that there are certain dreams and hopes that we have to follow through.”

He brings up ‘Dreamer’ which, according to him, exemplifies the balance between the uncertainty and fear of letting go of the past and the heady exhilaration of finding who you are. “I dream again / The name I retrieved / The chase of following the dream / I’m a dreamer,” the group sings on the song, its languishing, sensual R&B expanding and flickering like a mesmerising aurora in the open midnight sky, making you feel small yet strangely safe.

“I thought finding the “name” is like a mission that everyone has. It’s like the fate that everyone has.” Hueningkai – who contributed to the lyrics – explains, emphasising the dissonance between the identity you’re born with and the one you make for yourself. “We have our [own] names, but what’s important is that against all odds and all uncertainties, you have to find your true self and your true identity.”

"At the last instant / Approaching the surface / The fall slowed suddenly / And we were all / Unconcerned / Regarding one another in approval.”

“I think the moment when I really face my identity is when MOA (the group’s fans) calls out my name,” says Hueningkai.

“I felt really alive when we debuted at Lollapalooza,” Taehyun adds.

As the conversation turns to discussing moments when the members encounter their own realities, one thing becomes clear: TXT’s personal identities are inevitably intrinsically linked with their professional ones. They’ve had to grow (and grow up) amidst a flurry of professional accolades that would spark envy and awe alike. At times, it must feel like being at the centre of their own solar systems – they might want to take a breather and understand who they are, but time and the world revolves around them at their own dizzying speed. Does fame ever feel like a free fall?

Beomgyu disagrees: “It is reality, but I don’t think it has a negative connotation.” If anything, they have “become more greedy about bringing [our fans] better music.”

Yeonjun provides a different personal perspective: "I think my 'free fall' moment was when I started this career,” he says. His admission is surprisingly removed from the uplifting hopefulness that tinges the group’s music and answers alike. “Before starting this career, I don’t think I knew much about myself. I didn’t know how to love myself. I didn’t know what kind of person I was,” he admits. “But this career and occupation really changed me in a good way.”

Thomas Kinsella’s words reappear on the horizon as the members all credit each other for the good memories. “There are challenges along the way, but every time, I think about my members here, [and] I know that they will help me and that I can do it,” Beomgyu adds.

While the camaraderie does cushion the fall, also providing comfort is the innate knowledge that they’re on the right path. As Taehyun puts it: “I think all of us actually know the answer. We know the destinations that we have to be headed towards, but putting that into action requires a lot of courage and effort and that’s what’s really hard. It’s really about reconciling [with] your inner self.”

Tomorrow X Together’s new album ‘The Name Chapter: FREEFALL’ is out now via BIGHITMUSIC

#txt #tomorrow x together #231013 #article #nme #soobin #yeonjun #beomgyu #taehyun #hueningkai #the name chapter: freefall #freefall #Youtube

[finnlongman]

Hi!! I've been wanting to read the tain for quite some time but the different versions and translations are a bit overwhelming and I don't know where to start. Is there one you recommend to get started? Thank you!

Ps: I loved your article about cu chulainn's transmasculinity <3

If reading it for the first time, I think the translations by Thomas Kinsella or Ciarán Carson are both fine! Kinsella includes some of the connected foretales ("remscéla") that provide some backstory, while Carson makes the verse parts rhyme, so it depends what you like in a translation – both are very readable.

I wouldn't recommend them as sources for academic work because of the way they blend different recensions (versions) of the story together, obscuring some nuances, but for general readership and a way into the story, they're definitely the ones to go for. Carson's is more recent, and available in Penguin Classics, so may be more affordable; that's the one I read first, and I have a soft spot for it as a result, but Kinsella's is a classic for a reason.

For academic work, Cecile O'Rahilly's editions and translations are the ones to go for, but then you have to know what recension you want and I'm guessing that's not what you're looking for right now!

#tain bo cuailnge #medieval irish #ulster cycle #answered #anon good sir

[charliethomascoxuniverse]

When the funniest and most intriguing crack pairing bursts into life in your brain but it’s so niche you’re probably the only one who can appreciate it. 🥺

Firstly, it’d help a good deal if you’re a Crowbarrow fan to begin with.💗

Secondly, you’d need to have seen both Kin and Ackley Bridge to fully appreciate why the thought of Michael Kinsella (Charlie Cox) and Martin Evershed (Robert James-Collier) meeting is just sending me right now. 🤣❤️

Martin and Michael seem like such perfect opposites on the surface (one is a frequently surly yet comedic high school teacher and the other is an unexpectedly soft-spoken and sad Irish mobster) that I have a sudden perverse urge to see them forced to interact regularly. 😅 

(But if you haven’t seen both shows, a gif’s worth a 1000 words...)

And how are we getting these two in the same place? 

Anna, Michael’s daughter - whom he loves more than anyone - decides she wants to live with her dad even though he doesn’t have legal custody of her, and never will, thanks to his past. Though he tries to dissuade her, Anna is stubbornly resolved and eventually Michael gives in though it means having to leave his criminal family and Ireland behind to start a life somewhere else. 

They end up in the small Yorkshire mill town of Ackley Bridge, hoping to avoid too much notice since Anna was reported as having been abducted to the Irish authorities. Anna enrolls in the local high school, and, naturally, who should one of her new teachers be but Mr. Martin Evershed? 

Anna begins settling in but Michael is still hyper-vigilant about either of them being recognized, not only because Michael would be arrested for “abducting” Anna but because he knows the Kinsella family have enemies who’d like nothing more than to take Michael out now that he’s alone. He insists on escorting Anna to and from school every day, even though she keeps telling him he needs to chill out because he’s just making himself more conspicuous. 

Her words prove prophetic as one day Martin notices Michael following Anna at a distance and confronts him, thinking he’s a creep. Michael thankfully refrains from pulling a gun on him or just beating the shit out of him, though he’d been solely tempted at first, and explains that he’s Anna’s father - which she confirms and introduces Martin as her teacher. Michael is impressed by his willingness to protect his students and tells him so. The subject of an upcoming school dance is raised and Martin asks if he’s interested in attending, because they’re still short of chaperones. Michael agrees, much to Anna’s consternation. 

As they’re leaving Anna suggests Michael let her give him a bit of a makeover, because he still looks like an Irish mobster and they’re not in Dublin anymore. Michael reluctantly agrees, asking her not to go overboard with it. 

The makeover the night of the school dance: 

I did mention this was a crack fic, right? 😂😂😂

#my weird Crowbarrow shipper brain: party of one #yep so I just needed to hopefully get that out of my system 😅🤭😂 #kindly ignore the insanity that is this post lol #my random ramblings #crack fics I'm too lazy to write #charlie cox #robert james collier #michael kinsella #martin evershed #anna areoye #duke of crowborough #philip villiers #thomas barrow #crowbarrow #kin amc #ackley bridge #long post

[tiarnanabhfainni]

No ice anywhere would there be nor Winter bright with all its blasts. There'd be no Hell, there'd be no grief, there'd be no terror, but for me.

Eve Am I - Anon (11th century) trans. Thomas Kinsella

#spn #mary winchester #dean winchester #this is obviously not true #but it is how mary sees herself #and how dean sees her #and tbh a little bit how the narrative frames her #anyway since we're talking about mary