The “roaring” Twenties didn’t start very cheerfully in France (where our heroes live, when they’re not vacationing on disputed territory at the Adriatic Sea). Everything was scarce after the devastating war, and prices were on the rise. For Lou and[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
I was playing around with a self-portrait like this. Orcs are probably my favourite fantasy creatures. Since I’m not a gamer as such, but more of an academic scholar, I see things in them that many hardcore gamers or fans[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
This survey was initiated by the extraordinary Loka Kanarp (creator of the comic Pärlor & Patroner – 60 historical portraits of women). Thanks to Fredrik Strömberg for the English translation and the awesome plug for Goldenbird on his blog! My[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
I recently had a look at the visitor statistics of my website between May 2009 and April 2010. Last year was the 200th anniversary of the Russian conquest of Finland (until then a part of the Kingdom of Sweden), which[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Invented by Spanish booksellers in the 1920’s, the World Book Day coincides with the date of the death of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, as well as the Catalan tradition of celebrating Saint George’s Day on 23 April[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Kagami mochi (鏡餅, mirror rice-cake), is a traditional Japanese New Year decoration. A small mochi (glutinous rice ball) is placed on top of a big one (who is making a mess now), and crowned with a daidai (Japanese bitter orange).[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Where does Mayann’s puppy Mochi come from? Well, of course she has a backstory. But until it is revealed, we are going to look at some theories… In February, a special festival called Inukko Matsuri is celebrated in Yuzawa, Akita[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
In previous posts we have discussed the origin of Mochi’s name (and possibly Mochi herself). A less cute mythical origin would be the inugami legend. The inugami (dog-deity) is a kind of witches’ familiar created by torturing a dog to[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Today is the Hourly Comic Day. Yes, even a crazily overworked historian (who likes to disappear for weeks) finds some time to chronicle her daily ordeals in Helsinki, Finland. Some memorable moments from my everyday life (details may demand arcane[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Once upon a time, there was a little country with a dire need for friends.