Worldbuilding Wednesday 2/19/25: Elf-maids of The Silmarillion

Luthien Tinuviel from the Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien

Luthien Tinuviel, by Aerankenai @ Deviantart. One of the major heroines of The Silmarillion.

Since I’ve been reading The Silmarillion, I thought I’d generate some names of Elven women, or as Tolkien might put it, elf-maids.

Elf names all meant something in the languages he created – he was a linguist after all. In the text of the book they are explained to you, and defined again in the glossary and appendixes at the rear. So Eärendil means “Lover of the Sea” and Aredhel “Noble Elf.” Not only that, elves can have multiple names: their birth name, their mother-name, their father-name, a Quenya name, a Sindarin name, a title, a nickname, and an honorific. Which results, at least for me, a flurry of energetic flipping to the appendix pages to figure out exactly who is who.

Although Tolkien was likely aping Norse or Germanic naming traditions, or the traditions as depicted in the ballads he studied, these names don’t seem very practical in real life, especially in battle and other life or death situations where it’s important to know who is who and where they are. Most elves lived in groups, in cities, which makes it even more important to distinguish between them for tax purposes and such.

Since Quenya and Sindarin are created languages and don’t follow the rules of English, it also means it’s harder to distinguish the male names from the female names. Female names like Idril and Indis don’t sound much different from male ones like Beren and Amras. I do sense a difference though. Few female names begin with C, G and T, hard-sounding letters, and none with B, and they tend to be more multisyllabic, though not always; they are also more likely to begin with vowels. So in the vein I made my list.

 

Elf-maids of The Silmarillion

Anwë

Minril

Ithródel

Tisaniel

Ancelebranwë

Faellas

Elanotë

Elwen

Damethrë

Maranaië

Findanairë

Norian

Indumelas

 Ninrien

Aluis

Indilie

Yerien

Eldime

Idellas

Anisille

Feidalótë

Hameriel

Felóte

Dunebriel

Neränrodhel

Oduilan

 

Future Fashion

A comic book panel from the early 1970s that combines quickly fading hippie fashion with Space Age aesthetics. Even for its time, that text is pretty cringeworthy!

Worldbuilding Wednesday 2/12/25: Lost Tribes of the Bible

Since reading The Lost Gospel I became of a mind to create some mythical Biblical peoples. Like, you know, the Sodomites, who famously gave their name to the art of buggery. Everyone who took a bible class, even as a small child, knows that story: evil Sodom and Gomorrah are to be destroyed by God for their sins, but angels warn Lot, the only good man in that place, to leave with his family. He does so, and then the city is destroyed by a rain of fire. Though Lot’s warned everyone not to look back, his wife does, and for her curiosity she is turned into a pillar of salt. Stupid, silly Lot’s wife, for naturally wanting to know what the hell was going on instead of listening to her husband! That’s the message that was driven home to us four-year-olds.

The grown-up version differs. Lot tries to make a bargain with the two angels who warn him, that if he can find other good people, the angels will spare the city. But before he can start, an angry crowd bangs on his door demanding to know who the two strangers are. This is where a single word in translation set off repercussions that have lasted for centuries. That word is yada, which means “know” — which might mean “know sexually” as in having sex with, as Adam and Eve did in Genesis — or “know the business of” meaning the townsfolk are suspicious or curious about the two angels. Biblical scholars have been splitting hairs over this for decades.

Oh, and Lot offers the angry crowd the privilege of deflowering his two young daughters if they’ll leave the angels alone. Not a good look for Lot.

At any rate, the Bible says the sins of the two cities were many, homosexuality, if it was one, being just one on the list. But that’s the sin that has stuck in the modern mind.

In addition to the metropolitan areas, other tribes had their areas around Judea, such as the Philistines, Ammonites, and Moabites, as shown in the map. Thus the purpose of this post.

In that vein, here’s some tribes that didn’t make the cut.

 

Lost Tribes of the Bible

Merheans

Sabonines

Akklaians

Bithites

Amalobians

Zaamenes

 Sabatheans

Dodonians

Ithonieans

Hasenes

Theophonians

Githlenes

 

Naughty SFF Paperbook Covers from the 1960s (Part 3)

In the previous two posts of this series I’ve concentrated on the lighthearted (back then) wink-wink smirk-smirk types of covers that sold “adult” — or those that were marketed as adult, even if they were rather tame — SFF novels. Though these might be considered sexist today, there was a humor to them, an idea that the material therein shouldn’t be taken so seriously. A martini-type dryness, if you would.

There was also another genre of “adult” paperback books in the 1960s that rode another trend: the series/TV/movie tie-in. Of which the example below is typical.

I can guess the marketing/re-marketing of James Bond paperbacks — the beloved thrillers of US president John F. Kennedy — and their imitators like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. inspired this original paperback series of an agent’s erotic adventures. The cover isn’t as playful as those is posts 1 and 2, but amusing nonetheless. For example, the white-clad agent gives me serious Robert Scorpio vibes from the Luke & Laura General Hospital storyline of the early 1980s, and the blonde on the floor clearly seems to be relishing “the fresh clean scent” of the his trousers.

The book was published in 1975 which takes it, I guess, out of the realm of the 1960s. But it is what all the adult paperbacks of the 1960s eventually grew into.

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Worldbuilding Wednesday 2/5/25: Polish Cuisine

How did a sweet, delectable Polish doughnut called paczki, whom most people have never heard of, come to be sold in supermarkets in the weeks before Mardi Gras?

Paczkis (pronounced Poon-chshee) are a traditional Polish treat made to use up all the extra flour, sugar, and eggs in the weeks before Lent, as a last hurrah of indulgence before the penance starts (Poland being a resolutely Catholic nation then and now.) The timing also coincides with Mardi Gras, which in the US brings to mind New Orleans, costumes, beads, and parades, which is why many of these doughnuts are iced green, purple, and gold.

As an East Coast Pole I’ve never heard of these doughnuts. But the tradition was stronger in the Midwest, in Chicago and down through the nation’s heartland. When the grocery chain Kroger bought up smaller local chains around the US, suddenly paczki became a seasonal offering in cities and states that’d never heard of them before… for the simple reason Kroger was based in the Midwest.

Now on to Polish cuisine in general, which is hearty, filling food heavy on fish, mushrooms, cabbage, sour cream, sauerkraut, and pickles. Here are a few dishes randomly made up and totally fake. Though I would like to try them at some point.

 

Polish Cuisine

Bezwąmita A traditional soup of the Binarowa region consisting of root vegetables slowly simmered in a broth of fermented rye grain and a whole duck. The duck meat is shredded and added later. The soup is served with small handmade potato dumplings.
Wsłedja This salad highlights the vibrant flavors of Poland’s seasonal harvest. Featuring endive, tender beetroot, lightly pickled kohlrabi ribbons, purple cabbage, and fresh pear slices. Topped with shavings of oscypek cheese and candied walnuts.
Pzobiwi Sturgeon baked in a salted rye crust.
Skwady A rich and delicious Polish specialty dish of slow-braised pork shoulder in a sauce of sour cream and caramelized onions. Traditionally served on a bed of groats.
Lelecky Buttery honey spice cookies baked with orange zest and topped with a dusting of cinnamon sugar. Perfect with tea or mulled wine.
Zodówęs Delicately shaped, amber-hued hard candies with a honey-caramel shell enclosing a center of plum jam. Look for them at artisan sweet shops, market stalls, or historic confectioneries in Krakow’s Old Town.
Znejtde A dessert dish dating back to the 1800s when it was eaten at royal weddings. It consists of a vanilla cream filling between many layers of choux pastry, topped with stewed cherry compote.

 

Naughty SFF Paperbook Covers from the 1960s (Part 2)

Back to more SF sleaze.

Here’s another book that makes no sense. The title may be referring to The Night Life of the Gods, the 1931 fantasy humor novel by Thorne Smith, which was mild whimsy about what happens when Greek Gods enter contemporary New York and have a night out on the town. But the illustration depicts the future, when, presumably, Greek Gods aren’t in the picture anymore. Plus, the lady introduced in the cover text seems less intent on seducing the rocketeer than resisting his advances. Rather icky vibes there from the smirk on his mug. We do realize the scene’s intention, though,  from that rising, phallic rocket.

The cover would be a classic save for that piss-yellow background. So many 1960s paperbacks, I’ve found, utilize a garish yet off putting pastel color scheme that includes bubblegum pink, pukey shades of ochre, muddled turquoise and bruised purple. It’s likely related to the printing technology of the time and the ink colors available. I think of it was a Jean Renoir color scheme, but sullied and dull.  You can see a prime example of it in this children’s book illustration from the same period.

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The Lost Gospel [Reading Challenge 2025]

The Lost Gospel
The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot

by Herbert Krosney
National Geographic, 2006
[ #5 Breaking Ground: A book about exploration or discovery, fiction or nonfiction. ]

The lost Gospel of Judas is a piece of New Testament Gnosticism that was discovered in the 1970s but took a very roundabout route into the hands of “legitimate” scholars.  The gospel was considered lost because although it was mentioned in the third century writings of Bishop Ireneaus no copy of it ever turned up. What it contained was a mystery.

This book detailed the history of that manuscript, which was written on papyrus in Egyptian Coptic script. The journey it took was a fascinating one and a cautionary tale about mishandling precious old documents, as the book was exposed to modern air and rough handling after its removal from the desert and deteriorated significantly from when it was found. That was rather heartbreaking, and though the writer never came out and said so, you could read it between his words. The book, which no one could read except scholars of antiquity, went from bounced from semi-criminal Cairo antiquities dealers, more lawful Swiss and Greek ones, university scholars fighting for translation, and big business CEOs looking for investments.

The writing was a bit dry — it was a National Geographic publication, after all — and the parts where the various scholars and colleges and foundations were fighting for dominance was confusing, but also a look inside the world of artifact dealing. I found it touching that two of the manuscript’s “saviors” were women: the first an accomplished Greek antiquities dealer who bought it, and donated it, the second the restorer of the papyrus who worked on it for years.

Because I found the story interesting I read the gospel online (it’s now freely available.) The gist of it was Judas was not the bad guy the other gospels made him out to be, but rather the friend and accomplice of Jesus, who went ahead with the betrayal as we know it because it was all part of Jesus’s plan. This fit in the Gnostic idea of souls being separate from bodies and the souls living forever while the flesh dies; the idea of bodily resurrection is not touched upon. It’s more akin to Buddhism and other Eastern thought. AFAIK it didn’t exactly shake up Christianity or the Catholic Church when it was published. It’s more of an interesting footnote.

It reminded me of how little I know about the Catholic Church, even though I was raised in it.

Worldbuilding Wednesday 1/29/25: Korean Clans

My fascination with Korea continues into this new year of 2025. Pictured above is the South Korean rugby team OK Man, or OK Man Financial Group. Rugby is a specialty sport imported from England that has gained an increasing following in South Korea, where teams are sponsored by companies, colleges, even the military forces. (In the US, it morphed into American football, that most crushing and brutal of sports.) OK Man was one of the participants in the reality show Rugged Rugby on Netflix. They were considered the underdogs, but actually made it to the final match, where they gave the favorite team, Kepko, a grueling contest for the trophy. I’m not a sports fan in general but it’s a show well worth watching for the camerawork, which takes you close up and personal to all the players. By the end of it, I learned a little of the sport myself.

It also illustrates how familiar, and unfamiliar, sports leagues are in a different country. Look at the logo for instance. An anime character dressed up like a giant carrot?

It also got me thinking about Korean names and the iconography of those names.

You may have heard that most people of Korean descent share a limited number of surnames, of which Kim is the most common. But they also have distinct clans that share the same paternal ancestor. These names are passed down patrilineally and don’t change with marriage or adoption. There are more clans than surnames, 36,744 vs. 1,507, because clans are named for ancestor plus their town/area of origin. So ancestor Kim can be Kim from Gimhae (Gimhae Kim) or Andong (Andong Kim), both of them different people.

And like Japanese clan names, each one has a seal!

So, mixing up the various language phonemes, and the existing seals, with the magic of randomgen and Midjourney, it was enjoyable to generate a bunch of faux clans and faux seals, which look like Korean, but aren’t. I did choose to make them one word instead of two words. This is all in the spirit of fun and no insult is meant to Korea or Korean people.

 

Anghwa Bongwoong Byeonguk
Chaeong Encheun Gamwoon
Gwangban Hwaend Inhwon
Kyang-il Michon Nogai
Ohwoo Pumwang Pyoi

Passing Obsessions 1-28

What’s with that Garden of Eden scenario?

Popeye, along with many other creative works, enters public domain in the US this year.

Vast online library of cookbooks, including advertising pamphlets, dating from way back to the 1800s.

Want to play or watch Rugby games in the Pacific Northwest?

Confused about Laurel K. Hamilton, her many loves, and her series of naughty paranormal books?

A real-life Big Bus, with two stories and a movable staircase and observation tower that made it three! More on the sleek, futuristic Ikarus buses here.

2025 Reading Challenge

This year I’m going to go back with 12 choices, to challenge myself.

 

2. Animal house: A book about animals in any way.
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?,  Frans de Waal
Natural history book about animal intelligence.

5. Breaking Ground: A book about exploration or discovery, fiction or nonfiction.
The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot,  Herbert Krosney
How and where this piece of New Testament apocrypha was discovered.

6. Coming to a theater near you: A book made into a major motion picture or TV series.
Wicked, Gregory Maguire
Uglies, Scott Westerfield
One of these two, the first a movie, the second a series.

7. Continuing on: A book from a series you have already started.
Children of Anguish and Anarchy, Tomi Adeyemi
I read the previous two books of this Africa-based YA fantasy trilogy.

9. Daguerreotype vibes: A book authored in the 19th century
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, Edgar Allen Poe
I think everyone’s heard of this one.

25. Howdy, stranger: A book about immigrants or immigration, or with an immigrant main character.
Cuban Bread Crumbs, Jack Espinosa
A man’s recollection of growing up in Florida as a Cuban émigré.

27. I remember that!: A book about a historical event that took place in your lifetime.
Harry, a History, by Melissa Anelli
How the Harry Potter phenomena began and grew, beginning in the late 1990s when the first book was released.

28. Let’s go clubbing!: A book in a celebrity’s book club
Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides (Oprahs Book Club)
The adventures of a Greek American family and one member who is differently sexed.

29. Literary literal alliteration: A book whose title or author’s name is an alliteration.
Carry On, Rainbow Rowell
A sort-of fanfic about a YA novel that was about fanfic, if that makes sense.

34. No hablo: A book originally written in another language (either a translation or in the original if you’d like!).
The Law of Love, Laura Esquivel
She also wrote Like Water for Chocolate.

42. Succinct: A book with a one-word title.
White, Richard Dyer
A scholarly book about race and what it means to be “white.”

44. Three-color mythology: A graphic novel, manga, or comic book.
The Sandman, Neil Gaiman
Another poster on the forum was reading this too and I had it, so I thought it would be fun to compare reviews and the pathology of this now-disgraced author.