Thoughts and Sundries

Ancient sites of Athens

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / March 3, 2023 / No comments

Possibly the very best thing about traveling to Athens at the end of February is that it was warm enough to be outside every day in jeans and a t-shirt. Coming from New Hampshire, the sunshine was especially welcome, but I can’t imagine being there when it’s any warmer. Most of the interesting things are on hills, and I worked up a sweat even at 65 degrees.

The other great part about going to Athens in February is that the crowds are comparatively negligible. There are still plenty of people to go around, particularly on the weekends and in the touristy neighborhoods like Monastiraki, but there are almost no lines to enter historic sites, and it’s possible to find some peace and quiet. A lot of the ancient sites, for example, are essentially large parks with ruins. Even though they’re active archaeological sites, tourists can wander in and around and over much of the ancient stone architecture and monuments. I don’t know how individual Greek citizens feel about tourists, but it’s nice of the country to share their history with all of us.

I wonder whether there’s an understanding among Greek people that there’s probably centuries of history lying undiscovered, but there’s the small problem of a living city sitting on top of it.

I bought a multi-site pass at the Acropolis for 30 euros, which allowed entry to seven historical sites during five days. Definitely reasonable; the only catch was that during the off season, many of the ticketed sites close at 3pm. I didn’t make it to all of the sites in the five days (I missed Aristotle’s Lyceum and the Temple of Zeus), but the pass was well worth it. This post includes the five sites that I saw: The Acropolis, the ancient Agora, the Roman Agora, Hadrian’s Library, and Keramikos.

I have to confess to being a terrible reader of signage. I’m sure there was a lot of interesting information about the hows and the whys and the whens of these places, but I glazed over tryin to read it. That’s why the internet exists, isn’t it?

Acropolis and the Parthenon

One of the strangest juxtapositions at the Acropolis was watching tourists prop their phones on thousands-of-years-old architecture to take selfies.

Fun fact about the Parthenon: the lines aren’t straight and the surfaces aren’t flat. The architects wanted to create the appearance of perfection rather than technical perfection (a philosophically interesting idea), so they used curves and tilts to counter what the eye actually sees (per this site here).

Ancient Agora

This might have been my favorite of the ancient sites. The Agora contained a large park with plenty of interesting artifacts, and also cats. I spent plenty of time casually strolling among the olive trees and soaking up the sunshine. After winter in New England, spring is such a hopeful season.

This site comes with a museum included in the entry fee, but I missed it because I showed up right as they were closing.

Temple of Hephaestus

Church of the Apostles

Roman Agora

Tower of the Winds, possibly a clocktower and/or ancient meteorological station

Hadrian’s Library

Keramikos

Both the potters’ quarter and a cemetery. I’m not sure if those were simultaneously or not. At one point, a mass grave was discovered, which might have been due to plague.

But now I want to know: Where do the dead people found during excavations go?

I tried to feed this tortoise. It declined.

Art and Museums in Athens

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / March 3, 2023 / No comments

Have you ever noticed that there aren’t very many chairs in museums? Certainly not in useful places; benches tend to be stuck way off in the corner, so as not to impede the view, but that means that if you want to really study a piece, you have to stand for a long time.

I had thought I would do a lot more drawing while in Greece than I actually did, which I blame on the lack of opportune chairs in museums. In my head, I was going to do drawing studies of sculptures. If I were less self-conscious, I would bring a folding chair with me to museums and pop it open every time I saw something I wanted to really look at.

While wandering around the museums full of shards of sculptures and ceramics meticulously stuck back together, it occurred to me that people have found a lot of stuff from ancient history, and somehow, they know a lot about it. Several museums had displays such as pediments with only a few surviving pieces, like a hand, a leg, half a horse, and a torso – but they were arranged where they were originally placed on the pediment, sometimes with an accompanying illustration of the finished piece. And I wondered, how do they know? For that matter, when someone digs up a bronze sculpture of a man poised to throw something which is no longer there, how do we narrow down that it’s definitely either Zeus or Poseidon, and not a random dude throwing a spear?

I’m sure there’s a method. Maybe there’s even a documentary.

Acropolis Museum

The museum entrance is structured so that guests can view the archaeological sites below.

Raiment of the Soul

This was a temporary exhibit at the Acropolis Museum by the artists Vangelis Kyris and Anatoli Georgiev. The two created large-scale portraits of contemporary Greeks wearing actual costumes from Greek history. Kyris photographed the models, the images were printed on cotton, and Georgiev then embroidered details onto the fabric print. (Interesting links after the gallery)

THIS WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER. I love the mixed media and mixed genre of the gallery. It wasn’t just a mashup of photography, textiles, and fashion, but also of art, history, culture, and contemporary times. It combined ideas and genres, broke a few, and created an exhibition which is a both familiar and foreign.

Major props to the models, by the way, for appearing serene, mysterious, and regal while probably feeling ridiculous. I can’t imagine it would be easy to appear composed while wearing a lace doily on your head, or swishing tassels around your face.

More info and better pictures:

https://gallerykourd.gr/artists/vangelis-kyris-anatoli-georgiev/ (this has very good pictures please go look at them)
https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/temporary-exhibitions/raiment-soul#:~:text=From%2020%20December%202022%20until,National%20Historical%20Museum%20of%20Athens.
https://www.thisisathens.org/events/raiment-soul-acropolis-museum

National Archaeological Museum in Athens

Sadly, I wasn’t here very long because I wasn’t feeling great that day. I wanted to spend more time looking at the human sculptures, but alas, my mortal body failed my immortal soul. I spent some time browsing their digital collection here instead. They have a sarcophagus.

Archaeological site of Aegina

Keramikos

Historically, the potters’ quarter and also a cemetery. I’m not quite sure why those two things overlapped. The museum was square with a center courtyard, so the evolution of Greek ceramic styles progressed around the building. I kept the pictures in chronological order, but I neglected to write down the names of the time periods. Journalistic reporter I am not.

This was also where I decided that I want a pottery class/history class hybrid which teaches not only what and why, but how to make pottery in ancient Greek style.

Cats of Athens (and Aegina)

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / March 2, 2023 / No comments

Fun fact about Greece: there are cats everywhere. I wouldn’t say that’s why I decided to go to Athens, but it certainly was a factor. Disappointingly, most of the cats weren’t interested in being best friends. I only got scratched once.

Most often, the cats hung out in the older spaces of the city, lounging around the ruins of the Agora and plonking down on bits of Hadrian’s library which had been set aside for renovation.

When I ask the shop owner if this was her cat, she said no, it’s a neighborhood cat.

Soul stone

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / February 19, 2023 / No comments

Sometimes I forget how much I love Marvel, but then things like this remind me how incredibly deep, emotional, and compassionate it is.

The arc of Keyleth and Vax (Critical Role: Vox Machina)

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / February 16, 2023 / No comments

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR CAMPAIGN 1 OF CRITICAL ROLE (VOX MACHINA) ABOUND IN THE FOLLOWING just in case you care about that….

About a year ago, I started listening to the podcast of the D&D actual-play show Critical Role. If anyone is unfamiliar, actual-plays are where groups of people record themselves…actually playing. It isn’t scripted or staged; the game unfolds in weird and unpredictable ways at times. In the case of Critical Role, every member of the cast is also a professional voice actor, which means that they are excellent at becoming their characters, expressing and reacting as though they themselves were in the same situation, and knowing the intricacies of their character’s motivations so deeply that they can respond to the twists of the game in character. The show has been running for something like seven years now (they started recording in 2015 although the campaign had already been running for sometime. Their first episode has 20.5 million views, as of writing), covering two and a half campaigns. I’ve currently finished one and a half campaigns, which at my best guesstimate, is upwards of 600 hours of listening content.

Although I’m fifty-nine episodes into the second campaign, and although the characters and story is excellent, it’s the first campaign that truly won my affection. I remember enjoying it through the first twenty or thirty episodes of the Vox Machina campaign without feeling much personal stake. It was fun, the storytelling was excellent, the players sounded like they were having the best of times together. I liked it. But then I reached the Whitestone arc, and I suddenly felt for the characters. Events mattered.

And from that point on, I became a loyal Critter.

After that point, I began to resonate with the characters more – their struggle with themselves, each other, and the complexities of being in a tightly-knit group where individuals often rub each other the wrong way. It’s very reminiscent of the show Firefly in how unlikely companions are thrown together in a wobbly, awkward, unbreakable found family. One of the characters who compelled me the most was Keyleth. A half-elf druid, Keyleth was raised in a tribe away from “regular” society (aka homeschooled), and knew from the beginning that she was destined to become the leader of her people when she completed her trials. She was sometimes socially awkward, anxious, nervous, inexperienced, and clumsy (how many times did she get arrested?), but she was sweet, genuine, compassionate, and hopeful. In contrast to Percy’s intelligent cynicism, Keyleth was the warm-hearted optimist of the group.

What I loved most was Keyleth’s relationship with Vax.In the beginning, both of them were awkward, terrible communicators, and extremely shy. Although Vax knew he loved Keyleth, Keyleth had no idea what she felt for Vax, and it was so relatable. There wasn’t a “moment” when they became a couple – there was a long stretch of episodes where they talked, spent time together, backed off, worried, talked to other friends, and came back together. Keyleth had never been in a relationship before, and she expressed to Vax that she was nervous, that she had feelings for him but was afraid to pursue them. It took her a long time to open up to him, but he was patient and thoughtful with her, allowing her to take her time without rushing her, manipulating her, or giving up on her. It was lovely and sweet. When they finally became a couple, they were committed to each other, gentle with each other, protective of each other, and devoted to each other. Despite the madness of the world being set on fire (literally) all around them every day, they made time to connect.

And for that beautiful example of a stable relationship, Critical Role, thank you. Thank you in to Liam O’Brien (Vax) and Marisha Ray (Keyleth), and Matt Mercer as the DM for allowing his players to play real, deeply nuanced people.

When Keyleth opened herself up to trusting and relying on Vax, she found a new stability in her life that she had wanted but had been afraid to pursue. As the future leader of her people, as a druid, she knew that she would most likely live much longer than half-elves usually do, much longer than even full-blooded elves. One day, inevitably, all her friends would die and she would be left. Even knowing this, knowing that she would have to endure the devastating pain of separation someday, she let Vax into her life.

The image above is from the year Keyleth and Vax spent at her home in Zephrah, between episodes 94 and 95 before the final arc of the campaign. I wanted to represent that sweetness of a moment between lovers, savoring the day before it begins, and a life together before it ends. The image below is from the last episode, in the moment when Vax is called to fulfill his debt to the Raven Queen…and leave the mortal plane to be with the goddess. Even though Vox Machina “won” and saved the world, they still lost Vax.

There’s a terrible pathos to Keyleth, having struggled to learn to trust and risk herself in a relationship, to finding the sweetness of love in a stable partnership, to suddenly losing her partner just as they saved the world, only to then have to live for a thousand years.

I don’t know if Keyleth ever found someone to love again. I hope, for her sake, that she did, and that love wasn’t always equal to heartbreak.

Keyleth is a golden goddess.

*In case anyone who isn’t familiar with Vox Machina is reading this and thinking, “Vax looks really gray in the second picture…” it’s because he’s undead at this point. See “Revenant” in the Monster Manual.

Changing plans

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / February 14, 2023 / No comments

During the past few weeks, I’ve been working on art-related projects – learning to use a tablet, setting up a shop page on my website (and all the logistics that entails), researching tax law and whether I can/should charge sales tax, submitting writing to contests, and generally making a flailing attempt at becoming An Artist, by which I mean someone who earns money for creative work. (Obviously this isn’t the actual definition of an artist, but it’s generally what one thinks when one hears the term.) My latest venture was to visit the Maker’s Mill in my town, where creative entrepreneurs and hobbyists can pay a membership fee to use any equipment in the building (as long as they’re certified), and there was a lot of equipment. I drooled all over the tour, resisting the urge to touch routers, lathes, sanders, looms, sewing machines, leather crafting tools, jewelry making sets, 3d printers… As soon as I got home, I filled out a volunteer application form in the hopes of getting a discount on the membership fee and making myself a permanent installation in the makerspace.

But some circumstances have changed.

And, at the end of the day, I don’t feel capable of optimistic dreaming, or, speaking more practically, managing the stress of ordinary adult life as well as managing a business, as well as being creative for a living, as well as marketing my art. It’s a lot to handle on a good day, and right now, it’s too much.

So I closed the shop side of my website and logged out of Instagram. I’m starting to throw out applications for regular ol’ 9-5 jobs, and checking for available housing all over my state in case I have to relocate. I’m trying not to entertain the possibility of leaving New Hampshire; the big wide world is too full of options for me to make that decision without a reason to go (i.e. a job first).

Someone I know describes moments like these as turning points – when multiple big changes happen in close succession, usually unsought. Sometimes life turns the corner for you, and it’s all you can do to go with the flow.

(The illustration at the top is of a card I sent to an older lady living alone, which is mostly unrelated to this post, but I felt like it needed to be art-related somehow.)

Side Quest Camping Trip

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / February 12, 2023 / No comments

Skyrim again. Taking Lydia on a cross-country side quest camping trip. I get the feeling she’s wondering, “How did I get stuck with the biggest screw-off in the Empire?”

Third wheel

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / February 10, 2023 / No comments

From the video game Skyrim, in an imagined scenario where my character invites Mjoll the Lioness to have a drink, and finds that Aerin is included.

I’m a little bit embarrassed about how much I’m into this game.

The Breton

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / February 4, 2023 / No comments

I’ve just started playing Skyrim for the first time. So far I’m playing without mods, and although I started in Survival mode, it’s sort of obnoxious to need to eat everything that’s not nailed down, so I’m probably going to turn that off… Anyway, this is a quick portrait of my character, still wearing that good ol’ Imperial light armor. She’s a Breton by race, though her facial tattoos mark her home clan. When Hadvar asked who she was at the executioner’s block, she told him, “Tasha.”

Tasha wasn’t really her name. Tasha was the name of a renowned witch queen, and as the Breton assumed she was about to die, she liked to think she might give her executioners pause. But of course, she didn’t die, and so she shrugged and took the name with her. She’s leaning towards sneakery and light theft, with a taste for wine.

I feel like playing Skyrim is one of those Nerd Rites of Passage, like listening to Critical Role and watching Star Wars, although I’m twelve years late to the party.

Fortune favors the wise

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / February 2, 2023 / No comments

I think the trick to being a successful adventurer is more or less the same as it is for being a successful anything – knowing when to walk away. Obviously, it’s a very D&D-inspired piece (I still haven’t actually played proper D&D…), colored with a bit of personal self-doubt: careful not to reach too far, or your lofty aim might be the end of you.

In the few weeks (almost three) since leaving my job at the bookstore, I’ve been working on a few art-related things:

Learning how to do digital art (and develop a style? or not)
Learning all about sales tax, income tax, self-employed tax, small business tax, hobby vs. business, &c
Photographing and editing art pieces to digitize
Setting up my shop page for integration with a print-on-demand platform
Other non-art adult things like adjusting health insurance and filing taxes

I haven’t come across very many artists or professional hobbyists who talk much about the pain in the butt which is learning how to not only make art, but also sell it, and also remain tax compliant. I don’t quite understand why – it’s hugely time-consuming and often confusing. There’s a lot of work that goes into earning income from art (or any kind of self-employed-ish skill), and a lot of passwords that are all jumbled in my head.

Sometimes I think I’m on the wrong track. I don’t want to own a business, or be famous, or (over)think about being spread all over the internet. I just want to stay at home and make recycled paper.