Arkiemedes Tams... a wise little man

This little old fellow is Arkiemedes Tams. Arky loves contemplating nature and gardening. He has been a scholar in his life and has known and seen much. This never weighs him down though. You can regularly see him skipping down a path and whistling a jaunty tune - don't be fooled by that walking stick he is by no means feeble. Arky is a bit of a tease and can be very mischievous, there is always fun sparkling in his eyes.

I always find it interesting to know where names come from - Arky received his name from one of my aunts. She informed me that he looked like an 'Arkiemedes' the first time they met and she was right, though to me he feels like 'Arkiemedes'. The second half of his name 'Tams' is in honour of Charles de Lint after after the magical 'Tamson house' in his novel Moonheart - full of secrets and magic.

These pictures were taken when we had gone out for a walk and we found a walking stick - as if it were made just for him. The angle of the handle and the height were so perfectly matched - it was meant to be!

Magical Movies

These are some of the movies that I absolutely love and thought I would share. They all have a bit of a dark fairy tale undertone to them which I find very satisfying.

"Alice in Wonderland" (1985) This version is the best I've seen. The scene with the Jabberwocky terrified me when I was little. A very good portrayal of a monster. I'm excited to see that Tim Burton is creating a version of Alice coming out in 2010 - with Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman (how I love his voice!) and Anne Hathaway! How wonderful is that? The next movie "The Fall" (2006) is one that was recommended to me by a friend just recently. It takes place in the 1920's and has an intriguing duality to it - similar in a way to the movie "MirrorMask" (2005) based on Neil Gaiman's book by the same title. Which I also think is amazing! "Into the Woods" (1991) is now one of my favourite musicals thanks to another friend with esquisite taste in the genre. It's full of what if's, and incredible lyrics. I can watch that all the way through and then start again! "Knightriders" (1981) I love because the setting and some of the characters melencholy remind me of one of my favourite books by my favourite fantasy autor Mercedes Lackey. The book "Bedlam's Bard" has the world of faerie, magic, renissance fairs and modern day motorcycles all intertwined. Could you ask for more?

"Labyrinth" (1986) Most favourite movie ever? Yes, yes just perhaps. It's pretty hard to beat. "Neverwhere" (1996) I actually listened to this on a Book CD (where Neil Gaiman read it - he has a lovely voice!) and found out that the book was written after the tv series. Very very good - but I've very biased, I love anything and everything he does. There's a whole world of magic underneith and above and around you that you just don't realize is there. "Pan's Labyrinth"(2006) a very dark fairytale, it reminds you that there is an unseelie court of darkness and some of the creatures here you might see there... Wonderful imagery. "Snow White A Tale of Terror"(1997) Another version that is the twisted darker telling of the fairytale.

Eolande Ceidkeipyr; a selection from her diaries and journals