The Occult Takes New York - Movie Reviews of Dr. Strange and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Two movies have recently debuted about the occult taking over / protecting New York City: a Marvel film about a sorcerer supreme starring the much revered Benedict Cumberbatch (a need to posting about the Climate Change agreement preempted a post about it, though I enjoyed the movie immensely. So little time in these days of homeschooling and teaching three classes at homeschooling co-ops that I have to choose my battles for time to blog.) and last night I watched the new movie about the wizarding world with only a few big names scattered among the villeins, Colin Farrell and Johny Depp. But the main actor Eddie Redmayne, playing Newt Scamander, was wonderful.

(For some unknown reason beyond my control this site has decided to print this portion in white instead of black like the rest of it. Hmm.)

Mythological Species # 30 – Goblins and #31 - Brownies

The nights are coming earlier and the dark loving creatures are more and more on my mind. The elves and fairies, creatures of twilight, came stealing along the hedgerows and at forest edges, but now there are the creatures of darkness. Creature of the pitch black mines and the midnight hours. Among the most famous denizens of the night are the more treacherous counterparts to elves, the goblins and their ilk.

There are many names for goblins and goblin-like creatures: Hobs, hobgoblins, orcs, bogie men, boggarts (boggles, bogles), bodach (Highlands), brownies, spriggans, Fenoderee (Isle of Man), redcaps (Scottish) – said to redye the caps in human blood - brags, gremlins, Puck, phookas (Irish), Pwca (Welsh), bwca (Welsh) Trows (Shetland Islands), trous (Scandinavia), knolls, knockers (Cornish and Devon), Coblynau/Koblernigh (Welsh), Kobolds (German), wichtlein (Southern Germany), dwarfs/duergar (Scandinavia, Germany, North England), Pixie/Pisgie/piskie/pigsey/puggie/(Cornwall), Will o' the Wisps.

Stamps Commemorate Harry Potter and Fantasy Literature; Neo-myth; Mythological Species of Humanoids # 19 - Veelas

(I've been waiting to write about this for a while, but spring sensitive posts have taken precedent.)

I was impressed by the recent Postal Stamp Catalog.

 [We have a postal worker in the family and find ordering books of stamps more fun than getting them from standing in line at the post office or from a machine.] I find the art on some stamps truly beautiful. I was intrigued to see Harry Potter stamps being offered by the US Postal Service.