Distracted by Shiny Objects @ejstark - Tumblr Blog

All right, bitches, Gandalf is intervening. I am so fucking done with blasts from the past, and I swear to Varda, there will be another fucking interspecies war over sparkly fucking rocks over my dead fucking body.

- Gandalf, to Thranduil, Thorin, and Bard, The Hobbit, chapter XVII

ejstark

Pretty much what he said, if a bit more direct than an Istari would usually be.

#incorrect tolkien quotes #the hobbit #gandalf shakes some sense into them

art-of-swords-deactivated201705

Arming Sword

Dated: 19th century

Medium: iron, steel, gold, bronze and silver, chiselled

Measurements: overall length 80.6 cm; width 4.7 cm; weight 1.17 kg

The sword is of modern make, made in the style of the Italian Renaissance. The pommel is flat and has shield-shaped in form, chiselled with Renaissance decoration enclosing an oval cartouche on either side of Justice and Fortitude in relief on a gilt ground. The shaped grip is chiselled en suite in low relief and enriched with punched spots (pointillé) filled in silver and gold.

The crossguard is curving towards the blade, decorated with masks, in the middle with garlands, and on the back with scale ornament. The double-edged blade has a single fuller (except at the forte, where there are three), and it is pierced and incised with C-scrolls. The form of this object is that of a rich Italian parade sword of the High Renaissance. The blade has been deeply pitted and, at one time, over-cleaned. The surface is now a dull laden colour suggesting the use of acid.

There is a cinquedea in the Musée de Cluny, Paris (Edouard de Beaumont Bequest), with a hilt of similar design; another is in the Louvre (Laking, figs. 655, 654). Compare also the beautiful sword of Cesare Borgia, which is preserved in the family of the Duke of Sermoneta (Prince Caetani); its scabbard of cuir bouilli is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. 101, 1869).

It is reproduced by de Beaumont (Fleur des Belles Epées), and in Laking, II, figs. 648-9, C. Blair, ‘Cesare Borgia’s sword-scabbard’, Victoria and Albert Museum Bulletin, II, pp. 125-36. There is another in the Lazaro-Galdiano Museum in Madrid, the hilt of which is open to doubt.

ejstark

This is beautiful. Many 19th century ‘medieval’ objects are awkward, clearly the result of research fails. But this- this is a beautiful synthesis.

LOVE

“…literature was the only religion her father practiced, when a book fell on the floor he kissed it, when he was done with a book he tried to give it away to someone who would love it" - Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (photo by jasmine raena)

jinxmyride-deactivated20161103

I don’t think people understand that I don’t just want books to read them - even having them around makes me feel better. Stacks of books on my desk and a paperback in my hands, even just seeing a book, it makes me feel calm and safe, their presence is magic.

#Books #physical books #reading

neoliberalismkills

reblog if women with swords

ejstark

I assume historical fencing counts. My favorite sword comes from Darkwood Armory. ww.darkwoodarmory.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_5

#women with swords #fencing in the round #historical fencing

iwoofjaneway-deactivated2016060

“ It’s armor. On a woman. It doesn’t have to look feminine.”

lizstaley

If I ever don’t reblog this, it’s because I’m dead.

kiokushitakaa

game devs take note

bestnatesmithever

What a weird impulse. Why would you need it to look feminine? Or masculine? It’s armor to protect your body from death. Not dying should be gender neutral.

mathylibrarian

Not dying should be gender neutral

ejstark

The difference between men and women in armour- men tend to have proportionally longer torsos and shorted legs. Women tend to have proportionally shorter torsos and longer legs. Armour is armour. Does it fit you? Good.

#brienne of tarth #captain phasma #gwendoline christie #female armour

mvninn-deactivated20161120

Gleðilegan mæðradag allar mömmur…

#things that must be reblogged #corvids

art-of-swords-deactivated201705

Rapier and Parrying Dagger Set

Dated: early 17th century

Culture: Italian

Measurements: overall length [ sword ] 114 cm; overall length [ dagger ] 44 cm

The rapier has a straight, double-edged blade, ribbed at the tip, with a fuller at the centre and a triple fuller, gilt and pierced, at the forte. The tang comes with a double fuller on both sides, while the iron hilt, counter-curved and palmed quillons, is chiselled with floral motifs at the edges featuring remains of gilding. The arms of the hilt end in a ring on the front side, with two spikes bent toward the guard ring, all elements decorated with chiselling and remains of gilding en suite. The olive-shaped pommel is decorated en suite.

The dagger has a straight blade, with a fuller and pierced, featuring remains of gilding, and an outlined tang with remains of stamps. The quillon has counter-curved arms, provided with parry ring, everything worked en suite with the hilt of the sword. The grip has metallic wire binding, and an olive-shaped pommel with gilt chiselling.

ejstark

The pierced work on the blade is nice, but, oh, the wire wrap on the hilt of that dagger- beautiful and functional. Yum.

#things i want #not sure the marshals would pass it #sca fencing

sixpenceee

This fake brain actually has the same consistency as the real deal. So now you know how concussions happen!

celtic-pyro-deactivated20230725

All my datafiles…contained in jelly…

ejstark

Yes, THIS! I’ve had a concussion, with the flash of light (this is from the optic nerve being shocked), the headaches, and everything. Take it seriously guys!

#sports injuries #concussion #sca armoured combat

julestheconman

The shots above are all from our second day at Bryce when we did the Figure 8 loop. The loop, a 6.5 mile trail, merges about half of the trails that go down into the canyon into one really nice figure 8 shaped loop. This hike was just the right mix of hard work, incredible sights and fun. The trail was carved out by the CCC and along the way there are several chiseled tunnels through the limestone. We saw formations like the wall of windows, balancing rocks and many precarious unnamed spires. We stopped for lunch at a trail junction where out of the blue, a German couple asked if we would like our picture taken. They told us they were fascinated that we were actually mixing peanut butter and jelly on one sandwich, evidently not something done in Germany?

bright-glowing-embers

* Let’s Explore This Beautiful World Together! *

ejstark

Bryce Canyon is amazing. If you possibly can, you should go there and see it for yourself.

#bryce canyon #bucketlist

kadeart

I hate you

ejstark

Make them sit next to each other... Well, it works with five-year-olds...

teapotsahoy

When I saw this in thumbail, I thought it was a Musketeers pic, but according to twitter it’s the Black female graduates of West Point, 2016

ejstark

Every one of these young women made it all the way through West Point. They are badasses in a way that no group of actors dressed up as musketeers could ever be.

antigot

The genius of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire isn't his prose — which is often rote — it's his world building, and his ability to craft a story in which every action has consequences and carries thematic weight. No act of violence just happens — it is caused, and that in turn causes more. HBO's adaptation of the series maintained much of this violence critique in its earlier seasons, letting characters opine at length about the Mad King and Robert's Rebellion to provide the context viewers needed. But as we've plodded into the later seasons of Game of Thrones, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss seem to be abandoning this throughline. The shift is making a complex and thoughtful story into something of a boring, pedestrian gorefest.