New Year’s resolutions

Blog / psychology

“What’s your resolution?” Facebook asked me. And I thought “Umm, just 1024 x 768, why?” . Oops. But of course, I do have many wishes and dreams for the year(s) to come! And as a student of neuropsychology, I might be able to help others to achieve their goals by giving some tips. Therefore, I talked about this with journalist Robbert Minkhorst for a story in “FIT”, the health supplement of various local and regional Dutch newspapers (the Noord-Hollands Dagblad, Haarlems Dagblad, Leidsch Dagblad and de Gooi and Eemlander). And worked out an English version of my rambling for this blog. 😉

道 – my budo year 2018

karate / kendo / martial arts

Now that 2018 is coming to an end, it seems wise to me to reflect on what this budo year brought me, on my progress, my journey, or as we call it: my “dō” (pronounced “daw”, meaning “the way/path”). Even more so, because a broken toe prevented me from training for almost a month and I miss my budo dearly… the training, my friends and budo in itself. Can’t wait ’till I am in a dojo, again!

Alfred of Wessex

King Alfred of Wessex

A piece of fan fiction about King Alfred! 🙂 This written portrait – simply called Alfred of Wessex – gives a good impression of how we see him now, an image wherein facts and fantasy are mixed. It includes many historical facts, like the type of candle clock Alfred invented for himself, which allowed eight hours for work, eight for study and eight for sleep. But it also adds fiction, for example by naming the pagan Uhtred of Bebbanburg, who is the (fictive) main character in The Last Kingdom. This short story was written by Katelynn Koontz and re-published on this website with permission of the author.

Frankenstein Mermaids

mermaids

Last week, I had to chance to brighten those dreary nights in November with a visit to Edinburgh and the lively “Fates of Frankenstein”, a two-day conference about Frankenstein’s legacies in popular culture. My presentation was about “Frankenstein Mermaids” and if you are interested, you can read read more about that in this article that was published in Foundation.

Daffodils and Dinosaurs

fanfic

A new piece of fanfiction in the intertexual narrative of the Cyborg Mermaid! 😀 Published author Katelynn E. Koontz wrote this short story about the prehistoric world that was spoken about while the Cyborg Mermaid was in her spaceship towards earth. Thank you, Katelynn!

The Heroic Myth Index

mermaids / mythology

Carol S. Pearson’s bestselling book “The Hero Within” combines insights from literature, anthropology and psychology to distinguish six heroic archetypes. Taking both Hans Christian Andersen’s and Disney’s versions ‘The Little Mermaid’ as case studies, this blogpost shall identify archetypes from Pearson’s Heroic Myth Index that can be traced in the main character.