August | 2016 | Isidora Works

Monthly Archives: August 2016
- ‘Lady of the Sea’ – The Island
  
  Posted at 3:25 pm by M, on August 31, 2016
  
  [For the previous chapters, check the Lady of the Sea‘s main page]
  
  It had an unusual shape, almost resembling a perfect circle – one that had been half-bitten off. When the tide was high, it looked like the letter C. When it was low, as it was now, it had a lovely, spacious beach.
  
  A man came out of the woods carrying a pile of logs in his arms. There was no knowing if he was a native but he very clearly had been living there for a long while. There’s a certain way of walking about when you are in a familiar place. Like you are the most confident person in the world – at least there.
  
  He stopped at the beach and gathered the logs on the ground to light a fire. There was still light in the sky but the sun had already set and what seemed to be a wild board was waiting patiently, on a stake, to be cooked for someone’s meal.
  
  The man didn’t look like most of the natives from the islands in that part of the ocean, but his skin was dry and darkened by the sun, with a face covered by a thick, messy beard. It was a face, in fact, that looked very familiar. Too familiar. And those eyes, green as a misty forest… No. It couldn’t be.
  
  Peafowl woke up with a start. He was drenched in sweat and with a feeling of dread as he hadn’t felt in a very long time. It was just a dream. Surely it meant nothing.
  
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  Posted in English, Lady of the Sea, My Pen | 0 Comments | Tagged All posts, Daniel Lopes, fiction, island, Lady of the Sea, mine, Peafowl, pirates, posts in English, stories, story, storytelling
- The Other Martha
  
  Posted at 5:22 pm by M, on August 24, 2016
  
  Woke up to a could-be-worse movie about her and Hemingway this morning – sadly, it is also the most common result when you run a search for the lady on YouTube.
  
  The great Martha Gellhorn is high on my list of Women I Want to be Like When I Grow Up.
  
  With a tremendous amount of chutzpah, she will make most of us feel like we could be doing something more meaningful with our very short time in the land of the living.
  
  Martha Gellhorn, by Bernard Perlin (1958)
  
  Considered still today as the best war correspondent ever, Martha Gellhorn covered the Spanish Civil War, the London blitz, the Allies liberation of Dachau and the Vietnam war, to name but a few, deciding to stop only after her eighties.
  
  She wrote things as she saw them, rather than choosing to be objectively neutral – can you ever be, really? – and, in an interview from 1983, she speaks about the politics of the time and US foreign affairs (i.e. Vietnam) in such a lucid way, one cannot help but make the link to the state of Eastern politics today. Or perhaps not much has changed.
  
  Her main driving force was putting things on the record. Even if not many will read it. Even if you’re censored. Putting it on the record means someone, somewhere, will know what happened and what were the real consequences. Putting it on the record makes it just that little bit harder for Them to manipulate Everyone Else.
  
  She might have loved the 21st century, with all its speed of information sharing – I can easily imagine her with a very active Twitter account. But I wonder how Gillhorn – who saw the survivors of Dachau firsthand – would deal with a society that barely reads more than the headlines and yet feels so globally engaged just by sharing photos and using hashtags to raise awareness on issues and victims that will be forgotten in the next hour.
  
  Posted in Best Of, English, My Pen, Pen | 0 Comments | Tagged All posts, heroes, journalism, Martha Gellhorn, mine, opinion, posts in English, the crutches diaries, the crutches diary
- Crutches, the friendly cosmic dragon
  
  Posted at 3:10 pm by M, on August 24, 2016
  
  The upside of being indoors on hot August days.
  
  Posted in My Pencil | 0 Comments | Tagged aguarelas, All posts, dragão, dragon, experiment, make good art, mine, mythical creatures, sketch, the crutches diaries, the crutches diary, watercolor, watercolour
- ‘Lady of the Sea’ – The Messenger
  
  Posted at 11:36 am by M, on August 23, 2016
  
  [For the previous chapters, check the Lady of the Sea‘s main page]
  
  All the ship’s crew was up and gathered around the rear. They were chattering and pointing excitedly, as if they couldn’t believe their eyes.
  
  Azov walked towards them, looking very annoyed. This was no attack, or else they would all be in their posts and battle cries would be echoing into the horizon.
  
  “Captain! Captain!”, cried a young pirate, running towards him.
  
  “What is it man? What is all the fuss about?”
  
  “A ship, sir! With the royal flag! Coming our way.”
  
  Azov, the Captain Pirate, froze for a split second. A royal ship in their direction? Why on earth for? Could the Queen be aboard? Surely not. Her Royal Highness wouldn’t come herself, she always sends representatives, get a hold of yourself man and start breathing properly. You are the mighty Azov, feared and respected in the seven seas. A leader. A bear. You do not go weak in the knees for a pale monarch.
  
  He walked towards the rear and there it was. It was a small galliot, so there would certainly be no monarchs aboard. But the white flag was up, so Azov ordered that the ship would change direction to meet the strangers.
  
  Both ships closed in on each other and a very tall, thin man cried,
  “We come in peace! Her Royal Majesty the Queen wishes to send a message to Captain Azov! Requesting permission to come aboard.”
  
  Azov’s pirates put out the wooden boards to connect both ships. A young man came out, notoriously nervous, and walked on to the other ship. The crossing went well, but he tripped on his last step to the pirate’s ship, and fell flat on his face with a noise that sounded louder than he did. To his surprise, a couple of pirates helped him up.
  Azov was growing impatient.
  
  “What is it boy? Speak up.”
  
  “A message from Her Royal Majesty the Queen for Captain Azov, sir.”
  
  “Yes, we know that already. Go on with it boy.”
  
  “It is sealed, sir,” he said, stretching out a letter. “The Queen ordered that only you were to read it, sir.”
  
  Azov took the letter off the boy’s trembling hands and broke the seal. He felt a little ashamed to notice that his heart warmed a little in seeing his Queen’s handwriting once more. But then he noticed there wasn’t much handwriting to admire.
  
  It is time.
  
  It was all she wrote. “It is time”, undersigned HRM Isola.
  
  All the pirates had now gathered around their captain, in silent suspense. And at that moment, they all saw the same thing: Azov’s face turning more grim than they had ever seen it.
  
  Posted in English, Lady of the Sea, My Pen | 0 Comments | Tagged All posts, Azov, Daniel Lopes, fiction, Lady of the Sea, mine, pirates, posts in English, story, storytelling
- The Crutches Diary
  
  Posted at 10:30 am by M, on August 22, 2016
  
  Stuck at home for a while and don’t feel like zombie-ing out in front of a screen?
  Always wanted to try something but think you’re too old?
  Here’s Miss Watercolour Fox to get you inspired.
  
  Posted in My Pencil | 1 Comment | Tagged aguarelas, All posts, art, desenhos, fox, make good art, mine, pintura, raposa, the crutches diary, watercolor, watercolour
- Nostalgia
  
  Posted at 6:06 am by M, on August 18, 2016
  
  Going back to 90s music for some unknown reason.
  
  This is still one of the best, classier pop albums of all time.
  
  You Have Been Loved is heartbreakingly beautiful.
  
  Posted in Blurb | 0 Comments | Tagged All posts, George Michael, music, older, Pop