Books are pieces of art. They can take you to fantastic worlds, make you live a thousand lives or simply help you acquire knowledge. For a very long time, books have enriched people’s lives and humanity appreciates them for the stories they tell, the lessons they teach, and the memories people make reading them.
\nTherefore, the Cuddledragon gets sad every time it sees a book leading a lonely existence on a shelf, gathering dust after being read only once or twice. To remedy this problem and give books a second life, the Cuddledragon found a way to transform them into beautiful art pieces that can pep up your lair! And it is not talking about arranging the old books by the colour of their spine or by grouping them in meticulously placed piles to make the cave seem cosier – no. The small dragon folds images and words into the pages of the book using a special technique also known as dog-earing.
\nYes, you heard that right. By strategically dog-earing the pages of the old tomes, the dragon upcycles the book and creates a unique art piece. Now, as the creation of a model that permits identifying the places where the dog-ear has to be made to fold a wholesome art piece is quite complicated, the Cuddledragon immediately asked its partner, the Dragonkeeper, for help.
The Dragonkeeper is a talented programmer and inspired by the Cuddledragon’s request, he directly entrenched himself in his top-secret computer lair to write a program for his beloved dragon.
The result of hours and hours spent coding is a pretty little program that automatically generates a folding model unique for the desired image and the book chosen to be upcycled. When the Dragonkeeper presents the program to the Cuddledragon, the latter jumps up and down excitedly before directly making a test-run. Proud of the beautiful result, the small dragon bounces back to its partner.
\n“Look, look!”, it exclaims, its spiked tail swishing over the stone floor. “Your program works really well. The book looks so beautiful, I can’t wait to put it up in my lair for everyone to see!”
The Dragonkeeper smiles softly, happy to see the small dragon laugh so thoroughly contentedly. “What if”, he proposes then, “what if we could make the program accessible to everyone? Spread creativity and art in an open-source project?”
The Cuddledragon’s eyes start to sparkle. “Really? That is SUCH a great idea. I’m in!”
And so, both the Cuddledragon and the Dragonkeeper firmly believing in the concepts of “Sharing is Caring”, “Art for Art” and sustainability, they decide to create a free-for-use website. “I will program and design the web page”, the Dragonkeeper announces. “You are way better with words anyways. Would you mind writing the texts for the website and find a name for it?”
The Cuddledragon nods happily and settles down with a notebook to pour over the name they will give the program. Some hours later, the dragon interrupts the soft background noise made by the constant clicking of the Dragonkeeper’s keyboard.
“I found the perfect name”, the Cuddledragon purrs contentedly. “Are you ready?” The Dragonkeeper laughs and nods. “LiterARTure”, presents the small dragon proudly, “Like literature and art, you get it? Because we take literature in the form of books and turn them into art.”
“Yes, yes”, the Dragonkeeper smiles approvingly, “that is a great name indeed. We shall take it.”
And so, after a bit of finetuning and text editing, the enthusiastic duo uploads the website. Now, the Cuddledragon thinks happily, more books will meet another destiny then to gather dust on a shelf. And maybe – just maybe – some of the people using the website will send a maildragon to show the creators their upcycled book.
After all, seeing how something one did can be of help to others is the greatest reward of all.
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You, dear reader, can find the website online. Just accompany the tiny webdragons to the following web address: https://www.literarture.org/
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***
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Note from this blog’s author and the programmer behind LiterARTure:
\nWe are convinced that throwing books away because they aren’t read anymore is a waste of more than only resources. By sharing with you the methods and possibilities of recycling those books into new and unique pieces of art, we hope to contribute to a sustainable and artistic way of life. And as we firmly believe that sharing is caring, the use of LiterARTure is, and always will be, 100% free.
\nLiterARTure is a meditating and calming activity that allows you to repurpose your old books into unique and artsy decoration pieces. It also is a perfect and very personal gift – not only for book lovers. On the website you will find detailed explications on how to proceed to create your first literARTwork.
\nOn that note, we just wish to say that we would love to see the results of your work. So please feel free to contact us (this blog’s author alias the Cuddledragon and LiterARTure’s programmer alias the Dragonkeeper) via the LiterARTure website. If you are so inclined, and only with your explicit permission, of course, we hope to upload photos of your work on the website to share your impressive artwork with other visitors of the website. But in any case: have fun!
","category":"programming","date":"2023-04-11T03:11:18.958Z"},{"post_id":83,"title":"The Jesus Video","title_normalised":"the-jesus-video","content":"Imagine there was a video that showed Jesus. The actual, breathing, and preaching messiah of Christianity. What then?
\nToday, the Cuddledragon wishes to tell you about a fantastic book, found deep in the farthest recesses of the small dragon’s library. First of all, the Cuddledragon wishes to present its excuses for the long wait on this blog post. While on holidays, the dragon has devoured so many good books that it was completely lost in worlds of great stories – and has afterwards been torn by the choice of which one of the captivating tomes it should present to you. Well, the dice have fallen and the winner is :
\nThe Jesus Video from Andreas Eschbach!
\nPublished by the German publishing company Bastei Lübbe in 1998, the science-fiction novel is unfortunately not available in English, but in the German original or also in French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian or Japanese (amongst others), so choose your poison, dear reader. With its 700 pages, it sure is a long read, but a worthy one, as the Cuddledragon assures you.
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Disclaimer: The book is a science-fiction novel first and foremost, the subjects of Jesus and Christian beliefs are treated respectfully, but the story does in no way pursue missionary objectives. So, all of you atheists: give the story a chance.
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But what is the story? Everything begins in Israel, where a 2000-year-old skeleton is found during an archaeological excavation, accompanied by a most interesting find: an equally as old digital camera whose model will not be released onto the market for another three years. (See the paradox?)
\nThe American college student Stephen Foxx who makes the bizarre discovery quickly comes to the conclusion: The skeleton must belong to a time traveller, who died in the past and left the present time his historic legacy. The big question is: what is on the video tape? What would be the most filmworthy thing for a time traveller 2000 years ago in Israel? Well, Jesus of Nazareth of course!
Unfortunately, the camera comes without tape, so its contents will only be revealed to the lucky finder.
When business tycoon John Kaun, owner of an important news channel and sponsor of the excavation, learns about the happenings at the dig site, he makes it his new goal to find the video tape, broadcast it on his news channel and be either the one to show the world how Jesus worked his miracles or the one who brings Christianity to its knees by proving that he never existed.
Not to forget the Catholic Church who enters the race, threatened by the video that may very well shake the foundation of its beliefs. What if Jesus had never lived? And what if he had, but his preaching does not fit in with the religious institution’s objectives?
Ensues a breath-taking search for the missing video tape between Stephen Foxx, John Kaun and the Catholic Church, who rises to the challenge the video poses for its existence and who will stop at nothing to bring the tape into its possession.
Who will be the one to find the video tape? What is on it? And what will happen when its content is known?
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Andreas Eschbach presents us with a brilliant, fast-paced, and well-researched story. Though the novel contains unrealistic elements such as time-travelling, these elements are embedded in a theoretical context in such a way that they seem completely plausible.
Written for anyone with a soft spot for science-fiction, thriller or action-packed adventure stories, and in contrast to what its title may suggest, this novel is anything but a religious book.
The third-person narration with changing viewpoints permits the reader entry into the thoughts of the characters and, at the same time, gives him (or her or them) an insight into the beautifully chaotic strings of action of the story, while never fully revealing the grand scheme of things. The novel is written in the present tense, thus roping the reader into the action, making him anticipate the next turn of events, giving him the feeling of being part of the wild chase.
\nThis effect is intensified by the images Eschbach paints with his descriptions, using a large variety of carefully chosen words to bring the situations to life in the reader’s mind. Though some people may think the abundance of descriptions boring or excessive, the Cuddledragon thinks that they make the story realistic. At more than one point in the lecture, the small dragon felt the scorching heat of the Israelian sun on its scales, saw the hustling and bustling of Jerusalem’s streets and heard the screeching tires of the black van that kept chasing them…
\nBack to the review. The storyline is well plotted and coherent. Every small detail, however unimportant it may seem at first, seems to come back to reveal its significance. Whenever you think that you know what will happen next, Eschbach will change course and leave you flabbergasted. Whenever you think that all hope is lost, Eschbach will come up with a surprising and logical solution. And whenever you want to lay the book aside, Eschbach will throw in another curve ball that leaves you hanging.
\nThe characters themselves are realistically drawn and so, so human. Though not all of them are super likeable, they all have their strong suits and their flaws, they make discoveries as well as mistakes, and they join forces and break alliances. And every interaction between them shows that they are way more than representatives of archetypal character types or superficial extras with a simple goal. The Cuddledragon fell in love with the characters and their depth.
\nWhat the small dragon liked most about the book, though, were the thought-provoking impulses set throughout the novel. What implications would an actual video of Jesus have? For the Catholic Church? For world politics? For the economy and society? And what about time travel? Would there be historical tourism? Philosophically seen, what about changing the flow of time? Could time travel be used ethically? All those questions and more are raised in a way so inconspicuous that you don’t even realize it until you put the book away and start ruminating.
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All in all, and the Cuddledragon’s humble opinion, this book is awesome and A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y worth the read.
\nRiveting story idea with a unique realization and a breath-taking game of cat and mouse? Check.
Amazingly realistic writing style with vivid and imagery vocabulary that ropes you into the action? Check.
Unforeseen plot twists that leave you astonished and wishing for more, with suspense until the very last page? Check.
Fascinating and life-like characters with incredible depth? Check.
Profound food for thought in political, philosophical, economic, and religious fields, amongst others? Also check.
So, what reasons do you have to not read this book? Also… Don’t you want to know what is on this video tape? The Cuddledragon knows you must be curious.
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Short notice: The audiobook, published by Lübbe Audio, is amazingly well read. Michael Koeberlin lends the characters his voice and brings the dozen different characters to life. He creates an atmosphere that makes you feel as if you were directly on-site with the characters, painting pictures in your mind. The audiobook exists in an abridged (ca. 7 hours) as well as an unabridged version (ca. 20 hours), though the Cuddledragon recommends the full audio experience.
","category":"","date":"2022-08-14T15:28:28.252Z"},{"post_id":82,"title":"April Fool","title_normalised":"april-fool","content":"“This coffee is for you. Enjoy and have a nice day!” The ominous look on the coffee vendor’s face should have been warning enough. But the Cuddledragon was tired from a long night pouring over books and desperately needs a bit of caffeine. At this early hour, its brain is not awake enough to connect the dots however.
Thus, the dragon nods in thanks and brings the cup to its snout. Taking a long sip of the hot beverage, the Cuddledragon immediately suffers the consequence of its lack of attention.
“Blargh!” Choking on the coffee, it turns around to the coffee shop attendant and cries out: “What the hell did you put in there? This is so salty a saltwater fish couldn’t stand it!”
The man behind the counter puts up his hands and shouts loudly: “April Fool!”
Confused, the Cuddledragon throws a glance at its watch and indeed, it is the 1st of April. By now, the coffee shop worker tends the dragon another cup with fresh coffee and promises: “Don’t worry. This is real coffee. I exchanged the sugar for salt in your first one. Company policy for April Fool’s Day.” He shrugs his shoulders with an apologetic look on his face.
The Cuddledragon has visibly calmed down and, looking back, must admit that the prank was well done. “No, no”, it assures the shop worker, “don’t worry. I should have seen this coming. It’s not like today being the 1st of April is a surprise after all, I just forgot. My bad.” With a smile, the small dragon takes the new coffee from the coffee vendor and dips his head again. “The prank was well executed. Congratulations. Have a nice day!”
Then, (and now aware of the date), the Cuddledragon hurriedly flies home to think about which pranks to pull on its own friends.
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The concept of a day dedicated to harmless jokes is a worldwide phenomenon. All over the globe, people try to lighten up each other’s dull everyday life with a playful hoax.
\nIn Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, April Fool’s Day is called El Día de los Santos Inocentes which literally means ‘Day of the holy innocents’ and takes place at the end of December.
\nIn many countries though, most of them in Europe, but also in the US, Canada or Australia, the 1st of April stays the day chosen to fool friends, colleagues, and family. The customs for devising the hoaxes vary depending on the country.
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If in France and Italy, on the 1st of April something seems fishy to you, listen to your intuition. In these countries, the most common joke consists of sticking a paper fish on the back of another person. Until they realise that they carry the poisson d’avril in French, or the pesce d’aprile in Italian, they are considered an April Fool.
\nIn Germany and in the United States, your imagination is the limit for your April Fool’s jokes. As long as the joke does not harm the recipient or puts him in danger, anything goes. After the prank has been delivered, the German’s shout out “April, April!” at the fooled person to inform them that they just fell for a trick (just in case it isn’t obvious) while the Americans stay true to the English form of the idiom: “April Fool!”
\nPrima Aprilis is the Latin translation for 1st of April. Also, it is the Polish name of the holiday. The Polish people pull pranks like all of the other countries. In addition though, they lie like troopers. Honestly, you’re better off not believing a thing that comes out of their mouth on Prima Aprilis.
\nIn Australia, it is custom to send ask a friend for his help delivering a package or letter to someone. The note inside the package or letter tells the receiving person to pretend there was a mistake with the address inscription. The poor fool is then sent onwards to the next address, whereupon the whole story repeats. Moral of the story? Don’t ever accept to help your friends on April Fool’s Day Down Under, unless you wish to start an endless odyssey!
\nStaying in anglophone cultures, the April Fool’s traditions in the United Kingdom stand out from the rest. Although the part with playing pranks on others is much the same as in other European countries, the British people add some restrictions to spice up the mood. First of all, a person falling for a prank officially get’s the title April Fool. The only way to pass on this hapless title is to successfully pull a prank on another person. Secondly, the British people introduce a time limit: April Fool’s jokes can only be played until noon. Those who prank others after midday get branded a “Fool for life”.
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A quick research shows, however, that not only individuals, but also huge companies take part in the bustle around the 1st of April. Especially newspapers and other informational media enjoy leading their readers by the nose. On April Fool’s Day, many newspapers release so-called canards, false reports. In 1957 for example, the BBC broadcasted a short film that purportedly shows Swiss farmers picking spaghetti from the exotic spaghetti plant (see here for the original video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVo_wkxH9dU). In the 1950s, the noodles were not yet well-known, so many people did not know that spaghettis consist of wheat flower and water. As a consequence, the BBC was flooded with messages from viewers wanting to know where they could purchase their own spaghetti plant. Only the next day did the BBC declare the reportage \"a false report.
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With those pieces of information in mind… the Cuddledragon hopes you pass a good April Fool’s Day. May the jokes be with you and be careful of which information you trust (cue the devilish smile 😈).
","category":"other","date":"2022-04-01T15:48:06.006Z"},{"post_id":81,"title":"Marzipan-Rum Chocolates","title_normalised":"marzipan-rum-chocolates","content":"The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Ever heard of the saying? Well, at first glance it might seem weird to associate love with the stomach, especially if we consider that the organ most commonly linked with love is the heart. But then again, have you ever had someone cook a meal for you so good that you were ready to marry them on the spot just to be able to eat such delicious food again?
\nDelicious food makes us happy. Our loved ones make us happy. A mixture of both, as in ‘your loved one gifting you a self-made meal as a token of affection’, that seems to be a sure-fire way to conquer a heart.
\nIt is not for nothing that other languages use the same idiom. In Germany, for example, it is very common to say: “Liebe geht durch den Magen.“ And French people follow in those footsteps with their idiom “L’amour passe par l’estomac.”
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With Valentine’s Day coming up tomorrow, a great number of people are looking for a way to show their loved ones how important they are to them. The most common gifts for the holiday of love are red roses, chocolates in heart shaped boxes and other symbols of love.
\nAfter hearing that you can win a person’s heart with delicious food, the Cuddledragon wishes to reveal to you a recipe that may help you show your affections to your significant other. Marzipan-Rum chocolates are easy to make, look beautiful and – their most important quality – they are absolutely delicious.
\nAlso… sharing is caring, so by offering chocolates to your partner, you will most probably get some yourself, hehe (no hidden agenda there, not at all 😉). And in case your partner eats them all, make sure to taste some before the handover, just to ascertain that they taste good of course (no ulterior motive here, either). Also, should there be any chocolates in the batch that look less then perfect, it is the confectioner’s responsibility to destroy all evidence (by now you know what that means 😈).
\nAnyways: What we can take away from this is that the Cuddledragon’s Marzipan-Rum Chocolates are the best possible Valentine’s Day gift for your partner (and for yourself).
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***
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MARZIPAN-RUM CHOCOLATES
\nRecipe for ca. 30-40 pieces
\nCa. 45 minutes preparation time + 2–3 hours cooling time
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INGREDIENTS
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PREPARATION
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And last but not least: Enjoy! The Cuddledragon wishes you a happy ❤ Valentine’s Day ❤.
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P.S.: The Marzipan-Rum Chocolates can be eaten any time. The small dragon assures you that they taste equally good on a day that is not the 14th of February.
","category":"recipes","date":"2022-02-13T11:24:27.310Z"},{"post_id":80,"title":"New Year Traditions","title_normalised":"new-year-traditions","content":"The new year has only just begun, but everyday life already has the Cuddledragon busily running around. This is why the new piece of informational treasure it is going to share with you today will be relatively short. Last year, the dragon explained to you why exactly the Germans wish each other a “Guten Rutsch”, a good slide, for the new year. This year, it will tell you more about New Year traditions from all over the world.
\nIn fact, the Cuddledragon has chosen a top ten of them, although all traditions are to be regarded equally. They are all cultural rituals and none of them are better than others, just because they come first in this list. Actually, the Cuddledragon just jotted them down in the order it found out about them. No judging or ranking there, honestly.
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1. In Spain, it is tradition to eat 12 grapes, one for every time the bell strikes at midnight. Should you succeed swallowing them all on time, belief has it that you will have good luck in the coming year. It is also often said that if you make a wish for every grape you eat, and succeed in eating them all, the twelve wishes, one for each month of the year, will get true.
\n2. If you rather wish for adventure and travel instead of luck, you can follow this Colombian new year tradition: just take a suitcase (it can be empty) for a short stroll around your house or around your block if the travels should be longer distance, and the new year should provide you with plenty of opportunities to experience adventures and discover the world.
\n3. New Year is always a good time for new beginnings. Therefore, people throw dishes and tableware against the door of friends or family in Denmark. Maybe this is a secret anti-aggression therapy, smashing things to let go of the pent-up and left-over anger in order to start the new year without resentment. In any case, the more broken dishes and shards litter your doorframe in the morning, the better your luck in the new year will be, according to cultural belief.
\n4. The Germans, contrary to the prejudicial rational image they are often attributed, follow a rather spiritual tradition: On New Year’s Eve, they heat lead over candles and pour the molten metal into cold water. Then, the shapes the lead forms after cooling down are analysed and interpreted to find out what the coming year has in store for them.
\n5. Would you hang an onion on your door or in your window? Probably not. In Greece, however, the onion is a symbol of rebirth. Growing roots and sprouting even after torn from the soil it grew in, the sturdy vegetable supposedly brings luck and growth to those who put it up on the front of their house.
\n6. In other countries, traditions have involved to improve the chance of finding love and to increase fertility. On the new 31st of December, you will find most Italians, be they male or female, wear red underwear to reach those goals. But beware; in some regions the full effect of the garments is believed to only be achievable if the underwear was gifted to you by someone else.
\n7. Food is a recurrent ingredient (pardon the pun) in cultural traditions. In Japan, the Japanese oftentimes eat soba noodles called Toshikoshi Soba on New Year’s Eve. Toshikoshi means “climbing or jumping from the old year to the new one” and soba refers to a type of noodles made from buckwheat that are long and thin. They also break easily which is supposedly a symbol for the person breaking free from old year and all its worries.
\n8. In Ecuador, people build effigies of famous politicians, celebrities, cartoon characters etc. from papier-mache and straw. Those dolls are burned in the Año Viejo tradition that represents the burning of the old year with the objective of making way for a new beginning in the new year.
\n9. In the wild Highlands in Scotland, the inhabitants pay great attention to the first male to cross the threshold of their home. This tradition is called first footing. According to customs, your household and family will be especially blessed in the new year if the first man to enter your home is dark haired and bears special gifts, more precisely coal, salt, shortbread and, of course, whiskey. If your first visitor is a man with light hair, however, you should beware the bad luck that is coming for you.
\n10. Far to the East, the Russians write down their wishes for the new year on a piece of paper. Then, when the countdown started, they burned their wishes and put the ashes in their drink. Before the countdown runs out, the whole glass must be drained for the wishes to come true.
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So, after learning about those ten New Year traditions from all over the world, what do you think? The Cuddledragon would love to hear which custom you could imagine following next year or which one you found the most exotic. Do you know any other traditions not mentioned here? Feel free to leave a comment or to have the maildragon send the Cuddledragon a message.
\nIn any case, the small dragon wishes you a happy new year. Whatever you did, with your family, with your friends or alone, may the new year bring you luck, prosperity, and health.
","category":"other","date":"2022-01-06T21:24:06.626Z"},{"post_id":79,"title":"Speculoos Liqueur","title_normalised":"speculoos-liqueur","content":"The Cuddledragon is in a hurry. Christmas is coming closer, and the small dragon is still working on finding presents for its friends. There are so many important beings in its life whom the Cuddledragon wants to show how important they are to it.
\nYesterday evening, the dragon went to its favourite bar to grab a drink with a friend. When the evening trickled out and the small dragon’s friend had long since gone home, the Cuddledragon got into a lively conversation with the bartender.
\n“I never know what to gift my friends for Christmas”, it had sighed. “For me, the material gifts cannot appropriately express what the person means to me. I much rather wish to spend time with them to show them how important they are to me.”
\nThe bartender nodded grimly while wiping the glasses he washed with an old towel. “I totally agree with you, young dragon. I wish I could spend time with my family. Alas, they are all over the ocean, on the other side of the world. Makes it difficult to spend time together, you know?”
\nA short silence reigned. It was not an uncomfortable silence though. Both the Cuddledragon and the bartender were lost in their thoughts. The candles flickered languorously, casting cosy shadows on the walls of the almost empty bar. Quiet murmuring wafted over from the occupied table in the far corner.
\nThe serene atmosphere was suddenly broken when the bartender put down the beer glass with more momentum than necessary, resulting in an unexpectedly loud clang. Spooked, the Cuddledragon was wrenched out of its thoughts, blinking rapidly while trying to assess what was going on.
\n“Sorry” The bartender looked sheepishly at the Cuddledragon and scratched behind his ear. “I didn’t want to interrupt your musing. I just got a nice idea for a Christmas present.”
\n“You do?”, replied the Cuddledragon excitedly. “I’m all ears!”
\nThe bartender leaned closer. With a secretive smile, he whispered: “I can give you an old family recipe. It’s a special drink my grandfather used to make for the family. We all sat around the table and enjoyed the merry ambience. That drink is part of our family’s rituals.”
\nThe Cuddledragon’s tail swished over the floorboards and his eyes gleamed when it answered: “That sounds amazing. This is a gift after my fancy. And you would really share the recipe with me?”
\nThe bartender winked. “With such a fine scaly beast? Always. Just promise me to keep in mind where the drink comes from.”
\n“I will!”, promised the Cuddledragon earnestly.
\nThe bartender laughed loudly, shaking up the other guests. “My, my! I am glad to be of help. Wait, let me just find a slip of paper to scribble upon.”
\n“Thanks!” exclaimed the Cuddledragon profusely, carefully tucking away the note with the recipe on it. “I am sure my friends will appreciate the drink. After the holidays, I will come back to tell you all about their reactions.”
\n“You do that”, answered the bartender amiably. He raised his hand to wave the Cuddledragon goodbye. The small dragon was already spreading its wings to get home as quickly as possible to brew the infamous speculoos liqueur.
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***
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SPECULOOS LIQUEUR
\nOne portion equals about 500 ml
\npreparation time: ca. 20-30 minutes
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INGREDIENTS:
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PREPARATION:
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Info: If the bottle is hermetically closed, the speculoos liqueur’s expiration date is about 2 to 3 months. Once opened, the drink should be stored in the fridge and be consumed quickly.
","category":"recipes","date":"2021-12-15T14:50:08.391Z"},{"post_id":78,"title":"Secret Fire","title_normalised":"secret-fire","content":"Storytime! The Cuddledragon sets down the tray of cookies on the small table next to the comfy armchairs. There, in the warm glow of the floor lamp lollops the winged wolf, a dear friend of the Cuddledragon. The she-wolf is lost in the world of the book she has immersed herself in completely. Only the occasional twitching of her tail and the soft sounds of her paws turning a page indicate that she is not one of the stone statues decorating some of the older bookshelves. Her smooth, silver-grey fur shimmers in the lamplight. When the smell of baked goods permeates the air, she perks up and sniffles.
“Oh Cuddledragon, that smells divine!”, she exclaims with sparkling eyes. Carefully inserting a bookmark into the tome she was just reading before putting it away, the she-wolf pricks her ears and stretches out her paws towards the cookies. “May I?” “Of course!”, laughs the Cuddledragon, before sinking into the velvety cushions of the empty armchair in front of its friend. The small dragon then takes up its own book, a small volume on European mythology, and rustles its wings to get comfortable. When it opens the book, a folded piece of paper falls out and lands on the floor with a soft thump.
“What is that?” “I don’t know, WolvenFeather”, replies the Cuddledragon. “Let’s have a look!” The small dragon bends down to pick up the piece of paper. Getting up, it unfolds the mysterious paper and puts it on the small table next to the cookies. WolvenFeather uses a paw to wipe away a few chocolaty crumbs that still stick to her snout before moving closer. Her twitching tail betrays her curiosity.
“It seems to be a page from a book”, she decides after observing the neat print. The Cuddledragon nods. “Yeah, seems like it. But have you read this? ‘Dragon shifter’, ‘long-awaited ball’ and ‘gifts’; that does sound like a fantasy novel, don’t you think?” The winged wolf nods. “Where does this page come from, though?”, she muses.
“I don’t have the faintest clue”, admitted the small dragon, “but I seriously doubt that we will find the book it belongs to. What a shame. Do you have an idea what we should do with this page then? Throwing it away seems false, but keeping it around in an empty drawer where I will likely never touch it again doesn’t feel right either…”
“Oh! I know what we can do!”, exclaimed WolvenFeather excitedly. The Cuddledragon shoots her a curious glance and signals her to go on. “If we can’t return the page to their original story, why don’t we give it a new one?” The she-wolf rustles her feathery wings before reading out loud what is written on the piece of paper:
“Being the love child of a favourite palace servant and a dragon shifter, your gifts don’t reveal themselves until the evening of a long-awaited ball, when a man twice your age tries to get you into a compromising situation.”
\n\n
“Let’s both write a short story that gives the context and background story to what is written here. I know how you love to weave stories, my scaly friend. Oh my god, I am so excited already!” The Cuddledragon looks into the amber eyes of its lupine friend, sparkling with her excitement, and can’t hide the grin that starts to transform its own face. “That is a great idea! I will just go to search for paper, ink and quills, please wait a few minutes.”
\nThe small dragon rushed up the stairs of the library and came back shortly after, armed with a stack of blank paper, quills and two pots with black ink. Putting down the writing material, they both got comfortable again. Just minutes later, the only sound that could be heard was the scratching of the quills on the white parchment and the occasional rustle of wings. The cookies rested on the table next to them, forgotten.
\n\n
***
\n\n
Several hours later, when the winged wolf hat had long since returned to her home, taking her manuscript with her, the Cuddledragon scribbled down the last dot. Content with the story it had bestowed upon the few sentences robbed of their original context, it softly blew on the parchment to dry the dark ink.
\nHolding the papers against the golden lamplight, it started to read:
\n\n
Serendipity! Nobody seemed to have noticed her entering the ballroom through the hidden passages meant for the servants. Like them, she loved to go unnoticed, to watch from the shadows as those who held the power did as they pleased. Attention from the nobles rarely resulted in something good. A short glance around the room revealed that nothing had changed, everyone was busy swaying to the music or exchanging the latest gossip, and nobody was paying her any attention. Aelin straightened her spine, smoothed her silken dress with an unconscious movement of her hands, and exhaled. Then she lifted her head and fixed her target. Her eyes locked on her prey, she advanced straight towards the buffet, where wondrous delicacies from all over the kingdom were piled up on silver platters in such magnificent ways that you could almost consider them pieces of art. Pieces of art that were about to be devoured by a ravenous she-dragon.
\nJust when she had chosen the sweets, she decided to eat on her first attack on the buffet, Aelin heard the high-pitched giggling of duchess Fiona and her posse drifting towards her over the soft waltz that was playing at the moment. Whining internally, she let her head loll slightly backward for a short moment while exasperatedly closing her eyes, before straightening her position and forcing a smile. When she turned around, Aelin was greeted with the sight of the duchess and her three noble friends closing the distance between them. She curtsied politely and tried not to gag when the cloud of perfume surrounding the nobles in front of her assaulted her sensitive nose.
“Duchess Fiona, what a surprise to see you here”, she voiced sweetly. “Oh my”, answered Fiona tartly, opening her fan to feign friendliness while her voice was dripping with badly hidden malignity. “I was just beginning to think you wouldn’t show. What a pleasure it is to see you on such a meaningful occasion. When I saw your dress, I just couldn’t refrain myself from coming over to tell you that I have never realised how good you could actually look when dressed up properly.”
Aelin gritted her teeth and forced the smile to stay on her face in front of such blatant insults. “Why, thank you for your compliments. Your dresses also look mighty fine, especially the embroidery. Since all four of you wear the same pattern, there seems to be a current trend that I have failed to notice. If only I had known, I would have made sure to get a dress that looks exactly like yours. Besides, I am shocked at your surprise, as I would never forgo such an important event as the Midsummer night’s ball. Speaking of, I still have to pay the king my respect by dedicating him my first dance. If you will excuse me…”
Regretfully putting down her full plate, Aelin sent the duchess and her friends a last fake smile and rushed off in a swirl of violet silk to link arms with an unsuspecting nobleman, sweeping him into a waltz on the dance floor. While the flustered man steadily tried to engage her into polite conversation, Aelin let her amber gaze sweep over the guests gracing the ball with their sparkling presences. Nobles of all rank filled the room, intersected by the occasional dragon shifter. They held considerable esteem here in the kingdom of Lhengra, unlike the neighbouring countries where they were looked down on for their ‘barbaric’ traditions. Aelin snorted, earning herself a confused glance from her dance partner, who flinched and rapidly averted his gaze once his eyes crossed her amber ones. Right, she thought sarcastically. ‘Barbaric traditions’. Those were just other words to hide the fact that people feared them. A fully-grown and trained dragon shifter in their beast form? There was nothing much that could stand in their way. The only reason Lhengra accepted them so readily was due to the king binding the dragon shifters by dark magic. Free in mind and will, the powerful beasts were able to do as they wished, but the king’s spell prevented them from ever harming the Lhengran nobility. And since being respectfully feared was still better than being chased to death by a mob of angry villagers with pitchforks, most of the shifter clan had quit the neighbouring countries to build a life in the capital of this small kingdom.
\nThe end of the song interrupted her musing. Aelin gracefully came to a stop and dipped into a curtsy. “Thanks for the dance.” “It was an honour”, offered her young dance partner carefully. She spared him an indulging, though slightly bored smile and gathered her skirts around her to leave the dance floor. The harpies had left the buffet and Aelin wanted nothing more than to continue her ravaging of the desserts where she had been forced to let off.
Five minutes later she made her way towards the alcoves hidden behind the deep crimson curtains, the spoils of her attack on the buffet piling high on her plate. While languorously snacking on the luxurious treats, she relaxed her back against the cold stone wall. This was by far the best place to listen in on all the gossip currently circulating. Most of it was really boring; the best marriage prospects, who was having affairs with whom, and other bagatelle faux pas committed by the lesser nobility. Aelin was just getting bored when a small group of ladies stopped next to her hiding spot.
“Have you seen how angry duchess Fiona is?”, whispered one of them. “By Raia, she was fuming”, added the second one gleefully. “No wonder, after how Lady Aelin humiliated her in front of everyone.” Said lady pricked her ears to not miss a single spoken word. “The duchess should have learned by now that Lady Aelin is not to be trifled with”, responded the first, “She might be a half-breed bastard, but she is the daughter of the great General Glazius and she has been acknowledged by the king himself.”
Aelin silently nodded to herself. She was quite proud of her father’s achievements, even if such emotions were not that appreciated in high society. Many of the dragon shifters had integrated the small country’s military forces and were the reason for the current peace. After the bloody battle of Dshingen, in which her father played a considerable part, no one dared to wage war on Lhengra. His victory had earned him the title of Lord, and even though she herself was the product of his love affair with a castle servant, the king granted Aelin the title of Lady, thus acknowledging her and her position as Lord Glazius’ heir.
“Jealousy does not look good on a noblewoman”, was the advice the third lady imparted on her friends. “And you have to admit that Lady Aelin is quite the beauty with those golden dragon-eyes and the silvery hair. I bet even her beast form is radiant!” “Oh Elenore!”, chided the first one gently. “Haven’t you heard that she is unable to shapeshift? Despite her heritage, she is no more dragon than you are. All she has is their beastly beauty and her keen pride. Why do you think Duchess Fiona dares to pick on her at all?” The second lady nodded fiercely. “Right! Who in their right mind would provoke a dragon shifter, even if they can’t hurt us? They are so scary when angry!”
Behind the curtains, Aelin had to reign in the feeling of emptiness clogging up her throat at the mention of her disappointing lack of power. Besides her pretty appearance and her acute senses, she, the daughter of the great General, really was nothing like those powerful beasts roaming the skies. However much she wanted to, she did not grow scales and wings. She had tried every trick known to her clan, had implored the all-mighty goddess Raia and even jumped from a cliff to coax out an inner beast that apparently just wasn’t there. Other shifters had told her that they felt the essence of their other form like a second skin and that changing forms came as easy to them as breathing. And even though she loved the comfortable life she was living, passing her time reading, riding, and dancing on balls, Aelin could not shake the feeling that she was missing a crucial part of who she should be.
When she forced her focus back to the ongoing conversation, the group had turned to discuss marriage prospects. Aelin rolled her eyes. Why were those women so desperate? Half of the males in this room were too immature to even hold a decent conversation with, and the other half was way too old for them. She was inclined to just leave her current spot and go back to the dance floor to lose herself in the music when her name came up again.
“… has not taken his eyes off Lady Aelin for the whole evening!”
“Yes! She is so lucky! The emissary from the Jeridan Empire is so handsome. I heard he is in line for the post of Grand Vizier. As his wife, any Lhengran lady would end up in a really powerful position.”
“No wonder Duchess Fiona was especially nasty today. She had her eyes set on him ever since his arrival, but he hasn’t even spared her a glance.”
Aelin tried to visualise the emissary’s face and had to suppress a growl when she succeeded. His greedy looks on their first meeting as well as his subservient behaviour towards her father had immediately revealed his true intentions to her. She shivered from disgust and decided to interrupt the tasteless gushing of the lovestruck nobles next to her spot in the alcove. Confidently striding out from behind the curtains, she ignored the startled gasps of the surprised gossips.
“Duchess Fiona should be glad that the emissary holds no interest for her. Although…”, Aelin stopped and cocked her head to the side slightly, “maybe this sort of ambitious man suits her tastes well.” Her voice turned disinterested as she continued: “The Jeridan Empire’s emissary is not interested in me. What he is looking for is to obtain the favour and support of the dragon shifter’s clan for his nation, even though I suppose that he is not personally disinclined to this marriage. I have heard him proclaim that he would love the chance to ‘tame’ such a magnificently wild creature, after all.”
Her voice had turned traitorously clipped at the end of her sentence, contrasting with the cold demeanour that she forcefully tried to uphold. Ignoring the stunned looks on the noblewomen’s faces, Aelin discarded her plans of going back to the dance floor, where the damned emissary might be waiting for her, and decided to flee to the balcony instead. After hurrying down the room and dodging several clusters of guests that obstructed her path, she pushed out on the balcony and tilted her head towards the glittering night sky. The glass doors shut behind her, cutting off the incessant noise of the ballroom. She hadn’t even noticed how much it had grated on her nerves until the night embraced her with silken silence and a fresh breeze ruffled her silvery hair.
Not even five minutes had passed when the opening of the doors to the ballroom and the swell of the party’s noise indicated that she was not alone anymore. Keeping her back to the palace, Aelin braced her forearms on the stone balcony’s railing and let her gaze roam the Royal Garden that was hidden by the shadows and only partially illuminated by the moon’s pale reflection on the grey gravel paths.
“It is a beautiful night, even though it is getting fresh”. The deep voice betrayed the gender of the person intruding on her peaceful getaway. “Though I am surprised to see you outside, Lady Aelin.”
She slowly turned around, sharpening her senses. She knew that voice, had heard it somewhere, but she couldn’t put a face to it. The man was of strong build and his big figure loomed in the shadows; his face hidden by the dark. He moved closer, his gait reminding her of a predator stalking his prey, and uneasiness slowly spread inside of her.
When he entered the area lit by the decorative glass lamps and she recognized him as one of the fighters in her father’s shifter regiment, her unease only settled slightly. He was a brutal dragon, known for his proclivity of fighting, his penchant for luxury and his habit of taking women to his bed. Several times, Aelin had heard rumours about young servant girls who had left the royal palace after having been forced to pay him company. Where it not for his impressive fighting ability and the esteem he held in the eyes of the more conservative dragon shifters, her father would have already expelled him from his regiment. And while she tried her best to steer clear of him, she had always relied on his respect for her father and the strict hierarchical system of the dragon shifters in which her father held a significantly more important rang than him, and thought that the giant shifter would not try anything on her.
“Sir Kenton”, she greeted curtly, trying to keep her composure as to not let him know how much he ruffled her scales. “Don’t be so cold, Aelin. I don’t wish you harm.” His voice was neutral, and she could not discern any hidden meaning, but her unease didn’t settle.
“Of course you don’t wish me harm, you are a faithful dragon knight, after all”, she responded. “Still, it would do you well to remember that the king granted me the title of Lady, so please address me as such.” Aelin sincerely hoped that reminding him of her status would keep him in line. “I don’t bow to the king’s rules, though”, replied the dragon knight, smirking. “The only authority I acknowledge is my dragon lord.”
Aelin straightened her posture and looked him straight in the eyes. “Even then, I am sure that a little more respect would benefit you. I am convinced that my father would appreciate it if you treated me respectfully. And now please excuse me; as you pointed out correctly, it is getting quite cold and I should return to the ball.” She lifted the hem of her violet dress and made to move towards the warm lights of the ballroom when suddenly Sir Kenton’s arm shot out and blocked her path.
\n“My, my, LADY Aelin. Why would you leave me so suddenly? I admire your fire, little she-dragon. Although… You are not a real dragon, are you? The human blood in your veins has deprived you of the mighty power of wings and scales and claws, hasn’t it?” Aelin instinctively took a step back. But Sir Kenton had not finished. “Don’t push me away, little one. I only came out here to protect you. A defenceless damsel like you alone out here in the dark. Who knows what beasts may roam the gardens at night?”
He took a step closer and Aelin sucked in a shaky breath. As he loomed over her, she realized for the first time how small she really was. Compared to this big predator, she felt like a small mouse being toyed with by the cat. ‘You are the only beast out here that I fear at the moment’, she thought. Had he always been so threatening?
“I kindly thank you for your protection, but I think I will return to the festivities now, so your services won’t be required anymore.” Aelin sharpened her voice, but the knight didn’t take the hint and continued to block her path.
“Ah, but I don’t think you understand”, drawled Sir Kenton, backing her into the balcony’s railing. “I was offering you protection in the long term, if you understand what I mean. There are many dragon shifters out there who will happily ignore your standing as the Dragon Lord’s daughter if it means getting rid of the disgrace to the shifter race that you represent in their eyes. I am almost as feared among us shifters as your father is revered.” He interrupted his speech to grant her a feral grin that sent shivers down her spine. “If you were mated to me though, they would think twice about attacking you.”
Aelin’s head reeled. It was true that some of the dragon shifters looked down on her mixed heritage, but she refused to even think about his offer. Mating? First of all, dragons mated for life. Their version of marriage was concluded not by the exchanging of rings, but by inserting a draconic venom into the partner’s blood. The venom then changed the personal smell of the mated beasts, thereby informing other shifters of the change in social status. For the dragon shifters, the mating bond was sacred. A shifter betraying their partner or attacking a mated dragon was not only frowned upon but heavily punished. Depending on the gravity of the crime committed, the perpetrator could lose his wings or even his life. Secondly, she would never consider him a suitable marriage prospect. Sir Kenton was twice her age and his brutal tendencies put her off. Not even over her dead body would she allow him to bind herself to him for life.
Fully comprehending what he implied, she squared her shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. “How dare you?”, she hissed, her golden eyes narrowing. Sir Kenton shifted his weight. It was a subtle change, but she had seen it so often when she watched her father train with his men. The knight was readying himself, her putting up a fight seemed to excite him. “I love how spiteful you are, little one. These silly girls didn’t promise me too much when they told me where to find you.” He took another step towards her and when Aelin wanted to retreat, she found herself unable, the cold marble of the railing biting into her exposed back. Fear started to cloud her mind, but one thought made it through the haze.
“What do you mean? Who told you where to find me?” The only ones she could imagine doing something so hateful were duchess Fiona and her posse. But even for them, pushing an unhinged beast on her was extreme. Was Fiona really feeling that threatened by the Jeridan Empire’s emissary’s affection for her? She didn’t even reciprocate them, for Raia’s sake!
“Does it matter?” Sir Kenton stood in front of her, his broad body completely blocking the light from the ballroom, casting her in his shadow. He slowly stretched his arm towards her. Aelin’s thoughts reeled, trying desperately to find a way to distract the warrior in front of her. She would never be able to beat him with bodily strength alone. Without an inner beast, she was helpless.
“Why are you doing this?” She hated how weak and frightened her voice sounded. Sir Kenton must have taken notice of it, be it through the pitch of her voice or the smell of fear emanating from her, as his grin broadened. “Imagine how I would rise in your father’s favour if I were to mate his precious daughter.”
“You are deranged!”, screeched Aelin. “My father would never approve of forced mating. That is sacrilegious!” “Oh”, Sir Kenton laughed darkly and the deep rumble sent shivers down her spine, “but he wouldn’t be able to change a thing. Mating is sacred, so he would have to accept me as his son-in-law. And now stop struggling, I will take care of you properly, mate.” He grabbed her by her upper arm and drew her towards him. Aelin fought to the best of her ability, but it was impossible for her to move this mountain of muscle. “Let me go! I do not consent! HEEE…”
His broad hand pressed down on her mouth, effectively shutting off her scream for help. “You are but a half-blood, the human nobles don’t care for you and the dragons won’t dare to interfere. Accept your fate, it will be easier for you!” And then he swiped her braid away from her neck, bending his head to get a better angle on her jugular. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the silvery sheen of the draconic venom on his teeth.
Panic overcame her. Her amber eyes desperately sought the darkness for a way out. There was no reaction from the ballroom. Either Sir Kenton had been quick enough in shutting down her scream so that no one had heard her, or they simply didn’t care, protected from the ugly scene in their golden cage. How had she ended up in this situation? Why did nobody come to her help? And why was she so unbelievably weak? She was a dragon shifter just like him! She was a powerful being, even without wings and scales and claws! And even if there was no way out, she would never resign herself to a fate that she did not comply with. Steely resolve filled her and a disconcerting calm took over her body.
Aelin felt Sir Kenton’s lips on her neck. A ball of blazing-hot fury grew in the pit of her stomach, expanding rapidly until her whole body was filled with an angry buzzing. The heat inside her grew until she couldn’t stand it anymore. A silent scream of frustration broke free from her lips and silver flames exploded from her body.
Sir Kenton, who was just about to sink his teeth in her skin, was pushed away from the blast. The knight sank to his knees a meter away and suppressed a pained scream. His face and his hands already turned an angry red, his hair was singed on one side and the right sleeve of his shirt bore holes where her flames had clawed at the tissue. Astonished, Aelin stood there in front of him, engulfed in silver fire. The flames didn’t burn her, no, on the contrary: the silver flames flickered softly on her frame, calming her.
She was surprised and relieved at the same time, her brain failed to catch up on the situation. It was undoubtedly dragonfire that she wielded without knowing what she was doing. But she shouldn’t be able to call or control it. Dragon shifters were only able to breathe fire in their beast form. And why didn’t it hurt her? Only their scales made dragon shifters impervious to fire, in their human form they were just as likely to turn into a human torch when coming in contact with fire as the next normal human. This explained why Sir Kenton was currently busy lamenting over the burns on his body despite being able to change into a fire-breathing dragon.
Seeing her tormentor on his knees, patting down his body to extinguish every last silver ember, made her realize that it wasn’t important to understand why she was able to wield dragonfire in her human form. It most probably was linked to her unique descendance and her missing inner beast. Her priority at the moment was to fully utilize the opportunity her unexpected ability represented. Being a full-fledged dragon shifter, he had to bow to the king’s rule of not harming fellow nobles. Apparently, that did not include her despite her noble title, or else he would not have been able to almost mark her by force. Still, with so many nobles close, he would not be able to shift into his beast form, which made him defenceless against her as long as she had control over her silver dragonfire. For the moment, she was the one who held all the cards and by Raia, did that feel good.
Slowly stepping towards the beaten dragon knight, Aelin drew on all the composure she had left to hide how shaken up she really was by this incident. With a cold voice she pronounced: “Sir Kenton, I hereby inform you that I will inform your superior, Lord Glazius, of your offence. Mating is sacred amongst us dragon shifters, and you forcing a life-long bond that should be chosen out of love and commitment on a weaker and defenceless shifter is a serious crime.” She looked down on him from above, silver flames still swirling around her slender frame. Resting a hand on her hip, she narrowed her amber eyes that seemed to glow from within and lowered her voice. Her next words were sharp and clear, the threat they contained blatantly perceptible. “If you ever, ever come close to me again, I will burn you. And then I will not stop with a few third-degree burns, no. Make a move on me again and I shall see your scaled hide go up in flames until there is nothing left but ashes drifting in the wind. Have I made myself clear?”
Sir Kenton bared his teeth angrily, but he had fought in the military long enough to know when to accept a defeat. As long as Aelin stayed close to the palace with all its nobles and could call upon the dragonfire at will, he was powerless. Without the ability to change into his beast form, he was at her mercy. So he swallowed his pride and inclined his head. “Yes, very clear.”
“What have I told you at the beginning of our little altercation? Show me the respect I deserve, SIR Kenton. Have I made myself clear?” The dragon knight clenched a fist against the marble floor and hissed: “Very clear, Lady Aelin.”
“Good!” After her curt reply, Aelin went to gather her skirts only to notice that her clothing had burned away in the dragonfire. Mortification wanted to take over, but this was neither the time nor the place for false pudency. If she wanted to keep her pride and her composure, she had to give off an air of natural self-confidence, or the hyenas inside the palace would tear her to pieces before she could count to three. After the huge battle she just won, that outcome was out of the question.
So she straightened her back for the umpteenth time that night, willed the weariness from her bones and the flames to dwindle out before striding straight towards the golden candlelight of the ballroom.
When Aelin opened the glass doors, she did so with gusto. If she had to be the talk of the coming weeks, she decided, she might as well make it epic. And if she had seen herself at that moment, a wild, nearly otherworldly being with golden, glowing eyes that seemed to be lit by an inner flame and dishevelled, silver hair that still sparked dragonfire embers, she would have understood the awe and the fear in the nobles’ eyes. Instead, she concentrated on keeping her head high. Aelin let her gaze sweep over the nobles that had stilled to regard her compelling entry and addressed them a defiant stare until they looked away, taken aback.
With a hefty tug, she ripped down the red velvet curtain decorating the wall and hid her naked frame within. Then she traversed the ballroom, absentmindedly noting how the nobles made an effort to move out of her way. Closing the ostentations entrance doors of the room, she hurried down the corridor before sequestering herself in her chamber. With her back against the wooden door, she slid down to the floor, where she sat in a heap of red, velvet curtains and breathed out deeply, while the events of the evening tried to catch up to her. She knew that her sudden ability to wield dragonfire even in the presence of nobles, unaffected by the dark magic preventing the dragon shifters from harming the human elite, would probably bring about numerous problems. Still, she was not afraid.
\n
“I am a dragon shifter. I may not have scales or claws or wings, but I am still an untameable creature. The dragons might look down on me and the humans might fear me, but my dragonfire burns bright. Let them come for me. I will show them that I am not anything less, just because I am not like them.”
","category":"short stories","date":"2021-11-25T18:26:02.542Z"},{"post_id":77,"title":"Bottoms up!","title_normalised":"bottoms-up","content":"Wham! With an audible clank, the three beer glasses land on the table. Leon had set them down with such momentum, that some of the golden liquid spilled over. “Oh, sorry for that!”, he says. “There were so many people, that it was difficult to cross through the masses. I am just glad to be back.” The lizard sits down elegantly and puts his hand around his glass. The silver-scaled sea serpent and the Cuddledragon follow suit and lift their glasses to clink them together for a toast. “Cheers!”, the small dragon calls. “Cheers!”, echoes Leon. “Bottoms up!”, calls the sea serpent, earning herself confused glances from the other two.
\n“What did you say?”, demands the Cuddledragon curiously. “Oh”, responds Silvia, “that's an old English saying. You don't know it?” “No”, answers the small dragon with gleaming eyes. “What does it mean?” The sea serpent laughs softly. “Nothing much special. It's just another way to say ‘Cheers’, I guess.” Now, Leon the lizard joins the conversation. “Where does it come from? Did the drunkards of old raise their trouser-clad bottoms into the air before drinking, or what?” He giggles loudly whereupon the Cuddledragon and the sea serpent exchange knowing glances. Their friend has obviously had one glass too many.
\n“I’m pretty sure that there was no such drinking custom”, answers Silvia calmly. “And if there was, it didn’t influence the coining of the proverb. Actually, the saying has its origins in the 18th and 19th century. At that time, the British Navy was constantly looking for new workers to join their ranks. Therefore, they had to actively recruit in harbours, pubs and other places near the sea. Every sea-faring fellow was eligible, and the candidates were offered the ‘kings shilling’, a silver coin with the current king’s counterfeit on it, in exchange for their services. They often drank the night away and set sail as a member of the Royal Navy the next morning.”
“That is interesting”, smiles the Cuddledragon with gleaming eyes. It is quite obvious even without its constant fidgeting, that the small dragon can’t wait to hear the rest of the story. Silvia laughs indulgently. “The interesting part starts now, my friends!” The sea serpent adjusts her coils on the bar stool, creating a strategic silence, raising the suspense before the story continues. Only the soft tinkling of her silver scales and the other customer’s muttering in the background can be heard. Subconsciously, both the Cuddledragon and Leon the lizard lean forward slightly, intent on hearing the rest of the story.
“Some of the recruiters resorted to more… let’s say ‘crooked’ means to reach the number of required conscripts. As I have told you, accepting the ‘kings shilling’ means accepting to be employed by the British Navy. And if the day didn’t yield enough willing participants, those recruiters often scammed unknowing pub visitors.” Leon excitedly rubs his hands, smirking evilly: “Did they sneak up to them after they left the pub, put a knife to their throat and force them with a dark, threatening voice?”
“Oh my god, Leon!” exclaimed the Cuddledragon, laughing. “You have definitely watched too many pirates and mafia films!” Silvia just shakes her head, but the corners of her eyes crinkle traitorously. “No, no, nothing of the sort. Although… no, I don’t know. Well, the scammers responsible for coining the saying “Bottoms up” did at least not resort to these means. They just smuggled the kings shilling into the beer tankard of drunk men. With all the beer’s froth and the pottered tankards, there was no way of seeing the silver coin inside until you had completely finished your drink. And by then it was too late: The recruiter would come up to you, point out the shilling and claim that you had accepted it for it had been found in your drink. The deceived men had no possible way to defend themselves: the next morning, they were towed on board, their ship set sail and they were never to be seen again. Sometimes, at least.”
“That’s mean!”, mumbled the Cuddledragon. “It is!”, acquiesced Silvia, “but it’s the way things went, you know?” “And when comes the part where someone raises his bottoms into the air?” Both the Cuddledragon and the sea serpent throw an exasperated glare at the drunk lizard. “Nobody raises his buttocks in the air!” “Why do they say ‘bottoms up’ then?”, insists the now visibly confused Leon. “She was just going to tell us. If you had just patiently waited, we would maybe know the answer already!” The always curious dragon starts to get irritated.
\nSilvia softly taps her tail against the Cuddledragon’s back. “Keep calm! We will get there. Where were we?” “The scammed drunkards with the silver coin in their glass”, reminds the dragon apologetically. “Ah, that’s right. As you can imagine, the pub owners quickly learned about the recruiter’s scheme. And they obviously weren’t too happy with the dwindling number of customers. Consequently, they started to sell beer in tankards with a bottom made of glass…” “Ah!”, interrupts the Cuddledragon, “I see where this is going!” The sea serpent smiles and nods. “Indeed. The clear bottom permitted the pub visitors to verify whether someone had put a king’s shilling into their drink. Every round, the bartender would remind the customers to raise the bottoms of the beer glasses up, and when there was nothing inside… well that’s when the party started!”
“Wow” Both the Cuddledragon and the lizard are impressed. As the conversation between the three friends continues, the small dragon catches a playful look from Silvia. The end of her tail gently grasps a silver coin, which she, hidden under the table, carefully moves towards Leon’s place. Understanding what its friend is up to, the Cuddledragon successfully involves the lizard into a heated discussion. The sea serpent covertly slips the coin into Leon’s glass.
When the evening slowly comes to an end and the pub owner starts to make it increasingly clear that he wishes to close the pub for the day, the friends finish their last round. The moment Leon discovers the ‘kings shilling’ inside his glass, his face grows ashen. With a panicked look, he glances around, looking for shady recruiters, trying to tie him down to the Navy. Despite the pub not even being anywhere near the shoreline, the lizard jumps up, throws some bills onto the table and hurries out of the pub, all the way mumbling to himself. “They won’t get me. I refuse to board a boat, I get seasick, and I absolutely hate ships.” Silvia laughs softly and takes back the silver coin and her jacket. Then the Cuddledragon and her follow the lizard out of the pub.
When they have caught up to him, the small dragon lays his paw on its friend’s shoulder. “Thanks for paying today, mate!” Silvia agrees: “Yes, thanks Leon. Next round is on us though.” She winks and the lizard, finally understanding what had transpired in the pub, exclaims exasperatedly: “You tricked me!” The Cuddledragon pats his shoulder and replies in a cheery sing-song voice: “Yep, we did. Next time, you better raise you bottoms up before drinking, lest something like this happens again!”
* * *
\nAnd what do we learn from this funny little from a friendly evening out? Never let your drink out of your sight and always verify if someone ‘gifted’ you a little something, unless you aspire to be a fearless sailor within the British Navy. ;) Seriously. So, until next time: Bottoms up!
","category":"other","date":"2021-10-21T22:03:57.997Z"},{"post_id":76,"title":"Carpe Diem","title_normalised":"carpe-diem","content":"Everyone knows the Latin proverb Carpe Diem. Roughly translated it means “Seize the day”. There are three common use cases of this proverb. (If you know of other use cases, please inform the Cuddledragon in the comments :D )
\nFirst use case: Life motto. People in this case most often just want to have a blast. They live in the moment, doing what they deem necessary to be happy today, without caring for the consequences. “Carpe diem! Enjoy the moment, because tomorrow”, they say grinning happily, “is another day to figure things out and who knows, it may not come at all”. So they act as though everyday could be their last day and try to live life to its fullest. (And the next day they wake up with a big, unforgiving headache and think: ‘Leaping lizards! That fourth drink was a bit too much, but heck it was fun!’)
\nSecond use case: Method of convincing. In this case the prototypical situation consists of person A hesitating to do something and person B using the proverb to convince person A to take a chance, seize an opportunity and do it. “Come on!”, person B says in a pleading way. “Carpe diem. Seize the day. This could be a great opportunity, be courageous, say yes and let’s do this!” So person A will, thusly encouraged, take a deep breath and do the thing in question, most often resulting in the thrilling discovery that it was actually a fun experience. (And the next day they ask themselves how person B could ever have succeeded in convincing them to go bungee-jumping before subsequently questioning their own sanity).
\nThird use case: Sign of perceived superiority. Persons using the proverb for this purpose often want to sound wise and sophisticated. In their eyes, the use of Latin serves as proof of their level of education and asserts a refinement the ‘common people’ don’t have. “Carpe diem”, they say with a faux air of nonchalance, “that’s Latin for “seize the day”, you know? A metaphor advising to enjoy life.” The other person in the discussion would then awkwardly smile and inconspicuously try to end the talk. (And the next day at their fancy garden party they proudly remember their own well-spoken eloquence all the while wondering why no one has yet arrived.)
\n\n
As you might have noticed, the first use case is the one we normally think of when hearing the proverb, while the second one is very practical if it serves our personal interests. Who hasn’t used it at least once to convince their younger siblings to get snacks from the cupboard after the parents had explicitly forbidden it? And the third use case is, luckily for everyone, the rarest of the three.
\nAnyway, “seize the day” really is just a rough translation. Literally, the translation is “pluck the day”. As in: pluck the day, it is ripe. Enjoy it as you would a juicy apple plucked freshly from the orchard on a sunny autumns day. And even though the meaning of the proverb stays the same, whether we say “seize the day” or “pluck the day” (even though the second version does sound a bit weird if we are being honest), the semantic connotations of the two versions are complete opposites.
\nWhere “seize” evokes images of grabbing, catching and possession, “pluck” is rather associated with images of nature, reaching out and enjoying a meal. Here, the Cuddledragon cannot help but think of the change in the way of life it thinks to have noticed in the last years. Matching the advertisement of a certain giant in the photographic industry, people have been putting more and more effort in capturing the perfect moment.
\nWhen they sit in a restaurant, they take a photo of their meal instead of closing their eyes before taking in the delicious aromas and savouring the first forkful of the food. When they get together with friends or visit a monument, they take a selfie to show others who they have seen or where they have been in a twisted way of self-portrayal. Instead, they could have used the time spent finding the perfect angle, lighting etc. to catch up or exchange anecdotes. When they see a beautiful landscape or sunset, instead of taking in the view or leaning back and letting the last rays of the setting sun warm their faces, they whip out their phones or cameras to freeze time in order to be able to relive the moment whenever they want.
\nRelive? ‘How do you want to relive something that you have only experienced through the lens of a camera?’, wonders the Cuddledragon. And facing all those ‘perfect moments’, hollow memories captured on photo paper or hard drives, the dragon cannot help but feel that the semantic difference between “seize” and “pluck” in the Latin proverb is exemplary of this development.
\nWhen did we start capturing the moment instead of living it?
\n\n
And there is only one thing the small dragon wishes you to think about the next time you think about taking out your camera: Carpe Diem. Do you really need to imprison the fleeting moment or would it not actually be amazing if instead of reliving moments, we were to create new and real memories consistently by choosing to live in the moment and to be happy as the initial meaning of the proverb implies?
","category":"impressions","date":"2021-06-20T15:18:35.979Z"},{"post_id":75,"title":"Illuminae - The Illuminae Files_01","title_normalised":"illuminae-the-illuminae-files-01","content":"“First survive, then tell the truth.”
\nWhen, one frosty day, the small and technically very unimportant mining planet named Kerenza IV is attacked, the life of Kady Grant and the other people living there is abruptly turned upside down. Ending up as collateral damage in the intergalactic battle for power between the two mega-corporations WUC and BeiTech Industries, their little colony has definitely drawn the short straw. At the last minute, however, a battleship from the UTA (United Terran Authority), the Alexander, comes to save the day. While the destruction of most of the planet’s population cannot be undone, some of the inhabitants can be saved. Heavily damaged, the Alexander and the survivors of Kerenza IV flee the system, hoping to get everyone to safety. BeiTech, in fear of information about them committing genocide leaking to the authorities, tries to silence all witnesses by sending the rest of their attack fleet after the survivors.
\nAre you interested yet? This is one awesome book that the Cuddledragon just couldn’t keep from you. And don’t even think for a minute that this is all. The plot of “Illuminae”, the first book in the “Illuminae Files” trilogy by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufmann, has so much more in stock for you!
\nOn board of the Alexander, Kady Grant has only two objectives: To survive this whole mess and to make sure that BeiTech is held accountable for their crimes. This mission of hers turns out to be way more difficult to solve than she assumed. She may just need the help of the one person she is absolutely not on speaking terms with: her ex-boyfriend Ezra Mason. And as if, having several blood-thirsty battleships hot on their heels, determined to do anything to get them killed, was not already enough to deal with, the apparition of a deadly virus in the confined rooms of an overcrowded spaceship and the unpredictable AI going more insane with every passing hour being in charge of leading the small fleet of survivors to safety complicate matters significantly.
\nThe Cuddledragon thinks that everyone whose eyes start to glow like a thousand suns stars when the genre science-fiction is mentioned will love this book. Okay, kidding. This novel is fitting for everyone, the small dragon just wanted to pull a space-related pun. The audience that will like the story most will probably still be science-fiction fans, teenagers and young adults.
\n\n
“Illuminae” contains action, physics (though how much thereof is really scientifically correct, the Cuddledragon dares not say), friendship, a bit of romance and many intriguing characters. You just have to love the quirky, unyielding and resourceful protagonist that is Kady Grant, computer genius with unparalleled hacking skills. She is as unique as her pink hair and living much of the story through her eyes gives the unfolding events a certain charm. Her ex-boyfriend Ezra Mason is a special person as well. The skilled pilot and easy going young man easily won the Cuddledragon’s favour as the soft heart behind the tough outside was slowly, but clearly getting shown over the course of the story. The small dragon’s unchallenged favourite character is, however, the deranged artificial intelligence AIDAN (Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network). Damaged in the battle at Kerenza IV, the AI starts developing an awareness of itself. This expresses itself in AIDAN posing ethical and philosophical questions as well as pondering human emotions. Those individual traits relentlessly collide with the AI’s programming, often resulting in unpredictable and unlogical behaviour. The most fascinating thing about this character is the way the AI’s impressions and perception of the plot are told.
\n\n
With that we are already at the next point. “Illuminae” is not only a captivating story with intriguing characters, no, it is also pretty unique in its layout. This unconventional layout may well be the best part of this novel, as it really distinguishes this book from the other science-fiction stories about crazy AI’s, intergalactic wars etc.
\nYou see, “Illuminae” is not written in chapters. In fact, the book even pretends not to be a book at all. As the title of the series indicates, the story is the first part of the “Illuminae files”. (Short interruption: the two sequels, “Gemina” and “Obsidio”, are equally well written, introduce new awesome characters and have one or two unforseeable plot twists waiting for you. The Cuddledragon recommends reading them all. You will not regret it!) So, the story begins with a memorandum announcing that all relevant data on the ‘Kerenza disaster’ can be found in these files, chronologically ordered and written by the Illuminae Group. In the following 599 pages, the story the Cuddledragon mentioned beforehand is told in the form of emails, schematics, military files, instant messages, medical reports, video transcriptions, interviews, and more. Therefore, the book is not only a good read, but also provides a great visual experience as the different types of documents are always accompanied by a special layout, making it seem as though you, dear reader, just received this file of official and professionally arranged documents. The different kinds of documents are also written by different persons from the Illuminae Group, thus resulting in a bunch of different styles. All of them are authentic and special in their own way and as someone who dabbles in writing themselves, the Cuddledragon has to tip its hat to the authors for successfully writing and maintaining so many different styles.
\nThe cherry on top of the cake is, however, the fact that every single curse word used in the files is dutifully censored. While reading, it is a fun side game to imagine what word or expression may be hiding behind the censor bar. And to all the caring parents out there: Your child will learn no (new) bad words by reading this book.
\n\n
Personally, the Cuddledragon had bought this book more for the amazing layout than for the story, but – holy guacamoly – was it surprised when the story, characters and style were equally as good as the design, if not more so. The small dragon hopes that it may have piqued your interest with this post. There is an infinite amount of crazy good books out there in the universe of literature, but the “Illuminae files” trilogy is a solar system you should definitely pay a visit to, if you find the time.
","category":"book reviews","date":"2021-05-02T16:54:09.271Z"},{"post_id":74,"title":"Colourful Taboulé","title_normalised":"colourful-taboule","content":"The thermometer reaches the 15 degree mark, the songbirds are back to grace us with their musical performances and the sun sets after eight o’clock in the evening. Do you know what that means? Yes, you are right: The grilling season has officially begun!
\nThus, to serve you the best ideas for side dishes to accompany your grilled cheese, steaks and grilled vegetables, the Cuddledragon went out to grill its friends on the subject of the best recipe. Figuratively speaking, of course. No humans, dragons or animals were harmed during this research. The collateral damage solely consists of some vegetables that had to be sacrificed in order to examine the most promising contributions.
\nThe dish that is the winner of this quest for the best grilling side dish was chosen after long consideration and extensive testing. It has been selected among its peers not only for its amazing and refreshing taste, but also for its short preparation time and for the fact that it’s a piece of cake to prepare it. Ladies and Gentlemen, may the Cuddledragon present to you: THE TABOULÉ!
\n\n
***
\n\n
COLOURFUL TABOULÉ
\nrecipe for 4 - 5 people, more if it’s used as a side dish
\npreparation time: ca. 30 minutes
\n\n
INGREDIENTS
\nOptionally:
\n
PREPARATION
Notes:
\n
ENJOY!
","category":"recipes","date":"2021-04-18T20:19:46.641Z"},{"post_id":73,"title":"The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared","title_normalised":"the-100-year-old-man-who-climbed-out-the-window-and-disappeared","content":"The post title says it all: This is going to be one of the weirdest posts so far and still – it will not even come close to the weirdness that is the novel bearing this title.
\nAre you curious yet? You better be, because the Cuddledragon is very excited to share its first book review with you!
\n\n
Every good book review starts with the presentation of the most important facts, or so the dragon has read. Consequently, you might want to know that the here-presented book is a comic novel. Comic in the sense of funny, of course. If, upon reading the word ‘comic’, you were excited to find coloured graphics in more-or-less rectangular boxes, you will be disappointed. But don’t you worry, the novel, written by Jonas Jonasson and published in 2009 (see how cunningly the Cuddledragon has inserted this information?) will keep you entertained until the very last of its pages.
\nOriginally, the novel was published in Sweden, but it has been translated into more than 35 languages, so you will most possibly be able to read it in your favourite language, even if you’re not fluent in Swedish. (Yay!)
\n\n
By now you are probably wondering what the story is about. Ok, maybe you will just tell the Cuddledragon that of course you know what the book is about, and then you will continue by saying that it is about a 100-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared. … Well, if that is the case, you are right. But if you think the novel is going to be boring because, well, who wants to read the story of a senile old man with a rollator erring around town, think again!
\nAllan Karlsson is not your everyday 100-year-old. In fact, he is surprisingly clear headed and hates having to abide by the strict rules of his retirement home. They won’t even let him drink alcohol, for god’s sake! So, on the morning before his birthday party, he decides that he has had enough and climbs out of the window to sneak off. But that is just the beginning of a marvellous story. Allan wants to get as far away from his retirement home as possible. While he’s waiting for a bus out of town he steals the suitcase of a young man, unknowing that it contains a lot of money and that its owner is part of the criminal street gang Never Again. Thus, it is not only the police that is searching for the old man (though they don’t know he has stolen the suitcase, they only think he is bonkers and want to bring him back to the retirement home), but the goons of Never Again also try their best to get their hands on Allan.
\nFollows a relentless pursuit between police, street gang and a 100-year-old man with the curious posse of companions he assembles as the story unfolds. There is the retired petty thief Julius, the former tenant of an imbiss and eternal student Benny Ljungberg as well as the hermit Gunilla Björklund with her stray elephant lady Sonja (the animal has escaped the circus, so technically it was not stolen). As you might imagine, the constellation of such eh… unique characters makes for an unconventional and magnificently bizarre plot.
\nOh, and if that doesn’t sound intriguing enough for you yet, the Cuddledragon will reveal to you the most impressive and absurd part of the story: As you know – and you should know it by now, it was repeated often enough, after all – the protagonist Allan is 100 years old. That is quite some time and you won’t believe what this old man has lived to see in his life! The story is suffused with flashbacks of the senior’s life and it seems that the old man has played a role in every major politic event of the 20th century, even though all he ever wanted was to lead a peaceful life, while causing the occasional explosion, of course.
\n\n
The story itself is well written. Jonasson uses short sentences that make the novel easy to read without ever seeming too simple. The characters each have their very own way of speaking. Whatever they say is written in their own individual style, giving you an impression of the details and thoughts the author has put into developing each character. The plot is impressive. While the insertion of the flashbacks and the resulting interruption of the “real” action may seem a bit random at first glance, everything will clear up sooner or later. But don’t let this piece of information deter you from choosing to read this book, the Cuddledragon assures you that the author will never keep you hanging for long. And though wishing not to reveal too much, the small dragon also assures you will never be bored. One strange and comic situation chases the next and every time you think it cannot become any more bizarre… Jonasson will prove you wrong, without the story elements ever appearing too far-fetched or unrealistic.
\n\n
Overall, the novel is a piece of art. A little bit of a history course (though your teachers will probably not accept this book as reliable source if you were to quote it), a great bit of totally absurd, but absolutely hilarious road trip with the most endearing 100-year-old you have ever known and at the same time a relentless pursuit with police, street gang and sensationalist journalists, this novel will take you on an entertaining rollercoaster ride unlike any other. On top of that it is easy to read and apt for people of all ages and all genders.
\nIt could go on and on, but the Cuddledragon will draw a line here. To sum it up: “The 100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared” is a great novel and the small dragon absolutely recommends reading it. It was one of the top 3 best reads the Cuddledragon has had in 2020. Maybe it will figure on your list for the best reads in 2021?
","category":"book reviews","date":"2021-03-29T12:54:14.187Z"},{"post_id":72,"title":"See you later, alligator!","title_normalised":"see-you-later-alligator","content":"Today, the Cuddledragon is looking into the subject of greetings and farewells. It might surprise you, but the small dragon is quite shy when it comes to speaking with other people, despite its adeptness with words. Finding the right ones without treading on someone's toes can prove to be rather difficult, depending on the situation. Especially at the end of the talk the Cuddledragon finds itself out of its depth.
\nWhat it has learnt however, is that whenever you get into the pickle of having reached the end of a conversation, in order to break off said conversation you can fall back on some set phrases, lest the situation becomes awkward.
\nWith its friends, the common farewell exists of two parts. The Cuddledragon starts by saying “See you later, alligator!” whereupon the respondent responds with “In a while, crocodile!”. These two phrases are quite well known, as well as their equivalent “Toodle-loo, kangaroo!”.
\nWhen the Cuddledragon started looking for other, similar phrases, in order to bring a little more variation to its farewells, it was surprised to discover that there are a lot of them to be found. The small dragon then proceeded to collect them all, put them in a list (sorted alphabetically, of course!) and present them in its Secret Lair, so that you can all profit. Just imagine, you will never have to use boring phrases like “Goodbye”, “See you” or “Till then” again, now that you can choose from this archive of creative farewell-phrases.
\nWithout further ado, let’s take a look at the list:
\n\n
See you later, alligator.
\nGotta flee, you handsome bee!
\nSee ya soon, big baboon.
\nCan’t stay, blue jay.
\nTime to go, buffalo.
\nGotta go, buffalo.
\nGotta tumble, Mr. Bumble (bee).
\nBye-bye, butterfly.
\nSayonara, capybara.
\nSo long for now, dairy cow.
\nGotta kick it, little cricket.
\nIn a while, crocodile.
\nOut the door, dinosaur.
\nCheerio, pretty doe.
\nBlow a kiss, goldfish.
\nAdios, hippos.
\nHasta mañana, iguana.
\nBetter swish, jellyfish.
\nToodle-loo kangaroo.
\nSo long, King Kong.
\nGive me a hug, ladybug.
\nIn a blizzard, little lizard.
\nGotta go, you little mole.
\nHang loose, mongoose.
\nMust be off, my little moth.
\nTo your house, little mouse!
\nTime to scoot, little newt.
\nWhat's the tale, nightingale?
\nOn the bus, octopus!
\nBe sweet, parakeet.
\nTill then, penguin.
\nHasta mañana, piranha.
\nTake care polar bear.
\nBetter Skadoodle, little poodle.
\nGet in line, porcupine.
\nSee ya soon, raccoon.
\nIn a shake, rattlesnake.
\nKeep it real, baby seal.
\nCan't be late, little skate.
\nHit the trail, little snail.
\nTime to bail, my slimy snail.
\nMy leave I take, you ugly snake! (This one is a little mean though...)
\nI can't stay, Sir Sting Ray.
\nHit the road, little toad.
\nShow me out, rainbow trout.
\nTime to sail, orca whale.
\n\n
\n
Did you notice? There is an animal-based farewell-phrase for nearly every letter of the alphabet. When realizing this, the Cuddledragon was really impressed.
\nAnyways, should you know any examples for the missing letters (e, f, q, u, v, x, y, z), additional farewells for already existing letters or similar greetings in other languages, the little dragon would truly appreciate it if you could send it a maildragon or leave a comment.
\nAlso, it is quite interested to know whether you have a favourite farewell-phrase from the list, one that you might possibly even use the next time you need to say goodbye to someone. The Cuddledragon’s favourite is by far the one with the beautiful butterfly. In the hope that this post may save your next conversation from awkwardly fading out, the small dragon takes its leave for today.
\nSo… bye-bye, butterfly!
","category":"impressions","date":"2021-03-20T14:16:48.764Z"},{"post_id":71,"title":"100 Days Coding Challenge","title_normalised":"100-days-coding-challenge","content":"Programmer (noun.)
\nA person who fixes a problem you didn’t know you had in a way you didn’t understand.
\n\n
Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? Kind of like magic. The Cuddledragon thinks the same. In fact, it has been tinkering with programming since the beginning of the last year, because, well, who wouldn’t like to know magic?
\nAs it has not been spending that much time on the subject, it’s programming skills are still very much mediocre. So when the new year began, it started a coding challenge in order to improve its capabilities. To fulfil the challenge, the Cuddledragon has to spend one hour minimum on coding for 100 days before the clock strikes midnight on 31st of December.
\nWith all the stuff going on in the small dragon’s head and all the daily discoveries etc., it is very probable the Cuddledragon will forget all about the challenge and keeping track of its progress. So, it decided to create a website wholly dedicated to keeping tabs on the time the it spent on the challenge. The big advantage of doing so was the fact that it killed two birds with one stone. On the one hand the web page allows for an easy overview on the challenges progress, on the other hand it presents a first and great opportunity to exercise the dragon’s coding skills.
\nAt the end of January, the website was finished. Due to internet problems, good weather (you just cannot stay glued to your laptop when the sun is shining, that’s just not possible) and the Cuddledragon’s forgetfulness, the small dragon can only now present the website to you.
\nBehold the wonderful, the fantastic, the amazing Coding Challenge Track Keeper thingy:
\n\n
https://challenge.cuddledragon.com/
\n(Cue the applause)
\nAnd now give the small dragon the chance to boast a little about the awesome features of the page that has been crafted with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, much React and even more love. (Also, promise to ignore all the real programmers shaking their heads because the page is quite basic, the Cuddledragon is very proud of what it achieved with its limited knowledge.)
\nFirst of all, the layout of the webpage is responsive. That means that all the little boxes you see on your screen will adapt their size when you shrink or enlarge the size of your browser window. Don’t be shy, try it out!
\nSecondly, you may have noticed the form field on the right part of the page (or the top part if your screen size is very small). Just know that this is where the real magic of the page lies. When the form is submitted, the data from the input fields is sent to a remote database where it is saved. If any of you were to ask the Cuddledragon what, according to yours truly, was the most challenging part of designing the website, the answer would most certainly contain the words “communication between frontend and the database” accompanied by distraught laughs. But still, the Cuddledragon has overcome the backend enemy!
\nEven more, it has added an additional protection layer by implementing a password check. While the website is open to everyone, only the Cuddledragon, master of the secret password, has the security clearance to add a new entry to the database.
\nIf you pay attention to the 100 boxes, you can see that some of them are checked, while others remain unchecked. Here, the small dragon has established a communication link between database and every one of these boxes. In fact, the boxes send a small messenger to the database that then asks whether there is an entry for the box that sent him. If there is, the messenger brings back the according data as well as the big black check mark that is then proudly put on display in the checkbox icon.
\nThe last thing the Cuddledragon wants to point out to you is the Motivational Overview. This box’s task is to motivate the small dragon to complete the challenge by indicating not only the days and hours already spent on the challenge, but also the average time the Cuddledragon has spent coding.
\n\n
Now that the small dragon has told you all about its website, what do you think? At the moment, the Cuddledragon is reflecting upon its next project. Rest assured, you will be informed when it is finished. The small dragon will be way too exited to keep the results from you, dear reader.
\nToodle-loo kangaroo!
","category":"programming","date":"2021-03-02T13:45:21.144Z"},{"post_id":70,"title":"The Florist Conspiracy","title_normalised":"the-florist-conspiracy","content":"Yes, it is once again that time of the year. The day every florist has been impatiently waiting for: Valentine’s Day!
\n\n
When the Cuddledragon went out to do the shopping for the week, it was overwhelmed with all the pink hearts and red ribbons and corny chocolate boxes. Obviously, you cannot forget all the red roses being put on display by the proud florists wringing their hands in delight at the once-in-a-year opportunity to sell the symbol of love.
\nAnd while it may be true that the flower and chocolate industry intentionally try to amplify the meaning of Valentine’s Day as well as the implicit compulsion to purchase a gift for your loved one, the small dragon just doesn’t buy into the conspiracy theory claiming that the whole of Valentine’s Day traditions was introduced by the florists to increase their sales figures.
\nInstead, the inherent sense of the word ‘tradition’ implies the exertion of certain cultural rites over an extended time-span or several generations. This means that there most probably is to be a deeper meaning to the day celebrating love than the mere industrial desire to sell stuff.
\nAfter coming home, loaded with groceries, toilet paper and, yes!, chocolates wrapped in a red, heart-shaped box (a dragon also has their loved ones and besides... the box does look pretty and dragons are known to love pretty sparkling things after all), the Cuddledragon skipped down the steps to the library. Investigation into the origin of Valentine’s Day was waiting!
\n\n
***
\n\n
When the small dragon first looked up the entry for “Valentine’s Day” in the dictionary, it learned that the name of the holiday is derived from Saint Valentine. Upon further investigation, it found out that this famous saint’s person is very mysterious. In fact, there have been two Valentines around 300 A.C., whose personalities have later been merged into one to constitute the Saint Valentine we know today.
\nFirst, we have Valentine, bishop of Terni under the Roman empire. Allegedly, he could heal people and even cripples, and he has been known for gifting flowers to couples in love. He also wed couples against the will of the Emperor (especially soldiers since they were forbidden from marrying). This ultimately was the ‘crime’ he was killed for on the 14th of February, making him a martyr.
\nThe second Valentine, Valentine of Rome, was also a bishop, but as his name indicates, he was stationed in the capital of the Roman Empire. He lived around the same time as Valentine of Terni and has also been associated with the gifting of flowers. Dying a few years later than the first Valentine, but also on 14th of February, the similarities between these two persons are big enough to explain why it is so probable that the Saint Valentine we know today is a mixture of those two bishops.
\n\n
'Very interesting indeed', the Cuddledragon thought. The explanation for why we gift flowers to the ones we love on Valentine’s Day seems to have been found. Still, the small dragon couldn’t help but feel that some information was missing. And when it continued its inquiry on the subject, it became clear to the Cuddledragon, that the Valentine’s Day’s tradition had begun long before Saint Valentine was even born.
\nIn fact, in the ancient World, there already was a holiday similar to our modern Valentine’s Day around mid-February. It was dedicated to the goddesses of matrimony and family, Hera in Greek and Juno in Roman culture respectively. On this holiday, the women would make flower sacrifices to the goddesses to obtain their blessing as well as their help in the search for the perfect partner. The men also offered flowers to the women they found promising.
\nThe tradition of gifting flowers to one’s beloved consequently has its roots in Antiquity, and has changed ever since. But this revelation is soon followed by the next surprise. The Cuddledragon discovered that even though we celebrate Valentine’s Day on 14th of February nowadays, the Catholic Church has celebrated the religious holiday of Candlemas on that day since the 5th century. The Candlemas holiday is the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ. Back in the days of the Roman Empire, babies had to be brought to the temple forty days after their birth. As Christmas was celebrated on the 5th of January at that time and forty days later was the 14th of February, the Catholic Church commemorated the day Jesus was brought to the temple as written in the Bible (Luke 2:22–40) on todays Valentine's Day. Then, after the calendar reform, Candlemas was celebrated on the 2nd of February and the 14th was now an empty day. The Valentine’s Day tradition has ever since claimed this day for its own.
\nStill, the cultural traditions nowadays differ from those in the Middle Ages. In medieval times for example, the main goal of Valentine’s Day was to find a partner and help with marriage. Especially in France and in England it was believed that the unmarried women would fall in love with the first man they saw on the 14th of February. Thus, the interested suitors tried their best to be the first ones to show up at the doorsteps of their beloved in the morning. The flowers were a token of appreciation and a sign of interest at that time.
\nIn England, society went even farther. The belief that every male “Valentin” could find their “Valentine” pronounce it French for the full effect – wal-on-tah and wal-on-tin – was so fierce that they even drew lots to form random couples for the duration of the holiday.
\nWith the discovery of America, this holiday followed the emigrants and settled in the United States where it gained a strong foothold. Later then, after the second World War, the Americans brought it back to Germany and other countries where this tradition of showing our loved ones our affection has evolved to this huge marketing event for flowers and chocolates.
\n\n
The Cuddledragon sighed, finally content with all the information it had found on the origin as well as the evolution of Valentine’s Day and its traditions. But still, its curiosity was not fully quenched. A short paragraph on the diversity of Valentine’s gifts had piqued the small dragon’s interest. And as it had already settled down in the quaint circle of books on this holiday, the Cuddledragon hesitated no longer and searched through the piles of volumes before picking up a book that seemed to contain information about the national variations on the “Holiday of Love”. After all, the dragon could use this information to send the correct gifts to its friends out there in the world.
\nFirst of all, the Cuddledragon discovered that Valentine’s Day is only rarely celebrated in the Middle East or in Arabian countries. On the contrary, it is mostly forbidden or suppressed, because the population and their leaders see the holiday as western takeover on their culture and tradition. They also often contest the mass consume they associate with it.
\nIn Europe and the United States however, Valentine’s Day is highly popular. Something that those countries have in common and that has changed since the Middle Ages is the fact that nowadays, it is not only the men but both partners that present their loved ones with gifts.
\nIn France, Germany and Austria, these gifts often consist of flowers (the famous red roses especially), chocolates or cards containing declarations of love. The same goes for the United States of America. Here, however, the gifts can also include jewellery, invites to fancy restaurants etc. Due to most Americans also giving presents to their kids and some even to their pets, the big importance of Valentine’s Day for American culture becomes clearer. Especially in High School, the number of gifts and cards you get on Valentine’s Day also serves as some sort of indicator for your popularity.
\nIn Great Britain, several different customs can be found. The Cuddledragon read that in England, people offer their significant other a beautifully decorated card with a short poem on it. This tradition has been proven to exist ever since the 15th century and is still strong today. “Though”, the Cuddledragon chuckled, “the number of poems written by the partner themselves has probably dwindled since then.” The Welsh people have a different tradition. They often present their partner with a so-called ‘love spoon’, an intricately carved wooden spoon that, back in the 17th century, the suitor would make himself to convince the father-in-law of his manual skills.
\nA pretty unique tradition that has started to appear also in Germany and other countries comes from Italy. Italian people assure each other of their love by appending ‘love locks’ to bridges and throwing the keys into the river beneath. Thus, their love will be eternal as the lock that symbolises it cannot be opened due to the lack of the key.
\nThe Nordic countries’ Valentine’s Day traditions also vary from the other European countries. First of all, the gifts are not only given to one’s partner, but also to those one cares about such as friends or close family members. Secondly, the presents are mostly offered anonymously, so that the presentee has to figure out who is behind the gift.
\nSpain is the European countries’ outlier. Traditionally, the Spanish people don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th but on “Dia de St. Jordi”, the day dedicated to St. George, the dragon slayer (23rd of April). Men are gifted books and women a single red rose, a symbol for the unique love the man holds towards them. Nevertheless, Valentine’s Day has recently begun to be celebrated with small gifts on 14th of February.
\nThe last country the Cuddledragon found interesting information about was Japan. There, Valentine’s Day is essentially split up in two days. On February 14th, the women gift dark chocolates to their partner, but also to their friends, their family, their colleagues and even their chef. One month later, on White Day, it is the men’s turn to offer the women white chocolates in return.
\n\n
With a soft thud, the Cuddledragon closes the book. ‘Impressive’, it thinks. ‘So it seems that there is no florist conspiracy after all. The florists may have used the opportunity at sales for their own advantage, but the Valentine’s Day has existed long before the commercialisation of the holiday had begun. And while it is no wonder that there is a holiday to celebrate love, the many different ways the various countries’ populations express it on this special day are just fascinating. But in the end, it is not the gift that tells someone that you care about them, but the fact that you put in the effort to think about it, choose it and give it to that person. The intention counts.’
\nAnd on that thought, the small dragon quit the library to eat all the heart-shaped chocolates it had previously bought by itself. It deemed that a unique and personalized hand-made card would be a much better and more personal way to convey its feelings than food.
\n\n
***
\n\n
As you know, dear reader, the Cuddledragon is endlessly curious. So if you know about a tradition performed on Valentine’s Day that it doesn’t know about yet, feel free to tell the dragon all about it in the comments.
\n\n
P.S.: The Cuddledragon has dedicated this blogpost about expressing one's love especially to its favourite Dragonkeeper.
\n“Consider this your personalised Valentine’s Card. Will you be the first one waiting at my doorstep on the 14th of February?
\nWith Love, your Cuddledragon.”
","category":"other","date":"2021-02-11T20:36:04.386Z"},{"post_id":69,"title":"'I want' is sold out ...","title_normalised":"i-want-is-sold-out","content":"… or a little bit of politeness goes a long way.
\n\n
Today, the Cuddledragon wants to remind you of how much nicer life will be if you are just polite. Not only will people be more accommodating in helping you if you treat them with respect, they are also more likely to treat you with the same courtesy. And don’t we all dislike it when somebody snaps at us, ignores us or treats us disrespectfully?
\nAnyway, let the Cuddledragon tell you a story about just how far a little politeness may get you. It is a lesson it will never forget. Let’s raise the curtain for the epic story of a strict, but well-mannered baker woman, bad French skills and a very hungry dragon.
\n…
\nScratch the ‘epic’. The story really is not that momentous.
\n\n
***
\n\n
Anyway, the event the Cuddledragon wishes to narrate to you happened long ago, back in the days when the small dragon still went to school. In eighth grade, they went on the mandatory visit of Strasbourg with their politics course. Seeing as the European parliament has its seat in the historic city, there was much to see. Still, with the morning spent on several guided tours and the amount of new knowledge they were supposed to store inside their minds, the teachers went overboard and all of the little dragon kids were terribly exhausted.
\nSo, the prospect of discovering the historic city centre on their own – in small groups of course – delighted them. While some of the dragons that still had some energy left spent their afternoon playing tag between the towers of the awe-inspiring cathedral and getting yelled at by angry citizens of Strasbourg for disrespecting their monument, others walked by the countless canals flowing in between the older buildings. The Cuddledragon however, wanted nothing more than to eat a French croissant. Not one of those croissants you can find in any bakery around the world, but the real, buttery delicacy where the crisp layers flake off when you take a bite to fill your mouth with soft and fluffy happiness. You get it, the small dragon was absolutely famished.
\nBecause they were all hungry after their exhausting morning, the small dragon’s comrades agreed to go on a hunt for food. Although they wanted more to taste all the different kinds of pâtisserie and mignardises the French bakeries had to offer. And thus, after a short while spent searching, the Cuddledragon found a nice bakery, with a beautiful display and an old wooden facade where the cracked paint started flaking off. “This shop”, the dragon thought, “oozes tradition and charm. This is where I will find my perfect croissant, for sure.”
\nAs there were no Macarons, Éclairs or Tartelettes in sight, the other dragons stayed outside while the Cuddledragon went to buy its lunch. A small bell chimed when it entered the shop. The smell of fresh baguette hung in the air and a pleasant warmth welcomed the dragon with open arms. Waiting in line, it stared at the croissants longingly. They looked absolutely perfect. Just the blink of an eye later, or so it seemed, it was the Cuddledragon’s turn.
\n“Next”, the baker said impatiently. What you have to know to better understand the story is that, while the Cuddledragon was indeed in Strasbourg on a field trip with its politics course, it also learned French at school. And now, being in France, it absolutely wanted to use the language skills acquired in class to get its croissant. But you see, the dragon only had learned French for two years and its skills were still quite rudimentary.
\nSo when the Cuddledragon looked up to smile at the sturdy baker woman, greeted her and then tried to place its order, it got taught another lesson than it had thought.
\n“Bonjour”, the dragon said, proudly displaying its French skills and probably sounding completely foreign. “Je veux avoir un croissant, s’il vous plaît.” (lit. Hello, I want a croissant, please.)
\nThe owner looked at it, folded her arms before her chest and answered with a deep voice that struck the small dragon like thunder: “’Je veux’ est en rupture de stock. Ça s’appelle ‘Je voudrais avoir un croissant, s’il vous plaît’, petit dragon! (lit. ‘I want’ is sold out. It’s ‘I would like to have a croissant, please’, little dragon!) I will not sell you anything as long as you don’t address me politely.”
\nNow, the owner probably knew that French was not the Cuddledragon’s mother-tongue (with its accent at that time it would have been nearly impossible for her not to remark it) and she probably just wanted to teach it how to speak correctly, but with the woman’s imposing stature and her deep, angry sounding voice, the small dragon got afraid. If you also take into account that she spoke quickly enough for it to not really understand everything she said, the Cuddledragon was at a loss for words. Stutteringly repeating her phrase, it put a two euro coin on the counter, took the proffered bag containing the croissant, hastily pressed out a small “Merci and au revoir!” and fled the shop, not even caring about its change.
\nThe Cuddledragon has never, ever said “je veux” again when asking for something. And when somebody else did it, the small dragon flinched, the angry baker woman appearing in its mind reproachingly saying “I want is sold out!” in a scary voice.
\nAnd the moral of that story is that you do not get original French croissants if you are not polite. Or something like that.
\n\n
***
\n\n
Back to the real subject at hand: Had the Cuddledragon been more careful with its choice of words, it could have avoided this traumatic event. It also would have gotten a smile and a “here you go” instead of a curtain sermon. As you can infer from the title: a little bit of politeness goes a long way.
\nShould you want to practice politeness in form of simple kindness in your everyday life, to assure yourself that you will get that delicious sandwich at your favourite bakery or to simply bask in the feeling of knowing that you are the more courteous person (please don’t fall into the last category, there is so much more happiness to be found in a gesture coming from the heart than one being done out of calculation), the Cuddledragon recommends the simple task of greeting people you pass by on the street, whether you know them or not.
\nSmiling at others and wishing them a good day is not intruding in their business at all, it is common courtesy and polite. When they smile in response – sometimes with a positively surprised air – it makes you happy as well (at least that’s the case for the Cuddledragon). And if they don’t… You can train your composure.
\nAnyway, there is nothing to lose and being polite will not only make you feel better in your everyday life but also assure that you will not go hungry. Well… at least in theory. Having shared that piece of knowledge, the small dragon wishes you a nice day.
","category":"impressions","date":"2021-01-11T22:42:15.297Z"},{"post_id":68,"title":"Happy New Year!","title_normalised":"happy-new-year","content":"The Cuddledragon wishes you a happy new year. May you be blessed with luck, health, great friendships and personal success. 365 days full of new discoveries, experiences and emotional roller-coaster are being held in store for you by 2021.
\nAnd if you are up to it, the small dragon would love to commence this new year together with you by letting you partake in the first instructive impression it has encountered. Hopefully, it will let you begin this year’s cycle with a piece of information that was not known to you formerly, but that may broaden your horizon.
\n\n
What the Cuddledragon wishes to share with you is the provenance of a German figure of speech that, until now, profoundly confused the small dragon as it just could not understand the sentences underlying sense.
\nYou see, as it was New Year’s Eve, the Cuddledragon received a call from a German friend just after midnight. The acquaintance wanted to pass his good wishes for the New Year, but what he merrily shouted over the phone instead of “Happy New Year” was this: “Guten Rutsch!”
\nOf course, the dragon took out its dictionary and looked that up: Rutsch means ‘slide’, ‘slip’ or ‘skid’. So, did its friend really just wish for the small dragon to slip and stumble from the end of the old year to fall on its scaly behind like one would do on slippery clear ice, just to wind up at the beginning of the new year? What a crazy wish, the Cuddledragon thought. But what if the expression’s meaning really is just a metaphoric way of wishing for the addressed person – or dragon – to have a smooth and uncomplicated start into the new year that is to say to slide smoothly from one year to the next as an ice skater would gracefully do?
\nStill, the small dragon was confused. So when it asked its friend for the meaning of the figure of speech, it was reassured to hear that it only means “have a good start of the new year”. To its question where this sentence came from and why one would wish for others to slide, however, the friend did not have an answer. He informed the Cuddledragon that Germans also use the phrase Frohes Neues (lit: Happy new one, but everyone knows that a happy new year is implied) as equivalent and then hung up to continue celebrating.
\nNow you may have already guessed that this vague answer did not satisfy the curiosity of the small dragon. So the next morning, instead of sleeping in, the Cuddledragon combed through the lair’s library to find the provenance of the German expression.
\n---
\n\n
Multiple hours of research later, the small dragon sat on the floor of the library, surrounded by books and just a tad bit dissatisfied with the lack of clear answers. It found out that there are two conflictive theories proposing an explanation as to the expression’s origin and while one does seem more probable than the other, none of them can be scientifically discarded. One thing that linguists are sure of, however, is the point of time where the proverb’s first general linguistic usage has been proven. Thus, the Cuddledragon informs you that Germans have wished each other a ‘good slide’ since about 1900. It also assures you that, whatever theory you decide to deem true, the meaning of the word ‘Rutsch’ is not derived from the action of ‘sliding’ in any way. “So”, you may ask yourself at this point, “where does it come from then?” Worry not, all will be explained in a second.
\n\n
The first theory is of the opinion that ‘Rutsch’ stems from the Rotwelsch language, a mostly German argot also called ‘Gaunersprache’ as it was mostly spoken by thieves and travelling craftspeople in the south of Germany as well as in Switzerland. The language, while based heavily on the German one, contains words from many other languages and dialects. One of them is Yiddish, a language spoken mostly by Jews. The first theory assumes now that the Yiddish and subsequently the Rotwelsch language has adopted the Hebrew expression rosch ha schana (lit. a good head (beginning) of the year). Further they suppose that the word ‘rosch’ has undergone linguistic changes in the development of the languages and thus ends up as our ‘Rutsch’ of today.
\nUnfortunately though, several arguments point against this reasoning. Firstly, rosch ha schana was only used in high-level language and thus seldom used in everyday discussions. That a people of vagrants and thieves would borrow a word from such a high-level language is very unlikely. Secondly, from a historic-linguistic point of view, the phonetic difference between the two words is huge and the historical sound changes necessary for a the change from ‘rosch’ to ‘Rutsch’ have happened around 1500 which means that the development of the word after that time is highly improbable. The last argument against this theory though is the certainty that the Christian and the Jewish new year holidays take place at different times of the year and that the Jewish also have different names for them. As opposed to the Jewish holiday with the name of rosch ha schana (lit. beginning of the year), the Christian holiday is called schone chadosche (lit. new year). The difference between schone chadosche and Rutsch is big enough to allow the question of why German Christians should have used the name of the Jewish holiday to greet each other on their own holiday. Still, Rotwelsch was a rather secret language neither widely spoken or understood, nor well documented. This is why, among other things, even though all those reasons point against the veracity of the first theory, it is still not disproven and deemed a possible provenance of the figure of speech.
\n\n
The second theory claims the modern meaning of the word ‘Rutsch’ are the remnants of a once more extensive semantic bearing that has been lost over time. While ‘rutschen’ did indeed mean ‘slide’, ‘slip’ and ‘glide’, in the 1800s it also could be used in a more liberal sense. As a fact, ‘rutschen’ could be used as a more humorous way of saying ‘travelling’, and the noun ‘die Rutsche’ (lit. the slide) also meant ‘trip’ or ‘voyage’ (as can be seen in the Deutsches Wörterbuch by the Brothers Grimm). Since the 1820s, the expression Guten (glücklichen) Rutsch is proven to have been used to wish others a nice and safe journey.
\nPartisans of the second theory suppose that this expression has been adapted over the time to serve as New Year’s wish. The figure of speech would therefore mean to express the wish for a nice journey into the new year. The liberal usage of ‘Rutsch’ to express the meaning of ‘voyage’, however, has been lost over time, which is why the expression Guten Rutsch seems so mysterious and illogical to us today, provided that we take the time to think about it.
\n\n
---
\nBy now, the Cuddledragon has told you all that it could find about the origin of the German expression Guten Rutsch. Hopefully, you are not bored out of your mind, but then again, if you have read the post until here, the small dragon supposes, it could not have been too bad. And should these pieces of information not suffice to quell your curiosity about the subject, the Cuddledragon recommands looking up the German Wikipedia article on Guten Rutsch (yes, the dragon knows that Wikipedia is not the most reliable source out there, but it is always a good way to start when searching for something, and this article is very detailed and precise).
\nAnyway, whether you slid, jumped, strolled or ran into this new year, the Cuddledragon wishes you all a dragontastic year 2021. See you soon!
","category":"other","date":"2021-01-01T18:39:47.335Z"},{"post_id":67,"title":"Gratin Dauphinois","title_normalised":"gratin-dauphinois","content":"Yes, you interpreted title and picture correctly: the Cuddledragon wishes to take you on a delicious excursion into French cuisine. The Gratin Dauphinois is a classic and traditional dish in French culture. And while “dolphin” is indeed the translation of the French word “dauphin”, the small dragon promises that there is no trace of that elegant animal in the casserole, don’t you worry!
\nDauphin was the title of the French crown princes, so the assumption that this meal was once a prince’s favourite and thus named \"the crown prince’s gratin” seems likely. This is, however charming the story may sound, unfortunately not true.
\nInstead, the name “Gratin Dauphinois” is derived from the historical region by the name of Le Dauphiné, the dishes point of origin. Situated in the south-east of France (take the city of Grenoble as point of orientation), the region has seen its borders restructured and redrawn multiple times over the course of history. Nowadays, its territories have been split and belong to the two départements Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
\n\n
But enough of the history and etymology lessons! By now, everyone should be pretty hungry, or at least the Cuddledragon is. But before we all start cooking, the small dragon wants to tell you why it chose this particular recipe to share it with you.
\nNot only was it fascinated by the cultural and traditional value the Gratin Dauphinois has in French culture, the phenomenal and absolutely amazing taste of the culinary delicacy as well as its serving versatility made a deep impression. The casserole can be served as the main dish or it can enhance the taste of the meal as a great side dish. The Cuddledragon assures you that its flavour will be amazing either way.
\nTraditionally, the Gratin Dauphinois is made without cheese and no eggs are added either. Having lived through many a fight over the question of whether a casserole is a casserole at all without cheese, the Cuddledragon has added cheese as an optional ingredient to the recipe to nip all disagreement in the bud. If you want to put cheese on your gratin, feel free to do so. The small dragon recommends you at least spare a small area in the casserole dish to try the cheese-less original, though, even if it is only to honour the cultural tradition.
\nThe eggs are not included in the traditional recipe either. The Cuddledragon has found, however, that adding one or two eggs to the sauce will grant it a consistency that is a bit more solid than the original, which in turn makes the potato slices stick together more and prevents them from falling apart when serving.
\nLastly, the small dragon stresses that the potato slices are indeed put into the oven raw. They are not cooked before being put in the casserole dish as is typical for other gratins, as the slimness of the slices allow them to be cooked while the dish bakes in the oven. Furthermore, the potatoes soak up the cream sauce poured over them. If you cook them in saltwater beforehand, they will not be able to absorb the sauce later and thus never gain the creamy taste that is so special about this dish.
\n\n
Anyway, the Cuddledragon is really sorry to have kept you back with all this fruitless blabber that has not served to fill your grumbling stomachs at all. It hopes nevertheless that you may have found the background information on this traditional French dish interesting and that the preparation tips for the gratin will come in handy.
\nFeel free to leave a comment or to contact the Cuddledragon via maildragon if you want to share your experiences with this dish. But for now, the small dragon won’t keep you waiting any longer and presents you with the recipe that it got directly from a French friend:
\n\n
***
\n\n
GRATIN DAUPHINOIS
\nrecipe for 3 – 4 persons if used as main dish
\npreparation time: ca. 2h, baking time included
\n\n
INGREDIENTS:
\nOptionally:
\n\n
PREPARATION:
\nLong time no see! The Cuddledragon admits that it has been quite a while since the last piece of treasure has been exhibited in its Secret Lair, which it is awfully sorry for. However, the recent pandemic and its consequences have severely impacted the Cuddledragon’s treasure hunts.
\nAs a matter of fact, meeting with its contact persons in order to exchange tips on promising treasure possibilities has become quite difficult due to the limiting rules concerning social contacts. The number of people visiting its secret Lair have also diminished, so no new ideas from that source either. And even if the Cuddledragon had found an interesting lead, it proved almost impossible to get to it (cross-country trips not even mentioned) due to travelling restrictions rightfully inflicted upon every citizen by the government, in order to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
\nSo with no real new gems in sight and almost no way to get to them, the small dragon has been lying low for a little while. The lack of new exhibits however, does not mean that the Cuddledragon has been lazing around lately. Not at all. Instead, it has relentlessly searched for new ways to reach out to its friends and visitors. Then, one day, inspiration struck.
\n“What if”, the Cuddledragon mumbled, slowly walking in circles, steadily wearing down the old, faded carpet covering the cold stone floor. “What if I adapt my Secret Lair to this “Digitalisation” everyone keeps talking about?” It halted in its tracks, tail swishing excitedly. “That’s it! I will craft a newsletter for my lair to keep everyone up to date on what’s happening over here. I am sure that the maildragons are willing to help. They always complain about being bored anyway.”
\n***
\nAs expected, the maildragons had nothing to oppose to this idea, in fact, they were delighted to help him. So, the aspect of the newsletter’s delivery solved, it was now time to organise the design, the contents and so on.
\nThe first problem, the design, was quickly dealt with as well: The Cuddledragon took out some paper sheets and drew up a sketch conform to the Secret Lairs website design. It then adapted it slightly and made some improvements here and there, until it was finally content with the result.
\nThe second aspect proved more difficult. Not wanting to have to write a new newsletter for every new piece of treasure presented in its lair and wishing for all mails to share the same design, the Cuddledragon racked its mind on how to find a solution to this problem. It was abundantly clear that this predicament called for the small dragons programming skills. Unfortunately, they were not developed to the degree necessary to solve the problem in no time at all, so here we are, three months later.
\nBy now, the Cuddledragon has coded a program that starts automatically whenever a new piece of treasure is presented in the Secret Lair. The program collects information about the new exhibit and fills it into a template mail, therefore offering the visitors of the Secret Lair a consistent user experience and informing them immediately about any news or events happening in the lair.
\nOf course, the Cuddledragon had to take into account the applying data protection rights because it wants to act in the visitors best interest. Therefore, the maildragons will only bring the newsletter to those who subscribe to the newsletters mailing list of their own volition and they will immediately stop doing so when a visitor rescinds their consent. Also, the Cuddledragon will address you with a name of your choosing, be it your real name or a pseudonym, in order to respect your privacy.
\nWhile it took way more time to get this project to work than it thought it would take, the Cuddledragon is immensely proud of its newsletter.
\n***
\nSo, if you are interested in the events unfolding in the Secret Lair, hell, even if you are just curious to see how the final design looks like, want to take a sneak peak and plan to unsubscribe directly after having seen the “welcome-mail” (yes, the Cuddledragon assures you that there is a welcome mail for everyone, while stocks last and afterwards), the small dragon would be absolutely delighted to keep in touch with you, especially in these hard times.
\nYou can subscribe to the Cuddledragon Info Mail under https://lair.cuddledragon.com/newsletter. In addition to that, you will find the links that allow you to subscribe to / unsubscribe from the newsletter in the footer of the website, so you can easily access it from anywhere in the Secret Lair.
\nSo, see you around and keep safe!
","category":"programming","date":"2020-12-06T11:59:41.804Z"},{"post_id":27,"title":"Happiness is ...","title_normalised":"happiness-is","content":"... a long walk in beautiful, unfamiliar forests.
\n\n
\n
It is a hot and sunny summer day, as perfect as you can imagine. The birds are singing, the air over the asphalt is simmering and you are sitting inside in front of your laptop, working hard. Every five minutes you turn your head to look out of the window and watch the flickering shadows dance on the grass, created by the golden sunlight falling through the foliage of the lush green trees in your garden.
\nAfter work, you promise yourself, after work you will leave the house and go for a walk, soaking up the last rays of sun and relieving some of the stress that has accumulated over the day.
\nThen, at six o’clock, when you finally shut down your laptop, clear up your desk and stretch your stiff neck, you take a last look out of the window. The sun is almost setting, the blue of the sky slowly starting to dissolve into violets and reds.
\nOn the way down the stairs you think about putting on your shoes and going on that walk you promised yourself earlier. Then, you remember the dirty dishes in the kitchen and the laundry waiting to be ironed. This time, when you think about the walk, it doesn’t sound so promising anymore. If you were to go out now, you would constantly have think about all the tasks waiting for you upon your return and thus be unable to enjoy the walk. And if you think about it, you are worn out and really just want to watch a film, wind down and go to sleep. You decide to do just that, because tomorrow is another day and the weather forecast has announced the coming days to be just as summery as this one. You will have go for this walk the next day, you conclude.
\n\n
\n
This is a situation everyone has faced many times, or so the Cuddledragon presumes. The small dragon itself is often confronted with the problem of having to choose between stretching its wings while going on a short flight trip or continuing to sort through its hoard, finding new gems to share with its visitors. The whole day it dreams about the outside of its cave, but in the evening it is just too tired to fulfil its wish.
\nThis day though, the Cuddledragon decided to let work be work and just flew off. After soaring lazily over the ocean of green under it, the dragon dived deep under the tops of the greens and softly landed on a small clearing. From there on, it just walked, randomly taking lefts or rights at crossroads.
\nWith every minute that passed, the small dragon felt the stress melting away until it truly felt free. Happily it inhaled the smell of wood and grass. It closed its eyes and spun around slowly, letting the sun paint patterns of dark and light over its closed eyelids. Then it just stood there, the warmth of the sunlight sinking in. The Cuddledragon savoured the moment.
\n\n
When it continued walking afterwards, swashing its tail lazily from time to time to keep the mosquitoes at bay, it couldn’t help but think of a book it had read a few years ago.
\nThe story about a depressed psychologist on the search for true happiness was a good read. The thing that impressed the small dragon the most about François Lelords “Hector and the search for happiness”, however, was the list the main character Hector compiled. It enumerated all reasons and ways to reach happiness, at least for a few moments, that the character discovered. The sixth point on that list specified that happiness can be attained by taking a long walk in beautiful, unfamiliar mountains.
\nEven though the list seemed pretty simple and more like a compilation of watered down fortune cookie messages than a real life guidebook, the Cuddledragon had to admit that the different points still worked fine enough, when applied. Especially this sixth advice on clearing the head and calming the mind through a stroll in nature.
\nAnd while a long walk in nature wasn’t really something difficult to do, it still took the small dragon days to realise that in order to get going, it had to stop waiting for the moment it found time to go for that walk. Instead, it just had to take the time for it.
\n\n
***
\n\n
That is the glittering kernel of this piece of treasure. A simple advice: Take the time to be happy. Go for a walk and let your mind settle down, sometimes work has to wait. There is always enough of it to be found anyway, so just treat yourself to a bit of repose and happiness.
\nAnd if you think that this advice was actually useful, the Cuddledragon humbly proposes you to have a look at François Lelords book “Hector and the search for happiness”. Inside, there are many more tips to be found on how to find a few moments of happiness and while they are not a guaranteed success, you might find some that work for you. In any case, the Cuddledragon thinks that this small booklet is worth your while.
","category":"impressions","date":"2020-08-01T22:30:58.273Z"},{"post_id":26,"title":"Holorhymes","title_normalised":"holorhymes","content":"“What the actual fudge is this?”, the Cuddledragon exclaimed, completely flabbergasted.
\nSitting in the faintly illuminated caves containing its vast collection of books, surrounded by many painstakingly high and infinitely unstable looking piles of old tomes, the small dragon held a particularly dusty volume in its paws. Faded ink and yellowed pages indicated that this book was indeed as old as it looked. The crumbling golden letters on the binding revealed the volume to be a dictionary.
\nWhile on a trip to a small library in Southern France, the Cuddledragon had overheard the librarian talking to an old man. They were standing in the poetry section and just happened to read out several lines of a poetry book aloud. The small dragon was still wondering why the old man had repeated the same verse twice, when the librarian nodded enthusiastically and told his counterpart that this was an excellent example of a French holorhyme.
\nNever before had it heard this term, so naturally, the Cuddledragon’s curiosity kicked in and it just couldn’t stand to not know what those two were talking about. By their harsh discussion it was clear to the dragon that those rhymes would be interesting at least.
\nAs a result, it quickly flew back to its lair and immediately started searching for its dictionary to look up the term.
\n\n
---
\nHolorhyme
\nNoun (countable and uncountable, plural holorhymes) (rare)
\nAn extreme form of rhyme in which two lines are phonetically identical (as in \"For I scream / for ice-cream\").
\nOrigin: holo- (greek for whole) + rhyme
\n---
\n\n
Directly under the definition, some examples were listed. Surprisingly, the Cuddledragon recognised the first one as the verses it had heard the old man quote in the French library. This time though, they were written down so it actually could see the difference between the verses, as it was impossible to discern them by hearing the quotation as they sounded – by design – completely the same.
\n\n
Gall, amant de la Reine, alla, tour magnanime!
Galamment de l'Arène à la Tour Magne, à Nîmes.
Gallus, the Queen's lover, went (a magnanimous gesture)
Gallantly from the Arena to the Great Tower, at Nîmes.
Pronounced [ɡa.la.mɑ̃.d(ə.)la.ʁɛ(ː).na.la.tuʁ.ma.ɲa.nim]
– Marc Monnier
The second example of a holorhyme was by Alphonse Allais, who apparently was renowned in France for his ‘holorimes’.
Par le bois du djinn, où s'entasse de l'effroi,
Parle, bois du gin, ou cent tasses de lait froid.
By the woods of the djinn, where fear abounds,
Talk, drink gin, or a hundred cups of cold milk.
Pronounced [paʁ.le.bwa.dy.dʒi.nu.sɑ̃.tas.d(ə.)lɛ.fʁwa]
- Alphonse Allais
\n\n
Fascinated, the Cuddledragon closed the dictionary, creating a small cloud of dancing dust particles, but the dragon didn’t pay them any mind. In fact, it was completely lost in its thoughts, marvelling at the versatility of language. Saying the same thing and not the same thing at all at the same time, that was something special indeed.
Contentedly grinning, the small dragon unfurled its wings and flew over the shelves to its desk where it started to pen down the holorhymes it had found, so that visitors could also behold this impressive, and a tad absurd, piece of treasure.
\n
(For those of the Secret Lairs visitors that do not speak French, the Cuddledragon added these links, leading to Google Translate where they can let Google read the verses out to them.)
\nLast evening, the Cuddledragon was sitting on the rocky ledge, the one serving as entry to its Secret Lair. From there, it could oversee the lush valley with its green forests and the mighty river meandering through it like a silvery, glittering snake. Much like the Cuddledragon’s own scales, the water reflected the fading sunlight in a mesmerising way. Still, the small dragon’s focus was on the setting sun, slowly sinking behind the peaks of the surrounding mountains and colouring the sky in soft shades of pink, orange and violet.
\nSighing softly, the Cuddledragon took a sip of water, thinking hard. The next day, some of its friends would come to visit. It was summer and the late sunsets were a beautiful occasion to come together and have a nice evening.
\nBut whatever should it serve as drinks? The evenings were still hot, so the refreshments would have to live up to their name – and be refreshing. Some of the other dragons liked their drinks with alcohol, to wind down after their long day at work, while others preferred them less strong. Suddenly, the Cuddledragon got an idea. Rushing down the hall into its kitchen, the dragon started to rummage around the old cupboard. Between oven mittens, bowls and a pan it finally found what it was searching for: the old book full of delicious recipes its mother left it.
\nSitting down in the chaos left over from its frantic search, the Cuddledragon flipped through the pages until it found the recipe it was looking for.
\n\n
***
\n\n
recipe for ca. 1200ml / 8 glasses
\npreparation time: ca. 15 Minutes (+ 3-4 hours cooling time)
\n\n
Ingredients:
\nPreparation:
\nBefore Serving the Limes Light...
\n(Alternatively leave out the lemonade at step 3. In this case, you add the lemonade directly before serving the cocktail. This way, you can decide yourself how strong the drinks should be by adjusting the amount of lemonade added to the rest of the cocktail. Just don’t forget to keep the lemonade cool before finishing up the drinks and stir the cocktails before serving them.)
\n\n
***
\n\n
Contentedly, the Cuddledragon closed the cooking book and went to get its wallet. It was time to do some shopping.
\nThe next evening, the other dragons arrived and were thoroughly impressed by the fruity, summery drink. They chatted amiably over some snacks and shared stories about their day.
\n“What is this drink?”, one of them asked the Cuddledragon as the sun slowly made its way behind the peaks of the mountain range.
\n“This”, the Cuddledragon proudly answered, “is a cocktail called “Limes Light”. I found it in the most valuable cooking book of my treasure hoard. Remind me later and I will give you the recipe. Hopefully, you enjoy it as much as I did.”
","category":"recipes","date":"2020-07-10T09:38:57.957Z"},{"post_id":24,"title":"Once upon a time...","title_normalised":"once-upon-a-time","content":"… there was a young Cuddledragon sitting in front of his magical communication tool, the one the humans tended to call ‘computer’. Staring intently at the keyboard, its tail swishing around restlessly on the floor, its claws clicking a nervous rhythm on the stone-ledge it used as a desk, the Cuddledragon thought hard about what to write down.
\n\n
You must know, my dear reader, that it had recently taken the decision to publish a blog about some of the precious gems it has collected over the years and about some of the ones it will undoubtedly find in the future.
\nPatiently and without complaining – though not without hardships – the Cuddledragon taught itself the basics of programming and set to work creating its Secret Lair online for those interested in its treasure hoard. Half a year had passed before it had finally grasped enough knowledge on the subject to start working on the real goal: the blog.
\nWhile carefully constructing the Secret Lair page by page, paying great attention to every detail, the Cuddledragon ran into several problems and multiple times it considered to just give up as it simply couldn’t get the webpage to function the way it wanted it to. No matter how hard it begged the computer, no matter how madly it cried at it… the computer remained unimpressed and continued to return errors.
\nThankfully, the Cuddledragon had many helping hands, like good friends, even better friends and the internet. Thus, another few weeks later, the Cuddledragon proudly published the Secret Lair on the worldwide web.
\n\n
That evening it lay in bed contentedly, the silvery moonlight shining softly through some cracks in the caverns ceiling, faintly illuminating the caves interior. The blog was online, everyone could now see it and marvel at the treasures it had found. ‘Would they like them as much as it did?’, the Cuddledragon wondered. Maybe they would even send it messages so that they could talk about the pieces of treasure and exchange tips on how to find new ones!
\nExcitedly, the small dragon huffed and a tiny wisp of smoke left its nostrils. Then it squinted its eyes as a thought entered its mind.
\nThe blog may well have been online, but the Cuddledragon had not published a single post about any of its valuable pieces of treasure. The Secret Lair was still empty!
\nWithin a second, the calm contentment of the dragon had disappeared. Instead, an unsettled restlessness took over it. What if someone stumbled in on its Secret Lair, found it interesting and wanted to know more about the Cuddledragon’s treasures? What impression would it make if there weren’t any to be seen?
\n\n
Hastily, the small dragon unfurled its wings from there resting position, rustled its scales and got up. Yawning, it trudged to the hidden corner of its sleeping room where the stony desk was hewn from the rocky cave-walls. Tiredly, it breathed fire onto the candle on the shelf above the desk. Unfortunately, the small flame expired before it was even remotely close to the candle. Huffing in annoyance, the Cuddledragon tried again. For once, it wasn’t happy about not knowing how to correctly breathing fire at will. Several tries later though, a warm, flickering flame lit up the corner of the cave.
\nAfter the computer had started, the Cuddledragon opened its writing tools and… sat there as though it was petrified.
\nAll of those precious pieces of treasure down there in its Lair… Which one should it choose to be the first one published? The Cuddledragon just couldn’t decide. They were all so amazing and unique in their own way. And what if the visitors of its Lair didn’t like them? And how should it present the pieces of its hoard? The words would have to be sparkling, lively and radiant to do the gems they described justice.
\nHelplessly overcharged, the Cuddledragon sat there, next to the flickering flame and I swear to you, dear reader, that you could nearly see the steam coming out of the small dragon’s ears, so intens was its thinking process.
\n\n
‘All beginnings are difficult.’
\nThe classic and very well known saying suddenly came to the Cuddledragon’s mind. Its mother quoted the proverb anytime the Cuddledragon hesitated to start something new, afraid that it would fail because it had no experience in this field. She also added another famous quotation from a certain Mr. Lewis.
\n“You are never to old to set yourself a new goal or to dream a new dream”, the man had said. And boy was he right. The Cuddledragon stilled his tail and stopped the nervous clicking of his claws. Just because it had never had a blog before didn’t mean that it wouldn’t be able to take care of one or to make good presentations of its treasures. After all, it had learnt how to program and how to code in order to create the Secret Lair and despite its utter lack of knowledge prior to starting the project, it was quite proud of the way the Lair had turned out. So the first blog posts would maybe not be the best the world had ever seen, but they would be fine.
\nWith a small smile, the Cuddledragon pressed the first key and started typing away and after pressing the “Publish”-button on its first blog post, it lived happily ever after.
\n\n
***
\n\n
And if you, dear reader, are reading this short little fairy tale right now, you have found the Cuddledragon’s first piece of treasure: impressions hidden in a pretty story.
\nMay I present to you:
\nThe delight one takes in seeing a project, that has required hard work, finally finished.
\nThe pride one feels at the thought of how much was learnt in the process of the projects realisation.
\nAnd last but not least the strength one gains from overcoming many difficult obstacles and insecurities.
\n\n
But don’t worry, dear reader, this post may be finished, but this is not the end, on the contrary: it is only the beginning!
","category":"short stories","date":"2020-07-05T23:24:35.318Z"}]