I have an essay in this little book, so I think all y’all should read it.

Holy hell, I hated this mess of a movie. When I found it on Netflix, I thought it was a sure thing, what with Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton in the same cast. Nuh-nuh-nuh-nooo. I hope it’s the director’s fault. The film opens with McGregor and his boss pulling a dead woman out of a river and onto their barge. Over the course of the film, we learn that McGregor’s character knows more than he should about her death, and he begins a relationship with Swinton, his boss’s wife. Fine and good. The pacing was plodding-that I can accept. But McGregor’s character comes off by turns as a freaking sociopath and a would-be likable character. But the actor seems so confused by his character’s actions that he can’t commit to either monster or failed man. Throughout, McGregor’s character never seems to have a motive or soul or any reason to act as he does. Scott and I were baffled throughout the movie. My impression is that this director, David Mackenzie, is just a hateful misogynist-I don’t know what else to think. I don’t normally get that impression from films, but it really seems like he hates each and every woman in the film. I haven’t seen any of Mackenzie’s other work, but this hasn’t sent me searching for his next big project. He may just have unseated Connery as my long-standing Scottish Guy I Hate, which I thought was impossible.

There are apparently two bands called Gjallarhorn. This one sucks. Bad 80s metal about Thor.

Thomas Kinsella is the best translator of Old and Middle-Irish writing today, and the Tain Bo Cuailnge is the best source material extant. Kinsella’s translation maintains the immediacy, passion, humor, and rhythms of the original Irish. And Loius le Brocquy’s illustrations are iconic. This book is a must-read.

I’d encourage anyone to read Irish Mythology translated from ancient texts. Of the works available, this is my least favorite. It is one of the most modern tales, and was apparently drastically altered by the monks who transcribed it.