The magic circle

I have to warn you that it is a PDF, but Johanna Koljonen's description of the production by "larpwrights" Martin Ericsson and Christopher Sandberg of the last three acts of Hamlet as a three-day live-action role-playing game in Stockholm in 2002 is a fascinating read.

(On a lighter note, I am still disappointed and mildly outraged that the Clydesdale Hamlet does not feature a redacted performance of Shakespeare's play with gigantic horses in the lead roles!)

As I've researched the topic, the three games I've found myself most intrigued by and attracted to are (from simplest to most complex) the Japanese location-based game Mogi, the Swedish game Momentum and the aforementioned Hamlet; I am not for the most part a gamer myself, though I suspect that if I hadn't taken part in Tino Sehgal's "This Situation" I might not be writing this novel about games.

Day 2: c. 1200 words, 2058 words total.

Jump!

Jilly Cooper has a new book coming out next month! It is hard to explain why her books are so delightful, but this blog entry does give a little bit of the flavor - hmmm, I wish I had that book right now...

Dwarfed

The smallest horse in the world?

Shrimp!

In West Flanders, the fishermen still follow a 500-year-old tradition of trawling on horseback for shrimp. It is a lovely video - the horses are beautiful...

(Courtesy of I.H.D.)

"What's the forecast?"

Mr Thriller wins the race (FT site registration required).

"Monkey college"

Rebecca Skloot has an interesting Times Magazine piece on service animals.

Orange Gatorade

Like something from a Dick Francis novel.