The Architecture of the Legend of Zelda
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      • On Stables
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    • Random Articles >
      • The Great Deku Tree: A Triumph of Aided Discovery
      • Are the Arbiter’s Grounds the Spirit Temple of Antiquity?
      • The King of Red Lions
      • A Bathhouse in Hyrule
      • The Mirror of Demise
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Mathoms and Personal Philosophy, Pt. I

1/23/2019

7 Comments

 
Picture
An informal tea ceremony with a friend.
Beginning the New Year is always something that seems foregone the minute January 2nd appears, though I'm trying not to see it in such a light. I've always been of the opinion that one's practice (i.e. how one lives one's life) shouldn't be so whimsical as to change just because a calendar year shifts. But, new goals are rarely a bad thing when authentic, reasonable, and calculated, and if these require their genesis in a "Resolution", then so be it. Among my plans (read: goals) for the New Year are:

1) Publish one article per month. (This will be tricky.)
2) Find a PhD program that will accept (and ideally fund) my stupidities and further my education.
3) Attempt publication of a short story. (Another pipe-dream.)
4) Progress in older, more fundamental goals, like meditative practice, continued physical fitness, and my own human development through reading and thinking. 
Over the past months and years, really since the inception of this project, several people have inquired about a few consistent things, though perhaps not in so many words; to that end, I want to clear up the air on some related matters.

1) How do you plan on growing this thing?

I don't, honestly. Since my goals are based in personal understanding and contributing to the greater pool of human knowledge and appreciation, I have no plans to promote my work in any way. I long ago decided not to be a proselytizing force in the world, and that, if people were lucky, interested, or determined enough, they would find their way here, and hopefully take something of value away. (Or, better yet, improve upon my work and give even more unto the world.) I am deeply, deeply opposed to instant, cheap, and petty fame, and to those incentivization structures that enslave people into feeling the need to post constantly about nothing, promote sensationalized, disgusting material, or fret about how many "followers" or "friends" they have. Nothing on earth is more geared toward our baser impulses and desires than these schemes to drag user data and attention from us. If you find yourself caught in such a structure, please find a way to escape. You, and the world, will be better for it. 

This is not to say that I will deny any opportunities given to me (like my interview with Le Monde), but I have never been an attention-seeker. (Finding the golden mean between privacy and publicity is always a razor's edge.)

2) Why don't you make money from this?

I have no desire to, and why would I? This project has ever been a hobby to me. I have a full-time job in education to pay for my worldly needs, and there is no reason to monetize what I find pleasurable and meaningful. To admit money into the environment would . . . well . . . poison the thing. It would add another dimension to what I do that would ineluctably sap some of the purity of this work, and I have always been skeptical of people who seek to monetize every action they take in the world. Of course, Patreon would be a less-intrusive way to manage this aspect of things, but, again, even the approaching scent of money is enough to sour the waters of philosophy and aesthetics. Call me jaded. 

3) What is the good of this project? Why bother with it?

I'll admit, this is my question, posed to myself. I do entertain this subject at times, though I always come down on the side that: it is worth it, both to myself and to others. I have three primary virtues in life, being self-growth, mindfulness, and balance, and this website is but one canal into which I can pour the waters of my energy. I think humans are happiest when connected to larger structures of meaning, other people, and with their own deepest thoughts and ambitions. Yet, we live in an age wherein none of those things is incentivized and encouraged. We are pushed toward atomized isolation, superficiality, and frivolous plenitude, none of which is healthy. And, together, they are downright destructive. Can this website dispel those poisons? Nope. At least, not alone. But, it can act as a healthier place in an online climate -- one without ads, anger, and superficiality -- and that is all I can give in this way. 

4) Why do you write like you write? (This question has also been phrased as an insult multiple times.)

Because I can do no other. I've read a lot across a great domain, found a voice that is somewhat mine (though it can never be purely mine, and that's fine and natural), and then refined things based on my personal tastes. Sure, it's a bit "purple" as far as prose goes, but that's what I like. So, I make neither concessions nor apologies. 
 
In fine:

As I state in the About Me section, this website is but one off-shoot of my Philosophy of Life, and it is a pure one (in that it represents me truthfully and authentically) that I see perfectly in-line with my hopes for humanity and for the world. I genuinely do want to see the world made better, no matter the magnitude of that betterment. We all have our corners of the earth, and our own gifts, and to use them for the Good seems something worth doing.

One last thing:

As I look at the data for this website, one of the most frequently-visited sections is the Contact page. There appear to be several hundred hits on that page per month, yet I only get a few emails every blue moon. Consider this an invitation to reach out; there's no need to be frightened or apprehensive. I respond to each email I get, and the emails I've received thus far have only ever been lovely and heart-felt. In this life, fleeting though it is, it's always a good thing to share appreciation and warmth with others. You're welcome to my time and energy. 

Have a wonderful, meaningful day.
7 Comments

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

11/24/2018

3 Comments

 
Picture
Hyrule's symbol of gratitude.
Happy Thanksgiving, all, or to those of you who celebrate. But, even if you don't, you should always take a few moments in appreciation of where you are in life: remembering those that came before you, those that support you in this life, and even those who are living a world apart whom you will never see or know. It's an interconnected world out there, and we need to look after one another. 

The article about Tarrey Town and Modular Architecture is up, as of a few minutes ago. It was a pretty crunchy topic to think about (and also to write about), but it was worthwhile in the end, as I learned something new about architecture and about myself. (Those two things intersect more than I would ever have thought.) Anyway, happy reading, and thanks for your time and readership. 

​- Talbot
3 Comments

Insights of the Encyclopedia

8/6/2018

5 Comments

 
Picture





​The cover of The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia, published on June 19, 2018.


Quite a few hours have been dedicated to this Encyclopedia over the last month, in which I have been marking passages and quotes of interest; today, I finally sat down to update my website in light of what was revealed to us. From the cryptic and shocking revelations concerning Majora's Mask to the rather odd details concerning the waters of the Great Sea in The Wind Waker, the Encyclopedia has given fans more than a little to digest. It has been a fascinating read, and definitely the best book in the series of three; it goes a long way in our knowledge of the Zelda  universe, and I think we can finally tip our hats to Nintendo for delivering something of value and interest.
5 Comments

Charging Windmills

6/15/2018

2 Comments

 
Picture
The Ingenious Gentleman himself, bested by a windmill (?); image by Gustave Doré, from 1863 - image in the public domain.
We all face foes of different sorts. It's almost (almost) trite to say. For some, these are giants; for others, windmills; in the case of Don Quixote, we're ultimately left wondering. For me, lately, my giant/windmill is the Extraneous. I know what I value in life (such an outcome the culmination of 28 years of living), yet even in a relatively unrestrained summer, I still find myself engaged in activities that are rather contrary to my perceived purposes. I am reading far too much, and writing far too little; one's action is subsumed by the witnessed and recorded actions of others. There seems to be something there worth discussing. 

Yet! One giant/windmill has been successfully (I suppose that's debatable) encountered: there is a new article up on Hateno Village and the Ancient Tech Labs of Necluda and Akkala, though the focus is certainly on the quaint village itself. I spent a few hours upon the beaches of Lurelin Village yesterday, and that will be soon to follow. Charming places all.
2 Comments

Some Mathoms on the Buddha's Birthday

4/8/2018

0 Comments

 
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A few housekeeping notes:

1) There is a new article on Dodongo's Cavern within the Ocarina of Time menu; I had originally skipped the Cavern, not finding much of architectural worth within it, but recently had a random thought that I should cover it, at least in some depth. So I did. As I expected, there was not too much to analyze or discover, but it was still an enjoyable afternoon, and yielded some interesting findings.

2) Another new article can be found under the Random Articles tab, and it concerns game design within the Great Deku Tree. As a warning, I have no experience writing about game design; I simply felt moved to try my hand at it. I hope the result is worthwhile.

And, as a final note to all my Buddhist friends and fellow sangha members around the world, happy birthday to Siddhartha Gautama; may all sentient beings find peace and equanimity. 

0 Comments

Hyperlinks to the Past

2/8/2018

2 Comments

 
Picture
A wood-and-bronze torii gate. Image in the public domain.
The newest article is up! It concerns the wonderful adaptation of Kakariko Village found  in Breath of the Wild, and its relations to early Japanese, pre-Buddhist architecture. 

On an unrelated note, I've had a few people ask me why there are no hyperlinks to be found in my articles. There are many reasons for this. Not only do I find that they interrupt the visual flow of the piece, and mar the clean aesthetics I strive to create, but they are great distractions to our already-distracted minds. This is perhaps the most important reason.
Some research (though there is not much on the topic) shows that the use of hyperlinks in articles, e-books, and their ilk radically interrupts our engagement in a piece. (If curious, look into the work of Nicholas Carr.) Each hyperlink, while potentially useful, also represents a Carrollian rabbit hole of twisting, shifting information. Each thing we click on reveals a new visual world to take in, changing our attention momentarily, separating us from the work with which we are engaged. Each new stimulus rips us from our object of focus. And it takes us far longer than we realize to become refocused. I don't want to drag on about this, but I think it is a thing very important - that we control our own attention. Few things are as important as that. Without the ability to place our attention where we want and when, we are basically slaves to impulse and random stimuli. To that end, I try to strip this website of everything unnecessary: ads, comment sections, hashtags, etc. 

The internet is distressing because it encourages fast-paced skimming, flitting around between media, a plethora of simultaneous stimuli, and efficiency over depth, none of which is good for our psychological well-being or cultivated habits. I hope this all makes sense.

As always, I'm interested in your thoughts, as well.

- Talbot
2 Comments

Winter Tidings

12/28/2017

6 Comments

 
A few mental mathoms* for you all:

1) More riddles have nestled into their homes among the others this past week; a few were added to the "Middling" section, and a few to the "Simple" section. I encourage you to hone your linguistic and mental faculties upon them! (They're not too difficult, of course, but even a moment's thought can be the equivalent of a few jumping jacks.)

2) The holidays, while wonderful, have meant that I've given almost no time to anything Zelda-related for a few weeks; I have been playing through the new DLC (to mixed review) slowly, and am perhaps close to the end, now. 

3) The next article will be on Kakariko Village, which means that I need to venture in time thousands of years (perhaps only hundreds, depending on our timeline here) to new eras in Japanese history, alighting on some sense of vernacular architecture (being the "folk" architecture of homes and public structures). I really loved this incarnation of Kakariko, and I have quite a bit to say, especially concerning the music, which I greatly enjoy.

Winter wellbeing to everyone. 

Until next year, 

Talbot

*Mathom - an old word of the Hobbit-dialect, not recorded as being in use outside the Shire. It was used to refer to "trinkets" or any item that had no particular immediate use.
6 Comments

Sheikah Art and Architecture

11/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Above: MiddleJomonJar2000BCE - I, PHGCOM  CC-BY-SA-3.0  or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Well, after several weeks of work, the first "real" article concerning Breath of the Wild is up; it concerns the real-world influences that Jōmon (縄文) pottery and culture had upon the in-game realm of Hyrule in ancient times.

This article was intensely satisfying and fascinating to write, and I must say that I learned quite a bit. As we know, with every new piece of knowledge comes the realization of the bounds of ignorance: the more we know, the more we know that we don't know.

All that aside, the article has been published under the appropriate heading, and I hope you all find it interesting. I am continually moved by the realization that these forms are just now coming to new life after many thousands of years. This depth of time is really affective, when given the appropriate reflection.

If you find any mistakes in spelling, formatting, punctuation, or grammar, please write and let me know. Let's strive for excellence.
0 Comments

Forum Update & Technical Issues

10/16/2017

2 Comments

 
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Hello, hello - 

So, there is now a rudimentary forum up, though there are still several problems with it (which might prove outside my technical expertise to solve) - like its responsiveness and scaling. Ideally, I would like it to be fully embedded and functional on the discussion page, though I'm not sure how to make it so. There have also been some problems reported from Firefox/Edge users that the forum doesn't display at all. So, I'll try to work on these things in the coming days. If anyone can shed some light on these technical issues, please reach out! For now, have a nice picture of some flowers in Thailand.
​
​- Talbot
2 Comments

Forum Disappearance

10/3/2017

0 Comments

 
This is more house-keeping than anything else, but some of you may have noticed that the forums walked off into the wilderness and were never seen again; in talking with someone from Weebly, they reported that: "The Tal.ki forum was not a service provided directly by Weebly and was not a tool over which we had even the slightest control. We added it to our editor in partnership with Tal.ki in order to provide our users an easy way to simply drag a forum on to their site, however after several issues with the forum element we elected to discontinue its use and removed it from the elements tray." So, in short, there was nothing to be done. Apologies on my end, as well, for not notifying any of you in advance. 

That said, I will soon be embedding another forum into the site, so that communication can flow again. You'll soon know what that looks like. And, again, I apologize for any inconvenience.

On an article-related note, I am about halfway done with an article on Ancient Sheikah art and architecture; there has been a lot of fascinating research over the past weeks, and now I finally get to play Breath of the Wild with a critical eye toward architecture. The article should be released within a few weeks. 

Thanks for your patience.

- Talbot

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    The universe of The Legend of Zelda is replete with multifarious architectural oddities, beautiful and resonating structures, and ineffably-mysterious temples hidden in the remote corners of the world. It is my hope to explore said places, shedding light upon some of their salient features, and fulfilling the goals laid out by the introduction, the main goal of which is to help people understand and appreciate the unspoken, yet deeply-felt, allure of these locations and structures.

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