(by 2 people)
Some fine internet weirdness...
Strindberg and Helium is a set of flash cartoons by the folks at Killing My Lobster and Milky Elephant. The main character is the playwright August Strindberg. The comics relate stories of Strindberg and his side-kick, a floating pink puff named Helium.
Only four episodes of Strindberg and Helium were made. The first one I ever found was Absinthe and Women, which completely blew my mind. After watching them all, though, my favorite has to be with Sulphur and Iron because of the alchemy references in it.
Strindberg and Helium in The Park
Decay! Decay! Decay!
The shortest of the Strindberg and Helium cartoons, in The Park has some of the most surreal dialog between Strindberg and Helium:Strindberg: The fallen leaves are rotting.
Helium: Rotting!
Strindberg: The whole of nature stinks of disintegration and decay.
Helium: Decay! Decay! Decay!
Strindberg: The earth is dirty. The sea is dirty. The heavens rain slush.
Helium: Aaaaaaahhhhhh!
Strindberg: We are already in hell.
Helium Hell!
I've used Helium's repetitious cry of 'Decay!' as my signature line on a variety of forums.
Helium - The Fool
The Tarot card of The Fool and the Chemical Element Helium
When I'm not watching weird internet cartoons, I'm working on my oracle deck, Elemental Hexagons. In this deck, I've used 60 of the chemical elements from the Periodic Table to represent various archetypes.All of the Major Arcana cards from the Tarot deck have their own elemental correpsondences. The Fool, one of the most significant cards of the Major Arcana, is symbolized by the element Helium.
The Strindberg and Helium cartoons were developed long after I'd made that association, so it would seem that as elemental archetypes go, Helium is thought of as The Fool by more than just me!
Strindberg and Helium at Home with the Kids
I'm dead, too!
In Strindberg and Helium at Home with the Kids, Strindberg lays on the couch and moans about his empty soul while his children play in the background.The children come up to him and ask him to play with them. They have a red ball, similar in size to Helium.
When Strindberg says his soul is empty and that he is dead to the world, Helium proclaims, "I'm dead, too!"
Helium's Doppelganger
I randomy ran across information about an old Nintendo game called Kirby's Adventure. That Kirby character looks a whole heck of a lot like Helium!
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Strindberg and Helium With Sulfur and Iron
Black as is my need, bleeding as is my heart.
In the episode With Sulfur and Iron, Strindberg relates a peculiar story to Helium. He says he was in the park and found two broken twigs on the ground, in the shapes of the Greek letters F and S.Strindberg claims these are the chemical symbols for Iron and Sulfur. However, the letter F is the chemical symbol for Fluorine. The symbol for Iron is Fe.
Despite this technical error, Strindberg and Helium With Sulfur and Iron is my favorite of the S&H cartoons.
At the end, in Strindberg's depth of despair, Helium floats down with a cupcake and says, "For you!"
Alchemical Items on CafePress
In Strindberg and Helium with Iron and Sulphur, Strindberg receives a sign from the universe that he should attempt to create Gold from the elements Iron and Sulphur. Usually, Alchemists were thought to attempt the transmutation of Lead into Gold, but in my alchemical researches, I've found that they used a wide variety of metals as the starting point, and that yes indeed, Sulphur played a significant role in the attempts to create Gold from other metals.
Strindberg and Helium in Absinthe and Women
Who's hot tonight? Strindberg's hot tonight!
Absinthe and Women gives a clue as to whether the Helium character is supposed to be real, or if he is merely a figment of Strindberg's imagination. Strindberg introduces Helium to the woman at the bar after he introduces himself, which suggests Helium might be real. However, the woman had already run off, so it may not matter that Helium was being introduced to her. Books about Absinthe
Absinthe: History in a Bottle
Amazon Price: $15.61 (as of 10/16/2008)
Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle
Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 10/16/2008)
August Strindberg, playwright
August Strindberg: Selected Essays
Amazon Price: $53.00 (as of 10/16/2008)
The Road to Damascus: A Trilogy
Amazon Price: $13.99 (as of 10/16/2008)
Strindberg: Five Plays
Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 10/16/2008)
Strindberg and Helium store on CafePress
Miseryyyy Journal
I love blank books! That the Miseryyyy Journal uses unlined pages is a big plus!
Price: 11.00
Black strindbergandhelium T-Shirt
I'm glad the Strindberg and Helium folks are hip enough to use black tee-shirts.
Price: 20.99
Vote for Your Favorite Strindberg and Helium Episode!
Your favorite Strindberg and Helium episode, vote for it!
More Internet Weirdness
If you liked S&H, try these on for size
- Men From Up The Stairs
- This delightfully weird toon is a metaphor for one of life's little functions that we all have in common.
- Kenya
- We're going to Kenya where they've got lions and tigers. It's not boring like Norway.
- The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
- This toon has everything and everyone. You'll be surprised at who comes out on top... Or will you?
- Soluble Song
- I'm glad that I'm not soluble, that would be quite bad.
- YTMND - ORSON WELLES EATS BORON
- Simple, direct, Gilliam-esque, and involves Boron!
- Life in Graphs
- The truth about life, spelled out clearly in pie charts, Venn diagrams, and cartesian coordinates in both 2 and 3 dimensions.
End of the World
End of The World
i found this thing online...it's so hilarious cuz its pretty true :-D feel free 2 comment Disclaimer: I do not own this video. Thankfully, the owner of this video, albinoblacksheep, has allowed me to keep it.
Runtime: 1:32
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