The Time of the Picó and the Ashes
El Temps del Picó i el Freixes leaves us with the anecdote of the week with curious phenomena from around the world that you probably didn’t know about. Pay attention to this week’s videos, there are some to soak bread in!
The Adventures of Tintin
With the Adventures of Tintin by the cartoonist Hergé, we find a very long list of meteorological phenomena, some of which come to play a primary role. Some examples below.
The Tornasol affair
In The Tornasol Affair, the story begins with a violent storm. First there are thick clouds, then a strong wind with the trees bending due to the gusts, then a heavy almost horizontal rain and finally powerful lightning, one of which falls on Moulinsart Castle, the residence of Tintin, Haddock and company All of this caused the captain, while talking on the phone, to stop on top of a ceiling lamp.
The seven crystal balls
Also in The Seven Crystal Balls the storm is impressive. I admit that as a child I was moved by this sequence: first the sweltering heat, then the blackness of the approaching storm, gusts of wind, a window slamming shut against Haddock’s noses, rain, lightning and thunder and finally … a bolt of lightning sneaks up the chimney and a fireball appears, causing a final explosion.
The protruding ear
By the way, a situation similar to that of The Litmus Affair is repeated in The Perched Ear: lightning strikes a cabin where Tintin is, and then Tintin appears on the ground outside the cabin. In Tintin in Tibet one is really introduced to the landscapes, with the vegetation changing as Tintin and company ascend: from warm climate forests to mid-altitude vegetation and finally the perpetual snows and to top it off, the incredible snowstorm that breaks loose and is about to cause a fatal outcome. We find points in common with The Temple of the Sun, since here you also have to go up and down mountains with very obvious changes in vegetation.
Magical moments
There are some magical moments: when our heroes are still in the area of perpetual snow and, between two mountains, you can see the rainforest in the background. An astronomical phenomenon to highlight: a total eclipse of the sun that turns out to be the salvation of our friends. We also find optical phenomena like the mirage in The Land of Black Gold: the dumbest detectives ever, Dupond and Dupont, are driving a vehicle through the desert and a palm tree appears. Believing it to be a mirage, they head straight for her…crashing violently. Also in this adventure a great sandstorm is unleashed, the “Khamsim” as Tintin points out. Finally, other natural phenomena: huge waves in The Cigars of the Pharaoh, floods in The Blue Lotus, supernatural nighttime heat in The Mysterious Kite, a volcanic eruption in Flight 714 to Sydney, and even the appearance of ice in the moon in We walked on the moon.
Weather jokes
We continue with two jokes, too heavy snow and too hot… and we’ll end with music, making a dedication to the trombone…
weather forecast
Alfred Rodríguez Picó and Xavi Freixes will again make the weather forecast together at premium.cat next Thursday, March 8, with more weather changes and disturbances. Do not miss it!