I originally started this post with the intention of merely sharing another dream from a while back in its extremely raw descriptive form. In the midst of getting it typed out, I got a call from my vet (well, my CATS’ vet, I obviously don’t need a vet for mySELF). It seems one of my cats, LapWhore (named for her tendency towards any new visiting lap and her virtually obscene drooling and “making out” with someone petting her), is dying of Lymphosarcoma cancer which has attacked the left side of her lower jaw. She has one to two months to live according to the vet, at which time, she will ultimately starve to death due to the rate of growth of the tumor and location.
This is LapWhore (aka, Orange Cat):
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I’ve had pets my whole life but not since being an adult have I had to deal with one dying, let alone had to be the one with the decision as to when she’s had too much and needs to be put to sleep. This is one of the precise points of trouble that Robin Williams’ family faces in the film, “What Dreams May Come” with their family dog. It is the first time that their children lose a pet and it is difficult for them to comprehend. The comprehension isn’t my trouble though. It’s the heartbreak of watching her suffer when she has been such a lively, spirited cat for all 11 years of her life and the loss that will hurt for me. I don’t look forward to this…
I’m no “video editing” pro so if you want to see the scene in “What Dreams May Come” that I’m talking about, start at 4:40 and watch through 6:05:
Anyway…in the nature of having to carry on, this was the dream I initially began posting… Forgive me if I don’t currently care enough to make it a more refined read. Just read it for what it is…
Dream from Night of May 21st, 2008:
The dream begins with my entering some derelict Cathedral of mammoth size but with cheaply done Gothic details — amusement park quality. All black and red.
Inside, it is falling in on itself. There is a space almost the entire size of the cathedral underneath but it has to be reached by ladders and improvised, constructed means (like a pulley, lift system) of lowering down through the cathedral’s collapsed floor to the lower level. The lower level is almost like a previous church that was ransacked and destroyed, buried and the new, black and red cathedral built on top of it.
My parents are visiting and are well dressed, behaving like members of the upper-class. I am taking them around a bizarre hotel that is decorated in bright, bold colors but not over-lit in the least. Rooms, including the lounge and restaurant are deceivingly large inside. Angles are odd and corners are not at right-angles. There was someone else walking along with us as we toured the hotel — a man of small frame but not clearly identified, perhaps the architect.
We leave the hotel in a large, black car and I take them on a nighttime, driving tour to the old cathedral. The cathedral is situated on a side street near Downtown Pensacola, close to where the Civic Center is, near the old cemetery that is there. (Gregory St./Wright St.).
A slight jump in time and events.
I either WAS or was HELPING a glowing “distant” woman who was of some other world or supernatural degree of significance — world altering power. Taking her down the ladder to the lower cathedral where our underground army’s base was — amongst up-turned pews and broken iconography. It had to be something like 3 full stories down, at least. As I am escorting her down, a spirit version of her begins to open out of her back — like a disembodied split-off of a more powerful/purer part of herself — uninhibited by the constraints of flesh. She is our super-weapon in an underground war between armies with various (but lesser) supernatural abilities on both sides of the battle.
After my considerably more adult review of LittleBigPlanet in association with some films that the art design reminds me of, here’s a childish bit of ha-ha for you. Since LBP is by design, customizable and enables every player to become a level developer, that literally opens the door for all SORTS of stuff.
I have a VERY sensitive nose. I can smell that someone smoked a cigarette 2 days ago. I can smell when some no-good man has been whoring about. Thankfully, I’m not limited to nosing out only the stink of this world. Pleasant, subtle scents are also at my olfactoral disposal (even if there is a disproportionate amount of good vs. evil odours in the air). Unfortunately, much like the great tales of this and previous millennia, Evil often poses as Good; in this case, in the candle aisle, at the incense shop and at the perfume counter. In other words, this also means I can’t stand strong fragrances/perfumes/colognes. Only if they’re not too powerful can I stand scents in any embodiment. Even then, I typically favor fruity or natural scents.
Understanding that, it shouldn’t be difficult to guess that I do NOT hang out at perfume counters, in “head shops” or even the oh-so-popular candle stores. I did, however, inadvertently stumble upon a candle line that caught my attention called “Modern Alchemy” by the company, D.L. & Co. Just based on their product naming, design and their scent descriptions, I might have to start saving up my pennies to give a couple of their pretty (and pricey wares) a go.
I’m not very trusting — especially with advertising — but even if these candles and fragrances smelled like putrid garbage on a sweltering July day in Atlanta, GA, I’d probably still have to at LEAST get my hands on the “Seven Deadly Sins” collection…just to say I had it. I mean, what if someone one day ponders aloud in your presence: “I wonder…if ‘sloth’ had a smell, what it would smell like?” If you had this candle collection, you would KNOW!! And if you’re like me, you’ll also find it HIGHLY amusing that it is (among other aromas) a “cannabis” (the plant more commonly known for its intoxicating effects) scented candle. To be honest though, I guess my inner nature-girl/hippie always thought the plant’s sharp, citrus smell refreshingly clean — even if I never understood why anyone would enjoy the effect of sounding like a moron and being a worthless sack of flesh as a result of smoking the stuff.
Most of the fragrances and candles by D.L. & Co. are very sophisticated in their scent base and quite crafty in their themes and artistic presentation. Just upon reading the choices of fragrance combination, I would expect most of these candles (even the ones that DON’T include the cannabis flair) to be pretty heady and dense (i.e. burn in a REALLY large room — maybe with some doors and windows open too for good measure) but also very unique. Some of the others sound incredibly fresh and considerably lighter. I’m fairly sure the lighter scents will be more appealing to my hyper-delicate snout but I have to admit that the other, more complicated varieties still sound intriguing.
In the event that you’re interested in scraping YOUR pennies together to check these fragrances out as well, I’ll let you cheat and start with a couple of places I found that actually sell them (since the company doesn’t sell their Signature line or Modern Alchemy line directly from their website it seems).
Modern Alchemy can be found for purchase at these and other sites:
There’s a connection here, believe it or not. I love both — but that’s not the connection. Yoga is a little more new to me than guns. This is a bit of general info about the line of guns that THIS baby comes from. I have one of these (a .22 cal Mark II target pistol by Ruger) that was my (yes, there is meaning here) 22nd birthday present from my father. I’ve been shooting that gun since I was eight years old. It’s sentimental but even better than that, has cheap ammo for LOTS of hole-punching at the range.
The deep sense of peace that the practice of yoga and the practice of target shooting (note: not reducing your stress-producing foes to the role of “target”) can offer is quite similar. Of course, there are plenty of debates around the value and risk issues but we’ll cover that too very briefly later.
For now, let’s focus….on the focus. Ah yes, the FOCUS…. To do either of these activities requires focus. It requires concentration, a quiet mind and steadiness. Even if you’ve never tried your hand at “down dog” or at squeezing off a few headshots (at your target silhouette-guy of course), I’m sure you’ve watched enough TV, movies and internet videos that you have an idea what these activities LOOK like.
Now is the time to activate your imagination if these are hobbies you never have or will dream of trying. Think of threading a needle, of packing wheel bearings, building a PC from scratch, building a piece of furniture, drawing schematics for a piece of machinery or blueprints for a skyscraper. If I haven’t gotten at least CLOSE to something you might be able to identify with, I’m afraid you’ll have to try a little on your own to find your comparative point of concentrated effort. Just roll with me here for now.
With yoga, it’s a PRACTICE of POSES — keywords when talking about yoga. It’s not a competition with the person across from you in class, it’s not about putting your legs behind your head (for whatEVER reason you may feel the need to achieve that feat) unless that’s just “available” to you (another bit of lingo). Yoga is about doing what your body can while pushing it just enough to FEEL a pose but never to the point of pain. Yoga is about getting the alignment of the pose — of your body — RIGHT. Yoga is about getting the alignment right and knowing how it feels when it’s right. Yoga is about focusing on your breath when a pose is difficult and you feel yourself start to quiver because your muscles never knew they could work like that (all while remaining STILL). Yoga is about FOCUSING on your breath and your body and your orientation/relationship to it and the ground below your feet (or head perhaps). The combination of physical activity and meditative movement and stillness offer benefits that are holistic and one of the reasons I personally am so fond of yoga.
Guns…now how exactly do these go with yoga again??? Focus… You clearly aren’t practicing your yoga or target shooting or you’d remember that.
Target shooting can offer a lot of the same mental focus that yoga can offer. You get a slightly more energized version though since yoga is about quieting and shooting about making a bunch of reverberating racket (and putting holes in things of course). You still FEEL the experience since most firearms have at least SOME degree of a “kick” (basic shooting lingo for “recoil”). You sometimes even get the shocking sensation of a hot, ejected shell smacking you in the forearm or face (wear your protective eye and ear-wear, people) as it flies from the recently emptied chamber as well. You may not get sweaty from this activity like with yoga but you’ll likely get a little dirty since gun powder and gun oil do tend to “smudge” a bit. It’s a satisfying bit of grime that washes off easily though — nothing like a little evidence besides your Swiss-cheese target that you’ve accomplished something.
The sense of focus with shooting though really comes from the manufactured silence of plugged or muffled ears offering the strangely internal sound of your own breath. You may not realize it but as you begin to aim, you increase your odds of an on-target shot if you steady your breath. Smooth, even breaths… Wait, didn’t I say something about breath and yoga??? :0 Yes, steadying your breathing can help steady your hands and as you focus on your target and your aim and your steadiness, you are inadvertently generating a stillness within yourself. What’s the point in target shooting if you’re shaking too hard from being enraged or upset and can’t hold your aim still? Pinpointing your concentration on such a centralized task that requires a steady hand focuses the mind away from distractions and the skipping-about that the mind can find itself doing throughout the day, just like yoga quiets the mind. So really, there ARE some very helpful benefits from both if you need some calm in your day.
And who’s to say one trumps the other either… Like I said, I love them both. The more calm, the better these days! Namaste.
Your obligatory and complimentary SUPER-BRIEF comparison of yoga and guns:
Yoga Cons: New Age/Hippie stereotypes, cost of classes (Unless you’re already a trained teacher, I suggest that you attend classes. The REAL effect and benefits of yoga cannot be achieved at home or without an instructor), need for modifications to poses for those of us not born in a “yogi” shaped body, scheduling issues for the average working adult making it difficult to get to classes
Gun Pros: focus, calm, confidence, increased hand-eye coordination and distance judgment, self defense (if needed), being a bad-ass (Please see this clip from Snatch if you are in need of a better understanding of “bad-assery” and are neither faint of heart NOR repulsed by sailor-mouth language + crassly naughty analogies.)
Gun Cons: ugly stigma of abuse, violent industry and application, risk of accidental discharge, children, expensive initial investment, expensive ammunition (depending on the type of firearm), if you DO decide to get a permit to carry — also added cost and trouble of acquiring and renewing permit
Sure, I favor some things that people might consider kind of dark but as it should be coming through bit by bit, I like a touch of fun to my darkness too. That inevitably means that there are some instances of “fun” that I find amusing which contain little to no darkness about them whatsoever.
Even more evident should be my tendency towards the artistic in things that I enjoy. I do love movies and music and other forms of “normal” art but I don’t actually play many video games. I am wound quite tight enough without the added stress of trying to “beat” a game or level or find some boon. I can stand to watch more games than I can play and the better done the game artistically and functionally and intellectually, the more I typically enjoy watching it. That said, there are few games I even enjoy watching enough to consider actually playing for myself. Little Big Planet is one of those VERY rare exceptions.
This is SUCH a fun game, visually, functionally, even regarding its soundtrack and storyline. This game is so textural and logical — but in a fantastic way — that even the greatest hardcore “kill em all” gamer has to stare at it and even play a little (even if he talks smack about the ‘gay’ factor the whole time). The 3D feel of the levels, the way the physics engine allows the “sack person” to swing and bounce and grab things, even the expressions that you can control on your customized little-you are fascinatingly fun.
In playing this game, I thought of two films I love for their alarmingly simple, yet unique art design: The Science of Sleep and Coraline (in 3D specifically). These films convey very much the same surreal and child-like qualities that art used to embody back when art meant clay and construction paper, pipe cleaners and cotton balls. The sophistication of this game and these movies steps in with the approach, stories and consequences of actions in each.
In Little Big Planet, you may be having a blast with your one-eyed, polka-dotted, cross-dressing lion(ess?), but the humor you encounter is definitely adult — as are the goals of the game. The Science of Sleep is about a couple of very eccentric, only mildly mature adults who sort of fall in love through the language of imaginative avant-garde art and music. Coraline is really probably the most kid-friendly of the three of these playful examples of fun art (in motion). Coraline is a bit darker but necessarily so since it DOES have a bit of a moral-of-the-story thing going on (be who you are but appreciate what and who you have — summed up).
I like the unique in the world. These movies and this game definitely qualify for this category so if you’ve got some spare change (and time) lying around, go check any or all of them out if you want your lovely little eyeballs to be dazzled and your mind to be entertained and expanded (if only a little depending on how far out there you already are).
Designer, Tithi Kutchamuch is definitely an “outside of the box” thinker as you can see here from his projects. Although innovative, not all of his designs are practical. Hell, his “Virgin” project, I don’t even understand — and I’m not quite sure I WANT to considering the confusion his descriptions and displays instilled. (I’m hinting that he could do with a little ENGLISH assistance to perhaps better his presentation effect.)
Aside from that, it was evident from the overall impression that I got from his designs that he is a very sensitive soul. Sound hippie-like enough for you? He’s very AWARE of his surroundings. He is aware of the spacial relationship that people have to the world around them, to each other and to themselves. Sound better? His creative endeavors that he bares to the world on his website are gentle, artistic and in most cases, useful applications of that awareness.
Of all of Tithi Kutchamuch’s designs, one that I favor over all of the others is also an ironic favorite for me. I may be a woman but I am NOT a chocoholic and tetter on the verge of dare I say, disliking the stuff altogether. That being said, Kutchamuch’s chocolate is designed to encourage people to eat less while focusing on the EXPERIENCE more than the quantity in this day and age of obesity, overeating and market trend toward selling more for a supposed greater value. This really is simply fun in the most literal sense. Check it out.
Not that this wondrous woman really NEEDS more positive press but I respect and envy people — especially women of this caliber.
Tara McPhereson. She’s an artist, a woman obviously, a beauty at that, clearly intelligent, has fascinating taste and from a 2nd-hand account (as well as the impression I’ve received from her interviews) a fabulously down-to-earth, just cool as HELL chick. I love her art, even if it’s sometimes a little relentlessly common to its sibling works. She has a very stark, strick style that is at once fun, dark, simple and yet still exquisitely elaborate.
As if her art wasn’t fun enough on its own, this hot artist (in so many ways) has awesome taste in clientele. She has gained a great deal of exposure for her individual works but an even more expansive viewing crowd by being a hot commodity in addition to her hotness… Bands, baby. This chick has done some MEAN band-poster work. I’m lucky enough to have one from 2006 that was gifted to me by way of a close friend of the band Mastodon. She’s done a couple of posters for them (one poster in 2 designs from last year that I specifically want like MAD but have yet to get my hands on). This same individual who gifted me with her 2006 poster recently had a chance to sit down and talk to her and reinforced my initial impression that she was indeed a cool individual and a lovely lady to boot. I have to admit I am still a bit envious of the opportunity. I’m human after all.
As it turns out, Ms. McPherson doesn’t do JUST posters but sculpture, toys (too cute not to check out), fine art and other interesting things as well. A couple of those that she lists in her bio are references to her work that I REALLY should have just remembered off the top of my head because I have both references (unfortunately not the ORIGINAL works)… She was a contributor to Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall along with another of my favorite artists, James Jean (*tangent alert* Mr. Jean’s work was also showcased in the recent, film adaptation of the “unmakeable graphic-novel movie,” Watchmen). McPherson’s part in Fables is the illustrated, 14-page sub-story, “Diaspora.” Here is a quick write up on the Fables piece. Her other (likely more recognizable) works can be seen hanging on the bedroom walls of Juno in the film by the same name.
This woman has a very distinct style and in a way that is all her own, she brings fun and sophistication with her art. Not until later do you realize you’re looking at a High On Fireposter or staring at a punch-out of a girl’s candy-cane ribcaged chest — including breasts. She is an artist in the truest sense, being capable of once again making something sinster, cute and sweet. As I’ve said before here, I’m incredibly fond of that effect and by golly, darn it if I’m incredibly fond of Tara McPherson as a result!
As I closed my post here about the World Erotic Art Museum with a hurray for tasteful eroticism, I only touched on an argument that I’ve maintained for about as long as I can recall.
Although neither of the titles mentioned in this NYTimes article strike me as impressive enough to seek out, they and the article, revolve around a specific element of my very same argument: whatever you repress will grow and the more taboo, the faster and with the most force.
I find it fascinating that I never really thought too much or too hard about the historic presence of sex and its accompanying industries specifically in relation to New York City. I’ve thought about sex in the South (again, repression galore) a great deal. Although not necessarily a fabulously written book, here is a source on this specific topic too if you’re interested: Sex in the South: Unbuckling the Bible Belt by Suzi Parker (which contains a whole chapter dedicated to Memphis’ notoriety for raunch and its strip clubs). I’ve even thought about and checked out for myself the sexual scenery of San Francisco; home to an annual Exotic Erotic Ball and such anomalies as The Power Exchange which is one of the only clubs you will find in the U.S. where public sex is okay (in any orientation) as long as it’s done safely. Both of these topics/websites I’m afraid you will have to look up on your own if you’re interested in learning more, however. I’m not going to link to them here. New Orleans, THE Sin City is another I have checked the sexual pulse of in my lifetime and another home of an EEB.
For whatever reason though, I haven’t really contemplated very deeply one of America’s oldest, most fascinating and diverse cities in that regard. It seems quite negligent of me to have not done so up until now. NYC has also played host to an EEB, was partially the inspiration of the show ‘Sex and the City’ and of course it is also an art and fashion mecca, complete with museums as well. Although this Museum of Sex was not as tasteful as the WEAM in Miami, it was still quite interesting.
Really, NYC has been around so damned long and is the city that never sleeps so what exactly do you think everyone is DOING when they’re not sleeping?? Why wouldn’t I have ever put some serious thought into its sexual historic value?? It seems ripe with potentially fascinating tidbits. Even if the books reviewed by the NYTimes weren’t winners, at least they have done their job of piquing interest! Let’s hear it for unstoppable curiosity!
Keep in mind, I hate tourist industries. I hate tourist traps. I freaking hate TOURISTS (enough so that when I travel, I try DESPERATELY HARD to not behave like one). I was born and spent the first several years of my life in a state whose economy was and still is centered around tourism. Although Florida wasn’t the founding foothold for the Disney empire, it was the space where old Walt put his left foot down after planting the right firmly in California… I have gotten a HEARTY dose of theme/amusement park exposure as a result.
Thanks to my youthful trips to good old Disney WORLD (LAND is in CA folks, for the record), I’ve had plenty of time to think about the fantastic elements of the whole thing, the mechanics of the machine that is the Disney brand and seen plenty of the pretty and the dirty media pats and stabs at the expense of that industry. Some of it nauseates me because of the aggressive nature of the marketing and all that jazz. The whole IDEAL of it though, I’ve always kind of had a fondness for (even if the characters make me want to retch most of the time because they’re just SOOO damned SWEET).
You have to wonder though…what on EARTH could have motivated a mind to conjure such a MASSIVE world of surrealism for people to visit year round??? Well, much as this NYTimes article discusses and reminded me, Walt Disney was a man before he was an industry. As we all know, if he was a man, he was also a child.
I am clearly a fan of magical realism, fiction, etc. I also love well written work. Just be patient though. If you’ve been reading my blog since I recently started it, you should know I have a method and it’s about the journey and the interesting bits you learn along the way to the destination.
This brings me to my connection between California and Chicago as odd as that may seem. With the article about then new Walt Disney Family Museum going up in one of my favorite American cities (San Francisco), I recalled what I inadvertently learned about Mr. Disney in reading a book call The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson (one of THE best MOSTLY non-fiction books I’ve read in my LIFE) about The 1893 Wold’s Fair and the serial killer, H.H. Holmes. In this book, Larson manages to work in EXPANSIVE amounts of amazingly random and yet coincidental facts regarding some of America’s most face-changing inventions, facts and inspiration in such a graceful, arresting way…you won’t even know you’re learning anything from reading it.
One of the fascinating facts that I learned reading this book was also one that was like a light bulb of ‘duh’ for me. As it turns out, one of the carpenters and furniture-makers who made the wonder that was the Chicago World’s Fair happen was one Elias Disney — Walt Disney’s father. After seeing the few photos of what that fair looked like, it is evident that the nickname it acquired was apt: The White City. It was a spectacle like nothing I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes. It is the single one thing that has ever made me earnestly wish that I could have been alive during that time — that I feel cheated for not having gotten to experience the splendor and wonder and surrealism for myself.
If Walt Disney saw THAT as a child…is it any WONDER that he felt compelled to create something inspired by the degree of magnificence that was on display in Chicago that year. Who gives a shit if he made an industry off of it, really? The concept and vision were and still are pretty outstanding and my point is…I won’t deny that fact. The man is definitely worthy of some solid credit for his vision and considering the argument that his daughter makes in the NYTimes article about the family’s museum, family influence, creativity and resulting exposure was the inspiration for the empire anyway. Pretty awesome by my standards, even if every family has its flaws.
Also, if you haven’t already read The Devil in the White City… READ IT!
NOTE:
Devil in the White City: Disney references — Page 153 and 373.
