Monday, August 31, 2009
Today
It's unfortunate.
I indulge myself by staring at it and frowning.
...
Death stands next to you and asks "who are you?" repeatedly
I would like to smoke myself to death
feeling it out, one breath at a time, each one getting longer and slower and greyer and softer
I would like to spend a long time dying
I am possibly sad because I have no relatives.
...
The frontal lobe reaches maturity at the age of 25. I'm excited. Horray for myelin!
Christian Lacroix
In 2009 the fashion house, owned by duty-free retailer Falic Fashion Group, put the business into administration and laid off all but 12 workers. Lacroix's A/W 2009 Haute Couture was privately financed by Lacroix and each model was paid €50. "I didn't want to cry," said Lacroix "I want to continue, maybe in a different way, with a small atelier. What I really care about is the women who do this work" Lacroix said about his last Haute Couture collection. Throughout its history it never turned a profit and reported a €10 million loss in 2008.
bric-à-brac
It referred then to collections of curios such as elaborately decorated teacups and small vases, feathers, wax flowers under glass domes, eggshells, statuettes, painted miniatures or photographs, and so on. Bric-à-brac was used as ornament on mantelpieces, tables, and shelves, or displayed in curio cabinets. Sometimes these cabinets had glass doors, to display the items within while protecting them from dust.
Bric-à-brac nowadays refers to a selection of items of low value, often sold in street markets.
Source: Wikipedia
Swiss Alps
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Lanvin
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Kant
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Poliphili's Strife of Love in a Dream
The book begins with Poliphilo, who has spent a restless night because his beloved, Polia (literally "Many Things"), shunned him. Poliphilo is transported into a wild forest, where he gets lost, encounters dragons, wolves and maidens and a large variety of architecture, escapes, and falls asleep once more. He then awakens in a second dream, dreamed within the first. In the dream, he is taken by some nymphs to meet their queen, and there he is asked to declare his love for Polia, which he does. He is then directed by two nymphs to three gates. He chooses the third, and there he discovers his beloved. They are taken by some more nymphs to a temple to be engaged. Along the way they come across five triumphal processions celebrating the union of the lovers. Then they are taken to the island of Cythera by barge, withCupid as the boatswain; there they see another triumphal procession celebrating their union. The narrative is uninterrupted, and a second voice takes over, as Polia describes his erotomachia from her own point of view.
Poliphilo resumes his narrative after one-fifth of the book. Polia rejects Poliphilo, but Cupid appears to her in a vision and compels her to return and kiss Poliphilo, who has fallen into a deathlike swoon at her feet, back to life. Venus blesses their love, and the lovers are united at last. As Poliphilo is about to take Polia into his arms, Polia vanishes into thin air and Poliphilo wakes up.
The Charities
In Greek mythology, a Charis (Χάρις) is one of several Charites (Χάριτες; Greek: "Graces"), goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility. They ordinarily numbered three, from youngest to oldest: Aglaea ("Beauty"), Euphrosyne ("Mirth"), and Thalia ("Good Cheer"). In Roman mythology they were known as the Gratiae, the "Graces."
The Charites were usually considered the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, though they were also said to be daughters of Dionysus andAphrodite or of Helios and the naiad Aeg
From wik;)
Beatrice
Her birth name is Beatrice Portinari, the daughter of Folco di Ricovero Portinari, and she was known among intimates as Bice. Dante met her at the age of nine when his father took him to the Portinari house for a May Day party. At the time, Beatrice was eight years old, a year younger than Dante. Dante was instantly taken with her and remained so throughout her life even though she married another man, banker Simone dei Bardi, in 1287. Beatrice died three years later in June of 1290 at the age of 24. Dante continued to hold an abiding love and respect for the woman after her death, even after he himself married Gemma Donati in 1285 and had his own children. After Beatrice's death, Dante withdrew into intense study and began composing poems dedicated to her memory. The collection of these poems along with others he had previously written in his journal in awe of Beatrice became La Vita Nuova.
Beatrice Portinari has been immortalized not only in Dante's poems but in paintings by Pre-Raphaelite masters and poets.
According to the autobiographic La Vita Nuova, Beatrice and Dante met only twice during their lives. This statement, however, is highly questionable, considering that they both lived in Florence the entire time Beatrice was alive[citation needed]. Even less credible is the numerology behind these encounters, marking out Dante's life in periods of nine years. This amount of time falls in line with Dante's repeated use of the number three or multiples of, derived from the Holy Trinity[citation needed]. It is more likely that the encounters with Beatrice that Dante writes of are the two that fulfill his poetic vision, and Beatrice, like Petrarch's Laura, seem to blur the line between an actual love interest and a means employed by the poet in his creations.[citation needed]
Following their first meeting, Dante was so enthralled by Beatrice that he later wrote in La Vita Nuova: Ecce Deus fortior me, qui veniens dominabitur mihi ("Behold, a deity stronger than I; who coming, shall rule over me.") Indeed, she and Dante frequented parts of Florence, his home city, where he thought he might catch even a glimpse of her. As he did so, he made great efforts to ensure his thoughts of Beatrice remained private, even writing poetry for another lady, so as to use her as a "screen for the truth".
Dante's courtly love for Beatrice continued for nine years, before the pair finally met again. This meeting occurred in a street of Florence, which she walked along dressed in white and accompanied by two older women. She turned and greeted him. Her greeting filled him with such joy that he retreated to his room, to think about her. In doing so, he fell asleep, and had a dream which would become the subject of the first sonnet in La Vita Nuova.
In this dream, a mighty figure appeared before him, and spoke to him. Although he could not make out all the figure said, he managed to hear "Ego dominus tuus", which means "I am your Lord". In the figure's arms was Beatrice, sleeping and covered by a crimson cloth. The figure awoke Beatrice, and made her eat Dante's burning heart. An English translation of this event, as described in La Vita Nuova, appears below:
- ...And betaking me to the loneliness of mine own room, I fell to thinking of this most courteous lady, thinking of whom I was overtaken by a pleasant slumber, wherein a marvelous vision was presented to me: for there appeared to be in my room a mist of the colour of fire, within the which I discerned the figure of a Lord of terrible aspect to such as should gaze upon him, but who seemed there-withal to rejoice inwardly that it was a marvel to see. Speaking he said many things, among the which I could understand but few; and of these, this: "I am thy Lord". In his arms it seemed to me that a person was sleeping, covered only with a crimson cloth; upon whom looking very attentively, I knew that it was the Lady of the Salutation, who had deigned the day before to salute me. And he who held her held also in his hand a thing that was burning in flames, and he said to me "Behold thy heart". But when he had remained with me a little while, I thought that he set himself to awaken her that slept; after the which he made her to eat that thing which flamed in his hand; and she ate as one fearing.
This was the last encounter between the pair, since Beatrice died eight years later at the young age of twenty-four in 1290.
Dante's love for Beatrice
The manner in which Dante chose to express his love for Beatrice often agreed with the Middle Ages concept of courtly love. Courtly love was a secret, unrequited and highly respectful form of admiration for another person.
Yet it is still not entirely clear what caused Dante to fall in love with Beatrice. Seeing as how he knew very little of the real Beatrice, and that he had no great insight to her character, it is perhaps unusual that he fell in love with her. But he did, and there are clues in his works as to why he did:
- "She has ineffable courtesy, is my beatitude, the destroyer of all vices and the queen of virtue, salvation."
Dante saw Beatrice as a saviour, one who removed all evil intentions from him. It is perhaps this idea of her being a force for good that he fell in love with, a force which he believed made him a better person. This is certainly viable, since he does not seem concerned with her appearance - at least not in his writings. He only once describes her complexion, and her "emerald" eyes.
He wrote of her, following her death:
| “ | The love between them was wholly spiritual; after her death Dante realised she was more alive than ever. | ” |
[edit]Beatrice's influence on Dante's work
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Beatrice's influence was far from simple inspiration, she appeared as a character in his two greatest works - La Vita Nuova and Divine Comedy.
She first appeared in La Vita Nuova, which Dante wrote in about 1293. The book was filled with poems about Beatrice, and entirely complimentary to her; she was described as "gentilissima" and "benedetta" (meaning "kind" and "blessed" respectively).
Having already referred to Beatrice as his salvation, this idea is further touched upon in Divine Comedy, where she appears as a guide through Heaven. Here she is described as being "maternal, radiant and comforting".
Although they converse in personal terms, this is no more than the imagination of Dante. Since their relationship had no contact, the Beatrice of his works was shaped entirely by his own mind. He once called her "La gloriosa donna della mia mente", which means "the glorious lady of my mind".
Evidently from Wikipedia
Primavera
By Sandro Botticelli
Sol Invictus
Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") was the Roman state-supported sun god created by the emperor Aurelian in 274 and continued, overshadowing other Eastern cults in importance,[1] until the abolition of paganism under Theodosius I. By far the earliest appearance of an inscription linking the unconquered emperor with the sun is the legend on a bronze phalera dated by its style to the second century, in the Vatican collections: INVENTORI LUCIS SOLI INVICTO AUGUSTO.[2]
The Romans held a festival on December 25 of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, "the birthday of the unconquered sun." December 25 was the date after the winter solstice,[3] with the first detectable lengthening of daylight hours. There was also a festival on December 19.
Aureola
An aureola or aureole (diminutive of Latin aurea, "golden") is the radiance of luminous cloud which, in paintings of sacred personages, surrounds the whole figure.
A Mandorla is a Vesica Piscis shaped aureola which surrounds the figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary in traditional Christian art.[4] It is especially used to frame the figure of Christ in Majesty in early medieval and Romanesque art, as well as Byzantine art of the same periods. The term refers to the almond like shape: "mandorla" means almond nut in Italian. In icons of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the mandorla is used to depict sacred moments which transcend time and space, such as the Resurrection, Transfiguration, and the Dormition of the Theotokos. These mandorla will often be painted in several concentric patterns of color which grow darker as they come close to the center. This is in keeping with the church's use of Apophatic theology, as described by Dionysius the Areopagite and others. As holiness increases, there is no way to depict its brightness, except by darkness. In medieval Christianity, the mandorla generally represents the Ichthys, the wounds of Jesus, and Mary's birth canal which was the path by which Jesus entered the physical world.
The symbol is also used in non-Christian cliness increases, there is no way tontexts. In various religions the almond seed has been associated with divine virgin birth. For instance the virgin nymph Nana miraculously conceived Attis by putting a ripe almond in her bosom.[5] [1]
In a famous romanesque fresco of Christ in Glory at Sant Climent de Taüll the inscription "Ego Sum Lux Mundi" is incorporated in the Mandorla design.[2]
The tympanum at Conques has Christ, with one of those beautiful gestures carved in romanesque sculpture, indicate the angels at his feet bearing candlesticks. Six surrounding stars, resembling blossoming flowers, indicate the known planets including the moon. Here the symbolism implies Christ as the Sun. [3]
![[3]](http://www.handinaute.org/roman.img/Conques02.jpg){kind=link}
In one special case, at Cervon (Nièvre), Christ is seated surrounded by eight stars, resembling blossoming flowers. [4] At Conques the flowers are six-petalled. At Cervon, where the almond motif is repeated in the rim of the mandorla, they are five-petalled, as are almond flowers -the first flowers to appear at the end of winter, even before the leaves of the almond tree. Here one is tempted to seek for reference in the symbolism of the nine branched Chanukkiyah candelabrum. It should be remembered that in the XII century a great school of Judaic thought radiated from Narbonne, coinciding with the origins of the Kabbalah.[6] Furthermore, at Cervon the eight star/flower only is six petalled: the Root of David, the Morningstar, mentioned at the close of Book of Revelation (22:16) [5] ( In one of the oldest manuscripts of the complete Hebrew Bible, the Leningrad Codex, one finds the Star of David imbedded in an octagon )
![[4]](http://homepage.uvt.nl/%7Es239062/EDIFICES/cervon/CERVONtim.JPG){kind=link}
In the symbolism of Hildegarde von Bingen the mandorla refers to the Cosmos.
Source: Wikipedia
Eurynome
In Greek mythology, there were many women with the name Eurynomê (Εὐρυνόμη), with the possible significance "far-wandering" (eury + nomos; compare nomad).
- The Oceanid, or daughter of Oceanus. See Oceanids.
- Wife of Ophion (may be the same as the following).
- Mother of the Charites (may be the same as the following).
- Daughter of King Nisus of Megara and mother of Bellerophon by Poseidon according to Hesiod's Catalogue 7 and Hyginus 157.
- Mother of Leucothea whom Helios loved, whose father was the Persian Orchamus, as given by Ovid in Metamorphoses 4.208ff.
- Wife of Lycurgus of Arcadia and mother of Amphidamas, Epochus, Ancaeus, and Iasus; from Apollodorus 3.9.2.
- Daughter of Iphitus and mother of Adrastus of Argos by Talaus, as given by Hyginus 70.
- Waiting woman of Penelope in the Odyssey
Tiresias
In Greek mythology, Tiresias (Greek: Τειρεσίας, also transliterated as Teiresias) was a blind prophet of Thebes, famous for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nymph Chariclo;[1] Tiresias participated fully in seven generations at Thebes, beginning as advisor to Cadmus himself.
Tiresias was blinded by Athena after he stumbled onto her bathing naked.[4] His mother, Chariclo, a nymph of Athena, begged Athena to undo her curse, but the goddess could not; instead, she cleaned his ears,[3] giving him the ability to understand birdsong, thus the gift of augury.
On Mount Cyllene in the Peloponnese,[5] as Tiresias came upon a pair of copulating snakes, he hit the pair a smart blow with his stick. Hera was not pleased, and she punished Tiresias by transforming him into a woman. As a woman, Tiresias became a priestess of Hera, married and had children, including Manto, who also possessed the gift of prophecy. According to some versions of the tale, Lady Tiresias was a prostitute of great renown. After seven years as a woman, Tiresias again found mating snakes; depending on the myth, either she made sure to leave the snakes alone this time, or, according to Hyginus, trampled on them. As a result, Tiresias was released from his sentence and permitted to regain his masculinity. (This staff later came in to the possession of the god Hermes, along with its transformative powers, becoming the symbol caduceus)
In a separate episode,[7] Tiresias was drawn into an argument between Hera and her husband Zeus, on the theme of who has more pleasure in sex: the man, as Hera claimed; or, as Zeus claimed, the woman, as Tiresias had experienced both. Tiresias replied "Of ten parts a man enjoys one only."[8] Hera instantly struck him blind for his impiety. Zeus could do nothing to stop her, but he did give Tiresias the gift of foresight[9] and a lifespan of seven lives.
Stripped of its narrative, anecdotal and causal connections, the mythic figure of Tiresias combines several archaic elements: the blind seer; the impious interruption of a natural rite (whether of a bathing goddess or coupling serpents); serpents and staff (Caduceus); a holy man's double gender (shaman); and competition between deities.
Tiresias's background, fully male and then fully female, was important, both for his prophecy and his experiences. Also, prophecy was a gift given only to the priests and priestesses. Therefore, Tiresias offered Zeus and Hera evidence and gained the gift of male and female priestly prophecy. How he obtained his information varied: sometimes, like the oracles, he would receive visions; other times he would listen for the songs of birds, or ask for a description of visions and pictures appearing within the smoke of burnt offerings, and so interpret them.
As a seer, "Tiresias" was "a common title for soothsayers throughout Greek legendary history" (Graves 1960, 105.5). In Greek literature, Tiresias's pronouncements are always gnomic (compact) but never wrong. Often when his name is attached to a mythic prophecy, it is introduced simply to supply a personality to the generic example of a seer, not by any inherent connection of Tiresias with the myth: thus it is Tiresias who tells Amphytrion of Zeus and Alcmena and warns the mother of Narcissus that the boy will thrive as long as he never knows himself. This is his emblematic role in tragedy (see below). Like most oracles, he is generally extremely reluctant to offer the whole of what he sees in his visions.
In Hellenistic and Roman times Tiresias' sex-change was embroidered upon and expanded into seven episodes, with appropriate amours in each, probably written by the Alexandrian Ptolemaeus Chennus, but attributed by Eustathius to Sostratus.[10] Tiresias is presented as a complexly liminal figure, with a foot in each of many oppositions, mediating between the gods and mankind, male and female, blind and seeing, present and future, and this world and the Underworld.[11]
Source: WikipediaSunday, August 23, 2009
Rome
I hope that helps justify not using the apostrophe. I cant find it.
I,m (haha, longitude) made up of little white lies.
White butterflies that cover my body
Like background paper
Rome?
The name is lovelier than it sounds...
Although that,s probably because I,m with my family,
My family is like a very small, very drunk elevator.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
funny!
lol!
Oh those summer nights...
Belle Époque
Belle Époque
More notes to self.
I love love.
I love perfection.
This is a nice time, end of 19th century France.
I wonder what it would be like
to be the zeitgeist that rules each decade
To be able to change clothes from an endless closet, a perfect revolving mirror,
to watch the drapes of my coat scatter on cities,
drag through streets and sands
mark the doors with an "x"
of my wand
To not imagine, but be imagined
Apotemnophilia
Source: Wikipedia
somniferous virtue of the poppy
But first we must ask: what is a woman? ‘Tota mulier in utero’, says one, ‘woman is a womb’. But in speaking of certain women, connoisseurs declare that they are not women, although they are equipped with a uterus like the rest. All agree in recognising the fact that females exist in the human species; today as always they make up about one half of humanity. And yet we are told that femininity is in danger; we are exhorted to be women, remain women, become women. It would appear, then, that every female human being is not necessarily a woman; to be so considered she must share in that mysterious and threatened reality known as femininity. Is this attribute something secreted by the ovaries? Or is it a Platonic essence, a product of the philosophic imagination? Is a rustling petticoat enough to bring it down to earth? Although some women try zealously to incarnate this essence, it is hardly patentable. It is frequently described in vague and dazzling terms that seem to have been borrowed from the vocabulary of the seers, and indeed in the times of St Thomas it was considered an essence as certainly defined as the somniferous virtue of the poppy.