Tasting Life Twice - 2 - 6 - 09 to 2 - 13

Friday, February 6, 2009

"Not Feeling Her Best"
6:45pm

Saturday, February 7, 2009 A

The Friday Illustration theme this week is TIME. For some reason, I couldn't get past the similarities of a round pie and a round clock face! While I made this image, I ate another round food, pancakes!

Possibly my mindset is influenced by 'Wilbur':

No Matter the Hour,
Wilbur Was Always Hungry!

Saturday, February 7, 2009 B

"Coraline"
9:09pm

I liked what I could see in the jerkily loading trailer, its Rotten Tomatoes rating was promising, so we went to the first showing of _Coraline_. The rare rain and gray skies seemed perfect for a artfully 'creepy' movie. It's a delightful movie, the tale is a fun adventure, and the animations and characterizations are extremely imaginative.

On coming home I wanted to learn more. Its soundtrack was also nicely fitting, so I searched for 'Coraline' at Amazon. In addition to the soundtrack, other songs came up. The sample of "Coraline" by Guillaume Ledent was so intriguing, I clicked for more by this musician. I liked both of the albums and downloaded them both. All but two of the songs fit on the CD:

The group is from Belgium

I first entered their website via Google, and I could follow along translated versions of some of their songs. The translations were sketchy, but they gave me some idea of the basic gist. (Perhaps Belgian French is different than French French?)

No matter, I enjoy the tunes anyway.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

"Fresh Air After the Rain"
1:25pm

By noon, it had dried enough for a walk in the park. I'd originally intended to go to Gateway Park, but turned left on First street, instead of right. Julia noted the divergence, but I decided to keep with West Wetlands park, the new destination. Was it robotic self or a bit of intuition that led me there?

We parked at the usual spot, and I decided to walk down to the boat launch. I symbolically released old fears into the water, and breathed in the new. The air after yesterday's all day rain was especially fragrant.

I decided to walk on the more 'wilder' area, nearer to the Colorado river. It was an absolute bouquet of smells, tarlike creosote bushes, feathery pine trees and small sweet yellow blooms all contributing to the heady mix.

No photos today, these yellow flowers are from April 2004...

I'm so glad for that 'wrong' turn!

Monday, February 9, 2009

"Simply Sampling"
4:57pm

The "60 minutes" program last night was meant to be a lead-in to the Grammy awards show. After they interviewed the very able pilot who bought his jet down safely in the Hudson River, they next had an interview with the musicians of "Coldplay". All young faced dudes, the main speaker seemed very down to earth.

However, I can't say I was impressed with the way the awards were done. For one thing, the constant strobe lights flashing on and off was most annoying. Worse were the efforts of whoever did the sound balancing. For most of the perforances, they had the instrumentals so loud, the poor singers were practically spitting tonsils to keep up. The best performance was by Katy Perry, "I Kissed a Girl (and I liked it)". Her dance and costuming were colorful and she ennunciated clearly so I heard every word. Some of the other singers should have had my high school choir director. Miss Nuti always stressed the importance of being able to be understood.

It was good to see the older performers like Neil Diamond and Paul McCartney, though. This evening, I've been sampling some of the winning pieces via Amazon. Their classical selections are for the most part too strange for me. However, I am glad to see The King's Singers win "Best Classical Crossover Album" for "Simple Gifts"

Earlier, while watching the interview with Chesley Sullenberger, I sketched him:

"The physiological reaction I had was strong and I had to force myself to use my training and force calm on the situation," Sullenberger, 58, said in an extended interview with Katie Couric on the CBS television program "60 Minutes," which was broadcast Sunday." (From interview highlights at sfgate.com)

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

"Isis, 'Great of Magic'"
5:43pm

My Isis statue by 'JBL'...

Isis didn't have an ancient city of origination, she wasn't even attested until the 5th dynasty. But she went from these obscure origins to being the most famous goddess: "Evidence of veneration of the goddess has been found as far apart as Iraq and England, with temples being built to Isis in Athens and other Greek cities and later in many parts of the Roman Empire as well as in Rome itself. The cult of Isis rivalled those of the traditional Greek and Roman gods, and its importance and persistence is seen in the fact that her worship continued at Philae until the 6th century AD - long after most of Egypt and the wider Roman world had been converted to Christianity." (_The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt_, by Richard Wilkinson, page 149)

In the detail below you can see both Isis' 'throne' hieroglyph in the far upper right, as well as the horns and solar disk originating from Hathor, a goddess whose roles and iconography Isis subsumed. “What is initially puzzling in this scene at Karnak is the identity of the goddess. Neither Hathor, nor for that matter, any of the other goddesses we have seen linked with serpent power is shown here. Rather, leading the king in all her fiery snake glory is none other than Isis, more familiarly known as the sister-wife of Osiris and Madonna-like mother of Horus. Yet here we see her with a uraeus snake rearing up on her brow…”(_Hathor Rising_, by Alison Roberts, page 54)

The following isn't the scene at Karnak, but we can see she has the uraeus:

Detail of Isis from Stela of Irethoreru
Third Intermediate Period, XXV Dynasty, ca. 775-653 B.C.E.
07.422, Brooklyn Museum

"Most of the myths relating to the goddess stress her magical ability and one in particular - in which she learns the true name of Re - stresses her position of the greatest of the gods in terms of magical knowledge and power. In this myth Isis creates a snake which bites Re, and the stricken sun god is only healed of the snake's venom when he reveals his true name to her and thus further enhances her power."(Wilkinson, page 147) Knowing his true name gave her power over Re.

Isis also makes declarations of her power in the Metternich stela:

"I am Isis the goddess, the possessor of magic, who performs magic, effective of speech, excellent of words."
(From _The Mechanics of Egyptian Magical Practice_, by Robert Ritner, page 34)

She revives Osiris, conceives Horus the younger and protects the dead with her magic. For instance, her 'Tyet' amulet was placed in the mummy wrappings:

Often red, the 'Tyet' knot is sometimes green as well, as seen at the Metropolitan Museum

"First was a red jasper "knot of Isis." According to the Book of the Dead, whoever wears such a knot will have the protection of Isis and her son Horus and will be welcomed into the next world. The red represents the blood, magic, and power of Isis..." (_Ancient Egyptian Magic_, by Bob Brier pages 193-194)

As archetypes for the earthly magician, both Isis and Thoth possess what Jan Assmann calls “the radiant power (akhu) of speech.” (_The Search for God in Ancient Egypt_, page 154)

This 'effectiveness of speech' propelled by power enables magical creation. In my understanding, Thoth is the mind of magic, while Isis is the heart of magic.

Printable pdf version available

Thursday, February 12, 2009

"My Own Kind of 'Cool'"
5:12am

When I think of the goddess Isis, I think of the feminine 'wiles', of glamour, and all those sophisticated charms that can delight. That part of her archetype seems rather unattainable to me. It's not 'body type' nor is it 'age'. Enough large size women have demonstrated that, as Queen Latifah and Oprah come to mind. It's not just movie stars, a lady proudly wearing gray hair came into the shop yesterday wanting to shorten her dress so she would be more 'glamorous'. I greeted her with baggy knee socks fallen around my ankles and a freshly stained skirt. "Glamour, that's some distant land I read about, to which I'll never go," I lamented.

Later, when the "Silverchair song" came on the radio, I could identify:

"Yeah, I'm a freak of nature
Yeah, I'm a freak
I don't really know
How to put on a cool show
As boring as they come
Just tell me where to go
If only I could be as cool as you
As cool as you
As cool as you
As cool as you..."

I could identify and dispair. For mostly fifty years, I've been the reticent wallflower, feeling awkward and clumsy. But I don't want to dispair any longer. I want to find my own kind of 'cool'. Somehow I think I will. There's got to be something for one who retains her youthful enthusiasm. Perhaps it's a sort of 'hobbit-like' charm. I'm going to find it.

7:27pm

Google has misled me. I have no idea what the above song sounds like. I thought it was weird, that I didn't quite remember the lyrics that way. I blamed it on being an alternate version. However, today the DJ gave some help, and I quickly jotted the info. The song I hear on the radio is "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf. MTV.com has a video of it.

"I wish I could be as cool as you
I wish I could say the things you do
But I can't and I won't live a lie,
No not this time..."

"Can't" and "won't", for I will find my own 'cool'!

Friday, February 13, 2009

"Odd and Proud"
6:31am

This "odd character" inspired by Jon Whittle's 'Sepia Bird'

Whittle did a wonderful series of photographs of Cirque du Soleil characters. http://jonwhittle.com/photoblog/index.php?showimage=58 starts you at the first one.

(I hope to color my character soon...)

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