Halloween Wisdom

"For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day, so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all." Aristotle

1965: Smoke Blowing

I have been focused on 1965 all week after watching last week's Mad Men. This next to the last episode of the 4th season was titled "Blowing Smoke" and the year was 1965. It has made me remember how strange that year was for me personally and evidently for our country in general. I remember my 11th birthday that year and how distraught I was because I had loved being 10 and I didn't want to change. I realize now, that our world was changing and I was feeling it. We were all beginning to learn that things are not always as they seem. Culturally, it was an in-between time, with a "big change is on the way" feeling in the air. There was a lot of smoke blowing going on and a lot of smoke in our eyes...Matthew Weiner gets it totally right every time. My thanks to him, once again, for giving me the inspiration to remember....

Ahhh The Beatles were still presented as the upbeat good guys. Little did we know that in the next year they would begin recording St. Pepper and everything about them, and about music, would shift on its axis.

In contrast to the Beatles, The Stones are presented as the naughty and dark December's children...but we were the ones in the dark, not realizing this was the beginning of one of the smartest, most business savvy, and long lasting music endeavors of all time.

We were only one year away from the formation of The National Organization for Women, but this is what we loved to watch on TV.

One of the greatest and most influential men in black history would be killed in 1965, but Malcolm X was better recognized at that time as a symbol for violence, racism, black supremacy, and antisemitism.

There was a big change in board games making them a showy 3 dimensional adventure. They also took so long to set up, you never had time to actually play them. Our first good lesson as children as to what Saturday morning Ad Men could do to you.

Bob Dylan, who had been the great hope for Folk Music, goes electric at the Newport Jazz Festival, abandoning the folk orthodoxy and sending Pete Seeger over the edge.

Sonny and Cher have a number one hit with I Got You Babe, but it is accused of being a poppier version of Dylan's It Ain't Me Babe.

Truman Capote will change literature by writing the first "non-fiction novel", claiming everything in this great book was true.

We are determined to make one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century a convict as Johnny Cash is arrested again- this time in El Paso for supposedly smuggling heroin across the border of Mexico. The heroin was his prescription drugs in his guitar case. A few years later our fear of him will subside after he has his religious epiphany at the Nickajack Cave in Tennessee.



We are in hot competition with the Russians for the race in Space...but we are Lost in Space on TV.


We begin to work on Barb's image...but it never takes. Move over, Barbie and let's clear the air, Mrs. Blankenship is the real astronaut.



We send troops to Viet Nam, with an unfortunate beginning to the biggest smoke blowing event ever. Once again, man prayed for rain, then cried because it was raining.



The last episode of Mad Men is tonight and it is titled "Tomorrowland". Some of the smoke will clear as that hippy, hopeful, and exciting last half of the Disneyland sixties is coming....bring it on.

Octoberfest: Happy Oompa Anniversary

After mentioning that I was attending the local Octoberfest celebration last night, I received a short education in how it all began. I had no idea. This year marks the 200th Aniversary of the first Octoberfest which had Munich jumping. The fun festival began Oct. 12th in 1810, with the wedding ceremony and celebration for the union of Prince Ludwig (above) and his bride, Therese. It was a five day throw down ending with a horse race. Ludwig was a lover of beauty: beautiful art, beautiful architecture and beautiful women, but is not to be confused with his famous grandson, Ludwig II, who bankrupted Bavaria building those beautiful castles. If you peer through the windows in the portrait by Joseph Stieler (1825) above, you will see what looks like the Parthenon. I believe this was probably Ludwig's Walhalla Temple, which was not built at the time of this portrait, but was a concept already fully formed. Perched above the Danube River, it honored distinguished Germans.
The slippers are to die for, Ludwig. A hearty beer toast to you and your bride.

Gustave's Stairway

These pictures are from the Gustave Moreau museum in Paris, France. The museum is located in the home where the 19th century French painter lived and worked. He was the son of wealthy parents and mostly lived the life of a recluse. This stairway is a piece of art in itself. What a way to "unwind" after a long day painting. If I should go to Paris, this will be a required stop for me. Think of climbing this stairway as the beautiful paintings swirl around you....

Moreau mistrusted reason and the observation of the eye: "only my inward feelings seem to me eternal and incontestably certain."

A self portrait of the artist done for his mother.

Miss October

Night from Gustave Moreau, 1880.




This is my favorite painting from Gustave Moreau, the French symbolist painter who loves to paint Mythological figures and does it so well. Remember, he painted Juno, Miss June in this year's blog. This is the painting that introduced me to Moreau as it hung over a friend's bed in the 70's...and she is still there serving as a sleeping aid of sorts. Moreau's paintings had at one time fallen out of favor but there was a revival of an interest in his work in the myth loving 60's. This painting is titled Night and it features Nyx, Goddess of the night, whom you may recall sprung from Chaos. She was feared by men and Gods alike with even the mighty Zeus going out of his way to not anger her. She saw some action as evidenced by her numerous offspring, including Hypnos (sleep), Monus (blame), Aether (atmosphere), Hemera (day), Thanatos (death), Philotes (friendship), Apate (deception), Geras (age) and the ferryman of Hades himself, Charon. Notice the spooky little owl trying to keep up with her to her right and the star above her which is her symbol along with the moon. One of Pluto's moons is named for her even though the spelling had to be changed to Nix to avoid confusion with an asteroid winning her name earlier. It is said that with the advance of civilization and lighting, Nyx has lost some of her power over man since we no longer fear the night. I believe there are plenty of dark alleys where she can still give you goosebumps. Fear or not, I think her magic is definitely still there and like Zeus we should show a little respect for the lady and remember the power of myth.

Christmas Wish List #01

Dear Santa............please bring two, one for me and one for my friend, Anna.

Prelude For Deep Vampire

Here is a video of the Vampire Squid talked about in the next post. His performance follows the Dumbell Octopus.

Vampire From The Deep

It's October and what better time to talk about one of my favorite sea creatures-Vampyroteuthis infernalis-which translates to "vampire squid from Hell" or better known as just the Vampire Squid. Thank goodness there has been a little attention given lately to what goes on in the deep with new species identified and new photos. People will be slightly interested for a short while and mildly entertained, but I continue to wonder why we haven't been a little more nosey? The Deep Sea is the largest, yet least explored habitat on Earth. I know it's cold, dark, and bone crushing pressurized, but these very hindrances also give rise to its occupant's wonders. Case in point is the fascinating Vampire Squid. He's not a new species, having been first discovered in 1903. He's only about 10 inches long with a blackish cape-like webbing, glowing red eyes, and tentacles that have blue phosphorescent tips. His body is jelly like, allowing adaptation to the high pressures at 3000 feet where he likes to haunt. His eyes are the biggest relative to his size of any creature discovered on earth- sporting a one inch in diameter eye on a 6 inch squid. That would be like a grown dog's eye on a Robin. Not to mention that his eyes glow blue or red. This swimming football also demonstrates great skills with his phosphorescence...one of my favorite attributes in nature. He can light up his tentacles with blue headlights, and best of all, instead of the ink sacs that are common in shallow sea Cephalopods, his defense is to emit a sticky cloud of bioluminescent mucus containing orbs of blue light. The cloud ejects from his arm tips and the light show lasts about 10 minutes, dazing would be predators and giving the little fellow time to turn off the lights and head into the inky darkness. He is usually fairly good natured, despite his ominous name, and has to be very agitated to mucus you because the metabolic cost of regenerating new mucus is high. I would add this blue-orbed mucus to my to-do and to-see lists, but may have to be satisfied with the Northern Lights instead. What a fascinating little creature, and on second thought, maybe it is best that we do leave the Deep to mystery until a time when we learn to be more respectful of its delicate and magic beauty. Floating down to the deep, using the ear flaps and web. In some light, the VS appears reddish- brown.

I love this Vampire Squid costume designed and worn by talented biologist, Jamie Fraser. Notice the great resemblance to the picture above. A good accessory would be "stripper heels" that light up as you walk.