Haiku Wednesday: Classic Moments In Sports

Another head grows
filled with your noggin’s anger:
“Quatto of the brain”.

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Pool your resources.
How’d the high dive contest go?
It went swimmingly.

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Shot put of straining…
To push your skull through your face
or blow a throat node.

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Overexcited
crazed orange musculature.
Sir, you scare me.

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Winded mask-faced pro,
look like this ALL THE TIME and
I might watch tennis.

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Red screams in mid-air
Stiffly dumped out of a chair
from Olympic heights.

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Getting Back Into the “King” of Things

I’m not into Harry Potter (all gasp!) or Twilight (tweenage gasp!)

“Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.” –Stephen King

I am watching –not reading– the True Blood series (southern gasp!)
And I’m listening to the audiobook series of Game of Thrones (LOVING it).
I just finished The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson and thoroughly enjoyed it, though I thought the ending/resolution could have been stronger for me.

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But recently I recommitted myself to reading Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series because I’ve grown up with and have read LOTS of King, liking most of his novels (but not Insomnia) and loving his short stories the best. I’ve read the short story in Everything’s Eventual: The Little Sisters of Eluria which is a snippet of the D.T. series and was engrossed in it. And I have read the first book in the series, The Gunslinger, years ago and am re-reading it now with the intent to finally charge through all 7 books. The horror genre as purveyed by King has always appealed to me and I’ll give his western-fantasy-apocalypticae a chance. Yep. I guess that’s all I have to say (*crickets chirping*). I missed my Haiku Wednesday posting this week = ( as life got in the way. *shrugs* Ah well, keep on, keepin’ on.

Any other S.K. fans out there? If so, what was your favorite book or story? And why? Talk to me.

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Haiku Wednesday: Dream Parlors

You southern charmer!
Like Sooki’s home from TrueBlood.
Multi-textured warmth.

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My medieval lust
flares hot at this chamber’s sight;
a fortress-sized “want”.

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I dream of woodwork:
of ornate oak filigree…
and Persian rug fields.

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A room with a Clue.
I’d study you all day long,
Nirvana of tomes.

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Frosted angel cake -
the Marie Antoinette room;
Privilege in White.

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Tell me a story,
of longing and dark fated
Great Expectations.

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Haiku Wednesday: Funny Hats

Cigarettina,
Ash blonde Bogarted.
Huge side-of-head smoke.

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A foul weather hat.
You’re in for a good roasting,
giblet-brained hipster.

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Oh, here’s a good one.
Nice mustard-toned knit mustache…
Your mom must hate you.

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Impressive sized bird.
This hat should be worn…always…
with black eyeliner.

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He has film in mind,
to channel Rick James and stay
a Super Freak, yo.

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Mittens is bitter.
My favorite flavor of cat,
sour face and all.

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(*Knock* *Knock*) Housekeeping!

Instead of the usual Haiku Wednesday, I wanted to take care of 3 housekeeping items today:

#1 Happy birthday to my husband, Cecil!

He who puts up with me.

#2 I recently watched a bizarre and disturbingly jerky version of Alice in Wonderland marinated in Eastern European-ness. This 1988 movie was just called Alice. The Netflix description is as follows: After her stuffed rabbit opens a portal inside her dresser, Alice (Kristýna Kohoutová) crosses over into a world of puppets and dead animals in Czech director Jan Svankmajer’s bizarre adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s children’s book, considered a classic of surreal cinema. Svankmajer gives the Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat equally warped makeovers via stop-motion animation and stark cinematography. I, who love dark imagery, was left feeling bored at times, at other times I thought I might’ve been tripping, and at points I felt anxious bordering on motion-sick due to the extreme use of stop-motion effects. Overall it was a creepy film and not one for children, though it had no rating. Do I recommend it? Sure, a little avant garde grim fairy-talety never hurt anyone.

Here is a clip:

#3 I just completed a drawing I call “The Wicked and the Clever”, which is currently for sale.

Here is a closeup of the detail:

Detail of "The Wicked and the Clever" by Sarah McNabb 2011

I invite you to check out the full Monty and read about its rationale at FamousAfterIDie.com. Enjoy!

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Haiku Wednesday: Scary Monkeys!

He soaked in terror.
Look into the eyes of doom
and see grinning death.

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Scary flip-top head
Like a live dental dummy
to swallow you whole.

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Canker sore monkey,
you wake and bake every day…
in between killings.

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Denture-less and gray,
the naked old man monkey
listens to lectures.

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Perma-80’s hair…
The Skid Row of your species.
God Thunderdomed you!

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Skeletorium:
Double nightmare incarnate.
I just wet myself.

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Color My Independence Red, White and Blue

A happy (early) Independence Day to all fellow Americans out there. And I send out an ethereal “thank you” to all the soldiers who have died (and who currently serve) on behalf of this nations’s independence.

According to USFlag.org…

Sentimental writers and orators sometimes ascribe meanings to the colors in the flag. The practice is erroneous, as are statements on this subject attributed to George Washington and other founders of the country.

From the book “Our Flag” published in 1989 by the House of Representatives…

“On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution authorizing a committee to devise a seal for the United States of America. This mission, designed to reflect the Founding Fathers’ beliefs, values, and sovereignty of the new Nation, did not become a reality until June 20, 1782. In heraldic devices, such as seals, each element has a specific meaning. Even colors have specific meanings. The colors red, white, and blue did not have meanings for The Stars and Stripes when it was adopted in 1777. However, the colors in the Great Seal did have specific meanings. Charles Thompson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, reporting to Congress on the Seal, stated:

“The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.”
Also this from a book about the flag published in 1977 by the House of Representatives…

“The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun.”

The quote below concerning gold fringe on the Flag is from the book “So Proudly We Hail, The History of the United States Flag” Smithsonian Institute Press 1981, by Wiliam R. Furlong and Byron McCandless. “The placing of a fringe on Our Flag is optional with the person of organization, and no Act of Congress or Executive Order either prohibits the practice, according to the Institute of Hearaldry. Fringe is used on indoor flags only, as fringe on flags on outdoor flags would deteriorate rapidly. The fringe on a Flag is considered and ‘honorable enrichment only’, and its official use by the US Army dates from 1895.. A 1925 Attorney General’s Opinion states: ‘the fringe does not appear to be regarded as an integral part of the Flag, and its presence cannot be said to constitute an unauthorized addition to the design prescribed by statute. An external fringe is to be distinguished from letters, words, or emblematic designs printed or superimposed upon the body of the flag itself. Under law, such additions might be open to objection as unauthorized; but the same is not necessarily true of the fringe.’”

The gold trim is generally used on ceremonial indoor flags that are used for special services and is believed to have been first used in a military setting. It has no specific significance that I have ever run across, and its (gold trim) use is in compliance with applicable flag codes and laws.

AND, according to our friend Wikipedia: The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an oath of loyalty to the national flag and the Republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the national pledge in 1942. The Pledge has been modified four times since its composition, with the most recent change adding the words “under God” in 1954. Congressional sessions open with the recital of the Pledge, as do government meetings at local levels, meetings held by the National Exchange Club, Knights of Columbus, Royal Rangers, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Freemasons, Lions Club, Rotary Club, Toastmasters International and their concordant bodies, as well as other organizations.

According to the United States Flag Code, the Pledge of Allegiance reads:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.

Also according to the Flag Code, the Pledge “should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present and not in uniform may render the military salute. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute”.

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855–1931), who was a Baptist minister, a Christian socialist, and the cousin of socialist utopian novelist Edward Bellamy (1850–1898). Bellamy “viewed his Pledge as an ‘inoculation’ that would protect immigrants and native-born but insufficiently patriotic Americans from the ‘virus’ of radicalism and subversion.” The original “Pledge of Allegiance” was published in the September 8 issue of the popular children’s magazine The Youth’s Companion as part of the National Public-School Celebration of Columbus Day, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas. The event was conceived and promoted by James B. Upham, a marketer for the magazine, as a campaign to instill the idea of American nationalism by selling flags to public schools and magazines to students.

Bellamy’s original Pledge read as follows:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Students swearing the Pledge on Flag Day in 1899

I remember saying The Pledge in grade school each morning. I don’t remember when we stopped saying it, but I doubt I’ll ever forget the words.

Haiku Wednesday: Farm Animals

Nature’s Rufinol…
predators’ insta-dinner:
Evolution failed?

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Cinnamon sidekick,
you can make it on your own,
cuteness sustains you.

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Why the white biscuits?
Horses come with built-in hooves,
you don’t need shoes.

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Dearest llama mop,
I want to braid your hair and
make a fort in it.

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Janet Jackson mane,
Black Beauty runs like a breeze…
a very light breeze.

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Huggable equines;
Russian nesting doll horses.
Where’s the next smallest?

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Cosmetic Rituals of Eras Past

During my undergrad I took a chemistry class in which my final report was on mercury (Hg, atomic number 80), also known as “quicksilver”. Mercury nitrate was used in felt hat-making in the mid-18th to mid-19th centuries (a process called “carroting”) and the liquid and vapors of this process were highly toxic. Additionally, toxicity could leach out of the hat fabric while the hat-wearer sweated and inspired the phrase “mad as a hatter” (also inspiring Lewis Carroll) after the detrimental neurological effects that resulted. This leads me to examine some of the harmful chemicals of cosmetics of past eras.

Georgian, Baroque and Elizabethan wigs and hairstyles never ceased to amaze me in their decadent over-the-top-ness. That hair fetishism has inspired me and my artwork, drawing piles of winding tendrils, on a few occasions.

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Wigs remained fashionable for quite awhile and by the 18th century they reached new heights and became elaborate. Royalty were known for their ornate up-do’s (just like Marie Antoinette) and to hold these high wigs in place they would often employ the use of (gag) lard. And to make it even more un-worth it, the lard would often attract insects and rodents. Cages were sometimes set over the wigs at night to keep mice and rats away. Pretty gross… and this post isn’t even going to touch upon the extreme bodice/bustier contraptions women were supposed to suck themselves into.

During the Elizabethan period when red hair was all the rage, women of the day resorted to cocktails of color that involved lead, quicklime, sulfer and water to dye their hair and wigs. The combination of these elements often resulted in headaches, nausea, and nosebleeds. As a fake redhead myself, I know the color is to die for…but not…literally.

Another “in” look was paleness. The more dark and suntanned a person was the more lower on the class totem pole they were apt to be, toiling in the fields and what not. Paleness signaled luxury from the 15th to the 17th centuries. And while diseases like smallpox were rampant causing unhealthy complexions, stylists of the day recommended such beauty solutions as (gasp) powdering oneself with white lead, which was poisonous. Yikes. I’ve also read online somewhere that in the early centuries women would bleed themselves in order to attain an attractive level of “palety”. Double yikes.

I’ve taken painting classes where the instructors encouraged us NOT to touch such colors as Cadmium Red because of its high toxicity level. I’m not entirely convinced that in these early eras that even toxicity and poisoning would have deterred a woman who is preoccupied with how they look. After all, status and “marrying well” was the be-all, end-all in the female purpose category and looks were held above education, unfortunately. Makeup-less health or security in marriage? I can’t imagine that life and choices were ever easy for women back then.

Metal-poisoned makeup dates back to ancient Egypt, though. Both sexes sported Kohl-lined eyes, Kohl being a mixture of soot and galena, a type of dark lead) along with copper ore. Long-term lead exposure can lead to seizures, coma, and death. And if you wanted really red lips one would need to crush ants and beetles, and add some beeswax. OR, worse, one could mix together red clay, iron oxide (rust), seaweed, iodine, henna, and the deadly bromine mannite, which is uber-deadly and could kill the kisser and the kissee alike. Perhaps the daily use of these deadly cosmetics contributed significantly to abbreviated lifespans. (Ya think?)

So what is a Renaissance girl (or guy) to do about that unwanted hair? Well, apparently, before razors and Nair, homemade concoctions involving quicklime and arsenic would burn the hair off when applied to the skin. And to bring in a little later-period cosmetic-ry, in the 1940′s when resources were scarce due to war, women would sometimes resort to sandpapering the hair off of their bodies.

Damn, beautification hurts.

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Read more on cosmetic history here: http://www.erasofelegance.com/fashion/makeup.html

And read more in-depth about the hairstyle evolution here: http://www.erasofelegance.com/fashion/hairstyles.html

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My Hero: Artist Laurie Lipton

When I came across Laurie Lipton, I was just absolutely blown away by her work. It is rare for me to come across an artist whose technical skills and content are equally brilliant, drenched in my favorite type of macabre loveliness. After spending some wide-eyed time poring through her work, I scream-Tweeted at her in all caps: @laurielipton – YOUR ART IS SO INSPIRING AND AWESOME. I’M IN AWE OF YOUR WORK. JUST SPEECHLESS. THAT’S ALL I CAN SAY. And I fanned her on Facebook. Because that is what fellow artists do when they are star-struck by such juggernauts of talent.

Watch this terrific video of her explaining the reasoning behind some of her pieces – which makes me want to give her a gigantic hug to thank her for “asking the questions rather than answering them”. Her inspiration surfaces through her sense of social responsibility and appropriate outrage towards the media and society which is so delicately expressed in shades of black, white and gray. Her quiet artistic aggression appeals to me as a feminist and her work’s sharp social commentary is nothing short of brilliant. There are artists and then there are smart artists…and Ms. Lipton is a smart one. Her tools of choice are mostly charcoal and pencil on paper for her art but she also has lovely commissioned color pieces. One could spend hours gorging on her gallery drawings – they are like a 7-course gourmet feast of artly awesomeness.

When you are done viewing this clip visit her gallery at www.LaurieLipton.com. God, if I could amass a mere FRACTION of her talent by my life’s end, I would be ecstatic.

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According to her website, LaurieLipton.com, she was born in New York and began drawing at the age of  four. She was the first person to  graduate from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pennsylvania with a Fine  Arts Degree in Drawing (with honours).  She has lived in Holland, Belgium, Germany and France and has made  her home in London since 1986. Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout Europe and the USA.

Lipton was inspired by the religious paintings of  the Flemish School. She tried to teach herself how to paint  in the style of the 16th century Dutch Masters and failed. When  traveling around Europe as a student, she began  developing her very own peculiar drawing technique building up tone  with thousands of fine cross-hatching lines  like an egg tempera painting. “It’s an insane way to draw”, she  says, “but the resulting  detail and luminosity  is worth the amount of effort. My drawings take longer to create  than a painting of equal size and detail.”

“It was all abstract and conceptual art when I  attended university.  My teachers told me that figurative art went  ‘out’ in the Middle Ages and that I should express myself using  form and shapes, but splashes on canvas and rocks  on the floor bored me. I knew what I wanted: I wanted to create  something no one had ever seen before, something  that was brewing in the back of my brain. I used to sit for hours  in the library copying Durer, Memling,Van Eyck,  Goya and Rembrandt. The photographer, Diane Arbus, was another of  my inspirations. Her use of black and white hit me at the core of my Being. Black and white is the color of ancient  photographs and old TV shows… it is the color  of ghosts, longing, time passing, memory, and madness. Black and white ached. I realized that it was perfect for the  imagery in my work.”