Month: October 2020

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Awesome

A 7-foot tall statue of Medusa holding the severed head of Perseus will be installed in Manhattan, across from the NY County Criminal Court, the location of high profile abuse cases including the recent Harvey Weinstein trial.

I never knew this before but Medusa was stalked and raped by Poseidon and then blamed for it. She was then cursed by Athena with the snake hair and the whole turning people to stone thing. She was banished and then Perseus killed and beheaded her. This statue "inverts the narrative" as a commentary on the Me Too movement.

It will stand there until April. Look at how badass that statue is.

https://www.mwthproject.com/oct-2020

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Because it's October

Levitation in Horror Films

The Craft (1996)
The Conjuring (2013)
The Exorcist (1973)
The Witch (2015)
The Babadook (2014)
Jennifer's Body 2009
Stigmata (1999)
Hereditary (2018)
It (2017)
Ghostbusters (1984)
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Shower Thoughts

No matter how advanced camera phones become, people will always manage to take terrible pictures when selling stuff on eBay/marketplace.

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Timeless Words of Wisdom

All the more important these days.

From The Biondi Blonde on Tumblr:

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough, and we'll be more content when they are.

After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our partner gets his or her act together when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice holiday, when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?

Your life will always be filled with challenges.

It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

A quote comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said,

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time…and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until winter, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink…. there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Work like you don't need money,

Love like you've never been hurt,

And dance like no one's watching.

Copyright © 1997 Crystal Boyd

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Girls in the Windows

"In 1960, while a construction crew dismantled a row of brownstones right across from my own brownstone studio on East 58th Street, I was inspired to, somehow immortalize those buildings. I had the vision of 43 women in formal dress adorning the windows of the skeletal facade.

We had to work quickly to secure City permissions, arrange for models which included celebrities, the demolition supervisior's wife (third floor, third from left), my own wife (second floor, far right), and also secure the Rolls Royce to be parked on the sidewalk. Careful planning was a necessity as the photography had to be accomplished during the workers' lunch time!

The day before the buildings were razed, the 43 women appeared in their finest attire, went into the buildings, climbed the old stairs, and took their places in the windows. I was set up on my fire escape across the streeet, directing the scene, with bullhorn in hand. Of course I was concerned for the Models' safety, as some were daring enough to pose out on the crumbling sills.

The photography came off as planned. What had seemed to some as too dangerous or difficult to accomplish, became my fantasy fulfilled, and my most memorable self – assigned photograph. It has been an international award winner ever since.

Most professional photographers dream of having one signature picture they are known for. Girls in The Windows is mine."

Girls in The Windows. Ormond Gigli, 1960.

This really spoke to me.

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Road Trip!

Last week was Ben's fall break, so on Monday he and his friend Barry drove up to the Grand Canyon. I had never really considered that as a day trip, but they proved me wrong. To be honest, I was more than a little jealous simply being able to get away from all. the. shit. going on, so Ben suggested we make the same trip on Saturday since his park pass was good for a week.

It has been forever since we'd gone on a proper road trip (the Arcosanti* visit in August really doesn't count as it was so close to home), so we got up early and hit the road yesterday.

To be honest, I am filled with angst at the thought of any road trip in the "new" car. This is for a variety of readily-admitted ridiculous reasons. First off, Rabbit is the first car I've bought used. Granted he's not that old and has low mileage, but not being the original owner I don't know his complete history, and while his CarFax was clean and he received all his scheduled maintenance, I'm still…apprehensive.

I never worried about hopping in Anderson for an impromptu trip. Hell, one of the first things I did was take a scenic, multi-day trip through New Mexico right after I'd gotten him. And then there were the trips to Yellowstone, White Sands, Green Bay, and of course, more than one round-trip to Denver. I think it's because the car was new—or relatively so—at the time and I knew its complete history. In addition, the car had never done anything to have me question its reliability.

Of course the reliability thing came into question over the last two years, which I think spooked me enough—even though this is a completely different car—to have trust issues, even with a few months remaining on the original factory warranty as well as having an extended warranty in place for another 50,000 miles after that.

Something else I was thinking about as we left Phoenix on our adventure was how all those times I hopped in the car by myself to go on these thousands-mile trips; the first time without even having a cell phone!

I don't know; maybe it's the additional ten years I've aged since my last major solo trip, but I just don't feel (and frankly I'm hesitant to use the word) as confident as I once was being out and about on my own. I don't expect anything to happen, but as you get older it's something you at least need to have at the back of your head.

Anyway, the combination of getting spooked by Anderson's troubles last year and my advancing age has definitely put a dent in my desire to throw caution to the wind and just hit the road for a day or a weekend. And then there's the question of the dogs…

But I digress.

Our little trip north was enjoyable. Being on the road kept me disconnected from the endless online assault of the horrors of the world and allowed me to decompress emotionally, something that was much needed. And the Canyon was thirty degrees cooler than Phoenix, always a welcome respite.

Peek-a-boo!
Glamour shot
Not so glamorous shot
Big hole in the ground
The Colorado River is very green.
Selfie!
The big hole looking northwest
Looking northeast
Another GPOY, this time taken by Ben.
Twelve years with this guy and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way
Ben selfifying
This guy. ❤️
Someday we may make it to the North Rim, but not today.

Rabbit behaved beautifully, and while Anderson got a little better MPG, I certainly can't complain. I think a few more trips are in order to dispel my motoring angst with this new ride, and if nothing else to simply keep reminding myself that at 30K, Rabbit is still a young'un, and even Anderson didn't have his first major  issue (a clutch replacement, covered under warranty) until 60, so relax and as MINI tells us, "Keep Motoring!"

*I posted photographs to Instagram but never blogged about it – probably because it wasn't near as impressive as the hype had lead me to believe all these years. In fact, after seeing it, I now refer to it as "The place where old hippies go to die."