Kodachrome Magic- Russia a Century Ago in COLOR

1910

ca. 1910

1909

ca. 1910

ca. 1910

Hi-res photographs of the entire stunning collection:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/08/russia_in_color_a_century_ago.html

I Am a Rock

Wishing for Contentment

Do you ever feel frusterated by vocabulary?

I recently went to the theatre to see an underwhelming big budget Hollywood film, and was literally cringing in my chair as I listened to dialogue that has surely been woven in to many many other films, lines having to do with love and "finding oneself" which are nauseatingly and endlessly recycled. The words lose all meaning. They become wisps of cliched smoke with no memorable fire. I began thinking about the use of language in my own life and the way that I too, recycle the same vocabulary often. It reminds me of an inprovisational dance show I saw last Autumn at the Russell Industrial Center. The dancers began their number sitting in chairs in a row and slowly began rising from their chairs, flipping them over their heads, weaving over them, and, eventually, twisting themselves around eachother and performing various motions that vaguely resembled everyday movement, but were worlds apart and very new. I remember a friend of mine remarking after the show that she had forgotten that the human body is capable of so many shapes and forms. Thinking of my own life, movements include : walking, laying down, bending down, driving and getting into my car, etc. And these motions are repeated endlessly. Why not add a silly flourish? Why not deck out our words in proverbial frippery and unusual diction? The commonality of word usage has got me so frustrated I would rather not speak and soak up other people's fascinating speach habits instead!

No better way to do this than to listen to...

The Moth Radio Hour on NPR!! We've been listening to it in the studio. If you don't know anything about the moth, here's what their website has to say:

The Moth, a not-for-profit storytelling organization, was founded in New York in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate in New York the feeling of sultry summer evenings on his native St. Simon's Island, Georgia, where he and a small circle of friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales on his friend Wanda's porch. After moving to New York, George missed the sense of connection he had felt sharing stories with his friends back home, and he decided to invite a few friends over to his New York apartment to tell and hear stories. Thus the first "Moth" evening took place in his living room. Word of these captivating story nights quickly spread, and The Moth moved to bigger venues in New York. Today, The Moth conducts eight ongoing programs and has brought more than 3,000 live stories to over 100,000 audience members.

It is utterly fascinating to hear these people's stories and get a little slice of their life as they remember it and wish to share it. My personal favorite so far was one by a woman named Faye Lane called "Green Bean Queen". I was able to find it on iTunes, I wish there was a way for me to post in on here (there probibly is a way that I'm unaware of).

Anyways, time to leaf through a dictionary and pick random words to introduce into my life and spice things up!

In other news, (and speaking of spicing old ways up) check out and soak up the unsettling and fantastical porcelin work of Shary Boyle http://www.sharyboyle.com/index.htm

Also, Andrew Bird's "Oh, the Grandeur" is pure honey. I'm listening to it on my balcony rght now and let me tell you, its a perfect summer evening soundtrack.

This song has so much weight for me now. Its rich rich rich. I feel like Led Zeppelin has been helping me heal.


Robert Plant is also the sexiest, obviously.


This song is fitting because two dear friends of mine moved to California today, and because Andrea and I are deeply in love with it right now.

have a good night
madeleineee

Rachel Brice en Cuernavaca, México

Bat For Lashes "Peace of Mind" Live @ El Rey Theater

We're All Honey and We Drip Through the Honey Chain

• Hello Hello
  Phew...where to start? It has been quite a long while since I wrote here. I am planning things in my head, tryng to figure out what exactly it is I am working on. I beleive that we are all floatng in our little leaf beds down the river; some of us sleeping, some awake, yet we are definetly all moving towards some unforseen distance. I want to sink in the sand and bask in the honey sun when I get there, you?
  Lately has been chaotic and calm as the sea all at the same time, which seems to be the way it always is. To highlight a few things:
  
  The U.S. Social Forum came to us in Detroit. It was so empowering. I attended three workshops primarily focused around issues of LGBTQI, women, feminism, and transgendered people. Of course, there were some heavy arguements and possibly a touch of self-righteousness here and there, but the overall feeling was that of unity and excitement. Electric prickles of excitement! There were fine folks from all over the country to be met and befriend, tent cities popped up around, and multi-cultural events spiced up things nicely. I particularly enjoyed the poignant and powerful Climbing Poe Tree. They recited their spoken word/music/rap in Hart Plaza and we were all healed and wept and wooped it up and laughed and felt their words and beauty within ourselves. http://www.climbingpoetree.com/live/

Cocorosie a few weeks ago! They were fresh and REfreshing. Flawless performance, sexually charged, all that you would expect. Vanessa and I with Bianca.

I've taken in 2 little little tiny Monarch butterfly eggs. My boss/friend Laurie has a wild garden leading back to her studio with lush milkweed sprinkled throughout it. Monarchs lay their single eggs on the bottoms of the milkweed leaves, so today we waded into the green sea and carefully folded up the leaves looking for silky little eggs. I've got mine carefully placed in a huge mason jar by my bed. I carried them around with me all day! I sort of feel like they should come with me wherever I go because they're fairly hearty and I want to experience every stage of their developement. I feel tremendously maternal towards them.

Art projects! Painting furniture! Beaded medicine jewlery! Dream Pillows! TRAVELING PUPPET SHOW! So many things to do...Setting myself on fire. Eradicating fear.

Re-visited The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys last night . It reminds me of my own days at a private catholic school (my brother was actually an altar boy for a few years). Like, walking through those tiled hallways in school uniforms and hanging out in the church bathroom. The stark imagery in the movie is so reminiscent of my old school and just the whole emotional feeling of it. I feel like children in private religious schools are expected to be much more "well behaved" than in some public schools. We had to walk in two neat lines of boys and girls anywhere we went, attend mass every wednesday, be clean and wear crisp uniforms, write with pens in cursive in every class, and stand when we spoke in class. It was obviously highly oppressive. I wandered through that school by msyelf so many times while I went there, especilly at night during PTA meetings when I could sneak away. I always felt so certain that it was haunted and I was intrigued with the religious statues of Our Lady of LaSalette~ and even more intrigued with the odd stories about her appearing to young children and such. I remember when I was little there was still that thing were church's doors were open all the time and you could go there to pray whenever you wanted. My mom took my brother and I there at night a few times. I remember it being really dark save for this one red candle burning. I have had a weird love/hate/obsession with the Kieran and Macaulay Culkin for a very long time. I recently saw Party Monster for the first time...




I've been feeling alot like the woman in this Diego Rivera painting lately. Its a good feeling.

I have also been re-delving into Frida Kahlo again, a woman who I feel deeply connected to.

In Greek mythology, the Sirens (Greek singular: Σειρήν Seirēn; Greek plural: Σειρῆνες Seirēnes) were three dangerous bird-women, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli. In some later, rationalized traditions the literal geography of the "flowery" island of Anthemoessa, or Anthemusa,is fixed: sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the islands known as the Sirenuse, near Paestum, or in Capreae.All such locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks. By the fourth century, when pagan beliefs gave way to Christianity, belief in literal sirens was discouraged. Although Jerome, who produced the Latin Vulgate version of the Scriptures, used the word "sirens" to translate Hebrew tenim (jackals) in Isaiah 13:22, and also to translate a word for "owls" in Jeremiah 50:39, this was explained by Ambrose to be a mere symbol or allegory for worldly temptations, and not an endorsement of the Greek myth.
Sirens continued to be used as a symbol for the dangerous temptation embodied by women regularly throughout Christian art of the medieval era; however, in the 17th century, some Jesuit writers began to assert their actual existence, including Cornelius a Lapide, who said of Woman, "her glance is that of the fabled basilisk, her voice a siren's voice—with her voice she enchants, with her beauty she deprives of reason—voice and sight alike deal destruction and death." Antonio de Lorea also argued for their existence, and Athanasius Kircher argued that compartments must have been built for them aboard Noah's Ark.

Isn't it time for Hallowe'en yet? I adore the summers...but my thoughts have been with dark woods and jack o' lanterns lately.

And, as a closer, some unknown eye candy from the world wide what-the-fuck that have me dreamin'.








Goodnight,

Madeleine

Jasmine and Honey

There's a huge jasmine bush blooming on my block. Its blossoms are overflowing and swollen to the point of hanging heavily over a tall fence and dripping onto the sidewalk. I love it. Everyone who comes over gets so excited about and runs over to rub their faces in its fingers. It is incredibly fragrant and seems to remind everyone of some sweet time in their lives. What a releif that we are still graced with beauties such as a lush jasmine bush in a world where plastic threatens to smother us and massive amounts of toxins are sloshing around in our water--life water. Poor mama Gaia.


In other news, the Gay Pride Festival was this past weekend in Ferndale. The following photographs were taken by my dad.


Beautiful.




The festival was magnificent and I was so excited and happy about the whole affiar..I felt that my heart was beating a little faster than it normally does. My friends and I took to the dance floow and I felt my own confusions dissipate; my own feeling of marginalism--of being on the edge of society...of being differernt. These feelings rose out of me like a dusty ghost, joined everyone else's fears and seemed to float away down the street leaving us all happily dancing and deeply accepting of one another--no matter where we all landed on the spectrum of sexuality. There was also an amazing glitter encrusted dance crew! So amazing! So much attitude! And loads of lovely drag kings and queens.



Sending love and peace,



Madeleine

(The black Madonna..more on her soon)

P.S. Changes to be coming soon to this blog. I will be opening an Etsy shop and selling jewlery, painted furtniture, and prints of some of my work. Stay posted!