Gwenerrella Sees A Horror Film

“I wanna tell ya about da movie I seed yesterday. It was about killer flies!!”

 

“Dis rich man wanned ta build a place for people dat gots no house ta lib in.”

 

“Dere was dese guys from da prison buryin’ people dat dinnunt have no money inna place called ‘Potters Feeled’.”

 

” But there wasn’t no pots anywheres.”

 

“An’ dere was a lady from da police who waned ta ‘dennify a dead lady.”

 

“Day were all onna eye-land togedder, an’ da flies killed da rich man’s friend.”

 

“When ebbery buddy tried to find da rich mans friend, dey looked and lookeded more anna flies was watchin’ ‘em look.”

 

“When dey finded da rich mans friend the flies larv-eggs had eated him allmos alla way gone.”

 

”He dinnunt hav a face no more. It was all larv-eggs wigglin!”

 

“Den dem flies started ta kill evverbuddy else too! Not all togedder, they killed ‘em one and then another one, slow-like.”

 

“Me an my brudders were watchiun’ and laffin’. When dey would show dem larv-eggs we’d holler “Larv-eggs!” an’ run out a da libbing room.”

 

“Just when we was gonna find out if da larv-eggs getted evverbuddy Momma called us to dinner.”

 

“She askded us why we dinnunt want no rice an’ all we could do was laff.”

This is an artist’s rendering of the Effigy Bear Mound, the illustration used in “Hunab Ku”.

I’ve Been Decked!!

Now, those of you who have been reading my various posts know of my predilection

for ‘woo-woo’stuff. One of those things are Tarot Cards.  I picked up my first deck

when I was 13 years old.  If I still had them, my oldest deck would be 36 years old

come autumn.

 

Well, I no longer have just one deck; I now own 38 different Tarot decks.  Mum and Matt keep their eyes peeled for decks that I don’t have, so it was time to check on all of my decks, and make a list of all of them and print it up so Matt can carry it in his wallet for quick checks whilst out and about.

 

So, with little fanfare, and a lot of work, here is my list of Tarot decks (and a couple of other variants of the premise of the Tarot:

 

1&2: Medicine Woman Tarot (both decks were gifts so I won’t give

one to someone else)-These cards have a lovely style of artwork,

and have made the switch from European symbols to Native

American beliefs and thought patterns.

 

3: Celtic Dragon Tarot- I am a freak for Dragons, I even created a dragon alter ego to carry

the power I don’t wish to yield.  I am also part Irish, from County Cork, not too far from

County Meath and the Hill of Tara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4: Fantastical Creatures Tarot- My next to newest deck, I also bought the deck for my

uber-friend Shiloh, who uses them well as a tool for her writing.  There is something

delightful about knowing that she has the same exact thing I have, it shortens the land

miles between us to the space of a thought racing along the myelin sheath of a neuron.

 

5: Shape Shifter Tarot- I have had a decades-long fascination with the idea of

Shape Shifting, whether it be the European, Oriental, Pacific Islander, African

or Native American.  I feel most resonant with the versions where, through a

lifetime of Spiritual Learning and practice

one can re-create the essence of what they are Shifting to. 

 

6: Zen Osho Tarot- Definitely one to meditate upon, full of the clear images of

Buddhism, I don’t often use this deck, which is a pity, because I will never

grow familiar with the cards

if I don’t use them. 

 

7: Rider-Waite Tarot- My oldest deck, a gift from my Grandmother DeShaw

 in 1978-79.  I use this deck for a here-and-now readings.  It is excellent for the

“Will I get the job/girl/raise/grades that I want?” sort of layouts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8: The Gifts of the

Goddess Tarot- I

have yet to crack

these cards, the

time is not yet here

for that.  I must

trust in The God

and Goddess to

show me when.

 

9: The Answer

Deck- My brother

 Matt found this

deck and thought

them amusing and

he is right.  For

someone who has

read the tarot for

over 2/3 of her life,

this is more of a

teaching tool than

one of divination.

 

10: Rune Stones-

I bought a set and

quickly discovered

that Runes and I

don’t mix well. 

They’re still around

 because I refuse

to throw away or

get rid of

something that is

perfectly useable. 

Perhaps one day

when the Earth

signs in my

horoscope are

active I’ll play with

them some more.

 

11: Power Thought Cards- A delightfully illustrated deck of positive affirmation cards, just pull

one out and meditate on the meaning and symbolism.

 

12: Yoga Cards- Learn yoga from the cards, when I have the space to try them, I’m sure I’ll

have a ball with them.

 

13: Arthurian Legend Tarot- I am a born, dyed in the wool lifelong hopeful romantic.  Why

wouldn’t the Arthurian Cycle also fascinate me?  The cards are beautifully illustrated, and are

a rich tapestry of symbolism and the Arthurian Legend.  I take then out and just wander

through them from time to time, letting them sink into my subconscious.

 

With that sort of propensity, and having grown up with all of the usual children’s books, as

well as the books that Mum read to us, Shakespeare, this amazing coffee table book on

Greek Mythology, as well as the books she deemed tame enough for our tender little psyches. 

 

She had a helluva time with me, I have always been a voracious reader, and so I was perhaps

10 or 11 when I first read William Peter Blatty’s “The Exorcist”.  Not long after that was

when I discovered lecherous limericks, they became a method to cope with helping Mum

study Microbiology, Internal Parasites to be exact, over a plate of spaghetti.

 

14: Egyptian Tarot- I saw this deck at a yard sale in Oregon and had to have them, fortunately

everything was priced to go, so I was able to afford them.  They are done in the linear style

of pen and ink, and were simply black lines on white paper.  I say were because I am slowly

colouring in the cards in the shades I deem appropriate.

 

15: Classic Tarot- A brighter hued version of the Rider-Waite deck, it was part of a kit that

Matt found me and it came replete with a bright purple silk scarf to wrap the cards in and

lay them on when doing a reading.

 

16: Tarot of Atlantis- A deck yet to be explored.

 

17: Gypsy Witch Cards-These were originally my Great-Grandmother DuBay’s and they were

passed down to me after she passed on.  I come by my talents naturally, my Great-Grandfather

Myers and my Great-Great-Grandfather ‘Big Joe’ DuBay were both Faith Healers, and

Grandma DuBay told fortunes with a poker deck of cards.  She stopped after she predicted

someone’s death.

 

18 Healing With The Angels Oracle Deck- Mum found these for me and they are beautifully

illustrated in a variety of styles.  This is a deck for comfort and acceptance; I use a simplified

form of bibliomancy (fortune-telling with a book) to choose a card to meditate on.

 

19: World’s Smallest Tarot Deck-These were a gift from my Middle Brother and his sweetie, the cards themselves are smaller than my pinkie fingernail so I leave them be for fear of losing one.  LOL

 

20: Wheel of Change Tarot- Another deck I’ve used very little, although they are visually attractive

 

21: The Baseball Tarot-I bought this deck thinking that men would relate to this interpretation.

 

22: The Aquarian Tarot- Another deck that I bought simply because of the artwork on the cards.  They lack the symbols that other decks are rich with, hence they read very simplistically.

 

23: Native American Tarot- I feel very drawn to the Native American Peoples, family legend

has us descended from a French Explorer in the early 1700’s, that befriended, then married

into and finally was a chief of the Northern Michigan Chippewa peoples.

 

24: Magic of Numbers Oracle- I am not a math whiz by any road, but, what can I say?  They

were on sale!!!

 

25: Cards of Nostradamus-The same here, clearance sale finds.  This one has since been given

 some oomph, thanks to Matt buying me a book on the Prophecies of Nostradamus.

 

26: Well-Worn Path Cards-Tarot with a Wiccan Base, one to use when I am meditating on

concepts of the Wiccan Practices.

 

27: The Fairies Oracle- How could I resist a deck surrounded with Fairy Lore, and

amazing artwork for my eyes to pore over and squint at.

 

28 The Lost Zodiac- Not really a Tarot deck per se, it is a deck illustrating a number of

constellations not represented in the traditional 12-sign Horoscope, each of these

constellations is attached to a specific decanate (10 degrees) of a Sun Sign.

 

29: Matt bought The Mayan Oracle Deck- There is no book so I am taking a quick course

in Mayan astrology so I can ‘read’ the cards correctly.

 

30: Magic Cards of the Russian Sybil- How could I not get this deck??  I bought them mainly

because of Heather Blakey’s alter ego Sybil.

 

31: The Dream Kit- A combination of cards, book, journal, and Dream Catcher, to help you

record, understand and eventually ‘own’ your Dream Life.

 

32: Tarot Dice- The whole Tarot put onto dice you roll, instead of the

shuffle-and-concentrate-on-your-question bit with the cards.

 

33: Antique (1924) French Tarot Deck- These were waiting patiently in a nearby Antique

Shop for me.  The cards are en Francaise, which tickles me to no end.

 

34: The Magical Menagerie-A deck of magical and mystical creatures, designed to help

people ‘see’ their Spirit Guides.

 

35: Druid Animal Oracle- Your Spirit Guides, with a Celtic/Druidic twist.  Another deck

better for meditation than divination

 

36: The Llewellyn Tarot- A reworking of the classic Tarot deck, by one of the leading

suppliers of magical books and tools.

 

38: Babylonian Tarot- I bought this deck for one lone card.  Once when I was getting

overexcited a friend said, “Down Tiamat!” when I saw that this deck had Tiamat in it

had to have it!  LOL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

39:  Thoth-Crowley

 Tarot- These are

my workhorse cards

second hand, beat

up and chinchilla

chewed, they are

worn to a velvety

texture; these are

the cards I use for

in-depth readings. 

I use these and the

Classic deck

almost exclusively. 

The Classic Tarot

deck is a practical,

 real world

questions deck,

and the

Thoth-Crowley

deck is very

in-depth for

spiritual questions

and learning.

 

 

Welcome Back Vinyl!!

Once upon a time all that was available for listening to music was records  and the radio. 

When they came along, 8- tracks were good, but their construction had inherent problems.  Like, clicking from one portion of the tape to the next in mid-song because of time limitations.

Reel-to-reel came along, and that could play the whole piece in one fell swoop.  Unfortunately, reel-to-reels needed special, expensive equipment to use, and they had a tendency to lose the magnetic particles carrying the sound  with every playing.

Then came cassette tapes, small, portable, and playable on everything from a portable cassette player to a high-end cassette deck as part of a component stereo system.  They lost magnetic particles at a faster rate than reel-to-reels and they were limited to 1/2 hour per side.

Through all of these vinyl records- LP’s(albums), EP’s(long-playing singles), and 45’s(singles) hung on, they were still more reliable than any of the tape methods, unfortunately, they scratched easily, so they required careful handling.

I got into the habit of buying high-end vinyl-Japanese and European Imports, and Half-Speed Master and Master recordings.  I would play them once on my component system, recording them on to cassettes as I did so.

Then came the day… the world went digital, with Compact Discs, and MP3 players.  So many people thought that that was the end of everything else, so they dumped all of their passè  goodies in favour of CD’s.

I still had my component system, and so I kept my vinyl and cassettes, and still used the cassettes as I slowly replaced them with compact discs.  I was very ‘into’ CD’s, they could be played over and over, were tougher than vinyl, and had an advantage in clarity of sound.

Recently, vinyl has begun making a comeback, and CD’s are not as favourable as they once were.  I have listened and have noticed a marked difference in the feel of vinyl, as opposed to CD.

I have the soundtrack to Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”, on CD, and I recently was gifted with a double-album of a “Fantasia” cover, I sat there listening to “A Night on Bald Mountain” by Moussourgsky and I had gooseflesh running up and down my legs from the subtleties missing on CD.

My brother and I have talked about it at length and we thing/feel/intuit that difference lies in the fact that the LP reproduces exactly what the musician and producer wanted, and the CD reproduces what it ‘percieves’  to be the music.

We have also noticed that when the music was recorded after the advent of digital sound reproduction there is little difference in sound quality, but… when the music was recorded prior to digital it is better on vinyl than CD.  So… we now divide our music into P.D. (pre-digital) and A.D. (after digital) categories.

The Duenna’s Journal

The Duenna’s Journal

 

This cruise has been amazing.  Eldest Sister was right when she told us how to get what we wanted from Matriarch. Right now all four of them are piled into the feather bed and Eldest Sister is telling them a story.  It is one that she wrote for her brothers and sister.  I must admit she does tell a good tale, and this is one she was inspired to create.

 

I remember so clearly when she wrote it.  Matriarch was busily touring the Estates, and would brook no ‘interference’ from the ‘Children’ as she called them, although three of them were of marriageable age.

 

All of us were lounging around her rooms, and she was writing, swiftly that she had ink dots all over her hands.  She would write, the pen scratching like a hurried mouse, and then read what she had written out loud to us.

 

This is her tale:

“Once upon a time a lovely and wise fairy was travelling through the worlds and she stopped at a particularly beautiful world.  There were flowers blooming in riotous colours; creeping along the ground, weighing down the bushes they were a part of, creeping with their ivy up the trees, which were full of blossoms as well.

 

Clear, sweet water rippled over smooth pebbles in rainbow shades, and pale tinted water flowers floated in the still places.  The breezes were soft and fragrant from all of the blooms, and the grasses that waved a lively greeting to the sun, sky, and clouds.

 

All day this fairy wandered this quiet world and found no animals, not so much a butterfly, or wee lizard.  She felt this to be very sad, and she knew she could not leave the world as lonely as it was now.  She began to make living things to inhabit and enjoy this world.

 

She stood in the water, and cupped handfuls up, breathing across the surface with loving magic.  Each handful became a fish that leapt from her hands into the water, and swam away with bubbling flourishes of their tails.  Some of them became coloured by the westering suns, and other were touched by the rainbows, and others were of the night sky, glistening black as they joined their brethren in the waters of life.

 

All night she rested, until the suns broke free of the tree line and spread their golden light through the branches of the trees.  From these little rays of dawn light she made wee birds, who then chose safe branches to sit on and sing.  And sing they did, filling the once-silent air with gaiety and music.

 

Other birds she made from flowers, gently kissing each bloom into brilliant life.  These birds flew higher and deeper into the forest, and the raucous calls they made to one another echoed back to the fairy, and she knew it was good.

 

 By evening she had finished all manner of flying creatures, not just birds, but insects, bats, and small furry things that spread their sides out and sailed on air currents from one tree to another.  She slept on the soft grass while night birds called softly from the shadows of the forest.

 

The world was alive the next morn, birds were seeking fruit or insects for their breakfast, and the fish slipped through the waters, one would occasionally leap from the water surrounded by crystalline drops of water, then splash back into their home leaving froth and bubbles behind them.

 

This day, the fairy began to make creatures that crawled on the land, she plaited ropes of grass, long and sinuous, and called them snakes, and scatterings of small twigs were made into worms to care for the soil.  Leaves she fashioned into lizard of all sorts, while water lily pads became frogs to live at the water’s edge.  Evening found her watching the frogs and lizards settle themselves in for the night.

 

Tonight she had the night birds, the frogs, and toads singing her to sleep, and a light mist softened the outlines of everything.  She dreamt of small furry things, skittering through the grasses and hiding beneath fallen leaves and grey-green mosses.

 

The new morning couldn’t come soon enough for the fairy, she was that full of ideas and plans for the daylight hours. She watched the coming dawn, awed by the slow advance of the light, in pastels clinging to the horizon in soft layers.

 

From wee clumps of moss, and flower heads she made the small, scurrying things that live in the safety of shadows and darkness.  She gathered the fluff of grasses and made tree dwellers from them, long strips of bark she breathed life into and they became weasels, and rabbits.

 

She fell asleep that night, planning larger lives for the morrow, ones that would live longer than a season or two, and could be seen from a distance.  Some of them she knew would be challenging, and that she would love them more for it.

 

At first light she began, taking the pinks of dawn and fashioning a flock of birds to feed in the shallows on long black legs.  The early morning sky grew wings and stood still at the water’s edge, one leg aloft and waiting for an unwary fish.

 

From the barks of trees she fashioned things like foxes, fleet of foot and fearless of heart, eyes shining like black pebbles under water.  At the edge of am endless grassland, she found a half-burned log and from this she made the first badgers, their long, low bodies camouflaged in the shadows, and long, sharp claws so right for digging.

 

The arch of a tree limb delighted her, and with those images she awakened the first antelope and deer, from lumbering hillocks of dark soil came the first buffalo.  She held her breath in wonder as they thundered across the grasses.

 

Another tree gave birth to the horse, that glorious beast, imbued with power, grace, and beauty.  From the bleached bones of an ancient oak she brought to life elk, stately and impressive, their racks spread over 10 feet from tip-to-tip.

 

A long golden rock was stroked into a big cat, lounging in the sun with a full belly.  The depthless golden eyes and disturbingly large, sharp teeth proved that this species does not eat grasses or leaves.

 

The scud of dark clouds racing along the horizon, followed by a loud, mournful wind were her wolves.  All the colours of clouds, with all-knowing eyes, the wolves howled to the moons sailing across the evening sky.

 

That night the fairy’s dreams were amorphous; yet clear as a dewdrop in the early morning sun.  She knew that this was to be wondrous, with a magic, allure and beauty unmatched by any other animal.  Something warm, soft, and gentle, to snuggle close and delight in their presence.

 

Through the day the fairy searched for the basis for this wonderful life that begged for life.  Was it from the froth of the waterfalls?  No, not there.

 

Could it be from the long curls of shredded bark, so artfully hanging from the tree?  Her dream-creature was not there either.

 

All day she searched, finding not the beginnings of the new life waiting to be born.  She sat in a wee glade, feeling dejected and helpless.

 

She picked up a fluff if thistledown, rubbing it into a lithe form full of grace and energy.  She thought of the creature from her dream, the sweet buttings of silken fur and moist noses.  In her mind she could her the song? Of this life, a soft rhythmic rumble that was soothing and hypnotic.

 

She felt the fur she held in her dreams, and warmth under that.  There was a small, graceful form with dainty feet, weighting her hand down.  Now she could see the most amazing eyes; clear, and in glowing colours, the shades of precious jewels.

 

A sweet trill of sound made her open her eyes, there, sitting in her palm was the first cat.  As soft and white as thistledown, with whiskers made of spider webs.  The eyes were the exact colour of sapphires, and looking up at her in adoration.

 

And this, my dears, is the tale of the Thistle Down Cat. “

 

Eldest Sister put down the journal and looked around her.  Everyone, even the Duenna were curled together on the bed, sleeping blissfully.  Eldest Sister’s face was full of love as she put the journal to one side before turning off the lamp and snuggled closer to her family.

 

The Thistle Down Cats

How To Play With PSP X1

 1: Open your PSP, then open the image (ARTICL~31MA22961640-0033.jpeg) you want to work on from PSP’s FILE dropdown Menu.

I said just a few days ago in another WordPress Blog that I would make a tutorial of one of my PSP playings.  I did a new tag tonight, and I used that for the tutorial.

 

 

Where to open the file

 

 

 

This is our starting image.

 

 2: Increase the screen resolution to 200 pixels per inch (78.740 pixels per centimetre. This is done through the resize image programme.

 

3: Resize image to 3” X 1.749” (7.620 cm. X 4.42 cm.).

 

 

4: Save image as CatThief, save it in both .jpeg and .psp files. 

     To save as a PSP Image, you will have to change the designation from .jpeg to .PSP in the save form.

     To save copy as a .jpeg expand the File dropdown menu by clicking on the arrow at the bottom of the menu.  When you scroll throught the dropdown menu, the Save Copy As should appear directly under the Save As

      If you want to play with the image again later the .psp files you’ve created can often be taken apart layer by layer, where .jpeg images cannot be taken apart.

 

 

 

5: Open Brightness Contrast Menu in the ADJUST menu dropdown.  Choose Clarify and set the strength as 10 0f 100.

 

 6: Still using the ADJUST menu, choose Add/Remove Noise, from that menu choose JPG Artifact Removal set at maximum and 100% Crispness.

 

7: Also in the ADJUST menu, choose Depth of Field, set the shape to rectangular, 90% blur, hexagonal aperture shape, feather edge at 10, and focus range for 15.

 

 

  8: at this point go to the LAYERS dropdown menu, choose Merge, from that menu choose Visible.

9: Save this image as CatThief FF, in both .jpeg and .psp files.

10: Still in the LAYERS menu, choose Load/Save Mask.  Select a mask to overlay on your image (I used  1Ascratchy.msk).  PSP automatically fits the mask to your image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11: Merge the layers using Merge-Visible.  Then save as CatThiefFFM in both .jpeg abd .psp files.

 12: To add text, find the A on the menu to the left of the image desktop, click your cursor on the lower left hand corner of CatThiefFFM.psp, your text box will appear automatically. 

     I used the Kohelet font, at 20 points, as well as Bold and Italic, I chose the word Mine!.  I changed the colours for the font to match the image, I used the black from the cat for the foreground/stroke colour:

       R-21

       G-12

       B-31

The background/fill colour was from the cat’s eyes:

      R-127

      G-130

      B-113

 There is this little block of colours in the upper right-hand side of the dashboard, there will ne two smaller block to the right of those, left-click on the top one to cange the foreground/stroke colour, and on the bottom one to change the background/fill colour.

13: Save this image as CatThiefBlank, in both .psp and .jpeg.

 

 

 

14: Add a second text if desired, I put my name in the upper right hand corner, using the same settings as I did for the phrase.

 15: Save as CatThief(Your Name), mine was, of course, CatThiefGwen in both .psp and .jpg.

 

 

One of my Alter-Ego’s’ ‘Gratitude List’

Being a writer, I  create characters, some of which take on a life of their own.  One of those is my Pirate self, One-Eyed Red.  She is a ship’s cook and doctor on board the pirate ship Calabar Felonway on the seas of Lemuria.

 

Lemuria is part of an amazing Creatives Site that has a worldwide membership and readership, called Soul Food Cafe ( Pythian Games, soulfoodcafe : Soul Food Cafe, Pythian Games, Priscilla’s World Tour ,The Calabar – Pirate Ship ) any of these should guide you to the alluvial flats of Soul Food Cafe, where you can meet writers, artists, artisans of all types, and many other creative folks as well as see what they create.

 

One-Eyed Red is a Pirate’s Pirate, her face is always red, from both the wind and the heat of her belowdecks cookstove.  It is her duty to care for the Pirate Crew’s bellies and health: a job she takes seriously and does as best she can.  You can count on her for a pipe and a chat whether you’re above or belowdecks, she will be utterly honest, yet she displays kindness on a daily basis.

 
“Now then, is yon ladie finished singing praises like one o’ them wee yellow canaries?”  Red fills her pipe deftly, and lights it with a long sliver of wood, alight from the stove’s flames.

 

“She is like that, she is, allus ready t’ see th’ good in other, and share the good wi’ anyone that’ll listen to her.”  She pulls in a few fagrant puffs and lifts her feet to rest on a small keg.

 

“I canna complain, she did gi’ me a voice, and a life.  And she is a right good un’, fer a landlubber.”  Red winks around the smoke from her pipe.  The heat and steam in her kitchem have her hair escaping from its’ tight braid in a corona of ringlets around her solemn, chunky face.  She flips up the patch on her left eye and rubs the eye  underneath before fanning it for a monment, the skin beneath a startkling white in contrast to her sun and wind-burned face.

 

“Noo, I asked her tae let me tell ye good folks what I am grateful for in me Pirate life.

Fairst, I am grateful for the faith that keeps me strong an. happy.

I am exceeding grateful for me Mum an’ Da for bringin’ me intae the world, an’ welcoming me as well.

I am thankful every day for bein given the freedom tae be who I is, nae what others would want me tae be.

I love music and thank the Gods every day fer th’ joy of it.

I am grateful that I am still able to sail on the Calabar, an’ do me job well.

I am humbled an’ exalted that I am gifted wi’ the friends I am blessed with.

The Sun, Moon, an’ stars that guide me across the sweet waters of the Lemurian seas.

Th’ seasons an’ elements, for their gift of life an’ kmowing that everythin’ that hae been, will be again.

Laughter, for ’twill chase away almost any megrim what might be weighing yer spirit doon.

An’ I am grateful fer all th’ gifts o’ our world, an’ all th’ wonder o’ th’world as well.”

 

Red leans forward and tamps her pipe into the cookstove and stands, immediately matching the rhythm of the waves against the hull.

 

“Noo laddies, I must be gettin back to feedin’ amd carin’ for ye, an’ I would be lyin’ if I didnae say that I get such joy frae havin’ all o’ ye in me life.”  She turns to the stove, stirs a couple kettles and hums off-key and tempo.

 

And that is what One-Eyed Red is grateful for!!

Gratitude and the Harmonic Convergence

A word of warning to those who read this: I am crazy, my friend Shiloh will attest to this.  I was debating on whether to say anything about this or not.  The crux of the matter is this-I feel that I must say something about it.

I have long been a student of both world mythology, and comparative faiths.  Putting aside labels and preconceptions allows anyone to see what I have seen.

The truth is so simple that we often overlook it, and resort to labels and stereotypes for the sake of comfort.  Setting them aside is a sobering and uplifting experience, to realise that all ‘real’ faiths are rooted deeply into the same spiritual soil.  We all (seperate faiths) believe in a Creative Power higher than ourselves, and that Power bases our ideals in the most powerful, transformative emotion we express.

Love.

I understand if the old labels and stereotypes stand in your way for a time, that is human nature; to remain within a comfort zone, as it were.  Those of us that are close enough to our personal Deity (ies), in an everyday, practical manner will see the logic and truth in what I am saying.   Different styles of worshipping are much like the different flavours (races) are simply a matter of geography.  If some of you are upset by this and stop reading, I understand and hold no hard feelings for any of you.  For those that do continue on this journey, welcome, and love overflowing to you.

Now, I’m sure a great deal of you reading know of the Harmonic Convergence expected on 20, December 2012.  So many people are calling the End Times, and the End of the World.  I cannot agree with that.  Simply read the Biblical passage, to paraphrase, “And there was a New Heaven and Earth, for the Old Heaven and Earth had passed away.”.  That does not sound like the End of Everything, more like a rebirth on all levels.

Rebirth, it means- to be reborn after a death, whether real or symbolic.  In the Christian faiths one is considered to be reborn through commitment to the laws of God.

In Wicca it is the rebirth of fertility and life at the Vernal Equinox.  On any road, faith rooted in love celebrates and thanks the Deity (ies) for Their Love and Generosity.

About a year ago a special friend of mine taught me how to ‘read’ crystals.  I found and purchased a pair of lovely quartz crystals before that, and I have been slowly reading them.  Being a learning junkie, I read all sorts of informational texts, as well as being addicted to NatGeoTV, History Channel, and so forth.

I watched the show that NatGeoTV did on the giant crystal cave that was found in Mexico.  That was not too long after I began dreaming in another language, not one of romance languages mind you.  That would not have surprised me; I have learned some French, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Hungarian, and Romany.  I didn’t recognise the language I was dreaming in, but I understood it.

My dear friend, Shiloh, turned me on to a Foreign Language Dictionary site.  I downloaded languages I understood, and then branched out, getting dictionaries in Tibetan, and Sanskrit as well as Old English and Old Norse.

One day, for giggles and grins, I decided to wander through the dictionaries to see if I could find anything that was similar to the language I was dreaming in.  After a few tries that came up with nothing, I peeked into the Sanskrit-English Dictionary, and there were the words that I still remembered months later.  Not only did I recognise them in print, they were applicable to the other specifics of the dream.  That was weird enough for me to pay closer attention to the things that were cropping up in my everyday life.  These little things began to add up (to me anywhooodlz) to a big something.

As I am writing this I intuit that (after another reading of my biggest crystal) we, all of mankind are supposed to celebrate the Harmonic Convergence with worldwide prayers of Celebration and Thanksgiving, each in the manner of our own faith, during the time of the exact convergence.  I further feel that this unified front of faith is what is needed to usher in the ‘New Heaven and Earth”.

 

For those that are interested, the exact phrase that I hear is “Raghuttama raNa” pronounced- ‘Ray whoo tama rah-ah nay’.  The phrase refers to (to the best of my knowledge) honouring the two 2 greatest warriors of the Raghu race.

I intuit that this is the phrase that the Keepers of the ‘Key Crystals’ are supposed to sing as a round or chant, a capella.

Soprano, ray whoo, tama rah ah nay

     2nd Soprano, ray whoo, tama rah ah nay

                           Alto, ray whoo, tama rah ah nay

                                  Tenor, ray whoo, tama rah ah nay

                                         Baritone, ray whoo, tama rah ah nay

                                                           Bass, ray whoo tama rah ah nay

As each voice group finishes the phrase they start again.

My instincts tell me that this will create a resonance between the Key Crystals, and the Cave of Giant Crystals.

On a quick side note, the Cave of Giant Crystals began to grow about the same time as the last Harmonic Convergence, some 5.000 years ago.

In the meantime, all of us can spread words of love and cooperation through our words and actions.  Celebrate and be Thankful that we are the ones to usher in the next Age of Mankind.

I do not claim to know everything, and so I welcome anything that you, patient reader, may have to share on this subject.

Namaste, God Bless, So Mote It Be, Shalom, Salaam.  Let us sing the praises of our Deity (ies), and speak Gratitude for their Love and Generosity.

Favourite Frights

 

Before I take off on one of my babbles, I should perhaps give a little… explanation on my scale for rating films. 

First-Will I watch it again?

Second-How many times do I realistically see myself watching it in the future?

Third- If I have seen it more than once, have I discovered more in the film after the first viewing?

Fourth- Will anyone else in the family want to see it in the future?

Fifth-Am I willing to buy this DVD?

Sixth-Do I want to insist on normal over wide-screen format?

Seventh-Am I willing to pay $15.99-$19.99 for the DVD?

Eighth-Do I add it to my Wish List” of CD’s and DVD’s?

 

So, without further ado-

Gwenerrella’s

                       Favourite

Frights

 

 

In past years, for Halloween, I have listed the top scary movies, according to the film industry.  Since that isn’t as much fun the second time around, this year, I will list some of my top scary movies.

 

Here are my favourite movie frights, in no particular order:

 

 

“The Birds” and “Psycho”, Alfred Hitchcock knew what he was doing, he could scare the bejabbers out of me without any gore, or special effects, his films continue to be much better than a lot of the ‘new’ horror films. 

 

Watching the playground equipment being covered with patient, waiting birds with the children singing so fearlessly in the schoolhouse.  Knowing the whole time the children are singing they are fated to become bird-bait, it was the not knowing the when that kept me glued Hitchcock’s films.

 

Anthony Perkins’ skilful handling of his character still gives me the willies.  The cinematography is stunning (but then, the scenes of his films are normally full of realistic details and enticing distractions), there are images from both films that are indelibly etched on the retinas of memory.

 

“Rosemary’s Baby” again, all the special effects won’t save a weak story.  And an almost complete lack of them won’t matter to a well-told, and acted story.  This is another one of those forget-that-I-have-‘pause’-on-my-remote films.

 

It doesn’t matter how many times I watch “Rosemary’s Baby”, I am still thrilled and chilled in the best of ways by this film.  If someone is ever self-destructive enough to make a remake of this, I think a lot of people will boycott it.

 

“The Omen”, only the original one will do!!  Gregory Peck is too skilled of a performer, and the story is far too compelling to ignore.  Lee Remick is so lovely and fragile, I still feel it was a mercy that she had passed before all Hell broke loose!  (I know, bad, bad pun!!)

 

My brothers and I have/had a head for meanness, although we have wisely channelled it into a love of horror films.  Every time we see the photographer’s head cut off we can’t help but cheer in gory delight.

 

“The Exorcist”, of course, who hasn’t been seduced by the slow advance of little Regan’s possession?  It starts with such innocuous things, a scratching in the attic, and cold drafts.  And we are transfixed by Regan’s transformation from an innocent to a beast, how can we leave, until we know that the girl has been saved from the ‘Dark Side’? 

 

My family saw “The Exorcist” at the Drive-in, my brothers were 12 and 11, and I was 14.  My brothers spent most of the film hiding under the front seat.  Mum had taken us on the promise we wouldn’t have nightmares.  The only way I kept that promise was by not going to sleep. *laughing shamefacedly*

 

“Silent Hill”, I still can’t watch that film, one scene was that distressing to me.  It was so distressing that I jumped from my chair onto Mum’s bed and got a death-grip on her hand!!  It was these… these… things, I still don’t know if they were mutant rats or cockroaches, but they gave me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies!

 

 Me, the one that thought fresh mountain lion hairball in our campsite was cool; or the time I knew we were less than 20 feet from a black bear, we had nothing to defend us and I remained mostly calm; I crawled into bed with my Mummy and shivered like a lost puppy!

 

“Jaws”, there is one scene in there that scared the stuffin’s out of me!!  Brody and Hooper are out searching for the guilty fish of mythic proportions.  They run across a local’s boat, battered and capsized in the dark and misty sea.

 

Hooper goes in for a peek and the man’s chewed head pops out of the hull right at him.  I would have freaked under those circumstances as well.  That was one big toothy Hooper found stuck in the wood of the boat’s hull!

 

“The Hills Have Eyes”, the original one!!  I live in a desert like the location in the film.  It was a while before I stopped watching the foothills with a wary eye.  It was even longer until I would go kiting off on my own in the desert!!

 

“Phantasm”  ‘The Tall Man’ (Angus Scrimm) still hides in the shadows of my psyche, and awaits his chance to lope to the fore and cry in that otherworldly roar, “Boy!”  *shivering eloquently*

 

There is, in the horror film genre, an almost ubiquitous theme is the one with the bogeymen that only children can see, until it is too late. This film is one of the earlier versions of the theme; this is one of the few I bought for full DVD price without a qualm.

 

“The Silence of the Lambs”, “Hannibal”, and “Hannibal Rising” were all excellent, Anthony Hopkins brought Hannibal Lecter to full-bodied 4-dimensional being with his usual his usual skill and believability.

 

One year, for Valentine’s Day, my then-husband bought two tickets to see “Hannibal” at the local theatre.  I loved this gift, and we prepared to watch the sequel to “The Silence of the Lambs” with great excitement and relish. 

 

We were glued to the screen throughout most of the film.  When Hannibal starts cooking up the one man’s brain, slicing from the forebrain first; my husband, Jim, leaned over, and in a carrying stage whisper asked, “Is this what they mean by brain food?”  We were the only ones to find it funny.

 

“Hannibal Rising” was excellent, and gave us a peel into the mind of Hannibal the Cannibal.  I’ve been glued to it every time I’ve watched it.  The young man they cast as the early Hannibal was impressive, and one becomes even more sympathetic to Hannibal, despite his… ahem… quirks.

 

I think my last one (for now) will be “Alien”, my first peek into that film was via ‘Omni’ magazine; they published an article about the designer of the alien, H. R. Giger.  Giger is a very talented artist, whose work is stylised, mechanised and erotically sensuous at the same time.

 

I was waiting with impatient delight, awaiting the entrance of the mature alien.  Then John Hurt’s character began thrashing on the dining table, before, shriek, the baby alien is born!!

 

Thank you to those who are still reading my babbles!  I would truly like to see your ‘Favourite Frights’.

Gwenerrella Has A Scary Story

Yes!!  Our Gwenerrella has a spooky story to tell you!!

Hi!  I gotsa spooky story ta tells ya!!  My friends wanna hear it too.

Theys Loodlelalla an’ Sassy. 

 

Loodlelalla gotsa black eye from beatin’ up da bully dat was teasin’ Sassy.

Sassy is one a my favouritest friends, she’s funny an’ smart, an’ she lissens ta me.

Once upon a time, there was a fam’ly that liveded by a semmaterry.  There was da Momma, Daddy, an’ three little kids.  One day, Momma askded da biggest one to go to da store an’ buy some libber for dinner.

 Da biggest one goed to da store an’ bought some candy, and toys for de kids, an’ then dinnunt have any money leftded for da libber. She was scareded to go home, but she knowed Momma was gonna be lookin’ for ‘em. 

So da kid stopded in da semmaterry and founded somebody that was dead but not inna ground .  Da kid tookded out they’s libber an’ took it home for Momma to cook for dinner. 

When dinner was already, da kid dinnunt wanna eat none, and said they tummy hurted.  Momma sended her ta bed and tol’ her ta feels better. 

Den she goed asleep and got waked up later, accause she heared somebuddy walkin’ and sayin’. “I want my libber!” 

She getted real scareded, and hided under the blankets, and acted like she was asleep. 

But she could hear dem feets walkin’… 

Thump!  Thump!  Thump! 

An’ she could hear ‘em sayin’… 

“I want my libber!” 

It getted louder an’ closer.   

Thump!  Thump!  Thump! 

“I want my libber!” 

Den she could hear de buddy she takeded da libber from walkin’ onna driveway. 

Crunch!  Crunch!  Crunch! 

Da girl feelded unner the piddow an’ feelded da candy unner there.  She getted even more scareded, an hollered for Momma. Momma dinnunt say nuthin’, an Daddy dinnunt, nobuddy sayed anything when da girl callded for ‘em.   

She getted up an’ peekded out da winnow and dere was da man hers takeded da libber from, comin’ up onnna porch. 

“I’s onna front porch, I wants my libber!” 

The door wented creeeeeeeeeeeeeeek an she could hear da man inna house!  She getted sooo scareded dat she started cryin’, real quiet.  

Thump1   Thump!   Thump! 

“I’s inna libbing room I wants my libber!” 

Den da girl heared da man onna first step goin’ up to da bedrooms.  Groooooooaaaaaannnnnnnn!  Goed the loose bored.

 

“I’s onna first step I wants my libber!” 

Thump!  Thump! 

“I’s onna second step I wants my libber!” 

Thump!  Thump! 

Da gitl was snifflin’ by den, an’ the piddow was getting’ wet. 

Thump!  Thump! 

“I’s onna forth step I wants my libber!” 

Hers tried to holler but she counnent make any noise. 

Thump!  Thump! 

Thump!  Thump! 

Thump!  Thump! 

“I’s onna sebbenth step I wants my libber!” 

Now da girl getted eben more scareded accause she knowed dere was onny ten steps to da bedrooms. 

Thump!  Thump! 

Thump!  Thump! 

“I’s onna las’ step I wants my libber!” 

Da girl was so scareded dat she wetted the bed and was cryin’ loud. 

Thump!  Thump! 

Thump!  Thump! 

Thump!  Thump! 

“I’s at yous bedroom door I wants my libber!” 

Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!   Now da kid could smell da man, an he smelded awful. 

“I WANT MY LIBBER!” 

But Daddy neber tellded us what happeneded to da kid.  He neber telleded us if da man getted his libber back ever. 

She’s A TattleTale

When her mother finds out what Gwenerrella is talking about, the fur will really fly!!!

     

   

That child couldn’t keep a secret to save her life!!!