Black Swan

Odette, Swan Lake

It seems almost cheating to set a film to the music of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, but Black Swan certainly did the score justice.

Darren Aronofsky has previously shown his talent for sensitive character studies of those who are caught in a downward spiral descending into madness and despair; 

In Black Swan he has really perfected this technique with his portrayal of Nina, a painfully perfect ballet dancer who struggles to "lose herself" in order to embody both the Odette and Odile of Swan Lake, and finds her mental stability rapidly deteriorating in the process.

Black Swan is a tragic and sometimes terrifying look into a mind damaged beyond repair, as the character comes undone for good, reminiscent of Aronofsky's The Wrestler or Requiem for a Dream.

The Film stays almost exactly in line with original tale of Swan Lake, and theme of sacrificing everything for a moment of freedom.

Although the story is of course fraught with metaphors, they are used carefully and subtly (for the most part) in such a way that what is really going on is not entirely obvious until the very end. The suspense and tension in the film build with every scene, some of them excruciating to watch,  ending with an unforgettable climax.

Go see it while it's still in theaters, if for no other reason, to hear Tchaikovsky in surround sound! ^_^

Minerva and Charmion- Strongwomen

MINERVA & CHARMION – Strongwomen

The strongman has long been a staple in circus and sideshows. The image of handlebar mustached man garbed in a leopard print leotard has become the stereotypical image associated with feats of extraordinary strength. But, what about the ‘fairer sex’? Was there ever a professional strongwoman?

Truth be told, there were several.

Perhaps the best known and traditional of these brawny babes was Josephine Blatt, who was better known by her stage name Minerva.

Josephine Blatt’s early history is shrouded in carnivalgimmickry. She claimed to have been born in 1865 in Hamburg Germany but other sources, most notably The Guinness Book of World Records, pegged her as an American born in 1867 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Regardless of this discrepancy, few questions exist in regards to her remarkable strength.

In her displays she demonstrated her strength by breaking horseshoes with her hands, breaking steel chains by expanding her chest, and playing catch with a 24 pound cannon ball. She was capable to lift a stone weight of 360 lbs with a single finger thrust through a lifting ring. Furthermore, The Guinness Book of Records recognized Minerva as having lifted the greatest weight ever by a woman. At the BijouTheatre in Hoboken on April 15, 1895 Josephine Blatt lifted 3,564 lbs in a hip-and-harness lift. With that superhuman lift, Josephine Blatt nearly achieved the mythical status of her namesake. 

She retired with her strongman husband, Charles Blatt, in 1910 and eventually passed away on September 1, 1923.

Around the same time that Minerva was raising great weights, a young lady named Charmion was raising eyebrows with her unusual strength-related act.

Laverie Vallee, Charmion, was a Sacramento born trapeze artist who possessed strength and a physiquemost men would be envious of. However, she was most well known for her risqué striptease performances.

The act opened with Charmion taking the stage in full Victorian attire. She would then mount the trapeze and proceed to undress to her leotard while performing impressive and strength-dependant stunts. The act was incredibly impressive and provocative for the era. However, the controversy created by her performances did not prevent the formulation of a devoted, and mostly male, fan base.

One of her greatest fans was Thomas Edison. As a result of that adoration, on November 11, 1901 Charmion committed a simplified version of her act to film for Edison. The film, simply entitled ‘Trapeze Disrobing Act’ focused more on the erotic aspect of the performance, though a few remarkable feats of strength are featured. The film can be viewed here.

Charmion eventually retired to Santa Ana, California. She passed away on February 6, 1949 at the age of 73.

Information and images taken from thehumanmarvels.com 

The Kidney Thieves

The viral message, which most often arrived under the header "Travelers Beware," sparked an avalanche of phone calls to local authorities, prompting the New Orleans Police Department to publish an official statement on the Web to calm public fears. Investigators found no substantiating evidence whatsoever. 

The story had a familiar ring. Before New Orleans, people said it happened in Houston; before Houston, Las Vegas — where an unsuspecting tourist was drugged in his hotel room by a prostitute and woke up the next morning, supposedly, in a bathtub full of ice, minus a kidney. 

A chilling tale, and a dubious one

It's a scenario that has taken many forms. I first heard it myself many years ago from a friend who'd heard it from another friend, whose mother swore it had happened to a distant cousin.

Here is the Legend of the Kidney Thieves that started in New Orleans and spread a fair amount of hysteria:

Netlore Archive: 'I wish to warn you about a new crime ring that is targeting business travelers. This ring is well organized, well funded, has very skilled personnel, and is currently in most major cities and recently very active in New Orleans.'

Description: Urban legend / Forwarded email Circulating since: 1996 (this version) Status: False Analysis: See article

Email example contributed by a reader in 1997:

Subject: Fwd: Travelers BEWARE!!!!!!

Neighbors, beware!

Dear Friends,

I wish to warn you about a new crime ring that is targeting business travelers. This ring is well organized, well funded, has very skilled personnel, and is currently in most major cities and recently very active in New Orleans.

The crime begins when a business traveler goes to a lounge for a drink at the end of the work day.

A person in the bar walks up as they sit alone and offers to buy them a drink. The last thing the traveler remembers until they wake up in a hotel room bath tub, their body submerged to their neck in ice, is sipping that drink. There is a note taped to the wall instructing them not to move and to call 911. A phone is on a small table next to the bathtub for them to call.

The business traveler calls 911 who have become quite familiar with this crime.

The business traveler is instructed by the 911 operator to very slowly and carefully reach behind them and feel if there is a tube protruding from their lower back. The business traveler finds the tube and answers, "Yes." The 911 operator tells them to remain still, having already sent paramedics to help. The operator knows that both of the business traveler's kidneys have been harvested.

This is not a scam or out of a science fiction novel, it is real.

It is documented and confirmable. If you travel or someone close to you travels, please be careful.

Analysis and more variants:

The Kidney Snatchers - An Urban Legend
Organ harvesting legends reviewed and debunked The Kidney Thieves (Austin, Texas)
Another outbreak of kidney theft hysteria (1997)

 Info from Article

By David Emery, About.com Guide

China's Deserted Disneyland

Along the road to one of China’s most famous tourist landmarks – the Great Wall of China – sits what could potentially have been another such tourist destination, but now stands as an example of modern-day China and the problems facing it.

Situated on an area of around 100 acres, and 45 minutes drive from the center of Beijing, are the ruins of ‘Wonderland’. Construction stopped more than a decade ago, with developers promoting it as ‘the largest amusement park in Asia’. Funds were withdrawn due to disagreements over property prices with the local government and farmers. So what is left are the skeletal remains of a palace, a castle, and the steel beams of what could have been an indoor playground in the middle of a corn field.

Pulling off the expressway and into the car park, I expected to be stopped by the usual confrontational security guards. But there was absolutely no one to be seen. I walked through one of the few entrances not boarded up, and instantly started coughing. In front of me were large empty rooms and discarded furniture, all covered in a thick layer of dust, along with an eerie silence that gave the place a haunted feeling – an emotion not normally associated with a children’s playground.

Once outside again, I came across some farmers who originally owned the land and are now using it to once again to grow their crops. Their tracks and plantations can be seen running through and surrounding the uncompleted buildings. Walking further, I came across a rather farcical sight of some farmers digging a well next to a castle; a moment I will always savor as a photographer in a place like China where castles are not in huge supply. I explained this to the farmers and they just shrugged their shoulders, oblivious to a photographer’s happiness. I asked them what happened, and they simply answered the developers ran out of money, and they are getting back to doing what they do best. They are even slowly starting to plant trees and build shelters near the buildings, adding they think it is now safe to think the developers are never coming back. This I can believe, as the absence of any security (something very rare in China) leads one to think that even the developers have given up on what is already there.

All these structures of rusting steel and decaying cement, are another sad example of property development in China involving wasted money, wasted resources and the uprooting of farmers and their families. It is a reflection of the country’s property market which many analysts say the government must keep tightening steps in place. The worry is a massive increase in inflation and a speculative bubble that might burst, considering that property sales contribute to around 10 percent of China’s growth.

By David Gray

Skoll and Hati return

Two beasts of Norse mythology are set to trouble the skies of northern Europe on Tuesday for the world's first solar eclipse of 2011. 

Ancient Viking legends recount that a giant wolf named Skoll chases the Moon, and its brother Hati pursues the Sun -- and if either sinks their teeth into one and holds it back, an eclipse occurs.

For astronomers, though, eclipses are less superstitious affairs, occurring when the Moon swings between the Sun and Earth.

Tuesday's event will be a partial eclipse. 

This occurs when a fraction of the Moon obscures the Sun, and to those in its shadow a "bite" seems to have been taken out of the solar face.

The tale of Skoll and Hati, the descendants of giantesses, is enshrined in 13th-century Icelandic literature, which recounts:

"Skoll is the wolf that to Ironwood

Follows the glittering god,

And the son of Hrothvitnir, Hati, awaits

The burning bride of heaven."

If either wolf caught up with Sun or the Moon, humans must scare the beast off with as much noise as possible in order to restore light, according to Norse beliefs.

Even so, at the twilight of the gods -- a doomsday event known as Ragnarok -- any human intervention would be useless. The two wolves would finally get to devour their booty.

Source

Underneath the Bridge

Hello my lovelies and Happy New Year!! 

I've returned from my month-long escapade down under, here are some pictures from the Grafton Cemetery under Grafton bridge in downtown Auckland.

It's one of my all time favourite cemeteries, partly due to the mood of the place, it's very peaceful and quiet in spite of the busy road above.

The tombstones date back to 1842 when the ground was first consecrated.

Huge, ancient chestnut trees have pushed up many of the tombstones so that they stand in all different angles, some are entirely shrouded in moss, and others overgrown beyond recognition. 

Back in the 1960s there were plans to put a motorway down through the middle of the cemetery, following the valley. Despite huge protests the tombstones were moved further up the hills and the bodies were largely left  below, not to the knowledge of the general public.

This street also features my ultimate dream-house, built just on the outskirts of the cemetery, overlooking the valley below. 

Not only is it right next to a top-notch graveyard, it's one of the last Victorian era houses of it's kind left in Grafton, and what's more- it's for sale!

It's lovely to go for a stroll under Grafton Bridge so if you find yourself in Auckland be sure to pay a visit, just avoid it after dark...


Click here for a panoramic view of Grafton Cemetery.



Grafton Dream House...





Here Lies Mary Jane (seriously)



Heaven sent you to me.