Luther and the New Moon

General Weekly Love Horoscope
A New Moon in mystical Pisces casts a magical spell on love this week. Dreams and fantasies are stirred and can provoke foolish behavior or lead you to the promised land of romance. Aim as high as you can but keep your feet planted on the ground to anchor your relationship goals in a solid foundation that can make them real

Sagittarius Horoscopes
(Nov 22 - Dec 21)
Next Week
For the Week of Feb 23rd, 2009 -- This weekend is your time to play, Sagittarius, because the Moon enters your 5th House of Romance. Put aside your responsibilities and indulge yourself in the pursuit of your heart's desires. This isn't about commitment; it's an opportunity to have such a great time that your grown-up concerns fade into the background.

My feet are firmly planted. The new moon on Tuesday is in Pisces, a most intuitive and compassionate sign. New moons are for making wishes. Not the wish upon a star kind of wish, but the putting out to the universe wish. It's a time to expand your connection to a higher power.

You know, focus, put it out there...go for it.

I guess I get a little break, a weekend to play.

I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends. We kind of fell off each other's radar, but with that crazy six degrees of separation thing, we are drawn together again. Pulling together a yummy paella for the occasion. I just found out that my little friend from Chile, Angie, whom I worked with for six years, married my sister-in-law's cousin's son. I think that's six degrees! That is so cool. We're practically sisters :) my sweet ghostbuster.

Things were getting a bit tense again, so I found a dreamy Luther Vandross selection to soothe my savage beast. That and a vodka tonic and an evening watching From Dusk to Dawn. I've been working with my own vampires, but they need more attention. You don't want to be around cranky vampires any time of the day.

Dusk

Now the ashen shadows mingle,
tints faded, sounds remote.
Life has dwindled to a single
vague reverberating note.
In the dusk I hear the humming
of a moth I cannot see.
Whence is this oppression coming?
I'm in all, and all's in me.


Gloom so dreamy, so lulling,
flow into my deepest deep,
flow, ambrosial and dulling,
steeping everything in sleep.
With oblivion's obscuration
fill my senses to the brim,

make me taste obliteration,
in this dimness let me dim.

—Fyodor Tyutchev (translated by Vladimir Nabokov)




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufeVscla5y8&NR=1








The Tower has come up again in my tarot readings, not unexpectedly. On it's own, it can signify destruction and despair, but in context it is right on the money for me. Many aspects of my life changed forever rather quickly recently. My brain and soul are adjusting, it just takes some time. At this point I often feel as though I'm on the outside looking in, like a movie. The Tower makes it's appearance when drastic change is happening, so I'm hanging on for the ride. It's weird, but it could be worse.






Happy bd senor d
Dusk ~ Perceval Press, you made me weep today or the state of the world did.
Who is the better hater? Love will conquer all.

Mothra destroying all of Japan...aaaaaeeeeeeaaa!!!!!!
Oaxaca weather ~ 82' and clear

Down, Down Down the Rabbit Hole

Ah, relationships. No expert here. Lost loves and long distance romances, yes, I know a little about those. Wars and careers have necessitated juggling emotions and schedules and lifestyles at different times in my life. I have no words of wisdom. Each couple has their own dynamic and each has their wants and desires. I seem to need a lot of space. A good friend once told me I was probably a sea captain or married to one in a prior life. Could be, but in this one there often has been the challenge of distance. What I have found is, not surprisingly, it's not the physical distance that makes or breaks a relationship. Why is one attracted to another? Is the distance a factor? It may be if it is pre-existing, but in an unavoidable circumstance such as wartime (which seems to be all the time), there is a different spin on it. I'm rambling, I know, trying to make sense of something too ephemeral to explain rationally. Love is exhilarating, debilitating, ecstatic and, sometimes, love hurts. I am a fan of love.

I am a fan of Tom Waits, too. That 'just swallowed Drano' voice gets to me.

Alice ~ Tom Waits

It's dreamy weather we're on

You waved your crooked wand

Along an icy pond with a frozen moon

A murder of silhouette crows I saw

And the tears on my face

And the skates on the pond

They spell Alice

I disappear in your name

But you must wait for me

Somewhere across the sea

There's a wreck of a ship

Your hair is like meadow grass on the tide

And the raindrops on my window

And the ice in my drink

Baby all I can think of is Alice

Arithmetic arithmetock

Turn the hands back on the clock

How does the ocean rock the boat?

How did the razor find my throat?

The only strings that hold me here

Are tangled up around the pier

And so a secret kiss

Brings madness with the bliss

And I will think of this

When I'm dead in my grave

Set me adrift and I'm lost over there

And I must be insane

To go skating on your name

And by tracing it twice

I fell through the ice

Of Alice

And so a secret kiss

Brings madness with the bliss

And I will think of this

When I'm dead in my grave

Set me adrift and I'm lost over there

And I must be insane

To go skating on your name

And by tracing it twice

I fell through the ice

Of Alice

There's only Alice

http://www.todotango.com/spanish/download/player.asp?id=699

It's not Tom, but it's all about love. Muchas gracias Todo Tango!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Qo1eaWF8c&NR=1

Oh, I needed The King...my heart, heart, heart xoxoxo

Back view Alice in Wonderland ATC's

Besame Mucho

Sonnet LXXXI

And now you're mine. Rest with your dream in my dream.
Love and pain and work should all sleep, now.
The night turns on its invisible wheels,
and you are pure beside me as a sleeping amber.

No one else, Love, will sleep in my dreams. You will go,
we will go together, over the waters of time.
No one else will travel through the shadows with me,
only you, evergreen, ever sun, ever moon.

Your hands have already opened their delicate fists
and let their soft drifting signs drop away; your eyes closed like two gray
wings, and I move

after, following the folding water you carry, that carries
me away. The night, the world, the wind spin out their destiny.
Without you, I am your dream, only that, and that is all.

~Pablo Neruda



Well, we made it past Friday the 13th and Valentine's Day, back to back. The good people of
Mexico City decided to celebrate the occasion with a record-breaking group kiss. Bravo!


Mexico City Sets Kissing Record

"We did it! Long live Mexico," said Mexican singer-actress Susana Zavaleta, who serenaded the crowd before the kiss with the classic Mexican ballad, "Besame Mucho," or "Kiss Me a Lot" — also the name of the event.

The Valentine's Day kiss was meant to show love at a time when a crackdown against drug traffickers has led to widespread violence across the country. At least 6,000 people died in drug-related conflicts in 2008.

"More than 35,000 will simultaneously kiss to show that warmth and love are at the core of this capital, the heart of the Mexican Republic," the city's tourism department, which organized the gathering, said in a statement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG5flDxauIc&feature=related

I love Mexico, too. Looking forward to returning in the fall for Dia de los Muertos and some fun in the sun.

Sagittarius Horoscopes
(Nov 22 - Dec 21)
Next Week
For the Week of Feb 16th, 2009 -- You may have to tone it down a bit this weekend if you want to make the best impression. You're usually more into enthusiasm than self-control, but a bit of restraint can do wonders for your personal life. Being reliable may not be exciting yet can solidify a relationship now.


Man, I always have to tone it down! Being reliable and exciting are not exclusive and being enthusiastic is fun!! Yes, I know, self-control. Got it :/

Mexico City Sets Kissing Record by Olga Rodriguez, AP

Rusty Heart, Cemetary, Oaxaca 2008 vt

Besame Mucho ~ Luis Miguel, I love the way the crowd sings along :)

One Is Not The Loneliest Number

Sagittarius Horoscopes
(Nov 22 - Dec 21)
Next Week
For the Week of Feb 9th, 2009 -- Going out with friends or colleagues could be your key to social success on Friday, yet the rest of the weekend is quite different. You may connect with a very private person who requires discretion to feel safe with you. Or, you might just sit things out to enjoy some quiet time alone instead of pushing ahead in relationships

General Weekly Love Horoscope
Love is in the air this weekend with the Moon in partnership-friendly Libra on Friday and sexy Scorpio on Saturday and Sunday. It's important, though, to keep an open mind when you're closing in on your romantic prey since stimulating conversation and fresh ideas can be as attractive as smooth moves and good looks now.

Closing in on my romantic prey? Now, it's true, some one did describe me as a 'lion, a freakin' lion' this past week. It was not a romantic relationship. I was provoked and responded in kind :) MeowooooooowGrrrrrrr!

In fact, I admire lions. I'm just not on the prowl. Sitting things out enjoying quiet time would be heavenly, but, alas, not in my immediate future.

Today was one of those gift days you get during the winter. It dawned wrapped in sunshine and tied with ribbons of blue sky and gentle winds. My poor little goth garden, resting dormant and quietly regenerating, was quite a mess of old leaves and fallen rose branches. Although apropos to its namesake, I decided to clear it of some debris. Still waiting for the kiss of spring like Sleeping Beauty, it lies beneath soft hay, not brambles. Soon hellebores will peek out, waiting for the violet crocus. We have a lot more winter according to the groundhog. The sneak preview was glorious.

Wars rage, politicians pontificate but it is never business as usual. Let us work together for a change for the good of the world.

Hymn

At morn--at noon--at twilight dim

Maria! thou hast heard my hymn!

In joy and woe--in good and ill--

Mother of God, be with me still!

When the Hours flew brightly by

And not a cloud obscured the sky,

My soul, lest it should truant be,

Thy grace did guide to thine and thee

Now, when storms of Fate o'ercast

Darkly, my Present and my Past

Let my Future radiant shine

With sweet hopes of thee and thine.

Edgar Allan Poe

Yes, they are panthers, I didn't have lions or hellebores :)

Lunar eclipse manana, can you tell?

Need a Hug Friday

Now, who doesn't need a hug every now and then?

This wonderful poem from Peter Meinke sums up the status quo.

I'm cuttin' out for a drink with Uncle Jim.

Listen
Uncle Jim

by Peter Meinke

What the children remember about Uncle Jim

is that on the train to Reno to get divorced

so he could marry again

he met another woman and woke up in California.

It took him seven years to untangle that dream

but a man who could sing like Uncle Jim

was bound to get in scrapes now and then:

he expected it and we expected it.

Mother said,

It's because he was the middle child,

and Father said, Yeah, where there's trouble

Jim's in the middle.

When he lost his voice he lost all of it

to the surgeon's knife and refused the voice box

they wanted to insert. In fact he refused

almost everything. Look, they said,

it's up to you. How many years do you want to live?

and Uncle Jim held up one finger.

The middle one.

"Uncle Jim" by Peter Meinke, from Liquid Paper: New and Selected Poems. © University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991. Reprinted with permission. (buy now)

Writer's Almanac

puppy & vm ~ hug therapy

Alice and Company

Thank you Lenna. Here are pictures of the ATC's I sent for the swap.

You have the patience of a saint :)

http://creativeswaps.blogspot.com/2009/02/alice-in-wonderland-atc-swap-vickie.html

Just a bit of nonsense...Alice style

http://youtube.com/watch?v=q5FC6E5Gh4E&feature=related

Alice in Wonderland ATC Swap ~ Lenna Andrews xoxo

Still Spinning

Sagittarius Horoscopes
(Nov 22 - Dec 21)
Next Week
For the Week of Feb 2nd, 2009 -- Your passion could heat up this week as alluring Venus enters your 5th House of Romance on Monday. While it's appropriate to be a bit bolder in pursuit of your dreams, you may have to take it down a notch during the weekend. It will be easy to overpower others then, which is not likely to make you attractive to them.

Ya think? Overbearing, overpowering and overkilling are usually not conducive to a happy relationship. Fortunately, I don't have the energy to be any of the aforementioned right now.

I just sent ten Alice in Wonderland ATCs to the wonderful Lenna Andrews and did not take one picture of any of them. Lucky for me, Lenna displays the ATCs on her Creative Lenna Swaps blog, so they will see the light of the internet. I did like the ATCs very much. Lately I've been working with more dimensional art. Going back to artist trading cards was fun, especially with the theme being Alice and her strange acquaintances. Take a peek at the gorgeous art already on display thanks to Lenna.

http://creativeswaps.blogspot.com/

I decided to enter a short story competition and, lo and behold, I had a great idea for the story.

It involves the Roman gods and goddesses in a contemporary setting. Can't say too much more for now, but it has momentum at the moment :)

I found a great tutorial for shadow puppets and a theater for them. It's a great venue for a vampire tale. Bless eBay, a beautiful Indonesian shadow puppet is currently winging its way to New York (hopefully). A little inspiration is a marvelous thing.

Spinner with Bats and Cats