Ileana Photo Stills in Shakti

Ileana Photo Stills in Shakti (Om Shakti) 13 more images after the break...

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Hilary Duff — Out in Beverly Hills

Hilary Duff - Out in Beverly Hills - 31.03.2011

07 more images after the break...

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Man 5000 years ago

September 19, 1991 on the border of Italy and Austria, in the Tyrolean Alps, after an emergency ice melting on the glacier Similaun at 10 500 feet group of climbers found the body of an ancient man, who lived about 5300 years ago. Perfectly preserved mummy. Scientists decided to recreate the image of man, look, what they have. 03 more images after the break...

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How Rudeness and Kindness Were Justly Rewarded by Guy Wetmore Carryl

illustration by Albert Levering

How Rudeness and Kindness Were Justly Rewarded
by Guy Wetmore Carryl

Once on a time, long years ago
(Just when I quite forget),
Two maidens lived beside the Po,
One blonde and one brunette.
The blonde one's character was mild,
From morning until night she smiled,
Whereas the one whose hair was brown
Did little else than pine and frown.
(I think one ought to draw the line
At girls who always frown and pine!)

The blonde one learned to play the harp,
Like all accomplished dames,
And trained her voice to take C sharp
As well as Emma Eames;
Made baskets out of scented grass,
And paper-weights of hammered brass,
And lots of other odds and ends
For gentleman and lady friends.
(I think it takes a deal of sense
To manufacture gifts for gents!)

The dark one wore an air of gloom,
Proclaimed the world a bore,
And took her breakfast in her room
Three mornings out of four.
With crankiness she seemed imbued,
And everything she said was rude:
She sniffed, and sneered, and, what is more,
When very much provoked, she swore!
(I think that I could never care
For any girl who'd learned to swear!)

One day the blonde was striding past
A forest, all alone,
When all at once her eyes she cast
Upon a wrinkled crone,
Who tottered near with shaking knees,
And said: "A penny, if you please!"
And you will learn with some surprise
This was a fairy in disguise!
(I think it must be hard to know
A fairy who's incognito!)

The maiden filled her trembling palms
With coinage of the realm.
The fairy said: "Take back your alms!
My heart they overwhelm.
Henceforth at every word shall slip
A pearl or ruby from your lip!"
And, when the girl got home that night, -
She found the fairy's words were right!
(I think there are not many girls
Whose words are worth their weight in pearls!)

It happened that the cross brunette,
Ten minutes later, came
Along the self-same road, and met
That bent and wrinkled dame,
Who asked her humbly for a sou.
The girl replied: "Get out with you!"
The fairy cried: "Each word you drop,
A toad from out your mouth shall hop!"
(I think that nothing incommodes
One's speech like uninvited toads!)

And so it was, the cheerful blonde
Lived on in joy and bliss,
And grew pecunious, beyond
The dreams of avarice
And to a nice young man was wed,
And I have often heard it said
No other man who ever walked
Most loved his wife when most she talked!
(I think this very fact, forsooth,
Goes far to prove I tell the truth!)

The cross brunette the fairy's joke
By hook or crook survived,
Put still at every word she spoke
An ugly toad arrived,
Until at last she had to come
To feigning she was wholly dumb,
Whereat the suitors swarmed around,
And soon a wealthy mate she found.
(I think nobody ever knew
The happier husband of the two!)

The Moral of the tale is: Bah!
Nous avons change tout cela.
No clear idea I hope to strike
Of what our nicest girl is like,
But she whose best young man I am
Is not an oyster, nor a clam!

from Grimm Tales Made Gay (1902) by Guy Wetmore Carryl

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Voices from Vancouver's past mingle with the sounds of nature, beautiful gardens skirt colourful totem poles, British Columbia First Nations artisans chisel legend into cedar and Capilano Suspension Bridge takes you to the serenity of a West Coast rainforest and Canada's award-winning Vancouver attraction, Treetops Adventure. 17 more images after the break...

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10 Thousand Buddhas Monastery

In Hon Kong, ten thousand Buddhas Monastery is unique and famous place which present its illusion in some other world. Check out the wonderful pictures hopefully you like it. Inside the monastery there are about 13000 little Buddhas on the walls with different facial expressions. In the center there are big golden statues. 27 more images after the break...

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Coming in April: National Poetry Month and More

Youth Art Month is over and so is my month long endeavour to share a fairy tale picture book daily. (I did quite well, I only missed one day!) I am considering making picture book illustrations a more regular feature on the blog, since I built up my library of images during this past month. Chime in with a comment if you enjoyed the feature and would like to see more of it on at least a weekly basis.

So today is April Fool's--there will be no April Fooling here today mostly due to lack of inspiration--but it is also the beginning of National Poetry Month. The new goal is to share a fairy tale related poem each day of the month. This is a harder task because I won't post entire copyrighted poems without permission which is often time consuming so mostly I am limited to sharing older ones that are now public domain. I kicked off the month with Cinderella at Home by Richard Warwick Bond which is more about the fairy godmother. It is nonsensical in places, but has some great lines, too.

There will be some other themes and feature this month, too. I still owe us all a full fledged fairy tale films week--time constraints inhibited its completion--as well as some other themes. Expect a tribute to Bluebeard when the new Bluebeard Tales From Around the World launches.

The SurLaLune Giveaway continues, too.

Cinderella at Home by Richard Warwick Bond

Cinderella at Home*

Of Cinderella it has been
Reported, heretofore,
That she became a Prince’s queen,
And polished grates no more.
Purely fictitious this, I trow!
Think! tedious drawing-rooms, dinners slow
The girl’s good sense decided—”No,
‘Twould be too great a bore!”

Not she !—but lounging once, I’m told,
As usual by the fire,
“Dear Godmother,” she said, “you’re old:
Take my advice; retire!”—
She did. Her powers aside were laid
In favour of that thoughtful maid,
Who carries on the fairy-trade,
Since then, in Lancashire.

Not as old maid, I’d have you know:
She likes champagne, not tea;
And does the light fantastic toe
With any youthful she—
A taste that prompts her oftentime
To ask her friends, in dainty rhyme,
To come and dance till midnight’s chime,
And let their troubles be.

And skilled in clothes-philosophy,
(She knows her “Sartor” well!)
Remembering, too, what witchery
Once made the drudge a belle,
So works, that all who enter there
Are clad no more in common wear,
Transformed to something rich and rare
Beneath her potent spell!

See! once again she waves her wand,
That wand of magic power!
Again she fills her bounteous hand
With store of gifts to shower.
Once more she bids lay self aside,
Banish our sorrows, sink our pride,
Forget what budding hopes have died
Or what may come to flower.

The charm is wov’n, the spell is fast!
Behold! what gallant show
Of knights and ladies from the Past
In at her portals flow!
No rust of sleep upon them lies;
Bright as of yore, fair, brave or wise,
They come—yet ‘neath each quaint disguise
Laughs out some face we know.

Raleigh has left his pirate-tricks
Out on the Spanish Main;
Guy Fawkes is interested to fix
Up quite another train:
Sweet Marie-Antoinette from France
Greets Saladin (without his lance;
He’s tired of tilting—means to dance),
And Portia pleads again.

Hamlet, with whom Minerva flirts,
Looks quite an altered man;
Rizzio’s recovered from his hurts
Since that last waltz began:
Stalks in top-boots the King of Cats;
From Wonderland the Man of Hats
Strolls in; and Lady Teazle pats
A Templar with her fan.

Yon Carmelite finds dancing hot!
Othello looks as sour
As ever—(Mrs. O. has not
Been seen this last half-hour!)
A nice edition of Bo-Peep
Postpones her fruitless search for sheep;
No doubt that irksome duty’ll keep,
—At least, so says the Giaour.

Chassez’s a Greek in tunic’s fold
To velvet matador;
The Zingara in red and gold
With Paddy takes the floor:
—A medley strange ! worth, beauty, crime,
Of every age, from every clime,
They mingle modes of modern time
With old romantic lore.

Sing we the gracious Fairy’s praise
Who summons up the throng:
May she who lightens our dull days
Her own glad life prolong!
Cindrella! keep thy mien as bright,
Thy heart as young, thy step as light!
And invitations still indite
In not less graceful song.

from An Ode to the Sun: and Other Poems (1892)
by Richard Warwick Bond

*So did run the heading of sundry poetical invitations to Fancy-dress Balls given—Eheu! fugaces—by a jovial bachelor in the north of England.

Hansel and Gretel by Will Moses

Hansel & Gretel as illustrated by Will Moses (yes, he is the grandson of Grandma Moses) offers a very American folk artist rendition of the classic tale. And it works well enough. I find this version quite charming because it is more unusual, but not drastically so. This isn't the book for introducing the tale. I think Zelinsky's Hansel and Gretel is best for that. But this one makes the tale interesting to look at again and a little safer since the terror elements are downplayed somewhat.

Here are some illustrations:

Old Stuff: Dakota Fanning and Vanity Fair

I admit it. I am not a Vanity Fair reader. Not usually. I doubt many of you are surprised by this. However, on occasion Vanity Fair and others mags in its genre do spreads with fairy tale themes. I recently discovered these images from a shoot/article in the January 2007 issue featuring a younger Dakota Fanning in fairy tale settings. The photos are by Karl Lagerfeld. The Rapunzel is a little too precious but I like the Red Riding Hood and others. I am relieved they kept th fairy tales sweeter and not sexualized and think the right tone was achieved for a young star.

Donkeyskin at Tales of Faerie

by Kay Nielsen

Kristin posted a short piece about Donkeyskin on her blog at Tales of Faerie this week titled Donkeyskin: The reality of child abuse. She shares her thoguhts about the tale and its difficulties, especially in American culture where it is virtually unknown, thanks to its uncomfortably incestuous theme. It is a nice piece and worth a quick read if you are interested in the tale. I have been rather knee deep in it and its variants for several months thanks to the upcoming SurLaLune Cinderella collection so it certainly was pertinent to me. But that's neither here nor there. I enjoyed reading her experiences with the tale and thought you might, too.

Here's her first paragraph:

I've always been a fan of fairy tales, but especially since starting this blog I've been more aware of how people use the phrase "fairy tale," and it is nearly always condescending, no matter who it comes from. This is truly unfortunate-even in the "dumbed down" versions, of such as Disney is always accused, there are still horrific elements (abuse and murder attempts); not to mention the even darker historical versions. And even aside from these well-known American tales, Bluebeard and Donkeyskin, which deal more specifically with murder and incest, are considered not to be random fairy tales pulled out only to defend their mature content, but part of the basic fairy tale canon (Donkeyskin is apparently more well-known in France and other parts of Europe, where children's toys and picture books are given this dark theme).

Start Over by MC Frontalot

I am still busily translating and editing intensely for upcoming SurLaLune releases. So my brain is sprained. I am also on a news media blackout. First, it's a time issue. Second, if one more "fairy tale" news search comes up with a glut of sports articles, I am going to, well, I can't think of anything that isn't a cliche right now. But it won't be pretty. Cinderella seasons and such don't even refer to weddings this time of year, just sports dreams. Why don't they get their own metaphors and similes? And why do they love fairy tale references so much. Someone should really jump on that and write a paper. Is there a class in journalism school about fairy tale metaphors?

So until after March Madness and is all over and the sports metaphors are reduced to one per page of search results instead of nine out of ten, I won't know if interesting events are happening with fairy tales. If you know of any yourself, please send.

But I did smile today over a song, one I had forgotten existed. I think I heard it once a few years ago. I will embed a video and share some of the lyrics. Oh, the song is a rap of Start Over by MC Frontalot. It's a fun retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. If you want it, it is a free download on the website. You can preview it below with the video.

This is actually part of the third verse, but you can read all the lyrics here:

All right, grama was hanging alone,
cultivating the medicine for the glaucoma.
She paid rent in the forest. It was inexpensive.
Grama's house was in the intensively
wolf-rife section of town.
She didn't mind, she liked a wild hound.
Sound at the door: an intruder.
"Is that you, red? You brought food for
me to eat?" "Nope, the opposite.
No hard candy, so soft chocolate.
Just a wolf belly for you to inhabit
and I'm going to need your nightshirt for the next gambit."
Clandestinely reclining in bed,
the wolf awaits (for red!),
expecting their usual banter:
"How's school?" "Fine, grama,
here's food." "Thanks dear."
Instead it's all: "What's up with the ears?"
Eyes. Nose. Throat. Teeth.
"Little Red Riding Hood, why you giving me grief?
bodies change as the years advance
soft features grow unkind to the glance
and hairs sprout.

Thumbelina illustrated by Susan Jeffers

 

Thumbelina retold by Amy Ehrlich and illustrated by Susan Jeffers has been released in a few editions and it is a lovely rendition of Andersen's tale. As I was preparing this post, I berated myself for how often I neglect Thumbelina. I have to admit it has never been a favorite, but I think it is because I came to late for it. And, it is no secret, that many of Andersen's tales don't jibe well with my personal tastes although there are definite exceptions. Then I look at illustrations like these and others and think I need to get over myself and do more work with Thumbelina.

What I like best about Jeffers's version beyond the obvious artistry is that Thumbelina is older. I like that she is closer to a better age for marriage. Andersen, if he marries off his heroines, makes them rather young. That said, perhaps my favorite Thumbelina illustrations of all are Margaret Tarrant's. For some reason, they capture the whimsy of the tale for me and forego much of the darkness so I am happy with their simplicity.

That said, I love Jeffers' version as I do so many of her fairy tale illustrations. She has illustrated several. And now here are some of images for Thumbelina:

And more of Jeffers' work:

  

  

Beastly on DVD

 

Beastly and Beastly [Blu-ray] are now available for preorder on Amazon. The prices are $19.99 and $24.99 but I am sure they will go down at least $3-4 and the preorder price guarantee means I'll get the best price. The release date isn't listed, but I imagine it won't be before June, perhaps July.

I already ordered mine since I no longer anticipate getting to a movie theatre to see it. I will be thrilled if I get to see the new Jane Eyre which is finally opening in Nashville this weekend. I don't know how every weekend in April and the first half of May is already booked, but my upcoming schedule makes my head spin and want to crawl under the covers with my Kindle and hide. I'll probably have to sneak away some weekday afternoon for a few hours next week but if the reviews are accurate, Jane Eyre is worth it.