No wonder we're so miserable, 116F (47C) predicted high, and nasty all week to come!!!

The AC went out for a few hours last night and today internet access is spotty.

I hope it's cooler where you're at!

Tomorrow I leave for a week long trip (yay!), and I wanted to have my new pendant ready. I didn't think it looked smooth enough (the back has a couple imperfections), but Julia assured me they weren't noticeable.

So I put on the bale and wore it for the first time yesterday:



More photos at http://www.joanlansberry.com/h-s-sil.html.

I don't think I'll ever be ready for tattoo ink, but at least I have jewelry, grin!

1. You have ten dollars and need to buy snacks at a gas station, what do you buy?
Real leaf unsweetened tea, 'classic' potato chips and peanuts.

2. If you were reincarnated as a sea creature, what would you be?
One of those beautiful eerie things near the heat vents way down deep

3. Who is your favourite redhead?
I used to be a red head when I was a kid....

4. What do you order when you are at IHOP?
I only went there once several years ago. Though I do like pancakes.

5. Last book you read?
Read from beginning to end? Hm, can't remember. (Was it 'Luck' by Nicholas Rescher?) Lots of research for Egyptological learning, though. And I read the Smithsonian and Archeology magazines cover to cover.

6. Describe your mood.
Very happy it's the weekend

7. Describe the last time you were injured?
I had pink eye (again).

8. Of all your friends, who would you want to be stuck in a well with?
Hmm, maybe it would be a good way to get to know them better, so anyone.

9. Rock concert or symphony?
Symphony

10. What is the wallpaper of your cell phone?
I don't have a cellphone, so no wall paper.

11. Favourite soda?
Fizzy water (Pellegrino or Perrier) with Torani syrup, usually cherry or raspberry.

12. What type of shirt are you wearing?
Red Hawaiian shirt with orange hisbicus blooms and hula dancers on it.

13. If you could only use one form of transportation:
I have to agree with 'Popegrutch', I rather likes my legs! :)

14. Most recent movie you have watched in theatres?
I saw 'Twilight', 'Doubt', 'Slumdog Millionaire', and 'Benjamin Button', but I can't remember which was most recent.

15. Name an actor/actress/singer you have had the hots for?
Johnny Depp as 'Jack Sparrow'

16. What is your favourite kind of cake?
Date cake, which gramma used to make. Also the 'cake bread' the bakery has. I like pie better, pumpkin and blueberry best.

17. What did you have for dinner last night?
Ooh, a confession, a filled almond pastry, and a bowl of 'karmal sutra' and 'chocolate macadamia' ice cream!

18. Look to your left, what do you see?
Red tall stool with tea mug, and canteen of tea waiting in reserve, TV news in the background, Julia on the sofa in my peripheral vision and rays of sunlight streaking through.

19. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
They have either buckles or velcro, so no...

20. Favorite toy as a child?
Troll dolls, Barbie dolls, crayons

21. Do you buy your own groceries?
Julia and I usually shop together. She cooks, though.

22. Do you think people talk about you behind your back?
Oh, I'm rather certain they do, but have ceased to care.

23. When was the last time you had gummy worms?
I can't remember, a decade or more.

24. What’s your favourite fruit?
Dark grapes, gala apples

25. Do you have a picture of yourself doing a cartwheel?
No, I never could do such, not even when young and thin.

26. Do you like running long distances?
Hell no! I don't even like running short distances.

27. Have you ever eaten snow?
I did live for the first 28 years in Illinois, and maybe I tried it as a child. Sno-cone, it ain't!

28. What colour are your bedsheets?
Maroon

29. What’s your favourite flower?
Hibicus, Roses, Orchids

30. Do you do ballet?
No, never.

31. Do you listen to classical music?
Frequently.

32. What is the first TV theme song that pops in your head?
Theme to 'Gilligan's Island' (another forum discussion is why...)

33. Do you watch SpongeBob?
Never.

34. What temperature is it outside right now?
86F (30C)

35. Do people consider you smart?
Usually.

36. How many piercings do you have?
Three in left ear, two in right

37. Are you signed on AIM?
Don't use that program.

38. Have you ever tried gluing your fingers together?
Together? No. I do remember using Elmer's glue as if it were fingernail polish when I was a kid.

39. How do you feel about your family?
Chosen family is nearest and dearest,.

40. Do you have an iPod?
Nope, I just burn songs to CDs.

41. What time do you go to bed?
Usually between 9pm and 11pm.

42. What CD is currently in your CD player?
None at the moment.

43. What movie do you know every line from?
I have a poor memory, so there's no such movie for me.

44. What is your favourite salad dressing?
Olive oil and vinegar, usually.

45. What did you get for Christmas this year?
I'm always getting stuff I want.

46. What family member/friend lives the farthest from you?
Of friends I've not met physically, Finland.

47. Do you like hugs?
From friends and family, yes.

48. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
Considering doing something 'daring' for me.

49. What is the way people most often mispronounce any part of your name?
They say 'Jo-Ann', instead of 'Joan'.

50. Last person you hugged?
Julia

It's Friday, glorious, blessed Friday. I could not solve yesterday's work problem. But today, the customer and his wretched coat goes back to his native country (where he will no doubt tell all about the horrid Americans who don't even have good tailors), and I say, 'Just go! And if by some chance you get the local tailor to fix it, I say, huzzah, one more miracle in the world!' (But, I, I am not high enough degree magician to pull that one off.) Maybe in some fictional Harry Potter world, I would wave my Was (Tcham) wand at it and poof! No odd ripples! But not here on planet earth.... Friday! Weekend soon!

I began the morning with good intentions to do some of my own alterations and shorten some blouse sleeves. The blouse sits on my lap, in process, but it wasn't long before I got distracted. I spied this meme in 'queenie-of-dark's' journal:

The Google Meme
Make sure to write the first link that comes up...otherwise it's cheating.

1) Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search.
2) Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search.
3) Type in "[your name] says" in Google search.
4) Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search.
5) Type in "[your name] does" in Google search.
6) Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search.
7) Type in "[your name] asks" in Google search.
8) Type in "[your name] likes " in Google search.
9) Type in "[your name] eats " in Google search.
10) Type in "[your name] wears " in Google search.
11) Type in "[your name] was arrested for" in Google Search.
12) Type in "[your name] loves" in Google Search.

1. All your Pope Joan needs.
(Really, I don't want to be 'Pope', but I once received the appellation Joan of Dark, which I rather like!)
2. Joan looks lovely.
(Maybe not this morning, all with 'bed hair', seated here crosslegged in a red plaid flannel nightgown which also needs its sleeves shortened.)
3. Joan says... l'amour est dans l'air.
(Yes, and it's making me sneeze!)
4. Joan wants to go, too!
(Yes, I want to go, Yes! New York City! Yes, Cue music...
"Take me to New York, I’d love to see LA.
I really want to come kick it with you..."
Estelle has never been to Brooklyn. I have, and can tell you "The museum's GOOD!" I did see a bit of LA, too.
Alas I only have ten vacation days and only so much money, but yes, Joan wants to go, too...
5. "Joan Does Dynasty," a classic in feminist media deconstruction, is a hilarious look at the materialistic 80's in the context of the ordinary working ...
(Never heard of it, gather it's a book. Yes, I did see the TV show 'Dynasty' once or twice. It's the one with 'JR' who shot somebody. I know more about Egyptian dynasties...)
6. Joan hates meetings
(Well, now, that depends on what kind of meeting it is...)
7. Joan asks how many she can have now
(Yes, that sounds like greedy me, who wants as many as she can get...)
8. Joan Likes Having Sales.
(Oh, yes I do. I caught one at landsend.com yesterday, and another denim skirt and flannel blouse are on their way. Yes, I'll have to shorten the sleeves on that one, too...)
9. Joan eats crow.
(I am vegetarian, but there's a certain sort of crow I've eaten. I don't like it much...)
10. Joan wears her ring
(This link referred to 'Joan Collins' and her wedding ring, but better me, I think. I wear my ring, I wear seven of them, in fact!)
11. Joan was arrested for drunk driving in Quincy, Massachusetts.
(This was referring to 'Joan Kennedy'. A simple wine tasting gets me 'buzzed'. I've only been crazy drunk once, and 'never again'.)
12. Joan Loves Chachi
(I vaguely recall that show, a spin-off of "Happy Days", I think. I like better the next result that has a real sentence: "Joan loves paper and we love Joan´s work." I love paper, love to take pen to it and colored pencil and... "You love my work, don't you?" :)

This was a fun meme!

The hopeful ogre asks "Be Mine?"

When I first began this picture, the ogre was a hobbit. But when I got to the head, the ogre came out!

Wanting to make some progress on various projects, I decided that I'd at least make an image to represent the 'strength' tarot card. I found a photo perfect for the lion. He is there 'sniffing the breeze', and perfect. I looked at various photos of people with lions, found at Father of Lions.org to get an idea of the size of lion to lady. Of course none of them had the exact pose I wanted. So I decided the best way to work a lady's embrace into that was to have Julia take photos of me in the pose I want. I put my arm out like I was hugging a lion.

I've now got the basic sketch to 11x14. I also want to do some WRITING about 'Strength', but at I have least this much.

Should I have her right hand be visible? Or is it understood that she's petting his mane? And I'm not sure I've got the back of the lion high enough.

Wikipedia gives the standard meaning of the strength card:

"The modern interpretation of the card stresses discipline and control. The lion represents the primal 'id' part of the mind, and the woman, the 'higher' or more elevated parts. The card tells the Querent to be wary of the temptations of the flesh. For example, in The Chariot card, the Querant is fighting a battle. The difference is that in Strength, the battle is mainly internal rather than external.

"In the Crowley deck this card is entitled Lust, and there is a sun sign (zodiac) association with Leo, implying a potency that is sexual, creative, and intuitive, which are all attributes of the element Fire. The other Leonine quality of generosity, or mercy, is also an aspect of this power or strength. There is a further connection with the heart chakrain kundalini yoga."

Wiki explains, "The Anahata chakra is physically positioned at the heart region." "In Anahata, one is making decisions, 'following your heart', based upon one's higher self, and not from the unfulfilled emotions and desires of lower nature."

However, I see a deeper meaning than the standard view. Crowley gets closer to it. I'm seeing a great strength potential from the primal aspects which can be channeled towards creative endeavors. The lust, the fierce will to live, the pride, all of these are necessary. The higher self loves our 'animal nature' and it is the unifying nature of the heart which brings all things into balance and utilizes what is fierce within us.

As I think about this, the original meaning of the astronomical scene in Egyptian tombs might well have been this. Taweret, who is shown to be pregnant, might be showing the potential for creation and regeneration as in birthing new life, may be demonstrating that. Her hand on 'the thigh' may be showing a channeling aspect, rather than in the later view of a limiting aspect.

I'd have to say Princess Di's death. It truly shocked me. I devoted a journal entry to it, back in 1997:
http://www.aztriad.com/jurnal16.html

As I said then:
"In 1981 the marriage of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles had the largest audience of any wedding in the world. I, along with my Grandmother, sat entranced in front of the television screen that magical day in July. It seemed like a fairytale."

And so she seemed not just Britain's princess, but the world's princess. She was still so young, with such hopes that she might yet have her own happy ending, without her prince. And so it was that more tragic.

The winds were just perfect today. All the balloons rose without any trouble. I got the balloon photo gallery up:



To see more (larger size available, too), just click on this URL:

http://www.joanlansberry.com/arch2008/08ball.html

Review of vampire movie 'midnight':

The movie is a sensuous delight. It's quite popular. I heard that last night, people started lining up for the midnight showing like four or five hours early. Julia and I went to the 11:15am show, and had no wait at all.

One reviewer I heard (Lamar on the Bob&Sheri show) said, "Man, there's just no consistency, you never know what to expect from a vampire!"

And these are unique. The sun does not hurt their beautiful pale skin, it doesn't cause any discomfort at all. They DO have a reaction, however. Their skin turns oddly glowly, diamond sparkly like. And are they ever strong and fast. I'd like to leap high and fly like that...

Seriously though, it's just plain fun.

Hope you're all having happy weekends...

Edited to add link to movie review...
To hear what a middle aged man (with a good sense of humor) thought of the movie:

http://www.bobandsheri.com/archive/audio.cfm;jsessionid=a630f0767f12e1dd9e09176c671361f4c604

See Lamar's review. It's better than the 'jaded critic' review.

Tonight's piece represents a new avenue in self portraiture. I am not only expressing about the physical reality, but also my spiritual reality, where I am, and where I want to be:


Link to larger:
http://www.joanlansberry.com/arch2008/081031jl.jpg
(Micron pen and colored pencil on 11x14 inch bristol board)

I began with an observation of my current physical body. I started with micron pen, no pencil sketches first, as this is to be more spontaneous. I just observed without reaction my face in the mirror, with its dark circles. (I always have them, but I think the lighting made them darker. Also, I have got a much needed full two day weekend, to rest up, so maybe some weariness is there.) My scarab (hieroglyph for 'Xeper', 'Willed conscious evolution'), is there, too.

After delineating the physical, I moved from the mirror to try to express the spiritual and conceptual. I colored the red eye first, to represent that in me which is of Set, and then the blue eye, to represent that in me which is of Horus. Then the two sides kept fairly to the warm=Set, cool=Horus tones. I wrote various things to show the mental process:

I am...
I could be...
I am evolving...

Grasping the fire,
holding the inner light securely,
but not too tightly,
so its rays may emanate.

I am becoming...
wiser,
calmer,
more adventurous.

Old doubts
are silenced
as I see
results...


As I colored the hair strands, I wanted to give a feeling of the consciousness and 'third eye' at the forehead. The hairstrands evolved into "SIA", the Egyptian word for perception and consciousness, to further illustrate this.

I'm looking forward to how future pieces of this nature will evolve...