Mall of Me: Mythology

Showing posts with label Mythology. Show all posts

Vintage Star Wars Posters

Vintage Star Wars Travel Posters
by Steve Thomas

[$] Cruise the Galaxy

[$] Rogue Squadron Air Show

[$] Kessel Run Tours

[$] Coruscant Imperial Shuttles

[$] Mos Eisley Desert Classic

[$] Rebel Transport Inc.

[$] Scavenge Across Tatooine

[$] Visit You Should

www.stevethomasart.com

Note: There is well over a hundred more striking works of art like this from Eye Level Studio. There are also animated versions, my two favorites being here and here. The bulk of the collection is on the Eye Level MySpace Page, although the studio's Facebook page and deviantART page have been updated more than MySpace recently. The big news is the re-birth of the Main Site. The layout is completely new, with much more information and with prints available for sale. Eye Level has been inspiring me and other artists for more than half a decade now. If you like what you're seeing... then spread the word.

For other features on Eye Level Studio, visit both of these:
• Michael Rosner Feature on Mehron Makeup News
• Michael Rosner Feature on Broodleheimer

[re-presented with permission ]

House of Leaves

House of Leaves
by Mark Z Danielewski

URL: www.onlyrevolutions.com
Amazon: House of Leaves [trade paperback]
Wiki: wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_leaves
Rating: 5/5

if you steal her once, steal her twice, or free us with a glance--for an only child is the only chance to end this wicked curse--the only way, we say, you rid a sea with dance and banish love to verse.

A Book of Many _Distortions

Have you ever held a vial of mercury? Do you remember your surprise that first time? Your surprise to find the weight your eyes had told your hands to expect was a lie? This is the experience that often comes to mind when finding myself again holding this book... each time I find myself tempted to once again wander the halls within the House of Leaves.

This book is heavy, much more physically weighty than eyes say it should be. Whether this was intentionally crafted by the creators, or if this is only a residual psychosomatic phenomenon as a result of having read the book, I couldn't say. Both are plausible. Because of how much work was put into distorting this book, I suspect the former cause.

If so, this is only the first of a great many intended distortions. "House of Leaves" is a work of art that appears to be a book, and draws heavily from the genre of literature. It then adds from much more experimental fields to create a specific effect, while simultaneously telling multiple stories. The end result (at first glance) could be mistaken as "just some book". This sensory illusion quickly falls apart shortly into the reading.

Mercury. The reason such a small quantity is so heavy, of course, is due to density. There is simply more matter contained in the occupied space than past experiences have prepared your mind to expect. This darkness, density and weight is the intended effect behind "House of Leaves". The family at the core of this story, trained by experience to expect time and space to operate in only one way, first meet with this darkness upon the discovery that their house is larger on the inside than on the outside.

To briefly cover the introduction, the days following this discovery were barely captured, and only on some home video footage and notes. Zampano, who pieced this all together with tape, ink and every available writing surface, called this "The Navidson Record". Johnny Truant, who took the dead Zampano's notes from the apartment of the deceased, claims that this record is a lie. Both, however, realize that the truth or falsity of this record does not affect the story's telling.

What follows is The Navidson Record, detailing these last days, with footnotes from Zampano, Johnny Truant and The Editors. As previously stated, it is not long until... well... things fall apart. The family, the minds of those who passed on the notes, and the book itself.

If you've not yet read "House of Leaves", something inside me wants to tell you "this book is for you" ...and... "put aside everything else 'til you've read it". The more honest part of me--the part that's been stirred to raw emotions at only the thought of this book, and can open to nearly any page to feel my eyes tear up--wants to let you know that, should you finish it, this book will not leave you as the same person you were before entering the House of Leaves; that, here, there is no forgiveness, no salvation, no yellow-brick road; that, within these pages is a creature of shadow, and that this darkness adapts to you--the reader--the more you read.

To those readers strong in spirit, who seek that rare strength found only in facing an even stronger fear: "Seek ye, in the House of Leaves, a forge to form or break your spirit." To all else: "Seek ye, elsewhere, your salvation."

Mind you the opening words in this book:

this book is not for you

Rate this review here.

(Untitled Fragment)

Little solace comes
to those who grieve
when thoughts keep drifting
as walls keep shifting
and this great blue world of ours
seems a house of leaves

moments before the wind.

~ Copyright Mark Z Danielewski ~
~ a work of ONLY REVOLUTIONS ~
~ Pantheon Books, Random House, Inc. ~

with thanks to Zero for my introduction

Heart of Prajnaparamita

The Heart of Prajnaparamita Sutra

Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, meditating deeply on the Perfection of Wisdom, saw clearly that the five aspects of human existence are empty, and so released himself from suffering.

Answering the monk Sariputra, he said this:

Body is nothing more than emptiness,
emptiness is nothing more than body.
The body is exactly empty,
and emptiness is exactly body.

The other four aspects of human existence --
feeling, thought, will, and consciousness --
are likewise nothing more than emptiness,
and emptiness nothing more than they.

All things are empty:
Nothing is born, nothing dies,
nothing is pure, nothing is stained,
nothing increases and nothing decreases.

So, in emptiness, there is no body,
no feeling, no thought,
no will, no consciousness.
There are no eyes, no ears,
no nose, no tongue,
no body, no mind.
There is no seeing, no hearing,
no smelling, no tasting,
no touching, no imagining.
There is nothing seen, nor heard,
nor smelled, nor tasted,
nor touched, nor imagined.

There is no ignorance,
and no end to ignorance.
There is no old age and death,
and no end to old age and death.
There is no suffering, no cause of suffering,
no end to suffering, no path to follow.
There is no attainment of wisdom,
and no wisdom to attain.

The Bodhisattvas rely on the Perfection of Wisdom,
and so with no delusions,
they feel no fear,
and have Nirvana here and now.

All the Buddhas,
past, present, and future,
rely on the Perfection of Wisdom,
and live in full enlightenment.

The Perfection of Wisdom is the greatest mantra.
It is the clearest mantra,
the highest mantra,
the mantra that removes all suffering.

This is truth that cannot be doubted.
Say it so:

Gaté,
gaté,
paragaté,
parasamgaté.
Bodhi!
Svaha!

Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain"

Movie: The Fountain
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Rating: 5/5

URL: thefountainmovie.warnerbros.com
Amazon: The Fountain on DVD
DC Comics: The Fountain Graphic Novel
Wikipedia: [link]
Genres: Cinema, Graphic Novel, Literature

Death is the road to awe.

There was a story... a story of a man and a woman in a garden...

Given the chance, I would thank Darren Aronofsky with all my heart for writing and directing this movie. Given enough time to express my gratitude, it would overflow next upon Clint Mansell, who scored the soundtrack that I played for a month straight after seeing the movie. I would gladly extend my thanks to Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn and all those who had a hand in weaving the motions of this love story through three different time periods.

First, however, my thanks to Aronofsky. Entering into this, he had to know ahead of time that nearly none would understand nor appreciate this movie. The story he had wanted to express via the medium of cinema for six-years has finally been told. Nearly anyone can appreciate the audio and video of the movie. For these alone, I suggest this movie to anyone. I do so, however, without any expectation that it will strike them as powerfully as it did myself.

While Aronofsky has worked on more than two movies, it was "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" that launched him into success. Both of these were advertised almost entirely through word of mouth. The only difference with "The Fountain" is the release of a trailer that has seen play in many theaters. Add to this the incredible ability he has to create an obsessive fan base, and you have one interesting advertising campaign. It's part of the culture surrounding these movies.

Clint Mansell, the mastermind behind the striking score to "Requiem for a Dream", returned to score "The Fountain". Brief glimpses into this new score, along with the trailer and a synopsis, can all be found at the official website. For months, the website had only moving images and music.

Hugh Jackman ("X-Men", "Swordfish") plays the male protagonist, and Rachel Weisz ("Constantine", "The Mummy") plays the female protagonist. The story is the ancient quest for the Fountain--the sap from the Tree of Life that gives any who drink from it everlasting life. Weisz (as Queen of Spain) sends Jackman into the New World in search of Eden where (as a conquistador) he is naturally pitted against the native guardians of Eden. The chief of these guardians wields the Flaming Sword and introduces one of the movies central themes: "death is the road to awe". This is only one stage out of three that the movie plays out upon, though the quest remains the same... until the end of time.

On a closing note, this is a work of art. Many have warned not to go into this expecting a movie. Although it uses the medium of cinema, it is more an artistic expression than a movie. The level of sensory input, combined with the quality, is on a level reminiscent of opera. Both a strong intellect and strong intuition are highly suggested to appreciate the grandeur of this story, to empathize with its characters and take the initiative to answer the questions Aronofsky will never answer for you.

Sidenote: Anyone interested in alchemy will find symbolism enough to last the promise of forever. The Reality Principle (Circle within a Triangle within a Circle) may as well be the movie's key symbol. It's found throughout the movie along with the well-told mythos of the Trinity.

Together we will live forever.

Updates:
- [2010.07.25] - Removed section on "The Fountain Remixed". Site is down. Updated layout. Changed "Death Is the Road to Awe" video to official trailer. I'm not sure how many times I can update this post. I'm well aware that I can never get it "right" enough for myself, but working on it usually means obsessing for hours over content and words only to find a day has passed. The movie means a lot to me. It changed my life. That's about all that needs to be said... that and "thank you" to every last creature who even delivered coffee to the set of this movie in order to get it made. So "thank you". Frakking thank you.
- [2009.03.29] - Removed Amazon video widget; enlarged book cover image; migrated ending press image; updated copyright/trademark info per Fox; updated links; changed ending video; updated links to open in a new window/tab; new review is pending.
- [2008.04.27] - Book cover added to beginning. Cleanup in Amazon Widget HTML.
- [2008.03.03] - Fountain Remix Project section added. Corrected link in YouTube to this entry. Removed "there's a cure" quote.
- [2007.09.21] - Press release images put in place of non-sourced images. Copyright and trademark information included. Amazon widget added to play trailer and link to DVD. Format cleanup.

The Church of Conscious Harmony

ConsciousHarmony dot Org

So I've got this record. I'm known for attacking institutionliz(ed/ing) systems such as churches and political parties. If it breeds dependency and robs individuals of their power, responsibility and accountability, then it's likely that I've spoken out against it at least once. That's why it was a large shock to those who know me when they heard I was waking up at the crack of doom to attend a Christian church on a Sunday morning. I've been back four times... and I'm not a Christian.

He asks, "Why do we need community?"
With a pause, he continues:
"To be sure that we're not all crazy on the same day."

You can see why I like this place, can't ya? Humor combined with insight gets me every time. The fact that I never felt threatened or preached "at" means there are no negatives pulling away from this positive. In other words: "it's all good".

The Church of Conscious Harmony is not exactly "near" anything, but its proximity to the expansive Austin highway system means that you can get there if you want to. Because of this, their congregation is not neighborhood dependents just looking for any cult to give them their weakly "god dose" to fill the hollowness that comes part and parcel with the absence of an independent spirit. Instead, those who attend Conscious Harmony are there because it's their choice (choice being a facet of independence)... often by traveling quite a distance.

The church sits amid the outer forested hills of Loop 360. On my last visit, fog blanketed the hills, trees and houses that surround the church. The grounds afford striking views of the land from many walkways and portholes. The architecture and landscaping are an admixture of European, Native American and Zen. In Austin, the best of things are found in fusion. The design of a place is the reflection of its intentions. If this was all I'd've had to take measure with, the church would've already won me over.

I'll go more into the philosophy of the church a bit later...
...but first... storytime...

A quick introduction to our players. Hekate is the source from which the branches of Brandon and I have come into this congregation. Through me, the branches of Gaea and Jill were brought in. Along with Hekate comes her twins--Rayne and Serra--who happen to be two of the main reasons I've come on Sunday (as I rarely get to see these two lovelies otherwise). Finally, we have Tim, who sits in a central, elevated chair in the sanctuary and speaks with the congregation. There are more faces (Amanda, Barbara and more come to mind), but these will do for starters.

Now, to set this stage in motion. Sunday began before we got there, with cooks preparing food in the kitchen for those coming early enough to make the nine o' clock breakfast. Don't miss this part, because the food is spectacular and gives time to talk with many of the interesting members of this community. Also, removing the distraction of hunger increases focus on the sermon. Well played.

Lights blink in the dining hall at a half-hour 'til ten, when everyone will be gathering in the sanctuary. They blink again at fifteen 'til as well. We took the twins to the nursery, playing with them until an attendant joined us... when we had to break Hekate away from her other two aspects. It was time to leave for the sanctuary.

My first really huge plus is given out on the grounds of how much meditation is done, and how nearly everyone enters into silent meditation while awaiting commencement. Once started, there's at least one more group meditation (though many meditate during songs while listening). You can feel the energy difference in the sanctuary--an amplification of the pervasive calm throughout the grounds. To other sensitives in the Austin area, the sensation is reminiscent of the feeling when entering the sanctum of the 360 Buddhist Temple (if not up to that level of infusion).

The songs can use some work, although "Invoking the Spirit" is a favorite even in its simplicity. The others come up short due to this same simplicity, which does eliminate the need to pull out a book to sing from. Pulling out a book would have the negating effect of focalizing each person on the text within the book instead of unifying their attention as a group. At the same time, the other songs don't achieve the same harmony as "Invoking the Spirit". The solo songs that I've heard have all been beautiful in their instrumentation and lyrical meaning. There has been at least one of these every other week I've attended. Lastly, on this musical note, I think there's been a few lyrical changes (for the better) to "Amazing Grace" since last I heard it. Bravismo!

I was originally neutral on the use of the Christian Lexicon, then became very, very positive in how quickly many of these concepts (most of which can easily be given to exclusiveness instead of openness) were clarified and talked about. Without this lexicon, it wouldn't be a Christian community. Clarification changes everything. To add to my giddy delight, Tim speaks with a selection of words taken from psychology and from philosophical works without limiting the conversation solely to the Bible. One of my four weeks in attendance, the Bible was pulled out only twice (the second time being for the Christian Communion, ergo, a requirement). I should note, however, the first time it was pulled out...

The first time was to read a verse from the Beast of Tarsus (Saint Paul, Saul, The Apostle), who most know I have a personal vendetta against. The Beast turned a teaching of Light into breeding dependencies and victims, advocating the place of slave and master, claiming there be but one life, subjecting women to silence and much, much more. Yet Tim was quick to clarify the passage he read so that everyone understood the symbolic meaning instead of the surface level impression that most would take from it. In the end, the use of the Christian lexicon, the clarification of meaning and the additional sources of cosmological knowledge all get good grades from this little judge.

A complaint was raised within our group against the tithing. Since it's only a basket being passed (and without mention of duty or any other source of guilt), I am for it. Putting the option out there is expected, as otherwise the knowledge of how to give back to the church could easily be missed. Also, I know that the church focuses on Native America and other disenfranchised members of our species. In that manner, I'm not against the intention behind the tithing. It does say that the church doesn't have external businesses or other ways to bring in the required funds to manage itself, which is a dependency the congregation will reflect. This negative mark leaves me neutral on the issue. I would hope that the goal is to move towards self-sustaining, which means that tithing may not be a permanent part of this community.

After the sermon, there's coffee and juice in the dining hall.. . and a lot more talking... and playing with the twins. Also, the book store is open. There are many Eastern books mixed in with Christian theology as well as philosophy and select works from Native America. Closing Sunday worship in this form of communion leaves the entire day on a high note, making the experience an enlivening part of the day instead of a drain.

Time to return to the philosophy, as the communion only covers the global "body" of the church. There's more.

The church states that it stands on two legs. There I agree, although I'm going to re-calibrate it to my own measure. One leg stands in the global realm, taken from cosmological books such as the Bible, the works of Gurdjieff, Ouspensky and many more. The other leg stands in the local realm, focusing on personal development (mostly through "The Work" expounded by Gurdjieff and refined by Ouspensky, from the Way of the Sly Man into The Fourth Way). The third aspect (my addition) is centering prayer meditation as a unitive force. In this way, the spiritual grounds of Conscious Harmony reflect that of the Reality Principle (∞, 0 and 1). Interestingly enough, the Reality Principle was on the CD that Hekate gave me and is displayed at the top of this post. This symbol was a large part of why I agreed to join Hekate here in the first place.

There have only been a few times when I was questioning the stance taken on independence, so I am mostly positive towards the overall philosophy. It seems there is an internal philosophical contradiction that hasn't been worked out between the Self and the World. It's a common contradiction that doesn't actually exist, however most cultures code our identity with expectations that don't align (or contradict) with the spiritual (universal). Patience, reflection and intentional decoding can clarify the contradiction. Mostly, however, personal development is held as an interest of the community, and so my measure on these grounds is positive.

Because Tim uses multiple sources from which to approach a topic--whether they be books, a dance or the Rolling Stones concert or the Bible--the worldview the congregation is exposed to is an expanding one with many perspectives. This is a huge positive mark! Finally, Tim has talked on multiple occasions on how leadership through example is what each member should take out into the world; not conversion. This last positive ranks so highly with me that I've become a proselytizer for the church even though I can't easily attend myself.

Only in Austin. Only in the city with the motto "Keep Austin Weird" would I ever expect to find myself backing a Christian Church. Because of my stance against such organizations, I don't easily give the power of my word to back any of them. Yet I gladly suggest that any spiritual creatures in the Austin, Texas area visit "The Kerby Lane of Christianity".

Natalie calls these types of Christians "Moby Christians". This is sourced from the open-minded Christian essays written by the electronica artist Moby. I've adopted this term due to her. The Church of Conscious Harmony seems filled to the brim with Moby Christians of the Austin Weirdo variety. I say "The Kerby Lane of Christianity" because Kerby is one of the best representations of the Austin Wierd Scene. The scene is built on the idea of taking any ordinary everyday aspect of life in a city and making a weird version out of it. Kerby itself takes the idea of an IHOP or a Denny's, then transforms it from an old-school grocery store into an organic grocer such as Whole Foods. Conscious Harmony takes Christianity and brings out its more healthy and fun ideals, then builds a family out of them.

Accept no replacement.

Note #1: This review covers only the global aspect of this community, based entirely on my experiences with them on Sunday worship. I haven't taken part of "The Work" of Gurdjieff on Thursday evenings, so I haven't reviewed it here. Andre Oukenav, a Russian friend, turned me on to Gurdjieff in 2003. From my limited experience with his teachings and praxis (as well as those by his student Ouspensky), I would still endorse this "work". It is designed to elevate an individual out of the Realm of the Accidental (chain-reaction) into alignment with the Life Force. While I may have taken the Sufi route to reach this goal, the amount of positives I've seen come out of this "work" are enough to pique my curiosity and to turn others towards it.

Note #2: For clarification, I stated that "I am not a Christian". You can judge for yourself whether or not that statement is true. My belief is that you ARE the Christ... that Jesus wasn't lying when he said "whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do". I've seen the Christ born into one culture after another, taking and being given one name after another. The name makes no difference to me. The word is the same.

with thanks to Hekate for introducing me

Welcome

For the most part, this blog isn't about me per se, but about those things that strike me so hard that I feel inspired to share them. Be it the arts, politics or science, Mall of Me has been built slowly since 2006. I have no aim to blog every day. Expect quality over quantity. Here's a quick intro...

Right: On our right, you'll see the tags (causatives) for the site. I'll go into details on each tag a little farther down. The archive of posts is just below the tags, followed by my Top Three picks from the worlds of the written, the seen and the heard. "The List" is just below those, filled with books on personal development that can actually be applied to life as a praxis. Posts that have been deleted (as well as the reasons for deletion) are listed in the Pathic Purges. My signature and the Polyamory Awareness and Acceptance Ribbon round out the right column.

Left: No Speaken El Engles? No problemo. Clicka da flag most close to your language and Google will translate for you. I should mention now that I'm offensive and speak (badly) more languages than are likely healthy. I click the flags anyway... mostly because I love cultures and I can learn from them by reading what I've written in other languages. We do large features for very specific artists (some music, some visual). I have one lined up who's art was writing. The list shifts around as they are updated and as new ones are added. Below the features are blogs that may do guest posts here or who we just like in general. You can find places where Mall of me has been cataloged in the WW.Infektions area, then track visitors on the world map below it.

Here is a brief description of each label used as causative:

• Audio: Any entry focused on music, an opera or a speech would all go under audio. If it goes in the ear as a foci, it gets labeled as such.

• Code: Code is the software side of technology, and can be related to the memetic coding of the human creature or of a computer. There's no differentiation, but technology is the manifest symptom of the code.

• Comedy: Anything that makes me laugh and tends towards the lighter side of life is going to get the Comedy label.

• Experience: If you have to experience "it" to understand "it" (or if it requires physical action--dancing, climbing, building), then it goes under "Experience".

• Mathematics: Don't ask.

• Mythology: Anything that taps into a mythos or religion of the world will be labeled with the "Mythology" causative. Because these are so ingrained in our cultural coding, mythos has a huge affect on both art and science.

• Objective: While there's no attainable objective-view, I use the "Objective" causative when I'm presenting the work of another without my own commentary or judgment call directly expressed. I leave others to decide for themselves.

• Philosophy: Anything that taps into the intellectual sensations and beckons the mind to ask, think and act will be quickly labeled as "Philosophy". It's one of my favorite drugs.

• Politics: If it has to do with war, economics or government, then it is going under "Politics". As everything is political, my use of this is in the global, ruling sense.

• Subjective: If I'm reviewing or expressing heavy opinions, it goes under subjective. I'm a hard judge. The Austin poetry slam scene refers to me as "the Russian judge". Most things on Mall of Me will not be lowly rated unless my aim is to deter. Five out of five is the highest rating.

• Technology: I'm a technophile and actively participate in movements coordinated in bringing about the replacement of this species thru technology. As such, anything I post having to do with cyberpunk, human enhancement or anything else having to do with technology will be labeled as such. h+

• Tragedy: Tragedy can have humor, but its path lies in the pain and joy born from passion and desire. Catharsis is my favorite form of tragedy.

• Transcendent: Very rarely there comes along something that transcends the genre it was formed in. It is no longer "just a movie" (e.g., "The Fountain"), no longer "just a book" (e.g., "House of Leaves"), no longer "just a party" (e.g., "Burning Man"). These things often defy description and they'll likely come with the "Transcendent" causative.

• Video: If it teases the eye (no matter whether a pictures or animation), it goes under video. As a fire wyrm, I have a particular weakness to videographic sources, and so there's a lot of "eye candy" under this label.

• Walkthru: Walkthrus are guides that I've put together. They're designed to take a portion of how I operate with a tool and explain how others can apply it. While potentially useful, they are completely subjective and may not be for everyone. As such, I suggest that none should follow them.

• Written: While technically translated via the eye, "Written" causatives are meant for the psychology of the being--in grades of intellectual and emotional. Written can cover news feeds, books or just a quote.

A Note on the Forth Turning: This is the forth evolution of Mall of Me since 2006. Besides basic layout changes, there are now options to share as well as express various states of like and dislike. I may be phasing out the idea of temporary posts (previously, the causative "temp.post"), but may retain this facet. I'm moving more towards the idea of large features and mini-features and keeping my "self" out of it even more.

Long gone are the days of Google Ads on this blog and there hasn't been a shout widget since the third evolution. No more feeds from Fark or Dilbert... and Last.fm hasn't had a quality sound player for years. Deleted. Sending mad shout outs in love to all the artists who've shared their amazing works here and to every one of you who have stopped by from the far corners of the world.

If you're an artist and would like to be featured, contact me. Be sure to include links to your galleries, audio players or writings. Also, include permission to re-post content as well as the titles of pieces or songs that this permission applies to (if it's limited). I can't guarantee a full feature, but I also can't resist promoting anything that I love.