Wednesday, November 02, 2005
All-Souls Day... on a hump day... hmm... what would grandpa think of that... and what would grandma say!
Benito Mussolini. Genghis Khan. Al DiSalvo (who was not the Boston Strangler). Sir Winston Churchill. Sir Alec Guinness. Sir Laurence Olivier (three sirs - I'm out!). Attila The Hun. Napoléon Bonaparte. Lizzie Borden. Jack The Ripper (whoever it was). Ted Bundy. Jeffrey Dahmer. Adolf... need I go on?
All of these and countless more are to be found -somewhere, in some misshapen ethereal form or another- in the Great Beyond... in the Land of the Dead! Verily, on a day like today, we should pause and realize that even though the planet is near over-population as it currently is (and never has it been so close to it as it is nowadays) - the Dead outnumber us by such a margin that our numbers -among the living- are dwarved in comparison! Aye, it is a good thing that there is no semblance of similitude between today and the cinematic Day of the Dead... That would be a losing cause for our side! But that is another story...
Of course, not all of the dead are "bad guys" - a great many gooder-than-good guys are found among their illustrious ranks - from the recently departed Karol Wojtyla and Mother Teresa to Sharon Tate, Rachel Corrie, Marla Ruzicka, Marie-Soleil Tougas, Lady Di... And add to that the innumerable everymen and everywomen that are our dearly departed - our kins who were never famous but who were unquestionably the true stars in the movies of their lives... as also stars in the eyes of all those that they touched during their passage on this Earth. These are the ones we REALLY should be thinking about today - the ones that matter the most. They who have crossed over and still love us, as we love them - the ones who have now seen the Light truely and know the Truth. May God grant them permission to help us out a bit, all of us still alive on this mudball called Earth - all of us among the Living...!
About "hump day" though...
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Luce,
I never thought about how many of those who have died from the creation of man, outnumber the living! That is a scary thought if you believe in stuff like the movie Day of the Dead happening!
In my mind though I think of all of those pepole who died as faithful Christians who will be the very first to meet Christ in the air when he comes to call us all home. Then we will be next after the dead shall rise with Christ! :)
Thank You for reminding us to remmember those loved ones who have passed on and now reside with God! They will be dearly missed, and yet they are in a much better place than this polluted earth!
Have A Great Day Luce!
God Bless You Luce (\ô/)
((HUGE HUGS))
Countess
I never thought about how many of those who have died from the creation of man, outnumber the living! That is a scary thought if you believe in stuff like the movie Day of the Dead happening!
In my mind though I think of all of those pepole who died as faithful Christians who will be the very first to meet Christ in the air when he comes to call us all home. Then we will be next after the dead shall rise with Christ! :)
Thank You for reminding us to remmember those loved ones who have passed on and now reside with God! They will be dearly missed, and yet they are in a much better place than this polluted earth!
Have A Great Day Luce!
God Bless You Luce (\ô/)
((HUGE HUGS))
Countess
One not-so-recently departed individual has to especially remembered today, I think - he would have appreciated the FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION we have nowadays - as also been far more meritorious of it than all the bums who benefit from it today... and have nothing of interest to say! But I digress...)
NOVEMBER 2 1583: For refuting King Henry VIII's claim of spiritual supremacy, John Bodey is hanged, drawn, & quartered in Andover, England.
A toast to John Bodey then...
And, for the relatives part - I have several in mind to toast as well - long gone as very recently departed...
Blessings!
NOVEMBER 2 1583: For refuting King Henry VIII's claim of spiritual supremacy, John Bodey is hanged, drawn, & quartered in Andover, England.
A toast to John Bodey then...
And, for the relatives part - I have several in mind to toast as well - long gone as very recently departed...
Blessings!
A couple more things in re: the Day of the Dead... that I would be remiss if I did not address!
My great-uncle Alfredo died on this very day - as if the Dead came to fetch him because he wouldn't go otherwise...? Twelve years ago today...
In movies though, rarely do we see "good dead" - the ghost of the grandmother in Poltergeist II comes to mind... And maybe The Others as well... Not to mention the good shrink (is there such a thing - among the living that is? *lol*) in The Sixth Sense...!
Aside from that, really, rotten celluloid productions have it most of the time that, once one crosses over, one becomes utterly scary and thus evil! Virginia Madsen's character in CANDYMAN... Alice Krige's character in GHOST STORY... Even that BLUE BOY Emma Thompson ran into... Sheesh - enough with that tendency already!
One who is good all throughout life DOES NOT BECOME EVIL UPON DYING! But, of course, a horror film has little use for a ghost that is not scary... CASPER was not a hit; was it? Even though the CGI really made Casper... come alive, ironically!
Vampires and Zombies (aka the Undead and the Living-Dead - yecch!) do not count, of course - they are pure sicko fantasy for one thing. And, even in the context of their fictional reality/rules, these are not "normal dead" - more like the victims of a plague, a contagion. They become affected, contaminated, and thus they change... They are in effect no longer their true selves. In fact, my luminous hypothesis is that, if these wretched horrendous things existed for real -
a) we'd be in real deep trouble
b) the souls once inhabitating the bodies of these vampires and zombies would either not be present anymore or not in full control of their decomposing mortal coils - instead, some evil force from hell would be in control there!
Thank heavens all that crap is (im-)pure fiction! And nothing more than that!
*LOL*
My great-uncle Alfredo died on this very day - as if the Dead came to fetch him because he wouldn't go otherwise...? Twelve years ago today...
In movies though, rarely do we see "good dead" - the ghost of the grandmother in Poltergeist II comes to mind... And maybe The Others as well... Not to mention the good shrink (is there such a thing - among the living that is? *lol*) in The Sixth Sense...!
Aside from that, really, rotten celluloid productions have it most of the time that, once one crosses over, one becomes utterly scary and thus evil! Virginia Madsen's character in CANDYMAN... Alice Krige's character in GHOST STORY... Even that BLUE BOY Emma Thompson ran into... Sheesh - enough with that tendency already!
One who is good all throughout life DOES NOT BECOME EVIL UPON DYING! But, of course, a horror film has little use for a ghost that is not scary... CASPER was not a hit; was it? Even though the CGI really made Casper... come alive, ironically!
Vampires and Zombies (aka the Undead and the Living-Dead - yecch!) do not count, of course - they are pure sicko fantasy for one thing. And, even in the context of their fictional reality/rules, these are not "normal dead" - more like the victims of a plague, a contagion. They become affected, contaminated, and thus they change... They are in effect no longer their true selves. In fact, my luminous hypothesis is that, if these wretched horrendous things existed for real -
a) we'd be in real deep trouble
b) the souls once inhabitating the bodies of these vampires and zombies would either not be present anymore or not in full control of their decomposing mortal coils - instead, some evil force from hell would be in control there!
Thank heavens all that crap is (im-)pure fiction! And nothing more than that!
*LOL*
A LIVING TRADITION... IN A DEAD WAY
Okaaaaaay...
Mexicans celebrate their dead with flowers, food
Nov 2, 10:07 AM (ET)
By Tim Gaynor
SAN ANDRES MIXQUIC, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican families left tamales, tequila shots and a blazing trail of marigold petals in cemeteries across the country on Tuesday in the annual celebration of their dead.
Laying gifts on elaborate marble tombs and humble mounds of soil, they sought to lure home the spirits of departed loved ones in an ancient rite that dates back to pre-Hispanic times.
"We bring fruit, sweet breads and tamales because we want the dead to come back and eat," retiree Julia Perez said as she tended a dusty plot where her parents, grandparents and two younger brothers were buried.
Drawing on beliefs of the Tarascan people in central Mexico that the dead can return from the underworld, the carnival begins on November 1 with the Day of the Innocents to honor departed children, and ends with the Day of the Dead on November 2 for adults.
Fused with Catholic festivals of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, it is one of the most deep-rooted traditions in Mexico, celebrated by millions of people from Mayan Indians in the tropical south to urban professionals in Mexico City.
It is particularly strong in San Andres Mixquic, a town of ancient market gardens or "chinampas," where a skeletal statue of Mixquixtli, the goddess of life and death, still stands vigil in the cloistered church patio.
Local residents and tourists stock up on pungent incense, apples, flowers and sweet breads in packed street stalls in the center of the town, before filing into the cemetery to roam among the graves.
"It's a happy occasion because, according to the old beliefs, the spirits of our departed are coming home," school teacher Maria Eugenia Martinez said with a smile.
A LIVING TRADITION
The jaunty carnival is celebrated across Mexico. In some Mayan villages in the Yucatan peninsula, residents remove the bones of loved ones from family tombs, cleaning and caressing them ahead of the two-day rite.
In Michoacan state, Purepecha Indians hold all-night vigils at village cemeteries near Lake Patzcuaro in celebrations that culminate late on November 1 as a flotilla of canoes push out to an island to welcome the dead home.
Across the country, families set up altars in homes, restaurants and offices, beckoning home the souls of the dead with photographs and cherished keepsakes amid an array of candy skulls, chocolates and their favorite food or alcohol.
Offerings include "pan de muerto," a cake sprinkled with sugar and decorated to look like bones, as well as tequila shots and a glass of water to quench the returning soul's thirst following a long journey from the underworld.
Newspapers take a comic swipe at the fleeting vanities of the living on Day of the Dead, publishing mock verse obituaries of political leaders and public figures, dubbed "calaveras" or "skulls."
Each year commentators complain the tradition is being eroded by Halloween customs from over the U.S. border and a growing preference in the capital for cremations. But Mixquic residents say celebrations are as strong as ever.
"Here we bury our dead just like in the old times," flower seller Carmen Galindo, 69, said as she tended a stall piled high with bunches of gladioli and lilies outside the colonial church.
"Neither Halloween nor a fashion for cremations will change anything."
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Okaaaaaay...
Mexicans celebrate their dead with flowers, food
Nov 2, 10:07 AM (ET)
By Tim Gaynor
SAN ANDRES MIXQUIC, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican families left tamales, tequila shots and a blazing trail of marigold petals in cemeteries across the country on Tuesday in the annual celebration of their dead.
Laying gifts on elaborate marble tombs and humble mounds of soil, they sought to lure home the spirits of departed loved ones in an ancient rite that dates back to pre-Hispanic times.
"We bring fruit, sweet breads and tamales because we want the dead to come back and eat," retiree Julia Perez said as she tended a dusty plot where her parents, grandparents and two younger brothers were buried.
Drawing on beliefs of the Tarascan people in central Mexico that the dead can return from the underworld, the carnival begins on November 1 with the Day of the Innocents to honor departed children, and ends with the Day of the Dead on November 2 for adults.
Fused with Catholic festivals of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, it is one of the most deep-rooted traditions in Mexico, celebrated by millions of people from Mayan Indians in the tropical south to urban professionals in Mexico City.
It is particularly strong in San Andres Mixquic, a town of ancient market gardens or "chinampas," where a skeletal statue of Mixquixtli, the goddess of life and death, still stands vigil in the cloistered church patio.
Local residents and tourists stock up on pungent incense, apples, flowers and sweet breads in packed street stalls in the center of the town, before filing into the cemetery to roam among the graves.
"It's a happy occasion because, according to the old beliefs, the spirits of our departed are coming home," school teacher Maria Eugenia Martinez said with a smile.
A LIVING TRADITION
The jaunty carnival is celebrated across Mexico. In some Mayan villages in the Yucatan peninsula, residents remove the bones of loved ones from family tombs, cleaning and caressing them ahead of the two-day rite.
In Michoacan state, Purepecha Indians hold all-night vigils at village cemeteries near Lake Patzcuaro in celebrations that culminate late on November 1 as a flotilla of canoes push out to an island to welcome the dead home.
Across the country, families set up altars in homes, restaurants and offices, beckoning home the souls of the dead with photographs and cherished keepsakes amid an array of candy skulls, chocolates and their favorite food or alcohol.
Offerings include "pan de muerto," a cake sprinkled with sugar and decorated to look like bones, as well as tequila shots and a glass of water to quench the returning soul's thirst following a long journey from the underworld.
Newspapers take a comic swipe at the fleeting vanities of the living on Day of the Dead, publishing mock verse obituaries of political leaders and public figures, dubbed "calaveras" or "skulls."
Each year commentators complain the tradition is being eroded by Halloween customs from over the U.S. border and a growing preference in the capital for cremations. But Mixquic residents say celebrations are as strong as ever.
"Here we bury our dead just like in the old times," flower seller Carmen Galindo, 69, said as she tended a stall piled high with bunches of gladioli and lilies outside the colonial church.
"Neither Halloween nor a fashion for cremations will change anything."
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