(musings from an upstart crow)
Ace of Cups: Great abundance. Fulfillment. Perfection. Joy. Fertility. Opulence. Productiveness. Beauty and pleasure. Goodness overflowing. Favorable outlook.
Strength: Strength. Courage. Conviction. Energy. Defiance. Action. Confidence. Zeal. Matter over mind or mind over matter.
Falalalala…see you back here soon. Hope to make it to the movies too. I’m a busy little elf today.
Four of Science (Repose): Taking a break from mental activity. Letting go of weighty concerns. Don’t fight against the current. In the creative process: Allow new insights to surface by becoming more fluid and letting go of mental demands and pressures.
Ten of Music (Sublimity): “Peace & Plenty & Domestic Happiness is the Source of Sublime Art”. Gifts of love. Sharing your deepest feelings with others. Rewards of friendship and social involvements. Recognition of achievement. Finding happiness in hearth, home, and hospitality. Experiencing fulfillment in communal or community involvement. Resonating with others. In the creative process: Combine your efforts with others to create a unified whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Ten randomly pulled from the top of my head:
1)John Lennon
2)Townes van Zandt
3)The guy who wrote that “Some Rainy Day You’re Down” song…
4)Elvis Costello
5)Lou Reed
6)Bob Dylan
7)Kurt Cobain
8)Shane MacGowan
9)David Bowie
10)Joe Pernice
In case I haven’t articulated it properly, Joe Pernice may well be the most eloquent songwriter since Elvis Costello.
Take the test at The Political Compass for confirmation of what you probably already know to be your belief system. I fell in the quadrant of “Libertarian Left.” Surpirse,surprise.
If you’re less than bookishly minded today, may I suggest a visit to “Tales of the Plush Cthulu,” a sort of slide show starring H.P. Lovecraft’s famous Cthulu, some fluffy bunnies and a blue stuffed dinosaur. Somewhat suspenseful in bits, but it has a happy ending.
Including lots of Bowie, INXS, REM, Nick Cave, Pernice Brothers, and Pagan Holiday.
When I can sit at the computer for more than 10 minutes without being assaulted by an infant, I shall post them.
Another one for the authors list: Jonathan Carroll. A beautiful and eerie writer whose work is best described as being a darker version of the urban fantasy genre perpetuated by such writers as Charles De Lint and Terri Windling (bit link happy today, aren’t I?)
Why have you never heard of him? Because his work is so very difficult to categorize. Deftly toes a line between fantasy and horror, but is far literary to be categorized as genre fiction. More like modern fiction with flexible boundaries. I suspect bookstores just have no idea where to shelve his stuff.
Anyway, if nothing else, read “The Marriage of Sticks”, which is exquisitely written and most unnerving, and which I read in a single night when I discovered it a couple of years ago. One of those books that you can’t put down at the time, but that does not lend itself well to rereading, as it sort of knocks the wind out of you the first time around.
More about Thackery Lambshead and his fabled guide…