Mystery Desk

[mysterydesk]

A five year old child sees a man fall from a balcony, during a stage performance.  The man was hurt and the child was terrified.  

This unpleasant memory remains in his mind for more than 91 years.   

[mysterydesk]

Remove Your Inner Thorn ------> Oprah 

These people are absurd.  But this thorn business may have some truth to it.  Oh, how I dislike listening to men in ponytails, though.  This must be one of my thorns.  -E.K.

[mysterydesk]

Luz (Hebrew: 'לוז') is the name of a small bone in the human body, at the top of the spinal column (the seventh cervical vertebra) or at the base of the spinal column (the coccyx), according to different traditions. Muslims and Jews believe that this is the bone from which the body will be rebuilt at the time of resurrection, and share the belief that this bone does not decay.[1] Arabic books refer to this bone as "'ajbu adh-dhanab" --(عَجْبُ الذَّنَب).

There is an aggadah (legend) in the midrash that the Roman Emperor Hadrian asked how man would be revived in the world to come, and Rabbi Joshua Ben Hananiah replied that it would be "From Luz, in the back-bone." "Prove this to me," said Hadrian. Then the Rabbi took Luz, a small bone of the spine, and immersed it in water, but it was not softened; he put it into the fire, but it was not consumed; he put it into a mill, but it could not be pounded; he placed it upon an anvil and struck it with a hammer, but the anvil split and the hammer was broken.

Luz is also a town in the north, described in Judges 1:22 "And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el; and the LORD was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el--now the name of the city beforetime was Luz. 24 And the watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him: 'Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with thee.' 25 And he showed them the entrance into the city, and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family. 26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz, which is the name thereof unto this day." 

[strangerooms-blog]

After trying to open the door repeatedly, it suddenly opens wildly, but he is unable to leave.

[mysterydesk]

[Inès offers to be Estelle's "mirror" and tell her everything she sees, but ends up frightening her instead.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Exit

{A brief synopsis of Sartre's No Exit, based on Wikipedia's synopsis of No Exit.}

[mysterydesk]

NightLight (by Emily Krill)

[mysterydesk]

ELO - Livin' Thing (1977) 

This is simply fantastic.  

[mysterydesk]

Tippi tipped over

But she never Tapped out.

Terrible.  Wonderful.

Woman. 

[mysterydesk]

Anne Hathaway: Hollywood Heroines From 2012 - Wide-Awake (by TheNewYorkTimes)

It's scary but beautiful when the human spirit is portrayed in all it's {unreasonable} forms.  Anne Hathaway is a movie star, so it's ok for her to dress up and be glamourous.  But she's playing a maid, so shouldn't she just act submissive and sheepishly vacuum the floor?  

No.  She can play both ways of being in one imperfect character.  She can portray multitudes.  {We all contain them.}  So why not show all of our confusion and inappropriate beauty in one trim package?  

I love it. 

[lettersofnote]

In September of 1952, a few weeks before the publication of Charlotte’s Web—the now-classic tale of Wilbur, a pig who becomes friends with a heroic spider named Charlotte—the book’s author, E. B. White, was asked to explain why he wrote the book by his editor at Harper & Row, Ursula...

[hamburglr]

My heart started beating like mad. I went blank. I was led to the bench and told to sit. I heard cheering from the room, and looked around: The crowd was about half art-worlders, and half fans who’d gotten a mystery text that morning. And then Jay stepped down from the platform and stood right in front of me … and the instant before the music started, I heard these words come out of my mouth: "I’m an art critic … so watch out." And then boom! The music started and he said, “I just want a Picasso, in my casa," and I replied “Picasso is great." He nodded. At Rothko I said, “Him too." He nodded again. Then his line about wanting to make love on a bed covered with a million dollars, and I said, “No." He laughed. Wow, I was getting to be an art critic to Jay-Z. He started dancing. So did I, or at any rate what passes for an older balding Jewish man trying to bust some moves. When he got to Koons, I said, “Yes, even though he really is annoying." At George Condo I went, “Eh, okay." I gave a big no to Art Basel; at Christie’s I said, “I hate auctions." By then, somehow, he’d taken me around my waist, and we were strutting around the room. My hands were ice cold. I was shaking. My reactions were shot. The entire time were together, there was no doubt in my mind that he was controlling me, taking my energy and giving it back, manipulating the space around us. I felt like my internal ship was on fire and useless. I loved it. And him. And this.

Jerry Saltz on Jay-Z, “Picasso Baby," and the MoMA for New York Magazine (via hamburglr)

[mysterydesk]

S.C.A.RY. SUBURBAN LINES

[itcouldbeamazing]

[mysterydesk]

When historians clear up historical misunderstandings, I always feel relieved.  No matter what they find.  Not matter how unpleasant.

Even if it {literally} takes 100 years.

 Emily Wilding Davison - 11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913

Emily Davison was a militant activist who fought for woman’s suffrage in Britain.

She is best known for stepping in front of King George V’s horse at the Epsom Derby on 4 June 1913, sustaining injuries that resulted in her death four days later. The reason for her doing this has long remained a mystery, many claimed she was just attempting to disturb the horse race to draw attention to her cause, whilst others suggest she was commiting suicide. In 2013 an analysis of a newsreel supported the idea that Davison was reaching up to attach a scarf to the bridle of the King’s horse. Analysis of newsreel also indicated that her position before she stepped out onto the track would have given her a clear view of the oncoming race, further countering the belief that she ran out in a haphazard way to kill herself. A return train ticket, found upon her person indicated that she intended to travel back, although it later became clear it was the only type of rail ticket that was available for purchase, it is noted that Davison carefully kept the return half in her purse. [Items on display at an Emily Davison exhibition at the Women’s Library in London]

LET'S READ THE TICKET again, with the new information that we have:

2 {So She was a Second Class rider?}

0315 {And She was the 315th person to buy a 2nd Class ticket that day?}

L.B & S.C. RY. {London, Brighton and South Coast Railway at Victoria station} (When I see this, my brain substitutes in an A to spell S.C.A.R.Y.)

4th JUNE 1913 (The day of the big Race)

Available this DAY only.  (This Opportunity to see the King of England!)

EPSOM RACE COURSE to (The King's Likely Location on this Day)

Victoria {Victory!} (Hopefully the King will receive her Gift and See or Hear her.)

No particular class of carriage guaranteed.  (The Railway System can't guarantee that You'll get to sit with the Class of people that You would prefer.  [That's impossible to promise, because the classes mix on a Train.]  You may be able to afford the ticket, but that doesn't mean that there will be room for You, even in 2nd Class.  There is only so much space available on a Train.)

FARE 8s,6d.  (I don't know how much money this is, but it was probably a reasonable price to pay for a Chance to See the King.)

See conditions on back.  {She did.  She did see the conditions of woman's suffrage from her back.  And She saw it from this perspective for the four days until she died from the injuries she sustained while trying to get the King's Attention.  It was certainly an accident, but it was an avoidable one.  She could have stayed Home.  She could have tried to get the King's attention in some other way.  But then the King would not have received this message:

Women should be treated as Equals.  She took the chance that He would finally hear Her.  She lost, of course, but Women gained.}

[mysterydesk]

Goatsbusters: A Ghost Story (by Emily Krill)

[mysterydesk]

I saw this video for the first time recently, and my jaw dropped.

§------WHAT---IS--> THIS?

It's so strange at first.  Kate Bush has the voice of a particularly screwish witch and she is doing a dance like- what?  Prancercize?  

But this song speaks to me, so, as strange as it is, I've listened and watched this song performed quite a few times.  It's absurd, but the song is about feelings that I have had.  It's based on an incredibly romantic book, that I've read and identified with.  So...I have some different ideas about this song now.  

As a woman, I can watch this Kabuki Theater/Martha Graham style movement and laugh.  But I can also see the timelessness of these motions.  These are the Extremes of our experience.  And they are hilarious, but also true.  They are an Exaggeration of our feelings.  No wonder we hide them!!!  

Kate Bush - Wuthering Height§------>

Songwriters: BUSH, KATE

Out On the wiley, windy moors  We'd roll and fall in green  You had a temper, like my jealousy  Too hot, too greedy  How could you leave me  When I needed to possess you?  I hated you, I loved you too  Bad dreams in the night  They told me I was going to lose the fight  Leave behind my wuthering, wuthering  Wuthering Heights  Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy, I've come home  I'm so cold, let me in in-a-your-window  Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy, I've come home  I'm so cold, let me in in-a-your-window  Oh it gets dark, it gets lonely  On the other side from you  I pine alot, I find the lot  Falls through without you  I'm coming back love, cruel Heathcliff  My one dream, my only master  Too long I roam in the night  I'm coming back to his side to put it right  I'm coming home to wuthering, wuthering  Wuthering Heights  Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy, I've come home  I'm so cold, let me in in-a-your-window  Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy, I've come home  I'm so cold, let me in in-a-your-window  Ooh let me have it, let me grab your soul away  Ooh let me have it, let me grab your soul away  You know it's me, Cathy  Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy come home  I'm so cold, let me in in-a-your-window  Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy come home  I'm so cold, let me in in-a-your-window  Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy come home  I'm so cold

[mysterydesk]

What a Marvelous Age we live in?

The Roaring Twenties - Dance Craze (by Aaron1912)

[mysterydesk]

As a child, I loved Max Headroom. But revisiting these videos as an adult is pretty difficult. It’s too much. Too much, too fast. No wonder Nina Blackwood is always bad mouthing this guy. He’s annoying.