Psyche et L'Amour

EROS & PS


Eros was the primordial god of sexual love and beauty. He was also worshipped as a fertility deity. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire"), also known as Amor ("love"). In some myths, he was the son of the deities Aphrodite and Ares, but according to Plato's Symposium, he was conceived by Poros (Plenty) and Penia (Poverty) at Aphrodite's birthday. Like Dionysus, he was sometimes referred to as Eleutherios, "the liberator".


Throughout Greek thought, there appear to be two sides to the conception of Eros. In the first, he is a primeval deity who embodies not only the force of love but also the creative urge of ever-flowing nature, the firstborn Light for the coming into being and ordering of all things in the cosmos. In Hesiod's Theogony, the most famous Greek creation myth, Eros sprang forth from the primordial Chaos together with Gaia, the Earth, and Tartarus, the underworld.


In Greek mythology, Psyche was the deification of the human soul. She was portrayed in ancient mosaics as a goddess with butterfly wings. The Greek word psyche literally means "spirit, breath, life or animating force".


Envious and jealous of the beauty of a mortal girl named Psyche, Venus asks her son Cupid (known to the Greeks as Eros) to use his golden arrows while Psyche sleeps, so that when she awakes, Venus (Aphrodite to the Greeks) would have already placed a vile creature for her to fall in love with. Cupid finally agrees to her commands after a long (and failed) debate. As he flies to Psyche's room at night, he turns himself invisible so no one can see him fly in through her window. He takes pity on her, for she was born too beautiful for her own safety. As he slowly approaches, careful not to make a sound, he readies one of his golden arrows. He leans over Psyche while she is asleep and before he can scratch her shoulder with the arrow, she awakens, startling him, for she looks right into his eyes, despite his invisibility. This causes him to scratch himself with his arrow, falling deeply in love with her. He cannot continue his mission, for every passing second he finds her more appealing. He reports back to Venus shortly after and the news enrages her. Venus places a curse on Psyche that keeps her from meeting a suitable husband, or any husband at that. As she does this, it upsets Cupid greatly, and he decides as long as the curse stays on Psyche, he will no longer shoot arrows, which will cause Venus' temple to fall.



After months of no one — man or animal — falling in love, marrying, or mating, the Earth starts to grow old, which causes concern to Venus, for nobody praises her for Cupid's actions. Finally, she agrees to listen to Cupid's demands, according him one thing to have his own way. Cupid desires Psyche. Venus, upset, agrees to his demands only if he begins work immediately. He accepts the offer and takes off, shooting his golden arrows as fast as he can, restoring everything to the way it should be. People again fall in love and marry, animals far and wide mate, and the Earth begins to look young once again.


When all continue to admire and praise Psyche's beauty, but none desire her as a wife, Psyche's parents consult an oracle, which tells them to leave Psyche on the nearest mountain, for her beauty is so great that she is not meant for (mortal) man. Terrified, they have no choice but to follow the oracle's instructions. But then Zephyrus, the west wind, carries Psyche away, to a fair valley and a magnificent palace where she is attended by invisible servants until nightfall, and in the darkness of night the promised bridegroom arrives and the marriage is consummated. Cupid visits her every night to sleep with her, but demands that she never light any lamps, since he does not want her to know who he is until the time is right.


Cupid allows Zephyrus to take Psyche back to her sisters and bring all three down to the palace during the day, but warns that Psyche should not listen to any argument that she should try to discover his true form. The two jealous sisters tell Psyche, then pregnant with Cupid's child, that rumor is that she had married a great and terrible serpent who would devour her and her unborn child when the time came for it to be fed. They urge Psyche to conceal a knife and oil lamp in the bedchamber, to wait till her husband is asleep, and then to light the lamp and slay him at once if it is as they said. Psyche sadly follows their advice. In the light of the lamp Psyche recognizes the fair form on the bed as the god Cupid himself. However, she accidentally pricks herself with one of his arrows, and is consumed with desire for her husband. She begins to kiss him, but as she does, a drop of oil falls from her lamp onto Cupid's shoulder and wakes him. He flies away, and she falls from the window to the ground, sick at heart.


Psyche then finds herself in the city where one of her jealous elder sisters live. She tells her what had happened, then tricks her sister into believing that Cupid has chosen her as a wife on the mountaintop. Psyche later meets her other sister and deceives her likewise. Each sister goes to the top of the peak and jumps down eagerly, but Zephyrus does not bear them and they fall to their deaths at the base of the mountain.


Psyche searches far and wide for her lover, finally stumbling into a temple where everything is in slovenly disarray. As Psyche is sorting and clearing the mess, Ceres (Demeter to the Greeks) appears, but refuses any help beyond advising Psyche that she must call directly on Venus, who caused all the problems in the first place. Psyche next calls on Juno in her temple, but Juno gives her the same advice. So Psyche finds a temple to Venus and enters it. Venus then orders Psyche to separate all the grains in a large basket of mixed kinds before nightfall. An ant takes pity on Psyche, and with its ant companions, separates the grains for her.


Venus is outraged at her success and tells her to go to a field where golden sheep graze and to retrieve some golden wool. A river-god tells Psyche that the sheep are vicious and strong and will kill her, but if she waits until noontime, the sheep will go to the shade on the other side of the field and sleep; she can then pick the wool that sticks to the branches and bark of the trees. Venus next asks for water flowing from a cleft that is impossible for a mortal to attain and is also guarded by great serpents. This time an eagle performs the task for Psyche.


Venus, furious at Psyche's survival, claims that the stress of caring for her son, made depressed and ill as a result of Psyche's lack of faith, has caused her to lose some of her beauty. Psyche is to go to the Underworld and ask the queen of the Underworld, Proserpina (Persephone to the Greeks), to place a bit of her beauty in a box that Venus had given to Psyche. Psyche decides that the quickest way to the Underworld is to throw herself off some high place and die, and so she climbs to the top of a tower. But the tower itself speaks to Psyche and tells her the route that will allow her to enter the Underworld alive and return again, as well as telling her how to get past Cerberus (by giving the three-headed dog a small cake); how to avoid other dangers on the way there and back; and most importantly, to eat nothing but coarse bread in the underworld, as eating anything else would trap her there forever. Psyche follows the orders precisely, rejecting all but bread while beneath the Earth.


However, once Psyche has left the Underworld, she decides to open the box and take a little bit of the beauty for herself. Inside, she can see no beauty; instead an infernal sleep arises from the box and overcomes her. Cupid (Eros), who had forgiven Psyche, flies to her, wipes the sleep from her face, puts it back in the box, and sends her back on her way. Then Cupid flies to Mount Olympus and begs Jupiter (Zeus) to aid them. Jupiter calls a full and formal council of the gods and declares that it is his will that Cupid marry Psyche. Jupiter then has Psyche fetched to Mount Olympus, and gives her a drink made from ambrosia, granting her immortality. Begrudgingly, Venus and Psyche forgive each other.









From Wikipedia




Shout Out - ITA & AUT

Shout out to Italia & Österreich.

I spent a lot of time in Austria when I was a child & I love it dearly. & My memories of Italy were nothing but good.

Thank you for reading.

Vanessa Marcil














smoothe

smoothe & embolden
my mysteries
see the quiet dawn stirring
perplexed, wonderous
beautiful
small
sweet and tender
striking
steadfast
gorgeous
awake the dream is broken
suffering no more
silent passion
hovers in the first soft rays
moonlight evaporating quickly
march on new dawn
hold fast new day
birds rustle in their nests
unfurled
unwound
spring approaching softly
morning cascades over me
wake the new dawn
abandon the dream



~S.I.M.

Shout out - UK

Thanks for reading :-)

Feather hair extensions

Women have decorated themselves with jewelry, head dresses, and body art since the creation of man. The styles and expressions have shifted over the centuries, but by 2010 they have begun showing a step towards a natural direction. Feathers!

They're fastened in just like other extensions. Each natural hair extension has an individual feather affixed to the bottom and is braided and attached to your real hair using a small bead like a regular hair extension (no glue, heat or weaving is involved in the process).

For a subtle look, you can choose a feather that blends in with your hair, while a bolder, rocker-tinged ‘coif
is easy to create with brightly-colored feathers and multiple extensions.

I've gotten some different time quotes on these things... anywhere from 8 -10 weeks from one source & 4 months to a year depending on care. The feathers can be straightened, blow dried, curled, and gently brushed and the feathers color does not fade.









The Alchemist

The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it, under extraordinary circumstances.



The Alchemist
The seer to the camel driver

Things I love: Lightning Storms






Things I love: Sunshowers



A.I. WOULD SCRAP


BJ "The Prodigy" Penn beats Matt Hughes in 21 seconds at UFC 123 wearing a TʻShirt in memory of Andy Irons "A.I.Would Scrap."

B.J. represents the Islands & shows respect; some people told me B.J. knew A.I. personally.

11/20/2010 - the Rubber match between Penn & Hughes, at the Palace at Auburn Hills (the NBA Pistons arena), in Detroit Michigan.

The vid is not the best quality & the guys talking is an irritation of mine. I pulled this from YouTube.  Unfortunately this video actually cuts out the best part! A few seconds after B.J. gets the K.O., the camera cuts to Matt Hughes & you see him mouth the words "What happened?"

B.J., humble in victory: "Detroit I love you... Matt Hughes you're my idol, you'll always be my idol. Thank you... Andy Irons, I love you. Hawaii, I love you. Joe Rogan, I love you."

Jay Dee "B.J." Penn (born December 13, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 2000, he became the first non-Brazilian winner of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the black-belt category.
Penn is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Welterweight Champion and was a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show. He became only the second fighter to win UFC titles in two different weight classes (the other being Randy Couture), after he won the lightweight title at UFC 80, having previously won the UFC's Welterweight title from Matt Hughes at UFC 46.

We love you B.J.!!!!

Hawaiian Monk Seal

The Hawaiian monk seal is among the most endangered of all seal species, although its cousin species the Mediterranean Monk Seal (M. monachus) is even rarer, and the Caribbean Monk Seal (M. tropicalis), last sighted the 1950s, was officially declared extinct in June 2008. The population of Hawaiian monk seals is in decline. In 2010, it was estimated that only 1100 individuals remain. It is listed as critically endangered. The Hawaiian monk seal was officially designated as an endangered species on November 23, 1976, and is now protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.


Today, even though the islands are protected, many scientists believe that the effects of human activity along these fragile coastlines (and in the world at large) are still taking their toll.

It is illegal to kill, capture or harass a Hawaiian monk seal.

To raise awareness for the species' plight, the Hawaiian monk seal was declared Hawaii's official State Mammal on June 11, 2008 by Lieutenant Governor James Aiona.




Create or Else: Alexander Esguerra



American Beauty



Howard Zinn

"TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

~ Howard Zinn

Vogue China December 2010

Du Juan


Socks with heels?


Holly Madison


Burberry Spring 2009 RTW


Burberry Prorsum Spring 2008 RTW




Burberry Prorsum 2011

Eva Herzigova

Dior Spring 2011

"Scrunchie socks"

 Fall 2010 Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, & Rachel Comey

Fall 2010 Thakoon, Karen Walker & Rag & Bone

Rihanna


Katy Perry

Victorias Secret Show 2010


Love it or hate it?
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