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agwitow · 5 years

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The Rites

[I started a new story, to go along with the world building I did earlier... it’s not getting any current WIPs closer to completion, but it feels good to be writing again]

Along the broken cliffs that cradled Wilsevain Cove, where progressively smaller spits of rock trickled out into the ocean, a lone mer lay out of sight of any humans. She let her braid trail in the water while the sun and wind dried her skin. Her nixies played in the light surf as gentle waves splashed against the rock, and she savoured the peace she only ever found between the mer and human worlds.

Jana!

The shivering sound of her name floating through the water brought a sigh to her lips. Her time hiding from responsibilities was at an end. She clicked softly to her nixies and rolled into the water. The silvery little fish burrowed back into the heavy braid of hair and she waited only a moment to ensure they’d all made it before diving below the surface.

She knew the sound of her elder sister’s song, and also knew her sister would be at the caves, too scared to venture out of them. Small groups of mer tended to Amelisn’s crops in the seabed around the cave entrances. The fields of kelp, seagrass, algae, and soft corals stretched away from the cliffs until the ground dropped away into true oceanic depth. Most of the farmers ignored her as she swam past.

Sure enough, Amelie waited for her just inside the First Cave.

Where have you been? Amelie demanded, her song full of sharp clicks.

I was just bathing, Sister.

Amelie’s dark eyes widened and the pargills on either side of her nose flared. Outside of Amelisn? What if a human saw you?

Jana’s eyes darted to the scars crisscrossing her sister’s arms, torso, and tail. They were an unnatural white against the near-black of her skin, and took on a sickly green tint as they cut through the green and blue scales on her tail. Though she chafed at her sister’s fears, she could not discount them. I was careful, she sang as soothingly as she could. No humans fish near the broken rocks.

Amelie’s eyes flashed. That is almost worse! If any of their merchant ships saw you there, you’d have led them almost to our doors!

Jana could feel the vibrations in her throat wanting to burst forth to argue, but she forced them aside. Ever since Amelie and their mother had been caught in the steel-spiked nets of fisherman from Leualam, Amelie had been terrified of humans. That their mother had not escaped only added to the fear. She remembered her own fear, eight years ago, when Amelie had dragged herself back to the caves, torn and bleeding. The pain of losing their mother was intense, but Jana still believed what her mother had taught them—that mer and humans could learn to live peacefully together.

Neither Amelie, nor their father, agreed.

I’m sorry, was all she could sing. The air chambers are just so stuffy.

But safe.

Why were you looking for me?

Amelie narrowed her eyes, but didn’t comment on the change in topic. It is time for you to choose your Rite.

Jana grabbed her sister’s hands and spun with her. I get to choose my Rite?!

She jerked her hands back, tail fluttering to still the spinning. Of course you do. It is forbidden for even the King to remove a mer’s choice from them.

Father never told me that before.

Amelie ran a hand self-consciously over the scars near her hip. Why would it matter? You certainly wouldn’t think of taking the Human Rite.

Jana faltered for a moment. She had always wanted to take the Human Rite—to walk amongst the humans as one of them was a dream of hers since she was a calf—but fewer and fewer mer chose it. Ever since Queen Salana, her mother, had been captured. How many more years before none chose it at all? How many beyond that before there stopped being a choice?

Do you…do you ever regret choosing the Sea Rite?

Amelie stiffened. How can you ask me that? I would sooner cut off my own tail than ever willingly spend a moment in a human’s presence.

She nodded. She hadn’t really expected anything else from her sister, though she would have liked for her to have paused to at least think about it for a moment. She tried to imbue her song with a cheerfulness she didn’t feel, What must I do to prepare?

Go to the nixies garden to be cleansed. I will meet you there with your adornments.

Jana nodded her understanding and swam through the water-filled channels cut into the cliff. Most had started out as natural cave formations, but generations upon generations of mer living in Amelisn expanded them into a beautiful web of tunnels and rooms. A little over ten thousand mer made their homes in the city, with another several thousand living nearby. It was one of the largest city-kingdoms in the ocean, though there were multi-city kingdoms with many more mer.

Despite the size and complexity of the cave systems, mer who grew up in the city rarely had trouble navigating. The twists and turns were as familiar as one’s own scales. And so it didn’t take her long to reach the nixie garden—a large, shallow cave with a thick coating of seagrass along the bottom, and a series of small holes in the ceiling that let in tiny bits of fresh air and sunlight.

Her own nixies mingled with those that lived in the garden, either because they were too young or too old to be paired to a mer, or because their mer was away where it would be harmful for the little fish. Within moments, a swarm of nixies surrounded her. Their flexible fins gripped her while their beak-like mouths nibbled along the skin, clearing away any bits of debris or spores that she might have collected outside of the caves. It didn’t take long for the swarm to make her feel like a fresh-scrubbed calf.

Amelie arrived shortly afterward. Even in the safety of Amelisn, she flinched away from the tiny shafts of sunlight. For you. Her song was distorted when sang in the air, but it still held a tremor of her emotion.

Jana carefully took the kelp-wrapped bundle and laid out the items. The kelp itself turned out to be a delicately woven shawl, made with a pattern like the way light and shadows dappled across rock when the sun bounced off the surface of water. Wrapped inside, she found beautiful coral cuffs that strapped to her arms and covered her from wrist to elbow. Careful swirls were carved into the surface, and strange rocks half the size of her palm sat in the center. The rocks were almost clear, with a yellow tint that glowed like fire when they caught the light.

Humans call it amber, Amelie explained when she caught Jana’s questioning look. Mother said an ancient human king had given it to her great-grandmother as a sign of peace between our people.

Jana wanted to ask how she could have so little hope of peace when they held the promise of it in their hands. Instead, her heart swelled at the thought that these beautiful adornments had been their mother’s. Did…did you wear these during your Rite?

Amelie nodded. Just as you will, and just as any daughters we have will.

Thank you, Amelie, she sang, throwing her arms around her sister. It was a childish gesture, but if the eve before her Rite wasn’t an appropriate time to be a little childish, she didn’t want to know. After a moment’s hesitation, Amelie returned the embrace.

Yes, well…a mer only turns twenty-three once.

She burbled happily and slipped the cuffs onto her arms, tying them in place with bleached kelp laces. Amelie helped drape the shawl across a shoulder and wrap it around her torso. It felt strange to be so covered—most adornments were chains or ropes that looped around arms and body—but she couldn’t help feeling proud in the cuffs and shawl. They were symbols of her family’s status and history. They were a symbol of the status of Amelisn itself.

Amelie cupped her cheeks, as if she were a calf, and pressed their foreheads together. After, she led her out of the nixies garden. They traveled at a leisurely pace toward the throne room where their father and the Elders would be waiting. The Rite was a sacred thing that symbolized a mer’s progression from youngling to adult. Each and every mer who called Amelisn home had the chance to go before King, Elders, and family to choose a Rite.

Though the only two that had been performed in living memory were the Human and the Sea Rites, there were technically six possible choices. But given that the Human Rite entailed living amongst the humans, as one of them, for a month, and that the Sea Rite involved communing with the Vast Goddess and her emissaries, the others didn’t sound appealing. Fire, Blood, Steel, and Dark Rites. No one talked about what they were. Which only added to the sense that they were dangerous and to be avoided.

Jana wasn’t even sure if the Elders still remembered how to perform any of them.

But then…what if they weren’t as bad as they sounded? The Human Rite was well on its way to joining the others in being shunned by her fellow mer, and she knew it was just as valid as the Sea Rite. Was there some young mer, on their way to choose generations ago, that had thought similar things about any of the other Rites? Had they worried what would happen when the mer stopped performing those Rites entirely?

Her troubled thoughts were brought to an end when they came to the Royal Hall. Rounded squares of specially grown coral were carefully placed throughout the chamber. Each held a small orb which emitted soft blue light. Though the orbs could be made to emit white, yellow, or even green light, most mer she knew preferred the blue. Though few places in Amelisn were able to have orbs. They were too hard to make. So those places unable to have sunlight filtered to them were only ever seen through echolocation. The Royal Hall, though…well, its beauty was famed across the ocean.

The entrance was an archway carved to look like leaping dolphins. Orb light wreathed the shapes in a gentle glow that called a mer forward, into the room itself. Both sides of the chamber were carved to resemble giant clams, shells open in invitation. Cushions of the finest woven kelp lined the shells, and large faux-pearls glittered like moonlight in each one, making the carvings look all the more real. The far wall was entirely covered by a mosaic of gleaming stones. They depicted the Vast Goddess leading their ancient ancestors to the caves that would become Amelisn.

In the centre of the room was a piece of coral so large it must have been grown there, though no coral Jana had ever seen grew into such a perfectly round, smooth-topped surface. But the off-white colour and complex pattern of former polyps made it doubtful that it had also been carved. Precious stones and pearls ringed the edge of the table, while a circle of lacey fabric protected the surface from the heavy objects resting on top of it.

Six Elders waited around the table, with her father, the King, in the middle, directly opposite the entrance. The crown of tooth and bone atop his head was a reminder that he was acting as her King, and not her father, in this ceremony. It pained Jana a little that the only family there to witness it would be her sister. No mother, no aunts or uncles, no cousins. And poor Amelie would have had no one when she’d gone through it five years prior.

Come, Jana, daughter of Nian, daughter of Salana, it is time to leave the shallow pools of youth for the ocean that is adulthood, one of the Elders sang. His voice was deep and rumbled through the water.

Jana moved forward until she reached the near edge of the table. She looked across at her father and felt a frisson of fear slice through her. His dark eyes bored into her while his jaw clenched. The tightness in his shoulders suggested he was angry, but she hadn’t done anything wrong, had she?

There are many paths before you, youngling, another Elder sang, drawing Jana’s attention away from her father. No one may make this choice for you.

Her gaze darted back to her father, then to where Amelie waited off to the side. Both looked tense and angry. How could they be angry when she hadn’t announced her choice yet? The realization that it wasn’t anger, but fear, shook her. They were scared she would choose the Human Rite. And she’d certainly planned to, but already the fear in their faces was so close to anger. She doubted anything good would come of her choosing it.

So much for no one making the choice for her.

The Six Rites were given to us by the Vast Goddess. Each with a purpose.

Jana’s attention snapped back to the Elders. Something told her this wasn’t the usual song given to younglings. The confusion on Amelie and her father’s faces said it also wasn’t one reserved for royalty either.

The Sea Rite, bestowed so we may know the Vast Goddess’s love for us, will bring you wisdom and peace.

Another Elder continued, so smoothly they could have been the original singer. The Human Rite, granted so we may know our neighbours above, will grow your insight and compassion.

The Fire Rite, a third sang without any pause or hesitation, was given so we might discover our desires, will ignite hidden talents.

That was more than Jana had ever heard before, but the Elders didn’t pause to even let the information sink in.

The Blood Rite, gifted so we may remember all of Her creatures, will bind you more closely to the sea.

The deep-voiced Elder sang, The Steel Rite, imparted so we might protect all we hold dear, will sow the seeds of courage in your heart.

The Dark Rite, presented so we might truly know ourselves, will reveal all truths held within your soul, the final Elder sang.

As one, they concluded, Choose.

Jana sucked water through her pargills, desperately needing a moment to still the spinning of her mind. Each Rite called to her. She could almost feel the possibilities before her, as if each path was as tangible as the next. Wisdom, compassion, talent, courage, and knowledge. Each offered something she wanted. Each offered something she felt was important to Amelisn as a whole.

Her gaze settled on her father and the increasing tension in his face and body. Her heart sank. There was only one choice she could make.

Sea.

A collective sigh rippled through the Elders and one sang, So it has been decided. The youngling will come with us to the Vast Goddess’s Sanctuary.

Her father frowned. Can she not travel in the morn?

The Elder shook her head. The Goddess calls to her. We cannot gainsay what She wishes.

The Goddess? The Vast Goddess was calling to her? She still felt that slight tug toward the other Rites, but that wasn’t Her influence. Was it? Jana might have been a princess, but she was still an ordinary mer. Why would the Goddess herself have any interest in her? Especially when the Sea Rite was all about communing with Her. Wouldn’t that be enough?

I…but, she’s so young, her father sang, the worry clicking through both the sound and the sharp moments of his hands.

Her destiny, if she chooses it, does not wait for age, one of the other Elders sang sadly.

Jana frowned. There seemed to be something her father understood about all the strangeness, which she wasn’t grasping. None of it made sense. She wasn’t even a particularly devout mer!

Before she could voice her protests and questions, the Elders were bustling her out of the Royal Hall. She tried several times to sing, but the Elders quickly hushed her before she could get more than the first note of a song out. It wasn’t until they exited Amelisn through an old cave that they allowed her to sing.

I don’t understand what’s going on. Please, can one of you explain…anything?

The Elders kept a steady pace as they followed a winding path through wild kelp and seagrass, but the deep-voiced one at least answered, The Goddess has shown us that you are important to Her. Though we don’t know why, She has filled us with a sense of urgency.

When? How? WHY?

He shook his head. Without partaking of the Sea Rite ourselves, we have no further answers than this.

Partaking of the…? Jana had always thought a mer could only do a single Rite—it was why choosing one was such a milestone in a mer’s life. But the way the Elder spoke, it sounded as if they wouldn’t think anything of completing another Rite.

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abigailtamayo · 4 years

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Women’s Fashion Over Time

In its vast timeline, the history of fashion in art reveals a complex socio-economic system influenced by a culture of valuing individual collectives in a world of dynamic change. It is a unique system in that which its influences are found in close quarters; a grapevine of cultural impact showing people influencing people. The ensembles worn by subjects in various paintings and sculptures present us with a glimpse into the socio-economic conditions under which fashion became a commodification of social status and a symbol of societal and cultural value. As cultural events and new political climates rise, causing shifts in values and general rules of fashionable appearance tastes in fashion appears to change. Yet the relatively stable constant in notions towards fashion is a prescribed label of class, and therefore, your worth and position in society, associated with the clothing you wore. In a series of six costumes inspired by the Early Renaissance, the High Renaissance, the High Renaissance in Europe, Baroque art, Rococo to Neoclassicism, and Romanticism, I will break down the fashion trends of each period, focusing on iconic features of each fashion period and briefly explaining the cultural context of each garment.

The Early Renaissance

This costume is based on the ensemble worn by Giovanni Arnolfini’s wife in the painting Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife by early Renaissance painter Jan Van Eyck. A popular staple piece in early Renaissance fashion was the houppelande which was carried over from the fashion of the middle ages. In The Concise History of Costume and Fashion by James Laver, he describes the general appearance of the houppelande as a garment that fitted the shoulders and was loose below, with a belt at the waist; the houppelande is what will later be known as ‘gown’.[2] This replication of a typical houppelande has a high collar and extremely long sleeves, fur trimming and fur lining, and hanging tippets from the edge of the sleeve to the back of the gown. The gown itself is extremely long, ballooning outward from the waist. The houppelande could be made in a selection of fabrics such as wool, silk, and velvet[3], and were could be dyed a rich, vibrant colour as seen in Jan Van Eyck’s painting. Since the middle ages, the use of fur in fashion had become symbolic of wealth and importance and was oft worn by nobility.[4] Since fur was difficult to come by, it was an elitist luxury used in excess by middle and higher class people, establishing a social distinction between them and the lower-class through their clothing. As for the headdress, at this point, not much has changed since the middle ages in terms of style. However, the custom of covering mature and married women’s hair was becoming less strict, and we see more women revealing their hairstyle beneath their headdress.[5]

The High Renaissance

This High renaissance costume is based on the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. The During the High renaissance, many cultural trends such as the rise and spread of books, the expansion of trade and exploration, and the increase in power and wealth of national monarchies in France, England, and Spain influenced tastes in fashion and the dynamic changes fashion underwent, as well as the idea of the modern ‘trendsetter’.[6] The essential garment for the High Renaissance woman was the gown. Its general features were the bodice, a skirt, and sleeves. The complex ensemble of the gown during this period can be seen in da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The gown could be made from luxurious materials such as silk, velvet, and lace, worn with lavish jewelry, and decorated with intricate patterns of stitching and embroidery.[7] While the gown silhouette was common across social classes, the distinction lies within the materials used. Although the wealthy and powerful used expensive textiles for their gowns, the lower-class was still capable of emulating the gown with the materials they had access to such as wool and cotton.

The High Renaissance in Northern Europe

My iteration of Northern European High Renaissance fashion is based on Hans Holbein the Younger’s Portrait of Christina of Denmark. This portrait demonstrates the conservative side of fashion that was flourishing alongside a bold, vibrant movement that was challenging established trends. The model adorns a dark, velvet gown with a high collar; underneath we see a glimpse of the ruffs from her high collared undershirt. The ruffs were a common feature of the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, typically characterized as an upright, stiff collar that ruffles around the neck; ruffs were commonly adorned by noblemen and noblewomen.[8] Now, Holbein’s Portrait of Christina of Denmark does not show the typical extravagant ruffled collar, which could have been a stylistic choice by Holbein to allow the fur lining and trim of the subject’s outer gown to stand out, and remain the statement feature representing her wealth in the painting. The large size of the outer gown appears to further imply how much fur the gown is made of.

Baroque Art

The Baroque artwork I’ve based this costume design on is Vermeer’s, Girl with a Pearl Earring. The Baroque period introduced innovations to the popular sixteenth-century gown. At the time Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring was composed, seventeenth-century fashion had already gone through several evolutions. Stomachers, which was either a v-shape or u-shape panel meant for decoration and structure, had become stiffer and flatter and elongated past the line of the waist.[9] Replacing the trend of using wired hoops, or farthingales, to give body to the skirt was the petticoat. The petticoat was a practical solution to the everyday issues of functionality women faced with farthingales. Petticoats made of cotton or wool were perfect for warmth, while more fashionable petticoats were made of taffeta, satin, linen, or a combination of starched fabrics.[10]

Rococo and Neoclassicism

This costume was inspired by Vigee Le Brun and her artistic style which can be described as being a mix of rococo colours with elements of the Neoclassic style. As a prolific French portrait painter, one of her prominent subjects for portraits was Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France who despite her tumultuous life in the public eye, was a fashion icon. The genius in Le Brun’s craft lies in her vast knowledge of current fashion and her awareness of the power of appearance.

I based this costume on Vigee Le Brun’s, Self Portrait in a Straw Hat. In the painting, Le Brun is wearing a variation of the robe en chemise which emerged during the late eighteenth-century period as tastes in fashion moved away from the early period’s penchant for fuller-bodied skirts.[11] While its design echoes elements of early Rococo style, the robe en chemise was a gown made simple. These dresses were usually made of sheer, white cotton, with high waists and wrapped with a decorative satin sash; its slender silhouette was inspired by the fashion of ancient Greece and ancient Rome.[12] These dresses could also come in various colours, such as the rose-gold coloured dress Le Brun is wearing in her self-portrait. With its sheer material and low-cut neckline, the robe en chemise gained widespread attention because of its revealing nature; until this point, the gowns we’ve seen have been voluminous and covered much of the female body. Yet, this scandalous fashion found its way into the wardrobe of royalty, and most likely, the wardrobe of some upper-class women who wanted to be revered for wearing the latest fashion. This portrait of Marie Antoinette wearing a robe en chemise was painted by Le Brun.

Romanticism

Based on Delacroix’s, Liberty Leading the People, this costume is an iteration of the symbolic fashion of the woman in his painting. She is Liberty; she represents freedom, in an image that evokes a triumphant revolution as she leads people on the battlefield. The Romantic movement differed vastly from the current situation in early nineteenth-century France, which was characterized by social unrest and civil war between the bourgeoisie and the working class.[13] Romanticism was mostly a reaction to the modern realities brought on by the industrial revolution; the romantic movement in art reveals a desire to escape these modern realities, a theme which Delacroix’s painting emulates perfectly.

Liberty Leading the People encapsulates the transitional period between Neoclassicism and Romantic sensibilities.[14] There are neoclassical elements in Liberty’s appearance, but most prominent is her dress. The painting feels reminiscent of the time of unrest during the French Revolution, which Liberty embodies in her wearing a robe en chemise, referred to simply at this point as ‘a dress’. In general, dresses of any kind were lighter and much sheerer than garments from the eighteenth-century but the general features of the dress were kept the same: made from any selection of fabrics and usually white or light in colour, short sleeves, high waists and long, straight skirts.[15]

From this brief overview of women’s fashion over time, it is evident that notions towards dress and appearance, and how we tend to associate certain styles of fashion to specific groups of people and/or cultures have not changed. Although fashion continues to evolve, the same old fashion trends appear and disappear, then reappear; reinvented or inspiring a consequent fashion movement. There is a romantic sensibility in the way we often tend to return to past fashion trends. It begs the question if there will ever be a completely fresh fashion movement, or will our futile attempts remain the shells of historic innovations in fashion from the past. Nevertheless, as one of few primary resources for contemporary fashion designers, these artworks reveal the true impact of fashion and art as they continue to influence fashion and social cultures in our modern world.

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Footnotes

[1] Ibid. 600.

[2] Laver, "The Concise History of Costume and Fashion: Laver, James, 1899-1975: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming." Internet Archive. January 01, 1969. Accessed July 17, 2020. https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00lave/mode/2up, 64.

[3] Pendergast, Sara, Tom Pendergast, and Sarah Hermsen. Fashion, Costume and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. Vol. 3. Detroit: U.X.L, 2004, 450.

[4] Ibid. 624.

[5] Ibid. 488.

[6] Ibid. 469.

[7] Ibid. 477.

[8] Ibid. 482-483.

[9] Ibid. 521; 525.

[10] Ibid. 523.

[11] Ibid. 570.

[12] Ibid. 570

[13] Hurley, Clare. "French Romantic Painter Eugène Delacroix at the Metropolitan Museum in New York." French Romantic Painter Eugène Delacroix at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. December 20, 2018. Accessed July 22, 2020. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/12/20/dela-d20.html.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Pendergast, Sara, Tom Pendergast, and Sarah Hermsen. Fashion, Costume and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. Vol. 3. Detroit: U.X.L, 2004, 622.

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Bibliography

Hurley, Clare. "French Romantic Painter Eugène Delacroix at the Metropolitan Museum in New York." French Romantic Painter Eugène Delacroix at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. December 20, 2018. Accessed July 22, 2020. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/12/20/dela-d20.html.

Laver, James. "The Concise History of Costume and Fashion: Laver, James, 1899-1975: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming." Internet Archive. January 01, 1969. Accessed July 22, 2020. https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00lave/mode/2up.

Pendergast, Sara, Tom Pendergast, and Sarah Hermsen. Fashion, Costume and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. Vol. 3. Detroit: U.X.L, 2004.

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aprilpillkington · 5 years

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Mehndi is the standard art of henna painting in India and the...

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Mehndi is the standard art of henna painting in India and the Middle East. You might see it composed as mehandi, mehendi, mendhi, henna, al-henna, and a myriad other names and spellings. In current times, United States henna artists have actually come to denote the art with the term “Henna Body Art.” All of these words describe the very same ageless art kind, body painting for festive occasions. However you spell it, mehndi is pronounced meh-hen-di (with a soft, oral d sound like “thee”). I focus on understanding conceptions of henna in India, where it has been utilized since the 12th century. Many historic files detail earlier use; for example, it is the Arabic Muslims who brought henna to India, where it has blossomed into its own distinct art design. In Indian mehndi, a person applies styles generally to a lady’s hands and feet. For especially auspicious celebrations, men apply mehndi as well. The most auspicious occasion necessitating mehndi art work is the Indian wedding, where both bride and bridegroom use henna, along with numerous members of the bridal party. Henna on any occasion signifies fertility. At the wedding, henna artwork additionally symbolizes the love between husband and wife, and the stain’s long-lasting nature signifies the long-lasting nature of their love. Mehndi came into use because of its cooling healing impact in a hot environment, and, in India, it was likewise a way for a couple to be familiar with one another before an arranged marital relationship. A variety of customs underlie the use of mehndi, including wedding games and legends. For example, the groom’s name is normally written somewhere within the bride’s mehndi; if he can not discover his name within the complex design, the bride-to-be is stated to have the control in the marital relationship. Also, a dark mehndi design for both groom and bride represents that the two will have a strong relationship. Within the past couple of years, mehndi has ended up being popularized in the West by musicians and Hollywood characters alike, and is now a quickly increasing trend among females and males in world culture.

Translating the word “henna” actually indicates “to end up being queen.” The Indian name “mehndi” designates the procedure, the dye, and the stain of mehndi. To make the color, henna (mehndi) leaves are dried and finely ground. The powder that results is filtered two or more times through a fine nylon cloth. This process results in removing the coarse fibers from the powder, making what is left finer and much easier to use. The artist then blends this great powder with an oil (such as eucalyptus, nilgiri, or mehndi oil) and other liquids (lemon, water, or tea), making a thick paste. This paste is applied to the user’s hand in various designs, which can range from large, thick patterns to Moroccan geometric patterns to traditional Indian paisleys and lace-like drawings. All relies on the ability of the artist and the style of styles used. An option of lemon juice and sugar is then applied to the drying mehndi to allow it to stay stuck to the skin and to improve the passing away procedure. Mehndi is yet another standard yet exciting pre wedding. In Indian wedding events, a lot of focus is given on customs and rituals and the very same is shown in the Mehndi event prior to marital relationship. Mehendi ceremony has actually become such an essential part of the wedding ceremony that it can not be thought of without it. Furthermore, Mehndi is one of the sixteen accessories of the bride and her appeal is insufficient without it. Mehndi ceremony generally takes place just before marital relationship. According to the routine, the bride does not get out of your house after this event. latest mehndi ceremony is basically arranged by the household of the bride and is generally a personal affair which happens in the presence of good friends, family members and family members. However, the scale of the event depends upon specific choice. Some individuals commemorate it with excellent pomp and show. Mehndi is among the oldest forms of body art conceived by guy. The Hindi and Arabic word Mehendi is originated from a Sanskrit word ‘mendhika’ which referred to the henna plant itself. Recommendation to uses of henna can be traced back to the Bronze ages. In the bible, henna is referred to a Camphire. In and around the Indian subcontinent, henna has actually been utilized as a cosmetic even before Vedic ages. India is thought about as the source from where the body art customs with henna infect different parts of the world like Egypt, Asia Minor and the Middle East. Recommendations of henna throughout the mummification procedure of Pharaohs in addition to anecdotes of the well-known queen Cleopatra using henna to paint her body are widely known in history. Prophet Muhammad is understood to utilize henna paste to color his graying beard and was known to promote use of henna to others too. Use of henna is considered exceptionally auspicious in numerous traditions all over the world, particularly within Hindus, who would consider Mehndi part of the popular 16 adornments or Solah Shringaar. Henna (Botanical name: Lawsonia inermis) is a small shrub-like plant, discovered in tropical climates of Indian sub-continent, Malaysia, Africa, Middle Eastern nations. The leaves and branches produce a red-orange dye known as Lawsone that is responsible for imparting the characteristic color when bound with protein particles of the upper skin layer. The plant is commercially cultivated in Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat and parts of Madhya Pradesh. Traditionally, the Mehndi paste is made from dried powdered henna leaves. The leaves are dried in sun, ground and sieved to obtain a great mossy green powder, which is then integrated with water, lemon juice, drops of eucalyptus oil, and blended till a smooth paste is gotten. The paste is soaked overnight for maximum infusion and after that put inside a plastic cone. Smaller sized cones are preferred as it manages easier application.

The ideas of the cones are cut according to the preferred density of the lines required. The cones are squeezed gently to guarantee smooth, constant flow of Mehndi. Application is usually started from lower arms, gradually moving down the hand, ending in the fingertips. Gone are the days when particular aunties and sis were in need around the neighborhood for their proficiency in Mehndi designs. Now Mehndi event centers around expert Mehendi artist who focuses on the current trends in henna art. Standard Indian designs consist of peacock themes, flower styles, bride/groom reproductions and other components that cover every inch of the hand, forearms, feet and calves. The fingertips are normally covered in thick layers of henna paste. The concept is to decorate the bride’s body in replica of pricey Jewelry. For those who are minimalists, they can choose Arabic designs where the Mehndi concepts are normally applied to one side of the hand and feet and do not extend to lower arms or calves. Floral and paisley themes dominate this design and the styles are generally curvy with lots of focus on vines. Indo-Arabic design of Mehndi fuses these 2 design trends into an elegant, creative genre. Newest trends in bridal henna styles is incorporation of colors in between henna themes, addition of stones and blings, addition of flashes or metal dusts. Geometric patterns and white henna styles are also in vogue today. The henna requires to be continued for a minimum of 4 hours for deep and uniform color. The longer the paste is kept, the deeper will be the color. The color really magnifies depending on one’s body heat, so the henna-painted body parts can be covered in plastic wraps or foils to seal in the body heat. A mixture of lemon juice and sugar should be applied on the styles with a brush or light fabric at 1 hour periods so that the dried Mehndi does not fall off and sits tight making sure much better color. Another method to ensure better color advancement is to dry roast some cloves on a tawa and letting the hands absorb the smoke. The Mehendi must never be gotten rid of by water after it has actually dried and ought to be done by just rubbing the hands together as the dried bits come off easily. The Mehendi Ceremony normally happens the day before the wedding, in the early morning. The bride and the groom’s household observe this routine independently at their own homes. It is generally a females centric event with the men of the household typically not getting involved. The attire preferred for the ceremony are simple, in light colors, nothing too flashy. The venues are decked up with flowers and colorful drapes. The bride-to-be wears a light yellow or light green colored Lehenga or Salwar Kameez with short sleeves ideally and the groom wears Kurta Pajama also in light colors. It is elective for the groom to wear Mehendi, however a bit is used on his hands and feet in simple dots or little designs. The ceremony likewise involves application of oil on the groom’s hair. The henna for the bride’s event needs to show up from the groom’s side together with some other presents like fruits, dry fruits and sweets. Women of the house put together and the Mehndi is either used by among the bride-to-be’s relative or nowadays by professional Mehendi artists. Designs are more elaborate and depending on what the bride-to-be chooses, the henna is applied on the front and back of her palm, lower arm, till above the elbows, and on the feet till below the knee. Senior ladies sing standard Mehendi songs with dholaks and other musical instruments. Ladies family members of the bride also get simple mehndi applied to their hands, although the designs are not as sophisticated as the bridal Mehendi.

The Mehendi ceremony contains within itself a host of conventional beliefs that are handed down the generations. Traditionally, someplace within the intricate bridal Mehendi, the groom’s initial is included. In post marriage ceremonies, the groom needs to look and discover it out. This helps with a nice ice-breaker for the recently wedded couple specifically in case of an organized marital relationship. It is also stated that the darker the color of the Mehendi, the more love the bride will get at her in-laws and particularly from her other half. The durability of the color of Mehendi has special significance also. In older days when set up marital relationships were primary, the bride-to-be maintaining her Mehendi while visiting her parents’ house after the wedding indicated her mom that the in-laws were considerate and caring.

Use of Mehendi in a pre-wedding ritual is not just cosmetic however has deep underlying scientific factors behind it. Henna is understood for its cooling properties and is expected to soothe the bride’s nerves when applied to her hands and feet. Indian wedding events consist of a host of pre and post wedding event rituals that extend the happy event through days before and after the real wedding day. These colorful occasions bring the whole household together, even from far off locations. The immediate and extended families, buddies and neighbors get together to commemorate the union through various reliable routines throughout a span of several days. The Mehendi Ceremony is one such occasion that is an important part of the wedding event events. latest mehndi Event typically refers to application of a henna paste in elaborate detailed designs on the bride’s hands and feet. A profoundly vibrant event, with lots of singing and dance performances involved, the Mehendi event formally begins the wedding festivities in full equipment.

This ritual is not only part of Hindu wedding events in Northern and Eastern India but likewise a part of the wedding rituals among Indian Muslims. The ceremony is observed in nations adjoining India like Pakistan and Nepal, as well as in several Arab countries in the Middle East. Although, the routine was predominantly observed in parts of northern India, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, the pattern has gained appeal all over India. Increasingly more cultures are accepting the idea of Mehendi Event as a pre-wedding routine mainly due to the aesthetics involved. The ceremony has actually become a sign of magnificence, fun and celebrations, and reason for some major pre-wedding girl bonding. Mehndi (or Hina) is the application of henna (Hindustani: हेना- حنا- urdu) as a short-term type of skin decor, most popular in South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Somaliland, along with migrant communities from these locations. It is generally used for events and unique events, particularly weddings. Henna designs are usually made use of the hands and feet, where the color will be darkest since the skin includes greater levels of keratin. The leaves of the henna plant consist of a red-orange color particle, lawsone, which has an affinity for bonding with protein, and has been utilized to color skin, hair, fingernails, leather, silk, and wool. Henna leaves are usually dried and ground into a powder, which is mixed into a paste and applied using a range of strategies. The henna pasted is generally left on the skin for eight hours; after it is removed, the pattern continues to darken for approximately 3 days. The word “henna” originates from the Arabic name Hina for Lawsonia inermis. In the Bible’s Tune of Tunes and Tune of Solomon, henna is referred to as Camphire. In the Indian subcontinent, there are lots of alternative words such as Mehndi in North India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In Arabic-speaking nations in North Africa and the Middle East the Arabic word is “hina.” In Telugu (India, Malaysia, U.S.), it is referred to as “Gorintaaku.” In Tamil (South India, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka) it is called “Marudhaani” and is used as ground fresh leaves rather than as dried powder. It is used in various festivals and celebrations and utilized by ladies and children. It is left on overnight and will last one month or more depending on the plant and how well it was ground and the length of time it is left on. The various words for henna in ancient languages suggest that henna may have had more than one point of origin. It is understood that henna has remained in usage as a cosmetic, along with for its expected healing homes, for a minimum of 5,000 years, but a long history of migration and cultural interaction has actually made it tough to identify with absolute certainty where the custom started. Some scholars claim that the earliest paperworks of henna usage are found in ancient Indian texts and images, indicating that mehndi as an art-form may have come from ancient India. Others declare that the practice of ornamenting the body with henna was taken to India by the Moguls in the twelfth century C.E., centuries after it had been in usage in the Middle East and North Africa. Another theory is that the custom of easy mehndi originated in North Africa and the Middle Eastern nations during ancient times. Henna is likewise understood to have been used in ancient Egypt, to stain the fingers and toes of the Pharaohs prior to mummification. Another possibility is that the similar use of henna for skin decor arose independently and possibly at the same time in these regions.

It is theorized that dots of henna were first applied to the palms of the hands as a means of cooling off the body. Early users of henna started to add lines and other shapes to the single dot on the palm, ultimately developing the fancy styles used today. Henna has actually been used to adorn girls’s bodies as part of social and holiday celebrations because the late Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean. The earliest text pointing out henna in the context of marriage and fertility events comes from the Ugaritic legend of Baal and Anath, which has references to ladies marking themselves with henna in preparation to satisfy their spouses, and Anath adorning herself with henna to celebrate a triumph over the opponents of Baal. Wall paintings excavated at Akrotiri (dating prior to the eruption of Thera in 1680 B.C.E.) show females with markings consistent with henna on their nails, palms and soles, in a tableau consistent with the henna bridal description from Ugarit. Many statuettes of young women dating between 1500 and 500 B.C.E. along the Mediterranean shoreline have actually raised hands with markings consistent with henna. This early connection between young, fertile females and henna seems to be the origin of the Night of the Henna, which is now well known global. The Night of the Henna, an event throughout which henna is applied to the hands and feet of a bride, and often to other members of the wedding party, was commemorated by most groups in the areas where henna grew naturally.

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painfulpresent · 4 years

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World Lines A Quantum Supercomputer Poem (2018)

Introduction

During a site visit to the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook University in October 2017, I spoke with theoretical physicist Giuseppe Mussardo about topological quantum computing, which led to my development of World Lines: A Quantum Supercomputer Poem. The poem uses a theoretical model of a topological quantum computer as its poetic form. While unique in using this model as a poetic form, which makes the poem behave like a quantum system, the poem is not so unlike other poetic forms such as sonnets and sestinas that follow a particular set of rules and pre-determined architectures to produce intended results.

How topological quantum computing works

Nature.com, “Computing with Quantum Knots,” Graham P. Collins, Scientific American 294, 56-63 (2006). doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0406-56. Credit: George Retseck.

The theoretical model of the topological quantum computer that I used for my poem is represented in a diagram, “How Topological Quantum Computing Works,” appearing in a Scientific American article (right) given to me by Mussardo. In the model, pairs of quasiparticles known as “anyons,” which exist in two-dimensional electronic fluids, are created and lined up in rows to represent qubits, the quantum bits in a quantum computer that exist as one, zero, or any quantum superposition of one and zero, where one and zero exist in n-dimensional spacetime. Each qubit in the model has two anyons that are swapped clockwise and counterclockwise in a predetermined order with adjacent anyons, creating a braid. The pairs of the adjacent anyons are measured to produce the output of the computation (Collins, 57-53).

The trajectories in time that the anyons make as they are braided are known as “world lines,” the historical paths that an object traces (Collins 58) in the three dimensions of space and the fourth dimension of time. Theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek, who coined the term, “anyon,” says that world lines are records of relative motion, a memory of an object moving (Wilczek 10). I learned from Mussardo that at each intersection of world lines resulting from the movement of the anyons, a knot can be made from the braiding and by identifying the ends of the world lines. As part of his work as a theoretical physicist, Mussardo creates quantum knots, and he sent me an image of one he developed (below) for my studies.

Quantum knots and quipu knots

To my great interest, during our discussion Mussardo mentioned that the quantum knots in topological quantum computing are thought to be related to the Incan textile known as “quipu,” connected cords and ropes with knots woven into them. The Inca, who did not have a written language, used quipus as a sophisticated system for computation and encryption. I was familiar with quipus through the Chilean and New York-based poet and artist Cecilia Vicuña, who creates iterations of quipus in her performances, art installations, and “quipoems.” Over the years, I had attended some of her performances at Naropa University and elsewhere, where she loosely threads yarns around the audience, figuratively weaving the audience into quipu knots.

Vicuña, in statements on her work, has suggested that quipus were not only used for computation but also as a language for making meaning. In addressing their destruction and banishment during and after the Spanish Conquest, she situates her artistic work with quipus as an act of rebellion “to begin again the process of speaking through the threads” (Vicuña, Quipu Astral). In her poem, “Word & Thread,” Vicuña says that a quipu “is a poem in space, a way to remember” (Ubuweb), which evokes Wilczek’s definition of a world line as a memory of an object moving. In addition to Mussardo’s image of a quantum knot and the Scientific American article with the diagram of the model of the topological quantum computer that I used for my poem, Mussardo sent me an article from Quanta Magazine by Wilczek, who directly discusses the relationship between quantum computing and quipu knots:

Computing with anyons exploits their ability to map their knotted histories into (observable) quantum-mechanical amplitudes. We move anyons around in clever ways and then access the tangled history of their motion. Topological quantum computing is, therefore, a form of computing with knots. As such, it is a modernization of quipu, the Incan technology for computation and encryption. (Wilczek 15)

Eight months after I developed World Lines at the Simons Center, I was on a site visit to the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in the Vicuña, Coquimbo, region of northern Chile to conduct research on the Dark Energy Survey for a different writing project, At the Edge of the Abyss: A Poem for the Dark Energy Survey. After my time on Cerro Tololo, I was in Santiago and saw, for the first time in person, quipus at the Museo Chileano De Arte Precolombino. A few days later, I met with Cecilia Vicuña, who was in Santiago. She said she thought that the large connected quipu (below) I had just seen was the most striking quipu left in the world.

A thought experiment in quantum poetics

If a quipu is a poem in space, and thus a substitution for ordinary language that offers a way to remember, as Vicuña has suggested, it functions like a world line, a record of the path of an object as it moves through space in time. Lines of poetry written on two-dimensional surfaces like paper also can be viewed as world lines that trace the history of letters moving across the page in time, which provide a meaning or perform a literary gesture, a computation.

Just before I created World Lines in my office at the Simons Center, I wondered: What parts of a poem could represent the knots in both quipus and topological quantum computers? Like the woven knots in quipus and the quantum knots in topological quantum computing, poetry is a spatial site—and temporal moment—of complexity in language that both compresses and lengthens the record of the path of the poetic (world) lines traveling through spacetime. Are quantum knots and quipu knots unacknowledged poetic devices where the length and breadth of the spacetime of their constituent parts gathers in a compressed location and moment? In this thought experiment in quantum poetics, my artistic theory and writing praxis, poetry, like science, can braid thoughts in the mind to create a shorthand where meaning is arrived at in a condensed form.

In his book, Physics and Philosophy (1958), Werner Heisenberg, co-founder of quantum theory, references Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe’s verse play, Faust, after articulating the problem that quantum theory does not have a language beyond mathematics to describe it. Heisenberg quotes Mephistopheles, who says that while formal education instructs that logic braces the mind “in Spanish boots so tightly laced,” and even spontaneous acts require a sequential process,

In truth the subtle web of thought Is like the weaver’s fabric wrought: One treadle moves a thousand lines, Swift dart the shuttles to and fro, Unseen the threads together flow, A thousand knots one stroke combines. (171)

Mephistopheles is arguing that nuanced, creative forms of thinking go beyond traditional logic and sequential processes. In creative thinking, the passage claims, the “subtle web of thought” happens when one gesture leads to others that flow together in unseen ways. Mephistopheles, while representing a powerful, malignant, and supernatural figure to whom Faust must sell his soul in order to gain what he desires, is also representative of knowledge and authority and, as a result, acts as a sophisticated advocate of materialism and skepticism, two qualities embedded within the scientific worldview, both then and now.

Heisenberg says that the passage from which this quote by Mephistopheles appears “contains an admirable description of the structure of language and of the narrowness of the simple logical patterns” (171). His comments speak to his interest in broadening what constitutes logic in quantum theory and the inability of ordinary language to describe what happens inside the atom. My own work examines this issue by investigating if poetic language is more capable than ordinary language of describing both subatomic and cosmological scales of matter. World Lines is one experiment testing this principle in quantum poetics.

The passage by Mephistopheles that Heisenberg quotes can be used to describe not only creative thinking but the literary genre of poetry itself. Poetry, as a complex form of creativity, can function as a literary shorthand like “one treadle” moving “a thousand lines,” where a “thousand knots one stroke combines.” One “stroke” of the “treadle,” the loom that weaves the complex thoughts referenced in Faust, can move “thousands of lines” or units of language in a poem where thousands of more “knots” or sites of complexity combine. This ability of poetry to condense language into sites of complexity through literary devices makes poetry a shorthand (Eckhoff 81), where points of complexity converge through the action of the poem.

Shorthand, which lessens the amount of space and time it takes for information to travel, evokes spatio-temporal wormholes, which connect sites in different spacetimes together, creating passage. In previous essays of mine in quantum poetics, I have speculated that a poem itself is a kind of quantum computer or spatio-temporal wormhole made of language that functions as a site of complexity through the action of writing, reading, or speaking. Readers, in this expanded definition of poetry, can be thought of as traveling poems, rather than only reading them, by following their knotted world lines.

The breakthrough

In the model of the topological quantum computer that I used as a poetic form for World Lines, each qubit has two anyons and is represented by two world lines, a green world line and a blue world line. The chalkboard in my office at the Simons Center during my second visit came with different colors of chalk, including blue chalk and green chalk. Seeing the blue and green chalk led me to think about how the world lines used in the diagram of the model were represented in blue and green ink, too, symbolic of the world itself, which is made of so much green and blue in our flora, skies, and seas. It was seeing this connection between the colors in the diagram of the quantum computer and the colors of the chalk at the chalkboard that I realized that I could use the chalkboard as a circuit board to engineer a poem by translating the model of the quantum computer to create four color-coded poetic stanzas. I proceeded to draw the model on the chalkboard and then wrote poetry over each line, which made each stanza a couplet of two qubits that correspond to the blue and green world lines in the model. I had created a world, I mused, one drawn with poetic lines that were also world lines in a theoretical topological quantum computer. What are the physics, and poetics, of this new world?

How World Lines works

My process created four pairs of poetic couplets with eight anyons total in my translation of the four-qubit topological quantum computer. A blue extended line of poetry functions as one world line of the braid, and a green extended line of poetry functions as the other world line of the braid. At the point of intersection where the braiding occurs in my poem—through the action of the quantum knots in the topological quantum computer that evoke quipus—I developed a shared word, shown in white on subsequent images of the poem, that each line of poetry needs in order to more or less syntactically make sense.

In the clockwise swapping of the world lines in my poem, the bottom anyon in the anyon pair is placed over the world line that is forged by the top anyon in the anyon pair. In the counterclockwise swapping of the world lines in the poem, the top anyon in the anyon pair is placed over the world line that is forged by the bottom anyon in the anyon pair. By connecting the world lines in the poem to perform its computation, the shared words highlight the way that a qubit can exist as a one, a zero, or any quantum superposition of one and zero, unlike a digital bit that can exist only as one or zero. The shared word at each intersection also demonstrates how a poem itself might function as a qubit; each shared word can be a word for the green world line, a word for the blue world line, and a word for both world lines in a quantum superposition of the green world line and the blue world line, suggesting that the shared word is a site of complexity in the poem like the woven knots in quipus and the quantum knots in theoretical topological quantum computers.

One outcome of the poem is that there are many possible poems inside the poem that can be thought of as existing in a quantum superposition. Since the reader can decide which world line to follow, and thus which version of the poem to read, the act of reading the poem performs a quantum measurement and, in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory, collapses the wave function of the lines being read as that version of the poem comes into existence. Like a quantum computer or quipu, it is through the poem’s knots, the shared words, that the poem’s meaning is computed by a reader. Wright, in her article, explains further:

In her poem, Amy Catanzano replaces the weaving anyons with four poetic couplets, which crisscross over one another. Where two lines intersect, they share a word, a literary device…Catanzano used to evoke an anyon knot. These textual knots are like forks in the reader’s path. The text can be read linearly—following each line of text sequentially—or the reader can jump from one line to another when they encounter a textual knot. Different paths through the poem create unique word-braids and lead to different “calculations,” just as in a topological quantum computer. “World Lines: A Quantum Supercomputer Poem” translates the quantum theory behind a topological quantum computer in both its word choices and its visual structure….(Physics)

Tristan Greene, in his article, “Artist explains quantum theory through poetry,” discusses the different paths the reading can take in the poem:

The poem contains four poetic couplets that twist and intersect. Specific words lie at the center of more than one sentence, forcing the reader to choose which words to read next. Because of this, the poem can be read several different ways without losing its message. Think of it like Schr[ö]dinger’s poem: Until you read it, it’s several different poems at once….In quantum computing a qubit—like a computer bit, but quantum—can exist in more than one state at a time. It’s only when a qubit is observed that the universe reveals the mystery of its position (and even then, scientists disagree on whether such a measurement is a ground-truth or not). Amy Catanzano’s work invites the reader to make the ultimate decision. Is the word you’re reading part of one sentence, or another? Once you decide, as the universe does when a qubit is observed, the poem exists as you’ve chosen to read it. Perform another measurement, meaning read it again, and you have the opportunity to change the nature of the poem. (The Next Web)

Rather than attempting to describe how quantum physics works with ordinary language in ordinary forms like expository prose, which is how science is most often communicated to broad audiences, World Lines can be thought of as a quantum system by enacting principles in quantum theory. But the poem doesn’t just perform principles in physics. It also performs principles in poetic thinking. In one of many possible versions of the poem that appears below, the poem explores how a poem like itself can be woven by the mind into an indefinite quantum-quipu knot that computes information, which turns the mind contending with such a poem into both a poem and quantum computer, or, as I put it in the poem’s subtitle, “a quantum supercomputer poem.”

Conclusion and next steps

Creating World Lines allowed me to develop a site of interaction between poetry, physics, and computing through poetic methodologies, involving serious play and associative logic as well as rational thinking, involving scholarly studies of theoretical physics and computing. If the poem does indeed function as a quantum system, is a new mechanics needed that takes into account theory and experiment in both quantum physics and literary artworks such as poetry? What form would this mechanics take?

While it took me just an afternoon to draw the theoretical model of the topological quantum computer and write lines of poetry over it once I had the idea to do so, it was a six-month creative and scholarly process to get there, one that began with my site visit to the Simons Center, where I talked with Mussardo, as well as my preceding site visit to CERN, where I talked with Álvarez-Gaumé. My visits to the Simons Center not only gave me opportunities to talk with scientists in the field as well as precious time to think and write, they provided an enriched setting, one in which I felt inspired to create. My activities during my first visit, for example, included attending presentations by Mussardo, who gave a lecture on a special kind of zero, and artist Lisa Park, who talked about her installation art involving the human heartbeat. During my second visit to the Simons Center, I attended presentations by philosopher Robert Crease, who discussed the role of beauty in scientific experiments, and theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Kip Thorne, who discussed the discovery of gravitational waves.

While phase 1 of World Lines is complete, I am writing other quantum supercomputer poems in Phase 2. For phase 3, I am taking steps to work with scientists to bring World Lines into a 3D environment and art installation. In August 2019, during my second site visit to CERN, I spoke once again with Joao Pequenão, head of the MediaLab at CERN and a multimedia storyteller, about my goal. He suggested the possibilities of using gaming technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual reality software to bring the poem into a 3D environment. I imagine an environment through which the reader moves, writing the poem as they walk.

#poem #physics

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tripsterguru · 5 years

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What to see in Kaliningrad in 1 day: 20 most interesting places

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What to see in Kaliningrad in 1 day: 20 most interesting places

Kaliningrad, the most western city in Russia, attracts travelers with its special atmosphere. What to see in Kaliningrad in 1 day, we will show you the 20 most interesting places. Former Königsberg until 1945 was the capital of East Prussia. As a result of the dedicated work of Soviet citizens, the city literally rose from the ashes. Despite the numerous destruction after the Second World War, a considerable number of architectural monuments have been preserved here. Tourists will always be interested in deciding what to see in Kaliningrad in 1 day. Unique cathedrals, fortifications, museum complexes with unique expositions, spacious green parks deserve attention. A variety of attractions symbolize the richness of the cultural heritage of this historical and geographical area.

Brandenburg Gate

One of the many architectural monuments testifying to the German-Prussian past is the Brandenburg Gate. They gained their present appearance in the middle of the 19th century. King of Prussia Frederick II ordered the construction of new brick gates instead of a dilapidated wooden structure, which would serve as reliable protection of the city from the south. The grandiose structure attracts tourists with its Gothic architecture. The gate consists of two canvases, the width of which provides travel for only one car. Traffic on Bagration Street passes through them.

The construction is decorated with two serrated gables, decorative turrets, coats of arms, medallions, bas-reliefs and ornaments of light sandstone in the form of stone flowers. The massive brick walls feature arched windows and oak doors. Inside the gate is an unusual museum of marzipan. The hall exhibits items made from sugar treats.

Church of the Holy Family

A masterpiece of the Gothic architecture of Kaliningrad is the Holy Family Church. This is a former Catholic church located in the middle of a Soviet-era residential block. At present, a concert hall of the regional philharmonic society is equipped in it. The majestic building was erected from red brick at the beginning of the 20th century.

The construction is famous for its tower, which rises several tens of meters. The facade of the historical structure, crowned with a pitched roof, is decorated with decorative details with bright impregnations of white elements, high lancet windows and vertical rods. The rigor of cubic forms is given by numerous stepped pediments.

Octagonal columns prevail in the interior of the church. Among the exquisite arcades under the vaulted ceiling is an organ. Along the perimeter of the room installed lighting devices and plasma screens. Organ concerts, jazz festivals, chamber concerts and romance evenings are regularly held here.

Friedland Gate

Tourists should pay attention to the Friedland Gate, which in the mid-19th century served as part of the urban defense system. The facade of the Neo-Gothic structure, divided by five buttresses, is decorated with sculptures, towers, carved patterns and rhombic ornaments. Massive brick walls end with rows of teeth. The through holes of the gate are made in the form of lancet arches.

For lovers of historical artifacts, a museum is organized in the fortification. On the premises you can see various household items of the townspeople: dishes, clothes, toys, books, coins, stamps, pharmaceutical containers and many other valuable exhibits. Of interest is the hall dedicated to the Medieval period. It exhibits armor, weapons, flags and coats of arms of knightly orders. Visitors are offered the opportunity to take a virtual walk through the old quarters of pre-war Koenigsberg.

Fish Village

Along the picturesque embankment of the Pregol River, there is a small trading, ethnographic and artisan quarter – Fish Village. The newly formed in 2006 architectural ensemble imitates the historical buildings of Koenigsberg. Modern architects managed to recreate the special original atmosphere of the ancient city. Here are hotels and restaurants, souvenir shops and various shops, galleries and museums, a river station and a lighthouse.

Hundreds of years ago, fishermen lived on a neat German street, who sold their catch directly to the townspeople. Tourists will be interested in taking a walk along the well-groomed promenade, looking at beautiful half-timbered buildings and a large number of sculptural compositions. The facades of buildings with wooden balconies are crowned with a red tiled roof. The structure of the Fish Village includes a movable Jubilee Bridge, in the fence of which the newlyweds hang their “locks of love”. The embankment is equipped with slopes to the berths for pleasure boats.

View Tower Lighthouse

In the heart of the Fish Village stands the Lighthouse View Tower. The height of the structure reaches 30 meters. Travelers are advised to climb the observation deck of the tower, which offers amazing panoramic views of the natural landscapes and attractions of the city. To do this, it is necessary to overcome the 133 steps of a spiral staircase.

On the way to the top of the lighthouse, guests will be greeted by a cozy restaurant and gift shop. Of interest is the hall with old artifacts discovered during the construction of the Fish Village. The highlight of the exhibition is a collection of weapons of the XIX-XX centuries, household items and clothing of citizens of the XVI century. The survey open platform of the lighthouse is fenced with a figured lattice.

From a bird’s eye view you can see the whole of Kaliningrad: multi-story buildings, a river bay and architectural monuments. In addition to the opening beautiful panoramas of the city, it is worth paying attention to the sculpture of a seagull, which holds an egg grated to shine. The legend says that if you rub it and make a cherished desire, it will certainly come true.

Cathedral

The hallmark of the capital of the amber region of Russia is the Cathedral, standing on the island of Kant, surrounded by sprawling green spaces of the park complex. The oldest architectural monument of the former Königsberg is of historical and artistic value. The first written mention of the cathedral dates back to the 14th century. Over its rich history, the building has been rebuilt and restored several times.

During World War II, the cathedral was severely damaged by the bombing of British aircraft. The interiors of the temple burned to the ground. The iconic shrine has turned into ruins. Extensive reconstruction work was carried out from 1994 to 2005. Currently, the building is used as a multifunctional cultural center. The cathedral regularly hosts concerts of classical organ music. The majestic three-nave basilica is built in the Gothic style of red brick. The main facade is divided by numerous lancet openings of various shapes.

Some windows feature exquisite stone lace. The building is crowned with a clock tower and a high gable roof. The interior is striking in its splendor. In the main bright and airy hall, a vaulted ceiling stands out, resting on massive white columns. Of interest are picturesque stained-glass windows with illustrations of biblical subjects and large chandeliers with gilding. A special place is occupied by the organ complex, decorated with sculptures with exquisite wood carvings.

Tomb of Immanuel Kant

A small memorial adjoins the northeast wall of the Cathedral. It is an open gallery with a stone colonnade surrounding the cenotaph (grave without burial). This is a symbolic massive sarcophagus of dark granite. Deep underground lies the remains of the outstanding thinker of the XVIII century – Immanuel Kant.

The world famous philosopher was born in Koenigsberg. He made an indisputable contribution to the development of modern philosophical science. The works of the German thinker, devoted to the fundamental issues of life, had a huge impact on the minds of Europeans. The memorial structure was built on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of I. Kant on the site of a dilapidated chapel.

Holy Cross Cathedral

Holy Cross Cathedral is an active Orthodox church located on October Island. The first stone of the historical church, which originally belonged to the Lutheran community, was laid in the 30s of the XX century. The cult structure survived during the bombing of Koenigsberg during the Second World War. In 1989, the former church passed under the patronage of the Russian Orthodox Church. Holy Cross Cathedral attracts tourists with its characteristic appearance.

The three-nave building has a plan in the form of an equilateral cross. Above the western facade towers two bell towers connected by a covered gallery. The external lining of the monumental walls is made of decorative bricks of various degrees of firing. The main architectural element of the temple is a huge niche-portal, the surface of which is decorated with panels with a large cross. The interior is designed in accordance with the Orthodox canons. Of interest is the unique amber iconostasis.

Museum of the World Ocean

It is impossible to imagine a program of exploring the sights without visiting the museum center dedicated to the study of the wealth of the oceans. A whole complex of objects is located on the promenade of Peter the Great. This is the territory of the former port, where in the restored old warehouse facilities and new pavilions there are many exhibitions with a variety of exhibits.

At the quay berth moored vessels that have served their term in the country’s Navy. Everyone has the opportunity to inspect the sides and interior of the ships. Some exhibits of the museum fund are exposed in the open air: installations of a water molecule, ship’s guns, boats, torpedoes, anchors and many other objects.

The main building of the museum houses aquariums with marine inhabitants, amazing collections of corals, mollusks and shells, as well as models of ships and underwater bathyscaphes. Ancient maps, instruments and diving equipment allow you to plunge into the mysterious world of the ocean depths.

Submarine B-413

Guests of the large-scale complex of the Museum of the World Ocean are offered a unique opportunity to visit the diesel-electric submarine B-413, which is moored at the pier of the Pregol River embankment. The submarine was launched in 1968. As part of the Northern and Baltic Fleet, she made more than ten military expeditions, took part in a number of naval exercises. Submarine belonged to the pre-atomic period of development of the Russian Navy.

Since 2000, the B-413 has been a museum exhibit and has received numerous visitors who want to feel themselves as part of the crew of a combat submarine. Going down the ramp, tourists will see mechanisms, appliances, living compartments, torpedo compartments and rooms with equipment. It will be interesting to examine the command cabin, crew cabins, first-aid post, galley and latrine.

Historical and Cultural Center “Ship Resurrection”

Among visitors to the Museum of the World Ocean, the historical and cultural center – “Ship Sunday” is especially popular. The exhibits, which tell about the development of shipbuilding in Russia, occupy the restored premises of the Friedrichsburg Gate. This is a monument of fortification architecture of the XIX century. The gate consists of one arched portal, on the sides of which round towers and casemates are attached. Massive walls end with a toothed parapet.

In the exhibition halls you can see a collection of different models of ships: from kizhanka and dugout boats to frigates and battleships. It will be interesting to get acquainted with ancient navigation devices, such as a wind meter, grad stock, manual lot, Davis quadrant. Behind glass racks are stored cards, orders, banners, flags and numerous rigging elements. Part of the exposition is dedicated to the role of Peter the Great in the formation of the Russian Navy. In the reconstructed office of the great emperor is a cabinet filled with rare artifacts.

Victory Park

Victory Park in Kaliningrad is a peaceful, picturesque place without entertainment facilities and attractions. The ennobled territory with a pond and spreading trees was founded in 2000. Guests and locals come here to relax in silence, take a walk along the well-groomed winding paths and honor the memory of Soviet soldiers-liberators.

A monumental ensemble dedicated to 1,200 Red Army guards who died during the assault on Koenigsberg in April 1945 was installed in the park. The dominant feature of the memorial complex is the high obelisk, at the foot of which the Eternal Flame is lit. The Wall of Glory deserves special attention. It is erected from monolithic reinforced concrete and faced with slabs of red granite.

The names of each fallen hero who took part in the East Prussian operation are carved on them. Near the central square of the park is the “Monument to Border Guards of All Generations”. It is a sculpture consisting of two obelisks in the form of border pillars. On both sides of the monument there are bas-reliefs with inscriptions.

Rosgarten Gate

The center is surrounded by gates, which tourists can familiarize themselves with during a sightseeing tour of the westernmost city of Russia. One of the historical objects of cultural heritage of federal significance are Rosgarten Gate. They were part of the Konigsberg defensive fortification system. The gothic structure of red brick has a rather uncharacteristic appearance for the fortification. In the design of the facade used arcade gallery, giving the gate a certain airiness and elegance.

The elevated central arch, four meters wide, is surrounded by octagonal towers with mounted loopholes. Three casemates are attached to both sides of the main opening. From the side of the city they have windows, and from the outside – embrasures. The surface of the walls ends with a crown of teeth. Today in the Rosgarten Gate there is a restaurant “Sun Stone”.

Amber Museum

On the banks of the Upper Pond stands a massive fortification round tower 12 meters high. Its diameter is 34 meters. This fortress, representing historical and architectural value, houses a unique museum complex. The pride of the Kaliningrad region – amber – is displayed here for all to see. More than 90% of the world’s reserves of this mineral are concentrated in the region. The collection consists of more than 14,000 exhibits, the exposition of which occupies three tower buildings.

The exhibition acquaints visitors with amazing samples of amber of various sizes and shades. In the halls there is a considerable amount of jewelry, products and objects made of “sun stone”. These are figurines, paintings, beads, bowls, masks, watches, boats, caskets and many other masterpieces, the variety of which is amazing. The most interesting part of the exposition consists of stones with frozen particles of animals and plants. The museum has a selection of exhibits that will tell about the history and development of amber processing.

Cathedral of Christ the Savior

On the central Victory Square rises the main cathedral of Kaliningrad – the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Its consecration and final erection took place in 2006. This is the first shrine of the city, which was built according to the canons of Orthodox architecture. Before her, churches were opened in structures that previously belonged to other religious faiths.

A symmetrical octagonal building in the plan rises upward by 69 meters. External snow-white walls end with kokoshniks zakomaras. The cathedral is crowned with six helmet-shaped domes mounted on massive drums. At the church service, parishioners invite 13 bells. A wide three-flight staircase leads to the entrance portal. Lasting impressions produce the interiors of the cathedral. Walls and arches are colorfully painted with biblical subjects. The inner columns are made of a rare breed of red-brown marble with white veins.

Zoo

Tourists are advised to devote part of their precious time to visiting the Kaliningrad Zoo. One of the oldest menageries in Russia occupies 16.5 hectares of picturesque territory. Here you can see more than 3,000 individuals. For animals, excellent conditions are created that are most appropriate for their natural habitat.

This is favored by open-air cages and spacious pavilions with rainforests, ponds, rocks, trees, sands and green meadows. The zoo has an aquarium and a terrarium. Walking along cozy well-groomed alleys full of plantations and observing animals makes it possible to have a good time and relax from the bustle of the city.

Visitors will see various representatives of the fauna: tigers, giraffes, hippos, tapirs, bears, primates, ostriches, crocodiles, lizards, turtles, snakes, exotic birds and many other animals. The symbol of the zoo is the Ceylon elephant, born in 1970. The most valuable specimens of the menagerie include the mighty brown bear, the Amur tiger and the Bornean orangutan.

Central park

The Central City Park is popular among guests and residents. Its total area is 47 hectares. It provides entertainment for every taste and age. The picturesque oasis invites its visitors to take a leisurely stroll along the shady alleys, go in for sports, ride the rides and have a good time. Festivals and sporting events are regularly held on the open summer venue. For concerts and creative evenings, a roomy amphitheater is equipped.

The territory is replete with green spaces, conifers and outlandish plants. Well-groomed paths are laid everywhere. A stream flows through the forest park. Ferris wheel, slides, carousels, trampolines, shooting galleries, a children’s room, a pool with boats and other attractions guarantee a charge of positive emotions. Visitors have at their disposal cozy cafes where you can have a tasty snack.

Guests will meet a considerable number of sculptural compositions and art objects. The monument, actor, singer and poet V. Vysotsky deserves special attention. In the park you can see several architectural monuments. This is a decorative half-gondola, the hunting house of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Queen Louise memory church.

Youth Park

On the shores of Lake Superior is a wonderful green corner, where ideal conditions for an active and relaxing holiday are created. This is a comfortable and well-maintained park complex “Youth”, where green walking areas are adjacent to all kinds of attractions. A picturesque natural picture is created by well-groomed alleys with flowering plants and sprawling trees, spacious meadows and the water surface of the pond. On an area of 7 hectares you can find a Ferris wheel, a rope town, labyrinths, carousels, shooting galleries, a pool with water balls, go-karts, pavilions for mini-cars and many other amusement rides. An indoor ice rink is open during the winter season. In summer, vacationers can ride a catamaran.

A business card is an upturned house. Its visitors will have the opportunity to walk on the ceiling and see the interiors from a different angle. The central place in the park is occupied by a cultural and educational institution. The building, erected in the style of Russian classicism, externally resembles a noble estate of the XIX century.

I. Kant Botanical Garden

A pleasant experience will be left by visiting the I. Kant Botanical Garden. This is one of the most beautiful places in the city where you can enjoy the beauty of wildlife and relax surrounded by exotic plants. The garden collection is located in open space and in indoor greenhouses. More than 2500 species of plants of all climatic zones of the globe grow here. Tourists will have the opportunity to see rare shrubs, herbs and flowers.

The wide paths laid out from paving slabs are laid through alleys with coniferous and deciduous trees. A walk under the arch twined with vine will be a pleasure. The garden has a wide variety of flowers. The marvelous beauty of tropical and thermophilic plants that are grown in greenhouses and greenhouses attracts attention.

Max Ashmann Park

At the beginning of the 20th century, the owner of the wine house Max Ashmann bequeathed to his native Königsberg his estate with an oak grove and ponds. The entrepreneur donated 100 thousand marks to the city treasury for the arrangement of a public green corner. The park named after M. Ashmann was opened in 1910. Its borders were steadily expanding and in 1938 the area of the territory was 70 hectares.

Majestic trees, lakes, beaches for swimming, sports fields, well-groomed paths, sledges for horseback riding, paths for horseback riding – all around had a pleasant cultural holiday. Willows, oaks, maples, beeches, poplars, hornbeams and ash trees grew here. Sculptural compositions flaunted along the boardwalk.

After World War II, the park was significantly damaged and was virtually abandoned. Pitted with funnels from shells, it turned into a landfill of household waste. The disruption of the drainage system connecting the ponds of the park with the Upper Lake, led to the flooding of many valuable tree species. To date, landscaping is being carried out in the park area.

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63824peace · 5 years

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Thursday, 17th of november 2005

I see a lot of news and gossip articles about the Hills these days. A lot of Information Technology venture corporations occupy the Hills, such as Livedoor, Rakuten, and Cybird.

Younger celebrity entrepreneurs and businessmen began calling this place "the Hills" after they brought all the success to this area. If I remember correctly, though, there was some disagreement a couple of years ago when they completed and opened Roppongi Hills. The faction headed by the Mori Building had pushed the name Roppon-jin.

Roppon-jin isn't particularly cool, but I'm not excited about "the Hills" either.

Anyhow, I don't like the impression of the Hills given by the mass media. They say: "Everyone drives a luxury imported car! They live in high-class apartments! They wear hot, brand-name accessories! They stuff themselves at top notch restaurants!"

The press's excessive competition for more sensational stories resulted in a misconceived stereotype about the Hills. KojiPro's offices sit in the middle of Roppongi Hills. We look like the stereotype too if you go by the gossip's claims.

HIDEOBLOG readers understand that we don't fit the mold of the "celebrity entrepreneurs of the Hills." We're more like Nippon's salary-men. We catch the train during morning rush hour; we love eating from a fast food menu; and we kick back with a drink after a hard day's work.

I don't like the name "Information Technology industries." Whenever people hear the name they think, "Oh, they don't really do anything," or "They never create any new information."

Innovative pioneers flourished during the twentieth century, and I understand that their time has passed in the twenty-first century. Still, I want to create for a living. That's why I deliberately call our industry the "Entertainment Technology industry."

I'm not a Hills celebrity. I'm a workingman at the Hills, along with my HIDEOBLOG. I suppose that my dreams bear similarities with notorious, celebrity aspirations though.

I went to the restaurant Umaya in Nishi Azabu for the first time in a long while. I had the chef's daily special, Shabu-shabu.

I don't like raw eggs very much, but I took one anyway so I could record it in HIDEOBLOG. I've never eaten one of Umaya's free sample raw eggs before. This sort of thing has happened more frequently since I started HIDEOBLOG. Thanks to HIDEOBLOG, I've been able to enjoy foods that I never enjoyed before.

I borrowed Miyuki Nakajima's album Tensei and listened to it. As usual, it rocks!

I like the eighth track, Inochi-no-relay. Its lyrics coincide perfectly with the MGS saga's theme: "What should we pass on to future generations?"

We have finally settled on the location for December's ultimate OOOO Training. I'm glad that we found a place in time. We had initially planned to hold it at Nasu's Training Institute. Wild monkeys and bears roam the area in December though, so they wouldn't let us. There would have been too much snow this time of year anyway.

Toyopy and Colonel had looked for good location, but they couldn't find anything. They made slow progress. I'm really glad that we found our place, even moreso because it's 150,000 square meters large. That's three times the size of an 18-hole golf course.

It sounds awesome. I'm looking forward to training. I'll need to take care and not get lost though, since the site is so large.

Shin-chan and Toyopy just returned with their newly purchased equipment. They went to the ever-helpful Phantom Higashi Kurume Shop. They looked pretty proud of themselves; they had gotten some rare, hard-to-find shirts.

Toyopy's explanation was too technical for me to follow, so I can't describe it here. I'll let Toyopy explain it directly:

1: Multicam Combat Shirt.

I just bought what I could find this time, since the exact size that I ordered hasn't arrived yet. Crye Associates collaborated with the U.S. Army to develop this shirt. It has what we call a Multicam Combat Camouflage Pattern.

It isn't officially used by any army, but it's still really popular. It's an all-in-one camouflage pattern designed to work in desert, jungle, and urban environments. The pattern is pretty complex, and it uses a lot of colors. They engineered the pattern specifically for its multifunction use, so you won't find many designs like it among common fatigues.

The sleeves and the collar bear similarities to normal fatigues, but they made the torso from state-of-the-art fibers that quickly absorb and dry sweat. (It has this feature in case we wear body armor over the Multicam Combat Shirt.) The elbows are well-padded too.

2: Oakley Factory Pilot Gloves.

Even Mr. Zakiyama down at the Phantom recommended these. Oakley makes sunglasses and outdoor supplies, and these are a pair of their motorcycle gloves. They're made out of carbon and Kevlar.

These have become really hot among military equipment enthusiasts, ever since everyone saw footage of special-ops units wearing them. Lots of soldiers these days use high-quality outdoor and sports supplies sold directly to the public.

3: Converse Stealth Assault Boots.

Converse developed these assault boots. The company is most famous for their line of basketball shoes.

These boots use a side-zipper. They're perfect for me, really, since I love boots even though I hate to lace them. The ankle and toe segments are quite soft, so they feel more like a pair of sneakers rather than boots.

U.S. East coast military surplus shops frequented by Navy SEALS carry them.

So that's the word from Toyopy.

I liked the Converse Assault Boots too, so I ordered a black pair. I'll wear them with the camouflage pants I got at Estnation.

The writer Mr. Gakuto Mikumo came to my office in the early evening. We ate supper together in Nishi Azabu at the restaurant Sabakuro. Mr. Ryogo Narita (a light novelist and one of Mr. Mikumo's gaming buddies) also joined us. We shared three delightful hours.

About five years ago I read the book M. G. H. Rakuen-no-kyozo. It had won the first Japanese Sci-Fi Rookie of the Year Award.

The story opens with the discovery of a smashed up corpse inside a zero-gravity space station. Why is a crushed corpse in a zero-gravity environment? How was the crime committed? Where is the murderer?

It's a sci-fi mystery thriller set inside a closed space station in the near future. The novel was the perfect marriage of Isaac Asimov's novel The Caves of Steel and James Patrick Hogan's novel Inherit the Stars.

The novel interested me, and I got excited. I became curious about Mr. Mikumo.

That was my first experience reading one of his novels. I read Kaitei-misshitu right away after that, followed by a novel adaptation of The Rumblefish.

I have a habit (well, a selfishness, really) of wanting to meet writers whose work I admire. So I used a connection to set up several interviews and dinner meetings, but plans always fell through because of tough schedules. I invited him to contribute an article for a booklet included with the limited edition of Anubis, and even then I didn't have a chance to meet him personally.

After five years, I finally met Mr. Mikumo in person and had a chance to talk with him. He really is a good person. No one who dreams of outer space is bad.

I felt the alcohol hitting me a bit, so I decided to head over to my little hideout in Nishi Azabu. I met up with Okamura and Kenichiro without heading back to the office.

My hideout's usual bartender speaks the Kansai dialect. I had wanted to listen to his speech and ease my thoughts a bit. Unfortunately, he had to tend bar in an affiliated pub tonight, so I couldn't see him.

Stores opened their doors to Beaujolais Nouveau today.

I heard that only the Japanese become so excited over a release party for wine. I wanted to drink some of the wine before the day ended.

Tomorrow the wine will flow in the Beaujolais Nouveau's home country, France. I should have bought some when I ran across it at noon.

According to the news, Japan has imported the largest amount of wine this year than at any other time in history.

I had missed out on the Beaujolais, so I drank a couple of sidecars to make up for it.

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lermanguidetololitatranslat-blog · 7 years

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Introduction

So what is EGL, exactly, and Lolita, more broadly? (the grammar is such a big issue with this fella)

Mana is, for the most part, a gothic lolita. A large section of his clothing line, Moi Même Moitié, is devoted to the gothic lolita style, while the other bit is "elegant gothic aristocrat" (i think). (Great way to start, they don’t even introduce the style properly, not even explain Mana’s long history wit lolita fashion and they don’t have any idea about the brand) A perfect example of the style would be his costume (coord) with the floofy little skirt from the live concert DVD "Bara ni Idorareta Akui to Higeki no Makuake". It's been around for quite some time according to my advisor, but I don't believe it's gotten much attention until recently. (giving opinions into a informative article without knowing shit about the subject matter is okay? no) There are more lolitas than ever now, and I can't help but think it had something to do with Mana. In fact there is now a randomly (four times a year is not randomly) published four-volume magazine called the Gothic & Lolita Bible (I'll be calling it "The Glub") (GLUB) devoted entirely to gothic lolita-ism, that always has a large section dedicated to him and his clothing brand. (lolitaism: the philosophycal movement fonded by mana-sama in which in order to be superior you must have all the burando) It also features drawings by Mihara Mitsukazu* and has recently begun to use other Jrock celebrities to promote the different brands of clothing. Some of the most notable are Kana, Dada, Miyavi, and the Pink Psycho. If you're interested, it's about $16.00 or so at www.fujisan.com.

I guess it's a little hard to define a lolita, (this entire section should have been first). since there is such a wide variety of styles and extremes (you know, the far left and far right are present in the lolita fashion) in the clothing. They range from punk to dolly dresses and everything in between, including punky dolly dresses (this exact phrase made me open a bottle of Rum). Originally, Lolita was the name of a young girl in a book by Vladimir Nabokov . The book is about an older man who falls in love with her, and this is where the term "lolita complex" came from (Rorikon in Japanese). (this is a very akward way to try to distinguish the lolicon from lolita fashion, it feels like the writter tried to just include all the stuff they knew while they were thinking about it.) A lolita complex is used to refer to and older person who has an interest in children. The Japanese took the concept and, as they do with seemingly everything, related it to anime and manga. The lolita (loli, not lolita, even in the old school times they tried to separate the two concepts by calling the sexual lolicon and the fashion gosurori), a cute, innocent, very well endowed little shojou that usually wears skimpy clothes or schoolgirl salior suits, was named for this. In gothic lolita terms it means frills, lace, ribbons, knee undershoes, and poofy skirts in pastel and flowered cloth. (i think they just mixed all the styles alltogether. Pastel colors are from sweet, flower patterns are mostly classic, this is not a old-school vs modern thing even.) Rather than "lolita" in the original sense, its definition is closer to a western princess/french doll look. It really does look a lot like something you might find a porcelain doll wearing. (well, porcelain dolls are usually collected from some decades or centuries ago. If you have ever had some kind of doll you have noticed that people usually dress the dolls with clothing that mimics the fashion of the time, same goes with old french dolls. Lolitas clothes are not doll-like, they have past times inspiration. I know this is a nitpick but i also want to inform people a bit) Being such, it doesn't mean that anyone who likes the lolita style is a pervert. Mana is very careful to inform people that he doesn't have a rorikon. (oh boy, don’t even get started into ddlg and sissies here please) Recently, according to a Hanumaru Cafe special, it's become popular to be either an angel or a demon gothic lolita. As far as I can tell, it just depends on whether the lolita wants to wear black or white. (unrelated anecdote for the win) For more information, see the guid up top.

The gothic part of the lolita goth is, well, gothic (no shit Sherlock). Vampires, black, heavy make-up, middle age European clothes, whatever else a goth is. (The writer does not only have an idea who mana is or lolita is... they don’t even know what gothic is, wow) The two styles combine in different ways. You can get complete doll dresses and then find something gothic at a different store, or something with punkish shredded cloth and bondage undertones. (you guys know how some not-so-short time ago i commented about opening a bottle of Rum? Yes? This two phrases decreased my IQ to the half i had remaining after the drink. I don’t know how this person looked at this and said: “this is totally alright, i absolutely know what the fuck i am talking about. ) Sometimes they're blatantly bondage, I suppose. They also seem to like silly hats and parasols, and were probably into humongous platform shoes until the government banned them because people couldn't drive well in them and were getting into car accidents. (wait what?) Or something like that. Now some of the more bold loli's may carry a doll around. But, as you can see, each brand has its own unique style. Or use to. It is my opinion that they've all been meshing together and there really isn't much variation in any of it; they've been conforming. The prices are outrageous by american standards, and still slightly high by Japanese standards. Maybe $150-$450 for a dress, $125 for a skirt.. ( except that the second hand market and the handmade comm have been a thing since long time ago, handmade being practically the origin of the fashion) Anyhow, back to the glub. I suppose I would consider it a sort of bible, although I've only been to Japan twice so I don't know much about what else is out there. (Welp, there is gosurori, kera and zipper) The interesting thing about it is that it not only provides clothing guides and celebrity interviews, but also a long list of "gothic" products (oh, you mean like almost all the magazines?). They like puppets, angels, and vampires a lot. They're also really into Tim Burton and Edward Gorey*, who they call Edward Golly in the typical Japanese fashion*. I'll add a section on him later since I firmly believe that everyone should at least read "The Dwindling Party" before they expire ^^. That aside, there is always a poem or article of some sort somewhere in the magazine to introduce the whole ideology behind the magazine and clothes. Yup, there's an actual ideology behind it. Surprised, ne? (Holy mother goose, i really do regret to joke that lolitaism was a movement based on a brand hierarchy. This person must think that lolita has its own political party or something like that. What do they promise? That AP will start to do dresses that are wearable to people with human anatomy? or that VW or Excentric will come back from the dead?) I don't know if everyone really follows it though. Last time they had a street shot of a lolita who probably had no idea what Jrock was; she liked Ayumi for goodness sake. She was probably wearing the dress because it was "kawaii" (cute), a word that the silly shojou pop-culture followers seem to idolize, but which is only fine when used in moderation. Truthfully, they are cute ^^ but you have to be prepared when you first see one or it's a little creepy. (Judging people from the street snaps from their tastes and also mixing weeb culture with japanese vocabulary is now a thing)

They refer to the style as "youfuku", or western clothes. But they're really not, since very few westerners ever wear anything like that, and if they do they've gotten it from Japan. (I did a quick google search and found that the therm is used for whatever garment that doesn’t follow the japanese traditional clothing line; things like jeans, blouses, jackets.. all of them enter in the category. So, yeah, this is wrong) The Japanese tend to blame wierd things on the west, even if they're almost completely unrelated. (unrelated to the subject) The words they've borrowed from English are interesting because they show the same thing.

Welp guys, this is all for this text. Just gotta say that this persons writting is atrocious even for me (being english my third language. I hope some of you survived to the experience or didn`t give up into psychoactive substances.

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Stay classy

#lolita #lolita fashion #commentary #lolita fashion 101 #gothic lolita #egl #ega #egl community #lolita humor #mana-sama

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post-post colonial

cant remember if i posted this when i did it.... and if i did, here it is again haha my post post-colonial essay

Joshua Thompson

Post Post-colonial

Artifact I like and think is good.

Air Max One

The Nike Air Max One is a sneaker designed and released in 1987 by legendary sneaker designer, Tinker Hatfield. On a trip to paris, Hatfield was inspired by the Centre Georges Pompidou (Longville & Hatfield, 2006). A building which is cutting edge in it's own right. Hatfield liked the idea that you could see the inner workings of the buildings structure, from the outside(Longville & Hatfield, 2006). This inspired him to incorporate the window in the sole of the air max one, letting you see the inner workings of the signature air sole. This is a feature that would continue on and become one of Nikes' greatest and most recognizable design features even to this day. Hatfield says

Every shoe I design has to have a story behind it, that's what everybody falls for – be it the history of the shoe, the cultural relevance, or the technology, whether that's being excited about the latest technology of the latest design like flywire or reminiscing about the technology of the Air Max for example(The guardian, 2014).

The Narrative of this sneaker though, could not have been predicted by Hatfield. What made this shoe revolutionary and ahead of it's time was that because of the make of the panels, and it's already radical yet simple design, Nike could afford to continuously re-colour the Air Max and introduce new iterations of it constantly(The Guardian, 2014). This combined with it's hefty price tag, made the sneaker somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, especially in the Hip-hop community(Complex, 2015). This is Illustrated by numerous rappers making reference to the Air Max in songs, such as the Game threatening to “kill you if you try me for my Air Max 95s” in his song Hate it or Love it. Also due to its high price tag and cult status in the hip-hop community, the shoe became a target for crime. In the UK, the Air Max 95 has long held some criminal associations. The Air Max's' large price tag affords it a certain status, and its footprint has been commonly spotted at crime scenes. According to a forensic science report from the mid-2000s, the 95 was trailing second in “typical pattern frequency distribution for footwear marks from a UK police force” at just 8% to the 10% of Marshall Mathers’ favorite sneaker, the Air Max LTD(Complex 2015).

The sneaker also has a huge following in Japan, making appearances in numerous manga and anime series after the Japanese appetite for dead stock, second hand sneakers which have not been worn, grew dramatically in response the re-release of the Air Max(Complex, 2015).

These things show evidence of the globalized nature of fashion and design today, in which slippage and appropriation occurs and new meaning is ascribed to and artifact.The fact that this sneaker remains one of the most popular sneakers among youth today, despite being a 30 year old design, and that the high resale price of the sneakers is driven solely by the quality and design of the shoe, as opposed to just limited supply (which is how other shoes on this list garner their high prices), is why I the Air Max is one of favourite pieces of design.

Artifact I don't like and think is good.

Nike Air Mag

The Air Mag was also designed by Tinker Hatfield. This sneaker was designed for the film Back to the future Part II. Hatfield designed the sneaker for the movies release in 1989, in which Marty McFly time travels to the year 2015 where, among other things, he encounters these shoes. They were Hatfield's attempt at predicting a shoe that would be helpful and functional for people of that time. These shoes are a great piece of design because of the sheer influence they have had on almost every nike release since then, and also some other brands (complex, 2015).

One of the most intriguing aspects of the nike mag, is that for twenty six years, they were merely a design. They were not released to the public, or even made (apart from the pairs used for filming) until 2011 when they released a sort of look alike version, and then the full release of the adaptive lacing full version in 2015 (complex, 2015). This was for a number of reasons, the most notable is because the technology simply could not be fit into a shoes the that size, as the design of it is meant to fit snugly around the wearers foot (highsnobiety, 2015), an idea which at the time was un heard of but is now evident on most popular designs today such as Nikes' huaraches, and Adidas' NMD and ultra boost lines.

The Air Mag also pioneered the technology which would become Hyperwire. Nikes technology which would revolutionize performance basketball shoes from 2008 onwards (complex, 2015).

It was also a huge contributor to the design of Kanye Wests Nike Yeezy line, lending its extremely high over the ankle design and the use of a lycra or synthetic inner sole. The shoe spanned only two models, but became somewhat of a cult icon due to it's limited stock releases.

Despite the critical and commercial success of these shoes, I do not think that they are good sneakers. This is partly because in the film, they are advertised as being mass produced, and everyone was wearing them, however when they were released, they were only done so at auction, with a very limited run, meaning that prices went into the thousands of dollars immediately, and although the proceeds went towards Michael J. Fox' Parkinson's research foundation, it made it almost impossible for people to afford. The cultural impact of the Nike air mag is undeniable, but the design of the shoes is clunky and although it spawned a number of game changing technologies, it feels somewhat un-authentic, and the value of the sneaker is almost fetishized by the nostalgia they evoke.

Artifact I don't like and don't think is good.

Adidas Yeezy Boost 750

Kanye West leave Nike and join Adidas after the release of the Yeezy 2, citing that Nike would not allow him as much creative freedom as he was looking for. For my opinion, this was a good call by Nike as I feel that the Yeezy Boost lines are lazily designed and only enjoy the status that they do among the sneaker community due to the brand he has created and his insistence on releasing only very limited numbers of shoes at a time, forcing people to wait in lines outside sneaker stores for sometimes days on end. This principle of lazy design is evident in all of Kanye's' design, evidenced by a plain white T-shirt he released in collaboration with APC, which retailed and sold out, for $120 USD (okay player, 2013).

Kanye west raps about racism and the exploitation of black people in many of his songs, such as Breathe in breathe out and Spaceship, then actively markets extremely expensive products to those people, knowing full well that his brand and star power will create demand among people who often can't afford these shoes. Sneaker production costs are notoriously low, across the board, in comparison to their recommended retail price, with the Yeezy boost 750 being no exception. The shoes costs around $76 USD to make and retails for $350 USD, however (Highsnobiety, 2016), the dead stock resale value of the 750s' can exceed $1500 USD.

Another factor which sets these apart from other sneakers that can sometimes garner similar price increases, is that others such as Air Jordan Retros and Air Max sneakers, all have functional origins. The sneakers are designed to be use full and have a practical application, Whereas the Yeezy 750s' do not. They are made specifically for fashion, and are despite attempts by some nbaplayers, are not suitable for playing sports in, I can attest to this as I was gifted a pair and they promptly ripped and I hurt my ankles.

These Shoes are a prime example of ascribed value and The difficulties of existing in an hybrid space as an artist or designer. It is an example of the oppressed becoming the oppressor and the oppressed no longer being fully able to see themselves without the gaze of the colonizer.

Artifact that I like but suspect might not be good

Air Jordan 1

The original Air Jordan 1 is one of the most legendary sneakers in the world. Released in 1985 for $65 USD, they were designed for and worn by Michael Jordan for his rookie season. They were ground breaking in that they were the first shoe to be worn in the NBA featuring more than one colour. This at the time, broke NBA commissioner David Sterns strict uniform policy and he fined Jordan $5000 USD per game every time he wore them “Nike loved this idea so much that they encouraged MJ to wear the shoes, and Nike would pay the fees. In result, Nike gave the the Air Jordan 1 “The shoe banned by the NBA” label” (sneakerfiles).

This gave the Air Jordan 1 a cult following and it became the most popular sneaker of the decade (sneaker files), and forced David Stern to change his Uniform policy. The shoe also spawned many impersonators, including the Converse weapon and the Reebok Pump. However, The Air Jordan itself was in impersonator. It was modeled after the Air Force 1, released in 1982. This shoes has a very similar design, and employs the same technology but was discontinued in 1984, and seemingly released under a different name as the Air Jordan the next year (complex, 2012).

The fact that it is basically the same shoe with a different name, and today an almost $100 NZD price difference, Is why I think that they it may not be a great sneaker. They are merely a product of Nikes great marketing. Also, while there is apparent similarities between the Air Jordan sneakers chronologically, this doesn't apply to the Air Jordan 1. The Air Jordan 2 is a completely different sneaker. The Air Force 1 went on to become the highest selling athletic shoe of all time (complex, 2012), and the Air Jordan 1 is one of the least frequently released of the Air Jordon retro collection.

Despite this, the cult status of the shoe, and its' classic red, black and white colour way, are one of my favourite sneakers of all time, as are the Air Force one. They have their own mythology about them, and this narrative is the main selling point, despite the design of the sneaker itself being quite unoriginal.

Reference List

Complex (2015, September 11), 20 things you didn't know about the air max 95, retrieved from

http://au.complex.com/sneakers/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-nike-air-max-95/

Complex (2012), 30 things you didn't know about the air force 1, Retrieved from http://au.complex.com/sneakers/2012/12/30-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-nike-air- force-1/original-was-discontinued

Complex (2015, October 24), The visible influence of the nike mag on sneakers in 2015, retrieved from http://au.complex.com/sneakers/2015/10/nike-air-mag-modern-sneaker-influence

Highsnobiety (2015) Fiction to fact : Tinker Hatfield explains how adaptive lacing was made for the nike mag. Retrieved from http://www.highsnobiety.com/2016/10/06/nike-mag-adaptive-l acing-tinker-hatfield-video/

Highsnobiety (2016), Sneaker production costs, Retrieved from http://www.highsnobiety.com/2016/05/27/sneaker-production-costs/

Nice Kicks (2015) Nike air mag, retrieved from http://www.nicekicks.com/tag/nike-air-mag/

Okay player (2013) Not Okay, Player: Kanye West's $120 Plain White "Hiphop" T-Shirt Sells Out Instantly. Retrieved from http://www.okayplayer.com/news/style-kanye-west-apc-120-plain- white-hiphop-t-shirt-sells-out.html

Sneaker freaker (n.d.), Air max 1, retrieved from https://www.sneakerfreaker.com/tag/air-max-1/

Sole Collector (2015, May 24), How to Buy the 'Chicago' Air Jordan 1 on Nikestore

Retrieved from https://solecollector.com/news/2015/05/air-jordan-1-chicago

Thibaut de Longeville, Tinker Hatfield (2006, September 6), Respect the architects, Retrieved from

https://vimeo.com/38994002

The Guardian (2013, December 14), Nike's iconic air max trainer celebrates 25th anniversary with Tinker Hatfield. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/dec/14/nike-air- max-trainer-25-anniversary-tinker-hatfield

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