From Rapunzel To Betty Boop

style a distinctive quality, form, or type of something
antithesis the direct opposite

The story of Rapunzel in Grimm's Fairy Tales is complicated; however, when her name is mentioned one characteristic comes to mind: her long hair. A handsome prince is involved. Rapunzel, imprisoned in a tall tower, would lower her beautiful long, blond braids to enable her lover to climb up to her lofty cell. It is not known when Rapunzel might have sported her long tresses since fairy tales are timeless and universal. What is known is that for centuries women have had long hair. In the early twentieth century the era of long hair for women was suddenly cut short, in more ways than one.

The antithesis to Rapunzel was a cute little flapperish cartoon character of the Twenties, named Betty Boop - she of Boop-Boop-a-Doop fame in cinema, along with News of the Day and the feature film. Her short black hair was (and probably still is, since cartoons have long, long, lives) arranged in

spit curls spiral curls that are plastered on the forehead, temples and cheeks

And what has this to do with the Arts? Hairstyles are designs and Design itself is Art.

What is your favorite hairstyle? Do you consult a style magazine or a cosmetologist before deciding how to wear your hair? Is there a particular hairstyle you dislike? If you had a choice between long hair and short hair, which would you choose?

Anonymous said

That is the long and the short of it.

Fun With Philosophers

philosophy is both the seeking of wisdom and the wisdom sought
conjecture a conclusion deduced by surmise or guesswork

Odysseuse brings you this with tongue in cheek.

There is no such event as a quiet gathering of philosophers. They are a noisy bunch because they have unlimited subjects and viewpoints to discuss. Since they have such an enormous range of interests, our generic philosophers will be divided here into two groups, but with one subject: the meaning of life.

Group A believes it knows the meaning of life and Group B is still searching for it. Their meeting takes place in a large room divided by a folding screen. Group A are on one side of the divider and Group B on the other. This separation of groups is necessary because neither group respects or accepts the other's views. Group B feels the members of Group A are arrogant know-it-alls, and Group A looks down on the know-nothing Group Bs. It doesn't stop there.

Within Group A there are as many disparate answers to the riddle of life - each loudly proclaimed - as there are philosophers attending. Inside Group B the same problems prevail, except that their arguments are about the search for life's meaning and how best to conduct it.

Both groups have great differences of opinions and beliefs as there are in all branches of philosophy. Near the conclusion of the meeting, the divider will open and all parties will exchange words and views, and leave with satisfaction at having fulfilled the philosophers' aim of having their voices heard, their viewpoints aired, and feel better for having had the joy of conjecture.

At some other time the generic philosophers will be replaced here by the name brand philosophers, and some of the amusing, astounding, and even enlightening words and ideas that have arisen from this serious discipline, philosophy, will be forthcoming.

Do you find philosophy difficult to understand? Have you found anything of value for yourself in it? Do you like a good argument?

Aristotle said

The actuality of thought is life.

Hot Weather Friends

Summer 2005 is bringing us some of the hottest temperatures ever endured for such an extended time. When the airconditioners and fans are whirring 24/7, and it's too much trouble to think of going to the library or to the bookstore, a visit with old friends on the bookshelf is in order. There are some books worth rereading or with whom it would be good to get acquainted. These are some of the books and friends pulled off the shelf and brought to your attention.

Caledonia Wingate and Angela Benbow, both in their eighties, together with their friend, Detective Lieutenant Martinez, solve a series of crimes associated with their retirement home near San Diego. Author Corinne Holt Sawyer includes humorous episodes and a bit of romance as well as mystery.

Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane represent some of the best in English murder mysteries, plus an unusual romantic attachment. Dorothy L. Sayers brings to life English aristocracy coping with murders in the English countryside as well as in academia.

John Dortmunder, our devious American hero, keeps us laughing: a comical crook solving the unsolvable believably. Any Dortmunder novel by Donald E. Westlake will make you laugh loud enough to drown out the airconditioners.

The English writer, Joyce Porter, has Scotland Yard saddled with the most obnoxious detective found in fiction: Detective Chief Inspector Dover. His Sergeant MacGregor is Dover's long-suffering assistant. How anything gets solved by the dandruff-ridden, obese Dover is a mystery in itself and is due only to the clever imagination of the author.

P. G. Wodehouse, an Englishman living and writing in America about English aristocrats, provides us with Bertie Wooster, his valet Jeeves, and the Blandings Castle novels featuring Lord Emsworth and his prize-winning sow Empress of Blandings. It is Americanized English humor at its most entertaining.

Back to New York City and the novels by Rex Stout, featuring the obese Nero Wolfe who supplies the brainpower to solve the mysteries while his assistant, Archie Goodwin, does the legwork. Orchids and gourmet meals are thrown into the mix.

Peter Shandy is a professor at Balaclava Agricultural College who indadvertently finds himself solving mysteries and meeting the love of his life as a consequence of a murder on campus. Charlotte Maccleod takes us into the academic setting with humor. If ever there was a Utopian college, Balaclava is it.

For peaceful reading, no serious crimes committed, visit Jan Karon's books about the town of Mitford. She gives us many endearing characters, both human and animal. Perfection perfectly plotted.

Three young friends who grow older by one year in each novel are appealing because they interact exactly as we know youngsters do in real life. J. K. Rowling has given us Harry Potter, Ron Weasely, and Hermione Granger and has written them into a magical setting of suspense, adventure, and reward.

These are just a few of the many characters and books some of whom may become your friends. In any case, all of them are well-plotted and provide a cool escape.

Can you add to these examples? Do you reread the funny parts even if you don't reread the whole book? Will you reread a book even if you know how it turns out? Why?

The Rarest Gift

rare marked by unusual quality, merit, or appeal
kaleidoscope a variegated changing pattern or scene

There are many occasions on which gifts are exchanged, expected, or simply given: birthdays, weddings, certain holidays, and other life events. The memories of these form a kaleidoscope of colored paper and ribbons, sparkles and glitter, bright floral tributes, and cheerful balloons.

The rarest gift comes quietly and often does not immediately identify itself. It is not until later that its value is recognized: that old vase thrown out by Aunt M. and rescued from the trash turns out to be an antique.

Another would be a recording of musical selections taped from 78s, LPs, and other miscellaneous sources - a rare and meaningful compilation given by a person well aware of its historical value.

And then there are the offhand presents freely given as a result of moving to smaller quarters or a change in lifestyle, finding no room for them and passing them on to others.

These kinds of rarities are never wrapped as gifts nor are they designated as such. Strangely enough, these ad hoc gifts are often remembered longest.

Is there such an item in your house? Have you ever received something from a person unaware of having given it? Is there something in your house that reminds you of a person or friend, long gone but the gift remains?

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote

I am in the habit of looking not so much to the nature of the gift as to the spirit in which it is offered.