In the Labyrinth

Acts of Disorder: Summer in Milwaukee

 
I understand what the Sheriff's office is trying to do here with this sign -- to tone down the increasing violence that has plagued Milwaukee's lakefront during the past five years or so. But dude...really...I just found the sign hilarious instead of admonishing. Maybe if they had said "Disorderly Conduct Prohibited" -- at least that is a measurable legal term. But the big bold letters "ACTS OF DISORDER" (go ahead...define that any way you think appropriate or perhaps inappropriate) and then in smaller letters "prohibited" leaves one wondering if they really mean it. This seems to be my summer for signs (see "ELF- RAGE" below) so I think I shall be keeping my eyes open and my camera ready.

Night Blooms

 
So here are two photographs -- the one above taken in the late afternoon of the very fat buds of my cereus cactus and the second one below taken about 3AM when they opened. (It was pitch dark and only the flash of my camera fully illuminated them.) I made myself get up at that hour because I knew they would bloom that night and I wanted to make sure that I had a chance to see the spectacle. And it was fabulous! Twelve blossoms, each as big as my hand. By mid-morning the following day, they had closed and by late afternoon they had begun to wither. Fortunately, there is a another round just getting going so I hope to see more of these beauties throughout the summer.

Of Beastly Brides and Author Interviews

It's a good time to celebrate the new Y.A. anthology The Beastly Bride: Tales of Animal People, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. These short stories explore the relationships -- sometimes fractious, challenging, humorous, dangerous, and loving that occur between human spouses and their shape-changing partners. The stories and poems are based for the most part on traditional tales of animal transformations -- the swan maidens, mermaids, monkey girls, and werewolves, but given a contemporary interpretation by a diverse group of authors -- from outstanding fantasy authors like Peter Beagle, Tanith Lee and Jane Yolen, to edgier authors like Lucius Shepard and Jeffery Ford, and newcomers like Jeannine Hall Gailey. (yeah...and me.) And let me not forget to mention the killer art by Charles Vess scattered throughout the anthology (and on the cover.)

And happily, Charles Tan over at SFSignal has been running interviews with the authors discussing their tales (oh dear.. there's an opportunity for a truly awful pun there, but I will let it drop)  and all of them have been pretty interesting. Here are the names so far: E. Catherine Tobler, Gregory Frost, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Christopher Barzak, Delia Sherman, Marly Youmans, Jeffery Ford, Jane Yolen, Terra  Gearhart-Serna, and Hiromi Goto.

I also mined the Endicott Studio's Journal of Mythic Arts article archives for our past offerings on this subjects and was pleasantly surprised how often it came up. So here's a few things that might be worth a second glance: Deer Woman and the Living Myth of Dreamtime, by Carolyn Dunn, Fox Wives and Other Dangerous Women and A Fox Woman Tale of Korea by Heinz Insu Fenkl, Married to Magic: Animal Brides and Bridegrooms, by Terri Windling, and my own two essays, The Monkey Girl and The Swan Maiden's Feathered Robe. 

Art: Fox Wife by Kuniyoshi and Melusine by Julius Hubner

The Cereus Turns On Its Night Lights

 

 

We came home from a trip last night to discover the cereus cactus in the backyard has begun its blooming. (The 2 photos above were taken about 9pm). These are huge, white, and incandescent flowers that open at night and close around noon the following day (The photo below was taken about 6am). I have two already -- but the draped stalks show evidence of many, many more to come. I already in awe...rapture will follow over the next month of watching these starlight flowers open.

A Sign the World Needs a New Bordertown Anthology

 

No not that bordertown...the one between the Realm and the Human World. It is exciting to note that the forthcoming Bordertown anthology, edited by Ellen Kushner and Holly Black, has just about finished accepting stories from a stellar collection of next generation authors that includes Tim Pratt, Catherynne Valente, Cory Doctorow, and Chris Barzak. Of course the old guard is there too, represented by former B'towners Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, and Charles DeLint. The editors have also offered new items -- poetry and song lyrics. (Can the CD be far behind?) It's great to see this terrific shared world anthology getting a new life and a new interpretation. Working title is Welcome to Bordertown and start looking for it Summer of 2011.

Unhappy Hipsters: The Architectural Elite Get Depressed

"If there was one thing Montessori schooling taught her it was to trust her absorbent mind." (photo Dwell)

So my brother is an architect and for many, many years we have teased him about his slavish attention to details (I still don't know what a cornice is...) and impeccable good taste. But let's face it, being perfectly appointed is a burden -- a burden understood by the hilariously wry (I know a bit of a contradiction) folks over at Unhappy Hipsters (subtitled "It's lonely in the Modern World"). Here you will find stylized photos of perfect settings inhabited by nervous people, accessories that potentially confuse or terrify, states of anxiety in serene settings. Each photo comes with a caption that together creates an illustrated existential flash-fiction novel. Go and visit.

"It was hard work, artfully arranging each ironic, overpriced accessory. At times, she doubted her dedication to the cause; that’s where the artisanal tequila came into play." (photo by The Selby) 

Crowns of May

 
May is a beautiful month in the desert because so many cactus begin blooming in earnest -- some all over, on the tips of flat green pads, some with big single flowers almost the size of the cactus -- and others in lovely crowns of blossoms. While the saguaro are preparing to bloom later this month (huge waxy white flowers that virtually everything with wings drinks from, collects pollen from, and later nibbles at the fruit) the smaller cacti are putting out their showy may-day crowns now. These are a few from my garden.

And here is a last one -- really, the whole trail was full of these "hedgehog" cacti exploding in vibrant colors or purple and brilliant orange.