Latest Posts by aslanay-vonholle - Page 2

In the film “Ever After” the character of the “Grand Dame”  at the beginning is said to be Marie Therese Charlotte, Duchesse d’Angouleme, daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

She says that:

“ My great-great-grandmother’s portrait hung in the university up until the Revolution.”

While I am WELL AWARE the movie is obviously a work of fiction, I felt like pointing out that Prince Henry is supposed to be Henry II, who married Catherine de Medici, who was not one of her great, great grandmothers.

(Catherine was still related to her though, since she and Henry’s daughter, Claude, was Marie Therese’s great X5 grandmother. Twice over. Royalty had a shallow gene-pool guys. Therese was also descended from Catherine/Henry’s eldest daughter, Elisabeth too, who was her great X7 grandmother. It’s highly likely there are other lines of descent too *see my previous comment about shallow gene-pools*, but these were the most direct.)

Here are portraits of the women who were actually the Duchesse d’Angouleme’s Great, Great Grandmothers:

Marie Adelaide of Savoy, Dauphine of France

Catherine Opalińska, Queen of Poland

Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Queen of Poland

Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Holy Roman Empress

Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Poland

Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, Duchesse d’Orleans

Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress

Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen,  Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg

                                   Atelier de Lesfressange (Series XIII)

1. Francisco Goya “Maria Luisa, Queen of Spain, On Horseback”, 1799 

2. Charles Edouard Boutibonne - Empress Eugénie (1857)

3. Portrait of HM Queen Victoria dated1845–1846, by Sir Francis Grant 

4. Portrait of Empress Elisabeth of Austria by by Carl Piloty and Franz Adam 

5. Madame de Pompadour (“Portrait of a young Amazon” by Giacomo Ceruti)

6. Algérie - Peintre Français  Émile-Jean-Horace Vernet  (1789 - 1863) 

7. Marie Antoinette on a Prancing Horse by Alfred de Dreux

8. In Dublin Bay by Heywood Hardy

9. Idonia in Morocco - The Equestrian Lady by John Lavery

10. Elizabeth Cahrlotte d'Orleans,Duchesse de Lorraine by Jean-Baptiste Martin,c.1710-15

Strategy List (Part I)

For those that have zero knowledge of strategy, this is where I recommend starting.

Continua a leggere

Alphabet

Cultural Dark Academia

After my last post about the lack of representation in academia, I felt it neccessary to provide some examples of what I’m talking about. Obviously there are more countries in the world than I can list and provide books for, so for a quick list this is what I got. !! Keep researching !! If you have any more books by POC please reply them !! If a country isn’t listed, that doesn’t mean it’s not important, this is just what I could get together real quick. If I made any mistakes, please let me know, we’re all learning. We need to help each other end eurocentrism in academia, so value representation and educate yourselves 💓💓💓

Chinese:

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Dream of the Red Chamber

The Water Margin

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

The Journey to the West

The Scholars

The Peony Pavilion

Border Town by Congwen Shen

Half of Man is Woman by Zhang Xianliang

To Live by Yu Hua

Ten Years of Madness by agent Jicai

The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan River by Xiao Hong

Japanese:

A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oë

Pakistani:

Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid

Ghulam Bagh by Mirza Athar Baig

Masterpieces of Urdu Nazm by K. C. Kanda

Irani/Persian:

Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji

Savushun by Simin Daneshvar

Anything by Rumi

The Book of Kings by Ferdowsi

The Rubiyat by Omar Khayyam

Shahnameh (translation by Dick Davis)

Afghan:

Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Indian:

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Aithihyamala, Garland of Legends by Kottarathil Sankunni

The Gameworld Trilogy by Samir Basu

Filipino:

Twice Blessed by Ninotchka Rosca

The Last Time I Saw Mother by Arlene J. Chai

Brazilian:

Night at the Tavern by Álvares de Azevedo

The Seven by André Vianco

Don Casmurro by Machado de Assis

Colombian:

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Delirio by Laura Restrepo

¡Que viva la música! by Andrés Caicedo

The Sound of Things Falling by Jim Gabriel Vásquez

Mexican:

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolf Anaya

Adonis Garcia/El Vampiro de la Colonia Roma by Luis Zapata

El Complot Mongol by Rafael Bernal

Egyptian:

The Cairo Trilogy by Nahuib Mahfouz

The Book of the Dead

Nigerian:

Rosewater by Tade Thompson

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Malian:

The Epic of Sundiata

Senegalese:

Poetry of Senghor

Native American:

The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King

Starlight by Richard Wagamese

Almanac of the Dead by L. Silko

Fools Crow by James Welch

Australian Aborigine:

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe

First Footprints by Scott Cane

My Place by Sally Morgan

American//Modern:

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Internment by Samir’s Ahmed

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurtson

Rivers of London Series by Ben Aaronovitch

And like all lovers and sad people, I am a poet.

Detail of Shirin, Queen of the Sassanian Empire, bathing. The hooves of the horse of King Khosrow can be seen at the top right. From the Kashmir Manuscript, 1791.

Shirin was the wife of Khosrow II, the shahanshah, or King of Kings, of the Sassanian (Persian) Empire. Her exact cultural/ethnic origins are debated; some sources say she was Roman (at her time that was the Byzantine Empire who considered themselves Roman) and others say she was Aramean, a non-Persian from the areas of Assyria and Babylonia.

What is known is that she was a Christian and Khosrow was Zoroastrian and that such a relationship was considered forbidden. Through all the turmoil in their lives, Shirin and Khosrow remained together. During that time she was able to gain support for the Christian minority in the empire.

Her and Khosrow’s lives and romance are retold, with fictional elements, in the Persian epic poem Shahnameh, the romance Khosrow and Shirin by the famed poet Nizami Ganjavi, and even in One Thousand and One Nights. 

~Hasmonean

@mistergandalf asked top five historical women

Fashion icons in 1960′s film

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffanys (1960) 

Jean Seberg as Patricia in Breatless (1960)

Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1963)

Natalie Wood as Helen in Sex in the Single Girl (1964)

Anna Karina as Marianne in Pierrot Le Fou (1965)

Sharon Tate, Patty Duke, and Barabara Parkins as Jennifer, Neeley, and Anne in Valley of the Dolls (1967)

Jane Fonda as Corie in Barefoot in the Park (1967)

Faye Dunaway as Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Catherine Deneuve in Belle De Jour (1967)

Jane Birkin as Penelope in La Piscine (1969)

What would you recommend to someone who is just starting to watch horror movies?

Oh hell, yeah!! I love giving recs and I LOVE when people start getting interested in horror. I’ll give you recs in a few different categories so that you don’t watch anything you wouldn’t enjoy:

Early Horror Movies (Most Are Black and White, 1900′s-1950′s):

Nosferatu (1922) (silent film)

Cat People (1942)

Freaks (1932)

White Zombie (1932)

The Man who Laughs (1928)

M (1931)

Rear Window (1954)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) (silent film)

Metropolis (1927) (silent film)

Frankenstein (1931)

The Wolf Man (1941)

Dracula (1931)

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Dead of Night (1945)

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Personal Favorites From the 1960′s (Suspenseful):

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Psycho (1960)

The Birds (1963)

Must-Sees of the 70′s (The Beginning of the Golden Era):

Carrie (1976)

The Exorcist (1973)

Suspiria (1977)

Jaws (1975)

The Omen (1976)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Alien (1979)

Halloween (1978)

1980′s Cult Classics (The decade of good special-effects make up):

Re-Animator (1985)

The Shining (1980)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

The Evil Dead (1981)

The Thing (1982)

Hellraiser (1987)

Children of the Corn (1984)

Friday the 13th (1980)

The Lost Boys (1987)

Silver Bullet (1985)

Poltergeist (1982)

Horror-Comedies:

What We do in the Shadows (2014)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Deathgasm (2015)

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010)

Zombieland (2009)

The Trouble With Harry (1955)

The Killer Condom (1996)

Dead Alive (1992)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Idle Hands (1999)

Dead Snow (2009)

Eight-Legged Freaks (2002)

American Psycho (2000)

The Faculty (1998)

Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Slither (2006)

Best of 2000′s-now:

The Loved Ones (2009)

Battle Royale (2000)

Trick R Treat (2007)

American Mary (2012)

The Babadook (2014)

Let the Right One in (2008)

Ginger Snaps (2000)

Martyrs (2008) (very gory, New French Extremity film)

The Hole (2001)

The Eyes of My Mother (2016)

Funny Games (2007)

The Descent (2005)

Excision (2012)

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

Inside (2007) (very gory, New French Extremity film)

High Tension (2003) (very gory, New French Extremity film)

Other Favorites (AKA 90′s horror):

La Ceremonie (1995)

Scream (1996)

Nightbreed (1990)

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

The Sixth Sense (1999)

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Audition (1999)

Classic Novels Turned Movies You Need To Watch

A Hello you guys! Here’s a list of Classic Novels Turned Movies I’ve read and watched and I thought of sharing them with you. If you have any suggestions you can always drop a message on my dm’s. Here goes;

Anna Karenina (2012) // Leo Tolstoy

Atonement (2007) // Ian McEwan

Emma (1996) // Jane Austen

Frankenstein (1931) // Mary Shelley

Great Expectations (2012) // Charles Dickens

Jane Eyre (2011) // Charlote Brontë

Les Miserables (2012) // Victor Hugo

Little Women (1994) // Louisa M. Alcott

Lolita (1997) // Vladimir Nabokov

Lord Of The Flies (1990) // William Golding

Macbeth (2015) // William Shakespeare

Madame Bovary (2014) // Gustave Flaubert

Of Mice And Men (1992) // John Steinbeck

Persuasion (2007) // Jane Austen

Pride And Prejudice (2005) // Jane Austen

Romeo And Juliet (2013) // William Shakespeare

Tess Of The D’Urbervilles (1979) // Thomas Hardy

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1993) // Mark Twain

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) // Alexandre Dumas

The Grapes Of Wrath (1940) // John Steinbeck

The Great Gatsby (2013) // F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Phantom Of The Opera (2004) // Gaston Leroux

The Picture of Dorian Gray (2017) // Oscar Wilde

The Scarlet Letter (1995) // Nathaniel Hawthorne

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) // Harper Lee

Vanity Fair (2004) // William Makepeace Thackery

Wuthering Heights (2009) // Emily Brontë

                                          Mysteries of Life (Tea)

1. Tea by George Dunlop Leslie

2. The Serving Girl, Emil Brack

3. “Tea Time” (Henry Salem Hubbell, 1909) 

4. Eva Gonzales (1849-1883) - “Le Thé”

5. Charles Bittinger Afternoon Tea (1912)

6. At The Fireplace “ Delphin Enjolras“

7. Henry Salem Hubbell (1870 – 1949) “Ladies Having Tea”

8. Portrait of a Woman in a Turkish Costume by Jean Baptiste Van Loo

9. Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta- “Portrait of a Lady”

10. James Francis Day (American, 1863-1942) - Afternoon tea

Arielle Dombasle

Illustrations by John R. Neill for DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD IN OZ (1908).

Pride and Prejudice (but with ducks, trust me it’s better)

Grab your popcorn guys this is gonna be long, I decided to sum up the whole parody of Pride and Prejudice that was published this year in italian Topolino

here we go,

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Art: Stefano Turconi

Texts: Teresa Radice

(aka best duo in comic history)

We start with Jane Austen herself (her duck self to be precise) telling to her friend about her new book with the aforementioned title!

Then we meet our protagonists!

The wonderful family Pennet, living in suburban England, with Jane (Paperetta / Dickie Duck) and Elizabeth (Daisy) being the eldest daughters

The family usually hangs out at their neighbour’s, Fethry Bingpap’s lavish parties, with Bingpap and Jane developping mutual feelings

At the party we also meet Bingpap’s sister Amelia (Magica De Spell) and

Donald Ducky!

(yes, Donald keeps that look on his face until the very end)

The contrast between the two friends’ characters is very evident

And here we have Duckcy’s and Elizabeth’s first moment! (boy, everything happens at that party)

Continua a leggere

Disney pls

Mathilde Kschessinska (31 Aug 1872 – 6 Deb 1971)

Mistress of: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, among others. Tenure: 1890 - 1894. Royal Bastards: None (Disputed). Fall From Power: The tsar got married.

Mathilda-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinskaya, later Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya, was a ballerina of Polish origins and the mistress of the future Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. She was born into a family of performers and made her debut in a pas de deux during a graduation performance in the spring of 1890, attended by the imperial family, including Emperor Alexander III and his heir Nicholas. She was a “small, vivacious” girl of seventeen with a “supple body, full bosom … dark curls and merry eyes” who immediately piqued the interest of the tsarevich, which Mathilde noticed. After that chance encounter, Mathilde made sure to put herself in Nicholas’ line of sight as frequently as possible, strolling past the Anitchkov Palace where Nicholas and his sister Xenia often stood at the balcony watching passers-by. By summer, she was conveniently selected to join a group that danced for offers at Krasnoe Selo, where Nicholas was on duty with the Guards. He came to watch her every day but it did not go beyond flirtations until late October, when they were finally able to be alone.

Both Nicholas and Mathilde kept detailed diaries, which record their growing affection for one another; Nicholas admitted that he “liked her very much” and that he was “under her spell” while Mathilde wrote that “he had such beautiful eyes, I’m just going crazy.” Nicholas began to give her gifts of bouquets of flowers and jewelry, including a gold bracelet with diamonds and a large sapphire, at her rehearsals. Mathilde made sure to wear stunning dresses when she expected a visit, in the hopes that he would remark upon their beauty (he usually did). The relationship continued until Nicholas’ betrothal to Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt; he made no secret in his interest in the princess and the hope that they would one day marry, much to the distress of Mathilde. She lamented in her diary that no one will love Nicholas as much as she did, and that he will probably forget her when he is married. Her jealously also emerges in her writings, envious of his bride-to-be. The pair said their final goodbyes in 1894 at a highway rendezvous, “she seated in a carriage, he astride a horse.” For months after, Mathilde went through “terrible boundless suffering” of losing Nicholas before being intimately consoled by the Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich. He bought her a cottage that overlooked the sea but she was not in love with Sergei, though she did enjoy his company, and pursued his cousin, Andrei Vladimirovich, as well. Their affair began in mid-1900 and she enjoyed a relationship with both men for the better part of two decades – Sergei and Andrei were cordial in public, but tried to avoid each other whenever possible. Matters were complicated further when Mathilde gave birth to a son, Vladimir, in 1902, and no one was quite sure who the father was.

Mathilde continued to use her connection to the tsar and the imperial family to amass valuable property and further her career on stage. Mathilde was extraordinarily gifted as a dancer and obtained the rank of Prima ballerina in 1896 and commanded top billing in theater programs and posters. After the Russian Revolution, Mathilde ended up in exile in Paris. She later married, in 1921, her former flame Andrei, who was devoted to both Mathilde and her child, despite the question of his paternity. The couple enjoyed gambling, though Mathilde squandered their reaming wealth – including her valuable jewelry collection – at the gambling tables of Monte Carlo. Mathilde opened up her own ballet school as a means to earn some much needed income. The school flourished, providing for a comfortable, yet modest lifestyle. Mathilde last performed at the age of 64, for a charity event at Covent Garden in London. She died in Paris, eight months shy of her 100th birthday, and was buried in the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois Russian Cemetery, which she shares with her husband and son.

Rumors have persisted that Nicholas continued to meet Mathilde in secret after his marriage, though most historians agree that this is completely untrue. Some accounts do seem dispute this; however, and there are further claims that Mathilde even had a child with the Tsar in 1911, who was later adopted by her bother.

Sources

”Mathilde Kschessinska as Princess Aspicia from the ballet The Pharaoh’s Daughter”, photographic postcard from the book “The Great Russian Dancers” by Gennady Smakov, c. 1898 (left image).

”Mathilde Kschessinska in costume for a Spanish dance” by unknown, 1900 (right image).

Massie, Robert. Nicholas and Alexandra: The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty. Random House Trade Paperbacks (2000). ISBN: 9780345438317.

Hall, Coryne. Imperial Dancer: Mathilde Kschessinska and the Romanovs, Sutton Publishing (2005). ISBN: 9780750935579.

russian classics aesthetic

Brothers Karamazov: orthodox monasteries, deep woods, starry nights, the sound of paper being torn, dimly lit rooms, withered roses, an unfinished letter, piles of books, the sound of shattering glass, ticking of clocks in a silent house, heavy wooden furniture, the air before a storm, the smell of earth, a crowd of people dressed in black, distant murmurs, emptied streets, the fear of walking alone in dusk

Crime and Punishment: coldness of the skin against a blade, slender pale fingers and slightly shaking hands, a red stain blooming on white fabric, lonely steps in a corridor, the slow dripping of water, looking out of the window into the thickening darkness, a single dying candle on the table, listening to one’s breath and counting heartbeats, too many stairs, the desire to be invisible, a subtle memory of kind word

The Idiot: classical statues, wealth covered with dust, a dark house tainted with inherited madness, an unsettling feeling, long walks in a park, useless chatter, a silken ribbon forgotten on a bench, a melancholic face, an unexpected spring rain, the joy of reading one’s favorite book, the clarity of mind after fully perceiving the world around, looking at cloudless sky  

Anna Karenina: fields of crops, flowers brought from an early morning walk, the wind caressing a girl’s hair, a bowl of fruit, the smell of ripe pears, the clatter of a spoon against porcelain when stirring tea, children’s laughter coming from the garden, soft sunlight and white curtains, the sensation of velvet against skin, pearls from a ripped necklace spilling on marble floor, a sudden silence in a room full of people

War and Peace: a glass of wine, the brightness of  a crystal chandelier, white lace, a raging snow storm, the sound of a door being gently closed, the moment of holding one’s breath before walking in a ball room, indulging in looking at a beautiful earring against light, the sound of a saber being drawn, closing one’s eyes for a moment while dancing, the sweet smell of strawberries, a pair of gloves left on an armchair, light scent of powder

The Master and Margarita: the chaos of a lively city, ambient jazz in expensive restaurants, jumping on a moving tram, the sight of Moscow from the roof of a house, yellow flowers in a vase, leaning out of the window, shelves stacked with books, a small tin box with old photographs, strange shapes in the night sky, laughing in the middle of the night on a balcony, colorful posters for a surreptitious magician’s show floating in the wind

Eugene Onegin: a lonely mansion, reading a book in the parlor, faint piano melody lingering in falling silence, long evenings, passing seasons, discussing french novels of the moment, unspoken thoughts, leaning against the door frame, quickly averted glance, eating a peach absent-minded, bright mornings, footprints in snow, a loud gun-shot terrifying a flock of birds nearby   

A Hero of Our Time: byronic boredom, getting up late in the afternoon, the hidden unspeakable sadness of existence, shakespeare’s tragedy opened next to untouched breakfast, cigarette smoke, polished boots, walking with one’s coat wide open letting the night chill break through to the bone, carved wooden chair, fading warmth of the ashes late in the evening, the thought of farewell  

Fathers and Sons: birch groves, morning mist, moss covered stones near a  moor, scientific books, white roses, cheap champagne, shabby pocket-watch, light-hearted irony, a maladroit cello sonata, freshly mowed grass, leaving thoughts come and go, a slow yawn, picturesque plates and bowls filled with traditional dishes, drinking tea on the porch, longing for the future   

Doctor Zhivago: a strange feeling of loss, writing poems in a diary, traveling by train, the hesitation before touching someone’s hand, the gaze of one lost in thought, the warmth of cinnamon, a scarf brightly embellished with flowers, a glass of water, two people listening each on the other side of the door, a threadbare jacket, the tempting void, the evanescent serenity of yesterday  

Dead Souls: horses in a merry gallop, delicious smells mingled, grotesque and bizarre tragedy, luxurious attire cheap soul, masks, a perfumed love letter, the triumph of sarcasm, an unattached wheel rolling down a dusty road, the atmosphere of commedia dell’ arte, puzzling speeches, a baffling caricature drawn on a handkerchief   

Cherry Orchard: a lone chair in an empty room, falling blossoms, old samovar, the unsettling need for change, a mirror reflecting full moon, the disappointment of a glossy object turning worthless after second glance, a piano out of tune      

I don’t think it was a sin. Because it didn’t feel like a sin. It felt like I’m supposed to feel.

Novitiate (2017), dir. Maggie Betts

(DES)ENCANTO: LOCKSCREENS

just like/reblog/share love <3

Dita Von Teese in episode 2 of Le Carrosse Noir (The Black Carriage), 2010. A mini series by Christian Louboutin.

1 - Pandora, Jules Joseph Lefebvre 2 - Night and Her Daughter Sleep, Mary L. Macomber 3 - Spadajaca gwiazda Falling Star, Witold Pruszkowski 4 - Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Franz Xaver Winterhalter

LIVRES CENSURÉS PAR LES AUTORITÉS À TRAVERS LES SIÈCLES

BOOKS CENSORED BY LEGAL AUTHORITIES OVER THE YEARS PART V

Salomé - Oscar Wilde (1891)

Histoire d'O - Pauline Réage a.k.a. Dominique Aury (1954)

Mademoiselle La Quintinie - George Sand a.k.a Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin (1863)

IMAGE: Khayal Gatha, The Saga of Khayal (Kumar Shahani | 1989)

TEXT: Ruth Vanita – “MARRIED AMONG THEIR COMPANIONS: Female Homoerotic Relations in Nineteenth-Century Urdu Rekhti Poetry in India” in Journal of Women’s History, Vol 16, no. 1 (2004): 

—

The new move that Rekhti makes in Indian poetry is to sexualize explicitly the Sakhi (woman’s intimate woman friend). Rekhti inherits this important poetic figure not from the Perso-Urdu ghazal but from Sanskrit and Sanskritic literatures. 

[…] Female-female sexual relations are mentioned in the Kamasutra as well as in Arabic erotic texts such as the Thousand and One Nights, but they do not seem to be explicitly represented in Riti poetry. However, a suggestive female homoeroticism does appear in Riti poetry. In part, it arises from the ambiguity of the speaker’s gender. Commentators and translators ascribe gender to the speakers, and often do so on the heterosexist presumption that a speaker who praises the heroine’s beauty may be male or female, but when the praise is more eroticized, the speaker must be male. Thus, Krishna P. Bahadur, the modern English translator of Bihari, invents titles for every verse, which gender the speaker: “What he said to her companion,” or “What her companion told him.” 

The verses in the manuscripts have no titles—while the speaker is sometimes gendered, in many others she or he is not, and this allows for a playful ambivalence. Even the verses that commentators do attribute to female speakers often express an ardent admiration that has an erotic tinge. In one example, the narrator comments: “Heavens! / How much beauty has god given her! / Even I am bewitched by it, dear lad, / how much more / you!” The translator here has inserted the words “how much more, you.” The original says simply: “Looking at that unique girl, I am entranced. How much sweetness god has given to her beautiful form.”

Tried to do my makeup like the advertising picture, haha.

The Scarlet Flower illustrated by Nadezhda Komarova

Reggia di Caserta fountains:

Fountain of Venus and Adonis

Fountain of Diana and Actaeon

Fountain of Diana and Actaeon

Fountain of Ceres

Fountain of Aeolus

Fountain of the dolphins

Dear Gaiman, I'm not a huge fan of Sandman (I'm more into good omens and American gods and anansi boys) but my dad read it few years ago. He once told me that he was friends with cinamon,the girl who death was based off of. My dad says they met through being among with the other homeless kids in the area. Is cinamon a real person and if so, did you know her? P.S. my dad still has an autographed poster where you wrote "eat something" because he was so skinny at the time

Yes, her name was Cinamon Hadley, and she was a friend of Mike Dringenberg, the artist, who borrowed her face and look for Death.

I didn’t know her, although we sent messages to each other from time to time, but I wish I had. She died in 2016.

Francesco Solimena,Diana and Endymion (detail) 1705-10.

Satine (Nicole Kidman) Sparkling diamond costume.. Moulin Rouge (2001).. Costume by Catherine Martin and Angus Strathie.