Bestselling Author Barbara Winter Coming Up!

As an entrepreneur, fledgling creative person and Travel enthusiast myself, I always keep learning from other entrepreneurs who have successfully combined business, creativity and Travel in their own way. Last fall I took a seminar at the Learning Annex in Toronto with the title How To Support Your Wanderlust, which ended up being a very entertaining and informative seminar.

Barbara Winter is a Minneapolis-based entrepreneur, writer and speaker who has spent the past 17 years helping people discover their passions and turn them into profitable businesses. She is the author of the best-selling book, Making a Living Without a Job: Winning Ways for Creating Work That You Love (Bantam, 1993), and the publisher of Winning Ways, the newsletter for people living and working with passion.

In addition, Barbara teaches seminars and teleclasses on Establish Yourself as an Expert, Making a Living Without a Job, and How To Support Your Wanderlust. Barbaras most recent endea vour, her book Jumpstart Your Entrepreneurial Spirit is hot off the press and just came out last month.

One of Barbaras mantras is to turn artists into entrepreneurs and to turn entrepreneurs into artists. This is incidentally exactly where I am at in my life right now: after 2 business degrees and 15 years in business as an independent entrepreneur, the time has come for me now to reintegrate creative passion back into my life, which the website and my Travels will offer me to do.

Barbara likes to turn people into inspired entrepreneurs who expand their horizons. I knew that Barbara would be a great candidate for an interview, she is funny, creative and full of great ideas and energy. I am sure that her seminars and books have inspired thousands of individuals to get up and pursue their passion and create their own businesses.

What I like to do in my interviews is I like to talk to the person, get to know them a bit better on the phone so I can compile wri tten questions (hopefully semi-intelligent ones..;) for them that they can answer in their own words. The hour I spent on the phone with Barbara has been very entertaining and informative for me at the same time and I felt totally energized after talking to her.

As a novice writer myself, just listening to Barbara gave me lots of ideas for my own writing and publishing endeavours. Barbara really knows how to capture her audience and I am actually planning to take her upcoming teleclass A Beginners Guide to Getting Published.

Barbara is an interesting, inspiring individual that many of us can learn from. Stay tuned for my first interview!

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.Travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional Travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life Travel experiences, interviews with Travellers and Travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural is sues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own Travel stories in our first Travel story contest (http://www.Travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

Life is a Journey Explore New Horizons.

The interview with photos is published at Travel and Transitions - Interviews

Author:: Susanne Pacher
Keywords:: Travel, adventure Travel, eco tourism, hippo Travel,women Travel, family Travel, Toronto, Canada
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The Story "Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates

The story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates is based on real events which took place in the beginning of 1960s.

Its a short fiction story about the young girl Connie and her teenager world which is so roughly disturbed by one tragic event one summer morning. Connie is a teenager preoccupied with her appearance, music and young guys. She has difficult relationship with her family. What she really enjoys is spending time with her friends and dating. She deceives her parents to get to the city and get some freedom to spend the time the way she likes it. Her attention was attracted by the very strange gaze of an unknown dark-haired stylish guy at the street. She didnt expect to meet him once again but one sunny Sunday his car stopped next to her house when she stayed home alone doing nothing. Connie is in a great surprise when she recognizes that stranger from the street in the driver of the car. Strangers name is Alfred and he came there wi th his friend to pick Connie up for a ride. Connie is enchanted and embarrassed with his attention in the beginning. Friendly talk of Alfred changes gradually to threats and promises to hurt Connies family if she refuses to join them for a ride. The story ends with Connies slow walking towards Alfred and we never know that follows afterwards. The story is full of symbolism and has the elements of mystics and irony.

Ive chosen the main character Connie for analyzing. She is described as a typical teenager in the beginning of the story. She lives in her own world and doesnt bother herself much with the problems of the others. At least we see it in the beginning of the story. She is described like a pretty, fair-haired girl of fifteen years old. There is one more noticeable thing in her description Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home: her walk, which could be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to make anyon e think she was hearing music in her head ... The author shows us how much she was interested in the opinion of others and how much she wanted to be noticed and appreciated by them. And how indifferent she could be sometimes to her family. The way she thinks about her mother and sister shows us that they were not very close and Connie looked down at them for their uninteresting style and colorless appearance. Self-centered as most of the teenagers are, Connie doesnt try to get to the inner world of the other people, even the closest members of the family. In her wish to express herself she chooses childish ways and works for public.

Being sensitive and romantic as we can see from the music she likes she still cares more about the prestige of having a boyfriend than about finding a true love. In her search of new impressions she is ready to deceive her parents not telling them about the places she visits and doesnt think much about the possible consequences. The wish to have a boy-friend is more important for her than to have a close person near and she tries to find the proof of her social status and her attractive appearance in others.

That is the way we see Connie in the beginning of the story. She is a typical girl of her age and there is nothing noticeable about her. New trait of character oozes in the end of the story when threatened by Alfred Friend - a mysterious stranger who promises to hurt the member of her family if she doesnt obey him she finds the strength to stand up and go with him realizing that that could be the end for her. She thought, Im not going to see my mother again. She thought, Im not going to sleep in my bed again. I think that is a very brave gesture for terrified young girl nobody could expect of her in the beginning of the story. Even the stale heAr t of Alfred was touched with the sincerity and nobility of her action: now theyre eating corn and hot dogs cooked to bursting over an outdoor fire, and they dont know one thing about you and never did and honey, youre better than them because not a one of them would have done this for you. The story and this character pArticularly made me think about the depth of human soul, generosity and love.

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Author:: Aaron SchwArtz
Keywords:: The story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates
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Feeding The World We Must Help Those Who Help Themselves

There is much talk throughout the world for debt forgiveness and wiping out Poverty. Feeding the starving children is also of importance. Few would deny that we should help out wherever we can. And most agree that you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot always make him drink and thus we may wish to consider this.

Recently during a coffee shop conversation with a new friend who had spent time in the Peace Corp and also volunteering with an NGO, we all listened to the stories he had. Scary stuff, boy were we glad that we were so fortunate to have been born into such a wealthy and well run nation. He told us of the horrendous conditions and mal nutrition and of starving and Dying babies. Later in the conversation he told of some of the causes to the problem and how hard it was to help them. Also ho w one might wish to discuss that if a human wishes to live in a Society, Tribe or civilization, then they should work to promote the over all group thru their efforts. That is to say help the whole.

Yet when one refuses to plant the Wheat, grow the Wheat, harvest the Wheat, cook the Bread, however still wishes to partake in the joy of eating, then one has to ask if that mediocrity, lack of work ethic or laziness is not the worst evil of all? Think on this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Author:: Lance Winslow
Keywords:: Feeding The World, Help Those Who Help Themselves, Bread, Wheat, Poverty, Tribe, Society, Dying
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American Exceptionalism and Cultural Canonization

American Exceptionalism is the notion that the Americans have a distinct and special destiny different from that of other nations and is the single most powerful force in forming the American identity; the identity formed throughout history, aimed at maintaining superiority and aspiring to leadership. This way the Americans have got a sense of mission to fulfill, not only as part of their national identity, but also as an inseparable element of their international role as a leader. But this sense of mission exceeds far beyond the reality that the US administration is the worlds military master who leads wars and manages disputes, eradicates communism and establishes democracy, as part of its hard power.

It farther entails soft power strategies the US administration sincerely follows in the international field of power. As Joseph Nye states, soft power plays a role in the domain of intangible power resources such as culture, values, identity, and institution to get ot hers want what it wants (qtd. in. Evelyn Goh, p. 79). This means bringing unity in others ideas and ideals in line with the American interests. To reach this end first it should persuade others to believe in its difference and superiority, and then have its so-called values distributed all over the world, in order to establish them as the best values for humanity. Through these games of power, then, US administration makes advantage of this national sense of mission to accomplish its international ends.

Exceptionality, as Paul T. McCartney (2004, p. 401) states, emerges two impulses associated with; exemplarism and vindicationism. By exemplarism it is meant that the Americans want to set a model for all others, according to their ideals and values, which are believed to be far superior than the others and also in line with the essential values of mankind. Democracy, for example, is not an American value to which others are unfamiliar or unwilling to accept. However the Americans identify democracy with their own values and virtues and this way try to propagate American democracy all over the world. Vindicationism means to change the world in a way to think and act more and more like the Americans. Others must accept American democracy with its necessary elements, in order to transcend. However, the essence of Exceptionalism is maintaining superiority all over the rest and making them its followers. But the only viable way to achieve this superiority for the Americans is by canonizing their cultural products.

Canonization, primarily the concept of exclusively presenting some works of literature as valuable, is applicable to any other cultural product. Since any cultural product may not find a place in the worlds canon, a tremendously huge investment proj ect is needed for it to gain the membership. In addition, to maintain the membership, the product should have certain characteristics, without which it would turn out to have no values. These characteristics are, according to Harold Bloom (1995, p.3), strangeness and originality added to beauty. To add to the formula he provides for canonicity, I find multi-layered-ness necessary for a cultural product to end up in the canon. Any cultural product having, or at least pretending to have such characteristics will find a place in the international taste and will survive; these are American products, labeled with American values, which should survive to help this country achieve its goal as the worlds leader, with the least costs and injuries.

Cultural products, ranging from American clothing style to American movies, from American foods to American poems, from American advertisements to American music, should have exotic qualities in order to draw attentions, and at the sa me time to reaffirm American values as the best. They should be original in terms of representing American ideas to the audience. The peoples all over the world should find it a novel experience in their lifetimes of dreaming for better, aspiring for solutions and enjoying transcendent feelings.

Beauty is the second element in selling a cultural product to peoples, as canonical. By beauty is meant aesthetic American values. But the yardstick for beauty in the so-called culture industry is not necessarily humane or spiritual. The producers have discovered that by providing colorful pictures of romance, depicting masculine strength and feminine tenderness they would achieve what they are after: attracting audiences all over the world. Even they have come to the conclusion that by mythologizing these aspects they would glue the consumers to what they provide them with.

Finally, any canonical product is to have several layers of meaning and applicability in order to attract the widest range of audiences at the same time. The producers are wise enough not to overlook the issue of cost-effectiveness; i.e. satisfying millions by paying the least and receiving the most. They intimately are aware that to appease the thirst of millions of people with different, and sometimes contending, cultural backgrounds, ideas and ideals, religious beliefs and ideologies, monetary budgets and lifestyles they should offer something of utility; otherwise they will be losers, both commercially and politically.

Having provided all these elements in a cultural product, the producer will assure himself and the whole American system that the product will enter the cultural canon. Then the result would be most satisfying and not only the sense of mission Americans feel is fulfilled, but also the US administration will have others want what it wants, in the most peaceful way.

However a question remains unanswered and that is whether these are achieved so easily? billions of dollars are invested annually, millions of people work hard all the time to provide new ideas, researches are conducted all through continents, and new movements are created and the old ones die recurrently to achieve this end. Hundreds of billion dollars go to American companies annually, hundreds of million people compete to compete hard to achieve the standards, ideas are changed into what the powerful want, and people are drowned in the new movements, for those in power to become more powerful. But the Americans are ignorant of others awareness. Not everybody buys American values today.

References: Bloom, Harold 1995. The Western Canon (New York: McMillan) Goh, Evelyn 2003. Hegemonic Constraints: the implications of 11 September for American power. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 57, 79. McCartney, T. Paul 2004. American Nationalism and U.S. Foreign Policy from September 11 to the Iraq War. Political Sciences Quarterly, 119, 401 .

Author:: Mahshid Mayar
Keywords:: Exceptionalism, cultural product, Canonization, culture industry
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Who Created the First US Flag of 50 Stars?

Who created the US Flag that we salute at every parade?

Robert Heft, a then 17 year-old high school sophomore from Ohio created our current American Flag of 50 stars.

When was this flag created?

Robert Heft created his 50 star, hand sewn, US flag in 1958 prior to Alaska and Hawaii being admitted to the Union.

What drove Robert to create this new flag?

It all began as a high school project assigned in 1958 in Lancaster, Ohio, for his teacher, Mr. Stan Pratt. Each students assignment was to create a project of their own choosing that would be graded for creativity.

What prompted Robert to create a flag as his project?

Robert was always interested in government and politics and was aware of the possibility of Alaska and Hawaii becoming the next new states. While other kids at his high school struggled with ideas on what to create for their projects, Robert knew right away that he wanted to create the first 50 star flag.

How did Robert go about designing this one-of-a-kind flag?

Being an astute student of history, Robert knew that the design of the US Flag had not changed in since 1912. He wanted to change the design of the flag so carefully that it would be almost unnoticeable.

How did Robert go about creating this one-of-a-kind flag?

Unbeknownst to his family, Robert took his parents 48 star US Flag and began cutting the flag apArt and rearranging the stars and adding 2 stars so that there would be 50 stars in total. His design featured five rows of 6 stars (30 stars) alternating with four rows of 5 stars (20 stars). Robert spent over 12 hours one weekend arranging and sewing this new combination of stars.

Was his teacher, Mr. Pratt amazed and impressed by Roberts newly created 50 star US Flag?

No, Mr. Pra tt told Robert that his project lacked creativity and told him, anybody can make a flag. Mr. Pratt gave Robert a B minus for his project but told him that he would raise his grade if Robert could get Congress to adopt this new American Flag design.

Was Robert discouraged by this challenge from his teacher?

No, Robert accepted this challenge and took his flag to his congressman, Rep. Walter Moeller, who worked to get the new 50 star design accepted after Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union.

Was this original, hand sewn, 50 star US Flag ever used or was it just used as a model?

Yes, it was first flown on July 4, 1960 at the US Capitol dome with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Congressman Moeller and Robert Heft in attendance. It has flown over every US state capital building and has flown over the White House under five administrations.

Where is Roberts original US Flag of 50 stars?

Robert Heft still owns this original first flag of 50 stars and has turned down offers of up to $350,000 to sell it.

Is that the end of Robert Hefts story?

No, shortly after he completed his 50 star high school project, he went on to create a 51 star US Flag in the event that Puerto Rico ever joined the Union. The 51 star flag has six rows of stars, stArting with a row of nine and alternated by rows of eight to total 51 stars.

What is the moral of this story?

If your child comes to you with a wacky, seemingly crazy, creative idea let them run with it. It may turn out to launch their life long career, as it did for Robert Heft.

Beth Gabriel is a successful Webmaster and publisher of FlagWave.com. She provides more US Flag History and US Flag reviews that you can read on her website from the comfort of your home at 2:00 am!

Author:: Beth Gabriel
Keywords:: US Flag, American Flag, 50 star flag, 48 star flag
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Conceptual Art: Who Appreciates It?

Art is sometimes overwhelming. Life as a whole can become overwhelming, and at times I do find myself caught up in its whirlwind of drama. Being the person that I am, being faced with it, I tend to question the things that I dont understand, and sometimes I questions the things I understand the most, the things that I am certain of the most, like Art.

After one of our regular seminar sessions at college I found myself contemplating a piece of work we were presented with that afternoon: three canvases painted yellow placed on top of each other on a wall of a gallery, a creation seemingly effortless, yet was declared to us and to the whole world as a masterpiece, something of given value, an example we should measure up to. It stirred a lot of controversy in the room, the most diverse response I have ever witnessed on an Art related discussion amongst my classmates. Some could not help but demean it, others dismissed it as something pathetic, something a child could pr oduce in one day, while a few glorified it. However I sat there disappointed with my not knowing how to assess it, with my not understanding how it could seem credible and worthy of admiration to many.

From that day on, viewing such pieces of Art became very thought provoking for me. When I visited the colleges library, I came across a book on Tom Friedmans work. One of his pieces, untitled 1995, caught my eye; it was a chewed piece of bubble gum that has been stretched to stick to both the ceiling and the floor. On the spur of the moment, this piece of work seemed insignificant and dirty to me. Why a chewing gum as an Art piece? Something very accessible to all, something we chew on and spit on the side of the streets day after day. Why would he want to present such a trivial thing as a work of Art? I just did not get how such an Artist would find recognition and fame. It made me reflect on Art again. What is it? Who defines it? Who creates it? And where do its parameters lie?

As I read about it I discovered that it all lies within the concept, the value of it lies predominantly in the idea, the philosophy embedded behind it. This pArticular piece of work untitled 1995, was one amongst several others of his featured in an exhibition in 1996. Each individual piece was an illustration reflecting on one angle of the bigger picture he was exploring.

His work in that show was seen collectively as an exploration of the relationship between ideas; ideas that he did not mention the content of, but ideas that I see representing general ones, representing thoughts in their raw context. How do they interact with one another? Do they exceed to strengthen, or do they branch out and complicate themselves?

The bubble gum piece visually tackles the concept of i deas drifting apArt from each other, hence the action of being stretched. It also shows how further and further away the idea has moved from its original state. The relationship is then depicted to have become thinner and thinner until its connection is no longer detectable and defined. It has also been said that this pArticular piece carried further meaning, as in it Friedman saw the relationship his other various pieces of work have with each other, their increasing independency and their evolving further apArt.

Reflecting back on this piece of work I have become more appreciative of such work, and learned to search for meanings to pieces of Art that I fail to comprehend at the first glance. However, still bearing in mind the subject matter of this work (ideas and their relationship with each o ther), I have come up with an interpretation of my own that could be relevant. What if the stretched piece in between the ceiling and the floor expresses a feeling of holding on rather than moving away? This idea could also reflect the ambiguity, contradiction and spontaneity that exists in the way we think and develop ideas. I also believe that he is an honest, simple person, who reduces or compares the meaning of life to a thing, smaller than him, something tangible, something our hands can play around with, like a chewing gum in Friedmans case. To me it is his expression of control over his life. In my opinion he is making life seem as trivial.

Friedman is one Artist that has approached Art in ways that are beyond the conventional painting or sculpture, and, as I have come to find out, this is one of the features of modern Art as a whole, in which Conceptual Art belongs.

Conceptualism is a form of Art that questions conventional Art. It sets to project a concept to the viewer through a piece of work, in which the value of it lies firmly on the intellect and the idea behind it rather than the representation of it. In fact the physical appearance and the aesthetics of it is frequently of little or no importance. Like the works of Art that are classified under Conceptual Art, the movement in itself is open to controversy, many do no want to stick labels or definitions to it, others reject it as not Art. www.bbc.co.uk, www.Artlex.com. Lucie-Smith, 1995

The movement stArted out as a backlash created by a group of independent Artists against the commercial attitude that existed towards the previous Art movement (pop-Art). The exponents of Conceptual Art therefore wanted to produce Art that was deprived and purged of the impurities of Pop Art such as its heavy emphasis on iconography and its quest for visual appeal. Moreover, most of the Conceptualists have nothing to sell, enforcing a statement to their viewers about their attitudes towards materialism. It also gives a clearer idea of what they value most about their work; their consideration of form as form, idea as an idea.

To return to Friedmans work, Untitled 1990, Two white sheets of paper, displayed side by side seemingly with identical size, texture, and believe it or not with identical wrinkles. The idea presented by him this time revolves around identity and identicals. To him such a thing does not and cannot exist. He is teaching us something new while making us doubt what we believe in. No two things can be the same, they can be alike but never the same; to have something be the same as something else would mean having two of the real and actual thing, which in reality can not happen, because at the end of it we will always have one original. Each is placed at a different relation to one another the right piece is positioned to the left of the left piece and vice versa. I cant help but find it ironic that what we first perceived to be identical objects evolved into opposites through a process of thought and reason. I wonder if the Artist had it in mind to lead the viewer into this path of thought or whether it is only my added insight on what I understood from his book.

Friedmans recurrent incorporation of eve ryday things, such as chewing gum, straws, papers and pencils, into his work in a matter new to all, creates an atmosphere of contemplation. Such new positioning of items and objects makes the viewer consider their existence and his existence in one.

Let us take Simone Bertis work for instance. As a pArt of an outdoor exhibition he has placed a bridge of bricks in the middle of a pond so that, it is enclosed by the water. Observing this installation piece, many people would reach the conclusion that the water is acting as an obstacle not allowing the bridge to perform its undisputed function of transferring people from one end of dry land to the other end of dry land. However, despite this unsettling arrangement of the bridge and the pond, Berti wanted to present this scene as a harmonious environment. He intended to present to us the bridge as an object in its own right, while to him the pond almost acted as a background or a backdrop.

As I view it, Berti is no t illustrating an emotional attachment or a connection with the bridge, but rather using it as a tool to tell the viewers that it is okay to break loose from the chains, break away from the ideals of what looks or is indeed right. It allows us to see the bigger picture in life and be less afraid to label things that are unusual as the norm, or even more daring as the praised. What if we take what Berti has just taught us as a measure of our attitudes to other issues in life, like beauty for example, why is still not acceptable to have an overweight woman on the cover of Vogue magazine? It is only us that set certain measures and constrains on ourselves, and in order to change that, Art radicalizes what is common to us and stretches it like the piece of bubble gum. Until that piece of reality has distorted itself and we are then forced to look at life from a fresh more hopeful, more questioning angle.

This brings me on to mention the similarity I have also found between Friedmans pieces and one of Damien Hirsts. The piece titled this little Piggy went to Market; this little stayed home is one example of his wider work on animals. In it he displays a pig that has been cut across into individual pArts, each is placed in a tank of formaldehyde preservative which is then separately monitored by an automated track. The tanks then move the pArts of the pig apArt and slide back into place in repetitive motions, connecting and disconnecting the pigs body.

Although in comparison with both Friedmans and Bertis work, this piece appears to me as shocking, grotesque and sickening. I find that a similar thoughtfulness in their approaches. Hirst stated that he wanted his piece of Art to make people think about the things they take for granted. Like smoking, like sex, like love, like life, like advertising, like death. He also said that he wanted to make people frightened of what they know. I want to make them question. http://dh.rysshuu.com/Art/

In my opinion it is his inclusion of objects and things that are familiar to us in his Art work in ways that are new and unthought-of of that really provokes us as viewers into questioning. The realization of reality in a new order brings fear. Ordinary things are frightening. Its like; a shoe is intended to get you from one place to another. The moment you beat your girlfriends head with it, it becomes something insane. The change of function is whats frightening. Thats what Art is. http://dh.rysshuu.com/Art/

Say we were presented with canvases that no longer hang in galleries, no longer project an idea through its surf ace but rather through the manipulation of the body of the canvas it self, wont that be scary. In some of Angela De La Cruzs work, I found such concepts to be evident. Her canvases are almost the personification of ugly and negative feelings. They appear to be treated as people who have committed a misdemeanor and have been punished, or rather abused for it. After reading about her piece titled, Sky Folded, 1997, I have come to discover that without acknowledging the action and the process in which such pieces have evolved into, they will never maintain the same value and appreciation if they were. Reading about Sky Folded, 1997, I was amazed to find out that the block of canvas has been violently smashed and bent along the diagonal, like arms pinned behind ones back in a painful wrestle. Such information alters my perception of it now, it is not a piece of canvas that has been folded at one of its corner and then placed thoughtfully on the floor, and instead it has been emo tionally and physically dealt with. Breuvant, 2002

To conclude I have come to realize that what it all comes down to simply; when reality is rearranged it confuses people straightforward as this may sound; I found this out while researching Artists that have presented our reality in another form. I discovered a reality of another kind and that, is what I find shocking, Art works that have insignificant sizes of faeces on a pedestal have never managed to make me doubt my knowledge and common sense. It is like finding a new dimension of thought and staying true to this point, can any and all form of Art other than Conceptual able create a wave of shock when realizing the actual hidden thought and intents behind its concept?

Mahaba Abdulla

Author:: Mahaba Abdulla
Keywords:: Conceptual,Art,Friedman
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The Monster's Mother

Somewhere in the world, every eight seconds, a mother is throwing her hands in the air and declaring that her child is a little monster. But for Echidna it was the literal truth.

Echidna was called the mother of all Monsters, although her children numbered no more than a dozen or so, and many were exemplary offspring and a pride to any parent. They may still roam the earth in the quiet unseen places, waiting the day when a new Hero will come to challenge them.

There are many arguments about Echidna's exact lineage, but who amongst us can vouch for every union in our own background ? Suffice to say she was the daughter of powerful mythical beings. Sources agree, though, on her appearance...

half fair-cheeked and bright-eyed nymph and half huge and monstrous snake, a snake that strikes swiftly and feeds on living flesh. (Hesiod, Theogony, 295-303)

As an arresting combination of beautiful woman and deadly serpent, it was to be expected that her childr en were also unusual. Her first born was Orthus, a hard-working cattle dog on an island beyond the pillars of Hercules. Orthus guarded these unique red cattle for Geryon, the strongest man alive at that time.

Cerberus, her next son and another fearsome dog, guarded the entrance to the Underworld and very sensibly kept the living from entering the world of the dead. This brazen-voiced hound of Hades had three heads of wild dogs abd the tail of a serpent.

Another serpent was the nine-headed Hydra, who liked to sun herself on rocks overlooking the sacred wells in the swampy regions of Lerna. She was afflicted with bad breath from sulphurous water -it was said one exhalation could kill a man - and her blood was venomous.

The Chimaera was another marvelous combination, displaying the multi-headed family trait with three of them. Not only did she have the head of a lion, a goat, and a snake, her body was in three distinct parts. The top was leonine, the middle li ke a goat, and the whole ended in the long lashing tail of a serpent. Breathing fire, the Chimaera terrified all of Lycia, killing cattle and scorching the countryside until slain by the Hero Bellepheron.

Another of Echidna's daughters was the fierce Crommyonian Sow, who played a leading role on the life of the Hero Theseus.

Echidna also produced the Caucasus Eagle (the one that keeps gnawing away at the liver of Prometheus) the Nemean Lion and the riddle-loving Sphinx. Perhaps her favourite child was the shining dragon that guarded the Golden Apples of Hesperos

Echidna may also have borne human children. It has been whispered that the Hero Hercules fell in love with her and engaged in an affair that produced three future kings but it seems doubtful that a mother would stoop to dalliance with the murderer of so many of her children.

Whatever the truth is, it's now lost in time, but Zeus did decree that the children of Echidna would remain on earth for always, to test the mettle of future Heroes. A fitting task for such marvelous Monsters and a credit to their long-maligned mother.

Susanna Duffy is a Civil Celebrant and mythologist. She creates ceremonies and Rites of Passage for individual and civic functions using ancient myths in modern settings and produces an ezine of Legends and Lore for the general reader

Author:: Susanna Duffy
Keywords:: greek myth, Monsters, Heroes, Echidna, Mythology, ancient legends
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Coming Up: Sue Kenney and the Camino De Santiago: Pilgrim BestSelling Author & Workshop Designer

In October of last year I attended a presentation at the Spanish Centre in Toronto, entitled Camino de Santiago, an event to which I had brought 6 of my friends who I throught would enjoy this topic. I enjoyed that evening very much and I was intrigued by the speaker, Sue Kenney, who is a very unusual individual. Sue has a very special, spiritual energy and her inner peace, strength and confidence radiate visibly. The event impressed me so much that I wrote about it in an earlier article.

During the last few years, I had heard of the Camino de Santiago, Spain's most famous pilgrimage route, and although I am not formally religious, I found the idea of a month- long pilgrimage on foot a fascinating idea, for a variety of reasons.

People from all over the world walk the Camino, and they do it for different reasons: for religious or spiritual reasons, to challenge themselves physically and/or mentally, to connect with the fascinating Spanish landscape and culture, and many other rationales.

Sue Kenney did it for her very own personal reasons. After having been laid off from a successful 24-year career in the telecom industry Sue figured it was time for a long walk.

And this walk has indeed transformed her life. In the few years since this soul-transforming event, Sue has found true meaning in her life by communicating her learning experiences and the life philosophies that she developed on the Camino de Santiago.

She has since written a best-selling book and recorded a storytelling CD called Stone by Stone about her experiences on the Camino, she has become a sought-after keynote speaker and workshop leader who is teaching the corporate world about the values that she discovered on the Camino, she has just finished writing her second book and is working on a variety of other creative endeavours at the moment. She has also become a spiritual leader who inspires others and has since returned to the Camino, taking a gr oup of people along with her on this spiritual journey.

Shortly after October presentation I approached Sue to do an interview with her, but her schedule has been so tightly packed with another trip to the Camino, promotional appearances, workshops and other activities that it has taken a while to bring the interview to fruitiion. However, I am pleased to announce that Sue has found the time to answer my questions and that you will be able to read her life-transforming story very shortly.

Meet Sue Kenney, a fascinating woman, and one of the few people who have discovered their true purpose in life...

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.Travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional Travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life Travel experiences, interviews with Travellers and Travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own Travel stories in our first Travel story contest (http://www.Travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance t o win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

Life is a Journey Explore New Horizons.

The interview with photos is published at Travel and Transitions - Interviews

Author:: Susanne Pacher
Keywords:: Travel, adventure Travel, eco tourism, outdoor adventure, women Travel, family Travel
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Remarkable Russian Individuals

Russia is an amazing country with a long and complex history. A number remarkable individuals have come from the country and here are some highlights.

Russia has been Famous (and inFamous) throughout the centuries for many different reasons. As a home to the bitter cold exile of Siberia, the numerous different imperial reigns of the czars and czarinas, and a cultural cross between Asia and Europe, Russia is a place of mystery. Known in recent times as the home of communism and our foe in the Cold War, Russia has also had many Famous residents. Here are some of the many ones that have impacted the world.

One of the world's most Famous composers was born and raised in Russia. Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was the composer of many different operas, and his haunting melodies and prolific amount of work have made his name be as common as those of Mozart, Bach and Beethoven. With such impressive works as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky brought his delicate balance of storytelling and memorable songs to the entire world. He performed with his orchestra throughout the world, and died of cholera at the age of 53.

Another of the many Famous Russian people was Alexander Pushkin, the illustrious writer and poet. Pushkin (1799-1837) was a lyrical poet who came from an impoverished family. He fought through the poverty, and was able to attend the Tsarskoe Selo Lyceum, which was aimed at educating the elite of Russia. His first poem was published when he was just 15 (in 1814), and he wrote his large play, Eugene Onegin starting at the age of 24. He died during a duel with a French loyalist, Dantes, in 1837.

A final look at the Famous Russian people in history brings us to another writer, the playwright Anton Chekhov (1860-1904). Chekhov's many plays, such as The Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters are staged in every region of Russia to this day. Using his life experiences, Chekhov was able to craft dramat ic works that influence writers to this day. In his works, he was able to show personal conflict, through direct dialogue and intense imagery. His plays, while well loved by his country and the rest of the world alike, were not even Chekhov's chosen vocation he never professed to be a playwright. He died of a heart attack at age 44.

The many different Russians who have helped to shape the literary and Music worlds are still incredibly important today. Without their valuable contributions, our artistic universe would be missing some of its brightest stars.

Richard Monk is with http://www.factsmonk.com - a site with facts about everything.

Author:: Richard Monk
Keywords:: Russia, Russian, Famous, Tchaikovsky, Pushkin, Chekhov, Music, Arts, Soviets
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Creating a Virtual Art Gallery

To the online Artist, it might seem a paradox, at first glance, to hear a recommendation to hold back work. The Artist on the Internet often overproduces and displays their entire body of work. In essence, by placing it for casual viewing, known as shopping the work, devalues its worth by defying the Law of Supply and Demand.

How can the Artist benefit by applying the advantages of the Internet with the successful business practices of the traditional gallery? Let's look at the tra ditional gallery's sales structure.

At the Preview, in an inner gallery, and by invitation only, previously unviewed works are presented to the gallery's selected collectors. The works are tagged as sold, but left for viewing. An aspect of human nature, wanting what one cannot have, has been accommodated as well as a relationship to supply and demand.

To paraphrase Israel A. Kirzner, the, almost, universally accepted theory of supply and demand shapes production and consumption, and is, not only the skeleton, but the flesh and blood of the economic system which determines the Artist's survival in the marketplace.

[The Law of Supply and Demand, by Israel Kirzner At the time of publication Kirzner was an economist at New York University. http://www.libertyhaven.com and The Freeman, a publication o f The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc., January 2000, Vol. 50, No. 1.

The show opens to the general public. As the show closes, unsold works are then considered shopped, since the public has viewed them. Then, they are placed in an outer gallery for the casual onlooker. Those traditions have held true, stemming from the basic nature of human beings and how market prices are determined.

This brings us back to the question of how might the traditional practices be adapted to the Internet? The Artist could, for instance, set up a number of galleries.

The Inner Gallery would contain works previously unseen. A collector might pay a one-time fee, the purpose of which is to discourage window-shoppers. The fee could then be applied to their purchase. Those who purchase are the collectors who go i nto your special Guest Book to receive Preview invitations, thus, eliminating the major pitfall of current Internet based galleries, the window-shopper.

How does one structure a Preview Page? Obviously, for your Preview Page you wouldn't want just anyone dropping in. This could be accomplished through a member login given only to your private collectors. By closely monitoring their login dates, you can determine when the Preview is over and it's time for the show to be opened to the general public.

A Middle Gallery is for works that didn't sell in the Preview, but are only available to those who have registered in the Guest Book and agree to receive future newsletters and updates. Finally, there is an Outer Gallery, that is for browsers and only contains images that have been sold, their price, but never to whom it was sold.

Although there will be many window-shoppers, as the exclusive nature and as the reputation of the site grows, the more exclusive colle ctor will come to the site, sign the Guest Book, and come to the Preview ready to collect.

Perhaps Museum Directors, Curators, Critics and Reviewers could be contacted as well. Given passwords, they could actually look at the work online, without the Artist having to physically move the works as in a land-based gallery. Their reviews could be then added to the Preview Page and the Artist's resume for future use.

Anyone with experience on the Internet knows you can't just create a web site and expect people to show up. The site must be properly marketed as well as have something the web surfer desires. Go to ARTNews and see how the ads are structured. Ask yourself what it is about that ad that makes you want to visit that gallery. What makes it desirable?

Look at the size of the images in the ad. Are they thumbnails or full-size images and details? Collectors want to see brush-strokes and have the monitors to do so. Remember, that the majority of the nation's assets lie in the hands of those over fifty years of age. Many of them wear eyeglasses. Accommodate their eyesight. Bigger is better.

Of course, not all Artists who put up a web site are going to be worth collecting, just as galleries will not find all Artists suitable. Not all collectors will want a given Artist's work. Without demand there are no sales.

Therefore, critical analysis of the web statistics should be carefully monitored. If you get a lot of hits and no sales then the problem is not in the marketing. Conversely, no hits, or very few, would indicate poor marketing. At some point you have to figure whether or not you're no good at marketing or the work is not collectible.

As for meeting with the Artist, the web cam, if not a personal visit, makes for an enjoyable time. With the development of Japanese graphic technology, one day soon the collector and others members of the Art community will view the minute details of the Artist's work in truly a virtual gallery without defying the laws of human nature which drives all mankind.

About The Author

Cynthia Houppert is an Art consultant in Atlanta, Georgia and the author of Art Gallery Safari: Bagging the Big One

(c)2003

cyndij@cowboyenterprises.com

Author:: Cynthia Houppert
Keywords: : Art virtual, Art gallery virtual, Art gallery online, Art online
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Conceptual Art: Who Appreciates It?

Art is sometimes overwhelming. Life as a whole can become overwhelming, and at times I do find myself caught up in its whirlwind of drama. Being the person that I am, being faced with it, I tend to question the things that I dont understand, and sometimes I questions the things I understand the most, the things that I am certain of the most, like Art.

After one of our regular seminar sessions at college I found myself contemplating a piece of work we were presented with that afternoon: three canvases painted yellow placed on top of each other on a wall of a gallery, a creation seemingly effortless, yet was declared to us and to the whole world as a masterpiece, something of given value, an example we should measure up to. It stirred a lot of controversy in the room, the most diverse response I have ever witnessed on an Art related discussion amongst my classmates. Some could not help but demean it, others dismissed it as something pathetic, something a child could pr oduce in one day, while a few glorified it. However I sat there disappointed with my not knowing how to assess it, with my not understanding how it could seem credible and worthy of admiration to many.

From that day on, viewing such pieces of Art became very thought provoking for me. When I visited the colleges library, I came across a book on Tom Friedmans work. One of his pieces, untitled 1995, caught my eye; it was a chewed piece of bubble gum that has been stretched to stick to both the ceiling and the floor. On the spur of the moment, this piece of work seemed insignificant and dirty to me. Why a chewing gum as an Art piece? Something very accessible to all, something we chew on and spit on the side of the streets day after day. Why would he want to present such a trivial thing as a work of Art? I just did not get how such an Artist would find recognition and fame. It made me reflect on Art again. What is it? Who defines it? Who creates it? And where do its parameters lie?

As I read about it I discovered that it all lies within the concept, the value of it lies predominantly in the idea, the philosophy embedded behind it. This pArticular piece of work untitled 1995, was one amongst several others of his featured in an exhibition in 1996. Each individual piece was an illustration reflecting on one angle of the bigger picture he was exploring.

His work in that show was seen collectively as an exploration of the relationship between ideas; ideas that he did not mention the content of, but ideas that I see representing general ones, representing thoughts in their raw context. How do they interact with one another? Do they exceed to strengthen, or do they branch out and complicate themselves?

The bubble gum piece visually tackles the concept of i deas drifting apArt from each other, hence the action of being stretched. It also shows how further and further away the idea has moved from its original state. The relationship is then depicted to have become thinner and thinner until its connection is no longer detectable and defined. It has also been said that this pArticular piece carried further meaning, as in it Friedman saw the relationship his other various pieces of work have with each other, their increasing independency and their evolving further apArt.

Reflecting back on this piece of work I have become more appreciative of such work, and learned to search for meanings to pieces of Art that I fail to comprehend at the first glance. However, still bearing in mind the subject matter of this work (ideas and their relationship with each o ther), I have come up with an interpretation of my own that could be relevant. What if the stretched piece in between the ceiling and the floor expresses a feeling of holding on rather than moving away? This idea could also reflect the ambiguity, contradiction and spontaneity that exists in the way we think and develop ideas. I also believe that he is an honest, simple person, who reduces or compares the meaning of life to a thing, smaller than him, something tangible, something our hands can play around with, like a chewing gum in Friedmans case. To me it is his expression of control over his life. In my opinion he is making life seem as trivial.

Friedman is one Artist that has approached Art in ways that are beyond the conventional painting or sculpture, and, as I have come to find out, this is one of the features of modern Art as a whole, in which Conceptual Art belongs.

Conceptualism is a form of Art that questions conventional Art. It sets to project a concept to the viewer through a piece of work, in which the value of it lies firmly on the intellect and the idea behind it rather than the representation of it. In fact the physical appearance and the aesthetics of it is frequently of little or no importance. Like the works of Art that are classified under Conceptual Art, the movement in itself is open to controversy, many do no want to stick labels or definitions to it, others reject it as not Art. www.bbc.co.uk, www.Artlex.com. Lucie-Smith, 1995

The movement stArted out as a backlash created by a group of independent Artists against the commercial attitude that existed towards the previous Art movement (pop-Art). The exponents of Conceptual Art therefore wanted to produce Art that was deprived and purged of the impurities of Pop Art such as its heavy emphasis on iconography and its quest for visual appeal. Moreover, most of the Conceptualists have nothing to sell, enforcing a statement to their viewers about their attitudes towards materialism. It also gives a clearer idea of what they value most about their work; their consideration of form as form, idea as an idea.

To return to Friedmans work, Untitled 1990, Two white sheets of paper, displayed side by side seemingly with identical size, texture, and believe it or not with identical wrinkles. The idea presented by him this time revolves around identity and identicals. To him such a thing does not and cannot exist. He is teaching us something new while making us doubt what we believe in. No two things can be the same, they can be alike but never the same; to have something be the same as something else would mean having two of the real and actual thing, which in reality can not happen, because at the end of it we will always have one original. Each is placed at a different relation to one another the right piece is positioned to the left of the left piece and vice versa. I cant help but find it ironic that what we first perceived to be identical objects evolved into opposites through a process of thought and reason. I wonder if the Artist had it in mind to lead the viewer into this path of thought or whether it is only my added insight on what I understood from his book.

Friedmans recurrent incorporation of eve ryday things, such as chewing gum, straws, papers and pencils, into his work in a matter new to all, creates an atmosphere of contemplation. Such new positioning of items and objects makes the viewer consider their existence and his existence in one.

Let us take Simone Bertis work for instance. As a pArt of an outdoor exhibition he has placed a bridge of bricks in the middle of a pond so that, it is enclosed by the water. Observing this installation piece, many people would reach the conclusion that the water is acting as an obstacle not allowing the bridge to perform its undisputed function of transferring people from one end of dry land to the other end of dry land. However, despite this unsettling arrangement of the bridge and the pond, Berti wanted to present this scene as a harmonious environment. He intended to present to us the bridge as an object in its own right, while to him the pond almost acted as a background or a backdrop.

As I view it, Berti is no t illustrating an emotional attachment or a connection with the bridge, but rather using it as a tool to tell the viewers that it is okay to break loose from the chains, break away from the ideals of what looks or is indeed right. It allows us to see the bigger picture in life and be less afraid to label things that are unusual as the norm, or even more daring as the praised. What if we take what Berti has just taught us as a measure of our attitudes to other issues in life, like beauty for example, why is still not acceptable to have an overweight woman on the cover of Vogue magazine? It is only us that set certain measures and constrains on ourselves, and in order to change that, Art radicalizes what is common to us and stretches it like the piece of bubble gum. Until that piece of reality has distorted itself and we are then forced to look at life from a fresh more hopeful, more questioning angle.

This brings me on to mention the similarity I have also found between Friedmans pieces and one of Damien Hirsts. The piece titled this little Piggy went to Market; this little stayed home is one example of his wider work on animals. In it he displays a pig that has been cut across into individual pArts, each is placed in a tank of formaldehyde preservative which is then separately monitored by an automated track. The tanks then move the pArts of the pig apArt and slide back into place in repetitive motions, connecting and disconnecting the pigs body.

Although in comparison with both Friedmans and Bertis work, this piece appears to me as shocking, grotesque and sickening. I find that a similar thoughtfulness in their approaches. Hirst stated that he wanted his piece of Art to make people think about the things they take for granted. Like smoking, like sex, like love, like life, like advertising, like death. He also said that he wanted to make people frightened of what they know. I want to make them question. http://dh.rysshuu.com/Art/

In my opinion it is his inclusion of objects and things that are familiar to us in his Art work in ways that are new and unthought-of of that really provokes us as viewers into questioning. The realization of reality in a new order brings fear. Ordinary things are frightening. Its like; a shoe is intended to get you from one place to another. The moment you beat your girlfriends head with it, it becomes something insane. The change of function is whats frightening. Thats what Art is. http://dh.rysshuu.com/Art/

Say we were presented with canvases that no longer hang in galleries, no longer project an idea through its surf ace but rather through the manipulation of the body of the canvas it self, wont that be scary. In some of Angela De La Cruzs work, I found such concepts to be evident. Her canvases are almost the personification of ugly and negative feelings. They appear to be treated as people who have committed a misdemeanor and have been punished, or rather abused for it. After reading about her piece titled, Sky Folded, 1997, I have come to discover that without acknowledging the action and the process in which such pieces have evolved into, they will never maintain the same value and appreciation if they were. Reading about Sky Folded, 1997, I was amazed to find out that the block of canvas has been violently smashed and bent along the diagonal, like arms pinned behind ones back in a painful wrestle. Such information alters my perception of it now, it is not a piece of canvas that has been folded at one of its corner and then placed thoughtfully on the floor, and instead it has been emo tionally and physically dealt with. Breuvant, 2002

To conclude I have come to realize that what it all comes down to simply; when reality is rearranged it confuses people straightforward as this may sound; I found this out while researching Artists that have presented our reality in another form. I discovered a reality of another kind and that, is what I find shocking, Art works that have insignificant sizes of faeces on a pedestal have never managed to make me doubt my knowledge and common sense. It is like finding a new dimension of thought and staying true to this point, can any and all form of Art other than Conceptual able create a wave of shock when realizing the actual hidden thought and intents behind its concept?

Mahaba Abdulla

Author:: Mahaba Abdulla
Keywords:: Conceptual,Art,Friedman
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The American Melting Pot Myth

Most myths have some element of truth in them. The melting pot that media of all sorts (which includes our propaganda in law and education) tell us became America, is another of the half-truths or superficial observations which deserves a little study if we are to accept the deeper potential meaning in it. John Hope Franklin of Duke University is a respected Black scholar who says some powerful words after pointing out the kind of thing that media managers or manipulators galore have said about the open-minded American with no reason to bring prejudices to this new and exciting land of opportunity. I would point out that it was not so new and historians like himself have participated in a cover-up but let us see what this man has to say about the melting pot.

People do not generally like to find out that they have bastards in their family tree and the Woodpiles of America created a lot of bastards. My father used to tell us about the Virginia legislature and legislation proposed that would make anyone with any black blood not able to sit and participate in it. This was the early 1950s not the 1850s. One legislator did the research that most Americans will not even do about their own family. He did not get more than half way through exposing every member of the legislature for their mulatto blood when the others were all in an uproar and clamoring that he must b silenced.

This was one of the earliest expressions of the notion that the process of Americanization involved the creation of an entirely new mode of life that would replace the ethnic backgrounds of those who were a part of the process. It contained some imprecisions and inaccuracies that would, in time, became become? a part of the lore or myth of the vaunted melting pot and would grossly misrepres ent the crucial factor of ethnicity in American life. It ignored the tenacity with which the Pennsylvania Dutch held onto their language, religion, and way of life. It over-looked the way in which the Swedes of New Jersey remained Swedes and the manner in which the French Huguenots of New York and Charleston held onto their own past as though it was the source of all light and life. It described a process that in a distant day would gag at the notion that Irish Catholics could be assimilated on the broad lap of Alma Mater or that Asians could be seated on the basis of equality at the table of the Great American Feast. (8)

Needless to say he also addresses the matter of black emancipation and those who were already in the country though I do not think he was referring to the blacks who were here long before Columbus. In fact there was no race that had not been coming to America since before the time of Christ. Genetics is indeed a powerful tool used in court to free inn ocent victims of our justice system but so far our history is still allowing lies to victimize our cultural perspectives or myths. It is important that we act as if there is no race except the human race.

Author of Diverse Druids, Columnist for The ES Press Magazine, Guest writer for World-Mysteries.com

Author:: Robert Baird
Keywords:: Racism, Woodpiles
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Scottish Wedding Folklore & Traditions

Traditional Scottish Wedding

The origins of the traditional Scottish wedding:

Scotland always seems to do things in it's own way and style - and a Scottish wedding is no exception to the rule. In the 21st century, the Scottish wedding is an intricate blend of ancient highland tradition mixed in with modern, streamlined rites. Present day Scottish wedding traditions have their origins as far back as the 13th century. Back then the medieval Celtic church would proclaim the 'banns of marriage' for three successive Sundays. This practice of announcing a forthcoming marriage lasted for 600 years - until in the latter years of the 20th century it became standard to 'give notice of intent' to a registry office several weeks before the intended event.

Medieval Scottish wedding traditions:

It was normal practice in olden times for an entire village to get involved in the preparations for the 'big day'. People would line the streets to the church to cheer on the happy couple before they took their vows. In pre-reformation times, there is evidence that two Scottish wedding services would frequently take place. One in which the priest would address the party in Scots dialect and lead a ceremony outside the church. Whilst the more formal Latin mass and nuptial ceremony would take place inside.

The exchange of the rings has always been a main feature in Scottish wedding ceremonies from ancient times . A ring has no beginning and no end and as such symbolises the love within a marriage. The kissing of the bride follows on from this exchange of rings, and often leads to a cheer from the body of the kirk.

Following on from the formal church ceremony, a piper or group of pipers would frequently lead the entire group of guests down the streets, often to a relative's house, for a non-stop night of celebration, feasting and enjoyment. Local musicians led by pipers would get the dancing started and tradition has it that the fir st dance, normally a reel, would involve the newly wed couple. Following on from their efforts, the rest of the guests would then dance all the way into the sma' hours. In this respect, little has changed over 800 years - maybe apart from the dress code and the type of beer on tap.

When the wedding celebrations were over, the married couple would then leave to spend the night in their new home. The ancient tradition of carrying the bride over the doorstep was linked to the superstition that evil spirits inhabit the thresholds of doors. Hence the bride is lifted over the thresholds - and into the wedding bed. In medieval times, a priest would often bless the house and bless the wedding bed at this time. Then for the first time, as man and wife, the newly weds would have some quality time on their own.

Other wedding rituals such as the Highland custom of 'creeling the bridegroom', involved the groom carrying a large creel or basket filled with stones from one end o f a village to the other. He continued with this arduous task until such times as his bride to be would come out of her house and kiss him. Only if she did, would his friends allow him to escape from the creeling otherwise he had to continue until he had completed the circuit of the town.

Modern Scottish Wedding Traditions:

In more modern times, a lot of the superstition and rituals have been replaced by more showpiece proceedings. However, many of today's traditions still hark back to the past.

The bagpipes can be used to add atmosphere and grandeur to a wedding. The piper, in full Highland dress, stands at the church door and plays as the guests arrive. Later he leads the couple from the church to the car. The piping traditions continue, the married couple are frequently piped to the top table of honour along with the bridal party. With the cutting of the cake, again a piper is often asked to perform and a dirk, 'sharp highland dagger', is traditionally h anded over by the piper to start the 'cutting of the cake'. As the bride slices the first piece of cake, custom dictates that her hand is guided by that of her new husband.

The bride's 'show of presents' originates from the tradition of the 'bridal shower', where local female villagers would gift items that would help a young couple get started successfully in their own home. Nowadays, this often takes place in the home of the mother of the bride and the gifts have a touch more luxury than those in older times.

A bridegroom's stag night, likewise has ancient roots. The young man accompanied by his friends takes to the town and downs a fountain of beverages. One tradition has it that in smaller towns the groom to be would be stripped of his clothes and left in the street outside his home - or worse still tied to a lamp post! The good news is that he wouldn't realise what had happened till the next morning.

The wedding ring, until the late 20th century tended to be for the bride and not the groom. In later decades both bride and groom now wear rings for the most part. The traditional Scottish gold wedding band dates back to the 1500's. This style of ring is still popular as a wedding ring today - as also are Celtic knot work designed engagement and wedding rings.

Traditions in Scotland Before the Wedding Ceremony:

Often before a Scottish bride is married, her mother holds an open house for a traditional show of presents. Invitations are sent to those who gave wedding gifts to the couple and the wedding gifts are unwrapped and set out for viewing. After the show of presents the bride-to-be is often dressed up and her friends escort her through her town, singing and banging pots and pans, heralding the bride's wedding day. This tradition has evolved into the legendary 'hen night'.

The groom, meanwhile, is taken out for a stag night on one of the evenings preceding the wedding. The Stag Night is meant to be a cel ebration of the last night of freedom, and a way of reassuring friends that being married doesn't mean that they are shut out of your life. The groom, like the bride, is dressed up and taken around town by his friends and work mates. There is often a great deal of harmless practical joking, of which the poor groom is the main target. When the night winds down, the groom is sometimes stripped of his clothes and covered in soot, treacle and feathers and left overnight tied to a tree or post. In some rural areas an open lorry is hired and the groom is paraded through his local area with much noise and celebration.

Traditional Scottish Wedding Dress:

There is little doubt that traditional Scottish outfits add a touch of class and splendour to the wedding day and its associated ceremonies. The use of highland dress and the kilt, jacket, dirk and sporran in Scottish weddings has continued over the centuries. Whilst the bride's white gown and veil has its roots in more modern times. A Scottish bride will usually wear a traditional white or cream wedding gown. The grooms party and her father may come to the wedding resplendent in full Highland dress in the traditional clan tartan of their clans. She might wear a horseshoe on her arm for good luck, or a pageboy might deliver one to her as she arrives at the ceremony. Bridesmaids may wear whatever the bride has chosen to match her dress and it may include a little tartan accessory. Bouquets may include tartan ribbons or bows.

A gent's highland wedding outfit in its entirety consists of the following:

Bonnie Prince Charlie jacket and waistcoat, kilt, tartan flashes to match kilt, white hose, gillie brogues, kilt pin, sgian dubh, black belt with buckle, formal sporran with chain strap, wing collar shirt, black or coloured bow tie, and a piece of lucky heather on the lapel. He also has the option of wearing a fly plaid, which is anchored under the paulette on the shoulder of the jack et and secured by a large plaid brooch, (Cairngorm).

For the bride 'something old .... something new' -

For the bride a universal custom is the 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue' - of course the 'something new' can be the brides dress! The 'something new' at the wedding can become the 'something old' or something borrowed' at the next generation s weddings. The bride sometimes wears a blue garter (symbolizing love) which plays a part later at the wedding reception. It was also traditional in some areas for the bride to put a small silver coin in her shoe to bring her good luck.

Something old -

A gift from mother to daughter to start her off for married life, and symbolising the passing on a bit of mother's wisdom.

Something new -

A gift symbolising the new start married life represents.

Something borrowed -

The idea here is that something is borrowed from a happily married couple in the hope that a little of their martial bliss will rub off on the newlyweds.

Something blue -

There are two likely sources for this. Roman women used to border their robes with blue as a sign of modesty, love, and fidelity. Also blue is the colour normally associated with Mary the mother of Jesus who is often used to symbolise steadfast love, purity, and sincerity.

After the wedding ceremony, it is traditional for flowers, petals, or pretty paper confetti to be thrown at the departing couple. In some rural areas the couple throw coins to the children who have gathered outside the church to watch. This is called a scramble. This is the reason children make a bee-line for local weddings. As the couple leave the ceremony the groom dips his hands into his pockets (or sporran), and throws all his loose change out on the ground for the children to scramble for.

Another tradition frequently seen during the evening wedding festivities involves the bride throwing her brida l bouquet, usually white roses, over her left shoulder. Her female non-attached bridesmaids and other single women in the bridal party stand in a line behind her. The girl who catches the thrown flower posy is by tradition going to be the next in the group to get married.

Traditional wedding reception festivities can easily last all night and the newly-wed couple lead off the dancing. Before the evening is finished the bride and groom leave as quietly and secretly as they can and go to a pre -arranged destination for their wedding night - often leaving for the honeymoon the next day.

More Scottish Wedding Ideas:

Give a Scottish brooch (called Luckenbooth) as a token of your love or as a betrothal gift. This is usually made of silver and is engraved with two hearts entwined. Some couples pin this on the blanket of their first-born for good luck.

Weddings and receptions are sometime held at a Scottish castle if there is a suitable one nearby. For someth ing simpler and less expensive, the village hall, an outdoor venue or, for an even more traditional option, the ceremony can be in the house. If money is very tight, try arranging a Penny Wedding, in which guests are expected to bring their own food and drinks to the church to celebrate after the ceremony is over.

The difference between Scotland and the rest of the U.K. is that, in Scotland, it is the person who is licensed to conduct a marriage service and not the building that is licensed to hold a wedding.

Local Scottish Wedding Traditions:

Wedding customs have changed dramatically over the years. Some parts of weddings seem steeped in tradition whilst you will be glad to hear of some customs which have died out over the years!

In Aberdeenshire even now, the 'blackening' is a ritual performed with great relish. The engaged couple are captured one night by so-called 'friends' and covered with foul substances such as treacle, feathers, soot, etc. The y are then paraded around the village and usually the pubs. It takes days to wash clean!

In the eighteenth century, the custom of hand-fasting was observed. A couple would live together for a year and a day, at which time they could decide whether to part or make a lifelong commitment. It was considered more important for the bride to be experienced and fertile than to be a virgin.

Tradition says sew a hair onto the hem of a wedding dress for luck, or let a drop of blood fall onto an inner seam. The bride must never try on a complicated dress in advance of her wedding day. To facilitate this tradition a small section of the hem is left unsewn by the dressmaker until the last moment.

Lastly, the bride, when she leaves home for the last time as a single girl, should step out of the house with her right foot for luck.

Penny Bridal or Silver Bridal:

These festivities, also known as Penny Weddings, were renowned for feasting, drinking, dancing and fi ghting and were enjoyed by all except the clergy - who disapproved of such raucous behaviour. Gifts were made to the newly-weds towards the cost of the wedding feast and the celebrations started on the eve of the wedding with singing, toasts and the ceremony of feet washing, which is described below.

Feet Washing

A tub of water was placed in the best room, in which the bride placed her feet, her female friends then gathered around to help wash them. A wedding ring from a happily married woman was previously placed in the tub and it was believed that whoever found the ring would be the next to get married.

The men folk were outside the door making jokes and attempting to watch through the doorway. The bridegroom was then seized by the women and made to sit at the tub. His legs were none too gently daubed with soot, ashes and cinders - quite a painful procedure as you might guess!

Wedding Procession

The following day, the bridal party made their w ay to the church with flower petals being thrown in front of the bride. If they encountered a funeral or a pig on the way, it was considered bad luck and they would return home and set out again. The first person they encountered was called the first- foot and would be given a coin and a drink of whisky by the bride. He would then have to accompany the bridal party for one mile before being allowed to continue on his way.

Adopted Scottish Wedding Traditions:

Tying shoes to a car bumper

This tradition represents the symbolism and power of shoes in ancient times. Egyptians would exchange sandals when they exchanged goods, so when the father of the bride gave his daughter to the groom, he would also give the bride's sandals to show that she now belonged to the groom. In Anglo-Saxon times, the groom would tap the heel of the bride's shoe to show his authority over her. In later times, people would throw shoes at the couple. Now folks just tie shoes to the coupl e's car.

The taking of each other's right hand

The open right hand is a symbol of strength, resource and purpose. The coming together of both right hands is a symbol that both the bride and the groom can depend on each other and the resources that each brings to the marriage.

Tying the knot

This wonderful expression originated from Roman times when the bride wore a girdle that was tied in knots which the groom had the fun of untying. As a side note, this phrase can also refer to the tying of the knot in hand-fasting ceremonies, which were often performed without the benefit of a clergyman.

Wearing of a veil

Originated with arranged marriages. In these, the groom's family informed him that he was to marry, but they very rarely let him see the bride. After all, if the groom didn't like the bride's looks, he might not agree to the marriage. With this in mind, the father of the bride gave the bride away to the groom who then lifted the veil to see his wife of all eternity for the first time.

Wedding cake

Like most rituals handed down through the ages, a wedding wouldn't be complete without fertility symbols, like the wedding cake. Ancient Romans would bake a cake made of wheat or barley and break it over the bride's head as a symbol of her fertility. Over time, it became traditional to stack several cakes on top of one another. The bride and groom would then be charged to kiss over this tower without knocking it over. If they were successful, a lifetime of good fortune was certain for the new couple. Finally, during the reign of King Charles II of England, it became customary for such a cake to be iced with sugar.

Leap year proposals

The right of every woman to propose on 29th February each leap year, goes back many hundreds of years to when the leap year day had no recognition in English law (the day was 'leapt over' and ignored, hence the term 'leap year'). It was considered, therefore, that as the day had no legal status, it was reasonable to assume that traditions also had no status. Consequently, women who were concerned about being 'left on the shelf' took advantage of this anomaly and proposed to the man they wished to marry.

It was also thought that since the leap year day corrected the discrepancy between the calendar year of 365 days and the time taken for the Earth to complete one orbit of the sun (365 days and 6 hours), it was an opportunity for women to correct a tradition that was one-sided and unjust.

For those wishing to take advantage of this ancient tradition, you will have to wait until February 29th 2008!

Throwing confetti

Throwing confetti over newly-weds originated from the ancient pagan rite of showering the happy couple with grain to wish upon them a 'fruitful' union. Pagans believed that the fertility of the seeds would be transferred to the couple on whom they fell. The throwing of rice has the same symbolic meaning.

The word confetti has the same root as the word confectionery in Italian and was used to describe 'sweetmeats' that is, grain and nuts coated in sugar that were thrown over newly-weds for the same pagan reason. In recent years, small pieces of coloured paper have replaced sweetmeats, grain and nuts as an inexpensive substitute, but the use of the word confetti has remained.

Carrying the bride over the threshold

Earlier we looked at the medieval Scottish tradition of carrying the bride over the threshold - to avoid contact with 'evil spirits'. The Romans similarly believed that it was unlucky if the bride tripped on entering the house for the first time. So they arranged for several members of the bridal party to carry her over the threshold. Nowadays the groom is expected to do the job himself.

Grey Horses

All the best bridal carriages used to be pulled by grey horses and it is still considered good luck to see a grey horse on the way t o the church.

Lucky horse shoe

Horseshoes have always been lucky. There is a nice story about the devil asking a blacksmith to shoe his single hoof. When the blacksmith recognised his customer he carried out the job as painfully as possible until the devil roared for mercy. He was released on condition that he would never enter a place where a horseshoe was displayed. A horse shoe carried by the bride is considered a symbol of fertility.

Wedding Bells

A peal of bells as the bridal couple leave the church is one of the oldest traditions. Before the days of widespread literacy and newspapers this was how the local people knew a wedding had taken place. The sound of bells was also said to drive away evil spirits.

Lucky Chimney Sweep

Brides still consider it fortunate if they pass a chimney-sweep on the way to the wedding as the old fashioned soot-covered sweep had magical associations with the family and hearth - the heart of the home.

< p>Lastly, Don't look in the mirror!

It is bad luck for the bride to look in the mirror wearing her complete outfit before her wedding day - old beliefs say that part of yourself goes into the reflection and therefore, the bride would not be giving all of herself to her new husband.

Scottish wedding traditions are memorable - and have influenced wedding day rites worldwide.

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Author:: Tony Coogan
Keywords:: wedding ceilidh, scottish wedding, ceilidh band, ceilidh bands, Ceilidhs, wedding scotland
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What is this Thing Called Literature and Why We Study it Still

Literature as common understanding suggests is a representative body of texts admired and appreciated for its formal properties as well as its thematic concerns, which most would term vaguely as artistic or even aesthetic. If asked on the relevance of Literature the response would be that the study of Literature is akin to appreciating the arts.

However, in the past few decades the notion of Literature has itself been called into question by progressive theoretical debates, which if anything have made it impossible to decide what Literature is and should be. The point that relegates Literature to a subordinate position as opposed to the other humanities like history, is the problematic term of fiction. Today after the collapse of idealism, what we have in a strange twist of events is the return of the importance of language. Perennial questions like what is truth and reality are once again thrown up, this time in the study of Literature. Where philosophy and later sc ience, its successor have dominated this field of inquiry, Literature seems to be this new platform for these very old questions.

Literature in the mid 20th century moved against its detractors in calling into question all forms of knowledge, because all discourses utilize language inevitably as the main vehicle of communication. As a result, all writings from political theories to psychology are regarded simply as different species of writing and hence, come under the purview of Literature. Since literary studies involves analysing writing itself, the field has widened to include other forms of writing instead of what is simply deemed as fiction. Although, the core texts of literary studies have remained traditional i.e. fictional works, the methods and devices used are applied to non-fictional texts e.g. biography, journalistic writing etc.

Another point must be added in Literatures recent response to sceptics and that is, since all writing must pertain to a re cognisable form of expression, the question remains then, how valid is the truth content of so called non-fictional texts, when it is governed by pre-existing rules of expression? This discussion is an apt example of the fertile ground of modern literary theory, in particular, the relationship between language and experience. Instead on dwelling on these modern issues of how a discourse like literary theory evolved out of the confusion of other disciplines, perhaps a historical look at literary studies must be revived; not in a nostalgic sense, but one that provides a definable shape where the future relevance of Literature can be sought.

The study of Literature is the study of modes of communication. The texts that are analysed and discussed are literary texts. It can include any writing of stylistic merit and works that contribute to the body of human knowledge. The aim of which is to use this method of inquiry in other fields. I have just outlined a position of lite rary studies that seems Novel but in truth, it is an older attitude.

The study of Literature did not exist in the way we know it today. In some ways, it is a very modern discipline, but it can also be said to be one of the oldest disciplines. If we allow ourselves to include the oral tradition of the ancient world, where poets studied the methods of narrating stories, we understand there is a formal method to those ancient works. These poets had formalised techniques in the form of rhythms and refrains, which were learnt and subsequently, performed. The fact that the earliest poets understood devices and techniques is evidence of literary methods. A modern may still make this association that the study of Literature is connected to the act of performance in all its manifestations. Indeed, a craftsman must learn the tools of the trade to understand and preserve a tradition, which scholars, in the case of ancient Greece have attributed to Homer, but in the modern day con text the study of Literature has lost that affinity for creating artistic products. Studying Literature does not necessarily result in the production of great Literature (whatever that may be).

Literature in the ancient world was inextricably bounded up with social life. We know for instance that Poetry was part of religious ritual, rites and collective history. In other words, Literature had a social function in the ancient world whose dominant form was Poetry, which communicated to the community various aspects of its tradition and history. But what purpose does it serve to our present age, when we can read history from books and learn about the world around us through the media? The answer to this question lies in the way we should receive and look at writings. To explain this I will touch on the academic heritage of Literature.

The study of Literature was embedded in another related discipline called rhetoric, which in its scope covered a range of topics that to the modern may be shocking. These include philosophy, grammar, history and literary writing. Although in the contemporary context it has acquired a derisive status as being empty and persuasive rather than sincere, the ancient and medieval world regarded it as a discipline that encompasses a range of issues.

Central to rhetoric is the study of language akin to our modern day literary studies. If we move ahead to the Renaissance era rhetorical studies expanded into the area of studying the styles and forms of classical authors, including the ideas from Plato to Aristotle in the original Greek. This pivotal moment in Western history is what we define as the Renaissance and the approach is what is called humanism. In the curriculum of universities in Europe in the 14th and 15 the centuries, we have what is called studia humanitatis, the study of grammar, Poetry, moral philosophy and history. Interestingly, professional rhetoricians considered these areas under the com pass of rhetoric. Rhetoricians who specialised in the study of language whether for its use in political speeches or philosophy saw the importance of the mastery of style. Herein lies a very important point, the rhetoricians saw in language the capacity and potential of knowledge. In other words, knowledge and language are inextricably bounded up together. The world becomes the very words we use to describe it. This may sound very postmodern but its roots are arguably founded on an earlier tradition. Though those scholars believed they were discovering new things out there, they were in fact discovering newer forms of writing.

The key point here is that literary studies is embedded in areas which one may not associate it with. Rhetoric was not the study of highly ornate speech, something similar to the charge against Literature. Instead, it covered a broad spectrum of interests. Of course rhetoric and Literature are different but the resemblance is striking. The common denominator between both fields is the analysis of language. This does not involve cataloguing types of writing but it goes further into developing ideas from them. The impact of such an endeavour can be seen in the Renaissance period of the Western world. Language and the world of ideas are interdependent components and not mutually exclusive. When we say ideas, we mean all forms of knowledge, from politics to psychology. In the ancient world, the stoics for instance understood logic from language. Language thus is the basis of knowing and the study of which becomes of paramount importance for the development of thought in the respective fields of knowledge.

A separate branch then evolved from rhetoric, philology. This branch is involved in the study of the use of language and the root derivations of meanings from words. An important fact here again like rhetoric, it is the study of writings from politics, philosophy, scientific treatises etc. The eclectic selection of texts included in the study of philology produced sometimes astonishing individuals like, Friedrich Nietzsche, arguably the most influential philosopher on the 20th century who was a trained philologist. This shows the relationship between the analysis of language and ideas. I am not suggesting that Literature is philosophy or politics, but on the contrary I am suggesting that Literature informs other disciplines.

Today, in the study of English Literature, the analysis of language is what is studied, applied and researched. This is something that contemporary philosophy and theoretical perspectives are engaged with. Literature then is the study of human experiences as much as intellectual ideas of a period, civilization and culture. It then becomes apparent, that Literature is derived from older academic disciplines of rhetoric and philology whose traditions are embodied in Literature. It is also pivotal for those studying other disciplines to understand a literary approach, which entails the analysis of language itself. When we compare this with the prevalent modern day stereotype of Literature as a noble and elegant way to use up ones time, we find a disparity between what the discipline offers and how it is regarded. For those still grappling with the significance of Literature, it can best be understood as a meta-discipline whose application in other fields I believe is indispensable to the progress of human thought and development.

If we sum up the perspectives offered here in this modest piece, we find that Literature includes any form of writing in its purview and it is studied for the purpose of evaluating stylistic innovations and accumulating a body of knowledge from writings. There is a third coordinate that I have failed to mention and that is the manner of reading the text. A text is never literary but is made literary by a reader. The study of Literature is not a simple accumulation of devices and facts but it shape s our way of interpreting the world. Literary methods provide a fresh and creative way of looking at the world which is at once imaginative and disciplined. It is this strange marriage of the rational and irrational that proves to be challenging to those who embark on this journey. Moreover, what better approach can we be armed with in facing the realities of this world than with a paradoxical attitude.

Mohamed Jeeshan G.R http://www.idle-eye.com

Author:: Mohamed Jeeshan G.R.
Keywords:: Literature, Singapore Literature, creative writers, Poetry, Drama, Novel, Criticism, stansfield coll
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