Tales of the Grocery-Store Parking Lot!

Well, Ariane's had another birthday, and I was informed early on she wanted a new phone. And not just **ANY** phone; an new Motorola ROKR mp3-playing phone.

Why? To replace the one stolen when she was mugged.

I'd better start over, hadn't I?

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Ariane works in the southeast part of San Antonio. It's not the best part of town; it's poor, but not exactly prime real estate territory. You know what I'm saying here?

Anyway, she somtimes goes to the local grocery store (called "H.E.B.") to pick up something from the deli for lunch. One day last August she did just that. She was on her way out through the parking lot when she saw this kid walking towards her in the parking lot. He was walking very slowly and eyeing her oddly, so she wondered if he was lost or something. About that time the little punk snatched her purse and ran like a bandit (which, in fact, he *was*.)

Much to his surprise, hot on his heels was the lovely and gracious Miss Ariane in heated pursuit; screaming bloody murder at the little shit who snatched her purse. He high-tailed it to a waiting car and Ariane just missed grabbing him, so she -- get this, now -- JUMPS IN FRONT OF THE GETAWAY CAR and slams her palms on the hood, telling the punks to give her the purse back, NOW!!!

Fortunately a bystander pulled her away right before the little bastards would've run her down to get away. The better news is that she caused such a commotion that they got good pictures on the the TV cameras in the parking lot and a dozen eyewitnesses for when they catch the little punks.

Coincidentally, that turned out to be not too very long afterwards. Turns out the punk slammed his hand in the door in his hurry to get away from Ariane. So he went to University Hospital (the local hospital of choice for indigents, punks, and folks who want to remain anonymous and skip out on their bills) and when told he needed ID to be treated, he pulled out his cellphoone to call his mom to bring his wallet.

But his new cellphone was turned off; most likely because I'd had Ariane's credit cards and phone deactivated when I found out about the mugging. He got so angry he threw the phone down the hallway and caused a scene cursing and screaming -- which attracted the attention of the cops always on duty at University Hospital ER. They checked the phone -- the screen said it was stolen (Thank You, Cingular!) -- he was arrested, and promptly ratted out his little friends -- and is currently awaiting trial.

So -- the finale of all that is that Ariane needed a new phone for her birthday. Got it?

As much as a technophobe as she is, Ariane wanted one of these new Motorola ROKR phones that besides being anifty little American-made phone is also an MP3 player of no small capacity. She immediately got herself a subscription to Napster and has been downloading lots of French singers and European music of her childhood that I've never heard of, certainly.

Plus her friends at work are completely in awe of the little gadget, which is roughly the same dimensions and weight as a pack of cigarettes, but plays for hours on a charge. (It's the same one pictured at the top of this post, if you're interested.)

So, now you know. Never mess with my wife -- she's mean when agitated.

~~JD~~

A Brief Aside to those who have Wondered . . .

I've had a comment or two about why I put so darn many links to other 'blogs and websites on my own weblog. The answer is ridiculously silly, actually.

When my last computer died early this year, I was stuck trying to recover all the Bookmarks from my last computer to transfer to the new one. As I struggled to pull them all together, I was struck by the fact that even if I did, I still wouldn't have them on the other computers I use (Julian's computer, my computer at work, etc.)

So it occurred to me that I could just as easily put my most-used bookmarks on my weblog and have them available through cyberspace, at whatever computer I may be at currently.

So don't just think of it as my 'blog -- it's also my cyberspace signpost to where I want to visit today.

So now you know.

~~JD~~

Intellectual Diversion for the Troubled Mind

I got some disturbing news on my health this week. So while I'm processing the news and waiting for more information, I'm going to indulge in an old human tradition of ignoring the elephant in the living room and focusing on something entirely irrelevant.

Human beings with wings.

No, really.

(When I have something more definitive, I'll let you all know. The good news is I do NOT have AIDS or any known form of hepatitis. More when I know it, okay?)

So, anyway . . . .

I have this small collection of human figures with wings on the wall of my bedroom which has grown over the years. As a psychiatric nurse I tend to skew towards a grounding with a Jungian bent. (For those who don't know, Carl Jung was one of Sigmund Freud's first adherents and greatest advocates. Freud and Jung differed, however, on the idea that all humanity is connected by a vast "colllective unconcious" through which we all share ideas, dreams, and universal representations, called "iconic themes.")

One of the most common "iconic themes" is the dream of flying, which Jung said represented the idea or desire for escape, for freedom. Almost everyone in all cultures has at one time dreamed of flight or flying, and almost all cutures have art forms representing this icon.

This statue above is of the bride of the Egyptian sun-god Ra. She has wings to carry Ra through the heavens and traverse their kingdom. (Ra is that nifty little golden circle on her head surrounded by the bulls' horns.) While not the earliest artistic representation of a human with wings, it's the earliest I could find to purchase for my collection

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A representation of the Egyptian Hawk-god Horus, via DC Comics. Their character "Northwind" is a member of a race of bird-people associated with Hawkman. (By-the-bye, he really does have a head like a hawks' -- making polite conversation problematic at best.)


The classic judeo/christian/muslim representation of an angelic figure (i.e., "Angels".). Although scripture refers to angels as being masculine with male names (Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer, etc.) most modern representations are shown as female.


An early American folk art version of the traditional angel figure is also seen here. Note the finer detail available through painting versus the next figure, which was whittled.




A very primitive version of the angel motif is seen here, whittled from hardwood and colored with basic white and red. No detail is seen due to the primitiveness of the media. Such representations were common on the American frontier and are still found in third world countries today. This particular version has wire wings which are difficult to see against the darker background.


A modern ceramic representation of an angel, which almost always deals in colors of whites and pastels. This angel was sold during Easter season, so the reddish/maroon cloth is symbolic of Christ's blood being shed for mankind.


This modern concrete copy is of a medieval grotesque from a Parisian building. The cherub (second cousin to an angel) sits on top of the building warding off evil spirits. (A "grotesque" differs from a gargoyle in that gargoyles are waterspouts, while grotesques are statuary.)


This clay figurine of modern Mexican design showing a handless angel figurine. (The figure lost his hands due to the fragility of the clay medium; the hands loss was not intentional nor meant to signify anything.) The fine detail shows the feathered texture of the wings which are distinctly bird-like.


This is a traditional example of meso-american clay figurine art. The figure depicted is of a Peruvian Andes piper boy playing a pan flute. Whether the wings were present before the influence of Spanish Christian missionaries is debatable, but interesting nonetheless. The feathers are also those of an eagle, which is a native american symbol of power, strenght, and authority.


This is a representation (again via comic books, of course) of a Norse Valkyrie. As the Guardians of the Dead and Valhalla (the Norse version of the Afterlife), the are alternately shown as either winged or riding winged horses. Go figure. Either way, the wings as an analogy of supernatural swiftness works.

Here is an early Victorian sculpture of a fairy. While the ideas of fairies (which have wings) and pixies (which do not) predate Victorian England even to druid times, they enjoyed a brief resurgence of popularity during the late 1880's in England with the advent of the camera, as many citizens of the crown attempted to photograph these proto-humanoid forms. While fairies have humanoid figures, they are smaller than humans and often have insects wings (this young lady has a butterfly's or bees' wings.)


A more traditional representation of the pixie is shown here, with her garlands and belts of vines and dress made of petals. Her wings are more pointed and insectoid than most other representations of fairies, which almost always use more rounded wings.


The post-modern era fairy starts and (pretty much) ends with the world's most famous fairy, Tinkerbell (Clochette to my European relatives.) Seen here as a McDonald's give-away from a few years ago locked in Captain Hook's lantern, she glows in the dark, imparting a warm glow to our bedroom nightly.


Moving rapidly into the modern era, winged human forms are very much evident in both animation as well as graphic sequential literature forms, such as comic books. And in Europe, everybody loves a Smurf (thats Stroumpghs to my European relatives), and apparently Smurfs/Stroumpghs are fond of lighting out into the wild blue yonder as well. That we don't see many Smurfs flitting past our windows in probably a testament to the vicousness of the local purple martin population, I would guess. (Poor Smurfs!)


This one's the "Angel" character from Marvel comics' X-Men franchise. Although not seen in the first two movies, I have it on good authority he'll be in the third movie for sure. That should be quite a sight for the CGI guys to have nervous breakdowns working on.


Marvel comics also publishes a character called "The Falcon", a former partner/sidekick to Captain America who has these nifty little glider wings with which to fight crime. Not exactly wings per se, but still a form of winged human figure.

This is the "Hawkman" character currently published by DC Comics. Hawkman believes himself to be the reincarnation of an Egyptian pharaoh and wears wings and a mask mimicking Horus, the Hawk-god. (And flies, of course.)


This is a "ringer"; actually a second version of the Hawkman character as he first appeared in DC Comics in 1940. I just include him to show off the look; and to wonder aloud how he ever fought crime with pastel blue wings. (Perhaps the criminals laughed until they got stitches in their sides and were incapacitated?)


If you have kids that watch Cartoon Network or just love comics, you'll recognize the "Hawkgirl" character from Justice League Unlimited, currently seen there weekends. In the comics Hawkgirl is the paramour of Hawkman, and the deadlier of the species, certainly.


This is one of the characters from Kevin Smith's "Clerks" universe, who (I'm told) appeared in the movie "Dogma". He's a tough little nut; and representative of the disdain in which modern angels are held. And, yes, that's blood on his breastplate.


And finally, we come to Sparky the Dog; who, for some reason, has wings on this button. (Sparky is a cartoon character published by Pam Bliss of Valparaiso IN.)

And that is pretty much my collection, such as it is. I have my eye on a replica Mesopotamian piece I saw in the mall a month ago, and continue to search for a figure of Icarus and/or Daedalus. Yet strangely absent from my collection (and not for want of searching) are any kind of figures representing Africa or Asia. Apparently Africa and Asia (and possibly Australian aborigines as well) have no mythos of flying men. China is replete with legends of flying dragons, but no human flying forms.

Or maybe I just haven't looked hard enough. Anyway, now you know what to get me for Christmas.

~~~JD~~~