The Serpent's Solstice
21/12/2012 11:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izmeinaIt looks like there's less then 20 hours left for the world to end. By then we will all be taking bets on the next likely date for the Zombie Apocalypse, the Rapture or the End of Days. The Rapture would be fun because we'd get rid of all those Holy Rollers and happy clappers.
Been absent of late. In spite of this serpents' allergy to children last week's school shooting was seriously disturbing and spooky especially so near Christmas. But almost as scary and downright terrifying is some of what passes for discussion in the live journal community Politicartoons
The devotion of some Americans to their guns is downright disturbing. Logic goes out the window when the reptilian brain gets fired up. After all, a Smith and Wesson always beats four aces. And these buggers think that a pistol is still insufficient. For what legitimate purpose could one possibly need a weapon that fires dozens of shots without needing to reload? People are seriously suggesting this would not have happened if the kids and teachers had guns too! Like possessing these things automatically makes you a good shot and a reasonable person who would never ever use them but for the noblest of purposes.
Guessing it would be near impossible to put huge taxes on bullets as there'd be a thriving black market in the infernal things
Spent the last few years getting over a workplace where trust and cooperation had been totally destroyed. A culture of arse covering, box ticking and fear without weapons is toxic enough without putting the whole thing on steroids.
Got to thinking that the end of days would look most attractive indeed if the alternative was to live in a society so lacking in trust that teachers would ever had to bring guns to class and where the top dogs treat everyone else as lamp posts.
In the meantime, Izzie has started negotiations with the inner serpent in an attempt to tame the other beasts that are rampaging around in the basement of her brain. Maybe they are secret agents of the toad and her goblin masters or just a bunch of dementors not allergic to chocolate.
Whatever they are, they've been making the last few months a veritable misery and it's time for them to be evicted
Now that it looks like the world will not be ending after all, it's no longer possible to outsource this job
It's been amusing of late catching up on the assorted fluffy bunny new age magazines.
For the last three years it's been all doom and gloom, repent, the end is nigh and 5,125 reasons why the Mayan calender should concern us all - even those of us who follow the rather boring baby of a Gregorian calendar. It too has its own doomers and gloomers out in force at the approach of each new millennium and then it just ticks over to the next day like any half decent calendar would be expected to do
And now these same magazines are all full of adverts for courses, workshops and whatnot with times, dates and exorbitant price tags and not the slightest hint of embarrassment
A bit like a Tarot card reader who turns over the dreaded card of Doom and Death, they are quick to reassure the audience that it's not about literal death at all but endings and new beginnings and a chance to start again
The Tarot readers obviously did not believe the world would be ending today as a bunch of four of them had set up stalls in the Fremantle town hall under the banner of a psychic fair. Business was obviously not booming as the $2 admission fee had been abandoned and it was now free to go and peek. But the prices for service were strangely absent.
There were countless claims for psychic credentials with the obligatory ten generations of Gypsy ancestry and the services on offer also included palmistry, oracle cards and strange stuff with candles. No reading the tea leaves or cookie crumbs this week
After this little detour pottered off to the Esplanade for a visit to the old carriage cafe. It is an old railway carriage built in 1912 that has been converted into a cafe and is surrounded by a wooden deck and gorgeous Norfolk pine trees
Had been drooling over this pretty place for years but it was always closed when the serpent slinked past and there was no visible notices anywhere stating the trading hours
Turns out to be 7.30 to 3pm daily so that explained everything. Had never gone past there any earlier than 5pm usually on the way to the beach to watch the sunset
It was very tempting to stay and watch the sunset there but rituals must be observed. Fremantle is for winter sunsets. Cottesloe Beach is the traditional place for the summer solstice and last sunset of they year. Been indulging in nostalgia for 2001 and Friday 21st December that year was spent at that beach and so it would be this time too.
Then of course there was another method to the serpent madness. What more auspicious way to spend the last day before the Zombie Apocalypse peeking in the Burratti gallery of fine art at works painted by The Beast himself? This gallery happens to be located on the bus route to Cottesloe
It turned out that the gallery is closed for two weeks for Christmas and will be reopening on Wednesday 2nd January 2013. Will most definitely be dropping in as a detour on the way to a certain lunatic asylum
Popped into the post office to pick up some large envelopes and figured it might be a good idea to pick up a spiral notebook for next year Novel adventures in April. It's less superstition and more a fondness for picking special dates
Also decided while sipping a coffee that this would be the perfect date to have that conversation with the inner serpent. Never mind that the gallery was closed, had a portable deck of beastliness on hand. Since the last adventure with these cards was so illuminating, decided that more would be in order. But that is a tale for another day suffice to say that not a single one of the many creepy cards came up which is a bit of an achievement. Sure had a fit of the Izzie giggles when the very first card turns out to be The World which features a woman kind of cuddling a very large and colourful serpent. The Star is a more beautiful card but this one is pretty cool too.
This business of manipulating symbolic representations in order to produce change in the real world or at least in the mind could prove to have some use after all.
Had some hummus, ciabatta and brie cheese along with a bottle of red for a sunset picnic. Only then did the silly serpent realize that she had no cup of any sort so the wine had to wait until later
The parrots were squawking like crazy for about an hour before sunset so loudly that it was hardly possible to hear the waves.
Got to thinking that this is the sort of place that is good for a serpent soul and should be visited much more often
Could actually feel the state of scratchiness slowly changing to glowing and toasty. It was like some sort of protective shield was being created simply by sitting there watching the sun and the waves. Unlike New Year's Eve there was hardly anyone there to watch the sunset and most of those were tourists
The locals most likely take it all for granted
In spite of an incredibly mild and mostly gorgeous December, the weather bureau is predicting a most pickly 40 celsius for Christmas Day itself. That will be seriously sucky. It will be like 2007 all over again. And still the silly twits in the shops insist on their reindeer and snowflakes and there'll be countless sad South Brits slaving over turkey, pumpkin and roast potatoes and big slobbering serves of plum pudding
It's enough to turn a serpent into a pagan.
Been absent of late. In spite of this serpents' allergy to children last week's school shooting was seriously disturbing and spooky especially so near Christmas. But almost as scary and downright terrifying is some of what passes for discussion in the live journal community Politicartoons
The devotion of some Americans to their guns is downright disturbing. Logic goes out the window when the reptilian brain gets fired up. After all, a Smith and Wesson always beats four aces. And these buggers think that a pistol is still insufficient. For what legitimate purpose could one possibly need a weapon that fires dozens of shots without needing to reload? People are seriously suggesting this would not have happened if the kids and teachers had guns too! Like possessing these things automatically makes you a good shot and a reasonable person who would never ever use them but for the noblest of purposes.
Guessing it would be near impossible to put huge taxes on bullets as there'd be a thriving black market in the infernal things
Spent the last few years getting over a workplace where trust and cooperation had been totally destroyed. A culture of arse covering, box ticking and fear without weapons is toxic enough without putting the whole thing on steroids.
Got to thinking that the end of days would look most attractive indeed if the alternative was to live in a society so lacking in trust that teachers would ever had to bring guns to class and where the top dogs treat everyone else as lamp posts.
In the meantime, Izzie has started negotiations with the inner serpent in an attempt to tame the other beasts that are rampaging around in the basement of her brain. Maybe they are secret agents of the toad and her goblin masters or just a bunch of dementors not allergic to chocolate.
Whatever they are, they've been making the last few months a veritable misery and it's time for them to be evicted
Now that it looks like the world will not be ending after all, it's no longer possible to outsource this job
It's been amusing of late catching up on the assorted fluffy bunny new age magazines.
For the last three years it's been all doom and gloom, repent, the end is nigh and 5,125 reasons why the Mayan calender should concern us all - even those of us who follow the rather boring baby of a Gregorian calendar. It too has its own doomers and gloomers out in force at the approach of each new millennium and then it just ticks over to the next day like any half decent calendar would be expected to do
And now these same magazines are all full of adverts for courses, workshops and whatnot with times, dates and exorbitant price tags and not the slightest hint of embarrassment
A bit like a Tarot card reader who turns over the dreaded card of Doom and Death, they are quick to reassure the audience that it's not about literal death at all but endings and new beginnings and a chance to start again
The Tarot readers obviously did not believe the world would be ending today as a bunch of four of them had set up stalls in the Fremantle town hall under the banner of a psychic fair. Business was obviously not booming as the $2 admission fee had been abandoned and it was now free to go and peek. But the prices for service were strangely absent.
There were countless claims for psychic credentials with the obligatory ten generations of Gypsy ancestry and the services on offer also included palmistry, oracle cards and strange stuff with candles. No reading the tea leaves or cookie crumbs this week
After this little detour pottered off to the Esplanade for a visit to the old carriage cafe. It is an old railway carriage built in 1912 that has been converted into a cafe and is surrounded by a wooden deck and gorgeous Norfolk pine trees
Had been drooling over this pretty place for years but it was always closed when the serpent slinked past and there was no visible notices anywhere stating the trading hours
Turns out to be 7.30 to 3pm daily so that explained everything. Had never gone past there any earlier than 5pm usually on the way to the beach to watch the sunset
It was very tempting to stay and watch the sunset there but rituals must be observed. Fremantle is for winter sunsets. Cottesloe Beach is the traditional place for the summer solstice and last sunset of they year. Been indulging in nostalgia for 2001 and Friday 21st December that year was spent at that beach and so it would be this time too.
Then of course there was another method to the serpent madness. What more auspicious way to spend the last day before the Zombie Apocalypse peeking in the Burratti gallery of fine art at works painted by The Beast himself? This gallery happens to be located on the bus route to Cottesloe
It turned out that the gallery is closed for two weeks for Christmas and will be reopening on Wednesday 2nd January 2013. Will most definitely be dropping in as a detour on the way to a certain lunatic asylum
Popped into the post office to pick up some large envelopes and figured it might be a good idea to pick up a spiral notebook for next year Novel adventures in April. It's less superstition and more a fondness for picking special dates
Also decided while sipping a coffee that this would be the perfect date to have that conversation with the inner serpent. Never mind that the gallery was closed, had a portable deck of beastliness on hand. Since the last adventure with these cards was so illuminating, decided that more would be in order. But that is a tale for another day suffice to say that not a single one of the many creepy cards came up which is a bit of an achievement. Sure had a fit of the Izzie giggles when the very first card turns out to be The World which features a woman kind of cuddling a very large and colourful serpent. The Star is a more beautiful card but this one is pretty cool too.
This business of manipulating symbolic representations in order to produce change in the real world or at least in the mind could prove to have some use after all.
Had some hummus, ciabatta and brie cheese along with a bottle of red for a sunset picnic. Only then did the silly serpent realize that she had no cup of any sort so the wine had to wait until later
The parrots were squawking like crazy for about an hour before sunset so loudly that it was hardly possible to hear the waves.
Got to thinking that this is the sort of place that is good for a serpent soul and should be visited much more often
Could actually feel the state of scratchiness slowly changing to glowing and toasty. It was like some sort of protective shield was being created simply by sitting there watching the sun and the waves. Unlike New Year's Eve there was hardly anyone there to watch the sunset and most of those were tourists
The locals most likely take it all for granted
In spite of an incredibly mild and mostly gorgeous December, the weather bureau is predicting a most pickly 40 celsius for Christmas Day itself. That will be seriously sucky. It will be like 2007 all over again. And still the silly twits in the shops insist on their reindeer and snowflakes and there'll be countless sad South Brits slaving over turkey, pumpkin and roast potatoes and big slobbering serves of plum pudding
It's enough to turn a serpent into a pagan.
