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Jeremy Hoornstra’s 700lb Bench Comp Prep

In Memory of Plitt

It is sad that one minute you can be on top and the next minute, you can be gone. Greg Plitt was at the top of his game, making an ad for his new protein shake when he was hit and killed by a train yesterday. He was born in Baltimore and lived in LA.

He had done so many things in the fitness world, but his most impressive credentials included being a retired United States Army Ranger. Plitt was a captain and company commander who was certified in airborne combat. He was also a fitness and weapons expert.

I thought this 2013 video was hauntingly telling of his sad fate. In the beginning Plitt speaks about death and being remembered. The footage is also filled with trains. 💪RIP Plitt~ I’m sure you gifted many with the hope and drive it takes to foster and sustain positive change. A large part of your contributions to the world of fitness will be immortal.

Banshee: Exploring the Origins of a Witchy Woman

~”Banshee” a Digital Composite by Felicia Lujan~

What is a banshee? Is she a spirit? Is she a figment of our imaginations? Is she a monster? Is she a being of light or a lover of the darkness? Something I read recently sparked my curiosity with regard to the origins of these mysterious women who are supposedly supernatural. The dictionary defines a “ban·shee” as “an Irish legend” and “a female spirit whose wailing warns of an impending death in a house.” Banshee appearances and accounts have largely been captured and passed on through oral traditions; however, there are a handful of documented accounts and attempts to make sense of the stories.

A Princeton University web site defines the banshee as a “woman of the side” or a “woman of fairy mounds” or a “seer.” She is said to be a “female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld.” This messenger or “fairy woman” is often “keening at the death of important personages.” Important personages? Yes…that is a word! Many believe the banshee can predict death. Many have heard the “mourning call” of the banshee in the late hours of the night when a person is going to die. This happens most often around woodland areas, though there are some accounts by water. A tale from 1437 says that King James I of Scotland had an encounter with a “banshee who foretold his murder…” Her cries may have been “so piercing” that they were able to shatter glass.

The university web site says that “the banshee can appear in a variety of guises. Most often she appears as an ugly, frightening hag, but she can also appear as a stunningly beautiful woman of any age that suits her. In some tales, the figure who first appears to be a ‘banshee’ is later revealed to be the Irish battle goddess, the Morrígan. The hag may also appear as a washer-woman, or bean-nighe (washing woman), and is seen washing the blood stained clothes or armour of those who are about to die.” I would like to learn more about the Irish battle goddess. The banshee is also rumored to appear in other supernatural life forms. She may appear as a “hooded crow, stoat, hare and weasel.” In Ireland, these are animals which the locals associate with dark arts and witchcraft.

In an 1898 column titled The Easy Chair, the Syracuse Herald said that “a genuine Irish banshee is a little old woman in a red cloak…” A little old woman doesn’t seem that scary, but maybe? The column was spurred by the review of a play titled Number Nine. In numerology, the number nine symbolizes karma, spiritual lightening and awakening, mysticism, and divine wisdom in addition to other things. It is not clear who reviewed the play, but it was apparent that their curiosity was spurred by the mythology shrouding the banshee. The column goes on to say that…“she appears only to announce unpleasant events, such as one’s demise” and that “she does not always appear.” According to the author of this column, the banshee may make an appearance only in sound by wailing.

By 1929, the story of the banshee seems to be associated with the death of important people. If you recall the 1898 column and the number nine, this may be due to a growing association of the banshee with karma. The Buffalo Center Tribune ran a short piece titled Believe in Banshee as Herald of Death with regard to the death of Baron O’Neill. Neighbors of the family mogul “declared they heard the wail of the banshee the night before near the ruins of Shane’s castle on the shores of Lough Neagh. The castle was formerly the O’Neill residence.” Maybe people used the banshee as a way to understand the death of corrupt officials? “Baron O’Neill was eighty-nine…” Really? The number nine shows up again? The article says he “had had a long career as judge and member of parliament” from 1863-1880. Maybe he was a bad man?

In 1942, Virginia Moore published a poem titled The Banshee in the scholarly Poetry journal. Her poem captures the darkness and the light of banshee mythology, which may be seen by writers as a deep symbol of both death as well as the afterlife. Moore wrote…“Lightly, lightly, Ever brightly, Moves the banshee, certain death. Cry and call out, Death will fall out. Hold – you cannot hold – your breath.” It is interesting how she frames the poem with light. When you read about the banshee in historical news articles, she (not he) is always fixed as a creature of straight darkness. This is one reason I love writers. We see deeper than the dark. Moore closes her poem with…“Brilliant yellow, Is this fellow, Is the banshee, plumed and bright. Lovers hearing. Listen, fearing. Hark! Who treads the plushy night?”

Patricia Lysaght studied banshee folklore in the mid to late 1970s. In her white paper titled Irish Banshee Traditions: A Preliminary Survey, Lysaght took an in-depth look at the folklore of this mythical apparition based on manuscripts from the 1930s in the archives of the Department of Irish Folklore with the University College in Dublin, Ireland. This female scholar went straight to the source. She says that “the explanations of how the banshee came to be are not only few; they also seem to have a limited distribution, or even to be individual fabrications.” That was interesting to learn. It confirms that more often than not, the early origins of these oral stories were not recorded. She did locate an account of a local custom by Co. Tipperary. Tipperary said that “long ago people used to pay women to moan in the corpse house just when the corpse would be leaving for the church.”

Could this be how the mythology of the banshee started? Were women paid to wail and moan when someone died? Maybe we will never know if a banshee is a spirit or a figment of our imaginations or a monster that encompasses the light and darkness? What I do know is that my unending curiosity associated with the origins of mysterious things will never die, much like the tales of the banshee.

Sources:

Princeton University Web Site (Accessed August 21, 2014)
https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Banshee.html

The Easy Chair~ Syracuse Herald~ Syracuse, New York (January 2, 1898)

Believe in Banshee as Herald of Death~ Buffalo Center Tribune~ Buffalo Center, Iowa (January 10, 1929)

How it Began~ Elyria Chronicle Telegram~ Elyria, Ohio (June 28, 1935)

The Banshee a poem by Virginia Moore~ Poetry (Vol. 59, No. 5, 1942, Page 247)

Irish Banshee Traditions: A Preliminary Survey by Patricia Lysaght~ An Cumann Le Béaloideas Éireann (The Folklore of Ireland Society), (Page 94-119, 1974-1976)

Down the Old Santa Fe Trail~ Santa Fe New Mexican~ Santa Fe, New Mexico (October 31, 1976)

Take a stand

Wow…this is such an amazing Jim Morrison quote. He was an exceptionally deep man. I had the chance to visit the humble grave of this talented American rock legend about two decades ago. He was laid to rest amongst thousands of other musicians, artists and writers in a beautiful cemetery with stone pathways. The Pére-Lachaise cemetery in Paris was established by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1804. Ironically, this man with a deep heart died in Paris in 1971, due to the failure of his heart. Before he died, Morrison gifted humanity. He gifted us with enriched thoughts, as well as word laced lyrics and poems about fear, love, pain, strength and the destruction of reality. Souls which beam this type of bravery are few and far between.

~~~★Felicia

Mystique and JFK

• Inside the Kennedy Mystique by Chris Matthews (Smithsonian Collector’s Edition~ Summer 2013) •

Today I picked up JFK: The Ultimate Guide. The magazine is the newest Smithsonian Collector’s Edition (Summer 2013) and features 14 articles about John F. Kennedy. It was kind of expensive, but it will be a good one to save in my personal collection.

Tonight I read the introduction by Chris Matthews of MSNBC and NBC. This piece is titled “Inside the Kennedy Mystique.” I like JFK as an icon/symbol of several things, but I didn’t know that “Kennedy was a dead-serious student of history.” Really?!? At age 14 he read about WWI in The World Crisis by Winston Churchill. At age 14? I have to say that the Matthews piece alone has already made me like JFK even more. I can’t wait to read the rest of the magazine. I will write about each article I like after I read them over the next few weeks.

In the Matthew’s introduction, I learned that JFK’s father believed that his son was too shy to have a successful political career. As it turned out, “the politician would prove to be charming beyond both expectation and belief…” and that “charm made him almost irresistibly attractive to men as well as to women. It also helped him keep people at a distance.” Sounds true, and I may have known that already? Who knew an introvert could be so charming?

I have read about JFK over the last few years, but I never knew that he was very sick as a child? I was surprised to learn that he kept his medical conditions and pain secret in order to serve in the Navy during WWII. He also stayed quiet about this through his political career and while he was President of the United States of America. Kennedy had scarlet fever when he was a boy, he thought he had leukemia when he was a teenager, he had Addison’s disease and his back was very bad. The Catholic Church administered the Last Rites to JFK four times! Wow… Something I didn’t know? Matthews says that “as president, he took a half-dozen shots of painkillers a day simply to function.” He often used crutches, tried not to pick up his children, and had to be lifted into Air Force One with a forklift. Really?

I guess any politician must surround him or herself with intellectuals in order to be successful. It takes so many different kinds of people and perspectives to insure an accomplished career, in turn leaving a solid legacy. The other thing that stood out to me in the Matthew’s introduction was that JFK called his political speech writer, Ted Sorensen his “intellectual blood bank.” I absolutely love that term of endearment!

Anyhow~ I look forward to reading the other articles featured in the Smithsonian publication. I’m sure I will learn other interesting things that I didn’t know about my most favorite intriguing man. He is indeed a historical icon enveloped by mystique.

Intellect of Steel: Happy Birthday to a Super Man

My favorite fictional reporter first graced the pages of DC Comic books in 1938. This year marks the 75th birthday of Clark Kent, a super man. I prefer the witty super Clark to Superman. What in the world was Lois Lane thinking? Mr. Kent rocks for several reasons.

I like the man with a pen and pad. Who doesn’t like a contemplative reporter for the Daily Planet who can meet stringent deadlines? His personality is that of a passive introvert, yet I can’t help but think he wants to rip off his shirt and reveal that “S” on his chest. The Man of Steel is really a Pulitzer Prize winning writer and let’s face it, intellectual is sexy. There is nothing like some eye glasses to beef that last one up! I love names that are synonymous with alternate identities. Clark wears a suit and tie which is better than a fitted leotard any day. This man has laser vision and it’s simply piercing.

Ahhhh– I don’t know? I guess I wish I was not just a former reporter, but Lois Lane. Maybe then I would get a press pass?

Happy 75th Mr. Kent. How do you do it? You are oh so smart and you still look not a day over 30!

Anonymous releases (almost) everything they know about Rehtaeh Parsons

Anonymous—- I love them!!!
Felicia

Thrills, Magic, Health, Faith and Riches: In Pursuit of Treasure

If I had to create a definition for the word treasure, it would not be traditional. In my eyes treasure can be many things. I don’t believe that precious metals and gems are the only physical things which possess value. For example, an archaeologist would consider old bones to be a treasure, and a historian would find wealth in certain records. An entomologist would treasure the discovery of a new insect, while a lover of code may prize a new script.

Within the last couple of years, a book by the Santa Fe author Forrest Fenn has been sought-after by treasure hunters. Thrill of the Chase: A Memoir is a book Fenn has used to drive people into a maddened search for a treasure chest the author has hidden. On March 9, 2013, a 34 year old woman from Texas was found after she got lost in Bandalier National Monument while searching for the treasure. This month, officials with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish threatened to file charges against a man they found digging under a descanso (roadside memorial or grave marker) for the treasure. What are these people thinking?

Web sites across the world proclaim the words “somewhere in the mountains north of Santa Fe, a magnificent treasure box is hidden. Will you find the treasure? Join the chase!” The book is only being carried by one bookstore here in Santa Fe. The delirium led me to consider the human fascination with treasure, so I decided to peer into a small part of this history.

~Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary
of Folklore Mythology and Legend (©1949)~

Why are humans so fascinated with the hunt for treasures? Aside from the fact that many people are extremely broke right now, what drives them to partake in the hunt? According to the Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore Mythology and Legend (©1949), “gold has been consistently the most highly prized of metals thorough the ages…” The book says that “gold was so highly valued, it early became associated with religion. It was used to make idols, as tribute, and as offerings to the Gods.” This means that the symbolism of gold has been ingrained into humans since it was first discovered. Not only has the warm colored metal been associated with the heavens, but the Chinese “believed gold leaf” was “the most perfect form of matter; an unguent containing it was the most powerful remedy of Chinese medicine as it gave renewed life to the human body.”

I have discovered that gold was “a potent curative force” in “early medical practice,” and that it was associated with the Gods. I believe that the value of this metal is inherent in our collective memory for at least two good reasons. I found some interesting articles and books which explore lost treasures. I thought it would be great to share these stories which begin in 1902 and end in 1963. These stories shed light on the quest for treasure and the hunters who obsess about the hunt. The Dictionary of Folklore Mythology and Legend also describes hunters who “go into a trance” while being under the spell of “hunting magic.” A search for gold could not both invite and “repel” madness~ could it? For as long as many people can remember, there have been oral stories of: money walled up in houses; gold being buried in mountains; and unknown treasures which are not considered “lost.”

The Santa Fe New Mexican ran an article on July 24, 1902 in the “Special Correspondence” section of the paper. In this article, it was reported that there was “supposed hidden Spanish Treasure” in Grant County. The special report said that the treasure was hidden in an “old cave near San Lorenzo.” Apparently over the years many people tried to locate the Spanish treasure. I had to laugh out loud in the silent library when I read that the “treasure-seakers” had found many skeletons, but not any treasure. I guess if you were talking to a person interested in straight forward wealth, bones would just be worthless? On the other hand, an archaeologist would find much wealth in that type of finding.

~Article printed in the Roswell Daily Record
on August 3, 1922~

On August 3, 1922, in Racine, Wisconsin it was was reported that the “lure of hidden treasure” surrounded “an old building on one of the principal streets.” The Roswell Daily Record issued a news release titled “Wealth Hidden by Baker During the War Be Sought by K. of C.” This was a very interesting story. It was reported that a “miser’s hoard of gold” was “buried there, according to pioneers.” It was apparently a “mystery, more than half a century old” that members of the Knights of Columbus wanted to solve. The article seemed to speculate that a German baker starved his wife to become rich. The reporter described her as a “gaunt, silent woman.” During the Civil War, the baker feared “the loss of wealth” so he “withdrew his savings, cashed all his securities and bonds and under cover of darkness buried the treasure somewhere within his house.” The poor starved wife wasn’t even told where the treasure was buried. The baker figured that if she was captured, she would be tortured to reveal the secret location. After the baker died, the wife searched for the loot to no avail.

In the book Hidden Treasure in the Wild West by Oren Arnold (©1966), the author wrote about “Pancho Villa’s Mountain Bank.” Here was one case amongst many cases of hidden treasure being buried in a mountain scape. “The poor people of Mexico considered” Pancho Villa a hero. According to the book, Villa had told his friends “I have some money hidden away in a secret mountain bank.” The hero assured the people by telling them “when it is needed for our experimental work here, I will go get it. Perhaps we can build a testing laboratory with it and hire good scientists. I will look into the matter soon.” What a nice thought! Unfortunately Villa was killed on July 20, 1923. Arnold’s book says that “when he had driven his automobile to a nearby town, old enemies ambushed him.” Before he could reveal the location of his mountain bank, “the harsh staccato bark of machine guns sounded, and Pancho Villa, the great liberator, fell across the steering wheel, dead.”

“Writing in a geological bulletin published by the New Mexico Bureau of Mines in 1935, K.C. Dunham told” the story of Padre LaRue’s mine. In Mines of the Old Southwest by Jack D. Rittenhouse and Rex Arrowsmith (©1963), I located information on the “Organ Mountain Silver Mines.” Arrowsmith was a geologist and gave a particular professional flavor to his account of the mines. The report said that LaRue was “stationed at a hacienda in Chihuahua (Mexico)” and that the priest “was told by a dying friend of placers and a fabulously rich gold-bearing lode in the mountains two days’ journey north of Paso del Norte.” LaRue migrated north with others to the Organ Mountains so that he could find the gold. According to the report, they located the gold, and then buried it at the request of Padre LaRue. The priest was located by the Church in the City of Mexico and he was later “murdered” by a soldier for not divulging the location of the treasure. In case number three, the secret location followed LaRue to his grave.

~Treasure Land map in Arthur L. Campa’s book
Treasure of the Sangre de Cristos: Tales and
Traditions of the Spanish Southwest (©1963)~

The only thing I found in common with the small amount of stories I looked at for this research was the fact that all the men died without telling anyone where the treasure was buried. It is possible that all of these stories were simply not true. It is possible that there was never any treasure at all. Though I guess I could say that as an archivist, I do tend to value stories as a type of treasure. I do find a sort of wealth in that! The author who really put this into perspective for me was Arthur L. Campa. In his book Treasure of the Sangre de Cristos: Tales and Traditions of the Spanish Southwest (©1963), Campa published a “Treasure Land” map which focuses on New Mexico treasures. The map shows places from the north to the south (Taos, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Cuba, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Sandia Peak, Albuquerque, Tome, Magdalena Mountains, Santa Rita, Mesilla, and the Organ Mountains among others). I was particularly intrigued with Chapter 11~ “Natural Phenomena and the Growth of Legends.”

It is more than safe to conclude that the value of treasure is inherent in our collective memory for several reasons. Campa said that “legends are an interesting product of folk society, the origin of which dates back to pre~Christian days, to Greece, Babylon, and the valley of the Nile. They are so deeply imbedded in the cultural texture of the folk thinking that today, as in the days of the Greeks, even geological formations assume anthropomorphic shapes and are indued with the attributes of folk heroes.” Contemplating the forces which drive humans to insanity can be a good way to peer into the mind. Where are are these behaviors and beliefs rooted?

The treasure Forrest Fenn says he buried may or may not exist. We may never know. Maybe Fenn will take the secret to his grave like so many did before him? Then again “a simple story may be gradually embellished with whatever attributes are important to folk, and with whatever concepts are current and acceptable at the time when it begins.” According to Campa, “very often the actual fact or historical account that gives rise to a particular legend may be totally forgotten, lost, or modified to such an extent that only the legend growing from the original happening survives.”

Language as a Weapon

…………………………………………
•Navajo Code Talkers of WWII•
(Photo courtesy of http://www.archives.gov)

Today was special for the Navajo saviors of World War II. The Navajo Code Talkers were rightfully honored by the Daughters of the American Revolution with a new monument here in the Santa Fe National Cemetery.

During World War II the Diné language was used as a weapon. A secret code was created to confuse the Japanese by using over 200 words. Without the language of 400+ awesome Navajo Marines, the war may have been lost.

The Nymph Calypso and Her Stone

The back of Odysseus as he turned from Calypso.

An epic poem by Homer made a mythical woman named Calypso infamous. Scholars have concluded that Homer’s poem The Odyssey (free e-book link below) was written off the Greek coast of Ionia during the latter part of the 8th century (BC). In the poem, Calypso was tragically intrigued by her legendary stone named Odysseus who washed ashore from the Ionian Sea. This poem was laced with temptation, seduction, and diversion. This makes it a classic literary piece, and so begins the Greek myth of Calypso and Odysseus.

Calypso was born to the Greek Titan named Atlas. The mythical Oceanides sea nymph lived on the island of Ogygia. Calypso is said to have had an enchanting voice. She lived in a beautiful cave near the sea. Some scholars and historians believe that the island of Ogygia was a myth, while others think it was actually located in the western Mediterranean Sea. Calypso has been seen as a negative symbol. She has been seen as a symbol of that which diverts men from their goals.

Odysseus was a legendary Greek man who was King of Ithaca. He was a hero in The Odyssey. Odysseus drifted for over a week in the sea before being rescued by Calypso. The king had lost his army and his ship after a battle with “monsters” from Italy and Sicily while returning home from Troy. After floating in the sea for 9 days, Calypso pulled him to shore and decided to keep him because she “became enamored.”

For between 5 and 7 years, Calypso refused to let Odysseus leave her island. Many scholars doubt that she actually forced him to stay and that she probably enchanted him with song. Others think that Calypso held him prisoner or hostage on her island. She offered Odysseus immortality and eternal youth in exchange for his everlasting love. The hero refused, though eventually the two made love apparently against his will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Promise” featuring
Calypso and Odysseus
by Jan Styka
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is natural for me to want to look at the woman and man in this Greek myth symbolically. Homer must have realized the symbolic power of these individuals. Odysseus is the stone. He is the hard, positive symbol of this myth while Calypso is the soft, negative symbol. The nymph is but a mere diversion in a mission for the greater good. In essence, this myth captures Odysseus as a classic hero with a noble cause, while Calypso is simply an unwanted muse who spurs distraction.

The golden kiss and enchanting voice of Calypso.

It is also interesting to see how scholars have studied the etymology of both names. The origin of the name Odysseus has been connected to two phrases amongst others. Odysseus means “he who causes pain” or “the one who is wrathful.” The name Calypso means “to cover, to conceal, to hide.” Etymologicum Magnum says that the name Calypso means “concealing the knowledge.”

In the end of this myth Calypso releases Odysseus on the sea. She does so against her will so that he can return to his wife Penelope in Ithaca. She had no choice but to do so even though she herself had become enchanted.

**Free E-book** The Odyssey by Homer courtesy of Project Gutenberg

Waiting for the Sweet Sounds

On Friday I took the time to pull all of my old and new Donell Jones CDs together. He has to be one of my all time favorite RnB artists. Now there is one gifted man. There are not many artists that you can say bring it on every single track when they put a new album out.

I want to make a mix with some of the best tracks Mr. Jones has given us. At this point, I have a few ideas for a mix title. Today while I was exercising at the track, I combed through my mega Jonezzz list~ deleting the songs that I didn’t see fit for the special mix I want to create. While the cold chill brushed my cheeks I wondered what happened to Mr. Jones? How could such an awesome man just disappear?

There is one web site I check regularly for music news in this particular genre. Tonight I checked it and low and behold~ just a few posts down I discovered that Donell is indeed looking to make a major comeback in the first half of 2013. The post went up on January 31. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! I just can’t wait!!! Check out the video for Shorty Got Her Eyes on Me~~ That’s some pure awesomeness!

After hearing that song, if you still don’t believe that DJ has the love sounds on hot lock, take a look at the February 14th event scheduled at the Warfield in Cali. Blaqline Ent is presenting “Love Affair” on Valentine’s Day with Donell Jones, Teedra Moses, Musiq Soulchild and Netta B. Wish I could be there…

Stay

Tonight I saw the music video for Stay by Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko for the first time. I have been listening to the song for a while now and I absolutely love it. It is such an awesome song. Now that I see that the video is set in Havana in 1956, I like it even more. This is just a couple of years after Ernest Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature. In late 1956 he is said to have been reminded of writing notebooks he had hidden in the late 1920s. Hemingway located the the lost treasures and by 1957 returned to Havana to complete a memoir. In the video, Rihanna is enveloped with a Cuban man.

Flaws

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I am flawed. Deeply flawed.
I think we all have our flaws.

~~~~Lance Armstrong
(2013 Interview with Oprah)
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Tonight I watched Oprah’s special interview with a fallen hero. Lance Armstrong didn’t flinch while answering tough questions. Part of me felt sorry for him. Seeing a man who was once seemingly unstoppable simply crumble was rather heartbreaking. He used the word flaw in several forms. He used the word several times exposing his humanness. At one point Oprah asked him “what was the flaw or flaws that made you decide to risk it all?”

His interview reminded me of some comments recently posted on my web site. The comments were made on “Lace: My New Theme.” I made my own quote to accompany my theme which reads “lace is intricate like a beating heart. There are always hidden flaws in flawless designs.” After publishing that post, I had a very thoughtful comment by Fay Moore. I appreciate those people who do not look at everything superficially. I wanted to share her comment and my comment back as I feel they shed light on the human condition.

Fay Moore Says:
January 18, 2013

Lovely, haunting visual. The black and white palette suggests examination of two sides of an issue: truth versus falsehood, dark versus light, fluff versus heft. Just an observation: it feels a bit sad at first glance. That may or may not be purposeful.

Felicia Says:
January 18, 2013

Hello Fay— I absolutely loved your thoughtful observations and comment. The symbolism in this theme is there for people to interpret as they see fit.

The black and white, two sides, dark vs light, is an awesome interpretation. It was not intended to seem sad visually, however I can see how you came to that conclusion given the fact the I used a web site screen shot which features a previous post. My poem “Sea of Tears” had an eye releasing tears, but not out of sadness. The tears were to create an ocean at the request of a loved one.

The quote that I authored can also be interpreted as a bit sad, but really I wanted to convey lace as a symbol of our humanness. We are perfect beings, yet we are flawed (just like lace). We are also intricate creatures.

Thanks for a closer look at my seemingly superficial theme. With a closer look, we can learn so much more if we are awake!

Have a good weekend my friend!

***Felicia

Pain: A Writer’s Inspiration

~Nora Arnezeder and Ben Barnes portray Celia and the Young Man in “The Words.”~

••••••••••••••••••••••••
My tragedy was that I
loved words more than
the woman who inspired
me to write them.

~~The Old Man
(a character in “The Words”)

•••••••••••

At some point, you have
to choose between life
and fiction. The two are
very close but they never
actually touch. They are
two very, very different
things.

~~Clay Hammond
(a character in “The Words”)
••••••••••••••••••••••••

Tonight I watched the movie “The Words.” The film is based on a screenplay by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal. Rory (played by Bradley Cooper) is a tormented writer lead by fate to another tormented writer (the old man played by Jeremy Irons). The story of these two writers is told by a famous author named Clay Hammond. Hammond (played by Dennis Quaid) is yet another tormented writer. Zoë Saldana (Dora) and Olivia Wilde (Daniella) are also in this film.

Once again, I liked something that none of the critics liked. I thought that the movie had a lot of symbolism which I would love to explore at some point. It also made me think. As writers we often second guess ourselves or try to write what we believe others will like or what we hope will sell. To describe the surface of the film in short, it is a tragic story about a desperate writer who resorts to plagiarism. The deeper story confirms that the extremities of pleasure, but mostly pain can inspire us to write our very best.

“The Words” are those of a young military man inspired by pleasure, but driven to write by his pain. He starts the first page of a manuscript on the back of a goodbye note from his wife. The writing is later lost in Paris, thus it is never published by the original author. Years later, the manuscript is discovered by Rory in an old briefcase. Out of desperation the struggling writer successfully sells it as his own. His secret is inevitably discovered by the old man who is the real author of the manuscript.

One of the most powerful moments in the story was when the young writer hits rock bottom. While he is on his knees he looks up at Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises” (1926) and rips it from his bookshelf while thrashing all of his books and typewriter. The essence of Hemingway is a major symbol in the movie. That novel has been called one of Hemingway’s greatest works. It was a tragedy and was not favored by literary critics when he first published the work.

~The Young Man is driven to write his best and only work when Celia leaves him.~

I assume that “The Sun Also Rises” was in the original screenplay for this movie. There were so many connections to the story of each writer in “The Words.” Hemingway’s book included; an American journalist living in Paris; a café; a tragic love story; pain; a soldier; and it was based on real people and real life. I find it interesting that Klugman and Sternthal (the writers of the original screenplay) must have known that Hemingway completed that novel when he was separated from his first wife, Hadley Richardson.

For a moment I wondered if Klugman and Sternthal loosely based all three characters on Hemingway? Even Rory is silenced by a Hemingway plaque on a wall in Paris at one point. The writers of the screenplay for “The Words” must have planned a Hemingway connection into their characters? Some have said that Hemingway “unraveled” after his divorce from his first wife. It was during the couple’s initial separation that Hemingway completed his work on the infamous novel. The book was dedicated to his former wife and his son.

This movie is a must see for all writers. I was left pondering the fact that some of the most famous pieces of literature were written with a broken heart. Feelings of pleasure can insure that we put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. What is more intriguing is the fact that extreme pain is what makes a writer thrive. It is deep pain which inspires us to bleed out and leave a permanent stain.