Bonfire Night

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Remember, remember...
Seems there are endless ways to sneak in a little celebration, bonfire, fireworks...perhaps even a bit of dressing up...
I personally LOVE extending the rituals of the season;
Hallowe'en or All Hallows Eve, Dia de Los Muertos, Guy Fawkes Night...just good warm fun, while getting used to a chillier/darker, time of year.
Keep it festive!
Keep it fun!
It's all good, just hurt no one!!
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Happy All Hallows Eve 2009 !

On this day of summer's end,

with glass in hand, some toasts do lend.

To friends and family far and near,

and those who've passed, whom we hold dear.

All Hallows Eve the veil is thin,

your message carried on the wind.

So listen long and late do stay,

for some will answer, if they may.

Happy All Hallows Eve!

Enjoy the day! Haunt the night!!

Cheers mates! WendeBird

AskmyZombie video on YouTube

It's that time of year!! All Hallows Eve is just days away and the undead are showing up everywhere! Dia De Los Muertos characters, zombies and things that go bump in the night!!

Keep your flashlight close and be sure there are fresh batteries in it...ye hate to be left in the dark..... muahahahaha haha hahaha!!!!!!

Dia De Los Muertos - Hollywood Forever Cemetery 10.24.09

I feel so fortunate to have been a part of this wonderful celebration! When Natasha and Kelly of Skellramics invited me to join them Saturday and help out at their booth for the evening, I decided to dress the part and am so very glad I did!! What a fantastic event!! Donning full face paint and festive costume, departing home about noontime, driving there - SoCal style...taking the 405, to the 605, to the 5 to the 101...crawling in bumper to bumper the last 15 miles or so...I certainly got some looks from my fellow commuters!





Thousands of people gathered Saturday, within the gates of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, coming together to celebrate and honor the traditions of Dia De Los Muertos -Day of the Dead. I really enjoyed the beautiful and hugely diverse alters throughout the cemetery and especially the families and couples that obviously went all out on their make-up and costumes -truly honoring the traditions of the day.
















The historical roots of this celebration date back to the pre-Hispanic cultures of Meso-America of the indigenous people, especially the Nahua (Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecas, Tlaxcaltec, Chichimec, Tecpanec) and others native to Mexico more than 3,000 years. When the Spaniards conquered the country, this indigenous custom was rooted so deeply that, after five centuries of colonization, it has continued to survive and remain as celebrated as in its first days.
















Dia De Los Muertos is a time of celebration on remembrance. It is also a time to come to terms with our mortality and become aware of the cycle of life and death. Rather than deny and fear death this event teaches us to accept and contemplate the meaning of mortality.
















This time of the year has great significance for many people. Many cultures with many varied traditions and rituals, all celebrating the change of seasons, the harvest, life and death and our connections to the planet and each other - those of us above and below the surface of the earth and even those perhaps dwelling in places more ethereal or unfathomable...

All rights reserved! All pictures by Wende Thompson 2009

Longing?

Is our master plan, to completely seal ourselves off from the natural?
To live inside technology, protected completely from the elements?
Is there another option than, "total devastation" in the game plan?
Is it possible to disengage from “The Machine” or am I stuck?

I love waking-up to the mysteries of each day, live – visceral - living
Having awareness and concern over the consequences of my actions
Taking the time to look people in the eye and focus on here and now
Unplugging from the “noise” and taking the time to really listen

There you are, driving in your car, waiting in line, busy at work
And suddenly you remember… you feel something familiar, so ….
Just a fleeting moment when you notice how very blue the sky is
A conversation with a “stranger” that seems like a long lost friend

Certainly not a thing that can be purchased at your local WalMart
You will not find it as an ingredient in the latest sports drink
But it is something we remember having and long to have again
Something more important and lasting than politics or plastic surgery

We will search for it and keep searching -everywhere, anywhere
Within ourselves, journaling, meditation and deep introspection
We recognize it when we feel suddenly “at home” or “connected”
Some perceive they’ve found it through their religious observances

Will it all be stripped away, like our plans for the wilderness?
Carved-up into convenient pieces and paved over for “better access”
Easily viewed and photographed from the car window at 60mph
Controlled and temporary access allowed for a nominal fee

Everyday plans are made to further destroy that for which we yearn
We keep building our synthetic prisons to protect us from the world
Safe inside our computers and cars and homes and cellular phones
The American Way of Life – determined to eradicate all living things

Nature continues to abide regardless of our blind existence here

Despite our ever expanding cities; our growth for growths sake
Still feeding our apparent need to consume, consume, consume
Beyond our 140 byte communications and high definition lies ...

Regardless of how many “can’t do without” devices we employ
Our futile attempts to shut ourselves off or distract ourselves
Nature is always there, willing to immediately reconnect with us
Ecstatic life exists everywhere, all around us, all the time

No words can truly explain what seems to be missing
Because real life exists without words, it always has
Technology separates us from nature, it always will
Climb out of the condo, the car, the cubicle, the supermarket

Take a walk and listen to the birds – they have much to say
Sit down on a piece of dirt or grass or sand – that is Earth
Notice a plant that is pushing up the sidewalk - determined
Remember this is where you live – I live here too


September 2009

All images and text © Wende Thompson

Tom Waits Step right up

we're going out of business... we need your business.... we'll give you the business... step right up... step right up...

Bad Religion - Los Angeles Is Burning in HD

this is not a test...


check out the video at YouTube