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Lions and Tigers and (Loopholes), oh, my!By Christine Stoddard QuailBellMagazine.com Alright, Virginian Quail Bell(e)s! We know how much you love your codices. Well, bid farewell to tax-free buys from the world's most popular virtual bookstore. Last week Gov. McDonnell announced that Virginia and acclaimed online book and media seller, Amazon.com, have come to a consensus: the Seattle-based company will pay Virginia state sales tax.
Gov. McDonnell endorsed SB 597, which would require online businesses with a brick-and-mortar presence to pay general sales tax, after the House of Delegates passed it on a 95-2 vote. Amazon will begin collecting the standard 5% sales tax next year. According to the bill's patron Sen. Frank Wagner, Virginia can expect to gain at least $23 million in tax dollars from Amazon in 2013 alone. A press release from Virginia Retail Merchants Association stated, “State law requires that online retailers with a physical presence in the commonwealth collect sales tax on purchases from individuals with a Virginia address, but Amazon has been using a loophole to avoid those taxes.” Thanks to a 2007 state Tax Department ruling, Amazon has evaded the law demanding that all retailers with buildings situated in Virginia pay sales tax. The Virginia retail industry lobbied for Amazon's tax compliance in 2010, but the bill, clearing the Senate, died in the House of Delegates. Currently Amazon runs a warehouse in Sterling and a data center in an undisclosed location. The retailer also plans to build two distribution centers in Chesterfield and Dinwiddie counties at the end of this year. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Southern Gothic: Suspense and Social Issues By Julie DiNisio QuailBellMagazine.com "I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks." This quote from To Kill a Mockingbird perhaps best exemplifies the style of Harper Lee’s novel – Southern Gothic, Gothic’s literary child. Stories in this tradition take place exclusively in the American South and emphasize common people, ‘folks,’ with abnormal characteristics or situations. At first glance, Gothic stories and southern America seem to have little in common. The former are often set in foreign lands and eerie, dilapidated castles, featuring supernatural characters. Think Dracula and Frankenstein. Similarities between the two do exist, though. The landscape of post Civil War South was quite bleak in the early 1900s. Most of it had been ravaged by battle, and Reconstruction had failed to bring beneficial results. Author Francis Russell Hart declared Southern Gothic as “fiction evocative of a sublime and picturesque landscape…depict(ing) a world in ruins.” With abandoned and half-destroyed plantations and the past oppression of an entire race of people, the South was (and still is) a fitting location for the crazed, melancholic characters that make Gothic what it is. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
The Anne Boleyn Villain Series: IntroductionBy Bayly Ogden QuailBellMagazine.com On May 2, 1536, the trial of the century had reached its verdict: Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, was found guilty of high treason in the form of adultery and incest. Her sentence was execution by either burning or block1, determined by the king's pleasure. But what lead to this abrupt ending to a ten year romance, and was she guilty?
Both historians and the media have attempted to answer this question. Historians today have determined those charges are most likely false due to a lack of evidence. Historians have also concluded that the reason behind Anne Boleyn’s downfall is the direct result of her enemies. In the movies, however, there a multiple portrayals of her with the constant verdict of guilty. But if history has cleared her name then why is she still portrayed like the villain in movies? The story of Henry VIII and his six wives is a dramatic tale in itself. This is the quest of a man desperate for a male heir and allowing this desperation to control both his reign and his personal life, running five of his marriages. With his track record of two divorced, two beheaded, and one dead, it naturally sparks interest in a twenty first century audience. Recently there has been a new revival in both Tudorian and Elizabethan themed movies and shows. Audiences are becoming obsessed with the drama of the Tudors. In the past decade there have been many movies and television series created concerning the Tudors, Henry VIII or Elizabeth I. Two recent productions concerning Henry VIII, “The Other Boleyn Girl” (2008) and “The Tudors” (2007), are two different portrayals of Anne Boleyn. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Dolphins, Puffins, and Mermaids (ok, last one's a lie)By Jade Miller QuailBellMagazine.com When visiting Baltimore, Maryland, you might not instantly think of fish (or sirens or pirates or any other QB-friendly pipsqueaks). However, this fair city hosts an outstanding aquarium full of funky critters! With beautiful exhibits and a dolphin show to write home about, the National Aquarium of Baltimore is an excellent place to spend a day. Here’s what they have coming up this spring season:
March 2, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Global Women’s Celebration – showcasing the amazing things women do from around the world which highlight dance, art and music. $8 March 3 & 4, 8:30 a.m. First Saturday and Sunday of the month – Guests with special needs can get into the aquarium a half hour earlier to beat the crowds! Admission: Adults $29.95, Seniors $28.95, Children 3 to 11 $24.95 March 10, 9:00 am to 3:30 p.m. Deaf Awareness Day – Sign language interpreters will be on hand to translate all activities going on at the aquarium. Admission fee only. March 23, 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. Fridays After Five $8 March 24, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Members Only Night Free with membership, but reservations required March 27, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Fresh Thoughts sustainable seafood series - featuring Chef Thomas Dunklin of B&O American Brasserie discussing oysters. $79 for members, $89 for non-members. Reservation needed April 1 & 7, 8:30 a.m. First Saturday and Sunday of the month – Guests with special needs can get into the aquarium a half hour earlier to beat the crowds! Admission fee only. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Tumbling Tumblrs!By Michael Phillips QuailBellMagazine.com One of the best places in Richmond, Virginia has to be the Tumblr.com office. Tumblr is a free blog site that lets users keep in touch with friends by blogging, re-blogging, and liking posts. I got a chance to visit one of the two offices, the other being in New York, and I have to say the staff is beyond friendly. When I first walked in, we were greeted by the receptionist and asked if we needed anything. We said that we were in the area and wanted to stop, see what the place was like and maybe take a few photos. She immediately said that we could, she just had to give the heads up to everyone in case they had anything confidential on their computers. Looking around we noticed there were no phones but the one on the desk up front. We told her that we would’ve called in advance, but we couldn’t find a phone number anywhere. Smirking, she replied, “We don’t have phones. Well, I do but not one else does.” Although not in a big and fancy skyscraper, the office definitely is well equipped with everything needed to maintain the site. Desks surround the center table, which has chairs around it for meetings (or even eating from the looks of it). Every desk has two computers, an iMac and a MacBook Air. Overall the feeling of the place makes a great first impression but talking to the staff makes it feel like home. Random objects and paintings fill the walls to give it an even cozier feel. On one wall I noticed a closed box with the Tumblr logo on it. When I asked what it was, one of the members replied, “Oh, that’s just our Tumblr dart board," as she opened it up. I then ventured around to see what the place was like, while stopping and asking a couple questions of the employees. The main question on my mind was, “How do you like Richmond as a city and for Tumblr?” Both employees answered back saying that it’s a great city and they feel it’s a good place to have an office. I then asked my other question, “Do most of you live here?” Some replied back saying they did, but some actually moved from New York just to work in the Richmond Tumblr office. All in all, the Tumblr office is a great place for anyone that’s a fan of the site or just blogging in general and I would definitely recommend a visit to anyone. QuailBellMagazine.Tumblr.com
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The Kelpie By Julie DiNisio QuailBellMagazine.com The Loch Ness monster isn’t the only mythical creature known for lurking about Scotland’s lakes. The kelpie, a supernatural water horse, was said to haunt Scotland’s bodies of water. Beautiful and majestic in appearance, the kelpie is usually depicted as white, though sometimes black, with a wet mane wrapped in water weeds. In Celtic folklore, kelpies lured people into the water with evil intent. For example, this shape-shifting creature could turn into a beautiful woman, coercing men into the water. Or the kelpie could remain as a horse and offer children rides on its back. Once its victims mounted, the kelpie’s smooth, seal-like coat would turn adhesive, and it would jump into the water, promptly drowning and eating its passengers. Kelpies could be captured by anyone willing and able to get their bridles, the source of their shape-shifting abilities. This was considered any incredibly difficult task, though, since kelpies were associated with the “spirits of the dead.” Nonetheless, they were highly prized because of their strength and durability. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Fairies Wear BootsBy QB Camera Eye QuailBellMagazine.com Spotted outside the Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore, Maryland The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Tudor England in the CommonwealthBy Christine Stoddard & David Fuchs QuailBellMagazine.com Surprise, surprise, history-lovers: The Commonwealth of Virginia is a bastion of well-maintained and widely-used early European artifacts from Colonial America. But did you know that one of those artifacts includes a Tudor house shipped from England? Introducing...Agecroft Hall in Richmond, Virginia! Originally designed and constructed in 15th-century England, Agecroft Hall came to sit on the James River after Virginian Thomas C. Williams, Jr. snatched it up in an auction. The hall was one of three similarly impressive manor houses located in the Irwell Valley near Manchester. But of the three, Agecroft was the best preserved. After having the house dismantled and shipped to the United States in 1926, Agecroft Hall joined what later became known as the Windsow Farms neighborhood in Richmond's West End. Today you can putter around this museum for a peep at everything from medieval armor to a good luck cat skeleton to a painted bed with mustachioed angels. But if you can't make the trip, here's some official QB eye candy (photography inside the house is not permitted): The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
What is Visual Anthropology? By Julie DiNisio QuailBellMagazine.com The word anthropology has an old connotation, perhaps mostly because it deals with human origin and development. However, it is really a discipline that focuses on the past, be it the distant or recent past, and all aspects of life. With this in mind, it is not surprising that visual anthropology – sometimes referred to as digital ethnography – has been an area of interest since the 1990s. According to the Society for Visual Anthropology (SVA), this particular area of study is focused on “all aspects of production, dissemination, and analysis of visual forms,” which includes photography, film, and multimedia, most popularly. It can also encompass art and architecture. It also involves the current creation of ethnographic film, or the filming of certain people groups for research purposes. Members of the SVA, an offshoot of the American Anthropological Association, create and study visual anthropology and its effect on human behavior and interaction. Many universities have included a visual discipline in their anthropology programs, including the University of Southern California, Harvard University, and Oxford. At USC, earning a Masters of Visual Anthropology involves “an intensive one year program combining academic coursework and hands-on training in ethnographic documentary techniques, including researching, shooting, and editing a documentary (usually 20 to 30 minutes long) using digital media.” This is typical of most programs. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Breathing FireBy Belle Byrd QuailBellMagazine.com I know how I want to live my life and it's not in a drunken stupor, in a gutter with severed rat paws poking out of mysterious sludge. Feed me the timber of love, the logs of passion, and the kindling of experience. I am the dragon heating your chimney, roaring for an escape far from the fireplace, in a land removed from slime and rage.
There will never be a world as beautiful as the one I've constructed in my dreams, but I refuse to believe that stumbling through drug-conjured reveries is the same as living. Take my beer and give me a rose. You can even have my cognac and champagne. You befriend Bacchus. I'll befriend him, too, but only if he accepts my vote for sober adventures. Sober does not mean boring. Sober does not mean tight-laced. Sober means open to real life, in all its gorgeous wretchedness. I'm not arguing for one fist tightly clenched around rational thought and another punching the heart. I'm arguing against distraction. Say it with me, pony children: Life is beautiful. Life is miserable. Life only gets as beautiful as it does because misery offers us a point of comparison. Without sober minds, we might not note the difference. All I ask is that you don't drink your life away, though I'll never say it more firmly than that. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Sabor FemininaPlease come honor the life of QB's Managing Editor, Josephine Stone, at this unique art show, where a portrait by Helen Ruiz will be on display and members of The QB Crew will be reading some of Josie's writing. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
A Throwback to the REAL 1960'sBy QB Curator QuailBellMagazine.com The real survivors of 1960's America will assure you that the decade wasn't about flared jeans and cannabis. It was about activism, social justice, and the belief that idealism could and should be realism. For a dose of eye-opening nostalgia, check out "Freedom on My Mind" (1994), a history documentary directed by Connie Field & Marilyn Mulford and written/edited by Michael Chandler. During this time of presidential election frenzy hitting the United States, it's interesting to go back half a century and learn about the efforts made to register black voters in Mississippi.
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The Sassy SquirrelBy The Picture Pharmacist QuailBellMagazine.com Dear fledglings, Squirrels are teases--big teases. With those saucy saunters and extra fluffy tails, they're practically asking for a spanking! Never seen a squirrel that way before? Maybe the ones in your neighborhood aren't under the magic spell, Squirrelius Sexius. Either that, or you have an untrained eye. (Time to hit the ol' Hogwarts textbooks for a retraining.) Anyway, like I said, sassy squirrels deserve a spanking. That's just how you deal with teases. You spank them. However, squirrels--especially enchanted ones--are hard to catch. So here's your chance to give sassy squirrels a symbolic spanking: Download this vintage bugger, pop him into Photoshop, and copy and paste the biggest, reddest hand you can make/find onto that round, furry squirrel behind. Behold! A spanking for the ages! Doesn't that feel goooood? Of course it does. You're welcome. Feathery hugs, The Picture Pharmacist
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Magic is in the AirBy The QB Crew QuailBellMagazine.com Life can be humdrum, but it doesn't have to be...with the right adorable purchases (not that we're trying to commercialize your memories). Pull out your debit card and put some magic in the air! Click on the image below to learn more about our 'Magic is in the Air' picks: The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
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Below Ground Level By Julie DiNisio QuailBellMagazine.com Photo by Luna Lark Some cities are famous for building up; when running out of city space, builders create taller buildings to accommodate the population. But Edinburgh, Scotland is noted for its underground vaults, an ultimately failed attempt to utilize space and form a reputable business district. In 1785, construction on Edinburgh’s North and South Bridges was finished. Designed to create more accessibility in the growing city, the area near South Bridge became a popular shopping area for the citizens. To best utilize space and attract consumers, shop owners began doing business beneath South Bridge’s nineteen arches. Tenement buildings were built up on both sides of the bridge, enclosing the arches and creating the illusion of vaults, though only some, not all, rooms were technically below ground. For a short while, restaurants and shops thrived in this Underground City, as it is called today, but its best days were shortlived. Due to shoddy construction, the vaults began flooding, and the wealthier patrons and businessmen abandoned the area, ushering in slum conditions and the seedy reputation it is best known for. By the early 1800s, the vaults were used for brothels, pubs, and low-income housing. Not surprisingly, the unfortunate residents experienced terrible living conditions. They lived in damp, cramped spaces, exposed to pestilence and disease but no sunlight. Allegedly, famous serial killers William Burke and William Hare stored some of their victims in the vaults. Burke and Hare killed people and sold their cadavers to doctors, since bodies were needed for medical science at the time. Not much else is known about the Edinburgh Vaults, and sometime in the mid-nineteenth century, residents were evicted and the vaults filled with rubble to prevent future use. They were rediscovered in the 1980s by Norrie Rowan, an international rugby player. Over the next decade, he worked to excavate them. In this process, many artifacts were found, belying the vaults’ past. Toys, plates, medicine bottles, and other eerie, two-hundred year old remnants of human life were excavated. Since its discovery, the Underground City has cultivated much public interest. Ghost hunters have flocked there, many of them deeming it a place resplendent with paranormal activity. Orbs have been seen on photographs and otherworldly voices caught on recording, though disbelievers would argue all of this is due to the environmental conditions in the vaults. Regardless, many ghost tour companies visit the vaults on their tours. And ghosts or not, a visit to Edinburgh’s Underground City is an interesting look at how a subset of the eighteenth century population lived. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
RVA's Noah Scalin on "365-Skulls"By Christine Stoddard QuailBellMagazine.com Native to Richmond, Virginia just like Quail Bell, Noah Scalin is our magazine's tagline incarnate. As an artist and designer who dabbles with and occasionally delves into multiple mediums, Noah embraces the imaginary, the nostalgic, and the otherworldly to the tooth--especially the dead tooth. Plural. Dead teeth. Make that skull teeth and maybe I'll finally stopped reaching for wormy metaphors. You see, Noah makes skulls. Beautiful, strange, or sometimes simply cute skulls. In his award-winning blog "Skull-A-Day," he devoted an entire year (2007-2008) to this creepily fantastic endeavor. Each and every day, Noah made a new skull, often in such an unexpected way that you couldn't help but think about it until tomorrow came. Even the New York Public Library and Martha Stewart praised the project! To this day, Noah's still famous for his skulls, a motif he continues to play with in Skull-A-Day 5.0. In a recent email exchange, here's what Noah had to say about "Skull-A-Day," his other 365 efforts, and his show at Gallery 5: What inspired your obsession with skulls? Not too long ago I found a very accurate drawing of a skull I made when I was six years old, so apparently I’ve been into skulls for a long time! I guess I have to chalk my love of skulls up to the fact that both of my parents are artists and I grew up around plenty of anatomical imagery, including skulls. I was also always fascinated by how things work and wanted to know what was behind the scenes (even of our own bodies). Of course I also loved pirates as a kid, so that may have something to do with it as well. What have you learned in doing your Skull-a-Day project? Whew, it’s more like what have I not learned?! I think the biggest lessons are that small steps really can add up to amazing results (often well beyond your expectations) and that the key to making things happen is to just start doing stuff and not waste your time dithering over the details. I also learned that the greatest stumbling blocks to achieving your goals are always the ones in your head and once you let go of them (or create a reason to push past them), you really can do just about anything (especially if you have friends supporting you along the way). Why do you encourage other artists to make a skull, or SOMETHING, everyday? To be clear, I encourage others to take on daily projects – the subject/materials are entirely up to them! The reason to take on a 365 project is to have an excuse to practice your passion. Too many people think that creative inspiration is just something that comes to you if you’re lucky, but it’s really more like a muscle and if you exercise it daily, you get stronger at it! The thing I hear most frequently from people who take on daily projects, is that almost immediately they have a new perspective on the world around them---and that’s a very valuable thing. What do you have to say about the show, "Skull Appreciation Day," that you and Philip Cheney curated at Gallery 5 last summer?
I never imagined that Skull-A-Day would be more than a personal year-long project, so color me completely surprised that it is now in its fifth year and will enter year six this June! That said, when we were nearing year five the co-editors of the site (three fans that volunteered to help run it a few years ago) and I decided we needed to celebrate by making the original start date of the project (June 4th) an international holiday in honor of the cranium. Thus Skull Appreciation Day was born! To celebrate the first year of the holiday, we decided to call together 100 of our favorite creative folks and ask them to transform a papier-mâché skull that we provided. The result was the exhibition at Gallery 5, that not only featured the skulls we sent out, but also mail art from around the world, and several quilts made with panels created by international fans of the site that were then auctioned off for charity. The opening of the show coincided with Skull Appreciation Day and we had several free events for the public, including a family craft afternoon. Since that event was so successful we’ve decided to continue the tradition by bringing Skull Appreciation Day exhibitions to other cities each year. This year, we are going to be at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum, an appropriate place since they have plenty of real skulls already on display! The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
The Honeymoon--From Queen Victoria's DiaryBy QB History Buff QuailBellMagazine.com "I NEVER, NEVER spent such an evening!!! My DEAREST DEAREST DEAR Albert...his excessive love and affection gave me feelings of heavenly love and happiness I never could have hoped to have felt before! He clasped me in his arms, and we kissed each other again and again! His beauty, his sweetness, and gentleness---really how can I ever be thankful enough to have such a husband!...to be called by names of tenderness, I have never yet heard used to me before--was bliss beyond belief! Oh! This was the happiest day of my life!"
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The Hippogriff By Julie DiNisio QuailBellMagazine.com In honor of recently celebrated Valentine's Day, let's consider a mythical creature who doesn't stand for death or destruction or terror or even immortality...but love. The Hippogriff – a cross between a horse and a griffin – is a rarity in mythical legends but has recently been featured on the silver screen in the Harry Potter series. Fearsome in appearance but gentle in spirit, the Hippogriff had the body of a horse and the head and wings of an eagle. It came to symbolize love because griffins were believed to kill horses. This seemingly impossible creature is referenced in the medieval saying, “To cross griffins with horses,” similar to the modern day, “When pigs fly.” In medieval legend, Hippogriffs were speedy steeds that could be tamed and were often ridden by knights. One of the first descriptions of the Hippogriff is found in Ludovico Ariosto's poem Orlando Furioso: No empty fiction wrought by magic lore, But natural was the steed the wizard pressed; For him a filly to griffin bore; Hight hippogryph. In wings and beak and crest, Formed like his sire, as in the feet before; But like the mare, his dam, in all the rest. Such on Riphaean hills, though rarely found, Are bred, beyond the frozen ocean's bound. So take heart in the fact that not all (just most) mythical creatures are untamed killing machines. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
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Hooves Up for Project PonyExecutive Editor Christine Stoddard has been horsing around with a sculpture idea for quite some time now, but it was only recently that she decided to saddle up and ride on with it. If the terrible puns haven't given you the hint yet, her plan's to make a huge horse sculpture. This isn't, however, just ANY horse sculpture. It's a Quail Bell horse sculpture, which makes it that much quirkier. The project's called Project Pony and the goal is to glue together horse figurines in the form of a life-size horse. The pony will then be auctioned off to help fund Quail Bell's first art festival (which will not be for profit and offer free admission). Of course, here at Quail Bell, we're big on community art and would love to see your participation. This means that if you have some horses you'd like to get rid of, The QB Crew would appreciate having them. Christine will be collecting horse figurines until June 6, 2012. Over the course of the collection, you can bet we'll post photos and updates right here on QuailBellMagazine.com, so keep checking back! Questions? Email Christine at cstoddard@quailbellmagazine.com. Please mail your plastic pony, horse, unicorn, and/or pegasus toys to: Quail Bell Magazine c/o Christine Stoddard P.O. Box 4844 Richmond, VA 23220 United States Or kindly donate to the project here: Thank you, fledglings!
Feathery Hugs, The QB Crew The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Amy Doan's Eye-Catching Designs By Julie DiNisio QuailBellMagazine.com _Shrinkle? Sugarpill? What are these nonsensical things? Ice cream toppings were my first guess. There’s a little more to them, though - an entire labor of love for designer Amy Doan. Shrinkle is Doan’s clothing line; Sugarpill, her makeup line. According to the Shrinkle blog, the eclectic Doan began sewing her own clothing while in college and never stopped. Shrinkle’s “Handmade Clothing & Sweet-Ass Vintage Finds” are all featured on her Etsy page and range from sweet and demure to sexy and offbeat. And her fans love it – her almost fifteen hundred feedbacks are all positive. Her pieces for sale include corsets, lingerie, and adorable vintage dresses (and I’m dying to know where she got these amazing finds). Her vintage line is a novelty in that it takes a needle-in-a-haystack vintage shopping experience to a much simpler level. And they’re reasonably priced, truly setting her apart from similar Etsy shops. As her clothing line began to take off, Doan also began traversing the world of makeup. Specifically, she starting creating makeup to compliment the bold colors and designs of her clothing. So, not surprisingly, you’ll be hard pressed to find a neutral eyeshadow on Sugarpill's website. Sugarpill is characterized by eye-catching purples, pinks, blues, and greens and about every type of false eyelash imaginable. And again, they are all very inexpensive. So if looking to spice up your wardrobe or add to your already eccentric one, shop Shrinkle and Sugarpill. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
The Wrath of Valentine's Day By Sundari Prasad QuailBellMagazine.com “Despair is so sensuous, so delicious, it will wear you out” -LeMarc, from Stained with Crimson by Tanith Lee Thank heavens that the day has passed. Valentine’s Day- the wretched effigy of a holiday for lovers everywhere. The color of despair thickens like night across a windswept sea- a thick syrup of black that envelops and swallows all that it encompasses. Rich, and yet very sweet. Cupid, pendulous, heavy wings and poisoned dart, is dead. Until next year. His wings are now clipped but what about those dead, eyeless former lovers that he dragged in his wake, chained to a love that was no more? Bound with chains to a shadow of a memory. Did they despair? Perhaps, Perhaps not. Despair leaves it mark of passion: a sensuous X upon those it has claimed. They remain that way—drunk with the wine of indifference, secluded hearts in a viney overgrowth that covers and grows about them like an ivy, a vivid green encasement of branches and toughened enough to become a hide, a bark that shields and protects, yet traps and wastes away the mortal beneath the artificial skin. Everywhere, lovers are packing up their cupids and hearts and drying their flowers, making momentos of the heady kisses and the loving memories. They all become relics in the book of time. Another broke and effortless gratitude brought on by a season that does not care for those that have not, and care not, for it. Instead, they are forced to revel in their nothingness. The sheer absence of being with instead, they live without, and misspent time hangs a burdensome load on their shoulders. But, some feign not to take it, and revel and party and be gay in the face of their bane. And some do not, and lie idle while wiling away their time with metered lashed of past pains and pangs of grief overloaded with emotion. Those few women who had not-some cried and died a little beneath their sheltered cloaks. And those few women that care not-reveled with their friends and made the most of the day. And those women that had-well, they did otherwise. But what about the men? Do they also shed an internal tear (as few men want own tearshed) for what they have not or care not to have? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Who shall know? For us women, the more feminine of the beast called man, sometimes bred to become over-sensitive and over-caring, sometimes bred to be the weaker by means of brainwashing such as dolls and pink dresses (did you not think, that from the start, that was what they were doing unbeknownstly?) we have to deal with it. Yet, I think not. The whole concept is very sad, and very, very sexist. Cupid, blind-deaf-and dumb-sails back to the tombs of time, and lies down upon his funeral bed of flowers, astrewn with broken hearts and wet with tears both shed and unshed. He does not possess a heart, for he cannot feel, and his skin--the only perception that he does possess-has grown too tough to feel anymore, he just simply IS. In fact, he has become rather mechanical. The whole world has actually become hardened to feeling-- trapped within the confines of a time that does not remember its past, only strives for the future. The world, too, has become a mechanism bent on advancement of itself and cares not for its people anymore. And we, until recently, have stopped caring about it. The world only cares for what you can do to advance it, not for what you can do. There are no more knights. There are no more spells of sleep…enchantress woven. No more castles shimmering above the clouds…No more dreams. Dreams are more than nothing, yet nothing more. Drugged with the headiness of being, we all are forced to live within the confines of today. Yesterday does not matter anymore. And that is really sad. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Quail Quill Pals!Do you love writing letters? Smelling paper? Feeling a quality pen in your hand? What about stickers and glitter glue? The QB Crew certainly loves it all! We invite you to share our adoration for stationery and creative expression. Become our Quail Quill Pal and send us your letters about anything. This doesn't have to be fan mail (though that's always appreciated). Maybe you have questions for us, a confession to make, or simply the desire to say 'hi.' Whatever you wish to write, we look forward to reading it. Feel free to send along original drawings, vintage postcards, childhood photographs, and other supplements, too. With your permission, we might even scan your letter and post it here on QuailBellMagazine.com. Send your letters to: Quail Bell Magazine c/o Christine Stoddard P.O. Box 4844 Richmond, VA 23220 United States The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Gearhart the Gentleman: Love, Love, LoveBy Sir Gearhart QuailBellMagazine.com Dear Mr. Gearheart, I am in love. The deepest love I’ve known, these long 20 years I’ve lived. Mr. Gearheart, my girlfriend and I have been together for 6 months, but it feels as if I’ve known her my entire life and then some. There is no other woman I can ever see myself with besides her and she feels the same for me. So we’ve decided that we should have a baby. We both love children and are willing to sacrifice everything to take care of our child. Even now my girlfriend is out applying for jobs everywhere and anywhere, and as soon as I get that call back from Target, we’ll be able to start saving money to move out of my mother’s place and into our very own apartment. When we presented our plan to our respective friends and families, my girlfriend and I have been met with much disapproval, confusion and distress. It hurts us, Mr. Gearheart. We believed they’d be happy for us, but we see now they just don’t understand how love works. So I seek your guidance Mr.Gearheart. Surely a man of your honor and wisdom of the heart will know what is in the best interests of love. What should we do about our future child and how do we ease the concerns of our peers and loved ones? Humbly, ThaBabeeMakerz Dear ThaBabeeMakerz,
A glorious time is upon you both! It fills my heart -- nay, my very soul with joy and pride when I hear of two lovers finding their soul mates so soon in life. I’ll mind you that I have seen a great many things in my time on this Earth. Some of the most pristine awe and beauty! Some of a great horrid revulsion! Yet it was the passion of your words that nearly brought my seasoned eyes to weep. Alas, I may have indulged in such an emotional celebration of beauty in the face of love did I not have to attend to my proper duties as your trusted counsel. It is of no new tribulation, the divide between those immersed in the throes of love’s sweet kiss and those who long for cupid’s arrow to pierce their stony hearts. Yes, jealousy and heartbreak can corrupt even those as close to one’s heart as family and those that may as well be. I can tell you only that time can be an expert healer of wounds and may allow for better understanding of an opposing position. Still it is always in a young person’s interest to heed the words of their elders to some degree. This will not be your last obstacle as the road to romantic bliss is a long and trying one. Still, it isn’t as if we mortals are likely to live past our 54th birthdays, so I certainly understand your sense of urgency as it refers to the bearing of children. Keep your wits about you and be certain to behave as polite ladies and gentlemen ought to when in the midst of family or friends. Take comfort that the Lord will return you and yours to common ground soon. |
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