Minotaur and the Not-Cool Dude

// November 20th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Labyrinths

I’m doing lots of reading on labyrinths, and some of the mythology associated with them.

This is a depiction of Theseus going into the Minotaur’s labyrinth in order to slay the half-man / half-bull and free Athens from a debt owed to Minos, the king of Crete.

Ariadne, Minos’ daughter, had fallen in love with Theseus and gave him a spool of red thread so that he would be able to find his way back out of the labyrinth after doing battle with the Minotaur.

Theseus paid Ariadne back by not keeping his promise to bring her on his return trip to Athens.

Oops!

Oh, and he also forgot to swap his ship’s black sails back to white, which was the signal that his mission had been a success.

His father, Aegeus, on seeing the black sails as his son’s ship approached Athens threw himself into the sea (now called the Aegean Sea) thinking his son had died.

Double Oops!

Not cool, Theseus.

Fortune Cookies For Breakfast

// August 12th, 2010 // 6 Comments » // curiosity, painting

The project I set myself today was to make use of the fortunes from the fortune cookies that came with last night’s Chinese dinner. I used them in the painting above. My son and I cracked the cookies open this morning and munched on them while I read out our fortunes.

It sort of went like this:

*crack*

Your blessings will multiply this coming month. Good luck!

Me: Well Finn, that’s good. Who doesn’t like blessings? I do! Like them, I mean.

Finn: munch munch. (Stares, unblinking.)

Me: What’s next?

*crack*

Patience is your alley at the moment. Don’t worry!

Whoops! Alley? What kind of fortune cookie creepiness is this? (Yes, it really says ‘alley’–click on the image to read )

Ally maybe? Is that  a mistranslation? It must be a mistranslation.

ha-ha-ha that’s funny. Ally good–alley bad.

And thank goodness too, alleys freak me out. You never know who might be lurking in one. Not me, that’s for sure. Isn’t that right Finn?

Finn: chomp chomp.

Me (thinking): I’m not sure I want a fortune cookie telling me “Don’t Worry!” Seems suspicious to me, does it know something I don’t know?

*Crack*

Finn: chomp chomp.

Me: chomp chomp. read read.

Remember three months from this date. Good things are in store for you.

Me (thinking): I can barely remember what kind of  Chinese food we even ate, good luck remembering todays date in three months time.

Finn: “Are there any more?”

*crack*

A bold and dashing adventure is soon in your future.

Me: Wow. Dashing? Bold is good–adventure and what-not–but dashing just sounds strenuous and unnecessary to me.

Finn: chomp chomp.

*****

A half hour later Finn is running (dashing?) in circles around the living room and through the kitchen whooping it up.

I’m left pondering the merits of feeding a four year-old fortune cookies before breakfast. I can feel my blessings multiply as he runs.

Muse Missives: Invitation

// July 6th, 2010 // 8 Comments » // creativity, curiosity

Dear Muse,

You are cordially invited to attend our upcoming creative endeavour.

It will be a simple affair with moderate amounts of paint, paper, string, sweet drinks, balloons, and birdsong provided.

We have taken the liberty of placing a sturdy chair beside the apple tree. We can also organize a faux-Classical Greek fountain if needed. Seriously. We live very close to a Home Depot.

You may be aware that my artistic side is fickle, fizzled, and occasionally crabby. We’re sure you can find a graceful way to be with this slightly hoonish part of me. I will be there to mediate if necessary.

There will be geese wandering the grounds, you may wish to wear boots.

There is no need to bring wine (though feel free), a small bag of bread crusts will suffice.

Breathlessly awaiting your arrival,

Dave.