The Shaft

The Shaft

By Marianne Strong, excerpt

The swing swayed again, back toward the house and forward toward the garden. My eyes and flashlight followed the forward arc back to the garden until two white statues swam into my vision. The statues drew me like ghostly figures summoning me to some solemn ceremony.

I walked up to the garden. Pots or chrysanthemums, all purple, sloped down to the center of the sunken ground circling one of the statues.

Again I had the feeling that something was not quite right. O couldn’t figure it. The statue was lovely enough. A smiling angel, its hands together and just touching the chin, the head bowed down toward the earth, the wings folded slightly in toward each other as if the seraph, come to perform some heavenly task, had just lighted upon this ground.

My memory kicked into service again. I’d seen this statue befor. In fact, several such statues. Up at St. Casimir’s cemetery in Bloomsville Heights. One of the local morticians stocked them. They were popular with Bloomsville’s widows.

I looked up at the other statue standing about six feet away, up against some dark cypress. This statue I had seen in Helen’s yard before. For years, during my childhood visits to Aunt Chesla, this pure white Virgin Mary had kept an eye on Helen’s backyard, and on everyone who sat on the bench that Helen used to have where the angel lstood now. I frowned. The Virgin must have gotten a little tired of her vigil. She seemed to list to the left.

The letter P, photo by Elena

From behind me came a shuffle and a cough. I swung around, expecting to see Helen descending on me with whateveer axe or bludgeon she had used to kill Walter.

Two boys, one about six and the other about nine, stared with wide eyes as if I were the axe murderer.

“Hey,” I said, lowering my flashlight. “What are you doing here?”

The six-year-old tried to bolt and run, but tripped over his own feet.

“Geez, Jimmie,” the other boy said, and hauled the six-year-old to his feet. “We just came up to see.”

“To see what?” I said. “I don’t see anything.”

The boys eyes darted behind me in the garden. “We have to go now,” the older boy said. “C’mon, Jimmie.”

But Jimmie had apparently decided that I was harmless. And also that I was a typical lying adult. “Can I see them?” He opened his brown eyes wider and peeked round me.

“See what, Jimmie?”

“The monster potatoes.”

My eyes got wider.

“Ah, c’mon, Jimmie,” the older boy said. “There ain’t no monster potatoes. We gotta go before Mom calls.”

“You said there was.”

I could see that life with Jimmie would not be easyé He’d hold you to your word.

“Monster potatos?” I said. “Realy?”

Jimmie’s brother decided to come clean. “Yeah, some of the other kids said Mrs. Shiminski was growing monster potatoes. That’s why she started yelling when we came near the garden.”

“When did she start yelling?”

“When we came near the garden.”

“Uh, no,” I said, “I mean how long ago did she start yelling?”

Jimmie’s brother shrugged. “I don’t know. A while ago.” He raised his shoulders again, rather philosophically. “I don’t think there’s monster potatoes.” He looked expectantly at me.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“I think there’s people buried there.”

“What makes you thing that?”

The shrug again. “I don’t know. It just looks like there’s people buried there. Lots of people. Dead people.”

Jimmie let out a howl.

(From Ellery Queen, Mystery Magazine, September 1993)

Continuation of the Parks

Continuation of the Parks

By Julio Cortazar

He had begun reading the novel a few days before. He set it aside because of pressing business demands, and took it up again on the train ride back to his country estate; slowly he let himself become interested in the plot and characters. That afternoon, writing a letter to his attorney and discussing with his ranch foreman a matter related to legacies, he returned to the book in the tranquility of his study, which faced on the oak park. Settled comfortably into his favorite chair, his back to the door that would have distracted him as the potential source of intrusion, he gave his left hand up to idle stroking of the green velvet as he started in on the final chapters. His mind effortlessly retained the names and the physical appearance of the protagonists : the novelistic illusion conquered hi almost immediately. He relished the almost perverse pleasure of releasing himself. Line by line, from his surroundings and sensing at the same time that his head was resting comfortably against the velvet of the chair’s high back, that the cigarettes were within easy reach, that beyond the broad windows the air of the gathering dusk danced beneath the oaks. Word by word, absorbed by the sordid dilemma of the characters, allowing himself to approach the images that began to harmonize and acquire color and movement, he became witness to the last encounter at the mountain lodge. First the woman entered, fearfully; now the lover arrived, his face scratched by the lash of a branch. Admirably, she stanched the blood with her kisses, but he rejected her caresses; he had not come to repeat the rituals of a secret passion that was sheltered by countless dried leaves and furtive paths. The dagger grew warm at his breast, and beneath it thrbbed his crouching freedom. A gasping dialogue coursed over the pages like a stream of serpents, and the reader sensed that everything had been decided from the outset. Even those caresses that entagled the body of the lover, as if to retain him and dissuade him, abominably traced the form of another body that had to be destroyed, Nothing had been overlooked: alibis, hazards, possible mischances. From that moment on, each instant had its meticulously designated use. Their merciless review was scarcely interrupted bu a hand stroking a cheek. It was growing dark.

A wall. Photo by Elena

Now, without looking at each other, rigidly bound to the task that awaited them, they separated at the door of the lodge. She was to follow the path that led to the north. From the opposite trail he turned back to see her runing off, heer hair loosened and flowing. Then he too ran, taking cover behind trees and hedges, until he distinguished through the gentle mist of dusk the tree-lined walk that led to the house. The dogs were not supposed to bark ad they did not bark. The foreman would not be about at that hour and he was not. He went up the three steps to the porch and then entered the house. Over the sound of blood pounding in his ears there came the words of the woman: first a blue room, then a hallway, a carpeted stairway. Upstairs, two doors. No one beyond the first one, nor the second. The door of the drawing room, and then the dagger in his hand, the light of the two large windows, the tall back of a green velvet-covered chair, the head of the man seated in the chair reading a novel.

(Translated by Donald A. Yates).

Deutsch Rap

Deutsch Rap

Rap and hip hop music have from their inception been full of controversy. Nonetheless, the present short article is intended as informative only, without presenting for and against arguments associated with the genre.

As expected, the style has been adopted, and adapted, by different cultures across the world. Thus, today one can easily listen to someone rapping in almost any language, since even ancient languages, no longer used, have at times been transformed into lyrics.

Obviously, Germany has its own artists. So, Deutsch, Deutsche or Deutscher Rap und Hip Hop refer to such music produced in German.

The Website www.16bars.de is an excellent source of information on the topic. Aggro Berlin is a famous label, taking its name in reference to local slang. Slang is popular in the milieu, with rappers such as Fler (also known as Patrick Losensky and Frank White) claiming this particular form of communication, among other things, brought them success. Other notorious performers include the group Die Sekte (with Sido, Alpa Gun, Tony D, B-Tight, Mok, Fuhrmann and Bendt), Bushido, Kitty Kat (a.k.a. Kitten Ket), the duo Automatikk, Keskin, Silla (formerly Godsilla), Reason, Mo Trip and Dj Pfund (list non-exhaustive).

Copyright © 2011 Megan Jorgensen. All rights reserved.

Rappers. Photo by Elena.

Art: Bright Colors and Gradients

Art: Bright Colors and Gradients

Art classes often start in elementary school, while creative activities are introduced in kindergarten. However, there is hardly a limit to how technical and advanced drawing, graphic design and other visual arts can become. For example, Autodesk is a computer software publisher producing such programs as AutoCAD, used in architecture and engineering. CAD stands for computer aided design, while CGI stands for computer generated imagery.

Regardless, the images below were compiled based on their showcasing of a fairly fundamental concept in artistic depictions: colors, gradients (in between nuances), textures and patterns. Other thematic groupings can be found on the artwork index page.

A color swirl. Image: © Megan Jorgensen. (Elena)

A four shade gradient. Image: © Megan Jorgensen. (Elena)

A textured picture. Image: © Megan Jorgensen. (Elena)

A mix of gradients with patterns. Image: © Megan Jorgensen. (Elena)

A magenta and lime continuum. Image: © Megan Jorgensen. (Elena)

What’s in a Rock

Gemstones - What’s in a Rock

Gemstones : Using the Four C’s to size up a gemstone

If you`ve considered following in the footsteps of Bluebeard or the Queen Mother by sinking your assets into gemstones, you probably already know that not all gems of a certain type are equal, or even particularly valuable.

Dealers may use different grading systems to determine those values, but they are all based on the four C`s: the stone`s carat weight, its degree of clarity, its color, and the skill with which it was cut. Richard Drucker, publisher of an international wholesale price list called the Guide, here explains the various factors that go into determining a gem`s worth.

Cut: This is the only factor determined by the cutter and not by nature. A gemstone is like a tiny prism – the slightest change in the angle of a cut will affect how it refracts light – thus the « fire » in a ruby can only be released by a skilled cutter. A well-polished gem will be far more radiant and, therefore, far more valuable.

Color: Color quality is determined by the gem`s actual color (hue), how rich the color is (saturation), and how light or dark it is (tone). This is “by far, the most important factor affecting price,” Drucker says. “Slight differences in color may mean great differences in price.” Unfortunately for the beginner, judging color is a highly subjective process, and one that requires a practiced eye to find the perfect saturation of green in an emerald.

A lady with gemstones. Photo by Elena

Carat weight: Gemstone weight traditionally was measured with carob seeds, which weigh about one-fifth of a gram. Today`s standard measure, the carat, sprouted from the carob seed both etymologically and physically – one carat eqeuals 200 milligrams, or one-fifth or a gram.

Remember that the increase in a gemstone`s value is not linear. A half-carat ruby might cost $55, but a one-carat ruby of the same quality might be $150, simply because larger rubies are harder to come by or, as Drucker says, “because it has more intrinsic value to say you own one carat of something.”

Clarity: Nothing is perfect, but the closer to flawless a gemstone is, the more valuable. In this case, a flaw refers either to tiny mineral deposits, which are called inclusions, or to fractures in the stone, which are called cleavages. Some gems, like emeralds, are more likely to be fractured and are thus grades more leniently.

Fact File: What`s your stone The origins of ancient birth-stone designations are lost to history, but we know modern birthstones were designated not by a poet or some other qualified stone interpreter, but by a jeweler`s association. They may have been concerned about the limited availability of some gems.

•     January: Ancent and modern : Garnet
•     February: Ancient and modern: Amethyst
•     March: Ancient – Jasper, Modern – Bloodstone, aquamarine
•     April: Ancient – Sapphire, Modern – Diamond
•     May: Ancient – Agate, Modern – Emerald
•     June: Ancient – Emerald, Modern – Pearl, Moonstone, Alexandrite
•     July: Ancient – Onyx, Modern – Ruby
•     August: Ancient – Carnelian, Modern: Carnelian, Peridot
•     September: Ancient – Chrysolite, Modern – Capphire
•     October : Ancient – Aquamarine, Modern – Opal, Pink Tourmaline
•     November: Ancient – Topaz, Modern – Topaz, Citrine
•     December: Ancient – Ruby, Modern – Turquoise, Zircon.

Gemstones. Photo by Elena