Inspire yourself

Today is a day of celebration! The day we celebrate the beginning of Fabi’s collaboration at La Loba. After a year, we have already 13 posts made ​​in partnership. Then nothing more appropriate than talking about inspiration to celebrate the day! Numerous ideas for the blog are born by our exchanges of emails, from a sentence of Fabi: Why don’t you write about it at La Loba? But her inspiration goes far beyond that, Fabi brings a unique energy to the blog, leonine, solar, optimistic and a Hobbit way of being! Today’s post was born about few months ago, one day I was down and Fabi sent me a selection of Richard Armitage pictures with some motivational phrases. So, you know, an idea came to me and I challenged her to transform those images into gifs! Fabi accepted the challenge and today we have the result. So, to all those who visit La Loba we leave you with one single challenge: “Inspire yourself”!

Text  from J.D. Meier of Sources of Insight

Inspiration is a powerful force, and inspired action is one of the most powerful ways to motivate yourself. If you inspire yourself, you light your fire from the inside out. Here are six ways to light the fire and inspire yourself to take action:

1. Be decisive. Make a decision and “go.”  If you waffle back and forth on things, or can’t make up your mind, you spend a lot of energy in  paralysis.  Instead, decide on something you want, and test it.  The act of making a decision and taking action will build momentum, and fuel your fire and fan your flames.  Rather than trying to figure everything out up front, start taking action, test your path, and learn and adapt along the way.

2. Draw from inspirational words of wisdom. Quotes are your friend.  Whenever you need to summon your inner-strength, it helps if you have little one-liner reminders that keep you going.  One of my favorites is by Winston Churchill, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

3. Stand on the “shoulders of giants.” Find some role models and heroes to use to lift your spirits and paint a canvas of possibility.  Just having some examples under your belt can inspire you to new levels. Chances are, no matter what problem or challenge you’re up against, somebody’s been there and done that.  If not exactly, then at least you can draw from similar experiences.

4. Play the favorite scenes in your mind. We all have favorite scenes from movies over the years.  It’s those scenes of triumph, or courage, or an incredible move that inspires us.  Have these at your mental fingertips and draw from them.  Continue to fill and expand your collection by paying attention to the scenes that move you.  You can also draw from scenes in real life.  We all have our shining moments.  Keep those close, and think of them as flash cards to whip out when you need it most.  Simply see the scene in your mind, remember the feeling, and use that to fire you up.

5. Observe the nature. The world around us is full of stories. Inspire yourself for nature, in its eternal cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Inspire yourself from the wildlife and the beauty of the flowers, it bring us numerous solutions to the different challenges of life. Just observe its lessons.

6. Listen to music. Most of the time when I’m writing, or need to make a decision, I’ll listen to music. Certain songs I listen  to give me ideas or energy for action. Need not be the best song in the world, just need to take the right hit!

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The Dwarves Song: Going beyond the Heigh-Ho!

Text by Ana Cris,  Research by Ana Cris and Fabi

Bless me! said Thorin. 

—Didn’t you hear our song?"

The Hobbit¹

When someone mentions songs of dwarfs, soon we remember the "Heigh-Ho²", sung by the dwarfs of the animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) of Walt Disney, written by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey. But, many poems that Tolkien wrote for the Dwarves, not are just verses embedded in the story, they are songs carefully designed to illustrate who the Dwarves of Middle-earth are.

However, as highlighted by Corey Olsen, author of Exploring J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit³ (2102), one of the most underappreciated elements of “The Hobbit” are its poetry and songs. Most readers skim over the poems or even skip them outright, thereby miss out miss out on some of Tolkien’s most thoughtful and compelling literary moments⁴. So what can we learn about the dwarves to go beyond the song "Heigh-Ho", entering the world of Tolkien, in the voices of their new interpreters?

As in many literary works, songs and poems of Tolkien are expressions of memory (looking back) and desire (look for the future), in other words, are expressions of spirit⁵. So, the  Misty Mountains song  tells the story of the loss of Erebor and provides us insights into the heart’s desire of the dwarves.

The song begins with a stanza that appears three times during the song, and it serves as statement of the purpose of the  dwarves’ quest. They explain where they are going: to their ancient underground home(“dungeos deep and caverns old”). They illustrate how far removed that destination is  from them, both in terms of distances and barriers that separate them from their homeland ("Far over the misty mountains, cold"). They indicate the urgency of their longing to return (“We must away ere bebreak of day”). And most importantly, they describe the primary motivation: their  lost  and magical treasure (“To seek the pale enchanted gold”). This stanza alone gives most of the explanation of what the dwarves are actually doing³.

However, if we want to understand Thorin and company, we have to look beyond the surface. Tolkien’s characters have complexity and psychological depth, not being easily classified as heroes or villains. Like us humans, they are caught between conflicting impulses. Thus, in the next stanzas of Misty Mountains we have an insight into the dual nature of dwarves, represented by dark and ominous scenario, full of subterranean glooms, where light and darkness coexist.

[…] So Armitage’s goal was to discover both the light and the dark within Thorin, because there’s always a little bit of both in each of us.

Fault Magazine

It’s from  the dungeons deep and  caverns old that the grave song of the dwarves echoes accompanied by sound of hammers. A song full of doom and gloom, that comes from the darkness of land, where the uncertainty sleeps.

A closer examination of this darkness – that is, the inferiorities constituting the shadow – reveals that they have an emotional nature, and consequently an obsessive , or better, possessive quality towards their affects.

Goblets they carved there for themselves

And harps of gold; where no man delves

There lay they long, and many a song

Was sung unheard by men or elves.

Affects (i.e. passion) occur usually where adaptation is weakest, and at the same time they reveal the reason for its weakness, namely a certain degree of inferiority and the existence of a lower level of personality. On this lower level with its uncontrolled or scarcely controlled emotions one behaves more or less like a primitive, who is not only the passive victim of his affects, but also singularly incapable of moral judgment⁶. In general, the affects consume a large part of the vital energy and are the core of their suffering.

However, the works that the dwarves make are associated with light. They transform the brute matter into objects of rare beauty. Capture the light "in gems on hilt of sword". They sting stars on necklacesand hang dragon-fire on crowns and mesh the “light of moon and sun” in twisted wire. Their gems are their sun and  moon, the focus of their love and their passion, but also represent its function in the world: shaping light from the world of shadows³.

Also, in the heart of the dwarves is the desire for revenge against the dragon, and is in the context of their privacy that the dwarves speak about the loss and destruction of their kingdom. However, the song never really depicts Smaug the dragon. He is not the character of this song. Instead, the dwarves describe the effects of his coming into their lives. So the story that Thorin and his company sing is told in such a way as to keep the focus on the victims killed by the dragon and on the destruction wrought by dragon³.

The mountain smoked beneath the moon;

The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.

They fled their hall to dying -fall

Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.

It’s what the dwarves want to remember. It is this sense of loss and destruction that will not let them forget the dragon. The final stanza of the song indicate the attitude and seriousness of dwarves to their purpose "to win our harps and gold from him." The strength of the desire for revenge and the memory of their affects drive them in their quest, but again light emerges from their shadows. Since their quest is also committed to the values ​​of the soul: the nobility, loyalty, truth and justice for their folk. And for their folk  that Thorin and company are willing to sacrifice themselves entirely. And the death of personality in favor of the values ​​of the soul shines the soul.

To be continued

Reference

1. Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit or There and the Back Again. Harper Collins Childre’s Book.

2. Snow White – Heigh-ho

3. Olsen, C. 2012. Explorando o universo do Hobbit. Ed. Lafonte, São Paulo.

4. Olsen, C. 2012. Why J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ Isn’t Just For Kids. The Wall Street Journal.

5. Stanton, Michael. Hobbits, elfos e Magos. Editora Frente. São Paulo.

6. Misty Mountains performed by Richard Armitage and The Dwarf cast.

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7. Carl G. Jung (Author), R. F. C. Hull. The Portable Jung. Penguin Books, USA

8. Images from Jackson, P. 2012. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

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English version – Caribbean Blue

It is much easier to imagine a beautiful place on a rainy day than to imagine a dreary one. It is a simple fact, often forgotten, that people may create something good merely by thinking it so. A day-dream is as rich a gift as any. Like Afer Ventus, the wind from Africa, or Eurus, the East wind, Boreas from the North or the gentle Zephyrus, the imagination is free and can choose and create its own journey. As with all dreams we reach for the ideal, and Caribbean Blue¹ represents such a dream.

Roma Ryan²

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

Eurus…

… Afer Ventus…

I opened my eyes and saw the vast ocean. The wind coming from the sea kissed my face softly, while my hair swayed from side to side, sometimes covering my eyes.

…so the world goes round and round
with all you ever knew¹.

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

The waves bathe my legs, cleaning out my footprints in the sand, washing with its waters the years of my life and the choices of the past days. A new screen, clear and limpid comes around me, bringing the promise of a new sunrise. After the winter is a time of awakening, announces the sea breeze.

… Boreas …

… Zephryus …

  … Teach me to fly! Show me the mountains, with which I do not dare to dream!

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

…They say the sky high above
Is Caribbean blue…

If I could dive into the blue sea of ​​your eyes, in silent and stillness peace that emanates from them, I would take advantage of the beauty of this endless sea, to dive in myself and find the quiet determination to be who I am. Learning to maintain a strong core of my individuality, with self-respecting, to others and to other life forms.

If there was at least one human being naturally honest, honorable and noble. If there was at least one human being essentially good. If all you dreamed was turned to gold¹. I could believe the sky above is Caribbean blue.

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

… Zephryus…
… Africus…

With your mild breath, gentle and compassionate, melt the ice that has built up around my heart. Bring back your vitality and zest for life, teach me the innocence and trust! Teach me all that is truly strong is also kind and wise³.

… Eurus…
…Afer Ventus…

Winds coming over the horizon, teach me to know the Peace that follows the effort, and the Freedom emanating around me like a cloak flowing in the wind. Show me the way beyond fear, beyond death, teach me the wisdom of a life well lived³.

… Boreas
…  that brings the wisdom of age and time. Bless me with the strength to withstand storms. Teaches me gratitude, the beauty of the earth waking up after the winter³.

… Eurus…
Afer Ventus…
… Boreas
Zephryus…
… Africus…

Winds that bring introspection and contemplation. Point me the way of physical healing, the power of transformation and introspection. Unite us within me so that I can find balance and wholeness. Raise me to the infinite sky³.

 

Nightfall, the moon appears in the sky is Blue Moon⁴. Vast and endless, beautiful and majestic, existing beyond all our knowledge and understanding.

Mother darling, give me courage to bring the brightness of my true being to the world, teach me humility and self-esteem in order to nurture the brilliance of everyone around me.

Sitting on the rocks, waiting for the winds lead to heaven my prayers, your face appears before me. And I do not know why, my thoughts disappear like tears from the moon. And the infinity of his look, I turn to believe that the sky high above …

It’s Caribbean blue.

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

References and Notes

1. Carribean Blue – Performed by Enya, composed by Roma Ryan

2. Caribbean Blue – SHEPHERD MOONS – notes by Roma Ryan

3. This prayer is inspired in the prayer to the seven directions present in the Seneca tradition, and in the invocation of the winds and the worlds above, below and inside cut across many ancient traditions around the world.

4. It is called Blue Moon, the second full moon in the same month. It’s a good time to work the inner self, religiosity, intuition and enhance psychic powers. Represents prosperity and abundance as a whole.

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One Day, One Year!

An year ago, I started the La Loba. Shyly, following the desire to venture lonely by savannah. Leaving behind the safety of the den and the comfort of no exposure. In such a short time, a lot has happened, I met new friends, learned about different cultures, I traveled to the other side of the world. And each new encounter brought some of my Journey to the blog. Often the writing took the form of short stories, in the voice of different characters from Richard Armitage. For example, the stories of Lucas North and Guy of Gisborne awaken me ideas and feelings, expanding the perception of my own Journey and going beyond their original stories. Tell my story in La Loba has allowed me to access the transformative power of personal experience of transcendence and the importance of living fully own individuality.

Thus, the Journey through writing has been an adventure rich and full of surprises, that some times that accelerates the heart t and make me run faster for La Loba. The discovery of friendship has been a pleasant reward. And I could not help but do a tribute to Fabi, that this first year has been an adventure companion, collaborating with numerous texts and ideas! Often changing my disposition about life with her words of encouragement and friendship.

 

                           Puppies of Maned Wolf.

Also, another good experience is the interaction with the community of fans of Richard Armitage. It is gratifying to read your comments, receive emails, exchange ideas and get into their blogs, which many times inspire La Loba.

Things do not happen by chance. It is no coincidence that we met through our admiration for this  British incredible actor and from there we began to share our lives and experiences, and so we learn from each other the art of living. The Chinese writer Lin Yutang, teaches us in his work on the ancient Chinese tradition way of life fully. He tells us to have a full life you must choose different friends for different types of environment. Wisely, he specifies:
                      "To enjoy the flowers, seek   good-hearted friends.
                              To appreciate the guys / girls, funny friends  .
                        To climb to the top of a mountain, romantic friends.
                                  To look at the moon, friends of cold philosophy.
                   For a feast of wine, friends with originality and charm. "

                               To multiply good times and dispel the sad,

                                            friends I met at La Loba!

Mari Lais linda60 Bibiana Mille Cacau Carol Grace saraleee Ana The Crow Joanna fitzg Nane Jonia lucylou Mulubinba Grammarye phoebe lucylou Mrs. E. B. Darcy (@MrsFitzwilliamD) Beachbaby Beatriz Del Picchia Phylly3 Gray_Stormcrow onemorelurker Karina Glorinha + all lukers!

                                                       To all

                                           Thank you!

                                     Some numbers that make me happy!

1. 17,812 visits throughout the period

2. 115 posts

3. Top 10

1. Thorin Oakenshield, Dragon Heart
2. Lucas North tattoo
3. Gandalf, what do you mean to tell me?
4. Welcome Home (Zone), Lucas North
5. The Misty Mountains, The Sacred Mountains – Part II
6. La Loba, The Wolf Woman
7. Hobbiton: The magic of movies
8. Dragon’s-blood
9. The Sacred Mountains, The Misty Mountains – Part I
10. Powhiri: The ritual of encounter
                                            

4. Countries that have visited this blog!

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Somebody that I knew

Basead on

Somebody That I Used To Know

Gotye (feat. Kimbra)

Now and then I think of when we were together. Like when you said you felt so happy you could die. And I tried to tell myself that you were right for me.

But I felt so lonely, and in this situation, you can get addicted to an illusion. So when I discovered that we could not make sense. I resigned myself to the end, the inevitable end. And I admit that I was sad that it was over. Because sometimes is unbearable desire something deeply and be aware that it is not within reach.

Well, I said that we would still be friends, but I lied. It’s a little hard for you that I have cut you off. Tell my friends collect your messages and change my number. Make out like it never  happened and that we were  nothing. I treat you like a stranger and that is so rough. And although I think you do not deserve it. I will not do it differently. Now, you’re just somebody that I  know.

Now and then I think of all the things  that screwed  me over. All the things to which I had to survive and move on. You said you could do it all through. But that’s a pain I still remember. And maybe I’m one of those damaged parts that will never work again. Maybe I’ve just lost faith.

You say I only need love. But I know that we do not make sense. You said that you could let it go. But I wouldn’t catch me hung up on somebody that I used to know. And maybe I really need to feel the love.

So I do not want to live that way, reading every word you say. Do not make me believe  I’ve done everything wrong. I do not need it. Let me be somebody you just used to know. And be somebody that I  just to used to know.

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Still your princess

Franky!                                                                                                                                              Franky!

I’m not scared                                                                                                               Where did you go

I know that you’re gone                                                                                   It’s stormy on this road

but I’m still here                                                                                                                 And I’m alone

Franky!                                                                                                             Tell me why I’m still here

I don’t want you to go                                                                 When you’re not, what’s the deal?

I try so hard but I miss you so                                                                           I’m still your princess ¹

Once upon a time a Kingdom, where lived a princess and her prince, they were very happy and had many plans together. But one day the prince went out to ride and never returned. And Belle fell into a deep sleep, as well as their parents and all the inhabitants of the castle.

And so the Kingdom ceased to exist for Belle. This is the symbolic meaning of deadly sleep that fell on everyone and everything that surrounded the princess because the world is alive only for the person who awakens for him — said La Loba, while slowly brushed my hair.

—Did she fall into a deep sleep in order turn off the memory of her pain? I asked. Right, La Loba said. And it will take many years, and a long process that until  the princess awaken because she sleeps the sleep of transformation. Fulfilled the due time, she will wake up^2,3.

—And the world will never be the same. I told La Loba, as I lay in my bed.

—Yes, my dear — La Loba said — the world will continue to spin. And young people like you have afraid of inactivity where nothing seems to happen, because the common belief says that only doing things we can achieve the goals. However, a long period of quiet contemplation, concentration on self, can lead us to greater achievements. And Belle will not  permanently stay in immobile even that she feels that this period of quiescence seems to last a hundred years^2,3.

—Please continue the story, I asked La Loba, until I sleep!

While the Kingdom sleeps, continued La Loba, the thorns grew up around the tower where the princess took refuge and all who tried to reach her failed because she was not ready and in her sleep she sought her own identity and freedom.

—I wish she had a dragon protecting her in her tower — I told La Loba.

— Oh, but she had, replied La Loba. The Black⁴ is his name, the dragon of renewal. He is the greatest of all dragons and his fire is very powerful. The Black is at the beginning and end of every process. With his huge heart he works self-acceptance and the courage to make changes in our lives. He helps us overcome our traumas. And allows you to see difficult situations  objectively. If something difficult happened, it will help you to dissolve the emotions and suffering that come from memories, allowing you to distance itself from the situation emotionally, seeing it with understanding and acceptance understanding their learning. After that, this Dragon will help us put into practice what has been learned so that we can continue to walk. Black is a savior that comes to rescue us when we go through periods of crisis. It penetrates the darkness and brings light. With its powerful puff it deep clears our negative mental energy and the psycho-emotional environment⁴.

—Yes, a dragon, black as night. And what happened to Belle? La Loba asked.

—Well, although the time does not turn out the moments experienced in the past, it has the power to remove its vitality, leaving us just a memory. Thus elapsed the time, Belle joined forces in solitude, and became herself getting emotional maturity. Changes happened inside her that awakened to the possibility of a happy new life in her kingdom. And so the princess felt alive again. And therefore what seem impenetrable opened again. The wall of thorns suddenly turned around in big, beautiful flowers, allowing anyone to enter, because only in relationship with others awakens us from the danger of letting our lives asleep for too long.

Then she met the prince and kissed him⁵, continued La Loba. Everyone considered the prince an insignificant man and without ambition. A man practically invisible in his world. However, he was a good man, a true gentleman, with a sense of humor, but he suffered prejudice by his appearance. And it was for this man who Belle slowly fell in love. And in the heart of Belle, where were all her Belles, he met the subtlety of  pain and the delicacy of love⁵.

Reference

1. Franky’s Princess – Emilie Simon

[

2. Bruno Bettelheim. A Psicanálise dos Contos de Fadas. 16a Edição – PAZ e TERRA – 2002 Traduzido do original em inglês: The Uses of Enchantment:
The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales.

3. Qual Bela Adormecida você quer ser? Texto de Cristina Balieiro.

4. Black Dragon, O Dragão da Renovação – Text of Dragon Energy Center

5. La delicatesse (Delicacy) – The movie of David Foenkinos e Stéphane Foenkinos. França, 2011.

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Mirage

Driving down the south highway on a hot summer day at the sound of Siouxsie & the Banshees¹, I look at the road ahead of me and  see it covered with a  pool of water. However, I never reach it, because what I observe was a mirage. For many, the word mirage brings images of thirsty travelers moving slowly across desert sands toward the image of a pool of fresh, clear water. However, as they approach the water disappears, because the vision is merely an optical illusion. The characters may vary, cowboys in Death Valley or  soldiers in the Sahara desert, North Africa, but the symbolism is clear, people dying of thirst chasing an image that only exists in their minds. We are then inclined to consider the mirage as an illusion of an overstressed mind, a figment of the imagination of people  parched with  thirst.

The same symbolism has been used to describe fans. In the realm of common sense, the fan is seen as someone unable to make distinctions – between reality and fiction, between admiration and unconditional love, and among his own identity and the identity of the idol (Jenson, 2001; Storey, 1996).

Locked in his own universe, the fan would then be an individual in a constant crisis of identity and values, which projects in the figure of the idol, all that he would like to be but is not, generating a mixed feeling of dependence and frustration. In addition, he receive the label of childish and immature individuals who do not live their lives completely and try to compensate for failures in his  life through invented relationships with characters and idols (Jenkins, 1992).

According to the American Meteorological Society’s Glossary of Weather and Climate, mirage is a phenomenon of refraction in which an image of a distant object appears displaced from its true position because of large variations in density vertical near the surface, so the image may appear distorted, reversed or trembling.

In the case of mirage on roads, the rays of sunlight into direction to the asphalt suffer refraction due to temperature gradient of the air layers near the asphalt. This refraction shifts the direction of light propagation, and so it is reflected (total reflection) in the layers of air near the ground. Thus, what  our eyes and mind initially interprets as water are actually light rays from the blue sky and clouds above and ahead of us refracted by string changes in air density near the surface so that they appear to have come from the ground. In resume, the image we see is real, is not an illusion, the interpretation of our mind that is incorrect.

 

The term mirage comes the French expression se mirer which means looking at yourself in the mirror. So mirage, contrary of what people believed, is a phenomenon (optical) real, is not an illusion. The same can be said for what is to be a fan.

The first step of being a fan is looking at yourself, seeing yourself in the mirror. Independent if the mirror is an idol, a character or a story. Se mirer is to put yourself in that situation, living it not as a passive observer, but as an projected agent. For Matt Hills (2002) this projection of self on the other does not reflect a lack of personality or identity dysfunction, because to impersonate an idol, a character or a story, the fan needs to know who he is and is perfectly self-conscious. The projected mind of a fan allows him to continue his interest and strengthen his own identity, through self-awareness, which in turn allows him  to assume a new identity for a moment and experience new situations (Hills, 2002).

Moreover, looking at yourself in a mirror, involves not only fascination or adoration but also frustration and antagonism, and the combination of these two reactions that motivate active engagement of fans in creative production of fanfiction, fanart, fanvideo, among others. Because the narratives often do not fully meet the fans, and they must fight with it, trying to articulate between themselves  unrealized possibilities within the original narrative (Jenkins 1992).

Therefore, fans see adhesion to the fandom as a movement that comes from the cultural and social isolation toward an active participation in a receptive group to their products (Jenkins 2006). In this environment, fans share references, interests and a shared sense of identity that makes them have a sense of belonging to a large group that is not defined by traditional terms such as race, creed, gender, social class or geographical location, but for individuals who share knowledge and texts. Being in this group is to seek an acceptance that has more to do with what you have to add to the community than who you are (Jenkins 2006).

However, as the phenomenon of mirage, information about our idols, characters or stories may suffer a type of refractive until it gets in our eyes, mainly caused by the elements of our cultural environment (media, interviewers, advertising agents, market) or by idol’s own filter. Then we see a distorted , inverted or trembling image of the real object. Often what we think is the real object is the reflection of ourselves. That does not mean that it is an illusion is real to us, only the interpretation of our minds on the real object that may be incorrect.

 

Reference

JENKINS, Henry. Textual poachers: television fans and participatory culture. New York: Routledge, 1992.

JENKINS, Henry; Introduction: “Worship at the Altar of Convergence”: A New Paradigm for Understanding Media Change. In Convergence culture: where old and new media colide, New York University Press,  2006.

HILLS, Matt. Cult Bodies. Between the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ in Fan Cultures, Routledge, 2002.

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Title: Girls Gone Wild

Tonight, the delicious topic heating up a specific table of women at their favorite restaurant, Ernie’s is: Mr. Perfect. What qualities would he have? Would be tall, have dark hair and blue eyes? Caring or warmhearted —or will just be athletic? Jaine Bright and her three girlfriends start off with the basics — he would be faithful and reliable, the responsible type, with a great sense of humor (Howard, 2000). However as the conversation gains momentum, they start another kind of conversation — you know, that kind of talk that women never, ever would have in front of a man (Estes, 1994). That kind of conversation that is funny and cheeky, and slightly obscene.

That kind of talk whose repertoire includes anything that makes women laugh in a way unchecked until they appear silly, not caring if their tonsils appear or not. A conversation that is accompanied by a sex laugh that is different from a laugh about more educated themes, because it reaches far and deep in the psyche, shaking all sorts of things, playing in our bones and causing a nice feeling and warm run by our body. A laugh that is passionate, decidedly wild, that brings the woman to a state of intense sensory awareness that includes, but not limited, her sexuality (Estés, 2004).

In the modern world this ritual of intimate conversation between women can occur on blogs, Twitter and Tumblr or other forms of virtual communication. It can be especially present in fandom, where anonymity allows users to share their innermost thoughts and desires in irreverent way, bringing out the goddess Baubo that exists in each one of us.

Baubo treats sexuality in a fun way, allowing women to speak of this subject without moral concern if it’s right, it is a sin or is ugly and dirty. With Baubo only speak of what exists and laughs with it. She also works the sexuality as a driving force of the creative life of a woman, able to lift the energy of the aridity of everyday life and make the fields of our psyche back to evergreen. This is because the power of sexuality is a vital force, the force that creates a new life, the strength that comes from the our Kundalini, where she lives asleep, curled up in itself and that awakens our potential (Resende, 2012).

Thus, the goddess Baubo gives us the interesting idea that a little obscenity can help us dispel depression. She says that certain types of laughter, coming from all the stories that women have for each other that are so spicy… these stories activate the libido. They access the fire of interest of woman for life. The belly and laugh goddesses are what we seek. The funny and “dirty” story can end the depression, also pulling the heart of angry, leaving the woman happier than before because in the wild, the irreverent and the sacred, the sacred and the sexual, are not separate but live together as a group of old women waiting for us in the road to share our stories and laugh like crazy with each other (Estés, 2004).

Reference

Estés, C. P. 2004. Women who run with the wolves. Ed. Rocco, Rio de Janeiro.

Howard, L. 200. Mr. Perfect. Pocket Books, New York.

Madonna _ Girl Gone Wild

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Underneath Your Clothes

Underneath your clothes

There’s an endless story

There’s the man I chose

Shakira¹

The writer Joanna Novins in her essay Do Clothes Make the Man? draws attention to the costumes of the male characters from TV shows that reinforce their bad boy characters, and therefore his sex appeal with the female audience. After all, who can resist the off-white hat of Raylan in Justified or black leather of Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood TV series?

In the contemporary Western world, the clothes are not just garbs that protect the body. They are parts of our existence, translate moods and personal identities. Fill the world of meaning and help us build several narratives about who we are and how we want to be seen (Lage, 2011). So, Lars Svendsen (2006), in his book Fashion – A Philosophy, argues that an understanding of fashion ought to contribute to an understanding of ourselves and the way we act.

So, if the clothes make the man as J. Novins asks, an understanding of our attraction to clothes these characters should contribute to our understanding of what we seek in our partners. In general, these characters wear dark colors, a black leather jacket combined with jeans that are the uniform of the bad boys. The jeans have emerged as clothes of the working class, but were soon incorporated by the artists, then by political activists and biker gangs, something that gave him a character expression of opposition to the status quo (Svendsen, 2006).

The bad boys, Damon Salvatore, played by Ian Somerhalder and Jim Stark, played by James Dean.

But who made the combination of jeans and leather jacket a symbol of a tragic romantic figure was James Dean, in the famous film  ’Rebel Without a Cause’ wearing a Levi’s and represented a symbol character on the outskirts of large cities, who led a life desperately monotonous in the midst of material comfort and social and emotional emptiness. Since then, the words jeans, youth and contestation never parted (Veríssimo, 1998).

You’re a song written by the hands of God

Don’t get me wrong

But you own the place¹

Another point is that these guys have a style. The style is an expression of life that the individual constructs. One manifestation of their individuality. In both cases, the personal perception selects from the interaction with the outside world, the elements – symbols, facts, objects, emotions, etc. -, which best allow the production of a cognitive repertoire. Giving thus meaning to experiences and structuring them in the inner world (Scardua, 2009).

Although the bad boy style may have to refer to the rock world, it is linked to a much older male archetype, the warrior. One of the characteristics of this archetype is aggressiveness, which is a stance toward life that rouses, energizes and motivates. It pushes us to take the offensive and to move out of a defensive or “holding” position about life’s tasks and problems. The samurai advice was always “leap” into the battle with all its “vital energy”. The warrior knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. He is a strategic and a tactician. He can evaluate his circumstances accurately and then adapt himself to the ‘situation on the ground’, as we say (Moore & Gillette, 1993).

On the left, James Hetfield, frontman of the thrash metal band Metallica, and his style Seek & Destroy. On the right, Guy of Gisborne, played by Richard Armitage and his samurai warrior.

The warrior has aware of the imminence of death. He knows the shortness of life and how fragile it is. Rather than depressing him, this awareness leads him to an outpouring of life-force and to an intense experience of his life that is unknown to others. Every act counts. Each deed is done as if it were the last. There is no time for hesitation. He doesn’t “think too much”, because thinking too much can lead to doubt, and doubt to hesitation, and hesitation to inaction. Inaction can lead the losing the battle (Moore & Gillette, 1993).

The Warrior energy also shows what we call a transpersonal commitment. His loyalty is to something – a cause, a god, a people, a task, a nation – larger than individuals. However, this devotion to the transpersonal ideal or goal even to the point personal annihilation, leads a man to another Warrior’ characteristics. He is emotionally distant as long is in the Warrior. This does not mean that man accessing the Warrior his fullness is cruel, just that he does not make his decisions implement them out of emotional relatedness to anyone or anything except this ideal (Moore & Gillette, 1993).

So perhaps the influence this archetype, the bad boy style is one that most emphasizes masculinity as it is known in our society. Although originally the warrior costume aimed at protecting the body, in so doing it also emphasizes the aspect of seduction, because it shows some parts judged to be particularly attractive to the opposite sex, such as the chest.

The Devil Wears Prada – James Hetfield, Metallica frontman, with his Prada glasses and Lucas North, Richard Armitage’s character with his Belstaff jacket.

Although the style is apparently composed of basic parts, the egalitarian character, he won a differentiation with more clean designs and brands. Thus, it can be an indicator of class and social status, professional area, a lifestyle more urban or rural. But above all he gets older, bringing the informality of youth; but the man no seems to have a Peter Pan complex.

Thus, at first glance, this bad boy can be rude and ill-tempered. Someone who seems unable to keep a regular job. At best, he was a drunk, and drunks could be mean and destructive. At worst, he was involved in illegal stuff, which added dangerous to the list (Novins, 2012). But a closer look beyond appearances may reveal that underneath his clothing there is the man who is our perfect match. And that our first impression was surprisingly wrong.

Underneath your clothes
There’s an endless story
There’s the man I chose
There’s my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl, honey¹

^{—————————————————————————————————————————-}

 ^{1. Underneath Your Clothe – Shakira}

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No Leaf Clover

And after all, heaven and earth are there, as if nothing had happened. Good day to be alive, sir. Good day to be alive, he says¹. That everything goes to hell, Lucas North² thought. Just it feels right in this time. The rain fell slowly as he walked. Pay no mind to the distant thunder.

The work was done. He had been a hero for a day. Doesn’t it feel right like this? All the pieces fit together. Like musical notes of a great symphony. Orchestrated by an invisible hand called destiny³. Couldn’t he beat it just for one day? He risked his life in a Russian roulette. His stakes were high and all the pieces fell to his wish. And a new day dawned in his mind. Couldn’t be a hero just for one day?

Just turn the corner and choose the right line. Suddenly it came into his mind images of his childhood. Small hands clung to his. The boy he was. A deep anguish reflected in him eyes. He passed his hand on boy’s head, and he says “Just pray for good dreams, boy. For any line of the destiny, you will be asked to choose not one but many time³.”

Choose the right line. Do not be afraid. Pay no mind to the distant flashes. The  line on the destiny fork, divide and reconnect. At every step you make a choice and every choice results in new line³. Just find the right line, boy.

The boy’s eyes followed him as he moved away slowly through city streets. Like a pale angel in the darkness. He doesn’t pay mind the line of the destiny and a single light path extending his back. While the front was only darkness.

He was the hero for a day. Just feel good for this time, he thought. But long time ago he felt nothing, not even sadness. The void filling him. He doesn’t pay mind to the distressed looks that crossed his path.

It feels right at this moment on his crash course with the big moment. He laughed to himself, it is said that even destiny doesn’t’ know which path you can take. And if it knew, it would not speak. Destiny loves to keep secrets. And all the pieces tumble to his wish.

He was the hero of the day. Don’t you feel right? Don’t you could simply be the hero for a day? He could not just beat them? Good day to be alive, sir. Good day to be alive, he says.

Turned it round and found the right line. Pay no attention to the distant thunder. It feels right for just a time, he thought as he walked slowly.

So here comes that light at the end of your tunnel. Just it feels right on his crash course with his big time². Do not feel so well on your crash course?

Then it comes the light at the end of his tunnel. It was just a freight train coming his way. Then it is coming to his direction.

References

1. No Leaf Clover is the eighth song live album S & M, the band Metallica, recorded with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in 1999.

2. Lucas North, character portrayed by Richard Armitage, in seasons 7, 8 and 9 seriesSpooks, produced by the BBC from 2002 to 2011.
3. Sandaman is a comic book created by Neil Gaiman in 1988 by publisher DCComics. Here are quoted phrases Destination of the seven Endless.
4. All images are available on RichardArmitageNet

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