The Queen of Hearts 

she made some tarts

The Queen of Hearts is a character from the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by the mathematician Lewis Carroll. She is a foul-tempered monarch, that Carroll himself pictured as "a blind fury", and who is quick to decree death sentences at the slightest offense. Her most famous line, one which she repeats often, is "Off with their heads!"

This Mad March think up some clever ways to appease this fury. You could consider making some artist trading cards for her and post them on the Pythian Games for all the world to see.

Renewal and Regeneration 

this period is, amongst other things, about renewal and regeneration

Romancing the Ruins 

Romancing the Ruins Detroit's abandoned buildings lure risk-takers and soul-preservers.... Lucas McGrail walks into the front lobby of Detroit's Michigan Central Depot and steps over a sandstone wall panel lying in pieces on the floor. Pigeons flee their perches, their wingflaps echoing loudly through the huge empty room. McGrail picks up a bottle of water and squirts it onto the grimy floor. "There's beauty still, under this crap," he says, rubbing his foot in the muddy spot, revealing marble under the dirt. McGrail looks at the faded remnants of a mural on one wall, bricks, broken glass, and dust everywhere. "Yeah, it's messy. Yeah, it's filthy. But guys like me look at it and say, 'It could come back.'" McGrail is part of a daredevil Detroit underground compelled to sneak into abandoned buildings to explore the fading grandeur of the city's past. Some seek adventure, others are curious about the architecture, and some see themselves as historians. The extremes that shaped Detroit .....

Take a spy camera and explore some abandoned buildings. Romance the ruin and let your imagination run as rampant as the weeds that fill it's broken walls.

Treasures amid Abandonment 

Abandoned Airfields

This is a site dedicate to providing information on the remains of WWII airfields and other associated structures that have been left scattered throughout the British countryside.

Dark Passages

Wander through these dark passages and see how they have been illuminated.

Ruins of Detroit

A fabulous collection of ruins in Detroit.

Bruce Haley

The photographic work of Bruce Haley.

Ellis Island Ghosts

A portal to freedom that has been long abandoned. Hauntingly beautiful now.

Through the Eyes of Another 

Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom

by Stephen Wilkes

Amazon Price: $47.25 (as of 05/13/2008)

American Ruins: Ghosts on the Landscape

by Maxwell MacKenzie

Amazon Price: $19.46 (as of 05/13/2008)

Ruins of the Past: The Use and Perception of Abandoned Structures in the Maya Lowlands (Mesoamerican Worlds)

Amazon Price: $48.00 (as of 05/13/2008)

Ghostly Ruins: America's Forgotten Architecture

by Harry Skrdla

Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 05/13/2008)

Not Quite Alice 

entering Wonderland

You have been sitting within the circle of trees but you are beginning to feel tired of having nothing to do: your book has bored you as it has no pictures or conversation. Momentarily you consider making a daisy-chain, think of sitting under this tree checking to see if the daisies reveal your love of butter. You pick some golden yellow daisies and carefully break slits in the lush green stems. These daisies have nice thick stems and the chain forms quite easily. As you sit concentrating on the daisies you become aware that someone is watching you. A small brown squirrel, with a bushy tail that could easily become a duster, has sat right next to you. There is nothing remarkable about this, for in this part of the world squirrels scamper with gay abandon, busily collecting acorns from the heavily laden oak trees. The fact that the small creature sighs and remarks that "if you are going to come you better put your best clothes on" startles you. You realize that never before have you heard a squirrel speak, let alone seen one pull a watch out of its pocket and comment on the need to hasten. As the squirrel scampers inside a nearby oak tree you leap to your feet and follow......

Begin writing. Do not worry about grammar or spelling. Just write for twenty minutes about your journey.

Do not stop to think. Just write about where you are and what happens.

Rather than a Rabbit Hole 

exit through a manhole

Manhole Cover Project

As a writer I am fascinated by the concept of egress - the capacity to exit, to go out, to enter the subterranean world below. Years of teaching the craft of writing has demonstrated that when writers' are willing to make the journey within their writing and creativity accelerates. I never did tell my students that the guided imagery that we did in class was a form of meditation, a means of contacting inner knowledge, but they responded enthusiastically, telling me that the experience was very 'trippy' and that this kind of writing enhanced their sense of being able to write.

Some Books To Add to Your Shelves 

The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition

by Lewis Carroll

Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 05/13/2008)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: A Pop-up Adaptation

by Lewis Carroll

Amazon Price: $17.81 (as of 05/13/2008)

Alice in Wonderland

by Lewis Carroll

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 05/13/2008)

Easter Egg History 

It's pretty much common knowledge that Easter is a Christian celebration of Christ's rising, but this holiday also has pagan origins. Where did the colored eggs, cute little bunnies, baby chicks, leg of lamb dinners, and lilies come from? They are all symbols of rebirth and the lamb was a traditional religious sacrifice.

Easter falls in the spring, the yearly time of renewal, when the earth renews itself after a long, cold winter. The word Easter comes to us from the Norsemen's Eostur, Eastar, Ostara, and Ostar, and the pagan goddess Eostre, all of which involve the season of the growing sun and new birth. The Easter Bunny arose originally as a symbol of fertility, due to the rapid reproduction habits of the hare and rabbit.

The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians, and Hindus all believed the world began with an enormous egg, thus the egg as a symbol of new life has been around for eons.

Spend some time reflecting upon Easter memories and consider adding something to Mnemosyne's Memory Stream at the Games.

Some Easter Colouring Activities 

that will please the Muse and your inner child

Easter Printables

Here are some Easter crafts to do with kids, for kids or for the kid in you. This web site has directions for making a wide variety of really sweet creatures and baskets from common materials.

Easter Colouring

Sure, Easter is about Coloring Eggs, but it's also a fun time to color pictures of bunnies, eggs, lambs, springtime, renewal and the religious symbols of Easter. Grab your crayons, colored pencils and markers and lets color Easter pictures and crafts.

Easter Origami

Have fun this Easter with our Easter origami ideas. You can use these models in many different ways (see below) and your kids are sure to enjoy making them!

Printable Easter Eggs

My Ukrainian grandmother used to make the most beautiful, decorative eggs for the Easter holiday. I loved how delicate and intricate the designs were and appreciated the amount of time she took to create each ornamental egg by hand.

Reader Feedback 

porchsitter

Love the Romancing the Ruins segment. Think I'll wander amid the abandoned stuff and look for treasures.

Posted April 11, 2008

Gail Kav

Planning on taking the trading card route this Easter - in between egg hunts, cooking fish for dinner and lazing around with with chocolate!

Posted March 20, 2008

genece20 I'm going to dig into some of the goodies here ;-) Posted March 20, 2008

Jodhiay Oh: if you ever get around to reading Neil Gaman's American Gods, you'll find Eostre in it. Posted March 20, 2008

Jodhiay I read Alice in Wonderland for the first time within the last year and really enjoyed it, especially the trippy stuff! Posted March 20, 2008

 

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