LOVE OR OBSESSION (I FINISHED THE SENTENCE ON THE KEYBOARD)

HERE'S my collection of pens -- nice, isn't it? The drawer is full. I have a large handful in the knapsack I take to work too. Inasmuch as I use pens, I don't think I will ever run out in my life time. I have pens to last me 200 years, and I am still buying!

My favorite writing pen is the Bic fine, though the Bic "cristal fine" and "soft" varieties are also good, depending on the paper texture. As you have probably guessed, I am crazy about all things paper and writing! Even the name of this blog shows my love (or obsession): I called the blog The Lipstick Papers!

Recently, I have stopped writing my novels with the pen, and transferred to the keyboard. I remember stopping at mid-sentence, thinking to myself: "It's time. Go start typing the novel directly". I finished the sentence on the keyboard.

Still, writing with the pen is more enjoyable. I don't know if my writing has improved on the keyboard; I don't think it has. I think the style changed a bit though.

More on writing in a later post! Here is a perfect little cupcake treat with the frappe the other day:

Bye for now, xxx

A GIFT FROM THE CITY OF VENICE

THIS is one of my favorite spots in Larnaca, the Venetian lion on the seafront! It was sent, a few years ago, as a gift to Larnaca from the city of Venice!

The whole of Cyprus was a Venetian colony. One of our most famous Venetian governors was none other but Othello -- in literature of course! Shakespeare's Othello takes place in Famagusta (Αμμόχωστος, Ammohostos, meaning "covered in sand") Cyprus, and contains the well-known phrase, "Welcome to Cyprus, my Lord". That's the scene when Othello and company arrive to Famagusta from Venice, the company including Desdemona, Iago and Cassio. There is the tower and castle of Othello in Famagusta.

The Venetian lion on the sea front is a most beautiful work of art, which speaks of Italy and the world of extreme beauty that is the Italian world. Don't worry, though, the lion is not lonely here -- children, tourists and locals surround it from dawn till well after midnight and they are his friends.

Have a good Saturday noon! xxx

THE CHORUS LINE (Η κοπέλα με το κολιέ)

WHAT a joy it is to copy ancient Greek art! The original is a Theran mural called "The necklace bearer", Η κοπέλα με το κολιέ, and is 3,600 years old.

A few things come immediately to our notice here! The Minoans knew transparent clothing and followed elegant fashion principles. And, women showed their bare breasts in public -- the shirt was open and the dress (as we know from other murals and statues) ended just below the breast.

This is because the Minoan was a society of equality, where women were not objectified. A society which objectifies women, like the Victorian, like ours, will consider anything to be "provocative" (i.e. "provocative" to men who cannot control themselves). The female ankle was a scandalous spectacle for the Victorians, for example. A society of equality, which respects women, will be fine with open shirts and dresses ending just below the breast.

Walking on the seafront yesterday, I spotted this poster for a coming folk dance festival. For some reason, the girls in the chorus line reminded me of the Theran and Minoan murals.

We still have many women looking like the necklace bearer all over Cyprus and Greece, and I think all over the Mediterranean too. It is amazing how faces copy themselves endlessly across the millenia!

Have a good afternoon xxx

MY FAUX BIJOUX INSECT RING

I LOVE this faux bijoux insect ring which I bought a few days ago from my friend at Pearls and Shells here in Cyprus!

Personally, I love insects, especially spiders and bees. (I don't  even mind cockroaches). In this, I am the perfect Victorianist -- the Victorians loved to study, draw and collect insects and were pioneers in the science of entomology (εντομολογία, from the Greek word for insect, entomo, έντομο).

I am not sure what the insect on my ring is. It looks like a caterpillar. I like to imagine it is a bee!

Bees are associated with industry and hard work: for the Ancient Religion, bees were holy and closely linked to the Great Goddess who mothered humanity and the Universe. In the Olympian (Ancient Greek) religion, the bee was linked to the Goddess Artemis. The Great Goddess herself was a sort of proto-Artemis; Artemis is the Goddess of the moon, virginity, fertility, child-birth and hunting, called Diana in the Latin Roman world.

Further, bees were considered holy because they fed and protected the child Zeus, who was being hunted by his own father Cronos.

I love my new "bee" ring, and I was very happy to wear it at the movies on Friday night. I saw Hitman, which I really liked. It was violent, but it had a credible plot, and was quite respectful to women. For me, gender and women issues are the primary criterion for everything from movies to politics.

And Rupert Friend, who starred, was gorgeous, hehehee!

Have a good start to the week! xxx

P.S. The information about the bee in the Ancient and the Olympian religions comes from the Greek book, The Bee and its Produce, ETBA Cultural and Technology Foundation, 1996 (Η Μέλισσα και τα Προϊόντα της, Πολιτιστικό Τεχνολογικό Ίδρυμα ΕΤΒΑ, 1996). 

THROUGH PRACTICE AND OBSERVATION

THIS is a drawing I made inspired by Charlotte Bronte's Villette! 

Personally, I never took drawing lessons, I taught myself. Whatever I learnt was through practice and observation. I haven't drawn for years, and now I am trying to cultivate the skill once again. The talent for art is never lost, of course, but, unpracticed, it tends to get "rusty". 

If you think, as I do, that the brunette looks like Salma Hayek, this was completely coincidental. I don't know how I managed the likeness.

The drawing shows Lucy Snowe, the protagonist in Villette, and Ginevra Fanshawe, her pupil and friend. Lucy is angry because Ginevra has accepted the necklace gift from an admirer. Now, don't think that, in the novel, Ginevra is repressed while Lucy is revolutionary and independent. The novel shows that there are nuances to independence and, personally, I have found Ginevra to be more independent and strong-willed than Lucy. 

If you have not read Villette, I do recommend it as one of my favorite novels. It's long and often odd, but I think it's quite worth it.

Have a good afternoon xxx

ALL WOMEN HAVE SOME MARILYN IN US

I THINK all women have some of the Marilyn in us -- are we not all, to a lesser or greater degree, glamorous, troubled, struggling with roles, expectations and identities? Most of all, I think we women can be many things, just like Marilyn; we can be beautiful, powerful, and insightful at the same time.

This is The Lipstick Papers Book Review, and this week we have Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters by Marilyn Monroe!

I love this book, for many reasons: the lovely pictures of Marilyn, the authentic facsimiles from her notes, journals and poems as well as the information sections, contextualizing the writing into Marilyn's life. (The two photos below I took from the inside of the book).

Most of all, I love this book because it shows that, beneath the glittery surface of the beautiful blonde, was a troubled, yet immensely clever woman. There is one particularly touching part where she wonders how she can go in front of the camera and be this happy and carefree girl, while she feels so upset inside. Marilyn was a woman who, though beset by personal misfortune, she never stopped fighting against it and trying for the best.

In this sense, Marilyn was Everywoman.

I totally recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about Marilyn, but also to anyone who is into beauty, women's autobiography and women's history!

Have a good start to the week, always with beauty and a book! xxx

MY NEW TATTOO

AS promised, here is the new tattoo!

It's nice and elegant, and I love it!

What it says is Λαίδη, Lady, which is the name of my beloved collie dog who died in 2008. Lady was my baby, and I was a perfect dog mother. Now I will have Lady always with me!

Tattoos started as the province of exotic peoples, then of sailors, princes and kings; nowadays tattoos are popular and highly personal at the same time. Nikos Kavvadias (Νίκος Καββαδίας), the famous Greek poet who wrote about the sea, had a mermaid tattoo on his arm.

"My mermaid and I will go together to the other world," he used to say. 

Whatever someone believes about the other world is completely their own. The truth is we know nothing about the other world.

For me, Lady will now be with me for the rest of my life -- she will be with me always, whatever this always might mean.

And this thought makes me very, very happy!!! xxx

FIRST TATTOO TODAY!

HERE I am at the tattoo parlor today! First tattoo! I wanted to do a tattoo for years, but I was afraid of the pain. You know what?????? It turned out to be completely painLESS. It was fun!

Being a hypochondriac (irrational fear of physical illness) I always postponed doing the tattoo. Eventually, I realized that, fear is all useful and good as a servant -- it can serve as a sensible warning about things. But fear is a bad master. We need to master our fears. 

Also, I came to an age where I realized that, whenever I went wrong in life, it was because of fear: fear to speak up, to speak out, fear to change things, fear to take the plunge.

Recently, I started listening to my fears less and less. Life is too short for such things.

I chose a parlor recommended by friends (Easy Rider here in Larnaca), I did a patch test last week, and the real thing today!

What's the tattoo? You will ask. What did you do? I won't tell you right now. It will be a surprise for the next post!

Have a good night with beauty always with you! xxx

IN UNA BELLA SERA D' ESTATE (ON A FAIR SUMMER'S EVE)

TODAY I got one of the best gifts ever -- an English Italian edition of the poems of John Keats! From my dear friend Stephanie who went to Italy! Thanks so much!

Here we are tonight, having coffee and dinner at Costa Coffee!

The book now has place of honor in my shelves:

John Keats, the Romantic poet, had a short and tough life (he died at twenty-five from TB) but his poems are among the most beautiful pieces ever written in the English language. As for his letters, they are so well-written they are considered to be among the finest in literature. Indeed, even after more than two centuries, the letters are, like the poems, lively, immediate, alive and true. 

John Keats and the Italian language are a killer combination. My Italian gift has the full text in the two languages, a chronology, an Introduction by Jorge Luis Borges and lots of other information too.

"Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art" -- one of the most beautiful openings in a poem. In Italian: "Stella lucente, foss'io come te costante". Pure magic!

Have a good night and be well! xxx
P.S. The "bright star" of the poem is Keats's fiancee Fanny Browne.

ELIZABETH GASKELL AND PINK VINTAGE

PINK vintage furniture, lace and pretty home accessories! I am sure you cannot get better than this. I was just passing outside this new boutique when the amazing pink dressing table caught my eye. I just had to get in, introduce myself, take pictures and investigate!

I ended up buying something nice and pretty for the home. The boutique is called Coffret Vintage Fashion and Deco here in my hometown.

You know how much I love these feminine little worlds! Perhaps this is why Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford is one of my favorite novels; it describes a world of aging Victorian amazons, who try to deal with life and changing circumstances. Cranford is full of references to cooking, sewing, decorating, letter-writing and housekeeping, with a nice touch of romance and family drama!

Have a good evening and be well! xxx

READING CHRISTIAN GREY AT T.G.I. FRIDAY'S

AS you know, Fifty Shades of Grey is my favorite book! What is my verdict on Grey? Here I am at T.G.I. Friday's tonight, having just finished the book!

What I loved about Grey:
1. I was very interested to read about Christian and his point of view.
2. Christian's voice is attractive, sexy and dark -- well done, E.L. James!
3. Enjoyable and easy to read, like all the trilogy.
4. Stands as an independent book -- you can read and enjoy it even if you have not read the trilogy.
5. I would look forward to read more about Christian's unknown past -- his affair with Elena Lincoln, his training to be a dominant; will he ever try to track down his mother's pimp and deal with him?

What I didn't like so much:
1. I miss reading about Christian's beauty and his lovely body! This is a semi-erotic experience, as any female reader will testify. Grey does not have that.
2. I don't like reading how great is Ana. Personally, I didn't find her fascinating at all; I don't think I even found her likable.  So reading Christian's endless encomiums sometimes got on my nerves. 
3. The book sometimes got too repetitive. Do we have to read again all the emails and all the dialogue? Some more unknown facts from Christian's life would have been better.

All in all, I loved the book and I will miss reading about Christian now! 

Have a good night xxx

DOLLY KEEPS A SECRET

HERE'S A SKETCH I made, inspired by a scene from Possession, A.S. Byatt's neo-Victorian novel, and one of the best books I have ever read!

Neo-Victorian novels are novels written by contemporary authors in the Victorian style. Apart from A.S. Byatt, others who have written neo-Victorian novels are Sarah Waters and Peter Carey.

Possession has all the things I love: Victorians, letters, beauty and the blonde, reading and writing. It is a novel about literature and books, and the novel which made me want to do a Victorians PhD!

I made the sketch with pencil, ink and professional color pencils. These pencils are Stabilo and Derwent and were expensive, so I bought them one by one. However, they are still good after twenty years, hard to find here in Cyprus now and, if used by a trained hand, can produce a drawing which looks as if it has been stamped on the paper.

A central part of the Possession plot happens through letters (though Possession is not an epistolary novel). The letter was a very popular method of communication from the 18th century on. Especially when used by women, it was a way for them to escape from the confining domestic sphere, albeit only imaginatively through writing.

I have to say that Possession is the only A.S. Byatt novel I liked. I started three others, but was terribly disappointed. Only Possession is a masterpiece.

Have a good night and be well! xxx

P.S. This is the sketch reworked a little on the iPad.

THE LIPSTICK PAPERS BOOK REVIEW

THE ANCIENT Greeks, in their infinite wisdom, had deified love, erotic love, sexuality and fertility, in the Goddess Aphrodite (Αφροδίτη, in Greek meaning "born of the sea foam"). Flowers and children are sacred to the Goddess, and that is why people adorned her temples with flowers and brought children there to be blessed. The rose is Aphrodite's special flower.

A lovely little flower book, if you are looking for one, is The Language of Flowers: A Miscellany by Mandy Kirkby with a foreword by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. 

The book has a chapter for most of the major flowers and herbs with information on what they mean, their cultural uses and their presence in literature. Peppermint, for example, signifies warmth of feeling; the Victorians used it in confectionery and, as a cordial, to cure cold. Violet has its roots in Greek myth, and is a symbol of modesty and humility. Each of the book's chapter is accompanied by a color  illustration. 

There are poems on flowers, including poems by Christina Rossetti, one of my favorite Victorians.

At the back, the book has an index of feelings or attributes and the corresponding flower, e.g. coquetry is signified by the day lily and morning glory, faith by the passion flower & c.

Have a lovely start to the week, always with beauty and a book! xxx

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: LIPSTICK TRIUMPH

LAST NIGHT'S Mission Impossible film was a triumph for lipstick! Yes! Lipstick had centre stage, because there is this lady spy in the film, whose lipstick is a gadget! The lipstick is real (and an unusual shade it is too). Inside, it actually hides a powerful memory stick!

Also, the same lady spy leaves a lipstick-kissed paper as a trail for Tom Cruise to find while he is looking for her in Morocco!

Could the film get any better? Of course not! Here I am at the cinema foyer, waiting for the film to start. Please note the pink T-shirt and pink bag.

Lipstick has been a definitive tool for women for centuries. Women were heavily condemned for wearing make up. Lipstick was the most hated of them all, for the mouth is the most sexually charged part of the face. 

Behind the condemnation for make up was fear of female power: fear of the woman who could self-create on her face and make herself appear more beautiful than she was.

As a committed feminist, I love lipstick and make up, because I tie them with woman's power to create: create things so disparate as beauty, family and a text. That's why the lipstick resembles a pen after all!

Did I enjoy Mission Impossible? Yes, it was a good film, good direction, visual effects, sound. They couldn't resist showing the female protagonist in a bikini; on the other hand, Tom Cruise appears half-naked too.

Have a terrific Saturday! xxx