Chills the Lap of May

And thus the heart will break, yet brokenly live on.
~Lord Byron, from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

But winter lingering chills the lap of May.
~Oliver Goldsmith, from The Traveller

The Young May Moon

The young May moon is beaming, love,

The glow-worm's lamp is gleaming, love;
        How sweet to rove
        Through Morna's grove,
When the drowsy world is dreaming, love!
Then awake!—the heavens look bright, my dear,
'Tis never too late for delight, my dear;
        And the best of all ways
        To lengthen our days
Is to steal a few hours from the night, my dear!

Now all the world is sleeping, love,
But the Sage, his star-watch keeping, love,
        And I, whose star
        More glorious far
Is the eye from that casement peeping, love.
Then awake!—till rise of sun, my dear,
The Sage's glass we'll shun, my dear,
        Or in watching the flight
        Of bodies of light
He might happen to take thee for one, my dear!

~The Young May Moon, Thomas Moore, 1779-1852, Irish poet and hymnist

The full moon this month (May 14) is known at the Full Flower Moon, also as the Mother's Moon, the Milk Moon, and the Corn Planting Moon.  The first quarter is on May 6th and the last quarter will be May 21st.

Image scanned by Simon Cooke found on the Victorian Web here

Begin Afresh, Afresh, Afresh

The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.

Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too,
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.

Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh."

- Philip Larkin, The Trees

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

You may or may not know that right now happens to be one of my favorite times of year. The sun is finally peaking its head back out from where it hid all winter long, the birds are twittering and beginning to burst forth in song, and the flowers are in bloom!


My favorite flower, which deigns us with its presence for such a precious short time, is the Sakura, more commonly known in the US as the Cherry Blossom.

My own love affair with this flower dates back to my high school years when there was a Cherry Tree in our schoolyard (which, sad to say, has been since chopped down and replaced with concrete). On May 1st of 1995 or 1996, a sweet boy crowned me the Queen of May and presented to me a bouquet of Cherry Blossoms. I have since loved that flower! The blossoms are exquisite, and as they mature, their petals paper the earth in a type of confetti.

The Japanese practice "hanami," which is the culture of enjoying the flowers, namely the Cherry Blossom. Each year in Japan the weather bureau announces the blossom forecast, and the people closely watch for the blooming of the Sakura. When the time is right, thousands of people gather under the Cherry Trees in parks and pass the day and night away in celebration.

I lived opposite the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in New York City for several years and always celebrated Hanami as well as the Sakura Matsuri, which is their annual rite of Spring. I would spend my Saturdays strolling amongst the flowers. After the Cherry Blossoms started to wilt at the beginning of May, the heavenly-scented lilacs would come into bloom followed by the roses in June.

If you're fortunate to live near public parks or gardens, don't miss this opportunity to view some of nature's finest offerings. Celebrate Hanami!

Here are some pictures from the Flickr set called
Hanami: Cherry Blossom Viewing at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Couples Canopy by CocteauBoy

Planet Cherry by David Reeves

Waiting Spring by Catching Flies

XOXO,

The Dating Life of Models

I blogged the other day about the model-centric May issue of American Vogue (which I have yet to lay my hands on. I've seen it at the newsstand, but after our April 15th tax day, I have precious little money to spend on such luxuries. I'll probably just head to the library and have a good read later).

One of the stories included in the issue is about five of the models and who they are dating at the moment. I know what you're thinking-- that this is fodder for the gossip mags-- but the accompanying photos are decidedly less Us Weekly and more high fashion.

TatianaTheAnonymousModel used the Vogue spread as a springboard for her own humourous article on the dating habits of models. She explores the types of men that models date. For example:


1. The Fellow Model

As modeled by Arlenis Sosa Pena and Rene Rodriguez
Representative sentence from magazine copy: "When asked if they ever shop together, they answer in unison, 'Always!' "

Pros:

• Knows the industry, understands its demands
• Empathizes with the indignity of having your hair pulled for a living (kinda — this happens less to boys)
• Can tell you if you look castings-ready or not in the mornings

Cons:

• You can wear his clothes. But he can also wear yours.
• You both do the exact same thing for a living every day. What on earth are you going to talk about?

To learn the four other types of men that models date click here to surf on over to her post.

Maybe it's just me, but her post made me laugh, and somehow struck me as true to life.

XOXO,

The Model as Muse

Me at the age of 15 in front of my model collage. How many faces can you recognize?

I have always been obsessed with models. I can't remember when that infatuation started, but I think it had something to do with me being stopped by an agent (well, not a real one, but one who worked for John Casablancas) when I was twelve years old. The infatuation might also be related to the fact that I came of age during the era of the supermodel. Whatever the reason, I LOVED 'em. I wanted to hang out with them (you can't imagine how excited I was when I met my first supermodel, Niki Taylor, at the King of Prussia mall in 1998), papered my walls in pictures of them, and knew every possible fact about their lives. Sad, I know.

The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City seems to share my fascination; The Model as Muse Exhibit opens to the public on May 6, with a costume gala hosted my Kate Moss; Justin Timberlake; and Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour. Color me excited.

In related and thrilling news, the much anticipated May cover for Vogue has been revealed. It features nine models on fold-out pages. The issue is being released in conjunction with the exhibit, and includes all things model inside.






Inside the issue we find the incomparable Natalia Vodianova playing dress up as some of the great models of the last hundred years:








I simply can't wait to get my hands on this issue!

XOXO,