On the Imagination: Doors Are Indicators of Openings Into Other Worlds

The original Poltergeist movie (1982) perfectly utilizes the
ancient idea of a portal to another world.

I took a class in Graduate school on the Arthurian Legend. I wrote a paper on the duality of evil and good children in the myth - relating it to the Hollywood movies The Sixth Sense and The Good Son. Anyway. One thing I took away from that class was how the idea of doors as portals into other worlds is an old archetype located in the oldest myths and stories that have sprung from humankind's first stories. In the Hindu story of Krishna opening his mouth as a child to show his mother the universe, to the Celtic stories of fairy mounds and magical portals, to the Lady of the Lake breaking the surface of the water to reveal the legendary sword Excalibur. If you live in New York City, stepping into the underground concourse of subterranean subway tunnels is a daily excursion into the upside, downside aspect of city-living. The Netflix Television series Stranger Things is a recent foray into this genre. The show has created an entire mythology around this old concept in its imaginative world-building of the Upside Down. I like how Phillip Pullman in his fantasy series The Golden Compass has his hero wield a blade that cuts into the fabric of space and time, thus able to cross between worlds. Or, that famous image from the movie Poltergeist in which Carol Anne extends her hand toward the white, emanating glow of the television set. Portals can be sunken into the imagination of tales and storytelling told by the fire, but there is a truth in the telling. Fantasy fiction, as well as science fiction, uses portals and doorways. For example - Dr. Who's T.A.R.D.I.S. is the stuff of science fiction lore, but the idea of a quantum-powered engine that can skip across space and time seems plausible. And with images from astronomers showing us what Black Holes sort of look like, the idea of traversing across the universe through cosmic doorways seems real to me somehow. We (i.e., humans) just don't have the technology. Yet. I wonder if in the forthcoming centuries we humans will make the old legends true. We first have to figure out the problem of massive incoming changes in the earth's climate that is fastly becoming our next existential threat - but after that! - we have goals to tend to - ad astra!

I found this whimsical video on the video streaming app Tik Tok. I am not sure if this place actually exists - but if it does I want to go there! Video Source: @elliedothoe

I sell lesson plans for the
English and Humanities crowd (and more!)

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Cycladic Sculptures Explained: Millennia-Old Faces of Aegean Art

Exploring the enigmatic Cycladic art at the Met Museum, where ancient sculptures blend timelessly with modern aesthetics.

In the Aegean Bronze Age section at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, you can find Cycladic art, famous for its abstract and stylized human figures, predominantly female, dating from around 2800 to 2300 BCE.

I'm at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, looking at the museum's collection of Cycladic art. Located in the Greek wing of the @metmuseum's Cycladic art collection, this ancient sculptural representation of a human face is perhaps one of my favorite art objects (ever!). Dating from the 3rd millennium BCE to the 1st millennium B.C.E., these sculptures represent a culture that developed around 3300 B.C.E. in the Aegean Sea.

An aerial, stylized view of the Aegean Sea, dotted with the Cyclades islands, nestled between Greece, Anatolia, and Crete.

🗣️ Known for their abstract, stylized forms, these ancient works could easily be placed in the Museum of Modern Art @MoMA) and fit right in. We don't know exactly what the objects were used for, but some scholars believe that they may have been used as votive offerings, grave goods, or even status symbols.

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"Sin nombre" - Harold Mendez, Artist

Harold Mendez (American, born 1977)
Sin nombre 2017-18
Cotton, graphite, spray enamel, toner, and lithographic crayon on ball-grained aluminum lithographic plate mounted on dibond.

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Throwback: Black and White Selfie

Ten years have gone by - more or less - Do I look the same? 

I'm sporting a short-sleaved shirt I still wear. In the photo, I'm taking a selfie with my old Canon Sure Shot. It was metallic pink. I'm in my old apartment on Cohn Streer (in NOLA). Who remembers me then? I was teaching High School English at a Christian Brothers school. We we reading Gilgamesh - probably. Comment this photo with your reminiscing. 

Time-Lapse Video: Kids Play at Brant Point Lighthouse

Brant Point Lighthouse
Here's another video of our school group visiting the island of Nantucket for Spring Break. We explored the beach surrounding the Brant Point Lighthouse. We woke up early and hiked to the lighthouse. The weather was fresh and chilly. It's Springtime in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Life is good. Seize the moment. Seize the day. Carpe diem.
Viewing Tip: do you notice the ferry leaving the island? That's the same ferry in the video I posted (see the previous post).

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Time-Lapse Video: The Eagle Departs Nantucket Island En Route for Hyannis

Spring Break with Kids from School
I was with a school group on Spring Break in Nantucket. Here's a short time-lapse video of the ferry leaving the island en route for Hyannis. We were on the Eagle, a sea-faring vessel built in Morgan City, Louisiana. The trip was fun. I liked hanging out with the kids. The weather was chilly and invigorating. I ate lobster. We went on a ghost tour. We ate s'mores. Life can be amazing.
Go Back in Time Two Years Ago
Two years ago, I did a similar trip with our school. Here is the time-lapse video of the ferry once we arrived at Hyannis.

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Photo Post: Ghosts that May or May Not Inhabit Nantucket Island

Ghosts inhabit Nantucket Island. Or maybe it's just a storefront mannequin.

A ghost of Nantucket island appears in a storefront window on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

I am a writer and cannot confirm or deny the existence of ghosts. However, it is likely that the reference to a "storefront mannequin" is meant to be metaphorical or symbolic rather than a literal statement.

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Artful Photograph: Philip-Lorca di Corcia

Photo by Philip-Lorca di Corcia (c. 1995)

What story does this photograph tell?

Philip-Lorca di Corcia is an art photographer. You may be familiar with di Corcia's body of work. In the early Nineties, he did a series of photographs of street hustlers in Los Angeles - charging them to pose for him at the same price the men would normally charge a client for sex. 

In the above photograph, part of a series of images wherein di Corcia would photograph a banal scene (i.e., a gas station, a drug store, a hotel room) with a model who does not quite fit into the scene, the artist plays with light, setting, and storytelling.

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Artful Photograph: The Eye of Osirus (My Apologies to the Ancient Egyptians)

The eye of something. Real. I was walking down a high school hallway, and a ninth grader showed me his metal eye (that I'm assuming he made in art class?). I love my job — every day is an adventure, and I get the Osirus eye — even if for an Instagramable moment. 

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Greig Roselli is a writer and an educator. He lives and works in New York City. You can contact him via email at greigroselli@stonesoferasmus.com or on his website - stonesoferasmus.com

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Movie Review: Tully (2018)

A scene from Charlize Theron's movie Tully

Charlize Theron's movie Tully (2018) reminded me of another movie I saw that also deals with the theme of beleaguered motherhood. In that movie, Towheads (2013), Shannon Plumb also plays a beleaguered mother. In both movies, the characters rely on their own inner resources to cope with stress — but the results are different for each character. Theron’s character Marlo hires Tully, a night nurse who provides an outlet for Marlo’s conflicted feelings about motherhood. Tully serves as a salve to the fact that Marlo’s husband Drew is a feckless, overworked drone — albeit a sweet, lovable one. I loved the scenes with Tully and Marlo — not only because the conversations passed the Bechtel test — but because I could see that Marlo needs a tug to lift her out of her malaise. Some viewers were dissatisfied with the film’s twist ending. I won’t give an outright spoiler, but if you watched Towheads, then you’ll not be surprised by Tully’s ending. Both movies play with the idea of how creating alternative versions of oneself can be a release from mental drudgery. But there is a downside to escapism - a point the plot of Tully makes more clear. Watch one and then watch the other. Did you like Tully? Did you think it was an accurate portrayal of beleaguered motherhood? Let me know in the comments.

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Video Lesson: The Marshmallow Test

If you are unable to access the Marshmallow Test on YouTube, try this version on Vimeo.

Essential Question:
What does this experiment tell us about success?

Does Delayed Gratification Have a Correlation with Success?
The children who wait - what kind of people are they? The experimenters claim that in a longitudinal study, children who were able to delay their gratification and wait for the adult to return were more likely as adults to complete difficult tasks, manage long-term projects, and were, in general, more successful at life.

What do you think?
If you arrived at this page by using one of my Philosophy in the Classroom task cards, please leave a comment below and tell me your thoughts about this famous experiment.

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Mental Health Check: Writing Soothes the Rumble of Anxiety

Today, I'm thinking about anxiety, creativity, and the need for the self to reach out to the other. And I give a shout-out to the most relaxing video game ever!

It’s March. That time of year when living things churn. That time of year when upturned dirt gives off a familiar, redolent odor. Winter dirt is inert. Summer dirt bakes. Fall dirt is wet. Spring dirt! - now that's the stuff. Waking up this morning, I relished the fact that I had an hour to get ready. Time went by quickly, though. I brushed my teeth, jumped into the shower. I sometimes need to tell myself "relax". It's a feeling of anxiety I've had for a long time. If I don't attend to it, my anxiety just rumbles underneath. I guess for everyone anxiety ripples differently. For me, it's a quiet destructive force. I'm not sure why. It's that slow rumble I feel when I want to concentrate and create but can't. For example. Right now. Creativity is shredded by anxiety - more like bully-whipped. To write. To create. I must feel free. I have to feel sympathetic with my own being. Otherwise, I enact a kind of bad-faith dance with the world. I don't know how to use my power. I feel unsure. So, writing is my go-to salve. I fumble for words, for a means to codify that feeling of unrest. Writing is a kind of organizing of experience. Without it, experience is just there - out there. I reign it in. 

Today, I went outside during recess. Two kids I know were dribbling a soccer ball. I joined in. Let myself feel free. Allowed myself to kick a ball around. It felt good. The last layer of ice was melting on the pavement - from last week's snow. The sun felt warm. But I was dressed for cold - a blue hoodie draped over a buttoned up shirt and khakis. I could have been in a tee-shirt and shorts and happy. Give it a few weeks. There's cold still in the air.

Walking home after school today I ran into a student of mine. He's a pianist. He'll be a Senior next year. He was jogging with a friend and we both stopped when we noticed each other. We talked about high school, homework and the latest update to "City Buildit" - you would only know what I'm talking about if you play city simulation games on a mobile device. It's madly calming. That and "Cats are Cute". Try it if you haven't played it. I left my former student feeling proud of him and happy we had had a serendipitous meet-up. I'll go to his piano concert later this month. I've marked it on my calendar. It's Springtime. It's that season. 

I feel better already. Anxiety is less a rumble and more an underlying (and slightly undulating) condition of my being. What will tomorrow bring?

Here is my list of things to do when you're feeling anxious and don't have time (or money) to take a day off:

• Go off your routine a bit. Eat lunch outside if you're normally inside.
• Get out of your head.
• Feel the anxiety. Take a deep breath. Drink a cold, refreshing glass of water.
• Do your job standing up.
• Avoid stress. Avoid people who heighten your stress.
• Notice your triggers.
• Write it out.
• Notice your destructive thoughts and actions.
• Take a walk around the block.
• Be okay with minor hiccups and failure.
• Don't take your anxiety out on others.
• Actively listen to others. I notice when I let myself listen to other people it helps soothe my brain because I'm offsetting the mental energy I'd otherwise put on myself.

Sometimes the anxiety is there right in your face and you can't just pray it away. I was in a room filled with Sixth Graders this morning (who were loud) for my first period class. Before I told them to be quiet I allowed myself to feel how I was feeling. I could tell I was anxious. That little self-realization didn't make the anxiety go away but I was able to better deal with the situation.

I hope you enjoy reading stuff on this website. Leave a comment if you like. I'd like to know how you deal with anxiety in your life.

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