M is for MEILORI_I AM MEILORI SHINSEEN, EMPRESS OF THE NINGYO SHADOW EMPIRE

No painting exists of me. No photo. This sculpture is the only Aztec carving I did not destroy.

The human, Angelina Jolie, comes closest to my bearing.

I am Meilori Shinseen, empress of the Ningyo Shadow Empire,

wife to Samuel McCord --

owner of the jazz club/dimensional nexus, named after me.

captain of the Texas Rangers,

King of fools,

and captor of my heart.

None have painted me and lived ... until my husband painted me with words. Listen to Samuel's description of me when we first met :

"I stiffened as the fog thinned enough for me to make out her slanted eyes, not quite Japanese, not quite Chinese, but a beautiful blend of the two.

But no. She was of a different race entirely. The fog had thrown me off.

The woman spoke, and it was as if her vocal chords were velvet. Her accent. It sent shivers through me. It was like human speech itself was a foreign language to her.

She was one of those haunted-eyed women you attached your own hidden fears and silent sorrows to.

Close-up her eyes weren't cold jade as they had seemed farther away. They were filled with echoes of regret. The coldness had just been a bold front to hide the fact that they'd lost their way a long time ago.

There were disturbing depths of sadness in those eyes. Depths in whose darkness swam the monsters which drive us or haunt us or both.

Those depths whispered of age more ancient than the Aztecs, more dangerous than even my past. They both beckoned and warned at the same time."

***

If you listen with your third ear, you will hear a young Marlene Dietrich singing of me in the decadent Berlin of 1927 :

"Want to buy some illusions,
Slightly used, second hand?
They were lovely illusions,
Reaching high, built on sand.

They had a touch of Paradise,
A spell you can't explain :
For in this crazy Paradise,
You are in love with pain.

Want to buy some illusions,
Slightly used, just like new?
Such romantic illusions --
And they're all about you.

I sell them all for a penny,
They make pretty souvenirs.
Take my lovely illusions --
Some for laughs, some for tears."

Frederick Hollander wrote that for me. Marlene sang it at my table in her black tuxedo. Samuel held my hand -- and my heart -- throughout the song. It did not help.

I am Meilori Shinseen. I am Ningyo. I am Empress.

And I alone know the dark end of my song -- and Samuel's.
***

BLACK FRIDAY KINDLE DEAL and THANKSGIVING MUSINGS_WE SEE, OR DO WE?

THE 9.7" KINDLE DX DEAL FOR NOV.24-28 with FREE 3G WIRELESS!

This is normally $379, so it's a $120 savings.

It's a favorite of some who use it for PDFs and books with complex illustrations with small print.

It uses the same Pearl screen as the Kindle 3 and Kindle Touch but an entire Kindle 3 fits into the screen area of the DX,

so it's easier on the eyes, though obviously it'll weigh more.

It has NO WiFi capability and uses only 3G (Cellular network access), with which you can download books

just about anywhere without looking for a WiFi spot --

and the experimental web browser through that 3G capability is still usable, free, for U.S. citizens and customers in about 61 countries, which Amazon UK lists

The Lakota knew :

to the seeing eye, magic was everywhere.

Each person is Legion : made of many people, all struggling for dominance. We writers even more so than most.

Can you see the hero, Don Quixote, or Cervantes in that legendary tale? It all depends how you look.

Life. Death. We can see both, depending if we squint or not.

Do we swallow camels, while choking on gnats?

Is the obvious truly that? Or is life more complex than we believe?

I think Angelina is beautiful, you all know that. Her humanitarian efforts on behalf of the world's children touches my Lakota spirit.

Then, I discovered Angelina Jolie hates Thanksgiving

and wants no part in rewriting history like so many other Americans.

A friend of hers says, “To celebrate what the white settlers did to the native Indians, the domination of one culture over another, just isn’t her style.

She definitely doesn’t want to teach her multi-cultural family how to celebrate a story of murder.”

According to some sources, Angelina Jolie is so disgusted by "Thanksgiving", she takes her kids out of the country so they are not around the madness that is embodied in the holiday.

Does Angelina Jolie have a point, or has she completely missed the point of having a holiday just to remind ourselves to be grateful for the blessings in our lives? What do you think?

Oh, and check to see if you are still listed as my follower. Blogger has been taking you off my Followers over and over. Sigh.

AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
***

WE SEE. OR DO WE?

The Lakota knew :

to the seeing eye, magic was everywhere.

Each person is Legion : made of many people, all struggling for dominance. We writers even more so than most.

Can you see the hero, Don Quixote, or Cervantes in that legendary tale? It all depends how you look.

Life. Death. We can see both, depending if we squint or not.

Do we swallow camels, while choking on gnats?

Is the obvious truly that? Or is life more complex than we believe?

I think Angelina is beautiful, you all know that. Her humanitarian efforts on behalf of the world's children touches my Lakota spirit.

Then, I discovered Angelina Jolie hates Thanksgiving

and wants no part in rewriting history like so many other Americans.

A friend of hers says, “To celebrate what the white settlers did to the native Indians, the domination of one culture over another, just isn’t her style.

She definitely doesn’t want to teach her multi-cultural family how to celebrate a story of murder.”

According to some sources, Angelina Jolie is so disgusted by "Thanksgiving", she takes her kids out of the country so they are not around the madness that is embodied in the holiday.

Does Angelina Jolie have a point, or has she completely missed the point of having a holiday just to remind us to be grateful for the blessings in our lives? What do you think?
***

I AM MEILORI SHINSEEN, EMPRESS OF THE NINGYO SHADOW EMPIRE

2nd day entry to GUESS THAT CHARACTER :

http://jennifer-daiker.blogspot.com/2010/08/guess-that-character.html

No painting exists of me. No photo. The above is the only Aztec carving I did not destroy.

The human, JC, came closest to my bearing.

The humans, Talli and Rayna, made me consider allowing Angelina Jolie to portray me in a movie.

The human, Olivia, first correctly guessed my name :

I am Meilori Shinseen, empress of the Ningyo Shadow Empire,

wife to Samuel McCord --

owner of the jazz club/dimensional nexus, named after me.

captain of the Texas Rangers,

King of fools,

and captor of my heart.

None have painted me and lived ... until my husband painted me with words. Listen to Samuel's description of me when we first met :

I stiffened as the fog thinned enough for me to make out her slanted eyes, not quite Japanese, not quite Chinese, but a beautiful blend of the two.

But no. She was of a different race entirely. The fog had thrown me off.

The woman spoke, and it was as if her vocal chords were velvet. Her accent. It sent shivers through me. It was like human speech itself was a foreign language to her.

She was one of those haunted-eyed women you attached your own hidden fears and silent sorrows to.

Close-up her eyes weren't cold jade as they had seemed farther away. They were filled with echoes of regret. The coldness had just been a bold front to hide the fact that they'd lost their way a long time ago.



There were disturbing depths of sadness in those eyes. Depths in whose darkness swam the monsters which drive us or haunt us or both.

Those depths whispered of age more ancient than the Aztecs, more dangerous than even my past. They both beckoned and warned at the same time.

***

If you listen with your third ear, you will hear a young Marlene Dietrich singing of me in the decadent Berlin of 1927 :

"Want to buy some illusions,
Slightly used, second hand?
They were lovely illusions,
Reaching high, built on sand.

They had a touch of Paradise,
A spell you can't explain :
For in this crazy Paradise,
You are in love with pain.

Want to buy some illusions,
Slightly used, just like new?
Such romantic illusions --
And they're all about you.

I sell them all for a penny,
They make pretty souvenirs.
Take my lovely illusions --
Some for laughs, some for tears."

Frederick Hollander wrote that for me. Marlene sang it at my table in her black tuxedo. Samuel held my hand -- and my heart -- throughout the song. It did not help.

I am Meilori Shinseen. I am Ningyo. I am Empress.

And I alone know the end of my song -- and Samuel's.
***