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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living
from White Crane Institute
Exploring Gay Wisdom
& Culture for over 20 Years!
www.gaywisdom.org
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Today In Gay History
TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2013
1881 - the Dutch feminist ROSA MANUS was born on this date. Born as Rosette Susanna Manus in Amsterdam, she was the co-founder of the International Archive for the women movement. In her debut in the international women's movement, she worked together with others in 1908 to organize the congress of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in Amsterdam. From 1910 until 1939, she organized all of this international organization's international congresses. During the 1930s, she was also actively involved in helping Jewish refugees from Germany. She traveled widely and, as a result, left her mark in many parts of the world.
Though
Rosa Manus was one of the leading Dutch feminists before World War II,
her memory has since been overshadowed by more famous contemporaries.
The fact that her life was also interwoven with pacifism, the struggle
against fascism and the decline of Dutch Jewry, has largely been
forgotten. More than other feminists, Rosa Manus suffered from the
difficult position in which Jews were placed following the rise of
fascism in Germany, when many women's organizations were anxious to
avoid being perceived as too Jewish. Carrie Chapman Catt, who regarded
her as a pupil, assistant and adopted daughter, remembered her as one of
the first to die for "the cause," ignoring the fact that Rosa Manus had
been arrested for her pacifist activities and deported as a Jew. And
although her name appears on the memorial to those who died in
Ravensbrück, there are several witnesses who testify to her having been
taken, gravely ill, to Auschwitz.
1882 - on this date Tchaikovsky's 1812 OVERTURE debuts in Moscow.
The
piece was written to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against
Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of Borodino in 1812. The
Overture debuted in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow on
August 20, 1882. The overture is best known for its climactic volley of
cannon fire and ringing chimes.
On
his 1891 visit to the United States, Tchaikovsky conducted the piece at
the dedication of Carnegie Hall in New York City. While this piece has
no connection with United States history, it is often a staple at Fourth
of July celebrations, such as the annual show by the Boston Pops and at
Washington, DC's, annual program called A Capitol Fourth.
Musicologists
questioned across the last third of a century have given no indication
that the composer ever heard the Overture performed in authentic
accordance with the 1880 plan. It is reported that he asked permission
to perform the piece as planned in Berlin, but was denied it.
Performances he conducted on U.S. and European tours were apparently
done with simulated or at best inexact shots, if with shots at all, a
custom universal until recent years.
1958 - today is the birthday of the Canadian film director PATRICIA ROZEMA. Born to a Dutch immigrant family in Kingston, Ontario, her films include I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987), White Room (1990), When Night is Falling (1995), the Jane Austen adapation Mansfield Park (1999) and the film version of Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time. Her most recent work includes direction of the Kit Kittredge: An American Girl movie and her co-writing the lauded and award-winning HBO film version of Grey Gardens (starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore).
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Today's Gay Wisdom
Today's Gay Wisdom
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The Reed That Rustles In the Wind....
Well,
it's not much of a heavy Gay-date day (all deference to Walafrid). We
usually have a few people to tell you about but today only one. So
perhaps today's a day to tell you a story about two young men in love.
The Reed that Rustles in the Wind
Today we remember the beautiful story of Kalamos and Karpos. According to Greek mythology, Kalamos was the son of the river God Maiandros, the God of the Maeander river -- this was back in the day when the world was young and each river had its own God.
The Reed that Rustles in the Wind
Today we remember the beautiful story of Kalamos and Karpos. According to Greek mythology, Kalamos was the son of the river God Maiandros, the God of the Maeander river -- this was back in the day when the world was young and each river had its own God.
Kalamos was madly in love with another boy named Karpos. Makes sense as Karpos, according to Greek myth,
was renowned for his beauty. He was the son of Zephyr and Khloris. In
myths these roots matter, and they certainly mattered with Karpos, for
Zephyr was the west wind and Khloris was the Spring, or new vegetation
(think chlorophyll) . So the west wind heralds the new growth of spring
and bears fruit in Karpos. Karpos is the root of many of our fruitful
words. His name means fruit (Carpos in Latin means "fruit").
But what about Kalamos? What does his name mean? If it made you think of Walt Whitman's homoerotic "Calamus" you'd be right. Calamus is the Latin form of Kalamos and it means "reed" or "reed pen." Now Karpos means fruit because of his parents but what about Kalamos' reedy meaning? For that we return to the story of these young lovers.
According to mythology Kalamos was crazy for Karpos and one day the two were competing in a swimming contest and Karpos drowned in the Meander river. In his grief Kalamos allowed himself to drown also. He was then transformed into a water reed, whose rustling in the wind is interpreted as a sigh of lamentation. The calamus plant, or sweet flag, as it is known in the Americas, is a rather phallic looking plant and many have assumed it is this visual connection that Whitman was going for in his naming of the Calamus cluster of poems. Perhaps, but he certainly would've known of this old Greek myth of Kalamos and Karpos.
The names of these two lovers live on in many of our English words. Besides the wetland reed we mentioned, Kalamos is also the source for words related to writing. The next time you order some calamari as an appetizer, remember this young lover. The word calamari comes from the Latin term "calamarium" for "pen case" or "ink horn" and refers to the squid's ink and its connection to reeds as writing implements. The calumet, the name given to the Native-American peace pipe is often made from a hollow reed, hence the name applied to it. Karpos is mostly remembered in scientific terminology, where "carpo" means "fruit", as in "carpophagous" and "carpophorus" (literally "fruit bearing"). Carpology is the study of fruits and seeds. The next time you bite into a ripe peach or any fresh fruit, remember the fruitful origins of the lover of the rustling reed.
Remember the story of Kalamos and Karpos.
But what about Kalamos? What does his name mean? If it made you think of Walt Whitman's homoerotic "Calamus" you'd be right. Calamus is the Latin form of Kalamos and it means "reed" or "reed pen." Now Karpos means fruit because of his parents but what about Kalamos' reedy meaning? For that we return to the story of these young lovers.
According to mythology Kalamos was crazy for Karpos and one day the two were competing in a swimming contest and Karpos drowned in the Meander river. In his grief Kalamos allowed himself to drown also. He was then transformed into a water reed, whose rustling in the wind is interpreted as a sigh of lamentation. The calamus plant, or sweet flag, as it is known in the Americas, is a rather phallic looking plant and many have assumed it is this visual connection that Whitman was going for in his naming of the Calamus cluster of poems. Perhaps, but he certainly would've known of this old Greek myth of Kalamos and Karpos.
The names of these two lovers live on in many of our English words. Besides the wetland reed we mentioned, Kalamos is also the source for words related to writing. The next time you order some calamari as an appetizer, remember this young lover. The word calamari comes from the Latin term "calamarium" for "pen case" or "ink horn" and refers to the squid's ink and its connection to reeds as writing implements. The calumet, the name given to the Native-American peace pipe is often made from a hollow reed, hence the name applied to it. Karpos is mostly remembered in scientific terminology, where "carpo" means "fruit", as in "carpophagous" and "carpophorus" (literally "fruit bearing"). Carpology is the study of fruits and seeds. The next time you bite into a ripe peach or any fresh fruit, remember the fruitful origins of the lover of the rustling reed.
Remember the story of Kalamos and Karpos.
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living
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Community Notices
Community Notices
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THE 2013 LAMMY FINALIST FOR LGBT NONFICTION
OUT SPOKEN
A VITO RUSSO READER
THE TWO VOLUME COMPANION
TO THE HBO DOCUMENTARY "VITO"
Now assembled as a
special two-volume edition for the very first time, A Vito Russo Reader
is a companion piece to VITO, the highly-acclaimed new HBO documentary
by filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz. From
the rough-and-tumble beginnings of the gay and lesbian movement in New
York City in the late-1960s, A Vito Russo Reader travels throught he
excitement and discovery, turmoil and tragedy that engrossed the next
two decades -- until Vito's death from AIDS in 1990.These books, like the film, bear witness to the makings of a remarkable man.
Available Now at www.whitecranebooks.org
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Also Available...
In COMMEMORATION of the HAY CENTENNIAL!The Centenary Edition Of Stuart Timmons' Award Winning Biography Of Harry Hay
THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY HAY
With a new Foreword by Will Roscoe, PhD and updated material
This engrossing, well-written book rescues Harry Hay from the realm of myth and also recovers large chunks of gay history. On both counts, it is a solid, praiseworthy achievement — Martin Duberman
There is no "Trouble with Harry." His determined caring and searching shine like a diamond throughout his life. We need a lot more like Harry? — Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon
Reading this amazing profile in courage often brought tears to my eyes and will, I think, deeply move a new generation, as it informs them of the enormous bravery of our libration pioneers. This life of Hay is also an original contribution to social history, the chronicle of U.S. protest movements, and the enduring contribution of American radicals to a freer nation. — Jonathan Ned Katz
AVAILABLE NOW AT www.whitecranebooks.org
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living
from White Crane Institute
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Exploring Gay Wisdom
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