Steampunk Granny’s Cabinet of Curiosities: Cemeteries, Divine Hand, Body World, Grounds for Sculpture

                                                                  

I've been busy this past month with attending events all over the place. Just a few weeks ago, I headed over to the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia to listen to the marvelous music of the Divine Hand Ensemble headed my Mano Divina.  The ensemble played funerary music...music that was commonly played from sunset to sunrise the next day at the graves of the newly departed to help them on their journey past that thin curtain that separates the living from the dead.

                                                                  

 

It was a custom that had fallen out of favor with the church during Pope Leo’s reign and that is such a shame because the music is beautiful and haunting at the same time.

                                                              

While my two friends and I enjoyed the music, I witnessed the spirit of a woman dancing around the tree above and to the left of the mausoleum when the Mano played the theremin. The cemetery, although very old, is well kept and the lovely and helpful staff plan out all kinds of activities during the year.

                                                                 

                                      

Please check their event page and do visit this cemetery. It is a step back into time and it is alive with natural beauty. Check it out here: http://www.thelaurelhillcemetery.org/index.php?m=1&p=1&s=1

Mano Divina and the members of his orchestra will mesmerize you with the beauty of their music.  

You can catch the Divine Hand this Friday at:

Friday, October 10, 2014
REEFER MADNESS with a live improvisational score by The Divine Hand Ensemble!
Plus vintage animated shorts with live scores!
Doors 7:30, Program at 8:00
$10, advance tickets:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/863924

Anti-drug cult classic REEFER MADNESS will be screened at PhilaMOCA accompanied by a live improvised performance by the theremin-led chamber orchestra The Divine Hand Ensemble. The evening will begin with vintage animated shorts accompanied by live scores.

http://divinehand.net/
http://www.philamoca.org/

                                                                                             

Body World Animals Inside & Out

When I’m not visiting Laurel Hill, I’m visiting museums. My friend, Denise, recently invited me to the Franklin Institute’s members’ opening night of Body World.

                                                                                             

You might, at first, think the subject matter more on the level of gore, but you would be mistaken. Our bodies and that of animals are so much than bone, muscle and arteries. We are all works of art.  Do yourself a favor and check this exhibit out.

                                                       

Chocolate at the Academy of Natural Sciences

Who doesn’t like chocolate? Maybe zombies, but for the rest of us, chocolate makes us happy. Here are some details, but the exhibit opens this weekend. If you go, buy me a bar of chocolate.

Join us THIS weekend, October 11-12, for the opening of Chocolate: The Exhibition! Enjoy activities all weekend devoted to the delicious science behind everyone's favorite treat. And yes, there will be chocolate to eat...
Get all the details and purchase advanced tickets: http://www.ansp.org/Visit/Events/Details/?eid=5859&iid=18112

                                                             

Sculpture for the Soul

This week, my fellow spirit investigators and I headed to Hamilton New Jersey to visit the Grounds for Sculpture. This place is amazing!! The statues were so lifelike and there were several times I made the mistake of confusing a real person for a statue. Don’t ask.

                                                                  

Seward Johnson conceived of and opened the grounds in 1992 with the mission of promoting and understanding and appreciation of contemporary sculpture and to promote emerging artists. The grounds are surrounded by beautiful nature and boasts two cafés and a restaurant. “Grounds for Sculpture” is even more important in today’s world due to the severe cuts to education. The first classes to get cut are always the arts and that is inexcusable. Located on 126 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, NJ 08619

                                                               

                                           

                                            I’ll let my pictures convince you to go.