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.

 

                                                                 

A Day In The Life of Steampunk Granny

                                                                                

Get up…jumped out of bed…ran a comb… This past Tuesday, one of the nine grandchildren that I haven’t seen in quite a while flew in from Wyoming to spend some time with her grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins.

                                                                   

                                                                       

Kathryn is a quiet and thoughtful person and I’m guessing life back home is rather calm and organized. She was in for a big surprise with her East Coast family. There isn’t a calm or quiet bone in our bodies. My youngest grandson was also spending the week with us and this worked out pretty well because Kathryn had someone that liked doing the same things she did.

                                                           At the hippo tank                                                       

I speak South Philly, so it took Kathryn a day or two to understand my slang pronunciations, but with Nathan acting like a translator, we did perfectly well. Wednesday Dan, Kathryn, Nathan and I headed to the Aquarium in Camden, N.J.  Kathryn had been to an aquarium before, but nothing as big as the one in New Jersey. Wait until she sees the one in Baltimore.

                                                                               

We loved the hippos and spent more time at that exhibit before moving on to the sharks. I love this picture.
 

                                                                      

                                                                                   

Kathryn, like me loves turtles and she was able to get one to swim up for this photo

                                                                          

                     

That night we went to the mall with my granddaughter, Katrina. All three kids, clicked right away. They liked the same fashions, stores and spent most of their time in Spencer’s and Hot Topic.

                                                                    

            

The next day, I took all three to the Franklin Institute to see the Circus and Brain exhibit. Katrina and Nathan did well both on the tightrope and doing flips on the acrobatic section. Kathryn and I stayed safely on the ground.

                                                                      

                                                                                

Friday we headed to Atlantic City. Kathryn having been born in Montana had never seen the ocean. She loved it. It’s funny what we take for granted because it’s so close by ,and yet, it is a life experience for others.

                                                                     

                                                                            

Saturday was a book signing day for me to promote Roof Oasis and to continue to promote the South Jersey Writers’ Group anthology with Dawn Byrne.

                                                                

                  

 

Kathryn is a writer, too and was very interested in seeing the other side of writing and why marketing is just as important as writing the book. Nathan and Kathryn were a big help for Super D and I. Dragging two suitcases of books around can get hard sometimes, but Nate and Kathryn helped with the load.

                                                    

                                                                               

           

Spying at the Franklin Institute

                                                                           

Yes, my little zombie snacks, I do other stuff besides ghost hunting, Steampunk Events and writing about zombies. Sometimes, I head on over to Philadelphia and visit museums. A few weeks ago, I was at The Academy of Natural Sciences Bug Fest with my grandsons, and Nathan even got a chance to be a judge in the Cook Off; he ate bugs and liked it!

                                                                 

                                                   

This past Wednesday, my two friends and fellow renegades and I went to the Franklin Institute to see the new exhibit. Jean took her two granddaughters. We headed straight to the Spy Exhibit and had the best time learning about the original OSS organization that lead to what we know today as the C.I.A.

                                                                     

                               

                                 The girls and I even got to crawl through an escape hatch.

                                                                          

 

                                        We didn't get to see Maxwell Smart's Shoe Phone,

                                                                                   

We liked the kiosk that showed how the spies strapped cameras onto pigeons and sent them off to gather information.

                                                                                   

They had some weapons that even James Bond would have loved to use, like the items below.

                                                                                   

                                                                         

We were even able to make it to the Demonstration Theatre to learn about fireworks: how they’re made; how they work; why they’re loud.

                                                                                  

 The instructor was Al Bruno, and not only was he knowledgeable about the subject matter, but he made the whole demonstration fun for adults and children alike.

                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                     
                          Sunday, my sister Lucy and I are heading over to the Art Museum
             
                                                                                      

                                             I’ll try not to get yelled at again for touching the art.