I hope you’re all having a wonderful Thanksgiving, for those of you who live in the States. But with Turkey Day nearly behind us, that means the holiday shopping season has officially arrived (all except for Hallmark, who had Christmas merchandise clogging their displays as early as All Saint’s Day)! But I have a question to ask of you; What is your favorite part of the holiday season? Now, don’t think of not commenting. I happen to know there are lots of daily visitors to the Shop whom I’ve never met. If you’re reading this, I want to hear from you. Tell us about a creche you saw, or a kiss under the mistletoe. Educate us about Kwanzaa, or your grandfather’s handcrafted dreidl. Your comment needn’t be long, but please, spread some holiday cheer! Share your holiday memories here, at the Mercuriosity Shop.

Take a look it’s on display—for you
Comin’ down, no not today.

Fly away on my Zephyr
I feel it more than ever
And in this perfect weather
We’ll find a place together

In the water where the sense of my emotion
All the world can pass me by
Fly away on my Zephyr
We’ll find a place together

The Zephyr Song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Hello, hello, hello! As I was looking over the blueprints of future additions to the Mercuriosity Shop with my friend X, I thought I’d better be a bit more diligent in greeting people and explaining just what the Mercuriosity Shop is. I’m not sure if a description of such a mutable place as this is possible, but I have endeavored to do my best. Observe on the main page, if you will, to your right and notice the welcoming station, called, of all things, Welcome! I will be on hand to give a brief tour of the Shop. And for the ladies, included is the oft’ requested photograph of yours truly. More than ever, Welcome to the Mercuriosity Shop!

The Zephyr Song lyrics copyright © the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Looking for the right dish to make for Thanksgiving dinner? Something unforgettable and festive that will draw raves from the in-laws and become a beloved holiday tradition in your family for years to come? Well, I recommend turkey. But beyond that, I suggest you serve pumpkin soup as an appetizer. I make this every year for Thanksgiving, and everyone loves it.

Ingredients:
32 ounces of pumpkin (that’s two cans or use fresh pureed)
28 ounces of chicken broth (that's two cans as well)
1 large onion (finely chopped)
3 large carrots (cut into wheels)
4 cups of half and half, or evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
2 teaspoons of cinammon
1/3 teaspoon of salt

1. In a large pot, add chicken broth, onions, carrots, salt and pepper.

2. Simmer uncovered until carrots are soft.

3. Add pumpkin and half and half.

4. Simmer covered (because this will bubble and splash) for about 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

5. Pour into soup bowls and add a dollop of sour cream. This recipe serves twelve people, by the way.

You must go see Frida! If you love art, or if you have ever been in love, you must see this film. The director, Julie Taymor creates a beautiful, surreal, colorful movie. Taymor’s previous credits include the film Titus starring Anthony Hopkins as Titus Andronicus, and the Tony Award winning Broadway musical The Lion King. And Salma Hayek gives a no-holds-barred performance as the Frida Kahlo, the painter who is so filled with pain, and so full of life. The movie has been out for a while, so don’t miss it!

There was a brief overnight snowfall last week at the Mercuriosity Shop. Nothing serious. Most of it was melted by noon under the bright sunshine. But while I was out that morning, I happened to pass a group of beautiful East Indian ladies who live farther down the shore. The air was crystal cold, and the sky was a sharp blue. All the familiar scents of nature were frozen. It was as if one of my senses had been shut off. But the ladies walked past me, fluttering like birds, their iridescent saris like plumage, their eyes hypnotic like the gaze of raptors, their long toes grasping their sandals like prey. Exotic and wonderful, their perfumes traversed the icy vacuum. Orchids, curries, sandalwood and cinnamon filled that small portion of the world, of the air, of the sky. Thank you, my neighbors. Thank you, beautiful birds.

This is Autumn. Isn’t she beautiful? I was originally going to paint her portrait, but she told me that her time with us was short, and she would be gone soon. So she asked me to photograph her instead, as that was the quicker medium. Now some of our guests here at the Mercuriosity Shop don’t necessarily show up well on film, being abstract concepts, you see. That is why I prefer my paints. But Autumn insisted on photography. Luckily, I’ve been tinkering with an orgone-powered antique box camera originally used for spirit photography. I’ve joined it with a transverse glamour lens, and my usual entity sensitive film. While I can see that the camera needs some adjustments, I was quite pleased with the result, as was she. Perhaps when Old Man Winter arrives, I’ll see if I can’t get his picture, too.

No, I’m not talking about the Brezhnev family. I’m talking Meteor Shower! The Leonids are so named because they seem to emanate from the constellation Leo the Lion. The best time to see this spectacular event, unfortunately, is a bit before sunrise.

Here’s how to find Leo:
Find the Big Dipper. Locate the two stars (Megrez and Phecda, if you must know) on the end of the cup just under the handle. Follow those stars through the bottom of the cup until you get to a fairly bright star. You have just found Regulus, the heart of the Greater Lion. Above it, you will notice a sickle shape, or a backwards question mark. That is the lion’s starry mane. From there you can probably imagine Leo’s paw stretched out before him, and his body stretched behind.

It seems that our Muses really know how to get around. The website Incubus’ Choice has said some very nice things about them. And I must warn you, while some areas of Incubus’ Choice are not for the feint of heart, quite a bit of it is filled with beautiful imagery. And since it’s very likely I’m not your dad (although some visitors here might be your dad), I expect you to make your own judgements. All except for young Nade, who drinks far too much caffeine. Don’t go to the site, Nade. You just play YuGi Oh instead.

Did you know there were such things as ginkgo fruits? Nor did I.

The Carlton Arms Hotel in New York is famous for its themed rooms decorated by artists. When Nathalie Daoust was invited to decorate a room she jumped at the chance, and then stayed for two years. This is her story in words and pictures.

It was one of those crisp sunlit afternoons where the vibrancy of life radiated from every branch. Trees dressed in their uniform of green change to show their individuality this time of year. Leaves of gold, orange, russet, purple, and of course, red, wave their ecstatic goodbyes. If any of you are unlucky enough to live in a land where the trees never change their colors, here is a lovely little sampling of one of the last beautiful autumn days here at the Mercuriosity Shop.

As it gets dark earlier at this time of year, there are days I return from long errands or such, and the grounds around the Shop are black and lonely. It is too cold for the cherubs to be playing outside. So too has their pixie mother gone in. But looming over the rooftop stands a giant. A sparkling giant—celestial, heavenly, magnificent. His name is Orion. In his previous life he was a hunter. He arrives from the south around this time every year like a Saturnalian titan. His shoulders are Betelgeuse and Bellatrix, his foot, Rigel. He is most famous for his belt of pearls which he shares with the celestial equator. Let me tell you a story, if you have the time.

The Chase
As I mentioned before, Orion was a mighty hunter, handsome and swarthy and debonair. It was said there wasn’t a quarry that he couldn’t bag. He happened to catch the attention of Artemis, goddess of wild animals and the hunt. Artemis was an unattainable virgin goddess, and she swore it would always be so. When they met, the horns were sounded and the chase was on.

They were an odd pair, those two. Their archetypal relationship forshadowed the partnering of the holy adolescent Jeanne d’Arc and the charming pirate Gilles de Rais. When she brought him to family gatherings on Olympus, there was always a burgeoning anticipation for when the other shoe would drop. They were always laughing, always sparring with each other, and always standing so terribly close. Artemis was the ultimate conquest for Orion, but no one doubted he deeply loved her.

The Snare
Apollo was Artemis’ twin brother, and felt great jealousy towards Orion. He would make sly comments to one, while the other was out of earshot. To Artemis he would insinuate Orion was a letch, to Orion, Artemis was a tease. Sadly, the eventual break-up happened. Artemis feared the loss of her chastity, and Orion was deeply frustrated and hurt.

Artemis pined on Olympus, not wishing to return to the forests where she and Orion had spent so much time together. Orion, on the other hand, raged. He bellowed up to the heavens trying in vain for a word from Artemis, but Apollo kept her distracted with the bittersweet sound of his lyre.

Heartbroken Orion hatched a mad plan to bring the goddess of the hunt down from Olympus. In his grief he decided to kill every animal. Not one of each animal, but every single animal he could find. Prides of lions, herds of bulls, broods of pythons—no animal could stand against the greatest of hunters. It was decided by the gods that a new animal must be created solely to stop him. Forged in devious novelty, Hephaestus and Prometheus combined their talents to create the beautiful, venomous creature they called Scorpio.

The Kill
Orion laughed when he saw the new beast. What could this teeny spider do? He stepped on it with his sandal, but its armor was too hard. He lifted his heel but it clung to him with its pincers. Then it slashed at his heel with its poisonous tail. Orion swooned. He realized he could not defeat the scorpion, and to escape it he ran to the sea.

It is rumored that Orion was some relation to one of the sea-gods, after all, the river Eridanus flows from his foot. Sailors know that when Orion’s head appears to bob up out of the waters in the eastern sea, it is the season of ill weather for sailing as the winter winds are soon approaching. So in his hour of greatest need, Orion returned to the sea. The tritons and nereids tended to his wound, and the soothing waters washed the madness from him.

Artemis was not apprised of Orion’s ordeal. Instead, Apollo kept his sister busy with games. When he saw the other Olympians satisfied by the outcome of the skirmish, he decided to end his rivalry with the hunter once and for all. Both excellent archers, Apollo challenged Artemis to target the small speck, roughly the size of a man’s head, bobbing in the eastern sea. Artemis took the challenge, and took the shot.

Poseidon himself returned the body of Orion to the shore. Artemis wept with bitter grief. She fashioned an image of him in the heavens—celestial, heavenly, magnificent. Scorpio, too, had perished, but not during the battle. Its heart, a blazing red furnace, stopped beating when the greatest hunter ever known was struck down. In a way it was heartbroken from losing its only reason to live. Artemis took pity on this beautiful creature who with tremendous courage, had faced down an unstoppable foe to save so many of her animals. She lifted Scorpio into the heavens, and again started its beating heart.

And so in summer, Scorpio climbs into the sky with Antares, its beating, blazing, warrior’s heart of pure courage. And soon after the scorpion climbs below the horizon to sleep, Orion rises out of the sea, head first, and towers over the winter. Wet and shimmering, he looks just as Artemis recreated him—celestial, heavenly, magnificent.

Star chart adapted from Hevelius

Welcome to November! Halloween is behind us, and Thanksgiving is around the corner. Usually around this time of year I begin to immerse myself in big projects, as I am less likely to be beckoned outdoors by the allure of balmy weather. And even though the Columbary has finally opened, I don’t plan on stopping there. Not only will new Muses arrive periodically, but more additions to the Shop are planned. My intention is that soon there will be more to enjoy…at the Mercuriosity Shop.

The wait is finally over! The long awaited, much anticipated, and oft-referred to addition to the Mercuriosity Shop is finally here! Yes, a Columbary of Muses is ready for you to visit, my friends. The grand architect himself, my friend X came in and added the touches that made the whole thing work. Many thanks to him.

Quite a few more Muses arrived than I had anticipated. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, what with the little bedspace previously available here at the Shop. We all made due, and like a good host, I never once complained about sharing. But now all the Muses each have a little roost to call their own. Come to think of it, things may get a bit chilly now that November is here. Oh, girls!…

And you thought all this scariness was over! In Mexico, and parts of Central America, and even North America, la Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is celebrated from October 31st through November 2nd. They do it to honor their relatives who have passed on, and their ancestors. This site is really quite informative, and I’ve learned many things I didn’t know about this lively celebration.

mural detail by Diego Rivera