Obsessions: Mermaids

Every other week or so I randomly become obsessed with things. For two weeks in December I was learning everything I could about the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland! (Did you know that the one in Euro Disney in France is completely different then the one here in California?)


But this time it's mermaids. I've been looking at old stories, like the original tale of the little mermaid. (It's here if you want to read it...  http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html ) or looking up lovely ladies like Hannah Fraiser, who is a real mermaid!

 

Even if I was one I wouldn't swim with sharks... she is a brave girl. Anyway, I've been doing a lot of make up looks based off these types of colors and ideas of waves in the sunset or sunken treasure. I've been really inspired by images like these.

as well as from the girls in the new Pirates of the Caribbean. 

But of course I had to draw from the epic Disney influence in my life.

These are taken from the Disneyland facebook, they are of the amazing little ride at California Adventure Park. Disney's version of this epic tale is far nicer than the original. The little mermaid gets her tongue cut out for one, and secondly she never ends up with the prince! He marries someone else and she basically dies and then gets turned into some type of angel/ wind spirit type thing. It's actually pretty nuts.
That story however isn't even the tip of the iceberg, or coral if you prefer a pun... even though that was kind of a bad one... anyway, there are a whole slew of tales about mermaids and water spirits. In certain Asian places a mermaid can only become human by eating human meat, but on the opposite side humans become immortal if they eat mermaid meat.
In old English lore, mermaids often taught men about medicine and every once in a while they would pop up to ask sailors to move their boats so that they could get into their cave like homes. But of course there are the far more sinister talk of women that sang to lure men towards the water so that they could pull them under and drown them. As well as of women that were impregnated by fish men.
I saw a movie called SHE CREATURE ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274659/ ) which was a cult classic in the 50's and then was turned into the movie in the link above. It's actually rather good, it's about a crew who capture a mermaid only to learn that she turns into a monster and kills them as well as hypnotizing the only woman on board to do her bidding. It's rad, check it out on your Netflix if you can.
I'm not sure what it is that has drawn me to these mystical creatures of the deep this summer, but it seems like it's not exactly a fleeting fancy. I was a swimmer in high school and have been a strong one from my infancy. I've always loved being under the water, I can fully understand why people would want to live under there. 

There is a reason that I love this game so much. The concept is beyond comprehension. "I love you Mr. Bubbles." Perhaps one day something like this will actually exist and I will be able to look out my window at sharks and mer-people and the like. But until then I'll just have to keep swimming and pretending I have a long shimmering tale.

Love and fish scales,
Morose Corsair