Martha, I am sure the Paper cranes were lovely, but what does it have to do with the theme of the contest, Peace on Earth?
Posted on 12/31/2004 7:41:26 AM PST by AmericanMade1776
Has Martha Stewart lost her touch in the joint? The diva of do-it-yourself domesticity sure looked off her game recently, leading her team to an embarrassing defeat in a holiday decorating contest, it was reported yesterday.
Team Stewart created paper cranes and hung them from the ceiling of West Virginia's Alderson Federal Prison only to have fellow jailbirds pooh-pooh them, according to People magazine's Web site.
Although Stewart made a fortune showing her legion of fans how to spiff up their homes with little money and lots of imagination, one prisoner shrugged at her effort and said, "It wasn't all that great."
Inmates had been asked to build around a "Peace on Earth" theme using $25 worth of glitter, ribbons, construction paper and glue.
A Nativity scene featuring "pictures of snow-covered hills and sleds and clouds on the wall" won the contest. It was built by inmates assigned to the prison's firefighting unit. Judges found it "small and homey."
While not tidying up her cell for the holidays, Stewart was on her Web site asking fans to support prison and sentencing reforms.
"I beseech you all to think about these women - to encourage the American people to ask for reforms, both in sentencing guidelines, in length of incarceration for nonviolent first-time offenders, and for those involved in drug-taking."
The 63-year-old Stewart, who's serving five months for lying to federal investigators, also pondered a return to freedom in March.
"I look forward to being home," she wrote, "to getting back to my valuable work, to creating, cooking and making television."
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
This is what the MSM considers "news worthy". Hundreds of thousands of people dying in a Tsunami is not....
Some people never shut up.
Martha, I am sure the Paper cranes were lovely, but what does it have to do with the theme of the contest, Peace on Earth?
Nothing stopping her from helping those women once she gets out. . . somehow I can't see her giving a darn about then after she leaves. In fact, she will have forgotten them before the door closes behind her.
Origami cranes are supposed to be a symbol of peace. Why I have no idea.
People in jail are a Bah Humbug group for some reason.
Really, I did not know. Sounds like we need to research this.
From Google:
Ancient legend teaches that your greatest wish will come true if you fold one thousand origami cranes. In 1955, Sadako, a 12-year old Japanese girl, lay dying from radiation sickness 10 years after the bombing in Hiroshima. She undertook to fold 1,000 cranes so that she could live. Sadako also wrote a Haiku (Japanese poem) that read in part: "I shall write peace upon your wings, and you shall fly around the world so that children will no longer have to die this way." Sweet Sadako died before she could complete her task. Her classmates folded the remaining number so that she was buried with One Thousand Cranes. Ever since, the Origami crane has become recognized worldwide as a symbol of peace and nuclear disarmament. A granite statue of Sadako stands in the Hiroshima Peace Park: a young girl standing with her hand outstretched, a paper crane flying from her fingertips.
I guess nobody told Martha that the effect is negated when they're made out of Marlboro packages.
This is a very unusual portrait of jail life.
Greek and Roman
Greek and Roman myth tended to portray the dance of cranes as a love of joy and a celebration of life. The crane was usually considered to be a bird of Apollo the sun god as a herald of Spring and light. Apollo is said to have disguised himself as a crane when on visits to the mortal world.
The crane is also associated with poets (of whom Apollo is the god) and one legend tells of a thief who attacked Ibycus, a poet of the 6th century BC. The poet, left for dead, called out to a flock of passing cranes. The cranes followed the murderer to a theatre and hovered over him until, stricken with guilt, he confessed to the theft and assault of Ibycus.
Ovid wrote of a woman Gerana who was extremely vain about her beauty.
Her vanity incurred the wrath of Hera and Artemis, and the goddesses turned her into a crane. The Greek for crane is geranion.
Homer told of the nation of Pygmies, dwarves who each Spring would wage war on the cranes on the banks of Oceanus. later writers located this near the source of the Nile where cranes were said to migrate each year to take possession of the fields.
Asia
In Japan the crane was known as 'the bird of happiness' and was often referred to as 'Honourable Lord Crane'. In China the crane was the 'Patriarch of the feathered tribe'.
The Chinese saw the crane's white standing for purity, the red head for vitality (and also connected with fire).
The birds were associated with fidelity because they paired for life.
They were also symbols of longevity and in both China and Japan were often drawn with pine trees, tortoises, stones and bamboo - all symbols of long life. Both cultures also associated cranes with good fortune and prosperity so they are often painted with the sun - a symbol of social ambition.
The Chinese believed that cranes ('heavenly cranes' tian-he or 'blessed cranes' xian-he) were symbols of wisdom - the messengers of legendary sages who were carried on their backs in flight between heavenly worlds. They believed that pure white cranes were sacred birds which inhabited the Isles of the Blest.
The powerful wings of the crane were said to be able to convey souls to the Western Paradise and to take people to higher levels of spiritual consciousness.
The Chinese also saw valuable lessons in the flight of cranes in which the young must follow and learn from their older and wiser leaders.
Ancient Chinese symbolism included the crane with the phoenix, mandarin duck, heron and wagtail as a representation of the five relationships between people. The crane symbolises the father-son relationship - when it sings, its young answer.
In many parts of Asia the cries of migrating cranes were a significant signal of the seasons - crops needed to be sown as the cranes departed for their breeding grounds in spring, while their arrival coincided with the harvest in autumn.
Japanese creation myths talk of a legendary warrior who conquered his foes to extend the borders of ancient Japan. On his death, his soul took the form of a crane and flew away.
Legend has it that Yorimoto in the 12th century attached labels to the legs of cranes and asked people who captured them to record their location on the label and re-release the birds - a very early program of bird banding to find out about the movements of a species. Some of Yorimoto's birds were claimed to have still been alive several centuries after his death, giving rise to the notion that a crane lived for a thousand years.
Another legend records that at Kakamura in the 11th century a feudal leader celebrated a Buddhist festival in which birds and animals are set free, by releasing hundreds of cranes as thanksgiving after a successful battle. Each had a prayer strip on its leg to pray for those killed in battle. This appears to be the first recorded association of the crane with celebration of peace and prayers for those lost in war.
The oldest known use of the motif of a thousand cranes is a 15m (50ft) long scroll by Sotatsu, an artist of the early 17th century. The theme was repeated innumerable times in art on screens and walls. Inevitably the crane's reputation for long life and prosperity became a symbol of good health, and origami cranes became a popular gift for those who were ill.
It is apparent that as populations of cranes declined, artists drew on the work of other artists for details of the birds. When a crane stands, it appears to to have a black tail, but the only black feathers are on the trailing edges of their long wings. Yet for centuries, many artists in China and Japan portrayed flying cranes with black tail feathers. While the symbolism is clearly more important than biological accuracy, it is interesting to note that the symbol came very close to outliving the bird which inspired it.
The crane is not so highly regarded in the mythology of India, where they stand for malice, betrayal and treachery. However, in one legend Ramakrishna, when aged 6, fainted with rapture at the sight of a flock of cranes flying low against the background of the temple of Kali, with whom they were associated.
Western Asian tradition tended to follow Greek and Roman writers in associating cranes with Apollo the sun god. They believed that cranes (kurti in Persian and ghurnuq in Arabic) were awake very early in the morning saying their prayers. They also believed that the brain and gall bladder of a crane had miraculous medicinal power to ensure a long life.
Europe
Cranes were associated with vigilance and loyalty. It was said that cranes gather at night in a circle to protect their king, with each keeping awake by standing on one leg. The other leg was raised holding a stone in its claw. If the crane fell asleep, the stone would drop and wake it, so they would always be vigilant.
Early Christian writers associated the bird's reputation for vigilance, loyalty and goodness with the virtues of life in the monastery.
Some Celtic mythology is less kind to cranes, seeing them as an ill omen. In early Ireland it was taboo to eat a crane. It was not all bad, however, as the Irish warhero Finn was saved from falling over a cliff as a small child by his grandmother who was transformed into a crane. Finn was associated with the cranes of death - four enchanted sons of an old woman known as the Hag of the Temple.
One of the Celtic sea gods had a famous 'crane-bag' made from the skin of a woman who was transformed into a crane due to her jealousy. The god Midhir had three hostile cranes which guarded him from visitors - it was said that they had the power to rob warriors of their courage and the will to fight (an early symbol of hopes for peace, perhaps).
Africa
The crowned crane is associated with language and thought, perhaps because of the bird's stance when feeding, which looks very contemplative.
http://rosella.apana.org.au/~mlb/cranes/lore.htm
This is inspiring! Somebody call HGTV and pitch "Trading Cells", a new decorating makeover/reality show. Two sets of inmates trade cells over a weekend, redecorate, and then switch back. Hilarity ensues.
Paper cranes, flamingos and birds are often used as Christmas decorations in Florida. Wild birds, such as the blue heron are beautiful to see in many parts of the state this time of year.
"Greek and Roman
Greek and Roman myth tended to portray the dance of cranes as a love of joy...
Asia
In Japan the crane was known as 'the bird of happiness'...
The Chinese saw the crane's white standing for purity...
Europe
Cranes were associated with vigilance...
Africa
The crowned crane is associated with language and thought..."
Montana
The crane tastes like chicken.
Quite frankly, I'm more interested in stories about Martha Stewart working on the usual jailhouse projects like painting license plates and smashing rocks in her zebra-stripped outfit.
LOL!
The crane tastes like chicken."
Lol
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