The Poet Who Was Turned Into A Picture

 

Ginevra de Benci (1457–1521)

She was a poet, but is first and foremost remembered for her portrait being painted by Leonardo da Vinci. It is the only one of his paintings on public view in USA after being bought for $5-6 million from The Prince of Lichtenstein. Somehow this portrait has gained impact over her and what she was, namely the woman Ginevra de Benci herself. I've often seen her described as her portrait, not what she was and did as a live woman. The myth of a Renaissance "muse" took over and pushed her and her personality aside. Some of the poems by others, which were dedicated to her, only extol her beauty and some pleasant parts of her personality. However, a modern poet also had something to say about this Renaissance woman:

 

John F McCullagh:

 

Ginevra de Benci

Someone has cut off my hands, not that it caused any pain

Look upon me, a proud man’s daughter, enjoy then what remains,

My eyes will stare into your soul. My lipsbear the trace of smile.

My portrait has lent immortality to this woman who never had child.

I was both a wife and a lover, this painting was made for my swain,

But he had both a wife and a mistress. In Florence he couldn’t remain.

In me you will see light and darkness. Sadness is there in my eyes

My family has made me an older man’s bride, my circumstance breeds my disguise. 

 

Maybe - just maybe - another portrait of Ginevra de Benci, this one by Lorenzo di Credi 

We know that she was a poet, but it seems that only one single line of one of her poems has survived, namely an opening of a sestina:

"I ask your forgiveness and I am a mountain tiger."  

.........................

I bet she was an interesting tiger and I regret not having more poems from her to prove it. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/search/

 

Wikipedia

When One's Wishes UNFORTUNATELY Come True

Gladys Deacon was considered a stunning beauty in her youth, but all her glamour was gone when she died in a mental asylum in 1977, almost 100 years old. So were those wild ambitions of moving from a position of American wealth to English nobility, which had led her onto a dangerous road of dreams at an early age: She was 14 years old when her lifelong envy was triggered by another American girl, Consuelo Vanderbilt, getting married to The Duke of Marlborough. Being of the highest nobility he was considered a real "catch", although he wasn't a very pleasant character.

The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, Consuelo Vanderbilt and Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough

Gladys wasn't only beautiful, but also very smart and charismatic. Maybe that was why she succeeded in becoming a friend of the young, American-born Duchess, Consuelo, who wasn't very happy in her high society marriage into nobility. Actually, she hadn't been interested in marrying the somewhat somber Duke. Also, she had been in love with a young American, but her very ambitious mother was against such a non-classy marriage, so she conceded in giving up her true love to make her family happy by becoming a full-class Duchess. That meant that she spent many unhappy years in England, but at least her American money saved Blenheim, the castle of the noble Marlborough family, which her son eventually inherited.

Gladys had her own worries, and they were of a peculiar nature: The German Crown Prince, Wilhelm, was one of the numerous men who fell madly in love with her. When that happened, it became a big sensation, broadcasted by numerous newspapers. Yes, the sensation grew to such length that someone started to sell a cut-out-doll over her likeness. 

Vilhelm

Many others than the German Crown Prince extolled her beauty. One of them was the French writer, Marcel Proust, who wrote: "I never saw a girl with such beauty, such magnificent intelligence, such goodness, and charm". 

 

The exceedingly ambitious (and presumably always envious!) Gladys might have made a "career move" by accepting the proposals of e.g. Prince Caetani or Radziwill. She wasn't in love with either of them, but when her younger sister, Dorothy, married prince Radziwill she got enraged as she found that she had been outdone by her in some kind of secret "sister-competition". Something she couldn't abide!

It's my impression that she was totally engulfed in all of these more or less secret competitions for female status that was so very important to many/most women because that was their only accepted outlet for their ambitions on a personal level. Had she not felt that way, she might have been much happier, but that was what she had been brought up to feel. When another one of her sisters were introduced in high society, she saw to it that she herself outshone her in the typical Gladys-way she had attained as her personal style.

Being considered a stunning beauty wasn't enough for her vanity: She saw flaws where others saw perfection, so she went to Paris to have cosmetic surgery of her nose. Alas, she became one of the many who suffered from botched surgery, as the wax she had had injected into her nose melted and, sort of, twisted her facial traits. Poor Gladys had entered a trail of misery, although she succeeded in having some of the melted wax removed: She got scars and other disfigurements.

However, when she was almost forty years old she succeeded in obtaining that noble title she had pined for since she was 14: She got married to The Duke of Marlborough, who probably had been her lover for years, even before his marriage to Consuelo was ended. Unfortunately for Gladys, the marriage soon proved not to be what she wished for, as it put a stop to her life as an international socialite. Becoming the new Duchess of Marlborough meant staying at the family seat of Blenheim, being bored and restless. Also, there were no kids, but she underwent a couple of dangerous abortions which must be part of her wishes as she made some utterances against having kids. 

At one point, she mocked the Duke by talking about all the men of noble and royal birth she had slept with, all the time hoping that sex wouldn't lead to a pregnancy. Maybe that was why he sort of harassed her out of his life in 1932. He died of cancer two years later, and she turned into a rather weird recluse whom her family had committed into a mental asylum when she was 81. No matter what she did, she didn't succeed in getting out, but stayed until she died.

 

https://www.theshot.com/actors/facts-about-gladys-deacon-the-socialite-turned-recluse-188-1719587956 

 

https://nypost.com/2018/08/25/these-four-american-brides-were-sold-off-to-foreign-lords/ 

 

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-story-of-gladys-deacon-the-1920s-socialite-who-became-a-recluse-and-died-in-a-mental-hospital/news-story/c94037af12d6ec5d9b0ce6bce5526d6e 

 

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/8839177.gladys-deacon----eccentric-duchess-blenheim-palace/ 

 

Wikipedia

When Men Resort To Beauty-Schemes

Well, well, gentlemen, maybe it is your turn to "beautify" yourselves, and what's more alluring than a six-pack? That question is easy to answer: Brain-Cells and the knowledge how to use them! Not that I mind the fact that many men really do look good, but what men admire in other men, many women find quite ludicrous. I know that some - both men and women - really admire body-builders, but I find them more or less grotesque, yes, I see most of them as some kind of caricatures of the male physique.

OK, caught in the act: This one is so special that he doesn't count because he is faking it as he has used injections of a special art, shooting some kind of "oil" into his muscles. That is not being the best friend of one's body, and I can't see he is gaining much by doing something stupid and unhealthy like that.

Some men - as well as women - pay large sums to alter their looks in an attempt to reshape themselves into someone else. For instance, that goes for a guy who simply made the decision that his looks were not acceptable for him as a person. As he was a besotted fan of a genuine good-looker like David Beckham he decided to buy his looks, so to speak.

Undergoing surgery, spending £30,000 and still not attaining those magical looks, what a bummer!

As to the confirmed good-looker David Beckham, then he too had to undergo some medical treatment to stop a natural process, he didn't accept happening to him: Scalp balding! OK, I admit it: He is better-looking with hair than without.

""Mirror, mirror ...." or "photo, photo ...." give me the answer that the evil stepmom of Snow White was craving." Most often that formula doesn't work, and the one using it feels betrayed by Fate. That is, if they don't just choose to close their eyes to the verdict of the mirror or the photo ....

Hey guys, where is that square chin and nice hair? Maybe in the (AI-produced???) picture, but not in a mirror! That takes more than just wishes or magic formulas.

I don't have any statistics on men and radical beauty enhancements, but it's my impression that it has escalated over the years, especially with the arise of the "incel movement". When I see subs with these frustrated "wailers" I'm surprised that so many of them focus on their own looks: "If only I was taller, had more hair, muscles or a larger "dick", girls would sleep with me!!!" Sex - and the way to get it, even though they exude an all-round kind of contempt for the female gender as such - obviously is the main point. However, trying to change into a look-alike of someone like David Beckham will not give them what they crave as their "right". When they find that out, they feel even more "betrayed" which is nonsense, no matter what kind of incel is talking, and there are several. 

 

https://boobytrapec.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-mad-and-furious-bachelors.html

https://boobytrapec.blogspot.com/2024/06/blue-as-balls.html

 

https://www.spotboye.com/trending/trending-news/david-beckham-s-fan-spent-30-000-to-look-like-the-footballer-ends-up-becoming-laughing-stock-on-internet-netizens-say-you-spelled-james-corden-wrong/63e38afb8a242163d22360f1 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/incel-misogyny-elliot-rodger-study-b2435574.html

 

Wikipedia

 

Crazy Days of "Mumble-Mumbles"

 

What someone does will be seen quite differently by the one who is handled. I don't think that this dog, who is being used for research, has such a grip upon the situation as playing Pavlov like he is playing it, but the very idea is both funny and thought-provoking because it might be the case, and that would totally change the perspective of what's going on. Or put another way: If a sadist beats or even kills a masochist, doesn't that change what he/she is doing from cruelty into something close to the opposite? Also: If you make a choice because you believe that it's "the right/moral thing to do, but "you're being misled by your own misled ideas as to the implications of that choice for other people, are you then still responsible for the bad things it leads to?

 

These days, watching some kind of "modern witchcraft" - also called "thoughts and prayers" - gaining impact with the American public as they denounce science, is downright scary. How can people chose "Mumble-Mumbles" over science? To me that's very, very strange. However, I often I see postings or comments about a common wish to jail Fauci, although he represents science and knowledge whereas someone like e.g. the current leader of the Department of Health and Human Services, which is the United States' top health agency, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. doesn't. What's the logic of something like that? At his recommendations, people give up on e.g. vaccines because he has some unauthorized ideas about autism which puts them and their kids at danger. I suspect that such a choice not only signals a mistrust of science, but a strong wish to side with what many people see as the "ultimate authority", their God as represented in what to them are "chosen individuals".

 

The Middle Ages are fun to read about, but they were not all that fun to the people who lived at that time. To revive the thinking of that time is not what we should accept these days. Even loads of "thoughts and prayers" will not protect us from the situation that would lead to.

When Males Give Birth

 

No, no, no, Sir, that's impossible, men can't give birth, and it's no use trying to do so. Not even the well-known male "womb envy" gives you any rights to claim that ability as a right!

A precarious situation

However, some males of certain species, which are not human, do give birth. That goes for e.g. the fish family Syngnathidae which contains c. 300 different species. The best known one of these is the seahorse, but there are more.

"Caught me something ...."

As some of these species don't even have what's called a "brood pouch". When that's the case, the female just lays her eggs on their tail or trunk. If, on the other hand, they possess a "brood pouch" then that will be where she lays them and that's where her "maternal duties" end, and the paternal ones of the male start. 

It goes without saying, but still, I'll say it: This system is part of Nature and can't be explained away by religious fanatics claiming that it's not "Halal" or something like that.

However, it's in religion we do find some accounts of men giving birth, but they go far back in time to ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Also, there are some legends of a king getting pregnant in Hindu religious texts.

Dionysus 

One well-known instance of a male god giving birth is when Zeus had baby Dionysus sewn into him and bore him from one of his thighs. The original mother of the baby was Semele who was killed by the jealous wife of Zeus, namely Hera, and he had to do something to save the poor, motherless fetus. 

Athene

Zeus also turned into the "mother" of another deity: Athene. Her natural mother was Metis, the first wife of Zeus, but he was advised to do "something" about this very potent and thus threatening offspring of his, so he swallowed up her pregnant mother, Metis, and gave birth himself. And, of course, that event happened in a very spectacular manner: Athene sprang from his forehead, fully armed!!!

There has been some attempts in e.g. Japan to find ways to make male animals as well as men get pregnant and bear children, but up till now in vain. One of the methods was uterus transplantations.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277539511000252

 

https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/gods-and-goddesses-greek-and-roman-pantheon

 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Semele

 

Wikipedia

Becoming A Mom At An Old Age?

 

Grandma attending to her newborn grandchild? Naaahhh, this is first time Mom, 72 years old Daljinder Kaur Gill, with her very first "bundle of joy", namely a son. Presumably she is not even the oldest woman to have that happening to her, but who knows, some day there may be someone even older than a woman in her seventies. Right now, several politicians and "concerned citizens" are clamoring for more babies, so I wonder why the usual "baby-claimers" like e.g. Elon Musk haven't saluted this female bravery. Most probably, it's because these women give birth to brown or black-skinned babies, and most of those usual "baby-claimers" want them white, blue-eyed and male ....

Up through history, the mortality of both the mother and the child in childbirth was considerable. Getting pregnant and giving birth was tempting The Grim Reaper to strike down on both the mother and the baby. 

Even though those women in good social circumstances, who were well-fed and taken care of by a good midwife, might end up suffering a premature death. Some, like e.g. Queen Anne of England (1665-1714), presumably gave birth to 18 children, many of which were still-born or died within a few months after birth: Actually, not a single one survived for a longer period than 11 years which must have been an unbearable situation for her, being the last Stuart on the English throne. 

Queen Anne with her son who died at 11 years of age

Dangerous as it is to get pregnant and give birth, it's quite surprising that women, much older than what's considered the natural age for not having that possibility anymore, get fertility treatments in order to have a baby. I suppose that some/most of them (???) want to prove that they are what's called "real women" in the Patriarchy, i.e. those who want to and do get pregnant. Being subjected to the many myths of "true femininity" they want to fulfill what they see as "their role in society", and one of the ways to do so is to get pregnant, even at an age where pregnancy may pose a grave danger to them. For instance, the risk of diabetes and hypertension are much worse than when the pregnancy happens at a lower age. And, what's more, the child risks an extremely low weight, premature birth and certain defects. However, with IVF and caesarian births, women find new ways of becoming moms, although the female biological clock can vary greatly from woman to woman.

Safina Namukwaya was 70 years old when she had twins, a boy and a girl, using IVF and a caesarean. Presumably she isn't even the oldest woman to give birth because that's supposed to be 73 (74?) years old Erramatti Mangamma.   

Erramatti Mangamma

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67577038 

https://www.today.com/parents/moms/66-year-old-woman-has-baby-rcna198144

 

Wikipedia

When Bad Grows Worse

 

Yup, there they are, those bad, evil and extremely threatening hackers, catfish, spies and whatever who target our online life and make it unsafe. We may not see them or hear them, but the FEELING of their presence stay with those of us who have had the experience of being targeted by some internet creeps. It happened to me some years ago, and it was a very weird feeling to find out that my Facebook friend, whom I trusted and liked, although he had/has some very weird Nazi-like ideas, wasn't always the person I knew, but someone else, pretending to be him. This incident wasn't about either "candid photos" or money, but simply (???) an attempt to get under my skin, so to speak. However, I doubt not that the next step would be getting access to my non-existing fortune as that seems to be the ultimate goal for most of these shady guys.

Gosh, should we be in awe at some devious weapons like this one, or should we file a complaint "to someone" even though most of us take for granted that we have 99.9% chance of wasting our time doing so? Being a confirmed "complainer" I would find it hard not to go for the latter option, but I have to admit that most often, when I do complain, it ends up in a sad confirmation of the 99.9% wasting time-system. That being the case, turns most of us into "sitting ducks" for the, in some way, weaponized individuals of this world.

The political situation being what it is, I'm sorry to admit that the feeling of a general security for most of us in this mutual world of ours has been sabotaged by vague and mysterious, but at the same time not at all unsubstantial feelings of insecurity. It may not be the hacker, the evil gangster, the CIA-agents or even those trigger-happy young folks out to "have fun" the way they like best, but bad things may happen, one way or another. I feel that, and so do a lot of other people also ....