When a Rat Year comes, it generally delivers new experiences with favorable outcomes for all of the signs. The Metal element aspect also indicates success, as this is the element of production. Metal is strong, determined, and resolute.
Some NYE traditions probably seem a bit off-the-wall. Here are a few that seemingly come out of nowhere, but remain integral pieces of some countries’ annual New Year customs.
Colombia: One of Colombians’ favorite ways to celebrate the New Year is to carry an empty suitcase around the block. The tradition is meant to bring celebrants a year of travel (which hopefully will involve a little more packing).
Denmark: Many of the world’s New Year’s traditions revolve around the stroke of midnight: fireworks blasting off, the ball dropping, kissing a loved one, toasting with champagne, etc. In Denmark, people jump off of their chairs in unison at midnight. This symbolizes jumping forward into the new year and leaving bad things behind.
Belgium: In Belgium, Walloon and Flemish farmers rise early on New Year’s Day and promptly head out the stables to wish the cows (and other domesticated animals) a happy New Year. Though the origins of this tradition are unknown, the same thing is also practiced in Romania.
Finland: Going to a fortune-teller can either be a fun or harrowing experience. But one Nordic New Year tradition involves reading the future for yourself. Finnish people melt tin horseshoes, pour the molten metal into cold water, and use the resulting solid to gain insight into the coming year. Its shape and shadow supposedly tell-all, and a broken piece of tin is considered a sure sign of bad luck.
Japan: In Japan, Joya no Kane is a Buddhist ritual that takes place at midnight on New Year’s Eve. It involves ringing a bell exactly 108 times. Buddhists believe that we humans are entrapped by 108 different desires that keep us suffering. The chimes symbolize purification from the accumulation of these passions over the previous year.
Chile: In the small town of Tulca, Chile, it is tradition to spend the last night of the year at a sleepover at the cemetery. Locals believe that the souls of dearly departed friends and family come to hang around on the night of New Year’s Eve. So they make fires, bring food and drink, and decorate their loved ones’ graves for some ghostly quality time.
Ecuador: In Ecuador, los años viejos (the old years) is a beloved part of how to celebrate the New Year. People construct large scarecrows of those they don’t like and set them alight at midnight in order to burn away the ills of last year. Building the scarecrow is a family activity. While it’s mostly done for fun and laughs, controlling the bevy of fires is sometimes a serious undertaking.
Panama: Panama has a similar “viejo” tradition to the one in Ecuador. Only here the effigies are called muñecos. Rather than simply setting them on fire, the dolls are typically stuffed with fireworks in order to really get the festivities cranking.
Master is traveling to family for the Holidays. dievca is staying in NYC. she proposed a Christmas dinner to some friends and they took her up in it! It looks like those Christmas decorations do need to be put up. Whee!
Chinti and Parker ‘Winterlust’ Sweater
dievca might have to wear her version of an ‘Ugly Christmas Sweater’. This is as close as she gets….something a smidgen cheesy.
About 5 years ago, dievca developed a Cosplay Fantasy for Master – focusing on the fact Master never dated a cheerleader. It turned out to be a lot of fun. dievca had forgotten about the cheerleading uniform, but Master had not…
So, dievca went digging in storage and found the uniform and pompons. Hah! The cheerleading uniform was a bit too small, so safety pins had to come to the rescue. On the other hand, dievca is more flexible than 5 years ago 😘.
Master enjoyed flipping into the role of Professor, tutoring his student in Human Anatomy. dievca needed to work her way around His anatomy to get the ‘A’.
Here’s the original post with outfit at the end:
A SENSE OF FUN! (repost)
Master has mentioned that sometimes the BDSM crowd takes themselves very seriously — protocol, rules, discipline, punishment, titles, labels, dungeons, etc. A little bit dark and without humor.
Now, I’ve read some great posts from people who are very open to different manifestations of D/s dynamic. Their offerings sound more lighthearted — one aspect was a Cosplay element. Of course, Cosplay is a World unto its own –but slipping a little into our D/s relationship sounded interesting.
A while ago, Master and dievca talked about their High School and College years. dievca teased Master and asked Him if He was the BMOC (Big Man On Campus) and if He dated all the cheerleaders. He replied that He never dated a cheerleader. pom-pon girl or something similar.
Hmmm….
Master grew up on the West Coast –what if dievca showed up as a USC Song Girl?
Photo by Alix Drawec – sports photos
White is a tough color to wear — but o.k. dievca began her search….no USC uniforms to be found. The closest turtleneck uniform top she found was from the University of Iowa – Hawkeyes. They sell their spare stuff on eBay — too much $ for dievca to spend.
On to Plan B
Vintage HS Cheerleading Uniforms…a flashback for Master. Nothing. Those saddle shoes must have deteriorated with age.
On to Plan C
eBay HS Cheer Uniform
Pom Pons
Retro Pom-Pon Socks
White Leather Tretorns
French Braids
Bow Hair Ties
eBay and Texas comes through. The southern States take their cheerleading seriously and many organizations/schools sell their old equipment on eBay. dievca was able to pick up a HS Cheerleading Uniform with matching pompons for a good price ($30). The sizing is “Kids” so she tried to go by measurements. The uniform was a bit snug, but perhaps that is not a bad thing… Accessorized with retro socks, white shoes, hair bows, braids and some cheers/dances swiped from youtube. voilà!
Ahhh, so much fun. Master flipped into a side that dievca hadn’t seen, an actor. He moved into the role of a Technology Geek who is a potential donor for a new engineering wing at a University. dievca was the newbie cheerleader who was a science major sent to show Him a good time.
The Cheerleading uniform and cheers were a Huge Hit.
dievca will leave it to your imagination what happened after the game.
(Just remember: there are ways to keep your virginity intact!)
😀
Spelling note: Pom-Pon vs. Pom-Pom, the 1st is correct- but 2nd has taken over…
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA – JULY 15,1956: Actress Natalie Wood dances with actor Hugh O’Brian during the Thalians Beach Ball in Malibu, California. (Photo by Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
shagging (usually uncountable, plural shaggings) (Britain, vulgar, slang) An act (or acts) of sexual intercourse.
Or
n.
A dancestep of the1930sconsisting of a hop-on eachfoot in turn.
intr.v.shagged, shag·ging, shags
To perform or executethisdance.
Let’s just say that dievca is not up on her shag dance technique,
but it looks awfully fun!
Master is heading over to a friend’s Brownstone to be the “Master of the BBQ”.
They are European and haven’t learned the fine art of grilling.
dievca heard some mumbling about the grill not being cleaned properly, etc.
she really wants to send over these naughty roasting sticks:
Let’s take a closer look:
There are “kid-friendly” and “transgender” options, too.
Or you can buy a Gay couple, a Lesbian couple, singles….
Available at Amazon: 805 Metal Craft
Master has to do a three-day “quickie” to the West Coast and back. she knows that His time on the ground is going to be stressful, so here’s hoping His flights are quite remarkable.
Lynx, the male grooming brand sold by Unilever, is sold on the basis of sex appeal. Lynx is the UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ version of Unilever’s ‘male grooming’ product Axe.
In 2005, the Australian television viewers were being introduced by a new ‘sex appeal’ stunt: the launch of a fictitious airline. Seven airline hostesses walk towards us on the tarmac, each wearing yellow sunglasses. The voice over: “Imagine a level of comfort never experienced before in air travel”. We move to a shot of a sky bed, big enough for the a hostess to snuggle up to the sleeping male passenger. “With in-flight entertainment (Spanking, Hula Hoop and Pillow Fighting) that is second to none”.
On June 21, 2006, on the Grand Prix and Gold awards won by Lynx Jet at Cannes. LynxJet, Demo (instructions for removing a bra) and Blanket (a mostess solution to cold male passengers) won Bronze Lions in the Film section.
Despite the mixed reception from the wider Australian public, the target audience, young single men between the ages of 18 and 25, bought into the concept. Sales of Lynx Body Spray grew by 20 percent in four weeks to take an 84.2 percent share of the Australian market.
Note:
Unilever arranged to have one of Jetstar’s planes painted in the yellow colors of the Lynx campaign. Hostesses on the designated flights between Victoria and Queensland were not expected to dress or behave like the ‘mostesses’ in the Lynx TV ads. All the same, Jetstar thought again and withdrew from the deal. The plane went back to normal colors in the light of complaints from airline stewards, Jetstar marketing consultants and the public.
Advertising Credits
Lowe Hunt.
Team included Adam Lance, Dejan Rasic, Simone Brandse, Howard Collinge, Michael Canning and Darren Bailey.
Filming: Nicholas Reynolds via Plaza Films
Producer, Cathy Rechichi
Director of photography, Daniel Ardilley
Editing, The Tait Gallery by Danny Tait.
Music, composed by Kevin Kehoe
Sound Design, Paul Taylor at Sound Reservoir.
Post production, design and special effects, Postmodern Sydney.
Photography, Stephen Stewart
dievca just had to laugh and say, “Know your target audience”, apparently they did.
DIMENSIONS: 8.8″ X 4.2″ X 3.5″ OR 22,6 CM X 10,8 CM X 10,9 CM
From the Milan-based, DDL–De Pas. The Tongue Hook piece was originally created in 1996 and has been crafted from resin for the Italian Collection. Easy to install with the included mounting hardware, the Tongue Hook will create a focal point anywhere in your home and will surely become a conversation starter.
Bitch the pot
Tight as a boiled owl
Quail pipe
Tallywags
Dirty puzzle
Cupid’s kettle drums
Neck oil
Dash my wig!
Tatur-trap
Tot-hunting
Bit o’ jam
Cackle tub
Shoot into the brown
Inexpressibles
Gas-pipes
Tickle one’s innards
Gigglemug
Mutton shunter
Beer and skittle
Bags o’ mystery
Crinkum-crankum
Can you guess what the words mean? (Answers below)
Bitch the pot = pour the tea
Tight as a boiled owl = drunk
Quail pipe = Woman’s tongue
Tallywags = testicles
Dirty puzzle = Promiscuous Woman
Cupid’s kettle drums = Boobs
Neck oil = Beer
Dash my wig! = Exclamation
Tatur-trap = Mouth
Tot-hunting = Prowling for Women
Bit o’jam = Pretty Woman
Cackle tub = Pulpit
Shoot into the brown = to fail
Inexpressibles = Trousers
Gas-pipes = Tight trousers
Tickle one’s innards = to have a drink
Gigglemug = Smiling face
Mutton shunter = Policeman
Beer and skittle = Good times
Bags o’ mystery = Sausages
Crinkum-crankum = Vagina
we’re a lifestyle brand based in sunny los angeles that designs clothes, accessories, gifts, stationery, and more. next up: little hats for monkeys? yeah, maybe. our stuff can be found in department stores, specialty stores, and boutiques, as well as online at bando.com (where you are right now). we’re inspired by the power of friendship, the good old days, and all things fun. we’re also really into supporting our community of customers, fellow artists, and like-minded brands. we think there’s room at the top for all of us.
With daily use, dievca’s bike takes a beating.
she’s looking to upgrade for the Summer.
Here’s something she spotted in the Brooklyn Museum archives.
dievca thinks this a “look” worth fighting for~
Can you see her arriving at Master’s in such style?
XO
We know dievca is Slovak. Not Czech, not Hungarian, not Austrian — Sugar Beet farmers and Soldiers. It gets worse…the other half is Ukrainian. That’s the half that has the true green thumb. Everything grows when dievca touches it. Weird.
The Ukrainian side also comes with weird and wonderful relatives, a fatalistic view on life, and some warped mentalities. One cousin thought he was Jesus. The smart as hell, direct, brutally honest, or complete fantasy genetic side. The ability to go loopy, rides just under the surface. Let’s not sugar coat it. dievca has been known to flip out, too.
Welcome to the Roller Coaster.
OK, Russia assumes that the Ukraine is part of Russia — and kinship or not, that’s not a direction dievca (or дівчина) wants to analyze. But, she is going to make the link for Ukrainian craziness = Russian craziness
dievca ran into this video from the Russian band Leningrad and loved it.
Like the Beatles album, you can run it forward or backwards….
Warning: it’s quite graphic (and fatalistic).
Original Video
Playing through chronologically
The VERGE: This music video is absurd to watch, forward and backward
Sometimes you need the wine to speak to you/for you
and if the bottle could do it…
all the better.
(click on one photo to get into the gallery to see all the bottles)
Master is the wine connoisseur and dievca loves His selections. she would just like to add an appropriately fun label to the bottle after Master opens the wine.
Can you imagine your Sir/Madame’s face when offering His/Her glass after pouring from the relabeled bottle?
No, you cannot buy these labels,
but dievca found some cool ones on Etsy. she will be sharing them is a future post. Thank you to Tasting Table, Refinery 29 and vinepair.com
Photo: MaisonBentleyStyle, click 
