Johanna: October 2010

Sunday, October 31

Saturday, October 30

Halloween Parade

This spooktcular Halloween event is unlike any other parade in the world and parades through the “BOO CARRE”. It became the official Halloween Parade in New Orleans in 2007.

PARADE Saturday, October 30th @ 6pm

2009 Halloween Flashback

Jem 80's Cartoon Rock Star

Hera Greek Goddess

Friday's Frightful Movie #5

A young officer in Napoleon's army pursues a mysterious woman to the castle of an elderly Baron.

THE TERROR (1963)

Thursday, October 28

After all the tests of war, economic adversity, ownership changes, and natural forces, Nottoway stands regal and strong ... still a great castle greeting the Mighty Mississippi River. Step back in time and experience the 150 years of history at this Grande Dame of Plantations with all its regal splendor.

Majestic Nottoway Plantation, with its towering size, hand-carved marble mantles and intricate plaster frieze work, awes visitors with its grandeur and innovative features. The 64-room, three-story palatial mansion is sometimes referred to as an "American castle."

Nottoway was completed in 1859 for John Hampden Randolph and his wife, Emily Jane Liddell Randolph, and it was home to their eleven children. The mansion boasts 53,000 square feet, and originally sat on 400 acres of highland and 620 acres of swamp. It was designed by renowned architect Henry Howard of New Orleans in Greek Revival and Italianate style.

That Nottoway survived through the Civil War, a variety of owners, and disrepair to become one of the most visited plantations in the South is a testament to its original owner, John Hampden Randolph. Randolph was an astute businessman. It was his business savvy that fostered his tremendous wealth, and his business savvy that saved Nottoway during the hard times during and after the Civil War. And, it was both his sense of grandeur and love of his family that brought Nottoway to life.

Entrance Hall: Imagine the grand entrance into Nottoway - up steep winding stairs to the expansive front balcony and into a massive entrance hall with its 11-foot doors. The entrance hall is the common area adjoining a number of much-used rooms - the white ballroom, the gentlemen's study and the formal dining room. It also features an exquisite crystal and brass chandelier purchased by Randolph for $138.

Construction of Nottoway was completed in 1859 at an estimated $80,000. Nottoway has 64 rooms in its 3 floors, 6 interior staircases, 3 modern bathrooms, 22 massive square columns, 165 doors and 200 windows. Designed in the Greek Revival and Italianate style for which Howard was renowned, it features 15½ foot high ceilings and 11 foot doors. Its most unique room is a semi-circular white ballroom with Corinthian columns and hand-cast archways.

Gentlemen's Study: As Mr. Randolph's private domain, he would attend to plantation matters in the study. The room contains a copy of the famous "Gone With the Wind" curtains, which extend long enough to puddle on the floor and was a sign of wealth during that period.

Henry Howard hired skilled craftsmen to work on the house. In fact, 40 carpenters, brick masons and plumbers lived in tents at the site of the construction while doing their work. They were paid $40 a month, and provided with three meals a day and laundry service. By June of 1858, Randolph contracted with Timothy Joyce for $3,800 to provide other carpentry work necessary for the house. A skilled mason, Newton Richards, was hired to furnish two huge flights of granite steps for the front of the home.

Nottoway was actually saved from one attack by a young Northern officer on board a gunboat. He had been graciously entertained at the plantation's garden parties and balls prior to the war, and recognized the castle from the Mississippi River. He called for a cease-fire, sparing the home from damage in that battle. But, the plantation grounds were not immune to shelling and cannons during the war, drawing Mrs. Randolph, her children and slaves to the basement for protection.

White lead was used as a waterproofing agent, set in the joints of the gallery floors that sloped down so that rain and wash water would drain quickly. The ground floor of the mansion is concrete, and the walls, made of brick, are 14 inches thick. Cypress was used as the framing lumber and on the floors and walls of the upper floors. The interior walls are finished in plaster.

The White Ballroom: Perhaps the most impressive room of the house, it certainly has served its purpose of entertaining. It was the site of many Randolph family parties, their daughters' debuts to society, and five of the girls' weddings. "I wish this room to be a pure white in order to offset the beauty of my ladies," Randolph was said to have instructed. Today it is the site of weddings and special events. The ballroom included exquisite plasterwork, double fireplaces, Corinthian columns and hand-cast archways. The painting over one fireplace is of an 1857 portrait of Mary Henshaw. While she was not a member of the family, the painting is said to interest visitors because her eyes follow them no matter where they go in the room. A painting technique known as "dotting the irises" was used on the portrait to create the effect.

Hand-painted Dresden porcelain doorknobs and matching keyhole covers from Germany

Dining Room: Just as the study catered to Randolph, so the dining room was a reflection of Mrs. Randolph, with a camellia design in the plaster work to reflect her favorite flower. On display is a valued set of French porcelain called Sevres. The design was made for King Luis Phillippe of France in 1830 and each piece is hand painted with a different romantic motif. The connecting rooms are the Butler's Pantry and Warming Kitchen, where food would be brought from the kitchen prior to being served.

Cornelia's Room: Cornelia was the oldest of the Randolph daughters. Her room includes a tall bed made in New Orleans around 1840. The height of the bed compliments the high ceiling, and also accommodates a small bed underneath. The small bed was often intended for a servant.

Music Room: This room was regularly used by the Randolph family, both for entertainment and also for the children's music lessons. According to Cornelia's diary, the girls took piano from a German instructor and dancing lessons. The room now includes many valuable instruments of that period.

Master Bedroom: This large room was the couple's private room. Today, it is also a guest room featuring a hand carved rosewood poster bed with mosquito netting. Hollow posts in the bed may have been used to hide valuables during the Civil War. The small room adjoining the bedroom now used as a sitting and bathroom area was originally Mrs. Randolph's private dressing room.

Japan’s Zombie Outbreak Readiness

Are there seriously articles written about this?

Awesome!

As an island nation with the world’s highest cremation rate, Japan looks like the ideal spot to ride out a global zombie pandemic, but one expert on the undead says this assumption is dangerously mistaken. Matt Mogk, Zombie Research Society (ZRS) founder and head researcher, believes Japan would be no safer than other countries in the event of a zombie outbreak and could be even more dangerous. Japan’s tight border control, which last month denied entry to Paris Hilton, would offer some protection against hordes of rotting corpses brought back to life, but only provided the outbreak starts outside of Japan. “If the zombie sickness has a long incubation period, hundreds of millions of people could be infected for years, or even decades, without knowing,” said Mogk, who has been sinking his teeth into all things zombie for most of his life. “All we would need is the right trigger to launch an instant zombie pandemic everywhere at once. Japan would not be protected.” ZRS, a non-profit organization with local chapters on six continents and in Japan, believes a zombie pandemic is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. And Mogk surmises the situation would be particularly bleak if “Z-Day” kicks off in Japan.

“Citizens would have a hard time escaping an island nation, especially if the other countries block their exit out of fear of infection,” he said.

ZRS describes a zombie as “a biologically definable, animated being occupying a human corpse.” Japan has one of the world’s highest cremation rates at 99.85%, according to Cremation Society of Great Britain statistics, so relatively fewer corpses lying around to animate. But according to Mogk, a high cremation rate does not make Japan any safer than other countries that practice standard burial preparation techniques. “The embalming process destroys the brain of the corpse, so is functionally the same as cremation in terms of preventing a zombie from inhabiting the body,” he said. The Max Brooks novel “World War Z” popularized the Japanese katana sword as an ideal weapon for fending off the flesh-eating undead. Mogk sees this as another dangerous misconception. “Bladed weapons in general are not ideal because they will inevitably get stuck in things and become dull,” he said. “A single strike can find your sword jammed in a tree or ribcage, leaving you to pry it free while zombies chew on your neck.” Have a safe Halloween.