from the hills to the city of light,
chirping tweets...
via twitter https://twitter.com/#!/KameleonSubRosa
via facebook Aerbook. San Francisco~Paris.
via tumblr http://kameleonsubrosa.tumblr.com/
Photo @ Fred Lyon/Cable Car Line, San Francisco, 1946.
Le Temps nous égare
Le Temps nous étreint
Le Temps nous est gare
Le Temps nous est train.
Jacques Prévert.
HiroshimaTimeAfter.
Nuit cramoisie
Sans bruit, sous les silences, la cochenille ronronne
Elle sombre dans les soies, orgueil de velours
Vif coeur épris, sur la ligne d'ombre qui court
Blottie la nuit, un nuage de lune d'automne.
Crimson Night
Murmurless, among silences, cochineal hums
Sinking into silks, velvety pride, fading
Keen smitten heart, runs the line, shadowing
A curled up close night, on a cloud of moon autumn's.
Pourpre des Ors
Consuls et cardinaux courtisent la royauté,
Précieuses étoffes d'or, cortège d'ornements
Impériale couronne, sceau céleste éclatant,
S'enrichissent, irradiés, soleils d'éternité.
Purple of the Golds
Consuls and cardinals court kingship family
Precious golden vestments, procession's adornment
A crown heavenly embed, celestial, brilliant,
Grow enriched, lit up like suns of eternity.
Fraise et Framboise
De l'orée du bois au fin fond des jardins
On goûte à la flânerie, les fruits mûrs cueillis
Parfument les sentiers et les sens ravis
S'enchantent du sirop, suave et charnu, -divin.
Strawberry & Raspberry
From the edges of the woods to gardens' secret
One flavors idly strolling, ripe fruits harvested
Of(f) perfumed ventures and the senses delighted
Enchanted, smoothy plump syrup, divinly- sweet.
Sang Princier
De chair et de sang, sous la coupe de lumière
Jusqu'à la dernière goutte, palpitent les passions
Coeur léger ou fièvreux, pétillent les émotions
Cou(p) d'éclat de rubis, collerette princière.
Princely blood
Of flesh and blood, under the starlight's goblet
Till very end of last drop, quiver the passions
Light or feverish heart, twinkling emotions
Ruby's neck's sparkle, princed ruffled collaret.
Garance
Terres rougeoyantes dorment d'écorces et de racines,
Sublime vaisseau de laques rouges, capitonné
Enveloppe le soir couchant de pourpres coulées
qui s'échouent, tempérées, sur tes lèvres purpurines.
Alizarin Rubia
The reddening glow lands of barks and roots a-sleep,
Sublimely, vessel of red lacquers nestlined
Wrap the evening pad, of scarlet crimson glided
Running aground, soothed, on your purpurine lip.
Vermeil de lumière
Muse cabaret, souffle du nectar melliflu
Parfums de rose, églantier et rouge cerise
M'étourdissent à ta bouche, doucereuse, captive
Eclairs de l'aurore, à l'horizon, disparus.
Light rose-reddish ruddy
Muse cabaret, nectar's melliflu whispered
Scents of rose, wild eglantine and red cherry
Drowning sorrows on your mouth, unctuous, captive
Lighting flashes at dawn, on the horizon vanished.
The first pictured movie was from a Frenchman, Emile Reynaud who created in 1877, an animation system of 12 pictures, with a praxynoscope, a device, regarded as the successor to the zoetrope ; and then films of about 500~600 pictures,
projected on its own théâtre optique, a system ancestor from the modern film projector, at the Musée Grévin in Paris, in 1892.
The first fully animated film ever made is considered to be Fantasmagorie by Émile Cohl in 1908.
Today, the French Festival d'animation d'Annecy celebrates its fiftieth Anniversary, in France, under the spell and the visions of those early inspirers, but also through the long tradition of previous awarded, like Tim Burton, with "Vincent" in 1982.
Annecy Festival Channel via YouTube.
History of the Animation, "The illusion of motion".
Glamorously crooning, Melody Gardot, voix jazzy, distille des éclats de diamants, des éclairs d'âme, tour a tour, intimes ou tragiques, tourmentés ou tout en charmeuse sensualité. Une étoffe de grande, elle, qui si jeune, sommeille au chevet du Petit Prince. Elle est cet arc-en-ciel qui embellit la vie, illumine les jours gris, et nous ensorcelle sous des poussières d'étoiles...
Huttes accrochées, nids de bois de charpente, cabanes suspendues, passerelles entre ciel et terre, fragiles comme des nids d'hirondelles, multipliés sur les édifices, les lieux publics investis, tels des excroissances qui émergent, épousent les façades, envahissent l'espace de réalités matérielles abandonnées, récupérées in situ, ( bois, échafaudages, cartons, journaux, chaises, pierres, cordes, ...). La cité revisitée en nacelles improvisées, provisoires, éphémères qui nous racontent notre propre errance, dans ce paysage urbain, et nous emmènent vers ces hauteurs, sous les ponts de traverse, ou vers les détours de tours, nous laisser cheminer et, pour un temps, pour un instant, se nicher à l'abri dans ces vaisseaux de fortune.
Tadashi Kawamata’s (Projects)
tree huts like nests at Centre George Pompidou Beaubourg Paris
market crates at the Maréchalerie in Versailles
tree houses in Madison Square Park New-York
"Men build too much walls and not enough bridges."
La minute encyclopédique Isaac Newton
There must be a full moon tonight...
"Il était tard, ainsi qu'une médaille neuve, la pleine lune s'étalait. Et la solennité de la nuit, comme un fleuve sur Paris dormant, ruisselait".
Charles Baudelaire, Les fleurs du mal.
"It was late, sparkly as a new medal, the full moon spread out. And the night's solemnity, like a river over a sleeping Paris, streamed''.
"Fly me to the moon" Frank Sinatra.
Con toda palabra
Con toda sonrisa
Con toda mirada
Con toda caricia
Me acerco al agua
Bebiendo tu beso
La luz de tu cara
La luz de tu cuerpo
Es ruego el quererte
Es canto de mudo
Mirada de ciego
Secreto desnudo ...
Son dernier souffle, le dernier jour de décembre 2009, une lumière s'est éteinte, feu follet irrigue les rivières, les étreintes et le souvenir vibrant d'une sirène partie en voyage vers d'autres horizons. La route chantait, quand elle s'en est allée, à perte de vue, de par la marée haute, les yeux qui piquent... Je fais trois pas, et tu es là.
Over the course of 2009, Norwegian Eirik Solheim recorded brief 30-second video clips every week of the view from his balcony in Oslo. The result of all this archiving is an amazing time-lapse video that synthesizes the entire year into a 90 seconds.
Ne marche pas devant moi, Je ne suivrai peut-être pas. Ne marche pas derrière moi, je ne te guiderai peut-être pas. Marche juste a côté de moi et sois mon ami.
Albert Camus.
Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me, and be my friend.
Discours de réception du prix nobel de littérature Stockholm 1957
Francis Ford Coppola is on air,
singing, playing the crooner of a december weekend... for Rebecca Manzoni, the eclectik Lady of the French Radio, fluttering assertiv voice, sweet and peppery, and perfect for my taste, as Coppola always shall be...
La clarté ne naît pas de ce qu'on imagine le clair, mais de ce qu'on prend conscience de l'obscur. [Carl Gustav Jung]
"Elles sont bien noires, les pensées des nuits blanches."
"They are pretty dark black, the thoughts of the wee white hours."
La minute encyclopédique Edmond et Jules de Goncourt.
Le 31 octobre, les sorcières s'envolent sur leur manche à balai : c'est Halloween, la fête du potiron. À cette occasion, Mrs Drake a organisé une soirée pour les 'plus de onze ans'. Les enfants participent aux préparatifs, sous l'oeil nonchalant de Mrs Oliver, qui croque son éternelle pomme. 'Savez-vous que j'ai eu l'occasion d'assister à un vrai meurtre ?' se vante Joyce, une fillette à la langue bien pendue, devant la célèbre romancière. Tout le monde lui rit au nez : Joyce ne sait plus qu'inventer pour se rendre intéressante. La fête est un succès, et les enfants font un triomphe au jeu du Snapdragon qui clôt la réception. Tous les enfants ? C'est en rangeant la maison, après le départ des invités, qu'on découvre le cadavre de la petite Joyce dans la bibliothèque. Bouleversée, Mrs Oliver fait aussitôt appel à son ami, le grand Hercule Poirot.
Agatha Christie "".
Pina Bausch
Tanztheater Wuppertal
Am Dienstag, 30. Juni 2009, starb Pina Bausch, die Tänzerin und Choreographin des Wuppertaler Tanztheaters. Ein unerwarteter schneller Tod ergriff sie fünf Tage nach einer Krebsdiagnose. Noch am vorletzten Sonntag stand sie mit ihrer Company im Wuppertaler Opernhaus auf der Bühne
Sélections du "Festival du film d'animation" via le fil de Télérama
"Yankee Gal"
"Home" L'homme regarde depuis le ciel. Un hélicoptère. Le survol d'une soixantaine de pays. Contempler la terre, et ce qu'elle nous enseigne...
de Yann Arthus Bertrand
"La voix du Grand Esprit s'entend dans le gazouillement des oiseaux, le clapotis de l'eau, et la douce respiration des fleurs."
"The voice of the Great Spirit is heard in the twittering of birds, the rippling of mighty waters, and the sweet breathing of flowers."
Gertrude Simmons Bonin (Zitkalas-Sa, "Red Bird").
La minute encyclopédique Gertrude Simmons Bonin
The live dawn chorus birdsong stream, powered by birdsong radio
Il me raconterait encore ces histoires de paysages découverts aperçus entrouverts ces silhouettes graciles et émouvantes ces lumières flashes et frissons de parfums ces vérités assénées miroirs reflets de tourments ou espoirs...
Festival de Cannes
Daily slice via CanalPlus
Le Fil Cinéma Télérama
Francis Ford Coppola ouvre "La quinzaine des réalisateurs" avec Tetro,
starring Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, Maribel Verdu, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Carmen Maura.
Constellations du ciel,
les étoiles s'égrènent
une par une,
année après année;
sur leurs chemins,
les heures de la nuit
génies protecteurs,
portent les jours.
Happy birthday, mam'zelle sirène!
«J’ai longé ton corps. Epousé ses méandres.
Je me suis emporté, Transporté. Par-delà les abysses.
Par-dessus les vergers. Délaissant les grands axes.
J’ai pris la contre-allée. Je me suis emporté, transporté...» Alain Bashung, moiré comme un vers de Baudelaire, memento mori, Nosferatu doux, rock épuré, nuits en volutes de fumée, bleu pétrole, est la nuit étoilée, ... Volutes
. La nuit je mens
. Madame rêve
. Osez Joséphine
. Vertige de l'amour
. Les mots bleus
. Sur un trapèze
. Ma petite entreprise
. Bill & Jane
When renowned Hollywood actor Gary Cooper built his californian 'dream house' in the early 1950s, an
ultra-modern, angular concoction featuring stone, glass, and steel, movie fans smiled and said they knew why.
Cooper had recently portrayed Howard Roark, the egocentric architect at the center of 'The Fountainhead' a man so passionate about architecture that he made Frank Lloyd Wright look like a hobbyist.
More than 50 years later, the Cooper house still has star power. It's a powerful work by one A. Quincy Jones, one of California's leading modernist architects and known for the thousands of homes he designed for developer Joseph Eichler.
For a sliceness "du jour" of a delectable instant,
Paul Auster, pour son dernier roman "Man in the dark".
Eclectik 20090208 Interview Paul Auster
(starts @ 2:07 to 49:59)
Paul Auster's Website
Street Artists
through Paris and the world...
Without Banksy, how could this list exist?
Nemo Paris Janvier 2009 Rue Simon Le Franc 4Arrt.
Happy lightly, lovely, bubbly 2009 New Year!
Champagne Monsieur Le Président!
Gotan Project "La revancha del tango".
loup des bois
bois des rennes
reine des étrennes
étrennes en boîte
boîte aux lettres
lettre d'amour
One scene shows Cary Grant and Loretta Young in a conversation. Director Henry Koster staged this with the two facing each other, but both complained that this showed the "wrong" side of their faces. In order to show the "right" side, they both had to be looking screen left, which made a face-to-face talk impossible to film. Koster had a window set piece brought in, and he filmed it from outside, with both looking out in the same direction, Grant behind Young. The next day, producer Samuel Goldwyn visited the set after seeing dailies and berated Koster for shooting the scene in that manner. Koster replied by asking Young and Grant to explain why the scene was shot that way. After both told Goldwyn about the "right" and "wrong" sides of their faces, Goldwyn said "Look, if I'm only getting half a face, you're only getting half a salary!" and stormed off the set. The subject of "right" and "wrong" sides never came up again. The Bishop's Wife (1947).
PhotoCollage via atelierkism
"Un rêve sans étoiles est un rêve oublié."
"A dream without stars is like a forgotten dream."
Paul Eluard
La minute encyclopédique Paul Eluard
"Air - Quoique personne ne sache exactement ce qu'est le fond de l'air, tout le monde en parle, en général pour le trouver frais."
"Air - Although no one exactly knows what the breezly air is made of, everyone speaks about it, to simply state that we do find it freshly crisp."
La minute encyclopédique Pierre Daninos
Illustration Anna Garforth
Between superstition and wisdom, wise and prophetic owls, through history and cultures, have been feared, venerated, despised or admired while often associated with witches and the inhabitant of dark, lonely, unknown and profane places.
Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom in ancient Greece, impressed by the great eyes and solemn appearance of the Owl, honoured the night bird by making him her favourite among feathered creatures, "the Athene noctua" in the Acropolis, with the belief that a magical "inner light" gave Owls night vision. As the symbol of Athene, the Owl was a protector, accompanying Greek armies to war, and providing ornamental inspiration for their daily lives. If an Owl flew over Greek Soldiers before a battle, they took it as a sign of victory. The Little Owl also kept a watchful eye on Athenian trade and commerce from the reverse side of their coins.
Hoot, Hoot... a presage of imminent death...
Dreaming of an Owl meant that a traveller would be shipwrecked or robbed.
Another Roman superstition was that witches transformed into Owls, and sucked the blood of babies.
In Roman Mythology, Proserpine (Persephone) was transported to the underworld against her will by Pluto (Hades), god of the underworld, and was to be allowed to return to her mother Ceres (Demeter), goddess of agriculture, providing she ate nothing while in the underworld. Ascalpus, however, saw her picking a pomegranate, and told what he had seen. He was turned into an Owl for his trouble, "a sluggish Screech Owl, a loathsome bird." ...
In English literature the Barn Owl had a sinister reputation, a bird of darkness, associated with death, like the belief that the screech or call
of an Owl flying past the window of a sick person meant imminent death.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the poets Robert Blair and William Wordsworth used the Barn Owl as their favourite "bird of doom."
The Barn Owl was also used to predict the weather in England like hearing a screeching Owl was an omen for a cold weather or a coming storm, while the Custom of nailing an Owl to a barn door was current to ward off evil and lightning and persisted into the 19th century.
A preacher in the12th Century explained that the nocturna owl stole the rose, prize of beauty, letting all the other birds to punish the owl by allowing it to come out only at night.
In parts of northern England it is good luck to see an Owl.
Owls in American Indian Culture
Among the different American Indian tribes, there are many diverse beliefs regarding the Owl. Presented here are some of those beliefs.
According to an Indian legend, the 'Spedis Owl' carving was placed on a rock to serve as a protector from the 'water devils' and monsters that could pull a person into the water. The owl on a rock may have also indicated the ownership of that location for fishing.
To an Apache Indian, dreaming of an Owl signified approaching death.
Cherokee shamans valued Eastern Screech-Owls as consultants as the owls could bring on sickness as punishment.
The Cree people believed Boreal Owl whistles were summons from the spirits. If a person answered with a similar whistle and did not hear a response, then he would soon die.
The Dakota Hidatsa Indians saw the Burrowing Owl as a protective spirit for brave warriors.
The Hopis Indians see the Burrowing Owl as their god of the dead, the guardian of fires and tender of all underground things, including seed germination. Their name for the Burrowing Owl is Ko'ko, which means "Watcher of the dark" They also believed that the Great Horned Owl helped their Peaches grow.
The Inuit believed that the Short-eared Owl was once a young girl who was magically transformed into an Owl with a long beak. But the Owl became frightened and flew into the side of a house, flattening its face and beak.
They also named the Boreal Owl "the blind one", because of its tameness during daylight. Inuit children make pets of Boreal Owls.
Native Northwest coast Kwagulth people believed that owls represented both a deceased person and their newly-released soul.
The Kwakiutl Indians were convinced that Owls were the souls of people and should therefore not be harmed, for when an Owl was killed the person to whom the soul belonged would also die.
The Lenape Indians believed that if they dreamt of an Owl it would become their guardian.
The Menominee people believed that day and night were created after a talking contest between a Saw-whet Owl (Totoba) and a rabbit (Wabus). The rabbit won and selected daylight, but allowed night time as a benefit to the vanquished Owl.
The Montagnais people of Quebec believed that the Saw-whet Owl was once the largest Owl in the world and was very proud of its voice. After the Owl attempted to imitate the roar of a waterfall, the Great Spirit humiliated the Saw-whet Owl by turning it into a tiny Owl with a song that sounds like dripping water.
To the Mojave Indians of Arizona, one would become an Owl after death, this being and interim stage before becoming a water beetle, and ultimately pure air.
According to Navajo legend, the creator, Nayenezgani, told the Owl after creating it "...in days to come, men will listen to your voice to know what will be their future"
California Newuks believed that after death, the brave and virtuous became Great Horned Owls. The wicked, however, were doomed to become Barn Owls.
In the Sierras, native peoples believed the Great Horned Owl captured the souls of the dead and carried them to the underworld.
The Tlingit Indian warriors had great faith in the Owl; they would rush into battle hooting like Owls to give themselves confidence, and to strike fear into their enemies.
A Zuni legend tells of how the Burrowing Owl got its speckled plumage: the Owls spilled white foam on themselves during a ceremonial dance because they were laughing at a coyote that was trying to join the dance. Zuni mothers place an Owl feather next to a baby to help it sleep.
Abyssinia: the Hamites held the Owl to be sacred.
Afghanistan: the Owl gave Man flint and iron to make fire - in exchange, Man gave the Owl his feathers.
Africa, Central: the Owl is the familiar of wizards to the Bantu.
Africa, East: the Swahili believe the Owl brings illness to children.
Africa, Southern: Zulus know the Owl as the sorcerers' bird.
Africa, West: the messenger of wizards and witches, the Owl's cry presages evil.
Algeria: place the right eye of an Eagle Owl in the hand of a sleeping woman and she will tell all.
Arabia: the Owl is a bird of ill omen, the embodiment of evil spirits that carries off children at night.
According to an ancient Arabic treatise, from each female Owl supposedly came two eggs, one held the power to cause hair fall out and one held the power to restore it.
Arctic Circle: a little girl was turned into a bird with a long beak by magic, but was so frightened she flapped about madly and flew into a wall, flattening her face and beak. So the Owl was created.
Australia: Aborigines believe bats represent the souls of men and Owls the souls of women. Owls are therefore sacred, because your sister is an Owl - and the Owl is your sister.
Aztecs: one of their evil gods wore a Screech Owl on his head.
Babylon: Owl amulets protected women during childbirth.
Belgium: legend has it that a priest offered the Owl his church tower to live in if the bird would get rid of the rats and mice that plagued his church.
Bordeaux: throw salt in the fire to avoid the Owl's curse
Borneo: the Supreme Being turned his wife into an Owl after she told secrets to mortals.
Brittany: an Owl seen on the way to the harvest is the sign of a good yield.
Burma: during a quarrel among the birds, the Owl was jumped upon and so his face was flattened.
Cameroom: too evil to name, the Owl is known only as "the bird that makes you afraid".
Carthage: the city was captured by Agathocles of Syracuse (Southern Italy) in 310 BC. Afterward, he released Owls over his troops and they settled on their shields and helmets, signifying victory in battle.
Celtic: the Owl was a sign of the underworld.
China: the Owl is associated with lightning (because it brightens the night) and with the drum (because it breaks the silence). Placing Owl effigies in each corner of the home protect it against lightning. The Owl is a symbol of Too much Yang (positive, masculine, bright, active energy).
Croatia: The Owl is a symbol of City of Krk on the island of Krk, and is also protector of the island of Solta, where it is called "cuvitar". (Jadranka Lukacic)
Ethiopia: a man condemned to death was taken to a table on which an Owl was painted, and then expected to take his own life.
Etruria: to the Etruscans of Ancient Italy the Owl was an attribute of the god of darkness.
France: when a pregnant woman hears an Owl it is an omen that her child will be a girl.
Germany: if an Owl hoots as a child is born, the infant will have an unhappy life.
"A charm against the terrible consequences of being bitten by a mad dog was to carry the heart and right foot of an Owl under the left armpit." (Encyclopedia of Superstitions)
Greenland: the Inuit see the Owl as a source of guidance and help.
Hawaii: Owls feature in old war chants.
Incas: venerated the Owl for its beautiful eyes and head.
India: Seizures in children could be treated with a broth made from Owl eyes. Rheumatism pain was treated with a gel made from Owl meat. Owl meat could also be eaten as a natural aphrodisiac. In northern India, if one ate the eyes of an Owl, they would be able to see in the dark. In southern India, the cries of an Owl were interpreted by number: One hoot was an omen of impending death; two meant success in anything that would be started soon after; three represented a woman being married into the family; four indicated a disturbance; five denoted coming travel; six meant guests were on the way; seven was a sign of mental distress; eight foretold sudden death; and nine symbolized good fortune. In parts of the Indian sub-continent people believed that the Owl was married to the bat.
Indonesia: Around Manado, on the isle of Sulawesi, People consider Owls very wise. They call them Burung Manguni. Every time someone wants to travel, they listen to the owls. The owls make two different sounds; the first means it is safe to go, and the second means it's better to stay at home. The Minahasa, people around Manado, take those warnings very seriously. They stay at home when Manguni says so. Information thanks to Alex van Poppel
Iran: In Farsi the Little Owl (Athene Noctua) is called "Joghde-kochek". It is said that this bird brings bad luck. In Islam, it's forbidden (Haram) to eat.
Ireland: An Owl that enters the house must be killed at once, for if it flies away it will take the luck of the house with it.
Israel: in Hebrew lore the Owl represents blindness and desolation and is unclean.
Jamaica: to ward off the Owl's bad luck, cry "Salt and pepper for your mammy".
Japan: among the Ainu people the Eagle Owl is revered as a messenger of the gods or a divine ancestor. They would drink a toast to the Eagle Owl before a hunting expedition. The Screech Owl warns against danger. Though they think the Barn Owl and Horned Owl are demonic. They would nail wooden images of owls to their houses in times of famine or pestilence.
Latvia: when Christian soldiers entered his temple, the local pagan god flew away as an Owl.
Lorraine: spinsters go to the woods and call to the Owl to help them find a husband.
Luxembourg: Owls spy treasures, steal them and hoard them.
Madagascar: Owls join witches to dance on the graves of the dead.
Malawi: the Owl carries messages for witches.
Malaya: Owls eat new-born babies.
Mayarts: Owls were the messengers of the rulers of Xibalba, the Place of Phantoms.
Mexico: the Owl makes the cold North wind (the gentle South wind is made by the butterfly). The Little Owl was called "messenger of the lord of the land of the dead", and flew between the land of the living and the dead.
Middle East: the Owl represents the souls of people who have died un-avenged.
Mongolia: the Burial people hang up Owl skins to ward off evil.
Mongolia, Inner: Owls enter the house by night to gather human fingernails.
Morocco: the cry of Owls can kill infants. According to Moroccan custom, an Owl's eye worn on a string around the neck was an effective talisman to avert the "evil eye."
New Mexico: the hooting of Owls warns of the coming of witches.
New Zealand: to the Maoris it is an unlucky bird.
Newfoundland: the hoot of the Horned Owl signals the approach of bad weather.
Nigeria: in legend, Elullo, a witch and a chief of the Okuni tribe, could become an Owl.
In certain parts of Nigeria, natives avoid naming the Owl, referring to it at "the bird that makes your afraid".
Persia: wizards use arrows tipped with a bewitched man's fingernails to kill Owls.
Peru: boiled Owl is said to be a strong medicine.
Poland: Polish folklore links Owls with death. Girls who die unmarried turn into doves; girls who are married when they die turn into Owls.
An owl cry heard in or near a home usually meant impending death, sickness, or other misfortune.
An old story tells how the Owl does not come out at during the day because it is too beautiful, and would be mobbed by other, jealous birds.
Puerto Rico: The Owl is called "Mucaro". Back in the 1800s, the people from the mountain coffee plantations used to blame the little mucaro for the loss of coffee grains. The belief was that the coffee was part of the owls' diet, and many owls were killed.
There are old folklore songs on the subject, one goes like this:
"Poor Mucaro
you're a gentleman
you just want to eat a rat,
then the rat set up a trap,
he eats the coffee grains
and people blame you."
Romania: the souls of repentant sinners flew to heaven in the guise of a Snowy Owl.
Russia: hunters carry Owl claws so that, if they are killed, their souls can use them to climb up to Heaven.
Tartar shamen of Central Russia could assume Owl shapes.
Kalmucks hold the Owl to be sacred because one once saved the life of Genghis Khan.
Samoa: the people are descended from an Owl.
Saxony: the Wend people say that the sight of an Owl makes child-birth easier.
Scotland: it's bad luck to see an Owl in daylight.
Shetland Isles: a cow will give bloody milk if scared by an Owl.
Siberia: the Owl is a helpful spirit.
Spain: legend has it that the Owl was once the sweetest of singers, until it saw Jesus crucified. Ever since it has shunned daylight and only repeats the words 'cruz, cruz' ('cross, cross').
Sri Lanka: the Owl is married to the bat.
Sumeria: The goddess of death, Lilith, was attended by Owls.
Sweden: the Owl is associated with witch's.
Tangiers: Barn Owls are the clairvoyants of the Devil.
Transylvania: farmers used to scare away Owls by walking round their fields naked.
Ural Mountains: Snowy Owls were made to stay behind while other birds migrate as a punishment for deception.
U.S.A: if you hear an Owl-cry you must return the call, or else take off an item of clothing and put it on again inside-out.
Louisiana: Owls are old people and should be respected.
Louisiana Cajuns (individuals who share the French-based culture originally brought to Louisiana by exiles from the French colony of Acadia in the 18th century) thought you should get up from bed and turn your left shoe upside down to avert disaster, if you hear an Owl calling late at night.
Illinois: kill an Owl and revenge will be visited upon your family.
Wales: an Owl heard among houses means an unmarried girl has lost her virginity.
If a woman is pregnant and she alone hears an owl hoot outside her house at night then her child will be blessed.
In Welsh mythology, Blodeuedd, a woman made from flowers, is cursed by her husband's uncle, turning her into an owl. "You are never to show your face to the light of day, rather you shall fear other birds; they will be hostile to you, and it will be their nature to maul and molest you wherever they find you."
"Three is a charm."
