The world of the Fog Maiden is filled with magic. Each night she visits Earth with her cat Token. The Fog Maiden first appeared in the 1976 children’s book When Everyone Was Fast Asleep and was featured in a second book Songs of the Fog Maiden, both written and illustrated by American author Tomie de Paola.
P.S. The crocodiles danced a quadrille and the peacocks waltzed with doves and we all sang, “Tra la, tra la, too lay, too lay, hop-a-doodle, hip-a-doodle, flip-a-doodle day.”
The fortune teller from Zoltar Speaks, the magical fortune-telling machine in Big. For the 1988 romantic comedy film, the one-of-a-kind machine was placed at Rye Playland, an amusement park located in Rye, New York. Tom Hanks stars as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish to be “big” and is then aged to adulthood overnight.
Today is Election Day in the U.S. Want to make a wish?
The protagonist of a series of popular children’s books by the same name, written by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey. The books feature a curious brown monkey (or ape, since he has no tail) named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by the evil, nameless Man with the Yellow Hat to live with him in a big city. The first book was published in 1941.
Salvador Dalí was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter known for his striking and bizarre imagery. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. He is best known for the melting clocks of The Persistence of Memory (1931).
I decided to represent Dalí’s eccentric manner with 8-bit butterfly wings à la Landscape with Butterflies (1956). Also, today is the end of U.S. Daylight Saving Time. Time to embrace perpetual darkness and “fall back.”
The main character of The Amazing Screw-On Head, a comic book written and drawn by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics in 2002. In the 1860s, Screw-On Head is an agent for President Abraham Lincoln. A brilliant animated pilot, based on the plot of the comic, was made by the Sci-Fi Channel in 2006.
In Haitian Vodou, he is the intermediary between the loa and humanity. He is the master linguist, the trickster, warrior and the personal messenger of destiny. He stands at a spiritual crossroads and gives (or denies) permission to speak with the spirits of Guinee. Papa Legba’s colors are red and black (as worshipped in New Orleans voodoo rituals).
A personification of death. The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onward, came to be shown as a skeletal figure in a hooded black cloak carrying a large scythe.
A sacred figure venerated in Mexico, probably a mix of Mesoamerican and Catholic beliefs. The name literally translates to “Holy Death” or “Saint Death.” A reverence toward death can be seen in the widespread Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead. Catholic elements of that celebration include the use of skeletons to remind people of their mortality.
Note: Today is also All Souls’ Day.
Catrina figures have been a staple of Mexican imagery since printmaker José Guadalupe Posada created a zinc etching called La Calavera Catrina (The Elegant Skull) in 1913. His skeletal parody of a Mexican upper-class woman is often incorporated into artistic manifestations of the Day of the Dead, such as altars and calavera costumes.
Note: Today is also All Saints’ Day.
She-Ra – No. 258
A fictional heroine in the Filmation cartoon and series of toys produced by Mattel called She-Ra: Princess of Power. She is the alter ego of Princess Adora and the twin sister of He-Man. She-Ra was intended to appeal to young girls in the same way that He-Man appealed to young boys. She wielded her power through the Sword of Protection.
Remember the pink Crystal Castle playset? My sister still owns this She-Ra accessory. Her daughter plays with it now.