In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is often portrayed as the son of the goddess Venus, with a father rarely mentioned. His Greek counterpart is Eros. Cupid is often portrayed as a nude (or sometimes diapered) winged boy or baby armed with a bow and arrows. These days we know him as a symbol of a certain commercialized holiday popularized by a greeting card company.
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.”
A culturally influential German-language novelist born on this day in 1883. Kafka is most famous his 1915 novella “The Metamorphosis” featuring Gregor Samsa, who wakes up to find that he has been transformed into a giant insect-like creature. This 8-bit Kafka character is based on Samsa, who was the fictional alter ego of Kafka.
A fairy character from J. M. Barrie’s 1904 play and 1911 novel Peter and Wendy. Tinker Bell has appeared in multiple film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, including the 1953 animated Walt Disney picture Peter Pan. She is one of Disney’s most important branding icons.
The elephant-headed Hindu deity is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and patron of the arts and sciences. He is associated with intellect, wisdom and writing. Like Vishnu, he has an extra set of arms.
A cosmic entity created by H. P. Lovecraft. Who better to help us celebrate Earth Day and get us to demonstrate our commitment to survive on this small planet.
Metatron – No. 557
Metatron is an archangel in Judaism. According to Jewish medieval apocrypha, he is Enoch, ancestor of Noah, transformed into an angel. There are no references to Metatron as an angel in the Jewish Tanakh or Christian scriptures (New and Old Testament). Although he is mentioned in a few brief passages in the Talmud, Metatron appears primarily in medieval Jewish mystical texts and other post-scriptural esoteric and occult sources. In Rabbinic tradition, he is the highest of the angels and serves as the celestial scribe.
While he does have a cube (for understanding the tree of life?), Metatron is not to be confused with the sentient robotic lifeform Megatron (of Transformers fame), though both are described as having formidable power. Metatron can also be found in Megami Tensei role-playing video games. Happy New Year!