paradox publication

13
featuring mayan and aztecs traditions still used today in the world the tradition of sati in india The traditional practice of widows immolating themselves sokushinbutsu The torturous self mummification of buddhist monks inside Yanomamo Ash eating Japanese Geisha Concubines eunuchs in Anci ent China An eCCenTrIC CUlTUrAl mAGAzIne U.S. $2.50 UK. £6.50

Upload: nancy-galvez-graphic-designer

Post on 10-Mar-2016

228 views

Category:

Documents


1 download

DESCRIPTION

Paradox is a modern magazine based on views of traditions, cultures, and beliefs that have eccentrically evolved throughout centuries. The publication covers bizarre festivals, laws, the paranormal, and personal stories. Paradox’s masthead was designed to be bold, unique and fresh to engage viewers, and offer a new perspective. The masthead was developed with the concept of paradox, which is defined as senseless logic. A serif typeface was altered for the creation of Paradox, and the layout was designed with a sans serif typeface. The magazine consists of high–contrast images that match the publication’s subject.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Paradox publication

featuring mayan and aztecs traditions still used today in the world

the tradition ofsati in indiaThe traditional practice of widows immolating themselves

sokushinbutsuThe tor turous self mummif ication of buddhist monks

insideYanomamo Ash eatingJapanese GeishaConcubineseunuchs in Ancient China

An eCCenTrIC CUlTUrAl mAGAzIne

U.S. $2.50 UK. £6.50

Page 2: Paradox publication
Page 3: Paradox publication

introducing the new, fresh and innovative

Bacon Flavored diet coke

Try the new diet coke with bacon! Available online!

an eccentric cultural magazine

Paradox headquarters2770 zanker road, Suite 203, San Jose , ca 95164P 408. 449. 0307 F 408. 449. 0309 email: info @ paradoxmag.com website: www.paradoxmag.com

subscriPtionsSubscr iptions are $15.95 for a yearYou can send payments to: Paradox, PO Box 640012, San Jose , ca 95164-0010or visit www.paradoxmag.com

copyr ight©Paradox, inc . Paradox® is a registered trademark. all r ights reser ved. the publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or par t, without the express wr itten permission of the publisher. While ever y ef-for t is made to ensure the information in Paradox is correct, changes can occur which may affect the accuracy of the copy, for which Paradox holds no responsibi l it ies.

creative director nancy galvez

Managing editorKhloe Wintour

editor in chief Jane Shin Pastore

coPy editorsmichael russell, Dj mick, Sarah Winkler, J. Frater, camile Ventura, amy tam, Karen Diaz, gill talbott

contributing writersDiet coke, Dulex co., Daily mail, nicholas cruz, lee Jones, armando De la Fuente

PhotograPhygetty images, Stock images, Danny Hsu, Jarred gazarian, Harris Davis

Photo editorcorey towers, lisa love, lee Jones

PublishersJade Smith, Sean cruz, James Price, Kevin Patch, Sarah marshall, James Scott, richard mars

research chiefDiana goodman

Public relations directormardi Digrass

Page 4: Paradox publication

featuring the 13 year – old girl who’s allergic to almost everything

deja vu or deja senti?Strange phenomena of the mind origins

foot bindingIt’s histor y in Chinese culture then and today

insideWeird FestivalsAquagenic Ur ticariaHistory of GeishaTibetan Sky Burial

An eCCenTrIC CUlTUrAl mAGAzIne

U.S. $2.50 UK. £6.50

featuring the history of halloween and the ancient celtic connections

odd bod mobbneck stretching with rings andthe padaung women

blood fetishismThe most common identif ied vampire fetishists practiced

insideGloomy SundayApotemnophiliaThe Poltergeist CurseSpontaneous Human Combustion

An eCCenTrIC CUlTUrAl mAGAzIne

U.S. $2.50 UK. £6.50

concubines of ancient chinathe origin to the achinese emperor

torturous self MuMMificationa tantric ritual from tang china

japanese geisha historY: now & thena look inside the origin of the geishas

tiberian skY burialthe ancient sky burial by monks

the 13 – Year old allergic to everYthingthe story of a rare skin condition

stonehengethe strange myster y behind this landmark

blood fetishisMthe difference behind life blood–drinkers

58507278809093

cOntent

departments

March 2012/ vol. 1

the life and making of a

mannequiin society

20

regular columns05 editors letter18 odd bod Mob28 sweet addictions32 interesting word40 weird festivals 64 horoscope

subscribe now for a liMited tiMe!1 year subscription for $14.99 with a free complementary gift inside!

get Your own 4 gb usb flash drive!available in black, red and blue!

for more information visit our off icial site at: www.paradoxmag.com

free gift

!save over 50% off the newsstand price!

Page 5: Paradox publication

the history of halloween

the celtic connection descend of the ancient fire festival samhain and halloween today

06

have a question? feel free to contact us!

Write us at: Paradox, PO Box 640012, San Jose , ca 95164– 0010

call toll Free line: (408) 449 – 0307 email Jackie at [email protected]

if you didn’t know paradox is . . .

a seeMinglY absurd or self–contra-dictorY stateMent that when inves-tigated or explained MaY prove to be well founded or true

features

traditional &modern gambling

97

deja vu or deja senti?Strange phenomena of the mind origins

the tradition of satithe traditional Hindu practice of a widow the historY of footbindingthe History behind the ancient chinese ritual

tiberian skY burialthe ancient sky burial by monks

the poltergeist cursethe story behind the movie

necrophilia the manifestation of necrophilia

sepukkua form of practice by the samurai warr iors

33475160687897

Page 6: Paradox publication

déjà vu the exper ience of being cer tain that you have exper ienced or seen a new situation previously — as though the event has already happened or is repeating itself . the exper ience is usual ly accompanied by a strong sense of famil iar ity andand strangeness. the “previous” exper ience is usual ly attr ibuted to a dream, but sometimes there is a firm sense that it has truly occurred in the past.

déjà vécuDéjà vécu is what most people are exper iencing when they think they are exper iencing deja vu. Déjà vu is the sense of having seen something before , whereas déjà vécu is the exper ience of having seen an event before , but in great detai l – such as recognizing smells and sounds. this is also usual ly accompanied by a ver y strong feel ing of knowing what is going to come next.

déjà sentithe phenomenon of having “already felt” something. this is exclusively a mental phenomenon, in which seldom remains in your memor y afterwards. the recollection is always star ted by another per son’s voice , or by my own verbalized thought, or by what and mental ly verbal ize dur ing the abnormal state .

déjà visitéa less common exper ience and it involves an uncanny knowledge of a new place . For example , you may know your way around a new town or a landscape despite having never been there , and knowing that it is impossible for you to have this knowledge . For this reason, Déjà visité is about spatial and geographical relationships, while déjà vécu is about temporal occurrences.

presque vuPresque vu is ver y similar to the “tip of the tongue” sensation – it is the strong feel ing that you are about to exper ience an epiphany thoughthe epiphany seldom comes. the sensation of presque vu can be ver y disor ienting.

phenomena of the MindBy ally Stern

the mind is a wonderful thing – there is so much about it which remains a mystery to this day. science is able to describe strange phenomena, but can’t account for their origins. while most of us are famil iar with one or two on this l ist, many others are mostly unknown outside of the psychological realm.

ParaDOx marcH | 01

Page 7: Paradox publication

Paradox is a publication on eccentric views of beliefs, and cultural topics. Paradox was designed to be bold and express its individuality. the magazine is full of self – contradictory and stories that in reality expresses truths.

Why create a magazine? i ask the readers, why not? Paradox was created for readers interested in the everyday life facts that we wouldn’t normally be aware of, yet it will intrigue and cause skepticism. it will leave the reader pondering and coming back for more curiosity.

i believe that deep down inside we all have a curiosity for the unknown, and crave for knowledge. indeed, this is exactly what paradox will tr y to achieve and bring to our fellow viewers.

the magazine will cover about every relevant subject possible. Such as gender, ethnicity, sex, culture. this month the magazine will be covering an ar ticle on the geisha histor y, ancient china concubines and naked sushi. now take your cup of coffee and drink up, it’s going to be a while.

cheers,

nancy galvez

designer and publisher

the sensation of presque vu can be verY disorienting and distracting.

jamais vua famil iar situation which is not recognized. it is often considered to be the opposite ofdéjà vu. the obser ver does not recognize the situation despite knowing rationally that they have been there before . it is commonly explained as when a per son momentar i ly doesn’t recognize a per son, word, or place that they know.

l’esprit de l’escalierthe sense of thinking of a clever comeback when it is too late . the phrase can be used to descr ibe a r iposte to an insult , or any clever remark that comes to mind too late . the phenomenon is usual ly accompanied by a feel ing of regret at having not thought of the r iposte when it was most needed.

prosopagnosiaa phenomenon in which a per son is unable to recognize faces of people or objects that they should know. People exper iencing this disorder are usual ly able to use their other senses to recognize people — such as a per son’s perfume, the shape or style of their hair, the sound of their voice , or even their gait .

fregoli delusiona rare brain phenomenon in which a per son holds the belief that different people are , in fact, the same per son in a var iety of disguises. it is often associated with paranoia and the belief that the per son in disguise is tr ying to per secute them.

capgras delusionthe phenomenon in which a per son believes that a close fr iend or family member has been replaced by an identical looking impostor. this could be tied in to the old belief that babies were stolen and replaced by changelings in medieval folklore , as well as the modern idea of al iens taking over the bodies of people on ear th to l ive amongst us for reasons unknown.

hello, welcome to paradox!

this is Your editor speaking.let’s talk about what paradox reallY is and whY we’re here.

ParaDOx marcH | 04ParaDOx marcH | 03

Page 8: Paradox publication

our modern celebration of halloween is a very distant descendant of the ancient celtic fire festival called samhain. it was the biggest and most significant holiday of the celtic year. the celts lived more than 2,000 years ago in what is now great britain, ireland, and france. their new year began on november 1.

celtic legends tell us that on this night, the hear th fires in ireland were extinguished, and then re– lit from the central fire of the Druids at tlachtg. upon this sacred bonfire the Druids burned animals.

the extinguishing of the hear th fires symbolized the “dark half ” of the year. the re–kindling from the Druidic fire was symbolic of the returning life that was hoped for in the spring.

in the celtic belief system, turning points, such as the turning of one year into the next were seen as magical times. this was the time when the “veil between the worlds” was its thinnest, and the dead communicated with the living.

the celts believed that when people died, they went to a land of eternal youth and happiness called tir nan Og. they did not have the concept of heaven and hell that the christian church later brought into the land.

the celts did not have demons and devils in their belief system. christians describe Halloween as a festival in which the celts sacrificed human beings to the devil or some evil demonic god of death. they believe in gods, giants, monsters, witches, spirits, and elves, but these were not considered evil.

it is impor tant to distinguish between paganism and Satanism. Pagans are people who believe in more than one god. modern day pagans call themselves Wiccans. Pagans are quick to emphasize that they don’t worship Satan. the devil is a Judeo–christian concept, because one has to believe in a single god.

The History of

halloween & theceltic connection By Dennis rupper

ParaDOx marcH | 06

the celts did believe in gods,giants, Monsters, witches, spirits, and elves, but these were not considered evil, so Much as dangerous.

Page 9: Paradox publication

where did costuMing coMe froM?

We do have records of costumed processions in a much later time (christian times), but these costumed processions were nOt limited to the Halloween holiday.

the earliest actual historic practice seems to have been poor folk in masks and costumes going from house to house. they would put on a simple play or musical performance in return for food and drink. this practice is called mumming or guising and has no discernable connection to the celts.

You may be surprised to learn that your parents or grandparents know nothing about costuming on Halloween. there were lots of pranks on Hallow-een, but they know nothing of dressing up. Folklorist tad tuleja says that costume par ties are frequently mentioned in the early decades of the 1900s (but nothing about going door–to–door in costume).

the earliest known reference in print dates only to 1938 in an ar ticle in the los angeles times entitled “Halloween Pranks Plotted by Youngsters of South-land,” los angeles times (los angeles, california), October 30, 1938, :

“trick or treat!” is the Halloween hijacking game hundreds of Southern california youngsters will play tomorrow night as they practice streamlined versions of traditional allhallows pranks.”

the term is actually american, not european! in america in the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was a custom of playing pranks on Halloween. this custom appears to have come from immigrants from ireland and Scotland which had a practice called mischief night.

the pleasant fiction was that such rambunctiousness was the work of “fairies,” “elves,” “witches” and “gob-lins.” that’s the “trick” par t of Halloween.

where did the “treat” part coMe froM?

By the turn of the century, Halloween had become an ever more destructive way to “let off steam” for crowded and poor urban dwellers. Vandalism that had been limited to tipping outhouses; , and switching shop signs.

the nighttime terrorism and murders by the Ku Klux Klan reached their apex during this decade. neighborhood committees and local city clubs then mobilized to organize safe and alternatives to vandalism. good children were encouraged to go door to door and receive treats from homes and thereby keeping troublemakers away.

By the 1930’s, these “beggar’s nights” were enor-mously popular and being practiced nationwide, with the “trick or treat” greeting widespread.

how did witches becoMe connected tohalloween?

Once the Druids were branded as evil, their prac-tices were looked at as “witchcraft.” Followers of the old religion were persecuted, went into hiding, and were branded as witches who worshipped Satan or the Devil.

this is why european witchcraft became connect-ed with Satan, whereas witchcraft in other areas of the world is animistic in nature. October 31 be-came known as a witch holiday. it was called “the Witches’ Sabbath” by witch hunters and eventually european witches began celebrating October 31 as one of their great Sabbaths held during the year.

Halloween celebrations did not become popular in the united States until the late 1800s. it appears to have arrived after 1840, when large numbers of im-migrants arrived from ireland and Scotland. it must be said that “Halloween” as we know it in america, with all the folk stories and urban legends attached to it, is a distinctly american phenomenon.

the earliest actual historic practice seeMs to have been poor folk in Masks and cos-tuMes going froM house to house. theY would put on a siMple plaY or Musical per-forMance in return for food and drink.

the actual phrase “trick or treat” is not druidic!

ParaDOx marcH | 08

Page 10: Paradox publication

naked sushiProvided by Fish Bar Sushi

fish – bar features superior quality, freshly rolled & cut– to– order sushi, created by your personal sushi chef!

all the f inest offerings of sushi, sashimi and authentic japanese cuis ine! host your own in-home sushi party by selecting from already successful dinner packages, or by choosing your own sushi favorites to create your personal-ized menu offering!

this subdivision of food play is originally an obscure Japanese practice that has attracted considerable inter-national media attention. as a result of being served on a human body, the temperature of the sushi or sashimi comes closer to body temperature. Our sushi nevertouches the skin of the body, but placed carefully on tea leaves and leaf platters.

nyotaimori is a coveted and luxurious practice in Japan, generally reserved only for the privileged elite. it is ac-cepted as an “ar t form” and par t of the geisha traditions dating back hundreds of years.

“Female body presentation”, often referred to as “body sushi,” is the practice of eating sashimi or sushi from the body of a woman, typically nude, with sensual embellish-ment of flowers, candles and of course, the sushi.

traditional “nYotaiMori” kai – sekki dinner “oMakase” chefs choice

8–12 courses including appetizers (min. 8 guests)

live execuive Sushi chef with nude Sushi model (implied Full nude model) and chefs choice meal. Your sushi chef will create his own unique culinar y works of ar t, putting into action, his repretoire of skills ser ved with Premium Sake, Beer & Paired Wine. $175 per person

for more information on our live sushi buffet menu visit www.fishbarsushi.com or call toll free: 888 . 567. chef local hotline: 562. 606. 6565 find us in fb: jode @ foodchick.net

www.fishbarsushi.coM

be the first to have your own private sushi bar and chef at your chosen event location. you don’t need to travel to the sushi bar, we bring the bar to you!!

our Most popular package:

live sushi chef & nyotaimori artistsushi Model • hostess/waitress customized menu of sushi rolls hand rolls & nigiri sushi

call for quote .

ParaDOx marcH | 09

Page 11: Paradox publication

they would perform for the nobility and some even became concubines to the em-peror. it was in the late 16th centur y that the fir st walled – in pleasure quar ters were built in Japan. like so many aspects of Japanese culture , they were modelled after those of ming Dynasty china. after they were relocated in the mid–1600s, they became known as Shimabara (after a for tress in Kyushu).

meanwhile a marshy patch of land (Yo-shi –wara) in edo had been designated as the site for a brothel distr ict. Brothels were not allowed to operate outside the distr ict and str ict rules applied. among these were that no customers were allowed to stay in a brothel more than 24 hours; cour tesans were to wear simple dyed kimonos; and any suspicious or unknown visitors were to be repor ted to the Office of the city governor.

With Japan enjoying a long– awaited period of peace following centuries of civil war, many samurai found that society no longer had such need of their ser vices. it’s thought that many daughters of these former ly fami-lies became cour tesans, with the result that quar ters such as Yoshiwara and Shimabara were places of refinement and culture .

Peace also brought an increase in prosperity and the r ise of the merchant class. add that to the presence of ar tists and free of the str ictures of the outside wor ld, and it truly was something of an adult amusement park, with culture thrown in for good measure.

Within the hanamichi there were different classes of cour tesans, and over the decades the hierarchy standards expected of them changed many times, not always for the better. the situation ended in the mid–18th centur y to the extent that a new form of

by sarah reynold

geisha have their roots in female entertainers such as the saburuko of the 7th century and the shirabyoshi, who emerged around the early 13th century.

enter tainer emerged in Kyoto and Osaka. the ear liest geiko were men, while the fir st females, who appeared shor tly after, were odoriko (dancers).

Female geisha became popular enough to steal clients from the cour tesans, and in it was decided to star t a registration system, to keep them under control and force them to pay taxes. itstr ictly controlled their dress, behaviour and their movements became so so successful that it quickly became the norm at hanamichi across Japan.

these str ict rules allowed the geisha to flourish as ar tists and enter tainers. though more simply dressed than the cour tesans, they became regarded as fashion leaers. But many aspects of the lifestyle itself were less glamorous. Such practices were eradicated after Wor ld War ii and the geisha profession went into a steady decline.

today, if geisha are hired to enter tain at a pr ivate par ty outside the upper eschelons of society, they are most likely to be sea-soned veterans, more akin to your favorite aunt or even grandmother.

the historY of geisha

Young girls were sold into the geisha life bY their faMilies until the Mid – 20th centurY and were of-ten subject to the ritual of ‘Mizu – age,’ wherebY their virginitY was sold to the highest bidder.

ParaDOx marcH | 12

Page 12: Paradox publication

love.a one of a lifeTime experience.

Protect yourself.

Page 13: Paradox publication