Monday, July 29, 2013

More Salt

(c) Dan Piraro - used by permission
If you're one of those folks that grab the comics section of the newspaper first, then you are probably familiar with Dan Piraro and his daily cartoon, Bizarro. Dan sees the world a little differently, and we're glad of that! Every once in a while, a mermaid finds herself in one of Dan's artworks. On the right is a recent example.

Dan's blog is a great place to learn about the back-story of his comics. In the blog post for this cartoon, Dan tells of the voice-mail message he received from a well-known mermaid.

Fans of Bizarro can connect with Dan on Facebook and Twitter. Want more Bizarro? Download the iPhone app!

Pass the salt, Dan, and thank you for allowing me to share your work with my readers!


Mermaid Swimming School

Recently, we learned about the Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy. Here is another blog post on the subject, which includes a 1.5 minute video.


Underwater Love

ABC News brings us the story of how Mermaid Melissa, a professional mermaid from Florida, found Merman Antonio. After working together in a mermaid show for a short time, the two fell in love.

Yahoo has the full story, as well as the video from ABC News.

You can learn more about Mermaid Melissa in my blog post from February, 2012.


Best US Cities for Mermaids

Are mermaids coming to shore to live with land people, or are some land people finding out that they have the souls of mermaids or mermen? You read the mermaid stories, you watch the videos of merfolk swimming in the sea, and you think to yourself, "That's me!"

Once you discover your mer persona, your joy may turn sour as you remember that you are landlocked. Are you living much too far from the seas that call your name?

So, what are the best US cities for mermaids and mermen to live? Estately has the answers.

Estately has posted an article which details their 13 best US cities for merfolk to live. If your favorite isn't listed, let them know in the comments.


Best wishes and starfishes,
-Mermaid Cynthia
cynthia (at) goldmermaid.com

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Monday, July 22, 2013

Mysteries

Columnists are continuing to speak out on the staged mermaid documentaries broadcast by Animal Planet. In an article entitled, 'Mysteries of the deep blue sea', columnist Wong Wei-Shen makes her opinions known.

"The question of why mankind has repeatedly accepted these conspiracies and then later be let down by the 'truth' has often crossed my mind."

Check out the entire article over at The Star Online.


Mako Mermaids Trailer

Be sure to mark your calendar, block out some time... The Australian television program, Mako Mermaids, comes to Netflix on July 26th. For those of us outside the broadcast area for the show, this is big news.

If you can't wait, swim on over to YouTube and watch this Mako Mermaids music video trailer. Comments are most welcome: Do you like the music in the video? Do you like the scenes that were selected for the video?

Learn more about the show at the Network 10 Australia web site.


Creature Feature

Meanwhile, over at Pitch Dark, the latest Creature Feature is all about mermaids. The short article by EpicGirl includes a photo of three Weeki Wachee Springs mermaids, and a number of mermaid themed novels are shown.

"You don’t see many myths about half-lobster ladies or half-eel ladies, but stick a half-fish in there and I’m hooked."

The novels shown at the end of the article include 'Forgive My Fins', a book that I have talked about in a previous blog post.


Invisibility Wetsuit

In the past few years, shark attacks have been a major issue along the coast of Western Australia. To reduce the dangers, scientists have been working with designers to produce two new wetsuits. The first is designed to camouflage the swimmer or diver, while the other diverts the sharks away.

Read the whole story, and watch the short video, at The Guardian UK. Who might take these ideas to mermaid tails?


Best wishes and starfishes,
-Mermaid Cynthia
cynthia (at) goldmermaid.com

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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

News Shell 16

Until recently, mermaids kept themselves hidden. The secret of their existance was closely guarded...

Not any more! These days we're all over the news. Here are just some of the recent stories, collected for you in today's News Shell.


School for Mermaids
News Shell - Photo by Patrick Murray

I am sure that you would never be late for class if you were a student at the Philippines Mermaid Swimming Academy. As expected, the academy is proving to be quite popular.

Explore the photo gallery, and learn more about the academy, in this article from the UK web site, Metro.

You can also see a photo of some of the mermaids at ABS-CBN News.


Ancient Underwater Forest

You may have seen this story already, but just in case you haven't: Scuba divers have discovered a 50,000 year old Cypress forest in the Gulf of Mexico. Sediment had burried the forest, but portions may have been uncovered by Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.

Swim on over to io9 and check out the details. More on this story below.


Mermaids of Weeki Wachee

This week's Rookie Magazine 'Saturday Links' feature a short article on the Mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Florida. The park has been in the news quite a bit lately, and rightly so!

Further down on the page is another look at the underwater forest that I just mentioned. 


Flap Over Fins

I'm sure this happens far too often. A mermaid in Tampa, Florida has been told that she cannot swim in the Fishhawk Ranch community pool due to their no-fin policy. What would a mermaid be without her fins?

Read more about the adventures of mermaid Eden Sirene in this article from Fox 13 Tampa Bay.


Mermaid Vanessa

Actresses Vanessa Hudgens and Kim Hidalgo recently appeared as mermaids for a photo shoot. Kim posted a photo to Instagram which you can see over at OMG by Yahoo.


Mermaids Never Miss Their Legs

Over at Everything-2, a mermaid collector ponders an important point: What will happen to my mermaid collection when I die?

The article gets this week's award for the longest title, "Mermaids Never Miss Their Legs In The Sea Because Mermaids Know That There Are Better Ways To Move Through The Ocean Than Kicking." It might take a mermaid or a free-diver to say all of that in one breath.

Do you have an extensive mermaid collection? Tell me about it!


Best wishes and starfishes,
-Mermaid Cynthia
cynthia (at) goldmermaid.com

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Monday, July 8, 2013

Mermaid Farasha

Thank you all for dropping by! We will be meeting a very talented mermaid today. Please join me in welcoming to the blog Mermaid Farasha, Las Vegas' Desert Siren!

Cynthia: Welcome, Farasha, tell us a little about yourself.
Farasha: First I would like to thank you Mermaid Cynthia for having me as your guest on your blog. I'm Farasha, a Siren based in Las Vegas, Nevada. I grew up in Oxnard, California about 60 miles north of Santa Monica and 45 miles South of Santa Barbara. As a child I always felt a sense of peace living so near the ocean. The sea was a place where everyone in my family especially my father would go to dream, swim and meditate if you will. So the profession of mermaiding was a natural progression for me.


Cynthia: How did you come to join the mermaid community?
Farasha: I have always been drawn to the ancient myths and faerie tales from around the world and wanted to become one with the images of feminine power and magic. So this calling brought me to the Mermaid Awards and convention held here in Las Vegas in 2011. I was so inspired by all the mermaids from across the globe who were making a living as aquatic models and performers, I found my second calling!

Cynthia: You are also a belly-dancer and vocalist?
Farasha: Yes, belly dancing has been another medium in which I could express myself as an Egyptian Goddess or a Mermaid Queen. I got my start in Belly Dancing while living in Boston, I was fortunate to have studied with some of the best dancers in the business; Najmat, Katia, and Phaedra of Boston and Jehan Kamal of NYC. I moved to Vegas after landing a performance contract at the Aladdin/Desert Passage. Singing has always been a passion of mine, but I have yet to perform live. I'm currently studying opera and will soon incorporate singing into performances.
Mermaid Farasha

Cynthia: You produced a mermaid inspired show in Las Vegas?
Farasha: My partner and I produced a Mermaid inspired Belly dance cabaret show in November of last year. We had so much fun that we want to have another show featuring both aquatic performers and dancers.

Cynthia: Have you done any environmental or charity work?
Farasha: I'm not affiliated with any particular charity or environmental groups, but would love to bring awareness to inner city children about the beauty and magic of the ocean and it's animal inhabitants. I feel that being a mermaid performer inspires an interest and curiosity in people about the sea, the forests, the desert- it stirs up an ancient calling when humanity was once one with nature. That is my activism for now, through my art.

Cynthia: What do you enjoy doing when you are not mermaiding?
Farasha: When not mermaiding, I immerse myself in mermaid movies and books - especially the mermaid books on myths of Africa and her diasporas. I also love to skate, preferably at the beach when I can.

Cynthia: Do you have any special stories from your mermaid adventures?
Farasha: I have a Mermagical story for you... While out on a Mermaid shoot at a Ventura, CA beach with my merman-for-life photographer, high tide was coming in and I was pulled with every wave into the ocean with an eerie yet comforting force. As much as I wanted to leave with the tide and go for a swim in the cold water, my husband brought me back to shore and yelled to the ocean, "You can't have her just yet!" We laughed because I was so ready to swim out to sea in my tail and all...


Cynthia: What else you would like to share with us?
Farasha: Just want to say that I think about mermaiding 24/7 and I'm working to make it a full-time career. With faith and hard work I'll reach my goals, I have performance proposals out now, keep your fingers crossed. Thank you.

Cynthia: Thank you very much for chatting with us today, Farasha! Best wishes to you as you follow your passions. Watch for Mermaid Farasha splashing around on Facebook, and find out more about her belly dancing at her web site.


The Marked Ones

Looking to add a mermaid themed title to your summer reading list? I have a suggestion! The Marked Ones is the first title in the Fairytail series by author S.K Munt.  I asked Ms. Munt to tell us a little about the book.
I guess I'd like readers to know that this is a Fairytail - but for adults. It's not erotica, by any means, but it is for those of us caught somewhere between Twilight and Fifty Shades, lol.
I actually came up with the idea for this book while I was lying on the ocean on a flat day on my surfboard, and a Tiger shark approached me. There's actually a scene in the book where this happens to the heroine. I've been obsessed with mermaids my entire life, but I wanted to create an entire world for them. I brainstormed this for six months before I even put pen to paper, and wrote the trilogy within three months.  -S.K Munt
The Marked Ones is currently available on Amazon for Kindle readers. If you don't have a Kindle, free Kindle apps are available for PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone.

"Mermaids have three purposes in life; To breed, to protect their environment and to keep the knowledge of their existence limited to pages in fairy tale books. Ivyanne Court is the personification of a mermaid princess - Breathtaking, pure, kind, sharp and strong, she is the envy of everyone she has ever met, human and mer alike. And yet she hasn't known a day’s happiness since she came of age and was forced to abandon the human boy she loved, Lincoln Grey..."

Read the full description of The Marked Ones on Amazon, or better yet, dive right in and read the book!


Best wishes and starfishes,
-Mermaid Cynthia
cynthia (at) goldmermaid.com

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Monday, July 1, 2013

Mako Mermaids on Netflix

Currently, my most popular blog post by direct link is Mako Mermaids, published on March 19th of this year. As you may know, Mako Mermaids is a new Australian television program, and is the sequel to the very popular H2O: Just Add Water.

The new show adds a merman to the mix, as three new mermaids find themselves the guardians of the mysterious Mako Island.

I have been looking forward to seeing this new show, so I was pleased to discover that Netflix has exclusive rights to the show, and will begin making it available to members on July 26th.

Read all the splashy details in these articles from Coming Soon and Deadline.


Mermaid Parade

The annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade was in danger of being cancelled this year due to a lack of funding. With the help of Kickstarter and a number of very generous donors, the parade went on as scheduled.

The Observer has the full story in an article entitled, March of the Mermaids: Coney Bounces Back With Fabulously Fishy Parade.

If you attended the parade, send me a photo or two! I will present them in future articles.


Get a Tail

Mermaid fans everywhere are discovering that they too can live out their mermaid dreams. Those that are not prepared to create their own tails are turning to businesses that specialize in mermaid tails and accessories.

Recently, the web site Randommization featured an article on one such vendor, Mermaid Shelly and Shell Tail Labs.

For more vendor options, swim on over to my Tail Makers article from March, 2012. If your favorite vendor is not listed, please send me an email at the address below.


Treasure Hunt News

No correct entries have been received to the Treasure Hunt contest which was announced on May 20th. As such, the contest is being extended. The first to submit a correct answer will be declared the winner.

See the complete contest rules for more details. The rules page also provides the clues necessary to complete the contest.


Scarborough Photo of the Week

A Steam-punk Invasion at Scarborough Faire, Waxahachie, Texas.


Photo courtesy of Bart de Boisblanc, April 2013.


Best wishes and starfishes,
-Mermaid Cynthia
cynthia (at) goldmermaid.com

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