Gather 'round, everybody. Class is now in session. Our subject: a lesson in vocabulary. Yes, Jennifer is defining for us terms that are part of the Circa 19xx Land vernacular. What's Crystal made of, and why it is called "crystal"? When is something considered an antique? When is it vintage? Which came first: Art Deco or Art Nouveau? And what in the world is a "whiplash curl"? You'll be able to astonish your friends with your grasp of trivial knowledge after tonight's show. As is her custom, Jennifer also takes a few detours along the way, giving us a tour of her pool bag, talking about the first movie she ever remembers seeing, and sharing some soothing words about relaxation from a book she's currently reading. It's a potpourri of topics tonight, so tuck yourself in and turn out the lights. It's time for another episode of Circa Sunday Night.
Show Links
Jennifer's Favorite Circa Sunday Night Episode: "Egyptomania!"
Circa 19xx Land
Gather 'round, everybody. Class is now in session. Our subject: a lesson in vocabulary. Yes, Jennifer is defining for us terms that are part of the Circa 19xx Land vernacular. What's Crystal made of, and why it is called "crystal"? When is something considered an antique? When is it vintage? Which came first: Art Deco or Art Nouveau? And what in the world is a "whiplash curl"? You'll be able to astonish your friends with your grasp of trivial knowledge after tonight's show. As is her custom, Jennifer also takes a few detours along the way, giving us a tour of her pool bag, talking about the first movie she ever remembers seeing, and sharing some soothing words about relaxation from a book she's currently reading. It's a potpourri of topics tonight, so tuck yourself in and turn out the lights. It's time for another episode of Circa Sunday Night.
Show Links
Jennifer's Favorite Circa Sunday Night Episode: "Egyptomania!"
Circa 19xx Land
Circa Sunday Night Script
Episode #32
Vocabulary Lesson
Cold Open
Picture this: you’re standing in the glass goods aisle of a thrift store. You’re staring at shelves and shelves of glass—candlesticks, bowls, drinking glasses, picture frames. But you find out that among the glass is one fine leaded crystal piece. Are you able to pick it out? Can you tell the difference between plain old glass and the good stuff? If you found the piece would you be able to determine if it is considered “vintage” or “antique”? Ah, so many questions. We have answers! In tonight’s show we’re learning how to distinguish things from each other in Circa 19xx Land. Oh, and hey, I want to catch you up on what I’ve been watching, what I’ve been reading, and what’s in my pool bag. Yeah, we’re going to cover all the important stuff tonight.
Before we get to it, maestro, we need that theme song. Hit it…
[Theme Song]
Good evening! How nice that you’ve stopped by. Actually, how nice that you have found your way to Circa 19xx Land. You know, once you leave its borders, you can never return again. Well no, that’s not quite right. You can come back anytime—if you can find your way here. Yes, friends, you have made it to the most obscure little show on the Internet, and however you found your way here…welcome!
So, what’s been happening since our last show? A lot of pool time. That’s what summer is to me—actually to my whole family. We are pool people. If the sun is out and the temperature is 90 degrees or above, I’m in the pool. In fact, as I’m sitting here I’m looking at my pool bag, which I’ve got all packed up and ready for my next pool day. I have to say, this pool bag is super cute. I bought it at the Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel gift shop last summer on a vacation in Miami. I talked about the Coral Gables Biltmore in an earlier episode. The Biltmore opened in the 1920s, and in its heyday between the 1920s and 1940s, it was one of the most fashionable resorts in the country. It’s a stunner, let me tell you. It has a huge bell tower, so you can see it from far away, but my favorite feature is its HUGE swimming pool. This pool is massive. And along one side of it are these beautiful statues. We had an amazing lunch right there by the pool. What a magical place. My pool bag is a light-weight jute bag with this beautiful imprint of the hotel on it, so I think of that pool every time I see it. So, what’s in my pool bag? Should we do a little “what’s in my bag?” segment? I hadn’t planned that, but why not? Hang on a moment… Ok, these are items I keep in all my pool bags. So, I have three pool bags…one for here in Kansas City, one in my home in Springfield, Missouri, and one that I pack with me when I vacation in Florida—which, incidentally, is happening in about three weeks. Anyway, all of my pool bags—while each one is different—has the same things in them:
· So, we have a towel, of course. Now, I’m going to add something to my Florida bag for this next trip—in addition to a towel, I’m going to pack a roll-up beach mat that I bought on Oahu a couple years ago. I’m going to spend a day at Siesta Key beach on this upcoming trip, and it’s just nice to have something between the sand and my towel. You know, you can just wipe the sand off, it’s just handy.
· OK, what else do have in here. Ah, here are my sunglass readers—you know, I don’t know why I put these in here, because I rarely read by the pool. If I’m at the pool, I’m in the pool. I mean, I actually swim laps. I love to swim. So, I’m not usually sitting around reading. But, it could happen, so here are my sunglass readers.
· I have a pair of goggles in here
· Sunscreen of course—although, I am terrible about actually putting that on. I know, that’s terrible. Don’t follow my lead on that. I don’t generally burn, so I don’t think of putting it on as I should. But again, very bad.
· Let’s see, what else is in here? Hair clips.
· Oh, and these two items are absolutely critical: A large tine hair pick, and conditioner for my hair. When I’m out of the pool for good and I know I’m not going back in, I comb conditioner through my hair and let it dry there. Then I wash it out in the shower. I’ve found that giving myself a hair treatment like that helps protect my hair from the damage from chlorine. My favorite conditioner for this purpose is anything that has a coconut oil base. I love that coconut smell at the pool. It sort of creates a tropical vibe—even though I’m in the Midwest!
· What’s left? Hair clips and ponytail bands. Lots of hair stuff.
And that’s about it. Now you know all my pool bag secrets. If you’re new to Circa Sunday Night, our little show is just filled to the brim with riveting stuff like this.
[Theme Song Segment Break]
Hey, you know what, I want to spend a little more time talking about the Coral Gables Biltmore. I recently found something out about the Biltmore that I didn’t know when I was there. When WWII started, the hotel was converted into an Army hospital, and they really did a number on this beautiful place. They put linoleum everywhere, and they even sealed the windows with cement? What? Why would they do that? There must have been a reason. Anyway, it remained a hospital until 1968—and here’s the part I just found out: After 1968 it was abandoned. Here's a piece from an article on the Biltmore published out on Miami’s WLRN radio station website:
When the hospital closed in 1968, the Biltmore became an abandoned shell. That's when neighborhood kids started sneaking in. So many kids were sneaking into the shuttered building that the City of Coral Gables decided to hire a security guard. Kim Dunn-Zocco grew up in Coral Gables and would sneak into the shuttered building with her friends back in the day. Sneaking past the guard, whom they nicknamed "The Greenie" after the guard's green golf-cart, was part of the fun, she says.
"Once you got in, that's when it started to get a little creepy and quiet and creaky," says Zocco. In 1983, Coral Gables put $55 million into renovating the Biltmore. The hotel reopened in 1987 and was restored to glory. Ten years later, the Biltmore was added to the National Registry of Historic Places.
Well, this just sort of blows my mind. OK, well it’s far from creepy now, I can tell you. It is absolutely beautiful now. I don’t want to think about the days when it was an old, lonely, creaky abandoned monstrosity. I guess that just goes to show you, it’s never too late to get back in shape. Uh, yeah, hope springs eternal.
[Theme Song Segment Break]
Hey, why don’t we take a peek into our listener mailbag and see what we’ve got in there. OK, this is a short segment. There are no letters in the mailbag this time around. But, I do have news on the Youtube front. The momentum is building over there! In our last episode I gave a subscriber update and we were at six total subscribers! We have seven now! No, I’m not making this up! You can go out there and verify my claim. If you’ve been a listener for a while you know that my goal for 2022 is to not lose subscribers, so that means I want to end the year with at least five subscribers. So, we’re building a bit of a cushion there, which is awesome. If you’re listening to this show, you are almost certainly listening via Apple Podcasts or other podcast platforms, and that’s awesome. Earlier this year I started putting my most recent episodes out on the Circa19xx Land Youtube Channel. My plan continues to be to put some videos out there, too, and I just haven’t been able to get organized enough to do that.
Someday, though… Someday. In the meantime, if you like this show, please consider leaving a 5-star review on the platform of your choice. Subscribing to the YouTube Channel would be awesome, too. One thing that makes it difficult to be a regular listener to this program is the irregularity with which I put episodes out there. If you ring that bell notification on YouTube you’ll always know when I’ve put out something new. But, regardless of whether you leave a review or subscribe, I hope you’ll continue to seek out this show. It’s a great comfort to me to know I’m not the only person alive that likes this old musty stuff that we explore on this show!
[Theme Song Segment Break]
Ok, now in our last episode I set up a cliffhanger. If you tuned in you might remember that I broke the zipper on one of the internal compartments of my brand new Calpak suitcast the first time I unzipped it in my hotel room in Newport. I couldn’t exchange it because the style and color of my luggage set was out of stock. Their customer service person was very nice and said that as soon as they got it back in, they would send me a replacement. At the time I recorded the last episode, there was still a question as to whether or not that would really happen. Now, I know that you haven’t been able to sleep comfortably with the uncertainty of this whole situation, so let’s put this to rest right now: my replacement suitcase arrived last week. Well done, Calpak. And, they told me to keep the other suitcase. I mean, the compartment won’t close, but that doesn’t render the entire suitcase unusable. So, I was pretty impressed with their handling of that. I’m sure I don’t need to mention that Calpak doesn’t sponsor this show. I’m just a small customer. So, again, well done.
[Theme Song Segment Break]
Oh, I have to get to one more thing before we move on to our main topic tonight. Do you remember the first movie you ever saw in a theater? I do. Vividly. It was the original Poseiden Adventure, and I saw it with my parents at the Chief Drive-In in Topeka, Kansas. That left such an impression on me, I can tell you. Now, for those of you who don’t know the story, the Poseiden was a fictional aging cruise ship that was making it’s last passage…wait, where were they going? Now I don’t remember. But it was the Poseiden’s last voyage before it was going to be retired. Hold on. I need to look this up. Where were they going…ah, here we go…New York to Athens. Yeah, they were going to Athens. Anyway, the ship encounters an enormous tidal wave resulting from an undersea earthquake or something, and that wave slams into the Poseiden and capsizes it. So, there’s the ship, flipped upside down, and some of the people survived that flip. It’s sinking steadily, but a small group of passengers decide to make their way up to the ship’s hull, which is now the top of the ship, because they feel that’s where their best chance for rescue is. The whole movie is about their trek to the top.
I wasn’t even 5 years old when I saw this the first time, but wow, did it leave a lasting impression. I was completely mesmerized by the fact that throughout the movie the characters were moving through an upside down world. Tables were hanging from the ceiling, for example. Light fixtures were on the floor. To a five year old, this is fascinating stuff. But there were other scenes that were burned into my little brain: The ship had encountered choppy seas before the big wave hit, so like 2/3s of the passengers were seasick. And the ultimate flip scene in which the passengers celebrating New Year’s Eve in the ship’s ballroom bounce around as they fall from floor to ceiling…I couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen. There was one other scene that I remembered vividly as a kid, and that was a scene in which the survivors had to swim through a flooded passage to get to the engine room. Dramatic stuff. The special effects were really amazing in this film, and of course there was no CGI back then. Apparently the actors did a lot of their own stunts, too, which is pretty cool.
OK, so why bring this up? Well because I saw that movie again last night for the first time since I was a little kid. So, what did I think of it this second time around viewing it through the eyes of an adult? I loved it. That is STILL a cool movie.
[Ship at sea sound effect]
Something I didn’t remember is that pretty much during the entire movie the camera rocked gently to create a sense of being aboard ship. That rocking motion was a little more pronounced during the storm before the wave hits them and we learn that 2/3s of the passengers were seasick. Now, I saw this movie in a drive-in, but if you watched this in a theater…yikes…that could create some nauseating effects. I didn’t find anything on the Internet of audiences getting sick, so, I don’t know, maybe it’s just me.
The Poseiden Adventure had an all-star cast—one of my favorites was in it—Earnest Borgnine. Gene Hackman, Red Buttons, Stella Stevens, Shelley Winters, Roddy McDowell, Jack Albertson, and Leslie Neilsen were all in it, too. Carole Lynley played the ship’s singer, and I had always thought this as her only film—you know a one-hit wonder. Not so! Turns out she had already been a very successful model and movie star before Poseiden Adventure came around. I thought she was so pretty, but I remembered being really disappointed when my mom told me that she didn’t actually do the singing in this film, but just lip synced to someone else’s voice. This film was a huge financial success. It had a budget of $5 million dollars and ended up making $160 million and earned 8 Oscar Nominations. One of those nominations, incidentally, was for best dramatic score. I do love the score for this film. And guess who the composer was? Here we have a huge blockbuster, big special effects—who else could have been the composer? That’s right: John Williams. Is there any big blockbuster film in the last 50 years that he HASN’t scored?
Anyway, the original Poseiden Adventure is streaming for free right now on YouTube, which is where I saw it. If you haven’t seen this one, check it out. It’s really fun. And there is a message in this movie—I mean there is some bad theology in there—but if you look beyond that, it has a great message: that life is precious and always worth fighting for. Good stuff.
OK, so here we are, halfway into the show, and we haven’t even arrived at our main topic. Well, that’s how we do things in Circa 19xx Land: We meander. Isn’t that a great word: Meander. We follow a winding course. Why not? What’s our hurry? Speaking of words…that’s really our subject tonight. We’re going to have a little vocabulary lesson. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between glass and crystal? What about Art Deco and Art Nouveau? When is something considered “vintage,” and when is it “antique?” We’re exploring pairs of things that are often confused with each other. Now, so for this next segment I need to pull together my notes—yes, I’m going to be learning right along with you. So give me a minute, and we’ll dive in.
[New song]
And...I’m back. Now, I got the idea for this segment from an unlikely direction: a project I’m working on completely outside the borders of Circa 19xx Land. I’m developing a new coaching course, and early in the course I make a distinction between “training” and “coaching.” Now these two things overlap considerably—and yet, they are different things, and I think distinctions are important. So the way I define training is facilitating the acquisition and mastery of new skills. Coaching, on the other hand, is the further development of EXISTING skills. These distinctions matter, because they affect our approach and our strategy. So, that got me to thinking about other things like training and coaching that share common qualities, but are distinctly different—you know, like glass and crystal. From a distance, they look the same, and they have qualities in common. Yet, they’re different—and that difference affects value and price.
Tonight we’re going to examine similarities and differences of these pairs of things:
· Glass vs. Crystal
· Antique vs. Vintage
· Art Deco vs. Art Nouveau
· Cologne vs. Perfume
[Crystal bell sound effect]
…That is the sound of crystal chimes. If those were glass chimes, they would sound different, duller. They wouldn’t ring and reverberate. The “sound test” is actually one of the ways that you can differentiate crystal from plain old glass. Crystal is one of those things that I can generally distinguish from glass—but I have always based my judgment on weight (crystal feels heavier) and clarity (crystal is clear, as in “crystal clear,”) whereas glass can be cloudier. Think of Depression glass. It’s beautiful, but the crystal clarity just isn’t there. We have to remember that Depression glass was mass produced and distributed for free as premiums with staples like oatmeal. By the way, can you imagine buying oatmeal and finding a beautiful servicing dish inside. How awesome. I digress. Anyway, Is there more to the differences between crystal and glass than weight, clarity, and sound? I mean, what exactly IS crystal? Well, let’s turn to a scientist for answers.
I found an article on the West Texas A&M website written by physics professor Dr. Christopher Baird that addresses this. He writes:
"Crystal" glass is not made out of crystal at all. The naming of certain types of glass as "crystal" is a confusing and inaccurate historical tradition. A crystal is any material that has its molecules aligned spatially into regularly repeating patterns. Metals, ceramics, salts, ice, sugar, and rocks are all crystal. "Crystal" glass is not. In fact, the term "crystal glass" is a pure oxymoron. By definition, glasses are materials that have their molecules unordered. In other words, the very definition of glass is a material that is NOT a crystal.
So what is "crystal" glass if not crystal? Traditionally, "crystal" glass was just regular glass where the calcium is replaced with lead oxide. A more accurate name is therefore "lead glass"—SIDEBAR. This makes sense, right? Because we sometimes ill talk about crystal as “leaded glass.” OK, back to the article.—Adding lead to glass raises its index of refraction. The index of refraction measures the amount that a material bends light. Materials with a higher index of refraction sparkle more because they bend light more. One of the materials with the highest index of refraction is diamond. That is why diamonds sparkle so much. Adding lead to glass makes it look more like diamond, hence lead glass became identified as crystal-looking glass, which got shortened to "crystal glass". In this way, adding lead to glass allows an artist to make a candle holder or a wine cup that looks like diamond without actually needing to use diamond, which would be prohibitively expensive—SIDEBAR: But super cool. Can you imagine candle holders made of diamond? Wow, what a dream. Back to the article. Adding lead also makes the glass easier to work with, so that more intricate designs can be cut into the glass. In our modern day, lead is recognized to be poisonous to humans, so "crystal" glass actually has barium or zinc now instead of lead.
Wow, so this is news. I wonder if that means you shouldn’t consume beverages or food contained by antique lead crystal. Maybe it’s better to just display those pieces instead of using them.
I encounter both glass and crystal all the time in my antiquing adventures, and if you go antiquing, I’m sure you do too. So, let’s look at how to tell the difference. Luxury online retailer Scully and Scully has a five-point checklist for identifying crystal from glass.
1. Tap the piece gently with your fingernail and listen for an enduring sound. The greater the lead content, the longer the tone. Glass makes a clunking noise, while crystal sounds like reverberated ringing.
2. Lightly run a wet finger in a circular motion around the rim. If it’s crystal, you’ll be able to hear a subtle tone emanating from it.
3. With a close eye, inspect the sharpness or smoothness of the cut. The smoother it is, the more likely it’s crystalware. Glass tends to have sharper cuts and will also have a thicker rim than crystal.
4. Hold the piece up to a light or under the sun. Crystal will refract light on the spectrum much like a prism to create a rainbow effect. Glass with more than 35% lead will actually sparkle.
5. Crystal will feel heavier in weight when contrast against the weight of a glass around the same size.
Ok, so now we know. By the way, I have a very small collection of crystal vases and trinket boxes from Tiffany’s. They are just beautiful, and each one came in an iconic turquoise-blue Tiffany box with white satin ribbon. I didn’t buy any of them; they were service awards from a company I had been with for 17 years. We could either pick beautiful crystal pieces from Tiffany’s or we could choose a VISA gift card. I was one of the few that picked the crystal. I did that because I would never in a million years buy myself crystal from Tiffany’s. And now, years later, I have these beautiful pieces on prominent display in my home. I think I made the right choice.
[Short musical interlude]
What’s the difference between Art Deco and Art Nouveau? I love both, and again, I can USUALLY tell the difference, but sometimes there seems to be an overlap in style that makes it difficult to differentiate them. By the way, if you are interested in Art Deco, I did address that style a bit in an earlier episode of Circa Sunday Night. What episode was that?...Yikes, I think it was episode #6, “Egyptomania,” if I am remembering correctly. Oh, I love that episode, if I do say so myself. I think it’s my favorite. I’m actually really proud of that one because that is the episode where I learned how to layer sound effects to help tell a story. The sound effects on that episode took me some crazy amount of time—I think I spent an entire weekend on that. Anyway, I’ll put a link in the show notes to that one.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-6-egyptomania/id1514709357?i=1000484683296
Anyway, here’s is what I know about Art Deco and Art Nouveau. Art Deco is a design style that features a lot of geometric shapes and angular patterns. Art Nouveau is loopier and organic looking. I associate curving, delicate florals with Art Nouveau. Furniture in this style is particularly beautiful. The other day I saw an Art Nouveau etagere in an antique shop, and it was so delicate that it looked like it would break if it was in the path of a draft. So, that is the limit of my expertise. What can we learn from a real expert?
I’m turning to TheCollector.com for a short lesson on the two. Here’s what they have to say:
Art Nouveau and Art Deco are two revolutionary art and design movements that took hold during the late 19th and early 20th century. Beyond their similar sounding name, they share many parallels; both movements came from Europe, and each responded in their own ways to the industrial revolution. They both also rose from relatively humble beginnings, eventually spreading throughout the entire world and forever changing the cultural landscape. Both movements also saw the arts as indivisible, and their styles spread across a huge array of different disciplines, from book illustration and painting to architecture, stained glass and jewellery. Because of these overlaps, it can be easy to confuse the two styles.
We can recognise the Art Nouveau style by its ornately organic, flowing shapes and forms. These are usually elongated and exaggerated to heighten their dramatic impact. Nature was a definitive source of inspiration, with many designers imitating the curves and lines of plant and flower forms. Seamlessness and continuity were important Art Nouveau concepts drawn from nature, reflecting Art Nouveau’s wider desire to seamlessly connect all forms of visual and applied arts.
The ‘whiplash’ curl is the number one defining feature of Art Nouveau, and we see it appearing time and time again in the movement’s most famous works of art and design. It is an ornamental ‘S’ shape curve that suggests sinuous dynamism, and its bold, confident shape marked a radical departure from the conventions of the past. In fact, it became a symbol for artistic freedom, echoing the liberating spirit of the Art Nouveau movement. SIDEBAR—I know about these curves. I didn’t know there was a name for them. “Whiplash Curl.” Hmmm. [The more you know sound effect].
Back to the article. In contrast with Art Nouveau’s decadently flowing lines, Art Deco is typified by an entirely different aesthetic – one of angular shapes and high-polish surfaces. Inspired by technology, it echoed the language of industry, with vertical lines, zig-zags and recti-linear shapes. Art Deco also made use of the latest in high-tech materials, such as stainless steel, aluminium and glass, often polished to a high sheen to emphasise an entirely modern look. Interestingly, Art Deco also looked to much older references, particularly the faceted architecture of Babylon, Assyria, Ancient Egypt, and Aztec Mexico. SIDEBAR – and now you know why I included Art Deco in my “Egyptomania” episode. Remember what happened in this period: discovery of King Tut’s tomb.
Back to the Article: Although they are now both recognised as international style trends, Art Nouveau and Art Deco each have roots in different locations. The beginning of Art Nouveau is often traced back to rural England, and the Arts and Crafts movement that placed an emphasis on plant forms and traditional craftsmanship. It later spread into Austria, before spreading across Europe and reaching the United States. Art Deco, by contrast, was founded by Hector Guimard in Paris, and later spread across Europe and the United States, hitting a high point in the Jazz Age era of 1930s New York.
The timings of each movement were also quite distinct. Art Nouveau came first, lasting roughly from 1880-1914. Art Deco came later, after World War I. This distinction is important politically, because Art Nouveau was all about whimsical romance and escapism in a pre-war society, and after the war it no longer seemed to suit the spirit of the times. Art Deco, instead, was a post-war celebration at the end of conflict, a hard-edged style of modernism for a new era, one that was filled with jazz music, flappers and party fever.
OK, so to recap: Art nouveau came first and is characterized by organic, curving lines drawn from nature—the “whiplash curl.” Art Deco drew on technological advancements AND ancient artifacts, and is angular and characterized by geometric shapes.
I have one art nouveau piece in my home—and it’s one of my all-time favorites. Years ago I bough an old fish tank stand that has these curving decorations on it. I don’t think I have a single art deco item, if you can believe that. So, what’s my favorite? Art Nouveau. It’s pretty, feminine, and just lovely.
[Short musical transition].
Is it vintage? Is it antique? Are those two things the same? So, I’ve had my own definitions for those two things, for a while—but I don’t know where I got my ideas about this, or if I just completely made it up on my own. I’ve always thought that “antique” referred to anything 100 years or older, and vintage was anything between 50 and 100 years old. Am I right? Let’s look it up. I’m going to do a little Google search. Yeah, I meant to do this before the show, as I did our other comparisons, but I forgot this one. OK, let’s see…who looks like an authority on this…? Oh, here we go! Martha Stewart. Of course she has the answer. This is from the martha steward website:
Ah, yes, OK, it looks like I’m right on this…”The term antique refers to something 100 years or older. Furniture, works of art, jewelry, rugs and carpets, and everyday objects—like housewares and accessories—can all be antiques.
What about vintage?..scroll, scroll, scroll.
Vintage items, on the other hand, are much younger—typically prior to 1999, though often from much earlier, like the 1930s, '40s, '50s, '60s, and '70s, she clarifies. Clothing, jewelry, watches, accessories, housewares, and furniture are all common vintage items. Other media, including postcards, periodicals, photography, vinyl records, cassette tapes, VHS tapes, and even electronics like cameras and gaming systems are also popular vintage items with collectors' appeal.
Wow, so vintage is younger than 1999? Ok, wait, when was this article written? 2020. So, basically, vintage is anything at least 20 years old? Well, that probably means our houses are all full of vintage stuff! Who knew?
[Short musical transition]
So, imagine you want to give your favorite friend the gift of scent for the holidays, but you’re on a tight budget. Should you look for a bottle of cologne or a bottle of perfume? Which one is more expensive? What’s the difference? Well, I really learned something here. Cologne is typically associated with scents marketed to men. What? Is that true? I honestly didn’t know that. Perfume, it turns out, is the most expensive of all the scent options out there. It’s most concentrated, and lasts the longest. And, it tends to be a bit oilier than, say, eau de parfum, which contains about 15%-20% fragrance essence. Perfume contains 20%-30% fragrance. Eau de toilette is lighter, around 5% fragrance. By the way, I always thought Eau de toilette meant “toilet water.” “Yes, I’m wearing Chanel No 5 toilet water.” OK, no, that’s not what it is. It’s “grooming water.” Is that better than toilet water? Yes, I guess so. Anyway, speaking of Chanel No 5, I did a little price comparison.
On the Chanel website you can get three .7 oz bottles of eau de toilette is $90. The same package for eau de parfum is $106. Not a big difference there. I would go for the eau de parfum. Ok, so back to our original question: the difference between cologne and perfume: cologne is marketed to men, perfume to women.
My hope with this segment is that you have some new trivia to impress your friends with. Stump your friends by tossing out “whiplash curl,” in your next conversation, and let me know what happens.
[Musical interlude]
I want to tell you about a lovely book I’m reading right now. I’m on a Caryll Houslander kick. I’ve always loved her writing, and if you do a Google search for Caryll Houslander quotes you will find just the most lovely, faith-filled sentiments that just puts things in perspective. I can hear you: “Jennifer, who in the world is Caryll Houslander?” She was a British artist, writer, and poet who wrote about faith and mystical experiences that she had throughout her life. She was born in 1901 and died in 1954. I like her writings about work and spirituality because sometimes you can just feel like work is so meaningless. Her perspective is that work is a form of prayer. Anyway, the book I’m reading is Caryll Houselander, the Essential Writings by Wendy M. Wright. There are some wonderful passages here about relaxation that I just love and wanted to share with you.
"Just now the cat is lying by the fire in a state of complete abandonment. He knows nothing and cares nothing for war, he has unlimited confidence in me, he is sure that I shall always feed him and warm him and house him . . . .
"We have a lot to learn from the cat. At present we are bristling, squinting, stiffening even more than usual, but we are always tense, even in times of peace . . . .
"My cat (I can't neglect him for long, as today he is my spiritual director!) is a tabby. Just now he was in the garden when a black cat came loping along the garden wall, a very unpleasant fellow, I must admit, definitely marked by the underworld; my tabby became very anxious. He rushed to the window, his pink mouth wide open, his face raddled with fear. I let him in and no sooner had he jumped on my lap than he relaxed, he went limp, and indicated by various signs known to me that he wanted his ears scratched — that done, he went to sleep.
"This is a lesson in prayer. There are many ways of prayer; to "lift up the heart and mind to God" covers a huge range. There is prayer like that of Moses, when he lifted up his arms and held them up, straining and agonizing, before God; there is the prayer which Christ describes in one of His parables, which could be called 'the prayer of importunity,' a continual hammering and beating on the door of Heaven until we get what we want; and many others. But now, with such great anxiety pressing upon us, the prayer in which we can relax is surely among the most creative.
"We certainly should pray all the time, praying with our hands, our bodies, our will, our acts; but in order to delight God and to build up the peace of our souls, besides the prayer in which we offer ourselves to God should be the prayer in which we let God give Himself to us. We should learn to receive the love of God in silence and joy — that is what is meant by relaxing.
"There should be, even in the busiest day, a few moments when we can close our eyes and let God possess us. He is always present, always giving us life, always round us and in us, like the air we breathe; there should be moments at least when we become more conscious of His presence; when we become conscious of it as the only reality, the only thing that will last forever . . . .
"I ought to be able to treat God as my cat treats me . . . .
". . . . we must learn to trust God, because this is what Christ taught. He told us to live in the present; His whole teaching stresses that idea . . . . He tells us not to save up, or make any provision for the future, to live in the moment. But we seldom do so, we seldom consciously rejoice because today is a soft blue day of mist and sunlight and we are still with those dear to us, clothed, fed and under our own roof. No, we grieve because of what tomorrow may bring . . . .
"But trust does not mean believing that God will spare us from suffering . . . . To trust God means that we must know that whatever comes to us comes from His hand . . . . Christ says: 'Take no thought of tomorrow.' He also says: 'Take up your cross daily.' There is no need, in accepting sorrow, to look ahead, to imagine tomorrow, to ask for more or less, but just as we receive our joy day by day, so can we receive our sorrow day by day, and it will be measured day by day, by the love of God and our own littleness . . . .
"To look for God's gift in the moment is the way to learn to trust."
Well, that seems like a perfect place to leave things. I hope you enjoyed spending some time with me this evening. Probably at this point you are either asleep or completely distracted by things you’re multi-tasking on, which is perfectly fine. If, though, you thought this episode was tolerable, please do leave the show a 5-star review on Apple or any app where you listen to your podcasts, or, if you’d like, you can subscribe to the Circa 19xx Land Youtube Channel. Wow, would I appreciate that!
We’re ready to begin another work week, and if that doesn’t exactly make you smile, no worries, because another Friday will be here before we know it. Have a great week, and bye for now.