The Ending of Mad Men According to Don Draper’s Tarot Cards

 

One thing I bet you didn’t know about me is that I like to read Tarot cards. I’m very bad at it – I don’t have the cards memorised at all and have to look EVERYTHING up – but my brain enjoys making the various connections and drawing out the symbolism, so that a coherent story emerges.

Mad Men

It seems that Mad Men showrunner Matthew Weiner loves Tarot cards too. His production company logo is the The Sun card (an incredibly positive card all about getting your heart’s desire) and in Season Two, Don Draper/Dick Whitman’s friend Anna reads his cards. Here are some readings that were done at the time, but nobody seems to have thought to update them recently in the light of the intervening seasons.

Anyway given that Weiner has always said that he knows how the story is going to end, I’ve wondered for a long time if the outcome of the Mad Men story was revealed in the cards and I think that now might be the time to revisit that Tarot reading for spoilers.

Mad Men

My theory is that the four cards to the right of the reading (on the ‘Staff’ if you know Tarot) correspond to the last four seasons of the show.

Card 7 is the World, a card of great professional and personal success, fulfilment and  completion, and by the end of season 4 it looked liked Don might have achieved it all  – his own busy successful agency and a new blissful marriage to a hot young wife.

Card 8 is the 9 of Wands which is the card of creative tests and challenges – one person holding the fort against the world. Season 5 sees all of the characters, including the new agency, struggling for creative success as they are faced with challenge after challenge and by the end nobody has quite what they wished for.  

Card 9 is the Wheel of Fortune – a neutral card suggesting that things go in cycles, what goes around comes around, what goes up must come down etc. Don has fallen to the very bottom of his wheel by the end of season 6 – the agency has been taken over, he is out of a job, his marriage to Megan is cold and empty, and his addiction to alcohol is more and more evident.  

The top card, in the space reserved in a reading for the final Outcome is the 8 of Wands. In this card past struggles have been overcome and it indicates opportunities, freedom and space to move forward and make progress with energy, focus and enthusiasm. It’s a card of accomplishment, getting things done and is very action-oriented. It can also indicate air travel or moving, and is a card of inspiration and excitement.

I do hope Don and Peggy and Joan (and also Ken, because I have always had a soft spot for him) have this card in their future.

I’m going to predict now that the last episode shows Don finally moving to California and starting up a thrusting new agency with Peggy, Joan and Ken by his side and with Megan hopefully having been eaten by coyotes.

What did you all think of the season opener? It truly was thoroughly depressing all round, with not even a glamorous 60s apartment to blog. Megan’s knotty pine eyrie nearly killed me.

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Weekend Link Love

 

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Seems I’ve been a lazy Instagrammer this week – I’ve been feeling in a bit of a photography rut – so instead of my Instagram feed, here’s an absolutely gorgeous MadMen graphic. Wouldn’t mind this on my wall.

The return of MadMen is of course going to be the highlight of my weekend (though we might also make it out for a family photography/cycling trip to the tulip fields). Here’s a gently spoilerish review of the first eppy and an overview of the college course I’d love to do.

To try and get out of my photography rut I will be perusing #Photography – a fab-looking online photography magazine by two photography graduates in the UK and following these peeps for inspiration (one day I want to be on this list).

I know I still have to share with you the story of the Minx’s latest birthday cake, but we might need to try these amazing cupcake shoes next year.

And I would imagine that this article on how to beat procrastination might be useful for us all (I can’t tell you how many times I opened Facebook in the course of putting together this post). Fingers crossed I’m not the only one for whom it resonates.

 

On the blog this week, we’ve discussed flower arranging in NYC, a fabulous food photography workshop I attended, photographing donuts for Edible Seattle and I shared a recipe for chocolate truffles (which are currently sitting in my fridge singing softly to me).

All you creative people out there, what advice do you have for getting me out of my photographic rut? I just don’t feel that my photography is improving much anymore. All advice gratefully received.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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A Morning with Tess Casey–Flower District NYC

For our version of #BlogTour, Veronika from Modenus was keen to introduce a learning component, where we’d meet a bunch of fabulous creatives (am I the only person who loathes that word?) and get to see them at work and ask them questions.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

I can safely say that these sessions were some of the most fascinating and rewarding of the whole tour, and none more so than the morning we spent with Tess Casey who designs floral arrangements for films and TV shows. You may not have heard of her, but you’ve very probably glimpsed her work, in movies such as Sex and the City, The Devil Wears Prada  and The Nanny Diaries, or on TV shows such as Boardwalk Empire, Ugly Betty  and Pan Am. Tess prides herself on creating camera-ready, period, season and character appropriate flowers for all manner of productions and the amount of work and research that can go into an arrangement that is scarcely glimpsed on scene is truly mindblowing. I for one will look at on-set flowers in a whole new light from now on.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

It was a cold and frosty morning when we headed down to New York’s Flower District on W 28th St, but in the various shops Spring was definitely springing. Our tour was sponsored by the wonderful team behind the  WestEdge Design Fair and they met us together with Tess and her super cute assistant Miles for a tour of Tess’s favourite flower and accessories retailers.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

I’ve been a little disappointed by the quality and variety of flowers that I’ve been able to get in Seattle, and here everything was explained. All the flowers in the world are hiding out in New York. The selection was truly incredible and we were still in the depths of March.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

After the tour, we were welcomed to Tess’s glorious Flower District studio. I love seeing where creative people work and as studios go this was a DOOZY. You really couldn’t fail to be inspired here.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

The room was full of charming details. Yes, that’s Tess’s wedding dress hanging up and those glorious chandeliers at the far end were made by Tess and Miles for an event out of Home Depot pot racks and some hanging chains.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

I was amused to spot a poster from Roman Polanski’s Tess on the wall. Could someone PLEASE bring out a movie called ‘Paola’ so I can have a movie poster with my name on it?

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

Then Tess demonstrated a few simple flower arrangements, showing us how to create the internal ‘mechanics’ of an arrangement using either chicken wire, oasis or the stems of the flowers themselves. She is a mistress of improvisation showing us that many of the vases she uses are buckets and pots sourced from Home Depot or Bed, Bath and Beyond and repurposed as vases.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

Originally from Ireland, Tess lived and trained in London at Knightsbridge florists Pulbrook & Gould and her naturalistic, organic but luxurious style seemed very English to me. Tess moved to New York in the early nineties and apparently had a fun time in the New York club scene. She is currently pitching a screenplay of her life story and I for one would love to see that movie happen – you know at the very least the flowers will be extraordinary.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

The Blogtour paparazzi in full force

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

Here’s super cute Miles with part of Tess’s gigantic vase collection and a very happy me taking a selfie just because really.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

After the demo we were each given our own generous bucket of flowers to try making our own arrangements with Tess’s guidance.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

It was fascinating to see all the different variations which we produced using essentially the same raw materials.

I was utterly delighted with mine, it was such a pleasure to work with such beautiful blooms instead of the supermarket flowers I normally use, and was thrilled that they offered to transport all the bouquets back to the hotel, so we could enjoy them in our rooms.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

After all the hard work, we managed to get Tess gossiping a bit. For the famous scene where Carrie smashes her wedding bouquet over Big’s head, Tess had to prepare fifty identical bouquets, each one with the thorns removed, so Chris Noth’s face wouldn’t be destroyed, and each with the stems specially prepared to shatter easily.

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

Because she had to design the bouquets Tess was one of very few people in the know about Carrie’s wedding dress. Even producer Michael Patrick King was kept in the dark. Apparently when he finally saw what Carrie was wearing he turned to Tess and said, ‘She’s wearing a fucking bird on her head.’

A Morning with Tess Casey-Flower District NYC photography by www.paolathomas.com

Thus echoing my words and the words of every single person in every cinema everywhere who saw it.

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WTF Friday–Kim and Kanye’s Vogue Cover

I know I’m VERY late on this one and I know I promised not to inflict her on you chaps again, but seriously Anna Wintour, WTF? What is with Kim and Kanye’s Vogue Cover?

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Since when did Vogue become People magazine? Is all publicity REALLY good publicity? I guess at least we know that money talks, though I’m really interested to know what the sales figures for this month’s issue end up being. Vogue’s Facebook page has been hilarious reading recently though. The fashionistas are NOT amused.  

And now I REALLY promise not to mention her on the pages of this blog again.

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Weekend Link Love

instagram

It’s been a week of sunshine, showers, coming down to earth from #BlogTourNYC and a fabulous celebration of the Persian New Year, courtesy of my dear friend Nazila. Spring is a much more sensible time of year to think about renewal and reinvention it seems to me. I have made a few resolutions about blogging more frequently in any case.

In that spirit here are a few of my favourite tidbits from my Internet wanderings this week.

This gorgeous food video makes me want to take up videography and overdose on carbs.

These pics on the other hand make me wish I could draw.

This article about the effect of improving every single thing in your life by 1% really resonated.

Commenter Kristin kindly provided the following informative but truly disgusting article about New York’s roof top water tanks. Now I can never drink tap water in New York again.

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And finally, it’s coming back! I saw this groovy poster in the New York subway and did a happy dance. Refresh your memory of the first six seasons in 2 minutes.

Update: Oh and Iris Apfel is having a sale.

It’s the Minx’s rollerskating birthday party this weekend. This bad mama couldn’t postpone things any longer after her January birthday. A cake is currently in the works, though there is more to do tomorrow morning before the party than I would ideally like. Pix next week.

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WTF Friday-Kim Kardashian’s Handbag

 

I thought it was about time for a good old-fashioned WTF Friday, just in case the following passed you by in all the Christmas madness.

Kim Kardashian's Handbag

While I was thrilled to get camera equipment for Christmas, Kim Kardashian was ‘lucky’ enough to receive a specially-commissioned one-of-a-kind gift from fiance Kanye West, her very own Birkin bag, hand-desecrated er, painted, by artist George Condo! Which apparently shows a naked Kim being punched in the face by naked momager Kris Jenner. Because, of course.

Kim Kardashian's Handbag

If you too would like to possess such a ‘gift’ then the basic Birkin will apparently set you back a meagre $40,000, while a George Condo original recently sold for more than $1 million, which makes it all the more sad that poor Kim is having to walk round with holes in her jeans.

And now I promise never to mention Kim Kardashian on the blog again. Apologies.

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Weekend Link Love

Here are some interesting tidbits from my wanderings around the Internet this week to keep you busy over the weekend.

We’re in full Christmas frenzy mode here. Tree is up, gingerbread dough is relaxing in the fridge and the Minx and the Husband have ballet and choir performances all weekend. So I think there’s going to be quite a lot of relaxing in front of the TV (not in the fridge) with wine and Christmas movies for me. Anyone else got any more riveting plans this weekend?

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{This year’s traditional Christmas bokeh picture is revealing that we have a big ‘hole’ in the lights two-thirds of the way up the tree}

I was lucky enough to have a seat at the taping of photographer Chase Jarvis’s interview with social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk (Chase’s studio happens to be about 5 minutes from my house). I can’t recommend it highly enough to anyone (especially a creative person) who wants to use social media more effectively. I’m reading his book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook at the moment and it’s giving me much food for thought as I start reinvigorating and changing my online profile.

If you haven’t yet seen it,  this animation of an Ira Glass quote on storytelling, and perseverance and creativity and well everything, has REALLY resonated with me.

Rene’ Redzepi of Danish restaurant Noma – voted the best restaurant it the world in 2013  – visited Seattle and an amazing dinner, cooked by local star chefs Matt Dillon and Blaine Wetzel, and organised by the amazing Lara Hamilton of cookbook store, Book Larder, was held in his honour, OUTSIDE. IN NOVEMBER. WHEN IT WAS WAZZING DOWN WITH RAIN.

I was lucky enough to be there, and although everything was a little moist, the setting was magical and the rain careering in torrents down the see-through canopy certainly made for a memorable evening. Stupidly I forgot to bring the card for my camera, so couldn’t take photos. Fortunately for us all Shauna Ahern, aka Gluten Free Girl, was on hand to tell the tale. Redzepi’s cookbook A Work in Progress is stunningly beautiful and full of inspiration and ideas,

Wonderful photos of Philip Johnson’s Glass House, where the New York Times recently spent the night.

As someone who is trying to reinvent themselves as a photographer, this piece about reinventing yourself by author, entrepreneur and hedge fund manager James Altucher was also an inspiring read. His book ‘Choose Yourself’ is on order. I will report back. (I’m on a bit of a self-help book kick at the moment, all part of the massive mid-life crisis I’m going through. Cheaper than a sports car though.)

I am contemplating rewatching Love Actually . I saw it when it came out and found it unbearably schmaltzy, so have never seen it since. I understand that now there is an Internet-wide discussion as to whether it’s a good or bad movie. Where do you chaps stand? Should I rewatch?

 

UPDATE: So I rewatched ‘Love Actually’ and I think what really bugs is how utterly ridiculous all the stories are, with the exception of the Emma Thompson/Alan Rickman one. But the images of London at Christmas are droolworthy. I felt so homesick watching it. But what do you guys think?

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Things I Am Loving: The Secret Garden

 

Pssst. Don’t tell the Minx, but I just bought her a colouring book for our plane ride at the weekend.

 

Secret Garden photography by www.paolathomas.com

 

Well, to be more accurate I’ve just bought myself a colouring book, as I’m sure she would probably prefer to be plugged into an electronic device of some sort.

But honestly, who in their right mind could resist the intricate and magical pen and ink drawings in Secret Garden by ‘ink evangelist’ Johanna Basford?

 

Secret Garden photography by www.paolathomas.com

 

Secret Garden photography by www.paolathomas.com

 

Twelve hours on a plane doesn’t seem nearly so long now. (Check out this review from the Guardian, which includes some printable pages to download).

Speaking of The Secret Garden, which remains one of my favourite children’s books of all time, check out these beautiful clothbound keepsake editions of children’s classics from Puffin, designed by the amazing Daniela Terrazzini.

 

Secret Garden photography by www.paolathomas.com

 

Secret Garden photography by www.paolathomas.com Secret Garden photography by www.paolathomas.com
Secret Garden photography by www.paolathomas.com Secret Garden photography by www.paolathomas.com
Secret Garden photography by www.paolathomas.com Secret Garden photography by www.paolathomas.com

As the mother of an utterly voracious and rather advanced reader I’m the finding the classics to be one of the best ways of giving the Minx age-appropriate reading material. I understand from the Internet that these beautiful books can be hard to track down, but we found ours at the weekend in Seattle’s wonderful Elliott Bay Bookstore. Some are also available on Amazon. (There are some more boy-friendly options too.)

I, er the Minx, can’t wait to read them.

   
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Mad Men Season 6

 

I SO cannot wait. 

And aren’t these promo shots by Frank Ockenfels freaking GORGEOUS!

 

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Sadly it looks like Megan Draper is going to be just as pouty and irritating as she was last season (she is SO high on my ‘irrational hatreds’ list she needs oxygen).

Here’s writer/director/producer Matthew Weiner talking about this season, a fascinating interview with photographer Frank Ockenfels about making the shots, and here’s my post on Megan and Don’s new apartment which was featured in the LA Times (thereby marking one of the pinnacles of my blogging career).

The show premieres on April 7th in the US.

   
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Saturday Link Love

 

piebox

 

At Piebox, they create raw pine boxes designed to transport a 9 inch pie safely and easily.  I may well be investing in one of these.

carrie-bradshaw-apartment-floorplan

Inaki Aliste Lizarralde draws incredibly detailed floorplans of the dwellings in famous TV shows. The post I wrote several years ago about Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment still gets hundreds of hits a week.

 

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In Fictitious Dishes, Dinah Fried recreates iconic food of literature in her food photography.  Here’s the grilled cheese from ‘Heidi’  that sounded so delicious when I was a child.

 

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Sheri Silver has been making fruit leather from all the excess fruit sitting in her fridge and I must do the same, since we’ve been going a little crazy picking wild blackberries recently.

 

lottajansdotterfishseddy

 

Lotta Jansdotter is launching a new line at Fishs Eddy.  The above invitation is from her Facebook page.

Have a great weekend!  I will be going to the North West Chocolate Fest tomorrow. Anyone else got some exciting plans?

   
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