A to Z Challenge post - F is for Floromancy and Fargo

 

Howdy do, all! Hope you are enjoying the A to Z Challenge so far. I am very proud of the fact that I have been able to keep up with the daily posts; although I probably just set myself up for failure by mentioning that out loud!

Today's word is: floromancy. If you have any knowledge of word roots, you can probably tell this has something to do with flowers, and you would be right! Floromancy is the act of divination by flowers or plants. For example, trying to determine if someone loves you by pulling off the petals of a flower (he loves me, he loves me not). It is based on the belief that flowers and plants radiate vibrations, react to a sympathetic or hostile environment, and are affected by electrical shocks. 

One of the most obvious popular uses is for love or romance. According to Occultpedia, in Victorian England two flowers that had not yet blossomed would be paired, and the initials of certain lovers names would be placed on the stems. After placing the flowers in a secret place for 10 days, the diviner would then observe certain portents; for example, if any flower twined the other, it would indicate that the man and woman whose initials were used were going to be married.

The term floromancy is also sometimes used to indicate the belief that flowers can cure disease.

So, there you have it. 

Today's "F" movie is Fargo. Oh my goodness, I love this movie. It's mostly for the accents. This 1996 Ethan and Joel Coen movie stars William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, and Peter Stormare. The plot is about an inept car salesman's attempt to extort money from his wealthy father-in-law by getting two even more inept guys to kidnap his wife and hold her for ransom. Things go badly pretty quickly, and what was supposed to be a non-violent affair turns violent, bloody, and more violent and bloody by the minute. The extremely pregnant sheriff of Brainerd, MN, gets wind of the crimes and tenaciously follows the clues to the very bloody end. Did I mention that the film is bloody? There's also a sex scene thrown in that I don't really think is necessary, but I guess it sheds some light on the two thugs' personalities. Also, the F-word is used pretty profusely. The film won two Oscars in 1997: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Frances McDormand) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Ethan and Joel Coen).

And in some sort of weird epilogue, once you have watched the movie, check out this story about a Japanese woman who left her life in Tokyo to come to the US to search for the ransom money that was buried in the snow outside of Brainerd. The article is called, "Death In The Snow", and details the story of Takako Konishi, her quest to find the buried ransom money, her pointless death, and how Paul Berczeller retraced her last days. Sometimes, truth is definitely stranger than fiction.

Well, that's it for today. TTFN!