Stone's Stone

Did you miss me? I was in Frankfurt last week for the Book Fair. More on that soon, but in the meantime how about some new news about a recognizable face showing up unexpectedly? Reported by the Danbury, Connecticut, The News-Times, we have yet another rock chiseled by geology, and perhaps lawnmowers, to intimate the face of Jesus.



Allen Stone – quite the last name for a self-declared rock collector – found this rock while doing yard work at his Ridgefield, Connecticut, home. This was about a year ago, and at the time what impressed him about the object was its feel. He stowed it away for a while but then got a digital camera, and he snapped the stone. He showed the image to a friend and she declared, “Oh, my gosh, it's Jesus Christ!”

Brigitta, Stone's wife, likes the details that reference the Christ iconography: "The wreath at the image's head, the robe and the staff.”

Another friend, after seeing the object, asked Stone to drive the rock to a Greek Orthodox priest in New Rochelle, New York, for examination but in Stone’s words, "that's quite a distance to go." Steve’s skepticism isn’t surprising for a rock lover: "A lot of people believe in these things . . . Do I? I don't know. But I think this is interesting. This is a rock -- made by nature. It is unique and notable." Plate tectonics do outdate the Bible after all.



The article goes on to gloss the history of these phenomena, from Leonardo da Vinci to Stewart Guthrie’s Faces in the Clouds, to the Chocolate Virgin Mary and Grilled Cheese Madonna (both of which appear in Madonna of the Toast).

Even when I go away, the faces and forms keep manifesting, the media never tires of these true human-interest stories and that’s what makes them worth examining time and again.

More anon . . .

15 Minutes of Fame is Not Worth $50,000

LaDell Alexander’s 23-pound river rock naturally colored in a way that resembles the face of Elvis did not attract a single bid on eBay. According to this Rocky Mountain News article about the failed sale, Alexander attributes it to the glut of Elvis memorabilia available on eBay these days because of the recent 30th anniversary of the King’s death. Maybe that’s it, or maybe it has something to do with the asking price: $50,000! Alexander and her husband later lowered the price to $20,000 but that didn’t help. The Alexanders came up with the substantial sum through sound reasoning, based on the intricacies of the collectibles market. Said Alexander, “They paid $28,000 for that cheese sandwich (which carried an image of the Virgin Mary), and I thought 'Hey, this was a big rock.’” In hindsight, however, LaDell and her husband enjoyed their fifteen minutes of fame, and feel lucky to have even gotten that much attention for their Elvis rock. Andy Warhol would be proud.

And speaking of fifteen minutes of fame, here are a couple more recent visual manifestations of religious icons.



In Manchester, Connecticut, Malynda and Eric Smith credit their daughter for having spotted God on a kitchen cabinet. The kid needs to brush up on her iconography, but I guess that’s what parents are for, because Malynda took a look and saw Jesus, God’s son. According to this report, the family has only lived in this home for about a year, and this is the first time anyone has noticed the recognizable form. Unlike others who encounter such objects, the Smiths will not be trying to sell the cabinet as they consider such action bad luck.



And from the east coast to California’s southern climes, National City to be exact, we have Our Lady of Guadalupe on this turtle-shell necklace. The Union Tribune reported that 73-year-old Jackie Seiler spotted the form after trying to sell the necklace. She didn’t get that sale, but later that day she made a $1,000 sale, an all-time high for her store. Since the discovery of this form of faith, sales have been on the rise. Seiler plans to consult her local priest. He or she may suggest that Seiler gets her eyes checked, as this one is a real stretch.

Of course, no one has ever said that fame is fair.