Resurrection Angel at Green-Wood Cemetery

This stunningly beautiful angel in the photo mosaic above is a bronze memorial on top of a substantial granite base of a grave identified only by the name "Valentine."  It is one of the approximately 106,000 monuments in the National Historic Landmark Green-Wood Cemetery located in Brooklyn, New York, which was established in the year 1838.

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The angel was sculpted by the Italian-born artist Aldofo Appoloni, (1855 - 1923), who sculpted several other funerary monuments, found both in the United States and Italy. His name appears on the eastern side of the base of the angel, along with the word "Roma."

One of his better known sculptures is Winged Victory on the "Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele" in Rome. The base of the angel also identifies that it was made at "G. Nisini Fuse" which is deemed as one of Italy's finest 19th century bronze foundries.

The words "Ego Sum Resurrectio Et Vita" are inscribed in the granite base, and translated from Latin as "I am the Resurrection and the Life."

The "G. Nisini Fuse" inscription at the western facing base of the angel.

The angel is exquisite!  Notice the realistic detail of the feathers in her wings and the delicate draping of her gauzy robes.

A view of the back of the angel's flowing robes.

Her expressive face, with eyes turned upward, and arms outstretched with open fingers, displays such a uplifting feeling of grace and motion!  It is truly a valuable work of art worthy of being in the finest museum, and is one of my favorite sculptures among many beautiful ones in the cemetery.

  

The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company

If you are a frequent reader of my blog you know I am a very proud life long resident of Brooklyn, New York, and that I always try to show this large and populous borough of the City of New York in a positive way, but even I was surprised to learn that Superheros like to shop here!  Are there really true Superheros in the world today?

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The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company store is located at 372 5th Ave., Brooklyn, New York, between 5th and 6th Street in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.

If you click on to enlarge this photo you will read their supply list and a list of services. They advertise "one stop for all your foe battling needs."  Hmmm...I think that a service that even non superheroes could use!

Peeking into the window I saw cans of omnipotence, bravery, immortality and an alternate universe.

Curious, I decided to go inside. The signs in the photo mosaic above were prominently displayed in the lobby.  It all sounds so official!

This was the first view I saw of the store when I walked in.  Superhero capes and costumes were for sale, but I could see that this was not just a costume store.

They also had the supplies a Superhero and his, or her, sidekick might need! There were cans of things like gravity and anti gravity, x-ray vision, muscle, invincibility and intelligence.

There were boxes full of devices, such as invisibility detection goggles and night vision binoculars. There was even an evil blob containment capsule!

The economy sized plastic jugs of telekinesis, telepathy and e.s.p. seemed to be big sellers.

Need replacement parts for your cyborg robot?  Step right up and order them here!

During the time I was browsing in the store I saw two little Superheros use this special "devillainizer" wind chamber to make sure their capes were not corrupted.

Although all the items shown here are actually for sale, both at the store and through mail order from the web site, the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company is not just a novelty store, it is literally a front for the charitable non profit organization called  826NYC, with all sales going to the organization. 

 826NYC is dedicated towards supporting students ages 6 to18 to develop their creative and expository writing skills, and it also helps teachers to inspire their students to write.  826NYC provides free drop-in tutoring, after-school workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications.

  Inside the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company store there are "secret" rooms located behind the shelves, where free after school drop in tutoring sessions are held Sunday through Thursday, along with special after school and summer workshops ranging from playful to practical, and taught by volunteer writers, artists, educators and publishing professionals.

826 National was founded in 2002 by author David Eggers and co-founder Nínive Calegari, at the flagship location in San Francisco, known as 826 Valencia. It has since grown into seven more chapters across the country: Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Boston, and Washington D.C., several of which offer a unique storefront retail experiences as fundraisers, all with different themes.

826NYC's writing center opened its doors in September 2004. Since then their programs have offered well over one thousand students opportunities to improve their writing and to work side by side with community volunteers.

Do you want to learn more about the services of 826?  Watch this informative Youtube video.  Pay attention towards the end of the video and you'll see the secret passage to the tutoring room in the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store revealed.

So, are there true Superheros in the world today?  Yes!  Each and every 826 National volunteer and all the children who participate in literacy programs throughout the country are Superheros.  Hopefully, they will someday make the world a better place.