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The following photograph-rich
article features fortune telling (and divination), fortune
teller’s shops in Coney Island, legal issues associated with
fortune tellers’ business practices, prediction of Islamo
fascists’ attack on America on September 11, 2001, criteria of
real seers, fraud of Global Warming cult, artworks of fortune
tellers & diviners, and other fascinating topics. Most of
photographs featured in this article were never shown in public
before. Yamada is one of the most active educators
and artists in New York City and has had over 450 fine art
exhibitions internationally with his paintings and sculptures.
The manuscript was produced by Dr. Eriko N. Bond, noted art
critic and New York City author, as told by Yamada.
TAKESHI YAMADA
ON
FORTUNE TELLING & DIVINATION
- CONEY ISLAND SIDESHOW AND BEYOND -
Article by Dr.
Eriko N. Bond as told by Takeshi Yamada
Chapter 10
“I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.”
- Albert Einstein
(German born American Physicist who developed the special and
general theories of relativity.
Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. 1879-1955)
Portrait of Prophet Takeshi Yamada
oil/acrylic on canvas, 32 x 24 inch, Takeshi Yamada
Fortune Teller Shops in Coney Island
It is said there
were many fortune teller shops in the Coney Island area of
Brooklyn, New York because Coney Island once was the center of
the entertainment industry of the world. It may be hard to
believe but Coney Island was bigger than Hollywood, Las Vegas,
Disney World, Six Flags, Times Square all combined about 100
years ago. Shown below are some of the truly major amusement
parks in Coney Island in its Golden Era.
The Steeplechase Park (1897 - 1964) in Coney Island is one of
the most famous
and most influential amusement parks in the amusement park
industry’s history.
The Luna Park (1903 – 1944) is another majestic giant scale
amusement park
In
Coney Island. A pair of fires in 1944 damaged Luna Park,
destroying much of it.
View of the spectacular Dreamland (1904 – 1911).
It was completely destroyed by the Dreamland Fire in 1911.
“Coney Island was
literally the center of entertainment culture -- the place where
the most spectacular curiosities, oddities, monsters, and
marvels were collected from around the world to satisfy the
human mind and soul. Coney Island was the missing link where
heaven and earth met. It was a ‘Cabinet of Curiosity’ on the
grandest scale.” (From Takeshi Yamada on the Art of the
Cabinet of Curiosities by Takeshi Yamada.)
For more information
on “Takeshi Yamada on The Art of the Cabinet of Curiosities”,
see following websites.
http://www.sideshowworld.com/TY-CabofCurioPT1.html
http://www.sideshowworld.com/TY-CabofCurioPT2.html
http://www.sideshowworld.com/TY-CabofCurioP3.html
http://www.sideshowworld.com/TY-CabofCurioPT4.html
Sadly, the time has
changed dramatically and drastically. Today (as of September 2,
2007), there are only three operating fortune teller shops in
Coney Island. They are all in the amusement park district.
Naturally, they are open for business only during the amusement
park season. (Some of them also have shops at different Brooklyn
locations, which operate year around.) The Fortune tellers’
shops in Coney Island, featured in this article are used
strictly as business locations, and they are not residence of
any of the fortune tellers or their assistances who work there.
Coney Island
Fortune Teller Shop #1
“Future Teller”
Sylvia shown below is on the Surf Avenue by the Coney
Island-Stillwell subway station (less than three minutes walking
distance from the subway station’s Surf Avenue exit) in Coney
Island, Brooklyn, New York. It is only six minutes walking
distance from the residence of Takeshi Yamada.
Fortune teller shop by Sylvia. Detail in the right.
(September 2, 2007)
It is in the busy
amusement park district. It is on a prime location by a busy
subway station. The letterings as you can see here were all
professionally painted.
Note: In the recent
year, a poorly executed mismatched large hand-painted sign of a
hand was added by a local artist as shown above. It was fully
funded by a government agency for the community upgrading
project called Coney Island Renaissance, or Coney Island
revitalization project.
The first line of
the store sign at the top of this shop reads “Your Handwriting
Analyzed”. This is one of the traditional readings of fortune
tellers. The art of reading a person’s basic character, health,
personality is basically a “statistical fortune telling” (a term
used by Takeshi Yamada) – a form of “soft” science based on
accumulated and analyzed data.
“Reader and
Advisor” is repeated three times in this storefront for unknown
reasons. There are no specific traditional color or color
combinations for fortune teller’s shops. Nevertheless, the
combination of deep red, gold, and black used for this
storefront here seems very effective, modern and
serious-looking.
Private, detailed,
and more confidential readings are offered in the room behind
the fancy curtain: a table, chairs, dim-light, and paraphernalia
of fortune tellers (such as Tarot Cards, crystals, etc) are
equipped in the room. This has been the traditional and standard
setting in this business for many centuries.
One or two fortune
telling ladies usually work at this shop. They do not use any
microphones but a lady sitting in the front frequently solicits
people, who are on the way to the Astroland Amusement Park and
Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park.
Mia (August 18, 2008)
Mia has been taking
care of this fortune telling shop after her cousin (Sylvia)
retired. It is her proud profession and family business over
generations. She has been working as a fortune teller for over
20 years. She does NOT consider herself as a witch. This is her
exclusive shop.
Flyer (1/4 typing sheet size paper)
(August 2008)
Note: According
to Mia’s future prediction told to Takeshi Yamada in person on
August 18, 2008, Astroland amusement park will be keep operating
as it is for three more years before it is closed down
permanently.
Graphology
The appearance of
what you write could reflect in great detail what you have in
your heart, mind and soul. The United States government actually
used this specific style of fortune telling - Graphology - to
analyze the mental condition of the president, according to
Takeshi Yamada. For an example, the hand-written signature by
the US President Ronald Wilson Reagan changed dramatically
before and after the assassination attempt on him. More
specifically, the height of the proportional shape of his
signature shortened dramatically and this is thought to
unconsciously reflect his mental condition. Even after the many
decades of mental and physical training instilled upon him as a
captain of a University football team, a Captain of industry and
two terms as the leader of the free world, Reagan still bore
permanent psychological scars from having such a deadly plot
visited upon him.
US
President Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 - June 5, 2004)
Reagan created the longest and largest economical prosperities
after World War Two
by
cutting tax and implementing other conservative policies in the
United States.
Graphology
(Handwriting Analysis) is the study and analysis of handwriting
especially in relation to human psychology and character. Real
handwriting experts are known as forensic document examiners,
not as graphologists. Forensic (or questioned) document
examiners consider loops, dotted "i's" and crossed "t's," letter
spacing, slants, heights, ending strokes, etc. They examine
handwriting to detect authenticity or forgery.
In the medical
field, graphology can be used to refer to the study of
handwriting as an aid in the diagnosis and tracking of diseases
of the brain and nervous system. (The term is sometimes
incorrectly used to refer to forensic document examination.) At
this point, the error-proof working model and system have not
been established in the scientific community yet. This form of
witchcraft or “soft science” is still in progress. The exact
same can be said of psychology, political science, social
science, and any other “science” associated with human thoughts
and behaviors – their degrees at graduate schools at
universities have quite different from degrees earned in the
fields of “hard science”. Needless to say, “real science” or
“hard science” handles things that are scalable, measurable,
transferable, quantifiable, and often repeatable.
Shown
below is a sampling from various popular Graphology books
providing interpretations of common handwriting charactaristics.
This seems quite universal, and the same type of thing was done
in both Western and Eastern world.
|
Handwriting Characteristic |
Interpretation |
|
Slant
(handwriting) of the letters |
-
A forward slant indicates
high emotional expressiveness
-
Vertical handwriting
indicates moderate, restrained emotional expression
-
A left slant indicates
emotional withdrawal.
|
|
Angle of the
lines on unlined paper |
-
An upward slant indicates
optimism and higher energy.
-
A downward slant or lines
with trail off the page indicate low energy or
physical exhaustion.
-
A slant to the right can
indicate sensitivity, while a slant to the left can
indicate a hardness of the character. Fairly
straight writing can indicate a balanced frame or
state of mind.
|
|
General
shape of the strokes |
-
Circular handwriting
indicates an agreeable, easygoing nature.
-
Angular handwriting with
sharp points indicates aggressiveness, directness,
and high energy
-
Square handwriting
indicates a real world, practical based approach
-
Squiggles and irregular
strokes indicate an artistic and non standard
approach
|
|
Individual
letters |
·
A low t bar indicates goals or self esteem
set lower than what can be accomplished.
·
A t bar high on the stem indicates goals
set high and a high self esteem.
·
A t bar that is above the stem indicates
setting goals higher than can be accomplished.
·
A cursive y that has been crossed back
over ornately or several times can indicate a perverted
state of mind. |
|
Pressure
applied on the paper while writing |
-
The emotional intensity
behind a person's behavior. The heavier the
pressure, the more intense the emotions of that
person.
-
The pressure on the paper
can also indicate the level of stress that the
person is experiencing. (The more pressure applied,
the more stress the person is under.)
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Certifications of Graphology are invariably linked to the
organization one belongs to, and are no longer recognized when
one resigns from the organization, just like the certifications
of Chinese caligraphy given from the master to his students in
Japan.
Continue to Chapter 11
Copyright by Takeshi Yamada, Museum of World Wonders in Coney
Island, Brooklyn, New York, December 2007. Revised in December
2008. All Rights Reserved.
E-mail: yamada108@verizon.net
Special thanks to Dr. Eriko N. Bond, Lauren D. Travis, Seara
(Sea Rabbit), Dr. Abraham Morris, and Maremi Kakushina.
Also special thanks to Jack Frost (Senior
Proofreader)
http://www.sideshowworld.com/SSA-15.html
http://www.roguetaxidermy.com/members_detail.php?id=528
http://www.horseshoecrab.org/poem/feature/takeshi.html
http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/events/exhibitions/other/worldwonders.jsp
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/own-this-city/3388/animal-crossing
http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-11-07/nyc-life/the-stuffing-dreams-are-made-of/
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