New Moon on Tuesday

(Yes, that is a Duran Duran reference, modified to fit the occasion.) The moon is perhaps mankind's second-oldest symbolic image (the first being the sun), serving as calendar, providing a metaphor for the cycle of birth, growth, decline, death, and rebirth, and representing the nighttime and all its attendant mysteries. The moon has been deified in countless cultures, and consequently reviled in some quarters as a symbol of Satanism (Procter and Gamble was forced to retire its 130-year-old moon-and-stars logo in 1985 due to false allegations of Satanism). "Moon" was one of the first words spoken by each of my kids, and I suspect that holds true for many others. Maybe it has something to do with the immensely popular children's book Goodnight Moon, written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd, first published in 1947 and in print ever since. That's an unlikely source for a swirling controversy, yet there is one swirling about it right now: for its new hardcover (non-board) edition of the book, publisher HarperCollins has altered the photo of Hurd, which has appeared on the back cover for over 50 years, by digitally removing a cigarette from his right hand. So as not to encourage kids to smoke, you see. What's next, putting hair on Shel Silverstein to discourage kids from becoming skinheads?

But I digress. The moon being such a powerful image, it was inevitable that it would find its way onto neckties, such as this one from Perry Ellis. The traditional man-in-the-moon motif has been markedly feminized in this depiction, giving it a vaguely art-nouveau feel. I like it. Clever tie designer Josh Bach has designed an exceptionally clever moon tie called Moon Phases; I think I'll get one one of these days.