※SpinalGap24 ※

Fianza
Deposit, security and extremely good with black olives.

Felony
Serious crime punishable by having a lawyer represent you.

Finca
Property or plot of land, and one of much thought in the Sauf-ist of Ingland.

Fiscal
Related to the Treasury, however, under stress, or duress, can become a useful weapon when clenched.

Folio
A book of papers used in court, or elsewhere. This is also the game played in court when stealing the judge's 'hammer'

Fortalice
The place you sit when told to "be seated" safe from the harm of the law.

Fossa
Again, the state you go to when told to "be seated" or, "silence in court"...also a subtle exclamation from curled lips!

Frowst
Hot stuffiness, yes indeed judge!

Freeloader
A good for nothing mooching, blood sucking parasitic leech.

Fructis
From latin fructus, bearing fruit, which is chewed-on by all lawyers, leavng the rest to rot. Also a leader in lawyer haircare!

Fugly
Can be used freely, but best kept in mind for long-drawn out sagas. Probably best desribes the lawyer than the accused!

Fungibles
Moveable effects consumed by use from the Latin fungibilis...but can be brought on by whispering between judge and lawyer, out of your earshot.

After another wounding night in the hands of medics playing with my medicine, I'm thankful to have, I think, at least 3 out of 4 propellers working. I'm not grounded yet, though turbulence reigns for the moment.

A doctor actually replied to my begging calls to help me, and restore my original heart medicine, with the words, "you are repetitive". I'm hurting...but this is a new kind of pain.

When your ears failed to listen
I screamed in this hopeless desecration
of a pain so "repetitive"
is that blame my condemnation

credence tried, yet forever tested
in ageless eyes, neoteric tears
fall in sedate threnody
the salt of deepest fears

there's nowhere left to turn
in paralising the right to choose
Puissance fills the uncremonious urn
alone in bed free to muse

It's time to munify indignant breach
pulsation's bewail hemeralopia
now life appears in a tube I cannot reach
as Doctor's detail all via the photocopier

an earnest pain exploited by medicine
nerves exscinded by humanity exposed
in medicine's original practice of sin
eye-opening wounds now be closed.

written by wensum24.

As I love flags, and collect them, I certainly enjoyed this animation...wonderful...wherever you're from, you'll find your nation represented...

verkorperung des Geistes.

In times past I never forgot
heartlands significant spot
now a randan of falling leaves
as hopes and dreams beg to tease
within this obvert place
disconcerting hopes no disgrace
simulating the definitive paradise
from this slumber yet to aclimatise
the sepulchre 25th lingers so
like a flag upon the mind-meadow
here and there vigourous thoughts rise
from a ria of debilities franchise
flowing through the schlucht of health
life's steeps, steeples and stealth
in season, the vineyards of our imagination
to industrial words and human contamination
yet...nature speaks, like a river flow
to those who truly know.

written by wensum24.

Drinking for Long Life

Once upon a time, there was a big drinker who had never done any good and had never committed any sins either.

There were three people in his family; his wife, his son and him. He desired his son to be ordained as a Buddhist monk. Unfortunately, he died at the age of 50. It was before the ordination of his beloved son.

Before his death, he told his family to put a few bottles of alcohol in his coffin in order to quench his thirst with it after he died.

After his death, his spirit went to hell. There, the guardian of the dead asked him, “Why do you prefer alcohol? Is it tasty?”

“It is the greatest thing on earth I’ve ever drunk. No words can explain its terrific flavour. Try it and you will know,” said the man.

“What a pity! I won’t know its flavour because in hell we don’t have anything like this,” said the guardian of the dead.

“I take a few bottles of alcohol with me. Here you are. Try it,” said the man.

After tasting the alcohol, the guardian was impressed. He drank a bottle of it and got drunk because he had never tried it before. After that both of them promised to be friends.

The guardian of the dead told the man, “If you want anything, just tell me. I’m willing to help you.”

“I desire nothing other than to arrange the ordination for my son. Please let me go back home for only one more year. I long to be in the religious ceremony of my son,” the man begged the guardian.

As the guardian liked the man very much, he extended the man’s life by adding one more year to the age of him in a register. But he was blind drunk, so he wrote number 1 at the end of the figure 50 instead of erasing number 0 from the figure before writing number 1. As a result, the man’s age was 501, not 51.

When the man was alive again, he arranged the ordination for his son and then waited for the time to die. Many years passed by, but he didn’t die. He was so sad because his wife, his son and all the descendants were dead, but he wasn’t.

-A southern Thai tale

Embezzle
The hairsplitting and rarely enforced rule dealing with lawyers illegally misappropriating the client’s money into his or her own account by fraudulent means. Picky, picky, picky.

Ethics
In the old English court system, a set of standards or codes outlining the moral principles, conduct and judgment the lawyers had to adhere to.

Evidence
Proof, presented at trial, that your lawyer actually has a pulse after all.

Ex parte communication
Latin for “don’t get caught bribing the judge.”

Expert witness
A witness who is an expert at custom tailoring his so-called expert testimony to fit the particular needs of the lawyer paying his or her tab.

Ex post facto
Latin for “after your check clears the lawyer’s bank;" this phrase accurately portrays the approximate moment you figure out that your lawyer can’t find his butt with both hands.

Extortion
The shakedown process lawyers regularly utilize when blackmailing a defendant into submission and making said defendant surrender and run up the white flag and more importantly, fork over some serious cheese.

This Russian animation, by Ivan Maximov, is quite bizarre, especially at 7am, but fascinating...

Today my routine blood pressure check, each morning, sparked some activity, indeed since that medicine fiasco a few weeks ago, (where the doctor's in conflict with each other, chopped and changed my medication with near fatal results), the staff have kept an ever-watchful eye on my health, to the degree that the slightest change causes great concern.

My blog gives me a chance to express my feelings, concerns, and even seek reassurance too.
I would like to ask, is my blood pressure reading particularly bad?
This morning's three readings were;
144/101
146/105
148/107
Thereafter, I was quickly given a blood test, ECG, and heart ultrasound scan...all happened without any information being passed to the patient, namely me..but I was grateful for the attention nonetheless.

After, a nurse who is typical of so many at 'ground level', tried so hard to help me, expressed normal and very human reactions to my readings, and even voiced her concern at the doctor who had stopped my 'safe medicine' for my heart. This decision by the doctor seems to have nearly killed me.
The nurse vented some anger about it, and demanded I be checked by him, to 'reinstate the normal heart medication that kept me stable for months'.

This is amazing. But at least I have someone here on my side, who also reassured me that the doctor really is appalling. I shall tell him that a job in Premiership refereeing awaits.

Ich glaube Ihnen
Ich glaube Ihrem Gefühl
Sie geben mir Gefühl
Sie nehmen mein Gefühl
Sie glauben meinem Gefühl
Sie glauben mir.

I feel you.
I feel your emotion.
You give me emotion.
You take my emotion.
You feel my feeling.
You feel me.

One morning, after he had finished his meditation, the old man opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the water. As the scorpion was washed closer to the tree, the old man quickly stretched himself out on one of the long roots that branched out into the river and reached out to rescue the drowning creature. As soon as he touched it, the scorpion stung him. Instinctively the man withdrew his hand. A minute later, after he had regained his balance, he stretched himself out again on the roots to save the scorpion. This time the scorpion stung him so badly with its poisonous tail that his hand became swollen and bloody and his face contorted with pain.

At that moment, a passerby saw the old man stretched out on the roots struggling with the scorpion and shouted: "Hey, stupid old man, what's wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don't you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?"

The old man turned his head. Looking into the stranger's eyes he said calmly, "My friend, just because it is the scorpion's nature to sting, that does not change my nature to save."

I now know who are the scorpions in hospital!!

This was written after waking from medicated, and pained, sleep.
As today has brought news that I'll be quickly taken to surgery at 11am+ with no reason given other than 'blood pressure'.

Oh well, another subject to write about later...hopefully...

The world expands upon closed eyes
days finishing line is the nights prized race
restricted by what I see arise
I'm drawn behind portière dividing grace

hours displaced, thrown into a braid of destiny
recall and wishes, all within minds reach
from Aponsi in gilded Wat reverie
subconsciously restoring Khmer temples to teach

within freedom, ocean drifts noumenon
without restriction, lands advancing certainties
priorities and necessities in eyeopening dénouement
entitlements of freewill give restfull sensitivities

the minds sepia snapshots return home
from journeys sempiternal mile
in the prorogue of awakening roam
for dreams are shadows of eyes dial.

written by wensum24.

Names Day
by, David Kuchta

Not too long ago, many people were named for a Patron Saint. Although popular throughout Europe, Russia and many other parts of the globe, it does seem to be going by the wayside. In some countries it was the custom to name a child after a Saint and therefore, the day of the child’s birth was not important but, the day commemorated for his or her "Saint." In the Slavic countries it was popular to give the first born male child the same name as his father. For some families this went on for generations. Many different ethnic groups don't only celebrate the birthday of a person, but his "Name Day," and also think it just as important to honor the day of his or her death. For the Russian Orthodox Christians (and those who were Greek Catholic) "Names Day" is supposed to be a spiritual holiday. In the old times, before the communist revolution, people normally visited church on their particular "Names Day" and prayed to the Saint they were named after. Usually people that were celebrating the certain "Names Day" would be congratulated on his special day. Since the Russian Orthodox Christians thought this to be a spiritual time, presents were not appropriate unless it was a spiritual present such as a book or icon.

Of course, the modern generation's ways of doing things are fast changing. Lil Junas gave me a little input on how the school kids celebrated their "Names Day" while in school (This was while she was working in Slovakia). She said, "They were celebrated just like birthdays, with cake and other sweets. The school kids would bring something sweet to pass around to the class." The teacher would acknowledge that person's, "Name Day." Gifts weren't given in school, but some did get gifts at home. Some people claimed that the "Names Day" was more important then a birthday. Maybe this was so, a few generations back, but in modern Slovakia a persons birthday is more important then his "Name Day" according to Martin Lipocky, who is a citizen of Slovakia. Lipocky claims that some people appreciate "Names Day" the same way as they do birthdays. He thinks of it as a special day for reminding a person you like, how much you think of them. Lipocky said, "The person usually treats the congratulating person for a cup of coffee and some cake or goodies. The appreciated gifts are chocolate, some candy, or a bottle of spirits and/or flowers for the women."

During our modern times, it is appropriate for the celebrant of the "Names Day" to do the supplying of goodies, coffee or liquid refreshment. Even birthdays are being celebrated the same way at business's or work areas. At home, the celebrant of the "Names Day" or birthday, may receive gifts and is treated to some type of party by family members. Times are changing!

25th nervous slowdown...
written about my near fateful day on the 25th, when overmedication threw my body into turmoil...yet there were reasons to keep going...

So whose hand is it anyway?
while I lay here and write
a defiant line goes astray
sweeping markers fielding Herbst blight
doses administered in supposed docility
for their hands of fate sought duplicity

Tied to inhospitable medical paralysis
ironically in the hands of medgicians
extinguishing my heart, tricking my anamnesis
my eyes become reflecting physicians
(in)sight, the last movement to be played
far-removed, yet watchful and staid

Another pulse indoctrinates consulting induction
visions indrawn, the blurring of time;
early night! my soul's horizontal deduction
I'm a baby in your arms of loving sublime
safe and warm beside your heartbeats
not withstanding the brink of fatal entreats.

Life is given-
in small doses
lightly
-over to you.

written by wensum24

My medicine cup has been passed to me, and soon it will be time to close the curtain-eyelids upon this positive day, shared, thankfully with you good people, and the hope within me has grown a little more, this I can feel certain of, and long may it continue.

Such has been my case, that each and every time I reach this point of hope, a doctor decides to 'try something else'...but not this time!!!

I'm going to sleep with dreams of ocean stars and palms, listening to this song by Depeche Mode..."Freelove"...Goodnight everyone~~

If youve been hiding from love
If youve been hiding from love
I can understand where youre coming from
I can understand where youre coming from

If youve suffered enough
If youve suffered enough
I can understand what youre thinking of
I can see the pain that youre frightened of

And Im only here
To bring you free love
Lets make it clear
That this is free love
No hidden catch
No strings attached
Just free love
No hidden catch
No strings attached
Just free love

Ive been running like you
Ive been running like you
Now you understand why Im running scared
Now you understand why Im running scared

Ive been searching for truth
Ive been searching for truth
And I havent been getting anywhere
No I havent been getting anywhere

And Im only here
To bring you free love
Lets make it clear
That this is free love
No hidden catch
No strings attached
Just free love
No hidden catch
No strings attached
Just free love

Hey girl
Youve got to take this moment
Then let it slip away
Let go of complicated feelings
Then theres no price to pay

Weve been running from love
Weve been running from love
And we dont know what were doing here
No we dont know what were doing here

Were only here
Sharing our free love
Lets make it clear
That this is free love
No hidden catch
No strings attached
Just free love
No hidden catch
No strings attached
Just free love

Depeche Mode

Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river. Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But one creature said at last, "I trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I shall die of boredom."

The other creatures laughed and said, "Fool! Let go, and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!"

But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. Yet, in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more.

And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, "See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the Messiah, come to save us all!" And the one carried in the current said, "I am no more Messiah than you. The river delight to lift us free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure.

But they cried the more, "Saviour!" all the while clinging to the rocks, making legends of a Saviour.

Damages
The financial compensation awarded to an aggrieved party and his or her lawyer, though not necessarily in that order.

Defamation
A statement that smears a lawyer’s reputation, such as stating the lawyer did a sorry ass job on your case when it was really much closer to a half ass job instead.

Default judgment
When your lawyer screws up and manages to lose your case and you’re smacked with a judgment against you, generally it’s said to be default of your lawyer.

Defendant
In criminal cases, the person accused of committing a crime. In civil cases, the poor sucker getting hammered with a lawsuit.

Deposition
A pre-trial oral examination which is part of the discovery process, wherein the opposing lawyer tediously grills you with the same set of half-witted questions twenty seven different ways, hoping to trip you up and then use the newly acquired “evidence” against you at trial.

Directed verdict
A judge’s order to the jury to return a specified verdict, generally because one of the lawyers didn’t come through with the payola as promised.

Discovery
When the lawyer suddenly finds out that the client still has some money left in his or her account.

Dissenting vote
A conflicting vote that runs contrary to the rest of the jury members. The spoil sport on the jury who casts a dissenting vote and keeps them from getting home in time for Wheel of Fortune is generally considered persona non grata by the balance of the jury members.

Divorce
A doubly difficult time in a couple’s married life where they are forced to deal with bad feelings and bad lawyers.

Divorce lawyer
A lawyer whose primary responsibility is to make damn sure you get half and he gets the other half.

Docket
The official and current court record book listing all of the nonsensical loony tune lawsuits that have been filed of record and will in all likelihood clog that particular court through the year 2020.

Double jeopardy
Being tried twice for the same offense is illegal. However, being charged twice by your lawyer is perfectly A-OK.

Duces tecum
Goofy looking Latin words for “bring with you”. Most common in initial meeting with lawyer when you should “bring checkbook with you”.

Due process
The antiquated and sorely out of touch notion that the laws and all legal proceedings must be fair to all parties concerned.

Dufus dilecti
Latin for “dead dumb ass,” as in the condition most clients find themselves after dealing with their lawyers.

The Fly and the Millet

Once there lived an old man and an old woman. They had a young son, and all were so poor that they often had trouble finding food. Times were so bad that finally they had only one grain of millet left to eat. Ivan, take the millet to the miller and have it ground into meal, said the woman to her son. Ivan went to the mill and had the millet ground into meal. The old woman cooked the millet and put it into a bowl to cool. Ivan, you guard the millet while your father and I have a rest, said the old woman, as she sat down for a nap. The father stretched out to nap on the bench, while the old woman sat in a chair. Young Ivan took his job very seriously; he stood over the bowl with a large stick, ready to take care of anybody who would dare to distrub their meal. A hungry fly buzzed into the house and made straight for the bowl of millet. As soon as Ivan saw the fly, he said to himself "just look at that fly! I will fix her for trying to spoil our millet! He sneaked up on the fly and swung the stick mightily.

He missed the fly, but he did not miss the bowl of millet, which shattered and flew into pieces all over the room. I will get even with that fly, thought Ivan. Spying it in the air near the old woman, he again swung his stick. He missed the fly again, but he did not miss his mother. She fell to the floor, truly asleep, with a big bump on her head. Now look what you have done, you naughty fly, cried Ivan as he redoubled his efforts to catch her. The fly sat on the forehead of the sleeping old man, and Ivan again swung his stick. Once more, he missed the fly. But, he did not miss the innocent old man, who also fell into a deeper sleep with a big bump on his head. Ivan chased the fly all over the house, breaking and upsetting everything. Finally, he threw his stick at the fly. He missed the fly, but he did not miss the window. The stick went through it, and the fly followed right after.

From "Yalynka and Other Ukrainian Folk Tales Retold in English" by Danny Evanishen

I've just eaten, for the first time today; Thai rice, aubergine, red hot chillies, Mon Ploy (sp?) curry paste, and fish..followed by wholemeal seeded bread with German emmental cheese.
Then tablets, gabapentin1200mg for sleep this afternoon...

I've long admired Depeche Mode, and this song, "Useless" from 1997 is wonderful, as I have great empathy with Dave Gahan's feelings in this video, though my reasons may be somewhat different to his, (yet, it must be noted that he nearly died of an overdose, and I too but at the hands of medics administering the drugs, not me), the lyrics and anger felt are the same...so this is my part, (acted by Dave Gahan, DM), shown to the medics who nearly killed me...

Well it's about time
It's beginning to hurt
Time you made up your mind
Just what is it all worth

All my useless advice
All my hanging around
All your cutting down to size
All my bringing you down

Watch the clock on the wall
Feel the slowing of time
Hear a voice in the hall
Echoing in my mind

All your stupid ideals
You've got your head in the clouds
You should see how it feels
With your feet on the ground

Here I stand the accused
With your fist in my face
Feeling tired and bruised
With the bitterest taste

All my useless advice
All my hanging around
All your cutting down to size
All my bringing you down

All your stupid ideals
You've got your head in the clouds
You should see how it feels
With your feet on the ground

Depeche Mode: Useless

Campaign contribution
Booty contributed by lawyers to judges’ election coffers for the express purpose of receiving preferential treatment from said judges. Judges’ campaign slogans are “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” Not to be confused with a bribe, which is usually given after the judge has been elected, although both are given for same reason and are equally effective techniques for buying off judges.

Capital gain
The money a lawyer squeezes from his or her clients.

Capital loss
The money the client forks over to the lawyer.

Capital punishment
The lawyer fees the client must pay.

Caveat emptor
Latin for “let him beware of the lawyer.” Particularly applicable tenet when a client must deal with his or her lawyer.

Caveat rumpus
Latin for “covering your ass”. An often exercised principle in the legal profession. Also known in legal circles as “CYA.”

Challenge for cause
Lawyer’s option, during the jury selection process, of requesting that a potential juror be rejected if the lawyer determines that the person is unable or unwilling to ignore the evidence and pay attention only to the lawyer’s line of horse hockey.

Change of venue
A lawyer’s request to change the trial location so that his Uncle Bob, the on the take judge from Nincompoop County, can preside over the case.

Checks and balances
A legal phrase for the lawyer making absolutely certain that the client has sufficient balances in his or her bank account to cover the check written to the lawyer.

Circumstantial evidence
Depending on what side of the case the lawyer is arguing, the same circumstantial evidence can either be 1) a smoking gun proving guilt beyond a shadow of doubt, or 2) a trifling, petty, inconclusive and inconsequential nuisance proving nothing at all.

Civil law
Quirky American derivation of Roman law wherein lawyers and judges routinely manipulate a written collection of laws that apply to everyone but the lawyers and judges themselves, who are exempt from observance of said laws; practiced by uncivil lawyers in an uncivil environment and administered by uncivil judges in uncivil courtrooms.

Class action lawyers
The lawyers representing a group of aggrieved plaintiffs in multimillion dollar class action lawsuits who typically receive the millions of dollars in legal fees while their clients in turn receive coupons and discounts as their portion of the windfall award or settlement.

Class action lawsuit
The legal equivalent of lawyers winning the lottery; it is an often misapplied machination wherein lawyers work to group together as many people as possible having comparable claims thereby allowing the lawyers to extort huge sums of money for themselves from the defendants while tossing their clients a bone for their trouble. See “Class action members.”

Class action members
The group of aggrieved plaintiffs in multimillion dollar class action lawsuits who typically receive coupons and discounts as their portion of the windfall award or settlement.

Closing arguments
As the trial draws to a conclusion, this is the lawyer’s last ditch ostentatious oratorical effort to bamboozle, baffle and befuddle the jury before deliberations begin. Muddling the facts, confusing the issues and blowing more smoke than a ’71 Pinto spewing exhaust fumes are time honored traditions of the closing argument.

Common law
Kooky legal doctrine wherein judges are allowed to make up the law as they go along, citing precedents of other knuckle head judges as the basis for their home cooked decisions. Under the table payoffs and campaign contributions from lawyers pleading their cases are common components taken into consideration when common law is determined by judges. See “Campaign contributions.”

Community property
Property acquired by a couple during their marriage together and then acquired by the lawyers during the couple’s divorce.

Compensatory damages
Money awarded by the court to reimburse for a party for actual costs incurred, such as medical bills and lost wages, as well as for harder to measure items like pain and suffering. The lawyers always have first crack on the loot, since they must be reimbursed for their owned trumped up costs, expenses, fees and the like. See “Costs.”

Complaint
Term for which there are a multiplicity of legal meanings, including: what the lawyer files on behalf of his or her clients to get a lawsuit underway; the constant criticisms the client always has about his or her lousy ass lawyer once the lawsuit is underway.

Confession
When the accused decides its far better to admit to the crime and face the electric chair than be forced to listen to the loud mouth lawyers for even one more mind numbing minute.

Conflict of interest
A disturbing and somewhat awkward situation that occurs whenever a lawyer, representing one client, discovers that the opposing party is paying their lawyer a lot more money than his client is paying him.

Conspiracy
A sticky situation that occurs when one lawyer attempts to bilk another lawyer out of a fee.

Contempt of court
By definition, an action that insults the dignity of the court - as if that’s really possible. In reality, anyone that rubs the judge the wrong way may be held in contempt and be forced to fork over a fine or even spend some time in the county cooler.

Contingency fee
A fee arrangement between the lawyer and his or her clients that stipulates the following: If they lose the case - the lawyer gets nothing. If they win the case - the clients get nothing.

Contract
An agreement between two or more parties in which an offer is made and accepted. In the legal profession, it’s an agreement between the lawyer and the client which stipulates that the client agrees to pay the lawyer and the lawyer agrees to take the money.

Contributory negligence
Anything that contributed to your lawyer’s carelessness or indifference during your trial, like the third martini he sloshed down at lunch or his inability to count to ten.

Costs
In the legal vernacular, includes every possible combination of fees, costs, charges, reimbursements, expenses and the like that lawyers are able conjure up in their never ending quest to siphon every dollar from every client each and every time out. It should be mentioned that this task is not nearly as easy as the lawyers make it appear.

Court order
When the judge notices that is approaching noon, he or she summons the bailiff to place his lunch order.

Crime
An illegal offense or activity which lawyers are free to perpetrate without consequence, but when committed by anyone else would result in the offender getting thrown in the slammer.

Criminal lawyers
Aren’t they all?

Cross examination
When the lawyer becomes a little cantankerous with an uncooperative witness.

Culpa lata
Latin for gross negligence. A lawyer who concludes a lawsuit with a client who still has some cash remaining is said to be guilty of culpa lata.

A Man's Duty is to Try
By Troy Morash

On the grassy shore of the Danube River there was a little village of people who were friendly and kind. They liked to work harder than usual. However these were hard times and hard work was to no avail. Food was sparse. All the shops had closed and all the wild animals had run away. Miraculously the people held to their positive attitudes.

On one hot day three good friends, Costache, Vasile and Gheorghe had spent the entire day fishing. Between the three of them and several hours later they managed to catch one little fish. As they were returning home, a friend of theirs saw them and saw the fish.

'Costache, Vasile, Gheorghe, from where are you coming with a fish?! Why didn't you take me with you?' the man asked, greedily eyeing the fish. He was hungry and hadn't eaten in days.

'You can also fish,' said Vasile.

'How?'

'It's easy!' Gheorghe said. 'You take a small branch and tie a piece of string to it. Then you tie a worm to the string and you can catch fish.'

'And as we are friends,' Costache added, 'we'll tell you where you can get the worms, in the ground.'

'Which ground would that be?' the man asked his good and learned friends, for he was eager to start.

'Why the very ground you are standing on!'

After his friends left him, the man said to himself, 'Why can I not catch a fish now. It seems so easy!' He set to work straight away. He went into the bush and found a nice stick. Then he ransacked his house looking for a piece of string. He only had a spoon so finding a worm was the longest and hardest part. Then he tied the worm to the string and climbed up onto the roof of his house and threw his line with the sickly worm over the side. Not an hour had passed before someone saw the man sitting on top of his roof. 'What are you doing Ioane? The passerby asked.

'Can't you see that I am fishing.'

'But on the roof of your house?! There isn't even any water.'

Ioane thought about this for a moment and then replied, 'Hey, a man's duty is to try!'

Folk tale from Romania.

Bad faith
An intent to deceive. A tactic often used by lawyers when dealing with their clients.

Bail
The sum of money a lawyer’s client must pay in order to get released from jail after pummeling his or her rat skunk of a lawyer.

Bankruptcy
The formal condition of a person being deemed insolvent under law, a situation a goodly number of people end up in after paying their lawyer’s bill. By declaring bankruptcy, the person agrees to divert his or her remaining assets to the lawyer handling the bankruptcy.

Bar exam
Formal ceremony held by second year law school students, typically during Spring Break, to determine who in their class can chug down the most tequila in a one hour time frame. Winner is said to have passed the “Bar.”

Barrister
English derivation of the French term for bastard. See “Bastard”.

Bastard
French term for lawyer. As in, “That lawyer’s a bastard - pardon my French.”

Bench
The comfy throne in which the judge plops his or her considerable posterior during courtroom proceedings.

Beyond a reasonable doubt
A novel concept in jurisprudence wherein the lawyers on both sides of the case attempt to establish that the other side is lying more than they are.

Bill-able hours
Hours billed to the client, however; should not be confused with time actually spent working on the case. A complex algebraic algorithm is utilized by lawyers to determine the time they bill to each case. The formula is as follows: time actually spent working on case plus time spent thinking about case while at lunch plus amount of the lawyer’s car payment multiplied by a factor of 4.

Breach of trust
Whenever clients attempt to surreptitiously keep the lawyer from knowing that they still have a little money left in their bank accounts.

Bribe
A standard operating procedure in the legal profession whereby under the table payola is given by one shady character to another equally questionable character in exchange for preferential treatment; typically lawyer to judge, lawyer to jury member, etc. Also “Quid pro quo.” (will post that later)

Burden of proof
The requirement demanded by lawyers that their clients prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they have absolutely no more money left in their bank accounts. Once the stringent burden of proof requirement is met, confirming that you’re flat broke, the lawyer feels ethically compelled to withdraw from your case.

A northern California basket maker named Mrs. Matt was hired to teach basket making at a local university. After three weeks, her students complained that all they had done was sing songs. When, they asked, were they going to learn to make baskets? Mrs. Matt, somewhat taken aback, replied that they were learning to make baskets. She explained that the process starts with songs that are sung so as not to insult the plants when the materials for the baskets are picked. So her students learned the songs and went to pick the grasses and plants to make their baskets.

Upon their return to the classroom, however, the students again were dismayed when Mrs. Matt began to teach them yet more songs. This time she wanted them to learn the songs that must be sung as you soften the materials in your mouth before you start to weave. Exasperated, the students protested having to learn songs instead of learning to make baskets. Mrs. Matt, perhaps a bit exasperated herself at this point, thereupon patiently explained the obvious to them: “You’re missing the point,” she said, “a basket is a song made visible.”

In a single word two hearts kiss
in a single kiss two worlds meet
within a double feeling, the sheer bliss
inside love with you to greet
we as one like the sun
shining together, reflections own denizen

Rising with your ray of energising care
a beaming glow of devoted halo
surrounding all we are and share
guided by an ocean star in beauty's flow
the emersion of souls dueting in resonant diapason
like palms in a sea breeze frisson

A bond of nature within us
love lives at night, restless by day
below shade and shelter of cypress truss
our lunar oscular holding sway
from mirthful play to entwined repose
all in a single word we compose.

written by wensum24

Ad infinitum
Latin for forever, without limit, indefinitely - as in how long the lawyer intends to keep billing you.

Affidavit
A written pack of lies and untruths, when made under oath by an individual and then notarized, becomes a written pack of notarized lies and untruths.

Ambulance chasing
A high stakes, high speed competitive sport engaged in by personal injury lawyers looking to cause an accident and make a quick score.

Amicus curiae
Latin for “friend of the court,” as in a lawyer who slips the judge a couple hundred bucks under the table.

Appeal
Something a person slips on in a grocery store and results in a lawsuit being filed against said store.

Arbitration
An alternative method of resolving disputes wherein both parties agree to abide by the decision of an arbitrator, who is generally an out of work judge who has lost most of his marbles.

Assault
Touching another with the intent to harm, especially common in instances where the lawyer manages to lose a client’s case.

Attorney
Fancy term used by lawyers to describe themselves in the telephone yellow page advertisements.

Attorney - client privilege
The so-called privilege bestowed upon the client wherein he or she receives the contrived benefit of paying the lawyer $100, $200 or more per hour to screw up his or her case.

You sounded more than once
in the layered movements of this song
token notes, each and all
-your call in emollient sing-a-long
within the cuddle of sounded ambient
and kissed by you in the music
fingers playing our tracks entwined
the fusion of heartlands so herrlich
an augenblick of you
from the sound bass entering me
our musical landscape coloured by love
sharing sound rhythms below cypress tree.

written by wensum24

Tea is popular in many countries and each country has own traditions and preferences in drinking of tea. Russia is the country where tea-drinking formed into individual tradition. History of Russian tea-drinking ceremony has began in 1638 when Russian Tsar Michael Fedorovich got special diplomatic gift from Altyun-Khan, ruler of Mongolia. Till that time Russians did not know anything about tea and used to soft drinks based on honey.

In Russia tea is served after meals and during mid-afternoon breaks, a kind of English "five-o'clock-tea" with difference that this Russian "five-o'clock-tea" may occur in any part of day and in any place - in office, in a car, in a park. When friends visit somebody hosts invite them to have a cup of tea. This "cup of tea" is not just a tea but a lots of cookies, sandwiches, other meal. Each feast ends with tea-drinking with candies and cakes. Having come to Russia from Ukraine when tea drinking traditions are not so strong and widely spread, especially in the country area, as in Russia, I was very surprised at the party of occasion of somebody's birthday when after many shots of vodka when all guests were well drunk the mistress of the house served tea with a huge pie. I would prefer a glass of cold mineral water...

Till present time when bagged tea got popular in the world Russians still prefer tea prepared in old classical way when tea is put into a teapot and then poured with boiling water - nothing special but only this way can provide good taste of tea. Every family has several porcelain teapots of different sizes and different decoration. Teapots with plain decoration are used for everyday tea-drinking, more festive teapots are use for more ceremonial feasts. The most valued porcelain items are those made at Lomonosov Porcelain Factory because of high quality of porcelain and decoration.

There are some rules to prepare good tea. They say that water should be boiled till "sparkling boiling" when first air bubbles appeared. Water should be soft, hard water with much salts is not good for tea. A teapot is heated a little bit with some hot water. Then tea is put into the teapot - 1 teaspoon for each person plus 1 for teapot - classical recipe. After 3-4 minutes tea is ready. Some concentrated tea is pored into cup in accordance with preferences of a person, the rest of cup is filled with hot water. Russian seldom serve tea with milk or cream, they consider that milk change taste of the tea. Often, especially in past, tea is served in glass which are put into special glass holders which are made of metal - silver, bronze, so called German silver (special Cu-Ni-Zn alloy) and decorated with engraved pictures and enamel elements. Till this time tradition of serving of tea in such glasses with glass-holders in long-distance trains. Often tea is served with slices of lemon.

In past Russian tea party was quite pictures and colourful, that is why it became an often subject of painting on lacquer boxes, trays, porcelain pieces. Many different snacks were served during tea party. In past water was boiled in special devices - samovar. The samovar was the central symbol of the Russian tea ceremony. This is a unique invention that combines a kettle with heating chamber inside. Samovar became an essential element of each housekeeping. There were many different types of samovars - large for public restaurants, small and compact for travels, normal size for everyday use, brass for regular income families, silver and well decorated for rich families.

Besides different cakes and cookies all sorts of jams and confiture are served. Honey is most delicious addition to tea. Jam and honey are not put into cup or glass with tea but are served in a kind of bowl or special vase and then each participant of tea party put portion into personal little plate or bowl and then eats by a tea spoon. Often white bread or roll is offered, in this case loaves of bread are spread with jam or honey. Of course fresh butter is served - just in case to spread onto bread.

Many times I received questions like: "I have a friend who come from Russia. I want to make a special "Russian gift". What would you advise?" The most universal "very Russian gift" is a gift related to tea ceremony - tea set, just a fine tea cup, good porcelain teapot, maybe collection of different teas. Such gift will be appropriate for any person with Russian roots.

Link

I'm awake early as I need a blood pressure check soon, due to last night's higher than normal BP and accompanied dizziness, however, that is small-fry compared to what has been the 'norm' this week.

I awoke with Depeche Mode on my mind, namely this song, "Walking in My Shoes" which I'd like to play to my doctor...

I would tell you about the things
They put me through
The pain I've been subjected to
But the Lord himself would blush
The countless feasts laid at my feet
Forbidden fruits for me to eat
But I think your pulse would start to rush

Now I'm not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes

You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes

Morality would frown upon
Decency look down upon
The scapegoat fate's made of me
But I promise now, my judge and jurors
My intentions couldn't have been purer
My case is easy to see

I'm not looking for a clearer conscience
Peace of mind after what I've been through
And before we talk of any repentance
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes

You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes

Now I'm not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes

You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes

You'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes

In music's grasp, behind the wheel
at long last
switching lanes like clouds
a sunny interval just passed
like a beaming smile
bedazzling a shadow uncast
on an open road
towards sunset a mood steadfast
A surprise journey
laid forth like an unmade bed
of warm and cold fronts
with rising images to tread
the wheels of dreams
and images of travel
sleep's illusions rain down in sheets
awakening on a platform to commence...

written by wensum24
21st October

Another hellish night survived...but no thanks to doctor's ideas on medication. I became paralised down my left side yet again, for several hours into the night, and my vision became blurred once more, to which the doctor said, "rest nerves".
I am still baffled and surprised at this retort...what exactly does it mean????
He busied himself in such a way as to become 'unavailable' within a second of this remark, after which nobody was seen until breakfast this morning.

I am very down right now. I know they will force feed me tablets again soon, and my naseous state of immobility will return...what is going on???

Damn this existence.

Here I stand, yet here I don't belong
Here I fall, a familiar theme song
Here I cry, in prostrate largo
Here I am, a victim of healthcare embargo

There I see a blundering screed
There I seek pyretic need
There I sought a glimmer of hope
There I saw, sealed in a white envelope

And I waited upon a list concealed
And I pleaded for remedy unrevealed
And I begged to be heard
And I fell to asthenic undeserved

Everywhere I see the pull of selves
Everywhere I seek answers upon shelves
Everywhere I sought faith in their madness
Everywhere I saw in dicrotic helplessness.

[Where can I feel at home
Where is healing in medical tome
Where do footstep echoes lead
Where am I, plugged in monitoring 'need'?]

-wensum24

By the way, I will reply to all the lovely comments when I can, that I promise..nobody is ever forgotten... you dear souls.

Shrouded by the darkened silence of clouds
forever moving with expentant crowds
turning for a back-biting second
distorts all that was reckoned
in a deluge of one-track mind
to the updraft of love to find
symbolic arcus of hearts intertwined
life's rotational magnitude opined
in Equatorial escape, journey's end
with a passionate axis leaning to transcend
after a celestial pause in sunbeams
reposeful attic in a house of dreams
embedded in 4 seasons sonnenlicht
waking beside your touch of mondlicht
a deep breath of fresh air
in midnight blue, still and bare
beneath the talismanic hazel so doughty
foliaceous thoughts ever-changing...
the spring buds of this tree planted
a life shared and together granted.

written by wensum24

The Animals Exodus

Along time ago a mouse was sleeping in the forest under a tree. A gush of wind went through the forest and knocked a branch of the tree down, and as the branch fell it landed on the sleeping mouse. The mouse woke up and startled it began to run!

The mouse ran faster and faster passing a rabbit, the rabbit asked "Why are you in such a hurry?" The mouse said, "Because the wind blew hard and knocked a tree branch down hitting me."

The rabbit then began to run with the mouse and as they ran they came upon a marten. The marten asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?" The rabbit said, "Because when the mouse was sleeping the wind blew hard uprooting an entire tree almost killing all the animals that were beneath it!"

The Marten then became startled and in fear began to run with other animals, and as they ran they came upon a goat. The goat asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?" To which the Marten replied, "Because when the mouse was sleeping their was an earthquake which caused an opening in the earth almost swallowing all the animals that were in its' path!"

The goat then became startled as well and in fear ran with the other animals. Every animal that came upon their path became startled with the ever changing story... what a task it would be to catch them!

This was written during the early hours of this morning, just after movement returned to my arms and hands..just enough to write. my eyesight cleared slightly too, (after the medicine-related blurring), so this could be written.

Fahnenstange
My heart and head have come apart
in summer's disintegration all around
passing me by as leaves depart
in a second's autumn shiver profound

Summer's lush cover now blown
this stark October outline deceives
in nauseous mind outgrown
a life my waning heart disbelieves

Lost in a disabling flood
standing like a flagpole, flag at half-mast
flying my colours in pure blood
a symbol of medical experiments past

Tied to life upon this mast
within a vexed question of hospitalisation
I'll fly my flag right to the last
in rectitude stand; life's defiant!

written by lauren6

I thank all my dear friends for equally dear comments...I'll reply when I can...

I'm using ALL my effort to type this...my body is so weak, yesterday I lost use of limbs and my arms were unable to move...my eyes blurred so much too...today some, just some strength has returned, but I cannot say what my doctor's and my medication has done to me, but I know my life is in danger. The medication is ruining my heart.
However, I do know that, though I'm weakening by the day, I shall continue fighting for MY life, which I value more than ever.
I will win somehow..somewhere...

I have no more energy to type, and rest for the day now...maybe I'll return here later this week, but I don't know what the near future brings.

For all my friends, especially dearestKK, this is for you...

Schiller mit Heppner: I feel You (A brilliant, brilliant song)

I feel you,
in every stone,
in every leaf of every tree,
that you ever might have grown.

I feel you,
in every thing,
in every river that might flow,
in every seed you might have sown.

I feel you. (5x)

I feel you,
in every vein,
in every beatin' of my heart,
each breath I take.

I feel you, anyway,
in every tear that I might shed,
in every word I've never said.

I feel you (4x)

I feel you,
in every vein,
in every beatin' of my heart,
in every breath I'll ever take.

I feel you, anyway,
in every tear that I might shed,
in every word I've never said.

I feel you. (5x)

I feel you.

The Mule, the Magpie and the Sun
told by AN YÚNXIÁ

Once upon a time, the mule, the magpie and the sun made a wager among the three of them.
The sun said: "Magpie, if you are strong, you must call down a nine feet thick layer of snow in one day. If the mule is strong, he must not let this snow melt for one day. And if I, the sun, am strong, I must melt away this nine feet thick layer of snow in one day." Thus was their wager.
The magpie whispered, and called down in a whispering voice nine feet of snow in one day.
The sun shone with all its might for one day and melted the snow that had fallen in one day totally away.
The mule just stood in one spot, and remained there without moving for one day.
And so the sun shone for one day, and melted away the nine feet thick layer of snow everywhere.
But it had not melted away the snow on the spot where the mule stood, in his shadow and under his hooves.

[This story is a Eastern Yugur folktale]

I'm in and out of cardiology like a yo-yo, but the coming days will prove worrying actually.
But more later. I'll reply when I can.

In the meantime, this brilliant song has cheered me;

Der Tag ... Du Bist Erwacht Schiller
Artist: Schiller
Album: Tag Und Nacht
Year: 2005
Title: Der Tag ... Du Bist Erwacht

(feat. Jette Von Roth)

Du bist erwacht
mit aller kraft mit grosser macht
in aller pracht leben wächst
für dich und mich
im sonnenlicht
belebende wärme umhüllt meinen körper sanfte besinnung erblüht wieder neu schmetterlingsflügel
schneeflockentanz lockende winder in kleiner distanz
duftende blüten in meiner hand tautropfen schimmern
seidiger glanz ich atme dein verlangen ein
lass hoffnung rein
tag aus tag ein welches glück birgst du in dir
heut und hier ein blick zurück, bevor du dich davon bewegst
heimlich entschwebst bevor du schläfst
dein hauch verweht schmetterlingsflügel
schneeflockentanz ... spür ich noch
den hellen schein lösch dein licht und schlafe ein das letzte glimmen lischt
vergangenes verwischt morgen schon wirst du neu geboren sanfte besinnung erblüht wieder neu schmetterlingsflügel
schneeflockentanz ...

Night comes too soon,
where day is overthrown
in twilight to night's lune
awakening a dream full blown
let the night settle down
for the day has run aground
and wondering souls
seek their homes
in restless dreamy drones
before break of day
like lapping waves
the sleep will tell
of a forgotten tale
lingering like clouds
before a genteel sun
a crisp day will begin again.

written by lauren6

I wrote this, through a disturbed sleep..still in a dream indeed.
It was nice and simple, pure and clear, yet a nightmare was not far away, as fatigue took control.

Asia has always had a strong cultural connection to the elephant. In Chinese, the phrase "to ride an elephant" sounds the same as the word for happiness. When Thailand was called Siam, the sacred White Elephant dominated the flag and culture. According to Thai legend, in the beginning all elephants were white and flew through the air, like the clouds and rain. Thousands of years later, a white elephant entered the side of Queen Sirimahamaya as she lay sleeping. Later she gave birth to Prince Siddhartha, the future Gautama Buddha. Among the predominantly Buddhist kingdoms of Southeast Asia, the most auspicious event possible during a monarch's reign was the finding of a white elephant.

THE SINGING APE OF THAILAND: CULTURAL VS. BIOLOGICAL
EXPLANATIONS FOR THE SONG OF THE LAR GIBBON

By L. Hasadsri

In traditional Thai folklore, gibbons are thought to be the reincarnation of disappointed lovers. The source of their mournful songs is believed to be the spirit of a grieving princess calling out to her lost husband in a hopeless yet never-ending search for him. What originally fueled this famous belief is the fact that lar gibbons (Hylobates lar), inhabitants of the rain forests found throughout Thailand, can often be heard singing, from the treetops, "Pua, pua, pua," or a similar sounding series of whoops and wails. Pua is the Thai word (albeit somewhat vulgar) for husband.
Thai legend has it that this is how the gibbon came to be. Long ago when the stars were young and the gods shared their magic with mortal men, a young prince named Chantakorop was sent to study under a hermit in the jungle. Only hermits knew the magic of the gods. Life would have been tiresome and boring for the prince had it not been for the hermit’s daughter, Mora,1 who entertained him with her graceful dancing and brought him bananas, phutsa1 (a type of fruit), and slices of durian melon.

When Chantakorop’s studies were complete, he left to return to his palace and claim the throne. Before he set out on his journey, the hermit presented him with a clay urn. "Within this urn is a gift I hope you will treasure forever. It contains your heart’s greatest desire," said the hermit, "However, you may not open the urn until you reach your father’s palace. If you open it before you have reached the safety of your own kingdom, great misfortune will befall upon you." The prince vowed to obey the hermit’s words, and gratefully took the gift and held his high while the hermit bowed (according to Thai tradition, a prince’s head never bends lower than that of a common man). "Sawasdee (goodbye)," said the hermit, "Do not forget what I have told you; you have been forewarned."

Chantakorop bid his instructor farewell, and embarked on his voyage through the jungle. With each passing day the urn inexplicably grew heavier, and with each step the prince’s curiosity grew as well. Finally, he could wait no longer. He impatiently removed the lid from the urn, and, much to his surprise, Mora, the hermit’s lovely daughter, magically appeared before him.

Chantakorop and Mora were hastily married in the nearest village. Eager to present his bride to his father, the prince anxiously continued his journey toward the royal palace with his new wife. When they were near the outskirts of the kingdom, Chantakorop suddenly remembered the warning the hermit had given him when they had parted, and he realized he had broken his promise to the man. At that moment, a bandit appeared from the shadows and challenged the prince to a fight. Whoever emerged victorious would have Mora as his prize. They fought valiantly, but the prince soon grew weary. The bandit then immediately swung a powerful blow that sent the prince staggering to the ground. Chantakorop’s sword fell beyond his reach. "Mora!" he called, "Quickly, if you cherish my life, bring me my sword!"

Mora reached for the sword, but was momentarily distracted by the sight of the bold bandit and left the sword where it lay. The bandit then seized the weapon for himself and killed the prince in an instant. Shocked by the result of her inaction, Mora bent over the body of her beloved prince and cried, "Pua, pua, pua (husband, husband, husband)."

The bandit took the heartbroken woman away. Mora went willingly, but all she could do the entire time was sadly call out, "Pua, pua, pua." As sunset approached, the gods looked down from the heavens, and the hermit suddenly appeared before his daughter and the bandit. Ashamed at her betrayal, he turned her into a gibbon. From that day on, she has roamed the forest in search of her fallen husband, and the melancholy sound of the gibbon crying, "Pua, pua, pua" is her eternal song of remorse.

In reality, the song of the gibbon is described by scientific rather than colorful cultural explanations. A gibbon’s voice can be heard from up to a mile away, even against the panorama of background noises of the rainforest. According to Jeremy and Patricia Raemakers, the gibbons’ songs are "similar in character and purpose to those of birds."2 Many birds share the same monogamous social system, which consists of a "male-female pair and their dependent young." Songbirds sing to attract a mate, to reinforce the pair-bond if already mated, and to warn of other birds of the same sex. Gibbon songs seem to fit a similar pattern.

The 'cleaner' video for a great dance track...

and the better known one...
Benny Benassi: Satisfaction

Heaven makes a nice home
when built upon firm ground
through railings dreams are sown
in a courtyard by patterned grille
under archway and ficus show
the outer arch of haloid night
within earthenware binding rêve
the roots of subconsciousness exposed
with a Mediterranean feel to navigational spiel
tucked in a pocket of dreams
sealed by night and day
through this archway memories still grow
-branches as tiers of shaded years
beckoning a corrugated squint
below hanging basket of coruscent desire
that tropical flowering of youth
catching but a second's light
-a purple heart of sunkissed sacrament
shields the arch behind
the remains of unspoken days
unseen beyond cascading vines
a sweetheart of blossoming meliorare
an autumnal time drop reawakening
neither sun nor moonlight
offers further illumination
upon the subconscious cortis
yet...paradise IS still found
being true to nature's very own heart.

written by lauren6

I've long had a fascination for Finland. It's a country of outstanding natural beauty, of an almost pure nature sadly lacking from much of Europe in recent times.

Also, I have an affinity for this country as it doesn't always get the credit it deserves, much like England in some respects!

Finland has, by popular vote, six 'nature symbols' of importance to this nation's traditions stretching back to ancient times. It is again often forgotten just how far back history goes in this region.
The 1980's and 90's saw the 6 symbols chosen, with all their national and cultural connotations taken as best symbolising Finland, and especially nature and wildlife, for which this eastern Scandinavian country is renowned.

The six were; the swan, (now the best-known of all); the Birch, (which is one of the three commonest trees found among Finland's enormous expanse of forests); lily of the valley, which is used on festive occasions as decoration; the perch and granite have not risen to any great national status, symbolically, but are found throughout Finland; granite being used extensively for sculpture, and construction to this day, for example.

The Birch, a delightfully elegant and remarkably resilient and ancient tree, first to colonise many lands is a highly prominent player in the Finnish summer, and a familiar sight in winter's whiteness, they are most popular among Finns.

Ancient Finnish culture does indeed refer to the 'Birch-bark-culture' of rural areas, as it supplied the people well, with it's wood, and as an important health drink through it's Springtime sap. The bark too, had uses for roofing, binding, furniture and tools.

One cannot mention Finland without speaking of saunas, and Birch also had uses here, in the form of sauna switches. Cattle fed from the these when dried over the winter.
This lovely tree can lay rightful claim to as white birch bark was taken with the treasures in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen.

In bygone times, the Finns regarded the Rowan as the sacred tree, yet it was the Birch, as in nature, that overcame all the odds and came out as the winning tree among Finnish hearts.

The 19th century has also given much credence to the Birch's claims for recognition as a symbol; Zacharias Topelius' fairy tale Koivu ja tähti (the Birch and the star), whereby two children are lost, but return home safely due to their seeing the familiar Birch in the yard. In this tale, the girl is dressed in Finnish national costume, which has become THE national costume.

Statistically, Finland's forests are made-up of one-fifth Birch, and it can also be found elsewhere too. It became an essential winter burner too, and today, one-tenth of all Finnish homes still use Birch logs for winter heating.
It was invaluable for plywood, and more recently for paper fibre, and Birch sugar, typically as xylitol in candy, that is kind to the teeth, and now, accordingly, Birch forests are actually increasing.

Finland has two species of Birch; the Betula verrucosa found on harder ground; and Betula pubescens, which is fond of soft ground, bogs and flood plains. May sees the flowers develop, (in Finland), ahead of the shooting leaves. It can live anything up to 300 years of age, and the tallest in eastern Scandinavia has been measured at 32 meters high.

written by lauren6.

Have you ever:

1.Felt weak in the knees at the sight of them?

2.Have you ever done something that seemed ludicrous at the time to impress them?

3.Have you experienced a loss of appetite because they were not with you?

4.Do you have trouble sleeping without them around?

5.When you do sleep, are they in your dreams?

6.Can you see spending the rest of your life with them?

7.Can you say things to them you would not say to any other?

8.If you closest friend were making fun of them, would you stand up for them?

9.Could you never lie to them?

10.Do you call them more than once a day just to hear their voice?

11.Is it impossible to imagine life with out them?

12.Do you have trouble remembering your life before them?

13.Do you feel happiness, sadness, hot and cold all at the same time?

14.Do you put them first in your life, even before you?

15.Do presents from them seem more enjoyable than any other gift, even before you know what they are? no yes

16.Would you give your last chocolate to them? no yes

17.Have you ever posted pictures of them all over your walls, leaving little or no wall visible? no yes

18.Have you ever called them to hear their voice, only to hang up before speaking? no yes

19.Have you noticed things about their appearance or mannerisms that other people would not notice?

20.Can you name their favorite...ice cream?

21. ...movie?

22. ...song?

23.Do you find that certain songs on the radio seem to be written about them or the two of you?

24.Would you be willing to embarrass yourself in front of others just to see them smile?

25.Do you or are you looking forward to Valentines Day?

26.Do you feel like you have spent your life looking for this person?

27.Does a hug or kiss from them really make it all better?

28.Would you stand by there side through sickness or poor times?

29.Have you thought up names to call your future children?

30.Do you have pet names for each other?

31.Do they have the power to get on your nerves (upset you more) more then anyone else ever at times?

32.Do you say things to them that your friends would make fun of you if they heard?

33.Have you said those things to them in front of your friends?

34.Do you consider them your best friend?

35.Do you trust them?

36.Have you told them that you love them?

37.Do you express your love everyday?

38. ...every hour?

39.Does it hurt to think of life without them?

40.Do you remember special anniversaries (first date, etc.)?

41.Do you remember little anniversaries (first time you ate sushi together, etc.)?

42.Do you find that you are bringing them up in a lot of conversations (i.e. Well Jenny thinks...)?

43.When buying major purchases, do you consider if they would approve?

44.If they needed a kidney, would you give them one of yours?

45.Are you thinking about them right now?

46.Do you miss them, even when they are in the next room?

47.Have you ever taken a class together just so you could spend more time with them?

48.Have they met your parents (if they are still alive...or have you met theirs)?

49.Have you written them a poem?

50.Have you written them a letter?

51.Have you or they picked a song (you know "yours and their song")?

52.If they moved out of state/providence would you follow?

53.Would you shave your head if they asked you too?

54.Have you ever serenaded them in a public place?

55.Does their smile make you smile?

56.Do you hurt when they hurt?

57.Do you feel like you can read their mind?

58.Do hours just fly by when you are with them?

59.Have you ever told them that you love them in front of your friends?

60.Have you ever just sat and listened to their problems?

61.Ever bought tickets to a function (movie, play, show, etc) you had no interest in but they did?

62.Have you remained faithful to them, never cheating?

63.Are you always honest with them (beside little lies like "No really that looks great on you?"?)

64.Have you ever taken the time to massage their feet?

65.Do you chat with them online (via e-mail, chat or other internet source)?

66.Have you ever made future plans together?

67.Have you or did you name your children before they were conceived?

68.Do you know their birthday?

69.Do you know their favorite colour?

70.If you had to be separated by a large distance, could you keep you feelings alive?

71.Does the mere mention of their name in a passing conversation make you feel warm inside?

72.Have you ever found yourself scribbling their name with hearts and love on the side of a piece of paper, a desk, or other?

73.Do you have trouble sleeping after an unresolved argument with them?

74.Have you ever stolen their underwear when they were not looking?

75.Do you look forward to days off / weekends just to spend more time with them?

76.Do you save little items (movie ticket stubs) from dates or outings?

77.Have you ever posted anywhere on the internet (a newsgroup, discussion page, etc.) a shout out that you loved them?

78.Brought a rose to them for not other reason than thanking them for being who they are?

79.Have you ever traveled (or would you) 100 miles just to see each other?

80.Have you ever dedicated a song to them on the radio?

81.Ever found yourself wishing more people could be like them?

82.Do you get butterflies in your stomach every time they come into the room?

83.Do find yourself constantly thinking about what they are doing at that moment when they are not around?

84.Have you ever taken up a new hobby just because they shared that hobby?

85.Do you find it harder to shop for them then anyone else?

86.Do you ever fantasize about marrying them (or often daydream back to the day you did)?

87.Are they, in your opinion, the most interesting/fascinating person on Earth?

88.Did you take this test with them in mind?

89.Is being unfaithful to them something you could never possibly do?

90.Do they make you happy?

91.Do you believe in Destiny now or more then you did because of them?

92.Have you ever "zoned out" during a conversation with someone because you were thinking of them?

93.Does holding their hand make you feel more safe and secure?

94.When shopping, do you often think "What would they like" when making your decision?

95.Do you like them better then Chocolate?

96.Have you ever been out on a date with them?

97.Have you live together (married or not)?

98.Have you ever proposed marriage to them?

99.Have you married them?

100.Would you be willing to lay down your life to save theirs?

Your score:

100% Obsession Kills Love...You might be too obsessed here.
80 - 99% Strong & Long Lasting Love.
50 - 79% New Love moving towards Long Lasting Love.
30 - 49% Pure Infatuation heading towards Love.
10 - 29% It's a Die-Hard Crush on it's way to Infatuation
1 - 9% Possible Crush Here
0% Loveless....

http://www.romantic-lyrics.com/lovetest2.shtml

My net is back...but for a precious few minutes only...seems this area has suffered frequent maintenance of sorts all day...no doubt this will go off any moment again.

So a quick post now, and this autobahn, (which I know), is accompanied with great driving music...excellent!!

This most defintely IS Germanic~~~

This is captivating, and quite Germanic, I like it very much...

Why does my familiar path
so full of reassurance
continually surprise while evolving
in crespuscular convergance

besides ever-watchful trees
ageing the age
-a tree-ring upon a finger counting
the pendular years assuage

in a pent-up barking rhyme
from deep-rooted flight
scattered by the hands of time
like pennons at first light

from a pensile grown
the path found in satori hope
today's autumn leaves blown inland
nature's œuvre, a première kaleidoscope.

written by lauren6

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD:

1) Growing up is mandatory; growing old is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

SUCCESS:

At age 4 success is . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is having friends.
At age 16 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . having friends.
At age 80 success is . not peeing in your pants.

To get out of a difficulty,
one usually must go through it.

We take for granted the things
that we should be giving thanks for.

Love is the only thing that can be
divided without being diminished.

Happiness is enhanced by others
but does not depend upon others.

For every minute you are angry with someone,
you lose 60 seconds of happiness
that you can never get back.

Do what you can, for who you can,
with what you have, and where you are.

It's all in your eyes
and the way you see me-
when you catch sight of me
like ivy entwining
in summer lushness
or a winter evergreen
of shine and shade
our paths are made
crossing to a merry meeting
over our landscape exempla
at two lives juntura
in our hands and hearts
spoken in a glance
shared in silence
where taking arms is peaceful
as a touch beyond closed eyes
magnifying a fire
within heart's desire
thunder beating from inside
our hearts united embrace.

written by lauren6.

The Cherry Tree
a legend about George Washington by M. L. Weems

When George was about six years old, he was made the wealthy master of a hatchet of which, like most little boys, he was extremely fond. He went about chopping everything that came his way.

One day, as he wandered about the garden amusing himself by hacking his mother's pea sticks, he found a beautiful, young English cherry tree, of which his father was most proud. He tried the edge of his hatchet on the trunk of the tree and barked it so that it died.

Some time after this, his father discovered what had happened to his favorite tree. He came into the house in great anger, and demanded to know who the mischievous person was who had cut away the bark. Nobody could tell him anything about it.

Just then George, with his little hatchet, came into the room.

"George,'' said his father, "do you know who has killed my beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden? I would not have taken five guineas for it!''

This was a hard question to answer, and for a moment George was staggered by it, but quickly recovering himself he cried:

"I cannot tell a lie, father, you know I cannot tell a lie! I did cut it with my little hatchet.''

The anger died out of his father's face, and taking the boy tenderly in his arms, he said:

"My son, that you should not be afraid to tell the truth is more to me than a thousand trees! Yes - though they were blossomed with silver and had leaves of the purest gold!''

I'm sure almost everyone will remember this day...

Iconic DJ John Peel is to be honoured with a series of events marking his final broadcast on Radio 1.
The music broadcaster died from a heart attack on October 25, 2004, while on holiday in Peru.

Radio 1 will feature a series of broadcasts throughout the day in his memory.

The Merseyside-born DJ will also be honoured during a civic service at Liverpool's Anglican cathedral that will be attended by his widow Sheila.

She will be presented with a commemorative scroll in recognition of the Liverpool FC fan's contribution to the city.

Other events include a memorial football tournament at the Liverpool Football Academy featuring John's children.

There will also be a gig at The Picket music venue in the city.

Last year, on the first anniversary of Peel's final Radio 1 show, more than 500 events took place across the UK and around the world.

Thai vegetarian festivals

This annual auspicious event is a most colourful and dramatic celebration which takes place during the first nine days of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. The 9-day event is usually in late September or early October.

The origin of the festival is unclear. However, it has been passed from generation to generation that it originated in the south-eastern part of China near Fujian Province. The festival was celebrated to make merit and save animals from being killed for food

In Thailand, the most talked - about vegetarian festival is in Southern Province of Phuket where the auspicious ceremony is held in a grand celebration. During the 9-day period, the devout Chinese Buddhists dress in white attire, convert to vegetarians and observe the ten rules in order to purify their minds and bodies.

Besides a strict vegetarian diet and temple offering, some highlights of the 9-day event include incredible acts of self -mortification such as climbing knife - blade ladders, walking on hot coals, a ritual of bridge - crossing and a street - procession in which the mediums in a state of trance have their cheeks pierced and bodies spiked with various types of sharp objects.

The entire atmosphere is full of religious frenzy with the ear - spliting sound of firecrackers and lion dances. In the evening of the last day event, the main road of Phuket Town is turned into a path of din and smoke of firing crackers. All the local residents participate in the event. Visitors to Thailand should not miss an opportunity to visit Phuket during this auspicious event.

by Thanapol Chadchaidee

October festivals in Thailand

OK PHANSA & THOT KATHIN

Ok Phansa celebrates the end of the monsoon season. The rains’ retreat introduces the Kathin period when, throughout Thailand, the Buddhist laity present monks with new robes and other items deemed necessary for the monkhood's upkeep during the forthcoming monastic year.

VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL

Phuket Islanders of Chinese ancestry commit themselves to a vegetarian diet for nine days. The festival’s first day features a parade of white-clothed devotees and several aesthetic displays.

BOAT RACES

Since the Kathin period marks the official end of the rainy season, it is a time of celebration during which county fairs are held. Many of the fairs feature regattas. The city of Nan, north of Bangkok, holds famous boat races as does Surat Thani, Phichit, Nakhon Phanom, and Pathumthani.

To celebrate the end of Buddhist Lent (Ok Phansa), people in the northeast (I-san) mould beeswax into miniature Buddhist temples and shrines (wax castles) in order to gain merit, which will determine their future rebirth. These crafted models can be witnessed especially in Sakon Nakhon where there is an annual festival with a grand wax castle procession, competitive boat racing as well as traditional northeastern cultural performances among many other joyous activities.

Trang Vegetarian Festival
October 16-25
Kio Ong la and Chao Pho Muen Ram Chinese Shrines,Trang

Oringinating in the 19th century, this annual event is conducted by the locals of Chinese descent who engage in a ten-day vegetarian diet. There are merit-making ceremonies at local Chinese temples as well as processions of ascetics performing extraordinary feats.

Standing at water's-edge
reflections passing
ripples returning a smile
effervescent thoughts
within trees demeanour
where comfort is sought
in saturations contortion
after October shadows the fall
from green to gold
the sign can only be followed
a ring of hope
in a pool of science
splashing in a lake of reality
spoken in natural tones
tonguetwisters in pastures new
across the waters
seahorses jumping the waves
racing against time
and before tides absail
like a cliffall of emotion
calling land, sea and sky
on one expeditious flow
erosive and covetous
yet,
wings, as the breeze
of positive and negative
the provenance of life

written by lauren6.

Orange surrounds our everyday life, yet is not a word, or a colour we think of consciously, and yet it is one that demands an immediate human reaction. You all will have a strong opinion, for example, of a passing car coloured orange...you will liteally love it, or hate it. It's true isn't it!!

So, following my 'banana' post, I have compiled some interesting facts about the colour orange, the fruit orange, and even the orange order, historically.

You will also see that Spain is associated, in Europe, with oranges, but much was 'stolen' from Portugal's prior sources!

So, here is a compilation of orange history, please enjoy it...

In English heraldry, orange denotes strength, honour, generosity, and prosperity. However, its use as a heraldic tincture is relatively rare.

Orange is the national colour of The Netherlands, because its royal family used to own the principality of Orange (the title is still used for Dutch heir apparent). It is the colour of choice for many of the national sports teams and their supporters. The nickname of the Dutch national soccer (football) team is Oranje, the Dutch word for orange. In the modern flag of the Netherlands, red substitutes the original orange, but on royal birthdays the flag has an additional orange banner. Most geographical usages of the word orange can be traced back to Dutch maritime power in the 17th century. In Ireland the use of orange dates from the reign of William of Orange, the Protestant English king and a Dutch stadholder.

Orange signifies Protestantism in Northern Ireland, and to a lesser extent in the Republic of Ireland (the orange part of whose flag represents the Protestant population, and Hinduism in India and Sri Lanka.
Orange has become a colour symbolising opposition around the world.

Orange was the rallying colour of the 2004–2005 Orange Revolution in Ukraine.
Orange is used as a rallying colour by Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip who oppose the Gaza Pull-Out plan.
Native Americans associated the color orange with kinship

Orange is the party colour of:
Fidesz-MPSZ in Hungary
CD&V, Flanders, Belgium
People's National Party, Jamaica
The Justice and Truth Alliance, Romania
Free Patriotic Movement, Lebanon
People First Party, Republic of China (Taiwan)
New Democratic Party, Canada
June List, Sweden
Free Patriotic Movement, Lebanon
Bharatiya Janata Party, India
Pora or "High Time", Ukraine — see Orange Revolution
Liberal Democrats, United Kingdom
Social Democratic Party, Portugal
People's Party (Spain) since 2005
BZÖ, Jörg Haider's newly formed party in Austria
National Union (Israel)
Reformed Political Party, Netherlands

Orange,Tangerine and Mandarin, common name for citrus fruit of several trees. Different varieties include the sweet orange, the sour orange, and the mandarin orange, or tangerine.

The Navel Orange, so named for their "belly button" at the blossom end, were discovered in the 1820's as an unusual growth on a Salata tree in Salvador, Brazil, but are believed to have originated in China. It's a large seedless fruit, that's juicy and sweet with thick skins that make it easy to peel and section for eating. The Cara Cara resembles a regular Navel, but the inside is a gorgeous deep salmon color. The taste is sweet and juicy. This unique variety originated at the Hacienda Cara Cara in Venezuela in the early 1970s, and are a new addition to the California, San Joaquin Valley.

Valencia, first named Excelsior, is considered the worlds most important orange. Believed to be of Spanish origin, the variety actually became of interest in the Azores and is almost certainly of old Portuguese origin. The rind is thin and leathery, the interior bright orange, with a high juice content and sweet flavor. Valencias typically have 2-4 seeds per fruit.

Tangerine is the common name for a variety of Mandarin orange. The mandarin orange is native to southeastern Asia and has been widely cultivated in orange-growing regions of the world. The tangerine resembles the orange but is smaller and oblate in shape and has a more pungent odor, a thinner rind, and sections that may be readily separated. It has a food value comparable to that of the orange, but the fruit is more delicate and subject to damage in handling.

The Satsuma Mandarin is believed to have originated in Japan probably in the mid-sixth century A.D. It acquired its name in 1878 by the wife of Gen. Van Valkenberg, the U.S. Minister to Japan. Satsuma's have a mild sweet flavor, full of juice, virtually no seeds, pebbly in texture and the interior is a bright orange. This fruit peels and segments easily.

The fruit of all these varieties is technically a hesperidium, a kind of berry. It consists of several easily separated carpels, or sections, each containing several seeds and many juice cells, covered by a leathery exocarp, or skin, containing numerous oil glands. Orange trees are evergreens, seldom exceeding 9 m (30 ft) in height. The leaves are oval and glossy and the flowers are white and fragrant. Three essential oils are obtained from oranges: oil of orange, obtained from the rind of the fruit and used principally as a flavoring agent; oil of petigrain, obtained from the leaves and twigs and used in perfumery; and oil of neroli, obtained from the blossoms and used in flavorings and perfumes.

In the United States the principal orange-producing states are Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona. From 1991 to 1992 the yield of oranges in the United States was about 10 million metric tons. The principal crops of the western growers consist of the Valencia and the Bahia, or Washington navel orange, imported from Bahia, Brazil, in 1870, and developed in Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The navel orange is a seedless orange, with medium-thick rind, in which a second small, or abortive, orange grows. A variety of the Washington navel orange is the principal orange product of Texas.

The sour orange is cultivated to a limited extent for marmalade and to provide rootstock for less vigorous strains. About 20 percent of the total crop of oranges is sold as whole fruit; the remainder is used in preparing frozen and canned orange juice, extracts, and preserves.

Basic Nutritional Facts:
· Low fat
· Saturated fat-free
· Sodium-free
· Cholesterol-free
· A good source of vitamin C

The Orange Order

The Orange Order: Myths and Facts*

The Orange Order has its origins with King William of Orange and his war in Ireland in 1689 -1699.
King William of Orange won "civil and religious liberties" and the Battle of the Boyne.
The Orange Order represents Irish Protestants
The Orange Order has always been Unionist

The Orange Order was founded not in the 1690s, but in the 1790s as a reaction to efforts, especially by the United Irishmen who were predominately Protestant, to unite people of all religious persuasions in the cause of civil rights in Ireland and independence from England.

Far from William's victory bringing civil and religious liberty, it ushered in a century of loss of rights, not only for Catholics in Ireland, but for the majority of Protestants who were members of the Presbyterian Church and who also suffered loss of rights because they did not adhere to the "established" or state church, the Church of Ireland.

When it was founded the Orange Order was exclusively for members of the Church of Ireland. Presbyterians were not admitted until 1834. It is a minority within Irish Protestantism; opinion among Protestants about the role of the order is divided and many oppose it.

Dominated from the start by wealthy Protestant landlords, the Orange Order initially opposed the Act of Union [with Britain] of 1800 because the abolition of the Irish parliament, which only represented a tiny wealthy minority, seemed to threaten their privileges.

The legal system of the Six Counties continues to be presided over by judges and magistrates who are members of the Orange Order. Many RUC also swear alliance to the Order. Unionist political leaders are generally Order members.

Qualifications [from the Order's handbook]: "An Orangeman should... strenuously oppose the fatal errors and doctrines of the Church of Rome, and scrupulously avoid countenancing any act or ceremony of Popish Worship; he should by all lawful means, resist the ascendancy of that Church, it encroachments and the extension of its power..."

Expulsion: "Any member dishonoring the Institution by marrying a Roman Catholic shall be expelled; and every Member shall use his best endeavors to prevent and discountenance the marriage of Protestants with Roman Catholics..."

The Penal Laws against Catholics were zealously backed by the Orange Order. Under these codes, the law did not even recognize the "existence" of an Irish Roman Catholic.

Sources;
http://www.garvaghyroad.org/OO%20facts.htm
http://www.bouquetoffruits.com/fruit-facts/orange-facts.html
wikipedia
http://ph.f339.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.rand=9pnd9g4c9d86d

This is another locality that I know like the back of my hand, as I used to play here as a child...even as an adult too...a beautiful region, lovely town, with some tragic times and tremendous depth to it's history...also some exquisite patisserie too~~

Archaeologists throughout the world are acquainted with Abbeville, thanks to Boucher de Perthes, who, at the beginning of the XIXth century, was a pioneer in the study of Prehistory and established when mankind was born. Today the term "abbevillian", which indicates a period of the Lower Palaeolithic, is no longer used, but Boucher de Perthes has not been forgotten.

The importance of the Capital of le Ponthieu and le Vimeu is not limited to archaeology, though its Museum does have some interesting collections, and the tradition of Boucher de Perthes lives on thanks to another abbevillian, Roger Agache, pioneer in aerial archaeology.

Originally the Abbot of Saint-Riquier's estate, Abbatis villa, Abbeville village, passed in the Xth century under the control of Hugues Capet, whose daughter married Hugues de Ponthieu. The town was then fortified and its expansion was to become part of the great urban renaissance movement that began in the XIth century with the renewal of trading routes opened by the crusades.

It was from Abbeville that, in 1096, Godefroy de Bouillon set off on the first Crusade with his Norman and Flemish knights.

In the XIIth century, the town, which was a dependency of the King of England, the Count of Ponthieu, was an active sea port alongside the other English possession of Guyenne. The manufacture of woollen fabric developed there.

The wealthy fought to obtain local freedoms, which they bought in 1130. They were only formalized in 1184, in the local charter of Abbeville, granted by Jean de Ponthieu.

The square Belfry, built in 1209, one of the oldest in France, is testimony to this period.

Of strategic importance during the Hundred Years War, the town came under the authority of the King of France, who annexed le Ponthieu in 1369. It was to become part of Burgundy and would not finally become French until the death of Charles the Bold in 1477.

With peace restored, rebuilding had to begin. It was at this time that the Flamboyant Gothic style flourished and the Saint Vulfran Collegiate Church was built. Trading started again and Abbeville diversified into the manufacture of woollen fabrics. Printing activity can even be traced back to the end of the XVth century.

The town was the scene of a famous episode of the Thirty Years War. When Corbie had just fallen to the Spanish (15 August 1636) and the breakthrough of the line of defence, i.e. the Somme, was threatening Paris, Louis XIII made a promise to devote his Kingdom to the Virgin Mary if Corbie was won back, which indeed happened on 10 November that same year. The King honoured his commitment in a solemn ceremony in Abbeville in 1638. The event was immortalised by Philippe de Champaigne and Ingres.

The setting up in business of Josse Van Robais, with the support of King Louis XIV, who wanted to encourage the manufacture of luxury fabrics in France, opened up a new era of prosperity. The Van Robais employed almost two thousand people, a huge number for that time. The Tenter Factory (1713), the New House (1730) and the "Bagatelle Folly" give give you some idea of their power.

In 1766, the Chevalier de la Barre, who was decapitated for not taking his hat off during a royal procession, inspired Voltaire to write a satirical pamphlet. He became a symbol of the arbitrariness of royal absolutism and religious intolerance.

The revolution, which led to the massive destruction of religious buildings, marked the end of the influence of the Van Robais era.

In order to preserve sea trade, which was threatened by the silting-up of the Somme, the building of a maritime canal began in the XVIIIth century.

During the 1914 war, life in the town was dominated once again by the English, who this time had come as allies to set up their headquarters behind the front.

On 20 May 1940, the town centre was wiped out by German aerial bombardments: 2400 buildings were destroyed and 3600 suffered damage.

Completed in 1960, the rebuilding of the town and the later restoration of damaged monuments have enabled the remnants of this rich history to be preserved.

Abbeville is today the Somme's second largest town.

From: Somme-tourisme

This poem is very amusing, and in few words says so much...

He didn't like the casserole

And he didn't like my cake.

My biscuits were too hard...

Not like his mother used to make.

I didn't perk the coffee right

He didn't like the stew,

I didn't mend his socks

The way his mother used to do.

I pondered for an answer

I was looking for a clue.

Then I turned around and smacked him...

Like his Mother used to do.

by, anonymous

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the
statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat
them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the
middle of it.
* Drive carefully! It's not only cars that can be recalled by their
maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was
probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a
warning to others.
* Never buy a car you can't push.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you
won't have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the
world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once .
* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty
and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors,
but they all have to live in the same box.

" A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour."

Bananas: Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana.

This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: the pills -- eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anaemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anaemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system

Overweight and at work: Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine, "eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

Patients missing out on menus

Patients at Norfolk's flagship hospital are failing to grasp what is on the menu at mealtimes and the heating and serving of food on the wards is inconsistent, a survey has found.

The Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital Patient & Public Involvement Forum's research into patient and visitor views on hospital food revealed a wide variation in responses.

The forum said the quality of food arriving from the suppliers, Anglia Crown, in Colchester, met all NHS nutritional and quality standards.

"However from that point on, the distribution, heating and serving of food is not consistent from ward to ward or patient to patient," the report said.

Older patients also wanted a list of basic ingredients included to give them a better idea of what to expect from dishes like moussaka.

"When menus were in lockers, patients were not aware of this and consequently had no idea of menu options until the trolley arrived at mealtimes," it added. "There were many instances when patients said that there were insufficient choice options left by the time the trolley reached them."

Other issues included a lack of awareness about specific dietary requirements, and a need to improve communication skills between ward hosts, patients and medical staff; presentation of food, and letting patients know that biscuits and drinks were available between mealtimes.

A public meeting about the forum's food report will be held at Norwich's Assembly House on Thursday, November 16, at 2pm.

from EDP

This is an outstanding gothic cathedral which I know so well. It looms over the city of Amiens, the cultural centre of Picardie, and focus of the Somme.
Battle-scarred by history it may be, but standing tall it continues to attract praise and reverie.

Please enjoy a European gothic gem...

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), or just Amiens Cathedral, is the tallest complete cathedral in France with the greatest interior volume, estimated at 200,000 m³. The vaults ofsdv the nave are 42.30 m tall, the tallest nave vaults in France. This monumental cathedral is located in Amiens, the chief city of Picardy, in the Somme River valley a little over 100 kilometers north of Paris.

The paucity of documentation concerning the construction of the Gothic cathedral may be in part the result of fires that destroyed the chapter archives in 1218 and again in 1258, a fire that damaged the cathedral itself. Bishop Evrard de Fouilly initiated work on the cathedral in 1220. Robert de Luzarches was the architect until 1228, and was followed by Thomas de Cormont until 1258. His son, Renaud de Cormont, acted as the architect until 1288. The chronicle of Corbie gives a completion date for the cathedral of 1266. Finishing works continued, however. Its floors are covered with quite a number of designs, such as with swastika. The labyrinth was installed in 1288. Numerous excellent sculptures can be viewed at this cathedral. The cathedral contains the alleged head of John the Baptist. This relic was brought from Constantinople by Wallon de Sarton as he was returning from the Fourth Crusade.

Notre-Dame d'Amiens has been listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1981. A Son et lumière presentation illuminates its façade on summer evenings and at New Year's, approximating the original painted colors of its sculptures.

From wikipedia

"Amiens Cathedral in north-western France is a gothic masterpiece built before Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It is richly adorned with impressive sculptural décor. These sculptures depict biblical scenes such as the Creation, Adam and Eve, the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. They are collectively called "The Stone Encyclopaedia of the Bible". There are Sculptures of the Last Judgment on the main façade. The Archangel St. Michael is holding a balance. Above him Jesus is peering down at the sins of those entering the Cathedral. Below him are people who are to be sent to Hell after the Last Judgment. Those who are to ascend to Heaven are on the left. The Cathedral interior is built so that people can feel the magnificence of the divine world. The ceiling is 42 meters high.

Sunlight streams in …

Amiens Cathedral also houses a sacred relic from Jerusalem. This is the skull of the John the Baptist who baptized Jesus Christ. A road to God has been drawn on the Cathedral floor. It is a Sacred Maze. People would wander, stray and get lost until they reached the centre of the maze, a sacred place. The maze represents a long pilgrimage. Amiens Cathedral took 68 years to complete, an amazing feat for the time. The various parts of the sculptures decorating the Cathedral were made in many different workshops. The idea of distributing work that way was unheard of at the time.

Amiens Cathedral is a stunning example of Gothic architecture, a monument to the skills and techniques of the period."

link

Other useful links relating to Amiens and it's cathedral;
U-picardie
Unesco
Amiens Cathedral Project
l'Office de Tourisme d'Amiens Métropole

Your time set against mine
at times an imperfect line
from the falcate clock
defining times mental block
a ticking, ticking, ticking
the interlay of hours waiting
in the silence of watching words
falling to wrong hands interred
the earth of plebian thoughts;
pleonastic dreams soiled and overwrought
on the stroke of half-time
veins exsicate before the chime
such discord of the left to right
staggeringly short time to fight
one tablet dissolved to inquire
two to test the patience afire
three jumping into a house ablaze
four to find in the communique
a lethal concoction purported
in tablet form assorted
clinically proven on the one hand
paralising effect upon pituitary gland
stop!
...I breath again
in nature reborn, I trust
today, pharmaceuticals gain my distrust.

written by lauren6
after an appalling medical oversight allowed the mixing of my medication recently, to a near fatal degree.

What's in those hermetic moments?
sat against anthelion fresco skies
within the mind's own atmosphere
the springtime of two celebrated by Anthesteria
Hearts fed on Eleusinian lushness
nourishing hidden passions of spirit
in morning loaves like a rising goddess
rain or shine, grown under Min
a smooth passage to rites of nations
passing-over boundaries pastoral
sowing the corn of entwining years
in autumn's ever-shortening days
the huddle of Pyanopsion sunsets
warmed by embracing eyes
offering purelli notion of oneness.

written by lauren6

SACRED TREES

In the shamanic cultures human beings and trees
were inseparable aspects of cosmic reality

FROM AN AEROPLANE on a clear day, the lush green landscape of England looks like a patchwork of farm fields, with scattered settlements connected by ribbon roads, and punctuated by great towns and cities. But 2,000 years ago, if we could make the same airborne survey, the land would appear radically different. In that time, before the centuries of forest-clearing for agriculture and building, great woodlands covered the island, broken only by tracts of open heath and moorland and hilltops ridged with scrub cover. Scattered within this forest landscape, a few hundred thousand of our "native" ancestors lived in small tribal societies from a few hundred to a few thousand people, with chieftains, medicine people, shamans, warriors, hunters and farmers; all the features that we are today used to seeing in the extended family tribal cultures of surviving indigenous peoples. The same scene was repeated all over western and northern Europe into Scandinavia.

The tree shadows of the old world still fall across today's landscape, for many of the names of these early forests survive. In the middle of Britain, for example, forests called Dean, Morfe and Kinver each covered scores of square miles, and dense stands of oak and ash formed the forest called Sherwood. Hornbeam, thorn, oak and ash thrived in much of south-east Britain, where the great forest of Andred was described by an annalist writing in the year 892 as "thirty miles wide and stretching 120 miles from east to west". On the small island of Britain, forests of this extent dominated the landscape.

The indigenous Europeans had to respect the imperatives of the forces of nature. They lived natural, free, fresh lives, but also died from the effects of famine and hard winters. Such an intimate interweaving of fates, in which the state of the environment had such a direct impact on human well being, meant one thing for certain: the tribespeople observed, attuned, grew to know their landscape in all its nuances, intimacies and moods. Their lives depended on being able to enter into the very psyche of the environment. From this necessarily acute and deep awareness of the living connection between the human and the environment our ancestors created the cosmologies, myths, wisdom stories and shamanic practices of Wyrd.

Today the word "weird" means strange, unexplainable, odd. Something that is weird is beyond the scope of normal understanding. But in the ancient cultures of Europe, the word had a very different status. The original, archaic form meant in Anglo-Saxon "destiny", but also "power", or "magic" or "prophetic knowledge". "Wyrd" was still the "unexplainable", but the Unexplainable was the Sacred, the very grounding of existence, the force which underlay all of life. And one way in which it manifested was in trees, which were regarded as sacred by the peoples of ancient Europe.

One of the ways in which we know about the indigenous practices of "native" Europeans is through religious conflict. In the fifth century, when the occupying military forces were withdrawn from Britain, the early Christian influence faded, and the indigenous peoples made no pretence of giving up their complex and sophisticated native spirituality. But then, in the seventh century, Rome sent missionaries to bring Christianity to this island of "wild natives". Ironically, these, who brought the "new religion" to the wooded landscapes of western Europe, are among the most important of our sources of information about the indigenous peoples and how they lived.

The Christian authorities who, with the backing of Rome, converted some of the tribal chieftains (some genuine conversions and some largely for trading military and political advantages), preached against and sometimes outlawed the indigenous spiritual practices. Written records of the laws and sermons form timeless documentation of the comprehensive activities of our ancestors in engaging with the landscape of which they were a part.

The early Christian view was very different, even as late as the end of the first millennium, and reflected the notion of human dominion over nature. Wulfstan was Archbishop of York from 1002 to 1023 AD. He composed a large body of directives which railed against the sacred nature view of the indigenous peoples of ancient north-western Europe, saying deprecatingly of the indigenous shamans that "'. . . they might have readily discerned, if they had the power of reason, that he is the true God who created all things for the enjoyment and use of us men, which he granted mankind because of his great goodness.

In contrast, the indigenous pre Christian tribes of Europe saw the natural world as breathing a special kind of life force, a spiritual power, and trees featured prominently in this sacred view of nature.

Communicating with the Life Force of the natural landscape, divining the pattern of future events and performing healing incantations were forbidden by the Christian church. Edgar, one of the first Churchmen to hold high political office in England, urged the priesthood to stamp out the indigenous spiritual practices: to "forbid well-worshipping and necromancies, and divinations and incantations and with sacred circles - and with elders and also with other tree --"

Today, a thousand years after Edgar's missive to "zealously extinguish" every act of indigenous practice, his list provides a clear idea of the specific ways in which our ancestors related to the features of the landscape, and by implication the general principles which underlay those practices.

They believed that waters be regarded as sacred, that areas of wildland be set aside as sanctuaries for ceremony, that trees are containers of sacred power.

Further details are revealed by the proclamations of St. Eligius who, in about AD 640, ordered that "no Christian place lights at the temples or at the stones, or at fountains and springs, or at trees, or at places where three ways meet . . . Let no one presume to purify by sacrifice, or to enchant herbs, or to make flocks pass through a hollow tree or an aperture in the earth; for by so doing he seems to consecrate them to the devil." And we know that sacred bonds and vows were carried out at such places, for an early Christian penitential says "No one shall go to trees, or wells, or stones, or enclosures, or anywhere else except to God's church, and there make vows or release himself from them." The "enclosures" were circles of trees or stones, in which a natural shrine was kept.

Nature in general, and trees in particular, were accorded a state of reverence and healing vitality. We get a clear picture of the role of trees in the sacred life of the people of ancient Europe in the tribal literature dealing with mystical states of consciousness.

"I know that I hung on the windswept tree. .
The wisest know not from whence
spring the roots of that ancient tree."

These lines, from the ancient Scandinavian Poetic Edda, refer to the archetypal journey into shamanic knowledge undertaken by the god Odin. This literature was an elaborated form of belief systems common to indigenous peoples all over western and northern Europe. Such images as Odin's journey on the World Tree echo an apparently universal experience of shamans in all cultures and all times.

The sacred process was framed within the material world. Shamanic inspiration is the sacralization of the familiar, not an escape into some "other" reality. Seeing the familiar with new eyes is the gift of the shamanic journey. So the shaman climbed a "real" tree in order to undergo a journey. The tree formed a ladder to other worlds, other realms, other states, and climbing it physically was a metaphor for the journey from one realm into another. Of course, all archetypes, the World Tree included, yield images of a deeper level of reality. They do not "stand for something", like a logo of a company. Their meaning is within the image itself.

In shamanic cultures physical landscape transformed into a spirit landscape. Odin's visions created, represented, illustrated, reflected the structure of the cosmos. He was not "there" at the beginning of creation, but rather discovered and articulated the structure of "everything" as a result of the visions he achieved in his shamanic journeying.

In the myth Odin climbed into a sacred tree and stayed in the tree for nine days and nights with no food and water. Under these conditions of intense focus he entered states of consciousness in which the tree changed into an enormous white, eight-legged horse, on which Odin rode through the sky.

During his visionary experience, the tree appeared in Odin's vision as a giant ash tree so vast that its branches spread out over the whole world and reached up over heaven. This massive construction served as the axis of the cosmos, and everything else was constructed around it. Featured around the tree was the universe, a tricentric structure, like three gigantic discs set one above the other with a space in between each. The top disc is conceived of as the Upperworld, the middle one is called Middle World, and the bottom one is the Lowerworld. Structured among these three realms were nine worlds, nine domains of knowledge, each with a particular ambience and energy.

This is the wondrous vision that Odin experienced during his initiation; he saw it, and he created it, in a tree. Clearly, from the laws and sermons of the Christian authorities, we can see that the image of the tree was central to the ways in which the peoples of ancient Europe attuned to their environment. But it was more than that. We can see from the experience of Odin that the image of the tree was the template within which all of the sacred world could be apprehended. The tree was the framework within which one "flew" to these Otherworlds. And since the exploration of sacred space was also a quest into the nature of human consciousness, the tree was regarded as an image of the ways in which we, humans, are constructed psychically. It was a natural model for our deepest wisdom, our highest aspirations.

The issues that face us today demand, of course, a more sophisticated analysis than allowed by a simple romanticizing of the charms of a "natural" environment. But the answers to this need to be sought within our inner worlds as much as in the external world. What we can learn from the Wisdom of the Wyrd is the essence of the deeper aspects of the relationship between people and nature which our forebears experienced. Their connection with the natural world was not one of separation and a sought-after reconciliation; it was a seamless apprehension of an "external" environment that was also "internal". Human beings and trees were inseparable aspects of Wyrd.

Dr. Brian Bates is Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Director of the Shaman Research Programme at the University of Sussex.

At times lonely
in winter's rural sparsity
by Picardie swamps
a silhouette of youthful memory
where the march of time still stomps

A département of endeavour
with forever undertones of war
along Europe's old western front
in coaction of history and remembrance
where July 1st bears the brunt

The flower of youth
now symbolised with a poppy
throughout the silent cities
growing heroism untold
from 11th telegnosis twin cities

Today's mist-covered tilth
worked upon by weather and agnation
this autumn hue was their spring cry
from Flanders fields to Argonne hide
all we see has immense underlie

Such screaming Sycamores grow
in muted dawn chorus's throe;
like Mametz Wood's highly-charged quiet
awaiting the barrage of memory to lift
in the prevalence of history's disquiet.

written by lauren6
mainly about the Somme

Goth - Gothic

History and background:
The words Goth and Gothic have had many, largely unrelated meanings in the past: the name of the Germanic Visigoth tribes that overthrew the Roman Empire. From this source arose the concept of a Goth as an uncivilised person, a barbarian, a style of architecture in Western Europe which was popular from the 12th to the 16th century, a style of horror/mystery literature that is dark, eerie and gloomy.

Goth, as a modern movement, started as one component of the punk rock scene. As the latter faded, Goth survived by creating its own subculture.

The first use of the term Goth in its present meaning is believed to have been on a British Broadcasting Commission (BBC) TV program. Anthony H. Wilson, manager of Joy Division described the band as Gothic compared with the pop mainstream. The name stuck.

Their use of black clothing was originally "something of a backlash to the colourful disco music of the seventies." It also stuck.

The movement first became established in the Batcave, a nightclub in London, England, in the early 1980's.
Spreading to the U.S., it first became popular in California.
Goth is featured in The Crow horror movies (1994, 1996). Other Gothic movies are the original Nosferatu, the color remake Nosferatu the Vampyre, and the Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.

Popular music bands are Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Sisters of Mercy, Dead Can Dance, and many others.

Religion:
Many Goths reflect popular culture and are probably nominal or devout Christians. Atheism, Agnosticism, the New Age, Gnosticism, Shamanism, Wicca, other Neopagan traditions, and other minority faith groups are represented more frequently than in the general population.

Goths often wear Christian crosses or Christian crucifixes, which many regard as a pre-Christian religious symbol. Others wear New Age/ancient Egyptian Ankh symbols. Some do this as expression of their religious beliefs, some for satire, and others because they like their appearance.

Religion is frequently discussed on the Goth newsgroups. Many songs, band names and album titles have Christian themes.

Some factors that are commonly observed are:

Its unique music, art and literature.
The use of extreme black clothing, light colored makeup, unusual hair styles, body piercing, bondage items, etc.
A fascination with medieval, Victorian and Edwardian history.
Wearing of symbols such as a Christian cross; an Egyptian ankh or "Eye of Ra," or "Eye of Horus;" a Wiccan pentacle, a Satanic inverted pentacle. etc.

Goths tend to be non-violent, pacifistic, passive, and tolerant. Many in the media have mistakenly associated Goth with extreme violence and hatred of minorities, white supremacy, etc.

Link

The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture prevalent in many countries. It began in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s to early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era. Its imagery and cultural proclivities indicate influences from nineteenth century Gothic literature, mainly through horror movies.

The goth subculture has associated gothic tastes in music and fashion. Gothic music encompasses a number of different styles. Common to all is a tendency towards a “dark” sound and outlook. Styles of dress within the subculture range from death rock, punk, androgynous, some Renaissance style clothes, or combinations of the above, most often with black attire, makeup and hair....

from wikipedia

While hospitalised, I enjoyed this article very much, being about half-French, but wonder if all Brits truly agree?
After yesterday's football results maybe yes???!!!

Brits 'want to be French'

One in five Brits would prefer to have been born French, according to a new report.

British residents are said to have been charmed by the "Thierry Factor'' - the rise of French celebrities such as Arsenal footballer Thierry Henry in the UK.

The love of French culture was revealed after more than 1,000 people were asked for their views on Europe, as part of the French Wines Week Report. More than a third of British people (37 per cent) would like to move to France in retirement, while only 30 per cent would like to continue to live in the UK.

And overall, a staggering 32 per cent of Britons under the age of 50 said they would prefer to live in France, while only 23 per cent chose the UK as the ideal dwelling place. Italy and Spain were the joint third most popular European destinations, with both countries gaining 19 per cent of the votes.

Experts think our fascination with France has grown steadily over the past decade thanks to the more relaxed way of life and the stylish celebrities.

Nick Wall, editor of FRANCE magazine, said the "Thierry Factor'' was a major influence in how Britons viewed the French. Films such as The Da Vinci Code, starring Audrey Tautou and Jean Reno, as well as Russell Crowe's A Good Year, are said to have had an impact on the way we regard the country.

The report, which polled 1,010 adults across the UK this summer, showed Brits seemed to be more aware of French cultural and historic icons than their own ones.

While 93 per cent of British people could name the Eiffel Tower, only 83 per cent could identify Blackpool's equivalent. And more people could name Paris' Arc de Triomphe (69 per cent) than London's Marble Arch (40 per cent).

When it comes to dinner, a glass of French wine goes down much easier than traditional British ale, according to the survey. Four out of 10 Brits thought wine was the perfect drink to accompany a meal, while only one in 20 opted for a glass of bitter.

Mr Wall said French wines were difficult to beat.

He said: "Every vineyard produces a wine that's unique. And French Wines Week is the perfect opportunity to discover the passion of French winemakers and their commitment to the quality of their wines.''

Good morning friends!
I am going back home...again...finally.

The weekend of check-ups turned into an extended comedy with near-disastrous consequences.
I learned that my spine is doing well, so that is good news...but the medication that I have been prescribed by hospital and doctor's were conflicting.

I want to ask you, if I am right or wrong here;

My medication had been checked and prescribed by a consultant, and passed-to and through my GP, and then finally to me. This has been for about a month, and though it was excessively strong, seemed to be working.
Then, at the weekend, a nominal check-up seemed to warrant my being prescribed a new drug, even stronger, to ease the once again increasing pain. (Triggered by a doctor 'tampering' with my beloved root nerve.)
So, it too went through the hospital pharmacy...only...and was prescribed to myself, which I duly took. But in that time, nobody told me to stop taking the original medication. It's always wise to have a GP's proviso for so doing, so I continued with that medicine; a tablet in the morning, and then took the new 'consultant' medicine; a tablet two hours before sleeping.

Was I wrong, or should the consultant have warned me about this cocktail?

Hours later, my heart was screaming, and threatening to erupt like Vesuvius. I remember how quickly the blurring and whitening came over me...so fast that I was unable to reach my cellphone recharger, (in near-perfect timing, my cellphone was dead), and promptly collapsed, still conscious..just...with legs frozen, paralised, for 7 hours.
Eventually help came and to A&E I went, by which time my head felt half dead.
It transpired that it all resulted from the medication, the potentially lethal cocktail that could have proved fatal, but thankfully did not. This merited and, amazingly, received an apology from the doctor!!!!

I'm now attempting to return to normal, and my heart is calming, my head still throbs with pain, but nothing like before. The only way I can describe that affect, from combining medicines, which themselves were fighting each other, is that it was as if a house, complete with bricks, were falling on one side of my brain. Far worse than the operations I endured. That pain, largely on the left side of my head, still lingers now...the dying medication's legacy. Self 2, Medical Disunity 1 (After Extra Time)

So, soon I will be home, and in urgent need of rest, rest, and even more rest. (I've slept like a log...being transported downstream and through the mill!!!)

I'm thankful for many things...life being the one most worthy of note.

Ed

I'm home, yes, after another epic song & dance at hospital...their complete disertion and dereliction of duty appalls me...

Now though, I'm home, a time for reflection, and revertion...back to who I am, and back to the person I was before this hospital hell begun...back to my roots, and to the person who was free and comfortable...yes, back to the DRAWING board...which I love so much...this is me...

I got home less than an hour ago, and had an image for my humble poem, "Vision", so immedicately set about drawing this, and thus ignoring what the hospital have put me through this afternoon, indeed this whole weekend.

My healing begun the moment the ink touched the paper. I'm free again, free from pain in the drawing's scope...however, I will post this, take medicine, and go straight to bed, as my weakness will soon engulf me...the stresses and excesses of fighting for attention at hospital has drained me...unnecessarily, but that is Britain2006.

My mind is alive and positive, trying it's best to recover from two operations last month, (both major, one nearly severed my main nerve, one nearly finished me), and no pumped-up doctor is going to demoralise me now...

Goodnight and warm care to all.
Ed

“There's no reality except the one contained within us. That's why so many people live an unreal life. They take images outside them for reality and never allow the world within them to assert itself.”

-Hermann Hesse

I'm here, waiting in hospital...and thinking about human characteristics...human attitudes...and can we believe all we hear?
I'm wondering about many things these days...people, people, people...are they real?

Can we believe all we hear?

Well, this has comforted me today...

Good morning...and it must be good, because I'm able to see it...

yesterday offered good news, and something quite awful...the spinal check-up turned a beautiful dream into a living nightmare...as the spine was found to be doing well, but the grubby-handed doctor fiddled with my intricate spine as if on a building-site, touching that root nerve with as much delicacy as if it were a brick.

The pain from that nerve, (nearly severed barely a month ago), was horrendous. He went into the most intricate area of my hurt spine, and did something that sent a shock of pain right into my brain...the excess of which I cannot put into words...but I was left for 4 hours, unable to turn my head or move at all; in pain that was worse than the operations themselves...I am weak today, but thankful to be able to write about it...and this afternoon enter hospital again...heaven forbid...

I will try to reply all comments when my health permits...as posting this has used enormous effort, and I am still in extreme pain...

"Vision"

If you believe enough in the belief of others
and the distance of love to have faith in us
the soul of one will reflect the eyes of all
in the notes of a song playing around the world

Can you remember the dreams of childhood,
the dawn of hopes and sunrise pride
mid-morning journeys adding to midday thirst
love's first wine for buffet divine

Do you see the single forest or vigorous tree
as nature's heart of human potential
a canopy of protection in cover of crown
with jewel so precious, a shining star nonpareil

Is your soul upon the land or the seas
a castle in the sky or love upon the sands
palms and pines, men and women, together in obeisance
eyes south, hands north, times east, ticking west

As we tune to the same wavelength in equal timezone
loves longitudinal arc, lies our latitudinal heart
where contours meet with sea waves to greet
belief in you touches it's deepest moonlit hue.

written by lauren6

l'École de Nancy

The Town of Nancy, already rich of a XVIIIth century heritage, one and a half century later was the witness of a new dynamism in the field of decorative arts and became together with Paris, one of the most important places of Art Nouveau in France. Through the decisive impetus given by Emile Gallé, glass-maker, ceramicist and cabinet-maker, an alliance of artists and industrials of art gathered together in 1901 under the name of “Ecole de Nancy”. Using plants as a main source of inspiration, Gallé, Majorelle, Daum, Prouvé, Gruber, Vallin and others had conferred on art objects of an artistic quality and a new social dimension with a production where unique masterpieces keep close to industrial pieces. The original aspect of the Ecole de Nancy lies in the fact that there is a close bond between art and industry. This development is accompanied by technical innovations in fields tackled by these artist (glass, ceramics, textile, leather, metal) which allows the creation of new objects (in the design and in the materials used).

Nancy and its 1900 heritage

The Art Nouveau buildings by Emile André, Lucien Weissenburger and also by Henri Sauvage (architect of the Majorelle Villa) were able to create the artistic and functional spirit of the Ecole de Nancy in the urban space. More than one hundred buildings (commerce, coffee houses, apartment buildings, banks…) resolutely “new” are still important in the landscape of Nancy today. Settled in the old property of Eugène Corbin, - main patron of that time – the museum of the Ecole de Nancy collects together art objects (glass, ceramics, furniture, lights, bookbinding…) signed by the most important artists of the Ecole de Nancy. The Fine Arts Museum of Nancy hosts a collection of more than three hundred Daum glasses and presents a number of masterpieces of the painters of the Ecole de Nancy : Emile Friant, Victor Prouvé, Camille Martin and Henri Royer.

Link

Architecture Art nouveau
Points de repère

En 1901, l'École de Nancy, alliance provinciale des industries d'art, est officiellement créée. L'année 1901 marque aussi l'entrée de l'architecture nancéienne dans l'Art nouveau. Louis Majorelle confie au jeune architecte parisien Henri Sauvage la construction de sa maison personnelle, au chantier de laquelle sont associés les Nancéiens Jacques Gruber et Henri Royer, et les artistes parisiens Alexandre Bigot et Francis Jourdain. La Villa Majorelle sera rapidement considérée comme une oeuvre manifeste.

La même année, les architectes Charles et Émile André, en collaboration avec Jacques Gruber et Eugène Vallin, entament la construction des Grands Magasins Vaxelaire, inaugurant ainsi le cycle de modernisation du centre de la ville : commerces, établissements bancaires, brasseries et hôtels se feront désormais les hérauts de l'architecture et de la société nouvelles.
C'est encore en 1901 que les architectes Émile André et Henry Gutton dessinent le lotissement du parc de Saurupt sur le modèle résidentiel du Vésinet - une réponse, partiellement réalisée, à l'extension anarchique de la ville et aux nouvelles attentes de l'habitat urbain.
De ces expériences pionnières naîtront tout un registre de programmes, de typologies, de formes et d'éléments décoratifs - céramique architecturale, ferronnerie, vitrail... - qui marqueront durablement le paysage de la ville.

Link

Useful websites;

Ville de Nancy: Official Web Site
http://www.mairie-nancy.fr

Nancy: Tourist Office
http://www.ot-nancy.fr

Aristotle sees the universe as a scale lying between the two extremes: form without matter is on one end, and matter without form is on the other end. The passage of matter into form must be shown in its various stages in the world of nature. To do this is the object of Aristotle's physics, or philosophy of nature. It is important to keep in mind that the passage from form to matter within nature is a movement towards ends or purposes. Everything in nature has its end and function, and nothing is without its purpose. Everywhere we find evidences of design and rational plan. No doctrine of physics can ignore the fundamental notions of motion, space, and time. Motion is the passage of matter into form, and it is of four kinds: (1) motion which affects the substance of a thing, particularly its beginning and its ending; (2) motion which brings about changes in quality; (3) motion which brings about changes in quantity, by increasing it and decreasing it; and (4) motion which brings about locomotion, or change of place. Of these the last is the most fundamental and important.

Aristotle rejects the definition of space as the void. Empty space is an impossibility. Hence, too, he disagrees with the view of Plato and the Pythagoreans that the elements are composed of geometrical figures. Space is defined as the limit of the surrounding body towards what is surrounded. Time is defined as the measure of motion in regard to what is earlier and later. it thus depends for its existence upon motion. If there where no change in the universe, there would be no time. Since it is the measuring or counting of motion, it also depends for its existence on a counting mind. If there were no mind to count, there could be no time. As to the infinite divisibility of space and time, and the paradoxes proposed by Zeno, Aristotle argues that space and time are potentially divisible ad infinitum, but are not actually so divided.

After these preliminaries, Aristotle passes to the main subject of physics, the scale of being. The first thing to notice about this scale is that it is a scale of values. What is higher on the scale of being is of more worth, because the principle of form is more advanced in it. Species on this scale are eternally fixed in their place, and cannot evolve over time. The higher items on the scale are also more organized. Further, the lower items are inorganic and the higher are organic. The principle which gives internal organization to the higher or organic items on the scale of being is life, or what he calls the soul of the organism. Even the human soul is nothing but the organization of the body. Plants are the lowest forms of life on the scale, and their souls contain a nutritive element by which it preserves itself. Animals are above plants on the scale, and their souls contain an appetitive feature which allows them to have sensations, desires, and thus gives them the ability to move. The scale of being proceeds from animals to humans. The human soul shares the nutritive element with plants, and the appetitive element with animals, but also has a rational element which is distinctively our own.

This song by Seal, from I think 1990, is outstanding, memorable, and full of home truths for humans..."No, we're never gonna survive unless...we get a little crazy" is a truism...we all need those moments, I certainly do...

this weekend will be yet another dominated by hospital for me, and last night I had to call-in the doctor for my worsening condition...now, I face another couple of days beside the NHS's technology...hoping for the best for your weekend dear friends..I'm here, there and everywhere, as per usual!!

In a church,by the face,
He talks about the people going under.

Only child know...

A man decides after seventy years,
That what he goes there for, is to unlock the door.
While those around him criticize and sleep...
And through a fractal on a breaking wall,
I see you my friend, and touch your face again.
Miracles will happen as we trip.

But we're never gonna survive, unless...
We get a little crazy
No we're never gonna survive, unless...
We are a little...

Cray...cray...cray...

...Crazy yellow people walking through my head.
One of them's got a gun, to shoot the other one.
And yet together they were friends at school
Ohh, get it, get it, get it, get it no no!

If all were there when we first took the pill,
Then maybe, then maybe, then maybe, then maybe...
Miracles will happen as we speak.

But we're never gonna survive unless...
We get a little crazy.
No we're never gonna survive unless...
We are a little...
Crazy...
No no, never survive, unless we get a little... bit...

Oh, a little bit...
Oh, a little bit...

Oh...
Oh...

Amanda decides to go along after seventeen years...

Oh darlin...
In a sky full of people, only some want to fly,
Isn't that crazy?
In a world full of people, only some want to fly,
Isn't that crazy?
Crazy...
In a heaven of people there's only some want to fly,
Ain't that crazy?
Oh babe... Oh darlin...
In a world full of people there's only some want to fly,
Isn't that crazy?
Isn't that crazy... Isn't that crazy... Isn't that crazy...

Ohh...
But we're never gonna survive unless, we get a little crazy.. crazy..
No we're never gonna to survive unless we are a little... crazy..
But we're never gonna survive unless, we get a little crazy.. crazy..
No we're never gonna to survive unless, we are a little.. crazy..
No no, never survive unless, we get a little bit...

And then you see things
The size
Of which you've never known before

They'll break it

Someday...

Only child know....

Them things
The size
Of which you've never known before

Someday...
Someway...
Someday...
Someway...
Someday...
Someway...
Someday...

It's strange to be here, in a Friday evening quandary
playing like the shadows from setting sun
light chasing dark upon a steeve
in the swallow of trees and fallen seeds
starting apace beyond night's stertorous close
walking headlong into the dead-eye of a dream
-hidden moon hailing a recalescent star
the mind's silhouette of time
a dividing line of northing incline
becoming maelstrom between dusk and dawn
geostrophic north to south the illuminated travel
enforced flight of naturaphileein
our felucca in nightflight of the skies
the hypnotic element of oceanic tidings
sleeps a sand-blind desert of surprise
the call of night has daylight forever in it's eyes.

written by lauren6

I read this article today with enormous interest.
On two fronts it left an indelible mark on me;

For one, the positive attitude of Eddy Merckx, the great Belgian cyclist, which led to him overcoming that dreadful spinal injury to become champion; and two, the obvious parallel with my own fractured and cracked spine.

This is an inspirational story, to a terrific extent.
We again see living proof of the scale of human endurance, spirit, and character, and where it can take us.

Eddy Merckx, a terrific character...

Why pain was never a barrier for fast Eddy
By Brendan Gallagher

He looked like a young Elvis Presley, rode like a runaway steam engine and, God bless him, enraged the French year after year, by winning all their big races and grinding their high profile superstars into the dust.

Lance Armstrong may have earned the worldwide headlines, notoriety and small fortune but the Belgian with the swarthy Mediterranean looks remains cycling's non pareil, indeed one of sports' legendary figures. Such was his voracious appetite for devouring opponents and spitting them out on the roadside that Eddy Merckx became known as the 'The Cannibal' and the nickname has stuck. Merckx, 61, arrives in London tomorrow. He will be opening the Cycle Show in Docklands on Saturday and conducting a Q & A session with fans, who will want to hear the old stories from the man himself.

These are some stories. There were 525 wins in his 1,582 career races, a 33 per cent success rate and on average a win every week for 10 years. Five Tour de France titles and a record 96 days in the yellow jersey and 34 stage wins. Five titles in the Giro D'Italia and 24 stage win. Seven Milan-San Remo Classics, three world championships, three Paris- Roubaix....There just isn't space to list his honours.

And all this depite a chronic back condition that should have left him on a walking stick for the rest of his life. Back in 1969 - soon after his first sensational Tour de France title when, uniquely, he won the yellow jersey, green jersey (sprints) and the polka-dotted jersey (mountains) - Merckx was involved in an horrific crash. He was being paced by a motorbike in a 'derny' race and a cyclist fell in front of Merckx's pacer, who was killed instantly. Merckx suffered bad concussion, cracked a vertebra low in his back and his pelvis shifted horribly. It should have been the end of his career but Merckx begged to differ.

"Cyclists live with pain, if you can't handle it you will win nothing," he told me earlier this week. "If you don't want to suffer, take up another sport. Winning big Tours and stage races is often about pain management. When the terrible accident occurred at least I escaped with my life. I was the lucky one, that was my reaction. I was positive and having worked so hard to succeed in cycling I was determined not to give up.

"I was only young and the injuries were to haunt me for the rest of my career but I got through. I had to adjust my position on the saddle and I was always needing massages and manipulation. But I got through. In the end I grew philosophical. I could still turn the pedals, the bike still went quick. Not as quick, but still very quick. The only difference between me and my opponents was that I started most races in pain, they hit the wall three-quarters through or at the top of a big climb.

"I began to use it to my advantage. Being in pain from the start made me sharp and on edge and well motivated. I had no fear of what lay ahead. I was already suffering. My opponents had all that to look 'forward' to but they didn't know when it would ambush them in the race.

"Sometimes,also, it was very bad and it was as if I raced so fast just to get the race over so I could stretch out on the floor or the bed to get comfortable. The mind can overcome great setbacks and make a person very strong."

...
from Telegraph Sport 5th October, 2006

A moment not too soon
from the sky's thoughts
a penny to a balloon
floating over a 1000 ports

nerves widest berth
seeking journey's binnacle of health
that time of eyeopening mirth
the enceinte of fortified stealth

a cataclasm avoided in steady course
the float of sound in water's found;
aqua vitae, a spring to reinforce
hopes to quench and propound.

written by lauren6

I greatly enjoyed this short animation.
It conjured up memories and emotions of the north of France. Of the battlefields and culture, the bravery and valiant deeds untold, the strife, loneliness of war, and the hope of life thereafter.
It is an optimistic animation, I feel, and the music has a comforting warmth.
Wonderful!

Not much is known about the Spanish director, born in Barcelona in 1980...but is a real talent!

J'ai considérablement apprécié cette animation courte. Elle a évoqué des mémoires et des émotions du nord de la France. Des champs de bataille et la culture, le courage et contrats vaillants incalculables; les différends; solitude de guerre, et l'espoir de la vie ensuite. C'est une animation optimiste, et la musique a une chaleur de soulagement.

Ce sont mes impressions après l'avoir observée pendant la toute première fois aujourd'hui. Merveilleux!

Pas beaucoup est connu au sujet du directeur espagnol, né à Barcelone en 1980... mais est un vrai talent !

Where do our beliefs come from, and why do we hold on to some of them even if there is evidence to the contrary? Why, for example, do we continue to be fascinated by God, religion, haunted houses, UFOs, conspiracy theories, and miracle cures, even when science can dispute many of these claims? Is it because we are uneducated, or are our brains designed to interpret and seek out such possibilities in the world? Simply put: Why do we believe what we believe?

In Dr. Newberg's new book, Why We Believe What We Believe, he focuses on the underlying mechanisms which govern our spiritual, social, and individual beliefs, arguing that we are biologically driven to find meaning and wholeness throughout our lives. In fact, our brains have the capacity to create and maintain a system of beliefs which can take us far beyond our survival-oriented needs. These belief systems not only shape our morals and ethics, but they can be harnessed to heal our bodies and minds, enhance our intimate relationships, and deepen our spiritual connections with others. However, they can also be used to manipulate and control, for we are also born with a biological propensity to impose our belief systems on others. This innate power of our beliefs to heal or injure, to foster happiness or disease, or generate societal friction or peace is the underlying theme of this book.

Based upon his neurological research (including new studies with Franciscan nuns, atheists, and evangelicals speaking in tongues), Dr. Newberg correlates a wide range of human beliefs with specific perceptual, social, and biological factors. He argues that some beliefs can enhance our physical and emotional well-being while others can function destructively, not only upon one's self, but upon society as well. Although our beliefs are rooted in the biology of the brain, Dr. Newberg emphasizes that they are equally shaped by parents, peers, and society. In the end, a better understanding of beliefs can foster a more compassionate perspective on people who hold other beliefs and point the direction towards a more positive life and society...

-The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences.

Estoria do gato e da Luna - Pedro Serrazina 1995

This is a beautiful tale, a poem, from Portugal making exquisite use of light and shadows, within the charm of the night, focusing on the moon representing passion, and pursuant cat.
Outstanding...

Otra revelación, en este caso la de Pedro Serrazina. Un poema. Un cuento hecho de silencios y complicidades. Luz y sombra, la seducción de la noche, la luna como pasión... Esta es la historia de alguien que intentó hacer del sueño una realidad. Esta es la historia del gato y la luna.

In turning to one side
primordial thoughts do confide
the quiescence of mind
in medicinal offspring of sapid kind

autumn's trinket of reproach
in the cold winds grappling approach
so the tide is a microphone for lyrics
the sea; the ink of writing's hemispherics

from sand and palms, a truly beautiful one
rising from horizon's setting sun
pain's symphonic scream a diminuendo
spells trees standing ovation in love's crescendo.

written by lauren6

Since my return home from hospital, I've delighted in the rediscovery of my books, including an old favourite of Marianne North's botanical artworks.
She was a daughter of a Norfolk landowner too, which is often forgotten.

For her time, she travelled extensively, and to this day her work, studies and contribution can be enjoyed by us all.

Marianne North was a remarkable Victorian artist who travelled the globe in order to satisfy her passion for recording the world’s flora with her paintbrush. The result of these epic journeys can be seen in the North Gallery at Kew, where tier upon tier of brightly coloured paintings of flowers, landscapes, animals and birds are arranged. There are 832 paintings, all completed in 13 years of travel round the world.

Marianne was devoted to her father Frederick North who was Liberal MP for Hastings. When he died in 1869 it had a profound effect on her for until then all life had centred on him. In 1871 at the age of 40 Marianne began her astonishing series of trips around the world.

Between 1871 and 1885 she visited America, Canada, Jamaica, Brazil, Tenerife, Japan, Singapore, Sarawak, Java, Sri Lanka, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Seychelles and Chile. Some of the plants she painted proved new to science and one genus and four species were named in her honour. She took a year off from travelling in 1881-1882 to arrange her pictures in the Gallery, which was built at her own expense and designed by James Ferguson, the architectural historian.

Marianne North retired to Gloucestershire, where she died on 30th August 1890.

Further reading;
Hastings Press

L'huissier Soms se rend chez un vieil homme qui collectionne des souvenirs dont plus personne ne veut.
Dans l'appartement vide et misérable, le fonctionnaire ouvre une porte dérobée et découvre un grenier gigantesque où sont entreposés des milliers d'objets.
L'huissier entreprend alors un étrange inventaire.

I was intrigued by the unique look and feel of some graphics I had seen from Franck Dion's "L'inventaire Fantôme". It was only when I got to Dion's production website that I realized just how intriguing the project was. There is some great production design, interesting storytelling and even the name of Didier Brunner, producer on The Triplets of Belleville, associated with the film.

Dion has some nice tutorials at his website explaining how he combined traditional stop motion elements with digital imagery. If it doesn't ruin the magic for you to look behind the curtain, it will certainly give you a greater appreciation of the Art that went into this unusual film. I'd recommend a peek.

"A bailiff visits an old man who collects mementos no one wants anymore. In the dilapidated apartment, the baliff opens a secret door and discovers a giant attic where thousands of objects are stored and embarks upon a strange inventory.

'The Phantom Inventory' is an animated short film which uses puppet techniques (stop motion) and digital retouching.

During the six months which followed the end of filming in Angoulme, the 75 shots in the complete film were all retouched. Some of the elements that had not been shot during filming were created at that time, whilst other scenes were entirely redone. The artistic aim of this process was to take a fresh look at the film by incorporating various techniques such as painting, illustration, and 2D animation. In short, this stage amounted to making a second film!

The scale of the task at hand caused delays and many sleepless nights for the team! The tools and techniques we used were digital painting and 2D animation. Thanks to the talents of Mathilde Fabry, two shots feature 3D animation.

At the end of the day, this superimposition of graphic techniques enabled us to achieve the overall surreal feeling I wanted to create for the atmosphere of 'The Phantom Inventory'.

The creation of 'The Phantom Inventory', like most animation films, was a long, tedious task. What remains is the film itself and the memory of a fantastic experience."

--Franck Dion, September 2004

le site officiel

This is a superb and deeply insightful article, right after my own heart...please read it, you'll not regret it and part of you will be thankful...

OUR EXCITEMENT about the internet should not blind us to the fact that the astonishing linguistic and intellectual capacity of the human brain did not evolve in relation to the computer. Nor, of course, did it evolve in relation to the written word. Rather it evolved in relation to orally told stories. Indeed, we humans were telling each other stories for many, many millennia before we ever began writing our words down - whether on the page or on the screen.

Spoken stories were the living encyclopedias of our oral ancestors, dynamic and lyrical compendia of practical knowledge. Oral tales told on special occasions carried the secrets of how to orient in the local cosmos. Hidden in the magic adventures of their characters was precise information regarding which plants were good to eat and which were poisonous, and how to prepare certain herbs to heal cramps, or sleeplessness, or a fever. The stories carried instructions about how to construct a winter shelter, and what to do during a drought, and - more generally - how to live well in this land without destroying the land's wild vitality.

So much earthly savvy was carried in the old tales! And since there was no written medium in which to record and preserve the stories - since there were no written texts - the surrounding landscape, itself, functioned as the primary mnemonic, or memory trigger, for preserving the oral tales. To this end, diverse animals common to the local earth figured as prominent characters within the oral stories, whether as teachers or tricksters, as buffoons or bearers of wisdom. A chance encounter with a particular creature as you went about your daily business (an encounter with a coyote, perhaps, or a magpie) would likely stir the memory of one or another story in which that animal played a decisive role. Moreover, crucial events in the tales were commonly associated with particular places in the local terrain where those events were assumed to have happened, and whenever you noticed that place in the course of your wanderings - when you came upon that particular cluster of boulders, or that sharp bend in the river - the encounter would spark the memory of the storied events that had occurred there.
Thus, while the accumulated knowledge of our oral ancestors was carried in their stories, the stories themselves were carried by the surrounding earth. The local landscape was alive with stories! Travelling through the terrain, one felt teachings and tellings sprouting from every nook and knoll, lurking under the rocks and waiting to swoop down from the trees. The wooden planks of one's old house would laugh and whine, now and then, when the wind leaned hard against them, and whispered wishes would pour from the windswept grasses. To the members of a traditionally oral culture, all things had the power of speech…

Indeed, when we consult indigenous, oral peoples from around the world, we commonly discover that, to them, there is no phenomenon - no stone, no mountain, no human artefact - that is inert or inanimate. Each thing has its own pulse, its own interior animation, its own life. Rivers feel the presence of the fish that swim within them. A large boulder, its surface spreading with crinkly red and grey lichens, is able to influence the events around it, and even to influence the thinking of those folks who lean against it - lending their thoughts a certain gravity, and a kind of stony wisdom. Particular fish, as well, are bearers of wisdom, gifting their insights to those who catch them. Everything is alive - even the stories themselves are animate beings!

Among the Cree of Manitoba, for instance, it is said that the tales, when they are not being told, live off in their own villages, where they go about their own lives. Every now and then, however, a story will leave its village and seek a person to inhabit. Some person will abruptly be possessed by the story, and soon will find herself or himself telling the tale out into the world, singing it back into active circulation.

There is something about this storied way of speaking - this acknowledgement of a world all alive, awake, and aware - that brings us close to our senses, and to the palpable, sensuous world that materially surrounds us. Our animal senses know nothing of the objective, mechanical, quantifiable world to which most of our civilised discourse refers. Wild and gregarious organs, our senses spontaneously experience the world not as a conglomeration of inert objects but as a field of animate presences that actively call our attention, that grab our focus or capture our gaze. Whenever we slip beneath the abstract assumptions of the modern world, we find ourselves drawn into relationship with a diversity of beings as inscrutable and unfathomable as ourselves. Direct, sensory perception is inherently animistic, disclosing a world wherein each thing has its own active agency and power.

When we speak of the things around us as quantifiable objects or passive 'natural resources', we contradict our spontaneous sensory experience of the world, and hence our senses begin to wither and grow dim. We find ourselves living more and more in our heads, adrift in a net of abstractions, unable to feel at home in an objectified landscape that seems alien to our own dreams and emotions. But when we begin to tell stories, our imagination begins to flow out through our eyes and our ears to inhabit the breathing Earth once again. Suddenly, the trees along the street are looking at us, and the clouds crouch low over the city as though they are trying to hatch something wondrous. We find ourselves back inside the same world that the squirrels and the spiders inhabit, along with the deer stealthily munching the last plants in our garden, and the wild geese honking overhead as they flap south for the winter. Linear time falls away, and we find ourselves held, once again, in the vast cycles of the cosmos - the round dance of the seasons, the sun climbing out of the ground each morning and slipping down into the earth every evening, the opening and closing of the lunar eye whose full gaze attracts the tidal waters within us and all around us.

For we are born of this animate Earth, and our sensitive flesh is simply our part of the dreaming body of the world. However much we may obscure this ancestral affinity, we cannot erase it, and the persistence of the old stories is the continuance of a way of speaking that blesses the sentience of things, binding our thoughts back into the depths of an imagination much vaster than our own. To live in a storied world is to know that intelligence is not an exclusively human faculty located somewhere inside our skulls, but is rather a power of the animate Earth itself, in which we humans, along with the hawks and the thrumming frogs, all participate. It is to know, further, that each land, each valley, each wild community of plants and animals and soils, has its particular style of intelligence, its unique mind or imagination evident in the particular patterns that play out there, in the living stories that unfold in that valley, and that are told and retold by the people of that place. Each ecology has its own psyche, and the local people bind their imaginations to the psyche of the place by letting the land dream its tales through them.

HOW BASIC AND instinctive is the imaginative craft of telling a tale! And yet how little we exercise these skills in the modern era. Of course, we'll read a story to a child before sleep, but we won't take the time to learn it by heart, so we can really tell the story ourselves without reading it from the page, or to improvise a fresh version of an old tale for our neighbours and friends. We have too little time for such frivolities: a world of factual information beckons, a universe of spreadsheets and stock comparisons.

If we crave entertainment, we have only to click on the computer, and straight away we can synapse ourselves to any one of the rapidly multiplying video games and virtual worlds now accessible through the glowing screen. Surely this rich and rapidly shifting realm of technological pleasures is the niftiest magic of all! Yet for all their dash and dazzle, the inventions of humankind can never match the complexity and nuance of the sensuous Earth, this breathing cosmos that we did not create. The many-voiced Earth remains the secret source and inspiration for all the fabricated realms that now beckon to us through the screen. Let us indeed celebrate the powers of technology, and introduce our children to the digital delights of our era. But not before we have acquainted them with the gifts of the living land, and enabled its palpable mysteries to ignite their imaginations and their thoughts. Not before we have stepped outside with our children, late at night, to gaze up at the glinting lights scattered haphazardly through the darkness, sharing a story about how those stars came to be there. Not before they've glimpsed the tracks of Coyote in the mud by the supermarket, or have sat alongside us on the bank of a local stream, dangling a line in the water and pondering an old tale about the salmon of wisdom… "Listen - that's Raven squawking! There he is, swerving onto that high branch: is he planning to steal the sun once again? Hey, bodacious bird, black as the night: what new mischief are you up to?"

So many tales lie hidden in the local land where we live. When we stumble upon them and let them resound on our stuttering tongues, the spoken stories wake us up to our immersion in a dreaming universe - to this enigmatic Story deliciously unfolding all around us. They induce us to taste the icicles dangling from the roof, and to bow toward the rising moon, and to wonder: what's going to happen next?

David Abram is a cultural ecologist, philosopher and sleight-of-hand magician. He is the author of The Spell of the Sensuous (Pantheon).

For any human who thinks they are the be all and end all in this world, I suggest they watch this short piece.
In my mind, the peak of human achievement has been when it's worked TOGETHER with nature, as in this little film; the music and filming itself, of nature at work in simple, yet profound everyday survival. That is perfection!
Please enjoy the images and the music;

Why must blood be thicker than water?
when so much blood is spilled
by brothers in arms of war
forever kept at armslength in 'peace'
cold shoulder to cold shoulder the blame

A son duty-bound by parental demand
-where blood divides, water's on a parity
the lifegiver, cleanser and refresher
paregoric halo in oxygenated blizzard
-the son still shines through fatherly storm

With eyes given to sleep's journey
-yesterday's caduceus legacy
avuncular autumn ascetics
followed duodenary weather-sheets
in a dream-inspired morceau set adrift

Tasks complete and now ashore
absorbed with graceless ease
marks the inundation of blood, sweat and tears
the convergance of all we are;
toil, tides and watery eyes.

written by lauren6

Ephemera Prime by Richard Bone has all the elements I crave for in music and visuals, this is wonderful.
It fits autumn beautifully, in it's colour, sentiment, sound, and feel.

For anyone suffering tonight, we are never alone...

Do we know what we're born for,
or who we are?
travelling various lands
to answer the door-
of pneuma calls from afar

Is solace found in daily sojourn,
with Socratical dawn
unbridling the new day
as galloping years set
the breadth of life forever born

The stark sky soon clouds
admonishing the affronted torrents
abusing the afflicted
turning in distilled silence
the life provides all that it warrants

A benevolent answer for contorted question
like the spring thaw contravening malice
alone as a pretext for togetherness
the answer for one arises from all
nature's heart 'speaks' through vena digitalis.

written by lauren6

We're all beginning the journey
riding along
believing in the same destiny
yet time steals
from others, if not ourselves
the excitement and mystique
by the touch of hands
in the blink of an eye
from a platform wave
saying goodbye.

written by lauren6.

Now, I'm at home, my convalescence begins, and my mind adapts after the gruelling year I've had.
It is something anyone could have endured, but what has hurt my system is the fact that so many operations have been performed, (against some medics advice), almost in panic, in too short a time, on a body that is mindstrong, bodyweak...

The homecoming is welcome, the pain however continues, unabaited...and medication DOES offer relief; I've succumbed to it's effects, but resist making this longterm.

My medication is this;
Gabapentin 600mg x4
Amitriptyline 10mg x1
Dihydrocodeine 30mg x4
Propranol 10mg x4
Bisoprolol 1.25mg x1

I've also been injected with valium into my spinal root nerve too, which acts as a 'block'.

With that collection in mind, I've read this beautiful article today that follows and touches all my deepest loves in life...nature...and here it is...

When human beings consider themselves to be the masters of the earth and have dominion over it they are more likely to abuse it and exploit it.

Much of our conventional education is learning "about" nature. We study nature as something separate from us and as an object which is useful to us. We seem to consider ourselves either masters of nature or, if more enlightened, then stewards of nature. We study nature because we wish to know our servant or our protectorate in order to make best use of nature for a prolonged period.

When human beings consider themselves to be the masters of the earth and have dominion over it they are more likely to abuse it and exploit it. Therefore, the environmentalists take a step in the right direction by considering themselves as stewards of the earth. Stewardship entails responsibility. In such a view of the environment people are more likely to conserve and care. However, both these views are anthropocentric. From both these points of view human beings are a superior species, having a higher status. Norwegian philosopher Arnie Naess has named such a human centred relationship with the natural environment as "shallow ecology".

According to Arne Naess human beings are a part and parcel of the natural world as any other species. No doubt human beings have their own outstanding faculties and qualities. They have their own highly developed senses, intelligence, consciousness and ability to communicate. But then other species too have their own particular, specific and unique qualities, which humans do not possess. Each and every species upon this earth, humans and other than humans, contribute in their own specific way, for the totality of existence, which evolves, unfolds and maintains its continuity. Therefore, all life, human and non-human, irrespective of their particular qualification, have intrinsic value. As all humans are born equal, irrespective of their class, status, education and wealth and as they have the right to life irrespective of their usefulness to society; in the same way all species have intrinsic value irrespective of their usefulness to humankind. Arnie Naess calls it "deep ecology".

From this perspective human beings are not masters or stewards of nature but they are friends of nature The word friendship can be used in two ways; firstly, we consider those whom we know, as friends because we are acquainted with them, we go out with them, we spend some time together and support each other in time of need. But then there is another meaning of friendship; when we feel unconditional empathy and offer our affection without expecting anything in return, then we are in a state of friendship. In this second meaning of the word friendship is a sense of mutuality and reciprocity. When we are able to identify ourselves with the other, without any sense of superiority or inferiority, then we create a condition of friendship. That was the vision of the founders of the environmental organisation Friends of the Earth.

Friendship is the purest and noblest kind of relationship. In Buddhist language it is called metta. The Buddha throughout his life advocated his disciples to practice metta, i.e. friendship, with all sentient beings. The Buddha himself was called Maitreya which means Friend; not master, not prophet, not guru, just Friend. Friendship is the foundation upon which Buddhism is built. Friendship underpins the notion of non-violence and compassion. We will never harm or exploit or damage or denigrate someone who is our friend. We will receive the gifts given to us by our friends with thanks and gratitude. We will return our own gifts to our friends. Everything we receive from nature is a gift; whether it is food, water, sunshine or anything else; everything is a gift. This is the symbiotic relationship which equips us with humility, wonder and reverence. Nature is not there to be plundered or exploited rather it is there to be cherished and celebrated. I call it "Reverential Ecology".

The moment we accept that all life has intrinsic value we begin to experience a profound feeling of reverence towards all life and begin to experience the beauty, the integrity, the exuberance, the generosity and the economy which holds the entire web of life together. In place of controlling, owning or possessing we begin to participate in the process of the intricately woven web of life. We are no longer masters or stewards of the earth rather we are participants and co-creators of the earth. Of course, humans have their special place in the scheme of the universe, but so do the flowers, fruit, fungi, worms, butterflies, oceans, mountains and all micro and macro organisms.

When we view existence with such an expanded consciousness then it is possible to open our eyes and learn "from" nature rather than learn "about" nature. Nature is the greatest teacher. The Buddha learnt the reality of interdependence from a tree. While sitting under a tree and observing how everything was dependent upon everything else he was enlightened. Fruit came from flower, flower from branches, branches and leaves grow from the trunk, the trunk from the soil, the soil is nourished by the rain, the rain is held by the clouds, clouds are formed out of the sea, the sea receives the waters of the rivers and is held by the earth, the sea nourishes the earth and earth the sea and so it goes on. The Buddha's realisation of interdependence was perhaps the beginning of deep ecology and reverential ecology.

We don't need to go very far to learn from nature. Wherever we look with open eyes and a generous heart we will find nature as teacher. Look at the honeybee; we can learn the lessons of transformation from the humble bee. It takes a little nectar from here, a little nectar from there, but never too much from anywhere. Never ever has a flower complained that a honeybee has taken too much nectar away. In fact the flowers are grateful to the bee for helping them to pollinate. When the bee has taken nectar it does not waste; it transforms the nectar into sweet, delicious, healing honey. If human beings learnt to design their systems on the lines of the honeybee there would be no depletion, no waste and no pollution.

Science writer, Janine Benyus, calls it "biomimicary"; having observed the beauty, resilience and intricacy of spider silk and seashells she says, " Why don't we humans observe nature and design our technology and tools like nature does?" If we follow the patterns of nature there would be neither shortage, nor scarcity of anything, rather there will always be abundance. How wonderful it is to observe that the nature designed seed has so much potential. From a tiny apple pip comes the seedling, from the seedling the plant, from the plant the tree, from the tree the apple fruit with many more pips within to produce many more trees for many more years. The leaves of the tree fall on the ground, decompose and become the nutrient to the tree and to the soil. Abundance all around. Nature knows no scarcity, because it knows no waste.

Such deep observation and deep experience is essential in order to get deep insights in the workings of nature. Here great science, great art and great spirituality converge. Scientists, artists, poets and mystics have found deep inspiration from close identification with nature. Nature identification is possible only when we are able to let go of our separation. To learn from nature we need to be in nature.

Satish Kumar