In the east, mandalas, yantras , and the bindu dot have been used for meditation, healing, protection, and spiritual guidance and the Yin Yang symbol is one of balance. Many of the early Gothic Churches in Europe are known this day for their elaborate circular stained glass windows, as well as the Celtic Cross. The legend of King Arthur and his knights of the round table is one that goes back to 1155 in poet Wace’s “Roman de Brut. King Arthur had the table built to prevent quarrels over sitting status. The fez headress of the Moors is circular on the top with a tassle in the middle that turns 360º which is a full complete circle.

Astronomical Calendars like Stonehenge ,the Mayan Wheel or even Native American Medicine wheels, are all more instances of a sacred circle. Cultures from the continent Africa to the Americas have used drums like the djembe, congo , and bongos to bring music for healing, celebration, and call to arms for battle.
In closing, there are far to many circular images for them to be ignored, like fllying saucers, shields, coins, plates, hoops, records, cd’s rings, and… ARE YOU GETTING TIRED YET??? My point is that the circle is a shape that never seems to go out of purpose. With that I hope you will take a look at my paper art wheels and remember the power of the circle and how it has been a part of your world.

For more of my artwork visit http://fineartamerica.com/artwork/tag/j+kingkajappi

Você deve se lembrar do King Size e de sua possível Esposa.

Por estranho que pareça, eles, com seus discursos estranhos, teorias incomuns e vocabulário único não estão sozinhos. Vejam estes vídeos – as semelhanças são bem claras.

Todos tem a mesma cadência, além das já mencionadas estranhezas, mais o fato de viajarem em conversas NADA a ver com o assunto original.

Seria um deles o original e os outros homenagens? Seria isso um mega-viral? Seriam eles parentes, amigos ou conhecidos?

O que deixa mais encucado é o final da moça da MTV. Vocês repararam quem ela diz que ama? “Alexandre”. Alexandre, até onde sabemos, pode ser nosso amigo Alexandre dos Santos Lima, o King Size do Rio de Janeiro!

Qual será a verdade? Seja lá qual for, estou adorando fazer uma teoria de conspiração.

Vocês ainda se lembram das teorias do King Size, né? Pois é, parece que isso é coisa de família.

Com vocês, a sua prima distante.

É cada louco nesse mundo!

En el post de hoy abandonare momentáneamente mi verde tierra salpicada por eternas grises y graníticas piedras, para dirigirme un poco mas al sudeste. Tampoco me iré a las marmóreas y níveas rocas que salpican el “Mare Nostrum”. No navegare, ni divagare, por marítimos vientos, aunque no abandonare nuestra agua esencial. En esta ocasión la madre agua no sera salobre, sera un agua dulce , tampoco abandonare las eternas rocas. Viajare a la que hoy es una tierra desértica donde las rocas se tornan ocres y son calcáreas . En esas pétreas paredes leeremos un mensaje para las generaciones venideras que dice así: “De bello rostro, señora de la felicidad, con el sonido de su bella voz uno se reconforta, señora llena de gracia y de bello amor”.
Dichas paredes rocosas fueron indudablemente mandadas grabar por su enamorado, para dicha grabación empleo una servidumbre mayoritariamente anémica, cuya dieta consistía fundamentalmente en cebolla, pan, cerveza y legumbres. Dichos datos sobre esa mayoritaria servidumbre, así como otros muchos los conocemos hoy gracias al arqueólogo británico Barry Kemp y a su equipo de egiptólogos que actualmente excavan las tumbas de los trabajadores de la ciudad hoy conocida como Amarna. Llegados a este punto del post muchos de los lectores a los cuales apasiona el antiguo Egipto, sabréis que me referiré a una de las épocas mas convulsas y conflictivas del antiguo Egipto, una época evidentemente marcada por su gobernante el Faraón hereje. Que en el quinto año de su gobierno de un solo golpe, no solo cambio la antigua religión egipcia , si no que también mudo su nombre de Amenothep IV, por el de Akenaton. Akenaton al parecer tuvo una visión y así mismo cerro los casi dos mil templos del antiguo Egipto, sustituyéndolos por uno solo.
Al cerrar los templos consagrados a los dioses zoomorfos, también instauro el culto a un solo dios Atón , identificado como el disco solar. Akenaton podría ser traducido como el agradable a Atón. Akenaton, no solo fue revolucionario en cuanto a su concepción religiosa, si no en cuanto a su esposa a la que igualo a su rango. Algo que sus antecesores en el trono no habían hecho y gobernó durante veinte años, veinte años que no alcanzaban a vivir la mayoría de sus súbditos. Súbditos a los cuales mando cincelar en la calcárea roca las palabras con las que termina el primer párrafo del post. La afortunada esposa es la mundialmente conocida Nefertiti, cuyo bello busto fue expoliado de Egipto en 1912 por el arqueólogo germano Ludwig Bochardt . Y el cual tuve el honor de ver en otra convulsa época en 1992 recién caído el vergonzoso muro de Berlín, del cual guardo un fragmento perdido en cualquier sitio por el desván.
Pero no voy aquí a revelar la cantidad de objetos inútiles que guardo en mi mugriento desván. Voy a seguir hablando de estos tiranos teocraticos que gobernaron Egipto durante la XVIII dinastía. Contrasta la miseria y hambre del pueblo de Akenaton con el esplendor de su templo consagrado a Atón , con sus 1900 mesas de ofrendas que día a día, se llenaban de exquisitas viandas. Un templo como no podía ser menos en esta época revolucionario, ya que carecía de techos, para adorara en todo su esplendor al disco solar. O la grandiosidad del palacio del palacio imperial con su magnifico
jardín hundido, donde entre otros vegetales creció mi invitada al post de hoy o al menos una pariente muy próxima, y con cuyos aceites esenciales se ungiría la bella Nefertiti , desprendiendo así un sutil aroma.
Nuestra invitada al post de hoy, cuyo perfume es de los mas conocidos desde muy antiguo, todos conoceréis el agua de lavanda, cuyo nombre según el genial y mordaz Alonso de Herrera autor de la Agricultura General, publicada en 1513 bajo los auspicios de el Cardenal Cisneros , es nombre dado así por los petimetres . Ampliamente conocido en cosmética y perfumería el espliego, este es el nombre castellano de la planta , también puede ser empleado para aliviar los nervios en infusión ,o para aliviar de las picaduras de mosquitos, tábanos e insectos varios. Pero el nombre veraz de mi invitada de hoy es Lavandula officinalis, su reproducción es fácil por esquejes semileñosos a finales de verano e inicios de la primavera gustándole los terrenos bien drenados . El azul de sus flores es sin lugar a debates el azul de las pinturas de Amarna , a donde un Faraón hereje
mando trasladar la capital de su reino. Y el gris de su follaje es el gris de mi gata persa ”Lola”, viuda infecunda de mi gato persa blanco “Tavo”, a los cuales dedico el post de hoy, porque servidor adora a los gatos persas como los antiguos egipcios adoraban a Bastet, a Lola le encanta la lavanda. Tavo siempre estarás en mi corazón, tu perdida ha sido traumatica e irreparable, la vida sin ti no es lo mismo, estés donde estés se que leerás estas lineas.

After some signs of rebellion were crushed at Nubia, Ahmosis was determined to end the threat of the aamu, so that after conquering Avaris, chased the remnants of the hikso army to Sharuhen in the Canaanite coast, where they were   strong and devastated the city to such an extent that would never rebuilt. Once extinct in danger of a new invasion, the king spread the devastation to all the cities of Canaan that he could access, in order to build a real policy of terror, both abroad and in the interior, from the beginning, inside the own Egyptian territory was applied to do piles with the hands cut from the bodies of the supporters of Seth, collaborators of the Asian Dynasties (this was an abhorrent behavior that had the practical purpose, of facilitating to the scribes the computation of enemies killed, such as still reflect the bas of Medinet Habu to the time of Ramses III). His successor Amenofis I maintained a protectorate over the cities of Syria, Nubia and the country of Kus (a part of the current Sudan), and he was well remembered in statues and monuments by the subsequent monarchs, but not too much is known of his reign, it seems that here can be applied the English proverb, “no news are good news”.

The influence of the clergy of Amon evolved during the reigns of the several Amenhotep and Thutmosis consecutive, although Amón never again pose a problem because from the beginning, the monarchy left the administration in the hands of officials, so the priests just had got certain control in the exclusive circle of the religion, although determinated political aspects of the succession were so connected to God, due to their intimate relationship with the king, which in some way conditioned its resolution to the approval of the clergy.

The priests were no longer noble, now  they are sons of officials, new people, Amun is the supporter of the clergy and monarchy.  Amun is the head of the gods of each prefecture and as the representative of the god is the king, therefore the prefectures are subordinated to the monarchy, and by a  mystical algorithm similar, clergy supports the monarchy as long as it is who represents Amon. According to some authors, at this time,regarding dynastic issues, Amon is considered the father of the king, if he would have a male descendant (with a real princess, preferably a sister), the new king would take the name of Amenophis (Amenhotep) , if not, then a son of some concubine of the king should marry a real princess and then would take the name of Thutmosis, in fact the clergy of Amon had no objection to make prevail to the wife and sister of  Thutmosis II, the famous Queen-king  Hatshepsut against Thutmosis III who despite having been chosen when he was a child for the post, though not willingly, he agreed to reign just after the death of the queen. So, they who were called Amenophis, they were directly sons of the King (Amon) and they who were called Thutmosis, they were sons of the law (Thot was the god of law), these sons were “legal” as long as they were married to royal princesses,in order to keep the blood of Amon (of the King, of course) in the dynastic line. Hatshepsut took advantage of this opportunity to assert their rights and to keep the throne to herself, invoking his lineage (of Amon) and the clergy not only did not object, but actually they encouraged the queen, in fact during his reign existed a rather than sacred bond between the monarchy and clergy, for instance, the second high priest of Amon and real great architect, Senmut, fue el amante de la reina y el constructor del impresionante mausoleo que edificó para ella, al lado del templo funerario de Mentuhotep IV en  Deir-el-Bahari.

The large size and the sumptuous look that from this time acquired the sacred enclosure of Karnak with the continuing contributions of  the several Thutmose and Amenhotep (the ends of the obelisks and a pylon even came to be coated with an alloy of gold and silver called electron), can give us an idea of the magnificence that surrounded the court of the priests of Amun, true kings in their own world.

By accessing the throne Thutmosis III, at start, initially he worked hard in to restore the Egyptian hegemony beyond its borders, thing that he got it when undid the plans of a coalition of cities that tried to face him, and then launched himself to an authentic work of conquest, leading Egypt to become a true empire. Retenu was conquered (the Lebanese-Palestinian coastal strip), and secured his position in the coastal cities of the area to take advantage of the newly confiscated fleet, to use it to transport troops and tasks of supply. Obviously it was not therefore a new preventive raid, this time, Egypt comes to stay. Thutmosis not deposes the native princes in most cases, making efforts to maintain frequent contact with their new Asian provinces without forget harvesting the taxes, of course. Then became entangled with Mitanni, that on several occasions had organized revolts against Egypt, so  first conquered Biblos in whose shipyards, he would build boats with cedar wood to cross the Eufrates in order to face the army of Mitanni, who defeated several times, show of force that led automatically to neighboring countries, Hatti, Assur y Babilonia to seek friendship with the king of Egypt,  flooding him with gifts, as was customary in such situations. Thutmose III established military bases every 65 km, along the Syrian coast, with the purpose of maintaining the Egyptian presence in the area permanently. However Thutmosis is not only an able military leader, but also showed a well-oiled diplomatic machine, which was applied to establish a policy of conciliation, of good relations with the conquered provinces, beginning a period of stability of what commerce was the direct beneficiary. Moreover, in some ways was the forerunner of a new stage in relations with the clergy, which during the sucesive reigns of the Amenhoteps and Thutmosis , they reduced the political influence of Amon, which it had culminated during the reign of Hatshepsut.

Thutmosis III, during his reign, strived to delete all references he could find of Hatshepsut at temples and monuments,and threw to the quarries, previously mutilated images and statues of the queen. This was not only a mere tantrum child, but that resulted in a stealthy and gradual return to the meaning and religious conception of Heliopolis, more appropriate for the absolute monarchy, although this antique religious centre depended,at this period, of the clergy of Karnak.

Egypt was the principal economic and military power in the known world, but the international language of business was not the egyptian language but the Akkadian, the language of Babylon. On the islands of the Aegean and the Greek coast on the contrary, the Egyptian currency was used, the kedet, and this was well due to the marked economic relations, that from the Twelfth Dynasty Egyptian kept with traders minoans and later with mycenaeans, to the point of being the origin of the port Pharos, that eventually would become Alexandria, Built exclusively for trade with the eastern Mediterranean island. The Egyptian influence is evident in the first doric temples and largely in the  own Greek mythology:  Cecrops the mythical founder of the first Athens, came from Egypt and also Erechtheus, like Danaus, Egypt’s twin brother, who was settled in the Mycenaean city of Argos, etc.

Waterfront Babylonian commercial empire, which connected India and Anatolia to the Syrian coast, Egypt developed an intense commercial activity thanks to the islands as far as Alasia (Cyprus), even it has discussed the possibility that would exist some kind of protectorate since there is evidence that Egypt recieved taxes from the princes of the islands.

Amenofis II,  after the death of Thutmose III, had to quell a rebellion from the Asian provinces, later in order to produce more fear, he ordered to sacrifice publicly six rebel princes in Thebes and one in Napata, the capital of the viceroyalty of Nubia.

Amun, during the reign of Amenhotep II, enjoys with the bloodshed and at the temple of the god were slaughtered the enemies of the monarchy, once, before a battle, that night, while the king piously prayed to Amun “It was ordered to capture victims alive. It was ordered to do two pieces of each one of them all. And here it was all burned. His Majesty was alone, no one was with him. Apart from the palace guard, the troops were already far from the king “(big trail of Mit-Rahineh. Vl. Vikentiev” crossing the Orontes “). Fortunately religious terrorism of Amenhotep II was only a macabre parentheses and Thutmosis IV did not act the same way, he gave way to diplomacy, as had the previous Thutmose, ignoring the rights of the clergy, he bypassed the influence of Amun in dynastic issue, by marrying Mutemuia, a princess of Mitanni, instead of having married a royal princess of Egypt, Mitanni, which at that time feared more danger from the North Hittite, chosen in this way, establishing cordial relations with Egypt, its former enemy.

Amenofis III deepened the divide between royalty and the clergy, mimicking what was done by Thutmose IV, when marrying foreign princesses from all the influential monarchs of the time, indiscriminately ,in a unprecedented diplomatic effort. International relations demanded a kind of religious synthesis which equated to Amun-Ra, with the cult of Shamash, so that the  Pharaoh (it is from then when it was start to use the term) as representative of Amun, now a universal god, will appear in the Asian provinces, endowed with a certain mystique additional legitimacy. “The sun …” “my Sun …”, was called the Pharaoh in the protocols and the international diplomatic correspondence; an example of the syncretism reached in this period  is the winged Sun disk such as it appears at the top in the mythological pantheons of all the relevant monarchies of this moment.

“Book of What is in the Underworld” although it began during the Twelfth Dynasty, was completed in the time of Amenhotep II and reflects the solar theology own dynasties of Thebes. This book describes the daily journey of the two boats of Ra on the primordial waters of Mu that surround the two worlds, the upper and lower,  crossing  as Ra-Horakhti in one of them,the sky during the day, and as Iufu (Afu-Ra) through the underworld with the other boat during the night. Every night, Ra, aged, with his aspect of ram, once lost the character of subtle spirit, is assassinated by his own creatures, but if Ra dies, dies with the existence itself, so in order to create it again, Ra, have to reborn each morning, and do it emerging from the mouth of the goddess Mut, with the appearance of a child. All this is very different from the traditional mystique, both Heliopolitan, and that of Hermopolis or Memphis, with which it shares, however, the essence of the solar cult.

The Amun Hymn, was one of the weapons wielded by the monarchy against the clergy, with which distanced itself radically from the elaborated symbolism, such as liked to the priests of Amun, in order to keep in the darkness to the secular world. It was written in colloquial language with the object that could be understood by everyone. Amenhotep III imposed the return to Heliopolitan theology (by which sovereignty resides in the crown without the direct intervention of Amun, removing in this way any authority to the clergy) and prepared the advent of  Atón, the radiant solar disk, in order to assimilating it to solar deities of Asia, as already mentioned, trying to establish some religious uniformity in his empire. The sirian Adonai could be a remnant of this intent, given the etymological similarity (Adon in Hebrew means “lord”, Adonai is the royal plural, used to refer to the deity).

Amenofis IV, Akhenaten, would lead to its ultimate consequences, those religious ideas that were sketched by his father, drastically cutting any ties to the classic religious dogma, with the purpose to set up a militant monotheism, completely new, in its place.

Bibliography:    Jacques Pirenne      ”Ancient Egypt History”

Paul Garelli               “Middle East History”

El asteroide de la foto es Apophis un pedrusco con una magnitud absoluta H=19.5 (esto significa que tiene mide más o menos medio kilómetro) y su masa esta estimada en 210 millones de toneladas. Fue descubierto en 2004 desde el Kitt National Peak Observatory, en Arizona (EE. UU.)

Pertenece al grupo de los asteroides Atón (Apophis tiene un periodo orbital de 323 días, y su trayectoria le lleva a atravesar la órbita de la Tierra dos veces en cada vuelta al Sol).

Le pusieron el nombre de Apophis porque dos de los descubridores (Tholen y Tucker) son fans de la serie de televisión Stargate SG-1, y en las primeras temporadas de la serie, el principal enemigo de los humanos es un alienígena llamado Apophis cuyo principal objetivo es destruir la Tierra.

En un principio, según los datos existentes, se dijo que el asteroide pasaría muy cerca de la Tierra el 13 de Abril del año 2029, e incluso que había la posibilidad de que chocara con ella. Con los datos obtenidos posteriormente, se dedujo que el asteroide no chocaría, aunque si pasará muy cerca.

En esta foto se puede ver que pasara entre la tierra y la luna, a una distancia de 37660.7 kms del centro de la Tierra, o lo que es lo mismo a 32395.5 Kms de Madrid. Hay que tener en cuenta que la distancia media entre el centro de la Tierra y la Luna es de 384.400 Km.

Aunque en el 2029 esta descartado que nos pueda impactar, la aproximación a la tierra hará que el asteroide modifique levemente su trayectoria y aumente las probabilidades de impactar la próxima vez que se crucen nuestros caminos (en el 2036) alcanzando la alarmante probabilidad de impacto contra la tierra del 3%, siendo esto muchísimo, solamente pensar que la probabilidad de que os toque un primer premio en los Euromillones son de 1 entre 76 millones.

En el siguiente mapa se puede ver donde se calcula que seria el impacto, si se da el caso de que llegue a impactar en el 2036 (por lo menos impactaría lejos de España XD).

El 6 de mayo de 2006, cuando el asteroide se encontraba a 42 millones de kilómetros de la Tierra, astrónomos de la NASA volvieron a medir su velocidad mediante el radiotelescopio de Arecibo, Puerto Rico. El resultado fue diferente al esperado en 6 milímetros por segundo. Esta corrección, aunque parezca diminuta, con el tiempo será lo bastante grande como para que la trayectoria del asteroide sea diferente a la calculada inicialmente, reduciendo el peligro de impacto con la Tierra.

El 4 de abril de 2008, comenzó a propagarse por el mundo una falsa noticia: un adolescente alemán de 13 años había corregido a la NASA en las probabilidades de colisión de Apophis con la Tierra y la NASA había pedido disculpas y aceptado su error.

Pero al final toda la historia resulto ser un bulo, pues posteriormente la NASA ratifico su cálculo, y niega haber tenido algún contacto con el joven alemán. Cuando Donald K. Yeomans (Supervisor del Solar System Dynamics Group) contactó con el chaval para pedirle una copia del informe, el niño aseguró que un virus había borrado su disco duro y que la única copia la tenía el jurado del concurso (en el que se presentó y ganó). Y ahí quedo todo.

Los japoneses (que son unos cachondos) han hecho un video creado por ordenador de como seria el impacto de un asteroide (mucho más grande que el susodicho), aquí os lo dejo:

Con el pedrusco este habrá que esperar al 2013 año en el que se podrán hacer nuevas mediciones (ahora lo tapa el sol), pero tranquilos que ya hay proyectos para impedir que impacte.

Propicios días a todos xD.

Vía: Organización Salmantina de la Astronáutica y el Espacio (OSAE)

Más información en:
Wikipedia Apophis
Astrofotos
Nasa
Ojocientifico

Escuchando: Aerosmith – I don’t wanna miss a thing
(De la banda sonora de la pelicula Armageddon XD)

Sf Ioan Cucuzel (apr. 1280-1360)

În marea şi întâia cetate a lui Justinian, numită Dirahion, era un tânăr orfan de tată şi pe care mama lui, ca o femeie dreptcredincioasă şi iubitoare de Dumnezeu ce era, l-a dat să înveţe Sfintele Cărţi. Şi era el foarte deştept cu mintea, iar mai ales fiind un bun cântăreţ toţi îl lăudau, zicându-i „Cucuzel” (cel cu glas îngeresc).

În vremea aceea, după cum a fost obişnuinţă pe la curţile împărăteşti, totdeauna ca să caute pe cei mai frumos grăitori şi cu glas frumos, aflând şi pe Cucuzel, l-au trimis să înveţe ştiinţa cea muzicească (adică Psaltichia) până ce se va face desăvârşit întru dânsa. Deci el, ca unul ce era din fire isteţ la minte şi înţelept, în puţină vreme a învăţat toată ştiinţa, pentru care lucru împăratul, iubindu-l foarte mult, voia să-l însoare şi să-i dea bogate daruri. După o vreme însă, văzând el că toţi boierii îl respectau, ca şi împăratul, care îi arăta o deosebită dragoste pentru cântarea lui cea cu mult meşteşug muzicesc şi pentru glasul lui cel minunat, se întrista foarte, temându-se ca nu cumva pentru slava cea vremelnică să se păgubească de bucuria cea cerească. Acestea gândind el, căuta vreme cu prilej ca să se ducă din lume.

În zilele acelea s-a întâmplat că a venit la curtea împărătească, pentru oarecare treburi, egumenul lavrei cele mari din Sfântul Munte al Atonului, pe care cu bine săvârşindu-le s-a întors la mânăstirea sa. Cu acea ocazie văzând Cucuzel buna podoabă duhovnicească a egumenului, cum şi viaţa sa cea îngerească, a lepădat hainele sale de mătase, s-a îmbrăcat în haine de păr şi toiag de păstor luând în mâini s-a dus la Sfântul Munte. Şi ajungând la Lavră l-a întrebat portarul, de unde este, ce caută şi ce ştiinţă are? Iar el a răspuns: Sunt cioban de meserie şi doresc să mă fac monah! De aceea înştiinţându-se prin portar, egumenul, s-a bucurat, căci avea nevoie de un asemenea om. Şi cercetându-l pe el călugării, după scurtă vreme l-au făcut monah, şi a fost trimis prin pustie (prin munţi) ca să pască ţapii. Deci găsind Cucuzel liniştea pe care de demult o dorea, a primit cu bucurie şi făcea ascultarea acesta fără de lenevire şi rugându-se neîncetat lui Dumnezeu.

Iar împăratul, supărându-se foarte pentru lipsa lui, a trimis oameni ca să-l caute prin toate locurile, cetăţile, pustiile şi mănăstirile. Şi ducându-se trimişii lui la Aton, au cercetat prin toate părţile, dar nu l-au putut cunoaşte, fiindcă era îmbrăcat cu haine vechi şi rupte. Deci într-una din zile păscând Cuczel ţapii pe vârful unui multe înalt, s-a uitat într-o parte şi în alta, ca să se încredinţeze că nu este cineva prin apropiere, şi nevăzând pe nimeni, a început a cânta o dulce cântare, cu mult meşteşug alcătuită, cu mare umilinţă. Un pustnic oarecare însă, care locuia pe aproape într-o peşteră, auzind acea cântare mult s-a mirat şi ieşind din peşteră văzu o privelişte neînchipuită: un cioban cântând, iar ţapii se uitau la el stând locului şi nepăscând, ca şi cum s-ar fi înspăimântat şi bucurat totodată de acea cântare îngerească şi nu omenească. Acestea văzându-le pustnicul s-a coborât la lavră a vestit egumenul, care îndată trimiţând după el l-au adus şi întrebândul i-a zis: „Te jur pe tine în numele lui Dumnezeu să-mi spui adevărul. Tu eşti Ioan Cucuzel, cel atât de mult căutat de împăratul?” Iar el, căzând cu lacrimi la picioarele egumenului, a răspuns: „Eu sunt, păcătosul şi nevrednicul rob al Sfinţiei tale. Însă mă rog foarte ca să mă laşi tot în această ascultare pe care mi-ai dat-o de la început, ca să pasc ţapii; şi să nu audă împăratul că sunt aici, căci mă va lua cu sila de la limanul acesta al mântuirii”. Răspunsu-i-a egumenul: „Să nu te îngrijeşti de aceasta, o, fiul meu, numai să faci ascultare; vei rămâne ca chilia pe care îţi voi da aici în mănăstire, iar eu mă voi duce la împăratul să-l rog ca să te ierte”.

Peştera Sf. Ioan Cucuzel

Şi ducându-se proestosul la curtea împărătească a căzut la picioarele împăratului, zicând: „Mă smeresc şi mă rog stăpânirii şi împărăţiei tale, Stăpâne, să-mi dăruieşti un om pentru sufleteasca lui mântuire; şi dacă te va fi supărat cu ceva, eu mă rog să-l ierţi”. Iar împăratul întrebând de numele acelui om i-a răspuns: „Dacă nu-mi vei da în scris milostivirea nu ţi-l voi spune”. Deci împăratul poruncind să se facă scrisoare, după cum i se cerea, a iscălit-o. Atunci egumenul a început a-i povesti despre monahul Cucuzel, toate. Adică [împăratul] s-a bucurat când a auzit că a fost atât de evlavios încât a îmbrăcat „chipul cel îngeresc”, urând toată trupeasca şi lumeasca desfătare, şi s-a întristat că a dat în scris darul lui şi acum nu mai putea să-l tăgăduiască. Însă egumenul a îmblânzit cu cuvinte mângâietoare inima lui, apoi mulţumind-i şi luându-şi ziua bună s-a dus la mânăstirea lui şi a povestit tuturor fraţilor cele făcute. Deci, a rămas astfel minunatul Ioan nesupărat de împăratul cel pământesc şi a slujit numai celui Ceresc, cântându-L şi lăudându-L pe Dânsul, fără lenevire, în fiecare zi.

Icoana Maicii Domnului de la Măn. Marea Lavră

După cele arătate mai sus, luând el de la proestosul binecuvântare, a zidit o chilie şi o biserică în cinstea Sf. Arhangheli, în afară de curtea mânăstirii, pentru ca să aibă unde se linişti în cele şase zile ale săptămânii. Iar duminicile şi în celelalte sărbători nu lipsea de la strana dreaptă a bisericii celei mari, ci cânta totdeauna lui Dumnezeu, cu dragoste şi cu umilinţă. Şi odată, în Sâmbăta Acatistului, cântând el singur cu multă sârguinţă stihirile şi canonul Preasfintei de Dumnezeu Născătoarei – după obicei – şi de osteneală adormind puţin, stând în picioare în strana sa, i s-a arătat Preacurata, care i-a zis: „Bucură-te, Ioane, fiul meu, cântă mie totdeauna şi eu nu te voi uita pe tine”. Şi zicând acestea i-a dat un galben de aur. Iar îndată deşteptându-se din somn a aflat – o minune – în mâna sa cea dreaptă banul cel de aur. Pentru care umplându-se de multă veselie, cu lacrimi de bucurie a mulţumit şi a binecuvântat pe Maica lui Dumnezeu, iar galbenul acela l-a dăruit bisericii în care se săvârşeau asemenea mari minuni.

Din acel timp n-a lipsit niciodată din strana cea de-a dreapta cântând cu osârdie şi binecuvântând fără de şovăire pe Domnul! Pentru aceasta, de multă osteneală i-a putrezit un picior şi curgea din el o materie rău mirositoare. Însă, Stăpâna cea Atotputernică l-a vindecat – ca şi pe Ioan Damaschin – căci arătându-i-se lui şi zicând: „Fii de acum sănătos”, îndată a primit vindecare desăvârşită; de care mulţumind Maicii lui Dumnezeu, a trăit în deplină sănătate până la sfârşit, în posturi, privegheri şi tot felul de fapte bune, vieţuind ales, întru multă smerenie. Învrednicindu-se şi de darul de a-şi cunoaşte mai dinainte sfârşitul, a chemat la sine pe toţi fraţii şi rugându-se pentru ei, le-a poruncit să-l îngroape în casa Sf. Arhangheli, cea zidită de el. Şi aşa s-a mutat în pace, odihnindu-se întru Iisus Hristos, Domnul nostru, Căruia I se cuvine toată slava în veci. Amin!

Din cartea “Sfântul Munte Athos – Grădina Maicii Domnului” (capitolul Mănăstirii Marea Lavră)

Spent a fun-filled, wicked-awesome, kick-ass weekend in the D.E.E.P./Deep Ellum Community Association tent this past weekend. ‘Twas quite the fabby time. Above is some video I shot in the tent, as well as local artists, galleries and bands.

Sunday I had the honor of being a judge for the Deep Ellum Foundation Pet Parade. It was absolutely divine in every aspect. Above captures some of the festivities.

I spent the weekend in the D.E.E.P./Deep Ellum Community Association tent at this year’s Deep Ellum Arts Festival. To say that I had a totally, rad, amazing, fantastic, wicked-awesome blast would be an understatement.

Above is some video of the DEAC and D.E.E.P. doin’s, as well as some of the local artists and bands participating.

ARTE – 21h20 – samedi 10/1  

En 1350 avant J.-C., en Egypte, Aménophis IV devient pharaon. Il entraîne son pays dans une révolution religieuse, culturelle, artistique et politique.

Au culte polythéiste de ses ancêtres, il substitue l’adoration d’un dieu unique, Aton, le dieu solaire.

Néferkhéperou Rê (Akhénaton – Aménophis IV)
Amenhotep IV

Roi : Egypte approx. de 1379 à 1362 avant J.C.

Fils de Nebma Rê (Aménophis III) et Tiy
Frère de Sitamon
Demi-frère de Nebkhéperou-Rê Toutankhaton (Toutânkhamon)

Art Conspiracy 4 was a smashing success! Folks came out in droves, thousands and thousands of dollars were raised, benefiting Preservation Link, Inc. Fun, fun, fun was had by all. I even got meownself an original Kate Mackley.

One of the coolest things that I experienced on Saturday, was getting to meet and chat with some of the kids who lived near the warehouse which housed this year’s ArtCon. While working the “Information Table,” I asked folks, who came by to sign the email list, how they heard about the Art Conspiracy. There were several different answers, but my favorite came from a handful of kids who happened to live behind the warehouse. They ranged from about 10-15 years of age and said, “we just saw a lot of people and cool art being set up the past couple of days. Then we heard the music tonight, and saw all the cars, so we pooled our money and paid to get in.” They went on to say, “this is the coolest thing we’ve ever been to…it’s awesome.”

I don’t even attempt photographs no’mo’ – just crappily shot video – however Art & Seek got a couple of good shots – check it.

Below is a li’l video from the night’s events…PS – I practically had a head-rush when I saw all the concrete, therefore pulled out my rolling tripod…that’s why the video is a little bumpy, it was concrete with flaws…just…like…me…:-)

Man, there is lots going on. Arts, music, blah and blah. Where to begin?

How about America’s Best DJ? Dubbed that by DJ Times, DJ Christopher Lawrence hits Dallas this weekend over at the Lizard Lounge. Full Access is putting on the show and is offering you a chance for a free round of drinks. Read the flyer. This might be a good time to take all the friends should you win. You’ll be totally popular for the night.

Our fab activist buddies, Join The Impact is hosting a movie night this week over at the Angelika. Saturday night they invite you to join them in watching Milk starring Sean Penn in a most likely Oscar nominated performance. Get to the theater on time as they catch the 5:15 showing tomorrow. The Angelika is located at Mockingbird Station, 5321 Mockingbird @ the NE corner of Central and Mockingbird.

If you can’t make that and end up laying low, might I recommend the documentary The  Times of Harvey Milk. In a one word review – fascinating. Totally worth the time to check it out. Perhaps Tapelenders or Premiere Video or Movie Trading Company will have it. Plus, it should probably be required viewing for all GLBT peeps.

The always reliable Buddies II will be hosting quite the holiday weekend. Tonight will be A Twisted Christmas with the Dukes of Dallas. I’m a little skeerd of what that could entail because those dukes can be pretty twisted. The show starts @ 10:30 p.m. And then tomorrow is their Dance Party Night. Buddies II sports one of the best dance floors and sound systems in the city so get your dancing shoes on and head there Saturday.

Of course, you know about tonight’s Guerilla Gay Bar.

Tonight is also Space Rampage over at Hal Samples’ studio in Deep Ellum. His one night only event with cheap art, good food and drinky drink. Plus, it’s Samples’ last party for the year and it looks like he’s going out of 08 with some bang. Not only all of the above will be on hand for party attenders, he’ll also have special musical act, reggae/jazz/dubmaster Aton. He says tonight will be “A VARIETY OF LIVE MUSIC,VISUAL ART, PERFORMANCE ART, VIDEO, AND LOVE TAKING PLACE… all in the same SPACE.” Totally check it.

Also tonight (whew!) is local band The Bright over at Sue Ellen’s. Booking director Jennifer snagged a star of a band shaking up the usual lineup a bit. The Bright is on the up and up. Why? Oh, perhaps because a tune of theirs may have been featured on The Hills. OK, whether they blow up because of that is uncertain but by no means does it hurt their chances. Bravo to Sue Ellen’s.

Tomorrow, you art lovers should not miss Art Conspiracy4 by any means. Local art, local music, fab times can never miss. Now you’ll just have to break out the Mapsco to find it. It starts tomorrow night at 6:30 and boasts 2 DJs, three bands and 150 friggin’ artists. Plus, art auctions begin at a mere $20. Bam! Ten bucks to get in and cash needed for refreshies but bust that plastic out as you snag your new piece of art. Find ArtCon 4 at 3011 Gulden St. in West Dallas.

And finally (we promise), the Turtle Creek Chorale has their annual Christmas concert which should never be missed. Ooops, HOLIDAY concert – my bad, whatev. Me personally is a little miffed that I’ll be missing the show for the first time in ten years. But no doubt the show will go on and greatly I predict. Four performances only and two are on Sunday. Check out Hottest Holidays Ahead by getting your tickets here. And don’t forget to take a toy for their annual drive benefitting Children’s and Parkland Hospitals. Now doesn’t that just make you feel fuzzy and kind? And what a better way to end the weekend?

But Monday’s probably going to be a b*&(@!

]]> http://bodhati.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/blind-faith-rides-again/ Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:58:34 +0000 tao4all http://bodhati.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/blind-faith-rides-again/

In the old testament, king Hezekiah is a reformer of Judaism. He came to the throne of Judah in 715.B.C. He ruled the land between the two world powers of that time, Egypt and Assyria. Both Nations wanted control of this country because of the trade, and Judah was under the dominion of the Assyians. After a lot of turmoil he ends up destroying the groves build according to moses, including the old tradition of the serpent – and begins a massive reform of religion.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of politics here. Some scholars have purposed that it was with Hezekiah that the first real “makeover” was done to the old testament (there was no old testament like we know it today, the catholic church more or less constructed that collection. It was translated largely by the church father Origenes #1, a man later expelled as a heretic), uniting the teachings of the two major Jewish cults (EL and Baal vs. EL abd Baal’s brother Javeh) into one new manifest. This would unite the land as one political, religious and military force.

Again Robert Cooper points out that the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament could not belong to king Solomon; it is a collection of sayings belonging to another nation, and the name of Solomon is inserted later, because we read in Proverbs 25: “These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.”   Hezekiah lived 250 years later than Solomon, and Robert Cooper asks: “There have been no written material on this subject, so how did they know that these phrases belonged to Solomon?”

What I find very interesting, are the seals of Hezekiah that archeology has discovered. Quite a few of them actually. Lets have a look and see what we find:

Seal of king Hezekiah

So the man that reformed Judaism, the man that responded to external political pressure and felt compelled to unite lower and upper Israel, had the above for his seal? That is very interesting because there is another nation that has an exact identical story. Where upper and lower Egypt was united, and the king of upper Egypt annually declared war on the lower (still baffeling some archeologists, since they have found no-sign of conflict within the empire). It is a symbol of-course, since lower Egypt was an allegory for your “lower self”. Just like Jesus declared the body to be the temple of God, so did the Egyptians declare their temple to be the house of Amun.

Especially with the discovery and decipherment of the Sumerian clay tablets we have realized that the hymns, proverbs, and phrases in the Old Testament have their origins in Sumer. A lot of things written in the Old Testament were written not by the Israelites but were copied and adapted from other texts originally written in other languages. In his book titled The Inquirer’s Text Book, Robert Cooper relates his 13 conferences where he looks at the Old and New Testaments critically. According to him the studies on the Old Testament were conducted when the deciphering of the cuneiform script has only just begun and no one had known anything about the clay tablets and Sumer. Robert Cooper wrote, “The first five books of the Old Testament could not have been written by Moses himself because papyrus was not in use then and the texts were written on stones.”

Here is the source for Hezekiah’s religious beliefs:

Egyptian scarab - representing the soul trancending to Godhead.

How could Moses describe his own death? Deuteronomy 34:5-6 tells  the story: “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor; but no man knew his sepulchre unto this day.”  The second sentence is strange; “He buried him.”  Who buried whom? If Moses was the author of the first five books, he must have written his death and burial. So either he buried himself or as a dead person his spirit watched his body being interred by an unnamed someone, and wrote down the occasion. Which one? The writers of the Old Testament must have forgotten to invent the person who did the interment, or there was a specific person there, who was left out accidentally in one of the editorial works carried out on the book. At the end of the last sentence we read the words, “unto this day.”  Unto which day? It is obvious that someone – a human being – has written this. Therefore he must be referring to the date of his writing the story. The reporter is neither YHVH nor Moses, but an individual or a group of people.

Mystery, mystery Babylon the great. The verbatim reading of scripture has ruined many a good man indeed. It is symbolic and esoteric. Not literal.

How manifold it is, what you have made. O sole god, like whom there is no other! You created the world according to your desire, While you were alone; All men, cattle and wild beasts, Whatever is on earth, going on its feet, And whatever is on high flying with its wings The countries of Syria and Nubia, the land of Egypt, You settled every man in his place, You supplied their necessities, Everyone has his food, and his time of life is reckoned.Their tongues are separate in speech, And their natures as well; Their Skins are distinguished, As you distinguished the foreign peoples, .there is none other that knows you, Save your son .. For you have made him well versed in your plans and in your strength. -Source: Prayer to Aton, the first monotheistic God in history. It is from Aton we get the word “Atheist”, since Aton represented the rejection of plurality of the one.

So much for Hezekiah. And so much for the Jewish civil war..

On-line resources

• A paper on the old testament, by Mudarras Kadhir Gaznavi
• New view, old testament
• Seals of Hezekiah
• Timeline of Jewish history

Study material

• 101 myths of the Bible, Gary Greenberg, Biblical Archeology Society of New York.
• The Early History of God: Yahweh and the other deities in Ancient Israel. Mark S. Smith, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 61, #1
• Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, Bart D. Ehrman. Prof. of theology, Standford University.
• Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew, Bart D. Ehrman. Prof. of theology, Standford University.

Comments

#1: The second column of Origen’s Hexapla contains his own Greek translation of the Old Testament including spurious books such as “Bel and the Dragon”, “Judith” and “Tobit” and other apocryphal books accepted as authoritative only by the Roman Catholic Church.

TARTUFI PERFORMS AT 10 PM…Steve!

DETAILS:

Its my official B-Day party and we are having a very special musical guest TARTUFI (top friend) come through from San Fran and they are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G live. I spent some time in their home town with them this fall and they are absolutely beautiful people to be around and I am super excited to introduce them to my friends.

“Tartufi VOTED BEST INDIE BAND of 2007 by the San Francisco Bay Guardian based on their superb ‘06 release, Us Upon Buildings Upon Us, the duo of Lynne Angel and Brian Gorman hew a rich, fractured world out of looped guitars, keys and voices, shape-shifting time sigs, and crashing percussion. They can go from Slint-inspired explosions or Built to Spill epic to Joan of Arc-like baroque or Breeders chug in a measure or two, the shifts revealing unassailable logic as they unfurl. Nine out of 10 buzz bands don’t deserve it; Tartufi does.”-A. Schacht, Creative Loafing (Charlotte, NC)

This is a list party. Its free and BYOB.
We are also TAPING for a TV Show that Time Warner is doing about SPACE. It will be a weekly show that talks about the art, culture, and music in Dallas and around our world in SPACE. You are subject to be on the show with us if you come to the party so be ready to sign a waiver at the door.

This is a list party. Its free and BYOB.
Next- My beautiful angel like friends from Holy Diver will take us through the party hours and spoil us with good times, make your cheeks hurt, teeth white, and wanna dance all night.

Free photos, cake, and candy will be handy. Twizzlers!

You can wear a costume or not.. It’s HAL-O-WEEN EVE so,… just bring your own reality and love.

HOW DO YOU GET ON THE LIST?….

email halism@msn.com
subject : YEP
body: include your name as it reads on your id in the email
one email per guest and the space is limited

Thank you for your support and another miracle of a year.

please contact me if you have any questions.

peace to you.

It’s Hal Samples’ birthday again. This year, I shan’t miss the celebratory extravaganza.

Thursday, October 30th
SPACE
Hal’s Birthday Bash-O-Rama
Performing: Tartufi / Aton / Holy Diver
Free, but RSVP’s are always good…in fact, we insist.
RSVP to halsim at msn dot com – Subject line “Yep” – Give us your name as it reads on your I.D.

It’s Hal Samples’ birthday again. This year, I shan’t miss the celebratory extravaganza.

Thursday, October 30th
SPACE
Hal’s Birthday Bash-O-Rama
Performing: Tartufi / Aton / Holy Diver
Free, but RSVP’s are always good…in fact, we insist.
RSVP to halsim at msn dot com – Subject line “Yep” – Give us your name as it reads on your I.D.

De vegades no està malament fer una mica d’autobombo, per això us penjo les últimes peces que he fet. Pertanyen a la col·lecció Atón i consten de penjoll, arrecades i anell. Estan fetes de plata oxidada, or de 24kt i 18kt, diamants i quars citrí.

Les podreu trobar a la venta a G de Joyas, c. Torrent de l’Olla n.68 de Barcelona!!!