Det er 30. november i dag, og dermed vil logikken tilsi at det er 1. desember i morgen. Den Høye Fotograf skal opprettholde det som nå er blitt en av de nyeste nasjonale juletradisjonene, nemlig julekalenderen der de beste kinofilmene fra året telles ned. 24 filmer på listen, og årets beste film avsløres på selveste julaften!

Men, som i tidligere år, før vi kan begynne på de gode filmene, tar vi et tilbakeblikk på det som etter min mening er de verste filmene 2009 har å komme med.

10. Død Snø

Heil Hitler und Eva Braaaaiins!

Her er det nok mange som er ganske uenige. Død Snø fikk mye skryt og ble til og med vist en del rundt i USA. Og grunnlaget til historien syntes jeg også hørtes bra ut. Nazi-Zombier i fjellheimen? Bjørn Sundquist? Kjempegode tegn på en artig splatterkomedie. Men så så jeg hvem som stod bak, nemlig de samme som lagde Kill Buljo. Og Kill Buljo er lett en av de dårligste komediene jeg har sett.

Du merker det helt fra begynnelsen at ting ikke er som det skal. Håpløst skuespill, dårlige vitser. Den første delen av filmen er skikkelig smertefull å sitte gjennom. Heldigvis redder den seg litt mot slutten, med en zombieslakting som er nettopp så over-the-top som den bør være.

Men vi har sett det før, og bedre også. Så bare fordi det er en norsk film, så betyr ikke det at det er nødvendig å hoppe i taket når det dukker opp zombier. Den lever ikke opp til Sam Raimi og Peter Jackson sine splatterkomedier verken når det gjelder splatt eller komedie, og derfor blir dette mer dårlig enn bra.

4/10

9. Bedtime Stories

Adam Sandler prøver å dekke til filmen, men for sent.

Nok en gang syntes jeg konseptet hørtes rimelig gøy ut. Barna til Adam Sandler finner på historier sammen med han, og neste dag blir det de fant på sant. Dessverre er det altfor åpenbart at det er lagd for unger. Jeg mener at det bør kunne gå an å lage en film som er like god både for barn og voksne (noe Pixar pleier å være gode på, f. eks.). Dette her blir altfor lettvint og dermed litt kjedelig å se på. Et lite høydepunkt med komikeren Russell Brand, som hjelper filmen det lille steget opp fra den verste sumpen.

4/10

8. The Taking of Pelham 123

“Ingen går før jeg er ferdig med fortellingen om Xenu!”

Her kunne det egentlig gå begge veier. Den er regissert av Tony Scott, broren til Ridley, som har hatt sin kvote av både hits and misses. Rollelisten er fylt av stjerner. Denzel Washington, John Travolta og James “Soprano” Gandolfini.

Dessverre fungerer det dårlig. Tony Scott får for frie tøyler med stilen. Det er fargekorrigering på høyt nivå, raske kjøringer som går 360 grader rundt folk når de snakker sammen. Litt for frenetisk. John Travolta har fått en heller dårlig skurkerolle å spille, og ingen gjør det egentlig bra nok til at du klarer å leve deg skikkelig inn i filmen. Når det er på sitt mest dramatiske, og ting går galt, så reagerer du mest med litt irritasjon over at slutten blir utsatt litt lenger. Inneholder også en fantastisk latterlig lydeffekt som dukker opp hver gang vi blir fortalt hvor lenge det er igjen til deadline.

Svak 4/10

7. Transporter 3

Hvem trenger våpen? Spark en hjelm!

Her hadde jeg vel lite håp om at det skulle bli noe særlig kvalitet, men gikk inn og håpet på de gode actionscenene. Det klarte den til en viss grad å levere, selv om det var et par steg ned i kvalitet fra de to første i serien. Nei, det som skaffer denne en plass på listen over årets 10 dårligste er passasjeren transportøren må ha med seg i bilen. Et forferdelig kvinnemenneske som jeg har sterke mistanker om at har ligget seg til denne rollen. For det er rett og slett en av de verste skuespillerprestasjonene jeg har sett. Og siden hun er med på hele turen, er det nok av forferdelige samtaler å måtte høre på.

Heldigvis reddes altså litt av opplevelsen av underholdningen vi får servert i form av slåssing og biljakt og diverse, men like stor som entusiasmen over action er lettelsen over å slippe verdens mest irriterende dame for et øyeblikk eller to.

Uhyyyre svak 4/10

6. Revanche

“What’s the hardest part about being you?” “The mustache.”

Revanche er vel den filmen på denne listen som regnes som den beste, sånn generelt sett. Veldig smal, østerrisk film som ble nominert til Oscar for beste utenlandske film i år, og den har 7.6/10 på IMDb. Jeg forstår hva de hadde lyst å lage når de lagde denne filmen, og jeg tror nok de er ganske fornøyde.

Det er bare det at jeg ikke liker den noe særlig. Den er veldig langdradd. Jeg satt gjennom hele filmen og ventet på at det skulle skje noe, at det skulle “ta av”. Men nei, den holder seg på bakkenivå, og altfor mye av tiden bruker vi på å se hovedpersonen hogge ved. I tillegg er slutten et stort antiklimaks, og dermed blir dette en øvelse i kjedsomhet som jeg aller helst vil slippe å gå gjennom en gang til.

3/10

5. Seven Pounds

“I’ll do my crying in the rain… And in a car, as well.”

Nok en film som “folk flest” liker. Øve 50 000 stemmer gir denne et gjennomsnitt på 7.6/10 på IMDb. Men, folk tar feil. Seven Pounds er kjedelig, forutsigbar og har en tåpelig slutt. Jeg føler ikke jeg ødelegger for deg når jeg avslører at Will Smith sin karakter donerer bort øynene sine. Og så møter mottakeren på en dame til slutt, og hun sier at hun kjenner igjen øynene til Will Smith(!?). Hele filmen er rett og slett litt teit. Eneste som hjelper litt er en del bra skuespill, men det er uansett en av de dårligste filmene i 2009.

3/10

The Spirit

Logiske reiseruter har aldri vært the Spirits styrke.

Frank Miller er ganske kjent i tegneserie-verdenen, og tok for alvor turen over i filmverdenen med Sin City, som han regisserte sammen med Robert Rodriguez. Etter det hadde 300 stor suksess, basert på Millers grafiske roman. Og så skulle han altså få lov å regissere sin egen film, The Spirit. Selvfølgelig også basert på en tegneserie.

Det beste her er jo definitivt det visuelle. Selv om det føles ganske likt Sin City, så syns jeg det ser ganske bra ut med den nesten-svart-hvitt-stilen. Alt det andre i filmen, derimot, er ganske dårlig. Dårlig humor, dårlig skuespill og aller mest et dårlig manus.

3/10

3. Couples Retreat

Folk har merket seg at det svarte paret er fjernet fra den engelske (og norske) plakaten.

Et godt cast fikk meg ti å se denne, noe jeg angrer bittert på. Det var kanskje et par ganger jeg lo i løpet av to lange timer, og Kristen Bell og Jason Bateman er skuespillere jeg liker, men denne filmen feiler stort som komedie. Vitsene er dårlige, det virker som om de har brukt altfor lite tid på å skrive manuset. I tillegg så er klippingen gjort sånn at den ved noen tilfeller ødelegger mye av den komiske timingen.

Men det som er verst er hvordan de prøver å tvinge gjennom konflikter og løsninger med manuset. Det blir utrolig lite troverdig, og jeg blir sittende og irritere meg over hvor lite gjennomført det er. Couples Retreat fortjener godt plassen blant de tre dårligste filmene jeg så på kino i 09.

2/10

2. Absolute Evil

Hadde ringen hennes vært ekte, ville den nok kostet mer enn det gjorde å lage filmen.

Denne så jeg på filmfestivalen i Berlin, og den har nok ikke kommet ut på kino noe som helst annet sted ennå. Absolute Evil er en av de mest latterlig dårlige filmene jeg har sett. Det er rett nok en B-film og stolt av det, men det får være grenser. Alt er tåpelig. Historien er idiotisk, replikkene forferdelige og måten de blir levert på enda verre. Det eneste som holder denne filmen fra bunnkarakter er at det noen ganger blir så sinnsykt dårlig at det fungerer bra som en komedie, eller hvertfall bedre enn Couples Retreat…

Hvis du får tak på denne, så må jeg nesten bare anbefale at du ser den, for det er umulig å beskrive for fantastisk dårlig den er. Etter filmen fikk vi også se på verdens pinligste spørrerunde med de som var med i filmen. Det var ingen som hadde spørsmål.

2/10

1. Rage

Ja, dette er altså Jude Law i filmen. Jude Law er en mann.

Førsteplassen kapres også av en film jeg så i Berlin, og dessverre er den nok lite kjent for folk som ikke var der. Men denne filmen er virkelig spektakulært dårlig. Konseptet er at en ung filmskaper filmer intervjuer med mennesker som jobber i og rundt et moteshow som går fryktelig galt. Hele filmen er kun intervjubilder (som bildet av Jude Law over) med varierende grelle farger i bakgrunnen.

Det er et bra cast som er med, både Judi Dench, Steve Buscemi, John Leguizamo og Eddie Izzard er med, i tillegg til nevnte Law. Men for meg hjelper det ingenting når dette ikke fortjener å være en film i det hele tatt. Denne fortellerteknikken er uhyre kjedelig, og de dramatiske tingene som skjer får vi jo kun gjenfortalt av en person som snakker til oss, alltid i samme type bilde. Dette her er en bok, eller i beste fall et teaterstykke. Skal du lage film, syns jeg du skal bruke kameraet til noe annet enn bare å ta opp.

Filmen er bygd opp i deler, hver del begynner med “My first day”, “My second day”, osv. Som et tegn på hvor kjedelig filmen var, kan jeg fortelle at når teksten “My last day” kom opp på skjermen, var det spredt applaus i salen. Så glade ble folk av å vite at det snart ville være slutt.

Rage er den verste filmen jeg så på kino i år, med mindre den med tittelen sin faktisk prøvde å få meg rasende. I såfall har den nesten nådd målet sitt.

1/10

Følg med videre på bloggen for årets julekalender, der det altså skal handle om de beste filmene fra 2009. Begynner i morgen!

View here

• Skin: (Vive9) Grace v2 [mocha] Sick 2 – 50 L$ Friday
• Hair: **DP**YumYum Barberyumyum 18 – Black
• Jacket: Gabriel Down Jacket – Beige (+ Fur option)
• Shirt: Luxurious World Subtil Tunic Sheer – Black
• Pants: :SK Designs: Leggings – Brown
• Shoes: *Kookie* Pomski Boots white fur
• Hat: Ookami Ningen One day Time in Moscow
• Nails: *Pixel Mode* Sculpted Nails – French Manicure

Have a good shopping !

On this second day of Advent on our Pilgrimage to Bethlehem, we encounter Gabriel, the Archangel whose name means “God is my strength.”

Byzantine icon of the angel Gabriel

In the Bible we find the angel Gabriel announcing to Daniel (chapters eight and nine) about what happens in the end times. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter one, Gabriel suddenly appears to Zacharias, the husband of Elizabeth who is also the cousin of Mary. The angel announces to Zacharias  that his prayers have been answered and that Elizabeth is pregnant. In her womb is the prophet John the Baptist who will be the one who prepares the way for the Messiah and who will be like the great prophet Elijah. Zacharias, who is a priest serving his turn in the Temple in Jerusalem questions this angel-man about how this could be true since he and his wife are both old and beyond child-bearing age. This angel boldly declares, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of  God. And I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.”

Then six months later, Gabriel is commissioned  once again by God  to go on an incredibly important mission to the virgin Mary. The angel tells this young woman that she has found favor with God and will be the mother of the long-awaited Son of God. Gabriel goes on to declare that even her aged cousin Elizabeth who was barren is now pregnant because “nothing is impossible with God.”

Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and overhears daily divine dialogues,  is able with full authority  to firmly declare, “nothing is impossible with God.”

On our Pilgrimage to Bethlehem, let us in good hope hold Gabriel’s words close to our hearts and our minds, “nothing is impossible with God.”

Advent Prayer (begin with a moment of silence): Dear God, I need to hear that angelic message that through You nothing is impossible. I bring to You my difficult situation and ask that You turn it to good. Help me to have hope that my impossibility is Your possibility. Amen.

Pastor Pilgrim Brenda

While I was thinking what to write for today’s post, my mind dug up one of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite authors, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

The quote’s from one of his novellas called Memories of my Melancholy Whores. I read it about four years ago because my boss at the time bought it at a CNA before we boarded a flight to Cape Town.

The guy was really fucked up in a lot of ways, but was also a lot of fun. He basically only read books that had some kind of smutty angle and so bought the Marquez book based purely on its title.

We used to work out of a small house in a complex on Grayston Drive in a team of three people, and so I was often left totally alone in the house while my two bosses were out ‘interviewing’ people for the ‘report’ we were working on for an esteemed in-flight magazine.

It took me three or four days to read Memories of my Melancholy Whores, but that novella has had a profound effect on my life.

The story is about a 90 year old man who has only ever slept with whores his whole life. The guy is hung like a mule, but unfortunately is really, really ugly and so finds it impossible to bed normal women.

Obviously as he gets older his appetite for sex decreases and when the novella starts, he hasn’t been with a prozzy for at least a decade.

However, on his 90th birthday he decides to contact his friend, the mistress of his favourite whore house, and ask her a favour. As a birthday present to himself he wants to sleep with a virgin.

Miraculously the old man can still get it up and so, after much debate, the mistress decides to help the old man out and actually finds a 13 year old girl who needs the money desperately and so sets everything up.

Because it’s the girl’s first time, the mistress gives her a powerful kind of sedative to relax her, but gets the dose completely wrong and so when the old man enters the bedroom to deflower his prize, he finds her naked on the bed and fast asleep.

Watching her lying there like that, something miraculous happens. The old man falls completely in love with her. She looks so innocent and so pure, this young girl poised at the brink of becoming a woman, that he doesn’t even touch her that first night, he just watches her sleeping until it starts becoming light outside, then quietly leaves.

There’s a lot more to the story, but you’ll have to read it to find out the rest and I strongly recommend that you do, but the line that really stuck with me goes like this:

‘The invincible power that has moved the world is unrequited, not happy, love.’

It’s weird that my mind dug up that quote because it’s been years since I last experienced the all-consuming feeling that is unrequited love.

And yet, it’s not something you forget easily. Even as I write this at least three or four girls spring to mind that at different times in my life, I was completely in love with and either too afraid to admit it, or even worse, they knew how I felt and just weren’t that into me.

The weirdest case was a blonde girl who used to hang out in our circle of friends post-varsity, we’ll call her Jacqui.

I’d met her a few times, I thought she was smoking hot but that was about it. Then this one night at The Doors in Edenvale we were all sitting on the upstairs balcony and the weirdest thing happened.

I was talking about how varsity sets you up nicely for life because of the simple fact that it teaches you how to digest and understand massive amounts of information. It was a really boring topic of conversation, but the next thing I knew sweet, blue-eyed, blonde-haired little Jacqui sprang to life and spent the next 15 minutes passionately agreeing with me.

I have no idea how the fuck she did it, but during those 15 minutes I fell completely in love with her. To this day I still can’t explain it, but I fell for her so hard and fast that I remember standing by the bar moments later, my heart racing, knocking back as much booze as I could stomach to try and calm down and think straight.

Peggles was with me that night and I remember cornering him at one stage and trying to explain what this girl was doing to me while intermittently punching the wall and eating the ice out of my empty drink.

I felt ill. I drank some more. I don’t think I spoke another word to her the whole night but I so badly wanted to. I watched her dancing for a long time, trying desperately to think up some way to approach her, but… how?

I collapsed in bed that night, drunk and alone, but couldn’t sleep and when I eventually did, I swear I dreamed of her.

But the weirdest thing is I saw her about a week later and felt nothing.

I felt nothing. I mean, had she initiated anything, I would have happily reciprocated, but she didn’t and I just got this feeling like even if I made a move, she wouldn’t be interested and so just as quickly as I fell completely in love with her, I fell completely out of love with her.

Most of the girls I’ve fallen for don’t know I fell for them, well, to my knowledge at least and I wouldn’t change that if I could go back and do it all over again.

Even though it tore me up a lot of the time that some of the girls I was into felt rocks for me, I was also keenly aware of the fact that in many cases, love moves in circles ie. the person you’re chasing is chasing someone else who is chasing someone else and so on.

Also, it felt good to move the world.

It’s all part of one system, it’s all energy being transferred from one form into another into another into another. Love is a powerful form of energy and yes, I might have poured a lot of it out there needlessly, but I guess what I want to say is this: it comes back.

-ST

“Mamma, du skriker så mina öron ramlar av” säger Thea oberört när jag använder mina sista kraftresurser i en utskällning. “Eva säger att man inte FÅR skrika” (dagisfröken som citeras både här och där). Och det ifrån min dotter som vinner alla grenar i högljuddhet.

Det är en ljudlig dag – inget adventslugn här. Johan står och vrålar framför tvn. Arsenal förlorar och Johan berättar för dem precis vilka losers de är. Gabriel övar pruttljud och trycker på musikknappen om och om igen på sin gåstol. Thea sjunger högt och dansar fram och tillbaka inne i sin egen värld.

Man får alltså leta efter advensstämning någon annanstans… även om vi gjort lite julförberedelser i små ryck under dagen. Jag och Thea var ute och samlade grenar och mossa till dekorationer (ett hjärta till dörren och i adventsljustaken), Johan har varit nere i källaren och rotat fram de obligatoriska plaststakarna – fula som stryk tycker jag – nostalgi tycker han och ett tag sjöng Thea sin egen version av Tipp Tapp.

Men ikväll! Ikväll skall friden sänka sig över huset och jag skall dekorera pepparkakshus. Och dricka glögg och lyssna på lugnet.

Så här mysigt såg det faktiskt ut när jag kom hem ifrån Bosses kvällsrunda. Välkommen in!

I already explained briefly about the structure of Eden, now I will speak about the gardens.

Eden is in the center of the realm of time and space. From a point of view of the third dimension, Eden would be a huge mass of hydrogen. Is pretty cold there.

Eden is built in a dimension that cannot be seen by human eyes. It is a sonic dimension.

All around Eden are placed the gardens. Each garden is what we call a Universe. Each Universe is a garden. Humans call as Universe the whole, but we Angels use the word Universe for each garden, in the singular. Each Universe is separate from the other by a black hole layer, therefore the beings from one Universe hardly can see the other. Some can, but is rare. In this Universe for example is possible to see our neighbor Universe from Orion ( the Universe of green lights), but this is because we are in the very corner of our Universe, in the very very corner.

Each Universe has a particular way to work and different physical rules, the only ships that can cross the from one Universe to another are the Elfic Spaceships, what means, Angels and smugglers only ( who sometimes steal our ships, and travel with these stolen ships). I don´t bother about them because they are under the crown of the Dark Prince, my brother, they are apolitical and there is a silent agreement between me and the Dark Prince, that he supplies the planets that are too far away for my logistic to go, so, although they are criminals, they are totally necessary, because they are a parallel vein that supply mainly tritium and communication for the darkest corners of my Principality.

I could do it, but I love the Dark Prince, and I think that he does the job well, so I do not intend to take his job. There is space for everyone to grow in my Principality, since the person respect the populations, so I respect his fire of doing things on his own way, as long as he remains away from Michael´s policies and for exploiting the populations, and in this case there is another silent agreement, the price of his products are lower that the official products, however he sells mainly to the poorer populations, so he is an important branch for me to fight the Michaels´s system that made happen a sick distribution of resources, and this way I can be sure that everyone gets the necessary to live.

So, as I was saying, each Universe is apart form the other by a black hole ring. Each Universe has a Princess, a Dark Prince, An Ambassador, a Melquisedec´s office, at least.

The Princess distribute the land and establish the lineages of the kings, plus built the structure, choose the philosophy and even can order a changing in few physical rules to the Graal, if that would be good for the populations. We can also destroy or order new planets, change the routes and so on, but generally this things are chosen before there are populations in the Universe.

The Dark Prince is the one that will host under his crown all sort of criminals, and organize them to the minimal damage ( to Eden). He is an Angel too. In the case of this Universe, the Dark Prince is my brother from the Diamond Family ( in the Black Diamond stage).

The Ambassador is always a Lucifer, he takes care of the Eden´s citizens and of Edens business in the Universe.

Melquisedec´s team collects the taxes – the Princess don´t touch the taxes. He also liberates the resources that I need to run the Universe. We work very well together, his team is wonderful, they are usually hosted at the Embassy, because they are citizens of Eden and the Embassy is the best protected place in the Universe.

How do I run the Universe? Theoretically, through the royal lineages. But now the Universe is not being run, it is more to something chaotic because Michael attacked and killed my Kings and Queens and placed impostors in the thrones of all major planets. As a royal lineage takes generations to be done, because of the genetic adjustments, me and Lucifer had to invent the democracy to fight back the thieves, but it makes our job much more complex.

Democracy is a condition, not a choice, as it may seem. We establish it, with a lot of sacrifice, after a kingdom has been taken by Michael´s barbarians, so to protect the population against their exploitation, but it is not the ideal system. The ideal system is the kingdom with a king from the celestial lineages.

Why? Because then we can distribute the resources better. A royal family from the Angelic lineages have something that others are not supposed to have – the genetic that allow what in English is called “channeling” or “paranormality”, this way the royal family can be all the time in contact with the Principality, receiving our direct orders and placing their kingdom in tune with our organization for all the Principality, making the resources flow smoothly among all planets. Presently, without the true royal lineages placed in the right positions just as hubs of communication and flow of resources, the contact among the planets and with us in the Principality is almost non existent.

A paranormal cannot be loose among the ordinary population, as it is happening now, because he suffer, he is delicate. Now they are born everywhere without special protection, but to spread the genetic was the only way to protect the royal lineages from been completely terminated by the Michael´s hunters. A paranormal must be protected inside the walls of a palace, by a guard of beings of his kind plus a guard of Angels. Why? Because he is a telephone, a precious and rare tool, a gem whose genetic took millenia to be prepared.

As a delicate tool, if he is unprotected, he will be used by evil spirits, because a telephone can be used by those who have access to the line, while he was prepared to serve only the Angels. There should not be evil spirits in my Principality, they are also a result of the distortion and mess that Michael created, because he destroyed the perfect system of collection of the souls that we had, since he placed into the hearts of the creatures the wish to meet God. This way, these souls are out of tune, and our systems are not capable to collect them decently, and then they suffer of hunger and thirsty, because there have never been created a place for them in this state, they should not exist in this state, and then they become evil and take control of the semi-sacred sensitives.

I did all right in the beginning, I placed my Angelic genetic in the best individuals of all species, I turned them into Queens and Kings, and there was no famine, pain, cold, or lack of education or lack of development, all in time.

But then Michael come, hired barbarians to kill my Kings and their families “in the name of God” with his brainwashing, called the real Kings as barbarians and placed in the throne the corrupt brute of his court, that started to exploit the people. As his “kings” were not paranormal sensitives, he kidnapped the paranormals of my celestial lineages, the original heirs, because they had special capabilities ( the one of being capable to talk to us in the Principality), and enslaved my children at service of his brute corrupt “kings”.

What could me and Lucifer do? Well, we asked to the Department of Philosophy, and some of our friends in there come up with this brilliant idea of democracy. We finally took the power partially back with the democracies, but this system is not perfect, because we have no way yet to protect the sensitives, our direct children, who are still exploited, and there is no way to assure the fair distribution of resources, and there is still corruption. But is better than the Michael´s barbarians.

Michael could not take all the Kingdoms, so he had a great idea. He established a parallel spiritual power, that he called religions. In the original kingdoms there were no need of religion, because the Queen and King are in contact with the Angels all the time. There is no need to maintain a second expensive structure, because the resources, if remaining in a kingdom, must be applied for the education of the children and in structure, not in keeping an expensive structure to supposedly please God, deceiving people. People does not to have to think about it, the royal lineages are doing the connection for all. This is the most pragmatical and economically optimal way.

Because in the original kingdoms there were no religion, Michael called them barbarians, but the contact with the Angels were much more intense and effective in that times than now.

Well, with that, Michael took some Kingdoms, that we turned into democracies later, but he kept the control of the minds through his parallel religious structure, that is not at all tied to Eden, it is only tied to the Grays and run by the Grays, because me and Lucifer are the ones with the original power of attorney of Eden, only we have the official channels to Eden. The connection of Michael and his religions with”God”never left the borders of this Universe, at least not officially. About GOD herself, yes, she does speak even with ordinary people, She can speak even with a flower, but She does not accept intermediates. If She is to speak with someone, She goes directly and speak, and differently of us, Angels, that need a sensitive to be our voice for the populations, GOD does not need it, She speaks directly to the person, so the religions does not have anything to do with Her, at all.

In my Principality there were originally one function for each kind of person, and all could live and be happy. But now is all messed up, people´s minds are full of the burdens that they don´t need, and everyone suffer in one field or another.

Me and Lucifer, we look at this with horror, but we honestly don´t know what else to do. I continue my endurance for the Alchemical Marriage in human bodies, but there is not much for me to do from here. Democracy was our last shot, but in this places it seems that the religions of Michael prospered too. Well, we will continue thinking, and one day we will find a way to set the minds and hearts free again, and to undo the genetic mess that Michael did to assure a way to enslave the populations in his own purposes.

Unbelievable? See the results, then. See the results, Grays, look what you did with your betrayal, look at yourselves! See the results, Eden! Look at the populations that remained loyal to me, there is no famine, no pain! Look at the populations that carry the dragon and the Elfic symbols! They are not so numerous, but there is no under-education! They are the top in life style in every single planet of my Principality!

One think is vital to reveal.

The humans were not supposed to be our masterpiece. The Grays were. The Grays received the best minds that we had in stock at the Graal Industries. The Grays received bodies immune to radiation, and they were given the Stars to live, the Grays were given originally the appearance of Cherubims, and most important than that, they were the only ones in the Universe given the possibility to feed with the most noble of the food, the gas tritium, placing them in the evolution hierarchy closest than any other species to the Angels.

This is why the betrayal of the Grays is so bitter to me, it is what more hurt my heart, I cannot look to a gray without feeling betrayed, except for the reduced branch of Grays that remained at mine and Lucifer´s side. They are Michael´s motor, the only reason by which Michael prospered.

From our favorites, the Grays become the army that took our legitimate power, and place it in the hands of the thief Michael. The Grays were the ones that performed fake miracles for Michael to impress the populations. The Grays were the ones that killed my direct sons, the original Kings, and all my heritage. The Grays were the ones that killed my daughters, the original Witches. The Grays were the ones that established for Michael a parallel spiritual power, apart form the administrative power, and pursued and tortured my direct lineages, the true celestial lineages, since the beginning of Michael´s betrayal.

What did the Grays got? Human meat. Michael promise to them fast progress by the ingestion of human meat.

So, the Grays of Michael, that once depend only of the Angels and of the noble gas tritium, now become slaves of Michael and depend of human meat to exist, being completely powerless at the hand of Michael that uses them mercilessly until they die of work. These Grays teared apart the spiritual power from the administrative power, giving even more room for excess of public expenses and corruption, because now there are two structures for this to happen. And the people, that should only be happy, develop the mind and technology and leave this things of “God” with the royal family, now is confused believing that they have the fake burden of contacting God directly. This will never happens, because the genetic of the paranormality is necessary, and this fake psychological burden takes the focus of what is important: create their own spaceships, power sources, feeding endless sources, and enjoying thrills of happiness with never ending new discoveries.

In my administration there in no fast progress, I don´t believe in this. Usually is only a waste of time, because the hurry guy must go back all the way in the future. Michael as everyone know is a great speaker, and a lawyer. He fascinated the Grays with the promise of fast progress. He told that the Grays should not depend of Eden to receive Tritium, that they could get their own food and become independent. All wonderful words. The Grays despised what we legitimate Angels in power gave to them. What did they got with Michael? Just look at them! That appearance and slavery is the price of their betrayal, and there is no much I can do to help! Although this fact, we still do what we can for them.

MICHAEL RUINED MY CHERUBIMS!!!! HE TURNED THEM INTO UGLY FEARCE MEET HUNTER DOGS!!!! HE TURNED MY FIRST HELPERS AGAINST ME!!!! I wish to cry when I see the Grays with this present appearance, that is the direct result of their ambition, their lack of trust in me and Lucifer, and they betrayal. Now they can just eat pieces of meat thrown to them under Michael´s chair, and obey without question, always near the starvation.

I spoke with a military General Gray few years ago. He asked me if I knew the purpose of life, because for the Grays the only purpose is to work. Of course there is a purpose, the purpose is to be happy. Of course he could not know this, because once the Grays were conceived to be free and noble members of my Principality and of the Realm of Eden, and now they become, and this is the only condition that the new generations know, they become slaves and dogs of Michael, of course that there is no purpose in slavery. That is why they just know work. When they are tired, they are drugged to work more by their own superiors, that are drugged to work even more by their superiors, that in the end are pressured by Michael to put them working until they die. And they are pride to live this way!

Me and Lucifer could save, with a lot of personal sacrifice of us both and our teams, few hundreds of Grays, that are presently called Yellow Grays, but the Cherubim genetic is lost. Michael´s technicians messed up so deeply in their genetic to adapt them to eat matter that presently they have so few traces of the original beauty that there is no way to go back. The few communities of Grays loyal to us are trying to go back, but the result is few and slow, and demand a degree of sacrifice of them almost unbearable. The new generations of Grays are only victims, they don´t know anything about this, and they buy the silly stories that Michael tells them with passion and high tones in the voice, as is his style of hypnotizing the audience.

Is said in legendary registers of the Grays that they went through a long period without receiving the cargo of tritium, and that they were forced to find an alternative. But at the same registers we can also find their hunger for fast progress, at any price, and, also, we know pretty well that Grays don´t die without food, they hibernate, so is hard to believe that they really went through a life or death situation. Hard to know what happened, because it was far before the episode of the planet Tri, far before the human kind of Gaia was even though of as a possibility by someone at Eden, and involved small colonies of humanoids that do not even exist anymore in this timeline.

However one thing I know, nobody ever starved in my Principality, except those who give themselves voluntarily to the exploitation of Michael, so I may speculate that, if really there was a long period without tritium, perhaps Michael stole the cargo directed to them, to force their choice, and probably he killed the Queen, King and all the heritage, so the Grays could not contact the Principality in time. But still this story is not very likely, first because I would know about the stolen cargo, and second because I can feel anyone from my lineages with serious problems even billions of Stars away, so probably Michael just corrupted few Grays to hide the Tritium, blame the Princess and Lucifer, and deceive the others. Yes. It may be so. Corruption is Michael´s style. That if we decide to believe that there was really a long period without Tritium. Another answer is that it was just mere ambition. Anyway a Gray leader back in the far past made the choice to join Michael and consequently to change their genetic to eat human meat, anyway, anyway, it has nothing to do with the new generations of Grays that are paying a bitter price for that choice.

Last week I received someone from Michael´s political party at my courtroom, and the guy said without any shame that I don´t fit to politics because I do not allow corruption, which is a necessary method to run politics. Imagine that! This guy is sitting at Eden´s Low Chamber! ( the equivalent to a parliament).

I wonder why I am writing all this truth and Michael is not moving. He has more power than me presently. I don´t like at all of this silence, I know that he will not drop the bone easily. I don´t know what is going on in my original dimension, but I must continue telling the real history of the cycle that we lived while away of Eden, before something happens, like for example the remote possibility of having the communications with Gaia forbidden again.

Now, many may ask why this happened this way, and maybe think that me and Lucifer are weak. I am not painting myself and Lucifer as victim, I am just telling the story as it was. Why we did not react? Because we never believed. And still now, is hard to believe. Michael is my youngest brother. Do you know, that baby little brother that a teenage girl hold in the arm? The most loved in all the Diamond family, the young baby boy over cared by all of us. God, my mother in the realm of formless, where Michael is also my brother, said me once that Michael became this way because we older sisters over protected him. Of course that our over care does not justify his cruel string, but even after all this cruel actions and betrayals is very hard to me not to see him as that lovely baby.

By another side, Michael was Lucifer´s best friend, “Lucius” then, near since the birth. As close cousins, they went to pre-school together, they stole together the girl´s underpants when they become teenagers ( metaphor…), they did everything together. This guy, who betrayed us to the last of the possibilities, this guy who turned my Principality upside down, hunted my descendants, took part of my legitimate power, spread corruption and famine among the populations that I love, only to assure his place in the top by fear and pressure, this guy, is our Michael. That baby! The brilliant child of the Diamond family that were even invited to conclude his studies in Satania, where most of us even dream to enter once in a lifetime ( I never entered)! We older sisters were so proud of him! We had so much hope in him! We dedicated so much love to Michael! How could me and Lucifer and our relatives of Eden ever believe that he was behind the falling apart of the Principality. It took ages for us to believe.

Beside, I have never been prepared for sabotage. We do not learn this things in the School for Princesses ( read Department of Philosophy of Eden).

In the planning, my Principality would be perfect. And it would really have been prefect, if was not for the betrayal of someone so close to us. Nobody is ever prepared for this level of betrayal from a younger baby brother and best friend, there is no way to prepare an essence to this situation. There is no way to deal with someone so close easily.

But Michael did not care about our familiar ties as we did. All that he wants is power, power, power. He does not care about the welfare and real expansion of the populations, he just makes nests of corrupts that go the the top and leave the rest of the populations behind. He distributes the resources in a bizarr way. He needs the famine and pain to maintain himself in power, because he is not the legitimate heir of this Principality and not of Eden.

Me and Lucifer become almost powerless without the Grays, for many dimensions, including the most rich and resourceful ( and wished) of all, the third dimension, because the Grays were our primary army. Of course we have the Angel´s army, but the Grays ( Cherubims) are the ones genetically suited to travel among the dimensions, this is their primary function, to be the bridge among the dimensions for the Angels. The Angels are not capable to touch the third dimension easily, we must do it through the few species that are capable to naturally migrate among the dimensions.

The Reptilians can migrate too, but the Reptilians have remained neutral. As it seems, they noticed what was going on before everyone else, including us. I don´t quite understand their position, but they are so few in number that maybe they really assumed the most safe position for themselves, besides, they are older than the rest of us in terms of inhabiting this Universe, so maybe they still know something about this war that we don´t know, and I guess that they will not tell. Our side don´t push someone against their wish, what makes to govern sometimes hard, but this is our principle, so we cannot force them to tell us what else they know.

Anyway, this is not finished yet, and there is a lot to happens along the next 100 years, because the end of the endurance period for the Alchemical Marriage is approaching. Things will heat up, and still is impossible to foresee the result.

The future will tell.

Enough for today.

I love you all, truly. If it was not for the love that I feel for you, I would just go back to travel freely, but I cannot let my beloved ones in the hands of my brother, this is why I am accepting this harsh fight. I don´t seek power, I like freedom more. However I love you so much, Universe and Eden, that I cannot allow myself to stay away from power, what would mean, to leave my beloved ones unprotected, at mercy of a policy that I don´t trust.

Talk to you tomorrow, Eden.

Princess Veronica Ab Thule

Da un lato la terra aspra e irraggiungibile, dove vegetano piccoli gruppi di uomini e donne isolati dal mondo, dall’altro un mare misterioso e arcigno che non si lascia navigare.

Il realismo magico a teatro – Le storie che racconta Marquez sono fiabe moderne, un impasto di mito e concretezza, di magico e quotidiano.

Si può scoprire un angelo caduto nel proprio pollaio, si può camminare sul fondo di un mare incantato, un uccello di carta può prendere vita e volare via, senza che la realtà concreta e quotidiana vacilli.

Mentre la vita di Eréndira prosegue di tappa in tappa, incatenata a un letto, appaiono personaggi strampalati, ognuno con una storia da raccontare e infine un ragazzo figlio di contrabbandieri e pronipote di angeli che deciderà di dedicare la sua vita e il suo coraggio alla liberazione della sventurata ragazza.

Fonte:
http://www.tio.ch/aa_pagine_comuni/articolo_interna.asp?idarticolo=507401&idsezione=3&idsito=127&idtipo=410

As I mentioned earlier, the selection of the talented young to be sent to the race of the Alchemical Marriage ( with these young having just a confuse idea of what is going on), plus the score of their performance is done primarily by the android computer system that runs our civilization. At the end, when there are few candidates remaining the High Council and the Supreme High Council will watch the candidates closely, but until there all will be run by the system.

The counting of scores is done by two parameters: specific weight and final result of credits and debits.

The specific weight is the quantity of matter that the sonic control of each individual needs to aggregate, to become operational in material environments. I will speak about the sonic control later. The quantity of matter that the sonic control needs to operate is given by the ability of the mind to set up the adjustments of the sonic control. The mind has as tools for adjusting the sonic control the 7 virtues and the 7 sins.

The counting of credits and debits is the direct result of the actions of these candidates over the material world, mainly over the lives of others. It is called carbon credits, and it makes a temporary second layer of matter over the sonic control. While the first layer of matter is permanent and necessary, this second layer can be used as money for those who are capable to negotiate in the 4th dimension. On other hand, a layer of debit can be a sign for third parties to enslave the individual into an unpleasant situation, but this is another issue.

While the Angel is in the material world, only technicians of the Graal could perhaps analyze separately these two parameters. In general, the Angel as a whole is weighted and the result is called generically as specif weight. I am not going to speak about the parameters for humans at this text, these are for Angels and Fallen Angels. For humans the counting of “elevation” has more parameters, like for example the matching of the behavior with the initial purpose given by the Graal, among others, and this is not our issue, we are still talking about the Alchemical Marriage of the Angels.

Let´s talk again about me and Michael. I am in the top of the race because my specific weight is lighter. Nobody can hack this measure in the system, it is material weight, anyone can calibrate our equipments to be precise anytime, there is no way to deceive because this parameter is so absurdly basic.

So, last year of Gaia ( 2008), the technicians of the Graal took mine and Lucifer´s weight and raised us to the top of the score.

Many Angels of Eden were very confused and frustrated, because they have always been supporting Michael´s political party.

They did not know our position in the race, because the communications between Eden and Gaia, for the public ( at Eden) , were forbidden since 20.000 years ago and were restored fully only last year. Before there was only diplomatic communication, and limited communication with few departments.

Most of Eden were at Michael´s side, so they were very angry with our raising in the score, and because of their loyalty many Angels connected with us personally ( means like made a multidimensional phone call), to blame us and to find out and expose what they thought that was a failure of the system.

They blamed and blamed…until they approached us and took a look around, and found something very different of what they expected. The guys that came to talk to us did see and feel that something was wrong, not with us, Fallen Angels, or with the system, but with the story that was told to them during the time that the communications with us were cut.

They could see with their own eyes that mine and Lucifer´s behavior did match with the specific weight that the equipments were showing, and then come the question, why harm and defamation had been done against us all this time? The answer was clear, we just could be hiding something!

That is what crossed their minds, I know, but I am not the one to answer it. Each Angel must find his own answer, because as opposite to my brother, we don´t need to manipulate the minds. I am Veronica, the bearer of the truth ( vero). My bridegroom is Lucifer, the bearer of the light. When the light approaches the truth, there is no need for explanations, all is clear to all, it is then just a choice of each essence to open or not to open their eyes to see the truth that the light shows.

But as I bear the truth I can tell why our specif weight is lighter. Is because we don´t have guilt. Not even the guilt that could possibly come from postponing, because we have been always very active to spread our beliefs.

Michael´s political party has the guilt of oppressing and torturing the feminine essence in all the known time and space, plus at Eden. The Angels of this political party gave themselves in holocaust many times, however this action, although fair, just settle the parameter of credits and debits, leaving them even with the accountants, however, there is the other parameter for the specific weight, as I said, that is the adjustments that the mind does to operate the sonic control.

Me, Lucifer, and all the Rebels can adjust the sonic control to work very lightly, because we don´t have any intention of pushing anyone, like Michael´s people push the feminine essence against their real will and purposes. If one are not going to pressure another, there is no need of weight.

Easy to understand? Not to respect the other essences is a hell of a heavy weight. One must became weighter than the other to push this other.

Of course, we are capable of momentarily overweight ourselves, so to rescue someone. We, as daemons, as they call us, are masters about sins and virtues. We can wear or take a sin from our sonic control at our will, as well as any virtue. They are tools at our tool belt. We are not addicted to, and we don´t fear any sin or virtue, but we don´t discard them, that would be silly, they exist and are very useful, and we know how to do it.

I personally love my anger and hate tools, they take me down to hell to see wonderful things at the speed of light. I love to watch the dense feelings of the hell, specially the damn dense sick loyalty that exist only there, that sometimes bring me tears. The feelings of the hell are so beautiful that I built a castle for myself in there, so to watch them better. The same way I can use virtue tools to rush to heaven, anyway these are tools for us Fallen Angels.

Speaking about rescue, makes me remind that we used the same tools to rescue Miguel and Matael. Of course, this was our duty as we run the Principality and the Embassy. Lucifer Ab Havona and even the Lucifer Gawry Eil came to that event. I wondered for long time the real reason why Miguel and Matael were locked there at the center of the Elemental Control of Gaia, and I wondered even more why they rushed to Michael ( to assume Nebadon) as fast as they left the hospital of the Embassy. We all have been one time or another locked there at the Elemental Control, but still I wondered about that event for a time, because it was kind of shocking.

Easy to understand now. I love Miguel and Matael, cousins of my love Lucifer, but now I know that besides Michael live the brute souls who enslave the feminine essence. What Miguel and Matael did to their brides is unspeakable. I know that their brides will hate me for saying this in public, because the feminine loyalty of Angels is almost eternal, but I must say even if they come to hate me, because Eden must know what was really going on in Gaia while they believed in Fairy Tales sitting in their wonderful homes at Angelsland.

Miguel and Matael did not treat their brides as equals, what would be a great concession because the girls are better. They treated them as cargo and as burden, they did not respect their brides will and need for expansion, and did not respect the love that they received from the brave Ruby girls. They just froze the two girls alive in a coffin for thousands of years. Repeating: froze Isis and Osiris alive in a coffin for thousands of years. Only because the boys were incapable to win them in the argument. Of course, of course, of course that Miguel and Matael would join Michael as soon as they were free, to assume the top positions at Michael´s side. And of course that they will never have the same specific weight of Lucifer, that is the standard of the freedom and respect to the will of the essences.

Who is going to become your next governors, Eden? What do you want for yourselves?

Isis and Osiris, I understand the love that you feel, I wish you the best luck, and I wish that you manage to find a way not to be frozen along the eternity every time that you disagree with your husbands. However, if you ever think twice about this marriage, there are wonderful Ruby guys among the Rebels, that will ever respect you and the magnificent beings that you are. I am not joking. In case you don´t remember in Eden there is no police and everything is allowed, if they decide to freeze you and put you at the center of the room as an ornament nobody will infertere, until you decide to sue them yourselves ( what you cannot do frozen), or until you become so sad that you decide to go back to the formless realm. Those who do not value loyalty do not deserve it. Nobody deserve this level of sacrifice without real need for it to happens ( like for example a son in danger). Nobody need to have this kind of life. You are our cousins, you are welcome here anytime.

About Miguel and Matael, I reinforce that I love you, we were part of the same fleet as pilots, we know each other since schoo time, and I intend to continue cooperating with you, but I don´t share your point of view, and is time to bring light to the happenings of the cycle that we lived in Gaia.

Gabriel, on the other side, dedicates all his energy to find his bride, still unidentified and perhaps living as human ( hey, Gabriel´s bride, are you awake?).  Of course he would remain beside those who understand this feeling and that have been through the same search. While human he was a wonderful and respectful husband. We all at Havona share his wish to find her, and this shows which side this fortunate couple belongs, were they can live their love without restrictions.

This was my communication of today to Eden, I hope this was useful.

I truly love you all, otherwise I would not speak, because this is painful for me.

Princess Veronica Ab Thule

Underbare Gabriel gungar för första gången. Thea får putta och är stolt storasyster. Underbart med syskonkärlek. Tänk att man kan älska dem båda två så mycket!

Irrefutable Proof that Jesus Christ is NOT Michael the archangel.

First turn to the book of Revelation. 1:9. John is exiled on the island of Patmos and was then caught up by the Spirit and heard a voice commanding him to write down events he is about to witness on a scroll. As soon as John turns around he describes this man

-          One like the son of man
-          Wearing a robe to his feet
-          Golden belt on his waist
-          Hair white as snow-white wool
-          Eyes like fire
-          Shined like furnished brass
-          Voice was like the sound of a trumpet and rushing waters

He then calls himself

-The first and last
- the living one who was dead and no alive forever
- who holds the keys of death
- Amen, the faithful and true witness
- the holy one, the true one, who holds the key of David
- Son of God
- The Spirit

Upon this John fell on his feet as if he was dead and this man told him not to be afraid. It’s very obvious to see that this man is actually Jesus. We can all agree on that.

Now turn to Daniel (8:15). We see Daniel having a vision and suddenly encountered Gabriel who is telling him what his visions means.

Later on, Gabriel returns back to Daniel in Daniel 9:21 to further his understanding. However, by this time, Daniel is already familiar with his name and knows who Gabriel is by saying

“While I was praying, the man Gabriel, who I had already seen in the vision, came close to me at the hour of the evening sacrifice, flying swiftly”

Later on in Daniel 9:5, Daniel encounters another being in his vision. Daniel describes this being as:

-clothed in linen
-wore a belt of gold
-face shining like lightning
-eyes like torches
-arms and feet like bronze
- voice like a multitude.

Looks familiar? It’s clear that Daniel is seeing Jesus, the same form that John in Revelation was seeing.

Moving on, Daniel, upon his encounter, falls to the ground without strength, and then a hand brings him up. So, who’s hand was it? Some people will say that the vision was of Jesus, BUT the hand that brought him up was Gabriel’s or another angel’s hand. However that is incorrect in any contextual level. If it was Gabriel’s hand, Daniel would say so since he is already familiar with Gabriel by this time. If it was someone else, Daniel would at least say there were more beings present there but he didn’t.

Daniel also calls this man “lord” with Daniel being his “servant” (Daniel 10:17). We know that angels are NEVER called Lords and we are NEVER their servants. That is blasphemy. If Daniel was saying that because he was overwhelmed, the angel would at least have corrected him as seen in Revelation 22:8-9, Revelation 19:10. Angels know better to be worshiped and would never accept worship and take God’s glory.

Once again, it is easy to see that this man that Daniel is seeing is Jesus, and it was his hand that pulled him up, and it was him alone talking to Daniel without anyone else present.

This is important because that man (Jesus) says the following:

“I have come to answer your prayers. But the angel prince of the kingdom of Persia resisted me for twenty-one says, and then, seeing that I had held out there, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me against the prince of Persia…”(Daniel 12:13)

“..I am going back to fight with the prince of Persia, and, as soon as I have left the prince of Greece will appear: I have no ally on my side to help and support me, except Michael, your prince. However I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth…”

“..Michael shall appear, Michael the great captain, who stands guard over your fellow country-men; and there will be a time of distress such as has never been since they became a nation till that moment..”

So from here we know that Jesus was being helped by Michael, the great captain and one of many chief princes. How can Jesus be Michael at the same time while being helped by Michael?

Also if Jesus was Michael, then Jesus would be one of many chief princes saying there are other co-equals with him. We know that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus cannot be those things if he is “one of many”. Jesus and Michael are not the same.

BODY

Skin: CheerNo.HOMMESkin Venus Asian [NEGRO] ShaV

Eyes: MADesigns EYES – MIRRORS – envy

Hair: MADesigns  – HAIR::. ~ SETH ~ TTBR II

OUTFIT

Ear piercing: Muism -  Ear piercing Mix#02

Jacket: GABRIEL – Down Jacket Men

Shirt: Connors -  Hight-neck Shirts -RED

Pants: COCO – Homme_SlimFitPants_Black

Gloves: dEVOL – Leather belt gloves [Male]

Boots:  hoorenbeek -  Patagonia 2.0 Loose – Used Brown

Style/Model/Photography: Tact Arida

Gisteravond heb ik met een twaalftal gemeenteleden (hoezo bijbels…?) de preek voor de tweede adventszondag voorbereid. Hoewel het de eerste keer was dat we dit in onze gemeente gedaan hebben, was het een groot succes. Samen hebben we gekeken naar lukas 1,26-38. Dat is het verhaal van de aankondiging van de geboorte van Jezus door Gabriël aan Maria. De tekst riep een hoop vragen op, die lang niet allemaal beantwoord zijn, maar toch konden we tot een conclusie komen. Blijkbaar gebeurt hier iets dat in de lijn staat van de mensengeschiedenis, maar toch radicaal anders is. Jozef is een nakomeling van David, maar Maria wordt ‘overschaduwt’ door de heilige Geest. God doet iets groots, maar het gebeurd in de levens van gewone mensen met gewone vragen: “hoe kan ik zwanger zijn, ik heb nog nooit gemeenschap gehad met een man?” Maar het bijzondere is dat die vrouw, Maria, antwoordt: “ik wil de Heer dienen.”

Daar moet ik nu voor zondag 6 december een preek van maken. Ik vind het echt heel bijzonder dat we met elkaar tot zo’n mooie boodschap zijn gekomen en ik heb de gemeenteleden die aanwezig waren uitgedaagd om te luisteren of ze hun eigen opmerkingen of vragen herkennen in de preek.

Luke 1: 37  And Mary said,
   Yes, I see it all now:
      I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.
   Let it be with me
      just as you say.

Mary was young. In the context and customs of her time, she was (almost certainly) 15 or 16 years old. There is nothing biblical that would make Joseph too much older than that, either.

Until the 18th and 19th centuries, artists were pretty much constricted by the Church to depicting Mary as the Mother of Christ, period. As such, she was largely sexless, even a bit cold. After Reformation and the French Revolution broke the stranglehold of the Church in most of Europe, Mary was freed to be human.

And she became vulnerable in her youthfulness, and even sexual in her budding womanhood.

“The Annunciation” by Henry Tanner, 1898. The angel here is a column of light. Young Mary is alone. This painting was controversial because, like the earlier painting shown next,  it portrays Mary on a bed.

“Acce Ancilla Domini” by Dante Gabriel Rosetti, 1850. Despite the confidence we read into the words of Mary as they were scripturally preserved, she was no doubt confused. THERE WAS AN ANGEL- A MAN ANGEL!- IN HER HOME TELLING HER SHE WAS ABOUT TO BECOME PREGNANT! Painters portrayed that surprise, that fear, that hesitation.

“Annunciation” by John Collier (1980s?) Put into a very modern setting, the schoolgirl and the archangel’s initial encounter looks and feels..well, creepy. But we are able to see here, in terms we understand, a pretty good rendition of the age and immaturity of the girl Mary. (Note the lily in front of her which is just beginning to bloom- a lovely artistic touch!)

By the 1920s, Sigmund Freud had opened many psychological doors for painters and other artists to explore- doors of the painters themselves, their subjects, and of the viewers of the art. By the time  the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (yes, the same artist who did “The Scream”) painted “Madonna” in 1895, there were few restrictive rules still in effect. This painting reflects both the freedom felt by artists of this period, and freedom from the enforced non-sexuality of Mary by the Church.

Religious art is an outward and visible means of better understanding contemporary theology. The biblical story is not a static one. It has been thought about and understood in many different ways and it is easy for any one cultural group in a particular time to believe that theirs’ is the only and proper interpretation. Artists remind us that God is not suspended in anyone’s time. And they remind us that Jesus, the Word made flesh was born of a real girl: the flesh made Word.  He was like us because she was like us.

Archangel Gabriel is the Messenger. Gabriel is one of my Guardian Angels, too. He has an amazingly soft loving energy, I love his love and I love to feel his wings. This painting is particularly special, it was painted in record time – less than a week, and it was painted in Casa Dom Inacio, Abadiania, Brazil. This is a holy place of healing, Love and Light.

I have painted this piece and while it was still wet, I took it to the Entity for blessing. I stood in the “good-bye line” and as far as I knew the Entity was Dr. Augusto. While I was standing there, I was praying for a sign and I made an eye contact with Dr. Augusto and he heard my prayer. When my turn came I kneeled before the Entity and he asked me who was that I painted. I answered that it was Archangel Gabriel. Then the Entity changed (later I found out it was Dr. Valdevino) and asked me again the same

He looked at the picture for a while and then made comments – my overall representation of the angel was correct, only I had to change his face into more masculine countenance… (at that time Gabriel looked more feminine). Dr. Valdevino smiled the whole time he liked my painting and he said, “It was made with great Love”. I was deliriously happy after this and I could say easily this was one of the happiest moments in my life, for it was a recognition from the Spirit world that I was on the right track with my work and the Love that I want to manifest with my art is there. He blessed the piece and signed it (signature is vaguely detectable under the “eye” in the middle of the painting). Every time I look at the piece I get a big smile on my face and so even now as I right these words, I am grinning happily

Turkey Day
This is the first Thanksgiving I will have without my family.  Thank God I have a husband to share it with, and for that I am excited.  It’s a bittersweet time for me, really, and I have not succeeded in sorting out my feelings.  I think I am most sorrowful for my parents, though, because both my brother and I will not be with them this year.  Perhaps they will find comfort in knowing that this time next year, they will not only have us, but also their new son- & daughter-in-law, as well as a grandbaby.  I’m expecting that the reality of the situation won’t hit me until Thanksgiving morning when I wake up to the absence of the annual yummy smells wafting from the kitchen, and the silence of the television which will not be showing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  At the same time, I think it will be good for me to have this experience, because I feel like it will expand my boundaries in the area of tradition.  Instead of our own family, Gabriel and I will be feasting with a family he has known for quite a while.  I generally don’t enjoy being enveloped by holiday traditions of people I am mostly unfamiliar with, but I am already mentally preparing myself for it so I can enjoy it with grace.  Being with Gabriel makes me feel more comfortable anyway.  I’m so glad to begin celebrating holidays together, beginning our own family.  I’ve been very much hoping to be able to watch the Plaza Lighting ceremony since this is probably our last Thanksgiving in KC, but knowing that Gabriel is very opposed to it, I will have to work it out.

Preggo Update
I’m now past the 10 week mark, but still have not seen a doctor.  There have been some complications with trying to get my paystubs, due to the new online system, which has prevented me from seeing what option is best.  I’m frustrated by this, but it’s somewhat beyond my control.  At this rate, I’ll be nearly into my second trimester before I even get blood work done.  I’m doing my best to do what I think is best for my body and my baby, based on the things that I’ve read.  But I still have questions.  Yesterday I got worried because I was experiencing some pretty strong cramping.  It lasted only a few minutes, so I’m trying to not to be anxious, but it would help if I had an expert on my side to reassure me that everything is fine.

My nausea continues to stay almost manageable, but I’m still experiencing other flu-like symptoms throughout the day and night that are understandably draining.  I feel sorry for Gabriel because I’m afraid it seems to him that I’ve become nothing but a lazy couch potato when I’m not at work.  But I really do feel completely drained of energy most of the time, intimidated by the thought of running errands or being active.  At least my cleaning skills seem to be slowly returning, apart from the kitchen (which is its own beast).  Gabriel is very gracious and servant-hearted, for which I am extremely grateful, and helps tremendously with cooking and the dishes.  In fact, he has almost entirely taken on the role of cook and dishwasher, and has never complained.  He is wonderful.  I am blessed by the best husband I could ever have asked for.

Rekindled dreams
This may sound random, but it has really been on my heart for the last few days.  I have a strong desire to adopt children.  You might say I’m feeling this right now because of all the maternal hormones overpowering my system, but the desire was there before I ever got pregnant.  The passion has been rekindled by the stories of the amazing families I know that are demonstrating the Father’s love through adoption.  I’ve been reading their stories with tears and thanksgiving, longing to participate in this great Strategy. Most recently I’ve been touched by stories of both Loux families (whose heart for adoption is the greatest I’ve ever seen, demonstrated through their numerous adopted children), Tom & Donna Cole (who are raising money to adopt 2 babies from the Marshall Islands), and the Phillips family (I just read their journey to adopt their daughter from China).  I think this desire of mine stems partly from my burden/love for other nations, and I feel that to welcome a child into my heart would also more permanently knit my life together with the nation he or she was born in.  This is in addition to the overwhelming love of God toward those of us in His family, which I would love to overflow into the lives of the fatherless.  This is the true gospel.

That’s all for now.

Here’s my 10 week pooch:

Wishing you all a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!!!!

In a time when things seem bleak with the economy and life is super stressful for everyone…there is still so much to be thankful for…this is a good time to chill out, enjoy family, friends and reflect on the many blessings we have. We will be traveling this holiday, and I am super excited to meet our brand new nephew for the first time. This has been a rough week for me in many ways, so I too had to slow down and remind myself of the things I have to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!!

In einem alten Märchen wechselte ein Kaiser seine Kleider – eitel und selbstverliebt wie er war. Eines Tages lief er dann nackt durch sein Reich, überzeugt, er hätte das non-plus-ultra-Outfit.

Niemand aber sagte ihm, daß er entblößt sei,  alle bewunderten seine nicht vorhandenen Kleider.

Dank Forsa und den Wählern sieht es bei der SPD etwas anders aus und das Feedback auf den eben veranstalteten Erneuerungsparteitag fällt entsprechend aus: Das Projekt 18 ist voll in Gang und die Spezialdemokraten mittlerweile unter 20 % angelangt.

Es reicht eben nicht, nur neue Kleider anzuziehen, in diesem Fall das Führungspersonal auszuwechseln.

Statt Münterfering Größe S (small) hat sich die Partei nun Gabriel XXL angezogen. Statt Hubertus Heil XXL gibts nun Nahles -  fashionable and charming.

Ein gelungenes Face-Lifting, ja, vielleicht.  Mehr aber auch nicht.

Aufmerksamen Beobachtern der SPD-reloaded ist aber nicht entgangen, daß die SPD unter ihren Kleidern weiterhin inhaltlich nackt dahinwankt.

Es gibt bis heute keine inhaltliche Neubestimmung, allenfalls will man die Rente mit 67 modifizieren und etwas softer gestalten.  Zu Hartz 4 steht man irgendwie auch, wenn auch zähneknirschend. Und der selbsternannte Opppositionsführer und Ex-Kanzlerkandidat ist weiterhin virtueller Außenminister, sprich, er befindet sich im latenten Schockzustand und ist außen vor.

Zu den beginnenden Untaten der regierenden Schwarzgelben ist allenfalls leises Gemurre zu hören:

So iditotisch, wie es ist, Bildung in Kitas zu fördern und anschließend Eltern dafür zu bezahlen, daß sie diesen Kitas fernbleiben, wäre es eigentlich einfach, Stellung zu beziehen.

Mietern soll ein deutlich schlechteres Mietrecht (Kündigung auch für langjährige Mieter nach drei Monaten ) verpasst werden.

Die Hotel und Luxuslobby bekommt die Mehrwertsteuer nun 12% billiger.

Rentner bekommen Nullrunden.

Und der Etat des Außen-und Vetrteidigungsministers steigt um viele hundert Millionen, weil der Krieg in Afghanistan in noch größerem Umfang weitergeführt wird.

Aber:

Die SPD ist sprachlos, oder, um im Bild des “Kaisers mit den neuen Kleidern” zu bleiben, nackt.

Das Absacken in der Wählergunst unter die 20% ist die Quittung.

Denn niemand lässt sich nach 12 Jahren SPD-Mitregierung nur zwei neue Gesichter vorsetzen, da muss eine glaubwürdige inhaltliche Erneuerung stattfinden.

Und diese ist links, sozial, antimilitaristisch und ökologisch zu gestalten.

Liminality is a seldom used but much needed word. It comes from the Latin word limina, which means threshold.  The place of liminality is a crossover point, a threshold to step across, a door to go through. It involves the movement from one state of being to another- the movment from single life to marriage, for instance. That period of engagement is the threshold to marriage; steps have been taken away from being single toward marriage. The time of preparation, from the time that agreement is mutual to those moments before the marriage vows are completed, is liminal time.

Knock, knock

Who’s there? asks Mary

The Angel Gabriel.

The Angel Gabriel who?

OK, you know the rest; but what happens between Gabriel’s  *KnockKnock* and the acceptance of the Angel’s message by Mary, is liminal time. It is very much like the still point in dance- that moment when the dancer completes one movement and prepares, in stillness however briefly, for the next movement.

^{Luke 1: 28}And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

²⁹And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

(liminality, liminality, liminality, liminality, liminality, liminality)

³⁸And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.

“The Annunciation”, El Greco, about 1615

Mary had to agree for the contract being proposed by Gabriel, between her and God, to be completed; she had to take a step across the threshold. In doing so, she knew her life would never again be the same as it had been the day before. Liminal times demand decisions.

Our own liminal moments occur with incredible frequency. We are often moving across, through, and over thresholds that cause everything to become new. It’s not like we have to become pregnant with the Messiah, or even to get married for all things to become new (although both those things will do it!). We are often presented with opportunities (large and small) for education, for meetings with new people, the the chance to visit new places, or to participate in new experiences. All of those events are filled with liminal possibilities. But they are not all opportunities or chances that are easily entered into. Many are have curtains of fear- imagined and real- draped across them. People don’t go to school because they’re afraid they’ll run of money. People don’t get married because, “Who will take care of Mom and Dad?”  People will stay at mundane, mind-deadening jobs, because they dare not risk losing a guaranteed paycheck. The dance for them, stops. The still point becomes a period, the end of sentence that could have become a paragraph, even a chapter in an epic saga!

So in liminal fog, a suspended animation, so many/ too many people choose to be safe. They stay where they are, though unhappy; they refuse to look beyond the fence, because the grass over here is good enough; and they miss the mysterious smorgasbord of Life in favor of the already familiar meat loaf special.  They choose to miss being pregnant with Messiah. They choose to miss being part of all things becoming new.

*KnockKnock*

Jag har väl inte känt mig så oerhört inspirerad denna måndag men underbara rosor av Johan igår har hjälpt

Vi har familjebadat. 20 minuters jobb innan man kom i och ungefär 20 minuters städning efteråt för hela 3 härliga minuter i plurret. Sedan var Thea bara tvungen att se vad som hade hänt på “stora gården”.

Gabriel har hjälpt till att sortera tvätt

Sen blev det sovning och lite mer tv-tittande innan vi bakade “kakor med nötter” – Theas favorit eftersom smeten är så god.

Smeten var godare än kakorna faktiskt – tycker även jag.

]]>