This is the new age.

Touch orion you scottish mars bar, then then

I won’t wear my ring

[embed]http://www.heroesfanatic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/heroes-nbc-2.jpg[/embed]

This Thanksgiving week, General Motors has officially ceased production of it’s Pontiac brand of vehicles as a result of the bailout by the U.S. government.  Not only could the car maker not meet it’s financial obligations but, the fact is that the car’s brand no longer had the appeal it once did and sales were declining.

The last Pontiac G-8 rolled off the assembly line in Orion heading for a fleet order rather than a museum for posterity sake yesterday.  http://www.detnews.com/article/20091126/AUTO01/911260411/Pontiac-reaches-end-of-the-line/?imw=Y 

http://www.pontiac.com/ has the official closeout information on remaining vehicles for sale with deals as low as o% financing for six years or cash back offers up to $4,500.  As a wake up call to anyone buying a car, six years is an absurd amount of time to pay off a car, especially when the warranty ends before you pay it off.

With discount offers like this across most of GM’s product line up, how they are ever going to make money, get out of bankruptcy and away from government ownership is beyond any one’s guess. 

Besides the 1000’s of job losses at Pontiac plants, NUMMI the joint venture between  GM and Toyota venture looks to be shutting its doors as well. http://www.mercurynews.com/drive/ci_13766495 From the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment by state http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm is listed.  Like the climategate, how true these numbers are is any one’s guess.

I recall the 1978 Pontiac Bonneville that I learned to drive in.  What a tank, but it had the radio antennae built into the glass which was pretty cool.  In 1982 came the Firebird and was featured on the TV Show Knight Rider.  I never owned one, but a lot of my buddies did and it was a girl magnet.

Pontiac Fiero

In 1984,  my dad through a mid life crisis or whatever, found the Pontiac Fiero much more in the spirit of things.  What a car it was and far removed from anything on the market.  The damned things body was made of plastic!  We’ll some sort of poly-resin- that when a grocery cart hit it it bounced off with no damage.  With no USA steel to give it strength, on impact the car crumbled.  Luckily, we never crashed it but traded it it on something or another.  Might have been the Cadillac Sedan De Ville with the horrendous 4-6-8 valve engine- another GM disaster.

Our Fiero was hot red in color with every option known to man, including the fabulous sound system from Bose.  Nothing like Van Halen screaming at you at ten decibels while driving down the highway. A definite babe magnet of a car.  It made you want to live in the fast lane or at least drive in it.

Chief Pontiac, Ottawa Tribe

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa Tribe must be glad to know that the spirit of the Pontiac brand of vehicles will go on- in memory at least.  He was quoted as saying, 

According to a French chronicler, in a second council Pontiac proclaimed:

It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our lands this nation which seeks only to destroy us. You see as well as I that we can no longer supply our needs, as we have done from our brothers, the French…. Therefore, my brothers, we must all swear their destruction and wait no longer. Nothing prevents us; they are few in numbers, and we can accomplish it.   Peckham, Indian Uprising, 119–20; Dixon, Never Come to Peace, 109. via  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Pontiac#cite_note-8

It didn’t turn out so good for the Indians being forced to reservations, but in the long run some tribes are probably more financially stable than the U.S. government,  thanks to good fiscal policy and casino’s.

Ironically enough, the Pontiac Silverdome was sold this month for $583,000 USD to a Toronto, Canadadian businessman. Completed in 1975 as the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium, at a cost of $55.7 million, the Silverdome seats 80,311. It contains 102 luxury suites and 7,384 club seats. more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Silverdome

“While still not sure what he’ll ultimately do with the stadium, adjacent fieldhouse and 127 acres of land, Apostolopoulos said he’d like to return it to being a place that hosts football, soccer, hockey and basketball as well as concerts.  “People today like sports so we have to keep it for sports events,” he said. “Whatever they like, we’ll do.” But Apostolopoulos said the zoning does allow for the tearing down of the stadium and the building of houses, apartments or almost any other kind of construction.” http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/729769–toronto-developer-snaps-up-vacant-pontiac-silverdome

At less than $5000 USD an acre that was a good deal for any pilgrim. 

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I theres a nice contrast beween cold metal and warm leather, all seems to be done in in super high quality as you would expect from Hermès.  Normally these mash-ups of materials and styles end up cheap looking, but this has a very refined aesthetic.  What I would imagine if Rimowa and Hermès had a baby.  Class.

Created by Gabriele Pezzini, Hermès Design Director, this extremely ergonomic travelling companion has exceptional functional and aesthetic qualities. Its brushed anodised aluminium shell, the interior surface of which is reinforced with carbon and Kevlar, provide unparalleled resistance to wear and tear. The luggage is subtly highlighted with two natural cowhide handles – an unmistakable reference to the Hermès travel world. The bag’s technical allure elegantly contrasts with the sensuality of its interior, cased entirely in leather. Its two handles allow for it to be carried horizontally or vertically, whilst its multidirectional wheels make for incredible ease of use.

Hermès is certainly better known for their high quality standard than for innovation, which makes the Orion suitcase certainly stand out from their regular collection. It will be released as part of the Spring/Summer 2010 Collection.

More images of the suitcase follow after the jump.

via Hermès Spring/Summer 2010 Orion Suitcase | Highsnobiety.com.

From last night, I managed to get the files converted, loaded up and feed through the freeware program called startrails. It took a couple attempts to get something decent, a larger image my PC choked on a bit so I scaled it back since this was an experiment. Well, on my PC the smaller file looked pretty good, so I uploaded it up to youtube and got this:

Don’t look like youtube’s processing was kind to this experiment. I will have to see if I can remake the timelapse, or find a place where I can host better quality images.

620 // November 25, 2009

Here in the mountains, I can see the stars so much more clearly than down in the city. Aren’t they beautiful?

~Single~

GIRL NEXT DOOR – Orion

1. Orion

2. Toki no Shizuku

3. Drive away (GOGO’s Remix)

4. Orion (Instrumental)

I’m so glad this single is finally out because 1. I have wanted it to for a while and 2. I haven’t reviewed anything in quite a while, mostly because there hasn’t been anything coming out to review. Regardless, on with my review.

I was very pleased with “Orion” since piano and strings are the main instruments in this song. It’s a mid-paced winter ballad that has a lot to offer. I thought Chisa’s vocals were really great and on point and I really liked the guitar solo in the bridge. It’s a little short and I would have liked a slightly stronger emphasis on certain instruments but it’s a strong track overall.

“Toki no Shizuku” starts off pretty calm and sets the tone of the whole song, which at 7 minutes long makes it a bit of a bore. At some points it just feels like it should have ended somewhere and hasn’t yet. Forgetting about the length for a second, the song isn’t that bad as much as a bit unremarkable. It’s forgettable and sometimes Chisa’s vocals sound a bit odd.

The “GOGO’s Remix” of Drive away was a bit annoying and I couldn’t really listen to it. Although this is to be expected since I’m not a fan of traditional remixes.

Love Orion, Toki no Shizuku is a snooze fest and, oh… a remix…

Aquí os dejo el último single de GND. Orion es una balada preciosa. Por fin algo más distinto a todos los singles que han ido sacando este año x_x.

01 Orion
02 時の雫 (Toki no Shizuku)
03 Drive away (GOGO’s Remix)
04 Orion (Instrumental)

Descargar.

¡Comentar!

¡Comentar no lleva ni medio minuto!

AAAA!! Me encanta su nuevo single. Recomendado 100% ^^

トラックリスト

１．Orion
2. 時の雫  (Toki no Shizuku)
3. Drive away (GOGO’ｓREMIX)
４．Orion　（Instrumental Version)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XFQTQ2WP

Los scans tambien estan en el rar ^^

“The Augustine Commission for Dummies”

(Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Wrap Up.)

Given the intent of the politicians to fight for the funding their districts currently receive from the Constellation Program (CxP – the current program developing the Ares I and Ares V rockets) as well as go begging for more, and given the budget constraints the NASA faces, it is instructive to see where this course will end up. In the Senate, Richard Shelby has announced his intention to fight for Constellation and will try to increase funding to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida is fighting for Kennedy Space Center and all the jobs and funding there. In the House, Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and Pete Olson of Texas have dug in their heels and reiterated their backing of the Constellation program (See Space News, 21 November 2009).

All this is taking place against the backdrop of the Augustine Commission’s Final Report, which has made it clear that Ares I is over budget and underpowered. As Jeff Greason said at the Committee deliberations, if Santa Clause gave us Ares I and Ares V tomorrow, we would have to scrap them immediately because they would be too expensive to operate.

The Forum at NasaSpaceFlight has been for many years the authoritative site for information on all things NASA. It has been home to the rebel alliance of NASA and industry engineers that have advocated the in-line shuttle derived launch vehicle for the past four years.

The source of this concern was former Administrator Michael Griffin’s decision in 2005 to replace the dual-launch, in-line shuttle derived architecture recommended by NASA engineers, with his personal choice of a small Ares I and a very large Ares V. Instead of building one rocket using existing shuttle components as Congress had directed, he would build two brand new rockets. This decision came just two weeks before the scheduled release of the NASA document on the Constellation program.

Now, four years later in 2009, when the in-line shuttle derived launch vehicle should have been making its first flight, we are five or six years away from Ares I making its first flight. The Shuttle is scheduled for retirement next year and America will have to buy seats on the Russian Soyuz to get to the International Space Station. And the International Space Station is scheduled for de-commissioning in 2015 and would be de-orbited into the Pacific Ocean.

This reality gave birth to the Augustine Commission and its Final Report. We have covered in detail the findings of the Committee. Now we look to consider the possible outcomes.

Philip Metschan (writing as ‘Phoegh’), a long time contributor to the Forum at NasaSpaceFlight, has produced a marvelous interactive series of graphics available at directlauncher.com that illustrate the options identified by the Augustine Commission.

The Budget and Time Line for these options are given in the following table. Included are destinations beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) and the impact of each option on the existing workforce.

We can draw the following conclusions, which are illustrated in the Graphics mentioned earlier and shown below. We start with Option 1, the Program of Record (POR – Constellation) and the funding level provided in FY 2010:

• Option 1 – Ares I crew vehicle is ready a year after the ISS is de-orbited (2015) and Ares V is completed in 2028 with no funds to conduct exploration. There is no Moon in the picture.
• Option 2 – Scrap Ares I and substitute Commercial Crew Access to LEO. The money saved is used to keep the ISS operating until 2020. Ares V is completed in 2028 with no funds to conduct exploration. There is no Moon in the picture.
• Option 3 – Add $3 Billion per year to the existing program. Ares I crew vehicle is ready a year after the ISS is de-orbited (2015) and Ares V is completed in 2019. The Moon is reached in 2025, but no other destinations beyond LEO can be funded.
• Option 4 – Add $3 Billion per year to the existing program. Scrap Ares I and substitute Commercial Crew Access to LEO. The money saved is used to keep the ISS operating until 2020. Ares V is completed in 2023. The Moon is reached in 2030, but no other destinations beyond LEO can be funded.
• Option 4B – Add $3 Billion per year to the existing program. Extend the Shuttle to 2015. Scrap Ares I and substitute Commercial Crew Access to LEO. The money saved is used to keep the ISS operating until 2020. Ares V is completed in 2023. Develop the Propellant Depot by 2026. The Moon is reached in 2030.
• Option 5A – Add $3 Billion per year to the existing program. Scrap Ares I and substitute Commercial Crew Access to LEO. The money saved is used to keep the ISS operating until 2020. Scrap Ares V in favor of a smaller Ares V Lite, which is completed in 2023. Visit EML-1 or EML-2 in 2026. Visit a Near Earth Object (NEO) Sometime in the Future.
• Option 5B – Add $3 Billion per year to the existing program. Scrap Ares I and substitute Commercial Crew Access to LEO. The money saved is used to keep the ISS operating until 2020. Scrap Ares V in favor of a commercial heavy launch capability, which is completed in 2021. Develop the Propellant Depot by 2024. Visit a Near Earth Object (NEO) in 2026 and Phobos in 2028. Return to the Moon in 2029.
• Option 5C – Add $3 Billion per year to the existing program. Scrap Ares I and substitute Commercial Crew Access to LEO. The money saved is used to keep the ISS operating until 2020. Scrap Ares V in favor of a the Direct Team’s Jupiter 241, which is completed in 2022. Visit EML-1 or EML-2 in 2023. Develop the Propellant Depot by 2024. Visit a Near Earth Object (NEO) in 2027 and Phobos in 2029. Return to the Moon in 2030.

Those are the options explored by the Augustine Commission in their Final Report.

Notice, however, that there is one more slide, Option 5D. This is the architecture that was presented to the Augustine Commission during their first public session on 17 June 2009 by the Direct Team. It provides for:

• Add $1 Billion per year to the existing program.
• Extend Shuttle until 2012.
• Scrap Ares I and develop the Jupiter Core (Jupiter 130) for carrying crew on Orion to LEO and ISS by 2014.
• Develop Commercial Crew Access to LEO to replace the Jupiter 130 by 2015. Use Jupiter 130 for ferrying the few large payloads needed by ISS.
• Continue ISS operations until 2020.
• Scrap Ares V in favor of the Upper Stage for the Jupiter Core (Jupiter 241 or Jupiter 246), which is completed in 2017.
• Visit EML-1 or EML-2 in 2018.
• Orbit the Moon in 2019.
• Visit a Near Earth Object (NEO) in 2022.
• Visit Phobos in 2025.
• Develop the Propellant Depot by 2028.

The key here is that the goal of expansion of human civilization into the Solar System is better served, is accomplished sooner, and costs less. Indeed, even without the additional $1 Billion per year, only the extension of the Shuttle operation need be eliminated.

Final Conclusions

• Options 1, 2 and 3, which are favored by the politicians with space flight facilities, get us nowhere and cost far too much.
• Options 4 and 4B get us to the Moon, but neither builds infrastructure for support of future exploration.
• Options 5A, 5B and 5C builds the skills and infrastructure for space exploration, but leave us a crew to LEO gap of five to six years.
• Option 5D builds the skills and infrastructure for space exploration, reduces the crew to LEO gap to one or two years, and gives the international community the ability to descend to the surface of the Moon and Mars.

Time is of the Essence

Finally, this note about the political realities. First, if a decision is delayed for four to six months while the politicians fight for every last bit of funding they want, the infrastructure on which the Jupiter program builds will be dismantled and Options 4B, 5C and 5D will be eliminated.

Second, Congress will likely decide that the Constellation program as currently envisioned is too costly for what will be developed and not worth throwing more money down the drain. Options 1, 2, 3, 4B and 5A will be eliminated.

Thus, only commercial crew and cargo capabilities will be funded. NASA will be reduced to research and contracting for services. The Marshall Space Flight Facility will have little purpose. And the politicians will lose most of the jobs and funding that their districts currently enjoy.

(Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Wrap Up.)

My oldest son Orion evokes so much emotion from me. He can make me laugh, he can make me cry, he can make me see red. He is an entertainer. He is passionate about what he believes in. He is musically talented. He is smart. He never turns his work in on time. He has very stinky feet. He loves and cares for his brother and sister. He loves to read. He is secretly sensitive. He is a people pleaser (except his parents). He knows a lot, but doesn’t know it all. He has a “unique” sense of style. His teeth are crooked, even after braces. His teachers love him, but he talks to much. He drives me crazy. I love him.

(Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Wrap Up.)

In Part 1, we looked at the pieces strewn about our living room floor. In Part 2, we examined the Goals and Destinations in Chapter 3.0. And in Part 3, the three current Human Space Flight programs were reviewed (International Space Station, the Space Shuttle and the Constellation Program). In Part 4, we looked at the launch vehicles examined by The Augustine Commission.

Chapter 6 of the Augustine Commission Final Report deals with Program Options and Evaluation. This is one of the many contentious issues commentators have with the Commission. While they did select five possible exploration programs (Chapter 6), and while they did evaluate various launch vehicles (Chapter 5), the Committee seems to have ignored the possibility that different launch vehicles have greater or lesser ability to cover the five exploration programs. This failure may in the end, prove to be disastrous for human space exploration. As we write, the Space Shuttle infrastructure is being actively dismantled. The end result of failing to evaluate the physical infrastructure and the human infrastructure capable of supporting a Shuttle derived architecture may be that the United States is left with no heavy lift human space flight capability for at least the next several decades. We may have surrendered our space faring capability to Europe, China, Russia, India and Japan.

6.1 Evaluation Criteria

As noted by the Commission:

The Committee did not intend that the evaluation would generate a single numerical score; rather, it would provide a basis for comparison across options, highlighting the opportunities and challenges associated with each. Assigning weights to individual figures of merit is within the purview of the ultimate decision-makers.

Three primary evaluation dimensions were identified:

• Benefits to Stakeholders
• Risk
• Budget Realities

These three dimensions were expanded into 12 criteria for comparing the options.

• Exploration Preparation
• Technology Innovation
• Science Knowledge
• Expanding and Protecting Human Civilization
• Economic Expansion
• Global Partnerships
• Public Engagement
• Schedule and Programmatic Risk
• Mission Safety Challenges
• Workforce Impact
• Programmatic Sustainability
• Life-Cycle Cost

6.2 Key Decisions and Integrated Options

6.2.1 Key Decisions

1. What should be the future of the Space Shuttle?
2. What should be the future of the International Space Station (ISS)?
3. On what should the next heavy-lift launch vehicle be based?
4. How should crews be carried to low-Earth orbit?
5. What is the most practicable strategy for exploration beyond low-Earth orbit?

6.2.2 Integrated Options

The Committee identified five basic options: One based on the Program of Record (POR – Constellation – Ares I and V, Orion and Altair), and four alternatives. Options 2 and 3 were budget compatable alternatives to the POR. Option 4 was a Moon First program (with two variations), and Option 5 was the Flexible Path (avoiding the gravity well of the Moon).

6.2.3 Methodology for Analyzing the Integrated Options

Two budgets were used. The “Constrained Budget” used the FY 2010 budget, while the “Less Constrained Budget” allowed for an increase by 2014 of $3 Billion per year higher than FY 2010.

6.2.4 Reference Cases of the Entirely Unconstrained Program of Record

The Program of Record was evaluated and found to be a total of $45 Billion over the FY 2010 budget by 2020, wherein it is $5 Billion a year over FY 2010 in 2016 and $7 Billion per year over FY 2010 in 2019.

6.3 Integrated Options Constrained to the FY 2010 Budget

6.3.1 Evaluation of Integrated Options 1 and 2

Option 1 was found to allow for rocket development, but lacked funds for exploration. Option 2 extends the lifetime of the ISS, delays rocket development, and has no funds for exploration.

6.3.2 Examination of alternate budget guidance

The Committee found no alternatives to Options 1 or 2 that were viable under the FY 2010 budget. This conclusion has been disputed.

6.4 Moon First Integrated Options Fit to the Less-Constrained Budget

6.4.1 Evaluation of Integrated Options 3 and 4

Option 3 was to execute the POR under a less constrained budget. The ISS is de-orbited in 2010, and the Shuttle flies the remaining missions into 2011. Human lunar return occurs in the mid 2020s and the lunar base becomes operation late in the decade. An alternate extending ISS to 2020 was found to push these dates out by three to four more years.

Option 4 uses the less constrained budget, scraps Ares I and substitutes commercial crew services by 2016 It extends the ISS to 2020. Ares V is scrapped in favor of a dual-launch Ares V Lite vehicle for lunar missions.

Option 4A retires the Shuttle in 2011, while Option 4B extends the Shuttle to 2015 and develops a Shuttle Derived Heavy Lift vehicle in place of Ares V Lite.

6.4.2 Examination of the key decision on the ISS extension

Given the International Partnerships that have been developed, and the fact that the extension to 2020 would only delay the lunar return by a few years, the Committee found that the extension provides greater value than ending the ISS mission.

6.4.3 Examination of the key decision on Ares V vs. Ares V Lite dual launch

Baseline Ares V has more launch capability than the Saturn V, but current NASA studies show that when used in combination with Ares I, it does not have enough launch capability to robustly deliver the currently planned landing and surface systems to the Moon.

The Committee concluded that Ares V Lite represents less development risk, likely will reduce costs and provides more substantial margin for the lunar mission.

6.4.4 Examination of the key decision on the provision of crew transport to low-Earth orbit

Commercial crew services, based on a high-reliability rocket with a capsule and launch escape system could significantly reduce development costs, as well as lower operating costs.

6.4.5 Examination of the key question on Shuttle extension

The Committee favored early retirement of the Shuttle (2010 or 2011), although they noted several advantages to Shuttle extension to 2015, including up-mass and down-mass capability and workforce retention.

6.5 Flexible Path Integrated Options Fit to the Less-Constrained Budget

6.5.1 Evaluation of Integrated Option 5

Option 5 operates the Shuttle into 2011 and extends the International Space Station mission until 2020. A variety of destinations beyond low earth orbit are possible. The Committee developed three variants of this option.

• Option 5A develops the Ares V Lite, visits the Lagrange points, near Earth objects, on-orbit refueling and achieves a lunar return by the end of the 2020s.
• Option 5B develops commercial heavy lift capability, restructures NASA, and follows a similar mission profile as 5A, but on a slower time line.
• Option 5C scraps Ares V Lite and develops a Shuttle Derived Heavy Lift vehicle. 5C follows a similar mission profile as 5A, but on a slower time line.

6.5.2 Examination of the key question on Ares V family vs. Shuttle-derived heavy launcher

While the Shuttle derived in-line launch vehicle (SDLV) with two four-segment solid rocket motors (SRM) and the 8.4 meter external tank (ET) was the 2005 ESAS candidate for the cargo vehicle, it was forced to evolve into the Ares V due to the problems encountered with the underpowered Ares I. For some reason, the Committee decided that in order to match the capabilities of the Ares V, or the Ares V Lite dual-launch mission, that there had to be three SDLV launches. Therefore, operations would be more costly.

This is a clear Committee miss, as the current planned lunar return missions can be accomplished with good margin by a dual-launch SDLV program, thus costing less than the Ares V Lite. There is no need for the enhanced capabilities of the dual-launch Ares V Lite.

6.5.3 Examination of the key question on NASA heritage vs. EELV-heritage super-heavy vehicles

The Committee considers the EELV-heritage super-heavy vehicle to be a way to significantly reduce the operating cost of the heavy lifter to NASA in the long run. It would be a less-capable vehicle, but probably sufficiently capable for the mission. Reaping the long-term cost benefits would require substantial disruption in NASA, and force the agency to adopt a new way of doing business.

6.6 Comparisons Across Integrated Options

6.6.1 Cross-option comparisons

The Flexible Path program (Option 5A) scores more highly than the Baseline (Option 3) on 9 of the 12 criteria outlined in section 6.1 ( See figure 6.6.1-1). The higher rankings include:

• Exploration Preparation (due to much more capable launch system)
• Technology (due to investment in technology)
• Science (because of more places visited)
• Human Civilization (due to the ISS extension)
• Economic Expansion (because of commercial involvement in space elements and crew transport)
• Global Partnerships (gained by extending the ISS)
• Public Engagement (by visiting more new locations, and doing so each year)
• Schedule (exploring beyond low-Earth orbit sooner)
• Life-Cycle Costs (due to commercial crew services)

6.6.2 Examination of the key question on exploration strategy

Three exploration strategies were examined in Chapter 3. The choice of Mars First was found not to be viable due to technological problems. Two strategies remained:

• Moon First on the Way to Mars, with surface exploration focused on developing capability for Mars.
• Flexible Path to Mars via the inner solar system objects and locations, with no immediate plan for surface exploration, then followed by exploration of the lunar and/or Martian surface.

The Moon first is favorable to lunar science and exploration (although much can be done robotically). The Flexible Path missions explore more of the Solar System, while initially doing less on the Moon. Flexible Path has the advantage of developing infrastructure for deep space exploration, including the moons of Mars and Mars itself. The Committe notes that:

Considering that we have visited and obtained samples from the Moon, but not near-Earth objects or Mars, and also that the Flexible Path develops the ability to service space observatories, the Science Knowledge criterion slightly favors the Flexible Path. Broadly, the more complex the environment, the more astronaut explorers are favored over robotic exploration. In practice, this means that astronauts will offer their greatest value-added in the exploration of the surface of Mars.

Final Scoring

Although the Augustine Commission did not publish a final tally of the scores (for reasons they made clear), the following table does compare and tabulate the scores.

Option 5D: We will have more to say about this proposal in our final segment: “Wrapped Up” or “The Augustine Commission for Dummies”.

(Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Wrap Up.)

En natt i Stockholm för över ett halv år sedan slutar jag snusa och jag kommer antagligen aldrig behöva göra det igen det men nu sitter jag där på balkongen med en cocktail av föräldralösa känslor i bröstet och röker en cigarett.

blåser rök på orion och tänker att det är inte så dumt för någon som för två år sedan inte såg ut att överleva decenniet.

men vad folk än säger om ensamhet så är den ensam. och det finns säkert både metoder och taktiker för sånt där men hur återhämtar man sig från en dödsstöt?

jag börjar misstänka att jag aldrig kommer att lista ut det.

och nikotinet och universum blåser liv i en känsla som virvlat in i min puls med hösten, som löven i vinden på trottoaren i morse när jag satt på en trappa och väntade på en anledning att gå därifrån, och jag längtar baklänges in i ett hjärta jag aldrig förtjänade igen.

och om du inte var där skulle du få se en kreativ dåre som brann som en fackla i nyårsnatten av efterklokhet på sin balkong och alla Öresundståg på väg hit eller dit, om inte bara jag var här om inte du var där…

panoramavyer i min navel, grön starr i mina ögon.

och störst av allt är kärleken, säger jag till mig själv och låter precis som man ska låta när man tror att man lärt sig av sina misstag och jag kan inte hjälpa att det har sagts förut för det är precis så jag känner.

Jag önskar att inte allt bara vore en oändlig slump.

Si m-am dus de pe cer

intr-o gaura neagra

in care pierdeam incet

si iubire

si fericirea

din visul sau viata

ce-mi parea c-am trait ieri.

In stralucirea unui quasar.

Si m-am dus de pe cer

o  data cu Lira si Orion

m-am dus de pe cer

sa caut infinitul din mine

vai, suflete, ce gol spiritual

te cheama sa-l gasesti……..

Dar, Doamne, la sfarsitul noptii

stelele unde se odihnesc ?

Após terem lançado o super single “Be your wings / FRIENDSHIP / Wait for you”, ocupando a quarta posição no oricon com 22,801 mil cópias vendidas em sua primeira semana, o trio GIRL NEXT DOOR lançará mais um single para o dia 25 de novembro, intitulado “Orion”.

A banda que recentemente se apresentou no a-nation 09 deste ano, confiram a performance do GIRL NEXT DOOR com a música “Be your wings”.

“Orion”, o sétimo single da banda, está sendo usada atualmente como música tema do dorama “Untouchable (アンタッチャブル)”, protagonizado pela atriz Yukie Nakama que faz o papel de uma repórter chamada Narumi Ryoko (dorama que estreiou em 16 de outubro pela TV Asahi).

Confiram o site oficial de Untouchable onde tem um trailer  tocando a música “Orion”.

Versão Regular CD

Versão Limitada CD+DVD

CD Tracklist

1. Orion
2. Toki no Shizuku (時の雫; Drops of Time)
3. Drive away (GOGO’s Remix)
4. Orion (Instrumental)

DVD Tracklist

1. Orion <MUSIC VIDEO Monochrome Version>

Fonte: JpopStop

Créditos: Jstation

As most people have been wise enough to notice in recent times (based on the time displayed alongside my  notes) , I am a nocturnal creature. The night does something for me which, despite its beauty, the crack of dawn has never been able to accomplish.

I have read innumerable reports about the damage we do to our bodies by flouting this basic law of nature, and I am trying to rectify my messed up cycle. But if I were to objectify this matter in isolation, I reiterate, night-time wins hands-down!

I just walked out of my room sometime back to get some water from the cooler, and was very surprised to see such a clear sky. Add to that Pune’s amazing weather conditions. Total bliss!

The night-sky beckons me like the cliched moth-to-a-fire. I remember being fascinated with it from the time I was a child. The countless books and pamphlets on Astronomy in my possession, the repeated trips to the Planetarium and Space Theatre at Science City (even to this day—.a fact that elicits both mirth and sarcasm from many of my friends), childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut scrawled over many-a slam book in school, the glow-in-the-dark galaxy stickers stuck to the wall in my room even now —- all bear testimony to my love for the darkness that is infinite space. I love to look at the stars chalking out shapes in the sky. Tonight was especially clear. Orion is usually the first thing I spot in the sky. And then Canis Major. Owing to a screwed-up sense of direction < it’s all part of the evolutionary process> I believed Canis Major to be Taurus for quite some time. No amount of persuasion by friends could penetrate by bull-headedness. But a close examination of a star chart revealed to me that what I had considered to be my zodiac up in the sky was actually something else. I now know that Taurus is on exactly the opposite side of Orion. And it’s not half as impressive as what I’d mistaken it for earlier.

The constellation that takes my breath away though, is Scorpio <Surprising that it should be that way >. There’s something magical about it. One can just see the magnificent tail curling up, the pincers forming perfect arcs, and the sheer ENORMITY of the constellation!! Unfortunately, its direction and rising time in the night-sky make it very difficult to spot. I have just been able to see the beauty that it it is only 5 times in my life so far. And I cherished it every time I did manage to set my eyes on it. That’s probably what makes it even more magical—-it’s elusiveness, that shrouds it in mystery. Quite like the real Scorpion !

image from facebook group

Wanna hear the newest track from the Japanese trio Girl Next Door? Avex has released a teaser video showing over 2 minutes of the “Orion” single and tacking on part of the Infinity single to the end of the video. Why? I don’t know, because Orion is a beautiful song and the company should just promote the whole single by showing the whole video.

Anyway, Orion comes out on Nov 25th, 2009 and contains 3 new songs and a 4th instrumental track. Preorder it at yesasia.com

You can learn more about Girl Next Door and their catchy j-pop music by visiting their official website. Check out most of Orion in the video below:

<via avex network youtube page>

escrito por Manuel José Delgado

Egipto fue, es y será siempre fuente inagotable de sorpresas. Pero lo más asombroso es que sus conquistas intelectuales y sus logros tecnológicos no aparecieron por una evolución social, sino que de la noche a la mañana surgió de la nada una cultura sorprendente, en donde se desarrollaron técnicas tan asombrosas que posteriormente no pudieron igualarse. El conocimiento preciso de la astronomía, las obras de ingeniería para mover y colocar millones de grandes monolitos de piedra, los instrumentos de óptica y mensuración necesarias para ello y que nunca han aparecido, la forma de entender la farmacopea, la medicina y la biología, las herramientas para taladrar y cortar piedras de dureza extraordinaria… Todo ello se realizó en el Egipto temprano, por aquellos primeros colonos de las riberas del Nilo, con una precisión que luego fue olvidada. Parece que sus mayores logros tecnológicos provienen del periodo predinástico, como si la civilización faraónica fuese la heredera o bien de otra anterior cultura o bien de los argumentos recibidos por contacto directo con los mismos dioses. Y no unos dioses abstractos, sino de presencia tan evidente que no pueden obviarse a la hora de valorar los misterios de Egipto.

Los eslabones perdidos del Antiguo Egipto

A Herodoto le comentaron los sacerdotes que el tiempo transcurrido desde el comienzo de la civilización faraónica hasta aquellos días (490/431 a.C) era de, exactamente, 11.340 años. Estos once milenios son un periodo excesivamente largo como para ser admitido por los historiadores oficiales y nos sumerge en un momento oscuro de una Historia aún no reconocida ni escrita, en donde Egipto fue el escenario en donde, según afirma, habitaron los dioses. En su Historias, libro II, escribe: “…Aún no habían aparecido los dioses en el pasado de Egipto, pero el Sol se había levantado cuatro veces en el cielo desde puntos distintos del actual, y dos veces había salido por donde ahora se pone, y se había puesto por donde ahora sale…”

Techo de la tumba de Senenmut, donde aparece nuestro sistema solar, están cambiados el este con el oeste debido a un cambio de eje, un vuelco del planeta

Este texto de Herodoto nos indica varias cosas. En primer lugar el desconcertante conocimiento de los sacerdotes egipcios sobre la existencia de los cuatro grandes cataclismos que ha sufrido nuestro planeta en los últimos 600.000 años y que han sido refrendados por los estudios del investigador Juan Bonet, recogidos en su libro “El Vuelco de la Tierra”. El último de ellos, acontecido alrededor de hace 13000 años, produjo el fin de la Cuarta Glaciación y es el argumento que utilizan algunos autores para justificar el hundimiento de la Atlántida, la huída de sus últimos moradores y su nuevo establecimiento en el valle del Nilo en fechas aproximadas con el inicio de la cultura egipcia mencionada por los sacerdotes. Pero en segundo lugar Herodoto escribe que posteriormente a esos cataclismos, o sea, después de hace 12000 años, aparecen los dioses. Este relato ha despertado la curiosidad de muchos estudiosos que, simplificando, han tomado dos líneas de investigación para justificar de quién heredaron los egipcios su saber y parte de sus monumentos. Por un lado los seguidores de la teoría atlante y, por otro, los que promulgan la hipótesis de la llegada a nuestro planeta de seres provenientes del espacio. Estos últimos manifiestan que si la Atlántida hubiera tenido la tecnología suficiente, no tendrían que haber esperado 7000 años para que Egipto se desarrollara como conocemos. Por ello aseguran que la prácticamente instantánea aparición en Egipto de una cultura tecnológicamente anacrónica sólo pudo ser consecuencia de un contacto puntual con seres extraterrestres. Aunque, quizás, sólo considerando ambas hipótesis a la vez, podrían tener respuestas todas las preguntasplanteadas.

Adoración estelar, tempo de Abydos

El mestizaje cósmico-terrenal, recurrente en todos los textos sagrados de las principales religiones, tiene en Egipto toda suerte de connotaciones. Aparte de las leyendas y tradiciones, los monumentos que han quedado apuntan a una dirección del firmamento muy definida que señala el hipotético camino que recorrieron los viajeros extraterrestres en su venida.

Papiro con posiciones de estrellas y planetas. Museo de El Cairo

Como es arriba es abajo

El hecho diferenciador de la religión egipcia con otras religiones es que podemos definirla como la única que conoce el lugar de dónde provienen sus dioses, así como el destino interestelar al que irán sus almas después de la muerte. Este dato resulta altamente importante porque cuando Jesucristo asciende a los cielos no señala a qué planeta, sistema solar o constelación se dirige. Cuando se reza el padrenuestro se dice que el Padre está en el cielo, pero sin precisar en cual de las millones de galaxias que existen. En cambio los egipcios lo tenían muy claro: su más allá estaba en la Duat, la porción de firmamento donde se encuentran las constelaciones de El Cazador (Orión) y El Perro (Can Mayor).

Órbita de Sirio

Toda la cultura egipcia se basó en el principio de “como es arriba es abajo”, reflejado en el libro del dios Toth, foto Toht del que sólo quedan referencias, y que posiblemente, según algunos especialistas, fue la fuente de inspiración de La Tabla Esmeralda del mismo dios helenizado como Hermes Trimegistro. Pero este concepto no fue sólo virtual, sino que existen pistas suficientes como para considerar si todo lo desarrollado en el país del Nilo, incluso su propia orografía, serían la concreción en nuestro planeta de un diseño elaborado por aquellos dioses viajeros. Tanto las fotografías del África oriental, que pueden observarse en la página web de la NASA, así como los estudios de Andrew Tomas, permiten barajar la hipótesis de que el Nilo no es un río natural, sino que es un canal joven, realizado artificialmente para que el agua siguiera el curso actual. Dicha perturbación orográfica explicaría la desertización del Sahara, y las cuencas de los ríos que antaño recorrieron el centro del continente y que aparecen hoy completamente secos. Con esta obra de ingeniería habrían conseguido que el río reflejara en la tierra la vía láctea que recorre el cielo. Con este planteamiento, al quedar todas las estrellas que componen la Duat a un lado de la Vía Láctea, construyeron en la orilla occidental del Nilo las monumentales pirámides, que servirían para señalar en nuestro suelo la posición de las estrellas. Con ello las estrellas que componen la constelación de El Cazador quedaron representadas en Egipto, correspondiendo las tres estrellas del cinturón de Orión: Al Nitak, Al Nitam y Mintaka, con las tres grandes pirámides de la meseta de Giza, como desarrolló Robert Bauval en su conocida obra El Misterio de Orión.

Correlación de las pirámides de Giza con la constelación de Orión (Robert Bauval)

Las pirámides de los dioses

El reflejo no quedó únicamente valorado en la representación monumental de los astros, sino que desde entonces se consideró a la orilla occidental del Nilo como el lugar de los antepasados, de la vida del más allá; mientras que la orilla oriental quedó reservada a las ceremonias relacionadas con esta existencia.

La tecnología aplicada en la desviación de las aguas para crear el cauce del actual Nilo no resulta de mayor envergadura que otros restos arqueológicos distribuidos a lo largo de Egipto cuyo origen está en entredicho. De ser los visitantes del espacio los autores de obras como las pirámides de Giza, la Esfinge y su templo, el Osirión

Imposibles bloques de granito del Osirión de Abydos

o el Serapeum, los egipcios tan sólo serían los propietarios en usufructo de un legado remoto. Sólo así se entiende que la meseta de Giza, el balcón natural y majestuoso del delta, fuese respetada durante las tres primeras dinastías. Ninguna tumba, templo o pirámide fue elevada en el lugar más prominente del bajo Nilo, para que los faraones Keops, Kefrén y Micerinos se encontraran con esa milla de oro completamente virgen para edificar sus monumentos. ¿No será más cierto que las pirámides de Giza ya estaban edificadas muchos miles de años antes y que estos faraones sólo fueran usurpadores? No hay que olvidar que en la estela del inventario, del Museo de El Cairo, Keops afirma que la gran pirámide, el templo de Isis, era un monumento de sus antepasados.

Cortes con radial en la meseta de Giza

De ser esta hipótesis cierta en Egipto existirían dos tipos de pirámides, las anteriores a los faraones (usurpadas por la IV Dinastía) y las que construyeron los egipcios para intentar emular las construidas por los dioses. Imhotep, arquitecto del rey Zoser, construyó en Saqqara la primera pirámide “humana” siendo, como las otras 100 que se distribuyen a lo largo del bajo Egipto, una chapucera imitación de las primeras. Resulta que la evolución arquitectónica para construir pirámides no explica que 50 años antes de construir las pirámides de Giza los egipcios no sabían construir pirámides perfectas, y que 20 años después de la IV Dinastía se les olvidó, quedando los monumentos de Giza como una isla de anacrónica tecnología dentro de la cultura faraónica. A tal respecto conviene comparar las pirámides de la III Dinastía con las pirámides de V Dinastía, para comprobar que ambas tienen el mismo patrón de pirámides escalonadas, no ofreciendo problema de ingeniería alguno y correspondiéndose con las herramientas que encontramos del Imperio Antiguo en el Museo de El Cairo. Pero, ¿y las pirámides de Giza?. No existen en los museos máquinas que pudieran con la envergadura de su construcción. ¿Quién las construyó?

Pirámide escalonada en Abusyr, de la V Dinastía, similar a las construidas durante la III Dinastía, ¿dónde está la evolución?

La tecnología se enfrenta a la Historia

Aseguran los estudiosos del mapa de Piri Reis foto piri reis que el dibujo de las tierras que representa se corresponden con la observación de nuestro planeta desde una altura de 10.000 metros en la vertical de El Cairo. Tan raro sería admitir esta aseveración como plantearse que las pirámides de Giza, Dashur y Abu Roash configuran en el desierto un mapa galáctico donde cada pirámide señala la posición de una estrella. Y sin embargo es verdad. Catorce millones de metros cúbicos de piedra, colocados para desarrollar ese increíble mapa, son una buena

Seres observando un disco solar, tumba de Ramsés VI

pista a tener en cuenta para plantearse si unos seres provenientes del espacio tuvieran algo que ver con ello, porque, indudablemente, son muchos millones de bloques para una cultura de la Edad de Piedra que desconocían el hierro o la rueda. Esa visita y el contacto que tuvieron con los oriundos moradores de las riberas del Nilo, sirvió de trampolín para que una cultura de la Edad de Piedra se convirtiera de la noche a la mañana en la civilización más importante de la Antigüedad, cuyo conocimiento, heredado de esos dioses, todavía nos cuesta imaginar.

La Gran Esfinge de Giza

Un monumento controvertido que podría demostrar tanto la antigüedad de aquel período de contacto, como los artífices celestiales que la construyeron es la gran esfinge de Giza. Robert Cuando todos hemos contemplado este monumento hemos podido apreciar lo que tantas veces vimos en documentales o libros: un enorme cuerpo de león tumbado conuna cabeza humana. Indudablemente la cabeza, de proporciones más pequeñas que el cuerpo, corresponde al tallado posterior de la cabeza original. Pero lo más interesante es la pista seguida por Robert Temple para valorar si, efectivamente, el cuerpo es el de un león, como todos suponemos por la gran cantidad de veces que lo hemos oído. Temple se pregunta dónde está el prominente pecho que los egipcios esculpían en todas las estatuas de leones. Tampoco aparecen las elevaciones del animal en los cuartos traseros, cuyas piernas dobladas debían sobresalir del cuerpo. También echa de menos el penacho de pelo del final de la cola. Es decir, para Temple el animal representado en la esfinge no es un león sino un perro, y que se corresponde con la representación egipcia del dios Anubis, el dios apropiado para vigilar y proteger la meseta. Este asunto no es baladí, ya que este simple cambio de conceptos nos invita de lleno a conocer a los verdaderos artífices originales de la obra.

Tribu de los dogones, en Mali

La esfinge no es un monumento construido sino excavado. El terreno pétreo fue desalojado convenientemente para que al final emergiera el cuerpo del animal dentro del foso de la roca madre. En las paredes de este foso se aprecia la erosión acuática producida por la lluvia en un periodo húmedo anterior a que Egipto se desertizara, fecha que debe ser más antigua de los 10000 años. Y si la IV Dinastía no llega a los 5000 años de antigüedad, ¿quién la construyó?.

La tribu de los dogones de Mali y los antiguos egipcios hablaban de unos dioses procedentes del sistema de Sirio, y los asirios y babilonios afirmaban que provenía de los cielos. Tanto los dogones como los babilonios

Gran Esfinge de Giza

abundaban sus informaciones con la afirmación de que la naturaleza de los viajeros era anfibia. Con este dato Robert Temple formuló una teoría interesante sobre la relación entre la Esfinge de Giza y el medio acuático de dichos seres.

En el interior de la meseta de Giza existen grandes cantidades de agua. Algunas tumbas profundas, como la llamada tumba de Osiris, cerca de la calzada de Kefrén, están anegadas. Ya Herodoto mencionó, hablando sobre la tumba de Keops, que “…las cámaras subterráneas en la colina sobre la que se encuentran las pirámides, pretendía el faraón que fuesen sepulcros para él mismo, y las cincundó de agua, practicando un canal desde el Nilo”.

Temple baraja la posibilidad de que el promontorio formado por la

Ser con escafandra y tubo, tumba de Ramsés IX en el Valle de los Reyes

excavación de la Esfinge pudiera ser la colina de la que habla Herodoto, y que los huecos que se han descubierto bajo ella fuesen las cámaras subterráneas utilizadas por Keops para su descanso eterno. Actualmente, en obras para descubrir el malecón donde las barcas se estacionaban frente a la puerta del templo de la Esfinge, ha surgido agua, quedando dicho terreno inundado.  Con todo ello Temple afirma que el foso que rodea al monumento estuvo antiguamente

relleno de agua (lo que habría producido la erosión de la roca) así como las cámaras de su subsuelo, lo que configuraba un excelente habitáculo para seres anfibios y un terreno prohibido para los saqueadores de tumbas desprovistos de escafandras…

Los inmigrantes de Sirio

El astroarqueólogo ruso Vladimir Rubtsov afirmaba que la palabra con la

Foto ser gravitando en el espacio alrededor de un astro rojo: Sirio, tumba de Ramsés III

que los antiguos iraníes se referían a Sirio era Tistrya, palabra que proviene del sánscrito Tri-Stri, y que significa tres estrellas. Es decir, que el conocimiento de que Sirio es un sistema estelar triple fue ampliamente conocido por todas las culturas de nuestro más remoto pasado. Al no ser apreciable desde nuestro planeta, ¿quién difundió semejante información?  El Sol y Sirio salen por el mismo punto del horizonte, por lo que muchos templos están orientados a dicha dirección.  Como el orto  solar de Sirio se retrasaba cuatro días cada año, ambos astros

volvían a coincidir en el mismo punto 365 x 4 = 1460 años. Esto ocasionó la confección de un calendario paralelo, conocido como calendario sóthico que se remonta enel Antiguo Egipto para marcar acontecimientos que sucedieron 43 siglos s.C. ¿Cuándo, pues, hicieron ‚ éstos sus observaciones de Sirio para establecer su calendario? ¿Acaso fue este un conocimiento llegado por los mismos dioses de los Dogones y una nueva pista sobre su origen?

Salida del sol en el solsticio invierno por la avenida principal de Karnak

Las tradiciones culturales de las tribus que pueblan el valle del Niger, especialmente la tribu de los dogones de Mali, nos cuentan leyendas sobre astronautas que en el pasado remoto llegaron de Sirio. Su dato diferenciador es que incluidos en esos mitos se esconden asombrosos datos astronómicos de sorprendente veracidad. Los dogones, así como los egipcios, conocían que el Sirio era un sistema triple formado por tres estrellas, y que Sirio B orbita alrededor de Sirio A en un movimiento que dura 50 años. La precisión de esta afirmación, corroborada por la ciencia astronómica, no tiene explicación racional. Y sorprende más aún cuando los dogones afirman que ese conocimiento fue transmitido hacía miles de años por los dioses instructores que llegaron a nuestro planeta.

Fue en 1931 cuando el antropólogo francés Marcel Griaule visitó por primera vez a esta tribu, recogiendo y publicando todas las informaciones

Los dioses de los dogones de Mali

que le suministraron. Porque no sólo conocían, desde hace milenios, perfectamente el sistema de Sirio, sino que tenían constancia asimismo los anillos de Saturno o las cuatro lunas galileas de Júpiter, y todos ellos astros no visibles al ojo humano sin la utilización de telescopios. Por aquella época nuestra astronomía desconocía que Sirio fuese un sistema triple, ya que fue tan sólo en 1995 cuando los astrónomos franceses Daniel Benest y J.L. Duvent publicaron en la revista Astronomy and Astrophysics el descubrimiento de Sirio C por una perturbación observada en las órbitas de Sirio A y B.

Robert Temple un lingüista norteamericano miembro de la Royal Astronomical Society británica y afincado en Londres, publicó un osado libro que tituló El Misterio de Sirio, en el que aventuró que Nommo fue un extraterrestre que dejó en la Tierra, hace entre siete y diez mil años, toda clase de pistas sobre su origen estelar. “Cualquier otra interpretación de las citadas pruebas no tendría sentido, concluyó Temple.

Robert Temple

Este conocimiento se ampliaba a otras tribus vecinas como los Bambara, los Bozo de Segu y los Miniaka de Kutiala, que compartían iguales informaciones sobre  Sirio, que además conformaban la esencia de su cultura y que incorporaban a sus rituales religiosos más solemnes. En el año 1970 Cenevieve Calame-Griaule publicó en un libro titulado Génesis Negro, en donde ampliaba los datos que los dogones suministraron a su padre. Explicaba que los dogones creían en un dios creador del Universo al que llaman Amma, que envió a la Tierra a un dios menor conocido por el nombre de Nommo, provisto de semillas y todo el arsenal necesario para general vida. De sus acciones provienen los animales y las plantas, así como la primera pareja de humanos, que tuvieron 8 hijos que llegaron a tener edades increíbles.

Y los astronautas se convirtieron en dioses

El jeroglífico con que los egipcios representaban al dios Osiris era un ojo, lo que guarda una sorprendente similitud con el concepto que tenía los bozos de Mali con sirio B, a la que denominaban “la estrella del ojo”. Asimismo la misma tribu describen a Sirio A como “la estrella sentada”, cuando en Egipto el asiento o trono es el símbolo de la diosa Isis.

Foto representación de Orion (El Cazador) que lleva a Sirio en la mano (Museo de El Cairo.

Los antiguos egipcios tenían como columna vertebral de su cosmogonía el matrimonio sagrado en Isis y Osiris, quienes representaban las constelaciones de Sirio y de Orión, que se mueven conjuntas en el firmamento y conforman la Duat. De igual forma hacen corresponder a Isis con la estrella más brillante del firmamento, Sirio A. Y a la diosa Neftis con sirio B, “la oscura compañera que describía un círculo (órbita) alrededor de Isis.

Según Plutarco el dios Anubis nació de Neftis, aunque fue Isis la gran madre, diciendo: “Por Anubis entienden el círculo horizontal que separa la parte invisible del mundo, a la que llaman Neftis, de la visible, a la que denominan Isis, y como este círculo toca tanto los confines de la luz como los de la oscuridad, se puede considerar común a ambas; a partir de esta circunstancia surgió el parecido que imaginan entre Anubis y el Perro, habiendo observado de este animal que está vigilante tanto de día como de noche”. Es por ello por lo que Robert Temple, en su obra “El Misterio de Sirio”, afirma que Anubis pudiera detentar el concepto orbital de ambas estrellas, Sirio A y Sirio B. A Isis le correspondería la descripción de “los confines de la luz” y “lo visible”, mientras que su hermana Neftis sería “los confines de la oscuridad” y “lo invisible”, ya que Sirio B es oscura e invisible. Por ello Anubis es considerado por el autor como el círculo horizontal que las divide, la órbita de la estrella oscura alrededor de la estrella brillante. De esta relación surge el simbolismo con el perro, con el sistema de órbitas que conforman las estrellas de Sirio. Como el nombre de la constelación es Can Mayor, se conoció al dios con el nombre de “Canícula”.

El dios Anubis

Otra diosa del panteón Sothico (Sirio-Isis) es Anukis, quien navega en la misma nave celestial junto a Isis, Neftis y Satis (Sirio A, B y C) en los relieves y pinturas egipcios. una diosa compañera que, junto con la diosa Satis, navega en la misma nave celestial que Isis en las pinturas egipcias. Anukis es representada portando en sus brazos dos jarrones con los cuales vierte agua. Los antiguos egipcios situaban su “domicilio” en Aswán, en donde para ellos surgían las aguas del Nilo y se desbordaban hacia Nubia por un lado y hacia el Mediterráneo por otro. Efectivamente, los remolinos en las aguas producidos por los rápidos y las cataratas, parecían indicar el brote continuo de agua que asociaban a los cántaros de Anukis. Para Temple la diosa estaba relacionada con dos planetas que poseían agua y orbitaban alrededor de Sirio.

Seres estelares, Valle de los Reyes

La correlación fonético de los dioses también nos da una pista de su común origen. Anu es el dios del cielo en Sumeria. En idioma sánscrito anupa significa “un país acuoso”. Alexander Heidel escribe en The Babylonian Genesis que los dioses Enlil y Anu eran representados como chacales, cuando el símbolo egipcio de Anpu (Anubis) era el chacal y que Anu está relacionado con el sistema de Sirio. Anu, asimismo, es el dios mayor de las deidades guardianas conocidas como los Anunnakis. Resulta muy evidente la raíz sumeria Anu en las egipcias Anubis y Anukis, implicadas con los estrellas de Sirio.

En Sumeria el vocablo “an” se correspondía con el cielo, y Anu es el dios del cielo, que en Egipto tuvo su correlación con Nut. Wallis Budge declara: “Es sorprendente, por tanto, encontrar tanta similitud entre los dioses primigenios de Sumerio y los de Egipto. Es imposible suponer que los escribas de Asurbanipal copiaron el sistema de Egipto, o que los literatos de la época de Seti I tomaron las ideas de los hombres ilustrados de Babilonia o Asiria. Por tanto, eso nos conduce a la conclusión de que tanto los sumerios como los primeros egipcios adoptaron a sus dioses primigenios a partir de alguna fuente común pero sumamente antigua. Hay demasiada similitud entre ambos grupos de dioses para ser accidental”.

¿Extraterrestres en Egipto?

Admitir la teoría extraterrestre para explicar los anacrónicos logros de arquitectura e ingeniería que encontramos en Egipto obliga a pensar en los viajes interestelares. Para ello aquellos seres deberían dominar la tecnología criogénica, o alguna técnica similar para quedar en animación suspendida durante los largos periodos de viaje. Resulta muy sugerente comparar la operativa actual para efectuar una crionización a los rituales ejercitados por los antiguos egipcios en sus ceremonias de momificación. La extracción de órganos para dejarse depositados en recipientes externos (a diferencia de otro tipo de momificaciones realizadas por otras culturas), el dejar el cuerpo sin los fluidos fundamentales, la conservación de las partes blandas mediante las sales… Indudablemente el cuerpo de Ramsés II, acartonado en el Museo de El Cairo, nunca volverá a la vida, pero ¿su momificación no era la imitación de otras técnicas más efectivas y de las que tenían referencia por parte de los dioses?.

Momia de Ramsés II, Museo de El Cairo

Narran todas las culturas que los dioses llegados de las estrellas ascendieron a los cielos. Pero, en el caso de haber existido aquellos exploradores que llegaron a Egipto,  nadie puede afirmar que regresaran de nuevo a Sirio. Algunos investigadores, entre los que se encuentra Robert Temple, baraja la posibilidad, al dominar las técnicas de animación suspendida, foto cuerpos suspendidos pudieran haber quedado o bien en algún lugar de nuestro planeta (¿alguna cámara secreta aún no descubierta en la Gran Pirámide, según narran las leyendas árabes?) o bien en algún tipo de nave nodriza en nuestro propio sistema solar, dormidos o despertándose paulatinamente.

En las tradiciones de los dogones, recogemos el dato de que la nave que aterrizó en la Tierra y portaba a los nomos era ardiente y rugiente, pero que una nueva estrella pudo divisarse en el cielo mientras ellos estaban aquí, lo que nos lleva a pensar en esa nave nodriza. Los dogones la tienen representada en tres dibujos donde se aprecia de diferente tamaño, como si tuviera la facultad de contraerse o expandirse a voluntad. La llamaban “la estrella de la décima luna”. Robert Temple se fijó en un hecho singular: la décima luna principal de Saturno, llamada Febe, es anómala en el sistema solar y mantiene una órbita retrógrada alrededor del planeta, radicalmente opuesta a la de t

Febe, la décima luna

odas las demás lunas de Saturno.

Los dogones afirmaban que los nomos regresarían a nuestro planeta y que, cuando lo hagan, conmemorarán ese día como “el día del pez”. Aseguran asimismo que la primera pista que anuncia su regreso será la aparición en el firmamento de una nueva estrella, a la que llaman “estrella de la décima luna”.

¿Representan las 3 pirámides de Giza las 3 estrellas de Sirio?

Resulta sugerente la idea de que las tres pirámides de la meseta de Giza, aparte de representar las tres estrellas del cinturón de Orion (Osiris) representen asimismo las tres estrellas del sistema de Sirio (Isis). La pirámide atribuida al faraón Keops, la más grande, estaba relacionada con Isis, Sirio A, según podemos constatar en la llamada Estela del Inventario. La estrella Sirio A es blanca brillante, con una temperatura superficial de alrededor de 10.000 grados centígrados. Curiosamente la Gran Pirámide poseía un revestimiento muy pulido de fina caliza de la cantera de Tura. Se tiene constancia, por análisis efectuados por André Pochan y W.M. Flinders Petrie, que dicho revestimiento estuve pintado con una leve solución a base de óxido de hierro para potenciar su luminosidad ligeramente dorada. Por ello, al igual que la estrella Sirio A, la pirámide podía verse, cuando los rayos de sol incidían sobre ella, desde una distancia de 80 kilómetros, sirviendo de faro a las caravanas de peregrinos que se acercaban a ella para su adoración como templo solar.

Meseta de Giza

Sirio B es actualmente una enana blanca, aunque anteriormente debía de haber sido una gigante roja. En la meseta de Giza estaría representada en la pirámide atribuída a Kefrén, cuyo revestimiento superior era de color blanco, similar a la Gran Pirámide, pero que en la parte inferior está compuesto por bloques de granito rojo, por lo que la pirámide tenía dos colores, rojo y blanco, posiblemente para significar que la estrella cambió del rojo al blanco.

Los astrónomos Daniel Benest y J.L. Duvent, descubridores en 1995 de Sirio C, la definieron como enana roja o, incluso, una enana marrón. Sorprendentemente la pirámide de Micerinos, que podría representar a Sirio C, estuvo completamente revestida de granito rojo de Aswán.

De ser cierta esta hipótesis, si las tres pirámides de la meseta de Giza representan a las tres estrellas del sistema de Sirio, tendríamos que evaluar si las llamadas pirámides “satélites” se debieran corresponder con posibles planetas que giran alrededor de ellas. Sirio A tendría 3, Sirio B tendría 1 y Sirio C tendría 3. Obviamente nuestra tecnología astronómica no llega a evaluar los posibles planetas orbitales de las estrellas de Sirio, aunque tampoco, hasta hace muy pocos años, se conocían las propias estrellas de la constelación.

Story by: Bruce Timm
Written by: Rich Fogel
Directed by: Dan Riba
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Jack Kirby – Long live The King.
Original Airdates: February 7 & 14 1996
DVD: Superman TAS Volume 3

Summary: Darkseid finally makes his move, launching a full-scale attack on Earth. With Metropolis as the front line, Superman is forced into battle to defend his adopted homeworld. One major problem – Darkseid does not take losing well.

Arc Note: Third and fourth episodes dealing with Darkseid and the New Gods.

Debuting Characters: Pretty much every signifcant New God shows up during the course of this one, most of which haven’t been seen before. Look at this screencap that, in any other episode, would have been the above-the-jump image:

The most prominent debutee is Orion, and Darkseid hench… people… Granny Goodness and Steppenwolf also make their first appearances.

Also, Maggie Sawyer’s long-time partner, Toby Raynes, makes her first DCAU appearance, which I’m reasonably certain is the first depiction of a gay couple in Saturday Morning animation. It’s neat how matter-of-factly this was handled; you get the feeling that watchdog groups were blissfully ignorant of the characters’ history.

Featured Characters: Dan Turpin *sniff*; this episode marks the conclusion of the “can the SCU hold their own without Superman” subplot.

Background:

There’s no way around it – aside from this being the high point of S:TAS, this story is famous for containing the most significant death in the DCAU TV programmes. So no spoiler protection here: this is the episode where Dan Turpin is killed by Darkseid. So as opposed to actually talking about the background of the characters appearing, I think it’s more appropriate to talk about the making of the episode itself, especially as there’s a LOT of material about this episode, between the Timm interview and the commentary track on Part 2. Timm describes the genesis of the episode:

The “Apokalips Now” story came out of anumber of brainstorming sessions with myself and Paul Dini in particular. We were sitting around, talking about Darkseid – what about him do we want to use, what would work for us in animation, how to pare down that big, sprawling mythos Kirby did over five books into a half-hour adventure cartoon. We had to come up with a couple of springboards of what to do with the character, and then the “Apokalips Now” storyline just came full-blown into my  head one day.

Bruce Timm, Modern Masters, p. 56

As the episode was uniquely concieved in almost the exact form that made it to the screen – Superman vs Darkseid with the fate of the world in the balance – there weren’t many issues with the story until the team got to the ending.

My original ending was a little more oblique. Turpin was still going to deft Darkseid at the end and say “You guys can’t have this planet, we’d rather die first.” At that point, Darkseid was just going to go “I really want this planet, I don’t want to just destroy it, so you win.” And everbody realised that was just too anticlimactic… I had thought of the idea of the New Gods as the cavalry at the last second and having that as the reason Darkseid gives up, but I rejected it myself because I thought it was too easy.

B. Timm, ibid.

However, even though Darkseid doesn’t win, the producers came up with a method for Darkseid’s loss to be even more devestating to Superman than it was for Darkseid. In this case, Darkseid takes his frustrations out on a member of Suerpman’s regular supporting cast, which for a show that aired on Saturday mornings, was a drastic step.

While we were talking about (the Anti-Life Equation), I jumped ahead to the end of the story and went, “You know what? Wheat he’s got to do is after Superman has defeated him, Darkseid has got to kill someone who is very close to Superman just out of pure spite… I didn’t realize it at the time, but what I was doing was channelling the end of the Galactus trilogy… but the minute I said that, Paul said “Yeah, that’s the way to go. So who’s he going to kill?”

B. Timm, Modern Masters, page 57

Amongst the potential killing-off candiates were:

• Ma and Pa Kent (rejected by DC, and Timm thinks that was a good thing as it would be “just wrong.” It’s something I agree with – it’s a great way to contrast Superman and Batman)
• Lois and Jimmy (obviously not possible)
• Professor Hamilton (no one on the staff liked him to begin with, and they were worried the viewer would actually be happy if Darkseid killed him off. It’s a good thing, as Hamilton got a better character arc in JLU as a result)

So it came down to Dan Turpin – as Timm notes, the similarity of killing Turpin, who was visually modelled after Kirby, shortly after Kirby’s death was appropriate, and Turpin’s funeral is actually a close match for that of Kirby’s.

Thoughts on the Episode:

This is an episode that’s actually a neat trick from a narrative point of view, as the first part of the episode feels much like a typical character introduction episode for Orion, in which we’re given his background, find out his capabilities, and then Superman and Orion presumably team up to save Metropolis. Only this time, things don’t go according to plan in any way, as Darkseid’s initial plan works, putting the fate of the entire planet for the first time in DCAU history.

One of the more obvious ongoing themes in these reviews is that the more an episode contrasts its main characters with others, the better it works. That’s the case in Justice League, but as Bruce Timm explains,

(Superman) is normally a character who is optimistic and brighter, and you put him up against a character like Darkseid who pushes his buttons and brings out the worst in him, then it’s much more dramatically effective.

Bruce Timm, Modern Masters, p. 56

The contrast here is twofold – first, with Orion, and then against Darkseid and his minions. As noted, the first half of the story plays out like as a fairly standard character introduction for Orion – if you cut out the final scenes involving the power plant explosion, it’s almost identical, structurally, to episodes like “In Brightest Day.” However, after it looks as though Superman has won another skirmish against one of Darkseid’s minions, the ante is raised through the roof, as part one ends with Superman and Turpin staring into the glare of a nuclear explosion in the distance.

The second half has a common DC Universe signal that something really, really bad is about to happen, specifically that the skies are as red as blood throughout, but beyond that, the second half has a great ominous feel throughout; even if you don’t know that there’s going to be a death at the end, the entire thing just feels as though something bad potentially could happen at any moment.

Although Orion is really only featured in the first part of the story, he does get established as someone who is fated by destiny to battle his own father to the death in order to save his adopted planet. Although the paternal aspect isn’t there with Superman, the idea of a hero saving his adopted world from a threat from his original does get repeated in the Superman mythos quite often, and we’ll see that later with the debut of the evil Kryptonians.

Although Orion’s design is quite “busy”, he comes across well in animated form, and is a much-needed martial counterpart to Superman’s outlook. It’s as though Superman is being galvanized into something bigger through these two episodes, taking parts of Orion’s approach to fighting Darkseid while maintaining his own inherent Superman…ness. Plus, in any other episode the length explanation of the history of the warring planets would be the standout moment; it’s a really good sequence, reminiscent of later flashbacks such as the Amazons / Hades story from Paradise Lost.

This is also a really effective blending of the animated / comic version of Superman with the Christopher Reeve movie incarnation. If you look at the Donner Superman films, Superman simply doesn’t go around getting into the knock-down drag-out battles that this version specalises in (I know this was a common complaint about Superman Returns, but those first two movies only have one really good fight, against Zod and friends in Metropolis). The scene where Superman vents the atomic fire by drilling relief holes is very reminiscent of something Reeve’s Superman would do; he’s dealing with an evil plot, granted, but he’s really just trying to save lives. As is pointed out in the commetnary, the initial run of episodes largely featured Superman going after a criminal with a gimmick, in the style of Batman or the George Reeves Superman; this is something markedly different.

Although I don’t really agree with the idea that Superman hadn’t “distinguished itself” to this point that is expressed on the commentary track, this episode is obviously of a different calibre than just about any other that came before it because of just how much drama is packed in. The creators on the commetnary track say that this type of episode became commonplace thanks to Justice League, but in a more basic storytelling time, having this level of action (and violence – Superman pulls off some nasty, nasty tricks here) and scale makes this stand out. It really does seem that it’s a genuine, ongoing military conflict as opposed to a simple comic book battle.

The famous point of this story is the final act. Superman bound before Darkseid, and only saved by quick thinking by Turpin, followed by an abbreviated rematch with Kalibak, and then the entirety of the New Genesis forces pouring through three giant boom tubes to actually cause Darkseid to back off.  Darkseid killing Turpin is a perfect shot to the viewer’s guts; it looks as though he’s first taking a parting shot at Superman, only for his Onega beams to curve around Superman and vaporize Turpin on the spot, followed by the shocked reaction of Maggie Sawyer. The best part of it is that it’s seemingly so effortless for Darkseid – and the fact that he then flees, leaving Superman to vent his frustrations on the leftover war machine. In retrospect, this is only about parts three and four of the longer Darkseid saga in the DCAU, and even though Darkseid loses the fact that he actually draws blood ensures that the stakes have been permanently raised.

Grade: A. The animation may be a tad spotty at times (it’s not as great as in, say, World’s Finest), but the emotional impact is off the charts, and wouldn’t be matched until “Legacy”

Random Thoughts:

• The scene with Superman being attacked on the mountain by Darkseid is drawn from the New Testament, where Jesus is tempted by the Devil. Darkseid’s belief that Superman would join him would be picked up later….
• The scenes in the Apokolips flashback resemble Samurai Jack as much as they do classical Kirby artwork.
• To this day I’m not sure why they added the plot device communicator, since it’s quickly rendered useless. I suppose it’s to avoid any questions of why Superman didn’t try and get help when it became apparent he was outgunned.
• It astonishingly goes unmentioned in the commentary track, but the Superman / Parademon fight occurs in front of the Hall of Justice.
• The level of in-jokes takes a step up in this episode; the air base in part one is named for legendary inker Joe Sinnott, while the cops that Turpin yells at in part two while battling the Parademons are named for the inkers of Kirby’s New Gods run.
• Also, amongst the mourners at the funeral are artist Alex Ross and one of the rare Kirby creations not to be utilised in the DCAU, Kamandi (I can’t find him, but I’ll take their word for it), along with the usual suspects in the creative team.
• OBVIOUS CONTINUITY ERROR ALERT: Forager (red guy with shield, bottom right of the New Gods image) shows up as part of the New Genesis army… except as later seen in “Twilight”, he shouldn’t have met the New Gods yet. Whoops… then again, this was about six years prior to that episode’s conception.
• I don’t know if it was intentionally framed like this, but it looks as though there’s a blank space next to Lois at Turpin’s funeral – I always read it that she was saving it for Clark, but he didn’t show up.

Line of the Episode: “In the end, it didn’t take a super man… just a brave one.”

Next Side Story: The next episode in the Darkseid arc, and Supergirl’s debut, in “Little Girl Lost”

Next Justice League: Metamorphosis, which… lacks… the emotional impact of this one.

Weekend stuff: I don’t know, either I get Metamorphosis done early or I indulge myself with a look at Batman and the Outsiders.

that tonight’s going to be a good night . . .

Carl just now took this picture and as seen here, I plan on spending most of tonight lost in thought writing with my boys close by to keep me warm.  : )

Como ya hemos mencionado varias veces en Bolten Inc, el arte urbano es condenado y perseguido por las autoridades que no pueden concebir que el arte es la gran salida y el soporte para la expresión de jóvenes artistas. El día de ayer Berlín demostró que poco a poco encuentra lugares para los artistas. Europa y Estados Unidos cada día dan más espacios y las grandes galerías del mundo ruegan porque pinten sus muros, mientras que en México y en América Latina se siguen etiquetando de vándalos o delincuentes. Paredes que Hablan es un documental argentino de la productora I.Sat, que presenta el trabajo de 10 artistas de graffiti de Brasil, México y Argentina, los argentinos Jaz y Gualicho los brasileños Orion, Nunca, Titi Freak, Boleta y Speto y los mexicanos Sego, Sehher y Saner. Les dejamos el video de Saner, realizado en las calles de la Ciudad de México en donde explica el sentimiento de trabajar en la calle y nos pone al tanto de su proyecto Bounty Hunter. Si quieren ver más videos de Paredes que Hablan entren a su canal de youtube. Muy recomendable.

“When it is darkest, men see the stars.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
- Oscar Wilde

Orion's Belt

I don’t think it’s coincidental that some of my favorite writers and thinkers have such poignant things to say about the stars. The thing I dislike most about living in the city is not being able to see the stars at night. They’re only a drive away, but it’s not the same as being able to turn off your porch light, step out your front door, and just fall under their spell.

Feeling insignificant is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Feeling your ego dissipate under the expanse of the universe is an irreplaceable experience. There have been times in my life where sitting under the stars was the only thing I could do to feel connected to this world at all. As unintuitive as that may seem.

It seems to me that to feel connected to others, you need to feel alone. It occurs to me sometimes that other people may find this thought to be highly pessimistic, but I don’t think the feeling of being alone is a negative or depressing at all.

In fact, I like the feeling.

It makes me appreciate the connections I am able to have with other people and their creative work.

As always, I find my sentiments have been already properly expressed by others. Another fact that makes me feel a beautiful wash of insignificance and much, much less alone.

“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I’ll bet they’d live a lot differently.”
- Bill Watterson (of Calvin and Hobbes)

Nuevo single de ikimonogakari: nakumonka y su b-side: orion

Os traigo ambas para poner en dd:

Nakumonka: *ttp://www.megaupload.com/?d=M4M9CE92

Orion:  *ttp://www.mediafire.com/?tminiv1lm4z