Irish Archaeological Field School

The Irish Archaeological Field School (IAFS) 2010 research programme will focus on archaeological excavations at Bective Abbey, Rath Maeve on the Hill of Tara, and Rossnaree, Newgrange, Co. Meath, Ireland.

Do you want to earn university credits by undertaking archaeological fieldwork and excavation at beautiful Irish historic sites under the tuition of leading experts?

Would you like to experience life as an archaeologist while immersing yourself in the richness of the Irish life?

If the answer to one of more of these questions is ‘YES’, then the Irish Archaeological Field School is for you.

We are Irelands leading provider of university accredited, site based archaeological research and training. The ethos of the school is to provide an opportunity for students and enthusiasts of archaeology and anthropology to experience at first hand the excitement of archaeological excavation within an established research framework.

Excavations are undertaken in a research environment led by a team of highly qualified and experienced archaeologists using the most sophisticated technologies, including GPS topographical survey, geophysics, photo-planning and more.

In addition to the archaeological excavations, an extensive programme of cultural activities is on offer, including tours of historic sites, folklore, reconstructions, re-enactments, language, music, food and more.

see more here:
http://www.iafs.ie/index.html
and let people know.

It’ll be great!

ใครจะคิดว่า หนังสือภาพครอบรอบ60 ปี สำหรับองค์กรช่วยเหลือเด็กยากไร้ทั่วโลก กล้าฉีกตัวเอง โดยใช้ สี ดำ

หนังสือภาพสุดเท่ห์จัดทำขี้นเพือเฉลิมฉลอง60 ปี องค์กรยูนิเซฟ โจทย์คือต้อวการแสดงถึง “ปรัญชาของชีวิต” แต่ไม่อยากดูซีเรียสจึงของเล่าด้วยภาพโดยชักชวนศิลปินกว่า 60 คน มาแสดงผลงานทั้งภาพประกอบจนถึงกราฟฟิค ดีไซน์ รวม 180 หน้าที่ให้”ความรู้สึก” หลากหลายทั้งแนวสร้างสรรค์ เหมือนจริง หรือกระทั่งมืดหม่น สนใจอุดหนุนพร้อมได้บุญ คลิกไปดูรายละเอียดได้ที่  60 unite for children หากเข้าไปดูในเวปแล้วจะเห็นว่า concept ไม่หลุดเลย เสียคลิกก็ออกซาวด์ electronic-punk ซึ่งในความคิดของผม พวกเราก็ต้องจำยอมจริงๆ ว่า ปัญหาของเด็กในปัจจุปัน ไม่ได้ถูกจำกัดเพียงแค่การช่วยเหลือโดยนำ ซุปเปอร์สตาร์ มาร่วมร้องเพลงเพือนหารายได้ จากความอดยาก “we are the world ” เหมือนแต่ก่อน ส่ิงที่กัดกินความบริสุทธิ์ของเด็กน้อยเหล่านี้ เริ่มเห็นชัดขี้น และเร็วขี้น ต่อการทำการทารุณต่อเด็ก โดย “พ่อ หรือ แม่ของเด็กเอง” ความไม่พร้อมของวัยต่อการให้กำเนิดชีวิต หนึ่งชีวิตและต้องเลี้ยงดู เป็นปัญหาที่ผู้ใหญ่ อย่างพวกเราควรเลิกทำตัวเป็นเด็กเสียที ใ้ห้เด็กมันดูเป็นตัวอย่าง เมื่อเช้าหลังจากวิ่งออกกำลัง ผมนั่งรถเมล์ ปอ73  ซึ่งที่สะดุดตาผมคือ ภาพของแม่เด็กวัยรุ่นทีดูวุ่นวายกับโทรศัพท์มือถือ ลูกน่ารักของมีรอยยิ้มที่ทำให้คนหลายคนในรถรู้สึกมีชีวิตชีวา แต่ทว่าแม่วัยรุ่ยที่ยุ่งกับการส่ง sms ปล่อยให้เด็กหน้าตาน่ารักเกือบลื่นถไหล ไปกับพื้นเมื่อยามรถแบรค  ภาพของพ่อ และแม่วัยรุ่นที่หอบลูกตัวเองเหมือนตุ๊กตา ผมและคนบนรถเมล์ในวันนี้ อาจกำลังหาแพะโง่ๆๆสักราย นั้นคือ พ่อและแม่วัยรุ่นของเด็กว่า ยังไม่พร้อม รีบ… ทำไม  แน่นใจเหรอว่าเราว่ากล่าวถูกคน เพราะเด็กหน้าตาน่ารักคนนี้ สักวันหนึงอาจถูกตราหน้า เหมือนพ่อและแม่ของเจ้าหนูน้อยตัวนี้ก็ได้    เด็กหนอเด็ก ทำไมผู้ใหญ่ใจร้ายจัง ทำไมต้องให้พวกเขาเหล่านั้น โตเป็นหนุ่ม เป็นสาวเร็วจัง

I don’t want to say I told you so, but I did predict that Bill wasn’t among the doubly-dead un-dead, who were burnt to nothing but happy memories and a trickle of bubbling blood.

But even I, with my mastery of extremely basic plot-twists, didn’t guess that Bill would turn up starkers crawling out from his own grave. Covered in soil, he clung onto a handy leg, which turned out to be Sookie’s. Then they had rough and ready sex right there amongst the tombs, my golly. Transpired he had heeded her warnings to make for a place of safety, and had literally gone underground. That’s one difference between me and Bill: when looking for a refuge, he chose the cold dark earth, while I would choose the Hilton. 

Jason found his soulmate in Amy, the most boring woman in Bon Temps. She infiltrated herself into Merlotte’s with ease, graciously fending off Sookie’s bitchy suggestion that once Jason tired of her, he’d be off with the next floozy. ‘Oh’, added Sookie flatly, ‘Not that I meant that you were a floozy’. Yes you did, Sookie. Amy floated around, spouting her usual ‘we are at one with Gaia’ baloney, trailed by an awe-struck Jason marvelling at her amazing mind. Suddenly, she went cold turkey on V and became a nail-biting maniac. She and Jason kidnapped, by means of silver tat from Clare’s Accessories, an inoffensive suburban vampire. I fear they mean to drain the poor fellow of every last drop.

Sam told the cops he’d been seen nude in the woods because he was from a family of naturists. It was so lame, even the dim-bulb gumshoe saw through it. But Sam was probably still reeling from Tara calling him a racist. Tara spent the episode in a spectacular pet, taking umbrage at insults and compliments alike. She did have a tough time of it, to be fair. Her mama, who we now see is considerably more annoying sober than drunk, cooked breakfast for the first time ever and threw out all her booze. She and a mad hatter friend encouraged Tara to go to bible studies, but found that Tara sure as hell needed no help with her biblical language.

When Sam gently commented on the way Tara ‘grunted like an athlete’ during lovemaking, she screamed, ‘What, I’m like Serena? Cos we’re both black?’ and leaped out of bed. Sam could only gape, as indeed, could we. Go Tara! When everyone got fed up of being yelled at, she started arguing with herself, and took off to the voodoo woman in the woods, to be exorcised. Don’t do it! We love your grumpy sassy self just the way it is.

Rene proposed to Arlene on the way home from fine dining at a Red Lobster. He behaved so creepily I thought he was about to kill her, but no, it was to offer to become her fiancé. Fourth time lucky, eh, Arlene? Meanwhile, Sookie and Bill baby-sat her charmingly plain kids, who asked to see Bill’s fangs. He obliged, in time-honoured fashion by sticking bits of carrot in his mouth. What a missed opportunity – he could’ve shown them the real thing and scared seven types of crap out of them.

Baby-sitting is exactly the sort of mainstreaming that Eric so disapproves of. Bill found Eric in his bath, complaining that he hadn’t replied to his texts.  I love it that they text each other; I guess as they’re immortal, they get pretty competitive long-term contracts from T-Mobile. Eric insisted that Sookie do her mind-reading party trick at Fangtasia, to discover who was stealing from the bar. Honestly, did they really need to call in a telepathy expert? The creepy goth barman has practically got ‘villain’ tattooed on his forehead. They could have just asked me, or even one of the plodding cops, who would probably have worked it out eventually, but no – Sookie had to interrogate a series of hapless humans before the chief suspect leapt from the bar, fangs akimbo, aiming straight for her slightly-punctured but still very creamy neck.

Posted by Qwerty

Out now in our store: Shape Mara, a well defined shape – take a look at it!

(Outfit not included)

As all our shapes available as “copy / modify / no transfer” or as “copy / no mod / no transfer” version.

Go and get your demo of this shape at our mainstore: Mainstore GeEs Design

Some impressions:

Un buen match completo que presenta TNA, Alissa Flash vs Hamada, un encuentro entre los luchadoras de mucha experiencia (Sobre todo por parte de Hamada)
Ayako Hamada aún no ha sido suficientemente utilizada por TNA, esperemos que pronto se le de la oportunidad de estar retando por el título de Knockouts, pues justamente TNA cuenta con 4 luchadoras de gran credibilidad como campeonas, y eso debe ser aprovechado:

• ODB
• Awesome Kong
• Tara
• Hamada

Notar que las 4 son luchadoras de constitución física fuerte, equivalente al “peso completo” de los hombres, y de ellas sólo Tara podría estar ahora mismo en WWE, donde se exige que las luchadoras tenga peso de “modelos” (Ver el caso de Mickie James por subir un par de kilos)

Y justamente la ironia es que en WWE, difícilmente se les da empuje a los pesos ligeros, en toda su historia WWE ha preferido a los pesos completos (Cena, Batista, Hogan, etc), pero en su división femenil es totalmente lo opuesto

Realmente, a cada dia que passa eu me convenço mais sobre o poder narrativos dos gif’s animados. É realmente belo.

Sim, eu realmente estou fazendo uma homenagem ao grande Zé do Caixão.
- Realmienteee!

Agora vamos aos gif’s de fato:

—

Sim, eu sei que o primeiro gif é do filme O cão andaluz, do Buñuel. A referência ao Zé do Caixão deu-se por causa dos closes nos olhos. Não lembro bem se foi com o “A meia-noite levarei tua alma” ou se foi com o “Esta noite encarnarei no teu cadáver”, mas o close nos olhos cheios de veias sangrentas antes das cenas sangrentas foi um marco pra mim. Sangue no olho é sinal de fúria, ódio puro concentrado (título do filme de nosso grande amigo Willow ou André Miranda, tem no youtube).

ogaitnasoaruom

Două săptămâni nu am putut posta că calculatorului i s-a stricat hardul . Singur s-a stricat ! (stricat că nu mergea , dar nu era stricat stricat  – astea-s ălea stricatele , fetele) Şi eu, ca prostul, am aşteptat să îmi aducă unu sp2 cand un vecin avea sp3 . Ieri mi l-a dat . Dar asta era doar asa sa stie si vizitatorul meu unic ce dracu am mai facut de nu am mai postat sa rada şi el de prostia mea , ca umorist nu-s . Poate chiar putin obsedat de sex , dar zambim şi trecem peste .

Zilele astea e mare agitaţa . Sunt alegerile , Annei Lesko ii plac băieţii , Moş Crăciun cumpără de la Carrefour că e mai ieftin decât la el în atelier . Şi toate bune .
Dar aici vine întrebarea mea : bă , totuşi e criză şi o să fie şi mai criză . Ce ziceţi , până în 2012 când o să intrăm în sfera de influenţă a Planetei X , o să murim oricum ? Da sau nu ? De fapt , nu răspundeţi doar la asta , că mai am .

Şi mai e Băsescu care a plesnit un puradel . Era el mai maroniu . Şi asta nu în sensul bun , de bere maro (neagră , cum îi zice unii) , ci de negru de pe plantaţie . Cred că dacă erau plantaţii ca în America şi în România , ălea blonde munceau în poziţia capră pentru negricioşi şi blonzii munceau pe plantaţie  , ca capre : mâncau buruienile .
A mai observat cineva cum rânjea a satisfacţie ăla micu după ce a luat palma ? E mâna mogulilor , cred că i-au dat un set de două caucioace cu gust de căpşuni să ronţăie toată ziua la ele .  Astfel , în 2009 , ei aveau să îl înlăture pe Băse cu ajutorul filmării şi îi mai dădeau un alt set de 2 caucioace , acum cu gust de ciocolată.

Şi ca ultimă idee , citiţi Adevărul ! Nu scrie despre politică , ci despre nişte jegoşi care fac , au făcut sau vor face politică şi despre viaţa lor de zi cu zi : ce se cacă , ce mănâncă , ce  pişă , ce beau , ce cântă ca nişte melomani afoni ce sunt etc .

hey! tocmai am terminat de facut acest afis…mor de somn…so…nu stiu cand mai scriu ca maine merg la tara :| pa paa

M-am intrebat cine era Gebeleizis si am gasit foarte putina informatie despre aceasta zeitate a dacilor. Cine este Gebeleizis?

Gebeleizis (Gebeleixis, Nebeleizis) era zeitatea pamantului, abundentei, vazduhului, traznetelor. Sarbatorit la fiecare 5 ani.

Datorita fulgerelor, pe care le controla, a fost pus in corespondenta cu alte zeitati: Indra, Zeus, Thor,…. Si cam atat. Cam asta este tot ce se poate gasi pe net despre cel care a fost numit zeitatea suprema a dacilor.

Cu cine nu este pus in legatura insa, este Geb. Cu toate ca numele o sugereaza, Geb nu este pus in legatura cu Gebeleizis. Geb si Gebeleizis sunt una si aceeasi zeitate. Geb este descris in mod gresit de catre egiptologi si de aceea aceasta legatura nu este evidenta.

Cine este Geb?
Geb este o divinitate a pamantului (ca si Gebeleizis).

Geb este o divinitate de maxima importanta. Tronul pe care statea faraonul era tronul lui Geb. Gebeleizis este zeitate suprema. Sub tronul faraonilor exista aproape intotdeauna un patrat. Pe placutele de la Sinaia apare un tron sub care exista un obiect triunghiular (piramidal, tetraedru?).

Cei care interpreteaza reprezentarile lui Geb evita sa arate ca Geb face legatura dintre vazduh si pamant. In reprezentari cel care se afla intre Cer (Nut) si sol (barbatul intins ) este insusi Geb. Pana de rata (rata simbolul lui Geb) de pe cap indica clar aceasta. Legatura dintre cer si pamant, traznet, Geb, Gebeleizis.

Geb (si nu Shu) este cel care atinge pe Nut in partile ei cele mai intime, sani si organ sexual, “lapte si miere”. In unele reprezentari Geb este reprezentat cu organul sexual erect, incercand sa refaca legatura dintre vazduh si pamant.

Geb este “tatal” tuturor zeilor. Gebeleizis este zeitatea suprema.

Geb reprezentat prin culoarea verde (abundenta, prosperitate, fertilitate). Gebeleizis- zeu al abundentei.

Imagini ale lui Geb se pot gasi la:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Geb_and_Nut02.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Geb_end_Nut01.jpg
http://www.africawithin.com/kemit/geb2.jpg
http://wysinger.homestead.com/files/geb1.jpg
http://4brightminds.info/images/osiris-ithyphallic-geb-auto-f950.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/ancienthistory/1/0/e/X/2/shu.jpg
http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/images/mlw_0001_0002_0_img0055.jpg
http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/tut/img/03800.jpg
http://www.mysteries-in-stone.co.uk/images/icon_geb.gif
http://4brightminds.info/images/NUTnGEB.JPG

Geb era numit si Seb. Seb gasim in cuvintele: Sib-iu, Seb-i, Seb-astian, Eu-Seb-iu, Seb-es (sebesh pentru egiptenii antici insemna dar, cadou).

A ramas Gebelizis in cultura noastra? Sigur ca da. In perioada sarbatorilor de iarna se merge cu “capra” (Geb este reprezentat cu coarne). In timpul ritualului se repeta sunetul TZA (tza, tza, tza, capriTZA tza). Ce-i cu acest TZA? Pai un simbol al lui Geb este RA-TZA (in romaneste este rata, habar nu am cum o numeau egiptenii).

Cuvinte cu TZA: TZA-ra, TZU-rai, TZA-ran, TZA-rina, TZA-rana.
In cultura maramureseana avem acel inconfundabil: TZU-rai, TZA!; Tzurai, tzurai si tzurai.
Banuiala mea este ca TZA functioneaza ca si o mantra. Repetarea ei este de fapt invocarea lui Gebeleizis.

Ca tot am pomenit de TZA-ran (taran), exista o zeitate numita Taranis. Simbolul principal este fulgerul, traznetul. Nu se prea face legatura intre Gebeleizis si Taranis. Credinta in Gebeleizis se pare ca a fost salvata in toate aceste cuvinte. Tza-ranul este “talpa” tza-rii (spunea cineva) si parca acum are alt inteles.

Gebeleizis, zeu al abundentei?
Putina lume stie ca zilnic datorita traznetelor pe sol se depun 250000 tone de azot. Azot care este necesar plantelor. Ploaia aduce si ea nutrientii de care vegetatia are nevoie. Putina lume stie. Se pare insa ca dacii stiau, ei l-au considerat pe Gebeleizis ca zeu al abundentei
Tot ei lansau sageti in vazduh, catre cerul innourat (care acoperea fata zeului). Este posibil ca prin aceasta ei de fapt incercau accelerarea transferului de azotati catre sol. Azi provocam ploaia lansand rachete cu diferite substante. Nu este exclus ca varfurile sagetilor sa aiba acelasi efect sau poate ca nu are loc provocarea ploii ci doar al transferului de azotati prin descarcari electrice minuscule care au loc la inaintarea sagetii in sus. Varful sagetii trasa ,de la un anumit potential electric, in sus intalneste potentiale din ce in ce mai ridicate. Descarcari electrice nu sunt excluse.
Ceea ce anticii descriau ca un simplu ritual ar putea sa fie de fapt un caz de manipulare a climei. Si asta in antichitate.

Probabil ca pe munti se practicau cele mai puternice ritualuri legate de Gebeleizis. Cativa munti au nume legate de zeu. Acesti munti au nume ca: Bedeleu (Begeleu cum il pronunta taranii din zona), Penteleu,… Formatiunile numite Detunate sunt in legatura cu acelasi zeu.

Tronul lui Geb (-eleizis)
Tronul pe care stateau faraonii era tronul lui Geb. Cand Geb radea aveau loc cutremure.
Multe dintre placutele de la Sinaia au reprezentat un tron sub care se afla un triunghi. Obiectul reprezentat de catre acest triunghi nu poate sa fie altceva decat o piramida. Cu baza patrat sau triunghi.

Tetraedru- 4 fete, fiecare fata un triunghi (3). Tetraedru simbol al Focului.
Piramida (cu baza patrat)- patratul de la baza (4), fetele laterale, triunghiuri (3), fetele piramidei in numar de 5 (Gebeleizis era sarbatorit la fiecare 5 ani?). Particula PIR (din piramida) are legatura cu elementul FOC.

Sa fie oare zona Vrancea “Tronul lui Geb”? Sunt bune sanse ca aceasta sa fie adevarat.
1. Loc de cautare interioara si implinirea a sihastrilor.
2. Vrancea are 7 feciori (3+4).
3. Vrancea este zona cu cea mai mare activitate seismica a tarii.
4. Geoglifa Vrancioaia pare ca se ridica de la pamant spre cer.

Circulati! Injurati! Claxonati!

Mereu m-am intrebat de ce masinile stau aliniate precum sarmalele pe sina tramvaiului, cand tramvaiul sta sa intre in statie. Conductorul injura. Forteaza. Sarmalele se inghesuie si mai tare una in alta. Doar, doar au noroc sa o ia din loc. Lipsa de civilizatie?

Calatorul injura si el. Se prinde de ce apuca, in timp ce e aruncat dintr-o parte in alta. Tramvaiul o ia intr-un final din loc.

A doua zi, de la capat, aceeasi poveste. Pe langa imbranceli si urlete.

“Nu e lipsa de civilizatie, domne, e lipsa de orice in tara asta”, are puterea sa spuna printre dinti un barbat. Tocmai ce fusese azvarlit peste cucoana de pe al doilea scaun din dreapta. Macar atat…

Ştiam că nu sunt de pe-aici şi aş fi vrut sa merg dincolo, dar aşa trebuie să aşteptăm cu toţii şi să folosim cât mai bine vremea de pe-aici. Nu îi aşa de greu dacă nu uiţi că nu prea eşti de pe-aici. Dar greu este să nu uiţi, că de multe ori ai prefera să fii de-aici…Of…şi multe se mai agaţă de tine, şi multe te mai trag într-o parte şi-ntr-alta…şi multe-ţi mai cântă pe la urechi mii de poveşti amăgitoare, şi multe-ţi mai turbură ochii, şi mai multe-ţi turbură mintea…ce să mai zic de suflet…Şi mulţi îţi şoptesc că ai dreptate şi mulţi îţi zic că minţi, că de nu-ţi mai sui câteodată sufletul şi gândul un picuţ mai sus, mai sus de nori un pic, şi mai departe de-aici, mai către dincolo, să te mai limpezeşti un picuţ, îţi vine să te tot duci…dar încotro? Nu de alta, dar mai bine mai înduri un pic, îţi petreci cu cât mai mare şi mai bun folos vremea scurtă de pe-aici…şi-aştepţi să mergi dincolo…Dar ţi-i greu şi ţie, d-apăi când îi vezi şi pe alţii că se chinuie şi nu te-ndură inima să-i laşi aşa…

    Of, of, of…că mulţi se cred de pe-aici şi s-au aşezat ca stăpâni…stăpâni peste ce?

Ei cred că peste toate,

peste zi şi noapte,

peste cer de foc sau ploaie cu noroc,

peste mine, peste tine,

peste azi şi peste mâine…

Dar eu nu ca să-i judec, dar aşa…că nu-i frumos…că ce-mi iau ei mie de pe-aici, eu ştiu că nu-i al meu, dar oare nu mi-a fost împrumutat de dincolo, ca să-mi fie şi mie aşteptarea pe-aici mai plăcută şi mai cu folos? Şi-apoi, dacă furi ceva ce-i împrumutat de dincolo, nu-L furi pe Acela ce mi-a dat împrumut? Dar cam aşa gândesc eu că-i şi cu ţărâna prin care-mi scald picioarele şi palmele…Şi nu-i de datoria mea s-o ţin cu băgare de seamă şi cu cinste şi cu drag ca s-o dau înapoi aşa frumoasă cum am primit-o? Chiar dacă nu mai am vreme şi de altele pe-aici, asta trebuie păstrată faină, nu?

Şi n-ar mai trebui să grijesc şi pe unde-au umblat ai mei,

să le grijesc flori pe lâng-alei,

şi cruci la căpătâi,

că de nu-s şi-ai mei,

atunci ai cui?

Dacă altul ară aleile cu cruci şi flori, eu sa stau să mă uit în gol? Că aleile nu-s nici ale mele şi nici ale lor, ci a celor ce-şi ară ogor, un pic mai încolo, dincolo…Ară şi pentru mine, şi pentru tine, cu lacrime udă de zor, să-mi poată răscumpăra cu ele la soroc, uitările mele, sărman sărăntoc şi-n lacrime şi-n aduceri aminte, şi-n gânduri bune şi-n căinţe, şi-n toate cele mai de preţ…dar nu pe-aici, ci dincolo…

Ară de zor, cu tot sufletul lor,

iar eu să nu le grijesc cum se cuvine,

câteva vorbe bătrâne,

vreo câteva alei cu flori,

şi câte vreun tei bătrân de te trec fiori?

Să uit de ei când trec pe lângă vreo cruce, ridicată greu, sudori şi sânge, ori pe lângă vreun gând de-a lor…aruncat ca din întâmplare, pe stânci golaşe, printre brazi, în mine, în tine? Dar urmele palmelor lor din bârnele din care-au făcut oglinzi în care să se răsfrângă limpezimea de dincolo…? Dar cât de frumos au pictat ei zările de dincolo…şi eu să las să se-arunce-n foc şi păpuşă de copil, si oglindă din bătrâni, si alei cu flori, si cruci de căpătâi? Să le-arunce-n vânt, vorbele din bătrâni, unde nimeni nu le-nţelege dulceaţa de pe buze? Unde dulceaţa de pe buze, şi zâmbet de copil, şi suflet de femeie, şi gând din bătrâni îngheaţă printre…schingiuitorii de gheaţă…

 Of…d’apăi hotărât lucru că asta nu se poate chiar aşa…că şi câinii se apără între ei, d’apăi noi, care orişicum nu avem nimic al nostru pe-aici, să vindem ce nu-i a nostru? Pentru ce?

Eu nu vreau să vând ce mi s-a dat cu împrumut, nici cămătar nu îs, nici florile de pe alei nu le vând…nici pe voi, pe toţi ai mei…de dincolo sau dincoace de vreo apă, de dincoace sau dincolo de viaţă…pe voi, ce încă mai staţi pe-aici, sau pe voi care v-aţi întors…dincolo…

Doamne-ajută!

“Culling”

November 24th, 2009

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve checked in on Sons of Anarchy, primarily because I’ve run out of superlative things to say about the show. Right now, the show is riding a wave of momentum that feels almost Wire-esque, relying less on twists or turns (which would perhaps illicit more of an immediate desire to write about it) and more on a clear depiction of SAMCRO accomplishing what they want to accomplish in the form of some really compelling asskickery.

“Culling” is the first time in a few episodes where things, you could argue, go wrong, but what’s most intriguing is how uniquely situated the audience is within this story from a traditional law and order perspective. Because our point of view lies with the Sons, who are in this for vengeance over justice, we root against the ATF and become legitimately concerned when the Charming P.D. enter into the equation. The show has us cheering things that television doesn’t necessarily always condition us to cheer, and it makes for an episode that builds tension not by having things go terribly wrong but rather having the definition of justice become a debatable topic on which different characters have very different perspectives.

It’s the complicated web the show has been spinning with shocking clarity all season, and it’s making for an enormously entertaining march to the finale.

Considering that Alan Sepinwall and Zack Handlen have both covered the entire episode in detail long before I could, I won’t go into every little thing, but I want to focus on a couple of central ideas in the episode.

The first is the idea that we’re in some way upset that A.J. Weston and Ethan Zobell have been arrested and placed into custody. While The Wire was a show that played with questions of justice, it was doing so within the justice system itself: their concern was whether the target was going to go to prison for all of their crimes as opposed to just some simple drug charge, so the purpose of the Major Crimes Unit was to investigate further to be able to follow the money and build a more substantial case. However, on Sons of Anarchy, those types of cops are effectively the enemy, with Agent Stahl proving to be the personification of the opportunistic, spiteful law enforcement that the Sons have to contend with. Obviously, the ATF is the enemy of a motorcycle club who runs guns, so it’s not as if they’re going to be some sort of heroes in these scenarios, but the characterization of Stahl has taken away any sense that the organization is capable of dishing out justice. There were bad cops on The Wire, but there were also good cops, and they were our ostensible heroes.

One of the things that makes an episode like this work, though, is that Deputy Hale has not been painted with the same brush. In the first season, he was there as the Charming P.D. equivalent of Stahl, someone who wasn’t as enlightened as Unser about the Sons’ role in the community and who in his lack of understanding of the club fought against them tooth and nail. Of course, in the first season, some viewers might have related to Hale, as this isn’t exactly the easiest world to jump into and immediately empathize with the hardcore bikers running guns and obstructing justice. But by the time of the second season, we identify with the Sons (Jax especially) to the point where Hale remaining a pain in their side would turn him into another Stahl, and I’m impressed with how Sutter has given the character a real sense of purpose. Working with Jax to try to bring down Clay over what happened to Donna shows that he hasn’t entirely written off the club, and in this episode his actions are not an attack on the club so much as they are an attempt to keep the club from following through with their planned vengeance.

Hale is not out to destroy the club so much as he is out there to keep them honest. The problem with the Sons is that they both need the traditional legal system, like when they send our two-fingered friend to the station to give evidence about the Karakara fire so that they can collect the insurance money, but yet they don’t want it to follow through. Hale has no choice but to arrest Weston based on the information provided, but that isn’t what the Sons consider justice. If they had wanted justice, Gemma would have had a rape kit done and they could have arrested Weston then and there. For everything that Zobelle and Weston have done, the Sons want them dead, and yet Hale’s job is to enforce the law and send them to jail for the crimes he knows they’ve committed within Charming’s borders. When Jax claims that the brawl is none of his business, Hale is right: they’re in charming, who else’s business is it? And yet, because he works against their idea of vengeance, and because we know that long term Zobell and Weston represent too much of a threat to be warded off with some arson/drug charges, he’s standing in the way of our idea of justice. However, rather than hating him for it (which felt more natural in the first season), I find myself identifying with Hale, and feeling bad for being stuck in this position unsure of how to handle Unser’s involvement and the sheer chaos of it all.

Of course, we know how Tara handles it. Those discussions with Gemma, first about how Tara was entitled to a certain amount of worship from the croweaters because of her association with Jax and then about how God has a purpose for everyone that no one can keep them from achieving, woke up the inner Gemma inside Tara. As she takes a simple choke and turns it into a bloody attack and a threat on her hospital administrator’s life, you see the most stirring example yet of how far she’s gone. Back a while ago, when she was reading Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and pondering whether she could truly see into this life, we had seen her sex up Jax in a Karakara bathroom and be capable of showing a more purposeful side to herself. However, that was always about Tara asserting herself within SAMCRO, whereas this is Tara asserting herself in a SAMCRO-fashion within her everyday life. The scene was visceral and powerful, as Maggie Siff sold the hell out of the attack (and, to give her full credit, the administrator did a good job of selling her shock and making me glad to see her take one to the chin). And it confirms that, whether we would think the same in real life, the show has crafted a scenario where we want to see Tara take back her job with force and fear, and where that feels just (even if it goes against every sense of ethics we can imagine).

Heading into next week’s finale, we find the Sons at an impasse: they’ve played the League into a corner, and managed to foil the ATF’s plan to take out the Irish, but their overall goal of vengeance has been foiled by law enforcement (which was partially their own mistake, really). The result is that the two people they wanted to drag outside of Charming and kill aren’t going anywhere, at least for now – and while their wits got them out of a few scrapes as of late, I’m legitimately not sure how they’re going to deal with this one, and I greatly look forward to what Sutter and Co. have to offer.

Cultural Observations

• So, did SAMCRO expect Hale to follow them out to the brawl? The presence of the Chinese and the Niners would seem to indicate not, as Jax wanted to finish off Weston once and for all, and yet the “Unser moves on the cigar shop” side of things requires Hale to be away from the station (although he somehow got back in time to find them just walking in), so I’m not entirely sure what the timing was there.
• Loved the small little beat of Bobby and Clay discussing Half-sack and him losing his Prospect status in just a month. If this is leading to a ore substantial role in Season Three, wondrous. If it leads to him being killed before getting patched in, I will loudly curse out Sutter on Twitter for the world to see.
• Really enjoyed the opening sequence as we see the Sons putting everything together and getting their ducks in a row (and out of the rain) ahead of their plan coming into play.
• I’m a little disappointed that Chibbs didn’t get to take out Jimmy O while he had a chance, but the idea of Titus Welliver recurring is worth the delay of justice being served.
• I really intended this to be short, honest.

Tonight I held my sleeping newborn son while I watched Sons of Anarchy.  It doesn’t get any better than that now does it.  Tonight’s episode of Sons of Anarchy, The Culling just blew me away.  It was so amazing.  I know the finale is going to be great, but I don’t know if it could get much better than it did tonight. Lots of stuff happened tonight to move the story along so bear with me in this recap.  I normally don’t go into this much depth, but it was so good I don’t want to leave anything out.

Looks like the Sons of Anarchy are getting ready for war.  SAMCRO has gotten everyone important to them into the clubhouse and put it on lock down.  They don’t want any of their families or friends hurt in what’s about to happen.  They’ve also brought in some outside charters to help them out.  In the chapel they run down the plan to get their guns, clear Chibs with Jimmy O, and turn Weston and others against Zobele.  They are organized and they are ready.  They briefly discuss Half-Sac after they find out that his body rejected the implant.  It’s good to see Clay with such a clear head all of a sudden.

Jax, Opie, and Juice go to tell Weston about Zobele’s dealings with the Mayans.  Of course Weston is pissed about Jax busting in his house and messing with his sons.  He also has no idea that Jax and the Sons know about what he did to Gemma.

Chibs meets his wife Fiona at a park and he tells her that he wants to get her out since the ATF is aware of Jimmy O and they are planning to take him down.  Clay has arranged for the Belfast charter of SOA to watch out for Chibs daughter.  While the two share a brief moment in the bathroom at the park, she doesn’t seem sure about leaving.  Clay and Bobby meet with Jimmy O and tell him that it’s really the Hayes’ who’ve turned on the Irish, they give him photos that Unser took from the ATF as proof.

Back at the clubhouse Gemma and Tara are sitting at the bar when a “croweater” offers Tara some coffee.  At first she refuses, but Gemma insists that she needs to take advantage of it.  She tells her that people need to show her respect in Charming, since she’s Jax Teller’s old lady.

Clay and Jax meet with the Niners and the Asians.  They explain that they have a common enemy, Zobele.  They hatch a plan to wipe out Zobele and the Mayans wich is good business for all.

Weston finds Zobele’s drug house and busts in killing the two workers and Ule after he tells Weston that the guns went to the Mexicans, corroborating what Jax told him.  Back at the club house Chuckie has resurfaced with burns from the Cara Cara fire.  He agrees to file a report that Weston torched the studio and is sent outside while the grown-up talk shop.

Over at the IRA safe house Polly is leaving and Agent Stahl heads in to talk to Edward.  She warns him that if he doesn’t give up Jimmy O she will “bury him.”

Polly arrives at the cigar shop and Weston bust in with some of his Aryan Brotherhood goons and pulls a gun on Zobele for betraying the cause.  Polly pulls a gun on Weston and Zobele is able to calm them all down enough to at least put down the guns.  Weston is pissed and is starting to get a little irrational.  He’s playing right into SAMCRO’s hands.  Zobele tells his daughter to call Hale and get some cops over to watch her and the store while he goes for more new protection.  Weston arrives at the Charming PD as his sons are being taken away by social services since he left them alone in a house with loaded firearms.  Jax, Opie and Juice show up and set up a time for a fight between the ten best of Weston’s crew and the ten best of Jax’s, no weapons.

Inside the police department Hale tells Chief Unser about the killings that Weston committed and he thinks it’s SAMCRO’s work.  Unser tells him that it isn’t, and it doesn’t matter anyway since it didn’t take place in their jurisdiction.  At that pint Hale notices Chuckie and asks why he’s there.  Unser informs him that he witnessed who burned down CaraCara.  Hale has a tail put on Jax and Clay.

Gemma and Tara are out running errands and have a little heart to heart about their roles in life.  Tara’s role is healing and Gemma’s is to be a fierce mother. 

Over at the safe house Jimmy O shows up to pick up the guns, at least that’s what Edward and the ATF watching the house think.  Jimmy and SAMCRO trick both of them into leaving and get their guns.  After the guns are loaded up in the van Clay, Jax, Tig, Bobby and a few others head to the Army-Nay surplus store to continue the ruse.  Of course Jimmy O isn’t there, and neither are the guns.  When Stahl asks where Jimmy O is the Sons plead ignorance of who he is, and Stahl hits Chibs.  They open the create that is supposed to have the guns in them  but contains only two dead rats, meant as a message for the Hayes’.

Over at the hospital Tara is catching up on her charts when Margret Murphy, the administrator who suspended Tara walks in.  Murphy starts to bully Tara, and Tara turns on her.  Telling her just how much she pity’s her.  When Murphy calls Gemma a whore Tara goes after her and assaults her, warning her that if she does anything about it that she will be in big trouble.  Oh and while Murphy is keeping quiet she should drop the claim against Tara.  Murphy is scared, and it looks like she’s done bullying anyone.  Way to go Tara, looks like she’s embraced being an old lady after all.

The crew heads off to meet Weston, and  Gemma consoles both Tara and Lyla as the guys ride off being tailed by the cops that Hale put on them.  The Sons wait on Weston to show up, and when he does his guys are armed to the teeth.  At that point Both LaRoy and Lin show up with their crews tilting the scales in SAMCRO’s favor.  After Weston’s guys put down the guns, they fight goes as planned until the cops show up.  When Hale gets there it’s only the Sons and Weston left.  Hale arrests Weston for burning down the studio, and Clay and the crew call Unser and head over to Zobele’s cigar store.

Unser send the cops watching the store away and waits for Clay to show up.  When Clay shows up he tells Polly to call her dad.  At that point Zobele walks in.  Clay tries to get him outside so he can take him outside of Charming to kill him.  At that point Hale and the two cops that Unser sent away come back in and see what’s going on.  Unser tells them all to leave since he’s the ranking officer there.  As Hale and the other two cops begin to leave Zobele tells them that he and his daughter are in possession of some heroin and it’s under the counter.  Smart move.  He realizes that they will last longer in jail than they will on the street with SAMCRO after them.  As he’s being arrested Jax tells Zobele that they are still going to kill him.

Thoughts and Observations:

• Wow, I mean WOW.  Sutter and crew really out did themselves.  I loved season one, but man this season has blown it out of the water.  No sophomore slump here.
• I was a little creeped out when Zobele left Polly at the cigar shop.  That kiss he gave her was a little more than a father should give a daughter.
• Zobele left to find new protection.  I can only assume that he was going to enlist the Mayans.
• With Weston and Zobele behind bars I guess the attention turns to clearing out the Mayans.  SAMCRO made a promise to the Lin and LaRoy to help clear them out.  Wonder how long it will take before the Asians and the Niners turn on each other?
• Looks like Half-Sac is going to get his top rocker.  I’ve been waiting for this.  He sure as hell has earned it.
• Tara’s turn in this episode was AWESOME!  “No THIS is assault!”
• What was that whole thing with the guy from the Tacoma charter and Tig?  There is some sort of beef there, I hope it get’s explained in the finale.
• Jax is responsible to Weston’s kids being taken away.  “At least I didn’t gang rape them.”
• During the fight Tig bit one of Weston’s guys ear off.  This is why Tig is so great.
• I’m not making any predictions for the finale, but I do think that Unser will step down at the end of the episode, and next season will be all about Hale vs. SAMCRO.
• I can’t wait for next week.  FX isn’t sending out the preview screeners until the day it airs, so don’t ask me what happens.  I don’t know any more than you do.

Din ciclul: Ce mai apare azi pe siturile de job-uri, următorul anunţ:

Promotor Rodbun

CANDIDATUL IDEAL:

Domiciliul stabil in MEDIUL RURAL in orice comuna din judetele BOTOSANI, IASI, SUCEAVA, VASLUI, NEAMT

POT APLICA DOAR PERSOANELE CARE TRAIESC IN MEDIUL RURAL (comune, sate)

Cunostinte despre agricultura. Poti trimite cv-ul daca lucreazi pamant sau daca ai cunostinte despre utilaje agricole, seminte, pesticide sau ingrasaminte chimice
Studiile agronomice (liceu, facultate) prezinta avantaj.
Permis de conducere categoria B.
Prezenţă placută, capacitatea de a stabili relaţii interpersonale, abilităţi de comunicare, bun negociator.

RESPONSABILITATI / BENEFICII:
Prezenţă zilnică în zona de activitate
Promovarea produselor companiei
Menţinerea si dezvoltarea relaţiilor de colaborare cu clienţii deja existenţi, căutarea unor oportunităţi suplimentare pentru cresterea vanzarilor ;
Culegerea informaţiilor legate de clienţi si de concurenţă, obţinute de pe raza zonei de activitate

Firma mai este interesată:

• candidatul are cunoştinţe despre agricultură, a lucrat pământ sau a deţinut utilaje (Eu am lucrat pământ şi am dat cu sapa în fiecare vară, tot liceul. BINGO!)

• domiciliul (de pe buletin: sat Smirdan, com. Suharău, jud. Botoşani. BINGO!)

• candidatul este interesat de un contract de colaborare care să îi sporească veniturile (BINGO! direct)

• carnet auto (nu am, da ştiu să fac autostopul la o căruţă până la următorul deal. semi BINGO!)

• ce îi place candidatului să facă în timpul liber, ce hobby-uri are (dacă spun că una dintre cărţile mele de suflet e “Desculţ”, oare mă pun să mi-l amintesc pe Darie? BINGO!)

Concluzie: sunt super calificată! Mă aşteaptă câmpurile, văile şi RODUL BUN!

P. S. Şi în IT se aplică aceleaşi lucruri, doar că nu e deal ci  english “deal”, nu e pământ ci e pad şi nu sunt animăluţe ci e doar un mouse. Cât despre field-ul muncii…e mereu pro-activ! Roade bune să avem!

Nu stiu altii cum sunt, dar cand doza mea de acceptabilitate fata de tara in care m-am nascut este depasita, imi vine sa o iau drept si ma opresc intr-o oaza in desert, sa vad daca comparatia mi-ar putea aduce impacarea cu plaiul mioritic, care nu de putine ori imi pare a fi o jalnica reprezentare a purgatoriului,  dat fiind ca pentru iad ai dosarul complet si stampilat si probabil ca romanismul nostru l-ar degrada. De data aceasta, mult disputatele alegeri mi-au reinnoit sila de a fi roman. Am vrut si chiar am reusit sa ajung la alegeri, nu din simt civic caci pentru asta ai nevoie de sentimentul apartenentei, ci din nevoia egoista de a sti ca ce tine de mine am facut. Am gasit in cele din urma sectia la care eram arondata, impleticindu-ma printre sageti cu cifre care dezarmau alegatorii, privind ocupantii temporali ai unor scaune de clasa, unde plictiseala parea eterna. Mi-am prezentat cartea de identitate in speranta ca voi primi silentios cele trei buletine de vot si stampila cu pricina. Ar fi fost prea usor si trebuie sa recunosc ca nu mica mi-a fost mirarea cand am auzit (dupa care mi-am pus intrebarea in gand daca nu mi s-a parut) ca sunt intrebata daca vreau buletine si pentru referendum. L-am privit lung, de parca cuvintele le-ar fi fost teama de penibilul situatiei si am intrebat: “De ce intrebati daca vreau si buletine pentru referendum?”. Domnul in cauza m-a privit si a incercat fara convingere sa lege un raspuns oarecum asumat:

“Intreb ca asa mi s-a spus”. Dupa care speriat parca de rezonanta rostirii sale a adaugat” altii mi-au spus din capul locului ca nu vor buletine pentru referendum, asa ca intreb”. Asta e problema, ca speciile locale sunt absolut dezarmante si iti dai seama ca vorbesti cu peretele. Mi-am luat stampila, mi-am exercitat chinuitul drept la vot, mi-am recuperate cartea de identitate si am alergat spre afara pentru a lua o gura buna de aer. In drumul meu mi-am aruncat ochii dejnadajduita in cautarea unei autoritati in fata careia sa ma exprim si mi-am dat seama ca speranta, care de obicei moare ultima, a facut deja buruieni pe mormant.