Chan Chan and The Gorriones (Two Poems in English and Spanish)
October 31, 2008
The following two poems, one in English, the other in English and Spanish were done during this ongoing trip in Peru, while in Lima, although the poem concerning: Chan Chan was oriinally started last year,while at the ancient site in Northern Peru, it was just finished recently.
The Gorriones of Lima
It is fall all around me-
The Gorriones are swimming in the air Underneath the Lima sky
As if-, if fish could fly?
Summer has gone its way
It is fall again I say! The birds-, they just walk on by
Looking, as if, if on parade-
And
The world keeps spinning;
They just do not see it Until the hour comes?
When the sun goes down!?
When,
Things get a little dim;
Yet the Gorriones keep on swimming Gracefully, swimming, in the wind-
Under the Lima sky? .
Note: #634 (4-30-05) Written in Lima, Peru
A Short, Saga of Chan Chan English Version
The Mochicas built the Great Temples
Of the Sun and Moon (For I have seen them)
Long before Tacaynamo Came from the Sea…
Samanthas Bay Leaf Ritual for the New Year
October 31, 2008
HI would like to share with you a ritual I do every New Year’s that is quite involved and requires a lot of thought and meditation time. It is derived from an ancient Greek ritual for prosperity and fertility. As you may recall, ancient Mediterranean Kings and Queens used to wear garlands of bay leaves (as well as olive leaves) as crowns. Bay leaves, and often bayberry leaves, are often used in Alexandrian magic as well, as well to draw success in business and finances. I like this ritual because first of all it is very “white” and it also involves the writing down of your wishes. The writing down of your wishes on 108 bay leaves works in the same way as a positive affirmation. The stating of your goals and desires allows you to properly manifest them in real life. Every year I pull out my old bay leaves and sort through them and I am always astounded by how many of my wishes have actually been granted.
For this you will need:
a blank check
a gold or silver pen (but a green will do if you can’t get those colours)
Cinnamon incense
Genealogy / Family History
October 30, 2008
One huge advantage of knowing about family history is that sometimes it can help you to trace and pinpoint occurrences of illness.
My father and two of my brothers had all died of heart attacks at a fairly young age. My dad and my eldest brother were in their forties, and my younger brother was just thirty two years old.
In tracing back my paternal side of the family, I discovered that rarely did any of the males live beyond the age of forty four, and many had died of heart disease before they reached the ripe old age of forty. The females in the family line hardly ever suffered with any heart trouble at all.
It occurred to me that the heart disease in the male line was too frequent to be coincidental, especially as it all seemed to be because of high cholesterol levels, leading to a fatal heart attack.
Once I had concluded my investigation, I discussed this with a heart disease specialist, and after examining all my paper work, he called my nephews in for medical checks. In two of my three nephews, he discovered that they had severe cholesterol levels (above the 15 mark) and needed immediate medication.
Fire Walkers
October 29, 2008
DERVISH: - Whirling and ecstatically altering their conscious and soul full interconnections with all around them. These people of the Middle East are a lot like Native dancers and dream dancers from the whole of the world and deep into the dark recesses of human existence on earth. Needless to say their behavior has little relevance for the western academics of such soul-denying professions as those who do NOT know how to actually cure people or why the soul is important in that process of wholistic balance in human lives-and JOY! The quotation from the book ‘Wonder Child’ is the kind of thing we should read over and over again until we know why it makes ‘common sense’ versus the constant bombardment of manipulative messages and fear-mongering to divide the human family.
In our entry on the origins of language (Ogham) we mentioned ‘Huna’ and Max Freedom Long’s work with the chants and mind-altering effects of the Hawaiian language. Here we see him engaged in something the ‘real’ world we live in, can seldom observe, and most scientists would hesitate to hold forth their ‘expertise’ and try to explain.
Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make
October 28, 2008
Christmas is a time of giving and receiving. Even kids would want to get into the picture. Giving gifts to their friends and loved ones. Now what gifts can kids give that do not look tacky? I mean, kids generally do not have much income. It kind of breaks a mom’s heart to see a kid break his or her piggy bank just to buy a gift for someone who might not really appreciate it. A better alternative is to get kids to make something cute to give as gifts to those who matter to them. One thing that comes to mind is a pet rock. Those cute little pebbles with faces, which one could get quite fond of. These are easy to make, and they are practical as well. Pet rocks make great paper weights. Add a secret message below and you have an adorable, personal gift a kid could make, without breaking the bank. All the kid has to do is to collect some smooth pebbles, each around the size of his or her palm. Mom can supply the felt, glue, cardboard and pens. Kids just spend their free time making gifts they can give out on Christmas day. The glue must be able to stick the felt to the stone. To avoid disappointment, test first by sticking a small piece of felt to a stone that you do not want. Stick another small piece of felt on top of it. Let it dry. If the felt pieces stay stuck to each other and to the stone, you are all set to go. How To Make Pebble Pets
Top of the Line Digital Cameras
October 27, 2008
If you think that digital cameras are for snapshots only, then you obviously haven’t heard about SLR (Single Lens Reflex) digital cameras. SLR is a type of camera which has one lens for composing the frame and capturing the image. SLR cameras are also known as TTL (through-the-lens) cameras.
An SLR camera displays an image through the viewfinder that is exactly the same image as the camera sees and is exactly the same image that the camera is going to record when you release the shutter.
An SLR camera provides a much more accurate image through the viewfinder than a digital camera produces on its LCD because the LCD does not faithfully reproduce the colors and light intensity that is actually entering the camera.
The top of the line SLR digital cameras rival the best film-based SLR cameras and are designed for serious hobbyists and professional photographers. Digital SLR cameras are much larger, bulkier, and heavier than traditional digital cameras.
The SLR uses a mirror that is located behind the lens as well as an optical device known as a pentaprism to channel the light that enters the camera’s lens to the optical finder. When you release the shutter the mirror moves out of the way and the image is captured in the same way as any digital camera.
Color Easter Eggs Naturally With Dyes From Your Kitchen
October 26, 2008
The most beautiful dyes for Easter eggs come from foodstuff you probably already have in your kitchen.
I have been delighted with the results of the colors I have tried and my friends have been thrilled to receive them as springtime gifts. The colors are very unusual — gentle, earthy, soft, and very vibrant, without being harsh like the artificial dyes — and when I tell people the colors come from plant dyes, they always want to know the origin of each color.
To color these eggs, you boil the eggs with the dyestuff, rather than boiling the eggs separately and they dying them.
Here are the general directions:
1. Put raw, white-shelled, organically-raised eggs in a single layer in a pan. Cover with cold water.
2. Add a little more than a teaspoon of white vinegar.
3. Add the natural dyestuff for the color you want your eggs to be. (The more eggs you are dying at a time, the more dye you will need to use, and the more dye you use, the darker the color will be.)
4. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
PE-Design Embroidery Digitizing Software: Getting Started
October 26, 2008
This article is in response to the emails I receive from my website asking for my thoughts on PE-Design. If you are considering purchasing embridery digitizing programs, I hope this information will help your research.
What is PE-Design?
PE-Design is an embroidery digitizing software system available from Brother dealers and though the ‘PE’ stands for Personal Embroidery, don’t let that fool you. It’s a robust system that allows for some pretty advanced digitizing and embroidery and is an excellent program to begin learning the art of embroidery digitizing. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) or What-You-See/Interact-With-On-The-Screen is colorful with large, intuitive buttons and fly-outs. It’s also organized very well with no clutter for a large workspace.
PE-Design allows the digitizer to convert a digital picture to stitches and save it in a format that can be read by the computer in your embroidery machine. The image can be one you’ve hand drawn and scanned, one created in another imaging program such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, or JASC Paint Shop Pro, one you’ve captured (legally, of course) from the Internet, a CD or floppy, or a digital snapshot from your digital camera. Whatever the case, the original image must be in .jpg, .gif or .bmp format.
Shakespeares Sonnet XVIII, Shall I Compare Thee to a Summers Day?
October 25, 2008
Shakespeare’s sonnets require time and effort to appreciate. Understanding the numerous meanings of the lines, the crisply made references, the brilliance of the images, and the complexity of the sound, rhythm and structure of the verse demands attention and experience. The rewards are plentiful as few writers have ever approached the richness of Shakespeare’s prose and poetry.
"Sonnet XVIII" is also known as, "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?" It was written around 1599 and published with over 150 other sonnets in 1609 by Thomas Thorpe.
The first 126 sonnets are written to a youth, a boy, probably about 19, and perhaps specifically, William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. His initials, W.H., appear in Thorpe’s dedication, and the first volume of Shakespeare’s plays, published by two of his fellow actors, Herminge and Condell, after Shakespeare’s death, was dedicated to William Herbert.
"Sonnet XVIII" is one of the most famous of all of Shakespeare’s sonnets. It is written in the sonnet style that Shakespeare preferred, 14 lines long with three quatrains (four rhymed lines) and a couplet (a pair of rhymed lines).
Tracing Your Family History
October 24, 2008
Let me say straight away that tracing your family ancestry is a great hobby but very addictive, so unless you want to get well and truly hooked, don’t start.
When I travel around the country to Family History Fairs, I am amazed at the number of people who say quite cheerfully, “family history is so easy, I did mine in half an hour on the internet.” If they are happy with that, then good luck to them, but for me, if I cannot prove it, it doesn’t count.
Family history is not about just collecting a pile of names and then trying to fit them all together like a genealogical jigsaw puzzle. You must start with what you know to be true and that is your birth certificate. On that will be the names of your parents, so, if you do not already have access to it, it shouldn’t be hard to obtain their marriage certificate. From there until 1837, you can travel back fairly safely with hatched, matched and dispatched certificates from the Family Records Centre in London. Pre 1837, you have to be able to access parish registers, and this is where the going can get tough. If you are unsure of the area your forbears are from, census returns can be very helpful.
