Yoga Korunta

Book: Dreamers of the Day

2008-04-01T11:17:00.004-04:00

Dreamers of the Day, latest novel by Mary Doria Russell, takes readers behind the scenes of the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference, where Churchill, Lady Gertrude Bell and TE Lawrence invented the modern Middle East. A richly imagined, suspenseful novel, Russell's book brings an exciting story of one woman who dares to experience a new world and to push the limits of her understanding of herself and others.

Your blog author attended the book signing and now has an inscribed copy in his library!

Groundhog Day!

2008-02-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

Looking for answers to your Groundhog Day questions? You've come to the right spot! Learn about various aspects of the Groundhog Day holiday, and how we've been celebrating it in Punxsutawney since 1886.

Here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the holiday:

Yes! Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors.

How often is Phil's prediction correct? 100% of the time, of course!

How many "Phils" have there been over the years? There has been only one Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making predictions for over 120 years!

Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking the "elixir of life," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.

On February 2, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob - in front of thousands of followers from all over the world - to predict the weather for the rest of winter.

According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

No! Phil's forecasts are not made in advance by the Inner Circle. After Phil emerges from his burrow on February 2, he speaks to the Groundhog Club president in "Groundhogese"(a language understood only by the current president of the Inner Circle). His proclamation is then translated for the world.

The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May..."

Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s. The first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was made on February 2, 1887.

So the story goes, Punxsutawney Phil was named after King Phillip. Prior to being called Phil, he was called Br'er Groundhog.

Groundhog.org

Edmund Hillary Dies

2008-01-10T21:42:00.000-05:00

Famed New Zealander Edmund Hillary, beekeeper and explorer extraordinaire has died at 88.

(CNN) -- Sir Edmund Hillary, who gained worldwide fame after he and guide Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, has died, according to New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

On May 29, 1953, Hillary and Tenzing became the first men known to have climbed the 29,035 feet to the top of Everest and safely return.

A beekeeper who served during World War II in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Hillary began climbing while in high school and traveled to the central Himalayas to join a British party exploring the southern face of Everest in 1951.

He returned in 1953, when he and Tenzing made their ascent -- spending 15-30 minutes at the summit. Hillary left a crucifix at the top of the mountain and Tenzing, in keeping with his Buddhist beliefs, left an offering of food.

Hillary took a picture of Tenzing at the peak but, because the Sherpa guide did not know how to use a camera, there are no pictures of Hillary there.

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II upon his return to England, but continued exploring -- reaching the South Pole by tractor in 1958, joining the first group to climb Antarctica's Mt. Herschel in 1967 and boating east Himalayan rivers and the Ganges.

In his later years, Hillary became a strong supporter of environmental causes and worked to improve the lives of Nepal's Sherpas -- helping to build and fund schools for them. CNN's Jonathan Mann looks at the life of Sir Edmund Hillary »

Hillary was not always complimentary of the more than 1,300 people who have climbed Everest since he did. In 2006, he harshly criticized a group of about 40 climbers that left Englishman David Sharp, 34, to die as they kept climbing to the top of Everest.

"Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain," he said at the time. "I think the whole attitude toward climbing Mt. Everest has become rather horrifying -- the people just want to get to the top."

In 2003, Hillary was made an honorary citizen of Nepal on the 50th anniversary of his historic climb.

"The legacy of Sir Edmund Hillary will live on," Clark said "His exploits continue to inspire new generations of New Zealanders, as they have for more than half a century already."

All About Edmund Hillary • New Zealand • Mount Everest

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T18:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome to 2008, Bloggers! We must continue to move forward to make progress against the Uber Nazis.

The Mayfly Project

2007-12-31T09:40:00.000-05:00

A friend committed suicide and a former teacher made the transition. The gods must feel wrath. George W. Bush took us closer to Hell.

Funeral for a Friend

2007-12-24T09:43:00.001-05:00

This post is an honor to a fallen friend, a means of closure, and a cry to examine one's own life. I met Tony while an undergrad in the early nineties. He was perceptive, resourceful, and brilliant. It seems, however, that demons haunted Tony. Where do the smart people turn for advice? Tony, we never knew.

To family: This post is to express my condolences for your personal loss. Is there anything I can do for you? If there is anything I can do for you, please call.

In the words of Marta, Tony's fiancee, he taught me to "Believe in love and people."

At present a link to Tony's life is found at http://anthonycorlando.legacy.com.

Scientific Advancement

2007-12-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

It was on this day in 1975 that Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act and started the "go metric" campaign with school activities, bumper stickers, public service announcements, and wall charts. But in 1982, Ronald Reagan disbanded the Metric Board and canceled its funding. The metric system was developed 200 years ago, during of the Age of Reason, and is based on numeric intervals of 10, while the U.S.'s measurement system is based on seeds and body parts. Today, the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar are the only nonmetric countries in the world.*

Way to go, Gipper. Get the government off the people's backs.

*The Writer's Almanac

Kiss of Death

2007-12-17T08:29:00.000-05:00

Senator Joe Lieberman just endorsed John McCain for President. Christian nation, John? A pox on both your religions. We need smart leaders, not those who kowtow to narrow minded zealots.

This blog wishes to remind readers that morality preceded organized superstition.

Woman Fired for Teaching Science

2007-11-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

Yes, Bloggers, the Christians have done it again! Turning the clock back 500 years they have determined that science has no place in 2007. Read for yourself here:
http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/11/29/texas-so-so-doomed/

Buy Nothing Day

2007-11-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

Buy Nothing Day is an informal day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists. In 2007, Buy Nothing Day falls on November 23rd in North America and November 24th internationally.[1] It was founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by the Canadian Adbusters magazine.

The first Buy Nothing Day was organized in Vancouver in September of 1992 "as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption."[2] In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, which is one of the top 10 busiest shopping days in the United States. Outside of North America, Buy Nothing Day is celebrated on the following Saturday. Despite controversies, Adbusters managed to advertise Buy Nothing Day on CNN, but many other major television networks declined to air their ads.[3] Soon, campaigns started appearing in United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway. Participation now includes more than 65 nations.[4]

While critics of the day charge that Buy Nothing Day simply causes participants to buy the next day,[5] Adbusters states that it "isn't just about changing your habits for one day" but "about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste."[6]*

*Wiki

Happy Tofurkey Day!

2007-11-22T04:19:00.000-05:00

"In the United States, Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day is an annual one-day holiday to give thanks to God for the things one has at the end of the harvest season. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. The period from Thanksgiving Day to New Year's Day is often collectively referred to as the 'holiday season', and the holiday itself is often nicknamed Turkey Day.

Thanksgiving is generally considered a secular holiday, and is not directly based in religious canon or dogma."*

As the single remaining reader knows, this is a secular blog. While tolerant of the superstitious, this writer does not proselytize his rudimentary understanding of science. The laws of nature, aka the laws of physics, govern his life.

For those of my generation, which is to say too young to have been drafted for Vietnam, who love politics, one must always hear "Alice's Restaurant" on this day. This is the masterpiece by Arlo Guthrie; you can read the rest here:

"Alice's Restaurant Massacree" (commonly referred to simply as "Alice's Restaurant") is one of singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie's most prominent works, a musical monologue based on a true story that began on Thanksgiving Day 1965, and which inspired a 1969 movie of the same name.

The song lasts 18 minutes and 20 seconds, occupying the entire A-side of Guthrie's 1967 debut record album, titled Alice's Restaurant (Warner Reprise Records). It is notable as a satirical, first-person account of 1960s counterculture, in addition to being a hit song in its own right. The final part of the song is an encouragement for the listeners to sing along, to resist the draft, and to end war."**

Next post: Buy Nothing Day, tomorrow!

*Wiki
**Wiki

Muffin

2007-09-10T22:21:00.000-04:00

The things I miss...Muffin, the Mystery Bear. Have been gone too long.

Aye, it were a pleasant day in the Buckeye State. It would have been a pleasure to escort me favored officer to dinner as Babe o' me dreams was out of state.

Tuesday's Word: Valkyrie

2007-09-04T04:19:00.001-04:00

Bloggers, a charming young lady caught my eye and in honor of her bringing light to darkness, we have the following post:

In Norse mythology the valkyries are dísir, minor female deities, who served Odin. The valkyries' purpose was to choose the most heroic of those who had died in battle and to carry them off to Valhalla where they became einherjar. This was necessary because Odin needed warriors to fight at his side at the preordained battle at the end of the world, Ragnarök. In Valhalla the valkyries also “serve drink and look after the tableware and drinking vessels” (Prose Edda Gylfaginning 36).

It appears, however, that there was no clear distinction between the valkyries and the norns. Skuld is for instance both a valkyrie and a norn, and in the Darraðarljóð (lines 1-52), the valkyries weave the web of war (see below). According to the Prose Edda (Gylfaginning 36), “Odin sends [the valkyries] to every battle. They allot death to men and govern victory. Gunnr and Róta [two valkyries] and the youngest norn, called Skuld, always ride to choose who shall be slain and to govern the killings”.

Moreover, artistic licence permitted the name Valkyrie to be used for mortal women in Old Norse poetry, or to quote Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál on the various names used for women:

Woman is also metaphorically called by the names of the Asynjur or the Valkyrs or Norns or women of supernatural kind.[1]

Depictions
In modern art, the valkyries are sometimes depicted as beautiful shieldmaidens on winged horses, armed with helmets and spears. However, valkyrie horse was a kenning for wolf (see Rök Stone), so contrary to the stereotype, they did not ride winged horses. Their mounts were rather the packs of wolves that frequented the corpses of dead warriors. They were gruesome and war-like.

Whereas the wolf was the valkyrie's mount, the valkyrie herself appears to be akin to the raven, flying over the battlefield and "choosing" corpses[2]. Thus, the packs of wolves and ravens that scavenged the aftermath of battles may have been seen as serving a higher purpose.

According to Thomas Bulfinch's highly influential work Bulfinch's Mythology (1855), the armour of the valkyries "sheds a strange flickering light, which flashes up over the northern skies, making what men call the 'Aurora Borealis', or 'Northern Lights'.[3]" However, there is nothing in our sources which supports this claim[4], except for the arrival of the the Valkyries in Helgakviða Hundingsbana I:

High under helms
on heaven's field;
Their byrnies all
with blood were red,
And from their spears
the sparks flew forth.[6] 15. Then gleamed a ray
from Logafiöll,
and from that ray
lightnings issued;
then appeared,
in the field of air,
a helmed band
of Valkyriur:
their corslets were
with blood besprinkled,
and from their spears
shone beams of light.[7]

Origins
The origin of the valkyries as a whole is not reported in extant texts, but many of the well known valkyries are reported as having mortal parents. It is now believed that the original valkyries were the priestesses of Odin who officiated at sacrificial rites in which prisoners were executed (“given to Odin”). These priestesses sometimes carried out the sacrifices themselves, which involved the use of a ritual spear. By the time the Poetic Edda came to be compiled in the late 12th or early 13th century, these rituals had given rise to legends of supernatural battle-maidens who took an active part in human conflict, deciding who should live and who should die (Davidson 1964).

In the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda the valkyries are supernatural deities of unknown parentage; they are described as battle-maidens who ride in the ranks of the gods or serve the drinks in Valhalla; they are invariably given unworldly names like Skǫgul (“Raging”), Hlǫkk (“Shrieking”) and Gjǫll (“Screaming”).

In the Heroic lays, however, the valkyries are described as bands of warrior-women only the leader of whom is ever named. She is invariably a human woman, the beautiful daughter of a great king, though she shares some of the supernatural abilities of her anonymous companions. In the first of the three Helgi Lays, Helgi Hjörvarðsson is accosted by a band of nine valkyries the leader of whom, Svava, is the daughter of a king called Eylimi. In the second and third lays, the valkyries are led by Sigrun, who is the daughter of King Hogni; she marries the hero Helgi Hundingsbani and bears him sons. The most famous of the valkyries, Brynhildr, is also a human princess. In the Sigrdrífumál (The Ballad of the Victory-Bringer) she is never named, being called simply Sigrdrífa (“Victory-Bringer”), and there are only hints that she is not a deity; what's more, we are told nothing of her parentage. In the corresponding passage in the Volsunga saga, however, she is identified as Brynhildr, the daughter of King Budli. (Sigrdrífa is also identified with Brynhildr in another heroic lay, Helreið Brynhildar, or Bryndhildr's Ride to Hel.)

Etymology
The word "valkyrie" comes from the Old Norse valkyrja (plural "valkyrur"), from the words "val" (slain) and "kyrja" (choose). Literally the term means choosers of the slain. It is cognate to the Old English "wælcyrige". The German form "Walküre" was coined by Richard Wagner from Old Norse.[8]

Other valkyries
Apart from the well known valkyries above, many more valkyrie names occur in our sources. In the nafnaþulur addition to Snorri's Edda the following strophes are found.

As can be seen from the above, several of the names exist in different versions. Many of them have a readily apparent warlike meaning - Hjörþrimul, for example, means "battle of swords" while Geirahöð means "battle of spears".

To what an extent this multitude of names ever represented individual mythological beings with separate characteristics is debatable. It is likely that many of them were never more than names and in any case only a few occur in extant myths.

Recent cultural reference
Richard Wagner incorporated Norse tales that included the valkyrie Brünnhilde (Brynhildr) and her punishment and subsequent love for the warrior Siegfried (Sigurðr). These works included his opera Die Walküre, which contains the well known Ride of the Valkyries, as well as others of his oeuvre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. These depictions and others have subsequently led to modern representations of valkyries less as figures of death and warfare and more commonly as romanticized, pristine white and gold clad figures riding winged horses.

References
Damico, Helen. Beowulf's Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1984.
---. "The Valkyrie Reflex in Old English Literature." New Readings on Women in Old English Literature. Eds. Helen Damico and Alexandra Hennessey Olsen. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. 176-89.
Davidson, H. R. Ellis (1964). Gods and Myths of Northern Europe. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-013627-4.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie"
Category: Valkyries

This article was edited for brevity.

Health Care Canned

2007-08-22T21:18:00.000-04:00

My Health Care Canned Me. Suggestions?
Written by Administrator
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
We try and stay away from self-indulgent weepy, bloggy crap here… BUT ….

Here's the deal, I've been working freelance for the last year and been paying Cobra.

Well, the jackasses at the COBRA SERVE NATION (from Florida) upped my policy by $15 and changed my due date UP two weeks. I received no notification of this.

When they got the regular payment I had been electronically transferring every month, they said "Whoa! You're late! You're short! You're CANCELLED! Effective immediately." I’m not quoting but that was the feel.

Here's the rub, as many of you know, I am a type-one diabetic. This means I am uninsurable across the board. I have about a month’s worth of insulin left. I am truly lucky to have the cash today to pay uninsured premiums. Today.

Amazingly, after a vitriolic conversation I had with COBRA SERVE NATION on Monday, they did not see things my way. Usuall, my gift of calm, caustic language works wonders. I once got a health insurance company to cough up some of my teeth after threatening to burn down their office. It was a bit “Studio Exec” but it worked. I even threw in the Michael Moore line, to no avail.

In essence, I think I'm fucked.

Sure, I can get an office or barista job or marry someone who has bennies, but all of these things will take at least three months. If I won the lottery today, I still couldn't get healthcare. I need to get it now.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Thanks.

Dave
Dave@crackpotpress.comThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Tuesday's Word: Sanguine

2007-08-21T05:30:00.000-04:00

san·guine /ˈsæŋgwɪn/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[sang-gwin] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1. cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident: a sanguine disposition; sanguine expectations.
2. reddish; ruddy: a sanguine complexion.
3. (in old physiology) having blood as the predominating humor and consequently being ruddy-faced, cheerful, etc.
4. bloody; sanguinary.
5. blood-red; red.
6. Heraldry. a reddish-purple tincture.
–noun 7. a red iron-oxide crayon used in making drawings.

Today's Word is for two women.

dictionary.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Origin: 1275–1325; ME sanguyne a blood-red cloth < OF sanguin < L sanguineus bloody, equiv. to sanguin-, s. of sanguis blood + -eus -eous]

Tuesday's Word: Skunk Treatment

2007-08-14T04:53:00.000-04:00

If you or a favored pet runs into a skunk, the sprayed areas my be treated by applying a homemade spray removal. De-Skunk Formula: one quart of hydrogen peroxide; one quarter cup of baking soda; one teaspoon liquid dish washing soap. Mix together and wash the skunk-sprayed areas, keeping the mixture out of its eyes, nose, and mouth. Rinse it off in tap water. Use immediately and do not store for future use.

Tuesday's Word: Blogswarm

2007-08-07T16:15:00.000-04:00

From Ripley's The Zen Cabin, we have ruthlessly stolen the following:

The blogswarm refers to the Aug 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing: "bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US", which Bush ignored. We're just trying to remind people that Bush had the intelligence before 9/11 and ignored it.
August 6, 2001

It’s a date that should cause the Republican Party’s cheeks to burn. A date that, perhaps even more than 9/11/01, should have caused George W. Bush to break down in tears of shame and resign from office. Yet, here we are, America…

So many words have been tossed about to describe George Bush in the last six years: incompetent, incurious, demented, unqualified, criminally insane… I think that nearly every unflattering description of human behavior and character would be appropriate.

But August 6, 2001… that’s the day when George W. Bush revealed his true character. Unfortunately, America wasn’t a witness to this revelation until years later, and by then… by then, it was too late.

“bin Laden Determined to Strike in the US”. What kind of fun must you be having to ignore something so pointed, so straightforward in both its meaning and its prose? I’ve done a lot – a LOT – of landscaping in my days and I can tell you, it’s not that much fun. If I had the choice between spending a month on conference calls with Intelligence and Security personnel or clearing brush, well… the brush will wait for me. bin Laden, it seems, had a more specific timeline in mind.

Conspiracy theories abound – MIHOP, LIHOP, what have you – but I’m not a conspiracy theorist. All I need to remember is that George W. Bush was too busy relaxing from that grueling first six months of work to give a damn about America or Americans. “You’ve covered your ass”, indeed…

Fast forward to “the post-9/11 World” that George Bush was too self-centered to notice barreling down the track. Our own government spies on its citizens and demands retroactive immunity for breaking the law and ignoring the Constitution. Suddenly, the Crawford Weedwhacker needs to keep track of every phone call, every web site visit because… well, we really don’t know, do we? Evidently, bin Laden is no longer Enemy #1 but America is populated by 300,000,000 persons of interest.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” has been replaced by a never-ending loop of “9/11! September the 11th!”. Yes, we remember September the 11th, Mr. Bush. Some of us remember the fact that you could have done something to prevent it, or at least tried. And now we see you scurrying to cover your tracks and protect your little henchmen – the only people who believe in you and, evidently, the only people you’ve ever been concerned about.

It seems you take the threat of honest Americans and Justice far more seriously than you’ve ever considered the threat of terrorism. Or maybe you just misunderstimated bin Laden’s determination.

August 6, 2001. Enjoy your Legacy, Mr. Bush.

The blogswarm refers to the Aug 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing: "bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US", which Bush ignored. We're just trying to remind people that Bush had the intelligence before 9/11 and ignored it.

Tagged by Jess!

2007-08-01T05:04:00.001-04:00

1. Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. Our side won! How do you celebrate?
2. Are you on a boat or are you a land lubber or do you soar?
3. What was the last mistake you wished you could cover up?
4. Are your omelettes fluffy?
5. When was the last time your paradigm shifted?

Yoga Korunta has been tagged by Jess Wundrun, so here are the answers!

1a. When the lesser evil wins, we will celebrate with Champagne, of course!

2a. I'm on land, but wish to be sailing.

3a. The last mistake for which I am shamed was made several years ago when I spoke sans brain activity. A Freudian slip?

4a. The omelettes are tres puff!

5a. The last paradigm shift was around 40 years ago when I learned to ask questions.

Continuing in the blog tradition, I am tagging ae, A Curmudgeonly Crab, Barbie, Elizabeth, and Mary!

Tuesday's Word: water table

2007-07-31T04:57:00.000-04:00

The water table or phreatic surface is the surface where the water pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure.

A sustainable amount of water within a unit of sediment or rock, below the water table, in the phreatic zone is called an aquifer. The ability of the aquifer to store groundwater is dependent on the primary and secondary porosity and permeability.

Contents
1 Form
1.1 Surface topography
1.2 Perched water tables
2 Fluctuations
2.1 Seasonal fluctuations
2.2 Long term fluctuations
3 See also

Form
The form of a water table may change and vary due to seasonal changes, topography and structural geology. In undeveloped regions, or areas with high amounts of precipitation, the water table roughly follows the contour of the overlying land surface, and rises and falls with increases or decreases in infiltration. Springs and oases occur when the water table reaches the surface. Springs commonly form on hillsides, where the earth's slanting surface may "intersect" with the water table. Other, unseen springs are found under rivers and lakes, and account for the base-flow water levels in water bodies.

Surface topography
Within an aquifer, the water table is rarely horizontal, but reflects the surface relief due to the effect of gravity.[citation needed] In hilly regions, the variation in gradient give rise to rivers, springs or oases when the water table intersects the surface. It should be noted that the water table does not always mimic the topography due to variations in the underlying geologic structure (i.e. - folded, faulted, fractured bedrock).

Perched water tables
A perched water table (or perched aquifer) is an aquifer that occurs above the regional water table, in the vadose zone. This occurs when there is an impermeable layer of rock or sediment (aquiclude) or relatively impermeable layer aquatard above the main aquifer but below the surface. If a perched aquifer's flow intersects the Earth's surface, at a valley wall for example, the water is discharged as a spring.

Fluctuations

Seasonal fluctuations in the water table. During the dry season, river beds may dry up. In some regions (Great Britain for example), winter precipitation is often higher than summer precipitation and so the groundwater storage is not recharged in summer. Consequently, the water table is lower in the summer period yearly. This disparity between the level of the winter and summer water table is known as the zone of intermittent saturation, wherein the water table will fluctuate in response to climatic conditions.

Long term fluctuations
Fossil water is groundwater that has remained in an aquifer for millennia, and occurs mainly in deserts. Fossil water is non-renewable by present day rainfall due to its depth below the surface, and any extraction ('mining') causes a permanent change in the water table in such regions.

Your blog author has been trying to find water filters. He is beginning to think it would be easier to drill a well.

Wiki

Thursday's Quote: Roz Savage

2007-07-25T21:39:00.000-04:00

Jessie is the intern for the Blue Frontier Campaign, and has been helping out with all kinds of things, including organising the launch event on July 10, and shopping for things I needed for the boat (grease pencil, toothpaste, sunshades, 12 lb of jerky, and various other random items). But possibly her greatest contribution arrived by email today - a sea shanty:

Landed person: How long have you been in the wilderness? (at sea?)

Crew: All me bloomin' life, mam!
Me mother's a mermaid
Me father's king neptune
I was born on the crest of a wave
And rocked in the cradle deep!

Seaweed and barnacles are me clothes
Every tooth in me head is a marlin spike
Every hair on me head is hemp.
Every bone in me body's a spar.

And when I spits, I spits tar.
I's hard I is I ar.
Arrrgh.

Very Pirates of the Caribbean. I especially like the penultimate line - "I's hard I is I ar". On the Atlantic I found little mantras and affirmations very useful in keeping me going at the oars, and I think this will be an excellent new one.

Speaking of sea shanties, shortly I will be publishing my favourite playlists to iTunes, so you will be able to imagine yourself there in the boat with me, listening along to what I'm listening to. All you'll have to do is throw buckets of saltwater over yourself at regular intervals, and you'll have yourself a pretty authentic ocean-rowing experience...

This blog wishes Roz fair weather and calm seas!

Tuesday's Word: Wrestling

2007-07-17T11:22:00.000-04:00

Wrestling is the act of physical engagement between two competitors competing for a physical advantage. It is the oldest form of martial arts, as part of human display behaviour constituting a human universal, practiced in various forms of folk wrestling all over the world. Physical techniques which embody the style of wrestling are clinching, holding, locking and leverage. Avoiding potentially lethal techniques, wrestling has aspects of ritual fighting, but its basic principles are closely related to those of military hand to hand combat or self-defence systems.

Wrestling popularity has grown so much that market demands for staged wrestling have caused the development of professional wrestling.

Ancient Greek wrestlers (Pankratiasts)Contents
1 Wrestling in Ancient history
2 Etymology
3 Wrestling disciplines
3.1 Greco-Roman wrestling
3.2 Freestyle wrestling
3.3 Grappling
3.4 Beach wrestling
3.5 Judo
3.6 Collegiate wrestling
3.7 Folk wrestling
4 Uses of wrestling
4.1 Wrestling as a martial art
5 See also
6 References

Wrestling in Ancient history

Jacob Wrestling with the Angel; illustration by Gustave Doré (1855)One early (probably circa 1500 BC) description of wrestling appears in the Old Testament book of Genesis, chapter 32; it depicts the patriarch Jacob wrestling with the Angel, for which Jacob was subsequently renamed Israel. (Israel translates to "wrestles (or struggles) with God".)[1]

The Mahabharata, one of the major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, describes the encounter between the accomplished wrestlers of Bhima and Jarasandha; "grasping each other in various ways by means of their arms, and kicking each other with such violence as to affect the innermost nerves, they struck at each other's breasts with clenched fists. With bare arms as their only weapons roaring like clouds they grasped and struck each other like two mad elephants encountering each other with their trunks".[2]

Shuai Jiao (Chinese Wrestling) is arguably the most ancient of all Chinese martial arts, with a reported history of over 4,000 years. (The date may be legendary, but wrestling was reportedly used by the Yellow Emperor during his fight against the rebel Chih Yiu and his army in 2697 BC.) During these matches, the combatants reportedly wore horned helmets that they used to gore their opponents while using a primitive form of grappling. This early style of combat was first called Jiao Ti (butting with horns). Throughout the centuries, the hands and arms replaced the horns while the techniques increased and improved. The name Jiao Ti also changed over time, both through common usage and government decree.[3]

According to Scott T. Carroll, the first documented evidence of wrestling in Egypt appeared circa 2300 BC, on the tomb of the Old Kingdom philosopher Ptahhotep. During the period of the New Kingdom (2000-1085 B.C.), additional Egyptian artwork (often on friezes), depicted Egyptian and Nubian wrestlers competing. Carroll notes striking similarities between these ancient depictions and those of the modern Nuba wrestlers.[4]

During the period of Ancient Greece (1100 to 146 B.C.), Greek Wrestling was a popular form of martial art in which points were awarded for pinning a competitor's back to the ground, forcing a competitor to submit or by forcing a competitor out of bounds (arena).[5] After the Roman conquest of the Greeks, Greek Wrestling was absorbed by the Roman culture and became Roman Wrestling during the period of the Roman Empire (510 B.C. to 500 A.D.).[citation needed]

Etymology
Look up Wrestling in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.The term wrestling is an Old English word that originated some time before 1100 A.D. It is perhaps the oldest word still in use in the English language to describe hand to hand combat.[6] The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines wrestling as 'a sport or contest in which two unarmed individuals struggle hand to hand with each attempting to subdue or unbalance the other'.[7]

Look up Grappling in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.It is common in parts of the English-speaking world to use 'wrestling' (noun) and 'grappling' synonamous,[8] in particular synonymously with submission wrestling but this is grammatically incorrect.

Wrestling disciplines
Today, wrestling disciplines are broken down into two categories; International wrestling disciplines and folk wrestling disciplines. According to the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, there are five current International wrestling disciplines acknowledged throughout the world. They are Greco-Roman Wrestling, freestyle wrestling, Sambo, Grappling, Beach Wrestling and Judo.[9]

Greco-Roman wrestling

A greco-roman wrestling match in the United States
Female wrestlingMain article: Greco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman is an International discipline and Olympic sport. "In Greco-Roman style, it is forbidden to hold the opponent below the belt, to make trips, and to actively use the legs in the execution of any action." That is, you are supposed to do everything with your upper body only.[10]

Freestyle wrestling
Main article: Freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling is an International discipline and an Olympic sport. "In free style, it is allowed to hold the legs of the opponent, to make trips and to use actively legs on the execution of any action".[11]

Grappling
Main article: Grappling
"Grappling, also called submission wrestling, refers to the gripping, handling, and controlling of an opponent without the use of striking, typically through the application of various grappling holds and counters to various hold attempts. Grappling can be used in both a standing position, where it is known as stand-up grappling, and on the ground, where it is known as ground grappling. Grappling is an essential part of both clinch fighting and ground fighting".[12]

Beach wrestling
Apparently in a bid to give wrestling greater appeal to television audiences, FILA adopted beach wrestling as an official discipline during 2004-2005. Beach wrestling is standing wrestling done by wrestlers, male or female, inside a sand-filled circle measuring 6 meters in diameter. There are only two weight categories, heavy and light. The objective is to throw your opponent or take your opponent to his or her back. The wrestlers wear swimsuits rather than special wrestling uniforms. Wrestlers may also wear spandex or athletic shorts.[13][14]

Judo
Main article: Judo
Judo (柔道, jūdō?), meaning "gentle way", is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai budō) and combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an opponent to submit by joint locking the elbow or applying a choke.

Collegiate wrestling
Main article: Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling (sometimes known as folkstyle wrestling or scholastic wrestling) is the commonly used name of wrestling practiced at the university level in the United States. A very similar style is practiced at the high school and middle school levels, and also for younger participants. The term is used to distinguish the styles of wrestling used in other parts of the world, and for those of the Olympic Games: Greco-Roman wrestling, and Freestyle wrestling. There are currently five tiers of collegiate wrestling, that being NCAA division 1, 2, and 3, NJCAA, NAIA, and the NCWA. The collegiate season starts in late October and culimanates with the NCAA tournament held in March.

Folk wrestling

Burumbators on the traditional Nadam festival in Mongolia, near Ulanbataar
Jiu-Jitsu practitioners working in a half guardMain article: folk wrestling

Khuresh (Tuvan wrestling)There are almost as many folk wrestling styles as there are national traditions, because folk wrestling describes a traditional form of wrestling unique to a culture or geographic region of the world. Folk wrestling styles are not yet recognized Internationally. The following list provides examples of wrestling systems that fall into this category.

Yağlı güreş (Turkish oil wrestling) tournament in IstanbulDiscipline Origin
Mallayuddha, Pehlwani India
Pahlavani Iran
Böke Mongolia
Catch wrestling United Kingdom
Sambo Russia
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazil
Collegiate Wrestling United States
Glima Iceland
Gouren France
Khuresh Mongolia
Lucha Canaria Spain
Lucha Leonesa Spain
Luta Livre Brazil
Schwingen Switzerland
Shoot wrestling Japan
Shuai jiao China
Ssireum Korea
Submission Wrestling Greece
Sumo Japan
Yağlı güreş Turkey

Uses of wrestling
Main article: Military education and training
Wrestling and combat\Military training have shared a close relationship throughout history.

Main article: Professional Wrestling
The popularity of hand to hand competitions throughout history has at times created a demand for staged wrestling matches.

Wrestling as a martial art
Wrestling has gained tremendous respect among martial arts practitioners, especially with the advent of mixed martial arts competition[citation needed]. Many fighters identify wrestling itself or Submission wrestling as their style of fighting. Wrestling forms the base of some of the most respected self-defense and mixed martial arts systems in the world, such as Shootfighting. Many professional fighters from the United States had competed in collegiate wrestling before their careers.

Today's Word is in honor of the Leljedal family of Pennsylvania. They are good friends and scholars with the best children in the world!

Wiki

Jess's Quiz to Counter Evil

2007-07-14T12:04:00.000-04:00

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme.

Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com

Bastille Day

2007-07-14T06:44:00.000-04:00

Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is called "Fête Nationale" ("National Holiday"), in official parlance, or more commonly "quatorze juillet" ("14th of July"). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the storming of the Bastille was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French "nation", and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.

1 Current festivities
2 History
2.1 The Storming of the Bastille
2.2 The Fête de la Fédération
2.3 Origin of the present holiday
3 References
4 Trivia
5 External links
//

Current festivities

Jacques Chirac reviewing troops on the 2003 Bastille Day parade.
14 July is the French Bastille day, simply called 14 Juillet or less commonly but more officially Fête nationale (though it is generally referred to as Bastille Day in English). Many cities hold fireworks during the night. Many dancing parties are organised (bals du 14 juillet) and it is customary that firefighters organise them (bals des pompiers). Those celebrations take place from 13 July at night to 14 July.

The day officially celebrates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, though it is often associated, even in France, with the Storming of the Bastille. Military parades, called Défilés du 14 juillet, are held on the morning of 14 July, the largest of which takes place on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic.

The parade opens with cadets from certain schools (École Polytechnique, Saint-Cyr, École Navale, and so forth), then other infantry troops, then motorised troops; aviation of the Patrouille de France flies above. In recent times, it has become customary to invite units from France's close allies into the parade; for instance, in 2004 during the centenary of the Entente Cordiale, British troops (the band of the Royal Marines, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, Grenadier Guards and King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery) led the Bastille Day parade in Paris for the first time, with the Red Arrows flying overhead.

The parade also involves the French Republican Guard, and occasionally (non-military) police units; it always ends with the much-cheered and popular Paris Fire Brigade (which, exceptionally, has military status in France). Traditionally, the students of the École Polytechnique set up some form of joke.

The president then gives an interview to members of the press, discussing the situation of the country, recent events and projects for the future. He also holds a garden party at the Palais de l'Elysée.

Bastille Day also falls during the running of the Tour de France, and is traditionally the day upon which French riders will make a special effort to take a stage victory for France.

History

Storming of the Bastille

On 5 May 1789, Louis XVI convened the Estates-General to hear their grievances. The deputies of the Third Estate representing the common people (the two others were clergy and nobility) decided to break away and form a National Assembly. On 20 June the deputies of the Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath, swearing not to separate until a Constitution had been established. They were gradually joined by delegates of the other estates; Louis started to recognize their validity on 27 June. The Assembly re-named itself the National Constituent Assembly on 9 July, and began to function as a legislature and to draft a constitution.

In the wake of the 11 July dismissal of the royal finance minister Jacques Necker, the people of Paris, fearful that they and their representatives would be attacked by the royal military, and seeking to gain arms for the general populace, stormed the Bastille, a prison which had often held people arbitrarily jailed on the basis of lettre de cachet. Besides holding a large cache of arms, the Bastille had long been known for holding political prisoners whose writings had displeased the royal government, and was thus a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy. As it happened, though, at the time of the siege in mid-July 1789 there were only 7 inmates, none of great political significance.

When the crowd—eventually reinforced by mutinous gardes françaises—proved to be a fair match for the fort's defenders, the commander of the Bastille, Governor de Launay capitulated and opened the gates in order to avoid a mutual massacre. However, possibly because of a misunderstanding, fighting resumed. Ninety-eight attackers and just one defender had died in the actual fighting, but in the aftermath, De Launay and seven other defenders were killed, as was the 'prévôt es marchands' (roughly, mayor) Jacques de Flesselles.

The storming of the Bastille was more important as a rallying point and symbolic act of rebellion than a practical act of defiance.

Shortly after the storming of the Bastille, on 4 August feudalism was abolished and on 26 August, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was proclaimed.

The Fête de la Fédération

Main article: Fête de la Fédération

The Fête de la Fédération of the 14 July 1790 was a huge feast and official event to celebrate the uprising of the short-lived constitutional monarchy in France and what people of the time considered to be the happy conclusion of the French Revolution.

The event took place on the Champ de Mars, which was at the time outside of Paris. The place had been transformed on a voluntary basis by the population of Paris itself, in what was recalled as the Journée des brouettes ("Wheelbarrow Day").

A mass was celebrated by Talleyrand, bishop of Autun. The very popular General La Fayette, as both captain of the National Guard of Paris and confidant of the king, took his oath to the Constitution, followed by the King Louis XVI.

After the end of the official celebration, the day ended in a huge four day popular feast.

Origin of the present holiday

On 30 June 1878, a feast had been set in Paris by official decision to honour the Republic (the event was immortalised by a painting by Claude Monet). On the 14 July 1879, another feast took place, with a semi-official aspect; the events of the day included a military review in Longchamp, a reception in the Chambre of Deputies, organised and presided by Léon Gambetta, and a Republican Feast in the pré Catelan with Louis Blanc and Victor Hugo. All through France, as Le Figaro wrote on the 16, "people feasted a lot to honour the Bastille".

On the 21 May 1880, Benjamin Raspail presented a law proposal to have "the Republic choose the 14 July as a yearly national holiday". The Assembly voted the text on 21 May and 8 June. The Senate approved on 27 and 29 June, favouring 14 July against 4 August (honouring the end of the feudal system on 4 August 1789). The law was made official on 6 July 1880, and the Ministry of the Interior recommended to the prefects that the day should be "celebrated with all the brilliance that the local resources allow". Indeed, the celebrations of the new holiday in 1880 were particularly magnificent.

In the debate leading up to the adoption of the holiday, Henri Martin, chairman of the French Senate, addressed that chamber 29 June 1880. "Do not forget that behind this 14 July, where victory of the new era over the ancien régime was bought by fighting, do not forget that after the day of 14 July 1789, there was the day of 14 July 1790. … This [latter] day cannot be blamed for having shed a drop of blood, for having divided the country. It was the consecration of unity of France. … If some of you might have scruples against the first 14 July, they certainly hold none against the second. Whatever difference which might part us, something hovers over them, it is the great images of national unity, which we all desire, for which we would all stand, willing to die if necessary."

Friday the 13th!

2007-07-13T05:40:00.000-04:00

A Friday occurring on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in English, German and Portuguese-speaking cultures around the globe. Similar superstitions exist in some other traditions. In Greece and Spain, for example, Tuesday the 13th takes the same role. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia (a word that is derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Παρασκευή, δεκατρείς, and φοβία, meaning Friday, thirteen, and phobia respectively; alternate spellings include paraskevodekatriaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia) or friggatriskaidekaphobia, and is a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a phobia (fear) of the number thirteen. *

Bad luck for whom?

Earlier Thursday, Bush said a report on U.S.-set benchmarks for Iraq shows "satisfactory progress" in eight areas. He admitted that there is "more work to be done."**

George Bush! It seems his "principle" is only as deep as the Republicans' numbers to keep Dems from voting us out of an unwinnable war and impeachment for him and Cheney! Awww!

Wiki*
CNN**

Thursday's Quote: Aristotle

2007-07-12T08:57:00.000-04:00

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then,
is not an act, but a habit."
Aristotle

This week's quote comes by suggestion of mi amigo, John Pritchard. Gracias!