Hypatia Comes to the Screen
Article over by Jason over at Wild Hunt about the upcoming movie about the female philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria:
...This film, more than any other recent film set during the classical period, will be closely watched by modern Pagans (especially Hellenic reconstructionists). Many of whom consider Hypatia to be one of the primary martyrs of pre-Christian pagan religion...
Many of us were first enlightened about Hypatia by Carl Sagan in his series Cosmos. The movie is being handled by a good director who is passionate about the material, so there's a good chance this will turn out well.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Goodnight, Arthur C. Clarke
Science fiction author Arthur C Clarke dies aged 90
...Science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died aged 90 in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, it was confirmed tonight...
Friday, March 14, 2008
Jason and the Argonauts
WINE, WORSHIP AND SACRIFICE: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani
Of course, the story of Jason and the Argonauts has some basis in fact:
...Ancient Greeks did sail across the sea — the Black Sea — to Colchis (modern-day Georgia), a land rich in gold and other precious metals. It seems the Colchians had a technique, involving sheepskins, for extracting gold dust from running water — hence, the Golden Fleece...
You'll learn even more about Colchis if you visit the exhibt at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, at 15 East 84th Street, in Manhattan:
...In two small galleries the exhibition presents more than 100 objects unearthed on the site of Vani, a major Colchian city founded in the eighth century B.C. There is beautiful, intricate gold jewelry that once adorned the bodies of luminaries in their graves, where they were buried with many possessions, including slaves and pets. Wine vessels were commonly found in graves, too, as wine production and consumption were central to the Colchian economy...
Of course, the story of Jason and the Argonauts has some basis in fact:
...Ancient Greeks did sail across the sea — the Black Sea — to Colchis (modern-day Georgia), a land rich in gold and other precious metals. It seems the Colchians had a technique, involving sheepskins, for extracting gold dust from running water — hence, the Golden Fleece...
You'll learn even more about Colchis if you visit the exhibt at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, at 15 East 84th Street, in Manhattan:
...In two small galleries the exhibition presents more than 100 objects unearthed on the site of Vani, a major Colchian city founded in the eighth century B.C. There is beautiful, intricate gold jewelry that once adorned the bodies of luminaries in their graves, where they were buried with many possessions, including slaves and pets. Wine vessels were commonly found in graves, too, as wine production and consumption were central to the Colchian economy...
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Big win for Cosmologist-Priest
Priest-Cosmologist Wins $1.6 Million Templeton Prize
Here's something that must be pissing off the "A" crowd:
...The $1.6 million Templeton Prize, the richest award made to an individual by a philanthropic organization, was given Wednesday to Michael Heller, 72, a Roman Catholic priest, cosmologist and philosopher who has spent his life asking, and perhaps more impressively answering, questions like “Does the universe need to have a cause?”
I hear a collective grown over at Sciencblogs, heh:
...Michael Heller, 72, winner of this year’s prize. He says science and religion “are prerequisites of the decent existence...”
Well said. I like the concept of 'decent existence'. That's something to live up to. I wish more people were like this man. He is one of a growing number of science positive thinkers who are also deeply spiritual:
...Much of Professor Heller’s career has been dedicated to reconciling the known scientific world with the unknowable dimensions of God. Professor Heller said he believed, for example, that the religious objection to teaching evolution “is one of the greatest misunderstandings” because it “introduces a contradiction or opposition between God and chance.” In a telephone interview, Professor Heller explained his affinity for the two fields: “I always wanted to do the most important things, and what can be more important than science and religion? Science gives us knowledge, and religion gives us meaning. Both are prerequisites of the decent existence...”
Here's something that must be pissing off the "A" crowd:
...The $1.6 million Templeton Prize, the richest award made to an individual by a philanthropic organization, was given Wednesday to Michael Heller, 72, a Roman Catholic priest, cosmologist and philosopher who has spent his life asking, and perhaps more impressively answering, questions like “Does the universe need to have a cause?”
I hear a collective grown over at Sciencblogs, heh:
...Michael Heller, 72, winner of this year’s prize. He says science and religion “are prerequisites of the decent existence...”
Well said. I like the concept of 'decent existence'. That's something to live up to. I wish more people were like this man. He is one of a growing number of science positive thinkers who are also deeply spiritual:
...Much of Professor Heller’s career has been dedicated to reconciling the known scientific world with the unknowable dimensions of God. Professor Heller said he believed, for example, that the religious objection to teaching evolution “is one of the greatest misunderstandings” because it “introduces a contradiction or opposition between God and chance.” In a telephone interview, Professor Heller explained his affinity for the two fields: “I always wanted to do the most important things, and what can be more important than science and religion? Science gives us knowledge, and religion gives us meaning. Both are prerequisites of the decent existence...”
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Bringing nature home
To Feed the Birds, First Feed the Bugs
A couple's attempt at planting a garden that is attractive to wildlife:
“...I’m not trying to recreate the ancient ecosystem,” said Mr. Tallamy, who is chairman of the department of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware, in Newark, Del., 15 miles southeast of here. “That is gone. I’m trying to create biodiversity...”
It seems the real secret is providing habitat and food plants for a variety of insects:
“...I went to take this black cherry out and there were 13 tiger swallowtail larvae on it,” he said...“Anybody else would pull this out, but see this?” he asked, pointing to a drab little remnant of a leaf that some young larva had fashioned into a winter home. “That’s a little hybernaculum for the red-spotted purple, which is a butterfly that people want in their gardens...”
...Almost all North American birds other than seabirds — 96 percent — feed their young with insects, which contain more protein than beef, he writes. So the message is loud and clear: gardeners could slow the rate of extinction by planting natives in their yards. In the northeast, a patch of violets will feed fritillary caterpillars. A patch of phlox could support eight species of butterflies. The buttonbush shrub, which has little white flowers, feeds 18 species of butterflies and moths; and blueberry bushes, which support 288 species of moths and butterflies, thrive in big pots on a terrace. (Appropriate species for other regions are listed by local native plant societies.)...
What a great project for all us Green Wiccans! The book, by Mr. Tallamy, is called “Bringing Nature Home” (Timber Press, $27.95). It will be published in November.
A couple's attempt at planting a garden that is attractive to wildlife:
“...I’m not trying to recreate the ancient ecosystem,” said Mr. Tallamy, who is chairman of the department of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware, in Newark, Del., 15 miles southeast of here. “That is gone. I’m trying to create biodiversity...”
It seems the real secret is providing habitat and food plants for a variety of insects:
“...I went to take this black cherry out and there were 13 tiger swallowtail larvae on it,” he said...“Anybody else would pull this out, but see this?” he asked, pointing to a drab little remnant of a leaf that some young larva had fashioned into a winter home. “That’s a little hybernaculum for the red-spotted purple, which is a butterfly that people want in their gardens...”
...Almost all North American birds other than seabirds — 96 percent — feed their young with insects, which contain more protein than beef, he writes. So the message is loud and clear: gardeners could slow the rate of extinction by planting natives in their yards. In the northeast, a patch of violets will feed fritillary caterpillars. A patch of phlox could support eight species of butterflies. The buttonbush shrub, which has little white flowers, feeds 18 species of butterflies and moths; and blueberry bushes, which support 288 species of moths and butterflies, thrive in big pots on a terrace. (Appropriate species for other regions are listed by local native plant societies.)...
What a great project for all us Green Wiccans! The book, by Mr. Tallamy, is called “Bringing Nature Home” (Timber Press, $27.95). It will be published in November.
“Take that, you dang heathens!”
District to Settle Bible Suit
Stealth religious indoctrination, in the form of bible study classes for high school students, just got torpedoed in Texas. I suppose the fact “the story of the creation, the life of Noah and his ark,” were treated as accurate history might have had something to do with it:
...A West Texas school district has agreed to change the curriculum for a high school course on the Bible to settle a lawsuit that said it amounted to religious indoctrination...The federal suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the People for the American Way Foundation on behalf of eight parents in the Odessa area. It argued that the course curriculum, adopted in 2005 by the Ector County Independent School District, promoted Protestant Christianity and a specific reading of the Bible as a literal historical document...
Now, here comes the punch line:
...When the Ector County district approved the council’s curriculum, the suit said, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction, Shannon Baker, celebrated the decision in an e-mail message, which read in part, “Take that, you dang heathens!”
Way to go, Shannon! Thanx for letting the world in on your Dominionist agenda.
Stealth religious indoctrination, in the form of bible study classes for high school students, just got torpedoed in Texas. I suppose the fact “the story of the creation, the life of Noah and his ark,” were treated as accurate history might have had something to do with it:
...A West Texas school district has agreed to change the curriculum for a high school course on the Bible to settle a lawsuit that said it amounted to religious indoctrination...The federal suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the People for the American Way Foundation on behalf of eight parents in the Odessa area. It argued that the course curriculum, adopted in 2005 by the Ector County Independent School District, promoted Protestant Christianity and a specific reading of the Bible as a literal historical document...
Now, here comes the punch line:
...When the Ector County district approved the council’s curriculum, the suit said, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction, Shannon Baker, celebrated the decision in an e-mail message, which read in part, “Take that, you dang heathens!”
Way to go, Shannon! Thanx for letting the world in on your Dominionist agenda.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Didge virtuoso Alan Dargin dies
Singing home soul of the didgeridoo
If you play (or even just love) the didge, you've heard of Alan Dargin. Alan died Sunday in hospital from complications of a stroke. He was only 40:
...For more than 20 years, Dargin and his stick, as he called his yirdaki or didgeridoo, were fixtures at Circular Quay, where he was one of Sydney's best-known buskers. But his fame, and the rock'n'roll sensibility he brought to the most ancient of Aboriginal musical instruments, spread much further. Over the years, Dargin had played at festivals, clubs and concert halls around the world, from London's Royal Albert Hall to New York, Paris and outback stations...Hours later, a symphony of didgeridoo players "sang" Dargin's spirit back to his tribal homeland in Arnhem Land, a tearful crowd clapping in time to the clapsticks.
Above is a pic of my didge, "Taproot Dreaming". Every player knows you have to play your didge often often to give life to the spirit that lives inside it. Here's a few of my meager toots for you, Alan...
Friday, February 29, 2008
Hand of Homeland Security snares Wiccan
Athame's, Airlines and California State Law
Lydia Crabtree was coming home from a NeoPagan convention had a nasty experience why passing through the airport:
...As I waited for my luggage to pass through, I am approached by a TSA agent who asks if I have anything metal in my suitcase. I said, "Not that I can think of." He unzipped my bag and I got a glimpse of my ritual box, my heart sank. From my box he pulls out my athame looking at it with surprise and curiosity...
When Lydia tries to explain what the dagger is for, she's in for some real fun. She says the item is for ritual purposes. She tries to explain what Wicca is:
"...Wicca. It is a federally recognized religion. I just came from a convention with over 3,000 others who have a similar belief system as I do and more than likely travel with their athames."
The response from our patriotic TSA employee:
"...We will be looking for them then and they will be detained too...
Check out the link above and read the whole story.
Lydia Crabtree was coming home from a NeoPagan convention had a nasty experience why passing through the airport:
...As I waited for my luggage to pass through, I am approached by a TSA agent who asks if I have anything metal in my suitcase. I said, "Not that I can think of." He unzipped my bag and I got a glimpse of my ritual box, my heart sank. From my box he pulls out my athame looking at it with surprise and curiosity...
When Lydia tries to explain what the dagger is for, she's in for some real fun. She says the item is for ritual purposes. She tries to explain what Wicca is:
"...Wicca. It is a federally recognized religion. I just came from a convention with over 3,000 others who have a similar belief system as I do and more than likely travel with their athames."
The response from our patriotic TSA employee:
"...We will be looking for them then and they will be detained too...
Check out the link above and read the whole story.
Thrilling Radar Maps of the Moon
New Radar Maps of the Moon
Via NASA:
"...We now know the south pole has peaks as high as Mt. McKinley and crater floors four times deeper than the Grand Canyon," says Doug Cooke, deputy associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters...
Check out the above link for some great images:
"...I have not been to the Moon, but this imagery is the next best thing," says Scott Hensley, a scientist at JPL and lead investigator for the study. "With these data we can see terrain features as small as a house without even leaving the office."
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Make'em pay!
School Board to Pay in Jesus Prayer Suit
Nothing hurts a fundamentalist packed school board more than having to pay for their endless bible thumping:
...A Delaware school district has agreed to revise its policies on religion as part of a settlement with two Jewish families who had sued over the pervasiveness of Christian prayer and other religious activities in the schools...
It all started when a local Jewish family got fed-up of having to listen fire & brimstone toned prayers at just about every school board or town meeting. The breaking point came for Mona Dobrich at her daughter Samantha's graduation, when a preacher proclaimed the only way to salvation was through Jesus. Mona asked the school board if maybe some less strident and exclusionary prayers might be in order. Community reaction was swift--and typically Xtain:
...As news of the request spread...Anger spilled onto talk radio, in letters to the editor and at school board meetings attended by hundreds of people carrying signs praising Jesus...
Ah, such heart-warming displays of Lamb-O-God mercy. But news of the recent settlement has rekindled the effort to bring back the BurningTimes:
...On local blogs, the anger many people felt toward the families for protesting Christian prayer at school events has flared anew...Mona Dobrich...said such a furious reaction had exacted a profound toll on her family and might indicate that the settlement would alter little on the ground...
In the face of threats, the family has had to flee. So mote it be.
Nothing hurts a fundamentalist packed school board more than having to pay for their endless bible thumping:
...A Delaware school district has agreed to revise its policies on religion as part of a settlement with two Jewish families who had sued over the pervasiveness of Christian prayer and other religious activities in the schools...
It all started when a local Jewish family got fed-up of having to listen fire & brimstone toned prayers at just about every school board or town meeting. The breaking point came for Mona Dobrich at her daughter Samantha's graduation, when a preacher proclaimed the only way to salvation was through Jesus. Mona asked the school board if maybe some less strident and exclusionary prayers might be in order. Community reaction was swift--and typically Xtain:
...As news of the request spread...Anger spilled onto talk radio, in letters to the editor and at school board meetings attended by hundreds of people carrying signs praising Jesus...
Ah, such heart-warming displays of Lamb-O-God mercy. But news of the recent settlement has rekindled the effort to bring back the BurningTimes:
...On local blogs, the anger many people felt toward the families for protesting Christian prayer at school events has flared anew...Mona Dobrich...said such a furious reaction had exacted a profound toll on her family and might indicate that the settlement would alter little on the ground...
In the face of threats, the family has had to flee. So mote it be.
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