The Garden of the Monsters
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Monday, September 30, 2013
The Garden of the Monsters ~ Kuriositas
So very long ago. I forgot about it until I read this article, I saw a movie, it was a story about two lovers played by Troy Donahue and Suzanne Pleschette, I believe the Garden of Monsters was a backdrop for a part of that film. I recall Troy Danahue walking out of the mouth of a monster singing her name. The echo was amazing, and I think the film was called "Rome Adventure".
In sixteenth century Italy the nobility would often leave testimony of their greatness through the form of religious art. Not so Pier Francesco Orsini. He wanted to be remembered in an entirely different way – through his Park of the Monsters. He did not want his monuments to please – he wanted them to astonish.
Tucked away in Bomarzo almost seventy kilometers from Rome, the gardens are located in a section of woodland near to the bottom of the valley in which the Orsini family castle was built. Here, after a career as a mercenary, the latest of the Orsini line settled in to a life of middle-aged Epicureanism. The park is perhaps holds a mirror to his imagination (or even state of mind) after a lifetime of political and social turmoil.
The park’s natural vegetation is left to its own devices and the sculptures can be found at varied intervals so that the curious visitor, holding their breath, is never quite sure what is going to be round the next corner. Some of the sculptures were carved directly on to the bedrock – this area of Northern Lazio is renowned for its rocky, mostly barren landscape.
Pier Francesco Orsini who was also referred to as Vicino lived between 1528 and 1588, although a mercenary and no doubt as ruthless as the next man in renaissance Italy, was devoted to his wife. Devastated when she died he put his energies in to creating the gardens. To help he had Pirro Lugorio who was a popular architect at the time.
The monsters seem to have no connection with each other in terms of mythology or time frame and there is also no rationality around their positioning. Used as we are to parkland having a more formal layout this only increases the surprise that each one presents when it appears.
An inscription on an obelisk says that the area is sol per sfogare il Core ("just to set the heart free") and perhaps Vicino had his wife’s nature in mind when he made the garden of monsters. Perhaps it was created in this way as a silent reply or even rebuke to the perfectly symmetrical Renaissance gardens that were created during his lifetime – a number in the vicinity of his garden.
While we may not consider some of the sculptures to be monsters, per se, the time of construction must be taken in to account when it comes to the name. Pegasus, Poseidon and Proteus are all present in the garden. A huge elephant crushes a Roman soldier in a re-enactment of Hannibal’s journey over the Alps. Cerberus raises his shaggy head while giants shred their enemies to pieces. Pegasus rises from a fountain and a Triton watches over it all rather wearily.
One can only imagine the suspicion with which this garden may have been viewed in the sixteenth century - and even later.
It is certainly a triumph of individuality over conformity, that is for sure. Unusually for the time there is a distinct lack of Christian allegorical sculpture within the park and that is, scholars suggest, tantamount to a rejection of the religion. Perhaps Vicino's grief for the untimely death of his wife led to this. Authors have speculated on the real reasons for the construction of The Park of the Monsters for hundreds of years.
A final surprise awaits in this Garden of the Monsters. The house which borders it has, like another building in Italy a little more famous, come over the centuries to lean.The Garden of the Monsters ~ Kuriositas
Sunday, September 29, 2013
shuffling through the leaves
Time was, and a very long time ago it was, I used to walk the mile and a quarter to school in the morning and home at night. Most of that walk was along one street and broad, newly upgraded street with nice even pavement, to patches of wonky old bricks or slick as ice flagstone, cracked cement, or worse yet no cement at all which turned into slick mud after each rain or in the spring thaw. The sidewalk was and still is fifty years on flat and smooth. In those days it was lined with trees, mostly maple and each year the put on a dazzling display of yellow, oranges. and reds. one tree in particular was almost white.
Walking home carrying our math and spelling books, which most times I especially never even opened, we would plot ways to get into one fenced yard and grab handfuls of horse chestnuts before the owner of the tree came rushing out of the house and threatened to call our parents,which he never did, and or cut down the tree, which he did do.
Soon every morning was frosty, we pretended to be smoking, just puffing out steamy breath, as we huddled in out scarfs and warm jackets. Those same warm jackets we tied around our waists when we walked home, as the colored leaves rained down on us. It was enough to bring out the ballerina in even the toughest boy. Twirling in the breeze imitating the leaves, seeing who could make the most noise as they shuffled along. and who could kick through them making the fallen leaves scatter.
Although I must admit, I still enjoy, standing in a rainfall of colored leaves, or dancing, singing spading, even just standing. It is still fun to shuffle through the leaves, seeing how far I can scatter them.
Friday, September 27, 2013
the day has come
Sooner or later, I had to admit, that it was no longer summer.
And that day has come, the trees on the hillsides are starting to turn red and orange and golden. There are ripe pumpkins bedecking peoples decks. And no more "sweet corn" signs; they have been replaced by "corn stalks" signs. the garden is bordered with St. Michaelmas's daisys, soft clouds of lavender blooms, how anyone can call them weeds is beyond me.
The Jerusalem artichokes have reached dizzying height and are about to burst into flower, they are like mini sunflowers on stilts. and why not because they are a member of the sunflower family. the hydrangea are a beautiful shade of dusty, rosey pink.
The light is no longer sparkling and strong, the suns angle is lower and the light is more golden, under the cloudless blue skies, it is pleasantly warm in the sun, but the shade is almost cold. In the mornings I watch the sun burn the frost off the roofs, turning from icy frost to rising steam in seconds. If I hang the laundry out on the line early the morning sun with turn the sometimes it will do the same
Apples , deep red globes, though not without blemishes, because after all these are wild apples are ready to pick. the garden still yields a few tomatoes, and the last of the potatoes; and the weather is perfect for this labor. Tiny frogs and huge earthworms and the ever present gnats can draw my attention.
The yard is filled with wrens, hunting for seeds in the freshly mowed grass. They seem to like to run from place to place, and for that reason I call them "little running birds".
And that day has come, the trees on the hillsides are starting to turn red and orange and golden. There are ripe pumpkins bedecking peoples decks. And no more "sweet corn" signs; they have been replaced by "corn stalks" signs. the garden is bordered with St. Michaelmas's daisys, soft clouds of lavender blooms, how anyone can call them weeds is beyond me. 
The yard is filled with wrens, hunting for seeds in the freshly mowed grass. They seem to like to run from place to place, and for that reason I call them "little running birds".
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Things were different then
~~Libtaty of Congress
Victorian society in America was aghast at many things and one thing they would certainly have been aghast at could be our dark and gruesome Halloween images. Though Victorians like their drama, they liked their Halloween light hearted and almost silly, for people who picnicked in graveyards on Sunday afternoons and where masters of the "ghost story".
Both Halloween and the ghost story became more popular in this country after the Civil War, and according to the History Channel this was do at least in part to the many who died and who's bodys were never returned to their families for burial. Lacking that closure there was always the hope that the loved on would return some day, and many of the ghost stories of the time were about just that.
The following is an article that explains in VERY GRAPHIC DETAIL the problems faced in an time before "dog tags" and refrigeration.
How the Civil War taught us to deal with the business of death.
The government for both the North and
South saw the coming conflict as a war that would not last much more then 90
days. A grave underestimate all around, they would soon would find out that the
war would continue with unfathomable loss of life. Neither side was prepared for
the numbers of dead that they would suffer.
There was
absolutely no structure in place on how to identify or how to handle thousands
of dead soldiers.
After word of a battle, whole communities
went on a quest for information on who may have become a casualty. With no
responsibility on either side for notifying the next of kin, newspapers from
both north and south published long lists of the dead after every major
engagement, taken from official military reports - which were not always
accurate. So people went missing; people went buried unidentified or miss
identified and the missing in action disappeared.
 |
| Zouave ambulance crews remove the wounded from a battlefield. |
Imagine your loved one being 18 years old, he leaves for war, far from home. You later read your sons name in the newspaper as dead. Or maybe you receive a letter from one of his comrades explaining that your son has died and he was buried in a shallow grave or worse, a mass grave upon the battlefield...
Now it is up to you to either let him rest eternally there, to make the trip to yourself to locate his remains, or to possibly pay someone to locate the remains, retrieve them, and hope the that body is successfully shipped back home to you.
One of the major problems was trying to trying to identify the thousands of bodies after a battle since dog tags had not been issued yet. Many men were reported as missing presumed dead only later to be found wounded in a hospital or in a prison after being taken a prisoner of war. It was the responsibility of the field commanders for identification and burial efforts. However, these efforts were not well organized or executed, and were often given low priority.
 |
| A privately purchased Civil War ID tag |
In order to help them go home if they became a casualty, men would soon start pinning their names inside their coats and some would buy a brass tag from a sutler with their name, regiment and state stamped onto it to. These were not government issued to soldiers. Modern forms of soldier identification, i.e. dog tags would not come about until WWI.
If you could afford shipping the body home you then would be challenged on how to preserve the remains in order to hold a viewing. Bodies were sometimes packed in ice or just shipped in a pine coffins. Nurses would sometimes gather flowers to be placed within the coffin to mask the stench of the decaying remains. Occasionally the people who were hired to locate and ship the remains home would lie about finding the remains and have stones placed within the coffin. This would simulate the weight of a body and ensure a payment for their "efforts". It would be a terrible shock to the family if they decided to get one last look at their loved ones.
the U.S. Army Medical Corps would charge $50 for an officer and $25 for an enlisted man. As the war continued and embalmers were in high demand, those figures rose to $80 and $30, respectively. Feeling he could make even more money if he worked in the private sector performing the same duties, Holmes resigned his commission and began to charge $100 per embalming.
As surgeons and pharmacists
became aware of the profits to be made from embalming, they traded in their
instruments for those of embalmers and followed the troops into war. After the
battle, the embalmers would converge on the scene and quickly find dead officers
to embalm, knowing that the family of an officer would be grateful and able to
pay the fee. One embalming company went so far as to try to obtain a government
contract to embalm all Federal dead. A bill was introduced to allow the creation
of a corps of military undertakers for each division, but it was never
passed.
Upon hearing of the death of their loved one the family of Lt. Charles H. Colley, Co. B., 10th Maine Vol. paid the government for embalming and transportation of the remains. When his body arrived they opened the casket in farewell. Instead of their son, they found a fully uniformed Confederate soldier. They were grief stricken but finally decided to bury the lad in a Gray Cemetery. That no ill will was borne the soldier was evidenced by the erection of a tombstone over his grave shortly after. Inscribed on the slab was, "Stranger-a soldier of the late war. Erected by the Ladies of Gray." No one knows for sure how the mistake was made. Lt. Colley's body arrived shortly after. He is buried about 100 feet southwesterly from the Stranger. Local historians guess that both Lt. Colley and the Confederate might have been wounded in the same battle, hospitalized together and both must have died about the same time. And there's always the possibility that the Confederate soldier may have been named Colley. Similarity in names could have accounted for the error.
Thank You to
Daniel Meehan,
Civil War Historian
and Reenactor,
for sharing his vast knowledge and expertise on this topic.
To market embalming, a
Washington embalmer showcased an embalmed soldier in a display window for
days.
Richard Burr, a Union surgeon who served with the 72nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, became an embalming surgeon when he saw the profit to be made. Known for severely inflating the price of embalming services, he created and distributed handbills after the battle of Anita offering “Embalming for the Dead.” The handbills invited the curious to watch the procedure.
Richard Burr, a Union surgeon who served with the 72nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, became an embalming surgeon when he saw the profit to be made. Known for severely inflating the price of embalming services, he created and distributed handbills after the battle of Anita offering “Embalming for the Dead.” The handbills invited the curious to watch the procedure.
Some remains were sent
to the wrong families who were shocked when they opened the wooden coffins to
find out that it wasn't their loved ones inside...
One such story "The Stranger" comes
from Gray, Maine:Upon hearing of the death of their loved one the family of Lt. Charles H. Colley, Co. B., 10th Maine Vol. paid the government for embalming and transportation of the remains. When his body arrived they opened the casket in farewell. Instead of their son, they found a fully uniformed Confederate soldier. They were grief stricken but finally decided to bury the lad in a Gray Cemetery. That no ill will was borne the soldier was evidenced by the erection of a tombstone over his grave shortly after. Inscribed on the slab was, "Stranger-a soldier of the late war. Erected by the Ladies of Gray." No one knows for sure how the mistake was made. Lt. Colley's body arrived shortly after. He is buried about 100 feet southwesterly from the Stranger. Local historians guess that both Lt. Colley and the Confederate might have been wounded in the same battle, hospitalized together and both must have died about the same time. And there's always the possibility that the Confederate soldier may have been named Colley. Similarity in names could have accounted for the error.
With the awareness of the amount of bodies
needing burial Congress approved the purchase of land in 1862, twelve military
cemeteries located on or near major battlefields, Union camps and hospitals, and
other military sites were authorized. Most of them, including Robert E. Lee's
estate, which became Arlington Cemetery, were on Southern soil. In the midst of
the war and in the immediate aftermath these cemeteries made profoundly
political statements about Northern power, resources, and
determination.
The sheer numbers of those needing gravestones also altered the way in which we carved final memorials in general... but that, as they say, is the stuff for yet another blog.
The sheer numbers of those needing gravestones also altered the way in which we carved final memorials in general... but that, as they say, is the stuff for yet another blog.
Thank You to
Daniel Meehan,
Civil War Historian
and Reenactor,
for sharing his vast knowledge and expertise on this topic.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Autumnal Equinox
Since the summer solstice the days have been getting steadily shorter, and the nights longer, by now the change is noticeable. The autumnal Equinox is on September 22, 2013 at 4:44 P.M EDT, on this date the sun crosses the Celestial Equator. The length of day and night are roughly 12 hours each, the equilux, or the date when the day and night are equal vary by location. the nights will continue to lengthen until the Winter Solstice. Daylight and darkness are in a near balance, at Mabon. In the southern hemisphere Osterea. the Vernal Equinox. is celebrated, but there the days are getting longer. And earth is is balance.
"On the equinoxes, the very center of the Sun sets just 12 hours after it rises. But the day begins when the upper edge of the Sun reaches the horizon (which happens a bit before the center rises), and it doesn't end until the entire Sun has set. Not only that, but the Sun is actually visible when it is below the horizon, as Earth's atmosphere refracts the Sun's rays and bends them in an arc over the horizon. According to our former astronomer, George Greenstein, "If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have 'equal nights.'"~~the Old Farmers Almanac
Mabon is also a thanksgiving for the bounty of the harvest, the evening meal, is called "harvest home". A time of celebration, for looking back in thanksgiving and ahead in hope, Mabon is poised between the light and the darkness. This concept may be foreign to our lives, we who have lived all our lives with electric lights and central heating. We still lament the passing of summer, but are no longer dependent on what we have grown to feed us through the winter, and usually we our homes are not heated by the wood we cut and hauled, or the candle we rendered the tallow for and the patiently made. Candles, like their store of food they must keep the rodents from spoiling.
The balance of night and day in Mabon, the Autumnal equinox, reflects onto the balance in our own life. A time for introspection and honoring ourselves and our experiences by learning from them and taking that learning into the new year. In the quiet months ahead, a time that the earth appears dormant are a time when the earth and ourselves regenerates and assimilates, in preparation for waking from our dormant state better prepared for the journey or journeys ahead.
As we celebrate Mabon the beginning of the dark half of the year on this equinox, in the southern hemisphere the celebration of Ostara welcomes the light half of the year.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
to the September full moon
September's full moon ushers the transition, from the sun and sweat drenched toil to the gathering in, not just of the harvest, but anything that might be needed for the the winter ahead. that includes storys and song, wisdom and skills, and hopes for the future. Dame Summer puts on a grand show of colorful foliage, the last fruits, and vegetables of the harvest, and the refreshingly crisp weather and brilliantly blue skys, that at night are filled with stars. Soon the Dame Summer will retire, she will pass on her wisdom and stories before she herself slumbers, until she is reborn in the spring.
In this place between fading summer and the start cold and storm, the nights grow longer we gather in what we will need, we gather together for festivities , and sports and just to enjoy the company of others. Our ancestors did the same.
September's full moon glows with the crisp air and freshening breezes, leaves rustling softly, even a short walk is a feast for the senses. I enjoy the sounds scents and sights of Autumn, even the crickets chirping. And when the Grass Drying Moon rises tonight it will peek through leaves that have already started to turn.
Under tonight's Singing Moon, while the crickets sing and remind me to cross the river tomorrow and see if there are any papaw to be gathered under the Papaw Moon. I will smell the the ripening apples of the Apple Moon, perhaps I will hear hear Deer Paw the Earth Moon, in their homage to The Acorn moon, framed by the the lovely purple flowers clearly seen in the light the Aster Moon. When I look at this Changing Seasons moon I will think back to gathering Hickory nuts and the spicy woodsy smell of the husks, under the Nut Moon, as the leaves Of the yellow Leaf Moon rained down on us. The Moon of Plenty will illuminate the path to the wood shed tonight, for it is also called the Wood Moon, the pot of stew, made from the vegetables we grew, also celebrated this Seed Moon, and this Barley Moon. And our days work completed we will raise our glasses to the Wine Moon, and watch the Leaf Dancing Moon play hide and seek with us.
In this place between fading summer and the start cold and storm, the nights grow longer we gather in what we will need, we gather together for festivities , and sports and just to enjoy the company of others. Our ancestors did the same.
September's full moon glows with the crisp air and freshening breezes, leaves rustling softly, even a short walk is a feast for the senses. I enjoy the sounds scents and sights of Autumn, even the crickets chirping. And when the Grass Drying Moon rises tonight it will peek through leaves that have already started to turn.
Under tonight's Singing Moon, while the crickets sing and remind me to cross the river tomorrow and see if there are any papaw to be gathered under the Papaw Moon. I will smell the the ripening apples of the Apple Moon, perhaps I will hear hear Deer Paw the Earth Moon, in their homage to The Acorn moon, framed by the the lovely purple flowers clearly seen in the light the Aster Moon. When I look at this Changing Seasons moon I will think back to gathering Hickory nuts and the spicy woodsy smell of the husks, under the Nut Moon, as the leaves Of the yellow Leaf Moon rained down on us. The Moon of Plenty will illuminate the path to the wood shed tonight, for it is also called the Wood Moon, the pot of stew, made from the vegetables we grew, also celebrated this Seed Moon, and this Barley Moon. And our days work completed we will raise our glasses to the Wine Moon, and watch the Leaf Dancing Moon play hide and seek with us.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
September 16th is National Collect Rocks Day
It is also, Step family day, Mayflower day, Mexican independence Day, national PlayDoh Day, and working Parents Day.
I, for one, am overjoyed that there is a National Collect Rocks Day, simply because I love rocks, I have been dragging them home for years. the variety of shapes and colors that can be found in common sandstone, are amazing, and then there are fossils, which also should day a day of their own.
the following is what i found on the National Collect Rocks Day site.
September 16th
Collect Rocks Day is a day to enjoy and add to your rock collection. Ahhhhh, to be a kid again, and have a rock collection. Well, we have good news for you. No one ever said you had to give up your rock collection when you became an adult. We hope you always keep and cherish your invaluable rock collection. Kids collect rocks because it is a fun thing to do. They even trade rocks among other rock collectors. There are no books on what rocks to collect, or how much each rock is valued at. Rather, rocks are selected for a collection based upon a wide range of attributes. A lot of it is individual appeal. The rock could be big or small, a particular color or range of colors. smooth or rough, or display a unique characteristic. When it comes to rock collecting, beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder (or rock holder in this case). Ice Cream Flavor of the Day: Rocky Road Baby Names for Today: Rock, Rocky, Stone, and if its a girl.... Pebbles! Have a happy Collect Rocks Day!
Origin of Collect Rocks Day:
We found no factual information about this special day. Kids young and old have been collecting rocks for hundreds, if not thousands of years. It is likely that someday the origin of this special day will be found written upon stone tablets, or on the rock wall inside of an ancient cave.
Rocks can be beautiful, like gemstones, or practical, like building materials. The following is the article from "Archaeology Magazine"which inspired this post.
As a result metalworkers had already nearly two millennia of experience of working with meteoritic iron when iron smelting was introduced in the mid-second millennium BC. This knowledge was essential for the development of iron smelting and the production of iron from iron ore, enabling iron to replace copper and bronze as the main metals used.
Excavated in 1911, in a pre-dynastic cemetery near the village of el-Gerzeh in Lower Egypt, the beads were already completely corroded when they were discovered. As a result, the team used x-ray methods to determine whether the beads were actually meteoric iron, and not magnetite, which can often be mistaken to be corroded iron due to similar properties.
By scanning the beads with beam of neutrons and gamma-rays, the team were able to reveal the unique texture and also high concentration of nickel, cobalt, phosphorous and germanium – which is only found in trace amounts in iron derived from ore – that is characteristics of meteoric iron, without having to attempt invasive analysis which could potentially damage these rare objects.
Professor Rehren said: “The really exciting outcome of this research is that we were for the first time able to demonstrate conclusively that there are typical trace elements such as cobalt and germanium present in these beads, at levels that only occur in meteoritic iron.
*************************
Celebrate with a movie, how about "Rock Monster" a 2008 SYFY channel original, the scenery is gorgeous, it was filmed near Sofia, Bulgaria. The plot ispredictabler, and that is a part of the char, crazy college kids go to Europe, something about a family legacy, tresure curse...ya know, then boy meets girl, not just any girl but nysterious girl, boy accidentaly awakens rock monster, people are annihilated, boy comes of age by annihilatimg rock monster. I enjoyed the dialog, funnier than you might think.
And just in case you get the munchies.....from Tastebook.com
\
Lisa Gleed
I, for one, am overjoyed that there is a National Collect Rocks Day, simply because I love rocks, I have been dragging them home for years. the variety of shapes and colors that can be found in common sandstone, are amazing, and then there are fossils, which also should day a day of their own.
the following is what i found on the National Collect Rocks Day site.
September 16th
Collect Rocks Day is a day to enjoy and add to your rock collection. Ahhhhh, to be a kid again, and have a rock collection. Well, we have good news for you. No one ever said you had to give up your rock collection when you became an adult. We hope you always keep and cherish your invaluable rock collection. Kids collect rocks because it is a fun thing to do. They even trade rocks among other rock collectors. There are no books on what rocks to collect, or how much each rock is valued at. Rather, rocks are selected for a collection based upon a wide range of attributes. A lot of it is individual appeal. The rock could be big or small, a particular color or range of colors. smooth or rough, or display a unique characteristic. When it comes to rock collecting, beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder (or rock holder in this case). Ice Cream Flavor of the Day: Rocky Road Baby Names for Today: Rock, Rocky, Stone, and if its a girl.... Pebbles! Have a happy Collect Rocks Day!
Origin of Collect Rocks Day:
We found no factual information about this special day. Kids young and old have been collecting rocks for hundreds, if not thousands of years. It is likely that someday the origin of this special day will be found written upon stone tablets, or on the rock wall inside of an ancient cave.
Rocks can be beautiful, like gemstones, or practical, like building materials. The following is the article from "Archaeology Magazine"which inspired this post.
Earliest known iron artefacts come from outer space
Researchers have shown that ancient Egyptian iron beads held at the UCL Petrie Museum were hammered from pieces of meteorites, rather than iron ore. The objects, which trace their origins to outer space, also predate the emergence of iron smelting by two millennia.
Carefully hammered into thin sheets before being rolled into tubes, the nine beads – which are over 5000 years-old – were originally strung into a necklace together with other exotic minerals such as gold and gemstones, revealing the high value of this exotic material in ancient times. The study is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.Professor Thilo Rehren (UCL Archaeology, Qatar), lead author of the paper, said: “The shape of the beads was obtained by smithing and rolling, most likely involving multiple cycles of hammering, and not by the traditional stone-working techniques such as carving or drilling which were used for the other beads found in the same tomb.”The team’s results show that in the fourth millennium BC metalworkers had already mastered the smithing of meteoritic iron, an iron-nickel alloy much harder and more brittle than the more commonly worked copper, developing techniques that went on to define the iron age.
As a result metalworkers had already nearly two millennia of experience of working with meteoritic iron when iron smelting was introduced in the mid-second millennium BC. This knowledge was essential for the development of iron smelting and the production of iron from iron ore, enabling iron to replace copper and bronze as the main metals used.
Excavated in 1911, in a pre-dynastic cemetery near the village of el-Gerzeh in Lower Egypt, the beads were already completely corroded when they were discovered. As a result, the team used x-ray methods to determine whether the beads were actually meteoric iron, and not magnetite, which can often be mistaken to be corroded iron due to similar properties.
By scanning the beads with beam of neutrons and gamma-rays, the team were able to reveal the unique texture and also high concentration of nickel, cobalt, phosphorous and germanium – which is only found in trace amounts in iron derived from ore – that is characteristics of meteoric iron, without having to attempt invasive analysis which could potentially damage these rare objects.
Professor Rehren said: “The really exciting outcome of this research is that we were for the first time able to demonstrate conclusively that there are typical trace elements such as cobalt and germanium present in these beads, at levels that only occur in meteoritic iron.
“We are also excited to be able to see the internal structure of the beads, revealing how they were rolled and hammered into form. This is very different technology from the usual stone bead drilling, and shows quite an advanced understanding of how the metal smiths worked this rather difficult material.”Header Image : Meteoric iron beads along with other exotic minerals found in grave 67. Credit: UCL Petrie Museum/Rob Eagle
*************************
Celebrate with a movie, how about "Rock Monster" a 2008 SYFY channel original, the scenery is gorgeous, it was filmed near Sofia, Bulgaria. The plot ispredictabler, and that is a part of the char, crazy college kids go to Europe, something about a family legacy, tresure curse...ya know, then boy meets girl, not just any girl but nysterious girl, boy accidentaly awakens rock monster, people are annihilated, boy comes of age by annihilatimg rock monster. I enjoyed the dialog, funnier than you might think.
And just in case you get the munchies.....from Tastebook.com
\
Russian Rocks Cookies
Lisa Gleed
A recipe of my grandma’s is a great ice box cookie
ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar (press in cup)
- 1 cup butter
- 3 eggs
- 3 cups flour, more if needed
- 1 tsp soda (dissolve in water)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 1 cup raisins or dates
- 1 tsp vanilla
directions
Beat brown sugar and butter together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add vanilla. Add soda, flour, and salt mixture and then fold in in raisins and nuts. Using a little flour on your hands, put on waxed paper and make a roll. Let stand over night in refrigerator. Unwrap and slice 1" or smaller pieces and put on cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes.
Source: Grandma Wadsworth
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Painting on rocks, I know it has been around for a very, very, very long time, but it is easy and inexpensive. Martha Stewart, by expert of choice on how a holiday shoyld be celebrated, offer instructions on Painting rocks.
`~~http://www.marthastewart.com/274462/rock-crafts/@center/276975/marthas-crafts-kids#_
My plans for tomorrow include getting my outdoor rock collection ready for winter. And may-be finding a new member for the group.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
halloween postcards, a personal perspective
I don't know very much about old Halloween postcards, but would be willing to bet that all of these post cards were originally printed before 1930, but then again some could be reproduction, they aren't mine, and I really wish they were.
Over time and with not much difficulty I have found postcards for every holiday, birthdays,and just to keep in touch, some with messages as diverse and love poems , directions to a train station and what covered dish the recipient should make for the family reunion, and a message about the new "egg man" in town.
Every holiday except Halloween that is. Perhaps they were all grabbed up by collectors, and perhaps they weren't saved from year to year, and it just could have been that there just weren't as many sent for Halloween.
They cost a penny to mail, but I don't know how much the cards themselves cost. Apparently not everyone had phones yet. People often wrote letter to friends and relatives, even if they lived rather close by.
The images on these cards seem to be designed for adults as well as children.
v
Bats, witches, cauldrons and jack-0-lanterns, children celebrating, black cats and brooms, everything is there. All there under the full moon, and shooting star.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Just wondering , did someone get a new camera?
I remember getting my first camera, but I have already told that story more times than I need to.
When Kodak made it possible for people to have a camera of their own, that must have been truly exciting, I can imagine people furiously practicing "aim and press the button", taking photos of just about anything and everything. One wonders if this was taken by one of those lucky folks who had not yet mastered framing a shot, or perhaps it was intentional, we will never know. Someone loved it enough to save it for all of these years, it must have meant something to them,perhaps it was someones first photograph, or sadly their last, or even just tickled someones sense of humor. An older sibling tormenting a younger or the other way round.
Was it meant as a gift?
~~photos by http://www.etsy.com/shop/AndSoForth
The Brownie camera was a simple, black, rectangular box covered in imitation leather with nickeled fittings. To take a "snapshot," all one had to do was hold the camera waist height, aim, and turn a switch. Kodak claimed in its advertisements that the Brownie camera was "so simple they can easily [be] operated by any school boy or girl" (excerpt from an ad in Cosmopolitan Magazine, July 1900). Though simple enough for even children to use, a 44-page instruction booklet accompanied every Brownie camera.
Making Photography Affordable
The Brownie camera was very affordable, selling for only $1 each. Plus, for only 15 cents, a Brownie camera owner could buy a six-exposure film cartridge that could be loaded in daylight. Kodak promised to develop the film for the camera's owner, rather than the owner having to invest in materials and a darkroom.
Marketed to Children
Kodak heavily marketed the Brownie camera to children. In ads, the camera was accompanied by the very popular Brownie characters, elf-like creatures created by Palmer Cox. Ads for the Brownie camera appeared in popular magazines, rather than just trade journals. Children under the age of sixteen were also urged to join the Brownie Camera Club, a free club in which they could earn prizes for good photos and receive a Photographic Art Brochure.
Lots and Lots of Brownies
No longer was taking photographs just for the professionals and only of grand events, the Brownie camera allowed the capturing of birthdays and other family events. In just the first year, the Eastman Kodak Company sold over a quarter of a million Brownies, forever changing the future of photography.
~~By Jennifer Rosenberg, About.com Guide
Monday, September 9, 2013
Friday, September 6, 2013
Sorry no title
being silly, having fun, using your imagination, making people laugh, expressing yourself, not being self conscious, feeling confident enough to take chances, being a kid, being a kid at any age, inventing your own fun, doing your own thing, making something from nothing, making do with what you have, making the most of a situation, creating, going your own way, following your own council,communicating, laughing for the sake of laughing, being yourself, loving yourself
Rather, it was a candid photo that made the back page "Miscellany" section of Life magazine back in 1955. But if you look closely, you can read the advertising on the paper cups, and can easily tell that they are Coca Cola cups.
~~http://www.etsy.com/shop/DustyDiggerLise
Thursday, September 5, 2013
a bit late
I'm a little late in greeting autumn this year.
There is not an autumna' decoration to be found in or on my house, YET!
The memories of waxing colored leaves and looking for chestnuts, acorn, beechnuts, milkweed pods and teasels to bring to school, our pockets full of anything and everything we could possibly find that we could show around, school and autumn were both adventures. We were not looking ahead as far as winter, in fact most were only looking as far ahead as what we would find on the walk home.
September is also known as----
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