Library cat...May;

The Serpent and the Staff

by

Barbara wood

Review

With a story that’s vividly told with rich historical details, Barbara Wood brings Ugarit to life. For readers who enjoy delving into the deep past of civilization, this is a recommended read

The plot and pacing are masterful, skilfully envisions a society set in biblical times, with people-trading, marrying and scheming in a thriving coastal town at the centre of ancient trade routes, rendered in soft focus but with marvellous clarity and complexity.

Her fiction come alive with authentic detailing and highly memorable characters, vivid sketches of women who triumph over destiny. 

Set in the tumultuous era when Egypt is on the brink of becoming the dominant world power, The Serpent and the Staff tells the powerful story of a Canaanite family's struggle for survival in a climate of violent change, when cherished beliefs and traditions are threatened.

Ugarit Syria, 1450 B.C.E.

Page 208; He thought of the moral decay of the Brotherhood, because the scribes had become to powerful. They have a monopoly on reading and writing.  Even Doctors and lawyers rely on them.  Such power has corrupted them. 

(Nobody could read and write, everybody had to employ or go to a scribe to have anything written down or read to them.. It was a complicated cunei form of writing with thousands of  pictographs.)

Cuneiform script is one of the earliest known systems of writing distinguished by its wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets, made by means of a blunt reed for a stylus. The name cuneiform itself simply means "wedge shaped", from the Latin cuneus "wedge" and forma "shape," and came into English usage probably from Old French cunéiforme.

The cuneiform writing system was in use for a span of more than three millennia, through several stages of development, from the 34th century BC down to the 2nd century AD. Ultimately, it was completely replaced by alphabetic writing (in the general sense) in the course of the Roman era and there are no Cuneiform systems in current use. It had to be deciphered as a completely unknown writing system in 19th-century Assyriology. Successful completion of its decipherment is dated to 1857.

My 2 cents; interesting history details, a great narrative, in between , on certain pages  it became a bit  ponderous. All in all enjoyable.

Sunrise;

Ballina NSW 18/08/2012   18:01 AM

The Conscious Army

Love is the new religion of the 21st century 

"On the surface of the world right now there is war and violence and things seem dark. But calmly and quietly, at the same time, something else is happening underground. An inner revolution is taking place and certain individuals are being called to a new light. 

A silent revolution. From the inside out. From the ground up. This is a Global operation. A Spiritual Conspiracy. There are sleeper cells in every nation, every city, every town, every village on the planet. You won't see us on TV. You won't read about us in newspaper. You won't hear about us on the radio. We don't seek any glory. We don't wear any uniform. We come in all shapes and sizes, colors and styles. Most of us work anonymously. We are quietly working behind the scenes in every country and culture of the world. In every city, on mountains and in valleys, on farms and in villages, no tribes nor remote islands are left out.. You could pass by one of us on the street and not even notice. We go undercover. We remain behind the scenes. It is of no concern to us who takes the final credit but simply that the work gets done. Occasionally we spot each other in the street. We give a quiet nod and continue on our way. 

During the day we have normal jobs, but behind the false store front  is where the real work takes place. Some call us the Conscious Army. We are slowly creating a new world with the power of our minds and hearts. We follow, with passion and joy our orders come from the Central Spiritual Intelligence. We are dropping soft, secret love bombs when no one is looking, Poems ~ Hugs ~ Music ~ Photography ~ Movies ~ Kind words ~ Smiles ~ 

Meditation ~ Dance ~ Social activism ~ Websites - Blogs ~ Random acts of kindness... 

We each express ourselves in our own unique ways with our own unique gifts and talents. Be the change you want to see in the world. That is the motto that fills our hearts. We know it is the only way real transformation takes place. We know that quietly and humbly we have the Power of all the oceans combined. Our work is slow and meticulous like the formation of mountains. It is not even visible at first glance. And yet with it entire tectonic plates shall be moved in the centuries to come. Love is the new religion of the 21st century.  

You do not need any exceptional knowledge to understand it. It comes from the intelligence of the heart embedded in the timeless evolutionary pulse of all human beings. Be the change you want to see in the world. Nobody else can do it for you. 

 Perhaps you will join this silent power or you already have. All are welcome.

© Photo Ts/ Text Author unknown

People try to find a way out of their predicament, as  Governments around the world get harsher and ,  corrupter,punishing the population and making them pay for failures and debts created by greed of the banking fraternity. Leaning heavily towards oligarchy, while spreading the meaningless mantra of  Democracy which they are  undermining at any occasion to benefit  plutocrats and oligarchs. Creating lies, and falseness to protect the chaos  bankers and  Corporations in their  never ending greed  create. 

Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else

by Chrystia Freeland  (Author)

There has always been some gap between rich and poor, but recently what it means to be rich has changed dramatically. Forget the 1 percent—Plutocrats proves that it is the wealthiest 0.1 percent who are outpacing the rest of us at breakneck speed. Most of these new fortunes are not inherited, Amassed instead by perceptive businesspeople who see themselves as deserving victors in a cut throat international competition. With empathy and intelligence, Plutocrats reveals the consequences of concentrating the world’s wealth into fewer and fewer hands., Plutocrats is a tour de force of social and economic history, the definitive examination of inequality in our time.

1. Plutocracy or plutarchy, defines a society or a system ruled and dominated by the small minority of the wealthiest citizens. The first known use of the term is 1652.

Outback moments;

The Heart of the Swag; Henry Lawson

Oh, the track through the scrub groweth ever more dreary,

And lower and lower his grey head doth bow;

For the swagman is old and the swagman is weary—

He’s been tramping for over a century now.

He tramps in a worn-out old “side spring” and “blucher,”

His hat is a ruin, his coat is a rag,

And he carries forever, far into the future,

The key of his life in the core of his swag. 

Getting ready, Bill is passionate about flying, he makes sure everything is in perfect order and condition, as we are spending many hours in this flying machine! 

As far as the eye can see...

There are old-fashioned portraits of girls who are grannies,

There are tresses of dark hair whose owner’s are grey;

There are faded old letters from Marys and Annies,

And Toms, Dicks, and Harrys, dead many a day.

There are broken-heart secrets and bitter-heart reasons—

They are sewn in a canvas or calico bag,

And wrapped up in oilskin through dark rainy seasons,

And he carries them safe in the core of his swag. 

Oh Yes, I could live here; I crave the the infinity of the outback sky.

I dream of a garden with one thousand roses under an outback sky.

♥

There are letters that should have been burnt in the past time,

For he reads them alone, and a devil it brings;

There were farewells that should have been said for the last time,

For, forever and ever the love for her springs.

But he keeps them all precious, and keeps them in order,

And no matter to man how his footsteps may drag,

There’s a friend who will find, when he crosses the Border,

A glimpse of  a day, week, month, perhaps a century past.

...silver leaves and scented flowers... a song for the outback...

:-)

...and then a sandstorm approached...

to be continued an other day...

©Photos/Text Titania Everyday Ts

Tuesday; Bookshelf;

A Divided Inheritance by Deborah Swift

A fine book. Shows again religion  against religion, people against people.

1609 England was ruled by James I, a Protestant. Catholicism was forbidden. Catholics who did not follow the Anglican church were punished for high treason, land confiscations, had to pay fines and  were facing death penalty. 

Religions have always played havoc in peoples life, still do.

In 1609, Felipe the III of Spain expelled the entire Muslim Population along with the ones who had converted to Christianity.  By 1613 around 400'000 people had been forcefully removed and expelled from Spain. All their goods, homes, money was taken away. Children, even babies  were forcefully removed from there parents and collected in ware houses. Spaniards came and selected the ones they wanted to bring up and use as slaves.  The adult population was herded to the shores where galleys  were waiting to take them to North Africa; it  is said the people were afraid that they would be killed and thrown over board. I guess it has happened, with the savagery the people were removed.  I wonder if there is a record how many have arrived  in North  Africa.  Ts

One example of expulsion of a people in the 20Th century, was the removal  of more then 800'000 Palestinians from their land which is now Israel. They were also expelled, killed, their villages razed to the ground, all their land, homes, goods confiscated. It was a huge exodus, a holocaust for the Palestinian people. It started in 1948 and is still going on. Palestinians are kept in a 
ghetto and the world looks on. Nothing has changed in the savagery of people how they treat each other. Ts

From the book, page 148
...He chewed the spiced sausage, tasted the feint aroma of garlic, sank his teeth into the floury bread. When he cut into the peach it was fat and juicy...

Traditional 17Th Century Morisco song  (Muslims=Moriscos)
May the rain sprinkle you as it showers,
Oh, my time of love in Andalusia;
Our time together was just a sleeper's dream
Or a secretly grasped moment.

The stories of mankind are filled with  savagery and heartache. Ts 

It never stops, there are always people who want it all it does not matter to them how they get it.
Destroyed countries in a short few years;
Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Now they have Ukraine in their sight, many countries in Africa;
Governments using funds and people to help facilitate the crimes of  Corporations, the Oligarchy, Plutocracy; billionaires all feed  and gorge themselves on the blood of whole populations.


Plutocracy
a small group of people having control of a country or organization.
The  rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy.
A government or state in which the wealthy class rules.
A class or group ruling, or exercising power or influence, by virtue of its wealth.

Oligarchy
a small group of people having control of a country or organization.

Democracy is dead wood. It is only a word used ad nauseum.Ts

Sepia Saturday 216; The suit, masculine fashion.

Mon Papa with Molly, Sunday afternoon a walk with his dog. He has taken off his waistcoat, his tie and his collar. This is in the 1930's.Today he would wear chinos, an  open shirt and  perhaps a jumper.

Oh, Mein Papa war eine wunderbare clown...

Lys Assia is a Swiss singer who won the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956
.Born: March 3, 1924, Rupperswil, Switzerland; she is 90 years now.

Please visit  and enjoy  www.sepiasaturday.blogspot.com

Saturday; rebel;

To rebel; defy the authorities, refuse to obey orders, be insubordinate To resist or defy an authority or a generally accepted convention.

Humans are bizarre. They covet and spend millions of Dollars to build, or maintain, renovate man made buildings monuments etc. They spend a lot of money to build monuments, pedestals, sculptures of  generally ugly looking persons like politicians or kings or queens or whatever they think is worthwhile to be kept in stone.

Pacific Ocean near Byron Bay;

When it comes to our environments, our nature, oceans, lakes rivers, be it plants or animals, fish or bird , the really important we should covet and look after are coldly dismissed, raped polluted, killed and contaminated with new genes,Genetic modification (GM) is the use of modern biotechnology techniques to change the genes of an organism, such as a plant, animal or humans.

Chemical poisons which are used everyday. Depleted uranium, exploded A-bombs, 

Above-ground nuclear tests by the Soviet Union, the United States  and great Brittain in Australia; in the 1950s and early 1960s and by France into the 1970s and 1980s spread a significant amount of fallout from uranium daughter isotopes around the world. Additional fallout and pollution occurred from several nuclear accidents.

Damascus, Syria; one more victim by western political manoeuvring.

“Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself.” 

- William Shakespeare

“The use of depleted uranium weaponry by the United States and Israel, defying all

international treaties, will slowly annihilate all species on earth including

the human species, and yet these countries continue to do so with full knowledge

of its destructive potential.” - Leuren Moret

Cassia fistula in my garden;

Fracking involves toxic chemicals being lowered into kilometre-deep holes drilled in the ground to isolate gas and oil from shale. The toxic chemicals can then float into lakes and rivers or contaminate the ground. Also, fracking produces a disproportionate amount of waste, including radioactive water, which then has to be dumped somewhere.

A simple white rose in my garden;

Fracking involves toxic chemicals being lowered into kilometer-deep holes drilled in the ground to isolate gas and oil from shale. The toxic chemicals can then float into lakes and rivers or contaminate the ground. Also, fracking produces a disproportionate amount of waste, including radioactive water, which then has to be dumped somewhere.

The scary bits...

Deep down in the earth, there is a lot of radioactivity, which is safe enough, so long as it is not brought up to the surface. The technical term is NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material). When it is brought to the surface it becomes Technologically Enhanced, or TENORM, and it is a serious health problem near oil wells and gas production sites. It is in the production water, in the oil, in the gas, around the production sites, the groundwater, in the pipes and tanks – and in your kitchen. 

When it comes to our beautiful nature, the old Tasmanian forests which have been protected after a big fight, are going to be lost now, used for pulp, destroyed, just a few more $$$ . Prime Minister Abbott, unfortunately has no conscience when it comes to nature. The great Barrier Reef suffers the same fate under this Prime Ministers and his colleagues.  I think  there is a phoniness and a certain crudeness in this man.  All ,Australians should gather in mass and go to Canberra and  protest,, to stop the destruction of world heritage sites. Most humans are sleepy creatures they only cry out when they are hit over their head, but then it is mostly to late.

Oh well, one day when earth has had enough of its devolution and clears itself of little dictators and all other  human beings, it will  regenerate itself be pristine for a long, long time,  because earth will still be here when all of us are gone and forgotten. 

Earth is a tiny minuscule dot in millions of other dots.  We are just lucky for the moment because despite our importance we all are just a moment in earth’s history; Why do I bother …

Our world;

Watch!

©Photos/Text /Titania Everyday; Ts

Wednesday; words;

The first three words you see are yours for the whole year!

Enjoy life in the sun like the sun jewels do. Happy days for all.

© Ts/Photo, sun jewels, my garden.