Ein Taureif bedeckt einfach alles, während sich die Sonne gerade über den Horizont stemmt, um ihn zu vertreiben. Dieses Bild rüttelt wahre Vorfreude in mir wach – na ja und ein bisschen Schadenfreude, über jene, die Ihren Jahresurlaub bereits hatten. Denn nun scheint es, sofern man den Wetterfritzen Glauben schenken darf, endlich schöner zu werden.

Gestern war ich beim ADAC und habe eine Reisekrankenversicherung abgeschlossen. Die sind ganz schön nett. Nach einer unauffälligen Frage nach meinem Reiseziel, die sympathisch nach Smalltalk und nicht nach Smalltalk und nicht nach Verkauf klang, ging die Dame zum Drucker, um den Vertrag zu holen.
Zurück kam sie mit einem kleinen Stapel Unterlagen über Nordgriechenland. Eine Karte, eine Übersicht der Sehenswürdigkeiten, ein Merkblatt mit Einreisebestimmungen und den wichtigsten Adressen / Telefonnummern, wie Konsulat, Pannendienst etc.. Sogar die Höchstgeschwindigkeitsübersicht hat sie mir in die Finger gedrückt. Wo war meine gewohnte Servicewüste geblieben? Klasse...ich war König Kunde...das hab ich schon lange nicht mehr erlebt. Daher fand ich, müsste es hier dringend Erwähnung finden.

Eigentlich kann nichts schief gehen. Air Berlin nimmt die Pilotenstreiks der anderen in Düsseldorf gelassen hin. Zumindest wird weitestgehend pünktlich gelandet und gestartet. Wetter.com gibt tolle Aussichten für die kommenden 16 Tage. Meinem Chef habe ich ein 2-seitiges Dokument erstellt, mit Dingen die in den kommenden 3 Wochen so auf ihn zukommt, die zweite Urlaubsvertretung wird heute instruiert. Die Unterlagen sind gedruckt, Wäsche gewaschen und beinahe alles gebügelt, Bude schon fertig, Briefkasten und Blumen gießen ist organisiert...es kann los gehen!

Ich freu mich drauf!

- den helige Gregorios Palamas, ur Om vår Högst Rena Fru Gudaföderska och Eviga Jungfru Marias Insomnande

Ett mycket kontroversiellt -eller kanske snarare endast "livligt diskuterat"- ämne, utgör den kvinnan som troligtvis är den mest kända (åtminstone en av dem) människan av kvinnligt kön genom tiderna, på svenska mest känd som Jungfru Maria. Om jag får som jag vill, orkar och hinner, så kommer detta inlägg vara det första i en serie på obestämd längd, vilken kommer -utan några som helst höga ambitioner- bestå av mina reflektioner gällande denna kvinna, med fokus på olika aspekter, både ur teologiska, historiska, konstnärliga/konsthistoriska etc etc synvinklar

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

Den första punkten blir -jag mjukstartar med något försiktigt- hennes namn. Detta inlägg bygger delvis på ett äldre inlägg på min gamla blogg, namnet "Maria" och andra varianter, men uppgifterna har reviderats, uppdaterats, utökats m.m.

1. Namnet går att finna i en stor mängd varianter över hela världen - Mary, Mia, Maris, Marie, Maja etc - men dessa varianter kommer vi inte fästa intresset vid. Dessa är lokala versioner (inget fel på dessa...)

I antikens Palestina, var "Maria" ett mycket vanligt namn på judiska kvinnor.; drygt 20 % skall ha burit det. Med tanke på detta är det ingen överraskning att namnet redan under Jesu tid fanns i olika stilar och stavningar. Vanligast var formen "Mariam/Miriam", med ett "m" på slutet.

När namnet "Mariam" skulle skrivas med grekiska bokstäver, var det vanligt att man skrev "Maria" eller "Mariamme"(eller Mariame). Ofta skrevs det dock endast som det var, d.v.s. Mariam. I septuaginta, den antika grekiska översättningen av GT, nämns Mose syster vid namnet Mariam, där engelska och svenska Biblar istället har "Miriam". Men de två förstnämnda - Maria och Mariamme- var utan tvekan de vanligaste transkriberingarna. Båda dessa översättningar - Maria och Mariamme - gav ett mer grekiskt intryck än transliterationen Mariam/Miriam. Den som används överallt i NT (som ju skrevs på grekiska) är dock Mariam; detta gäller dock inte i Codex Vaticanum, där det istället skrivs Maria.

Formen "Mariam" är egentligen en arameisk; på hebreiska, judarnas gamla språk, hette det egentligen Miriam. Men med tanke på att judarna i Palestina vid denna tid talade arameiska, torde formen Mariam ha varit den som Jesu mor bar. Visserligen diskuteras det livligen huruvida judarna vid denna tid även kan ha talat hebreiska (vilket jag inte anser vara helt omöjligt); alltså finns det möjligen en chans att hon hette Miriam.

Vill man komplicera det hela lite, så bör det även nämnas att många judar vid denna tid hade två namn; ett hebreiskt/arameiskt samt ett grekiskt - detta kunde antingen vara "rent" grekiskt, eller en helleniserad variant av det judiska namnet (det fanns även fall då man tog ett grekiskt namn, som påminde om det judiska). Detta betyder att Jesu mor förutom namnet Mariam/Miriam, även kan ha burit namnet Maria/Mariam/Mariamme. Detta skulle då ha använts när hon kom i kontakt med greker. (Man kan jämföra med att jag heter Thomas, som på svenska uttalas toomass; umgås jag dock med en britt skulle denna uttala det tåmmess)

En del menar, att eftersom formen i arabiska - och därför även i koranen och på muslimers läppar - för Jungfru Maria är Maryam, så är detta ett stöd för att hon skall ha burit den arameiska varianten Mariam, istället för det hebreiska Miriam.

2. Betydelsen av namnet Maria/Mariam/Miriam är en ännu svårare fråga. Möjligen är det från början ett egyptiskt namn; den enda kvinnan i GT som bär detta namn är Mose syster. Som vi alla vet växte Mose, Miriam och Aron upp i Egypten. Mose fick sitt namn av Faraos dotter, Aron är med all säkerhet ett egyptiskt namn - om två av tre judiska syskon i egypten bar egyptiska namn, varför då inte det tredje? Om detta är fallet, så kommer namnet troligen från det egyptiska ordet meryt, vilket betyder "älskad".

Men det finns även en del försök till att förklara namnet utifrån hebreiskan. Många brukar säga att det skulle vara ett namn, sprunget ur de två orden mar yam, vilket betyder ungefär "bittert hav". Detta är dock grammatiskt felaktigt - om dessa ord skulle göras om till ett namn, skulle det bli Yammar, inte Maryam (och verkligen inte Miriam).

Ett antal andra mer eller mindre trovärdiga tolkningar, utifrån hebreiskan, arameiskan etc är: "deras uppror", "havets myrra", "havets droppe", "havets älskarinna", "havets stjärna", "hopp", "bitterhet", "stor sorg", "den bittra", "uppror", "den helade", "den tjocka", "den välnärda", "älskarinna", "den starka", "den härskande", "den upphöjda", "myrrha", "den behagliga", "den älskvärda", "den barmhärtiga", "den bedårande", "den tjusiga", "efterlängtat barn", "den perfekta", "omhuldad", "den vackra", "älskad av Gud"...

Ytterligare en förklaring som getts, är att det är ett sammansatt namn: egyptiskans mer har satts samman med hebreiskans jah (dvs Jahve) - namnet skulle isf betyde "den som älskar Jahve", alltså, "den som älskar Gud".

Av alla de ovan nämnda förklaringarna är de två som "anlitar" egyptiskan troligast - ur filologisk synvinkel - och således skulle namnet alltså betyda antingen "älskad" eller "den som älskar Gud."

Det finns dock ett antal invändningar även mot dessa tolkningar, vilka jag dock inte ska ta upp här. Catholic Encyklopedia menar, i likhet med många andra, att det säkraste är att utgår från att namnet är av hebreiskt ursprung - de mest troliga tolkningar skulle i sådana fall vara: "upprorisk" och "den välnärda". Etymologiskt är ingen av dessa mer trolig än den andra - men om man betänker synen på kvinnan i detta område, vid denna tid, så torde det senare vara en mer trolig tolkning. Betydelsen skulle då vara "Den perfekta" eller "Den vackra".

3. I Bibelns skrifter, får viktiga personer ofta namn med profetisk innebörd. Abram och Saraj (hög fader och stridslysten) byter, på Guds befallning, sina namn till Abraham och Sara (fader till många och prinsessa); Kungaprofeten David (älskad); Profeten Elia (Jahve är min Gud); ärkeänglarna Mikael, Gabriel, Rafael och Uriel - jag skippar de andra då man tjivas en del om vad de egentligen heter - ("Vem är som Gud?", "Guds man", "Gud har helat" och "Gud är mitt ljus"); Jesus (Jahve frälser) etc.

Jag ser inte varför Gud inte skulle ha lagt ner någon slags profetisk betydelse i Jungfru Marias namn. Detta att hon är Jesu moder gör det tvärtom troligare. Om vi endast håller oss till de fyra mest troliga tolkningarna av hennes namn ("älskad", "den som älskar Gud", "den perfekta" och "den vackra") så ser man ganska snabbt vad de olika namnen skulle kunna betyda i hennes sammanhang. Nu kommer jag egentligen in på marker som hör till ett senare inlägg, men några få snabba förslag kan jag iaf nämna:

• "Älskad" - Gud älskar Maria, och har därför gett henne ett särkilt uppdrag; att föda Frälsaren, Gud själv. Möjligen även detta "älskad" skulle kunna antyda att Gud ger henne särkilda nådegåvor, antingen sådana som alla kan ta del av, eller något som är specifikt för henne...Möjligtvis även en antydan till att hon var enda barnet?
• "Den som älskar Gud" - Maria skulle växa upp till att bli en from, kärleksfull och gudfruktig Gudsälskare.
• "Den perfekta" - i princip samma som ovan.
• "Den vackra" - Jungfru Maria var vacker, både till det yttre och i själen. Med andra ord; samma som ovan plus fysisk skönhet.

Men nog om detta.

Alltså: Jesu moder hetter Mariam, möjligen Miriam. Hon kan även ha haft ett andra namn, på grekiska. Hennes namns betydelse torde vara "älskad", "den som älskar Gud", "den perfekta" eller "den vackra", och detta skulle kunna ha diverse profetiska betydelser.

God natt.

ZIJ LEEE-VEN LANG HOEERRRAA HOEEERRRA

ZIJ LEEEE-VEN LANG HOERRRAAA HOEERRRRAAAA

ZIJ LEEEEEE-VEN LANG HOE-RA HOE-RA

Miriam; van deze (natte) kant van de aardbol; van harte proficiat van alle (!) factor-tachtigers-en-toebehoren.. maak er (alweer) een mooie dag van!

enne...schoonheid komt met de jaren ;)

Was für eine Woche?! Grau in Grau, immer nervigeres Arbeitsaufkommen durch die Urlaubsvertretung der Kollegen, die es schon besser haben als man selbst und irgendwie wird es auch immer Kälter. Proportional steigt natürlich die Vorfreude.

Um keinen Sonnenbrand zu riskieren, springe ich nun regelmäßig bei meiner Freundin vorbei, die bei einer Sonnenbank jobbt. Einmal pro Woche auf ne leichte Bank muss allerdings reichen. Ich will ja nicht aussehen, wie Gabi ausm Sonnenstudio *g*.

Allerdings häufen sich derzeit ein wenig die Zweifel. Ist die Ortswahl mit Psakoudia sicher richtig? Ist es dort vielleicht zu ruhig? Im Fokus stand klar: Badeurlaub. Und der Strand hat eine blaue Flagge. Man findet im Internet keine schlechte Bewertung, weder zum Ort noch zu unserem Hotel. Es gibt Cafes, Bars, Sport, eine Discothek und Souvenirshops. Was könnte also fehlen? Warum sorge ich mich überhaupt?
Der Grund ist einfach: keiner kennts! Chrisos Familie war ja nun bereits in jedem erdenklichen Winkel von Griechenland, doch niemand kennt Paskoudia. Die Nachbarorte sind ihnen bekannt, doch unser Dörfchen nicht....hm!

Andererseits...was haben wir schon zu verlieren? Im Zweifel haben wir eienn schönen Badeurlaub und fahren kein zweites Mal hin. Im allerschlimmsten Fall müsste man sich , um was zu erleben, sich halt ein Auto mieten. Und mal ehrlich, es gibt schlimmeres, oder?

Ja! Es wird sicher ein toller Urlaub. Schließlich habe ich den besten Mann der Welt und 2 weitere gaaaaaaanz liebe Menschen dabei. Es kann nur grandios werden.
Also habe ich beschlossen, nichts mehr auf das „Wo ist das denn? Davon hab ich ja noch nie gehört“ zu hören, denn sicherlich finden wir dort einfach nur ein wundervolles Fleckchen Erde vor.

...das Rosakarierte war extra für die kleine Miriam- und sie wollte es gar nicht mehr ausziehn!! :-)

LUIS te nos estás poniendo las botas besándolas a todas!!!A tu favor una cosilla, a pesar de que en el programa anterior me decepcionases respecto lo que voy a decir ahora, y es que me alegro de que se nota quién no te atrae y quien sí, pero, por favor, procura tener delicadeza SIEMPRE. Y cuando te gustan varias, no hagas como VÍCTOR y las trates igual y te pongas hasta arriba de besitos, incluso es que actúas peor, nos gusta sentirnos especiales, vale, se supone que te conquistan a ti…pero hay que tener un poco de picardía al respecto, sobre todo pensando en el después.

MARITRINI, me duele decirte esto, pero no le gustas nada a LUIS cede la batuta a otra aspirante, al igual que REBECA, a la que por dignidad, debería marcharse ya.

MIRIAM, llevó a Luis de picnic y señaló el camino rosa a rosa roja, qué arte que tiene mi paisana, ya lo dice el refrán, más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo, no quiero decir que ella sea vieja, pero si es de las de mayor edad allí presentes (personalmente creo que la sevillana le da muchas vueltas al tronista), y la que más experiencia tiene…cuidado con ella el resto, que va ganando puestos. Aunque estoy convencida de que terminará eligiendo a ALI a pesar también de la hermosura de ÁNGELA.

ALEJANDRA, me ha encantado la cita, le ha llevado a montar en canoa a un lago, muy romántico,  yo lo hubiera hecho igual, aunque sé remar… peeeero, ha estado muy bien el que dejes al hombres el acto viril (que no machista) de remar haciendo ver que tu eres una dama y aunque tu seduzcas también necesitas ser cortejada, ojalá se dé cuenta de lo que vales, pero si no, no creo que te cueste mucho encontrar a un caballero. Atrevida la foto en bikini…no quiero ni imaginar sus momentos íntimos en el baño…

BLANCA, primero, decir que hasta a mí se me va sólo la vista a los escotes que siempre me lleva, estudia estilismo, ¿no?, a veces está bien llevar escote, pero hay otro tipos de atuendos sexys y elegantes, y mostrando taaanto escote no dejas ver lo atractiva que eres, respecto a la cita, ¿no le ofreciste nada beber al pobre muchacho? Aunque ALEJANDRA tampoco, ¡muerto de sed me lo teneis! La pena es que a BLANCA le falta muchísima dulzura, y dotes de seducción, la elección de hoy no cuenta, que si a ella no le hubiese dado un bajón probablemente hubiera elegido a ALEJANDRA, a la que me niego llamar ALEJA, por cierto.

No sé cuánto queda de programa y por qué entra tanto aspirante nuevo pero deberían centrarse ya en quienes verdaderamente  les interesa, digo yo…desde luego, es lo que yo haría.

He opinado…

 Pd: A ver que nos deparan también las nuevas aspirantes de Víctor, después de haber expulsado a otras dos pretendientes Keka (que no esperaba para nada) y otra joven de 19 años

Al principio él parecía galante, educado, inteligente, me caía bien, pero a medida que van pasando los días, para mi pesar y el de muchos, le estoy cogiendo tirria…si señores, hablo de LUIS, el tronista…vergüenza ajena me ha dado como ha dejado cortada a la pobre muchachita pequeñita REBECA, no sé si hubiera sido cierto el tema de que intentara darle un pico, o no, pero CÁLLATE, LUIS tenga usted un poco de clase, que así vas perdiendo puntos para el mundo, aunque claro le debe dar igual teniendo a  14 mujercitas  loquitas por él (¿cuáles serán sinceras, cuáles no?), primero yo vi lo del beso y no me pareció que fuese con intención de dar un pico, esos errores a veces se cometen y no adrede, sino, válgame dios la de picos que han intentado darme a mi durante toda mi vida, y segundo, si así fuese es viable, NUNCA la había elegido, sabemos y sabe que va a ser una de las próximas descartadas pues a aprovechar al máximo. REBECA, LUIS no se merece los croissants ni los ositos, ni te merece a ti, tu mereces un hombre mejor, que sobre todo te respete y quiera. Yo en tu lugar hubiera hecho lo siguiente…que me habría encantado verlo o quizá en un próximo programa…:

“Emma, quiero pedir permiso para dejar el programa porque aparte de que es obvio que no existe feeling por mucho esfuerzo que yo haga (recuérdese masaje, regalitos, frases con ingenio, vestido escotados, peluquería, maquillaje…un sinfín…) él además no me ha respetado y ha confundido de un modo apoteósico mis intenciones, asi que no me merece la pena seguir el programa para que un chico dañe mi autoestima y para colmo sea atacada por mis compañeras, sin motivo alguno, porque en este casi ni siquiera es por celos, hay muchos chicos que seguro estarán encantados de conocerme ahí fuera y sabrán apreciar los perfumes en frasco pequeño”

REBECA, en mi casa pensamos que eres guapa y que vales, además risueña y divertida, LUIS no te merece.

Indignadísima me ha dejado el señor.

Por cierto, ese día me encantó el detalle de LORA del álbum  y el otro día el del monólogo, me recuerdo algo a mi. Marcando la diferencia, podrás ganar, aunque entre ASTRY (según yo) y MERITXEL, está difícil, y más ahora con la nueva rival ALEJANDRA, de quien hablo unas líneas más abajo.

Ayer en Mujeres Hombres y Viceversa (que por cierto la emisión empieza una hora más tarde a las 17.30) no pude ver la cita de NOEMÍ, creo que tengo el reloj con 5 minutos de retraso…pero con lo leído en el blog de los tronistas, creo que LUIS piensa demasiado…¿cómo por un “por favor elígeme” puede saber que la muchacha quiere escapar de algo? Aunque la verdad en cualquier caso es frase es desafortunada. Minipunto negativo para NOEMÍ, luego pude ver algo del video, y quizá se extrapole más que quiera olvidar a su ex pareja cuya relación era reciente, pues manifestó que no quería hablar de ello, después de que Luis le insistiera, pero no por el “por favor elígeme”….

Ya si pude ver la cita con ANA, y por favor ¡LUIS! Camisetas sin mangas NOOOOOOOOOOO, es antiestético, ¡¡¡JAMÁS!!!, ¿dónde está quedando la clase y el estilo que en un principio aparentabas tener? De hecho ha ido como anillo al dedo la canción de Grease como fondo en la cita, que la pusieron por la Feria pero LUIS íba look estilo Denny Zuco total…¡pero está pasado! Sólo le faltaba la chaqueta de cuero de los pájaros…Ayss…qué poco gusto.

“De momento sigue así que vas por buen camino…”¿ein? No des falsas esperanzas a la mucha que por muy “salá” que pueda parecer es obvio que no la vas a elegir y confiesa abiertamente de una vez por todas que exclusivamente la ves como amiga y punta, y deja el “de momento” para la que te quieras enrollar…para tu Olivia Newton John.

Ahora sí, he de felicitarte por la elección de la próxima cita. Por fin un DUELO DE TITANES. MIRIAM Y ALI ¿quién vencerá?

Y ahora a lo importante…¡¡¡ALEJANDRA!!!,¡¡¡¡ Me encanta!!!!, desde el principio, la verdad, aparte de que me parece una niña monísima con unos rasgos diferentes pero atractivos, es de lo más dulce que hasta a LUIS de le caía la baba, se le ha notado como la miraba (sí, sí, digo LUIS, a VÍCTOR también) además de muy aguda en todas las participaciones que ha tenido mientras no era elegida,  parece ser buena conversadora,  y como se ha hablado en el mismo programa una gran conquistadora que ha sorprendido a todos….Además lleva las manos cuidadísimas que eso es un detalle muy importante que no debe pasar desapercibido. La muchachita ha ganado puestos y se ha situado entre las mejores, y me alegra que la haya vuelto a elegir, a ver con qué nos sorprende en la próxima cita que competirá con BLANCA, pero ALEJANDRA, la supera con creces respecto a lo que armas de seducción se refiere.

Y por cierto, tampoco me gusto nada la camiseta de VÍCTOR hoy… Vaya el estilismo de los chicos, indignadísima me tiene…

A todo esto, no me quiero olvidar de MALÚ  apodada “la señorita” por VÍCTOR, él quería decir señorita como mujer elegante con clase digna de un hombre como James Bond, así la veo yo también, pero me ha dolido mucho como se ha atacado contra la autoestima de esta muchacha con un saber estar que la mayoría de los presentes deben envidiar y sin que ni siquiera VÍCTOR la defienda. No obstante yo tampoco creo que VÍCTOR sea para ella, ni ella para él, sino un hombre elegante, con clase, con estilo, y muy inteligente para ella, es la impresión que da, no más.

Ah, también me indigna un poco bastante las mujeres que opinan desde la escalera, ALEJANDRA y ROSA, a veces no entiendo qué dicen o si es que están vacilando…

Aunque nuestra querida JUGUETONA, piensa que VICENTE, el profesor, hizo un poco mal en poner en “evidencia” a MARISA por su evidente forma de elegir a musculitos, yo estoy muy orgullosa de él y copio literalmente lo que puse en su blog, que si no, no doy abasto yo de opinóloga:

“Respecto al profesor VICENTE, también me gustaba mucho y la verdad que no me pareció mal lo que digo, que es algo muy obvio. MARISA sólo tiene en cuenta el físico de la gente, VICENTE lo mejor que podría ofrecer era su coco y su picardía, además de su gracia e ingenio, es natural que se sienta resentido alguien tenía que cantarle u poco las cuarenta que también se le subió el trono a MARISA. Por cierto, se rumorea que esta será la semana definitiva para ella…¿a quién elegirá entonces?

En cuanto a FERNANDO, a mi si me gusta para VERÓNICA, me gusta su dulzura, quizá eso nos engañe a muchas como la dulzura de TATIANE, el efecto BRASIL le voy a tener que llamar a este fenómeno, por ahora no me parece falso a pesar del cambio de tronista y creo que es lícito que se haya comportado igual con ambas, de todas formas haga lo que se haga siempre se criticará como sucedió con BLANCA que tuvo una actuación totalmente opuesta y también se la criticó, aunque realmente me gustaría ver si FERNANDO se marcha como dijo que haría si no podía pasar más tiempo con VERO, se cree y creo que VERO le volvió a elegir para una cita para picar a DAVID MORALES por su sobredosis de sinceridad y reproche (demasiado pronto para reprochar) y así espabilarle, además la otra cita elegida fue DAVID ECHEBARRÍA, que hubo una época en el que fue su contrincante más fuerte, además así veremos si FERNANDO puede ofrecer más que hablar de besitos y mimitos. Estas citas se verán esta tarde…

Añadir que también me tiene indignadísima, el favoritismo palpable hacia MARISA ¿Cuánto dura el programa para ella y cuánto dura para VERÓNICA?, ¿Por qué VERÓNICA no tiene nuevos pretendientes? No me creo que sea porque no existen, ya quisieran muchos tener una mujer como ella a su lado.

Personalmente, considero las citas y los pretendientes de VERÓNICA y a la misma tronista muchísimo más interesante que el bando de los metro sexuales… así que ojalá vuelvan a ser equitativos con el tiempo que se le dedica a cada uno.

Pd: Quiero pedir disculpas a CHICA, la prima de LUIS que ha visitado este blog, por si algún comentario le ofende, que espero que no y tenga claro que sencillamente son opiniones.

Ilustraciones de LUIS PAREJO

Duquesa Diana Cadaval

Duquesa Camila de Calabria

Duquesa Claudine Cadaval

Princesa Eleanora de Yugoslavia

Delphine Arnaud

Marquesa Teresa de Lavradio

Duquesa Isabel de Bragança

Princesa Patricia D'Arenberg

Graça Viterbo

Graça Viterbo

Alexandra Alvares Pereira de Melo

Laura Vecino

Gracinha Viterbo

Cristina Valls Taberner

Princesa Beatriz de Orleans

Princesa Miriam de Bulgaria

Duquesa Isabel de Bragança

Princesa Isabelle de Orleans

Alexandra Alvares Pereira de Melo

Cristina Valls Taberner

Princesa Beatriz de Orleans

Condesa Rosario de Montarco

Princesa Silvia D'Arenberg

Rosalina Machado

Marie Claude Parnaud

Marquesa Teresa de Lavradio

Gracinha Viterbo

Laura Ponte

Die Liste der Dinge, die ich gerne tun möchte ist lang:
Im Sand nahe der Beachbar liegen und mich von der Mischung aus Wellen und smover Housemusik begeistern lassen, mich mal wieder in den Sattelschwingen, mit dem einem „Piratenschiff“ eine Tour in entlegene Buchten mitmachen, Kirchen und Klöster besichtigen, mit einem Cabrio durchs Umland düsen, Backgammon spielen, Gyros Pita in mich hinein schaufeln bis ich platze, einen bekannten Markt besuchen, Schildkröten und mit Glück Delfine sehen und natürlich planschen bis ich Schwimmhäute habe.

Mal sehen, ob ich alles schaffen werde.

“Egli mi invocherà dicendo: tu sei mio padre, il mio Dio e la rocca della mia salvezza” così il salmo 89:26 ci regala una bellissima immagine del nostro Dio; quale dimostrazione d’amore più profonda di questa? Lui è DIO a cui possiamo rivolgerci chiamandolo PADRE, ed è la ROCCA della nostra salvezza. Lo stesso Dio che ha creato il cielo e la terra è la fonte indiscussa di protezione per noi, non è fantastico?

Dio è accanto a te in qualsiasi momento, anche quando ti fai del male e lo fai agli altri il Suo sguardo è lì, gioisce con te, soffre con te e per te, odia il male che fai ma AMA te ed è sempre pronto a guardarti con Amore, pronto a rialzarti se solo gli tendi la mano.

Il titolo di questa rubrica è Lui, Lei e L’altro per cui mi piace l’idea di poter trattare con voi oltre l’aspetto Paterno di Dio anche il suo aspetto Materno, mi aspetto a questo punto le vostre facce accigliate e confuse.. forza non fate così e lasciate che vi spieghi:

Una della forme di amore più grande che una persona possa provare è quello di una mamma nei confronti del proprio figlio. Difficile pensare ad una mamma che non si prenda cura del proprio bambino! Persino nel regno animale l’istinto guida la mamme a crescere i propri piccoli, tanto più un essere umano dotato di sentimenti difficilmente se ne dimentica, ma Dio ancora una volta va oltre , ci stupisce e ci dice:
“Puo una donna dimenticare il bambino che allatta e non aver compassione del figlio del suo grembo? Anche se esse dovessero dimenticare, io non ti dimenticherò” Isaia 49:15
Quanto è rassicurante sapere che anche quando avremo 40 anni ci sarà Qualcuno (e non qualcuno a caso) a prendersi cura di noi! Ragazzi, mi raccomando non prendetela come un invito a non crescere ;)

Possiamo concludere che Dio è la massima espressione dell’amore o meglio.
Ne è ESPRESSIONE PERFETTA: “poiché DIO ha tanto amato il mondo ,che ha dato il suo unigenito Figlio, affinché chiunque creda in lui non perisca ma abbia la vita eterna” (Giovanni 3:16). Dio ci ha amati in maniera incondizionata tanto da mettere la salvezza della nostra anima prima di Suo Figlio. Il puro e vero amore di Dio non puoi comprarlo, non puoi conquistarlo non puoi comprenderlo; ma puoi accettarlo, puoi viverlo ed esserne completamente conquistato!
Dio continui a benedirvi e inondarvi con il Suo Amore!!

Gestern übelste Hitze, heute grau in grau und Nieselregen. In Zeiten wie diesen, gibt es nur einen gedanklichen Rettungsanker, der mich weitermachen lässt: Urlaub!!!

Am 27.07. geht der Flieger!

Mit AirBerlin gehts schnurstraks von Düsseldorf nach Thessaloniki - von dort aus weiter nach Psakoudia, wo hoffentlich ein Hotel auf mich wartet, dass seinen super Internetbewertungen gerecht wird.

2 Wochen Strand, Sonne und Pita warten dort auf mich, doch die Vorfreude wäre nicht so groß, wenn nicht jemand ganz besonderes dabei wäre: mein Chriso. Gemeinsam werden wir dort die Zeit am Strand und im Umland genießen und im Anschluss ein paar Tage Thessaloniki dran hängen, eh wir weiter hinein ins Land zu seiner Oma düsen. Ich bin ganz schön gespannt.

Und da uns beiden so gaaaaanz allein in einem abgelegenen kleinen Örtchen wie Psakoudia sicher langweilig werden würde, kommen am 29.07. Sarah und Jojo vorbei. Auch wenns auf die Schnelle kein Zimmer mehr in unserem Hotel gab, kann ihrs ja garnicht sooo weit weg sein - ist ja schließlich ein Dörfchen.

Klasse Sache, denn in Sarah hab ich wen gefunden, der mindestens genau so gerne gucken geht wie ich: alte Steine, Märkte, Klöster, Land und Leute...alles kann man sich mal ansehen. Auch 40°C im Schatten halten uns davon nicht ab!

Ich glaube, ich war in einem früheren Leben ein japanischer Tourist.

Warten wirs ab – schon viele Urlaube begannen mit großen Plänen, und letztendlich hat man doch nur den Weg vom Frühstücksraum zum Strand und die umliegenden Souvenirläden gesehen.

Mietwagen, alte Steine gucken, Schiffstouren, Märkte, Beachbars, Jetski, Backgammon, Quads, Klöster, Natur...langweilig wird uns zumindest nicht. Und wenn doch, dann schlendern wir eben ins nahe gelegene Internetcafe und versorgen euch mit neuen Informationen :0)

Why was there such sadness at the death of Aharon? Why did his death have such a huge effect on the entire nation? There is comment in the Talmud that we should be like Aharon- to love peace and to chase after peace. How did Aharon exemplify this trait of peace, a trait of Hashem himself? In the parsha dealing with the sotah, we learn that G-d is so concerned about shalom bayis (peace in the home- i.e. relationship between the husband of wife) that it is the name of G-d that is erased as the final step of the process to determine her innocence or guilt.

In a similar vein, Aharon took great care to men relationships between people- particularly between husband and wife. He, personally, regardless of the importance of his position and the indignity of the role, would make sure to visit both sides of the conflict- speak soothing words and encourage them to come together and resolve their differences. Like G-d with the sotah, Aharon involved himself in creating shalom bayis, creating peace in the home and thus strengthening the overall nation.

It was this attribute of his- that he was so involved with ensuring happiness in the home and harmonious relationships he was beloved by the entire nation and thus the grieving over his death was very pronounced, far more so than with Miriam who, while loved by many (especially the women for whom she was a leader)

Buondì BOYS&GIRLS! :D
finalmente è arrivato VENERDì!!
scommetto che stavate aspettando con ansia la seconda puntata della mitica rubrica LUI, LEI e L'ALTRO ;) ed eccovi accontentati!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a tutti :P
........................................

SECONDA PUNTATA

Ti amo, TVB, tesoro, amore..
Parole dolcissime e cariche di significato e quando vengono usate bene hanno l’efficacia di una spada nelle mani di un guerriero! E’ importante però non abusarne e non utilizzarle solo per carineria nei confronti delle persone; inflazionare le parole significa svuotarle del significato di cui sono portatrici.

A proposito di parole, la differenza di genere ci impone ancora una volta di guardare le cose da due prospettive diverse: senza mai generalizzare in quello che stiamo dicendo possiamo affermare – guardando ad una buona casistica - che mentre per le donne è estremamente importante la comunicazione, per l’uomo è più importante pensare alla concreta realizzazione delle cose.
Ciò significa che se un fidanzato lavora come un pazzo per racimolare dei soldini per poter comprare un bel regalo alla sua fidanzata, ma non è poi in grado di usare parole dolci, carezze e sguardi di intesa il regalo finirà per essere un oggetto come un altro.
Il quadro è importante ma per poter essere completo ha bisogno della cornice, fare delle belle cose e non saperle accompagnare sminuisce il valore di quello che viene fatto.

Amare incondizionatamente è una scelta, non è una infatuazione, non è passione.
Amare significa andare oltre se stessi, mettere da parte l’orgoglio e saper perdonare. L’unico modo per poter vivere la pienezza dell’amore in una relazione è amare di un amore agapico che è l’amore di Dio il quale non conosce limiti, nè confini ma solo tanta tanta profondità e ricchezza.
Soltanto quando siamo ripieni dell’amore di Dio possiamo metterlo a disposizione nel nostro modo di vivere le relazioni e poter deliziarci nell’apoteosi dell’AMORE.

Questo è il segreto di ogni coppia cristiana che ha deciso di vivere secondo il cuore di Dio ed ecco perchè quello che Dio unisce niente e nussuno lo può separare .. la corda a tre capi non si rompe tanto presto.... (ecclesiaste 4.12)

Dio vi benedica e non vi preoccupate!
Dopo tante parole l’unica cosa veramente importante da ricordare è di vivere ogni giorno al centro della volontà di Dio, e stare tranquilli perchè Egli stesso ci ha dotato del perfetto “manuale d’amore”: la Bibbia!

FINE

:D SEE YOU NEXT FRIDAY :D

As for the second leg of this fooding excursion, I finally went out to Brooklyn! Park Slope to be more specific. It's been ages since I went to this borough just because it's a two-hour commute from home in Queens. Even though I do admit that it's a 20-minute express subway ride from Union Square, so it ain't that bad.

Miriam

Ariel and I discussed about going to Miriam many moons ago. I think six plus months at least since he brought up the idea of eating out to an Israeli restaurant. I've told in a melodramatic fashion that we have to eat there for brunch after he comes back from his three week Western European vacation before this idea will collect dust and it will be totally forgotten. So, he set it to this date and I've brought along Giulia and Helen.

Burekas

Giulia ordered the bureka just because it's something she (or I) ever had since it's not within our culture. The bureka was basically a dense pastry filled with feta cheese, sesame seeds, and seasonings. Tastes good but I wish I had better descriptions despite the fact it's technically my first bureka. The sides that came with this was two eggs with a tart, creamy pool of labneh.

Croque Madame

Helen ordered the croque madame, as you know it's different from the traditional version. What they made it a bit more Israeli-like is the use of egg-rich challah bread and topping it with eggs that Helen likes it done - scrambled.
This is a bit more decadent and, in my personal opinion, tastes pretty damn good. I love the stringy, gooey Swiss cheese that stretches out from its former, larger self. Nom.

Mediterranean Crispy Dough

I ordered the Mediterranean crispy dough just because I was thinking how can anyone go wrong with something that's fried? Except the thing is, the dough was quite dense, greasy, and a bit bland for my liking until I slather on the spicy za'atar to cut the greasiness and make it a bit more interesting. What I do like the most is the fact my eggs are yolky that just adds on to the fat and cholesterol content a bit more. Yes, I did have a slight intention to spike up my cholesterol and triglycerides count that day.

Israeli Breakfast

As for Ariel, he ordered the Israeli breakfast since the waitress did say it was the an Israeli breakfast with a twist. Whatever that meant, he ended up with two eggs with labneh, home fries, Israeli salad and pita. I didn't try his food since he was voracious and inhaled his food, so I didn't have a chance to get a bite but it looked good.

The Chocolate Room

After we finished our late brunch (it ended around 4 PM), we walked across the street to The Chocolate Room for dessert.

Chocolate stuff!

I don't think I have ever seen that much chocolate coated, filled, or just plain chocolate in a while. It was a bit overwhelming that everyone, including myself, was indecisive about what to get. Eventually, Giulia gotten herself a small box of Knipschildt Chocolatier's bonbons for herself and her mom when she gets back home, since she had to leave early. As for the rest of us (as in Ariel, Helen, and I), we decided to stay and eat-in our desserts.

A spoon of deliciousness

When we helped ourselves to a table, our waitress gave us a small sampling served, in a demitasse spoon, of chocolate sorbet. This little sampler whetted our appetites since it was so smooth, intensely chocolate-y, and deceptively creamy like ice cream that Helen thought it was chocolate ice cream.

The Not Hot

Due to the sweltering, humid heat, Helen wanted the Not Hot, which is their version of an iced hot chocolate. This drink was quite good - not too sweet, not terribly icy, and the acidic aftertaste of the chocolate was an unexpected but welcoming flavor from something that was quite decadent.

Chocolate éclair & Innards

Since none of us wanted the traditional desserts they have (think sundaes and chocolate cakes), Ariel wanted the day's special - chocolate éclair with orange caramel sauce. I had no preference since I didn't feel that hungry. The éclair was fine, nothing spectacular since the choux pastry was cold, like it just came out of the refrigerator but not soggy at least, and the vanilla custard filling was a bit lacking in the flavor department. The orange caramel was good, nothing much to write about. I do like it, but not as much as I would like to.

Baked goods in Trios Pommes

Just because we're in Park Slope, I demanded proposed to Ariel and Helen that I want to go Trois Pommes Patisserie and they obliged to walk with me. I will never know when I'll come back here so I might as well stuff myself to the gills with whatever Park Slope can offer and remembering what I've read from Ed's review on their baked goods a while ago, this bakery sounded promising. Perusing whatever remains in their pastry cases during this late time of 6 PM, Ariel and I decided on the lemon meringue tart.

Lemon Meringue Tart

I have to say this lemon meringue tart was quite phenomenal. The crust was buttery, just sweet and not at all soggy (maybe a bit tough cutting through it with a plastic fork but it's doable). The lemon filling was refreshingly tart and lemony with little touches of of sweetness from the torched meringue.

Maple Latte & Iced Coffee

After eating all of this, we're all either sleepy from food coma or from the relentless heat or possibly a combination of both. Anyway, we walked back to practically to where we started from to Gorilla Coffee, which is a few doors away from Miriam. I needed an iced coffee, while Ariel was interested in their maple latte. The iced coffee tasted like a coffee version of Adderall. In other words, it's over-roasted coffee beans and it totally awaken my brain cells. As for Ariel's latte, he said it's pretty tasty from the maple flavor. Despite the fact I haven't tasted it, the looks of the latte is disappointing.

Wide open (green) spaces in Prospect Park

Our guts are feeling pretty disgusting by now after eating brunch and dropping into two different desert spots, Ariel demanded insisted we walk from Park Slope all the way to Prospect Park in this intolerable heat when the heat index that day felt like 100+ degrees! But it was a good work out, not doubt about that...

Addresses:
Miriam
79 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217

The Chocolate Room
86 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217

Trois Pommes Patisserie
260 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215

Gorilla Coffee
97 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217

On Sunday the 17 June, 2007 my grandmother died. It was expected, she had a weak heart, severe Parkinson's disease and was 93 years old. Repeated bouts of pneumonia kept her in and out of hospital the last few months. Ye,t with all that, she held off till the yahrtzeit of her mother, to whom she had been very close during her life.
I spent shabbos at my mother's house (where my grandmother lived, and chose to die, refusing to go in to hospital this one last time, knowing that it was the end and wanting to die peacefully in her own bed), and spent shabbos afternoon reading and learning this coming weeks Torah portion of Chukat. What struck me, when I stood at the funeral, watching as the only grandparent I knw was buried, was how the parsha seemd to have so much in it for this week considering the circumstances.

I want to share one thought- maybe I am just writing it here because I want to write it down, not forget it, so that later I can give it to my mother since I cannot discuss it with her now- no Torah learning is allowed in the shivah house except for specific sections which are deemed sad and not joyous.

In our parsha both Miryam and Aharon die. With both of them, Bnei Israel loose something they have come to depend on in the wilderness. In both cases, it is restored in the merit of Moshe, but in both cases their is a negative result.

In the case of Miryam the well that accompanied Bnei Israel through the desert, supplying them with all their water needs, dissapeared. With Aharon's death- the clouds of glory that surrounded Bnei Israel, smooting the way and removing poisonous things from their path dissapeared.

The consequence of the well dissapearing- in trying to restore it, Moses errs, striking the rock instead of speaking to it, and thus loosing the right to enter Israel. With the clouds of glory- the Canaanites (Rashi says this was actually the Amelekites who were trying to disguise themselves by speaking the Canaanite language but were betrayed by their looks) chose to interpret their dissapearance (even though they sunsequently re-appeared) with the abandonment of the jewish people by God.

Two tzadikkim, two gifts of Hashem to the Jewish peopel removed, two incidents with negative effects on the Jewish people. yet the incident with the well seems to be far more long reaching and the effect far worse. The attack by the Amelekites was wrong, and once again encouraged others to do so, but there is no record of it having been efeective or causing many problems.

I relfected on these two- and came up with the following idea: The well was in the merit of Miriam. It was life sustaining, without it, the Jewish people could not have survived in the desert for 40 years. The clouds of glory eased our way, they made life easier- but while they protected and showed God's love for his people, Bnei Israel would have survived without them. Similarly, the loss Miriam seems to have a far more severe effect- the people lost a great matriarch, a prophetess, a person who had led and been with Moses from the start. The peopel, in their complaints about the lack of water were bemoaning the loss of their water, but also of their matriarch, and a grieving Moses, instead of being rational, of being cool in their face of their rebellion as he had been so many times before, reacted emotionally and committed his error.

Perhaps, from here we can see a difference in the difference of the impact of a great woman and a great man. Aharon's death was tragic, the nation mourned- but the danger came from without- the outside world attacking Israel. With Miryam, the danger came from within, the grief so intense that it split the nation, caused Moses to err. Is our grief at the death of a great woman far more intense than that at the death of a great man? Do we react more emotionally? I believe so, in our parsha we see this, grief and something removed from the world with the death f each of these great people, but the after-effts of Miryam more intense, tearing the people internally, while with Aharon, the threat and attack come form without.

And so it is with gaga, our matriarch, our tzadikkah that taught us all so much. With her death the family looses a well, a source of life, of knowledge of family that were merely old pictures, dozens of people killed by the Nazis (yemach shemachem), Rabbis, mothers, fathers, children, husbands, wives, farmers, more than a undred members of the family that had stayed behind in Lithuiania instead of coming with my great grandmother and her family to South Africa- a decision that meant that those of us in South Africa were the last of that massive extended family, though today we are in Israel, Australia, Canada, the USA and UK.

In my family, my grandmother has always been the matriarch. My father was orphaned young, my grandfather died just after I was born- but my grandmother was always there. She was intelligent, caring, guiding. A woman that led the family, who remembered everyone, and until the day she died never forgot anyone or anything, and made sure that no birthday or special occassion went past unmarked. Her husband arrived in South Africa after studying in Kelm Yeshiva, after starting his studying in yeshiva under Rav Soloveitchik. That love of Torah permeated her own life, every night her prayers included the people around her, my uncle is the mose dedicated kohen I know. More, just as Kelm Yeshiva was famous for its mussar, for its dedication to creating ahavas Yisrael, for its hatred of lashon hara, so my grandfather and grandmother embodied these principles, having a love for all of Israel and never speaking a word against anyone. She kept the family together, so much so that today all her grandchildren know each other well, and her great grandchildren have cousins everywhere, cuosins they know well, and who are amongst their closest friends.

Thank you, gagga, you were much loved, and will be missed.

Boys&Girls
domani comincerà una nuova rubrica,
fresca fresca ;) curata da Giuseppe&Genesis
in collaborazione con Miri! :D

tratterà alcuni argomenti come i rapporti interpersonali, il nostro rapporto con Dio, l'amore, l'amicizia, e tanto altro..
sentiremo cosa avrà da dire lei,
ascolteremo l'altro
lasciando però l'ultima parola sempre a Lui ;)

sarà l'AMORE il tema che ci accompagnerà per un pò di settimane!
per i particolari dovrete aspettare fino a domani..
vi assicuro che sarà interessante e sicuramente utile! :)

Ella es Miriam Higareda, hermana de Martha Higareda, también es actriz. Ha salido en distintos proyectos de Tv Azteca como "Se busca un hombre", actualmente se encuentra filmando distintos proyectos, entre ellos otra novela con Azteca. ¿Novela? mmm...

Here is her picture-metaphor, with a wink to King Cricket for the inspiration

Well done Mims, you're a star.

Two things to add today.

Giles Clarke is gonna get Suave Smashed.  Stephen Brenkley from The Independent is too much of a light weight to do the job properly.  When you grow up on the mean streets of Basildon, fighting becomes an important skill!

Pakistan = Rubbish.  They were beaten like an abused housewife by India yesterday, which is funny as hell, especially after Geoff Lawson wanted them to inflict serious pain upon them!

What I mean to say is that I have no naive presumptions about the enormity of this undertaking. It is what it is. I have left my home behind for a couple months of the barely-known. Phil Elvrum's "Great Ghosts" expresses the sort of passive anticipation of personal transformation which I have specifically avoided. He sings "I had my hopes of how I would be after living exile. . . .I even wrote scenes where I reemerged boldly, bearded, alive, with eskimo eyes." I think anyone who sets off on a new adventure hopes it will change them--that it will wipe away the bad things inside and bring into focus what's really important. And in a way, it does. When I spent three months in Europe almost on a whim (at least it seemed that way, how quickly it came together) I had no expectations. I had no frame of reference for foreign travel, for being away from home, friends, and family that long. It turned out that it was a learning experience the same way everyday life is, just a lot of it concentrated into a short period. I don't think going out into the woods, moving to a new city, starting a new life or any of that is really qualitatively different at the experiential level from the slow drip of newness that comes at us in our daily routines; it's just sped up a bit. As Elvrum finds at the end of his months in a snowy Norwegian cabin, "As you can see, having descended the hill, I still look me. I still wallow like Phil, and forever will."

I also didn't mean to leave anyone with the idea that I have any negative feelings toward anything that's come before this moment in my life. I am just madly enthusiastic about this particular venture. And beyond that, I feel like I have been waiting for school to end for so long that it requires a moment of pause to understand why I've felt that way, and what it means to be done. Clean slate, to me, just means no baggage and nothing holding me back. I am just so grateful to be able to come to this amazing place and live for a couple months experiencing a more simple life at the edge of the world. We are surrounded by redwoods here, and all it takes is a short walk across the highway to be able to look down into the frothing ocean and an infinite horizon beyond... when there's no fog. Anyway, some of the replies I got made me feel as though I must have come off smug or just cynical about life in Oakland, Castro Valley, etc. That wasn't the impression I hoped to leave.

Anyway, enough with the extended disclaimer. I meant to start off from the "to be continued..." which I think left us at the first Open Mic. Thursday was our first day of work. What we do for work is to catalog the Henry Miller Library Archive. I don't suppose the details of this work will be very interesting, so I won't go into them. But the work is pretty interesting, especially because of the materials we are archiving. Aside from reading Miller's Big Sur and the Oranges of Heironymous Bosch, sorting through the archive is the best way to become steeped in the history of Big Sur and his time here. Henry Miller lived up on Partington Ridge, which is not far from here, and the library itself was the home of Emil White, Miller's good friend and a celebrated artist. We see everything from 1950's Highway One guidebooks, to nude photos of Miller and friends, to lewd anonymous poetry, to photos of turn-of-the-century horse-and-buggy era Big Sur. It's really amazing to see all that stuff while living in the place where it happened.

In addition to that, the Henry Miller Library itself is pretty great. The whole philosophy of the place is so perfect. It's unpretentious and welcoming and friendly and just a great space to exist for the public. Any day of the week except Tuesday you could come here, have a free cup of coffee, lounge on the deck, browse the book selection, sneak into Castro Canyon for a hike, engage in a rousing Ping-Pong match, stick around for a weekly occurrence of the film festival, open mic, or one of the dozens of concerts this summer. And Robin and I get to be a part of all of it. The staff is us, Keely the archivist, Magnus the executive director, Eric who works the bookstore, and Bob who lives on site and is sort of the groundskeeper. That's it. Yet this place has played host to Patti Smith, Laurie Andersen, Henry Rollins (haha!) and soon enough Jonathan Richman, Philip Glass, and yes, Rob Schneider. I feel privileged for the opportunity to be a part of such an unmitigated good--a non-profit space that just puts on events for the good of the community.

It's a small community here in Big Sur. The 93920 "Zip Code Tabulation Area" which roughly covers Big Sur, has a population of just under a thousand. Of those, almost nobody we've met is a property owner, as most houses cost in the millions of dollars, even for small houses on small plots of land. Most of the people we've met are part of the tourist economy here. People work in inns and restaurants and live in trailers or in vans in the turnouts along Highway One.

[...]

I wrote the above over a week ago, but didn't finish the entry, so I am continuing where I left off. I think I'm done describing where I am and how I feel about it, and now I will move on to what I've been up to. I've been holding on to a ton of photos here, so that will take up the majority of the rest of this entry. I have a genetic predisposition to obsessively photograph so, except where I forgot my camera, things have been pretty well documented. I got a great Sony digital point-and-shoot just before leaving, as a graduation gift from my parents. That's what all the photos you see have been taken with. It doesn't have much in terms of manual functions, so I don't have that much control and some times can't get the image I want. But all in all I'm pretty satisfied with what I've been able to get out of such a tiny device.

Since I wrote the first half of this, Robin and I hiked the Ewoldsen Trail in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, went to Pfeiffer Beach three or four times, including once during a surprise visit from Miriam and Andrew, played disc golf in San Luis Obispo, and ate at Nepenthe and Deetjen's and hiked to Partington Cove with Uncle Bruce.

The first thing to know about the state parks along Highway One is that you don't have to pay to access them if you don't want to. You can park all day in the turnouts and wider shoulder sections instead of paying the fee to avoid a ticket in the parking lots. It might add a bit to your walk, but you're going on a hike anyway, right? Of course, this may pose an ethical dilemma for some, especially considering Schwarzenegger's read-my-lips-no-more-parks response to the budget crunch. Honestly though, a loaf of bread costs like eight dollars here, so we cut corners where we can. Anyway, from the main highway entrance to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, you are presented with to trail options: Pfeiffer Falls or Ewoldsen Trail. If you only have an hour or are elderly or disabled, go with Pfeiffer Falls; otherwise, Ewoldsen. Ewoldsen is actually sort of an intense hike... only about 4.5 miles, but with some long uphill portions--crossbacks that feel like they will never end. But they do end, and when they do you find yourself THOUSANDS (probably just hundreds) of feet above the ocean with some completely amazing views of the coast. It's not very easy to capture that kind of view on a camera, and you don't want to see generic postcard shots anyway, so here's these instead:

Sometimes just shouting "Hey, Robin!" and clicking the shutter is better than setting up your soft focus and all your filters and trying to get some model to look coy behind a tree:

"repeated fires may reach the heartwood through cracks in the bark. The tree may be "hollowed out"as the damaged heartwood decays, while the outside, growing layers remain intact. . . . A "chimney tree" is a redwood whose entire interior was burned out by fire."1

As I'm typing this, I'm hearing the most intense wind we've experienced here in our little slice of Big Sur. Some of the exposed coastal areas get pretty wind-battered, but we're generally sheltered here. The scariest part of tonight's wind is the attic door creak of the giant redwoods; we sleep at the foot of one, and one toppled in Castro Canyon not long ago. Ewoldsen Trail has some fallen trees, too:

On the drive back from the hike, there was some debris in the road. It looked like a rope or something, at least to me. Strangely, Robin pulled way out into the oncoming lane to avoid it. After we passed it she said "Did you see that snake?" I was pretty skeptical that it was actually a snake, because it looked pretty big. We decided to go back and check it out. She was right. It turned out to be a decent-sized snake that had been hit by a car while crossing the highway:

It was pretty disturbing. Its guts were sort of spilled out around its body. Strangely though, I felt a lot more compelled than repulsed by the sight. I think it was a combination of the desensitization to blood and guts that I probably share with everyone who has grown up with TV and the internet. Secondly, I rationalize my way out of empathy for road-killed creatures by reasoning that this happens all the time. What is sick and tragic is that human convenience means the deaths of billions of living things, whole species included. The fact that I am seeing one instance of this overwhelming cost of my privileged lifestyle does not rise to the level of strong emotion--it's just the visible evidence that things are fucked.

I think Robin was a bit more disturbed, and I tried to console her with the thought that the snake probably died very quickly. However, pretty soon after I said that, it was hit by another car and began writhing on the hot asphalt. This may be explainable by spinal reflex--a sort of serpentine Lazarus Sign, or maybe the snake was still alive. I don't think I could have done anything for the poor guy anyway. You judge for yourself:

Ever since Robin and I went on a hike at Point Reyes over a month ago, I had been complaining that I'd never see a snake. We were walking on a trail there and a snake crossed our path, but I somehow missed seeing it. Then I missed another at Ewoldsen Trail. Both times I was walking in front, but somehow only Robin spots them. Well, I finally got to see one.

One of our job duties here at the library is making sure that coffee, tea, and plenty of cups are set out at a table on the front porch by the time we open up. The library has tons of dishes, some of which have not been used in a very long time. . . at least not by humans:

Like I said, I don't have manual focus on this camera, nor do I have a macro lens, so it's really hard to get a shot that keeps the spider big or in focus, but hopefully you can see how cool and weird this is. They lay their eggs under the web:

We also have a ton of bugs in general. The bathroom just fills up with them at night. I've been seeing a lot of insects here that I've never encountered before. Check for the "what bug is this?" bonus video at the end of this entry:

Anyway, like I said, we've been to Pfeiffer Beach several times. It's a great beach. On the drive down you may pass a confused peacock, a bunch of bunny rabbits, and some horses:

Most recently we went to Pfeiffer Beach with Miriam and Andrew. They're not from around here:

Our most recent adventure took place earlier today with my uncle at Partington Cove. You get there by a basically unmarked trail right off the highway. It's a tame hike that takes you very quickly through some of Big Sur's micro-biomes: there's shady redwood forest, dry chaparral (almost approaching desert), and of course the cove itself, where a freshwater creek meets the salty Pacific Ocean. It's pretty great:

From the area pictured above, you can walk back up and take a diverging trail through an old (perhaps WPA-built) wooden tunnel:

On the other side of the tunnel is a little inlet where (apparently) the big lumber baron Mr. Partington would load up his barges with redwood. There are remnants of the moorings and possibly a primitive crane used to lower lumber to the ships. There are also some small tide pools where you can see crabs, sea anemones, and other tide pool staples:

In case it's not clear, the above photo is a small crab holding a tiny crab in his "chelae". Yep.

And of course we posed for a timed-shutter in the tunnel:

So, things have been pretty relaxed but pretty eventful around here. We could probably explore a completely new and amazing trail every day until August if we had the time. Maybe one day I'll come back without a day job. Anyway, I'll probably write a reflective no-pictures entry soon, but for now, I'll leave you with this:

What bug is that?

Through the passing of time those who contemplate the Queen of Heaven make her face eternal by their gaze. This journey tells us how the woman of history became the Virgin Mary of the Christian faith.

Woman of the Gospel

Miriam, a young Jewish girl like so many others, was a real person who lived in Galilee in the first century. The first sources that mention her are the accounts written by the Evangelists Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.

In a morning vision, according to Luke, an angel entered her life to announce to her that she, a virgin, would conceive and give birth to a son called Jesus. The virgin gives birth: through this paradox shines the mystery of a God who becomes man, another paradox.

The history of Christianity begins with the Incarnation, at whose origin Mary is situated. The Evangelists, in fact, saw her as the one who gave birth to the Jesus of history, recognized as the "Christ" - a Greek word used by the early Christians to translate the Hebrew term "Messiah".

The figure of the Messiah is central to Judaism. Prophets and oracles did not cease to proclaim the coming of a son descended from the lineage of King David who would bring salvation and peace. This hope was rekindled in the protesting messianic movements that were widespread in Jewish society from the time when Palestine came under Roman occupation in 63 B.C.

It was to demonstrate the Messiahship of the Son to whom Mary had given birth that in about 6 B.C. the Evangelist recounted his miraculous conception. In the Bible, the event of barren women giving birth testifies to the renewal of the divine promise of numerous descendents to Abraham, a sign of the Covenant between God and man. The birth of a son from a Virgin woman then became the sign of a new Covenant that its witnesses sought to manifest.

'Theotokos' of the Councils

The history of the Virgin that begins with the Annunciation narrative is a history of the infinite interpretation of the central mystery of Christianity which makes her the Virgin Mary. She is "an unmarried bride", "touched without being touched", as hymns and homilies have continued down the ages to translate and retranslate with poetic inspiration.

Little by little, the gap that time created between this revelation and its interpretation created a theology of the Marian figure, in other words, a means of enabling human beings to understand her face rendered divine by God who made his dwelling place in her.

The reinterpretation of the Gospels, which were a sequel to the Gospels but not Revelation, had already given rise to the history of Marian devotion in the strict sense of the word.

From the second century these writings, known as "apocrypha", linked the Virgin's birth, life and death of which the Evangelists made no mention. Her mother, barren Anna, met her father, Joachim. Angels tend her in the cradle. As a 3 year old, she dances on the steps of the temple. She later gives birth to Jesus in a grotto. On her deathbed, she is surrounded by the Apostles while 12 clouds carry to Heaven the soul and body of she who, in the texts, is no longer the anonymous Mary of Nazareth but the Mother of God.

The Bishops who gathered at the Council in Ephesus on 22 June 431 professed their support for the definition of Mary as Mother of God, Theotokos, or literally, "genetrix of God".

"Does God have a mother?", the Church Fathers asked one another during the controversies. The previous century had seen the rise of conflicting beliefs between Christians and pagans concerning the virginal conception of Jesus.

It was necessary to distinguish the Son of God from divinized beings or demi-gods born from the love of a god and a mortal. The world was teeming with heresies that sought to deny the dual nature of Christ, at the same time human and divine, making him a God without a body or a body without God: in a word, a ghost or superman.

The dogma of the Divine Motherhood stands out, giving God a mother; the affirmation has the weight of Revelation in the same sense as the dogmatic term.

The formulation of this Dogma towards the second half of the fifth century helped to foster the beginning of a universal devotion to the Virgin, which drew on the traditional ways in which the cult of the Emperor had been spread: feasts, hymns, epithets, coins and images contributed progressively to universalizing the figure of Mary.

In the sixth and seventh centuries veneration of Mary's face spread throughout the Empire of the East and then, very gradually, to that of the West, at times not without giving rise to a certain confusion with the worship of mother goddesses.

Marian shrines welcomed an increasing number of people who came to implore help and healing. Their trust in her miracles and apparitions shows that she was proclaimed holy, blessed among women. In icons, visible images that portray the invisible, the Child touches her with his divinity while she touches him with her humanity.

Empress of the earth

In Byzantium, Mary reigned as Empress. As a sovereign, she was gradually subordinated to the exercise of power in Rome. Between 600 and 700 the Virgin's feasts won over the whole of the as yet barely Christianized Latin world. When the Carolingian dynasty came to power in 751, images of her were used to support the ideology of sovereignty that was defined as a sacred reality.

While she became Queen of the Earth, Mary was also proclaimed Queen of Heaven. This is another paradox that displays the unprecedented Christian mystery which is spelled out solely in the form of a paradox.

An uninterrupted rereading of the Gospels leads further to a deeper examination of the comparison between the Virgin and the Church. This parallelism originates in the comparison of the motherhood of both: Mary is Mother of Christ, the Church is mother of Christians. This was the origin of the doctrinal progress that led to the affirmation of Mary's spiritual motherhood: Mary is the Mother of Christians.

Correctly defined towards the ninth century as Mediatrix between Heaven and earth, the Virgin could henceforth turn her face to men and women of the early Middle Ages who called upon her as Mother. She was the bridge between the human universe and the divine universe.

Thus, on the threshold of the year 1000, Christianity as a whole gradually turned towards the Sovereign. While political structures were crumbling in the West and being strengthened in the East, the Mother of God was about to emerge as an important and powerful figure on both sides of the Mediterranean.

Virgin in majesty

At the beginning of the 11th century, the eyes of Latins beheld Mary seated on a carved wooden throne. A Virgin in majesty, she came down from Heaven to fill the emptiness of royalty whose authority was diluted by the feudal system. The new power structures, including the Monastic Order of Cluny, had recourse to this new image to consolidate their own sovereignty.

The Lady of ladies then appeared, charged to eliminate any disorder provoked by lay people: for example, those eager to lay their hands on the properties of Cluny. Strong in her inviolability, she reigned supreme over the monasteries which were presented as "virgin" land, free from sin and populated by spiritual men or monks.

The Most Pure Virgin was then able to enjoin her Church authority on various forms of paganism which the Gregorian Reform had been more or less successful in uprooting. With the Baby Jesus on her lap, she presents an Incarnate God to human beings, who continued to question one another on the meaning of the Christian mystery, even to the point of disputing it.

As St Anselm sums up: "Why did God become a man?", he answers through Mary. To go and venerate the Baby Jesus Christians set out for Marian shrines on pilgrimage towards the heavenly Jerusalem, the destination and end of their earthly exile.

Pilgrimages to the Virgin, mainly in Central and Northern Europe, began to increase in the year 1100. In Laon, Soissons and Chartres, thousands were eager to go and touch relics of Mary: some her white blouse, others her shoes, her milk or her hair, the last traces of her bodily presence.

In fact, belief in the Assumption, which took root in the 12th-century, located Mary's incorruptible body in Heaven, raised with her soul to God's light.

In Puy, pilgrims knelt before the Black Madonna, whose colour testifies to the mystery of the Annunciation described as Mary's passage from being white to black. Narratives of the Virgin's miracles, often written by monks or canons, sought to elicit in everyone a hope of healing while at the same time assuring support for pilgrimages.

It was not long before these accounts of the innumerable favours of the Mother of God were collected: here she restored a pilgrim's sight, there she enabled a paralytic to walk, elsewhere she drove demons out of a possessed person.

Those who received miracles in the Middle Ages seem to step straight out of the Gospels. They experienced the same share of suffering and sickness drawn from a common history which is humanity's lot, estranged after the Fall from the order established by God as told in Genesis. Our Lady intervened and worked a miracle, offering a divine solution to a human situation from which there seemed no way out.

Thus, the one who is "full of grace" shows to everyone the countenance of her grace. This explains why she is brimming with grace.

St Bernard used the image of the aqueduct to portray the stream of divine love that flows to every person who raises prayer to Mary. All these miracle accounts express belief in the Virgin's intercession: she listens to men and women, then presents their entreaties to her Son so that all may be saved.

The essential catechism of the 12th century is the "Hail Mary", a prayer that combines the Angel's greeting to Mary and Mary's greeting to Elizabeth.

Our Lady in cathedrals

In Medieval society she re-established blessed happiness similar to that which prevailed before the Fall in the Garden of Eden, and for this reason the Virgin in majesty was enthroned on cathedral doors. She became a monumental image.

Mary's coronation beside Christ, both Judge and King, was depicted from the end of the 12th century. She was Advocate for sinners and Queen of queens.

These representations show Mary triumphantly clad in a mantle held open by her beautiful hands and welcoming Christianity on church thresholds, which represent the gates of paradise.

Chroniclers now identify the Glorious One with the Woman of Revelation, clothed in the sun and crowned with stars, highlighting her role in the history of the end of time. Her maternal womb is filled out in conformity with the new motherhoods, defined as spiritual.

Toward the year 1200 the Cistercian Order proclaimed her Founder and Mother of monks. After this Order's example, the new religious orders of St Francis and St Dominic claimed her patronage. Iconography shows them arrayed beneath the folds of the Mother of Mercy's wide mantle.

From that moment, the Marian figure developed in all its magnificence. Indeed, Mary's body was made the centre of a central theology. She gave life to the Body of Christ who is at the same time a body of flesh, Body of the Eucharist and Body of the Church, that is, of all the baptized.

For this reason, the Marian image is also a metaphor used to designate Christianity itself, which is the Church. Each one of the members or corporations of which she is composed - from the people to the Pope - therefore see Mary as the Church's most eminent figuration.

On the eve of the Lateran Council (1251), the Virgin, a model of obedience to the Father, was proposed as a model for the Church's normalization. It was her task to set an example for religious Orders, to guide souls to the discovery of God's mystery, to invite the faithful to become exemplary Christians; in short, to ensure respect for the Council's programme to uproot the Cathar heresy, to set the Creed for lay people and to build Christian unity.

The Queen was therefore portrayed as the servant of this plan. The Gospel figure of the "handmaid" is highlighted in the reinterpretations of the sacred text.

As a result, towards the mid-13th century the first servants and handmaids of Mary appeared, either clerics or lay people: for instance, the Order of Friars Servants of Mary (Servites). Mary was a tender Mother to them, on her knees and smiling. Her "sons" and "daughters" found they were able to imitate her holiness.

At the beginning of the 14th century, imitation of the Virgin led to the disclosure of new spiritual paths to women mystics who found thems