Comment

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 9, 2012 at 9:41am

ZODIACAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR TODAY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You want to exchange opinions with people while also intending to persuade them. You're very sincere and it's hard to lie but easy to be mistaken. You need to dig for the truth.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Sensitive to issues of social justice, you are ready to speak out against infractions and unfairness. You can appeal to legislators for just laws or take some kind of justice into your own hands.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Important partnerships can develop today, especially in business. You can sense whether you are compatible with people or not. This is the most important qualification to be aware of.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You can get only a certain amount of help by asking for it but today people also expect you to learn and improve your competency. You need to ask the right questions to clear up matters that are confusing you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You have an added dimension of depth to your inquiries now. You want only deep research, not just facts and figures and narratives. You want to understand deep causes and motives and histories.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Examine your finances carefully. Some kind of fine or charge may not really be yours. It may also be that services charges or other expenses are completely optional in the sense you can refuse to be party to them.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The solution to many problems involves simple communication. It's also useful to probe deeper into motives and goals, so you can reformulate the issue. The first and apparent question may not be the real one.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): What at first seemed straightforward can get really complex. Unexpected problems develop, so you have to sort it out first. Your analysis is more thorough than that of the one who handed it to you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You can give better attention to how you can improve your income or decrease expenditures. Budgetary issues are easier to make sense of now, as long as you stick with basic and simple rules.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): People are very susceptible to your power today; use it wisely. You are sensitive to people's moods and this can give many either an advantage or the ability to sympathize and provide insight.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You are in the company of people who are just as intelligent and capable as you but may have very different approaches and beliefs. You're challenged to orchestrate agreement and get everyone thinking cooperatively.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Financial transactions get your attention today. Your interest on savings or investments is very favorable today or just the reverse. Place your attention not just on monetary growth but also on monetary justice.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 8, 2012 at 12:15pm

ZODIACAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR TODAY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You want to be useful but pay careful attention to the circumstances. Not everything you could do is required at this time. You are full of ideas but don't get discouraged if a lot of them don't get approval.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Some relationships don't go as intended, especially the ones you most want to develop. Don't act vain or become jealous. Make your best efforts to connect but also let others make their choices.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You can help yourself by helping others first. If you're not in a decision-making position, go with the flow. The more you facilitate and the less you argue, the better off everyone will be.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You seek a social advantage through your job today. It is hard to separate personal and professional lives. Many have a beneficial intersection of these concerns but be aware of the potential of impropriety and conflict if interests.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You are heavily involved in matters relating to job or career but you you're prone to inject purely personal concerns into them. You need to stay objective and keep separate parts of your life in their proper spheres.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You are inclined to be restless and all too eager to do what you want against social norms. For today, this is probably not a good idea. Stay under restraint until you can follow your instincts with more control and decorum.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Your composure will be improved if you engage people in conversation and learn more about them. Open up and let people know where you're coming from. An exchange of ideas is better than an entrenched position.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You want to stand out from the crows and be noticed. You need to emphasize a unique or quirky characteristic about yourself that can also be useful to the people around you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don't be fooled by how easy a task looks. Be efficient and start on it as soon as possible. You can discover unexpected problems but also find unexpected solutions. All you need is plenty of time.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You value independence even as you also value attachments. You need to find the right balance between the two but a commitment doesn't get included in the arrangement.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You're very aware of the pressure people are bringing on you but you want to resist nicely. You're probably not prone to argue, just to go ahead and do what you want without giving notice or asking permission.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You want to try new things today. Variety spices up your life and makes you aware of what is available that you didn't know about. Embrace surprises and explore outside well-established habits.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 8, 2012 at 12:11pm

Mar 8, 1669:
Mount Etna erupts

On this day in 1669, Mount Etna, on the island of Sicily in modern-day Italy, begins rumbling. Multiple eruptions over the next few weeks killed more than 20,000 people and left thousands more homeless. Most of the victims could have saved themselves by fleeing, but stayed, in a vain attempt to save their city.

Mount Etna dominates the island of Sicily. Rising 11,000 feet above sea level in the northeast section of Sicily, it can be seen from just about every part of the 460-square-mile island. The geologic history of Mount Etna demonstrates that it has been periodically spewing ash and lava for thousands of years; the first recorded eruption of the volcano was in 475 BCE. It is the most active volcano in Europe. In 1169, an earthquake just prior to an eruption killed 15,000 people on Sicily. Despite the dangers of living near an active volcano, the eruptions made the surrounding soil very fertile, so many small villages developed on the slopes of the mountain.

When Etna began to rumble and belch gas on March 8, the residents nearby ignored the warning signs of a larger eruption. Three days later, the volcano began spewing out noxious fumes in large quantities. Approximately 3,000 people living on the slopes of the mountain died from asphyxiation. Even worse, Etna was soon emitting tremendous amounts of ash and molten lava. The ash was sent out with such force that significant amounts came down in the southern part of mainland Italy, in some cases nearly 100 miles away. Lava also began pouring down the south side of the mountain heading toward the city of Catania, 18 miles to the south along the sea.

At the time, the city of Catania had about 20,000 residents; most failed to flee the city immediately. Instead, Diego de Pappalardo, a resident of the city, led a team of 50 men to Mount Etna, where they attempted to divert the lava flow. Wearing cowhides soaked in water, the men bravely approached the lava with long iron rods, picks and shovels. They were able to hack open a hole in the hardened lava wall that had developed on the outside of the lava flow and much of the flow began to flow west out of the new hole. However, the residents of Paterno, a city lying southwest of Etna were monitoring these developments and quickly realized that this new flow direction could imperil their own city. They literally fought back the Catanians, while the lava breach hardened and filled again.

For several weeks, the lava pushed toward Catania and the sea. Still, the residents failed to evacuate the city. Apparently, they remained hopeful that the lava would stop or the city's ancient defensive walls would protect them. Neither was the case—the walls were quickly swallowed by the extremely hot lava and nearly 17,000 people in Catania died. Most of the city was destroyed. Catania was not the only city affected—the eruption wiped out 14 towns and villages and left about 27,000 people homeless.

Following this disaster, it was decreed that interference with the natural flow of lava was prohibited in Italy, a regulation that remained in effect hundreds of years later.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 8, 2012 at 12:10pm

"Balance is implicit in the Red Road. When you're on the Red Road, you are in the center. Yet, you do not go to either extreme, and you allow both sides to exist. This is accomplished by continually postponing surrendering to temptation, whatever it may be. It is saying `later' instead of `no.'"

-- Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA

The Sacred Path of life has a middle, a left side, and a right side. As human beings, we are designed to walk this middle path as much as we can. As we walk, we will stray to the left and to the right and come back to the middle. Straying to the left or right side is as sacred as being in the middle. Sometimes we call this straying our mistakes. We are designed by the Creator to walk the Sacred Path of life, and realize that our mistakes are the source of lessons. These lessons give us our wisdom. It is not wrong that we are tempted. What matters is what we do with the temptation.

Great Spirit, today, let me enjoy the Sacred Path of Life.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 7, 2012 at 11:30am

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 7, 2012 at 11:13am

ZODIACAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR TODAY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You are determined to do what you intend today. Your resolve is good as long as you accomplish important goals and don't become fanatical when compromise is required.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You feel you have a right to express yourself and can turn resentful if thwarted. As much as possible, stay in circumstances where you can exercise your free will and take charge of what you do creatively.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You feel energetic when free to work by your own agenda but you feel stifled when forced to go by another's. For now, you want to attend to personal business and to do chores and projects around the home, long neglected or very urgent.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You keep very busy but may be undisciplined and unmethodical. You need to have logical steps planned ahead. The extra time taken by forethought will save a lot of time and trouble before you're done.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You feel that earning money is very important. You make a strong effort to earn your pay and then some. An extra commission, overtime, an odd job, earning a bonus: in some fashion appropriate for you, you try get earn extra cash.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your strong and restless energy needs to be controlled now. You can become very certain that what you're doing is right but your methods or your speed can be very disturbing. Be sensitive to the reactions of the people around you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Your actions are liable to be misguided today. You need someone who is well-grounded to guide you. Fantasy is liable to be too strong in your mental processes and this provides a poor basis for decisions.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You try too hard to make an impression on people. You're apt to flatter too much, to give in to vanity. You would do better by toning things down, being genuine and acting like yourself instead of putting on airs.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You act as though the world were a threatening place and are liable to act aggressively without provocation. Be careful how you behave; this assumption could be wrong and your actions can create the antagonism you expect.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You are impatient to expand your horizons now. You want to get things done but unfortunately are prone to skip over learning necessary steps. You have to work through beginning and intermediate information.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): There are opportunities to use your professional skills in personal or non-paying circumstances. Your fund of knowledge and talent are coming together now, and your past experience proves valuable.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You get into arguments easily today. Entrenched positions make it hard to listen and come to agreement. Stop feeling that you are right, or that the other person has to be wrong. Take in new information.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 7, 2012 at 11:13am

"We are responsible for the condition of the Earth. We are the ones who are responsible and we can change that. If we wake up, it is possible to change the energy. It is possible to change everything."

-- Hunbatz Men, MAYAN

The environment we want outside will be created by the mental pictures we have inside our heads. We must have the right environmental picture as well as the right values. These values will give the mental picture its true meaning. If we respected Mother Earth, we would not throw garbage on Her, nor would we put poison in Her. We would not misuse Her in any way. Mother Earth is like She is today because of the mental pictures of previous generations as well as the mental pictures of our own generation. If we want the environment to change, each individual must change their mental picture. "As within, so without."

Great Spirit, today, let me be alert to Your guiding voice

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 6, 2012 at 12:03pm

"And there are Four Corners of the Earth that we talk about, the Four Colors of people, and the Four Winds. You see the winds - they are spirits."

-- Grandfather William Commanda, ALGONQUIN

The Elders teach us about the four directions. If we learn about direction, we also learn about attention, about focus, and about power. Each direction has spiritual power. In the morning, go outside, face the east and get still; then, listen to your thoughts. After you have done this for a while, turn and face the west. Get quiet once again and listen to your thoughts. Did your thinking change when you changed direction?

Great Spirit, teach me the power of the four directions

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 6, 2012 at 12:02pm

ZODIACAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR TODAY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): It's vital that you have a plan for achieving goals and stick to it. Otherwise, other people will be calling the shots and making terms, throwing you off track. You will turn resentful if you let yourself be deterred.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Getting what you want doesn't come easily today. You have to negotiate, barter, maybe even argue or plead. It's important to let your sincerity show, not your desperation. Some may become manipulative.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You are prone to give more than you ask in return today. It's important that you maintain healthy self-respect and keep in reserve resources that keep you in a good position. Don't relinquish important investments.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You feel deterred or confused about your options. Instead of doubting yourself, look for ways to fulfill them. You would do well to connect your goals with education, in a traditional setting or even through an on-line self-study.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You should follow your feelings that working at your job isn't all there is to life. You need to explore your sensibilities in art and spirituality. Put your job in a larger, aesthetic context.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You seek ways to reduce tension and resolve conflict. You have a knack for seeing how everyone is right is some fashion and you work from points of agreement toward a synthesis that everyone can be happy with.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): While you want to assist people, you must be professional about it and expect a minimum of compensation in return. This is to correct your tendency today to give away your expertise for free.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): While relationships are important, you're prone to idealize a partner now or be disappointed that an ideal hasn't been met. It's important to remain open to spiritual dimensions of relationship, even as you work within real limitations.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You are feeling blue today. You need to understand that you sense, deep down inside, that you can do something more with your life and that you may be feeling this as dissatisfaction. Do something positive with what you have.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Your imagination is very strong but even you perceive that it's something too fantastic to share casually. Use the powers of visualization to good use; your powers of intention to put your life right.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It's important to sort out advice from people who are invested and have a stake in a certain outcome and from those who don't have a stake and don't care about the outcome. You need advice tailored for your welfare.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You like to play the host to people today. You want to bring people together so they can have a relaxed atmosphere for their purposes. You don't have much of an agenda of your own except facilitating others.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 6, 2012 at 11:58am

Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, is born in the small village of Caprese on March 6, 1475. The son of a government administrator, he grew up in Florence, a center of the early Renaissance movement, and became an artist's apprentice at age 13. Demonstrating obvious talent, he was taken under the wing of Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of the Florentine republic and a great patron of the arts. For two years beginning in 1490, he lived in the Medici palace, where he was a student of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni and studied the Medici art collection, which included ancient Roman statuary.

With the expulsion of the Medici family from Florence in 1494, Michelangelo traveled to Bologna and Rome, where he was commissioned to do several works. His most important early work was the Pieta (1498), a sculpture based on a traditional type of devotional image that showed the body of Christ in the lap of the Virgin Mary. Demonstrating masterful technical skill, he extracted the two perfectly balanced figures of the Pieta from a single block of marble.

With the success of the Pieta, the artist was commissioned to sculpt a monumental statue of the biblical character David for the Florence cathedral. The 17-foot statue, produced in the classical style, demonstrates the artist's exhaustive knowledge of human anatomy and form. In the work, David is shown watching the approach of his foe Goliath, with every muscle tensed and a pose suggesting impending movement. Upon the completion of David in 1504, Michelangelo's reputation was firmly established.

That year, he agreed to paint a mural for the Florence city hall to rest alongside one being painted by Leonardo da Vinci, another leading Renaissance artist and an influence on Michelangelo. These murals, which depicted military scenes, have not survived. In 1505, he began work on a planned group of 12 marble apostles for the Florence cathedral but abandoned the project when he was commissioned to design and sculpt a massive tomb for Pope Julius II in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. There were to have been 40 sculptures made for the tomb, but the pope soon ran out of funds for the project, and Michelangelo left Rome.

In 1508, he was called back to Rome to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel--the chief consecrated space in the Vatican. Michelangelo's epic ceiling frescoes, which took several years to complete, are among his most memorable works. Central in a complex system of decoration featuring numerous figures are nine panels devoted to biblical world history. The most famous of these is The Creation of Adam, a painting in which the arms of God and Adam are outstretched toward each other.

In 1512, Michelangelo completed the Sistine Chapel ceiling and returned to his work on Pope Julius II's tomb. He eventually completed a total of just three statues for the tomb, which was eventually placed in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli. The most notable of the three is Moses (1513-15), a majestic statue made from a block of marble regarded as unmalleable by other sculptors. In Moses, as in David, Michelangelo infused the stone with a powerful sense of tension and movement.

Having revolutionized European sculpture and painting, Michelangelo turned to architecture in the latter half of his life. His first major architectural achievement was the Medici chapel in the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence, built to house the tombs of the two young Medici family heirs who had recently died. The chapel, which he worked on until 1534, featured many innovative architectural forms based on classical models. The Laurentian Library, which he built as an annex to the same church, is notable for its stair-hall, known as the ricetto, which is regarded as the first instance of mannerism as an architectural style. Mannerism, a successor to the Renaissance artistic movement, subverted harmonious classical forms in favor of expressiveness.

In 1534, Michelangelo left Florence for the last time and traveled to Rome, where he would work and live for the rest of his life. That year saw his painting of the The Last Judgment on a wall above the altar in the Sistine Chapel for Pope Paul III. The massive painting depicts Christ's damnation of sinners and blessing of the virtuous, and is regarded as a masterpiece of early mannerism. During the last three decades of his life, Michelangelo lent his talents to the design of numerous monuments and buildings for Rome, which the pope and city leaders were determined to restore to the grandeur of its ancient past. The Capitoline Square and the dome of St. Peter's, designed by Michelangelo but not completed in his lifetime, remain two of Rome's most famous visual landmarks.

Michelangelo worked until his death in 1564 at the age of 88. In addition to his major artistic works, he produced numerous other sculptures, frescoes, architectural designs, and drawings, many of which are unfinished and some of which are lost. He was also an accomplished poet, and some 300 of his poems are preserved. In his lifetime, he was celebrated as Europe's greatest living artist, and today he is held up as one of the greatest artists of all time, as exalted in the visual arts as William Shakespeare is in literature or Ludwig van Beethoven is in music.

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