Comment

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on June 17, 2012 at 10:48am

"Your power comes from the songs."

-- Ethel Wilson, COWICHAN

If you do not know any of the songs, ask an Elder to teach you. Get yourself a drum. When you sing a song and play the drum, you'll be surprised how your mind, body, and spirit will react. Everything becomes calm and joyful. Our bodies love the songs. The songs allow us to touch the hand of the Creator. When we sing and touch the Great Spirit's hand, He gives us power. Songs are another way to pray.

My Grandfather, teach me a song today

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on June 17, 2012 at 10:48am

Jun 17, 1579:
Drake claims California for England

During his circumnavigation of the world, English seaman Francis Drake anchors in a harbor just north of present-day San Francisco, California, and claims the territory for Queen Elizabeth I. Calling the land "Nova Albion," Drake remained on the California coast for a month to make repairs to his ship, the Golden Hind, and prepare for his westward crossing of the Pacific Ocean.

On December 13, 1577, Drake set out from England with five ships on a mission to raid Spanish holdings on the Pacific coast of the New World. After crossing the Atlantic, Drake abandoned two of his ships in South America and then sailed into the Straits of Magellan with the remaining three. A series of devastating storms besieged his expedition in the treacherous straits, wrecking one ship and forcing another to return to England. Only the Golden Hind reached the Pacific Ocean, but Drake continued undaunted up the western coast of South America, raiding Spanish settlements and capturing a rich Spanish treasure ship.

Drake then continued up the western coast of North America, searching for a possible northeast passage back to the Atlantic. Reaching as far north as present-day Washington before turning back, Drake paused near San Francisco Bay in June 1579 to repair his ship and prepare for a journey across the Pacific. In July, the expedition set off across the Pacific, visiting several islands before rounding Africa's Cape of Good Hope and returning to the Atlantic Ocean. On September 26, 1580, the Golden Hind returned to Plymouth, England, bearing its rich captured treasure and valuable information about the world's great oceans. In 1581, Queen Elizabeth I knighted Drake during a visit to his ship.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on June 16, 2012 at 8:45am

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You're prone to be contrary today, especially in situations that you feel authority is pushing on your personal freedoms. You need an intellectual basis to inform your objections rather than simply acting out.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You're easily angered but you can put that energy to good use if you try. Don't confront a troubling situation head-on now but do something else that's useful while you think through the situation.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You need to show common sense about spending and other financial transactions today. Get your money's worth and don't be afraid to pull out if the situation isn't in your best interests. Don't feel obligated when you're not.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your ambitions are hard to achieve unless you stick with a sound plan. You're apt to change your mind a lot or let yourself be diverted into multiple projects. Narrow your efforts so you can finish what you start.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You struggle to find the right mode of communication with people. Anger on someone's part is a sign that you're not in sync the way you should be. Don't rely on just one approach.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You feel an urgency to learn something today. Don't tackle problems you don't understand. I's better to study them first and then act instead of diving in and making a lot of unnecessary mistakes.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You must go back and rethink past ideas and see where they can be improved. Rewrites and reprogramming can be done for elegance, style and efficiency. Find ways to express yourself better.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A trusted partner could cause you to be angry today. People aren't all on the same page and you have to spend extra effort corralling them and getting to understand what the priorities are.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You need to look past what people say to understand their deeper meaning and feelings; that's what you need to respond to. In relationships, one of you has been taking the other for granted, causing offense.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You have a very emotional way of communicating. You are challenged not to let it get out of hand. Be aware that your likes and dislikes in people are showing obviously, even in situations where even-handedness is required.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You get questioned in ways that make you feel defensive. You're challenged to be reasonable no matter how offended you feel. Be alert to situations where you may actually be under threat.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You're liable to jump to conclusions now and get angry about them. Instead, hold your thoughts in check and verify whether what you think is really true. Remember that anger closes down honest communication.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on June 16, 2012 at 8:44am

"For me, the essence of a medicine man's life is to be humble, to have great patience, to be close to the Earth, to live as simply as possible, and to never stop learning."

-- Archie Fir Lame Deer, LAKOTA

The Medicine people focus on their Being, not their doing. After all, we are human beings not human doings. The Medicine people are very patient and consciously trying to live a life of humility. Medicine people are servant leaders. Their main purpose is to serve the needs of others. By this service attitude, they become the leaders people listen to and the leaders the people want to follow. The Medicine people say everyone is their teacher. Maybe we should try to live this way ourselves; humble, patient, honoring the Earth and listening to our teachers.

Grandfather, today, let me know all people are my teachers and I am the student

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on June 15, 2012 at 1:56pm

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on June 15, 2012 at 10:36am

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on June 15, 2012 at 9:50am

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Break away from entrenched habits and attitudes. Don't oppose former enemies but open up to learn from them. Hardened positions need to be challenged so new and positive opportunities can develop.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You're drawn toward dialog today. You tend to depend on communication for personal meaning and importance. Important exchanges of information can occur as long as you encourage the free flow of information.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Pay attention to finances today. A resolution to your problems can be found by returning to the basics. The real question is how you can apply them innovatively to your specific situation.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You should be on the lookout for better opportunities today. You're not very ambitious but you won't decline an improvement. You need to be intellectually active and alert so you don't miss the people who could help you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): This is a good day to diversify your studies. Your intent should be to make yourself more marketable in the job search. Be sure that you include fields that genuinely hold your interest and can carry you for a long time.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): This is a good day to turn your attention to new projects. Where successful conclusions have been brought about, this is no time to rest. Get busy ramping up for the next item in line to be done.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You're prone to get into disagreements today but may be unable to back up your case. You need good preparation but may have to make the challenge early, anyway. Don't let yourself feel intellectually powerless.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): This is a good day to study different points of view and integrate them into a whole. You want to be inclusive but you also want to choose the best opinions that hold water and present them in a coherent argument.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You have cause to think that you are stalled in your ambitions. This is a good day to rethink your strategy, maybe discussing it with friends who have the sort of achievements you want.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You tend to act as a representative for a group and your message or delivery, or both, are very compelling. Attempt to reach a new audience for the cause you're espousing. It's an excellent day for getting the message out.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): This is a very busy day. You can't spend a lot of energy dwelling on the past because the present moment keeps you occupied. You need to exercise a lot of foresight so that your activities are worthwhile.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You have something to say to the public at large. Find the right way to get your opinions out in public. Write letters, leave comments, establish a blog. The more reasoned, yet impassioned, you can express yourself, the better.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on June 15, 2012 at 9:50am

Jun 15, 1300:
Dante is named prior of Florence

On this day, poet Dante Alighieri becomes one of six priors of Florence, active in governing the city. Dante's political activities, which include the banishment of several rivals, lead to his own exile from Florence, his native city, after 1302. He will write his great work, The Divine Comedy, as a virtual wanderer, seeking protection for his family in town after town.

Dante was born to a family with noble ancestry whose fortunes had fallen. His father was a moneylender. Dante began writing poetry in his teens and received encouragement from established poets, to whom he sent sonnets as a young man.

At age nine, Dante first caught a glimpse of Beatrice Portinari, also nine, who would symbolize for him perfect female beauty and spiritual goodness in the coming decades. Despite his fervent devotion to Portinari, who did not seem to return his feelings, Dante became engaged to Gemma Donati in 1277, but the two did not marry until eight years later. The couple had six sons and a daughter.

About 1293, Dante published a book of prose and poetry called The New Life, followed a few years later by another collection, The Banquet. It wasn't until his banishment that he began work on his Divine Comedy. In the poem's first book, Dante takes a tour through Hell with the poet Virgil as his guide. Virgil also guides the poet through Purgatory in the second book. The poet's guide in Paradise, however, is named Beatrice. The work was written and published in sections between 1308 and 1321. Although Dante called the work simply Comedy, the work became enormously popular, and a deluxe version published in 1555 in Venice bore the title The Divine Comedy. Dante died of malaria in Ravenna in 1321.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on June 15, 2012 at 9:49am

"Today, what is important for us is to realize that the old sacred ways are correct, and that if we do not follow them we will be lost and without a guide."

-- Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

A long time ago the Creator gave to the people all the knowledge on how we should live and conduct ourselves. The Native people have been influenced by outside "tribes" who don't know about the Sacred Way. Our Elders still know about the old sacred ways. We need to consult and talk to them before it's too late. Every family needs to seriously evaluate whether they are living according to the old knowledge. If we are fault finding, putting one another down, being selfish, being violent to our spouses or children, if we are cheating and being dishonest, then we are not living the old Sacred Way. The old way is about respect, love, forgiveness and sharing.

Great Spirt, today, teach me the old Sacred Way you taught my ancestors

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on June 15, 2012 at 9:48am

Jun 15, 1215:
Magna Carta sealed

Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John puts his royal seal on the Magna Carta, or "Great Charter." The document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons, guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation's laws. Although more a reactionary than a progressive document in its day, the Magna Carta was seen as a cornerstone in the development of democratic England by later generations.

John was enthroned as king of England following the death of his brother, King Richard the Lion-Hearted, in 1199. King John's reign was characterized by failure. He lost the duchy of Normandy to the French king and taxed the English nobility heavily to pay for his foreign misadventures. He quarreled with Pope Innocent III and sold church offices to build up the depleted royal coffers. Following the defeat of a campaign to regain Normandy in 1214, Stephen Langton, the archbishop of Canterbury, called on the disgruntled barons to demand a charter of liberties from the king.

In 1215, the barons rose up in rebellion against the king's abuse of feudal law and custom. John, faced with a superior force, had no choice but to give in to their demands. Earlier kings of England had granted concessions to their feudal barons, but these charters were vaguely worded and issued voluntarily. The document drawn up for John in June 1215, however, forced the king to make specific guarantees of the rights and privileges of his barons and the freedom of the church. On June 15, 1215, John met the barons at Runnymede on the Thames and set his seal to the Articles of the Barons, which after minor revision was formally issued as the Magna Carta.

The charter consisted of a preamble and 63 clauses and dealt mainly with feudal concerns that had little impact outside 13th century England. However, the document was remarkable in that it implied there were laws the king was bound to observe, thus precluding any future claim to absolutism by the English monarch. Of greatest interest to later generations was clause 39, which stated that "no free man shall be arrested or imprisoned or disseised [dispossessed] or outlawed or exiled or in any way victimised...except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land." This clause has been celebrated as an early guarantee of trial by jury and of habeas corpus and inspired England's Petition of Right (1628) and the Habeas Corpus Act (1679).

In immediate terms, the Magna Carta was a failure--civil war broke out the same year, and John ignored his obligations under the charter. Upon his death in 1216, however, the Magna Carta was reissued with some changes by his son, King Henry III, and then reissued again in 1217. That year, the rebellious barons were defeated by the king's forces. In 1225, Henry III voluntarily reissued the Magna Carta a third time, and it formally entered English statute law.

The Magna Carta has been subject to a great deal of historical exaggeration; it did not establish Parliament, as some have claimed, nor more than vaguely allude to the liberal democratic ideals of later centuries. However, as a symbol of the sovereignty of the rule of law, it was of fundamental importance to the constitutional development of England. Four original copies of the Magna Carta of 1215 exist today: one in Lincoln Cathedral, one in Salisbury Cathedral, and two in the British Museum.

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