pulpo gallego - how to make it

I learned today how to cook octopus. In Galicia they pound the octopus
before they boil it, or they freeze it (both break down the tissue)
then they "scare it" by putting it in hot water and then cold water
three times. Next time I spear an octopus I will know how to cook it.

Election Day Arousal - Patrick Henry's Speech

To hear this dramatized speech go here:
http://www.history.org/media/audio.cfm

Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable ­ and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace ­ but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Nicaraguan canal

On September 29, 2006, Nicaraguan officials said an announcement would
be made soon on a $20-billion proposal to build a canal linking the
Pacific and the Atlantic oceans! - Wikipedia

Metaphor: The Lamb of God

Today David and JoAnn Seely presented an amazing lecture on the
metaphor of the lamb of god. They showed amazing art work and quotes
from the bible and other literature.

The poem "The Lamb" by William Blake illustrates many of the qualities
we view lambs as having. They devided the lecure into 3 parts, three
ways we can view the metaphor. The sacraficial lamb, the Suffering
Servant, and the Apocalyptic lamb.

They showed some amazing christian art work, a couple had melchezidek
portrayed, which I have not seen before. Abel had his sacrifice,
Melchedek had bread and wine (symbol of the sacrament) and Abraham was
sacrificing Issac in one mosaic.

Akedah is the greek word for Binding, which is what the jews call
Genesis 22 (When Abraham sacrifices Issac). There is an interesting
Jewish artwork (which is rare to find because the Jews did not make
much art because of the graven images problem) that illustrates this
event. There are two very different paintings by Carravaggio that
portray this event in two very distinct ways.

A group in Israel, the smaritans still practice animal sacrifice, but
it is culturally acceptable and a form a worship, unlike what it is
for us westerners. The children bring the lambs which they have raised
to the gathering, were people are happy, right at sundown the lambs
are sacrificed, and the people rejoice (in a good way).

We often think of death when we think of blood, but it would be more
proper to think of life. When Jesus gave his blood for us, he gave us
life. This is illustrated in Exodus 24:8 and Matt 26:28.

The image of the cross is often seen as a sad thing, when it can be
seen as a glorious thing. It is a symbol of triumph and vctory, often
the lamb (in paintings) is close to a banner, a banner uses a cross to
support the fabric of the banner. The metaphor of the lamb of god is
powerful and can change our lives.

The Long Now: Lecture on campus

I attended a lecture on campus sponsored by the Humanities Department.
The author of "The Long Now" spoke. Here are my notes:

I found the lecture interesting, even from the overflow room with only
a video feed of the slides. The main idea was that we should not be as
rushed. Time has been around a long time. He made a clock that is in
the mountains, that measures years by the thousands of years. It will
be interesting to see if he is remembered for that.

He talked about bristlecone pines how they are the oldest living
things on earth, 5000 years old. We don't know why the Jericho Tower
was built, nor Stonehenge. Perhaps they had something to do with time.

Shinto shrines in Japan are rebuilt every 20 years, because of all the
earthquakes and wet climate factors. This obviously did not happen
with Stonehenge. He also talked about the bowling ball shaped thing
that is on old globes. I have always wondered what that was! He showed
pictures of the sun's movement that demonstrated the purpose of the
object.

He showed slides of mosques in turkey that were left standing after
earthquakes because of the care in their building that had been taken.
He showed many pictures of mosques in Indonesia that were left
standing after the tsunami.

He talked about the dangers of global warming. It was interesting to
find out that Methane in sea beds can just come out, making the
atmosphere warmer. If the Ross Ice Shelf separates from Antarctica and
melts, Oceans will rise 16 feet! There is a trend that implicates that
we are moving toward a permanent El Nino effect.

Environmentalist have given Nuclear Fission a bad rap, and it is not
nearly as bad as most people think. They are creating portable
concrete containers to store nuclear waste. These are very useful, as
it delays the decision of where we will put this waste for 1000 years.

A Little Mixed Up - A poem

"Just a line to say I'm livin' - that I'm not among the dead.
Tho' I'm getting more forgetful, and more mixed up in the head.

"For sometimes I can't remember when I stand at the foot of the stair,
If I must go up for something, or if I just came down from there.

"And before the 'frig', so often, my mind is filled with doubt -
Have I just put food away, or have I come to take some out?

"There are times when it's dark out - with my night cap on my head,
I don't know if I'm retiring, or just getting out of bed.

"So, if it's my turn to write you, there's no need for getting sore,
I may think that I have written and don't want to be a bore.

"Just....remember, I do love you, and wish that you were here--
And now it's nearly mail time, so I must say, 'Good-bye,' dear."

There I stood beside the mail box, with a face so very red;
Instead of mailing you my letter, I had opened it instead.

author unkown

Pluto is no longer a planet

The latest on the status of Pluto.  Astronomers have demoted it from planet status so the solar system now consists of 8 full fledge planets and a few dwarfs.  Here is the link to an article that gives a little more information.

 

After all these years of thinking Pluto was a planet...science continually changes:)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14489259/

bird trivia

The 2004 edition of the Guinness World Records lists the cassowary as the world's most dangerous bird.

More recently, Cassowaries have been known to lose their natural fear of people. As a result, large areas of Australian National Parks have been temporarily closed to avoid human contact with the bird.

The only poisonous bird!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooded_Pitohui

it causes numbness in your hands when you touch it!

Ostriches can be up to 10 feet tall and weigh 400 pounds. They can run 40 miles per hour for 30 minutes. The only bird with two toes on each foot.

100 years of "you're a grand old flag"

This year we celebrate 100 years of one of the best patriotic songs: You're a grand old flag.
Music and Sheet Music here: http://memory.loc.gov/cocoon/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200000026/default.html

It was originally sung: You're a grand old rag. It was the first song from a musical to sell over 1 million copies of sheet music.

roman aqueducts

the combined aqueducts of the city of Rome supplied around 1 million cubic meters (300 million gallons) a day (an accomplishment not equalled until the late 19th century and represents a value 25% larger than the present water supply of the city of Bangalore, with has a population of 6 million). - Amazing!

trilobite hunting

For those of you 'wanna-be' paleontologists, here is a cool thing I learned about.  Click on this website and it gives you the necessary information to begin a trilobite hunt.

 www.u-digfossils.com

Volcanoes

This is an awesome site on volcanoes and how they work. It is sponsored by
NASA and SDSU so it is more detailed than many sites. It is fascinating to
learn how they classify volcanoes and how the magma composition affects
erruptions. It is set up as a tutorial with self quizes that are
challenging but not impossible. If you have a few minutes it is great fun.

http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/

Etymology

This is a great list of pertinent etymologies:
http://www.westegg.com/etymology/

Ice Hotel

Interesting Ice hotel that is made out of Ice...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jukkasj%C3%A4rvi
Other very interesting hotels:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel

tallet hotel in the world

The tallest hotel in the world was completed in 1999 in Dubai:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Burjalarab1.jpg

auto-antonym

What is a word called that 2 different meanings that are complete opposites? What are some of these words? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_self-contradicting_words_in_English

hot water can freeze faster than cold water

Very interesting. It is called the Mpemba effect.

http://ask.yahoo.com/20030930.html

look at the earth!

There is a cool website that I was introduced to today.  Go to googleearth.com and type in a city you want to find and discover some cool landmarks:)

Divinity School Address

Emerson's work of the Divinity School Address is remarkable. Here it
is: http://www.emersoncentral.com/divaddr.htm
This is where the quote "It is the office of a true teacher to show us
that God is, not was; that He speaketh, not spake." Comes from.