I think I deserve a slacker award lately! The great thing about summer is that I can not post in a while and not feel a bit guilty about it.
A little over a week ago we went to Great Falls, MT and did the tourist thing. We stopped at Ulm Pishkun at the First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park. Ulm is the town near the jump and Pishkun comes from the Blackfeet word for ‘deep blood kettle’. At a mile long, it’s believe to be the largest jump in North America and was used for 600 years — much longer than most jumps are used.
We also made it out to Ryan Dam to see why Great Falls is called Great Falls. I’ll admit it — I first thought they should have named it ‘Meh Falls’, but before the dam was built, it would have been a beautiful sight.
Since it was going on, and well, we were there, we went to the Montana State Fair, which was also kind of ‘meh’. We did spend the two bucks to see the freak show, though. It was somewhat entertaining.
Other than that we’ve been doing some more fishing, a little geocaching and other various things. I’ve been making ATCs and plans for altering a candy box I have. Now that Dan has been laid-off from his job we plan on a few more trips around Montana and some major geocaching hunts. The Northwest Montana fair should be going live in a few days, so we’ll attend that and the rodeo as well.
I am by no means Catholic, and if you look around you can probably guess where I stand on mythology, but it’s fair to say that I dig with my left foot. You’ll have to look up that reference on your own. Here’s a long post with various items in honour of St. Patrick’s Day.
3000 Murals (EDIT: To clarify, there are approximately 3000 Nationalist murals around Northern Ireland, this video only shows a small percentage of them.)
The Patron Saint of Ireland was born into Roman Britain in the fourth century. He was captured as a teenager by Niall of the Nine Hostages who was to become a King of all Ireland.
He was sold into slavery in Ireland and put to work as a shepherd. He worked in terrible conditions for six years drawing comfort in the Christian faith that so many of his people had abandoned under Roman rule.
Patrick had a dream that encouraged him to flee his captivity and to head South where a ship was to be waiting for him. He traveled over 200 miles from his Northern captivity to Wexford town where, sure enough, a ship was waiting to enable his escape.
Upon arrival in England he was captured by brigands and returned to slavery. He escaped after two months and spent the next seven years traveling Europe seeking his destiny.
During this time he furthered his education and studied Christianity in the Lerin Monastery in France. He returned to England as a priest. Again a dream greatly influenced him when he became convinced that the Irish people were calling out to him to return to the land of his servitude.
He went to the Monastery in Auxerre where it was decided that a mission should be sent to Ireland. Patrick was not selected for this task to his great disappointment. The monk that was selected was called Paladius, but he died before he could reach Ireland and a second mission was decided upon.
Patrick was made a Bishop by Pope Celestine in the year 432 and, together with a small band of followers, he traveled to Ireland to commence the conversion.
Patrick confronted the most powerful man in Ireland, Laoghaire, The High King of Tara, as he knew that if he could gain his support then he would be safe to spread the word throughout Ireland. To get his attention Patrick and his followers lit a huge fire to mark the commencement of Spring. Tradition had it that no fire was to be lit until the King’s fire was complete, but Patrick defied this rule and courted the confrontation with the King.
The King rushed into action and traveled with the intention of making war on the holy delegation. Patrick calmed the King and with quiet composure impressed upon him that he had no intention other than that of spreading the word of the Gospel. The King accepted the missionary, much to the dismay of the Druids who feared for their own power and position in the face of this new threat. They commanded that he make snow fall. Patrick declined to do so stating that this was God’s work. Immediately it began to snow, only stopping when Patrick blessed himself.
Still trying to convince the King of his religion Patrick grasped at some Shamrock growing on the ground. He explained that there was but one stem on the plant, but three branches of the leaf, representing the Blessed Trinity. The King was impressed with his sincerity and granted him permission to spread the word of his faith, although he did not convert to Christianity himself.
Patrick and his followers were free to spread their faith throughout Ireland and did so to great effect. He drove paganism (symbolised by the snake) from the lands of Eireann.
Patrick was tempted by the Devil whilst on a pilgrimage at Croagh Patrick. For his refusal to be tempted, God rewarded him with a wish. Patrick asked that the Irish be spared the horror of Judgment Day and that he himself be allowed to judge his flock. Thus, the legend that Ireland will disappear under a sea of water seven years before the final judgment, was born.
Patrick died on March 17th in the year 461 at the age of 76. It is not known for sure where his remains were laid although Downpatrick in County Down in the North of Ireland is thought to be his final resting place.
His influence is still felt to this day as Nations the world over commemorate him on March 17th of every year.
The Triad is a social custom and teaching tool that was used to explain abstract concepts by the ancient Druids. In addition, many of the early deities, including Ireland’s patroness, the Goddess Brigit, were considered ‘triple Goddesses’ or ‘triple Gods’. They represented various stages of life (youth, parent, elder) as well as aspects specific to one deity. For instance, the Goddess Brigit was/is the patroness of the Hearth, the Forge, and the Arts. The Sun God Lugh was also a triple deity, as were Manannan Mac Lir and the Morigeuse. The most likely explanation for the use of the shamrock as a teaching tool is that the Druids used it in discussing the nature of these tri-part deities. Celtic Christianity embraced many traditions from the old ways, and this is most likely one of them.
Michael R. Gorman Author and Poet Sacramento, California
Irish Phrases
PHRASE: Slainte PRONOUNCED: slawn-che MEANING: Good Health!
PHRASE: Eireann go braugh (bráth) PRONOUNCED: air-in go braw MEANING: Ireland forever!
PHRASE: Beannachtai na Feile Padraig PRONOUNCED: bann/ockt/tee nih fail/eh pawd/rig MEANING: Happy Saint Patrick’s Day
I will add: Beidh ár lá linn (Pronounced like bay our law lin) — We shall have our day This, or the more common Tiocfaidh ár lá (our day will come) are slogans of Irish Republicanism.
I did promise more photos from Fort Missoula, I did not, however, count on our ISP switch to leave us internet-less. I only got a little cranky, I swear! (I can hear you all now in unison, “poor Dan!”)
These are (obviously) of a steam train located near the museum at Historic Fort Missoula. When you walk up to the platform there’s a bit of information that I didn’t bother to read, and you can look inside the cab. [edit] If you know as little about steam trains as I do, check out the Wiki. It has a diagram that labels all of the components.
Wondering what that funky red ‘building’ is behind the train? I didn’t think so, but there are photos of the Wood Chipper (or so Dan tells me) at a later date.
Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin fly overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor; if she saw a sparrow, she’d marry a poor man and be very happy; if she saw a goldfinch, she’d marry a millionaire.
At one time it was the custom for young folks to go out before daylight on Valentine’s day and try to catch and owl and two sparrows in a net. If they succeeded, it was a good omen, and entitled them to gifts from the villagers.
In Wales, wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations that meant, “you unlock my heart!” And, if you cut an apple in half and count the seeds inside, you’ll know how many children you will have.
How it all started
Valentine’s Day has its origins in the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia, an annual festival held on February 15 to help keep dangerous wolves away from townspeople and their crops. On the eve of the festival, the young women of the town would write their names on slips of paper, put them in a jar, and every young man would pick out a name at random. The pair would then be partners for the remainder of the festival.
It was 270 BC when St. Valentine stood up for love, after Roman Emperor Claudius II forbade Roman soldiers to get engaged or married, believing that married men would rather stay home than go to war. The priest, named Valentine, in defiance of Claudius’ orders, secretly married young couples, and on February 14, was punished for his ‘crime’, thereby becoming the patron saint of lovers.
…That’s Amore
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, That’s Amore. When an eel bites your hand and that’s not what you planned, That’s a moray. When our habits are strange and our customs deranged, That’s our mores. When your horse munches straw and the bales total four, That’s some more hay. When Othello’s poor wife, she gets stabbed with a knife, That’s a Moor, eh? When a Japanese knight used a sword in a fight thats, Sa…mur…ai
And finally, the secret to a happy marriage… Do what your wife tells you!
Another year gone. Oh darn. Maintaining this blog was difficult at times. Partly due to no Internet for a while, and partly due to burnout. It’s gone from being primarily a photo blog, to more (don’t ask me what the ‘more’ is). I’ve come a out of my shell just enough to peek around. All in all, it wasn’t a horrible year. Not a great one, but not horrible.
2007 shows some promise. I’ve got my FAFSA application ready to submit, my application for FVCC ready and waiting for proof of an MMR (meaning I need to get the darn shot). All I need now is to decide what I want to be when I grow up!
On to the breakdown…
January ♠I was a slacker…
February ♠February 23rd marked the one year anniversary of this blog. ♠Sushi was made. ♠Moss was found.
Full Moons: January 3, February 2, March 3, April 2, May 2 and a blue moon on May 31, June 30 (this could also be considered the Blue Moon as it is the 4th full moon of the quarter), July 29, August 28, September 26, October 26, November 24 and December 23.
Tonight on the History Channel at 10PM will be the repeat of Man, Moment, Machine: Stormin’ Norman & the Stealth Fighter. (Edit: This seems to be 10 PM EASTERN, as it is on at 8 PM here in MT.)
The teaser tag from the website:
January 1991: General Norman Schwarzkopf launches the opening attack of Operation Desert Storm, an air campaign designed to disrupt Saddam Hussein’s command, control and communications network. His ultimate goal is to eradicate Iraqi forces from Kuwait and destroy Saddam Hussein’s ability to wage war. Critical to his plan is a revolutionary aircraft–the F-117 Stealth Fighter. Its vital role will be to fly undetected into Baghdad airspace in the opening moments of the war to take out Iraqi communications and air defense facilities. At 3 am, eight Stealth Fighters, each armed with 4,000 pounds of laser-guided ordnance, sneak into downtown Baghdad and hit their targets-completely disrupting the Iraqi military’s command, control, and detection systems.
More info at the History Channel. The commercial promises lots of info about my favourite plane.
This was shamelessly stolen from The History Channel. I’ll get creative and write my own next year.
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints’, All Saints’, and All Souls’, were called Hallowmas.
Here’s a long post with various items in honour of St. Patrick’s Day.
