Seismic monitoring

Dragon Mood? -- ???

Rayne Today, a blog that I enjoy reading, has a great graphic from the IRIS Seismic Monitor website regarding the tsunami.

Check it out.

As the year slows to a close

Dragon Mood? -- warm dragon thoughts

Those I'm thinking about:

• people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and all the coastal areas impacted by the tsunami. Also, the many travellers visiting those areas who are simply gone
• Sarah the Elder, more widely known as Sally, who turns 69 today. Happy Birthday, Sally!
• Sarah the Younger, known as Sarah, who hopefully will finalize her choice today and purchase a wedding gown. Congratulations and my very best wishes to you, Sarah!
• My children, Lina and Yosh, who returned from Arizona Monday, are currently catching their respective breaths, and who I hopefully will see late Thursday night or Friday morning. I am gathering guardian angels with my thoughts, and prayerfully asking for their fierce protection as my chicklets travel through hazardous winter roads to get here. Be safe!
• My dear partner, S, as she sleeps right now, resting and repairing from the cumulative bumps and bruises of daily life. Soon, I will make a pot of coffee, pour her a cup and wake her with the invitation, "I have a nice hot cup of coffee for you, honey."

I am holding all of you in my heart and hoping for your well-being.

A thought from my dad . . .

Dragon Mood? -- hmmm

Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God.

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.

Tsunami

Dragon Mood? -- troubled

I wanted to post some light-hearted words in this 'tween-time after Christmas and before the New Year's celebrations. But with news of this horrific tsunami that has hit so many coastal areas on the Indian Ocean, it just doesn't feel quite right to do so.

CNN is reporting over 33,000 dead this morning. That is ten times the number of people who died on 9/11.

I am embarrassed to say that I had to look at a map to understand how a tsunami could affect so many different places. I wasn't sure exactly where Indonesia is located. I had never heard of Myanmur (it used to be Burma).

Here's a graphic from a Chinese newspaper:

(The clarity on the image isn't great, but it will have to do.)

I am holding all those grieving survivors in my heart. What a tragedy!


[Update as of 12:15 p.m. EST: the news wires are now updating the death toll from the tsunami:

• Indonesia: 27,174

• Sri Lanka: 17,640

• India: 8,523

• Thailand: 1,516

• Myanmar: 90

• Malaysia: 65

• Maldives: 55

• Bangladesh: 2

• Somalia 100

• Tanzania 10

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

• Total: 55,175
  

Again, this tsunami has caused incredible destruction, devastation and loss of life.]

Winter Solstice

The sun, nearing winter solstice, travels low across the sky, from sunrise, at left, to sunset, in this multiple-exposure made at the Marshall Point Light, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2002, in St. George, Maine. The sun's position is recorded at 50-minute intervals during the short nine-hour day.
(Photo by Robert F. Bukaty)

Which gives lie to the ancients' description of solstice as "sun-standing-still."

Thanks to this site.

Winter Solstice and a Birthday Approaches

Dragon Mood? -- revelling in the season

I've got Christmas music on this morning. I grew up on Mantovani and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir playing in my parents' six-foot long, 60's-style stereo cabinet. For me, however, it's Cocktail Lounge and Tejano Country music this frigid morning.

And I'm preparing for the Winter Solstice and the celebration of the baby Jesus' birth.

This year, the winter solstice will occur at 12:42 UT (Universal Time -- more commonly known as Greenwich Mean Time) on December 21st. If my calculations are correct, that is 7:42 am EST for us folks here in the Mitten State. (See this site.) I just learned this morning that solstice means "standing-still-sun." Cool, huh?



At the Candlegrove site, the author says, "Many, many cultures the world over perform solstice ceremonies. At their root: an ancient fear that the failing light would never return unless humans intervened with anxious vigil or antic celebration."

Whch is deplorable to say the least. Even before Christianity, people were gripped by fear. Fear of a disappearing sun. Fear of the cold. Fear for their survival. My take: the early shapers of Christianity jumped on the fear bandwagon, because that was what people were used to, and looky there, it worked.

And then we have the baby Jesus' birthday celebration. My earliest memories of December, of winter, are focused entirely around Christmas (the Christ-Mass, the worship of the Messiah, the Anointed One). I just read somewhere here recently how powerful the symbols of Christmas are. Where was that? Ah, yes, here.

...the Nativity narratives are the subject of ongoing scholarly debate over their historical accuracy, their theological meaning and whether some of the central images and words of the Christian religion owe as much to the pagan culture of the Roman Empire as they do to apostolic revelation.

...The power of the Nativity message—that a helpless child is in fact a heavenly king—lies in its consistent pattern of reversal, of making the weak strong, the humble mighty. The stable, the manger and the swaddling of Jesus are such theological touches.

Yes, these are powerful images in the story of Jesus' birth: the shocking appearance of angels, guiding stars in the sky, humble people exalted, the manger scene replete with donkeys and cows, the lowly shepherds, the Wise Men seeking out a baby, a frightening getaway to Egypt. The cynical part of me thinks that Hollywood screenwriters could never sell such an outlandish story.

And yet, these are part and parcel of me and my childhood memories.

Here's a cool quote regarding Christmas:

"Shall we liken Christmas to the web in a loom? There are many weavers, who work into the pattern the experience of their lives. When one generation goes, another comes to take up the weft where it has been dropped. The pattern changes as the mind changes, yet never begins quite anew. At first, we are not sure that we discern the pattern, but at last we see that, unknown to the weavers themselves, something has taken shape before our eyes, and that they have made something very beautiful, something which compels our understanding."
--Earl W. Count, "4,000 Years of Christmas"

[The picture above was taken the morning of the 2000 Winter Solstice near Ames, Iowa. The halo is made by sunlight shining through millions of ice crystals.]

Snuggly-warm dragon

Dragon Mood? -- wrapped up warmly in my red dragon robe

It's Sunday morning, the thermometer registers an amazing "ZERO" outside, and I'm happily sitting here at the computer -- warm, drinking my coffee and blogging.

Totally content.

Well, almost. The sun is actually shining in this part of cloudy Michigan. Imagine that, sunshine! The sun is shining on the tassels of the ornamental grasses out in the front yard. I would LOVE to capture a photo of them . . . or three. But, sadly, my camera batteries are dead. And Santa has a "Do Not Open" sign on the Amazon box with the new digital camera inside. Damn! I'm not even sure if we have batteries for the new camera. Arrgh!

But let's return to the idea of content. Yes, content-ment.

I am content this morning. Which is a very good thing. Life is good.

Thank you, Divine One, for all these many moments of living, breathing and being.

Calling all red-wine drinkers

Flash: This week, Meijer's is selling Crane Lake Cabernet Sauvignon for $2 a bottle!

Actually, the advertised price is 5 bottles for $10. I bought 15 bottles. And I plan to buy some more! What a buy!

Thank you for this Happy Day!

I parked the car, made sure I had the keys to S's car in my hand, locked the door and started to walk through the parking lot. The weak winter sun was inching up over the horizon, filling the sky with a warm glow. There were two birds sitting on the edge of the building, right over the door, watching what ever it is that birds watch. And they started to sing!

Hearing their birdy music reminded me to take a moment and be thankful, thankful, thankful. A partner who loves me and lets me borrow her little car (when mine is in the shop) , God who gives me a sun that rises every day and warms my skin, and birds that sing to me, even in the shortest days of winter.

(whew!)...the day after my birthday

To cut to the chase . . . I am pooped from celebrating my birthday! It wasn't a Polish-wedding sort of affair, lasting for three days, but it was an extremely FULL and HAPPY day, with numerous calls from far-flung family wishing me excited birthday wishes, many emails from friends here, there and beyond "there," warm hugs, and many words of congratulations. I was in a "general" state of high anticipation, excitement and overall well-being for the entire day! I wish all people could experience such a profound sense of love, care and excitement at one's very existence! It is something to most definitely embrace, store for uncertain and insecure moments, and treasure above all. I am very blessed and feel most thankful for such wonderful people surrounding me.

Purple people-eater walls

Caroline suggested eggplant-colored walls when she and Yosh were visiting our pied-a-terre. Here's my quick, crude Photoshop take on her suggestions.

Two days before my birthday

Dragon Mood? -- excited!!!

Yup, it's two days before my birthday. And I'm getting excited!!

I was meeting with a health professional yesterday. I told her that Monday is my birthday and she said, "I feel sorry for all December children. They get kind of gypped."

And I replied, "You know, I never felt that way. I always felt like it was me and Jesus --fingers entwined together-- having our birthdays and the world was getting ready for them."

There's a little child's chutzpah, huh?

To that end, for my seasonal image (at least for this week), I have posted a portion of my natal astrology chart.

Scouring through the archives

Isn't this is a lovely graphic?

Poking, poking and more poking through the endless archives of Allposters.com, I found this lovely image. I just had to stick it in my blog for all (*derisive laughter*) to see.

. . . HIV is an issue for everyone . . .

Dragon Mood? -- remembering

Today, December 1st, is World AIDS Day. Check out this site.