Distance
Barrio
Matt. 1:9
"And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;"

REFLECTED EL CAPITAN OF WINTER
Yosemite, A Winter Kingdom
Chess: "24 Millas" "distance" "Barrio" "Naciones Unidas" "Pedro Navaja"

Salmon

Rahab
Thread
Matt. 1:5
"And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;"

 

 

"Green" eco-friendly lights

The Start of Dawn
Chess: "Table" "Rahab" "Thread" "Greenwich Time" "The Green Green Grass of Home"

Campbell

Quetzalcoatl
Ku Kul Can
Matt. 10:16
"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."


Mystery of Carnaval, Venice
Chess: "Quetzalcoatl" "Ku Kul Can" "slough"
slough: (Middle English, from Old English slōh)
n.

1. A depression or hollow, usually filled with deep mud or mire.
2. also slue A stagnant swamp, marsh, bog, or pond, especially as part of a bayou, inlet, or backwater.
3. A state of deep despair or moral degradation.

slough^2: [Middle English slughe.]
n.

1. The dead outer skin shed by a reptile or amphibian.
2. Medicine. A layer or mass of dead tissue separated from surrounding living tissue, as in a wound, sore, or inflammation.
3. An outer layer or covering that is shed.

v.intr.

1. To be cast off or shed; come off: The snake's skin sloughs off.
2. To shed a slough.
3. Medicine. To separate from surrounding living tissue. Used of dead tissue.

v.tr.

To discard as undesirable or unfavorable; get rid of: slough off former associates.

Thesaurus: slough¹

noun

A usually low-lying area of soft waterlogged ground and standing water: bog, fen, marsh, marshland, mire, morass, muskeg, quag, quagmire, swamp, swampland, wetland. Seedry/wet.

verb

To cast off by a natural process: exuviate, molt, shed, throw off. Seeput on/take off.

The word slough (in British English pronounced /ˈslaʊ/, to rhyme with "cow"; in American and Canadian English pronounced /ˈsluː/, "slew") has several meanings related to wetland or aquatic features.

The etymology is related to the Dutch word 'slechten' = to lower, to cut, to destroy. Also related to 'to slay'. In Irish, Gaelic sloc = a pit, pool. Also related to (German) schlucken, (Swed.) sluka, (Dutch) slikken = to swallow. Related to 'slime'.

Trnaslations:
Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - sump, mudderpøl, morads

2.
v. intr. - skyde ham, skifte hud
v. tr. - kaste af, aflægge, løsne
n. - slangeham, dødt kød

idioms:

• slough off aflægge, smyge af sig

Nederlands (Dutch)
modderpoel, inzinking, afwerpen, vervellen

Français (French)
1.
n. - bourbier, marécage

2.
v. intr. - (Zool) perdre (la peau), muer
v. tr. - se débarrasser de
n. - (fig) abîme

idioms:

• slough off (Zool) perdre, se détacher, tomber, (fig) se débarrasser de

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Sumpf

2.
v. - abstreifen
n. - abgestreifte Haut, Schorf

idioms:

• slough off abstreifen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δέρμα φιδιού, παρατημένη συνήθεια, απορριπτόμενο ή αποβαλλόμενο επίστρωμα, (φυσιολ.) εσχάρα (κν. κακάδι, κάκαδο), βάλτος, τέλμα
v. - αποβάλλω/-ομαι, απορρίπτω/-ομαι, (στο μπριτζ κ.λπ.) ξεσκαρτάρω

idioms:

• slough off αποβάλλω (κακή συνήθεια)

Italiano (Italian)
pozzanghera, immergere, sprofondare

idioms:

• slough off liberarsi

Português (Portuguese)
n. - lamaçal (m), brejo (m), charco (m), jogar fora, despojo (m), degradação moral
v. - desprender-se, mudar (de pele), livrar-se, cair

idioms:

• slough off jogar fora

Русский (Russian)
болото, грязный, непроезжий участок дороги, заводь, уныние, выползок (змеи), струп, забытая привычка, сброшенная карта, менять кожу, осыпаться, покрываться струпьями, сбрасывать карту

idioms:

• slough off сходить (о коже), сбрасывать (кожу), бросать, отбрасывать, избавляться

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - lodazal, pantano

2.
v. intr. - cubrirse de costras, formar costra, desprenderse, caerse
v. tr. - mudar (piel), deshacerse de, echar de sí (una costra), roer, consumir formando costra
n. - piel que muda la serpiente, hábito o costumbre que se abandona, costra, éscara

idioms:

• slough off caerse (la piel)

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - träsk, moras, dy, avgrund, lerpöl, sumpmark, stillastående vatten, ormskinn, sårskorpa, dödkött, tomt skal
v. - ömsa skinn, bilda skorpa (dödkött), kasta av, fälla, bryta

Zen and the art of Robert Pirsig

Tim Adams speaks to the author in Boston

The Observer, Sunday 19 November 2006

Center for the Philosophy of Science

From Discovery/

Blogs / Cosmic Variance

The Cathedral of Learning

I just got back from Pittsburgh, a city famous for honoring football players along with Fathers of our country. Apparently they recently won some sort of sporting contest, so the citizens were generally in good spirits.

I was visiting to Center for the Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, to speak in their annual lecture series. The Center, along with the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, help make Pittsburgh one of the world’s leading institutions for studying philosophy of science.

The Center is also a remarkably friendly place, and I had a great time during my visit. The highlight, predictably, was lunch with some of the graduate students, where we got to let our hair down and talk about big ideas concerning time and causality and determinism. (Almost all professional academics start out fascinated by big ideas, but the interest is gradually beaten out of them along the way by the demands of professionalism and career advancement. Grad school is probably the peak combination of background knowledge and willingness to confront the hard problems.) I also got to chat with Adolf Grünbaum, whose declamations concerning the Primordial Existential Question had impressed me a year and a half ago. And I got to meet some fellow bloggers in the flesh — the formidable Cosma Shalizi, who helped me understand how to augment the principle of indifference with conditionalizing over the past hypothesis, and Bryan Roberts of Soul Physics, who was one of the aforementioned grad students.

But if I’m really honest, my favorite part of the trip was probably the building. The Center for the Philosophy of Science is housed in the Cathedral of Learning, a looming structure on the University’s campus — the second-tallest academic building in the world, after one at Moscow State University. Despite my lack of religious sympathies, I love cathedrals — the looming structures, swooping curves, open spaces, all designed to elicit a certain emotional response going far beyond their direct practical purpose. (Not that different from the best casinos in Vegas, really.) And I love learning! So the Cathedral of Learning is pretty much the perfect building.

And it really does work as a building. What everyone points to are the many Nationality Rooms scattered throughout the building — a series of 27 spaces decorated in the style of various different countries, often with the input (and financial assistance) of the respective governments, which work as display pieces but are also functioning classrooms. (I was told that prospective students are sometimes convinced to come to Pittsburgh by a visit to the room corresponding to their personal heritage.) But what I liked was the immense Commons Room (pictured), with impossibly high ceilings, which is just a place where people can sit down and read and talk and think. Such places are very precious, and the world should have a lot more of them.

If Wikipedia is to be believed, the Cathedral grew out of a vision of Chancellor John Gabbert Bowman in the 1920’s. He insisted that the Commons Room be built on the principles of true Gothic architecture, with self-supporting arches. When told that these things cost money, he replied:

“You cannot build a great University with fraud in it.”

I’m not sure if that’s strictly true, but it’s an honorable principle to strive towards.

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Daniel

Waverley
Tokyo
Chivas Regal 
Daniel
Psalm 66:12
 "Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place."
Matt. 26:59
"Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;"
 Luke 12:5
"But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him."  

Snowy Egret in Flight

"¿De qué otra forma se puede amenazar que no sea de muerte? Lo interesante, lo original, sería que alguien lo amenace a uno con la inmortalidad."
Jorge Luis Borges

Sunset, Gulf of Mexico, Pensacola Pass, Florida. Photo: Richard Roselli

Five-story pagoda of Tō-ji with Moon - by Shibazo, Japan

 

Chess: "1938" "Harley Davidson" "Tokyo" "Waverley" "Chivas Regal" "Daniel"

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is the first of Robert M. Pirsig's texts in which he explores his Metaphysics of quality. The 1974 book describes, in first person, a 17-day motorcycle journey across the United States by the author (though he is not identified in the book) and his son Chris, joined for the first nine days by close friends John and Sylvia Sutherland. The trip is punctuated by numerous philosophical discussions, referred to as chautauquas by the author, on topics including epistemology, ethical emotivism and the philosophy of science.
The book sold over 4 million copies in twenty-seven languages and was described by the press as "the most widely read philosophy book, ever."^[1] It was originally rejected by 121 publishers, more than any other bestselling book, according to the Guinness Book of Records.
The title is an incongruous play on the title of the book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. In its introduction, Pirsig explains that, despite its title, "it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either."

Philosophical content

In the book, Pirsig explores the meaning and concepts of "quality" (a term which he deems to be undefinable). In the sequel (Lila: An Inquiry into Morals), Pirsig expands his exploration of Quality into a complete metaphysics which he calls The Metaphysics of Quality. As the title suggests, much of the Metaphysics of Quality has to do with a non-intellectualizing, non-conceptualizing, Zen-like direct viewing of the universe. Yet Pirsig departs from Eastern thinking by arguing that Western rationality is just as important in seeking understanding. Pirsig's thesis is that to truly experience quality one must embrace both and apply them as befits the requirements of the situation. According to Pirsig, this would avoid a great deal of frustration and dissatisfaction common to modern life.
In the book, the Narrator explains his friend John Sutherland's "romantic" approach to life, whereby he refuses to study and learn how to maintain his own expensive new BMW motorcycle. John simply hopes for the best with his bike, and when problems do occur he becomes extremely frustrated and is forced to rely on professional mechanics to repair it. In contrast, the Narrator has an older motorcycle which he is mostly able to diagnose and repair himself through the use of rational problem solving skills. The Narrator exemplifies the "classical" approach to life.
In another example, Pirsig shows us how we should pay attention and learn: when the Narrator and his friends came into Miles City, Montana, he had noticed (second page of chapter 8) that the engine "idle was loping a little", a sign that the fuel/air mixture was too rich. The next day he is thinking of this as he is going through his ritual to adjust the valves on his cycle's engine, because it "has picked up a noise". In the process, he notes that both spark plugs are black, another sign of rich mixture. He solves the puzzle as he is thinking about the feel-good-higher-altitude-mountain-air; the altitude is causing the engine to run rich. New jets are purchased, and installed, and with the valves adjusted, the engine runs well. His cycle begins coughing and almost quits when they get into the mountains of Montana. This is a more severe altitude problem, but he knows it will go away when they get back to lower altitude. He does adjust the carburetor to prevent over heating on the way down.
With this, we see the book details two types of personalities: those who are interested mostly in gestalts (classically romantic viewpoints, such as Zen, focused on being "in the moment", and not on rational analysis), and those who need to know details, the inner workings, mechanics (classic viewpoints with application of rational analysis, vis-a-vis motorcycle maintenance) and so on.
The Sutherlands represent an exclusively romantic attitude toward the world. The Narrator initially appears to prefer the classic approach. It later becomes apparent that he understands both viewpoints and is aiming, not for the middle ground, but for the necessary ground that includes both. He understands that technology, and the "dehumanized world" it carries with it, appears ugly and repulsive to a romantic person. He knows that such persons are determined to shoehorn all of life's experience into the romantic view. Pirsig is capable of seeing the beauty of technology and feels good about mechanical work, where the goal is "to achieve an inner peace of mind". Zen and the Art demonstrates that motorcycle maintenance may be dull and tedious drudgery or an enjoyable and pleasurable pastime; it all depends on the inner attitude, or lack thereof.
Pirsig shows that rationality's pursuit of "Pure Truths" derives from the first Greek philosophers who were establishing the concept of truth, against the opposing force of "The Good". He argues that although rational thought may find truth (or The Truth) it may not be valid for all experiences. Therefore, what is needed is an approach to viewing life that is more varied and inclusive and has a wider range of application. He makes a thorough case that originally the Greeks did not distinguish between "Quality" and "Truth" – they were one and the same – and that the divorce was, in fact, artificial (though needed at the time) and is now a source of much frustration and unhappiness in the world, particularly overall dissatisfaction with modern life.
Pirsig aims towards a perception of the world that embraces both sides, the rational and the romantic. This means encompassing "irrational" sources of wisdom and understanding as well as science, reason and technology. In particular, this must include bursts of creativity and intuition that seemingly come from nowhere and are not (in his view) rationally explicable. Pirsig seeks to demonstrate that rationality and Zen-like "being in the moment" can harmoniously coexist. He suggests such a combination of rationality and romanticism can potentially bring a higher quality of life.

Abilene

Avril Lavigne
Huntington Drive
Prov. 4:18
"But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

Skateboarding
On the Edge
Chess: "Avril Lavigne" "Huntington Drive" "Drive" "DR" (4:18) (FDR) "Abilene"

Huntington Drive

Huntington Drive is a major east-west street in Southern California, United States. It runs from Mission Road near the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Los Angeles east through the El Sereno section of Los Angeles, South Pasadena, San Marino, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Arcadia, Monrovia, ending in Duarte. It is also known as Historic Route 66 east of its junction with Colorado Place in Arcadia, until its name changes to Foothill Boulevard at the San Gabriel River.

History

In 1901, Henry E. Huntington (nephew and heir to the fortune of Southern Pacific Railroad founder Collis P. Huntington) began the Pacific Electric Railway as a way to develop the lands surrounding Los Angeles. The main trunk line eastwards into the San Gabriel Valley passed to the south of Pasadena (with branch lines peeling off), skirting the line of hills just south of the San Gabriel Mountains. Huntington chose for himself a large tract of land on one of these hills (which on a clear day has a view of the ocean, 22 miles (35 km) distant). When automobile ownership rose in Southern California, this main line was converted into a wide divided highway, with four tracks running down the median. In 1925, Pacific Electric began converting its train lines into bus routes, cumulating in 1953, when the bulk of its routes were closed.

The Exodus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Exodus (Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, Standard Yetsi'at Mitzrayim Tiberian jəsʕijaθ misʕɾajim ; "the going out of Egypt"), is the term used for the escape, departure and emancipation of the enslaved Israelites freed from Ancient Egypt as described in the Hebrew Bible, mainly in the Book of Exodus.

The term is derived from the experience of the Israelites who are described as "וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, יֹצְאִים בְּיָד רָמָה" ("the children of Israel went out with a high hand" Exodus 14:8)^[1] and "הַיּוֹם, אַתֶּם יֹצְאִים, בְּחֹדֶשׁ, הָאָבִיב" ("This day you go forth in the month Abib." Exodus 13:4)^[2] The full term יציאת מצרים meaning "Exodus (Greek for 'departure') from Egypt" is used in the Passover Hagadah that was authored almost 2,000 years ago in the times of the Mishnah and is used in Jewish scholarship as in Maimonides' Mishneh Torah.^[3][4][5][6]

In the Hebrew Bible story, the Israelites were led by Moses and Aaron. The goal was to return to the Land of Israel where their forefathers had lived and which, according to Jewish lore, they had been promised by Yahweh. The Exodus forms the basis of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

To be or not to be

"Moab"
"Denmark"
"Kuna Yala"
"Shaquille O'Neal"
Psalm 60:8
" Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me."

 

A New Day

Creative Challenge Winner: Black History Month

Chess: "Factor" "Factorization" "Baptism" "Denmark" "Fruit Loops" "Sven Goran Eriksson" "Kuna Yala" "Cundinamarca" "Toucan Sam" "Shaquille O'neal"

News from the Library of Congress

February 11, 2009

Kuna Indians of Panama Subject of Symposium at the Library of Congress on Feb. 27

Known worldwide for their popular textiles, the colorful "molas" or clothing, the Kuna Indians live mainly in the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. Less well known is the rich history and oral tradition of this important Caribbean civilization.

The Library of Congress Hispanic Division, in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden and the University of Maryland, convenes a symposium, "The Kuna and Anthropology: A Century of Engagement," on Friday, February 27, from noon to 2 p.m. in the Mary Pickford Theater, third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington. D.C. The event is free and open to the public.

In 1931 Kuna Indian Rubén Pérez Kantule traveled to the Ethnographic Museum in Goteborg, Sweden, where he spent six months interpreting the Kuna collections and collaborating with anthropologist Erland Nordenskiold, who was a pioneer fieldworker in the modern tradition of social anthropology.

The fascinating Spanish-language diary kept by Kantule during his research is a sort of reverse ethnography, an Indian writing about the scientists in Sweden in their "museum village." Currently, the manuscript is being prepared for translation into English, as well as publication and digitization by a team of American and Swedish scholars.

Keynote speaker at the symposium is Kuna scholar James Howe, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who will discuss Kuna anthropology. Magnus Dahlbring, formerly with the World Cultures Museum in Goteborg, Sweden, will offer commentary. Tito Pérez Quintero, son of the late Kantule, participates in a panel discussion with Howe, Dahlbring, Janet Charnela of the University of Maryland and Edgardo Krebs of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, is the world’s preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled collections and integrated resources to Congress and the American people. Many of the Library’s rich resources and treasures may also be accessed through the Library’s Web site at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a new, personalized Web site at myLOC.gov.

The Hispanic Division, established in 1939, is the Library’s center for the study of the cultures and societies of Latin America, the Caribbean, the Iberian Peninsula and other areas where Spanish and Portuguese influences have been significant. The collections comprise more than 12 million items about the Luso-Hispanic world, including several hundred scholarly books and articles relating to the Kuna Indians. For more information about the Hispanic division visitwww.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/.

# # #

PR 09-026
02/11/09
ISSN 0731-3527

Eriksson:

An interesting addition: The Baron Erland Nordenskjold, of Goteburg University in Sweden, investigated and found that up to 80 commonly used Kuna words are either exactly or similar to ancient Norse. Some Kuna traditional historians make a link to the Vikings who may have visited the Kuna thousands of years ago.

Kuna (people)

Kuna or Cuna is the name of an indigenous people of Panama and Colombia. The spelling Kuna is currently preferred. In the Kuna language, the name is Dule or Tule, meaning "people," and the name of the language in Kuna is Dulegaya, meaning "people-talk."
The Kuna are often mistakenly identified as being related to the extinct Cundara people. They have some of the same traditions but have a totally different background.
The Kuna live in three politically autonomous comarcas or reservations in Panama, and in a few small villages in Colombia. There are also communities of Kuna people in Panama City, Colón, and other cities. The greatest number of Kuna people live on small islands in the comarca of Kuna Yala. The other two Kuna comarcas in Panama are Kuna de Madugandí and Kuna de Wargandí.
Kuna families are matrilinear and to some extent a matriarchy. After marriage, the bridegroom must live in his mother-in-law's house and work for his father-in-law.

Economy

The economy of Kuna Yala is based on agriculture and fishing, with a long tradition of international trade. Plantains, coconuts, and fish form the core of the Kuna diet, supplemented with imported foods, a few domestic animals, and wild game. Coconuts, called ogob in the Kuna language, and lobsters are the most important export products, and migrant labor and the sale of molas provide other sources of income. Most imported goods originate from Colombian ships and are sold in retail stores owned by Kuna people. Tourism is an important part of the economy in the Carti region, and abandoned goods from the drug trade provide occasional windfalls.
The Kuna are famous for their molas, a colorful textile art form made with the techniques of applique and reverse appliqué. Mola panels are used to make the blouses of the Kuna women's national dress, which is worn daily by many Kuna women. Mola means "clothing" in the Kuna language. The Kuna word for a mola blouse is Tulemola, (or "dulemola") "Kuna people's clothing."

History

The Kunas were living in what is now Colombia at the time of the Spanish invasion, and only later began to move westward towards what is now Kuna Yala. Centuries before the conquest, the Kunas arrived in South America as part of a Chibchan migration moving east from Central America. At the time of the Spanish invasion, they were living in the region of Uraba and near the borders of what are now Antioquia and Caldas. Alonso de Ojeda and Vasco Nunez de Balboa explored the coast of Colombia in 1500 and 1501. They spent the most time in the Gulf of Uraba, where they made contact with the Kunas.
In far Eastern Kuna Yala, the community of New Caledonia is near the site where Scottish explorers tried, unsuccessfully, to establish a colony in the "New World". The bankruptcy of the expedition was one of the causes of the loss of sovereignty over their own lands, to the British.
There is a wide consensus regarding the migrations of Kunas from Colombia and the Darien towards what is now Kuna Yala. These migrations were caused partly by wars with the Catio people, but some sources contend that they were mostly due by bad treatment by the Spanish invaders. The Kuna themselves attribute their migration to Kuna Yala to conflicts with the native peoples, and their migration to the islands to the excessive mosquito populations on the mainland.
During the first decades of the twentieth century, the Panamanian government attempted to suppress many of the traditional customs. This was bitterly resisted, culminating in a short-lived yet successful revolt in 1925, led by Iguaibilikinya Nele Kantule of Ustupu and a treaty in which the Panamanians agreed to give the Kuna some degree of cultural autonomy.

Albinism

he Kuna have a very high incidence rate of Albinism. In Kuna mythology, Albinos were given a special place.^[3] The Kuna Albinos are considered a special race of people, and have the specific duty of defending the Moon against a "dragon" which tries to eat it on occasion...the Eclipse. Only they are allowed outside on the night of an Eclipse and use specially made bows and arrows to shoot down the dragon. In the 1920s, an American adventurer explored the Kuna area looking for the albino indians. Richard Marsh also helped organize the Tule Revolution of 1925. He wrote about his adventures in a book.
An interesting addition: The Baron Erland Nordenskjold, of Goteburg University in Sweden, investigated and found that up to 80 commonly used Kuna words are either exactly or similar to ancient Norse. Some Kuna traditional historians make a link to the Vikings who may have visited the Kuna thousands of years ago.

Cape Hatteras

Black Eagle
Imperial
Psalm 2:8
"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."
8postula a me et dabo tibi gentes hereditatem tuam et possessionem tuam terminos terrae
проси у Меня, и дам народы в наследие Тебе и пределы земли во владение Тебе;

Bryce Canyon

Chess: "Black Eagle" Imperial" "Bryce Canyon" "Cape Hatteras" "Black Forest" "Schwarzwald"

Bryce Canyon National Park (pronounced /ˈbraɪs/) is a national park located in southwestern Utah in the United States. Contained within the park is Bryce Canyon. Despite its name, this is not actually a canyon, but rather a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce is distinctive due to its geological structures, called hoodoos, formed from wind, water, and ice erosion of the river and lakebed sedimentary rocks. The red, orange and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views to visitors. Bryce is at a much higher elevation than nearby Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon. The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000 feet (2,400 to 2,700 m), whereas the south rim of the Grand Canyon sits at 7,000 feet (2,100 m) above sea level.
The Bryce area was settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1850s and was named after Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded in the area in 1874.^[1] The area around Bryce Canyon became a U.S. National Monument in 1923 and was designated as a national park the next year. The park covers 56 square miles (145 km²) and receives relatively few visitors compared to Zion Canyon and the Grand Canyon, largely due to its remote location. The town of Kanab, Utah, is situated at a central point between these three parks.

Nights in Rodanthe's leads shine through thin plot

darthmary's Full Review: Nights in Rodanthe I’m not all that keen on romance flicks, but I do love movies which feature weather as one of the main characters whether it’s a hurricane, tornado, blizzard or even a swarm of locusts. And Nights in Rodanthe provides a strong dose of both. Though predictatable and somewhat cheesy in spots, the chemistry of its two leading actors and a stunning backdrop produced an ultimately enjoyable film. Not one that will resonate by the time you return to the parking lot to find your car but it's a pleasant enough viewing experience.

The story begins with both Adrienne and Paul running away from the stormy weather and turbulence in their own lives only to wind up on a seaside bed and breakfast hotel that literally sits in high tide with a major hurricane on the way. First, Adrienne (Diane Lane, in another strong performance) has to deal with a cheating husband (played by Law and Order: SVU’s Christopher Meroni who's too likable to be a cad) who wants to come crawling back and two kids who want their mother to take him back. Then she takes off for North Carolina to look after her best friend’s hotel and its one guest, who naturally is a great looking but troubled plastic surgeon named Paul.

Paul, played by the still absolutely delicious Richard Gere is running from the death of a patient that occurred at his hands to seek redemption from her grieving family who is suing him for malpractice. When he’s got those loose ends tidily wrapped up, he’s set to hop on a plane to Ecuador to retrieve his estranged physician son who’s set up a clinic down there. Or so he thinks.

As the film makes clear early on, things never work out the way they’re planned, but the more arduous and untidy road that’s less taken is ultimately much more redemptive and certainly more rewarding for the viewing audience. Gere and Lane of course put that undeniable chemistry that they had in their last film together, Unfaithful and get it on whether it’s through clinging to each other as the hurricane wreaks its fury, or dancing at the clam baking hoedown.

After a memorable weekend together, the kind that literally changes couple’s lives in cinema speak, they go their separate ways but keep in touch until fate sends them a heart-breaking curve ball. The film doesn’t flow quite as smoothly after the characters return to their lives which ultimately become shaped by their weekend together in ways neither anticipated until at movie’s end, there’s a reunion of sorts.

Lane shines in this film, as she does in nearly all of her films. Even without makeup and dressed down, she just glows and her performances including of stock characters have always injected them with a good dose of three-dimensional realism. She plays women that you can relate them even as she walks into plotlines like in this film that most women will never face.


Lane's scene late in the film with her rebellious teenage daughter (played smartly by Mae Whitman) deftly avoids the clichés that often shape movies about divorcing mothers and the daughters who view that act as a betrayal and is very moving. That's because she and Whitman understand what they're playing and hit that scene which closes the gap between them a little bit out of the ballpark.


Gere starts out the film a bit stiffly but that’s in character and relaxes as the movie goes on. His best roles involve playing morally ambiguous characters and Paul doesn’t quite fall into that category but he taps into the vulnerability of a man who’s at a cross-roads in the life he had clearly mapped out years ago.

The movie’s is a pretty honest adaptation of the novel written by the current king of romance (though he’s loathed to call himself a romance writer) Nicholas Sparks. Having read the book, the only major difference is that the movie’s follows a linear storyline not relying on splitting the story between two time frames.

And the house is simply beautiful (book me a room there, just not during hurricane season) and eclectic at the same time, surviving the hurricane and other forces of nature like a life-changing romance between two strangers who become soul mates just fine.

Recommended:
Yes

Movie Mood: Date Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
Source : Epinion
From wikipedia:
Nights in Rodanthe is a 2008 American/Australian film adaptation of the novel with the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane in their third screen collaboration after 2002's Unfaithful and The Cotton Club. The film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for "some sensuality" and was released on September 26, 2008. It was filmed in the small seaside village of Rodanthe, the northernmost village of the inhabited areas of Hatteras Island as well as Carolina Beach, North Carolina. The film's soundtrack features "Love Remains the Same", a song written by Gavin Rossdale for his 2008 debut solo album.

Plot

While picking up his son and daughter for a weekend visit, Jack (Christopher Meloni) tells his estranged wife Adrienne (Diane Lane) that he wants to move back home. Adrienne says she needs time and space to think. It is made clear that Jack left his family for another woman.
Adrienne drives to Rodanthe, North Carolina to a friend's bed and breakfast for the weekend. The house is rustic, romantic and right on the beach.
There is only one guest for the weekend, Paul (Richard Gere), a surgeon who arrives at the inn with his own emotional baggage. He has flashbacks of a surgery which ended tragically. The family of the patient is suing him.
A storm moves in and the two team up to protect the inn. They dine together, share stories and eventually turn to each other for emotional comfort. A tender romance starts. With Adrienne’s help, Paul faces the patient’s family and in doing so faces his own pain. The affection and love she shares with Paul renews Adrienne’s self-worth and confidence.
Paul leaves Rodanthe to fly to South America, where his estranged son Mark (James Franco) lives and practices medicine. Paul carries guilt for passing up a relationship with his son in favor of his career.
During their separation, Adrienne and Paul exchange letters, longing to be with each other. Unfortunately, Paul is killed in a mudslide before he is able to return to Adrienne, who meets Mark when he comes to deliver the news to her and to thank her for "giving me back my father."

Word

Fjord
Psalm 61:3
" For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy."




Red ivy decorated window.(Oslo,Norway)
Chess: "Goldsmith"

I love Brooke Madalyna!

San Valentín

Ame Rey Ka

Alas Ka
Psalm 61:4
"I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah."

Twin Hearts Stone Weir
Twin Hearts Stone Weir, used to catch fish, but now it becomes the most popular tourists spot in Peng Hu islands.
Chess: "Eagle" "W"

Double-Heart of Stacked Stones

The Double-heart of stacked stones or the Twin-Heart Fish Trap is a stone weir located on the north side of the island of Cimei, an island in the Penghu archipelago of Taiwan. It is a well preserved ancient fish trap made by stacking stones to form a trap that resembles a flying heart.^[1]