Beltane Fire Festival
Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic
Beltane or Beltain is the Gaelic May Day festival
It marked the beginning of summer and was when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops and people, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, and their flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around the bonfire, or between two bonfires, and sometimes leap over flames or embers. All household fires would be doused and then re-lit from the Beltane bonfire.
Doors, windows, byres and the cattle themselves would be decorated with yellow May flowers, perhaps because they evoked fire. In parts of Ireland, people would make a May Bush; a thorn bush decorated with flowers, ribbons and bright shells. Holy wells were also visited, while Beltane dew was thought to bring beauty and maintain youthfulness. Many of these customs were part of May Day or Midsummer festivals in other parts of Great Britain and Europe.
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Μια μικρή νίκη:
Σήμερα καταχωρήθηκαν ως προστατευόμενα στην Διεθνές Εμπόριο των Ειδών της Άγριας Πανίδας στο συνέδριο CITES που διοργανώνεται στη Ταϊλάνδη τα Manta Rays και 3 είδη καρχαρία.
Απο ολα τα είδη σαλαχιών τα Manta Rays είναι τα μεγαλύτερα, ίσως τα ομορφότερα και σίγουρα τα πιο ευάλωτα.
Η συχνότητα με την οποία αναπαράγονται, η καταστροφή των κοραλλιογενών υφάλων και η καινούργια αγορά των βραγχιακων πλακών τους ως τονωτικό (!) στην Κίνα τα έχει οδηγήσει στα όρια της εξαφάνισης.
more: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2013/03/sharks-and-manta-rays-earn-stronger-international-protection/
Photo: ” A manta ray glides over a boy in Lisbon Aquarium”
(Source: mavk.photoshelter.com)
An Oak circle standing in the middle of, ruined by 2007 wildfires Parnitha Natural Reserve, Attica Greece
Sun gives its last rays on Mt Penteli, melting the first snow on 08/01/2013 East Attica, Greece
This day, conveniently placed four days after Winter Solstice, is been known for centuries now as the birthday of Christ.
Whether true or not, the fact is that the sun is disinterestedly getting stronger, dispatching its first rays on 25/12/2012 at Schoinias, Greece
“Every day is Judgement Day. Always has been. Always will be.”
Στο μεταξύ, οι θερμοδυναμικές και κοσμολογικες δυνάμεις που αποτελούν τη βαση του “χρόνου” ακολουθούν ευθυμα τη σπειροειδή πορεία τους χωρις κανένα ιδιαίτερο προορισμό. Απλώς περιστρέφονται. Και ξαναπεριστρεφονται. Η ταξη επεκτείνεται για να γινει αταξία και συστέλλεται ξανά για να ξαναγίνει τάξη, με ενα ρυθμό τοσο απίστευτα αργό, που μας προκαλεί ανία και σύγχυση, σε εναν τέτοιο βαθμό, που να αναγκαζόμαστε να επινοούμε κάποιο τερματισμό μέσα στη ψυχή μας για αυτές τις ατέρμονες διαδικασίες.
― Tom Robbins, Skinny Legs and All
A homeless man begs for help next to a Christmas decorated shop in central Athens, Greece. 14/12/2012
Look up !
“Late summer nights laying out alone or with friends were the moments our lives took on idealized direction- goals and ambitions took root while wide eyed at the lights in the sky. We didn’t know it, but the crazy talk and thoughts wild with no limit in that big sky were our dreams forming.”
“…the sight of the stars makes me dream…”
Photo story on 500px by Ben Canales
http://500px.com/BenCanales/stories/64047
Free Way, 1937, by Dorothea Lange
This photograph shows two men walking down a dirt road, carrying luggage, passing a billboard that reads, “NEXT TIME TRY THE TRAIN RELAX Southern Pacific.” Approximately 2.5 million people abandoned their homes in the South and the Great Plains during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression years. It is doubtful that any of them had enough money to buy a ticket on the Southern Pacific and relax.
(Source: collectivehistory)
A small fishing boat waiting by Trichonida Lake, the largest natural, near Agrinio Greece
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Athenians giving tribute to the November 17 uprising in Polytechnic University - Images by Kostas Mav
Despite overwhelming police presence and closed metro stations, hundreds of people young & old attended the Polytechnic university in Athens to honor the 39th anniversary of students uprising against the US backed military Junta, in Athens, Greece.
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Wishing to wake up & open my eyes there.