SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT..
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Happy Winter Solstice! Blessings of the Season to all!!
The December solstice will occur at 17:47 (or 5.47pm) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on December 21, 2009. It is also known as the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere due to the seasonal differences. Its date varies from December 20 to December 23 depending on the year in the Gregorian calendar.
The December Solstice Explained:
The December solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, it is when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. Depending on the Gregorian calendar, the December solstice occurs annually on a day between December 20 and December 23. On this date, all places above a latitude of 66.5 degrees north are now in darkness, while locations below a latitude of 66.5 degrees south receive 24 hours of daylight.
The sun is directly overhead on the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere during the December solstice. It also marks the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours for those living south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Those living or travelling south from the Antarctic Circle towards the South Pole will see the midnight sun during this time of the year.
On the contrary, for an observer in the northern hemisphere, the December solstice marks the day of the year with the least hours of daylight for those living north of the Tropic of Cancer. Those living or traveling north of the Arctic Circle towards the North Pole will not be able to see the sun during this time of the year.
The December solstice will occur at 17:47 (or 5.47pm) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on December 21, 2009. It is also known as the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere due to the seasonal differences. Its date varies from December 20 to December 23 depending on the year in the Gregorian calendar.
The December Solstice Explained:
The December solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, it is when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. Depending on the Gregorian calendar, the December solstice occurs annually on a day between December 20 and December 23. On this date, all places above a latitude of 66.5 degrees north are now in darkness, while locations below a latitude of 66.5 degrees south receive 24 hours of daylight.
The sun is directly overhead on the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere during the December solstice. It also marks the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours for those living south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Those living or travelling south from the Antarctic Circle towards the South Pole will see the midnight sun during this time of the year.
On the contrary, for an observer in the northern hemisphere, the December solstice marks the day of the year with the least hours of daylight for those living north of the Tropic of Cancer. Those living or traveling north of the Arctic Circle towards the North Pole will not be able to see the sun during this time of the year.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
"I know I told this story last Thanksgiving but every year I am reminded of it. I'd like to start a blog tradition by posting this again:
Every Thanksgiving Day I think of the special Thanksgiving Day in 1982. I was in Pakistan, part of a 40 country trip that I took for the USIA (United States Information Agency). President Zia had arranged for me to meet with refugees from Afghanistan on the border of the Khyber Pass. We sat on the ground with elders of an Afghan tribe. Gunfire could be heard across the border in Afghanistan. We were all eating with our fingers out of a common bowl. Through the interpreter, I told them, "In my country, today is Thanksgiving Day, one day every year that we set aside to give thanks for all that we have in life."
The leader of the elders, a man with a long white beard, nodded his head. Through the interpreter he said, "In my country, we give thanks every day."
That humbled me. But I learned that every Thanksgiving Day should remind us to find something to be thankful for each day of the year. Of course, in these hard times it is difficult but we must try. We must try."
~ Kirk Douglas, quote, November 25th, 2009
Every Thanksgiving Day I think of the special Thanksgiving Day in 1982. I was in Pakistan, part of a 40 country trip that I took for the USIA (United States Information Agency). President Zia had arranged for me to meet with refugees from Afghanistan on the border of the Khyber Pass. We sat on the ground with elders of an Afghan tribe. Gunfire could be heard across the border in Afghanistan. We were all eating with our fingers out of a common bowl. Through the interpreter, I told them, "In my country, today is Thanksgiving Day, one day every year that we set aside to give thanks for all that we have in life."
The leader of the elders, a man with a long white beard, nodded his head. Through the interpreter he said, "In my country, we give thanks every day."
That humbled me. But I learned that every Thanksgiving Day should remind us to find something to be thankful for each day of the year. Of course, in these hard times it is difficult but we must try. We must try."
~ Kirk Douglas, quote, November 25th, 2009
"I cannot forgive the way he treated Charlton Heston. Even if I don't agree with much of Heston's politics, Chuck is a gentleman. He agreed to have an interview with Moore, and Moore took advantage of the situation and made Chuck look foolish. He had been invited to Heston's home and he was treated with courtesy. I winced when I saw the expression on Chuck's face change as he realized that he had been duped. And yet he remained a gentleman and dismissed the interloper with grace."
~ Kirk Douglas speaking out regarding Charlton Heston's appearance in Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine, 2002.
~ Kirk Douglas speaking out regarding Charlton Heston's appearance in Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine, 2002.
Hanukkah Blessings to Everyone!!
Hanukkah is a much celebrated annual Jewish Festival which begins on the 25th day of the third month (Kislev) of Jewish calendar. According to Georgian calendar the festival is celebrated in the months of November-December. This festival, also called the ‘Festival of Lights’ is celebrated for eight successive days and nights. The Jewish festival has an interesting history. The History of Hanukkah dates back to 2nd century BC, when Antiochus IV Epiphanies, the Greek king was the overlord of Palestine and Syria. The festival honors the rededication of the ‘Temple of Jerusalem’ (Temple of Menorah) by the great Judas McCabe in 165 BC.
Hanukkah means ‘dedication’ in Jewish. The king Antiochus banned Jewish rituals and ordered all Jews to worship the Greek Gods. The holy Temple of Menorah (candelabra) in Jerusalem was in devastating condition under the Greek Lordship. There was constant rebellion by Jews against the aggression of Greek King and his atrocities.
The rebellion has a sudden outburst in a small village called Median near Jerusalem when a General and his soldiers were killed by Jewish Head Priest called Mattathias and his sons. Later on one of his five sons, Judah Maccabee took the charge and stormed the establishment of the Greeks in some parts of Jerusalem. In 165 BC Judah and his men were successful in getting hold of their ‘Holy Temple Menorah”. They were much saddened at the condition of the temple and missing elements including the golden menorah. They cleaned the temple premises and repaired themselves. When they were finished they decided to have a dedication ceremony and fixed the 25th day of Kislev.
They lit the whole temple as a dedication to the worship of Zeus. To light the temple Judah and his men required oil. They searched for oil everywhere and at last found a little flask that had sufficient oil to light the menorah for one day. But miraculously the oil ended for eight days. By this time they could manage more oil and keep the menorah lit. This event is remarkable in history which led to a celebration and a tradition. Hence forth Jewish celebrated the festival of Hanukkah lighting candles or lamps in a menorah for eight days. (The oil lasted miraculously for eight days.) Today, it is a much awaited festival among the Jewish people.
This interesting history of Hanukkah has many faces. Different historians have different theories and arguments. There is a lesser known history of Judith, a widow who beheaded the general of Greek soldiers Holofernes, after she had plied him with enough cheese and wine until he was into a drunken state of unconsciousness. History is like that ever! It is written and re-written.
The tradition of getting gifts on each day of the eight day celebrations of Hanukkah is a recent business. It is believed that since Christians exchange gifts at Christmas, Jewish too started the tradition of exchanging gifts other than coins at Hanukkah. Traditional foods consumed during the festival are mostly fried in oil which is again symbolic to the miraculous oil that lasted for eight days.
Hanukkah is a much celebrated annual Jewish Festival which begins on the 25th day of the third month (Kislev) of Jewish calendar. According to Georgian calendar the festival is celebrated in the months of November-December. This festival, also called the ‘Festival of Lights’ is celebrated for eight successive days and nights. The Jewish festival has an interesting history. The History of Hanukkah dates back to 2nd century BC, when Antiochus IV Epiphanies, the Greek king was the overlord of Palestine and Syria. The festival honors the rededication of the ‘Temple of Jerusalem’ (Temple of Menorah) by the great Judas McCabe in 165 BC.
Hanukkah means ‘dedication’ in Jewish. The king Antiochus banned Jewish rituals and ordered all Jews to worship the Greek Gods. The holy Temple of Menorah (candelabra) in Jerusalem was in devastating condition under the Greek Lordship. There was constant rebellion by Jews against the aggression of Greek King and his atrocities.
The rebellion has a sudden outburst in a small village called Median near Jerusalem when a General and his soldiers were killed by Jewish Head Priest called Mattathias and his sons. Later on one of his five sons, Judah Maccabee took the charge and stormed the establishment of the Greeks in some parts of Jerusalem. In 165 BC Judah and his men were successful in getting hold of their ‘Holy Temple Menorah”. They were much saddened at the condition of the temple and missing elements including the golden menorah. They cleaned the temple premises and repaired themselves. When they were finished they decided to have a dedication ceremony and fixed the 25th day of Kislev.
They lit the whole temple as a dedication to the worship of Zeus. To light the temple Judah and his men required oil. They searched for oil everywhere and at last found a little flask that had sufficient oil to light the menorah for one day. But miraculously the oil ended for eight days. By this time they could manage more oil and keep the menorah lit. This event is remarkable in history which led to a celebration and a tradition. Hence forth Jewish celebrated the festival of Hanukkah lighting candles or lamps in a menorah for eight days. (The oil lasted miraculously for eight days.) Today, it is a much awaited festival among the Jewish people.
This interesting history of Hanukkah has many faces. Different historians have different theories and arguments. There is a lesser known history of Judith, a widow who beheaded the general of Greek soldiers Holofernes, after she had plied him with enough cheese and wine until he was into a drunken state of unconsciousness. History is like that ever! It is written and re-written.
The tradition of getting gifts on each day of the eight day celebrations of Hanukkah is a recent business. It is believed that since Christians exchange gifts at Christmas, Jewish too started the tradition of exchanging gifts other than coins at Hanukkah. Traditional foods consumed during the festival are mostly fried in oil which is again symbolic to the miraculous oil that lasted for eight days.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Eid al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice is the most important feast of the Muslim calendar. It concludes the Pilgrimmage to Mecca. Eid al-Adha lasts for three days and commemorates Ibraham's (Abraham) willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son. Muslims believe the son to be Ishmael rather than Isaac as told in the Old Testament. Ishmael is considered the forefather of the Arabs. According to the Qur'an, Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead.
The feast re-enacts Ibrahim's obedience by sacrificing a cow or ram. The family eats about a third of the meal and donates the rest to the poor.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Explore Park behind schedule -- again
Developer Larry Vander Maten has asked for an extra year to gather more money for a makeover.
By, Mason Adams
Roanoke Times, November 18th, 2009
Developer Larry Vander Maten said Tuesday that Wall Street's "spigot is off" for financing and he's therefore unlikely to make a June 2010 deadline to break ground on a proposed $200 million makeover of Explore Park.
He therefore asked for another year -- the latest of several such requests -- to give him time to find the money necessary to begin construction on a resort intended to draw tourists from Washington, D.C., and provide an economic development boon for the Roanoke Valley.
The Florida-based developer has a 99-year lease to develop his "Blue Ridge America" plan on the 1,100-acre Explore Park property. He said he has spent about $1.5 million so far -- most of it on consultants -- but said Tuesday that "there simply ... is no capital funding available to anybody anywhere."
Vander Maten's contract with the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority, which oversees the park, requires that he break ground by June 13, 2010, or his lease expires.
"The economy stinks, as we all know," Vander Maten told the authority's board. "The bottom line is -- I can say in my opinion with 90 percent certainty -- in the next six months there isn't going to be anything that's going to change that would all of a sudden enable me to start this project."
A year's extension on the deadline to begin construction, he said, would allow him more time to find financing while also giving the board more time to explore other options.
The authority has put together an economic-development consortium to develop a backup plan, but the group is only in the early stages of developing a master plan for the site. And Vander Maten said that if his proposal can't draw capital funding, other plans won't either.
"The funding is just not available for something like this," Vander Maten said. "It may not be available, quite frankly, for another year or two years."
Related
* Nov. 18: Vander Maten determined to bring Ukrainian girls back to U.S.
The board won't make any decision until January at the earliest. It has three options: extend Vander Maten's lease as-is, let it expire, or negotiate a new lease.
"I really want to hear what the other board members say," longtime board member Barry Baird said. "I don't want to use the word 'factions,' but there's people who are pro-VLH-approach [Virginia Living Histories, Vander Maten's group], and others who say, 'If this isn't going to work, we need to be looking down the road.' We all need to get together and think on where we want to go as a board."
Former Roanoke County administrator and board member Elmer Hodge said he was inclined to use the delay as leverage to build more requirements into Vander Maten's contract, while at the same time pursuing other options.
"That way we really aren't limiting ourselves," Hodge said. "At this point I'm interested in seeing both go forward in parallel to see which is going to be the better alternative for us."
In particular, Hodge said he'd like to see more public access and more detail on the path of a proposed greenway through the site.
Even in good economic times, the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority board would face a difficult challenge in looking for ways to make the Explore Park land profitable.
During another portion of Tuesday's meeting, Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Phil Francis was asked during his keynote speech how many commercially leased sites on the parkway are profitable. Only one, he replied: the Pisgah Inn, near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The rest, Francis said, run in the red.
Francis also weighed in with his own opinion on what Explore Park should become: "We would hope that whatever you decide to do would incorporate the values that are consistent with those values that have made these mountain regions so attractive and important. That is not telling you specifically what to do but maybe tells you a bit about what characteristics it should have.
"That's one opinion. And it was a free one, too."
Developer Larry Vander Maten has asked for an extra year to gather more money for a makeover.
By, Mason Adams
Roanoke Times, November 18th, 2009
Developer Larry Vander Maten said Tuesday that Wall Street's "spigot is off" for financing and he's therefore unlikely to make a June 2010 deadline to break ground on a proposed $200 million makeover of Explore Park.
He therefore asked for another year -- the latest of several such requests -- to give him time to find the money necessary to begin construction on a resort intended to draw tourists from Washington, D.C., and provide an economic development boon for the Roanoke Valley.
The Florida-based developer has a 99-year lease to develop his "Blue Ridge America" plan on the 1,100-acre Explore Park property. He said he has spent about $1.5 million so far -- most of it on consultants -- but said Tuesday that "there simply ... is no capital funding available to anybody anywhere."
Vander Maten's contract with the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority, which oversees the park, requires that he break ground by June 13, 2010, or his lease expires.
"The economy stinks, as we all know," Vander Maten told the authority's board. "The bottom line is -- I can say in my opinion with 90 percent certainty -- in the next six months there isn't going to be anything that's going to change that would all of a sudden enable me to start this project."
A year's extension on the deadline to begin construction, he said, would allow him more time to find financing while also giving the board more time to explore other options.
The authority has put together an economic-development consortium to develop a backup plan, but the group is only in the early stages of developing a master plan for the site. And Vander Maten said that if his proposal can't draw capital funding, other plans won't either.
"The funding is just not available for something like this," Vander Maten said. "It may not be available, quite frankly, for another year or two years."
Related
* Nov. 18: Vander Maten determined to bring Ukrainian girls back to U.S.
The board won't make any decision until January at the earliest. It has three options: extend Vander Maten's lease as-is, let it expire, or negotiate a new lease.
"I really want to hear what the other board members say," longtime board member Barry Baird said. "I don't want to use the word 'factions,' but there's people who are pro-VLH-approach [Virginia Living Histories, Vander Maten's group], and others who say, 'If this isn't going to work, we need to be looking down the road.' We all need to get together and think on where we want to go as a board."
Former Roanoke County administrator and board member Elmer Hodge said he was inclined to use the delay as leverage to build more requirements into Vander Maten's contract, while at the same time pursuing other options.
"That way we really aren't limiting ourselves," Hodge said. "At this point I'm interested in seeing both go forward in parallel to see which is going to be the better alternative for us."
In particular, Hodge said he'd like to see more public access and more detail on the path of a proposed greenway through the site.
Even in good economic times, the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority board would face a difficult challenge in looking for ways to make the Explore Park land profitable.
During another portion of Tuesday's meeting, Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Phil Francis was asked during his keynote speech how many commercially leased sites on the parkway are profitable. Only one, he replied: the Pisgah Inn, near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The rest, Francis said, run in the red.
Francis also weighed in with his own opinion on what Explore Park should become: "We would hope that whatever you decide to do would incorporate the values that are consistent with those values that have made these mountain regions so attractive and important. That is not telling you specifically what to do but maybe tells you a bit about what characteristics it should have.
"That's one opinion. And it was a free one, too."
