Grand Forêt

A Path...

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:38:00 +0000

I just am figuring out about this chaplain thing, and maybe I've been called to do that, and it sort of doesn't seem real. But when I think back on the steps, it's eerie: like, I heard the "Fresh Air" interview with Dr Schwab the trauma surgeon, I was riveted and felt that I needed to leave my last job at a small, suburban women's college to pursue something more meaningful. I heard Al Gore and his "Inconvenient Truth", I read "Mountains beyond Mountains" in my book club, and I became radicalized.

I got this job, and at first lamented it, but have since realized that it affords me the opportunity and some time to take a class, if I set it up right, without taking too much time away from the fam. I started taking the class, and somehow got the immediate idea to shadow the chaplains. I have had an AMAZING experience with them and am basically feeling a call, and am now starting to plan out how I can do it: the masters and the lay chaplaincy.

So, this has been deferred for some time, but it's looped back to the topic that got me started on the path, AND it is using my strengths [all of this potentially]. So maybe it's all "in God's time". Happy Thanksgiving, ALL!

"Unbind him, and let him go"

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:33:00 +0000

As some of you know, I was recently at the funeral of a friend of mine, and while I mourned his passing, the words that the priest spoke during his homily helped me overcome another loss. The priest said, "we must forgive him for leaving us. He was struggling, suffering his own crucifixion. We need to forgive him, and let his soul go on." At those words I wept. They helped me so much. They put into perspective the struggle of my friend "James" who died, under similar circumstances, over 11 years ago now.

I didn't hear these words then, if they were even said. But now, they have helped me to deal with the loss of James. To let him go on, forgive him, and remember without devastation and fresh tears, what a great person he was before he left us.

The Sunday after the funeral, the Gospel reading at church was John 11:32-44, the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the tomb. If you have a moment, go read it, it's a powerful and moving story of loss, and recovery. Jesus' friend Lazarus was dead and buried, and Jesus raises him from the dead (a miracle). But what struck me, and has helped me SO MUCH were the last words that Jesus says to his friends in this little story:

"Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

I will unbind James, and let him go. I will keep my memories of him, but I will let go of my anger at him for leaving us all. I forgive him.

November 11th

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Whether you call it Armistice Day or Veteran's Day or Remembrance Day, today is a good day to remember soldiers and their sacrifices for our freedom.

I had never realized that there was a connection between Martin of Tours and Armistice day, until I just saw in the Wikipedia article on him that he was buried on November 11, 397. The day in the Church is called Martinmas, or Feast of St Martin, but it is apparently coincidence that these two share the same day. He was named Martin after Mars, the Roman god of War and is the patron saint of France and soldiers, and also conscientious objectors since he later went on to refuse to fight saying, "I am a soldier of Christ. I cannot fight." The article goes on to say:

While Martin was still a soldier at Amiens he experienced the vision that became the most-repeated story about his life. He was at the gates of the city of Amiens with his soldiers when he met a scantily dressed beggar. He impulsively cut his own military cloak in half and shared it with the beggar. That night he dreamed of Jesus wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. He heard Jesus say to the angels: "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clad me." (Sulpicius, ch 2). In another story, when Martin woke his cloak was restored, and the miraculous cloak was preserved among the relic collection of the Merovingian kings of the Franks.

The Wikipedia article also notes that the word "Chaplain" comes from the name and veneration of the cape he allegedly gave a beggar...after which he had a vision of Christ and became a Christian. "One of the many services a chaplain can provide is spiritual and pastoral support for military service personnel by performing religious services at sea or in the battlefield.^[7]"

I've been observing chaplains at the local hospital and am so amazed by their work and ministry. I'm thinking about it as a path for myself.... I think it's synchronicity that I am learning about all this today. I had never even heard of Martinmas until today.

Anyways, I want to say thank you to Veterans. Someone I know on Facebook said that "on 60 Minutes this Sunday, Andy Rooney said that as a Vet, he would like to work toward a Peace Day, because every single military death is a tragedy that person and his (and now her) loved ones. He said thank me by stopping the need for a Veteran's Day."

Extra Insight

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:12:00 +0000

I went to Ray's funeral today. It was a "good" one, by my standards. I thought the priest's homily was excellent, a good reminder about forgiveness. And helpful for me in my continuing struggle with another friend's death.

Anyways, I was reading my horoscope from Rob Brezsny for this week, and thought I'd share, it's very appropriate for me right now:

I hope you won't merely wander around the frontier. I hope you'll undertake a meticulous yet expansive exploration of that virgin territory. Here are some tips on how to proceed: 1. Formulate specific questions about what you're looking for. 2. Develop a hypothesis for the experiments you want to carry out. 3. Ignore what doesn't interest you and pounce only on what stirs your fascination. Halloween costume suggestion: an alien anthropologist visiting Earth from another planet; a time-traveler from the future who's doing a documentary on this historical moment; a religious pilgrim who's keeping a detailed journal.

I am listening to "Personal Jesus" right now as I type..... synchronicity??

P.S. Don't forget it's Daylight Savings time this weekend - Fall Back!

This Weekend, Folks

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:17:00 +0000

I was just wondering when it was time to reset the clocks, and now I know. h/t Jennifer. :)

Moxie's post for Ray

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Moxie's post today really moved me, so I'm going to quote some of it here:

Someone I loved and lost once told me, "It's no trick for God to work through someone perfect. The more broken you are, the more God shows his glory by shining through you." Whether you believe in a guiding force or not, the universe creates imperfection. You in all your weakness are exactly what we need.

Please stay. Even if you don't know how. Just keep getting up in the morning. Eat what you can. Drink water. Go to bed, even if you can't sleep. Go outside and turn your face to the sun. If you can, do this with Teresa for 3 minutes a few times a day. And tell someone how you feel. A friend. A stranger. Leave it in the comments here.
Don't go.
This post is for my friend Ray, who went.

My friend Moxie posted the above about our mutual friend Ray. Moxie is a fabulous woman, and fierce friend. What I love most about her blog posts is that she is thoughtful AND includes CONCRETE advice for how to get through the rough patches (see above).

At my college we had this comment board at the dining halls where you could put up suggestions or comments or whatever on napkins - often the closest piece of paper to hand while in the dining hall. I don't remember when I started doing this, but after reading many awful and negative flame wars on the napkin notes, I decided to ONLY post positive napkin notes. Like, "thanks for the yummy vegan chocolate cake, who knew it could be so delicious!?" I'm all about the positive feedback - life's too short not to tell people when they're doing a good job, or even "just" keepin' on keepin' on. I feel like I'm continuing the "napkin notes of life."

One of the things that sucks about death is that no matter what: you never know if people read the positive napkin notes, or whether they believed they were about them. But Moxie's quotation above is wonderful:

"It's no trick for God to work through someone perfect. The more broken you are, the more God shows his glory by shining through you."

Hang in there Moxie, and all who grieve for Ray. And all who struggle just to make it through.

Cool Grannies & Fifinella

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:51:00 +0000

"During World War II, a select group of young women pilots became pioneers, heroes, and role models...They were the Women Airforce Service Pilots, WASP, the first women in history trained to fly American military aircraft."

My friend's grandmother was one of these women.

"This official mascot was designed by Walt Disney for a proposed film (from Roahl Dahl's book, "The Gremlins". During WWII, the WASP asked for permission to use her as the official mascot and the Disney Company generously agreed. Official Fifinella 'went to war' and was worn in the form of patches. Some were leather, some were cloth...worn on WASP flight jackets."

She recently got a "Fifinella" tattoo. I'm not a tattoo gal, myslef, but this is SO awesome. I'm going to tell my daughters this story.

Blog Action Day [350.org]

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:30:00 +0000

350.org is the first large-scale grassroots global campaign against climate change. Its supporters include leading scientists, the governments of 92 countries, and a huge variety of environmental, health, development and religious NGOs. All
agree that current atmospheric levels of CO2 -- 390 parts per million -- are causing damage to the planet and to its most vulnerable people, and that government action at the United Nations Copenhagen climate conference is required to bring the earth's carbon level swiftly down to 350 ppm.

What is 350? 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Scientists measure carbon dioxide in "parts per million" (ppm), so 350 ppm is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. To get there, we need a different kind of PPM -- a "people powered movement" that is made of of people like you in every corner of the planet.

Go to 350.org for more info.

Autumn Meme etc.

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:10:00 +0000

I found this meme on the blog The Kitchen Door [thanks Charlotte for the link!] I love her "Prayer Request Wednesday" feature - check it out! Anyways, to the meme:

1. Share a Fall memory.
Of course jumping in a pile of leaves that my dad raked. Walking outside in the crisp air. Beautiful blue skies, orange leaves blowing in the breeze. Apple picking and eating. Waking up warm and cozy in bed.

2. Your favorite Fall clothes--(past or present)?
Warm sweaters. A gift from a friend of hand-me-down oxblood leather boots that go great with all my plaid skirts. Woolly tights.

3. Share a campfire story, song, experience...etc.
Not really a campfire song, but my college has a tradition of singing Greek hymns outside in candlelight in November. It's beautiful and haunting and amazing.

4. What is your favorite thing about this time of year?
I used to hate this time of year because I would always catch a cold that would last all winter. And I hated being cold all winter, with the snow and dreariness and all. But I have come to really appreciate fall for the beautiful season that it is. The colors and crispness of it all is overwhelming some days. In my household, everyone but me has their birthday in the fall, so it makes it a time of celebration. Plus we host Thanksgiving, and who doesn't love Halloween? I also think All Soul's Day is one of the most beautiful ideas out there, and so I try to create a WASPified Dia de los Muertos, if you can picture that. I plan to take the photos of the family members that have died and put them on the dining room table w/candles and then cook a big Mexican feast. Yummy.

5. What changes are you anticipating in your life, your church, family...whatever...as the season changes and winter approaches?
I am considering what becoming a chaplain would mean for me. How I would do it, how much schooling I would need, how I would do it w/my current life situation, etc. While I remember that my daughters are growing each and every day. I don't want to let that slip by in a cloud of busyness - where I don't recognize their awesomeness. [I didn't sign up for Moxie's Release the Yelling class, but hope to when I have more time/less insanity in my schedule.....]

Bonus: What food says "AUTUMN" at your house? Recipes always appreciated.
Pumpkin pie. I use the recipe on the Libby's can. It's the best.

* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 2 large eggs
* 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
* 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
* 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
* Whipped cream (optional)

For the Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:10:00 +0000

True Faith by New Order

WOW: That Rob Brezsny!

"Tenderness and rot / share a border," writes the U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan in one of her poems. "And rot is an / aggressive neighbor / whose iridescence / keeps creeping over." Your job in the coming week, Pisces, is to reinforce that border -- with a triple-thick wall, if necessary -- so that the rot cannot possibly ooze over and infect tenderness. It is especially important right now that the sweet, deep intimacy you dole out and stimulate will not get corrupted by falseness or sentimentality. I urge you to stir up the smartest affection you have ever created.

That's my horoscope for this week. Whew.

Have a good weekend, All!

Religious Art in the News

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:52:00 +0000

BREAKING:

Religious art in the news! I read about this first on the Huffington Post, which got the news from Mother Jones. The artist Jon McNaughton and his painting, "One Nation Under God" was "above the fold" on the Huffington Post this morning.

I finally got to the artist's website to take a look but wasn't able to use the roll-over feature to identify the people in the painting - I think it's overwhelmed by hits.

I don't agree with McNaughton's politics, and I'm always a little suspicious when artists try to conflate religion and politics - but it happens a lot. He's chosen a scene which he is hoping will visually spread his beliefs. That's what I like about religious art - the use of symbols to get ideas across.

He's heavy handed in this case, and McNaughton uses words to describe the message of the image, which also waters it down (imo). The painting feels pedantic to me. I don't think it's as successful as other political uses of the image of Jesus because of all his explication.

But, it's exciting to see religious art make news!

Klimt for a beautiful Fall day

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:25:00 +0000

What a beautiful image. Just perfect for a gorgeous fall day.

As many of you know, I am truly inspired by Terry's blog Idle Speculations (where this image is from). You gotta check it out if you like Christian religious art. Lots of research goes into each post. As ever, keep up the great work, Terry!

Cool Architectural Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:41:00 +0000

I don't know if this really counts as religious art, but it certainly is a cool idea. bldgblog featured the work of Yousef Al-Mehdari, an architecture student as part of an upcoming exhibition at the dreamspace gallery in London.

The work reminds me of the Alhambra, in Spain - gorgeous. And, since I've seen the "anatomy" exhibit of Dr. Gunther Von Haagens' "Bodyworlds," I can appreciate the link bldgblog is making. As ever, keep up the great work!

The inscription reads - "There is no other help than the help that comes from God, the clement and merciful One."

Synchronicity

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:11:00 +0000

OK, people, bear with me here - I am sort of rocked by the synchronicity of the universe right now.

So this past Sunday at church, we heard readings from James (The Prayer of Faith 5:13-20) and the Gospel of Mark (9:38-50), and our Rector, Jim, spoke about the "main ideas" he took away from the readings and how to incorporate them into our lives. I am going to try to paraphrase. Because I feel like "it all makes sense"and I'm having an "aha" moment. Fr. Jim spends a lot of his sermons talking about how God loves us, and wants us to do God's work in the world to bring us closer to God.

13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. [James 5]

Fr Jim talked at length about how important prayer is, and how it really can help the sick and suffering among us. At our church we have a lay person (a massage therapist in the workaday world) who offers unction each week. This is a pretty unique aspect to this church and something I have come to really respect and admire. Many members of the congregation go to her each week and have "laying on of hands" to feel better.

And then he related the reading from James to the Gospel [Mark 9]:

38"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us." 39"Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40for whoever is not against us is for us. 41I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. 42"And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.[c] 45And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.[d] 47And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'[e] 49Everyone will be salted with fire. 50"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."

He admitted, as will I, that this message in the Gospel is not an easy one for many liberal Christians to hear because many of us do not believe in a hell full of fire and brimstone. We think (or I'll say I) I think hell is when we remove ourselves from God's presence, and engage in destructive (bad) behavior that hurts ourselves and others. That by NOT participating in prayer and by putting oneself away from God's love, that is sin. And that THOSE are the flames that eat at us. He talked about us being salted with fire.

I was sitting next to Josiah, who suffers from arthritis, and as Fr. Jim was speaking, I got a sense of Josiah's "inflammation" in his body, like his body is "salted with fire." And I prayed for him.

[I sometimes feel awkward about prayer - like me "just talking with God" doesn't really cut it. That I need to find someone else's words to "make it count."] So, I went online and I looked up St James the Greater (who is the one who wrote the letter above) and found this prayer:

Prayer to Saint James the Greater*

O Glorious Saint James, because of your fervor and generosity Jesus chose you to witness his glory on the Mount and his agony in the Garden. Obtain for us strength and consolation in the unending struggles of this life. Help us to follow Christ constantly and generously, to be victors over all our difficulties, and to receive the crown of glory in heaven. Amen.

That's beautiful. All of us struggle from time to time.

And then I found out that St James is the "patron saint of rheumatoid sufferers." Holy Synchronicity, Batman!

"Help us to follow Christ constantly and generously, to be victors over all our difficulties, and to receive the crown of glory in heaven. Amen."

* I'm not sure I believe fully in the idea that one should pray to saints as intermediaries. I was raised to believe that Jesus is the sole intermediary for us, that he is the one to pray to. BUT, the idea of the saints is appealing to me, and it "makes sense" to me too. And the idea that in their human lives, these saintly people understood people with similar concerns and could advocate for them, I love that! I still want to make the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, now more than ever.

St John's Bible - I saw it!

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:14:00 +0000

So, Everybody, I got to see the St John's Bible at Old St George's Church in Philly today. It was AWESOME. This Bible version contains the 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Lukle & John) plus Acts (the Acts of the Apostles, which people believe was written by the same writer as the author of Luke). All of the calligraphy was done by hand - by 5 writers. The artwork was done by 18 artists.

It's funny - it's a big red book, much like what I imagine Carl Jung's, Liber Novus, would look like. The images are so beautiful. There are several botanical or Audubon-esque figures of birds and insects. But some of my favorites were icons. Other favorites were very modern images - amalgams of symbols from the gospel stories in gold leaf and strong colors. I urge you to try to see the book if you can - it was free here in Philadelphia.

You can also see reproductions of the art, and buy note cards, etc. of some of the more striking artwork within. Some of my favorites from today were some of the Hymns from Luke, and the icons. The volunteer who was turning pages for me and La Prima as we looked at the book, agreed with me that one of the characters represented in one of the most striking icons (I think it was of the Last Supper*) was Rumi. I love that thought. Beautiful work.

* UPDATE: Upon further reflection, I think the image was of "The Great Commission" of Pentecost. An even more beautiful thought!

Carl Jung

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:54:00 +0000

I have been a fan of Carl Jung's since high school. I am so psyched to see this book! It looks amazing. The NYT article is pretty good. The quotation below is from the article, and is a quote from Jung who was speaking to a patient of his:

“I should advise you to put it all down as beautifully as you can — in some beautifully bound book,” Jung instructed. “It will seem as if you were making the visions banal — but then you need to do that — then you are freed from the power of them. . . . Then when these things are in some precious book you can go to the book & turn over the pages & for you it will be your church — your cathedral — the silent places of your spirit where you will find renewal. If anyone tells you that it is morbid or neurotic and you listen to them — then you will lose your soul — for in that book is your soul.”

Last Night on TV

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:01:00 +0000

On my friend Marie's suggestion I watched "Lewis" last night. I was only impressed by the last 15 seconds of the show. She also rated last night's episode a "B-/C+". Much more to her liking is the episode, "Life Born of Fire", which I will hold out for before I pass judgement on the series as a whole.

Anyway, after that there was a brief food/travelogue show on called, "Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie" which was featuring Turkish food, and the breaking of the fast, or Iftar, in Istanbul ["Turkey: Iftar in Istanbul"]. WOW! Now, I LOVE Turkish food. And watching this show was like a dream. The food looked amazing. And seeing Istanbul on TV, in all its glory - being able to show Josiah what I've been talking about all these years - was a real treat! It made us vow to get there as soon as physically possible. Yummy food too!

Here's the blurbage from the website:

Travel to Istanbul, an ancient Turkish city with a culinary past that weaves its way through the Byzantine, Roman, and Ottoman empires. During the holy month of Ramadan, locals fast from sunrise to sunset. Join a food author for the Iftar meal, the traditional feast when the fast is broken. Visit the famed 150-year-old bakery that makes Turkish flatbread pide, a mainstay of the Iftar, in a time-consuming, authentically traditional way. Discover the beauty of güllaç, a multilayered dessert studded with pistachios and pomegranates, and meet a family that has perfected the art of making Turkish delight, an early ancestor of the jellybean. In the Gourmet test kitchen, executive editor John “Doc” Willoughby prepares spicy grilled köfte, a Turkish street-food favorite that gets its irresistible flavor from a unique blend of spices.

George Krause's Work - Haunting

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:55:00 +0000

I just found out about George Krause on Morbid Anatomy. These are exactly the kinds of statues that I responded to SO much during my trip to Mexico.

He responds to the emotional-ness of the works as much as I do, read below:

More about the series, from his website:
"Saints and Martyrs pays homage to the anonymous artisans who fashioned the statues...These sculptures transcend most folk art," (Krause) says. 'They are not conceptually motivated. The sculptor felt the suffering, and it allowed him to create something beyond himself and beyond the repetitive forms usually handed down among folk artists. I am responding to the artisan's passion and his unique vision."
George Krause, A Retrospective, Anne W. Tucker

It's great, and more than a little creepy. Beautifully emotional.

Rumor: New New Moon Poster

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:36:00 +0000

Rumor has it this is the new New Moon poster:

Nice, right!?

John Paul Jones

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:11:00 +0000

A friend of mine just shared this youtube video with me - it's pretty funny (contains explicit lyrics but otherwise SFW).

John Paul Jones [not the drummer] is the one who said, "We have not yet begun to fight!" which is the rallying cry I am trying to co-opt for the Environmental movement. Not too much success yet, but it's early going. Check out the "Serapis" flag.

Kismet

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:19:00 +0000

I seriously DO love the web. There is so much synchronicity that is proved to me, almost daily, that I am amazed.

Anyway, I went to one of my favorite blogs this morning, bldgblog, and saw this post about the "Landscapes of Quarantine" show announced by the blogger:

Quarantine is both an ancient spatial practice and a state of monitored isolation, dating back at least to the Black Death – if not to Christ's 40 days in the desert – yet it has re-emerged today as an issue of urgent biological, political, and even architectural importance in an era of global tourism and flu pandemics.

Quarantine touches on serious constitutional issues associated with involuntary medical isolation, as well as on questions of governmental authority, regional jurisdiction, and the limits of inter-state cooperation. Quarantine is as much a matter of national security, public safety, and agricultural biodiversity as it is an entry point into discussions of race, purity, and unacknowledged discrimination.

And when I went to religious imagery in culture the topic of their most recent post was called "exclusion" which is where I found the image (above) by Will Govus. It's a great photo - why are the surveillance cameras there??

Cool, right!?! Those of you who know me, know how much I love the liturgical season of Lent. But I had never really thought of Jesus' 40 days in the desert as a self-imposed quarantine. Which makes me think about not only the fast, but the idea of quarantine all the more. For those who haven't read it, I recommend Daniel Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year". Not as great as Moll Flanders (imo), but a great description of the need for effective quarantines.

Under the Hagia Sophia

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:12:00 +0000

Found this link in my daily blog-reading and am amazed [thanks bldgblog for your awesomeness, as always!]. It just sounds SO COOL! Like Jacques Cousteau meets Indiana Jones. Or Steve Zissou!

Anyway, on one of my visits to Turkey, we stumbled across an excavated-but-abandoned archaeological site which had been flooded. The doorway arches loomed out of the water, and frogs were splashing around. I felt like I'd found Atlantis or something. But tunnels under the Hagia Sophia sounds so Byzantine!! [get it?]

I can't find the upcoming film of the expeditions at the site on IMDB yet, but according to the Hürriyet article,

His 50-minute documentary, “Ayasofya’nın Derinliklerinde” (In the Depths of Hagia Sophia), will compete at international festivals starting in the fall.

"St John's Bible" Event

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:16:00 +0000

I just found out about an upcoming event at St George's Church in Philadelphia.

September 26, 2009, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. the St John's Bible will be on display as part of St George's 3rd Annual "Smithsonian Museum Day."

You can go here for more details, but this is from the press release:

For the third year in a row, St. George’s is participating in the Smithsonian Museum Day, welcoming the community to our museum. Special exhibit includes the Heritage facsimile edition of the new illuminated masterpiece, the St. John’s Bible. Thanks to Donald Jackson, the artistic director of the original manuscript, the Heritage Edition is a work of art in its own right. Leading manuscript experts recognize it as the highest quality reproduction ever made. Commissioned by Saint John’s Abbey and University, The Saint John’s Bible is a contemporary work created in the tradition of handwritten medieval manuscripts. The Artistic Director of the project, Donald Jackson, is one of the world’s foremost Western calligraphers and Senior Scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Crown Office at the House of Lords. During the past eleven years, Jackson has worked in rural Wales, with scribes and artists to write and illuminate The Saint John’s Bible entirely by hand, using quills and paints hand ground from precious minerals and stones such as lapis lazuli, vermilion, malachite, silver, copper, and 24-karat gold. To learn more, please visit www.saintjohnsbible.org.

I hope to see some of you there!

LA Poretentosa Vida de la Muerte

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:57:00 +0000

One of my new favorite blogs is "Morbid Anatomy". They recently had a guest post by Salvador Olguin who had recently given a lecture which they attended:

One of the most interesting things Olguin touched on in his lecture was a book I had never heard of: the fantastically illustrated (see above) La Portentosa Vida de la Muerte (The Astounding Life of Death). This book--a kind of whimsical and irreverent life history of Death in the form of a woman--was published in Mexico in the 18th Century and was, as he explains, highly influential in Mexican culture.... [click here to read more!]

The images that accompany the post are all from La Portentosa..., and remind me A LOT of images from the Tarot, which, according to lore, was coming into being in the late 15th Century. Though, the Tarot supposedly follows the "life of the Fool". Fascinating. I will look for this book in the library.

New John the Baptist Icon

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Big Woods) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:33:00 +0000

The site religious imagery in culture has been blowing me away recently with their posts. This image they found at Carioca Studio. Go check out the "Work" section, under Icons, and you'll find more beautiful images, including one, of (I think) Mary Magdalene, my other favorite saint.

Amazing work!