tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76089428147360479832023-11-16T05:27:41.926-08:00MelnaysJānis-BlackJohnE Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-48069561651077216712014-02-21T07:27:00.000-08:002014-02-21T07:30:05.050-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A worthwhile map of the forest cover of our planet.<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24934790">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24934790</a><br />
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However, there should be a like map for the loss of wild-life. With deforestation comes a dramatic loss of animal habitat.<br />
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Moreover, I would like to know what effects the 'thinning' of a forest has on animal life. In my area (norwestern Latvia) many forests are thinned and the brush turned into mulch from which brickettes for heating are made of. This leaves many a 'forest' with a see-through floor that can hardly be counted as a wild life hiding place.<br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Saw Cross <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprf1X0bmSUxEx1EOsoOFLVYcnrG2FEqhuGVCcHTOTINFMg1T2T-PDHi5Qis3nCWIHfIE0mtEoKIN51O7Kn87xQuT4mA4Y-PiTDiR2k3G-gl98XvFASWLhOrCFRQzHvwp3SYB4R1SClAlB/s220-h/DSCF7743.JPG">https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprf1X0bmSUxEx1EOsoOFLVYcnrG2FEqhuGVCcHTOTINFMg1T2T-PDHi5Qis3nCWIHfIE0mtEoKIN51O7Kn87xQuT4mA4Y-PiTDiR2k3G-gl98XvFASWLhOrCFRQzHvwp3SYB4R1SClAlB/s220-h/DSCF7743.JPG</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-75239226482487547432013-01-14T01:18:00.001-08:002013-01-14T01:24:25.791-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">O</span></strong>ne of the most common responses to my complaints about the desertification of the land is: "But the trees, once grown, need to be culled in any case." The answer is indicative of the nature of the "soul" of our contemporary human being who has gone through several brain washings administered by the sandpaper of our urban environment.</span><br />
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #fce5cd;">The answer also shows a creature of no concern for <em>wild life</em> and the thousands of life forms that make wood their home. It is also a portrayal of a creature that has become so used to living in an urban desert that he-she no longer knows how to differentiate between <em>an environment that is by its nature alive</em> and an environment that by its nature is dead. The latter mindset is captured in the following link of paintings in which the forest has been removed.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-21005725"><span style="color: #fce5cd;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-21005725</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #fce5cd;">This writer has struggled for many years to tell his world-view and perspective as a story. It has been a difficult task, because it involves "overriding" or "striking through" much of what we have been tought about the history of the world. The result is neither a novel, nor a history book, but an essay, a science fiction history of the last thousand years or so of civilization on our planet. The effort, such as it is, has now come to an end. It is available at </span><a href="http://jesusthebogomil.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #fce5cd;">http://jesusthebogomil.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="color: #fce5cd;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #fce5cd;">The story begins with a retelling of the <em>Passion of Christ</em> and discovering in it the Passion of <strong>Jesus The Bogomil</strong>. The body of the blogs argues that civilization did not arise by way of agriculture, but by way of wood dwellers, whose economy was NOT FOR PROFIT, but <strong>A SUBSISTENCE economy.</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #fce5cd;">The series ends with two blogs, which are among a few such, that tilt in the direction of <u>justifying Stalin</u>. Which is not to say that this writer favors either cruelty or torture, but perceives that what drove the so-called Russian Revolution was not Lenin's borgeois concern for the industrial worker or the worker's revolt against capitalism (though it made its contribution), but above all the forest dwelling peoples long repressed yearning to recapture their once upon a time SUBSISTENCE economy, which they enjoyed when they lived in the wood. </span><br />
<span style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #fce5cd;">Not so incidentally, the above perspective necessarily leads one to perceive that what we call "democracy" or "democratic government" is an urban pipe dream, a longing for the democracy that once did exist in the wood and that still can exist <strong><em>only</em></strong> in a wood.</span><br />
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A story that runs a close parallel to Jesus The Bogomil is that of Oedipus The King, which can be found at <a href="http://oedipusrexrewritten.blogspot.com/">http://oedipusrexrewritten.blogspot.com</a> Here the Sphinx is not seen as some monster, but as the "wood" itself. From the point of view of literary criticism, the story implies that Oedipus Rex is a version of the story of Jesus portrayed as Christ. This version surely will be ill received by most orthodox Christians. All the same, a case can be made that the biographies of Queen Iocaste and Mary, both, are sufficiently vague to allow for reading into them similar past experiences. These experiences are common to young destitute women (as Stalin's mother 'Keke') managing to eke out an existence as concubines to inkeepers, soldiers, and priests who have taken celebate wovs. The relationships, when resulting in the issue of a child, may prompt such women to tell their sons that they have no physical fathers. When one such young woman known to this writer was asked who the father of her son was, she responded: "He came by a feather". No doubt, this young woman does not know that a similar 'feather' is what the Aztec Goddess <em>Coyolxauhqui</em> told brought into the world her famed son <em>Huitzilopotchtli</em>, who, perhaps in no lesser despair than Stalin so many centuries later, killed <u>ALL</u> earlier Aztec Gods, and ruled until the Spanish lier and conquistador Cortez arrived and installed the even more cruel capitalist Christ.<br />
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E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-57606366305085188672012-09-13T07:23:00.001-07:002012-09-14T13:19:14.474-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">GOVERNMENT IN THE WOOD</span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrtfGeaPgzsuNByI8_YGKcxwqtPlTVcz7wiVSKb177zxHp0Ouq_VgU5NuIkU_xo4-srZYkPe3r1g7O5K-HBXLm42xUerWu8qONHuB3Ql92fBO0WlSoGQHv82RRQpgd4e5OLbItRrInO4/s1600/Straupe+041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; height: 303px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 418px;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrtfGeaPgzsuNByI8_YGKcxwqtPlTVcz7wiVSKb177zxHp0Ouq_VgU5NuIkU_xo4-srZYkPe3r1g7O5K-HBXLm42xUerWu8qONHuB3Ql92fBO0WlSoGQHv82RRQpgd4e5OLbItRrInO4/s400/Straupe+041.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>The frog on my doorstep</strong></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The idea of a government in the wood is nicely presented in the Bavarian fairytale called “King Goldenlocks” </span><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/04/a-brand-new-fairytale.html">http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/04/a-brand-new-fairytale.html</a><br />
<br />
The link to the fairytale presents us with some interesting information:<br />
<br />
<strong>First</strong> is that the king’s castle and, thus, kingdom are to be found in a wood; <br />
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<strong>Second</strong> is that the wood about the castle is ruled by a giant, a King of the Wood;<br />
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<strong>Third</strong> is that King Goldenlocks regards the giant as a creature to capture; <br />
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<strong>Fourth</strong> is that not everyone regards the wood as his-her enemy, the king’s son among them; <br />
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<strong>Fifth</strong> is that the son is to be sacrificed by his father in the wood for releasing the giant or king of the wood; <br />
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<strong>Sixth</strong> is that the son of the King of the Wood is a swineherd of wild pigs; <br />
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<strong>Seventh</strong> is that, both, the giant and his son save the unfortunate prince who appears to love the wood for its own sake; <br />
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<strong>Eight</strong> is that the king of the wood would like to unseat king Goldenlocks; <br />
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<strong>Ninth</strong> is that the swineherd is a good actor-mimic and replaces the son of king Goldenlocks so perfectly that eventually he becomes the new king;<br />
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<strong>Tenth</strong> is that the switch between prince and the swineherd is done through the sacrifice of the tenth finger, very likely the pinky of the left hand, which is—one may presume—how the wood is saved from the axe.<br />
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E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-21901827051639828932012-05-25T13:59:00.000-07:002012-06-20T09:58:42.441-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The following blogspots center on a variety of subjects, which I have initiated. You are invited to look and respond.<br />
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<a href="http://esoschronicles.blogspot.com/">http://esoschronicles.blogspot.com/</a> Not-Violence main subject<br />
<a href="http://melnaysjanis.blogspot.com/">http://melnaysjanis.blogspot.com/</a> Temple of Janis (John) site<br />
<a href="http://the-not-voter.blogspot.com/">http://the-not-voter.blogspot.com/</a> Arguments for systems change<br />
<a href="http://the4thawakening.blogspot.com/">http://the4thawakening.blogspot.com/</a> Sacrificial crisis in Latvia<br />
<a href="http://oedipusrexrewritten.blogspot.com/">http://oedipusrexrewritten.blogspot.com/</a> Oedipus Rex Rewritten <br />
<a href="http://midsummernewyearofjohns.blogspot.com/">http://midsummernewyearofjohns.blogspot.com/</a> Midsummer New Year 21012<br />
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This post is somewhat unusual from most of the preceding ones. It touches on my interest of "John" as a religious figure, and why I have turned my property in Latvia into a Temple dedicated to Black John, a figure that stands as a symbol for both the decimated forests of Latvia and John (or Johns) the Wanderer(s). The post has also been entered at Latvians Online site as part of a discussion of Professor Timothy Snyder's book "The Bloodlands", just reissued by Kindle Books.<br />
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There remain mysteries that need solving, because orthodox explanations do not suffice. <br />
1] Why does religious scholarship know so little about the origins of the Cathars, eliminated by the Catholic crusaders?<br />
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2] Why does the Wandering Jew so closely resemble the Wandering Heretics of the Middle Ages? Why were they eliminated?<br />
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3] Why do the Latvians know nothing about the origins of their Children of Johns? The Johns were also known as wanderers. Who eliminated and continues to eliminate them to this day?<br />
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These questions, first asked several entries ago, go to the heart—in my opinion—of why the events described in “The Bloodlands” occurred and were largely limited to Eastern Europe. <br />
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While Professor Snyder has already described the importance of geography (Eastern Europe) for his book , the following more lengthy lecture fills out the events in said geographic more thoroughly<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcXMV-4HfXs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcXMV-4HfXs</a> . <br />
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Of the three (3) questions, the one that applies to the Latvians is of course question 3—Who is causing this holiday, the midsummer, to remain an uninvestigated phenomenon? The absence of investigation does not apply only to our own day, but is applicable also to the Latvia of the 1920 and 30s. <br />
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One reason for the seeming disinterest is the presumption that all that needs to be known about the Children of Johns (Jāņu bērni) is already known. Another reason is fear that the answer may touch on “religion”, and that—as I have suggested on numerous occasions—the Children of Johns may turn out to be Christian forebears of Latvians along the lines of the Cathars of Lanquedoc, a geographic locale that is part of France http://www.midi-france.info/1904_troubadours.htm . One reason why I am interested in the Cathars is because I believe them to be the forerunners of later Catholic Christianity, and, therefore, relatives of the Children of Johns.<br />
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What this has to do with Timothy Snyder’s “The Bloodlands” is that the repression of early Christianity (I suspect that early Christianity existed before Jesus even by the admission of the writers of the New Testament, who make one John the forerunner of Jesus) is necessarily a repression of history. This is one reason, why the origin of anti-semitism and persecution of pa-gans are likely related phenomena. If this is so, then Eastern Europe may once have been like Occitania http://www.midi-france.info/1905_occitania.htm , a culturally related area. <br />
<br /></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-10771310665823677252012-05-11T07:12:00.000-07:002012-05-11T09:28:33.110-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">FROM FORESTS AND DEMOCRACY </span></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>TO A PAGANKA*-KLEPTOCRACY</strong></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fAP8LyiCVryAr_q4uQNXu-egdrZJiwG2fpi9uYCGUyavVEMVW1aR01xOueKFujnHAEXjeJLJIMfrQ9vndhl9uFI2qp4ZyB2zUwxLiGnD3vdBL7chgL929RWp-hE93fYCBNpX6lfiQjPg/s1600/DSCF7957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fAP8LyiCVryAr_q4uQNXu-egdrZJiwG2fpi9uYCGUyavVEMVW1aR01xOueKFujnHAEXjeJLJIMfrQ9vndhl9uFI2qp4ZyB2zUwxLiGnD3vdBL7chgL929RWp-hE93fYCBNpX6lfiQjPg/s640/DSCF7957.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">The Man's Hand in the TRee.</span></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“….the forests began to recede in the late <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/change/deeptime/miocene.html"><em>Miocene epoch</em></a></span> and the beginning of the Pliocene, which itself became progressively drier as it went along. This in turn gave way to the Pleistocene epoch, which culminated in the great Ice Ages, and the appearance of modern man. ….we can say roughly that the Miocene started some twenty-five million years ago and ended about twelve to thirteen million years ago. The Pliocene then bagan and ended in its turn about three million years ago, ushering in the Pleistocene. These, then, are our rough anchorage ages.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The above is a quote from <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Fox">Robin Fox’s</a></span> book “<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Red-Lamp-Incest-Enquiry/dp/0268016208">The Red Lamp of Incest</a></span>”, which is a book inquiring into the origins of mind and society.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Professor Fox precedes the above by saying that “Leaving the forests…was not voluntary. Those that did not leave had to make some drastic adaptational changes. In the previous chapters we saw how the chimpanzee ancestors kept the forest, and how other primate ancestors moved to the fringe, the woodland, the savanna, and beyond. Our relationship to the chimp suggests that our ancestor at this point was chimplike although probably more generalized in his anatomy and perhaps, therefore, his behavior.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">While the professor is mostly concerned with what happened after the primates left the forest, what catches my eye is the statement that “leaving the forest was not voluntary.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Why was the forest preferred to the open country?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One simple answer is because of protection it offered. Though the floor of the forest primeval was stalked by the great cats and, thus, was correspondingly dangerous, the animals of the forest had—through the many millions of years that followed the catastrophe that put an end to the <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permian">Permian</a></span> epoch—evolved defense strategies, which protected their species not only from extinction, but provided a life-style comfortable enough not to go extinct. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LGD8cSJ0x8pMqmH6lJIWxLF_34S8jLNp06FK6G_MEJFh6KTHirQoVhf7wVL62XTBgDPL2sv1LO8sdjCplnJaI3dtEXqyeYYdFFqGyM9XiACnDcA3qBMcIUorzB_0An_ZF0Boi3GXszr8/s1600/DSCF7958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LGD8cSJ0x8pMqmH6lJIWxLF_34S8jLNp06FK6G_MEJFh6KTHirQoVhf7wVL62XTBgDPL2sv1LO8sdjCplnJaI3dtEXqyeYYdFFqGyM9XiACnDcA3qBMcIUorzB_0An_ZF0Boi3GXszr8/s400/DSCF7958.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Hand the Color of Red Sap.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It was in the process of having to adapt to a drier climate and receding of the ancient rain forests that there evolved the <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primates">primates</a></span> as we know them today, among them human beings.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Professor Fox is not to be blamed if I derail the trend of the thought behind his book; nevertheless, the fact that he mentions the importance of forests in the evolution of the human species (mind and society), puts me into a “<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/quantum+jump">quantum jump</a></span>” mode, and encourages a comparison between the relative safety of the forests with the political system known as ‘democraccy’. Some critics would also call my method as the practice of <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia">pareidolia</a></span>, even though I am in no way intent on turning insignificant parallels into significant ones. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What I have in mind is to diminish the notion of so many anthropologists and archeologists who put so much stress on the transition from a hunter and gatherer society to that of agriculture that it becomes the real pareidolic bunkum. The support for my opinion is the bare fact that no sooner does agriculture appear that the forest dwelling human being is deliberately forgot.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Why should such a denial (forgetting) of the forest in the development of human society become an accepted prejudice in nearly all cultures?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The answer may be relatively simple, even simplistic. It is not to be denied and it is obvious that agriculture has much to do with the arrival of a capitalist society. If in the barter economy of the forest my one bear skin is worth twenty pelts of fox to you, in agricultural barter, my two sacks of grain becomes twenty sacks for you, if from twenty subsistence farmers like myself, you steal—or take by ‘taxing’—one of our two. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When the advantages of the taxing of agriculturalist economic system made the rounds of all the meat-and-fish-eating princes, the princes invented the <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_pie">meat pie</a></span>, built themselves near impregnable castles, created a corporation with the rights of an individual, and become the happy inhabitants of an all-embracing paganka*-nationalist empire.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwaW-QRf4Ax4o9JvHv88wmbVrbtedIJqA8FmDPDZnCoaF6LqVkqrnKMtonQQL5RFiGVMkv47B9liLuUCFOUhOL5zqym4TLz5IliKqnTyHSuJ4SHZvNP6E4O3EYfRNMp4y0BRL278G4kUnY/s1600/DSCF7490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwaW-QRf4Ax4o9JvHv88wmbVrbtedIJqA8FmDPDZnCoaF6LqVkqrnKMtonQQL5RFiGVMkv47B9liLuUCFOUhOL5zqym4TLz5IliKqnTyHSuJ4SHZvNP6E4O3EYfRNMp4y0BRL278G4kUnY/s320/DSCF7490.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Flag of Temple to Cut Forests, Black John</strong></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A paganka-nationalist empire is, of course, an empire without forests, with grass, shrubs, and fields of grain and/or potatoes covering the rest of the empire’s land surface. While in our times empires are indeed large entities of bricks and concrete, they need not always be empires or even large. For example, in my own country, Latvia, while the oligarchs (today’s equivalent of princes) are few, the state bureaucracy has turned capitalism into a unipolar political system, which for all of its obviously repressive nature, calls itself ‘democracy’.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Interestingly, Latvia is called a democracy not because it in fact is a democracy, but because The State of Latvia Forest Monopoly controls the advertising media, and the information media keeps this a secret from the public at large. This is not to say that there are no other advertisers with their megalomaniacal pretensions appearing in such prefixes to company names as “Max-” or “Glob-” or “Uni-”, however, the latter do not have nearly the influence of a political state that persists in calling itself a ‘democracy’, when it clearly resembles a <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptocracy">kleptocracy</a></span> or ‘a politcial order ruled by thieves’. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">An excellent example of the Kleptocratic (Kl) political parties is the consequence of austerity measures imposed on the nation, <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.apollo.lv/portal/ligo/articles/217420">excepting</a></span> members of the Latvian Saeima, its ministers, and higher levels of the bureaucracy. The Kleptocratic Latvian Party (KLO) is led, not surprisingly, by the Minister of Finance, the Prime Minister, and the Minister President, none of whom suffer from the austerity measures, but continue to buy glistening suits with which to present themselves at the ministries, and, probably, light weight <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.securityprousa.com/liweboar.html">body armour</a> </span>because on their salaries it is not a luxury and the obvious is becoming very obvious.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxvsHAJCsQTZfl7h9Yg8n6WIrmyxMrrxcF7jtBrCxwmgAlvdJk7k_ZSBL7cO_JNsBQCb4_X753gmOQBDhEa2d_A-VjrhlShJM4eSEdcuKd0XYCRnRUrfX58jtCBPeZgAgORx97g7n61wF/s1600/DSCF6238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxvsHAJCsQTZfl7h9Yg8n6WIrmyxMrrxcF7jtBrCxwmgAlvdJk7k_ZSBL7cO_JNsBQCb4_X753gmOQBDhEa2d_A-VjrhlShJM4eSEdcuKd0XYCRnRUrfX58jtCBPeZgAgORx97g7n61wF/s400/DSCF6238.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The Eye in the Tree at the Gate.</strong></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As suggested at the beginning of this blog, Latvian boyars (as the oligarchs prefer to know themselves, because of the luster the association with prehistoric Balts brings them) are by no means alone. It is worse in the U.S., with laws made ready for a time when THE DEMOCRACY has become a paganka*-nationalist democracy that keeps out all the clever populists, but not the stupid ones, and recently was known by the name of fascism.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">*I prefer to forget the <em>fascist</em> word, and turn to <em>paganka-kleptocrat</em> as a substitute. With paganka harping back to the name of a ''bad'' mushroom in Russian (the name may also be pronounced as "pa-janka" in Latvian, meaning a degraded forest inhabitant not fit to be a good Christian) murfing (by way of paleidoria) us back to the actual and real state of the world, and not a phantasm of the Latvian soap: “The House of <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI8Ze_Ggg2E"><span style="color: purple;">Angels</span></a></span>”. The last I looked, the ‘boys’ had to acknowledge their having been deeply involved in cosmopolitan money laundering schemes and their like in their previous lives—presumably on our planet and the dismally naked streets of Latvia’s capital <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Riga_SPOT_1024.jpg/200px-Riga_SPOT_1024.jpg">Riga</a></span>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, the Interior and Regional Development Minister, A. Sprudzhis, agrees that the female bear named “<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.kasjauns.lv/lv/zinas/79326/lacene-made-jau-nodota-izbazenu-meistaram"><span style="color: purple;">Made</span></a></span>” had to be shot, when she escaped from her cage, and was the first to suggest that the two remaining elderly male bears had to be <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.delfi.lv/news/national/politics/ligatnes-laci-mikus-un-puika-kastreti-un-parvesti-uz-mezavairogiem.d?id=42342138"><span style="color: purple;">castrated</span></a></span> lest they get an erection and forget their prison is not a forest fit for the democracy prevailing in a forest.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8E-k_mHpXrtyfkNpAP3FvUF8yQJMxeASBhjjXOk_kWkWDbcMJqva0oscdJb0H-bD3SxlRlUinkouo7KaAHC8tVbU09OIQ6sLlivKreDqpcUouMPbR_tebvwOlvYvqcX884rVr7QYCZSCS/s1600/DSCF6206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8E-k_mHpXrtyfkNpAP3FvUF8yQJMxeASBhjjXOk_kWkWDbcMJqva0oscdJb0H-bD3SxlRlUinkouo7KaAHC8tVbU09OIQ6sLlivKreDqpcUouMPbR_tebvwOlvYvqcX884rVr7QYCZSCS/s640/DSCF6206.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>A Mass Grave Latvian Style.</strong></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Miocene epoch has met with the <em>Homo-kleptocratus ad Authoritatem</em> sung to by a chorus of decimated forest plots in private hands, and manipulated for the sake of the ruling class of paganka-kleptocracy led by the Latvian State Forest Monopoly. The latter is still popularizing the notion that Latvians stem from farmers and that today there are more forests (if you count shrubbery) than anytime in the last century.</span><br />
<br /></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-67406990925076898992012-04-13T12:27:00.002-07:002012-04-18T09:46:27.055-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>We are excited to announce that the Temple shall shortly begin to sell our Saw-Cross sign. </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Presently available only at the "Tine" stores in Riga, </strong>Audeju iela 10<strong>, Latvia.</strong></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5c7H6KsNkgpA1a5xXwf-5B82rblfnfWK6D_w3cxSl7OHCeIgKLnii_lPVJQ1jdrpuc9mfrjig5bPNfgHkEW3DpXcT_n4CvsbjD3bZdX3w5tK8zKhTKgBum6tW77pdp73B0ZKhpxPG_gS/s1600/SaulrieteSaule+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5c7H6KsNkgpA1a5xXwf-5B82rblfnfWK6D_w3cxSl7OHCeIgKLnii_lPVJQ1jdrpuc9mfrjig5bPNfgHkEW3DpXcT_n4CvsbjD3bZdX3w5tK8zKhTKgBum6tW77pdp73B0ZKhpxPG_gS/s400/SaulrieteSaule+030.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">© THE </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">SAW-CROSS </span></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">distributed by </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>‘Melnays Jānis’</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Black John</strong> @ <a href="http://melnaysjanis.blogspot.com/">http://melnaysjanis.blogspot.com/</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A temple dedicated to <strong><em>reforestation</em></strong>.</span><br />
<br />
The Saw-Cross is lazer cut from a thin plane of veneer. It may be worn around the neck or as an attachment to shirt or jacket. In due course, we will post a picture of the insignia; it looks much like the saw-cross in the photo above and is, roughly, as high and wide as your little finger. On the reverse: "Save the Forests from the Saw-Cross." We hope that you will be one of our customer. Any income derived from the sale will go toward the upkeep of the Temple. For more information, please read and address this site. Thank you.<br />
<br />
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<br />
</div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-36515184290813399732012-03-28T02:04:00.000-07:002012-03-28T02:04:39.364-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The past winter in my neighborhood was a disaster for the forests. Unrestrained cutting of trees on privately owned lands went on unceasingly (weather permitting) throughout the winter. The government, of course, keeps saying that Latvia is one of the "greenest'' countries in the world. True, if grey and drab is what you think is green also.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwN5-NedziIMAJDVPFbqXcNI5BOQaMurhmsZuoZKZH2GGBAJva5vvlRQlP572Qg3YO3WUV-xukioLkI1qjX-uK-qd6ctSFvf7ysEYy4H36ED2vpclVSsU3oubRuo7ZSZ44iTmT3ta83N_/s1600/DSCF7781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwN5-NedziIMAJDVPFbqXcNI5BOQaMurhmsZuoZKZH2GGBAJva5vvlRQlP572Qg3YO3WUV-xukioLkI1qjX-uK-qd6ctSFvf7ysEYy4H36ED2vpclVSsU3oubRuo7ZSZ44iTmT3ta83N_/s640/DSCF7781.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">How the urban banks, once bailed out by the ECB, collect the debt from nature </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">by way of private land owners.</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The following link to NASA's Earth Observatory:<br />
<a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ForestCarbon/?src=features-recent">http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ForestCarbon/?src=features-recent</a></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-20720070589729197492012-02-03T11:21:00.000-08:002012-02-03T11:21:17.875-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPupWd-OjbX10QzJR9_vg-Qd0GpY8taXPZu17aJXxXdRd2tZnaIInRwtpaOfeQ2YeKMuzSKbsE9tuI9PoZVv92jWdYPM7l5G7hEqmtiYqmbqsajOoJvVlSmwIgxo6Pw5a1h8W0GEa_EPC/s1600/DSCF7743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPupWd-OjbX10QzJR9_vg-Qd0GpY8taXPZu17aJXxXdRd2tZnaIInRwtpaOfeQ2YeKMuzSKbsE9tuI9PoZVv92jWdYPM7l5G7hEqmtiYqmbqsajOoJvVlSmwIgxo6Pw5a1h8W0GEa_EPC/s320/DSCF7743.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Saw-Cross for Sale. For more info see below.</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>With the onset of cold (very cold) temperatures, the swamps freeze over and trees are being cut at an increasing pace. In my area, the chain saws buzzed for two weeks every day, and where I would see trees, now there are vast swaths of white snow. I depend on wood burning Jotul stoves to keep me warm, and so does just about everyone else where I live. Of course, not everyone has a Jotul, but old brick stoves, which use more wood than my stove.<br />
It occured to me that with forests no longer covering the ground, it is likely to get colder rather than warmer when the coldest part of winter arrives in January and February. My search on the internet brought up this link: <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/1/014007">http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/1/014007</a><br />
Since the Latvian countryside has already suffered a demographic crisis, a catastrophic depletion of population in the countryside, uncontrolled wood cutting on private property is likely to worsen the problem. I was interested to see the link mention the cooling effects of deforestation on NH (New Hampshire), an area that I am somewhat familiar with.from my days in the U.S.<br />
<br />
</div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-6767494593833875482012-01-09T04:45:00.000-08:002012-01-09T07:19:02.552-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The deforestation of Latvia continues. The habitat of Latvia's wild animals--deer, wild pigs, moose, etc. continues to deteriorate. The winds [recently four (4) big storms] tear across the land. Latvians have depended on wood for thousands of years to keep warm in winter. With the land bare of forests that dependencwill have harrowing effects in the not so distant future.<br />
See: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16439807">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16439807</a><br />
<br />
If the coming ice-age is helped along by demorestation, it may be that Latvians become one of the first people to evolve new fur covering over their nakedness. Thanks "emsnews" for this one:<br />
<a href="http://emsnews.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/new-study-about-impending-ice-age-irritates-global-warming-scientists/">http://emsnews.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/new-study-about-impending-ice-age-irritates-global-warming-scientists/</a><br />
</div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-59342766398003386332011-12-04T05:11:00.000-08:002012-01-08T01:53:58.160-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I have a new BLOGSPOT. See: http://mywealthvirus.blogspot.com/</span></strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Awsome destruction of habitat. See here: <a href="http://rt.com/news/timber-barons-wildlife-forest-233/">http://rt.com/news/timber-barons-wildlife-forest-233/</a><br />
and here: <a href="http://rt.com/news/logging-fire-forest-business/">http://rt.com/news/logging-fire-forest-business/</a><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-X4xIPypCl8Wh7fQTpZ7Qc2iWsq9qLb7RIOkXcZHuuKS63N_6oSvdvKQzu7C_IfV69vwdh2eK9SUdHVb17acAu2O4MnLWvZi6sqa1IJzdedMaCm2UPWAP7cl7QlWdI79V2J9AGRR4Swf/s1600/DSCF7490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-X4xIPypCl8Wh7fQTpZ7Qc2iWsq9qLb7RIOkXcZHuuKS63N_6oSvdvKQzu7C_IfV69vwdh2eK9SUdHVb17acAu2O4MnLWvZi6sqa1IJzdedMaCm2UPWAP7cl7QlWdI79V2J9AGRR4Swf/s640/DSCF7490.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">The Saw-Cross Flag of Temple for Destroyed Forests.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">Die Zagen Kreutz Fahne.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">A SYMBOL TO BE BEFORE THE EYES OF THE WORLD FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS!</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>The symbol of the SAW-CROSS FLAG is up </strong> <strong><span style="font-size: large;">FOR SALE</span>.</strong> </span><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">If interested, please CONTACT T </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">HIS SITE. </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">Favor iyr okabet's trees wuth a /sunrise <a href="http://www.scoroncocolo.com/Sunrise.jpg">http://www.scoroncocolo.com/Sunrise.jpg</a> </span></strong><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_kJn2NE0pZ05lTA5ctPGLRctulygpBVwTnbABOSWeIkUlQYZqKRs-QpW8cS8K6mDRJl1yw2wF3hRfzIaa7O9810-urNWzohD6pcW5CrX0C45mLW4PTSJ2tN0M2linZH9NTYz-RaVaJRQ/s1600/DSCF7486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_kJn2NE0pZ05lTA5ctPGLRctulygpBVwTnbABOSWeIkUlQYZqKRs-QpW8cS8K6mDRJl1yw2wF3hRfzIaa7O9810-urNWzohD6pcW5CrX0C45mLW4PTSJ2tN0M2linZH9NTYz-RaVaJRQ/s640/DSCF7486.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">The Altar Piece, an apple-tree limb as mimesis of hurt.</span></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVM2EmbYMbrSENjR32lnGMxFrO4oBudAKnnjnhAzuFcj-8GKI8IQHvYsvG83NM7XhjlylfifoJqlSF_D491ZLO4LZyxI42o5HH-5zIwrAr7xlAlNRM4mufgkS7B-LkfP5XqCX4GXZRTaKH/s1600/DSCF7496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVM2EmbYMbrSENjR32lnGMxFrO4oBudAKnnjnhAzuFcj-8GKI8IQHvYsvG83NM7XhjlylfifoJqlSF_D491ZLO4LZyxI42o5HH-5zIwrAr7xlAlNRM4mufgkS7B-LkfP5XqCX4GXZRTaKH/s640/DSCF7496.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">View of the apple limb Altar Piece in situ</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-17371807163857927742011-10-26T01:39:00.000-07:002011-10-26T02:03:13.864-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lWavo5uDK4cr7tXYxzO2_y9U7J3iF35hK8zIFjVKDFlm0xc4i-DQC7psaUQnxChz4Kn0F0D7nmOYFEZ15Xh8CFNZQIi9GCEUZ9rhU8da_nuNXLmmb32nFuOKQwpbja2ztsfo-_L6CJUG/s1600/Riga19%252C2011+035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lWavo5uDK4cr7tXYxzO2_y9U7J3iF35hK8zIFjVKDFlm0xc4i-DQC7psaUQnxChz4Kn0F0D7nmOYFEZ15Xh8CFNZQIi9GCEUZ9rhU8da_nuNXLmmb32nFuOKQwpbja2ztsfo-_L6CJUG/s640/Riga19%252C2011+035.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>"Vinteri" property, 17.9 ha. Photo fall 2010. Road in forefront under reconstruction.</strong> </td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Temple Black John in memory of forests</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;">is offering for sale <strong><span style="font-size: large;">“Vinteri”</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">17.9 hectares of prime land</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Location: Braslavas pagasts, Alojas novads, Riga Region, Latvia.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Legendary <strong>Burtnieku Lake</strong> is about 10 km north of property.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Lake Khegums is within walking distance</div><div style="text-align: center;">Two sides of the property are edged by roads in good condition.</div><div style="text-align: center;">One road was finished rebuilding this year.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Y4PaVa5pqpbuDk88_3wwF5So0qNHbcpyzOs-Vv-fyijNVH620fv09_561SK5XEKIPReZDxzCoDD_MUu4icCk7IJcBGo3Crh7OJPSuEc2O0c-Dx-b7u2vGjo2seS5obGBuUlfDEu50946/s1600/Riga19%252C2011+037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Y4PaVa5pqpbuDk88_3wwF5So0qNHbcpyzOs-Vv-fyijNVH620fv09_561SK5XEKIPReZDxzCoDD_MUu4icCk7IJcBGo3Crh7OJPSuEc2O0c-Dx-b7u2vGjo2seS5obGBuUlfDEu50946/s640/Riga19%252C2011+037.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>"Vinteri" property from the crossroad looking west. Note hedge of spruce bordering hayfield.</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The roads meet at a cross road.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Easy and quick access to asphalt roads leading to Matiši, Aloja and beyond.</div><br />
<strong>Description of property:</strong> Originally land was zoned as 15.9 ha of arable land, 0.7 ha of forest. The southern edge of the property borders on a ditch beyond which begins a swamp. For the past twenty and more years the land has been let go fallow and has been planted by present owner with trees. Originally a well to do farm, “Vinteri” became a collective farm during the Soviet times. Upon the demise of the Soviet Union, the property was abandoned and was subsequently bought by the present owner. The old buildings on the property, located in the center of the property and surrounded by a row of oak trees, have been raised by owner because of their state of decay. One corner of the land at the cross-road has been used for a number of years as a source of hay by a local farmer. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhip8ourXU3alFIzxx5Mc-xZ2SoNeoL3Uqe9T_dAheZRvyQjHLYKwT7A7Xn91U8z17-A2h_kRJiMbaEO5IXjPZFJDmOl3CdeSEGU7MnXLJgIg59Wl2osdwFzs_qWOftBfEuTK5VrS_nEcoU/s1600/Riga19%252C2011+049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhip8ourXU3alFIzxx5Mc-xZ2SoNeoL3Uqe9T_dAheZRvyQjHLYKwT7A7Xn91U8z17-A2h_kRJiMbaEO5IXjPZFJDmOl3CdeSEGU7MnXLJgIg59Wl2osdwFzs_qWOftBfEuTK5VrS_nEcoU/s640/Riga19%252C2011+049.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Old road leading to old homestead "Vinteri". Tractor tracks from removing remains of fallen trees.</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><strong>Description of area:</strong> About 1 km to the west along one of the roads is Temple Black John. Across the road to the north of “Vinteri” are “Dzerves”, also a collective farm during the Soviet days. The name “dzerves” means “cranes”, of which a number continue their thousand year long residence in the area and can be heard calling during the spring, summer, and early autumn days. Area has an abundance of wild pigs, deer, moose, and stork. More distant, but still in immediate neighborhood, are the small villages of Khegums, Braslavas Park, and the pagasts administrative center at the village of Vilzeni. A recent new owner to the area plans to build and develop a rabbit farm. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">This is <em>a reluctant sale</em>, one necessitated to keep the Temple operating.and agitating on behalf of the forests and wildlife. Ideal buyer: one who more than respects nature.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Ask: <strong><span style="font-size: large;">Ls 30,000</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;">Due to the present unstable financial markets, price may fluctuate.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Sale by Owner. Interested parties may communicate via email at this blogsite or contact </div><div style="text-align: center;">Inguna at <strong>+37125979406</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-34743942299586584182011-10-22T14:33:00.000-07:002011-10-22T14:39:55.852-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">The association of a human body with the body of a tree has a long history. </span><span style="font-size: small;">While sculptures have been carved of stone for thousands of years, the first sculptures no doubt were of wood. The material surely is more easily to work with. Moreover, some wood has a close resemblance to the human body. For example, an apple tree when debarked and saturated with linseed oil.</span></strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86FuFw9SmvDaKBx2Z9Cu9DLYf8XMmIM2koAQs6iwpGwJWhkqMPvyHFa_m94Bk6dmXqNzpoNyWukJtpbu3vwiw18O-bO_55xe-ZAuIpHSAcw4A_q0hZeuGlehnaii78sTG8xyIaEMj6gKA/s1600/DSCF7484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86FuFw9SmvDaKBx2Z9Cu9DLYf8XMmIM2koAQs6iwpGwJWhkqMPvyHFa_m94Bk6dmXqNzpoNyWukJtpbu3vwiw18O-bO_55xe-ZAuIpHSAcw4A_q0hZeuGlehnaii78sTG8xyIaEMj6gKA/s400/DSCF7484.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The Temple of Black Johns dedicated to lost forests has an annex where the trunk of an apple tree (see some of the photos in my previous blog), with an ax stuck in one of its crevices, hangs below the pole of a hazel branch. This trunk of the apple tree is the sacred body, an imitation of Black John (oak), but remains unpainted. If you look closely, you are likely to see that the trunk suggests both the body of a tree and the body of a human being.<br />
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The photos below give an idea of the setting, the stage, or if you will our 'altar'.<br />
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In the photo below, we see the body of the tree on the steps that lead to the foot of our outdoor temple. A creative dance group from the village of Matishi and onlookers perform a "greening of the tree" dance.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhaV3-dwwyjyBbo1KwFNPCp0UlX00CkBiglnU7Vc8USmh_l8WXqitbo3GokzHd7BMM4Hi6IYxLbk2f0s2cMJYRDwfJdvoq0nXQWPquay0nFoucjLqK6Q2W0ze8jNMdG-Un5MdsAIjXqZ3/s1600/DSCF7424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhaV3-dwwyjyBbo1KwFNPCp0UlX00CkBiglnU7Vc8USmh_l8WXqitbo3GokzHd7BMM4Hi6IYxLbk2f0s2cMJYRDwfJdvoq0nXQWPquay0nFoucjLqK6Q2W0ze8jNMdG-Un5MdsAIjXqZ3/s640/DSCF7424.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>The following photo is of the visitors room and the altar space dedicated to the body of a tree, which we see as that of a human being as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDCUvEdIa_a6JJ3A8E-6mKEB2MjZ8OK-wmr1lUpiYpBlTuyuapbFxRgzHr2ZR8-VJwul58vfVF6qcSHjNbtxQtypWQhv8AV_wOT5stUMzA9LO9RG84CAKlbp7X9qdnGX5G03jHeo2LRcS/s1600/DSCF7497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDCUvEdIa_a6JJ3A8E-6mKEB2MjZ8OK-wmr1lUpiYpBlTuyuapbFxRgzHr2ZR8-VJwul58vfVF6qcSHjNbtxQtypWQhv8AV_wOT5stUMzA9LO9RG84CAKlbp7X9qdnGX5G03jHeo2LRcS/s640/DSCF7497.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bodies of trees with humanlike bodies fill the stage/altar of the visitors room at the Temple of Black Johns.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>We invite the reader to participate--</strong><strong>by way of his-her subjective self--</strong><strong>in the exercise of mimesis (imitation), which experiences our bodies as that of a tree. The next time you then need to cut down a tree, you will think twice whether you really need to do so, and if indeed you need to do so, then say a small prayer.</strong></span></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-60441693559622296312011-10-17T06:43:00.000-07:002011-10-17T06:43:32.693-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphensn_V3x5nDiOCz_t7n8lA0FBn68TLG9bNQULmPmuG17_xBqKH1YYE6igswkLVXo573dUJ_W_nvh0jKxSZkwchFx8FtSKRaQanTn8r_1Iork-KxoiutRFFqtMzovBYdD-iEGWTWwlpOsD/s1600/DSCF7317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphensn_V3x5nDiOCz_t7n8lA0FBn68TLG9bNQULmPmuG17_xBqKH1YYE6igswkLVXo573dUJ_W_nvh0jKxSZkwchFx8FtSKRaQanTn8r_1Iork-KxoiutRFFqtMzovBYdD-iEGWTWwlpOsD/s200/DSCF7317.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming upon the scene of murder.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgef6xVXybZ8ohhi7WRipbr2KvemltwWv-Rnil1wwD_g4Ho4Sze7-DZdtfUE5IY9v7YKWvtdSz2R4wQ8cTE_3Kh0pX18khSgttVVLAX4tN0Lb-I5_1qpmkLeayiJlKqFo9FGNuUON-wuo1u/s1600/DSCF7316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgef6xVXybZ8ohhi7WRipbr2KvemltwWv-Rnil1wwD_g4Ho4Sze7-DZdtfUE5IY9v7YKWvtdSz2R4wQ8cTE_3Kh0pX18khSgttVVLAX4tN0Lb-I5_1qpmkLeayiJlKqFo9FGNuUON-wuo1u/s200/DSCF7316.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another angle on the murder.<br />
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</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">The photos are of the victim, the trunk of an apple tree, to the deforestation rage now going on in Latvia. This phenomenon is directly related to the debt imposed (rather than forgiven) on the Latvian people by Swedish banks and their lobbyist in Latvia, the President of Latvia, Andris Berzins.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We have taken the murder victim and placed it on the steps to The Temple of Black Johns. This is our temple to the memory of destroyed forests.</span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuKVwv83O6S8_AObXNlj75y55ZEc9mUnEcDBJEkm0xkbv9sLFJFogVKz3Q3FzTMfPYj-ee1Ed_IjzTvJoWpJPqfRx88FLCizAH20f72gVfk_-t55vKFMIXYzZvHSl9yeCVUuAYDeUJU9h/s1600/DSCF7444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuKVwv83O6S8_AObXNlj75y55ZEc9mUnEcDBJEkm0xkbv9sLFJFogVKz3Q3FzTMfPYj-ee1Ed_IjzTvJoWpJPqfRx88FLCizAH20f72gVfk_-t55vKFMIXYzZvHSl9yeCVUuAYDeUJU9h/s640/DSCF7444.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The forests shall rise again and human beings will live peaceably with them again.</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-81800861819161291782011-09-29T07:36:00.000-07:002011-09-29T22:14:21.010-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;">Antons Benjamiņš aicina uz Mežu atmiņu svētkiem</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">"Koki modina cilvēku"</span></strong>pie tempļa „ Melnays Jānis”</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">15.oktobris 14.00</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;">Padomāsim par mežu nozīmi mūsu dzīvē. Runās </div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Dainis Īvāns, Janīna Kursīte, Laima Muktupāvela</span></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8Nw8O9lC8X7Qt3l7pC5kEqkAmK8lngRbVsJIIjjKB4aPHv3lPFpm_hNgV4umWzlwPmB2vm8TzTu-BzOs4wtehFVmoWtds8ElIzhJ1e4k2qtThy_O3ETSvcA4Uh_j9wWV-OKALpEDyIOp/s1600/SaulrieteSaule+026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8Nw8O9lC8X7Qt3l7pC5kEqkAmK8lngRbVsJIIjjKB4aPHv3lPFpm_hNgV4umWzlwPmB2vm8TzTu-BzOs4wtehFVmoWtds8ElIzhJ1e4k2qtThy_O3ETSvcA4Uh_j9wWV-OKALpEDyIOp/s320/SaulrieteSaule+026.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Piedalīsies</div><div style="text-align: center;">Senjoru deju kopa <strong><span style="font-size: large;">"Liepas</span>"</strong> no Vilzēniem; Jauniešu deju grupa <span style="font-size: large;"><strong>"Nezāle</strong>"</span> no Matīšiem</div><div style="text-align: center;">Mūziķis <strong><span style="font-size: large;">Mārtiņš Roziņš</span></strong> no Valmieras</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Mistērija:</span></strong> Salmu lelle "Gudrais Jānis" kā negrib tā negrib aizdegties, līdz no negribas sprēguļo. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Fantastiska iespēja amatieru fotogrāfiem un citiem palielināt savu foto kolekciju. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Ieeja brīva</strong> . <strong>Karstvīns/Mulled Wine 1.50 Ls</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;">Autobus no Vilzēniem (pie Braslavas pagasta padomes) plkst. 13.30</div><div style="text-align: center;">Braslavas pagasts, Alojas novads</div><div style="text-align: center;">Seko <strong><em>Zāģu krusta</em></strong> zīmei no Vilzēniem.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJEKf0MqVsCwIYurLBQhgVeyuvlQyd_25NIlW-GgF6X5dJMy5VnN81PTdIv35aL4sfH9xUIru6EQO-gEPGorceg_sIR1RhdWTKAU2jc5AQ7ekPXeBp7FI7KNDCHu52-40LghzK7P5J7jz5/s1600/SaulrieteSaule+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJEKf0MqVsCwIYurLBQhgVeyuvlQyd_25NIlW-GgF6X5dJMy5VnN81PTdIv35aL4sfH9xUIru6EQO-gEPGorceg_sIR1RhdWTKAU2jc5AQ7ekPXeBp7FI7KNDCHu52-40LghzK7P5J7jz5/s320/SaulrieteSaule+030.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">No Valmieras uz Matīšiem. No Matīšiem uz Vilzēniem (Alojas pagrieziens).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">No Vilzēniem seko Zāģu krusta zīmei līdz Braslavas parkam, tad (zīme) pa labi uz Templi.</span></div></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-81546674352374110442011-08-22T11:10:00.000-07:002011-09-01T12:31:16.166-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="159"><span closure_uid_4tj4bq="204" style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>The Temple to Black Johns</strong> in Latvia</span></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="194"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><em closure_uid_yj6ifg="288">presents the sculpture of</em></span></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_V2zM9vs0q3bRudQN2VrM_qNzoDwiYTejeN8qyxuovJYCephoxOfDuPpRL-fj5SHnVOzxu1YsNTeZFz14ibwD_mrghaB0FKLTX__btyrZJBEBNmhyphenhyphensl7pLIiclaWnFoHrUnICq-WtyTo/s1600/DSCF6731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_V2zM9vs0q3bRudQN2VrM_qNzoDwiYTejeN8qyxuovJYCephoxOfDuPpRL-fj5SHnVOzxu1YsNTeZFz14ibwD_mrghaB0FKLTX__btyrZJBEBNmhyphenhyphensl7pLIiclaWnFoHrUnICq-WtyTo/s320/DSCF6731.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div closure_uid_k0l6ye="653"><span style="font-size: small;">View of the Temple to Blaxk Johns</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span closure_uid_4tj4bq="257" style="font-size: x-large;"><strong><em closure_uid_4tj4bq="433">Eso Jaņdžs</em></strong></span></div></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><span closure_uid_4tj4bq="191" style="font-size: large;">Name of exhibit: </span></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="289"><span closure_uid_4tj4bq="191" style="font-size: large;"><em closure_uid_yj6ifg="426">"<strong>The Apple Orchard Speaks</strong>"</em></span></div><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="289"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="289"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span closure_uid_yj6ifg="291" style="font-size: large;">Medium: <span closure_uid_yj6ifg="432" style="font-size: small;">Apple wood and linseed oil.</span></span></div></div></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="299"><span style="font-size: large;">Place: </span><span closure_uid_4tj4bq="319" closure_uid_yj6ifg="300">Visitor's Room at "Kalnini", </span></div></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><span closure_uid_4tj4bq="319">Braslavas pagasts </span><span closure_uid_4tj4bq="320" style="font-size: x-small;">(instructions of where and how to reach us can be located by searching earlier entries).</span></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Earlier entries are worth looking at.</em></span></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><span closure_uid_4tj4bq="321" closure_uid_gssm0h="164" style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Eso Jaņdžs</strong> is a writer, sculptor, and self-elected priest at <strong>The Black Johns Temple</strong> representing the arch-Christian point of view. <strong>The Black Johns Temple</strong> believes Christianity to be a continuum, which includes the points of view of ancient myths, not to mention arch-Christianity--the Christianity that preceded neo-Christianity.</span></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFVQZ-wY2x6-DE4lbe6ioOmHuA_IiwW8VXaCpNwdagLpK3-vq_Inp_XhMG9oVVGnSQo_PJ9gJECRrV0N7HiAMwj4_apKbsU-nJjMrJfi8-y9YhWgiy__qibxZ47eFi4IviX98d3fUWsVk/s1600/SaulrieteSaule+018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFVQZ-wY2x6-DE4lbe6ioOmHuA_IiwW8VXaCpNwdagLpK3-vq_Inp_XhMG9oVVGnSQo_PJ9gJECRrV0N7HiAMwj4_apKbsU-nJjMrJfi8-y9YhWgiy__qibxZ47eFi4IviX98d3fUWsVk/s320/SaulrieteSaule+018.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div closure_uid_k0l6ye="655"><span style="font-size: small;">My decorative asparagus, what's left of it in spring.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="424"><span closure_uid_4tj4bq="323" closure_uid_gssm0h="169" closure_uid_yj6ifg="423">When a few years back a local apple orchard was being cut down to turn it into a field for rotation crops, <strong>Eso Jaņdžs</strong> scrambled to save some of the trunks that had not been carted away and cut into firewood. </span></div></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><span closure_uid_4tj4bq="323" closure_uid_gssm0h="177" closure_uid_yj6ifg="425">The trunks of these 'saved' apple trees were laid away to season. Now the seasoning is done, and the trunks have been transformed by <strong>Eso Jaņdžs</strong> into talking figures. By exploiting a phenomenon called "pareidolia", a subjective process that each viewer brings to his or her viewing experience, the sculptor lets the trees speak for themselves.</span></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="169"><div closure_uid_fo09yw="171"><div closure_uid_eon6ns="158">When sanding the time tortured apple tree limbs and trunks, the sculptor was reminded of Rodin's "Citizens of Calais" <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30638010@N03/3270199151/and">http://www.flickr.com/photos/30638010@N03/3270199151/and</a> of course of Chekov's "Cherry Orchard" <a href="http://sarahlambert.squarespace.com/picture/cherry%20orchard%201%20copy.jpg?pictureId=6231279&asGalleryImage=true">http://sarahlambert.squarespace.com/picture/cherry%20orchard%201%20copy.jpg?pictureId=6231279&asGalleryImage=true</a> . The viewer is likely, too, is likely to see in his-her mind's eye the connection. </div></div></div></div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182" closure_uid_fo09yw="179"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_4tj4bq="182"><div closure_uid_50hlw7="159"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlfS2g_GKSTb-BTxOlZtSIEjfm4WABKKZQloqCKIC7n2pEs9hhsH5VyWpBqyPcDtSlvynl7IIC_fCMyGQL5HMLsARrCHzwCiPb8HX07Pg-6j1vN_L6eLbKIb9g5F7D1nH8J3AaGW9BEaL/s1600/new+050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlfS2g_GKSTb-BTxOlZtSIEjfm4WABKKZQloqCKIC7n2pEs9hhsH5VyWpBqyPcDtSlvynl7IIC_fCMyGQL5HMLsARrCHzwCiPb8HX07Pg-6j1vN_L6eLbKIb9g5F7D1nH8J3AaGW9BEaL/s320/new+050.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div closure_uid_k0l6ye="652"><span style="font-size: small;">Posing for vanity's sake.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="179"><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="158"><strong>Eso Jaņdžs</strong> has exibited his work at such far off places as Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, USA, 1967 (sculpture)--yes, that far back, and Agija Suna Gallery (paper prints) in Riga, Latvia, as recently as June 2011.</div></div><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="179"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="179"><div closure_uid_fo09yw="184"><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="159"><div closure_uid_issc46="158"><div closure_uid_eon6ns="159"><strong>Eso Jaņdžs</strong> does also murals. The artist's attick studio in the countryside, now the events room at the Temple to Black John, was among the month of July features in "Lilit" <a href="http://www.lilita.lv/galerija_izdevn.php?lang=lv&zurnals=47&zid=2011&count=6">http://www.lilita.lv/galerija_izdevn.php?lang=lv&zurnals=47&zid=2011&count=6</a> , a Latvian journal of note.</div></div></div></div></div><div closure_uid_issc46="159" closure_uid_yj6ifg="179"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="179"><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="161"><div closure_uid_issc46="160"><div closure_uid_eon6ns="178">The current exhibit, re "<em>The Apple Orchard Speaks</em>" may be viewed at the Temple of Black Johns events room. All viewing by arrangement through the email at this blogpost. Prices upon request (starting at Euro 50,000).</div></div></div></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_a7PQWjmasnWOs_rb81WTo2SIICWo11ns3pgKunGasb8jtyjTiHU8ImLIgZmQv_xZSKOoFn4DLe4NJNf5gqobHTruHdfdWNVaD4BBzjjTkhv6o0ia3DNBNt650wxfujpC3ais-xqxPt_I/s1600/SaulrieteSaule+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_a7PQWjmasnWOs_rb81WTo2SIICWo11ns3pgKunGasb8jtyjTiHU8ImLIgZmQv_xZSKOoFn4DLe4NJNf5gqobHTruHdfdWNVaD4BBzjjTkhv6o0ia3DNBNt650wxfujpC3ais-xqxPt_I/s320/SaulrieteSaule+040.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div closure_uid_k0l6ye="651"><span style="font-size: small;">Black John walks through the wall.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_eon6ns="179"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="179"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_yj6ifg="422">The history of the Johns is a complicated one, but reader will remember that names such as Janis, Jean, Johann, Ian, Angus, Huan, Han, etc. are all related to one and the same root. The root may be gens (gans--herder in Latvian), from which spring such words as gendarme, jannisary, gentlemen, not to mention dun-geon, John the Baptist, and many others). <br />
<div closure_uid_k0l6ye="289" closure_uid_mjgs2j="170"><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="162"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="162"><div closure_uid_eon6ns="181"><strong>Eso Jaņdžs</strong> believes the Johns (there were many) to have been the Sacred King's messengers. Since no sacred city from which such messengers could have come forth is known from either recent or near ancient historical times, it is possible that the office and the name go as far back as 10,000 years, to before the time of the last shift of the Earth's tectonic plates <a href="http://www.mdrtalk.org/">http://www.mdrtalk.org/</a> (go to "When the Sky Fell") all at one time. </div></div><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="162"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="162"><div closure_uid_biksfd="176"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div closure_uid_k0l6ye="527"><div closure_uid_eon6ns="182">The Temple to Black Johns (Melnays Jānis) is dedicated to forests, forests that have been cut down and whose grounds have turned to desert. One of the first sculptures of <strong>Eso Jaņdžs</strong> was a variation on The Saw-Cross. Incidentally, it is probably the only original cross of the last few hundred years. The cross speaks of deforestation, the Saw-Cross suggesting a saw cutting across the trunk of a tree. </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div> </div></div></div></div><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="248" closure_uid_yj6ifg="422"><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="249" closure_uid_k0l6ye="713"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0gvtJUWqtp5mqBGxN7NmV0R9T0LWS_ixHm0oPHW1CtDeVYebXu2AOjOwyvF7imoR5dTt4NQdTnSed9TrfV8rFFr3vPDi4uCvRnNkirjYkZ8LvdWzLAA3eKMTt2U_Tr3nqithWgVvt-6QT/s1600/SaulrieteSaule+028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0gvtJUWqtp5mqBGxN7NmV0R9T0LWS_ixHm0oPHW1CtDeVYebXu2AOjOwyvF7imoR5dTt4NQdTnSed9TrfV8rFFr3vPDi4uCvRnNkirjYkZ8LvdWzLAA3eKMTt2U_Tr3nqithWgVvt-6QT/s200/SaulrieteSaule+028.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div closure_uid_k0l6ye="650"><span style="font-size: small;">Black Johns / Melnays Jānis</span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td closure_uid_k0l6ye="676" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiAW0_-jwZ4RRA-oscp4v6xe5Qp4xXSYcDuDqEFxDmhnLQw2BIvcJQJH4gJRbYJkxujVcdjwuK2QY61iHoI-1SzksvVGgvk_1ezLHcicHIr3GstIdrJ5p-t7fdZir48SiY-b1R1GRujcP/s320/SaulrieteSaule+031.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" closure_uid_k0l6ye="648" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Saw-Cross</span></td></tr>
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<div closure_uid_k0l6ye="526" style="text-align: left;"><div closure_uid_eon6ns="184">In the course of time, the Saw-Cross appeared to the sculptor in a number of shapes, one of the shapes being that of "Black John", the center piece of the temple's platform.</div></div></div><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="249"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDikLyPqQw61ln7Dq1csIlBh7WhNxq4pIt93Ucm7vM6xpT8qelW4y2PgWnakTLNwPrfdT3heX3LXFrOPNWkNIbUlyGhQDccrW2qm7xIYDjK4SfexaAeGayjPHkRffp8wwbfwX8f7PmxMJ/s1600/DSCF6738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDikLyPqQw61ln7Dq1csIlBh7WhNxq4pIt93Ucm7vM6xpT8qelW4y2PgWnakTLNwPrfdT3heX3LXFrOPNWkNIbUlyGhQDccrW2qm7xIYDjK4SfexaAeGayjPHkRffp8wwbfwX8f7PmxMJ/s320/DSCF6738.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" closure_uid_k0l6ye="638" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The temple meeting place and Black John</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_fzel8k="753"><div closure_uid_eon6ns="185">The temple is the site of many "trees that were". These 'trees' are scattered individually and in clusters around the temple grounds.</div><div closure_uid_eon6ns="185"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_eon6ns="185">The temple is located on the grounds of a once upon a time household residence, which has decayed due to the changes in modern times. That is, the household as an institution and subsistance level economy ever since the beginning of time was not to be part of either the the 20th or the 21st century.</div><div closure_uid_eon6ns="185"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_eon6ns="185"><strong>Eso Jaņdžs</strong> purchased the land, and placed the icon of the Saw-Cross over the cemented foundations of what was once a hay and cowbarn. The site of the once house proper now holds a large tent-like shed, an open space for summer family get-to-gethers, concerts, or other social occasions.</div></div><div closure_uid_fzel8k="753"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_fzel8k="753"><div closure_uid_eon6ns="186">The following photographs are of apple tree trunks in the process of being sanded, covered with a layer of lindseed oil, and otherwise being "presented". The viewer is invited to try visualize the sculptures as a group of apple tree beings conversing among themselves.</div></div></div><div closure_uid_9x9wn7="249" closure_uid_fzel8k="752" closure_uid_k0l6ye="557"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody closure_uid_fzel8k="788">
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JLtJFcH_xv3A4bTiI88qWYMk7eXBsZwHvRmfCknyYpdljeaMK-7CoMoFdsAPpXoTDLa5NNhZsvMijPLICzhU_ai3ffaPbdY3y5YozRhSAYotPNCe7JYL25N3BxvC5DcZ_Wvn_1bSxoc0/s1600/DSCF7127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JLtJFcH_xv3A4bTiI88qWYMk7eXBsZwHvRmfCknyYpdljeaMK-7CoMoFdsAPpXoTDLa5NNhZsvMijPLICzhU_ai3ffaPbdY3y5YozRhSAYotPNCe7JYL25N3BxvC5DcZ_Wvn_1bSxoc0/s640/DSCF7127.JPG" width="640" xaa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" closure_uid_fzel8k="787" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Medea</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_biksfd="158" closure_uid_fzel8k="318"><div closure_uid_k0l6ye="753"><div closure_uid_fzel8k="421"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_eon6ns="207">What follows are a series of photographs of works in progress.</div><div closure_uid_eon6ns="207"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_eon6ns="207"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_eon6ns="207"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_eon6ns="207">[This blog in construction. Please come back later to see Eso Jaņdžs' "The Apple Orchard Speaks".</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-36620755793821666972011-08-13T02:32:00.000-07:002011-08-13T02:32:19.698-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The link (below) appeared this morning on Alternet. I pretty much share the perspective therein. This is why I am placing these rather common photos before you reach the link. The scene is about 1.5 km from my house. There is a similar scene in one of the older blogs. The trouble is, it is happening all over the place here: people are cutting down their small forest plots to make ends meet. Send a big thank you to your banks.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" closure_uid_sqd79b="202" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qLDTlAtezfP5Hj32E3vZD5R5bqiRbl80zgQMCyCSPKNKh80WBvnzk8KIP7WfO6zRmiag10d0WRDRveUtKTmDtzUFFbVwhP1saaF1iddConkUlFM7qAe0g-YDPbaebK-qWSE2OmxiGe3j/s1600/DSCF7014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qLDTlAtezfP5Hj32E3vZD5R5bqiRbl80zgQMCyCSPKNKh80WBvnzk8KIP7WfO6zRmiag10d0WRDRveUtKTmDtzUFFbVwhP1saaF1iddConkUlFM7qAe0g-YDPbaebK-qWSE2OmxiGe3j/s320/DSCF7014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div closure_uid_sqd79b="409"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0PEx2OuUGONUqSC3Yth4zKaSFZIM13bKUPDRNqJbRWwVSw5DrENGBZBJaULX-ukSSPDp4njqDIuPAT554R57yBVUWFqrx9MFGUW-Wrhl-jj9I_9JrSVOaXoUXw_QHOsVwmiBgvFIKEsY/s1600/DSCF7015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0PEx2OuUGONUqSC3Yth4zKaSFZIM13bKUPDRNqJbRWwVSw5DrENGBZBJaULX-ukSSPDp4njqDIuPAT554R57yBVUWFqrx9MFGUW-Wrhl-jj9I_9JrSVOaXoUXw_QHOsVwmiBgvFIKEsY/s320/DSCF7015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div closure_uid_sqd79b="437"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7Wj1USdRCYo6laDIjfuuybS3bCXZhfgxReyLNiE-k6YBp_jYMsoTNn3X1ZuI1mVnpnjIwnyYpNvSL3uWjhJgALMHDnQJnB1cWwm9rK9vCRHnEIfm_JUhFVPJC0R2gfPJuu4CKsP7pgJ5/s1600/DSCF7016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7Wj1USdRCYo6laDIjfuuybS3bCXZhfgxReyLNiE-k6YBp_jYMsoTNn3X1ZuI1mVnpnjIwnyYpNvSL3uWjhJgALMHDnQJnB1cWwm9rK9vCRHnEIfm_JUhFVPJC0R2gfPJuu4CKsP7pgJ5/s640/DSCF7016.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqDXgTWt6wipePwUaGYjROmWxaVi5oKOv9yLTUs9cfEqWvH7YPPJyf5e_FE_tc7wj4wxtKCjl1C5K18tN3yZOayAFkDU2KC2KI1q6l2np62A2BNp60g38wLdvZOCt9Vlaby_7JHGxvyhVr/s1600/DSCF7018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqDXgTWt6wipePwUaGYjROmWxaVi5oKOv9yLTUs9cfEqWvH7YPPJyf5e_FE_tc7wj4wxtKCjl1C5K18tN3yZOayAFkDU2KC2KI1q6l2np62A2BNp60g38wLdvZOCt9Vlaby_7JHGxvyhVr/s400/DSCF7018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3Ye39P04ZhXwOKTRBNe8jYejFgNkVAQmgLmQH2Ext6ns8Fxweg62ACP24whFOTUZSwMl6fW4kRL8tBswFmfAa6CwKz7-VH2P03v-BeTLw35HnNqKsFACrRTKORSRM_RVWBa7Q4VK0pg6/s1600/DSCF7019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3Ye39P04ZhXwOKTRBNe8jYejFgNkVAQmgLmQH2Ext6ns8Fxweg62ACP24whFOTUZSwMl6fW4kRL8tBswFmfAa6CwKz7-VH2P03v-BeTLw35HnNqKsFACrRTKORSRM_RVWBa7Q4VK0pg6/s640/DSCF7019.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div closure_uid_sqd79b="437"> <a closure_uid_sqd79b="454" href="http://www.alternet.org/story/151886/we%27ve_entered_the_age_of_mass_extinction%3A_goodbye_fish_and_a_whole_lot_more?akid=7401.171186.cDrrun&rd=1&t=21">http://www.alternet.org/story/151886/we%27ve_entered_the_age_of_mass_extinction%3A_goodbye_fish_and_a_whole_lot_more?akid=7401.171186.cDrrun&rd=1&t=21</a></div></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-35006978080376674922011-06-14T23:30:00.000-07:002011-06-14T23:30:47.479-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBvDQcOMPT5DfwvR-xjUI6lGHPo09dW2-2C9gKDh_nxvNpibTlMK_ejMkSCutx2MzHqrnve2CHkWdIIfaJYjZLRRPp0mOXodXCWBe2kV5hIcRwGDDuv3TdpFOXDRjWvkUCWco-pTQjCIl8/s1600/new+075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBvDQcOMPT5DfwvR-xjUI6lGHPo09dW2-2C9gKDh_nxvNpibTlMK_ejMkSCutx2MzHqrnve2CHkWdIIfaJYjZLRRPp0mOXodXCWBe2kV5hIcRwGDDuv3TdpFOXDRjWvkUCWco-pTQjCIl8/s400/new+075.jpg" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div>Another defender <br />
of forests killed <br />
in the Amazon.<br />
<br />
Black John<br />
Melnays Jānis<br />
the god<br />
at our Temple to <br />
forests gone<br />
weeps.<br />
<br />
The forests in Latvia are disappearing at a fast pace, too. <br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13772238">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13772238</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-89433690770448666912011-06-13T11:39:00.000-07:002011-06-13T11:39:00.910-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTxcjb5C2G7j3lEd7xu8SK_eQWmQp_36bw-v1QGTwL3oD7Qhme2rQQ1mLHJXIDaJu-ev2FOGo_qCVBQi-dXG3crqOcNOVy_64q7k7x9BYyiztupR4F4z5V1c-KGRxZpuAVBncSN78bFU4/s1600/Riga19%252C2011+047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTxcjb5C2G7j3lEd7xu8SK_eQWmQp_36bw-v1QGTwL3oD7Qhme2rQQ1mLHJXIDaJu-ev2FOGo_qCVBQi-dXG3crqOcNOVy_64q7k7x9BYyiztupR4F4z5V1c-KGRxZpuAVBncSN78bFU4/s640/Riga19%252C2011+047.jpg" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div>A very interesting blog by Elaine. It tells much about volcano activity in our day, but also tells about the significance of forests. <br />
<br />
The Temple of Black John (dedicated to the memory of lost forests in Latvia) recommends you see and read it.<br />
<a href="http://emsnews.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/volcanic-eruptions-chile-and-china/#more-11765">http://emsnews.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/volcanic-eruptions-chile-and-china/#more-11765</a></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-29519064165763829852011-06-06T03:29:00.000-07:002011-06-06T03:45:21.275-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <strong><span style="font-size: large;"><u><em>DEVASTATING FOREST FIRES</em>.</u> </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">OUR SYMPATHIES TO THE PEOPLE OF </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">ARIZONA</span></strong><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8qxOnGzDVbZJ3XYlm1M4qE5GNp2NJaTPBNczichVc-rAOMfz3SmfnQoH9l3Qb3VF-t2josrUubApvivIzcsUhIAC31_K6MvTONTVob8lPND9WCQ1iZA4EAl1egY5NjtlqaIcX1g7FQR3j/s1600/zalais.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8qxOnGzDVbZJ3XYlm1M4qE5GNp2NJaTPBNczichVc-rAOMfz3SmfnQoH9l3Qb3VF-t2josrUubApvivIzcsUhIAC31_K6MvTONTVob8lPND9WCQ1iZA4EAl1egY5NjtlqaIcX1g7FQR3j/s400/zalais.jpg" t8="true" width="351" /></a></div><br />
The Temple of Melnays Jānis (Black John) dedicated to the remembrance of man-destroyed forests, <strong><em>expresses its sympathies to the forests and the people of Arizona in the event of the wast fires racing across their land</em></strong>. <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iRxA7l9zF6xcAEzNbWoW0GyZjxag?docId=447ee61375414d308cc584d0a5f5e39b&index=1">http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iRxA7l9zF6xcAEzNbWoW0GyZjxag?docId=447ee61375414d308cc584d0a5f5e39b&index=1</a><br />
<br />
If you ever come Latvia way, you may learn more about us in the blog below, re <a href="http://melnaysjanis.blogspot.com/">http://melnaysjanis.blogspot.com/</a>. <strong>Do not overexploit the land, rather work toward letting it go fallow and renew itself. Make it a temple.</strong><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-25450696831483481842011-05-15T23:39:00.000-07:002011-05-15T23:39:14.038-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The Latvian media are telling us this morning that the real candidate hiding behind the ''shoe-in'' president is red head. Since our Wormelings had presumed that the "in" color was orange, one hastened to die her hair red.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhl5I8FhSP0QG__7Ge27n5xxi9o7GAjR8Znxc7R4Tb2-oaAup_l9Mrjx4RThiA3nrC256u71L8GTLEVLh-lTV5iUDtlZXR0whO9EWuj5OjGBQKv5MFL-dm5urRyYxGHCHqbQ1ubFwHLe37/s1600/Riga+Presidente.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhl5I8FhSP0QG__7Ge27n5xxi9o7GAjR8Znxc7R4Tb2-oaAup_l9Mrjx4RThiA3nrC256u71L8GTLEVLh-lTV5iUDtlZXR0whO9EWuj5OjGBQKv5MFL-dm5urRyYxGHCHqbQ1ubFwHLe37/s640/Riga+Presidente.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Whether this is so or not only time will tell. At this time, however, our own candidate, re Pulkvedis Yandahlins, is keeping a low profile. Hint: he is thinking of coming out all green.</div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-48926577043983257222011-05-15T01:32:00.000-07:002011-05-15T01:32:44.751-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The Temple dedicated to the memory of destroyed forests, Melnays Jānis / Black John is open for the 2011 season and is receiving visitors.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtJNnYTdhTgVi3vGapnQuFiM_bXwq8vvBcpPLftjvghFdDLOMD3pFzb4pu_hodTFhonbBYA96CKAym6KFdOx6IyzD7QvWfu_97iwJs2t9yFm2pKpKssue9UMcTdi_p4QaNTMEJAErIv6G/s1600/Temple2011+1+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtJNnYTdhTgVi3vGapnQuFiM_bXwq8vvBcpPLftjvghFdDLOMD3pFzb4pu_hodTFhonbBYA96CKAym6KFdOx6IyzD7QvWfu_97iwJs2t9yFm2pKpKssue9UMcTdi_p4QaNTMEJAErIv6G/s640/Temple2011+1+002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>We are located in Latvia, about 30 km west of Valmiera, in the North Vidzeme Biosphere protectorate. The name 'protectorate' is on paper only, but we are working to make it real. The Temple is on private property, but is open for visits to the public. We also offer space for small parties, family get-togethers, weddings, dances, or simply a place for a restful walk on a weekend day. Our's is a very unusual place.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBO5SkgQIAQR29EfBjGy05ZBCOS2rtx7nPGCYrIlqTuTQbqArOoeXP_SV6r0q1wv4Pzv-OQC5fOMAjnadywRlZNcgmJmVJ0QeDUuAobwuKS-Rqj92x1sI5nqzRsYm4CReN0oruAXF6JOm/s1600/SaulrieteSaule+026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBO5SkgQIAQR29EfBjGy05ZBCOS2rtx7nPGCYrIlqTuTQbqArOoeXP_SV6r0q1wv4Pzv-OQC5fOMAjnadywRlZNcgmJmVJ0QeDUuAobwuKS-Rqj92x1sI5nqzRsYm4CReN0oruAXF6JOm/s640/SaulrieteSaule+026.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>The Latvian Janis (aka John, Johann, Jean, Gion, Huan, etc., also Joan, Zhenja, etc.) is of an ancient Christian root and the festival is celebrated on Midsummers Eve. The owner of the Temple, one Jandzs, is happy to provide visitors with a more detailed account of his views of the origin of this celebrated, but--even so--forgotten figure of arch-Christian times. The prefered time for discussion are Sundays, 11.00-13.00. Please call 'Inguna' (in Latvia) at 25979406 to make an appointment.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpkMLYSpDjT-hBaX7yVWKwWKGJFP7BjOCJB2ZZYbRVtivWSmNv8_9kWP92kF4Gd4VlfTerFpWGRX4FPCwJBxhwiFkMh06kCzmvP4fp-a5ABo72w8Bvdo0TgTuMcRIbJUE9__uQFa7Kdbg/s1600/Riga19%252C2011+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpkMLYSpDjT-hBaX7yVWKwWKGJFP7BjOCJB2ZZYbRVtivWSmNv8_9kWP92kF4Gd4VlfTerFpWGRX4FPCwJBxhwiFkMh06kCzmvP4fp-a5ABo72w8Bvdo0TgTuMcRIbJUE9__uQFa7Kdbg/s640/Riga19%252C2011+001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Please browse through the commentaries in earlier blogs. You will find a more detailed description of how to reach us. Hope to see you soon.</div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-16432590497404713402011-02-04T04:33:00.000-08:002011-02-04T06:16:51.579-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">Alarm bells </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">from the Latvian forests and wildlife!!!!!!!!!!</span></strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkIzGF-fidrUkDpdeT84QhdT_WPnrmU-TdAPz6Wlvuwy6A0R9dO25WZSz-NclcIXIAlt5DBL1Y_6avEDemfDSpU1J5lkPdayy7Lpok5G-R5zya54YQpRTtsd9Sj75JQfA4709iw5uAj3Cy/s1600/January2011+023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkIzGF-fidrUkDpdeT84QhdT_WPnrmU-TdAPz6Wlvuwy6A0R9dO25WZSz-NclcIXIAlt5DBL1Y_6avEDemfDSpU1J5lkPdayy7Lpok5G-R5zya54YQpRTtsd9Sj75JQfA4709iw5uAj3Cy/s640/January2011+023.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Aljezeera English has just published an essay on the state of Latvian forests, re<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am1xKGQ3YHc&feature=autofb">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am1xKGQ3YHc&feature=autofb</a><br />
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The horror perpetrated against Latvian forests by LVM (Latvijas Valsts Meži -- Latvian State Forests) may not be an official crime, but surely is double talk by LVM officials and by Latvia's Prime Minister Dombrovskis. See both in Aljezeera clip.<br />
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We at "Ceļmalnieki" have the only temple dedicated to destroyed Latvian forests in Latvia. The "Saw Cross" pictured above is our copyrighted symbol, which we hope will be adopted by all organizations against wanton forest destruction. The "Saw Cross" can be seen in more abstract form at posts at the beginning of this series. Scroll down and click on "Older posts".<br />
<img height="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTNXtloRwra-ZrhWAbOGcx-gFNTKzy2X9UXxvjxh7rmwM9ViEVbcf09XOYL8Ms4Jb1y5zU4gNrtIjjhDHtECEXnRrmfboTEytphyphenhyphenJE8AVd3eGRCeiHPRmfWPhz4dJsUeqWmY_euAJnz0/s640/DSCF3305.JPG" width="640" /><br />
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P.S. The January issue of the Latvian Gardeners' Club (Latvijas dārzu biedrība) magazine "Dārzā" (In the Garden) has an article and photo essay (p. 34-37) on yours truly and the Temple to Johns. The text is in Latvian.</div>E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-14384176915045608012010-11-08T03:14:00.000-08:002010-11-08T04:46:38.141-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebbPk8KYG7335-p26NIEcGJTQofyfNDz2cZ0_XNwWQB0zkAZ7vTdg2UZlBWwzGiZDLuy17l8-N1zWbGkg0WHxMppEsHvQJLBPRQ9kIazoR3k9Iou1RwqV2Os0TtGmh7jSLop5XsNnX1Y/s1600/SaulrieteSaule+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebbPk8KYG7335-p26NIEcGJTQofyfNDz2cZ0_XNwWQB0zkAZ7vTdg2UZlBWwzGiZDLuy17l8-N1zWbGkg0WHxMppEsHvQJLBPRQ9kIazoR3k9Iou1RwqV2Os0TtGmh7jSLop5XsNnX1Y/s320/SaulrieteSaule+040.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Post 17</span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Full or partial entries of my blogs may be found at LatviansOnline http://latviansonline.com/forum/ + Forum Home + Open Forum – The 4th Awakening. If you copy this blog for your files, or copy to forward, or otherwise mention its content, please credit the author http://esoschronicles.blogspot.com/, http://melnaysjanis.blogspot.com/, http://the-not-voter.blogspot.com/ or http://the4thawakening.blogspot.com/</span><br />
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<em>I suggest you look at the links imbedded in these blogs or at the end of the blog as an integral part of my argument.</em><br />
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An interesting exchange of letters and information--<strong>in Latvian</strong>--about the state of Latvia's forest <a href="http://aculiecinieks.delfi.lv/news/novados/rakstiet-ja-izcirtis-mezus-mes-nomirsim-bada.d?id=34985063">here.</a><br />
<a href="http://aculiecinieks.delfi.lv/news/novados/rakstiet-ja-izcirtis-mezus-mes-nomirsim-bada.d?id=34985063">http://aculiecinieks.delfi.lv/news/novados/rakstiet-ja-izcirtis-mezus-mes-nomirsim-bada.d?id=34985063</a><br />
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The governing bodies in Latvia (state and municipal) are going whack-ko cutting down trees and asserting the rule of stupidity over sense.<br />
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The cut down trees end up as sawdust and cheap export, rather than in the creation of a furniture industry.<br />
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<strong>Viens labs iemesls kāpēc celt sev privāto lauku templi ir fakts, ka daudzās valstīs--ievēromi tās kuras atrodās Eiropas austrumos--mēs sastopamies ar attieksmi kura mums <u>noliedz nest atbildību</u> (šeit vārdu 'atbildību' lietoja angļu valodas </strong><em>conscience</em><strong> nozīmē). Varbūt tāpēc Latvijā ir bieži sastopama neatbildīga attieksme (arī</strong> <em>con</em><em>science</em><strong> nozīmē) par to</strong><strong> kas te vai tur</strong><strong> notiek. Templis Melnays Jānis šo <u>nevīžību</u> (arī </strong><em>conscience </em><strong>nozīmē) <u>veicināšan</u>u, lai no kuras vēja puses tas nenāktu, peļ un uzskata to</strong><strong> kā nopietnu šķērsli atbildīgas cilvēces veidošanā, īpaši </strong><strong>pašdarbības</strong><strong> veidā.</strong><br />
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One good reason for building your own private outdoor temple is the fact that many countries, especially those located in Eastern Europe, are <u>against the freedom of conscience</u> both de facto and de jure. [How can you not be de jure if you already are de facto?) At Temple "Melnays Jahnis", we see this attempt to limit the breadth of meaning implicit in the word <strong>conscience</strong> as a form of spiritual repression by corrupt social icons. We lean heavily (without denying other functions to the word) in the direction that <em>defines conscience as</em> an aide to humankind in a self-help fashion to develop behavior that passes as responsibile.E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-2828621416513094562010-09-20T07:11:00.000-07:002010-09-20T07:34:36.856-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnBuKb3j5oaRcYIx19velp0NPStGmzb7YF_PuQOb-FkHupGmNCix1BaJzP54EDyRbMUQ4SkCXH3GEnZiNrYHLXcqe7Lb1ALGhhDfiMhMF_QPWJ-PMgX4YFWEaw1t9eptSn8aWpFQrTgY/s1600/DSCF5794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnBuKb3j5oaRcYIx19velp0NPStGmzb7YF_PuQOb-FkHupGmNCix1BaJzP54EDyRbMUQ4SkCXH3GEnZiNrYHLXcqe7Lb1ALGhhDfiMhMF_QPWJ-PMgX4YFWEaw1t9eptSn8aWpFQrTgY/s320/DSCF5794.JPG" /></a></div><strong><span style="font-size: large;">21</span></strong> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN46a_PjKFM&feature=fvw">Here</a> is a BBC documentary on Angor Wat, the largest temple in the world.<br />
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And here is a picture of one of the smallest in Braslavas pagasts, Alojas novads, Latvia. We call our temple "Melnays Jahnis" or Black John.<br />
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Black John is Green John turned black and all its limbs cut off. Black John recalls the forests of a land fast becoming deforested. Just yesterday a builder of log houses, which he exports to Norway, complained on a television program that his concern is running up against the problem of insufficient quality timber.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSaLQ6k_yP8tkrswme4bi1A6suZD5MHEWidZ7YKEL-0xbSGfFd8C0uGl7LKSkO_Re-4tCPVhkpOXccA09g_b3NdHSKkETlKFxs0U0HdjRYJGSapOlYFcee8ZqSqmMHbLUTpxyNTYhzTI/s1600/Jani2010+026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSaLQ6k_yP8tkrswme4bi1A6suZD5MHEWidZ7YKEL-0xbSGfFd8C0uGl7LKSkO_Re-4tCPVhkpOXccA09g_b3NdHSKkETlKFxs0U0HdjRYJGSapOlYFcee8ZqSqmMHbLUTpxyNTYhzTI/s320/Jani2010+026.jpg" /></a></div>Like the jays and squirrels in the fall gather acorns to store them in their winter barns (whereever these may be), we, too, are gathering acorns and sowing them to grow into mighty (we hope) oaks.<br />
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We encourage you or your acquaintances to consider building your own private outdoor temple. Why? Because we all hold something sacred and nature best represents the sense of the sacred in our time.<br />
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When enough people build their own outdoor temples with the intent to resacralize the forest, we will have sown a seed that has a future as certain as nature is green.E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7608942814736047983.post-27449303968562413892010-08-22T12:47:00.000-07:002010-08-24T00:50:35.603-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIF1TXHNdGx_5lrGpwsmxnRGu-ouydwkv3Q5ApWFgSP_zDeRoz3jRxyrCqvHqMY4Qqncp-BZGE6Wf28o2zCCCqvUlg5yYEt0EMnP3dQkB6AuMLOJEzg00D7BGgJG7jMPA9BfE_lk3HdA/s1600/DSCF5787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIF1TXHNdGx_5lrGpwsmxnRGu-ouydwkv3Q5ApWFgSP_zDeRoz3jRxyrCqvHqMY4Qqncp-BZGE6Wf28o2zCCCqvUlg5yYEt0EMnP3dQkB6AuMLOJEzg00D7BGgJG7jMPA9BfE_lk3HdA/s320/DSCF5787.JPG" /></a></div><strong><span style="font-size: large;">20</span></strong> I recently came across (browsing the web) Angela Palmer’s exhibit of tree roots at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3qG3dYRofc">Trafalgar Square</a>, London. The exhibit was installed on November 2009.<br />
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I recommend for my readers to read Ms Palmer’s <a href="http://www.angelaspalmer.com/">statement</a> to learn of the artist’s activities. Currently the show is being exhibited on the lawn of Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museum in central Oxford and will be shown there until July 31, 2011.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAn0Zv41_Adl_u-Q9EJO8hS91bGm_IrGk46HqhvvWNsND3U95wvfCcU23Pt0a-mldbYTMzpN3L0QAWtK1paToqifaZTtFCa8gqV82aIed9cUt7qVAnwjcUTx1uUD0PzEK9HRIVSONcJM/s1600/DSCF5790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAn0Zv41_Adl_u-Q9EJO8hS91bGm_IrGk46HqhvvWNsND3U95wvfCcU23Pt0a-mldbYTMzpN3L0QAWtK1paToqifaZTtFCa8gqV82aIed9cUt7qVAnwjcUTx1uUD0PzEK9HRIVSONcJM/s320/DSCF5790.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguW7g9heYz47kuOydiKvBRBZXw6BZA8_OmH2NWCrg0o0fL5IqdgPJVPenHN3OiUlSEhMq646_fD5DFNtA9LmBOAkkiwchD4sPycWUzCgyEF6yU0N8m0TPBJDMMiQz_W-DEv-xH_y7fqM/s1600/DSCF5791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguW7g9heYz47kuOydiKvBRBZXw6BZA8_OmH2NWCrg0o0fL5IqdgPJVPenHN3OiUlSEhMq646_fD5DFNtA9LmBOAkkiwchD4sPycWUzCgyEF6yU0N8m0TPBJDMMiQz_W-DEv-xH_y7fqM/s320/DSCF5791.JPG" /></a></div>While Angela Palmer calls her exhibit a “Ghost Tree Exhibition” and I dedicate my “Temple to Johns” to axed forests, I believe that our concerns are the same. <br />
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As irony would have it, even as I posted my two previous blogs, a small forest next to my property was torn down by the owner of the property abuts mine. I say “torn”, because modern technology can quite manage without the chain saw handled by human hands. While a saw cuts the stump, the operation actually resembles Jack the Ripper at his worst. Of course, I am speaking from the point of view of one who believes the forests to be holy places even from a quite practical point of view. Are the floods in Pakistan not the result of a lack of forests to absorb the rains?<br />
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Incidentally, I believe that Ms. Palmer’s exhibit is in its own fashion a temple. If you live in England, it might be worth visiting it and writing a letter to this blog about your impression.E Anton Benjaminshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10284694966964779639noreply@blogger.com0