Tick Tock (by 3388Music)
Posted April 29, 2013 in Reviving the World’s Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, U.S. Law and Policy
Tags: endangeredspeciesact, greathammerheadshark, listingpetition
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In mid-March, NRDC submitted a petition to list the Northwest Atlantic population of great hammerhead shark as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. Last week, NOAA announced that our petition, as well as one submitted by WildEarth Guardians, had demonstrated that a listing may be warranted. The government will now take the next 12 months to conduct a full scientific review of the great hammerhead’s status and decide whether to formally propose listing.
Photograph by Josh Hallett (2007)
What Are The Seven Gifts Of Druidry?
It is often said - usually by those who have not studied the subject - that the world-view and philosophy of the old Druids is lost beyond recall… [but] it is by no means impossible to regain in the present age the spirit of original Druid philosophy. It is essential indeed to do so; for a revival of the old Druidic way of thought, acknowledging the sanctity of the living earth and all its creatures, seems the only alternative to planetary dissolution.
John Michell Stonehenge
Today our biggest problem is that we have separated ourselves from Nature - so much that there is a risk we may not survive as a species. We need philosophies, spiritualities, ideas, that can help us get back in touch with Nature again - our spirituality must become ecological. Prince Philip, in a speech to a Washington conference on religion and ecology controversially pointed to the direction in which we should look, when he said: “It is now apparent that the ecological pragmatism of the so-called pagan religions…was a great deal more realistic in terms of conservation ethics than the more intellectual monotheistic philosophies of the revealed religions.”
It now seems that the Old Ways, reinterpreted for our times, can offer us the kind of spirituality that we need to heal the separation that has occurred between ourselves and our environment. Druidry is one such Way, and although at first sight it might appear to be just an old curiosity, a quaint memory from the distant past, if we take the time to look at it more closely, we will discover a treasure-chest just waiting to be opened. And in this chest we can find at least seven gifts that Druidry brings to our modern world:
The first gift is a Philosophy: which emphasizes the sacredness of all life, and our part in the great web of creation. It cares passionately about the preservation and protection of the environment, and offers a worldview, which is ecological, geocentric, pragmatic, idealistic, spiritual and romantic. It does not separate Spirit and Matter - it offers a sensuous spirituality that celebrates physical life.
The second gift puts us back in touch with Nature: with a set of practices that help us feel at one again with Nature, our ancestors, our own bodies, and our sense of Spirit, by working with plants, trees, animals, stones, and ancestral stories. Eight seasonal celebrations help us attune to the natural cycle, and help us to structure our lives through the year, and to develop a sense of community with all living beings.
The third gift brings Healing: with practices that promote healing and rejuvenation, using spiritual and physical methods in a holistic way to promote health and longevity.
The fourth gift affirms our life as a Journey: with rites of passage: for the blessing and naming of children, for marriage, for death, and for other times of initiation, when it is helpful to ritually and symbolically mark our passage from one state to another.
The fifth gift opens us to other Realities: with techniques for exploring other states of consciousness, other realities, the Otherworld. Some of these are also used by other spiritual traditions, and include meditation, visualization, shamanic journeying, and the use of ceremony, music, chanting and sweathouses, but they are all grounded in specifically Celtic and Druidic imagery and tradition.
The sixth gift develops our Potential: Druidry as it is practiced today offers a path of self-development that encourages our creative potential, our psychic and intuitive abilities, and fosters our intellectual and spiritual growth.
The seventh gift of Druidry is the gift of Magic: it teaches the art of how we can open to the magic of being alive, the art of how we can bring ideas into manifestation, and the art of journeying in quest of wisdom, healing and inspiration.
Alien Facehugger Made Even Scarier With Animal Bones
As if the facehuggers from the Alien movies weren’t scary enough, now there’s this version of one that is made entirely from animal bones. There are bones from a box turtle, mink, skunk, coyote, mouse, and wild turkey assembled to look just like a facehugger. It’s incredible and awesome and sure to give me nightmares tonight.
Our Condor Cam superstar from last season, Saticoy, is heading out into the wild blue yonder! We have recently received notification from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that Saticoy will be released to the wild in California. For those that are new to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Condor Cam, Saticoy is one of our California condor chicks who hatched here last season and is the sibling of this year’s Condor Cam chick. He actually hatched live online on the morning of March 10, 2012. Thousands of lucky viewers logged on to experience this one-of-a-kind event. Here at the Safari Park, we have been video-monitoring our condor nests for over 20 years, but 2012 marked the first time that a condor nest was available for viewing by the public. The parents (father Sisquoc and mother Shatash) did an amazing job of feeding and caring for Saticoy as he hatched and grew under the watchful and admiring eyes of all of his fans. When he hatched, he weighed around 180 grams and had a wingspan of only about 5 inches. Now, at 1 year of age, he weighs nearly 8 kilograms and sports a 9 1/2-foot wingspan!
Native American women walking length of river, raising pollution awareness | Occupy Washington, DC »
Native American women walking length of river, raising pollution awareness
Photo taken today by Paul Seesequasis of Mississippi River Water Walker organizer, Sharon Day near Dubuque IA on March 23rd. They walk to raise awareness of the sacredness of the Mississippi River, working to keep it pollution free for the next 7 generations.
More Science
FrogWatch Canada
Canadian herpetologists (scientists who study amphibians and reptiles) are studying declines in various species, hoping to determine causes and possible solutions. Volunteer monitoring programs such as FrogWatch Canada are important because they are often the first signal that a particular species is declining. If such programs were up and running in the late 1970s we would have a much better idea why Northern Leopard Frogs declined across the prairies.
A silly thing
This was not written for anyone in particular, just generally inspired by people (Druids and not-Druids alike) who become focused on Being Important and lose sight of actually being right, or useful, or anything else worth having. The lure of fame, celebrity and importance can blind us to what is of real value, and in our celebrity obsessed culture, a bit of taking the piss may be good for the soul.
And yes, I probably do spend too much time listening to the moe commercially driven end of contemporary music, but in my defence, I have a child, and a curious addiction to the radio 1 chart show (although I miss the top ten each week to switch over for Genevieve Tudor’s most excellent folk program…) I appear to have digressed…
Hardcore Archdruid Style
Got my archdruid on
Looking big and shiny
Got to polish it hard
Feelin’ pedantic and whiney.
Please read the rest of this here: http://druidlife.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/a-silly-thing/ Very funny.
Drinking of Absinthe: Dancing with the Green Fairy
“QUANTUM SHOT” #824 Link - article by Simon Rose and Avi Abrams
The Bohemian Realm of Absinthiana
Absinthiana are the trappings and accessories associated with the drinking of absinthe. This anise-flavoured spirit is made from the flowers and leaves of wormwood, green anise, sweet fennel and other herbs. Absinthe has a natural green colour and was referred to as the Green Fairy, although it can also be colourless. Absinthe has a high alcohol level and is normally diluted with water for drinking. It’s also very bitter and was often poured into a glass of water over sugar on a perforated spoon.
(images via 1, 2, 3)
Absinthe was invented in 1797 and by the 1850’s it had become a firm favourite with the upper classes. It was originally a wine-based drink, but the Great French Wine Blight of the mid-19th century destroyed many of the French vineyards. Absinthe was based instead on grain alcohol. This made it more affordable and the Green Fairy became very popular as an alcoholic drink in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the early eighteenth century, absinthe would be served in an ordinary glass, with water added from a standard jug or similar container. With the increasing popularity of absinthe, specialty glassware, elaborate spoons, carafes and fountains made their appearance.
Read more at http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2013/03/drinking-of-absinthe-dancing-with-green.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheThrillingWonderStory+%28Dark+Roasted+Blend%29&utm_content=Bloglines#b0xUqxXmTTzYjEVQ.99
The modern diet of processed foods, takeaways and microwave meals could be to blame for a sharp increase in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, including alopecia, asthma and eczema.
A team of scientists from Yale University in the U.S and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, in Germany, say junk food diets could be partly to blame.
‘This study is the first to indicate that excess refined and processed salt may be one of the environmental factors driving the increased incidence of autoimmune diseases,’ they said.
Junk foods at fast food restaurants as well as processed foods at grocery retailers represent the largest sources of sodium intake from refined salts.
The Canadian Medical Association Journal sent out an international team of researchers to compare the salt content of 2,124 items from fast food establishments such as Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Subway. They found that the average salt content varied between companies and between the same products sold in different countries.
