Eleni's Blog in Ikaria

A Mountain called “The Wild Bee” (TUGTII #3)

Eleni — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:50:27 +0000

The Unofficial Guide to Ikaria Island #3

Photos Tagged (”blogged” + “Ikaria”) x rated “interesting”

black bee, originally uploaded by Tragopodaros.

Comments

angeloska says:

this is the terrible creature that gives the name to the mountain top.

—————————————

This beautiful photo was seen in The Ikaria pool! Thanks for adding!
☺☺☺
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

I did not know that. How do you know it is this melissa and not another wild species? Are they really so terrible? I thought that perhaps like our own English bumblebees these big things were virtually harmless. Don’t tell me I’m wrong!?
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

angeloska says:

I don’t think it’ s a bumble bee
(“babouras” in Greek because it buzzes loudly, also nickname for a noisy restless child)

I have seen people take cover when a bee like this gets into a house or a shop. They shout “Mia agriomelissa – agriomelissa!” and grab weapons. They can get very big – the size of a locust- and when they are angry they buzz very loudly and make stucca attacks.
But they are bees and in normal conditions they behave as peacefully as bees. They just graze. They don’t have the alarming looks of red or yellow hornets, the ever hungry scavangers.

Tragopodaros says:

All very interesting, thanks. Ashy was visciously attacked by one of the orange hornet-type wasps in 2004, near to Drakano tower. We must have stumbled near the nest. It did mad stuka attacks, as you describe and in the end I had to kill it by clapping my hands on it while it was caught in her hair. It was very scary and there was only one!

The funny side of it was that we had not “come out” as a couple back in those days, but in her panic Ashy was shouting “Baby! Baby! Baby!… Get it off me! ..Baby!” within earshot of my sister and brother-in-law.
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

angeloska says:

I think there should be more aggresive wasps in this world. I know that the women in the house love me only when there is a spider in a room.
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

I shall foot it (TUGTII #2)

Eleni — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:58:47 +0000

The Unofficial Guide to Ikaria Island #2

Photos Tagged (”blogged” + “Ikaria”) x rated “interesting”

Ikaria 224, (“Rock Litany”) originally uploaded by isl_gr.

Comments

isl_gr says:

Click to join hikingIkaria
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink | delete | edit )

grrlscout says:

Good shot.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink | delete )

simonsterg says:

You have been arranging those rocks, haven’t you?
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink | delete )

isl_gr says:

-> of course I have; faith can move 50 t boulders anyplace (on condition that I hold tight from the line of the horizon -straight horizontal as in all my photos)

-> ah, D:
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink | delete | edit )

simonsterg says:

I love the sunset light in this (or is it dawn?!) – red below – red soil, red sky – violet above.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink | delete )

angeloska says:

are they going to the feast or coming back?
πάνε στο πανηγύρι ή επιστρέφουν;
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink | delete )

isl_gr says:

It was late in the afternoon and I left the fiest to weep in peace over my leaving the island the following day. The light was not the best but in it I saw that funny procession and I cheered up. I thought :
“Life is Hard for Rocks too”.
They too had left the panigiri to climb back to their home in the heights were they belong. The two last are “stone drunk”. The last one rolled over and he’s not probably going to make it.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink | delete | edit )

simonsterg says:

I came across this poem a few weeks ago, and now it comes back to mind.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink | delete )

isl_gr says:

“I shall foot it
Down the roadway in the dusk,
Where shapes of hunger wander
And the fugitives of pain go by.
I shall foot it
In the silence of the morning,
See the night slur into dawn,
Hear the slow great winds arise
Where tall trees flank the way
And shoulder toward the sky.

The broken boulders by the road
Shall not commemorate my ruin.
Regret shall be the gravel under foot.
I shall watch for
Slim birds swift of wing
That go where wind and ranks of thunder
Drive the wild processionals of rain.

The dust of the traveled road
Shall touch my hands and face.”

~ Carl Sandburg, 1878-1967 ~

(This is from : www.flickr.com/photos/lynnmorag/141434748/ )
( thank you so very much *simonsterg*)
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink | delete | edit )

vagaman. says:

moon and sun award
I saw this magical photo at places of magic in Greece pool

μοιαζουν με σκυφτες πλατες κουρασμενων ανθρωπων που ανεβαινουν το βουνο!
Posted 23 months ago. ( permalink | delete )

isl_gr says:

ευχαριστω
yes, bended backs of tired walkers, precisely; and here is me carrying my baby on my back. I am not tired.

Posted 23 months ago.

Goats can pose (TUGTII #1)

egotoagrimi — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:35:16 +0000

The Unofficial Guide to Ikaria Island #1

Photos Tagged (“blogged” + “Ikaria”) x rated “interesting”

lone guard

Zizokampos, April 20, 2008

by Houndsworth ©

Comments

angeloska says:

Forget all we say about goats, they can pose and make a great photographic subject!

————————–

Seen in the Ikaria pool! ☺☺☺

isl_gr says:

Oh yes they can

though this photo tells that sometimes girls can pose better

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Seen in the Ikaria pool! Thanks for adding!
☺☺☺
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Announcing The UnOfficial Guide to Ikaria Island

egotoagrimi — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:31:27 +0000

Photos Tagged (“blogged” + “Ikaria”) x rated “interesting”

The Names of the Goddess

Eleni — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:54:08 +0000

: ______

(top left) Synthesizing Artemis of Ephesus: an 18th-century engraving of a Roman marble copy of a Greek replica of a lost Geometric period xoanon.

Read more about the Syncretic and Enigmatic
Lady of Ephesus in The Wikipedia

(top right) “Plank figure” of chalk, Early Cypriot III to Middle Cypriot I, 1900-1800 BCE (Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens)

(bottom left) Reconstruction of a Painted Archaic period Kore (Glyptotek, Munich)

(bottom right) “Bell Idol“ : Late Geometric pottery item from Thebes, Boetia, rare example of figurative sculpture from the period (750-690 BC) probably representing a Nature goddess – a descendant of the Minoan tradition, which some commentators have identified with Artemis.

(LE LOUVRE)

Tags: artemis, hunting, bell-idol, kore, layers, ikarianenigma, nas, taurobolium, ikaria, xoanon, ικαρία, ξόανον, νας, aegean, history, ikarian-legends, syncretism | Edit Tags Tuesday October 21, 2008 – 10:58am (PDT) Edit | Delete

Next Post: HAPPY 2009! Previous Post: In the Name of the Goddess

Comments

(23 total) Post a Comment

Apoll…
Offline

Is this a do-it-yourself blog? You give us the title and we provide the body?

Gaia – Cybele – Hecate – Selene – Demeter – Aphrodite.

I don’t consider them to be names of the goddess but masks of the eternal mother of all things, masks that reflect the time and the place of the mask maker.

If you close your eyes and slowly recite these names, it will briefly transport you into Her dark cthonian chamber.
Gaia – Cybele – Hecate – Selene – Demeter – Aphrodite…

Wednesday October 22, 2008 – 12:22am (PDT) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

Στο 7ο Θαύμα του Αρχαίου Κόσμου γινόταν της πουτάνας!
Και πρέπει να παίζανε και τρελά λεφτά!

Wednesday October 22, 2008 – 02:34pm (EEST) Remove Comment

Simon G
Offline

DIY:

This Ephesian Aphrodite doesn’t look like much of a hunter. I wonder if the Nas one was a bit more athletic?

I’ve seen the Hippolytus / Phaedra story on stage a few times.

Aphrodite complains about Hippolitus:

“Love he scorns, and, as for marriage, will none of it; but Artemis, daughter of Zeus, sister of Phoebus, he doth honour, counting her the chief of goddesses, and ever through the greenwood, attendant on his virgin goddess, he clears the earth of wild beasts with his fleet hounds, enjoying the comradeship of one too high for mortal ken.”

(Euripides http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/hippolytus.html )

Of course he comes to a bad end; you have to be careful with goddesses.

Wednesday October 22, 2008 – 04:16pm (CEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

Perhaps ‘Apollonios’ is right in his first comment. I am usually patient and do what you ask me to do but this time please get to the point -to one of the points at least. You are a master in iconography, so what do you think? Do you think that the statue of Artemis in Nas, Ikaria, was a wooden xoanon, an early version of something that looked like the Goddess of the Wikipedia?
I am trying to imagine it made of a single log of wood, painted with many colors and loaded with silver and gold.

‘vixen’ -> lol

Wednesday October 22, 2008 – 09:04pm (EEST) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

You know so many artists. Why not have one of them carve an imaginary replica of this statue (including the animals!) on a piece of tree and paint it? I bet it would look like an American Indian Totemic pillar -ugh!

Thursday October 23, 2008 – 02:39pm (EEST) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

Spooky revelation #1
In ancient times, Ephesus was a huge cosmopolitan port with a population in the hundreds of thousands and it was the center of Artemis-Cybele the mother goddess cult.
Island of Delos was the sacred city of Artemis the huntress cult, destination of many pilgrims from all over the mediterranean world.
Ikaria’s Nas bay is e-x-a-c-t-l-y the midpoint between Ephesus and Delos.

I have always suspected this but now thanks to the Google-Earth measuring tool I verified it.
Delos to Nas is 73.5 Km and it is a straight unobstructed line, and Nas to Delos is also 73.5 Km in a straight line. Don’t take my word for it check it out for yourself.

I don’t attach any metaphysical significance to this but it is no accident either. It is very likely that Nas was built by Ephesian settlers as a naval re-supply point for food and water and also as a safety and praying stop when the Ikarian archipelagos was in turmoil (and most of us who travel to Ikaria by boat have gotten a taste of that)
If this is true then the Artemis Xoanon at Nas temple was fashioned like the one in Ephesus. (The Nas Artemis bull sacrifice connection, also points in the same direction – coins depicting Artemis sitting on a bull were found near Nas)

Thursday October 23, 2008 – 11:34am (PDT) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

Vixen is right, Ephesus was a modern day Las Vegas, Delos was like Switzerland, besides being a sacred city was also the central treasure bank for the Delian league, you know money and religion always stick together.
And Ikaria was, well, like modern Ikaria, a port stop on the way to Samos or to Mykonos.

Thursday October 23, 2008 – 11:41am (PDT) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

correction to my previous post: Ephesus to Nas is 73.5 Km and it is a straight unobstructed line, and Nas to Delos is also 73.5 Km in a straight line.

Thursday October 23, 2008 – 11:49am (PDT) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

I measured the distances on the actual map -the very accurate Greek Hydrographic Service Map. YOU ARE RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday October 24, 2008 – 01:05pm (EEST) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

I mixed-up my Kilometers and miles, Ephesus Nas is 73.5 Miles, Nas to Dilos is 73.5 Km, sorry. However still Ephesus – Nas – Dilos is in a straight line and therefore Nas was a possible stop-over for the pilgrims from and to Dilos.

Friday October 24, 2008 – 03:04pm (PDT) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

but wait, there is more…
Why would Ephesians or Greeks care about the mid-point anyway, the divine proportion in ancient times and even today is the golden ratio (χρυσή τομή )
“In math two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger one is the same as the ratio between the larger one and the smaller. The golden ratio is a mathematical constant approximately 1.618. Phi = (a+b)/a = a/b = 1.618 (Pay attention we will have a pop-quiz at the end of this blog)
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio for details about the fascinating history of the golden ratio.

Artists, mathematicians, architects, astronomers, philosopher and yes magic cults were captivated by this ratio.

So what we really have here is the distance between Ephesus to Nas = 118.5 Km and distance from Nas To Delos = 73.5 Km and their ratio is about 1.612, a golden ratio match. To me this is much more significant than Nas being the mid-point between Ephesus and Delos.

Friday October 24, 2008 – 03:56pm (PDT) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

I counted milimeters “as a bird flies” on a 1/25000 map. Have you been a sailor and a paddle rower? I have. The golden ratio is approxiamtely 1/3. One day of rowing (24 hours and hopefully not against the wind!), then 2 to 3 days for resting, praying and occasional sacrifice, good food, hunting and girl chasing.
Then back to the row bench to cross the Ikarian Sea. Today the wind is north, force 6-7 and I tell you the sea is not inviting!

Saturday October 25, 2008 – 02:09pm (EEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

I know the artist. I assume none of the ladies here would like to pose as a model for the Goddess’ “xoanon”?

Saturday October 25, 2008 – 02:13pm (EEST) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

Discoveries! Isn’t geometry a great thing?
However, there is a limit. No matter how good your artist is, no way for me to pose as a geometric period xoanon! Too stiff and loaded with stuff! If I do, I will faint in less than an hour. Do it but use a dummie instead.

Saturday October 25, 2008 – 08:42pm (EEST) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

Angelos, before we pick a model to pose as the goddess, your task is to “harvest” two dozen bull testes for the goddess’s necklace, is this already done?
By the way why we think this xoanon was from the geometric period? Nothing geo about it, looks like late Greek Archaic period with oriental influnces.

Saturday October 25, 2008 – 01:30pm (PDT) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

Who needs sponcors when there are friends?!
I am breaking in this creative thinking thread to say that I have edited my entry and added a picture of the nearest to a xoanon. I think the “venerated image” (*) Artemis of Nas looked like something between the picture on the left and the picture on the right.

(*) “image” in this case is something more than 2D and less than 3D, very much the christian cross -no iconic value if looked at from the side!

Anyway, I have a full frontal picture of myself from when I was pregnant. Minus the extra breasts (or whatever they were), I was well… very geometric, like a “Magna Mater” oversized figurine.

I could lend the photo to the artist use as a model.
To respect the 7th century Ionian tradition (as well flatter my female vanity…) the artist must add a clear touch of the looks of a Kore (bottom picture) -and please… A Nice Archaic Dress!

Monday October 27, 2008 – 05:32am (PDT) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

You didn’t look at all like a “Plank Figure”, I’d say…

Tuesday October 28, 2008 – 03:02pm (EET) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

So Elle, you think the Nas Artemis was more of a functional and symbolic, lightly curved, painted wooden totem icon rather than an elaborate, impressive statue?
Something like an oversized colorful babushka doll?
Your instinct is probably right, the early Icarians were a small horticultural community of small scale hunters, living around rivers on an island with resources no other than wood and rocks and therefore very limited in what they could create. (but I bet you a lot of love and artistic vigor went creating the Nas xoanon)
I like the nested babushka doll metaphor, the outer doll is like an Ephesian Artemis, you peel it off and inside it you find a more primitive near-east fertility goddess, inside it you find an even more primitive doll in the geometric Cycladic style and inside that doll you find a large egg…

Tuesday October 28, 2008 – 07:06am (PDT) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

360y is falling apart as usual; I so hope that you can see the editing of the entry. I have added the famous “Bell Idol” from the famous New Louvre new website which ‘Simon G’ spotted and wrote to tell me about (x x x ♥♥♥).
Les savants say it was an Artemis!
Les savants also seem to imply that it was a development of the rigorous “vase form” beloved by the 8 cent. potters.

♥@♥ Apollonios: the vase, the doll, the egg, the babushka ♀♀♀???

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
how and when did the bow/arrow and the virginity thing
came in the picture?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With your ♥ help ♥ we will find this out in a next episode on
 Eleni’s Channel!

Wednesday October 29, 2008 – 05:38am (PDT) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

α-γ-ω-ν-ί-α
…

Thursday October 30, 2008 – 02:13pm (EET) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

The Ephesian Artemis and the hunting Artemis of mainland Greece were two different goddesses who happened to share the same name and a common interest for nature and wild animals.

The evolution of the Ephesian Artemis is a classic case of religious syncretism, that is the morphing of a religion to something new by adding elements from other religions. Gods evolve over time as the people who worship them come into contact through wars or peaceful migration.
(For example our Greek orthodox church here in California has catholic-style stained glass windows, harpsichord music is played during the liturgy and the priest has no beard. These things may be considered taboo in mainland Greece but they are quite natural to Greeks here because other christian chrches have them)

It is obvious that the Ephesian Artemis was a prehistoric Great Mother figure that the Ionian settlers tried to Hellenize, but the locals resisted because they had such a great love for her cult and the only thing they accepted to change was the name. Maybe her cult was so old that she had no name, maybe she was an ancient fetish, an It and therefore giving her a proper name was long overdue. I just wish they had called her more appropriately, Gaia, mother Earth.

Saturday November 1, 2008 – 07:30am (PDT) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

By the way, about the bottom left reconstruction of the painted Kore:
While it is true that most ancient Greek statues were painted, the Greek artists did not smear flashy colors everywhere as the reconstructed “gaudy plumage” suggests. Only the eyes, lips and hair were painted to humanize the head and give it a haunting intimidating appearance. (These statues also served and as guards in a temple to scare potential looters)

Saturday November 1, 2008 – 07:42am (PDT) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

I talked with the artist. I gave him the link and placed an order for a ‘xoanon’. He has an idea but he made no promises. We will have to wait…

Sunday November 2, 2008 – 07:46pm (EET)

those who care about others and those who do not

Eleni — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:51:00 +0000

: Don Juan explained that the new seers saw that there are two main groups of human beings: those who care about others and those who do not. In between these two extremes they saw an endless mixture of the two. The nagual Julian belonged to the category of men who do not care; don Juan classified himself as belonging to the opposite category.
‘But didn’t you tell me that the nagual Julian was generous, that he would give you the shirt off his back?’ I asked.
‘He certainly was,’ don Juan replied. ‘Not only was he generous; he was also utterly charming and winning. He was always deeply and sincerely interested in everybody around him. He was kind and open and gave away everything he had to anyone who needed it, or to anyone he happened to like. He was in turn loved by everyone, because being a master stalker, he conveyed to them his true feelings he didn’t give a plugged nickel for any of them.’
I did not say anything, but don Juan was aware of my sense of disbelief or even distress at what he was saying. He chuckled and shook his head from side to side.
‘That’s stalking,’ he said. ‘You see, I haven’t even begun my story of the nagual Julian and you are already annoyed.’
He exploded into a giant laugh as I tried to explain what I was feeling.
‘The nagual Julian didn’t care about anyone.’ he continued. ‘That’s why he could help people. And he did; he gave them the shirt off his abck, because he didn’t give a fig about them.’
‘Do you mean, don Juan, that the only ones who help their fellow men are those who don’t give a damn about them?’ I asked, trully miffled.
‘That’s what stalkers say,’ he said with a beaming smile. ‘The nagual Julian, for instance, was a fabulous curer. He helped thousands of people, but he never took credit for it. He let people believe that a woman seer of his party was the curer.’
‘Now, if he had been a man who cared for the fellow men, he would’ ve demanded acknowledgment. Those who care for others care for themselves and demand recognition where recognition is due.’
Don Juan said that he, since he belonged to the category of those who care for their fellow men, had never helped anyone: he felt awkward with generosity; he could not even conceive being loved as the nagual Julian was, and he would certainly feel stupid giving anyone the shirt off his back.
I care so much about my fellow man,’ he continued, ‘that I don’t do anything for him. I wouldn’t know what to do. And I would always have the nagging sense that I was imposing my will on him with my gifts.’

(Carlos Castaneda, ‘The Fire From Within‘)

Tags: stalker, stalking, generosity, care, cure, agrimi-mou, nagual, carlos-castaneda, don-juan | Edit Tags Monday June 8, 2009 – 10:40am (PDT) Edit | Delete

Previous Post: The New Eloquence

Comments

(20 total) Post a Comment

AKK
Offline

Sounds like a harmless Indian tale but it’s TNT. I read it over and over.

Monday June 8, 2009 – 10:18pm (EEST) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

Isn’t it very wise and true? Thank you for suggesting me to read Castaneda again. Towards which side are you on? Those who care about others or those who do not? I had thought of putting up a poll, you know.

Tuesday June 9, 2009 – 11:41am (PDT) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

Thank you

Tuesday June 9, 2009 – 11:06pm (EEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

I’d rather you spoke first.

Wednesday June 10, 2009 – 09:28pm (EEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

A poll? haha:-)) That’s “stalking”! Since when witchcraft obeys democracy?

Wednesday June 10, 2009 – 09:30pm (EEST) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

I have spoken.

Thursday June 11, 2009 – 03:38am (PDT) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

You have indeed. It’s frightening to think I am more like in the group of those who do not care about others.

Friday June 12, 2009 – 06:38pm (EEST) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

Thank you for the confession but let me mistrust the “it’s frightening” part. You are saying this perhaps because this is public space.

Saturday June 13, 2009 – 12:48am (PDT) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

I am not a nagual! I AM frightened!

Saturday June 13, 2009 – 01:01pm (EEST) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

Oh what a difficult subject this is..
Think about professional politicians, for example. They say that they care about others, and I believe most of them do. Do they help? Have they ever helped? Really helped I mean. Not administrate “help”.

Sunday June 14, 2009 – 08:09pm (EEST) Remove Comment

Jude
Offline

I’ve never read Castaneda – now I am inspired to do so.

Yes, its puzzling and difficult. I don’t know what else to say,except that reading the passage has forced me to acknowledge this post.

Monday June 15, 2009 – 07:46am (BST) Remove Comment

Simon G
Offline

When words are used with their meanings stretched it can get you thinking…

Don Juan’s “cares about” is stretched. What he really maans is “enjoys attention from, wants the acceptance of”. And that these needs, though normal and healthy, limit what a person can do for others.

I am definitely in the enjoys attention, wants acceptance camp, though I can see what Don Juan is getting at.

Monday June 15, 2009 – 05:21pm (CEST) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

So am I definitely in. Or rather so was I. It’s getting more and more tiresome though.
By the way, the previous book ends with the party of female and male apprendices (including Carlos) jumping off a cliff and flying out to a separate reality!

Tuesday June 16, 2009 – 02:05am (PDT) Remove Comment

Simon G
Offline

! – not to be tried without proper preparation!

Like going completely without needing affirmation and attention!

Tuesday June 16, 2009 – 12:53pm (CEST) Remove Comment

Simon G
Offline

! – although we are flying in a separate reality here!

Tuesday June 16, 2009 – 12:55pm (CEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

Eleniiii!!!! please don’t jump!!!

Tuesday June 16, 2009 – 02:22pm (EEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

(how un-nagualish of me…)

Tuesday June 16, 2009 – 02:25pm (EEST) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

Damn! I got stuck! I am reading Castaneda! Love the unworldly technical details. I haven’t come to that part with the jump but it’s obvious those guys “walked” on something called “emanations” or beams of light.
I also like the scenery.

Wednesday June 17, 2009 – 10:07pm (EEST) Remove Comment

Lambr…
Offline

I somehow love to come and read and stay silent…

Thursday June 18, 2009 – 11:00pm (EEST) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

Wise angle.

Friday June 19, 2009 – 10:35am (PDT)

Apoll…
Offline

I am on vacation, so technically I am not allowed to have any philosophical thoughts.
So, let’s talk about Castaneda the author.
He started out as a Sophist (in the classical meaning of the word) he created an interesting fusion between Native American and traditional oriental thinking. Then he violated a basic rule in fiction writing, he tried to be part of his world in a big way. Moreover at some point, he killed the main characters of the world he created and then he tried to emerge as the successor and the supernatural chief of this cult. All these were possible because they happened in the background of the psychedelic sixties when most known rules of the western world were challenged and many influential people were “experimenting” with something or other.
At the end, Carlos died as a mortal man and as a typical successful Messianic male, rich from his publications and surrounded by misguided victims of his cult.
However not all is lost. We have to separate the author from his work and there is plenty of good ideas in Castaneda’s work.

Nagual – Don Vasilio
(High on faskomilo)

Monday July 6, 2009 – 12:59am (PDT) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

Thank you, Don Vasilio! I am reading Castaneda as fiction and as fiction I appreciate it a lot during the very out-of-the-ordinary times I am going through. I would have taken to some of the wildest by Stephen King but he is sometimes too frightening and dark.
And yes (thank you again), this literature comes from a time when “most known rules of the western world were challenged” —this is what I urgently need now!

D E T A C H E M E N T

Monday July 6, 2009 – 02:27am (PDT)

The New Eloquence

Eleni — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:44:42 +0000

It will take me time until I write something that makes sense about this. But I have started and that’s what counts. It will be something good, I promise.

… and the good thing eventually proved out to be our comments. I have copied them inside this entry in case something happens and they are gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Comments

(14 total)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apoll…

Didn’t I predict that your howling was the prelude to a new song?

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”
~ Maya Angelou ~

Thursday May 7, 2009 – 01:00pm (PDT)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tags are telling already a lot.

Friday May 8, 2009 – 01:09pm (EEST)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

vixen

Hurry up. Because as it is, it sounds like Paulo Coelho.

Friday May 8, 2009 – 08:05pm (EEST)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

elle

Thank you, boys.
Good point Nana. But I can’t hurry and I am sorry if it does. Just add it to the thrill…

Saturday May 9, 2009 – 10:17am (PDT)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lambr…

Without seeking a lot, many stories from my life, make me feel this way. Some other stories teach me different, sometimes hard lessons.
I believe nothing is accidental.

Looking fwd to your inflow of expressiveness!
♥!

Tuesday May 12, 2009 – 05:57am (EEST)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

elle

“When you want something badly the universe conspires…” Well, it’s not that. It’s rather “Conspire so that the universe takes the shape you want it to have”.
Retell the old stories. Retell the story of your life. Rewind the reel. We are fed with so much rubbish and bad stories by the media so as this has a sinister effect on the way we see our own lives!

Tuesday May 12, 2009 – 03:53am (PDT)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lambr…

When we want something badly it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is good for us. Sometimes I was wondering why some things don’t work at all… but later I realized that there was a good reason for that because it was just a step, a means for getting to something better, deeper, more important for me. Then I feel free from the initial desire and grateful for the evolution of events.
So, when I’m given a hard time I don’t know what is behind all this and where it is going to lead me but I know I should be vigilant, open and spontaneous…
You’ve already sensed that I’m rather emotional and not so rational or practical. My actions are mostly based on feelings. I sometimes pay with a lot of pain, but I recover and move in the same way.
When we meet and I will feel comfortable enough to share some stories, maybe you would think I am not normal. But anyway, what does “being normal” mean? We are all unique!! and I love trying to understand human souls and all the existence!
(I am a bit sick and have fever and my spontaneous comment may not make sense, so sorry in advance.)

Tuesday May 12, 2009 – 04:16pm (EEST)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

vixen

Are we all throwing thoughts here? Are we to build this entry together? I love the idea!

Tuesday May 12, 2009 – 09:22pm (EEST)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lambr…

Elle said it would take her time until she writes something that makes sense about this.
Maybe we can share the thoughts she has ignited in the meanwhile

Tuesday May 12, 2009 – 09:52pm (EEST)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Retell the old stories. Retell the story of your life. Rewind the reel. We are fed with so much rubbish and bad stories by the media so as this has a sinister effect on the way we see our own lives!”

Yes my muse! I do this -rewind my reel- every 5-7 years! Nobody told me. One day I crashed on a wall (metaphorically speaking) and nearly died (literally speaking). The force of life (“universe” in the image) made me rewind the reel and create a new more liveable story for my life.

Wednesday May 13, 2009 – 01:57pm (EEST)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I happen to have both yours and Nana’s blog open in different browser windows. It’s a conspiracy, isn’t it? You are doing about the same thing, eh?

Wednesday May 13, 2009 – 02:02pm (EEST)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

vixen

Conspiracy? Maybe it’s just concurrence.

Thursday May 14, 2009 – 07:50pm (EEST)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From …

Alright, let us examine it again. I love this kind of conspiracy theories and my whole life has proven in full length that the universe becomes what you want to be. But there are some more parameters, i.e. vital lies (as Ibsen defines the term).
I have also two relative entries:

http://asteroessa.blogspot.com/2009/02/blog-post_09.html
and
http://asteroessa.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-post.html

And what about if
1. you are imaginative and very good at complotting, but you are not enough paranoic to believe in your vital lies?
2. the power of Trickster or fox (see also Jungian archetypes) loves to play tricks and reverse the plots you create, name it habit or vice?

Saturday June 6, 2009 – 08:54am (CEST)

elle

Do not examine it again otherwise you are trapped.

Sunday June 7, 2009 – 01:55am (PDT)

Tags: pronoia, paranoia, eloquence, good-conspiracy, planeta, guild, story-teller | Edit Tags

Thursday May 7, 2009 – 12:27pm (PDT)

iris blue page

Eleni — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:38:04 +0000

: . . .

Tags: μπαμπά-μου, papa, howl, hurlement | Edit Tags Sunday April 26, 2009 – 04:37am (PDT) Edit | Delete

Next Post: The New Eloquence Previous Post: blank page

Comments

(12 total) Post a Comment

elle
Offline

Sunday April 26, 2009 – 05:02am (PDT) Remove Comment

Lambr…
Offline

take a deep breath… take as many as you can… the essence of “fresh sea breeze” with soothing energy…
climbed, seen, felt, captured… and shared

You Are Appreciated!

Sunday April 26, 2009 – 03:30pm (EEST) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

I only take deep breaths. So deep sometimes that to my eyes afterwards space looks distorted. I don’t want you to appreciate me. The times I am going through I want you to let me be rude. My urge is to curse, break things and hit innocent people. Beasty energy is all I want. I want to howl. Will you let me?

Sunday April 26, 2009 – 06:03am (PDT) Remove Comment

Lambr…
Offline

That’s why I am here! Hit me!!! Let it out!!!

Sunday April 26, 2009 – 08:11pm (EEST) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

i heard your howl on the subsonic
—————-howiling ——back

Sunday April 26, 2009 – 09:04pm (EEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

Your howling has deafened me. But I can still see. I see your art.
“De profundis clamavit”

Sunday April 26, 2009 – 11:36pm (EEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

Ξαναγύρισα. Δεν χορταίνω να βλέπω αυτήν την αξιοθαύμαστη σύνθεση. Δεν θα έγραφα. Απλά θα κοίταζα. Στο λέω όμως γιατί ξέρω ότι θες να το ακούσεις και το ζητάς και ότι σου κάνει καλό.

“Εκ βαθέων” πάντα. Νέο φεγγάρι απόψε. Έκανα ευχή όπως μ’ έμαθες.

Monday April 27, 2009 – 10:29pm (EEST) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

I can see the new moon. Howled to it on La# and everything is ok now.
Wear size 42 and I am kicking everybody’s nice round asses! Thank you very much.

Monday April 27, 2009 – 01:24pm (PDT) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

I heard a she-wolf howling at the moon last night.
To the untrained ear sounded like a frightening cry.
Her loyal pack, though, knows so well it is the music prelude to a song.

Monday April 27, 2009 – 02:43pm (PDT) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

ouch;***ououch;*** my nice round nice ass hurts!

Tuesday April 28, 2009 – 11:37am (EEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

OUCH! I got it on my ribs! You are tall!

Have we moved away from the banks of lake Acheroussia yet? Has sleep come at last instead of death?

Tuesday April 28, 2009 – 01:48pm (EEST) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

@’Apollonios’: you heard me half way round the world? man, you have well trained ears! And you think its prelude to a song? man, you know the pit poetry comes out from.

@’vixen’: hurtz hurtz hurtz it should

@ ‘akk’: it’s not my fault that you hunch!

We got back from Acheroussia, oh yes.

Tuesday April 28, 2009 – 11:05am (PDT)

“Misokolaki” and other scary tales from Ikaria in comics

Eleni — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:31:33 +0000

Finding a moment to advertise this comic art drawings and book exhibition which takes place in Athens next month.

“Words are not enough”
-Zombies, fairies, ghosts, tales and stories from Ikaria -

16 February – 2 April 2009 in Bartesera, 25 Kolokotroni str. Athens
Opening: 16 April – 8 pm

Among these stories there’s “Misokolaki”, the kid with half his bottom chopped off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Misokolaki

– A Greek folktale from Ikaria island -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(“The witch under the pear tree”, drawing by Thanassis Psaros)

Once upon a time on a faraway Greek island, an old man and an old woman lived alone in a small house near a forest. The old man was a woodcutter.
One night the old man and the old woman were peeling broad beans and putting them into a pot on the stove.
“If only we had children to bring a little joy and happiness into our lives” the old woman sighed loudly.
“Yes”, said the old man. “If only we had children.”
Before they went to bed that night, the woman said a special prayer.
“O God”, she prayed, “How I wish that all the broad beans in the pot could become children!”
Early the next morning the woodcutter and his wife were woken by a terrible noise. Their house was full of children. Some were playing, some were singing and some were quarreling. Others were crying out for food. The house was filled with a terrible racket. The old woodcutter was beside himself: the noise was more than he could bear. He grabbed his axe and began to chase the children. The frightened children darted everywhere to escape, jumping out of the windows and pouring out of the door. Within a few minutes they had all gone.
The house was suddenly silent. The old man and the old woman looked at each other in dismay.
“Now we ‘re all alone again”, said the old woman.
“Yes”, said the old man sadly. “What are we going to do?”
Suddenly a tiny voice came from under the bed. “I’m here”, it said. A young boy crept out. He looked a little frightened; half of his bottom had been chopped off by the woodcutter’s axe.
The old lady and the old man looked at him in joy and wonder.
“Oh, little boy”, said the old woman. “Don’t be afraid. You can live with us. We will make you well again.”
The young boy was happy to have found a home. The old couple gave him clothes and food, and a bed to sleep in. They called him Misokolaki, which means “Little half-bottom”.
The next day the woodcutter told Misokolaki that now that he lived with them, he would have to help them with their work.
Misokolaki’s first chore was to guard the pear tree in the orchard. Every year, when the pears ripened, a cunning old fox would come and steal them. The old man gave Misokolaki a wooden flute to play while he sat in the tree.
Before Misokolaki left for the orchard, the old man warned him: “Be careful of the fox. It’s cunning and it may try to trick you.”
All day Misokolaki sat in the pear tree and played his flute. Then, at dusk, along came the fox. It looked up into the tree where the boy was playing his flute.
“Hey, Misokolaki!” the fox called out. “You play your flute so fair, please throw me down a pear.”
“Go away”, said Misokolaki. You can’t have any pears.”
“But my little ones are hungry”, the fox said, with tears in its eyes.
Misokolaki felt sorry for the fox and threw down some pears.
“Please, Misokolaki”, said the cunning old fox. “Help me find the pears. It’s dark and I can’t see.”
Misokolaki forgot the old man’s warnings and climbed down to help the fox. No sooner had he touched the ground than the fox grabbed him and threw him into a sack. The fox threw the sack over its shoulder and set off for its home.
On the way, the fox stopped by a stream. It put down the sack and went to the water to have a drink.
Misokolaki quickly wriggled out of the sack. He filled it with rocks and prickly bushes and ran away.
When the fox returned, it threw the sack over its shoulder and continued on its way. Soon the fox began to feel something pricking its back
“Stop pinching me, Misokolaki!” the fox kept calling out, all the way home.
When the fox arrived home, its cubs danced about with joy. They were very hungry. They burnt lots of branches in the oven to make it red hot so that they could cook Misokolaki.
But when the fox emptied out the sack, only rocks and prickles tumbled out on to the floor. The fox was angry and it vowed that next time, Misokolaki would not escape.
The next day, Misokolaki again kept watch in the pear tree. At dusk, the fox returned to the orchard. Misokolaki was in the pear tree, playing his flute.
“Hey, Misokolaki!” the fox called out. “You play your flute so fair, please throw me down a pear.”
Misokolaki pretended he couldn’t hear. He kept playing his flute.
The fox began to cry loudly. “My little ones are hungry!” it sobbed. The tears flowed from its eyes like rivers.
Misokolaki felt sorry for the fox and threw down some pears. But the cunning old fox called out: “Please, Misokolaki, help me find the pears. It’s dark and I can’t see.”
The fox’s voice was so sweet that once again Misokolaki forgot all about the old man”s warning. He climbed down to help the fox. No sooner had he touched the ground than the fox grabbed him and threw him into the sack. This time the fox tied the sack very tightly so that Misokolaki couldn’t escape.
The fox carried the sack straight back home, without stopping on the way.
As the fox neared home, it called out to its cubs to light the oven. The fox untied the sack and let Misokolaki out, and the cubs danced around him with glee. They were so hungry that they could hardly wait to eat him.
Misokolaki would have to think quickly if he was to escape from the oven.
Now, the fox’s oven was built into the wall. It was so high off the ground that the fox had to stand on a stool to reach it. As the fox reached up to open the oven door, Misokolaki quickly grabbed its hind legs and with one mighty thrust, he pushed the fox headfirst into the oven.
The cubs scattered in fright and Misokolaki ran all the way home, as fast as his legs could carry him.
The old man and the old woman were overjoyed to see him. They had gone to the orchard to look for him, and were very worried when they couldn’t find him. Misokolaki told them all about his adventure with the fox. The old man called out to his neighbours from the village and invited them to come and celebrate. They were all happy because the fox would never steal their fruit again.
Misokolaki took out his flute and began to play. The villagers sang and danced until the sun rose up behind the mountains in the east.

(From a book by Petro Alexiou, illustrated by Clare Watson, HARCOURT BRACE JOVANOVICH, PUBLISHERS (Australia) © 1989 on behalf of Petro Alexiou ISBN 0 7295 0833 1, ISBN 0 7295 0800 5 (series). The author dedicates to his Ikarian mother who told him this tale.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: The original Greek version which has survived in Ikaria is more poignant, rougher and bloodier. The wish for children is not intentional but rather trivial. The ‘broad bean’ children are not just naughty and restless. They cry and yell for food! The woodcutter does not just chase the children out of the house; he actually kills them one after the other with his hatchet! Misokolaki is spared if only he can carry out two tasks: keep the old couple company by playing the flute and climb on that precious pear tree to keep the thieves away. Finally, instead of a fox, there is an evil witch who eats human flesh. There is also the daughter of the witch to who the witch trusts Misokolaki to roast and she leaves, but Misokolaki turns loose, throws the daughter into the oven and he escapes. So when the witch returns, she eats her own daughter’s roasted liver thinking that it is Misokolaki’s. When she realises what has happened, she is furious and she rushes to the pear tree to find Misokolaki and kill him. Misokolaki is there, but the witch can’t climb the pear tree and get him. Blinded as she is by now with furry, she takes Misokolaki’s advice that the best way to shoot up and reach him is to stick a red hot iron bar up her ass! The witch does exactly that and she shoots up to the sky! She falls back on the ground and bursts in pieces. Misokolaki gets home to his step parents. They are very proud of him and they live happily ever after.

Tags: misokolaki, carnival, αποκριά, pear-tree, witch, ikaria, tale, comics, good-book, legends, comicart.gr, ικαρία, μισοκωλάκι, παραμύθι | Edit Tags Saturday January 24, 2009 – 01:03pm (PST) Edit | Delete

Next Post: She Came with the Dolphins… (2) Previous Post: HAPPY 2009!

Comments

(9 total) Post a Comment

AKK
Offline

Great presentation as always, good witch. What’s your way to shoot up?

Sunday January 25, 2009 – 10:46pm (EET) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

Imagination.

Monday January 26, 2009 – 03:44am (PST) Remove Comment

As children, we were not supposed to read such grostesque tales yet they are the tales I remember best! My favorite ones came from a small island called Adakale.

Monday January 26, 2009 – 10:18am (EST) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

tales of warning about hunger! also about family programming -hep;

Monday January 26, 2009 – 10:25pm (EET) Remove Comment

Simon G
Offline

(Pear trees seem to figure in stories a lot.
Take for instance this one:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1423.html#boccaccio
Eat pears, make a hut out of pear-wood, but avoid sitting up in pear trees.)

Tuesday January 27, 2009 – 02:32pm (CET) Remove Comment

Simon G
Offline

(especially if they are like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/egotoagrimi/3228916621/
!)

Tuesday January 27, 2009 – 03:02pm (CET) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

@ Can : yes, we are brought up to dislike the gruesome, yet there is truth in the gruesome. Speaking of islands and tales, the same tale exists in Mykonos! Can you imagine?

@ vixen : ok, but don’t overdo it with programming, ok? Leave some ends loose…

@ Simon G : thanks God you are here! I was worried that the winds in France took you off! Yes, the pear tree seems to be the next best after the apple tree in European lore. And the old varieties must have had quite a lot of thorns. That sheds light to another feat of Misokolaki. He was a fakir like Nana :lol

Tuesday January 27, 2009 – 12:30pm (PST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

It’s a tale about a young fakir?!?

Wednesday January 28, 2009 – 10:39pm (EET) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

!!!

Thursday January 29, 2009 – 08:41pm (EET)

In the Name of the Goddess

Eleni — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:18:27 +0000

: (click here to open this larger in the source)

A SuperProduction
on
°ღ Eleni’s Channel ღ°
brought to you by…
(come on sponsors, where are you?)

Tags: artemis, hunting, nas, taurobolium, ikaria, xoanon, ικαρία, ξόανον, νας, aegean, history, ikarian-legends | Edit Tags Friday October 10, 2008 – 10:16am (PDT) Edit | Delete

Next Post: The Names of the Goddess Previous Post: In the Olives lies the Income

Comments

(9 total) Post a Comment

AKK
Offline

Damn! I will be short of money until the end of the year but I can write to The National Geographic. They will love the title! It’s about Artemis of Nas of course, the little provincial sister of the great Ephesian Artemis – “Magna Mater”

I am getting the chills…

Saturday October 11, 2008 – 09:07pm (EEST) Remove Comment

elle
Offline

Do you like the photo? This is a draft page. I don’t want The National Geographic, hahaha : I just need your help. If I make a bad step, correct me. That’s all.

MAgNa MaTeR NaTurAE ….chillls & chill outs!

Sunday October 12, 2008 – 09:51am (PDT) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

Of course. And you post this picture in Flickr. Besides a good photo, there is something very ‘irregular’ about these two signs put together one on top of the other.

Monday October 13, 2008 – 08:14pm (EEST) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

oh, great goddess oh!

Wednesday October 15, 2008 – 11:15pm (EEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

Hello Goddess, ‘Κυρά των Αγριμιών’! Where did you get this photo of your statue in Ephesus? Did you take it yourself? No doubt, being a goddess, you made yourself invisible and you escaped the museum guards attention.

Monday October 20, 2008 – 02:29pm (EEST) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

Before you embark in your quest to break the Ephesian code, you should know that this fertility goddess is not the same Artemis of the Greeks, goddess of hunting. When the Greeks begun to colonize their near-by world, part of the colonization process was the Hellenization of the local gods by re-labeling them to something more familiar, this one happened to look like an Artemis to the Greek conquerors.
You know, history is written by the winners.

Monday October 20, 2008 – 08:16am (PDT) Remove Comment

vixen
Offline

Great photo! Where did you get it? Greco-Roman “oriental sytle” 1st cent. AD. and there is controversy whether those ‘things’ on her chest are tits of bull balls!!!!

Monday October 20, 2008 – 10:17pm (EEST) Remove Comment

AKK
Offline

Only that this is no “History Channel”. This is “Eleni’s Channel”. Welcome to the fiction writer’s cocktail party, Vassili! Lay back and enjoy.

Tuesday October 21, 2008 – 02:00pm (EEST) Remove Comment

Apoll…
Offline

Αγγελε, κοκτειλ παρτυ ειπες? φτου, και εγω νομιζα «φιλολογικόν τέϊον» και δεν ειμαι ντυμενος καταλληλα, κατσε μια στιγμη να αλλαξω…
Τωρα ειμαι ετοιμος, ααα η μυρωδια ξερου βερμουθ και πρασινης ελιας.
Για να δουμε τι θα δουμε…

Wednesday October 22, 2008 – 12:36am (PDT)