An Era.

Ninomaru Garden at Nijō Castle in Kyoto, Japan

Nijō Castle in Kyoto, Japan, was built by a group of feudal lords for the Tokugawa shoguns (feudal military leaders). Completed in the 17th century, it combines outer and inner walls of stout fortification with the elegant architecture of the Edo period. The most expansive structure here is the Ninomaru Palace, a showplace and residence intended to flaunt the status and riches of the shoguns. To complement the sprawling residence, an extensive garden was laid out nearby, including the large pond we see here. Within it are three small islands and beyond stand groves of cherry and plum trees. - anon 

Nijō Castle in Kyoto, Japan

ELDER TALK: separation

Herder in the hills of Yemen.

I read a snippet of a man's thoughts that made me think. He said, "The Star Wars/Star Trek architects borrow the outer appearances of our world's weavers, but never go to it's emotional spiritual underpinnings." It is a powerful poke into the dark of what attracts millions to explore science fiction, which as I think about it, is close to spiritual quests as many dare venture. But, it is more along the lines of intellectual explorations skirting around the edges of what indigenous peoples have interpreted from their explorations into the spiritual realms all around us this man pointed the thinkers towards.

"What is missing?" is the question he answered.

Separating from the heart is to part from the central intelligence of the human being. Somehow, Europeans made this separation a part of them in decisions made in the long ago. Only in the context of speculation one only gets intellectual discourse about spiritual problems, and little is gained. But, the story wanting to be told comes from the heart of Life.

To live with or against Nature and natural process was a choice Ancestors made. The choice made their future our present. How we live now is the story of the strength and the weaknesses of their decisions. We cannot forget we live under stars, where the past sparkles and flickers over us in our present with us projecting our thoughts and intentions into the future.

These are simple mysteries easily forgotten and easily remembered. Remembering or forgetting is dependent upon the choices the Ancestors made for us.


- Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 12/5/17

Historical facts. . .

Govăjdia blast furnace in Transylvania, Romania photo taken 27-11-2015

Govăjdia blast furnace in Transylvania, Romania

In the Transylvania region of Romania, the village of Govăjdia was once the home of one of Europe’s largest blast furnaces. Built at the dawn of the 19th century, the furnace was so efficient that it produced far more cast iron than there was demand for, and consequently it sat idle for extended periods.



For the rest of the century, the furnace would go through periods of heavy use and then fall into decline. And though some of the iron produced here was used in the Eiffel Tower, the Govăjdia blast furnace closed for good in 1924. It’s now an abandoned structure, a tangible and (we think) rather beautiful reminder of the industrial age. ~ author and photographer unknown.

GEOMETRY & ANGUISH

photo of Greyhound bus station, circa. 2000 - 1005 1st St NE Washington DC

"The two elements the traveler first captures in the big city are extra human architecture and furious rhythm. Geometry and anguish. At first glance, the rhythm may be confused with gaiety, but when you look more closely at the mechanism of social life and the painful slavery of both men and machines, you see that it is nothing but a kind of typical, empty anguish that makes even crime and gangs forgivable means of escape."

- Federico Garcia Lorca