Monday, November 30, 2009

Sunset With The Tele

Sunday 29 Nov 09 at 5:13 pm

Zoomed in on the Sunset with the tele.
Surpised by the cloud detail.
Prettier closeup.





Taken with XSi and tele hand held on P Mode and ISO auto.
No post processing.

And on the other side?
A glowing moon, although you can't tell it's glowing on the pic.


The moon pic was taken with S3 cuz it does a better sharpen job on the moon hand held than the XSi and tele.
Tungsten white balance makes it blue. I put it on Manual mode, zoomed in max, and adjusted the shutter speed up until no blowouts on the moon.

Yeha-Noha

So I was trying to find out the scoop on this song or Native American chant.
Yeha-Noha (Wishes of Happiness and Prosperity), by Sacred Spirit (wiki says German).
Album: Chants and Dances of the Native Americans
Sung by Navajo elder Kee Chee Jake from Chinle, Arizona.

Primal stuff.

Listen to the entire album at
last.fm
More

Wiki says Yeha-Noha is in reference to a Navajo Shoe Game song which was part of an origin myth or something.
Poorly written, so I'm unsure about that.
Other references say it is part of the Enemy Way Chant, which is a healing song sung to cleanse and heal Navajos.
Maybe it's a combination of all of that.

LINKS and INFO:

Sacred Spirit at wiki
Yeha-Noha at wiki
The song is a remixed version of a portion of the Navajo Shoe Game song (a part of the origin myth describing a game played among the day and night animals in which the animals who discovered in which shoe a yucca ball was hidden would win a permanent state of daylight or night.) The song describes the Giant's (Yé'iitsoh) lament at the owl's attempt to cheat by stealing the ball. The audible portions of the song say:

shaa ninánóh'aah (you give it back to me)
Yé'iitsoh jinínáá léi' (... The Giant says again & again...)
ninánóh'aah (...give it back)

YouTube with history
This chant is part of the Enemy Way Chant or as called in the Navajo language: Ndaa'. It is a healing song sung to cleanse and heal Navajos, often warriors who have come in contact with ghosts, and it is meant to be sung *ONLY* by a Medicine Man of the Navajo Nation.

COMMENT
This song is about coyote and a giant (Yei So) at a shoe game, and the giant has the abillity to cheat. But some where along the way the giant loses the ability to cheat and starts to cry and want to try a again. its part of the navajo origin storys.

Navajo_people at wiki
Possible causes of ailments could be the result of violating taboos. Contact with lightning-struck objects, exposure to taboo animals such as snakes, and contact with the dead are some of reasons for healing. Protection ceremonies, especially the Blessing Way Ceremony, are used for Navajos that leave the boundaries of the four sacred mountains, and is used extensively for Navajo warriors or soldiers going to war. Upon re-entry, there is an Enemy Way Ceremony, or Nidáá', performed on the person, to get rid of the evil things in his/her body, and to restore balance in his/her life. This is also important for Navajo warriors/soldiers returning from battle. Warriors or soldiers often suffer spiritual or psychological damage from participating in warfare, and the Enemy Way Ceremony helps restore harmony to the person, mentally and emotionally.

BEST LINK and INFO:



Wolves ~ Yeha Noha by Sacred Spirit and Enigma
Video
Beautiful footage of wolves set to the Native American chant,"Yeha Noha" ~ Wishes of Happiness and Prosperity ~

Lyrics:

ah-uh nayah oh-wa oh-wa
shon-day oh-wa oh-wa
shon-day can-non non noha (noha)

ah-uh nayah oh-wa oh-wa
shon-day oh-wa oh-wa
shon-day yeha-noha (noha)

ah-uh nayay tor-shna nena-nay-yayah
nena-nay-yay yeha-noha (noha)
ah-uh nayay tor-shna nena-nay-yayah
yeha-noha (noha)

nee-yoh-wah nee-yoh
nee-yoh-wah nee-yoh

ah-uh nayah oh-wa oh-wa
shon-day oh-wa oh-wa
shon-day can-non non noha (noha)

ah-uh nayah oh-wa oh-wa
shon-day oh-wa oh-wa
shon-day yeha-noha (noha)

ah-uh nayay tor-shna nena-nay-yayah
nena-nay-yay yeha-noha (noha)
ah-uh nayay tor-shna nena-nay-yayah
yeha-noha (noha)

The words above are lyrics to the international hit Yeha-Noha (Wishes Of Happiness And Prosperity). This chant is part of the Enemy Way Chant or called in the Navajo language 'Ndaa'. It is a healing song sung to cleanse and heal Navajos, often warriors who have come in contact with ghosts. Navajo veterans of the United States Armed Forces use this ceremony to purify themselves after returning from the service. The chant is sung to cleanse and heal warriors, often to a family member or loved one and is to simply wish them happiness and prosperity.

The title itself is interesting. The 'h' in Yeha is actually pronounced with an 'n' so instead of saying Yeha-Noha, it is pronounced as if saying "Yena-Noha."

This song is only supposed to be sung by a medicine man of the Navajo Nation. Kee Chee Jake is a singer of traditional Navajo songs and his voice is also heard on track 2 of Sacred Spirit with the song: Tor-Cheney-Nahana (Winter Ceremony). His vocals are featured again in "Sacred Spirit II, More Chants And Dances Of The Native Americans", on track 6: Yane-Heja-Hee.

Yane-Heja-Hee is also another winter ceremony song. Other Kee Chee Jake vocals are heard on "Navajo Songs From Canyon De Chelly," and "Brule One Nation: A Tribal Gathering Of Voices."

Reminds me of:
Return to Innocence

Mt Lion Shot in Bismarck City Limits



Mountain lion shot in Bismarck
(Larger pic at site.)

Wow.
There have been other close calls within the state.
Search Bismarck Tribune archives for "mountain lion" and there are more articles on the topic.
To name a few:
Dawson and New Salem in Nov 06.
Washburn in Oct 06.
Maah Heeh Day Trail, Medora in Jun 05.

When
Friday, 27 Nov 09
Sighted 6:30 pm
Shot 7:30 pm

Where
Near the former Home Depot Building in north Bismarck.

If you google map
Stan Puklich Chevrolet
3701 State St, Bismarck, ND
you'll be looking at the East Calgary Avenue area where the mt lion was.
(Hwy 83 and Kmart exit off I94, then North.)
There are a lots of residences out there. A big trailer park. Yikes.

What
100-pound full-grown male mountain lion measuring six feet long.

"the first time in NDGF history that a cougar was taken out in city limits anywhere in the state."


NDGF = North Dakota Game & Fish

"What happens on the scarce chance you meet a cougar on foot?
"Don't run away from it. Don't go towards it. Just stand your ground and face it."

Friday, November 27, 2009

Music

20 Years by The Civil Wars

Silver Revolver, by Lady of The Sunshine

Stay Over, by The Rescues

All For Love, by Serena Ryder

Be Here Now, by Ray Lamontagne

Beautiful song!



LYRICS:

Don't let your mind get weary and confused
Your will be still, don't try
Don't let your heart get heavy child
Inside you there's a strength that lies

Don't let your soul get lonely child
It's only time, it will go by
Don't look for love in faces, places
It's in you, that's where you'll find kindness

Be here now, here now
Be here now, here now

Don't lose your faith in me
And I will try not to lose faith in you
Don't put your trust in walls
'Cause walls will only crush you when they fall

Be here now, here now
Be here now, here now

Image Creation Notes:
The ocean art is a gradient, gaussian blur 5, Warp Brush Cloud Preset, Noise & Wind effects for water, Smudge Brush
wc-sky-sea.jgd

Friday, November 20, 2009

Impossible Pumpkin Pie



I made this recently and it's good.
Gonna make it again.
( ) = approx calories

My version:
3/4 C Brown Sugar (615)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cloves
2 eggs beaten (160)
1 Can Pumpkin (200)
1 Can Evap fat free milk (300)
1/2 C Bisquick Lite (225)

Mix in order listed.
Spray 9" deep dish pie plate with Pam
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
(Clean knife/toothpick test.)

1500 cal total
6 pieces at 250 calories each.
(That's a very generous size piece of pie for 250 calories. Have room for some lite cool whip on top.)

Betty's version

The Fasting Path - Book Review

There used to be a good review of
Buhner's Fasting Path book at spiritualityhealth.com website, but now I can't find it.
I'm posting it here in its entirety because it's evidently no longer at the website and because I thought it was helpful in understanding what the book is about.

Dead Link for anybody that might want to try and dig it up in the Internet Archives.
No reviewer name.
The Fasting Path: The Way to Spiritual, Physical and Emotional Enlightenment
Stephen Harrod Buhner
Avery 09/03 Hardcover $22.95
ISBN 1583331700

Stephen Harrod Buhner is a master herbalist and psychotherapist. He is founder and senior researcher for the Foundation of Gaian Studies, an organization that researches and educates on the sacredness of the Earth, indigenous traditions and ceremonies, sacred plant medicine, and contemplative nature spirituality. His background makes him very qualified to write about the spiritual, physical and emotional dimensions of fasting.

In many indigenous cultures, food deprivation is an essential part of rituals at important transition points in life — adolescence, middle age, old age, and death. During vision quests, individuals spend time in the wilderness alone. As one indigenous person called Igjugarjuk put it: "All true wisdom is only to be learned far from the dwellings of men, out in the great solititudes." Buhner points out that this pattern of retreat to the natural world and engaging in fasting is also part of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, Taoism, and Christianity.

Many individuals are familiar with the use of water fasting to lose a large amount of weight or to deal with long-term chronic conditions, but this approach is also tailor-made for those seeking spiritual renewal. Buhner explains: "During deep fasting, what is called the rational mind is left behind for a time, and a different intelligence, located in the heart, is activated. During such fasts, reliance on two-dimensional sight begins to weaken, there is a thinning of the wall between us and all other things, and the organ of perception uniquely designed to perceive the sacred, the heart, begins to take on more and more importance. As deep fasts progress, as the veil between us and the spiritual world thins, the heart begins to perceive the hidden face of the sacred within everyday things."

One of the major surprises in this book is the author's enthusiastic and sophisticated examination of the major role of the heart, as known in the spiritual traditions, in fasting. Although most of us lose contact with the language of our hearts at ages four through six, this soulful connection can be reclaimed in fasting. As James Hillman has observed: "The heart brings us authentic tidings of invisible things."

Buhner discusses the changes that occur in the body during fasting, possible side effects, and some of the emotional issues that come to the surface such as survival, surrender, and trust. Fasting also forces us to deal with our bodies and the manifold meanings we give to food in our lives. The Fasting Path is a rounded and fascinating overview of this little discussed subject.


Dead Link for anybody that might want to try and dig it up in the Internet Archives.
An Excerpt from The Fasting Path: The Way to Spiritual, Physical, and Emotional Enlightenment by Stephen Harrod Buhner
Stephen Harrod Buhner discusses fasting as a path to spiritual, physical, and emotional enlightenment.
Here is an excerpt on 16 essential steps to every fast.
1. Determine if you are ready for a fast.
2. Decide what kind of fast is most supportive for you to do.
3. Arrange or set aside a special time for your fast.
4. Decide how long you are going to fast.
5. Arrange a supportive environment for the fast.
6. Begin eating a new diet to prepare your body for the fast for two or ten weeks prior to the fast.
7. If you are conducting your own fast, obtain good water and/or good foods to juice and drink during your fast.
8. Set your spiritual goals for the fast.
9. Set your emotional goals for the fast.
10. Set your physical goals for the fast.
11. Arrange sufficient time after the fast for you and your body to reintegrate and be ready for resuming daily life.
12. Keep a journal of your fast.
13. Fast with conscious attention to the process.
14. Break the fast with caring and awareness; especially make sure that you have the right kinds of foods on hand for breaking the fast.
15. After the fast, spend some time with someone who cares about you and whom you care about and tell this person about your experiences.
16. Incorporate the lessons of the fast into daily life.

UPDATE:
I found the book review online, here.
It is by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Herbalist Stephen Harrod Buhner - Books and More



Herbalist Stephen Harrod Buhner
This guy is so interesting!
(He's also a psychotherapist, evidently.)

I wish he lived close by so he could teach me how to harvest my stash of medicinal plants I have on our land. That would be so much fun and what a learning experience it would be! (Remember my Walk In The Field series summer of 2009.)

Buhner's book, The Fasting Path, has been on my to-read list for quite some time.
I hadn't realized that he had written so many books or that he had so much info at his website.
Anyway, he has some good articles and some links to podcast interviews.

A few of note:
The Health Benefits of Water Fasting
and
Depth Diagnosis in the Practice of Sacred Plant Medicine
I was especially impressed with this article because he described so well something that is hard to put into words. It moved me.

LATER NOTE: I applied the article to myself—digging around in my own stuff. I think this would be incredibly draining on self to practice this on others unless you had very good boundaries and/or knew how to take care of yourself in it. END NOTE
"...you must be able to come, eventually, to love whatever you have focused your attention upon. All of nature responds to this primary act of caring, diseased organ systems or ill people not the least. So, loving is critically important but it is often difficult because disease can be so tremendously frightening...

...nothing will give up its secrets without being loved..."

(In reference to a George Washington Carver quote perhaps?)

The only recorded interview I listened to so far was
Herbs and Foods that Heal
at
herbmentor.com
Stephen Buhner Interview
publication date: Feb 16, 2008

Here's my notes containing Stephen's ginger drink recipe he gave in the recording:
(The numbers indicate approximate recording location if you want to find it yourself.)

15:40
fresh ginger root
juice it (because like everyone from the sixties I have a champion juicer ha ha)
juice 2-3 pieces about the size of my thumb
(1/2 to 1 oz ginger juice at 17:55)
then add hot water (10 oz 17:55), squeeze of lime, and honey, cayenne (1/16 tsp 17:55)
for cold/flu
more effective than other tincture combinations
moved me more into kind of a kitchen herbalism dynamic
16:40
especially for people who have gone thru middle age
ginger and cayenne stimulate blood circulation
something about ginger as a antiviral, antibacterial, immune stimulant
it does all those things incredibly well
become my primary herb for considerable number of things


24:15
disease to me is not a bad thing
we're all biodegrading and we're meant to biodegrade
his great grandfather understood that he wasn't here to cure disease, he was here to alleviate suffering.
everyone is going to die sooner or later, his job was to help them, not to defeat death
my family is filled with physicians and other than my great grandfather not a one of them knows anything about facilitating the movement into death. Weren't trained in it.

I downloaded everything I could get for recordings.
I know one recording had the wrong link info and would not load.
The website link is:
here (scroll down)
and the Buhner interview is dated 12/17/06.
Here's the direct link to a downloadable copy (Real Player format)
rm format file
(Their directory is open. Don't know if that is intended or not.)

And last link:
Buhner Books List

NOTE: Pic of Buhner from innertraditions.com

LATER NOTE:
Buhner is on sabbatical till fall 2010.
He is working on a new book due out late summer 2010.
(It's on the topic of writing and can download a sample pdf at the link.)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Walk In November



Finally got out for a walk along the river, Sunday, 8 Nov 09.
Yay!
I missed it.

The Canada Geese were on the move.
Saw lots of flocks high in the sky.


I was just messin' around in Paint Shop Pro 9 to see what I could do to make them a little more interesting.

Screen and Soft Light Layering modes to lighten, Curves to increase blue tone, Clarify for more cloud details.

And this one:



Same stuff as above only,
Add a vignette and a negative blue tone with Black and White Points Effect.
I like it.
It's certainly different.

It was fun to take pictures just so I know what it was like out that day, even though there isn't much out there interesting in November.





More Music

More music I like, some from Dawson's Creek, some not.

Respect, by Train
"Everybody needs a little re-spect..."
(Dawson's Creek Epi 404, Dawson's Creek Vol. 2 OST)

Crazy For This Girl, by Evan and Jaron
(Dawson's Creek Epi 408, Dawson's Creek Vol. 2 OST)

Your Love, by Laura Doyle
(Dawson's Creek Epi 601)

Fell In Love Without You (acoustic), Motion City Soundtrack
(Make sure it's the acoustic version; don't like the other one.)

Fleur de Saison, by Emilie Simon
Sexy, pretty video. Good for workouts.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Everwood DVD's



Everwood Season 2 was finally released on DVD this year, so I bought Season 1 and Season 2 DVD's and loved that show every bit as much as when I watched it on TV for the first time (which were reruns). I'd probably buy all the Seasons if/when they become available.

I didn't get to see Season 1 on TV, so the DVD was my first watch of that season. I wasn't all that interested in the Colin storyline. There was more info on Andy's deceased wife which I'm glad to have. I learned why he moved to Everwood, why he grew a beard, why he didn't charge a fee for his services. All having to do with his deceased wife.



epi 108, in church, talking to God.

DR. BROWN: I'm surprised this place isn't falling down right now. [gathering his thoughts] Just over eight months ago, that was the last time I knew life was worth living. All my dreams died with Julia. I wake up every morning and wish I was still asleep. See, the thing is I... my heart's still pumping and I'm still breathing. I still move in the world but, I've lost my joy.

We don't talk a lot. I don't complain to you. I don't ask for favors. I don't whine about fairness. And I never believed that you owed me anything. But I am telling you right now, I have got nothing left. I used to have a gift. Now everything I touch, everyone I touch I-is just as broken as I am. I've got two kids, who need a mother and a father. These days, I'm not much use to anyone. Let alone them. I thought I knew what you needed from me. I thought I knew what my life was about. I don't know anything. [crying] You've gotta help me. Please give me my joy back.

epi 116

DR. TROTT: I think that there's something inside of you that you need to express. You have all these thoughts about your wife. The love that you had for her. The life that you shared together. And all the things that you couldn't say. Write it down, all of it. Write a letter to her. And try, try as hard as you can to find some peace. There's a beautiful world out there, Andy. And it's happening right now.

Loved the scenery.




Lots of funny scenes with Dr. Abbott.


Everwood Transcripts



UPDATE:

Everwood Season 3 on DVD, June 2010.

There are 4 seasons in all.

I guess they changed the music on the DVD's? (See tv.com forum.)