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| Ciodad de Mexico at its' height |
Ever since my trip to the
Yucatan area in the 60's I have been interested in Aztec & Inca civilizations.
At some point I copied a rendition of the Aztec empire at its height I supposed our Mexicans understand they are
living on the roots of the ancient Aztec civilization and the Zocalo, the main
square in the City, is the remains of the actual square that the ancient
civilizations used. I have included a map of Mexico City with today's rant to show that the high rise buildings in Mexico
City are basically siting on giant concrete rafts, as the entire city is
founded on the old civilizations. After my graduation from College, I enrolled
in the Collegio de Ciudad de Mexico for a semester, which gave me time to
search out the ancient ones. In retrospect, it was very much like Paris,
sitting on my balcony overlooking the Reforma, with fresh bread from the bakery
across the street and a jug of beer (a legacy from the rule of some Austrian
King (Maximilian) in the last century!
and reading authors that I had no time
to while in school. It seems a tossup who was the more brutal; The Spanish
Priests (The Inquisition) or the Aztec priests, with their mounds of skulls of
prisoners.
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| Celtic harp for the Holidays |
FOR YOUR NEXT CHRISTMAS, get Real.
If you are getting bored with the same old songs that are drug
out about time for your next X as, allow me to brighten up your holiday a bit.
(How long can Bing Crosby be allowed?).
Let me suggest you buy a
CD of Celtic music, by Chris Caswell. He has one out of Celtic Tidings (Holiday
numbers) as well as his CD of just good listening to all old instruments, many
constructed by Caswell in my Artist building in Graton before he died rather
young. He had a recording studio in my building in Graton fo years.
REAL RUMINATIONs
As I am on the
precipice of life here I feel it is time to review what I have done in order
that I can access whether I have done enough while taking up room on this
planet. In other words, what have I done?
First of all, I have
tried to donate at least 10% of my work to causes that I have found to be
needed. I have donated a lot of work for
the following projects;
1. Shamaz Retreat in Redwood Valley, CA
2. Sant
Takar Singh, Umoqua Retreat, Umpqua, Oregon
3. Kirpal
Singh Hall renovation, Tustin , CA
4. Isha
projects , 400 seat donw, 5,0000 Ahditorium, Bruce, Wisconsin
5. StarCross
Residence & Barn, Annapolis, CA (Children with AIDS)
6. A
primitive carpenter in Africa,_Provide small loans to entrepreneurs . Kiva
Program
7. Work
on The East-West Society, Los Angeles, CA (New stage, misc. carpentry)
8. Seven
Arts Society, Laguna Beach, CA
I have left a trail of upgraded garages, sheds; you name it, livable
environments on a minimum budget (for me).
Secondly:
Wrote, published, then didn’t sell 1,000 books 1982 Mostly to see
how a book is published. And how is one designed?
Wrote another book on computer without the aid or involvment of
any human (Except myself). 1990
Changed book to E-book, about 2012.
Thirdly;
Bought & financed 100 year old apple processing building,
turned into 28 Artists Studios, Graton
CA. 1985
Designed (and built) many houses , mostly innovative solutions on
“Unbuildable Lots” in USA.
1960 to current
Designed and produce several Modular concepts; Three Dimensional,
Panel types.
Sold to Ford Motor Co., 1970
TO DIE FOR
My daughter just
gave me a kind of a primer on dying. As
we get older and approach the edge of the Abyss our study options seem get more
limited. SENECA by James Roman is a good
read , though small, on your bookshelves How to Die gathers in one volume, for the
first time, Seneca’s meditations on
death and dying. The book reveals a provocative thinker who speaks with a
frankness about the need to accept death or even, under certain conditions, to
seek it out. We should remember he lived
during the reigns of Nero and Caligua, who condemned a plethora of folks to
death but they had to do the job themselves. After reading the book, I realized
how different our view is of death due to the dogma of our Christian religions,
and really, we Americans (USA) consider it a Sin or a Major crime to do
ourselves in or even assist another to end it all. Seneca really practiced what
he preached as he ‘Executed ‘ himself, which is described nicely by Tacitus ,in
a later chapter of the book. This
harks back to the death of Socrates,
some three hundred years earlier in Athens.
How about changing the name of our Secretary of Defense to SECRETARY OF
OFFENSE?
Can we use the term OMNICIDE?
ESCAPE FROM PARADISE? That's what a lot of us try.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE OUR POLITICIANS TO WEAR SUITS THAT
ADVERTISED THEIR “DONORS”, JUST LIKE THE RACE CAR DRIVERS, WHO NEED SUPPORT
FROM THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR. While we’re at it, let’s just vote directly for the lobbyists, and
bypass the middle man (your politician).
WEST COAST JAZZ
During the 60’s the Jazz Scene in Los Angeles was very
active. There must have been 20 or 30 Small Cubs in L.A. and environs for us aficionados
to hang out around and pick up on the latest vibes. One could stop in for a drink or two,
sometimes a $5 or $10 cover charge at a place like Shelleys’ Man-Hole (Shelly
Mann) or some narrow venue much like the current Club Alto in Amsterdam, and
pick on the latest cool vibes. Sunday early afternoons offered “The Lighthouse”
in Hermosa Beach, where the coolest cats hung out to jam a bit.
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| Diagragm showing squaring the circle |
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| Add caption |
DEVINE WINDOWS
Before there were architects and Engineers, there were Master
Masons who were fascinated with mathematics.
In early 1100’s they changed the architecture of the French churches to
what is now called “ Gothic” from the
Romanesque style which had just run it’s course. The new idea
was originally called ‘Gothic” as it was also called “monstrous and
barbaric” it did not conform to the
current Classical Ideals. The Term became
acceptable during the Middle ages, which
by that time they had constructed some of the most structurally amazing
edifices due to the use of flying buttresses and giant walls of colored glass,
some with about 200 foot high naves.. Most people were illiterate and the
church itself became the method of teaching the biblical tales.
The Rose Window became he
significant point of the buildings and after Filius Benaci discovered what is
now called “The Fibonacci Series” in 1202,
the windows became a talisman to
out-complicate any rival mason. The above photo shows a completed window while
the diagram shows only one way “Squaring the Circle” was manifested for the
complex design. Next time you are in Paris, be sure to see the Rose Window in
‘La Chapelle’, The culmination of the art in the king’s personal chapel near Notre
Dame. About 1400 AD.
