Next to last Pieta

As he neared death at age 85, Michelangelo could no longer sleep at night.  He produced this work with his face on Nicodemus and his long best friend in life, Vittoria Calonna's face on the Madonna.

Pieta(s) by Michelangelo

 Created when the artist was 21 yrs ..the only work he ever signed.
His interest was in beauty.

Done in later years at age 87...his interest was in religion. He died about 89.

Most popular posts here

about those trees in your yard

jpr: The ten (10) acres behind my house is half woods and half meadow (which is kept mowed as a lawn). There are several trees in eastern end of this field. A female black snake has been noticed climbing one (1) particular tree early  on several days. Seems she’ll roost up high on her favorite branch while digesting her night’s gain.

Personal Heros.

Sir Nicholas Winton died his week a 106, one of the great unsung heroes of the holocaust.  Acting on his own, without government support or money, he went to occupied Czechoslovakia as the outbreak of World War Two loomed.  He organized the rescue of almost 700 Jewish children destined for concentration camps by getting volunteer British families to sponsor a child for 50 pounds, considerable money in those days.  War broke out as the last train left.  Those children  were murdered.  He never spoke of the events and his heroism was forgotten until 1988 when his wife discovered his files in the attic. He was subsequently knighted. His death occurred on the 76th anniversary of the rescue. RIP.

Joke

First the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me.

-- Steve Martin

Moondog

Charles is not home less and has monthly benefits. He is so beloved that he officially closes the city's annual Christmass parade.

Born September 18, 1958, Moondog is a Wheeling, WV native and one of several children born to Mamie Walker and Charles Waldrum. He attended Wheeling schools and worked “at least 15” jobs before he became a full-time vigilante.

“He rides around town and looks for suspicious activity,” Sheryl Small says. His “beat” is the entire city of Wheeling, which Moondog patrols from midnight until daybreak.

“We call him Moondog because he takes a bite out of crime,” says Lance Miller, owner of Neely’s Grocery, one of the Wheeling businesses that Moondog keeps an eye on at night.

Big Pets

The largest dog ever officially recorded was a St. Bernard weighing approximately 330.7 lbs.
The largest domestic cat came from the Ragdoll breed and reached over 30 lbs.

Japanese Superstitions

The number four is considered inauspicious because it is pronounced the same as the word for death. Similarly, the number 9 is the same as 'pain' in Japanese. Both room numbers 4 and 9 are avoided in hospitals and hotels.

Also pornounced alike are '42' (to die), '43' (still birth) and '24' (double death) are all considered extremely unlucky and never appear.

Don’t sleep with your head pointing North.

New Beginings

"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live."
-- Marcus Aelius Aurelius

"All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning."
-- Albert Camus

"Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises."
-- Demosthenes

"'Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?' he asked. 'Begin at the beginning,' the King said, gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'"
-- Lewis Carroll

Retiring?

"The worst of work nowadays is what happens to people when they cease to work."
-- Gilbert K. Chesterton

"Don't think of retiring from the world until the world will be sorry that you retire."
-- Samuel Johnson

"Fear no more the heat o the sun, nor the furious winter's rages. Thou thy worldly task hast done, home art gone and taken thy wages."
-- William Shakespeare

"It is better to live rich than to die rich."
-- Samuel Johnson

"You can be young without money but you can’t be old without it."
-- Tennessee Williams

Take time

Weekday noon mass in U.K.

girl wearing a pearl earring

  Scarlett Johansson stars as Griet, a young 17th-century servant in the

         household of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (played by Colin Firth)

          at the time he painted Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) in the city of

         Delft in Holland.

           jpr: The acting is pure excellence. Most enjoyable film!

                 

                                          

  

back to school

1.1 million is the number of students who are home-schooled, or 2 percent of all school-age students ages 5 to 17.

Cross Country Running

The "fad" of distance running dates back to the civil records in Ireland before the time of Christ. Here an entire village would assemble with mothers, fathers, and children for a race around the scenic hill tops.

In one instance the local chief upon the death of his wife had the available maidens run such a race. The winner became his new bride.


To wit, racing associations continue as very popular today. Perhaps this is why the thirst for ale is so strong in Ireland.

jpR

Cherie Lunghi

English Actress....the best!

Where is all the lightning?

Tampa, Florida has the most lightning in the USA, with more than 100 days worth of thunderstorms annually. Parts of Africa and South America close to the equator have the most lightning, with nearly 200 thunderstorm days per year.

Most of us are considerably more lucky!

A thought

"There are no short cuts to any place worth going."
Beverly Sills

Lilyhammer

http://riveredgenaturecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hornet-nest12-1rz.jpg

From Netflix ...the best series ever!

Dancing

"When you do dance, I wish you
A wave o' th' sea, that you might ever do
Nothing but that."

Shakespeare ...The Winter's Tale

Comment: If you don't then do! If you can't then find one who can. If you try you do not fail.

Appalachian privy

jpr: used me one of these on many occasion  A bush has no flies!.

A warning label needed

"No sooner met but they looked;
No sooner looked but they loved;
No sooner loved but they sighed;
No sooner signed but they asked one another the reason;
No sooner knew the reason but they sought the remedy;
And in these degrees have they made a pair of stairs to marriage."

William Shakespeare, As Your Like It

Human tissue on a microchip

Hearld as a medical breakthrough, scientists grow human cells for heart, lung, etc then place them on silicon chip. Here they can test new drugs most efficiently and reliably not to mention saving the lives of lab animals.

Famous Red Heads

                                               Richard the Lionheart                                    

Henry VII
Henry VIII
Queen Elizabeth
Winston Churchill
Napoleon Bonaparte
President Thomas Jefferson
President Martin Van Buren
General George A. Custer
King David



jpr: These folks ruled a lot of land, and peoples with a lot of turmoil.

An Irish Prayer

"May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer."

Amen!

Aging

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

Mark Twain

summer contemplation

golden sunrays casting long shadows on the ground,
come back tomorrow,
I will kiss you with golden ray of my heart,
your dance is beautiful,
you make things spin,
all minutes matter,
how greatful am I for You.

b

A Deer’s Crossing

Ask any of the country folk and they all shall describe a deer’s scent the same way. It is a sweet musk smell mixed with a pungent fecal stench. Their odor is so heavy that the human nose is infallible at least for a recent deer’s attendance on the path.

The deer’s crossing seems always to be perpendicular to the path’s direction. Out from dense woods, onto the open trail and into a thicket of briar and bracken, the deer has moved.

clonycavan man

Another bogman found in Ireland, 2003 who had been ritualistically executed.
 This iron age young man wore hair gel!

Trailer Park Groundhog

Take gun (.22 cal is good). Load with bullets and accurately fire at head [we're assuming the groundhog's head, not your own].

Skin groundhog and gut him. Clean out carcass with waterhose.
Cut critter into quarters.

Make up a big batch of your favorite marinade (make sure it has oil and vinegar to help tenderize the groundhog).

Throw marinade and critter pieces into plastic trash bag and marinade around 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Take out marinated critter pieces and throw on the grill on low heat. Cook until rare to medium rare. Do not overcook, critter will dry out.
And no one likes their critter dry.

Serve with lots of beer.

Goober Peas

"Goober Peas" is a traditional folk song probably originating in the Southern United States. It was popular with Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War, and is still sung frequently in the South to this day. 

Sitting by the roadside on a summer's day

Chatting with my mess-mates, passing time away

Lying in the shadows underneath the trees

Goodness, how delicious, eating goober peas.

Peas, peas, peas, peas

Eating goober peas

Goodness, how delicious,

Eating goober peas.

listen:     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBOxw6vbDyo

jpr: We sang this in Sr Anna Veronica's Grade School Choir recording.

catching wild pigs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbb-eniQ2VU

In the wild, the lifespan of a boar is typically 10 years, although some individuals have been known to live for 27 years. In captivity, the average lifespan is 25 years.