Marking The Winter Solstice?

In the early stages of investigation, one of my co-workers, friend and fellow park ranger Geoff, may have discovered a way that the ancestral people living in Tyuonyi Pueblo at Bandelier National Monument were able to mark the December solstice. 

At the time of the solstice, if you stand on the trail just inside the pueblos south wall just before the afternoon Sun drops below the top of the western wall, your shadow points directly down the wall toward the canyon's eastern wall.

But there's more than just a shadow pointing down the wall. Not visible in the photo above is this petroglyph near the top of the eastern wall:

Here's a little wider angle view of the Sun petroglyph that may help with finding its location in the top photo (as well as in some of the other photos below):

Here's another wide angle view that includes the pueblo wall but without my shadow:

Look what happens when you draw a line along the inside edge of the wall to the Sun petroglyph:

Note that the line also partially covers a cavate (an area dug out of the rock - Bandelier has hundreds of them that were used as living areas and for storage by the Ancestral Pueblo People that lived in Frijoles Canyon):

Note the patch of light in the photo above that is shining on the back wall of the cavate in this close-up view. And notice what happens when a line is drawn from the notch in the top to the dimple on the bottom:

As the Sun begins making its way north as we move through the year, these alignments will no longer be there. But, as Earth makes its way around the Sun, it will be interesting to learn if there are other alignments that mark the June solstice as well as the March and September equinoxes.

An Open Letter

I believe your reaction to that story - and your quick judgement about the root cause - is wrong . I also feel it is better to discuss this here, anonymously, rather than directly on your post. Please take time to read what I have to say and, if you doubt my numbers, feel free to Google. There are links near the end that also support my position. Just like taking the time to verify most Facebook memes, the info is all out there.

I truly think your post could have used a little more careful thought, rather than blaming it all on the fact that some kid's exposure to porn led him to do what he did. As a personal example, though I have never spent one red cent for viewing porn online, I have seen it in the past (in the days before internet). Yet I have never had any urge to do something of the kind he is charged with. There HAS TO BE something else going on psychologically in this case and in the others you mentioned.

Let's look at some facts: Estimates of online porn use in the US by males varies, depending upon the survey, anywhere from 30 - 70% and 17 - 30% among females (and, at least as recently as 2009, Utah leading the charge in this country).

Think about those numbers for a moment. Using the low end of the scale, when you walk down the street in your town, something like one out of every three men you see has viewed/purchased online porn. And roughly one in five women has, as well. I can just about guarantee that SOMEONE in your church that you know and respect has, at some point in the past 15 years or so, purchased or viewed online porn (and if you looked at the Deseret News article I linked to earlier, you would have noted that the county where you grew up was near the top, so you almost certainly know someone there who has, too).

If merely watching porn makes one deviate, then there would be far more incidents like the one you posted about taking place. But there aren't. This argument is just as weak as the argument that playing violent video games or watching violent movies/TV makes one violent. Yet, while American kids are, statistically, more violent than other kids around the world, it is almost certain that it is not games and movies that make them that way, since violence among youths is not as extreme in either Europe or Asia. And European and Asian kids are playing the very same games and seeing many of the same films.

Without question, there is something larger at work here than simply looking at porn. Something in the home (see below), peer pressure at school or work, or something in the genes. But it is in no way caused just because someone was exposed to porn. And, if you read the articles linked below, you'll see the researchers are in agreement with what I am saying:

Scientific American
The Scientist

The second of these is adapted from a University of Hawaii study (linked) and contains this little, I think very important, tidbit (based upon interviews with imprisoned rapists):

"What does correlate highly with sex offense is a strict, repressive religious upbringing."

Sound anything like the guy on that "reality show" with the big family for, say, just one example?

I Don't Care

I DON'T CARE if you own a gun.

I DON'T CARE if you think it is your God-given Second Amendment right to own that gun. (It isn't - thank the Founders of this Nation and the NRA for that. God had nothing to do with it.)

I DON'T CARE if you think I'm for legislation that would take your guns away. (I'm not - see #1.) (Well, maybe some of them - see below.)

I DON'T CARE if you don't like the idea of having to be subjected to regular psychological testing so you can keep your gun(s). (First one within 365 days of legislation requiring the test, minimum every three years, but I'd even settle for every five, for a re-test.)

I DON'T CARE if you don't like the idea of having to attend a gun safety course within 365 days following passage of a federal law that would require gun safety courses in order for you to keep your guns.

I DON'T CARE if you don't like the idea of have to take a refresher gun safety course every two years in order to keep your guns.

I DON'T CARE if you don't like the idea of MANDATORY PRISON TIME and LOSS OF YOUR GUNS if you fail to show up for your psych testing or for your gun safety courses.

I DON'T CARE if you don't like the idea that all "assault weapons" (I know, it's a very broad term) should be removed from sale to the general public and the companies that sold them should be forced to buy every fucking one of them back.

I DON'T CARE if those companies go bankrupt when they have to buy them all back.

I DON'T CARE that mass shootings are caused by an infinitesimal fraction of those people who have access to guns.

I DON'T CARE if you feel like you will be punished for the actions of a few.

However . . .

I DO CARE about the victims - and their families - of mass shootings. (Trust me, I took some time to weep for today's victims and will weep some more.)

I DO CARE that we are the only major industrialized nation in the world that mass shootings occur on such a regular basis.

I DO CARE that, so far in 2015, there have been 294 mass shootings in (four or more killed or injured) in 274 days. (Do the math - that's more than one a day folks.)

I DO CARE if you don't think that something finally needs to be done. I also feel very, very sorry for you.

And Now A Few Words from John Adams . . .

One of the great fallacies of our time is how some citizens believe the United States has somehow been deemed to be God's favorite country. I've recently learned that this is not a new idea, either, but more on that shortly. We have televangelists constantly telling their faithful that if the U.S. does this or if the U.S. does that, God's wrath will come down on the country in the form of hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, and a host of other natural disasters may befall us. In my lifetime I can't count on all of my fingers and toes how many times the likes of people like Pat Robertson have foretold of coming disasters because of abortion,* same-sex marriage, and who knows how many other perceived sins of our nation. Yet people of his ilk are multi-millionaires because the "sheeple" keep sending them money when they beg for it.

This brings me now to the main point of this post, an 1814 letter exchange between Founding Father and 2nd President of the United States, John Adams, and a Mr. John Taylor. Though I don’t have Mr. Taylor’s letter, we can tell from the context of Adams’ response that this idea of “favored nation status” was being discussed. And Adam’s response:

We may make ourselves popular, Mr Taylor, by telling our Fellow Citizens, that they have made Discoveries, conceived Inventions, and made Improvements; We may boast that We are the chosen People; We may even thank God that We are not like other Men. But after all it will be but flattery, and the delusion, the Self deceit of the Pharisee.

Adams was a very religious man and, though he (like all of us) had his faults, he was also a very wise man who could easily see through this “delusion.” Some of us could really learn a thing or two from a man like him.

*A short, but I think important, aside regarding abortion: Did you know that, according to the Talmud (the ancient set of Jewish laws that is second only in importance to people of that faith to the Torah), abortion has long been legal? Legal even in the time of the most famous Jew in history, Yeshua ben Yosef ("Jesus" would be the Latinized Greek version of the name, which in English is actually translated to Joshua, in case you didn't know). Yes, there have always been restrictions on abortion, but over time they have become more lenient and today, according to a 2014 article in the Times of Israel, the Jewish homeland now has some of the most liberal abortion laws in the world. And the Israeli government, the one we send billions in aid to, will even pay for it.

This Guy Cracks Me Up

A frequent guest of good ol' Glenn Beck is a clown named David Barton. He's written some books and, by trade, is a history revisionist. He has no degree in history, yet he has convinced more than a few people, including the aforementioned Beck, that the United States of America was founded as a "Christian" nation. You can search the document here and find no mention of God, Jesus, Christian, Christianity, or Christ anywhere in the document. There is precisely one mention of "Lord" in it, and that is where it says "in the year of our Lord." The word "religious" does appear exactly once, and that is where it says "but no religious Test shall ever be required . . ."

Regardless of what anyone says, the United States Constitution is a secular document, so put your flag away and stop waving it if you think otherwise. If you doubt what I say, you need to study up on Jefferson, Madison, Adams, as well a few of the others involved in the adopting of the document.

But, back to Barton (who, by the way, had a book titled The Jefferson Lies pulled by its publisher after it was deemed to be "the least credible history book in print" and several historians strongly agreed with that sentiment), who's latest thing is a load of nonsense about Judge David Bunning ordering Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis taken into custody by U.S. Marshals. Barton says the marshals can't be ordered to put her in jail because of the Constitution's three branches of government ("separation of powers"). See, according to him, the marshals are part of the executive branch (true) and can't be ordered around by the judicial branch (Judge Bunning).

Unfortunately for Barton, his lack of history knowledge has failed him yet again. You see, there's a little thing called the Judiciary Act of 1789, signed into law by George Washington himself, the Father of Our Country. The U.S. Marshals were created in that act for THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF CARRYING OUT ORDERS ISSUED BY THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM.

For two hundred twenty six years it has always be so.

Seriously, anyone who has ever believed a word from the mouth of David Barton isn't just a fool, they are a damned fool. I would double check that arse even if he told me 1+1=2.

Music is the Message?

The other day as I scrolled through my music library I decided, since it had been a while, that a little Rush was in order. I settled on the album that was probably their best seller, Moving Pictures. Of all of the songs on that album, my favorite isn't the big hit Tom Sawyer but Witch Hunt (part of the four song "Fear" series, each song found on a different album). Though it was written over 30 years ago, some of the song's lyrics still ring true in many ways today. In fact, a few years ago Neil Peart was interviewed by George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC about the album's tracks and here is what he had to say about the song:

GS: Witch Hunt, when you watch the news today do you go "Wow, Witch Hunt was really ahead of the curve?"

NP: Um, yeah, and it was, of course, reacting to the same sort of mob mentality back in those days.

Here is a live version for your listening pleasure:

For better or for worse, I make the mistake of reading a blog every day called "Dispatches From The Culture Wars," and each time there is something there that leaves me angry. And while the author will certainly post when Democrats/liberals do something utterly stupid, most of the content involves some right-wing nut job saying or doing something that just makes my blood boil. The problem, even though they are extremists who each have a relatively small audience, collectively they reach a lot of people. Whether it is Limbaugh, Beck, Pat Robertson, Michael Savage, or the clowns from some of the "family" organizations (Focus on Family, etc.), they are reaching enough people to continue fucking up this country. Their sheep get out and vote based upon the propoganda they are being fed, some of them commit acts of violence (and don't get me wrong, there are some liberal extremists too, but the fact is a significant amount domestic terrorism can be attributed to people on the right). To me the last three verses of Witch Hunt just scream out "ultra right-wing religious conservative pseudo-patriots" (also known as RWNJs - Right Wing Nut Jobs) . . .

And the lyrics:

The night is black

Without a moon

The air is thick and still

The vigilantes gather on

The lonely torchlit hill.

Features distorted in the flickering light

The faces are twisted and grotesque

Silent and stern in the sweltering night

The mob moves like demons possessed

Quiet in conscience, calm in their right

Confident their ways are best.

The righteous rise

with burning eyes

Of hatred and ill-will

Madmen fed on fear and lies

To beat and burn and kill.

They say there are strangers who threaten us

In our immigrants and infidels

They say there is strangeness too dangerous

In our theaters and bookstore shelves

That those who know what's best for us

Must rise and save us from ourselves.

Quick to judge

Quick to anger

Slow to understand

Ignorance and prejudice

And fear walk hand in hand.

(Music: Alex Lifeson/Geddy Lee  Lyrics: Neil Peart)

I have much more I'd like to post on several different topics but, until my internet improves (next week, hopefully), posts will remain very infrequent. I know of several other examples, particularly from Prog bands, that also carry messages or tell stories, and I may make "Music is the Message?" a series. We'll see . . .

100 Greatest Prog Albums: #10 Fragile (Yes)

The band that topped the list of the 100 Greatest Prog Albums at #1, Yes with Close To The Edge, rounds out the Top 10 with 1971's Fragile. With this album Rick Wakeman joined the band, replacing original keyboardist Tony Kaye, and its success brought the band into the mainstream. The album opens with a song that was a minor hit as a single (and concert staple), Roundabout.

 

In addition to group efforts, each member of the band wrote a song for the album (new to songwriting, drummer Bill Bruford's contribution is only 35 seconds long). Guitarist Steve Howe's contribution was the brilliant piece Mood For A Day:

 

 

And my personal favorite from the album, Heart of the Sunrise:
 

 

 

Every one of the recordings in the Top 10 is a masterpiece and worth owning. Over the next few weeks I'll post about some of the other albums on the list - there is a lot of really good music to be found there!