NASA scientists recently announced that in November 2003 they have discovered a new object in the solar system that they named named '2003 VB12' or 'Sedna', after the Inuit goddess who created the sea creatures of the Arctic. Sedna is called a 'planetoid', because it does not meet the requirements for a planet. It has a diameter of 800-1100 miles (Pluto: 1400 miles), and probably constist of rock and ice. Its path is highly ellipitical and well beyond the Kuiper Belt. Sedna's current distance from the Earth is about 3x the distance of Pluto. One year on Sedna takes 10,500 Earth years. Sedna may be the first body to be discovered in the Oort Cloud, a hypothetical region of icy objects that become comets.

The Kuiper Belt is an icy asteroid belt just beyond Neptune. Recently discovered Kuiper Belt objects are Quaoar and 2004 DW.

Other Links:
Sedna legend
Homepage of Chad Trujillo
Tenagra Observatories: Amateur Telescope


Snippets:
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Photography: Artist: Ryan McGinley. Pictures at Bailey Fine Arts, Toronto, CA.
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Video: Through a Glass Darkly (1961).Original Title: Sasom i en spegel. B&W, 89 min. Directed by Ingmar Bergman. w/ Harriet Andersson (Karin), Gunnar Bjoernstrand (David, her father), Max von Sydow (Martin, her husband), Lars Passgard (Minus, her brother). Swedish w/ English subtitles. Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1962. Schizophric woman vacations with her loving husband, dryly depressed father, and adolescent brother on an island. In her delusion and hallucinations, she believes to encounter God in the form of a terrifying spider. Anderson is highly believable in her role. The film is heavy to swallow, but the cinematography (by Sven Nykvist) and acting are excellent. My rating: 7 out of 10. First film in a religious trilogy (Winter Light, The Silence).
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Essay: William Kingdon Clifford (mathematician, philosopher of science, 1845-1879): The Ethics of Belief (1877). "It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence". However, Clifford does not provide a whole lot of evidence himself ... so is it right to believe him? :-) Other documents from the Historical Library and the Modern Library.
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Composer: Laura Andel: between jazz and classical music
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Book: Caroline Alexander: The Endurance - Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition. w/ photographs by Frank Hurley. Tells the story of Shackleton's failed expedition in 1914-16 and the incredible achievements that lead to their rescue from Elephant Island. Hurley's fantastic photographs help the reader tremendously to imagine how 'life' in the Arctic really was.
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Music: Rachel Perry: VH-1 VJ, previously Muchmusic (Canada)
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Online Book: The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire (1773-1788) by Edward Gibbon. Will take a bit of time to read. Download here.
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Alain (pseud. for Emile Auguste Chartier, 1868-1951): French philosopher, columnist; wrote papers on politics and ethics for newspapers and reviews; best known for thousands of aphoristic essays, called 'propos', which he contributed to his own weekly 'Libres Propos' and other journals; expressing pacifism and distrust of official power; other works: Systeme des beaux arts (1920), Histoire de mes pensees (1936), Alain on Happiness (1973); teacher of Simone Weil (1909-1943, French philosopher and activist) and Andre Maurois (1885–1967, French biographer, novelist, essayist, and critic).

Do not confuse 'Alain' with Alain Chartier (c.1392 - c.1430), the French poet and political writer. Margaret of Scotland is said to have kissed his lips while he was sleeping in her palace, to honour, she said "the mouth which elicited so many virtuous words". This famous story is depicted in the painting by Victorian painter Edmund Blair Leighton (1853-1922).

Other Links:
Alain by Thierry Leterre
Textes d'Alain (in French)
Weggefaehrten (in German)

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Koinonia: term of the New Testament meaning 'fellowship' (the spirit of generous sharing as contrasted with the spirit of selfish getting), somtimes also used in the sense of 'communion'.
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Geography: Andaman and Nicobar Islands: group of 572 islands (only 38 inhabited) located in the Bay of Bengal, 92-94 degrees E, 6-14 degrees N; capital: Port Blair; Indian government. More info from the Annual Report of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
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Book: Bluenose, Queen of the Grand Banks by Feenie Ziner. Illustrations by Zeke Ziner. Chilton Book Company, Philadelphia. First Ed. 1970. The story of the 143-feet salt banker 'Bluenose', her skipper Agnus Walters, and the Nova Scotian's fishing town of Lunenburg. This book preserves a piece of history that otherwise would probably have vanished with the schooner when it struck a reef off the coast of Haiti. It also goes into detail about the fishing business and the races. Great read!
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Video of Bluenose vs. Gertrude L. Thebaud by W.R. MacAskill (1887-1956), one of Nova Scotia's best-known photographers.
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Word: forecastle = fo'c'sle: 1.) the forward part of the upper deck of a ship 2.) the crew's quarters usually in a ship's bow
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Music: Abra Moore: ... somewhere between the stylings of Edie Brickell and Rickie Lee Jones; CDs: Swing (1995), Strangest Places (1997), Everything Changed (March 23, 2004)
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Notes on Video: 'Essential Alan Watts: On Meditation, Nothingness' (1973, 58 min) by Alan Watts (1915-1973): "To go out of your mind at least once a day is tremendously important, because by going out of your mind you come to your senses."

Nothingness:
- there is no nothing without something

On Meditation:
- there is a difference between the Real World and the symbols we have in our minds about this world; we often believe to see the former although we really only think about the latter

- our world is a system of concepts: e.g., constellations of stars are not really there, they are man-made systems

- most of us are compulsivly thinking, i.e. it almost never stops, it becomes a constant chatter; but: he who talks all the time does not hear what others have to say.

- in meditation, we become interiorly silent, and seize from the interminable chatter in our heads

- meditation should not have a reason (such as to serve improvement of the self); it should rather be like making music or dancing, i.e. for enjoyment and fun; it is important to understand that the journey is the point, not reaching the goal; in meditation we have the insight that the point is always the arrival at the immediate moment; time is always NOW, no past and no future; realizing this brings us into a state of peace

- support items: gong, incense, string of beads (to unconsciously time yourself; move one bead per breath stroke)

- how to engage into meditation: be aware of what IS by doing the following:
1.) listen to sounds around you
2.) listen to your toughts (without trying to control them)
3.) be aware of your breath

ad 1.) begin meditation by listening to all sounds around you (the hum and buzz of the world); do not try to name sounds, do not try to identify what they are, do not judge them, just let go; but: if you can't help judging, do not force the thoughts out of your mind, just let them happen

ad 2.) look at your own thoughts just as if they were noises; the thoughts become happenings like the sounds on the outside

ad 3.) let the breathing go just as it will, do not do breathing exercises; do not think about breathing, just let breathing happen; when exhaling, let the air fall out; when inhaling also let it fall in; the breath will get more and more easy, and slower, and more peaceful over time, and more poweful

- sound (e.g., gong) and chanting can aid in the exercise; one can chant a Mantra (=chanted sound). Mantras are used not so much for their meaning as for their simple tones; should be chanted with slow breath; e.g., Om = mantra that represents the total energy of the Universe


Snippets:
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Video: Strange Days (1995). 145 min. w/ Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient), Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis (What's Eating Gilbert Grape); directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Point Beak); story and screenplay by James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator). Sci-fi thrilller. Ex-cop who serves the black market with recordings of memories and emotions (similar to 'Brainstorm' (1983)), tries to solve the murder of a prostitute and friend. Sex and violence. Nothing for the squeamish. Plot is good, but story is a little too artificial. Angela Bassett has an excellent performance. My rating: 6 out of 10.
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Mylene Farmer. French-Canadian disco chanteuse. More Photos.
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Theater: King Lear by William Shakespeare. Yale Repertory Theater, New Haven, CT. Feb. 13-March 13, 2004. w/ Avery Brooks (Star Treck: Deep Space Nine) and an all-African-American cast. Directed by Harold Scott. Great, colorful performance. Tragic story of a British king and his three daughters, of the struggle for power and of vengeance and deception. Plot and comments. Text, Essays, and Links. Painting by Edwin Austin Abbey (American, 1852-1911). King Lear (1898).
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Video: Still of the Night (1982). 93 min. w/ Roy Scheider, Meryl Streep, Jessica Tandy. Directed by Robert Benton. Psychiatrist suspects an assistant auctioneer (that he fell in love) with, to have murdered one of his patients. Effective suspense with small tricks. Good camera angles. Story is on the simple side. My rating: 5 out of 10.
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Book on Tape: Robert A. Heinlein: Stanger in a Strange Land (1961). Part 1 (10 cassettes, 15 hours) + Part 2 (9 cassettes, 13.5 hours). Unabridged version, including some 60,000 words that had been cut from the original manuscript. A man who was raised on Mars, returns to earth, becomes independently wealthy, has super powers, and preaches his philosophy for a new type of religion. Long, but worth it! Contains many unusual thoughts, sometimes revolutionary. Has to be put into perspective to the time it was written.
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