Monday, January 29, 2007

First, this great quote from Joseph Campbell:
Artists are magical helpers. Evoking symbols and motifs that connect us to our deeper selves, they can help us along the heroic journey of our own lives.

Apropos of nothing, you must visit the Degree Confluence Project site. From the site:

The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures, along with a narrative describing the adventures it took to get there are then posted on this web site. This creates an organized sampling of the world.

Another goal is to document the changes at these locations over time. Although we initially want to visit as many different locations as possible, don't hesitate to revisit a confluence if you're in the area.

We've excluded confluences in the oceans and dropped some near the poles, but there are still 11,281 to be found. You're invited to help. There is a confluence within 49 miles (79 km) of you if you are on the surface of Earth.


Want to know what Vladivostok really looks like? Moldova? Malawi? These aren't tourist photos or official shots of the "attractions" but photos of the woods, the desert, the forgotten lakes and streams, the wadis, the tiny villages. It's the real life of the planet and fascinating. The site is well organized and new photos are being added every day. If you're a travel/geography dork like me, it's like heaven.

Word-hoard (a twofer today!)
topolatry: worship of a place
paidumatic: tendency of a culture to be shaped by its physical setting (Frobenius)

Myths, symbols, and folklore
Evening Star "Like the morning star, it is a designation for the bright planet Venus, but in contrast to the morning star, it refers to the evening position of Venus. Because it is considered the herald of approaching night, it is occasionally the Christian symbol of Lucifer."

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