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20 Most Fascinating Prehistoric Paintings

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:56:55 GMT

clipped by: Tylast

Known as "the prehistoric Sistine Chapel," the Lascaux Caves, a cave complex in southwestern France, contain some of the most remarkable paleolithic cave paintings in the world, from at least 15,000 years ago.

The cave was discovered on 12 September 1940 by four teenagers, Marcel Ravidat, Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas, as well as Ravidat's dog, Robot. Public access was made easier after World War II. By 1955, the carbon dioxide produced by 1,200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the paintings. The cave was closed to the public in 1963 in order to preserve the art.

Altamira Caves: as Picasso famously exclaimed, "after Altamira, all is decadence"

Chauvet Caves: spectacular artwork

Tags: art, painting, cavemen

Italy’s Most Haunted Island: Poveglia Island of Horror

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:26:34 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz
clipper's remarks: What we need here is a group of clippers to check out the island and make a reality show. I'm game!

Clip Source: phunkyou.com

Poveglia Island of Horror

Italy’s Most Haunted Island: Poveglia Island of Horror
By The Ghosty Gal Courtesy of http://yuwie.com/missreadalot

A few people have dodged the light police patrol that guards the island, and all have sworn never to return. They say the moans and screams that reverberate around the island are unbearable. There is a feeling of the most intense evil, and one misguided thrill-seeker, upon entering the deserted hospital, was told, “Leave immediately and do not return.”

Tags: poveglia

Three Words would Change His Life

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:16:25 GMT

clipped by: digits
clipper's remarks: A poignant, uplifting short memoir of a deaf boy whose life was turned around after three words.

Clip Source: digits.stumbleupon.com

Three Words Would Change his Life
...
...Going to school wasn't much better either. Kids taunted me and called me names mainly because of my hearing aid and the way I talked.

Not only did I have trouble fitting in, but I also had difficulty reading the clock, counting money and reading. Although I was gregarious and acted as a happy-go-lucky kid, I actually thought of myself as an ugly yellow bucktooth kid with wires that ran from the hearing aid box to my ears. Other parents didn't want me to hang around their kids fearing that my deafness would rub off on them.

I remembered thinking, "What have I done wrong?"

We never know how we can affect someone's life for the better. [We never know how we can affect someone's life for the worse, too, for that matter.] When we realize we all have the power to change our little parts of the world, amazing things can and will happen! Be sure to read the story to see the three little words that changed his life!

Read this inspiring true story

Tags: disabilities, inspiration, self improvement, memoirs, story, deafness, education

The 2 Trillion Dollar Nightmare

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:00:44 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

We’ve been hearing a lot about “Saturday Night Live” and the fun it has been having with the presidential race. But hardly a whisper has been heard about a Congressional hearing in Washington last week on a topic that could have been drawn, in all its tragic monstrosity, from the theater of the absurd.

The war in Iraq will ultimately cost U.S. taxpayers not hundreds of billions of dollars, but an astonishing $2 trillion, and perhaps more. There has been very little in the way of public conversation, even in the presidential campaigns, about the consequences of these costs, which are like a cancer inside the American economy.

“For a fraction of the cost of this war,” said Mr. Stiglitz, “we could have put Social Security on a sound footing for the next half-century or more.”

What we’re getting instead is the stuff of nightmares.

Those costs will be with us for decades

Tags: but, we, gotta, feel, safe, baby

Will the Clash of Faiths Go on Forever?

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:15:45 GMT

clipped by: Rasmus
clipper's remarks: Religious conflict rages on, despite claims we live in a "secular age" -- two authors explore the clash of beliefs.

This article reviews:

Divided by Faith: Religious Conflict and the Practice of Toleration in Early Modern Europe by Benjamin J. Kaplan

God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215 by David Levering Lewis

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

religious zealotry is out of control and ought to be reined in. The question is how to do it. On one side of the debate are the hards, those militant atheists who argue that the problem is not so much religious discord as religion itself, an idea that has given rise to repeated horrors not because it is misapplied or misunderstood but because it is false and therefore a poor guide to reality. Bad theories lead to bad outcomes, which is why the best way to deal with theism is to do to it what Copernicus did to Ptolemy, or Darwin to Lamarck -- finish it off as quickly as possible so the world can move on.

On the other side are the softs, those nice ecumenicists who contend that

Religion is

tolerable as long as it's not used as a justification to harass thy neighbor or condemn him to hell over minute theological differences.

Kaplan's version of how people got along in between the era's great battles and confrontations is not unimportant.

Tags: divided by faith, religion, zealotry, clash of faiths, ecumenism, religious tolerance, religious intolerance, christendom, islam, history of relgions

Fantasy art

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:13:13 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: Great site.

Clip Source: fantasyartdesign.com

Tags: digital art fantasy, fantasy art, science fiction art, pics, images

Cooperation over Competition

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:13:19 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks:

Think about what you need to feel good about yourself right now or what you would want someone to do for you. Provide those "wish list" items for another [...] as well as for yourself.

Clip Source: lawprofessors.typepad.com

Cooperation over Competition

Offer to help another

Look for the silver lining in the clouds for both yourself and others.

Look for the learning opportunities

Problem solve rather than feel powerless and overwhelmed.

Compliment

Tell someone congratulations

Praise someone for an awesome job

Mention to someone that you admire that person's thoughtfulness or honesty or some other trait.

Use daily inspirational sources to create a positive attitude in yourself which will spill over to others: quotes or scriptures; visualization of your success on exams; prayer; photographs or cartoons; "pep talks" from mentors, family, or friends; music that inspires you.

Say "thank you" and "please" more often. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and not to feel taken for granted.

Smile at anyone who looks tired, worried, or anxious. You may be the one bright spot in that person's day.

Perform random acts of kindness

Step in if you overhear

bullying

And, I listen very carefully for the "between the lines" messages