FREEDOM!!!! [3]

Why did I never stop!!    

If any one is interested here's my theory of what went on at the Neolithic Temple site on Orkney (watch the relevant vid above first or this probably wont be easy to follow)

I agree about the processional bit, and it being a crossing from living to dead with the Temple complex in the middle.
But what I think was going on was you had the 'Priesthood' who led the ceremonies- the Procession finished up in the Circle for the Dead, which is massive and had 60 stones in it.
The Priests then used the astronomical information that the stones provide to predict eclipses and more importantly farming information, like when to sow.
But I think this was secret initiate knowledge, the general populace who would attend the ceremonies would not know the Priests were getting the information by 'technical' means. That part would be disguised by ritual.

Instead they would attribute the knowledge to their ability to communicate with the Land of the Dead, to the Ancestors, probably those of important or favoured families, and a few of the recorded plebs ones to keep everyone happy.

The importance of the association between stone and the dead is important too, and the stone objects were the symbols of power and authority.

But I reckon at some point over the next 300 years of its use the knowledge about the stone circles got out, the knowledge that if you built a circle and knew how to 'read' it, anyone could do it.
And now the knowledge was out there it spread, as all technology does, and Stone Henge and its complex were built in England.

And it was somewhere around this point that the buildings in the Temple Complex in Orkney were ritually demolished in the Temple area and replaced with one huge building that was not used for processions any more.

No one believed the dead were telling the priests anything any more- there was no need any more to process to the Land of Dead to talk to ancestors who weren't there, and there was no need any longer for the processional ritual buildings, which is why they demolished them.
The Circle could be read without any Priests claiming to be talking to the dead.

I'd hazard a new religious group had emerged with a new explanation for where the dead really were.
But whatever they believed they still made use of the symbolism and authority of stone objects.
An that was their final downfall- the arrival of the Bronze Age nullified the power of the symbols, and so of their authority.

That's my take on it anyway.

Aragorn? no way! that bloke is Metrosexual to the core, he cant keep his hands off his hair.

 I didn't say I would cast him. I said I would cast some one of that racial mix.
I think film or tv should convey as much of the story information purely with visuals as possible- its primarily a visual medium.
Aragorn should look like a mix of basically northern English/Scots-Italian, so he should look even subconsciously to the viewer a little different from the other men seen at Bree racially, but not dramatically so (as should the Rangers of the Grey Company of course)- and when the story gets to the Council of Elrond Boromir should look even more Italian, so the viewer, whether they consciously realise it or not will pick up n the racial similarity, and so buy into the notion he is of the rightful line to be King in Gondor more deeply than just the script telling them its so.

so black hair then.

 


(Incidentally at 12:40 on the history of Scotland- Last of the Free vid you will see Dunnad, I posted pics from there when I visited it last summer. You get a better look at it here. )

Dont know if this will play in all countries but a good interview with former Labour Scottish First Minister Henry Mcleish, No voter and Campaigner-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-26890499

The latest attempt to convince us no matter how unfair our system might be we have a duty to stick with it for the greater good (of the entire world no less!) -

'The former secretary general of Nato has said that Scottish independence would be cataclysmic for the West in an era of international turmoil.
Speaking in the US, Lord Robertson said a "debilitating divorce" after a "Yes" vote in September would threaten the stability of the wider world.
He said he believed the American administration was worried about the possibility of Scottish independence.
The Scottish government said the comments were "crass and offensive".
"For the second military power in the west to shatter this year would be cataclysmic in geo-political terms."
He went on to urge "Britain's allies" to speak out and to say that an independent Scotland would "affect them as well".
Lord Robertson added: "This is not a purely domestic matter even though it's a decision that will be taken by the Scottish people.
"The Scottish people need to be conscious that they are taking a decision, not just for themselves and for future generations in a one-off vote, but that it also has an effect elsewhere and people who are affected, or think they will be affected, have every right to speak out."

I had no idea we were running the world!   

Also worth noting Lord Robertson is a Labour party member and part of the Better Together Campaign.

maybe they are worried about International Buckie smuggling   

Pettytyrant101 wrote:"For the second military power in the west to shatter this year would be cataclysmic in geo-political terms."

Aww, you guys are so cute.

{{{I shudder to think of the effect that frantic, post-imperial ego reconstruction will have on American politics in a couple decades. }}}

Time-lapse footage of the construction of the Kelpie statues that now stand on the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Kelpies in Scottish myth and legend are water spirits that take the form of horses (white ones for the record with sky-blue manes) and use illusion to deceive the unwary who they lure onto their backs, at which point their skin becomes adhesive and they bear the poor rider back down under the waves with them.
As huge sculptor go I am a big fan of these ones, I think they look stunning-



Some stills from the vid for those who cant watch vids-

If you Scotshobbits are freed from your benign slavery, will you also be freed from propriety itself and so bring back ancient un-Christian religions?   

Maybe, you never know which spirits will talk to you from the bottom of a bottle of spirits   

its hard to understand the scale of those horses, how big are they?

Big   (30 metres tall)

  zoiks

These pics from the construction might give a better sense of scale-

No idea if this works outside the UK- but Salmond is about to deliver his keynote address at the SNP conference-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-26978983

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Scottish Week kicked off in New York today with a marathon starting in Central Park.

But I am curious- does it actually get much coverage over there?

Never heard of it.  Why don't they run in Kilts?

the Scots were never a big ethnic group here, unlike the Irish.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:

Thats the series where the presenter is pretty much the ethnic type I would cast to play Aragorn- someone with a mix of northern (Scottish) and southern (Italian) blood blended over several generations.

They originally cast Stuart Townsend, which is pretty much the look you are talking about. Their first choice was also mine: Daniel Day Lewis, but he pretty much only works for Scorcese these days, and I think he's even stopped that.

Those statues are frighteningly huge.

no to Stuart Townsend and an even bigger no to Day Lewis. Lewis is great in everything he does, but he will forever be that Mohican chap and never Aragorn, he would have made a great Aragorn technically but I dont think he is very Tolkien in essence, whereas Viggo nailed that indefinable atmosphere thingie.

Salmonds key note speech-

My favourite bit of the above speech, Doctor Who, it gets everywhere   

Mrs Figg wrote:no to Stuart Townsend and an even bigger no to Day Lewis. Lewis is great in everything he does, but he will forever be that Mohican chap and never Aragorn, he would have made a great Aragorn technically but I dont think he is very Tolkien in essence, whereas Viggo nailed that indefinable atmosphere thingie.

It's the Mohican chap that convinced me he'd be perfect for Aragorn.  Wouldn't even have to change clothes - he was pretty much in every way how I'd imagine Aragorn.

But I don't know why they even considered Stuart Townsend in the first place - i just mentioned him because he has the Look Petty was talking about.