I tend to fancy the Impressionists - Monet, Manet, and Cezanne. While living in France, I visited Monet's home in Givergny. I also like the modernists such as Picasso, Braque, Chagall, Kandinsky and Klee. I like most paintings done in the nineteenth century and after - impressionist, cubist, and modernist.
Rapunzel
JoinedPosts by Rapunzel
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Who is your favorite Artist?
by coffee_black inthere are many artists whose work i love, but i think my all time favorite is sargent... my second home, growing up, was the museum of fine arts in boston, and additionally, the gardner museum close by... both have important sargents... the way he painted light was liquid and sensual... a master at making the complex look effortless....he had it all.... http://jssgallery.org/major_paintings/major.htm.
so whose art do you love?.
coffee .
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armaggedon
by vat152 ini'm sure that the topic of armageddon has risen it's ugly head before but can anyone out there tell me when the armaggedon will happen (try to be precise please otherwise to me as a non-believer it will look like you're guessing) and has anyone got any concrete evidence of why and how it will happen?
oh and can you give evidence about when it will happen?
thank you.. go on convince me!!
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Rapunzel
Armaggedon is a warped, eschatological fantasy which will never transpire as it imagined in the Bible. In my mind, the only conceivable form of Armaggedon is that of total self-annihilation on the part of humanity through nuclear holocaust, or perhaps a global plague/influenza developed in a lab somewhere. Of couse, global warning could kill more people than those depicted in the account of the Noatian Flood. In short, if Armageddon ever should come, it will have been brought on by humanity itself. Moreover, in any scenario imaginable, the chance of there being any survivors at all is truly negligible; and if there are survivors, they will envy the dead.
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The J.W's Stance On Education: A Return To Original Christian Thought?
by Rapunzel inas has been stated in many threads, most witnesses have long considered education - especially higher or university education - in a negative light.
most witnesses take a dim view of any educational pursuits beyond the bare minimum required by the socities and communities in which they live.
of course, this is not true for every single witness in every congregation around the world; there are some who "buck the trend," and pursue higher education [often facing some kind of sanction or ostracism for doing so].
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Rapunzel
Ehrman's latest book is entitled God's Problem: How the Bible Fails To Answer Our Most Important Question - Why We Suffer. In this book, Ehrman deals with the issue of theodicy, the existence of evil and suffering in the world - a world supposedly created by an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God, a God which is at once both all-powerful and all-good. The problem of theodicy is a paradoxical one posing the following dilemma: If God is capable of eradicating suffering and pain, but chooses not to do so, then God could hardly be called "all-good." If God is not capable of eradicating evil, then obviously God is not all-powerful. The issue of theodicy seems to prohibit people from viewing God as being both all-powerful and all-good. At best, it's one or the other, but not both.
In God's Problem, Ehrman analyses the competing and contradictory explanations as found in the Bible. For example, the biblical prophets see suffering as a punishment for sin. In the book of Job, two different answers are offered - 1) Suffering is a kind of "exam" or "test," with the reward for "passing" it coming later. 2.) Suffering is beyond comprehension, and we should not even have the temerity to ask God why God allows us to suffer. We are merely humans while God, after all, is God. In Ecclesiastes, suffering is in the very nature of thing; it is intrinsic to existence and must simply be accepted as such. In all of the apocalyptic texts - both Hebrew and New Testament - humans are told to be patient and that God will eventually "make straight" all the crooked paths by correcting all that is wrong with the world, all in due time.
In his book, Ehrman examines the biblical responses to suffering. What may surprise some people is the fact that these answers are other than what might be expected, and that some of these answers contradict each other. This is hardly surprising at all since the Bible contains many contradictions. It was written at different times, by different people, holding different viewpoints and perspectives. As for theodicy, it's an ancient problem that pre-Christian writers dealt with.
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The J.W's Stance On Education: A Return To Original Christian Thought?
by Rapunzel inas has been stated in many threads, most witnesses have long considered education - especially higher or university education - in a negative light.
most witnesses take a dim view of any educational pursuits beyond the bare minimum required by the socities and communities in which they live.
of course, this is not true for every single witness in every congregation around the world; there are some who "buck the trend," and pursue higher education [often facing some kind of sanction or ostracism for doing so].
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Rapunzel
As has been stated in many threads, most Witnesses have long considered education - especially higher or university education - in a negative light. Most Witnesses take a dim view of any educational pursuits beyond the bare minimum required by the socities and communities in which they live. Of course, this is not true for every single Witness in every congregation around the world; there are some who "buck the trend," and pursue higher education [often facing some kind of sanction or ostracism for doing so]. Moreover, during the past ten years or so, there appears to be some ambivalence on the part of the Organization. A few years back, the Organization was sending out "mixed signals" on the issue. Most recently, it appears that a more conservative, hard-line position has been taken - a position that harks back to the militant anti-higher-education position adopted in the 1950's, 60's, and 70's.
My questions is: In adopting such a stance an attitude, are the Witnesses, in fact, assuming [perhaps unknowingly] the attitude of the earliest Christians?
I am presently reading a very interesting book on biblical textual criticism by Bart Ehrman entitled Misquoting Jesus - The Story Behind Who Changed The Bible And Why. In his chapter, "The Beginnings of Christian Scripture," Ehrman writes about Celsus - a learned, pagan opponent of Christiantiy living at the end of the second century - and Origen, a Christian apologist who lived some seventy years later, at the beginning of the third century. Celsus wrote a book entitled The True Word in which he attacked Christianity with the argument that it was a foolish and dangerous religion that should be thoroughly eradicated, wiped off the face of the earth. Unfortunately, nothing remains of Celsus' The True Word in of itself; there are no surviving manuscripts. What does survive is Origen's work - Against Celsus [Contra Celsum]. Origen was asked to write a reply to Celsus' criticism. In doing so, Origen quoted extensively from Celsus' The True Word. Thus Origen's Against Celsus is the chief source of information about Celsus' criticism of Christianity.
In Contra Celsum, Origen notes the following charges made against Chritianity by Celsus: "[The Christians injunctions are like this - 'Let no one educated, no one wise, no one sensible draw near. For these abilities are thought by us to be evils. But as for anyone ignorant, anyone stupid, anyone uneducated, anyone who is a child, let him come boldly.'" (Against Celsus 3.44)
Amother quote by Celsus that Origen cites in his book, Against Celsus: "Moreover, we see that those people [the Christians] who display their secret lore in market-places and go about begging would never enter a gathering of intelligent men, nor would they dare to reveal their noble beliefs in their presence; but whenever they see adolescent boys and a crowd of slaves and a company of fools, they push themselves in and show off." (Against Celsus 3.50)
And in a third quote, Celsus disparages Christians as being "wool-workers, cobblers, laundry-workers, and the most illiterate and bucolic yokels who would not dare to say anything at all in front of their elders and more intelligent masters. But whenever they [the Christians] get a hold of children in private...they let out some astonishing statements, as, for example, that they must not pay attention to their father and school teachers...[The Christians] say that these talk nonsense and have no understanding." Celsus goes on to mock Christians for urging youngsters to "learn perfection" at the wooldresser's, cobbler's, or washerwoman's shop. (Against Celsus 3.56)
Basically, Celsus portrays Christians as sneaky, cowardly predators wallowing in their own ignorance. Being foolish,ignorant, and stupid themselves, they search out those who are even more naive, ignorant and stupid. They encourage social unrest and turmoil by persuading simpletons and naifs to ignore parents and others in authority.
In short, while reading these passages, I noticed how they "resonate" with what the Organization has to say about seeking education. Hence my question: Is the Witness stance on education simply a return to the thinking of early Christianity? After all, Witnesses pride themselves on "restoring" the true and original form of Christianity. Could it be that, with their anti-educational policies, they got it right? Is Christianity fundamentally and radically - at its foundation and at its roots - an anti-intellectual (indeed anti-intellect) religion? Could Jesus possibly have intended the religion for misfits, simpletons, and other asundry riff-raff? Were these his target audience?
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how do you deal with bullies?
by loosie inmy daughter is in 6th grade.. i know from personal experience when i was in jr high that kids can be really mean.
i used to come home crying everyday.
i was told that i was ugly and i would never get married.
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Rapunzel
Although I abhor violence, I think that it would be a good idea to enroll your daughter in a martial arts class. Most reputable martial arts instructors discourage violence and teach techniques for avoiding violence, or at least minimizing it if violence becomes necessary. Judo and tae kwan do instructors often place emphasis on practical self defense, as do jiujitsu teachers. Studying martial arts will give your daughter self-confidence. The bullies will easily sense that and leave her alone. Also, learning martial arts will give your daughter the ability to defend herself from a truly violent attack. As we know, it's a dangerous society/world out there. Women/girls especially need the abilty to defend themselves.
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Who's Got The Blues [C.D.'s and D.V.D.'s]?
by Rapunzel into state the obvious, rock and roll has its roots in the blues.
if you listen to many "classic" rock bands - like led zep, the who and the stones - the influence of the blues is self-evident.
the members of both those bands grew up listening to the blues.
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Rapunzel
Sorry, but people's names just keep coming to my mind, like Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix [Hey Joe, Red House, The Wind Cries Mary]. Both died way too soon. I also think of Jerry Lee Lewis. He's often classified as "rockabilly" but his style of piano play is directly within the blues traditon of "honky tonk."
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Who's Got The Blues [C.D.'s and D.V.D.'s]?
by Rapunzel into state the obvious, rock and roll has its roots in the blues.
if you listen to many "classic" rock bands - like led zep, the who and the stones - the influence of the blues is self-evident.
the members of both those bands grew up listening to the blues.
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Rapunzel
In my previous post, I forgot to mention Robert Johnson, who [it was claimed] sold his soul to "da debil" [Satan] at a crossroads. Actually, crossroads - for some reason that escapes me at the moment - were thought to be evil by their very nature. It's an ancient superstition, but I don't know its origin. Anyway, as everybody knows, preachers and other religious leaders did not like the blues and harangued against it; they were ranting against the evils of the blues long before they did the same against rock and roll. Of course, it's easy to understand why. Blues, to even a greater extent than rock, is permeated with sexuality. It was (is) very much a genre of music associated with bars and brothels.
In this post, I'd also like to mention a few more artists whom people may like: Lighting Hokins, Junior Wells, Johnny Otis, Jay Hawkins, Otis Span, the James Cotton Band and John Mayall.
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Who's Got The Blues [C.D.'s and D.V.D.'s]?
by Rapunzel into state the obvious, rock and roll has its roots in the blues.
if you listen to many "classic" rock bands - like led zep, the who and the stones - the influence of the blues is self-evident.
the members of both those bands grew up listening to the blues.
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Rapunzel
To state the obvious, rock and roll has its roots in the blues. If you listen to many "classic" rock bands - like Led Zep, The Who and the Stones - the influence of the blues is self-evident. The members of both those bands grew up listening to the blues. So, in order "to get back to the roots" of it all, I'd like to ask if anyone enjoys listening to the blues and which artists they like most. Do you like the so- called "[Mississippi] delta blues"? That's where it all began, with the field chants of the slaves. Or do you like the "Chicago blues"? Chicago is where blues music "went electric" by adding the electric guitar, bass, organ and drums. In my estimation, it you include the Mississippi delta blues in the history of the blues, which you really do have to do, then the blues have a history which is easily hundreds of years old, pre-dating the advent of electronic music by many many years. Throwing out just a very few names, I would like to ask who likes Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Big Mama Thorton, Billie Holiday, Bo Didley, Eric Clapton, Sonny Boy Williamson, Blind Willy McTell, Hot Tuna, Fleetwood Mac [in the days before their "Rumors" album they were very much a blues band], George Thoroughgood, John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Albert Lee? And these really are just a few names. Like I said, the blues have an ancient pedigree. So, anybody got a mojo risin' [the word mojo has been traced back to Africa; it refers to a little bag, talisman, or amulet - and it was already in use long before Jim of The Doors fame used it]? Anybody gonna give their love some "jelly roll" tonight?
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How C.S. Lewis helped me to see Christianity for the joke that it is
by nvrgnbk ini read mere christianity.. .
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Rapunzel
In that Lewis is "slightly existentialist," he is closer in spirit to Soren Kierkegaard than he is to Augustine. However, I think that most people would find either Kierkegaard or Augustine's writings more substantial than those of Lewis. On the other hand, Lewis is more easily accessible.
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Jethro Tull - Your Favorite Songs and Albums from this Group ?
by flipper ingrowing up, jethro tull was one of my favorite groups as they had a great mix of rock , celtic mix , and great guitar from martin barre and ian anderson on flute was arguably one of the greatest flute players in rock n' roll .
as an interesting side note : my wifes 15 minutes claim to fame was when her ex-husband and her in the 1980's sold fish to markets , her ex-husband called ian anderson on the phone to see how he did salmon farming and talk about the fish business.
weird, huh?
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Rapunzel
.1). A Christmas Song
2) Skating Away on the thin ice of new day
3.) song for jeffrey
4.) aqualung