Twofer

Let's talk about Athena, her little Owl, and her friend, Nike. I don't know why I wanna talk about them, it's just a ...feeling, I guess. That somewhere, someone is thinking about them, and wondering, and waiting, and...dreaming.

Out of all the goddesses, Athena is one of my favorites. I also like Artemis, though... Anyway, Athena can be described in no other way than Kick-Ass-And-Smile-While-Doing-It. And not only was she brave and fierce in battle, she was also wise and intelligent. Like me, she only chose to fight when her home was invaded, which embodies what Forrest has said in his story about the bison in the mist. And, like me, she only fought when she had a reason, or a cause.

She was famously slow to anger, but when one too many arrows pierced her aegis, watch out, because she was comin' to get ya.

Athena was Zeus's favorite, and was even allowed to use her dad's most powerful weapon, the thunderbolt.

And Athena was a worthy opponent, able to best Poseidon in skill. She aided heroes like Heracles, Jason and Odysseus.

Here is silly Jason getting ready to poke a dragon. Geez, Jason! Don't ya know poking a dragon is WAY worse than poking a bear? Good thing Jason had Athena's favor, or he would've been a meaty bone snack.

The gods of ancient Greece loved contests. They were having them all the freaking time, and the results were usually something that altered the course of history. The invention of the olive tree was a result of a contest between Poseidon and Athena for the worship of Athens. I don't know what Poseidon invented for the contest, but it was probably something nasty like escargot. Or a boiled Sebastian.

Anyway, the Athenians loved that olive tree, so they adopted Athena as their patron goddess, which turned out to a wise choice!

Not only was Athena a fierce fighter and statistician, she was also creative. She loved to invent useful things, like the pot, the bridle, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. She was pretty dang smart, that chick.

I mean, how can you NOT be smart and wise with a little owl hanging around all the time?

Athena had a few epithets attached to her name. They were sorta like nicknames. The ones I like are Aethena Atrytone ("the unwearying"), Athena Promachos ("she who fights in front"), and Athena Glaukopis ("bright or gleaming eyes"). 

Athena also had another little friend that literally hid under her helmet, the goddess Nike, aka Victory. Nike was known as the "winged goddess," and was the charioteer goddess. She was also a goddess of strength and speed, and her Roman equivalent was Victoria. Nike's job was to whip around the battlefield bestowing glory and fame in the form of laurel wreaths on the victorious warriors. 

Nike, that vivacious little sprite, was so fast, it seemed like she was everywhere, and it remains so to this day. From hood ornaments to shoes to Olympic medals to statues at Buckingham palace, the palm and laurel bearing goddess is an often unrecognized fixture in modern society.

Alone, each goddess is unbeatable. Paired together, they're unstoppable.

They may appear naive and innocent, but when threatened, they can destroy anyone and anything that gets in their way. 

So, keep dreaming, men of the world. Athena and Nike are listening for heroes.

Sing HO! for Friday!

It's Friday again! They seem to come around all the time! :)

Thank you guys for the encouraging comments the other day. You guys are right...I don't need to continually prove myself. Haters will always be haters. I'll keep my blog positive, so I'll take down those posts.

When I returned to work Wednesday, there was some sadness in the office. A coworker's sister was in the ICU after a near fatal car accident. By yesterday, the sister seemed to be doing better, but it's still uncertain if she will pull through. Our thoughts and prayers are with her, for sure.

And yesterday, a few members of our office came in sick with the flu, including the doctor. He made it half the day before he started to fade, and went home. The hospital was so full, they had patients overflowing into the halls. It's apparently a pretty bad flu when even Dr. K to go home to bed. That guy never gets sick.

Okay, so I left off yesterday with some pics of the road trip. The Tucson Rock and Gem Show was awesome, and it was really neat to experience. I've never seen so many rocks and crystal skulls in my life!

One thing that made me wonder was the crystal skulls. You know the famous crystal skull that people are continually debating on whether it's a hoax or not? Well, I think they finally proved it was a hoax, but I had to admit the craftsmanship of the debated skull was exquisite compared to the crystal skulls at the art show.

Here's the F.A. Mitchell-Hedges crystal skull, purportedly found around 1923:

Compare it to one from the Tucson show:

Maybe the difference in quality is due to the hurried mass production of the modern skulls. But part of me wonders if one of these modern skulls, after being handled for a thousand years, would "polish" the skull in a way that would transform it into a thing of beauty?

Anyway, after the traveling all day and walking the gem show, I was pooped, so we headed to our ext stop--the Scarritt House, a beautiful bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Tucson. The drive there was very nice...

The Scarritt House was lovely. The hostess, Maribel, was awesome--very sweet and generous. Since we arrived a little late, we retired early to our bedroom. The next morning, we woke up early so we could explore a little.

We snuck up on this hawk. At least I like to think so. However, I'm pretty sure he knew we were there and was amused by our poor human attempts at sneaking.

After a yummy breakfast of scrambled eggs, we were back on the road, headed toward Santa Fe. But there was one detour we had to make--Tombstone.

We didn't have time to see everything, so we decided on the Boothill Graveyard. It was an interesting place, and the weather was beautiful as we wandered among the murdered. Those Wild West Cowboys also seemed to have an affinity for counting. Six Shooter Jim, Three-Fingered Jack--numbers were everywhere.

Shot:

Shot:

Playing cards was an extreme sport back then:

Shot:

Hung...by mistake...

And three famous or infamous cowboys who died in the gunfight at the OK Corral:

There was one grave which emanated a lonely sadness. Eva Waters, just three months old, died in Tombstone and was buried here. It made me wonder about the lives of children in this dangerous town.

The view from the top of the hill:

The scenery from Tombstone to New Mexico was breathtaking, and sometimes, otherworldly:

As we crossed into New Mexico, the sun began to set, and the sky lit up. Sunsets in New Mexico are always spectacular, and we were treated to yet another brilliant display.

I'll save the rest of the trip for tomorrow. And I still have to post the last installment (Tsankawi) of our trip last year.

Have a great day, and a great weekend!

It's a Beautiful Day

It might be the most wondrous day ever today! I am in awe, in amazement, in absolute confusion, but there is chase blowing on the wind, my friends!

Sorry if I don't post, but I have a LOT to do! Here are some pics from my recent road trip with James from Tucson to Dallas for you to enjoy. I'll post the fun story of our trip later. I have work to do!

First we attended the Tucson Rock and Gem Show. I've never seen anything like it. Countless vendors selling big, expensive rocks littered a whole neighborhood.

And crystal skulls seemed to be everywhere:

There were hotels filled with vendors from all over the world bringing the most priceless of gems, delicately carved. These next few masterpieces were very small, maybe a couple inches high. The price tags made you wonder if you poured water on them, would they grow to monumental sizes.

And there were lots of immense geodes:

Look, I'm a pixie princess:

Anyway, have a wonderful day, everyone. I know I will! Work to do!