Sunset...

[Elwell]

Guess where.
385672

[Ilaekae]

Somewhere within the Arctic circle...

like Miami... :P

[Slash]

Mars?

They brought atmosphere with them to get a cool shot.

//edit: fuck me, it WAS mars!

[Dan!]

mars..yayah

[Ilaekae]

Mars would have been my third guess...after Brazil.

[wesburt]

at the gusev crater
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Gusev_Crater%2C_Mars.jpg

[Dan!]

what we don't realize is that Elwell personally took this picture

[sve]

Interesting shots of Saturn and his moons by Cassini Spacecraft, 4 years old retrospective. More here:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/05/cassini_nears_fouryear_mark.html

[Nrx]

Oh wow i remember when i was in school and that was launched, i thought to myself, wow i wonder what pictures it'll send back, but its so far away i cant wait, and now i'm seeing those pictures after having completely forgotten about the incident.

Wierdly nostaligc

[Farvus]

I saw it long time ago. It's from Mars. Bigger one here :). http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/mars_sunset.jpg

[woodbert]

That strange eerie glow makes it look like the northern end of the New Jersey Turnpike

[Mon Chat]

thats awesome! thats genuinely exciting!

[Candras]

Nothing too amazing here, these happen everyday on Earth

[Mon Chat]

Nothing too amazing here, these happen everyday on Earth

i bet you have an amazing poker face.

[Crush]

I wish there was a groan button still, candras would have a monopoly on it recently

Thanks to everyone who posted pics in here, space is such a fascinating unknown :)

[sve]

Hehe, I called Saturn "He"... in Russian Saturn has a "male" gender, Moon is "female" for example, sometimes I forgot to translate it correctly, my bad.

[egerie]

From what Sve posted:

4th down : Tiny moon Janus, seen before Saturn's rings, with massive moon Titan beyond. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech (http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/05/cassini_nears_fouryear_mark.html) :oneye: :sungod: :blah: :O <3 :painting: :eyecandy:

[life on the sofa]

i still beleive that is just elwell ranch. northen milky way.

[Izi]

Saturn is a girl

I've been so busy with DEEP I forgot all about the Nasa stuff that's been going on, jeeez....

imagine if we spent the Iraq war money on Nasa :(

[life on the sofa]

Saturn is a girl

I've been so busy with DEEP I forgot all about the Nasa stuff that's been going on, jeeez....

imagine if we spent the Iraq war money on Nasa :(

with that they could put 10 men on pluto, and arrange a picnic on saturns ring:yum:

[sve]

Why Saturn is a girl? :) And my tongue is itchy fr a long time to ask you about your religion and Ilaekae's religion as well. Exotica!

[Izi]

all planets are girls, they carry life

alternately they are also like cosmic seeds fertilizing the empty blackness of space so they are also boys

so it's tantric mayhem really

good pics on the Nasa site too

my religion is art, art and sex

[sve]

Lovely... very poetic. I like it a lot... And of course it is a sell patch, please don't get offended by this, every religion has it, even not organized. We selling it to ourselves as well.
art, art and sex ... hesitating to believe. Too fairy tale like :).

[Izi]

What can I say? I'm a fairy. :(

[Ilaekae]

Religion is the story of creation, therefore true religion is "art" at the ultimate scale.

The planets are female--young and fertile ladies of great beauty and love for those they birth, support and nestle, and the rest of the universe (stars and floating free mass) is male, adding that which must be to have a beginning. This "world system" can no more be evil, create evil or become evil than a good mother can harm her own children without cause. The evil that we experience, in all its forms, is a creation of the free will of man, the greatest gift a species could ever receive.

The patriarchal religions understand the fact that the male cannot re-create himself without the female, but often interpret this to mean that the female must be owned, feared, controlled and made to kneel before presumptive "superiors." This interpretation results in failure and and the rise of evil in the name of a "creator," which can only be a lie.

[Peter Coene]

Tatooine?

[Ilaekae]

Earth Goddess-old Eastern European...it's easier to tell people I'm Wican, which is close. What it boils down to is I believe in a Matriarchal "god"--a goddess.

[sve]

Thank you both for being kind and telling me about your philosophy (religion). This desire or dreams, longing of harmony, better life is a good side of any religion.
Looking at you both, at your avatars... non-conformists, both of you. Cats have their own path, and Naumi breaking routine upside down.
Both religions celebrate and feed sensuality, I think.

[Blaz]

Those are amazing!
Makes me wonder...



...wo wo wo wo wonder....

[eskanto]

Tatooine?

Tsk. Tsk. Don't you know anything? Tatooine has more than one sun. Jeez.

[Mon Chat]

that ones below the horizon... duh!

[corky13]

hmmm...i really think the planets are both male and female. Just like every man has a feminin side and ever woman a masculin. I believe we are just a mirror to the macrokosmos surrounding us therefore everything is out there and also everything is contained in ourselfes.

[Peter Coene]

Earth Goddess-old Eastern European...it's easier to tell people I'm Wican, which is close. What it boils down to is I believe in a Matriarchal "god"--a goddess.
However, the female cannot naturally reproduce without the male.

If you look at the history of it many patriarchal religions sprang from the matriarchal ones. It is beleaved by paleantologists anthropologists and historians that the earlier matriarchal religions were a result of early human groups not knowing that sexual intercourse had anything to do with a child being born and so feared the female as having magical properties. When it became obvious that the males were neccesary in that process as well it made them equals in creation and superior in strength.

Thus many female deities were replaced by male ones, as can be seein in the case of the Oracles of Appolo at Delphi. Had it orriginally have been a male god there would be preists, rather than priestesses at this ancient spot. However, as the the society changed from matriarchal to patriarchal the priestesses were powerful enough to keep their role even though it was under a female god. The same reasoning, a switch from matriarchal to patriarchal, has been given as an example to why there are so many examples of males, especially Zeus, giving birth within the Ancient Greek Religion.

I myself prefer instead to look at God as an intelligent creative force devoid of physical form an thus devoid of gender. If I say "he" it is simply because this is the most widely accepted pronoun. If He created man in His likeness then it is in mankind's ability to reason and think, not in our appearance.

To specifically give God a gender (other than saying "he" instead of "it" ) makes God seem mortal, and therefore weak. The only thing that has ever attracted me to the matriarchal peagan religions is the thought of mass orgies, being at the mercy of a nympho priestess, and the idea that any children to be created in such rituals are considered fae children and thus not my responcibility. Seeing as these are not the best reason for joining a religion (and that I have yet to find any modern incarnation of the old peagan religions to practice such rituals) I have decided that my current theological beleifs will have to do.

Tsk. Tsk. Don't you know anything? Tatooine has more than one sun. Jeez.
I figured that in this picture one had already set and the other was going down.

[Craig D]

Peter,
Paleontologists do not study religions. The rest of what you say
might be similarly suspect if either that is your source or b)you're
just making all of this up. I'm going with b).

[Ilaekae]

Leave it go, Craig. I knew when I posted that for Sve at least one of three people here would attempt to explain why I was wrong and everybody else was right. It's a given, it's inevitable, and sometimes it can get downright predictably funny.... :P

[sve]

Yeah, and I did it too in this thread.. feel not good about it. but it is a good thing you said it. More information, less disinformation.
I said what I said because most of the planets don't look too much like fertile ladies to me, they are big and silent, with time stopped. Like spooky eternity, without some human silliness and vanity which makes it alive and warm.

[Elwell]

I think the planets are giant balls of metal, rock, liquid, and gas, without gender or any other anthropomorphic qualities. It doesn't make them any less beautiful, though.

[Peter Coene]

Peter,
Paleontologists do not study religions. The rest of what you say
might be similarly suspect if either that is your source or b)you're
just making all of this up. I'm going with b).
*shrug* it was taught in my Greek/Roman mythology class. BTW, I meant to say archaeologists but got my "ologists" confused. Please excuse my screw up.

However, my claims were not made up, at laest not by me, and I will prove it:

"Therefore, he must have been introduced during the so-called "Dark Age" (1100 - 850 BCE). Where he came from and what form he originally had remain a mystery, but it appears that when he did appear, he may have had to replace an already-existing goddess cult at Delphi. One common epithet applied to Apollo is Apollo Pythios ("Pythian") at Delphi. This is a reference to his killing of the dragon Python, son of Gaia who lived at Delphi and helped the priestess their tell oracles."



"Even if the oracle is often associated to Apollo’s name, the sanctuary of Delphi was recorded to be raised over the ruins of a temple of the goddess Geea, Mother of the Earth, place that had been defended by a snake called Python. Apollo, Zeus’ son, killed the snake with his arrows, ensuring his dominance over the region. The transfer of power from Geea to Apollo symbolizes the triumph of the patriarchal conception, brought by the Dorian tribes (pre-Greeks), who replaced the matriarchal organization, specific to the early Mediterranean pre-Indo-European society."



Friedrich Engels, among others, formed the notion that some primitive peoples did not grasp the link between sexual intercourse and pregnancy. Research indicated that sexual intercourse occurred from early ages and pregnancy only occurred much later, seemingly unrelated to the sexual activity. He proposed that they had no clear notion of paternity, according to this hypothesis; women produced children mysteriously, without necessary links to the man or men with whom they had sex. When realization of paternity was discovered, according to the hypothesis, men acted to claim a power to monopolize women and claim their offspring as possessions.


Granted, I might have screwed up a few details as I was working from memory, none-the-less, you can see that I didn't just make it up. That said; never acuse me of BSing when it comes to history.

[Peter Coene]

Leave it go, Craig. I knew when I posted that for Sve at least one of three people here would attempt to explain why I was wrong and everybody else was right. It's a given, it's inevitable, and sometimes it can get downright predictably funny.... :P
actually, If you look at it nothing in what I said implies that everyone is right. To say that God is specifically male doesn't sit right in my mind either. Its like trying to say that benevolence is male or righteousness is male; it just doesn't work in my mind.

I just find that using the term "It" removes God's personality, and to use the term "She" confuses too many people in our society and causes a tangent off about what the gender is of something that I feel is genderless. Saying "He" is what most people are comfortable with, and so gives me a term to use when speaking about ideas that are personal to me. If I lived in a matriarchal society I could still hold these views but express them using the term "She." I'm fairly certain that in the long run God doesn't mind.

[Craig D]

Peter
re your quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matriarchy

You may want to read the next two paragraphs in that article

[Elwell]

I just find the concept of Peter citing Engels, however indirectly, quite delightful.

[Peter Coene]

Peter
re your quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matriarchy

You may want to read the next two paragraphs in that article
I did read those paragraphs, however in the context of the switch from matriarchal to patriarchal in ancient European civilizations it does not disprove the possibility of the theory but simply points out that it has not yet been proven and that there is some evidence against. However, the evidence against is not given in detail, and the example given is the Samoans, who I doubt had much contact with the European Druids.

There are still many who subscribe to the theory and feel that the Delphi case will provide more evidence in its favor. As of yet there are still discoveries to be made there.

Of course, to figure out any reason for a switch from matriarchal to patriarchal societies in Europe assumes the existance of said matriarchal societies having existed in the 1st place.

So far what is known about the ancient druidic cultures is minimal. There are no detailed accounts of their orriginal practices aside from a few traditions with forgotten orrigins. There has been some conjecture as to what those orrigins were or how the tradition fit into its orriginal celebrations, but as stated, such theories are nothing but conjecture. Granted, said conjecture is a nice way to fire up the immagination with scenes that look like something out of a Frazetta painting, but once again there is minimal to no evidence as to it ever happening in reality. As such those pagan religions in existance today have little to no actual connection to the orriginals. There have been no written texts to survive from that era and most of the people claiming to have connections to an oral tradition or hidden secrets handed down from those days have been found to be whack jobs.

So, as long as we are going to be on shakey ground to be making claims about matriarchal religions being there in the first place we might as well also put forth the Engels hypothesis while we're at it.

[Peter Coene]

I just find the concept of Peter citing Engels, however indirectly, quite delightful.
Actually, I'm not against the basis of the communist theory at all. If you look at the orriginal idea as mapped out by Engels and Marx (minus the hyped up hopeful bs) it took an approach of thesis>antithesis>synthesis in which supposedly the first societies were a primitive form of communism, the antithesis of which was feudalism, and the synthesis of the two being capitalism. The idea was that from there the antithesis of capitalism would be socialism, and then the synthesis of socialism and capitalism would be a new form of communism.

However, for that to work the transition has to come naturally when the world is ready for it, and go smoothly through each of those steps, thesis>antithesis>synthesis/new thesis>antithesis>synthesis. None of these steps in my mind is an actual utopia as invisioned by some. It is instead a natural process and cannot be rushed, which is why "communist revolution" is the silliest proposition that I have ever heard of. In Russia they were still barely on the verge of moving from Feudalism into Capitalism when they decided to kill the Tsar and jump into Communism (not in that order, but still the basic idea of what happened.) In Vietnam it kind of worked, in that their society was already in a state of primitive communism, and as such really didn't change.

As we sit right now many societies are making or have made the transition from capitalist to socialist. I don't particularly like either, but I suppose it could be worse. Grantedm the whole idea could be a load of bull, but seeing as if it is real its unstoppable anyways I like toying around with it all in my mind. Considering that capitalism in its current incarnation emerged in the late middle ages/early rennaissance and feudalism lasted about as long; I would say that we have about 500 years of socialism ahead of us before we are ready to make a transition into communism. Of course that assumes that we don't have a Dark Age which could set the whole thing off track temporarily, or an apocalypse, in which case the derailing could be a bit more than temporary.

Whatever the case, I won't live to see it, so no biggy. Since we are supposedly already in the natural change from capitalism to socialism the time ahead will be rather turbulent I immagine, but not as bad as if we were to try to force it. None of our leaders are making a concerted effort to waylay it either, they are following the same status quo and transition as everything else. Granted, they are finding ways to line their pockets, as there will always be people who take advantage of any opportunity, but hey, at least they keep it all interesting.

I've realised though that I'm starting to ramble, which really means I ought to go to bed. I'll just go post the new sketches from today and then go to sleep.

[Mr.Delicious]

all of these threads turn into debates... I dont get it. Its a sunset on mars. looks really pretty. I think all planets are huuuuge sluts that slam the stars and make moons 24/7 lolocaust :( I'm totally right leave me alone

[squidmonk3j]

of course they do.

ppl are terrified of being alone, unwanted and unheard.

and "watching" the sunset on a dead planet is a powerful trigger.

[Mrianna]

Uhg... you guys make me want to use genderless pro-nouns....

[Candras]

Earth Goddess-old Eastern European...it's easier to tell people I'm Wican, which is close. What it boils down to is I believe in a Matriarchal "god"--a goddess.

Can you do magic tricks and spells?

[corky13]

Can you do magic tricks and spells?
sorry , i hate to say it but = :stfu:

[s.ketch]

Can you do magic tricks and spells?

I never truly disliked a person on this site until now. Candras, your posts make me feel like I need to poop. Go away.

[Jason Rainville]

In all honesty, the deviantart forums are a nicer place to talk than here in the lounge. Really. Threads in the Art Scene rarely degenerate into hostilities like they do here where people call other people out, hoping their disinterested one-liners will cover up the fact that they really don't have anything to say, praying that one of the 'big-shot' artists will stop by and see how cool you think you look.

Of course the crit center and other are subforums are a better place to post art by a factor of ten million than the most enlightened places on DA, but seriously, there's just less ass-hattery and drive-by-douche-slaps than in the lounge.

And yes I'm ready for the "well gtfo" and "you're just making the thread worse" statements. Just thought everyone should get some perspective on how bad things are in here.

+1 vote for closing the lounge for a while.

AND

Thanks for the pic Elwell :)

[Peter Coene]

sorry , i hate to say it but = :stfu:
um, despite some of Candras' posts I'm not sure if this one deserves that type of treatment. Many pagan groups do claim to use spells and incantations. Usually these range from what other religions would call "prayers" to things that are a bit more involved with crystals, stones, candles, and various herbs and plants. The effectiveness of most of it is disputed, as is the effectiveness of praying to any god, but some of the herbs and plants have been found to have medicinal properties. They aren't all fancy and sparkly like in Harry Potter, but they are referred to as "spells."

[Ilaekae]

I'll give you an honest answer, Candras. No, I don't do magic tricks, but I do do spells as you call them. I also believe in spirits, many of which others unlike us have given strange names and purposes to. There is also no devil, Satan or Lucifer in my belief system. You have to start with the Judeo-Christian base to believe in them. My believing in Satan as a real person/identity would be like you believing Jesus is a tree growing on the Brooklyn Bridge, surrounded by talking pigeons...not something I find highly likely.

All things, inanimate and animate, have a spirit of some kind, some very weak and elementary, others very powerful and potentially useful. Prayer--spells--is simply my attempts to interact with these spirits in some way for our mutual benefit, or to atone for injury I may cause them out of my own need to survive.

I'm part of something. Many others see themselves as rulers of something. That's where we differ.

Most of you probably go to the graves of your loved ones every once in a while, or to church, and offer a prayer of remembrance. Once a year, I sit in my back yard in the dark with little plates of candy, bread and coffee or milk, and talk to my family and friends who no longer are "here" with me. No prayers. No rituals. Just a bunch of old friends and family catching up on old times and discussing what's new and funny. It's a good time...

[corky13]

um, despite some of Candras' posts I'm not sure if this one deserves that type of treatment. Many pagan groups do claim to use spells and incantations. Usually these range from what other religions would call "prayers" to things that are a bit more involved with crystals, stones, candles, and various herbs and plants. The effectiveness of most of it is disputed, as is the effectiveness of praying to any god, but some of the herbs and plants have been found to have medicinal properties. They aren't all fancy and sparkly like in Harry Potter, but they are referred to as "spells."

Trust me , I know that ;) I told her to shut up because it is pretty obvious imho that she was making fun of that topic and her question wasn`t really serious...or why should she speak of "tricks" ?

[archipelago]

is it LV-426?

[Saturns Gate]

Damn, I named myself as a female! Damn you Saturn!

Oh and awesome pics! :) Thanks

[Nerahla]

Thank you for the pics of Mars --- that one with the panorama absolutely took my breath away -- made me feel like I could stand there and gaze out....


Nevermind the problem of the microscopic particles of dust that get into your veins! Mars: we won't be landing humans there anytime soon :P

However, read Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars by Ben Bova -- you'll feel like you've been there for generations :D

[Duq]

Needs more lensflare :lens:

[Candras]

Everyones being a turd.

I was asking him if he partook in such behaviors, being absolutely serious and was very much interested in his eccentric beliefs.

[corky13]

Then don`t use words as "tricks".

[Candras]

tricks is not a negative word

[Peter Coene]

Everyones being a turd.

I was asking him if he partook in such behaviors, being absolutely serious and was very much interested in his eccentric beliefs.
I think the problem is that you are thinking of said beleifs as eccentric. It comes across as taking an insulting tone, whether you meant it that way or not.

Beleive me, the whole insulting tone thing is something I'm trying to get over myself, so I knows it when I sees it.

[Candras]

Eccentric
1. deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice, etc.; irregular;

Being a wiccan is abnormal societally, I have no problem with it myself.

[Peter Coene]

Eccentric
1. deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice, etc.; irregular;

Being a wiccan is abnormal societally, I have no problem with it myself.
Orthodox Judaism is also not extremely common, do you call that eccentric? What about Native Americans who hold on to their traditional spritual beleifs? Amish/Menonites? Atheists? Are all of these eccentric?

[corky13]

"Tricks" itself isn`t a negative word per se , i give you that. But its about the context you used it. A trick , in this context , more or less means that you make others believe that you can do things you actually can`t do. Like a birthday magician for kids. Maybe it is because of my mother tongue and that I got more than enough negative "feedback" for my own believes , but trick doesn`t sound to nice for me...

[Elwell]

I give up :nohope:.