Hi. Sorry about the crazy entrance, but I couldn't get a cab.
I believe I was sent for by a certain cat fancier?
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Christmas road trip
- Thread starter bren.1
- Start Date
Hi. Sorry about the crazy entrance, but I couldn't get a cab.
I believe I was sent for by a certain cat fancier?
Wow! Cool! I love dragons. Is the dragon female or male? What's her or his name? Anyway, welcome aboard! Your dragon friend can stay in the nice big room set aside for shipboard dragons. This is the modern Navy, you see, where everyone's welcome.
:tounge2:
Lisa_CatFancier, I'm glad you like it aboard this boat! Yes, we have satellite hook-up — for all kinds of things in addition to commercial television. Have a good nap and we'll catch you in a bit.
Lorie D., yes, we're heading for Easter Island! It turns out there are too many crabs on Christmas Island just now — according to the biologists, not the sailors.
=^..^=
:tounge2:
Lisa_CatFancier, I'm glad you like it aboard this boat! Yes, we have satellite hook-up — for all kinds of things in addition to commercial television. Have a good nap and we'll catch you in a bit.
Lorie D., yes, we're heading for Easter Island! It turns out there are too many crabs on Christmas Island just now — according to the biologists, not the sailors.
=^..^=
I think the dragon's name is "RRAAAR." He keeps saying that over and over. But, I call him Jim. Jim would love to stay on board. I mean, he is my ride.
So Easter Island, is it? Always wanted to go there.
Big stone heads. Weird.
So Easter Island, is it? Always wanted to go there.
Big stone heads. Weird.
So, Jim is it? Well, Jim is more than welcome to stay aboard. The inhabitants of Easter Island are quite looking forward to meeting Jim, as they've not seen a dragon before. I suggest, as a matter of good will, that when we get there you offer to take people up for dragon rides — if that's all right with Jim, of course!
=^..^=
=^..^=
Easter Island! Man, what a rockin' joint that was back in the day! RRAAR! I'd be glad to give rides around the island!
And don't worry about my ferocious teeth, I hate the taste of human!
Jim, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s nice to meet you! Anything you need, just ask. And thanks for helping out by giving rides when we reach our port of call.
Say, hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a fun thing to do whilst weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re en route to Easter Island: Letâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s try seeing the picture at the bottom of this reply in three dimensions! Just follow the instructions below.
Free-Vision Fusion (Cross-eyed method)
This technique has the advantage of not requiring special viewing equipment. Fusion is the term used for the process for visually merging the left-eye image and the right-eye image into a single three-dimensional image. When using a viewer, most of the work of achieving the needed abnormal convergence for stereo viewing is done by the optics and design of the stereo viewer.
Free-vision fusion requires patience and practice, because your will power and eyes must do the work of the stereo viewer. You must be able to focus where your eyes aren't looking.
¶ Place the image in Figure 1 in the center of your screen.
¶ Sit at your normal distance.
¶ Slowly cross your eyes. You will see a double image, or four dots.
¶ Continue to cross until the middle two images overlap.
¶ Adjust focus on middle image, keeping the two images overlapped.
¶ You should see the blue circle floating above the black circle.
Figure 1
If you are having problems with this method, try the following alternate method:
¶ Place index finger between images at bottom.
¶ Focus on your index finger.
¶ Slowly bring your finger towards your nose, staying focused on your finger but paying attention to the background images in your peripheral vision. You will notice that instead of two images, there are four images floating about.
¶ Continue bringing your finger closer to your nose. You will see the two middle images moving towards each other.
¶ When the two middle images are aligned, or are on top of each other, stop moving your finger. You will now see three images in the background. The middle one contains the left/right images overlapped.
¶ Slowly remove your finger from your field of vision, while keeping the middle two images aligned.
Gradually force your focus out to the combined left/right image in the middle.
¶ If you have problems keeping a lock on the middle image try leaving your finger in the image for a while, but still focusing on the center image. Use your finger to regain left/right fusion.
If at first you fail, don't worry. Relax, go away and rest your eyes; and try it again later.
:tounge2:
=^..^=
Say, hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a fun thing to do whilst weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re en route to Easter Island: Letâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s try seeing the picture at the bottom of this reply in three dimensions! Just follow the instructions below.
Free-Vision Fusion (Cross-eyed method)
This technique has the advantage of not requiring special viewing equipment. Fusion is the term used for the process for visually merging the left-eye image and the right-eye image into a single three-dimensional image. When using a viewer, most of the work of achieving the needed abnormal convergence for stereo viewing is done by the optics and design of the stereo viewer.
Free-vision fusion requires patience and practice, because your will power and eyes must do the work of the stereo viewer. You must be able to focus where your eyes aren't looking.
¶ Place the image in Figure 1 in the center of your screen.
¶ Sit at your normal distance.
¶ Slowly cross your eyes. You will see a double image, or four dots.
¶ Continue to cross until the middle two images overlap.
¶ Adjust focus on middle image, keeping the two images overlapped.
¶ You should see the blue circle floating above the black circle.
Figure 1
If you are having problems with this method, try the following alternate method:
¶ Place index finger between images at bottom.
¶ Focus on your index finger.
¶ Slowly bring your finger towards your nose, staying focused on your finger but paying attention to the background images in your peripheral vision. You will notice that instead of two images, there are four images floating about.
¶ Continue bringing your finger closer to your nose. You will see the two middle images moving towards each other.
¶ When the two middle images are aligned, or are on top of each other, stop moving your finger. You will now see three images in the background. The middle one contains the left/right images overlapped.
¶ Slowly remove your finger from your field of vision, while keeping the middle two images aligned.
Gradually force your focus out to the combined left/right image in the middle.
¶ If you have problems keeping a lock on the middle image try leaving your finger in the image for a while, but still focusing on the center image. Use your finger to regain left/right fusion.
If at first you fail, don't worry. Relax, go away and rest your eyes; and try it again later.
:tounge2:
=^..^=
Ach! My eyes!
I told you not to stare too long!
Ladies, have you taken a good look, at the crew of this vessel? I don't think that I want to disembark!
http://www.netlaughter.com/mistletoe...tletoeboys.cfm
http://www.netlaughter.com/mistletoe...tletoeboys.cfm
This was the best Christmas ever! We went through some sort of time warp and saw everything at once! The stars, arora borialis, cities, villages, islands, lights....It would take me years to describe the beauty and joy we saw and felt on this sleigh ride! Every thing so clear in my mind, but, so jumbled when I try to share it with you! The stars were a river of glittering ice crystals scattered across the sky...each star points the way to a deserving child. We couldn't see the homes with our eyes only our hearts and the most humble of homes were palaces of joy and love. So much love and compassion it makes your heart ache and overflow with tears of happiness. We were in and out in an instant, but , that instant is frozen in time and our minds. There are billions of children who only recieve the knowlege that they are loved and it is enough.
Wow, I really need to sleep and will share more when my mind can settle these images a bit more!
Thank you so much for this trip!
Wow, I really need to sleep and will share more when my mind can settle these images a bit more!
Thank you so much for this trip!
Mr. Cat, Whew, I really needed that nap! Just wanted to know "ARE WE THERE YET?" I feel like I've been asleep for days...I just visited Jim and he seemed to be getting a little restless! Can we let him go for a ride? I would hate to see what happens if he sneezes back there near the galley. The cook managed to drop a huge container of pepper and personally, I don't know if Jim can sneeze without scorching everyone within a ten-mile radius! Maybe we should find Thirtysilver and see if he can talk to him.
Of course I can talk to Jim! He bends to my slightest whim!
Okay, He tolerates me because I feed him . . . but I doesn't hurt to dream.
Careful, Jim! You almost burned that person to death!
Say, how close are we to the island?
Okay, He tolerates me because I feed him . . . but I doesn't hurt to dream.
Careful, Jim! You almost burned that person to death!
Say, how close are we to the island?
While weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re approaching our next port of call, letâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s have a look at the map:
Maybe weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d better look at a newer map:
Hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a satellite view of the world:
Easter Island is west of South America, at the toe of the “E†in the blue “Pacific Oceanâ€:
A closer look at Easter Island:
And hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Easter Island itself:
This is the Reimiro flag, the flag of the Easter Islanders themselves:
But Chile has jurisdiction on Easter Island, so itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the Chilean flag which is flown over government buildings:
Here are morai, the big stone statues for which Easter Island is famous:
Since weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re here in the “off†season, there wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be many tourists; so Easter Islandâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s one white-sand beach is rather vacant just now:
In the evening, native dancers (equipped with the requisite missionary covers) will entertain us:
Then weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have a nice supper, one which has been cooked in the ground:
The best way to get around on Easter Island is on horseback:
There are all manner of morai to be seen, if one explores a bit:
So have fun, everybody!
=^..^=
Maybe weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d better look at a newer map:
Hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a satellite view of the world:
Easter Island is west of South America, at the toe of the “E†in the blue “Pacific Oceanâ€:
A closer look at Easter Island:
And hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Easter Island itself:
This is the Reimiro flag, the flag of the Easter Islanders themselves:
But Chile has jurisdiction on Easter Island, so itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the Chilean flag which is flown over government buildings:
Here are morai, the big stone statues for which Easter Island is famous:
Since weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re here in the “off†season, there wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be many tourists; so Easter Islandâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s one white-sand beach is rather vacant just now:
In the evening, native dancers (equipped with the requisite missionary covers) will entertain us:
Then weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have a nice supper, one which has been cooked in the ground:
The best way to get around on Easter Island is on horseback:
There are all manner of morai to be seen, if one explores a bit:
So have fun, everybody!
=^..^=
Thank you for your beautiful description of the sleigh ride! Now I wish I'd gone along, as it must have been wonderful to see such sights! If only everyone could perceive such a vision, we'd all be much better off.
Lisa_CatFancier, we are here (or "there")! Take a walk around and get some fresh air. Isn't it lovely here?
:tounge2:
ThirtySilver, I know you and Jim will have a good time. And Debby, don't let Jim's fierce facade put you off: He's really a nice guy at heart.
=^..^=
Lisa_CatFancier, we are here (or "there")! Take a walk around and get some fresh air. Isn't it lovely here?
:tounge2:
ThirtySilver, I know you and Jim will have a good time. And Debby, don't let Jim's fierce facade put you off: He's really a nice guy at heart.
=^..^=
I missed Theresa's post somehow, but I was thrilled with the magical sleigh ride. Somehow time seemed to wait for us!
The wonders we saw defy description. The fact that Santa Claus lives and does his good work every year proves to me that altruism really exists! His loving spirit permeates every gift! What a wonder he is. I wish he would stay all year.
Easter Island is fascinating! This should be great! But are you
serious about that flag, Mr. Cat? What is the significance of the
pattern? Debbie, stop trying to pet Jim! He's a feral dragon, I fear.
The wonders we saw defy description. The fact that Santa Claus lives and does his good work every year proves to me that altruism really exists! His loving spirit permeates every gift! What a wonder he is. I wish he would stay all year.
Easter Island is fascinating! This should be great! But are you
serious about that flag, Mr. Cat? What is the significance of the
pattern? Debbie, stop trying to pet Jim! He's a feral dragon, I fear.
Here is a description of the flag accompanied by a brief history of the island's native inhabitants:
The inhabitants of this charming and mysterious place called their land Te Pito o TeHenua, "the navel of the world." Ancient master navigators who settled the island related stories of a great flood when all humans perished and nothing alive was left above the sea except the navel of the world and its people. Other pre-historic tales mentioned that they were the only people on the world.
However, these inhabitants — cut off in one of the loneliest place of the globe — created a complex and prosperous culture. In 1722 a Dutch explorer, Jacob Roggeveen, sighted and visited the island. This happened to be on a Sunday, Easter Sunday to be precise; and the name stuck: Easter Island ("Isla de Pascua" in Spanish). And since then, what Roggeveen saw has captured the imagination of every visitor.
Today's inhabitants are of Polynesian descent, but for decades anthropologists have argued the true origins of these people — some claiming that ancient South-American mariners settled the island first. According to Dr. William Mulloy, an archeologist who studied Easter Island for many years, ". . . .anybody who got here, in prehistoric times, was lost and had to stay."
Sadly and much later, what many explorers who visited the island found was a scattered population with almost no culture they could remember and without any links to the outside world. The Easter Islanders were easy prey for 19th-Century slave traders which depreciated even more their precarious culture, knowledge of the past and skills of the ancestors. Today the knowledge of belonging is much more in evidence.
After decades of neglecting traditional art forms, Easter Islanders have begun to take pride in their heritage. In On Giants of Easter Island by Charles Lebaron, a more in-depth study of the culture and research done on the Easter Islanders is presented. The Polynesian name of the island is Rapanui, which is a name given by a Tahitian visitor in the 19th century who says that the island looked like the Tahitian island of "Rapa" but bigger: "Nui."
With this clear Polynesian connection, symbols and elements began to be used by the islanders. The first flag-like object we have knowledge to be used by the natives was ". . . .the 'Te-reva,' which means 'to hang' in Polynesian," writes Grant McCall from the University of New South Wales. McCall also added that "Te-reva is the name used for such standards in Tahiti. One of such Te-reva is preserved in the Museum of Valparaiso in Chile. The banner has on it many devices of Polynesian origins, like the paoa (warrior's paddle or club) on each side; two facing Tangata Manu, or bird men; and two Reimiro."
However the most striking symbol of the island is absent on the flags: the famous Moai, monolithic statues carved from the island rock. The Moai are seen all over the island in different shapes, sizes and stages of completion. Many Moai are left unfinished at the quarry site. No one is sure yet as to what purposes did the Moai serve, but outside scholarly research together with accumulated local knowledge shows evidence that the Moai were carved by the ancestors of the present inhabitants. Ron Fisher in his work Easter Island: Brooding Sentinels of Stone mentions as one explanation for the statues that ". . . .two classes of people, the so-called Long Ears and Short Ears, lived on the island. The Short Ears were enslaved by the Long Ears, who forced the Short Ears to carve the Moai. After many generations and during a rebellion the Short Ears surprised the Long Ears killing them all, which explains the abrupt end of the statue-carving."
Perhaps this is the reason as to why the Moai were not chosen as a symbol of Rapanui, since the Moai are a representation of oppression and slavery. Further, the tourist industry and commercialization of the island since the mid 1970s have made the Moai a very commercialized artifact. On the other hand, the Reimiro is presently used as the main and sole device of the current Rapanui un-official flag. Georgia Lee of the Easter Island Foundation describes the Reimiro as ". . . .ancient ceremonial wooden pectorals worn by chiefs. It is of lunette shape with heads on the ends." It is a symbol of kinship and authority. Further to this significance, Grant Mc Call added: "One of the precious surviving samples of Rapanui writing, the Rongo-rongo, is carved on a Reimiro."
The current flag is of a white field with a red Reimiro at the center. The flags are homemade and held in secret. The flag does not represent separatist feelings or intentions, but rather is representative of the Polynesian past and culture of the Rapanuians ("Pascuenses" in Spanish).
But according to Georgia Lee, writing after returning from a recent trip to Rapanui, the Reimiro flag has separatist intentions today; whether or not this was true in the past. "I noted," she goes on, "that on New years Eve 1999/2000, the Rapanui flag was flown by some islanders with the Chilean flag BENEATH it." However the government of Chile, which had given to the island larger autonomy than in the past as well as the means to get connected to the outside world and other Polynesian cultures, isn't supportive of the Reimiro flag. The only official flag allowed to be hoisted is the flag of Chile.
=^..^=
The inhabitants of this charming and mysterious place called their land Te Pito o TeHenua, "the navel of the world." Ancient master navigators who settled the island related stories of a great flood when all humans perished and nothing alive was left above the sea except the navel of the world and its people. Other pre-historic tales mentioned that they were the only people on the world.
However, these inhabitants — cut off in one of the loneliest place of the globe — created a complex and prosperous culture. In 1722 a Dutch explorer, Jacob Roggeveen, sighted and visited the island. This happened to be on a Sunday, Easter Sunday to be precise; and the name stuck: Easter Island ("Isla de Pascua" in Spanish). And since then, what Roggeveen saw has captured the imagination of every visitor.
Today's inhabitants are of Polynesian descent, but for decades anthropologists have argued the true origins of these people — some claiming that ancient South-American mariners settled the island first. According to Dr. William Mulloy, an archeologist who studied Easter Island for many years, ". . . .anybody who got here, in prehistoric times, was lost and had to stay."
Sadly and much later, what many explorers who visited the island found was a scattered population with almost no culture they could remember and without any links to the outside world. The Easter Islanders were easy prey for 19th-Century slave traders which depreciated even more their precarious culture, knowledge of the past and skills of the ancestors. Today the knowledge of belonging is much more in evidence.
After decades of neglecting traditional art forms, Easter Islanders have begun to take pride in their heritage. In On Giants of Easter Island by Charles Lebaron, a more in-depth study of the culture and research done on the Easter Islanders is presented. The Polynesian name of the island is Rapanui, which is a name given by a Tahitian visitor in the 19th century who says that the island looked like the Tahitian island of "Rapa" but bigger: "Nui."
With this clear Polynesian connection, symbols and elements began to be used by the islanders. The first flag-like object we have knowledge to be used by the natives was ". . . .the 'Te-reva,' which means 'to hang' in Polynesian," writes Grant McCall from the University of New South Wales. McCall also added that "Te-reva is the name used for such standards in Tahiti. One of such Te-reva is preserved in the Museum of Valparaiso in Chile. The banner has on it many devices of Polynesian origins, like the paoa (warrior's paddle or club) on each side; two facing Tangata Manu, or bird men; and two Reimiro."
However the most striking symbol of the island is absent on the flags: the famous Moai, monolithic statues carved from the island rock. The Moai are seen all over the island in different shapes, sizes and stages of completion. Many Moai are left unfinished at the quarry site. No one is sure yet as to what purposes did the Moai serve, but outside scholarly research together with accumulated local knowledge shows evidence that the Moai were carved by the ancestors of the present inhabitants. Ron Fisher in his work Easter Island: Brooding Sentinels of Stone mentions as one explanation for the statues that ". . . .two classes of people, the so-called Long Ears and Short Ears, lived on the island. The Short Ears were enslaved by the Long Ears, who forced the Short Ears to carve the Moai. After many generations and during a rebellion the Short Ears surprised the Long Ears killing them all, which explains the abrupt end of the statue-carving."
Perhaps this is the reason as to why the Moai were not chosen as a symbol of Rapanui, since the Moai are a representation of oppression and slavery. Further, the tourist industry and commercialization of the island since the mid 1970s have made the Moai a very commercialized artifact. On the other hand, the Reimiro is presently used as the main and sole device of the current Rapanui un-official flag. Georgia Lee of the Easter Island Foundation describes the Reimiro as ". . . .ancient ceremonial wooden pectorals worn by chiefs. It is of lunette shape with heads on the ends." It is a symbol of kinship and authority. Further to this significance, Grant Mc Call added: "One of the precious surviving samples of Rapanui writing, the Rongo-rongo, is carved on a Reimiro."
The current flag is of a white field with a red Reimiro at the center. The flags are homemade and held in secret. The flag does not represent separatist feelings or intentions, but rather is representative of the Polynesian past and culture of the Rapanuians ("Pascuenses" in Spanish).
But according to Georgia Lee, writing after returning from a recent trip to Rapanui, the Reimiro flag has separatist intentions today; whether or not this was true in the past. "I noted," she goes on, "that on New years Eve 1999/2000, the Rapanui flag was flown by some islanders with the Chilean flag BENEATH it." However the government of Chile, which had given to the island larger autonomy than in the past as well as the means to get connected to the outside world and other Polynesian cultures, isn't supportive of the Reimiro flag. The only official flag allowed to be hoisted is the flag of Chile.
=^..^=
"Feral" implies that there are tame dragons somewhere. We Dragon Kin are slaves to no man! We choose our masters . . .
Much like your cats.
To prove myself, I'll take anyone on a ride around the island if they wish! Hop aboard!
Say, I'd love a ride around the island! Would you mind? Where should I sit? Have you any pre-flight admonitions, such as are given by flight attendants in aircraft? This will be fun!
=^..^=
=^..^=
