Oct. 18th, 2004

norsegirl: (Default)
Well, the snow stayed this time. I guess that means it is officially winter already. At least here the kids don't get lulled into that dumb thought that you can wear anything you like for Halloween just because it's warm during the day. No doubt at all here that you're going to freeze your butt off collecting candy. For the first time in my life I'm actually looking forward to not being able to go trick or treating. Much better to stay in my warm house in this crud. Speaking of which, had to cancel our plans to go to the event this weekend as it was snowing pretty heavily Saturday. I might have braved it, because it didn't seem terrible in town, but the locals said the highway would be impossible, and anyway, the way over-due oil change took all morning because apparently every mook with a car decided that snow means they need maintenance. I've needed it for weeks, it's just that since I wasn't going anywhere I put it off. I figured I'd change the oil next time I was planning to leave town, or earlier if I got around to it, which of course, I never did. If I hadn't still been toying with the idea of braving the highway, I would have rolled over and slept in and just left it yet another week. I also ended up paying an absolutely gross sum of money so I could wait only 45 minutes rather than the 5 hours that was estimated at Wal-Mart. It's moments like these when I realize how useful a second car really is. If I could have dropped the bloody thing off and just gone home while they were working on it I would have. But it was just a little too far to walk in the snow, and of course I would have had to come back at the end as well. As for waiting it out, there is a limit to how much time you can productively kill in a Wal-Mart, and 5 hours is well beyond that limit. Ah well, at least I got a free Saturday paper at the place I ended up.

There's about 5 inches on the ground now by the way, lest anyone think I am exaggerating. Stupid winter. I'm also the only student in the office this week. Great, leave me alone while I am still obviously floundering here. Anyway, back to work...
norsegirl: (Default)
Well, unless that's just snow blowing off the buildings, it's still snowing here. And I remembered a bag of fuzzy peaches I hid in my desk on Friday. I've been snacking while doing this data entry. Stupid peaches. I must have just eaten about 1 or 2 lbs worth of calories and didn't even notice it. And the worst part is they aren't done yet - sigh. Must stop buying this crap. It's not that I harbour any notions that I might lose weight, but putting a stop to the rampant weight gain could only be a good thing. Haven't even seen a scale since I went back to Ontario for my wedding in August so I really have no idea how bad off I am. Dreading the day when we finally buy one...
norsegirl: (Default)
Yeah, I'm getting these things up further and further apart, I know. Really, I just post when inspiration strikes I guess.

Anyway, this week's gem, in light of the recent yicky turn in the weather, is a shot taken on the HOTTEST day in Malta. We nearly melted into the sidewalk, and I have never polished off an entire bottle of pop as fast as I did after this wander through the ruins. And never still been thirsty for more either. Since I'm late with my photo of the week, I guess I'll make it a big post to make it worth your while eh.


The Mnajdra Temple


The HagarQim Temple


These babies are located out in the middle of nowhere on the island of Malta, on a cliff overlooking the sea. They are the oldest man-made structures ever found. They pre-date Stonehenge, the pyramids and anything else cool and old you can think of. Originally, they had roofs and likely doors that could be barred from inside. They contained useful things like basins for holding water for hand washing and a nifty system of holes in the wall that served to amplify the voice and act as a kind of intercom between rooms. They are filled with phallic symbols and inverted triangles, indicating female genitalia, and were probably the focus of a fertility cult. They were used only for ceremonial purposes, though it is likely that the priests also lived inside. Or that's what the tour guides tell you anyway. My belief on the accuracy of archeology on a culture this ancient is tenuous at best. I mean, really, any long, skinny thing archaeologists find they seem absolutely dying to call a phallic symbol. Sometimes a column is just a column boys. I figure they could just as easily have been a large communal home, or maybe the house of the local rulers. And all the carvings, and "altars" could have simply been interior decor. But what do I know eh?

What I can say with absolute certainty about the site is that the stones were both impressively huge, and nicely decorated. The originals, of course, have been moved indoors to a museum where the ravages of tourists and the sea-salt breezes won't destroy them, but I got the idea anyway. The really interesting thing is that these "windows" are NOT post and lintel construction like one would first think on casual observation. They are in fact carved out of one solid block. Now, whatever else you might think about these "temples", that alone is a pretty impressive feat. And for them to have held up a ceiling and not been crushed, well, that is also pretty awesome. The size of the stones themselves is also pretty awe-inspiring, especially if you stop for a moment and consider what they must weigh and how hard it would have been, with bronze-age technology, to get them carved and upright in the right positions. Below is a shot of Jason in the doorway of one of the HagarQim temples.

Profile

norsegirl: (Default)
norsegirl

September 2010

S M T W T F S
   12 34
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 9th, 2025 12:17 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios