While I'm Reading Stuff

This stuff is just fascinating to me. I HATE that so many of the gorgeous buildings in these photos are gone.

Thanks to Heather of Capricious Reader for the link to this wonderful video and article.

Oklahoma City Time Capsule Photos


~taminator40

At 64 pages, this rather slim book could be easy to dismiss among the large amount of stories that give faces to the horror of the Holocaust. And that would be a shame indeed, because this one's a gem, with my only complaint being that I wished it had been longer. 

I certainly did not know much of anything about Terezin (called Theresienstadt by the Germans), a small fortress town in the now Czech Republic which was turned into a Jewish ghetto by the SS during WWII, before picking up this volume. Amazingly, amid the starvation, deprivation, and inhumanity, artists of all kinds were able to find outlets within the ghetto and left behind stunning works of art that chronicled the time spent at the mercy of the Nazis. Illustrated throughout with examples of this art, Terezin brings to life those finding a small measure of beauty within the walls of the town. It would be enough if that was all that was found within the pages of this book. But the actual photographs and statements of prisoners make the story so much more than just a factual timeline; it lends faces to those whose lives were lost at the whims of the SS for no reason other than race. Seventy plus years on, it's still horrifying, and we need to remember. This book does an excellent job of reminding us what was lost--and what still managed to live in the face of such evil. Though this is technically a children's book, it has a voice that speaks to all. Recommended.


~taminator40

Of Auras and Other Stuff

I've been recently conversing online with a buddy who is an author about her friend who can "read" past lives. Well, perhaps that's not precisely the way it should be stated; she doesn't do regressions--she can sense what happened at a certain point in history by "tuning in" to the correct psychic frequency. My friend does sessions with her friend for background use in her novels. After having been privileged enough to read many of these notes, I can honestly say I believe her friend is really accessing these people. She is also able to see auras around others.

So my next question is: Is this a gift you are born with or one you can acquire? I would love to be able to access historical figures because I'm nosy to begin with. Though at times the friend finds some things so unpleasant they make her physically ill, I do think I could probably handle it. Imagine being able to know who really killed the princes in the tower, or who Mona Lisa actually was. The possibilities seem endless!

I have to admit that I'm not particularly good at feeling vibes, though I think I might could be if I applied myself. But part of me wonders if, in my case, it would be more wishful thinking or my own projections than really tuning into the true vibes of a person or place? Can these things be taught and/or learned? The enquiring mind needs to know.

~taminator40