Thursday, May 27, 2010

Three Women of Siparia


In a southern town on the island of Trinidad; in the twin state Republic of Trinidad and Tobago there resides in a catholic church, a statue of the Virgin Mary, she is called the black virgin and,acclaimed to her existence, is a supernatural origin, blessing, and benefits. La Divina Pastora, the Divine Shepherdess,is also embraced and venerated by the hindu community qua Sipari Mai in her festival; 'The Siparia Fete'. These two religious groups are most commonly associated with her, but persons of many other religions, including Muslims, Buddhists, and indigenous Waraoa Indians. The origin of the statue is unknown, but seems to have resided in the Siparia area since the 18th century. more... Then, there is Daisy Voisin; of whom many will agree is queen of Parang long after her demise. Alexandra "Daisy" Voisin (23 September 1924 – 7 August 1991) more...
AND NOW there is Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar; first ever, woman Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, whose constituency voted her, her seat to the parliament. She was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 26, 2010; political leader of the United National Congress which leads the People's Partnership, a coalition formed for the May 24, 2010 general elections more...
Siparia in southern Trinidad, is, south of Penal and west of Fyzabad. Also called "The Sand City," it was originally a non-Mission Amerindian settlement. Siparia grew to be the administrative centre for County Saint Patrick, and later the Siparia Regional Corporation.

onset of the rains--
in time new crops
will be planted

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Morning Meditation


photo from wordpress.com was adjusted to produce this image


morning meditation
slowly letting go a breath--
birds whistling
--gillena cox

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Lets Celebrate Mothers Day 2010


revisit Mother's Day 2009

...and a happy day to my mother, Mrs Mary Mitchell, who will celebrate (God willing) her eightieth birthday on May 30th;

this year's celebration has just begun; there's music, hugs, and fine art; click on the following links...


e-greeting from...

video from...

Madonna and Child by Filippo Lippi from...

red carnation from...



Monday, May 03, 2010

Sunbeams



Though the period of European history from the 5th to the 11th century is often called the Dark Ages, writers and scholars of the time in fact did much to preserve and extend the light of civilization. A minor but felicitous contribution to the English language from this period is the word sunbeam, which is believed to have entered English in the 9th century through the work of Alfred the Great. A scholar as well as a king, Alfred undertook and oversaw the translation of a number of Latin works into the English of his time, now known as Old English. Among these was The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, a work composed by the Venerable Bede. The Latin phrase columna lcis, which we would today translate as "a column of light," occurs several times in this work. Since the Old English translator did not have the word column in his vocabulary, he used bam, which meant "a tree" or "a building post made from a tree" (our modern word beam). Columna lcis thus became sunnebem, or "sun post," which survives as our sunbeam. Though perhaps less stately than "column of light," sunbeam has brightened our language. From it the word beam alone came to mean "a ray or rays of light"; it subsequently became a verb meaning "to radiate." It now allows us not only to beam with pride or happiness but also to beam our broadcasts around the earth and even to the stars.
sunbeams Word History from...