Willy Martinez's Blog, page 48

Phantom World Celebrates One Year Anniversary Today

Phantom World Celebrates One Year Anniversary Today

The post Phantom World Celebrates One Year Anniversary Today appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

The Two Greatest Shields In The Iliad Do Battle

There are many pictorial differences in the classic text, The Iliad, especially between the shields of Achilles and Aeneas. There are two major themes that contrasts the two. Achilles’ shield is about all of nature and balance, while Aeneas’ shield is about the future of Rome, and its apex point in society.

Aeneas Shild

The images on the shield of Aeneas are inscribed in chronological order. We see the history of Rome. Augusts Cesar is at the apex of the civilization leading the war against the Egyptians. This shield is only about Rome and Nationalism. As statesd in the text, what the shield is it basically a representation of the future glories of Rome and Rome alone.

On the shield was inscribed the future wars, the mother wolf and the twins who built Rome, Romulus and Remus. Aeneas’ future sons are defending the city of Rome and throw themselves forward onto the enemies spears. In the upper quartile we see the capital where Romulus’ house was newly thatched. They have alpine spears in defense along with ladies riding in cushioned carriages through Rome. In the middle of the shield there is the sea flowed surging, all of gold.

We see Leucata maneuvering ships. We see a high society with a leader and his people standing behind him and they stand together. A war scene between Italy and Egypt is being depicted in the open seas.

All in all, we see all of Aeneas Descendants fighting for what Rome will become.

The Iliad shield of AchillesAchille’s shield

On the other hand, we have Achilles’ shield; which was constructed by a God to represent all of nature. The scenes on the shield are both complex and divine.

The shield is designed with all the elements, Earth, Sky, Sun, and Moon. There are also two cities with people on them celebrating and fighting at the same time. One city was celebrating and the other city was at war with itself. Two armies are camped out around the city, ready to move in for the kill. The people within the city are ready to defend their beautiful city and are led by Gods Ares and Pallas Athena.

(Does the Book of Job blast us, or the Gods?)

There is also a scene of rich farmlands and a happy king watching his land being farmed. Another scene inscribed on the shield is that of two terrifying lions attacking an ox herd.

The last scene is designed with a dancing ground filled with young men and women in the prime of their beauty, dancing and enjoying themselves. The outer most rim of the shield had the great strength of the river ocean.

Such scenes would confirm that this shild is about balance in nature.

If you enjoyed this article analyzing the shields from The Iliad, check out our other literary content at The Ritual Blog and follow us on our platforms below.

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Agatha Christie And Her 10 Best Selling Quotes

Agatha Christie. Mind on Fire Books

Agatha Christie was born on 15 September 1890 and died on 12 January 1976.

Agatha Christie was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She is best remembered for her 66 detective novels featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Her works include And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, and Death on the Nile.

Christie is believed to be the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly four billion copies. Christie wrote in her library at  Greenway House.

Here are 10 of her most used quotes:Very few of us are what we seem.There was a moment when I changed from an amateur to a professional. I assumed the burden of a profession, which is to write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you’re writing, and aren’t writing particularly well.Imagination is a good servant and a bad master.Crime is terribly revealing. Try and vary your methods as you will, your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and your soul are revealed by your actions.I specialize in murders of quiet, domestic interest.I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, and racked with sorrow, but through it all, I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.The best time to plan a book is while you’re doing the dishes.I’ve always believed in writing without a collaborator because where two people are writing the same book, each believes he gets all the worry and only half the royalties.An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets the more interested he is in her.Where large sums of money are concerned, it is advisable to trust nobody.

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The Real You – Senryu/Haiku Poem

The Real You Poem by Willy MartinezThe desperation In your voice has slowly grown,Showing your true face.The mask is off now,allowing us to see youas the true disgrace.It hurts me to think,the seed from our path once walked,bears these pains in angst.

The Real You is a set of Senryu poems written by Willy Martinez.

Photo by Zulmaury Saavedra on Unsplash. Copyright Mind on Fire Books 2022.

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Leo Tolstoy’s Most Compelling Quotes To Turn Into Memes

Leo Tolstoy‘s works have thrived for over 100 years. Tolstoy was a Russian writer of novels, short stories, plays and essays.  He is best known for War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and The Death of Ivan Ilyich. His ideas on non-violent resistance, in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, had an impact on Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Leo Tolstoy was born 9 September 1828, and died 20 November 1910. Mind on Fire BooksTolstoy QuotesArt lifts man from his personal life into the universal life.Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly.The greater the state, the more wrong and cruel its patriotism, and the greater is the sum of suffering upon which its power is founded.Pure and complete sorrow is as impossible as pure and complete joy.Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind of food that it is very good but that most people can’t eat it.Music is the shorthand of emotion. All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do.Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.Art is a microscope which the artist fixes on the secrets of his soul, and shows to people these secrets which are common to all.Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking.Happy birthday Leo, from Mind on Fire Books

If you Enjoyed this list about Leo Tolstoy, check out our other Literary reads, here.

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“Sundays” – An Expiremental Set of Haiku Poems For Pool Lovers

With Labor Day here, we can begin counting down the days until Summer ends. But before it does, let’s get out there and take in as much sun as we can!

This is an expiramental set of Haiku Poems that are meant to be read together. Why write one Haiku, when you can write six?

SundaysToday I sun batheAnd think about what I'd say'bout this lovely dayI float around nowLooking up at leaves reflectSunlight like tin foilWaves cascade alikeRythmically insync the twomy thoughts come aliveApplied to think loudand feel the summer's heat take holdfirmly press me downOnto this floatiecaptive to the Rays of goldshowering meFeeding me some healthresting back to jubilee I take it all inBreathe in as deeplyas my chest expands fulllyexhaling ease

Photo by Toa Heftiba at Unsplash. If you would like to read more from Willy Martinez, click here, or read more at The Ritual Blog.

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The post “Sundays” – An Expiremental Set of Haiku Poems For Pool Lovers appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

“Sundays” – An Expiramental Set of Haiku Poems For Pool Lovers

With Labor Day here, we can begin counting down the days until Summer ends. But before it does, let’s get out there and take in as much sun as we can!

This is an expiramental set of Haiku Poems that are meant to be read together. Why write one Haiku, when you can write six?

SundaysToday I sun batheAnd think about what I'd say'bout this lovely dayI float around nowLooking up at leaves reflectSunlight like tin foilWaves cascade alikeRythmically insync the twomy thoughts come aliveApplied to think loudand feel the summer's heat take holdfirmly press me downOnto this floatiecaptive to the Rays of goldshowering meFeeding me some healthresting back to jubilee I take it all inBreathe in as deeplyas my chest expands fulllyexhaling ease

Photo by Toa Heftiba at Unsplash. If you would like to read more from Willy Martinez, click here, or read more at The Ritual Blog.

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The post “Sundays” – An Expiramental Set of Haiku Poems For Pool Lovers appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

The Book Of Job Blasts God, Or Us Poor Helpless Humans?

In the “Book of Job,” man’s relationship to the divine is represented as completely separate entities with a fine line dividing human thought and Divine nature. Divinity is presented as a necessary force to be reckoned with, that preserves balance in the world, and brings to the plate a sense of eternal wisdom.

This is not meant to attack or defend any pious debate, but simply a view of the Book of Job from a rhetorical lens.

God is also very challenging, and we witness this when Yahweh asks Job, “Who dares speak darkly words with no sense.” The Divine will always question humanity, but humanity should not dare to question the Divine. Job is known as “The greatest man of the East,” but his thought and knowledge are no match for the Divine mind who scolds Job, “Speak if you have any wisdom.”

Job is curious about why his life is going askew since he is always doing good. Therefore he believes it is within his right to question his creator. Once his creator responds, Job then realizes how pety his ideals are in comparison to those of Divine authority. Humans are expected to be imperfect, flawed, and easily tempted, “man was born to trouble.”

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Another theme that the text makes clear is the Divine authorities control over nature and balance – there is good and then there’s bad. It is believed that if one is just and good, then they will live long and happy. But if the person is evil and wicked, then they will die young and live in distress. Since God is very powerful, and must keep balance, he is also known to reward, and he does so towards those who demonstrate power, whether it be in the physical sense or the mental/character display.

What Job learns in the end is that God is not bound to the standard of justice. He does as he pleases. But since the Divine represents balance, God is also forgiving with morals, and we see this when Yahweh rewards Job at the end for having taken back his challenge to the gods, and showing respect once more for the divine out of the fear and power that Yahweh instills in his speech to Job.

In this text, humans are represented as mere pawns in this world, always at the disposal of the divine.

A rhetorical reading from Willy Martinez, notes pulled from a response to reading the “Book of Job,” back in 2010.

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The Great Sphinx Is Unleashed With Never Before Seen Images

The Sphinx has fascinated me since I was a young grade-schooler, when I used to sit and watch the Discovery Channel with my older Sister during the Summers. (Yeah, kind of nerdy, but hey!) It turns out that the majestic structure of the Sphinx is one of the most mysterious monuments on Earth. It isn’t fascinating to just my sister and I.

The images displayed below are some of which I have never seen before, and were taken before most of the restorations of the Sphinx. The images are extremely rare and old. And also, so very cool.

Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the most appreciated monuments that is as mysterious as beautiful. Archaeologically speaking, it is one of the most enigmatic monuments ever found since scholars have absolutely no idea who built it and its original purpose.

At 241 feet long and 66 feet high, Giza’s Great Sphinx holds the record as the largest monolith statue on the planet’s surface. The Great monument is believed to have been discovered in AD 1817, when the first modern archaeological dig, led by Giovanni Battista Caviglia, managed to uncover the Sphinx’s chest completely. This marvelous ancient architecture piece remains one of the few ancient pieces of work that nobody bothered to take credit for. Mainstream scholars have been perplexed by its mysterious history for years.

Many researchers consider the the large statue to be an astronomically aligned monument.

Geological findings indicate that the it may have been sculpted sometime before 10,000 BC, which coincides with the Age of Leo, or the Lion, which lasted from 10,970 to 8810 BC.

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According to Graham Hancock, computer simulations show that in 10,500 BC, the constellation of Leo housed the sun on the spring equinox – i.e., an hour before dawn in that epoch, Leo would have reclined due east along the horizon in the place where the sun would soon rise. This means that the lion-bodied Sphinx, with its due-east orientation, would have gazed directly on that morning at the one constellation in the sky that might reasonably be regarded as its own celestial counterpart.

Today there are countless images of the this monolithic monument, and nearly all of them show it as it is today, nearly completely restored to its full glory. However, the most interesting images taken of the Sphinx are those taken after its discovery.

While many people are unaware of this, there are numerous antique images of the Sphinx, which show this incredible ancient monument as it looked before its restorations in modern times.

The images depict numerous cavities, entrances, and what appear to be tunnels that, according to many, leads below this majestic ancient monument. But to where do they lead to?

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5 Rare Images of the SphinxThis is a rare image of the Sphinx taken from a hot air balloon in the early 19th century. This is before excavation and restoration.Ancient Code Pyramids and Sphinx Giza Egypt 1860. Image Credit: Photographium Historical Photo Archive
FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedInGoodreadsBritish soldiers posing at the Great Sphinx at Giza. Image Credit Unknown.One of the oldest photos of the Great Sphinx from 1880. Image Credit Unknown
This is a rare image of the Sphinx shows the surface of the head of the Sphinx. The images was taken in 1925. Image Credit Unknown

Written by Willy Martinez.

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The post The Great Sphinx Is Unleashed With Never Before Seen Images appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

Benjamin Franklin Writes His Own Epitaph

The body of B. Franklin,Printer,Like the cover of an old book,its contents torn outandStripped of its lettering and gliding,Lies herefood for worms.But the book shall not be lostfor it will as he believedAppearance moreIn a new and more elegant editionrevised and correctedby the Author.FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedInGoodreads

Benjamin Franklin wrote his own epitaph at the age of 22. As cool as it is for Poets and book lovers, we are sorry to report that it was not used.

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