MaryAnn Bernal's Blog, page 311
March 2, 2014
Kindle Promotion - Monday March 3 2014 The Night I Danced with Rommel $0.99
In conjunction with an internet promotion until Monday night The Night I Danced With Rommel will be Kindle Amazon.com 99 Cents and UK 77 Pence. Don't miss out !!!!
‘May I have this dance, Hilde’ asked Field Marshal Rommel, opening the Grande Ball held in his honour.
Did this dance save the life of Hilde’s Polish friends?
Hilde had come a long way since her dream of becoming a singer was shattered when her father made arrangements for her to work as a housekeeper in Berlin at the tender age of fourteen.
Hilde’s life is thrown into turmoil in Berlin during the late 1920’s early 1930’s. Having Polish friends meant it was becoming increasingly unsafe for her to stay there and she finds a new life in the Harz mountains.
In Goslar, Hilde meets her husband, Karl, a young officer in the German Army.
When he joins the 7th Panzer Brigade led by General Erwin Rommel at the beginning of World War II, Hilde is left to bring up their children in war-torn Germany.
Hilde’s story is based on facts and is told here by her youngest daughter, Elisabeth.
Amazon UShttp://www.amazon.com/Night-I-Danced-Rommel-ebook/dp/B00B854ZXY/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1393769941&sr=8-1&keywords=The+night+I+danced+with+Rommel Amazon UKhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-I-Danced-Rommel-ebook/dp/B00B854ZXY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393812854&sr=8-1&keywords=The+night+I+danced+with+Rommel
‘May I have this dance, Hilde’ asked Field Marshal Rommel, opening the Grande Ball held in his honour.Did this dance save the life of Hilde’s Polish friends?
Hilde had come a long way since her dream of becoming a singer was shattered when her father made arrangements for her to work as a housekeeper in Berlin at the tender age of fourteen.
Hilde’s life is thrown into turmoil in Berlin during the late 1920’s early 1930’s. Having Polish friends meant it was becoming increasingly unsafe for her to stay there and she finds a new life in the Harz mountains.
In Goslar, Hilde meets her husband, Karl, a young officer in the German Army.
When he joins the 7th Panzer Brigade led by General Erwin Rommel at the beginning of World War II, Hilde is left to bring up their children in war-torn Germany.
Hilde’s story is based on facts and is told here by her youngest daughter, Elisabeth.
Amazon UShttp://www.amazon.com/Night-I-Danced-Rommel-ebook/dp/B00B854ZXY/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1393769941&sr=8-1&keywords=The+night+I+danced+with+Rommel Amazon UKhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-I-Danced-Rommel-ebook/dp/B00B854ZXY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393812854&sr=8-1&keywords=The+night+I+danced+with+Rommel
Lichfield Cathedral Choir - We Will Remember You - For Fallen Heroes
Thank you to all our fallen heroes worldwide - fighting to keep us free.
Facebook Event - Of Fire and Roses by Danielle Belwater Book Launch Monday, March 3, 2014 7:00pm - 9:00pm in UTC+10:30
Click on the link to join the fun! https://www.facebook.com/events/1450699335149245/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming&source=1 Of Fire and Roses by Danielle Belwater Nathaniel West’s mother is dead, his father a lost cause. Anger has become a way of life, until he meets and falls in love with Cora Ewell. Only Cora has a secret, one that could kill them both. An age old dark magic resurfaces and it becomes a race against time for Cora and Nate to find the long buried secrets to saving everyone they love and each other.
After a near fatal accident leaves Nate in limbo, he must find a way to get through to Cora before time runs out and she is forced into life eternal with the evil wizard, Elias Stafford.
History Trivia - Ethelred of Wessex beats the Danish invasion army
March 2
462 Total Lunar Eclipse.
672 Saint Caedda died. He was educated at Lindisfarne and spent time in Ireland before succeeding his brother as Abbot of Laestingaeu in Yorkshire.
871 Battle at Marton: Ethelred of Wessex beat the Danish invasion army.
986 Louis V became King of the Franks.
986 Lothair, King of France, died. 1127 Charles the Good, Count of Flanders, was murdered while at prayer in the church of St. Donat at Bruges.
1316 King Robert II of Scotland, the first Stewart King, was born.
462 Total Lunar Eclipse.
672 Saint Caedda died. He was educated at Lindisfarne and spent time in Ireland before succeeding his brother as Abbot of Laestingaeu in Yorkshire.
871 Battle at Marton: Ethelred of Wessex beat the Danish invasion army.
986 Louis V became King of the Franks.
986 Lothair, King of France, died. 1127 Charles the Good, Count of Flanders, was murdered while at prayer in the church of St. Donat at Bruges.
1316 King Robert II of Scotland, the first Stewart King, was born.
March 1, 2014
Ancient Viking code deciphered for the first time
Runologist cracks the mysterious jötunvillur code – and discovers medieval 'text messages'Alison Flood
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/12/ancient-viking-code-deciphered-runologist-jotunvillur
Mystery nosed out ... Fragment of wooden stick with runic inscription on one side found at the old wharf in Bergen. The text is written using a code where the number of 'hairs' in the beards of each face indicate the position of the character in the runic alphabet. Museum of cultural history, University of Oslo. Aslak Liestol Photograph: Aslak Liestol/Museum of Cultural History, University of OsloAn ancient Norse code which has been puzzling experts for years has been cracked by a Norwegian runologist - to discover the Viking equivalent of playful text messages.
The mysterious jötunvillur code, which dates to 12th or 13th-century Scandinavia, has been unravelled by K Jonas Nordby from the University of Oslo, after he studied a 13th-century stick on which two men, Sigurd and Lavrans, had carved their name in both code and in standard runes. The jötunvillur code is found on only nine inscriptions, from different parts of Scandinavia, and has never been interpreted before.
"The thing that solved it for me was seeing these two old Norse names, Sigurd and Lavrans, and after each of them was this combination of runes which made no sense," said Nordby, who is writing his doctorate on cryptography in runic inscriptions from the Viking Age and the Scandinavian Middle Ages. He then realised, he continued, that in jötunvillur, the rune sign is swapped for the last sound in the rune's name, so for example the "m" rune, maðr, would be written as the rune for "r".
"I thought 'wow, this is the system, this is the solution, now we can read this text," said Nordby. But the code turned out to be extremely confusing, because many runes end in the same sound, "so you have to decide which one to choose".
So far, what he calls his "Rosetta stone", which was found at Bergen wharf, is the only place in which it is possible to be sure what the jötunvillur code says, although he believes another rune stick may well have been inscribed with the name Thorstein, and another with the name Einar.
The sticks on which the code has been written, said Nordby, are "everyday objects, so you often find names on them, either because they used them to communicate that it was something they wanted to keep or sell, or for practising writing, or because they were talking about people so names occur frequently".
Many rune sticks have been excavated in Scandinavia, dating back to the 1100s and 1200s, he said. Just a few use codes, and even fewer use the jötunvillur code. "They were used to communicate, like the SMSes of the Middle Ages – they were for frequent messages which had validity in the here and now," he said. "Maybe a message to a wife, or a transaction."
One, from Sweden, uses a simpler code, using numbers to indicate runes, and is believed to say "kiss me". Another, from the Orkneys, says "these runes are written by the most skilled rune writer west of the sea"; the writer is "obviously showing off", said Nordby. Often, the code exhorts the reader to "interpret this if you can".
"The problem is, if you can't interpret the code, you can't understand you should be interpreting it, so the code itself is the obstacle," said Nordby.
He believes the codes – particularly jötunvillur – could have been used for education. "It seems more and more clear that coded runes were not for keeping secrets, not for sensitive communications such as during the second world war, or like for today's secure communications. But that actually, they were used to get to know the alphabet, or rune names," said Nordby. "What if codes were used like a game, playing with a system? With jötunvillur, you had to learn the names of runes, so I think codes were used in teaching, in learning to write and read runes."
Henrik Williams, a Swedish expert on runes from Uppsala University, hailed the discovery. "Above all, it helps us understand that there were more codes than we were aware of. Each runic inscription we interpret raises our hopes of soon being able to read more. This is pure detective work and each new method improves our chances," he told Science Nordic.
Williams agreed that the codes could have had an educational use, and were not just used for communication. "They challenged the reader, demonstrated skills, and testify to a joy in reading and writing," he said. " We come closer to the thoughts of people living at the time through understanding their codes. Nordby has made an important discovery by breaking the code."
Williams added to the Guardian: "The specific code of jötunvillur is obviously more entertaining than useful, although it brings to the fore the playfulness exhibited by many rune carvers, also an important discovery."
The author Joanne Harris, whose new novel The Gospel of Loki is set in the world of Norse mythology, also called Nordby's discovery "very, very interesting". Commenting on the Swedish rune code, she speculated that the runes could have a "magical/hidden significance; in this case, perhaps a love spell".
Geologist who unearthed Mungo Man fights for 40,000-year-old remains
Forty years after his discovery in the sand dunes of western NSW, Jim Bowler wants repatriation of the remains speeded up
Michael Safi The Guardian, Monday 24 February 2014 21.19 EST
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/25/geologist-fights-mungo-man-remains
An Environment Ministry photograph of an ancient human footprint in the Mungo National Park. Photograph: Michael Amendolia/AAP/With permission of the traditional landownersForty years after Mungo Man was unearthed in the dunes of western New South Wales, the geologist who made the discovery is urging the NSW government to speed up repatriation of the remains.
Professor Jim Bowler said the process of returning the remains dated at more than 40,000 years old, whose 1974 discovery confirmed that Indigenous Australians belonged to the world’s oldest continuing culture, had “stalled”, and needed to be “dealt with quickly, and dealt with authoritatively by [NSW environment minister] Robyn Parker”.
Bowler said the World Heritage-listed Willandra Lakes region, where the remains where found, was being improperly managed and could soon “fall into a stage that we would regret, unless moves are made to put management into a better, more efficient level of operation”.
It had been hoped that the repatriation would take place on Wednesday, 40 years to the day since Bowler made his famous find. But obstacles meant it would still be “some weeks” before Mungo Man was returned to country, he said.
“We’re waiting on the protocols to be worked through. But we’re using the anniversary to highlight the relevance of Mungo Man, and to speed up his repatriation.”
Long-term plans to commemorate the discovery include building a mausoleum near the site, “as we have built for Australian soldiers in [the first world war battleground] Fromelles”, Bowler said. “The remains we hope will be put in a crypt with appropriate dignity, in a place that’s in keeping with their sacred nature and their national and international importance.”
Mungo Man is currently housed at the Australian National University in Canberra, where his remains have been intensely scrutinised. The ancient bones have been Cat-scanned and thoroughly documented at a local hospital. But the research has long since been exhausted, and Mungo Man now sits “incarcerated in a cardboard box in Canberra”, Bowler said. “The time has come now for the bones to come back to country.”
Bowler discovered Mungo Man (though some local Aboriginal elders insist it was the other way around) while conducting geological research in the dried-up lake basins of far-western NSW. The rich sands had, five years before, yielded the 20,000-year-old remains of a woman, dubbed Mungo Lady, whose bones showed signs of ritualistic cremation and burial, evidence she had belonged to a developed culture.
That afternoon, heavy rain had battered the dunes, forcing the geologist to take shelter. When he emerged, he spotted a patch of bone glinting in the shore of a then unnamed lake. He brushed away the sand to reveal an intact jawbone. Archaeologists would soon unearth Mungo Man, the oldest skeleton ever discovered in Australia. Dated at 41,000 years old, it more than doubled previous estimates of the length of human settlement in Australia.
Mungo Lady was returned to what is now called Lake Mungo national park in 1991, and is awaiting reburial.
Bowler said he hoped to forge an agreement with the local Aboriginal people to allow scientists future access to both her and Mungo Man. He was also working to “develop a forum with scientists, Aboriginal people and the community, to discuss the incredible significance of this turning point in Australian history”.
“There will be a national dialogue about the contribution of these remains. They are the iconic foundations for the World Heritage area. They have defined the almost sacred nature of Aboriginal connections with land,” he said.
“It puts the Australian cultural context right at the forefront of the international story of what it means to be human.”
Parker said in a statement: “The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and the Aboriginal community at Mungo are in discussion about how to best manage the repatriation of remains to Mungo national park, including those of Mungo Man.
“These discussions and associated planning is now occurring while the current keeping place at Mungo national park is being upgraded to improve its cultural appropriateness in readiness.
“While we are committed to the repatriation as soon as possible, the decision as to what will occur with the ancestral remains rests with the traditional owners – members of the Mutthi Mutthi, Ngiyampaa and Paakantji tribal groups, and those discussions are continuing.”
BLUE STAR LOVE ~ From an Amazing Heart of Grace by Maia Chrystine Nartoomid
BLUE STAR LOVE ~ From an Amazing Heart of Grace (486 pages), addresses Elvis Presley as a spiritual being who had a life-purpose far beyond entertaining. He used his God-given talent and his desire to share it with people as a means to spread the greater Light within him into the world. A significant portion of “Blue Star Love” is taken from transcribed telephone conversations between Elvis and Wanda June Hill–one of Elvis’ “phone friends” whom he knew for the last 15 years of his life. Also included are transcripts of taped lectures Elvis gave in his home (which various people present informally recorded) and letters and cards sent by him to Ms. Hill, her family and friends. This material (both vocal and written) has been validated as authentic, and some of the documentation is included in the book. In addition to Elvis’ own thoughts, “Blue Star Love” contains quotations from people of quite diverse backgrounds in which they express their profound feelings about a person who was much more to them than just an entertainer. Their statements form a testimony supporting the concept of Elvis’ special heritage and mission in life. Some of these individuals knew him on a personal basis, many did not, yet all saw him as a special personage endowed with the ability to help people from all walks of life transcend the barriers of their travail and reach for the stars of a brighter heaven.In addition, “Blue Star Love” contains Elvis’ basic numerology and his natal birth astrology. Also revealed are the striking similarities between Elvis as an archetype and both historical and mythological persons of ancient times.
For those who care to go deeper into the esoteric, there is also given a “teaching” through the meaning and purpose of this soul’s incarnation as “Elvis Presley.”
ALSO READ ABOUT:
* Elvis’ experiences with Other-World Beings
* his UFO sightings
*his love of Priscilla and Lisa (teaching Lisa how to see “Angels”)
* his spiritual preparation before performances
* his ability to move objects with his mind and teleport his voice to a far location
* his relationship with the Self Realization Fellowship and it’s then-leader, Daya Mata
* the symbolic meaning of his stage costumes
*Elvis as a prisoner of the mob
* the truth about the medication he took – a list of major illnesses he had
* his phone friendships with ordinary people which lasted through the years
* his poems and letters
* Elvis’ reflections on life and death, his family, his future
From the phone transcripts:
Wanda: You are really into all of that – spiritualism type of things, huh?
Elvis: What-no! Not spiritualism – spiritual development, soul growth and learning to develop the powers we all have lying innate. I’m not a conjure of spirits. I don’t have to, but I am not of this world, either. I know that, I know who I am. I am a man, a human being now, but what is ‘me’ is not from here. I am from out there. Did you ever hear of Rigel? (a star in the constellation of Orion.)
Wanda: No, is it a country or a person?
Elvis: A place, my home is near there – my other home – where I am from, and I have the Blue Star for my sun. I have eight moons and a mansion beneath the outer shell of my planet. You think I’m making this up, but its true – you’ll know that one day. You’ll remember what I told you – before you die – you’ll see some of it happen, and you’ll be involved because you and I are tied together and you don’t know it but I do. I can’t tell you how – I don’t remember it, but I feel it in my heart, in my inner self, and so do you. Why else are we talking about this? Why are you here? Why am I? I care about you because you are a part of my past as I am yours, and together it makes that tie in this life. Because of you and me things will happen – people will do things and have opinions and change minds and perhaps be more content, happier because of you and me knowing each other…that is life.
For more information, kindly visit http://elvisbluestarlove.wordpress.com/
Amazon US:
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Star-Love-Amazing-Heart-ebook/dp/B00BBXU5G4/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393696726&sr=8-1&keywords=blue+star+love
Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Star-Love-Amazing-Heart-ebook/dp/B00BBXU5G4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393696930&sr=8-1&keywords=blue+star+love
Diane Turner - London Rocks - 28.02.2014
Diane Turner - London Rocks - 28.02.2014
Another great show from Diane Turner who dedicates Sunday Morning Blues to our troops. Enjoy the music.
Another great show from Diane Turner who dedicates Sunday Morning Blues to our troops. Enjoy the music.
History Trivia - Romulus, first king of Rome, celebrates his victory over the Caeninenses,
March 1
752 BC Romulus, first king of Rome, celebrated the first Roman triumph after his victory over the Caeninenses, following the Rape of the Sabine Women.
86 BC Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, entered Athens, and removed the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus.
286 Roman Emperor Diocletian raised Maximian to the rank of Caesar.
317 Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, were made Caesares. 492 St. Felix III ended his reign and St. Gelasius I began his reign as Pope.
743 Slave export by Christians to heathen areas was prohibited.
918 Balderik became Bishop of Utrecht He was the son of Count Ricfried in the Betuwe, who expelled the Vikings from Utrecht
752 BC Romulus, first king of Rome, celebrated the first Roman triumph after his victory over the Caeninenses, following the Rape of the Sabine Women.
86 BC Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, entered Athens, and removed the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus.
286 Roman Emperor Diocletian raised Maximian to the rank of Caesar.
317 Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, were made Caesares. 492 St. Felix III ended his reign and St. Gelasius I began his reign as Pope. 
743 Slave export by Christians to heathen areas was prohibited.
918 Balderik became Bishop of Utrecht He was the son of Count Ricfried in the Betuwe, who expelled the Vikings from Utrecht
