Beautiful Journal By @navanotes

You know exercise is good for you, but do you know how good?

No. 1: Exercise controls weight

No. 2: Exercise combats health conditions and diseases

No. 3: Exercise improves mood

No. 4: Exercise boosts energy

No. 5: Exercise promotes better sleep

No. 6: Exercise puts the spark back into your sex life

No. 7: Exercise can be fun

Professional Tai Chi Swords, more on http://www.icnbuys.com/tai-chi-swords.

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Update:Τα 18.

*Η στιγμή που το κορίτσι που ήμουν στα 16 μου,άλλαξε στα 17 για να καταλήξει αυτό που είναι στα (τόσο κοντινά)18 μου.

Υπάρχουν ακόμα μέρες που κλαις για καταστάσεις και πρόσωπα του παρελθόντος,μέρες που δε θες να σηκωθείς καν από το κρεβάτι,που θες για λίγο απλά να υπάρχεις στον χώρο,χωρίς όμως να κάνεις τίποτα.

Αλλά:Οι μέρες εκείνες είναι τόσο λίγες,μπροστά σε εκείνες που νιώθεις ευγνώμων για ό,τι έχεις καταφέρει ως τώρα.

Ένα αγόρι θα σου πει πόσο του αρέσουν τα μακρυά μαλλιά σου γιατί “αυτά ταιριάζουν στις κοπέλες”.Και τότε αποφασίζεις να κάνεις αυτό που ήθελες τόσο καιρό αλλά δίσταζες:τα κόβεις.Δε σε νοιάζει τόσο πια η γνώμη των άλλων.Έτσι τολμάς κι εκείνα τα piercing και φοράς πλεον ό,τι αρέσει σε εσένα γιατί πια δε σε αφορά η μόδα.Νιώθεις μια περίεργη μορφή εσωτερικής ελευθερίας.

Έκανες κάποιους λάθος χειρισμούς.Θα συνεχίσεις να κάνεις.Αλλά πλεον έχεις μάθει να σε συγχωρείς και όχι να σε καταδικάζεις.Έπαψες πια να ανακυκλώνεις τις αρνητικές αυτές σκέψεις στο μυαλό σου.

Συνηθίζουν(λανθασμένα) να λένε ότι η ωριμότητα πάει με την ηλικία.Έτσι θα χάσεις λίγο την ανεμελειά σου γιατί ένας μελλοντικός ενήλικας έχει περισσότερες ευθύνες απο τον 16χρονο εαυτό σου.Θα αρχίσει σιγά σιγά να σβήνεται το χαμόγελό σου και τη θέση του να παίρνει ένα πρόσωπο βουτηγμένο στις υποχρεώσεις.Μην επιτρέψεις να χαθεί αυτό το παιδί από μέσα σου.

Διαφώνησες αρκετά αυτά τα δύο χρόνια και έχασες άτομα.Κάποια μάλιστα ήταν σημαντικά για εσένα.

Αλλά: Κέρδισες εσένα και δεν επέτρεψες σε κανέναν να σε αλλάξει.Και δεν μπορώ να φανταστώ μεγαλύτερη νίκη από αυτήν εδώ.

Συνειδητοποίησες την προσωρινότητα των καταστάσεων και κατάλαβες ότι οι άνθρωποι δε μπορούν να μείνουν για πάντα.Βέβαια,είμαστε κι εμείς οι ίδιοι που αποχωρούμε κάποιες φορές.

Τελικά έκανες πράγματα που ισχυριζόσουν ότι δε θα κάνεις ποτέ.Κάποια μάλιστα τα επανέλαβες διότι σου άρεσε η γλύκα της “αμαρτίας”.Έτσι,ήπιες λίγο παραπάνω και δε γύρισες σπίτι την ώρα που είχες υποσχεθεί.Ή μάλλον ίσως και να μη γύρισες καθόλου.Ανοίχτηκες σε άτομα που δεν περίμενες ότι θα ερχόσασταν τόσο κοντά και τόλμησες επιτέλους να φύγεις από καταστάσεις που για χρόνια σε έπνιγαν.Έσπασες τους κανόνες για ό,τι ποθούσε ανέκαθεν η καρδιά σου.Διεκδίκησες,υποτιμήθηκες,πόνεσες,κέρδισες αυτό που επιθυμούσες,αλλά έμαθες και να χάνεις.

Πλήγωσες και πληγώθηκες παραπάνω απ’ όσο πίστευες ότι θα αντέξεις.Και όμως,να ‘σαι εδώ.Ακόμα πιο δυνατή.Ακόμα πιο εντάξει με την ιδέα ότι έσφαλες.

Αλλά: Ακόμα πιο σίγουρη ότι δε γίνεται να φταις για όλα εσύ.

Η ευτυχία σου δεν εξαρτάται πια από κανέναν άνθρωπο.Η ευτυχία σου καθορίζεται από εσένα.Και δεν ξέρεις πόσο υπέροχο είναι αυτό.

Χρειάστηκε να πεις πολλές φορές ένα μεγάλο “Άντε στο διάολο” σε καταστάσεις που δεν οδηγούν πουθενά.Κι έτσι,προχώρησες σε νέα πράγματα,καλύτερα.

Παρέμεινες ζωντανή κι έφτασες μέχρι εκεί που δε μπορούσες καν να φανταστείς ότι θα καταφέρεις να φτάσεις ποτέ.Τα μαύρα σύννεφα έφυγαν.

Έφαγες λίγο παραπάνω και δεν κοιμήθηκες καθόλου κάποια βράδια.Ξενύχτησες.Απέκτησες μαύρους κύκλους και ραγάδες.Ψήλωσες.Πάχυνες και αδυνάτησες.Και κάπως έτσι έμαθες λίγο παραπάνω να σε αγαπάς.

Τωρινέ μου εαυτέ,είμαι περήφανη για εσένα.

Υ.Γ.:Σε όποιον νιώθει ότι δε θα φτάσει μέχρι τα 18,διότι δεν αντέχει άλλο:Ο πόνος αυτός είναι προσωρινός και όλα εκείνα που σε περιμένουν τόσο μεγάλα που αξίζει να παλέψεις γι'αυτά.Τις πιο όμορφες μέρες δεν τις έχεις ζήσει ακόμα.Τα λέμε.

Young Palestinians dance traditional dabke in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem - 18.10.2018

Badass Playlist

(The playlist you need to play when you feel like you need 50 strippers backing you and angels with hair as high as the heavens (hair metal bands)) (This also works great to drive to)

1) Wild Side–Mötley Crüe 

2) Hunger–King Kobra 

3) Breathless–Quiet Riot 

4) The Wild and the Young–Quiet Riot 

5) Shout at the Devil–Mötley Crüe 

6) Girls, Girls, Girls–Mötley Crüe 

7) Sumthin’ for Nothin’–Mötley Crüe 

8) Highway Tune–Greta Van Fleet

9) Uncle Tom’s Cabin–Warrant 

10) Nobody’s Fool–Cinderella 

11) Cherry Pie-Warrant 

12) Kickstart my Heart–Mötley Crüe 

13) Push, Push–Cinderella 

14) Gypsy Road–Cinderella 

15) Dancing on Glass–Mötley Crüe 

16) Still of the Night–Whitesnake 

17) Shake Me–Cinderella 

18) Let’s Get Crazy–Quiet Riot 

19) St. John–Aerosmith 

20) All in the Name Of…–Mötley Crüe (Even though the lyrics are quite questionable)

21) Looks that Kill–Mötley Crüe

22) Ten Seconds to Love–Mötley Crüe 

23) Hell on Wheels–Cinderella 

24) Somebody Save Me–Cinderella 

25) Put Up or Shut Up–Quiet Riot 

The fighting doesn’t just end after they come home.

Veteran Vision Project

Captives’ Facade 

Corinth, Greece

2nd century CE

   An ornate two story facade located in front of the early basilica flanks the Lechaion Road between the North Shops and the Monumental Gate. The upper story consisted of a row of six larger-than-life-size figures standing against Corinthian piers. The two best preserved pillars represent men in eastern dress wearing Phrygian caps. Two heads of women from the same monument indicate that the males were accompanied by female figures. They may have been personifications of geographical places. The monument has been thought to commemorate the victories of the Emperor Septimius Severus over the Parthians in CE 197.

The Moon in Motion

Happy New Year! And happy supermoon! Tonight, the Moon will appear extra big and bright to welcome us into 2018 – about 6% bigger and 14% brighter than the average full Moon. And how do we know that? Well, each fall, our science visualizer Ernie Wright uses data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to render over a quarter of a million images of the Moon. He combines these images into an interactive visualization, Moon Phase and Libration, which depicts the Moon at every day and hour for the coming year. 

Want to see what the Moon will look like on your birthday this year? Just put in the date, and even the hour (in Universal Time) you were born to see your birthday Moon.

Our Moon is quite dynamic. In addition to Moon phases, our Moon appears to get bigger and smaller throughout the year, and it wobbles! Or at least it looks that way to us on Earth. This wobbling is called libration, from the Latin for ‘balance scale’ (libra). Wright relies on LRO maps of the Moon and NASA orbit calculations to create the most accurate depiction of the 6 ways our Moon moves from our perspective.

1. Phases

The Moon phases we see on Earth are caused by the changing positions of the Earth and Moon relative to the Sun. The Sun always illuminates half of the Moon, but we see changing shapes as the Moon revolves around the Earth. Wright uses a software library called SPICE to calculate the position and orientation of the Moon and Earth at every moment of the year. With his visualization, you can input any day and time of the year and see what the Moon will look like!

2. Shape of the Moon

Check out that crater detail! The Moon is not a smooth sphere. It’s covered in mountains and valleys and thanks to LRO, we know the shape of the Moon better than any other celestial body in the universe. To get the most accurate depiction possible of where the sunlight falls on the lunar surface throughout the month, Wright uses the same graphics software used by Hollywood design studios, including Pixar, and a method called ‘raytracing’ to calculate the intricate patterns of light and shadow on the Moon’s surface, and he checks the accuracy of his renders against photographs of the Moon he takes through his own telescope.

3. Apparent Size 

The Moon Phase and Libration visualization shows you the apparent size of the Moon. The Moon’s orbit is elliptical, instead of circular - so sometimes it is closer to the Earth and sometimes it is farther. You’ve probably heard the term “supermoon.” This describes a full Moon at or near perigee (the point when the Moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit). A supermoon can appear up to 14% bigger and brighter than a full Moon at apogee (the point when the Moon is farthest from the Earth in its orbit). 

Our supermoon tonight is a full Moon very close to perigee, and will appear to be about 14% bigger than the July 27 full Moon, the smallest full Moon of 2018, occurring at apogee. Input those dates into the Moon Phase and Libration visualization to see this difference in apparent size!

4. East-West Libration

Over a month, the Moon appears to nod, twist, and roll. The east-west motion, called ‘libration in longitude’, is another effect of the Moon’s elliptical orbital path. As the Moon travels around the Earth, it goes faster or slower, depending on how close it is to the Earth. When the Moon gets close to the Earth, it speeds up thanks to an additional pull from Earth’s gravity. Then it slows down, when it’s farther from the Earth. While this speed in orbital motion changes, the rotational speed of the Moon stays constant. 

This means that when the Moon moves faster around the Earth, the Moon itself doesn’t rotate quite enough to keep the same exact side facing us and we get to see a little more of the eastern side of the Moon. When the Moon moves more slowly around the Earth, its rotation gets a little ahead, and we see a bit more of its western side.

5. North-South Libration

The Moon also appears to nod, as if it were saying “yes,” a motion called ‘libration in latitude’. This is caused by the 5 degree tilt of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth. Sometimes the Moon is above the Earth’s northern hemisphere and sometimes it’s below the Earth’s southern hemisphere, and this lets us occasionally see slightly more of the northern or southern hemispheres of the Moon! 

6. Axis Angle

Finally, the Moon appears to tilt back and forth like a metronome. The tilt of the Moon’s orbit contributes to this, but it’s mostly because of the 23.5 degree tilt of our own observing platform, the Earth. Imagine standing sideways on a ramp. Look left, and the ramp slopes up. Look right and the ramp slopes down. 

Now look in front of you. The horizon will look higher on the right, lower on the left (try this by tilting your head left). But if you turn around, the horizon appears to tilt the opposite way (tilt your head to the right). The tilted platform of the Earth works the same way as we watch the Moon. Every two weeks we have to look in the opposite direction to see the Moon, and the ground beneath our feet is then tilted the opposite way as well.

So put this all together, and you get this:

Beautiful isn’t it? See if you can notice these phenomena when you observe the Moon. And keep coming back all year to check on the Moon’s changing appearance and help plan your observing sessions.

Follow @NASAMoon on Twitter to keep up with the latest lunar updates. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

Ariel did not simply ‘give [her] voice up for a man.’

Since childhood, Ariel has been among my favorite Disney princesses. I connect with her deeply – and whenever someone (like Keira Knightley recently) brings up the old line that she is a ‘bad role model’ for young girls because she ‘gives up her voice for a man,’ my heart breaks. 

That reading of Ariel’s character is reductive and inaccurate.

Everyone always mentions that Ariel was interested in the human world before meeting Eric, but not as many people point out how radical that makes her in the context of her own society.

Ariel lives in a society that is xenophobic towards humans, Triton at various points calls them “barbarians,” “savage,” and “incapable of any real feeling.” She lives in a society that constantly tells her that her interest in the human world is wrong and bad, something she struggles with at the start of Part of Your World: 

By seeking a fuller understanding of the human world, Ariel actively challenges her father’s xenophobia, thinking for herself instead of accepting her society’s fears and prejudices.

The film goes out of its way to establish Ariel as an outsider within her own society. Think for a moment about the opening lines of Part of Your World: 

Look at this stuff. Isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete? Wouldn’t you think I’m the girl The girl who has everything? Look at this trove, Treasures untold How many wonders can one cavern hold? Lookin’ around here you’d think Sure, she’s got everything…

People who criticize Ariel so often mis-characterize her as simply a spoiled teenager. The very statement, “She gave up her voice for a man!” implies she’s a foolish girl who throws her life and agency away in a fit of pique.   

 Yet, the opening of Part of Your World anticipates that certain members of the audience will have a superficial understanding of Ariel’s pain and directly addresses that. On a superficial level, Ariel does seem like “the girl who has everything.” She is the daughter of the most important merman in Atlantica, she has countless treasures hidden away in her grotto…

But that’s the thing, you see. They’re hidden in her grotto. Ariel may be the daughter of the sea-king, but the sea-king hates and fears humanity. Part of Your World is the most heartbreaking rebuttal to anyone who sees Ariel as a shallow teenager because it shows how alone she truly is. Except for Flounder, she has no one under the sea she can genuinely confide in. (She confides in Sebastian, of course, but he was sent by her father to spy on her and he does betray her trust – by mistake, but he does). Her sisters and the rest of Atlantica presumably do not question the prejudices that cause the human world to be forbidden to the sea folk.

Ariel is an outcast, forced to hide who she is from the people who should love her unconditionally.

The more Part of Your World goes on, the more devastating and resonant Ariel’s collection of artifacts becomes.

These artifacts represent a void in her life and, at the same time, are the only means she has of filling that void.

She longs to have knowledge, but her society imposes ignorance on her. She longs to see the human world herself, to ask questions and finally be answered – but it is all denied her. The imposed ignorance forces her to live vicariously through the artifacts she collects.

She cannot see a couple dancing, so she must content herself with a music box.

She can only experience the shadow of fire on oil and canvas.

Her collection perpetually reminds her that there is a world beyond her reach. At the same time, it is her central way of interacting with that world. Yes, she can go up to to the surface and talk to Scuttle, but her collection is something so much more personal. These are items she saved from the ruins of ships, sometimes at the risk of her own life… so she could study them, learn from them, and lament the unjust rules of her society that prevent her from learning more…

Her courage, her curiosity, her thirst for knowledge are all bound up in these precious possessions.

And yes, they are objects. Yes, she wants more than a collection of objects. But this collection is all she has. And, as far as Ariel knows, it is all she will ever have…

When you’re all but alone in the world and you have only meager scraps to cling to, those scraps mean the world to you.

And, I remind you, Ariel cannot even openly enjoy her collection of scraps, the shadows of a world she cannot touch. She has to hide even them, guard them, keep them secret.

Ariel’s grotto is a place of solace and security where she can be herself without fear of judgment.

There is a reason the destruction of Ariel’s grotto harrowed me more as a child than any other scene in a Disney film. I could hardly watch it. I hid my face. I begged my family to skip scene. I was reduced to a sobbing mess. On a personal level, it harrowed me more than the destruction of Cinderella’s dress.   

That reason is because, in watching the scene, I felt the pain of a place of refuge being invaded.

By the time we reach the destruction of the grotto, we are as emotionally invested in Ariel’s collection as she is because we see that the objects are more than objects. They are extensions of herself, encapsulating all her feelings of hope and hopelessness.

Destroying those items is like annihilating a part of her soul.

That is why I hate the “she gave up her voice for a man” line of thought so much. Because it so blatantly disregards the context of the film. Because it paints Ariel as a shallow teenager. Because it places blame for what follows solely on Ariel’s shoulders and absolves Triton of any wrongdoing.

I want to tread carefully here because, like Ariel, Triton is a nuanced and complex character. He has good intentions and cares about his youngest daughter. 

Yet, even a well-intentioned individual can be in the wrong. Even an individual who is right about certain things (Ariel is indeed impetuous and reckless at times – though I hope my analysis reminds readers that those are not her sole character traits), can be wrong about other things.

And Triton’s confrontation with Ariel highlights his failings and his faults.

Look at Ariel’s face when she first sees her father in the grotto:

The enhancement of expression in animation allows the audience to clearly see the fear in her face.

Triton has created an environment where his own daughter is afraid of him.

No parent should do that to their child.

Confronting Ariel, Triton says, “I consider myself a reasonable merman. I set certain rules and I expect those rules to be obeyed.”

On one level, Triton is right to expect his children to respect the rules he sets in place.

 What I feel Triton misses, however, is that respect is not the same as intimidation.

Since Triton wants Ariel to accept his rules based solely on his authority as her father, he makes it impossible for there to be any communication between himself and his daughter.

This dynamic means that he will not listen to Ariel even when Ariel is in the right and he is not. Children should listen to their parents, but in the same way, parents should listen to their children.

Triton may be in the right to worry about his daughter’s safety, but his fear is still born of bigotry – bigotry that Ariel recognizes and rejects.

Triton, after all, grows angry at his daughter because she wouldn’t let another living being die. He specifically calls her out because she “rescued a human from drowning.” When Ariel counters that allowing someone helpless to miserably drown is cruel, he shuts her down with: 

When Ariel points out the illogical nature of her father’s brutal line of thought and says, “You don’t even know him!”, Triton responds:    

Even if a viewer is largely sympathetic to Triton, that viewer cannot ignore Triton’s prejudice in this moment.

He generalizes millions of people.

And if the rules he sets down include the tacit understanding, “Let innocents die because, by virtue of their humanity, their lives have no value,” then maybe those rules deserve to be broken. Maybe those rules need to be changed. 

Ariel may be a teenager, but she is wiser than her father here.

(Also, can I say that Ariel’s body language here breaks my heart every time I see it? She’s swimming away from her father, recoiling… 

…until she’s cowering behind Eric’s statue. She looks like she’s about to cry as her father pours forth more vitriol… 

…and after she bursts out with the exclamation, “Daddy, I love him!”, she’s terrified that she’s said it.)

Triton believes that he alone is in the right and destroys the grotto because he feels it is “the only way” to “get through to” his daughter. He believes he must be cruel only to be kind.  

Yet, in the end…

…he only succeeds…

…in being cruel.

Triton’s unwillingness to listen to his daughter – his unwillingness to treat her with the same respect he demands of her – only widens the gulf between them.

 Ariel does not go to the sea-witch because she has been mooning over a man.

Ariel goes to the sea-witch because she has no voice in her own home. Becoming human, she gains the ability to live life on her own terms. Becoming human, she ironically gains the voice she has been denied for so long.

Ariel goes to the sea-witch because her father sends a message to her – a message that she does not matter, that there is no place for someone like her in Atlantica.

Triton may never have meant to send that message, but send it, he did… and he should be held accountable for that.

Indeed, the film does hold him accountable for that.

After destroying the grotto, Triton realizes he has done a horrible thing.

Look into his eyes after Ariel falls to weeping:  

Look at the regret in his eyes. Look at the remorse. He knows he has gone too far. He never meant to hurt his daughter like this.

And when Ariel vanishes from Atlantica, Triton takes responsibility for his actions. What does he say when his daughter cannot be found? Does he say, “What folly has my daughter gotten herself into now?”

No. He says: 

Simply saying that Ariel ‘gave up [her] voice for a man’ ignores the painful complexity of the situation in which she finds herself. It ignores the depth of her motivation. It ignores Triton’s culpability. It ignores her best character traits and only highlights her flaws (and yes, she has flaws, for she is a multifaceted, well-written character.)

But Ariel’s rejection of prejudice, her ability to see beauty in a group that nearly everyone around her demonizes, her courage and determination and love, are all venerable traits…     

…and Ariel’s courage, determination, and love are what inspire Triton to open his heart and change.

Some people say that The Little Mermaid is more Triton’s story than Ariel’s. I disagree and feel that assessment unfairly dismisses Ariel’s emotional journey. Triton has a compelling arc in the film – but that arc is only set in motion because of Ariel’s agency.      

He learns from his daughter’s example.

He grows because of her.

Why don’t we talk more about Ariel, the young woman who always challenged her father’s prejudice? Why don’t we talk more about Ariel, who actively spoke out about the flaws she saw in her society? Why don’t we talk more about Ariel, whose actions helped change that society for the better? Why don’t we talk more about Ariel, who formed a bridge between two worlds and enacted positive change?

Why don’t we talk more about that Ariel?

I know Ariel can be impulsive, but she is sixteen years old, and her impulsiveness only makes her character realistic. She makes mistakes but, like her father, she owns up to those mistakes and learns from them:

There are critics of Ariel’s character who want to make the story of The Little Mermaid black and white. Because Triton recognizes Ariel’s impulsiveness, they ignore Triton’s faults and trivialize Ariel.

Yet, the story the film presents is not so black and white. Ariel and Triton are not so one-dimensional.

They both learn from each other and grow together.     

This embrace is so meaningful because, by the end of the film, Triton finally shows Ariel the same respect he asks of her and in so doing, he earns her respect.

Ariel, meanwhile, recognizes her own mistakes and gains a new appreciation for her father.

The Little Mermaid is a beautiful film and Ariel is a brave, inspiring, complex heroine. 

Iridescent clouds, looking like a rainbow in the clouds.

A diffraction phenomenon caused by small water droplets or small ice crystals individually scattering light. Larger ice crystals do not produce iridescence, but can cause halos, a different phenomenon.

Walking the Path of Hermes

Roll with the punches.

Help those in need.

Travel fearlessly, but not foolishly. 

Become intimately familiar with that Hunger for movement. For change. To explore. To see.

Hermes has his palm placed on every word you speak, everything you say that can be understood. In this sense, it’s very easy to call him close. Don’t underestimate that. 

There’s never a good reason to not do the right thing. 

Subtlety isn’t helpful if you’re not being heard or understood.

It’s impossible to hold onto everything you value forever. 

The world isn’t going to pause and wait for you to recover from that loss, either. 

Real self care involves a lot of hard work. 

There’s always something amazing to be discovered in any moment.