A Capela dos Ossos - Kutná Hora, República Tcheca

Na região da Bohemia, há mais ou menos 65km de distância de Praga, fica a cidade de Kutná Hora. Muito rica na Idade Média por conta das minas de prata, ela é hoje mais famosa por uma capela... diferente. Conhecida também como a Capela da Igreja de Todos os Santos, conta a lenda que em 1278 o Rei Bohêmio Otakar II enviou o abade principal do mosteiro da região para a Terra Santa. Ao retornar, ele trouxe um pouco da “terra santa” e a espalhou sobre o cemitério, fazendo com que todos os habitantes da Europa central quisessem ser enterrados ali após morrer. Aliando isso a alta taxa de mortalidade provocada pelo trabalho pesado nas minas, a Peste Negra do século 14 e também os sucessivos conflitos e guerras, o cemitério da cidade acabou esgotando e não havia mais espaço para novas tumbas. Optou-se então por construir essa capela no meio do cemitério, fato que acabou por desenterrar um grande número de ossos. Alguém então teve a idéia de homenagear os mortos usando seus ossos na “decoração” da igreja. Com o sucesso dessa idéia original, passou-se a desenterrar sistematicamente as ossadas mais antigas para abrir espaço para os “novos mortos”. Estima-se que até 70 mil ossos tenham sido usados na decoração total. O candelabro da nave principal da capela, por exemplo, diz ter pelo menos uma amostra de cada osso do corpo humano.

The Sikh Religion of India

The word "Sikhism" derives from "Sikh," which means a strong and able disciple. There are about 23 million Sikhs worldwide, making Sikhism the 5th largest religion in the world. Approximately 19 million Sikhs live in India, primarily in the state of Punjab. Large populations of Sikhs can also be found in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Sikhs are a significant minority in Malaysia and Singapore, where they are sometimes ridiculed for their distinctive appearance, but respected for their work ethic and high education standards.

Sikhism emerged in 16th-century India in an environment heavily permeated with conflicts between the Hindu and Muslim religions. It was somewhat influenced by reform movements in Hinduism (e.g. Bhakti, monism, Vedic metaphysics, guru ideal, and bhajans) as well as some Sufi Muslim influences. While Sikhism reflects its cultural context, it certainly developed into a movement unique in India. Sikhs regard their faith as an authentic new divine revelation.

Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak Dev, who was born in 1469 to a Hindu family. After four epic journeys (north to Tibet, south to Sri Lanka, east to Bengal and west to Mecca and Baghdad), Guru Nanak preached to Hindus, Muslims and others, and in the process attracted a following of Sikhs (disciples). Religion, he taught, was a way to unite people, but in practice he found that it set men against one another. He particularly regretted the antagonism between Hindus and Muslims. Guru Nanak's most famous saying is, "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim, so whose path shall I follow? I shall follow the path of God."

Retaining the Hindu doctrine of the transmigration of souls, together with its corollary, the law of karma, Guru Nanak advised his followers to end the cycle of reincarnation by living a disciplined life – that is, by moderating egoism and sensuous delights, to live in a balanced worldly manner, and by accepting ultimate reality. Thus, by the grace of Guru (Gurprasad) the cycle of reincarnation can be broken, and the Sikh can remain in the abode of the Love of God. Guru Nanak taught that salvation does not mean entering paradise after a last judgment, but a union and absorption into God, the True Name. Sikhs do not believe in a heaven or hell. Sikhs also reject the Hindu belief in incarnations (avatars) of God, believing instead that God makes his will know through the Gurus.

The most easily observable Sikh practice are the wearing of the turban and the Five Ks. Sikhs also pray regularly and meditate by repeating God's name, often with the aid of rosary beads. Sikhism rejects the Hindu notion of the four stages of life, teaching instead that the householder is the ideal for all people. A Sikh aims to live a life that balances work, worship and charity. Community is emphasized, and the Sikh temple (gurudwara) is the center of Sikh communal life.

                                                        (http://www.religionfacts.com/sikhism/fastfacts.htm#overview) 

Note from the Author: 

We visited the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib temple in New Delhi. It was a nice experience because we had a good feeling about it all the time, a good vibe. Just to make a comparison, when you visit a Muslim Mosque anywhere in the World, first it´s more likely you are not even allowed to enter; second you have to follow a whole protocol of dos and don´ts (mostly don´ts) ; third, people are always looking at you with that blank stare making you feel like an alien, they want to make sure you feel you don´t belong there, it´s their place, take your pics and get out...

That´s not what you feel at a Sikh temple. You can peacefully stroll around and they don´t bother. Besides, and that´s the most beautiful aspect of it, one of the foundations of the Sikhism is the charity. They cook food everyday for anyone who wants to come and eat. The temple we visited in Delhi serves 10,000 people PER SITTING, which means around 30,000 people per day. Food is always FREE and you don´t need to be a follower of their faith. Because equality is so important in the Sikh religion, everyone who comes in eats at the same level regardless of their background. You will see rich businessmen sitting on the floor and eating side by side to a homeless person...

Vietnam

Since my teenage years, in the late 80´s, I had one fascination in my mind, and it was called Vietnam. It was the height of the Holywood movies about the war that ravaged the country and besides the movies I used to read a lot of books with stories that develop there. I always wanted to see it by myself...

The Holywood version usually protraited one side of the story. Heroic american soldiers being killed by blood-thirsty vietnamese mercenaries and we used to sight in relieve when a few surviving americans made a great escapade, at the last minute. 
 

Vietnam was a rewarding discovery. What we found shed a completely new light on what we knew about the biased history we were told. The vietnamese history is a history of invasions, of foreign domination, of suffering of its people. The region now known as Vietnam was subsequently invaded by different chinese dinasties, by the japanese, by the siamese (currently Thailand), by the Khmer Empire (currently Cambodia), by the French, the Americans and even at some point in time by the far reaching Mongol Empire.

And why were they so often relatively defeated with ease? Mainly because they were always internally divided into smaller and corrupted kingdoms and also, and that´s one of my conclusions, they are basically peaceful. The fact that they are majorly of the Buddhist religion may also have to do with it, since following Buddhism means abdicating from materialist and violence related affairs. So conquering may not have been one of their main interests and thus became easy targets.

While most of the other religions feel they need to spread their own belief onto others, protraying their "god" as the only true supreme entity, disrespecting their right to their own faith and more often than not with the use of sheer force and imposition, the Buddhist only want to be left alone and live in peace. That is unfortunately seen as weakness by opportunists.

 

 

In spite of all odds, Vietnam has seen prosperity and economic growth in recent times, at least for the last two decades. Nevertheless, the country is still very poor and the majority of the population lack the very basic for a decent life. However not once have we felt any threath to our well-being nor have we been harassed in any way, except by one isolated incident with a taxi driver in Saigon who tampered the meter in his car and we ended up paying more than double the fair rate. But even that resulted in less than a US$ 10 loss. So a sound advice would be to negotiate the rate before riding, which we didn´t.

 

Most of the vietnamese income and livelihood comes from its natural resources, especially water. The powerful and mythical Mekong River, for instance, cuts through the country and provides the much needed subsistence for the population. Besides that its one of the most famous tourist attractions, bringing yet one more form of income. It´s important to note that before reaching Vietnam, the Mekong crosses 6 other countries who also basically live on the mighty river. During one of our many boat cruises, I was astonished to notice that there were so many traps for fish and shrimps in the river that, first, the boat we were on had to make detours here and there to avoid disrupting the traps and, second, it seems impossible to me that there was any fish left in the water before the river finally poured into the South China Sea.

 

Beside the many interesting places we visited, two of them were truly amazing. The Ho Chi Minh museum and mausoleum in Hanoi, where the actual body of the late President and biggest national hero still lays for everyone to see since his death in September 1969, well preserved in a refrigerated glass casing inside a freezing room, where the tourists walk past in an army controlled and quick moving line. Dress appropriately, do not talk, do not touch each other, do not take pictures... take a look and move on!

 

 

 

 

 

The second attraction I wish to point out is truly breathtaking. Now Vietnam´s biggest tourist attraction, the Ha_Long_Bay is a group of thousands of small islands, islets and rock formations located in the northern province of Quang Nihn. Only a couple of them are inhabited by small fishing villages of less than 2000 people. Legend has it that the early inland populations, when reaching the shores and looking into the misty distance they believed they were seeing dragons sent by God to protect the land from invaders. Ha Long rightfully means "Descending Dragons".

 

Ha Long Bay was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1994 and recently in 2012 it was included as one of the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World. It truly deserves the recognition.

 

 To finalize this article, I could not fail to mention the food! Vietnam has an amazing cuisine, based on fresh and natural ingredients that will not disappoint anyone. They eat a lot of "strange" things that may even afront the delicate palate, but that is common in most Asian cultures. Basically all movings creatures are eatable, so let us not go deep into that direction.

The national dish seems to be a kind of soup called "pho" made out of fresh garden produce, any kind of meat and rice noodles. Delicious!!! And they eat it also on breakfast...

 

O Homem mais solitário do mundo

Acham que ele tem pouco mais de 40 e vive no estado de Rondônia. Ninguém sabe seu nome, mas é conhecido como "homem do buraco". É o último sobrevivente de uma tribo desconhecida e seu primeiro avistamento data de 1996. Onze anos depois, a Funai decretou que ninguém se aproximasse a menos de 31 quilômetros dele. Mas antes de ser um "forever alone" por lei, o homem do buraco escolheu sê-lo por vontade própria.

Em meados dos anos noventa várias expedições tentaram estabelecer contato com o indígena, mas ele sempre reagia com medo e hostilidade. A última tentativa resultou em um ferimento de flecha no peito. Após este incidente o Governo decidiu deixá-lo finalmente em paz e estabeleceu um "perímetro de segurança" para assegurar-se de que ninguém se aproximasse. De uma das últimas expedições conservam-se as únicas imagens do homem do buraco, que foram gravadas pelo cineasta Vincent Carelli que foram incluídas em seu documentário Corumbiara.

O homem do buraco anda nu. Seus pertences únicos são um arco, algumas flechas e uma dúzia de refúgios espalhados pelo meio da selva, todos eles com um buraco de um metro e meio de profundidade. Sabem também que cultiva mandioca. E aí acabam todas as certezas, nada mais se sabe sobre ele.

Não sabem o nome de sua tribo e desconhecem seu idioma e cultura. A Funai localizou os restos do que podia ter sido seu povoado e baseada nisso se aventura em dizer que sua tribo foi extinta entre os anos 70 e 80 e que os últimos sobreviventes morreram pelas mãos de assassinos pagos.

Apesar do homem do buraco ter escolhido viver à margem de nossa sociedade não é imune aos conflitos que acontecem nela. Em 2009 foi atacado segundo denúncia da organização Survival. Tudo parece indicar que sobreviveu, mas não há certezas. Este foi o último contato que ele teve com o mundo.

"Menos mau" de toda esta história é que, apesar da perda paulatina de valores culturais indígenas, é que temos uma das constituições mais protecionistas concernentes aos direitos indígenas, cujo estatuto consagra o direito a suas terras e a inalienabilidade das mesmas. Baseando nestes preceitos, as autoridades decidiram não por "resgatar" o homem mais solitário do mundo senão que deixam que ele mesmo decida o que fazer. E ao que parece ele escolheu a solidão.

Leia mais: http://www.ndig.com.br/item/2012/02/o-homem-mais-solitrio-do-mundo#ixzz20JZeatRU

Para que serve um Barômetro?

“Há algum tempo recebi um convite de um colega para servir de árbitro na revisão de uma prova de física que recebera nota zero. O aluno dizia merecer nota máxima. Professor e aluno concordaram em submeter o problema a um juiz imparcial, e eu fui o escolhido.

Barometro Analógico para iates

            Chegando a sala do meu colega, li a questão da prova: “Mostre como se pode determinar a altura de um edifício bem alto com a ajuda de um barômetro.” A resposta do estudante foi a seguinte: “Leve o barômetro até o alto do edifício e amarre uma corda nele; baixe o barômetro até a calçada e em seguida levante, medindo o comprimento da corda; esse comprimento será igual a altura do edifício.”

            Sem dúvida a resposta satisfazia o enunciado e, por instantes vacilei quanto ao veredicto. Recompondo-me rapidamente, disse ao aluno que ele efetivamente havia respondido à questão, mas que a sua resposta não comprovava conhecimentos de física, que era o objetivo da prova. Sugeri então que ele fizesse outra tentativa de responder à questão. Meu colega concordou e, para meu espanto, o aluno também.

            Segundo o acordo, ele teria 6 minutos para entregar uma resposta pronta, demonstrando algum conhecimento de física. Passados 5 minutos ele ainda não havia escrito nada, apenas olhava pensativamente para o forro da sala. Perguntei-lhe se ele desejava desistir, pois eu tinha um compromisso logo em seguida. Mas o estudante anunciou que não havia desistido, que apenas estava escolhendo uma entre várias respostas que concebera.

Medição da pressão atmosférica
(Barometro de Torricelli)

            De fato, em 1 minuto ele me entregou a seguinte resposta: “Vá ao alto do edifício, incline-se numa borda do telhado e solte o barômetro, medindo o tempo t de queda desde a largada até o toque com o solo. Depois, empregando a fórmula h = (1/2) gt², calcule a altura do edifício.” Neste momento, sugeri ao meu colega que desistisse e, embora contrafeito, ele deu uma nota quase máxima ao aluno.

            Quando eu ia saindo da sala, lembrei-me que o estudante havia dito ter outras respostas para o problema. Não resisti a curiosidade e perguntei-lhe quais eram essas respostas. Ele prontamente disse: Ah! Sim, há muitas maneiras de achar a altura de um edifício com a ajuda de um barômetro. Por exemplo: Em um lindo dia de sol pode-se medir a altura do barômetro e o comprimento de sua sombra projetada no solo. Em seguida mede-se o comprimento da sombra projetada pelo edifício. Depois, aplica-se uma regra de três simples e determina-se a altura do edifício. Um outro método básico de medida, aliás bastante simples e direto, é subir as escadas de um edifício e fazendo marcas na parede, espaçadas da altura do barômetro. Contando-se o número de marcas tem-se a altura do edifício em unidades barométricas. É um método infalível.

            Um método mais complexo seria amarrar o barômetro na ponta de uma corda e balançá-lo como um pêndulo, o que permite a determinação da aceleração da gravidade (g). Repetindo a operação ao nível da rua e no topo do edifício obtêm-se duas acelerações diferentes, e a altura do edifício pode ser calculada com base nesta diferença. Como podem ver, se não for cobrada uma solução física para o problema, existem muitas outras respostas, e sempre com o auxílio do barômetro.

Antigo barometro de mercurio
do Sec. XIX

            A minha resposta preferida à questão, no entanto, é a seguinte: “Bater à porta do zelador do edifício e dizer: Caro Zelador, se o senhor me disser a altura deste edifício, eu lhe darei este barômetro.”

            A esta altura, perguntei ao estudante se ele não sabia qual era a resposta “esperada” para o problema. Ele admitiu que sabia, mas estava farto das tentativas do colégio e dos professores de dizer de que forma ele deveria pensar.”

 Reportagem da Revista Exame, Edição 719 de 26 de Julho de 2000.

The Amazons of Libya

The historian Diodorus of Sicily, 100 B.C. (who is regarded as an unreliable source by other historians), describes de Amazons of Libya, which at that time was a name used for all North of Africa west of Egypt. This Amazon reign was a gynaecocracy, that is, only women were allowed to hold high office, including the military. According to the legend, the realm was ruled by a Queen Myrina, who with thirty thousand female soldiers and three thousand female cavalry swept through Egypt and Syria all the way to the Aegean, defeating numbers of male armies along the way. After Queen Myrina finally fell in battle, her army scattered.

But the army did leave its imprints on the region. The women of Anatolia took the sword to crush and invasion from the Caucasus, after the male soldiers were all slaughtered in a far-reaching genocide. These women trained in the use of all types of weapons, including bow and arrow, spear, battle-axe and lance. They copied their breastplates from the armour of the Greeks.

They rejected marriage as subjugation. So that they might have children, they were granted a leave of absence, during which they copulated with randomly selected males from nearby villages.

Only a woman who had killed a man in battle was allowed to give up her virginity.

(Excerpt from the book “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets´ Nest”, from the acclaimed trilogy by Stieg Larsson)

Amazon in battle - Greek relief 4 BC.

On a personal research, I found that the Amazons are widely refer to in Greek mithology, with paintings and sculpturs available in museaums around the world, as per this example.

Singapore

On our recent visit to Singapore, I had many realizations. Before going thru the aspects I wish to write about, let me pinch in a little bit of the fascinating history of the island.

The name of the country, for instance, was originated due to an initial mistake. Singapura derives from the Sanskrit and means "Lion City".  Legend has it that the name was given by the Sumatran prince Sang Nila Utama when he visited the island in 1299 and saw an unknown creature, which he mistook as a lion. Therefore, since that time the Merlion, a creature half lion and half fish, is the symbol of the country.

Before this Sumatran prince came to Singapore, the place was known as Temasek, which means "Sea Town" in old Javanese language. Written references by travelers mention this sea town as early as the 2nd Century. Archaeological discoveries confirm the reputation of Temasek and later Singapura as an important trading point for many centuries, only reconfirmed today as one of the busiest seaports in the world.

The first and immediate fact that stands out for a visitor from another Asian country (and that includes the Middle East) is that it's one of, if not the cleanest country in the whole Asian Continent. Maybe comparable to Japan, but I have not been to Japan yet, so I can't really compare.

Singapore has very strict rules and regulations to keep its citizens and visitors on track. The government takes so much care about the cleanness of the environment that the locals even make jokes about it. They say Singapore is a "fine city" (and you can even buy post cards, fridge magnets and other souvenirs about it).

Here is a list of fines everyone should watch out for:
- Chewing gum: $ 1000
- Spitting: $ 1000 (that's actually the one I liked the most)
- Smoking in public: $ 1000
- Monkey feeding: $ 250
- Fishing: $ 250
- Urinating in public places: $ 500
- Bird catching: $ 500
- Eating durians: $ 500 (this one I couldn't really believe, but if you know this fruit, also known as jack fruit, you may say the Singaporeans have got a point).

The result of such zeal is that it's a real joy to walk in their streets. People go about their daily lives with respect to each other, to the environment and to the institutions.

But how did they get to this point? We all must agree that's odd that this country is located in Asia, where anywhere else people throw everything out regardless of what it is and where they are, people spit in the streets and walkways, people smoke like's doomsday, and so many other reprehensible behaviors.

There could be many reasons, but I would like to make my point here, what I think may be some of the main reasons.

Religion:
Singapore is made up of several religious groups, which is advantage number one. Buddhists are majority with 42%, Christians (all different groups) second with 16% and Muslims third with 15%. There is no hugely dominant group. Such diversity is always good, because it allows people to be totally free, and only when you are free you can be 100% productive for your country or your society. If only one group dominates and dictates the rules, everyone follows by obligation. And followers are like a flock of sheep: they go wherever the shepherd leads them. They are not the owners of their own destiny, they don't innovate, they don't pursue challenges, they find no need for thinking. They become mentally lazy, they just repeat, repeat...

Education:
Here I don't mean that they have good schools. They surely have them, but every country has got at least a few good schools. What I mean to say is that the attitude is different. Culturally different. They really seem to take learning seriously, they take laws seriously, they respect the environment.

Young Singaporeans work. They work at shops, stores, restaurants, receptions, security... they work on any kind of job. They don't think the world is there to serve them. They have aspirations in life, and since their lives are not taken for granted, they work hard to fulfill their dreams, whatever they might be.

Take as a comparison the Middle east, for example. What do young Arabs do? Do they work? Do they look for a job? How do they generally behave in school? The answers to these questions almost everyone know, not from being told, but from seeing it. Most young Arabs take their life for granted, especially in the richer countries. They get school paid by the government. They get a house when they marry. They get medicals for free. And when they leave school, no matter what they have achieved there, they get a job in the government sector. They surely have some responsibilities and of course there are exceptions, but we ought to focus on the majority. If a person, at early stages in life, is not challenged to achieve things and goals and gets whatever he or she asks for, what motivation to self-develop such youths would have? That results in huge impacts in a society. 

Hence the prospect of a great future is brighter for Singapore. Other Asian nations have a long way to go. Some nations, I might add, will hardly ever reach as far.


But the fact I loved the most is that it seems to be a place blessed by God. It rains almost every day; the climate is tropical and enjoyable the full year-round. In such a favorable climate Mother Nature gives out its best. All kinds of birds and flowers producing a Myriad of colors and sounds, which pleases the eyes and soothes the ears wherever one may wander.

They have parks for everything: Birds Park (Jurong), Orchid Park (amazing), Butterflies Park... they even have an unbelievable Sky Park!!! At Marina Bay, as part of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Casino & Commercial Center complex, they built what can be considered in modern days an authentic resemblance of the mythical Hanging Gardens of Babylon!