Diomede Islands – Bering Strait
BEYOND INTERESTING IS CULTURE!
The islands where the USA and Russia meet, and the East becomes West!
Two continents, two countries
Two cultures, two regimes
There is a place in the world where the territories of the United States and Russia are less than 4 km away, but any route between them will be 24 hours apart…
We are talking about the unknown and isolated Diomede Islands, in the Bering Strait, the inhospitable sea portion that separates Alaska from the far east of Asia, where probably the first inhabitants of America crossed into these lands.
North American territory!
The two islands, known as Big Diomede and Little Diomede, are separated by a strip of water of only 4 km, which is frozen during a good part of the year, allowing the passage on foot between them. The curious thing is that Big Diomede is the most easterly point in Russia, and Little Diomede is the most western point in the United States.
During the Cold War period, the natives who inhabited the islands before Russian or American colonization were not allowed to move between the islands, nor to exchange any type of information, in the area that became known as “Ice Curtain”.
After the end of World War II, all the natives of the Russian island of Big Diomede were transferred to the mainland, and the archipelago maintained a small settlement only on the North American island of Little Diomede, which today has about 170 inhabitants, in one of the locations most isolated on the planet.
What makes the place even more curious is that exactly between the two islands the “International Date Line” passes, creating a time zone of no less than 24 hours in a distance that is so small that it is so visual.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Date_Line
In 1987, an emblematic event brought small islands to the headlines around the world. American swimmer Lynne Cox crossed the little more than 3,700 meters that separate the sister islands, in a gesture of approximation between the superpowers that were striving to strengthen ties that had been so long apart.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynne_Cox
Today, in times of peace, there are several projects to create monuments that would symbolize peace between the two countries. In a recent contest, a project called “Bridge of Memory”, linking the two islands, was among the champions, in what would be the first link between America and Asia after tens of thousands of years.
Umberto Eco, in his novel “L’isola del giorno prima” explores the idiosyncrasies of living in Diomede very well…
[…] Midnight on Friday, here on the ship, it is midnight on Thursday on the island. […] If you travel from America to Asia, you lose a day; if, in the opposite direction, you travel, you win one day: that is why Daphne [the ship] traveled the way of Asia, and you, stupid, the way of America. You are now a day older than me! It’s not funny? […]
King Solomon’s mines: myth or truth?
He was, above all, a wise man – according to the Scriptures. His teachings are still known today, recorded in the book of Proverbs. But it was not only for his sayings that Solomon became the target of curiosity. It was also because of a legend, a belief that points to the existence of mines, from which came the greatest wealth that man has ever seen, according to the Bible.
Avanpost
Avanpost or The Blackout (english translation) of this sci-fi Russian movie!
I will tell you, it’s worth a shoot at this one. It has a lot of Hollywood reminiscences in it, blockbuster type, but it gets a cool twist towards the end!
Beware of this new eastern films! Pretty cool!
Sentence/Quote/Phrase from 1920 for we all Reflect…!!!
GREAT “QUOTE”, AND HOW VERY IMPLICIT TRUE IN IT!
Year of 1920,
A Phrase!
Just to remember…
QUOTE OF 1920 …
Quote/Phrase of the Russian-American philosopher Ayn Rand (Jewish, fugitive of the Russian revolution, that arrived at the United States in the middle of the decade of 1920), showing a vision with knowledge of the cause:
“- When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing
– When you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors
– When you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you
– When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice
– You may know that your society is doomed.”
Shoënstatt Portugal
“Shoënstatt .. have you heard of it? Shoënstatt is a sacred place, a magical place!
It is a cozy place and a wonderful energy …
All Schoënstatt Shrines are built exactly the same throughout the world.The name Shoënstatt comes from the name of a locality in Vallendar, Germany. There lies the Original Shrine, where the Movement of the same name – Shoënstatt – was born. Shoënstatt is a Marian shrine, place of thanks, pilgrimages and Christian formation. Shoënstatt sanctuaries form a network of life – on all continents and in more than 40 countries – that is sustained and has its origin in the Original Shrine. The center of the Shoënstatt charism is the Covenant of Love with Mary. The mission of Shoënstatt is the mission of Mary, who opens new ways for Christ to be born and, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to lead mankind to the Father.“
Cleaning tips
Sponge!!!!!!
Scary and very “up to date” still
“Dialogue between Jean-Baptiste Colbert and Jules Mazarin during the reign of Louis XIV:
Colbert: To find money, there is a time when cheating [the taxpayer] is no longer possible. I would like, Mr. Superintendent, to explain to me how it is possible to continue spending when you are already in debt up to your neck …
Mazarin: If you are a simple mortal, of course, when you are covered with debts, you end up in prison. But the State … the State is different! You cannot send the state to prison. So, he continues to go into debt… All States do it!
Colbert: Oh yes? Do you think so? However, we need money. And how do we get it if we have already created all the taxes imaginable?
Mazarin: Others are created …
Colbert: But we can no longer impose more taxes on the poor.
Mazarin: Yes, it is impossible …
Colbert: What about the rich?
Mazarin: Neither are the rich. They would not spend more. A rich person who spends makes hundreds of poor people live.
Colbert: So how do we do it?
Mazarin: Colbert! You think like a cheese, like a sick man’s potty! There are a huge number of people between the rich and the poor: those who work dreaming of becoming rich and fearing they will become poor. It is to these that we must impose more taxes, more and more, always more! Those, the more we take from them the more they will work to make up for what we took from them… It is an inexhaustible reservoir…. ”
The Lords of the Rings: The Return of the King
Yesterday was J.R.R. Tolkien day… It’s almost Christmas and “The Lord of the Rings” became an amazing ride to rewatch during this season!
Even though I truly appreciate watching the full trilogy, but this year the moment was to go straight to “The Return of the King”…
I watched it on Netflix and for a Tolkien fan as myself and also a fan of Peter Jackson’s work on this universe, to watch the cinematic version at the expense of the great extended version was a bit weird… Truly, it’s still an astonishing film, but it lacks a few scenes that must be seen in its full!
OK, go watch the trilogy people, because it’s cinema at its finest! Ooooooh, and long live the king!
Public domain – basic research
http://www.dominiopublico.gov.br/pesquisa/PesquisaObraForm.jsp
Go visit it! Free library!!!
Estranged Blog 