Copied copy to copy to original

This is an attempt to reconstruct a previous thing from Centerphalange on Yahoo via Blogger, which is up to the task.

Every kid, well, speaking from experience, every boy (and probably every girl) once had, thought they had, or tried to make

a cave/fort/hideout/secret place.

Some never gave it up.

Some didn't have to.

This is a hole with no name. Every village, every small town has children of all ages who know where these places are.

The names they might carry are personal and unrecorded, just like the depths to which they have been explored and the depths

to which they have not.

I found these, one day. From the inside out and outside in ...Another time.

Another cave.

Mayan art

Art is usually sends a message or makes a statement, or maybe induces a feeling. I think, (and these are my own conclusions) art should do that on its own, not requiring a desertion to get its point [or lack thereof] across. Any offense I might inflict on any living seven hundred year old Mayan Artist is purely accidental, and is not the intent of the author.
The exceptions might be; across cultural platforms, or language barriers, or even to a small degree environmental influences.
Mayan art is enjoyable enough in its own right, in spite of the above possibilities. There are, however some factors that could improve upon its viewing without having to rewrite the archaeological record, learn a dead written language, or enroll in the Julian School Historical department.
One can see the carvings and statues are “full”, lack no empty spaces, and there is a name for that in art… …we don’t need to know it. Even as a child, drawing instead of doing homework in class, most of us made shapes on paper then contoured them … …say … … a star in a circle, repeatedly contoured until the points of the star and the edges of the circle met, leaving triangles which could also be contoured until the page was full and it looked … …nice, full, sent a feeling of some sort to the viewer. A phase of art many went through. The Maya as well. Some of the things I found enhanced my perception of the carvings and statues and sorted out the “fullness” are listed below.

In this rubbing one can see a dark line (painting or rubbing, deep incision in statues) down the middle of the image separating it into two parts.
That line signifies a “space” between the face of a man, and what can then be assumed to be a mask or ornament worn on the head.
Below is another type of combined image that I see as “callouts” or talk bubbles. As a child, drawing people, I made similar things, to denote that the subject was speaking or (in a cloud shaped talk bubble) thinking. Musical notes and pursed lips conveyed whistling. There are a variety of “callouts” shown. I don’t need to know what is being said to see some of the speakers are being very elaborate in subject, some, plain speaking, some I guess to be singing.
In the case of number 1 I see a tree with a callout and it appears the artist considered the tree sentient after some fashion, small and dark, the callout, it gives the impression that artist sees the tree capable of speech though he himself doesn’t know what it says and considers it lacking great volume. Number 6 looks to me like a fellow speaking about plants and trees.
Plants and vegetative forms, highly elaborated upon or stripped to basic lines are found on a lot of statues. Other creatures like the jaguar, fish, serpents, water, and human body parts also abound. As with the former, they may be elaborated or simplified or partially omitted with regards to a particular style of art, artist, or message. See a couple below.




Serpents




Fish




Falling Water

Reading … (What ever they tell us on TV commercials.)
…is not fundamental
There is no test at the end of a tour of the Mayan Arts World where we have to translate the full meaning of the works. These tips (my own, and possibly they will be proven wrong) are just to help see the general nature of the works, not a key to decipherment.

Mayan Art revisited

This is from mayanheavendotcom, where there are photos and an explanation of a few small articles of example.

http://www.mayanheaven.com/Mayan%20World.htm


Art is usually sends a message or makes a statement, or maybe induces a feeling. I think, (and these are my own conclusions) art should do that on its own, not requiring a desertion to get its point [or lack thereof] across. Any offense I might inflict on any living seven hundred yeaold Mayan Artist is purely accidental, and is not the intent of the author.
The exceptions might be; across cultural platforms, or language barriers, or even to a small degree environmental influences.
Mayan art is enjoyable enough in its own right, in spite of the above possibilities. There are, however some factors that could improve upon its viewing without having to rewrite the archaeological record, learn a dead written language, or enroll in the Julian School Historical department.
One can see the carvings and statues are “full”, lack no empty spaces, and there is a name for that in art… …we don’t need to know it. Even as a child, drawing instead of doing homework in class, most of us made shapes on paper then contoured them … …say … … a star in a circle, repeatedly contoured until the points of the star and the edges of the circle met, leaving triangles which could also be contoured until the page was full and it looked … …nice, full, sent a feeling of some sort to the viewer. A phase of art many went through. The Maya as well. Some of the things I found enhanced my perception of the carvings and statues and sorted out the “fullness” are listed below.
In this rubbing one can see a dark line (painting or rubbing, deep incision in statues) down the middle of the image separating it into two parts.
That line signifies a “space” between the face of a man, and what can then be assumed to be a mask or ornament worn on the head.

(Keep)The Home Fires Burning?

All about Oxlaju through the night burned huge fires, preparation for corn and rice plantings, by local peoples. Huge. Hundred acre fires out of control swept round the Inn.



Not certain whether is occurs to all the abnormally high heat (107°) daily also means abnormally low moisture.
The winds are constant in the thirty mile per hour range and dance about in terms of direction. Fire follows it.
Nearly over, the dry season, all will end this week with the new rains.

There is a commercial product called Liquid Smoke (not the meat seasoning) that can be applied to seeds to promote germination. I think it is made by passing vegetative smoke through water and soaking the circles of blotting paper in that liquid.
The air itself over the past week has had that much vegetative smoke in it, and the proof is in the Pudding. Date Palms and a few other hard to germinate seeds, part of the experimental Agriculture associated with Oxlaju suddenly began all at once to sprout. Thirty at a time, Dates and other fruit bearing palms have shot out their first growth. Seedling beds have been long prepared for the event, and months and months have past in anticipation of germination. (Date Palms are the example of the oldest known seeds to germinate, having been found and in the tombs of Egypt, subsequently grown) I knew they would sprout, but had no idea the full effect of -for lack of a better word- "Liquid Smoke"
The morning is spent planting and tagging the varieties recently sprouting.
Sun grown coffees, Dragon Fruits, Apple Cactus are already growing in their respective zones, and these Dates will join the sixteen types already growing.

Renewable roofsources [sic]

The cohune palm , the roofing of the masses, the construction material of the ages.
The roof
The roof
the roof is on fire.
(enough of that crap eh?)
This is the land of Thatch.
I am hoping these trees can renew themselves. The leaves can do so if only the trunks are not too damaged. Burned nearly through those will not come back. Some are Scorched only. Many are leafless after the fires.
Hope...
...springs eternal.

Slash and Burn (heavy emphasis on Burn)

Growing concerns in Belize






Within Central America is the natural propensity to farm with methods handed down through time. Fanning the flames of heritage are increases prices in things like rice, corn, cooking oil, and related products.
There were, last night, thousand of fires burning across Belize in preparation for the Rains and growing season. Some... ...not so easily contained, spread ... ...like wildfires across the country. These photos are of areas within one hundred feet of my home., contained only by a string of buckets filled with water, thrown on with drinking cups, and the wild swinging of machetes, into the remaining tall grasses.







Timestamped, these photos show the fire lasting twenty hours, having restarted with the morning winds, on the morrow.















They are burning my own corn, as well as my cattle pastures, and all the things I planted with more North American traditional methods.






























The Morning after...























And the ensuing hours.

Deglutition: Difficult.

Every kid, well, speaking from experience, every boy (and probably every girl) once had, thought they had, or tried to make
a cave/fort/hideout/secret place. Some never gave it up.
Some didn't have to.


This is a hole with no name. Every village, every small town has children of all ages who know where these places are.
The names they might carry are personal and unrecorded, just like the depths to which they have been explored and the depths
to which they have not.
I found these, one day. From the inside out and outside in ... ...mystery and curiosity. Every bend a milestone, every bend a footnote to the next milestone.
Thousands of caves are without names. Thousands are the former and current hideouts and secret places of once and current kids.
Thousands are the hideouts of kids yet to come. Waiting to be discovered. Looking for a secret occupant. Waiting for discovery.
Standing thousands of years in the jungles without witness
I forgot most of the terms once dangled before me. Karst. Graben. Cenotes. Some flood back when the batteries fade and the way back seems sketchy. Be Prepared. Boyscout memories seem all the more important.
Not that prepared, turning back.
Another time.
Another cave.