Car-chase in pre-code Hollywood Movies
Wheels were born and headed for cinema stardom as one of its greatest props rivaling even the horse for stunts, laughs and silent mayhem. Daredevils crashed through the walls and off-cliffs, they side-swiped charging locomotives, and escaped villains and entertained film fans world-wide. In this book author Raymond Lee captures some of amazing moments of cinema history during the pre-code era and also some of the later movies of 1950s a d 1960s. There are numerous black and white still pictures from movies that may thrill movie fans, especially fans of pre-code Hollywood. The Keystone cops, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy and W.C. Fields turned the break-away vehicle into pretzel. Chaplin led the parade with beautiful Edna Purviance pursued by a bad guy in the silent movies. Some of my favorite pictures include; Rudolph Valentino’s Avian Voisin (1925); the 1926 Cadillac Touring model in “Little Caesar” starring Edward G. Robinson; the 1904 Rambler; the 1907 Thomas Flyer in a Thomas Mix movie; a 1924 International Harvester Truck in the WWI epic, “Heaven on Earth” starring Polly Moran; a 1921 Rolls Royce shot in Mojave Desert starring Richard Dix; MGM Studios boss Louis B. Mayer in his 1910 Model T; Peter Sellers in his 1933 Morgan; Jimmy Durante in his 1911 Ford and numerous shots from action movies. This is a fascinating book and a must have for all movie fans interested in vintage cars.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Book Reviewed: A Dictionary of the Vedic Rituals – Based on the Srauta and Grhya Sutras by Chitrabhanu Sen
A dictionary of Vedic terms
One of the disadvantages of a dictionary such as this is that the words and terms of a Vedic ritual are dispersed owing to its alphabetic arrangement. However, the author has to make the meaning intelligible and usable by both Vedic students and scholars alike. He has to draw a distinction between the sacrificial and the non-sacrificial terms, and the dictionary has to show how an object is used in a sacrifice or how an action took place during the sacrifice. The author has done his best to take these arguments in his consideration in compiling this book. This is by no means an exhaustive dictionary but all significant terms of the ritual have been included. To a certain extent this work is based on the earlier work of Louis Renou’s “Vacabulaire du ritual Vedique.” All terms have been explained with references to Vedic and post-Vedic literature. This is very useful book for both Vedic students and ritual practitioners.
One of the disadvantages of a dictionary such as this is that the words and terms of a Vedic ritual are dispersed owing to its alphabetic arrangement. However, the author has to make the meaning intelligible and usable by both Vedic students and scholars alike. He has to draw a distinction between the sacrificial and the non-sacrificial terms, and the dictionary has to show how an object is used in a sacrifice or how an action took place during the sacrifice. The author has done his best to take these arguments in his consideration in compiling this book. This is by no means an exhaustive dictionary but all significant terms of the ritual have been included. To a certain extent this work is based on the earlier work of Louis Renou’s “Vacabulaire du ritual Vedique.” All terms have been explained with references to Vedic and post-Vedic literature. This is very useful book for both Vedic students and ritual practitioners.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Book Reviewed: Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved, by Darren Naish and Paul Barrett
A grand tour of the Jurassic park and the prehistoric creatures
Dinosaurs are one of the most interesting group of creatures that appeared in Triassic period around 230 million years ago. They dominated the planet during the Jurassic (201 to 145 million years ago) and Cretaceous periods (145 to 66 million years ago). These creatures occupied every landmass during this vast period and evolved into thousands of species. During the last decade at least one new species has been identified and named every year, greatly improving our knowledge about these species. Even the existing theories that explain the demise of these ferocious creatures have been questioned based on recent geological and archeological studies, and alternative ideas are on the table. A brief discussion about demise of dinosaurs is found in chapter 6, entitled “The great extinction and beyond.”
In this book, the authors trace the history, origins, and family-tree using anatomy, biology, ecology and behavior of dinosaurs. Many creatures of this period are not completely extinct but exist in the form of certain reptilian species like alligators, crocodiles, turtles and tortoises. Many of these creatures grew smaller due to the environmental and survival challenges posed by the geological splitting of the continents from one supercontinent. When dinosaurs first appeared 230 million years ago there was one supercontinent called Pangaea, which stretched from north to south and surrounded by one gigantic ocean. About 150 million years ago, the continents started to split. At around 90 million years ago, South America, India and Australasia were separated from Antarctica. These geological movements brought forth new shorelines and impacted the climate. These planetary changes offered new environmental and ecological challenges to living species which changed the direction of the adaptation, survival and evolution.
There is also a very good discussion in the fifth chapter entitled “The origin of birds,” that discusses how the “flying” dinosaurs evolved into birds. I found this chapter extremely interesting and illuminating. This book is easy to read and no significant knowledge in biology is required. All illustrations and fossil photographs are in black and white. Readers interested in current developments in the field of dinosaurs may find this useful, since the book has a good deal of information from recent excavations and discovery of new dinosaur sites. I recommend this book to readers interested in the ancient history of dinosaurs, paleontology and fossil studies. It is an effortless reading.
Dinosaurs are one of the most interesting group of creatures that appeared in Triassic period around 230 million years ago. They dominated the planet during the Jurassic (201 to 145 million years ago) and Cretaceous periods (145 to 66 million years ago). These creatures occupied every landmass during this vast period and evolved into thousands of species. During the last decade at least one new species has been identified and named every year, greatly improving our knowledge about these species. Even the existing theories that explain the demise of these ferocious creatures have been questioned based on recent geological and archeological studies, and alternative ideas are on the table. A brief discussion about demise of dinosaurs is found in chapter 6, entitled “The great extinction and beyond.”
In this book, the authors trace the history, origins, and family-tree using anatomy, biology, ecology and behavior of dinosaurs. Many creatures of this period are not completely extinct but exist in the form of certain reptilian species like alligators, crocodiles, turtles and tortoises. Many of these creatures grew smaller due to the environmental and survival challenges posed by the geological splitting of the continents from one supercontinent. When dinosaurs first appeared 230 million years ago there was one supercontinent called Pangaea, which stretched from north to south and surrounded by one gigantic ocean. About 150 million years ago, the continents started to split. At around 90 million years ago, South America, India and Australasia were separated from Antarctica. These geological movements brought forth new shorelines and impacted the climate. These planetary changes offered new environmental and ecological challenges to living species which changed the direction of the adaptation, survival and evolution.
There is also a very good discussion in the fifth chapter entitled “The origin of birds,” that discusses how the “flying” dinosaurs evolved into birds. I found this chapter extremely interesting and illuminating. This book is easy to read and no significant knowledge in biology is required. All illustrations and fossil photographs are in black and white. Readers interested in current developments in the field of dinosaurs may find this useful, since the book has a good deal of information from recent excavations and discovery of new dinosaur sites. I recommend this book to readers interested in the ancient history of dinosaurs, paleontology and fossil studies. It is an effortless reading.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Book Reviewed: In Trump We Trust: The New American Revolution by Ann Coulter
Trump puts America first
No one is capable of expressing their mind better than Ann Coulter. She cares more about America and justice than any other journalists. Her blogs, her tweets and her books are the best illustrators of her mind, and this book is no different. She is a lone fighter among grifters, hacks, losers and liberals. In this book, the 12-time New York Times bestselling author has rocked the world of journalism.
Ann Coulter has been a staunch supporter of Donald Trump and the first one to point out that his foreign policy is the best since it is designed on "America First" model. “Americans must know that we’re putting the American people first again,” Trump said. In his foreign policy speech, he warned that "On trade, on immigration, on foreign policy, the jobs, incomes and security of the American worker will always be my first priority.” His foreign policy would replace "randomness with purpose,” “ideology with strategy” and “chaos with peace." His mantra is simple; less immigration, especially from Islamic countries, revise trade deals and alliances, and resurrect America as the global leader.
Author Ann Coulter has a unique style of writing. It is an insight into the American political machinery in which both political parties have become immensely corrupt and care more about themselves and political correctness than what is truly needed to make America great again. She makes a definitive case for Donald Trump with all fairness, candor and vigor. She speaks for the silent majority, and unwilling to accept when the country is taken over by lawlessness, Islam and political thuggery. In this book she argues that she will defend and promote the position of a Donald Trump supporter; if you’re not Trump’s supporter, she says that she might just change your mind. It is highly insightful, with skillful arguments and political facts.
No one is capable of expressing their mind better than Ann Coulter. She cares more about America and justice than any other journalists. Her blogs, her tweets and her books are the best illustrators of her mind, and this book is no different. She is a lone fighter among grifters, hacks, losers and liberals. In this book, the 12-time New York Times bestselling author has rocked the world of journalism.
Ann Coulter has been a staunch supporter of Donald Trump and the first one to point out that his foreign policy is the best since it is designed on "America First" model. “Americans must know that we’re putting the American people first again,” Trump said. In his foreign policy speech, he warned that "On trade, on immigration, on foreign policy, the jobs, incomes and security of the American worker will always be my first priority.” His foreign policy would replace "randomness with purpose,” “ideology with strategy” and “chaos with peace." His mantra is simple; less immigration, especially from Islamic countries, revise trade deals and alliances, and resurrect America as the global leader.
Author Ann Coulter has a unique style of writing. It is an insight into the American political machinery in which both political parties have become immensely corrupt and care more about themselves and political correctness than what is truly needed to make America great again. She makes a definitive case for Donald Trump with all fairness, candor and vigor. She speaks for the silent majority, and unwilling to accept when the country is taken over by lawlessness, Islam and political thuggery. In this book she argues that she will defend and promote the position of a Donald Trump supporter; if you’re not Trump’s supporter, she says that she might just change your mind. It is highly insightful, with skillful arguments and political facts.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Book Reviewed: Illustrated dictionary of Vedic rituals by H.G. Ranade
The Vedic Ritual: A concordance to the terms used in ritual practices
This book reviews the words and tools used in the practice of various Vedic rituals. It does not offer any details about the ritual itself but written as a guide/dictionary/concordance for the terms. Imagery and symbols of ritual items have been used wherever necessary to illustrate the significance.
The author classifies the Vedic ritual into three broad categories; obligatory (nitya), incidental (naimittika) and optional (kamya). The obligatory rituals include Agnadheya, Agnihotra (daily), Chaturmasya (four-monthly (season-wise)), Darsapurnamasa (fortnightly), Agrayana, Sautramani and Pasubandha (animal sacrifice). The annual Soma sacrifice is also classified as an obligatory sacrifice. Incidental rites are perfomed if some deficiencies were found in the prior sacrificial procedures. Rites may also be performed for the fulfillment of specific desires.
A sacrifice can have any one of the three offerings; Havir-yajna (ghee), Soma-yajna (Soma juice) and Pasu-yajna (animals). The Vedic sacrifices require three constituents; the oblatory material (dravya) to be offered; the divinity (devata) to whom the offering is made; and the act of offering (tyaga), (Katyayana Srautasutra 1.2.1.).
Generally, the sacred fire is set up first and this is followed by other sacrifices. There are numerous requirements and procedures that are followed for each sacrifice, but the scope of this book precludes the author to go into any detail.
This book is a modest improvement over the prior works, which contains about 5000 entries. There are extensive references to Vedas, Brahmanas and other ancient literature. Prior works include; Srautapadarta Nirvacana (1931) edited by Joshi, Vocabulaire du Rituel Vedique by Louis Renou (1954) and the Dictionary of Vedic Ritual by Chitrabanu Sen (1978).
I found some meaningful discussion of sacrifice terms such as; Amsu, Agni-Cayana, Apri, Rtvij, Purodasa, Yajamana, etc. At the end of the book, the author gives diagrammatic sketches of the sacrificial altars for Sautramani Sacrifice, Pasubandha Sacrifice and a few others. Vedic sacrifices and many ritual practices are almost extinct in India, and animal sacrifices are forbidden by law. The Agin-cayana sacrifice performed in Kerala by Namboodiri Brahmins in the last century used effigy of goats instead of the actual animal.
This book reviews the words and tools used in the practice of various Vedic rituals. It does not offer any details about the ritual itself but written as a guide/dictionary/concordance for the terms. Imagery and symbols of ritual items have been used wherever necessary to illustrate the significance.
The author classifies the Vedic ritual into three broad categories; obligatory (nitya), incidental (naimittika) and optional (kamya). The obligatory rituals include Agnadheya, Agnihotra (daily), Chaturmasya (four-monthly (season-wise)), Darsapurnamasa (fortnightly), Agrayana, Sautramani and Pasubandha (animal sacrifice). The annual Soma sacrifice is also classified as an obligatory sacrifice. Incidental rites are perfomed if some deficiencies were found in the prior sacrificial procedures. Rites may also be performed for the fulfillment of specific desires.
A sacrifice can have any one of the three offerings; Havir-yajna (ghee), Soma-yajna (Soma juice) and Pasu-yajna (animals). The Vedic sacrifices require three constituents; the oblatory material (dravya) to be offered; the divinity (devata) to whom the offering is made; and the act of offering (tyaga), (Katyayana Srautasutra 1.2.1.).
Generally, the sacred fire is set up first and this is followed by other sacrifices. There are numerous requirements and procedures that are followed for each sacrifice, but the scope of this book precludes the author to go into any detail.
This book is a modest improvement over the prior works, which contains about 5000 entries. There are extensive references to Vedas, Brahmanas and other ancient literature. Prior works include; Srautapadarta Nirvacana (1931) edited by Joshi, Vocabulaire du Rituel Vedique by Louis Renou (1954) and the Dictionary of Vedic Ritual by Chitrabanu Sen (1978).
I found some meaningful discussion of sacrifice terms such as; Amsu, Agni-Cayana, Apri, Rtvij, Purodasa, Yajamana, etc. At the end of the book, the author gives diagrammatic sketches of the sacrificial altars for Sautramani Sacrifice, Pasubandha Sacrifice and a few others. Vedic sacrifices and many ritual practices are almost extinct in India, and animal sacrifices are forbidden by law. The Agin-cayana sacrifice performed in Kerala by Namboodiri Brahmins in the last century used effigy of goats instead of the actual animal.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Book Reviewed: Roman Palmyra by Andrew M. Smith II
The ancient Palmyra: A rich culture lost in the desert
This is a well-organized book that discusses the ancient history of Palmyra located in Syria. In 2015, this city drew considerable attention due to the destruction of its historic strictures by the Islamic State.
The author discusses several key issues related to the growth and development of Palmyra which includes; growth of the local tribes, tribal and family structure, urban development, the city and countryside, Palmyra as a religious and economic center, mapping social identities, the civic institutions, the military, trade and foreign services. This is a short focused book, well researched and readable. Helps one to understand the current situation in Palmyra from a historical perspective.
A brief summary of the book is as follows: Palmyra is well known for the ancient Temple of Bel also known as the Temple of Baal. This was consecrated to the Mesopotamian god Bel, worshipped at Palmyra in triad with the lunar god Aglibol and the sun god Yarhibol. This ancient city formed the center of religious life in Palmyra since 32 A.D. At the height of its prosperity, the population in the region may have reached around 150,000 to 200,000 in second century A.D. But the city population may have been from 40,000 to 60,000 people. Palmyra attracted large number of migrants from nearby regions for its shared religious association and the economic opportunity. In the early days, Palmyrenes had formed an expansive commercial and social network that extended from Rome to South Asia. They were buying exotic goods from India such as silk, aromatics, and spices and reselling them to Romans. For almost three centuries, Palmyrenes never lost their cultural integrity and distinctiveness. The Roman Empire progressively increased their influence on Palmyra from the first century A.D. In the third century A.D. Palmyra became a Roman city and brought into Roman provincial network. It was granted the institutional status of colonia. The historic monuments and structures at Palmyra withstood the ravages of war during Roman Era, invasions from Parthian Empire and Persians. Yet it retained its cultural identity for 2000 years, but it did not withstand the onslaught of Islamic militants. The region had become Islamic during the first millennia when much of the Arabic tribes in the Middle East became Islamic. Although the region was active from 32 B.C to the end of third century A.D. The archeological evidence does not show any influence of early Christianity on Palmyrenes although Palmyra was only about 250 miles from Jerusalem.
The ruins of Palmyra were considered best among the preserved monuments and structures until they were destroyed by the Islamic State in August 2015. In a push of ethnic and religious cleansing, the cultural diversity and religious tolerance that once stood for nearly two thousand years in Syria were annihilated.
This book includes many pictures of the ancient city; the plan of city of Palmyra, the aerial picture of the city covering all the ancient architectural ruins, and the temple of god Bel; the Great Colonnade, the sanctuary of Bel in the temple precinct, sanctuary of Baalshamin, the temple of Allat and the Great Colonnade leading to the temple of Bel, the monumental arch of the colonnade, aerial view of the Valley of Tombs, various assortments of Palmyrene tesserae that includes a priest of god Bel. My favorite pictures are the aerial shots of the ancient city; they are simply spectacular. All the pictures in this book are black and white; I wished they were in color. But the color pictures are available online, just Google search or look in Pinterest, there are many great pictures of the ruins of Palmyra.
This is a well-organized book that discusses the ancient history of Palmyra located in Syria. In 2015, this city drew considerable attention due to the destruction of its historic strictures by the Islamic State.
The author discusses several key issues related to the growth and development of Palmyra which includes; growth of the local tribes, tribal and family structure, urban development, the city and countryside, Palmyra as a religious and economic center, mapping social identities, the civic institutions, the military, trade and foreign services. This is a short focused book, well researched and readable. Helps one to understand the current situation in Palmyra from a historical perspective.
A brief summary of the book is as follows: Palmyra is well known for the ancient Temple of Bel also known as the Temple of Baal. This was consecrated to the Mesopotamian god Bel, worshipped at Palmyra in triad with the lunar god Aglibol and the sun god Yarhibol. This ancient city formed the center of religious life in Palmyra since 32 A.D. At the height of its prosperity, the population in the region may have reached around 150,000 to 200,000 in second century A.D. But the city population may have been from 40,000 to 60,000 people. Palmyra attracted large number of migrants from nearby regions for its shared religious association and the economic opportunity. In the early days, Palmyrenes had formed an expansive commercial and social network that extended from Rome to South Asia. They were buying exotic goods from India such as silk, aromatics, and spices and reselling them to Romans. For almost three centuries, Palmyrenes never lost their cultural integrity and distinctiveness. The Roman Empire progressively increased their influence on Palmyra from the first century A.D. In the third century A.D. Palmyra became a Roman city and brought into Roman provincial network. It was granted the institutional status of colonia. The historic monuments and structures at Palmyra withstood the ravages of war during Roman Era, invasions from Parthian Empire and Persians. Yet it retained its cultural identity for 2000 years, but it did not withstand the onslaught of Islamic militants. The region had become Islamic during the first millennia when much of the Arabic tribes in the Middle East became Islamic. Although the region was active from 32 B.C to the end of third century A.D. The archeological evidence does not show any influence of early Christianity on Palmyrenes although Palmyra was only about 250 miles from Jerusalem.
The ruins of Palmyra were considered best among the preserved monuments and structures until they were destroyed by the Islamic State in August 2015. In a push of ethnic and religious cleansing, the cultural diversity and religious tolerance that once stood for nearly two thousand years in Syria were annihilated.
This book includes many pictures of the ancient city; the plan of city of Palmyra, the aerial picture of the city covering all the ancient architectural ruins, and the temple of god Bel; the Great Colonnade, the sanctuary of Bel in the temple precinct, sanctuary of Baalshamin, the temple of Allat and the Great Colonnade leading to the temple of Bel, the monumental arch of the colonnade, aerial view of the Valley of Tombs, various assortments of Palmyrene tesserae that includes a priest of god Bel. My favorite pictures are the aerial shots of the ancient city; they are simply spectacular. All the pictures in this book are black and white; I wished they were in color. But the color pictures are available online, just Google search or look in Pinterest, there are many great pictures of the ruins of Palmyra.
Book Reviewed: Sacrificed wife/Sacrificer’s wife by Stephanie W. Jamison
The role of women in Vedic India
In this book entitled “Sacrificed Wife and Sacrificer’ s Wife, UCLA Professor Stephanie Jamieson examines the role of women in Vedic India by focusing mainly on sacrificial hymns of Rig Veda and Rig-Veda Brahmanas. She observes that the Vedic woman was “the bearer of all paradox,” as both sacrificer and sacrificed; giver and given in a ritual, both subject and object. In short, Vedic women were unfairly treated in a male dominated society. Stephanie Jamieson’s analysis of ancient India that goes back to as early 1600 BCE questions her objectivity and understanding of a different culture. She has interpreted a few selected verses from sacrificial literature to support her preconceived ideas. Jamieson is an American woman of 21st century and selecting few verses from Vedic literature out of the context diminishes its significance and leads to erroneous conclusions. Her views about women in Vedic rituals is not coherent with other ancient Indian literature or other historical evidences. The ethnographic and cultural information indicate that women were strong and significant actors within their families and in their communities. This book does not consider other Vedic texts where women had the same rights as men. The cultural norms, strong family values and adherence to moral conduct supports the dominant role of women as matriarchs of the family. For example, in Rig-Veda women were worshipped as goddesses which includes Sarasvati, Ushas, Aditi, Saranya, Aranyi, Nirrti, and Ila. There were several Vedic poets like Lopamudra, the symbol of beauty and brains. She first appears in Rigveda (Rig-Veda 1:179), and later in the Mahabharata and Giridhara Ramayana. She is described as extraordinarily beautiful as well as intelligent. She was known to be a philosopher on par with other women of ancient India like Gargi, Maitreyi and Ghosha. Urvashi, a celestial Apsara and the wife of Purūrava is perennially youthful, infinitely charming and a source as much of delight.
Mystical elements are associated with sacrificial performance of Vedic culture. This ritual was believed to please the Vedic gods and bless the performer with strength. Thus sacrifice is deemed as a wheel for generating the power, and everything connected to a sacrifice has a symbolic meaning. Behind the external ceremony, there is an inner sanctum in which the sacrificer offers his material possessions to the higher powers with full devotion and dedication. It is a self-consecration with Agni who witnesses this journey to the inner sanctum.
In her introduction, the author exhibits pessimism about focusing only on texts and no other evidence. She notes that other specialists in the field did not share her enthusiasm in interpreting few sacrificial hymns out of context to conclude about Vedic women’s status. This book is written mainly from a modern feminist perspective with very little regard for the culture that existed in Vedic period. Men were dominant not only in India, but also in Israel, Greece and Rome. All these cultures were male dominated and most religious and non-religious materials were written by men. For example, women did not participate in ancient Jewish traditions and their roles were limited where all the scribes and interpreters of Hebrew literature were men. In the book “Women in Ancient Greece,” author Susan Blundell observes that women were excluded from any public role in a male dominated Greek society. In “Woman at the Window: Biblical Tales of Oppression and Escape,” UConn Professor Nehama Aschkenasy, after studying the lives of concubine, Dinah, Michal, Abigail, and Tamar during Biblical times, makes a similar conclusion that the early Hebrew culture denied women’s rights with social and legal limitations.
In part II and III, the author examines a wife’s participation in ritual during the middle Vedic period, and the woman’s relationship with her husband and the Vedic deity of the ritual. Their functional roles in Vedic ceremony, the construction of forces, gods and divine powers described in Vedic literature. There is extensive discussion of the ceremonial practices of Ashvamedha, Soma, and Rajasuya sacrifices. In the final two parts, she explores are the practices of hospitality and gift exchange (part IV) and marriage (part V) relevant to the performance of the sacrifice.
In this book entitled “Sacrificed Wife and Sacrificer’ s Wife, UCLA Professor Stephanie Jamieson examines the role of women in Vedic India by focusing mainly on sacrificial hymns of Rig Veda and Rig-Veda Brahmanas. She observes that the Vedic woman was “the bearer of all paradox,” as both sacrificer and sacrificed; giver and given in a ritual, both subject and object. In short, Vedic women were unfairly treated in a male dominated society. Stephanie Jamieson’s analysis of ancient India that goes back to as early 1600 BCE questions her objectivity and understanding of a different culture. She has interpreted a few selected verses from sacrificial literature to support her preconceived ideas. Jamieson is an American woman of 21st century and selecting few verses from Vedic literature out of the context diminishes its significance and leads to erroneous conclusions. Her views about women in Vedic rituals is not coherent with other ancient Indian literature or other historical evidences. The ethnographic and cultural information indicate that women were strong and significant actors within their families and in their communities. This book does not consider other Vedic texts where women had the same rights as men. The cultural norms, strong family values and adherence to moral conduct supports the dominant role of women as matriarchs of the family. For example, in Rig-Veda women were worshipped as goddesses which includes Sarasvati, Ushas, Aditi, Saranya, Aranyi, Nirrti, and Ila. There were several Vedic poets like Lopamudra, the symbol of beauty and brains. She first appears in Rigveda (Rig-Veda 1:179), and later in the Mahabharata and Giridhara Ramayana. She is described as extraordinarily beautiful as well as intelligent. She was known to be a philosopher on par with other women of ancient India like Gargi, Maitreyi and Ghosha. Urvashi, a celestial Apsara and the wife of Purūrava is perennially youthful, infinitely charming and a source as much of delight.
Mystical elements are associated with sacrificial performance of Vedic culture. This ritual was believed to please the Vedic gods and bless the performer with strength. Thus sacrifice is deemed as a wheel for generating the power, and everything connected to a sacrifice has a symbolic meaning. Behind the external ceremony, there is an inner sanctum in which the sacrificer offers his material possessions to the higher powers with full devotion and dedication. It is a self-consecration with Agni who witnesses this journey to the inner sanctum.
In her introduction, the author exhibits pessimism about focusing only on texts and no other evidence. She notes that other specialists in the field did not share her enthusiasm in interpreting few sacrificial hymns out of context to conclude about Vedic women’s status. This book is written mainly from a modern feminist perspective with very little regard for the culture that existed in Vedic period. Men were dominant not only in India, but also in Israel, Greece and Rome. All these cultures were male dominated and most religious and non-religious materials were written by men. For example, women did not participate in ancient Jewish traditions and their roles were limited where all the scribes and interpreters of Hebrew literature were men. In the book “Women in Ancient Greece,” author Susan Blundell observes that women were excluded from any public role in a male dominated Greek society. In “Woman at the Window: Biblical Tales of Oppression and Escape,” UConn Professor Nehama Aschkenasy, after studying the lives of concubine, Dinah, Michal, Abigail, and Tamar during Biblical times, makes a similar conclusion that the early Hebrew culture denied women’s rights with social and legal limitations.
In part II and III, the author examines a wife’s participation in ritual during the middle Vedic period, and the woman’s relationship with her husband and the Vedic deity of the ritual. Their functional roles in Vedic ceremony, the construction of forces, gods and divine powers described in Vedic literature. There is extensive discussion of the ceremonial practices of Ashvamedha, Soma, and Rajasuya sacrifices. In the final two parts, she explores are the practices of hospitality and gift exchange (part IV) and marriage (part V) relevant to the performance of the sacrifice.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Book Reviewed: How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight, by Julian Guthrie
An odyssey to encourage and promote privately financed space exploration
This is an outstanding story of a few who dreamed big and remained focused in putting a private spacecraft into the space. This was a big dream when it was first thought, but the efforts and persistence of an individual like Peter Diamandis made this dream a reality. Author Julian Guthrie has done a fascinating job of documenting everything associated with this adventure. There is suspense, drama, initial setbacks and final success in making the dream come true. This is a very engaging and highly readable story.
A brief summary of the book is as follows: In 1996, entrepreneur Peter Diamandis offered a $10-million prize (XPRIZE) to the first privately financed team that could build and fly 62 miles into space. The contest, later titled the Ansari XPRIZE for Suborbital Spaceflight motivated 26 teams. The prize was finally won by the team using a spacecraft called SpaceShipOne. The prize was shared 50-50 between Burt Rutan’s Company and Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation. Currently this spacecraft is on display at the National Mall in Washington D.C. at Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
The first XPRIZE – the Ansari XPRIZE – was inspired by the Orteig Prize, a $25,000 prize offered in 1919 for the first nonstop flight between New York City and Paris. Charles Lindbergh won the prize in a modified single-engine Ryan aircraft called the Spirit of St. Louis in 1927. There were tough obstacles in the path of this crazy idea, because even the world’s largest governments hadn’t succeeded in building reusable manned spacecraft and Peter did not have a clue how he will generate ten million dollar prize money. His friend Burt Ruttan brainstormed about the most vexing part of human space flight, the holy grail of manned missions and returning to earth successfully. The thought of presenting his ideas to Paul Allen came to him during one of the meetings with Peter Diamandis. When news broke, The First USA Bank, anticipating significant revenue from XPRIZE cards, offered $5 million of the total $10 million prize money on certain stipulations. NASA, FAA, rocket designers and aviation experts were perplexed and also enthusiastic when Diamandis announced his plan on May 18, 1996.
Chapter 27 entitled “Flirting with Calamity,” and Chapter 31 entitled “Rocketing the Redemption” describes the exciting moments in the history of private space exploration documenting the details of the success of the actual flights above the Mojave Desert in California, and subsequent call to congratulate the team by President George Bush aboard Air Force One. The book also documents interesting stories behind the other unsuccessful attempts by several teams from United States and other countries. There are four stories in particular that author discusses in detail and they themselves make fascinating stories despite their failure. They include the attempts made by John Carmack of United States, Dumitru Popescu from Romania, Pablo de Leon from Argentina, and Steve Bennett from United Kingdom.
On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne made the first privately funded human spaceflight. On October 4, it won the US$10 million Ansari X Prize, by reaching 62 miles in altitude twice in a two-week period with the equivalent of three people on board and with no more than ten percent of the non-fuel weight of the spacecraft replaced between flights. Development costs were estimated to be $25 million, largely financed by Paul Allen.
The XPRIZE has created several private space exploration pioneers that include; Jim Akkerman, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin made strides in developing suborbital spacecrafts using reusable spacecrafts at a relatively low-cost. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to fly cargo resupply missions to International Space Station. Peter Diamandis became the founder of XPRIZE foundation and currently offering $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE for a privately owned spacecraft to land a robot on the Moon, travel 500 meters on the surface and beam the video back to earth.
This is tremendous amount of effort by a single individual who dreamed big, achieved success and now helping others to travel to space and beyond. A real fascinating story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
This is an outstanding story of a few who dreamed big and remained focused in putting a private spacecraft into the space. This was a big dream when it was first thought, but the efforts and persistence of an individual like Peter Diamandis made this dream a reality. Author Julian Guthrie has done a fascinating job of documenting everything associated with this adventure. There is suspense, drama, initial setbacks and final success in making the dream come true. This is a very engaging and highly readable story.
A brief summary of the book is as follows: In 1996, entrepreneur Peter Diamandis offered a $10-million prize (XPRIZE) to the first privately financed team that could build and fly 62 miles into space. The contest, later titled the Ansari XPRIZE for Suborbital Spaceflight motivated 26 teams. The prize was finally won by the team using a spacecraft called SpaceShipOne. The prize was shared 50-50 between Burt Rutan’s Company and Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation. Currently this spacecraft is on display at the National Mall in Washington D.C. at Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
The first XPRIZE – the Ansari XPRIZE – was inspired by the Orteig Prize, a $25,000 prize offered in 1919 for the first nonstop flight between New York City and Paris. Charles Lindbergh won the prize in a modified single-engine Ryan aircraft called the Spirit of St. Louis in 1927. There were tough obstacles in the path of this crazy idea, because even the world’s largest governments hadn’t succeeded in building reusable manned spacecraft and Peter did not have a clue how he will generate ten million dollar prize money. His friend Burt Ruttan brainstormed about the most vexing part of human space flight, the holy grail of manned missions and returning to earth successfully. The thought of presenting his ideas to Paul Allen came to him during one of the meetings with Peter Diamandis. When news broke, The First USA Bank, anticipating significant revenue from XPRIZE cards, offered $5 million of the total $10 million prize money on certain stipulations. NASA, FAA, rocket designers and aviation experts were perplexed and also enthusiastic when Diamandis announced his plan on May 18, 1996.
Chapter 27 entitled “Flirting with Calamity,” and Chapter 31 entitled “Rocketing the Redemption” describes the exciting moments in the history of private space exploration documenting the details of the success of the actual flights above the Mojave Desert in California, and subsequent call to congratulate the team by President George Bush aboard Air Force One. The book also documents interesting stories behind the other unsuccessful attempts by several teams from United States and other countries. There are four stories in particular that author discusses in detail and they themselves make fascinating stories despite their failure. They include the attempts made by John Carmack of United States, Dumitru Popescu from Romania, Pablo de Leon from Argentina, and Steve Bennett from United Kingdom.
On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne made the first privately funded human spaceflight. On October 4, it won the US$10 million Ansari X Prize, by reaching 62 miles in altitude twice in a two-week period with the equivalent of three people on board and with no more than ten percent of the non-fuel weight of the spacecraft replaced between flights. Development costs were estimated to be $25 million, largely financed by Paul Allen.
The XPRIZE has created several private space exploration pioneers that include; Jim Akkerman, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin made strides in developing suborbital spacecrafts using reusable spacecrafts at a relatively low-cost. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to fly cargo resupply missions to International Space Station. Peter Diamandis became the founder of XPRIZE foundation and currently offering $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE for a privately owned spacecraft to land a robot on the Moon, travel 500 meters on the surface and beam the video back to earth.
This is tremendous amount of effort by a single individual who dreamed big, achieved success and now helping others to travel to space and beyond. A real fascinating story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
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