Sauna Times: Finnish Sauna Sayings and Language of the Sauna/Picture of sauna in MN and Finland. but not Finland, MN

Finnish sauna on shore of Lake Superior, Minnesota

sauna by lake in Finland

Finnish sauna sayings:

• In the sauna one must conduct himself as one would in church 
• The sauna is a poor man’s pharmacy 
• If a sick person is not cured by tar, spirits [alcohol] or sauna, then they will die 
• A woman looks her most beautiful after the sauna 
• All men are created equal; but nowhere more so than in a sauna 
• A house without a sauna is not a home 
• A sauna without a birch whisk is like food without salt 

Language of the sauna

• kiuas - sauna stove 
• kiuaskivet - stones in/on the sauna stove 
• loyly - steam, heat, humidity and temperature created by throwing water on hot stones 
• kiulu - water bucket, usually made of wood 
• loylykauha - ladle for throwing water on the stove 
• vihta/vasta - whisk made of fresh birch branches for beating the body to aid circulation. 
• laude - elevated platform to sit on 
• laudeliina - special towel or disposable paper for sitting on 
• lakeinen - opening in the ceiling of a smoke sauna where the smoke escapes during heating 
• saunatonttu - sauna elf who, if you behave badly in the sauna, will become angry and burn it down 

See more at: http://www.saunatimes.com/category/articles/#sthash.3izr8IdY.dpuf

William Faulkner's "An Odor of Verbena" allusion, narrative style, and eternal verities

Link to William Faulkner's: "An Odor of Verbena" pdf.via aculty.weber.edu/

One allusion Faulkner uses in this short story, is from the Bible:

Matthew 26:52 New International Version (NIV)
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword."

Allusion and other italicized parts the story:

"Who lives by the sword shall die by it..."(Faulkner 214).

"At last it has happened" (Faulkner 214).

"At least this will be the chance to find out if I am what I think I am or if I just hope; if I am going to do what I taught myself is right or if I am just going to wish I were..."(Faulkner 215).

This story speaks to the "eternal" verities of the past, which leads me to think about the teachings in Faulkner's writings.
Faulkner's story is set in Mississippi, and takes place in the post Civil War Deep South. His vocabulary is amazing, with words like "presentiment", interwoven with concise and tension filled dialogue. The story also contains a common element of Faulknerian writing, which can be very disorientating, but also attractive over time; Faulkner's stories jump from past to present and blend these elements in a way that makes it all seems to morph together into the author's myopic dream vision perspectives of past occurrences and their effects on the present. This vision, which was fueled by large amounts of bourbon, horse back riding, and sitting on country porches slinging hunting stories, make the writer and his work classic.

"Advice From Artists on How to Overcome Creative Block": by Maria Popova via dailygood.org

I was just thinking about the great things associated with good news, in sharp contrast to the gossip, and bad news following celebrities, and professional athletes, the stuff usually shown in the media. 

I found this site posted by a friend, and I am finding it a great place to visit daily, between writing breaks, or just to take some time to reflect on good news. Good news and solutions are much more appealing than the gossip, complaints, and violent crime focused upon by the media conglomerates.

I don't watch any regular news anyway.  I read the paper, but this site is a new's source I now follow:

 

Here is one of many articles great article found at: http://www.dailygood.org/advice-from-artists-on-how-to-overcome-creative-block-maria-popova/

Here is more about the site: link to source 

About Us


DailyGood was born in 1998, when one college student started sharing inspiration with a half a dozen of his friends by sending them an enriching quote every day.

Today, DailyGood leverages the internet to promote positive and uplifting news around the world to more than 100,000 subscribers through the daily and weekly newsletters. Readers receive a news story, an inspiring quote, and a suggested action that each person can take to make a difference in their own lives and the world around them.

Often times, watching the nightly news and reading mainstream newspapers it's hard to remember the presence of good in the world. And yet it is constantly around us. The world is full of everyday heroes and true stories of transformation. They have helped sustain life down the ages in a multitude of ways, small, simple and profound. DailyGood aims to shine a light on these stories and in doing so to change the nature of our conversations. If it can spread a few smiles along the way it's purpose is served.

Our philosophy is quite simple: "Be the change that you wish to see in the world." The entire project is fully run by dedicated volunteers who contribute hundreds of hours finding the right stories and quotes. All of our content is distributed and syndicated for free. We don't advertise or promote any products. We don't ask for anything with the trust that whatever is needed will come.

And in the end, we are thankful that so many benefit from DailyGood because it gives us a meaningful opportunity to serve.

Thank you for your partnership in spreading the good.

The DailyGood Team

Zen Koan

good living...zen cabin in paradise

"Dogen Zenji's Genjo-koan Lecture (8)from here

Rev. Shohaku Okumur

Director, Soto Zen Education Center

(Text: section 9)

"When a person attains realization, it is like the moon reflecting on the water. The moon never becomes wet; the water is never destroyed. Although it is a vast and great light, it reflects itself on a small amount of water. The whole moon and even the whole sky reflects on even a drop of dew on a blade of grass, or a single tiny drop of water. Realization does not destroy the person, as the moon does not make a hole in the water. The person does not obstruct realization, as a drop of dew does not obstruct the moon in the sky. The depth is the same as the height. [In order to investigate the significance of] the length and shortness of time, we should consider whether the water is great or small, and understand the size of the moon in the sky."

Kinda hard to get my head around this koan, but many of the images, created by the writer, are amazing.

I like the analogies, and the way the elements are often referred to in these short Zen reflections and stories. They all contain lessons, but sometime it takes me a while to find the message.

Montana politician vs. a drone

Keller Williams "Bird Song"

Amazing guitar and cover of GD's "Birdsong"

Surf Video by Cyrus Sutton "A Pleasurable Experience"

Surf Film by Cyrus Sutton
I have found all of Cyrus Sutton's films to be brilliant in terms of themes, and overall direction, including his auteurs eye for the exotic, living close to the land, and surfing a variety of geographic locations. I would recommend all of his films, but this is called, "A Pleasurable Experience" by Cyrus Sutton:

Bradley's Blog : Crack The Spine: "Crack the Spine loves the writte...

Bradley's Blog : Crack The Spine: "Crack the Spine loves the writte...: I submitted four, short fictional works to this publication today:  http://www.crackthespine.com/p/current-issue.html .  Here is some inf...

Park Point, Duluth: Lake Superior wavecam/webcam via Solglimt.

Duluth MN webcam from http://www.solglimt.com/webcam/webcam.html.
This is a fun camera to use for checking the conditions on the Park Point beach. Waves break pretty well here, and it is a sand bottom, which is nice for beginners. I also like to check this camera before heading out, or to double check the other forecasting sites, and web cams.

Crack The Spine: "Crack the Spine loves the written word"

I submitted four, short fictional works to this publication today: http://www.crackthespine.com/p/current-issue.html.  Here is some information from the site about CTS:

ABOUT
Contact
Subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter
Submissions - Please review our Submission Guidelines
Advertising - See our Advertising Page
General Inquiries - Kerri Farrell Foley, Editor

Who We Are
Crack the Spine loves the written word. Some might say we're in love with the written word. But that's just a silly rumor. We publish diverse and sharp literary works, including flash fiction, micro-fiction, poetry, short stories, personal essays, and book reviews. We don't care if it's four words or four thousand words, if it's charged with artistry, we want to publish it. Given the choice, we will always select madness over method.

What We Do
Crack the Spine publishes an online digital magazine weekly. Works published online are automatically eligible to be selected for later publication in our quarterly print anthologies. If you're interested in submitting to Crack the Spine, review our submission guidelines.

Crack the Spine Literary Magazine is owned and published by Crack the Spine Press, LLC." Quoted from http://www.crackthespine.com/p/about.html.

They have a nice site, and you can read the current issue online, if you like to go on literary benders, or just want to read a good short story, I highly recommend the CTS site.