Premonition

I liked this movie. I was able to follow what was happening and eventually put all the pieces together. Very interesting and intriguing premise. Even the main character (played by Sandra Bullock) eventually figures out what is happening and is better able to manage her confusion. I don't want to tell any more than that because following along and trying to figure out what's going on and what might happen next is what makes the movie interesting.

Mystery Of The Ark Of The Covenant

(I originally wrote and posted this to my previous blog 03/13/2007.)

Reading: YirmeYahu (Jeremiah) 52

This last chapter of YirmeYahu is a sad one with the destruction of the temple and Yerushalayim and the execution of many of the leaders of Yehudah by the sovereign of Babel.

The army of Babel ransacked the temple and took all the items of gold, silver and bronze. But notably missing from the plunder is the ark of the covenant. In the book of 2 Maccabees (part of the Apocrypha), we are told that YirmeYahu hid the ark of the covenant:

2Ma 2:4 It was also contained in the same writing, that the prophet, being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God.
2Ma 2:5 And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door.
2Ma 2:6 And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it.
2Ma 2:7 Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy.
There are other clues as to how the ark may have been hidden.

1Ki 7:8 And the house where he was to dwell, in the other courtyard, within the hall was of like workmanship. And Shelomoh made a house like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken.

Shelomoh (Solomon) married Pharaoh's daughter. Could it be that he made this alliance in order to obtain the secrets of the building of the pyramids with all of their underground networks and chambers? If he obtained the technology of Mitsrayim (Egypt), perhaps he used it in the building of the temple on the temple mount.

Another clue is the 'before' and 'after' pictures of the two columns of bronze. Here is the 'before' picture of the two columns when they are built:

1Ki 7:15 And he cast two columns of bronze, each one eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each.
1Ki 7:16 And he made two capitals of cast bronze, to put on the tops of the columns - the height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits -

Here is the 'after' picture of the two columns when the army of Babel destroyed the temple:

2Ki 25:16 The bronze of all these utensils was beyond measure - the two columns, the one Sea, and the stands, which Shelomoh had made for the House of יהוה.
2Ki 25:17 The height of one column was eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. And the height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. And the second column was the same, with a network.

The height of the capitals is initially 5 cubits, but when the plunderers take them away, the capitals are only 3 cubits tall. What happened to the other 2 cubits? One theory is that these hollow columns housed lever-type machinery to facilitate the lowering of the ark of the covenant into a hidden chamber under the temple.

There is one problem, though. In YirmeYahu's listing of the items taken from the temple during its destruction, he describes the capitals as being 5 cubits tall--the same measurement as when they were originally made:

Jer 52:20 The two columns, one Sea, the twelve bronze bulls which were under it, and the stands, which Sovereign Shelomoh had made for the House of יהוה - the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weighing.
Jer 52:21 As for the columns, the height of one column was eighteen cubits, and its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, hollow.
Jer 52:22 And a capital of bronze was on it. And the height of one capital was five cubits, with a network and pomegranates all around the capital, all of bronze. And the second column, with pomegranates was the same.

What occurred to me is that if YirmeYahu did facilitate the hiding of the ark of the covenant and if that hiding was done through some secret involving those two columns and their capitals, it would make sense for him to use the original measurements in his description rather than give away the secret.

Perhaps one day we will know what happened to the ark of the covenant. Maybe it will be as the writer of Maccabees quotes YirmeYahu--"it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy."

Shining Star, Part 4

Shining Star is coming right along. I'm still concerned about the final size, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I do like the way the alternating of the colors is working, and that's helping to keep my interest up since it is row after row of single crochet, which tends to get boring. Because of the boredom factor, I am tempted to switch to one of my other projects at least for a little while, but I really want to get this done and not have to rush at the last minute before the baby shower, so I'm forcing myself to stick with it.

Friday's Feast 194

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Friday's Feast is taking the day off for the holiday, so I'm going to do an earlier edition.

Appetizer
If you could live on another continent for 1 year, which one would you choose?

I would want to live in Israel, so the continent would be Asia.

Soup
Which browser do you use to surf the Internet?

Internet Explorer.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you know about the history of your country?

I'd put myself at 7 or 8 on that. I've always enjoyed reading about history.

Main Course
Finish this sentence: Love is…

giving without expecting anything in return.

Dessert
Have you ever been in or near a tornado?

Yes, a couple of times, but they were minor.

Last Night's TV

So You Think You Can Dance: I haven't gotten to the point of having any favorite dancers yet. My favorite dance of the week was the Paso Doble (if I'm spelling that right) by Kherington and Twitch. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Paso Doble is one of my favorite dances, so as long as the couple does a competent job, it will probably end up being my favorite dance of the night.

On last night's elimination show, there was a performance by a guy who auditioned and then later decided he preferred to continue what he was doing (I think he was a successful street performer in Venice, California) rather than continue with the show. I didn't like the way Nigel kept picking on the guy for quitting. That was really uncomfortable. If you're going to invite someone to be on your show, at least be a gracious host to your guest.

Fear Itself: This show has the creepiest intro! The episodes have been kind of hit and miss. Last week's serial killer wedding episode was definitely a miss--terrible acting! Last night's episode in the police station was rather lame. We were mostly making fun of it, and I got a lot of crocheting done since it wasn't mesmerizing and was very predictable. To the laugh factor was added that this police station seemed to have hardly any weapons, no back-up generator, no flashlights and no police personnel checking in.

Last Comic Standing: My favorite of the night was Marcus. I was laughing out loud through most of his routine. I could have done without Richard Belzer's pontification about and denunciation of making fun of stereotypes, especially when he turned right around and said it was okay to make fun of stereotypes if it was your own in regard to the Korean girl. He really didn't need to do all that preaching since the audience had already panned the guy, and the biggest problem the guy had as a comic was that he simply was not funny.

12 And Holding

I did not like the ending of this movie. I did like the storyline with the fat kid, and there were some funny parts, but overall it tended to be sad and dark. Even so, I didn't think the ending was consistent with the rest of the movie, which wasn't nearly as sad and dark as the ending. I suppose the whole thing could have been worse. It did pass the 30-minute test, but I can't give it much more praise than that.

Shining Star, Part 3

The third set of diamonds or points has been started. I'm a little concerned because in measuring the radius from the center to the tip of the first point in this third set is only about 14 inches, which points to a diameter of 28 inches once this third set of diamonds/points is complete.

This concerns me because all that's left to do after that is to fill in the spaces between these white points with lilac to make it into a circle shape and then finishing with a 2-round border around the whole thing, and it doesn't seem like that's going to add another 7 inches to get it to measure to the 35-inch final diameter the pattern states. I may end up having to add some rounds to the border to get it to finish at an acceptable size.

That's George in one of his favorite hangout spots behind the glider.

Thursday Thirteen--1st Edition

Thirteen Things about ME 1. I am a member of the Baby Boomer generation. 2. I grew up in Southern California. 3. I have one sister and two brothers, and I am the oldest. 4. I am married. 5. I have 9 children--5 daughters and 4 sons. The three youngest are still living at home. 6. I have 7 grandchildren--all girls. 7. Three of my granddaughters are older than my youngest child, and one was born the same month he was and is only 18 days younger. 8. I've been pregnant and given birth as a teenager, in my 20s, in my 30s and in my 40s. 9. I am left-handed. 10. My favorite color is light purple (like the background of this post). 11. The smell of Drakkar Noir makes me weak in the knees. 12. I love chili spaghetti topped with cheddar cheese. 13. I hate spiders and bugs.

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That's My Answer

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Sunny asks: If you thought you saw a UFO would you tell anyone?

Like Shannon, I'd probably just tell family and close friends and probably only those who might be interested.

But if it was a sighting that indicated any danger to people, I'd go ahead and tell the authorities even if it made me a laughing stock so my conscience would at least be clear.

Bev would like to know: What are your plans for the holiday weekend?

Nothing special, just same ol', same ol'.

Someone says fluffy and I think: pillow, cloud, and my childhood cat.
What three words do you think of when I say fluffy?

Pillows
Kittens
Cotton

Have you ever been downsized, rightsized, laid off, and/or fired from your job? What did you do? How did you get through it?

Thankfully, I have not experienced this.