Science: alien-like fossil, trees in space

Illustrative purposes only (J Duquette/stock.adobe.com/Chip Chick)

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Researchers discover fossils of alien-like tree with 6-ft. leaves extremely well-preserved due to earthquake 350 million years ago

Sanfordiacaulis densifolia (Wikipedia)

Below, Buddhism is wild enough to believe that there are trees and flowers that grow on other planets or in other dimensions. Buddhist cosmology speaks of these worlds, these planes of rebirth, as existing above and below the platform of this world, one of countless others within "the human plane." Sometimes those extraterrestrial plants make it to this world where, at least in India, sages recognize that those plants aren't from around here. But first, science has made discovery:

In New Brunswick, Canada, researchers discovered fossils of a prehistoric tree from the Early Carboniferous period. Evidence of the alien-like tree was first unearthed in a quarry in 2017.

Over the years, four more fossils were found. The tree was named Sanfordiacaulis densifolia. One of the specimens was so well-preserved that scientists were able to construct a three-dimensional model of what the tree once looked like.

Sanfordiacaulis densifolia had a long, spindly, narrow trunk and a crown of leaves that may have measured 18 feet in diameter. Its branches likely extended outward to intertwine with nearby trees so it could stay upright.

It grew underneath a bunch of taller trees, so it had to stretch wider to receive sunlight. “When my co-authors and I began to reconstruct the tree based on the specimens collected in Sanford Quarry, the only analog we could think of was an oversized toilet or bottle brush,” Robert Gastaldo, the lead author of the study, said.

• Dr. Seuss trees from "The Lorax" (Thneeds?)
• What were the humans like back then? Forbidden Archeologist Michael Cremo says modern humans are 300 million years old
• 3 reasons you keep waking up in the middle of the night (msn.com)

Why did the Lorax cut down the trees?

The researchers estimate that Sanfordiacaulis densifolia had more than 250 leaves. From the fossilized specimens they analyzed, they found that the leaves reached six feet long, but they most likely grew even longer.

Its appearance resembles a fern or palm tree, although the oldest tree fern fossil is younger, and palm trees wouldn’t show up in the fossil record for another 240 million years. More

• There are other literal trees in space, for example, the massive trees on Mars, according to photographic evidence presented by the Enterprise Mission's Richard C. Hoagland. They are frequently spotted on NASA downloads but blurred out by NASA when discovered by amateurs

Are there extraterrestrial trees and flowers?

Mandarava flower, flame tree, coral tree, Maui

According to Buddhist sources, there are plants on other worlds near Earth (Bhumi). One sutra that makes this clear is an incidental mention of a flower that grows in space. By "space" is meant another world above the platform of the Earth, because Buddhist cosmology describes 31 "planes of existence," with most of those worlds above the human plane in space (akasha deva loka, "celestial worlds of the shining ones"). "The Last Days of the Buddha" sutra (Maha Parinibbana Sutta, DN 16) mentions a special flower that grows in a tangible, physical, sensual heavenly world:

SUTRA: Part 5: At Kusinara

Translated by Sister Vajira and Francis Story (DN 16), edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

It is curious that Siddhartha was born under a sal tree, was enlightened under a pipal fig tree (Ficus religiosa), and purposely came to his final rest between two sal trees. This can hardly be a coincidence because all buddhas, in this world as in other worlds that are part of the human plane, have their own "enlightenment trees."

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1. Then the Buddha said, "Come, Ananda, let us cross to the farther shore of the Hiraññavati and go to the Mallas' Sal Tree Grove, near the town of Kusinara [modern Kushinagar, India, near the border of Nepal]." - "So be it, venerable sir."

2. And the Buddha, together with a large company of wandering ascetics, went to the farther shore of the river Hiraññavati, to the Sal Tree Grove of the Malla people near Kusinara. There he spoke to Ven. Ananda.

3. "Ananda, please prepare for me a couch between the twin sal trees with the head pointing north. I am weary, Ananda, and wish to lie down" [41]. "So be it, venerable sir." And Ananda did as the Blessed One asked. Then the Buddha reclined on his right side, in the lion's pose, resting one foot on the other, and rested mindfully and with clear comprehension.

4. The twin sal trees spontaneously burst into full bloom even out of season. The blossoms rained down on the body of the Buddha, showering him with petals. And celestial mandarava flowers and heavenly sandalwood tree powder from the sky (space, akasha) rained down on the body of the Buddha, showering him. And the sound of heavenly voices and heavenly instruments made music in the air in reverence.

5. The Buddha said, "Ananda, these twin sal trees are in full bloom even though this is not the flowering season. And blossoms down on the body of the Tathagata [the Wayfarer, the Buddha] and drop and scatter and are strewn upon this body in reverence. And celestial coral tree flowers and heavenly sandalwood tree powder from the sky rain down on this body and drop and scatter and are strewn upon it in reverence. And the sound of heavenly voices and heavenly instruments fill the air with music out of reverence for the Tathagata.

6. "But, Ananda, it is not in this way that the Tathagata (the Buddha) is revered, respected, venerated, esteemed, and honored in the highest degree. Rather, Ananda, whatever male of female monastic, whatever layman or laywoman abides by the Dharma (Teaching), lives upright in the Dharma, walks in the way of the Dharma, it is by such a person that the Tathagata is revered, respected, venerated, esteemed, and honored in the highest degree. Therefore, Ananda, train yourselves: 'We shall abide by the Dharma, live upright in the Dharma, walk in the way of the Dharma.'"

The Grief of the Devas (Space Beings)

7. At that time Ven. Upavana was standing in front of the Buddha, fanning him. The Buddha rebuked him, saying: "Move aside, monk, rather than standing in front of me."

8. Ven. Ananda thought: "Ven. Upavana has attended on the Blessed One for a long time, closely associating with him and serving him. Yet now, right at the end, the Blessed One rebukes him. What could be the reason, the cause for the Blessed One to rebuke Ven. Upavana, 'Move aside, monk, rather than standing in front of me.'"

9-10. Ven. Ananda asked, and the Buddha answered, "Throughout this tenfold world-system, Ananda, there are hardly any of the devas (space beings) who have not gathered together to look at the Wayfarer. For a distance of 12 yojanas (approximately 84 miles) around the Sal Tree Grove of the Mallas in the vicinity of Kusinara there is not a spot that could be pricked with the tip of a hair that is not filled with powerful devas.

These devas, Ananda, are complaining: 'From afar have we come to look upon the Wayfarer. For rare in the world is the arising of wayfarers, arhats, fully enlightened ones. And this day, in the last watch of the night, the Wayfarer's final nirvana will come about. But this monk of great power has placed himself right in front of the Blessed One, concealing him, so that now, at the very end, we are prevented from looking upon him.' In this way, Ananda, the devas complain."

11. "Of what kind of devas (space beings), venerable sir, is the Blessed One aware?"

12-13. "There are devas, Ananda, in space and on earth, who are earthly-minded; with disheveled hair and uplifted arms they weep; flinging themselves to the ground, they roll from side to side, lamenting: 'Too soon has the Blessed One come to his final nirvana! Too soon has the Happy One come to his final nirvana! Too soon will the Eye of the World vanish from sight!'

14. "But those devas who are free from passion, mindful and clearly comprehending, reflect in this way: 'Impermanent are all compounded things, so how could this [the Buddha release] be otherwise?'" More

• Emily Chan, Chip Chick via MSN.com, 4/28/24 edited by Pat Macpherson; Maha-Parinibbana Sutta: Last Days of the Buddha (accesstoinsight.org) by Sister Vajira and Francis Story edited Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

NASA found Martian life then killed it

Anugraha Sundaravelu, Metro.co.uk, 8/29/23; Pat Macpherson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Dirk Schulze-Makuch believes that an experiment carried out in the 1970s that added water to Martian soil drowned any life that could have existed (Unsplash/Metro).

• Alien life was found on Mars 50 years ago, but NASA accidentally KILLED it, scientist claims (Daily Mail)

NASA found alien life on Mars then accidentally killed it, scientist claims

Earthlings blew themselves up!

A scientist claims that we might have already found alien life on Mars 50 years ago but accidentally killed it.

Dirk Schulze-Makuch from the Technical University Berlin believes that an experiment carried out in the 1970s that added water to Martian soil could have drowned any life that could have existed.

The test, known as the Viking Labeled Release experiment, was one of three biology experiments conducted by the Viking landers on Mars in 1976.

It was an accident. It was putricide dead.

The experiment was designed to detect the presence of living microorganisms in the Martian soil by measuring the release of radioactive carbon dioxide from a sample of soil that had been mixed with a nutrient solution.

The theory was that if life were on Mars, microorganisms would consume the nutrients and release the radioactive carbon as a gas.

Schulze-Makuch believes the water containing the nutrient solution in the soil may have been too much liquid "and [any life] died off after a while." More

• First ever 'alien' objects found on Earth? Harvard physicist Avi Loeb says hundreds of tiny fragments he found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean ARE from outside our solar system

AlienCon 2023 in Pasadena (March 4-5)

Meet favorite experts at AlienCon

Autograph and photograph sessions for AlienCon2023 Pasadena are now available. Don’t miss the chance to get a cosmic keepsake to commemorate the event. Availability is limited, so secure sessions today.

Ancient Aliens Live Tour

Ancient Aliens live tour is BACK. Take the chance to see some of Ancient Aliens experts, coming to a city nearby. Get tickets now to join for an intergalactic evening of thought-provoking extraterrestrial discussions no one will want to miss! →

Erich von Däniken: Godfather of Ancient Astronaut theory

Erich von Däniken is the godfather of this theory. More than half a century after his groundbreaking book Chariots of the Gods, von Däniken is still on the search for answers, and AlienCon is thrilled that he’ll be joining in 2023. →

• Home | AlienCon (thealiencon.com)
• Tickets | AlienCon (thealiencon.com)

Karma of Body/Behavior Modification (sutra)

Ven. Ñanamoli Thera (trans.), Kukkuravatika Sutta: "The Dog-Duty Ascetic" (MN 57 PTS: M i 387); Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Look at my white dog, Babe - I see! He's so cute! - Want to touch it? - NO, no, I'm good.

Werewolf, a man becomes a lycanthrope or canine wolfman (Lucas Cranach) 

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Introduction

(Bhikkhu Khantipalo)

I shapeshift into a monster (WWMT)

There were some strange people around in the Buddha's days believing some strange things — but that is just like our time when people hold the oddest and most unbalanced ideas.

In this sutra we meet some people who believed that by imitating animals they would be find salvation (liberation, enlightenment, awakening, sparing themselves further rebirth so as to make an end of suffering in this very life).

Is lesbianism harmful karma? You can't ask that!

They're still with us, too. Belief is one thing, action another. While beliefs sometimes influence actions, for others beliefs are quite separate from what actions are taken. But the Buddha says all intentional actions (volitions, motivated deeds) -- whether manifesting as mere thoughts, turning into speech, or bodily acts -- however expressed, are karma and lead the doer to experience results of these actions sooner or later.

In this discourse the Buddha classifies karma into four groups:

1. dark with a dark results
2. bright with a bright results
3. dark and bright with a dark and bright results
4. neither dark nor bright with a neither dark nor bright results.

Madonna Monster at the Grammys (NYPost)

Dark (unskillful, harmful, bad) karma does not [when it finally comes to fruition] give a bright (happy) results, nor does bright (beneficial) karma lead to dark (miserable) results.

Karma can be mixed, where an action is willed and done impelled by a variety of motives, some good, some bad. A kind of karma also exists that gives up attachment to and interest in the other three and therefore leads beyond the range of karma.

• Who’s a good boy? Not the Michigan Dogman (michiganradio.org)
• Werewolves are real: Cyanthropy
• "Werewolf" is a human-canine lycanthrope

SUTRA: "The Dog-Duty Ascetic"

I want a blind dog because I can't see.

1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One [the Buddha] was living in the Koliyan country, there in a town of the Koliyans called Haliddavasana.

2. Then Punna, a Koliyan and an ox-duty ascetic, and also Seniya a naked dog-duty ascetic, went to the Blessed One, and Punna the ox-duty ascetic paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down respectfully to one side, while Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic exchanged greetings with the Blessed One and, when the courteous and amiable talk was finished, sat down to one side curled up like a dog.

When Punna the ox-duty ascetic sat down, he asked the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, this naked dog-duty ascetic Seniya does what is hard to do: He eats his food when it is thrown on the ground. That dog-duty has long been taken up and practiced by him. What will be his [karmic] destination? What will be his future course [of rebirth as a result of this habit]?" [1]

"Enough, Punna, let it be. Do not ask that."

[But a second and third time Punna asked again.]

"Well, Punna, since I cannot persuade you when I say, 'Enough, Punna, let it be. Do not ask that,' I shall answer.

3. "Here [within this Teaching], Punna, someone develops the dog duty fully and unreservedly. One develops the dog habit fully and unreservedly. One develops the dog mind fully and unreservedly. One develops dog behavior fully and reservedly.

Having done that [having willed and carried out this karma], on the dissolution of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of dogs. But if one's view is such as this: 'By this virtue or duty or asceticism or religious life I shall become a (great) shining one or some (lesser) shining one,' that is wrong view in his case.

I thought we'd be reborn as oxen. - Shut up, Punna.

Now there are two destinations for one with wrong view, I say -- hell or the animal womb. So, Punna, if his dog duty is perfected, it will lead him to the company of dogs. If it is not, it will lead him to hell."

4. When this was said, Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic wept and shed tears. Then the Blessed One said to Punna, the Koliyan and ox-duty ascetic:

"Punna, I could not persuade you when I said, 'Enough Punna, let it be. Do not ask that.'"

"Venerable sir, I am not weeping that the Blessed One has spoken thus. This dog duty has long been taken up and practiced by me. Venerable sir, there is this Punna, a son of the Koliyans and an ox duty ascetic: that ox-duty has long been taken up and practiced by him. What will be his destination? What will be his future course [of rebirth]?"

"Enough, Seniya, let it be. Do not ask that." [But a second and third time Seniya asked.]

"Well, Seniya, since I cannot persuade you when I say, 'Enough, Seniya, let it be. Do not ask that,' I shall therefore answer you." More

Friend's tell-all book "Melania [Trump] and Me"

Georgia Slater (People/msn.com); Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

At least this time I didn't steal my speech from Michelle Obama (People/Chip Somodevilla/Getty).

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Melania Trump scolds the attention on "malicious gossip" after ex-friend's biting tell-all book

Foreign First Lady Melania Trump criticized "delusional & malicious gossip" on Thursday, the same week a former friend and adviser has been sharing scathing accounts of her time in the White House with the first lady.

Melania and Me friend's tell-all (Stephanie Wolkoff)

Trump, 50, did not specifically mention Stephanie Winston Wolkoff's new tell-all, Melania and Me, though she implied that the headlines Wolkoff's accounts have made — including revelations that Trump used a private email for government work, despite Pres. Donald Trump's criticism of U.S. Sec'y of State Hillary Clinton for the same crime [Lock him up, too!] — were distracting from more important issues.

"This afternoon I will be hosting a roundtable with some incredible citizens in recovery & the amazing organizations that support them," the first lady tweeted. "I encourage the media to focus & report on the nation's drug crisis, not on delusional & malicious gossip."

On Thursday afternoon, Mrs. Trump hosted a White House roundtable with the Office of National Drug Control Policy, commemorating National Recovery Month. Opioid addiction is one of the central parts of her [agrammatical] "Be Best" initiative focusing on children's welfare.

"The coronavirus pandemic has increased feelings of loneliness and sadness. For vulnerable populations, it has also increased the risk of substance abuse. But the American people are strong and always set up to help one another in times of need," the first lady said. More

AlienCon, LA (June 15-17); Build a UFO (video)

TheAlienCon.com; How to Make a UFO; Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

This video is taken by someone from the original version that had sound with a verbal explanation of all that is needed to simply and quickly put together an antigravity machine in your own backyard. Scale up for a one-person saucer.

• TheAlienCon.com $CHEDULE

ALIEN CON 2018, Los Angeles

Nothing to see here. Move along.

Humans have a fundamental desire to explore the unexplained, to solve the world’s mysteries.

AlienCon 2018 brings together all those seeking the truth about existence extraterrestrials throughout history.

 

Taking place June 15-17, 2018, in Pasadena, California, AlienCon will feature thought-provoking original programming, celebrity appearances, exhibits, exclusive merchandise, fan competitions, and much More.

Oh, MOTHER! (comedy)

Eds., Wisdom Quarterly; Maria Bamford, Marilyn Bamford, Alix Spiegel (Invisibilia, NPR.org)

Impersonating Her Mom, Comedian Grows Closer To Her
Alix Spiegel (All Things Considered, Jan. 30, 2015)

Like mother like daughter (Riot Fest, L.A.)

Think of human relationships as entanglements. How do they bind us; how do they reveal who we really are? In this episode of Invisibilia, NPR's new show about human behavior, we wanted to explore entanglements: the invisible ways we're entangled with each other. So we called a comedian. I'm a fan of Maria Bamford, who has done impressions of her mother throughout her career:

Host Alix Spiegel

"My mom told me before I went to my first girl-boy party in the eighth grade: 'Okay, remember what we talked about -- gonorrhea, syphilis, Herpes 1, 2. Watch the cold sores! Date rape is a lot more common than people think! You look so gorgeous! Oh, Jenny's mom's here to pick you up. Well, have a good time!'"

Sometimes the version of her mom she plays is just funny, because the mom can be so charmingly upbeat about the horrors of the world that it's hilarious. But sometimes it feels like it's about elements in their relationship that have a darker side. Like in this YouTube bit:

"'Sweetie, you taking a shower? Can I just get in there a little bit and just show you something? Oh, I didn't know you were naked. Oh sweetie -- listen -- if you want to get breast implants we will support you. Not financially -- but emotionally.'" More + AUDIO

We are here to overtake your planet through its mass media, our charm offensive.

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Stand-up Comedy and Mental Illness: Conversation with Bamford

David Haglund (slate.com)

Slate's Brow Beat blog

Over the last several years Maria Bamford has become one of the most acclaimed and original stand-up comics in the country. Along with Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, and Brian Posehn, Bamford was part of the Comedians of Comedy tour; she’s also released three solo albums and done two Comedy Central specials. Bamford’s voice (or rather, voices) can be heard regularly on Nickelodeon, Adult Swim, PBS, and elsewhere.
 

Voices of NPR: couple Edwards-Johnston

But her signature work may be The Maria Bamford Show, a brilliant Web series from 2009 that was screened at the Museum of Art + Design in New York. The premise of the series was that Bamford had had a nervous breakdown on stage and ended up back in Minnesota living with her parents. Bamford played every role in the series: her mother, father, sister, coworkers, and old high school acquaintances. More

• VIDEO: The "Vocal Fry" Epidemic with Faith Salie
• The fix is in: Mitt Romney told to bow out so party machine can back the Bush Dynasty's pre-selected candidate, darling of the military-industrial complex

The voice of National Public Radio (NPR)

No matter how you take your public radio -- a downloaded TED Radio Hour podcast or a Morning Edition show broadcast on your member station -- there's one voice familiar to all NPR listeners. That's the NPR announcer, who voices credit to the member stations, corporations and institutions that generously support NPR and public radio.

Sabrina Farhi (D.R. Wolcheck/C. Mueller)

Come November, listeners will hear a new voice saying things such as "Support for NPR comes from..." and "This [pause] is NPR" (our personal favorite). Sabrina Farhi is joining us in Washington, D.C., as the NPR announcer alongside the iconic Frank Tavares, who has voiced NPR's funding credits for more than three decades. You'll get to know her quickly once her voice comes on the air in November.

COMMENT

Windsor Johnston, Bob Edwards' wife

Ed Sullivan: "I'm not as serious as I sound"? She doesn't sound serious at all and, apparently, neither is NPR in this case. After the brilliant articles posted on this site about professional voice artists, the management here has decided to go the other direction. It's hard enough to endure the aural assault from local news channels of untrained, immature types, who over-pronounce vowels, swallow compound consonants, and drops the end of every sentence into a tired gravel [called vocal fry]. But I'm sure teenage girls will love her. NPR has given me yet another reason to change the channel.

(Maria Bamford) "Dropout"

• PHOTOS: The Babes of NPR
• SLIPKNOT: "Prepare for Hell" Tour, Spring 2015

Who are the "true" Celts? (video)

Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; WalesOnline.co.uk (02-18-06)

The British Isles: Ireland, Man, Scotland, Wales... (earthobservatory.nasa.gov)

 

Danu the wee folk (amayodruid)

Modern nations that consider themselves Celtic do not actually have anything to do with the "true Celts" who once dominated Iron Age Europe, according to anthropological research.

The Irish, Welsh, Scots, and other peoples who regard themselves as Celtic cousins are in fact ancient Bretons, who include the original English peoples.

 

Being Celtic is neither about blood, tribes, nor red hair, nor is it about loving folk music and believing in the little people.

 

It's Galway Che, Irish revolutionary

In a landmark special [broadcast in 2006], anthropologist Richard Rudgley, who comes from London, aims to separate myth from fact as he reveals the Celtic world.

 

Chris Malone, producer for Granada TV, joined him on the journey tracing the Celtic tradition across the world and said that it actually originated with the "true Celts" of central Europe.

 

Mr. Malone said, "It is assumed that the Celts are the people who speak a 'Celtic' language like the Scots and Welsh.

"These are the peoples who were pushed to the fringes after the Roman invasion. People also think about the Celtic crosses, and about the whole pagan druid thing.

 

"But those are all the cliches. When the Romans arrived in Britain, they never described the people as Celts.

 

"The 'true Celts' were the continental Celts, although they spread across Europe."

 

Che Ernesto Guevara Lynch's statue is located in Galway, Ireland (lonelyplanet.com)

 
He said that Victorian experts made a big mistake in assuming that what we now call the modern Celtic languages were actually from those European Celts.

 

Patrick Sims-Williams of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, contributes to the film, demonstrating that ancient Welsh was in Britain before these European Celts arrived.

 

Rebel "Galway Che" Lynch (drivebyplanet.com)

Neither is there much evidence of migration, according to DNA research from Trinity College in Dublin.

 

Mr. Malone said, "So the word 'Celt' as we understand it only actually started being used in that way in the 18th century, and it has taken on different meanings.

"What we think of as being Celtic is not necessarily the same as those original Celts.

"It has all been reinvented. It is a name for the tribes which were originally here in Britain and Ireland and their coming together has created this myth.

"Celtic Buddhism" in Ireland? It has already caught on among disaffected Irish-American Catholics in a big way. (Savaripa family/CelticBuddhism.org)

  
"And in that happening, the English have lost some sense of their individual identity."
 

He said Iron Age communities like Castell Henllys, visited during the program, were similar to Celtic settlements in Europe of the same period, but there were key differences. "Mostly, the similarities are merely copied designs, sometimes copied burial rites."
 

However the Celtic concept is still important, according to the program makers. In reaching his conclusion, Mr. Rudgley meets druids, sails in Celtic ships, rides Celtic chariots, and fights with Celtic weapons as he uncovers remarkable archaeological evidence that sheds a whole new light on the European culture.
 

Who are the Bretons?

He contends that, far from being marginal to who we are today, the Celtic tradition is a crucial part of what makes Britain.
 

Mr. Rudgley argues that the Celtic tradition is a golden thread that has been intertwined with the heart of Europe for thousands of years -- a Celtic "magic" that is still there for the taking, offering us a basis for a new Europe.
 

And the significant fact is that the Welsh language and related dialects spoken in places like Cornwall and Brittany preceded the arrival of both Roman and Celtic peoples.
 

"It is a much older language than that, which gives us some sort of common root and a much more ancient connection," added Mr. Malone.
 

"That precedes the Celts so it is far older than we might assume."

WATCH ONLINE: "The Celts" (Channel 4)

  

We certainly want to be Celts

We may not be Celts, historically speaking, but we certainly want to be. As [the] Channel 4 program points out, the word has now been reinvented and refers not to the original Celtic peoples of mainland Europe, but the modern "Celtic" areas.

 

Scotland has its Celtic football team while Wales, for a short period at least, had the Celtic Warriors rugby side.
 

Celtic music is sold in Irish and other traditional shops. Stones, which were in fact carved by medieval monks influenced by the Christian tradition are also described as "Celtic."
 

And the pagan traditions of our predecessors have been revived by the Eisteddfod druids, which is also sometimes described as a Celtic ceremony. There is also a huge industry of Celtic-themed jewellery, brooches, and so on, with traditional intertwined designs.
 

The number of businesses in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland with Celtic in their name is huge -- including Celtica Food, Celtic Alarms, and Celtic Inns.

Video stills from "The Celts"

  
"The Celts"

Druid, pagan, alien? Sweden (Saffan Anderson)

This is a fascinating journey through the history of the Celtic culture, following the trail back to pre-Roman times when the Celts were regarded as the masters of Europe.
 
The appeal of being a Celt has not diminished over the centuries. Their leaders were men and women of legend -- King Arthur of the Britons, the Warrior Queen Boudicca, and Vercingetorix the Gaul.
 
However, few people understand who the Celts actually were or what their true legacy is.
 
This powerful series cuts through the romanticism and clichéd images to give a true picture of Celtic culture. Presenter Richard Rudgley follows the trail back to pre-Roman times, looking into every aspect of Celtic life to show how they adapted to change.

Stonehenge at Sunset (MPanchenko/livescience.com)

• JOB OPENING: Druid-in-Chief, Stonehenge (livescience.com)