Snow

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know our planet is slowly dying. In certain places, the earth is rotting, crumbling, drying out, eroding at rates faster and more deadly than we can anticipate. Yet, there remain many spaces where we can still witness the beauty of God's creation. This winter, I visited one of those places. Nowhere spectacular, just some little frozen lake, surrounded by trees stripped bare and park benches with inviting seats. Come see for yourself...

Vietnamese Zodiac / Astrology

Visit VietHoroscope to find your sign. I for one am a yin earth goat:

In the Vietnamese horoscope, the goat people enjoy the comforts of having great friends and an amiable relationship at work. They are not born leaders, but they make excellent members. They have smart opinions, which they willingly share to achieve success for the group.

Visit Wikipedia's entries on Chinese astrology to know more about the luni-solar calendar, upon which the Vietnamese zodiac is determined.

Vietnamtravels.vn also has an interesting quick-reference article on the Vietnamese zodiac, which a brief snapshot description of each animal sign.

Visit Eric's binary world if you want to enter your birth year to quickly find out which animal sign belongs to you.

When trying to traverse the lunisolar calendar, an easy rule to follow is that years that end in an even number are yang, those that end with an odd number are yin. The cycle proceeds as follows:

* If the year ends in 0 it is Yang Metal.
* If the year ends in 1 it is Yin Metal.
* If the year ends in 2 it is Yang Water.
* If the year ends in 3 it is Yin Water.
* If the year ends in 4 it is Yang Wood.
* If the year ends in 5 it is Yin Wood.
* If the year ends in 6 it is Yang Fire.
* If the year ends in 7 it is Yin Fire.
* If the year ends in 8 it is Yang Earth.
* If the year ends in 9 it is Yin Earth.

Tallis: If Ye Love Me

Tallis Scholars: Spem in alium (40-part Motet)

Don't Stop Believin'