Nicole Richie was anorectic party girl, who shopped and kept bad company. Last couple of years have turned this clueless little girl to a serene woman and gentle mother. It is not surprising that her friends call her best mother they know, because she probably is. I wonder if becoming the mother of Harlow Winter Kate Madden is maybe the best thing that has happened to her. At least she seems happy.

I got the idea of this writing, when I was rereading the article about her and her boyfriend Joel Madden. I remember reading her getting pregnant and wondering what ever comes of this. I am so happy that I was totally wrong. The way she describes her motherhood is sweet and wonderful and he seems like really nice father too.

Nicole has her priorities right. What is most important to her daughter are love and attention and sharing the everyday life together. While she may have given up pampering herself, she has developed a great style for a hip mommy. Her attitude towards the motherhood seems earthly yet youthful.

I wish this sweet couple everything good in their life and hope they continue to take good care of their daughter in the future.  Little Harlow seems to be a much luckier little girl than many other children of celebrities.

The original blogging of F-Secure.

Basic Food should be always available, so their mission is important. According to latest news they have already fed 2 million hungre stricken people thanks to this game / quiz.

“Why would Republicans, the party of business, want to focus our country on breathing life into a 19th-century technology [...] rather than giving birth to a 21st-century technology [...]?”

THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN: Making America Stupid, N.Y.T September 13, 2008

I would want to use renewable materials if possible. This means straw bales as insulation, wooden siding and reed thatch (or wooden shingle), if one could make them sound and practical. Also using natural stones in foundations, copper pipes and light clay as an extra insulation might be reasonable. The materials should originate (be manufactured) in as short howl as possible.

Heating Energy

On top of all these there are different passive energy saving techniques like tubing the incoming air through the land masses to warm it, efficient windows and doors as well as sun room on the southern side of the building. When living above the 60th latitude, the normal passive solar heating is not really very efficient. One needs to consider other options like ground heat (geothermal power), extra insulation and heat recovery (both air and water).

Both active heat recovery and geothermal needs electricity to work, so they are not very passive. My ideal would be as simple (and passive) system as possible. One possibility could be waste wood pellets, that with simple burning frame could be used also in basic fire place and wood stoves (used to both cooking and heating in low energy perioid of the year e.g. midwinter).

Off the Grid

Electricity is different question. I am not so interested in self sufficiency as on right to choose the source of my energy. I don’t want to use nuclear energy nor non renewable fossil fuels. Taking the electricity production of the grid, would make it possible. Yet here in the north this would be rather problematic, especially in the inland. The problematic season would be midwinter, when even the extensive solar panels would not create enough energy and in the inland the wind potential is usually slight.

The using as little electricity as possible would be recommended and timing energy use as much as possible outside the mid-winter. The energy efficient lightning (daylight if possible) would be recommended. The problem in the mid-winter is that the day is short and the daylight can be used only for short periodically every day.

Garbage and Waste Water

Recycling is important for not only renewable sources, but surprisingly also for global warming. The dumps generate huge amount of methane that is a major greenhouse gas mainly of organic material. Methane it self is one of the worst green house cases, while its burning products are rather neutral ones. Organic materia can be handled in basic anaerobic biogas plants so simple that they work in small third world  farms. 

Bio gas processors are potential (yet not practical) also in house hold level, if the waste inflow is constant. More practical solution would be to compost organic waste and use composting toilets. Best of them even allow you to use manual shower. Waste water could be recycled as toilet and gardening water.

Water Supply

At least some short of well would be necessary. In addition one could store rain water from spouts. The water needs to be warmed for use. There are different solution. Heat recovery systems could aid in preliminary heating. There are different kind of solar collectors and also specific chimney gas heat collectors could be used. There is ofcourse additional change of using plain electricity.

Also water needs to be moved (pumped). This usually reguires electricity although manual pumps are available (both hand and treadle). Also wind power could be used, but in that case the small scale water tower would be handy. In fact you could use “water tower” (tank that would be situated in higher altitude) as a form of energy storage.

I left to the Naples with an early morning ferry (around 6 o’clock), because the later ones would have been there only after noon and would have cut the available time in short. On the ferry I was rather sleepy and enjoyed of my early morning moments. I bought sandwiches and cappuccino from the cafe on the ferry. The fort and back on the ferry cost about 20 euros.  After arrival to the city I looked for the tourist office and found out it would only open little later. So I walked on the nearby streets and visited the Bank of Naples historical exhibition on their lobby. After the opening up of the office I required better map, but in the end I think it would not been required.

On the way to the museum I rest my feet in one of the churches. Many of the churches have signs that prohibit photographing, but practically many tourists take photographs anyway. I think the main reason is that other wise the churches loose the income from the postcards. Also the very open photographing can disturb the people’s devotion.

The Museum

Cave Canem mosaic. The Barking dog was the symbol of writers, the watch dogs of the power.

About the archaeological museum there is first a warning. The museum itself is open through out the day, so it may be wise to place the visit in the time of siesta, when all the churches are closed. You must be aware though that parts of the museum are closed during the siesta, while some of the guardians are on their lunch break. This I know, because I was in the museum, when they started to close the wings. Also parts of the museum seem to be continuously under construction, so you cannot see everything. Yet on my opinion the 6 euros are not too much of everything you can see.

The museum itself was full of the ancient treasures. The main chambers were of the statues and mosaics found in the city itself as well as from the Herculeum and Pompeii. There were also plenty of minor artifacts. Some of the mosaics were known from books and other sources. I especially liked of the animal kingdom portrayed in mosaics. There was also large miniature of the Pompeii in the upper floor.

Yet something what was lacking mostly from these most magnificent parts of the museums were the ordinary life and how people lived it. The artifacts were beautiful, but they did not tell any stories. This is understandable as the many of them were acquired before the modern standards of recording the place of origin and circumstances of the founds. Yet it made them little less interesting that they could have been. The life of people was better explained in the minor wing that explained the history of the Gulf area and was one of those closed for the midday.

The City

Pulcinella is a comedic symbol of Naples.

After the touristic island of Ischia, how lovely it otherwise is, the city of the Naples gave me feeling of coming home. I’ve been living in the Italy before and there I felt I was again visiting the real Italy. It is little difficult to explained – the strange mixture of old elegance and chaos. Even if suffering of garbage problem the Naples is still a magical city. Its narrow medieval streets are like stepping back in time. When one sees little band playing the traditional songs in the street corner, the butcher peeking out of his door and the street vendors selling everything you could imagine from their small tables, you feel like your in the different place and time. The historical center of the Naples is itself on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The Naples have one of the highest density of the population in the First World. The larger City area contains up to 7 million people. According to the official records there are at least 8000 people living in every square kilometre of the city itself, while the amount in New York is around 10 000. But there are no skyscrapers in Naples and there are a lot of unofficial population like everywhere in Italy. So the actual density is probably much higher than the official record. And in the center of the city the density can be seen. There are plenty of people except during the siesta.

Of course when in Naples one has to taste the traditional pizza. If you are not a great fan of pizza you may try a plate of ragu. I like to choose a restaurant, where the locals are also dining, because they are always better than solely touristic pleases. The proper pizza  should always be baked in firewood oven – “forno del legno”. The pizza I ate was delicious combination of baked bread dough, fresh tomato, soft mozzarella and proper Italian air-dried ham. The service was fast and the price was OK. The name of the pizzeria was Vesi and it was situated right in the historical center little walk away from the cathedral (duomo) along the Via dei Tribunali.

Along these street I found a black mask of Pulcinella, a comedic symbol of Naples. The city itself is ancient already found in 5th century BC as a greek colony. If you have extra time or if you have visited the city before, you can take a time and submerge under the modern streets to the catacomps and to the ancient city. I passed this to (hopefully) my next visit on the area. I had just a time to see the duomo and few other ancient churches. They were of course wonderfully harmonous and varied, but at the same time little too many church in such a short time. I was tired and happy to return back to the ferry and after the cross of the gulf – back to my hotel.

Few Words of Capri

View from the Villa San Michelle

While capri is beautiful island, it is far too busy for my taste and far too touristic (even more than Ischia). Everything is very expensive. We visited on the Villa of the famous swedish doctor Axel Munthe (Villa San Michelle), but while visit to the blue grotto was both difficult (only possible if the water is low and there are no big waves) and according to the others overrated, there was very little to actually see, except maybe the beautiful views. If you are a fan of hig-fashion, you may found plenty of expensive boutiques in this former oasis of rich and beautiful. The boat ride back from the island was obnoxious, because there was continous fumes of gasoline inside the boat on top of which the sea was rather pumby. Not very pleasent ride I assure you, but fortunately a russian lady sitting by the window was clever enought the open it.

Yet in eastern Christian tradition pictorial presentation of sacred is in key part of the religious life. This does not mean man could present sacred as he pleases. There are strict rules of painting and presentation like there are strict rules in recitation of bible in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Icon (in Greek: eikón) must follow the rules set by theological thinking. There are preset types of paintings that are the most precious and most popular also. Most of them present Christ alone or as a baby with his mother. 

The Ortodox Tradition

17th century remake of the icon not made by hands

According the Orthodox tradition the model of all Icons are so called Icon ”not made by hand” - that is Christ face printed in his towel (look for the first comment of this text for the story) known by the Orthodox either as Image of Edessa or Holy Mandylion. Also according to similar tradition the first Icon painter would have been evangelist Luke, who was said to have painted a picture of Mary, “mother of God”. In this icon Mary is pointing Christ and thus showing a way towards him. Of course both of these types of icons are among classic ones to be painted. Icons are typically considered to be ones you can carry or move, but also murals are considered icons in Orthodox traditions and same rules apply for them.

In Orthodox Christianity the Icon is a painting of Christ, Mary, a saint (in their own terms sacred person) or a biblical event. It is usually painted on the wood disc by tempera method. Yet it can also be printed. According the Church rules it should always be blessed by a priest before working as religious agent. As I am not Orthodox, this of course has no meaning for me. I can enjoy these paintings artistically whit out them being blessed.

The Christ the Savior type of 19th century Russian icon

For an orthodox Icon is not an piece of ordinary art, but it is a religious object. Orthodox uses Icons as a facilitators in prayer and the Church as lessons for illiterate people and those, who do not understand language in question. In some occasions certain icons are considered miraculous and are especially prayed upon, when miracle is hoped.

Orthodoxes believe that God himself has contributed in it through the painters hand. They are painted theology and are meant to reflect the orthodox doctrine and message as well as written word. In Orthodox traditions icons are not meant to be realistic paintings of the subject, but symbolic interpretation of the meaning.

History

Tender mercy type of an icon of St. Mary from 17th century

Leaning on the writings of so called Fathers of the Church it appears that at least in the eastern parts of the Christian church the Icons were already common tradition in the 4th century CE.  The oldest wooden icons that have lasted until our days are from 6thcentury, although there are older mural, mosaics and few carvings. It appears that the early icons were born from the need to fight against gnostic teaching that Christ would not have been true human, but just shadow.

Yet the use of pictures of Christ grew in following years in such ways that finally emperor Justinian II but him in the Byzantine coins in 695. Due this Caliph Abd al-Malik stopped using Byzantine coins and started his own whit just letter inscriptions. In the following years there was growing debate on the use of religious pictures. The Question was not just discussed in the scholastic chambers, but it touched also the common believers.

A 12th century Novgorodian angel

Between 726-730 emperor Leo ordered to remove the image of Christ from the ceremonial entrance of his palace. Some of those assigned on the jobs were killed by so called iconodules, the icon worshippers. 730 the emperor forbade the worship of icons whit out first consulting the church. It appears that he saw the eruption of Thera volcano and military clashes whit Muslims as a sign from God. Due this the local bishop was forced to resign. In west pope held to synods to forbidding the action. 

Only his great-grandson Constantine removed the ban in 787 after the second council of Nikea. The ban of icon worship was reordered by Emperor Leo V the Armenian 815 probably also due the military losses and the ban continued until 843. One of the theological problems behind the fight was an idea that a religious painting must be exact copy of the person presented, which was seen impossible. For the iconoclast the only true icon of Christ was the Eucharist, which was believed to be his actual body and blood. Icons were in their eyes just Satan’s way to lead Christian back to paganism. During the 12th century the cult of icons spread all over the Byzantine world.

Icons as Art

14th century annunciation from Makedonia

Different Schools of painting were developed especially after, but already before, the iconoclast. The older icons of the Byzantine tradition have not been saved due the iconoclast. There are few icons from the 11th century. The earliest saved icons are from the highly emotional period. After conquest of the Constantinople, the Byzantine tradition was carried on in the regions highly influenced by its culture, especially in the Balkans and Russia.

Crete that was under Venetian rule since 1204 generated its own school of painting. This school of painting was patronised by both Venetian Catholics as well as Orthodoxies. The most famous painter of the school was El Greco, who moved to Italy after establishing his reputation in Grete.

Classic Russian icons are painted on the wood and have elaborated religious symbolism in them. During the centuries different schools of painting were developed inside the Russia. In the 17th century the official church adopted more realistic western style, while the for other reasons persecuted traditionalists (so called old believers) followed the traditionl style.

Also Catholics of Romania paint icons as reversed pictures on the other side of the class. This is known as reverse class painting.  Icons are also used among coptic church of Egypt. Coptic Icons had probably origin in so called mummy potraits – paintings over the coffin.

The problem is that there are some risk factors involved that could create serious problems even, if we are able to stop making pollutants that are currently waming the world, as the chain reaction that continues to heat it further may have already started. There is a question of frozen underwater methane of Siberian lakes and arctic oceans that is a first great question. If the sea water warms up and the age old methene will be released from its ancient graves, we will be in trouble, as methane is much more powerful greenhouse gas than plain carbon dioxide.

Extinctions

There have been several significant climate changes in the past for sure. The most recent one have been known as ice ages (and I don’t mean the movies). The last ice-age may have created an environment that was partly guilty of killing Neanderthals in extinction. The one more important thing is that the change has not been this fast for probably several hundred million years. The cooling before and warming after the ice age took several thousand years.

This might mean that the nature is not fast enough to adjust itself, which might mean some short of mass extinction. Some may think devil may care of same insignificant species going to extinction. The problem is that these species, which we don’t even notice in normal life may be important for the natural balance and their extinction may create some unpredictable problems.

I have to admit that I have another side to this question: I enjoy the natural variation. It would be sad if the dragonflies would go to extinction (they seemed to have problems last winter). For me this is not just practical, but I have to admit, also emotional issue. I’d love to be able to give my children change to enjoy the nature in the same way that I have. Of course all the changes are not for worst, but those who are expecting to enjoy better weather due the global warming, could be missing the clues of some shocking changes due very soon. The nature is already changing to be more unpredictable.  

Of course we might be saved by the potentially upcoming new ice age – only if it would be fast enough…

Sea levels

About the rising sea-levels. While living in the coastal city the problem is a significant one. The sea level have been slowly sinking in these areas that were once buried under continental glacier during the ice age. The rise of land has been about 1 meter during last thousand years. Now the warming up is threaten to raise the level same amount in few decades and it does not necessary stop there.

We have already had serious problems during autumn storms and soon we may start to have problems most of the times. The whole structure of the city maybe in need of change. What is more, many of the large cities are located in the water-front like Tokyo, New York, Mumbai, Kalkota and Sao Paulo. What will happen to them? There are large areas inhabited by huge amount of people in low lands of Africa and Asia that are in danger to end up homeless and become refugees.

There are plenty of social and health risks involved and there is no person in this planet, who could predict the out come. But who cares?

Passive solar house (public domain)

The idea of passive house is that it is so well insulated that the people and domestic appliances create enough heat to warm up the building. Passive solar house is house that is heated by the solar energy that gets in through big southern windows (in northern hemisphere - in southern hemisphere they are of course northern) and heats the building. There are different techniques to block the excessive heat of the summer or air the building efficiently. In the warmer areas, where the air-conditioning is the main consumer the passive solar house may mean a house that its ventilation is created in a similar passive method that uses solar heat.

Here in the north (around 60° latitude) the idea of passive solar house is little difficult. First the heat created in the winter time is just not enough even in the best occasions. Secondly the sun shines much less in the winter time than it does in the better seasons. The day is shorter and even in the day time sun does not often make through due the clouds.

The thermogram shows that well insulated building does not necessary leak much of the heat. (GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2; Passivhaus Institut, Germany)

Even here though there is much to be gained with better insulation. The house is possible to be made almost passive so that it consumes just a little a bit extra energy even in the coldest winter weathers. The heating is so expensive now a days that people would be resorting to all possibilities to lover the bills, even if there would not be interest in the state of the nature. The modern building regulations are also getting more and more strict. Basically one hast to have mechanical ventilation whit heat uptake. And you can still profit of the sun in the milder seasons, when the heating is still necessary, but sun is more prominent and energy need is lower. Only it is not a year around solution.

If one wants to utilize passive sun in these northern latitudes, one must have good windows. The windows are the weak frailtyof the insulation. By new techniques using the multilayer (3-5), special coating and/or rare gas filling are making the glass itself more insulating. Also frames are getting more insulating. Yet the glasses are far behind the solid walls, and especially ceiling and floors that can be made even better insulated. So before adding significant amount of windows in the house, one must be sure that there will be secure benefit of that.

It was nine years since I’d been in Italy. A lot of things had changed, but most things had not. Italians are happy folk. Unlike the French they correct your speech in a very nice way. First they naturally tell you how well you speak Italian and then they show you how you should have expressed yourself. One former guide told me it is truly sign that they respect your skills, when they start to correct you. If your in very basic level, they just smile sweetly to your blunder.

Girls staying in my hotel asked me how did I dare to come to Italy alone. I was little a bit of amazed, because I’ve never thought Italy a scary place to go. Maybe it is because I visited it so young and because I know how to handle Italians – especially men. Most of the travellers were in fact female friends. Yet there was a single male staying in the island for two weeks and he was not of sentimental type.

The island of Iscia is volcanic island (unlike its neighbour Capri). They may tell you that Monte Epomeo, the highest peak of the island is volcano. It really isn’t although it was created by volcanicactivity, which raised it from the sea-bed. It is really a thing Germans call ”holst”. One of the most visible crater is in fact the port of the Ischia Porto (meaning the Port of Ischia). The island is famous of its volcanic waters and the natural spas they enable. There have not been any eruptions in last 700 years and even the quakes that used to make living hard on the island in the roman times have turned mild. Yet the scientist say, the volcano is alive, if maybe sleeping.

If you are interested in history, you may be happy to know that Ischia is in fact one of the oldest Creek colonies in the western Mediterranean and that there was Greek inhabitants in the island already 700 B.C.E. Due to raised seabed of mt. Epomeo the island has plenty of clay fit to making ceramic, unlike the usual volcanic islands. Still today it has significant ceramic industry in the style better connected to Portugal or Spain than Italy. The most significant feature are colourful ceramic tiles that can be seen as a decoration everywhere that resemble their Portuguese cousins. Even a local bank had its sign made of dalle.