archetypeatlas

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Avatar in Hinduism is a Sanskrit word meaning “descent”—The deliberate descent of a deity to Earth. The concept of an avatar is somewhat confusing, and a little complicated—much of Hindu mythology is. The concept is foreign to most cultures, as it is only prevalent in Hinduism and Sikhism. In Sikhism, the definition of an avatar is slightly different—instead of being the deliberate descent of a deity to Earth, it is the deliberate descent of a soul to Earth. 

In all mythologies deities have some kind of form, or sometimes take some kind of disguise—avatars are unique though. They are entirely separate entities. For instance, the goddess Devi was a benevolent mother goddess, but her avatar Durga could be dark and destructive. Another way they can differ is in appearance. For instance, Vishnu was typically depicted as being mostly human-shaped, but blue and with four arms. But, one of his avatars is Matsya, who takes the form of a fish. 

This is where things can get pretty crazy. Not only are there avatars, but then they are categorized into different groups of avatar ‘types’, which all have several sub-groups as well. Don’t worry about boggling your mind with all the specifics, it’s nearly impossible to memorize or recall all the avatars, especially of Vishnu. 

Vishnu has a very large amount of avatars, some texts record up to 40, others 24, and other mention even more. The main three are the Trimurti: Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma. The Dashavatara (a Sanskrit compound work meaning ‘ten avatars’) is the term for Vishnu’s ten best known avatars. There are also direct, and indirect avatars, and lots of others sub-categories. 

Vishnu isn’t the only god to have avatars too (although, he perhaps has the most). Ganesha and Krishna also have avatars. Even avatars, like Shiva and Brahma, have avatars. 

This can sometimes make Hindu mythology very confusing, but if you really want to learn about it all you have to do is understand the basic concept—that an avatar is an entirely separate form of the same deity (for instance, worshiping any avatar of Vishnu is the same as worshiping Vishnu)—and it will make this rather unique and somewhat puzzling concept a lot easier to grasp. 

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Deadly African Salt Lake Turns Animals Into Ghostly Statues

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Google Buys Enough Wind Power in Texas to Power 170,000 US Homes | Inhabitat

"Google also took steps last week to procure more renewable energy to support growth in its Oklahoma site. On Sept. 17 Google said it is buying the entire 240-megawatt output of the Happy Hereford wind farm in Amarillo, Texas. The wind farm will provide energy for the Southwest Power Pool, the regional grid that serves Google’s Oklahoma data center."

Google Buys Former Gatorade Plant Near Oklahoma Data Center | Data Center Knowledge

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Archetype ATLAS Podcast: Episode 22 - “I Dream of Ayahuasca”

NOTES:

“Everywhere I looked: darkness so thick that the idea of light seemed inconceivable. Suddenly, I swirled down a tunnel of fire, wailing figures calling out to me in agony, begging me to save them. Others tried to terrorize me. ‘You will never leave here,’ they said. ‘Never. Never.’” - Kira Salak in Peru: Hell and Back (National Geographic, March 2006) describing her experience taking ayahuasca.  

Ayahuasca is a Quechua word which means “vine of the soul” 

ayahuasca artist Pablo Amaringo  

more on various hallucinogens, including ayahuasca: 

Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem – Horace

email: archetypeatlas @ gmail 

music: Opium by Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech.com

[archetypeatlas]

We’re always in the right place at the right time when it comes to capturing the best #StreetStyle looks. This dapper gent makes a few tweeks here and there and gives the traditional suit immense style and appeal, what do you think? 

WGSN street shot, Paris Fashion Week, spring/summer 2014

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Mask

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Johannes Graf

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"Sometime in 1987, you were sitting on a beach in Bora Bora, looking at To’opua island, enjoying a holiday with a very serious boyfriend. The serious boyfriend, John, took a photograph of you sitting on the beach, not wearing your bikini top. John later became your husband and father to your children Sarah, Lisa, Alex and Jane.

"This photograph of a beautiful moment in your personal history has also become a part of my history, and that of many other people; it has even shaped our outlooks on the world at large. John’s image of you became the first image to be publicly altered by the most influential image manipulation program ever. […]

"I still wonder if you felt the world change there on that beach. The fact that reality would be more moldable, that normal people could change their history, brighten up their past, and put twirl effects on their faces? That holiday image was distributed with the first demo editions of Photoshop, and your intimate beach moment became the reality for many people to play with. Two Jennifers, no Jennifer, less clouds, etc. In essence, it was the very first photoshop meme—but now the image is nowhere to be found online."

Rhizome | A Letter to Jennifer Knoll, via Caspar V.

[archetypeatlas]

Archetype ATLAS Podcast: Episode 20 - “Choose Your Words with Care”

NOTES:

Hubristic language indicates a personality changing - and not necessarily for the better. Researchers publishing in the journal Cortex evaluated the speech used by Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair & found it became distinctly hubristic as their terms went on. “Linguistic biomarkers of Hubris syndrome” - September 2013 (via)  

When describing their crimes, psychopaths tend to use more words pertaining to reaching a goal (“because”, “so that”) as well as physical needs, including money, food & sex. “Hungry Like the Wolf: A word-pattern analysis of the language of psychopaths” by Jeffrey T. Hancock, Michael T. Woodworth, Stephen Porter. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 2011; DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8333.2011.02025.x (via) 

Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem – Horace 

email: archetypeatlas @ gmail

music: Laid Back Guitars by Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech.com

[archetypeatlas]

A zoot suit in pale green wool with cotton shirt and wool bow tie - part of 'Streetstyle, From Sidewalk to Catwalk, 1940 to Tomorrow' at London's Victoria and Albert Museum in 1994-5. Accessories include a satin handkerchief, leather and elastic braces, and leather shoes.

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Archetype ATLAS Podcast: Episode 18 - “Generation X Out Climate Change”

NOTES:

An ongoing study being conducted at the University of Michigan is finding increasing amounts of apathy & disbelief about the issue of climate change amongst the Gen X group.

Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem – Horace 

email: archetypeatlas @ gmail 

music: Laid Back Guitars by Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech.com

[archetypeatlas]

Archetype ATLAS Podcast: Episode 17 - “Last Earthling: please turn out the lights!”

NOTES:

Earth is about 4.5 billion years old - barring nuclear war or something like a crazy asteroid, how much longer before it enters the “hot zone” and no longer is habitable?

Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem – Horace 

email: archetypeatlas @ gmail 

music: Laid Back Guitars by Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech.com

[archetypeatlas]

Archetype ATLAS Podcast: Episode 16: “Power to the Underdog”

NOTES:

Geena Davis reminiscing about how women reacted so strongly to the 1991 movie Thelma & Louise  

"The Pursuit of Hopefulness: Operationalizing Hope in Entertainment Media Narrative," by Abby Prestin in Routledge Journal’s Media Psychology, 2013 (16 (3): 318 DOI:10.1080/15213269.2013.773494) via Science Daily

Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem – Horace 

email: archetypeatlas @ gmail 

music: Laid Back Guitars by Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech.com

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Anne Siems

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Archetype ATLAS Podcast: Episode 15 - “Lego to the Gadget-Tossing Rescue”

NOTES:

When one part of your phone breaks or needs to be upgraded, you have to throw the whole thing away. Which is a monumental waste & one of the biggest sources of electronic garbage, a growing waste stream. Dutch inventor Dave Hakkens has devised a modular phone solution called Phone Blocks: http://phone-blocks.com/

Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem – Horace 

email: archetypeatlas @ gmail 

music: Laid Back Guitars by Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech.com

[archetypeatlas]

Dora Kallmus - c 1920

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Did you seen this beautifully vibrant degradé bag from the #Aigner show?!