North Pole now free of ice in the summer

Good news: the Northwest Passage is open.
Bad news: because the northern polar ice cap has melted. :(
Arctic sea ice could break apart completely at the North Pole this year, allowing ships to sail over the normally frozen top of the world.
The potential landmark thaw - the first time in human history the pole would be ice-free - is a stark sign of global warming....
Last year, the fabled Northwest Passage opened as Arctic ice retreated more than ever before.
Don't forget that Global Warming is a myth invented by Al Gore!
(screenprint)

Aztec death whistle blown

Someone is finally paying attention to musical instruments found at archaeological digs.
Scientists were fascinated by the ghostly find: a human skeleton buried in an Aztec temple with a clay, skull-shaped whistle in each bony hand.
Roberto Velazquez has devoted his career to recreating the forgotten sounds of his distant ancestors.
But no one blew into the noisemakers for nearly 15 years. When someone finally did, the shrill, windy screech made the spine tingle.
If death had a sound, this was it.
Roberto Velazquez believes the Aztecs played this mournful wail from the so-called Whistles of Death before they were sacrificed to the gods.
The 66-year-old mechanical engineer has devoted his career to recreating the sounds of his pre-Columbian ancestors, producing hundreds of replicas of whistles, flutes and wind instruments unearthed in Mexico's ruins.
....Medical doctors are interested too, believing the Aztecs may have used sound to treat illnesses.
Noisemakers made of clay, turkey feathers, sugar cane, frog skins and other natural materials were an integral part of pre-Columbian life, found at nearly every Mayan site.
The Aztecs sounded the low, foghorn hum of conch shells at the start of ceremonies and possibly during wars to communicate strategies. Hunters likely used animal-shaped ocarinas to produce throaty grunts that lured deer.
The modern-day archaeologists who came up with the term Whistles of Death believe they were meant to help the deceased journey into the underworld, while tribes are said to have emitted terrifying sounds to fend off enemies, much like high-tech crowd-control devices available today.
Experts also believe pre-Columbian tribes used some of the instruments to send the human brain into a dream state and treat certain illnesses. The ancient whistles could guide research into how rhythmic sounds alter heart rates and states of consciousness.
I think that's so awesome. If only we had some sheet music, or whatever the equivalent was. If someone from another time/place picked up a guitar, chances are they wouldn't be playing "Stairway to Heaven" on it. So even if the ancients COULD cure disease using these instruments, most likely it was discovered through generations of trial and error, and seems to me that's a lost art now.
I have a couple of CDs by a guy named Jorge Reyes who claims to make authentic pre-hispanic Mexican music. Only one seems to be still available, but it is worth checking out. I use them as background during rituals.
(screenprint)
12 19.15.8.5 8 Tzec 7 Chicchan manifestation portal

Montezuma's palace found (story)

Montezuma’s palace unearthed in Mexico!
Workers repairing a colonial era building in Mexico City (ie, a building built by the conquistadors on top of Tenochtitlan after they had destroyed it) were somehow amazed to find a bit of Tenochtitlan underneath.
During a routine renovation project on a Colonial-era building, experts uncovered pieces of a wall as well as a basalt floor believed to have been part of a dark room where Montezuma meditated, archaeology team leader Elsa Hernandez said Monday....
The Aztec constructions were razed by the Spanish, who built what is now Mexico City atop their ruins. Experts had long thought Montezuma's palace stood roughly on the site where the ruins were found, next door to the National Palace, Hernandez said.
Imagine that. It was just where they thought it was. Did they ever bother to LOOK?
The basalt floor likely belongs to the Casa Denegrida, or the Black House, which Spanish conquerors described as a windowless room painted in black, Hernandez said. The emperor was believed to have reflected there on visions recounted by professional seers and shamans.
That's pretty cool. I was supposed to open a business with a friend (now ex-friend) about 9 years ago and we were going to paint her root cellar black, pad the floor and use it for a meditation room. I guess I channeled that from ol' Monty, huh?
(screenshot)

12 19.15.7.6 9 Zotz 1 Cimi

Montezuma's palace found (video)