Monday, January 25, 2010

Stones boring? Really? 44 ways of looking at them. Part II

 
Part I (1 to 11)

12. Catcher of nightmares. My eldest daughter has a few stones - not every stone works every night  ;) -  that protect her against nightmares.
13. Starter of dreams. Dream stones.
14. Way of life. Behave like a "rolling stone".
15. Matter of definitions. Stone = stone? Sometimes not. "Stone" as used in natural language is not (always) identical to dutch definition "stone is sedimentary rock bigger than 63 mm and smaller than 200 mm"
16. Traveling companion. It's the asphalt or dirt road we take.
17. Pre-historic monument. Stonehenge. Secular calender? Burial place? Place of healing? Companion in rituals? Astronomical sign?
18. Ten Commandments. The 10 moral imperatives that God gave to Moses on two stones. The moral foundation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
19. Turner of metal into gold. For a long time the philosophers stone was the most sought-after goal in Western alchemy.
20. Elixir of life. The philosophers stone is also sometimes believed to be useful for rejuvenation and achieving immortality.
21. Display of wealth. If one can afford a house of stone one is "more wealthy" than living in a shack of branches and twigs.
22. Top of the world. The highest point of Earth is made of stone. Really? Yes look under the snow on the top of mount Everest.
23. Marker of familylines. Edda: Gravestones seldom stand by the way-side unless raised by a kinsman to a kinsman."
24. Border demarcation. Between plots of land stones are piled.
25. Pest opponent. 'Mousestones' (german 'Mauseplatte') keep the mouses from food stocks.
26. Crust. Planet Earth's crust occupies less than 1% of Earth's volume. Do we live on solid ground? Actually it is a thin veneer (dutch 'dun laagje vernis').
27. Unit of measure. 1 stone is usually a mass of about 6.35 kilograms.
28. Marker of distance. Milestone.
29. Marker of new phase in life. Milestone.
30. Getting stoned. Feeling high, strange, happy, dizzy or weird after taking drugs.
31. Motionless. Lying as dead as a stone, stone dead.
32. Eponym. Giver of names to family, music, place etc.
33. Touchstone. Stone used to identify precious metals.
34. Predictor of the future. Shamans use stones and bones for predicting the future.
35. Bridging level. Stepping stones.
36. Giver of peace. Raking stones into a pattern (recalling waves or rippling water) by Zen priests helps them focus their concentration.
37. Time period. The Stone-age is a broad prehistoric time period during which humans widely used stone for toolmaking.
38. Cooking stones. Before 'homo sapiens sapiens' had cooking pans our ancestors threw hot stones in a leather bag with liquid for cooking.
39. Being out of fashion. People who still live in the Stone-age are considered to be old fashioned.
40. King maker. Scottish monarchs were seated upon the Stone of Scone during their coronation ceremony.
41. Workmanslook. Stonewashed jeans produce a faded and worn appearance to a newly manufactured jeans.
42. Holiness. The Black Stone is a Muslim relic. Apart from the ritual role of the Black Stone, its black colour symbolise the progress towards God.
43. Message out of space. Meteorite or tektite.
44. Source of quarrels. Judaism and Islam consider the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem as a holy spot. For Judaism it's their holiest spot. For the Islam it's one of the holiest sites.

Stones, they are like a mirror? Aren't they?

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