Wednesday, May 28, 2008 A
"Awake and Hungry"
7:56am
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 A
"Awake and Hungry"
7:56am
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I woke up to pee and cannot get back to sleep. Perhaps it is a fear I will not wake in time and the scheduled wake up call will fail. I wake hungry, dreaming of food, remembering that lovely Spanish gourmet food at Jimon Bar, the tuna with the gaspacho salad, the chewy bread, the flan... That was the best flan I've ever tasted. I've had some good food here, absolutely equal to our best restaurants in Yuma, Ciao Bella and River City Grill. There was an 'appetizer' pizza at French Toast, with portabella mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and the perfect amount of tomato sauce that was absolute perfection. There was a 'pasta primevera' in white saude with all kinds of veggies and huge shrimp... I forget the name of that restaurant, but it had an interesting wall mural that suggested of the Italian sea. And the company was good... ...Oh, I'm taking back some good memories. And now, at 2:42am, I am awake and hungry and have only one crunchy health bar... ...Oh, there was another place, a 24 hour pizza place that had a tasty white cheese and spinach pizza. That was in a different part of town, or as crazy awake as I am, I'd be there. Hah! Yes, dear readers, you can tell what a gourmand I am! |
3:39am
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Oh no, I cannot sleep at all! A weird electricity courses through my legs. I ate the health food bar and took my vitamins. No more food until I reach the airport. Oh, I know, I shall not waste away! I just keep remembering those images...
 Curling snake biting its own tale (ouroburos) surrounding the Kheper scarab
 Khepera/Ouroburos is in the center, just a little way down from the top, in the solar boat
There was another Kheper scarab that has an encircled pentacle above it, plus other imagery: |
(From Budge...)
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Unfortunately, my photo of this piece's info came out irretrievely blurred, so I can only surmise about it using its inherent imagery.
Two baboons, which are part of Thoth's symbology, surround a Xeper scarab, showing it is an evolution. Above is an encircled pentacle, which means the underworld. Underneath is a radiant image, meaning the rising of beings of light. A shen ring, meaning eternal, is above each baboon. Apparently this is to do with the after life, the soul evolving to an eternal being of light. In the growing collection of unusual was scepters, I have one wrapped with a snake: |
| And here is the scene in its entirety (which is part of a two piece display): |
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(From info card) "The block whose two decorated surfaces are displayed here originally spanned a wall separating two rooms of a temple dedicated to Amenemhat I. The block has been cut apart so the faces can be shown side by side. "In the scene at the right, Amenemhat I, identified by his cartouche, faced his son, Senwosret I. Amenemhat's crown with its two tall feathers is visible below the protective wing of a hawk or vulture, the presence of Senwosret I is indicated only by his cartouche and the expression 'the king himself.' In the scene at the left, Amenemhat I, identified by his Horus name and the beginning of his cartouche, was on the right. Senwosret I, represented here by his Horus name and the term 'the king himself,' again faced his father. Nekhbet, the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt, and Wadjet,the uraeus serpent goddess of Lower Egypt, perched on their respective plants, extend shen signs, signifying universal domination, to hawks surmounting the kings' names." This must be the piece on the left. Budge's dictionary gives the cartouche for Amenemhat I: |
Relevant detail...
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Amenemhat I as Horus, wears the crown of Lower Egypt, so correspondingly, Wadjet is there extending the 'shen' sign. However, not to argue with the Met's writer, but that's no 'plant', that's a was scepter around which the uraeus serpent is coiled! The following is a piece I first saw illustrated in Richard Wilkinson's _Reading Egyptian Art_: |
| I was thrilled to see it in person: |
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(from the info card) "Experimention in carving stone vessels reached its zenith in the Early Dynastic Period. Craftsmen were highly successful at translating the plasticity associated with clay into stone, and this spouted dish is a fine example. The votive dish has two hieroglyphs; the pair of arms reads ka (spirit), and the cross-like symbol offered by the arms translates as ankh (life). The ankh's base serves as the spout, and several interior walls are pierced to allow liquid to flow through the emblem."
It's a marvelous evocation of 'feeding the ka', (aka 'life to thy spirit' as the museum website has it). And the excellent workmanship so early in Egyptian history is amazing.
(Note from the future, May 31, 2008)
Oh, I want to be at my computer, so I can get at these beauties.
Birds are chirping loudly. I feel so awake. I want to be home.
The plane begins boarding 9:10am and leaves 9:40am. Others have also arrived early, four young people speaking a language I can't identify, Russian? I see their passports have a red cover, but cannot see any writing to indicate language or country. They wait more patiently than I, but then they have people to talk to. |
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