en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal The Last.fm journal for firsthope. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/05/11/3mn4l1_izniknicea Tue, 11 May 2010 11:53:10 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/05/11/3mn4l1_izniknicea Iznik, a city with a cultural heritage of 2400 years, is preparing for a huge celebration. Plans are being made in Iznik within the framework of "Faith Tourism", to celebrate the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. Iznik has been described by the Christian world as the third "holy city" after Jerusalem and the Vatican.

Iznik, which is 85 km. from Bursa, having fertile land and vast historical assets together with a beautiful lake, is known worldwide for its tiles. It was an important city of the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman empires.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/04/04/3jek17_the_spiritual_world Sun, 4 Apr 2010 09:00:47 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/04/04/3jek17_the_spiritual_world The material world is simply a shadow of the spiritual world. So real life, real variety, real beauty, real knowledge, everything in reality is there in the spiritual world. This material world is only reflection. Just like if you create a clay doll, a very nice beautiful girl. But it is imitation. It is shadow of the real beautiful girl.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/17/3cfl0z_korean_drama__%3A%3D%29__and__history Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:41:08 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/17/3cfl0z_korean_drama__%3A%3D%29__and__history I don't know about you, but in my country there is one Korean Historical drama that really attract many attention lately. That's The Great Queen Seon Deok (Seon Deok Yeo Wang). My national TV that had the broadcast right of that drama have to replay it due to the request of viewers.
This saeguk drama has reached the highest rating among other Korean dramas in South Korea. The rating reaches more than 40 % in South Korea, and the drama popularity is wide spread not just in East Asian countries like Japan and China. The popularity also reached through many Asian regions like in South East Asian countries such as Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.


The Silla Crown
The Silla Crown
Cheomseongdae
Cheomseongdae
So, What is the drama all about ?

The History

This is about the first Queen in ancient Korean history. The history of Silla dynasti. Silla is one of three Kingdoms in Korea. Another Kingdoms are Baekje and Goguryeo. According to Wikipedia Seondeok reigned as Queen of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647 AD. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler and its first reigning queen.

Queen Seondeok before she became queen, she was known as Princess Deok Man the second daughter of King Jinpyeong. Because the King had no sons, so he had selected Seondeok as his heir. This act was not unusual in Silla periode, as women of the periode had a certain degree of inluence as advisors, dowager queens, and regents. Women were heads of families since matrilineal lines of descent existed along with patrilineal ones. During the Silla kingdom, the status of women remained relatively high, but they were expected to do their duties and not try to do activities that were considered to be unwomanly.

Seondeok's reign was a violent one, there were many rebellions and fighting with the neighbor Kingdom of Baekje. Seondeok was known as a smart queen. She kept the kingdom together and extended its ties with China. Sending many scholars to China and learn from that country. Seondeok was drawn to Buddhism and presided over the completion of Buddhist Temples.
Seondeok built the "Star-Gazing Tower" or Cheomseongdae as the first observatory in East Asia. Cheomseongdae still stands until now in the old Silla capital of Gyeongju, South Korea.

Was the drama represent the real history of the queen ?
Not exactly, but the main story, characters, achievements, and strategy were real. There are differences of course, like in the drama, it was mentioned that Princess Deokman is Princess Chon Myong's younger twin sister. Actually, the history never mentioned that both princess are twin. And the appearance of Lady Mi shil.

Lady Mi Shil is a historical figure of Silla, but her existence is controversial because she is not mentioned in both Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa (Legend and History of the three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea). However, Lady Mi shil is a very important figure in Hwarang Segi.

Hwarang Segi is a a historical record of the Hwarang ( flower boys) of the Silla kingdom in ancient Korea. It is said to have been written by Silla historian Kim Daemun (704). According to Hwarang Segi, Lady Mi Shil was a daughter of Mijinbu the 2nd Leader of Hwarang (Pungweolju). Mijinbu's mother was Princess Samyup, the daughter of King Beopheung of Silla. Her mother was Lady Myodo. With these relations, Mi Shil gained the qualification of a noble within the bone rank system.
In the drama series, Mi Shil is a major opponent of Princess Deokman.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/17/3cexp4_why_music_moves_us__%3A%3D%29 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 11:32:20 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/17/3cexp4_why_music_moves_us__%3A%3D%29 Why Music Moves Us
Music Can Uplift, Inspire, Entertain, Comfort, and Elicit Fear!


Music is one of the fundamental necessities for humankind. From infancy to the end of life, music profoundly influences our physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

A toddler turns on the stereo and bobs to a hip-hop tune. A patient with Alzheimer's Disease croons a beloved melody. Teens rave at a concert party. A legion attends a summer evening concert in the park. A baby falls asleep by its mother's lullaby. Such is the power of music.
What is Music

Music - also called the "universal" language - is a complex blend of rhythm, melody, pitch, harmony, and interval. It is inherent in all human societies and a vital part of every cultural fabric. It is also one of the most complex and demanding cognitive efforts that the human mind can undertake. It requires precise timing of various organized actions and perfect control over pitch interval production implemented through diverse affects according to the instrument used.

A powerful instrument, it has the capacity to alter mood, communicate feelings, and create distractions. A potent stimulus it can significantly influence physiological and psychological functions of the human brain and body. When expertly executed, it becomes a form of non-verbal communication or a symbol designed to bring pleasure or distraction from a stressful event.
Why Music Makes Us Laugh, Love, Cry, Become Fearful, Move, and Dance

Music elicits a multitude of human emotions because it works through the "limbic" system - the site of emotional synthesis. The limbic system controls a host of physiological functions which in turn facilitates the release of powerful hormones that can incite either joy or stress. For example music performed at 70 decibels (heavy metal or hard rock) stimulates the pituitary adrenal axis. This excitement induces the release of stress hormones: epinephrine (adrenaline), norepenephrine (noradrenaline), and catecholamines which increases blood pressure, heart rate, and cerebral blood flow increasing cranial pressure.

By comparison, when relaxing music was played for patients with very fast heart rates (tachycardia), their heart rates were significantly reduced and equalled the 50-60 beats per minutes of the musical composition. By listening to "soothing" music, the neurotransmitters dopamine, beta-endorphins, and enkephalins induce tranquility, complacency, and relaxation in this study group.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/08/3bpbbm_the_great_queen_seondeok Fri, 8 Jan 2010 23:04:09 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/08/3bpbbm_the_great_queen_seondeok The story of a beautiful queen, who has to give up her love to save the people. With historical battle scenes and a star-studded cast, Queen Seondeok of Silla is the follow-up historical drama to MBC’s “Lee San: Wind of the Palace” and “Prince of Legend” for 2009!
Writer Kim Young-hyun of the famous “Jewel in the Palace” will be the main writer of this new TV mini-series.

A biopic of Queen Seondeok, who was born a princess and later became the ruler of Silla, leaving behind many brilliant achievements.

During the Three Kingdoms period of Korea...
Deokman (Queen Seondeok’s childhood name) was born a twin but was abandoned as a baby. She was later brought back to the Silla palace, where she joined forces with her twin sister Princess Chonmyong to oppose Mi-shil, who wanted to seize power. Mi-shil devised sinister plans to have the two Silla princesses exiled from the kingdom, and in a secretive battle, Princess Chonmyong was assassinated by Mi-shil. But Princess Deokman shrewdly enlisted the help of General Kim Yusin and eliminated her archenemy Mi-shil. She became the first female ruler of the Silla kingdom.Princess Deokman / Queen Seondeok (actress Lee Yo-won)
“The queen is my destiny”
After surviving many crises in her life, she finally became the ruler of Silla. Her loyal followers included General Kim Yusin and Kim Chunchu. She became the first female ruler in Korea’s history and laid the foundation for the unification of the three kingdoms under Silla.

She was born as the twin sister of Princess Chonmyong and had a close brush with death as a baby due to the attempted assassination by Mi-shil, who had ambitions for the throne. A loyal servant named So-hwa rescued her by fleeing the kingdom with her. She was raised outside of the kingdom and when she turned 15, she learned that she was a Silla princess. So she returned to Silla to meet her parents.



Mi-shil (actress Koh Hyun-jung)
Archenemy of Queen Seondeok. As a beautiful seductress, she held sway over kings and the elite Hwarang corps. Her duty was to promote the children of the noble class to high positions, but instead she used her beauty to seduce King Jinheung and King Jinpyeong to wield enormous power. But Princess Chonmyong and Princess Deokman opposed her and stopped her from becoming the ruler.



Kim Yusin (actor Uhm Tae-woong)
A great Silla general. With a handsome face and outstanding battle skills, he became the leader of the elite Hwarang corps. With a grand vision of unifying the three kingdoms under Silla’s rule, he aligns himself with Princess Deokman who puts her complete trust in him. Princess Deokman later fell in love with Kim Yusin but they were unable to be together due to a twist of fate.

**Hwarang: Hwarang were elite Silla warriors who also received training in the arts and music.



Princess Cheonmyeong (actress Park Ye-jin)
She was born as Princess Deokman’s twin sister but only she was chosen to live in the palace as a princess. She grew up with everything she could desire. Due to Mi-shil’s influence, she lived quietly in the palace, but she possessed charisma and intelligence. After learning that she had a twin sister, she and Princess Deokman were reunited. While trying to reinstate her sister as a princess, she was assassinated by Mi-shil.



Bidam (actor Kim Nam-gil)
Although he was the son of Mi-shil, he helped Princess Deokman become the ruler. When he saw that Princess Deokman trusted Kim Yusin more than him, he became jealous and led a revolt against Kim Yusin. .]]> http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/06/3bijcz_this__is_love__rumicome%2C_come_again%2C_whoever_you_are%2C_come%21_heathen%2C_fire_worshipper_or_idolatrous%2C_come%21_come_even_if_you_broke_your_penitence_a_hundred_times%2C_ours_is_the_portal_of_hope%2C_come_as_you_are.%22 Wed, 6 Jan 2010 20:00:45 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/06/3bijcz_this__is_love__rumicome%2C_come_again%2C_whoever_you_are%2C_come%21_heathen%2C_fire_worshipper_or_idolatrous%2C_come%21_come_even_if_you_broke_your_penitence_a_hundred_times%2C_ours_is_the_portal_of_hope%2C_come_as_you_are.%22 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td044AFVD8U Who is Mevlana? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QYDrd1a0M0
Mevlana who is also known as Rumi, was a philosopher and mystic of Islam, but not a Muslim of the orthodox type. His doctrine advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love. To him and to his disciples all religions are more or less truth. Looking with the same eye on Muslim, Jew and Christian alike, his peaceful and tolerant teaching has appealed to men of all sects and creeds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAUquX-cWr4

Mevlana was born on 30 September 1207 in Balkh in present day Afghanistan. He died on 17 December 1273 in Konya in present day Turkey. He was laid to rest beside his father and over his remains a splendid shrine was erected. The 13th century Mevlana Mausoleum with its mosque, dance hall, dervish living quarters, school and tombs of some leaders of the Mevlevi Order continues to this day to draw pilgrims from all parts of the Muslim and non-Muslim world.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/06/3bi99c_cleopatra Wed, 6 Jan 2010 18:47:43 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/06/3bi99c_cleopatra http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGDyZHlHklo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzruB19CFgI** Cleopatra is by far one of the most ever famous queens of all times in ancient Egypt. Her story of love and death is very famous and she ruled Egypt and made it quite powerful at the time.

Cleopatra was born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria. She was the third daughter in line to her father Ptolemy XII; she later had another sister and two younger brothers. Her younger brother Ptolemy XIII later reigned with her.

Cleopatra’s story is one of the most famous ever.

Not only because of her great love, but because she was deeply in love of Egypt and she is classified by historians to be the last Pharoah of Egypt.

Cleopatra came to the throne after death of her two elder sisters and after death of her father whom was much hated by the Egyptian and had fled to Rome several years before.

During the two centuries that preceded Ptolemy XII death, the Ptolemies were allied with the Romans. The Ptolemies' strength was failing and the Roman Empire was rising. During the later rule of the Ptolemies, the Romans gained more and more control over Egypt. Tributes had to be paid to the Romans to keep them away from Egypt.

She came to reign in 51B.C.and was of 17 years of age. She was the only Ptolemic Pharoah to speak the Egyptian language. She also took on the Egyptian religion. She was very intelligent and was a shrewd politician with an extraordinary charisma. However, she was not beautiful and had a much masculine features.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/06/3bi7z5_attila_the_hun Wed, 6 Jan 2010 18:38:33 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/06/3bi7z5_attila_the_hun Attila's Rise to Power

Called the Scourge of God by the Romans, Attila the Hun was king and general of the Hun empire from A.D. 433 to 453. Succeeding his uncle, King Roas, in 433, Attila shared his throne with his brother Bleda. He inherited the Scythian hordes who were disorganized and weakened by internal strife. Attila's first order of affairs was to unite his subjects for the purpose of creating one of the most formidable and feared armies Asia had ever seen.
Peace Treaty Between Rome and Attila the Hun

In 434 East Roman Emperor Theodosius II offered Attila and Bleda 660 pounds of gold annually with hopes of securing an everlasting peace with the Huns. This peace, however, was not long lived. In 441 Attila's Huns attacked the Eastern Roman Empire. The success of this invasion emboldened Attila to continue his westward expansion. Passing unhindered through Austria and Germany, Attila plundered and devastated all in his path.
Attila Attacks Italy

In 451, having suffered a setback on the Plains of Chalons, by the allied Romans and Visigoths, Attila turned his attention to Italy. After having laid waste to Aquileia and many Lombard cities in 452, the Scourge of God met Pope Leo I who dissuaded him from sacking Rome.
Attila's Ignominious Death

Attila's death in 453 wasn't quite what one would have expected from such a fierce barbarian warrior. He died not on the battlefield, but on the night of his marriage. On that night Attila, who, despite common misconceptions, was not a heavy drinker, drank heavily in celebration of his new bride. In his wedding chambers at the end of the event, Attila passed out flat on his back. It was then and there that Attila had a massive nosebleed which caused him to choke on his own blood.

See an alternative death scenario (the hemorrhoid theory) or The Night Attila Died, which prefers foul play.
For more on Huns, Scythians, and others called "barbarian", see the following reviews:

* Empires of the Silk Road, by Christopher I. Beckwith
* How the Barbarian Invasions Shaped the Modern World, by Thomas Craughwell
* Atli - Nordic Version of Attila
* Attila Annotated Picture Gallery

Major Dates in the Life of Attila the Hun

* 406 Attila is born.
* 433 Attila becomes ruler of the Huns.
* 450 Emperor Valentinian II's sister Honoria writes to Attila. The emperor refuses to let his sister marry Attila.
* 451 Defeat of Attila at Chalons.
* 452 The pope persuades Attila not to sack Rome.
* 453 Attila dies.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/06/3bi7hc_queen_nefertiti Wed, 6 Jan 2010 18:35:01 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/06/3bi7hc_queen_nefertiti Nefertiti has given rise to the tradition that she was one of the most beautiful women of antiquity.
(The Columbia Encyclopedia)

She may have also ruled in her own right under the name Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti (meaning, the Aten is radiant of radiance because the Beautiful has arrived) briefly after her husband's death and before the accession of Tutankhamun. Who Was Nefertiti?
By Maryalice Yakutchik
Discovery Channel
8/2003

How does one of the most powerful, stunningly beautiful and controversial queens of ancient Egypt virtually vanish from history?

With the help of her enemies, apparently. And if there's one thing Egyptologists agree on when it comes to Nefertiti, it's that she had plenty of enemies.

The wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten and perhaps a ruler in her own right after his death, Nefertiti was little more than a historical whisper when, in 1912, an exquisite limestone sculpture of her now famous face was unearthed at the royal retreat of Amarna. It was more than 3,200 years old, dating from 1345 B.C.

But from the moment it went on display at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin in 1924, the enigmatic bust with the swan like neck assumed a place as one of the world's most famous icons.

Little was known about the woman whose beauty it celebrated. And while Nefertiti's origins as well as her demise remain shrouded in mystery, Egyptologists are beginning to piece together more about her life.

We know what we know about Nefertiti mainly from the tomb scenes and inscriptions of the officials who served at the Amarna court; from the Aten temple scenes at Karnak, which have been studied since the 1960s; and from ongoing excavations at Amarna itself currently by the British Egypt Exploration Society.

Her name, meaning "the beautiful (or perfect) woman has come," prompts some scholars to think that Nefertiti traveled to Egypt from a foreign land. Others theorize she was an Egyptian royal by birth. Still others think it unlikely that she was of royal blood, but that her father was a high government official, a man named Kheperkheprure Ay, who went on to become pharaoh after Tutankhamen (and, incidentally, may have had a hand in the boy king's death!).

Essentially nothing is known about Nefertiti before she became co-regent of Egypt with her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten, who ruled from 1352 B.C. to 1336 B.C.

It's clear she had an unusually high status during her husband's turbulent reign. The couple's renegade practice of monotheism they worshipped the sun disc god over all others, and seem to have outlawed their subjects' polytheistic devotion threatened Egypt's priesthood and ensured they would have no shortage of powerful enemies.

Some Egyptologists think it was Nefertiti who actually instigated this new religion and catalyzed a rift between the royals and the priests.

She bore Akhenaten six daughters, two of whom may have died in a plague. Nefertiti was the stepmother of Tutankhamen. [King Tut married Ankhesenamon his half sister]. Some Egyptian scholars theorize that around year twelve of Akhenaten's reign Nefertiti may well have become his co-regent, and immediately after his death became a pharaoh in her own right, ruling alone for a short time.

As Akhenaten disposed of the plethora of old gods, enraging his priests and subjects, he likely needed a strong female figure to soften the abstract austerity of the sun deity, according to British archeologist Joyce Tyldesley, who wrote a biography of Nefertiti. It's little wonder why his beautiful queen was celebrated in official art and inscriptions that focused on the idyllic domestic life of the royal family.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/06/3bi664_roman_history__%28rome__%3A%29_%29 Wed, 6 Jan 2010 18:25:51 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/firsthope/journal/2010/01/06/3bi664_roman_history__%28rome__%3A%29_%29 Roman History

People have lived in Italy [View map] for a long time, because Italy is a fairly fertile area, but the time when Rome was powerful did not begin until after the greatest power of Egypt and Greece.
Roman history is usually divided into three main periods: before the rise of Rome, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. The Empire is usually divided up according to who was emperor.
Before the rise of Rome:

Stone Age (to 3000 BC)
Bronze Age (ca. 3000 BC-1000 BC)
Etruscans (ca. 1000 BC-500 BC)

Roman Republic:

The early period (ca. 500 BC-300 BC)
The Punic Wars (ca. 275 BC-146 BC)
The Civil Wars (ca. 146 BC-30 BC)
Roman Empire:

The Julio-Claudians (30 BC-68 AD)
The Flavians (69 AD-96 AD)
The Five Good Emperors (96 AD-161 AD)
The Severans (161 AD-235 AD)
The Third Century Crisis
Constantine and his family (312 AD-363 AD)
The Theodosians (363 AD-450 AD)
The Fall of Rome (476 AD)

After the fall of Rome:

The Ostrogoths
The Visigoths
The Franks
The Vandals
The Byzantines
The Lombards, the Pope, and Islam]]>