Listen to my NEW Podcast interview on Tommy Cullum’s Lets Get Freaky Podcast. It was such a pleasure talking with Tommy, and I asked him about his first paranormal experience when he was a kid in England. What a great discussion about ghosts, spirits, energy, and pets, too. LISTEN: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1W6pE4Ja8iUQnUNlFlXVBi?si=A_4ZWBa6TUK-MyIS7wz30g
Today's blog is about seven surprising facts about Michelangelo's famous Vatican ceiling, one of the masterworks of the Italian Renaissance—and of world art, thanks to History dot com. We had the good fortune to visit there in 2016 (you can read our experience here), and it was so crowded it was shoulder to shoulder as we tried to make our way through.
7 Things You May Not Know About the Sistine Chapel
BY: JENNIE COHEN, History.com UPDATED: JULY 24, 2023
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, a series of frescoes painted by Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, stands as one of the greatest works of art in world history. Painted between 1508 and 1512 in a papal chapel of the Vatican Palace in Rome, the frescoes depict scenes drawn from the Bible's Old Testament. The central ceiling paintings show stories from the Book of Genesis—most famously "The Creation of Adam," a depiction of the moment when God reached down to Earth to create humanity, his outstretched index finger almost touching Adam's. Here are seven fascinating facts about the creation of the Sistine Chapel:
1. Michelangelo wanted nothing to do with the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. In 1508, 33-year-old Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo was hard at work on Pope Julius II’s marble tomb, a relatively obscure piece of sculpture now located in Rome’s San Pietro in Vincoli church. When Julius asked the esteemed artist to switch gears and decorate the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, Michelangelo balked. For one thing, he considered himself a sculptor rather than a painter, and he had no experience whatsoever with frescoes (wall paintings). He also had his heart set on finishing the tomb, even as funding for the project dwindled. Nevertheless, Michelangelo reluctantly accepted the fresco commission, spending four years of his life perched on scaffolding with his brush in hand. He would return intermittently to Julius’ monumental tomb over the next few decades.
2. Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel in a standing position. When they picture Michelangelo creating his legendary frescoes, most people assume he was lying down. But in fact, the artist and his assistants used wooden scaffolds that allowed them to stand upright and reach above their heads. Michelangelo himself designed the unique system of platforms, which were attached to the walls with brackets. The impression that Michelangelo painted on his back might come from the 1965 film The Agony and the Ecstasy, in which Charlton Heston portrayed the genius behind the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling.
3. Working on the Sistine Chapel was so unpleasant that Michelangelo wrote a poem about his misery. In 1509, an increasingly uncomfortable Michelangelo described the physical strain of the Sistine Chapel project to his friend Giovanni da Pistoia. “I’ve already grown a goiter from this torture,” he wrote in a poem that was surely somewhat tongue-in-cheek. He went on to complain that his “stomach’s squashed under my chin,” that his “face makes a fine floor for droppings,” that his “skin hangs loose below me” and that his “spine’s all knotted from folding myself over.” He ended with an affirmation that he shouldn’t have changed his day job: “I am not in the right place—I am not a painter.”
4. Michelangelo’s masterpiece has proven highly resilient. The Sistine Chapel’s frescoed ceiling has held up remarkably well in the five centuries since its completion. Only one small component is missing: part of the sky in the panel depicting Noah’s escape from the great biblical flood. The section of painted plaster fell to the floor and shattered following an explosion at a nearby gunpowder depot in 1797. Despite the ceiling’s apparent hardiness, experts worry that foot traffic from the millions of people who visit the Sistine Chapel each year continues to pose a serious threat.
5. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel art was touched up—and stripped down—in the 1980s and 1990s. Between 1980 and 1999, experts restored selected artwork in the Sistine Chapel, including Michelangelo’s ceiling and his famed fresco known as “The Last Judgment,” which he created in his later years. Specialists meticulously dissolved layers of grime, soot and deposits, substantially brightening the colors of the centuries-old paintings.
(EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT FIXING AN IDIOT'S DAMAGE): The restoration also undid the work of Pope Pius IV, who ordered the placement of fig leaves and loincloths on Michelangelo’s nudes during the 1560s.
6. The Sistine Chapel ceiling’s most famous panel might depict a human brain. In the section entitled “The Creation of Adam,” figures representing God and Adam reach for each other with their arms outstretched. Their almost-touching fingers are one of the world’s most recognizable and widely replicated images. Some theorists think the scene also contains the unmistakable outline of a human brain, formed by the angels and robes surrounding God. According to Frank Lynn Meshberger, a doctor who pioneered this hypothesis, Michelangelo meant to evoke God’s bestowal of intelligence on the first human.
7. New popes are elected in the Sistine Chapel. Built in the 1470s under Pope Sixtus IV, from whom it takes its name, the Sistine Chapel is more than just Vatican City’s most popular tourist destination. In fact, it serves a crucial religious function. Beginning in 1492, the simple brick building has hosted numerous papal conclaves, during which cardinals gather to vote on a new pope. A special chimney in the roof of the chapel broadcasts the conclave’s results, with white smoke indicating the election of a pope and black smoke signaling that no candidate has yet received a two-thirds majority.
When you're lucky enough to be married to an architect who is handy with carpentry (and electrical, plumbing, decorating, painting, etc.), it's not surprising when he decides to build things. Three weeks ago, Tom used scrap wood to create a workbench (I think it's about 9 or 10 feet long and 2 feet wide).
For many years we've had a metal framed workbench, that was getting old, and even survived a move over 400 miles this summer. But it was looking pretty shabby, and Tom decided he could build a better one, and he did!
(Photo Right; Tom (left) and Rob (right))
As an architect, not only does he design it, but he carefully measures it all out, saws all the wood, and assembles it all by himself. It took him about 6 hours to create the finished product, and we were so happy with it. We were also happy to get rid of the old metal framed one!
This is not “Lars and the Real Girl.”
Unfortunately, mannequins do not count as passengers in the HOV lanes on Massachusetts highways, according to the State Police Association of Massachusetts.
The same goes for imaginary friends and yes, even dogs. Though a lot of dog owners may consider their furry friends to be people, too, state police seems to disagree when it comes to driving in the HOV lane.
In a Facebook post Thursday morning, the association shared a photo of a recently stopped Mercedes-Benz, which had a mannequin strapped into a passenger seat. A trooper reportedly stopped the driver in South Boston, after they were spotted driving in the HOV lane, which requires at least two occupants.
“Let this post serve as a reminder that the HOV lane is reserved for vehicles with two or more HUMAN passengers (mannequins, dogs and imaginary friends don’t count) in order to keep our roads safe and traffic regulations respected,” state police noted.
Some Facebook commenters said the driver should at least get some credit for trying. “A for effort,” one person wrote. “It was a really good try though,” another person added. The glasses and the Boston Bruins hat were a nice touch, if we’re being honest.
Others were not as understanding of the driver’s attempts, with one person noting, “All to save :10 minutes on the commute!” Another commenter added, “Could have done a better disguise.”
“Who’s paying the ticket?? Her or her friend??” another person wrote.
See more at the post below:
Thomas Giberti was shot numerous times but is credited with saving the lives of several children at the bowling alley.
Nov 2, 2023 Jim Keithley, Reporter, WMTW, News Channel 8
LEWISTON, Maine — Thomas Giberti, 69, of Auburn was shot seven times, with bullets hitting both his legs, when a gunman opened fire at Lewiston bowling alley last week. Three days after the shooting, Giberti was discharged from the hospital and was up and walking with a walker, his family said.
"The four shots actually to his left leg, the bullets remain inside of his leg because they're kind of impeded in the muscle area and stuff like that and it would do more damage to dig them out," said Will Bourgault, Giberti's nephew.
Bourgault said everyone who has heard his uncle's story, himself included, are amazed by his quick thinking and swift actions that likely saved the lives of eight or nine children.
Giberti, who used to be a manager at the bowling alley, was at the Just-In-Time Recreation Center that night. He had gone out back to grab a screwdriver to fix a piece of loose equipment when the gunman entered.
"As he was coming back out the door to go back into the bowling alley, he saw flashes of light he realized hearing the gunshots that somebody was shooting in there and people were running in all kinds of different directions and stuff," said Bourgault, relaying the story his uncle told.
"He looked over to where the kids were at – six lanes basically of youth bowlers there and they were just all kind of hunkered down trying to hide from the gunman. He was able to get their attention and called to them and the kids ran across the lanes and got to where he was at and as he got them out the back doors so they could get out into the back parking lot in the back, he got shot in the back of his left leg and that's what dropped him in the doorway," Bourgault said.
Giberti was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery and is now dealing with both physical and emotional pain, said his family. Two of his close friends, Bob and Lucy Violette, were both killed that night.
Bourgault is calling his uncle a hero.
"I said Tom – you're a hero to us – what you did was heroic. He said – no I just reacted. I said Tom, that's what heroes do; they just react. You know you could have run out the back door. You could have saved yourself without getting shot. You could have just taken off. You could have frozen back there, but you didn't; you went for it. You got the attention of those kids. Those kids were able to get out safely because of what you did," Bourgault said.
Girberti was absolutely against a GoFundMe, but Bourgault told him that people start GoFundMe pages for cats and if anybody deserves the help, it was him.
Wow! This week, 2 of my books are way up the Amazon book charts. Pets and the Afterlife 4: Spirit Cats is in the TOP 10 and Pets and the Afterlife 1: is back in the TOP 100! You can get them here (Under $10 paper, $3.99 Kindle): https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rob-Gutro/author/B003UNTASW
If you're into watching weather and clouds you may have wondered what those wavy looking clouds are called- well, now there's a relatively new classification (in 2015)from the World Meteorological Society (WMO). The clouds are called Asperitas clouds. Today's blog provides the definition from the WMO.
The newest cloud type, asperitas formations are rare and resemble rippling ocean waves in the sky.
Height of base: 4,000 - 10,000 ft Shape: Undulating waves Latin: aspero - make rough or uneven
What is asperitas cloud? Asperitas (formerly referred to as Undulatus Asperitas) is a distinctive, but relatively rare cloud formation that takes the appearance of rippling waves. These wave-like structures form on the underside of the cloud to makes it look like a rough sea surface when viewed from below.
How does asperitas form? The way in which asperitas clouds form is somewhat a mystery, yet there is much debate and confusion over how the wave-like clouds come into existence. It is hypothesised that their appearance is associated with the aftermath of convective thunderstorms, though they have also been sighted in relatively calm environments. One theory does suggest that they are formed when mammatus clouds descend into areas of the sky where wind direction changes with height causing the wave-like movement.
What is clear however is that atmospheric conditions must be unstable to form a wavy cloud base like that seen with asperitas.
What weather is associated with asperitas formations? Though the formation itself does not produce rainfall, asperitas have been linked to thunderstorms, occurring afterwards. Though the likely unstable atmospheric conditions required to form the wavy cloud base could also allow the growth of convective rain clouds, meaning that asperitas could be accompanied by other, precipitation-producing clouds.
The 'newest' cloud type The addition of this previously undocumented cloud formation to the World Meteorological Organisation's International Cloud Atlas was first proposed by the Cloud Appreciation Society in 2008. Between then and 2015 the case was supported by members of the public sending in images of the dramatic cloud formations.
At the WMO's 17th Congress in 2015, the classification was accepted, making asperitas the first new cloud type in over 50 years, since cirrus intortus in 1951.
What clouds are associated with asperitas? It is not yet defined what cloud type gives its home to asperitas, but the WMO began work on deciphering the cloud's mysteries in 2008. Full information will most likely be published in the next edition of the International Cloud Atlas.
In the timelapse video below, you can see the full effect of Asperitas and its wave-like appearance:
VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/Jz7BgxrVmiQ?si=SRhkFv0SYjlVJgi7
Here's a fascinating look at the use of energy sources that powered the world in 2022. It was surprising how little oil was involved! Here's the story from
What Electricity Sources Power the World?
What Powered the World in 2022?
This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on real assets and resource megatrends each week.
In 2022, 29,165.2 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity was generated around the world, an increase of 2.3% from the previous year.
In this visualization, we look at data from the latest Statistical Review of World Energy, and ask what powered the world in 2022.
Coal is Still King
Coal still leads the charge when it comes to electricity, representing 35.4% of global power generation in 2022, followed by natural gas at 22.7%, and hydroelectric at 14.9%.
Power by fuel Source: Energy Institute
Over three-quarters of the world’s total coal-generated electricity is consumed in just three countries. China is the top user of coal, making up 53.3% of global coal demand, followed by India at 13.6%, and the U.S. at 8.9%.
Burning coal—for electricity, as well as metallurgy and cement production—is the world’s single largest source of CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, its use in electricity generation has actually grown 91.2% since 1997, the year when the first global climate agreement was signed in Kyoto, Japan.
Renewables on the Rise
However, even as non-renewables enjoy their time in the sun, their days could be numbered.
In 2022, renewables, such as wind, solar, and geothermal, represented 14.4% of total electricity generation with an extraordinary annual growth rate of 14.7%, driven by big gains in solar and wind. Non-renewables, by contrast, only managed an anemic 0.4%.
The authors of the Statistical Review do not include hydroelectric in their renewable calculations, even though many others, including the International Energy Agency, consider it a “well-established renewable power technology.”
With hydroelectric moved into the renewable column, together they accounted for over 29.3% of all electricity generated in 2022, with an annual growth rate of 7.4%.
France’s Nuclear Horrible Year
Another big mover in this year’s report was nuclear energy.
In addition to disruptions at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, shutdowns in France’s nuclear fleet to address corrosion found in the safety injection systems of four reactors led to a 4% drop in global use, year-over-year.
The amount of electricity generated by nuclear energy in that country dropped 22% to 294.7 TWh in 2022. As a result, France went from being the world’s biggest exporter of electricity, to a net importer.
Powering the Future
Turning mechanical energy into electrical energy is a relatively straightforward process. Modern power plants are engineering marvels, to be sure, but they still work on the same principle as the very first generator invented by Michael Faraday in 1831.
But how you get the mechanical energy is where things get complicated: coal powered the first industrial revolution, but heated the planet in the process; wind is free and clean, but is unreliable; and nuclear fission reliably generates emission-free electricity, but also creates radioactive waste.
With temperature records being set around the world in the summer, resolving these tensions isn’t just academic and next year’s report could be a crucial test of the world’s commitment to a clean energy future.
If you love history and New England here's a great article about Maine's oldest town. So many things to explore here!
The Oldest Town in Maine is 129 Years Older than America Itself
Written by Kristen Holder, July 12, 2023
Maine contains several towns that have existed since early colonialism. As a result, the oldest town in Maine is 129 years older than America itself! What town is it? We’ll go over the details now.
The oldest town in Maine is Kittery. The area was settled by the English in 1623, and it officially was incorporated as a town in 1647. This means it’s 129 years older than America! Today, about 10 thousand people live in Kittery, Maine.
If a person uses the time of first settlement as their defining feature to determine which town in Maine is the oldest, then Kittery loses the race to the now-extinct Popham Colony which was created in 1607. However, Kittery is the first officially incorporated town. This means that it was the first area in the colony that had an independent governing body and its own set of rules.
PHOTO: Memorial of General William Whipple, a signer of United States Declaration of Independence, in town of Kittery, Maine ME, USA. ©Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock.com
Oldest Town: Where is Kittery, Maine?
Along Maine’s Atlantic Coast lies Kittery. It’s a part of York County, and it’s the southernmost town in Maine. It’s around 75 square miles in size, although over 57 of those square miles are under water. Kittery is the home of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard which drives the local economy.
Maine’s Oldest Town: The History of Kittery Kittery was first settled by the English in 1623 along the Piscataqua River. Around 1663, the town was the most populated area in the region. The earliest white settlers were timbermen, trappers, hunters, and seamen.
Before the arrival of Europeans, the local indigenous people called the region Amiciskeag. It’s an Algonquin word for “fishing point.”
By 1652, Kittery was a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was much larger than the state of Massachusetts as it exists today, and it was the first chartered colony run by governors outside of England.
Maine became a state on March 15, 1820. This means that Kittery was already 173 years old by the time it officially became a US state. Maine is the twenty-third state admitted into the nation.
PHOTO: First Congregational Church of Kittery Point at 23 Pepperrell Road in fall in town of Kittery, Maine ME, USA. First Congregational Church of Kittery Point was established in 1714. ©Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock.com
Wildlife You’ll Find in Kittery
The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is a must-see spot if you’re seeking out wildlife near Kittery. The refuge is named after an environmentalist who was pivotal in establishing the modern preservationist movement echoing through today’s scientific community. Her name was Rachel Carson, and she died a couple of years before the refuge became a reality.
The Wildlife Refuge contains a variety of ecosystems including rocky coastlines, forested uplands, a barrier beach, dunes, marshes, subtidal and intertidal mudflats, and a tidal estuary. The refuge includes 50 miles of sea shore, and it straddles both Cumberland and York Counties.
Endangered species make their home in the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a Near Threatened species that makes nests along the refuge’s coast. Saltmarsh sparrows (Ammodramus caudacutus) are a Vulnerable species with a notable presence as well.
New England cottontails (Sylvalagus transitionalis) also make their homes in the area. They’re a Vulnerable species of rabbits that have fractured habitats, with the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge being a sizeable sanctuary.
PHOTO: Four beautiful babies of piping plover (Charadrius melodus) are close together and surrounded by pebbles on a beach during sunset. The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a Near Threatened species that makes nests along the refuge’s coast. ©Jay Gao/Shutterstock.com
The Kittery Boundary Dispute: How the Modern Kittery Border Came to Be
The former Town Manager of York in Maine found a boundary discrepancy with Kittery in 2020. Kittery is south of York along Maine’s coast, and this north-to-south boundary was up for debate.
In 1652, the Massachusetts Bay Colony decreed where the boundary between the two settlements was. However, extant maps from 1794 show that the towns thought the border existed in two different locations. Today, the area is wooded though the possibility for development is in the works.
The boundary issue between the two towns wasn’t a problem until a land developer purchased property that straddles the boundary. The border distinction is important because it is the basis for establishing municipal services in the area, and officials need to know what town they’re in so they can access the proper resources.
The issue was resolved on June 21, 2022, when a court sided with Kittery. This occurred because officials from York did not survey the area with Kittery officials to try and come to a border agreement before filing a complaint.
York is opposed to this decision because it believed a joint walk should be mandated by the court after a complaint is established. Because York’s case was dismissed without prejudice, they can refile their complaint in the future.
PHOTO: Sunset from the pier at Fort Foster - Kittery, Maine Catching a sunset on the pier at Fort Foster is certainly something you wouldn’t want to miss. ©Gregory Szymbor/Shutterstock.com
When you buy a new house, sometimes you just get a gravel driveway, and if you live in New England, you may consider getting it paved because it makes it easier whenever there's a little snowfall in the winter. So, that's what we did. Today's blog is about the driveway and walkway paving adventure!
(Photo: The newly paved walkway and part of the driveway. Credit; R.G.)
The gravel driveway was nice, however, the snow shoveling thing was a big consideration. Also, Tyler, our 12-year-old black and tan Dachshund always hesitated to step on it from the garage. He didn't like the way it felt on his feet. Now that the driveway is paved, he happily walks out. We also don't miss tracking in small pebbles into the garage from walking on the formerly unpaved driveway.
This week's idiot is a greedy, conniving, elderly abuser who stole millions from a holocaust survivor, leaving him broke and sickly. She was caught and said, "I'm sorry." Sorry for being caught or feeling remorse? Here's the story.
Florida woman who stole nearly $3 million from Holocaust survivor gets over 4 years in prison
BY LARRY NEUMEISTERUpdated 12:37 AM EDT, July 28, 2023
NEW YORK (AP) — A Florida woman who drained an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor’s life savings by posing as a love interest and then lived lavishly off the $2.8 million she got was sentenced Thursday to over four years in prison.
Peaches Stergo, 36, of Champions Gate, Florida, was described by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos as “unspeakably cruel” and motivated by greed as he announced the sentence in Manhattan federal court.
Given a chance to speak, Stergo said: “I’m sorry.” She pleaded guilty in April to wire fraud, admitting that she drained the life savings of a man she met on a dating website seven years ago.
Stergo began asking the once successful businessman for money in May 2017, claiming she needed money to pay a lawyer who was refusing to release the payout from a bogus injury settlement, prosecutors said. He paid her $25,000. Over the next four years, she used lies to coax the man to write 62 checks totaling over $2.8 million until he was broke, they added.
She got him to send as much as $50,000 at a time as she told desperate lies and faked letters from a bank employee to back up her claims, prosecutors said.
They said Stergo traveled to New York to visit the victim in his Manhattan apartment, falsely claiming she was a Florida nanny and her name was “Alice” and failing to reveal that she was in a long-term relationship with another man and had two children.
As the victim lost his life savings and was forced to surrender his apartment, Stergo used his money to live a life of luxury, traveling on expensive trips to Europe and Las Vegas when she wasn’t living in her gated community or using her boat and numerous cars, including a Corvette and a Suburban, prosecutors said.
They said she spent nearly all of the man’s money, including thousands of dollars for expensive meals, gold coins and bars, jewelry, Rolex watches and designer clothing.
As part of her sentence, she faces a $2.8 restitution and forfeiture order.
“Peaches Stergo callously defrauded an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who was simply looking for companionship,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “But she did not get away with it. As today’s sentence demonstrates, perpetrators of romance scams will be held to account for their crimes.”
Prosecutors said Stergo had mocked her victim when she told her real lover in a message that the victim had said he “loved” her. They said she followed that message with “lol.” And they said that when he ran out of money, she convinced him to sell his inventory of diamonds and borrow from others.
Prosecutors did not identify the victim, but they said he suffers from cognitive decline, among other health issues, and is frail.
In a letter to the judge, the victim, who was 6 when he lost both of his parents in the Holocaust and who moved to the United States in his early 20s, wrote: “As a Holocaust survivor, I have endured unspeakable pain and loss in my life, but never did I imagine that I would be subjected to such a heartless betrayal in my old age.”
Stergo’s lawyer, Ann Marie Fitz, wrote in a sentencing submission that Stergo is a partner to her long-time boyfriend and mother to two teenage boys and that her boyfriend describes her as a great mother and a born-again Christian.
“She is not the cold-hearted person the government and media have made her out to be,” the lawyer wrote. “There was a genuine, caring relationship that Ms. Stergo had with the victim in this case — she spent holidays with him, she took care of him when he was ill and, as the victim’s cousin described, she was ‘doting’ on him.”
