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Ramadan is About Fasting and Prayer, An Antique Carpet is about Luxury
Persian rugs are symbols of luxury and wealth to many in the western world. In the Persian region like Iraq, Pakistan and Iran they are part of daily life and would not be out of place during a fasting time of Ramadan. Rugs are used during prayer times and because of the labor intensive creation many hours of prayer and contemplation go into any single carpet. Knitting and crochet, much more western forms of art have created their own version of the prayer rug, but rather than kneeling which is only practiced in a few Christian traditions, shawls are being created with a prayerful mind. The repetitive and time consuming nature of the art lends itself to both chatter and meditation.
Ramadan is about taking time to think about the wrong paths that have been taken in the past, and contemplating how to improve the future. This is similar to Lent for Christians. This slower more contemplative mindset is perfect for working on a piece of art that develops slowly. Even fast moving hands would take months to progress through a hand-woven rug. Those sturdy knots will likely survive the maker and help pass on the prayers of a better tomorrow to the future.
Remembering the hands that created any art work, even one made for being walked on can help a person to understand its value. Antique rugs have also stood a test of time. Their knots have proven sturdy. To classify as antique a rug will be at least 50 years old. This puts it minimally as old as the movie Wizard of Oz. Many of these rugs though are much older, as the tradition dates back before written history. The Muslim connection of the region also explains why some colors are more prevalent and others not as much. Green is closely linked to Muhammad and would probably not be put into a rug that was to be walked on. Some Antique carpets are woven with the expectation of a rug being hung. Because of the prohibition on pictorial representations of a person, one is more likely to use color to represent the divine or holy in decorations. This is similar to the idea in the western world of purple being the color of wealth and royalty and white more closely linked with the divine.
So as Muslims around the world take a month to slow down their world and pray over a better path for the future, take a moment to slow down and respect, if not the faith, than the hands that created the Antique rugs underfoot.
Ramadan is about taking time to think about the wrong paths that have been taken in the past, and contemplating how to improve the future. This is similar to Lent for Christians. This slower more contemplative mindset is perfect for working on a piece of art that develops slowly. Even fast moving hands would take months to progress through a hand-woven rug. Those sturdy knots will likely survive the maker and help pass on the prayers of a better tomorrow to the future.
Remembering the hands that created any art work, even one made for being walked on can help a person to understand its value. Antique rugs have also stood a test of time. Their knots have proven sturdy. To classify as antique a rug will be at least 50 years old. This puts it minimally as old as the movie Wizard of Oz. Many of these rugs though are much older, as the tradition dates back before written history. The Muslim connection of the region also explains why some colors are more prevalent and others not as much. Green is closely linked to Muhammad and would probably not be put into a rug that was to be walked on. Some Antique carpets are woven with the expectation of a rug being hung. Because of the prohibition on pictorial representations of a person, one is more likely to use color to represent the divine or holy in decorations. This is similar to the idea in the western world of purple being the color of wealth and royalty and white more closely linked with the divine.
So as Muslims around the world take a month to slow down their world and pray over a better path for the future, take a moment to slow down and respect, if not the faith, than the hands that created the Antique rugs underfoot.
A Greater Sense of History can Help those Interested in Blending Antique Rugs into their Lives
Antique rugs connect with an understanding of the past. This past is remembered through their rugs. Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Iran have two distinct frames of reference for those living in the “Western” world. In the territory of those people there is just one story and it has been woven into the very Antique carpets under consideration. Modern news is about bloodshed and Muslim extremists, but this is a recent blip in the Arab world.
The culture read about in the Christian Bible has transformed and evolved into a modern one where Christians and Muslims have had to learn to live together with good and not as good results. American Christians like to marvel at the two factions of Islam, but anyone from Northern Ireland can tell a person just how similar Christianity can be. That territory was torn apart by differences of faith that had a lot more to do with differences of power and money. With the need for more warm clothing than protected floors and walls, they wore their history in woven tartans and knitted sweaters and imported their Antique rugs.
The same red and blue state differences of opinion that are being played out of Fox and Friends versus MSNBC are found in Shiite and Sunni battles. Arab battles have been fought with bullets mostly because both sides have been armed for decades fighting over scarce resources and greater amounts oil money. American's have had such levels of wealth and prosperity that killing was not a necessity. Remember American's came to their territory eventually killed most of those living on it and then expanded in greater and greater numbers across the land, those in the Arab lands have only been able to expand though fighting for territory since the biblical times.
Antique wool rugs and their movement around the world show just how expansion has been able to happen culturally if not in person. Just as Twitter revolutions occur in Iran, and Blackberry's have been cracked down on in the United Arab Emirates, much of their older history has flowed back across the ocean. Muslims are part of the fabric of America. They have their pockets of Main Street just as the Italians and Irish. They are also escaping poverty and power grabs in their own countries. Hummus and pita joins salsa and tortilla chips. The Western world has a new patch in its crazy quilt. Sari's and sarongs have an even older cousin coming to the party, a patch that has been under everyone’s collective feet through shared heritage and trade.
The culture read about in the Christian Bible has transformed and evolved into a modern one where Christians and Muslims have had to learn to live together with good and not as good results. American Christians like to marvel at the two factions of Islam, but anyone from Northern Ireland can tell a person just how similar Christianity can be. That territory was torn apart by differences of faith that had a lot more to do with differences of power and money. With the need for more warm clothing than protected floors and walls, they wore their history in woven tartans and knitted sweaters and imported their Antique rugs.
The same red and blue state differences of opinion that are being played out of Fox and Friends versus MSNBC are found in Shiite and Sunni battles. Arab battles have been fought with bullets mostly because both sides have been armed for decades fighting over scarce resources and greater amounts oil money. American's have had such levels of wealth and prosperity that killing was not a necessity. Remember American's came to their territory eventually killed most of those living on it and then expanded in greater and greater numbers across the land, those in the Arab lands have only been able to expand though fighting for territory since the biblical times.
Antique wool rugs and their movement around the world show just how expansion has been able to happen culturally if not in person. Just as Twitter revolutions occur in Iran, and Blackberry's have been cracked down on in the United Arab Emirates, much of their older history has flowed back across the ocean. Muslims are part of the fabric of America. They have their pockets of Main Street just as the Italians and Irish. They are also escaping poverty and power grabs in their own countries. Hummus and pita joins salsa and tortilla chips. The Western world has a new patch in its crazy quilt. Sari's and sarongs have an even older cousin coming to the party, a patch that has been under everyone’s collective feet through shared heritage and trade.
Will Magic Trackpads Make Mice the Next Sought After Antique?
Apple Computers
has developed a product they are calling a “Magic Trackpad” and industry
speculation is buzzing that Apple is hopeful of the Magic Trackpad eventually
replacing the standard mouse as the method by which users move the cursor
around the screen on their computers.
Many laptop
computers, whether from Apple Computers or from manufacturers of Windows based
machines, have had trackpads available for years. There have even been Windows machines that
allowed an external trackpad to be attached to a desktop machine instead of a
mouse. Users who advocate for the
trackpad have found it easier to use than the mouse and have found it leaves
them far less susceptible to repetitive stress injuries.
Now, if Apple is
hopeful of eventually replacing the mouse with the Magic Trackpad, it is
doubtful that the mouse will become an antique like an antique Persian
rug. Unlike Vintage rugs, a mouse based
on technology will most likely not have much purpose going forward other than
as a curiosity piece. Or a museum piece
somewhere like the Boston Computer Museum.
In order for
Apple to have invested in the development of the Magic Trackpad, they would
have to be convinced there is a market for them. So they’ve most likely received thousands if
not millions of phone calls over the years requesting a trackpad type function
for desktop machines. People who had
worried about using the mouse because of repetitive stress or had just gotten
tired of the mouse most likely decided the trackpad was the technology that
most fit their needs so asked Apple to develop one. Earlier Apple laptops had used trackballs and
most likely some folks felt the trackball was almost as unwieldy to use as the
mouse but the trackpad allows the user to use one or two fingers and either
hand.
Will the Magic
Trackpad actually be able to fully replace the mouse for all users? Probably not as there are individuals today
who attach a mouse to a laptop with a trackpad because they prefer using the
technological tool they first learned.
There are individuals who will prefer the trackball. But Apple obviously does see the market since
they have developed the product. As many
industry analysts have noted, Steve Jobs has a fairly good track record on
product development, even if there is not a ready market identified and if
Apple has received enough requests for trackpad technology over the years, the
market has already been identified.
Will the mouse
become an antique? Possibly, but most
likely not as valuable as the antique Persian Rug.
What Bachelor Style Will “The Bachelor Pad” Show?
There’s a new Reality TV show hitting the airwaves called “The Bachelor Pad.” This show is hosted by a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader named Melissa Rycroft. Shades of days gone by!
The bachelor pad has probably always been as much a myth as it has been a reality. For every Hugh Hefner there have most likely been one hundred Joe Schmoes. Some bachelor pads have been furnished with the latest contemporary furniture from Ikea and wall-to-wall shag carpeting. Others have been furnished with Victorian era antiques including antique Persian rugs. Yet others (and probably the most common aspect) are furnished with a mix of thrift store chic, hand-me-downs from family and boards and concrete blocks from the local lumberyard.
The television show probably will have the more contemporary look as that would fit the desire to keep things light and airy in appearance. The contemporary look, with the light and airy appearance is probably looked at as more of the California look where the heavy, Victorian antique furniture and antique Persian rugs evokes more of an East coast, formal drawing room, gothic appearance.
To many folks, however, the Victorian look, complete with vintage rugs, evokes an era of responsibility and maturity. It may sometimes appear stolid rather than sensible but it is that stolidity that suggests the stability and sense of purpose. It says to many that “great things have happened here.” There are reasons why many banks in small towns have always had this type of look to present as their public face.
But the most common type of Bachelor Pad really reflects the reality that most bachelors are in their mid-twenties and just out of college. If the bachelor is lucky, most of his furniture is in one piece (depending on how many parties he had when he was in college). Pride of place might be a papa-san chair or futon. There’s most likely a television, maybe a big screen hi-def to watch the NFL or NBA games. Bachelors from thirty or forty years ago might have had the top of the line stereo equipment while today’s bachelor may lean more to the video game set-up.
However the Bachelor Pad television show sets things up, the risk will be the presentation. If things are presented in too unrealistic a fashion, then the mockery will commence but if they go with too much realism, then it will probably not be interesting enough to gain the needed (and desired) ratings.
Contemporary furnishings, Victorian antiques, or college cast-offs, whatever path the producers choose, the hope is that people watch. Will you be tuning in?
Spain Wins World Cup
Espana Gana! Reglas de Espana, la Copa del Mundo!
Spain Wins! Spain Rules the World Cup!
Yes Spain has won
the World Cup soccer tournament for the first time ever. Spain is also the champion with the fewest
ever goals scored for the tournament and lowest average score for a
champion. Spain is the first country to
lose their first match of a World Cup and go ahead and win the tournament and
is the first European team to win the World Cup outside of Europe.
All in all a job
well done by the pre-tournament co-favorites.
Now what? Some countries promise the team members jobs
for life for winning the World Cup.
There were some rather interesting promises made to both fans and
players of other countries if their team were to have won, but alas, it is
unknown if any of those promises really would have been upheld. As it is, the Spaniards will share $30
million for their winning efforts.
But what other
rewards are available for the winners?
Besides the cash reward for winning, what other rewards will be
available? There are the previously
mentioned jobs for life (and national celebrity) that some countries may
promise, there are physical items that may be rewards for winning.
Spain is one of
the older European countries yet it has managed to avoid at least some of the
destruction visited on countries like France and Germany through fighting the
world wars so there are likely to be more antiques surviving into the 21st
century. Especially with the Moorish
influences, there are quite likely various Moorish pieces of furniture and
antique rugs, especially antique Persian rugs that are around that can be given
to the team members to commemorate the win.
Imagine the pride
of the families of the players knowing that the vintage rug adorning the floor
in the formal dining area is a reward for the sacrifices that they made in
support of their family member’s pursuit of soccer immortality and knowing
they’ve received the reward to be enjoyed by all the family and the future
generations of the family. If the
Spanish members of the World Cup Champions team were given prizes such as
antique Persian Rugs, the family itself benefits and can look with pride on the
rug, knowing they helped to contribute to the success enjoyed by the entire
country.
Today and for the
next four years, Spain is the capital of the world of soccer. Is it possible that the United States will
ever achieve the World Cup Championship?
Yes it is. Is it probable? No it is not.
So enjoy being
the top Espana! Enjoy.
