Strange Gleanings (from a radio sermon)

A radio program I heard last week started me musing about the "Wonders of the World." Not the ancient ones--the pyramids, hanging gardens, we're all familiar with or even the new lists that pop up and include the "found" continents' Grand Canyon, Angel Falls, etc. I'm interested in your personal current wonder.

So, just for this fleeting moment, what has grabbed hold of your imagination and has you in a state of awe or admiration? Is it as emotional and traditional as a baby's smile, or do you have some strange quirky bit of knowledge occupying your time and your brain cells?

My wonder, you ask? I am taken with the power and beauty of script, not fonts, but the symbols we use for written communication: Oriental ideagraphs, the calligraphy of Arabic, alphabets in all their myriad forms, lovely, mysterious, minute bits of ink imprinted onto paper and cloth, lines and forms etched into precious metals, carved in stone, traced in sand only to be consumed by the lapping waves, treasures that can be opened only by those who have the key of knowledge, but that can be enjoyed on a different level by "appreciators". Here are some. Unfortunately I couldn't copy many of the Oriental ones. Go to www.omniglot.com for some beauties. Artists see the absolutely gorgeous glyphs (sigh.)

Посмотрите силу русского алфавита (Russian: Look at the Russian alphabet.)

وقال خامنئي اثناء ادلائه بصوته في احد المراكز الانتخابية في العاصمة طهران:Arabic ( I have no idea.)

Και ητο πασα η γη μιας γλωσσης και μιας φωνης. (Greek—Tower of Babel )

וַיְהִי כָל-הָאָרֶץ, שָׂפָה אֶחָת, וּדְבָרִים, אֲחָדִים.(Hebrew Tower of Babel)

At some point do try to copy and paste Arabic and watch as your comments are added backwards. LOL