The real Bethlehem

Advantages: History and culture.
Disadvantages: Conflict, the wall.

...Bethlehem for most westerners regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof is associated with one thing: the birth of Jesus. In fact the place was so associated with that story that despite knowing a place with that name existed I got a slight shock actually seeing the town marked on maps and in guide books. Visiting this place of importance to so many people cannot be anything but a thrilling experience. Most tourists enter the West Bank via Jerusalem involving the crossing of the infamous and illegal wall being built within the Palestinian territories. The wall has become almost a tourist attraction, if an unusual one, in its own right and although some people find this a little grotesque, personally I am up for anything that increases profile and therefore criticism and discussion. Walking towards the wall from the Israeli...

flyingllamas 25.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Bethlehem (Israel)

Discover the Golden Age of Bethlehem

Advantages: An area filled with beauty, history and is very laid back
Disadvantages: None

...Belem is an area that lies at the western end of Greater Lisbon and it is not to be confused with the city in Northern Brazil although they bare the same. In Portuguese the name Belem means Bethlehem and sometimes the area used to be known as Santa Maria de Belem. Along with the Alfama, Belem is another favourite area of Lisbon I like to spend time in. Apart from it's very laid back atmosphere the area is filled with monuments, museums, cafes and tailored parks where children, old people and visitors stroll side by side while dogs run riot and frisbees fly high into the dappled blue sky. It is here where you experience the feelings of a golden time when caravelas sailed from the mouth of the River Tagus to the New World and returned ladened with jewels, spices and silks. There is an attractive cafe scene in Belem but I suggest before...

Praski 16.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Belém, Lisbon

Black Metal Meets Funeral Doom

Advantages: Original, hugely atmospheric, emotionally powerful, great riffs
Disadvantages: None

...Just as Venom's boozy, thrashy 1982 album 'Black Metal' influenced many a psychotic Norwegian teenager and helped kickstart the cold, ferocious, stripped-down extreme metal subgenre of the same name, German band Bethlehem's 1994 debut full-length draws together disparate elements of black metal and doom to create the quintessential 'dark metal' album. The inside of the album sleeve displays the nazi eagle with a 'B' for Bethlehem replacing the swastika, and the legend 'F*cking Kill Yourself' written in bold gothic script underneath, indicating the 'Dark Metal' is going to be a less than cheery listen. The majority of the album is given over to utterly miserable and lethargic fuzzy doom riffs, accompanied by starkly prominent, lamenting and drawn out melodies, freezing tremolo riffs, subtle, funereal synths and cavernous, funeral...

Burning_Darkness 19.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Dark Metal - Bethlehem

Eccentric and Deranged German Metal

Advantages: Immensely powerful vocals, excellent songwriting, hugely atmospheric
Disadvantages: Intense vocals will put some people off

...Following on from their slow-paced funeral doom-like previous effort 'Dark Metal, eccentric German black metal band Bethlehem loosed upon the world one of the most disturbing, bat-shit-crazy black metal releases of all time in the form of 1996 album 'Te Dictius Necare'. Latin for 'You Must Kill Yourself', Dictius Te Necare' consists of seven tracks of depressive and unconventional black metal with frequent doom leanings, accompanied by utterly deranged shrieked vocals performed by one Rainer Landfermann, all of which are in the german tongue. The use of German affords the album mysterious feel, as it is intriguing to think what the vocalist might be screaming about, but the lyrics are apparently so esoteric and obscure that they dont make much sense to german speakers either. Many of the songs are built around raw, up...

Burning_Darkness 17.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Dictius Te Necare - Bethlehem

To rebuild or not to rebuild - thats the question

Advantages: A very different kind of church building from the rest in Prague
Disadvantages: A bit artificial

...I am a committed non-conformist. I possess a passionate admiration for all those in the history of Christianity who have challenged mere rite and ritual. This faith is too precious to waste on empty sham and hollow pretence. So Bethlehem Chapel in Prague kindled a very special sense of excitement in me when I heard that I could visit it during my visit to Prague last month. Its Distinctive Purpose ************************ "Betlemska kaple", as it is known in Czech, is not one of those fantastic ornate and very beautiful Gothic structures for which the city is rightly famed. Rather its fame lies in its origin and distinctive purpose. Its utter plainness reflects the system-challenging teaching and ministry of its founder, Jan Hus, in the late 14th century. A full century before the Protestant reformation in Germany...

trevorbrock 01.04.2006 (09.04.2006) · Read review
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Review of Bethlehem Chapel, Prague

Schizophrenic and Disturbing Metal

Advantages: Varied song-writing, powerful vocals, atmospheric and moving
Disadvantages: Avant-garde style might irritate some

...Released in 1998, 'Sardonischer Untergang im Zeichen Irreligiöser Darbietung' (SUIZID) is german avant-garde dark metal band Bethlehem's follow up to the manic and deranged synthesis of black metal and doom that was their 1996 album 'Te Dictius Necare'. SUIZID is in a similar style, but whilst 'Te Dictius Necare' is very much focused on ferocious aggression/depression, SUIZID is generally speaking more of a despondent and reflective album. There are still frequent passages of spindly, perversely melodic tremolo riffing, galloping, cavernous drums and icy, alternately chugging and crawling doom between which the songs leap in a manic and unpredictable fashion, but there is a much greater emphasis on lethargic and drawn out depressive rock sections, disquieting monotone basslines and melancholy and subdued passages of clean chords this...

Burning_Darkness 20.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of S.U.i.Z.i.D. - Bethlehem

Right time, almost right place

Advantages:
Disadvantages:

...Brian is born in a stable in Bethlehem, two thousand years ago. Right near some famous person or other. Three questionably wise men visit him, accuse his poor mother of virginity, give a few useless gifts, and are shown the tent flap. The rest, as they say, is history. Sacriligeous enough to make the entire Bible Belt walk out of the theatre simultaneously, The Life of Brian offers nonstop laughter and cutting parody throughout. Follow Brian through an exciting life filled with Romans, bickering semetic guerillas, and deluted followers. The final scene is a classic....

JeffSumm 08.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Monty Python's Life Of Brian (DVD)

How we used to treat the 'mad'

Advantages: Interesting if grim insight into how the mentally afflicted were treated in ages past
Disadvantages: None really, for those interested in the subject

...better than criminals. They were dumped in London's Bethlehem Hospital, alias Bedlam, founded in 1247, where they were often lucky (make that unlucky, perhaps) to survive the attentions of their staff. It was common practice for the doctors to prescribe without examining their patients first, and sometimes interviewing them only seven days after they had been admitted. Even some famous people went mad, and were fortunate not to be placed in these hellholes. Samuel Johnson suffered a nervous breakdown during a vacation from Oxford University, never completely recovered, and did not return to finish his degree. Instead he developed his own coping mechanisms such as reading himself to sleep, and leaving a light burning to frighten his demons away. William Blake was considered unhinged almost from birth, and regularly punished by his mother...

JOHNV 06.12.2009 · Read review
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Review of Bedlam - Catharine Arnold

Dr Bach rescue remedy

Advantages: A natural way to heal and help emotional well being
Disadvantages: None

...listed below : The Star of Bethlehem helps you to be able to recover from fear and trauma in your everyday life. Cherry Plum : To help trust you own wisdom and folllow you own path. Impatiens : to teach empathy and pateince. Rock Rose : To help panic or terror. Clematis : To help clarity and alertness. The Star of Bethlehem seemed to be the nearest match,it helps recovery and understanding of trauma. So Evie paid £3.75 for the 10ml bottle deciding it was well worth trying. A little brown glass bottle with a dropper top packed into a yellow box. We took time to read the label,which stated it was natural,safe and alcohol free. To use you add four drops of the Rescue remedy to a glass of water,and sip at intervals throughout the day.A maximum of 16 drops in any one 24 hour period. Evie found that she soon got into the habit...

Sarahjh1 10.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Dr. Bach Rescue Remedy

From the Past Comes the Storms.....

Advantages: Superb riffs, full of passion and energy, powerful atmosphere
Disadvantages: None

...Released way back in 1987, Sepultura's second full-length 'Schizophrenia' merges the raw, proto-black metal sound of the likes of Hellhammer and Sarcofago with the thrash riffs of Sodom and early Slayer and Metallica. The album has a murky, crunchy-sounding production job that does a great job of conveying an atmosphere of evil and unease, and whilst the songs consist of all-out breakneck thrash pummelling pretty much from start to finish they never become dull on account of the neverending supply of crushing, chugging riffs, powerful grooves and unhinged melodic solos that litter the songs, accompanied too by some excellent low, coarse, growled vocals courtesy of Max Cavalera. There are some slower parts throughout the album, such as the acoustic intro and creepy, Bethlehem-like riffs at the start of 'Inquisition Symphony', but...

Burning_Darkness 12.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Schizophrenia - Sepultura