Dream of Borealis

2012-01-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

Mini Rodini Devil Hoodie via suula

Loving these right now even though I should be thinking of Spring.

2012-01-12T18:29:00.001-08:00

2012-01-06T02:34:00.000-08:00

Image via by MABONAORIGAMI on Etsy

I am completely enamored with these oragami Koi.

2012-01-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

Madrid, my home for 5 years. How I miss you.

Time

2012-01-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

She is 7 years old, this photo was taken when she just turned 4. I look at her now and I see vestiges of what her teen self will be like. It is an exciting time but I also miss the baby she was. I am being a silly sentimental Mom today.

招き猫 (Beckoning Cat)

2011-12-14T18:40:00.005-08:00

google image

Due to its popular presence within Chinese communities it is frequently mistaken for being Chinese in origin rather than Japanese and is mistakenly referred to as a Chinese Lucky Cat. While it is believed that Maneki Neko first appeared during the later part of the Edo period (1603–1867) in Japan the earliest documentary evidence comes from the 1870s, during Japan's Meiji Era. It is mentioned in a newspaper article in 1876 and there is evidence kimono-clad Maneki Neko were distributed at a shrine in Osaka during this time. An ad from 1902 advertising Maneki Neko indicates that by the turn of the century they were popular.

A frequent attribution to several Japanese emperors, as well as to Oda Nobunaga and samurai Ii Naotaka, is that one day the luminary passed by a cat, which seemed to wave to him. Taking the cat's motion as a sign, the unknown nobleman paused and went to it. Diverted from his journey, he realized that he had avoided a trap that had been laid for him just ahead. Since that time, cats have been considered wise and lucky spirits. Many Japanese shrines and homes include the figurine of a cat with one paw upraised as if waving—hence the origin of Maneki Neko, often referred to as Kami Neko in reference to the cat's kami or spirit.

Others have noted the similarities between the Maneki Neko's gesture and that of a cat washing its face. There is a Japanese belief that a cat washing its face means a visitor will soon arrive. This belief may in turn be related to an even older Chinese proverb that states that if a cat washes its face, it will rain. Thus it is possible a belief arose that a figure of a cat washing its face would bring in customers.

* article source Wikipedia

Queen J

2011-12-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

Image source: BLOG VDJ

"Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness." ~Oprah Winfrey

By The Sword(1991)

2011-10-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

Project VoiceScape: This Gay and Age (A Documentary by Morgan Wilcock)

2011-10-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

Show your support for #SpiritDay today by watching this poignant short film made by 17-year-old Morgan Wilcock about what it's like to be a gay or lesbian teenager in her home state of Minnesota. Pls. share with others!

Songs from the Baobab (African Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes)

2011-10-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

10 minutes and you know about China

2011-10-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

2011-10-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

"All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, This is when I became myself." ~Rita Dove

"I will be a hummingbird" - Wangari Maathai

2011-09-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

2011-09-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

Jinci Temple in Taiyan

"I am so happy, I cannot be contained in the world; But like a spirit, I am hidden from the eyes of the world. If the foot of the trees were not tied to earth, they would be pursuing me; For I have blossomed so much, I am the envy of the gardens." ~Rumi

2011-09-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

Thank you my dear friend Anu Sansi

中秋节快乐！

2011-09-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

Thinking of You - a poem by the famous Chinese poet, Su Dong Po (aka Su Shi) written on the night of The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in 1076.

"Thinking of You"

When will the moon be clear and bright?
With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky
I don't know what season it would be
In the heavens on this night
I'd like to ride the wind to fly home
Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are
Much too high and cold for me
Dancing with my moon-lit shadow
It does not seem like the human world

The moon rounds the red mansion
Stoops to silk-pad doors
Shines upon the sleepless
Bearing no grudge
Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?
People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart
The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane
This has been going on since the beginning of time
May we all be blessed with longevity
Though far apart, we are still able to
share the beauty
of the moon together.

On the Mid Autumn Moon Festival of the year 1076,
I drank happily till dawn
and wrote this in my cups
while thinking of my brother Ziyou.

- Su Shi (Su Dong Po) 1076 A.D.

Journey from Zanskar Theatrical Trailer

2011-09-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

2011-08-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

My beloved daughter, golden from the sun.

2011-08-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

Via: Planet Awesome Kid

小学生女の子による抜刀術、居合　横波3本（半畳）

2011-08-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Dream Place

2011-07-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

Sakura House Image source: Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum

와~ 엄마다 근데 졸려

2011-07-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

2011-07-06T08:27:00.001-07:00

Shamian Island

"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace." ~Victor Hugo

2011-07-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

My weapon in action the épée. Beautiful.

Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf-Feb. 6, 2011, Chinese New Year

2011-06-23T04:14:00.000-07:00

2011-06-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

Photograph by Lucy Snowe

Blue Skies Lyrics
Songwriters: Andrew Cocup/ Tom Findlay/ Irving Berlin

I was blue, just as blue as I could be
Ev'ry day was a cloudy day for me
Then good luck came a-knocking at my door
Skies were gray but they're not gray anymore

Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see

Bluebirds
Singing a song
Nothing but bluebirds
All day long

Never saw the sun shinning so bright
Never saw things going so right
When you're in love, my how they fly

Blue days
All of them gone
Nothing but blue skies
From now on

2011-06-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

She finally joins her brother at Montessori.

Karakuri

2011-06-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

Karakuri from Matthew Allard on Vimeo.

2011-06-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

2011-06-07T14:10:00.001-07:00

Image by PostSecret.com

2011-06-06T10:25:00.001-07:00

Leopard Picture National Geographic Photo of the Day

"He conquers who endures." ~Persius

2011-05-31T14:29:00.001-07:00

2011-05-27T01:01:00.000-07:00

Yowayowa Camera Woman Diary

I love her work so ethereal, so delicate and simple.

The Little Round Mirror

2011-05-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Little Round Mirror, 1901, printed 1905
Edward Steichen (American, born Luxembourg, 1879–1973)
Gum bichromate over platinum print
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Seductive and sinister, The Little Round Mirror and In Memoriam (33.43.48) were made in Paris in 1901 as part of a series of nudes that combine classical artistic tropes with the moody, attenuated style of the contemporary Symbolist movement. The creation of these prints required diligent, time-consuming darkroom work and multiple photographic printing processes—a fact somewhat at odds with their seemingly spontaneous, gestural appearance. In both pictures, Steichen applied layers of dark pigment, obscuring and masking the identity of his model and transforming her into an aesthetic element in harmony with the rest of the picture.

Even though Steichen suppressed any semblance of individuality here, the woman who stood for these pictures was probably the enigmatic "Rosa," Steichen's lover, who followed him to Paris in 1901. Their relationship deteriorated, and sometime after Steichen's engagement to Clara Smith, Rosa committed suicide. Although this backstory had no bearing on what Steichen hoped to convey in his pictures, The Little Round Mirror, with its admonition of narcissistic tendencies, and the presciently elegiac In Memoriam tell a tale that is almost as dark as the tragedy of the young model.

Hard Work

2011-05-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

Nan Lao Spring

"Being spiritual is easy when you’re up early going to the gym, making your connections, everyone smiling at you, life working in your favor. But that’s not why you’re here. When you have a dark day and fight anyway to inject positive thoughts, when you help despite not really wanting to, these revelations of light are what you came to reveal. They’re more valuable than what's revealed on easy, contented days.

Mine for the light in your darkness. It’s worth more than light from your light."

~Yehuda Berg

The Dalai Lama's Journey

2011-04-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

2011-03-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

Image source Jpg Mag