Coming Out

There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost."                                                  -- Martha Graham (American dancer, choregrapher, and pioneer of modern dance)
                           

Hang In There

Caffeine Goodness

My Photography - Demon Dust?

I've been watching a lot of Charmed and Supernatural reruns lately. Ah, the Halliwells and the Winchesters. Sure, they fight demons, warlocks and other evil underworld types but bottom line, it always comes back to love for each other and protecting friends and family. I really love those shows. One morning I came across this pile of "ash" while walking to work - right in front of Franklin Elementary School. Needless to say, my imagination went wild! What type of demon or creature got stuck down? Who or what was it after? I took a look around before pulling out my camera. While I quickly took a picture I thought, "Is that part of a boot I see? A cigarette butt? A black glove? Was the creature after a school kid? More importantly, who killed it?" One picture was all I needed and walked off as fast as I could. You might think I'm silly. Maybe. I've always had an active imagination since childhood. That's not about to change. I should probably carry a little pouch of protection herbs on me. Anyway, what a crazy way to start the day.

I Want To Believe

I Wonder...

My Photography - Red Juicy Delight

I took this picture Saturday afternoon at a Block Party in Carpinteria, CA. One of the best times I've had so far this year. I can't think of another fruit that reminds me of summer.

Violet

While searching for something else, I came across this wonderful array of purple images. My dear friend Céline sent this last year. She knows me so well. I remember the huge smile that came to my face. I can't wait to visit her and her little family in France someday. Merci beaucoup, Céline!

Taking Chances

Reflections of My Life

"Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes and I am left the same. The more things change the more I am the same. I am what I started with, and when it is all over I will be all that is left of me." ~ Hugh Prather 

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” ~ Ashley Smith

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” ~ Maria Robinson

Feeling Groovy

My Photography - Sad Girl

This young girl was sitting on the curb during the Summer Solstice Celebration. She looked so unhappy and lonely. I watched her from a bench for a couple of minutes, and was drawn to the smiley drawing on her face; the total opposite of the vibe she was putting out. Normally I would have gone over and asked if she was alright, but I held back. A part of me felt it was wrong to take her picture, but I really wanted to capture that moment. I wish I could have zoomed in on her face, but wasn't close enough. She got up a few minutes later and continued walking down the street. I prayed she'd be in a happier mental place soon.

He's a Rebel

I was happy to come across this quote today. It makes me want to take more chances with my writing again. Heck, I might even pull out my art supplies and get creative on a canvas too. Like Nike says, "Just Do It". Life is too short to keep wasting time. I can't keep everything bottled up much longer. It's time to publish my zines again. It's time to start sharing what's going on inside in head and heart with the world again. It's in the wee hours of the morning when I feel I can do anything. Let's see if this feeling carries on into the rest of the day.

Whenever possible I'll post some information about the person being quoted. I think it's a good idea to know a bit of background on the person behind the words.

Andrew Warhola (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987), known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printermaker and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. After a successful career as a commerical illustrator, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, avant-garde filmmaker, record producer, author, and public figure known for his membership in wildly diverse social circles that included bohemian street people, distinguished intellectuals, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy patrons.

Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and feature and documentary films. He coined the widely used expression "15 minutes of fame". In his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Andy Warhol Museum exists in memory of his life and artwork.

The highest price ever paid for a Warhol painting is $100 million for a 1963 canvas titled Eight Elvises. The private transaction was reported in a 2009 article in The Economist, which described Warhol as the "bellwether" of the art market." $100 million is a benchmark price that only Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, Gustav Klimt and Willem de Kooning  have achieved. (Source: Wikipedia)

Note: For more insight on zines, visit Chip Rowe's informative and timeless website, The Book of Zines and click on the link, "What's a Zine?"

My Photography - Costa Rican Delight

I'm coming across a lot of old pictures lately that are full of good memories. I was getting ready to enjoy some delicious coffee a friend sent while he was traveling in Costa Rica. I love the design on the coffee bag (which I plan to frame someday). That's one of my favorite coffee cups. I've had it about 8-9 years. I'd carry it into The Daily Grind (De La Vina & Mission Street) to get that coffee discount. I'm surprised it never broke in the truck of my car. The Goleta store closed long ago, but the Santa Barbara location (about 7-8 blocks from downtown), is alive and always crowded. Great coffee, smoothies, sandwiches and salads too. The delicious pastries and muffins are to die for. (Photo: Me)

My Photography - Stir-fry w/ tofu, leeks and celery

I love taking pictures of meals I cook. This dish had a "green veggie only" theme for some crazy reason. I added some Chinese noodles, 5-spice seasoning, soy sauce, pepper, and fresh garlic. The meal ended with sliced mangoes covered with honey. (2007)

My Photography - Muddy Waters Coffeehouse

    Art work on the wall at Muddy Waters Coffeehouse, Santa Barbara, CA

Feeling the Need

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.  -- Seneca

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. -- Mark Twain

Travelers never think that they are the foreigners. -- Mason Cooley

Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness. -- Ray Bradbury

If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home. -- James Michener

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries. -- Aldous Huxley

No Cake?

                                It's time for a little bit of anime / manga cuteness.

Liquid Inspiration

 

                     Coffee falls into the stomach ... ideas begin to move,

                     things remembered arrive at full gallop ... the shaft

                     of wit start up like sharp-shooters, similies arise,

                     the paper is covered with ink ...

                       - Honore de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (1799-1850)

My Photography - Pretty Purple Petals

This lovely flower caught my eye at church yesterday. Look at those purple highlights! I'm so glad I had my camera with me.                                                             

Full or Empty?

A Little Humor

Natural Impulses

                Good instincts usually tell you    

                what to do long before your head 

                has figured it out.

Michael Burke

                                                            

Watch Your Rear

This was posted on a young friend's Facebook page after what seemed to be a pretty nasty break-up with her boyfriend. I almost wet myself when I read it. Thankfully she's doing much better.

As Time Goes By

Aussie Coffee Art

It measures 20 feet high and 13 feet wide and took a team of 8 people 3 hours to complete. (Photo: AP)

My friend Rj knows what a caffeine fiend I am. Look at this photo of the Mona Lisa recreated with cups of coffee he sent to me. How cool is this? Thanks Rj for this great surprise. (Click photo for a larger image.) 

I just did an Internet search and found a news article about the event. Enjoy!

Mona Lisa recreated with coffee

The different colours were created by adding no, little or lots of milk to each cup of black coffee.

It measures an impressive 20 feet high and 13 feet wide and took a team of eight people three hours to complete.

It was created for The Rocks Aroma Festival in Sydney, Australia, and seen by 130,000 people who attended the one-day coffee-lovers event.

Elaine Kelly, from event organisers the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, was delighted with the result.

She said: "Each coffee cup was filled with varying amounts of milk to create the different sepia shades of the painting.

"We wanted to create an element of surprise and a sense of fun in the way we engaged with the public.

"Once we had the idea of creating an image out of coffee cups we searched for something iconic to reproduce - and opted for the most iconic painting in history.

"The Mona Lisa has been reproduced so many times in so many different mediums but, as far as we know, never out of coffee.

"The result was fantastic.

"After much planning it was great to see if coming together so well and the 130,000 people who attended the event certainly enjoyed it."

Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda, is the 16th century portrait painted in oil by Leonardo Da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance.

The work is owned by the French government and hangs in the Musee du Louvre in Paris, France, with the title Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

It measures 770 millimetres by 530 millimetres and has prompted debate for years over the reason for her famously enigmatic smile.

Extensive scrutiny using X-ray apparatus suggests that restoration work has resulted in the original being painted over three times. 

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Joy

Need A Roommate?

This is an actual want-ad posted in the housing selection on craigslist.com this morning. I almost peed my pants.

Dude wanting a room (don't break my bong) (santa barbara)

hey everyone i'm looking for a room with a roof that doesn't leak. i currently live with 2 spiders i've named henry and salazar. I go to sbcc and study boobs. I'm a pretty clean person, i smoke a lot of pot and don't wear much clothing. swearing is fun but please don't swear around me on wednesday and saturdays. sometimes i occasionally sleep walk but any mess or damage done will be completely taken care of by me when i wake up. I refuse to live with anyone who doesn't like watching muted television with subtitles playing. i feel like its really good for the brain to watch something and like read what your watching or something. I'm a single male but occasionally use craigslist for erotic services so please don't be alarmed if i'm cooling out with a super hot babe. Some people think of me to be like mick jagger but i sometimes think i am more like jesus. I eat a lot of rice and eggs. i enjoy going grocery shopping and if you do too we could probably shop for food together which would be a good bonding experience. i don't mind living with either sex as long as you are not both, my last set of roommates were weird and tried spooning with me at odd hours. I dont speak foreign languages so don't worry about me talking shit about you in different languages. email if you got that room or some shit. please describe yourself thoroughly for i am very picky person. 559 786 6664 - the name is david, david guadagni.

It's the Little Things

Don't Give Up

Life

What is Love?

Art: paranoia--7

Chinese New Year - Tiger People

 . 

The Tiger ( 虎 ), is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Tiger is associated with the earthly branch symbol 寅.
 

Year Of The Tiger

1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998

Tiger people are sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great sympathy. They can be extremely short-tempered, however. Other people have great respect for them, but sometimes tiger people come into conflict with older people or those in authority. sometimes Tiger people cannot make up their minds, which can result in a poor, hasty decision or a sound decision arrived at too late. They are suspicious of others, but they are courageous and powerful. Tigers are most compatible with Horses, Dragons, and Dogs.

Here are some interesting cultural depictions about the tiger in Asian culture:

The tiger replaces the lion as King of the Beasts in cultures of eastern Asia, representing royalty, fearlessness and wrath. Its forehead has a marking which resembles the Chinese character 王, which means "king"; consequently, many cartoon depictions of tigers in China and Korea are drawn with 王 on their forehead.

Of great importance in Chinese myth and culture, the tiger is one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. Also in various Chinese art and martial art, the tiger is depicted as an earth symbol and equal rival of the Chinese dragon- the two representing matter and spirit respectively. In fact, the Southern Chinese martial art Hung Ga is based on the movements of the Tiger and the Crane. In Imperial China, a tiger was the personification of war and often represented the highest army general (or present day defense secretary), while the emperor and empress were represented by a dragon and phoenix, respectively. The White Tiger (Chinese: 白虎; pinyin: Bái Hǔ) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎), and it represents the west and the autumn season.

In Buddhism, it is also one of the Three Senseless Creatures, symbolising anger, with the monkey representing greed and the deer lovesickness.

Sala fighting the tiger, the symbol of Hoysala Empire at Belur, Karnataka, India.

The Tungusic people considered the Siberian tiger a near-deity and often referred to it as "Grandfather" or "Old man". The Udege and Nanai called it "Amba". The Manchu considered the Siberian tiger as Hu Lin, the king.

The widely worshiped Hindu goddess Durga, an aspect of Devi-Parvati, is a ten-armed warrior who rides the tigress (or lioness) Damon into battle. In southern India the god Aiyappa was associated with a tiger.

The weretiger replaces the werewolf in shapeshifting folklore in Asia; in India they were evil sorcerers while in Indonesia and Malaysia they were somewhat more benign.

The Tiger is the national animal of Bangladesh, Nepal, India (Bengal Tiger) Malaysia (Malayan Tiger), North Korea and South Korea (Siberian Tiger).

The Tiger in Literature and Popular Culture:

The tiger continues to be a subject in literature; both Rudyard Kipling, in The Jungle Book, and William Blake, in Songs of Experience, depict the tiger as a menacing and fearful animal. In The Jungle Book, the tiger, Shere Khan, is the wicked mortal enemy of the protagonist, Mowgli. However, other depictions are more benign: Tigger, the tiger from A. A. Milne's Winnie- the-Pooh stories, is cuddly and likable. In the Man Booker Prize winning novel "Life of Pi," the protagonist, Pi Patel, sole human survivor of a ship wreck in the Pacific Ocean, befriends another survivor: a large Bengal Tiger. The famous comic strip Calvin and Hobbes features Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbies. A tiger is also featured on the cover of the popular cereal, Frosted Flakes (also marketed as "Frosties") bearing the name "Tony the Tiger".

Source: Wikipedia

Want to learn more about the Chinese New Year? Check out these websites:

Chinese New Year
China the Beautiful: Chinese New Year 
The History of Chinese New Year - History.com

Celebrate the Feeling

Happy Valentine's Day

I wanted to find a different voice explaining this annual holiday. I was pleasantly surprised when I came across a website devoted to Valentine's Day from India. Enjoy!

General View on Valentines Day

Every celebration is representative of a past event or an occurrence which may have happened on the 'date' some years, months or days back. The occasion of Valentines Day on February 14 has a similar association with it. It is understood to have originated as a Christian religious festival honoring a Saint. This is another reason for it being referred to by the name of Saint Valentine's Day or St. Valentines Day. Its origins date back to ancient Rome of 270 AD. It was due to the rebellion and sacrifice of a catholic priest with the same name that this day came to be celebrated. Saint Valentine supported lovers or couples in love by getting them married against the wishes of the then Emperor Claudius.

Day of Romance and Fertility
Some other associations with Valentines Day are related to the spring season. The spring season begins around mid February in most parts of the world. Therefore, this is the time when birds (in the European subcontinent where this festival originated) go out and look for their mates. This is the reason that this day has been chosen for its reference to the mating season of birds and to fertility. Another association of Valentines Day is to some fertility festivals of early European era. Ancient Athenians (people of Greek origin) observed February as the month of Gamelion to celebrate the marriage of Greek Gods - Zeus and Hera, ancient Romans (people who lived in the Roman empire, Rome is the capital of the present day Italy) celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia to honor the Roman Gods of fertility - Lupercus and Faunus.

Present Day Context
The present day context of this festival is as a day that honors love, commitment and promises for a life together. And understandably so, since we as a people hanker after those things that are usually lacking in the world around us. This is a major reason for this craze regarding love and romance. Though, there is a rising trend of 'celebrating love in all its forms', this festival mainly retains its initial relevance to romantic love. It is still known more for its affiliation to romance and sensuousness than for any other kind of bond.

Views on Valentines Day Celebrations
There are conflicting views on the celebration of Valentine's Day. Some people still recognize it as a Christian festival. And thus, do not even acknowledge its presence as an event to be marked in a calender year. The people who are critical of Valentines Day have two reasons to back their approach. One is the distinct religious leanings of this celebration. The other is that some people simply find this celebration silly, frivolous and impractical. Then there are those who are not bothered about the origins of this festival and associate it with rediscovering love and romance. It is to this group of Valentine Day lovers that this day owes its popularity to.

Valentine's Day has also undergone a transformation from a quiet, unassuming observance to a loud commercialized affair. There are different takes on this aspect among the world population. Some people celebrate this day with pomp and gaiety whereas others keep it a private affair. This approach to festivities of Valentines Day depends on two factors, one of which is the cultural and familial influences, the other is the age factor. There is an age and stage for these celebrations, but then some people never lose their innocent approach to love and life.

Source: St. Valentine's Day (Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India)

Oh Henry

Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
US Transcendentalist author

Bliss

(Image: glitter-graphics.com /javaturtle)

Mother of the Year

WARM SPRINGS, Ga. — A Georgia woman is in jail after police say she forced her son to kill his pet hamster with a hammer as punishment for bad grades.

Lynn Middlebrooks Geter, 38, is charged with one count each of animal cruelty, child cruelty and battery after she forced her son to kill his pet hamster with a hammer as punishment for bad grades.

The sheriff of rural Meriwether County told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday that the 12-year-old boy told his teacher about the killing. The teacher reported it to the Division of Family and Child Services, who contacted police.

Sheriff Steve Whitlock said 38-year-old Lynn Middlebrooks Geter of Warm Springs faces one charge each of animal cruelty, child cruelty and battery.

The sheriff's office said she remained in the Meriwether County jail early Friday. It was not immediately known if she had a lawyer.

Meriwether County is located about 90 minutes southwest of Atlanta.

___

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com

(AP Photo/Meriwether County Sheriff's Department)

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Wow, what a heartless bitch. And with a hammer? I bet she never helped him with his homework either. He will probably need some therapy, or baby sleeping pills to help keep that bloody image out of his dreams. Oh wait, there are no baby sleeping pills. That means he'll probably have nightmares for a very long time. Maybe the rest of his life. I really feel sorry for the poor kid. I hope she'll still be rotting in jail when Mother's Day rolls around.

(Image: glitter-graphics.com)