The Light of Self Expression
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February 26, 2010

Cultivate

“I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.”

Dalai Lama

February 25, 2010

Birdy Nam Nam ~ Dam



Bring the fusion to a rise...

February 22, 2010

Know Thy World

For me the starting point is overcoming ignorance. That's where the Buddha said we should start. We have to make it part of our daily discipline to become better informed about the world we live in. We need to be able to distinguish between truth and falsity such as misinformation from our governments and from mainstream news media.

- Richard Reoch, The Path of Complete Engagement, (Winter, 2004)

February 18, 2010

Save The Hopper!!










Wear a Condom For Wildlife
Group Gives Out 100,000 Endangered Species Condoms for Valentine's Day

Educational Project Highlights Impact of Human Overpopulation on Wildlife

Five People to Win Lifetime Condom Supply

With 3,000 volunteers operating in all 50 states, the Center for Biological Diversity will distribute 100,000 free Endangered Species Condoms beginning on Valentine’s Day and has launched an educational Web site – http://www.endangeredspeciescondoms.com/ – chronicling the devastating impact of human overpopulation on endangered species. Additional free condoms will be distributed through the site, and five people will win a lifetime condom supply.

Six different packages with original artwork and edgy slogans feature the polar bear (“Wrap with care, save the polar bear”), jaguar (“Wear a jimmy hat, save the big cat”), American burying beetle (“Cover your tweedle, save the burying beetle”), snail darter (“Hump smarter, save the snail darter”), coquí guajón rock frog (“Use a stopper, save the hopper”), and spotted owl (“Wear a condom now, save the spotted owl”). All six species are listed as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Human overpopulation is destroying wildlife habitat at an unprecedented rate,” said Randy Serraglio, a conservation advocate leading the Center’s overpopulation campaign.

“All of the major threats to the earth’s biodiversity – sprawl, logging, mining, dams, pollution, and climate change – are driven by human overpopulation. Our Endangered Species Condoms are designed to capture peoples’ attention, get them laughing, and get them talking about the impact of overpopulation on our small and fragile planet.”

The Endangered Species Condoms will be distributed in bars, supermarkets, schools, concerts, parties, and other public events by grandmothers, college students, university professors, health-care providers, ministers, rock bands, and people from all walks of life.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with volunteers,” said Serraglio. “We expected 100, but got over 3,000 in just a month. The demand far exceeded our first run of 100,000 condoms. We’ll be producing another 100,000 as soon as the first batch hits the streets.”

The human population stands at 6.8 billion and is projected to reach at least 9 billion by 2050. “Without universal access to free birth control and engaging public education about the serious consequences of overpopulation, the global population could reach 15 billion by mid-century,” said Serraglio. “The Earth simply can’t sustain that many people and provide a high-quality life for all species, including humans.”

The current extinction rate is about 1,000 times the normal background rate that has existed for hundreds of millions of years. “Unlike previous mass extinctions, which were the result of cosmic or geologic catastrophes, this one is being caused by a single species: human beings,” said Serraglio. “With a little more thoughtfulness and responsibility for our reproductive behavior, we can ensure future generations inherit a world that’s still full of a diversity of life.

“Through the empowerment of women, universal, free access to birth control for everyone who wants it, and education of all people, we can stabilize global population at a sustainable level,” said Serraglio. “The United States, which has the highest population growth of any developed nation and extremely high consumption levels, is a key factor in this problem. We should be taking the lead in promoting policies that will stabilize global population.”

The Center’s new Web site – http://www.endangeredspeciescondoms.com/ – has images of the six colorful condom packages, information on how overpopulation is impacting climate change, global fisheries collapse, public lands, and the extinction crisis. It allows people to sign up to become Endangered Species Condom distributors in their own neighborhoods and to enter a contest to win free condoms for life.

On the web:

http://www.endangeredspeciescondoms.com/

www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/overpopulation/index.html

February 11, 2010

Four ways to embrace the day...

The Four Agreements®
Don Miguel Ruiz

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don't Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
 

FOR THE FIRE WITHIN
THE FORCE THAT DRIVES US
THE ART OF LIVING TRUTH
A HEART THAT SPEAKS
ONLY THE WISE LISTEN
Posted by Picasa

Found a piece of 2001 today...

She woke up late as usual disregarding her alarm for at least an hour, conscious of the decision to ignore it, making it all an oxymoronic act to gain a couple intermittent precious moments of escape with no explanation needed. Her eyes barely part when the day slams up and hits her in the face. WHAM! All the conscientious fulfillments needed, all the responsibilities not done all coming in on a newly crested, newly broken wave of TODAY.

Today she woke up late, as usual, wave crashed alarm disarmed and feet grounded... it all begins again. The disorientation of the clashing dreamworld and waking world. The continual deciphering of reality and fantasy tires her consciously subconscious mind and makes every thing less real. Stuck ethereally in a Vermeer world, disconnected from the viewer and herself,so alone yet surrounded in connections. Making sense of the senseless illusory disillusionment brought on by no one but herself. Making amends every morning, her Psyche to her Mind, to say, "This is what's real," to say, "You woke up late again today," to say, "Your dreams are only as real as you want them to be. But, nonetheless, they will affect, predict, and consume your every breath, your every move, and all that you believe, conceive, hope, aspire to become, want, need, crave, desire, think and hold dear will somehow be incorporated in such a surreal way that you'll spend most of you waking, walking, days trying to understand, comprehend, bend, mend or apprehend one singular beam of the light of the truth from within,"... her own mind.

To take all of her 'relative' time to define her personal stance.

All contained in a singular glance.

Figuring out which side of the bed she awoke from is really tiring...

She woke up late today, as usual... and soon fell asleep again under the weight of her own brain.

04-03-01
LSW

February 4, 2010

Through the hands of time...

Absolutely -- Undoubtedly -- One of the most fantastic things I've ever seen!


Simmy Swinder Swinging Some Swift Synopsis...


“Bigger, Better, More: The Art of Viola Frey” at the Museum of Arts and Design
Viola Frey, Weeping Woman, 1990-91, ceramic with glazes. ©Artists' Legacy Foundation.

By: Simmy Swinder

Despite the curator’s choice to subject the show to a modest half of a floor at MAD, Viola Frey’s monumental and imposing sculptures make the limited space satisfactory. They are accompanied by smaller wall sculptures and paintings, giving viewers an overview of Frey’s oeuvre. Originally from Lodi, California, Frey routinely frequented flea markets in Oakland and San Francisco, acquiring ceramic trinkets and figurines. Examples of these found objects, which most consider kitsch, are encased in the back corner of the exhibition. Viola Frey described them as "the trifles that fill the cottages of thousands of people, things briefly cherished and then [thrown] out." This prompted Frey to transform traditionally disposable bric-à-brac into larger-than-life sculptures one cannot ignore, or effortlessly discard. She did this through a process of assemblage termed bricolage and using ceramic as her primary medium.

Surface imperfections, from the sketchy brush strokes and fragmentary parts to the glazed but rough edges remind me of the finished product’s original, mass-produced, models. Namely, the poor quality of commonplace found objects. However, Frey’s works insidiously penetrate the viewer’s psyche. Perhaps the scale of the sculptures or the remarkably realistic and downcast expressions of the figures is what gives them their emotional leverage. Or possibly its appeal resonates from, as former curator Kenneth R. Trapp commented, the balance of “static forms” covered in “expressionist strokes” of bold, emotive color, issuing an uneasy but “dazzling” effect. An effect that leaves this zealous generation Y museum-goer with an indelible impression and longing for bigger, better and, well, more.

Frey lived and worked concurrently with other California ceramicists. Their works can be found on the 3rd floor in an exhibition titled “California Dreamers: Ceramic Artist from the MAD Collection.” Although these works are less domineering than Frey’s massive sculptures (there’s another not-to-be-missed Frey sculpture in this related exhibition) they nevertheless provide viewers with a deeper understanding of the artist’s contemporaries and influences, which is always worth a quick peak.

“Bigger, Better, More: The Art of Viola Frey” at the Museum of Arts and Design runs through May 2nd.

The Museum of Arts and Design

2 Columbus Circle

Take the 1,A,B,C, or D train to 59th St/Columbus Circle

Museum Hours: Tue-Sun, 11-6; Thurs, 11-9

Museum Website: http://www.madmuseum.org/


Simmy Swinder Swinging Some Swift Synopsis...

Dirty Birdy Nam Nam

Birdy Nam Nam

That's right... Birdy Nam Nam

** Let's start a riot **