Archive for February 2012

bags and bags of milk

for those of you who saw past the big truck of potato chips and wondered about the 'bag milk' on the sign...
it seems to be a peculiarly, though not exclusively, Ontario way of selling milk. 4 litres in three bags.
and the bags are great for reuse as freezer bags.

Dreams

Dreams: A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind

Altered light graffiti photograph
There are days like this
when I need to daydream.
There are times like these
my thoughts must run free.
Free to roam. Free to follow.
Make up mini stories
about you and me.
Begin again.
Change the ending.
Begin at the ending
like we are new
Breaking the seals
Brand new car smell
type of new
Excitement of discovering
unknown possibilities
just for you and me



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” James Dean


“You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'” George Bernard Shaw


“Dreams are like stars...you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny.”


“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” C.S. Lewis

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Altered light graffiti photograph


Synonyms: bubble, castle in the air, chimera, daydream, delusion, fancy, fantasy, hallucination, head trip, idea, image, imagination, impression, incubus, mental picture, nightmare, pie in the sky, pipe dream, rainbow, reverie, specter, speculation, thought, trance, vagary, wraith

Escif: Education for Citizenship, Valencia


Check out this hilarious mural by street artist Escif in Valencia, Spain. You can either get the book thrown at you, or failing that, the police could just beat everyone down.

Don't forget to #OccupyValencia.

Pic

Perseverance

Perseverance: Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.






"We are just one small adjustment away from making our lives work."




"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain."




“Try and fail, but don't fail to try.”






“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” Benjamin Franklin



“Victory belongs to the most persevering.” Napoleon Bonaparte







“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” Marie Curie


Synonyms: backbone, constancy, continuance, cool, dedication, determination, doggedness, drive, endurance, grit, guts*, immovability, indefatigability, moxie*, persistence, pertinacity, pluck, prolonging, purposefulness, pursuance, resolution, sedulity, spunk, stamina, steadfastness, stick-to-itiveness, tenacity

Create

Create: 1. To cause to exist; bring into being. 2. To give rise to; produce: 3. To produce through artistic or imaginative effort

"By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it.  The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired." Franz Kafka




What a wonderful quote from Kafka for some motivation. Believe in your dreams and pour energy into your desires to make them happen. Take charge of your life. Take control. Begin creating.

Don't get caught up in trivial distractions or waste your energy comparing yourself or judging others.  That is not for you to do.  Harness your energy, empower yourself and go create.

Begin today and everyday creating the legacy you will leave behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." George Bernard Shaw

"How wrong is it for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself?" Anaïs Nin

"No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit."  Ansel Adams

"If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader." Dolly Parton

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Synonyms: actualize, author, beget, bring into being, bring into existence, bring to pass, build, cause to be, coin, compose, conceive, concoct, constitute, construct, contrive, design, devise, discover, dream up, effect, erect, establish, fabricate, fashion, father, forge, form, formulate, found, generate, give birth to, give life to, hatch, imagine, initiate, institute, invent, invest, make, occasion, organize, originate, parent, perform, plan, procreate, produce, rear, set up, shape, sire, spawn, start

Basic Design Graffiti Alphabet Letters A-Z

Basic Design Graffiti Alphabet Letters A-Z with Number
Basic Design Graffiti Alphabet Letters A-Z with Number

Basic Design Graffiti Alphabet Letters A-Z printouts with uppercase and lowercase letters.

Basic Design Graffiti Alphabet Letters A-Z
Basic Design Graffiti Letters A-Z

Graffiti Alphabets A-Z Unique Art from Hair

Graffiti Alphabets A-Z Unique Art from Hair
Graffiti Alphabets A-Z Unique Art from Hair

Art no limit, as this form of graffiti alphabets derived from the hair.

DISC JOKEY

Beastman designs art for Smirnoff



Sydney street artist Beastman has caught the attention of vodka brand Smirnoff, producing artwork for a limited edition bottle design released this month.

The campaign is a clear sign of both his work's mainstream crossover qualities and an established popularity among the brand's target demographic.

An ad featuring his work is currently rolling around on Sydney buses.


Sydney artists Vexta and Ben Frost were among four artists who also hand-painted Smirnoff bottles for an aBMUSH Gallery charity auction. Vexta's raised more than $700 for Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia.

You might like:

Beastman interview
Acid Midget visits Beastman's studio
Acid Midget meets Ben Frost, Vexta
Ben Frost gets more tattoos
Vexta stencil in Darlinghurst

Pic: 1

The Rudd-Gillard leadership challenge


The woman on the left is Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The man on the right is former Prime Minister Chuck Norris. They were allies before a 2010 leadership coup in which Mr Norris lost support within the Labor Party and was KO'd by Ms Gillard.

Ever since, Mr Norris has allegedly tried to 'white ant' Ms Gillard with information leaks and destabilising manoeuvres. This came to a head last week a mysterious video was uploaded showing Mr Norris 'losing his shit' while PM.



This caused a shockwave within the ALP. Gillard supporters began criticising Mr Norris for being a bag of tools. Then on Thursday, in Washington, Mr Norris resigned as Foreign Minister. He cited a lack of support from Ms Gillard as the reason behind the decision.




In the days following, a groundswell of debate arose with calls for a leadership ballot to end months of internal party dissent. This ballot is scheduled for tomorrow.

Mr Norris is unpopular within his own party, yet every time he performs a roundhouse kick a new universe is born. Amazing.   


Yet there is a great irony shown in popularity polls. Chuck Norris has consistently polled as the preferred PM over both Ms Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. He has significant support within the ALP - though probably not enough to win the ballot - leading to one question.

Is tomorrow the climax where Chuck Norris whoops ass with heavily Americanised martial arts moves?


Maybe.


Why can't everyone just make up and work together going forward? And who are you backing tomorrow - the PM, or Chuck Norris?

You might like:

1. The Acid Midget Manifesto
2. Hosier Lane street art, Melbourne
3. Mubarak steps down, Egypt is free

Pics: 1, 3, 4, 5

Interview with Maya Manandhar and Shanti Manandhar of Jagat Sundar Bwonekhuti Secondary School

During my last few weeks in Kathmandu, I sought out people that I thought had interesting opinions on language rights and language education in Nepal, and sat down with them for informal interviews. I wrote about some of these interviews here and here.

This last interview is with Principal Maya Manandhar and Vice Principal Shanti Manandhar of Jagat Sundar Bwonekhuti Secondary School, one of the first mother language schools in the country. It is located near the bank of the Bishnumati River, in a traditional Newari community not far from Swoyambhu. This interview was transcribed and the parts of it that were in Nepali were translated into English:

What is the history of your school and what makes it unique? How is Newari a part of the curriculum?

The school is twenty years old. After the democratic revolution the government gave us the permission to start the school. This was the first, and now there are many. It is a committee-run school, not a private school - there were six members in the first year. This is a mother language school, which means that every subject is taught in the Newari language: that is the teaching methodology. We use the Lotus Books that we publish in Newari for grades 1-5, and we use the English language government books in 9 and 10 (with the optional Newari subject books). The SLCs are taken in English. We teach Newari as a subject, and we choose one out of many different Newari scripts. We teach prachalit, as opposed to the more artful scripts, or Devanagari, which is a script from India, not Nepal. We have a problem with the books in grades six, seven, and eight. There are no Newari books and we use different materials, including photocopies. We teach Media in Newari.

An organization from Japan sponsors students here. Forty per cent of the students are sponsored by individual Japanese donors.

What is the benefit of a Newari component to the curriculum?

Students learn about the script and the culture, Nepal's historical culture. The script is important to preserve, as well as the culture, a very old culture.

Does education in the mother tongue help students to learn?

Little kids need to learn in their own language. What takes two days to learn in another language will take one day in their own language. Our school has gone through three groups of SLC, above 50% with distinction. So the system has been working so far. Also, language are dying all over the world, and that's why we need to preserve ours.

What are the good things and the bad things about the program?

The good things: if it was not taught in school, the knowledge of old songs and dances would be disappearing. We teach traditional dance and music in our school, also sitar (which isn't traditional). We teach old games as well.


There are also some bad things. Learning only in Newari, students can sometimes have no "scope." In college there's no scope for Newari students. The government has not made room for Newari colleges and jobs for Newari speakers. Some of our students have jobs in newspapers and etc.

I see a book of children's stories by Hridaya here on the table. Can you tell me about him?

He was very big. He wrote some famous books in Newari and was given the title of Kabikeshar by King Mahendra. Of course he was persecuted and put in jail before that. We have statue of him in our school.


The main statue belongs to Jagat Sundar Malla, a great Newari scholar who our school is named after. He saw the need for mother language schools, but he was put in jail for this and after he got out he flew to Japan. He saw the schools there and decided to come back to Nepal and sell all of his property to help establish a school. He had to hide his books, and then he died before the school was established. But we established it in his honor.

Pinterest fun

It's the weekend!! Time for some fun and relaxation. I plan to 'play' on Pinterest for awhile.

What have you been pinning?

Here are a few funny images I stumbled upon.










Follow me on Pinterest HERE.


Leadership

Leadership: a person who guides or directs a group

“A leader leads by example, whether he intends to or not.”


Florida Everglades Sunset 2011




“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” John Quincy Adams

“Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average.” Jim Rohn

“Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve.” Tom Landry

“Take care, don't fight, and remember: if you do not choose to lead, you will forever be led by others. Find what scares you, and do it. And you can make a difference, if you choose to do so.” J. Michael Straczynski



Synonyms: administration, authority, capacity, command, conduction, control, conveyance, direction, directorship, domination, foresight, hegemony, influence, initiative, management, pilotage, power, preeminence, primacy, skill, superintendency, superiority, supremacy, sway

Airbrush Design on Mustang GT

Airbrush Design on Mustang Gt Ghost Raider Themes Front
Airbrush Design on Mustang GT Ghost Raider Themes Front View

Mustang Gt is an automotive masterpiece is perfect, because it comes with speed and car design that is above average, so it's best if you want to change the appearance of a car you have to make it as perfect as possible, this example is that I added the power of the world's fish would the American automotive Mustang GT modified with the awesome car body paint with airbrush.

Airbrush Design on Mustang Gt Ghost Raider Themes Side
Airbrush Design on Mustang GT Ghost Raider Themes Side View

Basic Graffiti Alphabets Colorful

Basic Graffiti Alphabets Colorful
Basic To Create Graffiti Alphabets Colorful

Graffiti fonts created with light

Graffiti fonts created with light
Graffiti fonts A-Z created with light

Graffiti Letter Mural on Wall

Graffiti Letter Mural on Wall Full Color
Red, Green, Yellow, Color Graffiti Letter Mural on Wall Awesome Art on Street

Empowering Women

Quotes by strong women.  Let their examples serve to inspire and motivate you to achieve your goals.



"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."Marie Curie



"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin.


"The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me." Ayn Rand







“They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm.” Dorothy Parker

“Now I know the things I know, and I do the things I do; and if you do not like me so, to hell, my love, with you!” Dorothy Parker

have a chip...

try stopping at one, I dare you!
one might think this truck was full of potatoes with a little man inside slicing them into thin chips,

Nestle - Graffiti 3d



Nestle - Graffiti 3d

Nestle - Graffiti 3dReklama 3d dla Nestle, Malował MCK

1898 Puerto Rico in Photographs

Utuado Mountainside 1898 Puerto Rico two men ride horses on dirt road

When I think of Puerto Rico
in my minds eye

I feel a dance ...
her sway

centered
in the protective embrace
of the deepest blue ocean
and salty sapphire sea 

gentle caresses
bubbling white foam
rhythmic waves
adoringly
lapping at her edges

lush green mountains
rustling
wind caresses
upon every
peak, crest
and valley
 
island sounds
secret songs only parrots
and frogs know

memory
of love
forever home



Central mountainous zone 1898 Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico stuck in the persistent state of 1898.  Unwilling to change.
A one hundred year old child.

Military Road Juana Diaz 1898 Puerto Rico Horse drawn carriage
Caguas, Puerto Rico 1898 village
Economically poor then and now.

San Juan Railroad 1898
Puerto Rico is 1898 encapsulated.




Puerto Rico refusing to change remains a common wealth, suppressed. A prize of the Spanish American war.  An American possession needing protection since 1898.  Protection from what exactly, I cannot explain.  Culturally rich, with traces from every corner of the planet proudly waving two flags.  Bearing children with double identities.  Holding on tightly to illusions of self government.  Forever scrambling in frustration caused by this duality. 

Puerto Rico, there is no denying your richness, beauty and my love for you.




Images from Puerto Rico: its conditions and possibilities
By William Dinwiddie

Graffitis 3d.flv



graffitis 3d.flv

graffitis 3d.flv

Slug writes graffiti 'cry for help'


Graffiti artist/reckless vandal Slug wrote a message on this monorail pylon in central Sydney. He's been quiet lately - haven't seen him 'kick 2012's ass' yet.

Is he a little sad? Being the craziest graffiti writer in the city must be heavy.


After making so many elaborate murals maybe Slug's got nothing left to give. Last month he revealed his new foot tattoo to Acid Midget. It seemed like he was re-branding as a 'gay Shepard Fairey' or something:


How you holding up Slug?You in jail/gaol/Bali yet?


You know I stood in the rain for you, right?


All we can do is send hashtag love to this artistic Robin Hood. Tweet #getwellslug to all your peeps. Power to the Tweeple!

You might like:

1. Slug gets a tattoo
2. Street art of 2011
3. Exploding dog graffiti
4. Killer Slug mural
5. Slug graffiti dog (short fiction)

Empower

Empower: To equip or supply with an ability; enable

Equality between men and women exists when both sexes are able to share equally in the distribution of power and influence; have equal opportunities for financial independence through work or through setting up businesses; enjoy equal access to education and the opportunity to develop personal ambitions.

This little girl makes all decisions relating to her health and well being.

Today women must empower themselves so that tomorrow we may empower our children. We must open our eyes to the injustices of the world and correct them. I hear people all the time making comments about how they don't want to be political. If you think you have a choice you are only lying to yourself. Inaction allows small problems to get bigger and sooner or later they will land on your doorstep.


This little girl loves to write and is not afraid to voice her opinion.


Empowerment is taking complete control of your life: health, emotional and physical well being, ownership of property, economically/financially, politically, etc.

When you do not take action you become an enabler and the bottom line is, if you do not make your own choices there are politicians out there ready and waiting to make those decisions for you.


There are no reasons why you can not accomplish your passions. It's a matter of finding the resources to enable you to empower yourself.


Step 1 in empowering yourself: Education

There are many free resources online and at your local libraries which you can access.  Librarians love when clients come to them for information.  They are very well equipped to point you in the right direction and local resources you might never find out about.

Step 2: Join Groups

TV and media have done a great job of creating the false illusion that women are supposed to be perfect creatures with unlimited capabilities who can do everything on their own.  False, we are human beings capable of great things who become even more powerful when we join forces.

Groups are a great collective of give and take.  For many, they are a comfortable way of sharing information.   The types of groups you join should be based on your specific interests.  Some examples:  career oriented, self improvement, cultural, political, entrepreneurial, etc.

Here are a variety of links to serve as an example of the diversity of women's groups available to you: The National Council of Women's Organizations,   MomsRisingMs. Foundation for Women, Association of Women in Science, National Women's Political Caucus, Las Comadres, League of United Latin American Citizens, National Puerto Rican Forum,  Hispanas Organized for Political EqualityWomen of ALPFANational Association of Latino Elected and Appointed OfficialsThe Latina Center,


Final and most important step:  Action

Write down those goals and devise a plan of attack.  Go for it!

The best advice I can give you is to empower yourself and teach this generation of children to be leaders.  Prepare them to fill leadership roles, there are many.

:)
Your turn.  Tell me, what are you doing today to empower yourself?
Are there any other organizations or groups you recommend?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.” Steve Maraboli

"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud." Coco Chanel

"You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down." Toni Morrison

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will." Charlotte Brontë
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bonus: A video of a brilliant Ted Talk by Sheryl Sandberg to give you even more to think about. She suggests why a smaller percentage of women than men reach the top of their professions and offers 3 powerful pieces of advice. I hope you are inspired and I can't wait to hear about it.



Synonyms: accredit, allow, capacitate, charge, commission, delegate, entitle, entrust, grant, invest, legitimize, license, okay, permit, privilege, qualify, sanction, vest, warrant, accord, accredit, admit, approve, authorize, be big, be game for, bear, brook, certify, commission, consent, empower , endorse, endure, favor, free up, give a blank check, give carte blanche, give leave, give permission, give the go-ahead, give the green light, go along with, grant permission, hear of, hold with, indulge, let, license, live with, oblige, okay, pass, pass on, put up with, recognize, release, sanction, sit still for, stand, suffer, support