Our Star Rises Over Our Foggy Planet

Foggy Star Rise

Fog or no, the star will rise.

Easter Goodness

Ten and a Half Pounds of Fresh Baked Happiness

So much could be said of the representation of this picture. To most viewers it will be ho hum just another shot of a ham. To certain specific viewers it goes far beyond. Almost like the days of pleasure this ten and a half pound pan full of happiness will bring...

Hope everybody had a Happy Easter.

Lying In Wait

Foo Dogs - the Fighters of Foo

Guardian

Chinese guardian lions or Imperial guardian lion, traditionally known in Chinese simply as Shi (Chinese: 獅; pinyin: shī; literally "lion"), and often called "Foo Dogs" in the West, are a common representation of thelion in pre-modern China. Statues of guardian lions have traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy, from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), and were believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits. They are also used in other artistic contexts, for example on door-knockers, and in pottery. Pairs of guardian lion statues are still common decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance, in China and in other places around the world where the Chinese people have immigrated and settled, especially in local Chinatowns.

The lions are usually depicted in pairs. When used as statuory, the pair would consist of a male resting his paw upon an embroidered ball (in imperial contexts, representing supremacy over the world) and a female restraining a playful cub that is on its back (representing nurture).

Etymology

Guardian lions are referred to numerous manner depending on language and context. In Chinese they are traditionally called simply shi (獅, Pinyin: shī) meaning lion, and the word shi itself is thought to be derived from the Persian word šer.^[2] Lions were first presented to the Han court by emissaries from Central Asia and Persia, and by the sixth century AD they were already popularly depicted as guardian figures.^[3] Today the guardian lions are more usually specified by reference to the medium or material, for example:

• Stone lion (石獅, Pinyin: Shíshī): for a stone sculpture; or
• Bronze lion (銅獅, Pinyin: Tóngshī): for a bronze sculpture

and less commonly:

• Auspicious lion (瑞獅, Pinyin: Ruìshī): respecting reference to the Tibetan Snow Lion or with context to good fortune
• Fortuitous lion (福獅, Pinyin: fúshī)^{[citation needed]}: reference in context to good fortune
• Buddha's or Buddhist lion (佛獅, Pinyin: fóshī)^{[citation needed]}: reference in a religious context to the lion as protector of Buddha

In Asian cultures:

• In Japan: the lion figures are known as Komainu (狛犬・高麗犬, lit Korea dogs)^{[citation needed]} possibly due to their introduction to Japan through Korea.
• In Myanmar: called Chinthe and gave their name to the World War IIChindit soldiers.
• In Okinawa: similar lion formed statuettes are known as Shisa.
• In Tibet: known as a Snow Lion

Western names

In English and several Western languages, the guardian lions are often referred in a multitude of name such as: "Fu Dogs", "Foo Dogs", "Fu Lions", "Fo Lions", and "Lion Dogs". The term "Fo" or "Fu" may betransliterations to the words 佛 (pinyin: fó) or 福 (pinyin: fú), which means "buddha" or "prosperity" in Chinese, respectively. However, Chinese reference to the guardians lion are seldom prefixed with 佛 or 福, and more importantly never referred to as "dogs".

Reference to guardian lions as dogs in Western cultures may be due to the Japanese reference to them as "Korean dogs" (狛犬・高麗犬) due to their transmission from China through Korea into Japan. It may also be due to the misidentification of the guardian lion figures as representing certain Chinese dog breeds such as the Chow Chow (鬆獅犬, Pinyin: sōngshī quǎn, lit. "puffy-lion dog") or Shih Tzu (獅子狗; Pinyin: Shīzi Gǒu, lit. "lion dog").

Appearance

The lions are traditionally carved from decorative stone, such as marble and granite or cast in bronze or iron. Because of the high cost of these materials and the labor required to produce them, private use of guardian lions was traditionally reserved for wealthy or elite families. Indeed, a traditional symbol of a family's wealth or social status was the placement of guardian lions in front of the family home. However, in modern times less expensive lions, mass-produced in concrete and resin, have become available and their use is therefore no longer restricted to the elite.

The lions are always presented in pairs, a manifestation of yin and yang, the female representing yin and the male yang. The male lion has its right front paw on an embroidered ball called a "xiù qiú" (绣球), which is sometimes carved with a geometric pattern resembling the figure called "Flower of Life" in the New Age movement. The female is essentially identical, but has a cub under the closer (left) paw to the male, representing the cycle of life. Symbolically, the female fu lion protects those dwelling inside, while the male guards the structure. Sometimes the female has her mouth closed, and the male open. This symbolizes the enunciation of the sacred word "om". However, Japanese adaptions state that the male is inhaling, representing life, while the female exhales, representing death. Other styles have both lions with a single large pearl in each of their partially opened mouths. The pearl is carved so that it can roll about in the lion's mouth but sized just large enough so that it can never be removed.

According to feng shui, correct placement of the lions is important to ensure their beneficial effect. When looking out of a building through the entrance to be guarded, looking in the same direction as the lions, the male is placed on the left and the female on the right. So when looking at the entrance from outside the building, facing the lions, the male lion with the ball is on the right, and the female with the cub is on the left.

Chinese lions are intended to reflect the emotion of the animal as opposed to the reality of the lion. This is in distinct opposition to the traditional English lion which is a lifelike dipection of the animal. The claws, teeth and eyes of the Chinese lion represent power. Few if any muscles are visible in the Chinese lion whereas the English lion shows its power through its life like characteristics rather than through stylized representation.

History

The Asiatic lions were once quite common throughout its historic range inSouthwest and Central Asia and are believed to be the ones depicted by the guardian lions in Chinese culture. With increased trade during the Han dynasty and cultural exchanges through the Silk road, lions were introduced into China from the ancient states of Central Asia by peoples of Sogdiana,Samarkand, and the Yuezhi (月氏) in the form of pelts and live tribute, along with stories about them from Buddhist priests and travelers of the time. This exchange can be seen in that the Chinese word for lion is "Shi" (師, later 獅/狮), which shares the same etymological roots as "Shiar" (شیر), the Persian language name for the animal.

Several instances of lions as imperial tributes from Central Asia was recorded in the document Book of the Later Han (後漢書) written from 25-220 CE. On one particular event, on the eleventh lunar month of 87 CE, "... an envoy from Parthia offered as tribute a lion and an ostrich" to the Han court. Indeed the lion was associated by the Han Chinese to earlier venerated creatures of the ancient Chinese, most notably by the monk Huilin (慧琳) who stated that "the mythic suanni (狻猊) is actually the lion, coming from the Western Regions" (狻猊即狮子也，出西域).

The Buddhist version of the Lion was originally introduced to Han China as the protector of dharma and these lions have been found in religious art as early as 208 BC. Gradually they were incorporated as guardians of the Chinese Imperial dharm. Lions seemed appropriately regal beasts to guard the emperor's gates and have been used as such since. There are various styles of guardian lions reflecting influences from different time periods, imperial dynasties, and regions of China. These styles vary in their artistic detail and adornment as well as in the depiction of the lions from fierce to serene.

Although the form of the Chinese guardian lion was quite varied during its early history in China, the appearance, pose, and accessories of the lions eventually became standardized and formalized during the Ming and Qing dynasties into more or less its present form.

Currently, there are about 800 African lions in captive in china.

Text and below images from Wikipedia

Right side Chinese lion statue representYin force, female,negative, take, carry a cub.Sanggar AgungTemple,Surabaya,Indonesia.

Left side Chinese lion statue representYang force, male,positive, bring, carry a ball.Sanggar AgungTemple,Surabaya,Indonesia.

Only The Marvelous

Power Over Me

“I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger as reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I can not transform into something marvelous, I let go. Reality doesn't impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls.”  ~ Anais Nin

Restart-level Button

Life Boat

 How many do overs do you get in life? How many chances does a person get to start again? Thinking in terms of a video game my mind wanders to the restart-level button almost inherent in every game made. A chance to start the level (the game) again. The option to abandon the progress you have fought to achieve and go back to a previously saved checkpoint and, begin again. The need to begin again is of course a direct result of meeting an insurmountable obstacle on your path. Failure and the feeling that if you started again you would be able to make it to point past this point and achieve far greater forward progress. It would seem the number of times possible would be infinite dependent upon how much effort you choose to devote to finishing that particular game. And how much are you willing to give up of the forward progress you have already made. Sometimes it involves not much of a backward motion. Other times it is a complete restart of the game. Everything gained previous, lost.

How many chances does a person get to start again? A difficult question to answer at first thought. Certainly after some pondering it becomes rather obvious that it is at the heart of it, a very simple answer. As many as you desire. Every second of every minute of very hour of every day, a person can choose to start again. Of course the effort to alter ones course is completely dependant upon the situation you find yourself in at that very moment of your life. Picture life being a great big ocean. Sometimes the life course you are on is akin to floating along in a rowboat on that ocean. Alone, with someone else, or with many. But lets speak in terms of one. You. Every stroke of the oar (or if you are lucky enough two oars) gives you a propel in a direction of your choosing. Almost at will an extension of your thoughts is directed to your arms, the paddle pushes against the resistance of the water and you move. Conversely a thought to stop your motion is as easily obtained, by means of not paddling or dragging the paddle in the water thus creating a braking condition. So in essence altering your course is as simple as making a thought to do so. Now let's take this concept and extrapolate it out to the size of an ocean liner. This being a metaphor for a much bigger involvement of a situation in your life. The same simplicity of changing your course is there. Just think it. Quite obviously the effort needed to carry out the same change of course would be so much greater. Think of a mighty ocean liner chugging along at top speed. You then decide to change course. The mechanics and physics involved and required are immensely greater. Yet it can still be done. Takes more time and effort but it can be done. Another choice in all of this is to just sit by and do nothing. So your boat just drifts. Wherever the waves take you. At times stuck between waves and just spinning in a circle. Say you are a passenger in that rowboat. Another person doing the rowing, choosing the direction, the speed, the course. You just passively ride along. To some this is the ideal type of life. The passenger. Never having to make decisions or put out effort. But to many being the passenger is an ultimately frustrating thing. Maybe at first it is fun because it is new, different from what you have experienced. In life the greatest thing you can find is another person ready, willing and able to sit beside you in that rowboat and man one of the oars. As great a concept of happiness that that may be it is also not the easiest shoe to fill. Regardless, you are a passenger in a rowboat with another rowing. Whether you had previous arrangements of a final destination or not you are moving in the same direction right at the moment. So maybe the best of intentions were made to continue in a particular direction but the ocean constantly pushed you off your course. As the passenger you sit and do nothing but live the life of a rider. As you ride you see things along the way. You observe the rower veering or straying off the supposed route. Sometimes you may witness another boat or boats flying by with what appears to be a much better time being had by the passengers on board, than the one of which you are travelling in. Based on things you see, you question whether the boat you are in is the right one. In time you may realize the boat you are on is going someplace that you wouldn't have chosen. Again, some don't care, they are just along for the ride. While others will stay the passive passenger and allow another to choose the course of their life. All the while feeling like something isn't right. Building resentment, a feeling of futile wasted energy in the wrong direction. In time a feeling comes for the need to change the direction of travel. This need builds and festers to the point it becomes overwhelming. This is where choices come into play. Stay the passenger and say or do nothing. Seemingly not a choice but in fact a definite choice. Next option would be something as simple as voicing your sentiments of the matter to the person manning the oars. The results of this would be tied directly to the persona's of the passenger and the oarsman. Could be very little effort required to make a change or could be something that leaves the boat still in the water, drifting whichever way the ocean currents take you while you hem and haw, argue about the direction and speed. Another choice somewhat more upsetting in nature would be grabbing the paddle(s) and overcoming the present direction and changing it to a course of your liking. Again this would have mixed results dependant upon the ideals of the characters involved, one unfortunate and not quite anticipated result could be the forced exit of one of the occupants from the boat. One other option would be to just jump the fuck out of the boat. Yeah that's pretty drastic, and most certainly not an easy choice to make. Giving up every bit of your dry, safe transport to enter into a wet, cold world of which you seemingly have nothing. Giving up all of your forward progress and going to a point previous in life, and starting again. History teaches that to abandon ship is like a last ditch effort to save yourself. The only possible remaining choice that one can make to alter their direction. Give up everything in the name of saving yourself. No guarantees that you will be saved or redirected to a better destination. At times feeling like a twig in a whirlpool. Nothing to stand on, just the hope that somebody will throw you a lifeline. A rescuer to come along that will pull you from the overwhelming feeling of being lost at sea. Be it the person from the boat of which you just jumped out of or another that may come drifting along and find you floating there. How strong must you be to refuse the helping hand of the person of which boat you just jumped from. Saying emphatically No! I will not get back into THAT boat. Cold alone in a vast ocean. Only the hope of another boat to come along. Maybe a big ocean liner or coast guard rescue boat, if it comes to that. The point is you do have a choice any second of any minute of any day to alter your course in this life. To think that for some, they would never have the will or desire to change anything. Just put up with the course in the name of not having to upset the balance in the boat or worst of all jumping into the water - giving up everything. To others the choice to always row alone. Never to have to worry about changing your course if you didn't want to. A lot more work to be sure. And lonely. For some a constant supply of partners to ride along with. Talk them into rowing with you then when you feel they can no longer be of use, throw them overboard and replace with a new fresh set of arms. This choice would at some point have undesired results as well. For when you finally get tired of rowing and would like to rely on another, none will want to get in your boat and assist. As mentioned earlier, the happiest arrangement is finding that one other person that you can sit beside and row through the ocean of life to a common destination with. Both people rowing together altering course as needed and desired as a team. Times when one just couldn't row the other picking up the slack. And if at times it gets to be too much for either rower to handle and they mistakenly jump overboard, to know that that boat would circle around and you would find that outstretched helping hand ready, willing and able to pull you back into the boat. And you wanting to be pulled in. How fucking awesome! The ocean in a sense becomes a stream. And you just rowing your boat gently down the stream.

A constant restart-level button or never the need for one. Depends how you look at it. Wherein as much as having a restart-level button in life seems like such a far fetched idea it would appear that it not be to far off from reality. As in the video game world they aren't found easily and certainly you have to make some amount of forward progress to see them. They are there disguised and hidden in the choices that we make. Every second of every minute of every day.

 Row row row your boat gently down the stream.

What's Missing

The Missing Piece

It's the same puzzle for everyone yet the piece that's missing is different.