Morning on the Hudson

Morning on the Hudson
[Photo By KPA
New York, 2016]

I got a coffee from the nearby market, poured it into my thermos, got a bran muffin and walked down from my Upperwest Side apartment around 110th Street down to Riverside Drive. Eventually, I found a quiet spot (where the noise from heavy-morning traffic roaring down the Henry Hudson Parkway was abated by a brief half circle from 96th to 89th) and found a bench close enough to the water. I kept my gloves on and drank the welcome warm coffee and took bites from my muffin. It was freezing of course. But I was well-covered with layers everywhere, including two layers of gloves (woolen and those padded waterproof ones which look like I'm on an expedition in the Antarctic). The thin woolen gloves served to keep me temporary (very) warmed as I too pictures.

Some hardy souls were my companions along the snowy path, including dogs and their owners. We said hello to each other in solidarity.

It was all worth every minute!

Mary's Robe

Mary's Robe
[Photo By: KPA
Cloister's New York
November 2017]

The image is of: Standing Virgin and Child
Attributed to Nikolaus Gerhaert van Leiden
North Netherlandish, active in Strasbourg, 1460–1473
Date: ca. 1470
Medium: Boxwood, tinted lips and eyes
Dimensions: 13 1/4 x 5 1/8 x 3 9/16 in


[Photo By: KPA
August, 2013]

The Path of Life

Path at the Cloisters, New York
[Photo By: KPA
November, 2017]

Psalms 16:11

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

"Love of the Divine"

This woman showed up on my LinkedIn page. I had forgotten about her.

But Irshad Manji is still very much around.

And she got "married"!



Does Islam allow lesbian coupling (let alone marriage)?

Apparently so, on both counts. Manji though, is not a Muslim but "believes" in the "Divine."

She tell us on her "wedding" Facebook page:

On Irshad’s left arm is her devoutly Muslim uncle, Massum. On Irshad’s right arm is her secular Jewish friend (and the guy who introduced her to Laura), Jim. In case you’re wondering, Laura grew up atheist, still takes issue with organized religion, but has come to believe in a higher power. Their shared love of the Divine is a core bond between Irshad and Laura.

Manji introduces us to the man in the photo below as: "The robed dude officiating this wedding is a judge from Los Angeles." The other two are her mother and her now "wife" Laura J. Albano.


Manji's mother reading from the Koran

And who is Laura J. Albano?

Well she started off as a "cosmetic tattoo artist" and acquaintance with a medical doctor led her to their conversations that "...my skills might benefit reconstructive patients. That is how it all began in 2003 when Dr. asked me to join his staff." [Source: Her Tattoos Mae a Psyche Difference]

Above is Manji's mother reading a verse from the Koran during Manji's and Albano's "coupling ceremony."

Says Manji of her suffering mother (who nonetheless broke from Islamic theology and "blessed" the "wedding":

"Although my faithfully Muslim mother still cringes at the thought of what ‘other people’ will say about her daughter being formally married to a woman, Mumtaz is first and last a mum.

Which means she wants only happiness for her children. And that’s precisely what I have with Laura - utter bliss" [Source].

There's that word again: bliss.

Chinese Humor

Screenshot Via Kevin Michael Grace's twitter

I suppose this tweeter is making fun of Black slang with a fake Chinese broken English. There is odd concealed racial slur too (bn = black negro?).

I wouldn't call it Black communication slang though, since this English is a result of an interpretation of English to produce a language that evolved over time within a group of people.

This leads me to conclude that it is not necessarily a lack of language issue but a grammatical/logical issue where the Chinese language and grammar structure guides the language expression of these "Canadians."

For example:

- There is no corresponding plural word to its singular in Chinese

- There doesn't appear to be any clear cut definite or indefinite article (below explains this more):

Definite Articles: Chinese language doesn’t have the exactly word "the" at all. If one wants to say "the apple" in Chinese: 这蘋果的, one is really saying: "this apple/that apple/those apples/these apples".

Indefinite Articles: There are the indefinite articles: “A”, “An” and “Some” in English language, but if one wants to say "a dish" (一个盤), one is really saying "one dish" (一盤).appears

- Verb tenses:

1. Mandarin Chinese does not have any verb conjugations. All verbs have a single form. For example, the verb for "eat" is 吃 (chī), which can be used for the past, present, and future. [Source]

And

2. [In] Cantonese grammar...there is no need for the use of verb tense. That is, verbs always take the same form, and tense is communicated via additional words. For example:
- Instead of saying, “I am going fishing,” you’d say, “I go fishing today.”
- Instead of saying, “I will go fishing,” you’d say, “I go fishing tomorrow.”
- Instead of saying, “I went fishing,” you’d say “I go fishing yesterday.”
[Source]

Language is more than words and stringing those words together. And I think it is also more than a cultural education. It reflects the logical structure of the human mind. How we understand each other is a function of who we are. Of course this is obvious on an individual level, but it is also the case on a racial level also.

So yes race does affect language and communication.

Some Chinese I've met have a tendency to drop articles (a/the) and also to leave out the ends of words (-ed, -s) which is probably a combination of grammar and phonetics, probably errors brought on by the actual Chinese grammar and the pronunciation that is transferred to English.

Interestingly I catch this even in those who are younger (teens to early twenties) who speak otherwise flawless English and who are interacting with other Chinese of their own age group. They have, in a way, created their own "slang."

I suppose they can be compared to Italian immigrants who produced their own particular way of speaking, replete with hand movements. But Italians, unlike Blacks, never really produced a lasting "slang." One would be hard-pressed to identify an Italian these days if one went by language alone, so much have they integrated into the mainstream society.

But I think Chinese can and, I would wager that they will.

Because I don't think the Chinese youth will reach that level of integration the Italians acquired. First, recent (the past 20-25 years) immigration policy in Canada promotes the multicultural way of life. Join in, but please don't give up your wonderful culture! Second, the Italians had much more in common, hand movements aside, with the prevalent culture. At least Leonardo da Vinci is a common reference. And third, they wanted to join in!

What Chinese/Chinese immigrant/second-third-generation Chinese really wants to be part of the Old Stock Canadian culture? Things are just fine as they are. Canada is this benevolent place, rich enough to lead World Leaders in Davos 2018, and generous enough to "welcome" (as those CBC programs keep telling us) all these people from around the world, including their grandparents from those villages they can't find on the map.

They can sip a latte with soy milk in a Starbucks coffee counter at any street corner, but the nice barista on Queen and Spadina even puts on the current pop star from Hong Kong. They can dine on the Amazon/Wholefoods organic brown rice with tofu that reminds them of home cooking. And when the deals are good, which are pretty often now, they can catch a plane back to China/Hong Kong, assured by their round trip ticket that their stay wont be for too long.

In the meantime, they will be as Canadian as they want to be. Any maybe even join a Black Lives Matter solidarity rally the next time it comes around.

And when will this tweeter @liangweihan4, who appears to be posting from a Chinese location, pack his bags and move in?

Long Live Canada! Vive Le Canada Libre!

"#Me Too" Moments Caused by Mr. Megyn Kelly

I got news that the husband of "blissfully happy" Megyn Kelly got the news that her writer husband has behaved inappropriately towards:

- the young barista in the neighborhood Starbucks
- the clerk/cashier at their local bookstore
- the nanny who comes periodically to the children's park where he takes the kids out to play
- the cheese expert in the gourmet grocery store

All female of course. We wouldn't want to start inappropriate rumors!


The Blissfully Happy Couple at a 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

Post-Trump "Me-Toer" Megyn Kelly

Imagine your journalistic trajectory: Going from interviewing a future president of the United States to staging a "talk show" where you discuss "cozy fashion finds..." under a blanket!

Below is a four-minute segment:



The abrasive and non-photogenic Kelly is plodding through a morning talk show with ample arm movements and chuckles pretending to have a good time. And let's not forget the stilettos and skin-tight dresses.

What would she ask Pres. Trump if he ever came on her show (the likelihood of which - her asking and his accepting - are pretty high)?

It's not that she has forgiven him - she finds any occasion to throw covert jabs at him - but she would want to show him she's risen above her embarrassment and is back on television. And this time where she would have 100% support - by the 99% all-woman audience.

Imagine though going from "news" reporting (and even if some was fake news she got to meet big important people such as heads of states!) to talking about cozy blankets!

Kelly of course brought up her "Me Too" moment on her show on October 23, 2018:

"I know, because I complained...I wrote an email to the co-presidents of Fox News, Bill Shine and Jack Abernethy, an email have never made public but am sharing now because I think it speaks volumes about powerful men and the road blocks one can face in taking them on."

Watch Kelly on her 4 minute confession and group hug, dressed in a somber black dress (a precursor to the Hollywood "Black for Me Too" extravaganza):





Below, Kelly is on her October 23 confessional show as she interviews Juliet Huddy, another Me Too-er who also accused Fox News' Bill O'Reilly.

Both are dressed up for the event with black, but fancy dresses, and the prerequisite super heels.

The poor self-effacing man is attorney Doug Wigdor "handling 22 claims against Fox News" according to Kelly's introduction.



It is incredible that "allegations" becomes a lynching word. Trial without judge or jury! Welcome to the Post Modern Feminist Movement.

Welcome to the Brave New World!

Fortitude Holding Fort

Fortitude
New York Public Library
Photo By: KPA, November 2017

Succinct

Via The Thinking Housewife

“Let’s face it: Christianity and Islam are eternal enemies. Each makes uncompromising claims of exclusive truth. But this doesn’t mean that the secularist-Zionist war on the Islamic world serves any Christian interest or deserves Christian support.”

— Joseph Sobran

Square One Mississauga: New Babylon and its Twisted Tower of Babel

[Photo By: KPA]
Front building (part of a "twin" structure):

Absolute World is a Residential condominiums twin tower skyscraper complex in the five tower Absolute City Centre development in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The project was built by Fernbrook Homes and Cityzen Development Group...at 50 and 56 storeys. [Source: Wikipedia]

And more:

In Mississauga, Canada’s sixth largest city, Beijing-based MAD saw fit to embrace not only a global trend for curvaceous skyscrapers, but also for satellite developments to express the town’s individuality. [Source]

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Tower of Babel, in biblical literature, structure built in the land of Shinar (Babylonia) some time after the Deluge. The story of its construction, given in Genesis 11:1–9, appears to be an attempt to explain the existence of diverse human languages. According to Genesis, the Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves by building a mighty city and a tower “with its top in the heavens.” God disrupted the work by so confusing the language of the workers that they could no longer understand one another. The city was never completed, and the people were dispersed over the face of the earth.[Source: Tower of Babel, in biblical literature, structure built in the land of Shinar (Babylonia) some time after the Deluge. The story of its construction, given in Genesis 11:1–9, appears to be an attempt to explain the existence of diverse human languages. According to Genesis, the Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves by building a mighty city and a tower “with its top in the heavens.” God disrupted the work by so confusing the language of the workers that they could no longer understand one another. The city was never completed, and the people were dispersed over the face of the earth.
[Source: Britannica.com]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Languages spoken in Mississauga

Below is information from City of Mississauga: Population, Demographics and Housing: Updated July 2017

The percentage (3.1% here, 1.8% there) quickly adds up to the overall 26% (3/4) of languages spoken in Mississauga that are neither French nor English! And these are the ones that made the cut.

In terms of raw numbers, significant portions of the population speak languages other than English (or French), and which are not one of the major world languages like Spanish or Italian. For example, 0.3%, or 69,000, of the Ontario population speaks Farsi. This information is from the 2011 census. By the 2016 census the number has grown by 20,000 to 80,000 Farsi speakers. This is a 33% growth in five years. How this occurred is not clear and is probably a combination of births and new immigrants. But the significant information is that an additional 20,000 people declared Farsi to be the language they speak most often in their homes by 2016.

Now think of those numbers in terms of all those 1.8%, 3.1%, 4.2% increases in languages that are mostly from Asia and Africa. And these are people who say that these are languages most often spoken in their homes!

At some point there has to be discords in communication. I have written numerous times of lack of understanding (or awareness) of words and phrases by shop keepers and sales women (usually younger women) of non-White origin who DON'T understand what I am asking them. And these could be second or third generation immigrants. The kinds of language and communication may not include some old (they may call it archaic) idioms and vocabulary. It is disconcerting because I never know when they may slip and close shut the doors of communication.

And as ethnic groups invariably start to group together as their numbers increase, they begin to speak together in their own jargons and accents, and start introducing words and phrases from their lands and origins within their English communication. English becomes modified into some kind of "patois" with regional influences: Indian patois; Chinese patois; Arabic patois (regional - Syrian patois, Egyptian patois, etc.). And so on.

So a modern Babylon in Multicultural Mississauga is a distinct reality. Not now and maybe not in ten years but somewhere down the future.

Van Cleef and Arpels Delivary

[Photo By: KPA]

Jungle Lion

Patience keeping Guard


https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Edward_Clark_Potter
Sculptor

1 Corinthians 8:9-12

9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.
10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols?
11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Still Life in Yellow

Hat trunk
“Volez, Voguez, Voyagez - Louis Vuitton”
At the American Stock Exchange Building
New York City
October 27th, 2017 through January 7th, 2018
[Photo by: KPA]

-------------------------------------------------------------------

I always write (or take a photo of) the corresponding label/description of any object I take a picture of, but I rushed through the Louis Vuitton "Volez, Voguez, Voyagez" show last November, which was magical in its own way seeing those beautifully crafted objects through a whirlwind "volez" tour. I meant to go back but didn't have the time.

The best I can say is that the yellow hat from above is from around the 1920 based on the hat itself and other tags on similar objects. And the trunk is a "hat trunk," as far as I can remember, with special compartments for various hat/head-related accessories.

Hat Duel

Why would a guy with a baseball cap show up at an exhibition like this one (even if it was free)?


Hat Duel
“Volez, Voguez, Voyagez - Louis Vuitton”
At the American Stock Exchange Building
New York City
October 27th, 2017 through January 7th, 2018
[Photo By: KPA]

Trudeau: Peeling off the Layers

PM Pierre Trudeau at the Vancouver Gay Pride Parade
With his wife and three children, August 2016

The Globe and Mail's Andre Coyne on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a recent discussion on Steve Paikin's The Agenda:

[Trudeau] is a weird mixture of...occasional flower child naivete and occasional just deep cynicism.

Listen to the panel (or read the transcript) here.

Coyne elaborates further in an editorial on the National Post:

But it may well have something to do with [Trudeaus'] patented mix of deep cynicism and flower-child naiveté — the kind that led him to name China’s "basic dictatorship" as the system of government he most admires, the kind that emerged in that embarrassing encomium to the late Fidel Castro that never managed to mention political prisoners or mass executions.

The Feminist War on Marriage

Laura Wood, of The Thinking Housewife, was interviewed in January 2018 by Judith Sharpe from In the Spirit of Chartres.

Here is the full hour-long interview, The Feminist War on Marriage, which is available for free download for about two more weeks now. A CD can also be purchased here.

From the In the Spirit of Chartres website:

ISOC happily brings you its twelfth year of interviews with traditional authors, scholars, publishers, apologists and more from around the world on a wide range of subjects.

God bless and a happy, holy, blessed New Year to all.

Hat Duel

Hat Duel
“Volez, Voguez, Voyagez - Louis Vuitton”
At the American Stock Exchange Building
New York City
October 27th, 2017 through January 7th, 2018
[Photo By: KPA]

Mississauga: The City of/for Immigrants

The Visual Arts Mississauga 40th Annual Juried Show is being hosted in the Art Gallery of Mississauga from January 11 - February 10, 2018. The winners were announced last week (January 11) at the opening reception.


And The winner is:

Since We Last Spoke [by Sophie Sabet] is an autobiographical three-channel video installation that explores the intricacies and tribulations of a modern Iranian-Canadian home. Sabet invites the viewer to witness the impact of the migration experience through an intimate portrait of her own family. Employing personal video footage and recorded conversations between family members, the installation reveals a family coping with interpersonal and cultural frictions caused by displacement.

Bio:

Sophie Sabet is an emerging media artist working predominantly in video. As an Iranian-born woman raised in Canada, her work focuses on exploring identity and the influences of the diasporic experience within the domestic sphere. She holds a BA in Art History from Queens University.

And another reviewer writes: chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/http://www.aceart.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/noor-sabet-response.pdf

The setting(her parent’s bedroom) heightens the intimacy of the memories. By asking them to revisit the letters, she has found a way to insert herself into and also witness the stories that lay underneath the skin of the everydays that took place behind closed doors.

[...]

As Sophie attempts to revisit the everyday of her parent’s past she hollows out her own place within the diasporic drama. Always the documenter, she restricts her position to that of listening and recording, far away from any meaningful participation in the dialogue. For me, as her audience and fellow diasporic body, it is this hollowness that is the centre and strength of this project. In pointing to the holes within the domestic sound envelope, Sophie reminds us of the limits of empathetic witnessing.

For some of us the envelope of our parents’ culture is often not enough to cover us and give us new life. While it is important work to bear witness to the histories of our parents, in turn we must learn to respond with and fill up our own agency. So for the moment, let us hold on to the “cross-cultural”in hopes that it can prompt us to cut across.

The artcle s wrtten by another Mississauga diasporic: Nahed Mansour. She exhibited at the Art Gallery of Mississauga's VAM’s 38th annual juried show in 2016 with an installation titled Satellite Telefizyoon:

Nahed Mansour’s challenging and thought-provoking video installation Satellite Telefizyoon received the AGM Curator’s Award.

https://www.mississauga.com/whatson-story/6243447-exhibition-at-agm-rare-opportunity-for-regional-artists/


Nahed Mansour, her AGM Curator's Award for with her video installation 'Satellite Telefizyoon',
at the opening reception of the Visual Arts Mississauga Annual Juried Show
at the Art Gallery of Mississauga on January 14 2016.

It is fascinating. All of the online sources on Sabet's Since We Last Spoke are password protected or exclusive. Of course this means that she discloses personal, and even harmful or embarrassing, material regarding her family. For the sake of ART, all is permissible. Actually this s a whoring off of one's family and personal stories. Sabet most certainly gets all kinds of governmental artists'' grant money to execute her immigrant/ non-white "art." She has to make a living out of all of this.

Traditionally, all material is public at some point. That means to the GENERAL PUBLIC, not some exclusive gallery voyeurs. And Sabet needs this crawling team to view her work. She is ready to show the all now for her grants next year. The big names come to see such exhibitions including media.....

And no-one esle goes to galleres or museums any more. At least those that matter. Iranians (other than loyal family members who know that her daily bread (and theirs?) depends on such exhibitionism.

Fedora on the Job

Joseph Mitchell's Fedora
Exhibit at the New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (42nd Street)
From the Manuscripts and Archives Division (acquired in 2015)
November 2017
[Photo By: KPA]

Postmodern Christians

Postmodern Christians (despite all fervent arguments to the contrary) LOL!

The Power of Woman Saving the World in Haute Couture

Nicole Kidman is coiffed and made up by a backstage team of who knows how many so that she can come out onto the Golden Globes stage looking like this.



So tells us this Nicole fan, inadvertently hitting the mark with Kidman's fairy dress. The Time's Out black has channeled darker forces where women stand with uplifted fists in flimsy glittering dresses to attack men and society. It only takes one (male) engineer to turn off those lights at the Globes and render Kidman aflutter. Imagine going to war dressed like a fairy!

The Australian actress gave us a sneak preview of Clare Waight Keller’s debut Spring 2018 Haute Couture collection for Givenchy, wearing a bewitching black gown.

"Wow. The Power of women! Huh!" Nicole mumbles as she accepts her globe

The dress is a Givenchy custom made gown whose price tag is off the charts. No ordinary "Time Outer" could ever in her dreams afford wear a dress like this.

And her accessories are:

Fred Leighton [jewelry], including Art Deco diamond earrings set in platinum; an Art Deco emerald, diamond and black enamel bangle; a 6.10-carat Art Deco old European diamond ring set in platinum; and an Art Deco diamond and platinum ring.

It's Time's Out with a six-figure wardrobe.

Here's a rundown of her hair helmet and makeup war paint:



- Her hair is that now popular manufactured disheveled look promoted by couture coiffeurs
- Cream or moisturizer on the skin
- Primer for her face to "prime" or prepare the skin and allow makeup to stay longer on the skin so it doesn't run in the heat of the spotlight
- Concealer to cover any dark shadows around her eyes or dark spots on her skin
- A foundation base to even out any flaws on her skin
- A highlighter cream to add glow to her face, especially around the cheekbones
- A rose-colored rouge to give her cheeks a youthful blush
- Eye-shadow primer to prepare the lids and lets the shadow stay longer on the lids so it doesn't run in the heat of the spotlight
- Baby blue eye-shadow to bring out her eyes
- Silver glitter eye-shadow on the corners and the top of her lids to make her eyes sparkle
- A pre-mascara treatment for her lashes to protect them from the mascara
- Black waterproof mascara
- False eyelashes, or lash extensions
- Lip "plumper" cream for fuller lips
- "Primer" for the lips to prevent lipstick (or lip gloss) from "flaring out" or from fading
- A lip liner slightly darker than the lipstick or gloss to contour the lips again to prevent lipstick (or lip gloss) from "flaring out"
- Lipstick sightly lighter that the liner applied to the lips using a lip brush
- Lip gloss slightly paler than the Lipstick to add a shimmer to her lips
- And the whole face is sprayed with a makeup setting spray

That's it!

But nothing must be overdone. We don't want her looking like those old, spent Hollywood under cakes makeup, who get called "legends" before they're even dead.

And of course the mandatory black nail polish, with at least a layer of top coating plus two layers of polish to make sure the goth polish stays on and no nail chips off.

Our fashion commentators elaborate:

The dress blackout thing worked out really well for Miss Nicole – at least, from our perspective, since we’ve spent years telling her (i.e., impotently ranting at her image) that she’s one of those rare birds who really come to life when she’s wearing black. Give her a little shimmer and sparkle, a little ruffle and romanticism; render it all in Disney-Witch Black and she never fails to look stunning. We understand why she wouldn’t want to step out in black every time she steps out, but we sure wish she’d stay in the darker end of the spectrum when making her public style choices, instead of defaulting to the washed-out, tea-stained romantic looks she tends to favor more often than not.

At first, we found all the foofaraw on the back a little distracting and silly, but once we decided they were fairy wings, we decided we loved it. Sparkle on, Goth Tinker Bell.

I don't think it is any accident that fairy dust and black goth are the theme this year as these women declared that black was their dress code.

There is a nefarious force creeping its way upward into our world ready, to capture and manipulate any anomalies. Fake News rapes and Woman Power are the perfect ruse to destabilize our world and Godly order to let the serpent in.

The globe has what is actually a reel of film looping around it in a sinewy curve. It is a snake with its head peering at the top. If we wait any longer, we might see its tongue flickering at us. Those Eves in black have already fallen for its charm.



And here is the the perfect man for the Modern Abused Hollywood Warrior Woman:


Keith Urban

Pslam 103

Allan Gardens Conservatory, Toronto
Dusk
Christmas Day, 2010
[Photo By: KPA]


Pslam 103

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19 The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.

The World in a Sochi Doll

God first gave us man, then family, then tribes, then nations. But without the nations, none of these other things would exist.


Canadian souvenirs for the Sochi Olympics

Genesis 35: 10-12

10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

Oprah! President!

I'm sure this was staged. The "powers that be" at the Golden Globes Equal Opportunity/Gender Equality Committee™ must have said:

"Let's have Oprah ON! Let's give her the Cecile B. DeMille 'Outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment' award. This is Hollywood and we are here to right the wrongs!"

Even though Oprah has made no "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment." Her two acting roles were mediocre. Her talk show years were not outstanding, unless you find aggressive programs entertaining. She is one of two television personalties to receive this award, but not one that would be classified as an entertainer. Her shows were social and political agendas, treading lightly on many occasion not to instigate undue controversy, to showcase Black Americans and to demean (subtly and cleverly) whites.

Many in her long list of "acting" roles are as herself. One third of her thirty three productions are her own shows: either the Oprah show or affiliated programs such as Oprah's Big Giveaway. Her other productions are forgotten documentaries or made-for-television films (i.e. no-one watches them).

Her feature films deal mostly with contentious civil rights and slavery issues: i.e. evil whites.

Here is an article (published) I wrote about Precious, a film for which she was executive producer.

The only other talk show host to receive the award was Richard Skelton. And he has a long list of acting roles, albeit not in star roles, to his credit. But was a genuine entertainer as a vaudeville, radio, film and burlesque actor and deserving of his "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment" trophy.

And Oprah is a "Me To-er!" And that is how she addressed her Hollywood audience in her acceptance speech. Carefully, though, since she cannot alienate all those other "outstanding" men; black men especially, and certainly white men too. Amongst these men, there would be a large number of liberals and leftists who would support her "cause" and who would be her biggest allies and supporters.

Because Oprah most definitely will run for President. Think about it: The first Black, Female, Entertainer President of the Untied States. That's killing so many birds with one stone! What an antodte to the current Mr. President. She should have run instead of the pathetic Hillary. What a match we would have had! She must regret that every single day!

And here she came to the Golden Globes to hurl that fury in a speech! "I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!"

But everything about Oprah always seems staged. A "Fake News."

- Her public speaking is a hyperbole of words with emphases on all the wrong places.
- Her fashion and hair is nether classy nor "indifferent," that fake stance all liberal women put on as they wear their thousand dollar Manolo Blahnik shoes and straight-off-the-runway bedazzled gowns.

Look at Oprah's dress: Black with glitter and VERSACE!!!! And her shoes are crystal-encrusted pumps

And this clueless fan tells us:

She stunned wearing a custom-made Atelier Versace off the shoulder, fitted long sleeved black velvet gown with Swarovski crystal encrusted accents along the neckline and waist.

"We Rock!"
Abused Movie Stars at the GGs in their haute couture dresses

By the way "custom made" at what cost? There is no information yet on the price of the gown out in the fashion blogs (although Oprah can censor that bit of information) but Michelle Obama's custom-made Versace gown from 2016 cost her (or the American people) 12,000 dollars.

And in a fashion show of evening dresses (I cannot say "gowns" since some are mini-skirts) called "Ballgowns, à la Versace" this article tells us:

Couture shows – the highest echelon of fashion, with made-to-measure frocks, private clients and six-figure prices – always highlight the craft of fashion as well as the fantasy.

So much for equality and ordinary people.

So why is she running?

For a "New Day?"

Really?

Listen to her speech below.



Oprah is part of the bigger movement in America (and Canada) to complete the usurpation the Western culture and tradition from America and render it a black/brown dominated country.

For how long will whites put up with this? For how long will they stand around as they get called all kinds of names and accused of all kinds of crimes? How long before they turn around and call Oprah and ilk racists and hypocrites?

How long before they take back their land?

Birthdays

Book of Hours
France, Paris, ca. 1425-1430
MS M.453 fol. 12r

Month, December -- Zodiac Sign: Capricornus: Hybrid animal with foreparts of goat.
Margins decorated with border of foliate ornament inhabited by pig standing next to man, wearing hat, raising axe with both hands behind head (Month, Occupation: December).

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[From my post on January, 10 2015]

The source of these images, as far as I can find, is "an illuminated manuscript Book of Hours on vellum. - Paris, ca. 1485." More at The Morgan Museum and Library here

Sanderus

...specialise[s] in antiquarian books, medieval manuscripts, antique maps and prints from the 15th to the 18th centuries.

The company is named after the Flemish scholar Antoon Sanders (who "Latinized his name to Antonius Sanderus").

It looks like Sanders sells original books, which I deduced from the price of the book, which is about US$3,000.

I also did a preliminary transaction to authenticate the site, and they have sent me a username and password, with the name of print I sent in.

So, I can say with almost 100% certainty that this print is an original 16th century print. But, I would have thought that it would have been purchased by a gallery or a museum.

Books of Hours were:

...richly illuminated...form[ing] an important record of life in the 15th and 16th centuries as well as the iconography of medieval Christianity. Some of them were also decorated with jewelled covers, portraits, and heraldic emblems. Some were bound as girdle books for easy carrying, though few of these or other medieval bindings have survived. Luxury books, like the Talbot Hours of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, may include a portrait of the owner, and in this case his wife, kneeling in adoration of the Virgin and Child as a form of donor portrait. In expensive books, miniature cycles showed the Life of the Virgin or the Passion of Christ in eight scenes decorating the eight Hours of the Virgin, and the Labours of the Months and signs of the zodiac decorating the calendar. Secular scenes of calendar cycles include many of the best known images from books of hours, and played an important role in the early history of landscape painting.

Many astrological explanations focus on the "goat" of Capricorn, but there is also the tail:

[W]hile Capricorns are able to climb life’s mountain peaks and succeed, they’re also able to plumb the emotional oceans of life and one of the least known qualities about a Capricorn, is how spiritually in tune they are. Many Capricorns have an inexplicable sixth sense that comes from this aspect of their nature. Capricorn is a complex and contradictory Sign and this comes from it being part goat, part fish.

Book of Hours
France, Paris, ca. 1425-1430
MS M.453 fol. 12r

Month, December -- Zodiac Sign: Capricornus: Hybrid animal with foreparts of goat.
Margins decorated with border of foliate ornament inhabited by pig standing next to man, wearing hat, raising axe with both hands behind head (Month, Occupation: December).

Asheknazy Acquisition: New York City

Asheknazy Acquisition: New York

[Photo By KPA: Mid-town New York City, November 2017]

Christmas

Innocent as a dove?

Matthew 10:16:

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

This post below is from Camera Lucida posted on November 22, 2008. I just saw the film again and was struck by its superior cinematography.


Detective McPherson in front of Laura's portrait

Otto Preminger's Film Noir Laura is shot in muted high contrast black and white film, with very few of the edgy angular shots and harsh shadows characteristic of the genre. But its protagonist, a beautiful, kind and sophisticated young woman, is also not your typical femme fatale.

Laura, who says things like "I never have been and I never will be bound by anything I don't do with my own free will", and who's made a highly successful career in an advertising firm, cannot get it right when it comes to the men she would marry (or frequent).

Everybody loves Laura, from her house help, to her homosexual writer friend and mentor, and finally the detective who first falls in love with her "dead" persona. Each person finds his own reasons for loving her: for the writer Waldo Lydecker, she is someone with whom he can share his sophisticated lifestyle; for the maid, she is a kind and empathetic employer; for her fiancé-to-be Shelby, she is the generous heiress; and even Detective McPherson falls under her spell - albeit apparently dead - since she is someone whom he can rescue (or fantasize about?).

Yet Laura's innocence (purity) is what causes all the mayhem. Her choice of men - the possessive Lydecker and her cheating fiancé Shelby, and even the painter of her portrait (which causes the Det. McPherson to fall in love with her) - are not pleasant characters. Except perhaps for the Det. McPherson. It is her association with these shady men that results in murder.

It is rare that a film portrays a good, kind woman in this manner. Usually, femme fatales are arrogant, conniving women, who deliberately manipulate all those around them.

And this is testament to the sophistication of these earlier films, which were able to tap into the paradox of real characters. Laura never sets out to be destructive, yet she had her own subtle narcissism - "I never have been and I never will be bound by anything I don't do with my own free will" - which set the stage for the disaster that was to follow.

It is like the quote from Matthew 10:16:
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
It is never enough to be a harmless dove, but also a wise serpent. Laura, in her innocence, and her self-centeredness, never felt it necessary to develop her wisdom. Her intelligence and goodwill (and her beauty) only took her thus far.

Basics

Via James Perloff

A New Dawn

Dawn, New Year 2018

[Photo By: KPA
January 1, 2018]

Happy Climate Change: Oops: New Year!!!!

Dawn, January 1, 2018
[Photo: KPA]

A frozen Lake Ontario is in the horizon

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Lake Effect Clouds:

What happens is that the cold dry air is coming in from the west and picks up moisture, as I described above. The air over the warmer lakes is rising, though. The cold air is blowing above it, acting like a lid to the rising warm, moist air. The rising air is stopped, and flows around to either side (imagine a plume of, say, cigarette smoke hitting the ceiling; at the top it splits and flows away from the plume with circular vortices). It cools and sinks, forming two circular patterns that rotate horizontally in opposite directions. The wind stretches them out, blowing them downwind, forming long streamers. This happens all up and down the coast, so you get a big series of cylindrical clouds, each one rotating in the opposite sense of the one next to it.

For Auld Lang Syne

Auld Lang Syne
Sang by: Ronnie Browne
Poem by: Robert Burns
Melody: Sixteenth Century Schotland, attributed to David Rizzio,
an Italian courtier who became the private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots.

English translation here

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Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne.

And surely you'll be your pint stoup,
And surely I'll be mine,
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

Chorus

We twa hae ran about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd monie a weary fit
Sin' auld lang syne.

Chorus

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun til dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.

Chorus

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o' thine,
And we'll tak a right gude willie waught
For auld lang syne!

Chorus

A Happy New Year