Red Light

Good Night, and Good Luck.

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Flor del Parque

Flower in the park.

“Del libro “La Psicotónica de los Mayas”, se define al sagrado Omeyotl (hia-hiú) de los Olmecas. La dualidad eterna en constante actividad de toda la naturaleza representada por las energías del sol y de la luna. Hia, la energía del sol que reina la claridad. Hiú, la energía de la luna que reina la oscuridad.”
“El Omeyotl (Dualidad Ome>dos y Yotl>creación). Todo lo que existe es o ha sido generado por la actividad conjunta de un factor femenino y uno masculino fundido en uno solo; esta actividad es conjunta e incesante.”
Itzabmnah encarna el sagrado Omeyotl o divina dualidad; es el quien da el equilibrio sagrado a la creación y expande a la luz divina a la luna cuya Ixchel símbolo del poder sagrado femenino y lo caracteriza el rayo plateado; y el sol cuyo sacerdote Kinich Ahau, cuyo símbolo del poder sagrado masculino esta representado por el rayo crético.
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El Chorrito

"The Little little waterfall"
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The Fountain of Joy

Master Bassui reduced the whole of Buddhist teachings to one phrase

“Seeing one’s own nature is Buddhahood.”

When asked how to see into one’s own nature,
master Bassui would reply.

“ Now! Who is asking? ”
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Palacio de Bellas Artes / Palace of Fine Arts

Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is the premier opera house of Mexico City. The building well known for both its extravagant Beaux Arts exterior in imported Italian Carrara white marble and its murals by Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco.

The Palacio has two museums: the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Museo de la Arquitectura. Metro Bellas Artes is located alongside.

The theatre is used for classical music, opera and dance, notably the "Baile Folklórico". A distinctive feature of the theatre is its stained glass Tifany's curtain depicting a volcano and the valley of Mexico. It is the home of Mexico's National Symphony Orchestra, the Bellas Artes Orchestra, the Bellas Artes Chamber Orchestra, the National Dance Company, and the Bellas Artes Opera.

Maria Callas sang in several productions at the Palacio early in her career, and recordings exist of several of her performances here. Other opera greats who have performed and/or sang there include Plácido Domingo, Pavarotti, Kathleen Battle, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Jessye Norman. Most of the world's great orchestras and dance companies have also performed there, including the New York, Vienna, Israel, Moscow, London and Royal Philharmonics; The National Arts Centre Orchestra (Canada); the Philadelphia, Paris, Dresden Staatskapelle, and the French, Spanish and Chinese National Orchestras; the Montreal and Dallas Symphonies; the American Ballet Theatre, the English National Ballet, the Australian National Ballet, the Bolshoi and Kirov Ballets; among others. [Wiki]
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Waterman

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Circular Mass

Circular Mass. 1970 Bronze by Arnaldo Pomodoro at Tamayo Museum in Chapultepec Park.
Pomodoro is an Italian sculptor. He was born on 23 June 1926, in Morciano, Romagna, Italy. He currently lives and works in Milan. His brother, Giò Pomodoro (1930-2002) was also a sculptor.

Pomodoro designed a controversial fiberglass crucifix for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The piece is topped with a fourteen foot in diameter crown of thorns which hovers over the figure of Christ.

Some of Pomodoro's "Sphere Within Sphere" (Sfera con Sfera) can be seen in the Vatican Museums, Trinity College, Dublin, the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, and the University of California, Berkeley. His thematic work "Forme del Mito" (Forms of Myth) was displayed at Brisbane's World Expo '88 and was later purchased by Brisbane City Council for the City of Brisbane.[Wiki]
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David's Fountain

David's Fountain in Rio de Janeiro Park at sunset.
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Blue Leaves

The Finger of Nature

Jean-Paul Sartre:
Everything has been figured out, except how to live.
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Desierto de los Leones 2

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Desierto de los Leones 1

The Desierto de los Leones (Desert of the Lions) National Park is located entirely within the limits of the Federal District, it is located in the Sierra de las Cruces mountain range west of the city center with an area of 1,867 hectares, representing fifteen percent of the entire Valley of Mexico. The area was used as a retreat for a religious group, thus the name Desierto (Desert) means not "arid place", but not populated. The "Leones" part of the name does not refer to the animals, but rather to the original landlord's lastname.

The park's altitude varies between 2,600 and 3,700 meters above sea level, giving the area a relatively cold and damp climate. It is a forested area primarily with pines, oyamel firs and holm oaks with many brooks, ravines and waterfalls. The park is considered to be the oldest protected biosphere in Mexico. It was originally declared a forest reserve in 1876 by President Lerdo de Tejada with the intent of conserving its fresh water springs to supply Mexico City. It was later declared a national park on 27 November, 1917, by President Venustiano Carranza.

The name of the park, Desierto de los Leones (Desert of the Lions) largely comes from the Carmelite monastery situated just north of its center. Carmelite monks called their residences “deserts” because they served as isolation from the mundane world. The monastery’s original name was Santo Desierto de Nuestra Señora del Carmen de los Montes de Santa Fe.
The monastery was built in the very early 17th century for a group of Carmelite monks who came from Italy to evangelize the Native Americans. The first stone was laid on 23 January 1606 by then-Viceroy Juan de Mendoza y Luna. It was a relatively simple structure of two stories, with a wood shingle roof, narrow corridors and small rooms called “cells” for the monks to sleep and study in. A 12,570 meter wall was built with only one opening facing the town of Cuajimalpa which still remains.

Outside the main gate of the monastery, just beyond the traces of the walls of the original monastery, is the “Chapel of Secrets.” It has a domed roof and its acoustics allowed monks face into the corner to speak to another monk during the long stretches of imposed silence in the monastery. Surrounding the entire complex is the “Barda de la Excomunicacion” (Wall of Excommunication) named so because supposedly any woman that crossed it was subject to excommunication from the Catholic Church. [Wiki]
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Flor

Chinese proverb:
When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.
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Guanajuato

Views of Guanajuato

Meanwhile in Cielo at NYC, Marques Wyatt as a messenger of the deepest, most soulful kind of house music. Beneath his relaxed, spiritual and unknowingly suave persona, therein lies a man partially
responsible for giving birth to the West Coast house scene and bringing the fresh sounds of New York to Los Angeles beginning in the mid eighties. Carefully pointing out that he has "always had a deep passion for music," you know that his adoration of house has become its gateway into the lives of thousands of people. Promoting and playing an enormous amount of parties including BBC, Brass, MAC's Garage, Does Your Mama Know? and currently Deep, over the years, Marques has changed the face of LA nightclubbing and the presentation of its music and sound.



Collaboration by Sofia.
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On The Run

Toluca Int. Airport

Gas truck on the road

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Reflection of a Moment

La imaginación produce formas y cosas desconocidas. El poeta diseña y da nombre y habitación a cosas que parecen surgir de la nada.

Sueño de una Noche de Verano.
W. Shakespeare

De pronto vi mi cabeza
en el espacio perdida,
sin pensamiento y sin vida
y sin humana impureza.
Senti profunda extrañeza,
Más luego extendí mi lodo
y fui descubriendo el modo
de hacer mi cuerpo infinito.
El polvo al polvo remito,
Dejo de ser y soy todo.

Pita Amor

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Playground

Playground at Chapultepec Park.
Chapultepec hill, noteworthy for the centuries-old forest which encircles it and for the castle which crowns its summit. For hundreds of years Chapultepec has been a focal point in the city. It is complemented by important cultural centers including world-class museums (as the Museum of Anthropology, Museum of Modern Art, Tamayo Museum), amusement parks, a zoo, lakes and restaurants like El Lago, Meridien and Cafetería del Bosque.
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Flor del Bosque

When I look carefully
I see the nazuna blooming
By the hedge!

Cuando miro con cuidado
Veo florecer la nazuna
Junto al seto!

Haiku by Basho (1644-94)


Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies;-
Hold you here, root and all, in my hand.
Little flower -but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should known what God and man is.

Flor en el muro agrietado,
Te arranco de las grietas; -
Te tomo, con todo y raíces, en mis manos,
Florecilla -pero si pudiera entender
Lo que eres, con todo y tus raíces, y, todo en todo,
Sabría qué es Dios y qué es el hombre.

Tennyson (1809-92)

What is the difference between this two poets?

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Halo

Sunday at Noon, phenomenon in the sky and midterm elections for more of the same.
Halo (also known as a nimbus, icebow or Gloriole) is an optical phenomenon that appears near or around the Sun or Moon. There are many types of optical halos, but they are mostly caused by ice crystals in cold cirrus clouds located high (5–10 km, or 3–6 miles) in the upper troposphere. The particular shape and orientation of the crystals is responsible for the type of halo observed. Light is reflected and refracted by the ice crystals and may split up into colors because of dispersion, similarly to the rainbow.
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Plaza Luis Cabrera / Luis Cabrera Square

Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art. ~ Ambrose Bierce
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La Casa del Mago / The Magician's House

“You live eighty years, and at best you get about six minutes of pure magic”
George Carlin
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Emptiness

The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness.
Old Chinese Proverb.

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July 2009 Theme Day: Empty

Raindrops

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants
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Honduras: Coup d’état

Graffiti.

Golpe de Estado en Honduras
Honduras: ¿está escrito?
José Steinsleger
En los comicios presidenciales de 2005, en pleno escrutinio, el candidato Porfirio Lobo (Partido Nacional, conservador, oficialista) visitó al embajador de Washington en Honduras y le propuso que vigilara el conteo de votos.

"Actúe con mesura. La tendencia demuestra que hay un ganador", comentó Charles Ford. Cabizbajo, el presidente del Congreso Nacional abandonó la legación diplomática, aceptando los hechos: el liberal Manuel Zelaya, ganadero y directivo de la banca privada, sería el nuevo gobernante del país más pobre del continente, después de Haití. Nacional, liberal, "políticos corruptos"… ¿qué más da?

Hitos del siglo veinte hondureño: en 1924, un milico de la United Fruit, Vicente Tosta, fue proclamado presidente provisional a bordo del buque de guerra estadunidense Milwaukee; en 1944, un tirano, Tiburcio Carías Andino, proclamó como "único candidato al ilustre patriota" Franklin D. Roosevelt (sic), y para hacerla corta, en el decenio de 1980, políticos y militares convirtieron a Honduras en una gran base de agresión militar contra los pueblos de El Salvador y Nicaragua sandinista.

Llegó el nuevo siglo, y las cosas siguieron tal cual. Aunque no tan igual: 80 por ciento de pobreza, "éxitos" del trabajo semiesclavo en maquiladoras estadunidenses, notables récords en asuntos de explotación sexual infantil, y ejecución a mansalva de niños y jóvenes criminalizados como "pandilleros". Tan sólo de 1998 a 2005, la institución Casa Alianza de Tegucigalpa contabilizó por lo menos 2 mil 720 asesinatos de adolescentes y jóvenes, entre 12 y 22 años.

Simultáneamente, el pueblo hondureño se iba organizando: marchas y concentraciones masivas contra el desempleo y los salarios de hambre, protestas de fiscales contra la corrupción institucional y combativa solidaridad de pueblos, aldeas y comunidades perdidas que cerraron filas con los médicos cubanos hostigados por los "colegios de profesionales".

Lobo, Zelaya. Hijos del mismo tronco. Para la contienda, Lobo contrató a Mark Klugmann (ex consejero del presidente republicano Ronald Reagan), y Zelaya se entendió con Ted Devine, estratega de la campaña del demócrata John Kerry. Los empresarios hondureños, tranquilos. Limándose las uñas, la "democracia" respiraba en paz: ¡qué buen tratado de libre comercio tenemos con Estados Unidos!

Y de súbito… el comandante mandó a…No, nada de comandantes. "Por arriba y desde la derecha", Zelaya empezó a tomar distancia de la gente linda. Y cometió el gran error de preguntarse por qué si en los folletos de turismo Honduras es comparada con Suiza, el ingreso per cápita de un hondureño asciende a 2 mil 793 dólares anuales, y el de un suizo a 53 mil 352 dólares.

Zelaya llegó a una conclusión obvia: siete millones de suizos, siete millones de hondureños. Está claro: Honduras no es Suiza. ¿Qué tal si hacemos una república socialmente integrada, y a tono con los grandes proyectos latinoamericanos de integración en marcha?

Luego, el presidente cometió varios actos de "alta traición": viajó a Cuba, se entrevistó con Fidel, y dijo: "vengo de la patria de Francisco de Morazán". Viajó a Venezuela, se entrevistó con Chávez, y dijo: "vengo del país cuna del constitucionalista bolivariano José Cecilio del Valle". Por enésima vez, un discurso que no encajaba con los manuales de izquierda: “soy liberal, pero socialista…”

La oligarquía y lumpeburguesía hondureña, olfatearon que tan sólo ese discurso preanunciaba un camino sin regreso. Zelaya apuró el paso: Honduras ingresó a la Alternativa Bolivariana para las Américas (Alba), firmó acuerdos petroleros con Venezuela, se enfrentó a toda la partidocracia, aumentó el salario mínimo y profundizó su alianza con los sectores populares. En suma, hizo todo aquello que odian Washington, Madrid, y las áureas firmas de Vargas Llosa & asociados.

Hace menos de un mes, en la histórica reunión de cancilleres de la OEA (San Pedro Sula), el presidente de Honduras dijo lo que ningún gobernante puede decir en las narices del imperio: "No podemos irnos de esta asamblea sin reparar la infamia contra un pueblo" (Cuba, “naturally”).

Principio del fin. En la noche del viernes 15 de junio, a las 6 de la tarde, en la colonia Satélite del anillo periférico de Tegucigalpa, un par de tiros perforaron el vidrio panorámico del coche que llevaba al gobernante. Y ayer, en la madrugada, Zelaya fue derrocado por un golpe de Estado.

Un día antes, el genio que conduce la OEA declaró al periódico Reforma de México: "a pesar de lo que se observa (sic), hoy en día hay instituciones. Y aunque en algunas partes son muy frágiles, no se pensaría en un retroceso de ningún tipo".
La Jornada.

Another point of view in English:
New York Times
In a Coup in Honduras, Ghosts of Past U.S. Policies
By HELENE COOPER and MARC LACEY

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Cuernavaca Cathedral

The cathedral, began life as a Franciscan friary, founded by Hernán Cortés in 1529. Work started on the fortress-like complex in 1533. The side portal of the church has a fine colonial-Plateresque façade with, above the gable, the symbols of a crown, cross, skull and bones framed by an alfiz.

During restoration of the cathedral interior in the 1950s, some early murals were uncovered depicting the departure of 24 Mexican Franciscan friars, embarking at the start of their missionary journey to Japan, and their subsequent martyrdom on the cross in 1597. Among them was Mexico's only saint, San Felipe de Jesús.

The Chapel of the Third Order, at the rear of the monastery building, has a very typical Mexican Baroque façade, embellished with a small figure representing Hernán Cortés. Like the chapel's lovely carved wooden altar (1735), the façade shows strong Indian influence.

Adjoining the cathedral stands the spacious Open Chapel, its vaulting supported on three arches. Two buttresses reinforce the central columns. Remains of murals showing the lineage of the Franciscan order can be seen in the cloister.

Every Sunday a folk mass is celebrated in the cathedral to the accompaniment of mariachi music.

If you wish you can see another views of this magnificent building here and here.
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Xochicalco

Rodeo Lake

Temple of the Feathered Serpent

The Path

Xochicalco Eagle

The Xochicalco archaeological site which is located about 38 Kms. from Cuernavaca, by way of the Alpuyeca exit of the Mexico-Acapulco Highway 95.

Xochicalco was founded in about 650 AD by the Olmeca-Xicallanca, which are a Mayan group of traders from Campeche, giving them an excellent position along several of the major Mesoamerican trade routes. It was an important fortressed commercial and religious center in the period of time following the decline of the great Meso-American city states. Its name means "Place Of The Flowers."

The main part of Xochicalco is located 132 mts (430 ft) above the valley. Its' underground solar observatory is one of the main attractions for visitors to the site. When the sun passes through its zenith on May 14th and 15th and July 28th and 29th, a ray of sunlight passes through a narrow shaft in the ceiling of the observatory and projects itself upon the floor.

Another main attraction is the Quetzalcoatl pyramid, or Temple of the Feathered Serpent, which features friezes depicting the Plumed Serpent God coiling around the sides. This structure measures 21 by 19 meters at its base and 17 meters in height and is situated in what is known as Xochicalco's Main Acropolis.

Of special interest are sculptured reliefs on the sides of some buildings. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent has fine stylized depictions of that deity in a style which includes apparent influences of Teotihuacan and Maya art.
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