"New Soul’ performed by Yael Naim and David Donatien
A fun song about a new soul learning how to live in this strange world. I always sing along. The video is so creative, it seems like it’s about recreating our world… from a new and different perspective. Very cool. I love them both! Yael & David [...]
A beautiful inspired Native Spirit video with a message of Love and Oneness. Music: Northern Cree Round Dance - produced by Quiet Buck Productions. A similar message was given to Hottidownunda (Stephanie) who wrote a song called YHWH the Spirit. Awe filled!
~Bonnee Klein Gilligan
Ling, the Dragon by Bonnee Klein Gilligan
Ling is a dragon of the sky and clouds. He is an Azure Dragon (lung) the highest among dragons… vital spirit, celestial power and infinite supernatural power. The lung, or Imperial Dragon represents the East and fertilizing rain. I was told the kanji says ‘Great Spirit’. The original [...]
As ever I seem to be stumbling upon a lot of wonderful and exciting concepts and actions being taken for environmental change. Here are a few of the coolest….
Carrot Mob - consumer mobs for environmental change
Consumers have the power to make change. Carrot Mob located in San Francisco, CA, the brain child of Brent [...]
“They stood up for the hillbillies who worked beside them to design and build the Saturn V, the only rocket of its kind that flew the first time and never failed.”
Len Bullard recently posted a moving account of man’s humanity to man:
I grew up in a town where I was born and to which 200000 [...]
“We can now shed light on one of the most intriguing mysteries of that period — how the Khazars actually lived.”
MOSCOW (AFP) — Russian archaeologists said Wednesday they had found the long-lost capital of the Khazar kingdom in southern Russia, a breakthrough for research on the ancient Jewish state.
“This is a hugely important discovery,” expedition [...]
a poem by Bonnee Klein Gilligan
Ah Paris ’tis the city of love
a beautiful place indeed.
Enjoy yourself and if you like
have a pastry for me.
A croissant, pasty or a tart
with cream, and fruit, and crust.
Such a delight with every bite
is sinful, and a must.
Have [...]
Moon Walker is a Shamanic Heart Healer.
Spiritual, Esoteric. Opening, loving, allowing. He has so much compassion that hate dissolves into love. Singer, dancer, healer and spiritual facilitator. Original 9" x 12" pastel drawing was commissioned in 1997.
Giclee prints of my work are available at Spirit Art Gallery.
~Bonnee Klein Gilligan
By Rossitza Ohridska-Olson
From Saturday till September 10th, the Bulgarian and foreign artists will gather for the 24th issue of Apollonia Art Festival. The most charming part of it are the jazz concerts and the surroundings of the ancient city of Sozopol (Apollonia – the city of Apollo, the patron of arts). During the communist times [...]
Amazonian Shaman. Pastel 9″ x 12″.
Spiritual, esoteric. A highly respected teacher, holy man, psychic, singer and healer. Penetrating, revealing. Original was commissioned.
Giclee prints are available at Spirit Art Gallery.
~Bonnee Klein Gilligan
by: James Schwartz
4.2.07 marked the 6th month anniversary of the Nickle Mines, PA. school shootings. On 10.2.06 Charles Carl Roberts IV, shot ten little girls (age 7-13), killing five in the rural schoolhouse. The tragedy made international headlines including the Old Order Amish community reaching out to the killer’s family, bringing food and uniting in [...]
Inspiring! Wintley Phipps tells the history of the song Amazing Grace, its roots in slavery. His rendition of the song gave me chills and brought tears. Hope you enjoy it too.
~Bonnee
(Pinas is a slang we often use to refer to the Philippines…)
Hi everyone. I am new here and I am trying this one out. My name is Charity (please call me Cha) and I am from the Philippines. I am an educator and this year is my tenth year of professional teaching in Sciences, [...]
My first encounter with “kimchi” was when my brother-in-law brought three containers of this dish from Manila ten years ago. Kimchi is actually this traditional Korean dish made of vegetables, like cabbage, that was fermented with a variety of seasoning. So the moment my brother-in-law opened the plastic containers, it nearly knocked me out [...]
by Rossitza Ohridska-Olson (more about me in the end of the article)
In less than a day, two news affecting the Bulgarian cultural heritage hit the world wires: a sensational discovery of a completely preserved Thracian chariot by Dr. Daniala Agre, and almost complete loss of an ancient ship, thanks to the criminal indifference of [...]
Following up on my previous post about William Gibson’s comments regarding Canada (circa 2008), I’ve located some of his earlier thoughts on topic. In a 1993 interview, Mike Rogers asks:
“… Born in South Carolina, grew up in Virginia, living in Canada. Do you think that that dilutes your sense of nationhood? They were [...]
“Thousands of items have apparently gone missing from state-run museums and galleries, the authorities recently announced. Is it time to consider privatizing some of Russia’s great museums?”
Vladimir Kozlov of Moscow News writes:
The grave situation with Russia’s state-run museums and their storage facilities went public two years ago, when a large theft from the country’s main [...]
I always sit and wonder why the world is just an unfair place…then something hit me…we were all born on a different day, time and way.
Some were born in the rural areas where even the talk of a dispensary is like a dream hence it is never mentioned, others while their mothers struggled to rush [...]
My take on Obama as a multi-racial candidate (this was written in response to a reporter’s questions to me on this topic):
So far, Obama has mainly been seen as a “Black candidate”–but as one whose “Blackness” is problematic because his father is not African American but Kenyan, and his mother is White. What is the [...]
Good Lord! What some people will fall for. Thanks to Harper’s Magazine for this amusing, if slightly unnerving, story:
A mind dismembered: In search of the magical penis thieves
By Frank Bures
No one is entirely sure when magical penis loss first came to Africa. One early incident was recounted by Dr. Sunday Ilechukwu, a psychiatrist, [...]
Dancing event is first in nation
Clients from Easter Seals Arc competed in the nation’s first Special Olympics ballroom dance competition Saturday at Memorial Coliseum [Fort Wayne, Indiana].
Organizers said they hope the locally developed program will eventually become a model for a new national Special Olympics sport. Competitors got either a first-, second- or third-place medal [...]
“Shih” is an insightful, elegant kind of knowledge from Chinese into American English
–Howard Rheingold, They Have a Word for It
This article fosters an awareness of cross-cultural issues inherent in language communication through our perception of the world, non-verbally or verbally whenever we speak, listen, read, and write. Language communication offers cross-cultural insights and [...]
PREFACE
During March 2000, I studied Art and Architectural History while visiting and traveling in Spain. I made a Video Film pilgrimage to Spain’s castles, palaces, cathedrals, monasteries, convents, mosques, holy sites, and museums in order to study Art and Architecture of designated UNESCO National Heritage Centers. “As time travelers, we were embarked on a [...]
July 5th, 2008 Brussels
My Brussel’s host, Alvilda, through some odd connection, was invited to the US Embassy’s “U.S. Independence Day 2008” part on Friday, July 4th. The invitation read:
Sam Fox
Ambassador of the United States of America to Belgium,
and
Christopher W. Murray
Charge d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the European Union
invite you
to celebrate the 232nd Anniversary [...]
Art or blasphemy?
Criminal charges have been pressed in Moscow against Yuri Samodurov, the director of the Sakharov Public Center, and Andrei Erofeev, a curator at the State Tretyakov Gallery, in the aftermath of their exhibition “Forbidden Art 2006.” The exhibition presented works which were earlier removed from exhibitions of contemporary art at public institutions. The [...]
Formidable: A Non Fiction Portrait of Chelsea Del Ray
by: James Schwartz
This essay (composed May, 2005) has origins that originate five years ago. I was twenty-two, spending endless nights on the Kalamazoo club / cabaret scene with my best friend / hag / future co-author April Hoskins, performing cabaret and reveling in the local color.
I’d met [...]
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of [...]
Siena’s biggest event, Il Palio, is happening this Wednesday. The festivities have begun, and today horses were raced for contrada assignment. There are 17 contradas, or neighborhoods, in Siena that compete twice a year, every year on July 2nd and August 16, in a horse race in Piazza del Campo. Due to [...]
Ulzii has sold two yurts already–real, whole room, boiled wool felt yurts–for only 3000 Euros each. The full sized yurts are advertized by a much smaller table-top model that looks like an interesting child’s toy.
Ulzii, who is Mongolian and was trained as a water engineer, has the most lovely cashmere shop–which is the most dangerous [...]
Alvilda was a little concerned that Ivana, her friend from her studies at Fletcher over a decade ago who now also lives in Brussels, and I might be two too many alpha females to get along well, but that worry proved unfounded. Ivana is Croatian, and like Alvilda, is interested in international social justice [...]
Hi Folks,
I guess it is time for a little self-introduction. Malcolm Lawrence, Founder/CEO & Editor-In-Chief of towerofbabel.com noticed that I had joined his Tower of Babel group on InterNations.com so he invited me to blog here.
I am very new to blogging–my only experience being a travel blog I’ve been keeping for about 3 weeks on [...]
To Be “Hapa” or Not to Be “Hapa”: What to Name Mixed Asian Americans?
Preface: I have been struggling for several years with this apparently un-resolvable issue: what to do about “Hapa”? I finally decided I had to start writing about it, had to start engaging the dialog. The essays and talks I have been [...]
On a whim today, after exploring the storybook cuteness of Brussel’s Grand Place (various winding cobblestone side streets, delightfully whimsical facades, etc.), I happened by the Royal Museums of the Beaux-Arts.
I was thinking more about eating lunch at the Museum Cafe than anything else, but I was drawn in by the Rubens Room. It is [...]
Don Osborn posts on his African Languages mailing list on a program which helps Africans assimilate in the US.
- Rudy Carrera.
I met a Brazilian friend for wine yesterday before we headed to the Festa Europea della Musica. It was a musical festival that had 15 stages set up all around Siena’s medieval center. We made it to 5 of them. It was fantastic!
The evening was warm, there were swarms of cheerful music loving [...]
Before I begin, let me say thank you for the warm welcome I have received here at Babel. I appreciate the comments greatly.
There is an outdoor concert series going on all summer long here at this amazing park that is just a10-15 minute walk from my apartment. Last week we saw Isaac Hayes, and, in [...]
Mr. Soul
Félix Curto (2007)
(Portrait) Fotografía color sobre papel RC
122 x 175 cm.
Via we make money, not art:
Heart of Gold, Félix Curto’s solo show at La Fábrica Galería [Madrid, Spain], takes its title from a song by Neil Young. It features ten photographs taken by the Spanish artist while he was visiting the Mennonite communities in [...]
“Canada … negotiates and does business.”
Canada is set up to run on steady immigration. It feels like a twenty first century country to me because it’s not interested in power. It negotiates and does business. It gets along with other countries. The power part is very nineteenth century. 99 percent of ideology we have today [...]
As a former piper, I take utter offense to this story!! However, I do have to admit a tinge of feeling for the suffering of both geezers and students…
- Rudy Carrera.
I am a writer in Brooklyn, New York. I write short fiction, artist biographies, press releases, and now, thanks to the gracious invitation from Malcom, I write a blog. I was trained at Indiana University (in my home state) as an elementary teacher, and while I love those little maniac students, I feel the need [...]
(For Part 1 of this post, click here.)
The other day in the New York Times, I read an article that made me a little sad. In 1993 an at-the-time closeted, lesbian Lisa Sherman attended a diversity workshop that her company Bell Atlantic hosted. During one exercise participants were asked to write out stereotypes [...]
Ciao from Siena, Italy!
The weather here has been very strange. It’s like a San Francisco winter: chilly and wet. The natives say that this weather is not normal for Tuscany this time of the year.
No matter. I’m here to live, and a little foul weather won’t scare me away. At [...]
I have to say this story left me pleasantly surprised. Perhaps the Kingdom of the Prophet (pbuh) is opening up a bit and may wish to learn about her Western neighbors. If true, this is a wonderful sign.
- Rudy Carrera.
After local elections in Ethiopia, voters were greeted by this sun with a halo, considered to be a portent of good things to come. I hope so.
- Rudy Carrera.
Exploring the City of Tomorrow:
“The full potential of maps, in terms of improving the quality of life in cities, is just beginning to be realized …. Get ready for the cartographolution.”
- Brendan Crain
A hypothetical Aura Map of Istanbul’s Golden Horn.
You’re happy. You’re entertained. You click a button on the screen that tells Google that someone [...]
All talk and no action. And that’s a good thing in Richard Linklater’s ‘Waking Life’, a beautiful live action rotoscoped film that floats between sleep and wakefulness, life and death. The characters talk about life as they experience it: existential, suicidal, dreamlike…. Philosophy at its accessible best. And it has Ethan Hawke and a host [...]
This has to be one of the most fascinating documentaries I have ever seen. Bennet Miller’s debut documentary ‘The Cruise’ follows New York tour guide Timothy “Speed” Levitch, on his tours and in his life, as he talks about his greatest love and obsession: New York.
If and when I visit New York, I hope he [...]
Hello, community!
Malcolm has invited me to post here because I would like to share some news and keep you apprised of its progress.
Some years ago, now over ten years in fact, I survived and escaped a really terrible ordeal. Out of that ordeal I wrote a cycle of 15 poems (how often great art comes [...]
“The average noise in Cairo from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. is 85 decibels, a bit louder than a freight train only 15 feet away.”
Noise — outrageous, unceasing, pounding noise — is the unnerving backdrop to a tense time in Egypt, as inflation and low wages have people worried about basic survival, prompting strikes and [...]
A. P. David of More Intelligent Life Magazine writes two wonderful articles on the Father of Western History:
Reading Herodotus
Herodotus and Bad Fate
- Rudy Carrera.
