Thursday, December 24, 2015

Merry Christmas!

Naughty Cat and the Christmas Tree by Dominique Teng©2015

There is no time like Christmas time! 
Do not allow anything or anybody 
to take the joy of the Season away from you. 
Celebrate like never before! 

Merry Christmas to you and yours! - Dominique

Image: Naughty Cat and the Christmas Tree by Dominique Teng©2015

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Climate Change


First it was global cooling (1970s), then global warming (mid-1990sand on), now, probably out of pure embarrassment, it is simply the climate change. The heated debate brings protestors, skeptics, climate change deniers, fanatics, and the hypocrites to, or near, each climate conference. And while the skeptics and the deniers are being ridiculed, the fanatics are ready to damp their cars and ride on bikes in cold and snow. The hypocrites, on the other hand, are not in the slightest ashamed to travel in private jets from one corner of the Earth to another. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is chilling indeed. 

The current conference is under way in Paris where delegates of 195 countries responsible for negotiating a climate agreement are working together to pass a binding document that will put an end to, or at least slow down, the change of climate on planet Earth. The treaty may, or may not, include a plan to extinguish the Sun whose activity is in great part responsible for the irregular weather patterns and climate formation on Earth.

Forgive me my sarcasm, but climate change is a big and very lucrative business, and much of what is going on, is happening in the "dark," behind closed doors. One can only speculate on who is really involved here and who will profit the most.

The climate is visibly changing and the powers to be decided that we will have to pay for it. Emphasis on "we" not them. I wish that someone told me why the same group of actors suppresses the research on free energy that was originally initiated by Nicola Tesla.

The climate change dogma does not tolerate dissent of any kind. It preaches that climate change is anthropogenic or man-made. It also preaches that the changes are irreversible, but can be slowed down by restricting human activities that caused them. No matter that climate changes are cyclical. No matter that some serious causes of climate change come from nature.

The natural causes of climate change include changes in Earth's orbit and in the amount of energy emitted by the Sun. Furthermore volcanic eruptions are also considered to cause variations in climate. The eco-fascists, however, do not even bother to take these factors into consideration. The wild nature only spoils the rigid models developed in laboratory setting. Such narrative supports a sinister political agenda of a certain group of people and cannot be changed.  
 
Scientists who propagate the "global cooling, global warming, climate change" theory want us to believe that recent changes in climate cannot be explained by nature alone. They claim that most of the warming since the mid-1900s is caused by human activity, most notably by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. This human activity contributes to the greenhouse effect whereas heat is "trapped" by gases such as carbon dioxide. A drastic reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels would consequently lead to cooling and stabilization of the climate. At least in theory, as postulated by these same scientists. 

That plants need carbon dioxide for their growth and development is not often considered in these equations. The systematic destruction of the tropical jungles in Indonesia and Brazil, and the deforestation of other regions, is a factor often overlooked in the debates as if the one thing had nothing to do with the other.


We've been duped before. Do you remember the Climategate? Certain scientists had to admit in the past that they falsified data in their climate models to prove that there was global warming, and yet, their theories were sold to us as the only truth that there was. Can we trust them again? Why should we?

Individually, for each of us, the changing weather patterns are only a fraction of what we have been able to observe and understand in our relatively short lives. I was born in July many years ago, and my mother told me that it was so cold back then that people actually thought it would snow. I have never ever experienced such a cold summer again. I would be lying if I told you that things right now are just the way they were five, ten, or fifteen years ago. Something is definitely going on. The summers are definitely getting hotter, the winters longer and colder. But this, of course, depends on where you live. 

In 1800s people in Northern Europe had a mini ice age to cope with. Charles Dickens witnessed a frozen Thames. In February 1814 London experienced the coldest frost it had known in many centuries. Reportedly, an elephant was led under the Blackfriars Bridge during annual frost fair. After that year Thames never froze again. From the perspective of Charles Dickens and his contemporaries this unprecedented climate warming might have felt like a disaster of sorts. And if it did not, it was only because people were so ignorant and unenlightened in the past. Right? I cannot help think that people in England actually welcomed that change and no one was thrown to Tower for causing the warm weather. There is also no record of whether the elephant was beheaded or not.

No one wants the planet to go under, but have you ever been near an oil field? The gas is often burned off, a wasteful practice that makes one wonder what is actually going on. And while the oil companies can do this without punishment, you might be fined in the future for having a barbecue party in your yard. Oil flaring seems to be an accepted practice, but a grill in the backyard might cause irreparable damage to the climate and perpetrators must be stopped by all means necessary. If this does not make you speechless, I don't know what would.

Not many people are aware of the fact that weather can indeed be manipulated and changed. The chemtrails and HAARP are not necessarily subjects of casual conversation. That this human activity may in fact be responsible for extreme weather and changes in climate does not even occur to those who decide to ride a bike to work in a snow blizzard with the hope that their humble contribution may save the Earth. There are too many unanswered questions, but when in doubt, follow the money.

Something must be done and everyone should care, but how much can you as an individual do to reverse the damage caused by the extravaganza of others?

Dominique Teng 
 
Dominique Teng©2015


Images source here

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!


True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not. - Seneca

Wishing everyone a happy and meaningful Thanksgiving! - Dominique


Image by Dominique Teng©2015

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

240 Years of the US Marine Corps


The US Marine Corps Silent Drill

"Mere words cannot express what it means to be a part of the most amazing and elite fraternity in the Universe." - Sgt. James W. Allmon, USMC

"I love the Corps for those intangible possessions that cannot be issued: pride, honor, integrity, and being able to carry on the traditions for generations of warriors past." - Cpl. Jeff Sornig, USMC, in Navy Times, November 1994 

For the last 240 years US Marine Corps was and continues to be a brotherhood of a very special brand of men, and relatively recently, women. They are the few, the brave. As Gen. William Thornson of the US. Army once said, There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion.  
 
The Marines are the first to go and the last to leave. Their courage and bravery is legendary. And they are never "ex", not even "former" Marines. A Marine is a Marine for life. He only wears a different uniform when not in active duty anymore. But only the Marines know why.

Happy 240th Birthday US Marine Corps!


Dominique Teng
 
 Image source here

Saturday, October 31, 2015

My Shadow


I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, 
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. 
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; 
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed. 

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow-
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; 
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, 
And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all. 

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play, 
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way. 
He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see; 
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me! 

One morning, very early, before the sun was up, 
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup; 
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, 
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed. 

By Robert Louis Stevenson

From The Golden Book of Poetry (1974)


Image: Portrait of a Child, 1922
Image source here

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Pink October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month


Pink October! By the end of the first week, at the latest, everybody must have noticed that we are celebrating the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Pink ribbons, pink ribbon marathons, pink ribbon rallies, pink ribbon merchandise everywhere you go. 
 
Breast cancer is a cancer that affects the breast tissues. It usually forms in the ducts that carry milk to the nipples and in the glands that make milk (lobules). This life-threatening disease affects mostly women, but also more and more men.  
 
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world. It is a deadly disease that claims countless lives every year and yet, till this day there is no efficient cure for it. The currently offered therapy leaves breast cancer survivors scarred for life - if not physically than at least mentally.   

Breast cancer diagnosis comes as a shock even to those who have a breast cancer history in their families. To many people breast cancer certainly seems like a death sentence. And yet, breast cancer, like many other cancers, is a symptom of wrong choices we make daily.  Breast cancer can be prevented! Prevention means a conscious, drastic change of a lifestyle - a step that more and more people are willing to take.  

The importance of early detection of breast cancer cannot be underestimated. It takes only a few minutes a day to perform self-examination.  

Physical activity, stress control and healthy nutrition are absolutely vital in prevention of any disease and cancer is no exception.  

Research shows that many foods and nutrients have very high anti-tumor potential. By adding them to your daily nutritional plan you may be able to increase your survival chances. 
The anti breast-cancer diet should include high doses of:

  • vitamin D
  • vitamin E
  • vitamin C
  • calcium D-glucarate
  • omega-3 fatty acids
  • oleic acid
  • power foods such as pomegranate and raspberries
  • cruciferous vegetables rich in the cancer fighting indole-3-carbinole
  • DIM (diindolylmethane) - a metabolite of indole-3-carbinole
  • curcumin found in Indian curry (turmeric)
  • green tea
  • graviola leaf extract
  • soy isoflavones
  • flax seeds rich in lingans
  • medicinal mushrooms such as shiitake and maitake

Currently, even Cannabis is considered to be a potential cure for many cancers, including the breast cancer. Although by federal law possession of cannabis (marijuana) is illegal in the United States, a growing number of states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to legalize its use for medical purposes. 

Research shows that cannabinoids (compounds of Cannabis) activate specific receptors throughout the body to produce healing effects, especially in the nervous system and in the immune system. 

The FDA does not approve Cannabis as a treatment for cancer or any other medical condition. However, commercially available cannabinoids, such as nabilone, are approved for the treatment of cancer-related side effects. 

Advanced breast cancer does not respond well to therapy. This fact makes prevention more important than ever. Knowledge may save lives.

By Dominique Teng

Dominique Teng©2015

* This information is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure a disease. 

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Quote of the Day



Things never go the way you expect them to. That's both the joy and frustration in life. I'm finding as I get older that I don't mind, though. It's the surprises that tickle me the most, the things you don't see coming. - Michael Stuhlbarg

Image source here

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

September

Taking off into September

In many ways, September feels like the busiest time of the year: The kids go back to school, work piles up after the summer's dog days, and Thanksgiving is suddenly upon us. - Brene Brown

Image from the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 2015 

Thursday, August 13, 2015

How to Pack Luggage For a Flight


He who would travel happily must travel light. - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry


If you travel a lot you probably have your own luggage packing routine. You know what you will need during the trip, you know what to expect in your hotel, or what you will need when you get stranded at some airport when your connecting flight is delayed because of bad weather condition or a technical problem.

When you travel as much as I do you are probably amused at the size of luggage people are carrying. Sometimes it seems that they have packed their entire household and if you asked them, they were not moving to another country, they were only going for a two-week vacation.

Thanks goodness, airlines have a weight limit for the passenger's checked-in luggage and also a size and weight limit for their carry on. But there is always the giant sombrero someone bought in Mexico, or a fragile Balinese wood carving that make their way to passenger cabin and a surprised look on passenger's face when he learns that there is no space for such items in the overhead bins.

So how to pack for a trip? 

What ends up in your suitcase depends entirely on the type of trip you are making and the duration of the trip. You pack differently for a vacation in the Alaskan wilderness than for a business trip to New York. As you can imagine, you probably do not need evening attire in the woods and you definitely do not need trekking boots at a board meeting, but there are things like undergarments, socks and personal care items that should always be in your luggage. 


It may also seem to inexperienced traveler that the longer the trip the more one has to pack. This is not necessarily true. When you plan to spend three weeks at a resort in Bahamas you can be sure that they have laundry and dry cleaning services, and that there is enough time to get your stuff washed or dry cleaned. This, depending on the hotel you are in, may not be possible on an overnight trip. 

To minimize the size of your luggage try to pack items that match and can be worn together in different combinations. Pack enough socks and underwear and always make sure that you are prepared for the eventuality that the airline lost your bags.

Here a story of a fellow passenger comes to mind. It happened many years ago on the flight to Novosibirsk, Russia. The man was greatly concerned because his luggage did not make it on time from another destination and he went to Russia without his suitcase. The airline promised to deliver his luggage with next flight. The next flight, however, was six days later. This might not have been a problem in London or Paris, but in Novosibirsk in the late 1980s there was not much you could buy. The only luck that this man had was the fact that this was August and not December. He probably went to his meeting in his not so fresh T-shirt. 

Stories like this one are very common. To avoid unnecessary stress, have a change of underwear and socks in your luggage, a clean shirt, a pair of slacks, and a few other items you might need right away. Always plan enough time between the connecting flights. Your travel agent may not be as travel savvy as he claims. A little delay here and bad weather over there and your entire trip goes down the drain. Also remember that making a short connection when you have to run from one gate to another with three or four pieces of hand luggage is not as easy as you imagine.

One last thing. Check the current security requirements and luggage regulations of your chosen airline. There are certain items you are not allowed to carry in your hand luggage and some that you are not allowed to put into your checked bags. Also check customs regulations for your final destination. This will tremendously help you to avoid unnecessary stress. 

By Dominique Teng

Dominique Teng©2015

Images source here

Sunday, August 9, 2015

What Is Wabi Sabi

Gold leaf in concrete by Catherine Bertola, 2007

By Tadao Ando

Pared down to its barest essence, wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. It's simple, slow, and uncluttered-and it reveres authenticity above all.

Wabi-sabi is flea markets, not warehouse stores; aged wood, not Pergo; rice paper, not glass. It celebrates cracks and crevices and all the other marks that time, weather, and loving use leave behind. It reminds us that we are all but transient beings on this planet-that our bodies as well as the material world around us are in the process of returning to the dust from which we came. Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace liver spots, rust, and frayed edges, and the march of time they represent.

Wabi-sabi is underplayed and modest, the kind of quiet, undeclared beauty that waits patiently to be discovered. It's a fragmentary glimpse: the branch representing the entire tree, shoji screens filtering the sun, the moon 90 percent obscured behind a ribbon of cloud. It's a richly mellow beauty that's striking but not obvious, that you can imagine having around you for a long, long time-Katherine Hepburn versus Marilyn Monroe.

For the Japanese, it's the difference between kirei-merely "pretty"-and omoshiroi, the interestingness that kicks something into the realm of beautiful. (Omoshiroi literally means "white faced," but its meanings range from fascinating to fantastic.) It's the peace found in a moss garden, the musty smell of geraniums, the astringent taste of powdered green tea.

My favorite Japanese phrase for describing wabi-sabi is "natsukashii furusato," or an old memory of my hometown. (This is a prevalent mind-set in Japan these days, as people born in major urban areas such as Tokyo and Osaka wax nostalgic over grandparents' country houses that perhaps never were. They can even "rent" grandparents who live in prototypical country houses and spend the weekend there.)

Daisetz T. Suzuki, who was one of Japan's foremost English-speaking authorities on Zen Buddhism and one of the first scholars to interpret Japanese culture for Westerners, described wabi-sabi as "an active aesthetical appreciation of poverty." He was referring to poverty not as we in the West interpret (and fear) it but in the more romantic sense of removing the huge weight of material concerns from our lives. "Wabi is to be satisfied with a little hut, a room of two or three tatami mats, like the log cabin of Thoreau," he wrote, "and with a dish of vegetables picked in the neighboring fields, and perhaps to be listening to the pattering of a gentle spring rainfall."

In Japan, there is a marked difference between a Thoreau-like wabibito (wabi person), who is free in his heart, and a makoto no hinjin, a more Dickensian character whose poor circumstances make him desperate and pitiful. The ability to make do with less is revered; I heard someone refer to a wabibito as a person who could make something complete out of eight parts when most of us would use ten. For us in the West, this might mean choosing a smaller house or a smaller car, or-just as a means of getting started-refusing to supersize our fries.

The words wabi and sabi were not always linked, although they've been together for such a long time that many people (including D. T. Suzuki) use them interchangeably. One tea teacher I talked with begged me not to use the phrase wabi-sabi because she believes the marriage dilutes their separate identities; a tea master in Kyoto laughed and said they're thrown together because it sounds catchy, kind of like Ping-Pong. In fact, the two words do have distinct meanings, although most people don't fully agree on what they might be. 

Wabi stems from the root wa, which refers to harmony, peace, tranquility, and balance.  Generally speaking, wabi had the original meaning of sad, desolate, and lonely, but poetically it has come to mean simple, non-materialistic, humble by choice, and in tune with nature. Someone who is perfectly herself and never craves to be anything else would be described as wabi. Sixteenth-century tea master Jo-o described a wabi tea man as someone who feels no dissatisfaction even though he owns no Chinese utensils with which to conduct tea. A common phrase used in conjunction with wabi is "the joy of the little monk in his wind-torn robe." A wabi person epitomizes Zen, which is to say, he or she is content with very little; free from greed, indolence, and anger; and understands the wisdom of rocks and grasshoppers.

Until the fourteenth century, when Japanese society came to admire monks and hermits for their spiritual asceticism, wabi was a pejorative term used to describe cheerless, miserable outcasts. Even today, undertones of desolation and abandonment cling to the word, sometimes used to describe the helpless feeling you have when waiting for your lover. It also carries a hint of dissatisfaction in its underhanded criticism of gaud and ostentation-the defining mark of the ruling classes when wabisuki (a taste for all things wabi) exploded in the sixteenth century. In a country ruled by warlords who were expected to be conspicuous consumers, wabi became known as "the aesthetic of the people"-the lifestyle of the everday samurai, who had little in the way of material comforts. 

Sabi by itself means "the bloom of time." It connotes natural progression-tarnish, hoariness, rust-the extinguished gloss of that which once sparkled. It's the understanding that beauty is fleeting. The word's meaning has changed over time, from its ancient definition, "to be desolate," to the more neutral "to grow old." By the thirteenth century, sabi's meaning had evolved into taking pleasure in things that were old and faded. A proverb emerged: "Time is kind to things, but unkind to man. 

Sabi things carry the burden of their years with dignity and grace: the chilly mottled surface of an oxidized silver bowl, the yielding gray of weathered wood, the elegant withering of a bereft autumn bough. An old car left in a field to rust, as it transforms from an eyesore into a part of the landscape, could be considered America's contribution to the evolution of sabi. An abandoned barn, as it collapses in on itself, holds this mystique. 

There's an aching poetry in things that carry this patina, and it transcends the Japanese. We Americans are ineffably drawn to old European towns with their crooked cobblestone streets and chipping plaster, to places battle scarred with history much deeper than our own. We seek sabi in antiques and even try to manufacture it in distressed furnishings. True sabi cannot be acquired, however. It is a gift of time.  

So now we have wabi, which is humble and simple, and sabi, which is rusty and weathered. And we've thrown these terms together into a phrase that rolls off the tongue like Ping-Pong. Does that mean, then, that the wabi-sabi house is full of things that are humble, plain, rusty, and weathered? That's the easy answer. The amalgamation of wabi and sabi in practice, however, takes on much more depth. 

In home decor, wabi-sabi inspires a minimalism that celebrates the human rather than the machine. Possessions are pared down, and pared down again, until only those that are necessary for their utility or beauty (and ideally both) are left. What makes the cut? Items that you both admire and love to use, like those hand-crank eggbeaters that still work just fine. Things that resonate with the spirit of their makers' hands and hearts: the chair your grandfather made, your six-year-old's lumpy pottery, an afghan you knitted yourself (out of handspun sheep's wool, perhaps). Pieces of your own history: sepia-toned ancestral photos, baby shoes, the Nancy Drew mysteries you read over and over again as a kid. 

Wabi-sabi interiors tend to be muted, dimly lit, and shadowy-giving the rooms an enveloping, womblike feeling. Natural materials that are vulnerable to weathering, warping, shrinking, cracking, and peeling lend an air of perishability. The palette is drawn from browns, blacks, grays, earthy greens, and rusts. This implies a lack of freedom but actually affords an opportunity for innovation and creativity. In Japan, kimonos come in a hundred different shades of gray. You simply have to hone your vision so you can see, and feel, them all.



Image source here 

Text source unknown

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Prayer for Hiroshima

In order for us to live together, we need to end the use of all nuclear weapons, the ultimate in inhumane, pure evil and the moment to get this done is now. - Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hiroshima at the Peace Memorial Park on August 6th, 2015, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the nuclear bomb by the United States. The bomb obliterated the city and killed around 140,000 people. Another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki only three days later and caused ca. 70,000 deaths. 

In 1945 the United States government argued that the nuclear attack was the only way to end the World War II in the Pacific. It probably was, since Japan was not willing to surrender.


Sunday, August 2, 2015

Reaching Out For the Unreachable Fruit

High-Hanging Bananas in Fort Canning Park, Singapore by Dominique Teng©2015
There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go. - Richard Bach
Sometimes our goals may seem like a high-hanging, unreachable fruit. No matter how hard we try, the fruit remains elusive.

Too often we are tempted to give up. Too often we are willing to compromise and settle for much less than we really deserve.

Too often we have not even tried.

Too often talent is wasted out of fear. Too often dreams and ideas are smothered before they even start to blossom and produce fruit...

But this is not a way to achieve greatness. This is not a way to achieve anything at all. You can only achieve your full potential when you try and try again.

A failure remains a failure only when you stop right there and give up. But if you pick yourself up and try again, your failure becomes a stepping stone, an exercise necessary to the mastery of your final goal. You may have to start over and over again, but you will only profit from the lessons you have learned.

Just remember: "Strength and growth don't come from what you can do. They come from overcoming the things that you once thought you couldn't."  This is a really brilliant quote from Sandy Botkin's mother. I have never met Sandy Botkin, but I know that he is quite successful in his field. With a mother like this, probably no wonder.

You might have to work a bit harder than others, or at least you have the impression that you do. At the end of the road things will begin to make a lot of sense, just keep reaching out for that high-hanging fruit. A day will come and you will be able to touch it.


By Dominique Teng

 
Dominique Teng©2015


Image: High-Hanging Bananas in Fort Canning Park, Singapore by Dominique Teng©2015

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Of Pets and People

Lulu

Animals have come to mean so much in our lives. We live in a fragmented and disconnected culture. Politics are ugly, religion is struggling, technology is stressful, and the economy is unfortunate. What's one thing that we have in our lives that we can depend on? A dog or a cat loving us unconditionally, every day, very faithfully. - John Katz
 
Image: Black Kitty by Dominique Teng©2015

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

The Bowl


By John Hutchinson

I

In The Crest Jewel of Wisdom, the Indian philosopher Shankara tells us that just as stone, wood, grass, grain and straw are all in time reduced to dust, so the body, the senses, the mind and the life-breath return to the nature of the higher Self. Darkness is dissolved in the radiance of the sun, and all that is manifest melts away in the Eternal. And just as space remains untouched when a clay pot is destroyed, so the Eternal remains Eternal.

The first bowl was probably intended to contain water or food: its form is therefore dependent on one of the most basic of human activities, that of eating and drinking. On another, more metaphorical level, it can also be said that a full and open bowl both withholds and offers in a single measure and in the same gesture. An empty bowl is different, as it holds the potential for either giving or receiving. This coincidence is a reflection of the state of contemplative consciousness, in which all things are born and to which they all return.

When a potter throws a bowl, a plane of clay is extended into three dimensions. As it expands, the clay both contains and is contained by space. This ordinary and wonderful characteristic, which is shared by all objects in the world, is emphasized by the process of making; the potter causes the clay to move upwards, defying the law of gravity, and then counters that action by using centrifugal force to open out the rising mass into the shape of a bowl.

The interplay of these movements, one vertical, the other horizontal, is revealed as a balance of opposing energies. This relationship is individualized by the film of clay, which has the capacity to retain, in three-dimensional form, every trace of the potter's touch. This form, perhaps glazed or otherwise decorated, is then sensed and interpreted in relation to other things, both found and made. A 'good' bowl is brought to a point where all these qualities cohere and coincide. There it rests, suggesting the possibility of further growth, but restrained by poise and balance. 


II

In the Daodejing, Laozi speaks about the importance of 'what is not'. Although the spokes are indispensable, he says, they are not the hub of the wheel. Cut doors and windows into the walls of a house, using their nothingness to make a room. Mold clay to make a vessel. Adapt its nothingness for the purpose in hand.

Is the bowl a specific form of spatial articulation, or is it that with which the space is articulated? It is both these things, and neither. A bowl, in its totality, is beyond definition. A truly beautiful bowl is suggestive of infinity; it is perched on the boundary between fullness and emptiness, revealing their inseparable identity.

Such bowls have the capacity to lead us back from the physicality of an object to the state of pure consciousness in which it was conceived and manifested. When this happens, the bowl, as a material object, seems barely to be present. It challenges and plays with our understanding of reality; it defies conventional notions of substantiality. Something that is beautiful, according to this definition, holds our attention without allowing it to become static, leading us effortlessly to that which is present but non-objective. In that respect, the beautiful thing could be said to 'vanish'. It follows that there is little that can helpfully be said about a bowl of this nature; it leaves little trace of itself and yet transforms the viewer or user - not dramatically, but with subtlety and gentleness. Such a bowl is both impersonal and intimate.

The making of this kind of impersonal object, perhaps paradoxically, demands extraordinary attention to detail. Every aspect of the creation of a beautiful bowl must be considered with great clarity and affection, and it may take many years of mastery of all the physical and technical aspects of making pots before the prerequisite skills are internalized and become instinctive. Even then, this special element of selflessness cannot deliberately be attained; it chooses, in a sense, to be manifested. Consequently, the artist or craftsman cannot directly aspire to the accomplishment of beauty, but if the potter's work is going to be anything other than physically functional or superficially attractive, this ideal must be embraced and given the opportunity to realize itself.

III 

The quality of selflessness cannot be understood, much less attained, without a degree of transformation, or clarification, of individual consciousness. This clarification involves the unfolding realization that all activity (be it thinking, feeling, sensing, perceiving, or acting) is fundamentally spoiled and reduced by the belief or feeling that what we are is limited, finite, or separate. The dawning of the understanding that real being is, in fact, infinite, is not a great or extraordinary experience; it is, rather, thoroughly intimate and familiar, precisely because it is always before and within us, even though it may be temporarily veiled by the conviction that the opposite is true.

A consequence of this understanding is the perception that beauty is not the property of an object, and that it is inherent in the true substance of all things. Substance, pure consciousness, is externalized as loving awareness and action. The more clearly that this is seen, the less certainty there can be about anything other than the presence of selfless being. A condition of fearless uncertainty, open and unknowing from moment to moment, that is both vulnerable and indestructible, then makes itself felt.

From such a perspective it might be proposed that a bowl embodies a form of consciousness. In that respect, the maker of bowls is involved in an outward activity that is the reflection of an inner openness, a state of absence that must, with all possible dedication and commitment, be maintained. It is a task that is difficult and demanding, offering the ego's sense of permanence little hope or consolation. In a certain sense it is the lifelong remaking of a single, and utterly unique, bowl - a bowl, what is more, that is ultimately invisible. It is, and contains, no thing.

John Hutchinson is an art historian

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Travel and Leave a Trace

Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia
Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia

Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you - it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you... Hopefully, you leave something good behind. - Anthony Bourdain

Friday, July 3, 2015

Happy Independence Day America!



You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. - Erma Bombeck

Happy Independence Day! 

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Pebbles on the Beach


Those pebbles on the beach.
Each has its own destiny.
Each represents a miracle of creation.
But you are more unique
Because the life force
Has made you more exquisite.
Cherish the pebbles.
But revere Life
Of which you are a custodian and a priest.
Life is religion.
You are a priest.

By Henryk Skolimowski 


Image source here

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Summer Day

Colorful chair on Canyon Road  in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean -
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down–
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

By Mary Oliver

Monday, June 1, 2015

Quote of the Day


It is not in the stars
to hold our destiny
but in ourselves.

William Shakespeare 


Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Orange Hollandaise Sauce Recipe


Sauce hollandaise is the classic sauce served warm with such dishes as the Eggs Benedict, steamed fish, or cooked asparagus. The sauce is traditionally made out of egg yolks and butter, and seasoned with lemon juice, white pepper and salt.

The history of the sauce is not quite clear. The name suggests that the sauce originated in Holland and was probably introduced to France by the French Protestants. 

A recipe for a thick egg sauce appeared in an old Dutch cookbook by Carel Baten in 1593. More than half a century later a Frenchman, François Pierre de la Varenne published a very influential cookbook "Le Cuisinier François" in which he described a butter sauce similar to hollandaise. His recipe called for butter, vinegar, nutmeg, salt and egg yolk.

Sauce hollandaise became quite popular in the 19th century. Sometimes called sauce Isigny after a town Isigny-sur-Mer that was known for its great-tasting butter, the sauce was generally known as the Dutch sauce for fish. 

Be warned, the sauce is not very easy to make and it requires a little practice. Once you mastered the art you will never ever buy a ready-made sauce at the grocery store. 

The recipe I am sharing with you here is a variation of the traditional hollandaise sauce. I am certain that you will love it. 



Ingredients:
  • 3 egg yolks (use free range, organic eggs if you can)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter 
  • 3 Tbsp freshly pressed orange juice
  • 1/2 Tbsp freshly pressed lemon juice
  • 1/3 tsp cayenne pepper
  • Celtic sea salt to taste
  • 1 Tbsp orange zest for garnish
Tools:
  • double boiler (bain-marie)
  • balloon whisk
  • citrus zester 
Method:
  • Fill the bottom pan of the double boiler with water and bring it to a simmer.
  • Place the egg yolks, lemon juice and 2 Tbsp of the orange juice in the top pan of the double boiler. 
  • Set the top pan on top of the pan with water and whisk the yolks vigorously until they begin to warm up and thicken. Be careful here. The top pan should not touch the water or you will get scrambled eggs!
  • Add 1 Tbsp of butter and whisk until the butter melts and is fully incorporated into the sauce. Add another tablespoon of butter and repeat. Proceed in this manner until the whole butter is used up. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens again. The volume should almost double.
  • Take the top pan off the pan with water and place it on the working surface. Season the sauce with salt and cayenne pepper and mix well. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in the remaining orange juice. The sauce should have creamy, almost velvety consistency.
  • Serve your hollandaise with boiled white and green asparagus, garnish with orange zest and enjoy it in good company!


By Dominique Teng

Dominique Teng©2015

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Karkadè - The Drink of the Pharaohs


Many years ago I had a chance to visit Sudan for the first time. Back then the capitol city of Khartoum had only one good hotel. It was The Hilton on the White Nile which accommodated not only business people and the few tourists that made it there, but also important guests of the State. Colonel Gaddafi was visiting Sudan at that time and I had a pick at him and his female body guards while sipping hibiscus tea at the lobby lounge. It was an interesting sight, I must admit.

Khartoum had very few attractions at that time. On Fridays everybody went to the local market to watch the dervish dances and sip karkadè that was served with a ladle straight from a large bucket filled with ice and hibiscus tea. Most European visitors stayed clear of the bucket, I assure you.

You could enjoy a "safe" karkadè in the hotel, though. This delicious hibiscus  tea which was served either hot or chilled, and it tasted a bit different from what hibiscus tea tasted like back home.      

Karkadè is also drunk in Egypt where its tradition supposedly goes back to the times of the pharaohs. The tea is made out of dark red calyces that form around the seed pods of flowers collected from a roselle shrub (Hibiscus sabdariffa). The plant is native to West Africa, but it also grows in many other parts of the world including Australia, China, Nepal, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

The tea has a rather tart taste that is a bit similar to cranberry or tart cherry juice. To camouflage the tartness and make it more palatable, karkadè is often served with a lot of sugar. Unfortunately, the sweeter it is, the less it qualifies as a thirst quencher.


In Nigeria (at the Hilton hotel in Abuja, for instance) hibiscus tea is served chilled, with rock sugar, fresh ginger, cloves, and black pepper. It is supposed to improve blood circulation and aid digestion. It tastes great and combines the healing qualities of ginger, black pepper, cloves, and hibiscus. You can make your own by following a few simple steps. The amount of sugar, spices and hibiscus flowers can be adjusted to your personal liking. Experiment! It's fun.

Ingredients:
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 inch fresh ginger root
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp crushed cloves
  • 1 Tbsp rock sugar (use more or less, depending on your personal liking)
  • 1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers

Method:
  • In a large enough pot, bring water, spices and sugar to boil. Simmer for a few minutes and set aside to cool.
  • Place hibiscus flowers in a jar or a carafe.
  • Using a strainer, pour the now cool water with spices into your chosen vessel. Mix well.
  • Place the now almost ready hibiscus drink in the fridge and let it sit for a few hours. This step will not only help to chill it well, but also to release the "essence" and the color of hibiscus flowers into your spicy liquid.
  • Enjoy the drink in good company, with or without ice cubes.
You can, of course, skip the cooling of the tea and have it warm, if you prefer. My concern is that heat destroys the vitamin C in hibiscus. Also, using too much sugar makes the drink less healthy. 

Northern Nigerians also prepare hibiscus tea with pineapple rind and ginger. The drink is known as the Zobo drink. Hibiscus tea is known in many cultures where it is greatly appreciated for its health benefits. Hibiscus flowers are rich in the vitamin C and anthocynins that have the capacity to fight free radicals in the body and strengthen the immune system.

Studies have demonstrated that karkadè may help fight hypertension since it contains compounds that act as the ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors. In fact, the effects of drinking hibiscus tea were similar to the effects of popular anti-hypertensive drugs. The tea also helped reduce the amount of sodium in blood without affecting the levels of potassium. More studies have to be conducted, but one thing is certain, unlike many drugs, hibiscus tea is well tolerated by patients with hypertension.

To prepare a simple hibiscus infusion, rinse a handful of dried hibiscus calyces in running water and place them in a teapot. Bring four cups of purified water into a boiling point, then allow it to cool a bit. Pour the water into a teapot and steep the flowers for about five minutes. Strain the deep red liquid through a sieve and pour it into glasses. Add a little sugar, honey or liquid stevia and enjoy it warm, or chill it in the fridge.

You can also place the hibiscus flowers in a jar and pour cold purified water. I use 1 heaping table spoon of dried flowers for each cup of water and keep the jar in the fridge. I allow at least one day for infusion to chill nicely and drink it with ice on hot days.


By Dominique Teng

 
*It is advised not to steep the flowers in hot water for more than ten minutes since the infusion will become bitter. Steeping hibiscus flowers in cold water does not turn the infusion bitter, but it will make it more acidic.

Dominique Teng©2015

*Information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure a disease.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Expectation of a Miracle

Hairdressers in the sun, 1966 by Robert Doisneau 

"Yes, the expectation of a miracle. It’s very childish, but at the same time it’s almost like an act of faith. We find a backdrop and wait for the miracle. I remember a backdrop that never worked for me, possibly because I didn’t wait long enough, or didn’t return to it often enough. In the foreground you can see the steps of Saint Paul’s church, the background is a perfect faubourg, as you imagine them from literature or movies. I frame it in my viewfinder, from rue de Turenne to a shop called Le Gant d’Or, and wait there for an hour, sometimes two, thinking, “my God, something is bound to happen”. I imagine events I would like to photograph, one wilder than the other. But nothing happens, nothing. Or if it does – bang – it’s so different from what I expected that I miss it. The miracle did take place, but I wasted it, because I didn’t pay the right kind of attention. When you are tired, you become unable to react, your emotion is no longer available." - Robert Doisneau


Image source here

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Happy Earth Day!


Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
Rachel Carson

Wishing everyone a very happy 45th Earth Day! ~ Dominique 

Image source here

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Spring Cleaning or How Toxic is Your Home?

How toxic is your home?

Spotless, fresh-smelling home has been a dream of every housewife since the introduction of television set into ordinary households. The trend intensified in the 1950s and 1960s and continues to this day. Clever marketing strategies were perfected over decades to sell ever growing number of products promising to make your laundry whiter, your floor cleaner, and your sink shiner than ever. The commercial ads are omnipresent and the promise very tempting.

Unfortunately both, the desire for cleanliness and the promise of thereof, carry unexpected dangers to health. On the one hand, sterilized environment prevents our immune systems from developing natural resistance to common germs. On the other, many products contain chemicals that may be harmful or even toxic to our health.

The fear of germs and frequent use of germicides created a paradox with very sad consequences, especially for young children. In 1989 a so called "hygiene hypothesis" was first presented by D.P. Strachan who postulated that reduced early childhood exposure to germs resulted in increased occurrence of hay fever and allergies. Microbial diversity is necessary for the immune system to develop immune tolerance. Immune system learns to identify pathogens and to fight them off. Lack of exposure to microbes is believed to lead to a faulty immune system that expresses itself in increased susceptibility to disease.

The use of harmful or even toxic chemicals to keep our homes clean not only increases occurrence of asthma and allergies, but it may lead to the so called environmental illness where the immune system is unable to deal with every day toxins and simply collapses. Even the smallest amount of chemicals can trigger immune system reactions. Autoimmune diseases are often the consequence of malfunctioning, oversensitive immune system.

The natural way

With a growing environmental consciousness consumers also opt for products that do not harm or unnecessarily pollute our already fragile environment. This trend created a paradigm change for manufacturers as well. This change comes with a price. The "cleaner" cleaning products are often more expensive and not every household can afford to buy them. This is really a pity because, on the long run, a small investment could mean a much healthier home and much smaller medical bills in the future.

To prevent allergies and other diseases, including cancer, many households, especially those with young children and pets, are turning to natural products. More and more people resolve to traditional home-made recipes that utilize common household goods such as alcohol, vinegar, baking soda, essential oils, salt and lemon juice. We do not have to be poisoned simply because we want to stay clean. Our grandmothers managed their households with a few time-proven recipes and made sure that our parents grew up healthy. Such recipes were passed from one generation to another and the time is ripe for their renaissance.


By Dominique Teng 

Dominique Teng©2015

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Variations In Green Or the Famous Frankfurt Green Sauce Recipe

The Frankfurt Green Sauce or the „Grie Soß“ in Hessian dialect

The Green Sauce is one of the delicacies the Hesse city of Frankfurt is famous for. A story goes that the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe loved this sauce so much that he had to have it made by his mother Aja and delivered by a coach to Weimar.

In 1810 Goethe published his "Theory of Colors" in which green was considered to be a "useful" color. Goethe believed that green was a color that could pacify the mind. It was the best color to use for walls in rooms one spent the most time since green color invited one to stay. 

The "usefulness" of green color might have extended to Goethe's dietary predilections, but we might never find out whether this was true.

The term "green sauce" pertains to a variety of sauces made mostly with green herbs. It is believed that the condiment originated somewhere in the Levant and was most probably introduced to Europe by the Romans some 2,000 years ago.

The Italian version of the green sauce was introduced to Germany in 1730s by the Italian merchant family of Bolongaro. Some culinary historians believe that the sauce recipe arrived from France with the Huguenots who settled down in the Electorate of Hesse-Kassel in the 18th century.

The Frankfurt version of the sauce was first published in 1856 in a recipe book written by Miss Wilhelmine Rührig. She used eggs, olive oil, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and six herbs: tarragon, chives, chervil, parsley, borage and salad burnet.

Fresh herbs for the Frankfurt Green Sauce

There are many modern versions of the Frankfurt green sauce using six or seven different herbs. Traditionally the sauce was made of fresh herbs that may vary depending on season.  Hard-boiled eggs, crème fraîche or sour cream, olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sometimes mustard or mayonnaise, complete the recipe. Some people add gherkins, shallots and garlic, and use soft ricotta cheese to make the sauce more nutritious. 

I made my own version of this delicious condiment. You are welcome to try it. I used fresh chives, chervil, sorrel, borage, parsley, garden cress, ramps, and salad burnet. You may also add lovage, lemon balm, dandelion greens, arugula, watercress, dill, or tarragon.

Ingredients
  • 4-5 cups roughly chopped fresh herbs
  • 4 hard-boiled organic eggs
  • 1 cup Crème fraîche, sour cream or probiotic yogurt
  • 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
  • freshly pressed juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Celtic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:
  • In a food processor pulse blend the herbs until you receive an almost creamy, but not watery,  consistence. Transfer pureed herbs into a mixing bowl.
  • Cut hard-boiled eggs into halves and remove egg yolks. Pass egg yolks through a sieve and add them to the mixing bowl. 
  • Add Crème fraîche, (sour cream or yogurt) olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard. Mix until all ingredients are well combined. 
  • Chop egg whites and gently incorporate them into the sauce. 
  • Add salt and pepper. Mix again. Ready! 
Serve with roasted meet, beef brisket, hard boiled eggs, or boiled young potatoes. Enjoy in good company with a glass of German Riesling!

This sauce also tastes well on vegetarian burgers, on sliced avocado and as a salad dressing with tossed leafy greens.

By Dominique Teng

Variations in Green Or the Famous Frankfurt Green Sauce Recipe
The famous Frankfurt Green Sauce

Dominique Teng©2015 

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

April's Fool

 The Fool by Jake Baddeley, 2009

If every fool wore a crown, we should all be kings. - Welsh Proverb
~ Happy April Fool's Day! ~  


Image source here

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Happy Birthday Albert Einstein

Born on Ï€ day! 
Albert Einstein during lecture in Vienna, 1921 by F. Schmutzer

"The cult of individual personalities is always, in my view, unjustified. To be sure, nature distributes her gifts variously among her children. But there are plenty of the well-endowed ones too, thank God, and I am firmly convinced that most of them live quiet, unregarded lives. It strikes me as unfair, and even in bad taste, to select a few of them for boundless admiration, attributing superhuman powers of mind and character to them. This has been my fate, and the contrast between the popular estimate of my powers and achievements and the reality is simply grotesque." - Albert Einstein, 14 March 1879 - 18 April 1955

Year 2015 marks a very special anniversary. Hundred years ago, in 1915, Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity. This theory described gravity as a fundamental quality of space-time. It provides foundation for our current view of the expanding universe.  

Image source here

Sunday, March 1, 2015

A Time Traveller Sends a Postcard


By Israel Weinstein
 
I found this card in ruins of a tourist trap, above a volcano.  
The air reeks of sulfur, but the view -   
storm-gray rocks and lava trails  to violent sea - 
magnificent desolation.  
What year this is, I cannot say,  
those readouts have burned out long ago.  
Once I charted the eons  
by light pollution or the ice caps  
but now I am content to leap  
like a child trusting his father will catch him.  
When will this find you? The day of your birth?  
Double feature at the drive in? 
The night we watched  bombs shed the night’s skin? 
The fall  day when rain finally stopped 
and you said  this is no way to live?  
You were right,  or will be. 
The water’s edge tints red.  
An algal bloom or some chemical morass.   
Rocks melt in the silence.  
I will investigate.  
Yours. 
 
 
Poem source here

Image source here