Chinese love

I read in the International Herald Tribune that the Chinese government now requires top executives at security firms to pass written and oral exams in Mandarin, the national tongue.

According to Qing Zhang, a professor of linguistics at the University of Texas, Chinese is one of the toughest languages to learn. First, the meaning of each sound depends on tone. Worse, students must memorize thousands of picture-like characters instead of the 26 letters that make up English words.

Since the test began in 2005 fewer than 10 foreigners have passed.

The simplest Chinese word is the character for 'one' which is a single horizontal line; the most complex requires 56 strokes.

This is my first attempt at (Chinese) love:

watching the Spaniards

the above image belongs to the upper paleolithic period and it is believed it was painted by Magdelenean artists in the UNESCO World Heritage, Altamira

the image below is the well known and much loved/hated Toro de Osborne which advertised brandy until in the early 90's were to be taken down for Spain outlawed billboards on national roads, the Spaniards protested, the bulls were painted black and left to guard the hillsides becoming a national symbol

circa 18.500 years separate these two bulls

what I saw in Cambodia

what I saw in Picos de Europa

el sol se pone en el fin del mundo

Finisterre derives from Finisterrae in Latin which means "Land's End", and it had been, indeed, the end of the world for many centuries until Columbus altered things. I read in the Confraternity of Saint James’ website http://www.csj.org.uk/ that there are various explanations as to how Finisterre became a continuation of the pilgrimage, one such is that is was based on a pre-Christian route to the pagan temple of Ara Solis, erected there to honour the sun.
In any case this photo, taken literally at the end of the world, does it justice.

Modern pilgrimage

A woman prays in ecstasy in front of a statue of Buddha


Pilgrimage is widely considered a ritual journey of purification. Whether taken in a metaphorical sense or not, modern pilgrims agree that peregrination is inherently different from other types of travel. Placing its meaning in the actual walking, for the modern pilgrim there is not just one end, but rather there are many. These are attempts to make a visible manifestation of contact between the human and the divine, where personal transformation lies at its centre.
This summer I had the privilege of seeing two apparently different pilgrimages, one in Cambodia, the other in Camino de Santiago, Spain.

A statue of Saint James is being embraced from behind by pilgrims

object or mirror?

Whitney Chadwick argues in her book ‘Women, Art and Society’ that ‘Among the founding members of the British Royal Academy in 1768 were two women…. (yet)… women were barred from the discussions about art and the study of the nude model which formed the academic training and representation from the sixteen to the nineteen centuries.’
And she continues: ‘…binary oppositions of Western thought- man/woman, nature/culture, analytic/intuitive- may have been replicated within art history and used to reinforce sexual difference as a basis for aesthetic valuations.’
A lot has been said, and a lot more has been wasted in misunderstandings and extrapolations, yet still today if you type the words women and art in your internet searcher, quite possibly you’ll be directed to something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs&mode=related&search=
How many of these beautiful creatures were painted by men? How many of them had been painted by women?

Calendar of the Soul

21st week, August 26, 2007 - September 01, 2007



I feel strange power, bearing fruit
And gaining strength to give myself to me.
I sense the seed maturing
And expectation, light-filled, weaving
Within me on my selfhood's power.


(English translation by Ruth and Hans Pusch)

understanding The Other, Cambodia

In Ta Prohm, a Buddhist monastery built around 1186, nature holds the ruins together with massive tree roots, framing doorways and covering stones in velvety algae

In Cambodia pigs are transported on motorbikes to be sold in the market

One is expected to become a monk (to 'enter the Sangha' or monkhood) for a short period in one's life. Monks practise meditation and chanting, study Buddhist scripture and philosophy, do not wear personal adornments neither do they eat after noon. They need to go out into the community daily and it is common to see monks collecting food in their bowls or bags

Decades of war and intense poverty have left Cambodian people and their environment in a fragile state. Although tourism has grown dramatically in recent years, very few tourists venture into wider Cambodia. For some ideas for a richer travel experience visit http://www.stay-another-day.org/

understanding The Other, Thailand

Would you say that you 'go to the market' or rather 'the market comes to you'?





Does Buddha have fingerprint on his toes?




How can one play draughts without pieces?