Albert Einstein prescribes compassion for all living creatures and the whole of nature

A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the "Universe," a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.  This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

- Albert Einstein

Quotes: George Washington

Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company.
George Washington



Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company.
George Washington



Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
- George Washington
   



Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.
George Washington



Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable, procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.
George Washington



Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.
George Washington



It's wonderful what we can do if we're always doing.
- George Washington


Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.
- George Washington
   


Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!
George Washington


To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.
- George Washington
   


If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.
George Washington, Fifth annual address to Congress, December 13, 1793
  



It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
George Washington, letter to his niece Harriet Washington, October 30, 1791




As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)


The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered... deeply, ...finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.
George Washington (1732 - 1799), First Inaugural Address, Apr. 30, 1789



Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)


Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow grow, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)


Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)


Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)


I know [patriotism] exists, and I know it has done much in the present contest. But a great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle alone. It must be aided by a prospect of interest, or some reward.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)



It is well, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go.
- George Washington (1732 - 1799), last words, 14 December 1799.



There is no restraining men's tongues or pens when charged with a little vanity.
- George Washington (1732 - 1799)


We ought not to look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dear-brought experience.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)




I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)




Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! It is a dangerous servant and a terrible master.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)


Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
George Washington (1732 - 1799)


I believe that the great Creator has put ores and oil on this earth to give us a breathing spell. As we exhaust them, we must be prepared to fall back on our farms, which is God’s true storehouse and can never be exhausted. We can learn to synthesize material for every human need from things that grow.
George Washington Carver (1864 - 1943)


Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master.
- George Washington (1732 - 1799)


I hold before you my hand with each finger standing erect and alone, and as long as they are held thus, not one of the tasks that the hand may preform can be accomplished.  I cannot lift. I cannot grasp. I cannot hold. I cannot even make an intelligible sign until my fingers organize and work together. In this we should also learn a lesson.
George Washington Carver (1864 - 1943)


There is nothing that gives a man consequence, and renders him fit for command, like a support that renders him independent of everybody but the State he serves.
- George Washington (1732 - 1799)

Philosophy teaches us to bear with equanimity the misfortunes of others
- Oscar Wilde 


"Whatever you can do, or dream you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
- Goethe

Philosophers have argued for centuries about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but materialists have always known it depends on whether they are jitterbugging or dancing cheek to cheek
- Tom Robbins

"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time,and always start with the person nearest you."
- Mother Teresa

 

After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear - what remains? Nature remains.
- Walt Whitman

Women are better at acting then men. Why? Because we have to be. If successfully convincing someone bigger than you are of something he doesn't want to know is a survival skill, this is how women have survived through the millennia.

- Meryl Streep, Barnard Commencement Speech, 2010

It's wonderful what we can do if we're always doing. 

- George Washington, First president of US (1732 - 1799)

Two things awe me most, the starry sky above me and the moral law within me. ~ Kant 


How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. 
- William Shakespeare







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Angola Prison Rodeo: in pictures

 

"The prison is so called because it stands on the site of a plantation once worked by slaves from West Africa. Now it is home to 5,000 male offenders, three-quarters of whom are on a life sentence."



 

"Most of the prisoners who take part have never been on a horse, yet here they try to ride irate bulls and bucking broncos, catch wild mustangs and play poker while being charged by ferocious horned cattle."

 

"There is a party atmosphere up in the wooden seats of the rodeo arena, which can hold 10,500 spectators and was built by the inmates."






 Source:
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/picturegalleries/10005417/Angola-Prison-Rodeo-in-pictures.html?frame=2540801

Animal photos of the week: 20 April 2013

 A crowned crane grazes at a hotel compound in Nairobi, KenyaPicture: REUTERS/Noor Khamis

 
 Cheetah cubs chase an impala after it was caught and released by their mother who is teaching them to hunt in KenyaPicture: Paul Mckenzie/Barcroft Media

 

A 2 months old baby Bengal tiger chews on a hat at the Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta, IndonesiaPicture: Donal Husni/Barcroft Media

 

 

Five-day-old female baby Sumatran elepant, Kartini stands between the legs of her 40 year old mother Nina at the animal hospital of Taman Safari zoo in Cisarua, West JavaPicture: AFP/Getty Images

Pelicans fly over a lifeguard tower after the sun set in Carlsbad, California




 

A white lion cub in his pen at the Pont-Scroff's zoo in Pont-Scorff, western France. Three lion cubs, two males and a female, were born on February 23 and were shown for the first time to the public on April 17.Picture: FRED TANNEAU/AFP/Getty Images

 

A baby caiman crocodile has arrived in North Queensferry after it was born at Deep Sea World's sister aquarium in Cheshire.Picture: Deep Sea World/PA

 

A female Sumatran tiger cub snuggles with her mother, Leanne in their enclosure at San Francisco Zoo in San Francisco, CaliforniaPicture: EPA/MARIANNE V. HALE

 

Hundreds of walruses have found themselves a new home on an iceberg 20 miles off shore. The giant marine mammals pile onto the ice and huddle together as they relax on their island. They are taking a break from hunting in the Chukchi Sea, 20 miles off the coast of Alaska, and the moving ice even helps them find their meals.Picture: Solent/Steven Kazlowski/SeaPics

 

Ireneusz Irass Waledzik, 29, from Poland, uses macro photography to reveal the fascinating colours and shapes of tiny insects. He said: "I love macro photography, I spend a lot of time at it. The different shapes of insects' eyes fascinates me.
Picture: IRENEUSZ IRASS WALEDZIK / CATERS NEWS

 

Picture: IRENEUSZ IRASS WALEDZIK / CATERS NEWS

 

DamselflyPicture: IRENEUSZ IRASS WALEDZIK / CATERS NEWS

 

Blue damselflyPicture: IRENEUSZ IRASS WALEDZIK / CATERS NEWS

Source:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/10006046/Animal-photos-of-the-week-20-April-2013.html?frame=2536406

First Picture Of Captured Terror Suspect Released

The 19-year old Dzhokhar has seen better days...


 
Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was taken to hospital in serious condition after being captured [AFP]


Second Boston bombing suspect in custody

Police say 19-year-old man captured and taken to hospital in serious condition after standoff in Watertown district.






Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-19/first-picture-captured-terror-suspect-released

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/04/2013419133223798587.html

Social media offers clues about brothers

Quotes: How to achieve your goals - Dream, Believe, Achieve

1. “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” - Yogi Berra


2. “Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives.” – Viktor Frankl


3. “To reach a port, we must sail—Sail, not tie at anchor—Sail, not drift.” - Franklin Roosevelt
 

4. “Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark.” - David Ogilvy
 
5. “A goal properly set is halfway reached.” - Abraham Lincoln
 
6. “Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps.” - Helmut Schmidt
 
7. “Goals are not only absolutely necessary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive.” – Bill Copeland
 
8.”Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” - Vincent van Gogh
 
9. “The most important thing about goals is having one.” - Geoffry F. Abert


10. “You can’t reach your goals without occasionally taking some long shots.”- Unknown
 
11. “Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” - Mario Andretti
 
12. “The reason so few people are successful is no one has yet found a way for someone to sit down and slide uphill.” - W. Clement Stone


13. “Please understand my friend, that where you find yourself tomorrow is a function of the positive decisions and actions you take today.”- Akin A. Awolaja

14. “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

15. “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” - Jim Rohn

16. “By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own.” – Mark Victor Hansen

17. “Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” – Aristotle


18. “Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.” – Paul Meyer

19. “The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes

20. “The unfortunate aspect about living life without your own goals is that you may very well reach a point in your life where you will wonder, ‘what would have happened if I had only done…’” - Catherine Pulsifer

 


 
 

Boston Marathon explosion scene

Passersby put pressure on a victim's leg to try to stop the bleeding at the scene of the first explosion.



 This picture could almost seem silly, if the evnt was not so tragic.

Massachusetts State Police guard an area near Kenmore Square.

A second explosion goes off near the finish line
 

Are You a Neophiliac?

Check out how you rate on 4 facets of novelty-seeking

Published on March 6, 2012 by Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. in Fulfillment at Any Age
 

Life is all about change, but for some people, that change is not very pleasant.  Psychology tends to label attractions to situations as "philias." 

Though it sounds like a dreaded disease, someone who is a "neophiliac" simply craves anything that's new. Author Winifred Gallagher recently revived the concept of neophilia in her book:

 "New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change." 

Although she focuses on neophilia in our contemporary age of high-tech gadgets and social media, such as why you might want the iPad, the concept of being attracted to the new has a long history in psychology. 

In 1993, Washington University psychiatrist Robert Cloninger and his associates began their long and ambitious journey to develop a comprehensive model of personality. 

Eventually they arrived at a 7-factor approach that takes into account hereditary and environmental influences, and sets forth a path for individuals to live their lives to the fullest.

It's within this context that the personality dimension of novelty-seeking first emerged.  In a recent New York Times interview, Cloninger argues that the quality of novelty-seeking can be one of the brightest spots on our personality horizon.  

A number of years ago, he identified novelty-seeking as one of four basic "temperaments," meaning that it is an automatic emotional response that primes us to seek out new experiences.  

The four temperaments are:

1. - harm avoidance (aversion to risk),

2. - reward dependence (being sensitive to social situations and reinforcement), 

3. - novelty-seeking, and

4. - persistence (ability to persist in pursuit of a goal). 

Cloninger believes that these temperaments are largely inherited, meaning that they are built into our biological makeup.  Some of us are programmed to embrace the new; others to run as far away from it as possible.

Temperament tells only part of the story. As we go through life, our experiences mold our sense of self and lead us to develop our values and goals.  

These qualities, called "character" in the 7-factor model, include self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence.  

People high in self-directedness can regulate their behavior so that they can work toward achieving their desired goals. Being cooperative means that you are pro-social and willing to help others.  If you are high in self-transcendence, you are willing to move outside of your own individualistic concerns and see yourself as being an integral component of the universe as a whole.

Cloninger bases his "science of well-being" on a holistic philosophy that emphasizes free will, self-awareness, creativity, and "gifts of the mind and experience" that cannot always be quantified.

The measurement instruments he and others developed as they hammered out their theory is used both to diagnose psychopathology and to identify the basic components of the healthy personality.

In order to determine your true stance on the novelty-seeking dimension, you would have to take the entire 7-factor inventory, called the

 Temperament and Character Inventory. 

I can't offer you that here, but I've summed up each dimension so you can see where you stand. 

These general descriptions show the high and low score alternatives:

1.Exploratory excitability 

High scorer: You are always ready to explore new situations and, in fact, find it highly rewarding to do so.
Low scorer: You prefer to stick to the tried and true even if it means you miss out on some opportunities.

2. Impulsiveness:  

High scorer: You make decisions quickly without necessarily considering all the consequences.
Low scorer: Before making a decision, you reflect on the pros and cons.

3. Extravagance: 

High scorer: You are ready to spend money in order to obtain the rewards you desire.
Low scorer: You are reserved and tend to hold out on spending money.

4. Disorderliness:

High scorer: You are spontaneous and don't like to be hemmed in by rules and regulations.
Low scorer: You are regimented and tend to stick to a certain routine.


 ............................


As you can see, novelty-seeking has its good and bad points. Exploring new situations is definitely a plus, as we know from research on the related quality of openness to experience. 

 Impulsivity is not such a desirable quality, on the other hand, as it can lead you to make rash choices that you later come to regret. A strong drive toward extravagance can lead you to be overly dependent on your brain's pleasure centers and also lead you to spending splurges. 

Disorderliness has its drawbacks, particularly when your job depends on your being able to show a presentable face to the public or when you have to abide by someone else's rules.

In research on novelty-seeking, the pros of being able to roll with life's changes seem to be balanced against the cons of being vulnerable to addictive behaviors. 

There is a substantial literature showing that people high in novelty-seeking are more prone to substance use disorders including alcohol and dependence and tobacco use (Etter, 2010; Fergusson et al., 2008). The desire to seek new stimulation can cross from the tendency to get bored with the same-old-same-old to a constant search for an altered state of consciousness.

Looking under the hood of the person high in novelty-seeking, it seems that dopamine, the pleasure neurotransmitter, seems to be involved.  According to research conducted by Zalid et al (2009), high dopamine activity in a specific part of the midbrain is higher in individuals high in novelty-seeking, even after controlling for age and gender. An orientation toward reward could help account for the relationship between the desire to seek out new experiences and a tendency to develop addictive behaviors.

Some forms of novelty-seeking may, on the plus side, may be related to creativity. According to Marvin Zuckerman, people who seek pleasure from new experiences are also likely to be more creative. The ability to have big ideas seems to require a certain degree of enjoyment of expanding your mental horizons into new territory.

Novelty-seeking, then, is a mixed bag in terms of its ability to get you through life. 

To get the most benefit from novelty-seeking, it's important to keep the balance in mind between sameness and change. 

New may be better than old, but not at the cost to your mental health.





References:


Etter, J. (2010). Smoking and Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 12(9), 919-926. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntq116
Fergusson, D. M., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. (2008). The developmental antecedents of illicit drug use: Evidence from a 25-year longitudinal study. Drug And Alcohol Dependence, 96(1-2), 165-177. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.03.003
Zald, D. H., Cowan, R. L., Riccardi, P., Baldwin, R. M., Ansari, M., Li, R., & ... Kessler, R. M. (2008). Midbrain dopamine receptor availability is inversely associated with novelty-seeking traits in humans. The Journal Of Neuroscience, 28(53), 14372-14378. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2423-08.2008





Follow me on Twitter @swhitbo for daily updates on psychology, health, and aging. Feel free to join my Facebook group, "Fulfillment at Any Age," to discuss today's blog, or to ask further questions about this posting.
Copyright Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. 2012



source:  www.psychologytoday.com/experts/susan-krauss-whitbourne-phd

"CHASING ICE" captures largest glacier calving ever filmed - OFFICIAL VIDEO

Published on Dec 14, 2012

 

"CHASING ICE" is NOMINATED for an Academy Award: Best Original Song
"Before My Time" by J. Ralph featuring Scarlett Johansson and Joshua Bell.

Hear the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB4UEQ...
And watch the TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIZTMV...
IN THEATERS NOW!! Showtimes at www.chasingice.com/showtimes

-----

On May 28, 2008, Adam LeWinter and Director Jeff Orlowski filmed a historic breakup at the Ilulissat Glacier in Western Greenland. The calving event lasted for 75 minutes and the glacier retreated a full mile across a calving face three miles wide. The height of the ice is about 3,000 feet, 300-400 feet above water and the rest below water.

Chasing Ice won the award for Excellence in Cinematography at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and the Best Documentary from the International Press Association. It has won over 30 awards at festivals worldwide. Still playing in theaters nationwide.

• Category

  Film & Animation

• License - Standard YouTube License

Source:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC3VTgIPoGU&feature=player_embedded

Time Management Tips

If you find yourself long on ambition and short on time, manage your work more efficiently
 
by incorporating pointers:




1. Stop multitasking immediately.

Studies have shown that multitasking is actually less efficient than doing single tasks sequentially because you work with better focus doing one thing at a time.

 
2. Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize. 

You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 rule. It says that 80% of the profits you’ll see will actually only come from 20% of the products or services that you offer. This philosophy should also be applied to your work in general.

There are certain tasks that will give you much more ‘bang for your buck’ in terms of moving things forward than others. The idea is to sit down and identify those products or services (and tasks) that are going to be most profitable for you, and then organize your day such that you are giving more of your energy to those items.

There are two benefits to this: you’ll feel more accomplished and see greater profitability, and you know that if something has to fall by the wayside it won’t be one of your most important items.

 
3. Be Honest With Yourself About Being A Human. 

David Heinemeier Hansson of 37signals advises to “plan for 4-5 hours of real work per day.”

If you consider yourself someone who works an 8-hour day, this may seem like a low estimate. But if you look at the numbers with an eye toward allowing for your own biology to factor in, it’s pretty realistic.

Now, nobody is telling you to AIM for 4 hours of work per day, but when you are estimating how much time it will take you to get a project done, be aware of that reality.

Why not 8 hours straight? The most science-y stat we found points to the human brain consuming more glucose (energy) to do it’s job than your other organs. It will use up your reserves in approximately 60-90 minutes. So if the work you’re doing depends on your brain, you have to give it breaks, healthy snacks, and time to recharge every hour to hour and a half if you want it to continue performing at its peak.


 
4. You are only human: Know Your Limits. 

Temporal Limits:

There are 16 or fewer waking hours in any to complete all your tasks at work and at home so put limits on what you imagine you can accomplish...


 Physical Limits:

The human brain consuming more glucose (energy) to do it’s job than your other organs. It will use up your reserves in approximately 60-90 minutes. So if the work you’re doing depends on your brain, you have to give it breaks, healthy snacks, and time to recharge every hour to hour and a half if you want it to continue performing at its peak.

Financial Limits:

Be careful to avoid the stress of burgeoning debts.  Money worries paralyze creative thinking...



5. “Done is better than perfect.” 

If you’re looking for a motto role model for your small business, your could do a lot worse than Facebook. As is implied in their unofficial company motto,

...if you always expect your first crack at something to be absolutely perfect, you’ll never get off the ground.

Take Facebook as an example: The number of iterations of the product we’ve seen are innumerable, but that’s what makes it continue to succeed.

They came up with the best they could do at the time, launched it, and made changes as they went based on the learnings they got along the way.

Start with the best work you can do at the time, and know that you will make changes and improvements as you go forward.

The important thing is that you get moving in the first place.



"A  journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."

Lao-tzu (604 BC – 531 BC)
 






Source:
http://www.webs.com/blog/2013/04/03/4-big-time-management-tips-for-small-business-owners/


Posted by Sarah in How To / Tips on April 3, 2013

Links

Pissed-off Maori: Imitation, inspiration or appropriation?

via NZEdge:

Imitation, inspiration or appropriation?
2006 has seen a rash of advertising and design taking inspiration - with varying degrees of offensiveness - from Maori art and culture. An Italian ad for the Fiat Idea showing a group of black garbed women performing a mock haka has gone to air despite warnings of cultural insensitivity from NZ diplomats. According to Brad Tattersfield of NZ's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, "we advised the advertising company that the use of Ka Mate in this way was culturally insensitive and inappropriate. MFAT advised the advertisers to either use a Maori group or a haka composed for women. However, the advertising company indicated they were proceeding despite this advice." In the US, an American developer's proposal to build a Maori-themed apartment complex in Texas has divided Maori opinion. While activist Ken Mair calls the plan "cultural theft and possibly theft of intellectual property" author Alan Duff thinks Maori have bigger problems to worry about: "Greece is not up in arms because Las Vegas did Ancient Greece themes in their casinos. Why are we so precious about things that don't count?" Finally, cult US fashion brand Paul Frank has released a T-shirt print titled 'Warrior Julius,' depicting its distinctive monkey mascot with a full facial moko.
(4 July 2006)

via The Art Newspaper:

New Zealand Maoris furious over plans for a themed apartment complex in Texas
By Jason Edward Kaufman | Posted 19 October 2006
NEW YORK. A proposed Maori-themed apartment complex outside Dallas recently served as a platform for the New Zealand natives to proclaim their pride. In June, after California-based Legacy Partners announced plans to build a residential complex featuring Maori themes and folk art in suburban Plano, the company received dozens of emails charging the company with "cultural theft." Complaints centered on the name of the complex, "Kiora Park," taken from the Maori expression of welcome. The problem was that the phrase is properly transliterated as "Kia Ora." "How many more mistakes will there be?" Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia asked. "We're all very proud of the culture and more than willing to share it with people who come here, but to have it transplanted into Dallas, that sounds a bit incredible," she said.
No harm was meant, explains Richard Brownjohn, a vice president in Legacy's Dallas office. "Our marketing people thought it had an unusual ring but was something people would easily pronounce. It was spelled as one word at first because Americans might butcher the spelling and we wanted it pronounced right. We didn’t think it would get Maoris upset," he says. The name was quickly changed to "Kia Ora Park".

Mr Brownjohn—a New Zealander who is not Maori—is overseeing the $30m, 15-acre, 250-apartment complex which broke ground in June and will open by next summer. The apartment buildings have Maori-inspired steeply pitched roofs with finials, and landscaping includes ferns, a significant motif in Maori culture that appears on Kia Ora promotional literature and the web site. "The theme came from us looking for something new and different," he explains, noting that Tuscan and Spanish-colonial themes are more common in Texas. "My being from New Zealand was the impetus that got us going in that direction," he says, noting that the complex is more broadly New Zealander than merely Maori with some buildings imitative of Victorian colonial architecture.
"We are not trying to create a theme park, but trying to create name recognition," he says, "and we are trying to be sensitive." But Maori activist Ken Mair has called the plan "cultural theft and possibly theft of intellectual property" and suggested that Legacy consult with Maori advisors. Mr Brownjohn says the company has no intention to do so, but he did contact the New Zealand consulate in Washington which put him in touch with Maori Aotearoa (Maori Arts New Zealand) Red Feather Gallery in Auckland which is described as the only Maori-owned art gallery in New Zealand.
"The plan is to incorporate art and sculptural pieces—maybe three or four pieces total—that will be by Maori artisans or represent Maori works, with label information about the artists and their significance for Maori culture. That's the most authentic way I can think of doing this," says Mr Brownjohn.

Continue reading "Pissed-off Maori: Imitation, inspiration or appropriation?" »

 

Posted by NEWSgrist on October 19, 2006 at 03:00 PM in Architecture, Contemporary, Current Affairs, Intellectual Property, Joy Garnett, Local / Vernacular, Opinion, Pacific | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Link:
http://newsgrist.typepad.com/robertgoldwaterlibrary/intellectual_property/

 

 

 

 

 

Museum Links

• Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
• Featured Exhibitions in AAOA
• MMA Timeline of Art History
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• WATSONLINE
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 Source:  http://newsgrist.typepad.com/robertgoldwaterlibrary/intellectual_property/

 

 

 

 

Metropolitan Museum of Art Series - American Indian Art

 

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003 | Series: Metropolitan Museum of Art Series


Ralph Coe has collected American Indian art for half a century, forming a renowned collection that represents all regions and periods of American Indian art. This catalogue presents 200 works from Coe's remarkable collection. Featured are exquisite examples of prehistoric stone objects, button blankets, crest objects, masks, canoe and tipi models, dolls and figurines, woven basketry, tobacco paraphernalia, and a selection of contemporary works, all of which bring to life the vivid cultures of the American Indian throughout the centuries. In the accompanying text, Coe describes his extensive travels in the United States and Canada as he searched for objects for his collection. The catalogue also includes an essay by Eugene Thaw about Coe's contribution to the awareness of the artistic heritage of American Indian art; an overview of the collecting of American Indian art by Jonathan King; and a discussion of aesthetic theory in relation to this art form by Judith Ostrowitz.

From the Publisher

This book is the catalogue for an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of art (September 9 to December 14, 2003).

About the Author

Ralph T. Coe is former director of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Eugene V. Thaw is a well-known collector; Jonathan King is a curator at the British Museum; and Judith Ostrowitz is an independent scholar.

Native Art

North Korea Hacked

Everyone seems to be getting hacked these days. And now, so has N. Korea.

Here's a picture uploaded by hactivist group Anonymous that has apparently hacked at least two of North Korea's government-run online sites yesterday. It was posted directly on N. Korea's Flickr site. Underneath, the text reads: "Threatening world peace with ICBMs and Nuclear weapons/Wasting money while his people starve to death."

Spread the word. Spread the picture.