Humanism ~ A joyous alternative to religions that believe in a supernatural god and life in a hereafter. Humanists believe that this is the only life of which we have certain knowledge and that we owe it to ourselves and others to make it the best life possible for ourselves and all with whom we share this fragile planet. A belief that when people are free to think for themselves, using reason and knowledge as their tools, they are best able to solve this world's problems. An appreciation of the art, literature, music and crafts that are our heritage from the past and of the creativity that, if nourished, can continuously enrich our lives. Humanism is, in sum, a philosophy of those in love with life. Humanists take responsibility for their own lives and relish the adventure of being part of new discoveries, seeking new knowledge, exploring new options. Instead of finding solace in prefabricated answers to the great questions of life, humanists enjoy the open-endedness of a quest and the freedom of discovery that this entails. • The Humanist Society of Western New York
Swiftsure Race, Victoria, May 24, 2008
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Bohemianism is a way of life, a state of mind, an atmosphere. It's about living richly and irreverently, beyond convention. It's about being uninhibited, unbuttoned, creative and free. ~ Bohemian Manifesto,Laren Stover
Shakira
"I'm interested in everything. They just don't get it. There's so much to learn, to discover, so many places to travel and books to read. I can't imagine ever finding myself in a position with nothing to do."
What is involved in the idea of wanting to learn, which is one of the most important features of modern education? Seen in existential terms, before you can want to learn you must realize that something is missing from your life. There is something else which is still needed. You must see your life in terms of a lack before you want to learn: a lack of knowledge, or of understanding, or of capability. No one who sees their life as already complete will want to add anything to it. All that other knowledge, each new idea, will appear only as a threatening presence. ~ George Myerson
Things "are" because we see them and what we see and how we see them depends on the arts that have influenced us.~Oscar Wilde
GREAT ART IS CREATED BY THE FEW FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE FEW ~ Schiller
Dante Gabriel Rossetti~Venus Verticordia~Venus, Turner of Hearts
Alphonse Mucha, Reverie
Gustav Klimt, Dame Avec Chapeau et Boa de Plumes
Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Emilie Floge
Claude Monet, La Promenade
James Tissot, The Bunch of Lilacs
Vincent Van Gogh, Wheatfield Under Clouded Sky
Paul Gauguin, Two Tahitian Women
Henri Matisse, Le Bonheur de Vivre
Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, detail
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Nude in the Sun
Rene Magritte, La Magie Noire
Pablo Picasso, Woman with a Fan
Georgia O'Keeffe, Red Canna
Edward Weston, Nude 1925
Agnes Dodart, The Forgotten Nymph
The O lounge!
Beauty, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, March 2008, video by Cathy
Beauty Lyrics ..
Run Run Run, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, March 2008, video by Arlene
Karma King, Belleville, March 2008, video by Arlene
Wrong, Belleville, March 2008, video by Arlene
"The wondering sojourner reaps a singular reward given only to those who keep their curiosity alive: pure, raw, unfiltered experience. One moment the raw experience maybe be blissful, the next moment unbearably painful or unfathomably confusing, but it is always genuine and direct and all yours." ~ Gay Hendricks
“You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book.....or you take a trip, or you talk.... and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom(when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this(or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death." ~ Anais Nin
Most photos below by me.Myspace Backgrounds