DAILY PHOTO: Creepy Fern-Fringed Gnome

Taken in May of 2016 in Lusaka, Zambia

Taken in May of 2016 in Lusaka, Zambia

DAILY PHOTO: Boats Parked in the Mekong Delta

Taken in December of 2015 in the Mekong Delta

Taken in December of 2015 in the Mekong Delta

IMG_0588 IMG_0563

DAILY PHOTO: The Sign That Tells You That You Just Walked Down the Wrong Alley

Taken on September 20, 2015 in Bangkok's Chinatown

Taken on September 20, 2015 in Bangkok’s Chinatown

 

I wonder if scale of the diagram is indicative of the degree to which each is a problem, or what?

DAILY PHOTO: Tree in the Setting Sun

Taken May 23, 2015 in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Taken May 23, 2015 in Kandy, Sri Lanka

That’s 1,000 Posts, and I’m Out of Here

This is my 1,000th post on this site, and I’ve finished it just in time to get on a plane and leave the country, rounding out my blogging year with a nice round number. It’s been fun, and I’ll be back in early January to crank it back up.

Here’s a photo of where I’ll be.

Skating_rink

DAILY PHOTO: Precarious Rock

Taken November 3, 2012

Taken November 3, 2012

Part of what makes Hampi so surreal is all of the precariously balanced boulders. This shot is oriented straight up and down, i.e. the camera is not tilted, and so one wonder’s “How is that rock not falling?”

DAILY PHOTO: Narayana Gurukula Bangalore

Taken on October 25, 2013.

Taken on October 25, 2013.

Well I’m back from my 10-day Thai Yoga Bodywork course, and will resume a normal posting schedule.

While I was gone I visited a couple  interesting places. One of which was the Narayana Gurukula Bangalore location. This small and simple ashram is watched over by a sweet lady known to visitors as “Ma”… and some really menacing looking dogs. Above is the interior of what might be called the main hall. There are some interesting stone carvings and artworks across the property as well as a little stone temple and a lilliputian book house.

I wasn’t familiar with Narayana Guru before my visit. There have been so many gurus in India, and it’s hard to know of them all. However, this particular guru and his disciples (one of whom, Nataraja Guru, started the Gurukulam) held forward-thinking views on society and spirituality. A Hindu, Narayana guru advocated unity between traditions and a focus on introspection as the route to betterment.

POEM: Twisted Time

Six months a year
the river flows
away from the sea.
Entropy’s fall?

No.

The fits and starts
of progress are
not rooted in
twisted time.

Here,
blacksmiths exist.
The hammer bounces
on the anvil

Tap-Tap-CLANG
Tap-Tap-CLANG

Ordered repetition,
until the steel begins
to bend and twist
and flex and tear.
It tears like taffy,
taffy glowing orange.

Tap-Tap-CLANG
Tap-Tap-CLANG

What is time for
that glowing rod?
The fire makes
its molecules
race and feud.

The hammer spreads
time into an eternity

of

Tap-Tap-CLANG
Tap-Tap-CLANG

Taken in Hungary in 2008

Taken in Hungary in 2008

TODAY’S PHOTO: Vajdahunyad Castle Entrance in Budapest

You just don't see enough moats these days.

You just don’t see enough moats these days.

TODAY’S PHOTO: Fine Dining in Tipton, Indiana

Truth in advertising is such a rare event.

Truth in advertising is so refreshing.