The Magic of the Cities.

Zen promotes the rediscovery of the obvious, which is so often lost in its familiarity and simplicity. It sees the miraculous in the common and magic in our everyday surroundings. When we are not rushed, and our minds are unclouded by conceptualizations, a veil will sometimes drop, introducing the viewer to a world unseen since childhood. ~ John Greer

Friday, April 29, 2011

After The Storm


Happy Weekend! 


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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Tempus fugit




 
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Nutty


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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Timing




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Monday, April 25, 2011

Jacaranda Dance


In the Art of Dreaming Don Juan tells Carlos, "… most of our energy goes into upholding our importance… if we were capable of losing some of that importance, two extraordinary things would happen to us.  One, we would free our energy from trying to maintain the illusory idea of our grandeur; and two we would provide ourselves with enough energy to ... catch a glimpse of the actual grandeur of the universe."

The spirit listens only when the speaker speaks in gestures.  And gestures do not mean signs or body movements, but acts of true abandon, acts of largesse, of humor.  As a gesture to the spirit, warriors bring out the best of themselves and silently offer it to the abstract.

For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart.There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge for me is to traverse its full length.And there I travel—looking, looking, breathlessly.

The third point of reference is freedom of perception; it is intent; it is spirit; the somersault of thought into the miraculous; the act of reaching beyond our boundaries and touching the inconceivable.

The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.

"I am already given to the power that rules my fate. And I cling to nothing, so I will have nothing to defend. I have no thoughts, so I will see. I fear nothing, so I will remember myself." - Don Juan
(from Carlos Castaneda readings)


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Saturday, April 23, 2011

100




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Friday, April 22, 2011

Flowered Road


Detail

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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Parallel Roads

s


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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Steel Flowers


If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.
~Buddha

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one,
and a lily with the other.
Chinese proverb.

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Monday, April 18, 2011

Authority



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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Hail Storm in Mexico City





Video by Micr0Inova


La Secretaría de Protección Civil informó que el punto más crítico en el DF al filo de las 22:00 horas es el cruce de Viaducto Río de la Piedad y Eje 3 Oriente Francisco del Paso y Troncoso, en donde la inundación alcanzó cuatro metros de altura.
Personal de la dependencia trabaja en el lugar, lo mismo en labores de rescate y para revisar que no existan fisuras en el ducto de las aguas negras del Río de la Piedad. 
En la esquina del Viaducto Miguel Alemán con Vértiz, el drenaje se desbordó y provocó inundaciones en la mayoría de los pasos a desnivel de esta vialidad donde decenas de vehículos quedaron varados.
Debido a la fuerte lluvia que se presentó esta tarde-noche en la ciudad de México, que alcanzó un nivel pluviométrico de 69 milímetros en el centro de la ciudad, según la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente, las aguas residuales que corren por el ducto central del Viaducto sobrepasaron el entubamiento.
En el lugar, patrullas de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública realiza labores de rescate de los automóviles afectados.
Se presume que por la fuerza de las aguas del drenaje se hayan ocasionado grietas en el ducto.
El gobierno de la ciudad no ha informado de esta situación.
Marcelo Ebrard, jefe de gobierno del DF, solicitó a través de Twitter reportes de los ciudadanos para enviar ayuda.
Hasta el momento no hay reporte oficial de la Secretaría de Protección Civil ni de la Unidad Tormenta.
Por otro lado, ciudadanos reportaron al menos 20 encharcamientos en cuatro delegaciones.
También,  la zona de restaurantes de las colonias Roma y Condesa, se convirtió en un punto crítico pues se presentaron encharcamientos de hasta 30 centímetros, que inundaron la mayoría de los locales comerciales.  (El Universal)


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Friday, April 15, 2011

Buoyant




There Is Another World And It Is In This One.
~Paul Éluard

Happy Weekend!


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Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Family


Nobody, I think, ought to read poetry, or look at pictures or statues, who cannot find a great deal more in them than the poet or artist has actually expressed. 
Their highest merit is suggestiveness.
~Nathaniel Hawthorne


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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

NYC Windows


Empire State Building

General Motors Building. Fifth Ave

Guggenheim Museum

Park Ave




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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Battery Park II

From Battery Park

Ferry Deck
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.

Goldman Sachs Tower. Jersey City
The tower was designed by Cesar Pelli, who also designed the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, One Canada Square in London and the Key Tower in Cleveland. The World Financial Center located just across the Hudson river was also designed by him. 

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Monday, April 11, 2011

Central Park

The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir



Central Park. New York

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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Echoes of New York










Happy Weekend!

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Friday, April 8, 2011

Ride

Chelsea Piers. NYC
This week's challenge:

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Thursday, April 7, 2011

Tree


Detail

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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Papantla Flyers



Sorry for this first attempt of video.

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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The Birdmen of Mexico II






You can see flying scenes in :

Papantla Flyers
and
Swing of Delight
and 
Swing of Delight II
and
Swing of Delight III


The Birdmans of Mexico
The Voladores of Papantla

 Ask anyone who's been to Papantla what most impressed them, and they'll probably say, "The Voladores." Many people who've never been to the Gulf Coast -- or even to Mexico - will light up in recognition at the mention of the Voladores. They perform regularly throughout Mexico, Central and South America. They've performed in several cities in the United States, and even in Paris and Madrid. So, who are the Voladores, and why are they famous?

Volador means flyer - he who flies. It is breathtaking to watch the spectacle of four men gracefully "flying" upside down from a 75 foot  pole secured only by a rope tied around their waists.

Even more amazing is the musician, called the caporal. Balanced on a narrow wooden platform without a rope or safety net, the caporal plays a drum and flute and invokes an ancient spiritual offering in the form of a spectacular dance.

 As he turns to face the four cardinal directions, he will bend his head back to his feet, balance on one foot then lean precariously forward, and perform intricate footwork, all the time playing the flute and drum! No matter how many times you see this beautiful performance, it will continue to astonish you, and the plaintive tune of the flute and drum will remain with you long after you have returned home.

The early history of the ceremonial flight of the Voladores is shrouded in the mists of antiquity. Information about the original ritual was partially lost when the invading conquerors from Spain destroyed so many of the documents and codices of the indigenous cultures. Fortunately, enough survived through legend and oral history and in materials written by early visitors to New Spain, that anthropologists and historians have been able to document at least part of the story of this ancient religious practice and how it has evolved through time.

A Totonaca myth tells of a time when there was a great drought, and food and water grew scarce throughout the land. Five young men decided that they must send a message to Xipe Totec, God of fertility so that the rains would return and nurture the soil, and their crops would again flourish. So they went into the forest and searched for the tallest, straightest tree they could find.
When they came upon the perfect tree, they stayed with it overnight, fasting and praying for the tree's spirit to help them in their quest. The next day they blessed the tree, then felled it and carried it back to their village, never allowing it to touch the ground. Only when they decided upon the perfect location for their ritual, did they set the tree down.
The men stripped the tree of its leaves and branches, dug a hole to stand it upright, then blessed the site with ritual offerings. The men adorned their bodies with feathers so that they would appear like birds to Xipe Totec, in hope of attracting the god's attention to their important request. With vines wrapped around their waists, they secured themselves to the pole and made their plea through their flight and the haunting sound of the flute and drum. 

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