nudity and the purist religion

it is a widespread misconception that religions don't allow nudity. There are many examples of religious art where the naked human body is not only absolutely normal, but necessary for the expression of the religious feeling or thought.

Let me give you some examples.

When travelling in Bali, the Island of the Gods, you'll find many statues of this highly acclaimed god, who is not only totally nude, but who's extremities indicate an enhanced power. Here's a picture I took in an art gallery in Kuala Lumpur (indeed, a majority muslim country):

There's even a huge statue of this god in (if I'm not mistaken) Denpasar, in the middle of a busy crossroad. Lovely.

One might think that this is only possible in Bali, a very relaxed island. One would be mistaken: the religious expression of nudity is to be found everywhere, although not always in the most obvious places. In an Indian temple for example, male nudity was colorfully depicted:

Which brings me to Europe. Yesterday I was browsing through some art sites, and  they brought me back in time to the renaissance period in Europe. I rediscovered some forgotten masterpieces in religious art, depicting the male body in detail. See some examples for yourself: painted by Luca Signorelli:

Many other examples come in mind: the recent naked Christ in the Barcelona cathedral (Gaudi), the art of another famous renaissance artist: Michelangelo, and so on.

Do you know other forms of male nude religious art? Share them please, no matter what religion and no matter what time period. I'm looking forward to seeing more :-)
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the effect of rice

she worked the whole of her life in the paddy fields. Her body adapted to the form of the rice, bending in the wind. She became one with the field. When will she be harvested?

the good life

a hut above the sea - a net to sleep and rest in - how good life can be?

mysterious

when visiting a country, it remains mysterious to me :-)

the deadly lotus on Valentine!

on this Valentine day, I offer you a flower ... a deadly lotus: the insects that visited it, are trapped in the middle! Don't let Valentine trap you :-)

river fun in Ha Noi, Vietnam (2002)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbNsIfaZ5iI&feature=context&context=G2a1bab5FAAAAAPAAOAA

David Ben-Gurion

After the establishment of Israel, David Ben-Gurion was pessimistic about the possibility of peace.
"Why should the Arabs make peace?" he said.
"If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We came from Israel, it's true, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country."

Roger Cohen, "How Bad Are Things, Really?", International Herald Tribune Magazine, December 2, 2011, p. 18.

15% of the USAmericans don't pay taxes, because ...

... they live below the poverty line. They don't have money to make ends meet, let alone to be able to pay taxes. No money. Deadly poor. Not enough food. No good house. Dispair and disaster.

info according to http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/america-middle-class-shrinks-p-g-adopts-hourglass-145429009.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/us/14census.html?_r=1

It's high time that the worldwide media start to show the reality of the impoverished US of A ...

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fashion !

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every sex months", said Oscar Wilde (according to Homme+, winter/spring 2009, p. 54 :-)
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US dollar versus the Euro

Adam Lerrick, professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University, has led Argentina's $100 billion debt restructuring. He's an expert on the matter.

He, says it's only a matter of time before the world shifts away from the U.S. dollar.

"The world is trying to find an alternative to the dollar. The only alternative right now would be the euro, and as we've seen, the Europeans have their own fiscal crisis," he tells The Daily Ticker's Henry Blodget in the accompanying clip. "The day that stops, then we have a full-blown crisis, because we will literally not be able to pay our bills."

So the fate of the US dollar is in the hands now of Europe. As soon as Europe manages it's way out of the fiscal crisis, the dollar will be hit. There's no doubt that Europe is aiming to get out of the fiscal crisis. Question is how long it will take Europe to achieve it's goal. Anyway, in my opinion, the dollar is doomed. It's only a matter of time.
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am I afraid of work?

not at all, I can sit down beside it all day without fear at all.

:-)
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the big eat the small

Reading the FT on Monday July 25th, 2011:

"some experts accuse European governments of talking tough on credit ratings but actually trying to minimise the pain of their big debt burdens by transferring some of it to savers. Government bonds yields in the UK are already negative when adjusted for inflation, and those of the US and Germany are barely positive.
It is absolutely disgraceful. It is a way of impoverishing insurance companies and pension funds, says Geoffrey Wood of London's Cass Business School bluntly. It is premeditated theft by governments from their citizens. "

Well, I have no sympathy for the big money institutions, because they now receive the same treatment as what they were given their savers: over here, the banks are giving an intrest rate on deposits that is lower then the inflation too. Which means that the savers are loosing money yearly, by giving their money to the banks. We, the savers, were already punished by the financial crash of 2008, and year after year we get punished again, while the bank bonusses for the bank staff start swinging again. Disgraceful is the word.

Invasians in Prague

Prague, July 2011. Never seen so many Asian tourists outside of Asia as here in Prague. They even come here to marry (obviously those who can afford the trip + 2 photographers + make-up stylist for the pictures). Some come just as a couple, others come in group (yes yes, you do understand me correctly: a whole flock of brides, in full white outfit, jumping on the Prague marketsquare while being photographed. What was Bob Dylan singing again, in former millenium .... ah, right, "the times they are a-chaaaaaaangggggiiiiiiiing". So true.

The Perfect Moment

Hanoi, the noisy city. Traffic everywhere, loud and clear, deafening my ears.

We hide in a small sidestreet, one of the many.

We spot an old chinese temple, one of the many. Hundreds of years old, no doubt, one of the lucky that escaped destruction by the French.

Inside the temple, peace and quiet. Some dogs look at us with suspicious eyes, but the owner tells them that it's ok for us to enter, and they obey the voice of the master.

In the temple: nobody but a beautiful boy. He makes tea for us, while we stroll around and make pictures.

Then he offers us tea. No words. Only smiles and tea.

He's today's angel, showing us a piece of heaven. The perfect moment.
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closed door (except one)

strolling in the old town of HaNoi, discovering one of the many old temples and pagoda's. Looking behind the bars at the closed doors. No wait, one door is open. Guys are playing cards.

This ordinary picture depicts pretty much my idea of the country. We, the tourists, see things not as they are, we see them behind the bars of tourism. Even behind those bars, most of the doors are closed. If we see one door open, we see only a glimpse.

When talking to a guy in a park, he told me: nothing in this country is what you see. Nothing in this country is what you hear. Everything is different from what you see and hear.

I need to go to a gay bar or sauna, to meet real life, the life of the underbelly, the life of the uninhibited desire and lust, where guys can be themselves, and feel no restraints. Meanwhile, I enjoy my stroll in the virtual reality of daily life :-) .

Diamonds on the soles of your shoes

Today's surprise never-seen-before: 3 boys, working on old shoes. One boy removes the soles from the old shoes, another one keeps only those parts that are still useable and adds a new sole to the shoes. The third one, using those parts, makes "new" shoes from it. Incredible. And their workshop is the street. Not exactly a job that produces diamonds, but for them those old shoes are their living. And the speed in which they transform the old shoes into new footwear is astonishing. What would Jimmy Choo think of it? .

The Young Photographer

While we are in the BACC, there was a young boy who was fascinated by my camera. He probably never used a DSLR camera before, so I handed the camera over to him and invited him to start shooting. This is one of the pictures he made. Isn't it great?

Life is like that: see the window of opportunities and use every little opening. You have no idea what wonderful things happen if you do!
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BACC

Every time we visit BKK, we love to pop in at the BACC (Bangkok Arts and Culture Center), there's always something interesting going on.

In this visit, we met KAN, a beginning artist, very verbal and good in English, with lots of international contacts. His style is evolving but already very interesting. First he worked on the streets, since nowhere else to start. Now he's already working in the BACC. All on his own force.

He works thematic, which makes him commercially interesting, apart of the artistic aspect.

We talked about forming a partnership, where I would publish some of his work into a book with his resume. Sounds a great idea for him. He'll let me know if we can proceed this way.

Will this story have a further chapter? Come and see next week!

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possession

when taking pictures, I don't possess the persons I photograph. Normally, I ask their permission, even if it's only with a small gesture, I can feel if they agree that I picture them.

What surprises me is that guys often hang to each other when I want to take a photo of them; sometimes just casual, like the petrol boys, sometimes in a possessive way, like the clown and his boyfriend: the boyfriend clearly indicates that I can take the picture, but I cannot take the clown: the clown is his property :-)

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flower food

Bangkok has an open-air-food-fair, and the most remarquable offer there is this "royal food": flowers.

Look at the plate: I don't recognise any flower on it at all! The cook will fry the flowers for you and then you can enjoy their crispyness and flavour.

No wonder one will stay slim with such a delicious food :-)

Beware though ... some of the flowers are "midly laxative" !!!! Which will contribute on staying slim, of course!

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