Just got back from Melbourne on Wednesday..Had a bone marrow biopsy and don't have to go back to until October now...They are very pleased with how things are going, as I am...How is Mrs Mac going??
A thousand years ago Jewish traders travelled along the Silk Road from the Middle East and ended up in the then capital of China - Kaifeng, in Henan Province, where their presence pleased the Emperor and he allowed them to settle there. My wife and I, and NT member USA1 and his Chinese wife, visited the area where they settled, where a museum is still maintained by the descendants of those ancient travellers - intermarried with locals, but still knowledgeable of the history of their ancestors.
This is not a display of artistic photographs, but merely a record of a visit to the museum that I share with you.
Street sign
.
My wife and me in front of the sign on the house of Zhao, which houses the museum.
.
Inside, Ester, a descendant of the original Kaifeng Jews and curator of the museum, displays a torah at the alter in the museum.
.
My wife stands beside a painting of the original Kaifeng synagogue.
.
We are standing in front of a sign that displays the most basic of Hebrew prayers. Translated it says: Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Bessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.
.
An ancient picture of a "mikvah" (ritual bath) being filled with water.
.
Our group, Ju-an and USA1, a young rabbi from Israel who counsels the Kaifeng Jews, my wife and me, and Ester The descendants of the Kaifeng Jews still meet and celebrate the Shabbat (sabbath) and holidays together. USA1 and I once joined them for a sabbath service and dinner.
Very nice photos, Buzz. They are very interesting and educational. Actually, I am very surprised that the Chinese government has allowed the Jewish people to maintain their museum and conduct their Shabbat and other religious ceremonies there. I am very glad to know that they are that lenient.
Thank you for sharing such an awesome story with you and your lovey Bride.
The concern of the CCP is religions that proselytize, and so become a competitive threat, like Christianity. Not only are there very few Jews in China (mostly foreigners and in big cities), and not only do Jews NEVER proselytize, but they make it damn hard to convert to Judaism. Grown males often find it can even be painful. Chinese Jews, such as the Kaifeng Jews, just don't make a big noise or show about their religion and practise it very quietly.
Historically, Shanghai was a refuge for Jews escaping from the Nazis as no visas were required, and even the Japanese, when they were in control there refused to follow Hitler's request that they kill the Jews because the Japanese could not understand why anyone should be killed because of their religion.
Excellent series of photos and interesting history.
In 2018 one of my cousin's wrote a novel entitled "Shanghai Torah: Yuanfen", which is about a Lithuanian Jewish refugee from the Nazis who escaped to Shanghai under Japanese occupation. It's a great read. My cousin has 2 time Emmy nomination in film editing and won the ACE Eddy award for best episodic editing. She is also a really wonderful person. You can check it out at shanghaitorah.com. I know that her book is available on Amazon.
Thank you, Mac. They represent the various Native American Spirit Guides and Birth Totems of different Tribes. The Spirit Guides can change throughout a person's life, but, their Birth Totem will never change.
I once asked before on another photo you had posted and got no reply, and I'll ask again (because I need your permission), would you like me to enlarge and repost your photo so it could be easier for all to see?
Really great editing, Hal. You can still see the primary image well, although it somewhat gives the impression that of being pieced together. Very interesting concept and well presented. Good work!
Appreciate that; these do not photograph well, particularly the ones in which I use metallic colors. But generally, second generation representations of many graphic artworks lose something in the reproduction process. IMO, the best "reproductions" are generated by the top print-on-demand (POD) houses, particularly if printing is done of high quality carriers, using the best pigments.
Great artwork, G. A very good representation of various color schemes that work well together. Your framing is excellent. It enhances the primary images, yet, does not compete with them.
Thanks for sending the rain to us here in SoCal, Kavika. Won't be a deluge, but, a good steady rain over night and into the morning. Won't cure the drought, but, will help the farmers in the area. And hopefully, wash my car. (grin)
Morning. That is the colour of the sky here this morning. Had buckets of rain through the night and now expecting winds up to 100 kph.. thunder is rumbling right at this moment. Time to batten down the hatches..
Great photo.. first thought was.. steaks on the hoof..
You have to be careful of these cows, they are Brahma and they can be really aggressive. The Brahma bulls are used in rodeo's and more than one rider has met his end trying to stay on one for 8 seconds.
Thank you G. I'm very glad you like it. Again...here I used the layering technique.
What would otherwise be a fairly blah image becomes something much more impressive. While layering can help produce a very different artwork, too much of it can make it much too busy. So it becomes a bit of trial and error project to find just the right combination.
Nah. I'm not very far from I-44 and lots of helicopters use it for visual navigation. They fly up and down it all the time. I don't see military choppers all that often, though.
Speaking of the flying squirrels... Last night after I posted I found a "red-eye removal" setting on my camera, so of course I had to go set everything back up and try it out.
Unfortunately, it doesn't remove the red-eye completely, but I did get some nice shots while I was out there. The feeder was busy last night.
(Note for everyone - I'm posting 10 more pics, so if they clutter the page up too much then hit the little minus sign below Kav's post after looking at them and they'll be hidden the next time you open the page.)
Ha. I noticed that too. For a little while I was worried that the feeder might be bad for them, but then I remembered that they disappear all winter long, so helping them fatten up a bit in preparation for it can't be all bad. I'm thinking about putting out special food in the evenings just for them, the nuts and dried berries kind. That might be healthier than just sunflower seeds, corn, and the occasional peanut.
Besides, even though they seem to fall out of the tree fairly often (lol), I haven't noticed any falling short of the tree when flying in (from being overweight).
Haha. No bears so far. There's supposed to be little black bears around the Ozarks, but I've never seen one myself. I think they're farther south, nearer the state line and into Arkansas.
We had a black bear walk down our driveway and then went under the deck. Our neighbor heard a noise one night and turned on the outside lights and one was in his hot tub...True story.
I was going to add something about that moon pic last night but forgot...
Does everyone know that from Shona's perspective (in Australia) it appears upside down compared to the way we in the Northern Hemisphere see it? Tycho crater is seen in the upper half instead of the lower.
Thank you very much, G. I like experimenting with combining different angles and patterns which are very opposites, and yet, they work well together. In this piece the relating aspects are the feather semblance in the framing and the eagle in the primary image. While they are not of a similar coloring, they still tie the two together, thus, creating coordinated look to the artwork.
You are not wrong who deem That my days have been a dream; Yet if hope has flown away In a night, or in a day, In a vision, or in none, Is it therefore the less gone? All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream.
(from A Dream Within a Dream - by Edgar Allan Poe)
I often indicate the effect an image has on me, what immediately goes through my mind, and your image caused the words "a dream within a dream" to emerge.
Thanks, Buzz. I'm glad that it has such a positive effect on you. The is no specific meaning to the artwork, simply a case where I wanted to let the viewers see what it means to them. Your view of it is much appreciated.
Good evening; no particular reason for the early start, just felt like it!
A/noon Mac..And why not..variety adds to the spice of life as they say...
Viva la spicy! And how are you, shona1?
All good thank you..
Just got back from Melbourne on Wednesday..Had a bone marrow biopsy and don't have to go back to until October now...They are very pleased with how things are going, as I am...How is Mrs Mac going??
Her blood work is excellent, but side effects of the chemo are uncomfortable.
Yes I can relate to that..Give her my best wishes and onwards and upwards..
shoan & Mac
hope for continued improvements
Thank you charger..All is going well...
does she need a care package from colorado? wink wink nudge nudge
That sounds like great news. All my best for the best of down under.
Thanks; not sure it would help.
A truly beautiful new artwork, Mac. You are becoming an exemplary painter, and your new painting technique is getting every day.
Thank you so very much for sharing it with us.
My extreme pleasure.
A very French intro - and a fabulous painting, full of imaginary images.
My niece wants me to get a tattoo with her. Was thinking about a flour de leis.
Got a henna one when in Mexico. Was thinking about a permanent one.
Here is a new one to share....
A great image - a look of deep determination. Dressed to kill (in the way of fashion, not war).
Very glad you like it, Buzz.
That is a very beautiful image, Raven Wing.
Thank you very much, G.
nice RW...
Thank you very much, dev.
Thank you Buzz. I'm very glad you like it.
A thousand years ago Jewish traders travelled along the Silk Road from the Middle East and ended up in the then capital of China - Kaifeng, in Henan Province, where their presence pleased the Emperor and he allowed them to settle there. My wife and I, and NT member USA1 and his Chinese wife, visited the area where they settled, where a museum is still maintained by the descendants of those ancient travellers - intermarried with locals, but still knowledgeable of the history of their ancestors.
This is not a display of artistic photographs, but merely a record of a visit to the museum that I share with you.
Street sign
.
My wife and me in front of the sign on the house of Zhao, which houses the museum.
.
Inside, Ester, a descendant of the original Kaifeng Jews and curator of the museum, displays a torah at the alter in the museum.
.
My wife stands beside a painting of the original Kaifeng synagogue.
.
We are standing in front of a sign that displays the most basic of Hebrew prayers. Translated it says: Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Bessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.
.
An ancient picture of a "mikvah" (ritual bath) being filled with water.
.
Our group, Ju-an and USA1, a young rabbi from Israel who counsels the Kaifeng Jews, my wife and me, and Ester The descendants of the Kaifeng Jews still meet and celebrate the Shabbat (sabbath) and holidays together. USA1 and I once joined them for a sabbath service and dinner.
Very nice photos, Buzz. They are very interesting and educational. Actually, I am very surprised that the Chinese government has allowed the Jewish people to maintain their museum and conduct their Shabbat and other religious ceremonies there. I am very glad to know that they are that lenient.
Thank you for sharing such an awesome story with you and your lovey Bride.
The concern of the CCP is religions that proselytize, and so become a competitive threat, like Christianity. Not only are there very few Jews in China (mostly foreigners and in big cities), and not only do Jews NEVER proselytize, but they make it damn hard to convert to Judaism. Grown males often find it can even be painful. Chinese Jews, such as the Kaifeng Jews, just don't make a big noise or show about their religion and practise it very quietly.
Historically, Shanghai was a refuge for Jews escaping from the Nazis as no visas were required, and even the Japanese, when they were in control there refused to follow Hitler's request that they kill the Jews because the Japanese could not understand why anyone should be killed because of their religion.
Thank you very much for this most interesting information. I for one was not aware of it, and I can now better understand the reasoning behind it.
A/noon Buzz..Yes very interesting thank you for that...Had no idea about the Jewish traders being in China etc....
Exceptional post in every way; I had no idea about this and assume the same for most others.
Excellent series of photos and interesting history.
In 2018 one of my cousin's wrote a novel entitled "Shanghai Torah: Yuanfen", which is about a Lithuanian Jewish refugee from the Nazis who escaped to Shanghai under Japanese occupation. It's a great read. My cousin has 2 time Emmy nomination in film editing and won the ACE Eddy award for best episodic editing. She is also a really wonderful person. You can check it out at shanghaitorah.com. I know that her book is available on Amazon.
"2 Emmy nominations"
I needed to do some editing!
Great photos, Buzz.
Cool photos, Buzz.
Looking forward to Friday, and this old one is for the birds.......
An image of the birds created by you for the people shall not perish from this group.
Thank you very, Buzz. I truly appreciate your kind words. (smile)
Magnificent flight of ideas combined into a masterpiece.
Thank you, Mac. They represent the various Native American Spirit Guides and Birth Totems of different Tribes. The Spirit Guides can change throughout a person's life, but, their Birth Totem will never change.
Fantastic image, Raven Wing.
Thanks G.
Excellent, RW.
Glad that you like it, Kavika.
That looks like a lot of layers. Great job.
Thank you, Dig. I'm very glad you like it.
And a new artwork for Friday.......
In stained glass, this would be incredible!
Thanks Mac. I had not thought of a stained glass effect. Thanks for the idea.
It has the appearance of a magnificent medallion - would be considered jewelry.
Thank you, Buzz.
That is truly amazing!
Thank you very much, G.
Another beauty, RW.
Thanks Kavika. I'm very glad you like it.
That's beautiful. I love the symmetry.
Thank you so much, Dig.
I wish I had your talent for painting. I do not have artwork to post so I shall leave you with this:
This the lake my sister and I stayed at last weekend for our first trip of the summer. It is Canandaigua Lake. It is one of the Finger Lakes in NYS.
I once asked before on another photo you had posted and got no reply, and I'll ask again (because I need your permission), would you like me to enlarge and repost your photo so it could be easier for all to see?
Yes, you can enlarge it. I am currently working on the new movie quiz....
It's a very good lake scene.
It was a very nice day. It was peaceful.
A bee on thistle flower
Great catch.
Cool photo, EG
A bee on a lavender flower
© G. Gam 2021
That's a great close-up, G. A busy bees' work is never done. And good contrast of colors. Nicely done!
That's a beauty, EG. That bee looks like it is really working hard with all those thistles. A great shot!
Didn’t have anything prepared today so I just snapped this of a friends dog that we are dog sitting for and edited it.
That looks great, Hal.
I love it, Hal.
Really great editing, Hal. You can still see the primary image well, although it somewhat gives the impression that of being pieced together. Very interesting concept and well presented. Good work!
Terrific editing job - makes a memorable picture that I'm sure your friend will appreciate if you were to print it for them.
Thanks Buzz - she’s a cute little Morkie (Maltese and Yorkie) with a lot of energy. My cats have been busy whooping her little ass.
Yeah, she does look a bit apprehensive.
© A.Mac/A.G.
That is super nice.
Appreciate that; these do not photograph well, particularly the ones in which I use metallic colors. But generally, second generation representations of many graphic artworks lose something in the reproduction process. IMO, the best "reproductions" are generated by the top print-on-demand (POD) houses, particularly if printing is done of high quality carriers, using the best pigments.
I'm considering having some of my pieces printed to see how they look reproduced and larger size.
Check with whoever is doing the printing to make sure resolution, color space, etc. are consistent with printing house specs.
I will do that. Thanks for the advice.
A very nice painting, Mac. It's strong and powerful, with lots of well coordinated colors. Well done!
Another venture into Pop Art
© G. Gam 2021
More "representational" than Kandinsky, but reminiscent nevertheless. Fine work.
Thank you!
Great artwork, G. A very good representation of various color schemes that work well together. Your framing is excellent. It enhances the primary images, yet, does not compete with them.
Well done!
Thank you, Raven Wing. I'm really having fun with it.
Should we start to call you "G "Warhol" G"?
If I get to have his net worth to go with it... $$$!!!
After the rain, the gang is out for a stroll.
Now we have to wait Till the Cows Come Home.
This is from 1933. It is unbelievable. Amazing blues. If you are offended by X-rated lyrics DO NOT LISTEN TO IT!
!
Don't say I didn't warn you!
Now that's the real Lucille.
They seem to be enjoying the rain-fresh grass. From the looks of the clouds it could rain any minute.
btw....could you send dome of that rain to So Cal? I will be glad to pay the shipping. (grin)
It rained more this afternoon, RW. I'd be happy to send you some rain. Send be a bucket.
Thanks for sending the rain to us here in SoCal, Kavika. Won't be a deluge, but, a good steady rain over night and into the morning. Won't cure the drought, but, will help the farmers in the area. And hopefully, wash my car. (grin)
Morning. That is the colour of the sky here this morning. Had buckets of rain through the night and now expecting winds up to 100 kph.. thunder is rumbling right at this moment. Time to batten down the hatches..
Great photo.. first thought was.. steaks on the hoof..
You have to be careful of these cows, they are Brahma and they can be really aggressive. The Brahma bulls are used in rodeo's and more than one rider has met his end trying to stay on one for 8 seconds.
Morning Kavika...yes we have them here too. Mainly found up in the NT and a few have met their end as a croc snack take away.
Okay as long as they don't stroll off the range like the Elephants in China.
Morning Buzz. Speaking of which what happened to them? All went quiet here and never found out.. hope they did not have to shoot them.
Last I heard they were heading back to their home - not really news any more.
We're off to a great beginning; thanks to all and Saturday will bring more.
Meanwhile …
The Grackle has landed … almost.
© A. Mac/A.G.
A great shot of a beautiful bird.
WOW!!!
That was my thought. Amazing!
Amazing photo.
And one to lead us into Saturday....
Striking!!!
Thanks Buzz.
That is an incredible image, Raven Wing.
Thank you G. I'm very glad you like it. Again...here I used the layering technique.
What would otherwise be a fairly blah image becomes something much more impressive. While layering can help produce a very different artwork, too much of it can make it much too busy. So it becomes a bit of trial and error project to find just the right combination.
A flying squirrel feeder face-off.
Feeding time for wren chicks.
A Black Hawk flying over again.
Tonight's full moon.
So not all hawks have feathers where you live, eh?
Are they checking the garden? Haha
Nah. I'm not very far from I-44 and lots of helicopters use it for visual navigation. They fly up and down it all the time. I don't see military choppers all that often, though.
The flying squirrel face off kinda looks like a semi-butt-off to me.
LOL.
Speaking of the flying squirrels... Last night after I posted I found a "red-eye removal" setting on my camera, so of course I had to go set everything back up and try it out.
Unfortunately, it doesn't remove the red-eye completely, but I did get some nice shots while I was out there. The feeder was busy last night.
(Note for everyone - I'm posting 10 more pics, so if they clutter the page up too much then hit the little minus sign below Kav's post after looking at them and they'll be hidden the next time you open the page.)
Great shots, Dig. Looks like everyone's up for 'Dig's mid-night diner'. (grin)
I had never seen flying squirrels before and have learned a lot about them from your photos here and previously.
I've been trying to figure out a way to shoot some video of them flying in and landing on the tree, but no luck so far.
Great photos, Dig. They sure haven't missed any meals from the looks of them.
Ha. I noticed that too. For a little while I was worried that the feeder might be bad for them, but then I remembered that they disappear all winter long, so helping them fatten up a bit in preparation for it can't be all bad. I'm thinking about putting out special food in the evenings just for them, the nuts and dried berries kind. That might be healthier than just sunflower seeds, corn, and the occasional peanut.
Besides, even though they seem to fall out of the tree fairly often (lol), I haven't noticed any falling short of the tree when flying in (from being overweight).
It's party time at Digs, flying squirrels, groundhogs, skunks, armadillos, deer, bears, coyotes and rabbits invited.
Haha. No bears so far. There's supposed to be little black bears around the Ozarks, but I've never seen one myself. I think they're farther south, nearer the state line and into Arkansas.
We had a black bear walk down our driveway and then went under the deck. Our neighbor heard a noise one night and turned on the outside lights and one was in his hot tub...True story.
I believe you. I've seen video of them from down there on the news.
I dig your comment.
I was going to add something about that moon pic last night but forgot...
Does everyone know that from Shona's perspective (in Australia) it appears upside down compared to the way we in the Northern Hemisphere see it? Tycho crater is seen in the upper half instead of the lower.
How cool is that?
That is true and what is really important is the toilets flush the opposite way.
Yeah, this kind of illustrates what you noted. Thank God for gravity, eh?
Yup.
I have on good authority that everyone down under has a magnet attached to their ass that way they don't fall off the earth.
But good authority or not, can you make that assertion stick?
Of course, I can, can I borrow a suction cup?
Morning..yep that is our story and we are sticking to it..
Cool photos, Dig. I love the photo of the moon with the clouds. Really beautiful.
Ok, so the rose isn't really looking like a mint julep...
The first photo shows what is known as a "wasarose", but the second one is quite lovely,.
Nettles Island, Jensen Beach, FL
Powerful!
That's a really great photo, Kavika. Those storm clouds look very menacing, and twice so when reflected in the water. Very mesmerizing.
That is a FANTASTIC photo.
I'll be going to Ormond Beach tomorrow for 4 days and hopefully will get some great sunrises over the Atlantic.
Just make sure you don't get too close to the many anti-vaxxers in Florida.
As Buzz said, that is a FANTASTIC photo.
One for Saturday...
MSGA = Making Saturday Great Again.
Perfect description.
Great title, Buzz. Thank you.
Very interesting image, Raven Wing.
Thank you, G.
House Finch before Sunday
© A. Mac/A.G.
Will it look different on Sunday?
Great shot of a beautiful bird, Mac.
Beautiful photo.
Moving on to Sunday....
A unique and beautiful frame for a "spirit guide" or "totem".
Thank you very much, Buzz. You have guessed fairly correct.
That is a very unique piece, Raven Wing. Very nicely done.
Thank you very much, G. I like experimenting with combining different angles and patterns which are very opposites, and yet, they work well together. In this piece the relating aspects are the feather semblance in the framing and the eagle in the primary image. While they are not of a similar coloring, they still tie the two together, thus, creating coordinated look to the artwork.
That is very interesting. I am always intrigued, and inspired, by your art.
Taken this morning at Stone Creek, Ocala FL.
We are now in Ormond Beach on the Atlantic side. Hopefully we'll have some great sunrises over the next 4 days for me to post next week.
A really beautiful photo, Kavika. The lack of sunrise 'glow' is really amazing.
Could that colour be because of the smoke drifting from the wildfires in the west?
No, no smoke here Buzz. Just the morning fog.
Another FANTASTIC photo, Kavika.
One more to close out the weekend .......
Spectacular!
Thank you very much, G.
(from A Dream Within a Dream - by Edgar Allan Poe)
Thank you, Buzz. And for the lovely poem.
I often indicate the effect an image has on me, what immediately goes through my mind, and your image caused the words "a dream within a dream" to emerge.
Thanks, Buzz. I'm glad that it has such a positive effect on you. The is no specific meaning to the artwork, simply a case where I wanted to let the viewers see what it means to them. Your view of it is much appreciated.
Thanks to all; see you Friday.