You can see more details regarding the car at: http://sandbox.kaanchan.net/2010hyundaiforsale/pictures.html
For sale: 2010 Hyundai Accent GS, <10500 miles, $9700 (North Austin)
December 18th, 2011Earth is a pretty(,) special place in a pretty(,) amazing space
December 15th, 2011I came across these time lapse videos over the last month. You can watch all of these in under 20 minutes (total). The music is really nice, and the scenes profound. Given that my experience of being alive is so significantly influenced by perception of time, I feel more compelled by these snippets of reality to transcend such factors in order to experience reality in a more holistic way. View as a playlist in YouTube or watch each separately.
- Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS by Michael König and remixed to Water Music by Robert Fox. Original video on Vimeo can be found here.
- TimeScapes 4K from Tom Lowe on Vimeo.
- Landscapes: Volume Two from Dustin Farrell on Vimeo.
- The Arctic Light from TSO Photography on Vimeo.
How sensitive are plants to human emotions and consciousness?
December 15th, 2011I picked up The Secret Life of Plants at Half Price Books one day, on whim. It turned out to be an incredibly fascinating read. Part of the book goes into some detail about the experiments Jagdish Chandra Bose conducted on plants and the profound observations and implications which resulted.
I watched the film adaptation of the book and really enjoyed it; especially the following scenes:
- Background on Bose – Bose designs experiments to observe similarities between plant and animal tissue and metals (6:19 – 8:15, 2 of 11)
- Training Plants to Talk – Dr. an Mrs. Hashimoto teaches cacti the Japanese alphabet (4:55 – 6:14, 5 of 11)
- Plant Cybernetics – plants regulating water and air via human machinery (0:00 – 1:15, 6 of 11)
- The Dogon Tribe – they knew about a star (“Potora”, which means “seed”), invisible to the naked eye, which orbits Syrius (in Canus Major) and perform a ceremony every 50 years, the same orbital period as that star (3:55 – 9:00, 8 of 11) (0:00 – 1:55, 9 of 11)
Banana oatmeal raisin walnut peanut butter spice vegan cookies
September 13th, 2009The title lists most of the ingredients 
. I’ve been trying out various vegan recipes and came across one today which were pleasing to the eyes & taste-buds. I found the original recipe after a google search: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6605
I deviated, like always, from the original and have indicated my changes in brackets. Let me know if you try it and how they go for you!
Ingredients (use vegan versions) [umm, all of these ingredients are vegan by default i think]:
1 mashed banana [I used 2]
1 cup of brown sugar [I used 1/2 brown + 1/2 brown rice syrup + tablespoon of maple syrup]
1/2 of a cup of regular sugar [i left this out and reckoned that second banana would do the trick]
slightly less than 1/3 of a cup [about 1/4 of a cup plus 1 teaspoon) of oil (jumped the gun and used 1/3 exact, will hold back a bit next time]
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract [used 1]
1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon [eyed it, prob bit less or just 1. also added: allpsice, cardamom, nutmeg - all by feel/smell]
1 1/2 cups of flour [used whole wheat pastry flour]
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 of a teaspoon of salt
2 cups plus one my-sized handful (about 1/4 of a cup) of oats [so runny that i added another two handfuls at end]
3 tablespoons of water plus maybe a few more drops [didn't measure - used dash of soy milk, dash of water]
[handful + 1/2 of raisins, small handful of walnuts]
[single heaping or two spoons of peanut butter]
Directions:
Mix the vegan brown sugar, vegan sugar [or other replacement sweeteners], oil, and water [have personally never come across non-vegan sugar...]. Add the banana and vanilla [I mashed bananas afte adding it, but it might do well to mash them up well first]. then mix in the already pre-mixed together mixture of flour, baking soda, cinnamon [and other spices], and salt. Stir in the oats. If it is too thin, let stand a bit so the oats can absorb the excess liquid [hmm, i just added more oats]. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 13 minutes [this time was just right, even 12 would do]. To check if they are done, flip one over and it should be browned. Rip off a chunk to see it it is still raw. I usually let them sit a bit before I take them off the cookie sheet because, well, I do not really know, but it makes me not cook them too long because they finish cooking outside of the oven. I should mention to drop them by the tablespoon.
i was told to move like a dragon
August 14th, 2009
Image by Xonkdesign*
I just had an(other) awesome kung-fu class today. Practicing pa kua, one of the internal styles of kung-fu, Master Joe came over and reminded me the body “moves like a dragon” in this particular form. It really transformed how I moved and felt. Limbs naturally shifted position to allow for fluidity. Mind shifted in attitude in a similar way. I came home completely energized, ate dinner, washed all the dishes, super good wipe-down of the kitchen and then went for the broom! I love sweeping after a good class; it just feels different holding and moving it. It transforms the chore into a playful game of smooth movements, jabs, and awareness.
Learning martial arts, kung-fu in particular, is one of the most fortuitous decisions I made in life. Physical education, at least in public school, never ventured to teach the principles I learned in a few weeks of this art. Consider the following:
How do I:
- breathe
- think
- stand
- move
What are my:
- strengths
- weakness
- fears
- ambitions
Regarding my potential:
- how much am i manifesting?
- how do I increase it?
Shaolin-Do made me aware of these questions and provided knowledge in the form of techniques to experience and develop various aspects of myself. I began to see the personality of the animal styles as components of myself; naturally resonating with some and resisting others. Principles learned on the mat were applicable to all aspects of my life. If you get a chance to experience a class, even if just once, I highly recommend it. It could change the direction of your life.
*Credit for picture goes to Xonkdesign from this page.
Learn Kung-Fu and Tai-Chi in Austin
August 14th, 2009If you live in Austin and have been contemplating learning martial arts, there will be an open house at the North and South locations of Austin Shaolin-Do Kung Fu and Tai Chi this Saturday, August 15th. Come see demos and learn self-defense techniques from the instructors. It makes for an awesome & unique field trip if you have kids (and if you don’t)! It’s one of the best choices I made for self-development (read why)…
Starts at 1pm for Kung Fu and 2pm for Tai Chi.
North Location: 512-339-8978 2136 Rutland Dr, Suite D-1
South Location: 512-326-2989 3005 S. Lamar
Click here for more pics.
They're about to throw a front kick after blocking the groin and head!
http://www.austinkungfu.com/images/pages/list_items/00000099.JPG
They're about to throw a front kick after blocking head and groin!
Rice Field Art – amazing!
August 14th, 2009Have you ever seen flower gardens which blossomed into beautiful, colorful shapes or images? The artwork below is the same concept using rice. The detail and style of the images stunned me. Thanks Johanna for sharing this with me!
————————-
AWESOME ART WORK
Pretty amazing work of art!
(How do you step back and make those final touches?)
Stunning crop art has sprung up across rice fields in Japan.
But this is no alien creation – the designs have been cleverly planted.
Farmers creating the huge displays use no ink or dye. Instead,
different colours of rice plants have been precisely and strategically arranged and grown in the paddy fields.
As summer progresses and the plants shoot up, the detailed artwork begins to emerge.
A Sengoku warrior on horseback has been created from hundreds of thousands of rice plants,
the colours created by using different varieties, in Inakadate in Japan
The largest and finest work is grown in the Aomori village of Inakadate, 600 miles north of Toyko,
where the tradition began in 1993.
The village has now earned a reputation for its agricultural artistry and this year
the enormous pictures of Napoleon and a Sengoku-period warrior,
both on horseback, are visible in a pair of fields adjacent to the town hall.
More than 150,000 vistors come to Inakadate,
where just 8,700 people live, every summer to see the extraordinary murals.
Each year hundreds of volunteers and villagers
plant four different varieties of rice in late May across huge swathes of paddy fields.
Napolean on horseback can be seen from the skies,
created by precision planting and months of planning between villagers and farmers in Inkadate
Fictional warrior Naoe Kanetsugu and his wife Osen appear in fields in the town of Yonezawa, Japan
And over the past few years, other villages have joined in with the plant designs.
Another famous rice paddy art venue is in the town of Yonezawa in the Yamagata prefecture.
This year’s design shows the fictional 16th-century samurai warrior Naoe Kanetsugu and his wife,
Osen, whose lives feature in television series Tenchijin.
Various artwork has popped up in other rice-farming areas of Japan this year,
including designs of deer dancers.
Smaller works of crop art can be seen in other rice-farming areas of Japan such as this image of Doraemon and deer dancers
The farmers create the murals by planting little purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice
along with their local green-leafed tsugaru roman variety to create the coloured patterns between planting and harvesting in September.
The murals in Inakadate cover 15,000 square metres of paddy fields.
From ground level, the designs are invisible, and viewers have to climb the mock castle tower of the village office to get a glimpse of the work.
Rice-paddy art was started there in 1993 as a local revitalization project, an idea that grew out of meetings of the village committee.
Closer to the image, the careful placement of thousands of rice plants in the paddy fields can be seen
The different varieties of rice plant grow alongside each other to create the masterpieces
In the first nine years, the village office workers and local farmers grew a simple design of Mount Iwaki every year.
But their ideas grew more complicated and attracted more attention.
In 2005 agreements between landowners allowed the creation of enormous rice paddy art.
A year later, organisers used computers to precisely plot planting of the four differently colored rice varieties that bring the images to life.
teaching yoga in austin
August 13th, 2009http://yoga.kaanchan.net/austin
sankalpa: intention, resolve
well, this sankalpa is about to make full circle (and a half). the seeds of yoga were planted in me by swami vivekananda (of ramakrishna order, via his printed lectures) in nepal around 1998. in austin i took classes and began making steps to become a yoga practitioner and teacher. during this last trip to nepal i became an accredited teacher in Satyananda Yoga. and now, if i can gather enough students, i’ll be teaching in about a week! it only took 10 years
i smile recalling a saying from Swami Satyananda – “all may fail but the sankalpa will not fail” (i’ll have to look up the exact wording…)
oh yeah, if you know anyone in austin interested in learning fundamental yoga practices, point them here: http://yoga.kaanchan.net/austin
aum
peace
Vegan Golden Vanilla Cake
August 3rd, 2009Thanks Lisa for this recipe!
It turned out well. If the batter seems runny, let it sit 5 minutes, it thickens just fine after a bit. I replaced whole wheat flour for all purpose which made it less light, but still tasty enough to have three in a row!
I haven’t tried the frosting, yet. Let me know how this works you for y’all…
aum
—
Vegan Golden Vanilla Cake
2 Cups soymilk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup canola oil
1 ½ cup sugar (can reduce to 1 ¼ )
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 176 C, and lightly grease baking pan (if using non –stick baking pan oil isn’t necessary)
- Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside a few minutes to get good and curdled (meaning it will thicken)
- Beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla, and other extracts, in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda , and salt and mix until no large lumps remain (a few lumps is ok, don’t over mix the batter or bubbles will develop in the baking)
- Fill the baking pan two-thirds of the way and bake for 20-22 minutes till done. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.
Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting (Good with Golden Vanilla Cake)
Ingredients
½ cup vegan margarine
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons soymilk
Directions
Beat the margarine until soft and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and soymilk, beat for another 5 minutes until fluffy. Chill, and spread over cake.
Where did that idea go?
August 3rd, 2009Background: I settled for bed the other night with a yoga nidra recording playing. As I continued to relax an idea floated to the surface. It wasn’t just any idea, it was an insight, something worth noting, something worth blogging about! It was so good I told myself, “don’t get out of bed, you’ll remember it tomorrow.” So I repeated it one last time to myself, and smiling, continued the yoga nidra.
Yes, you can guess the rest. I woke up the next mornin recalling I’d had a geat idea but the idea itself was nowhere to be found. So for two days now I’ve given my subconscious the mission to find and retrieve it, but no word yet…
Observations: I’ve noted on multiple occasions that memories in the waking state, are non-existent or challenging to recall in the dream state. When we can remember waking memories in dreams, this indicates greater lucidity and is a solid technique for triggering lucid dreams. And dream memories, e.g. dreams themselves, have a slippery quality. How often have you woken up from a dream only to have the details evaporate in seconds. Finally, I have also been aware of recalling previous dreams from within a dream; the memory seemed readily accessible.
Hypothesis: These experiences suggest to me that memories are stored in different spaces in the mind based on the mental state when the initial impression/thought/experience occurred. Waking in waking memory bank, dream in dream m.b. , deep in deep … And more specifically, maybe it works in terms of brain wave states: alpha, beta, theta, delta.
Hence, to get that idea back, I should try getting back into alpha (relaxed, reflecting). What are your experiences with memory retrieval in different states?