1. 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.
2. TimeScapes 4K from Tom Lowe on Vimeo.
3. Landscapes: Volume Two from Dustin Farrell on Vimeo.
4. The Arctic Light from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

I watched the film adaptation of the book and really enjoyed it; especially the following scenes:

1. Background on Bose – Bose designs experiments to observe similarities between plant and animal tissue and metals (6:19 – 8:15, 2 of 11)
2. Training Plants to Talk – Dr. an Mrs. Hashimoto teaches cacti the Japanese alphabet (4:55 – 6:14, 5 of 11)
3. Plant Cybernetics – plants regulating water and air via human machinery (0:00 – 1:15, 6 of 11)
4. 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)

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.

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.

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!

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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.

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

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

1. Preheat oven to 176 C, and lightly grease baking pan (if using non –stick baking pan oil isn’t necessary)
2. 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)
3. 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)
4. 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.

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?