random memorandum

Hermeneutic Analysis

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:00:00 -0700

Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (1928-2000)
was an Austrian artist, born as Friedrich Stowasser in Vienna. He became one of the best-known contemporary Austrian artists. His personal and artistic development is mirrored in the four names he gave himself at various stages of his life and which encapsulate his entire work. It was his second name “Hundertwasser” under which he eventually became famous. His original and unruly artistic vision expressed itself in pictorial art, environmentalism, philosophy, and design of façades, postage stamps, flags, and clothing (among other areas). The common themes in his work utilized bright colors, organic forms, a reconciliation of humans with nature, and a strong individualism, rejecting straight lines. He remains sui generis, although his architectural work is comparable to Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) in its use of biomorphic forms and the use of tile. He was also inspired by the art of the Vienna Secession, and by the Austrian painters Egon Schiele (1890–1918) and Gustav Klimt (1862–1918). He was fascinated by spirals, and called straight lines “the devil’s tools”. He called his theory of art “transautomatism”, based on Surrealist automatism, but focusing on the experience of the viewer, rather than the artist.⁽¹⁾

Applied Art
For Hundertwasser, art was not to be limited by any framework. An artist’s work should have an effect on all areas of life, be it on clothing or, through articles for everyday use, on daily life. Hundertwasser also created many objects intended to express his quest for beauty and for variety in all areas of life, but also his concern and commitment for the environment and for nature. In accordance with his philosophy “Beauty is a Panacea – Schönheit ist ein Allheilmittel”, Hundertwasser wanted to restore beauty and romanticism to their place in everyday life. In a time of mediocrity, of aesthetic emptiness and the soullessness of prefabrication, he endeavoured to help the hidden human longing for variety and beauty in harmony with nature come into its own.⁽²⁾

Hundertwasser on Hundertwasser
“It is very strange, isn’t it, if a man contributes all he has, diligence, goodness, perseverance, intelligence, everything that he has, and in spite of that he doesn’t get anywhere. What is the reason for this. I believe, and I am absolutely certain, and therefore I believe, that painting is a religious occupation, that the actual impulse comes from without, from something else that we do not know, an indefinable power which comes or does not come and which guides your hand.

What does a man need in order to be happy. Progression is retrogression and retrogression becomes progression. My painting is, I think, completely different because it is vegetative painting. One reason why other people do not want to paint vegetatively or want to take to a vegetative way of life is because it begins too unpretentiously, it does not have great eclat or drum roll; on the contrary it grows quite slowly and simply, and that does not appeal to our social order, people want instant results based on the slash and burn principle.

I should like, and I do it too quite instinctively, to live an example, live an example to people, paint for them a paradise that each may have, he need only grasp it. Paradise is there, but we destroy it. I want to show how basically simple it is to have paradise on earth.

And everything that the religions and dogmas and the various political creeds promise, is all nonsense. And there of course I come into conflict with society which completely misunderstands that. They believe that it is eccentricity, just a publicity stunt, but they forget that that is part of myself, that that is my natural form of expression.

Why may a human being not do what he needs to do, like a flower. The colourful, the abundant, the manifold, is always better than mediocre grey and uniformity.

Only those who think and live creatively will survive in this life and beyond.”⁽³⁾

ARTWORK: THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT*
MEDIA: Mixed media, St. Mandé/Seine, 1950
ARTIST: FRIEDENSREICH HUNDERTWASSER
in collaboration with René Brô

The Austrian painter and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser is probably one of the most unsung, prolific artists of his generation. If one would look closely and ardently curate his body of work, his vivid use of colors encompass and undeniably tantamounts to a mixture of styles influenced by artists Gustav Klimt, Joan Miró, and Antoni Gaudí. Although he first achieved notoriety for his boldly-colored paintings, he is more widely known for his individual architectural designs. His use of spirals and curves and disinterest of using straight lines gives character and distinct signature that is distinguishably Hundertwasser. His works not only utter strong emotions but his colorful renditions of his artistic subjects also portray relevant and timely issues such as nature conservancy and environmental preservation, the drastic and exorbitant exploits brought about by heedless industrialization and human indignation. As I pondered while perusing or digesting his quotes and commentaries that I have researched: Hundertwasser on Hundertwasser, you can tell that he is an artist with a clear and potent mission, conveying delicate topics and issues expressed in his works of art. Hundertwasser’s father Ernst Stowasser died three months after Hunderwasser’s first birthday. The Second World War was a hard time for Hundertwasser and his mother Elsa, as she was Jewish. They avoided persecution by posing as Christians, a credible ruse because Hundertwasser’s father had been a Catholic. To remain inconspicuous, Hundertwasser joined the Hitler Youth.

Hundertwasser developed artistic skills very early. After the war, he spent three months at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. At this time he began to sign his art as Hundertwasser instead of Stowasser. He left to travel, using a small set of paints he carried at all times to sketch anything that caught his eye. In Florence he met the young French painter René Brô for the first time; they became lifelong friends. His alliance and teamwork with Brô can be attested to above shown artwork: The Miraculous Draught circa.1950.

Hundertwasser’s The Miraculous Draught can be considered classic and not trendy as it depicts present day or prevailing global aura but can also be crossed referenced or associated to a previous classical artwork. The Miraculous Draught might have been an inspiration to Raphael’s: The Miraculous Draught of Fishes (see image below). All of Hundertwasser’s artwork illustrated in this study (Plant Trees Avert Nuclear Peril, Survival or Suicide Rainforest and The Miraculous Draught) are reminders of the past and slogans of the present imparting sociopolitical connotation and religious undertone that’s persistent and timeless.

ARTWORK: THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES⁽⁴⁾
MEDIA: bodycolour on paper on canvas, 1515
ARTIST: RAPHAEL
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Taking into account Heidegger’s discourse on Van Gogh’s painting of “A Pair of Shoes,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy concludes: “The longstanding controversy can finally be resolved, however, once we realize that Heidegger’s phenomenological interpretation of Van Gogh actually follows a different sequence of steps. As we have seen, Heidegger moves from: (1) experiencing an objective painting of unused shoes (in the standard aesthetic way); to (2) noticing and attending to the dynamic “nothing” in the background of the painting and thereby (3) encountering the earth/world struggle implicit in the work; to finally (4) intimating, from this earth/world struggle, what a farmer’s inconspicuous use of shoes as equipment is like. The trick Schapiro misses (along with most other readers of Heidegger’s famous essay) is that attending to the “nothing” that makes itself visible in the background of Van Gogh’s painting allows us to encounter the essential tension between world and earth for ourselves, and it is this encounter—with the tension between that which comes forth into the light (“world”) and that which nurtures this coming forth and yet also shelters itself in the darkness (“earth”)—that allows us to understand, as though from the inside, what it is like to walk in the shoes of a farmer.”⁽⁵⁾

ARTWORK: A PAIR OF SHOES
MEDIA: painting, oil on canvas, Paris, 1887
ARTIST: VINCENT VAN GOGH
The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Cone Collection

Just as the observer of Van Gogh’s “A Pair of Shoes” and that subsequent feeling “to walk in the shoes of a farmer”, Hundertwasser’s major art objective which is “focusing on the experience of the viewer, rather than the artist”, The Miraculous Draught and the two earlier illustrations gives us a conscious or subconscious experience and awareness of what the paintings or artworks are conveying. Hundertwassers’s cautionary tale expressed on his paintings underscored by reconciliation of humans with nature, and a strong individualism as well as “rejecting straight line”. These are the truths that are illuminated and set to work through Hundertwasser’s works of art. For Hundertwasser, human misery was a result of the rational, sterile, monotonous architecture. That planting trees in an urban environment was to become obligatory: “If man walks in nature’s midst, then he is nature’s guest and must learn to behave as a well-brought-up guest.” as quoted in his 1972 published manifesto.

Through Hundertwasser’s artworks, I am “suddenly somewhere else” in nature and contemplating of what future lies ahead for me and the generations to come if humanity neglects to do some drastic measures to live and be in harmony with it’s habitat. With the constant pace of global abuse both in nature and in human interactions worldwide, are we heading or facing a global geopolitical Miraculous Draught or are we just simply waiting for a Nuclear Peril. Am I presently existing in a world trying to make means and ways to survive or just on a slow suicide mode of social and moral disintegration. These are some of the insightful messages, interpretations and the “ultimate truth”, for obvious reasons, Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s art trajects to me and to the rest of the world.

References:
⁽¹⁾ Wikipedia, Artistic Style and Themes, Friedensreich Hundertwasser*
⁽²⁾ Hundertwasser, Applied Art, The Hundertwasswer Non-Profit Foundation*
⁽³⁾ Hundertwasser, Venice 1979, excerpts from Hundertwasser on Hundertwasser*
⁽⁴⁾ Art and the Bible, VAM London 1515, The Miraculous Draught of Fishes
⁽⁵⁾ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Conclusion: Resolving the Controversy Surrounding Heidegger’s Interpretation of Van Gogh, 2011

*All Hundertwasswer images and indexed texts hereto are attributed to The Hundertwasser Non-Profit Foundation and referenced for educational purposes only. Ownership of images are properties of The Hundertwasswer Non-Profit Foundation and solely used for discourse, research and academic intent alone.

"REBEL WITH A CAUSE"

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:31:00 -0700

“REBEL WITH A CAUSE”

- Art (including Architecture and Fashion), Science (as well as areas of Technology and Medicine) and Religion (all aspects of spiritual beliefs, mysticism and even mythology) have influenced me and topics revolving around these subject matters always fascinate and capture my interests. Relative to these subjects, I am drawn to the theories, explore the facts or fictions, thrilled with new technological gadgets or breaking discoveries and ruminate into the lives of prominent people and experts practicing or connected to such fields. So it is not just one person that I would consider as an exemplary figure but my icons of innovation and creativity are quite a few. I will highlight at least one figure that has significant touch-points to my subjects of interest and will break down why such individuals make a deep-rooted impression on me, their style, background and symbol of leadership, and some of the radical approach or indelible virtues that they believed in and have stood by with which I would like to adopt, emulate or develop within me.

JESUS OF NAZARETH: When asked why Jesus is still considered cool in the eyes of young people, Eric Bryant, a pastor at Mosaic in L.A., said: “They’re intrigued by Jesus. They look to him. He is real, authentic, relevant. He spoke with honesty. He was a man on a mission. He was a radical, a revolutionary, yet tender and kind and loving. He was doing things completely against the rules of the day. He was a mix of justice, kindness, judgment and grace.” Jesus not only taught about great compassion but has also rebelled. An excerpt of an article: Jesus the Rebel, by Jeremy Crump best described such religious rebellion. “It might surprise you to think of Jesus as a rebel. Popular conceptions of our Lord tend to soften him up and send a message that Jesus was someone who never caused a stir or upset anybody but was loved and adored by all. This was certainly not the case. The real Jesus made troubling statements such as “I came to bring peace and not a sword.” In fact, Jesus was hated by most and came into conflict with almost everyone he interacted with for the doctrine of moral purity and humble submission to God that he preached. Nowhere is this more obvious than in his encounters with the religious leaders of his day. Jesus stirred up trouble by healing on the Sabbath day and not keeping the traditions of the Pharisees such as hand washing. He made a point of exposing the hypocrisy and self-serving behavior of the Pharisees and warned his disciples not to follow their example. During the Passover festival, Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers and drove them out of the temple with a whip. Jesus’ rebellion against the religious establishment at Jerusalem created a large following of Christians after his resurrection that threatened Judaism. Christians spread throughout the ancient world, causing trouble wherever they went because of their refusal to worship idols and engage in immorality. This “rebellion” has now infiltrated every country in the world. It has lasted for 2,000 years and shows no signs of diminishing.¹

VINCENT VAN GOGH: An artist that have lived a tumultuous and tormented life,
his paintings and drawings exudes passion, full of emotions and vibrant colors. At one point, the people on the village of Arles, France where Vincent lived, practiced art and where he spent his most creative moments during the period of his art career, thought they had too much of the bewildered artist and signed a village petition stating that the artist was a public danger. “Several key paintings dating from his arrival in Paris in 1886 to the end of his career in 1890 show how Van Gogh experimented with unusual visual angles and the decorative use of color, cropping, and the flattening of his compositions. In some paintings he zoomed in on a tuft of grass or a single budding iris, while depicting shifting views of a field or garden in others not only reveals how his paintings became the most radical and innovative in the artist’s body of work but also demonstrates that, far from being a spontaneous or undisciplined artist, Van Gogh was well aware of the history of art and was highly conscious of his efforts to break new ground with his work”² according to Cornelia Homburg, author and editor of Van Gogh: Up Close. Vincent Van Gogh has rebelled against Impressionism era and have brought a new way of looking at art, created his own distinguishable identity of color palettes, brushstrokes and art style that were emblem of the “mad genius”.

STEVE JOBS: During a television interview filmed in 1995 (Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview), Jobs was at his niche-company NeXT wherein 18 months later, he sold NeXT to Apple, bounced back to lead and run the close-to-failing Apple again; he had an unabashed and somewhat rebellious comment about his business counterparts. When asked about what he thinks about Microsoft, which during that time, Microsoft was dominating the computing world; he quoted that: “Microsoft had absolutely no taste. They don’t think of original ideas and don’t bring much culture into their products. Saddened not with Microsoft’s success but the idea that they (Microsoft) make third-rate products and that their products (and in turn, their customers) have no sort of spirit of enlightenment about them.” Speaking further about this critique, he uttered a comment that truly enthralled and inspired me, stating: “The way that we’re gonna ratchet it up our species is to take the best and to spread it around to everybody so that everybody grows up with better things.”³ He was also rebelling against the lack of leadership in Apple which caused the downward slope of Apple, the company he once pioneered. His constant dissent to conformity, to “think different” and always pushing forward for the need to continuously innovate and bring products with high quality. He was exposed and got captivated by computers since the age of 10 building frequency counters which landed him a side job at Hewlett Packard and realizing that the true value of a company is through it’s employees. From building a box for the “secret tones” that taps in through the phone lines discovering how to make free phone calls up to bringing revolutionary computers, electronic gadgets, media devices and other technologically advanced products that our modern day world is now utilizing. With his radical way of thinking, packed with deep emotional intelligence, Steve Jobs is among the role models of my generation, a remarkable pillar and a forefront of innovation, creativity and great leadership.

Christ, van Gogh, and Jobs are great examples of radical synthesis and rebellion. These larger-than-life figures never compromised nor stooped down whether they were breaking the rule of Impressionist Art and setting own style of painting; for not settling nor being satisfied with “Just a Pedestrian” and third-rate products and unapologetically challenging traditional business and corporate folklore. By speaking fervently, not just preaching but also by doing, defying or breaking religious traditions and not following doctrines and dogmas show that these icons of innovations and creativity did not adhere to general social expectations, norms nor values imposed to them by the mass or society.

Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Charlie Chaplin, Alexander McQueen are also some of the personalities I admired and do look up to. They are all pioneers of creativity, great inventors and innovators, radical thinkers and doers that express and channel their cause and passion through Science, Art, Religion and all other areas that affect if not significantly influenced me. They push through the boundaries of conventional or traditional ideology and break out of the cycle to what is stereotypical. They, in one way or another, have been alienated and struggled through life, considered a failure, tagged as too wrapped up in their own inventions and even accused as public danger, blasphemer or overenthusiastic wacky oddballs. Nevertheless, these exemplary models’ unwavering mission, audacious and relentless pursuit to carryout with their radical ideas, innovations and creativity bring forth a breath of fresh air and inspiration to humanity. It isn’t such a bad idea to follow the rules and virtues that these icons have established during their time, integrate all the good things you can emulate from them and use them to develop and realize your own potentials. And along with the great rules adopted from role models, setting your own identity is vital. Adding your own creative style, discovering and applying your own set of rules in addition to what you can adopt from your role models not only preclude being a leader but enhances your creative and innovative skills. As Steve Jobs dauntingly put it… “take the best and spread it around”.

References:
¹ Jeremy Crump, Jesus the Rebel, Church of Christ at Fairview Park, 2013
² Cornelia Homburg, Van Gogh: Up Close, Overview, 2012
³ Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview, Magnolia Pictures & NerdTV, 1995

“I ONCE DREAMED OF GREAT VOYAGES AND ABOUT CHANGING THE WORLD. How? I have suppressed money, and poverty, and leave only justice.” - Korczak

SCIENCE, RELIGION, ART AMALGAMATION During my “grade...

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:53:00 -0700

SCIENCE, RELIGION, ART ^AMALGAMATION

During my “grade school” years, I was very interested and drawn to 3 subjects: Science, Religion and Art. Way back then, everything in school was archaic and very rudimentary (a simple battery operated calculator is considered cutting-edge or state of the art! No iPods nor iPads). Along with doing charcoal painting, typography/calligraphy (yep! just like Steve Jobs:) anything and everything about letters and alphabets, I find fascinating as well. I collected calligraphy books and have done manual letterpress and use to laboriously cutout (by scissors) different letter designs and artworks from magazines and newspapers and stored or collected them in one big envelope so I can use them to create my own greeting cards and scrapbooks when I was a kid. I trained myself to write and draw legibly which has a good and a bad side. BAD - I can still recall, my Science teacher (and all other teachers who knew that I can draw and write cursively) used to make me write and draw most of our lessons or subjects from pages of our lesson book to the traditional blackboard in white chalks. Either that or I’m ‘automatically’ assigned to draw the visual aids and lesson materials in wide Manila papers as there were no projectors or monitors then (just thinking of these technological leaps and bounds of then and now, only makes me fully aware of the fact… that I’m officially old:). Most of the kids in the class have their complete notes, I don’t:( I had to borrow books/notebooks to review as examination approaches. But there’s an upside to all that elementary school ‘manual labor’ days: I appreciated ART more and more, especially if I’m drawing illustrations onto the chalkboard about Science. I found myself deeply engrained not only the visuals but digesting scientific facts and theories like Parts of a Flower, The Human Heart, Hierarchies of the Plant and Animal Kingdom, The Hydrologic Cycle, Balance of Nature, etc. Through Art and pictures, my love and curiosity for Science grew deeper. I represented our school for the Division and Regional Science Quiz Bee. Though I never bagged the National trophy, I felt happy as a kid as I was able to travel and have experienced winning and answering some Science questions on clincher rounds;). As I grew older, I have realized that Art has been embedded in my core being. Along with Science and Religion, Art will always follow and inevitably surround me, will constantly plug-and-play to be vital “subject matters” that I need to take heed of and continuously hone as I travel through my life journeys. Science is based on facts, Religion revolves around beliefs, and ART is drawing inspiration from nature or the natural world. Anything that captivates attention that will move or evoke intellectual or emotional psyche of emotions captured from people, places, things, figures, colors or events. To me, Art (practice), is the antithesis of both Science (mind) and Religion (heart). It’s holding on to “what I believe in” or what I’m passionate about and how to make an idea or inspiration happen, turn it into being tangible and real so it can be felt and appreciated. One needs to physically apply the “art skills” or do the ground work for Art to not just be a concept or remain only as an idea. Art also needs action or related work for that idea or inspiration to materialize i.e.: you need to draw or paint so your idea or inspiration takes in the form of a painting and compose notes or melodies to have a song or music. In order for Art to take place, inspiration needs to be preceded by an action, training or discipline so Art can be improved and physically (or emotionally) appreciated. Even in the natural world where nature takes form as a natural Art, movements take place as in the case of Seasons and Metamorphosis. In any aspect of Art that I am susceptible to whether it’s painting, photography, literature, music, movies, any visual or audio performance even sports, work and leadership - Art communicates to me by way of expressing what I strongly believe in, capturing what I find beautiful or uplifting, try to apply an inspiration or idea that moved or influenced me and see where it can fit or be utilized. Painting and photography help improve not only my creative and innovative skills but also foster discipline, it also teaches patience and humility (through beauty or Art in Nature). Inspiring Art, in any shape or form consciously and subconsciously have influenced and molded me. Art had gradually created a ripple effect not only on how I perceive, to be aware of or how to deal with life’s intricacies but also on how to be grateful of the breathtaking yet fleeting moments. To enjoy or acknowledge simple things and appreciate all the different hues and colorful palettes that make up this complicated but beautiful, precious life. And what about Religion? Well, haven’t you been inspired yet? :)

Wondering Watermelon1 Allahabad, India Indian farmers transport...

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:21:00 -0700

Wondering Watermelon¹ Allahabad, India
Indian farmers transport watermelons on camels on their way to market.
The summer fruits gain popularity with the rise of temperature.
photo courtesy of: The Daily Beast, Photo of the Day 05/03/2013

Camels are one of the most adaptable and gregarious animals of the desert. They are mobile, carry heavy loads and can travel for weeks even months without food or water. They not only live in destitute or barren places but they can thrive, survive and are very subsistent. At lunchtime today, I just read a magazine ad for Mercedes Benz with a camel and an MB Sprinter side by side quoting: “When it comes to Best-In-Class fuel efficiency, our competition was fierce. Able to travel 625 miles without refueling, the amazing camel certainly gave us a run for our money²…” Sustainability and energy efficiency are excellent camel-like behaviors or features which can equate to global resources conservation, nature preservation and environmental activism. Newsweek named IBM as an energy-efficient, “green company” in 2012. “IBM is designing products to be more energy-efficient, using environmentally preferable materials that are capable of being reused, recycled or disposed of safely at the end of their useful lives. The company has improved the energy efficiency of IT equipment and data centers. IBM expanded the range of server systems that qualify for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program. Energy and water management software enables customers to measure their impacts and ultimately reduce resource consumption.” - Newsweek’s 2012 Green Rankings³

The people and government of Norway (and Scandinavian region) are among the energy efficient nations that they even are hauling garbage from other nations to use for power consumption and where “wastes has now become a big commodity”.⁴

On an ever increasing global pace of depletion and exploitation of natural resources, some of the famous environmental activists and leaders with “camel-like behaviors are Al Gore, John Muir, Robert Redford and photographer Ansel Adams among others that spearhead “green projects”, promote environmental awareness, nature conservation and global sustainability.

References:
¹The Daily Beast
²Mercedes Benz
³Newsweek
⁴Mother Nature Network

PRIDE: A double-edged sword. Boldness and tenacity are the...

Thu, 02 May 2013 21:58:00 -0700

PRIDE: A double-edged sword.

Boldness and tenacity are the obvious characteristics of a lion. Being courageous and fearless are some key qualities of a lion-like leader. The leading world’s most admired companies* like Google, Apple, Amazon, Walt Disney, IBM, BMW transcend like lions in the corporate world as they are bold with their innovations and have sound strategic business acumen, strong global presence and high prominence in terms of adaptability and competitiveness. Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr, Abraham Lincoln, Peter the Great, George Washington are among the prominent world leaders that possess lion-like courageous features and facets to their military might or political victory as well as carrying out their mission and vision for social and economic reforms.

Apart from the great attributes of lion-like behaviors such as resourcefulness, cunningness and strategic subterfuge (lions working together within their pride to hunt for food), lions are voracious, ferocious, tyrannical and territorial by nature so there are innate tendencies that lion-like leaders or companies who only focus on the “lion share” mentality do often fall into a trap of narcissistic, selfish, superiority complex. The most notorious of lion-like disposition which is the “power-hunger greed” has been demonstrated by the big and powerful companies like Enron, Fannie May, AIG, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch to name a few lion-like companies that once ruled the financial markets but all have fumbled and tumbled, bailed out and eventually lost their sense of “pride”.

*Fortune, The World Most Admired Companies: Built for Brilliance, March 2013

I wanted to share a photo I randomly stumbled upon sometime in...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:44:00 -0700

I wanted to share a photo I randomly stumbled upon sometime in July of 2012. It’s a picture of a sunflower field on fall foliage backdrop. It captured my attention and ended up landing on my blog. It gave me inspiration to conjure up a Sunflowers in Autumn quote: “We are all like sunflowers under the sun. Sharing the same soil, receiving the same rain, taking in the same air, all originated from one common seed. No matter where you are planted, Nature calls for you to grow, flourish and bloom!” Imagine you are the farmer of this field, which just started as a hobby in your small backyard; your passion and love of gardening grew deeper as your small garden turns into a bigger field with more tasks at hand and more elements (nature or manmade events) to consider so your field and passion both flourishes and sustained.

An analogy or metaphor can be depicted: the leaders of today is a farmer and global citizenship is that wide and far-stretching sunflower field. The land and your harvest (global citizenship) depends or is critical to the type of nurturing, your role and responsibilities (Leadership) as a farmer (Leader). Leadership and Global Citizenship are intertwined. As globalization shifts and becomes one of the major topics of discussion in the media, governments, businesses and schools today, it is relevant to probe on the emerging leaders and their type of leadership. How are we are preparing, educating, training or developing the youth of our generation and the new breed of global leaders as global citizenship expands and take precedence. In the news, United Nations pushes forward to accelerate progress in an undertaking to put every child in school, improve the quality of learning, and foster global citizenship by the end of 2015. (UN, April 18, 2013)

A society is anchored to it’s leader and vice-versa. Leadership is indeed interconnected to Global Leadership however, the leadership that salvaged the Great Depression is not the same leadership that will solve the Global Financial Crisis. The core qualities of true leadership remain intact but the leadership would need to cater to what the current dilemma is in the present tense. Harvard Business Review article, What Makes a Leader by Daniel Goleman cited “while the qualities traditionally associated with leadership—such as intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision—are required for success, they are insufficient. Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill… After all, the personal styles of superb leaders vary: Some leaders are subdued and analytical; others shout their manifestos from the mountaintops. And just as important, different situations call for different types of leadership.” (HBR, Jan 2004)

And as we develop and move towards responsible global citizenship, recognize current leaders trying to bring about radical changes addressing issues here and now, it is also timely to commemorate leaders, that during their own tenure of authority have shaped our world today: “Voices from the street: London’s farewell to Thatcher”. (CNN news, April 17, 2013)

Networking, interaction, relationship and leadership on a global community has now become an immediate, integral part of one’s existence and survival. A TED video - Global Power Shift, Paddy Ashdown conveys a compelling message about the importance of appropriate leadership to global citizenship, our multi-polar world and interconnectedness - “If you are to pass through these turbulent times, more or less turbulently, then our success in doing that will enlarge measure depend on our capacity to bring sensible governance to the global space. Our alliances are not fixed. That even we in the West have to reach out, we have to reach out beyond the cozy circle of the Atlantic powers to make alliances with others if we want to get things done in the world. Today in our modern world, everything is connected to everything. We are now interdependent, we are now interlocked as nations and individuals which has never been the case before.” (TEDxBrussels, Dec 2011). Leadership and Global Citizenship are directly and indirectly interrelated, internally and externally interwoven and “intimately locked together”.

References:
UN: United Nations
CNN: Cable News Network
HBR: Harvard Business Review
TED: Technology, Entertainment and Design

photography: Ålexis Xeürik alexeipaedia: mural painting by...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:24:00 -0700

photography: Ålexis Xeürik

alexeipaedia:

mural painting by artist: Aoi Yamaguchi
Leavenworth & Geary St., San Francisco

Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP)Valencia St., San...

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 11:29:00 -0800

Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP)
Valencia St., San Francisco
photography: Ålexis Xeürik

Chapel of the Holy CrossSedona, Arizona photography: Ålexis...

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 04:37:00 -0800

Chapel of the Holy Cross
Sedona, Arizona
photography: Ålexis Xeürik

12/12/12 @ 12:12 AM Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday....

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:12:00 -0800

12/12/12 @ 12:12 AM

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday.
Enjoy!
……………………………………………………*
……………………………………………………♥
………………………………………………….Ä:X
…………………………………………………XOXO
……………………………………………..”ميلاد مجيد”
…………………………………………….”GOD JUL”
………………………………………….. “よいお年を”
…………………………………………..”کریسمس مبارک”
…………………………………………..”Hyvää joulua”
……………………………………..”MELE KALIKIMAKA”
……………………………………”NAIMBAG A PASCUA”
…………………………………..”VROLIJK KERSTFEEST”
…………………………………..”聖誕節快樂 / 圣诞节快乐”
………………………………………….”BUON ANNO”
…………………………………….”Христос рождается”
…………………………….”HUAN YING SHENG TAN CHIEH”
…………………………..”Veselé Vianoce a Šťastný Nový rok”
………………………….”Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia”
………………………”HAUSKAA JOULU0-AID SAID MOUBARK”
………………………………………….”JOYEUX NOËL”
………,……………………………..”Καλά Χριστούγεννα”
……………………………..”GOD JUL AND GOTT NYTT ÅR”
……………………………”Veselé Vánoce a šťastný nový rok”
………………………….”Feliz Navidad y próspero Año Nuevo”
…………………”SELAMAT HARI NATAL - LAHNINGU NAJU METU”
……………………………….”BUON NATALE-GODT NYTAR”
………………………….”SARBATORI FERICITE-BUON ANNO”
………………………”ZORIONEKO GABON-HRISTOS SE RODI”
……………………”BOLDOG KARACSONNY-VESELE VIANOCE”
………………..”MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR”
………………..”FELICES PASUAS-EIN GLUCKICHES NEWJAHR”
……………”MALIGAYANG PASKO AT MANIGONG BAGONG TAON”
“SUBHA NATH THALAK VEWA, NATHAR PUTHU VARUDA VALTHUKKAL”
……………………………………………….XOXO
……………………………………………….XOXO
……………………………………………….XOXO
……………………………………..XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"The Great Society asks not how much, but how good; not only how to create wealth but how to use it;..."

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:58:16 -0800

““The Great Society asks not how much, but how good; not only how to create wealth but how to use it; not only how fast we are going, but where we are headed.””

- Lyndon Johnson’s State of the Union Address, Proposing “the Great Society” Program given on Monday, January 4, 1965

"Dedicated to the things that haven’t happened yet and the people who are about to dream them..."

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 10:04:00 -0700

“Dedicated to the things that haven’t happened yet and the people who are about to dream them up.”

- Stanford Graduate School of Business cornerstone

PLEINE LUNE May 05 2012 on Flickr.Bentonville, Arkansas

Sat, 05 May 2012 20:24:00 -0700

PLEINE LUNE May 05 2012 on Flickr.
Bentonville, Arkansas

"I’M AS MAD AS HELL AND I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE! And that painful decaying love is..."

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:45:00 -0700

“I’M AS MAD AS HELL AND I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE! And that painful decaying love is the only thing between you and the shrieking nothingness you live the rest of the day. Indifferent to suffering, insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. War, murder, death are all the same to you as bottles of beer. The daily business of life is a corrupt comedy. You even shatter the sensations of time and space into split-seconds and instant replays. Virulent madness. Everything you touch dies with you. Well, not me. NOT WHILE I CAN STILL FEEL PLEASURE AND PAIN AND LOVE.”

- Excerpts: Network (1976)

"AMARANTHINE Accoutrement Aloof Angst Apoptotic Apotheosis Ataraxia Aware Blasé Blithe Bustier Cannabi..."

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 03:00:00 -0700

“AMARANTHINE
Accoutrement
Aloof
Angst
Apoptotic
Apotheosis
Ataraxia
Aware
Blasé
Blithe
Bustier
Cannabinoid
Catatonic
Cerebral
Clincher
Cacophony
Coup de Grace
Dichotomy
Discombobulate
Dismal
Dormant
Endure
Enjoy
Epiphany
Exorbitant
Extremophile
Headstrong
Hedonism
Hypochondriac
Hypothesis
Erratic
Incroyable
Indelible
Intense
Ipso facto
Malaise
Malevolent
Mensch
Metamorphosis
Mercurial
Minutia
Metaphor
Morose
Oblivious
Oxymoron
Perplex
Photosynthesis
Plethora
Primordial
Radical
Relinquish
Resilient
Resonate
Rest
Sine qua non
Sinister
Stratagem
Subterranean
Symbiosis
Theopneust
Ubiquitous
Veer
Vicarious
Zest
ZILCH”

- Ålexicon

"We are all a product of our past, the gift of our present and foretellers of our own future."

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:45:00 -0800

“We are all a product of our past, the gift of our present and foretellers of our own future.”

- Ålexis Xeürik

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 00:38:00 -0700

AND GOD CREATED ALBERTA.

It’s the 4th of July (in the US). I bummed a Canadian Classic cigarette from a receptionist who’s doing the graveyard shift here at Bear Hostel (A+), Canmore, Canada. I had the urge to smoke in celebration of my independence from smoking. Sounds like a slippery slope but believe it or not, it’s just an inane, insane ritual of mine. I must admit, I’m that kooky lighting up a smoke to affirm that I’m no longer a smoker. As a fully-pledged American roadtripping at the Canadian rockies, I need some 4th of July fireworks and torching up a cigarette (A-) was my way of (sort of) celebrating Independence Day. I quit this filthy oral fixation sometime May of 2011 & so far, that one Canadian Classic was the last cig I puffed ever since. I really don’t need that vice, besides I can’t afford any unnecessary bad habit expenses, which includes burning my money (and my health) from a pack of cigarettes; so kudos to me for sustaining my smoking cessation. I’m still having an awesome time up here in Alberta. When I arrived at Canmore 2 days ago, there were fireworks on the freeway. Was Canmore paving the way and beaconing my visit? It was Canada Day and what a wonderful sight seeing some fireworks at this beautiful part of town. Yesterday, Zoë and I drove endlessly taking the Bow Trail Valley (Alberta Highway 1A) from Canmore to Calgary. Today, I went for a drive to Banff and ended up in this remote, off the beaten path called Sunshine Village. It was an exhilirating drive and I took some amazing photos. I do admire how Canadians take good care of their roads, especially up here in scenic Alberta. Back in California, you can’t help but wonder where all the public funds and proceeds from the ever-climbing toll fee from the Bay Area bridges go. I really do hope Canada keep up with their well-maintained highways & byways. There’s not much traffic congestion and all the time I have been on this Canada roadtrip, I never had a bumper to bumper traffic incident other than very few frequent stops due to road constructions for their highway improvement. Alberta seems new & young but as any bustling city under the sun, it will in time become populated and polluted. Maybe that won’t happen in Alberta. With it’s magnificent views and wildlife, one can only wish this place stays pristine like all natural wonders ought to be. A is for astonishing, awe-inspiring Alberta (A★).

Icefields Parkway

Bow Lake

Lake Louise

Lake Moraine

Peyto Lake

Banff

Bighorns
Wildflowers

photography: Ålexis Xeürik

"When it’s all right to say it’s alright!"

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:28:00 -0700

“When it’s all right to say it’s alright!”

- As I jot my official blah-blog electronic diary today, listening to Jango, 100 YEARS by Five for Fighting is playing, some lines of the song goes…

“Half time goes by
Suddenly you’re wise
Another blink of an eye

67 is gone
The sun is getting high
We’re moving on…

Every day’s a new day.”

A new day indeed!

Time passes by (it certainly won’t wait for you) and life (as usual) will go on no matter what.

Funny, when I was a kid (about 6 or 7), I still can vividly recall seeing grown-ups & murmuring to myself, “it must take such a long time for me to grow that tall like a grown-up and a long ways to go to be a matured adult”. Et voila! Here I am, maybe not that matured, but an adult, alright! And just around the corner is my Senior Citizen card waiting to be claimed. At least by then, I can get discounts to some major establishments without showing my AAA membership card. I guess I can sing-a-long to the rest of 100 years lyrics:

“I’m 45 for a moment, The sea is high, And I’m heading into a crisis, Chasing the years of my life.”

FYI, I am NOT (yet) 45! All I can say is that I already have landed on my dreaded, scary age. That age, when all of a sudden, thoughts, out of nowhere, come to mind and you contemplate and say… “God! what have I done? Have I accomplished anything? Where is my life going?!” And before these melancholic/melodramatic life-threatening questions branches out into a mid-life crisis novel, I promise to get back to you on these self-flagellating inquiries when I can log & blog (and brag) some flying-color achievement(s). For now, let’s go back to that lyrics… EVERY DAY’S A NEW DAY.

Let’s focus on some awesome everyday adventures, shall we?!

It’s my 5th day up here in Alberta, Canada. And this place to me is Canaan geomorphized, the proverbial Promised Land! I started my roadtrip from California, 9 days ago. BTW this Canada trip has been postponed for several days back in the Bay Area as Zoë, my lovely, lovable VW Eos needs to be repaired. Well we all know that nothing last, things get broken and warranties do expire (if not finding later on that your hefty-priced extended warranty you purchased years ago does not really cover this so-&-so auto parts as written in this article# so-&-so of the tiny/fine printed, lengthy-paged agreement so-&-so forth…). Her (Zoë’s) convertible top, out of the blue, stopped functioning. And (me) being anal-retentive, made a demand (to myself) that Zoë needs to be all fully-functional before I head up north and get all Banff’d-up. Moral of the story, after all the heartache & grief of extended warranty subrogation, long waiting-games at the VW Service Department in Hayward (A-) & an exorbitant parts & labor co$t later, Zoë got fixed finally. I proceeded with my long & overdue roadtrip. Lo & behold! I made it and am now blahging at Banff.

The drive from California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and to Alberta: physically very gruesome but visually pretty awesome.

View Larger Map

I’ll wrap up this random memo for now by saying, each and every decision I make in life are not necessarily all right. But at the end of the day, I must do what I think is right and best for me and hope that things will turn out alright.

Below are some of my favorite snapshots I took during my CA-OR-WA-ID-MT drive.

along Route 1 near Pacifica

somewhere in Montana near Kalispell

Zoë along Idaho/Montana reststop

♥, ☮ & ☺. ä:x

Lake Louise (A★)

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:12:00 -0700

Flathead Lake, Montana (A★)

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 23:51:00 -0700

Flathead Lake, Montana (A★)

random memorandum

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12/12/12 @ 12:12 AM Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday....

"The Great Society asks not how much, but how good; not only how to create wealth but how to use it;..."

"Dedicated to the things that haven’t happened yet and the people who are about to dream them..."

PLEINE LUNE May 05 2012 on Flickr.Bentonville, Arkansas

"I’M AS MAD AS HELL AND I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE! And that painful decaying love is..."

"AMARANTHINE Accoutrement Aloof Angst Apoptotic Apotheosis Ataraxia Aware Blasé Blithe Bustier Cannabi..."

"We are all a product of our past, the gift of our present and foretellers of our own future."

Ålexis Xeürik

AND GOD CREATED ALBERTA. photos: ©070420111630T0L1E0æ Banff...

"When it’s all right to say it’s alright!"

Lake Louise (A★)

Flathead Lake, Montana (A★)