A postcard arrived from Tibet which is another place of great altitude.  Visitors are immersed into Buddhism, stupas and lamaseries. 

It's possible to slake wanderlust with several epic films that depict parts of the Himalaya region.  Fascinating insights abound whether or not there is authenticity in these stories.  

Kundun from Scorsese has a Dalai Lama theme with mysticism and edgy rituals. Amazing.

Seven Years in Tibet with Brad.

Little Budda.  Bhutan on show, from memory.

Lost Horizon 1937 directed by Capra is a classic film of Shangri La. Seen possibly on late night movies in fearless black and white.  

Other subtitled movies and docos have other revelations.

These are hugh and curious movies, but, if anything, imparted some negative feelings around that belief system, never the less, it still holds my political sympathy and interest.

The Fourth of July!  We received a post card from Oklahoma and were very surprised to see the locals!  A grand culture.
Mention was made of a visit to the State buildings decorated with impressive murals and of the Zoo.

Outside the art gallery, Newcastle.
Perhaps goods and services use the front entrance too.
The gallery building will be extensively enlarged soon which will be good. Funding for that is a big ask, evenso, the new building will duplicate existing services that are available close by because galleries take on more than their core activities and they seek complications and provide space for education as entertainment, a social venure and last but not least a chaotic coffee shop. It is a model that celebrates diverse activities.

Hey, Small is beautiful.  In so many ways we slavishly follow the bench mark established by XYZ gallery, overseas in providing this and that. Why?  Just to become another commodified clone? All look the same. The patrons and staff back from world centres need reassurance that way. Does travel really broaden the mind! Or education for that matter.
The Wetlands is into empire building as well.
Possible alternative auditorium space. City Hall, near the gallery, appears to have oodles of venues available for use and in Darby street, coffee shops abound. Perhaps two fine church buildings in the same street could double as cultural centres - but there I go copying others, for example,  they say that Saint John the evangelist (I believe) in New York city, (an exraordinary Gothic ediface) stages any amount of cultural events.
The daring possibilities are endless. Update: Cathedral of Saint John the Divine is what is intended.

Dance origins in the Subcontinent.  Influenced by Rap!

Dance comes in many forms from regional Indonesia.  This group remained 'seated' during their curious and expressive Indonesian style presentation. Shame about the undignified backdrop.

Bollywood and local children.

 Words we take for granted.

  

Tourists find employment in the 'provinces'.  Kim chi, pickled onions and rice cookers were getting a work-out before a 5am start. As I understand, time spent in unskilled work etc in certain towns leads to an extension of a tourist visa and assists local enterprise which may be short of workers.

Indonesian style fabric. Local Ethnic Community groups featured cultural collections, food, music and dance on Australia Day holiday where crowds were busy relaxing all over the city, parks and beaches. Japanese design was outstanding in a mini display and the Ukraine was revealed in a potted history which provoked wander-lust then an Indonesian food tasting and samba lessons were cooled off by a small shower of rain and relief from the hellish humidity and before any drunks got out of hand.

A Band from the Tongan Community in Sydney visited families to bring greetings for the New Year. In their back garden, the elders listened to the music and the singing and refreshments were offered. Tonga is a Pacific Island kingdom.

Games near the Port of Newcastle.





Indonesian shadow puppets refer to figures from mythology. Those old traditions must have been popular and it seems that diverse beliefs were acceptable in Indonesia.

Memorabilia and a Soviet Arm band in red.
Memorabilia and memory.
Ostalgie (East German) and Soviet chic are occasionally used to refer to nostalgia for life under the socialist system (Wikipedia). Care still lingers on for the illusion of that world despite awareness of the reality.
And what about the Trabant and Lada fan clubs?

Festive lights associated with Ramadan were for sale in a Sydney suburb.

Bali Dance.

A children's multicultral festival stage and a dance program filled with the funky and the esoteric, with contrasts of subtlety and 'in 'yer face'.

It is just possible that community members might view some dance as unsuitable for their daughters and sons.

Under the influence of debased neo-Marxist and postmodernist theory (SMH 20 Sep) one could question modern Western dance and its influences. But one would have to admit that hip hop exercise rountines that get kids moving are excellent in times of an obesity epedemic.

In all, this fest was AOK and five stars to the parents, teachers and local council who had been harnessed for the events.

Information about this Chinese art refers to Dunhuang in the Western Region where caves have many examples of ancient grotto art.
The area was the hub of three roads leading to the West and of the Silk Road which resulted in a blend of influences and Chinese Buddhist art reached its apex there in the Tang Dynasty so long ago. A treasure trove of coloured murals were also found there.
The Tang figures are very amiable. The kneeling figure is that of a devotee. Mid-Tang (762-820) and the other is of a bodhisattva also Mid-Tang.
From China Pictorial, Beijing, 1980.

Yueh ch'in also know as a moon guitar, this Chinese instrument was acquired by the Powerhouse Museum ( or its forebearer) in 1884. It is still in perfect condition.


From Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, tracing the Chinese presence, which is longstanding, in Australia.
San hsien (hanging): wood, snakeskin and bone, China, about 1880.
Jinghu and bow (hanging): wood, snakeskin and horsehair, China, about 1880.
Tye or dizi (flute) (rear): bamboo and bone, China, about 1880.

Many Ethnic groups are found in China, and is this charming image romancing their appeal.......romance........romanisation........ Chinese Mandarin is an ancient living language with pictographic writing and it once underwent Romanisation.
About fifty years ago the Chinese government established a standard official version (called Putonghua or Hanyu - language of the Han people - the majority people.
The amazing written characters were simplified and made easier to write (really!) and Romanisation saw the Pinyin system adopted to express the sounds of the language, for example via vowels etc. Another trick is that tones are used to express the differences in meaning of the same sound.
As well as the simplified characters those seen in newspapers, in books or in headings use slightly different fonts.
Traditional characters are more complex and unsimplified and might be seen used in Taiwan or in Hong Kong and in the global communities - probably used in the printed menu at the local Chinese Cafe. The characters are also seen in Japanese and in some Korean texts and in other instances of which I am unaware.
Each Chinese character is pronounced as a single syllable and has its own meaning. They are combined.
The other decorative cursive styles found in calligraphy make a beautiful art form.
Incredible examples of fine characters carved into stone slabs or steles are found preserved in collections - the Stele Forest is one that can be seen.
It seems that maps and place names underwent modernisation as well and dual versions can exist to test the wits, locations become quite unintelligible on certain maps.

Most of this information is from the book Ni Hao by Fredlein and Fredlein, published by China Soft, Brisbane, 2001. The little symbols for accents etc in above words have been omitted.

http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=189 More complex discussion as to the key to learning Mandarin is on this link.

Even the supermarket shelves can take us to another time and place. The Willow Pattern is usually on sale and has immortalized the romantic legend of Koong-see and Chang who end as a pair of doves.
The design originated in England.
It is suggested it is based on a traditional Chinese tale. Other interpretations exist.
Blue and white motifs were usually found in Chinese works and wonderful ceramics have been produced there from ancient times as they have good raw materials (clay etc) and artists and I believe porcelain originated there. Pottery figures from the T'ang Dynasty (618-907) are recalled. The statues of females are very quaint and the figures of horses are outstanding.
Several centuries ago Europeans began collecting Chinese ceramics and started copying the designs and techniques! The Willow Pattern would have been all the fashion, I suppose.
The delightful blue and white Delft china of the Netherlands was another result. Trade and The East India company was influential in that regard. (This is not forgetting other contact between India, the Middle East and Central Asia and China began long before the 1700s. Even a fabled journey in the Arabian Nights was between Bagdad and China.

From Huang Zhou, Chinese painter.

In Gregson Park Hamilton last month.

Hope is not glib or simplistic. It is not a bubbling, cheeful optimism; it is the grinding, hard-won strength we find to enable us to live our lives as tough as they might be.. . Bishop Malone, Easter message in The Herald.

It would be crass to add it's time for a genuine kick start and do we approach this with hope as a combination of Little Miss Sunshine and Iron Lady rolled into one.

Famous Tiananmen Square in 'Jing has classic heroic statues. People's Republic of China.


Yonghe Lamasery is described as a monastery for monks of Tibetan Buddhism in central Beijing.
A Palace of Peace and Harmony with a Pavillion of Infinite Happiness is found there.
The Middle way meets the Middle kingdom.