Showing posts with label awesome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label awesome. Show all posts

Saturday, July 27, 2013

India Caves




The Rock-out Caves of Ellora and Ajanta, Maharashtra, India

By Terry Orr


Totally Amazing! Sure makes you wonder how they did this.




YouTube has several videos on these caves - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4ILp_l10uw&list=TLeFCpRDqe1Lo are nine of over 90 that are available and very educational.


Ajanta Caves
The first Buddhist cave monuments at Ajanta date from the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. During the Gupta period (5th and 6th centuries A.D.), many more richly decorated caves were added to the original group. The paintings and sculptures of Ajanta, considered masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, have had a considerable artistic influence.


Ellora Caves
These 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff, not far from Aurangabad, in Maharashtra. Ellora, with its uninterrupted sequence of monuments dating from A.D. 600 to 1000, brings the civilization of ancient India to life. Not only is the Ellora complex a unique artistic creation and a technological exploit but, with its sanctuaries devoted to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, it illustrates the spirit of tolerance that was characteristic of ancient India.



Going to add these to your Bucket List?

[Photos from Google] 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Give a Compliment


(Google Image)

By Diane Forrest

Every Sunday when I go to church, I sit behind a lady and her husband; they are in their 70's, and a lovely couple.  Each Sunday she always comments on how I look, or what I am wearing.  It always makes me feel so good to be noticed, and bad at the same time, because I fail to return a compliment to her.  When it crosses my mind, I don't mention it, because I don't want to feel like a copycat or insincere, but occasionally I try to compliment her first, to make sure I really mean it.  Of course who would lie in church?
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Everyone loves an unexpected compliment.  It sometimes throws people off guard, and changes their facial expression from a frown to a smile, from a bad disposition to a happy one.
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Today is Pay a Compliment Day.  You don’t just have to do it today though, try to get in the habit of paying one every day to someone different.  I promise you won't go into debt. When you compliment someone, make sure you mean it, and not just saying something to be nice. Pick out one thing you like about the person, and focus on that such as, you have a nice smile, or I love the way you laugh, or that shade of blue really brings out the color in your eyes.
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This day got started 19 years ago and according to http://adriennesiouxkoopersmith.blogspot.com/2009/02/from-founder-of-pay-compliment-day-15th.html - this is how it began:
Adrienne begins: “I was in the right place at the right time when the Inspiration struck me. Would you like to hear the Story – the Event logical Formula? It’s quite easy to understand. It’s almost a Fable. I had boarded a CTA Bus #155 in my neighborhood early one morning. Bus drivers are told to only pick up riders at the designated stops although some People will run after a bus, as if in trying to hail a Taxi.

This was the case. A Woman was half-a-block away from the Stop when the Bus rolled on past. The wind chill index was nearly zero; it was a bitterly, blustery February Day, the kind Chicago is well-known for. That’s why we’re thrilled February is a short month! The Bus Driver saw this frantic woman waving from his peripheral vision. I was already on board and watching the ‘Action.’ He immediately stopped the Bus and pulled over so she could hop-on-board. Delighted he had seen her (in stress), she ran to the Bus that had pulled over, boarded and thanked the driver profusely. This rare act(ion)saved her both time and waiting a spell in the severe cold. Who knows what she was hurrying off to?  Perhaps a sick child in a hospital or another emergency? We will never know but can assume.

Thinking of all the possibilities, when I got to my Stop and exiting the vehicle, I merely commented to the Bus Driver: “I’m going to pay you a Compliment. Here it comes: 'That was really nice of you to stop for that Woman. A really decent thing to do...'”He listened as he slowed the bus down and seemed genuinely pleased that I had witnessed that random Gesture of Kindness. Later that day when in my Studio, that Episode then became the Basis for this HOLIDATE.
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So today, compliment as many people as you can, and keep it up the rest of the year, not only will it make the recipient feel good, but  you will feel better about giving someone a smile too.

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Happy Birthday Dad!

  October 15, 2023 Each day, I walk into my den to see what in new and what are my ‘to do’ items for the day and say good morning, Dad. This...