FEBRUARY 14: Love is Love

Illustrated by Dominique Liongson

This is a catchy phrase I heard from the song "Love is Love" by Culture Club.  I took time to look through the lyrics.  Somehow I can't seem to relate to the words of this song.

If this line caught my attention for the Valentine Season,  I found something interesting from the Urban Dictionary.  It stated:

love is love

It's not about the sex or gender of the person but how they treat you! So, as long as you're getting the love and affection that you need to be happy in love then it doesn't and/or shouldn't matter what gender is loving you.

Often a term used by bisexuals or those who have no issues with swinging with the same-sex as long as the loving is good!

i.e. A guy might say to another guy, "I'm just looking for someone to love me (a genderless statement) because love is love!" The sex of the person isn't the issue but how the person is treated as it pertains to being loved!

by Orators Speak March 22, 2011

I am not saying romantic love is a bad thing.  I wish to express that there is a love that everyone can relate to ranging from babies to seniors, plants to animals, living and non-living.  A love called kindness-- the real thing without bad intentions.

I make a wish to you, dear reader: May you be kind and receive kindness in return for the rest of your life.  The good news is your life will never end (as scientists agree: Matter --ourselves included-- can never be created nor destroyed; it only changes form).

This is my kind of Valentine Season.  May each day be Valentine's Day.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

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DL
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"Compassion crowns the soul with its truest victory."
--Aberjhani, "The River of Winged Dreams"

JANUARY: Goodbye Unbelievably-good Year 2013... Greetings Victorious Year 2014!

ictorious Year 2014 makes itself known (when we succeed every battle we will face this next cycle) as our planet starts to make another trip around the sun.  This loop is another gift for us to appreciate.  Time to reflect how will we live within one complete journey our planet will take, then just do it.  

The Earth --our home-- has carried us for the longest time revolving around the sun making one complete cycle every year.  Why not make each cycle special and precious?  If we haven't before, why not now?

As we celebrate the beginning of a new cycle, I wish you have a guide how to make the most of this Victorious Year 2014.  

As a suggested plan of focus, let us keep our eyes peeled (metaphorically speaking ;-) to take note of the little victories we face.  Failed in a battle?  If we learn from our mistake and follow a better alternative, the fault becomes a gold nugget of wisdom.

To add more zest, let us be grateful before we are victorious (future), while we are victorious (present), and when we had been victorious (past).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(* "V 2014" illustrated by Dominique Liongson)




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DL
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"Compassion crowns the soul with its truest victory."
--Aberjhani, "The River of Winged Dreams"

DECEMBER: Bring out the Poinsettias!

Poinsettia (illustrated by Dominique Liongson)

Poinsettia… what an interesting plant!  The popular classic one I've seen turns red during the Winter climate.  I searched the Internet for a lovely legend about how poinsettias are linked to Christmas.  I found one which came with more trivia about the poinsettia.

The article (about poinsettias) can answer some of these questions:

1) Where are poinsettia plants native to?

2) If the "flowers" are actually leaves, what special type of leaf is it?

3) What product can you get from the poinsettia's flowerlike leaves in relation to clothes and cosmetics?

4) What product can you get from the poinsettia's milky white sap?

5) Who made the poinsettia widely known?

6) Who was the first person who sold poinsettias under their latin name?

7) What is the latin name of the poinsettia?

8) What does this latin name literally mean in english?

9) Which country has the poinsettia as the national emblem?

No need to google for answers.  Just click this link and read: http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/poinsettia.shtml

Did you get them a 100% correct?  Fantastic!  Fun to learn something new each day, huh? 

I hope you also enjoyed reading the legend of the poinsettia from the same article, too.

Happy Ho-ho-holidays!

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DL    

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"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful."

--Buddha

NOVEMBER 26: Charles M. Schulz Birthday!

Charles M. Schulz (illustrated by Dominique Liongson)

Charles M. Schulz (26 November 1922 - 12 February 2000) is a famous American Cartoonist who brought Peanuts and (most especially) Snoopy to the world.  If you'd like to know his biography, check out the Charles M. Schulz Museum or Wikipedia.  I read and found out that his nickname is Sparky. Read the biography links above and you'll find out why.

I feel a connection with this artist because of the humor of the cast in Peanuts.  My top 3 favorite Peanuts characters are 1)Snoopy, 2)Lucy, and 3)Linus.  I can write a caboodle of recalled Peanuts comic strip jokes.  But then, this might steal Sparky's thunder which may defeat my purpose in blogging him.  For a sampling of his work, have a look at peanuts.com.

What does his comic strip series Peanuts have that other comic strips don't?  Here is my list...

• A dog who sleeps on the roof of his dog house
• A dog who writes novels and receives rejection slips 
• A dog who knows his master's name as "The Round Headed Kid"
• A dog who failed to collect a tip for bringing his dog dish to the kitchen
• A dog who gives away easter eggs as an easter beagle
• A dog who listens to Leo Buscaglia audiotapes
• A dog who caught a baseball with his dog dish in his mouth
• A dog who is an elegant ice skater
• A dog who is in touch with his brother who lives in the lonely desert

• A bird who flies upside down
• A bird who cheers up his dog-friend by making a quilt out of the rejection slips
• A bird who speaks in apostrophes, periods, and question marks while a dog can understand him

• A 5-cent psychiatrist with paying clients
• A girl bully who has a crush on a blonde kid who plays the toy piano
• The same kid wanted real estate for her birthday but didn't get it

• A blonde kid who plays Beethoven music with a toy piano

• A smart kid with a blanket habit
• A blanket habit kid who has an eternally loyal devotion to The Great Pumpkin
• The same kid may have a bossy sister but he is a brother who loves her very much

• A round headed kid who has faith in a girl who yanks the football whenever he tries to kick it
• A round headed kid who served dog fondue to his dog
• A round headed kid who is proud of his dad the barber

• A team of baseball players seems to be geared towards the losing end but still plays every baseball season anyway

• lots of unrequited love

• and a whole lot more to look at if you follow the Peanuts gang...

I wish to pay my respects to Sparky who has contributed intelligence and laughter in the art of newspaper cartoons.  It seems that he has earned a wonderful retirement plan in the afterlife.  Somehow I wonder how he is enjoying the fruits of his labor.  Maybe his Snoopy has materialized into an independent dog.  Or the unrequited love issues finally have a happy ending.   Or the good Great Pumpkin finally showed up to Linus and his friends.  Or Lucy becomes nicer because her pianist Schroeder tamed her.  Or.... who knows?

I gratefully thank you, Sparky.  You are one of the few artists who shines with your essence as a first-rate you.  No one else can do the best Peanuts gang except you.  I can see it is better to be a first-rate me than a second-rate wannabe.  With the strengths and weaknesses that only you --Charles M. Schulz-- have, you created a world that all your admirers want to be in.  Thank you for your intelligent and funny world.  If I had the chance, I would love to give you a big hug... because I listened to a Leo Buscaglia tape just like Snoopy did.  And on November 26...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPARKY!

:-( -> :-| -> :-)

DL    

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"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful."

--Buddha

OCTOBER 19: Ed Emberley's Birthday!

PHOTO: 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ed-Emberley/407934075944677

SELF-PORTRAIT: 

http://www.edemberley.com/pages/main.aspx?section=bio

October 19 is the birthday of Ed Emberley.

Who is Ed Emberley?  If you want to know about him that's according to Wikipedia, check out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_emberley.  If you want to know about him that's according to Mr. Emberley, check out

http://www.edemberley.com/pages/main.aspx?section=bio.

How am I connected with this artist?  In a bookstore, I found a thumbprint drawing book authored by Mr. Emberley.  When I finally had the money to buy it, the book was gone. :-(

When I was on holiday, I asked a bookstore clerk if they have the thumbprint book by Ed Emberley.  It felt really good that the store has it.  It was not one book but two books in one-- thumbprint and fingerprint drawing book!  A cheerful holiday memory indeed.  Happy-happy, joy-joy! :-)

I had fun trying out his designs.  Perhaps with more practice, I can develop my unique prints.  It's like if you see Mr. Emberley's masterpiece, you'd say "That's an Ed Emberley original."  Hopefully one day, someone will look at my masterpiece and would say, "That's a Dominique Liongson original."

You might love to try out his art style.  Check out www.edemberley.com.  I enjoyed his animated how-to Drawing Book Sampler.  Not in the mood to artwork about? Watching the videos might help you change your mind.  Or perhaps you might want to schedule it another day.

Thank you for sharing your fun for visual arts, Mr Emberley. You are one of my inspirations to have fun with making more artworks.  And on October 19...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ED EMBERLEY!

:-( -> :-| -> :-)

DL    

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"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful."

--Buddha

SEPTEMBER 13: Happy Roald Dahl's Day!

Roald Dahl  image courtesy of www.us.penguingroup.com

ROALD DAHL'S DAY ON 13 SEPTEMBER!

http://www.roalddahlday.info

Roald Dahl was born on 13 September 1916.  He had written books for children and the young at heart.  You may read more of his biography at www.roalddahl.com.

He has works made into movies such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (twice; first was starring Gene Wilder and the second was Johnny Depp), "Matilda", and "The Witches".

How am I connected with Roald Dahl?  

• I enjoyed watching "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" that I was motivated to read the book version.  The book has more details and is just as lovely.
• I enjoyed watching "Matilda".  I haven't read the book version yet but I am willing to have a go.
• My favorite quote from one of his books came from "The Twits".  It goes like this:  'If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face.  And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it.  A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly.  You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.'

What we both have in common is Mr Dahl and I are both authors for the young and young at heart.  I have fun writing and I supposed he did too.  It would be a dream come true to have him as my mentor!  Woohoo!

But then he passed away on 23 November 1990.  If The Little Mermaid (of Hans Christian Andersen) became foam in the air, where would Mr Dahl's spirit be?  I suppose his well-loved books have established a pleasant immortality for himself in the hearts and minds of his readers.

Thank you for being you, Mr Dahl.  I am glad you write like a first rate plum than a second rate banana.  You have a special unique way for telling a story and writing it down.

So on September 13, HAPPY ROALD DAHL'S DAY!

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DL    
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"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful."
--Buddha

AUGUST 13: Happy Left-Handers' Day!

Image courtesy of Janaka Dharmasena at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This is a day we celebrate our recognition of left-handers everywhere.  Left handers aren't alone in a world of right-handers.  We have various celebrities, authors, musicians, artists, actors, athletes, and more.  For a full listing, you may visit http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/left.html.

Left-handers are those who use their left hands most of the time for doing tasks.  The use their left for writing, cutting, driving, measuring, and more.

Most tools were traditionally designed for right-handers. Check out http://www.lefthandersday.com/top10-products.html.  You'll find the top ten left-handed products popularly purchased from the Anything Left-Handed website. The online shop is in http://www.anythinglefthanded.co.uk.

Before I was schooled, I wrote on paper with my left hand. When I learned to write in school, I was taught to write with my right hand.  My art of writing with my left hand was lost and forgotten.  But if I have the need to be ambidextrous --the ability to write with both hands-- I'm glad to know that I can be trained.  It would be very handy to be able to write with my left hand whenever my right hand is tired.

To all you left-handers out there, join the club!  There's a free online club at http://www.lefthandersday.com/index.html.  I suppose you can mingle with other left-handers who join this community.  If you'd like to, join now so that you won't be "left behind". ;-)

So on August 13, HAPPY LEFT-HANDERS' DAY!



:-( -> :-| -> :-)
DL    
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"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful."
--Buddha