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BHAGAWAN SRI SATYA SAI BABA THE TRUE AVATAR
Vivek Kumar
www.indiadivine.org/audarya/ammachi/251293-bhagawan-sri-s...
I am infinite, I am immeasurable, I am unique, I am incomparable. Equal to myself, I am my own measure, witness and authority.' And further he states his true identity when he says: 'I am the Satashya Sathyam, the Truth of truths. Why has truth come on earth in human form? To plant in the heart of man the yearning for Truth, to place man on the road to Truth, to help man to reach Truth by loving instruction and by the final gift of illumination.’ These are truly gems of pronouncements made by the avatar, which are self-sufficient, autonomous and complete and can hardly be glossed over. But the problem is how can the finite, the limited human entity, understand the infinite, unique and incomparable Godhead?
I am not Sathya Sai Baba. This is the name by which you know me today. All names are mine. I am the one God who answers the prayers that rise in human hearts in all languages from all hands, addressed to all forms of deity. He further says that the labours of the avatar in his mission will not fail and in the end of this manifestation, the earth's age will begin anew and the golden years return. Many who believe in Baba believe in the divine pledge and its certainty and inevitability. Professor V.K. Gokak has put it very nicely and in emphatic terms when he says: I am one of those who believe in him and the surety of his pledge. The question may be asked: why? On what grounds? My one answer to that question is: I believe in Baba and the surety of his pledge, not because I am what I am, but because Baba is what he is. It follows from this that it is all a question of faith and belief.
The eternal laws of nature, the revolution of constellation, the dance of the elements, the cycle of seasons, time and flux are sustained by divine will and the direct manifestation of the supreme Godhead in phenomenal world. As Professor Gokak has rightly observed, But these laws of Nature can be transcended whenever a ray, direct from the Supreme penetrates the universe. This ray is power, will, thought and feeling combined in a solar flash. The Word, which is at the very root of creation, is a complex seed symphony of Truth, Beauty, Goodness, Love, Delight and Power.
The Avatar is only a convenient focus for the operation of the divine power in a human and tangible way. When we say God or divinity is walking the earth in human form, what exactly do we mean? We have seen that Absolute or divinity is vast power that which envelops, permeates and controls the universe, if we imagine the Absolute as a vast power grid then Bhagwan Sathya Sai Baba is a substation from which that power flows and operates in a visible form.
The relationship between the general divine power and this substation needs elucidation. In the first place, there is no exclusiveness; there were, are and will continue to be, other substations through which this vast power of the Absolute operates. Lourdes, for instance, continues to be a place where miraculous cures occur even after Bhagwan Sathya Sai Baba started his miraculous cures. The difference is that in Lourdes there is no visible source, no tangible output through which the power operates. On the other hand, Sai Baba is a visible, moving, talking substation ... Everyone of us, according to Hindu philosophy, is a focal point of this Absolute consciousness. It may be asked what is the difference between Us and Sai Baba? In him the power flows out unhindered and with full force and power. In us that power is almost completely muted. This is a good and plausible explanation of the manifestation of the divine in human form.
The descent of the divine principle on earth is like the coming of the transcendent sunbeam to scatter the darkness and gloom on our planet. Sri Sathya Sai Baba himself says: Generally, an avatar is described as coming down from a higher status to a lower one. But no, when the baby in the cradle weeps, wails and clamours for help, the mother stoops and takes it over in her arms. Her stoop is not described as coming down. Sri Sathya Sai, like Krishna, is a full Avatar with all the sixteen kalas. He is also the Avatar of Love and Truth who has come in order to light the camp of Love and Truth a light from above, perfected in the triumphant symbol of Love.
Baba prescribes the way in which the Avatar can be used by mankind: The way in
which an Avatar is used for one's liberation and uplift is: watch his every step, observe his actions and activities, follow the guiding principle of which his life is an elaboration. Mark his love, his compassion, his wisdom; try to bring them into your own life.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba is the ray serene, the light, the blazing knot of fire merged into his personality. Baba himself puts it admirably when he says: No one can understand my mystery. The best thing you can do is to get immersed into it. There is no use arguing about pros and cons; dive and know the depth, eat and know the taste. Then you can discuss me to your heart's content. Develop truth and love and then you need not even pray to be granted this and that. Everything will be added unto you unasked.
When I heard Italian astronaut Umberto Guidoni (payload specialist, STS-75; mission specialist, STS-100) was going to be doing a presentation in Los Angeles in January 2014, I had to at least try to get his signature in my Space Shuttle: The First 20 Years book. Non-NASA astronauts make rare appearances in the US, and Guidoni is a nonsigner by mail (I even emailed asking where I could send a photo to be autographed, with no response.)
Interestingly, Canadian astronaut Chris A. Hadfield, pictured here along with the rest of the STS-100 crew, also appears on the prior page during a spacewalk from that flight. So I could have had Hadfield sign here as well (and also Jeffrey S. Ashby, 100's pilot, who signed the book on a photo of that mission's liftoff.) Hadfield signed just before Guidoni, two astronauts prior.
And since this photo also shows ret. Navy Capt. Kent V. Rominger, I had him sign this page as well. He added his mission number and position (CDR = commander) unasked. Titusville, Fla., 7 Nov. 2015.
Total signatures: Two.
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding. - Kahlil Gibran
More Kahlil Gibran Quotes and Sayings
Picture Quotes on Giving
Popular attractions in Chiang Mai for your first visit
Original photo credit: Olga Oginskaya
Daniel M. Tani was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in April 1996, Tani reported to JSC in August 1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he qualified for flight assignment as a Mission Specialist in 1998. He held technical duties in the Astronaut Office Computer Support Branch, and EVA Branch and served as a Crew Support Astronaut (CSA) for Expedition 4. In 2002, he was a crew member on the Aquarius undersea research habitat for nine days as part of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO)-2 mission. Tani then trained and qualified as the backup Flight Engineer for Expedition 11. After his flight on Expedition 16, Tani served as Branch Chief of the International Space Station branch. He also served as a Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) for the International Space Station and was the lead CAPCOM for Expedition 26.
Tani left NASA in August 2012 to become the Vice President of Mission and Cargo Operations in the Advanced Programs Group of Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia.
STS-108 Endeavour (December 5 to December 17, 2001) was the 12th shuttle flight to visit the International Space Station. During the mission, Tani served as Mission Specialist 2. Endeavour's crew delivered the Expedition 4 crew and returned the Expedition 3 crew to Earth. The crew unloaded more than three tons of supplies and science experiments from the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. Tani performed a spacewalk to wrap thermal blankets around the station solar array gimbals. STS-108 was accomplished in 185 Earth orbits, traveling 4.8 million miles in 283 hours and 36 minutes, including a spacewalk lasting 4 hours and 12 minutes.
On his second spaceflight, Tani served as Expedition-16 Flight Engineer and spent 120 days living and working aboard the International Space Station. He launched to the Station aboard STS-120 on October 23, 2007, and returned aboard STS-122, landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on February 20, 2008. During his tour of duty aboard the station, he performed numerous robotic operations in support of the installation and checkout of Node-2 and logged a total of 34 hours and 59 minutes during five spacewalks.
I probably got this photo printed for the Columbia+10 event, just in case Tani showed up. He was nearby, as I recall, but could not get to that event.
Neither could I make it to Chantilly Day, but it was nice and easy getting Tani's autograph on this - and what a neat unasked inscription! Chantilly, Va., 16 May 2015.
This is the first time in a long while that I can remember being stamped coming in (unasked) to the United States. They'll stamp your customs form, but not your passport on a regular basis is what I remember. Newark Liberty Intl Airport (EWR), Newark, NJ, on same page as my Dominican Republic entry and exit stamps.
Retired Air Force Col. Donald R. McMonagle made an appearance at the Space Foundation Discovery Center in Colorado Springs, and through their generosity, was able to get my Space Shuttle: 20 Years book signed.
I could not find any high-res pictures suitable to get printed out as an 8*10, at least none that I liked. I did find a photo able to be done as a 5*7, but when I found an original NASA glossy of McMonagle, I sent it to him afterward to get signed. And I love the (unasked) inscription!
McMonagle was selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1987. A veteran of three space flights, McMonagle has logged over 605 hours in space.
He flew as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on Department of Defense mission STS-39 in April 1991. During this highly successful 8-day mission, the seven-man crew deployed, operated, and retrieved a remotely-controlled spacecraft and conducted several science experiments to include research of both natural and induced phenomena in the Earth's atmosphere.
In January 1993, McMonagle served as pilot on STS-54 aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The 6-day mission featured the deployment of a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS), and the collection of information about celestial x-rays using a Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer.
Lastly, he commanded a crew of six aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-66 Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3 (ATLAS-3) 11-day mission in November 1994.
Sent 4 November 2016; received back 17 November 2016.
Finally! This makes sense! The Supawna NWR stamp is available at the refuge office, which doubles as the gift shop for Finns Point Rear Range Light. Before, you had to go to Cape May NWR to get this - which is literally on the other coast of New Jersey, about an hour drive. Volunteer pulled this out unasked. 20 May 2018
Nature! We are surrounded by her and locked in her clasp: powerless to leave her, and powerless to come closer to her. Unasked and unwarned she takes us up into the whirl of her dance, and hurries on with us till we are weary and fall from her arms. She creates new forms without end: what exists now, never was before; what was, comes not again; all is new and yet always the old. We live in the midst of her and are strangers. She speaks to us unceasingly and betrays not her secret. We are always influencing her and yet can do her no violence.Individuality seems to be all her aim, and she cares nought for individuals. She is always building and always destroying, and her workshop is not to be approached.Nature lives in her children only, and the mother, where is she? She is the sole artist,—out of the simplest materials the greatest diversity; attaining, with no trace of effort, the finest perfection, the closest precision, always softly veiled. Each of her works has an essence of its own; every shape that she takes is in idea utterly isolated; and yet all forms one.She plays a drama; whether she sees it herself, we know not; and yet she plays it for us, who stand but a little way off.There is constant life in her, motion and development; and yet she remains where she was. She is eternally changing, nor for a moment does she stand still. Of rest she knows nothing, and to all stagnation she has affixed her curse. She is steadfast; her step is measured, her exceptions rare, her laws immutable.She has thought, and she ponders unceasingly; not as a man, but as Nature. The meaning of the whole she keeps to herself, and no one can learn it of her.Men are all in her, and she in all men. With all she plays a friendly game, and rejoices the more a man wins from her. With many her game is so secret, that she brings it to an end before they are aware of it.Even what is most unnatural is Nature; even the coarsest Philistinism has something of her genius. Who does not see her everywhere, sees her nowhere aright.She loves herself, and clings eternally to herself with eyes and hearts innumerable. She has divided herself that she may be her own delight. She is ever making new creatures spring up to delight in her, and imparts herself insatiably.She rejoices in illusion. If a man destroys this in himself and others, she punishes him like the hardest tyrant. If he follows her in confidence, she presses him to her heart as it were her child.Her children are numberless. To no one of them is she altogether niggardly; but she has her favourites, on whom she lavishes much, and for whom she makes many a sacrifice. Over the great she has spread the shield of her protection.She spurts forth her creatures out of nothing, and tells them not whence they come and whither they go. They have only to go their way: she knows the path.Her springs of action are few, but they never wear out: they are always working, always manifold.The drama she plays is always new, because she is always bringing new spectators. Life is her fairest invention, and Death is her device for having life in abundance. She envelops man in darkness, and urges him constantly to the light. She makes him dependent on the earth, heavy and sluggish, and always rouses him up afresh. She creates wants, because she loves movement. How marvellous that she gains it all so easily! Every want is a benefit, soon satisfied, soon growing again. If she gives more, it is a new source of desire; but the balance quickly rights itself. Every moment she starts on the longest journeys, and every moment reaches her goal.She amuses herself with a vain show; but to us her play is all-important.She lets every child work at her, every fool judge of her, and thousands pass her by and see nothing; and she has her joy in them all, and in them all finds her account. Man obeys her laws even in opposing them: he works with her even when he wants to work against her. Everything she gives is found to be good, for first of all she makes it indispensable. She lingers, that we may long for presence; she hurries by, that we may not grow weary of her. Speech or language she has none; but she creates tongues and hearts through which she feels and speaks. Her crown is Love. Only through Love can we come near her. She puts gulfs between all things, and all things strive to be interfused. She isolates everything, that she may draw everything together. With a few draughts from the cup of Love she repays for a life full of trouble. She is all things. She rewards herself and punishes herself; and in herself rejoices and is distressed. She is rough and gentle, loving and terrible, powerless and almighty. In her everything is always present. Past or Future she knows not. The Present is her Eternity. She is kind. I praise her with all her works. She is wise and still. No one can force her to explain herself, or frighten her into a gift that she does not give willingly. She is crafty, but for a good end; and it is best not to notice her cunning. She is whole and yet never finished. As she works now, so can she work for ever.To every one she appears in a form of his own. She hides herself in a thousand names and terms, and is always the same. She has placed me in this world; she will also lead me out of it. I trust myself to her. She may do with me as she pleases. She will not hate her work. I did not speak of her. No! what is true and what is false, she has spoken it all. Everything is her fault, everything is her merit.
The regular passport stamp was too big to fit on my kid's hand. So unasked, staff produced the stamp from behind the gift shop counter. 23 April 2019.
Bonus stamp (2 of 2) available at Fort Mott State Park. Cashier pulled this and another bonus stamp unasked. 20 May 2018
Starring Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Gary Raymond, Laurence Naismith, Niall MacGinnis, Michael Gwynn, Douglas Wilmer, Jack Gwillim, Honor Blackman, John Cairney, Patrick Troughton, Andrew Faulds, Nigel Green, and John Crawford. Directed by Don Chaffey.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxA3wFYxUB8&feature=share&...
Pelias (Douglas Wilmer) usurps the throne of Thessaly by killing King Aristo. However, there is a prophecy that he will be overthrown by a child of Aristo wearing one sandal. When he kills one of Aristo's daughters after she had sought and been granted the protection of Hera, Pelias makes an enemy of the goddess.
Twenty years later, Jason (Todd Armstrong), Aristo's son grown to manhood, saves the life of Pelias during a chance encounter, but loses a sandal doing so. He does not know that he has rescued his father's murderer, but Pelias recognizes his nemesis. Pelias keeps his identity secret. However, he cannot just kill Jason; the prophecy also says that he himself would die.
When he learns that Jason is undertaking a dangerous quest to obtain the fabled Golden Fleece to rally the people of Thessaly, Pelias encourages him, hoping that he will be killed in the attempt. Men from all over Greece compete for the honor of joining Jason. Since their ship is named the Argo after the ship's builder Argos (Laurence Naismith), they are dubbed the Argonauts. Among those chosen are Hercules (Nigel Green) and Acastus (Gary Raymond), the son of Pelias, who is sent by his father to sabotage the voyage.
Jason is taken to Mount Olympus by Hermes (Michael Gwynn) to speak to the gods Zeus (Niall MacGinnis) and Hera (Honor Blackman). Hera tells him that she wishes him well, but that Zeus has imposed restrictions on her assistance (Jason, like all mortals, is a piece in the game which the gods play against each other. This is an accurate portrayal of Greek theology and rarely found in any modern medium). Jason is told that he can only invoke Hera's aid five times (the same number of times his sister called on the goddess by name for help before she was slain). In response to Jason's unasked questions, Hera tells him to search for the Fleece in the land of Colchis, on the other side of the world.
Many dangers threaten the expedition. When the Argonauts run perilously low on supplies, Jason turns to Hera. She guides him to the Isle of Bronze, but warns him to take nothing but provisions. However, while chasing some goats, Hercules and his young friend Hylas (John Cairney) find a partially-open treasure chamber of the gods, surmounted by an enormous bronze statue of Talos. Despite Hylas' warning, Hercules steals an enormous brooch pin the size of a javelin. The statue comes to life and attacks, causing much mayhem before Jason can destroy it using Hera's advice. Hylas goes missing and is presumed dead, but the guilt-ridden Hercules refuses to leave until he knows for certain. The other Argonauts will not abandon Hercules, so Jason is forced to call on Hera for the last time. She confirms that Hylas is indeed dead and that Hercules is destined not to continue with them.
Hera also directs them to seek out Phineas (Patrick Troughton), the blind seer, for the way to Colchis. They find him tormented by two blue-skinned, bat-like Harpies sent by Zeus to punish him for misusing his gift of prophecy. In return for imprisoning the flying creatures, Phineas tells Jason what he needs to know and gives Jason his only possession, an amulet. To reach Colchis however, they must pass between the Clashing Rocks, a strait flanked by towering rock cliffs that shake and drop boulders to sink any ships attempting to pass between them. Fortunately for the Argonauts, they learn this second hand. Another ship tries to run the strait from the other direction and founders. In despair, Jason throws Phineas' gift into the water; the god Triton emerges and holds back the rocks long enough to let the Argo pass through. On the other side, they pick up three survivors of the other ship, including Medea (Nancy Kovack), the high priestess of the goddess Hecate.
They sight Colchis the next day. Acastus and Jason disagree on how to approach the King of Colchis. The argument escalates into a swordfight. Eventually Acastus is disarmed and jumps into the sea to escape. Believing him dead, Jason and his men accept an invitation from King Aeëtes (Jack Gwillim) to a feast, but once they are off guard, they are captured and imprisoned. Acastus has betrayed them, telling Aeëtes about their mission. However, Medea helps Jason and his men escape.
Acastus tries to steal the Fleece himself, but is fatally wounded by its guardian, the many-headed Hydra. Jason succeeds in killing the monster and taking the Fleece. But Aeëtes is not far behind. He strews the teeth of the Hydra on the ground and prays to Hecate. The planted teeth sprout out of the ground as armed skeletons who pursue and battle Jason and two of his men (in a famous four minute stop motion sequence that took special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen four and a half months to produce[1]). Seeing that his companions have been slain, Jason escapes by jumping off a cliff into the sea.
The quest fulfilled, he, Medea and the surviving Argonauts start the return voyage to Thessaly.
Jason Voorhees wore the iconic hockey mask created by special FX artist Tom Savini. Match the unasked Jason to his Friday the 13th movie?
Bonus stamp (1 of 2) available at Fort Mott State Park. Cashier pulled this and another bonus stamp unasked. 20 May 2018
The launch event for my friend Andy's book of poems, The Ambulance Box. That's him sitting at a table in the upstairs room, signing books.
Here's one of the poems. If it seems like the sort of thing you like, you can follow the link above to buy it at a cheap price direct from the publisher.
Pedestrian
Someone was standing in the middle of the road.
She stood astride it, just beyond
the blind spot on a sharp, countryside bend,
so hidden that I nearly ran her over.
At first, she seemed an ordinary figure
— jeans, a fitted t-shirt, long brown hair —
but for the confidence with which she stood
where any car would slam straight into her.
Almost as soon as we jerked to a halt
and I got out the car to remonstrate,
the space around her ruptured
with the opening of wings
as colourful as the flocks of paradise.
She stretched her hand towards me, said
I know you’ll take good care of it and poured
from her palm into mine a sleeping child,
scarcely the size of a nut and sprouting
from its belly a shoot topped off by a tiny leaf.
I tried to ask the obvious questions, but she
folded herself from our vision.
I felt her gift stir slightly, though it slept
as soundly as it does now in my hand.
How can I drive on with this entrusted to me?
I’m rooted here, keeping watch
on the growth of what is planted in my palm —
this difficult, unasked-for joy.
Yes, it earned a bit of a "is this it?" Pretty much nothing out of the ordinary here at all.
That said, Malev does win points for being a OneWorld partner who pays out 1:1 EQMs for AAdvantage members at all fare classes, *and* for the free unasked for upgrades I got.
Also on the bright side, the lounge was Unicum free.
An "unasked" for plant growing on my patio. Pulled a leaf off and took it in the garage to photograph. Sadly missed the deadline for the Worcester Flickr group May competition by a day, but don't have to worry about this week's photo tomorrow now!
22/52
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding. Gibran Kahlil Gibran
Jeffrey A. Hoffman was the first to reach 1,000 hours flying on the space shuttle. Here, he and Franklin Chang-Diaz celebrating their combined 2,000 hour milestone on the STS-75 flight.
Despite the scrum for autographs following the MIT+150 presentation (Boston, 2011), Hoffman asked who to personalize this photo to, which Terry Hart noticed and commented on. Hoffman also has a well-defined first and last name with this autograph.
Later on I was able to send this photo to Chang-Diaz for his autograph. He personalized the photo, unasked.
I had an opportunity for ret. Air Force Col. Mark C. Lee to sign my book, and I chose this image (p. 82) of he and Carl J. Meade, also an Air Force colonel, testing the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) backpack. This was the first untethered US EVA since Mission 51A in 1984, 10 years earlier.
Lee flew four flights: STS-30R/Atlantis, which deployed Magellan to Venus; STS-47/Endeavour, which flew the Spacelab Japan (and he also flew with his then wife Jan Davis, the only time NASA has flown a married couple); STS-64/Discovery; and STS-82/Discovery, a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
Published reports indicate Lee was pulled from a fifth flight, STS-98, and replaced by Robert Curbeam for unspecified reasons. Also according to published reports Lee appealed the decision but was denied. He remained eligible for future flights, but Lee retired from NASA in 2001.
Unasked, he inscribed the page to me and added the Air Force motto - "Aim high!" Rockford, Ill., 5 April 2012.
Saw this sign at a doctor’s office today. Apart from the dubious value of the legally necessary Braille markings, and aside from the questionable wisdom of descending into the flames lurking at the bottom of said stairwell, what struck me most was the clear depiction of levitational abilities.
Of course, this brings to mind other questions best left unasked.
I didn't have a Sharpie on me, so I defaced the sign digitally. ツ Enjoy.
» #photography #iphoneography
#sign #signporn #fire #warning #typography
Eastman Kodak
3A Autographic Kodak Special.
Bausch & Lomb Tessar f/6.3.
Velosto 1 sec - 300th B. T.
Coupled Rangefinder
*For A122 rollfilm (no longer available) which allowed for a massive image size of 3.25in x 5.5in
*This camera is large - it stands 10 inches tall when erect
*The camera body is covered in Persian morocco leather.
*This was the first camera to be supplied with a coupled rangefinder
THE UNASKED QUESTION IS "WHY DO YOU NEED to USE A RANGEFINDER WITH A LENS AS SLOW AS f6.3?"
And here's the actual page signed by Story Musgrave, ten years after I took the photo. He normally signs with just his first name to distinguish his autographs from autopens, but signed this with his last name unasked. Galloway Township, NJ, 5 Nov. 2014.
Eastman Kodak
3A Autographic Kodak Special.
Bausch & Lomb Tessar f/6.3.
Velosto 1 sec - 300th B. T.
Coupled Rangefinder
*For A122 rollfilm (no longer available) which allowed for a massive image size of 3.25in x 5.5in
*This camera is large - it stands 10 inches tall when erect
*The camera body is covered in Persian morocco leather.
*This was the first camera to be supplied with a coupled rangefinder
THE UNASKED QUESTION IS "WHY DO YOU NEED to USE A RANGEFINDER WITH A LENS AS SLOW AS f6.3?"
Books I am currently reading. Yes, some of them are for classes, but all of them I plan on finishing. Some day. Many have been half read and put aside for more essential reading and Russian literature is an overwhelming majority. In descending order:
-The Portable 20th Century Russian Reader (Russian Literature class, selected modern Russian literature)
-The Visual Turn (Comparative Cinemas class, very dry)
-Figures Traced In Light (Comparative Cinemas class again, slightly less dry, but still technical film analysis)
-The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel (Russian Literature class, a decent collection of short stories by an early 20th century Russian Jew)
-The Bedbug and Selected Poetry, Vladimir Mayakovsky (Russian Literature class, amazing imagery by the poet of the revolution)
-The Gentleman from San Francisco and Other Stories, Ivan Bunin (Russian Literature class although I read a few of them in Russian, darkly romantic)
-Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer, Joseph Conrad (Bus ride reading since it fits in my pocket, but a great classic, Heart of Darkness)
-Cement, F.V. Gladkov (Russian Literature class, soviet realism extolling the glories of a factory work)
-With Fire and Sword, Henry Sienkiewicz (Given to me by a friend, historical fiction about medieval Poland, written in Polish 100 years ago)
-The Bible (No specific book, I'm skipping all over)
-А.С. Пушкин, Vol 4 (A.C. Pushkin, may never finish this. The Russian master with poems such as "The Bronze Horseman" and Fairytale of the Tsar Sultan, of which I've seen the opera)
-Мастер и Маргарита, Михаил Булгаков (Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov, five chapters with extensive dictionary use)
-Бич Божий, Евгений Замятин (The Whip of God, Evgeni Zamyatin, a collection of short stories, very difficult)
-Месс-Менд, Мариэтта Шагинян (Mess Mend, Marietta Shaginyan, an obscure soviet novel, of which I've read the first chapter)
-The Frigate Pallada, Ivan Goncharov (turn of the century travelogue, following a Russian's voyage to Japan, highly recommended)
-Встретились, поговорили, Сергей Довлатов (We Met, We Talked, Sergei Doblatov, modern Russian short stories)
-The Gulag Archipelago, Alexander Soljenitsyn (detailed account of Stalin's purges by a labor camp exile)
-Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair (for my job, in which I am to become head bicycle technician, despite knowing little about bikes)
-Newsweek (very conservative and unasked for, but free)
-Wired Magazine (best technology magazine ever)
-Rolling Stone (worst magazine I have ever read, but free)
-Film History (Comparative Cinemas Class, interesting, but thick)
The hyped love triangle of SS and A and the immense media popularity giving unasked coverage prompted me to add one more dimension through a different take
yes, well, i started with a grey background which i made of self-mixed paint. i did not like this mixture (and hope to have mor fun with a ready mixed grey one day). more and more color came to this end... untill i was quiet happy it took again 4 days....
I want to be naughty and avoid following the unwanted and unasked suggestions of people who try to 'educate' me. I want to be naughty and don't let irritate me from all the advertisments of counselors who wants me to reach unmet needs with their methods which only take my time and focus, which only take my money, which only take my soul.
I will be happy naughty !!!
LB14 week#2
I asked for Stanley G. Love to sign the "Uphill" page, since his only shuttle flight was on Atlantis. Instead, he signed this page, *shrug*. I guess it was easier to flip to the first empty page (although I did bookmark the "Uphill" page.)
The inscription is cut off because of my scan. Love was a guest speaker at FenCon IX in September 2012 in Texas, a science-fiction convention. I sent my book as well as a donation for the con's charity, Literacy Instruction for Texas, an adult literacy education program. (I usually send in a donation to the school or organization, unasked, if they agree to try and get my book signed.)
So: Stanley G. Love: His first spaceflight was as mission specialist on STS-122, a February 2008 Atlantis flight.
Total this page: one signature.
Some things are better left unasked in a cemetery - Taken at Notre Dame Des Neiges cemetery in Montreal Canada.
A magpie looks for treats in fast flowing river water caught between ice breaking up.
I'm stepping out too. Flying over USA to Mexico. For some R&R. Was supposed to go to California, but all that unasked for 'let's make Canada the 51st State talk' had us rearrange our destination.
ADJ Magpie on ice stepping on ice - canon IMG_8940 copy
Charles J. Camarda was someone I had met back in December 2009 and who signed my Space Shuttle: 20 Years book. However, it wasn't until afterward that I realized I wanted signed photos from at least the astronauts I had met.
I had written him at Johnson Space Center in December 2011 without success. So I was happy when Camarda was scheduled to appear at the opening of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum's space shuttle pavilion, and also scheduled to take part in autograph signings, as part of a group of New York-area astronauts. (Camarda was born in Queens.)
In addition to STS-114, Camarda was a backup on ISS Exp. 8, which this is a photo of his training. An attendee commented on how neat the photo was. He added his mission number unasked. New York, NY, 19 July 2012.