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#Born in Kathmandu
kojiarakiartworks · 3 days
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October 2023 JAPAN AOMORI TSUGARU SA
HACHI🐾✨🦴✨🐾
© KOJI ARAKI Art Works
Daily life and every small thing is the gate to the universe :)
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sheltiechicago · 7 months
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 Roathy, 8, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Where Children Sleep” Is A Photo Series Showcasing Children’s Living Conditions Around The World
“Where Children Sleep” is a book featuring photographs taken by James Mollison, an English-born photographer, of children across the globe and their bedrooms. Initially published in 2010, the book showcases the diverse living conditions and environments in countries such as the U.S.A., Mexico, Brazil, England, Italy, Israel, Kenya, Senegal, Lesotho, Nepal, China, and India.
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Alex, 9, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
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Lamine, 12, Bounkiling Village, Senegal
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Netu, 11, Kathmandu, Nepal
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perennialdoll247 · 6 months
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Dear Catfish Pond Graduate Degree Programme,
I am familiar with the Triple Frontier adventures had by the US Army Delta Force fellas.
As an Australian female, born and bred, I felt it was of national importance to raise these questions I'm about to present. I know I am not the only Aussie seeking answers (or in my personal case, indulgence 😉)
If this is deemed appropriate, please raise in your class, or otherwise I would be deeply grateful to be accepted into the Programme.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢?
Let's say he had no marital or pending parental ties back in the US and was looking to start fresh in 'Straya. Let's also say Santi found Yovanna, shacked up with her, so Frankie was left to set himself up.
Can we speculate for a moment please?
I feel it needs to be explored. For Frankie's sake. (For my ovaries sake).
How does he adapts to the weather? The Australian cuisine? The accent?
I think he'd find the weather bearable. Sure we get heat waves, but Perth, specifically (I'm not bias at all, aka Frankie come to Perth LOL) is all round much like Mediterranean weather. The seasons are predictable and he's a smart man, so he'll survive. I could totally see him rocking board shorts in the summer, and lookin' cozy and sharp AF in a Kathmandu windcheater in winter.
Aussie cuisine isn't that great. We have piggy backed off many other international cuisines (we all love a good taco, Chinese take out binge or pasta.) But we also have some pretty fucking weird dishes (think Vegemite on toast, vovos, lamingtons, fairy bread, not to mention bush tucker.) I feel like trading recipes in the kitchen with him or on the grill would definitely heat things up. And I'm not just talking about the bbq.🔥
Now the accent. Personally I think the Aussie accent is annoying and uncivilized. I would love for Fransisco to talk Spanish to me (and teach me). Damn, that man can say anything and I would do it. But us Aussies, we swear a lot and I think with that, he'd fit right in.
Other things to consider. He wouldn't be the man that doesn't stop work. I think he'd want to live comfortably but without suspicion, or at least get by with working his hands. What kind of job would he do? Personally I reckon he'd be great at FiFO, or possibly piloting flight tours in the Northern Territory. Red dirt, planes and creeks. The views are great, the crocs are huge and the pay would be sweet.
What kind of Aussie girl would he admire, be attracted to, find himself with? Assuming he likes us ladies haha. The kind that flaunts her ass and tits at the beach all day? Or a hard working girl who's not afraid to get dirt under her fingernails? Or maybe an office chic who orders coffee from the same cafe as him every Wednesday morning?
I don't know. But I'd love to hear what the class has to offer. And I'd love to keep speculating for research purposes.
And by research purposes I mean... *Sigh*
Hope I've tagged the Programme leaders correctly, please let me know how to apply properly!
@legendary-pink-dot @rhoorl @goodwithcheese @trulybetty @imalrightllama @avastrasposts @angelofsmalldeath-codeine
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From The Juggernaut: 🏳️‍🌈On November 29, #Nepal became the first #SouthAsian country to register a same-sex marriage.
“Finally, we are completely together. Finally, we are completely each other’s,” Maya Gurung, 37, told The Guardian.
“We did it. We can have a beautiful future now,” Surendra Pandey, 27, told The Guardian.
In 2007, Nepal’s courts directed the government to amend laws to allow same-sex marriages, but legislators failed to bring any such amendments to Parliament. In June, Nepal’s Supreme Court issued an interim order that recognized the registry of same-sex marriages since legislators had failed to amend marriage laws.
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Gurung and Pandey were married in a Hindu wedding in 2017. Gurung was born a man and identifies as a trans woman; Pandey was born a man and identifies as a man. But Nepal prohibits citizens from changing the sex assigned at birth on official documents, so the couple couldn’t open a joint bank account, buy property together, or adopt a child together.
After the Supreme Court’s interim order, the couple tried to register at the Kathmandu District Court and High Court. But they still faced pushback — until Gurung's hometown, Dordi municipality, a few miles west of #Kathmandu, stepped in and agreed to register the couple.
Nepal is the second country in Asia, after Taiwan, to recognize same-sex marriage. India’s Supreme Court refused to legalize same-sex marriage earlier this year.
“We will continue our campaign for same-sex marriage and fight to bring equality to sexual minorities in the country, so that generations of people will not have to suffer like we all did,” Gurung told reporters Friday, AP reported.
Sunil Babu Pant, a former legislator and LGBTQ+ rights activist, told AP: “It is just not same-sex marriage, but it is very inclusive…man can marry man, woman can marry woman. As we have three genders — male, female and others — others can marry others also and others can marry man [or woman].”
Read more about how India is still fighting for LGBTQ rights at the link in bio, then click this image 🔗
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jadeseadragon · 1 year
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🖌🎨 Ang Tsherin Sherpa (Nepalese-born 🇳🇵🇺🇸 American)
"Born in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1968, Tsherin Sherpa currently works and resides between California, USA and Nepal. From the age of 12, he studied traditional Tibetan thangka painting with his father Master Urgen Dorje.
In 1998, Sherpa immigrated to California, where he taught traditional thangka painting at various Buddhist Centers until he began to explore his own style-reimagining tantric motifs, symbols, colors and gestures placed in resolutely contemporary compositions."
[tsherinsherpa.com]
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𝐑𝐄-𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆… 𝐌𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐋 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑, 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐂Í𝐀
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❝ Daniel was only one in what he knew was a large amount of people who had come to Kamar Taj in an attempt to escape from the pain of their past. Born as the youngest son of one of Mexico's richest families, he had been told from almost the time he could walk how weak he was, how losing himself in the fantasy novels he loved was a waste of time, and how his older siblings were so much better than him, so much more worthy of taking over the family's business. His parents had never laid a finger on him to hurt him, but their constant insults and pointed remarks hurt just as much as any slap ever could.
And so, as soon as the clock struck midnight on his eighteenth birthday, Daniel had packed his bags and caught the first flight to Nepal. He had heard of a place there, a monastery of sorts, where people went to learn ways to cope with their trauma and pain. It was there, at Kamar Taj, that Daniel had learned the ways of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, working tirelessly to learn everything he could and become the best sorcerer he could be. The Mystic Arts was the only thing he'd ever been acknowledged to be good at, and so, he worked to become one of the best sorcerers at Kamar Taj, becoming something of a son to his leader, the Ancient One.
Then, many years later, Stephen Strange arrives in Kathmandu. A former neurosurgeon who seeks a way to heal his traumatized hands, Stephen is arrogant, sarcastic, and seems to believe he can learn everything in a day. But his clear natural talent may be their best chance of defeating Kacilius, a former student at Kamar Taj who seeks to unleash an otherworldly demon onto Earth, and so the Ancient One tasks Daniel with training the newest addition to the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Which Daniel does, because he has always been nothing if not a faithful student of the Ancient One.
While training Stephen, Daniel finds that the former surgeon is just as arrogant as he's seemed from afar. But he's also fiercely intelligent and annoyingly good-looking... and, as Kacilius ramps up his attacks and secrets about the Ancient One are brought to light, he may just be the only one Daniel can truly count on. ❞
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General Taglist: @hiddenqveendom, @foxesandmagic, @artemisocs, @reyofluke-ocs, @endless-oc-creations, @stanshollaand, @ginnystilinski-reblogs, @luucypevensie, @ginger-grimm, @arrthurpendragon, @fakedatings, @impales, @claryxjackson, @dancingsunflowers-ocs, @eddysocs, @lucys-chen, @ocappreciationtag. (Also tagging @xoteajays.)
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notwiselybuttoowell · 8 months
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Summary
This project, led by an Indian NGO Mahila Housing Sewa Trust (MHT), is on a mission to organise and empower women in low-income households to increase their resilience to impacts of climate change. To date, MHT’s initiatives have helped 25,000 low-income families across seven cities in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The project is centred around an integrated model wherein women take the lead through collective action and technology incubation to devise locally relevant, pro‐poor, gender-sensitive and climate-resilient solutions. For example, women were trained to be energy auditors who encourage households to switch to more efficient products, forming a women-led distribution network of green energy and building products. Other solutions include using sprinkler taps to reduce the flow of water, harvesting rainwater, and other behavioural changes leading to more than 60% of households reporting to have increase in water quantity and more than 32% having sufficient water during summers.
Though projects like these, MHT is empowering women to take action against four major climate risks: heat waves, flooding and inundation, water scarcity, and water-vector-borne diseases. These slow‐onset events attract less attention but frequently impact poor people, particularly women, the most.
Key Facts
Mahila Housing Sewa Trust (MHT) has helped organise 114 Community Action Groups, who have reached out to 27,227 women in 107 slums. Of the women they’ve worked with, 8,165 women were recorded to demonstrate an increase in “knowledge seeking behavior”. 
Over 1,500 women have been trained as climate-saathis, who are responsible for communicating the issue of climate change with their community in their local language. Through this communications exercise, the proportion of participants who viewed climate change as an act of god reduced from 26 % to 9 %.
To date, around 28,000 energy audits have been undertaken in slum communities, which have saved families over USD 700,000 per annum in electricity costs. These money and energy saving interventions have included installing over 200 modular roofs and 500 roofs with solar reflective white paint, while having also led to a reduction of 105 tonnes of CO2e per annum. 
The Problem
It is estimated that over 190.7 million people live in informal settlements in South Asia. These settlements are often densely populated and highly vulnerable to even the slightest changes to our climate.
MHT’s project is building the resilience capacities of over 25,000 low-income families living in slums and informal settlements across seven cities in three South Asian countries, including: Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Ranchi, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar (India); Dhaka (Bangladesh), and Kathmandu (Nepal).
Their initiatives empower women to lead local mitigation efforts to prevent key climate risks such as heatwaves, flooding and inundation, and climate change related incidences of water-vector borne diseases. These types of slow-onset events tend to attract less global attention, while also disproportionately impacting low-income households. Women are commonly the primary caregiver and responsible for household management, which renders them more vulnerable to these types of stresses.
The Solution
MHT has championed a women-led empowerment model for building climate resilience in the slums of South Asia, focused around organising groups of women in their communities. Their model builds upon the conviction that if the urban poor are provided with requisite knowledge to undertake vulnerability and risk assessments, and are equipped with available resilient‐technologies, they will be able to devise and implement locally relevant and pro‐poor, climate-resilient solutions
The project model emphasizes women taking the lead through collective action and technology incubation in order to devise these locally relevant, gender-sensitive and climate-resilient solutions. To make this possible, MHT, assists with facilitating the required infrastructure, institutional and financial mechanisms.
Helping the Planet
Through empowering women, this project is also helping reduce the emissions associated with the production of electricity in these communities. For example, one of MHT’s core initiatives trains women to become energy auditors and educate households on the nuances of energy use such as bill calculation, wattage consumption and energy wastage. As energy auditors, these women also encourage households to switch to more energy efficient products.
These trained energy auditors also act as grassroots level micro-entrepreneurs, by forming a women-led distribution network of green energy and building products. Energy auditors promote the installation of energy efficient LED bulbs and lights, modular roofs, airlite ventilator, many other solutions.
Helping People
While women from low-income families are often the most vulnerable as they have the least access to information and resources, MHT believes they also have the greatest potential to be empowered to become agents of change.
The rationale for the project is to provide these women with the requisite knowledge to undertake vulnerability and risk assessments, while also equipping them with the available climate resilient-technologies. This means they will be able to identify climate induced vulnerabilities, minimize risk and adopt locally relevant climate resilient solutions. In turn, these women also can potentially play a role in influencing better city planning and governance for pro-poor adaptation and resilience actions.
Spillover Effect
Currently, MHT is in the process of training other grassroots organisations to reproduce similar women-led groups in areas such as Bhubaneswar, Dhaka and Kathmandu.
While many other urban resilience programs are top-down and externally driven, MHT has made a concerted effort to ensure their initiatives are low-cost, contextually-appropriate and participatory.  Urban poor that have been organized under this program gather critical planning data to design their own solutions and negotiate with other urban stakeholders, as well as test and manage implementation of these solutions.
Through empowering women to help improve their homes and communities, MHT’s initiatives have also triggered behavior change in communities towards making more informed decisions. This has in turn empowered them with the necessary knowledge to demand improved government services, thus proving that this concept can be expanded to other communities throughout the world.
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ppenvs3000w24 · 2 months
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Blog 1: First of Many
Hello! My name is Pratik, and I am a 5th-year Zoology Major and Plant Science Minor. This is the first of hopefully many blog posts that I will be writing weekly for at least the next 3 months.
My current relationship with Nature is deeply rooted in my heritage and culture. I was born in Nepal where I spent the first 12 years of my life before immigrating to Canada with my family. Nepal is a country that focuses on agriculture and tourism and houses the tallest Mountain on Earth, Mt. Everest. Most of the people I knew grew up as farmers and villagers who deeply cared about their land and natural resources. This allowed me to grow up intertwined with nature where I both respected and feared the jungles of Nepal as they are home to Bengal tigers, Indochinese rhesus macaques, leopards, wild boars, and the Big Four snakes.
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Kathmandu, Nepal where I grew up.
When I first started exploring the parks and conservation areas of Canada, I found it interesting how visitors did not fear the wildlife. This baffled me at first as I assumed Grizzly bears, cougars, and wolves roamed most of Canada and frequently clashed with the local populations like in Nepal. After doing some more research, I realized that none of the 3 animals roamed the parks near my place, and I, too, had nothing to fear like the local visitors. After 10 years in Canada, my fear of nature has eroded away, and nowadays, I frequently find myself exploring off-the-path trails and making my own path when exploring Nature. However, my respect for Nature persists as Nature, when disrespected, can be very unforgiving based on the countless tales I have heard from park naturalists, guides, and locals.  
As it stands now, my relationship with Nature is built on respect and a tiny bit of fear where I plan to center my future career around Nature and Academia, hoping to make them more accessible to the public.
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Holding a Garter Snake for my Field Course Paper in Algonquin Park
The two people that offered me a sense of place in Nature were Steve Irwin and Jeremy Wade. Steve Irwin was my introduction to wildlife outside of Nepal, and he taught me that wild animals, specifically snakes, are not evil by nature. They are, instead, misunderstood due to their appearance, causing humans to cull them from their local range. In Ontario, the Timber Rattlesnake was extirpated by hunters due to the snake being venomous even though conflicts were rarer than perceived. Steve Irwin showed me that wildlife does not like to be bothered, and their actions against humans are often justified (hunger, young protection, habitat loss).
Jeremy Wade was a professional angler who hosted the TV show known as River Monsters. He traveled the world, searching for freshwater-inhabiting creatures mentioned in local folklore. I remember vividly that his show was one of the first to showcase Nepal outside of the Himalayas. He showed me that the local population is more than often the most educated regarding wildlife inhabiting their lands. Jeremy would always listen to the stories of the local population and explore any leads they provided no matter how fictional they sounded. He taught me that working with the local population is the best way of studying Nature in a new environment and their opinions should not be ignored.
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Remic Rapids Park, Oattawa
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sherdakov · 8 months
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Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich (born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovovich, is an American actress, supermodel, and singer. Her starring roles in numerous science-fiction and action films led the music channel VH1 to deem her the "reigning queen of kick-butt" in 2006. In 2004, Forbes determined that she was the highest-paid model in the world. Born in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, Jovovich emigrated with her parents to London when she was five, and then to Sacramento, California; they finally settled in Los Angeles seven months later. In 1987, at the age of 12, she began modeling when Herb Ritts photographed her for the cover of the Italian magazine Lei. Richard Avedon featured her in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements. In 1988, Jovovich made her screen debut in the television film The Night Train to Kathmandu and appeared in her first feature film, Two Moon Junction. Jovovich gained attention for her role in the 1991 romance film Return to the Blue Lagoon, as she was then only 15. She was considered to have a breakthrough with her role in the 1997 French science-fiction action film The Fifth Element, written and directed by Luc Besson. She and Besson married that year, but soon divorced. She starred as the heroine and martyr in Besson's The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). Between 2002 and 2016, Jovovich portrayed Alice in the action horror film franchise Resident Evil, which became the highest-grossing film series to be based on video games. Jovovich released a debut album, The Divine Comedy, in 1994, and a follow-up, The People Tree Sessions, in 1998. She continues to release demos for other songs on her official website and frequently contributes to film soundtracks. In 2003, model Carmen Hawk and she created the clothing line Jovovich–Hawk, which ran until 2008. Jovovich has her own production company, Creature Entertainment.
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rinusuarez · 2 years
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Indian Rhinoceros This one is by far the hardest illustration I have made on this blog. Pedro Jarque, a very well-known photographer, has an excellent photograph of the animal. The photograph has so many details that I didn't want to miss but it wasn't easy to translate. It took me forever to understand the skin of the rhino and because is my favorite animal, I wanted to look real nice.
Anyways, finishing up the African rhinos, we move to the Asian ones, and what better way to begin with than the Indian Rhinoceros.
It is the biggest of all the species of rhinos although some put the White rhinoceros in that place. They weren't easy to breed in captivity. The first recorded was in Kathmandu in 1826 and more than 100 years had to pass to have another born in captivity. There are zoo breeding programs in Europe and the USA that ensure the conservation of the species. Its conservation status is vulnerable and is protected in all its habitat ranges. However, poaching still occurs. Instagram Store ______________________________
References: Indian Rhinoceros Photo Reference: Pedro Jarque: Website | Instagram
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If you like the content, please give me a like and a follow. Every week one new animal.
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kojiarakiartworks · 1 year
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December 2017 PDX Portland Oregon U.S.A. 
HACHI🐾🦴😴✨🐾
© KOJI ARAKI Art Works
Daily life and every small thing is the gate to the universe :)
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sheltiechicago · 7 months
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Prena, 14, Kathmandu, Nepal
“Where Children Sleep” Is A Photo Series Showcasing Children’s Living Conditions Around The World
“Where Children Sleep” is a book featuring photographs taken by James Mollison, an English-born photographer, of children across the globe and their bedrooms. Initially published in 2010, the book showcases the diverse living conditions and environments in countries such as the U.S.A., Mexico, Brazil, England, Italy, Israel, Kenya, Senegal, Lesotho, Nepal, China, and India.
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Anonymous, 9, Ivory Coast
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Jasmine (Jazzy), 4, Kentucky, USA
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Joey, 11, Kentucky, USA
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A Strange Slice of the Big Apple
a Doctor Strange x Female Reader fluffy fic
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summary: Female Reader, an Adept Level Sorceress, escorts some of Kamar-Taj's youngest initiates on a tour of the New York Sanctum, hosted by her hero and crush, Doctor Strange. Takes place pre-Infinity War.
characters: Stephen Strange, Female Reader, Cloak of Levitation
genre: fluff and pining
rating: general audience
word count: 3.2k
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For the youth of Kamar-Taj, life was never all study and drills, rigorous exercise and strict discipline.  The wisdom of many Masters had long recognized that the young ones needed time away from their studies, time to relax, time to play.  It made them better students in the end, and generally lent a more pleasant atmosphere to the compound—occasionally encouraging even the most single-minded and dedicated of the adults to follow the children’s example.
 Adepts, whose natures suited them for such nurturing sort of tasks, were assigned to oversee small groups of these young ones, guiding them quietly and judiciously in their games and leading them on field trips to locales within–and ranging far from–Kathmandu.  On such an occasion, you had the duty of chaperoning a group of young Novices to the New York Sanctum so that they could explore several floors of artifacts housed there—with the promise that good behavior by all would grant them the opportunity to enjoy the Bleecker Street Playground, or perhaps even Washington Square Park, on this fine spring day.
You found yourself as excited as the children were about the outing—but for a far different reason.  Though your path had rarely crossed with that of the renowned Master of the New York Sanctum, his deeds in defense of the Earth had become the stuff of legends among students and masters alike; and the sight of him (on his regular visits to Kamar-Taj) striding through the courtyard of the compound—effortlessly projecting the perfect picture of a man on a vital mission–had reinforced the hero worship which his charisma and accomplishments had kindled in your heart.  
A fruitless, ridiculous crush to be sure, and a distraction which you had vowed not to allow to interfere with your own training in the mystic arts…but for today.  Today was your quiet chance to observe him from a nearer distance, to memorize his little details, and to satisfy your curiosity about the man beneath the hero’s mantle. 
Naturally, you had expected to find a fellow Adept awaiting your small party, ready to usher you and the children through a tour of the Sanctum, before allowing leeway enough for all to survey the artifacts and magical relics–the most valuable of which were safely housed in glass cases.  Instead, you exited the portal to come face to face with Stephen Strange himself, clad in his trademark blue vestments, and wearing the Eye of Agamotto.  
Rendered speechless in surprise—and suddenly self-conscious to be so near him, and unprepared at that—you stopped short, gasped, and staring up into his exotic, mesmerizing eyes, mumbled an incoherent hello. Strange raised a brow, looking amused, and the moment seemed to last forever as you studied his breathtaking features.  He’s even more handsome up close, you realized, pondering what the true color of his eyes were; from afar they had always appeared blue or gray depending upon the light, but up close you found a near kaleidoscope in their depths.  Clear crystal blue they were, and yet there were hints of green as well, with flecks of gold; this must be part of his magic, you thought.  In the space of only a few heartbeats more, you read a hard-won wisdom, a sly humor and a quiet compassion that spoke of having borne his own share of pain—all in the depths of his beautiful orbs.  These are eyes some lucky woman could get lost in, you thought dreamily, if only…if only…if only… 
Then he was chuckling, pulling you from your musing, and leaving you wondering just how big a fool you’d just made of yourself.  A flush of embarrassment flooded your cheeks, even as a very natural and endearingly crooked grin softened his mouth.  “Welcome to the New York Sanctum,” he laughed, so sincerely friendly that you began to relax a bit.
“Thank you, Doctor Strange,” you managed, hoping your voice didn’t sound as breathless as he made you feel.  The youngsters had crowded around you, hushed despite their eager expectations, surely impressed with the commanding figure of the Master before them. 
Smoothly, he turned his attention their way, “Hello, children.  I’m glad you could visit us today—we’ve got some really cool things to show you.  Things that still amaze me at times.”  You noticed that as he spoke, Strange took a moment to make eye contact with each child, before he looked back to you.  The unexpectedly warm appraisal in his gaze held you bound, breathless again as you wondered if he somehow read the secret yearning of your heart.  “So–shall we begin?”  His impish wink convinced you that he knew exactly what you were feeling—and that perhaps it pleased him too.
Your young charges followed him readily, chattering quietly amongst themselves, allowing you to fall to rear of the group.  His manner with them was easy and engaging, and he had them asking questions you wouldn’t have expected of them—and answering his ridiculous puns with giggles that echoed in a way this Sanctum had surely never seen.  Clearly, he enjoyed an audience, and from time to time, you found his eyes on you, checking to see if you were enjoying his show as well. 
But you soon realized there was one relic conspicuous by its absence—his very own Cloak of Levitation.  Perhaps he was saving it for last, and would introduce it at the end of the tour with a dramatic flourish.  Or perhaps he was waiting for one of his guests to ask after it.  Well then…that’ll be me, you decided boldly; I’ll just show him I’m much more than a meek junior mage, mooning over the great master. 
Gathering your courage, you drew a deep breath, instilling your query with enough sass to impress him with your mettle, “But Master Strange, where is the relic as famous as you?  Where is the Cloak you’ve worn into mystic battles, time and again?“  
He appeared taken aback for a breath or two, squinting those exotic, mesmerizing eyes right at you, with his mouth drawing into a baffled frown as he dramatically patted first his right shoulder, and then his left. The children watched him entranced, a few of them even holding their breath in anticipation of his answer.
“Hmmmm,” he grumbled, playing the scene for all it was worth, “Well, I’ll be damned–Cloak seems to have wandered off!”  He looked to the young ones, shaking his head and t’sking, “Absent without permission.”  He bent closer to the children, “Have any of you spotted it?  I thought for sure that Cloak was looking forward to meeting you all today.”   
Some of the children gaped open-mouthed, while others rushed to suggest just where the famed garment might be.  Strange listened while nodding sagely, giving each little Novice their say. “Those are very good ideas, children,” he told them, then crouched down to their eye level to add conspiratorially, “But I have a hunch that with your help, we can coax Cloak out of wherever it’s hiding.”  He spared you a look, his wide grin and raised brow enough of a hint of what was to come—so you had best just relax and enjoy his little joke. “How about we all shout as loud as we can and see if we can get Cloak to come and join us?” 
Needing no further prompting, the youngsters joined in a mixed chorus, calling out to Cloak.  Stephen stood back up, wearing the most shit-eating grin you had ever seen, so that you realized–just before you felt a firm tap on your shoulder–that Cloak hovered right behind you.   The children giggled, some shouting in delight, when they noticed, watching as Cloak draped itself across your shoulders, to gently urge you nearer to the Master of the New York Sanctum–who shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands wide, silently proclaiming an innocence that was far from convincing—to you, anyway. 
Standing right next to him, you found that his eyes were so merry (at your expense, no less) and so completely captivating that you just couldn’t feel the least bit put out as the punch line of his joke.  “Cloak seems to like you, Adept,” he confided, his voice deliciously deep, and low enough for your ears alone to hear, “And Cloak is an excellent judge of character.”  
Emboldened by the compliment in his voice and in his eyes, you let your gaze linger upon the small details of his face—the fine lines beside his eyes, denoting his usual good humor and a tendency to smile; the crinkle at the bridge of his nose, utterly adorable when he’d been playing at being perplexed, though you’d seen it at times so stern and commanding that you had, more than once, secretly wished he’d direct that focus upon you; the fullness of his lips, accentuated by his facial hair, the bottom lip plump enough to make you envious for a taste. Unseemly thoughts, you knew, for an Adept to have about a Master—made more inappropriate in light of the gravitas of Strange’s astounding magical powers, and by the well-known weight of his awesome responsibilities. 
Strange seemed to study you as well, and you held your breath, praying that the run of your thoughts was not clear upon your face.  He winked again—and you were sure he at least guessed what you’d been thinking, so that you felt a heated blush rise in your cheeks.  Cloak hugged you a little tighter, bracing your confidence.  “A most excellent judge of character, indeed,” Strange repeated under his breath, before turning his attention back to his younger guests.  
Strange continued to guide them through the Hall of Relics, moving the children along briskly.  You had thought to fall back once again, self-conscious now that that you were certain he was aware of the crush you had been unable to conceal—but Cloak had other ideas.  Each time your gait slowed, it pushed you forward enough to keep pace with the intimidating Master, never allowing you to remain more than two feet away from him. Confounded, you had no choice but to remain in Strange’s orbit, and eventually you relaxed enough to enjoy the tour. 
Forty-five minutes later you stood with your charges, in front of the round window on the fourth floor of the sanctum.  The Window on the World, he had called it, explaining that it enabled him to view more than just the city outside, more than just Earth itself, but countless worlds across countless realities, as one of his most important responsibilities was to monitor for any threats from infinite dimensions, to our quiet little corner of the multiverse.  What a heavy burden that must be, you thought, and one that never ends.  How does he do it, day in and day out; does he ever wish for even a day’s respite? 
Stephen looked to you, admitting—as though he’d read your mind, “It is a heavy burden at times, yes—but it’s an incredible privilege, too. You can’t imagine the wonders I have seen, the acts of courage and generosity by beings very different from us, and yet somehow the same.  The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj are not the only ones who defend creation against the darkness.” 
 He looked a little sad, before he turned back to the Window, and you wondered if standing sentry in this way made for a lonely life—and knew in that moment that if he asked, you’d gladly serve beside him.  Not just to see the marvels of which he spoke, or to simply safeguard life on Earth, but to give companionship to this hero, who was flesh and blood after all, brilliant and funny and surprisingly kind.  Before he might see, you thumbed the tears from the corners of your eyes, smiling brightly enough to keep those thoughts secret. 
“Now,” he tuned back to the children, telling them magnanimously, “That concludes our tour of the Sanctum—but I doooooooo have one more surprise up my sleeve.”   Strange grinned at the bright little faces giving him their full attention, “Who’s hungry?”
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The Sanctum dining room was far smaller than the dining hall of Kamar-Taj, but it easily accommodated the dozen young Novices, the Sanctum Master, and one starry-eyed Adept, enjoying an unexpected treat:  New York style, thin crust pizza.  Some of the children had never had partaken of the Americanized delicacy before, but they didn’t hesitate to dig right in; and he had thoughtfully provided plain cheese pizza, as well as sausage and peppers for the more adventurous among them.  Though he gave them a lesson in exactly how true New Yorkers ate it ( “You have to fold it like this, kids,” he had stressed, “And start from the pointy end,” before taking a healthy bite of his slice) Strange ate little himself–though you could tell he was enjoying every moment of the children’s reactions.   He did, however, take an extra-large portion of ice cream from the make-your-own sundae bar which he had arranged for them in the kitchen. 
You had a modest sized sundae yourself, enjoying a treat you’d hadn’t tasted since you began your training at Kamar-Taj.  Cloak had withdrawn from you, to hover just past the industrial size refrigerator, once it was certain that you would partake of the meal. Strange set his empty bowl and spoon in the sink, and came to lean against the counter, right beside you. Your heart began to race to have him so near, and you told yourself don’t stare, don’t stare, even though you yearned to look directly into his beguiling eyes. 
“You know,” he told you, “I probably should have held off on the ice cream until after your trip to the park.  They’re um…well, they’re looking pretty sugared up right now.” 
You laughed softly, marveling how he spoke to you as an equal, despite his lofty status, and he rewarded you with a sheepish grin.  “I’m sure I can handle it, Doctor Strange. Give them an hour to run around, and play on the swings, and they’ll burn it off.”   
He nodded, as though he was deferring to your wisdom, so that you added, “They’ll be out of steam by the time we get back to Kamar-Taj, and most will probably be conked out in their dormitory before sunset.” 
“Still,” he maintained, leaning close enough for you to note the constellation of light freckles that graced the stunning contours of his face (making you wish for the leisure and the familiarity to number each one of them with the gentlest sort of kisses), “I can have one of my staff accompany you to the park—you know, to keep the kids from getting too out of hand.” 
You nodded and smiled, quietly disappointed that he couldn’t do that duty himself—but grateful for the offer, “I could probably use a hand with them. Thank you, Sir.”   He nodded back, and then he passed from your side, leaving you to sigh softly, fully heart-struck at his kind nature.
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Doctor Strange had thoughtfully sent two of his Adepts (one of whom you had trained with in your early days at Kamar-Taj) to help you chaperone the children on their outing to Bleecker Street Park, making your task far easier than expected.  The afternoon passed pleasantly, and though you were fully attentive to your young charges, a small part of your mind—and heart, you realized ruefully—remained back at the Sanctum, imagining what it might be like to watch Stephen Strange move through his day.  Wishing you could watch him at his vital work, in matters both large and small. Longing to not only learn from him, but to somehow serve as a helpmate.  You promised yourself such dreaming would end when you crossed the threshold of 177A Bleecker once again. 
Still, you felt rather crestfallen as you prepared to conjure a portal back to the compound, disappointed that the Master of the New York Sanctum was nowhere in sight.  You would have liked to thank him for his hospitality and kindness to the children; you would have loved to stand beside him one last time, to feel his charisma wash over you, to hear that deep, rich, decadent as dark chocolate voice speak your name just once, so you might prize that memory in the days and weeks to come.              
Shepherding the youngsters through the orange-gold portal, where the Master of Novices awaited their return, you couldn’t help but turn back one last time, wistful and wishing for any reason to linger a bit more. Cloak zipped into view, made a beeline your way, and wrapped itself steadfastly around you.  
Strange followed in moments, huffing in irritation, and cursing under his breath as he came up beside you. “I’m sorry,” he growled, hands planted resolutely on his hips, “Cloak has quite a stubborn streak—and apparently thinks it’s rude of me not to see you off…”
You felt Cloak shiver, and loosen the embrace a bit, though it did not release you—apparently waiting for Stephen to continue. 
“Alright, I’m getting to it, can you just chill a minute?” he insisted, rolling his eyes.
You swore it felt like Cloak was laughing, and that made you feel like laughing too, the sight of the formidable Master—and object of your quiet, perpetual pining—endearingly out of sorts, as mortal as any ordinary man; warm and funny, and as Cloak drew you closer to him, kissably close. 
 The man before you, cleared his throat and took a calming breath. “Cloak likes you…a lot, I suppose…and thinks I should invite you back to visit…the Sanctum…”  Cloak aimed a quick jab of its hem at Strange, so that he added, “Us…visit us…another day.” 
Secretly thrilled, you wracked your brain for a reply sophisticated and cool enough to impress; what fell from your mouth fell far from your aim. “Uh…um…yes…yes…I…I…I’d like that. A lot…” 
“Okay then,” he nodded, watching sheepishly as Cloak disentangled from you, and floated away triumphantly.  “So…any time…if you’re in the mood…you’re welcome here.”  He smiled genuinely, and your heart fluttered softly, as you realized that that smile was actually for you. 
How lucky can a girl get, you thought, feeling the warmth of the portal at your back, while you hesitated a moment or two, wondering how bold you dared to be.  Before you could second guess yourself, you stepped in close– enough to feel his breath on your skin and wonder at the incredible depths of his amazing eyes—and laid the softest, sweetest kiss you’d ever bestowed on anyone, upon his cheek. Backing away quickly, you grinned, memorizing his look of surprise mixed with appreciation, “I’d like that, Doctor Strange, I’d like that very much.”
For a moment he looked surprised, and then that crooked smile--which had lodged itself indelibly in your heart--broke upon his face.  The Master of the Mystic Arts chuckled, and raised a brow appraisingly, looking quite pleased with the little token of your regard.   To that, you held your head high, as you turned and entered the portal, delightfully conscious that his eyes lingered upon you as the ring closed--with you already plotting whatever excuse you would need to employ for a return trip back to his Sanctum.
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If you enjoyed this, please stay tuned for the sequel, a celebration of Stephen's birthday, coming November 18.
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cinematicnomad · 3 months
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top 5 countries you visited?
ok, so to preface this, obviously i am going to base this on my personal experiences in the countries. i traveled to 14 countries in 2023 and some were for as short as 24 hours while others were for 2.5 weeks, so there's a really big range to choose from. but here's my list in no particular order:
001. south africa—i was born in cape town and my family moved away when i was about 18 months old which means i had no memories of my birthplace. i got to go back in may for the first time since we left and it lived up to all of my expectations. it was so beautiful and the people were lovely and i had so much fun with my colleagues and the new friends i made on the trip. i also got to go to johannesburg which was super pleasant. i got to spend a whole week in my birth country and i hope to return again in the future.
002. portugal—i went with my brother, sister, brother-in-law, and niece on a european adventure this summer and we spent a good chunk of the trip in lisbon. the city was GORGEOUS and so different from other cities i've been to before. we ate great food and drank amazing wine and had new experiences together. this was one of the first big trips my siblings and i have taken as adults and i hope we do it again in the future.
003. nepal—i lived in kathmandu for 2 years as a teenager from the time i was 14 until just after i turned 16. returning this fall for the first time since 2007 was a wild experience and so different from cape town bc i DO have so many memories from my time there. my years in kathmandu helped to shape me into the person i am today, and it was so weird to walk some of the same streets i did as a teen, to eat the same food, to smell the same air...the scent memories were insane on this trip. it felt like i'd traveled back in time.
004. ethiopia—what a wild experience! i was only in addis for about 72 hours and had some lows and highs on this trip, from spending my first night in a sketch hotel on my own before switching over to the one all my colleagues were staying in. but this trip really showed me what's possible when on these trips for work. i really bonded with one of the people in cape town, a woman named soha, and we stuck together all through the tour—normally on these trips, especially the short ones like this, i'll stick closer to the hotel and maybe go out to dinner with some people. but soha led the charge and found a cultural dance show for us to go to, and coordinated between me and another woman to do a tour around the city grabbing coffee at a famous coffee shop, visiting a church we'd driven by, going to see lucy at the national museum of ethiopia, witnessing an authentic coffee ceremony, and getting massages before my 18+ hour flight home.
005. taiwan—learning from my experience in ethiopia in the spring, this fall i took soha's lessons and put them into practice. i was in the city for maybe...48 hours? if that? but i got a bunch of recommendations from the driver who picked me up at the airport and organized a small group of us to walk to a night market and try a bunch of new food. it was such a wonderful experience in a new country and i just loved my time there.
ask me my top 5 or 20 anything of 2023
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mybeingthere · 1 year
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Tsherin Sherpa (born in Kathmandu in 1968) began studying traditional thangka painting under his father, Urgyen Dorje, a renowned thangka artist from Nyalam, Tibet. After six years of training, which included a comprehensive education in Buddhist philosophy and practice, he moved to Taiwan, where he studied Mandarin Chinese and computer science for three years. Afterwards, he returned to Nepal and worked with his father, creating thangka paintings and wall murals for local monasteries. In 1998, Sherpa immigrated to the United States, where he started working as an artist in California.
Once in the US, Sherpa began to explore his own style, reimagining traditional tantric motifs, symbols, colours and gestures placed in resolutely contemporary compositions. Often, the artist appropriates globalised icons and logos of mass culture and luxury branding, which he derives from the Internet. He has exhibited across the US and Europe, including in the 2010 exhibition Tradition Transformed: Tibetan Artists Respond at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York. He currently lives in Oakland, California, where he continues to teach classes in traditional thangka painting.
http://www.tsherinsherpa.com
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head-post · 4 months
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Nepal registers first official same-sex marriage in country
Nepal’s first same-sex marriage in the Himalayan country was registered in a village on Wednesday, officials and activists said.
It came five months after the Supreme Court had issued an interim order allowing such marriages in the largely conservative country.
The marriage between 36-year-old Ram Bahadur (Maya) Gurung, who was born male but identifies as female, and Surendra Pandey, 26, who was born and identifies as male, was formally registered at the Dordi rural municipality office in the Lumjung district in west Nepal, an official said. Pandey said in a phone interview:
“We are both very happy. Like us, all others in our community are happy too.”
The couple have been in a relationship for nine years and got married according to Hindu rituals in 2016 in the capital Kathmandu. Hem Raj Kafle, chief administrative officer of the Dordi rural municipality, said:
 “We have issued the marriage registration certificate to the couple in consideration of the Supreme Court order and instructions from relevant government authorities.”
Read more HERE
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