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allekha · 4 years

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It’s Pride month, so let’s celebrate some of our LGBT skaters! Well, at least in this gifset, G and B skaters; there aren’t yet any out L or T skaters at the elite level, although they do exist at the adult and of course recreational levels.

Figure skating, at least in the US, is often stereotyped as a ‘gay sport’, and many skaters have said that despite their trepidation before coming out, they experienced support from their fellow athletes. However, I think events this month have reminded us that homophobia and transphobia remain problems that need to be addressed in the sport. That being said, there have been more out skaters than can be shoved into a single gifset (or even two). Featured here:

Amber Glenn (2019 Cup of China SP) - Glenn is the 2019 US Classic bronze medalist and a US junior champion. She is a lovely and emotional skater. In late 2019, after having added LGBTQ activism as a hobby in her ISU profile, she came out as bi/pan. This made her, as far as I am aware, the fourth elite woman skater to ever come out, and she is currently the only out woman competing at the elite level.

Toller Cranston (1976 Worlds LP) - Cranston was a six-time Canadian champion and Olympic and Worlds bronze medalist. He was well-known for his inventive programs with an unusual level of creativity and flexibility for his day, which helped to push the sport forward artistically and influenced younger skaters. At the 1976 Olympics, after his poor figures score, he tossed his skates in a river out of frustration before going on to win the bronze medal. Cranston was also an off-ice artist who supported his skating career by painting, and in 2013, he became the official artist of Skate Canada. He was bisexual and wrote about having both male and female lovers. In 2015, he passed away due to a heart attack.

Brian Pockar (1982 Canadian Nats LP) - Pockar was a three-time Canadian champion and Worlds bronze medalist. His signature move was a spread eagle directly into a triple salchow. He also at one point attempted a one-foot triple salchow (a counter-clockwise jump landing on the left rather than right foot) double flip combination. After retiring, he worked in shows and as a commentator, though he is alleged to have lost his commentating job due to coming out as gay. He passed away due to AIDS in 1992.

Randy Gardner (1979 NSA Centenary Gala) - With his partner Tai Babilonia, Gardner was a five-time US champion and World champion in pairs. As a pair, they were known for their grace and for their strong unison, and for their striking series of paired Arabian/butterfly jumps. Increasingly out in his private life after turning pro, Gardner was reluctant for some time to come out publicly due to the AIDS crisis and backlash against other gay athletes. He decided to do so in 2006. He now does choreography and coaching, and his life story was recently adapted to a play and later a documentary, both called Go Figure.

Rob McCall (1982 Canadian Nats FD) - McCall was a seven-time Canadian ice dance champion and Olympic bronze medalist with his partner Tracy Wilson. The pair combined creative talent with technicality, and McCall was popular with other skaters because of his bright sense of humor and cheer. He passed away in 1991 due to AIDS. In the last months of his life, he planned a skating show to raise money for AIDS research, hoping that speaking of his illness would aid others and fight fear, though the show ended up being carried out by his friends after his death.

Brian Orser (1988 Olympics SP) - Orser was an eight-time Canadian champion, World champion, and two-time Olympic silver medalist. He was known for his ability to jump triple axels, even near the end of a long program, and became the second man to ever land a triple axel in competition, the first to land one at the Olympics, and the first to land two of them in a long program. In addition to his technical abilities, he was also an expressive and entertaining skater. In 1988, he faced off against another gay Brian, Boitano, in the ‘Battle of the Brians’ for Olympic gold. He is now a well-known coach of several high-profile skaters.

Matthew Hall (1986 Skate America LP) - Hall was a bronze Canadian national medalist. In 1992, he was one of the first elite skaters (one source says the first) to come out as gay while still competing; he did so in response to the death from AIDS of several fellow Canadian skaters. Although he had taken a break from competitions at the time, he found he couldn’t leave skating entirely and came back a couple of years later in a bid to make the 1994 Olympic team. He won the 1994 Gay Games figure skating event despite having cracked his ribs a few days before performing.

Guillaume Cizeron (2018 Olympics FD) - With his ice dance partner Gabriella Papadakis, Cizeron is an Olympic silver medalist, four-time World champion, five-time European champion, and six-time French champion. The pair are known for their beautiful skating skills and graceful style, and Cizeron has spoken of how they want to do programs that go beyond the defined roles of man and woman that are traditional in skating. He very recently decided to speak publicly about being gay for the first time in honor of International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Ronnie Robertson (1956 Worlds LP) - Robertson was a two-time US nationals silver medalist, two-time Worlds silver medalist, and Olympic silver medalist. He was an excellent free skater who came extremely close to Olympic gold - it took the judges two hours of calculations to determine that he had lost by a fraction of a point. He was famous for his spins; his top speed was estimated to be seven spins per second, and NASA scientists studied him to try to help stop astronauts from getting dizzy when spinning in weightlessness. In addition, he was the first man to land a triple salchow in competition, and also landed a triple loop. He passed away in 2000 due to AIDS complications.

Edward van Campen (1994 Gay Games program) - van Campen was the three/four-time Dutch champion (the title was technically not awarded one year for some reason, though his name is still listed). He only started skating at 16; at his first Euros appearance six years later, he did so well that the federation changed their minds about not sending him to Worlds. He later skated in Ice Capades and now coaches. In his first appearance at the Gay Games in 1994, he won silver. There, he paid tribute to his twin brother and fellow skater René, who passed away in 1989 due to AIDS, by beginning his program with unfurling and draping himself with the AIDS memorial quilt panel made in honor of him.

#figure skating #fskateedit #lgbt #Guillaume Cizeron #Brian Orser #Amber Glenn #fs history

108 notes · View notes

chanoyu-to-wa · 3 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 6 (4.2): Concerning the Kane (Part 2).

4, continued) [Among] the eleven kane, the [original] five kane are yang. These are said to be the tai no kane [體ノカネ]. The [other] six are yin; they are the yō no kane [用ノカネ]¹.

[The writing reads: (above the sketch, from right to left) hidari-za (左座)²; chū-ō ha in-yō tomo ni dai-ichi kane nari (中央ハ陰陽トモニ第一ノカネ也)³; migi-za (右座)⁴; (below the sketch, from the right) in no kane nari, yō nari, mutsu (陰ノカネ也、用也、六ツ)⁵; yō no kane nari, tai nari, itsutsu (陽ノカネ也、體也、五ツ)⁶; in, hitotsu-mono (no) ni (陰、一ツモノ二)⁷; hidari-waki no hitotsu-mono (左脇ノ一ツ物)⁸; in no hitotsu-mono, mi-tokoro no uchi (no) ichi (陰ノ一ツモノ、三所ノ内一)⁹; chū-ō dai-ichi no kane, hitotsu-mono no shi-goku no kane nari (中央第一ノカネ、一ツ物ノ至極ノカネ也)¹⁰; in hitotsu-mono (no) san (陰一ツモノ三)¹¹; migi-waki no hitotsu-mono (右脇ノ一ツ物)¹².]

With respect to fortune, yang is fortuitous, while yin is unlucky¹³. During celebrations (and other occasions of that sort) it is natural -- in the shoin, on the oshi-ita¹⁵, and on the daisu -- for every one of these to be dressed with a yang arrangement.

Buddhist and memorial services are yin¹⁶. However, if the intention is to do reverence to ones [departed] ancestors, one object in each [place] should be displayed as yang¹⁷.

It is usually best for the ordinary daisu to be arranged as yang¹⁸. [But] when the gathering will be held at night, [one should use] a yin arrangement.

Although this was the original way of doing things, there is nothing wrong with using a yang arrangement [at any time of the day or night]. But employing a yin arrangement on the daisu during a gathering held during the daytime is wrong.

Following the same sort of thinking, it was not clear whether it might be allowable, in the sōan [草菴], to cover yang kane with an odd number of objects during both the sho[za] and the go[za]²⁰: Jōō felt that it we should be tolerant of something that was a natural consequence [of the reduced size of the setting]²¹.

However, because doing so could appear to be lacking in balance, [the arrangement] might seem to need something more²². When yin is joined with yang, [in the interests of] distinguishing the sho[za] from the go[za] -- in accordance with the chajin’s mastery [of kane-wari]²³ -- the decisions [that he makes], and the way things are executed, if these will produce interesting details, then the yin-kane with yang numbers can also be employed²⁴.

_________________________

◎ While this, and the following, entry are treated as parts of entry 4 in the Enkaku-ji manuscript, they seem to have been formatted as separate entries in Shibayama Fugen's and Tanaka Senshō’s teihon [底本]. Since I am generally following the Enkaku-ji text of the Nampō Roku, I will preserve the format found there (while yet separating them into separate posts, as a consequence of their length).

¹Jū-ichi no kane, itsutsu ha yō, kore wo tai no kane to iu, mutsu ha in ni shite yō no kane nari [十一ノカネ、五ツハ陽、コレヲ體ノカネト云、六ハ陰ニシテ用ノカネナリ].

This is what is written in large characters to the right of the sketch. (In the printed versions of the Nampō Roku, it appears as ordinary text to the right of the sketch.)

Tai no kane [體ノカネ]: tai [體] means “body,” “substance,” “form.” These kane (which were derived from the shiki-shi [敷き紙]*) were the basic kane. They define the positions not only of the objects that are displayed on them, but also the objects that are displayed between them.

The yang kane are generally used when arranging objects on the daisu†.

Tai [體] contrasts with yō [用]‡. Roughly, they might be thought of as “form” and “function.”

Yō [用] means use. The yin kane are used (primarily) during the temae**, rather than when displaying objects.

The sketch is interpreted above, with the red lines indicating the five yang kane††, and the blue lines representing the six yin kane. __________ *Though the author was ignorant of this connection, the shiki-shi underpins everything about the kane, and kane-wari. Without a knowledge of it, the rest degenerates into an arbitrary set of rules.

As shown above, the shiki-shi consists of eight 5-sun by 6-sun (cardboard) panels, arranged in two rows of four, with 3-bu wide folds in between. Originally covered (on both sides) with white tori-no-ko [鳥の子] paper, since its earliest appearance (in Japan) it became common for one side (usually the side that faces upward) to be covered with gilded paper, and the other (usually the side that faces downward) with silvered paper.

While shiki-shi covered with tori-no-ko paper were used only once, those covered with foils were intended to be reused. As a result, a thin silk gauze is usually sandwiched inside, because it allows the shiki-shi to be folded again and again, as well as backwards and forwards, without its falling apart.

Since gold is yang, and silver is yin, the gold side faced upward on yang occasions, while the silvered side faced upward on yin occasions. (Yang occasions include ordinary gatherings held during the daytime, as well as auspicious or congratulatory, and Shintō-related events; yin occasions refer to ordinary gatherings held after dark, as well as cases where tea is served during memorial services -- gatherings held in memory of someone who has died, whether as part of the funerary rites or at a much later date -- and during Buddhist rituals.)

The original purpose of the shiki-shi was simply to protect the mat from being damaged, by spilled tea or dripped water. The shiki-shi defines the temae-za, which is considered to extend 5-sun on both sides (and so, as will be discussed later in Book Six, the temae-za -- the part of the mat on which utensils can be placed -- originally included the inner half of both heri). It is natural that, once this was decided, the edges and folds of the shiki-shi would take on additional meaning -- in other words, gave rise to the idea of kane-wari, and then be applied to both the ji-ita and the ten-ita of the daisu, as well as to the mat in front.

†While sometimes objects arranged in between the yang kane are described as resting on a yin kane, and sometimes not, this inconsistency makes it clear that the yin kane were “added” after the fact. Originally there were only the five yang kane, and these were the only ones with which Rikyū concerned himself.

Also, while originally the inner three yang kane were 3-bu wide (as an extension of the folds of the shiki-shi), resulting in the temae-za extending to the middle of both heri, Rikyū reduced all five (yang) kane to simple lines (equated to the me [目] of the mat); at which time, he also brought the temae inward, so that it ends at the inner edge of both heri. (The shiki-shi, and its elimination, are the only way that this can be explained logically.)

‡The use of tai-yō [體・用] here is somewhat different from the way these terms are used in the Chanoyu San-byak’ka jō [茶湯三百箇條] (Three Hundred Lines of Chanoyu). In that earlier collection, tai [體] refers to an object that has already been positioned on the mat (or elsewhere), while yō [用] refers to a second object that takes its position based on the location of the tai.

For example, the mizusashi (whether placed on the mat next to the ko-ita furo, or on a tana) is tai, when it is used to orient the chaire (which is yō) -- when the chaire is moved in front of it. And then the chaire immediately becomes tai, while the chawan is yō, when the chawan is moved beside the chaire. As the objects are moved around the temae-za during the temae, they are sometimes tai, and sometimes yō.

While this was the original idea to which this expression referred, it seems that the person who wrote the portions of the Nampō Roku in which tai-yō figures, understood the concept imperfectly. This is why the rather odd usage found here -- which, as mentioned above, is close to tai meaning “form,” and yō referring to “function” (the kane that define position during the temae) -- deviates from the original meaning (which Jōō traced back to Shukō).

**When the shiki-shi was spread out in front of the daisu, the objects were usually handled while resting on top of one of the (eight) 5-sun by 6-sun panels, rather than when straddling one of the folds -- though rarely are they ever centered on any given panel.

††I have made the three inner yang kane wider, in keeping with their being derived from the folds of the shiki-shi. In fact, interpreting them as lines as the same size as the other kane has no significance, when we are speaking about the display of an hitotsu-mono (see footnote 7, below).

²Hidari-za [左座].

“The left seat.”

The daisu is, according to the interpretation espoused by the author of the Nampō Roku, considered to be facing toward the host. Thus the daisu’s left is located on the host’s right, and vice versa.

³Chū-ō ha in-yō tomo ni dai-ichi kane nari [中央ハ陰陽トモニ第一ノカネ也].

“The central [kane] is considered to be the first kane, both for the yin and the yang.”

For whatever reason, this sentence is written upside-down -- perhaps suggesting that it was added by someone other than the original draftsman, or at a later time. (It more or less repeats some of what is written below the sketch, in reference to the central kane.)

⁴Migi-za [右座].

“The right seat.”

(See footnote 2.)

⁵In no kane nari, yō nari, mutsu [陰ノ��ネ也、用也、六ツ].

“This is a yin kane. It is for use*. [There are] six [yin kane]."

This note is explaining the way the kane are depicted in the sketch: they are the (six) kane drawn with black ink.

The end-most yin-kane are almost never used†. __________ *See footnote 1.

†They are too close to the edge of the ten-ita.

⁶Yō no kane nari, tai nari, itsutsu [陽ノカネ也、體也、五ツ].

“This is a yang kane. It is for display*. [There are] five [yang kane]."

The end-most yang-kane are rarely used, and never for the display of special utensils†.

As in the case of the previous footnote, the purpose of this note is to call the reader's attention to the way that the yang kane are indicated in the Nampō Roku (by drawing them with red ink). __________ *See footnote 1 for an explanation of the word tai [體].

†For example, hitotsu-mono [一ツ物] (see below) are not displayed on the end-most kane. This is because the end-most kane were derived from the left and right edges of the shiki-shi, which were, thus, understood to be simple lines. Only the three inner kane were based on the folds (3-bu wide) that allowed objects to be moved slightly to the left or right while still being fully aligned with the kane (when a utensil is displayed as a hitotsu-mono, it is placed so that its center is exactly at the center of the kane, and so perfectly aligned with it).

⁷In, hitotsu-mono [no] ni [陰、一ツモノ二].

“[This shows] the yin hitotsu-mono, the second [position].”

Hitotsu-mono [一つ物] refers to an object that is displayed so it is exactly centered on the kane with which it is associated. These utensils are the highest meibutsu, which therefore demand the most careful placement.

In this case, the utensil is displayed as a yin hitotsu-mono (the object is associated with a yin kane*) -- which has been represented as a solid line in the following sketch.

Of the three possible positions for a yin hitotsu-mono, this is the second highest of them†. __________ *That is, the daisu is arranged for a yin gathering -- either an ordinary gathering held at night, or else one associated with a yin occasion (such as a memorial service, or a Buddhist ritual).

†Three yin-kane may be used for the display of a yin hitotsu-mono:

◦ the first (highest) is the yin kane immediately to the right of the central kane;

◦ the second is the present kane (which is the second to the right of the central kane);

◦ and the third is the yin kane immediately to the left of the central kane.

(Note that in the Nampō Roku, these are described as the first yin-kane on the left seat, the second yin-kane on the left seat, and the first yin-kane on the right seat, respectively.)

⁸Hidari-waki no hitotsu-mono [左脇ノ一ツ物].

“The [yang] hitotsu-mono, on the left side.”

This refers to a hitotsu-mono displayed on the first yang-kane to the right of the central kane.

In the Nampō Roku, this kane is defined as being on the left seat.

⁹In no hitotsu-mono, mi-tokoro no uchi [no] ichi (陰ノ一ツモノ、三所ノ内一].

“The yin hitotsu-mono, the first of the three [possible] positions.”

This is the first (or highest) of the three yin hitotsu-mono positions.

¹⁰Chū-ō dai-ichi no kane, hitotsu-mono no shi-goku no kane nari [中央第一ノカネ、一ツ物ノ至極ノカネ也].

“The central, first kane. [This represents] the most extreme case of the hitotsu-mono.”

Shi-goku [至極] means “very,” “quite,” “exceedingly.” In other words, this is the “most extreme” hitotsu-mono position.

The highest esteem is shown to a suitably worthy utensil by displaying it as a hitotsu-mono on the central kane. The object is thus in the exact center of the ten-ita.

¹¹In hitotsu-mono [no] san [陰一ツモノ三].

“The third yin hitotsu-mono.”

This is the third (or lowest) of the three yin hitotsu-mono.

This might be confusing, because a utensil displayed on this kane will be the farthest (and so seem to be the most safe or secure) from the part of the room where the guests are seated. However, we must remember that the present configuration of the room, with the guests seated on the host's right, only dates back to the 1580s (when Hideyoshi demanded that the room be reversed, so that the host's actions would be easier for the shōkyaku -- i.e., Hideyoshi himself -- to see clearly*). Originally the guests were seated on the host's left, and so this position is "lowest" because it is closest to the guests. __________ *Hideyoshi was afraid of being poisoned by the followers of (what is now known as) the Ikkō-shū [一向宗] -- the Amidist sect of Buddhism under which chanoyu originated, and to which virtually all chajin of that time (both the descendants of the Korean expatriates -- the chajin from the city-states of Sakai and Hakata -- and those who were Japanese natives) belonged. (The “danger” of this sect seems to have been found in their teaching that a single, sincere repetition of the nembutsu -- Namu Amida Butsu [南無阿彌陀佛] -- was sufficient to insure absolute salvation: thus, everyone who had performed this recitation was equal, in the eyes of Heaven, and so should also be considered so on earth, in the temporal sphere. Thus there are no kings, and no paupers; all men are equal. This is the source of the idea of “equality in the tearoom,” and the other manifestations of that sentiment that color the teachings of chanoyu -- even today.)

It seems that it was the Korean version of the Ikkō-shū that brought down the Koryeo dynasty (hence the obliteration of that sect in Korea during the second half of the fifteenth century, after the feudal system had been restored), and both Nobuanga and Hideyoshi were paranoid that members of this sect might attempt to stage a coup (by infiltrating the ranks of their closest associates), and overthrow the government in Japan, as well. This fear was only compounded after Hideyoshi destroyed the sect's main temple (the Ishiyama Hongan-ji [石山本願寺]), and then appropriated (and, one might say, defiled) the ground for the construction of his Ōsaka castle.

¹²Migi-waki no hitotsu-mono [右脇ノ一ツ物].

“The [yang] hitotsu-mono, on the right side.”

A hitotsu-mono displayed on the first yang-kane on the right seat (the first yang-kane to the left of the central kane).

¹³Kikkyō ni shite yō ha kichi, in ha kyō to su [吉凶ニシテ陽ハ吉、陰ハ凶トス].

Kikkyō ni shite [吉凶にして]: kikkyō [吉凶] literally means good luck (kitsu, kichi [吉]) and misfortune (kyō [凶]) -- that is, “fortune;” suru [爲る] means to do or to be. Thus, “as for the impact on [ones] fortune...,” or “as for being lucky or unlucky....”

Yō ha kichi [陽は吉]: kichi [吉] means good luck, fortunate; and also joy, and congratulations. Thus, “the yang is lucky” or “the yang is auspicious.” An object is made yang by displaying it on a yang-kane.

In ha kyō to su [陰は凶とす]: kyō [凶] means evil, bad luck, disaster; and to su [とす] is a contracted form of to suru. Thus, “yin is evil;” or “yin brings bad luck.” (Which is not going to help with the explanation of why the yin kane are “for use” during the temae.)

¹⁴Shūgi [祝義].

Shūgi [祝義]* means a celebration, a congratulatory ceremony (such as a wedding -- which is how the word is often translated). __________ *Today the written form shūgi [祝儀] is preferred.

¹⁵Oshi-ita [押板].

Originally the expression referred to a kind of long Korean table (around which the monks would congregate when eating their meal during convocation) that was placed against the wall at the back of the jō-dan [上段], the elevated section of the shoin on which the nobleman sat. The flowers and kakemono were arranged on the oshi-ita (a rather small example is shown below).

Later this morphed into a built-in recess that served the same purpose.

While physically similar to a tsuke-shoin [付け書院] (as a raised wooden surface), the primary difference is that the oshi-ita is backed by a solid wall, while the tsuke-shoin had a window on the far side (since its primary purpose was for use as a dashi-fuzukue [出し文机] -- a built-in writing desk). In the above photo, the chigai-dana is seen on the right, with the tsuke-shoin oriented along the left wall of the room. The oshi-ita is located between these two.

The oshi-ita was later supplanted by the tokonoma (which is a miniature version of the jō-dan, on which the flower vase was placed -- on an usu-ita [薄板] -- and on the back wall of which the kakemono was hung: because it was derived from the jō-dan, Jōō and Rikyū considered it to be acceptable for the shōkyaku to be seated in the tokonoma when there was insufficient space in the room itself). In rooms that lacked a toko*, an oshi-ita was still used (albeit with the legs folded up into the box-like top, in the manner shown in the upper photo). __________ *The classical teaching was that only a person who owned at least one meibutsu utensil -- some said, who owned a meibutsu kakemono -- was authorized to attach a tokonoma to his tearoom. People without such utensils were supposed to place an oshi-ita against one wall, and use that instead. (Toward the end of the sixteenth century, Furuta Sōshitsu replaced the oshi-ita, in such rooms, with a much smaller ka-dai [花臺] -- a low wooden stand on which the flower vase was placed -- and this style is now known as the Oribe-doko [織部床].)

¹⁶Butsu-ji kaikyū nado in nari [佛事懷舊等陰ナリ].

Butsu-ji [佛事] means a Buddhist service*.

Kaikyū [懷舊] means a memorial, a gathering held in memory of someone (who has died).

Both of these gatherings are yin [陰] -- though while not happy, it might be wrong to categorize them as evil or ill-omened.

On such occasions, the objects in the several locations† should all be arranged on yin kane.

The author is repeating things that were already said in entry 3, which is another point that argues against this being an authentic part of the original collection of documents. ___________ *Often something like a feast-day: for example, the 88th day of the year was dedicated to the Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyaguru (Yakushi Nyorai [藥師如来]), the “Buddha of Healing.” On that day, texts and prayers related to this Bodhisattva were intoned during the daily services, and tea was offered to the participants and congregation.

†In other words, on the tsuke-shoin, on the daisu, and in the tokonoma.

¹⁷Sore mo shison wo ga-suru kokoro nite, ippin zutsu yō ni kazaru [ソレモ嗣孫ヲ賀スル心ニテ、一品ツヽ陽ニカサル].

Shi-son [嗣孫] seems to refer to an heir or grandchild*. Here it would refer to the descendants.

Ga-suru kokoro [賀する心]: ga-suru [賀する] means to celebrate, felicitate, celebrate, fête, and so forth. Kokoro [心], in this kind of construction, means an inclination, an idea; to be of a mind to do (something).

Ippin zutsu [一品ずつ; 一品宛] means one a piece, one by one. That is, one object in every location -- the shoin, the daisu, and the oshi-ita/tokonoma -- should be yang (that is, associated with a yang kane).

The meaning is that while a memorial service† would be a wholly yin affair, when the purpose is to commemorate ones (usually famous or important) ancestors, the occasion tends to be more positive, and this is indicated by placing one object, in each of the several locations in which things are typically displayed, on a yang kane. __________ *Shibayama Fugen’s teihon [底本] has shison [子孫], which is the usual term for a descendant, posterity.

Shison [嗣孫] is the term used for the participants in Ancestor Worship ceremonies, but does not seem to have been otherwise commonly used.

†This would refer to a gathering held on one of the traditional memorial days -- the 7th, 49th and 100th day -- after the death; and then on the anniversary of the death in the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 13th years thereafter.

On these occasions, the idea was to pray for the repose of the deceased, rather than to celebrate ones connection with that person (as is the case in the Ancestor Worship ceremonies that are being considered here).

¹⁸Heijō no daisu itsu mo-itsu mo yō kazari wo yoshi to su [平常ノ臺子イツモ〰陽カサリヲシテトス].

Heijō [平常] means usual, ordinary, normal. In other words, the daisu as it is arranged on ordinary occasions.

We must remember that this admonition seems to be referring to the period in time when the daisu was used all the time, when there was really no alternative to the daisu if one wished to serve tea personally to ones guests.

¹⁹Sore sa [h]e yō-kazari ni shite hi-dachi ha nashi [ソレサヘ陽カサリニシテヒタチハナシ].

Hi-dachi [ヒタチ = 非立?], which would seem to mean "to commit an misdeed," is speculative.

Shibayama Fugen states that hi-dachi is equivalent to higa-goto [僻事] (immoral act, mistake); Tanaka Senshō states that this expression is classified as “unknown today;” and Hisamatsu Shin-ichi sensei, the editor of the Sadō Koten Zenshū [茶道古典全集] edition of the Nampō Roku, equates hi-dachi with hinan [非難]* (meaning reproach, blame, criticism).

At any rate, given the context, the point seems to be that effecting a yang kazari on the daisu at any time (day or night) is not something that can be faulted. __________ *Actually, Hisamatsu sensei appears to suggest that hi-dachi is a classical pronunciation of “非難,” though other scholarly studies do not appear to support this assertion. Nevertheless, context demands that the meaning would need to be at least something similar.

²⁰Sōan ni te mo sho-go tomo ni yō-kane yō-kazu ni shiku ha naki ka dono sengi arikeru mo [草菴ニテモ初後トモニ陽カネ陽數ニシクハナキカトノ僉議アリケルモ].

Yō-kazu [陽數] means a yang number (of objects) -- that is, an odd number.

Shiku [敷く] means to cover, to place on top of (the yang kane).

Sengi [僉議] means to talk over, discuss, hash out.

In other words, whether it is acceptable to place an odd number of objects on top of yang kane during the shoza and goza, is something that is not entirely clear, given the precedents that have been discussed thus far in this entry.

²¹Jōō no kanben mottomo no koto nari [ノ勘辨尤ノコトナリ].

Kanben [勘辨] means to pardon, forgive, forbear. Thus it is not a full-voiced acceptance so much as a resolve to make allowances for something that is a consequence of the limited space available in the newly-created small room.

Mottomo no koto [尤のこと] means something that is right, or something that is natural. In other words, since the space available has been reduced to (what seemed to be) the absolute minimum, it is unavoidable -- and so natural -- that objects which had formerly been more widely dispersed (and offset by the presence of numerous other utensils) are now being drawn into a correspondence with the kane in this way.

This seems to refer to displaying the kōgō and/or habōki so that they contact a yang kane* at the beginning of the shoza*; and then the chabana (either when it is resting on the floor of the toko, or suspended from the hook attached to the back wall of the toko) and the mizusashi (which is almost always yang†), along with the kama in the ro, at the beginning of the goza.

We must remember that the sōan only appeared (in the form of the two 2-mat daime rooms -- Jōō's Yamazato no iori [山里ノ庵], and Rikyū's Jissō-an [實相庵] being the first two examples) during the last year of Jōō's life‡. Jōō died at the age of 54, and though his final illness came on rather suddenly**, he does not seem to have ever been a very robust man, and appears to have become rather frail during his last couple of years (which may have perhaps not only brought on thoughts of impermanence, and a desire to imitate the recluses and ascetics, but also the desire to simplify everything connected with chanoyu as much as possible). __________ *The kama in the ro, and the kakemono, always contact yang kane as a deliberate consequence of the places where they are installed.

†On the daime, the mizusashi rests on the second kane from the right; on the fukuro-dana (which originally was oriented so that the mizusashi would be in the same place as on the daisu), it is associated with the right-most kane (when the fukuro-dana is centered on the mat, the mizusashi is associated with the second kane from the right); and in a room with a mukō-ro, a mizusashi of the usual size (6-sun in diameter) will be in contact with both of the kane to the left of the central one. Thus, in all of the usual configurations, and assuming that it is of the usual size, the mizusashi will always be yang.

‡As he got older, Jōō seems to have become more relaxed, and less of a stickler for a close adherence to the earlier rules -- particularly in the increasingly wabi settings (which is likely why he began to concentrate on this type of room after he passed middle age).

We can see this not only in the evolution of his own style (the daisu being replaced by the fukuro-dana), but in his preferences for the type of rooms (the inaka-ma 4.5-mat room -- which feels much more like a 2-mat room, than it does to a kyōma 4.5-mat room), and even the simplification of the meal -- all of which become increasingly wabi in his final years.

**He died after having been ill for around 2-weeks. Rather sudden, though giving him sufficient time to put his affairs in order, and say goodbye to his disciples.

²²Shikaredomo kata yori taru-yō ni te fu-jiyū naru yue [然レドモ片ヨリタルヤウニテ不自由ナルユヘ].

Kata [片] means one half of a pair. And so, unbalanced.

Fu-jiyū [不自由], in this context, means to be missing something, to be lacking something.

²³Mata chajin no e-toku ni yotte [又茶人ノ會得ニ依テ].

E-toku [會得] means understanding, comprehension, grasp, perception, appreciation (of the rules and precedents).

Thus, the author is allowing the chajin to inject his personal creativity into the arrangement -- based, however, upon his (correct) training and experience.

²⁴Hataraki sabaki nado omoshiroi shisai mo areba, in kane yō kazu mo mochiite yoki nari [ハタラキサバキ等面白キ子細モアレバ、陰カネ陽數モ用テヨキ也].

Hataraki [働き], meaning work or effort, in this case refers to the decisions that the host makes when arranging the utensils.

Sabaki [捌き] refers to how those utensils are actually handled or manipulated.

Shisai [子細]* means reasons, circumstances, significance, particulars, and so forth.

Mochiite yoki nari [用いて良きなり] means “(it is) good to use (this kind of arrangement).”

In other words, if the way things are arranged, and then handled, creates an interesting effect, then placing an odd number of objects on yin kane is a possibility -- though this always depends on the host's training and experience. __________ *Usually shisai [仔細] seems to be preferred today.

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pyrokinesis · 4 years

Text

So I lost the patience and watched Kizuna

! Major spoilers ahead !

Listen, I know I said I will wait until the Blu-Ray comes out, but I was impatient little bitch and I found a working Sample 3 link with English dub, so I said, fuck it! My brother joined me 20 minutes in, lol. Anyways, onto the movie.

I don't really know what to say, Digimon Last Evolution Kizuna was exactly what I expected from the movie of such name, a movie that promotes end of relationship between Digimons and their human partners.

I kinda didn't have my hope up, mostly because I rewatched Adventure & Adventure 02 last week and finally watched Tri, and the whole point of Digimon has always been, no matter what happens, Digimons and their humans will always stick and stay together, I think the quote goes "humans and Digimons forever" (?). I kinda was hyped up though, partly because of art style (it was much better than Tri, less dark and more symmetrical when it comes to faces and bodies, Tri was annoying at times with weird asymmetrical faces; also Yamato!!!! Yamato is so hot and pretty in Kizuna, wtf Toei leave this poor lesbian alone), partly because of Adventure 02 kids (my brother is so annoyed with me, but I'm a huge 02 fan, Wormmon is my baby and I can rewatch 02ep25 anytime, Stigmon's first appearance is fucking iconic).

Adventure 02 kids got much more screentime than I expected, especially Iori/Cody because he is sometimes really put aside. I love how they were staying in touch with Original Six/Eight through Yamato, and how Hikari and Takeru stayed part of their team (Tri lacked this so much, it was so weird to have Hikari and TK not knowing what happened to their friends when they were supposedly a new team/best friends). Also my baby Ken's hair (*le cries*), I miss his long hair. Both my brother and I expected Paildramon to appear near the end, but there were no DNA/Jogress evolutions besides Omegamon/Omnimon.

Yamato was so fucking hot it's unbelievable, he's become top Digi-destined to me, 2D character or not. He was so smart, so persistent, so consistent, so selfless, so cute, itty-bitty blind (those cute glasses that appeared on his face for a mili-moment during him being in uni classroom panel, all of my uwus gone), still has one of the best relationships with Gabumon (he plays harmonica for Gabumon, even after all these years, he keeps Gabumon by his side, and they both tried to find that bad-guy-turned-FBI-agent-guy sneakily, so so cute). Overall, Yamato is a emotionally much more main character than Taich is, probably because emotionally, Taichi was the main character of Tri.

Now onto our second main, Taichi. Honestly, technicall, both Yamato and Taichi are Kizuna's main guys, but emotionally, Yamato left much bigger impact. Taichi was the main character in the beginning, but as the story progressed, I could feel Yamato much better. Still, Taichi isn't left aside (like all other Original Eight kidz/people). He is a struggling university student who has no idea what to do with his life (my brother sorta compared him to me, LMAO). This is very consistent with Tri's Taichi, who is full of self dubts, abstract ideas of future, and melancholy when he thinks about his future self. Toei nicely showed it when they let us know Tai earns for his future by working part-time as a waiter (?) in an automat casino. He is kinda really down all the time when he starts realising he has to make huge choices about the future, even though he has no bloody idea or genuine thought what to do (also his porn stash, LMAO what was that Taichi, who even uses porn magazine after the age of 14).

Thinking back about it now, it's kinda underwhelming with how it actually, emotionally, focuses on the whole "Digimons have to leave their partners" philosophy. Like, it barely shows interactions between humans and Digimons (which Tri did at least, with I think all characters, so I would expect at least some focus on Yamato and Taichi). There were some interactions between Taichi and Agumon, and Yamato and Gabumon at the end, but it just felt uncomplete and unfullifying. Also whole concept is bullshit (did I mention it? Because if I didn't I will, because this whole thing really is). It all started with Tri, which felt like it was produced by random people who watched Adventure & 02 after fifteen years and decided to make their own spin on it, without actual respects for stories and characters Adventure & Adventure 02 were trying to make us feel and understand (though feelings of OOC-ness Tri had at the times were minimal in Kizuna, thank goodness for that).

Then, Kizuna continued it with the concept of "when Digi-destined grow up, their Digimon partners disappear because they are not on the same mental wavelengths anymore" which is the complete opposite of one of like three main Digimon philosophies, "Digimon and Digi-destined, together and forever"; like while I disliked 02 epilogue, it showed us that after all hardships, Digi-destined and their Digimons get their happy endings, together. Both my brother and I (we watched it together) groaned at the whole concept (along with predictive bullshit plot and plotholes).

While I understand the reason behind this (I read some spoilers on here afterwards, to broaden my post-Kizuna horizons), that humans/Digi-destined grow up, and Digimons kinda don't, it still makes me really dissatisfied. Tri showed us in flashes that, when given time spent with their and other humans, Digimons can grow and become mentally wise adults (cue to the cutest scene when Patamon closes his one eye because he understands the tension between Hikari and Takeru, as in, that they like each other and they might need some time "alone"), so Kizuna kinda fucked up all previous Adventure works by telling us everything is in vain, Digimons leave, their connection to humans they had will become meaningless and humans will have to move on. Bullshit plot(hole), but whatever.

The amount of screentime non-Taichi&Yamato characters can be underwhelming, especially if you don't read spoilers like I did. The movie starts with Takeru and Hikari as important as Yamato and Taichi, but as the movie progresses, they just fade in the background. Kinda happens to everyone else except Koushiro/Izzy, who kinda has a really leading role, considering how much screentime Taichi and Yamato have (I feel like wordcount apps will find Yamato&Taichi as my most used words in this rant review), and he is probably third most important role, until he undramatically disappears because of psycho main lady.

Now towards real ranting. I'll try to keep it short because I have no real emotions behind it and I feel some other rants might articulate it better. Anyways, the plot of the whole movie is so goddamn predictable. It starts so weirdly, with Taichi, Hikari and Takeru fighting Parrotmon (what the fuck was that even, btw???). Like, Parrotmon, again? It feels just very reused, and that feeling that doesn't leave even during the credits. Soundtrack—while nice, nostalgic, and very fitting—is also just reused Adventure 01 soundtrack, and it just brings kudos from my memory lane road nostalgia. Deja Vu is the feeling that sticks to your skin and bones, if you like me, watched Adventure 1-3 just before Kizuna, and understand how so many scenes are just reused wanna-be old seasons references.

From two older adults (I honestly thought there will be two goverment agents, again, and mentally groaned) sticking up into Digi-destineds' business like some omni-knows creature, same as agents from Tri, fucked up (female) main antagonist who pretends to be a good guy (lady?) for the sake of gathering intel and trust, who is a complete nutjob (full-time pyscho in Kizuna lady's case) because of the loss of her Digimon partner, to bullshit powered-up Digimon created from human coding (my brother pointed this one to me, and honestly, half of this movie is both Diaboromon movies rehashed/redone in 2020 shine), Omnimon fighting in some weird Digital World room powered-up creature (first Diaboromon movie straight up scene for scene), even that first scene with Parrotmon and this time completely unexplainable appearance of a Digimon in the real world, and Digi-destined having to fight it, and of course, bullshit new unexplained Digi-evolution with new (human???) mega forms of Agumon and Gabumon. All in all, it just feels very forced and all very already seen.

Now onto the less main, even less supporting characters. 02 teens are amazing, considering they have barely any lines and some little fighting moments. I love them, and I'm happy they got this, considering how they were blatantly forgotten in Tri, and how obviously nobody in the production of Tri even cared to hide that. Wormmon and Stigmon are my babies and I'm happy to see them have some screentime.

Original Six/Eight (excluding Taichi and Yamato) are kinda disappointing, though. I read some spoilers, so I knew Sora wouldn't appear much, but damn, even that was much compared to her actual screentime in Kizuna. She is almost as forgotten as 02 kids were in Tri. I get that she is shown to have moved on faster than other Original Eight kids, but still, they didn't even show her losing Piyomon (which did happen, and it was emotionally, overwhelming, in a fucked up sense when you realised Piyomon wasn't by her side). Jou, Mimi, Takeru, and Hikari were shown at the beginning of movie with so much potential screentime, but in the end they mostly were there for the dramatic cliffhangers (I didn't understand at the beginning what happened to Mimi and Jou, and I thought Hikari was murdered and that the FBI agent straight up shot Takeru), during that mini battle scene sometime in the Neverland, and of course, during the end credits. It was kinda really both overwhelming and underwhelming to see them during the credits when they could've had much more moments during the movie (I sorta had some hope because the movie is almost 2 hours long, and usually movies are like 20, 30 minutes long, but even during those one-episode-length movies there is more of main-supporting characters shown).

As mentioned, the ending is bullshit (my brother ended up crying and I had to put Adventure OST on to calm him down), Agumon and Gabumon dying is literally the most senseless thing ever since both Taichi and Yamato love their partners so much, and even among all the adulting and hassles in their lives, they try to make time for their Digimon partners (during their time in the restuarant, Yamato and Taichi literally talk how they don't have time for even their closest friends, hell Hikari even mentions Taichi should give their mother a visit, but Taichi still finds time for Agumon), so in the end both Taichi and Yamato were among the last people to lose their Digimons and I'm really disappointed in this concept, especially how they didn't show Gabumon and Agumon disappearing, Taichi and Yamato deserved explicit goodbyes.

Uh, I don't think I have anything much to add anymore. I read spoilers and some are pretty much novels from how much people put their thoughts in, this is just my ranting review, tbh. I dived into this hoping to get my heart mended from Tri (say what you want about Tri but it was too bad for six hour and half movies, especially general Adventure constistency-wise), but not with high expectations, having seen the trailer and having some spoilers read. All in all film wasn't too bad, but it wasn't too good, solid 6/10 rating from me, mostly for the animation and nostalgic soundtrack, but the whole plot was shit as fuck and the philoshophy behind it.

(Random, but I noticed straight people/shippers liked the movie better than gay people/shippers, is there any correlations between that)

ALL IN ALL, Digimon: Last Evolution Kizuna wasn't the best nor the worst Digimon movie/work, but it probably isn't something I will rewatch or recommend anytime soon (also wtf were those humanoid mega forms, like W T F).

#Petra talks #Petra rants #digimon #digimon adventure #digimon last evolution kizuna spoiler #digimon last evolution kizuna #digimom spoilers #and ranting #too many mentions of taichi and yamato #tw swearing #taichi yagami #yamato ishida

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rwbyconversations · 6 years

Video

youtube

Sorry this took a while to do, real life stuff happened. This is the RWBY panel from Montreal Comic Con and happened on Friday, July 6th 2018.

Barbara started with some ground rules (G R O U N D R U L E S); no spoiler questions, no signings, no shout outs.

Barbara, did you get Michael some Poutine (a Canadian delicacy of French fries and cheese topped with gravy)? A: Not yet, mainly tonight. Second question: Do you have a different schedule for when you’re recording (specifically, the question seems to be “would Barbara be able to read the script over a few weeks compared to Michael being given the script and having to record all of Sun’s lines in a two hour window)? A: Arryn: “It’s cute that you think they have the script for the entire season.” Barbara explains that recording tends to be done in spurts (they’ve previously said they usually record a quarter of a season per session). Michael backs this up by noting that he had just recorded Camp Camp episodes 8 through 10.

Did you ever think RWBY would blow up as big as it did? A: NOPE.

With Ilia having confessed her feelings to Blake last volume and becoming the (at the time, thanks Scarlet) first LGBT character in RWBY, is there anybody in the main group who’s LGBT themselves? A: Arryn: “We can’t answer that.” Barb: “Maybe you’ll find out. Yang’s in love with her own muscles.” Lindsay mentions that she once jokingly confirmed that Ruby is a “mech-o-sexual.”

What was your experience working with ArcSys for Cross Tag Battle? A: Lindsay really liked it since it was more voice acting in general. “Video game voice acting is its own beast,” since the voice directors can make you do your lines eight different ways. Kara once came out of a six hour session drenched in sweat. Arryn thought it was interesting to get to say “cheesy video-game one liners” that Blake would never normally say. The hardest part for Barbara was all the effort sounds.

What’s your favorite fan theory besides Yang’s arm vibrating? A: Kara: If Penny came back as an AI companion for Yang’s arm. Lindsay: That Penny will come back and her and Ruby will walk off into the sunset together? Arryn: The theory that Qrow is really Ruby’s father since “he’s weirdly obsessed with her and doesn’t really seem to care about Yang.” Barbara goes for a ship instead of a theory and just goes “I like Bumblebee.” Michael: “I like the theory that Sun is the best.” Arryn goes on a tangent that Sun should really just confess to Blake that he has a crush on her “Because clearly she just doesn’t get it.” Barb: “I’d pick Sun if I was Blake, he’s got like a third hand.”

Any funny stories from behind the scenes? A: Lindsay says they mess around a lot in the booth. During recording for a fight scene in Volume 5, Lindsay got really light-headed from dehydration and threw up. She then realized that an animator was in the stall beside her who said “Ruby? Are you OK?”

Will Achievement Hunter ever consider playing Cross Tag Battle? A: Michael’s down with it. He’s actually talked about it with the Achievement Hunter people.

What was your reaction to learning that Penny was dead? A: Lindsay: Grabs the microphone. Everyone else takes cover. Lindsay: “I don’t like to talk about it.” As a person she didn’t like it, especially since she loves recording with Penny’s VA, but as a storyteller she thought it was a great twist. Kara and Arryn both say then that she can just come back since she’s a robot. Lindsay also really likes the fan theory that if/when Penny returns, she doesn’t remember Ruby at all.

Barb: When is Yang gonna get a Mega Buster? A: It’d be cool if she got some upgrades to her arm but Barb doesn’t know when.

Favorite song from the OST? Lindsay: Every song is so cool- Kara: That’s like a mom saying every kid is her favorite! Serious answer. Lindsay: Red Like Roses Part 2. Kara: Mirror Mirror. Arryn: This Will Be The Day and BMBLB. Barb: Gold and I Burn, all time favorite is Cold since it reminds her of Monty. Michael: All of his music is through Lindsay.

Lindsay, what was your favorite Monty memory? Monty helped Michael wrap Lindsay’s desk and every object on it in wrapping paper. When asked about it later after Lindsay and Michael began dating, Monty told her it was because he believed in true love and thought they’d be good together. Kara also shares a story about Monty mixed up dish soap and dishwasher soap which led to her and Monty walking into a “bubble party.”

What animal would you like to see a Grimm of? Barb: Sloth. Lindsay: Some kind of lap cat for Cinder/Salem. Kara: Manatee.

What happened to Pilot Boi? Lindsay: Rest in Peace man! Barb: He flew into the big airplane in the sky.

Will we ever see more of CFVY? Lindsay bluntly says they’ll be in Chibi.

Can Let’s Play Live come to Montreal? A: ATM no, it’s sticking to just Austin, but maybe. Michael stresses that they are really difficult to organize, “It’s the most complicated thing I’ve ever seen.”

Could RWBY get a French dub? A: No clue.

Michael, would Sun ever have sex with Kali? Arryn: That’s not Michael’s say, that’s my say! Lindsay: She’s a married woman! Michael: Here’s all I’ll say; I’ll read the script!

Will Gavin cameo in RWBY? Barb: He’s Scarlet! Arryn: No one likes Gavin.

Are team RWBY purposefully very similar to the cast in terms of personality? They’re inspired by the cast.

Will you guys ever cosplay as team RWBY? They already did it at RTX.

Favorite ship (UGH): Lindsay- Nuts and Dolts, Kara and Barb- BB, Michael- Seamonkeys, Kara- White Knight. Arryn likes the ship name for Blake and Pyrrha but can’t say it out loud, so she names it “Mussy Pagnet.”

Favorite side-character? Kara: Winter. Lindsay: Taiyang. Arryn: Neptune. Later she says “my favorite minor character is SSSN/Sun!” (couldn’t tell) Barbara: Salem.

Favorite villain: Barbara’s least favorite villain is Adam. Michael hates Mercury (friendship ended with michael now ray is my best friend). Lindsay likes Emerald (lindsay best girl). Kara: Cinder. Arryn: Emerald.

Favorite Chibi Short? Lindsay: Little Red Riding Hood. Kara: The skit where RWBY imagine what Ozpin and Winter are saying. Barb: Battle of the bands and the Tai/Yang pun episodes.

RTX Canada? A: Who knows?

#rwby #rwby panel #montreal comiccon #michael jones #lindsay jones #kara eberle #arryn zech #barbara dunkelman #blazblue cross tag battle #sun wukong #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #penny polendina #nuts and dolts

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cooperhewitt · 6 years

Text

The Ties That Bind

Author: Joanne Schmidt

In celebration of the second annual New York Textile Month, members of the Textile Society of America will author Object of the Day for the month of September. A non-profit professional organization of scholars, educators, and artists in the field of textiles, TSA provides an international forum for the exchange and dissemination of information about textiles worldwide.

This T-shaped baby carrier (mei tai) is richly layered in the intangible cultural heritage and symbolism of the Miao ethnic group of China. While its most basic function is to wrap the child and keep it close to its mother, the carrier displays social, cultural and historical meaning in every stitch — the Miao see themselves as a people that wear their history. Unlike the majority Han Chinese who had a rich textual tradition, the Miao expressed and shared their collective heritage through their indigo dyeing and needlework. Girls as young as four or five began to learn the skill through observing their mothers.

Each group of Miao are distinct and have different origins, which are reflected in their textiles. Stitches and motifs represent creation myths, heroes and the stories of their migration. This carrier is embellished with designs that are likely from Tong-dau county in Hunan, China. In the central panel are auspicious lozenge patterns, filled with pointed four-leaf motifs representing the oriental sweetgum leaf. Also abundant is the eight-petaled flower design, which represents the wild roses that cover the hills and fields of Guizhou, possibly reflecting their migration routes. The designs on either side at the bottom of the carrier are variations on the “moon flower” design, a distinctive Hunan Miao design, in which the sun is in the center and the stars radiate from it, together representing the universe.

Although the carriers are culturally significant, they are truly intimate objects, seen by some as amulets—manifestations of a mother’s love and a symbolic extension of the umbilical cord. A baby carrier is a personal emblem embodying a mother’s love and hopes for the future of her child; “…the thread in the hands of a loving mother, the clothes on a wandering son.” [1]

While we look at the carrier and see ornament or decoration, the Miao see a rich visual language steeped in symbolism. The images of good fortune and nature’s forces, like birds, flowers and creatures near water serve as talismans and are infused with prayer and spirits to protect their wrapped babies from harm. Sometimes a needle would be left in the needlework to prick evil spirits and drive them away. Miao women also often intentionally leave a spot unfinished, as a way to fool evil spirits into believing that the carrier is not in use. It also serves as a symbol of continued diligence; leaving something unfinished and imperfect is a way to encourage improvement. Imperfection is also a way to be humble before the gods, as the Miao believe that no one should be as perfect as they are. Sometimes this comes in the form of disjointed designs or using colored threads in the middle of a monochromatic design.

Most women will not sell baby carriers, but if they do, they often save the ties for themselves, symbolically keeping them connected to the child. This carrier is missing its ties—perhaps somewhere in China, a mother keeps them as safe as she once kept her child.

[1] Chen, Cecilia, in: Liu Lan, Yu-Chiao, Christi Lan Lin and Brenda Lin. 2001. Bonding via baby carriers : the art & soul of the Miao & Dong people / Qing xi bei er dai : zou jin Miao, Dong zu jing zhan de gong yi shi jie. Taipei: Les Enfants Co. , p.12

Joanne Schmidt is Acting Curator of Indigenous Studies at Glenbow in Calgary, Canada. Her background is in the study of the expression of identity through material culture, and her particular interest is in the role of women in ensuring cultural survival in assimilationist and colonial contexts.

from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum https://ift.tt/2Mj1npG via IFTTT

#cooper hewitt #design conversations

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kienova66 · 6 years

Note

Prompt request? Momma!May taking care of pregnant Jemma?

Fitz frowned, arms crossed over his chest as Coulson lookedat him imploringly.

“We really need your help,” Coulson said, voice level andfitted with the appropriate amount of pleading. Fitz clenched his jaw, notwanting to go out in the field but he knew it was either consent or have toexplain why he was reluctant.

“Fine,” he muttered. “I just need to speak with May first.” TheDirector nodded, going back to the file in front of him as Fitz left the room,trying to quell the unease in his stomach as he moved towards the gym, knowingthat he would find May in there, probably with Daisy. His suspicions werecorrect, the Inhuman taking on a punching bag while May quietly moved throughher Tai-Chi. She opened her eyes when he stopped in front of her, shifting hisweight from one foot to the other.

“Fitz,” she said, carefully transitioning into the nextmovement.

“I… um, I have a favour to ask,” he rushed. She raised aneyebrow, waiting for him to continue. “I’d prefer to speak to you in private,” headded, glancing over to Daisy who was just pulling her headphones out. Sighingand dropping her stance, May directed him to the opposite end of the room witha shift of her jaw before she started walking.

“What’s this favour?” she asked when they were out of Daisy’searshot, eyes flicking over where Fitz was nervously massaging his hand.

“I… I need you to look after Jemma. Coulson has me going outon a mission and she’s… she’s not been well and, uh,” he rambled, feeling hischeeks heat. “She’s going to be furious that I’ve spoken to anyone but Ifigured if anyone can keep a secret and keep calm it’s you.”

“Fitz, is something wrong?” May questioned, her expressionshifting slightly as she put a hand on his elbow, watching his face. Fitzfought with himself for a moment before sighing, eyes slipping shut as a breathshuddered out of him.

“Jemma’s pregnant,” he started, barely above a whisper. “Shespent the entire night being sick and she’s exhausted and hormonal and she’sterrified that something’s going to go wrong and that she’s going to lose thebaby. She’s only eight weeks along, she doesn’t want anyone knowing. But I can’tin all good conscience leave her alone but I couldn’t tell Coulson and –”

“I’ve got this,” May assured him, stopping him before hecould become slightly hysterical. He took a deep breath, nodding.

“Thank you,” he said, smiling softly at her before duckingout of the gym to go gather the equipment he needed. May watched him go, tryingto contain the wave of affection that washed through her at his concern for hiswife. She showered quickly, dressing before heading off towards Fitz and Jemma’sbunk, ignoring the look of curiosity from Daisy as she left. She knocked softlyon the door before sliding her key-card through the control panel andoverriding the lock before slipping inside.

Jemma was curled up on her side, an empty trash bin next tothe bed. She was pale, dark circles beneath her eyes even in sleep. It was inthe dim light that May saw the young girl that had first stepped on the Busyears before, albeit she looked more tired than bubbly, but the worry linesseemed to have diminished in sleep and the ghosts behind her eyes wereshuttered away. Planting herself in the chair by the desk, she grabbed a discardednovel, flipping it open and starting to read.

She stayed reading quietly for a few hours before Jemma madea discontented noise, squirming around. Carefully, May crossed the room to siton the edge of the bed, stroking Jemma’s hair off her face. The scientistgroaned, rolling her face into the pillow for a moment before blinking up ather.

“May, what are –”

“Fitz sent me,” May explained, watching the slight panicfill Jemma’s eyes. “It’s okay Jemma. I’m not going to say anything to anyone.”Instead of placating the girl, it made her sit up, pulling her knees up to herchest and pressing her hand to her forehead as a wave of dizziness passedthrough her. Jemma breathed through her mouth for a moment, eyes clenched shutuntil she had control of herself.

“He shouldn’t have said anything to you either,” she snarled, sudden tears appearing in her eyes. “Afterall… this… this could be nothing. There’s no guarantees. I told… I told him Ididn’t want to tell anyone because… because if- if something happens I couldn’t–” She dissolved into sobs then, trying to curl even further in on herself asshe pressed her face into her knees.

“Oh Jemma,” May breathed, shifting until she could wrap anarm around Jemma’s shoulders. Although she stiffened at the contact, it wasonly for a split second before she was crumping against May’s chest, cryinginto her shoulder.

“I don’t want to lose this baby,” Jemma wept, her entire bodyshaking. May stroked her hair, keeping her close as she watched Jemma place ashaky hand on her belly, jerking it back after a second. May frowned at theaction but didn’t comment, trying to pacify the woman in her arms with silentaffection. When Jemma had calmed slightly, May sat back, looking at her.

“What scares you about this?” she asked softly, watchingJemma bite her lip, eyes still watering.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, sniffing as she looked downat her hands. “Everything.”

“There has to be something particular?” The question madethe younger woman pause, frowning as she tugged at a loose thread on theblanket before she let out a long exhale.

“I want this May. So much. And… and with everything that’shappened to us… what if this is just something else we’re going to have takenaway? I’ve been starved and tortured and to the future and a different planet.What… what if my body can’t handle this?” she hiccupped.

“You’ve survived all that for a reason. You’re one of thestrongest people I know.”

“Thank you,” Jemma muttered, unsure how to take thecompliment as she rubbed at her nose, the jumper she was wearing one that shehad stolen from Fitz.

“Have you talked to Fitz about this?”

“He… he’s trying to be optimistic,” she confessed. “I just…I don’t know how to listen to it right now.”

“Jemma, have you had an ultrasound yet?” May questioned,watching the girl shake her head. With a decisive nod, she slipped off the bed,tugging the blanket around Jemma’s shoulders. “Right. We’re going to fix that.”Jemma looked at her with confused, red-rimmed eyes before the pilot swept outof the room, heading to medical. None of the techs seemed brave enough toapproach her as she wandered over to the portable machine, grabbing a fewattachments before she left as quickly as she had come.

Jemma was sitting again when she got back, blowing her noseand trying to dry the still falling tears from her face.

“May –” she started, jaw snapping shut when May lifted herhand.

“I haven’t done this since I was fresh out of the Academy,so you might to have to talk me through it.” Jemma blinked at her.

“You… you had to give someone an ultrasound? May… this isn’tan abdominal ultrasound, it would have to be –”

“Transvaginal, I know Simmons. I was undercover at a labonce,” May explained. “Get yourself sorted out, I’ll turn around.” The wordsleft little to no argument and despite the blush Jemma felt filtering onto hercheeks, she stripped her pyjama pants off, tugging the bedsheet over her lap.

“We… you don’t have to do this,” Jemma muttered. May gaveher a look.

“Jemma. You’re going to be panicking until you know thingsare okay. And I know it won’t alleviate all your fears, but this might help, ifeven for a little bit,” she explained, sitting at the end of the bed andflicking the machine on, attaching the transducer and prepping it accordingly.Jemma scrunched up her nose at the reality of the device, spreading her legsand staring up at the ceiling. “You ready?” Jemma nodded, eyes closing as shetried to breathe through the discomfort, keeping her body still as thetransducer slipped inside her. “Jemma, breathe,” May encouraged, noticing howthe other woman was holding her breath. Jemma let out a shudder, tears slippingfrom her closed eyes as May turned her attention to the machine in her lap.

“Is – is there a heartbeat?” Jemma asked after a few minutes,her voice breaking on the query. May smiled, flipping the audio on.

“You tell me,” she whispered, the whooshing sound thumpingaround the room. Jemma let out a sob, her hand coming up to cover her mouth asthe baby’s heartbeat surrounded her. “Little one looks alright to me.” May heldup the screen, showing Jemma the blurry image of the embryo. Jemma’s shakinghand came to press against the monitor then, stroking over the picture of thebaby.

“Hi,” she breathed, a beaming smile crossing her face as shetraced the little figure, a laugh exploding out of her when it moved, squirmingaround. “Oh, hi.” She didn’t notice Fitz standing in the doorway, a dumbstrucklook on his face as he blinked, unable to stop his own tears when he realisedwhat was going on. May glanced over at him, jerking her head slightly as anindication that he should move. He was across the floor in a second, droppingto his knees next to the bed as he kissed Jemma’s temple, his hand joining hersagainst the monitor.

“Jem,” he croaked.

“There’s a heartbeat Fitz,” she told him, voice catching asshe kissed him, smiling the entire time.

“You should record this,” May gently suggested, watching asFitz fumbled for his phone, turning on the audio capture as they all sat insilence for a minute. He used the camera to record the screen after, trying tokeep the shaking in his hands to a minimum but failing. “Alright, Jemma, I’m goingto take this out now.” Jemma nodded, eyes closed as she turned her face intoFitz’s chest, wincing when May removed the transducer. “And now I’m going toleave you two.” She grabbed the equipment, sweeping out of the room.

“Thank you,” Jemma whispered as Fitz climbed onto the bedwith her, gathering her into his arms as he passed her his phone, letting herplay the video he’d taken of the ultrasound. “I know I said I didn’t wantanyone else to know yet but… May… she was perfect. Thank you.” Fitz kissed hercheek.

“Think she’s going to let us have the baby call her grandma?”

Jemma’s laughter boomed around the room.

#fstag #fitzsimmons #aos fanfiction #pregnancy #leo fitz #jemma simmons #melinda may #angst and fluff #writing #prompt fic #asks #replies #Anonymous

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mirascrafts · 5 years

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Global Rugs and Carpets Market Report Examines Latest Trends and Key Drivers Supporting Growth.

Global Carpets & Rugs Industry 2019 Market Research Report provides the details about Industry Overview, Manufacturing Cost Structure, Capacity, Growth Rate, Gross Margin, Major Manufacturers, Development Trends and Forecast Analysis.

Global Carpets & Rugs is valued approximately USD 95.8 billion in 2018 and is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 4.2% over the forecast period 2019-2026. The Carpet & rugs provides a smooth, clean, impervious, durable, colorful, hard and attractive surface. It is the cover which has to offer resistance to wear and tear due to human movement and movement of furniture, etc. Now a days, Carpet & Rugs is very important part of home decor which enhance the growth of market. Carpets are also safer with reduced risk of slip-and-fall accidents and thermal insulation to the floor, expanded the growth of the market. However, the residential and non-residential sectors and the rise in the renovation activities in both the residential and non-residential infrastructures. In the regions with very cold temperatures, carpets and rugs help in maintaining the temperature of the floor and also in thermal conductivity. The increase in consumer spending also tends to increase the use of carpets and rugs for bringing aesthetic improvements to home and office spaces. The market is further driven by the increase in awareness of use of eco-friendly materials for carpets.

increased emphasis on use of green and eco-friendly material, such as wood, also driven the market growth. Factors, such as new construction, renovation, and retrofitting activities for buildings as well as infrastructure influence the market growth, and are expected to drive the Carpets & Rugs market over the forecast period of 2019-2026.

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Mohawk Industries Inc.

Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

Tarkett S.A.

Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

Interface Inc.

Dixie Group, Inc.

Oriental Weavers Company for Carpet.

Tai Ping Carpets International Limited

Victoria PLC

The Home Depot, Inc.

Miras Carpet Industries

The objective of the study is to define market sizes of different segments & countries in recent years and to forecast the values to the coming eight years. The report is designed to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry within each of the regions and countries involved in the study. Furthermore, the report also caters the detailed information about the crucial aspects such as driving factors & challenges which will define the future growth of the market. Additionally, the report shall also incorporate available opportunities in micro markets for stakeholders to invest along with the detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product offerings of key players. The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:

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sunshinemiranda · 7 years

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Funnel Cake - Okieriete Onaodowan x Reader (Pt. 2 of Cotton Candy)

Summary: The story of the first date Oak takes you on after your meeting at the carnival. The universe loves to repeat itself, but it also loves to meddle.

Warnings: A single swear word. Literally, that’s it.

Word Count: 2,907 (I JUST GET CARRIED AWAY WITH THIS BALL OF SUNSHINE OKAY)

Request: @l-tay - Cotton Candy gave me MAJOR Oak feels. Part 2? Please? Pretty please with more tooth rotting fluff on top?

A/N: Okay so, when I started this I totally hated it, but by the time I finished it I really loved it. So there’s a mound of mixed feelings about this one. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

askbox | masterlist

The worst part of a date, hands down, was the wait. The minutes that dragged on as you stare at the clock in anticipation, or the seconds that hurry by too fast for your grasp to hold on tight enough and be early for once in your goddamn life.

Today was one of those that dealt in rushes. Oak had called, as promised, the day after your candyfloss meetings and set up a dinner date at seven the following night. His word choice had been, “the best damn date you’ll ever go on in your life, swear it”. Your excitement had been climbing all day but in your anticipation, you had forgotten to watch the clock and only started to get ready twenty minutes before.

To: Oak

Okay, incredibly last minute question: how should I dress??

To: (Y/N)

Last minute is right. Formal, of course! We’re going all out.

The way he had added “we” as if it was a term that would last, something for you to become comfortable and familiar with, tickled you to no end. With a grin at your phone screen, you hopped off the couch and all but sprinted to your closet, pulling out all your best dresses and laying them out in the most chaotic mess. You searched frantically, holding each one up to your body and making a split second decision on a blue halter-top that landed just past your knee. Hurrying to your bathroom mirror, you began applying make-up in a badly organized rush. Basic was the only option with so little time, so you left it simple. Untangling your hair from the braid you had left it in for the day, you ran a brush through the remaining waves and left it. As if wonderfully on cue, three short knocks rang out from your door as your phone signaled exactly 7 pm.

“Coming!” You called, stumbling out of the bathroom to whip the door open, revealing a very alarmed Oak at your quick movements. Standing at your doorstep, he looked absolutely wonderful in a gray suit that fit him perfectly. He startled back.

“It’s just me!” He lifted his hands in retreat, grinning. “Hi.”

You let out a breath, offering a smile as you ushered him in. “Hi. Sorry, I was sort of rushing around the house.”

“Clearly,” he chuckled. He paused as his gaze finally settled on you, taking the moment to just see you. “You look-“

“Very not put together, I know.”

“Beautiful was the word I was going for, actually.”

You blushed badly, reaching for your coat, slinging a purse over your shoulder and slipping a pair of heels on. “Two days away and the shy boy from the cotton candy stand has turned into a full-blown smooth talker.”

He blushed at that, which made you even. “Completely untrue, I am definitely still that awkward dork.”

“Good,” you smiled, reaching to slip your elbow into his, leaning to close the door behind you two. “I love awkward dorks.”

He grinned, eyes shining with happiness as he led you to his car. Slipping in front of you, he opened the passenger door for you and gestured with his hand. You gasped, clutching your hand over your heart with an over-the-top adoring look in your eyes.

“What a gentleman!” Slipping into the seat, you giggled.

“Like I said: best damn date you’ll ever go on in your life.” He promised, closing your door and going to take his own place at the wheel.

“Careful there, you’ll get my expectations up.”

“That’s a good thing! I want this to go well.”

The universe loves to be spiteful. The Fates are fickle old women and they adore tantalization and misfortune. It happened to be one of the days where these fickle old women were feeling particularly vindictive.

As Oak pushed his key to turn on his car, the engine coughed, sputtered, rumbled and promptly died, all in the space of a second. Silence filled the vehicle.

He tried again. A half-hearted choke came from the car but nothing more.

“Oh my god,” he murmured.

“Hey, it’s a good thing it happened here in the parking lot and not on the highway.” You offered, seeing the mortification on his face.

“God, this is so bad. Just my luck too. I am so sorry.” He leaned back in his seat, hands coming up to cover his face as he groaned. “Worst start of a date ever. Maybe you were right to keep your expectations low.”

“Oak,” you stated, firmly to get his attention. “This is fine. Maybe not ideal, but just fine. Besides, my expectations aren’t low. This is the boy who ate six candy flosses for me, right?” You smiled when you saw the corner of his mouth quirk at that. “I have an idea.”

“What would that be?” He smiled fully now, succumbing to the contagious feeling of your enthusiasm.

“Let’s take the bus.”

“No offence, (Y/N), but that’s not really the most romantic mode of transportation.”

You delivered a teasing smack to his arm to which he replied with a laugh. “Hey! It reminds me of when I gave you my number at the bus stop, okay? Come on.”

Blushing at your outburst of sentimentality, you escaped the car quickly, pushing out the door and standing. As he exited the car, laughing to himself, you busied your attention with smoothing out your already straight dress.

“It’s cute that you think of that.”

As if your blush couldn’t get any worse. This time, however, you didn’t bother hiding it and reached for his hand, tugging him forward as you led the way to the bus stop.

“How could I forget?”

The bus stop was only a couple blocks away and the evening was beautiful, warm and clear. Oak walked beside you, trading conversation back and forth and you started to notice little things that were so uniquely him that you had to take note. His hands found things to do while he talked: tugging at his shirt, smoothing over his hair. When he laughed, it was a relaxing sound that washed over you with a soothing lull, and it became almost immediate that you would do anything to hear it again. You were starting to think that the bad start was nothing now, and that it couldn’t get any worse. God, were you wrong.

Just as you rounded the corner, with the bus stop in view, a neon 99 lit up and you realized that the bus that would take you on this very sweet date was pulling away.

“Oak, that’s our bus.”

“Oh my god.”

Two very finely dressed young adults chasing after the number 99 bus at 7:30pm sounds romantic, but it really isn’t. Realistically, it is sweaty, painful if you’re wearing heels, and incredibly embarrassing if there are people around to see it. After seeing your ride disappear around the corner, the two of you pulled to a stop, panting.

“This is the worst date ever.” Oak groaned.

“It’s not bad at all,” you smiled, trying your best to help. “Come on, we’ve got fifteen minutes to wait for another one.”

You pulled him back to the bus stop and sat down, watching him pace from the uncomfortable plastic bench. He was kicking at stray rocks, tugging at the grey blazer he had on, straightening his tie, anything to keep himself busy. Your heart swelled for him.

“Oak?”

“Yeah?”

“Come sit down. Please.”

He looked over, let out a breath and then joined you on the bench, leaning back as he looked up through the plastic overhang that shielded people from rain.

“Look at me.”

He obliged, dark brown eyes shining beautifully against the lights of the street.

“The universe is a bitch. She really is. And this sucks, but I’m forgiving her because I owe the universe one. You wanna know why?”

“Why?” He murmurs.

“She brought this shy, sweet, dorky, wonderful, cotton candy hating man to a carnival I was lucky enough to be working at.” A grin quirked the corners of your mouth up.

He let out a breath, turned away as he glanced at a vehicle that was passing the two of you. When he turned back to face you, a fading blush was receding from his cheeks and you realized he had taken a moment to compose himself because he was blushing so hard. God, this man would be your demise.

“I guess I owe her one too.” He smiled, and reached over, very softly and tentatively to take your hand.

It was the first bit of prolonged physical contact you had sustained with him, and a spark tingled from your toes to the ends of your hair. This was so much more than the brushing of fingers it takes to pass over candy floss, so much more than the accidental brush of the shoulder when he walked you to the bus stop, so much more and you were all but bursting with joy at the notion.

Time passed quickly and as your bus pulled up, your conversation had wandered from favourite artists of the Renaissance, to which celebrity you would rather be stuck on an island with. You were starting to discover things about him, information that seemed useless to others and priceless to you. They were shallow, stupid facts, like his love for minestrone soup on sick days, or how his favourite Van Gogh painting was the one of the café terrace at night, or how he had no knowledge of the constellations in the night sky but was more than willing to let you tell the story of Perseus and Andromeda. The bus ride was full of smiling; it warmed all the limbs that had been chilled by the night air. Not a wave of unluckiness was in sight.

That is, until you got to the restaurant.

The Al Di La Trattoria had a wonderful glow to it. Gilded paneling ran around the room, the chandelier was positively gleaming and it was so good to see how proud Oak looked to have you with him. As the pair of you approached the counter, hands still clutched like eight-year-olds leaving to play at the sandbox, you noted the skeptical look on the waitress’ face immediately.

“Hello. I have a reservation?” Oak was pleasant enough but the woman attending you seemed inept at smiling.

“Name?”

“Onaodowan.”

She shuffled through some papers, hand propped on her hip. A frown creased her brow.

“Don’t have anyone here by the name of Onaodowan on the list. You sure you reserved?”

Oak’s hand squeezed yours, desperation clear in his voice. “Yes, I’m positive.”

“Well, looks like it’s not here. We’re all booked up tonight. Try some other time, please. So sorry for the inconvenience.” She didn’t look sincere at all, and whisked herself and her papers away before either one of you could protest.

Oak fell silent and froze. In the end, you had to tug him away from the line, leading him out the door and back into the night you had just managed to escape. The bell on the door jingled, ironically cheery for the situation as you paused outside, standing on the sidewalk, with your hands still clasped together.

“Oak?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s kind of funny, isn’t it?”

A beat went by, then another. His shoulders started to shake and you cursed yourself a thousand times over, wondering where in hell you had gotten the wonderful idea to think this was humorous at all. But then he looked up at you, and you realized that he had been laughing, clutching his stomach as the sound you had come to love rang out.

“It really is.” He was still laughing, even wiping a tear away from his eye.

By the time you could process this, you had doubled over in waves of giggles as well, and couldn’t care less about how ridiculous it looked. A couple, completely over-dressed, laughing until they had tears in their eyes must have looked a little funny but there was nothing in the world that was about to make the two of you stop.

“So sorry for the inconvenience,” you quoted, pitching your voice up to sound as nasally as the waitress had.

That had him going all over again, and it took the both of you a moment to recollect yourselves and breath properly again. Your stomach ached. It was a wonderful feeling.

“Although, I am sorry we couldn’t eat.” He rubbed at your knuckle with his thumb. “You must be hungry.”

“I am,” you smiled. “But I think I know what we can do.”

You turned, holding a hand up to signal for him to listen. The both of you paused. A song was lilting into the evening air, rising from the lights a block away. You knew that song. So did he. It was carousel music.

“Universe loves to repeat herself.” He laughed.

“She does indeed.” You pulled him, once again, and made your way down the block where a carnival sign was pitched above the gate.

Oak paid for the tickets (with some argument from you, which he promptly ignored) and with two hands stamped with red smiley faces, you entered your second fair ground in three days.

“What are you thinking we should eat?” He grinned, gesturing around at the different types of food to eat.

There were poutine stands, corndogs, churros, and all kinds of wonderfully carbohydrate-loaded fast foods. A scent you had been following since your entrance, however, had gotten stronger and you couldn’t resist.

“Here, come on.” You gave his hand a squeeze and led the both of you into the crowd.

The sound of hot oil spattering and the scent of freshly cooked batter reached your nose and Oak seemed to smell it too. A small, humble-looking stand was propped up in the corner of the fair, with a red and green striped affair of a counter and you wouldn’t have had the ridiculous colour scheme be anything else. This place was a refuge in the storm.

“Funnel cake.” He stated.

“Yes.”

“You, Miss (Y/N), are a woman after my own heart.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” You grinned, reaching forward to put in an order for two cakes with powdered sugar.

After receiving two paper plates with napkins, the two of you wandered until you found a wooden bench, sitting down without caring whether the formal clothes you were wearing would get dirty. The blue halter-top dress you had on was already speckled with powdered sugar. There was no going back now.

“So?” You smiled.

“So, what?” He threw back.

“So, is this date still bad?”

“Truthfully? It hasn’t been bad at all. It’s actually the best date I’ve ever been on.”

“Even with the car breaking down?”

“Even with the car breaking down.”

“And missing the bus, and the reservation, and the-“

“Yes,” he interrupted, grinning. “Even with everything.”

“Ditto.”

“Awesome.”

After downing a funnel cake each, you treated the both of you to churros and a couple drinks from an indie kombucha stand. They turned out to be not so bad. As you toured the grounds, hands still latched, you heard the hum of a familiar machine, the clamoring of children’s voices; all sounds you were very accustomed to.

The cotton candy stand was popular. There was a long line waiting. The moment Oak saw your face, he understood.

“Let’s get one. For old times’ sake.”

“Really?” You asked, skeptical. He had said he hated the stuff.

“Really.”

After waiting in line and enduring crying kids and exhausted parents, Oak leaned forward to pay the man leaned over the machine.

“One please.”

The man gave a grin, nodding. “Funfair date, hey? Great idea. You guys like this stuff?”

Oak grinned. “Actually I hate it. But that’s the best part.”

The man only nodded, a little smile gracing his lips. He seemed to understand.

One cotton candy, a win at a glass bottle game and a small teddy bear prize later, Oak and you had finally reached your doorstep after taking the bus back. He had walked you to the door and passed over the scruffy looking stuffy with a smile.

“I had a good time.” You smiled.

“Me too.” He replied.

“So, how are you going to get home? Your car isn’t really working, and it’s too late to call a mechanic.”

“I’ll take the bus and then just walk to my place. It’ll be fine.”

As if on cue, the sky rumbled with a wav of thunder and raindrops splattered down, coming fast and adding up to a storm in a matter of seconds. If the two of you hadn’t been covered, your best clothes would have been drenched in no time.

“I guess the universe is saying you have to stay the night.” You grinned coyly, shooting him a wink as he blushed profusely, but grinned back.

“Well, are you okay with that?”

“More than okay.”

“God, I love the universe.” He groaned, and you erupted into a fit of giggles.

“Even if she made tonight the worst?” You questioned.

“Actually, she made tonight the best date in history.”

You could do nothing but agree.

A girl in a blue halter-top dress pulled a boy in a grey suit into her house as the rain cracked another breath of thunder down and somewhere, out in a beautiful mess of nowhere, the universe smiled.

#okieriete onaodowan x reader #okieriete onaodowan imagine #hamilcast imagine #hamilcast #my writing

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howelldelia · 4 years

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How Can I Increase My Height Very Fast Amazing Cool Tips

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#How Can I Increase My Height Very Fast Amazing Cool Tips #How Ashwagandha Powder Increase Height

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newyorktheater · 4 years

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Eisa Davis in Lynn Nottage’s play for the virtual Theatre for One, “What Are The Things I Need to Remembe?”

Lynn Nottage, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright (Ruined, Sweat), was put on the waitlist to see Theatre for One’s “Here We Are”; ;that should give you a sense of its popularity.

Nottage is actually one of the eight playwrights whose work is featured in this latest collection of one-on-one “micro plays,” which have been presented online every Thursday from August 20 through September 24 – for free, but you have to sign up at exactly 10 a.m. on the Monday before, and it’s sold out within minutes.

It is one of the many projects with which she’s been involved over the past few months, from the the incredibly small to the impossibly big, both much-anticipated and deeply unexpected. She is involved in THREE Broadway shows (which will quadruple the number of shows she’s had on Broadway; before this only “Sweat”): “MJ: The Michael Jackson Musical”, for which she’s writing the libretto; an as-yet untitled play slated for the Hayes about the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff at a truck stop sandwich shop; and the first-ever Lincoln Center Theater play commission for its Broadway house, the Vivian Beaumont, which the press release describes as the third largest stage in New York after the Metropolitan Opera and Radio City Music Hall.)

But she also served as Queen Mermaid to fellow playwright Jeremy O. Harris’ King Neptune in the 38th annual — and first virtual — Coney Island Mermaid Parade, and she has participated in online play anthologies and podcasts and panel discussions and interviews (such as the one below) and sundry other activities far too numerous to catalogue.

At the same time, she has filled her Twitter feed with a Pandemic Diary (sometimes explicitly labeled that) which often expresses the everyday frustrations of life during this peculiar period, occasionally provoking some dialogue.

There should be a word for the meticulous art of balancing, juggling, conjuring…and moving around money in order to pay the bills on the first of the month.

— Lynn Nottage (@Lynnbrooklyn) August 31, 2020

Theatre for One in Times Square in 2011, my first, unsettling experience as a single audience member in a booth with a single performer.

I wanted to talk with her about all this, especially after “attending” her contribution to Theatre for One, “What Are The Things I Need to Remember?” a 15-minute play in which Eisa Davis portrays a New Yorker recalling a fleeting friendship in childhood that ended badly — which to my shock, sparked me into suddenly remembering a similar story from my own New York childhood.

I had talked to Nottage once before about Theatre for One, in 2015, after seeing the other play she has written for this company founded by the award-winning set designer Christine Jones. In Nottage’s “Five,” a man (portrayed by Keith Randolph Smith) is talking to a job interviewer (i.e. the audience member), explaining the ten-year gap in his resume. His circumstances are “not for the reasons you probably imagine.” He was the victim of a horrendous shooting. “I decided that I wanted to create a piece that toyed with the audiences expectations,” she explained to me at the time.

She also shared with me her initial reaction years earlier as an audience member to plays in which there is just one performer and one audience member at a time: “I found it to be an intense, a little frightening and absolutely amazing experience. It felt more like an intimate conversation with a stranger on the bus than a performance. At first I struggled and resisted the experience, but once I committed to making eye contact and exchanging energy with the actor, I found that the piece really came alive and touched me in unexpected ways.”

How did you come to write for Theatre for One this time around?

I receive an invitation from Christine Jones and Jenny Coons with whom I worked before. They were looking for wars to bring theater to audiences during this COVID moment and they spent some time developing some technology that could establish the same level of intimacy that you had when where you’re doing Theatre for One in person. She explained to me that this was a commssion, and I thought wonderful. Also part of the mission was to produce work by women of color, and directed by women of color, and I was really excited to be in the company of some of these other playwrights. I think Christine and Jenny were really interested in celebrating work of folks that have been under-represented in the theater.

Did you approach this differently because it was virtual, and because of the specific mission?

I don’t think I approached it any differently. What I was interested in was writing a piece of theater that felt conversational, that felt intimate, that felt like it could be an exchange between two people, and I think that I had an advantage in that I had done Theater for One before, so understood in some sense what kind of thing works best. I tried not to have the fact it was going to be remote and digital be an obstacle.

Because of COVID we have come so accustomed to being on Zoom, whether we’re talking to friends or family or whether in meetings, and one of the things that’s always difficult with Zoom is where you put your gaze. The technology ahat Jenny and Christine were able to develop permitted the actor to look directly into the camera, so that the audience member sitting on the other side could meet the actual gaze of the actor. That permitted one of the barriers that exist in digital technology to be torn down.

Even if the audience member doesn’t understand what the difference is, they’re somehow experiencing and receiving the performance in a more visceral way.

Another difference is that by and large the actors doing a Zoom play can’t see the audience watching them. They can see the other actors, they can see the stage manager, but they can’t see how the audience is readcitng to their performance unless perhaps they’re reading the chat, which they generally do not do. But in this instance the performer could actually see the audience member and so you get what you do in live theater, which is an exchange of energy, and the actor can shape and evolve their performance based on the feedback that they’re getting from the audience.

How did you come up with “What Are The Things We Need to Remember?” this specific story of a woman remembering a long-ago encounter?

I came up with it because I just think this COVID moment there’s been more room for rumination and that the stillness has allowed me to access my memory in a very different kind of way. We couldn’t go out in the early part of COVID and we felt very quarantined and closed in. I just found myself thinking more extensively about the experiences that I had and suddenly memories that had been either suppressed or simply forgotten came up, and that was interesting. I thought the way in which we choose to remember was also interesting.

One of the exercises that I began to do in person was trying to recall things that I had forgotten, people that I had forgotten. Once I began recalling those memories, suddenly other memories flooded in. So in part that’s why I wrote the piece. It helped me think about the New York that I grew up in. It helped me think about the fleeting relationships that you have that are sometimes very important in ways that you can’t even understand until you’re much older.

Did you get a chance to see any of the other seven plays?

I had a chance to connect with the other playwrights in an opening night celebration, but because of the nature of the technology and this moment we’re in, it was very difficult for us to do readings of all the pieces. I put myself on the waitlist to see some of the pieces and hopefully I will get to see them this week.

Regina Taylor in her Vote! (the black album)

Patrice Bell as an inmate whose daughter is in foster care in Stacey Rose’s “Thank You for Coming. Take Care.”Credit…Cherie B. Tay

Nikkole Salter in “whiterly negotiations” by Lydia R. Diamond, as a writer dealing with her white editor’s microaggressions.Credit…Cherie B. Tay

Mahira Kakkar expresses gratitude to Representative John Lewis in “Thank You Letter,” by Jaclyn Backhaus.Credit…

The other pieces I know of seem more specific to this political moment. Jaclyn Backhaus’s “Thank You Letter,”writing to Congressman John Lewis for his support of immigrants; Regina Taylor’s “Vote! the character honoring her forebears for doing so; Lydia R. Diamond’s “whiterly negotiations,” complaining about a white editor’s microaggressions. Is your story a deliberate deviation from that?

I’m centering the voice of a Black woman. I don’t think it’s a deviation. There are people who choose to approach this moment through metaphor, who choose to present the moment indirectly, and I think that’s what I did . I’m right in this moment, so anything that I’m writing is of this moment

What kind of reaction has your play gotten?

I haven’t seen any reaction, or spoken to anybody except the actor (Eisa Davis.) She said that by and large people have had a visceral emotional experience.

Is there an upside for a writer to be in quarantine — a time in which they’re by themselves with fewer distractions?

I assume that the majority of writers feel somewhat paralyzed by this moment. I think it’s true that writers crave quiet times, but I don’t think that writers necessarily crave isolation, and I’m not a novelist or a poet. Theater is a collaborative medium, so I’m used to spending some time by myself writing, but I’m also used to spending an equal amount of time being in the company of others in developing the work. It is difficult developing work when you don’t have that second half of the process — collaborating with directors and actors and designers in that theater space and seeing the work come to life

And I’m not alone. I have my family here, my son was not able to attend school, since the COVID quarantine began, so he was here all the time, and my husband here, and my daughter is here in the apartment. I’m definitely not by myself

I see from your social media that you took a trip with your family?

I took an RV trip with my family for two weeks. We felt like we needed to get away, and wanted to travel in a way that was socially responsible, and allowed social distance but still seemed So we took an RV and traveled to Maine It was incredibly restorative; I recommend it if you have the opportunity

Pandemic Diary: Day 5 in RV trip w/ family. Social distancing. Driving the landscape. Hiking. Grilling. S’mores. Sunsets. Reading. Escaping avalanche of requests & demands. Mosquitoes. Sitting around the camp fire. Back to basics. Uncluttered life.

— Lynn Nottage (@Lynnbrooklyn) August 6, 2020

It just felt like a reset because, when you’re living in this COVID isolation, it’s important to remember what the world used to be like.

Other than that trip, how often have you actually left your home, donned a mask, taken a subway?

I haven’t actually been on the subway since COVID. Members of my family have, but I actually haven’t. I always go to supermarkets. New York has begun to open up, so I’ve had dinner with some friends since probably mid-July and begun slowly restore some level of normalcy to my life. I went this past weekend to the Metropolitan Museum

Do you think Theater for One actually spark a more intense reaction now because so many people feel isolated?

I think that’s absolutely true. I think there’s a real hunger for connection.. I think that there’s a desire to consume in ways that we haven’t been able to during this COVID moment. I think that people want to engage with storytelling in more dynamic ways and I think one of the beautiful things that is going on, and done so wonderfully, is reconnecting the audience with the performer — recapturing the interaction that happens in the theater space where a piece of art is actually shaped and formed by the audience member response. One of the things that I always say is that the audience is the final collaborator; the piece doesn’t fully come to life until you have that exchange of energy between the audience and the performer

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What’s happening with the opera based on your play Intimate Apparel?

We were in the midst of previews, and maybe two or three weeks away from opening the piece. A tremendous amount of energy and time and passion went into putting it up and it was very painful to have to shut down production, and put it on hold until after theater reopens in New York City.

Your guess is probably as good as mine when that will be. I mean, there are dates that are constantly being thrown out by theaters both on and Off-Broadway, but I don’t know whether anyone can say with any kind of absolute certainty when theater will open up. I think it is dependent on whether there will be a vaccine.

How about “MJ the musical?”

MJ is in the same suspended place until COVID passes. I know there have been dates thrown out, but we are really dependent on Nature, which is an unpredictable place to be. I am confident that as soon as Broadway gets to go ahead then we will begin rethinking about remounting it, but there is nothing we can do until then. We were very fortunate that we have super supportive producers who are investing in ensuring that the production team stays together. At the time that we would have gone into production we were able to do a virtual workshop of the piece all the way through. Hearing it out loud was super helpful. Based on that, we were able to make some tweaks. But musicals are very specific animals, unlike plays, that require work actually be done in the rehearsal space. So it is hard to do a lot of rewriting without actually physically being in rehearsal.

You seem to be very busy these days.

It is a different kind of busy-ness, because if COVID had not happened, I would have been immensely busy with rehearsal and mounting shows. I would have been doing MJ throughout the summer and then moving into the Fall I would have been working on my new show at Second Stage. But none of that happened, and so I have to refocus the way in which I used my time. So I am still busy but in a different kind of way.

I have lots of little things that I’m doing, which has been nice. I mean it is definitely one way to keep connected to my craft and to keep connected to my community. ITts something that I have done within this time to find various ways to continue to work on quote unquote ‘theater” and to collaborate with people and to stay engaged with my community, and I think during COVID we are constantly looking for ways to connect and ways to keep our artistic practice alive and so I have said yes to lots of little things and yes to some bigger things.

Including the new commission for a play at the Vivian Beaumont. Any idea what that play will be about?

I just got the commission two weeks ago! A commission is just an invitation to develop something for the Vivian Beaumont stage, which as the press release mentioned is one of the largest stages in New York City . So it is an invitation for me as an artist and the others that were commissioned to think more expansively and to create work on a large-scale, which is not often what you are able to do in theater you know. Basically those of us who by and large have had careers Off-Broadway and regional theaters have had to be very mindful of the number of people we put on stage, and the size of the shows. So it is actually quite exciting to be able to think about filling that vast space.

Right before I got on the phone with you, you Tweeted this: The covid quarantine paradox..That undefinable feeling of the walls closing you in as the universe demands more action. Can you elaborate?

I am just talking about how in quarantine our world has been shrunken and because we are forced to dwell in a smaller space thatn we are used to, in a moment politically when it is demand for us to be more engaged than any time I can think of in my lifetime. It feels very urgent that we be confronting what is happening in this country on multiple scales – which is happening politically, what is happeing economically, what is happening, racially, and it is a time when it feels like we should be outside. But we are told we must be inside, and it is this desire you know to be out in the open and campaigning and protesting at the same moment when someone who is my age has to be hyper-aware of the health consequences of being, you know, in the midst of folks.

Thanks for talking with me.

I hope we all get to be back in theater again.

Lynn Nottage on Theatre for One, and theater for many, and keeping busy during COVID Lynn Nottage, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright (Ruined, Sweat), was put on the waitlist to see…

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architectnews · 4 years

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Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre in Binhai

Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre, Chinese Architecture Project, Tianjin Tower Project, Photos

Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre in the Binhai District

24 Aug 2020

Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre

Design: Ronald Lu & Partners

Location: Binhai District, Tianjin, China

World’s Seventh-tallest Building Created by Ronald Lu & Partners Using “BIM” Digital Design Technology

The 530m-tall Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre is a modern design marvel

Ronald Lu & Partners (RLP) is committed to advancing architectural design in the digital age, implementing cutting-edge technologies to create a better life at every opportunity. The 530-metre-high Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre (“the tower”; “the Centre”) is an excellent example of the firm’s commitment to excellence.

The seventh-tallest building in the world and the third-tallest in China, this recently-completed tower is a testament to RLP’s extensive skills in using building information modelling (BIM) technology to design and execute world-class structures. In this case, BIM significantly reduced the time and cost of the tower’s construction, and played a vital role in optimising its striking, crystal-clear hyperboloid winding glass curtain wall.

Architects have begun using digital modelling to improve efficiency and accuracy, especially during the design and construction of ultra-complex buildings like the Centre, as it increases accuracy and reduces resource use.

At the start of the construction process for the Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre, experts estimated that at least 1,308 pieces of independent asymmetric insulating glass units (IGUs) would be required for its unique curtain wall structure, formed by the intersection of eight irregular curved surfaces.

However, after performing BIM analysis and using repeated data modelling, the number of independent IGUs needed for the Centre’s curtain wall was reduced to 476 – a decrease of over 60%. This not only saved an enormous amount of resources and significantly reduced costs; it avoided the risks inherent in fabricating and transporting these glass panels. Additionally, the optimisation of end-unit segmentation and joint cladding helped to further simplify the construction process. As a result of this sophisticated BIM analysis and implementation, the project was completed a full four months ahead of schedule.

The tallest building north of the Yangtze River in China, the Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre is made up of four basement levels and five podium levels, topped by a 103-storey tower. The Centre also includes the K11 shopping mall, the K11 ATELIER office, a five-star hotel and serviced apartments.

The Centre has been recognised as one of the most complicated skyscraper designs and structural systems ever designed in the country, combining both rigidity and flexibility to counter the effect of winds and seismic activity. In delivering this incredible “vertical city”, RLP leveraged the sophisticated talents of experts in digital modelling and collaborated with top domestic and foreign partners, including SOM, the East China Institute of Architectural Design and Research and ARUP.

Traditional building design still largely relies on two-dimensional technical drawings; BIM extends these designs into three-dimensional geometry. BIM also incorporates information about time, cost, asset management, sustainability, and other important considerations that technical drawings cannot. As the technology has evolved, BIM’s multiple advantages in terms of construction schedule coordination, clash detection, spatial relationships, geospatial information, quantities and properties of building components, and many other factors have become more apparent and increasingly indispensable.

Bryant Lu, the Vice Chairman of RLP, has been a champion of BIM for more than a decade. He says, “Over the past few years, BIM has become widely used in the fields of architecture, engineering and construction. Governments have also introduced BIM-related standards and policies to support these sectors and help accelerate their practices into the digital age. At RLP, we have experienced the many advantages of BIM first hand: integrating cross-departmental information resources, optimising construction times, ensuring economic costs are kept down, and solving complex structures.”

“I absolutely believe that the use of BIM across these sectors will become more prominent in the future”, Mr Lu continues, “BIM helped create the iconic façade system of the Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre, making it into a world-renowned skyscraper. This success reflects RLP’s persistence, perseverance and professional advantage in cultivating our BIM proficiency over the past 12 years.”

The Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre has already won several awards, including the highest honour recognised by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ China Awards 2020, as well as other internationally prominent awards including the China BIM Certification Alliance’s Platinum Award and the Steel Structure Gold Award at the China Construction Metal Structure Association’s Annual Outstanding Engineering Awards.

RLP has also won several international BIM-related awards, including for our design of Hong Kong’s Xiqu Centre. RLP currently employs more than 80 BIM experts, a figure which is likely to expand.

Mr Lu has a bright view of the future of BIM at the firm, saying: “RLP intends to expand our usage of cutting-edge digital tools such as BIM to design a better life and contribute more to the development of cities in China, across the Asia-Pacific region and around the world.”

Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre, China – Building Information

Project location: Binhai District, Tianjin, China Designer: Ronald Lu & Partners, SOM, East China Institute of Architectural Design and Research Developer: (New World China) New World China Land Co., Ltd. Completion: 2019 Building area: 389,980 square meters Building height: 530 meters

About Ronald Lu & Partners Ronald Lu & Partners (RLP) is a design-led architecture firm with a vision to design a better life and redefine sustainability. We have over 550 trusted advisors across Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. RLP is an industry changer, our focuses and areas of excellence are many: transit-oriented development (TOD), transportation, mixed use, retail, dining and entertainment (RDE), civic and community, culture, industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing, education, healthcare and wellness, luxury residential and interior design services. RLP has collaborated with over a thousand international partners and has been involved in award-winning projects all over the globe.

Photographer: New World China, Seth Powers

Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre in Binhai images / information received 240820

National Maritime Museum Tianjin Building National Maritime Museum Tianjin Building – design competition entry by another architecture office

Location: Binhai District, Tianjin, China

Tianjin Architecture

Tianjin Architecture Designs

Four Seasons Hotel in Tianjin Design: WATG, Architects image courtesy of architects Four Seasons Hotel in Tianjin

Riverside 66 Tianjin Design: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates image courtesy of architects Riverside 66 Tianjin Building

Tianjin National Convention and Exhibition Centre image from architects Tianjin National Convention and Exhibition Centre

Tianjin Binhai library facade KDG group, INC Tianjin Binhai Library Building

Tianjin West Railway Station von Gerkan, Marg and Partners Architects (gmp) Tianjin West Railway Station

Tianjin R&F Guangdong Tower Goettsch Partners Tianjin R&F Guangdong Tower

Tianjin Xiqing District County Elementary School Vector Architects Tianjin Xiqing District County Elementary School

Vantone Center AS+GG Vantone Center

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Comments / photos for the Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre in Binhai page welcome

Website: Tianjin

The post Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Centre in Binhai appeared first on e-architect.

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bharatiyamedia-blog · 5 years

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Unique: Foxconn plans administration overhaul as Chairman Gou seeks Taiwan presidency - supply

http://tinyurl.com/y4a2b5va TAIPEI (Reuters) – Apple provider Foxconn is planning to overtake its administration construction to get extra senior executives concerned within the working of its every day operations, an individual with direct data of the matter informed Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Guests are seen at a Foxconn sales space on the World Intelligence Congress in Tianjin, China Could 19, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Picture The transfer to nominate a brand new “operations committee” comes as Chairman and Founder Terry Gou is looking for to run in Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election. He additionally informed Reuters in April that he deliberate to step down from Foxconn to pave the best way for youthful expertise to maneuver up the ranks. The overhaul will mark a serious shift in Foxconn’s company management that has seen 68-year-old Gou maintain a decent grip on the agency’s every day operations and strategic selections. “The great factor is it can not be an organization dominated by one man and the selections gained’t be as dogmatic as they was,” the supply stated. “It will likely be a co-management mannequin.” Traders are eager for any perception into succession plans on the world’s largest contract producer, whose enterprise ranges from smartphone assembling to panel manufacturing, and what it means for plans laid out by Gou comparable to a $10 billion funding to create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin and an $8.Eight billion show manufacturing unit in southern China. Foxconn is already underneath the highlight for having failed to this point to fulfill job-creation targets in Wisconsin, a plan cited by U.S. President Donald Trump as proof he was reviving American manufacturing. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Foxconn has moved greater than 150 U.S. jobs to Mexico. Foxconn is about to disclose subsequent week the brand new “operations committee” that can give senior executives from its items higher management, in line with the individual, who declined to be named because the information had not but been made public. The committee, which might be concerned in working the every day operations of varied Foxconn items – from Sharp Corp to Foxconn Interconnect Know-how Ltd (FIH) – would come with Sharp Chairman Tai Jeng-wu, Foxconn CFO Huang Chiu-lien, and FIH chairman Lu Sung-Ching, the supply stated. Foxconn didn’t reply to a request for remark. A Sharp spokesman declined to remark, saying the agency doesn’t touch upon Foxconn or its administration as Sharp and Foxconn are impartial corporations. INVESTOR CONFERENCE Whereas the dimensions of the brand new committee has not been finalised, an inner proposal is to incorporate as much as 10-11 senior executives from Foxconn items, the individual stated, including the committee would report back to Foxconn’s proposed new board. Reuters reported in Could that the agency’s chip unit boss, Liu Younger, was poised to exchange Gou as chairman. The supply stated Gou is not going to sit on the committee. Foxconn has beforehand stated Gou can be a member of the brand new board. At Tuesday’s convention, Foxconn can also be set to announce a plan to carry investor conferences recurrently, a transfer the supply stated goals to deal with long-time issues about Gou’s strategy to transparency, together with an absence of exact element on issues from funding selections to succession plans. Within the convention, to be led by Liu, Foxconn goals to deal with issues about an escalating China-U.S. commerce warfare, with plans to make use of its “globalized” manufacturing traces from Southeast Asia to India to chop its dangers in China, the supply stated. Foxconn may also pledge to make use of new applied sciences together with 5G telecoms infrastructure and synthetic intelligence to revamp its manufacturing functionality, the individual stated. Shares in Foxconn, formally often known as Hon Hai Precision Business, have dropped round 24% since Gou introduced in April his plans to run for president. They closed up 0.1% on Thursday, versus a 0.5% decline within the broader market. Reporting By Yimou Lee and Jeanny Kao, further reporting by David Dolan in TOKYO; Modifying by Anne Marie Roantree and Himani Sarkar Our Requirements:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Source link

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whittlebaggett8 · 5 years

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9 new gardens have been opened at Fort Canning Park, including one inspired by Stamford Raffles: Here’s a look inside, Defence Online

The National Parks Board announced on Monday (May 27) that it has completed its first phase of historical restoration of Fort Canning Park.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Singaporeans (myself included) often lament that there aren’t many things to keep us occupied during the weekends.

But instead of lazing in bed till noon, it’s time for us to put on our hiking shoes and venture out beyond the shopping districts – and back to mother nature.

The National Parks Board announced on Monday (May 27) it has completed its first phase of historical restoration of Fort Canning Park since an initial announcement in February last year.

Spanning about eight hectares, the restored landscape is now home to nine new gardens inspired by Singapore’s heritage.

From a Sang Nila Utama-inspired garden to a garden that features 14th century forbidden baths, there are the nine new gardens you will be able to see at Fort Canning Park:

1. Raffles Garden

This garden was named after and inspired by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Some of the plants featured here include species that Raffles encountered in South-east Asia.

A pitcher plant at the Raffles Garden.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

The Raffles House is located at the top of the hill of Raffles Garden.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

From the Raffles house, you can spot the famous Marina Bay Sands skyline in the background.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Throughout the park, there will be signs you can scan with the BALIKSG app and launch an augmented reality trail on your smartphone.

Following the Singapore River Trail that was launched in January, the Fort Cannning Trail was launched on Monday (May 27).

BALIKSG

I could also tap on the name of the animal to read more about it, which made the experience more immersive.

There are a total of eight trail stops along the Fort Canning Park trail.

BALIKSG

2. Sang Nila Utama Garden

The Sang Nila Utama Garden was named after the first ancient king of Singapore. Sang Nila Utama was a Palembang prince from the Srivijaya ruling house, according to the Sejarah Melayu, or Malay Annals, who first landed here in 1299.

Traditional Javanese split gates mark the entrance of new “zones” or “realms”.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

The garden, including the seats, were inspired by old palaces such as the one that stood on Fort Canning hill during the 14th century.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Water lilies and lily pads can be seen in the garden’s reflective pond.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Perfume plants such as gardenias and vallaris are planted for their significance in ancient Javanese culture.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Ancient stone murals are also displayed in the Sang Nila Utama Garden.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

3. Artisan’s Garden

This garden used to be the workshop and living quarters of the craftsmen in the 14th century.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Currently, this space is one of the last archaeological dig sites that has been retained in Singapore.

Glassware and stoneware are just some of the materials that archaeologists have discovered.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

There are interactive panels to help visitors understand the work of archaeologists better.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Tools of the trade, such as a trowel, are also put up on display for visitors to get a first-hand experience.

The trowel was used by archaeologists to scrape away layers of fine soil around the artefact without damaging it.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

4. Spice Garden

The Spice Garden represents the spice plantation that Raffles had experimented with.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

The spices are planted in a series of cascading terraces.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Some of the spices planted here include basil and chili pepper.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

The road leading to the Spice Garden at Canning Rise has also been pedestrianised.

According to NParks, the Spice Garden will be further enhanced in Phase 2, scheduled to be completed by 2021, to include a gallery trail to provide visitors more information about spices in Singapore’s history.

The shelter outside the Spice Garden used to be a taxi stand.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

5. Farquhar Garden

The Farquhar garden was named after the first British resident and commandant of Singapore, William Farquhar.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

The giant frames that are set up in the garden make the plants look like paintings in a museum.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

It makes for a great photo spot as well.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

To make the gardens more accessible, sheltered escalators have been built to connect visitors from the streets to the gardens.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

6. Armenian Street Park

Earlier last year, part of Armenian Street was pedestrianised and plants significant to the Peranakan culture were planted along the street.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Some examples are flowers which were used in hair adornments or plants used in Peranakan cuisine such as curries or nonya desserts.

Ixora flowers planted at Armenian Street.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

7. Pancur Larangan

According to NParks, the Pancur Larangan, which is also known as the “Forbidden Spring”, was used as a bathing place by the noble ladies of the royal court of Singapura.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

The baths have since been re-created, 14th century-Javanese style.

The stone murals on the wall were handcrafted in natural volcanic rock.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

8. Jubilee Park

Many Singaporeans might remember the aquarium, swimming pool and theatre that used to be located in the early 2000s, at the Jubilee Park area (now next to Fort Canning MRT).

Now, that same space has been restored as a family-friendly area where children can play with log structures…

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Swings…

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

Slides…

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

And other types of play structures. According to NParks, once Phase 2 is completed, Jubilee Park will also include gallery spaces and F&B facilities.

There is also a space for outdoor performances and events.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay

9. First Botanical Garden

Singapore’s first botanical garden has been restored at the foot of Fort Canning Hill and stretches into the streetscapes between the hill and Bras Basah Road.

There are a total of five zones of streetscapes including: latex and resin, timber, ornamental and fragrant trees, forest fruits and coastal riverine.

Defence Online / Rachel Tay