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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 5 months ago

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10th December >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Tuesday, Second Week of Advent (Inc. Matthew 18:12-14): ‘It is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost’.

Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Matthew 18:12-14 The one lost sheep gives him more joy than the ninety-nine that did not stray.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Tell me. Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray? I tell you solemnly, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.’

Gospel (GB) Matthew 18:12-14 God does not will that one of these little ones should perish.

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Gospel (USA) Matthew 18:12-14 God does not will that the little ones be lost.

Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

Reflections (11)

(i) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

The parable in today’s gospel reading is often called the parable of the lost sheep. It has been said that it might better be called the parable of the devoted shepherd. The shepherd is portrayed as devoted not just to his flock as a whole but to the individual sheep that make up his flock. When one of them goes astray from the flock, thereby becoming vulnerable to predators, it is this one sheep who becomes more significant for him than the other ninety nine. This one sheep who has strayed has great value in the sight of the shepherd, shown by the shepherd’s joy upon finding the stray. For Jesus, the shepherd is an image of God and, also, an image of his own ministry, the ministry of Emmanuel, God with us. The parable suggests that the Lord values us as individuals, in all our uniqueness and distinctiveness, and, like the shepherd in the gospel reading, he is moved to protect us when we are at our most vulnerable. For many political leaders in the last century and even up to our own times, the well-being of the individual has been less important than the well-being of the communal, the nation, the motherland, the fatherland, the party. Leaders of institutions can come to regard the well-being of the vulnerable individual as of lesser value than what is considered to be the well-being of the institution. The human institution of the church has not been an exception in this regard. Jesus, however, understood that in looking after the individual, especially those who are most vulnerable, the group to which they belong would have a better chance of flourishing. We can feel overwhelmed by all the problems in the world, yet, there is always some vulnerable individual we can walk alongside and support. Today’s gospel suggest that in doing so we are doing the will of the Father in heaven.

And/Or

(ii) Tuesday, Second week of Advent

In the gospel reading Jesus tells a parable about a shepherd who notices when one sheep out of a flock of one hundred goes astray, and who is concerned enough about that one sheep to go searching for it, even though it means leaving the ninety nine unattended. The one, and not just the many, matter to this shepherd. The shepherd is an image of Jesus who is always portrayed in the gospels as engaging not just with crowds but with individuals. In the language of John’s gospel, he is the good shepherd who knows his own by name. The risen Lord relates to us not just as anonymous members of a group but as individuals. He calls each of us by name. In Matthew’s gospel the parable is not just an image of how Jesus relates to us, but also an image of how we are called to relate to each other. We are to call each other by name; we are to respect the uniqueness of each other, relating to one another as unique and irreplaceable images of God. Meeting with one person has potentially as much value as meeting with a large group. The parable suggests that one individual is as deserving of our attention as a gathering of many.

And/Or

(iii) Tuesday, second week of Advent

The first reading this morning consists of the opening eleven verses of the book of Second Isaiah, as he is often termed. It is a message of consolation to a people who have endured many years of exile in Babylon. The prophet announces that God will soon act to bring them home. He will behave like a shepherd going out after lambs that have strayed. The reading ends with that very tender image of the shepherd gathering lambs in his arms and holding them against his breast. The gospel reading picks up on the image of God that is found in the first reading, but it also brings it a bit further. The story of the shepherd who leaves the ninety nine to go in search of the one who has strayed is an image of Jesus’ own ministry – not just his ministry while he worked in Galilee, but his ministry today. The shepherd noticed the one who was lost. The Lord notices the one, the individual. He is interested in us as individuals, not just as members of a larger group. He relates to us as individuals; he calls each of us by name; the one is important to him and not just the many. The Lord calls us into community, but his relationship with us is deeply personal. This Advent we are invited to listen more attentively so that we can hear the Lord call our name.

And/Or

(iv) Tuesday, Second week of Advent

For a shepherd to leave ninety nine sheep on their own and go in search of one lost sheep is to go against all human calculations. It makes little sense to leave ninety nine sheep defenceless in order to go in search of one who has strayed. So often the principal characters in the parables that Jesus tells would not be considered paragons of common sense, like the father who throws a feast for his rebellious son and the vineyard owner who gives the same wages to those who worked for an hour as to those who worked all day. Many of Jesus’ parables are making the point that God’s ways are often not human ways. God does not act according to human calculations of what is reasonable and sensible. When it comes to the weak, the vulnerable, the lost, those who have least going for them, God’s actions can seem extravagant to human calculations. Jesus’ parables call on us to grow more fully into God’s ways, strange as they way seem to human eyes. Today’s parable calls on us to give priority to the one who is most vulnerable and at risk, for whatever reason. It also assures us that ministry to the one is of infinite value; numbers are not always the value in God’s eyes that they can be in ours.

And/Or

(v) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

In one way the behaviour of the shepherd in this morning’s gospel reading seems a little foolish. He leaves ninety nine sheep on the hillside to go in search of one sheep who has rambled off and is now lost. He leaves ninety nine sheep defenceless to go looking for one. He risks all ninety nine rambling off or being attacked by wolves for the sake of one sheep. The attitude of the shepherd is the opposite to the attitude of the high priest Caiaphas who, in John’s gospel, says, with reference to Jesus, ‘It is better for one man to die for the people than to have the whole nation perish’. In other words, it is better to have one man killed than to put the nation at risk. The one is expendable for the sake of the many. The shepherd in today’s parable certainly was not of that view. In speaking this parable Jesus was presenting the shepherd as an image of God, and an image of Jesus himself. God in Jesus is concerned about the one. The one is of infinite value. The Lord values each one of us; he calls each one of us by name; none of us is expendable in his sight. The Lord is equally devoted to each one of us. The parable calls on us to value each other as much as the Lord values each of us.

And/Or

(vi) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

There is a very tender image of God in this morning’s first reading. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the Lord as like a shepherd gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast, and leading them to rest. He comes with power, according to that reading, but he expresses his power in a very gentle and life-giving way. There are readings in the Jewish Scriptures that bring us to the threshold of the gospels and this is one of them. Jesus came with power; John the Baptist identified him as ‘the more powerful one’. Yet, he demonstrated his power in that gentle, caring, life-giving way that Isaiah envisages of God. In this morning’s gospel reading, the shepherd in the parable that Jesus speaks is an image of Jesus himself. He leaves the ninety nine on the hillside, with all the risks involved in doing that, in order to go in search of the one who has strayed from the flock. This is the exercise of power that typifies the kingdom of God. The same Shepherd Lord seeks us out whenever we stray from him and from the community of faith, his flock. Even when we may have given up on ourselves or on others, the Lord continues to search for us, until he finds us and leads us home to a share in his rest.

And/Or

(vii) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

The shepherd in today’s gospel reading seems to act against all human calculations by leaving the ninety nine safe sheep and seeking the one sheep that has strayed. Surely, in seeking out the one who has strayed, he is putting the ninety nine at risk, leaving them to fend for themselves. Yet, in this parable the shepherd reflects the attitude and the action of God and God’s ways are often not our ways, God’s calculations are not like human calculations. The parable suggests that God has a special interest in the vulnerable, those who have wandered from the flock and who in their isolation have left themselves open to being harmed. The first reading from the prophet Isaiah speaks of the Lord coming with power, but his power is that of a loving shepherd who gathers lambs in his arms, holding them against his priest, leading mother ewes to their rest. It is an image of great tenderness. This is the God whom Jesus reveals in his ministry and whom he portrays in this morning’s parable. In the parable, Jesus is also calling on his disciples, on all of us, to have the attitude of the shepherd. We are to have something of the shepherd’s concern for the vulnerable, whether it is the spiritually vulnerable, those who have wandered from the community of believers, or the materially vulnerable, those who are at risk because of their poverty of resources. Pope Francis wants this kind of a church, a church that reveals the tender, loving care of the good shepherd.

And/Or

(viii) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

The same parable can serve different purposes in different gospels. In Luke’s gospel the parable of the lost sheep is joined to the parable of the lost coin and the lost son or sons. The image of the searching shepherd, the searching woman and searching father reveal the searching heart of Jesus’ own ministry. He came to seek out and to save the lost. He thereby revealed God’s searching love which seeks out those who have strayed. The parable of the lost sheep we have just heard is taken from Matthew’s gospel. In Matthew, the parable is part of a long discourse of Jesus on life in the community of the church. In that chapter, there is an emphasis on the community’s responsibility to care for ‘the little ones’. The reference here may be to those whose faith is weak or vulnerable, or to those who are not highly regarded by the standards of the age. Immediately before the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew, Jesus issues a strong warning to those who would put a stumbling block before these little ones, who would scandalize them. The parable of the lost sheep, in contrast, calls on the members of the community to seek out the little ones, as a shepherd seeks for his one lost sheep out of a flock of one hundred. In that context, the parable of the lost sheep can be heard as a call to take seriously our responsibility to bring each other to the Lord. We can undermine the faith of others, becoming a stumbling block to them. We can also restore or nurture the faith of others, becoming a devoted shepherd to them. Indeed, this role is an important dimension of our baptismal calling.

And/Or

(ix) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

There is an unusual mixture of images at the end of today’s first reading. Isaiah speaks of the Lord coming with power, almost in the guise of a military leader who triumphs over his enemies. However, this somewhat war-like image immediately gives way to the tender image of a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms and holding them against his breast, while leading the mother ewes to their rest. Shepherds were not powerful people in that culture. It turns out that the Lord’s power finds expression in tender loving care. It is not the power of domination associated with war, but the power of love associated with protecting the most vulnerable and needy. Jesus picks up this image of the shepherd in the parable he speaks in the gospel reading. The shepherd’s priority is the most vulnerable member of the flock, the one who has strayed from the others and, so, is without the protection of the flock. The power of Jesus showed itself in the care of the most vulnerable, the sick, the excluded, the spiritually and materially poor. The image of the Lord as shepherd suggests that the Lord is always with us in a life-giving way at those moments of greatest vulnerability in our lives. In the words of Paul, the Lord’s power is made perfect in our weakness. The parable Jesus speaks also announces to us that the most powerful people among the Lord’s disciples are the most caring, those who have an eye and an ear to the most vulnerable, after the Lord’s example.

And/Or

(x) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

The attitude of the shepherd in the parable that Jesus speaks in today’s gospel reading reflects his own attitude and the attitude of God. In a flock of a hundred, the shepherd notices that one is missing. His focus immediately turns fully to the one sheep who has become separated from the flock and, therefore, is at great risk. The ninety nine are safe, the one is at risk; all his attention is on the one who is lost. If he succeeds in finding this one lost sheep, it gives him more joy than the realization that the ninety nine are perfectly safe. The joy of the shepherd on finding the one lost sheep is a sign of how much value this one sheep has in his eyes. The Lord is deeply concerned for those who are at risk, those who are vulnerable to harm being done to them. He has a passion for the lost and it gives him great joy when they are brought to a place of safety and well-being. We can all find ourselves ‘lost’ in one form or another at different times in our lives. We go down some path that does not serve us well, or some set of circumstances, over which we have little control, casts us adrift. When that happens, the Lord seeks us out, very often in and through some good shepherd or other. The Lord needs shepherds like the one he portrays in the gospel reading to give expression to his searching love. Sometimes, the Lord may be calling us to be that shepherd to someone. At other times in our lives, we can be the ones in need of such a shepherd.

And/Or

(xi) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

In the parable of the lost sheep Jesus is giving us an image of God. A shepherd will go looking for one of his flock of a hundred sheep who rambles off and gets lost. Similarly, God is always seeking out those who have grown distant from him and from his community of believers. It was this searching God that Jesus came to reveal and make present. He spoke of himself as the Son of Man who came to seek out and save the lost. Jesus was the fullest revelation possible of the God that Isaiah sings about at the end of today’s first reading, the God who is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms and holding them against his breast. It is a very tender image of God, far removed from the warrior God of other passages of the Jewish Scriptures. It is this tender side of God that Jesus reveals above all. Jesus sought out those who had been written off by the religious establishment. Rather than judging them to be sinners, breakers of God’s Law, he shared table with them and showed them very graphically that God wanted to be in communion with them. Because Jesus was revealing a seeking God, he was looking for people who allowed themselves to be found by God. This is the attitude that Jesus continues to look for from us today. He is looking for a receptive, open, heart that allows us to be found by the God who is always seeking us through his Son.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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rjzimmerman · 5 months ago

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Excerpt from this story from the BBC:

Atmospheric river storms have wreaked havoc on the West Coast, and are getting bigger. These scientists chase them in the sky to predict where they will strike.

In January 2024, Anna Wilson was sitting aboard a Gulfstream IV jet, observing a deceptively calm-looking sea of white clouds over the northern Pacific Ocean. Through her headphones, Wilson – an atmospheric scientist and extreme weather expert – could hear her colleague give a countdown. At the back of the plane, another colleague dropped slim, cylindrical instruments through a chute, into the brewing storm below them, to measure its strength as it approached the US West Coast.

The type of storm they were tracking is known as an atmospheric river – a weather phenomenon that has been attracting more and more attention in recent years, as scientists and the public race to understand its sometimes devastating impact. Research suggests that atmospheric rivers are getting bigger, more frequent and more extreme, due to climate change; and the damage they cause is getting worse.

Often described as rivers in the sky, atmospheric rivers are a huge, invisible ribbons of water vapour. Each can be several hundreds of kilometres wide, and transport 27 times as much water as the Mississippi River. They are born in warm oceans, as seawater evaporates, rises and moves to cooler latitudes. When the vapour reaches a coast, such as California, it flows up a mountain, cools, and comes down as rain or snow – enough to wash down hillsides causing landslides, and bring torrential rain, floods and deadly avalanches.

On the US West Coast, atmospheric rivers bring the heaviest rains, warmest storms, major floods, extreme coastal winds, and landslides. They can come in groups – known as "families" – with several of them striking a place within days. The brewing family of storms Wilson and her colleague were flying over was in fact formed by four atmospheric rivers, which later caused heavy snowfall in California and floods in Oregon in January 2024.

The basic questions remain the same for each atmospheric river, says Wilson, a field research manager at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. "Where is it going to make landfall? How strong will it be? How long will it last? And we continue to get better at [answering] that," she says.

The flight Wilson was on in January was part of Atmospheric River Reconnaissance, or AR Recon, a joint project with the US Air Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) and other partners. Using "hurricane hunter" aircraft normally deployed for observing hurricanes – the NOAA Gulfstream jet, as well as two or more Air Force aircraft – teams of scientists fly over atmospheric rivers, and drop instruments called dropsondes into them.

"Atmospheric rivers are interesting and cool but you can't see them, actually, because it's water vapour," Wilson says. "And they're really close to the surface, they are usually focused on the lowest few kilometres of the atmosphere."

Wilson points out that they tend to travel under cloud cover, which hides them from conventional weather observation tools like satellites. "It's really hard for the satellites to sort of see through that, to what's going on at the near-surface. So the point of flying the aircraft through them is to be able to drop our sensors, and get these foundational meteorological measurements – temperature, air pressure, wind and moisture," she says.

The atmospheric rivers Wilson and her team were monitoring in January were part of a series of 51 atmospheric rivers that hit Washington, Oregon and California between autumn 2023 and spring 2024, 13 more than the previous season. Knowing when and where such a storm will arrive, and how powerful it is, helps people on land prepare for what's coming, and for example, empty the right reservoirs in time. But Wilson and her colleagues' flights, which started in 2016, are also part of a wider scientific effort to better understand atmospheric rivers – including their surprising benefits.

#atmospheric rivers

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johnalexcooper · 2 months ago

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Transforming Neighborhoods: Innovative Strategies for Community Improvement

Community improvement is essential for creating thriving, sustainable, and inclusive neighbourhoods. Whether it's revitalising public spaces, enhancing local infrastructure, or fostering a sense of belonging, community-driven efforts can transform any area into a vibrant and welcoming environment. In Hillside, community improvement initiatives have the potential to make a lasting impact, bringing people together and enhancing the quality of life for residents.

This blog explores innovative strategies for Community Improvement in Hillside, focusing on practical and sustainable solutions that can drive positive change.

1. Enhancing Public Spaces for a Better Quality of Life

Public spaces, such as parks, playgrounds, and community centres, play a crucial role in neighbourhood development. Improving these areas fosters social interaction, promotes outdoor activities, and strengthens community bonds.

Revitalizing Parks and Green Spaces: A well-maintained park encourages recreational activities and provides a safe space for families. Planting more trees, installing benches, and adding walking trails can make parks more inviting.

Community Murals and Public Art Projects: Artistic projects help beautify neighbourhoods and create a sense of pride. Local artists can collaborate with residents to design murals that reflect the cultural identity of Hillside.

Urban Gardens and Green Initiatives: Establishing community gardens can promote sustainability while offering fresh produce to residents.

2. Infrastructure Improvements for a Safer Neighborhood

Safe and well-maintained infrastructure is vital for a thriving community. Investing in road repairs, lighting, and accessible pathways can enhance safety and convenience.

Upgrading Roads and Sidewalks: Addressing potholes, improving sidewalks, and ensuring wheelchair accessibility can make the neighbourhood safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

Street Lighting for Safety: Installing energy-efficient LED streetlights enhances security and reduces crime rates, making Hillside a safer place for residents.

Public Transportation Enhancements: Improving bus stops, adding bike lanes, and encouraging carpooling can promote eco-friendly commuting.

3. Community Engagement and Volunteerism

One of the most effective ways to drive Community Improvement in Hillside is through active participation and volunteerism. When residents are involved in decision-making and neighbourhood initiatives, they feel a stronger connection to their community.

Hosting Community Clean-Up Drives: Organizing regular clean-up events helps maintain a clean environment while fostering teamwork among residents.

Neighbourhood Watch Programs: Establishing a watch group can improve safety by encouraging residents to look out for each other.

Workshops and Skill Development Programs: Offering free or low-cost training in areas like digital literacy, job readiness, and entrepreneurship can empower residents and boost the local economy.

4. Supporting Local Businesses and Economic Growth

A strong local economy benefits the entire community. Encouraging small businesses and entrepreneurs can generate jobs and improve economic stability in Hillside.

Farmer’s Markets and Local Bazaars: Creating spaces where local vendors can sell products supports small businesses and promotes sustainable commerce.

Incentives for Local Startups: Offering grants or funding opportunities for new businesses can encourage innovation and job creation.

Collaborations with Schools and Colleges: Partnering with educational institutions can provide job training and internship opportunities for young professionals.

5. Sustainable Practices for a Greener Community

Environmental consciousness is crucial for long-term Community Improvement Hillside efforts. Sustainable practices not only help protect natural resources but also create a healthier living environment.

Recycling and Waste Management Programs: Implementing recycling bins in public areas and organising awareness campaigns can reduce waste and encourage sustainability.

Energy-Efficient Housing Solutions: Encouraging the use of solar panels and eco-friendly building materials can reduce the neighbourhood’s carbon footprint.

Water Conservation Initiatives: Installing rainwater harvesting systems and promoting water-efficient landscaping can help conserve water resources.

6. Youth and Education Programs

Investing in education and youth engagement ensures the long-term success of community improvement efforts. Providing young residents with access to quality education and extracurricular activities can empower them to contribute positively to society.

After-School Programs and Mentorship: Organizing tutoring sessions, sports activities, and leadership programs helps young people develop essential skills.

Scholarship and Internship Opportunities: Financial aid and hands-on training can provide career growth opportunities for students.

Technology and Digital Literacy Initiatives: Offering free coding classes, computer literacy workshops, and internet access in libraries can prepare residents for a technology-driven future.

7. Strengthening Community Connections

A connected community is a strong community. Fostering relationships among residents builds trust and encourages collaboration in neighbourhood improvement projects.

Organising Community Events and Festivals: Cultural festivals, outdoor movie nights, and food fairs create opportunities for residents to connect and celebrate diversity.

Social Media and Online Platforms: Using digital platforms to share neighbourhood updates, event announcements, and safety alerts keeps residents informed and engaged.

Community Associations and Advocacy Groups: Encouraging the formation of local committees can amplify residents' voices and influence policy changes.

Conclusion

Community Improvement Hillside is a continuous effort that requires collaboration, dedication, and innovative thinking. By focusing on public space enhancements, infrastructure upgrades, community engagement, local economic growth, sustainability, youth programs, and strengthening social connections, Hillside can become a model for positive neighbourhood transformation.

With the right strategies and collective action, Hillside residents can create a thriving, inclusive, and sustainable community for generations to come. Collaborating can lead to a meaningful and enduring impact!

#Community Improvement Hillside #Hillside Improvement Team Hillside #Hillside Planting Projects Hillside

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longlistshort · 7 months ago

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“Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe les Trois Femmes Noires d’apés Picasso (Luncheon on the Grass, Three Black Women after Picasso)”, 2022

“Look at What You’ve Become”, 2005 and “Portrait of Mnonja with Flower in Hair”, 2008, Rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel on wood panel

Mickalene Thomas: All About Love at The Broad presents a beautifully curated collection of work from the artist’s impressive career. Below are a few selections and information from The Broad about the show and some of the individual works.

From the museum about the exhibition-

Mickalene Thomas’s paintings, photographs, video installations, and sculptures celebrate the experiences of Black women. Her work is rooted in the intimacy of relationships between mothers and daughters, between lovers, and between friends. Thomas’s work centers the joys and complexities of self-respect and love, especially at times when they are diminished or threatened.

Thomas was born in Camden, New Jersey, and grew up in Hillside and East Orange, a childhood evoked in the building facades that open this exhibition. After coming out at the age of sixteen, she moved to Portland, Oregon, where the encouragement of a small group of local artists and an inspiring encounter with the work of Carrie Mae Weems led her to attend Pratt Institute, then Yale University, to pursue visual art.

Mickalene Thomas: All About Love begins in 2003, when Thomas turned from making abstract paintings to portraiture and photography. Her first subject was her mother, Sandra Bush, affectionately known as “Mama Bush.” By focusing on their relationship, Thomas began considering identity through the mirrors of family and friends, as well as through public images manifested by Black musicians, fashion icons, actors, and performers.

From early in her career, Thomas built sets in which she would photograph her muses. She wanted her subjects to feel in a place of mutual comfort, respect, and trust. Later, Thomas would take her muses into the environments and scenes of art history, claiming space inside the narratives and imagery from which Black and queer people have been either excluded or shown anonymously. Recent work in the exhibition, such as Thomas’s Jet series and Tête de Femme (seen in Los Angeles for the first time), confronts cultural conventions of beauty, reconfiguring norms in celebration of beauty centered in individuality and acceptance.

Spanning twenty years of Thomas’s career, this exhibition takes its title from bell hooks’s essential collection of essays All About Love, in which the writer argues that in order to counter and reorient a culture of power and domination, one must act according to a set of principles where “everyone has a right to be free, to live life and well.” In the spirit of hooks, the artwork of Thomas aims to make space for Black joy, leisure, and eroticism, both for their own sake and to counteract injustice.

“A Little Taste Outside of Love”, 2007 Acrylic, enamel, and rhinestones on wood panel

“Three Graces: Les Trois Femmes Noires (Three Graces: Three Black Women)”, 2011, Rhinestones, acrylic, oil, and enamel on wood panel

“Afro Goddess Looking Forward”, 2015, Rhinestones, acrylic, and oil on wood panel

About the work above from the museum-

In this work, Thomas is the main subject, the muse of her own practice. In a 2006 photo session, the artist produced a series of self-portraits that has become the inspiration and visual material for many paintings. Early paintings based on these images include intact bodies shown inside of a shifting assortment of collaged patterns that accumulate and fracture around the subject. However, in this 2015 painting, Thomas collages a set of eyes onto the figure, drawing attention to the artist’s gaze of the viewer. This strategy- collaging onto the figure- continues today, as Thomas obscures and asserts different features of the body to investigate the construction of identity and beauty.

Her photography and video work shared a large room in the exhibition.

From the museum about the wall of photos above (image is a section of the full wall)-

Photography has long played an important role in Mickalene Thomas’s work. As a student at Yale, in a class with David Hilliard, Thomas was encouraged to experiment with the medium, to explore a subject that came “from a vulnerable place.” This led to photographing her mother, early engagements with self-portraiture, and photo sessions with women close to her. Initially, Thomas’s photography was used as material in her collages and paintings, but over time, the artist has embraced her photographs as standalone artworks.

This wall contains many facets of Thomas’s photography practice, all “proof of an experience between her and her subject,” as writer Jennifer Blessing observes. Some of the photographs—like La leon d’amour (A Lesson of Love), 2008, and Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe: Les trois femmes noires (Luncheon on the Grass: Three Black Women), 2010— became springboards for Thomas’s most well-known paintings. Other photographs speak to Thomas’s success and visibility as a dynamic studio photographer, as in her commission for Aperture in 2019, Untitled #3 (Orlando Series), and in Madame Carrie, 2018, for the New York Times.

About the video installation pictured below-

For this eight-channel video, Thomas was inspired by Eartha Kitt’s 1953 song Angelitos Negros (Black Angels), in which the singer implores artists of religious devotion to paint Black angels and add their depictions to visions of heaven. “You paint all our churches, and fill them with beautiful angels,” a translation of the song records, “but you never do remember, to paint us a Black angel.” For Thomas, the song was a revelation, speaking to the heart of her artistic practice of celebrating and advancing joyful images of Black women. This video is a collage, repurposing found footage from YouTube and enlisting Thomas’s muses to perform, all coming together in fulfillment of Kitt’s wish.

“Angelitos Negros (Black Angels)”, 2016, Eight channel digital video

There is a section of the exhibition devoted to Thomas's Resist series, which includes The Charnel House (Resist #5), 2021, pictured below.

About the Resist paintings from the museum-

Mickalene Thomas made her first Resist painting in 2017 for the Seattle Art Museum's Figuring History, an exhibition focused on questioning distorted narratives of history through Black experience. Making new work, Thomas brought her extensive artistic toolkit of collage, her use or rhinestones and other craft materials, and her viewpoint as a Black queer woman to create a direct encounter with the civil rights era of the 1960s. Thomas has spoken of being especially inspired by the work of Robert Colescott, whose satirical paintings offered her a sense of permission and a voice to approach social events proactively.

In the Resist series, Thomas finds echoes of the past in the present, layering archival images from the civil rights era with images from recent protests and uprisings related to Black Lives Matter and other social justice movements. Of central importance in Resist is memory, the remembrance of lives that have been taken by police brutality and injustice. In the works on view in this gallery, protests, such as those in the wake of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, are seen in the context of images of activists like James Baldwin and Shirley Chisholm, as well as of photographs of race-based attacks on Black people from many decades

From the museum about The Charnel House-

In this painting, the history of civil rights in the United States meets the open conflicts and struggles of the present. The surface is an accumulation of slogans: signs for the Black Panther Party's free breakfast for children program join the names of Freddie Gray and Alton Sterling (both killed in encounters with police), as well as posters for Black Lives Matter and others from the March for Racial Justice held in September 2017 in Washington DC, specifically "Women of Color Have Always Led Change." The collision of eras in the work is buttressed and sharpened by deep questions about art's ability and responsibility to be an agent for political protest and change. Thomas interlaces the panel with patterns from Pablo Picasso's The Charnel House, 1944-45, a work that Picasso considered a depiction of a massacre and that (along with Guernica, 1937) is seen as the artist's most direct engagement with the politics and horrors of the Spanish Civil War and, for some commentators, World War II and the Holocaust.

In 2017 Mickalene Thomas began using Jet magazine as a source in her work, specifically it's nude calendar which used anonymous models.

From the museum about the series-

Thomas speaks of her Jet series as rooted in desire, in her openness to unapologetically love Black women: "I think there's something to owning Black women's erotica-us owning our sexuality needs to be validated as we own and love our own bodies, and want to be desired. The Black female body is beautiful."

"February 1976", 2021, Rhinestones, glitter, charcoal, acrylic, and oil paint on canvas mounted on wood panel and oak frame

About the above work from the museum-

The original Jet calendar image for February 1976 featured a model in an interior populated with plants, one of which served to obscure her genitals. A decorative screen acts as a backdrop and the model is posed like an odalisque, right out of art history. In Thomas's work, she intervenes dramatically in the scene, leaving the model mostly intact and expressive, while radically abstracting the plants and screen. For the painting's debut at Lévy Gorvy gallery in 2021, the artist evoked both the grid of the screen and the plants in the space itself, filling the floor with mirrored tiles and greenery, as seen installed here.

Jet Blue #28, 2021 Rhinestones, acrylic paint, oil pastel, mixed-media paper, and archival pigment prints on museum paper mounted on Dibond with mahogany and Jet Blue #45 (Neon), 2024, Neon

This exhibition closes 9/29/24.

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aprinfra · 2 years ago

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Triplex villas in Bachupally

Luxury villas in bachupally

About APR Praveen's Hillside

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#APR #APR Hillside #APR Projects #TriplexVillas #Villas #triplex villas in bachupally #villas in bachupally

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newstfionline · 2 years ago

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Sunday, August 13, 2023

Lahaina’s Suffering (NYT) Along the empty streets of Lahaina, the warped shells of vehicles sit as if frozen in time, some of them still in the middle of the road, pointed toward escapes that were cut short. Others stand in driveways next to houses that are now piles of ash, many still smoldering with acrid smoke. A few agitated myna birds chirp from their perches on palm trees that have been singed into matchsticks, the carcasses of other birds and several cats scattered below them in the streets. Across the town that was once home to 13,000 people, residents are slowly returning and sifting through the debris of their homes, some of them in tears, finding little to salvage. In a neighborhood along the burned hillside, Shelly and Avi Ronen were searching the rubble of their home for a safe that held $50,000 of savings, left behind with the rest of their belongings when they fled the fire. They considered themselves lucky to have made it out at all: A man just up the hill did not survive, and neighbors told them that several children who had ventured outside to get a look when the fire was approaching were now missing. With at least 89 deaths, the fire is now among the nation’s deadliest wildfires of the past century.

Will Kenya Intervene in Haiti? (Foreign Policy) Kenya is preparing to send an assessment team to Haiti within the next two weeks to determine the operational requirements for leading a potential multinational police intervention to help the country address its gang problem. Previous foreign military interventions and peacekeeping missions have failed to establish long-term stability in Haiti. The most recent one, by the United Nations from 2004 to 2017, restored some order in the country but was tainted by accusations of soldiers’ sexual assaults against Haitians and the introduction of cholera to the country. Washington has said it wants to support Haiti in its time of need but has been reluctant to lead a military force. “For months and months the U.S. has tried to cajole Canada and Brazil into taking on a military intervention in Haiti, and both [have] been saying, ‘Thank you, no’ over and over,” Brookings Institution analyst Vanda Felbab-Brown tweeted last week. “Among other reasons, they appropriately assess what a military challenge an intervention will be.”

Argentine rock-singing libertarian shakes up presidential election race (Reuters) Argentina’s presidential election race has an unpredictable X factor: Javier Milei, a fiery and wild-haired libertarian who wears leather jackets, belts out rock songs to his supporters, and wants to purge politics of what he calls “thieves.” The 52-year-old economist, whose brash showmanship has shades of former U.S. president Donald Trump or Italy’s Beppe Grillo, has shot from relative obscurity a few years ago to now polling at one-fifth of the likely vote, with his combative, rock-style rallies appealing to voters angry at 116% inflation and rising poverty. He has pledged to “blow up” the political status quo, shutter the central bank, dollarize the economy, and massively shrink the state—ideas that have resonated with many voters, especially the young, after years of economic decline. Milei remains a long-shot to win the Oct. 22 general election, but has turned it into a three-way race, challenging the ruling Peronist coalition and the main conservative opposition grouping Together for Change.

Britain’s barge for asylum seekers faces new setback as legionella bacteria found in water system (AP) Britain’s plan to house asylum seekers on a barge moored off the south coast of England ran into another hurdle on Friday as authorities were forced to evacuate the first residents after legionella bacteria was found in the water system. The move came just days after the first men were moved onto the Bibby Stockholm, a floating hostel that can accommodate up to 500 people, as part of a government effort to cut the cost of sheltering the growing number of people applying for asylum in Britain.

More evacuations considered in Norway where the level in swollen rivers continues to rise (AP) Authorities were on standby to evacuate more people in southeastern Norway Friday, where huge amounts of water, littered with broken trees, debris and trash, were thundering down the usually serene rivers after days of torrential rain. The level of water in swollen rivers and lakes continued to grow despite two days of dry but overcast weather, with houses abandoned in flooded areas, floating hay bales wrapped in white plastic, cars coated in mud and camping sites swamped. “This has been like a disaster movie,” Solveig Vestenfor, the mayor of Aal municipality that has been affected by the floods, told NRK.

Russian Orthodox priests face persecution from state and church for supporting peace in Ukraine (AP) Standing in an old Orthodox church in Antalya with a Bible in one hand and a candle in the other, the Rev. Ioann Koval led one of his first services in Turkey after Russian Orthodox Church leadership decided to defrock him following his prayer for peace in Ukraine. Last September, when President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists, Moscow Patriarch Kirill required his clergymen to pray for victory. Standing in front of the altar and dozens of his parishioners in one of Moscow’s churches, Koval decided to put the peace above the patriarch’s orders. In the prayer he recited multiple times, the 45-year-old priest changed just one word, replacing “victory” with “peace”—but it was enough for the church court to remove his priestly rank. Publicly praying or calling for peace also poses risks of prosecution from the Russian state. Shortly after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, lawmakers passed legislation that allowed prosecuting thousands of people for “discrediting the Russian army,” a charge that in reality applies to anything that contradicts the official narrative, be it a commentary on social networks or a prayer in church. Since the beginning of the war, at least 30 Orthodox priests have faced pressure by religious or state authorities.

Ukraine Fires Top Military Enlistment Officers After Bribery Scandal (NYT) President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine announced on Friday that his government was dismissing all of the country’s regional military recruitment chiefs to crack down on corruption, after multiple revelations of officers taking bribes to let men evade being drafted into fighting the Russian invasion. The announcement this week that since the invasion prosecutors had opened 112 cases against 33 officials involved in recruitment offered the latest evidence that the war had provided new avenues for the entrenched governmental corruption that has long plagued Ukraine. Two recruitment officers have been accused in recent days of enriching themselves by falsifying documents that label men as unfit for service—in some cases collecting $10,000 per head. The allegations come as bombs are falling on civilians, soldiers are dying, Ukraine is trying to enlist more troops to replace those killed or wounded, and millions are sacrificing to ensure the nation’s survival.

Tensions between Ukraine and Poland over grain (Washington Post) Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Poland has been among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, providing military and economic aid, taking in millions of Ukrainian refugees, championing Kyiv’s position in international forums and transforming its territory into the main conduit for Western arms shipments bound for the front lines. But even among the closest of friends, serious quarrels can arise. Last week, Polish and Ukrainian officials clashed openly, after Marcin Przydacz, a foreign policy adviser to Polish President Andrzej Duda, said that Ukraine should “start appreciating the role that Poland has played for Ukraine in recent months and years.” His remarks were in response to a growing dispute between Kyiv and Warsaw over Ukrainian grain exports into Poland, in which Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal had called Poland’s actions “unfriendly and populist.” “Ukraine really got a lot of support from Poland,” Przydacz said in an interview with Polish radio in late July. “What is most important today is defending the interest of the Polish farmer.”

China sends finance experts to tackle regions’ debts (Financial Times) Beijing is making one of its biggest top-down efforts in years to tackle the debts racked up by local governments in a sign of authorities’ mounting concern over the risk to financial stability as the economy falters. China’s state council, the country’s cabinet, is sending teams of officials to more than 10 of the country’s financially weakest provinces to scrutinize their books—including the liabilities of opaque off-balance sheet entities—and find ways to cut their debts. The enormous debts accumulated by China’s provinces have become an urgent problem for policymakers as they try to end the country’s long reliance on a debt-fueled infrastructure binge to drive economic growth. One Goldman Sachs estimate puts the total local government debt pile at Rmb94 trillion ($13 trillion), including liabilities of the off-balance sheet entities known as local government financing vehicles.

China’s Military Probes Taiwan’s Defenses (NYT) China has been steadily intensifying military pressure on Taiwan over the past year, sending jets, drones, bombers and other planes farther and in greater numbers to extend an intimidating presence all around the island. Chinese naval ships and air force planes have been edging closer to Taiwan’s territorial seas and skies, probing the island’s vigilance and trying to wear down its military planes and ships. Chinese forces have also been operating more frequently in skies and waters off the island’s eastern coast, facing the West Pacific. China’s increasing presence there signals its intent to dominate an expanse of sea that could be vital for the island’s defenses, including for securing potential aid from the United States in a conflict, experts say. Beijing claims Taiwan is its lost territory that must accept unification, preferably peacefully, but by force if Chinese leaders deem that necessary. It has seized on moments of high tension with Taiwan to intensify military activities around the island, and it may put on another show of force in the coming days, when Taiwan’s vice president, Lai Ching-te, passes through the United States.

#headlines #news

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contemplatingoutlander · 11 months ago

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What was eye-catching was her explanation of why. In her ruling, Mizelle wrote she had consulted the Corpus of Historical American English, an academic search engine that returns examples of how words and phrases are used in select historical texts. Mizelle searched “sanitation,” a crucial word in the 1944 statute that authorizes the CDC to issue disease-prevention rules, and found it generally was used to describe the act of making something clean. “Wearing a mask,” she wrote, “cleans nothing.” Searching large linguistic databases is a relatively new approach to judicial analysis called legal corpus linguistics. Although it has gained in popularity over the last decade, it is barely discussed outside of an enthusiastic group of right-wing conservative legal scholars. Which raises the question: How did this niche concept wind up driving such a consequential decision in the country’s health policy? Now, new disclosures seen by HuffPost shed some light. Just weeks before she issued the ruling, Mizelle had discreetly attended an all-expenses-paid luxury trip from a conservative group whose primary mission is to persuade more federal judges to adopt the use of corpus linguistics. For five days, Mizelle and more than a dozen other federal judges listened to the leading proponents of corpus linguistics in the comfort of The Greenbrier, an ostentatious resort spread out over 11,000 acres of West Virginia hillside. The newly formed group that picked up the tab, the Judicial Education Institute, received more than $1 million in startup funding from the billionaire libertarian Charles Koch’s network and DonorsTrust, a nonprofit that has funneled millions in anonymous donations to right-wing causes and has been dubbed “the dark money ATM of the conservative movement.” Trump appointed Mizelle to the federal bench in late 2020 over objections from the American Bar Association that she had not been practicing law long enough to be qualified. A search of her other rulings found she had never previously applied corpus linguistics.

The far-right oligarchs have been plotting for years to take over the federal and state judiciaries. This is another reason not to let Trump back in the Oval Office, because if he returns, he will finish the job.

Buried in the April 2022 ruling that struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate was a section that was unusual for a court decision.

The outcome itself was far from surprising. Places all over the country were dropping local mask requirements, and the judge hearing this case — a challenge to the federal mandate to mask on planes and other public transportation — was a conservative Trump appointee, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle for the Middle District of Florida. Mizelle ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s mask requirement overstepped the agency’s legal authority.

#u.s. supreme court #biden administration #mask mandate

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calabria-mediterranea · 2 years ago

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Weaving the Future of Italian Silk with Nido di Seta

Fostering a new silk supply chain in Italy

The history of silk spans thousands of years, inextricably woven into Gucci’s own heritage and found at the heart of the House’s most iconic creations. Though this material embodies the excellence of Made in Italy craftsmanship, its production has been almost entirely lost in the country.

Gucci is supporting its reintroduction in Italy with a pilot project as part of the House’s commitment to promoting regenerative agriculture practices – a key pillar of its nature-positive approach – and where sustainability and innovation go hand-in-hand in silk production and cultivation. An entirely new technique in the silk supply chain is being championed – from the planting of mulberry trees in abandoned landscapes and improving these rural areas through organic farming, to developing new technology for the manufacturing processes, and upskilling farmers and artisans in their silk craft. This initiative will allow the House to source silk from organic farming practices in Italy that can be used in the House’s future collections.

A Cultural Renaissance Starts at the Il Nido di Seta Farm

Nido di Seta is a farm located in the small hillside village of San Floro in the Calabria region of southern Italy where three young friends, Miriam Pugliese, Giovanna Bagnato, and Domenico Vivino have come together to bring local traditions back to the fore. After their paths diverged, the three came together again and decided to build their future in this small village of 600 inhabitants and restore the traditional mulberry tree planting and cultivation needed for the rearing of silkworms. Historically, San Floro was famous for a very significant production of raw silk in the 17th century, though this heritage had been completely lost in modern times.

“We keep a reproduction of the property registration map of mulberry groves dating back to 1500. All of Calabria was covered with them and some mulberry groves even dated back to the year 1000. In every Calabrian village and city there is a district name that recalls the mulberry trees in the local dialect and today it’s a rule of thumb that every piece of land, every property, has one or more mulberry trees on it. Regarding the production of the cocoon, however, there are documents showing that starting from the beginning of the 19th century, San Floro produced around 1,500 kg of cocoons every year.”

The only surviving elements of this rich legacy were the 3,000 abandoned mulberry trees and the memory of the elderly villagers. Miriam and her friends brought back the production of silk, rewinding the threads of history and travelling across the world to exchange best practices with silk institutes in Thailand, India, Switzerland, and France. The friends supported the creation of a small group of local women artisans, each working from a home laboratory based in their own small village. As part of its development, they trained people interested in their new, sustainable production model and also brought thousands of tourists from all over the world to visit their farm to experience how silk is produced first-hand.

Gucci Supports the Project

At the beginning of 2022, a meeting with Gucci saw the future of the friends’ farm grow even brighter. Thanks to this collaboration with Gucci, Miriam and her friends have undertaken an even greater ambition. The goal of the pilot project is to create a new silk-farming supply chain, including the production of Gucci’s first scarves made with silk thread that comes from local organic farming practices over the next years. Using this pilot as a best practices example, Gucci will also be able to look into the expansion of the farmers involved, promoting the adoption of regenerative silk production, ultimately bringing the abandoned silk supply chain in the region back to life. With scientific partners CREA, the Italian public research institute specialized in silkworm breeding and rearing technologies, and Ongetta, the producer of silk yarns, the project’s future, and the multi-benefits it creates, is very promising.

A Positive Impact on the Community and the Land

The initiative with Il Nido di Seta will allow for the rediscovery of traditional artisanal skills and create job opportunities in marginalized areas, which have a high risk of depopulation due to the lack of available jobs, which is critical to keep the countryside flourishing. The collaboration will also support Miriam in her objective to maintain the network of local artisan women and Il Nido di Seta’s traditional techniques. Culturally, there is a local Silk Museum to preserve this heritage of silk’s history and traditions, and the three friends have also created an Academy to guarantee the passing on of this ancient knowledge to the next generations of artisans.

Environmentally the project gives back to nature through the planting of mulberry trees, improving the condition of the soil and increasing its ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The tree’s fruit and the residue from the silk production can also be transformed into by-products in a great variety of ways: from jam to cosmetics, encouraging a circular economy through using the resources above and beyond those from the primary silk producing focus.

“With our work we are preventing a tradition, that was a great source of pride for our region, from disappearing into thin air. We are creating an economy taking lessons from our past and now the next exciting challenge is to see the traditions of our ancestors on the international fashion runways,” says Miriam.

Source: gucciequilibrium

#calabria #italy #gucci #silk #nido di seta #south italy #southern italy #agriculture #san floro #italian #made in italy #craftmanship #cocoon #cocoons #mulberry trees #mulberry tree #mulberry

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theggning · 4 years ago

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Perfect timing for me to ask you this: what's your thoughts/opinions on Deacon?

It's always a good time to ask me to tl;dr, friendo, I love never shutting up, ever.

Ah, Deacon. The man of mystery, the liar, the Railroad's number one agent (though he'd rather you not believe it.) Everybody's favorite egg in shades. I really like Deacon. He's hilarious, handy in a fight, his voice acting is phenomenally fun, and has a lot of wise things to say about the lies people tell you to make you act in their interest.

Of course, Deacon's main character trait and personality is that he lies constantly. He is, admirably, upfront about the fact that he's a liar, and doesn't expect anyone to trust him. Sometimes his lies are clearly meant to be a joke. Sometimes they're a test, to teach the Sole Survivor a lesson about spycraft. But when it comes down to it, Deacon doesn't lie about important things, or things that will get someone in danger. He lies, with varying degrees of believability, so that when he *needs* to lie, nobody will know whether or not to believe him. He disguises himself, often poorly, so that when he *needs* to disappear, nobody will spot him.

But the thing Deacon lies about the most is himself. As with all the Railroad agents, his name is a pseudonym. He lies about being a synth (he isn't) and going places and seeing things. He lies about escapades he's been on and missions he's run. Even his appearance is a lie, as he admits he undergoes surgeries to change his face every so often. Every one of his affinity conversations ends with a charisma check revealing that he was lying.

And lies are all that you get from Deacon, until you reach his final affinity conversation. There, Deacon, unusually emotional and distraught, confesses that in his youth, he was a member of a gang called the University Point Deathclaws-- a hate group that targeted synths. After a particularly brutal murder turned Deacon away from the gang, he met and married a woman named Barbara. But years later, his old gang showed up at their doorstep and murdered Barbara-- as it turned out, Barbara was unknowingly a synth. Deacon proceeded to butcher every one of his former friends-- and impressed by his prowess and believing him to be sympathetic to the cause, he was then recruited by the Railroad.

If you believe that this story, too, is a lie, then we're left scraping for a motive or a baseline or just, anything we can actually use to pin Deacon down as more than a fleeting shadow.

People much more eloquent than me have dissected this reveal and all of their points are good and sourced, and they will do a much better job of it than I could, but in short, I do believe Deacon is telling the truth about his past. Everything from the acting to the expressions on his face to terrible things he confesses about himself point to real, genuine heartache under his usual glibness, and it also provides us a motive, one magical golden key that unlocks the most important facet of Deacon:

This man hates himself.

Deacon absolutely fucking hates himself. He hates his past, he hates his choices, he hates how he used to behave and believe, he hates what it did to the woman he loved. He views his service to the Railroad as atonement, that he also doesn't deserve and never will. Not only does the Railroad necessitate secrecy, making up lies, changing his face, turning himself into a mystery, but it also allows Deacon to pretend to be anybody else but himself (as MacCready ice burns him in one of their exchanges.) He fears that if anyone finds out the truth about him, spots even a small sliver of his real self, they will hate him as much as Deacon does. And he'll deserve it. The only future Deacon sees for himself is to die in service of the Railroad, in service of freeing the synths that he used to hate and victimize, in service of an organization he feels he's completely unworthy of belonging to.

This, I'm sorry to say to his fans, is the actual characterization/meta reason why Deacon isn't romanceable. Deacon hates himself so much that he's unwilling to let anyone know who he really is. He only barely feels comfortable exposing part of his past to the Sole Survivor at the end of the affinity conversations-- a romance would require letting someone in further than that, and Deacon not only refuses, but feels like he doesn't deserve it. Like, I cannot stress enough that in a canon full of companions struggling with self-image and varying degrees of hating themselves, Deacon is the undisputed Grand Champion of hating himself. He has a LONG way to go to finding even the slightest bit of worthiness in himself.

And that's really the sad and poignant part of Deacon. We can believe Deacon is a fun and likable guy with good intentions and a good cause. We can believe that a person can change at heart, can try to make up for their mistakes by doing good things. (I believe it!) But the tricky part is making Deacon believe it-- a man so thoroughly sunk in his own self-hatred that he truly doesn't believe he deserves to be forgiven.

Well, that was kind of a downer, so I'll rattle off some other fun facts about Deacon to close this out...

Deacon seems to be very well-read, with an interest in pre-War literature. OR MAYBE HE'S LYING?!

He is, however, very likely the same person as John D., a Railroad agent mentioned in Desdemona's terminal who came up with the dead drop system, the pyramid structure of secrecy, was the only survivor of an earlier Institute raid on Railroad HQ, and was also instrumental in rebuilding the organization. This raid took place in 2266, over 20 years before the game starts, so it's actually very likely that Deacon is in his 40s or even his 50s.

We all know Deacon (poorly) follows Sole through the early parts of the main quest, but he's been following them a lot longer than that. Deacon discovered the Institute's apparent interest in Vault 111 and theorized there was something inside that they wanted. This led Deacon to stakeout Vault 111, where he apparently sat and watched the doors for some time until the Sole Survivor emerged. (You can find his spot in the trees on a hillside overlooking the Vault doors. There's a chair, a few bottles of water, a sun shade, and the Railsign for "ally" carved nearby.)

And stolen verbatim from the wiki:

At one point in 2275, Deacon was kicked out of HQ by former leader Pinky Thompson because he was "sick of the lying, face-changing son of a bitch," after Deacon had spent a month as a ghoul, which "freaked a lot of people out."

#gg answers #fallout 4 #fallout meta #deacon #fallout railroad #poor deacon #i hope his past story is true because i like the themes that people can change and do better #and also if it's not then we just have nothing to work with #but deacon would want it that way #sighs loudly

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uboat53 · 2 years ago

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Story time! This is a little bit of a SHORT RANT (TM), but it has a story to go with it that I think helps illustrate the point I'm trying to make.

THE STORY

So in middle school I played video games (shocker, right?) and there was this online group I was a part of where we would make our own custom levels for the video games and compete for high scores. It was a good deal of fun and it also brought me together with a bunch of people from all over the world.

One of the people in one of those groups was a guy from Serbia. This was in the late 90s when the US was bombing Serbia in order to try to stop the genocide in Kosovo. At one point the guy uploaded a video onto his website (this was before YouTube, putting videos on the internet was a bit more complicated then) and was really excited for us to see it.

You see, down the street from his house was a power plant. He had set himself up on the hillside overlooking it with his camera and the video he had taken was of US warplanes bombing the power plant which was probably only about a quarter mile from where he was standing.

It was a really interesting to watch, but those of us Americans in the group were horrified. "What in the world are you doing?" we asked him, "Don't just stand and watch, get out of there! It's dangerous!"

"It's not a problem," he assured us, "The Americans always hit what they aim at."

"No we don't!" we replied.

THE LESSON

That experience has stuck with me ever since and I find it carries a useful lesson for a lot of the misunderstandings we often encounter.

We Americans (elites) know that we make mistakes, but the regular people elsewhere in the world don't understand that. In their mind we're perfect, so if we do make a mistake and hit something bad, they're going to assume that we meant to do that. I recall the same thing happening in Afghanistan, where Afghans would blame Americans for any civilian casualties while not showing the same outrage against the Taliban; they assumed that we had meant to strike civilians while they accepted the Taliban strikes as more inadvertent.

This isn't just applicable to the American military either. I find that this type of thinking surfaces whenever someone contemplates someone else that they consider elite and beyond their understanding. They assume that the "elite" or "expert" is capable of perfection and that anything less is malicious.

After all, the elite are never incompetent and they never make mistakes, do they?

CURRENT EVENTS

What brings this to mind most recently is the pandemic. We have seen people rise up in anger against those they see as "elites", the medical and political establishments, blaming them for not doing enough to combat or in some cases accusing them of deliberately inducing or pushing on Covid-19. In particular they point to shifting recommendations as proof that the elites, who must have known the correct answer from the beginning, were simply manipulating events to suit their interests.

Those of us who know how our most advanced institutions work know that this is a normal process when confronting a sudden new phenomenon, information comes in fast and heavy and initial assumptions can quickly be overturned by new data, but I need to emphasize to you that the average American (and the average person around the world) does not have this understanding.

Partly this is the fault of those elites themselves. While it is correct to say that it is best to have, say, medical experts at the CDC making key decisions regarding an ongoing pandemic, many leaders have, likely inadvertently, given the impression that putting the decisions in the hands of experts would result in perfect outcomes every time rather than simply the best possible outcome most of the time.

Still, it's also an issue of unfamiliarity, most people don't have any real connection the people and institutions that are making the decisions and that makes it easy to project real fears and frustrations upon them.

CONCLUSION

I'll admit, I'm not 100% sure what the solution to this issue is. For me the best antidote to this kind of thinking has been having the chance to meet some of the smartest people in the country and to realize that they are both incredibly capable and also outmatched by the sheer amount of things that are left to discovery. Perhaps it would be useful to create more opportunities for more Americans to actually meet and interact with the people deemed experts who are tasked with making decisions.

In any case, even if I don't have an answer for this, I think it's at least useful for people like me to be aware of this particular type of thinking when discussing issues. You can't convince someone of anything if you can't make arguments that make sense to the way that they see the world.

I hope you enjoyed this particular story or at least found it interesting!

#politics #international politics #short rant (tm)

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mia-japanese-korean · 3 years ago

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The Summer Battle at Hakone, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, c. 1874, Minneapolis Institute of Art: Japanese and Korean Art

three sheets joined together; drawing in black and red; battle scene on a sloping hillside, descending to a valley in LRC; standing man with a ponytail and headband, holding a staff behind his back, with his PL hand on his check, at left; many figures descending mountains in a stream to right of standing figure, with lunging man at left edge of center sheet; man on horse at center of middle sheet; figures descend to valley, with a battle with clouds of smoke This drawing is for a triptych that was never published. The initial sketch was executed with red ink, and then later Yoshitoshi drew over it with black. He authenticated this drawing by putting his seals in red at the left and right margins, suggesting that this particular one was important to him. The scene shows a group of men about to storm down a slope at Hakone in the summer of 1868. Lord Hayashi Tadataka (1848–1941) is in the center on horseback. He was the leader of guerilla fighters who fought against the imperial army in the Boshin War (1868–69). On the far left is Iba Hachirō (1844–1869), who was a member of the shogunal guard and one of the leading figures of the rebellion. Size: 13 5/8 × 28 7/16 in. (34.61 × 72.23 cm) (sheet, vertical ōban triptych) Medium: Preparatory drawing for a print; ink and color on paper

https://collections.artsmia.org/art/127857/

#tsukiokayoshitoshi #artsmia #minneapolisinstituteofart #museumarchive

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 1 year ago

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12th December >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 18:12-14 for Tuesday, Second Week of Advent (B): ‘If he finds it, it brings him great joy’.

Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

Gospel (Except USA) Matthew 18:12-14 The one lost sheep gives him more joy than the ninety-nine that did not stray.

Reflections (11)

(i) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

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(ii) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

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(iii) Tuesday, second week of Advent

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(vI) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

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(viii) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

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(ix) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

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(x) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

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(xi) Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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cathkaesque · 4 years ago

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“We have to decide for ourselves what we want. We are the ones who know about our needs and what is happening in our community”, Omayra Peréz explains confidently. She wants to convince her community, located on the hillside of the poor districts of Caracas, to found a Consejo Comunal (community council). In more than 30.000 Consejos Comunales the Venezuelan inhabitants decide on their concerns collectively via assemblies.

Omayra is supported by the activists of the nearby shantytown “Emiliano Hernández”, which has had a Consejo Comunal for three years already. The inhabitants there managed to get a doctor from the governmental program “Barrio Adentro”, who treats everyone free of charge. They also got money to renovate their houses and replaced over a dozen of corrugated-iron huts by new houses. All of these activities and a lot more have been organized via the Consejo Comunal. By local self-organization several working groups have been established on self-selected topics and decisions are made in assemblies. Several Consejos Comunales can form a Comuna and finally a communal town.

The film “Comuna Under Construction” follows these developments throughout the hillside of the shantytowns of Caracas and the vast and wet plains of Barinas in the countryside. The councils are built from below and alongside the existing institutions and are supposed to overcome the existing state through self-government. In a constituent assembly for the construction of the communal town “Antonio José de Sucre” Ramon Virigay from the independent peasant’s organization Frente Nacional Campesino Ezequiel Zamora (FNCEZ) reminds the delegates of the participating Consejos Comunales: “Even if we definitely need the government agencies at the moment, we have to be independent tomorrow due to our development. We cannot depend solely on the state forever.” For this reason the councils are to establish own structures of production and distribution in order to achieve autonomy.

The assemblies are a central element of the film “Comuna Under Construction”. The film starts off in the well organized Consejo Comunal Emiliano Hernández located in one of the shantytowns of Caracas. It then shows the intentions of forming Comunas and a communal town in rural Barinas and ends in Petare, a gigantic shantytown of the agglomeration of Caracas where there are 29 Consejos Comunales intending to build the Comuna of Maca. Is it even possible to bring together state and autonomy at all?

Every one of the Consejos Comunales spokes-persons has positive as well as negative experiences with the institutions in store to talk about. In an assembly in Petare the grass-roots activist Yusmeli Patiño blames a high government representative: “We are losing our credibility because of the incompetence of the state institutions”. But there are also members of the institutions who make a big effort to accompany the basis in making its own decisions. Relations between the grass roots and the institutions are marked by cooperation as well as conflict. But the Consejos Comunales also have internal difficulties; participation has to be learned. Both progress and setback mark the difficult process of people actually taking the power of deciding on their own lives and environment by themselves.

This film from 2010 shows the Bolivarian Revolution’s experiment in popular power at its height. In 2010, 8 million people, mostly poor barrio dwellers, regularly attended communal council meetings to decide on the establishment of basic services such as health, education, housing, and refuse collection. Prior to 1998, these informal settlements that were home to 14.5 million people did not even appear on city maps.

Communal councils have since become moribund as spaces for popular participation. In 2016, elections were suspended within the councils and in 2017 it was mandated that only PSUV members could participate in them. They have since been displaced by the Committees for Supply and Production (CLAPs), which distributed food parcels and whose representatives are chosen directly by the state, which in turn are now being displaced by welfare bonus cards (a policy proposal that was a plank of the opposition’s 2006 presidential run).

There are still shining examples of popular participation in the midst of the sanction induced collapse and the degeneration of the state into a dictatorship. The Productive Workers Army is a force of 3,000 engineers which repairs and regenerates abandoned state owned enterprises. The El Maizal Commune has become a rallying point for communards. But these initiatives are self organised and face severe state repression rather than support, and work within the Popular Revolutionary Alternative rather than the PSUV.

#socialism #venezuela #dario azzellini #popular power

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tanadrin · 5 years ago

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Legal Systems Very Different From Ours (Because They Do Not Exist)

(I forgot Scott had already done this, lol)

AZAREN

There is the land of Azaren, far to the north; a rugged, windswept country, it was settled by hardy explorers in an ancient age of migration, who have always been disdainful of central authority, and permit themselves to be governed only to the most minimal extent. As a consequence of this skepticism of government, there is also a general skepticism of public law. All law in Azaren--except the few scraps of administrative and procedural law necessary to operate the government--is private, and there is no criminal law. All disputes between parties are resolved by what we would consider in other countries civil suits, governed by strict rules involving standing. Theft, arson, even murder may all go unpunished, unless there is an interested party willing to file suit to obtain redress. The Azarenes by and large consider this system exemplary of freedom and justice, and we cannot help but admit an attraction to the cleanness of its philosophy.

A key component of Azaren justice is the principle that no entity is above the law; no entity, however powerful, is so majestic that it is immune from suit. This meant that gods, natural forces, even celestial bodies have been sued (though principally in more superstitious days long past), and where by the weight of evidence, or the simple failure to appear, have been duly issued fines, which remain on the public register of debts waiting to be paid. And naturally, Azaren countenances no doctrine of state or sovereign immunity. This principle, especially due to the absence of public law, extends also to relations between Azaren and other states. Naturally this principle extends to sublunary bodies like Azaren's own government: Azaren recognizes to doctrine of state or sovereign immunity, and not a few political revolutions have been wrought through cunning arguments in the courtroom. And note also that Azaren conducts no foreign policy as a unified whole--for that would require an intolerable tyranny imposed on her people, that is to say some form of tax to pay the salaries of a diplomatic corps--but what individuals and groups of individuals see fit to conduct. So from time to time, an individual or group of individuals together will decide some foreign state has wronged them, and, as is Azarene custom, will petition their courts for redress; and despite the diplomatic protestations of the representatives of that government, that any such proceeding is a clear violation of precedent in the community of nations, that by dint of its sovereignty no state may be sued in the courts of another, the Azarene court will hear the suit. And should the plaintiffs prevail, an order will be issued for the recovery of damages.

And it is for this reason and this reason alone that Azaren has any armed force: in case of a judgement entered against a foreign government, the militia of Azaren is authorized to confiscate property--in Azaren or abroad--belonging to that government (and if need be, its citizens) until enough has been seized to cover the amount owed. Whereupon, whatever the state of the field of battle, however close the foe is to total capitulation, they return to their ships instantly and retire to their home country.

GKNAI

The land of Gknai is ancient, possibly one of the longest-inhabited regions in the world; and as it is nestled deep in often-overlooked mountain valleys, it has enjoyed a history of uncommon peace and tranquility, well-fortified against the ambitions of neighboring princes; it has indeed earned its epithet of Many-Fortressed-Gknai; and in later millennia, this reputation for indomitability has served by itself to safeguard its borders.

As a consequence of its long, long history, it is said, Gknai is uncommonly bound by the pageantry of Tradition. Just as other countries have monarchies that have withered away into irrelevance, performing a few desultory functions of government under the strict control of their ministers, Gknai has its own titular kings and princes. Indeed, it has them by the wagonload. The difficulty of warfare in the region and the bombasticity of ancient aristocrats means that every valley is thick with Kings and Over-Kings, and Lords President, and Grand Dukes, and even Emperors. Most Sublime Hierophants tend their vegetable patches across the road from Thrice-Exalted Tyrants, and the multiplication of titles is not helped by the fact that under Gknaian traditions, every child inherits some share of the honors of their parents.

The Gknaians have never had a single political revolution to sweep the old order away, only centuries of incremential change. Therefore, each of these titles, in the abstract legal sense, still has some privilege attached to it, however slight it may be. Nor, if they wished to abolish their cumbersome system, is it clear how they might legally do so: there is no legislative authority in Gknai but custom, and for every amendment to the law some precedent, even if very weak, must be found that may be expanded and elaborated upon and carefully argued for until it is generally agreed upon in the whole land. Gnkaian legal codes incorporate much of this commentary, and a Gknaian law library is thus a fearsome thing indeed.

The most curious relic of Gknaian tradition is a form of trial, still in general use, called gopi-gai ogmo, or Trial By Endurance. It was argued by an ancient Gknaian scholar that wealth, strength, and even legal persuasiveness were poor proxies for the righteousness of a cause, and so poor criteria for deciding a lawsuit. For with wealth often comes prestige, and undue influence over the public; with strength, assured victory in the trials by combat; and a well-spoken orator might convince even the best of judges to decide a case in contravention of the law, if his eloquence and flattery are sufficient. Better, said this scholar, to align public interest with individual preference, and a hint of utilitarianism: clearly, the side that *wishes* to win more, should prevail. And how to decide that more efficiently, than with a test of endurance?

This is the form of the test: a hillside of a valley is chosen, one warm in the morning and cool in the evening, but not too hot or too cold; and the plaintiff and the defendant are seated upon it, gazing down at the valley below; and the judge and officers of the court withdraw to observe. That is all. Whomever remains seated and motionless the longest is judged to desire victory more. To stand, speak, cry out, laugh, smirk, or fall down is to forfeit the case. Neither of the parties may be spoken to; neither may be disturbed in any way. The only modification ever made is this: in matters deemed especially urgent, sometimes the parties are made to stand instead.

Judgement, naturally, usually takes days. One especially notable figure, Hrakal the Vexatious Litigant, widely feared for his tolerance of boredom and inclement weather, successfully lodged no less than three dozen lawsuits against his neighbors, until he met his match in Tatavru the Stubborn. That particular proceeding lasted more than two weeks, until an out-of-season snowfall gave Hrakal frostbite, and caused him to relent. I have also heard of a legendary conflict over a spite-fence in the valley of Upper Dabbar, where, it is said, the parties sat immobile for *three years*, sustained by surreptitious nighttime meals and the kind of intense mutual hatred known only by neighbors who share a property line. Another interlocutor I spoke with, an older woman, said that this was a corrupted version of an older tale, altered for believability's sake. In fact, she said, the dispute was *never* resolved. The parties sat immobile until the vegetation grew thick on their laps and shoulders; and if you visit a certain hilltop in Upper Dabbar, you can still see them, two seated figures covered in grass that have now become part of the hill.

BOSSUL

In the city of Bossul, all important questions must be settled by a consensus agreeable to all parties. Although apparently cumbersome, this system has many virtues. The government of Bossul enjoys approval ratings usually seen only in the most tyrannical of dictatorships, and though the city's martial fury has been inflamed many times, it has never actually gone to war, for there have always been one or two heads cool enough to refuse to support it. Alas, every occasion of government is nearly interminable as a result: even the most trivial meeting of the least prestigious committee can drag well into the night; and nothing about the culture or institutions of Bossul does anything to restrain the impulses of busybodies or know-it-alls who have, in every other culture on the planet, driven such consensus-driven systems into the dirt. Yet Bossul's persists, for uncertain reasons.

One, perhaps, might be the custom of Utabani-mo-Kalutabani, which might very roughly be translated into English as "Agreeing To Disagree." When a consensus *cannot* be reached--for instance, in an intractible legal case--a temporary truce may be enacted in the form of Utabani-mo-Kalutabani. In short, each side continues to live their life, pretending that they have won. Thus, from time to time, you may explore the city of Bossul and find such oddities as two different families, each on the opposite side of an inheritance dispute, living in the same apartment and pretending the other does not exist. You may find an employee, who has sued for wrongful termination, coming to work every day at a company that insists she does not work there. You may even, on occasion, find someone walking the street as a free man, whom the police insist that they currently have in their custody.

It is a strange custom, and one cannot help but wonder if it is of any practical use at all.

MOZICK

Mozick is a small island in the Hraspedain Sea, rainy in winter but temperate in summer, which like Gnkai has a deep respect for the usages of its past. In Mozick, this is something of a religious conviction, for their society is organized around the pronouncements of the Great Oracle of the Smoky Mirror, who lived and died more than a thousand years ago.

Such was the inerrancy of the Oracle's predictions (it was said), that the Oracle was trusted utterly in settling disputes and prosecuting criminals. Usually, the Oracle heard arguments before pronouncing judgements, but this was considered a formality; many times, a judgement could be given as soon as the parties entered the courtroom. And such was the faith the people had in their Oracle, that they feared what would become of their society when she died; so she set down in an enormous volume a list of judgements--thousands of them--in cases yet to come. They named no parties, nor any details of the case: only Guilty, Not Guilty, Liable for a sum of 400 Mozickian drachmas, etc.

The procedure in Mozick is thus: when cases are brought before the court, the time and order of each filing is carefully noted. Once a year, amid solemn ritual, the Book of Judgements is opened, and a judgement for each case is read off, in order. It is an article of faith in Mozickian law that the judgement is never wrong, though at times the wisdom of the Oracle has, the Mozickians admit, seemed... startling. There was, for instance, the legendary case of Uckmar the Arsonist, caught in the act of burning the Temple of Ytrabel-Sheh; the sentence read aloud before the prosecutors was "Defendant to go free, be compensated 10 drachmas." But, the legal scholars carefully explain, Ytrabel-Sheh was the god of rain, and an unusually wet summer that year had caused the slugs to flourish in Uckmar's garden, devouring his tomatoes. The arson was, perhaps, justified, or considered just compensation; the 10 drachmas were for emotional damages. So the careers of legal scholars in Mozick are made, harmonizing the decisions of the great Oracle with the principles of justice.

A careful accounting of judgements is important to the system--once it was discovered that one judgement had accidentally been used twice, necessitating a redistribution of three years' worth of punishments and fines; fortunately, no death penalties had been handed out. But the Book of Judgements is finite. And one day--a day that soon will be in the expected lifetime of Mozickian lawyers now practicing--those judgements will run out. What does this portend? Will Mozick be conquered? Sink beneath the sea? Will--as some quietly hope--the Oracle return? No one knows. But each year sees more of the judgements used up than the last, and soon the book will be empty.

#tanadrin's fiction #gratuitous worldbuilding #nonsense

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legaljeffschnick · 7 years ago

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Buddhist group buys land near Las Vegas Strip to build temple

During a cold afternoon in Budapest in 2014, Buddhism’s purported world leader walked up a hillside with his entourage. The air was chilly and smelly.

“It is so stinky!” the followers said. But the Buddha trudged on, and near the mountaintop, a toddler tried to bow before him.

The World Buddhism Association Headquarters recounted this story in a post on a religious website. The same group plans to build a temple near the Las Vegas Strip.

The Southern California-based organization bought 12.2 acres of mostly vacant property at Sahara Avenue and Paradise Road, next to the SLS Las Vegas, for $17.5 million. The sale closed July 24, Clark County records show.

The Buddhist group paid cash, according to a broker on the deal.

The buyers don’t have the money to start construction. But if they land the funds, they would build an unexpected – if not “deeply ironic,” as one observer put it – project near Las Vegas’ rowdy casino corridor.

World Buddhism Association Headquarters attorney Steven Meyers initially said the Buddha “has no relation whatsoever” to the buyers. But federal tax and California state records show links between them — and, according to one news report, the supposed holy man was once wanted for arrest by Interpol.

No construction anytime soon

Meyers said in an email that the “main purpose” of buying the land was “to build a Buddhist temple” that will be used for “philanthropic purposes to benefit the public.”

“Precisely because the Las Vegas Strip is a place known for excessive drinking, eating, gambling, and other behavior,” he said, the buyers want to spread the teachings of Buddhism so that people “who do not understand the meaning of life can learn to … help others, benefit society, and contribute to making our country better and stronger.”

Despite the cash purchase, Meyers said the Pasadena, California-based organization “has very limited funds,” and “there is no possibility of quickly beginning” construction.

Raymond Chen, listed in California records as its CEO, could not be reached for comment.

His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III

Efforts to learn about the group’s day-to-day operations were unsuccessful, though it is mentioned, among other places, on the Xuanfa Institute’s website, where the story of the smelly trek appeared.

The website seems devoted to the man who led the hike: His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III, an artist and Chinese native also known as Wan Ko Yee.

According to Meyers, Yee is “the highest leader of Buddhism in the entire world.” A U.S. House resolution in 2008 sought to recognize him “as the true incarnation of the primordial Buddha.”

Professor Robert Buswell, director of UCLA’s Center for Buddhist Studies, said in an email that he has “heard periodically over the years about this Dorje Chang Buddha III,” but added, “I have no idea how he would have received this title, and presume it is a self-investiture.”

In 2015, the Pasadena Star-News reported that Yee was wanted for allegedly stealing more than $7 million in China. Interpol sought his arrest but eventually backed off, the paper reported.

According to Meyers, China asked Interpol in 2009 to withdraw the warrant, and Interpol notified its member countries that they were “not permitted to detain” Yee.

Interpol’s press office told the Review-Journal that arrest warrants are always issued by police in member countries, and it referred questions to relevant national authorities. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

Federal tax records show that Yee is a former chairman of the International Art Museum of America, which was “first conceived as a permanent museum solely dedicated” to the Buddha’s artwork, its website says. The museum’s corporate secretary and the World Buddhism Association Headquarters’ chief executive have the same mailing address — a house in Monterey Park, California — and the groups have the same chief financial officer, according to California state records.

Loretta Huang, director of museum operations, said in an email that she has not had any “dealings” with the World Buddhism Association Headquarters since she joined the San Francisco museum in 2013 and that she learned from a Review-Journal reporter that they share a finance chief.

Yee resigned from the museum’s board in 2011, according to Meyers, who also said it’s “very common for one person to hold an office or position in multiple entities,” in reference to the CFO.

He did not provide information about the officials with the shared mailing address in Monterey Park, saying he has “no right to inquire into the private matters of others.”

‘Questionable extreme’

In Las Vegas, the World Buddhism Association Headquarters acquired a parking lot just east of the Strip with a Monorail station along the perimeter.

Avison Young broker Ben Millis, who represented the sellers, said his group targeted hotel operators, condo developers and other possible buyers. He couldn’t recall how the Buddhist group even learned about the site.

“This was a surprise,” he said.

Las Vegas Monorail spokeswoman Ingrid Reisman said the sale will not affect its operations.

The site was owned by the Bennett family, whose patriarch, the late Bill Bennett, bought or developed several casinos on the Strip, including the Sahara, as the SLS was formerly known.

Paragon Gaming co-founder Diana Bennett, Bill Bennett’s daughter, said she had no comment on the transaction because the land was held by a family trust “of which I’m only a part.” The sale was handled by an outside trust company, and Bennett said she was “not really directly involved” in the deal.

Michael Parks of CBRE Group, a former listing broker for the site, noted the resort corridor is not devoid of religion. A 1960s-era Catholic church is near the Encore and a 1990s-era Catholic church is near the Tropicana.

Still, professor Dale Wright, who teaches Asian religions at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said a Buddhist temple near Las Vegas’ alcohol-soaked and gambling-packed tourist scene would be viewed as “deeply ironic.”

“The most authentic temples are built in contemplative contexts,” Wright said in an email. “Although being in public and serving the people would be admirable qualities, the Vegas Strip is pushing this to a questionable extreme.”

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