Xingfu means happy and blessed in Chinese. Even though 2014, the year I started this blog, was a busy and, at times, difficult year that is the word I thought of for this space. Mama not because I have many children but because I seem to fall into a caregiving role. Sometimes I feel like Mama to the world.
The name XingfuMama means Happy Mama with undertones of being blessed.
Photo Yoga: Windows within windows
It is important to get it right.
I guess selfies are the modern response to “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make any noise”… If I go somewhere and take a beautiful picture how do you know I was there? Maybe I just cruised flikr for that landscape I posted on TubeFace. I did a post about selfies in May called Alone in a Crowd.
In China we have often found that complete strangers like to also document that we were there with them.
Here is my idea of a selfie:
Not only do you see I’m there, you can see I’m tired from trying to see everything. You can see why the Pull up a seat theme resonates with me!
It seems like people are taking fewer selfies than they were…or maybe I just don’t get out much.
It has been one heck of a news week and PBS doesn’t seem to have published their usual update piece. The only one I could find was this one in USA Today. It is not as concise and the information about the numbers is at the end. I copy it here, with attribution at the end:
Of the 2,654 children who were separated, 2,217 are no longer in government custody, either reunited with their parents or placed with other sponsors. There are 211 children who remain in government custody whose parents are either deported, in jail on separate criminal charges or facing further scrutiny because the government is concerned they may pose a danger to the child. An additional 226 children remain in custody who have been deemed no longer part of the class-action lawsuit, including 114 who the ACLU has confirmed their parents do not wish to be reunified, 55 who were not separated under the zero-tolerance policy, 29 whose parents were deemed unfit for reunification and 28 with parents in the U.S. who don’t want to be reunified.
The Associated Press, Arizona Republic reporter Daniel Gonzalez and USA Today reporter Alan Gomez contributed.
If I understand it correctly there are still 436 children in the custody of the US government. 211 have parents who were deported and have been contacted. For the 426 that have been “deemed no longer part of the class action” it is not clear to me what the plan is. Does anyone know? It is getting harder and harder to keep track of this situation.
The sun is a big ball of fire. It looks more so filtered through the thick smoke we have had the last couple of summers. Summer last year the sun and fire dominated.
All these were taken in Japan, in 2007, with a not new at the time Canon A510. It was a long time ago but I believe that the three above are Shinto shrines in Nikko. The Shinto shrines contrast with the very famous, very ornate, World Heritage Bhuddist Temples. The header image is from Nara.
Welcome to week 2 of Pull up a Seat. Take a load off and share a favorite perch by linking your post to this one, either with a comment or pingback. For more detailed directions go to Pull Up a Seat page.
Thank you to everyone who is participating. It is really fun to see all the different ideas conjured up by the theme.
Here are my photos for this week. These were taken several years ago in the Kitui area of Kenya, most in the village of Mulundi.
Men sitting:
Women sitting (notice the difference?)
Finally a rest: Working hard all week makes Sundays extra special. The worship services are a real celebration with a lot of singing and dancing. These catholic ladies are wearing choir clothes, so they probably earned a rest. I saw them perform at a village function and they are really wonderful. I smile just remembering.
Over to you. Add a link to your post in the comment section.
For Wordless Wednesday
"Pay attention to the world" -- Susan Sontag
Creative Exploration in Words and Pictures
The Cricket Pages
Expressing Thought Through Photography
Improving travel photography one step at a time.
Your second chance to be creative. .
To See a World in a Grain of Sand...
Random musings on life, society, and politics
To participate in the Ragtag Daily Prompt, create a Pingback to your post, or copy and paste the link to your post into the comments. And while you’re there, why not check out some of the other posts too!
Facts, Thoughts and Thorny Thistles
Surfperch and nature on the sandy beaches
"Yeah, that's right. We bad."
~ Photography Inspires Writing ~
You can learn a lot from Lydia...(It's a song, not a promise.)
create beautiful images with us
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squeezing the moment, sharing the joy
