Unlimited Possibilities

Some Less Known Attractions On the West Coast

Bishop, California

Bishop is perfectly situated between the Sierra Nevada mountains to the west and the White Mountains to the east, and provides just the right amount of small-town charm with exhilarating outdoor recreation opportunities. Rock climbers especially flock to the region for its outdoor opportunities. While Bishop is just four hours from the metropolis cities of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Reno, the urban influence is entirely absent. We recommend meandering through the charming town and taking in the dramatic landscape, fishing for trout in the cold, clear creeks and soaking your troubles away in some local hot springs.

San Juan Islands, Washington

Experience island time without the crowds in the temperate climate of the San Juan Islands, just off the coast of mainland Washington. There are 172 named islands in the San Juans, but the largest and most populated include San Juan Island, Orcas Island and Lopez Island. On Lopez Island, you’ll discover 63 miles of gorgeous shoreline, along with a thoroughly rural community. San Juan Island is known for bustling Friday Harbor, with a fabulous downtown and boutique shopping. Orcas Island has been called the Emerald Isle and will enchant you with beautiful parks, lakes and hiking trails. Washington State Ferry Service connects the three major islands, so there’s no need to choose just one when you plan your visit.

North Cascades National Park, Washington

Another Washington gem, North Cascades National Park is totally free to visit and includes rugged, alpine hiking trails, vast turquoise lakes, cascading waterfalls and more than 300 glaciers. Located less than three hours from urban Seattle, it’s hard to believe that North Cascades is one of the least-visited national parks in the United States. We recommend creating your home base at a waterfront campsite at Colonial Creek Campground and exploring the vast array of hiking trails the park has to offer. If you fancy a road trip, be sure to check out the Cascade Loop, which meanders from the coast through the mountains on some of the country’s most scenic highways.

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, Oregon

Looking for a different type of beach vacation? Head to one of the largest stretches of coastal sand dunes in the world at Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Stretching 40 miles along the Oregon Coast, from Florence to Coos Bay, the Oregon Dunes are the perfect spot for adventure and solitude. Many of the trails in this 31,000-acre wilderness are suitable for off-road vehicles, horses, and mountain bikes. Sandboards are available to rent throughout the area, and you’ll also find long stretches of deserted beach, expansive wetlands for paddling and bird watching, and forests shrouded in mist. Pitch your tent at one of the many campsites along the dunes, or find cozier lodging in nearby Florence.

https://www.thediscoverer.com/blog

posted by Cristina David

10 Historical Figures Side by Side Their Live Descendants

Portrait recreations are fun on their own, but the 10 recreations we’re about to share with you are especially fascinating since the models in these recreations are none other than the great-grandchildren of the famous figures depicted in the original paintings. This incredible concept was conceived and executed by British photographer Drew Gardner, whose intention was to showcase the complicated story of lineage and ancestry by dressing up live descendants of famous people and recreating iconic portraits of these people as accurately as possible. The result is this series of compelling side by side portraits titled “The Descendants”. Learn more about the photographer and his other works on his Website and Instagram Page.

1 The Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci (right) and Irina Guicciardini Strozzi, the 15th great-granddaughter of Lisa del Giocondo, the model of the masterpiece (left)

2 Napoleon in his study, a portrait by Jacques-Louis David, 1812, (right) and Hugo de Salis, Napoleon’s 4th great-grandson (left)

3 Frederick Douglass (left) and Kenneth Morris, Douglass’s 3rd great-grandson (right)

4 Berthe Morisot by Edouard Manet, 1872 (right) and Lucie Rouart, her great-granddaughter (left)

5. William Wordsworth, a portrait by William Shuter, 1798 (right) and Tom Wonter, Wordsworth’s 4th great-grandson (left)

6 Oliver Cromwell, a portrait by Robert Walker, 1653-1654 (right) and Charles Bush, his 9th great-grandson (left)

7 Charles Dickens, a portrait by Herbert Watkins, 1858 (right), and Gerald Charles Dickens, his great, great-grandson (left)

8. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a portrait by Robert Howlett, 1857 (right), and Isambard Thomas, his 3rd great-grandson (left)

9. Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale, 1800 (left) and Shannon LaNier, Jefferson’s 6th great-grandson (right)

10. Emeline Pankhurst (right) and Helen Pankhurst, the women’s rights activist’s great-granddaughter (left)

A blessed day with peace and joy!

Posted by Cristina David

Can you guess the decade?

Which Decade IS it?

Each photo is from a different decade , can you tell us which?

We’re about to show you 12 photos taken in various decades during the 20th century. Your job is to indicate, for each image, which decade they were taken on. Make sure to look for clues in the clothes and technology, as well as photo quality itself. At the end your answers will get to be graded, so do not take it lightly! Good luck!

https://www.ba-bamail.com/quizzes/quiz.aspx?quizid=591

posted by Cristina David

9 Signs of Low Emotional Intelligence

Low emotional intelligence is a problem that can have an influence on a wide variety of social relationships. Some experts even suggest that emotional intelligence may actually be more important than IQ in determining overall success in life.

Think about the last time you got into an argument with someone else because they did not understand how you felt. Or consider the last time you had conflict with another person because you could not understand what they were feeling. In both cases, emotional intelligence might play a role in the underlying conflict.

Emotional intelligence can play a major role in how we interact with others.1 Sometimes coworkers, employers, friends, family members and other acquaintances might struggle with poor emotional skills that make social situations difficult and fraught with tension. In other cases, it might even be your own emotional intelligence skills that need a little work.

An individual’s level of emotional intelligence is often referred to as his or her emotional intelligence quotient, or EQ. Here are some of the classic signs of low emotional intelligence.

https://www.verywellmind.com/signs-of-low-emotional-intelligence-2795958

I hope you will be , if not thrilled, at least curious about human EQ that we read less often than we do about the IQ of the human mind. They are interrelated, anyway and as I understand, could be transformed , changed, improved in case it is on the low side of the scale.

Cristina David

“Without music, life would be a mistake”

“Without music, life would be a mistake” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

Yes, indeed, music in its infinite combination of the 7 musical notes which in their turn are arranged in an infinity of pieces, is a Universe of its own!

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato

As a child i took piano lessons, sang in a choir ; I still can play the piano and I take real delight in remembering some of the musical pieces i used to play when a teenager. I often catch myself singing old songs composed for the Nursery Rhymes and not only, good old songs of the 70’s, 80’s. When I do so, I feel like a totally different person, I have to admit.

I do hope some of you do as I do and like what I like…or maybe try to. It makes life so less boring! Let me add one more quotation which is to my liking :

“The only truth is music.” ― Jack Kerouac

I feel much better now and wish you all the same!

Cristina David

Vincent Van Gogh Masterpieces – Collection of Paintings HD

Vincent Van Gogh’s Masterpieces

Vincent Willem Van Gogh was a 19th century post-Impressionist era Dutch painter. His innovative artwork used vivid colors and expressions bearing high emotional quality. Van Gogh’s prolific art had a powerful influence on modern art, especially 20th century painting styles using abstraction, fauvism, and expressionism. In his brief career, Van Gogh produced more than 2,000 artworks consisting 1,100 sketches and drawings and 900 paintings but managed to sell only one. His fame came only after his demise. This clip showcases some of his most famous works from different periods throughout his short but prolific career. We hope you enjoy this slideshow, and be sure to visit our channel soon for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest news and special promotions. To celebrate our debut, and to reward you for watching, you’ll find a promo code at the end of the video, which will entitle you for a 25% off on your purchase from BrushWiz. For museum quality hand-painted reproductions of Vincent Van Gogh paintings, please visit our website at the following links: BrushWiz http://www.brushwiz.com Vincent Van Gogh Paintings http://www.brushwiz.com/artists/vince…

the source – brushwiz.com

Cristina David

La Blouse Roumaine … the best known Romanian IA

First of all, few know that French painter Henri Matisse was one of the first to capture the beauty of the Romanian traditional blouse simply called IE. Althoughhe painted and draw many sketches of the Romanian IA, his painting called La Blouse Roumaine is the best known one. It’s an oil-on-canvas painting dated 1940. It measures 92 × 73 cm and is held at the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris.

La Blouse Roumaine - Henri Matisse — *Henri Matisse paintings – 1. La Blouse Roumaine (1940) 2. Peasant blouse (1936) 3. La Hongroise a la blouse verte*

It took Matisse few years to show the world his Romanian paintings. There were hundreds trials and sketches before there was a Romanian blouses collection. There are plenty of Romanian symbols used in the traditional IA embroidery.

“Each work of art is a collection of signs invented during the picture’s execution to suit the needs of their position. Taken out of the composition for which they were created, these signs have no further use.” (Henri Matisse)

Henri Matisse - Romanian IA — Few sketches of Romanian IAs by Henri Matisse. The second (middle) sketch called “Femme à la blouse roumaine” (1943) was drawn in Vence was sold by Christie’s in 2011 to a private collector for $191,951.

Henri Matisse, Theodor Pallady and the Romanian IA

Furthermore, even fewer know that Matisse’s Romanian paintings were inspired by a collection of traditional blouses he received as a gift from Theodor Pallady. Pallady was and still is one of most famous Romanian painters of all times. Matisse had been friend with Pallddy for many years when he got this gift. They met around 1892, in Paris, in Gustave Moreau’s studio were they were working along with Georges Rouault and Albert Marquet.

Matisse’s interest in oriental themes first emerged in the 1920s when he began to express an interest in the interplay of ornamental patterns. This fascination with decorative designs is seen in these works and it will remain with Matisse till the end of his life.

Noteworthy is that in 2012 New York Metropolitan Museum of Art opened “Matisse: In Search of True Painting.” Vogue magazine called it “the eye-opening new exhibition”. The star painting of the exhibition was Matisse’s voluptuous called “The Dream” (1940), another portrait of a woman sleeping and wearing a Romanian traditional blouse.

Falling in love with colors …

As one would expect from such a great artist as Matisse, his style evolved throughout time, yet he kept the traditional costume as a source of inspiration and ideas. I’m no art expert, but my feeling is that the generous color palette of the Romanian IAs had something to do with this. Matisse’s own personal beliefs about the use of color are most noteworthy:

“Seek the strongest color effect possible… the content is of no importance.
“The use of expressive colors is felt to be one of the basic elements of the modern mentality, an historical necessity, beyond choice.”
“A certain blue enters your soul. A certain red has an effect on your blood-pressure.”
“Color helps to express light, not the physical phenomenon, but the only light that really exists, that in the artist’s brain.”
“Drawing is of the spirit; color is of the senses.”

*Henri Matisse – 1. La Gerbe (1953) 2. Stained glass, Chapel of the Rosary (Vence)*

In conclusion …

Matisse and Pallady’s friendship lasted a lifetime. What neither one of them imagined is that their admiration for our national blouse will turn years later Romanian IA into a fashion icon… and that’s my next story all about! In the meantime, I do invite you to read read other articles I’ve published about the Romania IAs.

sursa : chakana.me

Cristina David

God is Great – God is Good

„I had the revelation that apart from God there is no truth. More truths, I say, related to God, equals no truth. And if the truth is one, being transcendent in essence, its headquarters is neither in science, nor in philosophy, nor in art.– (Petre Țuțea”” This wonderful man who was not just very intelligent, he also was knowledgeable in many fields of activity: philosopy, law, writing, theology.

Am avut revelaţia că în afară de Dumnezeu nu există adevăr. Iar dacă adevărul este unul singur, fiind transcendent în esenţă, sediul lui nu e nici în ştiinţă, nici în filozofie, nici în artă.

The truth is, God is in charge and control of His infinite Creation, whoever believes that there is no God, is mistaken , they will be deprived of the purest Joy of living and of Love among people. LOVE is the link to the whole Universe and gives it harmony and beauty.

May God bless you all!

Cristina David

Optimism versus Pessimism

Life is worth living when we make it beautiful. It all depends on us : what we think, what we do what we like and what we believe in.

A positive thinking, everyone should know, makes us see the full half of the glass, not the empty one. That means a lot! It helps to think positively and not negatively. Our perceptions are made up of our thoughts and beliefs, therefore I believe that some pessimistic persons, through some conscientious effort to develop the ability to view the world from a positive point of view. It is often contrasted with learned helplessness. By challenging negative self-talk and replacing pessimistic thoughts with more positive ones, people can learn how to become more optimistic. And I totally agree with that! First of all, our health will benefit from changing our trend of thought , that’s good incentive. Now it is your turn to agree…

Being optimistic is a matter of opinion. Although, optimism is important because we live in a world of negativity and pessimism. Optimism is good to see and manifest because it brings „light into a world of darkness”. A lot of people need to see and experience optimism to lift their spirits and feel good about life.

Another weekend is approaching us and I wish you a blessed one!

Cristina David

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

Live simply

Love generously

care deeply

Speak kindly

And leave the rest to God.

„Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways” (128:1 Psalm)

He who says that life is not easy, is right…and he who says that life is easy and beautiful, is also right. It all depends on the way one chooses to go along and the choices one makes. One’s will and determination not to stop in spite of all the obstacles they meet along the way will be winners because the Lord cares for them and accompanies them all through their life. After all, each day is a divine gift, a git from Heaven and we need to be grateful.

Cristina David