another decade comes to a close

As 2019 draws to a close wonder | wander | world pays homage to this dead language. We question what else is lost to us when a tongue dies.

Ancient Nahuatl Blessing

I release my parents from the feeling that they have already failed me.

I release my children from the need to bring pride to me; that they may write their own ways according to their hearts, that whisper all the time in their ears.

I release my partner from the obligation to complete myself. I do not lack anything, I learn with all beings all the time.

I thank my grandparents and forefathers who have gathered so that I can breathe life today. I release them from past failures and unfulfilled desires, aware that they have done their best to resolve their situations within the consciousness they had at that moment. I honor you, I love you and I recognize you as innocent.

I am transparent before your eyes, so they know that I do not hide or owe anything other than being true to myself and to my very existence, that walking with the wisdom of the heart, I am aware that I fulfill my life project, free from invisible and visible family loyalties that might disturb my Peace and Happiness, which are my only responsibilities.

I renounce the role of savior, of being one who unites or fulfills the expectations of others.

Learning through, and only through, LOVE, I bless my essence, my way of expressing, even though somebody may not understand me.

I understand myself, because I alone have lived and experienced my history; because I know myself, I know who I am, what I feel, what I do and why I do it.

I respect and approve myself.

I honor the Divinity in me and in you.

We are free.

tech tools for an ancient culture

This week's wonder | wander | world feature is an article by Deborah Bach in Microsoft's Story Lab about the ADLaM alphabet creators, brothers Abdoulaye and Ibrahima Barry.

It is the fantastical tale of how a new alphabet is helping an ancient people write its own future. https://news.microsoft.com/stories/people/adlam.html 

When they were 10 and 14, brothers Abdoulaye and Ibrahima Barry set out to invent an alphabet for their native language, Fulfulde, which had been spoken by millions of people for centuries but never had its own writing system.

Watching their father Isshaga, decipher letters for friends and family, the brothers asked why their Fulbhe people didn’t have their own writing system. He replied that the only alphabet they had was Arabic.

The brothers developed an alphabet with 28 letters and 10 numerals written right to left, later adding six more letters for other African languages and borrowed words.

ADLaM is an acronym using the first four letters of the script for a phrase that translates to “the alphabet that will prevent a people from being lost.” The Unicode Technical Committee approved ADLaM in 2014 and the alphabet was included in Unicode 9.0, released in June 2016.

The brothers want ADLaM to be a tool for combating illiteracy, one as lasting and important to their people as the world’s most well-known alphabets are to cultures that use them. They have a particular goal of ADLaM being used to educate African women, who they said are more impacted by illiteracy than men and are typically the parent who teaches children to read.

ADLaM has fostered a grassroots learning movement fueled largely through social media. There are several ADLaM pages on Facebook, and groups with hundreds of members are learning together on messaging apps.

Abdoulaye and Ibrahima used to hear mostly about adults learning ADLaM, but increasingly it’s now children. Those children will grow up with ADLaM, using the script Abdoulaye and Ibrahima invented all those years ago in their bedroom.

bye bye Caroll Spinney - fly away home

As 2019 draws to a close bringing the last decade to an end wonder | wonder | world bids au revoir to master puppeteer Caroll Spinney. The man who brought to life our beloved Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch in the magical kingdom of Sesame Street.

Sunny Day

Sweepin’ the clouds away

On my way to where the air is sweet

Where do we belong?

Feel like you don’t belong? You’re not alone.The world has never been more connected, yet people are lonelier than ever. Whether we feel unworthy, alienated, or anxious about our place in the world — the absence of belonging is the great silent wound of our times.

Most people think of belonging as a mythical place, and they spend a lifetime searching for it in vain. But what if belonging isn’t a place at all? What if it’s a skill that has been lost or forgotten?

With her signature depth and eloquence, Toko-pa maps a path to Belonging from the inside out. Drawing on myth, stories and dreams, she takes us into the origins of our estrangement, reframing exile as a necessary initiation into authenticity.

Then she shares the competencies of belonging: a set of ancestral practices to heal our wounds and restore true belonging to our lives and to the world.

2017 Nautilus Award Gold Winner

2018 Readers' Favorite Gold Winner

2018 Whistler Independent Book Award Finalist

unplugging this Thanksgiving weekend

"The Mushroom Hunters" by Neil Gaiman - read by Amanda Palmer with music by Jherek Bischoff -  is a feminist poem about the dawn of science.

Amanda Palmer with her reading as the audience packs into Pioneer Works (Photograph by Amanda Palmer)

Making it the perfect choice here at wonder | wander | world this quiet Thanksgiving weekend.

Enjoy this sweet little gem and let it nourish our outlook and approach this coming holidays.

near & dear

The NYTimes Op-Docs piece "From Here to Home" highlights five films on immigration and belonging. 

Writer Viet Thanh Nguyen, herself an immigrant, introduces the works with these heart piercing words: 

[T]hings happened not necessarily because we were refugees or Southeast Asian, but because we were human and did some of the same things that other Americans did. Our failures — and our successes — were due to our complicated humanity, not because of our ethnic or national origins.

To love, to laugh, to live, to work, to fail, to despair, to parent, to cry, to die, to mourn, to hope: These attributes exist whether we are Vietnamese or Mexican or American or any other form of classification. We share much more in common with one another than we have in difference.

And yet these differences — of color, religion, language, origin and so on — matter because we make them matter, or because others persuade or coerce us into believing in they matter.

Five short documentaries about the immigrant experience in America appearing in The Times’s Op-Docs series testify to both the depth of our shared humanity and the height of the walls separating us.

[O]ur entire American generation, which has the unique experience of watching the American empire peak and decline is running out of time. Our national midlife crisis, our sense of our slipping global power, can drive us to act out or to examine ourselves.

We act out by longing for enemies to conquer in the vain hope that this will restore our greatness, and we mistake immigrants and refugees for those enemies. But if we are mature enough to examine ourselves, we can both celebrate the accomplishments of American culture and also acknowledge — and maybe even atone for — its terrible deeds.

We can help to make up for these tragedies by doing two things that foes of immigration argue are incompatible: renewing our commitment to the most marginalized Americans who are already here, and welcoming the immigrants and refugees who regenerate us. But we don’t have a lot of time.

ending 2019 with a bang

November meteor showers include the Andromedids, which occurs from September 25 to December 6 and generally peak around November 9–14.

The Leonids occurs from November 15–20 and the Alpha Monocerotids occurs from November 15–25 with the peak on November 21–22.

The Northern Taurids occurs from October 20 to December 10 and the Southern Taurids occurs from September 10 – November 20.

The Phoenicids occur from November 29 to December 9 with the peak occurring on December 5–6.

The Orionids occurs in late October and sometimes lasts into November.

Olivia Lopez | Filipina Fashionista

The life of Olivia Lopez is filled with luxuries most only fantasize about - transatlantic adventures, five-star accommodations, and chic designer duds. 

But before she came a blogger to watch and now a formidable brand in her own right, she was a young Filipina immigrant adjusting to life in a new country.

Just the kind of blazing wonder | wander | woman we choose to highlight here at wonder | wonder | world. Not so much as influencer but by what has influenced her.

Refinery29 caught up with Lopez to discuss her upbringing, the moment she knew she was a creative at heart, and how she cultivates appreciation for her culture.

our ancestral lineage

Growing up in the Orient, we learn to incorporate the dead among the living. Beliefs of reincarnation and ancestral spirit guidance are all part and parcel of growing up Asian.

Moving west we find shared traditions among indigenous tribes and their practices as well. It brings us comfort and brings us comfort as we make our home here now.

Honoring our Spirits
 YES! comic and illustration by Jen Luxton

As immigrants we rest easy among the diverse traditions - local and imp[a/o]rted - that keep our ancestors and dead loved ones close and remembered fondly.

We can expand our ancestral connections to include realms beyond our bloodlines - to strengthen lineages by including all of life - on this plane and in the spirit world.

Past, current, and future - are all connected. We are all in this together - interwoven.

Grist & Fix | solutions-oriented info & action

Need help to make sense of this crazy maddening times?

Try this site out - Grist. As their mantra enthuses: Don’t freak out. Figure it out. 

Take action and join Grist's solution lab, FIX. 

Sleep better at night - knowing there are folks like these who care about us and our world. 

BAO: The Unbowed Carabao

wonder | wander | world feature of the week: Grilled Cheese Studios / Keso Kollektiv

In the latter part of 2018, I received a call setting me up to meet with a certain Ms. Angelica Berrie, to discuss documenting the progress of an artwork, which was to be installed at The Negros Museum.

It was a collaboration between mosaic artist Lisa de Leon-Zayco, and sculptor, Rafael Paeng Paderna. And so we met, discussed initial matters, and got the green light. We scheduled work to begin in January 2019.

#BAO at Negros Museum

Cut to January 2019.

The moment I stepped inside Paeng Paderna's studio gate in Eroreco, he was immediately in front of me.

Massive. Tall. Proud. Unbowed.

And our journey with BAO: The Unbowed Carabao began.

We filmed for 12 weeks and watched him come to life piece by little piece. It eventually dawned on us that we were witnessing the birth of an icon.

The photo in the thumbnail was taken on the day Bao was finally moved to his designated place. Everyone in this photo knew, that on this day, we all took part in contributing to a bit of cultural history, to our beloved province.

PL #brgygrilledcheese #tatakgrilledcheese #storiesthatmatter

NOTE: Not on Facebook? Find #BAO on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/baotheunbowedcarabao/. 

anthology of women & our anger

An important read now - largely, but not entirely because of the political climate and everything happening in the world right now. 

burn baby burn! [Yaoqi LAI image]

Many women are tapping into and reclaiming anger that they have been repressing or explaining away that they didn’t know was there. 

I think that collectively we are angry. 

Read the whole interview here. 

amulets & talismans

Like magpies who of us are not drawn to sparkly baubles of beauty?

Especially precious gems of power, possessing healing and protection properties.

We got hooked early, as children on Sunday afternoons, we would congregate on our parents' huge bed, going through mom's boxes of jewelry.

vintage flea market find

after a few repairs

Under the guise of cleaning and organizing them, this was our best playtime - adventuring through the made up tales our wild imaginations conjured as we rubbed each piece to pristine brilliance.

building a sound business

This week wonder | wander | world highlights a new business brand identity - EcoDeo, operating out of New York City. 

Issa Urra ia a holistic healer, trained in a variety of disciplines and practices since the 80s, mainly built on the triad foundation of yoga philosophy, shamanic practice, and Reiki empowerment. Although of course this easily extends and encompasses other healing modalities and wellness therapies. 

Greta strikes

Strike with us NYC! 

On September 20, three days before the UN Climate Summit in NYC and on the two year anniversary of Hurricane Maria, young people and adults will strike all across the US and the world to demand transformative action to address the climate crisis.

Millions of us will take to the streets globally to demand justice for our present and a right to a future. In New York, we will march and rally to demand real action by our elected officials and world leaders.

botanical illustration with Lizzie Harper

Lizzie Harper is a botanical illustrator based in Britain. Her stunning realism evokes classical masters like Franz Bauer and Maria Sybilla Merian. We first found her when searching for watercolour paper reviews!

ancient adventure | Oracle Cavern, Malta

The Hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni is a Neolithic subterranean structure dating to the Saflieni phase (3300 – 3000 BC) in Maltese prehistory, located in Paola, Malta. 

The Oracle Chamber

It is among the best preserved examples of the Maltese temple building culture that also produced the Megalithic Temples and Xagħra Stone Circle. 

kintsugi | Mahala & Issa

Happy pre birthday celebrations for Mahala who is marking a new decade in her life.

Happy Labor Day weekend here in the US and for me too.

"Expansion" by Paige Bradley

As we celebrate the labors of love and those of us who labored in love to create this world we live in.

At the Met entrance for Heavenly Bodies - Summer 2018

We bow down in humble gratitude and appreciation for lives enriched by our collaborative efforts.

Urasawa Naoki: manga and Manben

wonder | wander | women really love artists with a lot of output. Somehow the work ethic is just as compelling and admirable to us as the work itself. So when we heard of a manga artist who put on a solo show in London with 400 original works, how could we resist? Urasawa Naoki, here we come!

woman of the world | Rani of Jhansi

Seventy-two years ago today, India was freed from British rule.

Queen Laxmibai, the ruler of Jhansi

Most people know that Mohandas Gandhi played a major role in the country’s struggle for independence. But so did Queen Laxmibai of Jhansi in the 19th century.

The queen, or rani, was an unconventional leader. She could read and write — very rare for a woman in that era — and she refused to abide by the norms of purdah, which concealed women behind curtains or veils, when speaking with her advisers and British officials.

Rani of Jhansi riding into battle against the British

She was widowed without a natural-born heir, and the East India Company used that as pretext to annex her kingdom. So she fled to the nearby state of Gwalior, trained an army and led it into battle against the British. She was killed in action in 1858.

In India, she is immortalized in history books, movies, songs and even nursery rhymes.

The fortress at Jhansi in about 1882

Moors of Iberia

Al-Andalus, also known as Muslim Spain, Muslim Iberia, or Islamic Iberia - was a medieval Muslim territory and cultural domain that in its early period included most of Iberia - today's Portugal and Spain. 

The Alhambra & Generalife palace & fortress in Granada

Under the Caliphate of Córdoba, al-Andalus was a beacon of learning, and the city of Córdoba, the largest in Europe, became one of the leading cultural and economic centres throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Europe, and the Islamic world. 

Ultimately, the Christian kingdoms in the north of the Iberian Peninsula overpowered the Muslim states to the south. In 1085, Alfonso VI captured Toledo, starting a gradual decline of Muslim power.

Clothing of al-Andalus in the 15th century,
during the Emirate of Granada

With the fall of Córdoba in 1236, most of the south quickly fell under Christian rule and the Emirate of Granada became a tributary state of the Kingdom of Castile two years later. 

Emir Muhammad XII surrendered the Emirate of Granada to Queen Isabella I of Castile, completing the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula. Although al-Andalus ended as a political entity, the nearly eight centuries of Islamic rule has left a significant effect on culture and language in Andalusia.

Muhammad XII's family in the Alhambra

moments after the fall of Granada

[Manuel Gómez-Moreno González, c. 1880]

This is a documentary of history not taught in western education about the Moors that invaded Europe, educated and civilized  the caucasian who at the time was in the Dark Ages - sick and dying.

The Europeans stole their history, advanced sciences, enslaved them, forced on them their idol gods and beliefs and now claim to rule the world.