Winter, William Shakespeare

Blow, blow, thou winter wind. Thou art not so unkind, As man's ingratitude.

- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Japan, Qin Gang (秦剛)

The essence of Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni shrine is to beautify Japan's history of militaristic aggression and colonial rule. It is an attempt to overturn international society's just ruling on Japan's militarism and to challenge the results of World War II and the post-war international order.

- Qin Gang (秦剛), Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman, immediately after Abe's visit to the shrine (
Dec 26, 2013)

Winter, Anne Bradstreet

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

- Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)

Advice, Mark

The Mustard Seed

It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.

+ Gospel of Mark 4,31-32

http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/4

Salvation, Psalms

For you are my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.

- Psalms (Chapter 31), Old Testament, Bible

http://www.nccbuscc.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/

Autumn, Percy Bysshe Shelley

There is a harmony. In autumn, and a lustre in its sky, Which through the summer is not heard or seen, As if it could not be, as if it had not been!

- Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

Autumn, Albert Camus

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

- Albert Camus (1913-1960)

Autumn, Mitchell Burgess

If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection. It's a time of year when the leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone. Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it's time to reflect on what's come before.

- Mitchell Burgess

Desert, Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump from Forest Gump (1994)

The desert, when the sun comes up...I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the Earth began.

― Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump from Forest Gump

Autumn, Percy Bysshe Shelley

There is a harmony. In autumn, and a lustre in its sky, Which through the summer is not heard or seen, As if it could not be, as if it had not been!

- Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

Universe, Bertrand Russell

In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying.

- Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

Wisdom, Western Proverb

There is no new thing under the sun.

- Western Proverb

Roswell UFO incident

Roswell UFO incident

Description	Sacramento Bee article from July 8, 1947 about the Roswell UFO incident.
Date	July 8, 1947
Source	Scanned clipping from the Sacramento Bee Wikimedia Commons
Author	Unknown
Camera location	33°58.1′N 105°14.6′W
Permission	Public domain
Licensing	This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1963 and although there may or may not have been a copyright notice, the copyright was not renewed. Unless its author has been dead for the required period, it is copyrighted in the countries or areas that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works, such as Canada (50 pma), Mainland China (50 pma, not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 pma), Mexico (100 pma), Switzerland (70 pma), and other countries with individual treaties. See Commons:Hirtle chart for further explanation.

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From Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/

Roswell UFO incident

Roswell UFO incident

Description	Roswell Daily Record from July 9, 1947 detailing the Roswell UFO incident.
Date	7/8/1947
Source	[1] Wikimedia Commons
Author	drew peacock
Camera location	.
Permission	Public domain
Licensing	This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1963 and although there may or may not have been a copyright notice, the copyright was not renewed. Unless its author has been dead for the required period, it is copyrighted in the countries or areas that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works, such as Canada (50 pma), Mainland China (50 pma, not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 pma), Mexico (100 pma), Switzerland (70 pma), and other countries with individual treaties. See Commons:Hirtle chart for further explanation.

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From Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/

Solitude·Self-reliance, Sarah Susanka

The world is not out there — the world is in you.

- Sarah Susanka (1957- )

Vermilion Bird (朱雀)

Vermilion Bird (朱雀)

Alternative Names (異名):
朱雀, 주작, Zhū Què, Vermilion Bird, スザク(Japanese), Chu Tước(Vietnamese)

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The Vermilion Bird (Chinese: 朱雀; pinyin: Zhū Què) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. According to Wu Xing, the Taoist five-elemental system, it represents the fire-elemental, the direction of south, and the season summer correspondingly. Thus it is sometimes called the Vermilion Bird of the South (南方朱雀, Nán Fāng Zhū Què). It is often mistaken for Fenghuang, but they are two different creatures. Fenghuang is the king of birds, while the Vermilion Bird is a mythological spirit creature of the Chinese constellations.

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The Seven Mansions of the Vermilion Bird

Like the other Four Symbols, the Vermilion Bird corresponds to seven "mansions", or positions, of the moon.

Well (Chinese: 井; pinyin: Jǐng)
Ghost (Chinese: 鬼; pinyin: Guǐ)
Willow (Chinese: 柳; pinyin: Liǔ)
Star (Chinese: 星; pinyin: Xīng)
Extended Net (Chinese: 張; pinyin: Zhāng)
Wings (Chinese: 翼; pinyin: Yì)
Chariot (Chinese: 軫; pinyin: Zhěn)

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Nature of The Vermilion Bird

The Vermilion Bird is an elegant and noble bird in both appearance and behavior, it is very selective in what it eats and where it perches, with its feathers in many different hues of reddish orange.

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Vermilion Bird in different languages

The Chinese constellations were not only used by Chinese cartographers, they were also used by Korean and Japanese cartographers as well.

Standard Mandarin: Zhū Què / 朱雀
Japanese: Suzaku / スザク
Korean: Ju-jak / 주작
Vietnam by Sino-Vietnamese: Chu Tước (Pronounced by "Tchu Tughk")

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermilion_Bird
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mythology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chinese_mythology

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Chinese mythology stubs | Chinese constellations | Chinese astronomy | Chinese mythology | Legendary birds | Chinese legendary creatures

Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park

Description	English: Image title: Grand teton national park Image from Public domain images website, http://www.public-domain-image.com/
Date	.
Source	http://www.public-domain-image.com/ http://commons.wikimedia.org/
Author	Jon Sullivan
Camera location	.
Permission	Public Domain / CC0 1.0
Licensing	This work has been released into the public domain by its author.

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From Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/