We are just a group of retired spooks that discuss things that you’ll not find anywhere else. It makes us unique. Take a look around. Learn a thing or two.
Kayla Mahaffey “KaylaMay” is a Chicago based artist specializing in illustration and fine art. In 2012, she attended the American Academy of Art where she gained knowledge and strengthened her skills.
Her work speaks about how living in our world can be tough and how making the best of it can simply be done by holding on to each other.
Her inspiration is the world around her and her colorful paintings contain hints of whimsy and realism that tell a story of inner thoughts and society issues that sometimes go unheard. Being born and raised on the South side of Chicago, only ignited her love for all things art.
Seeing the struggle and the support from the community made her work evolve to a concept that is personal to her. She continues to further her technique and creativity in her field in order to paint a beautiful picture of a new world for those who live in it.
‘Off to the Races’ narrates the ever-changing road of life. As we travel through life we experience the daily trials and tribulations that help shape us into the people we are today. During this journey we may end up hitting some bumps or may experience some rough terrain, but it’s how we deal with those situations that make the difference.
We are all on the journey to greatness, each individual racing to the finish line in hope of reaching goals and prosperity. With the race may come with it mistakes and regret, but not taking part in the race leads you nowhere.
Playful portraits by Chicago-based artist and illustrator Kayla
Mahaffey. Using a combination of whimsy and realism, Mahaffey explores
the inner thoughts and personal issues that so often go unheard,
creating work that reflects both the struggle and support she sees
within her own community:
“Living in our society can be tough and most of the time we have
to make the best of it. A wild imagination can take you so far, but at
the end of the day we need to realize and observe the world around us.
And the world around us is where I find my inspiration to paint.”
Her work speaks about how living in our world can be tough and how
making the best of it can simply be done by holding on to each other.
This is an index of art that I have found profound, interesting,
beautiful or enlightening. In any event, I find that art soothes my
soul. I enjoy painting figurative and portraits in oils using the more
traditional Flemish technique, but it never really brought me the kind
of money I need to live off of. Such is the life of a painter today.
Please enjoy.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Please kindly note that this post has multiple embedded videos. It is important to view them. If they fail to load, all you need to do is to reload your browser.
Peanut-butter Spaghetti ( 花生酱面 )
This is a traditional dish. It is similar to spaghetti, except it uses rice noodles instead of wheat noodles, and the sauce is a mixture of peanut-butter and spices.
There are all kinds of recipes on the internet to add a kind of peanut-butter sauce for cheap Ramen noodles. But, boys and girls, that’s like saying a McDonald’s hamburger is equivalent to a real turkey dinner at Thanksgiving. Nope. Just posted Internet nonsense.
Here’s the baseline ingredients…
As the noodles cook, make the sesame peanut butter sauce. Just add some sesame oil, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, and grated ginger to a bowl. Give it a good whisk, until it is well combined. The peanut butter will break down and create a smooth, creamy sauce.
-The Wholesome Dish
This video shows how it is done.
This dish is called “peanut butter sauce – noodles”. And the Chinese characters for it are 花生酱面.
This is something that I am well experienced in. There are many first class, and first rate restaurants in Hong Kong. When dining upstairs you often have an absolutely amazing view of the city at night. In a like way, we can also say that there are amazing clubs, bars, and establishments that people can explore when venturing out in the late night Hong Kong air.
Thailand is known as the “Land of Smiles”. They are a great fun-loving and traditional people. They take care of themselves and are very religious. My experiences in Thailand have always been outstanding and first rate.
Here are some cute girls…
On a Serious Note…
I have been reading the nonsense out of the United States media and it is disturbing to me. You have BLM, Antifa, and Liberal progressive democrat socialists conducting violence, and openly calling for outright war, torture and death. Meanwhile, the Congress-critters accept bribes from the Saudi Oligarchy and demand that we fight Iran, or Russia. Or China. Jeeze!
It saddens me. It really does.
It doesn’t matter if it is a person, or a nation. When someone is openly advocating violence, for whatever reason, there is something seriously wrong. And, if the government allows this to persist, then the government is broken.
That is especially true for the United States.
Now, of course, China is not the United States. There are the “enormous” group of SJW (Social Justice Warriors) in Hong Kong that are demanding “democracy” for Hong Kong. Here’s a picture of ALL OF THEM. Look at the enormous protest!
They demand “democracy” or else! You know, like America has. Rah rah!
These people are misfits. They openly advocate hurting people, burning buildings, and torturing people so that HK can have “democracy”. Identical to the BLM and Antifa crowd.
The American news media breathlessly parrot their demands.
They claim that this view is reflected in all of China and Asia, and that there should be a war that would free and “liberate” the Chinese people from under the dictatorial yoke of the oppressive Chinese government. Whoo woo!
These people do not want a Republican style of government; a representative one. They do not want to implement a fair and just government. They want a progressive mob rule run by a handful of wealthy oligarchs.
They are willing to do violence so that they can join the ranks of the oligarchy.
Not. Going. To. Happen.
People, you all should know this, you don’t make threats, and you don’t force violence. Because sooner or later YOU will get hurt.
As you get older, you have friends and loved ones who die. Sometimes of old age.
I rode in the car with my father. We talked about the local butcher, and the changes to the local park. We talked about the passing of his dog; Zeeny. We talked about the movie that he watched last night.
The next day, I got a phone call that he was dead.
People die. Sometimes by accident, and sometimes by violence. We all need to see that our place on this planet is to obtain good positive experiences with others.
One day you are having coffee and a donut with them. The next day, you get a phone call that they are dead.
One day you are in the office chatting away at their desk. You are just talking about life and things. The next day, the security guard is emptying out the desk as they had died last night.
One day you are chatting on the phone with them. The next day you find out that they died suddenly.
It’s called life and it hurts.
Turn off that propaganda box known as American mainstream news. Toss it away. Spend time with friends, family and loved ones. You might only get one chance. Today might just be it.
A coworker had spent the day at work talking about all the money that she inhered from her uncle when he died. We talked about her plans over coffee near the break room.
The next day she was dead of a drug overdose.
If you find yourself getting too caught up with some injustice that you read about on the news, then turn off your computer. The news is DESIGNED to evoke emotional reactions from you. It is all nonsense. TURN THAT FUCKER OFF.
Please listen to me. Please believe me. You do not want to confront this…
We are all people. We have a life. We have friends. We have a small community that we are all part of. It is important, and we all have a role within it.
I turned around. My little white kitten lay dead on the road. It looked like it was sleeping. But it was gone. Dead. Run over by the car that sped through the neighborhood.
Life is short. Make yours a good one.
That’s it for now. I do hope that you enjoyed this visit to Asia via the Internet. I hope that you had some fun, maybe learned a thing or two, or had some inspiration. Enjoy. Sure beats the CNN or The UK Guardian narrative, eh?
If you want to go to the start of this series of posts, then please click HERE.
Links about China
Here are
some links about my observations on China. I think that you, the reader,
might find them to be of interest. Please kindly enjoy.
China and America Comparisons
As an
American, I cannot help but compare what my life was in the United
States with what it is like living in China. Here we discuss that.
The Chinese Business KTV Experience
This is
the real deal. Forget about all that nonsense that you find in the
British tabloids and an occasional write up in the American liberal
press. This is the reality. Read or not.
Learning About China
Who
doesn’t like to look at pretty girls? Ugly girls? Here we discuss what
China is like by looking at videos of pretty girls doing things in
China.
Contemporaneous Chinese Music
This is a
series of posts that discuss contemporaneous popular music in China. It
is a wide ranging and broad spectrum of travel, and at that, all that I
am able to provide is the flimsiest of overviews. However, this series
of posts should serve as a great starting place for investigation and
enjoyment.
Parks in China
The parks
in China are very unique. They are enormous and tend to be very
mountainous. Here we take a look at this most interesting of subjects.
Really Strange China
Here are
some posts that discuss a number of things about China that might seem
odd, or strange to Westerners. Some of the things are everyday events,
while others are just representative of the differences in culture.
What is China like?
The
purpose of this post is to illustrate that the rest of the world,
outside of America, has moved on with their lives. That while they
might not be as great as America is, they are doing just fine thank
you.
And while
America has been squandering it’s money, decimating it’s resources,
and just being cavalier with it’s military, the rest of the world has
done the opposite. They have husbanded their day to day fortunes, and
you can see this in their day-to-day lives.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
You can start reading the articles sequentially by going HERE.
You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.