This Japanese Photographer Specializes In Shooting Ninja Cats, And The Result Is Too Purrfect

Turns out, cats know more martial arts than ninjutsu. Japanese photographer Hisakata Hiroyuki has decided to dedicate a fair portion of his time to shooting cats during their totally serious combat practices, and the result is purrrfect.

Threatening stares, explosive kicks, powerful punches, Hiroyuki has captured it all. He has successfully proven that felines have unlocked all of the secret fighting techniques, and even Mr. Miyagi could learn a thing or two from these martial arts masters.

Ninja-Cats-Photography-Hisakata-Hiroyuki

#LOL [via Nina Reznick]

Remember When...

The Topless Duel Between A Princess And A Countess

The history of dueling is full of shocking moments, like the time the vice president shot and killed the Secretary of the Treasury - that was, of course, the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. But no duel was more shocking than the topless duel between fought a princess and a countess. It was called the first emancipated duel because not only were both duelers women, their seconds and the doctor on hand to tend their wounds were also women. Female sword duels were uncommon, even by the late 19th century when the topless duel was fought.

Via Weird History

Ken Atchity's Door to Door

An Eclectic Omnivorous Newsletter!

Ken Atchity's Door to Door

Abandoned suitcases of insane asylum patients

Case with green enamel hair brush set strapped to lid.

Abandoned suitcase with yellow alarm clock, straw broom, small Scotty dog figure, shoe polish cream and booklet.

These fascinating images show abandoned suitcases which belonged to patients who were residents of the Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane between the 1910s and early 1960s. The institution stored the cases when patients passed away; when it closed in 1995, staff came across the forgotten cases, and thoughtfully gave them to the New York State Museum for preservation. This incredible collection was featured in a recent article by Hunter Oatman-Stanford on Collectors Weekly, in which he provocatively asks: “If you were committed to a psychiatric institution, unsure if you’d ever return to the life you knew before, what would you take with you?”

The suitcases were photographed by Jon Crispin as part of a larger artistic project documenting abandoned mental hospitals. However, in the context of the Collectors Weekly article, these fascinating suitcases were presented first and foremost as museum or personal objects, and only secondarily as contemporary art images. (Oatman-Stanford does, however, go on to conduct a very interesting article with Crispin about the Willard institution and its patients, which you can read here). This is probably unsurprising considering the slant of the publication, but it nonetheless brings up an interesting blurriness between museum object, artwork, so-called ‘outsider art’ and personal possessions.

Each suitcase is, itself, almost like a mini museum about the owner: a small collection which can give you a glimpse into his or her life and interests. Of course, they were not compiled for this reason, but I think that just paints an even more alluring portrait of the person and what their objects might say about them.

Open suitcase with vintage family photos, clock and fork and knife.

Suitcase with old notebooks, books, metronome and small bear figurine.

Four little drawers with sewing patterns and hair curling irons.

Abandoned suitcase with old family photographs, buttons, wallet, and Camay soap.

Open suitcase with black hat and blue shoes.

Suitcase with handwritten list of fabrics, sequins, toothbrush, luggage tag, gloves, comb.

Case with Bible, Christian philosophy booklet, dog figurines, record and rulers.

Suitcase showing war porait and ration book, other personal items

// All images by Jon Crispin, from Collectors Weekly.

Would dew believe it: The stunning pictures of sleeping insects covered in water droplets [via Nina Reznick]

By Daily Mail Reporter Glistening in the early morning, these insects look like creatures from another planet as dew gathers on their sleeping bodies. Captured in extreme close-up, one moth appears to be totally encrusted in diamonds as it rests on a twig.

Stunning: Droplets of water bead on the head of this blue dragonfly as it slumbers on a leaf Dragonflies, flies and beetles also take on an unearthly quality as the water droplets form on them. These remarkable photographs were taken by physiotherapist Miroslaw Swietek at around 3am in the forest next to his home. Using a torch, the 37-year-old amateur photographer hunts out the motionless bugs in the darkness before setting up his camera and flash just millimetres from them.

Close up: Amateur photographer Miroslaw Swietek captured this common fly slumbering on top of a plant as the water condenses on its body

Bejewelled: This month looks like it has been encrusted in diamonds as it rests on a twig Mr Swietek said: 'I took up photography as a relaxing hobby two and a half years ago and I particularly like taking pictures of insects and lizards. 'I photograph them in their natural environment in the forest next to my village. 'They all are covered in dew because I go to the forest in the morning at around 3am. 'At 3am to 4am insects are sleepy and taking photos of them is easy, but it is very difficult to find them.

Close up: The insects appear to be completely drenched in water as they rest while the sun is down

Shower time: Mr Swietek gets up at 3am to capture the insects while they are less active in a forest near his home 'You must be very fast taking the photos because the dew quickly disappears. 'It is very satisfying getting a good shot of an insect which I have had to hunt out. 'I have books which help my identify insects but because they are all covered in dew I find it almost impossible to know which types they are.' Although insects do not 'sleep' in the same sense as humans, they enter a state of torpor where they are virtually immobile and much less sensitive to external stimuli. Mr Swietek lives with his wife and teenage son in Jaroszow, a village in Poland around 30 miles from the city of Wroclaw.

Clinging on: The amateur photographer searches for the insects using a torch and then sets up his camera and flash right next to them

Hobby: Another dragonfly enjoys an early morning wash. Mr Swietek only took up photography two and a half years ago Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1260946/The-stunning-pictures-sleeping-insects-covered-early-morning-dew.html#ixzz0jt1PcUAP

for something completely different… [via Nina Reznick]

#LOL

Publisher's Weekly Reviews Story Merchant Client Dennis M. Walsh's Nobody Walks: Bringing My Brother's Killers to Justice

Nobody Walks: Bringing My Brother’s Killers to Justice

Dennis M. Walsh. St. Martin’s/Dunne, $26.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-2500-0548-9

Walsh, a criminal defense attorney for 30 years, tells the blistering true story of the 2003 murder of one of his brothers, Christopher, who was discovered in a trash barrel in a California storage locker. Despite law enforcement’s reluctance to pursue the case since the author’s father and younger brother were in prison on drug charges, Walsh shoulders the burden and delves into the nadir of the criminal underworld, quizzing thieves, skinheads, Nazi bikers, hookers, and porn queens to construct something meaningful from various lies and schemes. Good leads dead-end and seemingly ironclad confessions crumble, but the author’s resourcefulness and determination to catch his brother’s killers keep this sordid tale moving along at a quick clip. Walsh keeps his law practice operating throughout the ordeal, but still finds time to persuade reluctant witnesses to offer their testimony and cooperate with authorities; after four years of sleuthing, the trial finally begins. The hearing is a real corker, chock-full of twists and turns, and written with passion and an eye for drama. Taut and relentless, this chronicle of a former cold case puts one man’s resolve and the American idea of justice to the test. B&w photos. (Feb.)

#LOL via Nina Reznick

Native Americans by Edward Curtis [via Nina Reznick]

The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis is one of the most significant and controversial representations of traditional American Indian culture ever produced. Issued in a limited edition from 1907-1930, the publication continues to exert a major influence on the image of Indians in popular culture. Curtis said he wanted to document "the old time Indian, his dress, his ceremonies, his life and manners." In over 2000 photogravure plates and narrative, Curtis portrayed the traditional customs and lifeways of eighty Indian tribes. The twenty volumes, each with an accompanying portfolio, are organized by tribes and culture areas encompassing the Great Plains, Great Basin, Plateau Region, Southwest, California, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska.

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Yoga Gives Back

Written by Kayoko Mitsumatsu

From Posture To Power: Microcredit Changes Lives On Both Sides of the Ocean

We can talk about making change. But affecting real change in the world comes from impacting the lives of individuals. It comes from empowering people to be independent and able to make a living on their own while at the same time being fully integrated in our interdependent global community. Sometimes it takes something that seems to be radical to make this change, but these shifts can be deceptively small. They can be even as small (or as large) as the cost of a Los Angeles Yoga class.

How could this be? In the practice of microcredit, lending seemingly small amounts of money to small-scale entrepreneurs allows them to succeed and change their circumstances. This is the fundamental basis of microcredit’s transformative power; it’s a revolutionary concept in finance. This practice shifts the emphasis from financial transactions being focused only about large loans and large scale businesses, which are out of reach of many one-person operations, institutions and organizations – to lending practices that actually make a positive difference in a person’s life. Microcredit practices based on social justice and empowerment operate through a combination of small-scale loans based on trust and community support, with structured repayment plans and programs that encourage savings. In these situations, people actually have the opportunity to solidify long-term change in their lives.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the Yoga Gives Back Team: Joel Bender, Leslie Hendry, Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Kayoko Mitsumatsu (left-right)

In 2006, economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the institution he founded, the Grameen Bank, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This award was in recognition of their revolutionary efforts to create this micro-credit model, support sustainable economic practices, and provide an alternative to what were exploitive norms. When a person is caught in a cycle of poverty, they may become trapped in the system, particularly since large banking institutions have historically ignored people without assets or credit histories, who are just starting out and who may not have already proven themselves. Most banks prefer to lend large sums of money that represent a greater profit margin and are set up only for large loans in order to make a profit themselves. And even making it more challenging, people at the bottom of the economic scale worldwide have had to rely on moneylenders charging usurious terms and interest rates to obtain funds to plant the next crop, buy inventory of new equipment, or upgrade a business in any way. Institutions such as the Grameen Bank and their affiliates are offering another approach. It’s one that has significantly impacted millions of people.

As Dr. Yunus described in an exclusive interview with Yoga Gives Back in May, 2009, “We started in 1976, and today within Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, eight million people borrow micro loans, ninety-seven percent of them women.” This represents an enormous potential for change and empowerment that just did not exist on a large scale in this form prior to 1976.

There is a social cycle in economics, and Dr. Yunus explained this: “Poverty is not inside the person. Poverty is forced from outside. Poor people are as capable [a] human being as anybody else. They have the same power and energy, same potential. But they are denied such facilities. They cannot express themselves. Money is one of the most important items missing in their lives. You need a dollar to catch a dollar. You cannot catch a dollar with an empty hand. So, that first dollar, nobody has given to her. So she remains dependent on someone else. She has to be hired, to slave; she has to work to make food available on the table. What we have done, we have put that first dollar into her hands as a banking proposition. Conventional banks never come to the poor people. They go to rich people to make more money. The person who does not have a dollar – she cannot get it. So we did it. We did it in a way that is affordable to her. Because we do not insist on collateral. There is no collateral.”

While that may seem like a radical concept, the Grameen Bank has proven that their success is much more than ideological. Dr Yunus cited statistics for us, “The repayment rate is almost 100%, without collateral or anything. This is the strength of microcredit which is now spread all over the world. There are by now at least 150 million borrowers in the world today. Bu it is still very small comparing to the need. We need more microcredit organizations in the world so that more people can be reached.”

Yoga Gives Back is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization begun in LA, with the goal to provide a way for Western Yoga practitioners to give back to India, the birthplace of Yoga, which has given us so much. We’re heeding Dr. Yunus’ call to reach more people through expanded opportunities for and awareness of microcredit and have targeted India and Indian families, women, and would-be entrepreneurs, who would be otherwise stuck in the cycle of poverty that Dr. Yunus described. Yoga Gives Back supports microfinancing operations in India, through the Grameen Foundation, headquartered in Washington, DC. Donations go directly to Grameen Koota, Bangalore, South India and our YGB awareness campaign focuses on the real stories of how poor women are changing their lives with small loans from Grameen Koota.

Ms. Vinatha M Reddy

Grameen Koota was started by visionary teacher and philanthropist, Ms. Vinatha M Reddy (pictured, above) in 1999, who learned about Nobel Peace Recipient Dr Muhammad Yunus’ microfinancing and immediately began exploring ways of replicating his work in her hometown. In 2000, she started providing small microcredit loans, averaging $25.00 a month, to fifty local women. Today, Grameen Koota’s work is reaching out to over 280,000 women in Bangalore, Mysore and many areas of Karnataka state, in South India, making real impact on these women’s lives as well as on the local economy.

Yoga Gives Back

The Los Angeles-based Yoga Gives Back has a worldwide reach and began out of the inspiration and dedication of my Yoga mentor Joel Bender and me. Our group has suddenly started growing almost daily and our mission is shared by a quickly expanding and loving Yoga community.

When I was growing up in Japan, which is a very middle-class society, I had never experienced or seen any real poverty, especially growing up in Tokyo in 1960s and 1970s, when Japan's post-war economic miracle was taking place. Then, I had a chance to live in Brazil in the late 1970s for two years, where as a teenager, I saw the divide between poverty and wealth, the reality of the real slums, kids on the streets begging every time you stopped the car at the traffic light, all very much like India. Social injustice hit me hard.

Once I started Yoga practice and feeling my life being so enriched by it , I felt a need to use my resources to help others. I was producing a documentary on Social Entrepreneurship and learned about microfinancing. I shared this information with Joel [featured in the teacher profile in this month’s issue of LA YOGA] who had been looking for the way he could give back to India since his first visit there – so we teamed up.

When I think about the growth of Yoga Gives Back thus far, I give a lot of credit to the entrepreneurship and volunteer spirit of Americans, willing to embrace and support a new grass roots campaign like ours.

Kayoko Mitsumatsu, co-founder of Yoga Gives Back, is a documentary filmmaker whose films deal with social justice issues, including First They Killed My Father a memoir of a Cambodia’s Killing Fields’ survivor.

A Life Changing Story of Microcredit: Jayashree

Jayashree

Jayashree lives in the suburbs of Bangalore and is married and the mother of two children. We visited her at her humble dirt floor one room home for the first time in 2007. We were touched by her warm smile and most generous hospitality, serving us hot tea and cookies.

Jayashree was born into a very poor family in Bangalore. When she was a child, her family’s financial situation became so severe that she had to drop out of school and work at a garment factory. She toiled throughout her childhood and after she got married at fifteen, her meager earnings had to support her ailing in-laws. She had two children. Her husband’s rickshaw business was not enough to pay her sons’ education or secure food for the family.

In 2007, Jayashree learned from her neighbors about Grameen Koota’s microcredit program and applied for her first loan. She was granted a first loan of 7,000 rupees ($175), and immediately bought her husband’s auto rickshaw. Owning their own rickshaw business increased their income significantly.

Jayashree was able to pay back her entire loan in one year and became eligible for her second loan in 2008. Having proven her diligence, her second loan amount doubled to 15,000 rupees ($375). This time, she bought a sewing machine and started stitching bags. The family’s earnings have now tripled and she is earning 150 rupees ($3.75) a day. In addition, she opened a small shop next to her house to sell her products which is earning her an additional 100 rupees ($2.50) a day.

She is sending her elder son to a medical school. Her son dreams of becoming a doctor and thanks his mother’s business for providing his education, their own home and daily food.

To participate in a Yoga practice where the proceeds support Yoga Gives Back and directly impact the transformation of not only your own life, but that of someone in India, start your Thanksgiving week at Yogaglo, Sunday, November 22, 10:00 A.M. - 12 noon. Some of the teachers include John Sahakian, Felicia Tomasko, Alexandra Aiken and Ally Hamilton; more to be announced. Yogaglo.com; yogagivesback.com.

For more information on Yoga Gives Back or to host a Yoga Gives Back class at your own studio or location, visit: yogagivesback.org or contact yogagivesback@earthlink.net.