This is the first time a Nobel prize for literature has been presented to an artist who is primarily a musician. Unable to attend the ceremony held by the Swedish academy, Dylan was represented by Patti Smith to accept his award on his behalf.

Accompanied by an orchestral arrangement, Patti Smith offered an emotional performance holding the audience with a deep connection to Dylan’s song “A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall”.

Patti Smith’s performance was a remarkable rendition.

In terms of the incredible pressure she must have had having to perform for this significant and prestigious honor, the residue left by her performance was a tear jerking urge to pray for the current human condition.

The lyrics of Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall” left a haunting and sad precursor to the reality of what mankind is to encounter as the curtain falls for 2016 and the New Year 2017 is born, begging for Hope.

A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
By Song writer Bob Dylan

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son
And where have you been, my darling young one
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son
And what did you see, my darling young one
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder that roared out a warnin’
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded with hatred
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
And what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
And what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
I’m a-goin’ back out ‘fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
And the executioner’s face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall lyrics © Bob Dylan Music Co.

Digitalism is a form of art that has transpired with the marriage of art and technology. Digitalism encompasses not only the strokes and colors of art but the words transmitted through the art. This combination of art , word and technology has evolved in the Age of Digitalism.

The Age of Digitalism is a time where the internet serves as a mode of transmission for the display of art, form, word and rhythm to be accessible globally in an instant without any boundaries. Digitalism is the first stage in the history of art which has evolved as a form of artistic style in an evolutionary combination with technological development.  Digitalism art style permits a vast sense of freedom of expression for an artist. Technology has provided paint and brushes and other tools and the artist provides the strokes, talent and creation which for the first time makes it available to reach beyond the physical art galleries and can exist i.e. the digital format  on a screen in its organic digital existence before being printed into canvas or paper or any other medium.

In the following display of art and word I draw in the most primitive Digitalism format that is with only the use of the mouse to maneuver the art software. Like every picture tells a story , here is a show of Digitalism Art and Word.

Blonde with a Flower

A black Blonde
always with a flower
in her hair
a temper no one could flare
but once in a while
she was known to shake
the tree until all
the leaves gave up.

Things always need to move
she said.
                                                                                 life is a dance, it moves

                                                                                 with you
                                                                                 like salsa to rock then maybe
                                                                                 slowly
                                                                                 slow it down
                                                                                 catch your breath
                                                                                 to dance again.

Sometimes a dance is alone,
or with another
sometimes with a nation
but freedom only comes
she said
when you lead
with good intention.

Like her mama said
get on your knees
with a prayer
thats how you lead
to build a good home
to stay grounded
for only a steeple of hope
and the love of God
will anchor your children
to know how to walk
and to walk tall.

The dance she learned was simple
all that mattered
were the steps
on whats right
and whats wrong.
Someone taught it to her
and in that way
she was the lucky one.

The noise of greed
and power
always flows
like rush hour traffic
with many brains competing
honking each other out
but all schemes are man made
so in the struggle
she always wore
the gentle flower
in her hair
to remember
an intention
pure.

Franco

His name is Franco. 

With a pair of scissors
like a paintbrush
he can see if your cheekbones
can carry your eyes
or if your lips caress your smile
He even knows just how much
of a soft breeze
will move your strand.
Before he cuts
He sometimes smokes
often absent minded 
2 cigarettes at one time.

In his introvert wonder
asks why he has no words
then just sighs in silence
as he starts the cut.

Hair falls to the floor
“So is he still the love of your life?”
he asks then listens
as his scissors cuts
your response
while strands of hair keep
falling down
like emphatic prepositions
in the air.

Beauty for him is speechless
something he holds inside
compliments are understood
without flattery’s fan.
Just the puff and smoke
the trance of the task
of feeling you
through
texture
and rhythm of your hair.

As his scissors gently cuts
sharp angles to a conversation
releasing limp energy
restoring lost vigor
by now he knows you well
like no one
ever has and he
bluntly tells you
what he knows about you
all from his fingers moving
and feeling
the spirit
of your hair.

 Sleep

Sleep she came

with 2 dolphins and 2 birds. 

Sleep was serene smiling
with a gentle ocean ripple
she splashed some waves
with wings and fins and lashes
then her eyes closed
into deep peaceful blues.
Sleep assured me promises
as we frolicked through
colours and visions of tomorrow
sank me into familiar grounds
of the safe and comfort of early years
playing with stones and petals
riding my bicycle hands free
the warm tropical sun on pacific blue
my grandmother and grandfather standing
at the blue gate waiting with
open arms and i sank deeper
as sleep she took me far
beyond the blue
feeding grains from the palm of my hand
to a morning dove
on my grandfather’s lap
smiling with content
cushioned on pillows of clouds.
Sleep is the in between state
just like our training wheels
to ride
the time from here
to there.

Holding On to Jesus

Looking up
i saw my story
on a stained glass window
never had i
seen this before.
Many times have i prayed
seated on the same pew
in the same church

Lost days i carried
like empty space
with sorrow and hurt
my heart painted red
bleeding.

But now as light
breaks
the psalmist’s song
saints and angels
the doves
and the lamb
the Virgin Mary and Joseph
reveal themselves
as though they are known to me
and i have known
and met
along past paths.

They have been in everyman’s path
over and over again
mistakes are made,
consequences paid
but close your eyes
and let your eyes see
the promise to keep
with regrets forgiven
enemies swallowed
wounds bud flowers

Hold on to Jesus
your heart a sacred church
has the love which loves God
know as i hold on to Jesus
all what i could ever want
is in God’s loveable will
and has never been
where i was looking
once upon a time
in the will of man.

The following is a poem entitled, Tribute to a Witch” by my daughter Tania John written in 1995 which was a winning entry in the Junior Poetry Category  representing her school,  University Village Public School for her presentation of it at University of Guelph’s Young Writers’ Literary Competition. It was published in Focus 1995 along with other winning entries by local school participants held by the University of Guelph’s Young Writers’ Literary Competition. One of the editors of Focus 1995 publication,, Marianne Micros wrote in the introduction, “Tania John , in Tribute To A Witch re-creates a magical rite which mingles the sublime with the trivial, to give birth to—-what?”….taking “us beyond the natural world into the supernatural”(p.4. Focus 1995)

Tribute To A Witch

Dark and jagged rocks

add overalls and fluffy frocks

newt eyes and frog legs

chicken bones and billboard pegs

simmer and sizzle

Pterodactyl from an archaeologist’s chisel

Neanderthal blood and marrow

mixed with the breath of Tutankhamen the pharaoh

stir in a clay vase and bury in the ground

twenty-one days thereafter swallow it down

nine months later

the return of the Magical Creator.

—————————

Written and Illustrated by Tania John

Copyright© 1995 Tania John, 1995

University of Guelph’s  Focus 1995 publication, page 7. Young Writers’ Literary Competition. “Author Author!”

Season of Lent is a time to reflect upon oneself and to strive for
good governance. Good governance can be viewed not just from a political framework but also during the Season of Lent as a self regulatory framework for an individual’s
intention to achieve a code of discipline, moral responsibility to oneself and to those in the community through God.
During the Season of Lent fasting is a spiritual state of self examination, self evaluation and determination. Through prayer we can learn to govern ourselves in
relation to ourselves and those around us.

In this issue art posters are used to illustrate 3 issues facing good governance hoping that these issues help us think in terms of the Season of Lent.The issues for discussion
through art are:

1) Mercy and love in mother and child

2) The youth of old age .

3) Forgiveness

1) Mercy and love in mother and child

In the christian tradition as Mary prepares for the birth of Jesus, her virgin womb is the prophetic conception of mercy , compassion and goodness just as God’s
covenant is with us. In Hebrew the word for uterus and womb is “Rechem ”
The word “Rechem” is also translated as “mercy” and this denotes the feelings of affection , protected love which God has towards us, His children. The translation
for the word “Rechem” is a superior and the highest kind of mercy and unconditional love similar but beyond the human level of what a mother has for her child in her womb.
The Lord’s mercy is like a womb of protection to His children and that mercy and compassion is the covenant that we are bonded to Him with prayer. Similarly the words mercy
and womb both come from the same root in Hebrew which translates the womb and mercy as one entity .
At the human level it is like an umbilical cord which connects us to God in a covenant within a  sacred space where “womb” and “mercy” is the meaning of a safe, protected, hidden surrounding of compassionate love.

Most of all the child is dependent on the mother and what passes in the mother is transported to the child in the womb through the placenta.What the mother drinks and
eats passes through as food to the embryo and the growing fetus is totally dependent on the mother’s choices. Thus infiltration of drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, caffeine, nicotine can have adverse to carcinogenic effects on the growing child. Good governance and social responsibility is implicated in love and mercy. This word mercy has roots to the word womb, as a  state, time and space of sacred love which is unconditional and not expectant of rewards or for receiving anything back in return. It is a gift.

There is a symbiotic relationship between mother and child where both grow as they need each other. In the same token the flesh of man is connected to the Divine
Light through spirit to form a dependent love, the covenant with God.

Click on each painting to have a closer view.

Painting Commentary

In this painting we see a mother and her child looking out a window. In life there are many windows which we will look out of and windows from which others can look at us
from our exterior world.

You will not remember the first window when your mother showed you Light. After being protected in her safe merciful hidden womb for 9 months, then at birth there is
light. That light we see after compassionate love and mercy have been shown to us in the womb. Divine Light continues as each of us seek to build a covenant with God,
who cradles us with mercy and compassion guiding us away from sin and into  good governance.
Mercy is central to good governance as without merciful compassion and love there is no growth or social responsibility. This is essential to christian spiritual , social and judicial life.
It is our social responsibility to be in a state of good governance to provide a window of opportunity so that facing consequences is with hope, love,  mercy and not mere punishment.
Mercy is a commitment with nothing in return expected , only unconditional love.
In the painting the windows are new days of
hope and light and through perseverance comes the healing of bitterness and brokenness .

Through our faith and covenant with God the power and individual good governance can exercise mercy.
Good governance also means to not take away the devotion of people regardless of their religious faith. One has to be free to belong to faith with God. In India for instance Christians make up about 2 percent of the population and for them just like in many other parts of the world Christmas has been celebrated on the birth of Christ, December 25th.
Christianity was introduced in India with St. Thomas arriving in Kerala, south India in 52 AD.
In 2014, the newly elected Prime Minister Modi of India established Good Governance Day to honor former Prime Minister Vajpayee’s birthday which happens to be on
Christmas December 25th. Modi established Good Governance Day but also made it a working day for government. The fear and subtle proselytizing of Hindutva right wing not only is unethical governance but should be a reminder to the right wing Hindtva, that central to Dharma lies ethics. What is gained for India by imposing a government working day on Christmas day when India proclaims to be one of the largest secular, tolerant, democratic
countries in the world? Attacks of anti christian violence is said to be increasing in India on a daily basis. Capacity building of individual countries involves implementing principles of democracy and especially minority rights as part of good governance.
It was persecution and being wrongfully charged that killed Jesus . In the season of Lent mercy and compassion is what must prevail if new windows of hope and light within the walls of humanity are to be gained.

It is said that this mercy and compassion between God and you never departs.
As read in
Isaiah 49: 15-16 Dead Sea Scrolls

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget,
I will not forget you! 

16  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.”

2) The Youth of Old Age 

When we look retrospectively , youth and old age seem markedly separate points of time . Yet we are the same soul transitioning with age and experience . There is the
maturing experience similar to old age in youth as one leaves infancy and childhood. There is the spark and vigor and innocence of youth in old age as one reaches
maturity and experience. The transition from childhood to youth to old age are the stations and markers which form our memory as well as the examples we set upon each
other for good governance.
The Season of Lent is for all ages and especially to recognize the potential and kinetic energy of youth and the need of elders to guide the youth.
In the Bible , 1 Timothy 4:12 New International Version (NIV)  has a passage very encouraging to youth ,

12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

This realization is very important in today’s society because growing up has become increasingly difficult .There is a significant rise in teen suicides, bullying and shaming that occurs on a more frequent basis in social media and in the school environment. One needs encouragement and confidence building from very young.
The Book of Proverbs is a place in the Bible not just confined for wisdom to be gained for the youth but also for gaining wisdom at any age. At Biblegateway 

Proverbs 1-4 New International Version (NIV) states,

Purpose and Theme
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Youth need to be encouraged with
confidence and inspired by wise counsel. The mighty wings of youth can sweep towards any direction.

Painting Commentary

We all have faced challenging times growing up and many times fear that because we are young we lack experience and will make a fool of ourselves to do a challenging task and so  we often get discouraged to stand up for righteous things. Fighting against peer pressure and to take on tasks in spite of our youth is what the The Call of Jeremiah illustrates in
Jeremiah 1:4-9 New International Version (NIV)

The Call of Jeremiah

4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.
8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.

There is a calling and we need time and silence to hear the inner voice of God. The Season of Lent for Christians is a divine time to set as a time to examine our
inner self. Fasting and meditation is also commonly practiced among other faiths such as Hinduism, Jainism, Jewish, Buddhism and Islam as a time to self examine and a time to be
with God and have truth revealed.
The youth is a very important segment of our society. They are the future of what we sowed as children.
As Proverbs 22:6 tells us ,” Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Without direction the mighty wings of youth can sweep you to be lost into an empty life filled with evil temptation and sorrowful ends with no focus or goals.This
needs the elders to not despise the youth but set an example of good governance for the youth
in speech, conduct, love. faith and purity . The mighty wings of youth can sweep to develop and lead to maturity, wisdom and dwell on safe grounds with a pure heart .
The importance of elders to encourage children with training and instruction of the Lord’s word can only be conducive to good governance as they become family members and
citizens of the community and nation.
One of the early gifts that a parent can give a child is a prayer purse. A prayer purse can help a child carry a prayer wherever they go.

It encourages children to write a prayer and insert it into the purse,, read a prayer and say their prayers before sleeping and waking in the morning. A prayer purse can be placed under a child’s pillow which is a way to get them used to communicate on a daily basis. Prayer purses are suggested spiritual accessories not just for children but for anyone at any age.

A parent’s role in providing words of wisdom and good governance can be far reaching as stated in.

Proverb 4 20-27

20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.

The transition from the mighty wings of youth and childhood to the glorious knowledge of truth can mature as shown in

1 Corinthians 13: 11-13

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

3) Forgiveness

Forgiveness is process by which one lets go of negative emotions such as vengeful anger and hatred by exercising a conscious effort and ability to wish the
offender well. Definitely not an easy task when the bitterness, hurt and healing sometimes is a lifetime of memory and scars. In this Season of Lent we look at the painting below to illustrate feelings of how hurt can be generated using Proberbs 6 16-19 as a guide of sentiments that the Lord
does not like us to cultivate.

Click on painting to have a closer view

The struggle to heal from hurt and forgive is very often both in the hands of the victim and the aggressor. Sometimes people who are self righteous and feel that because they are pious, pray and attend church regularly are never deserving of any repercussions to their actions when they hurt others in demonic ways. Hurt can be cast on to others by gossip, condemning others, alienating , discriminating, shaming and making someone feel like they are not accepted. Yet because of their belief system some people dwell in a hypocritical closeness to God and God’s purity. On the surface they appear to be church going and act self righteous but they inwardly hate, condemn and feel they are without sin.
Sometimes they feel it is their right to hate, shame others , and feel superior to others who lack in things they have. Sometimes they feel it is their right to acquire the goods and services of people without treating them in a fair manner and thus take their land and resources and start wars and kill when they are hindered from acquiring the needs of their greed.This is the constant historic plight of mankind at the individual, familial, societal and national level.
Today just after Palm Sunday, another terrorist bombing, this one in Brussels after we can still hear the November echoes of the aftermath of the Paris attacks.Where is good governance heading? Where is forgiveness and mercy heading?
When will we hear the echoes of
Psalm 85:10 ?
Mercy and Truth have met together;
Righteousness and Peace have kissed.

In order for good governance we must start from our own
hearts in prayer.

This may sound simple and naive

but it is powerful.

When women are abused by their own society, when women fight with their own sisters and their brothers and when children rebel against parents, when children and older
people are abused and neglected, when parents cease to be good role models, when nations fight with the hand of other nations that feed them, when religions fight
based on falsehoods to stir conflict and rush to evil, when children learn evil ways from adults…….. where does all this lead?
The generational and international mistakes carry though to the next and the warnings against folly are ignored letting the cycle of folly continue. There is only
conflict and breakdown . The sins of our past will only continue if we feed into the same thinking generation after generation.This is the vulnerability of man and the
need  for us not to be fallen but to constantly purify ourselves right up until death.

Painting commentary.

The painting  above is about Proverbs 6 16-19 from the Bible, “Warnings against Folly”

16 There are six things the Lord hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

These things happen all the time and we are told to forgive but the task is not easy when we deal with our hurt and pain for a lifetime.
Sometimes our righteous anger make us fight for good governance and we act as advocates for ourselves or others who are meek or poor
and sometimes nothing changes. The ultimate and difficult task is to release negative emotions of pain. fear, hatred, jealousy, anger and hurt .

Prayer helps to do this.

It is also important to understand that the aggressor’s actions are wicked and violent perhaps due to somewhere along the course of life, the aggressor too was driven
away from the course of love, mercy and compassion.

The outcome develops into hatred, violence, greed, conflict and dishonesty. One of the greatest challenges of good governance is to exercise mercy when one has been
hurt.

To conquer evil stems from increasing the goodness and spirituality from an early age. As children, they are helpless and dependent on the world. To make the
world a better place, conscious coalitions of various faiths must understand that the common denominator of the enemy is evil which in turn has the end goal to stir up
conflict and hatred. Goodness is there but evil overrides when there is no indication of mercy and good governance at the individual level.

This is the Season of
Lent, a time for your prayer.

To pray alone in silence is not weakness and to join in prayer with others builds a powerful force underlined with forgiveness either
silent or spoken out loud.

As Saint Mother Teresa said,

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Here it comes, the Year of the Red Fire Monkey. The Chinese New Year according to the Chinese calendar starts Feb 8 2016 ending on January 27, 2017
marking the Year of the Red Fire Monkey.

Digitalism Online Magazine wishes a Very Happy Chinese New Year 2016

The Fire Monkey

The Fire Monkey Year marks 2016. Each animal in the Chinese zodiac is associated with an element Gold (Metal), Water, Wood, Fire, or Earth. The last time the element Fire was associated with the Monkey year was 60 years ago in 1956. Fire Monkey personalities are said to be ambitious and adventurous, but irritable. The Fire Monkey brings a mix of ups and downs and it seems that ones ability to seize the opportunity best suited to ones situation is something to watch out for. To be able to know how to best maneuver unpredictable obstacles, risk and chaos to your best advantage is a talent you will need to master in the Year of the Fire Monkey. Using your passion of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship skills to entertain you for change and progress is the monkey’s trick . You will have to trick your brain and know that obstacles are just as exciting as the reward. In other words as the Monkey climbs up or  jumps down the mountain of 2016, the ability is to grasp on to the supportive forces at the right time. There is also the need to recognize that bad can magically turn to good and visa versa but the trick is if you layer your pace just like a monkey goes from branch to branch to go up and down, you can still get the banana. 

 Monkey Business

As each Chinese New Year swings into play, each zodiac animal is also the center of attention in the making of products.This is much more prevalent in Asian markets, however with globalization, and cultural exchanges there is a general tendency in today’s global market to accept the fusion of various cultures. Reflective of many products that are out this year, the monkey motif is key to brands and “monkey business” is top priority in  celebrations which begin in the Year of the Monkey. Here are some new products introduced into the market celebrating 2016  Chinese New Year , The Year of the Monkey.

Affentaler Valley Of The Monkey Baden Pinot Noir , product of Germany is the perfect starter to toast the celebration of the New Year with a not dry light front – finish medium. Red plum flavor. Smooth. Great sipping wine.

Among cosmetics products, this year
Giorgio Armani’s Chinese New Year beauty palette, tops it all. It is a makeup case, with a compact powder enhancing natural sheer and skin’s radiance .

The case is topped with Fortune and Luck symbols inscribed on the celebratory red case with the outline of a monkey embossed into the illuminating powder.

In shoes, red is the colour celebrating The Year of the Red Fire Monkey. Adidas is making sure the colour is served with a Tubular collection dedicated to the Year of the Monkey.

The collection has three Tubular silhouettes: the Tubular Runner, the Tubular X and the Tubular Doom.

Then there is cordwainer Charlotte Olympia’s red suede shoes with the monkey motif as shown at Polyvore.com

In Jewellery, watches in limited editions set the pace for a timely Year of the Monkey

Ulysse Nardin’s “Year of the Red Fire Monkey”

The monkey is also the key player on Piaget Altiplano Cloisonné Enamel watch dial

Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi “Year of the Monkey”

timepiece is hand-crafted in Japan by a master lacquer artist depicting a red-coated monkey .

Harry Winston’s limited edition rose gold timepiece with the bezel set with 74 diamonds a total weight of 2.47 carats is set with a black satin strap.

Last but not least are exciting designs with red highlights in

H&M Fashion collection celebrating Chinese New Year 2016 with a  collection which features styles

modelled by Siwon Choi and Liu Wen, exclusively available in nine Asian markets.

…Anuppa Caleekal, artist, Digitalism Art Studio.

Rest in Peace David Bowie January 8th 1947 –  January 10, 2016.

Art by Anuppa Caleekal  for Digitalism Art and Word Series

Digitalism Magazine powered by Digitalism.ca

Copyright © Anuppa Caleekal – image, text or part of, may not be duplicated without written permission.

In this series, Digitalism Magazine explores  taking a photograph from the past and  creating it in a different time and space using colors and the imagination of cosmetic makeovers.Using Autodesk SketchBook Pro 2.4 I took a 1955 photograph of a 24 year old woman and imagined the transformation of that same persona using the art form Digitalism.

 How would that person have looked had they been a 24 year old person today in  2015 living in another place and time ?

Digitalism is an art form using computer art software to form art in a digital image. In this case Autodesk SketchBo0k Pro 2.4  was used  to generate the subject of the image from a non fiction to a fictitious persona.Using the imagination of what was once a real person, art is made to travel in a different time and space transforming  the photo into a fictitious doppelganger of that person  … 

 Digitalism travels beyond time and space unlike conventional art being confined to the boundaries of walls and rooms in one specific geographical spot. With digital art, the creation is digitally born and can theoretically live in that form now, forever, here,  everywhere  all at the same time.

Digitalism Artist: Copyright © Anuppa Caleekal done with Autodesk SketchBook Pro 2.4 using only a wireless mouse.

Tulips talk and that must have been what happened when Tulips talk to creative
designers such as these designers profiled In this segment of Digitalism Magazine . As a kick off to celebrating the coming of spring 2015, Tulips Talk is Digitalism magazine’s showcase to see the works of some very creative designers who have been inspired by tulips.

Linde Van der Poel: Tulip Handbags
Owner and designer Linde Van der Poel is a dutch designer who from her design studio in Bali created designs taken from nature, one being tulips. Her best-known bag is the Tulip by-Lin©
. The original Dutch Tulip is by-Lin’s trademark . Of course being from the Netherlands,the land of tulips, you might just say Linde Van der Poel could not help being inspired by the way tulips talk. Know more about her tulip designs and her other collections which are inspired by nature. Here are some of her tulip handbags, tulip-key-protector and tulip key-accessories. Image source for http://www.by-lin.com/

 

Contact for Linde Van der Poel Tulip Handbags

by-Lin® bv

Postbus 103

7550 AC Hengelo
The Netherlands
info@by-lin.com

Tulip inspired Jewellery by Boutique Ottaman

Another selection by Digitalism Magazine to celebrate spring with Tulips talk is Tulip jewellery by Boutique Ottoman. S. Gultekin started Boutique Ottoman in 1972 in Istanbul, Turkey. All products of Boutique Ottoman from Turkey and made by Turkish jewelry masters by hand. Here are some of tulip design jewellery from Boutique Ottoman.

images source from :http://www.boutiqueottoman.com/

Contact Boutique Ottoman by viewing their online shop www.boutiqueottoman.com 
Location:
Babil Str. Babil Tower 8/31 Mersin Turkey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaela Kay ladies fashion by Catherine Addai

Another creative  designer we would like to include for Digitalism Magazine’s Tulips Talk insertion is Kaela Kay fashion creations whose head designer and creative director is Catherine Addai. Her tulip dress has a burst of colour and like all her designs it embodies an African flare.

This Kaela Kay “Lisa Kukua Tulip Dress” tulip dress was spotted at http://thekaleidoscopian.com a lifestyle blog showcasing african events in fashion and music in Canada and worldwide.

(image source  for Lisa Kukua Tulip Dress:
https://thekaleidoscopian.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/lisa-kukua-tulip-dress.jpg)

Shop Kaela Kay  and view other spectacular Kaeyla Kay spring collections (http://shop.kaelakay.com/)Here are some more fabulous spring inspired colours from kaelakay.com fashions

(Image source :http://shop.kaelakay.com)

In Canada we are fortunate to celebrate  Ottawa’s annual Tulip festival .

For complete event details of the Tulip festival in Ottawa May 8 to 18, 2015 visit www.tulipfestival.ca

Watch this video to learn more about the History Of The Tulip Festival in Canada

 

 

 

Tulips Talk ,Digitalism Magazine powered by Digitalism.ca
Copyright © Anuppa Caleekal – image, text or part of, may not be duplicated without written permission.

 

 

Digitalism Art and Word series on Love highlights a picture E- book for adults ,entitled, “It is Her Love” by Digitalism artist and writer Anuppa Caleekal . It is a bedtime story for adults. The picture E- book is about “Her” presence in all our lives. Digitalism Art and Word series on Love is about the trail of ancestral women in our lives. We as human beings can all be traced back to a mother womb, a place of creation in which love is implicit and belongs to Mother Earth as a gift from the unseen God , the manifold of our faith’s Maker. Digitalism Art and Word series on Love is about the role of the essence of ” Her. “
This picture book is a daily spiritual exercise intended to inspire the inner man  Homo sapiens digitus. © living in the Age of Digitalism to prepare for the spiritual evolution . It is the connection with the forces of gravitational love from God’s heart to our own hearts. Digitalism Art and Word series on Love speaks from an art perspective about “Her” presence, the trail of ancestral women, the Her who bought you Here. Digitalism Art and Word series on Love is a E-digital picture book meant to inspire adults about the motivational and hopeful force of creation which is the Love in each of us .

Click on image to enlarge for slide show

 

 

There are many answers to how we were created and how we evolved, where we came from and how we are transitioning as humans into our present civilization. But why were we created? Why is the force of creation of Life even there? The role of Love, the emotion we are familiar with is the inherent energy or force of creation , the reason to be.
What becomes of me after I enter the world is partly what i reason myself to become. As a human being I have the choice to become what I reason to become and to go ahead and just do it. However , how I was created was beyond my control. It was from the force of Love. Love is a like gravity, a creative force . Love like gravitation or gravity is a natural phenomenon by which physical bodies have the potential energy to attract each other. There is an abundance of love but there is also an abundance of impure forces killing love causing chaos, conflict, greed, hatred, violence. terror, murder, war, disruption, upheavals, pain, sorrow and illness. We can see the killing of love escalate daily around our apparent world, through our eyes, our experiences and digital images of our reality on TV and the nightly news. If we drift away from forces of love and dwell in impurities it is like we sink and lose all gravitational forces that keep us grounded. Our heart detaches from us when we lose love and hardens with coldness. Our thoughts become numb to pain and suffering and our actions follow path. Gaining wisdom is to gain heart. Gaining wisdom is to gain a pure heart connecting to the beginning, to Her. Gaining heart is gaining ammunition to fight for human existence to survive with peace so that there is some meaning as to why through Her we are Here.
There is the reality that each of our entrances into this world was a creation exiting into the world from Her who brought us Here , the geographical birthplace where she and the many before Her left Her mark with you.

 

 

Whoever she is there are many of Her and there were many of Her before Her. No matter how we deviate from defining Her, the significant force of Her has been to create and that is love. The significant importance of the matriarchal component of life is not a debate about the equality of the sexes. The matriarchal component is the actual passage, the first home to our existence and entrance into the consciousness of this world we call life. Each of us have a matriarchal component. Not everyone is fortunate in having a matriarchal component that was necessarily all loving and nurturing but there is the hope that if one matriarchal component had a flaw , the recipient to that flaw could choose to adapt to plant the future seed with love or touch someone’s heart to be open and be pure to love. Every man and woman can create love and has the capacity to open ones heart to love.
Creation is love and what we make of it is our own making. The heart is the container of love and the only way to have a pure heart or be a pure heart is to empty the heart from all impurities. When you clear your heart from breeding jealousy, hatred, unforgiving anger, despise, vengeful , apathetic, greedy, envious thought, you will slowly feel the peace of love. The only motivational force or intention of the pure heart is to create love.

 

It may sound too simplistic but love is primarily the ultimate desired human goal for survival, that is if the human species does not want to be extinct.. Mutations and deviant self gratifying forms of love will always appear as various different shades of grey. However love really is very simple and solid and cannot be separated from the function of creation. Over consumption of love without purpose, discipline, responsibility and function can easily deviate into becoming different shades of narcissism and hedonism.
A pure heart is a heart that is open to God’s heart, the maker and creator of time and space . A pure heart does not seek its own advantage but wants whatever the unseen God wants. To have something like the Earth is a beautiful gift. To keep it being beautiful needs the constant flow of love. The universe has a design with a peaceful balance and gravitational anchors which connect our inner beings to connect back to the promptings of our unseen creator. Like flowers of a garden we are all Here to bloom and one day before long our time is up and the world will not see us anymore.

 

 

 

Each of us were planted from a seed by Her mitochondrial DNA’s maternal ancestral past and we were delivered in a place called Here as a seen creation for all to witness. We will one day be part of the unseen creation. As I enter into prayer today, I ask for that openness of heart. All impurities from the heart must be removed which defile a person and the intent must be pure with a heart that is open , pure and back to the purpose of creation, which is love. Let my prayer be simple, let my intention be love which underlies all thought and action. In this prayer let my heart be filled by the love of the unseen Creator.
Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but because the unseen creator always lives, I will be seen again in life in someone , somewhere, someplace just as the unseen creation of Her is in me .Each of our pasts is to carry forth the love with a pure heart. Gaining wisdom is to gain heart. That is the main ingredient to create a civilized being. Gaining wisdom is to gain a pure heart connecting to the reason for the beginning of life. It is Her. Her reason to be Here now and to once be is your reason to be Here in the present .For you to carry on from Here ahead and around you is for you to share with others today the growth of love tomorrow.

 

 

This daily spiritual exercise is intended to inspire the inner man to prepare for the connection with the forces of gravitational love from God’s heart to our own hearts. God has given us a heart to shine and be in command of our thoughts and actions. Just like the command of the brightness of the sun which helps growth and sheds light ,so must our heart take its wings to produce love to shine upon others today and all the tomorrows.
Now as you shut your eyes and open your heart you will enter into a deep sleep where the unseen Creator enters your heart and lives in you with every beat. This is the peace of your heart’s pacemaker to make the beat in synchrony with Heaven on Earth. This is why you are Here. Go to sleep with the thought that once upon a time it was Her who delivered you Here.
It was the unseen Creator who through Her open heart brought you Here. So as your eyes remain closed in sleep and your heart is open you travel back and back and back to Her counting all the images of Her from the past and counting all the images of Her in the present and counting all the Her in the future.. It is Her. It is never too late to remember the purpose of Her. Once upon a time Her time was not then but now just as now you are Here because of Her. Tomorrow your pure heart will open your eyes to share that wisdom of gaining heart to someone new. Have a good night’s sleep for tomorrow’s task is great but much easier with a rested pure and open heart. The command with the break of dawn needs your vision from the night. A good night’s pure hearted sleep is tomorrow’s miraculous wonder of intent in all your successful and exciting offerings you make because It is Her love.

 

 

It is Her Love is dedicated to Her , my friend Esther (Est (It is) Her). A human flower who bloomed only love . Born June 6, 1950- died Nov 20, 2012. This book supports International Women’s Day, a day  to know and value that It is Her Love which sustains the wheel of progress and civilization.

 

Digitalism Art and Word Series on Love by Anuppa Caleekal, Digitalism Magazine powered by Digitalism.ca Copyright © Anuppa Caleekal – image, text or part of, may not be duplicated without written permission.

 

Today there are many digital platforms such as Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and You Tube where publishers can increase the scope of brand content by appealing to target audiences in spots where people congregate with their personal and business associates. Circles and pools of target audiences congregate in a self reliant manner through social media platforms. The pursuit to find the pools of like minded people for whom brands may appeal to is an ambitious task. Advertisers cannot assume that targeting a social media platform like Facebook where friends and associates of similar interests converse would necessarily increase sales.The potential scope of meeting a wider target audience is definitely achieved, however not necessarily an increase result in sales returns from advertising output at these platforms.

Moreover, publishers are sought to create creative content for brands and market this content for brands in a way that makes the consumer’s brain and emotions click so that the needs become wants and the behaviour leads to consumption behaviour, finally leading to the act of purchasing.

Imagery, emotion, memory and evoking stimulants that spark experiences in audiences are becoming more important. Different cultural backgrounds, ethics,language ,landscape, politics, sensory factors like smell, food, social activities, historic artistic and architectural nostalgic influences are all part of many stimulants that shape our tastes and preferences with references to our brains. With so many brands competing in advertisements the task to achieve a global share in the peoples’ demand, rests very much on creative content marketing of brands.

The individual is bombarded with so much stimuli and very little thinking power. First of all brands should cease branding individuals as mere consumers but rather as individuals. This is a contradiction as brands demand uniformity with consumers and individuality on the other hand emphasizes uniqueness and not necessarily conformity. Increasing the scope of the target audience with the main impetus to evoke a thought process or change is to establish a “brand moment” of curiosity.

But what motivates people to be curious about a brand and perhaps buy a brand? Will something like the shopping channel evolve into “brand reality shows” where brands are woven into plots of entertainment and advertising will be part and parcel and not separate units of digital time spots.?
Will programming mean incorporating sponsors into the plot with a point or click enabling the audience to find out more about any item viewed on screen either on TV or internet devices through alt tags and interactive printout information on the merchandise of interest?.The tendency for viewers to withdraw with too much information bombarded at them is a reality.

Creative content marketing of brands spell curiosity and imagination. This will require creative content publishers and technological innovations to work together.
In creating creative content marketing for brands what might ultimately be evolving is to peak curiosity in the viewer and create “a moment in brands” In other words allotting a freedom of choice for the viewer to find out more . Interactive creative content marketing of brands allows the viewer to have the choice in participating in whether or not one wants to know more about who makes that product and where one can buy it.

Eventually ads will become technologically designed so that the viewer can be able to touch , click or point with a smart phone or any internet device, TV remote, mouse at anything that interests the eye whether it is being promoted or not.
For instance if you are watching a TV show or movie. information on anything digital that appeals to you may one day be made accessible cognitively to the viewer. If the choice is placed more into the viewer’s command creating a curiosity, then the information is more interactive and engaging rather than forced upon the viewer.
For advertising, there could be mini episodes designed with an array of brands coexisting in one episode with a narrator , hero and heroine, and a twist of conspicuous consumption humour. For instance imagine the following content marketing created incorporating the following brands, Burberry, Sephora, Laura Mercier, and Demarco Jewellery in an imaginary mini episode storyline. It may humour both brand haters as well as stimulate brand lovers without insulting one’s control over one’s individual decision making process. Here is an example of a mock episode

A Moment in Brands.

Narrator:
They were standing outside
one snowy winter’s night
silence spoke words
eyes in focus
intense to a heartbeat
wild was the wind
so very cold came the night.

They both knew there would be warmth
if they entered into her home.
Her heart wanted to call him in
but her mind said No.

He hinted and said it was too cold
to be talking out on a windy night
It was cold they agreed
but the door and the key
kept them out with the blow of the wind.

She was wearing a light grey  Burberry coat just like the one @
http://ca.burberry.com/double-cashmere-topcoat-p45225921
underneath was that white Burberry DÉGRADÉ LACE BELTED DRESS

just like the one @
http://ca.burberry.com/degrade-lace-belted-dress-p45227751

Funny thing, she had chosen to wear her Burberry dress

and her Burberry coat before she  had received his

Burberry Kisses

She was emphatic and said pulling away

Heroine:
“I really must go in.”

Narrator:
But he drew her closer to him
repeating ,

Hero:
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside”

Narrator:
She whispered,

Heroine:
“Thanks for the evening it was…”

Narrator:
and completing her thoughts he
sealed a kiss. Here comes the night

(Narrator sings to (lyrics of David Bowie’s song, Hear Comes The Night playing in the background)

Ohhhhh… here it comes
Here comes the night
Yeah, here comes the night
Oh, yeah (here comes the night)

(pause)

Narrator:

SEPHORA+PANTONE UNIVERSE

Pure Marsala Matte Lip Creme emerged to the forefront

http://www.sephora.com/sephora-pantone-universe

as her lips partly opened to whisper

Heroine:
“beautiful, yes a beautiful evening”
“I really must go in”

Narrator:

How many times did she tell him?

“I really must go in” but

he kissed her once more
caressing her icy hands in his warmth.
The sparkly lacquers of her nails
glowed Laura Mercier’s ice blue (http://news.instyle.com/2015/01/22/winter-nail-polishes-manicures-2015/)
As he ran his finger up and down her naked ring finger.
She read his mind like he wanted her to. The time was now
and NOW was speeding into tomorrow.
She could see
a flashing moment a glimpse of a winter star placed on her finger
they were in a Demarco lovers knot
http://www.demarcojewelry.com/lovers_knot.php?categories_id=91

It was heart pounding and the thrill went on
as he kissed her again
should she let him in ?
Then the weather…. baby knows it’s cold outside and she says

Heroine:
” I really must go in”

Narrator:
He held her hand and this time he leads her in
capturing yet another kiss.

Digitalism Magazine shares greetings to all readers wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Bright New Year.

Digitalism Magazine features Digitalism, digital art in the art  style called Digitalism. This form of art called Digitalism is a contemporary art form which developed with the union of the first interface between Art and computer technology. In its most primitive form , Digitalism is the outcome of computer art software , a mouse and a digital screen which displays the art anywhere and at anytime. The infinity aspect of Digitalism as an art form, defies time and space through technology allowing our screens to view art digitally anywhere , anytime, by anyone having access to the internet from any screen and device without being restricted to the static confines of prints or physical art galleries.

Anuppa Caleekal is a painter in the style of Digitalism having evolved from the  traditional base of using canvas and acrylic/watercolour /oil bases. Digitalism Art  was coined  by Anuppa originally in the early 90’s at Geocities.com(Paris/Rue/1956)  followed by her Digitalism Art Studio website at www.digitalism.org  to show the blending of art and technology. The meaning of  Digitalism also encompassed the life and culture which started to be born in the early and mid nineties when the Internet became available to the public along with  Windows 95 changing the way we looked at Art , Expression and the Media.

The Digitalism Magazine (www.digitalism.ca) continued the concept of Digitalism at  www.digitalism.org placing Art and Visual Media as major a component of the Word or expression in the  Digitalism times , the Age of Digitalism in which we currently live. Thus aspects of what one sees, likes, dislikes, talks about digitally is expressed online at Digitalism Magazine. Digitalism Magazine, a cultural journal of the times , hopes to go beyond consumerism, advertising, blogging and social media  but to also express the voice among the silent majority. There are still many in the world who do not have access to technology or to be online in this Age of Digitalism. Extension and dissemination  of information and research as well as the voice and needs of the silent majority need to be expressed.  Digitalism Magazine hopes to also be an expression of that silent majority. This is the Age of Digitalism, where the natural instinct for Homo sapiens digitus ©  is to  DIG IT ALL, “isms” and all. Digitalism Magazine is the voice of Homo sapiens digitus © I am Homo sapiens digitus ©I think therefore I am online .