The blurb

A beautiful novella in 51 short chapters and 11 pictures about the life of Bada Shenren, one of the most influential Chinese painters of all times.

In 1626, Bada Shenren is born into the Chinese royal family. When the old Ming Dynasty crumbles, he becomes an artist, committed to capturing the essence of nature with a single brushstroke. Then the rulers of the new Qing dynasty discover his identity and Bada must feign madness to escape.

The author

Richard Weihe studied drama and philosophy in Zurich and Oxford. His poetic biographies of influential artists have earned him a wide readership. Sea of Ink, published in Switzerland in 2005, won the Prix des Auditeurs de la Radio Suisse Romande. In 2010 he published Ocean of Milk based on the life of the Indian-Hungarian painter Amrita Sher-Gil

The translator

Jamie Bulloch has worked as a professional translator from German…

The Holler is getting hammered by storm after storm. This is the view looking north from our back patio, taken on Valentines Day as The Holler was being hit with the most massive rain storm. You can see raindrops on the lens. My iphone sent me 6 flash-flood warnings in 24 hours.

Here is the lower pasture being chewed up by the little creek which turned into a rapid-filled, raging river. The pasture gate is the white structure in the back left of the photo. It partially collapsed in the onslaught.

The river flows.
It flows to the sea.
Wherever that river goes,
That’s where I want to be.
Flow river flow,
Past the shaded tree.
Go river,
Go, to the sea. (Lyrics: The Byrds)

We hiked along the creek in the pouring rain on Valentines Day. You can see my son by the oxbow, to give you perspective on…

Problems are part of life cycle. At some point, we have all encounter problems, the ones we create ourselves, the ones they put us in and the ones inherit from previous generations. In order to evolve and move forward, it is important to face your problems and solve them. If you have been avoiding or running away from your problems, here are five tips to help you solve your problems.

Five tips for problem solving

1. Anticipate them

Life is not all pink and beautiful. You will find yourself lost and in trouble if you believe that the road to success is a straight up line. Sometimes people believe that because they are good to others and stay far away from problems, nothing can go wrong. Even if you avoid trouble and problems, anticipate them. Keep a positive attitude and plan for the worst, you will be ready to face…

“When you believe in beauty, you can find it everywhere.” ~ Dennis Ference