Posts Tagged ‘illuminated’

Random Acts of Kindness = RAOK

Today is a great day to do something positive ~ something for someone else ~ something out of the norm ~ Random Acts of Kindness

All of us are so much more connected and interconnected than we realize.  This really struck me today as I was watching the little ecosystem in my backyard.  There was Larry the Squirrel going for his acorns and the resident birds singing and flying around around the yard.  Everything seems so perfect and in such a wonderful balance.  I feel so blessed and thought, wow, it’s been awhile since I blogged and that I should really start sharing a lot more.

Random Acts of Kindness = RAOK – I also want to thank all of my amazing Twitter and Facebook friends for your friendship, constant support, and sweet comments.  You ROCK!

Today Let’s RAOK!

The Art of Personality is clearly defined in Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece:  The Ennis House. Frank Lloyd Wright’s homes are not houses, they are experiences.  Breathtaking ones at that.  The Ennis House is one of Hollywood’s most famous and favorite sets.

This house has illuminated the silver screen in many awesome films:  House on Haunted Hill, 1958, my favorite film Blade Runner in which it was used for Deckard’s (Harrison Ford) apartment, Black Rain, Twin Peaks, Grand Canyon, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and countless other films, music videos, print ads and TV commercials.

The Style of Blade Runner. Rick Deckard’s Kitchen via kaktak

This incredible work of art was created in 1923/1924 with a Mayan-inspired theme of ornate concrete blocks and levels for retailer Charles Ennis and his wife Mabel.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s work is nothing short of extraordinary.  For me just looking at the pictures can give me goose bumps.  Can you image being inside The Ennis House or for that matter living in that state of aesthetics on a daily basis?  Honestly, it’s illuminating.

Photo by Tim Street-Porter for Christie's Great Estates

It’s during this period that Frank Lloyd Wright was fascinated with the medium of concrete and cement and what their possibilities were in structural design.  Three other Wright masterpieces were created during this same period using ornate textile blocks:  The Millard House, The Storer House and The Freeman House.

The Art of Personality – I first became interested in the Ennis House while researching Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House located on Sunset and Vermont, which is an absolutely amazing work on art in it’s own right.  Then I saw an article in the Los Angeles Times about the Ennis House and the concerns on how it had fallen into great disrepair.  I was spellbound by the photos of the Ennis House and it inspired me to go to my local Borders Bookstore and buy several books on the House and Wright.

Photo by Tim Street-Porter for Christie's Great Estates

I was especially inspired to write this blog for two reasons.  One, my good friend Skip’s father was a brilliant architectural engineer who worked with Wright for almost a year back in the mid 1950s on a project in Santa Monica.  Second, I was happy to recently read in the Los Angeles Times that the Ennis House has been sold to Wright aficionado Mr. Ron Burkle.  Mr. Burkle has expressed interest and commitment to the complete restoration and preservation of The Ennis House.

Picture via tk3dmaker4

Thanks to Mr. Burkle Frank Lloyd Wright’s personality and art will live on for future generations to experience and enjoy.  Hopefully, one day I will be able to experience Wright’s aesthetics firsthand and I hope you do too!

The Ennis Fireplace - Picture via tk3dmaker4

The Ennis House is located at 2607 Glendower Ave., Los Angeles, CA. 

Make sure to check out 3T’s cool music video “Why” with Michael Jackson.  Also check out a scene from Blade Runner inside awesome The Ennis House.

The blackberries are coming!  Many of you know about My Organic Garden and have seen pictures of it or heard me tweet about it on Twitter or talk about it on Facebook.  If you read my blog (please see hyperlink above) you may remember my infamous gazania eating bandit: Larry The Squirrel.  What Larry doesn’t know about, and he’s not gonna find out anything about, is my incredible berry patch.

Over two years ago my friend Skip and I bought an Organic Duarte Blackberry starter.  It was one stem in a can about eight to twelve inches high.  We really weren’t sure it was going to take, but, what the heck.  We put it in the ground and watered it routinely.  Boy were we surprised!  This bush took off like a shot!  Now it’s over six feet high and about twenty feet long. We’ve had to cut it back about five or six times this year as it’s been in continual expansion mode.

The blackberries are coming!  The blackberries are coming! Wow look at them in these pictures!  There must be over a million of them!  OK maybe that’s exaggerating a tiny bit, but, there are a lot of berries!  Frankly, I’m very excited as this will be our second harvest.

I know what you’re thinking, why the hell is Sebastian blogging about Blackberries?  This is supposed to be a blog about Tech, Social Media, Branding and Marketing only. LOL Luminous ROC has become more about all things Luminous and especially topics and categories that I am passionate about.  I am especially passionate about health, diet, exercise, eating right and organic gardening.

To maintain top performance in the Marketing and Branding world one needs to be healthy. Blackberries are very high in antioxidants.  There have been many articles written about value of berries and their miraculous ability to aid in the prevention of disease and the effects of oxidative stress to the cells.

And they taste great!  Shhh just promise me you won’t tell Larry The Squirrel!

My Organic Garden has played a major in my life.  Many of you know how I am very passionate about organic farming and food growing.  My family has had organic gardens for well over 40 years.  Gardening is an excellent way to de-stress after a long hectic and busy day.  It also helps in getting one’s self reconnected with the earth.  Overall, it has a deep calming effect on one’s soul and well-being.

My family and I have been very grateful for growing many incredible fruits and vegetables.  Below you will see the 13 lbs. organic beet that I picked today.  We have experienced many miracles in our gardens.

My 13 lbs. organic beet

It’s seems that my organic garden is very popular.  Especially with the local residents, Larry The Squirrel and his four buddies love to raid our garden.

Larry The Squirrel

Let’s take a look at the origins of organic gardening in this county and how it has played a major part in America’s history.  Our Founding Fathers considered themselves first and foremost famers before being politicians.  It was only the conditions they faced as subjects of the British Crown that caused them to change in order to seek colonial freedom.  They were self-reliant and lived off the earth.  They understood the basic principles of life, living and the pursuit of happiness, which today seem almost non-existent.  In today’s technological age, many have lost and forgotten what these great men stood for, fought for and in some instances died for.

Andrea Wulf spoke about this in a recent article in The Los Angeles Times and goes into further detail her recent book entitled “Founding Gardeners – The Revolutionary Generation, Nature and the Shaping of the American Nation.”  She spoke of how the influence of gardening and farming helped to craft the images used by The Founding Fathers to bring about understanding and development of this nation.  It continues to be an amazing process, one that we are all part of today.

Pathway to Organic Love

I am very grateful to Steven Nahabedian and his company Fired Up Tiles (click to see his website) for providing us with all of the awesome themed tiles that you see in my garden.  Many of you are probably familiar with Fired Up Tiles as he is carried in a majority of health food stores and Whole Foods across America.

Many of the tiles represent a variety of themes, religions and beliefs.  In my garden, they are all united in peace, harmony and life giving presence.  These tiles also add a sense of style, fashion and practicality to my garden.  They illuminate and provide a vibrant energy to the area and allow me to find my way.  In essence, they provide a pathway to organic love.

Take a look below at the beautiful fruits and veggies that we picked today from My Organic Garden!

Organic Fruits & Veggies from my Garden