Literary Works by ILIA

Above is a view of a city.

You can see the buildings clustered together and in the background are mountains.

Looking closer you can see the haze. It’s the same haze that covers any city anywhere in the world.

The pollution can simply be handled.

Just imagine if you will that every single roof in the photo above has a
garden on it.  Little flower pots, pots of herbs and bigger pots of trees. Green on every single
rooftop.

Imagine the cityscape above with greenery.  Each rooftop with pretty blossoms and a tree or two.  The city landscape not only looks totally different with a forest on the top cleaning the air but also provides shade and protection from storms.

Imagine that the air is so clean that details of the mountains in the background can be easily seen.

Imagine that every city in the world planted gardens and trees on the rooftops and the air
is sweet and clean.  While imagining, eliminate any impossibilities, just dream a little dream with me…

YOU can do something about it.

* Arbor Day Foundation will send you 10 free trees when you get a membership.

* There is also the United Nations Environment Program BillionTrees 2008 where you can pledge a tree.

* Do you have a neighbor that grows beautiful plants or flowers?  Ask for seeds and clippings to start your own.

Ideas
Several ideas have crossed my mind regarding what a person, family, group, or community
could do to go ‘green’.  Some of the ideas may not have the
inventions yet to accomplish the task but are included anyways because
it may inspire the inventor that happens along to visit my site.

Ideas:

* Find out what you can recycle in your city or town, get a community project to set up collection areas with collection bins.

* Change over to a water saving toilet or a no water toilet.  The toilets do exist, do a search on google for ‘water saving toilet’ and ‘no water toilet’.

* Use solar collecting windows.  The window can collect the energy during the sunlight
periods of the day and provide light at night.

* Use solar collecting lamp posts for personal property plus cities can change the street
lights to be solar powered.  Imagine every city in the world lighting up the night with solar powered street lights?!

* Use solar shades and solar curtains.  Solar curtains and shades can not only protect
the house or apartment from sunshine at hot times of the day but also can collect the sunshine to light up the space.  Perfect for apartments, homes and businesses.

* Rooftop systems to collect water for city dwellers.  Water collected can be stored
and re-directed to water the rooftop gardens.

* Figuring out how to wash dishes, clothes and shower with a waterless system.

* Driving cars that add oxygen to the atmosphere.

* Alternative methods to cool living spaces, business spaces and vehicles.   Breeze ways
used to be used effectively for centuries prior to air conditioning. Additions of breeze ways can be added to the present buildings. During hot months, the breeze ways can be opened and during
colder weather the assembly can be closed to form a barrier between the outside cold and the inside building - insulation.  This can be furthered worked out to be stone or brick with a garden on the ground floor.  Solar powered ceiling fans can be installed at the top to circulate the air.  See the designs that I created for this idea.

* Imagine a car whose
seats stay cool no matter how hot the inside of the vehicle gets.
That would cut down on air conditioner usage during hot weather.
And, how about the same seats providing heat when its cold.
It could be called ’smart seats’.  The ’smart seats’ can be made to be installed in any type of vehicles - old or new.

* The same ’smart seats’ technology can be created to be used in the home on couches and
chairs.  Perhaps the technology can be expanded to include the flooring or rug.  The ’smart seats’ could also be customized as the ’smart mattress’.

.-.-.-.

ILIA

Copyright 2008.  All Rights Reserved.

What is the art of mindful living?  It is being aware of what your actions will cause and by knowing, making more survival decisions.

The art of mindful living requires a person to think in consequences.  As an example: what does occur when a vehicle expels exhaust?  Does it dissipate?  Or does it just seem so?  The truth is that it appears to dissipate however, it stays in the air, cuts down on the amount of oxygen and adds to the haze that hovers over every city in the world.

If one turns the card to look at how to apply the art of mindful living, one can see solutions.

The obvious scenario to the problem above is to fix the vehicle or stop driving it altogether.   In today’s day and age, with the cost of living sky-rocketing, the solution to fix or trade in the offending vehicle may not be an option.  It may take getting very inventive and resourceful to apply the idea of the art of mindful living to life.  Research the internet to find solutions, there’s a wonderful grass roots movement with articles, blogs and web sites offering options and solutions.  Search Google for “green solutions,” “emission reduction solutions” and similar search terms.  Another idea is to visit your local auto parts store and speak to the sales clerks - you will find out lots of useful information.

The attitude of not being able to do anything about it is not an option once one commits to living a mindful life as it is an art in itself.  It’s the positive attitude one assumes that something can be done about it that will win the day.

When applying the art of mindful living to life, realizing that what one does may have far reaching effects, far enough to create harm half a world away.  Take pause to think about better solutions is the way to win through.  This does not mean that one shold live life filled with worry attempting not to disturb the elements in order to apply the art of mindful living.  That would be rediculous.  That would be like trying not to step on ants while standing on the top of a huge fire ant mound.

To apply the art of mindful living to your life, start with doing one thing that contributes to life, livingness, mankind or the world we share.

A good start would be to nuture trees from seed as the trees clean the air and add oxygen.  It’s easy to find seeds whether you live in a city or country area - trees produce seeds that you can pick up off the ground.  YOu can also place an ad online at craigslist.org to request seeds or do a Google search to locate “free tree” and “free tree seeds”.  YOu can start trees in pots, which makes it easy for even an apartment dweller to grow trees to help the environment.  Once you have trees growing, you can keep some and give some away to family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.  Not only will you be applying the art of mindful living, you will get lots of smiles from those that you share a baby tree with.

When applying the art of mindful living, consider the bags that you use.  Grocery and department stores give you a choice of paper or plastic bags to carry your purchases home in.  What consequences are there when using either?  Trees are cut down for the paper bags, a very long list of problems are caused when trees are felled including less trees/less oxygen.  The plastic bags take 500 years to decompose, while decomposing give off toxic fumes.  Get your own canvas tote bags and refuse to use either item.  It is the consumer that can change the world.

Imagine if every consumer got into the practice of carrying totes made of cotton, canvas or woven materials.  Imagine every single vehicle contributing to the atmoshpere instead of harming it.

As a consumer you have power and you can apply the art of mindful living to your daily life and activities.  You can refuse to eat genetically altered food.  You can refuse to purchase produce that has been chemically fertilized.  You do not have to purchase foods whose packaging contains poisonous chemicals.  YOu can just purchase locally grown food, organic produce and safely packaged foods.  As a consumer, you have the power to not only help yourself and your local farmers but also to change the world for the better.

When applying the art of mindful living, speaking up is a good thing to do, too.  Sometimes a clerk in a store does not realize that there is something not okay with a product or packaging and sincerely believes that there is nothing wrong with selling it.

If the label of a hand lotion named as its ingredients gasoline and antifreeze, would you buy it?  If you favorite snack had dynomite as an ingredient, wouldn’t you search out a different snack?

Applying the art of mindful living also means knowing the definitions of ingredients.

Most lotions found in a regular grocery store contain mineral oil and petroleum.  Both substances are derived from the oil that is pumped up from the ground - the same oil used to make gasoline.

Another common ingredient in lotions and in food is glycerin.  Per the Encarta Dictionary glycerin is a thick, sweet, odorless, colorless or pale yellow liquid obtained from fats and oils as a byproduct of soap manufacture.  Used as a solvent, antifreeze, plasticizer, drug medium, and sweetener, and in the manufacture of soaps, cosmetics, inks, lubricants and dynamite.

It is not logical or wise to use gasoline, dynomite, antifreeze or ink on your skin.  In the days of Cleopatra, the cosmetics, hair and skin care items were made from the natural minerals supplied by mother earth herself.  Seems that in our modern day and age, we shouldn’t be playing with explosives in order to groom ourselves.

The best thing to do is read the ingredients on the label of the products that you purchase - the more real ingredients and the less chemicals - preferably no chemicals is the best item to get.

When applying the art of mindful living, selecting the products from companies that use real products is the better survival decision - not only for yourself and your family, but also for that company and its employees and their families.

Speaking up is a very efficient way to create change.  Tell the clerk, tell the other shoppers in the aisle, tell the manager and tell every single person standing in line waiting to check out.  Strike up conversations and give your voice a little amplification so that other folks can overhear.

Mention the fact that you were pleased to find a product from a company that didn’t include gasoline, explosives and weird chemicals.  Mention how many products that you had to search through in order to find it.

When you get home, write to the company - tell the company service department that you were pleased to find the product and speak about how many items you had to sort through that containted poisons to find that one very high quality item. Write to your representative, local mayor and whoever.  YOu can even write to the corporate office of the food chain.

Research, learning definitions of ingredients, thinking in consequences and planning can help one create a life style that includes the art of mindful living which in turn helps others - one in which all thrive.

.-.-.

ILIA

Copyright 2008.  All Rights Reserved.

A subject line in an email advertisement should make you want to act – preferably by opening the email and looking at the offer. Because of some really goofy subject lines, I just won’t even think of opening the email.

I think the amount of nonsense emails has really gotten out of hand, so I decided to do something about it…

Some Sassy Replies To Email Subject Lines

Subject: Who’s the King?
Reply: Elvis

Subject: The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Crocs
Reply: As Observed by an Alligator

Subject: Mike G is Going to Blow Your Mind
Reply: No Thank you!

Subject: Something BIG just hit…something very BIG!
Reply: …and it splattered all over the sidewalk, YUCK!

Subject: This one thing ______ is ________
Reply: My reply to that is ________!

Subject: Join Now and be put in Rotator
Reply: Ouch! No Thanks!

Subject: Dollarz Blaster – It Works While You Sleep!
Reply: …and have nightmares as your hard earned money is tossed out the window

Subject: Got Ten Bucks?
Reply: Yes…and I’m gonna keep it.

Subject: Systems Work, People Fail
Reply: I don’t agree, so I won’t read your email!

Subject: People Fail – – Systems Work
Reply: Sounds like the other one, Must be a Quirk

Subject: Shhhh! Can You Keep a Secret?
Reply: Nah! I don’t want to.

Subject: Don’t! Mom’s Only!
Reply: My Gosh! I certainly Won’t!

Subject: Why? Advise Please…
Reply: Why what?

Subject: Have You Seen This?
Reply: No

Subject: you are not jumping off the cliff…
Reply: Really, you got that right! I’m sitting at my computer!

Subject: “Stop! You’re Not Qualified to Read This!”
Reply: Fine! I won’t!

Subject: Soon to be Gone Forever
Reply: Oh Well, guess I missed it

Subject: *don’t let this kill your business
Reply: What? An asterisk can kill my business?! Nah!

Subject: it’s jason, one more day…
Reply: jason who?

Subject: Do Not Ignore! Trust Me!!! Man
Reply: I’m a woman!

Subject: Don’t Give Up!
Reply: I wasn’t considering it!

Subject: Help! I Am On Fire!
Reply: Not sure I’ll get there on time – instead of writing an email, try dialing ‘911’

Subject: Here’s How to get 1370 hits Tonight
Reply: No Thanks! I’m not even interested in getting hit once!

Subject: Hi Check This Out before Midnight
Reply: ooop’s! It arrived too late!

Subject: Please Help Me Out Today « DON’T DELETE»
Reply: Okay, I won’t delete today, but tomorrow I will…hope that helps!

Subject: Living Longer and Stronger
Reply: Good on You!

Subject: Congrats for joining…
Reply: but I didn’t!!!

Subject: DOUBLE IT!
Reply: Okay and I raise you one!

Subject: Finily Made Easy
Reply: What’s a Finily?

Subject: I’m Back From Las Vegas
Reply: hope you had a great trip!

Subject: DON’T YOU DARE MISS OUT ON THIS ONE!!
Reply: What? What? Where did it go???

Subject: DO NOT DELETE! This is what you were looking for!
Reply: Nope. I’m sure it isn’t what I was looking for.

Subject: Make money with your computer
Reply: …by selling it

ILIA

Copyright © 2007. All Rights Reserved.

There was a collaborative effort amongst the worldwide manufacturers of computer keyboards. The exact date of this secretive meeting is still unknown. The agreement, however, was discovered after much investigation, to our mutual benefits. Each manufacturer agreed to install the Houdini “Poof” Button into each and every keyboard manufactured.

You may have encountered the Houdini “Poof” button while typing an email, a message in a chat room or even using instant messengers. While typing, looking at your screen - all of a sudden whatever you were working on disappears. You hit the “back” key - nothing, you hit ctrl “z” - the data does not return. You swear at the computer to no avail. No matter what you do, you cannot get back the typed message. That’s the “poof” part.

The Houdini part of the name is called this because it’s so tricky with it’s disappearing act. I have tested many keyboards and asked family and friends to test theirs also. The closest any of us could come to locating the key that produces the “poof” is that it’s located in the lower left hand corner of the keyboard. If you purposely attempt to “poof” your text, it just won’t happen. If you watch your keyboard while typing, it won’t happen. Try and watch out of the corner of your eye, it doesn’t happen. But the second that you let your guard down, the Houdini “Poof” button goes right into action - instantly and without a warning, your text has been “poofed” once again.

The Houdini “poof” key is a universal flaw in every computer keyboard but it was planned that way. Don’t think for a moment that it is some mystery or mistake. The biggest problem though is that each manufacturer installed the Houdini button in a different place on each keyboard making it virtually impossible to locate it. No instructions exist to find and handle this button.

Once I realized the problem and found out about the secretive meeting regarding installing this button, I started writing the manufacturers - first the ones in the USA and then Overseas. One for one was extremely concerned that the “poof” button worked so efficiently.

“The Houdini ‘poof’ button was a trial idea that got out of hand”, says one manufacturer. He was sincerely apologetic. I received almost the same exact response from all the manufacturers that did write back. Furthermore, I found that the “poof” key is different on each keyboard. Another Manufacturer stated “it is virtually impossible to locate the Houdini ‘Poof’ Button.” “It is especially difficult” said yet another manufacturer, “to not hit the poof key when typing.”

The manufacturers are chagrinned because their keyboards “poofed” their text more often and with extremely accurate selection ability. The poof gets with utmost accuracy their most important documents. The documents that take major research and an hour or so to write - poof goes their document just a few words from completion. Never to be found again. Be assured, the creators of the Houdini Poof Button are having more difficulty than the average computer user. The manufacturers are so exasperated that many have gone to using typewriters and word processors now. It is important to note here that the new equipment for the manufacturers has not been made by any computer keyboard makers.

There is news of a plan to have the keyboards manufacturing sub-contracted out to new up and coming businesses. The blueprints for the present keyboards have been burned. The result is brand new keyboards without the Houdini Button.

On closing, may I mention that you may have gotten one of the new keyboards. Still, the jinx is being carried on. Here, hold on, I’ll show you (I got one to test out)…when typing with this keyboard, it starts out fine, but after a few minutes, the keyboard shifts underneath your fingers. Rgw qiesa xmnw iyr kujw rgua…

ILIA

Copyright © 2007. All Rights Reserved.

The variety and shades and hues of colors would not exist we would only have basic colors, no one would bother to try to create shades and combination’s. We would have blah-ness. Patterns, plaids, styles, and designs - not a single one would be. Some old non-color would be prevalent. No hairstyles, no coloring, shapeless clothes, basic shoes and no make-up. Same skin color, same hair color, same bland shape. Perhaps there would be no dimension what-so-ever?!Music, musical notes, beautiful singing voices, instruments to accompany them - not a sound would be heard of the wonders. I wonder if we would hear at all? After all, voices can be musical, child like, deep, husky, sweet, soft, crackly and more. No sounds.Albums of family, vacations and pet pictures of course would not be either-no photos and no photographers and no cameras. And why bother anyways without anything worth photographing.

What would a dancer dance to?? Or an actor or actress act for? Movies? Theaters? Life would exist in a dull bland plain of utter boredom.

Buildings would be no shape at all I suppose, no aesthetics of angles, windows. No sky lights, no designs nothing to view but bland blah-ness.

Vehicles would not be sporty or colorful or any shape really (drive your blob today). No sport boats, no gliders, no fun toys like remote control cars and no racing cars. No entertainment.

No stationary pretty or embossed or elegant; no craft supplies; only basic and shapeless blob candles for light - blobs for soap - blobs for household items.

Furniture would only be rudimentary blah type blobs, not fashionable and certainly not built for comfort. Oh, what a terrible life that would be.

There is not one area in life that the arts do not touch and improve. Even when times are sad or bad or upsetting - you can always hum a tune, dance, listen to music, draw, practice your acting, look at pictures-and it does not seem so bad anymore.

Art is more than beautiful works.

Life is a canvas.

ILIA

Copyright © 2007. All Rights Reserved.

As an artist, you may find yourself in situations that are challenging to say the least, don’t give up! Persist through and change that experience for the better - you never know what good will come out of it. The way to creating the Dream Series was rather bumpy but I thoroughly enjoyed creating the paintings. When I doing this series; I had no idea that I was making history with a new art form (which I have since dubbed Reverie Art).

I had, up till that point in my painting career, found photographs and either created the painting exactly as it was or embellished it with a fantasy background and added finishing touches to enhance and highlight the painting. Sometimes I would get inspired and create original ideas such as the Rainbow Series and other works.

When the Dream Series was born, I had just spent two months receiving deflating remarks about myself and works, having ideas discounted, to change as I was advised but having the new change struck down, too and all this by a person that I had counted as a friend. She had open-heart surgery and I helped her to recover. Perhaps having your chest split open and your bodily functions run by machines does not help a person’s disposition. I know I would feel awful and hurt majorly if my chest was cracked open, my heart fiddled with and have to recover from that. It was therefore very hard on both of us, and we haven’t spoken since.

It left me rather emotional, sad, a loss of a friend and a feeling that it wasn’t fair. Most of all I was determined. One of her favorite things to tell me was how I was not a real artist - when I knew that to not be true because of the responses from viewers of my artworks.

Perhaps I should mention that when I create a painting, I decide what it is that I want to get across to the viewer of my artwork whether a response to make a person thoughtful, pensive, happy, peaceful or to even inspire another. I make that a part of the painting. A viewer will usually say what it is that I wanted to get across which is very good to know that I received the response I desired to create. Therefore, I did have some self-certainty about what I created even from my beginning works.

One morning in early January 1999, I took a painting that I intended to create in a totally different manner and painted over it a wonderful peaceful blue. And in a very peaceful state, listening to classical music (Mozart), I created Midnight at The Sea of Dreams with simple brush strokes but it seems as if there is a whole world of thoughts and dreams that “happened” within this painting. Somehow I even included motion.

I say somehow because, just like a poem can pour out of the poet to the pen or the typewriter in an instant, that is how this painting poured out of me via a paintbrush and onto the canvas. It took more time than a poem would but pour out it did.

Within a day, I created Dawn at The Sea of Dreams and soon followed that with more paintings for this series. The one shown above is titled A Dream Scape. Once it poured out, via my brush of course, and I stood back to see what I did, I thought it was okay. But then looked again and it literally changed! And in a completely different view, this painting changed once more, and every time I looked, there was something different!

I brought this painting to my dear friend and mentor Ralphie E. Grimes and he thought at first view - eh, nothing special. I said, yes, I know - but please keep it for a day or so, it grows on you. He did so, and when I arrived the next day, he said “OHHH, this painting is magnificent, please leave it with me longer.” This painting spent almost two months with Ralphie and each time I visited he would speak to me about the new things that he saw in it!

What a wonderful proof of what I had wanted to convey with my art!

And, I took a very ugly scene and created beauty in its stead. You can, too!

As a person in The Arts, you have the power of the pen, brush, musical instrument, voice, actions (such as a dancer, clown, entertainer) and imagination to take whatever life dishes out and create an antidote for it!

ILIA

Copyright © 2007. All Rights Reserved.