The U.S. Postal Service welcomes the Year of the Ram today by issuing the eighth of 12 stamps in its Celebrating Lunar New Year series. The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Forever stamp took place today at the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco.
The series will continue through 2019 with Forever stamps for the Year of the Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. Year of the Ram is being issued as a souvenir sheet of 12 self-adhesive stamps.
Joining Lee in dedicating the stamp were San Francisco Postmaster Raj Sanghera; Organization of Chinese-Americans Past National President Claudine Cheng; Chinese Chamber of Commerce Supervisory Board President Eddir Au; Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association President Song Ning Ma; Organization of Chinese-Americans Acting Chief Executive Officer Ken Lee and stamp artist Kam Mak.
Art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, worked on the series with illustrator Kam Mak, an artist who grew up in New York City’s Chinatown and now lives in Brooklyn. The artwork focuses on some of the common ways the Lunar New Year holiday is celebrated. For the Year of the Ram, (Feb. 19, 2015 – Feb. 7, 2016), the illustration — originally created using oil paints on panel — depicts a wooden candy tray known as a chuen-hop or Tray of Togetherness. The tray is filled with dried fruits, candies, and other treats to provide a sweet beginning to the New Year.
The ram, alternately referred to as a sheep or a goat, is one of 12 animals associated with the Chinese lunar calendar. According to an old legend, the animals raced across a river to determine their order in the cycle. The rat crossed by riding on the back of the ox, jumping ahead at the last minute to win the race. Next came the ox, then the tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake and horse, followed by the ram in eighth place.
People born in the year of a particular animal are said to share characteristics with that animal. Individuals born during the Year of the Ram are said to be shy, creative and wise.
As the most important holiday of the year for many Asian communities around the world, the Lunar New Year is celebrated primarily by people of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan and Mongolian heritage. Images associated with some of these widespread customs are depicted in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series.
In the United States and elsewhere, the occasion is marked in various ways across many cultures; parades featuring enormous and vibrantly painted papier-mâché dragons, parties, and other special events are common. Many families set out a candy tray known as the chuen-hop or Tray of Togetherness like the one depicted in the stamp art to provide guests with an assortment of dried fruits and candies for a sweet beginning to the new year. Drums are played to celebrate this time of renewed hope for the future, with drumsticks sometimes painted red for luck. Firecrackers are set off to ward off evil spirits. Red envelopes (hong bao) containing money are given as gifts to children and loved ones.
The U.S. Postal Service introduced its Celebrating Lunar New Year series in 2008 with the Year of the Rat stamp. The Year of the Ram is being issued as a Forever stamp. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

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The mayoral candidate John liu answered some tough questions from the staff and residents/clients of the Fortune Society yesterday. he was happy to announce though that he was the first senator to take an interest in aligning with the Fortune Society. He certainly was the first one (senator) to step foot on the premises since its doors opened in 1967.

Liu says that if elected, he’ll continue to support initiatives and preexisting laws in place to further expand fortune’s foot print in the city.

The fortune Society is working to create a world where currently or formerly incarcerated people can become positive, contributing members of society. They do this through community education, advocacy and a one stop model of service provision based on over 40 yrs of experience assisting people with criminal records.

An example of a law that he wants to get passed is a higher minimum
Wage city wide(.25 from
.50) because of the high cost of living as well as the ever increasing rate of inflation.

One of the laws he claims he’s going to fight to do away with is the “stop and frisk” law….
It straight up racist in my opinion. And apparently he agrees with that notion. He see’s our(the black community) point however he also says he’s looking at it through an immigrants eyes-which he is- and seeing that these practices by the NYPD reminds them too much of the dictatorship countries most of them migrated from…

Another one is the “have you been convicted of a felony” question on job application” the reason he wants that erased from the whole hiring process is because he believes that one a person has paid they’re debt to society, they should have to keep paying it over and over again by bring unfairly disadvantaged based upon their past actions. I agree 100%

There were more points that he made which make sense so it will be interesting to see how this mayoral race turns out.

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Mickey attempts to save face in front of Minnie after he is literally scared white.

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About Mickey Mouse:
Mickey Mouse first came into our lives in 1928 with a whistle and two step in the classic Disney cartoon Steamboat Willie. He has since existed as an icon of disney, our childhoods, and the magic kingdom. Mickey has appeared in over 130 films including Brave Little Tailor (1938) and Fantasia (1940), as well as television shows like the New Mickey Mouse Club (1996)! With Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, Donald Duck, and his nemesis Pete, Mickey is back for more fun and adventures in a ton of new Disney animated shorts. Fans of all ages, new and old, are sure to enjoy.

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Enjoy animated and live action Disney cartoons and short films. We have all your favorite original and new Disney characters! Enjoy new and classic cartoons starring your favorite Disney characters. And watch some of our favorite animations from other YouTube creators and across the web, curated and collected for every Disney fan to enjoy!

SUMMARY
This film shows the crowd gathered in San Francisco for the dedication of the Dewey Monument in Union Square, on Thursday, May 14, 1903, from 9:00am to 9:20am. The Monument, which is still in place, commemorates the victory of Admiral George Dewey and the American fleet over Spanish forces at Manila Bay, the Philippines, on May 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War. The monument is also a tribute to the sailors of the U.S. Navy. Ground was broken for the monument by President McKinley, Roosevelt’s predecessor, on May 12, 1901. The dedication of the monument was President Roosevelt’s last official act before leaving San Francisco. Union Square was – and is – the center of San Francisco’s retail district, and is located two blocks north of Market Street. Originally a tall sand dune, the square was set aside as a public park in 1850. It got its name from the pro-Union rallies held there on the eve of the Civil War. The camera was located on the roof a building at the southeast corner of Stockton Street and Union Square Avenue (today’s Maiden Lane). Looking north on Stockton, the camera pans left along Post Street, and across Union Square to Powell Street and the St. Francis Hotel to the west. The pan continues south to Geary Street and on to the Stockton Street intersection, then sweeps back north to Stockton Street before drifting back into the square.

OTHER TITLES
Panorama of Union Square, San Francisco

CREATED/PUBLISHED
United States : American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, 1903.

NOTES
Copyright: American Mutoscope & Biograph Co.; 4Jun1903; H32394.
Camera, H.J. Miles.
Photographed: May 14, 1903. Location: Union Square, San Francisco, California.

SUBJECTS
Monuments–California–San Francisco.
Dewey, George,–1837-1917–Monuments.
Spanish-American War, 1898–Monuments.
Dedication services.
Roosevelt, Theodore,–1858-1919–Travel.
Presidents–Travel–California–San Francisco.
Streets–California–San Francisco.
Parades–California–San Francisco.
Pedestrians–California–San Francisco.
Plazas–California–San Francisco.
Commercial buildings–California–San Francisco.
Triumphal arches–California–San Francisco.
San Francisco (Calif.)
Actuality–Short.

RELATED NAMES
Miles, H. J., camera.
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company.
Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)

DIGITAL ID
lcmp003 26719s1 26719s2 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp003.26719

APAP|NYC, January 9-13, 2015, is the annual membership conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. Held each January in New York City, the conference is the world’s largest networking forum and marketplace for performing arts professionals. More than 3,600 presenters, artists, managers, agents and emerging arts leaders from 28 countries convene in the city for five days of professional development, business deals and exciting performances.

APAP|NYC is the place to feel the pulse of the industry. Plenary speakers such as Stephen Schwartz, John Kani, Carol Coletta, Rosanne Cash, Harry Belafonte and Ira Glass inspire attendees. Innovators from various fields share knowledge. Colleagues exchange practices and problem-solving techniques. The popular EXPO Hall is the one-stop networking hotspot with 370 exhibitors. More than 1,000 artist showcases make up a mini festival of the performing arts.

APAP|NYC is the heart of the performing arts industry. Visit www.apapnyc.org for more information.

#3: Discovery of the “Pure Land” This episode looks at the Kamakura Period of Japanese history (12th-14th centuries) and the ways Buddhism of the time influenced so much of the art of the period, particularly statues of Buddha, statues of prominent monks, painted scenes reflecting Buddhist beliefs, and a new kind of portrait painting that emerged during that period. Temples in Japan that are visited include: Todaiji, Jingoji, Higashi Honganji and Sanjusangendo, with its rows of statues of Kannon. Monks referenced include Chogen, Zendo Daishi, Ikkyu Sojun and Shinran. We see contemporary artists at work, including Shiko Munakata, a woodblock artist. Shuichi Kato comments from time to time and points out the influence of Japanese monk portraits on a much later school of European artists, most notably Vincent Van Gogh. Ashley Thom provides the English narration. Akira Mitake composed the music. This series is an NHK production from 1989.

Every year an event is planned for Surinamers living in the USA. It’s kept in August in New York and called : Suriname day. Friends and family all come together enjoying genuine Surinamese food, games, music and much more.

http://telus.com/optiklocal What if you could take a fun class, make new friends and build community while doing it – in exchange for a pack of swizzle sticks? Sound too good to be true? Well that’s exactly what Trade School Vancouver, a barter based educations system, offers. We stopped by a class at the art space “Blim” in Chinatown to find out just how it works. myVancouver #449. Airdate: July 9, 2013.