>I took this picture from my desk. A mother is braiding her daughters hair, right in front of my window.

> document.write(kiji[today_date]); Life is best lived by being bold and daring. People tend to grow meek when they taste failure, face a daunting challenge or fall ill. Yet that is precisely the time to become even bolder. Those who are victors at heart are the greatest of all champions. Another great quote by Daisaku Ikeda

> Over twenty years ago I spent a week in Stromboli, a small volcanic Island in the Mediterranean. We stayed in a house in Ginostra, one of the two villages of the island. Upon arrival I disembarked from the ship onto a fisherman’s rowing boat that took me to the shore.On Stromboli I was introduced…

>Daisaku Ikeda’s Words of Wisdom: True love should be transformative, a process that amplifies our capacity to cherish not just one person but all people. It can make us stronger, lift us higher and deepen us as individuals. Yet, in the end, we can only partner with those befitting ourselves. The same is true of…

> Memory of Holland Thinking of HollandI see wide-flowing riversslowly traversinginfinite plains,inconceivablyrarefied poplarslike lofty plumeson the skyline in lanes;and submerged in the vastnessof unbounded spacesthe farmhousesstrewn over the land,tree clumps, villages,truncated towers,churches and elm trees –all wondrously planned.the sky hangs lowand slowly the sun bymists of all coloursis stifled and greyedand in all the regionsthe…

>Do you ever feel sad? Or misunderstood? Do you ever feel that people are trying to put you down? When I feel this I just love to listen to Melanie as her songs give me strength. Today the song I want to here goes like this and I wish you could hear her sing. LITTLE…

>President Ikeda’s Words of Wisdom: Ultimately, we are responsible for our own destiny. It may seem to us that our fate is predetermined, whether by our genes or by our environment. What really matters, however, is how we can improve ourselves from this moment forward, how we can change the circumstances that we find ourselves…

>Women in a WartimePatrizia CasamirraGalerie, Marnixtraat 409 – Amsterdam The Old Testament of the Bible makes a significant reference to this abuse of power. In contrast to the commandments, “You shall not kill” and “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife”, the following verses appear (Deuteronomy 20): You shall put all its males to the…

>Daisaku Ikeda’s Words of Wisdom: When you devote yourself to achieving your goal, you will not be bothered by shallow criticism. Nothing important can be accomplished if you allow yourself to be swayed by some trifling matter, always looking over your shoulder and wondering what others are saying or thinking. The key to achievement is…

>After an absence of three years we could finally party again.Last night I partied with a bunch of friends – Xaviera Hollander and Rati Manjari, Lisa Lipkin and Allen Erzutst @ Venusfreaks in the Sugar Factory. We danced, ran into friends that we had not seen since the abortion demonstrations in the 70’s or last…