People Are Awesome: The South Carolina Coffee Shop Where Everyone Pays for Everyone Else’s Drinks

11 January, 2012 at 11:16 | Posted in Body & Mind, Economy | Leave a comment
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Cord Jefferson

The main conceit of the 2000 Kevin Spacey film Pay It Forward is that if one person does a kindness for three strangers, and those three people each do kindnesses for three strangers, and so on, one person can change the world.

Rarely do we see this acted out in the real world the way it was cinematically—one scene finds a man giving away his brand-new Jaguar to a guy having car troubles—but on a smaller scale, these sorts of random niceties happen far more often than you might think. Today, it’s selflessness at a small coffee house in Bluffton, South Carolina.

It all started two years ago at Corner Perk, a small, locally owned coffee shop, when a customer paid her bill and left $100 extra, saying she wanted to pay for everyone who ordered after her until the money ran out. The staff fulfilled her request, and the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, has returned to leave other large donations every two to three months.

“People will come in and say, ‘What do you mean? I don’t understand. Are you trying to buy me a coffee today?’” the shop’s owner, Josh Cooke, told the local news. “And I say, ‘No, somebody came in 30 minutes ago and left money to pay for drinks until it runs out.’”

Read more: People Are Awesome: The South Carolina Coffee Shop Where Everyone Pays for Everyone Else’s Drinks – News – GOOD

Shen Yun Costumes – Exploring the Fine Art of Chinese Dress

11 January, 2012 at 07:53 | Posted in Chinese culture, Shen Yun | Leave a comment
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Divine Art—A Window into the Genius of Shen Yun Performing Arts, Part 6

Epoch Times Staff

All but lost in the East, the essence of an age-old culture rises in the West. This is Part 6 of a nine-part series that explores traditional Chinese culture to reveal a deeper understanding of the genius of New York-based classical Chinese dance company Shen Yun Performing Arts.

NEW YORK—In China—the land of silk, rich and artful embroidery, and vibrant color—the style of dress has varied greatly over the civilization’s long history and among its 55 ethnic groups.

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts revives not only the dance and music of 5,000 years of Chinese history and culture, but also features the art of fashion. With each dance is a veritable fashion show in and of itself, consisting of the handmade haute couture reaching across China’s vast geographies and throughout its periods of history.

“I was very impressed with the clothing and costumes,” said famed designer Norma Kamali after seeing Shen Yun perform last January in New York. She attended with friend Jill Spalding, a writer and editor for Vogue Magazine. Both appraised the colorful garb of the different regions of China.

“I saw here the best example of how fabric, clothing, and sleeves can enhance the movement and tell the story,” said Ms. Kamali. “When the sleeves became a part of the rhythm and a part of the overall design of the set, it was very impressive!”

Shen Yun’s costume artists use bright colors to tailor and recreate hundreds of new pieces each season. Every detail is given meticulous attention, and is a result of artistic inspiration and careful polishing. According to the Shen Yun website, “The designers stress harmonic balance and contrast. Their objective is an authentic presentation of the attire that comes from China’s divinely inspired traditional culture, and a consummate stage effect.”

“I really like the flowing, the sleeves, and how it communicates the feelings, how the flowing of the silk was sort of a mechanism for communicating an interior manifestation,” said Reem Alalusi, a fashion designer and the founder and creative director of Alalusi Couture, when she saw Shen Yun perform last January in San Francisco. “I thought that was beautiful; it’s a beautiful touch, something that every fashion designer tries to achieve.”

The styles reflected in a Shen Yun performance can generally be divided into three categories: Han clothing, the attire worn by China’s vast ethnic minorities, and the regalia of Buddhas, Taos, and other heavenly immortals that are intrinsic to China’s divinely inspired culture.

Read more: Shen Yun Costumes—Exploring the Fine Art of Chinese Dress 6 of 9 | Special Section | Shen Yun On Tour | Epoch Times

See also: Fashion Designer Inspired by Colours of Shen Yun

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