Mother and Son = Good

First, let us see how abstract concepts can be formulated from visible objects. Thanks to internet technologies, we can collect many photographs into one webpage, and you can see them all. From these photos, it may be possible to derive abstract concepts.

Good is an abstract concept. Ancient Chinese wanted to express this concept by combination of two pictures. One is their character for woman, and the other is for her son. They combined these two characters to express the abstract concept of Good.
Chinese are not the only ones with this kind of feeling from the combination of a lady with her son. Indeed, a picture of this combination plays a very important role in the Western religion called Christianity. Let us see some photos of mother and son.
Mary with her Infant in Aya Sofia (Istanbul). I have to do some more research on the history of this fresco.
Arianna Dagnino is an established Italian journalist in Milan. I met her in 1987 at a restaurant called "Swiss Chalet" located near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass. She was studying at Harvard. In 2000, she sent me a photo of herself with her son. She felt good, and I also felt good.
Italian Hotel Room. This portrait of mother and son was found in one of the hotel rooms in Rome. This is a variation of Raphael's orginal painting entitled
Proud of her Son. Russian lady proud of her son after he made a speech (Kazan, Russia 2001), thanking me for bringing Snickers candies to the party from the United States. This photo makes me think. I think I had several occasions to make my own mother happy.
American Mother and Son in Paris. They posed like Mary and Jesus, and they caught my eyes.
Mother and Son with Grandma in Krakow (Poland 2002). Like many European cities, Krakow has a large city-center square. Many people come to this square to meet the people. I spotted these three beautiful people there. Mother and son produce a beautiful feeling. Grandma seems to enhance the good feeling.
Polish Mother with her son while feeding a pigeon on her arm. This photo was taken at Krakow's market square in Poland (2007).
Mother and Son with Aunt in Zakopane (Poland 2009), at bus station. I asked the boy in English who the president of the United States is. The boy said "Obama." His mother was very happy and proud. He was able to understand and speak English.
Photo of Mother taken by her 11-year-old son in Washington, DC (USA 2001). He thought her mother was beautiful.
Mothers with their babies. Vilnius (Lithuania, 2009). City with life.
Hungarian Mother and her Son on a train from Pecs to Budapest (2002).
between Mother and Son, on the Corinth Beach (Greece, 1999). The mother was born and raised in Romania, studied in Germany, and is now a professor in Canada. Her name is Mihaela Ulieru and was with her ten-year-old son named George. George is an exceptionally bright boy and made me wonder how smart I was when I was at his age. We promised to meet again. I was very happy to be between these two beautiful people.
Swedish Mother and Son and Father and Sons at the British Museum in London (2009).
Father and Daughter in Zakopane (Poland 2009).
My wife with her Son (1994). I have one wife and one son, and I have many photos of her with her son. Can you tell where this photo was taken? She worked hard for her son's education starting from here.

Mother and Daughter

Russian Lady from Omsk. I met her on the Cote d'Azur beach. It was the first time to meet, but this Russian lady behaved as if he she were with her brother. This photo was taken by her embarrassed daughter. It was not the first time for me to have this kind of experience with Russian ladies. This prompted me to do a research along this line, and I constructed a theory of why. Click here for the result of my research.
Japanese ladies in Milan. I shared a dinner table with these Japanese ladies at an Italian restaurant in Milan (November 2003). They are mother and daughter. The mother studied American literature, and the daughter is studying business. Where is the father? He is a prominent lawyer in Japan and is very busy.
Cocapacana Beach in Rio, with Brazilian mother and daughter (2000). I am enjoying a fruit drink not available in the United States.
Mexican Mother and Daughter in Amsterdam (July 2008). When in Europe, I become very happy when I meet the people from the same side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Americans in Paris. It is an unusual pleasure to meet American ladies at Paris cafe to talk about various regions of the United States. I become happier when I meet with both mother and daughter. I like to talk to the mother because I belong to the same generation as hers, and the daughter because I teach young people like her.
Ladies from Alabama. Of them is mother and the other two are her daughters. Can you tell the difference? Alabama is one of the most conservative states of the United States, where the ladies are still dressed differently from men. The trouble is that you cannot tell the difference between mother and daughter. This photo was taken on a cruise boat in Chicago (July 2003).
Another set of Mother and Daughter. I met them at a classy tea room in one of the Ritz-Carleton hotels near Washington, DC. Can you tell who is the mother? They were kind enough to have a photo with me (April 2006).
Turkish Mother and Daughter in Istanbul (2008). On a city bus, this young girl relinquished her seat for me. I apparently looked old to her. Her mother sitting in front of her became so proud of her courteous manner. I took a photo of them. I used to do the same in Confucian Korea when I was very young.
Ukrainians in Budapest. I spotted this Ukrainian lady at Budapest's Milehanad Park and started talking. She had been in the United States and speaks fluent English. She was with her mother who could not speak English, but I felt much closer to her, because we shared the same generation. She invited me to sit down on her side. With her daughter's interpretation, we talked about many things.
Card Vender in Ankara (January 2005). I bought five post cards from her. She is very happy not because she made money, but because her daughter's math grade became improved. Three Turkish men are laughing because this lady is having a photo with a strange man, and were threatening to tell her husband about this abnormal incident.
Croatian Mother and Daughter at New York's Solomon Guggenheim Museum (2007). They came from Dvornik and invited me to visit them when I come to the Balkan area.
Irish Mother and Daughter, in the lobby of the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York (November 2006). They came from Dublin for vacation.
Australian Mother and Daughters in Antibes overlooking the Picasso Museum at Chatau Grimaldi (France 2006). Can you tell who the mother is?
Another set of Australians in Athens (Greece 2008).

Two Sisters

Two Brazillian Sisters in Athens (July 2008). They were so happy to have a photo with a man that they also took this photo with their own camera.
Australian Sisters. I met these Australian sisters at a restaurants on the Vorosmarty Square (2003). One of them is working in London, and the other came from Sydney to visit her sister.
Two Russian Sisters. When I was attending a conference at the Volga beach near Kazan in 2000, they always stayed close to me. I asked them why they like a man as old as their grandfather. They said I am like their old brother. They knew what I like to hear. They seem to be interested in how I made out in the United States after coming from Korea when I was as young as they are now.
Two Sisaters from Saratov. I met these young Russian ladies of Korean origin while I was in Saint Petersburg (August 2003). In the background is a statue of Alexander Pushkin. They were visiting Catherine's Palace with their Russian classmates. I was indeed pleased to hear perfect English spoken by these sisters. It appears that their parents, who are conscious of the atrocity Joseph Stalin committed to their own parents or grandparents in 1936, are determined to send their daughters to the United States.
Two Sisters from Tashkent. Tashkent is the capital city of Uzbeckistan, which used to be one of the Soviet Republics in the past. There are many people from Tashkent throughout Russia. This frame contains two photos taken in Kazan (1999).
Indian Sisters on a cruise boat in Miami (January 2004). They are both computer professionals. The younger sister (next to me) lives in Miami, and the elder sister came to Miami from Mumbai to visit her younger sister.
Turkish Sisters at a Ritz-Carlton Hotel near Washington DC, USA (February 2005). We were having a Sunday brunch at the hotel's restaurant. There are many well-to-do Turkish immigrants in the United States.
Italian Sisters. I spotted these two look-alike Italian ladies at a Verona park. I asked them whether they are twins. They said No, but they said they are sisters. I then asked who is older. They did not answer but asked me to sit down with them and have another photo.