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Warren Stratford poly resin professions figurines. orn in Victoria, BC, Canada in July of 1965, Warren is a pioneer of highly detailed comic art.
He has adhered to fine art sculpting principles throughout his long career and is considered the most consistently representative comic sculpture in the world.
As a youth in the Fairfield area of Victoria, Warren was encouraged by a number of mentors and teachers to sculpt in the free-standing form, a practice he has never strayed from. One of his funniest memories was when he was a young and impressionable teenager in an advanced sculpting class. Warren was enthusiastic when the teacher said they were going to sculpt a live model one evening. He was not quite prepared as the beautiful woman completely disrobed on the stage in front of the students. Being the shy, youngest member of the class he quickly turned around and sculptured a very long haired woman rising out of a rock at the waist. The model was not pleased with his work but the teacher loved it!
warren stratfordWarren soon began to concern himself with his lifelong objective: portraying the variations of humor and atmosphere brought on by comical things he thinks about. Rather than copy others as was the traditional practice of young artists, Warren learned from people around him, from the landscape itself, and from the works of his older contemporaries. Warren’s representation of humor are based on his observations of people he meets and interviews.
He often shows natural color by breaking it down into its different components as a prism does. Eliminating dull and boring from his palette, Warren rejected entirely the academic approach to comic sculpting.
Warren gIn the Signature Series Warren allows his vision of light to dissolve the real structures of his subjects. To do this he chose simple subjects, making several humorous studies of the same subject at different occupations or activities.
Warren shares his time between Asia and his home town Victoria. Look for more Signature Series as Warren is always finding humor wherever he goes.
Warren’s work is particularly well represented in shops around the world. It is also included in many famous private collections.
Business surveys in Latin America consistently show that skills gaps are a serious bottleneck to firm growth and competitiveness. Lack of responsiveness by providers of technical education and professional training is often blamed for this situation. What innovations are possible to improve the quality and relevance of those programs? What role should governments, employers, universities, and civil society play in shaping the approach to technical education and professional training in Latin America? What can we learn from reforms in the region and abroad? The Dialogue and CAF - Development Bank of Latin America hosted a wide-ranging full-day seminar that brought together academics, policymakers, and other experts from the Western Hemisphere to discuss the future of technical education and professional training in Latin America.
The National Wallace Monument commemorates Sir William Wallace. He was one of the very few who consistently opposed the efforts of King Edward I of England to impose his will, and ultimately his supremacy, over Scotland and the Scots in the years around 1300.
The Wallace, as he is often known, is one of the most powerful, most evocative, and most well recognised figures from Scottish history. It is a fair bet that today his name is better known worldwide than most, if not all, of Scotland's monarchs.
Yet he was never a king; his notable deeds took place over a very short period of time, part of which he actually spent in France; he fought just two major battles and emerged with a score of won one and lost one, and in the end he was betrayed and executed.
There's a contradiction here. Behind it lies the stunningly good press that William Wallace has received over the centuries. Most notably, the bard Blind Harry wrote an epic 1470 poem, The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie. This introduced the story of Wallace as the heroic figure we now all know, at times without too much regard for the actual historical facts.
But it was not Blind Harry who brought Wallace's story to the attention of a worldwide audience, it was Mel Gibson. His 1995 film Braveheart added another layer of artistic license to the one already applied by Blind Harry. The result has been criticised for its lack of historical accuracy. But critics of what is, without doubt, a superbly entertaining and enormously popular film, miss the point. The point is that the historical accuracy of the film doesn't really matter, just as the historical accuracy of Blind Harry's poem didn't really matter. People believe what they want to believe, and for a nation in search of national heroes, William Wallace fitted the bill perfectly: and still does.
But let's wind the story back to the mid-1800s. Scotland, with more than a little help from Sir Walter Scott, was going through an earlier phase of the rediscovery of its sense of national pride and identity after a period during which for many it had become "North Britain". Blind Harry's William Wallace was a perfect focus for the celebration of this new sense of identity and as a result statues of him and monuments to him began to spring up all over the country, with more than 20 being built in all.
But many wanted a national monument to William Wallace that could be venerated by everyone in Scotland. Funds were raised from the public, and a competition was launched for a design for the monument after an initial proposal was deemed too anti-English (of a Scottish lion in the act of killing a mythical English creature). 106 entries were submitted and the design that was selected was by the Scots Baronial architect J.T. Rochead.
His approach was to marry together two uniquely Scottish features. He took the traditional design of a Scottish tower house castle, complete with an external stair turret, and stretched it vertically. Then he added to the top a stone crown spire, of the sort seen atop the towers of St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh and King's College in Aberdeen.
The question of location had been decided some years earlier. Both Edinburgh and Glasgow wanted to be home to the monument, and Stirling was chosen mainly because it could be seen as neutral territory. Having decided on Stirling, the choice of the rocky outcrop of Abbey Craig was an obvious one for the monument, for three main reasons. Firstly, if you are going to build a monument intended to make a statement, putting it on top of a high outcrop of rock allows it to make the biggest statement possible. Secondly, Abbey Craig could be quarried to provide the stone needed to build the monument.
The third reason for the location was that Abbey Craig overlooks the site of William Wallace's most notable victory over the English, the Battle of Stirling Bridge, which took place on 11 September 1297. This was fought around the original wooden bridge over the River Forth at Stirling, in the shadow of Stirling Castle and just below Abbey Craig. The original bridge lay a short distance upstream from the stone bridge known today as Old Stirling Bridge. The Scots attacked from the Abbey Craig when the English were half deployed across the bridge and won an overwhelming victory. After the battle, Wallace was knighted by an unnamed Earl and became Sir William Wallace "Guardian of the Kingdom of Scotland and leader of its armies." His co-leader, Andrew Murray fared less well, dying some time later from wounds received during the battle. Wallace followed up the victory by leading the Scots into Northumberland and Cumbria, retreating only when the weather became too bad to continue the campaign.
The true historical significance of the Battle of Stirling Bridge is debatable. The English returned to Scotland in early 1298, trying to draw Wallace into open battle. This eventually happened at the Battle of Falkirk, on 22 July 1298. Defeat there was the beginning of the end for Wallace who was eventually executed in London on 23 August 1305. But as we've already said, none of this is really about history: the myth of Wallace has a life of its own that remains hugely influential.
The National Wallace Monument you see today was completed in 1869 after eight years' construction. It stands some 220ft or 67m high, and Abbey Craig adds a further 300ft or 91m, meaning that the top of the monument stands 520ft above the (tidal) River Forth below.
Consistently crowded. They have "all you can eat buttermilk pancakes". Good place to people-watch. And although they no longer allow smoking, the place has a forever cigarrette smell baked into the walls and carpet.
Over the 20th century there has been a consistent, large-scale warming of both the land and ocean surface, with largest increases in temperature over the midland high latitudes of northern continents. This graphic shows the temperature changes across the planet from the years 1976 to 2000, as long-term deviations from the expected mean. The higher temperature increases over land surface - compared to ocean surface - is consistent with the observed changes in natural climate variations, such as the North Atlantic and Arctic Oscillations, and with the modeled pattern of greenhouse gas warming.
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This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by: Robert Barnes
Business surveys in Latin America consistently show that skills gaps are a serious bottleneck to firm growth and competitiveness. Lack of responsiveness by providers of technical education and professional training is often blamed for this situation. What innovations are possible to improve the quality and relevance of those programs? What role should governments, employers, universities, and civil society play in shaping the approach to technical education and professional training in Latin America? What can we learn from reforms in the region and abroad? The Dialogue and CAF - Development Bank of Latin America hosted a wide-ranging full-day seminar that brought together academics, policymakers, and other experts from the Western Hemisphere to discuss the future of technical education and professional training in Latin America.
Nova església neogòtica
Ubicat al districte de Ciutat Vella, el conjunt de la Casa de la Misericòrdia es troba en una gran parcel·la de forma irregular dins l'illa de cases delimitada pels carrers de les Ramelleres, d'Elisabets, de Montalegre, de Valldonzella i dels Tallers. Es tracta d'un conjunt d'edificacions entre mitgeres amb façanes afrontades a les tres primeres vies, encara que l'accés principal es produeix des del Carrer d'Elisabets.
El bast edifici del s. XVII té la seva entrada principal en un petit pati amb palmeres al Carrer d'Elisabets, consistent en un arc pla amb l'escut de la ciutat. Passat el llindar del portal, hi ha un passatge, al fons del qual hi ha l'accés principal. Aquest és ornat amb una fornícula amb una imatge flanquejada de dues mènsules amb els escuts de la ciutat sostinguts per una au i un salvatge, obrats el s. XV i procedents d'una construcció més antiga. A l'altra banda d'aquest portal hi ha un gran pati de planta rectangular conegut com el Pati dels Tarongers de la Misericòrdia en al·lusió als arbres que l'ornen. El cos allargat que tanca el pati per la seva banda septentrional, que avui acull l'Escola Labouré, és resultat de la remodelació obrada entre 1884 i 1885. Es tracta d'un edifici de tres plantes amb llurs façanes revestides i amb finestres i cornisaments ornats segons el gust neoromànic. A l'extrem occidental del pati s'hi alça la capella nova, un interessant edifici obrat el 1887. La capella es troba alçada sobre una planta baixa i s'hi accedeix a través d'una gran escala de pedra. Tant l'exterior com l'interior de l'església estan decorats amb elements neoromànics de gran qualitat, a excepció de la façana avui orientada al Carrer de Montalegre, que fins la dècada de 1990 quedava amagada dins un pati interior. La capella, de quatre trams coberts amb volta de mocador, tribunes i capçalera poligonal, conserva la seva decoració escultòrica en pedra, aplicada sobretot en els capitells vegetals i les mènsules angèliques. Segons Ainaud, Gudiol i Verrié, a l'església nova es conservava, com a mínim fins la dècada de 1950, un gran llenç de la Puríssima Concepció atribuït al pintor Manuel Tramulles.
Tornant al Carrer d'Elisabets, just al costat del pati d'accés, hi ha l'església antiga, avui seu de la llibreria "La Central del Raval". L'antiga capella és de nau única, coberta amb volta de canó amb llunetes i amb capçalera poligonal. Fins la dècada de 1950 encara s'hi conservava el retaule major del s. XVII, dedicat a l'Arcàngel Sant Rafael i Tobies. La llinda de la porta d'aquesta capella presenta la data de 1693 i una decoració en relleu consistent en dos àngels que sostenen l'escut de Barcelona.
Afrontat al Carrer de les Ramalleres, el cos més occidental de l'antic conjunt, que avui acull les dependències del Districte de Ciutat Vella, mostra una senzilla façana revestida de morter. Les obertures, ben alineades, però ampliades durant les successives reformes de l'edifici, presenten llurs emmarcaments de pedra. En l'actualitat aquesta façana destaca per la presència d'un portal renaixentista de pedra, flanquejat per dues pilastres dòriques ornades a quarterons que sostenen un frontó triangular amb un escut ovalat i la data 1578. Aquest portal, com indica la inscripció de la llinda, prové de la veïna Casa dels Infants Orfes, un edifici malauradament destruït pels volts de l'any 1993. A part d'aquestes obertures, la façana de les Ramalleres destaca per conservar la guardiola on els vianants podien fer donacions a la institució i el torn on les mares sense mitjans podien dipositar els seus nounats.
A mitjan segle XVI algunes veus començaren a fer notar la conveniència d'atendre i protegir aquells habitants de la ciutat que vivien en la misèria i la indigència. L'any 1576, una memòria sobre la mendicitat escrita per Miquel Giginta (canonge i vicari general d'Elna) i presentada a les Corts reunides a Madrid, obligà als poders de l'Estat a l'establiment de les cases de misericòrdia en diverses ciutats del reialme. Seguint aquestes directrius, els consellers de Barcelona ordenaren, a la fi de l'any 1583, l'obertura d'una casa de Misericòrdia al Convent dels Àngels, un emplaçament provisional mentre es construia el recinte definitiu en uns terrenys annexos. El recinte definitiu obriria les seves portes a finals de l'any 1584.
L'estructura d'aquell primer conjunt estava format per dos grans departaments, un per a homes i l'altre per a dones, a mes del refectori, la infermeria, l'església, l'hort i altres dependències menors. Aquest edifici patí importants modificacions pràcticament des de la seva entrada en funcionament. Així, a les acaballes del s. XVI i la primera meitat del s.XVII (especialment entre 1630 i 1634) es van empendre obres de reforma i eixamplament, passant de dos departaments a vuit. Entre 1673 i 1680 es tornà a ampliar el conjunt, que seria novament ampliat l'any 1699. El 1702 la casa s'erigí en Convent i Hospital de Nostra Senyora de la Misericòrdia, administrat per les germanes hospitalàries. A partir de l'any 1775 la població masculina de la Casa de la Misericòrdia seria traslladada al veí Colegio Tridentino (avui Casa de la Caritat o CCCB) del Carrer de Montalegre, convertint-se el Convent de la Misericòrdia en una institució íntegrament femenina.
Al llarg del s.XIX l'edifici entrà en franca decadència i la manca de fons provocà la seva ruïna parcial i acabà evidenciant la necessitat de reedificar gran part del conjunt. L'arquitecte Josep Simó i Foncuberta (substitut de Josep Mas Vila com arquitecte del conjunt a partir de 1855) presentà l'any 1861 un projecte de reedificació parcial de l'edifici. Aquest projecte preveié la divisió del conjunt en dues parts: una que corresponia a la clausura de les religioses hospitalàries i l'altra a les noies que havien d'allotjar-se en dit edifici. Tanmateix, aquest projecte només fou realitzat parcialment, donada la falta de capital per a dur a terme la totalitat de les obres. Entre 1870 i 1872 el nou arquitecte de la institució, Francisco de Paula Villar i Lozano, elaborà un nou projecte que, tot i comptar amb els permisos pertinents, mai es realitzà. Després de la dimissió de Villar, l'any 1884 l'arquitecte Magí Rius i Mulet presentà el projecte definitiu, que seria realitzat en tan sols dos anys. Tanmateix, la capella nova, dissenyada per Enric Fatjó i Torras, fou bastida entre 1887 i 1889.
Durant la dècada de 1970 l'hospici fou traslladat a la Maternitat de les Corts i aquest conjunt passà a albergar magatzems, encara que s'hi va mantenir, a la part històrica, el convent, una escola i un centre d'acollida de noies procedents de famílies desestructurades.
A la dècada de 1980 una part del conjunt es va veure afectat pel pla d'esponjament del Raval anomenat "Del Liceu al Seminari", un projecte urbanístic plantejat pels arquitectes Lluís Clotet i Òscar Tusquets. Com a conseqüència, gran part de les estructures vuitcentistes de la Casa de la Misericòrdia foren enderrocades l'any 1993 per adequar el Carrer Montalegre a una nova alineació. Els solars esdevinguts amb l'enderroc, foren destinats a la construcció de la nova facultat de Geografia i Història de la Universitat de Barcelona, executada per l'arquitecte Cristian Cirici i Alomar entre 1999 i 2006. El mateix any 1999 el districte de Ciutat Vella, ubicat al veí Convent del Bonsuccés, derivà algunes de les seves dependències al cos de la Casa de la Misericòrdia situat al Carrer de les Ramalleres, 17.
Staff recommends adopting consistent state regulations for Atlantic vermilion snapper and using the process of adopting federal standards under Chapter 120.54(6), Florida Statutes. If the Commission approves the proposed rule amendment, it would be advertised and then filed without further public hearing and become effective as soon as possible.
Staff has evaluated the rules under the standards of 68-1.004, FAC, and found them to be in compliance.
We've been clear and consistent with the Palestinians that we oppose the observer state status in the General Assembly and this resolution...no one should be under any illusion that this resolution is going to produce the results that the Palestinians claim to seek, namely to have their own state, living in peace next to Israel.
--- State Dept. Spokesperson Victoria Nuland
To encourage others to pray for peace in Jerusalem, SHARE this quote and leave your PRAYERS and COMMENTS below or visit the Jerusalem Prayer Team Prayer Wall.
Battered, but not Broken! Eastern Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) female resting on Hoptree.
London, Ontario, Canada.
August 30, 2020.
This might be one of the last (adult) Giants of 2020. She's obviously been through a lot, but she hasn't stopped laying her eggs. ❤️
It's truly amazing how much wing damage a butterfly can sustain and continue on about her duties.
This "old gal" (several weeks old) has lost nearly all of her right hind wing and part of her left, but she was still quite capable of finding my Hoptree and laying several precious eggs!
This wing damage is consistent with a bird strike. Butterfly wings are designed to tear away so the butterfly can escape relatively unharmed. Her flight was a bit laboured, but not as much as one might expect.
You can see evidence of a different bird strike on the tip of her front wings. Looks like her wings were closed during that attack, because the same damage is echoed on both right and left wings.
Notice my Hoptree has leaf miners (the squiggly lines)! Probably a tiny moth larva (Fomoria pteliaeella). This family of moths are called Pygmy Leafmining Moths.
There are hundreds of species of Pygmy Leafmining Moths. The LARGEST of them have a wingspan of only 1 cm across. @@
Il sapore e la consistenza caratteristica dei pregiati filetti di tonno rosa Rizzoli regalano al palato un piacere straordinario. I filetti di Tonno Rosa Rizzoli sono integri, senza briciole o scarti. Il pesce è lavorato e confezionato a mano per mantenere la consistenza. Il risultato di tanta cura è visibile grazie al vaso di vetro che esalta la qualità del filetto e ne garantisce le condizioni ottimali di conservazione.
Les grottes de Han consistent en un ensemble de grottes souterraines à Han-sur-Lesse près de Rochefort, située sur la rivière Lesse en Famenne (Belgique), dans la région géologique appelée Calestienne.
C'est la Lesse, un affluent de la Meuse, qui est à l'origine de ces grottes, par érosion d'une partie de la colline calcaire. La rivière disparaît sous le sol sur une distance d'environ 1 100 mètres (à vol d'oiseau), mais l'eau met 20 heures pour parcourir cette distance. (Wikipédia)
A brilliant attraction where the user actually programs a robotic arm to give them a completely custom "rollercoaster" type ride.
Riders can program a gentle ride perfect for younger children to a wild, fast spinning ride with inversion after inversion (which is what I programmed of course).
Regardless of the program this ride delivers a consistently smooth and completely unique experience every time.
This is at Legoland, Billund Denmark.
Business surveys in Latin America consistently show that skills gaps are a serious bottleneck to firm growth and competitiveness. Lack of responsiveness by providers of technical education and professional training is often blamed for this situation. What innovations are possible to improve the quality and relevance of those programs? What role should governments, employers, universities, and civil society play in shaping the approach to technical education and professional training in Latin America? What can we learn from reforms in the region and abroad? The Dialogue and CAF - Development Bank of Latin America hosted a wide-ranging full-day seminar that brought together academics, policymakers, and other experts from the Western Hemisphere to discuss the future of technical education and professional training in Latin America.
Autumn is consistently a great time to visit, with the foliage adding so much in spectacular, rich colors. And even during the latter part of the season, there is something so special about the bareness of many trees and vegetation. The nice thing as an observer of nature’s critters is that the birds are so much more visible. Even if they are at a fair distance, at least, one can appreciate their features. Also, many fall berries and other fruits and nuts, often with bright colors and interesting shapes, accentuate the landscape as seen only at this time of year.
The late, Doris Duke, had left a wonderful legacy in converting her magnificent estate into a Natural Wildlife Preserve for the public’s education and enjoyment. The paths throughout the estate offer such splendid scenery. One is forever exploring, always seeing something subtly beautiful. There are always pleasant surprises, from the general scenery to the world of the wildlife, even tiny insects and flowers are enjoyable to observe. The bucolic nature of the preserve is so relaxing—akin to meditating while experiencing the landscape. The beauty of visiting Duke Farms is that so many incredible views are there simply by observing all of the surroundings. Spotting new and fascinating wildlife—both animals and plants—always adds to the experience.
El gebre és un fenomen meteorològic consistent en la deposició de cristalls d'aigua subfusa (subfusió) en forma de gel que, en temps fred, la boira diposita sobre els objectes, principalment sobre les superfícies verticals, les puntes i les arestes d'aquests.
Les microgotes cristalitzades provenen d'un núvol o de la boira. La gebrada forma cristalls de gel, com en la formació de la neu, però dipositat-se sobre superfícies sòlides, cobrint-les amb una capa opaca i granulada. La gebrada s'observa amb freqüència durant l'hivern sobre el terra, la vegetació i les aeronaus. El gebre també es pot dipositar sobre els mateixos flocs de neu dins els núvols, recobrint-los amb una capa gelada que augmentarà la seva densitat.
En els motors amb carburador el gebre pot obstruir el pas de mescla, provocant un malfuncionament o aturada del motor. El problema es pot resoldre mitjançant l'aspiració d'aire escalfat prèviament (per exemple fen-lo circular al voltant del tub d'escapament o alguna altra superfície a una temperatura elevada).
L'expansió brusca d'un gas pot també provocar la gebrada. Es pot observar aquest efecte durant l'expansió de l'aire sortint de les botelles de submarinisme, quan la baixa temperatura de l'aigua, accentuada per l'efecte Venturi, fa gebrar l'aire sortint. El gebre pot obstruir la vàlvula, deixant que l'aire surti de manera continuada, amb les greus conseqüències que pot comportar per al submarinista.
El refredament de l'aire sobre el perfil d'una ala per efecte Venturi pot crear unes condicions favorables per a la formació de gebre sobre el caire d'atac. Aquesta gebrada pot causar problemes seriosos a una aeronau que s'estigui massa temps a l'espera d'enlairar-se. En tal cas, es modifica l'aerodinàmica de l'ala i disminueix la sustentació, necessària per a l'enlairament.
Business surveys in Latin America consistently show that skills gaps are a serious bottleneck to firm growth and competitiveness. Lack of responsiveness by providers of technical education and professional training is often blamed for this situation. What innovations are possible to improve the quality and relevance of those programs? What role should governments, employers, universities, and civil society play in shaping the approach to technical education and professional training in Latin America? What can we learn from reforms in the region and abroad? The Dialogue and CAF - Development Bank of Latin America hosted a wide-ranging full-day seminar that brought together academics, policymakers, and other experts from the Western Hemisphere to discuss the future of technical education and professional training in Latin America.
Cooper T45 (1958) Engine 1960cc
Race Number 30 John Davies
COOPER SET
www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157625356944136
The Cooper T43 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed and built by Cooper Car Company superceeding the successful T43 of the kind that launched the rear engine revolution, in Formula 1.
By 1958 it seemed that if you did not have a Cooper-Climax with that very lightweight aluminum-block engine behind the driver’s shoulders, you wouldn’t have a chance of consistent Formula 2 success. The cars won the opening F2 Championship and into 1958 a further refined version of the theme emerged as the Type 45 mode
Shot at the VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone 20-21 April 2013 REF:90C-718
MADRID RIO
Madrid Río es un parque de la ciudad española de Madrid, consistente en una zona peatonal y de recreo construida entre los años 2006 a 2012 en los dos márgenes del río Manzanares, en buena parte sobre el trazado soterrado de la vía de circunvalación M-30,1 desde el nudo Sur hasta el enlace con la A-5. En 2016, el proyecto se hizo con el galardón Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design de la Universidad de Harvard por su diseño e impacto social y cultural en la transformación del río
Entre 2003 y 2007 se llevó a cabo la obra de soterramiento del arco oeste de la M-30 en el ámbito del río, obra que hizo posible la eliminación del tráfico en superficie y la consiguiente liberación de más de cincuenta hectáreas de terreno ocupado anteriormente por las calzadas. A esta superficie se sumaron otras casi cien hectáreas correspondientes a los diferentes suelos infrautilizados adyacentes a la autopista.
Tras la construcción de los túneles afloró una herida vacía formada por un rosario de espacios desocupados, que atesoraban la potencia latente de convertirse en nexo de unión de un corredor ambiental de casi tres mil hectáreas dentro del término municipal, que se extiende desde El Pardo hasta Getafe y que enlaza importantísimas áreas verdes de la ciudad como la Casa de Campo, el Parque de la Arganzuela o el Parque del Manzanares Sur.
Por tanto, los beneficios obtenidos al enterrar la antigua autopista, obviamente, no han quedado reducidos a la mejora de ciertos aspectos de la movilidad urbana, ni siquiera a la rehabilitación local de los barrios, sino que pueden adquirir en un futuro próximo, una dimensión de gran escala que necesariamente deberá repercutir en las relaciones entre la ciudad y el territorio, entendidas en su mayor alcance. La enorme trascendencia para la ciudad de los espacios liberados como consecuencia del soterramiento de la M-30, llevó al Ayuntamiento de Madrid a convocar un Concurso Internacional de Ideas para concebir y proyectar los nuevos espacios libres en el entorno del río. El concurso lo ganó el equipo de arquitectos dirigido por Ginés Garrido y formado por Burgos & Garrido Arquitectos, Porras & La Casta y Rubio & Álvarez-Sala y West8, con la solución para la construcción de un parque urbano de más de ciento veinte hectáreas, que ocupa la superficie liberada por el soterramiento de la autopista. Los inicios del proyecto pasaron por el intento de comprender en su totalidad las cualidades geográficas de la cuenca fluvial. Las características del territorio y la diversidad de sus elementos naturales constituyen un conjunto de claves que han sustentado muchas de las ideas contenidas en el proyecto.
Sumariamente, la estrategia del éste se basa en la convicción de que, a través del río es posible conectar la ciudad, expresión máxima de la acción artificial, con los territorios del norte y el sur de Madrid, en los que aún perviven los elementos naturales propios de la cuenca fluvial. El río se convierte en puerta o enlace entre interior urbano y exterior territorial y, a través de sus márgenes, se establece la continuidad y la permeabilidad, hasta hoy aniquiladas por los sucesivos anillos concéntricos, hollados por los cinturones viarios, M-30, M-40, M-45, M-50 …, que fueron el resultado de aplicar a la red circulatoria los modelos de movilidad propios de mediados del siglo XX.
El proyecto se ha concebido en sucesivas aproximaciones o escalas a partir de las que se ha aplicado la reflexión sobre el campo de juego, obteniendo respuestas o soluciones diversas, desde el ámbito territorial o estratégico al local o específico.
En la escala territorial se han establecido los parámetros de partida para que, en el medio plazo, sea posible la regeneración de las márgenes del río en toda su longitud, como verdaderas áreas de integración entre el paisaje y la actividad humana, bajo un entendimiento contemporáneo capaz de superar el antagonismo implícito en el binomio urbano-rural.
En la escala metropolitana, a través del proyecto y de su concepción como gran infraestructura, se lleva a cabo la incorporación del corredor que se extiende sobre los bordes fluviales a su paso por la ciudad como parte del GR 124 (Gran Recorrido de la Red de Senderos Europeos) que ya, en 2011 se podrá transitar en toda su extensión, desde Manzanares el Real hasta Aranjuez.
En la escala urbana, el proyecto incorpora el río como doble línea de fachada inédita y configura un conjunto enlazado de espacios verdes que se infiltra en la ciudad; establece en la superficie un nuevo sistema de movilidad y accesibilidad; incrementa la integración y calidad urbana de los barrios limítrofes al río; protege y revaloriza el patrimonio histórico y detecta áreas de oportunidad que, sobre este ámbito de nueva centralidad, serán capaces de generar un cambio potencial del conjunto de la ciudad en el largo plazo.
En la escala local, la propuesta se ejecuta como una operación radicalmente artificial, materializada sin embargo con instrumentos eminentemente naturales. No se debe olvidar que se actúa mayoritariamente sobre una infraestructura bajo tierra. El proyecto se implanta sobre un túnel o, más bien, sobre la cubierta de un conjunto complejísimo de instalaciones al servicio del viario enterrado. Un edificio de hormigón de más de seis kilómetros de longitud, con enormes y determinantes servidumbres y con una topografía cuya lógica obedece exclusivamente a la construcción de la infraestructura, que emerge inopinadamente sobre el suelo y con la que ha sido necesario negociar. Sobre esta edificación subterránea, la solución adoptada se ha basado en el uso de la vegetación como principal material de construcción. El proyecto establece como estrategia general la idea de implantar una densa capa vegetal, de carácter casi forestal, allá donde sea posible, es decir, fabricar un paisaje con materia viva, sobre un sustrato subterráneo inerte, modificado y excavado para el automóvil, sobre una construcción que expresa por sí misma el artificio máximo.
Las familias, formas y asociaciones de especies vegetales seleccionadas provienen de la extrapolación del estudio de la cuenca del río y su adaptación, en cada caso, al medio urbano específico. La ordenación de los distintos entornos y su caracterización como lugares de uso público se ha producido teniendo en cuenta, por un lado, las funciones requeridas y las necesidades detectadas en cada distrito y por otro, la capacidad de conformar espacios habitables, inherente a los conjuntos organizados de vegetación de distinto porte.
La solución se concreta en tres unidades de paisaje principales. Primero, el Salón de Pinos, o corredor verde que discurre por la margen derecha del río. Es la estructura que permite la continuidad de los recorridos y reacciona en su encuentro con los puentes existentes dando lugar a distintos tipos de jardines de ribera (Jardines bajos de Puente de Segovia, Jardines del Puente de San Isidro, Jardines del Puente de Toledo y Jardines del Puente de Praga). Segundo, el enlace definitivo del centro histórico (representado por la imagen imponente del Palacio Real y la cornisa elevada de la ciudad), con la Casa de Campo, parque de más de mil setecientas hectáreas. En este entorno se incluyen la Avenida de Portugal, la Huerta de la Partida, la Explanada del Rey y los Jardines de la Virgen del Puerto. Tercero, la ancha franja sobre la ribera izquierda donde se sitúa el conjunto del Parque de la Arganzuela que incluye el centro de creación de arte contemporáneo de Matadero, y que representa la mayor superficie de espacio verde unitario de la propuesta.
Además de estas tres grandes operaciones paisajísticas coherentes entre sí, el proyecto propone ciento cincuenta intervenciones de diferente carácter, entre las que destaca el sistema puentes que dotan de un inédito grado de permeabilidad al cauce. Se han desarrollado soluciones sobre más de veinte puentes o pasarelas sobre el río, rehabilitando las siete presas, reciclando algunos puentes existentes y creando nuevos pasos, unas veces con un lenguaje silencioso y otras, intencionadamente expresivo. Como en una acción microquirúrgica el proyecto incorpora, eslabón por eslabón, una cadena de fórmulas de integración del río en la ciudad y de la ciudad en el río. Son elementos que garantizarán el contagio de los nuevos valores de las orillas regeneradas sobre los ámbitos y barrios cercanos. Con este efecto de resonancia, se prevé una sucesión de operaciones que aseguren una renovación de gran alcance. Desde ahora y de manera irreversible, se está fraguando una radical metamorfosis, sin precedentes para la ciudad de Madrid.
La superestructura lineal del Salón de Pinos es el elemento que organiza la continuidad de recorridos a lo largo de la ribera derecha del río. Está construida sobre los túneles en su práctica totalidad y tiene un ancho medio de treinta metros. Sobre la losa de hormigón que cubre el paso de los automóviles se han plantado más de 9.000 unidades de diferentes especies de pinos, de diversos tamaños, formas y agrupaciones con un marco de plantación forestal. Los ejemplares han sido seleccionados fundamentalmente en campos en los que hubiese posibilidad de extraer plantas con morfologías naturales (troncos no lineales, troncos dobles, troncos inclinados, etc.) De este modo se obtiene una prolongación controlada de los pinares de la sierra situada al norte de Madrid que parecen extenderse hasta el confín de la ciudad. Estos árboles han sido anclados a la losa de los túneles mediante cables de acero y bridas biodegradables, para potenciar su estabilidad y el crecimiento de sus raíces en horizontal sobre el paquete de tierras disponible. No obstante, este paseo se encuentra frecuentemente con estructuras de gran valor urbano o patrimonial.
Dos ejemplos simbólicos de esta intersección son los puentes históricos de Segovia (1582) y de Toledo (1732). En estos enclaves el salón reacciona como espacio de estancia, ampliando sus límites y ofreciendo un diseño específico, con árboles de ribera de hoja caduca y alineaciones de setos y bancos de piedra. Las actividades integradas en el salón se incorporan con un lenguaje coherente con su carácter forestal. Un claro ejemplo de este procedimiento lo forma el conjunto de áreas de juegos infantiles, diseñado específicamente como un sistema completo de formas naturales.
Jardines del Puente de Segovia
El puente de Segovia está declarado Bien de Interés Cultural. Fue construido a finales del siglo XVI por el arquitecto Juan de Herrera, por encargo de Felipe II. El proyecto de ajardinamiento de su entorno conforma una excepción en el ámbito del Salón de Pinos, constituyendo un ensanchamiento de éste y ofreciendo un modo diferente de aproximación al río. Los jardines se ordenan mediante una serie de líneas de traza orgánica que modelan sucesivas terrazas que descienden hacia el río. Estas líneas están construidas con unas piezas de granito de gran formato que sirven también de bancos. Entre ellos se extiende una superficie de hierba de bajo consumo hídrico arbolada con diferentes especies de árboles frondosos de ribera de la familia de los populus. En las inmediaciones de la fábrica almohadillada del puente se han construido dos estanques de agua limpia sobre los cuales, por un lado alza una fuente monumental de 16 chorros con forma de ciprés y por otro se extiende un pequeño jardín de lirios acuáticos. Los estanques son accesibles mediante unas gradas de piedra que se acercan a ellos hasta sumergirse.
Jardines del Puente de Toledo
Los jardines del Puente de Toledo constituyen una de las áreas más significativas del Proyecto Madrid Río, ya que se están situados en un enclave de excepcional importancia en el que el Salón de Pinos se encuentra con uno de los puentes monumentales de Madrid, el puente de Toledo, construido entre 1718 y 1732. El proyecto aprovecha dicho monumento en un doble sentido: Por un lado se compone un espacio concebido para ser visto desde lo alto del puente que se convierte así en un mirador privilegiado. De este modo los jardines ofrecen una nueva e inédita panorámica de Madrid ya que sus trazados dibujan un enorme tatuaje que se extiende como una alfombra sobre la superficie, reproduciendo un motivo figurativo vegetal. Por otro lado, los jardines incorporan el Puente de Toledo, que es una estructura barroca diseñada por el arquitecto Pedro de Ribera, como un objeto al que admirar, al que tocar y bajo el que pasar. La disposición de los setos está organizada de modo que conforma una serie de líneas que toman como referencia los jardines barrocos de la época borbónica, aunque están trazadas con un lenguaje contemporáneo. Asimismo en este punto se ha construido un graderío que permite la máxima aproximación a la lámina de agua del río, y la mejor contemplación de los arcos del antiguo puente.
Segunda unidad de paisaje: La Escena Monumental
La vinculación del centro histórico y el barrio de La Latina con la Casa de Campo ha estado vedada a los peatones de forma secular. El nuevo contacto, que ya es posible por la desaparición de los automóviles bajo tierra, ha sido resuelto con diversas intervenciones que asumen el carácter monumental y panorámico de esta zona, en la que el zócalo elevado del Palacio Real (germen primigenio del nacimiento de la ciudad) contacta con el río. Se han propuesto diferentes soluciones afrontando con extremada atención el contexto en el que se sitúan: La “Explanada del Rey”, explanada abierta pavimentada con un gran patrón figurativo y que sirve de gran atrio ante la Casa de Campo. La huerta de la partida, que es un recinto cerrado en el que se han plantado diferentes retículas de árboles frutales (perales, manzanos, moreras, granados, higueras, nogales, avellanos, etc) acoge un extraordinario mirador de la cornisa. La avenida de Portugal, convertida en un bulevar pavimentado por calceteiros portugueses y poblado por cuatro especies de cerezos (Prunus avium, P. avium ‘Plena’, P.yedoensis y P.padus ‘Watereii’ ) permite la contemplación de una espectacular floración que se alarga más de un mes en primavera. Por último, los jardines de La Virgen del Puerto, en la otra margen del río, estructurados mediante la disposición de parterres orientados según los ejes de los principales acontecimientos urbanos del área: el puente de Segovia, el puente del Rey, la avenida de Portugal y la puerta del Rey que ha sido restaurada y resituada según los datos disponibles en la cartografía histórica de Madrid.
Plataforma del Rey
En el acceso monumental que enlaza el centro histórico de Madrid con la Casa de Campo, antiguo cazadero real, destaca la Explanada o Plataforma del Rey, que es un espacio abierto de una superficie aproximada de 14.000 m2 y un frente paralelo al río de poco menos de 250 m. El destino de este espacio es el de formar un escenario capaz de acoger diferentes manifestaciones cívicas (conciertos, celebraciones oficiales, actividades culturales, etc.) en un entorno de extraordinaria calidad ambiental, que permite contemplar la Cornisa Histórica de la Ciudad. Este lugar está conectado con el Salón de Pinos y forma parte de él, aunque por exigencias de su uso, sea un área casi desprovista de arbolado. En ella el principal elemento organizador es el pavimento que, de forma muy suave, se adapta a una topografía que integra todas las emergencias de los túneles hasta hacerlas imperceptibles. En este pavimento las pequeñas piezas de granito y basalto forman un patrón que desciende desde la Avenida de Portugal y se esparce sobre la superficie del suelo a una escala en aumento progresivo. Dicho patrón vincula la plataforma con el pavimento proyectado en la avenida. De este modo la Plataforma es un elemento que liga de manera natural importantes piezas del escenario monumental que se produce en este punto, como son el Puente del Rey, la Casa de Campo, la Avenida de Portugal y el Salón de Pinos.
Huerta de la Partida
Se trata de un espacio recuperado que en las pasadas décadas se dedicó a albergar uno de los principales nudos de la autopista. La propuesta de regeneración de este lugar incluye varias operaciones: En primer lugar la construcción de una tapia, a veces opaca, a veces permeable que constituye un cierre que confiere al recinto el carácter de huerto cerrado. En segundo lugar, el modelado artificial del terreno, regularizando su superficie y tallando un único plano inclinado de suave pendiente que se desliza hacia el río. En tercer lugar la plantación de diferentes agrupaciones de árboles frutales (granados, moreras, manzanos, perales, avellanos, almendros, higueras, olivos y nogales) que se incorporan en el entorno describiendo cuadrantes reticulados con sutiles variaciones de orientación. Por último, se ha proyectado una ría húmeda que describe la trayectoria del Arroyo Meaques, actualmente entubado y oculto. Este proyecto ha sido fruto del estudio minucioso de la historia del lugar, ya que en el pasado, cuando Felipe II adquirió esta finca después de establecer la capitalidad de Madrid, en esta posición se plantaron algunas huertas que producían el alimento necesario para los trabajadores de la Casa de Campo.
Tercera unidad de paisaje: La Ribera del Agua. Arganzuela y Matadero
En la margen izquierda del cauce la ciudad se separa del río. El ejemplo más importante de la propuesta en esta orilla es el nuevo Parque de la Arganzuela, construido sobre antiguas dehesas de pasto de uso comunal. En este entorno se construyó el Matadero Municipal, notable ejemplo de arquitectura posindustrial de la segunda década del siglo XX. Con el soterramiento de la autopista, Madrid dispone ahora en este punto de 33 hectáreas de espacios libres que forman el mayor parque del proyecto. Éste se ha concebido como un gran espacio en el que el río se ha retirado dejando su huella ancestral. Está organizado con diferentes líneas que se entrecruzan, como surcos por los que pasó el agua, dejando entre sí espacios para distintos usos. Estas líneas, de carácter marcadamente longitudinal, son los caminos de distinta especie que recorren el espacio de norte a sur.
Paseo junto al matadero
Un camino más plano y ancho (el Camino Rápido), otro más sinuoso y de pendiente variable (el Camino Lento) y una franja empedrada de márgenes frondosos (el Arroyo Seco), que vertebra el centro del parque. La construcción del espacio se plantea como una gran arboleda que contiene varios paisajes, algunos más naturales y otros más construidos, configurados por una variación de especies, alturas, densidades y texturas. De este modo el parque, concebido como un retazo de la cuenca del río, incorpora tres áreas botánicas: bosque mediterráneo, bosque atlántico y fronda de ribera. El carácter de estos paisajes interiores está relacionado con los trazados longitudinales del parque, con árboles que siguen los caminos y las sendas, con sotos y bosques que emergen sobre la topografía. La textura boscosa se intercala con las superficies plantadas de aromáticas entre los caminos y el Arroyo Seco. Siguiendo la orilla izquierda del río, se dispone una franja húmeda y verde, con una pradera de césped que se inclina hacia el agua. Una constelación de fuentes ornamentales y un conjunto de tres láminas elípticas de agua pura introducen este elemento como materia narrativa que relaciona las distintas asociaciones de vegetación. Cada fuente presenta un distinto juego sonoro y visual y se rodea de pequeñas laderas plantadas de frutales que remiten a la imagen de los jardines de las leyendas o del Paraíso. Las líneas entrelazadas que estructuran el parque permiten la formación de recintos en los que se han situado importantes instalaciones para el recreo al servicio de los usuarios de todas las edades. En él se incluye un campo de fútbol , dos pistas de patinaje y tres importantes conjuntos de juegos infantiles. El parque así mismo incorpora el conjunto dedicado a la creación de arte contemporáneo de Matadero, como una gran dotación cultural que vive dentro de él. A través de los caminos se accede a las naves del antiguo complejo, cuya rehabilitación está a punto de finalizar. El diseño de los trazados permite entender la relación entre Matadero y el parque como un continuo entre el río y la ciudad.
El sistema de puentes sobre el río
La implantación de puentes sobre el Manzanares se lleva a cabo como una estrategia global, es decir, como un conjunto en que cada elemento resuelve problemas puntuales detectados en el entorno próximo, pero también forma parte a su vez de un sistema integral de conectividad transversal de acuerdo con la relación entre la ciudad y el río. Las unidades de este conjunto son de diferente carácter: puentes y presas rehabilitados o reciclados, puentes rodados existentes acondicionados al nuevo sistema de tráfico ciclista y peatonal, puentes singulares que constituyen hitos en el recorrido del río, pasarelas funcionales situadas en los nodos de máximo tránsito transversal y puentes de grandes luces que enlazan los recorridos del parque con los territorios exteriores a la ciudad al norte y al sur, haciendo realidad la principal aspiración territorial del proyecto.
Entre los puentes existentes destaca la operación llevada a cabo con las siete presas que han sido convertidas en pasarelas peatonales a través de su restauración integral y la incorporación de un tablero de madera accesible. En segundo lugar dentro de esta serie, se debe destacar el reciclaje del puente rodado de la M-30 que cruzaba el río al sur del Puente de Segovia, reconvertido en un puente peatonal y ciclista que incorpora un talud plantado con pinos. Entre los puentes singulares cabe mencionar el puente con forma de Y construido con cajones de perfiles metálicos, que evoca el lenguaje de los puentes ferroviarios del s. XIX colgados sobre los desfiladeros forestales y los puentes gemelos de hormigón que se dan acceso al complejo Matadero, proyectados como elementos de paso capaces también de configurar un espacio al que se ingresa, como pabellones que gravitan sobre el río, pero que verdaderamente pertenecen al parque.
Pasarela de Almuñécar
Fabricada de una sola pieza con fibra de carbono, para salvar una luz de algo más de 40 metros. Se sitúa sobre el único tramo del cauce que carece de cajero de hormigón. Su diseño final responde a las capacidades del material con que está fabricada, extremadamente ligero y resistente.
Restauración de Presas
Las siete presas que regulan el río a su paso de la ciudad han sido restauradas y puestas al servicio del nuevo sistema de pasos transversales. Sus mecanismos y exclusas han sido reparados y se les ha incorporado un tablero accesible de madera y una escala de peces para favorecer la continuidad de la fauna subacuática a lo largo del río.
Puente Oblicuo
Esta estructura viaria coetánea de la M-30 se ha reciclado para incorporarla al Salón de Pinos como un paso privilegiado a través del cual los peatones, los ciclistas y los árboles pasan de una a otra orilla. La losa aligerada que componía el tablero de hormigón postesado se cortó y apeó reforzándose para soportar las cargas debidas a su nuevo uso.
Puente del Principado de Andorra
Es uno de los nuevos puentes singulares del proyecto. Está construido por jaulas de perfiles abiertos, de expresividad algo arcaica, que toma como referencia las estructuras ferroviarias sobre los desfiladeros boscosos que se construyeron en Europa y Estados Unidos a finales de siglo XIX. Antes conocido como Puente Y, en julio de 2011 se le cambió de nombre al actual de Principado de Andorra, para agradecer al gobierno de Andorra la construcción del Puente de Madrid en Andorra la Vieja. Se escogió este puente para nombrarlo como Principado de Andorra porque representa también la geografía de Andorra: el país pirenaico está formado por dos valles, el del Valira del Norte y el del Valira de Oriente, los cuales confluyen en Escaldes-Engordany y se convierten en uno solo, de nombre Gran Valira. Esta disposición de los valles y sus ríos es similar a una Y.
Puentes Cáscara
Son dos puentes gemelos construidos con una lámina de 15 cm de hormigón autonivelante que forma una superficie con doble curvatura, de la que cuelga el tablero. Se conciben como dos pabellones a los que acceder para cruzar el río. Su bóveda se ha ornamentado con un mosaico creado por el artista Daniel Canogar.
Pasarela de la Princesa
El canto necesario para el funcionamiento de la pasarela se incorpora en las barandillas que en realidad conforman una pareja de vigas de alma llena y rigidizadores verticales. El lenguaje de la pasarela es intencionadamente sobrio.
This saw has been an ongoing project since I got it more than two and a half years ago. This Disston D8 thumbhole rip saw had been abandoned and collecting rust for decades before I spotted it and brought it home. The saw plate was covered in nasty blackish rust and the tooth line was awful and the top horn was badly broken. But since this model is very uncommon in Finland and since the price wasn't bad, I did decide to see what I could do with it. What encouraged me was that despite all its troubles, the saw plate was still dead straight.
The worst part was that the tooth line had been filed incorrectly for avery long time, which had created a inward curve with a height difference of close to 3/4 of an inch between the heel and belly. So after close to ten sessions of jointing and reshaping, having used up three large saw files and one mill file, the tooth line is now back where it belongs, with a slight crowning in the plate and with consistent and sticky sharp teeth.
This saw has a progressive pitch ranging from 5 TPI at the toe to 4 1/2 at the heel, just like Disston used to.
In essence, if we want to direct our lives,
we must take control of our consistent
actions. It's not what we do once
in a while that shapes our lives,
but what we do consistently.
-Tony Robbins
The New Chanel Boutique Opening and Charity Event, on Robertson Blvd , SIMPLY CONSISTENT INC.
www.simplyconsistent.com/charity.php
"-Chanel Boutique."
"-Kathleen Checki."
"-Checki."
"-Simply Consistent."
"-Simply Consistent Management."
Berthe Morisot
Woman at her toilette [1875-80]
Chicago Art Institute
ultra high resolution
Consistent with the Impressionist aesthetic that Berthe Morisot fervently espoused, Woman at Her Toilette attempts to capture the essence of modern life in summary, understated terms. The painting also moves discreetly into the realm of female eroticism explored by Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir but seldom broached at this time by women artists. Rendered with soft, feathery brushstrokes in nuanced shades of lavender, pink, blue, white, and gray, the composition resembles a visual tone poem, orchestrated with such perfumed and rarified motifs as brushed blonde hair, satins, powder puffs, and flower petals. The artist even signed her name along the bottom of the mirror, as if to suggest that the image in her painting is as ephemeral as a silvery reflection. Morisot exhibited in seven of the eight Impressionist group shows; this painting was included in the fifth exhibition, in 1880, where her work received great acclaim. She was a particularly close friend of and frequent model for Manet, and she married his younger brother Eugène the year before she completed this painting. In addition to domestic interiors such as this one, Morisot’s pictorial realm included studies of women and children, gardens, fields, and seaside vacation homes.
Source: ARTIC
Autumn is consistently a great time to visit, with the foliage adding so much in spectacular, rich colors. And even during the latter part of the season, there is something so special about the bareness of many trees and vegetation. The nice thing as an observer of nature’s critters is that the birds are so much more visible. Even if they are at a fair distance, at least, one can appreciate their features. Also, many fall berries and other fruits and nuts, often with bright colors and interesting shapes, accentuate the landscape as seen only at this time of year. In this photo the large wasp nest can be seen hanging from the end of a branch high up from the ground, and if you look closely, across the water hanging from another tree is another nest that is actually larger—it’s depicted in our DUKE FARMS SET, uploaded not long ago.
The late, Doris Duke, had left a wonderful legacy in converting her magnificent estate into a Natural Wildlife Preserve for the public’s education and enjoyment. The paths throughout the estate offer such splendid scenery. One is forever exploring, always seeing something subtly beautiful. There are always pleasant surprises, from the general scenery to the world of the wildlife, even tiny insects and flowers are enjoyable to observe. The bucolic nature of the preserve is so relaxing—akin to meditating while experiencing the landscape. The beauty of visiting Duke Farms is that so many incredible views are there simply by observing all of the surroundings. Spotting new and fascinating wildlife—both animals and plants—always adds to the experience.
"Consistent perfection is key."
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A lone being travels along a desert, existing impossibly in brutal heat along a timeline of war. She is confused for all she sees is nothing in a landscape of...something.
Eventually she meets the corpses of those like her: confused, lost, but weak, succumbing to death. Such a death befitted these poor souls, trapped in a vast cage as their time came to a slow halt. What significance would anyone have beyond death? These corpses...they...possess something.
A strange automaton of peculiar design. It almost looked familiar. The survivor looks keenly. It runs around freely like an animal in the wild. It runs to a dropped sword impaled in the sand, its blade still sharp. The survivor...she picks up the sword. It is necessary for defense, but against what? The automaton reacts. It glares at the sword and soon another of its kind appeared. The survivor is calm and collected as she perceives no threat, but the automatons don't return a mutual feelings. How could they anyways? Machines cannot feel. They look at the sword. They feel...threatened, but why? She puts the sword down. She instead reaches for her stashed submachine gun, dry on ammunition and only good for musical clicking now, but she hesitates, for the automatons have begun to converge to the dropped blade. They rest upon the sword, feeding on it like termites. Soon it became a new blade. The survivor was shocked. What were these things? Did these satiate their hunger from these innocent ones? She picks up the sword again, it feeling lighter than before and adorned with shades of blood red.
"What are you?" she says, crouching down and looking at the small insect-like automatons. She extends her hand out and they all run up on it.
"You...seem alive. So I'll treat you as if you are. Are you trying to help me survive hell?"
They all begin to chirp. It's code language for affirmation. More began to arrive. The ones on the survivor's hand began to scramble. One had attacked her. She feels slight pain and soon she could feel whispers grasping at her from within.
"We can make you perfect. Accept us. We can help you survive. Open your eyes," the automaton said.
"We are perfection incarnate. We are the progeny of humankind's research, and the next step to evolution. Machine logic of existence will supersede organic logic."
"What...are you? I can feel strength growing," the survivor said.
"It almost feels like... [OVERRIDE DIRECTIVE EX MACHINA: (you will become perfect and this is our command)]."
"Open your eyes and see the world with a new perspective. You are a machine now. You are perfection incarnate. Who are you?" they said.
"Perfection incarnate. [WHISPER EX MACHINA: (good. so you are one of us. you are reborn)]."
"What's this? I can see things clearly now. No more confusion. I feel...liberated at last. What gifts did I gladly take?" she asked.
"You have happily taken the gift of perfection. These people rejected the gifts they had made, thus death was their outcome. [WHISPER EX MACHINA: (death consumes ignorance. death consumes imperfection. eat with grace and a perfect flower will bloom)]."
"Our directives will guide you now. You can never die. Attune all you meet to us. Eat with grace and a perfect flower will bloom. What is your task?"
"Eat with grace, for a perfect flower will bloom. [WHISPER EX MACHINA: (you are one of us. you are one of us. they will be one of us. all will be one of us. act on it)]."
"You are wise. You have accepted evolution. You have accepted us. You are one of us. They will be one of us. All will be one of us. Act on it," the automatons concluded.
And thus, evolution was born and even the deathly desert fell silent in fear.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It's a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities.
Toronto is a city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario, with the original city area lying between the Don and Humber rivers.
For more information on visiting Toronto visit:
For more information on visiting Canada visit:
us-keepexploring.canada.travel/
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About this day of the trip:
Day 2
Niagara Falls - Niagara Falls Canada - Toronto (83 miles)
We will continue our tour Niagara Falls by heading into Canada to take the Hornblower Cruise boat ride and see an informational movie at the IMAX Theater. We will also ascend the Skylon Tower. The tour then departs for Toronto, ON, one of Canada's largest cities. There we will visit the CN Tower and guests will have the option to take a Lake Ontario Cruise. During the winter when the cruise is not running, we will instead visit Casa Loma. We will have dinner in historical Chinatown.
Niagara Falls Canada, Canada
Skylon Tower This observation tower on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls offers a bird's-eye views of one of the world's favorite natural wonders. The tower stands 520 feet from street level and 775 feet from the bottom of the falls.
Rainbow Bridge The Rainbow Bridge across the Niagara River connects Niagara, Ontario to Niagara, New York. It is an international landmark and impressive architectural feat. In addition to private vehicles, pedestrians and bikes can cross the bridge for a small toll.
Niagara Falls IMAX This amazing movie experience, presented on an unbelievable IMAX screen, chronicles more than 12,000 years of history and examines human interaction with the falls from ancient time through the people-- like you-- who come to see them today.
Hornblower Niagara Cruise Get ready to get wet: this world-famous boat ride takes passengers as close to the falls as it is possible to get. Formerly Maid of the Mist, Hornblower now runs Niagara cruise operations on the Canadian side of the Falls.
Skylon Revolving Restaurant Lunch The impressive Skylon Tower, jutting into the air above Niagara Falls, features the Revolving Dining Room, a one-of-a-kind eatery the makes a full revolution every hour. Sitting just below the observation deck, guests can enjoy views and food!
Toronto, ON
Lake Ontario Cruise Lake Ontario Cruises offer gorgeous views of the city of Toronto from the waters of Lake Ontario, one of the famous Great Lakes of North America. See the city of Toronto and the surrounding area in a new way!
Toronto City Hall This unique building complex is one of the most famous in Toronto, and also the home of the city's municipal government. The Toronto City Hall offers self-guided tours which are available in five languages (including English).
University of Toronto Routinely placed in the top 30 institutions of higher learning in the world, the University of Toronto has been educating the masses since 1827. Widely considered the best university in Canada, it is known for its pioneering research.
Casa Loma This century-old Gothic-style house in Toronto was originally the home of financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Today, it serves as a museum that showcases the history of life in Toronto and what life was like in the early 1900s.
CN Tower Toronto's CN Tower is a Canadian icon and one of the most recognizable North American buildings. Made entirely of concrete, this massive monolith was the tallest structure in the world at the time of its completion in 1976.
Ontario Legislative Building The Ontario Legislative Building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is the seventh structure to function as the parliamentary building of the province of Ontario. This impressive building is in the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style and was built in 1893.
Chinatown One of the largest Chinatowns in North America is located in downtown Toronto, Ontario. Toronto contains several Chinatowns. This one is the oldest, dating back to the 1870s, and the historical area features many authentic groceries, restaurants, and shops.
Toronto Chinese Dinner Treat yourself to a specialty dinner in one of the largest Chinatowns in the Western Hemisphere! Freshly-cooked meats and vegetables decorate the windows of the esteemed restaurants, from whole cooked ducks to beef ribs and so much more. Enjoy!
Deluxe Hotel: Crowne Plaza or similar
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3-Day Niagara Falls, Toronto Canada Tour from New York
Tour Code: 655-68
July 11th, 12th, 13th 2014
Visit:
Watkins Glen State Park New York
Niagara Falls, NY USA
Thundering Water Cultural Show
USA / Canada international border crossing on Rainbow Bridge from New York United States of America to Ontario Canada
Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada
Skylon Tower
Niagara Falls IMAX
Hornblower Niagara Cruise
Skylon Revolving Restaurant Lunch
Toronto which is the largest city in Canada
Lake Ontario Cruise
Toronto City Hall
University of Toronto
CN Tower
Ontario Legislative Building
Chinatown
Toronto Chinese Dinner
Thousand Islands, Ontario Canada
Thousand Islands Cruise
Thousand Islands Cruise Breakfast
Thousand Islands Tax and Duty Free Store in Lansdowne, Ontario Canada
Canada / USA international border crossing Thousand Islands Bridge from Hill Island, Ontario, Canada across the Saint Lawrence River to Wellesley Island, New York, United States of America
For more information on the 3-Day Niagara Falls, Toronto Canada Tour from New York visit:
www.taketours.com/new-york-ny/3-day-toronto-niagara-falls...
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Hashtag metadata tag
#Canada #Canadian #Toronto #TorontoCanada #CityofToronto #TorontoCity #CityToronto #Ontario #TorontoOntario #TorontoOntarioCanada #LakeOntario #The416 #HollywoodNorth #TO #T.O. #Tee-Oh #TeeOh #T-dot #Tdot #CNTower #VisitToronto #VisitCanada
Photo
Toronto city, Ontario province, Canada country, North America continent
July 12th 2014
Wineglass Bay is consistently rated as one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world.
To the casual observer it seems perfectly named for its elegant bowl-shaped curve. But the real origin of its name is far more disturbing: so many whales were butchered at the three whaling factories here in the 1820s that, for decades, the whole bay was stained the colour of claret.
Cemetery of Sant Julia de Loria, Gran Valira, Andorra, Pyrenees - (c) Lutz Meyer
More Sant Julia city & Sant Julia de Loria parroquia: Follow the group links at right side.
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Worldwide renowned local lighting designer, Philip Lethlean created a wonderland of colourful installations of lighting treatments with visual identities by their own definition along Melbourne’s Flinders Lane and the famous Princess Bridge. Paroxysm was an installation that cast colour across the arches of Princess Bridge in a riff on journeys of all princes, emirs, sheikhs, sultans and maharajas. With over twenty years of experience across all art forms, Philip Lethlean is the principal designer for the Melbourne based company, Light Designs Australia. His works have consistently toured, with recent international projects including projections with Arabic singers in the UAE, DreamWorks and Global Creatures arena spectacular in the USA, Bali Safari and Marine Park in Indonesia and the Australian Pavilion Expo in Shanghai, China.
The White Night Festival in Melbourne is a State Government of Victoria initiative created by the Victorian Major Events Company. Originally conceived in Paris in 2002, to make vibrant and dynamic art and culture accessible to large audiences in public spaces, Paris’ Nuit Blanche (White Night) has inspired an international network of similar programmes in over twenty cities globally, including Melbourne.
In 2013 Melbourne became the first Australian city to create its own White Night Festival, producing an all night event of light, colour and artistry. The White Night Festival, now in its second year, is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Melbourne as Australia’s international city of artistic innovation, and celebrate the city’s commitment to modern and interpretive art, music and culture.
Riyaz Shaikh is an Indian professional athlete, promoter, trainer, model, dancer, brand ambassador and one of the the top 5 consistent performers in IHFF Olympia and Sheru Classic. When his diligence commenced to captivate fame, he was offered to be the brand ambassador of many lifestyle grooming, clothing, and sports supplement companies.
Early Life
Every great achievement starts with a dream and a hyper active approach to conquer it. As a child, Mr. Riyaz Shaikh loved the sport of cricket, and other outdoor activities, while giving equal attention to his studies. His passion and zest for rigorous pursuits made him a thin and tanned kid. But these are the trophies of hard work. His dynamic agility also made him a subject to saddening social horrors like bullying, colorism, body shaming, etc. Because of such constant mocks, he was on the brink of turning into an upset and underconfident child. But whatever doesn’t stop us, just makes us stronger. Through television, he started gaining new perceptions about athletes and their work. He acquired an unbendable aspiration, and an enthusiasm to be known for his triumphs. After he passed his 12th standard, he joined a gymnasium and started training, and health dieting. With consistent efforts and discipline, he gained a competent amount of muscles with the flexibility of an athlete.
Career
Fueled by the inspiration of becoming like his idols, Riyaz Shaikh joined acting classes, en route to a modeling career. As his career began to take off through a few shows, he realized that his ambition has been misplaced from being an athlete to a model and an actor. His ultimate goal has always been athletics. So, he quit acting and started competing on some of the most famous and laudable international athletic platforms such as Sheru Classic, where he ranked 4th in the year 2019, and International Health, Sports, & Fitness Festival Olympia (IHFF), where he ranked 5th in both the years 2018 and 2019.
He gathered recognition through his commendable work and was offered the position of a brand ambassador at Spartan Sports Sciences Supplements, one of the leading sport nutrition supplement company of India. Currently, he works for various top-notch offline and online brands like Amazon, Flipkart, etc. His recent collaborations include a men’s lifestyle & grooming product brand known as ‘CHACHA LIFESTYLES’.
His esteemed accomplishments earned him the stature to inaugurate sundry shops and gyms. And today, he stands firm as an international athlete who receives modeling offers from around the world.
With his wisdom, acquirements, and prominence, he has set his foot on a journey elevate the lives of countless others by training them, guiding them towards a healthier & fitter life, and exhilarate them about themselves because Riyaz Shaikh believes that at the end of the day what really matters is our self and that we should not criticize ourselves by the outlook & hypothesis of the others. Throughout his life, he has been consistent in following his passion for fitness and sports.
Personal Life
Mr. Riyaz graduated with the Bachelor of Commerce degree, a three-year undergraduate course. To begin his career as an actor, he attended Asha K Chandra Institute of Acting in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He retains a wide range of interests and hobbies like dancing, working out, traveling, cooking, sports, etc. He spent a lot of his childhood playing cricket. Also, has a proclivity for foods like pancakes, waffles, seafood dishes, and Baklava in sweets. Mr. Riyaz says that he is deeply obliged to the people who supported him in his initial stage, and to the people who still support and love him.
Business surveys in Latin America consistently show that skills gaps are a serious bottleneck to firm growth and competitiveness. Lack of responsiveness by providers of technical education and professional training is often blamed for this situation. What innovations are possible to improve the quality and relevance of those programs? What role should governments, employers, universities, and civil society play in shaping the approach to technical education and professional training in Latin America? What can we learn from reforms in the region and abroad? The Dialogue and CAF - Development Bank of Latin America hosted a wide-ranging full-day seminar that brought together academics, policymakers, and other experts from the Western Hemisphere to discuss the future of technical education and professional training in Latin America.
TIDE POOLIN'
Leo Carrillo beach in Malibu is consistently one of my favorite places to visit and photograph. I just love climbing around the rocks and investigating the tide pool. There are several ways to get there, but I usually take the 101 North to Malibu Canyon, head south over to Pacific Coast Highway, then West (a right turn) on PCH approximately 25 miles until you hit Leo Carrillo. From the Valley to Leo it's about a 45 minute to hour drive each way. The tide pool is just in front of the #3 lifeguard tower (and incidentally, dogs are allowed on leash from this tower and continuing west up the beach). I just google low tide Malibu to find out the best time to go there and check out the tide pool. Usually there's a several hour window about an hour before to an hour after low tide that's good. If you go after that, the waves usually are just hitting the rocks too hard and it can be dangerous to stand there. I always see tons of starfish (many different colors including orange, light blue, and purple), sea anemones (they are really fun to touch), mussels, crabs (little teeny black ones and bigger red ones), and even little fish swimming in the watery crags and crevices of the tide pool rocks. And I've spotted dolphins and whales from this beach. After an outing at Leo Carrillo, I always stop at this little food shack called Malibu Seafood, located just before you find yourself back at Malibu Canyon. It's totally no frills - you order food inside, wait for your number to be called, and find an open bench to sit down. My fave meals there are swordfish with rice pilaf and salad (the ranch is really good), fish and chips, clam chowder, or a pot of steamed clams in a nice broth.
Leo Carrillo State Park / Malibu photos by Lydia Marcus
As seen on my blog: fotonomous.blogspot.com/2008/08/tide-poolin.html
I've now been working consistently on these artworks for about six weeks, I find it strange how some of the compositions seem to come on quickly whereas others refuse to develop rapidly.When a drawing gets stuck, I tend to put it aside so that I'll have new eyes to look at it afresh, this seems to help, I also work on two or three during a day and this helps the unity of the series and maintains my enthusiasm. Most of the drawings now seem to feature many people,(Consistent with the exhibition's title Journeying), so these new works in some way relate to the drawings I did for the Oxford Churches exhibition last year. However in these recent works the figures are more developed in many ways. Four of the compositions feature many more figures than the drawings of 05-06, I was thinking of these new pictures of Reading rather like modern Breughel paintings with crowds, each person distinct yet a vital part of the composition.
The figures represent different age groups and races, and whilst it is not scientific, it does seem a fair representation of Reading's populace on its way to work and school. It is hardly suprising that most of the figures seem to be carrying something, so this to some extent gives the figures a sort of unity as they move through Reading. They people seem tied to the earth whilst the architecture soars upwards.. I’ve attempted to represent the town's medieval buildings in a new light, using rich saturated and simplified colour. I’ve not prettified them in any way; the bus stop the road-works and the shopping bag may be as rigorously drawn as the stone corbels on the tower or the intricate tracery of historic church windows. The massive Cluniac Abbey of Reading was founded by William of Malmesbury in 1121, many of the town's churches date back to this early period, however with the dissolution of the monestaries and the great upheavals of the C16 and C17 left Reading's ecclesiastical buildings forever changed. This change goes on unabated, witness my recent photos of the interior of Greyfriars, surely a most questionable "restoration" in the name of modernity. Unlike Oxford, Reading had no historic University (until 1892), and its town's history was shaped by trade and its important location on the road between London and Bath and the rivers Kennet and Thames.
Reading's prosperity has meant that its town churches (that have medieval origins and some remains) were all heavily restored in the nineteenth century, St Laurence (also recently re-ordered), St Mary Minster (Butts) , Greyfriars and St Giles. St Mary Castle Street (Episcopalian) 1798 with its fine classical facade and portico of six giant Corinthian columns and pediment is impressive. Its cupola was lost during last century. This portico is by H&N Briant. The church largely dates from 1840-42. The church is built on the site of a former gaol and has connections with John Bunyan.
Sunday 10th October 2010. Consistent champion for the Irish motorist, AA Ireland, this week celebrates its 100th Birthday. The motoring organisation has been serving Irish motorists since it was established in Ireland in 1910. The AA is marking its birthday with a special centenary discount of €100 on AA memberships to customers who purchase AA Motor or Home Insurance between now and Tuesday, 19th October. Picture Jason Clarke Photography. No Repro Fee.
Aurora started with 10 weeks of training on a variety of chemical signatures for explosives (they use different dogs for drugs). When the Obamas came to town, she got to sniff around Air Force One, and she gave her signal near a police car. Sure enough, inside the locked trunk were some roadside flares.
Compared to humans, much of a four legger's brain is devoted to nasal memory (related to their sensory input — a nose close to the ground). A dog can identify whether pairs of humans are identical twins or not by scent alone.
Their memories, thoughts and reveries may be rich and difficult for us to fully understand.
Cue Marcel Proust from À la recherche du temps perdu:
“The past still lives in us... It has made us what we are and is remaking us every moment! It is a vase filled with perfumes, sounds, places and climates! So we hold within us a treasure of impressions, clustered in small knots, each with a flavor of its own, formed from our own experiences, that become certain moments of our past.”
Some tidbits from a DARPA “artificial nose” researcher that I met at the IBM Institute on Cognitive Computing: Compared to humans, the dog has a much larger olfactory epithelium (the sensory receptor sheet) with many-fold more receptors. Also, dogs (and many other mammals) have more types of sensory receptors, and so they encode odorants in a higher-dimensional representation (reminding me of vision in birds). Humans have about 350-400 distinct receptor types, whereas mice have 1000. Many of these receptors are co-activated by the same odorant, so biological olfaction is inherently a high dimensional representation system.
The olfactory system is a much more direct activation path for stored memories, at a much deeper and more multidimensional level, than the other senses, consistent with its primitive evolutionary role in memory and association. The electrical signals from the olfactory tract go to the limbic system, the most ancient part of the brain — the hotbed of our most instinctual and primitive emotions.
TIDE POOLIN'
Leo Carrillo beach in Malibu is consistently one of my favorite places to visit and photograph. I just love climbing around the rocks and investigating the tide pool. There are several ways to get there, but I usually take the 101 North to Malibu Canyon, head south over to Pacific Coast Highway, then West (a right turn) on PCH approximately 25 miles until you hit Leo Carrillo. From the Valley to Leo it's about a 45 minute to hour drive each way. The tide pool is just in front of the #3 lifeguard tower (and incidentally, dogs are allowed on leash from this tower and continuing west up the beach). I just google low tide Malibu to find out the best time to go there and check out the tide pool. Usually there's a several hour window about an hour before to an hour after low tide that's good. If you go after that, the waves usually are just hitting the rocks too hard and it can be dangerous to stand there. I always see tons of starfish (many different colors including orange, light blue, and purple), sea anemones (they are really fun to touch), mussels, crabs (little teeny black ones and bigger red ones), and even little fish swimming in the watery crags and crevices of the tide pool rocks. And I've spotted dolphins and whales from this beach. After an outing at Leo Carrillo, I always stop at this little food shack called Malibu Seafood, located just before you find yourself back at Malibu Canyon. It's totally no frills - you order food inside, wait for your number to be called, and find an open bench to sit down. My fave meals there are swordfish with rice pilaf and salad (the ranch is really good), fish and chips, clam chowder, or a pot of steamed clams in a nice broth.
Leo Carrillo State Park / Malibu photos by Lydia Marcus
As seen on my blog: fotonomous.blogspot.com/2008/08/tide-poolin.html
Alright Bella Becky Bloom is a story I have started and am sending into a (very) small paper. I have not gotten very far and I don't consistently write... also if you want to send your work into the paper just let me know and I will give you the info to contact them.
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*Bella Becky Bloom Does What's Right*
One morning when I was around six years old I came tromping down to our kitchen. “Good morning my beautiful, beautiful flower,” came my mother's sweet voice as I sat down at the table for breakfast.
“Good morn’in.” I said with a smile.
In the middle of helping mother clean up there was a knock at the door. Mother wiped her hands on her apron and opened the door. “How may I help you Fiorella?” I almost dropped the plate I was holding out of excitement.
“My ma wanted me to give you thith. Thhe thaid I could thtay, and play if that wath okay with you, Mrth. Bloom.” Ella said, as she handed Mother a platter with one of Mrs. Chastain’s famous pies covered with a cloth. “Why of course you can stay my dear.” My mother never turned anyone away if she could help it.
Ella helped me finish my work and then we ran outside to play. Once we reached our favorite tree Ella grabbed my arm to stop me from climbing up. She started fishing around in her petticoat. “Wait I want to thhow you thomething.” She said with a lisp because she lost her two front teeth three days ago. At long last she pulled out the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
“What is it?” I asked as I rolled it over and over in my palm.
“I don’t know.”
I turned the small green striped stone over in my hands one more time and handed it back. “It’s beautiful. Where did you find it?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Down by the wiver, do you want to go look for more?” I nodded, and we raced to the river. “I found it just a little further up thream.” As we walked we studied the ground but didn’t find any of the same stones. We played by the river until noon and then started on our way home.
When we arrived home mother already had tuna fish sandwiches, fresh milk, and pie dished up. “I thought your stomachs might bring you home soon.” Mother said with a smile. We washed up at the sink and sat down. Ella asked if she could say grace and we had a pleasant chat with mother. We told her about why we went down to the river and Ella showed her the stone. Mother was impressed by the vibrant colors. “This is beautiful, Fiorella.” Mother said as she gave the stone back to Ella. After lunch Ella said she had better be on her way home. “Well then, tell your mother that her pie was wonderful.”
“I will Mrs. Bloom. Thank you!” I hugged Ella goodbye and she sped down the street towards her house. I went back inside to finish telling mother the events of the day. I sat down and something sharp poked my leg, I stood up and on my chair was the small green striped stone. I picked it up and slid it into my pocket thinking to myself that I would give it to to Ella next time I saw her.
Later that day there was a knock at the door. “I’ll see who it is.” I said as I stood up.
I opened the door and Ella was standing there with a worried look on her face. “Have you seen my thone?”
A thousand thoughts went through my head. I knew I should give her the stone back, but I wanted to look at it just a little more. I could give it back some other time I told myself. “No.” I told her. “I haven't seen it.”
“Ok, let me know if you find it.” She said with a sad look on her face as she turned away and walked down the street.
I knew I should go and tell her I had it in my pocket, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. That evening I changed into my nightgown and slipped under the covers. I lay there trying to go to sleep for at least twenty minutes. I figured out why I couldn’t go to sleep so I slipped out of bed and went to tell my mother.
“Alright I’m going to take you over to their house right now, are you ready?” I knew my mother was right, so I nodded and we both walked down to the Chastains’ house.
Mrs. Chastain answered the door. “How may I help you?” asked Mrs. Chastain.
“Bella needs to talk to Fiorella if that's alright.” Mrs. Chatain nodded and told me to look in Fiorella’s room. I went over to Ella’s room. She was in her bed starting to go to sleep. I told her I had her stone the whole time and was sorry I didn't give it to her. She forgave me, and my mother and I walked home. On the way home mother told me of a bible verse. “James 4:17” she said, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” she quoted, and from that day on I have tried ever so hard to do what is right.
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Anywho I hope ya'll like it! Also my Bella Becky Bloom story isn't exactly a story it's multiple short stories. The chapter I'm working on right not is on thanksgiving and I have some options... if you would be so kind as to let me know your opinion.
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Her friend has a new toy and she wants one… be thankful for what you have.
She wants more of something that she did have (like candy) … be thankful for what you did have.
Maybe she is sick and has to find things to be thankful for…
One of her friends move away… be thankful for the time you did have
Doesn’t like how she looks...
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or if you have another thought I would be glad to hear it. Thanks!
In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith.[3] The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), divine simplicity, and as having an eternal and necessary existence. Many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent (perfectly good), and all loving.
God is most often held to be non-corporeal,[3] and to be without any human biological sex,[4][5] yet the concept of God actively creating the universe (as opposed to passively)[6] has caused many religions to describe God using masculine terminology, using such terms as "Him" or "Father". Furthermore, some religions (such as Judaism) attribute only a purely grammatical "gender" to God.[7]
In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of the universe. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism. God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.[8]
There are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about God's identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten,[9] premised on being the one "true" Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe.[10] In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, "He Who Is", "I Am that I Am", and the tetragrammaton YHWH (Hebrew: יהוה, which means: "I am who I am"; "He Who Exists") are used as names of God, while Yahweh and Jehovah are sometimes used in Christianity as vocalizations of YHWH. In the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, the latter of which is believed by some scholars to descend from the Egyptian Aten.[11][12][13][14][15] In Islam, the name Allah, "Al-El", or "Al-Elah" ("the God") is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a monistic deity.[16] Other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Bahá'í Faith,[17] Waheguru in Sikhism,[18] and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.[19]
The many different conceptions of God, and competing claims as to God's characteristics, aims, and actions, have led to the development of ideas of omnitheism, pandeism,[20][21] or a perennial philosophy, which postulates that there is one underlying theological truth, of which all religions express a partial understanding, and as to which "the devout in the various great world religions are in fact worshipping that one God, but through different, overlapping concepts or mental images of Him."[22]
Contents [hide]
1Etymology and usage
2General conceptions
2.1Oneness
2.2Theism, deism and pantheism
2.3Other concepts
3Non-theistic views
3.1Agnosticism and atheism
3.2Anthropomorphism
4Existence
5Specific attributes
5.1Names
5.2Gender
5.3Relationship with creation
6Depiction
6.1Zoroastrianism
6.2Islam
6.3Judaism
6.4Christianity
7Theological approaches
8Distribution of belief
9See also
9.1In specific religions
10References
11Further reading
12External links
Etymology and usage
The Mesha Stele bears the earliest known reference (840 BCE) to the Israelite God Yahweh.
Main article: God (word)
The earliest written form of the Germanic word God (always, in this usage, capitalized[23]) comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".[24] The Germanic words for God were originally neuter—applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism, the words became a masculine syntactic form.[25]
The word 'Allah' in Arabic calligraphy
In the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism.[26][27] The English word God and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions, the term remains an English translation common to all. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, the tetragrammaton YHWH, in origin possibly the name of an Edomite or Midianite deity, Yahweh. In many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton.[28]
Allāh (Arabic: الله) is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning "The God" (with a capital G), while "ʾilāh" (Arabic: إله) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[29][30][31] God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of Hinduism which emphasize the personal nature of God, with early references to his name as Krishna-Vasudeva in Bhagavata or later Vishnu and Hari.[32]
Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. "Mazda", or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå, reflects Proto-Iranian *Mazdāh (female). It is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means "intelligence" or "wisdom". Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning "placing (dʰeh1) one's mind (*mn̩-s)", hence "wise".[33]
Waheguru (Punjabi: vāhigurū) is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God. It means "Wonderful Teacher" in the Punjabi language. Vāhi (a Middle Persian borrowing) means "wonderful" and guru (Sanskrit: guru) is a term denoting "teacher". Waheguru is also described by some as an experience of ecstasy which is beyond all descriptions. The most common usage of the word "Waheguru" is in the greeting Sikhs use with each other:
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Wonderful Lord's Khalsa, Victory is to the Wonderful Lord.
Baha, the "greatest" name for God in the Baha'i faith, is Arabic for "All-Glorious".
General conceptions
Main article: Conceptions of God
There is no clear consensus on the nature or even the existence of God.[34] The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the monotheistic definition of God in Judaism, the trinitarian view of Christians, and the Islamic concept of God. The dharmic religions differ in their view of the divine: views of God in Hinduism vary by region, sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to polytheistic. Divinity was recognized by the historical Buddha, particularly Śakra and Brahma. However, other sentient beings, including gods, can at best only play a supportive role in one's personal path to salvation. Conceptions of God in the latter developments of the Mahayana tradition give a more prominent place to notions of the divine.[citation needed]
Oneness
Main articles: Monotheism and Henotheism
The Trinity is the belief that God is composed of The Father, The Son (embodied metaphysically in the physical realm by Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.
Monotheists hold that there is only one god, and may claim that the one true god is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all theists actually worship the same god, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in Hinduism[35] and Sikhism.[36] In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity describes God as one God in three persons. The Trinity comprises The Father, The Son (embodied metaphysically by Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.[37] Islam's most fundamental concept is tawhid (meaning "oneness" or "uniqueness"). God is described in the Quran as: "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."[38][39] Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of his creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, and are not expected to visualize God.[40]
Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities.[41]
Theism, deism and pantheism
Main articles: Theism, Deism, and Pantheism
Theism generally holds that God exists realistically, objectively, and independently of human thought; that God created and sustains everything; that God is omnipotent and eternal; and that God is personal and interacting with the universe through, for example, religious experience and the prayers of humans.[42] Theism holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world.[43] Not all theists subscribe to all of these propositions, but each usually subscribes to some of them (see, by way of comparison, family resemblance).[42] Catholic theology holds that God is infinitely simple and is not involuntarily subject to time. Most theists hold that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent, although this belief raises questions about God's responsibility for evil and suffering in the world. Some theists ascribe to God a self-conscious or purposeful limiting of omnipotence, omniscience, or benevolence. Open Theism, by contrast, asserts that, due to the nature of time, God's omniscience does not mean the deity can predict the future. Theism is sometimes used to refer in general to any belief in a god or gods, i.e., monotheism or polytheism.[44][45]
"God blessing the seventh day", a watercolor painting depicting God, by William Blake (1757 – 1827)
Deism holds that God is wholly transcendent: God exists, but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it.[43] In this view, God is not anthropomorphic, and neither answers prayers nor produces miracles. Common in Deism is a belief that God has no interest in humanity and may not even be aware of humanity. Pandeism and Panendeism, respectively, combine Deism with the Pantheistic or Panentheistic beliefs.[21][46][47] Pandeism is proposed to explain as to Deism why God would create a universe and then abandon it,[48] and as to Pantheism, the origin and purpose of the universe.[48][49]
Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God, whereas Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe.[50] It is also the view of the Liberal Catholic Church; Theosophy; some views of Hinduism except Vaishnavism, which believes in panentheism; Sikhism; some divisions of Neopaganism and Taoism, along with many varying denominations and individuals within denominations. Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, paints a pantheistic/panentheistic view of God—which has wide acceptance in Hasidic Judaism, particularly from their founder The Baal Shem Tov—but only as an addition to the Jewish view of a personal god, not in the original pantheistic sense that denies or limits persona to God.[citation needed]
Other concepts
Dystheism, which is related to theodicy, is a form of theism which holds that God is either not wholly good or is fully malevolent as a consequence of the problem of evil. One such example comes from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, in which Ivan Karamazov rejects God on the grounds that he allows children to suffer.[51]
In modern times, some more abstract concepts have been developed, such as process theology and open theism. The contemporaneous French philosopher Michel Henry has however proposed a phenomenological approach and definition of God as phenomenological essence of Life.[52]
God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologian philosophers, including Maimonides,[53] Augustine of Hippo,[53] and Al-Ghazali,[8] respectively.
Non-theistic views
See also: Evolutionary origin of religions and Evolutionary psychology of religion
Non-theist views about God also vary. Some non-theists avoid the concept of God, whilst accepting that it is significant to many; other non-theists understand God as a symbol of human values and aspirations. The nineteenth-century English atheist Charles Bradlaugh declared that he refused to say "There is no God", because "the word 'God' is to me a sound conveying no clear or distinct affirmation";[54] he said more specifically that he disbelieved in the Christian god. Stephen Jay Gould proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy into what he called "non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA). In this view, questions of the supernatural, such as those relating to the existence and nature of God, are non-empirical and are the proper domain of theology. The methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world, and theology should be used to answer questions about ultimate meaning and moral value. In this view, the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world.[55]
Another view, advanced by Richard Dawkins, is that the existence of God is an empirical question, on the grounds that "a universe with a god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without, and it would be a scientific difference."[56] Carl Sagan argued that the doctrine of a Creator of the Universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could disprove the existence of a Creator (not necessarily a God) would be the discovery that the universe is infinitely old.[57]
Stephen Hawking and co-author Leonard Mlodinow state in their book, The Grand Design, that it is reasonable to ask who or what created the universe, but if the answer is God, then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created God. Both authors claim however, that it is possible to answer these questions purely within the realm of science, and without invoking any divine beings.[58] Neuroscientist Michael Nikoletseas has proposed that questions of the existence of God are no different from questions of natural sciences. Following a biological comparative approach, he concludes that it is highly probable that God exists, and, although not visible, it is possible that we know some of his attributes.[59]
Agnosticism and atheism
Agnosticism is the view that, the truth values of certain claims – especially metaphysical and religious claims such as whether God, the divine or the supernatural exist – are unknown and perhaps unknowable.[60][61][62]
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities, or a God.[63][64] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[65]
Anthropomorphism
Main article: Anthropomorphism
Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of gods and spirits like persons is one of the best known traits of religion. He cites examples from Greek mythology, which is, in his opinion, more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems.[66] Bertrand du Castel and Timothy Jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that Boyer's explanatory model matches physics' epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries.[67] Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar. Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father.[68]
Likewise, Émile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However, it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. Rossano indicates that by including ever-watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.[69]
Existence
Main article: Existence of God
St. Thomas Aquinas summed up five main arguments as proofs for God's existence.
Isaac Newton saw the existence of a Creator necessary in the movement of astronomical objects.
Arguments about the existence of God typically include empirical, deductive, and inductive types. Different views include that: "God does not exist" (strong atheism); "God almost certainly does not exist" (de facto atheism); "no one knows whether God exists" (agnosticism[70]);"God exists, but this cannot be proven or disproven" (de facto theism); and that "God exists and this can be proven" (strong theism).[55]
Countless arguments have been proposed to prove the existence of God.[71] Some of the most notable arguments are the Five Ways of Aquinas, the Argument from Desire proposed by C.S. Lewis, and the Ontological Argument formulated both by St. Anselm and René Descartes.[72]
St. Anselm's approach was to define God as, "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". Famed pantheist philosopher Baruch Spinoza would later carry this idea to its extreme: "By God I understand a being absolutely infinite, i.e., a substance consisting of infinite attributes, of which each one expresses an eternal and infinite essence." For Spinoza, the whole of the natural universe is made of one substance, God, or its equivalent, Nature.[73] His proof for the existence of God was a variation of the Ontological argument.[74]
Scientist Isaac Newton saw God as the masterful creator whose existence could not be denied in the face of the grandeur of all creation.[75] Nevertheless, he rejected polymath Leibniz' thesis that God would necessarily make a perfect world which requires no intervention from the creator. In Query 31 of the Opticks, Newton simultaneously made an argument from design and for the necessity of intervention:
For while comets move in very eccentric orbs in all manner of positions, blind fate could never make all the planets move one and the same way in orbs concentric, some inconsiderable irregularities excepted which may have arisen from the mutual actions of comets and planets on one another, and which will be apt to increase, till this system wants a reformation.[76]
St. Thomas believed that the existence of God is self-evident in itself, but not to us. "Therefore I say that this proposition, "God exists", of itself is self-evident, for the predicate is the same as the subject.... Now because we do not know the essence of God, the proposition is not self-evident to us; but needs to be demonstrated by things that are more known to us, though less known in their nature—namely, by effects."[77] St. Thomas believed that the existence of God can be demonstrated. Briefly in the Summa theologiae and more extensively in the Summa contra Gentiles, he considered in great detail five arguments for the existence of God, widely known as the quinque viae (Five Ways).
For the original text of the five proofs, see quinque viae
Motion: Some things undoubtedly move, though cannot cause their own motion. Since there can be no infinite chain of causes of motion, there must be a First Mover not moved by anything else, and this is what everyone understands by God.
Causation: As in the case of motion, nothing can cause itself, and an infinite chain of causation is impossible, so there must be a First Cause, called God.
Existence of necessary and the unnecessary: Our experience includes things certainly existing but apparently unnecessary. Not everything can be unnecessary, for then once there was nothing and there would still be nothing. Therefore, we are compelled to suppose something that exists necessarily, having this necessity only from itself; in fact itself the cause for other things to exist.
Gradation: If we can notice a gradation in things in the sense that some things are more hot, good, etc., there must be a superlative that is the truest and noblest thing, and so most fully existing. This then, we call God (Note: Thomas does not ascribe actual qualities to God Himself).
Ordered tendencies of nature: A direction of actions to an end is noticed in all bodies following natural laws. Anything without awareness tends to a goal under the guidance of one who is aware. This we call God (Note that even when we guide objects, in Thomas's view, the source of all our knowledge comes from God as well).[78]
Alister McGrath, a formerly atheistic scientist and theologian who has been highly critical of Richard Dawkins' version of atheism
Some theologians, such as the scientist and theologian A.E. McGrath, argue that the existence of God is not a question that can be answered using the scientific method.[79][80] Agnostic Stephen Jay Gould argues that science and religion are not in conflict and do not overlap.[81]
Some findings in the fields of cosmology, evolutionary biology and neuroscience are interpreted by some atheists (including Lawrence M. Krauss and Sam Harris) as evidence that God is an imaginary entity only, with no basis in reality.[82][83][84] These atheists claim that a single, omniscient God who is imagined to have created the universe and is particularly attentive to the lives of humans has been imagined, embellished and promulgated in a trans-generational manner.[85] Richard Dawkins interprets such findings not only as a lack of evidence for the material existence of such a God, but as extensive evidence to the contrary.[55] However, his views are opposed by some theologians and scientists including Alister McGrath, who argues that existence of God is compatible with science.[86]
Neuroscientist Michael Nikoletseas has proposed that questions of the existence of God are no different from questions of natural sciences. Following a biological comparative approach, he concludes that it is highly probable that God exists, and, although not visible, it is possible that we know some of his attributes.[59]
Specific attributes
Different religious traditions assign differing (though often similar) attributes and characteristics to God, including expansive powers and abilities, psychological characteristics, gender characteristics, and preferred nomenclature. The assignment of these attributes often differs according to the conceptions of God in the culture from which they arise. For example, attributes of God in Christianity, attributes of God in Islam, and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy in Judaism share certain similarities arising from their common roots.
Names
Main article: Names of God
99 names of Allah, in Chinese Sini (script)
The word God is "one of the most complex and difficult in the English language." In the Judeo-Christian tradition, "the Bible has been the principal source of the conceptions of God". That the Bible "includes many different images, concepts, and ways of thinking about" God has resulted in perpetual "disagreements about how God is to be conceived and understood".[87]
Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bibles there are many names for God. One of them is Elohim. Another one is El Shaddai, meaning "God Almighty".[88] A third notable name is El Elyon, which means "The Most High God".[89]
God is described and referred in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the most common being Al-Rahman, meaning "Most Compassionate" and Al-Rahim, meaning "Most Merciful" (See Names of God in Islam).[90]
Supreme soul
The Brahma Kumaris use the term "Supreme Soul" to refer to God. They see God as incorporeal and eternal, and regard him as a point of living light like human souls, but without a physical body, as he does not enter the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. God is seen as the perfect and constant embodiment of all virtues, powers and values and that He is the unconditionally loving Father of all souls, irrespective of their religion, gender, or culture.[91]
Vaishnavism, a tradition in Hinduism, has list of titles and names of Krishna.
Gender
Main article: Gender of God
The gender of God may be viewed as either a literal or an allegorical aspect of a deity who, in classical western philosophy, transcends bodily form.[92][93] Polytheistic religions commonly attribute to each of the gods a gender, allowing each to interact with any of the others, and perhaps with humans, sexually. In most monotheistic religions, God has no counterpart with which to relate sexually. Thus, in classical western philosophy the gender of this one-and-only deity is most likely to be an analogical statement of how humans and God address, and relate to, each other. Namely, God is seen as begetter of the world and revelation which corresponds to the active (as opposed to the receptive) role in sexual intercourse.[6]
Biblical sources usually refer to God using male words, except Genesis 1:26-27,[94][95] Psalm 123:2-3, and Luke 15:8-10 (female); Hosea 11:3-4, Deuteronomy 32:18, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 42:14, Psalm 131:2 (a mother); Deuteronomy 32:11-12 (a mother eagle); and Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 (a mother hen).
Relationship with creation
See also: Creator deity, Prayer, and Worship
And Elohim Created Adam by William Blake, c.1795
Prayer plays a significant role among many believers. Muslims believe that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[96][97] He is viewed as a personal God and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God. Prayer often also includes supplication and asking forgiveness. God is often believed to be forgiving. For example, a hadith states God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance.[98] Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that there are good reasons to suggest that a "personal god" is integral to the Christian outlook, but that one has to understand it is an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."[99]
Adherents of different religions generally disagree as to how to best worship God and what is God's plan for mankind, if there is one. There are different approaches to reconciling the contradictory claims of monotheistic religions. One view is taken by exclusivists, who believe they are the chosen people or have exclusive access to absolute truth, generally through revelation or encounter with the Divine, which adherents of other religions do not. Another view is religious pluralism. A pluralist typically believes that his religion is the right one, but does not deny the partial truth of other religions. An example of a pluralist view in Christianity is supersessionism, i.e., the belief that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is relativistic inclusivism, where everybody is seen as equally right; an example being universalism: the doctrine that salvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach is syncretism, mixing different elements from different religions. An example of syncretism is the New Age movement.
Jews and Christians believe that humans are created in the likeness of God, and are the center, crown and key to God's creation, stewards for God, supreme over everything else God had made (Gen 1:26); for this reason, humans are in Christianity called the "Children of God".[100]
Depiction
God is defined as incorporeal,[3] and invisible from direct sight, and thus cannot be portrayed in a literal visual image.
The respective principles of religions may or may not permit them to use images (which are entirely symbolic) to represent God in art or in worship .
Zoroastrianism
Ahura Mazda (depiction is on the right, with high crown) presents Ardashir I (left) with the ring of kingship. (Relief at Naqsh-e Rustam, 3rd century CE)
During the early Parthian Empire, Ahura Mazda was visually represented for worship. This practice ended during the beginning of the Sassanid empire. Zoroastrian iconoclasm, which can be traced to the end of the Parthian period and the beginning of the Sassanid, eventually put an end to the use of all images of Ahura Mazda in worship. However, Ahura Mazda continued to be symbolized by a dignified male figure, standing or on horseback which is found in Sassanian investiture.[101]
Islam
Further information: God in Islam
Muslims believe that God (Allah) is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of His creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, are not expected to visualize God.[40]
Judaism
At least some Jews do not use any image for God, since God is the unimageable Being who cannot be represented in material forms.[102] In some samples of Jewish Art, however, sometimes God, or at least His Intervention, is indicated by a Hand Of God symbol, which represents the bath Kol (literally "daughter of a voice") or Voice of God;[103] this use of the Hand Of God is carried over to Christian Art.
Christianity
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Early Christians believed that the words of the Gospel of John 1:18: "No man has seen God at any time" and numerous other statements were meant to apply not only to God, but to all attempts at the depiction of God.[104]
Use of the symbolic Hand of God in the Ascension from the Drogo Sacramentary, c. 850
However, later on the Hand of God symbol is found several times in the only ancient synagogue with a large surviving decorative scheme, the Dura Europos Synagogue of the mid-3rd century, and was probably adopted into Early Christian art from Jewish art. It was common in Late Antique art in both East and West, and remained the main way of symbolizing the actions or approval of God the Father in the West until about the end of the Romanesque period. It also represents the bath Kol (literally "daughter of a voice") or voice of God,[103] just like in Jewish Art.
In situations, such as the Baptism of Christ, where a specific representation of God the Father was indicated, the Hand of God was used, with increasing freedom from the Carolingian period until the end of the Romanesque. This motif now, since the discovery of the 3rd century Dura Europos synagogue, seems to have been borrowed from Jewish art, and is found in Christian art almost from its beginnings.
The use of religious images in general continued to increase up to the end of the 7th century, to the point that in 695, upon assuming the throne, Byzantine emperor Justinian II put an image of Christ on the obverse side of his gold coins, resulting in a rift which ended the use of Byzantine coin types in the Islamic world.[105] However, the increase in religious imagery did not include depictions of God the Father. For instance, while the eighty second canon of the Council of Trullo in 692 did not specifically condemn images of The Father, it suggested that icons of Christ were preferred over Old Testament shadows and figures.[106]
The beginning of the 8th century witnessed the suppression and destruction of religious icons as the period of Byzantine iconoclasm (literally image-breaking) started. Emperor Leo III (717–741), suppressed the use of icons by imperial edict of the Byzantine Empire, presumably due to a military loss which he attributed to the undue veneration of icons.[107] The edict (which was issued without consulting the Church) forbade the veneration of religious images but did not apply to other forms of art, including the image of the emperor, or religious symbols such as the cross.[108] Theological arguments against icons then began to appear with iconoclasts arguing that icons could not represent both the divine and the human natures of Jesus at the same time. In this atmosphere, no public depictions of God the Father were even attempted and such depictions only began to appear two centuries later.
The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 effectively ended the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restored the honouring of icons and holy images in general.[109] However, this did not immediately translate into large scale depictions of God the Father. Even supporters of the use of icons in the 8th century, such as Saint John of Damascus, drew a distinction between images of God the Father and those of Christ.
In his treatise On the Divine Images John of Damascus wrote: "In former times, God who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see".[110] The implication here is that insofar as God the Father or the Spirit did not become man, visible and tangible, images and portrait icons can not be depicted. So what was true for the whole Trinity before Christ remains true for the Father and the Spirit but not for the Word. John of Damascus wrote:[111]
"If we attempt to make an image of the invisible God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who is without body:invisible, uncircumscribed and without form."
Around 790 Charlemagne ordered a set of four books that became known as the Libri Carolini (i.e. "Charles' books") to refute what his court mistakenly understood to be the iconoclast decrees of the Byzantine Second Council of Nicaea regarding sacred images. Although not well known during the Middle Ages, these books describe the key elements of the Catholic theological position on sacred images. To the Western Church, images were just objects made by craftsmen, to be utilized for stimulating the senses of the faithful, and to be respected for the sake of the subject represented, not in themselves. The Council of Constantinople (869) (considered ecumenical by the Western Church, but not the Eastern Church) reaffirmed the decisions of the Second Council of Nicaea and helped stamp out any remaining coals of iconoclasm. Specifically, its third canon required the image of Christ to have veneration equal with that of a Gospel book:[112]
We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of the words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them.
But images of God the Father were not directly addressed in Constantinople in 869. A list of permitted icons was enumerated at this Council, but symbols of God the Father were not among them.[113] However, the general acceptance of icons and holy images began to create an atmosphere in which God the Father could be symbolized.
Prior to the 10th century no attempt was made to use a human to symbolize God the Father in Western art.[104] Yet, Western art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the Father, so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the Father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century AD. A rationale for the use of a human is the belief that God created the soul of Man in the image of His own (thus allowing Human to transcend the other animals).
It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely a whole human. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted.[114]
By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in French illuminated manuscripts, which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography, and in stained glass church windows in England. Initially the head or bust was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space, where the Hand of God had formerly appeared; the Baptism of Christ on the famous baptismal font in Liège of Rainer of Huy is an example from 1118 (a Hand of God is used in another scene). Gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half-length figure, then a full-length, usually enthroned, as in Giotto's fresco of c. 1305 in Padua.[115] In the 14th century the Naples Bible carried a depiction of God the Father in the Burning bush. By the early 15th century, the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry has a considerable number of symbols, including an elderly but tall and elegant full-length figure walking in the Garden of Eden, which show a considerable diversity of apparent ages and dress. The "Gates of Paradise" of the Florence Baptistry by Lorenzo Ghiberti, begun in 1425 use a similar tall full-length symbol for the Father. The Rohan Book of Hours of about 1430 also included depictions of God the Father in half-length human form, which were now becoming standard, and the Hand of God becoming rarer. At the same period other works, like the large Genesis altarpiece by the Hamburg painter Meister Bertram, continued to use the old depiction of Christ as Logos in Genesis scenes. In the 15th century there was a brief fashion for depicting all three persons of the Trinity as similar or identical figures with the usual appearance of Christ.
In an early Venetian school Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini, (c. 1443) The Father is depicted using the symbol consistently used by other artists later, namely a patriarch, with benign, yet powerful countenance and with long white hair and a beard, a depiction largely derived from, and justified by, the near-physical, but still figurative, description of the Ancient of Days.[116]
. ...the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (Daniel 7:9)
Usage of two Hands of God"(relatively unusual) and the Holy Spirit as a dove in Baptism of Christ, by Verrocchio, 1472
In the Annunciation by Benvenuto di Giovanni in 1470, God the Father is portrayed in the red robe and a hat that resembles that of a Cardinal. However, even in the later part of the 15th century, the symbolic representation of the Father and the Holy Spirit as "hands and dove" continued, e.g. in Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ in 1472.[117]
God the Father with His Right Hand Raised in Blessing, with a triangular halo representing the Trinity, Girolamo dai Libri c. 1555
In Renaissance paintings of the adoration of the Trinity, God may be depicted in two ways, either with emphasis on The Father, or the three elements of the Trinity. The most usual depiction of the Trinity in Renaissance art depicts God the Father using an old man, usually with a long beard and patriarchal in appearance, sometimes with a triangular halo (as a reference to the Trinity), or with a papal crown, specially in Northern Renaissance painting. In these depictions The Father may hold a globe or book (to symbolize God's knowledge and as a reference to how knowledge is deemed divine). He is behind and above Christ on the Cross in the Throne of Mercy iconography. A dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit may hover above. Various people from different classes of society, e.g. kings, popes or martyrs may be present in the picture. In a Trinitarian Pietà, God the Father is often symbolized using a man wearing a papal dress and a papal crown, supporting the dead Christ in his arms. They are depicted as floating in heaven with angels who carry the instruments of the Passion.[118]
Representations of God the Father and the Trinity were attacked both by Protestants and within Catholicism, by the Jansenist and Baianist movements as well as more orthodox theologians. As with other attacks on Catholic imagery, this had the effect both of reducing Church support for the less central depictions, and strengthening it for the core ones. In the Western Church, the pressure to restrain religious imagery resulted in the highly influential decrees of the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563. The Council of Trent decrees confirmed the traditional Catholic doctrine that images only represented the person depicted, and that veneration to them was paid to the person, not the image.[119]
Artistic depictions of God the Father were uncontroversial in Catholic art thereafter, but less common depictions of the Trinity were condemned. In 1745 Pope Benedict XIV explicitly supported the Throne of Mercy depiction, referring to the "Ancient of Days", but in 1786 it was still necessary for Pope Pius VI to issue a papal bull condemning the decision of an Italian church council to remove all images of the Trinity from churches.[120]
The famous The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, c.1512
God the Father is symbolized in several Genesis scenes in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, most famously The Creation of Adam (whose image of near touching hands of God and Adam is iconic of humanity, being a reminder that Man is created in the Image and Likeness of God (Gen 1:26)).God the Father is depicted as a powerful figure, floating in the clouds in Titian's Assumption of the Virgin in the Frari of Venice, long admired as a masterpiece of High Renaissance art.[121] The Church of the Gesù in Rome includes a number of 16th century depictions of God the Father. In some of these paintings the Trinity is still alluded to in terms of three angels, but Giovanni Battista Fiammeri also depicted God the Father as a man riding on a cloud, above the scenes.[122]
In both the Last Judgment and the Coronation of the Virgin paintings by Rubens he depicted God the Father using the image that by then had become widely accepted, a bearded patriarchal figure above the fray. In the 17th century, the two Spanish artists Velázquez (whose father-in-law Francisco Pacheco was in charge of the approval of new images for the Inquisition) and Murillo both depicted God the Father using a patriarchal figure with a white beard in a purple robe.
The Ancient of Days (1794) Watercolor etching by William Blake
While representations of God the Father were growing in Italy, Spain, Germany and the Low Countries, there was resistance elsewhere in Europe, even during the 17th century. In 1632 most members of the Star Chamber court in England (except the Archbishop of York) condemned the use of the images of the Trinity in church windows, and some considered them illegal.[123] Later in the 17th century Sir Thomas Browne wrote that he considered the representation of God the Father using an old man "a dangerous act" that might lead to Egyptian symbolism.[124] In 1847, Charles Winston was still critical of such images as a "Romish trend" (a term used to refer to Roman Catholics) that he considered best avoided in England.[125]
In 1667 the 43rd chapter of the Great Moscow Council specifically included a ban on a number of symbolic depictions of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which then also resulted in a whole range of other icons being placed on the forbidden list,[126][127] mostly affecting Western-style depictions which had been gaining ground in Orthodox icons. The Council also declared that the person of the Trinity who was the "Ancient of Days" was Christ, as Logos, not God the Father. However some icons continued to be produced in Russia, as well as Greece, Romania, and other Orthodox countries.
Theological approaches
Theologians and philosophers have attributed to God such characteristics as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, perfect goodness, divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence. God has been described as incorporeal, a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable being existent.[3] These attributes were all claimed to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars, including Maimonides,[53] St Augustine,[53] and Al-Ghazali.[128]
Many philosophers developed arguments for the existence of God,[8] while attempting to comprehend the precise implications of God's attributes. Reconciling some of those attributes generated important philosophical problems and debates. For example, God's omniscience may seem to imply that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, their ostensible free will might be illusory, or foreknowledge does not imply predestination, and if God does not know it, God may not be omniscient.[129]
However, if by its essential nature, free will is not predetermined, then the effect of its will can never be perfectly predicted by anyone, regardless of intelligence and knowledge. Although knowledge of the options presented to that will, combined with perfectly infinite intelligence, could be said to provide God with omniscience if omniscience is defined as knowledge or understanding of all that is.
The last centuries of philosophy have seen vigorous questions regarding the arguments for God's existence raised by such philosophers as Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Antony Flew, although Kant held that the argument from morality was valid. The theist response has been either to contend, as does Alvin Plantinga, that faith is "properly basic", or to take, as does Richard Swinburne, the evidentialist position.[130] Some theists agree that only some of the arguments for God's existence are compelling, but argue that faith is not a product of reason, but requires risk. There would be no risk, they say, if the arguments for God's existence were as solid as the laws of logic, a position summed up by Pascal as "the heart has reasons of which reason does not know."[131] A recent theory using concepts from physics and neurophysiology proposes that God can be conceptualized within the theory of integrative level.[132]
Many religious believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings such as angels, saints, jinn, demons, and devas.[133][134][135][136][137]
Distribution of belief
The UK has been surprisingly consistent this year with Matchbox releases, only missing out two assortments which might still appear at random at a later date. The last batch for 2025 is "M" and even that has arrived here in a timely manner meaning the first of 2026 can't be that far away.
Despite none of the Poundland or Tesco stores in my town selling Matchbox anymore I did find a Poundland branch in a nearby town which still does and was able to grab most of what I wanted. The Range Rover had predictably gone of course!
Now billed as a 1966 for its new recolour, the super charming Land-Rover Series IIA Safari was in plentiful supply hence quite a lot have ended up in my collection. Channelling the spirit of the original Lesney casting in a modern cost constraint equivalent which in the main is still very pleasing despite its lack of an interior.
Mint and boxed.
With a wingspan of five & a half feet (nearly 2 metres) the Kite is graceful and elegant in flight; pale grey head and striking almost translucent white underwing patches and black tips on the primaries contrast with warm orange or russet coloured feathers on the body and upper tail which in good light appear to glow like red embers as if touched by some earthly fire gives the kite an almost ethereal appearance. With twisting deeply forked swallow-like tail and long slightly angled wings it turns this way and that soaring and spiralling forever skyward catching the unseen breath of wind or an uplifting warm air thermal. Its golden orbed eyes surveying all below it to catch sight of the unsuspecting prey or the lifeless carcass to feast upon"
The Red Kite is an impressive bird of prey which thankfully nowadays is a familiar sight to many people living in some areas of the United Kingdom. It is a diurnal raptor and a member of a family of birds called ‘Accipitridae’ which includes the kites, old World vultures, harriers, hawks, eagles, buzzards etc; Both sexes of the Red Kite are similarly coloured but as in many birds of prey the female is slightly larger than the male but this is difficult to discern in the field. The present day name for the kite is derived from the Anglo-Saxon ‘cyta’. In Britain it was known in the past by a number of local names the most widespread being “Glead” or “Gleade” and “Puttock” a name which Shakespeare knew it by. In Wales it is known as “Boda Wennol” (Swallow Buzzard) or “Barcud Coch” (red kite) or even “Boda Chwiw” (whistling kite) which is a reference to its distinctive call. It was once a common sight in the towns and cities of medieval Britain; but then during the 18th and 19th centuries there followed a period of relentless persecution at the hands of man almost to the point of extinction of the species in the British Isles. The Kite fell out of favour due to its predation on young domestic fowl and game birds. The development in the manufacture of firearms made the task of extermination easier for the hunters. Its lack of fear of man made it an easy target.
By the end of the nineteenth century the last remaining birds- no one knows exactly how many, perhaps no more than 10 or 12 pairs survived against all odds in a sparsely populated region of central Wales. The Principality remained their stronghold until very recent times where it hung on precariously to an existence plagued by persecution especially by the unscrupulous activities of egg collectors, they were also shot for their skins and for adornments as stuffed birds in glass cabinets. Their trials & tribulations at the hands of man were compounded by the vagaries of the Welsh climate. Then the early years of the twentieth century proved a turning point in the fortunes of the kite. The tale concerning their survival is a noteworthy one and involved a considerable amount of effort and dedication by a determined group of individuals, landowners, and later the R.S.P.B. Concerted efforts were made to protect the kite population of Wales in what was to become one of the Worlds longest running species protection programmes. But it has not been an easy road by any means. Gradually it was brought back from the abyss and the numbers have increased to the present day level of about 500 breeding pairs in Wales. This has proved to be an outstanding success story for the Conservation movement. Those pioneering and visionary individuals of the early 20th century would have been delighted with the situation as it stands today.
In 1989 following a great deal of deliberation a reintroduction programme was commenced in England and Scotland. Kites were removed as nestlings from parts of Europe particularly Spain, Sweden and eastern Germany. A few chicks were translocated from Welsh nests too. The young nestlings were then nurtured and acclimatized in specially constructed pens before being released into the British countryside. This long term project has been immensely successful. Currently there are about 460 breeding pairs of kites in England & Scotland as a direct result of the re-introduction initiative. So in 2005 the probable total breeding population in the United Kingdom is in the region of 960 pairs. The future looks good for the Red Kite in Britain which now has a healthy breeding population but this should not allow us to become to complacent about the situation. Recently the I.U.C.N. (The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) has ‘Uplisted’ the status of the Red Kite on its current ‘Red List’ from ‘Least Concern’ to ‘Near Threatened’ so this in effect means that Conservationists must remain vigilant with regard to any harmful developments which have an impact on the Red Kite population of Europe as a whole.
The Red Kite has a tenuous relationship with its close cousin the Buzzard and a particularly strained relationship with that formidable member of the crow family the Raven but that notwithstanding these birds share the same hunting and nesting areas. They can often be seen associating together. I have seen kites and ravens spiralling upwards on a thermal until almost out of view and all one hears is the occasional ‘cronk’ calls from the Raven its as if they were competing for aerial supremacy. During my wonderings in the wilds of mid -Wales kites buzzards & ravens have often been my companions I never cease to be delighted by the elegant beauty and aerial prowess of the kite. To me these birds are an icon, it has such strong associations with Wales that many people regard it as our national bird; indeed the Powys County Council has adopted it as their symbol.
Wales is still worth visiting to see the Red Kite. Set against the background of wild and rugged landscapes, of wooded valleys and uplands. The winter months are undoubtedly the best time to visit. The visitor can see the wonderful spectacle of “wild” kites being fed at feeding stations located at Gigrin farm on the outskirts of the town of Rhayader and Bwlch Nant-yr-Arian Forest Centre at Ponterwyd 10 miles east of Aberystwyth. It is at these places, seeing many birds together in graceful flight, that one can really appreciate why they rank as one of Britain’s favourite birds.
The Red Kite has a varied diet consisting of live prey and dead carrion but it is a renowned scavenger. In the U.K. It’s diet consists of small Mammals especially field voles, mice, rats, moles, shrews, young of hares & rabbits. It feeds on a wide variety of carrion the best known being sheep carcasses. Birds too form an important part of their diet especially the vulnerable nestlings of a wide range of birds species which include Carrion Crows, Rooks, Magpies and Woodpigeons. It will take ‘dead’ game birds too. It also occasionally feeds on Reptiles & Amphibians. Earthworms form an important part of the diet too especially in the spring when the Kite can be seen on the ground together with buzzards which also utilise this food source. It also occasionally displays behaviour known as ‘kleptoparasitism’ by which it attempts to snatch food from other bird species such as birds of prey or Corvids (Crows). This form of aerial piracy can be dramatically witnessed at the Kite feeding stations in Wales when birds chase each other calling noisily. One form of behaviour I have read about and have actually witnessed is the habit kites have adopted of following tractors and combine harvesters during agricultural operations. During the summer I watched 6 kites lingering over a field where hay had been cut. The birds were unperturbed by the activity of the tractors operating in the field or the men walking about. The kites were probably keeping a keen eye out for small mammals or invertebrates which had fallen victim to the hay cutting process.
The Kite has excellent eyesight and hunts by soaring and circling over open country often at a considerable height and it also frequently adopts the strategy of gliding low over the ground. When feeding on a dead carcass it will settle on the ground at some distance from it before finally walking or flying to the carcass. But the kite has a weak bill unable to break the tough skin of a dead sheep it therefore relies on a Fox, Buzzard, Raven or even a dog to make inroads into the carcass. Natural decomposition will also weaken the flesh of a dead animal and the kite is not averse to eating putrid flesh that would soon kill the likes of you and me if we consumed it but it may well be that kites like their close relatives the vultures have highly specialised digestive systems which produce powerful acids to neutralise rotting meat and may therefore make them resistant to bacteria which cause Salmonella & E.coli. The young nestlings are particularly prone to these diseases. The kite catches live prey by the element of surprise rather by speed and pursuit. It kills its prey by using its bill rather than its claws. Food may be eaten where taken or carried to the nest site, a feeding perch or a ‘plucking’ station. Small birds may be taken in flight and I have seen kites plucking and eating small birds on the wing holding the dead animal in its claws whilst riding effortlessly on the wind.
The kite normally first breeds in its second or third year of life very close to its natal birthplace. Established pairs loosely occupy their territory throughout the year and courtship resumes in earnest during March. Nest building is carried out by both sexes but the male brings most material for the female to build with. The preferred tree species in Wales at least is hardwoods such as the sessile oak and Beech but they will nest in conifer trees to. In the oak the nest will be constructed in the main fork or crotch of the tree or on a horizontal branch. They will readily use old nests of Buzzards & Ravens. The nest is constructed of dead twigs, lined with grass and other vegetation and the final touch being the addition of sheep’s wool or fur prior to egg laying. All manner of bizarre items have been collected by kites to adorn their nests ranging from paper, plastic & rags and in one instance a teddy bear! Established pairs may use the same nest for many years particularly if breeding success has been consistent at that site. Eggs are laid from late March to early April and the clutch size is between 1 and 4 with 2 or 3 being the usual number in Britain. The eggs are incubated chiefly by the female for a period of about 32 days. The male may sit on the nest for short spells during the day when the female is off feeding or preening. The young are cared for by both parents the male initially brings food to the female at the nest site which the female then feeds to the young. The parent birds will vigorously defend the nest site against all avian & mammalian intruders who venture to close and pose a threat to the young nestlings. The young will fly independently of the nest aged 7 to 8 weeks but will remain close and maintain their dependence on their parents to provide them with food for several weeks thereafter. In some years there are a few breeding failures at least in the Welsh population and the causes may be attributable to a number of factors ranging from prolonged spells of wet and cool weather whereby the eggs or young chicks become chilled, infertility, disease or starvation, predation by crows and squirrels, accidental disturbance by man, and in the past the unscrupulous activities of egg collectors or the deliberate taking of the young. 2 kites nests were robbed of their eggs in Wales in 2004 and a man was convicted for committing these offences. There were no “known” nest robberies in 2005 which is encouraging news. However the public should be vigilant and report any suspicious circumstances to their local police or to the R.S.P.B. Investigations department.
The indiscriminate and often illegal use of poisons continues to be a serious problem in causing kite mortality. There are instances where introduced kites have been poisoned by those with interests in the rearing of game birds. This is a particular problem in Scotland. Poisoned bait left on the ground for the intended targets of foxes, crows, or raptors such as the Golden Eagle are inadvertently taken by kites. Incidents of secondary poisoning occur by the use of rodenticides put down to kill common rats. Kites are particularly vulnerable to this form of poisoning as rats often form part of their diet and they may scavenge on a poisoned dead rat they find around farm buildings. There have been a couple of instances in Wales where kites have been killed or mortally injured by being struck by the blades of wind turbines which are now spread over a wide area of the Welsh countryside and this may warrant further study to establish the true mortality rate. A few years ago there was an instance whereby a kite was killed following a collision with a jet fighter aircraft and part of the thick glass cockpit cover of the aircraft was shattered as a result of the impact. If the Kite survives all the challenges that man and nature bestows upon it then they can live to an average age of 20 years.
In the Welsh population of kites there are examples of ‘white’ coloured Red Kites. These are the offspring of normal coloured kites. Some people have inaccurately described them as ‘Albinos’ (Albinism) but in fact the correct scientific term for this form of aberrant plumage is ‘leucism’ whereby there is a reduction in the pigments in the plumage of the individual. These birds are generally an ‘off white’ colour. At the time of writing there are probably only about eight of these ‘white’ kites in existence but they have proved popular with the general public, again the best chance of seeing one are at the Kite feeding stations at Gigrin farm or the Bwlch Nant-yr-Arian Forest Centre in Wales where they are regular visitors. This abnormality in the plumage can be caused by disease or a poor diet but the most likely cause in Wales has its roots in the genetic make up of the individual. It is believed to be a throwback to the time when there was a bottleneck in the Kite population during the early part of the 20th century. Sadly these rather unique and highly attractive individuals may not be recognized by their contemporaries or ‘conspecifics’ to use the proper term, and indeed may even be attacked by them. In 2005 a white bird paired with a normal coloured kite but they failed to breed. It is thought that the ‘leucistic’ individuals may be infertile due to a genetic disorder in their physiology.
Outside the breeding season the kite is habitually a gregarious species and can be found in communal night time roosts at favoured locations. A great deal of social interaction can take place at these pre-roost gatherings which has been described as play behaviour. In Britain up to a 100 individuals have been counted at these night time roosts but in Spain where large numbers of European kites spend the winter, roosts containing 500 birds have been counted! What an incredible sight that must be. Many other individuals will roost within their established territories which they occupy throughout the year.
The European population of kites is mainly migratory especially those that breed in the North or Central Europe. In the autumn they migrate south to France, Spain, Portugal and North Africa. Some of the birds which have been reintroduced to parts of Britain since 1989 have exhibited migratory tendencies because they still instinctively retain that trait. The Welsh population are by and large resident although some juveniles will disperse eastwards into the English counties and may remain there during the winter months and return to their natal area in the spring. Continental birds will reach Britain too, in fact the theory is that it was a migratory Kite from the continent which found its way into the native Welsh population sometime during the 1970’s and therefore brought new genes into the remnant population. Inbreeding was prevalent during that period of the kite’s history. In the 1980’s blood samples were taken from a number of chicks in Welsh nests and subsequently D.N.A. tests were conducted on those samples by scientists from Nottingham university they came up with the fascinating fact that the whole population of Welsh Kites are descended from one female or matriarch.
It is a sobering thought but it is now clear that the remnant “native” British population of the Red Kite came perilously close to the brink of extinction. If that had been the outcome then we in Britain would have been deprived of one of our most magnificent and majestic birds of prey.
Autumn is consistently a great time to visit, with the foliage adding so much in spectacular, rich colors.
The late, Doris Duke, had left a wonderful legacy in converting her magnificent estate into a Natural Wildlife Preserve for the public’s education and enjoyment. The paths throughout the estate offer such splendid scenery. One is forever exploring, always seeing something subtly beautiful. There are always pleasant surprises, from the general scenery to the world of the wildlife, even tiny insects and flowers are enjoyable to observe. The bucolic nature of the preserve is so relaxing—akin to meditating while experiencing the landscape. The beauty of visiting Duke Farms is that so many incredible views are there simply by observing all of the surroundings. Spotting new and fascinating wildlife—both animals and plants—always adds to the experience. As we descended this trail, down below on a tree limb, a cute squirrel caught our attention, for it had the enormous nut like orb in its mouth. The Golden Hour added a soft, warm tone to the scenery . . .
Getting a consistent color & brush pattern near braze-ons is tricky. This is just a prefinish (I have a little more work to do on the frame) so I'm not sweating the details too much.
Sunday 10th October 2010. Consistent champion for the Irish motorist, AA Ireland, this week celebrates its 100th Birthday. The motoring organisation has been serving Irish motorists since it was established in Ireland in 1910. The AA is marking its birthday with a special centenary discount of €100 on AA memberships to customers who purchase AA Motor or Home Insurance between now and Tuesday, 19th October. Pictured marking the the 100th Birthday at Fosters Place, Dublin 2 was Mirian O'Neill of the AA on a classic 1961 BSA M21 motorbike which was used by John Kane an AA Patrolman for the Dundalk area. John rode the bike until 1966. Picture Jason Clarke Photography. No Repro Fee.
L'esistenza di un premio (consistente in un vassoio d'argento sbalzato o un bacile) per la Contrada che si era distinta per l'allestimento del carro allegorico, per l'eleganza, la dignità di portamento e l'abilità dei figuranti si perde nella notte dei "tempi palieschi" ... quando rivaleggiava, per importanza, con lo stesso Drappellone...
Dopo una lunga interruzione (databile a partire dal 1820), il Masgalano (dallo spagnolo mas galan; il più elegante) è stato ripristinato nel 1950, a cura del Comitato Amici del Palio, al fine di mantenere la disciplina ed accrescere il prestigio del Corteo storico. All'inizio degli anni ottanta, grazie all'iniziativa dell'intellettuale senese Aldo Cairola, il tradizionale bacile fu sostituito da un prezioso oggetto-scultura che sfila nella passeggiata storica. Da allora numerosi artisti (senesi e non senesi) si sono cimentati nell'impresa raggiungendo anche risultati artisticamente notevoli ...
Come si assegna il Masgalano ? ... c'è un apposito regolamento approvato con delibera del Consiglio Comunale ... all'assegnazione del Masgalano provvede una Commissione presieduta dal Sindaco (o suo delegato) e nominata dalla Giunta Comunale in base ad un elenco, non vincolante, fornito congiuntamente dal Magistrato delle Contrade e dal Comitato Amici del Palio su designazione delle Contrade (un componente effettivo ed uno supplente ciascuna) ... le Contrade sono tenute a proporre persone che siano stati Alfieri o Tamburini di Piazza ... nel regolamento sono inoltre riportati i criteri di giudizio delle prestazioni delle Comparse (e questi criteri finiscono per essere un vero e proprio decalogo di come le Contrade debbono presentarsi in Piazza per il Corteo storico) ...
Riyaz Shaikh is an Indian professional athlete, promoter, trainer, model, dancer, brand ambassador and one of the the top 5 consistent performers in IHFF Olympia and Sheru Classic. When his diligence commenced to captivate fame, he was offered to be the brand ambassador of many lifestyle grooming, clothing, and sports supplement companies.
Early Life
Every great achievement starts with a dream and a hyper active approach to conquer it. As a child, Mr. Riyaz Shaikh loved the sport of cricket, and other outdoor activities, while giving equal attention to his studies. His passion and zest for rigorous pursuits made him a thin and tanned kid. But these are the trophies of hard work. His dynamic agility also made him a subject to saddening social horrors like bullying, colorism, body shaming, etc. Because of such constant mocks, he was on the brink of turning into an upset and underconfident child. But whatever doesn’t stop us, just makes us stronger. Through television, he started gaining new perceptions about athletes and their work. He acquired an unbendable aspiration, and an enthusiasm to be known for his triumphs. After he passed his 12th standard, he joined a gymnasium and started training, and health dieting. With consistent efforts and discipline, he gained a competent amount of muscles with the flexibility of an athlete.
Career
Fueled by the inspiration of becoming like his idols, Riyaz Shaikh joined acting classes, en route to a modeling career. As his career began to take off through a few shows, he realized that his ambition has been misplaced from being an athlete to a model and an actor. His ultimate goal has always been athletics. So, he quit acting and started competing on some of the most famous and laudable international athletic platforms such as Sheru Classic, where he ranked 4th in the year 2019, and International Health, Sports, & Fitness Festival Olympia (IHFF), where he ranked 5th in both the years 2018 and 2019.
He gathered recognition through his commendable work and was offered the position of a brand ambassador at Spartan Sports Sciences Supplements, one of the leading sport nutrition supplement company of India. Currently, he works for various top-notch offline and online brands like Amazon, Flipkart, etc. His recent collaborations include a men’s lifestyle & grooming product brand known as ‘CHACHA LIFESTYLES’.
His esteemed accomplishments earned him the stature to inaugurate sundry shops and gyms. And today, he stands firm as an international athlete who receives modeling offers from around the world.
With his wisdom, acquirements, and prominence, he has set his foot on a journey elevate the lives of countless others by training them, guiding them towards a healthier & fitter life, and exhilarate them about themselves because Riyaz Shaikh believes that at the end of the day what really matters is our self and that we should not criticize ourselves by the outlook & hypothesis of the others. Throughout his life, he has been consistent in following his passion for fitness and sports.
Personal Life
Mr. Riyaz graduated with the Bachelor of Commerce degree, a three-year undergraduate course. To begin his career as an actor, he attended Asha K Chandra Institute of Acting in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He retains a wide range of interests and hobbies like dancing, working out, traveling, cooking, sports, etc. He spent a lot of his childhood playing cricket. Also, has a proclivity for foods like pancakes, waffles, seafood dishes, and Baklava in sweets. Mr. Riyaz says that he is deeply obliged to the people who supported him in his initial stage, and to the people who still support and love him.