“What I’m searching for when I walk the streets are people I can engage with, somebody whose face and particularly eyes, scream a story.”

This is a quote from Bruce Gilden a controversial New York photographer.

In 2014 he was invited to contribute to the Black Country Stories series. A project initiated by the community arts organisation Multistory that seeks to document working-class Britain. Gilden focused his lens on the ‘invisible people’ of Dudley, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton, all places marked by decades of industrial decline, to create stark colour portraits in which each face takes up the entire frame of the picture. The images were cropped so tightly that there was no sign of the street. The viewer is confronted with every contour, crease and crevice etched into the faces of his subjects under the harsh light of his flash. His method of taking these images was to stride purposefully through crowds and jump out in front of people with his flash in one hand and thrusting his camera into the faces of unsuspecting subjects. Ironically all of his subjects gave permission to show their pictures. The images are from Gilden’s new book called ‘Face’.

These pictures are on display in the Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, Manchester, UK.

My interest is of the two silhouetted figures sat in front of the pictures making up their own minds as to whether the pictures are worthy of an exhibition or not. You decide….!

I finally got to visit the new Bespoke Community centre and decided play with the Neko Stray V2(squeee evox update and cool hud!)! It's gorgeous but of course it is, the designers are magical gods. I can't wait to contribute to the community with mods to my favorite mesh heads and avatars in the future. <3 MUAH you all.

/POSE/

Tsuki // Veena Static 2 pose

//BODY,HAIR//

BeSpoke - Neko Stray v2 / skin: Cream eyes: cat eyes 2

.STOIC. MANICURED CLAWS

AP: Handy Pawpads v1.0.1 (eB.Reborn)

MAZE.mods - Soft Thighs (both) (eBody Reborn)

REBORN - Waifus - Addon v1.0

REBORN by eBODY v1.69.6

VCO ~ NANDA Hair / Rigged /

//CLOTHING,ATTACH//

NI.JU // Ermine Ribbon Collar (no spikes)

.Malediction.Flora Thigh Ribbons

{Oiche} . Odette Dress {E.body Waifu Boobs}(tinted to purple from light pink)

~C.R~ Meowchi (Plate) (Attach) -server item

Photographed on an afternoon with great clouds at Lindo Lake in Lakeside, California. I would always like to have clouds, water and healthy vegetation in all of my infrared pictures as I think those elements contribute to building a strong image. I used channel swapping to turn the sky blue. I do use a polarizing filter with infrared because I think it accentuates the effect. Here is a link to a tutorial on playing with infrared images. www.lifepixel.com/photo-tutorials/infrared-photoshop-videos

I've been taking infrared images for at least 15 years with a total of 3 different cameras. It's much easier to take infrared images digitally that it was in the film days. If you like this look, I have an album of infrared photographs, creatively named Infrared.

www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157600507865146/

June 6 is the day of 6x6.

Quick comparison of today's state of the art twin lens camera and historical one. Today's iPhone 11 has 12MP camera on its back and is around 20 times thinner than Rolleicord however ,as for image quality, Schneider lens and kodak film generate obviously fine, richer image than current technology generates.

In this 60 years technology and digitalization made us easy to take, store and share photography but they did not contribute enough to photography quality.

In Japan a tōrō is a traditional lantern made of stone, wood, or metal. In Japan, tōrō were originally used only in Buddhist temples, where they lined and illuminated paths. Lit lanterns were then considered an offering to Buddha.

The Garden sits nestled in the West Hills of Portland, Oregon overlooking the city and providing a tranquil, urban oasis for locals and travelers alike. Designed in 1963, it encompasses 12 acres with eight separate garden styles, and includes an authentic Japanese Tea House, meandering streams, intimate walkways, and a spectacular view of Mt. Hood. This is a place to discard worldly thoughts and concerns and see oneself as a small but integral part of the universe.

Born out of a hope that the experience of peace can contribute to a long lasting peace. Born out of a belief in the power of cultural exchange. Born out of a belief in the excellence of craft, evidence in the Garden itself and the activities that come from it. Born out of a realization that all of these things are made more real and possible if we honor our connection to nature.

(japanesegarden.org/about-portland-japanese-garden/)

Snorkling with Sea Lions off Floreana. It was amazing as they were so playful, one thought chewing on my flippers was a great game and another liked swimming really close and blowing bubbles in my face!

Galapagos Sea Lion

The Galápagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebaeki) breeds on the Galápagos Islands and – in smaller numbers – on Isla de la Plata (to Ecuador). Being fairly social, and one of the most numerous species in the Galápagos archipelago, they are often spotted sun-bathing on sandy shores or rock groups or gliding gracefully through the surf. Their loud “bark”, playful nature, and graceful agility in water make them the “welcoming party” of the islands. They are lightly smaller than their Californian relatives, Galápagos Sea Lions range from 150 to 250 cm in length and weigh between 50 to 400 kg, with the males much larger than females. Adult males also tend to have a thicker, more robust neck, chest, and shoulders in comparison to their slender abdomen. Females are somewhat opposite males with a longer, more slender neck and thick torso. Once sexually mature, a male’s sagittal crest enlarges, forming a small, characteristic bump-like projection on their forehead. Galápagos Sea Lions, compared to California sea lions, have a slightly smaller sagittal crest and a shorter muzzle. Adult females and juveniles lack this physical characteristic altogether with a nearly flat head and little or no forehead. Both male and female sea lions have a pointy, whiskered nose and somewhat long, narrow muzzle. The young pups are almost dog-like in profile. Another characteristic that defines the sea lion are their external ear-like pinnae flaps which distinguish them from their close relative in which they are often confused with, the seal. The fore-flippers have a short fur extending from the wrist to the middle of the dorsal fin surface, but other than that, the flippers are covered in black, leathery skin. Although somewhat clumsy on land with their flippers, sea lions are amazingly agile in water. With their streamline bodies and flipper-like feet, they easily propel themselves through crashing surf and dangerously sharp coastal rocks. They also have the ability to control their flippers independently and thus change directions with ease and have more control over their body on land. When wet, sea lions are a shade of dark brown, but once dry, their color varies greatly. The females tend to be a lighter shade than the males and the pups a chestnut brown. Born with a longer, brownish-black lanugo, a pup's coat gradually fades to brown within the first five months of life. At this time, they undergo their first molt resulting in their adult coat. Feeding mostly on sardines, Galápagos Sea Lions sometimes travel ten to fifteen kilometers from the coast over the span of days to hunt for their prey. This is when they come into contact with their biggest predators: sharks and killer whales. Injuries and scars from attacks are often visible. Galápagos Sea Lions are especially vulnerable to human activity. Their inquisitive and social nature makes them more likely to approach areas inhabited by humans, and thus come into contact with human waste, fishing nets, and hooks. They occupy many different shoreline types from steep, rocky cliff sides to low-lying sandy beaches. To avoid overheating during the day, sea lions will take refuge from the sun under vegetation, rocks, and cliffs, and wade into tidal pools. Not only are sea lions social, they are also quite vocal. Adult male Galápagos Sea Lions often bark in long, repeated sequences that are loud and distinctive. Females and juveniles do not produce this repetitive bark, but both sexes and the younger pups will growl. From birth, a mother sea lion recognizes her pup’s distinct bark and can pin point it from a crowd of thirty or more barking sea lions. On land, sea lions form colonies at their hauling-out areas. Adult males known as Bulls are the head of the Colony, growing up to 7 ft (2 m) long and weighing up to 800 lb (363 kg). As males grow larger, they fight to win dominance of a harem of between 5 and 25 cows and the surrounding territory. Swimming from border to border of his colony, the dominant bull jealously defends his coastline against all other adult males. While patrolling his area, he frequently rears his head out of the water and barks, as an indication of his territorial ownership. The average dominant bull holds his territory for only a few months, until he is challenged by another male. On land, these fights start by stretching out the neck and barking in attempt to test each other’s bravery. If this isn’t enough to scare the opponent off, they begin pushing each other and biting around the neck area. If males weren’t equipped with a thick, muscular neck, their vital organs would be easily damaged during these fights. Blood, is often drawn, however, and many male sea lions have battle scars due to these territorial competitions. Losers are dramatically chased far from their territory by the new dominant bull with much splashing. Because there is only one male in each harem, there is always a surplus of “bachelor” male sea lions. They usually congregate fairly peaceably on less favorable areas of the coastline in “bachelor colonies.”. Because the dominant male of the harem cannot feed while defending his colony, he eventually becomes too tired and weak, and is overpowered by the well-nourished, fresh bull. Breeding takes place from May all the way through to January. Because of this prolonged breeding season and the extensive care required by the pups from their mother, there are dependent pups in the colonies year round. Each cow in the harem has a single pup born a year after conception. After about a week of continuous attention from birth, the female returns to the ocean and begins to forage, and just a week after that, the pup will follow her and begin to develop its swimming skills. When the pup is two to three weeks old the cow will mate again. The mothers will take the young pups with them into the water while nursing until around the 11th month when the pups are weaned from their mother’s milk and become dependent on their own hunting skills. The pups have a strong bond with their mother. The cow will nurture a pup for up to three years. In that time the cow and the pup will recognize each other's bark from the rest of the colony. Within the colony sea lion pups live together in a rookery. Pups can be seen together napping, playing, and feeding. It is not uncommon to see one cow 'baby-sitting' a group of pups while the other cows go off to feed.

Floreana (Champions Islet)

Located approximately 4 to 5 hours west of Española and equal distance south of Santa Cruz, this island has long been a favorite site of visitors including pirates, whalers and early settlers. One of the oldest islands Floreana illustrates the aging process of a volcanic island. Unlike the younger western islands, Floreana's volcano has been long extinct and is in the advanced stages of erosion. The erosion process gave the island the nutrients and soils need to sustain plant life. The combination of this rich soil and a good water supply have given the highlands of Floreana a diversified landscaping of native and introduced flora. Floreana is best known for its colorful history of buccaneers, whalers, convicts, and colonists. In 1793 British whalers established the Post Office Barrel to send letters to and from England. This tradition has continued over the years, and even today visitors may drop off and pick up letters, without stamps, to be carried to far destinations. Punta Cormorant offers two highly contrasting beaches. The landing beach is of volcanic origin and is composed of olivine crystals, giving it a greenish tinge. At the end of the short trail is a carbonate beach of extremely fine white sand. Formed by the erosion of coral skeletons, it is a nesting site for green sea turtles. In the 1930's Floreana was the setting for intrigue and mystery. A German dentist and his mistress, a young family (the Wittmer family who still live on the island) and a self-styled baroness with three men came to settle in the island. Shortly after the baroness and her lovers arrived chaos began. The baroness and her entourage terrorized the other inhabitants while planning to build a luxury hotel. Eventually the baroness, two of her lovers and the dentist all turned up missing or dead. There has been much investigation searching for what really happened on Floreana, but there have never been any hard answers. John Treherne wrote of these people in "The Galapagos Affair". Located just off Punta Cormorant, Champions Islet is the best snorkeling in the Galapagos! To see the Devil’s Crown you need to go underwater, an almost completely submerged volcano, which erosion has transformed the cone into a series of jagged peaks creating the "Devil's Crown". The remains of the volcano create a haven for seabirds such as boobies, pelicans and frigates. Red-billed tropical birds can be seen nesting in the crevices. The highlight of the visit is snorkeling in the center of the crater. You will play with sea lions, while swimming with schools of colorful king angel fish, balloon fish, hawkfish, scrawled filefish, yellowtail grunts, tiger snake eels, white-tipped sharks, eagle rays, amberjacks, wrasses, hammerhead sharks, and sea turtles. The water is a bit rough and the current is strong. The east to west current provides a fun ride as it pushes you through the crown. There is a tube on the western side that you can swim through if you are a strong swimmer (approximately 10-15 feet down) and come out on the other side.

Galapagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands (official name: Archipiélago de Colón; other Spanish names: Islas de Colón or Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, some 900 km west of Ecuador. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site: wildlife is its most notable feature. Because of the only very recent arrival of man the majority of the wildlife has no fear of humans and will allow visitors to walk right up them, often having to step over Iguanas or Sea Lions.The Galápagos islands and its surrounding waters are part of a province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of around 40,000, which is a 40-fold expansion in 50 years. The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

Jerash, the Gerasa of Antiquity (Ancient Greek: Γέρασα, Hebrew: גַ'רַש), is the capital and largest city of Jerash Governorate (محافظة جرش), which is situated in the north of Jordan, 48 kilometres (30 mi) north of the capital Amman towards Syria. Jerash Governorate's geographical features vary from cold mountains to fertile valleys from 250 to 300 metres (820 to 980 above sea level, suitable for growing a wide variety of crops.

In the latter Ottoman period, the city of Jerash's name was abandoned and changed to Sakib, yet this was not a permanent development, as the name "Jerash" reappears in Ottoman tax registers by the end of 16th century.

A strong earthquake in 749 AD destroyed large parts of Jerash, while subsequent earthquakes along with the wars and turmoil contributed to additional destruction. Its destruction and ruins remained buried in the soil for hundreds of years until they were discovered by German Orientalist Ulrich Jasper Seetzen in 1806. He began excavation and a return to life of the current Jerash by inhabitants of older villages. 70 years later, this was followed by the Muslim community, Circassians, who emigrated to Jordan from the Caucasus in 1878 after the Ottoman-Russian war. Subsequently a large community of people from Syria came to the area at the beginning of the 20th century.

Gerasa es el nombre de una antigua ciudad de la Decápolis. Sus ruinas representan una de las ciudades romanas más importantes y mejor conservadas del Próximo Oriente, y se ubican en la región de Gilead, al noroeste de Jordania.

Recientes excavaciones muestran que Jerash ya estaba habitada durante la Edad del Bronce y la Edad del Hierro (3200 a. C. - 1200 a. C.). Después de la conquista romana, en el año 63 a. C., Jerash y sus contornos fueron anexionados a la provincia romana de Siria, y más tarde se integró en la Decápolis. En 90 d. C. se incorporó a la provincia de Arabia, que incluía la ciudad de Filadelfia (actual Ammán). Los romanos garantizaron la paz y la seguridad en el área, lo que permitió a sus habitantes dedicar su tiempo y sus energías al desarrollo económico y a la construcción. En la segunda mitad del siglo I, la ciudad de Jerash alcanzó una gran prosperidad. En 106 el emperador Trajano construyó calzadas que atravesaban las provincias, lo que incrementó las actividades comerciales de la ciudad. Adriano visitó Jerash en los años 129-130. Una inscripción latina registra la dedicatoria religiosa hecha por miembros de la guardia imperial que invernaron allí. El arco de triunfo -o Arco de Adriano- fue erigido para solemnizar la visita.

Jerash, situado 48 quilômetros ao norte de Amman, é considerado um dos maiores e mais bem preservados lugares da cultura romana no mundo, fora da Itália. Atualmente, suas ruas colunatas, banhos, teatros, praças e arcos permanecem em condição excepcional. Dentro dos restos das muralhas da cidade, arqueólogos encontraram as ruínas de estabelecimento datadas na época posterior ao Neolítico, indicando a ocupação humana nesta localidade para mais de 6500 anos. Isto não surpreende sendo que a área é situada idealmente para a habitação humana. Jerash, é bem abastecida de água, e sua altitude de 500 metros proporciona-lhe um clima temperado e uma excelente visão sobre as áreas mais baixas que rodeiam a cidade.

A história de Jerash é uma mistura do mundo greco-romano da bacia mediterrânea, e das antigas tradições da Arábia Oriental. De fato, o próprio nome da cidade reflete esta interação. Os habitantes Árabe-Semitas mais antigos, que habitavam na área durante o período pré-clássico do primeiro milênio BCE. chamavam sua aldeia Garschu. Os romanos posteriormente helenizaram o antigo nome árabe de Garschu para Gerasa, e a Biblia refere-se "à região dos Gerasenos" (Mk 5:1; Lc 8:26). No fim do século 19, os habitantes árabes e circanos dos pequenos estabelecimentos rurais transformaram a Gerasa romana em Jerash árabe.

Let me take you on a brief musical journey through my past... music has always been one of the most important components of my life. My dad is a guitarist and music lover, and his huge blaring stereo (all 500w of it) provided a constant background to my childhood. The first LP I bought was a Beatles compilation when I was about 8.

At the age of 10 I was in awe of Adam Ant. A year later I was a mod, dancing to The Who, The Jam and The Small Faces (and the odd bit of ska) at the local youth club.

By the time I got to my mid teens I was getting into metal (the heavier the better). Then later on indie, industrial, goth, etc. etc... But in between all that from the age of 12 to 14 I was really into this new style of music which you may have heard of called 'Hip Hop'.

My dad got me into rap in 1982, when he imported the first Grandmaster Flash album ('The Message') - his love of funk also contributing heavily (Prince Charles (the other one), George Clinton, early Prince, etc). But when rap really started breaking into the mainstream in the mid-80s, I lapped it up.

I would watch the movie 'Breakdance' on repeat play until the video broke; practice my (dire) human-beatboxing; and listen to my three favourite 12" singles:

- '(Nothing Serious) Just Buggin' ' by Whistle ;

- 'Bang Zoom! Let's Go Go!' by The Real Roxanne with Hitman Howie Tee;

- and the seminal 'The Show' by Doug E Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew (otherwise know as 'that song with the Inspector Gadget hook').

And here they still all are... complete with original price tags (£2.79p - from E.G.S and Son in Wakefield).

For a few years rap got better and better - and it almost seemed like it was growing and maturing with me (with the likes of Public Enemy and NWA). Which just makes me feel really bitter about all of the self-centred, 'Bitch/Ho/Bling' crap of the last fifteen years or so... But I guess it happens to all musical genres as they are subsumed by the marketing gurus and money men. The originators remain pennyless - but their morals intact - while the insipid pretenders milk the cash cow until it's dry. Give me Melle Mel over Jay Z anyday.

Gah... anyway. Listening to these EPs now just makes me feel young and FRESH all over again. Check it- check it out.

(Oh, and new prescription shades y'all!)

Podyjí National Park (Czech: Národní park Podyjí) is a national park in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It protects near-natural forests along the deep Dyje River valley. It is a biom whose well-preserved state is unique in Central Europe. It connects to the smaller Nationalpark Thayatal in Austria.

Podyjí National Park is characterized by extraordinary scenery, being home to features such as rocky amphitheatres, cliffs, meanders, detritus fields, impervious ravines, several types of heatland adorned with muilti-coloured layers of thermophilic plants, or alluvial plains around the river Dyje. The division of the valley along the river Dyje creates two distinctive ecological regions and thus contributes to the high biological diversity of the park.

-----

Did make a weekend (boat) trip across the Podyjí national park in late October to find it empty and silent on and around the Dyje river.

We were lucky with the weather: peak of autumn colours and delicate sunlight created a really fairy-tale atmosphere. It was (sometimes) cold on the river, however still very beautiful.

The Ontario County Courthouse is located in Canandaigua, New York, United States. The United States v. Susan B. Anthony trial took place in this courthouse in 1873. It is a contributing property to the Canandaigua Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

I took this photo in 2016 but never really showed it as I thought it was a bit sad. Maybe its the right time now with whats happing here with the threat of Brexit hanging over us through no fault of our own! Such a shameful mess!! P@t.

"1847 was the year it all began,

Driving pains of hunger drove a million from this land,

They journeyed not for glory,

There motive wasnt greed,

A voyage of survival,

Far across the stormy seas,

To the city of Chicago,

As the evening shadows fall,

There are people dreamin`

Of the hills of Donegal

Some of them knew fortune,

Some of them knew pain,

More of them knew heartbreak,

Died upon the plains,

They spread throughout the nation,

Rode the railroad cars,

Brought their songs and music,

To ease their lonely hearts, "

To the city of Chicago

Etc.

[ Luka Bloom ]

Luka is the brother of Christy Moore and he is a superb artist and composer who Ive been lucky to have seen many times. He knows more than 3 chords and can play!!! Brilliant! Look him up on uTube! P.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqnHJy0elc4

Another photo from last Saturdays trek.

Maulin mountain stands at 570m and is part of the Wicklow National park. Its a wild, boggy place but it has the most amazing views looking east towards the Irish sea and south Dublin Bay.

I find it a very sad place as I know the history of it. Its not bad thing in my opinion to remember these dreadful happenings here, with respect and reverence as thankfully, we have all moved on in regard to our treatment and regard for our fellow humans, None in my opinion, more so than the Irish who in recent years have really grasped the nettle regarding peoples freedom, rights and civil liberties, including the removal in 1999 of article 2 and 3 from the constitution where the Republic of Ireland laid claim to Northern Ireland. A brave and a wonderful step which lead to the good Friday agreement and a lasting peace which we all work tirelessly to keep.

The stone walls crossing this mountain for more than 600 yards, serve no useful purpose whatsoever and were built during the Famine years of 1847-1850, a terrible time when over one million died and another million emigrated to the new World. No one is quite certain of the exact numbers and im also certain that there are quite a number of bodies buried along this wall as they died of starvation while building it. The Government decided to start these hair brained schemes under the OPW as rather than give the starving food it was decided to make them work for it " So as not to foster and promote laziness " amongst the Irish! Work, when they were dying. Its so deep in the Irish psyche that people still talk about and everyone knows what "famine beds" and "Hungry Grass" is

It still casts a "blight" upon all of us!

The round stone structure in the fourground is competely covered in and incorporated into the wall. Its about 3ft high and 4ft in diameter with a 2 ft square hole in one side. No one seems to know what it is but its from the famine yearss Maybe a dog shelter. could be for food but................!

Because of the way the English ruled Ireland, the land was divided into very small areas, sometimes of no more than a half an acre. This was so that the landlords could obtain more rents doubling or tripling the number of tennants, The rents were more than most people could afford anyway.Little has changed much there Im afraid! There could be up to 12 or 13 children together with their parents and maybe their grandparents living in a small rough house in each of theses homesteads struggling to live anyway so when the famine came, it was devastation.

There was a population explosion here in the 1830s as the potato sustained so many of the population.It was thought that the potato was introduced to Ireland by Sir Walter Raleigh

but it is now widely accepted that it arrived with the Spanish Armada in 1588. The Armada tried to invade England but were routed and they tried to escape across the top of Scotland and down the west coast Ireland but sadly they were caught in severe gales and many sunk and many were captured here by the English and the Irish who killed them or held them for randsome. Its said that women collecting seaweed in west, possibly Co. Kerry, found potato tubers washed up on the shore. They planted them in the poor peaty soil and to their amazement they grew extremely well, yielding up to 20 potatoes per stalk. This meant that they could easily feed their families so it became the mainstay of the diet here. This of course lead to a population explosion which Im certain the infamous drink, Poiteen played no "small" part in! Lol! Sorry ! Bad choice of words!!!!!!

In 1847 [ black 47 ] a blight struck the potato crop blackening the stems and rotting the young tubers in the ground. and in storage pits { Clamps } in the ground, This resulted in total starvation for millions. At the same time thousands of tons of other foods, like Maize and Wheat were exported out of the ports here under armed guard. Queen Victoria contributed £5 to the Irish famine relief fund but was advised by her ministers to als give the same amount to Battersea Dogs Home as they didnt want it to appear that she was favouring us!!! How appalling!

A sad time and we should never forget but we move on thankfully and rise way above it all. We now live in peace here on our beautiful island and we must ensure that it remains that way for all our sakes.

Hugs and best wishes to all my friends here who just like us, are spread out to the 4 corners of our World! Thank you!

P

FOOTNOTE; 4/6/2019

Trump is in the UK at the moment and coming here tomorrow unfortunately. Hes not welcome! Hes still spouting his rheteroic about immigration. I have a question for him! The native American is the Red Indian so where does he think everybody else. including his ancestors came from? Indeed were it not for America, millions of Irish would have died here because of the famine. Australia also took many Irish people So think on! It was the immigrants that made America what it is today Fortunately they are not all like Trump! Hes in the minority and he wont last the distance. Statesman? Give us a break!!!!

P.

Muurschilderij door Joram Roukes en Roy Schreuder |

Oldehoofsterkerkhof 2, Leeuwarden

Het kunstwerk gaat over mensen die in verbinding staan met elkaar en de wereld. Het portret dat centraal staat in het kunstwerk is opgebouwd uit meerdere mensen met verschillende etnische achtergronden, en is een portret van een gemeenschap. Delen van Europa zijn verspreid terug te vinden in het werk. Deze elementen dragen bij aan de boodschap van verbinding en inclusiviteit. Bovenin het werk is een vlinder afgebeeld, die als symbool terug te vinden is in allerlei culturen over de hele wereld. Rechts onderin het werk staan de volgende dichtregels van Michelle Samba: we kijken met elkaar naar de zon Wy sjogge mei-inoar nei de sinne. De zon als verbindend element voor alle wereldbewoners

Bron: www.leeuwardeninbeelden.nl/kunstwerken/bekijk/21861-muurs...

------------------

Wall painting by Joram Roukes and Roy Schreuder |

Oldehoofsterkerkhof 2, Leeuwarden

The artwork is about people who are connected to each other and the world. The portrait that is central to the artwork is made up of several people with different ethnic backgrounds, and is a portrait of a community. Parts of Europe can be found scattered in the work. These elements contribute to the message of connection and inclusiveness. A butterfly is depicted at the top of the work, which can be found as a symbol in all kinds of cultures around the world. At the bottom right of the work are the following lines of poetry by Michelle Samba: together we look at the sun Wy sjogge mei-inoar nei de sinne. The sun as a connecting element for all inhabitants of the world

This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, depicts a special class of star-forming nursery known as Free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules, or frEGGs for short. This object is formally known as J025157.5+600606.

When a massive new star starts to shine while still within the cool molecular gas cloud from which it formed, its energetic radiation can ionize the cloud’s hydrogen and create a large, hot bubble of ionized gas. Amazingly, located within this bubble of hot gas around a nearby massive star are the frEGGs: dark compact globules of dust and gas, some of which are giving birth to low-mass stars. The boundary between the cool, dusty frEGG and the hot gas bubble is seen as the glowing purple/blue edges in this fascinating image.

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Sahai

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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Smoke from forest fires all over the western U.S. contributed to this photo.

Yes a Giant african snail in the Philippines, but not only, it's pretty wide spread now throughout the pacifique and asia.

It's latin name: Achatina fulica

Identification: Full grown Achatina fulica reach up to 20 cm in length and 12 cm in maximum diameter. The dark and light brown (sometimes more of a cream color) swirls wrap around its cone like shell. Its convex body allows for about 7 to 9 whorls. The outlines of the whorls fluctuate from narrow to broad even within the same colony. An adult Achatina Fulica’s lip opening is generally very thin and sharp. The shell itself is thick and strong if healthy (needs a high calcium diet). The rest of the body resembles a slug like appearance with a variance in color.

Original Distribution: Achatina fulica originates from coastal East Africa particularly Kenya and Tanzania. First sightings occurred before the 1800’s.

Current Distribution: Giant African Snails can be found in most southern hemisphere countries, eg. throughout Africa, Indian Ocean Islands, Australia, New Zealand, South America. In addition, these snails have been identified in Southern, Southeastern and Eastern Asia, Polynesia and other Pacific Islands, West Indies and the United States. Typically, Giant African Snails have been found along the coastline and in southern states of the USA. However, sightings have also occurred in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. These snails thrive in humid, tropical climates.

Site and Date of Introduction: As indicated in the map below, introduction of Giant African Snails dates back to the early 1800’s. These snails spread throughout East Africa into Ethiopa, Somalia, Mozambique, and Madagasar. Interestingly, they were not sighted in northern Africa until the late 1980’s.

The first occurrence of these snails outside of Africa was Bengal, India in 1847. Since then, the Giant African Snail has been transported mistakenly and purposefully throughout the countries listed in the above section.

Giant African Snails were first spotted in the US in the late 1940’s around San Pedro, California. Many of these snails were affixed to cargo imported to the US. Over 50 interceptions occurred within a ten year span (from 1948-1958) in the California ports.

In 1958, a young boy stashed Giant African Snails into his suitcase from his travels in Hawaii returning to California and driving to Arizona. Once the snails were discovered in his belongings, they family released them to the outdoors. Another very similar incident occurred in 1966, where another young boy visiting Hawaii decided to take a few Giant African Snails home to Miami, Florida to keep as pets and were released into the family’s garden. The Florida State eradication process took 10 years costing over one million dollars.

These snails continue to enter the US through illegal trade or in shipping containers and in plant shipments from the Hawaiian Islands, Guam and other Pacific Islands. Inspectors fairly easily identify these snails, intercept them and eradicate them.

Ecological Role: Achatina fulica forage on over 500 different plant species. During less favorable conditions (dry, cool), they nest in lose soil for during their period of hibernation. One may postulate that this behavior promotes health in the soil as the soil is churned and as matter from the snail settles into the soil. However, with over population, the snails destroy and pollute their surroundings, including the soil.

Benefit(s): Giant African Snails contribute to the degradation of animal matter. In addition, the Giant African Snail provides nutrients to the India glowworm Beetle; specifically to the larvae (male larvae consume 20 to 40 Achatinas; female larvae eat 40 to 60 Achatinas during their development). Other beetle species consume the Achatina fulica, such as the lampyriad and the coprine beetle.

The hermit crab is one of the most dangerous predators to the Achatina fulica and has been known to use the shell as its home. The coconut crab also views the Achatina fulica as a delicacy. The domesticated duck along with a vast variety of other bird species forage on Giant African Snails. Other mammals such as the wild pig prey on Achatina fulica.

Threat(s): The Giant African Snails’ greatest lethal threat to humans is eosinophilic meningitis. This condition is caused by the rat lungworm parasite, angiostrongylus cantonesnsis. Most often this parasite is transferred by eating the snail, as some humans consider snails a delicacy. In addition the Giant African Snail can carry the gram-negative bacterium, aeromonas hydrophila, causing a wide variety of symptoms, especially in persons with a weak immune system.

Giant African Snails cause great economic peril to farmers due to their propensity in consuming large amounts of crops/plants. Their diet consists of over 500 different plant species. A wide variety of horticulture and medicinal plants are known to be attacked by this snail. Not only does this decrease the income for agricultural producers, but it also impacts their living conditions (often requiring relocation) and decreases food and medical resources for humans, animals and other species.

The economic consequences persist in eradicating these creatures, sometimes costing millions of dollars. Another economic penalty involves the decrease in tourism. As noted earlier, Giant African Snails thrive in warm, tropical conditions – often tourist destinations.

The Engadine is a paradise for hikers in autumn.

The valley has plenty of sunny days, and it has mineral springs and a very pleasant climate. Piz Bernina is the only four-thousander in the eastern Alps (4,049 m. altitude). Piz Palü, Piz Corvatsch, Corviglia and Diavolezza are among its other well-known peaks and skiing areas.

Engadin St. Moritz has a fascinating cultural heritage - Romansch as its official main language, German spoken in St. Moritz, Italian in the neighboring valleys, French at the Club Med, lots of English for example at the Cresta Run, cricket and polo. Giovanni Segantini and the Giacomettis, Friedrich Nietzsche, Richard Wagner, Hermann Hesse, Thomas Mann, Arturo Toscanini, Richard Strauss, Herbert von Karajan and many other famous personalities from the worlds of the arts and culture have contributed to the myth und nimbus of this valley. 'Schlittedas', 'Chalandamarz', an own architectural style (the 'Engadine house'), and the famous Engadine nut tart are also a part of it all.

This image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope revisits the Veil Nebula, which was featured in a previous Hubble image release. In this image, new processing techniques have been applied, bringing out fine details of the nebula’s delicate threads and filaments of ionized gas.

To create this colorful image, observations were taken by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 instrument using five different filters. The new post-processing methods have further enhanced details of emissions from doubly ionized oxygen (seen here in blues), ionized hydrogen, and ionized nitrogen (seen here in reds).

The Veil Nebula lies around 2,100 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan), making it a relatively close neighbor in astronomical terms. Only a small portion of the nebula was captured in this image.

The Veil Nebula is the visible portion of the nearby Cygnus Loop, a supernova remnant formed roughly 10,000 years ago by the death of a massive star. That star – which was 20 times the mass of the Sun – lived fast and died young, ending its life in a cataclysmic release of energy. Despite this stellar violence, the shockwaves and debris from the supernova sculpted the Veil Nebula’s delicate tracery of ionized gas – creating a scene of surprising astronomical beauty.

The Veil Nebula is also featured in Hubble’s Caldwell Catalog, a collection of astronomical objects that have been imaged by Hubble and are visible to amateur astronomers in the night sky.

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Z. Levay

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Built in 1895, this Gothic Revival-style building was built for the Conklin family, and features a red brick exterior, bonnet roof with exposed rafter tails, blind gothic arches, rusticated stone sills and lintels, first floor retail storefronts with decorative cornices, one-over-one and casement replacement windows, a stone base and recessed brick panels around many of the second floor windows. The building is a contributing structure in the State Street Historic District, listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places.

60040 passes Attenborough working 6M57 07:15 Lindsey-Kingsbury (taken using a pole). Finally nailed this one after too many failed attempts to remember, clouds, WiFi failure, flat batteries, lost USB cable, sheds have all contributed to it taking so long to get it right

Contributing to the potent, ethereal magic present was this happy coincidence.

Possibly a slightly jarring composition, the picture still had to be taken for obvious reasons.

The utter contrast to mundane daily life that these experiences gift to the onlooker cannot be stressed sufficiently. The usual melancholy kicked in as I gazed in wonder at my situation: the impossibility of 'bottling it all up' & taking some of it home proving to amplify an already raised state of emotion.

To see more views of Harrogate, in Yorkshire, please click

"here"!

I would be most grateful if you would refrain from inserting images, and/or group invites; thank you!

Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters and RHS Harlow Carr gardens. Nearby is the Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate grew out of two existing smaller settlements, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, in the 17th century. It is consistently voted as one of the best places to live in the UK and in 2013 a poll by Rightmove of 40,000 people found that Harrogate was the happiest place to live in the United Kingdom. In 2013 Harrogate was declared to be the third most romantic destination in the world, beating off rivals including Paris, Rome and Vienna. Harrogate spa water contains iron, sulphur and common salt. The town became known as 'The English Spa' in the Georgian Era, after its waters were discovered in the 16th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries the 'chalybeate' waters (i.e. containing iron) were a popular health treatment, and the influx of wealthy but sickly visitors contributed significantly to the wealth of the town. The town motto is Arx celebris fontibus, which means "a citadel famous for its springs." The name Harrogate is first attested in the 1330s as Harwegate. It seems to derive from Old Norse hǫrgr 'a heap of stones, cairn' + gata 'street', in which case the name presumably meant 'road to the cairn'. Before the discovery of its iron and sulphur rich water, Harrogate comprised two hamlets, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, close to Knaresborough. The first mineral spring was discovered in 1571 by William Slingsby, who found that water from the Tewit Well possessed similar properties to that from the springs of the Belgian town of Spa, which gave its name to spa towns. The medicinal properties of the waters were publicised by Edmund Deane. His book, Spadacrene Anglica, or the English Spa Fountain was published in 1626. Harrogate developed a spa town following the enclosure of surrounding lands in 1770, when 200 acres (0.81 km2) were reserved as a public common, the Stray, which has remained a spot for picnicking, kite-flying, outdoor games and local football matches. To provide entertainment for increasing numbers of visitors the Georgian Theatre was built in 1788. Bath Hospital (later the Royal Bath Hospital) was built in 1826. The Royal Pump Room was built in 1842. In 1870, engineering inventor Samson Fox perfected the process of creating water gas, in the basement laboratory of Grove House. After constructing a trial plant at his home on Scarborough Road, making it the first house in Yorkshire to have gas lighting and heating; he built a town-sized plant to supply Harrogate. After he made Parliament Street the world's first route to be lit by water-gas, newspapers commented: "Samson Fox has captured the sunlight for Harrogate." After donating the towns first fire engine, and building the town's theatre, he was elected mayor for three years, an unbroken record. The site of Tewit Well is marked by a dome on the Stray. Other wells can be found in Harrogate's Valley Gardens and the Royal Pump Room museum. In 1893 Harrogate doctor George Oliver was the first to observe the effect of adrenaline on the circulation. In 2007, two metal detectorists found the Harrogate hoard, a 10th-century Viking treasure hoard, near Harrogate. The hoard contains almost 700 coins and other items from as far away as Afghanistan. The hoard was described by the British Museum as the most important find of its type in Britain for 150 years.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hubble Space Telescope has snapped the closest images yet of the sky's latest visitor to make headlines, comet NEOWISE, after it passed by the Sun. This is the first time Hubble has photographed a comet of this brightness at such resolution after this close of a pass by the Sun.

This ground-based image of comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was taken from the Northern Hemisphere on July 16, 2020. The inset image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on Aug. 8, 2020, reveals a close-up of the comet after its pass by the Sun. Hubble’s image zeroes in on the comet’s nucleus, which is too small to be seen. It’s estimated to measure no more than 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) across. Instead, the image shows a portion of the comet’s coma, the fuzzy glow, which measures about 11,000 miles (18,000 kilometers) across in this image.

The comet photos were taken after NEOWISE skimmed closest to the Sun on July 3, 2020, at a distance of 27 million miles (43 million kilometers). Other comets often break apart due to thermal and gravitational stresses at such close encounters, but Hubble’s view shows that apparently NEOWISE’s solid nucleus stayed intact.

Comet NEOWISE is considered the brightest visible from the Northern Hemisphere since 1997’s Hale-Bopp. It’s headed beyond the outer solar system, now traveling at a whopping 144,000 miles per hour. It will not return to the Sun for another nearly 7,000 years.

Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI, Q. Zhang (Caltech); ground-based image copyright © 2020 by Zoltan G. Levay, used with permission

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The original purpose of this image was to contribute to FlickrFriday’s theme of the week (in November 2020) on "#remote". This theme was appropriate to illustrate the situation of "lockdown" with all its consequences of physical, sensory and social isolation.

L’objectif initial de cette image était de contribuer au thème de la semaine de FlickrFriday sur «#isolé ». Cette thématique était intéressante pour illustrer la situation de « confinement » avec toutes ses conséquences d’isolement physique, sensoriel et social.

Eastern gray squirrel- The grey squirrel was introduced into the UK in the 1800s. It provides an easy encounter with wildlife for many people, but can be damaging to woodlands and has contributed to the decline of the red squirrel.

This climate-friendly bio degradable fibre can contribute to reduce carbon emission. Traditionally Bangladesh was famous for jute production, which is mainly used for producing bags, sacks and many other materials. The fibre and the stalks are now processed for interior materials for high end vehicles. The introduction of plastics made the jute production almost extinct in Bangladesh. It is now reviving because of growing demand of natural fibre throughout the world. Which bags do you use during shopping?

The photo was taken in a remote village of Satkhira, Bangladesh. The farmer is processing the fibre with the use of flowing monsoon water.

Will eventually contribute organic matter to the forest soil. For now it is home to moss and ferns.

At Northern State Recreational Area east of Sedro Woolley, WA..

Be the first to kick start your generous support and fund my production with more amazing images!

Currently, I'm running a crowd funding activity to initiate my personal 2016 Flickr's Project. Here, I sincerely request each and every kind hearted souls to pay some effort and attention.

No limitation, Any Amount and your encouraging comments are welcome.

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Email me or public comments below your contribution amount for good records with your comments and at final day, at random, I shall sent out my well taken care canon 6D with full box n accessory during random draw to one thankful contributor as my token of appreciation.

Now, I cordially invite and look forward with eagerness a strong pool of unity zealous participants in this fundermental ideology yet sustainable crowd fund raising task.

Basically, the substantial gather amount is achievable with pure passion n love heart in photography and not necessary be filty rich nor famous to help me accomplish raising my long yearning photography career, a sucking heavy expense that been schedules down my photography making journey had inevitably, some circumstances had badly fall short behind racing with time and inability to fulfill as quickly in near future consolidating good fund .

Honestly, with aspiration and hope, I appeal to urge on this media for a strong humanity mandate through good faith of sharing and giving generously on this particular crowd funding excercise to achieve my desire n is not just purely a dread dream , is also flickers first starter own crowds funding strength turning impossible into reality through this pratical raising method that I confidently trust it will turn fruitful from all your small effort participation, every single persistency will result consolidating piling up every little tiny bricks into an ultimate huge strong living castle.

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Last but not least, a photography journey of life time for a trip to explore South Island of New Zealand and Africa.

.

My intended schedule may estimate about 1 month round trip self drive traveling down scenic Southern Island of New Zealand for completing the most captivating landscape photography and wander into the big five, the wilderness of untamed Africa nature for my project 2016 before my physical body stamina eventually drain off.

During the course, I also welcome sponsor's to provide daily lodging/accommodation, car rental/transportation, Fox Glacier helicopter ride and other logistic funding expenses, provide photographic camera equipments or related accessories .

Kindly forward all sponsors request terms of condition n collaboration details for discussion soon.

Great Ocean Drive- the 12 Apostle's

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La Rábida, Huelva (Spain).

After two months of navigation, they began to be scarce the food, and the crews thought about rebelling.

Tras dos meses de navegación, empezaron a escasear los víveres, y las tripulaciones pensaron en amotinarse.

ENGLISH

On the evening of August 3, 1492, Columbus departed from Palos with three ships; one larger carrack, Santa María, nicknamed Gallega (the Gallician), and two smaller caravels, Pinta (the Painted) and Santa Clara, nicknamed Niña (the Girl). (The ships were never officially named). They were property of Juan de la Cosa and the Pinzón brothers (Martin Alonzo and Vicente Yáñez), but the monarchs forced the Palos inhabitants to contribute to the expedition. Columbus first sailed to the Canary Islands, which was owned by Castile, where he restocked the provisions and made repairs, and on September 6, he started what turned out to be a five-week voyage across the ocean.

Land was sighted at 2 a.m. on October 12, 1492, by a sailor named Rodrigo de Triana (also known as Juan Rodríguez Bermejo) aboard Pinta. (Columbus would claim the prize.) Columbus called the island (in what is now The Bahamas) San Salvador, although the natives called it Guanahani. Exactly which island in the Bahamas this corresponds to is an unresolved topic; prime candidates are Samana Cay, Plana Cays, or San Salvador Island (named San Salvador in 1925 in the belief that it was Columbus's San Salvador). The indigenous people he encountered, the Lucayan, Taíno or Arawak, were peaceful and friendly. In his journal he wrote of them, "It appears to me, that the people are ingenious, and would be good servants and I am of opinion that they would very readily become Christians, as they appear to have no religion." He also wrote of them, two days after landing, "I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased."

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus#First_voyage

--------------------------

CASTELLANO

Cristóbal Colón, en representación de los Reyes Católicos de España, realizó cuatro famosos viajes desde Europa a América en 1492, 1493, 1498 y 1502. En el primero de ellos llegó a América el 12 de octubre de 1492, a una isla de las Bahamas llamada Guanahani, cuya exacta localización aún se discute. En el tercer viaje llegó a territorio continental en la actual Venezuela.

El primer viaje de Colón se inició en Palos de la Frontera, el 3 de agosto de 1492. La escuadra colombina estaba formada por las carabelas Pinta, Niña y Santa María. Para el equipamiento de las naves fue decisiva la colaboración de los hermanos Pinzón, que participaron también en el viaje. Colón se dirigió hacia las Canarias y desde la isla de Gomera se lanzó a la travesía del Atlántico (6 de septiembre). El 12 de octubre llegó a la isla Guanahaní (Walting, en las Bahamas), a la que llamó San Salvador. Arribó después a la isla de Cuba, bautizada con el nombre de Juana, y posteriormente a La Española. El 25 de diciembre encalló la carabela Santa María y con sus restos construyó un fuerte llamado Navidad, en el que dejó una pequeña guarnición. Con las dos naves restantes, la Pinta y la Niña, emprendió el viaje de retorno (16 de enero de 1493). Durante la travesía las dos naves se separaron. Colón llegó a Palos el 15 de marzo y marchó a Barcelona para informar a los reyes de su descubrimiento.

Fuente: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descubrimiento_de_Am%c3%a9rica

Eastern Whipbird -Psophodes olivaceus

Having mostly-green plumage and living in the dense undergrowth, the Eastern Whipbird is seen far less often than it is heard. Its whip-crack call is a characteristic of many of the moist forests in eastern Australia. The unusual feature of this call is that it is often performed by two birds calling in unison, with one bird contributing the first part of the call and another giving the second part. This so-called ‘antiphonal’ calling involved great co-ordination between the two birds to give the call its familiar whip-crack sound.

Clonmacnoise is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th century it had close associations with the kings of Connacht.

Saint Ciarán founded the monastery in the ancient territory of Uí Maine at a point where the major east–west land route meets the River Shannon after crossing the bogs of Central Ireland known as the Esker Riada. The strategic location of the monastery helped it become a major center of religion, learning, craftsmanship and trade by the 9th century; and together with Clonard it was one of the most famous places in Ireland, visited by scholars from all over Europe. From the ninth until the eleventh century it was allied with the kings of Meath. Many of the high kings of Tara (ardrí) and of Connacht were buried here.

Clonmacnoise was largely abandoned by the end of the 13th century. Today the site includes nine ruined churches, a castle, two round towers and a large number of carved stone crosses and cross-slabs. The Irish government's Office of Public Works manages the preserved ruin. An Interpretive Centre is open to the public, the graveyard is in use and religious services take place in a modern chapel.

In 544 Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon, arrived at this location with seven companions. (Saint Ciarán is not to be confused or conflated with St. Ciarán of Saigir, patron of Osraige). Here he met Diarmait mac Cerbaill, who later became the first Christian crowned High King of Ireland. Together they built the first church at the site. This was a small wooden structure and the first of many small churches to be clustered on the site. In September 549, not yet thirty-three years of age, Ciarán died of a plague, and was reportedly buried under the original wooden church, now the site of the 9th-century stone oratory, Temple Ciarán. This location was particularly important because here the major east–west land route through the bogs of central Ireland along the Eiscir Riada (an esker left by the receding glaciers of the last ice age) crossed the River Shannon.

According to Adomnán of Iona, who referenced the testimony of earlier abbots of Iona who had known Columba, St Columba visited the monastery at Clonmacnoise during the time when he was founding the monastery at Durrow. While he was there he prophesied about the future debates in the churches of Ireland about the dating of Easter and claimed that angels had visited the monastery at Clonmacnoise. While he was there, a young monk named Ernéne mac Craséni (who would later be famous in Ireland) tried to touch Columba's clothes while Columba was not looking. However, the saint immediately noticed and grabbed the boy by the neck, told him to open his mouth, and then blessed him, saying that he would teach the doctrine of salvation.

Towards the close of the seventh century a plague carried off a large number of its students and professors. Clonmacnoise's period of greatest growth came between the 8th and 12th centuries. It was attacked frequently during these four centuries, most often by the Irish, the Vikings and the Normans. The early wooden buildings began to be replaced by more durable stone structures in the 9th century, and the original population of fewer than ten men grew to perhaps 1,500 to 2,000 by the 11th century. Although the site was based around a core of churches, crosses, graves and ecclesiastical dwellings and workshops, it would have been surrounded by the houses and streets of a larger secular community, the metalworkers, craftsmen and farmers who supported the monastic clergy and their students. Artisans associated with the site created some of the most beautiful and enduring artworks in metal and stone ever seen in Ireland, with the Clonmacnoise Crozier (on display in the National Museum of Ireland) and the Cross of the Scriptures representing the apex of their efforts. The Book of the Dun Cow, a vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century, was written here and its main compiler, Máel Muire mac Céilechair meic Cuinn na mBocht was reputedly murdered in a Viking raid in 1106.

By the 12th century Clonmacnoise began to decline. The reasons were varied, although attacks by the Vikings (under Turgesius) and the Normans contributed. Without doubt the most debilitating factor was the growth of the town of Athlone to the north of the site from the late-12th century.[citation needed] Athlone became the main trading town for the midlands of Ireland, and the most popular route for crossing the Shannon, as well as the best-defended settlement in the region. People migrated north from Clonmacnoise to Athlone, and along with the population decrease went much of the support that the site needed to survive, and former allies began to recognise the decline in the site's influence. The influx of continental religious orders such as the Cistercians, Franciscans, Augustinians, Benedictines, Cluniacs, etc. around the same time fed into this decline as numerous competing sites began to crop up. Ireland's move from a monastic framework to a diocesan one in the twelfth century similarly diminished the site's religious standing, as it was designated the seat of a small and impoverished diocese.

In 1552 the English garrison at Athlone destroyed and looted Clonmacnoise for the final time, leaving it in ruins.

The monastery ruins were one of the stops on the itinerary of Pope John Paul II during his visit to Ireland in 1979.

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The Black Bat Flower (Tacca chantieri), also known as Black Bat Flower, Cats Whiskers, Devil Flower, Bat Head Lily, Bat Plant, Devil’s Tongue, Black Tacca, and Voodoo Flower, is an exotic plant native to Southeast Asia. Its unique and intriguing features make it a standout in the world of ornamental plants.

The most striking characteristic of the Black Bat Flower is its distinctive blooms. These flowers, deep purple or nearly black, closely resemble a bat in flight, with ruffled wings and long, hanging filaments. The overall effect is both mysterious and gothic, contributing to the plant's allure.

Blooming primarily in spring and lasting until early autumn, the Black Bat Flower adds a touch of drama to gardens or indoor spaces. Even when not in bloom, the large and attractive leaves provide an ornamental backdrop.

In its natural habitat on the forest floor in tropical regions, Tacca chantieri thrives in well-draining, rich soil with high organic content. Partial shade or filtered sunlight is preferred, and maintaining consistently moist soil is crucial for its optimal growth.

Cultivating the Black Bat Flower may require attention to specific care requirements, including humidity levels and protection from direct sunlight. It is suitable for container gardening indoors, making it a popular choice for those looking to enjoy its exotic beauty in various climates.

The plant's unique appearance has led to cultural interpretations and symbolic meanings, with associations to mystery and the supernatural in some cultures. Overall, the Black Bat Flower stands out as a captivating and extraordinary addition to gardens and indoor spaces, providing a touch of the exotic and intriguing to any environment.

This was taken from a boat touring around Manhattan, but I can't find the name of this beautiful deserted factory on Google Earth... I will appreciate if someone can contribute more information on it.

Thank you in advance

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus resupply spacecraft is seen as it is transported to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, Saturday, September 26, 2020, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 14th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver about 8,000 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. The CRS-14 Cygnus spacecraft is named after the first female astronaut of Indian descent, Kalpana Chawla, and is scheduled to launch at 9:38 p.m., Thursday, October 1, 2020 EDT.

Photo Credit: (NASA/Terry Zaperach)

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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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We give them less importance because of what they do.But they contributed the most in our liberation war.They are farmers.That time they were huge in number.These people are very humble and kind.The most beautiful thing about them is they don't want lot more.They want least foods and clothings to live a miserable war.We only value those who are whealthier than us.Actually we make people feel they are not like us.

Von Mitte des 16. Jhs. bis 1606 waren an dieser Stelle nur

Kapellen gebaut worden. Mit dem Planungsbeginn sollte für

das bereits vorhandene Jesuitenkolleg ein Kirchenneubau geschaffen werden. Johann Alberthal war der Planer der nach Konzepten des Jesuitenkollegs arbeitete. Als gesichert gelten die Einflüsse der Augsburger Architekten Heintz, Holl und Krager bei der Endauswahl der Entwürfe.

Es sollte die zweite (renaissance/barocke) Wandpfeilerkirche

auf deutschem Gebiet und somit zur Vorlage für viele folgenden Kirchenbauten werden! Die Weihe fand 1617 statt. Erst ca. 140 Jahre später wurde der Innenraum umgestaltet und mit der hier zusehenden Rokokoaustattung versehen. Der leitende Dekorateur, wahrscheinlich Christoph Thomas Scheffler, verstand es den Raum ohne stark verändernde Eingriffe in die Substanz hervorragend auszunutzen. Die Liste der Künstler die am Gelingen Anteil hatten ist lang und voller bekannter Namen: ich möchte sie dem Leser allerdings ersparen...

From the middle of the 16th century until 1606 there were only

Chapels have been built. With the beginning of the planning for

the already existing Jesuit College a new church building will be created. Johann Alberthal was the planner who worked according to the concepts of the Jesuit College. The influences of the Augsburg architects Heintz, Holl and Krager in the final selection of the designs are regarded as certain.

The second (renaissance/baroque) wall pillar church on German territory was to be built and thus become the model for many of the following church buildings! The consecration took place in 1617. Only approx. 140 years later the interior was redesigned and provided with the Rococo equipment watching here. The leading decorator, probably Christoph Thomas Scheffler, knew how to use the room excellently without any major alterations to the substance. The list of artists who contributed to the success is long and full of well-known names: I would like to spare them to the reader though...

A view of the front facade of the Caldwell County Courthouse in Lockhart, TX. Built in 1894, the courthouse was designed by Henry E.M. Guidon in the Second Empire architectural style. The exterior of the three-story structure is built with cream-colored limestone and red sandstone. The central clock tower houses a four-faced Seth Thomas Clock Company clock and a 900-pound bell. The mansard roof of the courthouse is characteristic of Second Empire design.

In 1978, the courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a contributing property of the Caldwell County Courthouse Historic District.

The Park Avenue Armory installed 92 trees to honor Yoko Ono on her 92nd birthday. This is the largest installation of her ongoing "Wish Tree" in North America to date. Visitors are encouraged to contribute to the installation by writing their wishes on cards and tying them to the trees, creating and participating in Yoko Ono's project.

Happy Bench Monday

Clustered at the center of this image are six brilliant spots of light, four of them creating a circle around a central pair. Appearances can be deceiving, however, as this formation is not composed of six individual galaxies, but is actually two separate galaxies and one distant quasar imaged four times. Data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope also indicates that there is a seventh spot of light in the very center, which is a rare fifth image of the distant quasar. This rare phenomenon is the result of the two central galaxies, which are in the foreground, acting as a lens.

The four bright points around the galaxy pair, and the fainter one in the very center, are in fact five separate images of a single quasar (known as 2M1310-1714), an extremely luminous but distant object. The reason we see this quintuple effect is a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. Gravitational lensing occurs when a celestial object with an enormous amount of mass – such as a pair of galaxies – causes the fabric of space to warp. When light from a distant object travels through that gravitationally warped space, it is magnified and bent around the huge mass. This allows humans here on Earth to observe multiple, magnified images of the far-away source. The quasar in this image actually lies farther away from Earth than the pair of galaxies. The galaxy pair’s enormous mass bent and magnified the light from the distant quasar, giving the incredible appearance that the galaxies are surrounded by four quasars – when in reality, a single quasar lies far beyond them!

Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) imaged the trio in spectacular detail. It was installed on Hubble in 2009 during Hubble Servicing Mission 4, Hubble’s final servicing mission. WFC3 continues to provide both top-quality data and fantastic images 12 years after its installation.

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, T. Treu; Acknowledgment: J. Schmidt

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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The Philippine duck (Anas luzonica) is a large dabbling duck of the genus Anas. It is endemic to the Philippines. As few as 5,000 may remain. Overhunting and habitat loss has contributed to its decline.

Slimbridge Wetland Centre

Thank you for taking the time to view or comment on my Photostream, it is appreciated.

Verdigris patina contributed by lichen on a fence

Apollo 11 Mission image - View of the Lunar Module at Tranquility Base. Image taken by Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong during the Apollo 11 Mission. Armstrongs shadow is visible in foreground.

Credit: NASA

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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The New York State Capitol is the capitol building of the U.S. state of New York. Housing the New York State Legislature, it is located in the state capital city Albany as part of the Empire State Plaza on State Street in Capitol Park. The building, completed in 1899 at a cost of $25 million (worth approximately half a billion current dollars), was the most expensive government building of its time.[citation needed] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, then included as a contributing property when the Lafayette Park Historic District was listed in 1978. The following year it was declared a National Historic Landmark

Candles in memory of loved ones all over the world ~

We paused today on All Saints' Day to remember our loved ones who have gone on ahead of us. This season brings the bittersweet of memories- days with Jamie and others, thoughts so fleeting they seem like dreams . . .

This little turtle was a special gift from my wonderful Flickr friend, Kelly Dilello-Smith- Jamie's totem animal!

In our own personal remembrances, many MANY of your loved ones have been remembered along with ours.

Thank you all for contributing to my survival here. Life has been hard but this virtual community continues to bouy me up.

With love and thoughts for you all ~ Kim

i thought this dress looked a little snow white-y so me and mr happy apple got together for some pictures

Child's Dress: Goodwill

Happy Apple: yard sale

Patent flats: gift from an old friend

long time favorite-r, first time contributer

Located in the 300 block of N. Main St. is the Coronado Theatre (now the Coronado Performing Arts Center), a 2,400-seat movie palace designed in Spanish Colonial Revival style by architect Frederic J. Klein. Klein also designed the Apollo Theatre in Peoria, Illinois and the Barrymore Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin. The Coronado cost $1.5 million to build, and opened on October 9, 1927.

The Coronado Theatre is an atmospheric theatre, a type of movie palace design which was popular in the late 1920s. Atmospheric theaters were designed and decorated to evoke the feeling of a particular time and place for patrons, through the use of projectors, architectural elements and ornamentation that evoked a sense of being outdoors. The Coronado's auditorium is designed as a courtyard with Spanish and Italianate facades, painted clouds, and electric 'stars', with Japanese dragons and lanterns decorating the screens of the theater's Barton organ.

The Coronado Theatre was built to present both films and live entertainment, with a fully equipped stage and orchestra pit. During the theatre's heyday which lasted from its opening until the 1960s, such famous stage acts as the Marx Brothers, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Sammy Davis Jr., Gypsy Rose Lee, and Milton Berle appeared at the Coronado. Over the years, the Coronado has also played host to high school graduations, political rallies and community events. During his 1960 Presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy made a stop here.

In 1979, the Coronado was added to the National Register of Historic Places. One year later, the Coronado was made an historical landmark of the state of Illinois. In 1984, the Coronado ceased showing movies because of a decline in revenue.

In 1997, the Kerasotes Theater Organization, owner of the Coronado since 1970, donated the property to the City of Rockford. Plans to preserve and renovate the theater followed immediately. The Friends of the Coronado, founded in 1998, began an $18.5 million restoration project a year later. Rockford community members supported the restoration by donating nearly half of the required funds. The project's goals were both to restore the theater's deteriorating interior and bring the building structure up-to-date. After 18 months of construction, the Coronado reopened in 2001 in grand style as a state-of-the-art performance and entertainment facility.

In 2007, the Coronado was again added to the National Register of Historic Places, this time as a contributing property to the West Downtown Rockford Historic District. Additionally, in celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, the Coronado Theatre was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places by the American Institute of Architects Illinois component (AIA Illinois).

The city of Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, located in north central Illinois, just south of the Wisconsin border. With an estimated population of 145,609 as of 2019, Rockford is the fifth largest city in Illinois.

Built in 1894, this eclectic Chateauesque, Tudor Revival, and Queen Anne-style house was designed by F. H. Loverin for E. F. Hall to serve as an office and residence. The building a side gable and hipped roof, a cylindrical front tower with a conical roof at the east end and an octagonal turret with a hipped “witch’s hat” roof at the west end, red roman brick cladding, half-timbering on the front facade of the second floor, tripartite arched feature windows with decorative transoms on the front facade of the first floor, a front gabled dormer on the tower with tracery and a leaded glass window, brackets below a second-story balcony with a railing featuring shields and quatrefoil openings, a side gable parapet, a wooden-clad second floor on the west facade and a porch on the west side of the house, and an entry door in the tower with a decorative glass transom. The house is a contributing structure in the Allentown Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The Rape of Proserpina, more accurately translated as The Abduction of Proserpina, is a large Baroque marble group sculpture by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, executed between 1621 and 1622, when Bernini's career was in its early stage. The group, finished when Bernini was just 23 years old, depicts the abduction of Proserpina, who is seized and taken to the underworld by the god Pluto. It features Pluto holding Proserpina aloft, and a Cerberus to symbolize the border into the underworld that Pluto carries Proserpina into.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese commissioned the sculpture and gave it to the newly appointed Cardinal-nephew, Ludovico Ludovisi, possibly as a means of gaining favour. The choice to depict the myth of Proserpina may relate to the recent death of Pope Paul V, or to the recent empowerment of Ludovico. Bernini drew inspiration from Giambologna and Annibale Carracci for the sculpture, which is the only work for which preparatory material survives. The Rape of Proserpina is made of rare Carrara marble, and was originally placed on a pedestal, since-destroyed, with a poem by Maffeo Barberini. It has been praised for its realism, as the marble mimics other materials like flesh. The detail is notable; for instance, a trickle of tears contributes to the expressiveness of Proserpina's face.

Even if today's man finds himself immersed in the most beautiful nature, he remains a passive spectator, submitting to modernity and contributing to its destruction.

First experiments with a new form in the ever-evolving world of Pano-Sabotage photography that's been dubbed "MonitorPano". It's both a new turn for me and a return to a very old tactic I used in 2012 where I achieved coarse but provoking layers by photographing, with my Canon Rebel XS, my computers screen saver as it faded in and out between images in my photo files. The great thing was that the images didn't just click from one to the next like a slide show, they faded in and out over top of each other. There was always a "crossover" point where the two images would occupy the same amount of "presence" on the screen thereby becoming "fused" or "blended" ... in effect ... layered. A cruder version of Brian Enos Installation piece, "77 Million Paintings", perhaps, but using the same idea.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0_4rCfpNzw

By the time Apple brought out the next Operating System, they'd taken out that scrolling slide show feature from what was then "iPhoto" and re-dubbed it "Photos". It always amazes me how the Silicon Valley geeks always "improve" things by taking out unique and wonderful features. Gotta mow it all down to sameness and uniformity, I guess. Unique features are seen as "mistakes".

Liz Mack has asked, "How long will it take for Apple to 'correct' the algorithms that allow for Pano-Sabotage photography ?"

MonitorPano, even though being hotly used right now and to great effect has actually been around quietly for a few years now. Don of the PANO-vision group was actually one of the first Pano-Sabotage artists to start "pano-ing" his desktop screen, and has often produced some very unique work with this method. Recently, Bill Smith, Paul Ewing and Liz Mack have taken it up with a vengeance with striking results.

"Graph ET 1" is the first finished piece that I created using the same technique the Paul, Bill, Liz and Don use. All of us in "PANO-Vision" learn a lot from each other and each of us makes invaluable contributions to the groups knowledge and technique base by that sharing. In PANO, as well call it for short, it's not about competition. We thrive by sharing. Each of us grows by contributing to an ongoing and easy exchange.

"MonitorPano" is achieved by setting one's cell phone camera on "Pano", clicking it on, while focusing on the desktop monitor and using the other hand to tap the arrow right ( or left ) key to quickly jump from photo to photo while the cell phone hand is pano-sabotaging the whole "pass". Tricky, and it takes some co-ordination, but it can be quite surprising what results.

This image was created for the PANO-Vision Groups Summer Contest, "PANO to the Metal".

www.flickr.com/groups/2892788@N23/discuss/72157667684597037/

Image culled from SLR shots done in 2011 and

"MonitorPanoed" and processed June 6, 2018.

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© Richard S Warner ( Visionheart ) - 2018. All Rights Reserved. This image is not for use in any form without explicit, express, written permission.

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I am VERY proud to announce that I was chosen to be the feature artist of the "Kreative People" Group's Spring Gallery - Running until the end of June. I really must thank both abstractartangel77 and Xandram for bestowing me with this great honour. The link to the gallery appears below:

Please visit my Kreative People Highlight Gallery HERE

As you approach St. Peter’s Square you will hear the heartening sounds of trickling water, these are the fountains of St. Peter's square, The two fountains on both sides of the Obelisk contribute to its atmosphere and beauty. These fountains were constructed during the renaissance and they are considered exemplary works. These fountains give St. Peter’s Square a relaxing atmosphere. The fountains are a great tourist attraction and they are considered among the most beautiful fountains in Rome. The fountains have been renovated and are well preserved.