View allAll Photos Tagged Devastatingly
Your traumatic experiences and devastating circumstances have left you perpetually living through many dark, desolate seasons. And somehow, in the midst of these brutally crippling seasons you can sometimes see some fallen beauty right where you are. What a gift it is to be able to notice and work to soak up the impact of these deeply meaningful moments.
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One morning after it rained I appreciated spending some time outside finding little moments of beauty like this. I find it refreshing how a layer of rain can change the perspective of my surroundings and I can often relate to the mood it creates.
A Brown-tail Moth Caterpillar busily devastating a hawthorn hedge in a garden nearby!
Brown-tail Moth Caterpillars live in groups based around communal "tents" which they use mainly for shelter from bad weather but also for hibernation in the winter.
They are voracious eaters of vegetation, especially in the spring, and although they have a preference for hawthorn, blackthorn, and bramble they will eat practically any type of tree or bush. The caterpillar releases irritant hairs into the air which cause skin irritation, and can impact some people quite severely, affecting their breathing.
They are mostly found around the coasts of southern and eastern England, although they are also increasingly found inland and further north, as far as Northumberland and occasionally southern Scotland. They live in areas of scrub, hedgerows, parks and gardens.
One of the few corners of Warwick to survive the devastating fire of the 5th September 1694.
The building with the large gable-end is Thomas Oken's house, built in the late 15th century.
Thomas Oken (d.1573) came from a humble family, but became the richest man in Warwick, making his fortune dealing in wool and woven fabrics. He lived during the reigns of Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, during a period of great religious change and social upheaval.
Oken was married but died childless, and left his personal fortune to the town. His will arranged – amongst other things – for the payment of the salary of the schoolmaster, annual payments to ‘the poor’, the paving of certain streets, the repairing of the bridge, the wages of the herdsmen and the beadle, the repairing of the wells and the provision of a number of almshouses. The Thomas Oken Charity is still in existence today – and still owns this building, the rent for which goes towards good causes for the benefit of Warwick people.
In his will, Thomas Oken also provided for the spending of £1 annually on a feast, preceded by a service at St. Mary’s. The annual feast still goes on to this day, during which a toast is always given to Thomas Oken’s memory!
The devastating Viking attack on the church of St Cuthbert in 793 sent a shockwave through Europe. But a Christian community at Lindisfarne survived, and recorded the event on the famous 'Domesday stone'. The four arms of the church meet under the famous ‘rainbow arch’, a rib from the high crossing vault that survived when the central tower collapsed in the late 18th century. The four arms of the church meet under the famous ‘rainbow arch’, a rib from the high crossing vault that survived when the central tower collapsed in the late 18th century. In the distance on the right Lindisfarne castle can be seen. Sadly the Priory is nowa ruin preserved by English Heritage
Devastating moment! I was cleaning up my files in Lightroom and accidentally deleted my original copy which made Explore yesterday. I now know that when the link is severed, everything is deleted with it. Yeah, won't be making that mistake again LOL.
For the theme: Out of Place
Redhead matches - 1 burnt
What a mistake to make hey! Gutted.
Rebuilt following the devastating earthquake of 1693, its architecture has been recognised as providing outstanding testimony to the exuberant genius and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe and, along with other towns in the Val di Noto, is part of UNESCO Heritage Sites in Italy.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modica
In September 2017, a lightning strike caused a devastating fire to sweep through Waterton Lakes National Park. More than 360 square kilometres were destroyed, affecting more than one third of the park. The fast moving fire covered over 20 kilometres in just over four hours. Incredible. When we visited last month, many areas remained closed because of dangers.
But fires are part of the natural life cycle of a forest. We worried before going, that the blackened earth would be shocking… which it was. But when we arrived, there was an enormous sense of excitement at how green the affected areas were. Whole hillsides stood with barren toothpick trees, and yet, green grasses, abundant flowers and young seedlings flourished amongst them. Insects and woodpeckers, and bears were all doing their thing, feasting on the new growth and rebuilding their diverse habitat. The landscape was dramatically changed last year, but the renewal will be a positive thing, enriching the forest and bringing new life to the area.
Last month, the smoke from the devastating (and ongoing) wildfires in Canada made it all the way over here in Portugal :(
This is the picture of a very smoky sunrise, a few minutes before 7 am.
No mês passado, o fumo dos devastadores incêndios florestais que ainda assolam o Canadá, atravessou o Atlântico e chegou a Portugal :(
Esta é a foto de um nascer do sol coberto de fumo, pouco antes das 7:00.
This photo is NOT mine. It is just one of the many found in newspapers & websites.
This is In Memory Of all those injured or killed during the 1987 tornado.
The Edmonton tornado was a powerful and devastating tornado that ripped through the eastern part of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and parts of neighbouring Strathcona County on the afternoon of Friday, July 31, 1987 (also known as "Black Friday" to Edmontonians).
The second-worst killer tornado in Canadian history struck Edmonton on July 31, 1987, a day that will be remembered as Black Friday. The death toll was one less than Canada’s most lethal tornado, which killed 28 in Regina in 1912.
Overall, 27 people would be killed, more than 300 injured and 1,000 left homeless. The tornado remained on the ground for an hour. Winds topped 416 km/h — rated as an F4 tornado — cutting a swath of death and destruction 40-km long and as much as 1-km wide, unrivalled in the history of Alberta.
Hail as large as softballs and nearly 50 mm of torrential rain fell on the city.
Touching down outside Leduc that afternoon, the Edmonton tornado plowed northward, skirting Beaumont and leaving uprooted trees and downed power poles in its path, destroying a barn and killing several cows before veering toward the city.
It levelled a number of homes in the southeast community of Mill Woods, tossing cars as it twirled toward the Sherwood Park Freeway, sweeping vehicles off the road and taking its first human life.
It then roared through an industrial area on the edge of Edmonton, knocking over buildings like they were made of straw, killing seven more and injuring 150.
As it moved toward the North Saskatchewan River, it threatened a number of oil refineries, tossed oil storage tanks through the air, but avoided the major installations.
The twister headed through the river valley and up into the neighbourhood of Claireview, destroying more homes before unleashing its most deadly force on the 700 homes in the Evergreen Mobile Home Park.
July 31, 1987 will always and forever be remembered by Edmontonians.
I remember the very thing I was doing that day. We were practicing track & field outside in gym class that afternoon. I remember making comments about the sky looking rather bizarre and a strange shade of green. I ended up leaving school early to go to the doctor. After the appointment we had to drive to the pharmacy to fill my prescription. As we piled back into the car to go home, we were attacked in the parking lot by golf ball size hail, which eventually grew in size to that of a baseball. The sound will forever be lodged in my brain. It was so loud hitting the roof of the car, I thought for sure one was going to make it's way inside. It eventually slowed down long enough for us to drive the car the last few blocks home safely before unleashing her ultimate fury on the city. One of the scariest days in my life.
I was fortunate enough not to have lost anyone in that tornado. But I have to say it is always in the back of my mind when we get the unstable weather we do now. Many around the city are wondering if there will be another tornado to strike our lives and mark the 20 years since the last one. Personally, I wouldn't put it past mother nature to grace us with her wrath again.
Today also marks the Birthday of my Aunt (Sid's Mom). HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! XOXO.
Sid & I are also lucky to still have our oh-so-stubborn father's with us today as they almost fell victim to Black Friday. They were at work when word hit of the disaster headed our way, both decided there was no way they could stay (in one of the safest places possible. They were building what is now the Fort Saskatchewan Jail) without knowing how their families were. Hopped into their trucks and raced home. One can only imagine the things they saw on that drive. However, they both made it home safe and sound.
I only wished that there were more happy stories like ours that day. My thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy.
Edmonton Tornado of 1987
The 1987 tornado
Date of tornado: July 31, 1987
Time: 3:25 p.m. MDT (2125 UTC)
Rating of tornado: F4 tornado
Damages: $550 million (2005 CAD)[2]
Fatalities: 27
Area affected: Edmonton, Alberta area
Credits: In italics, a mix of articles by Wikepedia and The Calgary Sun. In regular text a few of my own words.
For a fellow tribute My Cousin Sidney has one too! Please take a few minutes to read hers as well.
The week before Christmas 2013 a devastating storm systems swept the Midwest and eastern North America. It hit Ontario mostly in the form of one of the heaviest ice storms to hit the Toronto area. It shut down power across a vast area. I don't recall the outage - it mustn't have affected my neighbourhood more than an hour or two. But I have rural friends who were without power for more than a week over Christmas. The storm killed 27 people in the region, mostly people who tried to run generators indoors and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Most of the rest died in car accidents.
I'm sorting through old photos and posting some interesting ones. This images was uploaded to Flickr on Dec. 14, 2019.
Thank you to everyone who visits, faves or comments.
Aerial view on the lava flow of fissure 22 in the area of Mt Kilauea.
I was told the lava flows at a speed of 35 km/h. The width of the flow in this picture is about 50 - 100 meters.
The Kilauea erupted in spring 2018 for several weeks.
Flying at an altitude of 1000 meters i could feel the heat of the lava up there in the helicopter.
Thank you guys from Paradise Helicopters, Hilo for your kind support.
… Devastating news … this is the last picture I’ll ever publish of Melati, and she’ll remain Jae Jae’s girl forever. From what I could gather, shortly after she was introduced to Asim yesterday, She attacked him and Asim had killed her in the resulting fight before their keepers could do anything. RIP.
"His left is basically defenseless, but watch out for his devastating right hook"
Last minute entry for #DJOKEMSOKEM I threw together in like two days
In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. Small stretches of Brooklyn in early 2021 display the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.
Shortly after the devastating 22 February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch a lot of libraries in Christchurch were closed. Sarah Gallagher came up with the idea of putting books in a drinks fridge on the site of a demolished building. If you bring two books you can take two different ones away, which is a better way of having a library with a more varied selection. Puzzles can also be left. As you see every library also needs somewhere to sit and read as well.
I believe there is also a plant exchange, but I have not come across it yet.
Daniel Moore's rendition of the absolute devastating sack Cornelius Bennet put on Notre Dame quarterback Steve Beuerlein. Needless to say, Steve suffered a concussion from this hit.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
After a devastating tornado moved through St. Mary Basilica in Natchez, Mississippi, the challenge was not only to repair the damages, but also restore areas that were deteriorated from the natural aging process before the storm forced restorative action.
An investigative study was performed to uncover the original paint treatments, techniques, and architectural elements in this Catholic Church
The finest techniques was used to repair plaster and treat cracks with fiberglass. Artists washed, patched, primed, and painted with the highest quality materials, and decorated with 23kt gold leaf, glazes, multi-color stencils, tromp l'oeil and free-hand artistry.
Rebuilt following the devastating earthquake of 1693, its architecture has been recognised as providing outstanding testimony to the exuberant genius and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe and, along with other towns in the Val di Noto, is part of UNESCO Heritage Sites in Italy.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modica
Rebuilt following the devastating earthquake of 1693, its architecture has been recognised as providing outstanding testimony to the exuberant genius and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe and, along with other towns in the Val di Noto, is part of UNESCO Heritage Sites in Italy.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modica
The week before Christmas 2013 a devastating storm systems swept the Midwest and eastern North America. It hit Ontario mostly in the form of one of the heaviest ice storms to hit the Toronto area. It shut down power across a vast area. I don't recall the outage - it mustn't have affected my neighbourhood more than an hour or two. But I have rural friends who were without power for more than a week over Christmas. The storm killed 27 people in the region, mostly people who tried to run generators indoors and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Most of the rest died in car accidents.
I'm sorting through old photos and posting some interesting ones. This images was uploaded to Flickr on Dec. 14, 2019.
Thank you to everyone who visits, faves or comments.
Spring, beautiful, unfamiliar Arina, with freckles painted on her face, came up to me on the street and asked:
- Would you like to take a picture of me and my friend?
I strolled through the city, where the birds were still singing, the first flowers were blooming under the melting snow, and people were laughing. I gazed into faces and caught phrases, trying to see and understand that the horror and inevitable catastrophe in this city is not only felt by me. But no.
On the other hand, I hardly give the impression of bottomless black sadness either.
All winter I've waited so hard for sunny days, to walk and breathe and put my cheeks under the warm rays and spring breeze, but now it's different here. Irreparable, devastating...my heart is torn apart by the first snowdrops, that blue sky here, the black sky there, the cheering headlines, the news I read, the news I saw, all the people leaving and going away. I don't know how to be with it all. How to take it all, the unconnected now, and combine it all. All this sunny street laughter, all the people munching deliciously in cafes as if nothing was happening, all this outward carelessness, the desperate parade of brand-name clothes and the terrible, terrible darkness, the substitution of concepts, death... and the mass that has found itself another symbol. I don't know how to walk next to them, how to breathe this contaminated air and stay whole. and stay at all
☮
TRAMA Textiles was born out of the most desperate and devastating times of the Civil War in Guatemala when most of the men -- grandfathers, fathers, brothers, and sons, disappeared, and the women were forced to find a way to survive and support their households and communities.
Today, the 100% worker-owned association, comprising of over 400 weavers from the five regions in the western highlands and from 17 weaving cooperatives, proudly continue the ancient textile art of backstrap weaving that has sustained their culture and communities for over 1,500 years. TRAMA enables the women to produce high quality fair-trade textile goods for national and international markets.
Shot entirely in Guatemala, from the association's retail shop and weaving school in Quetzaltenango to the women's homes in the western highlands, TRAMA Textiles: Tejiendo la Vida de Guatemala presents its viewers with an intimate look at the women's lives, their craft, and a chance to hear their stories in their own words.
Read more about TRAMA here and learn how you can support the women and their families.
Part of my Guatemala Set
[ San Martín Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, Centro America ]
[ Junio 2008]
my prayers go out to you and may God be with you in this sorrowful time.
[ASCOLI PICENO, ITALY—Mourners in Italy prayed, hugged, wept and even applauded as coffins carrying victims of the country’s devastating earthquake passed by at a state funeral Saturday, grieving as one nation after three desperate days of trying to save as many people as possible.
In the central town of Ascoli Piceno, they gathered to bid farewell to 35 of the 291 people confirmed dead so far after the quake that struck a swath of countryside early Wednesday at the foothills of the central Apennine mountains.]
Rebuilt following the devastating earthquake of 1693, its architecture has been recognised as providing outstanding testimony to the exuberant genius and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe and, along with other towns in the Val di Noto, is part of UNESCO Heritage Sites in Italy.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modica
In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. Small stretches of Brooklyn in early 2021 display the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/witley-court-and...
Witley Court was once of the great country houses of England, reaching its peak in the Victorian period when it was the setting for extravagant parties and royal entertainments. After a devastating fire in 1937, however, it became one of the country’s most spectacular ruins. It is still possible to gain a sense of the opulence and scale of the 19th-century interiors, as well as to see the earlier layers of the building’s history laid bare by the fire.
In the gardens, the south and east parterres have been restored by English Heritage to give an idea of their Victorian glory. At the centre of the south parterre, the Perseus and Andromeda fountain – one of the grandest in Europe – has been restored to working order.
The ensemble is completed by the Georgian parish church (not owned by English Heritage), which has one of the finest interiors of its period in the country.
This gorgeous vase was made by potter Judy Jones whose studio/gallery is in Gatlinburg, TN. My heart goes out to all the folks in that area who are dealing with the devastating wildfires.
You have experienced intense harm and evil so devastating that you find yourself questioning reality. It’s so easy for you to question yourself, to believe this means you are weak and it comes more naturally to turn this inward and severely criticize yourself. And you’re doing the hard work of looking for beauty and goodness wherever you can discover it and finding ways to try to express and validate your very real experience when you can’t find words for it. Maybe that is strength.
[image created on 3-1-2024]
Recently I became very fascinated by digital pinhole photography. This image was created with a modified pinhole body cap. I think I’m drawn to this type of photography because I feel it relates to my life and it seems to teach me far beyond photography. There are strict limitations that can drastically alter how images are captured and the final outcome of the photos, there is a lack of clarity compared to how I normally capture images with a lens, it’s difficult to predict exactly how the image will look and beauty and meaning can be found in the process and the final photo. It gives me a chance to practice embracing the unfamiliar, change, finding beauty in imperfection and growing in new ways.
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As a way to cope with circumstances beyond my control, survive and work to keep fighting for life I decided to try to take at least one photo (or more) each day. I call this “a photo (or more) a day.” Practicing this form of therapeutic photography helps me work to focus on the present moment, gives me something familiar and enjoyable to focus on as I use photography skills that have become like second-nature to me and being able to view the images I capture helps me recall what I was thinking, feeling and noticing at the moment when I created the photos. More of the photos from this series can be seen on my Instagram account
I may not always have the energy, time or capacity to share photos from this series—especially with the very challenging circumstances my family and I are experiencing—and will do my best to continue taking a photo (or more) a day even if I’m not able to share.
If you would like to support my work and my family, one way you can do so is by ordering my zines:
Many thanks for your support.
After a devastating series of malpractice lawsuits, Dr. Phineas Fauchaux and his nurse Sophie maintained their standard of living by eradicating demons from surgical suites.
We're Here! : Superstitions - feeling lucky or tempting fate?
Lacking inspiration for your 365 project? Join We're Here!
Strobist: AB1600 with gridded 60X30 softbox overhead. Triggered by Cybersync.
Pro-Optic 8mm ƒ3.5
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Theaterplatz near the Elbe River in the historic centre of Dresden, Germany.
The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841. After a devastating fire in 1869, the opera house was rebuilt, partly again by Semper, and completed in 1878. The opera house has a long history of premieres, including major works by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss.
The first opera house at the location of today's Semperoper was built by the architect Gottfried Semper. It opened on 13 April 1841 with an opera by Carl Maria von Weber. The building style itself is debated among many, as it has features that appear in three styles: early Renaissance and Baroque, with Corinthian style pillars typical of Greek classical revival. Perhaps the most suitable label for this style would be eclecticism, where influences from many styles are used, a practice most common during this period. Nevertheless, the opera building, Semper's first, was regarded as one of the most beautiful European opera houses.
Following a devastating fire in 1869, the citizens of Dresden immediately set about rebuilding their opera house. They demanded that Gottfried Semper do the reconstruction, even though he was then in exile because of his involvement in the May 1849 uprising in Dresden. The architect had his son, Manfred Semper, build the second opera house using his plans. Completed in 1878, it was built in Neo-Renaissance style. During the construction period, performances were held at the Gewerbehaussaal, which opened in 1870.
The building is considered to be a prime example of "Dresden Baroque" architecture. It is situated on the Theatre Square in central Dresden on the bank of the Elbe River. On top of the portal there is a Panther quadriga with a statue of Dionysos. The interior was created by architects of the time, such as Johannes Schilling. Monuments on the portal depict artists, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, William Shakespeare, Sophocles, Molière and Euripides. The building also features work by Ernst Rietschel and Ernst Julius Hähnel. In the pre-war years, the Semperoper premiered many of the works of Richard Strauss.
In 1945, during the last months of World War II, the building was largely destroyed again, this time by the bombing of Dresden and subsequent firestorm, leaving only the exterior shell standing. Exactly 40 years later, on 13 February 1985, the opera's reconstruction was completed. It was rebuilt to be almost identical to its appearance before the war, but with the benefit of new stage machinery and an accompanying modern rear service building. The Semperoper reopened with the opera that was performed just before the building's destruction in 1945, Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz. When the Elbe flooded in 2002, the building suffered heavy water damage. With substantial help from around the world, it reopened in December of that year.
Today, the orchestra for most operas is the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. The Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Semperoper is normally a different conductor from that of the Staatskapelle when it presents concerts. Exceptions have been Karl Böhm, Hans Vonk, and Fabio Luisi who have held both positions. Whilst the Semperoper does not have a GMD as of 2015, the current chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden is Christian Thielemann, as of the 2012/13 season. The current Intendant of the company is Wolfgang Rothe.
Since the 2018–2019 season, the Intendant of the Semperoper is Peter Theiler. In May 2021, his initial contract as Intendant was extended through the 2023–2024 season, at which time Theiler is scheduled to conclude his tenure in the post. In June 2021, the Semperoper announced the appointment of Nora Schmid as the incoming Intendantin of the company (the second woman to hold the post, after Ulrike Hessler), effective with the 2024–2025 season.
The week before Christmas 2013 a devastating storm systems swept the Midwest and eastern North America. It hit Ontario mostly in the form of one of the heaviest ice storms to hit the Toronto area. It shut down power across a vast area. I don't recall the outage - it mustn't have affected my neighbourhood more than an hour or two. But I have rural friends who were without power for more than a week over Christmas. The storm killed 27 people in the region, mostly people who tried to run generators indoors and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Most of the rest died in car accidents.
I'm sorting through old photos and posting some interesting ones. This images was uploaded to Flickr on Dec. 14, 2019.
Thank you to everyone who visits, faves or comments.
The circumstances our family has been forced into have been extremely stressful, painful, abusive, devastating and more… And I’m working to keep looking for light in the middle of the pain that’s been inflicted on us, when life was already too hard for me before all of the new, added stress.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
John 1:5
#aphotoaday
[image created on 1-2-2024]
____________________________
As a way to cope with circumstances beyond my control, survive and work to keep fighting for life I decided to try to take at least one photo (or more) each day. I call this “a photo (or more) a day.” Practicing this form of therapeutic photography helps me work to focus on the present moment, gives me something familiar and enjoyable to focus on as I use photography skills that have become like second-nature to me and being able to view the images I capture helps me recall what I was thinking, feeling and noticing at the moment when I created the photos. More of the photos from this series can be seen on my Instagram account
I may not always have the energy, time or capacity to share photos from this series—especially with the very challenging circumstances my family and I are experiencing—and will do my best to continue taking a photo (or more) a day even if I’m not able to share.
If you would like to support my work and my family, one way you can do so is by ordering my zines:
Many thanks for your support.
GADZOOKS!
This made Explore Aug 7, 2009 #200
Cool!
Sometimes my other hobby spills over. To me, a beautiful picture is a beautiful picture. Regardless
I just got this and a few other silk veils and absolutely love them!
Nikon D5000 Nikkor 35mm f/1.8
Copyright Notice
(C) 2009 Lila & Joe Grossinger Photography
All Rights Reserved
Bloggers are welcome! I can use the free publicity - Send me the link
If you are photography challenged and need this photo to decorate your hovel, then be my guest.
Just don't mess with the credit & copyright and send me a picture!
Have a great day!
Please do not leave any notes on my images.
Turning May blue and purple for #Huntington's Disease Awareness month.
I've decided to keep to the blue and purple theme for the whole of May to help raise awareness for this devastating and little-known disease.
In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. Small stretches of Brooklyn in early 2021 display the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.
Construction of Bara Imambara was started in 1785, a year of a devastating famine, and one of Asaf-ud-Daula's objectives in embarking on this grandiose project was to provide employment for people in the region for almost a decade while the famine lasted. It is said that ordinary people used to work in the day building up the edifice, while noblemen and other elite worked at night to break down anything that was raised that day. It was a project that preceded a Keynesian like intervention for employment generation. Construction of the Imambara was completed in 1791.
..........................The architecture of the complex reflects the maturation of ornamented Mughal design, namely the Badshahi Mosque - it is one of the last major projects not incorporating any European elements or the use of iron. The main imambara consists of a large vaulted central chamber containing the tomb of Asaf-ud-Daula. At 50 by 16 meters and over 15 meters tall, it has no beams supporting the ceiling and is one of the largest such arched constructions in the world.
........................Wikipedia
Smoke from the devastating wine country fires darkened the setting sun.
San Francisco Bay looking from Bay Farm Island, Alameda
As I awoke on that devastating day, September 11, 2001, I immediately felt an overwhelming sense of fear. I could not shake it, I just KNEW something wasn't right. I normally don't watch TV in the morning before going to work; but, today was different. I was compelled to reach for the remote; it was then that I would face the realization of the evil upon this planet.
Immediately, I shot up out of my chair and frantically ran for the phone. I needed to know if my family in Queens, NY and relatives that worked in Manhattan were OK.
I went to reach for the phone and it rang....it was my mother. She knew I would be worrying about our family......She wanted me to know that everyone was fine and my cousin that worked in the city had decided to not go to work that day, so he wasn't even near the site ....but, if he had gone to work it may have been a different outcome...I prayed long and hard for the lost souls of the ones who perished from that cowardly act, and I continue to today. I think in some way or form, we ALL do.
Christchurch is beleaguered with bare vacant sites following a series of devastating earthquakes. The city has been exploring possibilities of temporary architecture to inspire, provoke and advance the range of projects that can be undertaken on vacant sites in Christchurch.
The Arcades Project is a series of decorative arches that serve as a pedestrian throughway but also a destination for markets, shops and other temporary structures along both sides. .
This elegant gothic arch design by Andrew Just is placed on the site of the former Crowne Plaza Hotel where they form a highly visible walkway from Victoria Street into Victoria Square and have already influenced thinking about the future development of that site.
Devastating, separate wildfires that began on July 7, 2017 eventually merged into one on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada . This resulted in the largest wildfire in the province's history. Smoke drifted over to Shirley in the southern part of Vancouver Island. For three consecutive nights in early August, the air was dark and smoky and the sun became a flaming, red-orange orb. To see the shot I took on the following evening, click Sunset the Next Night
TRAMA Textiles was born out of the most desperate and devastating times of the Civil War in Guatemala when most of the men -- grandfathers, fathers, brothers, and sons, disappeared, and the women were forced to find a way to survive and support their households and communities.
Today, the 100% worker-owned association, comprising of over 400 weavers from the five regions in the western highlands and from 17 weaving cooperatives, proudly continue the ancient textile art of backstrap weaving that has sustained their culture and communities for over 1,500 years. TRAMA enables the women to produce high quality fair-trade textile goods for national and international markets.
Read more about TRAMA here and learn how you can support the women and their families.
I'm trying to explore the different processes one can do with Photoshop. At first I thought I liked the look on this one, but after awhile it started to look a little bit too "clean" for me. Maybe it's cuz I processed the wrong type of image. Maybe if I did it on an image of some landscape or something it would look better.
I think I should just stick to giving my digital images the good ol' vintage look. :P
[ San Martín Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, Centro America ]
[ June 2008 ]
Though surprise was on Isloriel's side, it clearly wasn't enough to defeat the devastating forces of Alborne. The ambush had failed and Alborne had breached the southern lands. It seemed that in this war numbers were going to count more than skill.
We had our orders to retreat to create defenses around Elkmire. Our Captain upon receiving his orders, instantly prepared us for the trek. A couple of hours later, we were ready to move out.
We were marching through the forest when I saw what seemed to be a clearing. When we reached it, it turned out not it was indeed a clearing, however not a natural one. The ground was a mixture of dirt and scorched earth - there wasn't a single flower or blade of grass within sight.
Soon the reason had become clear - this land had been the camp for Islorien forces guarding the Elkmire. Alborne had evidently stormed the base with surprise and sheer numbers on their side - our forces didn't stand a chance.
"This is where we were meant to meet commander Getroff's forces, but it seems we weren't the first to reach them," said our captain, tears evidently glistening in his eyes. He approached the still figure of a fallen elf scout and placed his hand on his chest.
"Come on," he continued." Alborne was recently here - we can still reach our destination before them. We have a mission to complete."
"Sir, with all due respect, aren't we going to bury our dead?" I said.
Our captain looked from me to the fallen scout. A single tear slid down his cheek. Finally, he said in a hoarse voice:
"There will be a time for the dead. Right now the living require our aid. Resume march, double time"
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I know, I know - this MOC isn't very good compared to some others I've made. The reason for this is simple - I'm trying to make a MOC for SHIPtember this year, and to put it simply, my SHIP project is hogging all of my time. This MOC was literally built in one evening when I decided I needed a beak from building spaceships.
Even though it isn't one of my best MOCs, I still hope you like it :)
Happy building!
unexpected and unavoidable, devastating and distressing. cut. you are smiling. what just was said, what just was done, doesn't it make you happier? the sun is shining on your skin again and suddenly you wonder how you got to this state of mind. cut. a dark hole, the dripping of water. creeping limbs, creeping bodies, haunting you. your mind. your heart. do you remember the sun? do you remember the light? you wish this were a tunnel so you could see it at least - but you don't. it's no tunnel. it's a hole and it's so dark that you can't see anything, you just hear your own voices in your head ... and that constant noise of dripping water. cut. the wind's in your hair. he is smiling. she is smiling. embraces, kisses ... tomorrow is going to be fine and you know that. you know you can do so much with your life. you can do so much, you are free! cut. you are trapped. after wandering around, you realized there was no door around you. maybe if you'd start to climb, you'd somehow get out of this cave. out of this cage. but you never really were convinced you had the strength to. you never really felt like that your body and mind is capable of all of this climbing, so why even bother trying? slowly you get used to the darkness around you, and even though it's still terrifying you, you accept the fact you can't change anything about it. cut.
cut. over and over again. a cut is like a pause of darkness. you never know what will come afterwards. you never know what will happen next. but still ... the cuts continue. they always do. they're coming. it is coming. it's there.
(day sixty)
The third anniversary of the devastating bombing attack on Madrid commuter trains which is known in Spain as 11-M (2004), was marked by the unveiling of an imposing glass monument just outside Atocha, an 11 metre high hollow cylinder, constructed with massive blocks of transparent optic glass. Inside the cylinder, the deep blue chamber known as the ‘Vacío Azul’ – ‘Blue Vaccuum,’ is separated from the top of the dome by a membrane inscribed with some of the thousands of the messages of condolence which were written after the attacks.
It is officially known as the Monumento a las Víctimas del 11-M, as a homage the 192 dead and the 1,824 people who were injured in the bombings.
cf. www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_13347.shtml
"Save the girl child campaign (an Internet-driven advocacy effort) by SOCIAL GEOGRAPHIC"
Photo: Firoz Ahmad Firoz
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"Worst of all, violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their families and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence -- yet the reality is that, too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned." (UN SECRETARY-GENERAL in International Women’s Day 2007 Message.)
“Almost every country in the world still has laws that discriminate against women, and promises to remedy this have not been kept.” (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the eve of International Women's Day 2008)
According to one United Nations estimate, 113 to 200 million women are “demographically missing” from the world today. That is to say, there should be 113 to 200 million more women walking the earth, who aren’t. By that same estimate, 1.5 to 3 million women and girls lose their lives every year because of gender-based neglect or gender-based violence and Sexual Violence in Conflict ( Read more about UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict www.stoprapenow.org/ ). Millions of young women disappear in their native land every year. Many of them are found later being held against their will in other places and forced into prostitution. According to the UNICEF ( www.unicef.org/gender/index_factsandfigures.html ),Girls between 13 and 18 years of age constitute the largest group in the sex industry. It is estimated that around 500,000 girls below 18 are victims of trafficking each year. United Nations agencies estimated that every year 3 million girls are at risk of undergoing the procedure – which involves the partial or total removal of external female genital organs – that some 140 million women, mostly in Asia, the Middle East and in Africa, have already endured. We can point a finger at poverty. But poverty alone does not result in these women’s deaths and suffering; the blame also falls on the social system and attitudes of the societies.
India alone accounts for more than 50 million of the women who are “missing” due to female foeticide - the sex-selective abortion of girls, dowry death, gender-based neglect and all forms of violence against women.
Since the late 1970s when the technology for sex determination first came into being, sex selective abortion has unleashed a saga of horror in India. Experts are calling it "sanitized barbarism".The 2001 Census conducted by Government of India, showed a sharp decline in the child sex ratio in 80% districts of India. The Census Report of 2001 reveals a highly skewed child sex ratio (0-6 year-olds), that fell from 945 females per 1,000 males in 1991 to an all-time low of 927 in 2001. Additional data from the India’s birth and death registration service indicates that the figures have further fallen to fewer than 900 females per 1,000 men over the last few years. In some parts of the country, the sex ratio of girls to boys has dropped to less than 800:1,000. It's alarming that even liberal states like those in the northeast have taken to disposing of girls. Worryingly, the trend is far stronger in urban rather than rural areas, and among literate rather than illiterate women, exploding the myth that growing affluence and spread of basic education alone will result in the erosion of gender bias.
The United Nations has expressed serious concern about the situation.
Over the years, laws have been made stricter and the punishment too is more stringent now. But since many people manage to evade punishment, others too feel inclined to take the risk. Just look at the way sex-determination tests go on despite a stiff ban on them. Only if the message goes out loud and clear that nobody who dares to snuff out the life of a female foetus would escape effective legal system would the practice end. It is only by a combination of monitoring, education, socio-cultural campaigns, and effective legal implementation that the deep-seated attitudes and practices against women and girls can be eroded.
The decline in the sex ratio and the millions of Missing Women are indicators of the feudal patriarchal resurgence. Violence against women has gone public – whether it is dowry murders,the practice of female genital mutilation , honour killings, sex selective abortions or death sentences awarded to young lovers from different communities by caste councils, rapes and killings in communal and caste violence, it is only women’s and human rights groups who are protesting – the public and institutional response to these trends is very minimal.
Millions of women suffer from discrimination in the world of work. This not only violates a most basic human right, but has wider social and economic consequences. Most of the governments turn a blind eye to illegal practices and enact and enforce discriminatory laws. Corporations and private individuals engage in abusive and discriminatory practices without fear of legal system. Sexual harassment and violence in the workplace are common and constant threats to working women’s lives and livelihoods.
More women are working now than ever before, but they are also more likely than men to get low-productivity, low-paid and vulnerable jobs, with no social protection, basic rights nor voice at work according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) issued for International Women’s Day 2008.
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Unite To End Violence Against Women!
Say No To Sex Selection and Female Foeticide!!
Say No To Female Genital Mutilation!!!
Say No To Dowry and Discrimination Against Women!!!!
Say Yes To Women’s Resistance, Education and Empowerment!!!!!
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