Streets of Philadelphia.

❤ Hallo liebe Freunde 👀 , ich möchte euch kurz meine oben abgebildete, bezaubernde Enkelin vorstellen, die wiederum auch etwas vorstellen möchte. - Die von ihr neu konzipierte Selo-Morning-Box, die seit kurzem von Ihr vertrieben wird.- Nach Abitur, Studium, Bachelor und jetzt mit dem Master beschäftigt, hat sie die Idee mit der Morning-Gesundheits-Box vervollständigt, die ab sofort bestellbar ist.

Ja- da mache ich auch mal Werbung und ich würde mich freuen, wenn ihr euch das Angebot mal anschauen wollt - vielleicht ist das eine Idee für ein hübsches und gesundes Geschenk jetzt in der Vorweihnachtszeit.

Liebe Grüße

Rolf

Hello dear friends, I would like to briefly introduce you to my charming granddaughter, pictured above, who would also like to introduce something. - The Selo Morning Box, which she has newly designed and recently started selling. - After graduating from high school, completing her bachelor's degree, and now working on her master's degree, she has finalized the idea for the Morning Health Box, which is now available to order.

Yes, I'm doing some advertising here, and I would be delighted if you would take a look at the offer—perhaps it's an idea for a nice and healthy gift now in the run-up to Christmas.

Best regards,

Rolf

google ..Selo-Morning-Box

selo-health.de/products/energy-box

Finalized..... 4 color silkscreen poster for the PRINTED show Dec6th, Crewest gallery.

18"x24" signed and numberted... limited 25 prints.

Printed by Two Rabbits.

Exactly twenty years ago today, the Canadian National Railroad finalized their acquisition of Great Lakes Transportation and successfully absorbed its shortline subsidiaries, which included the fan favorite Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad. Changes made by the new owner were initially very minimal in the first decade following the purchase, however things quickly took a turn for the worse when a group of Illinois Central SD70s arrived on the property in the Spring of 2015 for the purpose of replacing the aging fleet of SD38s and Tunnel Motors in use at the time.

As the attractive orange EMDs were shipped off to other parts of the CN system, the chances of seeing a once common trio of all Bessemer painted power on an actual road train became increasingly slim. The handful of SD38 units that remained on the property were basically relegated to yard service at Conneaut for years, and the only remaining Tunnel Motor happened to be the 905, a wreck repair which had KCS yellow nose stripes clearly visible through its botched paint job.

Just when it seemed things would never get better, in a bizarre turn of events, BLE 878 mysteriously arrived back on Bessemer property in October of 2019 and was almost immediately set up with the the 867 and 905, the other orange motors being used out of Greenville at the time. The morning of October 9th happened to be the first occurrence in which all three units were used on the railroad's misc job for a Butler turn out of Greenville. The eclectic trio made for a great sight at the first photo location of the day as they banged across the diamond with NS's Meadville Line at XN Tower. This is the beginning of CTC coming out of the shops at Greenville and this line, commonly called the low line, will join with the actual mainline at Kelsey, just a few miles ahead.

Naturally something this nice could never last. Big DP equipped CN SD70M-2s now dominate the taconite trains between Conneaut and North Bessemer. The 878 is now the last orange unit on the property and usually handles mixed freight duties along with the Bessemer stenciled but Missabe painted 862. As frustrating as it is to see that the railroad is a shell of its former self, the fact that it is completely isolated from the rest of the CN system has undoubtedly helped slow the changing process. If a company like Genesee & Wyoming or Watco had taken control of the operation, there is almost no chance it would exist in its current form. Ancient CTC hardware still guides trains of taconite pellets and local freight across the railroad and that same sense of pride and commitment the Bessemer had to the steel industry can still be seen in the small group of railroaders that work on this far corner of the CN system.

The Royal Court (Curtea Domnească) monuments ensemble in Târgovişte, Romania, built in the 15th century. Ruler Mircea the Old is the founder of the royal residence, with construction works launched around 1400 and finalized in 1476. The museum includes the Royal Residence, the Great Royal Church, the Small Royal Church and the Chindia Tower. Only the ruins can now be seen of the Royal Residence, its gardens and fountains. The Great Royal Church still boasts its frescoes with portraits of Wallachian rulers, and a cannonball stuck in its walls, in testimony of past wars. In the Small Royal Church, visitors can see interesting pottery work and the oldest church porch in the country, built concurrently with the church in the 16th century. (surprising-romania.blogspot.com/2009/08/royal-court-in-ta...)

Finalized it...

Sweet Thing's Fang/Tusks pack was the thin we used to update it..

When we have spoons we'll pull a blog post.

August 15th 1945, 2 weeks before documents were finalized, was VJ Day. Highlighting the end of around 6 years of worldwide violence and carnage. The war was over and people across the world were celebrating.

So anyone who's doing any research know there's another side to the story ofcourse. Japan was left in a near total state of ruin which led to decades long US occupation of fixed replenishing, we all knew eventually this would help Japan as a whole bounce back in great proportions but scars still remain to this day.

I tried to make this side view look like it was of this time. But I'm not that insensitive and left some pieces that ruined the immersion, such as trees that still have plantlife on them, which wouldn't have been in any photo here in '45, raised the noise as well. And frankly, there aren't a whole lot of ways to make the atomic dome look like a positive shot, so I didn't even bother trying to make that the idea.

Because I'm ultra-conservative with space, and I can't just buy new beefy memory cards everyday this is the best frame I have. I never shoot RAW, I refuse to. I need the space to keep trying new angles and be experimental with my spots.

Again: I do not condone atomic warfare, I'm just not going to say WW2 could've ended another way, and I refuse to talk against the US. I love Japan and respect the people who died that day and the ones who mourn, war is still awful, war never changes.

Festival complètement Cirque 3 Géants- 3 Giants

LES 7 DOIGTS on the PVM Esplanade, Place Ville Marie

Montreal, Qc July 2022

The giant changes the proportions of our universe. He can become a figure of the artist, an allegory of knowledge, or a metaphor for superhumanity.

A group of workers who thrive on hard work and who flourish when together have stormed this construction site for several moons. These men and women are put to work in a highly acrobatic way to finalize this titanic undertaking and give life to this scrap metal giant. Together, they work with perseverance, authenticity, passion, conviction, stubbornness and resilience. The heart, the apparent focus of emotional turmoil, becomes the allegorical representation of the creative drive. Inspired by the intuitive movement of Les Automatistes, we offer a show that celebrates creativity in its most instinctive and visceral form. A metaphor invoking the power that collectivity can wield. A praise of the greater than self, these giants exist because we create them, because we make them live.

LES 7 DOIGTS sur l’Esplanade PVM, à Place Ville Marie

Montréal, Qc Juillet 2022

Le géant est celui qui change les proportions de notre univers. Il peut devenir figure de l’artiste, allégorie du savoir, ou métaphore de la surhumanité.

Un groupe d’ouvriers qui carbure au labeur et se nourrit d’être ensemble, a pris d’assaut ce chantier depuis plusieurs lunes. Ces hommes et ces femmes, sont mis à contribution de manière hautement acrobatique pour finaliser cette titanesque entreprise et donner la vie à ce géant de ferraille. Ensemble, ils travaillent avec persévérance, authenticité, passion, conviction, entêtement et résilience. Le cœur, foyer apparent des ébranlements émotionnels, devient la représentation allégorique de la pulsion créative. S’inspirant du mouvement intuitif des Automatiste, nous proposons une œuvre qui célèbre la créativité dans sa forme la plus instinctive et viscérale. Métaphore invoquant la puissance que peut exercer la collectivité. Louange du plus grand que soi, ces géants existent par ce que nous les créons, parce que nous les faisons vivre.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

Bathed in golden light and framed by a garden that breathes with magic, the Bloomborne Maiden emerges like a vision of living spring. Her ruby-red hair flows like liquid fire, transforming into streams of blossoms — lilies, cherry petals, and surreal floral tendrils that weave through the air. Every strand of her hair nurtures the garden itself, blooming with color and glowing with life. Her presence is serene yet commanding — the heart of the enchanted grove, a sorceress born not of spell or bone, but from the garden’s first bloom.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Phottoshop

Dinkie Fanart: Inpired by the land of Rungardvik

Clad in layered leather, fur, and gleaming scale armor, the Dinkie Viking warrior stands defiantly at the prow of his drakkar, crimson cape flaring like a war banner in the saltwind. His amber eyes burn with ancestral pride beneath a rune-etched helm, while his paw grips a round shield marked with Norse sigils. Beside him, the dragon-headed bow juts forward, snarling toward the horizon as if ready to strike. Carved in ancient knotwork and crowned with battle scars, the ship crests a churning sea under a tempestuous sky—this is no mere voyage, but a saga in motion.

First, the couch has some blue LED lights, so that´s why there is such a weird bokeh :)

Another offspring of my Soulmate. The guy is called "Merlin" and is exactly an full, licensed (:D) clone of my soulmate Tamino.

Used Tools:

Sony A7

Samyang 85/1.4

Love

Thinking of last time we visited Epcot as plans to return later this year have been finalized. It's Throwback Thursday after all.

Telling NASA's Tales With Hollywood's Tools

Space Center Uses Pixar's Palette To Artfully Explain Scientific Data

By Michael S. Rosenwald

Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, August 21, 2006; D01

[We are lucky to be working with world class data visualizers and animators. This article in the Washington Post is one of the best print stories I've seen on the folks who are on the front lines of translating our science and making it accessible to our many audiences.]

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/20/...

Every once in a while when a new movie with mind-blowing special effects or oh-my-gosh-it-looked-so-real animation opens, a nondescript office at NASA Goddard Space Center in Greenbelt will mysteriously empty of employees during matinee hours.

Before an investigation is launched into the whereabouts of these workers -- particularly, say, around last year's opening of "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" -- understand that they are not blowing off work. The absentee employees are animators, NASA staffers and contractors who use the same software Pixar Animation Studios uses to tell stories about talking cars to instead tell stories about the Earth. They just want to see what their counterparts in Hollywood have been up to.

There is the occasional did-you-see-that elbow nudge, but in their case it's about craft, not cinematic delight, said Horace Mitchell, project manager at the space center's scientific visualization studio. Mitchell is a NASA employee, but the studio is staffed primarily by animators working for Global Science & Technology Inc., a government contractor in Greenbelt. The company uses the Hollywood software, including Pixar's RenderMan and Autodesk Inc.'s Maya, to translate complicated data into animated movies that illustrate what is happening in and around Earth. The videos often end up on the evening news.

The crucial difference in NASA's use of the software is that Hollywood uses it to spin inspiring, happy-ending stories about love and courage and friendship and hope, while the animators in Greenbelt are often telling stories about bad things happening in the atmosphere, such as last year's hurricane season. In their chilling short film "27 Storms: Arlene to Zeta," set to Vincenzo Bellini's eerie music, viewers can watch the ocean heat up, helping fuel one storm after another -- thanks to the same Pixar software used in the upcoming version of "Charlotte's Web."

NASA oceanographer Gene Carl Feldman frequently collaborates with the Global Science studio. He studies the ocean from space.

"Visualization is that link between the flood of data coming down from space and the ability of the human mind to interpret it," Feldman said. "That's the crux of the story. Better than most other groups in the world, they are able to take this fire hose of data coming down and turn it into images -- visual animation -- that then allows the general public to see this data in ways their brains can interpret and study."

The Hollywoodization of NASA data is in part the result of Pixar's success in creating real-life worlds from fantasy stories. People have come to expect that even the most fantastical of ideas -- a talking, curmudgeonly Mr. Potato Head -- can look and feel exceedingly real. "They don't expect to see crudity," Mitchell said. "They expect to see sophistication because they see it everywhere. In order for us to tell the story, we have to be sophisticated about telling stories and we have to use sophisticated technology to tell them."

Pixar was spun off from George Lucas's film company, and its early days were spent selling animation software and hardware -- a way to pay the bills until computer technology caught up with the firm's vision of making the incredibly life-like films that it produces today.

Today, anyone can purchase versions of RenderMan online, for $995 to $3,500.

Global Science, a private company that employs about 250 people, is definitely not a movie studio. It was founded in 1991 by Chieh-san Cheng, a former employee of an aerospace and technology company with advanced degrees in technical management and meteorology. Global Science provides services in applied science and research, geospatial standards, engineering services, and information technology. The firm's contract with NASA is a small part of its business, contributing about $650,000 a year to about $45 million in revenue.

Global Science and Pixar know about each other, but interaction between the staffs is generally limited to animation conferences and trade shows. But the Global Science staff does feel a strong bond with Pixar, particularly when watching one of its movies.

Jim Williams, a Global Science animator, said, "I'll go into it thinking I'm going to look at the technical stuff and then I'll get completely sucked into the story."

This happened during Pixar's recent hit, "Cars."

"I'm watching it, I'm totally into the story, and they get to the end and they go into that stadium, and there's tens of thousands of cars in there and I drop out of the story and think, 'Wow, that must have been a pain in the butt to get that right.' And then I'm back into the story," he said.

The difference between the storylines is that Pixar is trying to get laughing cars right and Global Science is trying to get the atmosphere right. The way in which Global Science uses RenderMan is not easy. Here's one way of looking at it: This article has been typed on a word processor. The computer received the data -- in this case, they looked like letters -- and displayed them on a screen. The lines were long, containing dozens of words. Those words needed to appear in the newspaper, and to do that a graphic designer used another program to render and squeeze the words into narrow columns of newsprint, with black type, a font, and italics , and so forth so the words appear in the paper as they do now. That's essentially what RenderMan does for data -- whether it be information about Buzz Lightyear's appearance or atmospheric models of hurricanes. RenderMan is the mechanism by which data are translated. Another program, Maya, acts as the word processor.

Global Science translates scientific data this way. Recently, one of its animators sat behind a computer monitor in a dark room with an image that could have appeared as a backdrop in a Van Gogh painting. But it was a depiction of aerosols moving across the atmosphere, a way of illustrating air quality. Yellow represented dust, the green was sulfates produced by humans, the blue was sea salt. Altogether, it was sort of beautiful but apparently not good news for the atmosphere.

Like their Hollywood counterparts, the Global Science animators typically refer to their finished products as releases, but the scripts are composed of data and the script writers are some of the world's most brilliant scientists. The creative process generally works like this: A scientist or a public affairs officer will ask the animators to illustrate a concept or data set. It can be as simple as ocean temperatures or as complicated as a collection of satellite images. A discussion with the scientific team and public affairs officer ensues over the best way to illustrate the data, and the animators get to work.

Feldman, the NASA oceanographer, studies oceans from space because, as he said: "Oceans are really, really, really big and they change very, very quickly. You can't track that from a ship. What a satellite sees in a minute would take a ship a decade." Feldman is particularly interested in the relationship between the changing environment and ocean life, which he pursues by studying the first level of life in the ocean, or microscopic plants, through ocean color.

The only problem is that satellites collect a very large amount of complicated data. The visualization studio helps him make sense of it. Feldman has made animations of what happened to the ocean during the transition between El Niño and La Niña -- "it was the biggest phytoplankton bloom in the world ever observed," he said. He has animated Lake Michigan's microscopic plant blooms and a dust storm the size of Spain that blew across the ocean in the past few years. He has animated autumn in Boston, which roughly translates into, as he put it, "how life follows the sun."

If Cheng, chief executive of Global Science, has his way, NASA scientists wouldn't be the only people relying on his firm's handling of Hollywood software to explain complicated subjects. Cheng would like to use the software to better explain the human body to doctors. He said the company is finalizing plans for a medical-imaging division and is exploring the possibility of a partnership with Maryland universities.

"What we could do is use movie techniques to give the doctor and medical staff more dynamic and accurate images to make a diagnosis," he said.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

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Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

Deep beneath the surface layers of the Veil, beyond time-slick roots and memory-laced fogs, lies the Hollow Confluence — a spiraling, endless current where all forgotten paths, faded thoughts, and untied ends of the Hollow Veil are drawn. It is not a place one reaches, but a place one is carried to, slowly, unknowingly, through every unresolved choice.

The Confluence is shaped like no place at all. Ribbons of memory float like rivers in the air. Lost names spiral through echo-tides. Fragments of every realm pass through here: a bloom from the Hourless Garden, a broken stone from Nevercross Bridge, a whisper from the Vault.

The Spiral Drown: A central gyre of emotion and memory, slowly rotating — those who step into it may emerge transformed… or emptied.

The Unweaving Trestle: A ghostly lattice bridge that collapses behind each step forward.

The Refracted Choir: Distant voices of every unspoken word, layered until meaning becomes music.

The Loombasin: A pool of raw possibility, glowing with discarded futures.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mwiKJsWdxo

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

Half-risen from the still, enchanted waters, she holds Excalibur aloft—her eyes calm, her presence divine. The forest hushes around her, bathed in golden morning light and ancient mist. Her flowing robes shimmer, untouched by the water that surrounds her, as if time itself parts for her passing. This is not merely a hand offering a sword, but a soul bound to the turning of kingdoms, fate, and the rise of kings.

She is the guardian between worlds. The moment is sacred, the silence eternal. Only the worthy may take the blade from her grasp—and with it, the weight of destiny.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

In the heart of an ancient glade bathed in eternal spring, the Sylvan Flamekeeper stands as a guardian of balance between fire and bloom. Her cascading golden hair flows like silk spun from sunlight, winding through the cherry blossom-laden air and brushing the petals that unfurl in her wake. Draped in an emerald gown embroidered with golden leaves, she radiates harmony, a living embodiment of nature’s most radiant magic. Beside her, sacred flame pools flicker gently — not to burn, but to bless. The waterfalls whisper her name as the forest breathes in rhythm with her presence, eternal and divine.

Finalizing his last painting before the sunset at the 2023 After Burning Man party on LA's infamous Venice Beach!

Winter Manor backdrop by Synnergy

Taken with a Sony ILCE-7 at 55 mm f/18 6.0 sec ISO200

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop and Photoscape X

Based on a Second Life Dinkie Friend.

A Magical Undersea Adventure

Beneath the sparkling surface of the sapphire sea lies a realm of wonder — glowing coral palaces, schools of shimmering fish, ancient sunken ruins, and secrets whispered by the currents. Into this enchanted world swims an unlikely explorer: Captain Whiskerfins, the brave and curious feline adventurer, known across the underwater kingdoms for his daring dives and soft paws.

Clad in a snug black wetsuit, air tanks strapped tight, and goggles snug over his wide green eyes, Whiskerfins glides gracefully through a forest of anemones and rainbow reefs. Today, he’s following a trail of bioluminescent bubbles and clues left behind by the mysterious Pearl of the Deep — a magical gem said to grant dreams to anyone pure of heart (and a little mischievous too).

Joined by a friendly sea turtle and watched from afar by a jellyfish with a lantern-like glow, Captain Whiskerfins dives deeper into a world where adventure hides in every coral crevice — and where even the smallest pawprint can make waves.

Perfect for all ages, this heartwarming underwater tale blends whimsy, wonder, and just a splash of feline charm.

The Clean Water Rule, finalized and put into place in 2015, gave important jurisdictional clarity for the Clean Water Act and it’s protection of streams and creeks that are headwaters to larger rivers. Water belongs to everyone, and clean water is a basic right for Americans. We all live downstream from somewhere.

If you reside in the U.S., please consider writing the EPA during the public comment period regarding Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2017-023-001 which addresses the EPAs intention for the Repeal and Replacement of the 2015 Definition of Waters of the United States, 82 Fed. Reg. 34899 (July 2017), and oppose the initiative to repeal and replace this protective regulation.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

Inspired by and Reimagined

Beneath a crown of midnight petals and gold, the flower elf of Thornveil stares with sapphire eyes that burn with ancient fury and grace. Her crimson hair dances on a whispered breeze, framing skin kissed by summer light and marked by inked leaves of heritage. Draped in shadowed silks and crowned with twilight blooms, she is both noble and untamed — a guardian of forgotten realms, sculpted in divine detail. A study in contrast: power and beauty, darkness and bloom, rage and serenity.

--------De Rotterdam is a building on the Wilhelmina Pier in Rotterdam, designed by Rem Koolhaas in 1998. The complex is located between the KPN Tower and Rotterdam Cruise Terminal and was finalized at the end of 2013. On 21 November 2013, the municipality of Rotterdam, as the largest user, received the keys. The design provides space for offices, a hotel and apartments. The 44 floors amount to a total area of approximately 160,000 m², allegedly making it the largest building in Europe.[1]

De Rotterdam is een gebouw op de Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam dat in 1998 werd ontworpen door Rem Koolhaas. Het complex staat tussen de Toren op Zuid en Cruise Terminal Rotterdam en is eind 2013 voltooid; op 21 november 2013 ontving de grootste gebruiker, de gemeente Rotterdam, de sleutel. Het ontwerp biedt ruimte aan kantoren, een hotel en appartementen. De 44 verdiepingen hebben een totaaloppervlak van circa 160 000 m², waarmee dit een van de grootste gebouwen van Nederland is.------

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop and Photoscape X.

“This is how the world sees them - not in detail, but in destiny.”

From a distant ridge where shadow still clings to the stone, the full majesty of the Luminarch Covenant unfolds:

A floating citadel — the Empyrean Bastion — hovers at the heart of creation, tethered to the land below by a pillar of golden light. Its radiant form blazes like a second sun, illuminating spires of white stone, domes of blessed gold, and temples steeped in unbroken harmony.

Below, a river of sunlight carves through the world like a divine signature, winding past sanctuaries, towers, and strongholds that kneel in architecture toward the sky. Everything is arranged as if placed by celestial design.

Winged sentinels circle through the dawn-lit air, and clouds part not from wind, but reverence. Even the mountains seem to bow.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

“In the silence of the deep, the sea remembers its queen.”

Beneath the shifting tides, within a cathedral of coral and light, she waits — the Waterwitch of Atlantis, crowned in living reefs and pearls of forgotten ages. Her hair drifts like enchanted seaweed, her eyes gleam with the wisdom of oceans unmeasured. Around her, the undersea cave blooms with wonders: radiant schools of fish swirl like living jewels, starfish cling to ancient stone, and relics of a lost empire lie half-buried in coral embrace.

Every detail breathes with surreal vibrancy — a world where myth and nature entwine, where the ocean itself bestows divinity upon its chosen vessel. She is both guardian and goddess, witch and queen, a vision born from the depths of dream and tide.

China, Harbin, "Ice & Snow Festival" on Sun Island.

This over 120 mtr long & approx. 40 mtr high snow sculpture still in the finalizing carving process is the master piece & the main sculpture of the around 500 small size to larger sizes snow show pieces. The snow sculpture park is located next to the gigantic ice festival area

Sun island scenic area, covering about 3,800 hectares, approx. 35,25 square km, is the second biggest venue of the annual Harbin Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival & has become Harbin's main parkland & recreation area, used all year long.

The impressive "Ice & Snow Festival" is the greatest & unusual one in the world, therefore Harbin is also called the "Ice City".

The city centre Zhaolin Park futures the “Disney Ice Festival” as part of the Harbin "Ice & Snow Festival" / "Ice Lantern Festival". Besides the for floors ice castle with electric elevators there are more than hundred sculptures of different sizes & motives in the Zhaolin Park organized by Disney, at night all sculptures are colourful lighted with LED.

For the "Ice Festival" over a 100.000 Tons of Ice Blocks, cut from the around 1 mtr thick ice sheet covering the Song Hua River, are used for the festival sculptures & carvings from January till March. It is one of the largest of its kind & most interesting one in the World.

The carved fishermen Ice-lanterns can date back to ancient times. It was said that some fishermen made rough & simple ice-lanterns just for lighting. With the time passed, ice-lanterns embodied their cultural features & gradually the artistic fascination of making of ice-lanterns, ice sculptures started in the 1960th, leading to today's impressive Ice & Snow Festival.

Also in the city you will see everywhere ice carvings of all sizes, besides there are several expositions in different Park. The three major Parks are the Ice World, & the Snow Sculptures parks on Sun Island, they are more artistic, the Ice Carvings at the Zhao Lin Park by Disney in the centre of the City. Harbin Ice & Snow World are gigantic & LED illuminated at Night.

Harbin with population of almost 4.5 million, is heralded as the Ice City for its well-known unbelievably impressive ice & snow recreations during the yearly international “Ice & Snow Festival” from the end of December until beginning of March. Harbin is also well known besides his important historic & economic past & present for China, for its historical Russian heritage, this cultural influence is still notable till today.

Due to the Siberian high & Harbin in the Heilongjiang Province location above 45 degrees north latitude, the city is known for having the most bitterly cold winters among major Chinese cities. Winter Temperatures can drop to below -35° C., when I visited Harbin beginning of January the Temperature varied between -20°C & -26°C below, but with dry air.

As well the large Siberian Tiger & white tigers research centre, with about 500 tigers & a few other species, does an important work to prevent this species from extinction. The Research centre can be visited, tours in small a bus are available, passing through wide natural, separated, sections, however the focus point is to save the tigers.

❄ ❆ ❅🌛 ★ 🌠 🎄 🌲 🔔 🌠 🌲 🎁 🎅 🎁 🌲 🔔 🌲 🎄 🌠 ★ 💤 🌝❅❆❄

🎅 Despite all the complications & inconveniences in 2020,

I wish all of you an exciting, cheerful fairy-tale like festive season.

🌠 Trotz aller Komplikationen & Unannehmlichkeiten im Jahr 2020,

ich wünsche euch allen eine märchenhafte Weihnachtszeit.

🌲 A pesar de todas las complicaciones & inconvenientes en 2020,

yo desearles a todos ustedes un emocionante & encantada temporada festiva,

🎁 Malgré toutes les complications & inconvénients de 2020,

je souhaite à toute une joyeuse & magique saison festive

🔔 Nonostante tutte le complicazioni & gli inconvenienti del 2020,

augurare a tutti voi una emozionante & eccitante stagione di festa.

🎄 Apesar de todas as complicações & inconveniências em 2020,

desejo a todos um conto de fadas do tempo do Natal.

❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ 🎅 ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄

👉 One World one Dream,

🙏...Danke, Xièxie 谢谢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, Arigatô, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over

14 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments

Grand Rapids Marathon 2009

Grand Rapids, Michigan

www.grandrapidsmarathon.com

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

Bathed in golden twilight and cloaked in shadow, the skeletal empress stands regal among the crumbling remnants of a once-glorious temple empire. Her hollow gaze surveys the ruins with timeless authority, a crown of ancient gold and crimson jewels resting upon her skull. Intricately adorned with ornate armor and layered ceremonial jewels, her presence is both majestic and unnerving. Flames flicker from towering sconces, casting dancing shadows across the colossal stone walls. The air is thick with dust, mystery, and reverence — as if the stones themselves remember her reign. She is not just ruler of the past, but an undying symbol of power that refuses to fade.

Inspired By:

find more on my newly opened FB page --- www.facebook.com/DanHogmanArchitect

Gent

A Louis XIV-style warehouse was demolished on the site of this building in 1897. Originally, the new Flemish Theatre was planned for this location, but this plan was abandoned. In 1896, J. Van den Peereboom, then Minister of Railways, Post and Telegraph, commissioned the design to architect Louis Cloquet, in collaboration with provincial architect Stéphane Mortier. The building plan was finalized in 1898. The post office building itself was built between 1900 and 1908. It wasn't until October 1910 that postal services from the center of Ghent were transferred to the Korenmarkt. Two temporary post offices were opened there for the 1913 World's Fair.

In 1998, the building was sold by the Post Office. Subsequently, the ground floor housed a shopping center with apartments above. Since the end of 2017, the upper floor has been converted into a luxury hotel, while shops are located on the ground floor.

The building, a protected monument since 1999, was built in an eclectic style with predominantly neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance influences, following the beautiful façade of the Guild House of Free Shippers on Graslei. It features octagonal towers with spires, including the stair tower on the corner with Sterrenstraat and the entrance, also with a stair tower, on Korenmarkt. The 52-meter-high clock tower is also striking. The carrier pigeons painted on the walls still recall the building's original function. Despite these traditional elements, contemporary materials and techniques have been used. Hygiene was a major concern. The glass and steel structures were concealed behind colorful natural stone.

________________________________________________

Ghent (Dutch: Gent) is a city in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and with a population of 272,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city of the province of East Flanders, and the third largest in the country, after Brussels and Antwerp.

The history of Ghent begins in the year 630 when St Amandus chose the site of the confluence (or ‘Ganda’) of the two rivers, the Lys and the Scheldt to construct an abbey. From the year 1000 to around 1550, Ghent was one of the most important cities in Europe. With 60,000 inhabitants, it was bigger than London and second only to Paris in size.

Until the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, the city was ruled by a number of rich merchant families, who mostly chose the side of the French king against the Count of Flanders. As the trades and guilds gained more political power in the 14th century, Ghent came to acquire a more democratic government.

Because England blocked the import of raw materials for the vitally important textile industry, Ghent was forced, by sheer necessity, to take England’s side (1338-1345) during the Hundred Years’ War. Jacob van Artevelde, a rich cloth merchant, led the uprising against Count Louis de Nevers, the vassal of the French king. In 1345, this ‘wise man’ was murdered by his fellow citizens. His importance is shown by the fact that Ghent is still called the ‘City of Artevelde’.

Ghent had to give up its ties with England and embrace the king of France. In 1407 the seat of the Council of Flanders, the highest judicial body in the county, was moved from Bruges to the Castle of the Counts. Since then Dutch became the official language.

The economic situation gradually worsened. The city lost its passage to the sea and the population decreased by half. Only in the second half of the 18th century was there an economic revival. In 1816, under Dutch administration, Ghent acquired its own university. As a commemoration, a statue of king William I of the Netherlands, founder of the University, was unveiled on Reep. Ten years later the city again became a sea port thanks to the Ghent-Terneuzen canal.

Nevertheless, Ghent still continued to sail against the tide: during Belgium’s independence struggle many inhabitants remained loyal to the Dutch House of Orange. Ghent later became the continent’s first large industrial centre. As a result, it was here that the socialist movement and the first trade union associations appeared.

In 1913, Ghent showed its best side during the World Exhibition. Because it suffered little bomb damage during the two world wars, Ghent’s historical heritage has remained largely intact right up to the present.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop.

The Shroud Crypt stretches like a cathedral carved from silence itself. High above, hundreds of golden stasis-lanterns hang suspended, each one a tomb of light housing a dreaming soul. Their glow casts long, ritual shadows across walls inscribed with vertical columns of machine-script—endless prayer-code etched into sacred stone.

Hooded figures stand in total stillness, as if awaiting something long forgotten. Their robes absorb the glow, untouched by time. The floor beneath is cracked in perfect concentric rings—like a broken ritual seal—suggesting this chamber was meant to contain more than memory.

At the heart stands a lone silhouette, draped in black. Whether a mourner, a pilgrim, or something older is unclear. Behind them, the corridor opens toward a radiant, unreachable gate, its light seeming to call the names no one remembers.

This is not a crypt.

It is a liturgical engine built to preserve what no longer wishes to be known.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

Inspired by a image of: Suzanne

The steamboat sank in 1887. But every stormy night since, it returns to finish the route it never completed — crewed by passengers who never made it home.

Drifting silently through the fog-choked waters of the Mississippi, the old steamboat emerges like a memory that refuses to die. Its wooden hull creaks with age, but no wind stirs its tattered flags. A ghostly green glow spills from its windows, flickering like lanterns held by hands long gone. Shadows of figures — frozen in time — move within, pacing the decks, staring blankly into the night, or gathering in impossible silence.

Above, the storm churns with restless energy. Thunder rumbles like distant cannon fire as lightning veins the sky, illuminating the spectral outlines of passengers and crew. The paddle wheel turns slowly, powered not by steam, but by the weight of unfulfilled journeys and whispered regrets.

Along the shoreline, gnarled trees watch in silence. No birds call. No frogs croak. The river itself holds its breath each time the haunted vessel passes.

The Haunting at the Mississippi is not merely an image — it's a legend in motion. A Southern ghost story carved into smoke and current, where the past drifts eternal, never reaching shore.

Firebreak is finally finalized! I thoroughly enjoyed this build, but it took ages to complete -- much crafting and re-crafting.

You can see quite a bit of "fit"-detail by zooming in at full resolution. I also pulled together some evolution and WIP photos...

I took strong inspiration from this concept by puz lee, before taking it for my own spin.

(And I really will eventually make a construction video, but am still two builds behind. Sigh...)

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

This is a special one for the land of Rungardvik.

Beneath the cold gaze of a full winter moon, two heroic Dinkie warriors stand atop a snowy ridge in the frozen realm of Rungardvik. Clawdr the Fearless, torch in paw and emerald eyes gleaming, lights the path ahead with unwavering resolve. Beside him, Mewhalla the Shieldpaw, stoic and strong beneath her horned helm, guards their flank with a rune-carved shield of ancient steel. Wrapped in fur-lined cloaks and leather armor, these brave feline adventurers stare into the icy unknown, ready to write a new chapter of legend with paw and claw.

China, Harbin, "Ice & Snow Festival" on Sun Island.

The centre part of the over 120 mtr long & approx. 40 mtr high snow sculpture still in the finalizing carving process is the master piece & the main sculpture of the around 500 small size to larger sizes snow show pieces. The snow sculpture park is located next to the gigantic ice festival area

Sun island scenic area, covering about 3,800 hectares, approx. 35,25 square km, is the second biggest venue of the annual Harbin Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival & has become Harbin's main parkland & recreation area, used all year long.

The impressive "Ice & Snow Festival" is the greatest & unusual one in the world, therefore Harbin is also called the "Ice City".

The city centre Zhaolin Park futures the “Disney Ice Festival” as part of the Harbin "Ice & Snow Festival" / "Ice Lantern Festival". Besides the for floors ice castle with electric elevators there are more than hundred sculptures of different sizes & motives in the Zhaolin Park organized by Disney, at night all sculptures are colourful lighted with LED.

For the "Ice Festival" over a 100.000 Tons of Ice Blocks, cut from the around 1 mtr thick ice sheet covering the Song Hua River, are used for the festival sculptures & carvings from January till March. It is one of the largest of its kind & most interesting one in the World.

The carved fishermen Ice-lanterns can date back to ancient times. It was said that some fishermen made rough & simple ice-lanterns just for lighting. With the time passed, ice-lanterns embodied their cultural features & gradually the artistic fascination of making of ice-lanterns, ice sculptures started in the 1960th, leading to today's impressive Ice & Snow Festival.

Also in the city you will see everywhere ice carvings of all sizes, besides there are several expositions in different Park. The three major Parks are the Ice World, & the Snow Sculptures parks on Sun Island, they are more artistic, the Ice Carvings at the Zhao Lin Park by Disney in the centre of the City. Harbin Ice & Snow World are gigantic & LED illuminated at Night.

Harbin with population of almost 4.5 million, is heralded as the Ice City for its well-known unbelievably impressive ice & snow recreations during the yearly international “Ice & Snow Festival” from the end of December until beginning of March. Harbin is also well known besides his important historic & economic past & present for China, for its historical Russian heritage, this cultural influence is still notable till today.

Due to the Siberian high & Harbin in the Heilongjiang Province location above 45 degrees north latitude, the city is known for having the most bitterly cold winters among major Chinese cities. Winter Temperatures can drop to below -35° C., when I visited Harbin beginning of January the Temperature varied between -20°C & -26°C below, but with dry air.

As well the large Siberian Tiger & white tigers research centre, with about 500 tigers & a few other species, does an important work to prevent this species from extinction. The Research centre can be visited, tours in small a bus are available, passing through wide natural, separated, sections, however the focus point is to save the tigers.

❄ ❆ ❅🌛 ★ 🌠 🎄 🌲 🔔 🌠 🌲 🎁 🎅 🎁 🌲 🔔 🌲 🎄 🌠 ★ 💤 🌝❅❆❄

🎅 Despite all the complications & inconveniences in 2020,

I wish all of you an exciting, cheerful fairy-tale like festive season.

🌠 Trotz aller Komplikationen & Unannehmlichkeiten im Jahr 2020,

ich wünsche euch allen eine märchenhafte Weihnachtszeit.

🌲 A pesar de todas las complicaciones & inconvenientes en 2020,

yo desearles a todos ustedes un emocionante & encantada temporada festiva,

🎁 Malgré toutes les complications & inconvénients de 2020,

je souhaite à toute une joyeuse & magique saison festive

🔔 Nonostante tutte le complicazioni & gli inconvenienti del 2020,

augurare a tutti voi una emozionante & eccitante stagione di festa.

🎄 Apesar de todas as complicações & inconveniências em 2020,

desejo a todos um conto de fadas do tempo do Natal.

❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ 🎅 ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄ ☃ ❄

👉 One World one Dream,

🙏...Danke, Xièxie 谢谢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, Arigatô, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over

14 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop.

A Tribute to all the Dinkies in second life, i have several friends there who are a Dinkie there.

In the soft morning mist of the mystical forest, where sunlight dances like liquid gold between the trees, she stood quietly by the edge of a gentle stream. Her emerald green eyes reflected the magic of the place – an ancient energy that only a few could sense, let alone see.

She wasn't just a cat – but a Dinkie of the old lineage, heir to the Bloomlight. Her silver tabby fur shimmered subtly in the light, framed by flowing copper-red hair, elegantly swept over one shoulder. Her gown, a royal mix of violet and midnight blue, was adorned with tiny floral embroideries and a golden lotus-shaped brooch – a symbol of her deep bond with nature.

She looked up, not startled, but dreamily – as if waiting for someone... or something.

“Sometimes the smallest beings are the keepers of the greatest secrets.”

Disclaimer:

This artwork is inspired by the Dinkies avatars from Second Life, originally created by Tiny Inc (Etheria Parrott). It is a fan-made creation and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with Tiny Inc or Linden Lab. All rights to the original Dinkies concept belong to their respective creators.

Finalizing FebRovery (in some parts of the worlds it still is) with a little bit of sillyness. Action shot with some green giant Mars cattle hopefully to follow somewhen in the next weeks...

During February 2013, the CLC finalized voting on

a proposal to add the Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio

porphyrio) to the ABA Checklist based on a naturalized

population found in Florida (Pranty et al. 2000,

Hardin et al. 2011, Pranty 2012, Greenlaw 2013). Following

a 7–0 vote in August 2012 by members of the

Florida Ornithological Society Records Committee to

add the species to the Official Florida State Bird List,

the CLC voted 7–1 to accept the Purple Swamphen as

an established exotic. The dissenting CLC voter was

concerned that the swamphen population was not

large enough to be truly established; CLC rules allow

a species to be accepted with one dissenting vote. The

addition of Purple Swamphen raises to 977 the number

of species on the ABA Checklist.

The ABA Area’s Purple Swamphens were discovered

in May 1998 in the SilverLakes development in Pembroke

Pines, Florida, a city in Broward County that is

part of the Fort Lauderdale greater metropolitan area.

Pembroke Pines lies along the eastern edge of the remaining

Everglades. The swamphens were believed to

have been present for about a year and a half prior to

that date; thus, texts often list December 1996 as the

date the swamphens in Florida were discovered

(Pranty et al. 2000, Pranty 2012).

It was initially suggested (Pranty and Schnitzius

1998) that the swamphens had escaped from Miami MetroZoo, which lost dozens of animals as a result

of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. However, MetroZoo

is 27 miles from Pembroke Pines, and the presumed

source of the swamphen population was later traced

to two aviculturists who lived less than 0.25 mile

from SilverLakes.

These aviculturists, who collectively

owned as many as 13 pairs of swamphens, allowed

their captive swamphens to roam freely

around their neighborhoods beginning in 1992

(Pranty et al. 2000, Pranty 2012). The number of

birds that escaped initially probably was quite

small—neither aviculturist noticed any reduction

in the number of captive pairs—with probably

other swamphens escaping later and joining the

naturalized birds to eventually form the founding

flock.

I have made few test photos with it, it works ok, I'm working on the front and the pinhole itself for the moment. The copal shutter was too big, silly me to try it on. I'm trying to make a optimum size pinhole, so as to get as sharp images as I can on all the surface of the 4x5inch film. The Sinar filmholder with a groundglass works fine on, I put tape around to avoid light leak until I finalized the pinhole, then I will glue the wood together.

My finalized first attempt at a BARC Speeder.

Building instructions are available here! Check out for more details!

It's been a while since the WIP pic of this speeder along with my, still WIP, AT-RT v3, but here we are. I'm quite happy with this final design (for now).

It is a mere hair (literally. it's like less than 1/8 a plate.) away from perfect 1:35th scale in length and height. The engines are technically slighty wider than they should be, but given a minifig is equally wider than it should be in proportion to its height, I think this is totally acceptable.

I will try to eventually acquire the necessary pieces for a dark red/white version, like the digital recolor seen in the instructions post, and build said accurate colored version phyically as well. Not a priority investment for me right now though, so this may take a while.

If you like this MOC and want to build it yourself, consider getting your hands on some instructions (supports the grind).

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

Inspired by and Reimagined

Shrouded in a cloak of raven-black feathers and sacred bone, the Death Prophet emerges from the heart of Obsidian Hollow — a spectral figure of ancient power and arcane wrath. His skull, bleached and cracked with age, radiates an otherworldly glow from deep violet runes and molten magenta eyes. A towering headdress crowned with blackened and amethyst-tipped feathers frames his gaze, while elaborate talismans of cursed gold and bone sway from beaded necklaces across his chest. Behind him, a storm of violet lightning fractures the jungle night, casting arcane shadows over crumbling idols and moss-draped ruins. With every flicker of light, the spirits of the fallen whisper, drawn to their eternal herald.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

Inspired by ZZ Tops Eliminator

The legendary '33 coupe reborn in neon chrome — tires searing through the cyber streets, LED flames dancing across the matte black hull. Pulsing with synthwave attitude and outlaw swagger, the Eliminator drifts through a neon-drenched sprawl where rock and rebellion still leave burn marks on the grid. The streets aren’t ready, but she always is.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop and Photoscape X.

Under the cursed glow of the blood moon, she waits — not for love, but for power.

Her carriage, born of rot and thorn, creaks with ancient magic. A skeletal steed snarls in the mist, its eyes aflame with hellfire. Around them, fallen angels stand frozen in stone, and the graveyard itself holds its breath.

This is no tale of glass slippers or kind princes. This is the story that comes after midnight — when fairy tales die and something darker takes their place.

“She didn’t lose a shoe. She lost her soul"

Getting gear finalized for the Dec. 7th occultation of Mars by the moon. This is the final configuration, Mewlon 210 with QHY5lll 290C camera. Same exposure used for Mars and the moon, Mars added with Photoshop.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop

Bathed in golden sunlight, the Gardenweaver stands as the living breath of nature’s enchantment. Her flowing blonde hair, impossibly long and radiant, drapes the earth like strands of life itself—blossoming into petals, vines, and magical flora that awaken with her presence. Draped in embroidered emerald robes kissed with moon-thread and magic, she moves barefoot through the garden, each step stirring blossoms to bloom.

Around her, jeweled fountains sing with crystalline streams, flowers glow with unseen energy, and the very air shimmers with drifting light. She is not merely among nature—she is nature’s spell made flesh. Her presence restores, heals, and breathes life into everything it touches.

Done in Ai, Finalized in Photoshop and Photoscape X.

"She does not remember what was said.

She remembers how it sounded when the world agreed with it."

The Choir Ascendants are not messengers. They are archivists — shaped of light, built to remember resonance. Every utterance from Archon Seraphael is recorded not in words, but in harmonic truth.

She speaks only when transcription begins.

Her voice does not echo — it engraves.

And when the final song of this realm is sung,

it will be by her choir."

Got an arm cannon and swapped out the torso. Also gave him that giant fist because in injustice he can actually make his fist really big whenever he punches someone. I was considering cutting off a little piece of trans-light blue bar and sticking it in that arm cannon, but that piece was a bit of a pain to find and I'm a bit on the fence about modding it like that.