A line-up of fourteen ex-London Transport RTLs including LLU872, KGU79 at KXW1 wait for the inevitable after their journey north. The three identified were all scrapped before the end of the year.

Every camera and lens has either been made by Leica, inspired by Leica, owes something to Leica. or has given something to Leica, and all cameras and lenses have been in Japan since they were first made including the model IId which was shipped to Osaka in 1933!

Midtown including two new topped out supertalls, Central Park Tower (1,550 ft) right and 111 West 57th Street (1,421 ft) left, from Central Park.

The image above is a 2000 X 1250 pixel scan from an original Kodachrome™ slide. Anything that is not from an original Kodachrome™ is noted as such, including later digital images. There is also a smaller number of scanned prints, and these are noted as well.

Beginning in Q4 of 2022, older photos previously uploaded will begin to be replaced by an image that is double the size.

The images in the various galleries were scanned from my slide collection, gathered over the past 40+ years. They are a combination of my own photographs and others acquired over those years through trading, purchasing, and attending conventions.

This photostream was created in 2017 for the sole purpose of holding my slide collection as an archive, and has had over 10 million image views (to 2022)

REG’N: N7280

MFR/TYPE/SERIES: Boeing 727-27C

MSN: 19119

OPERATOR: Braniff International

LOCATION (if known): Chicago ORD

PHOTOGRAPHER (if known):

DATE (if known):

Celebrating Christmas in Downtown Baker City Oregon

Enjoying the holiday festivities in downtown Baker City including the COVID modified CASA Classic Christmas Gingerbread Tour of Homes and all the festive holiday windows and decoration on Main Street.

Baker City, Oregon’s historic downtown is one of the largest and most intact turn of the 20th century downtowns in the Northwest and is surrounded by historic neighborhoods. The downtown has been beautifully restored and revitalized over the years and is a vibrant and bustling district with lots of small locally owned shop. Throughout the year, and especially during the holiday season, the downtown hosts a number of festive celebrations and is simply a perfect backdrop for celebrating Christmas on Main Street

For more information about Baker City’s historic downtown visit www.bakercitydowntown.com or for information about other holiday events and activities in Baker County visit Baker County Tourism’s website at www.travelbakercounty.com

"Tot Andorra" (complete Andorra) -view within 1 photo. Including my mountain horse at Coll de la Botella with Vall del Madriu and view to Catalunya at background. Pal, La Massana, Vall nord, Andorra, Pyrenees

Coll de la Botella (2000m) is ultimate starting point for north-west and also west-east Andorran mountainhiking & biking tours along north borderline to France with Alt de la Capa, Pic de Comapedrosa, followed by Arcalis, Sorteny with the northern Pyrenees (left, off camera). Or for south west tours via Catalunya, Spain, following historic smuggle pathes via Tor and Os de Civis (behind camera). Or Andorra south cross country mountain hiking/mountainbiking tours (front center). Well and comfortable overviewed from here.

You should just check local weather conditions. This scene (2000m altitude) is early autumn, with Costa Brava (0m altitude) just 200km away. Nevertheless Andorra with its highest mountains at back is completely southbound and sunny with relaxed people from everywhere in the world, stable weather conditions, not too cold, not too hot.

More Pal & La Massana parroquia images: Follow the group links at right side.

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We offer 100.000+ photos of Andorra and North of Spain. The largest professional image catalog of Andorra from the newer history: all regions, all cities and villages, all times, all seasons, all weather(s). HighRes & HighColor GeoCoded stock-photo images including metadata in 4-5 languages. Prepared for an easy systematic organising of large image portfolios with advanced online / print-publishing as "Culture-GIS" (Geographic Info System). The big stockphoto collection from the Pyrenees.

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Got some new furniture and props--including an AMAZEBALLS 1:6 scale upright piano to replace the terrible Byers Choice one. This was a Mr Christmas holiday player piano beat all to hell that I got for $35 on evilbay. I removed all the inner workings, replaced the front with wood, and painted it. I am STUPIDLY HAPPY with it, tho at some point I need to get casters for it.

Also got a PERFECT 1:6 milk crate from Shapeways. Alas, it is so perfect that the 1:6 albums I made don't quite fit inside. So I may have to tweak them--or make some new ones that are just 3mm smaller, so they fit more comfortably inside.

I decided Kimber, Stormer, and Riot are spending the afternoon working. Kimber's brainstorming lyrics, Riot's working on a new melody, and Stormer is frustrated because she just can't get the bridge of her new song quite right.

Nine pronghorn antelopes. including four bucks, lined up in the stubble of a canola field. They are near the dugout and uncertain about going down for a drink. Grain bins in the background. I spotted them first lying down farther away in the stubble of a canola field. We parked on an approach which happened to be besides a well vegetated dugout by the road. Three bucks started walking towards us and I was wondering why but they stopped to check things out, then disappeared down into the dugout for several minutes. The others, accompanied by two more bucks started moving closer. They stopped to eat in a pile of spilled canola seeds, then moved towards the dugout as well. Many seemed hesitant to go down. While some bucks led the way down, one animal, generally a buck, remained watching at the top. I have several photos where a buck comes back half way up, near a doe who hasn’t made up her mind to go down, then she makes up her mind and he follows or leads. When everyone was done drinking, they regrouped at the top, grazed a bit on what seemed to be canola stems or weeds, then started walking North after a startled moment caused by a truck starting up, after having stopped to watch them. Mating season for pronghorn antelopes is generally described as September but one reference mentions that it lasts from September through October. Bucks gather harems of females and protect them from other male pronghorns. Many times they get into battles with each other over the female pronghorn. Early cold weather means an early rut. It seems usual for pronghorns to form mixed herds of bucks and does for the winter.(wikipedia). These bucks were the only animals still carrying their horns, and still acted as protectors of the herd of females and 2 (or 3) fawns. One smelled a doe’s urine so there may still be unmated does in this band. No fighting between bucks while we watched. They seemed to act cooperatively to protect the herd, encourage does and fawns to come and drink, etc. Part of a herd of 19 Pronghorns. I was wondering why they were so unafraid during hunting season. A bit of research indicated that zone 18 was not open this year for antelope hunting. South of the turnoff to Gray, HWY 6 S. Saskatchewan, Canada. 1 November 2020. start 2:05pm

2022-23: Expert commended out of 3560 entries in Photocrowd 'Groups of Animals' competition in January 2023.

9.5cm tall, 26pts of articulation (not including minfig)

The Type R "Mystery Ships" were a series of wire-braced, low-wing racing airplanes built by the Travel Air company in the late 1920s and early 1930s. They were so called because the first three aircraft of the series (R614K, R613K, B11D) were built entirely in secrecy.

In total, five Type Rs were built and flown by some of the most notable flyers of the day, including Jimmy Doolittle, Doug Davis, Frank Hawks, and Pancho Barnes, not only in races but also at air shows across the United States, and most notably, by Hawks in Europe.

Design and development

The environment in air racing at the time was one of give and take with the military. A civilian designer would take an existing aircraft design, modify it for greater speed and enter it in the race. Since the military already had access to the fastest and most advanced aircraft available, it was simply a matter of upping the horsepower on whatever aircraft they were using and the problem was solved. This led to the military completely dominating the air racing scene. In an effort to combat this, two Travel Air designers; Herb Rawdon and Walter Burnham undertook proving that a civilian aircraft built from scratch and designed exclusively for racing (as opposed to combat or passenger/mail service) could out-fly the military.[2]

Under construction during 1928, the aircraft was kept under cover prior to the 1929 Cleveland Air Races, with the builders even going so far as painting the windows on the factory to keep the curious press from getting a look at it. The local Wichita paper picked up on the secret program, with one reporter even going so far as to scale a ladder to try to peek into the vents in the factory roof. The paper dubbed it the "Mystery Ship" and the name stuck with R (for Rawdon) added.[2] Rawdon and Burnham both knew that to approach Travel Air CEO Walter Beech would be fruitless, unless they hit him with the idea just before the air racing season began, so they designed the aircraft in their spare time, without pay until they could get Beech to agree to build the type.[2]

During an era when biplanes were still common, the use of a monoplane planform, a NACA engine cowl, and large wheel pants significantly reduced aerodynamic drag, creating a streamlined design. Construction of the fuselage and wings was based on a plywood structure with the thin wings braced with wires. The sleek, polished fuselage continued the shape and width of the cowl throughout, with the cockpit featuring a small windshield, set nearly flush with the skin. A turtle deck extended from the cockpit to the vertical tail creating a fairing for the helmeted head of the pilot.[2]

Replica G-TATR at Old Warden, Race Day 2023.

Travel Air R Mystery Ship with Chevrolair engine. Photo from Aero Digest, November 1929.

The first "Mystery Ship", NR614K (Race No. 31), was designed for both closed-course and long-distance racing. NR614K had two sets of wings, a shorter set of racing wings, about one and a half feet (0.46 m) shorter in span and three inches (7.6 cm) narrower in chord than the set used for cross-country events. R614K was destroyed when it caught fire before the 1931 Thompson Trophy race. The plane has since undergone a complete restoration and now resides at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee.[3]

Pancho Barnes's Travel Air Mystery Ship NR613K appearing in Sky Bride (1932)

The second Type R, NR613K (Race No. 32) powered by a six-cylinder D-6 Chevrolair, manufactured by Arthur Chevrolet Aviation Motors Corporation of Indianapolis, Indiana. The six-cylinder air-cooled, inverted inline engine developed 165 hp at 2,175 rpm, and powered NR613K to a win in the Experimental class at the 1929 National Air Races. NR613K was later converted back to a radial-engined version by Florence "Pancho" Barnes. Paul Mantz later purchased the aircraft and used it extensively in film work. Years later, Barnes bought it back in an auction where other pilots made sure nobody bid against her. It is currently undergoing restoration in the UK.

The third Mystery Ship, NR482N (Race No. 35), was purchased by Shell for the use of Jimmy Hazlip and Jimmy Doolittle. NR614K's short wings were later purchased by Shell and were used, as required, on Doolittle's Race No. 400. NR482N also crashed and was a complete loss.

"Texaco 13" displayed at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago

The fourth Type R, NR1313, purchased by the Texaco Company for Frank Hawks as "Texaco 13" became the most famous of the series, setting numerous long-distance records both in the United States and internationally. "Texaco 13" is now displayed at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.[4]

A fifth Type R, 11717/MM185, was built at the request of the Italian government several years after the rest, after Hawks toured the European continent. After factory construction and testing, it was subsequently disassembled, shipped by boat to Italy and served as the basis for the Breda Ba.27 fighter.[citation needed] It was later scrapped. The last Type R was built by Travel Air after it had been absorbed by Curtiss-Wright.

Racing

The Model R series set numerous speed records for both pylon racing and cross-country flying, and were the most advanced aircraft of the day, by far outpacing anything that even the military could offer.[5] On September 2, 1929, Doug Davis entered the "Mystery Ship" in the Thompson Cup Race. Davis won at a speed of 194.9 mph (one lap flown at 208.69 mph), beating the military entries, even recircling one of the pylons twice. Davis missed the second pylon of the course, circled back and while circling it again blacked out momentarily. Not knowing if he had missed the pylon again, Davis went around one more time, then continued on to win the race.[6] This was the first time in the history of air racing that a civilian racer had outperformed a military aircraft.[7]

Specifications (NR614K)

Travel Air Type R Mystery Ship 3-view drawing from l'Aerophile May 1931

Data from[citation needed]

General characteristics

Crew: One pilot

Length: 20 ft 2 in (6.15 m)

Wingspan: 27 ft 8 in or 29 ft 2 in (8.43 or 8.89 m)

Height: 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)

Empty weight: 1,475 lb (669.05 kg)

Gross weight: 1,940 lb (879.97 kg)

Powerplant: 1 × Wright J-6-9 , 300, 400 or 425 hp (224, 298 or 317 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 235 mph (394.29 km/h, 204 kn)

Looking down Glencoe just as the moon drops below the mountains

including the "wings", this sculpture, which guards the entrance to the niagara mohawk building in syracuse, stands 28 feet in height. the building was built in 1932. the sculpture was originally titled "spirit of light".

A wide-angle framing of the winter constellations rising in the east, including Orion at lower right, and the bright star Sirius below at lower right. The wide fish-eye lens takes in a sweep across the sky from the northeast at left to southeast at right, and almost to the zenith at top.

- To the right of lower centre and left of Sirius is Procyon in Canis Minor.

- At centre is bright Jupiter, then in Gemini marked by the stars Castor and Pollux above it.

- At top centre is Capella and Aldebaran in Auriga and Taurus respectively. The Pleiades are at top.

- Just on the horizon at centre is Regulus and the stars of Leo rising.

- At far left is the Big Dipper in Ursa Major, and at top left Ursa Minor, or the Little Dipper, with Polaris.

- The Milky Way runs down the frame from Perseus at top to Canis Major at bottom.

- A diffuse green and red aurora lights the sky to the northeast at left.

Technical:

This is a single untracked 20-second exposure at f/2.8 (wide open) with the then new (it had arrived this day!) 7Artisans 10mm full-frame fish-eye lens on the Nikon Z8 at ISO 1600. The EXIF data erroneously reports this as 7.5mm and f/2 - I forgot to alter the camera ID settings for this manual lens. Taken from home in southern Alberta at latitude 51º N on December 15, 2025.

June - August. All over Britain, mainly coastal in Scotland. Medium-sized black moth with six red, occasionally yellow, spots. Frequents flowery grassland, woodland rides and sandhills.

The only British burnet moth with six red spots on each forewing, although care must be taken with identification, as in some cases the outermost spots can be fused. Rarely the red colour is replaced by yellow.

Flies with a usually slow buzzing flight during sunshine and is attracted to a range of flowers including thistles, knapweeds and scabious.

Artwork ©jackiecrossley

© All rights reserved. This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying & recording without my written permission. Thank you.

Stock:

model: pixabay

free png stock

BG: pexels

Series of five including video. The sun was out today so I decided to go back to the Buzzards. Of the five around the field this is the most striking and it flew up into the tree and a crow decided to complain loudly. I was hoping for more Yellowhammer pics, but although I saw them fly passed, I could not find any in the bushes today.

Growing up, I had a 'thing' for Abraham Lincoln. I collected stuff about him, including a porcelain bust that I had on a shelf in my bedroom and would stare at often. At 85, my Dad has 'grown into' his face, as folks used to say. I wanted to make a portrait of him earlier but timing didn't work until he spent the better part of a day with me before Christmas because he wanted to be out of town for the actual holiday. He agree to sit for me. I photographed him in color and black and white, film and digital. For the black and white film, I used my #graflex fitted with the #aeroektar and #ilfordhp5. Of the 10 sheets, this one, the last one I made, is my favorite and captured exactly what I wanted; exposed wide open. This is a scan, and I can't wait to get into the darkroom to make a proper print.

Including the lighthouse and lamps reflected in the water adds some dimension framing nature's light show.

At one time there were as many as 22 guns in this battery including those from the 8th Michigan Artillery commanded by Captain Samuel De Golyer who was mortally wounded while directing fire. This battery bombarded the Confederate Great Redoubt guarding Jackson Road. The Great Redoubt is about 2500 feet to the left of this battery and out of the frame of this photo.

On the horizon is the Shirly House nestled among the trees. This is the only surviving war time structure in the park. The Union troops called it "the white house" and it served as the headquarters for the 45th Illinois infantry.

The domed structure on the horizon is the Illinois Memorial honoring all the the Illinois soldiers that fought and died at Vicksburg. It was dedicated in 1906. The monument has sixty bronze tablets lining its interior walls, naming all 36,325 Illinois soldiers who participated in the Vicksburg Campaign.

As always, your comments and faves are appreciated. Constructive criticism and suggestions are especially welcome as I believe they help to make me a better photographer. Thank you for taking the time to look at my photos.

Nikon D 750 visit France including Alsace "Obernai, Mount St. Odile and its region" some photo essays with Miss Alsace

It was a great day meeting Alana for another day of girly fun. We tried on a lot of dresses including these glamorous sequin dresses she brought for us to model.

'Forward Look' including tailfins for aesthetics and aerodynamics

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeSoto_(automobile)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Exner

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Mississauga Classic Car Club Saturday night vintage car and truck Show N' Shine, Dixie Outlet Mall

www.dixieoutletmall.com/events/dixieoutlet-mississauga-cl...

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Olympus OM-D E-M5 + Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-200mm F3.5-6.3

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_OM-D_E-M5

www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/omd-em5/omd-em5A.HTM

www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/olympus/12-200mm-f3.5-6.3...

P9100453 Anx2 Q90 1200h mono 2k f25 f50

including Commander Wolffe and his secret Rodian lover.

Including Doc Martens boot background - for perspective!

Including Frank Gehry's Beekman Tower NYC NY

Views, including Aoroki Mt Cook, the highest point in New Zealand, seen while out walking in Mt Cook National Park. Until 2014, its height was officially listed as 3,754 metres, but new measurements have given a revised height of 3,724 metres (12,218 ft). It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island.

This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail was kind enough visit a native Cup Plant at the perfect height where some blue sky came into frame. A male, in almost perfect shape, including the tails. Hennepin County, MN 08/07/23

Sometimes, she will memorise all the news articles, including the health related bits. What can one do when they have 3 doctors in their house.

My grandma, by the window, one of these days.

"Osterglocke"

Narcissus

is a genus of predominantly spring perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae.

Various common names including daffodil,

narcissus and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona.

The flowers are generally white or yellow (also orange or pink in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

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Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the earliest times, but became increasingly popular in Europe after the 16th century and by the late 19th century were an important commercial crop centred primarily in the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as cut flowers and as ornamental plants in private and public gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are classified into divisions, covering a wide range of shapes and colours. Like other members of their family, narcissi produce a number of different alkaloids, which provide some protection for the plant, but may be poisonous if accidentally ingested.

All Narcissus species contain the alkaloid poison lycorine, mostly in the bulb but also in the leaves.

The flowers of Narcissus are hermaphroditic (bisexual),

have three parts (tripartite), and are sometimes fragrant.

Fragrances are predominantly monoterpene isoprenoids, with a small amount of benzenoids, although N. jonquilla has both equally represented.

#

Names and etymology

The derivation of the Latin narcissus (Greek: νάρκισσος) is unknown, but may be connected with hell.

It is frequently linked to the myth of Narcissus, who became so obsessed with his own reflection in water that he drowned and the narcissus plant sprang from where he died.

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Eine Bedeutung in der mitteleuropäischen Gartenkunst haben Narzissen seit der sogenannten orientalischen Phase von 1560 bis 1620, als sie gemeinsam mit Tulpen und Hyazinthen in die Gartenkultur gelangten. Heute gibt es mehr als 24.000 Kulturformen. Im Spätwinter und Frühjahr gehören Narzissen zu den wichtigsten Pflanzen des Blumenhandel.

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Die Gelbe Narzisse beispielsweise enthält die Alkaloide Narcissin, Galantamin und Lycorin.

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Bei Tieren hat man bei Narzissenvergiftungen eine Degeneration der Leber festgestellt.

In der Volksheilkunde haben Narzissen nur gelegentlich eine Rolle gespielt und wurden überwiegend für Hauterkrankungen, als Brechmittel sowie als Heilmittel bei Erkältungskrankheiten und Keuchhusten verwendet.

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Das Alkaloid Galantamin, das beispielsweise in der Gelben Narzisse vorkommt, hat eine Zulassung zur symptomatischen Behandlung leichter bis mittelgradiger Demenz bei Alzheimer-Erkrankten erhalten.

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Narzissen zählen in der islamischen Kultur zu den beliebtesten Gartenblumen.

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"Wer zwei Brote hat, verkaufe eines und kaufe sich Narzissenblüten dafür; denn Brot ist nur dem Körper Nahrung, die Narzisse aber nährt die Seele."

Wird dem Propheten* Mohammed (~ 570 - 632 nach Christus) zugeschrieben.

*Mohammed ist der Gesandte Gottes.

Abraham ( Ibrahim) war weder Jude, Moslem, noch Christ.

Abraham gilt als Stamm-Vater der drei Buch-Religionen.

This view is from Keppel Gate, which is part of a former UK Crown Receiver estate including a series of former highway gates is now Common land in public ownership and is one of three purpose built section of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road used for the Isle of Man TT races. The area of Keppel Gate including a nearby private residence of Kate's Cottage at the adjacent 34th TT Milestone road-side marker is located between the 4th Milestone and 5th Milestone road-side markers on the primary A18 Snaefell Mountain Road in the parish district of Kirk Onchan in the Isle of Man.

The hill on the left is Colden located near Douglas, Colden has a maximum elevation of 487.0m (1598 feet). In the middle is the 500m (1640 feet) hill Carraghan. To the right is Beinn-y-Phott, is a peak of 546 metres (1,791 feet) about 2 km SW of Snaefell.

Beinn-y-Phott is at the southern end of the parish of Kirk Lezayre. It is skirted by the Mountain Course used for the TT races and is near Brandywell. It is covered by moorland and a detailed dating of its vegetation through the Holocene period has been made — mostly heathers, peat mosses and sedges.

Running in front of the hills runs the Baldwin Valley with Eary Ween Farm at the bottom.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keppel_Gate,_Isle_of_Man

www.themountainguide.co.uk/isle-of-man/colden.htm

www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?qu=S&rf=3340

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beinn-y-Phott

Lake Marie, Snowy Range, Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming--summer 2022

As noted elsewhere, this is one of my favorite spots in all the world, having first visited the area with my family when I was a small child. I was always hesitant to return as an adult, fearing that my childhood memories would be damaged by the more sophisticated and jaded sensibilities of my adult self. But when I visited for the second time in 2015, I almost cried when I discovered it to be just as beautiful as remembered. This third trip did nothing to change my assessment. It could be a national park, and perhaps one day it will be, but for now, I'm happy that it remains a relative secret, one that thousands enjoy each year instead of millions. Here's hoping I return yet again in the not distant future.

One of the cool things about the fact that the area remains unknown to the vast majority of Americans, is that it's easy to find places to be nude without having to hike miles off the beaten path. This spot is perhaps 300 meters from that (relative) beaten path and yet I felt quite isolated. I spent a few hours here, relaxed and unconcerned with being seen. Of course, the main attraction isn't the naturism, but the nature.

I love the palate of color in the photo, though it was difficult to process owing to the high-contrast, including a very dark merman. Incidentally, this is a Pano combing two (vertically oriented) photos.

Series of nine including a video. The weather was dire this morning, very windy and then it rained as well. Not the best to see my very first Hoopoe, and it was just down the road from me so I had to go and see it. I could hardly hold the camera steady and it was very cold. I had to keep wiping the lens as well as I was shooting straight into the rain. Quite pleased with the pics, I may go back if it stays around.

Including the Great Western Railway Warehouse with the three-masted Dutch schooner De Wadden in front and the Edmund Gardner Pilot Cutter (on the far right). The large propeller to the right of the blue trailer is from the Lusitania.

From Manchester (and Style) we stopped for a couple of days in Liverpool to enjoy the buildings, waterfront, and, of course "The Beatles Experience".

Bens Hair Style - Peggy Hair - 200 Linden (Allcolors)

Including

*25 normal colors and 29 faded colors with lolas version

*rigged mesh hair

demo: marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Bens-Hair-Style-Peggy-Hair-D...

mp: marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Bens-Hair-Style-Peggy-Hair-A...

Calder Casino is a casino located in Lake Lucerne, Miami Gardens, Florida. It includes slots, electronic table games, and bingo.

The casino opened in 2010 and features a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) gaming floor with 1,100 slot machines, including video poker, as well as electronic roulette and blackjack. Live entertainment[1] can be found at Calder Casino on a weekly basis as well as a popular ladies night.

A player's club, VIP lounge, and dining options such as The Buffet, Lucky's Restaurant and Center Bar can all be found at the location. It is a non-smoking casino, however the Backyard Casino, South Florida's newest and largest smoking friendly open-air casino, opened at Calder Casino on May 19, 2018. The Backyard Casino at Calder hosts 75 games.

Calder's horse racing operations were leased to the Stronach Group, operators of Gulfstream Park, in 2014. Since then, Calder's meet has been named Gulfstream Park West. Calder Casino is a wholly owned property of Churchill Downs Incorporated and has kept its original name.

In the mid-1960s, real estate developer Stephen A. Calder envisioned summertime horse racing in Florida; in 1965, on the advice of Mr. Calder, the Florida Legislature approved a bill allowing for it. Prior to this time, a fall meet was held at Tropical Park Race Track in Miami and winter / spring meets at Hialeah Park and Gulfstream Park in Broward County. In 1970, Stephen Calder received a permit for summertime racing but the meet was run at Tropical Park because construction was not complete at Calder. On May 6, 1971 Calder Race Course held its first day of racing. When William L. McKnight became the new owner of Tropical Park, he stated his intentions of closing the track and switching the dates to the Calder track, of which he was one of the principal investors. Racing ceased at Tropical Park in 1972.

The 1980s brought about renovations and expansions and two purchases. The first purchase was by Bertram R. Firestone and the second was by Kawasaki Leasings, Inc. In 1992 the "Festival of the Sun" was introduced. By 1997, simulcasting was introduced (so bets could be placed on Calder races from other tracks and off-track locations). The handle increased significantly; the track increased purses. In January 1999, Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) purchased Calder Race Course for approximately $86 million. In the first years of the new century the track introduced the "Florida Million" and the "Summit of Speed".

Calder's Summit of Speed has produced several Breeders' Cup champions and Eclipse Award winners since its start in 2000. (The Eclipse award is the highest honor bestowed in American racing). In its short history, the Summit of Speed attracted some of the country's top sprinters, including Cajun Beat and Orientate who both went on to win Breeders' Cup Sprint championship races (Orientate 2002, Cajun Beat 2003). In 2005, Lost in the Fog won at Calder, although was later defeated in the Breeders' Cup. The Summit of Speed turned out to be the single biggest day in the history of Calder. In 2004, over $10.8 million was wagered on the event.

It was previously in the Lake Lucerne census-designated place. In 2003, the unincorporated area where Calder is located became the City of Miami Gardens, the third-largest city in Miami-Dade County.

On June 4, 2005, jockey Eddie Castro set the North American record for the most wins in a day at one track, winning 9 races at Calder.

The world record for the most spent on a Thoroughbred at sale took place at Calder in 2006 when a two-year-old horse sold for $16 million. The horse was later named The Green Monkey.

In late 2009, Calder changed its official name to Calder Casino & Race Course. The grand opening of the Calder Casino was celebrated in January 2010.

On August 24, 2013, jockey Antonio A. Gallardo set the record for the most stakes wins in a day and in a row, winning 4 consecutive stake races in the Juvenile Showcase.

After head-to-head racing between Calder and nearby Gulfstream Park in 2013 and 2014, CDI and the Stronach Group announced an agreement where the Stronach Group would manage Calder's racing operations, and CDI would operate the Calder Casino. After the agreement, Gulfstream announced it would operate a two-month meet at Calder in the fall under the name Gulfstream Park West. Under the changes, the track's code for official racing programs was changed from CRC to GPW.

In April 2015, CDI demolished approximately 1,400 stalls in an area marked for non-racing commercial re-development. In July 2015, Gulfstream Park was informed that the Calder grandstand - owned by CDI - will not be open to the public for the 2015 Gulfstream Park West meet except for racing officials, and that the seven-story structure will be demolished once the meet has concluded. Demolition was completed in October 2016 and The Stronach Group recommended everyone watch and wager at Gulfstream Park.

As a photojournalist, Sam Hood provided photos for newspapers including the Sydney Mail, Australasian, Daily Guardian, Sun and Sydney Morning Herald. He covered many of Australia’s landmark events, but on this occasion Hood captured a more personal moment. While covering a polo match, he photographed a man — perhaps a fellow journalist — asleep at the wheel of a car. Hood’s composition leaves the match in the background hanging like a ‘dream bubble’ over his head. PXE 789 (v.50) collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/nQRq2gd1/PaDqvXpLqwgL2

On display in

Shot - 400 photographs | 200 photographers | 3 centuries

Free Exhibition - State Library of NSW (closes Nov. 2024)

Visit sl.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/shot

Online version - photogallery.sl.nsw.gov.au/?_gl=1*ouza4a*_ga*MjA4NjIyODUx....

Catalogue sl.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/shot_photography_galler...

The Mithraic Mysteries were a mystery religion practised in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to 4th centuries AD. The name of the Persian god Mithra (proto-Indo-Iranian Mitra), adapted into Greek as Mithras, was linked to a new and distinctive imagery. Writers of the Roman Empire period referred to this mystery religion by phrases which can be anglicized as Mysteries of Mithras or Mysteries of the Persians; modern historians refer to it as Mithraism,[1] or sometimes Roman Mithraism.The mysteries were popular in the Roman military.

Worshippers of Mithras had a complex system of seven grades of initiation, with ritual meals. Initiates called themselves syndexioi, those "united by the handshake".They met in underground temples (called mithraea), which survive in large numbers. The cult appears to have had its centre in Rome.

Numerous archaeological finds, including meeting places, monuments and artifacts, have contributed to modern knowledge about Mithraism throughout the Roman Empire.The iconic scenes of Mithras show him being born from a rock, slaughtering a bull, and sharing a banquet with the god Sol (the Sun). About 420 sites have yielded materials related to the cult. Among the items found are about 1000 inscriptions, 700 examples of the bull-killing scene (tauroctony), and about 400 other monuments.[9] It has been estimated that there would have been at least 680 mithraea in Rome.[10] No written narratives or theology from the religion survive, with limited information to be derived from the inscriptions, and only brief or passing references in Greek and Latin literature. Interpretation of the physical evidence remains problematic and contested.

The Romans regarded the mysteries as having Persian or Zoroastrian sources. Since the early 1970s the dominant scholarship has noted dissimilarities between Persian Mithra-worship and the Roman Mithraic mysteries. In this context, Mithraism has sometimes been viewed as a rival of early Christianity with similarities such as liberator-saviour, hierarchy of adepts (archbishops, bishops, priests), communal meal and a hard struggle of Good and Evil (bull-killing/crucifixion).The name Mithras (Latin, equivalent to Greek “Μίθρας” is a form of Mithra, the name of an Old Persian god– a relationship understood by Mithraic scholars since the days of Franz Cumont. An early example of the Greek form of the name is in a 4th century BC work by Xenophon, the Cyropaedia, which is a biography of the Persian king Cyrus the Great.

The exact form of a Latin or classical Greek word varies due to the grammatical process of declension. There is archeological evidence that in Latin worshippers wrote the nominative form of the god’s name as “Mithras”. However, in Porphyry’s Greek text De Abstinentia («Περὶ ἀποχῆς ἐμψύχων»), there is a reference to the now-lost histories of the Mithraic mysteries by Euboulus and Pallas, the wording of which suggests that these authors treated the name “Mithra” as an indeclinable foreign word.

Related deity-names in other languages include

Sanskrit Mitra (मित्रः), the name of a god praised in the Rig Veda.In Sanskrit, "mitra" means "friend" or "friendship"

the form mi-it-ra-, found in an inscribed peace treaty between the Hittites and the kingdom of Mitanni, from about 1400 BC.

Iranian "Mithra" and Sanskrit "Mitra" are believed to come from an Indo-Iranian word mitra meaning "contract, agreement, covenant".

Modern historians have different conceptions about whether these names refer to the same god or not. John R. Hinnells has written of Mitra / Mithra / Mithras as a single deity worshipped in several different religions. On the other hand, David Ulansey considers the bull-slaying Mithras to be a new god who began to be worshipped in the 1st century BC, and to whom an old name was applied.

Mary Boyce, a researcher of ancient Iranian religions, writes that even though Roman Empire Mithraism seems to have had less Iranian content than historians used to think, still "as the name Mithras alone shows, this content was of some importance.Much about the cult of Mithras is only known from reliefs and sculptures. There have been many attempts to interpret this material.

Mithras-worship in the Roman Empire was characterized by images of the god slaughtering a bull. Other images of Mithras are found in the Roman temples, for instance Mithras banqueting with Sol, and depictions of the birth of Mithras from a rock. But the image of bull-slaying (tauroctony) is always in the central niche.Textual sources for a reconstruction of the theology behind this iconography are very rare. (See section Interpretations of the bull-slaying scene below.)

The practice of depicting the god slaying a bull seems to be specific to Roman Mithraism. According to David Ulansey, this is "perhaps the most important example" of evident difference between Iranian and Roman traditions: "... there is no evidence that the Iranian god Mithra ever had anything to do with killing a bull."n every Mithraeum the centrepiece was a representation of Mithras killing a sacred bull, called the tauroctony.

The image may be a relief, or free-standing, and side details may be present or omitted. The centre-piece is Mithras clothed in Anatolian costume and wearing a Phrygian cap; who is kneeling on the exhausted bull, holding it by the nostrils[33] with his left hand, and stabbing it with his right. As he does so, he looks over his shoulder towards the figure of Sol. A dog and a snake reach up towards the blood. A scorpion seizes the bull's genitals. A raven is flying around or is sitting on the bull. Three ears of wheat are seen coming out from the bull's tail, sometimes from the wound. The bull was often white. The god is sitting on the bull in an unnatural way with his right leg constraining the bull's hoof and the left leg is bent and resting on the bull's back or flank.[34] The two torch-bearers are on either side, dressed like Mithras, Cautes with his torch pointing up and Cautopates with his torch pointing down. Sometimes Cautes and Cautopates carry shepherds' crooks instead of torches.

Tauroctony from the Kunsthistorisches Museum

The event takes place in a cavern, into which Mithras has carried the bull, after having hunted it, ridden it and overwhelmed its strength.[38] Sometimes the cavern is surrounded by a circle, on which the twelve signs of the zodiac appear. Outside the cavern, top left, is Sol the sun, with his flaming crown, often driving a quadriga. A ray of light often reaches down to touch Mithras. At the top right is Luna, with her crescent moon, who may be depicted driving a biga.[39]

In some depictions, the central tauroctony is framed by a series of subsidiary scenes to the left, top and right, illustrating events in the Mithras narrative; Mithras being born from the rock, the water miracle, the hunting and riding of the bull, meeting Sol who kneels to him, shaking hands with Sol and sharing a meal of bull-parts with him, and ascending to the heavens in a chariot.[39] In some instances, as is the case in the stucco icon at Santa Prisca mithraeum, the god is shown heroically nude. Some of these reliefs were constructed so that they could be turned on an axis. On the back side was another, more elaborate feasting scene. This indicates that the bull killing scene was used in the first part of the celebration, then the relief was turned, and the second scene was used in the second part of the celebration.Besides the main cult icon, a number of mithraea had several secondary tauroctonies, and some small portable versions, probably meant for private devotion, have also been found.[The second most important scene after the tauroctony in Mithraic art is the so-called banquet scene.The banquet scene features Mithras and the Sun god banqueting on the hide of the slaughtered bull. On the specific banquet scene on the Fiano Romano relief, one of the torchbearers points a caduceus towards the base of an altar, where flames appear to spring up. Robert Turcan has argued that since the caduceus is an attribute of Mercury, and in mythology Mercury is depicted as a psychopomp, the eliciting of flames in this scene is referring to the dispatch of human souls and expressing the Mithraic doctrine on this matter. Turcan also connects this event to the tauroctony: the blood of the slain bull has soaked the ground at the base of the altar, and from the blood the souls are elicited in flames by the caduceus.Mithras is depicted as being born from a rock. He is shown as emerging from a rock, already in his youth, with a dagger in one hand and a torch in the other. He is nude, standing with his legs together, and is wearing a Phrygian cap.

However, there are variations. Sometimes he is shown as coming out of the rock as a child, and in one instance he has a globe in one hand; sometimes a thunderbolt is seen. There are also depictions in which flames are shooting from the rock and also from Mithras' cap. One statue had its base perforated so that it could serve as a fountain, and the base of another has the mask of the water god. Sometimes Mithras also has other weapons such as bows and arrows, and there are also animals such as dogs, serpents, dolphins, eagles, other birds, lion, crocodiles, lobsters and snails around. On some reliefs, there is a bearded figure identified as Oceanus, the water god, and on some there are the gods of the four winds. In these reliefs, the four elements could be invoked together. Sometimes Victoria, Luna, Sol and Saturn also seem to play a role. Saturn in particular is often seen handing over the dagger to Mithras so that he can perform his mighty deeds.

In some depictions, Cautes and Cautopates are also present; sometimes they are depicted as shepherds.

On some occasions, an amphora is seen, and a few instances show variations like an egg birth or a tree birth. Some interpretations show that the birth of Mithras was celebrated by lighting torches or candles.[One of the most characteristic features of the Mysteries is the naked lion-headed figure often found in Mithraic temples, named by the modern scholars with descriptive terms such as leontocephaline (lion-headed) or leontocephalus (lion-head). He is entwined by a serpent (or two serpents, like a caduceus), with the snake's head often resting on the lion's head. The lion's mouth is often open, giving a horrifying impression. He is usually represented as having four wings, two keys (sometimes a single key), and a scepter in his hand. Sometimes the figure is standing on a globe inscribed with a diagonal cross. In the figure shown here, the four wings carry the symbols of the four seasons, and a thunderbolt is engraved on the breast. At the base of the statue are the hammer and tongs of Vulcan, the cock, and the wand of Mercury. A more scarcely represented variant of the figure with a human head is also found.

Although animal-headed figures are prevalent in contemporary Egyptian and Gnostic mythological representations, an exact parallel to the Mithraic leontocephaline figure is not found.

The name of the figure has been deciphered from dedicatory inscriptions to be Arimanius (though the archeological evidence is not very strong), which is nominally the equivalent of Ahriman, a demon figure in the Zoroastrian pantheon. Arimanius is known from inscriptions to have been a god in the Mithraic cult (CIMRM 222 from Ostia, 369 from Rome, 1773 and 1775 from Pannonia).

While some scholars identify the lion-man as Aion (or Zurvan, or Cronus) others assert that it is Ahriman.[51] There is also speculation that the figure is the Gnostic demiurge, (Ariel) Ialdabaoth. Although the exact identity of the lion-headed figure is debated by scholars, it is largely agreed that the god is associated with time and seasonal change.[53] An occultist, D. J.Cooper, speculates to the contrary that the lion-headed figure is not a god, but rather represents the spiritual state achieved in Mithraism's "adept" level, the Leo (lion) degree. Rituals and worship[edit]

According to M. J. Vermaseren, the Mithraic New Year and the birthday of Mithras was on December 25. However, Beck disagrees strongly.Clauss states: "the Mithraic Mysteries had no public ceremonies of its own. The festival of natalis Invicti [Birth of the Unconquerable (Sun)], held on 25 December, was a general festival of the Sun, and by no means specific to the Mysteries of Mithras." Mithraic initiates were required to swear an oath of secrecy and dedication, and some grade rituals involved the recital of a catechism, wherein the initiate was asked a series of questions pertaining to the initiation symbolism and had to reply with specific answers. An example of such a catechism, apparently pertaining to the Leo grade, was discovered in a fragmentary Egyptian papyrus (P.Berolinensis 21196),and reads:

... He will say: 'Where ... ?

... he is/(you are?) there (then/thereupon?) at a loss?' Say: ... Say: 'Night'. He will say: 'Where ... ?' ... Say: 'All things ...' (He will say): '... you are called ... ?' Say: 'Because of the summery ...' ... having become ... he/it has the fiery ... (He will say): '... did you receive/inherit?' Say: 'In a pit'. He will say: 'Where is your ...?... (Say): '...(in the...) Leonteion.' He will say: 'Will you gird?' The (heavenly?) ...(Say): '... death'. He will say: 'Why, having girded yourself, ...?' '... this (has?) four tassels. Very sharp and ... '... much'. He will say: ...? (Say: '... because of/through?) hot and cold'. He will say: ...? (Say): '... red ... linen'. He will say: 'Why?' Say: '... red border; the linen, however, ...' (He will say): '... has been wrapped?' Say: 'The savior's ...' He will say: 'Who is the father?' Say: 'The one who (begets?) everything ...' (He will say): '('How ?)... did you become a Leo?' Say: 'By the ... of the father'. ... Say: 'Drink and food'. He will say '...?'

'... in the seven-...

Almost no Mithraic scripture or first-hand account of its highly secret rituals survives;with the exception of the aforementioned oath and catechism, and the document known as the Mithras Liturgy, from 4th century Egypt, whose status as a Mithraist text has been questioned by scholars including Franz Cumont. The walls of Mithraea were commonly whitewashed, and where this survives it tends to carry extensive repositories of graffiti; and these, together with inscriptions on Mithraic monuments, form the main source for Mithraic texts.

Nevertheless, it is clear from the archeology of numerous Mithraea that most rituals were associated with feasting – as eating utensils and food residues are almost invariably found. These tend to include both animal bones and also very large quantities of fruit residues.The presence of large amounts of cherry-stones in particular would tend to confirm mid-summer (late June, early July) as a season especially associated with Mithraic festivities. The Virunum album, in the form of an inscribed bronze plaque, records a Mithraic festival of commemoration as taking place on 26 June 184. Beck argues that religious celebrations on this date are indicative of special significance being given to the Summer solstice; but this time of the year coincides with ancient recognition of the solar maximum at midsummer, whilst iconographically identical holidays such as Litha, St John's Eve, and Jāņi are observed also.

For their feasts, Mithraic initiates reclined on stone benches arranged along the longer sides of the Mithraeum – typically there might be room for 15 to 30 diners, but very rarely many more than 40 men. Counterpart dining rooms, or triclinia, were to be found above ground in the precincts of almost any temple or religious sanctuary in the Roman empire, and such rooms were commonly used for their regular feasts by Roman 'clubs', or collegia. Mithraic feasts probably performed a very similar function for Mithraists as the collegia did for those entitled to join them; indeed, since qualification for Roman collegia tended to be restricted to particular families, localities or traditional trades, Mithraism may have functioned in part as providing clubs for the unclubbed.However, the size of the Mithraeum is not necessarily an indication of the size of the congregation.

Each Mithraeum had several altars at the further end, underneath the representation of the tauroctony, and also commonly contained considerable numbers of subsidiary altars, both in the main Mithraeum chamber and in the ante-chamber or narthex.[68] These altars, which are of the standard Roman pattern, each carry a named dedicatory inscription from a particular initiate, who dedicated the altar to Mithras "in fulfillment of his vow", in gratitude for favours received. Burned residues of animal entrails are commonly found on the main altars indicating regular sacrificial use. However, Mithraea do not commonly appear to have been provided with facilities for ritual slaughter of sacrificial animals (a highly specialised function in Roman religion), and it may be presumed that a Mithraeum would have made arrangements for this service to be provided for them in co-operation with the professional victimarius of the civic cult. Prayers were addressed to the Sun three times a day, and Sunday was especially sacred.

It is doubtful whether Mithraism had a monolithic and internally consistent doctrine. It may have varied from location to location. However, the iconography is relatively coherent. It had no predominant sanctuary or cultic centre; and, although each Mithraeum had its own officers and functionaries, there was no central supervisory authority. In some Mithraea, such as that at Dura Europos, wall paintings depict prophets carrying scrolls,but no named Mithraic sages are known, nor does any reference give the title of any Mithraic scripture or teaching. It is known that intitates could transfer with their grades from one Mithraeum to another.

Mithraeum

See also: Mithraeum

A mithraeum found in the ruins of Ostia Antica, Italy

Temples of Mithras are sunk below ground, windowless, and very distinctive. In cities, the basement of an apartment block might be converted; elsewhere they might be excavated and vaulted over, or converted from a natural cave. Mithraic temples are common in the empire; although unevenly distributed, with considerable numbers found in Rome, Ostia, Numidia, Dalmatia, Britain and along the Rhine/Danube frontier; while being somewhat less common in Greece, Egypt, and Syria.According to Walter Burkert, the secret character of Mithriac rituals meant that Mithraism could only be practiced within a Mithraeum.Some new finds at Tienen show evidence of large-scale feasting and suggest that the mystery religion may not have been as secretive as was generally believed.

For the most part, Mithraea tend to be small, externally undistinguished, and cheaply constructed; the cult generally preferring to create a new centre rather than expand an existing one. The Mithraeum represented the cave to which Mithras carried and then killed the bull; and where stone vaulting could not be afforded, the effect would be imitated with lath and plaster. They are commonly located close to springs or streams; fresh water appears to have been required for some Mithraic rituals, and a basin is often incorporated into the structure. There is usually a narthex or ante-chamber at the entrance, and often other ancillary rooms for storage and the preparation of food. The extant mithraea present us with actual physical remains of the architectural structures of the sacred spaces of the Mithraic cult. Mithraeum is a modern coinage and mithraists referred to their sacred structures as speleum or antrum (cave), crypta (underground hallway or corridor), fanum (sacred or holy place), or even templum (a temple or a sacred space).

In their basic form, mithraea were entirely different from the temples and shrines of other cults. In the standard pattern of Roman religious precincts, the temple building functioned as a house for the god, who was intended to be able to view through the opened doors and columnar portico, sacrificial worship being offered on an altar set in an open courtyard; potentially accessible not only to initiates of the cult, but also to colitores or non-initiated worshippers.Mithraea were the antithesis of this.

Degrees of initiation

In the Suda under the entry "Mithras", it states that "no one was permitted to be initiated into them (the mysteries of Mithras), until he should show himself holy and steadfast by undergoing several graduated tests."Gregory Nazianzen refers to the "tests in the mysteries of Mithras".

There were seven grades of initiation into the mysteries of Mithras, which are listed by St. Jerome.Manfred Clauss states that the number of grades, seven, must be connected to the planets. A mosaic in the Ostia Mithraeum of Felicissimus depicts these grades, with symbolic emblems that are connected either to the grades or are just symbols of the planets. The grades also have an inscription beside them commending each grade into the protection of the different planetary gods. In ascending order of importance, the initiatory grades were:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraic_mysteries

In the Mithraic ceremonies, there were seven degrees of initiations: Corax (Raven), Nymphus (Bridegroom), Miles (Soldier), Leo (Lion), Perses (Persian),Heliodromus (Courier of the Sun), and Pater (Father). Those in the lowest ranks, certainly the Corax, were the servants of the community during the sacred meal of bread and water that formed part of the rite.

The area where the concentration of evidence for Mithraism is the most dense is the capital, Rome, and her port city, Ostia. There are eight extant mithraea in Rome of as many as seven hundred (Coarelli 1979) and eighteen in Ostia. In addition to the actual mithraea, there are approximately three hundred other mithraic monuments from Rome and about one hundred from Ostia. This body of evidence reveals that Mithraism in Rome and Ostia originally appealed to the same social strata as it did in the frontier regions. The evidence also indicates that at least some inhabitants knew about Mithraism as early as the late first century CE, but that the cult did not enjoy a wide membership in either location until the middle of the second century CE.

As the cult in Rome became more popular, it seems to have "trickled up" the social ladder, with the result that Mithraism could count several senators from prominent aristocratic families among its adherents by the fourth century CE. Some of these men were initiates in several cults imported from the eastern empire (including those of Magna Mater and Attis, Isis, Serapis, Jupiter Dolichenus, Hecate, and Liber Pater, among others), and most had held priesthoods in official Roman cults. The devotion of these men to Mithraism reflects a fourth-century "resurgence of paganism," when many of these imported cults and even official Roman state religion experienced a surge in popularity although, and perhaps because, their very existence was increasingly threatened by the rapid spread of Christianity after the conversion of the emperor Constantine in 313 CE.

global.britannica.com/topic/heliodromus

Mithraism had a wide following from the middle of the second century to the late fourth century CE, but the common belief that Mithraism was the prime competitor of Christianity, promulgated by Ernst Renan (Renan 1882 579), is blatantly false. Mithraism was at a serious disadvantage right from the start because it allowed only male initiates. What is more, Mithraism was, as mentioned above, only one of several cults imported from the eastern empire that enjoyed a large membership in Rome and elsewhere. The major competitor to Christianity was thus not Mithraism but the combined group of imported cults and official Roman cults subsumed under the rubric "paganism." Finally, part of Renan's claim rested on an equally common, but almost equally mistaken, belief that Mithraism was officially accepted because it had Roman emperors among its adherents (Nero, Commodus, Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and the Tetrarchs are most commonly cited). Close examination of the evidence for the participation of emperors reveals that some comes from literary sources of dubious quality and that the rest is rather circumstantial. The cult of Magna Mater, the first imported cult to arrive in Rome (204 BCE) was the only one ever officially recognized as a Roman cult. The others, including Mithraism, were never officially accepted, and some, particularly the Egyptian cult of Isis, were periodically outlawed and their adherents persecuted.

ecole.evansville.edu/articles/mithraism.html

Some words were enough for God to precipitate the most beautiful of his creatures at the bottom of the abyss. Lucifer, the carrier of Light, pulled(entailed) with him a third(third party) of the angels in its revolt. Hell was created for him. We know the continuation(suite) … The column of July Place de la Bastille, was set up between 1833 and 1840. In its summit, thrones the "Spirit of liberty" conceived(designed) by the sculptor Auguste Dumont. Curious tribute returned by Louis Philippe to the insurgents who knocked down(spilled) Charles X and the Absolute monarchy three years earlier. Lucifer picked up. No detail misses(is lacking) … Torch in the hand, the Angel has just broken his chains(channels) and dashes to new conquests. Under its impressive base is a crypt sheltering some 500 rests of Fighters of 1830, as well as Egyptian mummy brought back(reported) by Napoleon.Durant la commune de Paris en 1870, après avoir abattu la colonne Vendôme, les communards s’en prirent à celle de la Bastille… sans succès. Ni le dispositif d’explosifs souterrains, ni le tir d’une trentaine d’obus depuis les buttes Chaumont n’en virent pas à bout. La flamme du porteur de Lumière refusa de s’éteindre…

During the municipality of Paris in 1870, having brought(shot) down the column Vendôme, the Communards took themselves in that of the Bastille unsuccessfully. Neither the device(plan) of subterranean explosives, nor the shooting(firing) of around thirty shells since mounds Chaumont transfer(fire) it to end. The flame of the carrier of Light refused to go out …Lucifer was so far away...?

« Non Serviam »- « Je ne servirai pas ! »

Quelques mots suffirent à Dieu pour précipiter la plus belle de ses créatures au fond de l’abîme. Lucifer, le porteur de Lumière, entraîna avec lui un tiers des anges dans sa révolte. L’enfer fut créé pour lui. Nous connaissons la suite…La colonne de Juillet Place de la Bastille, fut érigée entre 1833 et 1840. À son sommet, trône le « Génie de La Liberté » conçu par le sculpteur Auguste Dumont. Curieux hommage rendu par Louis Philippe aux insurgés qui renversèrent Charles X et la Monarchie absolue trois ans plus tôt. Lucifer a repris du poil de la bête. Aucun détail ne manque… Torche à la main, l’Ange vient de briser ses chaînes et s’élance vers de nouvelles conquêtes. Sous son imposant piédestal se trouve une crypte abritant quelques 500 restes des combattants de 1830, ainsi qu’une momie égyptienne rapportée par Napoléon.Durant la commune de Paris en 1870, après avoir abattu la colonne Vendôme, les communards s’en prirent à celle de la Bastille… sans succès. Ni le dispositif d’explosifs souterrains, ni le tir d’une trentaine d’obus depuis les buttes Chaumont n’en virent pas à bout. La flamme du porteur de Lumière refusa de s’éteindre…

www.pariszigzag.fr/histoire-insolite-paris/qui-est-vraime...

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Koh Lipe is the southernmost island of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. It is part of the Adang-Rawi archipelago. This archipelago forms, together with the Tarutao archipelago, the National Park Koh Tarutao. Although it's a small island you can simply hike a few hours and get lost in the the depths of the jungle. A number of wild animals are commonly spotted on Koh Lipe, including huge monitor lizards, wild boars, king fishers, and much more. The sea and the forest combination is not to be missed, taking in nature in all its glory; blue lagoon waters, sand that glows white under the sun and lush green forest together with the rhythm of the jungle. The seawater is emerald green-blue and crystal clear. The island is surrounded by a beautiful coral reef with numerous beautiful tropical fish. That it is a National Park means that the entire island is protected area. This is not for nothing, because nature here is really beautiful. The southern part of the island is a natural haven, with mangroves, dense vegetation and jungle, beautiful beaches, huge cliffs and private beaches.

We're hiking to the secluded Pollo beach on the southern part of the Lipe island. It's a small hour walking through the dense jungle. The sea water of Pollo Beach varying shades of turquoise, from light to dark, but so clear you can see the rocks underwater. This secluded beach has great white sand if you want to work on your tan, plus the water is calm enough for swimming. The main draw for this beach, however, is the excellent diving opportunities, which some describe as world class. The area is famous for it’s beautiful soft coral and macro diving. There is also possibilities to see a few larger marine animals. We have seen many big fish, cuttlefish, the clown fish alias NEMO. Photo of Samantha entering the jungle trail.

Koh Lipe is het meest zuidelijke eiland van Thailand gelegen in de Andamanse Zee. Het maakt deel uit van de Adang-Rawi-archipel. Deze archipel vormt samen met de Tarutao-archipel het Nationaal Park Koh Tarutao. Hoewel het een klein eiland is, kun je gewoon een paar uur wandelen en verdwalen in de dichte jungle op het zuidelijk deel van koh Lipe. Een aantal wilde dieren worden vaak gezien, waaronder enorme hagedissen, wilde zwijnen, ijsvogels en nog veel meer. De combinatie van zee en bos maakt het extra mooi; Het zeewater is smaragdgroen-blauw en glashelder, zand dat wit gloeit onder de zon en weelderig groen bos en dat allemaal met het ritme van de jungle. Het eiland is omgeven door een prachtig koraalrif met talloze prachtige tropische vissen. Dat het een nationaal park is, betekent dat het hele eiland een beschermd gebied is. Dit is niet voor niets, omdat de natuur hier echt mooi is. We wandelen naar het afgelegen Pollo-strand op het zuidelijke deel van het eiland Lipe. Het is een klein uur wandelen door de dichte jungle. Het zeewater bij Pollo Beach varieert in verschillende tinten turquoise, van licht tot donker, maar zo helder dat je de onderwaterwereld prachtig kan bewonderen. Dit afgelegen strand heeft water rustig genoeg is om in te zwemmen. De belangrijkste trekpleister voor dit strand is echter de uitstekende duikmogelijkheden, die sommigen beschrijven als wereldklasse. Het gebied staat bij de kenners bekend om zijn prachtige zachte koraal en macro duiken. Er zijn ook mogelijkheden om een ​​paar grotere zeedieren te zien. We hebben veel grote vissen gezien, inktvissen, de clownvis alias NEMO. Foto van Samantha die het oerwoud in loopt op weg naar Pollo Beach.

Ten units (including NS 1065, the Savanah & Atlanta Heritage unit) lead BNSF's Dallas to Portland intermodal train by Spruce, where a coal load has been waiting for it to clear the single track.

Q ALTPTL6 22D

Including the WWII and Lincoln Memorials

Top brass also known as virtually copper, almost glossy, homophobic is a rite of activity folk beliefs (line shamanism ) of many nations, including Vietnam folk beliefs . In essence, this is a ritual to communicate with spirits through Shamanism believer (he co-psychic). It is believed that the spirits can enter the soul in his body.

249 Linden

Including 12 different colors and for Slink High , TMP Ouch, Maitreya , N-core XTreme feets

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Note: A large percentage of my "landscape" photos (including the ones in this set, along with several related images which I've gradually deleted from Flickr) are now copyright-protected, and are not available for downloads and free use. You can view them here in Flickr, but if you would like prints, enlargements, framed copies, and other variations, please visit my SmugMug "Virginia farm gallery" by clicking here.

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On four different occasions in the past few years, friends of ours have invited us to spend a weekend on their farm in rural Virginia, about 75 miles west of Washington, DC. You can see an overview of the photos I took of those visits in this Flickr collection, though several of the individual photos are restricted to "friends and family" on Flickr.

We went back for a fifth visit this past weekend, and I realized that it was much later in the year -- our previous visits had been in the spring, summer, and Labor Day weekend. Unlike Vermont and New Hampshire, rural Virginia is far enough south that there are still leaves on the trees in mid-November, and it still looks very much like autumn. I didn't see any of the bright, fiery red trees that one would see in Vermont, but there were lots of orange and yellow bushes, leaves, and trees all around.

About half of these photos were taken in the middle of the day, with fairly bright, direct sunlight. The other half were taken in the late afternoon, about an hour before sunset. I'm not sure what it would have been like at dawn, but I suspect the light would have been fantastic, and there probably would have been a little bit of mist and fog to focus on. But I was too lazy to get up at dawn, so all I've got to show you is the mid-day and afternoon scenery....

Including Happy Traum at SUNY

New Paltz, NY

"The New Town Hall (German: Neues Rathaus) is a town hall on the Schlossplatz in Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. It hosts the city government including the city council, offices of the mayors and part of the administration. It was built between 1884 and 1887 by Georg von Hauberrisser in a Renaissance Revival architecture style. The basement is almost completely occupied by a restaurant called Ratskeller.

Wiesbaden (German pronunciation: [ˈviːsˌbaːdn̩]) is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. As of June 2020, it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area is home to approximately 560,000 people. Wiesbaden is the second-largest city in Hesse after Frankfurt am Main.

The city, together with nearby Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt, and Mainz, is part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region, a metropolitan area with a combined population of about 5.8 million people.

Wiesbaden is one of the oldest spa towns in Europe. Its name translates to "meadow baths", a reference to its famed hot springs. It is also internationally famous for its architecture and climate—it is also called the "Nice of the North" in reference to the city in France. At one time, Wiesbaden had 26 hot springs. As of 2008, fourteen of the springs are still flowing.

In 1970, the town hosted the tenth Hessentag Landesfest (English: Hessian Day, a state festival).

The city is considered the tenth richest in Germany (2014) boasting 110.3% of the national average gross domestic product in 2017. The average annual buying power per citizen is €24,783.

Rheingau is one of 13 designated German wine regions (Weinbaugebiete) producing quality wines (QbA and Prädikatswein). It was named after the traditional region of Rheingau (meaning "Rhine district"), the wine region is situated in the state of Hesse, where it constitutes part of the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis administrative district. Although, making up only 3 percent of the total German vineyard area, Rheingau has been the source of many historically important innovations in German wine making, and contains many wine producers of international reputation, such as Schloss Johannisberg. Rheingau, with 3,125 hectares (7,720 acres) of vineyards in 2016, also boasts a higher proportion of Riesling (77.7%) than any other German wine-growing region, with Spätburgunder (Pinot noir) making up most of the rest (12.2%), followed by Müller-Thurgau.

The geography of the Rheingau is very distinct. Around Wiesbaden, the river Rhine detours from its northward flow west for about 30 km before it flows north again. The greater part of the Rheingau is situated here on the river's right bank, but the region also includes the stretch along Rhine after it turns northward again, around the villages Assmannshausen and Lorch. The vineyards in Hochheim on the Main river are also included, just before it flows into Rhine. The Rheingau spans about 50 km from end to end. North of the Rheingau rises the Taunus mountain range, so most of the Rheingau's vineyards are on south-facing slope between hills and streams, which provides excellent wine-growing conditions in these northerly latitudes.

Since the Verona donation in 983, the Rheingau belonged to the archbishopric of Mainz. Legend has it that Charlemagne let the first vineyards be planted in the region, close to present-day Schloss Johannisberg. However finds like a Roman origin grapevine cutting knife point to even earlier cultivation. Better documented is the early influence of the church on Rheingau winemaking, which was controlled from Eberbach Abbey. Augustinians and Benedictines are known to have inhabited the area of the later abbey from 1116, and in 1135 the Cistercians arrived, sent out from Clairvaux. Legend has it that the Cistercians, which are also credited with having founded the wine industry in Burgundy, brought Pinot noir with them to Rheingau, although the earliest record of the grape variety in Rheingau is from 1470. The slopes down from the Taunus mountains belonging to Eberbach Abbey were planted as vineyards in the 12th century, and early in the 13th century the vineyards had reached their present area. In medieval times, more red than white wine was produced, usually as Gemischter Satz, i.e. the vineyards were planted with mixed varieties which were vinified together.

Rheingau Wine Official Classification of 1867

In 2011 it was unveiled, that the Official Wine Classification in the Rheingau has a 150 years history. The classification was the basis for taxation of wineries after the annexation of the Duchy of Nassau by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866. In the book Der nassauische Weinbau published in 1867 by Friedrich Wilhelm Dünkelberg a historical map Weinbau-Karte des nassauischen Rheingaus (Viticultural map of the Rheingau in the Duchy of Nassau), all known vineyards at that time had been marked up by colour, evaluated and classified in first class vineyards (I. Klasse), second class vineyards (II. Klasse) and the remaining vineyards." - info from Wikipedia.

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

Now on Instagram.

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Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Museums

The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani; Latin: Musea Vaticana) are Christian and art museums located within the city boundaries of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by popes throughout the centuries including several of the most renowned Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display, and currently employ 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments.

Pope Julius II founded the museums in the early 16th century. The Sistine Chapel, with its ceiling decorated by Michelangelo and the Stanze di Raffaello decorated by Raphael, are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums. In 2017, they were visited by 6 million people, which combined makes it the 5th most visited art museum in the world.

There are 54 galleries, or sale, in total, with the Sistine Chapel, notably, being the very last sala within the Museum. It is one of the largest museums in the world.

In 2017, the Museum's official website and social media presence was completely redone, in accord with current standards and appearances for modern websites.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome

Rome is the capital city and a special comune of Italy (named Comune di Roma Capitale). Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,872,800 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi), it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the fourth most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4,355,725 residents, thus making it the most populous metropolitan city in Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. The Vatican City (the smallest country in the world) is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.

Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded by some as the first ever metropolis. It was first called The Eternal City (Latin: Urbs Aeterna; Italian: La Città Eterna) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the "Caput Mundi" (Capital of the World). After the fall of the Western Empire, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Papacy, and in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. Beginning with the Renaissance, almost all the popes since Nicholas V (1447–1455) pursued over four hundred years a coherent architectural and urban programme aimed at making the city the artistic and cultural centre of the world. In this way, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city. In 1871, Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which, in 1946, became the Italian Republic.

Rome has the status of a global city. In 2016, Rome ranked as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The famous Vatican Museums are among the world's most visited museums while the Colosseum was the most popular tourist attraction in world with 7.4 million visitors in 2018. Host city for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome is the seat of several specialized agencies of the United Nations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The city also hosts the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as well as the headquarters of many international business companies such as Eni, Enel, TIM, Leonardo S.p.A., and national and international banks such as Unicredit and BNL. Its business district, called EUR, is the base of many companies involved in the oil industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and financial services. Rome is also an important fashion and design centre thanks to renowned international brands centered in the city. Rome's Cinecittà Studios have been the set of many Academy Award–winning movies.

Including a crescent moon over the Wettersteinspitze.

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© 2013 Anuj Nair. All rights reserved.

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Contact : www.anujnair.net

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© 2013 Anuj Nair. All rights reserved.

All images are the property of Anuj Nair.

Using these images without permission is in violation of

international copyright laws (633/41 DPR19/78-Disg 154/97-L.248/2000)

All materials may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished,

downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any forms or by

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without written permission of Anuj Nair.

Every violation will be pursued penally.

Mesh item

Including 3 different metal colors ( silver gold black )

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