View allAll Photos Tagged Intellection
In this image, Duncan Rawlinson brilliantly blurs the lines between photography and modern AI-powered image generation tools to produce a visually captivating portrayal of OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Rawlinson starts with his signature photographic method, leveraging his prowess in capturing the nuances of his subjects. His choice of the Phase One XF IQ4 150MP Camera ensures an unmatched level of detail, a testament to his commitment to quality.
From this photographic foundation, Rawlinson skillfully transitions to the digital art realm. The AI's "head" and its complex neural network are not captured through the lens, but through the precise and calculated application of AI image generation tools. These tools allow him to visualize an abstract concept like a neural network, converting it into tangible lines and nodes, interweaving through the AI's head.
The creation process is thus a symbiotic dance between high-resolution photography and AI-driven digital art. Rawlinson marries the tactile realism of photography with the boundless possibilities of AI-powered graphic design. The result is a unique hybrid image, demonstrating how AI can be used as an artistic tool to bring abstract concepts to life.
By creating the image in his signature style, Rawlinson adds a layer of artistic interpretation to the AI's representation. He invites the viewer to appreciate not only the AI's intricate complexity but also the novel way in which traditional photography can be elevated by modern AI tools. This image stands as a testament to the intersection of art, technology, and human creativity.
Born with a chemical mutation that enhanced his intellect to superhuman levels but cursed with chronic, neurological pain, Tony Stark is a tireless genius. Among the most brilliant of the amazing technologies he has developed is the powered armor the world knows as IRON MAN. As the invincible crime-fighter he fills the triple role of Billionaire industrialist, head of security for Stark International and founding member of the worldwide crime fighting enterprise the ULTIMATES. Despite all this, he remains plagued by personal demons, for within the armour that grants him his incredible strength he is a man like any other and more haunted than most!
“There is a road from the eye to heart that does not go through the intellect.”
~ G. K. Chesterton
We went up the hollow to Patty n George's to see the new baby. He just appeared at the doorway Friday morning. Sassy is thrilled to have a new baby ... Sadie could care less... and the other two cats are not all that happy...
What a face, and he is 'name-less' still.
Wanna help think up a name for him, any suggestions ?
He has an M marking on his face, maybe a name that starts with "M"...
St Oswald, Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
Carrara marble monument to Penelope Boothby (1785-1791).
Daughter of Sir Brooke Boothby, Baronet & his wife Susannah.
By Thomas Banks (1735-1805), 1793.
The inscription is in four different languages - English, Latin, French & Italian, all of which Penelope spoke.
"She was in form and intellect most exquisite. The unfortunate parents ventured their all on this frail bark and the wreck was total.”
Thomas Banks (1735-1805) was apprenticed to a London mason, but also spent time working alongside the sculptor Peter Scheemakers (1691-1781). He enrolled in the life classes held at the St Martin's Lane Academy, and later at the Royal Academy Schools. In 1772 he became the first sculptor to win the Royal Academy's three-year travelling stipend, and went with his wife to Rome, where he eventually spent seven years. He specialised in ideal works, most of which were executed in Rome for British patrons, although he continued to produce similar work after his return to London. He was made a Royal Academician in 1786. Banks was one of the most original British Neo-classical sculptors, who dedicated his work to the antique spirit rather than to the fashionable classical style alone.
See also for more information:-
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope_Boothby
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Brooke_Boothby,_6th_Baronet
St Oswald’s Church, Ashbourne
Grade I Listed
Early foundation. Present church is mainly Early English from circa 1220 but a few remnants of earlier Norman work survive and a Saxon cross shaft (part) in the south aisle. The church is believed to stand on the site of a pagan holy well, now thought to be concealed beneath tyre crossing. The tower and spire circa 1330. The spire, which has been rebuilt several times, has a height of 215ft. Perpendicular additions and alterations circa 1520. The battlements to the chancel were added by Sir G G Scott in 1878 and the church was restored by Cottingham earlier in the C19. Some fine monuments from C14, of which the most famous is probably the figure of Penelope Boothby 1791, by Thomas Banks. Some mediaeval glass remains. In 1644, the church was fired on by Parliamentarians and the marks are still visible in the west wall.
Nos 38, 40 and 72, together with Pegg's Almshouses, Owlfield's Almhouses, The Mansion, the Summerhouse and the cobbled pavements form a group with the parish Church of St Oswald and the churchyard gate piers, gates and walls.
Listing NGR: SK1763146443
One of the first, & probably the most prominent of the pioneer settlers of this country, was the subject of this sketch. He was a Virginian by birth, but emigrated to Kentucky at a very early date, where he remained until the spring of 1815. At that time he removed further west, & settled, at what was then a small French Village-now the great city of St. Louis, Missouri. Possessed of a clear & vigorous intellect, great energy of character, a generous nature, & a remarkably fine physical constitution, Mr. Bates soon distinguished himself among the inhabitants of the village of St. Louis, Missouri. Possessed of a clear & vigorous intellect, great energy of character, a generous nature, & a remarkably fine physical constitution, Mr. Bates soon distinguished himself among the inhabitants of the village of St. Louis. As a mark of their confidence & respect they elected him, unsolicited, sheriff of St. Louis county. He was the first native born citizen of the United States who had ever been here accorded so great distinction. Being spirited & industrious, Mr. Bates resigned the subaltern duties of the office, & engaged in the lumber business on an extensive scale, being the first person who ever engaged in that industry in St. Louis. Under his supervision many of the finest buildings which adorned St. Louis were constructed.
Endowed with penetrating discernment, Mr. Bates perceived the advantage of pushing forward toward the upper Mississippi, where there were then but few settlers. Purchasing a keel-boat, he loaded it with goods, & went up the "Father of Waters" to Galena, Illinois, where he, in conjunction with a nephew, David G. Bates, established a lead-smelting furnace.
For several years Mr. Bates made voyages up & down the river. The site where the thrifty & prosperous city of Hannibal now stands, early attracted his attention as a point likely to concentrate the trade of this locality. So he determined to lay off a town here, & in connection with Gen. Rector, began, in 1819, to clear up & locate its boundaries, cutting away brush & undergrowth with his own hand, in the course of establishing the future great city of the upper Mississippi. Here Mt. Bates opened a store-house. The Indians were at this time quite trouble-some & sometimes he & his associates found it necessary to resort to fire arms for defense.
Mr. Bates brought from St. Louis a large assortment of dry goods & groceries & became the first merchant of the new town. In the meantime Missouri had thrown off her territorial effeminacy, & became a member of the great & growing North American confederacy of States. This all engendered great political & personal strife among those citizens ambitious of distinction & fame. Mr. Bates had but little relish for political dissension, & was often called upon to interfere with & adjust controversies growing out of this cause, for which he seemed to possess a happy faculty. He never instigated any trouble, but bore a conspicuous part as pacificator.
About this time Col. John Miller, subsequently Governor of Missouri, & for many years member of Congress from this State, formed a partnership with Mr. Bates for the purpose of speculating in government lands. They brought up some of the best tracts in this section of the country. Mr. Bates was always noted for his energy & industry, & he was largely instrumental in advancing the interest of the State, & particularly of Marion County. He was a useful citizen, a sincere friend, benevolent, just to all men, & an affectionate husband & father. He died very suddenly, at the present residence of his son, Moses D. Bates, Jr., in Miller township, in Marion County, August 18, 1857, yet still lives in the memory of the people as a good & honest man. His widow, Martha (Gash) Bates, to whom he was married February 22, 1821, is now living in Marion County.
I name Nelson Mandela as “Man of the Past Century” because he is still the most energetic intellect on earth.
In a television broadcast late 1990s, BBC commentator, Brian Walden argued that Nelson Mandela, "perhaps the most generally admired figure of our age, falls short of the giants of the past." Mandela himself argues, "I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances." Clearly, a changing world demands redefinition of old concepts.
In the revolution led by Mandela to transform a model of racial division and oppression into an open democracy, he demonstrated that he didn't flinch from taking up arms, but his real qualities came to the fore after his time as an activist - during his 27 years in prison and in the eight years since his release, when he had to negotiate the challenge of turning a myth into a man.
Rolihlahla Mandela was born deep in the black homeland of Transkei on July 18, 1918. His first name could interpret, prophetically, as "troublemaker." The Nelson was added later, by a primary school teacher with delusions of imperial splendour.
Mandela's boyhood was peaceful enough, spent on cattle herding and other rural pursuits, until the death of his father landed him in the care of a powerful relative, the acting regent of the Thembu people. However, it was only after he left the missionary College of Fort Hare, where he had become involved in student protests against the white colonial rule of the institution, which he set out on the long walk toward personal and national liberation.
Having run away from his guardian to avoid an arranged marriage, he joined a law firm in Johannesburg as an apprentice. Years of daily exposure to the inhumanities of apartheid, where being black reduced one to the status of a nonperson, kindled in him a kind of absurd courage to change the world. It meant that instead of the easy life in a rural setting he'd been brought up for, or even a modest measure of success as a lawyer, his only future certainties would be sacrifice and suffering, with little hope of success in a country in which centuries of colonial rule had concentrated all political and military power, all access to education, and most of the wealth in the hands of the white minority. The classic conditions for a successful revolution were almost wholly absent: the great mass of have-nots had humbled into docile collusion, the geographic expanse of the country hampered communication and mobility, and the prospects of a race war were not only unrealistic but also horrendous.
In these circumstances, Mandela opted for non-violence as a strategy. He join the Youth League of the African National Congress and became involved in programs of passive resistance against the laws that forced blacks to carry passes and kept them in a position of permanent servility.
Exasperated, the government mounted a massive treason trial against its main opponents, Mandela among them. It dragged on for five years, until 1961, ending in the acquittal of all 156 accused. However, by that time, the country had convulsed by the massacre of peaceful black demonstrators at Sharpeville in March 1960, and the government was intent on crushing all opposition. Most liberation movements, including the A.N.C. banned. Earning a reputation as the Black Pimpernel, Mandela went underground for more than a year and travelled abroad to enlist support for the A.N.C.
Soon after Mandela’s return, government arrested him and sentenced to imprisonment in Robben Island for five years; within months, practically all the leaders of the A.N.C. arrested. Mandela was hauled from prison to face with them an almost certain death sentence. His statement from the dock was destined to smoulder in the homes and servant quarters, the shacks and shebeens and huts and hovels of the oppressed, and to burn in the conscience of the world: "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal, which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
Without any attempt to find a legal way out, Mandela assumed his full responsibility. This conferred a new status of moral dignity on his leadership, which became evident from the moment he returned to Robben Island. Even on his first arrival, two years before, he had set an example by refusing to obey an order to jog from the harbour, where the ferry docked, to the prison gates. The warden in charge warned him bluntly that unless he started obeying, he might quite simply be killed and that no one on the mainland would ever be the wiser. Whereupon Mandela quietly retorted, "If you so much as lay a hand on me, I will take you to the highest court in the land, and when I finish with you, you will be as poor as a church mouse." Amazingly, the warden backed off. "Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose," Mandela later wrote in notes smuggled out by friends.
His major response to the indignities of the prison was a creative denial of victimhood, expressed most remarkably by a system of self-education, which earned the prison the appellation of "Island University." As the prisoners left their cells in the morning to toil in the extremes of summer and winter, buffeted by the merciless southeaster or broiled by the African sun (whose glare in the limestone quarry permanently impaired Mandela's vision), each team assigned an instructor - in history, economics, politics, philosophy, whatever. Previously barren recreation hours filled with cultural activities, and Mandela recalls with pride his acting in the role of Creon in Sophocles' Antigone.
After more than two decades in prison, confident that on some crucial issues a leader must make decisions on his own, Mandela decided on a new approach. And after painstaking preliminaries, the most famous prisoner in the world escorted, in the greatest secrecy, to the State President's office to start negotiating not only his own release but also the nation's transition from apartheid to democracy. On February 02, 1990, President F.W. de Klerk lifted the ban on the A.N.C. and announced Mandela's imminent release.
Then began the real test. Every inch of the way, Mandela had to win the support of his own followers. More difficult still was the process of allaying white fears. But the patience, the wisdom, the visionary quality Mandela brought to his struggle, and above all the moral integrity with which he set about to unify a divided people, resulted in the country's first democratic elections and his selection as President.
The road since then has not been easy. Tormented by the scandals that pursued his wife Winnie, from whom he finally parted; plagued by corruption among his followers; dogged by worries about delivering on programs of job creation and housing in a country devastated by white greed, he has become a sadder, wiser man.
In the process he has undeniably made mistakes, based on a stubborn belief in himself. Yet his stature and integrity remain such that these failings tend to enhance rather than diminish his humanity. Camus once said one man's chains imply that we are all enslaved; Mandela proves through his own example that faith, hope and charity are qualities attainable by humanity as a whole. Through his willingness to walk the road of sacrifice, he has reaffirmed our common potential to move toward a new age.
And he is not deluded by the adulation of the world. Asked to comment on the BBC's unflattering verdict on his performance as a leader, Mandela said with a smile, "It helps to make you human."
Source of article : www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/mandela.html
Tesla design models have influenced our intellects with clean power, high safety ratings and a wide array of 21st century technologies. Tesla, the purveyor of premium electric cars utilizes supercar acceleration and cat-like reflexes to also appeal to our lust for power and the primal urge to control and direct it. The Model 3 will begin pricing at $35,000 which is roughly half the cost of a base Model S. The base car will accelerate 0-60 mph in less than 6 seconds, enjoys an electric range of at least 215 miles per charge, seats five comfortably and provides storage from front and rear trunks. Expect deliveries yearend 2017.
Tesla design models have influenced our intellects with clean power, high safety ratings and a wide array of 21st century technologies. Tesla, the purveyor of premium electric cars utilizes supercar acceleration and cat-like reflexes to also appeal to our lust for power and the primal urge to control and direct it. The Model 3 will begin pricing at $35,000 which is roughly half the cost of a base Model S. The base car will accelerate 0-60 mph in less than 6 seconds, enjoys an electric range of at least 215 miles per charge, seats five comfortably and provides storage from front and rear trunks. Expect deliveries yearend 2017.
Featured Image from Rwanda Photobook.
www.Chancenkosigomez.com/photobooks
Rwandan people are of Hutu and Tutsi Tribes. They are quite peaceful and keen to foreigners.
Fuji X-T4 / Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8
ARTIST STATEMENT
I traveled to Africa to capture images that would speak for themselves. This container of photographs might say, “This is Rwanda” or something totally indifferent. Motoring through Kigali I was presented with city, farmland and quiet villages. I can tell you that by the time my trip was over I was convinced that this country is a happening place. Today I’m thrilled to share my experience and visual narrative with you. (May, 2019)
Nkosi.artiste@gmail.com
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Chance Nkosi Gomez known initiated by H.H Swami Jyotirmayanda as Sri Govinda walks an integral yogic path in which photography is the primary creative field of expression. The medium was introduced during sophomore year of high school by educator Dr. Devin Marsh of Robert Morgan Educational Center. Coming into alignment with light, its nature and articulating the camera was the focus during that time. Thereafter while completing a Photographic Technology Degree, the realization of what made an image “striking” came to the foreground of the inner dialogue. These college years brought forth major absorption and reflection as an apprentice to photographer and educator Tony A. Chirinos of Miami Dade College. The process of working towards a singular idea of interest and thus building a series became the heading from here on while the camera aided in cultivating an adherence to the present moment. The viewfinder resembles a doorway to the unified field of consciousness in which line, shape, form, color, value, texture all dissolve. It is here that the yogi is reminded of sat-chit-ananda (the supreme reality as all-pervading; pure consciousness). As of May 2024 Govinda has completed his 300hr yoga teacher training program at Sattva Yoga Academy studying from Master Yogi Anand Mehrotra in Rishikesh, India, Himalayas. This has strengthened his personal Sadhana and allows one to carry and share ancient Vedic Technology leading others in ultimately directing their intellect to bloom into intuition. As awareness and self-realization grows so does the imagery that is all at once divine in the mastery of capturing and controlling light. Over the last seven years he has self-published six photographic books, Follow me i’ll be right behind you (2017), Sonata - Minimal Study (2018), Birds Singing Lies (2018), Rwanda (2019), Where does the body begin? (2019) & Swayam Jyotis (2023). Currently, Govinda is employed at the Leica Store Miami as a camera specialist and starting his journey as a practitioner of yoga ॐ
The insidious Kaldane scheme to become the Ultimate Intellect. They have bread the headless, mindless Rykor to act as their bodies.
Postcard Intellect | Flickr | Twitter | Vimeo | Instagram | 500px | SmugMug
Today I took some more pictures - or more correctly, I forced Adriana to take some pictures of me with Isabella. This was taken with two flashes, truth be told I'm not much of a strobist but this picture turned out as well as I could have hoped it would. It's hard to believe someday she'll be all grown up.
Steel City Hobbies sponsors the 2008 Snowbird Nationals again this year, but with a twist. Owner of SCH, Michael Rooney, has been producing the video portion of the Snowbirds for the last four years. Last year as well as this year have been production shoots for a documentary on R/C Car Carpet racing called "Carpet Racers". The film is slated to be release sometime mid to late 2008. For more information with pictures and captions, check out www.steelcityhobbies.com.
In this image, Duncan Rawlinson brilliantly blurs the lines between photography and modern AI-powered image generation tools to produce a visually captivating portrayal of OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Rawlinson starts with his signature photographic method, leveraging his prowess in capturing the nuances of his subjects. His choice of the Phase One XF IQ4 150MP Camera ensures an unmatched level of detail, a testament to his commitment to quality.
From this photographic foundation, Rawlinson skillfully transitions to the digital art realm. The AI's "head" and its complex neural network are not captured through the lens, but through the precise and calculated application of AI image generation tools. These tools allow him to visualize an abstract concept like a neural network, converting it into tangible lines and nodes, interweaving through the AI's head.
The creation process is thus a symbiotic dance between high-resolution photography and AI-driven digital art. Rawlinson marries the tactile realism of photography with the boundless possibilities of AI-powered graphic design. The result is a unique hybrid image, demonstrating how AI can be used as an artistic tool to bring abstract concepts to life.
By creating the image in his signature style, Rawlinson adds a layer of artistic interpretation to the AI's representation. He invites the viewer to appreciate not only the AI's intricate complexity but also the novel way in which traditional photography can be elevated by modern AI tools. This image stands as a testament to the intersection of art, technology, and human creativity.
For more information on our visit to Kiev and to learn how to take pictures like these, please visit Postcard Intellect
"Intellect distinguishes between the possible and the impossible; reason distinguishes between the sensible and the senseless. Even the possible can be senseless." -Max Born
For more information on our visit to Kiev and to learn how to take pictures like these, please visit Postcard Intellect
Breast Cancer is a group of cancer cell that starts in the cells of the breast. Get the basic information about breast cancer in this video.
For more information about medical animation, visit our website - bit.ly/2kmI72P
Roberto Matta Eschaurren (Matta)
French, born Chile, 1911 - 2002
Let's Phosphoresce by Intellection II (detail)
ca. 1950
Lord Ganesha is the god of beginnings, knowledge, wisdom, intellect and eradicator of obstacles. Lord Ganesha is the child of lord Shiva and goddess Parvati. He is the elder brother of lord Kartikay (Skanda/ Murugana). Ganesha is the most extensively worshipped god in Hindu way of life. Each sort of worship whether tantric or spiritual starts with the prayers of Ganesha in Hinduism as he is known as the eradicator of obstacles (Vighneshawar). He is worshipped in the starting of any propitious event for blessings and hassle-free work. Lord Ganesha is invoked as the "Patron of Letters" at the beginning of any writing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_4v-29as-w
If .... Joni Mitchell
If you can think
And not make intellect your game ...
Please visit his art ( MIO CADE )
Your intellect will rescede
You heart will grow
IF,
you do
g
Tesla design models have influenced our intellects with clean power, high safety ratings and a wide array of 21st century technologies. Tesla, the purveyor of premium electric cars utilizes supercar acceleration and cat-like reflexes to also appeal to our lust for power and the primal urge to control and direct it. The Model 3 will begin pricing at $35,000 which is roughly half the cost of a base Model S. The base car will accelerate 0-60 mph in less than 6 seconds, enjoys an electric range of at least 215 miles per charge, seats five comfortably and provides storage from front and rear trunks. Expect deliveries yearend 2017.
Taken on our brief weekend trip to Tunisia. For more info on these pics and how they were captured, please check out Postcard Intellect
Ganesh is the Hindu god with an elephant's head. He's the god of intellect and wisdom. He has only one full tusk; the other is broken from a fight he had with the legendary figure Parasuram. Ganesh is sitting in the lotus position.
"Thought is the labor of the intellect, reverie is its pleasure" - Victor Hugo
Muchas veces mi mente sale a pasear. Alguna vez trae de vuelta fotos.
Textura: TBCP
Pare el grupo: Me, my camera and... {arglyle}
Y también para: La vuelta al mundo... {algo acerca de mí}
Enero, 2012
Sri Medha Ganapathy Homam
Who is Sri Medha Ganapathi?
Sri Medha Ganapathi is divine form of Lord Ganesha and He appears with broken tusk. The term Medha means ‘intellect’ or ‘broken tusk’. Sri Medha Ganapathi appears as chatur-buja (four armed) with noose, for protection of devotees, goad for pulling devotees in spiritual path, a broken tusk and with modhaka (a favorite sweet dish). In this form, Sri Medha Ganapathi have His broken tusk, represents one point focus or concentration on education. His other hand holds Modhaka represents the desired result and sweet bliss of Godhead.
His mount is rat (an animal which constantly eats and restless), which represents uncontrolled (materialistic) desires (senses). The plate full of sweets in front of Him, aside of rat (muushika), represents the result (spiritual bliss) if one controls his senses.
Why Sri Medha Ganapathi Homam?
Sri Medha Ganapathi Homam bestows good concentration in studies and to achieve success. Wavering mind is controlled and give one point focus in education or spirituality. This Homam is well suited for poor or average students to improve their memory and understanding. Sri Medha Ganapathi Homam is also significantly works for one who want spiritual knowledge and to control their senses.
Sri Medha Ganapathi Homam gives devotees, the knowledge to understand what are good things and bad things? Sri Medha Ganapathi protects devotees from being cheated by others, financially and in other manners. He makes you to understand and to get the complete knowledge about the job or subject of task, taken.
Benefits and Significance
Sri Medha Ganapathi Homam helps students to get distinction in education, by improved concentration and memory. It also helps devotees to gain spiritual knowledge, to gain control over their senses. Also Sri Medha Ganapathi gives us all clear knowledge to classify good and bad things in the world. He also protects us from getting cheated by other in any manners.
Assistance from Vedic Folks
We at Vedic Folks are proud to possess the most authoritative experts who have the knowledge and ease to invoke these powerful radiations of Sri Medha Ganapathi, who can give one point focus in education, gives spiritual knowledge and protects us from getting cheated
Vedic Folks Recommends…
Even though there are fixed timings to conduct such Homas, your horoscope will be analyzed by our Vedic Astrologers, according to which the time slots are arranged.
Watch your Homam on LIVE VF TV in this page after booking :
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The Ashlars - Author Unknown
We are told that the Ashlars lie open in the lodge for the brethren to moralize on. Did you ever see a brother contemplating the Ashlars and trying to derive some moral benefit from them? For the most part they are quickly referred to and just as quickly forgotten. The Ashlar is the freestone as it comes from the quarry. The Rough Ashlar is the stone in its rude and natural state and is emblematic of man in his natural state – ignorant, uncultivated and vicious. But when education has exerted it’s wholesome influence in expanding his intellect, restraining his passions and purifying his life, he then is represented by the Perfect Ashlar which, under the skillful hands of workman, has been smoothed and squared and fitted for its place in the building.
However, you will observe that the Rough Ashlar in a Masonic Lodge is not in its rude or natural state. It has been squared in a fashion, partially smoothed and has apparent strength and solidarity. It possesses all the qualities that could make it a perfect stone for use in the construction of the Temple, but it needs the hands and skill of the perfect Craftsman to bring about that result. It represents the candidate for membership in a Masonic Lodge. Such an applicant is not in his rude or natural state, neither ignorant, uncultivated nor vicious.
Masonry does not accept men of such qualifications. The applicant by education and perseverance has fitted himself as a respectable man in his community, assuming full responsibility as a citizen, a churchman and a member of his family. There is a vast number of men in every community possessing such qualifications who are not members of a Masonic Lodge, and may never have the desire to associate themselves with the Ancient Craft.
A man judges Masonry by the actions and manner of living of those he knows are members of the Order, but knows little or nothing of its teachings or objectives in the building of character. In that sense, he is in the crude state of the rough Ashlar, possessing all the qualities or perfect material, but lacking the polish that comes from a continued study and practice of the great teachings of Masonry.
Membership in a lodge does not make a man a Mason. He must apply his abilities to improving all in him that falls short of that high standard set by Masonry in character and citizen building. If he is satisfied with being a Master Mason in name only, he loses the benefits of further advancement and improvement offered by membership in the Order. In other words, he falls far short of anything that might be termed the Perfect Ashlar.
The Perfect Ashlar is for the more expert Craftsman to try and adjust his jewels on. In ancient times, with crude tools that would not even be used in this age, workmen of great skill and experience produced material for the construction of the Temple having such perfection that each piece fitted perfectly into its place without adjustment or correction. Time was not one of the essential factors; perfection was the goal.
To keep this state of perfection in absolute balance, a standard must have been set whereby the workmen could constantly test their tools to know that continued wear and use had not changed the measurements; even in the slightest degree. Did they have a Perfect Ashlar on which to make such a test?
We are told that the Perfect Ashlar is for the more expert workmen to “try” and adjust their tools on. In Masonry, we are the workmen, whether we be active or inactive, workers or drones. What are our “jewels”, our most prized possession? If we have absorbed any of the teachings Masonry, the building of character and a Christian way of life are two of the many jewels that should constantly be before us. And in the building of that state of perfection to which we attain, what Perfect Ashlar have we that we might go to and “try” the tools with which we have been working, to know that they are still of fine quality and in perfect condition for the job that lies before us.
In every Masonic Lodge there rests on the Altar in the center of the room the V.O.T.S.L. It is the solid foundation upon which Masonry in our lives is built. It never changes. Civilizations may come and go, but the Book of Books remains the same, adaptable to all conditions and manner of men, in good times and bad, in peace or war, a guide for mankind.
How often do we consult this Guide to try and adjust the jewels which are ours and which may need to be altered to get them back to that state of perfection which we as Masons should endeavor at all times to hold as our standard way of life? I am afraid that in this busy world of today, we neglect this practice. Therefore, as we think of the Ashlars and try to do a little moralizing, let us forget, even for a brief period, the material things in our lives, and direct our thoughts to the more important duty of contemplating our own defects and shortcomings, and adjusting our way of life and bringing it more in harmony with that standard given us by the Great Creator in the V.O.T.S.L.
The Ashlars are not just two pieces of stone. They represent what we have been and what we hope to be. It is up to each individual Mason to pass his own judgment on himself and to adjust his jewels accordingly, so that when the time comes and he lays down his tools and makes the final journey to the Grand Lodge Above, he may leave behind a reputation as a wise counselor, a pillar of strength and stability, a Perfect Ashlar on which younger Masons may test the correctness and value of their own contribution to the Masonic order.
Manufacturer: Grenadier
Line: Official AD&D "Solid Gold" line
Set: Dwellers Below
Catalog title: Intellect Devourer
Catalog #: 2012B
Release date: 1980
Painter: Spooktalker
Date painted: 2009
Without the intellect needed to complete the Rubix Cube I quickly learnt the art of how to take it apart and put it back together again in the correct order.
I found this today while cleaning up. It's an original from the seventies and it was all mixed up. Looks like taking Rubix Cubes apart is just like riding a bike...it was easy to complete!
The Acropolis, the Propylaea, and the Parthenon. Mars Hill where Paul debated with the intellect of the day. The Ruins of Agora, the ancient market place and center of Athenian public life. Corinth, Archaeological Museum, the Market Place, and Temples.