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I've been inventing mostly.... This is made from a photo I took when I was in India in 2012. I'm a prime offender of taking stacks of photos (some awesome, some better left unmentioned) and then never doing anything with them. Well, times they are a changing... and the moment I finished uni I became bored and overstimulated by under stimulation (it makes sense I swear)
I think its got some fancy pants about it, some colors... working on my 3D deceptions, made a circle, its all coming together lol
WARNING: Wild white shapes appears!
Well, there comes a pack of some parts I made during the time for some of my AKs. Now I'm releasing codes for the parts, that, I think, aren't bad created and might be useful. Some things are inspired by really existing accessory for AK, most of them I guess is invented by myself. Hope you will like it and use it!
Credits:
Bowlingdude47 for letters
Shockwave for trigger
I guess it's all, but it is possible that I forgot to mentioned someone, how I said, it was making during many months :)
Codes:
AK gas tube ris - pastebin.com/q1Z4YusJ
AK hg romanian stubby - pastebin.com/U13U7a0m
AK hg romanian - pastebin.com/sEi4rd0M
AK receiver 74 - pastebin.com/3pvcUBsG
AK receiver KWA type - pastebin.com/3aRH66zd
AK receiver Saiga 12 - pastebin.com/QmtdZCFU
Grips - black and brown AK74 - pastebin.com/hepagxGw
Grip - ergonomical - pastebin.com/TFSiwTgs
Mag - tan and grey short 5.45 - pastebin.com/JQYu7QQJ
Mag - tan RPK - pastebin.com/w508JkwB
Selectors - pastebin.com/pih9NdK9
Sights front - pastebin.com/skwz2FF1
Sighst rear - pastebin.com/4wCbB2a3
Sights RIS - pastebin.com/CzBp4iw5
[ Dos científicos de la Universidad de Nueva York acaban de inventar el alzhéimer, que viene a ser como descubrir la gasolina. Por lo visto, son capaces de borrar de la memoria los malos recuerdos, no hemos comprendido muy bien cómo. Lo importante es que vas a consulta, pides que te borren la Guerra Civil española de la cabeza y te la borran. Quien dice la Guerra Civil española, dice el armario de tres cuerpos de la habitación de tus padres, la adolescencia entera, la primera pálida o el último gatillazo. La limpieza dura un año, por lo que albergamos dudas acerca de si se trata de un borrado auténtico o de una represión. Tampoco hemos entendido cómo eliminan las bisagras que articulan los malos recuerdos con los buenos. En la oración gramatical "no hay mal que por bien no venga", resulta difícil, por ejemplo, separar el mal sin cargarse el bien. Los malos recuerdos crean, con los buenos, alianzas sintácticas de complicado desmontaje.
Quizá sea posible eliminar los malos recuerdos, pero ya me dirán por dónde cortar para que no se venga abajo el tinglado entero.]
The Enigma machine was invented by a German engineer Arthur Scherbius shortly after WW1
The machine (of which a number of varying types were produced) resembled a typewriter. It had a lamp board above the keys with a lamp for each letter. The operator pressed the key for the plaintext letter of the message and the enciphered letter lit up on the lamp board. It was adopted by the German armed forces between 1926 and 1935. The machine contained a series of interchangeable rotors, which rotated every time a key was pressed to keep the cipher changing continuously. This was combined with a plug board on the front of the machine where pairs of letters were transposed, these two systems combined offered 159 million million million possible settings to choose from, which the Germans believed made Enigma unbreakable.
The Poles had broken Enigma in as early as 1932, but in 1939 with the prospect of war, the Poles decided to inform the British of their successes. Dilly Knox, one of the former British World War One Codebreakers, was convinced he could break the system and set up an Enigma Research Section, comprising himself and Tony Kendrick, later joined by Peter Twinn, Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman. They worked in the stable yard at Bletchley Park and that is where the first wartime Enigma messages were broken in January 1940. Enigma traffic continued to be broken routinely at Bletchley Park for the remainder of the war. www.bletchleypark.org.uk/our-story/the-challenge/enigma
Ask around what are the two most iconic symbols of Gothic architecture and art, and the answer will likely be: stained glass windows and rib vaulting.
In both cases, that answer will be wrong: those wonders, on which Gothic cathedrals built their worldwide reputation, are... Romanesque! And they were not just invented and barely tested at the time of Romanesque, they were actually implemented again and again, and perfected along the way over at least one century before Gothic happened. Much more than the definitive breaking point it is often purported to be, the advent of the Gothic was much more a smooth and slow transition, largely calling upon concepts, methods and techniques created and improved during Romanesque times.
As regards stained glass, the oldest still in place is the Ascension Window in the Le Mans Cathedral, which could be as old as Year 1100, possibly 1120–40. The windows in the Augsburg Cathedral in Germany also have a strong claim to the title of oldest Romanesque stained glass window. I hope to be able to photograph all of them some day.
Now, and coming back to our main subject, the rib vaulting (in French: voûte sur croisée d’ogives, or more simply voûte d’ogives), experts agree that, even before the cathedral of Durham in England, it was first experimented in the abbey church of Lessay in Normandy, which stands in the Cotentin peninsula, today the département of Manche. This new, revolutionary vaulting system could be as old as 1090, at least for the apse, choir and transept. Let us remember that this was also the time when other Benedictine monks, in Burgundy, were experimenting the “broken”, or “pointy” Romanesque arch in the Cluny II abbey church, on which construction began in 1088.
The beginning of the nave is also very old, as will be explained below. Its western part may have been built a few decades later, around 1130–40 —but even so, at that time we are still fully within the Romanesque Age, which did not come to an end until 1200 at the earliest —and of course such a clean cutoff date is only symbolic and does not correspond to any actual reality.
The abbey church of Lessay was miraculously saved in the 1950s by Yves-Marie Froidevaux, Chief Architect of Historic Landmarks, after it was severely damaged by the mines detonated by the Nazi army before it retreated after the D-Day landing of June 1944. The restoration Froidevaux carried out, re-using most of the old stones wherever it was possible, today remains an example of a successful and respectful restoration.
Dedicated to the Holy Trinity, this church may look less impressive from the outside than the one in Cerisy, of which I uploaded photos a few days ago. Its apparel is mostly of local shale stones. The cut stones are limestone from Yvetot-Bocage near Valognes, a stone of a lesser quality compared to the famous pierre de Caen, which is also used here, but quite sparsely. Prima facie, this vast church offers more similarities with the humble parochial ones to be found locally in the Cotentin, than with “the great monastic architecture”, as Lucien Musset calls it in the Normandie romane book published by Zodiaque.
As you step inside, however, the architectural and religious message resonates with all its majesty and might. Contrary to Cerisy, this nave retains all of its rows; its perfect proportions are ample, elegant and powerful. They fascinate the first-time visitor.
In the oldest rows of the nave, toward the transept, the ribs fall on “nothing”, for lack of a base or an engaged column to receive them. Such an approximation denotes an incomplete concept, enthusiastically adopted but not yet fully developed.
However remarkable and iconic it may be, owing to the very first use of rib vaulting in human history, the abbey church of Lessay fails to satisfy the lovers of Romanesque sculpture, which is almost absent. This does not come as a surprise in a Norman Romanesque church. Some capitals are sculpted, but they are often the most distant, way up high at triforium level, and the other are only prepared for sculpting, rarely decorated with hooks or gadroons.
One last lengthwise view of the nave, with the first ever rib-vaulted roof that made it famous.
They were invented by the Reverend Jonathan Scobie, an American Baptist minister living in Yokohama, Japan. The first model was built in 1869 in order to transport his handicapped wife. Today it remains as one of the most important modes of transportation in Pakistan used for traveling short distances within cities.
One of the major brands of auto rickshaws is Vespa (an Italian Company). Environment Canada is implementing pilot projects in Lahore, Karachi and Quetta with engine technology developed in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada that uses compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of gasoline in the two-stroke engines, in an effort to combat environmental pollution.
In many cities in Pakistan, there are also motorcycle rickshaws, usually called chand gari (moon car) or qingqi (after the Chinese company who first introduced these to the market).
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Auto rickshaws are locally known as "Tuk Tuk".
It is a cute little ride.It is so small and compact that when ur sitting in it ur knees are actually touching your chin. And u will be amazed to see the number of ppl which can fit in this small thing. They got their name from the sound they make which is “tuk..tuk..tuk tuk….”
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Visit the following link if you're interested to know more about it; this guy has done a good research on them:
pakistaniat.com/2007/08/22/guest-post-pictures-of-the-day...
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8/60...Thank you every1 for your nicest comments and fave!! ..Always come back.:))
Disney didn't invent Cinderella. Her story is at least 2,000 years old but this is a twisted fairy tails for modern day life..
Having worked her fingers to the bone with a reward of a posh frock glass shoes and a ticket to a party beyond all parties, cindy met a prince, only to rush off to meet her curfew... What was worse was loosing one of her stunning shoes.. Found by the prince and handed to her on an invitage to instant riches and marrage, cinders decided to date and marry the shoe maker, such a worthy creative man, perfect for a Shoeaholic
ai&gimp creation
My second entry for Febrovery
Here have I invented (I have not searched for it anywhere) new wheels technique.
jejjejejjee... me acabo de inventar una nueva especie de camelia!!!!
Está un poco chuchurría porque ya había caído del árbol y cayó, justo, en ese estanque... y llovía...
Me vais a permitir que haga un regalo con ella... para la persona que todos los que le seguimos llamamos ya "el rey de las camelias". Las fotografía como nadie, nos regala todos los días una o dos o tres y, además, le sonríen!!!!!! je.
Juan... juantiagues... espero que te guste aunque... regalarte a ti una camelia es como regalarle una monedita de oro al rey Midas... jejejjee... yyyyyy... lo siento perooooooo... tienes que compartir el regalo... aunque estoy segura que no te importará...
Alex V. Palacios (www.flickr.com/photos/alexvpalacios/6651818497/) es un pintor maravilloso... pinta las camelias con una belleza que, la mayoría de las veces, supera el original y... además... es un encanto y todo un caballero!!!!! Espero que te guste también Alex...
Espero que os guste a todos...
BESOSSSSSS...
The Enigma machine was invented by a German engineer Arthur Scherbius shortly after WW1
The machine (of which a number of varying types were produced) resembled a typewriter. It had a lamp board above the keys with a lamp for each letter. The operator pressed the key for the plaintext letter of the message and the enciphered letter lit up on the lamp board. It was adopted by the German armed forces between 1926 and 1935. The machine contained a series of interchangeable rotors, which rotated every time a key was pressed to keep the cipher changing continuously. This was combined with a plug board on the front of the machine where pairs of letters were transposed, these two systems combined offered 159 million million million possible settings to choose from, which the Germans believed made Enigma unbreakable.
The Poles had broken Enigma in as early as 1932, but in 1939 with the prospect of war, the Poles decided to inform the British of their successes. Dilly Knox, one of the former British World War One Codebreakers, was convinced he could break the system and set up an Enigma Research Section, comprising himself and Tony Kendrick, later joined by Peter Twinn, Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman. They worked in the stable yard at Bletchley Park and that is where the first wartime Enigma messages were broken in January 1940. Enigma traffic continued to be broken routinely at Bletchley Park for the remainder of the war. www.bletchleypark.org.uk/our-story/the-challenge/enigma
Par ces deux concerts exceptionnels les 21 et 22 novembre 2014 à la Chapelle Royale, Ton Koopman souhaitait fêter ses soixante-dix ans, presque entièrement dédiés à la musique, et à une carrière brillante et inventive traversant les grandes œuvres baroques et classiques avec un panache indéniable et une énergie de chaque instant.
The original Diamond Corrugation was invented independently by Ilan Garibi and Andrea Russo (who used the name Triangùli in speculo).
I thought I’d make an iso-area version since I haven’t seen anyone publish such a modification yet despite its obviousness. Just like many other iso-area designs, this one also has the nice property of not rolling up: since both sides are same (iso-area), there is no tension difference between the two.
I said before that the city of Toledo is famous for having been home to communities of Christians, Muslims and Jews, successively and/or simultaneously. Today, Santa Maria la Blanca is indeed a church belonging to the bishopric of Toledo, even though it is deconsecrated and used as a museum. But, in a typically Toledan manner, it first was a synagogue, built in 1180 on Christian land by Muslim (“Mudéjar”) masons funded by Jewish monies! By 1180, Toledo had been reconquered by the Christians for almost a century but the Mudéjar community was obviously still very much present and active. They were probably expert masons as well, if the Jews chose them to build their temple.
Sadly, the Jews were driven out of Toledo like they were from so many cities in Spain. This happened around 1350–1400, and in 1405 the monument was turned into a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was dubbed la Blanca (“the White”) because of its whitewashed walls.
Its design as a synagogue is very interesting as it features five naves separated by columns supporting horseshoe arches, geometric friezes and leafy capital motifs typical of the Mudéjar art, but no gallery reserved for women as is normally the case in synagogues. It is of course not an issue for a Catholic church.
Listed as a Historic Landmark since 1930, the Church of Spain intended to exchange it with the religious authorities of Israel against the “Cenacle” (literally, “the room for meals”), also known as the Upper Room in King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, where The Last Supper purportedly took place —although that is of course just tradition, not confirmed by any historical evidence. However, that exchange has not taken place to date.
The very gracious horseshoe arches. I will repeat hereunder what I already explained a few days ago about those arches, when visiting the Cristo de la Luz church, an ex-mosque.
About the horseshoe arch and other so-called “Mozarab” art
One often reads that the famous “horseshoe arch” (arc outrepassé in French) is a creation of the so-called “Mozarab” art, i.e., the art developed by Christian communities living under Islamic rule in occupied Spain (that is between 711, date of the first defeat of Wisigoth King in Guadalete, and 1085, which, in practice, concludes the Reconquista period with the fall of Toledo —although Grenade will not be recaptured until 1492). In other words, the Christians would have adopted this type of arch under the influence of the Muslims (who themselves used it a lot) so as to make their Christian faith more “acceptable” to the invaders by placating them through the use of architectural features that would be construed as “admiration”.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The truth is that the horseshoe arch, since we are concerning ourselves only with this example, was invented, not by the Muslims in the 8th century or later and “imitated” by the “Mozarabs”, but by the Romans, during the 5th century and as a variant of the barrel vault that would later symbolize Romanesque architecture.
The horseshoe arch was subsequently used in abundance in Wisigothic architecture, and that is precisely where the Muslims picked it up, beholding the Wisigothic monuments of the lands they were occupying in the Iberian peninsula. They in turn used it widely, the most famous example being the mosque in Cordoba. They of course adapted it slightly, making it deeper than the original Wisigothic version, and it is mainly that deeper version that was used by the so-called “Mozarab” communities, but it was never invented by the Arabs, as many (ignorant?) writers would have us believe.
Now, it is possible that the aforementioned Christian communities did also intend to placate the occupants by using the horseshoe arch, but in doing so, they knew quite well that they were, in fact, paying homage to their very own Wisigothic and Christian traditions, a homage that was all the more sweet because it couldn’t be prohibited by the Muslim occupants...!
Ask around what are the two most iconic symbols of Gothic architecture and art, and the answer will likely be: stained glass windows and rib vaulting.
In both cases, that answer will be wrong: those wonders, on which Gothic cathedrals built their worldwide reputation, are... Romanesque! And they were not just invented and barely tested at the time of Romanesque, they were actually implemented again and again, and perfected along the way over at least one century before Gothic happened. Much more than the definitive breaking point it is often purported to be, the advent of the Gothic was much more a smooth and slow transition, largely calling upon concepts, methods and techniques created and improved during Romanesque times.
As regards stained glass, the oldest still in place is the Ascension Window in the Le Mans Cathedral, which could be as old as Year 1100, possibly 1120–40. The windows in the Augsburg Cathedral in Germany also have a strong claim to the title of oldest Romanesque stained glass window. I hope to be able to photograph all of them some day.
Now, and coming back to our main subject, the rib vaulting (in French: voûte sur croisée d’ogives, or more simply voûte d’ogives), experts agree that, even before the cathedral of Durham in England, it was first experimented in the abbey church of Lessay in Normandy, which stands in the Cotentin peninsula, today the département of Manche. This new, revolutionary vaulting system could be as old as 1090, at least for the apse, choir and transept. Let us remember that this was also the time when other Benedictine monks, in Burgundy, were experimenting the “broken”, or “pointy” Romanesque arch in the Cluny II abbey church, on which construction began in 1088.
The beginning of the nave is also very old, as will be explained below. Its western part may have been built a few decades later, around 1130–40 —but even so, at that time we are still fully within the Romanesque Age, which did not come to an end until 1200 at the earliest —and of course such a clean cutoff date is only symbolic and does not correspond to any actual reality.
The abbey church of Lessay was miraculously saved in the 1950s by Yves-Marie Froidevaux, Chief Architect of Historic Landmarks, after it was severely damaged by the mines detonated by the Nazi army before it retreated after the D-Day landing of June 1944. The restoration Froidevaux carried out, re-using most of the old stones wherever it was possible, today remains an example of a successful and respectful restoration.
Dedicated to the Holy Trinity, this church may look less impressive from the outside than the one in Cerisy, of which I uploaded photos a few days ago. Its apparel is mostly of local shale stones. The cut stones are limestone from Yvetot-Bocage near Valognes, a stone of a lesser quality compared to the famous pierre de Caen, which is also used here, but quite sparsely. Prima facie, this vast church offers more similarities with the humble parochial ones to be found locally in the Cotentin, than with “the great monastic architecture”, as Lucien Musset calls it in the Normandie romane book published by Zodiaque.
As you step inside, however, the architectural and religious message resonates with all its majesty and might. Contrary to Cerisy, this nave retains all of its rows; its perfect proportions are ample, elegant and powerful. They fascinate the first-time visitor.
In the oldest rows of the nave, toward the transept, the ribs fall on “nothing”, for lack of a base or an engaged column to receive them. Such an approximation denotes an incomplete concept, enthusiastically adopted but not yet fully developed.
However remarkable and iconic it may be, owing to the very first use of rib vaulting in human history, the abbey church of Lessay fails to satisfy the lovers of Romanesque sculpture, which is almost absent. This does not come as a surprise in a Norman Romanesque church. Some capitals are sculpted, but they are often the most distant, way up high at triforium level, and the other are only prepared for sculpting, rarely decorated with hooks or gadroons.
The massive Romanesque bell tower.
Busgosu de Felipe del Campo. Duende mitológico inventado para habitar los bosques asturianos.
Busgosu. Hecho por el músico, pintor y escultor Felipe del Campo (1946). Concebido con destino ornamental, acabó convirtiéndose en un duende mitológico de la umbría de Asturias. Esta talla fue realizada bajo un hórreo en 1976 a partir de un bloque compuesto por piezas de madera encoladas entre sí, extraídas éstas en 1975, de una viga procedente de la casa de los Hevia, en Villaviciosa, donde el 19 de septiembre de 1517 pernoctó Carlos V. La viga que medía unos 5 metros de largo por 60 y 50 centímetros de lado, era de madera de castaño. De esta suerte, bien se puede aventurar que la esencia y alma de esta representación del Busgosu, tiene no menos de 500 años. Pero todo el mundo sabe que los duendes, no tienen edad.
rolleiflex 2.8c
planar 80 2.8
rollei panorama thingy
pan f 50
xtol 1:1 8m
ala moana beach park
honolulu hawaii
taken July 3rd, in the right hand shot you can see the tents; folks are staking out a place on the beach for the fireworks show tonight.
getting the three pics to line up is maddening! especially when there are lines of convergence.
there are a couple of more compositions I'm gonna try out before moving on.
to the next great thing...
The house is grade II listed. Occupied in the late 18th century by the Scottish steam engineer/inventor William Murdoch, an employee of Boulton & Watt. He was sent to Redruth as a senior engine erector, responsible for the erection, maintenance & repair of Boulton & Watt engines, which were used in many local copper mines. While living here he made the first British model of a steam-powered carriage in 1784 (now in Birmingham Science Museum), and also invented gas lighting, first used in the house in 1792. He returned to Birmingham (the base of Boulton & Watt) in 1798.
Annually, on a Saturday in June, Redruth celebrates 'Murdoch Day' with a parade and a street market.
By 1918, the vibrator was available in the Sears, Roebuck catalog to make any housewife happy–a bargain at $6. By 1920, more than 50 different kinds had been invented, according to Rachel Maines, author of The Technology of Orgasm.
“It was a big era for the vibrator,” says Maines. “And they weren’t sexualized. It wasn’t a problem to get them. But the cat was out of the bag as soon as they were used in porn movies.” One of the first adult films to feature a vibrator was the 1920s movie “Widow’s Delight,” in which a woman rejects her suitor to go home to her vibrator. “The veil was off,” Hysteria director Tanya Wexler says. “Oh my God–who knew these were for sex? Shocker!”
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.....item 1).... Ms. Magazine ... Ms. Blog ... msmagazine.com/blog
Home / Life / How the Vibrator Came Out of the Closet
How the Vibrator Came Out of the Closet
June 1, 2012 by Jennifer Vineyard
msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2012/06/01/how-the-vibrator-came...
Freud condemned the clitoral orgasm as “immature”–but at least he recognized that it was in fact an orgasm. Before that, medical science didn’t even think orgasms were sexual in nature, calling them “paroxysms,” and doctors actually prescribed them for their female patients. The practice of bringing them about by massage–first by hand, then by machine–was in vogue in the Victorian era and put into mass effect with the advent of the vibrator, which allowed doctors to “service” patients diagnosed with “hysteria” even faster.
The new Maggie Gyllenhaal-Hugh Dancy period sex comedy Hysteria looks at the invention of the first vibrator in the 1880s, which led rapidly to the devices being mass-marketed for home use. But even though more women than ever could achieve climax with the help of a vibrator, for decades feminists still had to fight to assert that it was normal and healthy to do so. Once the practice was recognized as being sexual, it was frowned upon because of the prejudice that women were supposed to climax from vaginal penetration alone. It’s a notion that persists in our popular culture–just think of every movie scene in which a man slams a woman against a wall and they achieve orgasm simultaneously.
That this is not a common scenario is indicated by Shere Hite’s ground-breaking Hite Report (1976), which found that many women pleased themselves without a penis. If women did choose a partner-in-crime to achieve orgasm, the vibrator was still a favorite option. But what those vibrators look like–and how they’re viewed–has evolved quite a bit over the past 100-plus years.
Vibrators weren’t available for home use until about 1899–if you wanted to use one before that, you had to see your doctor, and it usually cost about $2 at the time. And they weren’t advertised until 1904, when they started popping up in women’s periodicals, with such taglines as “Vibrate your body and make it well,” “Take the edge off things,” “Nature’s own cure-all” and “Magic power… will make you feel like a new person.” These ads made no mention of sex, orgasms, or even hysteria–the so-called “disease” for which vibrators were the purported cure. By 1918, the vibrator was available in the Sears, Roebuck catalog to make any housewife happy–a bargain at $6. By 1920, more than 50 different kinds had been invented, according to Rachel Maines, author of The Technology of Orgasm.
“It was a big era for the vibrator,” says Maines. “And they weren’t sexualized. It wasn’t a problem to get them. But the cat was out of the bag as soon as they were used in porn movies.” One of the first adult films to feature a vibrator was the 1920s movie “Widow’s Delight,” in which a woman rejects her suitor to go home to her vibrator. “The veil was off,” Hysteria director Tanya Wexler says. “Oh my God–who knew these were for sex? Shocker!” Once the vibrator was used in porn, it was harder to find a doctor to use one in treatment–although some continued to diagnose hysteria well up until the 1950s. Says Maines, “You can still find doctors who will do this treatment in Argentina, which makes me think it’s a great reason to go to Buenos Aires!”
During the sexual revolution of the ’60s and ’70s, feminists brought back the vibrator as a means for women to find release without relying on a partner, and by 1977, the first women-centric sex store, Good Vibrations, was open for business. But in non-pornos, the vibrator was kept more symbolic, fantastic–the orgasmic Excessive Machine in 1968′s Barbarella (“It couldn’t keep up with you! What kind of girl are you? Have you no shame?”) or the Orgasmatron in 1973′s Sleeper (“You want to get in the machine now?”). Debra Winger made do with a gyrating mechanical bull in 1980′s Urban Cowboy (“Look at that! Her nipples are hard!”).
But by the late 1980s, the vibrators were coming out of the closet, thanks to open discussion about women’s orgasms in in films such as When Harry Met Sally… and Sex, Lies, and Videotape, which touched on topics like faking it and the difficulty of achieving orgasm. In 1988, a silly comedy called Casual Sex? had the audacity to name-check a vibrator when Lea Thompson said, “I’m sick of my Mighty Intruder vibrator with the flexible shaft and textured head.” But in mainstreams films, it was still a topic of shame, as in 1989′s Parenthood when Steve Martin found Dianne Wiest’s vibrator when he was looking for a flashlight during a blackout. When one of the kids asks, “Mommy, what was that?” she’s told, “That was an electric ear cleaner.”
By the early-to-mid 1990s, it was far more common to acknowledge that a vibrator was in your possession–from the friend who confides to Sharon Stone in Sliver that she’s going to get a “plastic yeast infection” to Brian Krakow on My So-Called Life complaining that the one his parents have sounds “like a lawnmower” to Marina playfully making the most of a vibrating toy diver during her bath in Pedro Almodovar’s Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! The 1994 film The Road to Wellville featured Victorian ideas about how to achieve optimum health, including electrical stimulus to your genitals–even Matthew Broderick got a little action. More direct was the teenage girl who handcuffed her boyfriend and took out her vibrator to pleasure herself in front of him on HBO’s Dream On–”Cool,” he says–or Jennifer Aniston taking hers into the bathroom when her husband won’t have sex with her in She’s the One.
As the 1990s came to a close, fictional girls and women were more willing to experiment–Natasha Lyonne took a vibrator for a test drive in The Slums of Beverly Hills, after Marisa Tomei recommends one and calls it her “boyfriend.” But it was Sex and the City that made the vibrator a national conversation, thanks to the pivotal episode The Turtle and the Hare that popularized “the Rabbit,” plus a later episode where Samantha gives some frank advice about which devices to use (and which ones to avoid). “You don’t want that one, too many bells and whistles,” she tells one customer at Brookstone, which insists the store was only selling “neck massagers,” not vibrators. “That one actually works against you,” Samantha says. “If we wanted to work that hard, we’d get us a man, am I right?” And about another model, “No, absolutely not. That will burn your clit off.”
“It was a big deal,” said Good Vibrations sexologist Carol Queen. “People could talk about sex toys and have a really honest conversation. It made it possible to say, ‘Yes, I have one.’ And I don’t think the Rabbit Pearl would have been as popular if not for [SATC].”
Sales skyrocketed, and the vibrator was officially mainstream. Gil Grissom could find one in a dishwasher on CSI and Buster could use a cleaning robot in bed for comedy’s sake on Arrested Development. Indie films continued to be more explicit in the 2000s–Shinya Tsukamoto’s A Snake in June, when Rinko uses one for a voyeuristic stalker; Michael Winterbottom’s 9 Songs, when Lisa uses one after getting a table-dance–but creative substitutes allowed bigger-release films to be more stimulating. Elizabeth Banks in The 40-Year Virgin uses a showerhead to “warm up” for Steve Carell (and then Seth Rogen). Parker Posey uses her vibrating cell phone in both Fay Grim and The Oh in Ohio–which leads her into a sex shop as part of her exploration of sexual empowerment. Alice and Dana on season two of The L Word went sex toy shopping as well–and like the girls on Sex and the City, learn way more about their options than they had ever considered. Of course, by the next episode, they also learn that it’s hard to travel with such toys–and it can be embarrassing to have airport security hold up your vibrators, dildos, and nipple clamps for all the world to see. “You can’t take these on the plane, ladies,” they’re told. “You should know better than that.” (It’s a little more acceptable now).
Still, it’s always embarrassing as well as frustrating to be walked in on (as Laney’s whole family does in Not Another Teen Movie, coming to wish her a happy birthday just as her “My Lil’ Vibrator” is getting going), called at the crucial moment (as Courtney Cox’s mom does on Dirt to remind her that she’s late for a reservation: “You better be coming!”), or to drop the remote control while your hands are tied behind your back when you’re watching porn at the same time you’re using your vibrator (as Amber Benson does in Strictly Sexual). Okay, probably that last one doesn’t happen quite as much. “Okay, you caught me,” Amber’s character says. “I mean, men are not the only ones who like to wack off like zoo monkeys.”
The 2000s also saw this idea embraced on TV. Charlotte is giving vibrators away by season three of Private Practice–the Aphrodite, to be precise, from Dr. Laura Berman’s line of sex toys. Peggy on Mad Men gets a little vibe action in a 2007 episode when Don Draper assigns her the “Electrosizer” to try out for an ad campaign. An early predecessor to vibrating panties, it’s a girdle that’s supposed to promote weight loss, but she discovers that its arousing capacity is “probably unrelated,” so she pitches the ad line: “You’ll love the way it makes you feel.” The men are confused, so Don explains, “It provides the pleasure of a man, without the man.” Even Kristen Wiig got some vibe time this month before leaving Saturday Night Live, during a Mother’s Day skit in which she is interrupted while reading 50 Shades of Grey. Of course, the hubby and kids walk in to surprise her with breakfast in bed. “Get out!” she tells them. “Look, a microphone!” one of the kids exclaim during a family photo.
Recent film has seen lots of vibrator discussion as well. Elizabeth Banks–back for another round of masturbation talk with Seth Rogen in Zack and Miri Make a Porno–explains: “I never met a man who makes me come like a vibrator does.” Berman’s vibrating panties made a big splash with Katherine Heigl in The Ugly Truth when a kid gets a hold of the remote control and gives her an orgasm during the middle of a business dinner. “Oh! Oh, wow. Yeah! Yeah. Mmm. This ceviche, it’s so good. Quite possibly the best I’ve ever tasted. I’m going to go ask the chef about the recipe.” (“What’s in ceviche?” one of the dinner guests asks, in a callback to Rob Reiner’s mom asking to order the same pastrami sandwich as Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally…) Julianne Moore and Annette Bening use a vibrator in The Kids Are All Right. However, most films tend toward more talk than action, because too real or long of a female orgasm puts the movie at risk of getting a NC-17 rating (as This Film Is Not Yet Rated explains). So women on film are usually relegated to sex that’s all about penetration and not about the other practices that actually work for women.
Now, however, vibrators are taking center stage. Sarah Ruhl’s play, In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play, put them on Broadway, and now Hysteria places the vibrator on the big screen, tracing its invention to a freethinking woman (played by Gyllenhaal) who links female orgasms with women’s rights. “My goal isn’t to shock people, but to make you laugh,” director Tanya Wexler said. “It’s a thinking woman’s romantic comedy, and it’s just what the doctor ordered. There’s no need to hide it anymore. There’s no shame.“
(From TOP LEFT to BOTTOM LEFT): Photo of antique poster advertising the doctor’s cure for women’s hysteria; photo of an early century vibrator advertisement; Photo of window display in Good Vibration’s Antique Vibrator Museum; Photo of sexologist Carol Queen from Flickr user Charles Haynes under Creative Commons 3.0; Photo of OhMiBod club vibrating panties which can be purchased at
Filed under Life, Sex + Relationships · Tagged with Barbarella, Good Vibrations, Hite Report, Hysteria, Masturbation, Orgasm, Rachel Maines, Sleeper, Tanya Wexler, The Technology of Orgasm, Urban Cowboy, Vibrators, Widow's Delight
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I'm not really one to make up my own baking recipes but maybe I'll try it more often since it was so satisfying today.
When I was in Seattle, Tea took me to Central Market and besides being a fab grocery store with an amazing Asian food section, they had two things which blew my mind. A flour grinder and in addition to fresh ground peanut and almond butter, you could also get fresh ground chocolate hazelnut spread. OMG! It stays a little chunky so it was more like the filling of a Ferrero Rocher than nutella. Mine is all gone and at work today I thought, "Well, what would happen if I just put hazelnuts and chocolate in the Robot Coupe?" It wasn't coming out the same so I put in a little oil and then drizzled in some hot cream. At this point it was pretty tasty but I didn't have a plan for it. I remembered I had some pie dough in the fridge so I rolled it out for a galette, added 2 eggs to the filling and baked it. It's like a chocolate hazelnut brownie pie. How bad could that be??
Self.
Trying out new places. I'm in Italy for some time now. This is a nice scenery different from my usual ones.
R.I.P. Steve, The Man who invented the future
133rd Day
Very bad news tonight.. Rest In Peace dear Steve, you were and will be an inspiration for generations and a very good person. Thanks for all you made.
Cya mate.
The Man who invented the FUTURE
Canon EOS 500D & Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
Post Production with Lightroom 3.3 & Photoshop CS5
©2011, Stefano Minella Photo
Stefano Minella | Photographer WebSite
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Invento con una botella de agua, de las gotitas de la botella pude hacer este bokeh.
*Ya volveré a poner fotos de la playa cuando tenga tiempo de retocarlas un poco.. Ahora toca hacer deberes!
“I invented nothing new. I simply assembled the discoveries of other men behind whom were centuries of work. Had I worked fifty or ten or even five years before, I would have failed. So it is with every new thing. Progress happens when all the factors that make for it are ready, and then it is inevitable. To teach that a comparatively few men are responsible for the greatest forward steps of mankind is the worst sort of nonsense.” ~ Henry Ford
A giant wooden pop bottle pays homage to a distinctly British drink on the very spot where it was invented in Manchester
© 2018 Tony Worrall
Invented and bankrolled by New York real estate developer Seymour Durst, the 11-by-26 foot National Debt Clock was erected in 1989. When it first was plugged in, the odometer-style clock whirred furiously as the national debt rose by $13,000 a second. Often the last few digits increased so fast they were just a blur. And at one point in the mid-1990s, the debt was rising so fast the clock's computer crashed.
Under the presidency of Bill Clinton and a push for a balanced budget, though, the clock started ticking in the opposite direction, shaving off roughly $30 a second towards the turn of the century. Durst's son felt that was "sending the wrong message at [that] point" and the clock was shut down until 2002 when the "fiscally conservative" administration of George W. Bush reversed course and brought meaning back to the ticker.
Marshmallow
Sugar-based confection
For the music producer and DJ, see Marshmello. For other uses, see Marshmallow (disambiguation).
Marshmallow (UK: /ˌmɑːrʃˈmæloʊ/, US: /ˈmɑːrʃˌmɛloʊ, -mæl-/)[1][2] is a confectionery made from sugar, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency. It is used as a filling in baking or molded into shapes and coated with corn starch. This sugar confection is inspired by a medicinal confection made from Althaea officinalis, the marsh-mallow plant.[3]
Quick Facts Type, Place of origin ...
History
The marsh-mallow plant (Althaea officinalis)
The word "marshmallow" comes from the mallow plant species (Althaea officinalis), a wetland weed native to parts of Europe, North Africa, and Asia that grows in marshes and other damp areas. The plant's stem and leaves are fleshy, and its white flower has five petals. It is not known exactly when marshmallows were invented, but their history goes back as early as 2000 BCE. Ancient Egyptians were said to be the first to make and use the root of the plant to soothe coughs and sore throats and to heal wounds. The first marshmallows were prepared by boiling pieces of root pulp with honey until thick. Once thickened, the mixture was strained, cooled, then used as intended.[4][5][6]
Whether used for candy or medicine, the manufacture of marshmallows was limited to a small scale. In the early to mid-19th century, the marshmallow had made its way to France, where confectioners augmented the plant's traditional medicinal value. Owners of small confectionery stores would whip the sap from the mallow root into a fluffy candy mold. This candy, called Pâte de Guimauve, was a spongy-soft dessert made from whipping dried marshmallow roots with sugar, water, and egg whites.[7][8] It was sold in bar form as a lozenge. Drying and preparation of the marshmallow took one to two days before the final product was produced.[9] In the late 19th century, candy makers started looking for a new process and discovered the starch mogul system, in which trays of modified corn starch had a mold firmly pushed down in them to create cavities within the starch. The cavities were then filled with the whipped marshmallow sap mixture and allowed to cool or harden.[10] At the same time, candy makers began to replace the mallow root with gelatin, which created a stable form of marshmallow.[5]
By the early 20th century, thanks to the starch mogul system, marshmallows were available for mass consumption. In the United States, they were sold in tins as penny candy and used in a variety of food recipes like banana fluff, lime mallow sponge, and tutti frutti. In 1956, Alex Doumak patented[11] the extrusion process that involved running marshmallow ingredients through tubes. The tubes created a long rope of marshmallow mixture and were then set out to cool. The ingredients were then cut into equal pieces and packaged.[5]
Modern marshmallow manufacturing is highly automated and has been since the early 1950s when the extrusion process was first developed. Numerous improvements and advancements allow for the production of thousands of pounds of marshmallow a day.[12] Today, the marshmallow typically consists of four ingredients: sugar, water, air, and a whipping agent.
Ingredients
Marshmallows consist of four ingredients: sugar, water, air, and a whipping agent/aerator (usually a protein). The type of sugar and whipping agent varies depending on the desired characteristics. Each ingredient plays a specific role in the final product.
The marshmallow is a foam, consisting of an aqueous continuous phase and a gaseous dispersed phase (in other words, a liquid with gas bubbles spread throughout). In addition to being a foam, this also makes marshmallows an "aerated" confection because it is made up of 50% air. The goal of an aerated confection like a marshmallow is to incorporate gas into a sugar mixture and stabilize the aerated product before the gas can escape. When the gas is introduced into the system, tiny air bubbles are created. This is what contributes to the unique textural properties and mouth-feel of this product.[13]
Protein
In marshmallows, proteins are the main surface-active agents responsible for the formation and stabilization of the dispersed air. Due to their structure, surface-active molecules gather at the surface area of a portion of (water-based) liquid. A portion of each protein molecule is hydrophilic, with a polar charge, and another portion is hydrophobic and non-polar. The non-polar section has little or no affinity for water, and so this section orients as far away from the water as possible. However, the polar section is attracted to the water and has little or no affinity for the air. Therefore, the molecule orients with the polar section in the water, with the non-polar section in the air. Two primary proteins that are commonly used as aerators in marshmallows are albumen (egg whites) and gelatin.[14]
Albumen (egg whites)
Albumen is a mixture of proteins found in egg whites and is utilized for its capacity to create foams. In a commercialized setting, dried albumen is used as opposed to fresh egg whites. In addition to convenience, the advantages of using dried albumen are an increase in food safety and the reduction of water content in the marshmallow. Fresh egg whites carry a higher risk of Salmonella, and are approximately 90 percent water. This is undesirable for the shelf life and firmness of the product. For artisan-type marshmallows, prepared by a candy maker, fresh egg whites are usually used. Albumen is rarely used on its own when incorporated into modern marshmallows, and instead is used in conjunction with gelatin.[15]
Gelatin
Gelatin is the aerator most often used in the production of marshmallows. It is made up of collagen, a structural protein derived from animal skin, connective tissue, and bones. Not only can it stabilize foams, like albumen, but when combined with water, it forms a thermally-reversible gel. This means that gelatin can melt, then reset due to its temperature sensitivity. The melting point of gelatin gel is around 95 °F (35 °C), which is just below normal body temperature (around 97 °F (36 °C)). This is what contributes to the "melt-in-your-mouth" sensation when a marshmallow is consumed—it actually starts to melt when it touches the tongue.[14]
During preparation, the temperature needs to be just above the melting point of the gelatin, so that as soon as it is formed, it cools quickly, and the gelatin sets, retaining the desired shape. If the marshmallow rope mixture exiting the extruder during processing is too warm, the marshmallow starts to flow before the gelatin sets. Instead of a round marshmallow, it takes on an oval form. Excessive heat can also degrade or break down the gelatin itself. Therefore, when marshmallows are being produced at home or by artisan candy makers, the gelatin is added after the syrup has been heated and cooled down.
In commercial operations, the gelatin is cooked with the sugar syrup, rather than being added later after the syrup has cooled. In this case, kinetics play an important role, with both time and temperature factoring in. If the gelatin was added at the beginning of a batch that was then cooked to 112–116 °C in 20–30 minutes, a significant amount of gelatin would break down. The marshmallow would have reduced springiness from that loss of gelatin. But since the time the syrup spends at elevated temperature in modern cookers is so short, there is little to no degradation of the gelatin.[12]
In terms of texture and mouth-feel, gelatin makes marshmallows chewy by forming a tangled 3-D network of polymer chains. Once gelatin is dissolved in warm water (dubbed the "blooming stage"), it forms a dispersion, which results in[how?] a cross-linking of its helix-shaped chains. The linkages in the gelatin protein network trap air in the marshmallow mixture and immobilize the water molecules in the network. The result is the well-known spongy structure of marshmallows. This is why the omission of gelatin from a marshmallow recipe results in marshmallow creme, since there is no gelatin network to trap the water and air bubbles.[14]
Sugars
A traditional marshmallow might contain about 60% corn syrup, 30% sugar, and 1–2% gelatin. A combination of different sugars is used to control the solubility of the solution.[16] The corn syrup/sugar ratio influences the texture by slowing crystallization of the sucrose. The smooth texture of marshmallows relies on disordered, or amorphous, sugar molecules. In contrast, increasing the sugar ratio to about 60–65% produces a grainy marshmallow.[17] Temperature also plays an important role in producing smooth marshmallows by reducing the time window for ordered crystals to form. To ensure the sugars are disordered, the sugar syrup solution is heated to a high temperature and then cooled rapidly.[18]
Sugarcane and sugar beet
Sugarcane and sugar beet are the two primary sources of sugar, consisting of sucrose molecules. Sucrose is a disaccharide that consists of one glucose and fructose molecule. This sugar provides sweetness and bulk to the marshmallow while simultaneously setting the foam to a firm consistency as it cools.[17] Sucrose, and sugars in general, impair the ability of a foam to form, but improve foam stability. Therefore, sucrose is used in conjunction with a protein like gelatin. The protein can adsorb, unfold, and form a stable network, while the sugar can increase the viscosity.[19] Liquid drainage of the continuous phase must be minimized as well. Thick liquids drain more slowly than thin ones, and so increasing the viscosity of the continuous phase reduces drainage. A high viscosity is essential if a stable foam is to be produced. Therefore, sucrose is a main component of marshmallow. But sucrose is seldom used on its own because it tends to crystallize.
Corn syrup
Corn syrup, derived from maize, contains glucose, maltose, and other oligosaccharides. Corn syrup can be obtained from the partial hydrolysis of cornstarch.[20] Corn syrup is important in the production of marshmallow because it prevents the crystallization of other sugars (like sucrose). It may also contribute body, reduce sweetness, and alter flavor release, depending on the Dextrose Equivalent (DE) of the glucose syrup used.
The DE is the measure of the amount of reducing sugars present in a sugar product in relation to glucose. Lower-DE glucose syrups provide a chewier texture, while higher-DE syrups make the product more tender.[17] In addition, depending on the type of DE used, can alter the sweetness, hygroscopicity, and browning of the marshmallow. Corn syrup is flavorless and cheap to produce, which is why candy companies love using this product.
Invert sugar
Invert sugar is produced when sucrose breaks down due to the addition of water, also known as hydrolysis. This molecule exhibits all the characteristics of honey except the flavor because it is the primary sugar found in honey. This means that invert sugar has the ability to prevent crystallization and produce a tender marshmallow. It is also an effective humectant, allowing it to trap water and prevent the marshmallow from drying out. For some candies, this is not a good trait to have, but for marshmallows, it is an advantage since it has a high moisture content.[12]
Fruit syrups
While not widely used for traditional or commercial recipes, fruit syrups have been proposed as an alternative sugar for marshmallows.[21]
Additional ingredients
Flavors
Unless a variation of the standard marshmallow is being made, vanilla is always used as the flavoring. The vanilla can either be added in extract form or by infusing the vanilla beans in the sugar syrup during cooking. This[clarification needed] is the best technique to get an even distribution of flavor throughout the marshmallow.[15]
Acids
Acids, such as cream of tartar or lemon juice, may also be used to increase foam stability. The addition of acid decreases the pH. This reduces the charge on the protein molecules and brings them closer to their isoelectric point. This results in a stronger, more stable interfacial film. When added to egg whites, acid prevents excessive aggregation at the interface. However, acid delays foam formation. It may therefore be added toward the end of the whipping process after a stable foam has been created.[13]
Manufacturing process
Video of making marshmallows
Just Born Peeps in an Easter basket
Commercial process
In commercial marshmallow manufacture, the entire process is streamlined and fully automated.
Gelatin is cooked with sugar and syrup. After the gelatin-containing syrup is cooked, it is allowed to cool slightly before air is incorporated. Whipping is generally accomplished in a rotor-stator type device. Compressed air is injected into the warm syrup, held at a temperature just above the melting point of gelatin. In a marshmallow aerator, pins on a rotating cylinder (rotor) intermesh with stationary pins on the wall (stator) provide the shear forces necessary to break the large injected air bubbles into numerous tiny bubbles that provide the smooth, fine-grained texture of the marshmallow. A continuous stream of light, fluffy marshmallow exits the aerator en route to the forming step.
The marshmallow confection is typically formed in one of three ways. First, it can be extruded in the desired shape and cut into pieces, as done for Jet-Puffed marshmallows. Second, it can be deposited onto a belt, as done for Peeps.[22] Third, it can be deposited into a starch-based mold in a mogul to make various shapes.[12]
Home making process
A freshly-cut batch of homemade marshmallows
The home process for making marshmallow differs from commercial processes. A mixture of corn syrup and sugar is boiled to about 252 °F (122 °C). In a separate step, gelatin is hydrated with enough warm water to make a thick solution. Once the sugar syrup has cooled to about 100 °F (38 °C), the gelatin solution is blended in along with desired flavoring, and whipped in a mixer to reach the final density. The marshmallow is then scooped out of the bowl, slabbed on a table, and cut into pieces.[15]
Roasted marshmallows and s'mores
A popular camping or backyard tradition in the United Kingdom,[23] North America, New Zealand and Australia is the roasting or toasting of marshmallows over a campfire or other open flame.[24] A marshmallow is placed on the end of a stick or skewer and held carefully over the fire. This creates a caramelized outer skin with a liquid, molten layer underneath. Major flavor compounds and color polymers associated with sugar browning are created during the caramelization process.[25]
As sugar costs went down in 19th century, in 1892 a New Jersey newspaper reported that "'Marshmallow roasts' are the newest thing in summer resort diversions." There were more mentions of the trend throughout 1890s, implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) referring to home-made marshmallows, as commercial process was yet to be invented.[26]
S'mores are a traditional campfire treat in the United States, made by placing a toasted marshmallow on a slab of chocolate, which is placed between two graham crackers. These can then be squeezed together, causing the chocolate to begin melting.[27]
Roasting a marshmallow
Roasting a marshmallow
A roasted marshmallow
A roasted marshmallow
An open-faced s'more
An open-faced s'more
Nutrition
Marshmallows are defined in US law as a food of minimal nutritional value.[28]
Dietary preferences
Toasted vegan marshmallows served with chocolate mousse
The traditional marshmallow recipe uses powdered marshmallow root, but most commercially manufactured marshmallows instead use gelatin in their manufacture. Vegans and vegetarians avoid gelatin, but there are versions that use a substitute non-animal gelling agent such as agar.[29] In addition, marshmallows are generally not considered to be kosher or halal unless either their gelatin is derived from kosher or halal animals or they are vegan.[30]
Marshmallow creme and other less firm marshmallow products generally contain little or no gelatin, which mainly serves to allow the familiar marshmallow confection to retain its shape. They generally use egg whites instead. Non-gelatin, egg-containing versions of this product may be consumed by ovo vegetarians. Several brands of vegetarian and vegan marshmallows and marshmallow fluff exist.[31]
See also
Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats
Chubby Bunny, children's game involving marshmallows
Divinity (confectionery)
Flump (sweet)
Marshmallow creme
Peeps
Stanford marshmallow experiment
Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
I invented a berry frame around our new Christmas sign by shooting through what's left of the crab apple tree.
Ask around what are the two most iconic symbols of Gothic architecture and art, and the answer will likely be: stained glass windows and rib vaulting.
In both cases, that answer will be wrong: those wonders, on which Gothic cathedrals built their worldwide reputation, are... Romanesque! And they were not just invented and barely tested at the time of Romanesque, they were actually implemented again and again, and perfected along the way over at least one century before Gothic happened. Much more than the definitive breaking point it is often purported to be, the advent of the Gothic was much more a smooth and slow transition, largely calling upon concepts, methods and techniques created and improved during Romanesque times.
As regards stained glass, the oldest still in place is the Ascension Window in the Le Mans Cathedral, which could be as old as Year 1100, possibly 1120–40. The windows in the Augsburg Cathedral in Germany also have a strong claim to the title of oldest Romanesque stained glass window. I hope to be able to photograph all of them some day.
Now, and coming back to our main subject, the rib vaulting (in French: voûte sur croisée d’ogives, or more simply voûte d’ogives), experts agree that, even before the cathedral of Durham in England, it was first experimented in the abbey church of Lessay in Normandy, which stands in the Cotentin peninsula, today the département of Manche. This new, revolutionary vaulting system could be as old as 1090, at least for the apse, choir and transept. Let us remember that this was also the time when other Benedictine monks, in Burgundy, were experimenting the “broken”, or “pointy” Romanesque arch in the Cluny II abbey church, on which construction began in 1088.
The beginning of the nave is also very old, as will be explained below. Its western part may have been built a few decades later, around 1130–40 —but even so, at that time we are still fully within the Romanesque Age, which did not come to an end until 1200 at the earliest —and of course such a clean cutoff date is only symbolic and does not correspond to any actual reality.
The abbey church of Lessay was miraculously saved in the 1950s by Yves-Marie Froidevaux, Chief Architect of Historic Landmarks, after it was severely damaged by the mines detonated by the Nazi army before it retreated after the D-Day landing of June 1944. The restoration Froidevaux carried out, re-using most of the old stones wherever it was possible, today remains an example of a successful and respectful restoration.
Dedicated to the Holy Trinity, this church may look less impressive from the outside than the one in Cerisy, of which I uploaded photos a few days ago. Its apparel is mostly of local shale stones. The cut stones are limestone from Yvetot-Bocage near Valognes, a stone of a lesser quality compared to the famous pierre de Caen, which is also used here, but quite sparsely. Prima facie, this vast church offers more similarities with the humble parochial ones to be found locally in the Cotentin, than with “the great monastic architecture”, as Lucien Musset calls it in the Normandie romane book published by Zodiaque.
As you step inside, however, the architectural and religious message resonates with all its majesty and might. Contrary to Cerisy, this nave retains all of its rows; its perfect proportions are ample, elegant and powerful. They fascinate the first-time visitor.
In the oldest rows of the nave, toward the transept, the ribs fall on “nothing”, for lack of a base or an engaged column to receive them. Such an approximation denotes an incomplete concept, enthusiastically adopted but not yet fully developed.
However remarkable and iconic it may be, owing to the very first use of rib vaulting in human history, the abbey church of Lessay fails to satisfy the lovers of Romanesque sculpture, which is almost absent. This does not come as a surprise in a Norman Romanesque church. Some capitals are sculpted, but they are often the most distant, way up high at triforium level, and the other are only prepared for sculpting, rarely decorated with hooks or gadroons.
This photo shows how luminous the nave is. Almost as much as Vézelay!
...the Mage was fearing for his life, the queen was adamant in her decision to strap him on to that hellfire-machine he had invented...
...still he had an ace up his sleeve, the sparks he had stumbled up on in his tower, he was gonna use them to convince the queen and the people that he was a real mage, a mighty warlock, and if they didn´t cancel the launch he would fry the whole capital with sparks turning the town in to an infernal mayhem...
But for this he needed a bit of planning, he knew the launch site, since the queen was stupid enough to announce it to the whole town so the could be there and watch what would maybe be his last experiment?
....with this plan he giggled a bit in a nervous way, now he would not only fool the grim reaper of his departure in to the misty land, he would also get the power he always had deserved when he "reveal his true magic" for the population, perhaps he would be crowned king, or even better emperor and all would fear him...
so the hours passed and the queens men came to collect him, he was still giggling a bit under his white beard, the soldiers though he had gone a bit more loopy than usual... and perhaps senile too...
when they arrived at the scene for the launch, he saw that almost all people in town had gathered for the even, the queen was seated in a palanquin so she could see over the mob of her loyal subjects...
The mage made sure to stand on the wire hidden by the dust on the street so that he would connect it to the metallic scaffolding underneath his wizard -gown...
The queen asked him if he had any final wish, and corrected herself and said, any specific wish before your departure to the moon,my dear mage?
the Mage Replied: Esmeralda I have, I have a wish to display my true forces for you and the people, this is a waning to all of you, my power are mighty, Make me your new leader or suffer the consequences!
...now was the time when he would display an arc of electric fire, scaring the queen and the people... but some kids had disrupted his circuit earlier that day while playing "launch the wizard" earlier that day...
the result was that he stood there moving his arms like a fool...
...all the people laughed, so did the queen...
She said: "yes I have seen your mighty magic it is as void as always...!
Somehow she pitied this old fool... perhaps she should spare him a certain death?
but now the executioners (doing this work too) strapped him to the rocket...
the mob of people was cheering as in one single voice: Blast him, Blast the phony mage to the moon or perhaps to hell...!!!
Now they queen Had started thinking, am I really this cruel? she was thinking of the monkey, would she do the same to him that he was planning to do to the poor animal, no she couldn´t, perhaps he should do some time in the slammer instead until he repented? she whispered to her man-at-arms to go and stop the executioners...
at this time the fish mongrel dropped a fish he had forgotten under his shirt it hit the point of broken circuitry and unified it, a great amount of power was instantly lead to the wizard strapped to the rocker... it ignited his experiment and off he was...
Kaboooom!!!
...again he got to see the world leave as a small blue orb and the moon became an ever bigger orb in front of him... then he passed out out of fear and actually the rocket went almost all the way to the moon, but lacked the power to break earths attraction so down he came towards the earth again...
now let us move to a different place on earth, somewhere called the buffalo plains by the locals in their language...
Three hunters are on their way home from a failed hunt...
- Hey Jumping Tiger, look here, what a strange crater, it is almost like something fell from the sky with great force...
- Owl Hooters that might be one of those fragile colorless ones that uncle Hurting-Liver was taking about when he came back from the salty lake without water?
- Hey you shouldn´t believe all that your strange uncle tells you, the strange stuff he is brewing is poison to his brain and his stories are as weird as our creation myths...
- Oh he went to shaman university, he studied there for five years...
- Yeah but that university is not exactly Princeton is it, it is just a place for odd bums like your uncle, just a wee bit to sane to put in the sanatarium...
- Hey, Beaver-Pelt look there in the middle of the Crater, just beside those cactuses
- Cacti, didn´t you go to university?
- Hey look at it, his it is a humanoid, but not one of those frail colorless ones... this one has a skin like old parchment!
- poke him with your spear?
- He is alive isn´t he?
- we will take him to our medicine man, he might know what to do?
Perhaps we should use him as that gargoyle from the totem pole that your uncle ruined when he was under the influence of that poison he brews and drinks...
- Yeah tie him up, the council of elders will know what to do...
- at the least we won´t come back empty handed to our village again or hunt down that hedgehog over there...