A Ruta del Cares, localizada no Parque Nacional dos Picos da Europa, inicia-se em Poncebos, nas Astúrias, e estende-se por cerca de 12 quilómetros até Caín, na província de Leão. Este percurso pedestre, criado entre 1915 e 1921 como parte de um canal para a central hidroelétrica de Camarmeña-Poncebos, é um exemplo notável de engenharia civil. Com 71 túneis e várias pontes, como a de Los Rebecos, a trilha apresenta-se em meio a imponentes paredes verticais de até 500 metros e uma geologia cárstica moldada pela erosão fluvial e gelivação. Embora originalmente destinada ao serviço industrial, tornou-se um popular destino de turismo de natureza, atraindo caminhantes em busca de vistas deslumbrantes e da experiência de contacto com a biodiversidade da região. O percurso é considerado de dificuldade média, exigindo precauções devido à sua estreiteza e secções expostas ao abismo, especialmente nos primeiros 2 km, que incluem a subida mais íngreme ao longo do desfiladeiro do rio Cares.

The Ruta del Cares, located in the Picos de Europa National Park, begins in Poncebos, Asturias, and stretches for about 12 kilometers to Caín, in the province of León. This walking trail, created between 1915 and 1921 as part of a canal for the Camarmeña-Poncebos hydroelectric power station, is a remarkable example of civil engineering. With 71 tunnels and several bridges, such as Los Rebecos, the trail runs between imposing vertical walls up to 500 meters high and karst geology shaped by river erosion and frost action. Although originally intended for industrial use, it has become a popular nature tourism destination, attracting hikers in search of breathtaking views and the experience of contact with the region's biodiversity. The route is considered to be of medium difficulty, requiring caution due to its narrowness and sections exposed to the abyss, especially in the first 2 km, which include the steepest climb along the Cares River gorge.

Beaching an outrigger at the Lahaina Canoe Club at Hanakaoʻo Park, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. This was during a ceremony for the Lahaina fire.

Photographed with a Leica IIIc using a Leitz Summaron 3.5cm f/3.5 lens. The film is Kodak Panatomic-X expired 3/1963, developed in Beerenol (Rainier Beer).

The side of my town, south/east. This part is Heath Landscape.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veluwezoom_National_Park

This is the August photo of my 2017 "Sweden & Norway" Calendar, shot on the summer of 2016. You can see it all and read a bit about it here!

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The OV-10 Bronco was initially conceived in the early 1960s through an informal collaboration between W. H. Beckett and Colonel K. P. Rice, U.S. Marine Corps, who met at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, and who also happened to live near each other. The original concept was for a rugged, simple, close air support aircraft integrated with forward ground operations. At the time, the U.S. Army was still experimenting with armed helicopters, and the U.S. Air Force was not interested in close air support.

The concept aircraft was to operate from expedient forward air bases using roads as runways. Speed was to be from very slow to medium subsonic, with much longer loiter times than a pure jet. Efficient turboprop engines would give better performance than piston engines. Weapons were to be mounted on the centerline to get efficient aiming. The inventors favored strafing weapons such as self-loading recoilless rifles, which could deliver aimed explosive shells with less recoil than cannons, and a lower per-round weight than rockets. The airframe was to be designed to avoid the back blast.

The MV-10Hs are expected to provide support for these ground units in the form of all-weather reconnaissance and observation, close air support and also forward air control duties for supporting ground units. Precision ground strikes and protection from enemy helicopters and low-flying aircraft were other, secondary missions for the modernized Broncos, which are expected to serve well into the 2040s. Exports or conversions of foreign OV-10s to the Black Pony standard are not planned, though.

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 42 ft 2½ in (12,88 m) incl. pitot

Wingspan: 45 ft 10½ in(14 m) incl. tip sails

Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)

Wing area: 290.95 sq ft (27.03 m²)

Airfoil: NACA 64A315

Empty weight: 9,090 lb (4,127 kg)

Gross weight: 13,068 lb (5,931 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 17,318 lb (7,862 kg)

Powerplant:

2× General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines, 1,305 kW (1,750 hp) each,

driving 8-bladed Hamilton Standard 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter constant-speed,

fully feathering, reversible contra-rotating propellers with metal hub and composite blades

Performance:

Maximum speed: 390 mph (340 kn, 625 km/h)

Combat range: 198 nmi (228 mi, 367 km)

Ferry range: 1,200 nmi (1,400 mi, 2,200 km) with auxiliary fuel

Maximum loiter time: 5.5 h with auxiliary fuel

Service ceiling: 32.750 ft (10,000 m)

13,500 ft (4.210 m) on one engine

Rate of climb: 17.400 ft/min (48 m/s) at sea level

Take-off run: 480 ft (150 m)

740 ft (227 m) to 50 ft (15 m)

1,870 ft (570 m) to 50 ft (15 m) at MTOW

Landing run: 490 ft (150 m)

785 ft (240 m) at MTOW

1,015 ft (310 m) from 50 ft (15 m)

Armament:

1x M197 3-barreled 20 mm Gatling cannon in a chin turret with 750 rounds ammo capacity

7x hardpoints for a total load of 5.000 lb (2,270 kg)

2x wingtip launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs

The kit and its assembly:

This fictional Bronco update/conversion was simply spawned by the idea: could it be possible to replace the original cockpit section with one from an AH-1 Cobra, for a kind of gunship version?

The basis is the Academy OV-10D kit, mated with the cockpit section from a Fujimi AH-1S TOW Cobra (Revell re-boxing, though), chosen because of its “boxy” cockpit section with flat glass panels – I think that it conveys the idea of an armored cockpit section best. Combining these parts was not easy, though, even though the plan sound simple. Initially, the Bronco’s twin booms, wings and stabilizer were built separately, because this made PSR on these sections easier than trying the same on a completed airframe. One of the initial challenges: the different engines. I wanted something uprated, and a different look, and I had a pair of (excellent!) 1:144 resin engines from the Russian company Kompakt Zip for a Tu-95 bomber at hand, which come together with movable(!) eight-blade contraprops that were an almost perfect size match for the original three-blade props. Biggest problem: the Tu-95 nacelles have a perfectly circular diameter, while the OV-10’s booms are square and rectangular. Combining these parts and shapes was already a messy PST affair, but it worked out quite well – even though the result rather reminds of some Chinese upgrade measure (anyone know the Tu-4 copies with turboprops? This here looks similar!). But while not pretty, I think that the beafier look works well and adds to the idea of a “revived” aircraft. And you can hardly beat the menacing look of contraprops on anything...

The exotic, so-called “tip sails” on the wings, mounted on short booms, are a detail borrowed from the Shijiazhuang Y-5B-100, an updated Chinese variant/copy of the Antonov An-2 biplane transporter. The booms are simple pieces of sprue from the Bronco kit, the winglets were cut from 0.5mm styrene sheet.

For the cockpit donor, the AH-1’s front section was roughly built, including the engine section (which is a separate module, so that the basic kit can be sold with different engine sections), and then the helicopter hull was cut and trimmed down to match the original Bronco pod and to fit under the wing. This became more complicated than expected, because a) the AH-1 cockpit and the nose are considerably shorter than the OV-10s, b) the AH-1 fuselage is markedly taller than the Bronco’s and c) the engine section, which would end up in the area of the wing, features major recesses, making the surface very uneven – calling for massive PSR to even this out. PSR was also necessary to hide the openings for the Fujimi AH-1’s stub wings. Other issues: the front landing gear (and its well) had to be added, as well as the OV-10 wing stubs. Furthermore, the new cockpit pod’s rear section needed an aerodynamical end/fairing, but I found a leftover Academy OV-10 section from a build/kitbashing many moons ago. Perfect match!

All these challenges could be tackled, even though the AH-1 cockpit looks surprisingly stout and massive on the Bronco’s airframe - the result looks stockier than expected, but it works well for the "Gunship" theme. Lots of PSR went into the new central fuselage section, though, even before it was mated with the OV-10 wing and the rest of the model.

Once cockpit and wing were finally mated, the seams had to disappear under even more PSR and a spinal extension of the canopy had to be sculpted across the upper wing surface, which would meld with the pod’s tail in a (more or less) harmonious shape. Not an easy task, and the fairing was eventually sculpted with 2C putty, plus even more PSR… Looks quite homogenous, though.

After this massive body work, other hardware challenges appeared like small distractions. The landing gear was another major issue because the deeper AH-1 section lowered the ground clearance, also because of the chin turret. To counter this, I raised the OV-10’s main landing gear by ~2mm – not much, but it was enough to create a credible stance, together with the front landing gear transplant under the cockpit, which received an internal console to match the main landing gear’s length. Due to the chin turret and the shorter nose, the front wheel retracts backwards now. But this looks quite plausible, thanks to the additional space under the cockpit tub, which also made a belt feed for the gun’s ammunition supply believable.

To enhance the menacing look I gave the model a fixed refueling boom, made from 1mm steel wire and a receptor adapter sculpted with white glue. The latter stuff was also used add some antenna fairings around the hull. Some antennae, chaff dispensers and an IR decoy were taken from the Academy kit.

The ordnance came from various sources. The Sidewinders under the wing tips were taken from an Italeri F-16C/D kit, they look better than the missiles from the Academy Bronco kit. Their launch rails came from an Italeri Bae Hawk 200. The quadruple Hellfire launchers on the underwing hardpoints were left over from an Italeri AH-1W, and they are a perfect load for this aircraft and its role. The LAU-10 and -19 missile pods on the stub wings were taken from the OV-10 kit.

Painting and markings:

Finding a suitable and somewhat interesting – but still plausible – paint scheme was not easy. Taking the A-10 as benchmark, an overall light grey livery (with focus on low contrast against the sky as protection against ground fire) would have been a likely choice – and in fact the last operational American OV-10s were painted in this fashion. But in order to provide a different look I used the contemporary USAF V-22Bs and Special Operations MC-130s as benchmark, which typically carry a darker paint scheme consisting of FS 36118 (suitably “Gunship Gray” :D) from above, FS 36375 underneath, with a low, wavy waterline, plus low-viz markings. Not spectacular, but plausible – and very similar to the late r/w Colombian OV-10s.

The cockpit tub became Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, Humbrol 140) and the landing gear white (Revell 301).

The model received an overall black ink washing and some post-panel-shading, to liven up the dull all-grey livery. The decals were gathered from various sources, and I settled for black USAF low-viz markings. The “stars and bars” come from a late USAF F-4, the “IP” tail code was tailored from F-16 markings and the shark mouth was taken from an Academy AH-64. Most stencils came from another Academy OV-10 sheet and some other sources.

Decals were also used to create the trim on the propeller blades and markings on the ordnance.

Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and some exhaust soot stains were added with graphite along the tail boom flanks.

A successful transplantation – but is this still a modified Bronco or already a kitbashing? The result looks quite plausible and menacing, even though the TOW Cobra front section appears relatively massive. But thanks to the bigger engines and extended wing tips the proportions still work. The large low-pressure tires look a bit goofy under the aircraft, but they are original. The grey livery works IMHO well, too – a more colorful or garish scheme would certainly have distracted from the modified technical basis.

Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

40152 is in the process of reversing past Kemps Eye towards the Shelf Sidings at Shrewsbury to collect some more ballast wagons on 11 April 1983

I had thought it was later in the month but it was definately at Shrewsbury on the date above

With thanks to the class40motherlist website for the information below.

40152 hauled it's last train on 20-1-85 the 1E31 Manchester Victoria - Bradford Exchange Parcels.

On 21-1-85 it ran from Healey Mills - Newton Heath Depot Light engine,then withdrawn.

It remained here until 7-2-85.

On 8-2-85 it arrived at Doncaster Works for scrapping, and cut by 23-3-85

Depends on your point of view, I suppose. Sure, what you see is not natural. But, then again, what about a woman who colors her hair, wears makeup (including false lashes), and accentuates her figure?

Am I that much different?

And, bottom line, this is what I consider myself to be. So, I am NOT pretending!

This mosque is located at the beginning of Ekbatan street, near Imam Khomeini square. According to a tablet located on the front of the Mosque's big Ivan (entrance). it was built in 1253 A.H. during the Fathalishah Ghajar ruling period. "Masajed-e-Jame' (Jame’ mosques) as its name implies have central position in relation to other mosques and they always are the place of gathering people.

It has a square shape plan with three entrance gates, three Ivan. Six minarets, two old and new Shabestans, a yard and a big brick dome...more

این مسجد در نزدیکی میدان امام خمینی ، ابتدای خیابان اکباتان قرار گرفته است و تاریخ ساخت آن، که بر لوحه ای در قطار بندی جلو ایوان بزرگ مسجد نگاشته شده 1253 هجری را نشان می دهد. این سال مقارن حکومت فتحعلی شاه قاجار است. مساجد جامع، چنانکه ا نامشان پیداست، نسبت به سایر مساجد جنبه مرکزی دارند و همواره محل تجمع مسلمانان هر منطقه بوده اند.

نقشه این مسجد که به صورت مربعی است، دارای 3 درب ورودی ، 3 ایوان، 6 مناره ، 2 شبستان قدیم و جدید ، حیاط و گنبد بزرگ آجری است...بیشتر

Check out my set "Most Interesting 500" here!

Visit my Waldorfschool/Steinerschool related pinboards here!

This build was created as a retirement gift for my current colleague and former teacher David Derbes.

David has taught at The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, an nursery through 12th grade school, for 33 years. He won the Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching in 2007.

I was lucky enough to have David as my teacher for AP Physics, Electronics, and Cosmology. While I was not the best physics student, David found a way to reach me by explaining many concepts through Star Trek: The Next Generation analogies. Lectures and lessons would often be stopped as David took a sidebar with me: "Mr. Kaleta, do you remember the episode where..."

The respect for the intelligence of his students, the way is able to differentiate learning, and create dynamic lessons inspired me to be a teacher. For the past 19 years I have been his colleague. This past year our class was interested in simple machines and he allowed us to come over to the the historic campus where he gave an amazing lecture on Archemeaies that captivated a group of 5 and 6 year olds for 45 minutes.

Hopefully we will have many more beers and Star Trek discussions now that he is retired!

Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choi_Hung_Estate:

Choi Hung Estate (彩虹邨; lit. 'rainbow estate') is a public housing estate in Ngau Chi Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was built by the former Hong Kong Housing Authority (屋宇建設委員會) and is now managed by the current Hong Kong Housing Authority. It received a Silver Medal at the 1965 Hong Kong Institute of Architects Annual Awards.

Choi Hung Estate is located in Ngau Chi Wan and is surrounded by several of eastern Kowloon Peninsula's major roads. To the north is Lung Cheung Road; to the south Prince Edward Road East; to the west Kwun Tong Bypass and to the east Clear Water Bay Road.

The Hong Kong government granted the land to the Hong Kong Housing Authority to build a large housing estate in 1958. The blocks of the estate were completed between 1962 and 1964. An opening ceremony was held in 1963 with the presence of then Hong Kong Governor, Sir Robert Brown Black. A signboard commemorating the ceremony is located in the estate's Lam Chung Avenue.

Accommodating nearly 43,000 people, it was the largest public housing estate at the time.

In November 2023 it was reported that Choi Hung Estate was earmarked for redevelopment meaning that 43,000 residents will require rehoming.

In October 2024, the redevelopment plan was revealed in the Wong Tai Sin District Council. It was proposed to demolish Tan Fung House, Pik Hoi House, Kam Pik House, Market and two former Sheng Kung Hui primary schools buildings in between 2028 and 2029 as the first phase, residents in the three blocks will be settled to the new blocks in Mei Tung Estate. Once the first phase is expected to complete in between 2035 and 2036, the blocks will settle the residents in Pak Suet House, Hung Ngok House, Kam Wan House and Kam Wah House when the next phase begins. The final phase is expected to begin in between 2042 and 2043, the residents in the last remaining blocks (Chi Mei House, Luk Ching House, Chui King House and Kam Hon House) will be settled to the new blocks in the second phase. The number of units will be increased to 9200 once the entire redevelopment plan is completed in between 2048 and 2049.

The estate has 11 residential blocks, one car park, and five schools, with various shops and restaurants on the ground floor of each block. Roads in the estate connect the blocks to each other and to major roads.

According to the 2016 by-census, Choi Hung Estate had a population of 18,435. The median age was 48 and the majority of residents (96 per cent) were of Chinese ethnicity. Cantonese was the predominant usual spoken language (93 per cent), followed by other varieties of Chinese excluding Mandarin (4.5 per cent), non-English and non-Chinese languages (2 per cent), Mandarin (0.5 per cent), and English (0.3 per cent).

The average household comprised 2.5 persons. The median monthly household income of all households (i.e. including both economically active and inactive households) was HK$15,290.

The estate is photogenic and has become a tourism hot-spot. The most photographed view of the estate includes the basketball court and rainbow apartments behind. Some journalists and researchers have been vocal against the growing Instagram popularity of the area, criticising that it is a shallow view of the complex social history of the council estate in Hong Kong, as well as driving away locals who want to use the space. Though some locals have also begun selling photos for profit to tourists. It has been suggested that the location is popular not only for the aesthetics, but also because it allows the photographers and selfie-takers to feel as if they are in the middle of the world - compared to the more detached equally-aesthetic Hong Kong skyline shots. In 2017, a photograph of the building was shortlisted for the Arcaid Award, an architecture photography prize.

I wanna love you and treat you right;

I wanna love you every day and every night...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHekNnySAfM

Is this love - is this love - is this love -

Is this love that I'm feelin'?

Yes, I know; yes, I know - yes, I know now!

© All rights reserved Anna Kwa. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Is it gathering roots and rhizomes,

or roots and rhyzomes

gathering us ?

Carolina Wren...Such a aggravated expression! He worked like crazy to get this out of his bill. I have no idea what it is or where it came from. Finally he got rid of it and was able to eat some seeds.

China, Beijing, ”Yiheyuan” Summer Palace, the Seventeen-Arch Bridge is the only connection to the Nanhu Island & was built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911. The Seventeen-Arch Bridge is an imitation of the celebrated Marco Polo Bridge “Lugou Bridge” in Beijings Fengtai District.

As the name suggests, it has seventeen symmetrical arches, with the largest one in the centre & the others diminishing in size on either side. The bridge is 150 mtr long & 7 mtr high, which gets corresponds with the grandeur of the imperial garden. The bridge is decorated with 544 delicately carved lions. This vivid lions sitting on the white marble balusters, have different expressions & postures.

The Nanhu Island with an area of over one hectare & the largest one of the three islands in the Kunming Lake. The island situated in the southeast of the lake, is connected by the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. The whole island is edged by laid huge stones & enclosed with carved stone fence. Seen from the distance, the island together with the Seventeen-Arch Bridge looks like a turtle stretching his neck. As turtle is a symbol of longevity in Chinese culture, the similarity in shape justly satisfied Emperor Qianlong, who built this garden in the name of celebrating his mother's sixtieth birthday.

The main structures on the island are the pavilion-style Hanxu Hall is the shelter where Empress Dowager Cixi inspected the navy drill & the Dragon King Temple is said to have been built on the bank in the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644. Its surrounding land was deliberately retained when the lake was excavated & enlarged afterwards, thus the isolated island emerged.

The grand Tower of Buddhist Incense, towering 41 meters, is the symbol of ”Yiheyuan” the Summer Palace, located in the north-western outskirts of Beijing. The garden from early 1750 is the largest & most celebrated imperial garden in China & had once been a summer resort for the emperors. It is acclaimed as a museum of gardens in China, for a visit to this garden bestow on sightseers a glimpse of representative scenes all over China.

The palace features hundreds of architecturally distinct buildings, halls, pavilions, pagodas, bridges & corridors dispersed among magnificent, elegant gardens. It has an area of 290 hectares, three quarters of which is water. The palace has three unique areas, Court Area, Longevity Hill Area & Kunming Lake Area.

The garden was originally named “Qingyi” the Garden of Clear Ripple, was a summer resort for the emperors in the Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911. In 1860, the garden was burnt down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces. In 1866, Empress “Dowager Cixi” rebuilt the garden using embezzled funds from the imperial navy & named it the Summer Palace. In 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, the Eight-Power Allied Force ransacked the palace, after another rebuilding in 1903, the garden was restored to its original beauty & magnificence. As the grandest garden in China, it was added to the World Culture Heritage list in 1998.

👉 One World one Dream,

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

6,5 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments

Vintage postcard, no. 1030.

Delicate American actress Winona Ryder (1971) is known for her dark hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She starred in films such as Beetlejuice Heathers, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Edward Scissorhands, and the television series Stranger Things. In 1994, she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in the film The Age of Innocence (1993), and Ryder was nominated twice for an Oscar.

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Winona (Olmsted County), Minnesota, in 1971. Yes, her name is very much the same as her birthplace. Her parents, Cindy Horowitz (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller, were part of the hippie movement. She has a brother named Uri Horowitz (1976), who got his first name after Yuri Gagarin, a half-sister named Sunyata Palmer (1968), and a half-brother named Jubal Palmer (1970) from her mother Cindy's first marriage. From 1978, Winona grew up in a commune near Mendocino in California, which had no electricity. When Winona was seven, her mother began to manage an old cinema in a nearby barn and would screen films all day. She allowed Winona to miss school to watch movies with her. In 1981, the family moved to Petaluma, California. Since Winona was considered an outsider in public school, she was sent to a public school and later to the American Conservatory Theater acting school. She was discovered at the age of thirteen by a talent scout at a theatre performance at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. In 1985, she applied for a role in the film Desert Bloom (David Seltzer, 1986) with a video in which she performed a monologue from the book 'Franny and Zooey' by J. D. Salinger. Although the casting choice was fellow actress Annabeth Gish, director and writer David Seltzer recognised her talent and cast her as Rina in his film Lucas (David Seltzer, 1986) about a teenager (Corey Haim) and his life in high school. When telephoned to ask what name she wanted to be called in the credits, she chose Ryder as her stage name because her father's Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels album was playing in the background. Her real hair colour is blonde but when she made Lucas (1986), her hair color was dyed black. She was told to keep it that colour and with the exception of Edward Scissorhands (1990), it has stayed that color since. Her next film was Square Dance (Daniel Petrie, 1987), in which the protagonist she portrays lives a life between two worlds: on a traditional farm and in a big city. Ryder's performance received good reviews, although neither film was a commercial success. Her acting in Lucas led director Tim Burton to cast her in his film Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988). In this comedy, she played Lydia Deetz, who moves with her family into a house inhabited by ghosts (played by Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Keaton). Ryder, as well as the film, received positive reviews, and Beetlejuice was also successful at the box office. In 1989, she starred as Veronica Sawyer in the independent film Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1989) about a couple (Ryder and Christian Slater) who kill popular schoolgirls. Ryder's agent had previously advised her against the role. The film was a financial failure, but Ryder received positive reviews. The Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! (Jim McBride, 1989) was also a flop. That same year, Ryder appeared in Mojo Nixon's music video 'Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child'. At the premiere of Great Balls of Fire (1989), Ryder met fellow actor and later film partner Johnny Depp. The couple became engaged a few months later, but their relationship ended in 1993. He had a tattoo of her name and after they broke up, he had this reduced to "Wino forever".

In 1990, Winona Ryder had her breakthrough performance alongside her boyfriend Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990). The fantasy film was an international box-office success. Ryder was selected for the role of Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990) but had to drop out of the role after catching the flu from the strain of doing the films Welcome Home Roxy (Jim Abrahams, 1990) and Mermaids (Richard Benjamin, 1990) back-to-back. Ryder's performance alongside Cher and Christina Ricci in the family comedy Mermaids (1990) was praised by critics and she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Ryder also appeared with Cher and Ricci in the music video for 'The Shoop Shoop Song', the film's theme song. Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote a role specifically for her in Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, 1991), as a tattooed, chain-smoking cabdriver who dreams of becoming a mechanic. Ryder was cast in a dual role as Mina Murray and Elisabeta in Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992). In 1993, she starred as Blanca in the drama The House of the Spirits (Bille August, 1993) alongside Antonio Banderas, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. It is the film adaptation of Isabel Allende's bestseller of the same name. Together with Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day-Lewis, she starred in Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993), the film adaptation of Edith Wharton's novel. She was Martin Scorsese's first and only choice for the role of May Welland. For years, she kept the message he left on her voicemail, informing her she got the role. Her part earned her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and an Oscar nomination. She also earned positive reviews for her role in the comedy Reality Bites (Ben Stiller, 1994). She received critical acclaim and another Oscar nomination the same year as Jo in the drama Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994). In 1996, she starred alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Joan Allen in The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), an adaptation of Arthur Miller's stage play about the Puritan witch hunt in Salem. The film was not a success; however, Ryder's performance was favourably reviewed. A year later she portrayed an android in the successful horror film Alien: Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997) alongside Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. In 1998 she starred in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998). after Drew Barrymore turned down the role. In 1999 she starred as a psychiatric patient with borderline syndrome in the drama Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold, 1999), based on Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical novel. Girl, Interrupted, the first film on which she served as executive producer, was supposed to be Ryder's comeback in Hollywood after the flops of the past years. However, the film became the breakthrough for her colleague Angelina Jolie, who won an Oscar for her role. In this decade, she was involved with Dave Pirner, the lead singer of the group Soul Asylum, from 1993 to 1996 and with Matt Damon from December 1997 to April 2000.

Winona Ryder appeared alongside Richard Gere in Autumn in New York (Joan Chen, 2000), a romance about an older man's love for a younger woman. She also made a cameo appearance in the comedy Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2000). The comedy Mr. Deeds (Steven Brill, 2002) with Adam Sandler became her biggest financial success to date. The film failed with critics and Ryder was nominated for the Golden Raspberry award. Also in 2002, she was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of work for repeatedly shoplifting $5,000 worth of clothes. The incident caused a career setback. She withdrew from the public eye in the following years and did not appear in front of the camera again until 2006. In that year, she appeared in the novel adaptation A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006) alongside Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson. In 2009, she made an appearance in Star Trek: The Future Begins (J. J. Abrams, 2009) as Spock (Zachary Quinto)'s mother Amanda Grayson. The prequel became a huge success at the box office and Ryder earned a Scream Award for Best Guest Appearance. She also appeared alongside Robin Wright and Julianne Moore in Rebecca Miller's Pippa Lee (2009), and alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010). Ryder starred in the television film When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (John Kent Harrison, 2010), for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in the comedy The Dilemma (Ron Howard, 2011), and the thrillers The Iceman (Ariel Vromen, 2012), and The Letter (Jay Anania, 2012) opposite James Franco. In Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (2012) she lent her voice to the character Elsa Van Helsing. Since 2016, she has embodied the main character, Joyce Byers, in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016-2022), for which she received positive responses. Her role in the series has been described by many as a comeback. Since 2011 Winona Ryder is in a relationship with Scott MacKinlay Hahn.

Sources: Pedro Borges (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and German), and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

. . . when it is practically impossible to take a bad picture.

It is when it comes to flamingos, but not in a room in my house. So colors do have there place, and pink on flamingos is beautiful

I have been sick the last few weeks, so I have been staying up with things very well. Starting to feel better, I need to because I am attending the Red Slough Birding Convention the first of May.

My colleague at work was cleaning her office room, because she thought she had too much redundant stuff in there and she was giving things she didn't need so to me she gave a book “Deception on the plate” (originally a Swedish book “Den hemlige kocken” by Mats-Erik Nilsson). And than I read this weeks MM theme and there's a book on my desk with deception written with big letters on the cover :) Did I feel lucky!

The book is about how the food isn't exactly what the manufacturers say it is, for example those freshly squeezed orange juices that are sold in the stores aren't really so fresh, the juice can be almost ten months old, before it's even in the stores.

So I guess it's best to make my own juice if I want to be sure it's really fresh :)

For MacroMondays theme "Deception"

Happy MacroMonday!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpback_whale

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb). The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals, it is popular with whale watchers off Australia, New Zealand, South America, Canada, and the United States.

Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a role in mating.

Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) each year. Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish. Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique.

Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a moratorium was introduced in 1966. While stocks have since partially recovered, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution continue to impact the 80,000 humpbacks worldwide.

Taxonomy

Humpback whales are rorquals (family Balaenopteridae), a family that includes the blue whale, the fin whale, the Bryde's whale, the sei whale and the minke whale. The rorquals are believed to have diverged from the other families of the suborder Mysticeti as long ago as the middle Miocene.[3] However, it is not known when the members of these families diverged from each other.

Though clearly related to the giant whales of the genus Balaenoptera, the humpback has been the sole member of its genus since Gray's work in 1846. More recently, though, DNA sequencing analysis has indicated the humpback is more closely related to certain rorquals, particularly the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), and possibly to the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), than it is to rorquals such as the minke whales.[4][5] If further research confirms these relationships, it will be necessary to reclassify the rorquals.

The humpback whale was first identified as baleine de la Nouvelle Angleterre by Mathurin Jacques Brisson in his Regnum Animale of 1756. In 1781, Georg Heinrich Borowski described the species, converting Brisson's name to its Latin equivalent, Balaena novaeangliae. In 1804, Lacépède shifted the humpback from the Balaenidae family, renaming it Balaenoptera jubartes. In 1846, John Edward Gray created the genus Megaptera, classifying the humpback as Megaptera longipinna, but in 1932, Remington Kellogg reverted the species names to use Borowski's novaeangliae.[6] The common name is derived from the curving of their backs when diving. The generic name Megaptera from the Greek mega-/μεγα- "giant" and ptera/πτερα "wing",[7] refers to their large front flippers. The specific name means "New Englander" and was probably given by Brisson due the regular sightings of humpbacks off the coast of New England.

Description

A humpback whale can easily be identified by its stocky body with an obvious hump and black dorsal coloring. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are hair follicles, and are characteristic of the species. The fluked tail, which it lifts above the surface in some dive sequences, has wavy trailing edges.[8] The four global populations, all under study, are: North Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean humpbacks, which have distinct populations which complete a migratory round-trip each year, and the Indian Ocean population, which does not migrate, prevented by that ocean's northern coastline.

The long black and white tail fin, which can be up to a third of body length, and the pectoral fins have unique patterns, which make individual whales identifiable.[9][10] Several hypotheses attempt to explain the humpback's pectoral fins, which are proportionally the longest fins of any cetacean. The two most enduring mention the higher maneuverability afforded by long fins, and the usefulness of the increased surface area for temperature control when migrating between warm and cold climates.

Humpbacks have 270 to 400 darkly coloured baleen plates on each side of their mouths.[11] The plates measure from a mere 18 inches (46 cm) in the front to approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) long in the back, behind the hinge. Ventral grooves run from the lower jaw to the umbilicus about halfway along the underside of the whale. These grooves are less numerous (usually 14–22) than in other rorquals but are fairly wide.[11]

The stubby dorsal fin is visible soon after the blow when the whale surfaces, but disappears by the time the flukes emerge. Humpbacks have a 3 metres (9.8 ft), heart-shaped to bushy blow, or exhalation of water through the blowholes. Because humpback whales breathe voluntarily, the whales possibly shut off only half of their brains when sleeping.[12] Early whalers also noted blows from humpback adults to be 10–20 feet (3.0–6.1 m) high.

Newborn calves are roughly the length of their mother's head. At birth, calves measure 20 feet (6.1 m) at 2 short tons (1.8 t) The mother, by comparison, is about 50 feet (15 m). They nurse for approximately six months, then mix nursing and independent feeding for possibly six months more. Humpback milk is 50% fat and pink in color.

Females reach sexual maturity at the age of five, achieving full adult size a little later. Males reach sexual maturity at approximately seven years of age. Humpback whale lifespans range from 45–100 years.[13] Fully grown, the males average 13–14 m (43–46 ft). Females are slightly larger at 15–16 m (49–52 ft); the largest recorded specimen was 19 metres (62 ft) long and had pectoral fins measuring 6 metres (20 ft) each.[14] Body mass typically is in the range of 25–30 metric tons (28–33 short tons), with large specimens weighing over 40 metric tons (44 short tons).[15] The female has a hemispherical lobe about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) in diameter in its genital region. This visually distinguishes males and females.[11] The male's penis usually remains hidden in the genital slit.

Identifying individuals

The varying patterns on the tail flukes are sufficient to identify individuals. A study using data from 1973 to 1998 on whales in the North Atlantic gave researchers detailed information on gestation times, growth rates, and calving periods, as well as allowing more accurate population predictions by simulating the mark-release-recapture technique (Katona and Beard 1982). A photographic catalogue of all known North Atlantic whales was developed over this period and is currently maintained by College of the Atlantic.[16] Similar photographic identification projects have begun in the North Pacific by Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of Humpbacks, and around the world.

Life history

Social structure

The humpback social structure is loose-knit. Typically, individuals live alone or in small, transient groups that disband after a few hours. These whales are not excessively social in most cases. Groups may stay together a little longer in summer to forage and feed cooperatively. Longer-term relationships between pairs or small groups, lasting months or even years, have rarely been observed. Some females possibly retain bonds created via cooperative feeding for a lifetime. The humpback's range overlaps considerably with other whale and dolphin species—for instance, the minke whale. However, humpbacks rarely interact socially with them, though one individual was observed playing with a bottlenose dolphin in Hawaiian waters.[17]

Courtship and reproduction

Courtship rituals take place during the winter months, following migration toward the equator from summer feeding grounds closer to the poles. Competition is usually fierce, and unrelated males, dubbed escorts by researcher Louis Herman, frequently trail females, as well as mother-calf dyads. Male gather into "competitive groups" and fight for females.[18] Group size ebbs and flows as unsuccessful males retreat and others arrive to try their luck. Behaviors include breaching, spyhopping, lob-tailing, tail-slapping, fin-slapping, peduncle throws, charging and parrying. Whale songs are assumed to have an important role in mate selection; however, they may also be used between males to establish dominance.[19]

Females typically breed every two or three years. The gestation period is 11.5 months, yet some individuals have been known to breed in two consecutive years. The peak months for birth are January, February, July, and August, with usually a one- to two–year period between humpback births. They can live up to 48 years. Recent research on humpback mitochondrial DNA reveals groups living in proximity to each other may represent distinct breeding pools.[20]

Song

Both male and female humpback whales vocalize, but only males produce the long, loud, complex "songs" for which the species is famous. Each song consists of several sounds in a low register, varying in amplitude and frequency, and typically lasting from 10 to 20 minutes.[21] Humpbacks may sing continuously for more than 24 hours. Cetaceans have no vocal cords, so whales generate their songs by forcing air through their massive nasal cavities.

Whales within a large area sing the same song. All North Atlantic humpbacks sing the same song, and those of the North Pacific sing a different song. Each population's song changes slowly over a period of years without repeating.[21]

Scientists are unsure of the purpose of whale songs. Only males sing, suggesting one purpose is to attract females. However, many of the whales observed to approach a singer are other males, often resulting in conflict. Singing may, therefore, be a challenge to other males.[22] Some scientists have hypothesized the song may serve an echolocative function.[23] During the feeding season, humpbacks make altogether different vocalizations for herding fish into their bubble nets.[24]

Humpback whales have also been found to make a range of other social sounds to communicate, such as "grunts", "groans", "thwops", "snorts" and "barks"

Ecology

Feeding and predation

Humpbacks feed primarily in summer and live off fat reserves during winter.[26] They feed only rarely and opportunistically in their wintering waters. The humpback is an energetic hunter, taking krill and small schooling fish such as Atlantic herring, Atlantic salmon, capelin, and American sand lance, as well as Atlantic mackerel, pollock, and haddock in the North Atlantic.[27][28][29] Krill and copepods have been recorded as prey species in Australian and Antarctic waters.[30] Humpbacks hunt by direct attack or by stunning prey by hitting the water with pectoral fins or flukes.

The humpback has the most diverse feeding repertoire of all baleen whales.[31] Its most inventive technique is known as bubble net feeding; a group of whales swims in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of prey. The shrinking ring of bubbles encircles the school and confines it in an ever-smaller cylinder. This ring can begin at up to 30 metres (98 ft) in diameter and involve the cooperation of a dozen animals. Using a crittercam attached to a whale's back, some whales were found to blow the bubbles, some dive deeper to drive fish toward the surface, and others herd prey into the net by vocalizing.[32] The whales then suddenly swim upward through the "net", mouths agape, swallowing thousands of fish in one gulp. Plated grooves in the whale's mouth allow the creature to easily drain all the water initially taken in.

Given scarring records, killer whales are thought to prey upon juvenile humpbacks, though this has never been witnessed. The result of these attacks is generally nothing more serious than some scarring of the skin, but young calves likely are sometimes killed.[33]

Range and habitat

Humpbacks inhabit all major oceans, in a wide band running from the Antarctic ice edge to 77° N latitude, though not in the eastern Mediterranean or the Baltic Sea.They are migratory, spending summers in cooler, high-latitude waters and mating and calving in tropical and subtropical waters.[21] An exception to this rule is a population in the Arabian Sea, which remains in these tropical waters year-round.[21] Annual migrations of up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) are typical, making it one of the mammals' best-traveled species.

A large population spreads across the Hawaiian Islands every winter, ranging from the island of Hawaii in the south to Kure Atoll in the north.[34] A 2007 study identified seven individuals wintering off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica as having traveled from the Antarctic—around 8,300 kilometres (5,200 mi). Identified by their unique tail patterns, these animals made the longest documented mammalian migration.[35] In Australia, two main migratory populations have been identified, off the west and east coasts, respectively. These two populations are distinct, with only a few females in each generation crossing between the two groups.[36]

Whaling

Humpback whales were hunted as early as the 18th century, but distinguished by whalers as early as the first decades of the 17th century. By the 19th century, many nations (the United States in particular), were hunting the animal heavily in the Atlantic Ocean, and to a lesser extent in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The late-19th-century introduction of the explosive harpoon, though, allowed whalers to accelerate their take. This, along with hunting in the Antarctic Ocean beginning in 1904, sharply reduced whale populations. During the 20th century, over 200,000 humpbacks were estimated to have been taken, reducing the global population by over 90%, with North Atlantic populations estimated to have dropped to as low as 700 individuals.[37] In 1946, the International Whaling Commission was founded to oversee the whaling industry. They imposed rules and regulations for hunting whales and set open and closed hunting seasons. To prevent extinction, the International Whaling Commission banned commercial humpback whaling in 1966. By then, the population had been reduced to around 5,000.[38] That ban is still in force.

Prior to commercial whaling, populations could have reached 125,000. North Pacific kills alone are estimated at 28,000.[8] The full toll is much higher. It is now known that the Soviet Union was deliberately under-recording its catches; the Soviet catch was reported at 2,820, whereas the true number is now believed to be over 48,000.[39]

As of 2004, hunting of humpback whales was restricted to a few animals each year off the Caribbean island Bequia in the nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.[31] The take is not believed to threaten the local population. Japan had planned to kill 50 humpbacks in the 2007/08 season under its JARPA II research program, starting in November 2007. The announcement sparked global protests.[40] After a visit to Tokyo by the chairman of the IWC, asking the Japanese for their co-operation in sorting out the differences between pro- and antiwhaling nations on the Commission, the Japanese whaling fleet agreed no humpback whales would be caught for the two years it would take for the IWC to reach a formal agreement.[41]

In 2010, the International Whaling Commission authorized Greenland's native population to hunt a few humpback whales for the next three years.[42]

Conservation

The worldwide population is at least 80,000 humpback whales, with 18,000-20,000 in the North Pacific,[43] about 12,000 in the North Atlantic,[44] and over 50,000 in the Southern Hemisphere,[45] down from a prewhaling population of 125,000.[8]

This species is considered "least concern" from a conservation standpoint, as of 2008. This is an improvement from vulnerable in 1996 and endangered as recently as 1988. Most monitored stocks of humpback whales have rebounded well since the end of commercial whaling,[2][46] such as the North Atlantic, where stocks are now believed to be approaching levels similar to those before hunting began. However, the species is considered endangered in some countries, including the United States.[47][48] The United States initiated a status review of the species on August 12, 2009, and is seeking public comment on potential changes to the species listing under the Endangered Species Act.[49] Areas where population data are limited and the species may be at higher risk include the Arabian Sea, the western North Pacific Ocean, the west coast of Africa and parts of Oceania.[2]

Today, individuals are vulnerable to collisions with ships, entanglement in fishing gear, and noise pollution.[2] Like other cetaceans, humpbacks can be injured by excessive noise. In the 19th century, two humpback whales were found dead near sites of repeated oceanic sub-bottom blasting, with traumatic injuries and fractures in the ears.[50]

Once hunted to the brink of extinction, the humpback has made a dramatic comeback in the North Pacific. A 2008 study estimated the humpback population, which hit a low of 1,500 whales before hunting was banned worldwide, has made a comeback to a population of between 18,000 and 20,000.[51] Saxitoxin, a paralytic shellfish poisoning from contaminated mackerel has been implicated in humpback whale deaths.[52]

The United Kingdom, among other countries, designated the humpback as a priority species under the national Biodiversity Action Plan. The sanctuary provided by US National Parks, such as Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, among others, have also become major factors in sustaining populations.[53]

Although much was learned about humpbacks from whaling, migratory patterns and social interactions were not well understood until two studies by R. Chittleborough and W. H. Dawbin in the 1960s.[54] Roger Payne and Scott McVay made further studies of the species in 1971.[55] Their analysis of whale songs led to worldwide media interest and convinced the public that whales were highly intelligent, aiding the antiwhaling advocates.

In August 2008, the IUCN changed humpback's status from Vulnerable to Least Concern, although two subpopulations remain endangered.[56] The United States is considering listing separate humpback populations, so smaller groups, such as North Pacific humpbacks, which are estimated to number 18,000-20,000 animals, might be delisted. This is made difficult by humpback's extraordinary migrations, which can extend the 5,157 miles (8,299 km) from Antarctica to Costa Rica.[20]

Whale-watching

Humpback whales are generally curious about objects in their environments. Some individuals, referred to as "friendlies", approach whale-watching boats closely, often staying under or near the boat for many minutes. Because humpbacks are often easily approachable, curious, easily identifiable as individuals, and display many behaviors, they have become the mainstay of whale-watching tourism in many locations around the world. Hawaii has used the concept of "ecotourism" to use the species without killing them. This whale-watching business brings in a revenue of $20 million per year for the state's economy

Raquelle, Christie and Teresa

[...Teresa is standing at the door looking very tired and out of breath]

C. --- Hey! What's...

[Teresa slouches against the door frame trying to catch her breath]

R. --- I thought just Drew was coming over.... Well, I hope you brought your own popcorn.

C. --- Are you okay? What's up?

[after catching her breath Teresa finally speaks up]

T. --- I need to.... I need to sit down.

C. --- Something's wrong with you. What's going on?

T. --- I didn't know what to do?

C. --- What? What are you...

[Teresa starts crying]

R. --- Gosh Teresa! What is going on. You're freaking' me out.

T. --- We were just getting a gift. That's it.

C. --- Sit. Clam down, okay. Tell us what happened.

T. ---- I... I can't... I can't... [as she starts to become hysterical]

C. --- TERESA! Calm down! You can tell us. What happened?

[after a few minutes she starts to regain herself and breathe slower, then she replies...]

T. --- Okay.....

_____

Part of F2K, Vol. 8

>>>Now through Thursday (June 6th), there will be two scenes uploaded daily!

5BGP4635

The subject is a small bouncy ball. Seize it as it flies through the air to find beauty:

Ask the poet Keats, who said that "what the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth."

He might also have said that what the hand seizes as a ball must be truth, but he didn't, because he was a poet and preferred loafing about under trees with a bottle of laudanum and a notebook to playing cricket, but it would have been equally true.

-- Douglas Adams, in Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, chapter 19

It was shot for entry into Macro Monday's "Defining Beauty" challenge.

Lens

SMC PENTAX-FA Macro 100mm F2.8

Lighting

One Pentax AF540FGZ is the wireless master, on the camera.

Another one, acting as the wireless slave positioned behind the subject, firing through a McDonalds Happy Meal toy periscope.

Yes, there were simpler ways to light the scene, but this was fun.

See the first comment for an image of the setup.

A few shots from a recent exhibit in Madrid at the Gallery Mad is Mad, c/ Pelayo 48 en Chueca

it's Cellphone Photography

Italien / Piemont - Nationalpark Val Grande

On the way from the Capella Fina to the Rifugio Pian Cavallone.

Auf dem Weg von der Capella Fina zum Rifugio Pian Cavallone.

Val Grande National Park (Italian: Parco Nazionale della Val Grande) is a protected area located in Piedmont, in the north of Italy, at the border with Switzerland. It is most notable for landscapes of the High Alps.

Geography

The park is located in Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and is shared between ten municipalities: Aurano, Beura-Cardezza, Caprezzo, Cossogno, Valle Cannobina, Intragna, Malesco, Miazzina, Premosello-Chiovenda, San Bernardino Verbano, Santa Maria Maggiore, Trontano, and Vogogna.

The park lies entirely in the drainage basin of the Po River. It is located between the valley of Vigezzo in the north, the Cannobina valley in the northwest, the valley of Ossola in the southwest, and Lake Maggiore in the southeast. The park is not populated and is often described as "the largest wilderness in the Alps"

Val Grande and Val Pogallo, two principal valleys inside the park, with the former running southeast and the latter running south, feed the two major rivers in the park. These valleys join into Torrente San Bernardino, a tributary of Lake Maggiore. The majority of the area of the park is forested.

History

Shepherds populated Val Grande since at least the 13th century, and the timber production was active since the 15th century. However, at the end of World War II all population left the area, following the actions of German troops against the Italian resistance in the area in June 1944. The idea to create a national park in Val Grande dates back to 1953. In 1967, the area was designated a Strict Nature Reserve and became the first conservation area with this status in the Italian Alps. In 1974, the Association Italia Nostra developed a detailed plan to establish a national park, and, in the 1980s, the preparation started. The park was established on March 2, 1992. On June 24, 1998 the area of the park was extended.

Tourism

As of 2012, the park had three visitor centers (located in Santa Maria Maggiore, Cossogno, and Premosello-Chiovenda), two museums, and a number of nature itineraries, which should be followed accompanied by a guide.

(Wikipedia)

Der Nationalpark Val Grande (italienisch Parco nazionale della Val Grande) ist ein Nationalpark in den norditalienischen Alpen, nahe der Schweiz. Er liegt zwischen dem Lago Maggiore und dem Val d’Ossola in der piemontesischen Provinz Verbano-Cusio-Ossola und ist 146 km² groß.

Im westlichen Teil des Parks liegt seine namengebende Kernzone, das schwer zugängliche Val Grande. Der östliche Teil besteht aus dem offeneren Val Pogallo und einigen angrenzenden Gebieten.

Das Gebiet des Felsenmassivs Pedum wurde 1967 zur Riserva naturale integrale (Totalreservat) erklärt. Nach mehreren Initiativen lokaler Gruppen und des Umweltministers in den 1980er Jahren wurde schließlich 1992 der Parco Nazionale della Valgrande geschaffen.

Die einzigen Ortschaften im Nationalpark sind Cicogna im Val Pogallo und Colloro am südwestlichen Rand des Parks. Der größte Teil des Nationalparks war nie ganzjährig bewohnt. Es wurde jedoch intensive Almwirtschaft betrieben, bis in die 1950er Jahre auch Waldwirtschaft. Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg wurden bis in die 1970er Jahre sämtliche Almen aufgegeben, im Val Grande selbst bis 1969. Nachdem der Verbiss durch die Weidetiere fehlt, wandeln sich die ehemaligen Almen allmählich zur Wildnis.

Erst nach Gründung des Nationalparks begann ein bescheidener Tourismus. Abgesehen von etlichen frei zugänglichen Steinhäusern ist kaum touristische Infrastruktur vorhanden. Außer den Zufahrten nach Cicogna und Colloro existieren keine ausgebauten Straßen.

Geographie

Val Grande

Das Val Grande ist etwa 25 Kilometer lang, der größte Teil davon ist unbewohnt und liegt im Nationalpark Val Grande (Parco Nazionale della Valgrande). Der Hauptfluss des Val Grande ist der Torrente San Bernardino, er entspringt am Monte Togano (2301 m s.l.m.) und fließt in Intra/Verbania in den Lago Maggiore (193 m s.l.m.). Sieben stark bewaldete und ursprüngliche Seitentäler bilden den oberen Teil des Val Grande. Mancherorts finden sich noch Überreste der einstigen Alpwirtschaft.

Im Zentrum des oberen Val Grande steht der Pizzo Mottac (1802 m s.l.m.). An dessen Fuß liegen die Alpen In La Piana und Gabbio. Der mittlere Bereich ist eine wilde Schlucht ohne Wanderweg. Steile Wälder und Felsbänder prägen diesen Abschnitt. Der unterste Teil des Val Grande ist ab Ponte Casletto mit einer schmalen Straße, die nach Cicogna führt, erschlossen. Darin liegen die Ortschaften Rovegro, Cossogno, Santino, Unchio und Trobaso.

Das Val Grande gilt als das größte Wildnisgebiet im Alpenraum.

Die Vegetation besteht in den Tälern aus Kastanien- und Buchenwäldern. Bis 1800 m s.l.m. reicht dichter Bewuchs. Darüber findet sich Grasheide mit Erlensträuchern in geschützten Lagen.

Die Seitentäler des oberen Val Grande heißen Val Gabbio, Val Serena, Valle Rossa, Val Ragozzale, Val Portaiola, Val Biordo und Vallone di Loc. Im mittleren Val Grande heißen die Seitentäler Val Fredda, Val Piana und Val Cauri.

Val Pogallo

Beim Ponte Casletto treffen sich Val Pogallo und Val Grande. Das Val Pogallo ist bewohnt und besser erschlossen. Zur Blütezeit der Holzwirtschaft wurde ein teils mit großen Steinplatten sehr gut ausgebauter Weg von Cicogna aus erbaut. Dieser Weg wurde später nach dem Gründer der Holzgesellschaft und vielseitigen Industriellen Carlo Sutermeister benannt und wird als Strada Sutermeister bezeichnet. Gerne nutzen ihn als einen der schönsten leichten Wege Wanderer von Cicogna aus. Das einstige Holzfällerdorf Pogallo war zwischenzeitlich komplett verfallen. Nach und nach wurden viele der Steinhäuser wieder instand gesetzt. Mitglieder des Vereines Associazzione Amici di Pogallo pflegen das Dorf, das von Cicogna aus über eine 1,5 Stunden lange Wanderung erreichbar ist. Der Weg ist ein Sentiero Natura mit Infotafeln des Nationalparkes und führt auch an einer Badestelle vorbei.

Geschichte

Zur Römerzeit scheint das Val Grande besiedelt gewesen zu sein. Ab dem 13. Jahrhundert begannen die Bewohner der umliegenden Täler die Alpwirtschaft auf das Val Grande auszudehnen.

Mit der Industrialisierung ergab sich eine Abwanderung aus den Bergtälern und die Alpwirtschaft wurde bereits stellenweise aufgegeben. Im Val Grande wurde 1969 die letzte Alp der Natur überlassen.

Im mittleren und unteren Val Grande hinterließ die Holzwirtschaft in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts ihre Spuren, als ein verzweigtes Netz von Seilbahnen errichtet wurde. In dieser Zeit wurden in Pogallo, Orfalecchio, Arca und an anderen Orten Wohn- und Wirtschaftsgebäude errichtet.

Während des Zweiten Weltkriegs gründeten antifaschistische Partisanen die Repubblica dell’Ossola. Nachdem alliierte Truppen bereits Rom eingenommen hatten, wurden die Partisanen von Soldaten Mussolinis und der deutschen Wehrmacht vertrieben und zogen sich ins Gebiet des Val Grande zurück. Im Juli 1944 unternahm die deutsche SS mit Einheiten der faschistischen Repubblica Sociale Italiana eine Durchkämmung (Rastrellamento), um gegen Kämpfer der Resistenza in den Bergen vorzugehen. Dabei wurden ca. 500 Menschen getötet. Darunter wurden viele Opfer grausamer Hinrichtungen der Faschisten.

Wie die Zeitzeugin Antonietta Chiovini berichtete, wurden auf dem kargen Gipfel bei der Kapelle von Marona von der Waffen-SS zwölf Partisanen gestellt, die den Feind von der eigenen Brigade ablenken wollten. Um Munition zu sparen, wurden die jungen Männer halbtot geschlagen, bevor sie den Abhang hinunter gestoßen wurden.

Beim Beschuss der Bergsiedlungen wurden viele Gebäude und die zum Abtransport gefällter Bäume dienenden Seilbahnen zerstört. Der Verlust der Infrastruktur trug zum Rückzug des Menschen aus dem Gebiet um das Val Grande bei.

Wanderrouten

Im oberen Teil existiert ein gut ausgebauter und markierter Weg von Malesco über die Alpe Scaredi, In La Piana, Gabbio und Alpe della Colma nach Premosello (in diesen erwähnten Alpen stehen kostenlose und sehr einfach eingerichtete Hütten zur Verfügung). Abseits dieser Route gibt es nur wenige und schlechter erkennbare markierte Wege. Die meisten alten Pfade sind verschwunden. Mobilfunkempfang gibt es fast im gesamten oberen Val Grande nicht.

(Wikipedia)

This is the first time I've been to a movie premier! It was a ton of fun. My friends and I got to walk the red carpet where we saw Paul Walker and Vin Diesel giving interviews to ET. I can't stop smiling :).

Here is my ATC mounted onto a card!

This month's contest was to either: make an ATC, use flowers or use colored pencils. I used all three! I made this ATC using flowers and colored pencils. All stamps are cling stamps from Hero Arts.

www.ablogcalledwanda.com

Devi is not a divine soul which is worshiped by human being ..It is the existence of creative power within ourselves .

French postcard by Editions F. Nugeron, no. Star 130. Photo: Air France / Distribution VU. Caption: Orson Wells (sic), Septembre 1967.

American actor, director, writer and producer Orson Welles (1915-1985) worked in theatre, radio and film, both in the US and in Europe. He is remembered for his innovative work in all three media, most notably Caesar (1937), a groundbreaking Broadway adaptation of Julius Caesar and the debut of the Mercury Theatre; The War of the Worlds (1938), one of the most famous broadcasts in the history of radio; and Citizen Kane (1941), ranked as one of the all-time greatest films. His other films include The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Touch of Evil (1958) and Le Procès/The Trial (1962).

George Orson Welles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1915. He was the second son of Beatrice (née Ives) and Richard Hodgdon Head Welles. In 1919, his parents separated and moved to Chicago. His father, who made a fortune as the inventor of a popular bicycle lamp, became an alcoholic and stopped working. His brother ‘Dickie’ was institutionalized at an early age because he had learning difficulties. Welles's mother, a beautiful concert pianist, had to support her son and herself. In 1924, Beatrice died of hepatitis in a Chicago hospital, just after Welles's ninth birthday. He was taken in by Dudley Crafts Watson. At the age of ten Orson ran away from home with Watson's third daughter, Marjorie. They were found a week later, singing and dancing for money on a street corner in Milwaukee. Welles' father died when Orson was 15. Maurice Bernstein, a physician from Chicago, became his guardian. His school teacher Roger Hill provided Welles with an ad hoc educational environment that proved invaluable to his creative experience, allowing Welles to perform and stage theatrical experiments and productions. Welles was awarded a scholarship to Harvard University, but he chose instead to travel to Europe. In Ireland, he strode into the Gate Theatre in Dublin and claimed he was a Broadway star. The manager of Gate, Hilton Edwards, was impressed by his brashness and an impassioned quality in his audition. Welles made his stage debut at the Gate in 1931, appearing in Jew Suss as the Duke. He acted to great acclaim, word of which reached the United States. On returning to the United States he wrote the immensely successful Everybody's Shakespeare. In 1933, he toured in three off-Broadway productions with Katharine Cornell's company, including two roles in Romeo and Juliet. In 1934, he shot his first film, an eight-minute short titled The Hearts of Age, and he married Chicago actress Virginia Nicholson. By 1935 Welles was supplementing his earnings in the theatre as a radio actor, working with many actors who would later form the core of his Mercury Theatre.

In 1936, the Federal Theatre Project (part of Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration) put unemployed theatre performers and employees to work. Orson Welles was hired by John Houseman and assigned to direct a play for the Federal Theatre Project's Negro Theatre Unit. His production of Macbeth was set in the Haitian court of King Henri Christophe, with voodoo witch doctors for the three Weird Sisters. The play was received rapturously and later toured the nation. At 20, Welles was hailed as a prodigy. A few minutes of Welles’ ‘Voodoo Macbeth’ was recorded on film in the documentary We Work Again (1937). Welles rehearsed Marc Blitzstein's political operetta, The Cradle Will Rock, but because of severe federal cutbacks in the Works Progress projects, the show's premiere at the Maxine Elliott Theatre was cancelled. In a last-minute move, Welles announced to waiting ticket-holders that the show was being transferred to the Venice, twenty blocks away. Some cast, crew and audience members walked the distance on foot. Lacking the participation of the union members, The Cradle Will Rock began with Blitzstein introducing the show and playing the piano accompaniment on stage with some cast members performing from the audience. This impromptu performance was well received and played at the Venice for two more weeks. Welles and Houseman then formed the Mercury Theatre, of which Welles became executive producer and whose repertory company eventually included the actors Agnes Moorehead, Joseph Cotten, Dolores del Río, Everett Sloane, and Erskine Sanford. The first Mercury Theatre production was William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar, set in a contemporary frame of fascist Italy. The production was widely acclaimed. In the second year of the Mercury Theater, Welles shifted his interests to radio. He adapted, directed and played Hamlet for CBS and Les Misérables for Mutual with great success. CBS gave the Mercury Theatre a weekly hour-long show to broadcast radio plays based on classic literary works. In 1938, their adaptation of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells brought Welles instant fame. The combination of the news bulletin form of the performance with the between-breaks dial spinning habits of listeners from the rival more popular Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy program was later reported in the media to have created widespread confusion. Wikipedia: “Panic was reportedly spread among listeners who believed the news reports of a Martian invasion. The myth of the result created by the combination was reported as fact around the world and disparagingly mentioned by Adolf Hitler in a public speech some months later. The 1975 docudrama The Night That Panicked America was based on events centering on the production of, and events that resulted from the program.”

Orson Welles's growing fame drew Hollywood offers, lures that the independent-minded Welles resisted at first. RKO Radio Pictures president George Schaefer eventually offered him complete artistic control and signed Welles in a two-picture deal, although Welles had a budget limit for his projects. In Hollywood, Welles toyed with various ideas for his first project. RKO rejected Welles's first two movie proposals, but agreed on the third offer, Citizen Kane (1941), for which Welles co-wrote, produced, directed and performed the lead role. Co-scriptwriter Joseph Mankiewicz based the original outline on an exposé of the life of William Randolph Hearst, whom he knew socially and came to hate, having once been great friends with Hearst's mistress, Marion Davies. Kane's megalomania was modelled loosely on Robert McCormick, Howard Hughes and Joseph Pulitzer as Welles wanted to create a broad, complex character, intending to show him in the same scenes from several points of view. On Welles's instruction, John Houseman wrote the opening narration as a pastiche of The March of Time newsreels. Autobiographical allusions to Welles were worked in, most noticeably in the treatment of Kane's childhood and particularly, regarding his guardianship. Once the script was complete, Welles attracted cinematographer Gregg Toland, and actors from his Mercury Theatre. After gossip columnist Hedda Hopper saw a preview screening of Citizen Kane, the attempted suppression of Citizen Kane started. Hearst's media outlets boycotted the film. They exerted enormous pressure on Hollywood, but RKO gave the film a limited release. The film was well-received critically, and garnered nine Academy Award nominations. Welles was nominated as a producer, director, writer and actor, but won only for Best Original Screenplay, shared with Mankiewicz. Today, the film is considered by most film critics and historians to be one of the classics in film history.

Orson Welles's second film for RKO was The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Booth Tarkington. At RKO's request, Welles worked also on an adaptation of Eric Ambler's spy thriller, Journey into Fear (Norman Foster, 1943), co-written with Joseph Cotten. In addition to acting in the film, Welles was the producer. Changes throughout RKO caused re-evaluations of both projects. RKO took control of The Magnificent Ambersons, and ordered to edit the film into a ‘commercial’ format. They removed fifty minutes of Welles's footage, re-shot sequences, rearranged the scene order, and added a happy ending. It resulted in an expensive flop for RKO, although The Magnificent Ambersons received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Agnes Moorehead. Welles found no studios interested in him as a director after the disaster of The Magnificent Ambersons and worked on radio. In 1943, he married Rita Hayworth. They had one child, Rebecca Welles, and divorced five years later in 1948. In between, Welles found work as an actor in other films. He starred in the film adaptation of Jane Eyre (Robert Stevenson, 1944), trading credit as associate producer for top billing over Joan Fontaine. He had a cameo in the wartime salute Follow the Boys (A. Edward Sutherland, 1944), in which he performed his magic act ‘sawing’ Marlene Dietrich in half. In 1946, Sam Spiegel produced The Stranger (Orson Welles, 1946), starring Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young and Welles. The film follows the hunt for a Nazi war criminal living under an alias in the United States. Although disputes occurred during editing between Spiegel and Welles, the film was a box office success and it helped his standing with the studios. He then filmed The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles, 1947) for Columbia Pictures, in which his then-estranged second wife Rita Hayworth co-starred. Cohn disliked Welles's rough-cut, and ordered extensive editing and re-shoots. Approximately one hour of Welles's first cut was removed, including much of a climactic confrontation scene in an amusement park funhouse. The film was considered a disaster in America at the time of release, though the closing shootout in a hall of mirrors has since become a touchstone of film noir. Welles convinced Republic Pictures to let him direct a low-budget version of Macbeth (Orson Welles, 1948). Republic initially trumpeted the film as an important work but decided it did not care for the Scottish accents and held up general release for almost a year after early negative press reaction. In the late 1970s, a fully restored version of Macbeth was released that followed Welles's original vision.

Orson Welles left Hollywood for Europe. In Italy he starred as Cagliostro in Black Magic (Gregory Ratoff, 1948) with Akim Tamiroff. His co-star impressed Welles so much that Tamiroff would appear in four of Welles's later productions. Welles starred as Harry Lime in Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949), alongside Joseph Cotten. The film was an international smash hit. Welles also appeared as Cesare Borgia in the Italian film Prince of Foxes (Henry King, 1949), and as the Mongol warrior Bayan in The Black Rose (Henry Hathaway, 1950), both with Tyrone Power. Welles was channelling his money from acting jobs into a self-financed film version of Shakespeare's play Othello. From 1949 to 1951, Welles filmed Othello (1952) on location in Europe and Morocco. Suzanne Cloutier co-starred as Desdemona. When it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival it won the Palme d'Or, but the film did not receive a general release in the United States until 1955. Welles's daughter, Beatrice Welles-Smith, restored Othello in 1992 for a wide re-release. Welles played the murdered victim in Trent's Last Case (Herbert Wilcox, 1952) and the title role in the 'Lord Mountdrago' segment of Three Cases of Murder (George More O'Ferrall, 1954). Herbert Wilcox cast Welles as the antagonist in Trouble in the Glen (1954) opposite Margaret Lockwood, and John Huston cast him as Father Mapple in Moby-Dick (1956), starring Gregory Peck. Welles's next turn as director was Mr. Arkadin (Orson Welles, 1955), filmed in France, Germany, Spain and Italy on a very limited budget. Welles played a billionaire who hires a man (Robert Arden) to delve into the secrets of his past. The film co-starred Welles's third wife, Paola Mori. Frustrated by his slow progress in the editing room, producer Louis Dolivet removed Welles from the project and finished the film without him as Confidential Report. In 1956, Welles returned to Hollywood and guest-starred on radio and television shows. His next film role was in Man in the Shadow (Jack Arnold, 1957) for Universal Pictures, starring Jeff Chandler. Around this time period, Welles began to suffer from weight problems that would eventually cause a deterioration in his health. Welles stayed on at Universal to co-star with Charlton Heston in Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958). Originally only hired as an actor, Welles was promoted to director by Universal at the insistence of Heston. He reunited with many actors and technicians with whom he had worked in the 1940s including Joseph Cotten, Marlene Dietrich and Akim Tamiroff. Filming proceeded smoothly, but after the end of production, the studio re-edited the film, re-shot scenes, and shot new exposition scenes to clarify the plot. In 1978, a longer preview version of the film was discovered and released. Next, Welles filmed his adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote in Mexico, starring Mischa Auer as Quixote and Akim Tamiroff as Sancho Panza. While filming would continue in fits and starts for several years, Welles would never complete the project. Welles continued acting, notably in The Long, Hot Summer (Marin Ritt, 1958) and Compulsion (Richard Fleischer, 1959), but soon he returned to Europe.

In Italy, Orson Welles directed his own scenes as King Saul in David e Golia/David and Goliath (Ferdinando Baldi, Richard Pottier, 1959). In Hong Kong he co-starred with Curt Jürgens in Ferry to Hong Kong (Lewis Gilbert, 1959). In Paris he co-starred in Crack in the Mirror (Richard Fleischer, 1960). In Yugoslavia he starred in I tartari/The Tartars (Richard Thorpe, 1962) and Bitka na Neretvi/Battle of Neretva (Veljko Bulajić, 1969). In 1962, Welles directed Le Procès/The Trial (Orson Welles, 1962), based on the novel by Franz Kafka and starring Anthony Perkins as Josef K, Jeanne Moreau and Romy Schneider. The film failed at the box-office, but during the filming, he met Oja Kodar, who became his muse, star and mistress for the rest of his life. Welles played a film director in La Ricotta (1963)—Pier Paolo Pasolini's segment of the anthology film Ro.Go.Pa.G. He continued taking what work he could find acting, narrating or hosting other people's work, and began filming Campanadas a medianoche/Chimes at Midnight (Orson Welles, 1966). Filmed in Spain, it was a condensation of five Shakespeare plays, telling the story of Falstaff (Welles) and his relationship with Prince Hal (Keith Baxter). Then followed Histoire immortelle/The Immortal Story (Orson Welles, 1968) with Jeanne Moreau, which had a successful run in French theatres. He appeared as Cardinal Wolsey in A Man for All Seasons (Fred Zinnemann, 1966) for which he won considerable acclaim. Welles began directing The Deep, based on the novel Dead Calm by Charles Williams and filmed off the shore of Yugoslavia. The cast included Jeanne Moreau, Laurence Harvey and Oja Kodar. Personally financed by Welles and Kodar, they could not obtain the funds to complete the project, and it was abandoned a few years later after the death of Harvey. The surviving footage was eventually edited and released by the Filmmuseum München. In 1969, Welles played a supporting role in John Huston's The Kremlin Letter. Drawn by the numerous offers he received to work in television and films, and upset by a tabloid scandal reporting his affair with Kodar, Welles moved back to America in 1970.

In Hollywood, Orson Welles continued to self-finance his own film and television projects. While offers to act, narrate and host continued, Welles also found himself in great demand on television talk shows. His primary focus during his final years was The Other Side of the Wind, an unfinished project that was filmed intermittently between 1970 and 1976. Written by Welles, it is the story of an aging film director (John Huston) looking for funds to complete his final film. Financed by Iranian backers, ownership of the film fell into a legal quagmire after the Shah of Iran was deposed, and disputes still prevent its release. Welles portrayed Louis XVIII of France in Waterloo (Sergey Bondarchuk, 1970), and narrated the historical comedy Start the Revolution Without Me (Bud Yorkin, 1970). He appeared in La décade prodigieuse/Ten Days' Wonder (Claude Chabrol, 1971), co-starring with Anthony Perkins. Wikipedia: “That same year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave him an honorary award "For superlative artistry and versatility in the creation of motion pictures". Welles pretended to be out of town and sent John Huston to claim the award. Huston criticized the Academy for awarding Welles, even while they refused to give Welles any work.” Welles played Long John Silver in Treasure Island (John Hough, 1972), an adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel. He completed F for Fake (Orson Welles, 1973) , a personal essay film about art forger Elmyr de Hory and the biographer Clifford Irving, and his documentary Filming Othello (Orson Welles, 1979). During the 1980s, Welles worked on such film projects as The Dreamers, based on two stories by Isak Dinesen. His last film appearance was in Henry Jaglom's Someone to Love (1987), released after his death. Welles had three daughters: Chris Welles Feder (1938), with Virginia Nicholson; Rebecca Welles Manning (1944–2004), with Rita Hayworth; and Beatrice Welles (1955), with Paola Mori. His only known son, British director Michael Lindsay-Hogg (1940), is from Welles's affair with Irish actress Geraldine Fitzgerald, then the wife of Sir Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 4th baronet. On 10 October 1985, Orson Welles appeared on his final interview on The Merv Griffin Show. He died several hours later of a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles. His estranged wife Paola Mori refused to allow most of Welles's friends to attend the funeral, limiting the mourners to just nine: herself, Welles's three daughters, Roger Hill, and three of Welles's friends, as well as the doctor who had signed Welles's death certificate. Welles's companion for the last 20 years, Oja Kodar, was not invited, nor were either of his ex-wives. Welles's ashes were taken to Ronda, Spain, where they were buried in an old well covered by flowers, within the rural property of a long-time friend, retired bullfighter Antonio Ordóñez.

Sources: Ed Stephan (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Anthurium, is a genus of about 1000 species of flowering plants, the largest genus of the arum family, Araceae. General common names include anthurium, tailflower, flamingo flower, and laceleaf.

Wikipedia

Andre Rieu Memories

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbD-YhN5obU

Rollingstone1's most interesting photos on Flickriver

© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal

Neuhauser Straße is part of the first and largest pedestrian zone in Munich's Old Town. Here, many retail shops and restaurants are to be found.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuhauser_Stra%C3%9Fe

Passing by Old Oak Common with a waiting parcels set, a Western Pullman heads into Paddington while a local service is undertaken by a Gloucester RCW Railcar taking the spur

OO gauge

20251109_112102

This is Odawara Castle which isn't actually what it seems to be. The 1870 earthquake flattened the castle at Odawara and it remained in that state for a hundred years until over the last fifty years it was rebuilt to its current state. To be fair to the Japanese there are many ancient buildings worldwide that have been rebuilt built on site. The original building was erected in 1447, rebuilt in 1633, 1706 and again in then late 20th century. This history tells as much about earthquakes as it does Japanese military defences.

Commentary.

Leeds Castle is located 7 miles south-east of Maidstone in Kent.

It is built on an island in a lake formed by the River Len

and is a Grade 1 Listed Estate.

A castle existed on this site as early as Saxon times in 857 A.D.

In the 13th. century King Edward 1 lived there

and in the 16th. century Henry V111 had his first wife,

Catherine of Aragon reside in the castle.

The present castle is mostly of early 1800’s

but built in a Tudor style.

In more recent times, its extensive lake/moat has been seen as a security assurance.

Consequently, the castle has been used for important international political meetings.

The equivalent of millions of pounds has been spent in

the last 50 years to improve the facilities for visitors.

It has over 200,000 visitors most years and reached

more than half a million prior to the Co-Vid pandemic.

The castle grounds are spectacular with acres of grass parkland,

beautiful mature trees, lakes and waterfalls.

Unsurprisingly, the estate has been used many times as a film and television location.

What is this? Well,nothing but a piece of crap :p. I find this shot quite interesting because the tip of the rock almost (take note almost} pointing directly to the sunset. So no matter how crappy this might look like, I would sill keep it! :), Besides, it stand out among the stones on the corners.

Driving to Snaefellsnes to see Kirkjufell

It is my mom's birthday on Wednesday. I made this for her and am transmitting it to my brother. He will download it and make certain she gets it on her special night. I am more than a little sad to miss this milestone but we will be there in spirit.

Vänga Bog is a large and relatively untouched peat-filled bog. You can walk on footbridges across the bog.

The bog was once a glacier lake but has now been overgrown. The peat layer averages 4 m thick and there is a sand and gravel bed underneath.

For a long time, people harvested grass from meadows to get hay for their animals. A number of older ditches still remain. Peat has been extracted for household use.

The bog has changed a lot in the last hundred years. From having been a more or less open bog, it is now more or less overgrown with trees in different sizes. The trees are mainly pine, silver birch and alder. Trees and bushes will be cut down and transported away in the coming years, to recreate a more open wetland. Many species of birds have specialised in living on large open fens.

Enough of me!!!

This is Kiwi, and she let me take her picture. She belongs to a friend and I mentioned wanting to take a picture of Kiwi, so she said, I will leave the door unlocked, just go in and get her and grab some treats and make a go of it. She was extremely well behaved, she sat and she stayed and she posed. I got down on her level, my camera was basically @ ground level, used my 85mm, shot wide open for that creamy background, and my flash was mounted and diffused~

never runs out on me.

being thankful for that simple fact is enough to bring me joy.

learning, falling, failing, thanking, praising, regretting, wandering, losing, finding, crying, laughing. it's been an up and down week. but in the end, it all leads me to the Maker of it all.

i am happy to keep taking honest photographs, they are so real, they are my life. they turn moments into memories. this is one of them.

Buza bar is one of the most beautiful bars in Dubrovnik which is hanged on the cliffs right above the sea, with an amazing incomparable panorama of the open Adriatic. It is also known as the "hole-in-the-wall" and it is the essence of Dubrovnik, where foreigners become domestics.

In the old Dubrovnik dialect, buža means “hole”. And truly, to get to this unique café bar, you have to go through the hole-in-the-wall that leads to a swimming and relaximg spot that is a daily stop for many of the people who live within Dubrovnik's thick, protective City Walls.

13 - Courtney Hancock

www.flickr.com/photos/7674223@N05/49428635378/