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This is the perfect compilation of music. The movie is great, but the soundtrack is outstanding. Perfect background music for a dinner party. Natalie Merchant's "One Fine Day" gives the song an entirely new feel. Ditto on Harry Connick Jr.'s take on Bacharach's "This Guy's In Love With You." And I particularly love Ella Fitzgerald's "Isn't It Romantic." And yes, it certainly is. One would think that Tina Arena's "Love's Funny That Way" would seem out of place with its country/pop feel, but it fits in nicely and compliments well those that surround it. This is one of those music compilations that you can listen to over and over and it never gets old. For More 5 Star Reviews One Fine Day starring Michelle Pfeiffer, George Clooney, Mae Whitman, Alex Linz, Charles Durning

Emcee Cole Valente hosts the final installment of Spring 2014 Coffee House. Higllights included an Omeros Rap Battle, Jai Mobile in "The Ultimate Master" , a moving poem by Leah Charash, fire-dancing by Teschna, and Cole getting wet?

Polesden Lacey is an Edwardian house and estate, located on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is owned and run by the National Trust and is one of the Trust's most popular properties.

 

This Regency house was expanded from an earlier building, and extensively remodelled in 1906 by Margaret Greville, a well-known Edwardian hostess. Her collection of fine paintings, furniture, porcelain and silver is displayed in the reception rooms and galleries, as it was at the time of her celebrated house parties. The future George VI and Queen Elizabeth spent part of their honeymoon there in 1923.

 

The 1,400-acre (570 ha) estate includes a walled rose garden, lawns, ancient woodland and landscape walks.

 

History

The name 'Polesden' is thought to be Old English. The first house was built here by 1336. Anthony Rous bought the estate in 1630 and rebuilt the medieval house.[1] The house was owned by the Rous family until 1723, when the estate was purchased by the economist and politician Arthur Moore. An octoagonal pavilion was added to the south front at this time.[2]

 

In 1747 Sir Francis Geary purchased the estate, and subsequently spent his retirement there. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the poet and playwright, came to live at there in 1797 and began work to improve the building.[3] However this effort was counter-productive and in 1818 Joseph Bonsor, a stationer and bookseller, bought the estate. He commissioned Thomas Cubitt to build an entirely new house in 1821-23, creating the core of the house seen today.[2] Bonsor died in 1835, and the house passed to his son who, in 1853, sold the estate to Sir Walter Rockcliff Farquhar, who held it until his death in 1902.[4]

 

Early 20th-century

 

Ronald and Margaret Greville, c. 1900

The Polesden Lacey estate was purchased in 1902 by Sir Clinton Edward Dawkins, a civil servant who worked in the Colonial Office.[2] He commissioned Ambrose Poynter, architect son of Sir Edward Poynter P.R.A., to significantly extend Cubitt's work to create the present-day house. Sir Clinton, however died in 1905, shortly after its completion.[5]

 

The estate was then bought in 1906 by William McEwan, for his daughter, Margaret Greville.[2] Architects Charles Mewès and Arthur Davis, who were responsible for the Ritz Hotel in London, remodelled the house for the Grevilles. The couple filled the house with collections of fine furniture, porcelain, silver and art.[2] Ronald Greville died in 1908 only two years after they had moved to Polesden Lacey. He was aged 46.[6]

 

Margaret continued to entertain lavishly at the house. She also owned a home in London in which she held expensive parties. Over the next 30 years her reputation as an Edwardian society hostess became established.[2]

 

Royal honeymoon at Polesden Lacey in 1923

In 1923 Margaret invited the Duke and Duchess of York to spend their honeymoon at Polesden Lacey and the royal couple subsequently spent two weeks there. Shortly before their arrival, the Illustrated London News took photographs of the house and published a large feature article about the proposed honeymoon venue. Wikipedia

English aristocrat Lara Croft is skilled in hand-to-hand combat and in the middle of a battle with a secret society. The shapely archaeologist moonlights as a tomb raider to recover lost antiquities and meets her match in the evil Powell, who's in search of a powerful relic.

Mount Jenner is a 1874 meter high mountain which belongs to the Göllstock in the Berchtesgaden Alps of Germany. It is one of the few mountains in the region that is accessible via a cable lift system making it very popular summer and winter destination.

 

The view from the summit of Mount Jenner includes the Watzmann, the third highest mountain in Germany as well as the 1200 meter deep Konigssee Lake.

 

This young woman, Joy Easton, from Alaska, came to visit her brother in the Army who was stationed in Frankfurt. John dated her for several months and reported that he enjoyed her company.

 

This photograph was captured by John R. Schneider in April 1957 using Kodachrome slide film. This digital image was created using a Nikon LS-5000 film scanner. The image was minimally processed using Photoshop CC 2014

 

Premier Ford welcomed Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to Queen's Park for a working meeting to discuss issues of high priority for people in both provinces.

 

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Le premier ministre Ford accueille à Queen’s Park le premier ministre de l’Alberta, Jason Kenney, pour une réunion de travail visant à discuter des dossiers prioritaires pour les habitants des deux provinces.

  

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This official Ontario Government photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way.

  

© Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2019

 

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Cette photographie officielle du Gouvernement de l’Ontario n'est disponible que pour la publication par les organismes de nouvelles ou l'impression, pour un usage personnel, par le ou les sujets de la photographie. Interdiction formelle de manipuler la photographie

  

© Imprimeur de la Reine pour l'Ontario, 2019

 

This is the fifth day of Carnival festivities. There were the more traditional parades having historical themes, then competitions in costume and pan orchestras, the Children’s’ Parade, an adult parade/competition and now this parade on the fifth and last day of Carnival. Some participants have a float-like apparatus they carry, all operated by a single person. And, there is the parade of bands.

A band is an organized group of folks. People join certain bands of their liking. Bands provide the music, support personnel and vehicles as the wee-wee wagon, a truck for drink, and sometimes a truck for rest. It can cost upward to $700 for membership. They usually have a particular theme in dress and the uniforms, or costumes, are sometimes provided. The accompanied “music” is a large truck and trailer stacked high with speakers the size of a VW bug and capable of shattering the most hardy eardrum. I wore earplugs. Enjoy the photographs of the last day of Carnival 2015.

Ryans Spur Hut is located on the Ryans Spur Track between Mt Terrible and Woods Point in NE Victoria.

 

Ryans Spur Hut is located on the Ryans Spur Track between Mt Terrible and Woods Point in NE Victoria.

Nami (ナミ?) is the crew's 18-year-old navigator, thief, and the second to join. She has the ability to recognize and analyze even the slightest changes in the weather up to the point of sheer intuition. She is also an excellent pickpocket. Her dream is to draw a complete map of the world. Throughout the series, Nami fights using a bō-like staff that is made up of three connectable segments. Usopp later provides her with a version of this weapon capable of controlling weather, called the Clima-Tact (天候棒, Kurima Takuto?, renamed as "Climate Baton" in the English manga and as "Weather Forcer" in the 4Kids dub). Even later, Usopp augments the Clima-Tact with dials, making it more powerful.

  

WINNA Collection

 

The Challenge Factory Winner Theme Inanimate

 

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Nikon D60 +18-50mm lens

Pronghorn Punk Hair Doo

This is the latest Pronghorn Punk look here at the Bliss DInosaur Ranch. THe adults try to talk to the kids. Then some older guy with a punk doo like this walks by and ruins it for the adults. The kids all want to look like this guy. Particularly in bad weather it seems. Add some freezing rain and voila, intant Pronghorn Punk.

I’m working hard on getting a collection of “looking over the shoulder” images from Pronghorn and Deer. It isn’t an easy perspective for me to get and I’m tickled when they come out this well. From the perspective of a doe standing right next to him from this capture. Placement of these game trail cameras is EVERYTHING. About 1 degree lower angle, it would have cut off the horn. I use what ever is at hand to adjust the angles on the cameras. Typically they attach to a post with a strap. Uses a stick or rock to keep it pointing where you want it to. In reality, the pointing is the only control you have over the game trail camera. Everything else is set/built by the programmers.

I’ve said numerous times that Game trail camera images are problematic to me. This one is 2feet by 3 feet at full resolution. So they do take some pretty high quality images. They all to a one however, need a LOT of fine detailed work to fix the problems built into the images by the cameras.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands

Title: Pronghorn Punk Hair Doo

  

blissphotographics.com/pronghorn-punk-hair-doo/

Montreal is the most populous municipality in the province of Quebec and the second-most populous in Canada. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The city is on the Island of Montreal, which took its name from the same source as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. It has a distinct four-season continental climate with warm to hot summers and cold snowy winters.

 

In 2016 the city had a population of 1,704,694. Montreal's metropolitan area had a population of 4,098,927 and a population of 1,942,044 in the urban agglomeration, with all of the municipalities on the Island of Montreal included. French is the city's official language and is the language spoken at home by 49.8% of the population of the city, followed by English at 22.8% and 18.3% other languages (in the 2016 census, not including multi-language responses). In the larger Montreal Census Metropolitan Area, 65.8% of the population speaks French at home, compared to 15.3% who speak English. The agglomeration Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada with over 59% of the population able to speak both English and French. Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world, after Paris.

 

Historically the commercial capital of Canada, it was surpassed in population and economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s. It remains an important centre of commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education, culture, tourism, gaming, film and world affairs. Being the location of the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Montreal is one of three North American cities home to organizations of the United Nations (along with Washington, D.C. and New York) and also has the 2nd-highest number of consulates in the continent. Montreal was also named a UNESCO City of Design. In 2009 Montreal was named North America's leading host city for international association events, according to the 2009 preliminary rankings of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). The 2017 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Montreal as the best city in the world to be a university student. According to the 2017 Global Liveability Ranking by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Montreal ranked 12th out of 140 cities.

 

Montreal has hosted multiple international conferences and events throughout its history, including the 1967 International and Universal Exposition and the 1976 Summer Olympics. It is the only Canadian city to have held the Summer Olympics. Currently, the city hosts the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Just for Laughs festival. In 2012, Montreal was ranked as a Beta+ world city.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

Carpineto Romano is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about 60 kilometres (37 miles) southeast of Rome.It was the birthplace of Pope Leo XIII.Carpineto Romano borders the following municipalities: Bassiano, Gorga, Maenza, Montelanico, Norma, Roccagorga, Sezze, Supino.

 

Carpineto Romano è un comune italiano di 4 581 abitanti della provincia di Roma nel Lazio.Situato nel cuore dei Monti Lepini, ai confini con le province di Latina e Frosinone. Il territorio di Carpineto Romano è prevalentemente composto da catene montuose che hanno nei 1536 metri del Monte Semprevisa la loro cima più elevata. Nel territorio comunale si elevano anche il Monte Gemma, il Monte Erdigheta, il Monte Perentile e il Monte Malaina.Il centro abitato si snoda su due colline alle pendici di Monte Capreo (1421 m s.l.m.), sulla cui sommità papa Leone XIII, nativo della cittadina lepina, fece porre una croce commemorativa nel 1901.Come tutto il resto del comprensorio lepino, il territorio è interessato da fenomeni carsici di notevole interesse speleologico. Tra i boschi di faggio non è raro imbattersi in doline (che nel dialetto locale vengono chiamate "ousi") e grotte tra le più profonde di tutta l'Italia Centrale.Il territorio di Carpineto Romano fu abitato in epoca preromana dai Volsci, popolazione italica stanziata nella zona compresa tra i Colli Albani e i Monti Aurunci. Il centro abitato odierno affonda le sue origini nell'alto Medioevo, le prime tracce scritte dell'esistenza di Carpineto risalgono al 1077, anno in cui i Canonici Lateranensi concedettero in affitto il feudo carpinetano alla potente famiglia dei De Ceccano. A questi ultimi si avvicendarono nel 1299 i Caetani, famiglia del pontefice anagnino Bonifacio VIII. Altre famiglie della nobiltà laziale possedettero il feudo di Carpineto, fino a quando alla fine del XVI secolo fu acquistato dal cardinale Pietro Aldobrandini, nipote di papa Clemente VIII. Donna Olimpia Aldobrandini, sorella del cardinal Pietro, ne fece il suo "bello stato", accorpando i territori dei vicini comuni di Montelanico, Gorga, Gavignano e Maenza. Durante quel periodo Carpineto diventò un ducato e conobbe il suo periodo di maggior fioritura artistica e culturale, con artisti come Caravaggio che contribuirono ad abbellire la cittadina lepina con chiese e opere di pregio, come il San Francesco in meditazione per secoli custodito nella sacrestia della chiesa di San Pietro Apostolo. Nel 500' la famiglia Pecci (Leone XIII) risalente al 1070 a Siena con vari ecclesiastici (lastra di bronzo del Donatello,tomba del vescovo Giovanni Pecci nel Duomo di Siena del 400'), commercianti e notabili,un ramo s'installa a Carpineto nel Castello che fu dei de Ceccano, ampliandolo durante i secoli.Agli inizi del XIX secolo conobbe l'avanzata delle truppe di Napoleone ed entrò con il resto del Lazio nel Primo Impero francese. In quel tempo nacque Gioacchino Pecci, destinato a diventare papa Leone XIII qualche decennio più tardi. Durante l'invasione napoleonica e negli anni successivi, Carpineto vide il nascere il triste fenomeno del brigantaggio. L'ascesa al soglio pontificio di Leone XIII cambiò il volto della cittadina lepina, che ebbe una nuova fioritura artistica e si arricchì di chiese, statue e fontane pubbliche. Durante la seconda guerra mondiale fu bombardata, arrecando gravi danni alla popolazione. Tra gli episodi più vivi nella memoria collettiva di quel periodo ci sono sicuramente le cosiddette marocchinate e i soprusi che le truppe coloniali francesi compirono ai danni della popolazione carpinetana.

 

Font : Wikipedia

PBS is excited to be apart of the La Posada retirement community in Arizona. This community is on the cutting-edge of residential construction through its use of green building practices. The most eco-friendly and eco-conscious designs and technology are at the forefront of this new neighborhood and PBS Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) will be the green building product used to frame these homes. La Posada announces Park Centre Homes, a state-of-the-art addition to the campus that will be specifically constructed to offer the healthiest, greenest lifestyles in Arizona.

 

With Park Centre Homes' focus on "green" building, La Posada is pleased to be working in conjunction with Pepper Viner Homes of Tucson, Arizona on this project. Pepper Viner is a leader in environmentally-friendly residential construction

 

The Park Centre Homes were deliberately designed with the flexibility to position the homes on each individual lot to maximize each home's architectural features. This allows for the shading of major living spaces and patios as well as greater access to the home from the street. To combat the warm Arizona afternoon sun, Park Centre Homes have two patios, both accessible from the great room. This orientation ensures at least one patio is always shaded from the sun.

 

Some home plans, based on their orientation and site location, offer window features that allow more natural light, but all floor plans utilize solar tubes that collect and diffuse natural light into halls and closet areas. Landscaping and the strategic use of trees will be an integral part of each Park Centre home. Trees will be planted in specific locations and in sufficient numbers to provide a natural heat barrier to the home.

 

Park Centre Homes is introducing Southern Arizona to new construction methods for residential building, designed to accommodate future environmentally "green" features. This includes the use of greywater systems, environmentally-sensitive concrete slabs, structural insulated panels and more.

 

Each interior item in a Park Centre Home has been selected to meet the U.S. Green Building Councils standards. This means a Park Centre Homed will provide a clean and healthy environment in which to live.

 

For floor plans and additional information on this community, please visit www.parkcentrehomes.com

 

Want more information on the green building product used to build these homes? Visit: www.pbssips.com

 

or contact us: www.pbssips.com/contact/sales/

nwboatschool.org

 

The Batela is a traditional Venetian boat, that is, developed in the Italian city of Venice. It is a flat-bottomed boat with a slight degree of rocker (meaning, the bottom is curved from bow to stern) to make it easier to row and control. Rowed standing up, it is essentially a cargo carrier or ferry.

 

The Traditional Small Craft class of 2014 under the direction of Master Instructor Jeff Hammond will build the boat.

 

The batela is approximately 30 feet long, and will be built largely of western red cedar over sawn frames.

 

This is an extremely interesting commission in that the boat was developed using design input provided by the owner in the form of sketches and commentary accompanied by video of Venetian batelae. Jeff drew the boat using that data, and refined it based on additional commentary and guidance to meet the owner's direction.

 

A good picture of a classic Venetian batela can be seen here: tinyurl.com/kvnnvyj on the webpage of Row Venice. There are more pictures at rowvenice.org/whos-row-venice/

 

The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding is located in Port Hadlock WA and is an accredited, non-profit vocational school. You can find us on the web at www.nwboatschool.org .

 

Our mission is to teach and preserve the fine art of wooden boatbuilding and traditional maritime crafts.

 

We build both commissioned and speculative boats while teaching adult students the traditional wood and wood composite boatbuilding skills they will need to work in the marine trades. We sell our boats to help support the School. Please feel free to give us a call should you like to discuss our building a boat for you.

 

You can reach us via e-mail at info@nwboatschool.org or by calling us at 360-385-4948.

 

Is this the real life?

Is this just fantasy?

Caught in a landslide.

No escape from reality.

Open your eyes,

Look up to the skies and see.

 

--- "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Freddie Mercury of Queen

Nukarinkoski is a 2000m long rapid in Nurmijärvi. It is a part of Vantaanjoki, which empties to the Gulf of Finland just outside Helsinki.

 

I went to the spot on early summer evening. River runs in a rather deep valley (at least on Finnish scale) and even though it was 25 degrees Celsius on the parking lot few hundred meters away, weather was chilly on the spot.

 

This is a HDR combined from three different pictures. I spent few hours taking photos of various locations. I definitely need to head back to the rapid a bit later to catch last rays of the sun and perfect sunset on the sky.

 

This image was taken with Canon EOS 5D Mark II body and Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens. I used ND400 filter.

Ightfield is a village to the south east of Whitchurch in Shropshire but the church is not easy to find. From the village centre you have to go north along the Burleydam road and turn left up Church Street. The church stands on the northern edge of the village on a small rise and is approached through a stone wall gate with a lantern atop an iron arch. The view of the church is very impressive, especially on a bright sunny day.

 

Christian Worship is thought to have been held on or around the site for over a thousand years and the village itself is mentioned as 'Istefelt' in the Doomsday Book although some records suggest the original name to have been 'Ihtfeld', derived from from the Old English 'iht meaning 'creature' and 'feld' meaning 'field'.

 

Built in the 15th century and renovated in the 19th, you enter the church through the south porch into the nave with the tower on your left and to the west. It has a north isle and was designed in a perpendicular Gothic style with crenellated parapets, multi-stepped buttresses and decorative finials. It is constructed in grey ashlar stone and has steeply pitched roofs covered in plain clay tiles. It features gargoyles but I avoided those following my last experience at Kinnerley Church.

 

Services are usually held at 09:30hrs on a Sunday.

 

I could not find any information about the windows or any of the features within the church. However, I did find this on the internet from the AMICA Benefice......

  

“........Welcome to the homepage for St John’s Church, Ightfield. A Cathedral Welcome (Courtesy of Coventry Cathedral). We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, straight, gay, questioning, well-heeled or down at heel. We especially welcome wailing babies and excited toddlers.

 

We welcome you whether you can sing like Pavarotti or just growl quietly to yourself. You’re welcome here if you’re ‘just browsing,’ just woken up or just got out of prison. We don’t care if you’re more Christian than the Archbishop of Canterbury or haven’t been to church since Christmas ten years ago.

 

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome keep-fit mums, football dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems, are down in the dumps or don’t like ‘organised religion.’

 

We offer a welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or are here because granny is visiting and wanted to come to the church.....”.

  

What a refreshingly welcome sense of humour !!

  

This is a photograph from the second round of the Mullingar Road League which was held in Belvedere House and Gardens, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Ireland on Wednesday 14th May 2014 at 20:00. The race follows the roads and trails around Belvedere and is a very testing 5KM route. The race is promoted by Mullingar Harriers for the Pat Finnerty Memorial Cup. Competitors need to run 3 races out of the 4 races in May (any order) to be considered in the overall placing in categories at the conclusion of the league. Over 380 people took part in tonight's event. The weather was much improved on last week with warm and mild conditions for the race.

 

We have an extensive set of photographs from today in the following Flickr Album: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157644261638039

 

Timing and event management was provided by Precision Timing. Results are available on their website at www.precisiontiming.net/result/racetimer with additional material available on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/davidprecisiontiming?fref=ts) See their promotional video on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-7_TUVwJ6Q

 

Reading on a Smartphone or tablet? Don't forget to scroll down further to read more about this race and see important Internet links to other information about the race! You can also find out how to access and download these photographs.

 

Our photographs from Round 1 of the 2014 Road League on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157644508131856/

 

Road League 2014 Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/patfinnertyroadleague?fref=ts (Requires Facebook logon)

YouTube Video for the Promotion of the 2014 Road League: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfvVVwrkgTM

A Vimeo Video for the Promotion of the 2013 Road League: vimeo.com/64875578

Our photographs from Round 5 of the 2013 Road League on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157633794985503/

Our photographs from Round 4 of the 2013 Road League on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157633604656368/

Our photographs from Round 3 of the 2013 Road League on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157633470510535/

Our photographs from Round 2 of the 2013 Road League on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157633451422506/

Our photographs from Round 1 of the 2013 Road League on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157633397519242/

Belvedere House and Gardens on Google Street View: goo.gl/maps/WWTgD

Chip Timing Results from Precision Timing: www.precisiontiming.net/result/racetimer

Belvedere House and Gardens Website: www.belvedere-house.ie/

Mullingar Harriers Facebook Group Page: www.facebook.com/groups/158535740855708/?fref=ts

Our Flickr Collection from Mullingar Road League 2012 (1,800 photographs) www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/collections/72157629780992768/

Our Flickr Collection from Mullingar Road League 2011 (820 photographs) www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/collections/72157626524444213/

Our Flickr Collection from Mullingar Road League 2010 (500 photographs) www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/collections/72157624051668808/

Our Flickr Collection from Mullingar Road League 2009 (250 photographs) www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/collections/72157617814884076/

Our Flickr Collection from Mullingar Road League 2008 (150 photographs) www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/collections/72157605062152203/

 

Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?

 

Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.

 

We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. Our only "cost" is our request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us.

 

This also extends the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.

 

I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?

 

You can download the photographic image here direct to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. However - look for a symbol with three dots 'ooo' or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.

 

I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?

 

If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.

 

Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.

 

In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting does take a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.

 

I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?

Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.

 

We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs

We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?

The explaination is very simple.

Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.

ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.

 

Creative Commons aims to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

 

I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?

 

As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:

 

     ►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera

     ►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set

     ►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone

     ►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!

  

You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.

 

Don't like your photograph here?

That's OK! We understand!

 

If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.

 

I want to tell people about these great photographs!

Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets

PS:I like this song "Life is Wonderful" by Jason Mraz .

This is not a story about terrorism or war (although the title was crafted for readers to infer that). This is about the everyday things that happen at the Israel-Gaza border that don’t make world headlines.

 

Just because activity at the border does not make world headlines, doesn’t mean it is not important. In fact, what happens there is very important. Some of it is eye-opening. Read on to learn what really happens every day at the Israel-Gaza border. To help envision what happens we will be using information from last month’s (December 2012) report issued by Israel’s official Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGA).

 

Let’s get the big picture first. During the month of December, 6,298 truckloads of merchandise passed through the Kerem Shalom Crossing and into Gaza. If the crossing was open every day during December, which is probably was not, that’s an average of 203 trucks entering Gaza every day. Anyone familiar with logistics will understand that the majority of those trucks are trying to get through at the same time, which creates massive traffic jams. Border crossing are a lot like airports – jam packed when the flights are arriving and passengers are making connections; as quite as a church on Monday morning after the fights have taken off.

 

Here is what comprised those truckloads:

 

- 58 truckloads of agricultural inputs, e.g., seeds and fertilizer

- 132 truckloads of clothing and shoes

- 186 truckloads of electrical products

- 406 truckloads of ceramics and plumbing products

- 1,392 truckloads of food

- 2,511 truckloads of construction materials

 

If you are particularly astute, you may have already noticed that those numbers don’t add up to 6,298. That is partially due to some items, like cooking gas, not being measured in truckloads, but in tons. 3,131 tons of cooking oil were delivered across the border during the month. Almost 88% of all the goods being transferred into Gaza were from the private sector. The balance was humanitarian aid from international organizations.

 

In addition to the truck traffic, Israel issued over 3,600 permits for persons wishing to exit the Strip. Over 2,000 of those permits were for businessmen, plus more than 1,600 for persons and their companions seeking medical treatment, 85 permits to attend weddings, funerals, or other family events, and 67 permits for employees of international organizations.

 

You can see that the Israel-Gaza border is a busy place in times of peace as well as in times of conflict. Somehow the world at large seems to believe that the Israeli government has held the people in Gaza hostage. The reality is quite to the contrary. In light of the recurring hostilities directed from Gaza towards Israel, the government had no choice but to secure the border to help protect people living on either side. Even during the eight days of conflict in November 2012 one of Israel’s priorities was to keep the crossing secure so that food and other supplies could reach their intended destination.

 

Israel continually demonstrates a firm resolve to protect its citizens and its territory while trying to live in peace. They are not out to get anybody, but they reserve the right to protect what is theirs. It is not only legal to do so, it is a moral obligation. Peace is a hard thing to protect, so we are committed to praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). Will you join with us?

 

For more on this story, visit: Jerusalem Prayer Team Articles Page.

  

LIKE and SHARE this story to encourage others to pray for peace in Jerusalem, and leave your own PRAYERS and COMMENTS below.

 

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Support the Jerusalem Prayer Team. Visit us now.

 

This is a photograph from the 8th annual running of the Meath Spring Half Marathon which was promoted and hosted by Bohermeen Athletic Club at Bohermeen, Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland on Sunday 10th of March 2019 at 11:00. The half marathon consists of a 11KM and 10KM repeated loop around the roads of Bohermeen and Oristown. The finish line is on the running track within Bohermeen Community Center. The course is a fast fair course with a few small hills. In 2016 the original course was 'reversed' which just meant that the traditional course changed to accomodate the large number of participants and the narrow country roads on which both the race participants and race traffic must both share before, during and after the race. Most runners agreed that this made the course much faster as a result. The major change for 2019 seen the half marathon become the only race of the day. Previously, there was a 10KM race option also presented. This year the race promoters offered 999 places and the race sold out many weeks in advance. The race also includes the 46th Rennicks Cup (Men's overall team) and the 43rd Father Delany Cup (Women's overall team).

 

The weather will be remembered for a long time after this year. Just about 15 minutes before the start there was a very heavy hailstorm which seemed to make the winds even stronger. Suddenly the skies cleared and the sun appeared. However, a very strong westerly wind contined and this was in the face of runners on the open stretches on the Navan Athboy road and on the additional section on Loop 1.

 

Bohermeen AC is steeped in Irish athletics history since 1927 and it is this experience and exceptional community spirit and volunteering which has made this event today so successful. Having now organised the event for six years running it is certain that the event will continue to grow and expand become one of the mainstays on the Irish athletic club road racing calendar for many years to come.

 

This race takes place about one month after the Trim AC 10 Mile Road Race in Trim (just down the road from Bohermeen). Indeed these races truly kick-start the whole road racing season of fixtures amongst the clubs in Meath who are now famous for the quality and standard of the road races staged and organised.

 

The race is supported by substantial local sponsorship from businesses in the local area. McNally Logistics and Transportation are the main sponsors of this year's event. The company specialises in national and international haulage.

 

The full Flickr photoset from the race today is at www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157703941157002

 

Timing and event management was provided by www.myrunresults.com/. Their website is here [www.myrunresults.com/] and will contain the results to today's race.

     

Some useful Internet links related to the race

 

Bohermeen Athletic Club Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Bohermeen-AC-132411123768765/ (will require Facebook logon to access all features)

 

MapMyRun GPS Trace of the Route in 2016: www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/988503627

 

Google Streetview of the Race Start: goo.gl/maps/rtj1X

 

Google Streetview of the Race Finish and Race Headquarters: goo.gl/maps/qVttR

 

Photographs from previous events

 

Our Flickr Photograph set from the 7th Spring Half Marathon 2018: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157693588010344

 

Our Flickr Photograph set from the 6th Spring Half Marathon 2017: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157677904981873

 

Our Flickr Photograph set from the 5th Spring Half Marathon 2016: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157665850980555

 

Our Flickr Photograph set from the 4th Spring Half Marathon 2015: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157648897769373

 

Our Flickr Photograph set from the 3rd Spring Half Marathon 2014: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157641717197563

 

Our Flickr Photograph set from the 2nd Spring Half Marathon 2013: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157632906920970/

 

Our Flickr set from the 1st Spring Marathon (2012) www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157629146137284/

 

Photographs from the 2013 event from our friend Paul Reilly [pjrphotography.zenfolio.com/p670974697]

  

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

 

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It's a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities.

 

Toronto is a city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario, with the original city area lying between the Don and Humber rivers.

  

For more information on visiting Toronto visit:

www.seetorontonow.com/

 

For more information on visiting Canada visit:

us-keepexploring.canada.travel/

  

********

About this day of the trip:

 

Day 2

Niagara Falls - Niagara Falls Canada - Toronto (83 miles)

 

We will continue our tour Niagara Falls by heading into Canada to take the Hornblower Cruise boat ride and see an informational movie at the IMAX Theater. We will also ascend the Skylon Tower. The tour then departs for Toronto, ON, one of Canada's largest cities. There we will visit the CN Tower and guests will have the option to take a Lake Ontario Cruise. During the winter when the cruise is not running, we will instead visit Casa Loma. We will have dinner in historical Chinatown.

 

Niagara Falls Canada, Canada

 

Skylon Tower This observation tower on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls offers a bird's-eye views of one of the world's favorite natural wonders. The tower stands 520 feet from street level and 775 feet from the bottom of the falls.

 

Rainbow Bridge The Rainbow Bridge across the Niagara River connects Niagara, Ontario to Niagara, New York. It is an international landmark and impressive architectural feat. In addition to private vehicles, pedestrians and bikes can cross the bridge for a small toll.

 

Niagara Falls IMAX This amazing movie experience, presented on an unbelievable IMAX screen, chronicles more than 12,000 years of history and examines human interaction with the falls from ancient time through the people-- like you-- who come to see them today.

 

Hornblower Niagara Cruise Get ready to get wet: this world-famous boat ride takes passengers as close to the falls as it is possible to get. Formerly Maid of the Mist, Hornblower now runs Niagara cruise operations on the Canadian side of the Falls.

 

Skylon Revolving Restaurant Lunch The impressive Skylon Tower, jutting into the air above Niagara Falls, features the Revolving Dining Room, a one-of-a-kind eatery the makes a full revolution every hour. Sitting just below the observation deck, guests can enjoy views and food!

 

Toronto, ON

 

Lake Ontario Cruise Lake Ontario Cruises offer gorgeous views of the city of Toronto from the waters of Lake Ontario, one of the famous Great Lakes of North America. See the city of Toronto and the surrounding area in a new way!

 

Toronto City Hall This unique building complex is one of the most famous in Toronto, and also the home of the city's municipal government. The Toronto City Hall offers self-guided tours which are available in five languages (including English).

 

University of Toronto Routinely placed in the top 30 institutions of higher learning in the world, the University of Toronto has been educating the masses since 1827. Widely considered the best university in Canada, it is known for its pioneering research.

 

Casa Loma This century-old Gothic-style house in Toronto was originally the home of financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Today, it serves as a museum that showcases the history of life in Toronto and what life was like in the early 1900s.

 

CN Tower Toronto's CN Tower is a Canadian icon and one of the most recognizable North American buildings. Made entirely of concrete, this massive monolith was the tallest structure in the world at the time of its completion in 1976.

 

Ontario Legislative Building The Ontario Legislative Building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is the seventh structure to function as the parliamentary building of the province of Ontario. This impressive building is in the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style and was built in 1893.

 

Chinatown One of the largest Chinatowns in North America is located in downtown Toronto, Ontario. Toronto contains several Chinatowns. This one is the oldest, dating back to the 1870s, and the historical area features many authentic groceries, restaurants, and shops.

 

Toronto Chinese Dinner Treat yourself to a specialty dinner in one of the largest Chinatowns in the Western Hemisphere! Freshly-cooked meats and vegetables decorate the windows of the esteemed restaurants, from whole cooked ducks to beef ribs and so much more. Enjoy!

 

Deluxe Hotel: Crowne Plaza or similar

 

**************************

 

3-Day Niagara Falls, Toronto Canada Tour from New York

 

Tour Code: 655-68

 

July 11th, 12th, 13th 2014

 

Visit:

 

Watkins Glen State Park New York

 

Niagara Falls, NY USA

 

Thundering Water Cultural Show

 

USA / Canada international border crossing on Rainbow Bridge from New York United States of America to Ontario Canada

 

Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada

 

Skylon Tower

 

Niagara Falls IMAX

 

Hornblower Niagara Cruise

 

Skylon Revolving Restaurant Lunch

 

Toronto which is the largest city in Canada

 

Lake Ontario Cruise

 

Toronto City Hall

 

University of Toronto

 

CN Tower

 

Ontario Legislative Building

 

Chinatown

 

Toronto Chinese Dinner

 

Thousand Islands, Ontario Canada

 

Thousand Islands Cruise

 

Thousand Islands Cruise Breakfast

 

Thousand Islands Tax and Duty Free Store in Lansdowne, Ontario Canada

 

Canada / USA international border crossing Thousand Islands Bridge from Hill Island, Ontario, Canada across the Saint Lawrence River to Wellesley Island, New York, United States of America

 

For more information on the 3-Day Niagara Falls, Toronto Canada Tour from New York visit:

 

www.taketours.com/new-york-ny/3-day-toronto-niagara-falls...

 

**********

 

Hashtag metadata tag

#Canada #Canadian #Toronto #TorontoCanada #CityofToronto #TorontoCity #CityToronto #Ontario #TorontoOntario #TorontoOntarioCanada #LakeOntario #The416 #HollywoodNorth #TO #T.O. #Tee-Oh #TeeOh #T-dot #Tdot #CNTower #VisitToronto #VisitCanada

 

Photo

Toronto city, Ontario province, Canada country, North America continent

July 12th 2014

Kartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan and Subramaniyan, is the Hindu god of war. He is the commander-in-chief of the army of the devas (gods) and the son of Shiva and Parvati.

 

Murugan is often referred to as "Tamil Kadavul" (meaning "God of Tamils") and is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and Katirkāmam Temple situated deep south.[1] Hindus in Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves and various temples where Thaipusam is celebrated with grandeur.

 

In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kartikeya is known as Subrahmanya with a temple at Kukke Subramanya known for Sarpa shanti rites dedicated to Him and another famous temple at Ghati Subramanya also in Karnataka. In Bengal and Odisha, he is popularly known as Kartikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika').[2]

Other names[edit]

Like most Hindu deities, Subrahmanya is known by many other names, including Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Kumāran (meaning 'prince or child or young one'), Swaminatha (meaning 'smart' or 'clever'), Saravaṇa, Arumugam or Shanmuga (meaning 'one with six faces'), Dhandapani (meaning God with a Club), Guhan or Guruguha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Subrahmanya, Kartikeya and Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed).[3][4] He was also known as Mahasena and the Kadamba Dynasty kings worshiped him by this name.[5]

Vedas[edit]

The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' because he is form of 'Agni' (Fire God) & Agni hold in his hand when kumaran born. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the six faces of Rudra. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the legend of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana is devoted to the narrative of Kartikeya.[6] The Upanishads also constantly make a reference to a Supreme Being called Guha, the indweller.

The first elaborate account of Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Mahabharata. In a complicated story, he is said to have been born from Agni and Svaha, after the latter impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Kartikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Asura Mahisha.[7] (In later mythology, Mahisha became the adversary of Durga.) Indra attacks Kartikeya as he sees the latter as a threat, until Shiva intervenes and makes Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. The origin of this marriage lies probably in the punning of 'Deva-sena-pati'. It can mean either lord of Devasena or Lord of the army (sena) of Devas. But according to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, in his master work on Shiva[8] and other works, Kartikeya was married to Devasenā and that is on the ground of his name as Devasena's husband, Devasenāpati, misinterpreted as Deva-senāpati (Deva's general) that he was granted the title general and made the Deva's army general.[9]

 

The Ramayana version is closer to the stories told in the Puranas discussed below.

Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[10] The Sangam poetry divided space and Tamil land into five allegorical areas (tinai) and according to the Tirumurugarruppatai ( c. 400–450 AD) attributed to the great Sangam poet Nakkiirar, Murugan was the presiding deity the Kurinci region (hilly area). (Tirumurugaruppatai is a deeply devotional poem included in the ten idylls (Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam). The other Sangam era works in Tamil that refer to Murugan in detail include the Paripaatal, the Akananuru and the Purananuru. One poem in the Paripaatal describes the veneration of Murugan thus:

 

"We implore thee not for boons of enjoyment or wealth,

But for thy grace beatific, love and virtuous deeds."

 

According to the Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress". In another work, Thirumurukkarrupatai, he is described as a god of eternal youth;

 

His face shines a myriad rays light and removes the darkness from this world.[11]

The references to Murugan can be traced back to the first millennium BCE. There are references to Murugan in Kautilya's Arthashastra, in the works of Patanjali, in Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumarasambhavam. The Kushanas, who governed from what is today Peshawar, and the Yaudheyas, a republican clan in the Punjab, struck coins bearing the image of Skanda. The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Guptas.[6] The worship of Kumāra was one of the six principal sects of Hinduism at the time of Adi Shankara. The Shanmata system propagated by him included this sect. In many Shiva and Devi temples of Tamil Nadu, Murugan is installed on the left of the main deity. The story of His birth goes as follows:

 

Sati immolated herself in a pyre as her father King Daksha had insulted Shiva, her Lord. She was reborn as Parvathi or Uma, daughter of the King of Himalayas, Himavan. She then married her Lord Shiva. The Devas were under onslaught from the Asuras whose leader was Soorapadman. He had been granted boons that only Lord Shiva or his seed could kill him. Fearless he vanquished the Devas and made them his slaves. The Devas ran to Vishnu for help who told them that it was merely their fault for attending Daksha's yagna, without the presence of Lord Shiva. After this, they ran to Shiva for help. Shiva decided to take action against Soorapadman's increasing conceit. He frowned and his third eye- the eye of knowledge- started releasing sparks. These were six sparks in total. Agni had the responsibility to take them to Saravana Lake. As he was carrying them, the sparks were growing hotter and hotter that even the Lord of Fire could not withstand the heat. Soon after Murugan was born on a lotus in the Saravana Lake with six faces, giving him the name Arumukhan. Lord Shiva and Parvati visited and tears of joy started flowing as they witnessed the most handsome child. Shiva and Parvathi gave the responsibility of taking care of Muruga to the six Krittika sisters. Muruga grew up to be a handsome, intelligent, powerful, clever youth. All the Devas applauded at their saviour, who had finally come to release them from their woes. Murugan became the supreme general of the demi-gods, then escorted the devas and led the army of the devas to victory against the asuras.

Legends[edit]

Given that legends related to Murugan are recounted separately in several Hindu epics, some differences between the various versions are observed. Some Sanskrit epics and puranas indicate that he was the elder son of Shiva. This is suggested by the legend connected to his birth; the wedding of Shiva and Parvati being necessary for the birth of a child who would vanquish the asura named Taraka. Also, Kartikeya is seen helping Shiva fight the newborn Ganesha, Shiva's other son, in the Shiva Purana. In the Ganapati Khandam of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is seen as the elder son of Shiva and Ganesha as the younger. In South India, it is believed that he is the younger of the two. A Puranic story has Ganesha obtain a divine fruit of knowledge from Narada winning a contest with Murugan. While Murugan speeds around the world thrice to win the contest for the fruit, Ganesha circumambulates Shiva and Parvati thrice as an equivalent and is given the fruit. After winning it, he offers to give the fruit to his upset brother. After this event, Ganesha was considered the elder brother owing as a tribute to his wisdom. Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. This lead to a very interesting name : Devasenapati viz. Pati (husband) of Devsena and/or Senapati (commander in chief) of Dev (gods)

Kartikeya symbols are based on the weapons – Vel, the Divine Spear or Lance that he carries and his mount the peacock. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding a sakti or spear. This symbolizes his purification of human ills. His javelin is used to symbolize his far reaching protection, his discus symbolizes his knowledge of the truth, his mace represents his strength and his bow shows his ability to defeat all ills. His peacock mount symbolizes his destruction of the ego.

 

His six heads represent the six siddhis bestowed upon yogis over the course of their spiritual development. This corresponds to his role as the bestower of siddhis.

In Tamil Nadu, Murugan has continued to be popular with all classes of society right since the Sangam age. This has led to more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam, written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. (He was a scholar in Tamil literature, and a votary of the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy.)

 

He is married to two deities, Valli, a daughter of a tribal chief and Deivayanai (also called Devasena), the daughter of Indhra. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[12]

 

As Muruga is worshipped predominantly in Tamil Nadu, many of his names are of Tamil origin. These include Senthil, the red or formidable one; Arumugam, the six-faced one; Guhan and Maal-Marugan, the son-in-law of Vishnu. Murugan is venerated throughout the Tamil year. There is a six-day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. He is worshipped at Thaipusam, celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel or lance by his mother in order to vanquish the asuras. Thirukarthigai or the full moon of the Tamil month of Karthigai signifies his birth. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Murugan. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangala, the god of planet Mars and war.

 

Other parts of India[edit]

Historically, God Kartikeya was immensely popular in the Indian subcontinent. One of the major Puranas, the Skanda Purana is dedicated to him. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 24), Krishna, while explaining his omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, he says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war."

 

Kartikeya's presence in the religious and cultural sphere can be seen at least from the Gupta age. Two of the Gupta kings, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta, were named after him. He is seen in the Gupta sculptures and in the temples of Ellora and Elephanta. As the commander of the divine armies, he became the patron of the ruling classes. His youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam. In ancient India, Kartikeya was also regarded as the patron deity of thieves, as may be inferred from the Mrichchakatikam, a Sanskrit play by Shudraka, and in the Vetala-panchvimshati, a medieval collection of tales. This association is linked to the fact that Kartikeya had dug through the Krauncha mountain to kill Taraka and his brothers (in the Mrichchakatikam, Sarivilaka prays to him before tunnelling into the hero's house).

 

However, Kartikeya's popularity in North India receded from the Middle Ages onwards, and his worship is today virtually unknown except in parts of Haryana. There is a very famous temple dedicated to Him in the town of Pehowa in Haryana and this temple is very well known in the adjoining areas, especially because women are not allowed anywhere close to it. Women stay away from this temple in Pehowa town of Haryana because this shrine celebrates the Brahmachari form of Kartikeya. Reminders of former devotions to him include a temple at Achaleshwar, near Batala in Punjab, and another temple of Skanda atop the Parvati hill in Pune, Maharashtra. Another vestige of his former popularity can be seen in Bengal and Odisha, where he is worshipped during the Durga Puja festivities alongside Durga. Lord Subramanya is the major deity among the Hindus of northern Kerala. Lord Subramanya is worshipped with utmost devotion in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the state of Karnataka. Rituals like nagaradhane are unique to this region.

Kartikeya also known as Kartik or Kartika is also worshipped in West Bengal, and Bangladesh on the last day of the Hindu month of 'Kartik'. However, the popularity of Kartik Puja (worshipping Kartik) is decreasing now, and Lord Kartik is primarily worshipped among those who intend to have a son. In Bengal, traditionally, many people drop images of Kartik inside the boundaries of different households, who all are either newly married, or else, intend to get a son to carry on with their ancestry. Lord Kartik is also associated to the Babu Culture prevailed in historic Kolkata, and hence, many traditional old Bengali paintings still show Kartik dressed in traditional Bengali style. Also, in some parts of West Bengal, Kartik is traditionally worshipped by the ancestors of the past royal families too, as in the district of Malda. Kartik Puja is also popular among the prostitutes. This can probably be linked to the fact that, the prostitutes mostly got clients from the upper class babu-s in old Kolkata, who all, in turn, had been associated to the image of Kartik (as discussed above). In Bansberia (Hooghly district) Kartik Puja festival is celebrated like Durga puja of Kolkata, Jagadhatri puja in Chandannagar for consecutive four days. The festival starts on 17 November every year and on 16 November in case of Leap year.[13] Some of the must see Puja committees are Bansberia Kundugoli Nataraj, Khamarapara Milan Samity RadhaKrishna, Kishor Bahini, Mitali Sangha, Yuva Sangha, Bansberia Pratap Sangha and many more.

 

In Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is considered to be a son of Parvati or Durga and Shiva along with his brother Ganesha and sisters Lakshmi and Saraswati.[14]

Kartikeya is worshiped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik. Kartik purnima is celebrated with much joy and in a grand fashion in Cuttack and other parts in the state.

Murugan is adored by both Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favorite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, Murugan is worshipped at the temple in Katirkāmam, where he is known as Kathiravel or Katragama Deviyo (Lord of Katragama) . This temple is next to an old Buddhist place of worship. Local legend holds that Lord Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local aboriginal lasses. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Lord Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo(Murugan)reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism,

 

Based on archeological evidence found, it is believed that the Kiri Vehera was either renovated to build during the 1st century BCE. There are number of others inscriptions and ruins.[15]

 

By the 16th century the Kathiravel shrine at Katirkāmam had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[16] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15 the century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[16] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[17]

Lord Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by Tamil people in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thai Poosam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Lord Murugan.

The main temples of Murugan are located in Tamil Nadu and other parts of south India. They include the Aru Padaiveedu (six abodes) — Thiruchendur, Swamimalai, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparangunram, Palani (Pazhani), Thiruthani and other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Pachaimalai and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.

There are many temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad and one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Lord Murugan is worshiped as the Lord of the serpents. Aaslesha Bali, Sarpa Samskara with nagapathista samarpa are major prayers here. There is a temple called Malai Mandir in South Delhi. Malai means hill in Tamil. Mandir means temple in Hindi.

 

The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Lord Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Lord Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.

 

In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Lord Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Lord Murugan. In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[18] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan. The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[19]

This is a photograph from the Leixlip Le Cheile AC Royal Canal Trail Marathon Summer 2013 was held on the beautiful banks of the Royal Canal from Moyvalley, Co. Kildare to Leixlip, Co. Kildare, Ireland on Saturday 22nd of June 2013 at 13:00. The race started close to Furey's Pub at Moyvalley and proceeded westwards to Blackshade bridge where the race turned around and then the route was direct to Leixlip. The running route followed the Royal Canal Way. The race finished at Leixlip Amenities Center. The marathon forms part of the Le Cheile AC Sponsored 24 hours of running which includes the midnight marathon, a dawn half marathon, a 5KM, open sports, and a local club event later in the day to complete the day's activities. About 20 people took part in the event in which all runners must be fully self supported. It was a beautiful day for a trail marathon.

 

This set of photographs were taken at three locations. Firstly the wonderful historic bridge at Ribbontail, Longwood, Co. Meath, Ireland which has stood as a path separating the two bank sides of the Royal Canal since the early 1800s and is an important historic symbol of Longwood. Secondly the 'Longwood Dock' section and finally a section known mostly only to locals called Ballinabarney Boreen just before the turn around point.

 

Viewing this on a smartphone device?

If you are viewing this Flickr set on a smartphone and you want to see the larger version(s) of this photograph then: scroll down to the bottom of this description under the photograph and click the "View info about this photo..." link. You will be brought to a new page and you should click the link "View All Sizes".

 

Some Useful Links

Leixlip Le Cheile Athletic Club: www.lecheileac.com

Royal Canal Trail Marathon - December 2012: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157632391728899/

 

How can I get a full resolution copy of these photographs?

 

All of the photographs here on this Flickr set have a border and inscription on them. All of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available offline, free, at no cost, at full image resolution WITHOUT watermark. We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. Our only "cost" is our request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, etc or (2) other websites, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us. This also extends the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.

 

Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.

 

In summary please remember - all we ask is for you to link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. Taking the photographs and preparing them for online posting does take a significant effort. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc.

 

If you would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?

Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.

 

I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?

 

As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:

 

     ►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera

     ►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set

     ►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone

     ►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!

  

You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.

 

Don't like your photograph here?

That's OK! We understand!

 

If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.

 

I want to tell people about these great photographs!

Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets

  

Kritsa is one of the oldest and most picturesque villages in Crete, Greece, built amphitheatrically on a rock hill, named Kastellos, surrounded by olive groves, at an altitude of 375 m. It is part of the municipality of Agios Nikolaos.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kritsa

el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ce%9a%cf%81%ce%b9%cf%84%cf%83%ce%a...

Mesquite is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the Arizona state line and 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,276. The city is located in the Virgin River Valley. It is home to a growing retiree population, as well as several casino resorts and golf courses.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesquite,_Nevada

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

This is a subset of the ~1000 negatives taken by an unknown Dutch photographer active 1958-1964. I have likely eliminated press photographers Jack De Nijs, Harry Pot, F. N. Broers or Joop van Bilsen, who were also active around that time. As I do not yet (Dec 2020) know the identity of the photographer, I cannot extend any republishing rights, so legally, you and I are on our own.

 

This particular photoset I am posting online partly out of inspiration from the 2020 Netflix miniseries The Queen's Gambit, set partly around the same time and based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, who wrote The Hustler and The Color Of Money as well as The Man Who Fell To Earth, to which the series owes a lot; and in hopes someone can identify the photographer.

 

This group encompasses the following tournaments held in the Netherlands:

 

Oct 26 - Nov 15 1958: Sponsored by the Dutch department store chain Vroom & Dreesmann, this was a round of tournaments in 11 Dutch cities, in which three of the following six grandmasters played simultaneously a room full of high-level players, rotating by city: (Netherlands) Johannes (Jan) Hein Donner, Hans Bouwmeester, Theo van Scheltinga, youth champion Frits Roessel; (USSR) Mikhail Botvinnik. Salomon (Salo) Flohr. Early research indicated that these photos were taken in Geleen or even Heerlen, but I don't know for certain.

 

This is one of Jet's flagship sites, residing as it does near to the Humber oil refinery, one of two here, the other is the Lindsey refinery owned by the Prax group, they have the Harvest Energy brand. It's probably the only Jet site where the Phillips 66 logo is actually seen, but they are the owners of the Jet brand. The site here was given a total rebuild in 2021 and these days it looks a lot smarter than it did earlier on, as seen in the background of the photo of a BFL tanker below. I did actually fill up with petrol here and at the same time took plenty of photos. It has a large separate forecourt for lorries and there were many on this day! To leave the site one has to queue up for ages as it has so many customers including all the lorries. That gave me the chance to get a picture of the LPG Jet tanker so not all bad! Some of the images show the extreme industrial nature of this location.

www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.6292731,-0.2514327,3a,75y,79.91...

Sewing Roots is an ethical fashion show organised by Kirstie MacLean, (founder of Mudhut & Mzuribeads). Held at Che Camille's Independent Fashion Design Studio/Showroom in Argylle Arcade, Glasgow. On the 20th of Novemer, 2009.

 

Experience a mystical trail through a collection of the most exciting ethical brands.

From comfy smart/casuals, to one off tailored dresses.. this clever collaboration has something to offer everyone.

 

The clothing and jewellery will be shown in a candle lit fashion show at 7.30pm.

 

All items will be available to try on and buy throughout the night.

 

PLUS DRINKS, African FOODS, and eletro beats, accompanied with LIVE tribal drumming.

 

Any profit made by the organisers will be put towards Mudhut. A not for profit, online platform, identifying sustainable, creative and innovative ways to develop educational, political, economical, and environmental projects in developing communities.

 

mudhutug.blogspot.com

www.mudhut.ug

 

The show features the following brands:

 

Bibico

 

Bibico is a fair trade UK clothing label designed by Nieves Ruiz. A range of very beautiful, simple, and charming garments.

www.bibico.co.uk/

 

Goodone

 

Goodone is a UK clothing design company who produce innovative, quality, one-off clothing, made from hand-picked, locally-sourced, recycled fabrics.

www.goodone.co.uk/

 

Mia Nisbit

 

Mia Nisbit is an exciting new designer and the winner of Make Your Mark fashion Award 2008 for ethical fashion design during London Fashion week. She will be exhibiting her latest range of reinvented recycled clothing combined with traditional textiles from Malawi.

www.fashionbymia.com/

 

Johari

 

Johari is a ethical fashion company offering exquisite hand-crafted clothing and jewellery from locally sourced materials and skills from within Kenya.

www.johari.co.uk/

 

Purple Mango & Mzuribeads

 

Purple Mango is the name of an exclusive new ethical jewellery business. Purple Mango offers a symbolic collection of statement jewellery created from sustainable materials, original designers, and fair trade producers.

 

Mzuribeads is a stunning collection of handmade, recycled paper bead jewellery brought to you by a cooperation of Ugandan jewellers.

www.mzuribeads.com/

 

Shearer Candles

 

Shearer Candles is recognised as a leading innovator in the fashionable and design-conscious world of candles. Handmade in the factory situated opposite Govan metro station, Shearer candles will be giving out sample gifts and displaying a table of their finest Christmas and gift selection of beautiful and scented candles.

www.shearer-candles.com/

 

Che Camille

www.checamille.com/

 

Directions to Che Camille

Underground: alight at St Enoch station. At the top of St Enoch station stairs, cross over Argyll St onto Buchanan street. Walking up Buchanan St, the entrance to the Argyll Arcade is a minute's walk up, on your right. Entering the Arcade, there is an elevator on your left.

 

Che Camille is located on Floor 6 - you can't miss us!

 

This is the home-made gantry I use for the droplet photos.

 

It's 5' (150cm) high, 20" (51cm) wide.

 

The height of the upper bar is adustable by 6" (15cm) increments and has a hook from which hangs the dispenser. The bar is held in place by metal pegs palced through holes in the struts. The bar midway sits behind the struts and so does not interfere with the drops falling.

 

The notes help explain the various parts.

Minnie is our little female cat with a harlequin face. She was a lost cat we adopted after she was taken to the vet clinic where our son worked. Minnie is the boss in our house of two cats.

Photographed August 29, 2013 with Sony Alpha SLT-A58 and Sony SAL 75-300mm lens.

 

DSC02092

 

watermarked with picmarkr.com

The following series is the second-to-last from the October 2014 trip around China with Doug.

 

I'll break Leshan and the Buddha park into two separate sets. They feel like separate entities, anyway, though they share the same area. I was most amused at the admission price: The Oriental Buddha Capital (Park) charges 80 RMB admission. The Leshan Buddha (by far, the more known of the attractions) is 90 RMB. Now normally, there's some sort of incentive for buying tickets to both...usually a discount, even if it's a pittance. So, how much for both of these? Yep...170 RMB. Well-done, China tourism. :-)

 

In this series -- and forgive me for over-posting, but I was very, very pleasantly surprised by this park -- I'll comment only on the Oriental Buddha Capital. (I'll stick exclusively to the Giant Buddha in the other set.)

 

Getting to Leshan is very easy from Chengdu; it's a 2-2.5 hour bus ride southwest of town and, I think, this is considered southern Sichuan province. I would still say doing Leshan and Emeishan on the same trip is fine -- if you have 2-3 days. Otherwise, treat them separately. Leshan can be done in a day, but Emeishan would need at least two (and more, if you're hiking to the peak).

 

When I was researching in Lonely Planet about Leshan, it mentioned this partk, and I thought it sounded like a pleasant afterthought...or at least a little diversion, at best.

 

Honestly, it's one of the nicer parks I've been to in China. Regarding Buddhist art (almost all sculptures), it's very, very impressive. (That being said, it's hard to say how many of the sculptures are originals; some of the signage does allude to the fact that the originals are still in their given countries, etc.)

 

There are over 3,000 Buddha statues and figurines throughout the park from all over Asia (though some, as mentioned, are replicas). The highlight is probably a 170-m (about 550 ft) long reclining Buddha carved into the side of a hill. It's easily one of the largest reclining Buddhas in the world.

 

I was also a bit surprised at the almost-eroticism of a lot of the scupltures. Many are nudes...and quite curvaceous, as you'll see. Now, this isn't to say it's voyeuristic by any means, but I was still surprised (and glad) to see these sculptures also celebrate the human body/form as well.

 

At any rate, I hope you enjoy these last two collections from October 2014.

 

As I wasn't alone on this trip (very rare for me), you're also welcome to visit my good friend Doug's pictures for a different perspective. His sites are:

 

www.dougmcmillen.com/ (Access the China pics under his 'Travels' heading.)

 

www.flickr.com/photos/mcmillend/

Richmond is a town in North Yorkshire which boasts a sizeable ruined medieval castle on a strong defensive position high above the River Swale.

 

The town features a large Market Place with the former Trinity Church, now the Green Howards military museum, at its heart, in addition to the Obelisk. This marks the location of a large (now disused) underground reservoir that was key to supplying the town with fresh drinking water when constructed in 1771.

 

The former Railway Station and Goods Shed, built by the North Eastern Railway Company and disused since the closure of the branch to Darlington in the 1960s have been tastefully converted to an arts and social hub, retaining many original features of the buildings.

 

The famous enamelled AA sign for the 1927 Solar Eclipse is a unique survivir and can be found on Victoria Road.

Kartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan and Subramaniyan, is the Hindu god of war. He is the commander-in-chief of the army of the devas (gods) and the son of Shiva and Parvati.

 

Murugan is often referred to as "Tamil Kadavul" (meaning "God of Tamils") and is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and Katirkāmam Temple situated deep south.[1] Hindus in Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves and various temples where Thaipusam is celebrated with grandeur.

 

In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kartikeya is known as Subrahmanya with a temple at Kukke Subramanya known for Sarpa shanti rites dedicated to Him and another famous temple at Ghati Subramanya also in Karnataka. In Bengal and Odisha, he is popularly known as Kartikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika').[2]

Other names[edit]

Like most Hindu deities, Subrahmanya is known by many other names, including Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Kumāran (meaning 'prince or child or young one'), Swaminatha (meaning 'smart' or 'clever'), Saravaṇa, Arumugam or Shanmuga (meaning 'one with six faces'), Dhandapani (meaning God with a Club), Guhan or Guruguha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Subrahmanya, Kartikeya and Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed).[3][4] He was also known as Mahasena and the Kadamba Dynasty kings worshiped him by this name.[5]

Vedas[edit]

The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' because he is form of 'Agni' (Fire God) & Agni hold in his hand when kumaran born. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the six faces of Rudra. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the legend of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana is devoted to the narrative of Kartikeya.[6] The Upanishads also constantly make a reference to a Supreme Being called Guha, the indweller.

The first elaborate account of Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Mahabharata. In a complicated story, he is said to have been born from Agni and Svaha, after the latter impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Kartikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Asura Mahisha.[7] (In later mythology, Mahisha became the adversary of Durga.) Indra attacks Kartikeya as he sees the latter as a threat, until Shiva intervenes and makes Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. The origin of this marriage lies probably in the punning of 'Deva-sena-pati'. It can mean either lord of Devasena or Lord of the army (sena) of Devas. But according to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, in his master work on Shiva[8] and other works, Kartikeya was married to Devasenā and that is on the ground of his name as Devasena's husband, Devasenāpati, misinterpreted as Deva-senāpati (Deva's general) that he was granted the title general and made the Deva's army general.[9]

 

The Ramayana version is closer to the stories told in the Puranas discussed below.

Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[10] The Sangam poetry divided space and Tamil land into five allegorical areas (tinai) and according to the Tirumurugarruppatai ( c. 400–450 AD) attributed to the great Sangam poet Nakkiirar, Murugan was the presiding deity the Kurinci region (hilly area). (Tirumurugaruppatai is a deeply devotional poem included in the ten idylls (Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam). The other Sangam era works in Tamil that refer to Murugan in detail include the Paripaatal, the Akananuru and the Purananuru. One poem in the Paripaatal describes the veneration of Murugan thus:

 

"We implore thee not for boons of enjoyment or wealth,

But for thy grace beatific, love and virtuous deeds."

 

According to the Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress". In another work, Thirumurukkarrupatai, he is described as a god of eternal youth;

 

His face shines a myriad rays light and removes the darkness from this world.[11]

The references to Murugan can be traced back to the first millennium BCE. There are references to Murugan in Kautilya's Arthashastra, in the works of Patanjali, in Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumarasambhavam. The Kushanas, who governed from what is today Peshawar, and the Yaudheyas, a republican clan in the Punjab, struck coins bearing the image of Skanda. The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Guptas.[6] The worship of Kumāra was one of the six principal sects of Hinduism at the time of Adi Shankara. The Shanmata system propagated by him included this sect. In many Shiva and Devi temples of Tamil Nadu, Murugan is installed on the left of the main deity. The story of His birth goes as follows:

 

Sati immolated herself in a pyre as her father King Daksha had insulted Shiva, her Lord. She was reborn as Parvathi or Uma, daughter of the King of Himalayas, Himavan. She then married her Lord Shiva. The Devas were under onslaught from the Asuras whose leader was Soorapadman. He had been granted boons that only Lord Shiva or his seed could kill him. Fearless he vanquished the Devas and made them his slaves. The Devas ran to Vishnu for help who told them that it was merely their fault for attending Daksha's yagna, without the presence of Lord Shiva. After this, they ran to Shiva for help. Shiva decided to take action against Soorapadman's increasing conceit. He frowned and his third eye- the eye of knowledge- started releasing sparks. These were six sparks in total. Agni had the responsibility to take them to Saravana Lake. As he was carrying them, the sparks were growing hotter and hotter that even the Lord of Fire could not withstand the heat. Soon after Murugan was born on a lotus in the Saravana Lake with six faces, giving him the name Arumukhan. Lord Shiva and Parvati visited and tears of joy started flowing as they witnessed the most handsome child. Shiva and Parvathi gave the responsibility of taking care of Muruga to the six Krittika sisters. Muruga grew up to be a handsome, intelligent, powerful, clever youth. All the Devas applauded at their saviour, who had finally come to release them from their woes. Murugan became the supreme general of the demi-gods, then escorted the devas and led the army of the devas to victory against the asuras.

Legends[edit]

Given that legends related to Murugan are recounted separately in several Hindu epics, some differences between the various versions are observed. Some Sanskrit epics and puranas indicate that he was the elder son of Shiva. This is suggested by the legend connected to his birth; the wedding of Shiva and Parvati being necessary for the birth of a child who would vanquish the asura named Taraka. Also, Kartikeya is seen helping Shiva fight the newborn Ganesha, Shiva's other son, in the Shiva Purana. In the Ganapati Khandam of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is seen as the elder son of Shiva and Ganesha as the younger. In South India, it is believed that he is the younger of the two. A Puranic story has Ganesha obtain a divine fruit of knowledge from Narada winning a contest with Murugan. While Murugan speeds around the world thrice to win the contest for the fruit, Ganesha circumambulates Shiva and Parvati thrice as an equivalent and is given the fruit. After winning it, he offers to give the fruit to his upset brother. After this event, Ganesha was considered the elder brother owing as a tribute to his wisdom. Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. This lead to a very interesting name : Devasenapati viz. Pati (husband) of Devsena and/or Senapati (commander in chief) of Dev (gods)

Kartikeya symbols are based on the weapons – Vel, the Divine Spear or Lance that he carries and his mount the peacock. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding a sakti or spear. This symbolizes his purification of human ills. His javelin is used to symbolize his far reaching protection, his discus symbolizes his knowledge of the truth, his mace represents his strength and his bow shows his ability to defeat all ills. His peacock mount symbolizes his destruction of the ego.

 

His six heads represent the six siddhis bestowed upon yogis over the course of their spiritual development. This corresponds to his role as the bestower of siddhis.

In Tamil Nadu, Murugan has continued to be popular with all classes of society right since the Sangam age. This has led to more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam, written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. (He was a scholar in Tamil literature, and a votary of the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy.)

 

He is married to two deities, Valli, a daughter of a tribal chief and Deivayanai (also called Devasena), the daughter of Indhra. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[12]

 

As Muruga is worshipped predominantly in Tamil Nadu, many of his names are of Tamil origin. These include Senthil, the red or formidable one; Arumugam, the six-faced one; Guhan and Maal-Marugan, the son-in-law of Vishnu. Murugan is venerated throughout the Tamil year. There is a six-day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. He is worshipped at Thaipusam, celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel or lance by his mother in order to vanquish the asuras. Thirukarthigai or the full moon of the Tamil month of Karthigai signifies his birth. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Murugan. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangala, the god of planet Mars and war.

 

Other parts of India[edit]

Historically, God Kartikeya was immensely popular in the Indian subcontinent. One of the major Puranas, the Skanda Purana is dedicated to him. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 24), Krishna, while explaining his omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, he says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war."

 

Kartikeya's presence in the religious and cultural sphere can be seen at least from the Gupta age. Two of the Gupta kings, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta, were named after him. He is seen in the Gupta sculptures and in the temples of Ellora and Elephanta. As the commander of the divine armies, he became the patron of the ruling classes. His youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam. In ancient India, Kartikeya was also regarded as the patron deity of thieves, as may be inferred from the Mrichchakatikam, a Sanskrit play by Shudraka, and in the Vetala-panchvimshati, a medieval collection of tales. This association is linked to the fact that Kartikeya had dug through the Krauncha mountain to kill Taraka and his brothers (in the Mrichchakatikam, Sarivilaka prays to him before tunnelling into the hero's house).

 

However, Kartikeya's popularity in North India receded from the Middle Ages onwards, and his worship is today virtually unknown except in parts of Haryana. There is a very famous temple dedicated to Him in the town of Pehowa in Haryana and this temple is very well known in the adjoining areas, especially because women are not allowed anywhere close to it. Women stay away from this temple in Pehowa town of Haryana because this shrine celebrates the Brahmachari form of Kartikeya. Reminders of former devotions to him include a temple at Achaleshwar, near Batala in Punjab, and another temple of Skanda atop the Parvati hill in Pune, Maharashtra. Another vestige of his former popularity can be seen in Bengal and Odisha, where he is worshipped during the Durga Puja festivities alongside Durga. Lord Subramanya is the major deity among the Hindus of northern Kerala. Lord Subramanya is worshipped with utmost devotion in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the state of Karnataka. Rituals like nagaradhane are unique to this region.

Kartikeya also known as Kartik or Kartika is also worshipped in West Bengal, and Bangladesh on the last day of the Hindu month of 'Kartik'. However, the popularity of Kartik Puja (worshipping Kartik) is decreasing now, and Lord Kartik is primarily worshipped among those who intend to have a son. In Bengal, traditionally, many people drop images of Kartik inside the boundaries of different households, who all are either newly married, or else, intend to get a son to carry on with their ancestry. Lord Kartik is also associated to the Babu Culture prevailed in historic Kolkata, and hence, many traditional old Bengali paintings still show Kartik dressed in traditional Bengali style. Also, in some parts of West Bengal, Kartik is traditionally worshipped by the ancestors of the past royal families too, as in the district of Malda. Kartik Puja is also popular among the prostitutes. This can probably be linked to the fact that, the prostitutes mostly got clients from the upper class babu-s in old Kolkata, who all, in turn, had been associated to the image of Kartik (as discussed above). In Bansberia (Hooghly district) Kartik Puja festival is celebrated like Durga puja of Kolkata, Jagadhatri puja in Chandannagar for consecutive four days. The festival starts on 17 November every year and on 16 November in case of Leap year.[13] Some of the must see Puja committees are Bansberia Kundugoli Nataraj, Khamarapara Milan Samity RadhaKrishna, Kishor Bahini, Mitali Sangha, Yuva Sangha, Bansberia Pratap Sangha and many more.

 

In Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is considered to be a son of Parvati or Durga and Shiva along with his brother Ganesha and sisters Lakshmi and Saraswati.[14]

Kartikeya is worshiped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik. Kartik purnima is celebrated with much joy and in a grand fashion in Cuttack and other parts in the state.

Murugan is adored by both Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favorite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, Murugan is worshipped at the temple in Katirkāmam, where he is known as Kathiravel or Katragama Deviyo (Lord of Katragama) . This temple is next to an old Buddhist place of worship. Local legend holds that Lord Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local aboriginal lasses. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Lord Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo(Murugan)reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism,

 

Based on archeological evidence found, it is believed that the Kiri Vehera was either renovated to build during the 1st century BCE. There are number of others inscriptions and ruins.[15]

 

By the 16th century the Kathiravel shrine at Katirkāmam had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[16] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15 the century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[16] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[17]

Lord Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by Tamil people in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thai Poosam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Lord Murugan.

The main temples of Murugan are located in Tamil Nadu and other parts of south India. They include the Aru Padaiveedu (six abodes) — Thiruchendur, Swamimalai, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparangunram, Palani (Pazhani), Thiruthani and other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Pachaimalai and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.

There are many temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad and one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Lord Murugan is worshiped as the Lord of the serpents. Aaslesha Bali, Sarpa Samskara with nagapathista samarpa are major prayers here. There is a temple called Malai Mandir in South Delhi. Malai means hill in Tamil. Mandir means temple in Hindi.

 

The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Lord Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Lord Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.

 

In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Lord Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Lord Murugan. In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[18] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan. The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[19]

This is a photograph from the 11th annual running of the Tom Brennan Memorial 5KM Road Race and Fun Run which was held on Furze Road, Phoenix Park, Chapelizod, Dublin, Ireland on New Year's Day Friday 1st January 2016 at 12:00. The race route is a two loop course which starts and finishes on the Furze Road in the middle of the Phoenix Park. Participants follow a clockwise, right-handed, route around Furze Road, Ordnance Survey and Chesterfield Avenue. The weather was not the best for fast racing. A very very strong stormy headwind into the faces of participants along Chesterfield Avenue made this particular section tough going for everyone. There was also a particularly cold icy feel in the air. However several hundred runners, joggers and walkers braved the elements to take part.

 

The race is organised and promoted by the local athletics club Liffey Valley Athletic Club who are based in Islandbridge, Dublin 8 and have a catchment area around this part of Dublin city.

The race commemorates the memory and contribution of former club member Tom Brennan who won the National Cross Country Championships in 1975 in UCD Belfield at the age of 24 years. A special commemorative perpetual trophy is presented to the winner of the race every year. The race is also of particular interest to those runners, joggers and walkers who are not necessarily involved in the competitive side of the race. Annually the race is the first of a series of races in Dublin city which make up the Lord Mayor’s 5 Alive Challenge. This initiative by Dublin City Council is now in its fourth year and over 300 runners, joggers and walkers volunteer to take part in five of Dublin’s most popular road races. The Liffey Valley Club and many other volunteers work hard to make this a very successful event. It provides a splendid opening of the New Year for runners of all abilities. It is also a fitting 'official' start to the new year of road racing in the Dublin and North Leinster region.

 

This photograph is part of a large set of photographs which was taken at the race. The complete set is available on our Flickr page at [https://www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157662953593456]

 

Timing and Event Management was provided by the new Irish company MyRunResults.com. The results from today's race can be found on their website in the results section [www.myrunresults.com/results.html]

 

LINKS:

Our photographs from the Tom Brennan Memorial Road Race 2015: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157649636870307

The Dublin Lord Mayor's 5 Alive Challenge Hashtag on Twitter for 2016: twitter.com/hashtag/LordMayor5Alive?src=hash

Liffey Valley AC on Twitter: twitter.com/liffeyvalleyac

The Liffey Valley AC Website Homepage: liffeyvalleyac.com/

The Liffey Valley AC Facebook Page (might require Facebook logon to access): www.facebook.com/liffeyvalleyac

Location of the Phoenix Park on OpenStreetMap: www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=53.3587&mlon=-6.3362#map=...

GPS Garmin Trace of the 5KM Road Race Route: connect.garmin.com/activity/661573721

  

USING OUR PHOTOGRAPHS - A QUICK GUIDE AND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?

 

Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.

 

BUT..... Wait there a minute....

We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.

 

This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.

 

I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?

 

You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.

 

I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?

 

If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.

 

Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.

 

In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.

 

I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?

Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.

 

Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs

We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?

The explaination is very simple.

Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.

ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.

 

Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

 

I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?

 

As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:

 

     ►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera

     ►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set

     ►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone

     ►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!

  

You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.

 

Don't like your photograph here?

That's OK! We understand!

 

If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.

 

I want to tell people about these great photographs!

Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets

 

This is an amazing photo for us-

we have been caring for Stripes-

the mommy here - who kind of

adopted us, so we have been feeding

her and showering her with

love.

 

But though my wife suspected

she was pregnant, we weren't sure-

and didn't know she gave

birth to (at least) four babies.

 

Yesterday we discovered

the babies, in the overgrown

brush at the back of our yard.

Stripes, who is a baby still herself-

has been busy caring for

and protecting her babies-

especially this one,

the littlest of them all -

who Jonah has named Monday-

in honor of the sweet Sunday,

our kitty friend who died

3 weeks ago and was

also gray.

 

He's also named the

other three babies -

Shadow,

Whiskers

& Dewey.

 

Stay tuned.

MEET THE STANS: KAZAKHSTAN - another puncture halts us in our tracks early one morning.

Meet the Stans is a four-part BBC TV series, shown on BBC2, BBC World and by broadcasters internationally, in which Simon Reeve travelled from the far north-west of Kazakhstan, by the Russian border, east to the Chinese border, south through Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the edge of Afghanistan, and west to Uzbekistan and the legendary Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara.

This is an immature Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae of the suborder Ensifera, in the order Orthoptera. It's perched on a new Aster (Asteraceae) flower in the garden this morning. It was overcast today, perfect for capturing these delicate colors. (San Marcos Pass, 12 July 2012)

 

It may well be an Angle-wing Katydid in the genus Microcentrum - possibly the California Angle-winged Katydid (Microcentrum californicum). These are gentle leaf-like creatures which do no harm.

 

We had an interesting weather day! It was overcast all day, and about 10 degrees cooler than yesterday. We've had a few raindrops from tropical monsoon moisture, and there's a chance of rain - and lightning - tonight!

 

- Drew's Pond, Devizes.

This is an early proof-of-concept build for my Frek urban utility bike (FUUB). FUUB is made from a '90 Trek 420 frame with a Rawland Stag fork, and it rolls on 650b wheels with 38 mm tires. I brazed on mounts for Mafac RAID centerpulls, proper fender mounts, accommodations for integrated front and rear dynohub powered lighting, and a few other little details.

 

This bike is intended primarily for my commute, errand running and grocery fetching duties. The frame and fork are fairly stout, which is a good thing when the rack is loaded with 30 lbs of groceries.

 

The build is now much different than pictured here and it continues to evolve in pursuit of urban commuting/errand-running/grocery-getting perfection.

This is another exciting model of the M-ATV MRAP series. It depicts an All-Terrain MRAP Vehicle (M-ATV), this time in Extended Configuration.

As all our models it was developed in 3D software and a digital tooling was created, which was used to produce selected parts and components. Most of the parts and components were produced by rapid prototyping, using nylon for over 80% of these parts. In addition some of the nylon parts were also reinforced by metal, which made them even more durable. As its sister model in Standard Configuration, this version is also mounted on a wood finished base and protected with a clear acrylic cover. Two of these models were produced.

The model also earned high recognition for the accuracy and high level of detailing. It will possibly be followed by a series of smaller scale executive desktop models (multiples).

Paterson is a city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023 residents (2.0%) from its 2000 Census population of 149,222. Paterson is known as the "Silk City" for its dominant role in silk production during the latter half of the 19th century.

 

In 1791, Alexander Hamilton helped found the Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures (SUM), which helped encourage the harnessing of energy from the Great Falls of the Passaic River, to secure economic independence from British manufacturers. Paterson, which was founded by the society, became the cradle of the industrial revolution in America. Paterson was named for William Paterson, statesman, signer of the Constitution and Governor of New Jersey who signed the 1792 charter that established the Town of Paterson.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paterson_City,_Passaic_County,_New_...

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

This is Stranger 8 out of 100

 

Ernesto is a jeweler from Peru. He makes jewelry mostly out of recycled wood and wire. He says his stuff is all 100% recycled, and gathers his materials from all around Toronto. Inside his store, he has a small work bench complete with a buffing wheel and a scroll saw right by the store window. Underneath the shelves, he hides all his discarded tables, chairs, and wooden objects, which he makes his jewelry out of! He displays some of his work in very ornate and detailed wooden frames, which he said his brother made for him. His brother went to school for carpentry. I bought myself a ring and necklace from him. The ring is made from a piece of hard wood, stained black, engraved, polished smooth and filled with a resin. The necklace is made of an abalone shell. He said his work is "inspired by the universe", as he posed for the photo!

 

Ernesto was an extremely nice man. He looked at my bag, asked me to see it. He examines it, and says "Ah! That's how they do it!" He then tells me he's trying to make a bunch of leather bags to sell, but couldn't find out how to attach the shoulder strap without weakening the body. "You teach me, I teach you!" He tells me the process he used to make the ring I bought. As I went inside his store to check out his other work, he grabs a big empty jam jar, now filled with mashed potatoes and a chicken thigh. "Kings eat this," he says. A small child in blue, about 8 years old, waves at him through a window. "Hello!" he says enthusiastically, "He's my friend," he tells me.

 

Ernesto's store is located in Kensington Market, though sadly, I forgot where. I'll be sure to update this with the location once I find it!

 

Leica M8 | 50mm F2 Summitar

 

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This is a left hand drawing of a duck called a Smew,

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