Access cover of a water main in Uster, Switzerland. Switzerland is a multilingual country.

This Flower is Called Sada Bahar In the local Language its mean Ever Green because its is found in all 4 Seasons. i have gone through Photoshop in this image because i i took a white background because my wife was not allowing me to take this photo. She wants to take it. that why i dedicate this image to her.

Dedicated to My Wife , daughter, TojoLa and Tracy2912

Large size www.flickr.com/photos/22153896@N06/2367382446/sizes/l/

20230807-4758

Aan het eind van mijn zwerftocht aan de branding waarbij ik verschillende strandvondsten heb vastgelegd, zag ik een vrouw, gebukt met camera hetzelfde doen. We raakten aan de praat en het bleek dat we ongeveer dezelfde dingen aan het fotograferen waren.

All images are copyrighted by Pieter Musterd. If you want to use any of my photographs, contact me. It is not allowed to download them or use them on any website, blog etc. without my explicit permission.

If you want a translation of the text in your own language, please try "Google Translate".

Merci pour votre commentaire

Dank voor je commentaar

Danke für deinen Kommentar

Thank you for your comment

Gracias por tu comentario

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View On Black

NEW YEAR WITH FIREWORKS AT HOME

TO THE FLICKR FAMILY: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy new year in many languages:

Africaan

gelukkige nuwejaar

Albanés

Gëzuar vitin e ri

Alemán

ein gutes neues Jahr / prost Neujahr

Alsaciano

e glëckliches nëies / güets nëies johr

Árabe

(pronunciación aprox: aam saiid / sana saiida)

Armenio

shnorhavor nor tari

Azerbayano

yeni iliniz mubarek

Bamanankan (Malí)

bonne année

Belga

gelukkig Nieuwjaar

Bengalí

subho nababarsho

Berber (Marruecos)

asgwas amegas

Beti-Pahuin (Guinea, Congo, Camerún)

mbembe mbu

Bieloruso

З новым годам (pronunciación: Z novym hodam)

Bobo Madaré (Burkina Faso)

bonne année

Bosnio

sretna nova godina

Bretón

bloavezh mat / bloavez mad

Búlgaro

честита нова година (pronunciación: chestita nova godina)

Birmano

hnit thit ku mingalar pa

Cantonés

kung hé fat tsoi

Catalán

bon any nou

Chino

(pronuniciación: xin nian kuai le / xin nian hao)

Corso

pace e salute

Creole hatiano

bònn ané

Croata

sretna nova godina

Checo

šťastný nový rok

Danés

godt nytår

Esolvaco

stastlivy novy rok

Esloveno

srečno novo leto

Esperanto

feliæan novan jaron

Estonio

head uut aastat

Faroese (escandinavo de las islas Faroe)

gott nýggjár

Finés

onnellista uutta vuotta

Francés

bonne année

Friulano (ladino oriental)

bon an

Gallego

feliz aninovo

Galés

blwyddyn newydd dda

Georgiano

gilotsavt aral tsels

Griego

kali chronia / kali xronia

Guaraní

rogüerohory año nuévo-re

Holandés

gelukkig Nieuwjaar

Hawaiano

hauoli makahiki hou

Hebreo

shana tova

Hindi

nav varsh ki subhkamna

Húngaro

boldog új évet

Islandés

farsælt komandi ár

Indonesio

selamat tahun baru

Inglés

Happy new year

Irlandés

ath bhliain faoi mhaise

Italiano

felice anno nuovo, buon anno

Jamaiquino

bon lanné

Japonés

(pronunciación: akemashite omedetô)

Mapuche

K'me amupe We Xipantu

Mong (Tailandia, Vietnam, Laos)

nyob zoo xyoo tshiab

Kabyle (Argelia)

asseguèsse-ameguèsse

Kannada (India)

hosa varshada shubhaashayagalu

Khmer (Cmaboya, Vietnam, Tailandia)

sur sdei chhnam thmei

Kirundi (Burundi)

umwaka mwiza

Coreano

(pronunicación: seh heh bok mani bat uh seyo)

Kurdo

sala we ya nû pîroz be

Laosiano

sabai di pi mai

Latín

felix sit annus novus

Letón

laimīgu Jauno gadu

Lingala (Congo)

bonana / mbula ya sika elamu na tonbeli yo

Lituano

laimingų Naujųjų Metų

Sajón

gelükkig nyjaar

Luxemburgués

e gudd neit Joër

Macedonio

srekna nova godina

Malgache (Madagascar)

arahaba tratry ny taona

Malayo

selamat tahun baru

Maltés

sena gdida mimlija risq

Maorí

kia hari te tau hou

Mongol

shine jiliin bayariin mend hurgeye (Шинэ жилийн баярын мэнд хvргэе)

Noruego

godt nytt år

Occitano (Langue d'oc)

bon annada

Persa

sâle no mobârak

Polaco

szczęśliwego nowego roku

Portugués

feliz ano novo

Romaní

bangi vasilica baxt

Rumano

un an nou fericit / la mulţi ani

Ruso

Новым Годом (pronunciación: S novim godom)

Samoano

ia manuia le tausaga fou

Sango (República Centroafricana)

nzoni fini ngou

Sardú

bonu annu nou

Escocés

bliadhna mhath ur

Serbio

srecna nova godina

Shona (Zimbabwe)

goredzwa rakanaka

Sindhi (India, Pakistán)

nain saal joon wadhayoon

Sinhala (Sri Lanka )

suba aluth avuruddak vewa

Sobota

dobir leto

Surinam

wan bun nyun yari

Swahili (Tanzania)

mwaka mzuri

Suizo

Hgott nytt år

Suizo alemán

es guets Nöis

Tagalogt (Indonesia)

manigong bagong taon

Tahitiano

ia orana i te matahiti api

Tami

iniya puthandu nalVazhthukkal

Tártaro

yana yel belen

Telugu (India)

nuthana samvathsara subhakankshalu

Thai

สวัสดีปีใหม่ (sawatdii pimaï)

Tibetano

tashi délek

Turco

yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun

Udmurt

Vyľ Aren

Ucraniano

Z novym rokom

Urdú

naya saal mubarik

Vasco

urte berri on

Vietnamita

Chúc Mừng Nǎm Mới / Cung Chúc Tân Niên / Cung Chúc Tân Xuân

Walon

bone annéye / bone annéye èt bone santéye

Yiddish

a gut yohr

...

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Lily Wild lives among a collection of origami flowers which she has come to appreciate in a way that we can't. However, in her own language of love, she sends her thanks to her new friend, Dorothy, who seems to understand the power of plants.

The meaning of the four-petal flower in feng shui often relates to luck, happiness, and prosperity. The four petals are seen as a symbol of perfection and balance, with each petal representing an essential aspect of life: love, health, wealth, and career.

All of us in the Bigg family thank you Nancy, and your lovely Dorothy and Zyanya, for hosting a fantastic month.

🌹🌷💮🌷🌹

Inspired by the movie Arrival.

The premise of Arrival concludes that your language determines how you're able to perceive the world and what your psychological limitations are; the more complex your language, the more you're able to understand about the complexity of reality.

The movie pushes the concept so far as to say that learning an advanced alien language could allow you to see moments outside of time.

This image represents how someone with this type of advanced language would see a woman climbing a wall; all moments would be visibly occurring simultaneously.

From yesterday evening at the cabin. This storm cell blew in during sunset. These prairie storms can be impressive, but this one left us with only a few drops of rain. We cleaned up the yard, and closed up the windows. Then I hung out on the dock to watch and take photos.

Storms and skies like this make me realize just how small we actually are.

Also part of my figurative language set. Both of them go with the same idiom in my mind. A term we use when feeling a little ill. I'll retitle the pictures in a couple of days with the idiom, but feel free to guess in the mean time.

In a foreign land where things may look alien and language being a barrier, it is always good to have guides who are able to speak a common language and assist in a time of need.

This fishmonger uses some kind of sign language to communicate with his colleagues across the aisle.

Shot at the Mercado Central Atarazanas in Málaga, Andalucía. A nice and busy market, check out my video taken there on:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEs6McUCwew

On a very cold morning in Portland, Maine

Thank you for visiting!

SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

"The symbolic view of things is a consequence of long absorption in images.

Is sign language the real language of Paradise?"

♥

"from the family album: from right to left: the child is my grandmother Ninitta, then there is her mother and my great grandmother Anna, her sister Concetta, finally their mother and my great-great-grandmother Nina, respectively daughter, wife, sister-in-law, mother-in-law of the photographer Gaetano D'Agata, whom in a photograph of him (location Mazzarò-Taormina)"

“dall'album di famiglia: da destra verso sinistra: la bambina è mia nonna Ninitta, poi c'è la sua mamma e la mia bisnonna Anna, sua sorella Concetta, infine la loro mamma e mia trisavola Nina, rispettivamente figlia, moglie, cognata, suocera del fotografo Gaetano D'Agata, cui in una sua fotografia (location Mazzarò-Taormina)”

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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;

or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;

clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;

oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...

www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...

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The photographer Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden: and some "secret stories” of Taormina ...

At the age of about 11-12, I made a very particular discovery, I found a fair number of ancient photographs (they had been well hidden by my grandmother) inside an ancient chest of drawers in our house in Taormina, for me it was a huge surprise, the a taste for the forbidden appeared in me for the first time, they were black and white photographs, they portrayed naked boys, or only partially dressed in drapes or sheets, they were posed to imitate certain statues (or drawings) of the Greco-Roman period; I was very intrigued by them, every now and then I went to look at them, without ever feeling discomfort, I did not consider them vulgar photographs. Some of the photos were the size of a postcard, others of various sizes increasingly larger, up to a format similar to A3; on the back there were stamps, there were also, inside small red cardboard boxes, glass plates, not large, looking at them against the light, they let us glimpse images of naked boys, or only partially dressed: they were photographic negatives made on glass plates. What was that particular photographic material hidden by my grandmother in the dresser of our house? Let's take a step back in time let's teleport to April 2, 1787 when the German poet, narrator, playwright Johan Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) lands in Palermo, following his Grand Tour in Italy (the word "tourism" derives from it) he will say of Sicily that it is a place of splendor, beauty and harmony, but at the same time a place of poverty, suffering, misery and social injustice; Goethe wrote the book "Journey to Italy", revealing himself to be one of Italy's most passionate admirers, stating that "Sicily is the key to everything" (the incredible resemblance of thought with the great Sicilian writer and journalist Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989) who published in 1979 the book entitled “Sicily as a metaphor”). At the time of Goethe (and for a long time to come) the knowledge of Sicily was made up of stereotyped ideas, it was considered a land of mysteries, a den of brigands, which aroused fear in travelers, tourism did not exist, very few knew a foreign language, journeys with carriages were slow, nothing strange therefore that Taormina was an unknown village at the time. Garibaldi, in the year 1860, frees Sicily from the domination of the Bourbons. In February 1863, Count Ottone (Otto) Geleng (1843-1939) arrives in Taormina from Germany, he is a landscape painter, he begins an intense pictorial activity, thus succeeding in making Taormina and its landscapes known in the various cultural circles of Germany and France. Count Otto thus invites the then painter (who later became a photographer) Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856-1931) to come to Taormina to treat his "subtle ache", pulmonary tuberculosis, which would have benefited from the mild climate of Sicily. Von Gloeden, twenty-two, arrived in Taormina in 1878, became passionate about photography by taking lessons from the local engineer and photographer Giuseppe Bruno (1836-1904), perhaps also a teacher of Giovanni Crupi (1859-1925), landscape photographer friend of von Gloeden, Crupi himself could also have contributed to the training as a photographer of the young von Gloeden. Like Otto Geleng's paintings, the photographs of the young Wilhelm also began to entice the then bourgeoisie across the border to come to Sicily: in the last 20 years of the 1800s the foundations were being laid for tourism in Sicily. The photographs taken by von Gloeden had as their subject young Sicilian adolescents dressed in the old-fashioned way with drapes, or completely naked, at most adorned with wreaths of flowers or laurel leaves placed on their heads, the young models assumed well-studied poses under the directed by the photographer baron, designed to create scenes that wanted to reconstruct the atmosphere of the mythical Arcadia (bucolic landscape of ancient Greece). In his poetics we can find the interest in disguise and transvestism, the young fisherman is made ambiguous by making him wear a wig, made resembling a young Sicilian girl; the images are not produced for the sole and mere trade, they are works that will be published in various famous magazines (such as "The National Geographic Magazine" or "the photographic progress", A. Stieglitz publishes his nudes on “Camera Notes"), also participating in international photographic exhibitions. The young models are filmed among ancient ruins, in rocky environments, outdoors, eliciting a spiritual feeling full of nostalgia, which follows pictorial models of German romanticism. In the photographic book "Verga photographer" (created on the discovery of 327 glass plates and 121 celluloid frames), in Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) great Sicilian narrator, it is possible to observe his photographs interwoven with "realism", while in the photographs of von Gloeden the symbolism andthe spiritualism predominate, however Wilhelm will also produce documentary-type photographs, photographing the terrible earthquake (and tsunami) of Messina (and Reggio Calabria) of 1908. Von Gloeden seems fully integrated into the Taormina society , nevertheless suffers heavy homophobic attacks from the local press and from important characters from Taormina, including Otto Geleng himself, who will be sued by the baron, which will then be withdrawn upon payment of 896 lire, and a restorative declaration published in the "Gazzetta di Messina" . Von Gloeden worked in his house-studio in front of the Hotel San Domenico Palace, with him lived his sister Sofia Raabe (1847-1930), daughter of his mother's first husband, who helped him manage the house-studio, and in the to receive the illustrious guests who visited him (such as Oscar Wilde, FA Krupp, Richard Strauss, the German emperor Wilhelm II, Eleonora Duse). Von Gloeden died on February 16, 1931 at the age of 74, he was buried in the non-Catholic cemetery of Taormina, his heir was his all-around assistant Pancrazio Buciunì known as "il moro" (1879-1963) ("u 'moru", family nickname), which continues the activity, selling the prints: he undergoes two searches in full fascist regime with partial seizure and destruction of the photographic material that belonged to von Gloeden (fascism persecuted homosexuals, the repression of homosexuality was entrusted to the fascist police, which confined many homosexuals to the islands of the Mediterranean, Lipari was one of these, see the beautiful film by Ettore Scola "a special day"), Buciunì undergoes two trials for detention of obscene material, and, despite an adverse appraisal by the appointed expert prof. Stefano Bottari, holder of the chair of history of medieval and modern art at the University of Messina, who declares much of the seized material obscene, the Court of Messina, demonstrating tolerance and open-mindedness, acquits Buciunì. At this point in the story we return to my grandmother's dresser and reveal the little mystery: the hidden photographs belonged to my great-grandfather Don Gaetano D'Agata (1883-1949), von Gloeden's assistant photographer, also on the baron's teaching, he made nude photographs, as well as landscape or portrait photographs; Don Gaetano was a globetrotter, in our family album he is portrayed in various parts of the world, always in the company of beautiful women: but I will never know if those "forbidden photos" were taken by my great-grandfather Gaetano or by Von Gloeden himself, because my grandmother, having understood that I was going to peek at them in secret, made them disappear permanently, and I never heard anymore of that photographic material. For my part, it is only right to mention other figures who contributed to making Taormina the current destination for international tourism. Lady Florence Trevelyan (1852-1907), was Queen Victoria's lady-in-waiting, she was then sent into exile in various parts of the world by Queen herself, she arrived in Taormina and stayed there forever, she was a woman of exceptional gifts, endowed with great sensitivity and humanity, animal rights activist, philanthropist, passionate about esotericism, she was married to the then mayor and doctor of Taormina dr. Salvatore Cacciola, she were one of the first women admitted to world Freemasonry (her husband Cacciola also belonged to Freemasonry): I have already talked about it previously in one of my photographic stories. On the occasion of the XXI festival of the two worlds in Spoleto, in 1978, the essayist and literary critic Roland Barthes (1915-1980) curated an exhibition entitled "Wilhelm von Gloeden", with interventions by artists such as Andy Warhol, M. Pistoletto and J. Beuys. Finally, Raffaella Perna, Researcher in History of Contemporary Art at the University of Catania, underlines in her book on "Wilhelm von Gloeden, disguises, portraits, tableaux vivants", of how LaChapelle, Witkin, Mapplethorpe are the contemporary artists who they are indicated as heirs of von Gloeden's poetics.

P.S. Von Gloeden's photographs were made by photographing both the large panels with gigantographic reproductions of von Gloeden's works, which are located at the entrance of the Mocambo bar in Taormina, and in the shop-bazaar of the photographer from Taormina, my late friend, Nino Malmbrì (owner of the baron's original photographic material). The photographs of Gaetano D’Agata, were taken from my family album: in a photo a little damaged, but exceptional for its historical and emotional value, my great-grandfather, the photographer Gaetano D'Agata, here very young, holds his daughter "Ninitta" (a of the four children, had by three wives), she is my paternal grandmother; in another photo, the photographer Gaetano D'Agata poses next to her a few years later, with my grandmother already a young girl; always made by great-grandfather D'Agata there is both a portrait photo, a close-up, of my very young grandmother "Ninitta", and there is a photo of her posing as a peasant girl, with a painted backdrop behind her, as if used in studio photos; finally I put two photos taken by my great-grandfather Gaetano "en plein air" of bathers, "the location" is the beach of Mazzarò (Taormina). The photographs of the tombstones of the characters mentioned in the story were taken in the Catholic and non-Catholic cemetery of Taormina; the monumental funerary complex of Count Otto Geleng at the top presents the bust of his son Ermanno, the presence of symbolisms such as the hourglass, the rooster, the book (the Holy Bible) and the god mercury, makes me believe that Count Otto was part of the Masonic lodge of Taormina, at the time the mayor of Taormina was also part of it, dr. Cacciola and his wife Lady Florence Trevelyan: in his palace, Dr. Cacciola, built a temple, which became the first Masonic lodge in Taormina: the "Renaissance" (1904).

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Il barone fotografo Wilhelm von Gloeden: ed alcune “storie segrete” di Taormina …

Io, all’età di circa 11-12 anni, feci una scoperta molto particolare, trovai un discreto numero di antiche fotografie (erano state ben nascoste da mia nonna) dentro un antico comò in casa nostra a Taormina, per me fu una enorme sorpresa, il gusto del proibito si affacciò in me per la prima volta, erano fotografie in bianco e nero, ritraevano ragazzi nudi, o solo in parte vestiti con drappi o lenzuoli, messi in posa imitavano certe statue (o disegni) del periodo greco-romano; io ne ero rimasto molto incuriosito, ogni tanto le andavo a riguardare, senza mai provare disagio, non le consideravo fotografie volgari. Alcune foto erano della grandezza di una cartolina, altre di varie dimensioni sempre più grandi, fino ad arrivare ad un formato assimilabile all’A3; sul retro c’erano impressi dei timbri, c’erano anche, dentro dei piccoli scatoli in cartoncino di colore rosso, delle lastrine in vetro, non grandi, guardandole in controluce, lasciavano intravedere immagini di ragazzi nudi, o poco vestiti: erano i negativi fotografici realizzati su vetro. Cosa ci faceva quel materiale fotografico, così particolare, nascosto da mia nonna nel comò di casa nostra? Facciamo un salto indietro nel tempo teletrasportiamoci al 2 aprile 1787 quando a Palermo sbarca il poeta, narratore, drammaturgo tedesco Johan Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), in seguito al suo Grand Tour in Italia (turismo deriva da esso) dirà della Sicilia che essa è luogo di splendore, bellezza ed armonia, ma al tempo stesso luogo di povertà, sofferenza, miseria ed ingiustizia sociale; Goethe scrive il libro “Viaggio in Italia”, rivelandosi uno dei più appassionati ammiratori dell’Italia, affermando che “la Sicilia è la chiave di tutto” (incredibile la rassomiglianza di pensiero col grande scrittore e giornalista siciliano Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989) che pubblica nel 1979 il libro dal titolo “la Sicilia come metafora”). Ai tempi di Goethe (e per molto tempo ancora) la conoscenza della Sicilia era fatta di idee stereotipate, era considerata terra di misteri, covo di briganti, il che incuteva timore nei viaggiatori, il turismo non esisteva, pochissimi conoscevano una lingua straniera, i viaggi con carrozze ertano lenti, nulla di strano quindi che Taormina fosse all’epoca un villaggio sconosciuto. Garibaldi, nell’anno 1860, libera la Sicilia dalla dominazione dei Borboni. Nel febbraio del 1863, dalla Germania giunge a Taormina il conte Ottone (Otto) Geleng (1843-1939), egli è un pittore paesaggista, inizia una intensa attività pittorica, riuscendo in tal modo a far conoscere Taormina ed i suoi paesaggi nei vari circoli culturali della Germania e della Francia. Il conte Otto invita così l’allora pittore (poi divenuto fotografo) barone Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856-1931) a venire a Taormina per curare il suo “mal sottile”, la tubercolosi polmonare, che avrebbe tratto giovamento dal clima mite della Sicilia. Von Gloeden, ventiduenne, nel 1878 giunge a Taormina, si appassiona alla fotografia prendendo lezioni dall’ingegnere e fotografo locale Giuseppe Bruno (1836-1904), forse anche insegnante di Giovanni Crupi (1859-1925), fotografo paesaggista amico di von Gloeden, il quale Crupi stesso potrebbe anche aver contribuito alla formazione come fotografo del giovane von Gloeden. Così come i dipinti di Otto Geleng, anche le fotografie del giovane Wilhelm incominciarono ad invogliare l’allora borghesia d’oltre confine, a venire in Sicilia: negli ultimi 20 anni dell’800 si stavano gettando le basi per il turismo in Sicilia. Le fotografie realizzate da von Gloeden avevano come soggetto giovani adolescenti siciliani vestiti all’antica con drappi, o completamente nudi, tutt’al più adornati da coroncine di fiorellini o foglie d’alloro messi sul capo, i giovani modelli assumevano pose ben studiate sotto la regia del barone fotografo, atte a realizzare scene che volevano ricostruire l’atmosfera della mitica Arcadia (paesaggio bucolico dell’antica Grecia). Nella sua poetica possiamo riscontrare l’interesse per il travestimento ed il travestitismo, il giovane pescatore viene reso ambiguo facendogli indossare una parrucca, reso somigliante ad una giovane ragazza siciliana; le immagini non vengono prodotte per il solo e mero commercio, sono opere che verranno pubblicate su varie riviste famose (come “The National Geographic Magazine” o “Il Progresso fotografico”, A. Stieglitz pubblica i suoi nudi su “Camera Notes”), partecipando anche ad esposizioni fotografiche internazionali. I giovani modelli sono ripresi tra antichi ruderi, in ambienti rupestri, all’aperto, elicitando un sentimento spirituale carico di nostalgia, il che ricalca modelli pittorici del romanticismo tedesco. Nel libro fotografico “Verga fotografo” (realizzato su ritrovamento di 327 lastre in vetro e 121 fotogrammi in celluloide), in Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) grande narratore siciliano, è possibile osservare le sue fotografie intessute di “verismo”, mentre nelle fotografie di von Gloeden predomina il simbolismo e lo spiritualismo, purtuttavia Wilhelm produrrà anch’egli fotografie di tipo documentaristico, andando a fotografare il terribile terremoto (e maremoto) di Messina (e di Reggio Calabria) del 1908. Von Gloeden sembra pienamente integrato nella società taorminese, ciononostante subisce pesanti attacchi omofobi dalla stampa locale e da importanti personaggi taorminesi, incluso lo stesso Otto Geleng, i quali verranno querelati dal barone, querela che verrà poi ritirata dietro pagamento di 896 lire, ed una dichiarazione riparatoria pubblicata sulla “Gazzetta di Messina”. Von Gloeden lavorava nella sua casa-studio di fronte l’Hotel San Domenico Palace, con lui viveva sua sorella Sofia Raabe (1847-1930), figlia del primo marito di sua madre, che lo aiutava a governare la casa-studio, e nel ricevere gli illustri ospiti che lo andavano a trovare ( come Oscar Wilde, F.A. Krupp, Richard Strauss, l’imperatore tedesco Guglielmo II, Eleonora Duse). Von Gloeden muore il 16 febbraio 1931 all’età di 74 anni, viene sepolto nel cimitero acattolico di Taormina, il suo erede è il suo assistente tutto fare Pancrazio Buciunì detto “il moro” (1879-1963) (“u’ moru”, soprannome di famiglia), che ne prosegue l’attività, vendendone le stampe: il quale subisce in pieno regime fascista due perquisizioni con parziale sequestro e distruzione del materiale fotografico che apparteneva a von Gloeden (il fascismo perseguitò gli omosessuali, la repressione dell’omosessualità fu affidata alla polizia fascista, che confinò molti omosessuali nelle isole del mediterraneo, Lipari fu una di queste, vedi il bellissimo film di Ettore Scola “una giornata particolare”), Buciunì subisce due processi per detenzione di materiale osceno, e, nonostante una perizia avversa da parte del nominato perito prof. Stefano Bottari, titolare della cattedra di storia dell’arte medioevale e moderna dell’Università di Messina, che dichiara osceno gran parte del materiale sequestrato, il Tribunale di Messina dimostrando tolleranza ed apertura mentale, assolve il Buciunì. A questo punto del racconto ritorniamo al comò di mia nonna e sveliamo il piccolo mistero: le fotografie nascoste appartenevano al mio bisnonno don Gaetano D’Agata (1883-1949), assistente fotografo di von Gloeden, anch’egli sull’insegnamento del barone, realizzò fotografie di nudo, oltre che di paesaggio o ritratto; don Gaetano era un giramondo, nel nostro album di famiglia lui è ritratto in varie parti del mondo, sempre in compagnia di belle donne: ma io non saprò mai se quelle “foto proibite” erano realizzate dal mio bisnonno Gaetano o da Von Gloeden stesso, perché mia nonna, avendo capito che le andavo a sbirciare di nascosto, le fece sparire definitivamente, e di quel materiale fotografico non ne seppi più nulla. Da parte mia, è doveroso citare altre figure che contribuirono a rendere Taormina l’attuale meta del turismo internazionale. Lady Florence Trevelyan (1852-1907), era dama di corte della regina Vittoria, dalla stessa regina Lady Florence fu poi mandata in esilio in varie parti del mondo, giunse a Taormina e qui vi restò per sempre, era una donna dalle doti eccezionali, dotata di grande sensibilità ed umanità, animalista, filantropa, appassionata di esoterismo, fu sposa dell’allora sindaco e medico di Taormina dott. Salvatore Cacciola, fu una delle prime donne ammesse alla massoneria mondiale (apparteneva alla massoneria anche il marito Cacciola): ne ho già parlato in precedenza in un mio racconto fotografico. Robert Hawthorn Kitson (1873-1947) era un pittore britannico omosessuale, egli lasciò l’Inghilterra a causa dell’emendamento Labouchere, che rendeva illegale qualsiasi atto omosessuale nel Regno Unito (1885), giunse a Taormina e qui si stabilì, costruendo nel 1905 Casa Cusani, una villa con vista sull’Etna, oggi casa museo; nella sua sala da pranzo si trovano gli affreschi “proibiti” realizzati da Frank Brangwyn, essi narrano dell’amore omosessuale tra Kitson ed il suo compagno Carlo Siligato: nel 1908 in seguito al terremoto che distrusse Messina (e Reggio Calabria), essi adottarono un bambino che era rimasto orfano, divenendo di fatto una famiglia omosessuale, all’epoca assolutamente proibita; gli affreschi di Casa Cuseni sono ispirati alle fotografie di von Gloeden, così come nella villa, si trova una “autocromia a colori” del 1910, realizzata da von Gloeden, documento eccezionale che testimonia la volontà del barone di sperimentare nuove tecniche. In occasione del XXI festival dei due mondi di Spoleto, nel 1978, il saggista e critico letterario Roland Barthes (1915-1980) cura una mostra intitolata “Wilhelm von Gloeden”, con interventi di artisti quali Andy Warhol, M. Pistoletto e J. Beuys. Infine, Raffaella Perna, Ricercatrice in Storia dell'arte contemporanea all'Università degli Studi di Catania, sottolinea nel suo libro su “Wilhelm von Gloeden, travestimenti, ritratti, tableaux vivants”, di come LaChapelle, Witkin, Mapplethorpe siano gli artisti contemporanei che vengono indicati come eredi della poetica di von Gloeden.

P.S. le fotografie di Von Gloeden sono state realizzate fotografando sia i grandi pannelli con gigantografiche riproduzioni delle opere di von Gloeden, che si trovano all’ingresso del bar Mocambo di Taormina, sia nel negozio-bazar del fotografo taorminese, compianto mio amico, Nino Malmbrì (possessore di materiale fotografico originale del barone). Le fotografie di Gaetano D’Agata, sono state prese dal mio album di famiglia: in una foto un pò rovinata, ma eccezionale per il suo valore storico e per me affettivo, il mio bisnonno, il fotografo Gaetano D'Agata, qui molto giovane, tiene in braccio sua figlia "Ninitta" (una dei quattro figli, avuti da tre mogli), lei è la mia nonna paterna; in un'altra foto, il fotografo Gaetano D'Agata posa accanto a lei qualche anno dopo, con mia nonna già ragazzina; sempre realizzate dal bisnonno D'Agata c'è sia un foto-ritratto, un primo piano, di mia nonna "Ninitta" molto giovane, e c'è la foto di lei mentre posa come contadinella, con dietro un fondale dipinto, come si usava nelle foto da studio; infine ho messo, due foto realizzate dal mio bisnonno Gaetano "en plein air" a delle bagnanti, "la location" è la spiaggia di Mazzarò (Taormina). Le fotografie delle tombe dei personaggi menzionati nel racconto, sono state fatte nel cimitero cattolico ed acattolico di Taormina; il complesso monumentale funerario del conte Otto Geleng in alto presenta il mezzobusto del figlio Ermanno, la presenza di simbolismi come la clessidra, il gallo, il libro (la Sacra Bibbia) ed il dio mercurio, mi fa ritenere che il conte Otto facesse parte della loggia massonica di Taormina, all’epoca ne faceva parte anche il sindaco di Taormina, dott. Cacciola e sua moglie Lady Florence Trevelyan: nel suo palazzo il dott. Cacciola, realizzò un tempio, che divenne la prima loggia massonica di Taormina : la "Rinascimento"(1904).

This huge bronze statue in Giardin Park by Ivan Meštrovic is of Grgur Ninski (Gregory of Nin). It is considered good luck to rub his toes. Gregory of Nin was very radical while the Bishop of Nin from 900 until 929. He instructed the churches in his diocese to celebrate the mass in the Croatian Glagolic language and not in Latin. He lost his position as a result. In 1570, the Dalmatic region of Croatia was allowed to celebrate the mass in their native tongue. Finally, in 1962 during the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church adopted the same policy and the Latin Mass changed forever. In the background is the St. Arnir campanile.

Split (Croatia)

london

2008

Helsingborg 80s

*** seen on EXPLORE (Apr. 29, 2009)

Highest Position #58

"Your children will see what you're all about by what you live rather than what you say."

---Wayne Dyer

Halley Nicole is a mute...

Language... has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.

~Paul Johannes Tillich, The Eternal Now

I cannot imagine leaving my house before having a cup of coffee, so if it means getting up a few hours earlier, before the rest of the household comes alive and starts demanding, I'm all for it.

Those are my moments to enjoy every sip and sort out the mess in my head. This morning I woke up to snow (about 3"), but I was cold and decided to shoot the snow later; instead I clicked and got you another one of my "breathe" moments.

Hope you like it.

Have a marvelous Wednesday!

The Challenge Factory winner - EVERYDAY THINGS challenge.

🔹Dyma rywbeth prin, sef geiriadur uniaith Gymraeg, yn hytrach nag un dwyieithog. Rhestrir y geiriau, fodd bynnag, yn hytrach na'u diffinio. Fe'i cyfansoddwyd gan Robert Ellis - Cynddelw - gŵr a oedd yn enedigol o Dy'nymeini, Pen-y-bont Fawr , Sir Drefaldwyn. Ar y pryd, roedd yn weinidog gyda'r Bedyddwyr yng Nghaernarfon. yba.llgc.org.uk/cy/c-ELLI-ROB-1812.html

🔹Betek an deiz a hiziv n'eus ket kalz a c'heriadurioù skrivet penn da benn e kembraeg. Amañ avat e weler ur geriadurig kembraeg-kembraeg bet savet en XIXvet kantved, gant Cynddelw.

🔹Foclóir Breatnaise aonteangach is é seo. B'fhoclóirí dátheangacha a úsáidtí de ghnáth, ach sa naoú haois déag, mheas Cynddelw gur cheart foclóir aonteangach a sholáthar do na Breatnaigh.

🔹There has always been a lack of monolingual dictionaries in Welsh, but in the XIXeg ganrif, Cynddelw, a minister in Caernarfon, made this attempt to compose one. yba.llgc.org.uk/en/s-ELLI-ROB-1812.html

🔹🔹🔹https://cy.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geiriadur_Cynddelw

🔹🔹🔹https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ellis_(Cynddelw)

dad de lado los problemas que os plantea la vida y aprovechad esas pequeñas cosas que nos hacen sentir bien...

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Taken on 9th December 2013.

ISO 400 300mm f4 1/125sec.

Image :- CH 13b 010

Wood art print.

Lieutenant Dan Choi is a 2003 graduate of the US Military Academy. He is a combat veteran of the Iraq War. Choi serves in the Army National Guard as an infantry platoon leader. While at West Point, he majored in Arabic Language and Environmental Engineering.

Dan was recently discharged from The Army National Guard for violating "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by announcing "I am Gay" on the Rachel Maddow Show in March 2009.

Photo was taken at the home of Dan Choi in New York City, NY

This project is seeking funding on kickstarter

www.kickstarter.com/projects/479915727/proud-to-serve-por...

Ashes to Ashes. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Summer 2011

“An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.”

― Martin Buber

First Baptist Church in Coxen Hole or Primer Iglesia Bautista is a bilingual church that is located across a municipal park in the largest city on the island of Roatan. All Sunday morning services are done in both English and Spanish in the same room. It is really neat to see how two groups of people even if they do not always understand the same language can worship God together!

Credit for the data above is given to the following website:

roatanmissions.wordpress.com/2016/04/05/first-baptist-chu...

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

Grasmere, Lake District

Rothay Circuit walk around Rydal Water between Grasmere and Ambleside.

Two women communicating in sign language.