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Spartan 7W Executive landing at Old Warden, Race day 23
The Golden Age of Spartan
Separating Myth From Reality
By Jim Savage
The Spartan Aircraft Company will forever be remembered for producing the Spartan Executive, one of the most innovative and desirable aircraft ever designed during the Golden Age of Aviation. Accompanying the fame of such a distinctive and memorable piece of aviation art are the inevitable myths and misunderstandings regarding production numbers, features and the ultimate disposition of individual aircraft. Fortunately, documentation and photographic evidence still exist to provide a complete and accurate history of the Spartan Executive and related models produced by Spartan Aircraft Company from 1935 through 1946.
The first Spartan airplane was built in 1926 and like most airplanes of that era, it was a fabric covered biplane. From that starting point through 1934, a variety of designs were constructed, ranging from two seat, low powered training or sport aircraft, to biplanes to high wing monoplanes capable of seating five. While these were generally regarded as good airplanes, Spartan never achieved the commercial success of other prominent aircraft manufacturers of the time. In an attempt to change that situation, Spartan’s seventh basic airplane design was not only leading edge for the time, but was destined to eventually be regarded as an art deco masterpiece.
The basic premise of the design was to have an airplane that was both fast and luxurious and would appeal to corporate executives. Targeted performance was 200 miles per hour with a range of 1000 miles, while providing the comfort of a fine limousine. The new airplane was designed by James B. Ford and consisted of an all aluminum exterior instead of the traditional fabric covering used on most other period airplanes. Two models were originally envisioned; the Standard Seven that would be powered by a 260 H.P. Jacobs engine and the Super Seven that would be powered by a 400 H.P. Pratt & Whitney engine.
The initial experimental prototype was powered by an experimental 260 H.P. Jacobs engine with a Hamilton Standard ground adjustable two blade propeller. Construction began in 1935 and it first flew on March 8, 1936. This aircraft was designated as a 7X, representing the seventh basic model developed by Spartan. The registration number was X-13994, with the X representing the experimental status. The test flights indicated a need for significant design changes and more power. The engine was upgraded to a certified 285 H.P. Jacobs engine with a Curtiss-Reed fixed pitch propeller. What emerged from the factory after the design changes were made was an airplane quite similar in appearance to what we now recognize as a Spartan Executive. It also marked the genesis of confusing and sometimes conflicting model designations. Following is a copy of the initial experimental license issued by the US Bureau of Air Commerce on March 5, 1936.
Since early medieval times there has been a church in Shrewsbury dedicated to St Chad, first Bishop of Mercia in the 7th century. By the end of the 18th century the large but ageing building had fallen into disrepair, and cracks had appeared in the tower. The great engineer, Thomas Telford, advised that it was in danger of collapse, and he was right. One morning in 1788 the parishioners awoke to find they had a pile of rubble but no church.
After much argument a new site was found on the derelict town wall, and the Scottish architect George Steuart, who had designed nearby Attingham Park and a church in Wellington, was commissioned. He submitted various designs, and although the Parochial Church Council preferred a rectangular one, ‘due to a misunderstanding’ he actually completed a circular plan that had been considered but rejected. Time was short, however, and it became the final design. Stones from old St Chad’s were used as foundations and the foundation stone was laid on St Chad’s Day, 2 March 1790 and the new church opened on 19th August 1792. On November 15th 1809 Charles Darwin was baptised in St Chad’s Church.
www.flickriver.com/photos/jimborobbo/popular-interesting/
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Thank you for looking at my photographs and for any comments it is much appreciated.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji:
Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous Zen garden, the karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden, thought to have been built in the late 15th century.
The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters (2,670 square feet), twenty-five meters by ten meters. Placed within it are fifteen stones of different sizes, carefully composed in five groups; one group of five stones, two groups of three, and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked each day by the monks. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the stones.
The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery. The stones are placed so that the entire composition cannot be seen at once from the veranda.
The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance. When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.
The garden had particular significance for the composer John Cage, who composed a series of works and made visual art works based on it.
Like any work of art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation or research into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forward inside and outside Japan about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, a tiger family crossing a river, mountain peaks, to theories about secrets of geometry or the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation."
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji:
Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous Zen garden, the karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden, thought to have been built in the late 15th century.
The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters (2,670 square feet), twenty-five meters by ten meters. Placed within it are fifteen stones of different sizes, carefully composed in five groups; one group of five stones, two groups of three, and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked each day by the monks. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the stones.
The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery. The stones are placed so that the entire composition cannot be seen at once from the veranda.
The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance. When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.
The garden had particular significance for the composer John Cage, who composed a series of works and made visual art works based on it.
Like any work of art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation or research into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forward inside and outside Japan about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, a tiger family crossing a river, mountain peaks, to theories about secrets of geometry or the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation."
On Valentine's Day 1990, the Voyager I unmanned spacecraft, nearing the edge of our solar system, turned its camera back towards where it had come from - a love letter to the earth. The resulting photograph saw the earth as a pale blue dot in a sunbeam and it inspired one of the greatest speeches ever made about our planet.
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
— Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g&list=RDwupToqz1e2...
I want to dedicate this triptych to Carl Sagan (1934-1996). A wonderful astronomer who never lost his sense of wonder. He is best known to the world for his groundbreaking television series Cosmos (1980), with its hauntingly beautiful musical soundtrack.
Sagan never lost sight of the fact that the great gift we have of being born on earth came with an immense responsibility. Watch this clip of his final appeal to us all:
Carl Sagan - Who Speaks for Earth?
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji:
Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous Zen garden, the karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden, thought to have been built in the late 15th century.
The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters (2,670 square feet), twenty-five meters by ten meters. Placed within it are fifteen stones of different sizes, carefully composed in five groups; one group of five stones, two groups of three, and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked each day by the monks. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the stones.
The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery. The stones are placed so that the entire composition cannot be seen at once from the veranda.
The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance. When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.
The garden had particular significance for the composer John Cage, who composed a series of works and made visual art works based on it.
Like any work of art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation or research into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forward inside and outside Japan about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, a tiger family crossing a river, mountain peaks, to theories about secrets of geometry or the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation."
Somewhere in all the shooting I have been doing I missed a group of photos taken on the 14th of January. Seems there was a few moments of misunderstanding between a few of the eagles. Will have to review a few more of the photos from that day.
That’s a scratch from his sister, after fighting over a misunderstanding. They’re back together again now!
500px.com/photo/104535909/celestica-by-timothy-poulton?fr...
in the end, everyone can understand themselves only. You are the only one to which you never have to explain what you mean. Everything else is misunderstanding.
Laguna Torre - Patagonia
With so much commanding our attention these days, it’s easy to feel like were drowning in a tidal wave of messages that arrive daily through our phones, computers and personal devices.
At some point, it seems the only way to catch a break is to simply walk out into the wilderness, and away from the constant technological distractions.
I have just completed my second OOAK Photography Adventure for 2015, we went on a backcountry trip in Patagonia both in Chile and Argentina and enjoyed many nights camping in the wilderness. This trip was particularly wonderful because it was my first to this part of the world and a break from the endless notifications that inundate my daily life.
I was reminded of the importance of temporarily disconnecting from the “real” world. Of course, it doesn’t take a photography trip to do this. A walk in the park, run by the river or snowshoe in the mountains will provide ample opportunity to go social media free for a few hours.
In order to truly disconnect I believe we need to either spend some time alone or surround ourselves with people who can also turn the power off. Unfortunately we have become so dependent on this form of communication we found it hard to disconnect..
Just a few hours or days spent away from our devices gives us the perspective and discernment we need when we choose to connect again. By fully engaging in our time spent in nature - breathing in the fresh air, watching the sun set and rise or the way the snow blows off the mountains - we’ll stay in the present moment and away from the perpetual ”To Do List.” In fact, when we let go of all the things that command our attention, we are better able to prioritize and discern what is important. The time we take to refresh our spirits will make us much more creative when it’s time to enter the game again.
What I really missed the most was my beautiful wife and children, I feel recharged by my time in the wilderness and believe I can better handle what happens in the “real" world.
Lori and I took a break from the heat and smoke, and headed to the California Coast for a few days. We had driven 9 hours to get to this exact campground early in the morning, so we could select a suitable site. We selected this site in part for the potential for a cool night shot (but I had medical considerations as well).
We drove up the coast to charge up the batteries with solar power, and returned after dark to make afire to cook dinner over. But someone liked our site, removed items from it while we were out for the day, and took our tag down. Fortunately the campground host had seen our paid tag, the belongings we had left in the site, and I had taken a photo of the tag up (knowing that such people exist). He had also noticed us driving through the campground multiple times to find a site that could fit our vehicle, had the right slope for the orientation of the bed (due to my sinuses I can't sleep with my head downhill), etc. He seemed annoyed at their actions and excuses, fortunately he wasn't accepting any of their baloney.
We've allowed people to share a site with us many times when there's an honest misunderstanding or sties are scarce, but too many details in their story didn't add up. And while the woman tried to manipulate the situation with unlikely excuses and poor arguments, the man stayed completely out of sight, the most likely explanation for his body language seeming to be deep embarrassment at his determined companion's brazen attempt at theft of our home for the night. They moved their tent and stuff to one of the many unoccupied sites that they could have occupied in the first place.
We didn't get to cook dinner over the fire because the delay of the totally unnecessary drama made that impractically late (and the coals that remained from the wood we had left were now insufficient for cooking), but we enjoyed what was left of our fire.
Even with a little bit of twilight light in the sky, there was so little light getting through the trees, I had to shoot up to an exposure of 30 seconds at f/2.8, ISO 12,800. The range of light was high, with the fire illuminating the camper, with the shadows descending into a morass of noise before it mercifully was cut off into black. So I bracketed to be able to use averaging or HDR to extend the dynamic range.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji:
Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous Zen garden, the karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden, thought to have been built in the late 15th century.
The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters (2,670 square feet), twenty-five meters by ten meters. Placed within it are fifteen stones of different sizes, carefully composed in five groups; one group of five stones, two groups of three, and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked each day by the monks. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the stones.
The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery. The stones are placed so that the entire composition cannot be seen at once from the veranda.
The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance. When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.
The garden had particular significance for the composer John Cage, who composed a series of works and made visual art works based on it.
Like any work of art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation or research into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forward inside and outside Japan about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, a tiger family crossing a river, mountain peaks, to theories about secrets of geometry or the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation."
Several times, including before the war, I observed people in places where representatives of charitable organizations were distributing food, supposedly to the “homeless and hungry” on the streets of Kyiv. And each time I left with a feeling of misunderstanding and condemnation of what was happening.
On one side, the queue always consisted of older people, mostly women, whom, judging by their appearance, I would never classify as either poor or hungry. On the other hand, nearby you could always see a group of men sitting in a makeshift clearing with purchased drinks and food from “charities.”
I don’t know who these “charities” are, for what money and whose money they give out free food. But I cannot say that they are doing a good deed.
I just don’t find any time to take photos at the moment, so here’s another older orchid shot… they’re still a rather common sight on Alpine meadows, and they really smell a bit like vanilla. Anyway, my boss is on holiday right now, which should be almost as good as going on holiday myself 😅. Unfortunately his mother has taken it upon herself to keep a close eye on everything we’re doing in her son’s absence, and what she lacks in qualification (which is an incredible lot) she makes up in self-confidence. It is exhausting and a prime example of the Dunning-Kruger effect - yes, there is a scientific term for people who are so stupid that they fail to understand they’re not smart. Every sentence in this quote from Wikipedia reminds me of my boss’s mom: “The psychological phenomenon of illusory superiority was identified as a form of cognitive bias in Kruger and Dunning's 1999 study "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments". An example derived from cognitive bias evident in the criminal case of McArthur Wheeler, who, on April 19, 1995, robbed two banks while his face was covered with lemon juice, which he believed would make him invisible to the surveillance cameras. This belief was apparently based on his misunderstanding of the chemical properties of lemon juice as an invisible ink.”
Maybe I should talk her into robbing a bank 🤔
Thank you for your help, Flickr friends. Keep it up!
Meanwhile,
Mr. Zoom and I are still sharply focused on lines and hands and moving forward. When I saw this palm reader right there on the sidewalk, I slowed down just a little. After all, she WAS holding a HAND and examining lines.
I thought I heard the reader say the word DEMI.
I stopped. Inched closer. I could see that Mr. Zoom was still walking but I couldn’t call attention to myself by calling him back. I pretended to be rooting through my big purse. They paid no attention to me but I certainly heard THEM.
Palm Reader: Yes, yes, I love looking at hands and lines, hands and lines.
Customer: Why?
Palm Reader: Hands and lines? Oh, I’ve always been drawn to them and to what palms tell us. For instance, this line here is a half line.
(Demi. Half. I inched even closer.)
Customer: I teach math. In mathematical terms, a half line is
a line that has one end, but stretches off to infinity in the other direction. Kind like a ray of light, which starts in a definite place but never ends.
Me: (out loud)Never ends! Never ends?
Both Customer and Palm reader look up in surprise.
Palm Reader (misunderstanding): Do you mind waiting your turn? I’ll be through here in a minute.
Me (backing up): No, no that’s ok. Thank you….
When the planet Mercury begins its retrograde movement (happens three or four times each year) one can expect to see communications falter. People tend to argue as a result of misunderstandings, mistakes are made through carelessness, accidents happen, mechanical things break down, your emails won't send, your calls will not go through, your files will not upload; basically life seems to go off the rails for about three or four weeks. This time is best used for reflection, contemplation and planning. It's a very poor time to execute new actions, enter into any sort of financial agreements or contracts, make big ticket purchases, or major life decisions. The entire decision making process tends to be flawed and you will likely be regretting your choices once the retrograde comes to an end. So here we are; Mercury went retrograde on December 19 and there it will remain until January 8, 2017. After that, things will gradually return to normal, however it takes a couple weeks to fully unravel. Keep in mind that mistakes made during the retrograde phase are often not fully realized until it ends.
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Thanks everyone, thanks for all the votes,comments, visits, support, laughs, emails,understanding, misunderstanding, compliments, critics, invites, nominations, wishes, requests, ...
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji:
Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous Zen garden, the karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden, thought to have been built in the late 15th century.
The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters (2,670 square feet), twenty-five meters by ten meters. Placed within it are fifteen stones of different sizes, carefully composed in five groups; one group of five stones, two groups of three, and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked each day by the monks. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the stones.
The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery. The stones are placed so that the entire composition cannot be seen at once from the veranda.
The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance. When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.
The garden had particular significance for the composer John Cage, who composed a series of works and made visual art works based on it.
Like any work of art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation or research into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forward inside and outside Japan about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, a tiger family crossing a river, mountain peaks, to theories about secrets of geometry or the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation."
www.instagram.com/lightcrafter.artistry
“Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
--Carl Sagan
All images © 2017 Daniel Kessel.
All rights reserved
Central Evia's mountains - November 2017.
The last light from Xerovouni's peak with Dirfy mountain in the backround. A panorama of six vertical shots.
Mountains. They became to my life almost at the same time I began to deal with landscape photography. Until then the only I knew was the citylife. Since then, however, it is an integral part of my life. The mountains are not just stones and trees. There is a lot more. Personally, for me, it is an escape of my life. Just for no misunderstanding... My family is the beginning and end of my life, my starting point, my home. But in the mountains my mind clears from the problems of everyday life. In the quietness and loneliness of the mountains you face your fears, your soul calms, you know yourself. After a trip to a mountain I may return home tired, with body pains but I always feel that I made a restart. Perhaps it sounds strange to many of you, but I think that if someone has not wandered through the mountains, feel the cold, hear the sounds of nature at night, smell the perfumes of nature ... then he will miss "something" in his life. The mountain is wild, difficult, dangerous, but it is also magical, beautiful, miraculous and must exist in everyone's life !!!
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"A Sword Never Kills Anybody; it is just a Tool in the Killer's Hand."But giving the sword to an idiot it's clearly aiding and abetting a crime.
Everything becomes so clear with your presence. ILDSS,my Sunbeam💕
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji:
Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous Zen garden, the karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden, thought to have been built in the late 15th century.
The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters (2,670 square feet), twenty-five meters by ten meters. Placed within it are fifteen stones of different sizes, carefully composed in five groups; one group of five stones, two groups of three, and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked each day by the monks. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the stones.
The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery. The stones are placed so that the entire composition cannot be seen at once from the veranda.
The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance. When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.
The garden had particular significance for the composer John Cage, who composed a series of works and made visual art works based on it.
Like any work of art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation or research into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forward inside and outside Japan about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, a tiger family crossing a river, mountain peaks, to theories about secrets of geometry or the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation."
A Coyote (Canis latrans) from Adams County Colorado.
The coyote is incredibly intelligent, adaptable, social, and charismatic. Yet it is so often vilified and treated with fear and misunderstanding. Admittedly, it is a complicated issue. After we wiped out the wolf and other alpha predators from the majority of North America, the coyote and other "mesopredators" increased in number and expanded in range, filling a niche that they had not evolved to fill. The result undoubtedly had ecological consequences.
Yet one can hardly blame the coyote for exploiting the situation. It is the nature of any species to do so, perhaps most notably our own. Yet the coyote is not the livestock and deer decimating force of evil that it is too often made out to be. Predators will be predators, but the data do not point to coyotes being major contributors to population decline of these groups, and mass "predator round up" events, where awards are given to those who claim the most coyote pelts in a night, have been shown to do nothing to bolster local game or livestock populations. In the absence of apex predators, any impact that another species can have in reducing inflated game populations across North America is a benefit, in my eyes. The true ecological impact from coyotes and other mesopredators is most easily measured in small mammal, reptile and amphibian, and even bird populations.
Coyotes are famous for their vociferous ballads that carry through the night air. Their repertoire is extremely diverse, and a pair of song dogs can sound like a score, and they will deceive you with their proximity. Listening to them sing is always a highlight of long nights spent in the tent, or chilly evenings gazing at the stars.
Capturing this image was one of those serendipitous moments in photography where we spotted it at a great distance across a prairie dog town. Caro and I sat down in the grass and waited, and watched as it slowly made its way toward us. Through the viewfinder I watched as it loped closer and closer, until it practically filled the frame. At that point it paused for a few moments before continuing on its way. It was a wonderful encounter that I won't soon forget.
*
“Fights between individuals, as well as governments and nations, invariably result from misunderstandings in the broadest interpretation of this term. Misunderstandings are always caused by the inability of appreciating one another's point of view. This again is due to the ignorance of those concerned, not so much in their own, as in their mutual fields. The peril of a clash is aggravated by a more or less predominant sense of combativeness, posed by every human being. To resist this inherent fighting tendency the best way is to dispel ignorance of the doings of others by a systematic spread of general knowledge. With this object in view, it is most important to aid exchange of thought and intercourse.”
― Nikola Tesla-
I've been ignoring this big lump in my throat. I shouldn't be crying, tears were for the weak. The days I'm stronger, now what, so I say, that's something's missing. I found the one, he changed my life. But was it me that changed? And he just happened to come at the right time. I'm supposed to be in love, but I'm not mugging. Whatever it is, it feels like, it's laughing at me through the glass of a two-sided mirror. Whatever it is, it's just sitting there laughing at me, and I just wanna scream. There's no one to call, cause I'm just playing games with them all. The more I swear, I'm happy, the more that I'm feeling alone. Cause I spent every hour just going through the motions. I can't even get the emotions to come out, dry as a bone, but I just wanna shout. What now? I just can't figure it out. What now? I guess, I'll just wait it out. What now? Somebody tell me. I don't know, where to go. I don't know, what to feel. I don't know, how to cry. I don't know, why... So what now?
Zibska - Altair Lips (The Liaison Collaborative 03 - 26 May)
ATTENTION! Due to the fact, that this is an art work, what you see can be radically different from the original. And in order to avoid misunderstandings, please see the original before purchase!
Zibska - Altair Lips (Original)
It is Sinhala and Tamil New year here in Sri Lanka. We celebrate it with all our traditional way. It is told that the event which the Sun moves from Pisces constellation to the Aries, marks the New Year.
It is very iconic season especially for children. They get long leave from schools, they get presents, new cloths from others. Importantly they get opportunity to meet their far relations since all who works in urban city areas will come to village to see their grand parents and other relations. 13th and 14th of April are public holiday in Sri Lanka. All bus stands and railway stations are jam packed with people trying to go "HOME".
There is specific auspicious time allocated for each major event.(eg; playing, going to temple/kovil, cooking, dining, learning or working, going to meet relations at their houses ect.) This method, lasting centuries may be the single most important ritual that binds us together as a unique powerful unbreakable nation for so long.
After the destructive war lasted for decades, we are now able to celebrate the NEW YEAR together as Sinhala and Tamil. We are not shocked with cracker sounds by misunderstanding as bomb blasts any more. Hopefully we will soon get a generation who doesn't know about bombs, guns and hate any more.
Happy New Year Sri Lanka..!
A wall full of graffiti that I saw in my old home town on my recent visit back to England. I find this sadly blue lady very interesting and attractive, and the glint in her eye tells me she will soon be happy again. I stole the title from the brilliant song by the excellent British band "Porcupine Tree".
This piece was wonderfully done and covered a full wall, about 3 meters by 2 meters.
You can find more information about the artist who did this here:
Los chicos no sólo se quedaron sin escuela, sino sin actividades en general
En muchos casos falta de espacio y la incomprensión de los pequeños de que no se puede salir o la incomprensión de la necesidad del aislamiento pueden surgir problemas como el aburrimiento, el nerviosismo y la ansiedad en los chicos y en los padres la pérdida de la paciencia e irritabilidad. Sumado a todo esto está el estrés que produce la situación por el coronavirus y las complicaciones económicas derivadas de la cuarentena
Es esencial fortalecer los vínculos familiares durante la cuarentena y no olvidar que somos el espejo en el que se miran nuestros hijos. Por tanto, como padres, debemos constituir un ejemplo válido para ellos, conservando una postura serena y responsable que puedan imitar.
-
The boys were not only left without school, but without activities in general
In many cases lack of space and the children's misunderstanding that they cannot get out or the misunderstanding of the need for isolation can cause problems such as boredom, nervousness and anxiety in children and in parents loss of patience and irritability. Added to all this is the stress caused by the coronavirus situation and the economic complications derived from the quarantine.
It is essential to strengthen family ties during quarantine and not forget that we are the mirror in which our children look at themselves. Therefore, as parents, we must set a valid example for them, keeping a calm and responsible posture that they can imitate.
Well, life's like a road that you travel on
There's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind
There's a world outside every darkened door
Where Blues won't haunt you anymore
For the brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore
We won't hesitate
To break down the guarding gate
There's not much time left today, yeay
Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long
If you're going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long
Through all these cities and all these towns
It's in my blood and it's all around
I love now like I loved you then
This is the road and these are the hands
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights
They knock me down
And back up again
You're in my blood
I'm not a lonely man
There's no load I can't hold
The road's so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors
Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long
If your going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, yeah
Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long (mmmm yeah)
If your going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long
There was a distance between you and I
(between you and I)
A misunderstanding once
But now, we look it in the eye
Ooooo...Yeah!
There ain't no load that I can't hold
The road's so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors
Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long (all night long, yeah hey)
If your going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long
Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long
If your going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long
Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long
If your going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, yeah
* Life Is A Highway * ~ by Rascal Flatts
Amidst the wintry landscape, an old wooden bridge stretches its timeworn limbs over icy waters, a testament to resilience and connection. Each creak and groan tells a story of enduring countless seasons, facing the biting cold with stoic strength. This bridge, worn by the weight of footsteps that have crossed its planks over time, becomes a metaphor for the bridges we build in our lives. Just as this structure spans the icy waters, we, too, navigate the cold currents of circumstance and misunderstanding. Building bridges, whether metaphorical or tangible, is a reflection of our innate human capacity to connect, to transcend divides, and to forge pathways to understanding. In the delicate dance between vulnerability and fortitude, we construct bridges that carry the weight of shared experiences, fostering connections that sustain us through the icy waters of life.
North Peak Lodge
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Two%20Ravens%20Cliffs/164/...
My intention at the beginning of 2023 was to do a series of images of books, because I love books and reading. Alas, life has gotten in the way.
I picked up a copy of this classic novel by Graham Greene at a used bookstore two winters ago, and it inspired me to try this photo.
Thank you to those of you that sent positive messages/vibes to me. <3 I’ve missed your work, and I will try (as time allows) to catch up in the weeks and months to follow as best as I can.
Kindest regards, H x
About the novel: The End of the Affair takes place during World War II, and is about a passionate affair between a writer and a married woman. It mainly explores the tragic damage that jealousy and misunderstandings can have on a love relationship. Some of the language that Greene used is dated at this point, and the lead, female character is not as strong as I would hope. However, the love scenes are understated and beautifully written. A book that leaves more to the imagination than contemporary novels would do. There is a spiritual element woven throughout the novel that is slightly reminiscent of Tolstoy’s masterpiece Anna Karenina. All in all, I enjoyed reading this classic, and I would recommend reading it on a snowy (or rainy) weekend.
I was trying different perspective on the same subject.
I think this is not only useful for photography but also for other things in life. You have to take a different perspective on things in order to get better understanding on anything.
One thing I believe many people have a misunderstanding. You have a different perspective because you change your physical position and not because you change your lens.
Have a great day!
Yaletown Vancouver. July 2018.
Fuji X-Pro2
Fuji XF 55-200mm
Velvia Film Simulation
There was a time, I packed my dreams away. Living in a shell, hiding from myself. There was a time, when I was so afraid. I thought, I'd reached the end. That was then, I am made of more, than my yesterdays. I had to decide. Was I gonna play it safe? Well, but somewhere deep inside I tried to turn the tide. And find the strength to take that step of faith. And I have a courage, like never before. I settled for less, but I'm ready for more. This is my now, and I am breathing in the moment. As I look around, I can't believe the love, I see. My fears behind me, gone are the shadows and doubt, that was then. This is my now!
The Cove - Maddy (Store)
ATTENTION! Due to the fact, that this is an art work, what you see can be radically different from the original. And in order to avoid misunderstandings, please see the original before purchase!
The Cove - Maddy (Original)
In Explore, www.flickr.com/explore/2023/05/21
Innocent eyes
Hello my little friend. How are you doing? What are you thinking right now? Do you have enough freedom to play with your siblings and your mom? Are you allowed to live where you want to or are you expelled from time to time? Can you grow up in safety so that you too can one day start a family? Have we humans ever wondered how you feel and what your feelings are? You are such a wonderful creature equipped with senses that we humans are far from having. Sometimes I have the impression that we humans hardly know let alone feel what you and your fellow species really need. Nature seems to have degenerated into a self-service shop where you can take whatever you want. Unfortunately, I see so many people in the place where you live who pass by carelessly and without respect for you and your little family, without taking you and your needs into account. Have we completely lost the connection to creation?
With all my heart I wish you a good and beautiful life my little friend. Take good care of yourself and be very careful when it comes to people. I am so sorry for that. I hug you, I love your warm and clever nature.
These short moments with you were so precious to me and I was the happiest person in the world during this time.
“So diverse are the wonders of creation that this beauty will never end. Creation is here. It is in you right now, always has been. The world is a wonder. The world is magic. The world is love and it is here, now.”
Iroquois Indian
“When the earth is sick, the animals will disappear. When this happens, the warriors of the rainbow will come to their rescue.”
Chief Seattle
"If we treat other living beings with respect, they will also respond with respect for us."
Arapaho
...then the fox fell silent and looked at the little prince for a long time:
– »Please… tame me!«, he said.
"I'd like to do that," answered the little prince, "but I don't have much time. I have to make friends and learn many things.«
"One only understands things that one tames," said the fox. »People no longer have time to get to know something. They buy everything ready-made in the shops. But since there are no shops for friends, people no longer have friends. If you want a friend, tame me!”
"What do I have to do?" said the little prince.
- "You must be very patient," answered the fox. “You will first sit on the grass a little distance from me. I'll look at you out of the corner of my eye and you'll be silent. Language is a great source of misunderstandings. But every day you sit a little closer..."
From „The Little Prince“ by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Sting - Fragile
You're givin' me a million reasons, to let you go. You're givin' me a million reasons, to quit the show. If I had a highway, I would run for the hills. If you could find a dry way, I'd forever be still. But you're givin' me a million reasons, about a million reasons... Head stuck in a cycle, I look off and I stare. It's like that I've stopped breathing, but completely aware, 'cuz you're givin' me a million reasons. And if you say something, that you might even mean? It's hard to even fathom, which parts I should believe? 'Cuz you're givin' me a million reasons, about a million reasons...I try, to make the worst seem better. Lord show me the way, to cut through all this worn out leather. I've got a hundred million reasons to walk away, but baby, I just need one good one to stay...
Zibska - Noir Pack Vol 16 (anyBODY Now till 30 April.)
ATTENTION! Due to the fact, that this is an art work, what you see can be radically different from the original. And in order to avoid misunderstandings, please see the original before purchase!
Zibska - Noir Pack Vol 16 (Original)
Note to myself: I'm tired of floating girls; I'm tired of fake poses pretending suffering against some dark corner; I'm tired on the most of the shots I find out there. I'm tired, really tired of the lack of reciprocity. I'm exhausted, disappointed, I'm tired of reading empty words and interested praises. I can't bear the lack of meaning. I'm also tired of this silence.
I need more light.
Light and air they're melted behind this sigh.
Edited: Hmm... Should I rewrite my words? It's hard to describe this better and I fear future misunderstandings. Peace.
Points of Disability
Things aren't going well I'll freely admit
that the price of health far outweighs
the blows pain deals to all one feels
for the hope I can no longer situate
now that life has lost it's wheels
I'll paddle my thoughts across the water
like a sitar sounding through the air
such senses are no longer lost
but rather found in the solace of it's own tracery
where four emotive poles have crossed
this is my one escape like no other, please understand
for no other venture is any longer possible
the disablement of reduplication is damning
and my spirit is on it's very last legs if at all
as misunderstandings prove the most wounding
time was once in my possession and grasp
light and free, the very expanse of possibility
a nursery of amazement and departure
is now within earshot again as paralysis reigns
the haunt of incapacious horror
now my eyes see clearer through the immobile space
moving to the other side is as uneasy as unexpected
from one to another I pass with inclining silence
non other than a longing for peace and time alone
to come to terms with such disabling imbalance
nobody can comprehend the numbing pronouncement
of medical mind diagnosing osteological greyness
ousting a health I thought was only in the mind
now I'm free to fall in pulsific melancholy
for the path I now know I shall never again find
it's near impossible to describe such adverse feelings
mind-ready and body-unable is pure hell, at times
the world sees a fresh face and expects full faculties
yet beneath the surface it can never be, please understand
for such faults of body nobody ever foresees
a fractured skeleton of modern-day griping
speaking the mind of the one that now hovers above
through the silhouette at dusk
that's me, this is my lot, please understand
that escapism is merely a soul for the husk.
by anglia24
14h00: 06/04/2008
©2008anglia24
Hoping there weren't too many misunderstandings with yesterday's title. I'm a berry, red leaf, autumn colours, mushroom and all-round nature in Autumn enthusiast ... but I wish I could focus on something else in October, they've taken over, me and Flickr :)
So here's No.2 in my Autumn cliché mini series.
“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.”
Albert Schweitzer
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dan-ji:
Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous Zen garden, the karesansui (dry landscape) rock garden, thought to have been built in the late 15th century.
The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters (2,670 square feet), twenty-five meters by ten meters. Placed within it are fifteen stones of different sizes, carefully composed in five groups; one group of five stones, two groups of three, and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked each day by the monks. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the stones.
The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery. The stones are placed so that the entire composition cannot be seen at once from the veranda.
The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance. When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.
The garden had particular significance for the composer John Cage, who composed a series of works and made visual art works based on it.
Like any work of art, the artistic garden of Ryōan-ji is also open to interpretation or research into possible meanings. Many different theories have been put forward inside and outside Japan about what the garden is supposed to represent, from islands in a stream, a tiger family crossing a river, mountain peaks, to theories about secrets of geometry or the rules of equilibrium of odd numbers. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of 'natural' objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation."
The winter season is a time when Eagles gather in the location of Sheffield Mills, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today there were about 35 birds in the area and when there is that many birds there is always some misunderstanding.
Sacrifice Elton John
My Books:
My book "Discover GUIMERÀ" (preview)
My book "Discover SANTA PAU" (preview)
It's a human sign
When things go wrong
When the scent of her lingers
And temptation's strong
Into the boundary
Of each married man
Sweet deceit comes calling
And negativity lands
Cold cold heart
Hard done by you
Some things look better baby
Just passing through
And it's no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It's two hearts living
In two separate worlds
But it's no sacrifice
No sacrifice
It's no sacrifice at all
Mutual misunderstanding
After the fact
Sensitivity builds a prison
In the final act
We lose direction
No stone unturned
No tears to damn you
When jealousy burns
In Wordpress In Blogger photo.net/photos/Reinante/ In Onexposure
Queen Elizabeth Gate, also known as the Queen Mother's Gate, is an entrance consisting of two pairs and two single gates of forged stainless steel and bronze situated in Hyde Park, London, behind Apsley House at Hyde Park Corner. There is also a center feature made of painted cast iron.
It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 to celebrate the 90th birthday of her mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. It cost £1.5 million to construct, raised by private individuals and public funding, under the patronage of Prince Michael of Kent.
The stainless steel and bronze gates, railings and lights were designed and made by Giusseppe Lund. The center piece, featuring a red lion (England) and a white unicorn (Scotland), was designed by sculptor David Wynne.
The organic nature of the forged steel reflects the Queen Mother's love of flowers, particularly those from a cottage garden. Her life spanned most of the century and this is represented by a flow from formal symmetry at the base of the gates upwards to an increasing freedom of line at the top. Many of the elements are free to move when touched and the whole structure vibrates when moved. This is in direct contrast to the heavier rectilinear gates found in other entrances to the park.
Although much admired, it was described as "hideous" by architect Zaha Hadid. Another architect, Richard Rogers, described it as "romantic candyfloss"", and Viscount Linley, a grandson of the Queen Mother's, was reported as saying that he "absolutely loathed" the work.
There were also initial concerns that the metal was rusting due to a misunderstanding of the nature of the gate's coloring which was in fact a deliberate creation of chromium oxides with the application of heat. This treatment has since proved to be extremely durable thanks to the initial intensifying of the chromium content on the surface by the use of electro-polishing.
(Wikipedia)
My entry for round 5 of the Middle Earth LEGO Olympics. My category was Valinor from The Silmarilion, and I chose to recreate the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. The build was loosely inspired by this image, particularly the landscaping. It took 7 days to complete, and weighs a whopping 26.2 pounds, making it my largest solo build to date! The build process proved to be very challenging at times, especially the water and mossy hillside. Initially I just was using trans clear 1x2 bricks for the water, but it was warping so much I had to add plates to connect it to the bottom layer of water, so that it would attach correctly.
Below is a summary of the Kinslaying at Alqualondë for those of you who are interested.
"The Kinslaying at Alqualondë was the first slaying of Elf by Elf, and was the act that banned the Ñoldor from returning to Aman, the lands of the West, for centuries. When Fëanor intended to leave Valinor, he needed ships to get to Middle-earth without great loss, but the Ñoldor possessed no ships, and Fëanor feared that any delay in their departure would cause the Ñoldor to reconsider. The Ñoldor, led by Fëanor and his sons, tried to persuade their friends, the Teleri of Alqualondë, to give him their ships. However, the Teleri would not help in any way against the will of the Valar, and in fact attempted to persuade their friends to reconsider and stay in Aman. Unwilling to take "no" for an answer, the Ñoldor started taking the ships and sailing them away. This angered the Teleri, and they threatened the Ñoldor with rocks and arrows, and they threw many of Fëanor's followers out of the ships and into the harbor. They also began to attempt to block the harbour; however, it is only slightly possible that the Teleri drew first blood. Then the Ñoldor drew swords, and the Teleri their bows, and there was a bitter fight that seemed evenly matched, if not even in favor of the Teleri, until the second Host of the Ñoldor, led by Fingon, arrived together with some of Fingolfin's people. Misunderstanding the situation, they assumed the Teleri had attacked the Ñoldor under orders of the Valar, and they joined the fight."
Plenty more pictures on brickbuilt.