This is the headquarters of the Powerful Secret Society of Steampunk Travelers or PSSST for short. Why would a secret society building stick out so much? Well, in the words of Sherlock Holmes, “It’s so overt, it’s covert.” This building is 3 stories tall & features smokestacks, gears, pipes, lights, windows, doors, flat roof to land Zeppelin & a telephone booth (sublevel secret entrance)…I designed this MOC & came up with the backstory. The PSSST secret society & building don’t really exist...or do they? ;D

 

This is my second and final entry in the Mini Building Madness contest on rebrick.com. You can see other builder's amazing entries here: www.lego.com/en-us/rebrick/contest-page/contests/mini-mod...

 

In a city where the town hall is a sheik’s palace, the Chamber of Commerce is a Turkish harem, and the train station is a mosque, you would probably expect to be somewhere in the Middle East. But no, this is Opa-Locka, Florida, a diminutive city northwest of Miami with the nation’s largest and strangest collection of Islamic Revival architecture.

 

Opa-Locka was built during the Florida Land Boom of the 1920s, when films like Rudolf Valentino’s orientalist fantasy The Sheik and Douglas Fairbanks’ The Thief of Baghdad had harnessed the sultry and romantic appeal of the Middle East into a full-blown cultural fad.

 

Florida was hot and tropical enough to feel exotic, so when developer Glenn Curtiss built Opa-Locka, he did so around an overt One Thousand and One Nights theme. In addition to the orientalist architecture, the streets were given names such as Ali Baba Avenue and Sabur Lane.

 

Though the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 destroyed a number of Opa-Locka buildings, several of the Moorish buildings survived and have since been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The crowning jewel is the former Opa-Locka City Hall building, an onion-domed and minaret-sporting marvel inspired by the description of the palace of Emperor Kosroushah in One Thousand and One Nights.

 

Opa-locka is currently in a state of advanced decay as the cash-strapped city faces financial collapse. Many of the Arabian-inspired buildings are falling apart, and the former City Hall itself is boarded up and in a state of advanced disrepair, but a walk through the little town still offers a look at the 1920s’ idea of exotic luxury.

 

The building is at the intersection of Fisherman Street and Sherazad Street, about two blocks from the current (modern) city hall; the old city hall is clearly visible from the new one. There is ample free parking in the Sherbondy Park lot.

 

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

 

www.atlasobscura.com/places/opa-locka-city-hall

So here I am in the pleasant small city of Mercedes on the other side of Uruguay on the Rio Negro, famous among other things for Charles Darwin's short naturalist visit here in 1832. No! don't fear! I won't go into details like his having bought the head of a Toxodon from a local farmer...

As I often do for these little pieces, I again went to great Carolus Linnaeus's first description. He usually gives earlier literature, and mostly it's quite straightforward to figure out his italics. This time, though, I was stumped a bit. He refers to Few.peruv. Well, 'Few' was easily resolved: many authors quoting Linnaeus either overtly or covertly solve that abbreviation as 'Fewillee'. Mysterious name, that. Didn't ring a bell with me, so I had to look further. Nothing. But then it seemed to me that Linnaeus or possibly his printer had written 'Few.' for 'Feu.', or else that that was the pronunciation the English had of the French name. That led me quite quickly to Louis Éconches Feuillée (1660-1732). Incidentally, it's curious how lots of authors - also modern ones - claim 'Fewillee' as their source...

To make a longer story short: our Feuillée was one of those intrepid Minim friars who traveled far and wide in the service of Science and their more mundane overseers. Young Louis traveled and collected first in the Levant and then the Antilles. Named 'Royal Mathematician' by Louis XIV of France, he sailed off to Argentina, rounded Cape Horn and collected and observed some more in Chile and Peru. Upon his return to France he published his naturalist observations in three volumes. It's the third one from which Linnaeus quotes.

As for its common name: here in Uruguay it's called Margarita Punzó, hence my 'Bright-Red Daisy'. Almost painful to the eyes and hard to photograph!

Primavera, is a large panel painting in tempera paint by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli made in the late 1470s or early 1480s (datings vary). It has been described as "one of the most written about, and most controversial paintings in the world", and also "one of the most popular paintings in Western art".

The painting depicts a group of figures from classical mythology in a garden, but no story has been found that brings this particular group together. Most critics agree that the painting is an allegory based on the lush growth of Spring, but accounts of any precise meaning vary, though many involve the Renaissance Neoplatonism which then fascinated intellectual circles in Florence. The subject was first described as Primavera by the art historian Giorgio Vasari who saw it at Villa Castello, just outside Florence, by 1550.

Although the two are now known not to be a pair, the painting is inevitably discussed with Botticelli's other very large mythological painting, The Birth of Venus, also in the Uffizi. They are among the most famous paintings in the world, and icons of the Italian Renaissance; of the two, the Birth is even better known than the Primavera. As depictions of subjects from classical mythology on a very large scale, they were virtually unprecedented in Western art since classical antiquity.

The history of the painting is not certainly known; it may have been commissioned by one of the Medici family, but the certainty of its commission is unknown. It draws from a number of classical and Renaissance literary sources, including the works of the Ancient Roman poet Ovid and, less certainly, Lucretius, and may also allude to a poem by Poliziano, the Medici house poet who may have helped Botticelli devise the composition. Since 1919 the painting has been part of the collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

The painting features six female figures and two male, along with a cupid, in an orange grove. The movement of the composition is from right to left, so following that direction the standard identification of the figures is: at far right "Zephyrus, the biting wind of March, kidnaps and possesses the nymph Chloris, whom he later marries and transforms into a deity; she becomes the goddess of Spring, eternal bearer of life, and is scattering roses on the ground." Chloris the nymph overlaps Flora, the goddess she transforms into.

In the centre (but not exactly so) and somewhat set back from the other figures stands Venus, a red-draped woman in blue. Like the flower-gatherer, she returns the viewer's gaze. The trees behind her form a broken arch to draw the eye. In the air above her a blindfolded Cupid aims his bow to the left. On the left of the painting the Three Graces, a group of three females also in diaphanous white, join hands in a dance. At the extreme left Mercury, clothed in red with a sword and a helmet, raises his caduceus or wooden rod towards some wispy gray clouds.

The interactions between the figures are enigmatic. Zephyrus and Chloris are looking at each other. Flora and Venus look out at the viewer, the Cupid is blindfolded, and Mercury has turned his back on the others, and looks up at the clouds. The central Grace looks towards him, while the other two seem to look at each other. Flora's smile was very unusual in painting at this date.

The pastoral scenery is elaborate. There are 500 identified plant species depicted in the painting, with about 190 different flowers, of which at least 130 can be specifically identified. The overall appearance, and size, of the painting is similar to that of the millefleur ("thousand flower") Flemish tapestries that were popular decorations for palaces at the time.

These tapestries had not caught up by the 1480s with the artistic developments of the Italian Renaissance, and the composition of the painting has aspects that belong to this still Gothic style. The figures are spread in a rough line across the front of the picture space, "set side by side like pearls on a string". It is now known that in the setting for which the painting was designed the bottom was about at eye level, or slightly above it, partly explaining "the gently rising plane" on which the figures stand.

The feet of Venus are considerably higher than those of the others, showing she is behind them, but she is at the same scale, if not larger, than the other figures. Overlapping of other figures by Mercury's sword and Chloris' hands shows that they stand slightly in front of the left Grace and Flora respectively, which might not be obvious otherwise, for example from their feet. It has been argued that the flowers do not grow smaller to the rear of the picture space, certainly a feature of the millefleur tapestries.

The costumes of the figures are versions of the dress of contemporary Florence, though the sort of "quasi-theatrical costumes designed for masquerades of the sort that Vasari wrote were invented by Lorenzo de' Medici for civic festivals and tournaments." The lack of an obvious narrative may relate to the world of pageants and tableaux vivants as well as typically static Gothic allegories.

Various interpretations of the figures have been set forth, but it is generally agreed that at least at one level the painting is "an elaborate mythological allegory of the burgeoning fertility of the world." It is thought that Botticelli had help devising the composition of the painting and whatever meanings it was intended to contain, as it appears that the painting reflects a deep knowledge of classical literature and philosophy that Botticelli is unlikely to have possessed. Poliziano is usually thought to have been involved in this, though Marsilio Ficino, another member of Lorenzo de' Medici's circle and a key figure in Renaissance Neoplatonism, has also often been mentioned.

One aspect of the painting is a depiction of the progress of the season of spring, reading from right to left. The wind of early Spring blows on the land and brings forth growth and flowers, presided over by Venus, goddess of April, with at the left Mercury, the god of the month of May in an early Roman calendar, chasing away the last clouds before summer. As well as being part of a sequence over the season, Mercury in dispelling the clouds is acting as the guard of the garden, partly explaining his military dress and his facing out of the picture space. A passage in Virgil's Aeneid describes him clearing the skies with his caduceus. A more positive, Neoplatonist view of the clouds is that they are "the benificent veils through which the splendour of transcendent truth may reach the beholder without destroying him."

Venus presides over the garden – an orange grove (a Medici symbol). It is also the Garden of the Hesperides of classical myth, from which the golden apples used in the Judgement of Paris came; the Hellenistic Greeks had decided that these were citrus fruits, exotic to them. According to Claudian, no clouds were allowed there. Venus stands in front of the dark leaves of a myrtle bush. According to Hesiod, Venus had been born of the sea after the semen of Uranus had fallen upon the waters. Coming ashore in a shell she had clothed her nakedness in myrtle, and so the plant became sacred to her. Venus appears here in her character as a goddess of marriage, clothed and with her hair modestly covered, as married women were expected to appear in public.

The Three Graces are sisters, and traditionally accompany Venus. In classical art (but not literature) they are normally nude, and typically stand still as they hold hands, but the depiction here is very close to one adapting Seneca by Leon Battista Alberti in his De pictura (1435), which Botticelli certainly knew. From the left they are identified by Edgar Wind as Voluptas, Castitas, and Pulchritudo (Pleasure, Chastity and Beauty), though other names are found in mythology, and it is noticeable that many writers, including Lightbown and the Ettlingers, refrain from naming Botticelli's Graces at all.

Botticelli's Pallas and the Centaur (1482) has been proposed as the companion piece to Primavera.

Cupid's arrow is aimed at the middle Grace — Chastity, according to Wind — and the impact of love on chastity, leading to a marriage, features in many interpretations. Chastity looks towards Mercury, and some interpretations, especially those identifying the figures as modelled on actual individuals, see this couple as one to match Chloris and Zephyrus on the other side of the painting.

In a different interpretation the Earthy carnal love represented by Zephyrus to the right is renounced by the central figure of the Graces, who has turned her back to the scene, unconcerned by the threat represented to her by Cupid. Her focus is on Mercury, who himself gazes beyond the canvas at what many believe hung as the companion piece to Primavera: Pallas and the Centaur, in which "love oriented towards knowledge" (embodied by Pallas Athena) proves triumphant over lust (symbolized by the centaur).

The basic identification of the figures is now widely agreed,but in the past other names have sometimes been used for the females on the right, who are two stages of the same person in the usual interpretation. The woman in the flowered dress may be called Primavera (a personification of Spring), with Flora the figure pursued by Zephyrus. One scholar suggested in 2011 that the central figure is not Venus at all, but Persephone.

In addition to its overt meaning, the painting has been interpreted as an illustration of the ideal of Neoplatonic love popularized among the Medicis and their followers by Marsilio Ficino. The Neoplatonic philosophers saw Venus as ruling over both Earthly and divine love and argued that she was the classical equivalent of the Virgin Mary; this is alluded to by the way she is framed in an altar-like setting that is similar to contemporary images of the Virgin Mary. Venus' hand gesture of welcome, probably directed to the viewer, is the same as that used by Mary to the Archangel Gabriel in contemporary paintings of the Annunciation.

Punning allusions to Medici names probably include the golden balls of the oranges, recalling those on the Medici coat of arms, the laurel trees at right, for either Lorenzo, and the flames on the costume of both Mercury (for whom they are a regular attribute) and Venus, which are also an attribute of Saint Laurence (Lorenzo in Italian). Mercury was the god of medicine and "doctors", medici in Italian. Such puns for the Medici, and in Venus and Mars the Vespucci, run through all Botticelli's mythological paintings.

The origin of the painting is unclear. Botticelli was away in Rome for many months in 1481/82, painting in the Sistine Chapel, and suggested dates are in recent years mostly later than this, but still sometimes before. Thinking has been somewhat changed by the publication in 1975 of an inventory from 1499 of the collection of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici.

The 1499 inventory records it hanging in the city palace of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici and his brother Giovanni "Il Popolano". They were the cousins of Lorenzo de' Medici ("Lorenzo il Magnifico"), who was effectively the ruler of Florence, and after their father's early death had been his wards. It hung over a large lettuccio, an elaborate piece of furniture including a raised base, a seat and a backboard, probably topped with a cornice. The bottom of the painting was probably at about the viewer's eye-level, so rather higher than it is hung today.

In the same room was Botticelli's Pallas and the Centaur, and also a large tondo with the Virgin and Child. The tondo is now unidentified, but is a type of painting especially associated with Botticelli. This was given the highest value of the three paintings, at 180 lire. A further inventory of 1503 records that the Primavera had a large white frame.

In the first edition of his Life of Botticelli, published in 1550, Giorgio Vasari said that he had seen this painting, and the Birth of Venus, hanging in the Medici country Villa di Castello. Before the inventory was known it was usually believed that both paintings were made for the villa, probably soon after it was acquired in 1477, either commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco or perhaps given to him by his older cousin and guardian Lorenzo de' Medici. Rather oddly, Vasari says both paintings contained female nudes, which is not strictly the case here.

Most scholars now connect the painting to the marriage of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. Paintings and furniture were often given as presents celebrating weddings. The marriage was on 19 July 1482, but had been postponed after the death of the elder Lorenzo's mother on 25 March. It was originally planned for May. Recent datings tend to prefer the early 1480s, after Botticelli's return from Rome, suggesting it was directly commissioned in connection with this wedding, a view supported by many.

Another older theory, assuming an early date, suggests the older Lorenzo commissioned the portrait to celebrate the birth of his nephew Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici (who later became Pope), but changed his mind after the assassination of Giulo's father, his brother Giuliano in 1478, having it instead completed as a wedding gift for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco.

It is frequently suggested that Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco is the model for Mercury in the portrait, and his bride Semiramide represented as Flora (or Venus). In older theories, placing the painting in the 1470s, it was proposed that the model for Venus was Simonetta Vespucci, wife of Marco Vespucci and according to popular legend the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici (who is also sometimes said to have been the model for Mercury); these identifications largely depend on an early date, in the 1470s, as both were dead by 1478. Simonetta was the aunt of Lorenzo's bride Semiramide. Summarizing the many interpretations of the painting, Leopold Ettlinger includes "descending to the ludricous – a Wagnerian pantomime enacted in memory of the murdered Giuliano de' Medici and his beloved Simonetta Vespucci with the Germanic Norns disguised as the Mediterranean Graces."

Whenever this painting and the Birth of Venus were united at Castello, they have remained together ever since. They stayed in Castello until 1815, when they were transferred to the Uffizi. For some years until 1919 they were kept in the Galleria dell'Accademia, another government museum in Florence. Since 1919, it has hung in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. During the Italian campaign of World War Two, the picture was moved to Montegufoni Castle about ten miles south west of Florence to protect it from wartime bombing.

It was returned to the Uffizi Gallery where it remains to the present day. In 1978, the painting was restored.[66] The work has darkened considerably over the course of time

Since opening in June 1999

the Millennium Stadium has welcomed

on average

over 1.3 million visitors per year. Sporting the first fully-retractable roof in the UK

the venue is at the leading edge as a multi-purpose

multi-faceted event venue. The Millennium Stadium boasts a UEFA 5-Star rating and has hosted matches from two Rugby World Cups including the Final in 1999

witnessed two Wales Grand Slam successes in the RBS Six Nations

staged six showpiece FA Cup Finals plus hosted the major artists of the music business with a plethora of major concerts and motorsports events on its CV. The installation of a partition drape system in July 2005 now means that the bowl of the Millennium

must visit venue and has played home to five major sporting bodies over the last eight years. Background to the Millennium Stadium Project As early as 1994 a group redevelopment committee was set up to look at redeveloping the Wales National Stadium and

the Welsh Rugby Union won the right to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup against severe competition from rival bids from the Southern Hemisphere. A review of the National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park (designed in 1962) showed that it had long since been overt

000 and 67

000 respectively and France about to build the Stade de France with a capacity of over 80

000. Capacity in the old National Stadium was 53

000 (including 11

000 standing in the East Terrace). New safety regulations would mean that the capacity would be further reduced by 'all-seater' arrangements. There were no spectator facilities in the old Stadium other than toilets. It was decided that the new Stadium sho

000); the home of Ajax Football Club.

cardiff

south

wales

uk

nikon

d5200

night

skyline

architecture

 

Welcome to World Philosophy Day (20 November, 2025).

 

Consider this….

 

What’s the difference between these two photographs I’ve posted today? One shows a mother holding the body of her dead son, the other a son holding the body of his elderly dead father. Both are sculptures. One is perhaps the most famous sculpture ever made by a 23 year old genius we came to know as Michelangelo. The other is a hyper-real sculpture based on real life experience by Australian sculptor, Sam Jinks. One is overtly religious, the other is asking questions about life and death itself. One is generally accepted as a beautiful depiction of motherly love, the other was virtually banned from Flickr. Now comes the philosophical question: WHY?

 

Before I provide some clues to an answer, here’s what happened. I posted a series of sculptures by Sam Jinks presented at the QVMAG in Launceston. www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/Whats-on/Art-Gallery-at-Royal-Park/S...

I only posted them in groups that did not directly exclude adult themes of nudity and death. A few days later I received an email from Flickr saying that I had been reported and that some of these photographs had been restricted and removed from groups. The beautiful photographs of The Messenger, showing a topless angel, were removed from all but 15 groups. You see more provocative photos in many people’s list of favourites. But the one that shocked me most was Still Life (Seated Pieta), 2007. This remained in only two groups, and what’s worse I can’t even post a link to it here because Flickr has blocked any chance of linking or embedding of that photograph. You can still see it in my photostream if you do not have a safe setting on your Flickr account. But for most people it is now invisible on Flickr. One of the greatest contemporary sculptures in Australia, dealing with a theme that was covered by Michelangelo in his Pietà, has effectively been banned by Flickr.

 

One is based on religious conjecture, the other on the actual reality of a son holding his dead father. As I wrote on that photograph most are not allowed to see:

“This has a very personal application in my case (and clearly informed my photograph in subconscious ways). When my father died (nearly three years ago now), I assisted the nurse in washing his body as we waited for the morticians to arrive. I held his body as the nurse so gently sponged it. I looked down at this body so old and broken by the cancer that destroyed it, and reflected on how it was once in full-bloom, so strong and commanding, as I remembered my father to be.”

 

But let’s get to the nub of the philosophical argument here (since it is World Philosophy Day after all).

 

Does a religious outlook inoculate a work of art from critical scrutiny? Death can be shown overtly in Mary holding the body of her son Jesus, whilst a contemporary example cannot? For instance, death and violence is quite common in religious art down through the centuries, but people get offended when they see modern works that treat these issues honestly. Why? That is the question.

 

Death may be the great unknown. For all the videos you’ll see online about Near Death Experiences (NDEs) this much is clear: None of these people actually died. They were resuscitated (not resurrected) and brought back into the land of the living. One more thing, all the characteristic similarities of these experiences (tunnels, white light, meeting a spiritual figure) point to a common origin, most likely the dissolution of the brain cells that are being starved of oxygen. In other words, this is purely a physical reaction and tells us nothing about the afterlife. We mustn’t confuse psychological experiences with reality. And that’s not to say anything about the online grifters who do it for the money. But I digress.

 

Freud made it very clear that death is not something that most people are comfortable with. So we use whatever mental strategies possible to deny our own mortality. We can’t deny that people die, but we don’t actually believe we will. Or we devise all kinds of theories about the afterlife, that usually presuppose the survival of the ego, when in fact we don’t really know.

 

It has been said (and I believe it), that death is the great teacher of life. I should also add that death is the true friend of the desperately frail and sick and mortally wounded. This is certainly the argument for Voluntary Assisted Dying. But don’t take my word for it, listen to what Jeff Foster has to say in this profoundly honest poem:

 

“Death

is the greatest teacher of all.

Greater than all human philosophies.

Truer than any religion.

 

Death

strips away the lies, the pretence.

Death makes a mockery of our resentment.

It burns our greed, grudges and grievances.

 

Death

invites us to be utterly present.

To let go.

To forgive.

To meet, without history.

 

Death

makes it plain that only love matters.

That only love makes life worth living.

And all else is dust.

 

Death

is a ruthless portal.

Worldly riches are powerless against it.

Hatred cannot survive it.

 

Only love can pass through.

We return

to our True Nature.

 

The cycle

is complete.”

 

www.lifewithoutacentre.com/

 

So I support Sam Jinks' right to create his own Pietà, based on real-life experience. It is not religious in the sense that it provides answers to the question about death, but it sure asks the right questions. And people should be allowed to see that!

 

I welcome your reflections...

 

Warm, steamy dawn overt Cora next morning...

In 1864, the Korakukan ryokan (inn) opened beside an onsen (hot spring) in the valley of the Yokoyu River, enclosing geothermal water as open-air baths for guests. The local macaques noticed this strange behaviour by their primate cousins and, already entirely happy around water, gradually experimented too. At ~850 m asl on the snowier western side of the Japanese Alps, this revolutionised their lifestyle, and the result is unique: a troop of snow monkeys who return each winter to relax in the warm water.

 

For human hygiene reasons, the macaques were given their own rotenburo pool (yes, it's artificial) a short distance from the ryokan and the site was designated 'Jigokudani Monkey Park' in 1964.

It's not a zoo. The troop remains entirely wild – a small amount of food here incentivises the macaques to solely visit this dedicated onsen, but they find most food for themselves, in the forest, and there's no enclosure or accommodation.

It may also be worth clarifying that this is the only troop in the world who bathe in hot water, rather than it being a general characteristic of the species.

 

Avoidance of eye contact gave the (inaccurate) impression that adult macaques were ignoring the humans as they freely wandered amongst their visitors, but this child (perhaps born this spring?) was more overtly curious.

Short-range tactical VTOL aircraft, with flexible wing profiles and swappable 'utility' modules.

 

——

 

I've loved working on this one. A couple-years back my daughter was gifted the Batwing set from The LEGO Batman Movie (70916). A few months ago she broke it down and it has sat in a tray ever since. The Boy spotted this at the end of the holidays and wanted to build something Batmanish with it together. After about an hour of play I had an MVP version of this, though almost nothing of that original MOC now survives.

 

There's a few things in there I'm really proud of. The overall profile still blows my mind. Blunt and brutal in places, sleek and knife-like in others… I'm particularly proud as my comfort-zone is far more geometric in style, and this is not that.

 

I love the cockpit. Took a while to work that through, but it all just feels right now. The ejector seat lever is a particular high-point.

 

It has a pair of 'utility bays' forward of the cockpit. I've generated 10 swappable 'utilities' on the theme. Only 4 are overtly lethal. The rest are non-lethal options, including a grapnel launcher, and EMP lance, and a high-frequency sound cannon.

 

The wings are all fixed via ball-joints. An earlier iteration had 8 wings which were all more flexible than the current 6, but as I integrated then all more tightly into the body, they've become restricted in their range of movement. But as you'll see from the photos, there's still quite a range of wing profiles you can achieve.

 

——

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. What could I do to improve it?

I am genuinely surprised that my recent pictures have proven to be of some interest. I never expect anyone to look at them let alone read the narratives that accompany them. I have to admit the pictures serve only as a platform for the narrative. As I am alone with my transvestism I need an outlet and posting a picture provides me with a voice for my bottled up thoughts, dreams and concerns.

 

Increasingly I find I wish to express all the facets of my transvestism, including topics normally considered taboo by cross-dressers. When I was younger I was confused and distraught with trying to understand some of the feelings and desires I had regarding my urge to dress as a woman and behave as a female may.

 

I am very aware, as I’ve had the e-mails to say so, that some transvestites do not approve of me and despise me for the things I say in my photo narratives. I am also aware some can empathise with what I am saying which is a relief for one who is alone with their transvestite desires. I am using Flickr as my outlet for self expression and I am guilty of not thinking through what I write. What happens is the desire to cross-dress is frequently strong but I cannot do so. I find myself browsing my photo archive and then I choose a picture to post and start typing. It is stream of consciousness outpouring so may make for a rambling prose should anyone actually decide to read my words.

 

I post and write on Flickr for purely selfish reasons I need the relief of doing something related to my cross-dressing to help me cope during the times I cannot actually engage in the activity. As I say recently, this has been pleasantly received on Flickr but I still have my detractors who have no hesitation in writing to me directly and condemning me for my narratives and rubbish photos (their words). I am not sure why I induced such hostility in some but I am getting used to it now. I see though my photo posts in 2015 have had a positive response judging by the comments others have kindly posted. This heartens me and strengthens my resolve to carry on and to try and not let the hostile e-mails diminish me.

 

When I posted my last picture it was from my early days of cross-dressing. It was taken in March 2002 and I was still learning how to dress up as a woman. I suppressed my cross-dressing for over twenty years and finally began to dress in mid November 2000. Emotionally I was all over the place when I dressed up as a woman in that period and what I notice looking through these early attempts at trying to look like a female is the way I dress and pose. I appear to be trying to be sexy and alluring. Something was obviously motivating me to do this back then.

 

I know I used to get very aroused sexually in that earlier period and frequently masturbated when I was dressed in women’s clothing. It was almost like I was in love with my own female image! I was certainly and undeniably excited by the experience. I did experience that crashing negativity that occurs rapidly after masturbating while cross-dressed which manifests itself as shame and self disgust and an urgency to just take off the clothes and wash off the make-up. That used to happen every time I became Helene, in my first year of practicing transvestism I had a different female name, I was know as Cathy Mann. I was a confused individual back then riding a wave of excitement, erotica and terror followed always by negative feelings. Yet, underpinning all of that was real joy, euphoria and pure elation. The two conflicting emotions used to cause me great exhaustion and confusion.

 

I think the sexual excitement is something every transvestite experiences at some point and I’m mystified as to why so many vehemently deny this ever happened. In my case I can still on occasion experience it today and if so then I really enjoy the moment and fortunately no longer suffer from the negative crash that used to occur.

 

All of this talk about sexual arousal leads me onto to today's picture. This was a very early effort to dress as a woman taken in February 2001, just three months into my cross-dressing explorations at the age of 42. I was rather shocked at myself when I saw this picture recently as I wonder what was I thinking when I dressed and posed for it? Looking at it today I see an overt attempt at being sexy. I had tousled my wig to try and create a feminine slightly vulnerable, sexy yet alluring look, my eyes tell me I was completely into doing this, I wanted men to desire me as a female and I chose that classic male fantasy of seeing a girl just wearing a white shirt and showing off her legs whilst wearing heavy mascara and red lipstick. This whole image can only have been motivated by sex, I can see no other explanation.

 

What I can clearly recall after seeing the picture was I was very much into doing it on that evening, I adored being this woman and if a man desired me I would have been incredibly thrilled and excited by that. Here is the thing though, that thrill is pure ego, I love the idea of being a man that can be a sexy woman. I say that yet I have no attraction or desire for sex with a man! Of course anyone seeing this and reading my words will rightly interpret what I’m doing as pathetic and delusional as I am a man and can never hope to ever look remotely like a sexy woman, I’m a hopeless transvestite at the end of the day.

 

Despite my fears of ridicule and highlighting what a pathetic individual I am having such dreams I am posting this picture because I think many of us go through this stage with our cross-dressing. Unfortunately some find the final experience so negative after the the emotional high they then feel they must suppress their cross-dressing. My intention is to explain one is not alone with such experiences, they occur more often amongst transvestites than one may imagine. I think it is incredible to attempt such a look even if, like me, the results are not convincing. The desire needs to be set free. It is an intensely private experience and if done with consideration for others harms nobody and one will feel truly liberated.

 

If you are a transvestite and have an urge to pose as a sexy woman then you will need to do it. Suppressing it will not help, it is best to give it a go. In my case I was motivated by sexual excitement and loved the fact that as a man I was going against my gender. We all have different motivations. I am admitting to the sexual arousal not denying it because I used to experience it frequently when I cross-dressed.

 

Obviously being aroused is not good for wearing a dress! At some point one needs to move on from this stage and in time this happens. Nearly fifteen years on from my first day as an adult male transvestite in a dress my arousal is far less frequent but it does happen on occasion. If you do get aroused then enjoy the moment and work through the negative crash if it occurs as it will pass if you are patient and just wait instead of giving in to it. Understanding this leads onto a better and more rewarding long term cross-dressing experience.

 

I would also advocate patience if you have an urge to purge all your female clothing, lingerie, wigs, make-up and shoes. Do not throw it all away! If you feel you want to then try to exercise some will power and just seal it up in boxes and put in storage some where. You will regret throwing it away not to mention the expense of having to purchase it all over again. You will purchase again because the desire is never going to leave you, it is with us for life. It is all about managing things and being aware and ensuring others are not affected by our actions.

 

It’s also good to go off the rails in private occasionally and I feel that is exactly what I did in this picture. I wanted men to see me as a sexy desirable woman and I admit I was totally…totally…into posing in this way back in on that February evening in 2001. I may be pathetic and delusional but wow…was I having a lot of fun and excitement!

The Bohdan Khmelnytsky Monument (Ukrainian: Пам'ятник Богданові Хмельницькому) is a monument in Kyiv, built in 1888, dedicated to the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host Bohdan Khmelnytsky built in 1888. It is located almost at the centre of Sophia Square, which was originally the city’s main square, and remains and important fulcrum of Kyiv City Centre. It sits on the axis that unites the belltowers of St Sophia’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery at the other end of Volodymyrs’kyi Passage.

 

This is where residents of Kiev met Khmelnytsky leading his Cossacks regiments through the Golden Gate into city on 23 December 1648 after his victory over Polish Army at the battle of Pyliavtsi. It was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin although it is both less elaborate than Mikeshin’s original plans, and is shorn of their overtly anti-Polish and anti-Semitic aspects. The statue was cast in 1879 in St Petersburg but not displayed in Kyiv until 1888.

 

This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.

The Bohdan Khmelnytsky Monument (Ukrainian: Пам'ятник Богданові Хмельницькому) is a monument in Kyiv, built in 1888, dedicated to the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host Bohdan Khmelnytsky built in 1888. It is located almost at the centre of Sophia Square, which was originally the city’s main square, and remains and important fulcrum of Kyiv City Centre. It sits on the axis that unites the belltowers of St Sophia’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery at the other end of Volodymyrs’kyi Passage.

 

This is where residents of Kiev met Khmelnytsky leading his Cossacks regiments through the Golden Gate into city on 23 December 1648 after his victory over Polish Army at the battle of Pyliavtsi. It was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin although it is both less elaborate than Mikeshin’s original plans, and is shorn of their overtly anti-Polish and anti-Semitic aspects. The statue was cast in 1879 in St Petersburg but not displayed in Kyiv until 1888.

 

St Sophia Cathedral is one of Kyiv’s most significant landmarks, dating back to the days of Kievan Rus’. Originally built in the first half of the 11th Centuries, it has had downs as well as ups since being sacked in 1169 and 1240, but still retains mosaics and frescos from the 11th Century. It was significantly expanded in the late 17th and 18th Centuries. The 76 metre high bell tower was built in this period.

 

After the October Revolution, Soviet authorities proposed demolishing the cathedral complex and turning it into a memorial park for combatants who died in the Civil War, and was only saved through the efforts of scientists and historians. It was nonetheless secularised and turned into a museum in 1934. By the 1980s, however Soviet authorities had promised to return the cathedral to the Orthodox Church, and this promise was maintained by governments of independent Ukraine, but internal divisions within Orthodoxy in the country have prevented this as of 2020. The cathedral remains a secular museum of Christianity.

 

This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.

The Bohdan Khmelnytsky Monument juxtaposed against the Hyatt Regency Kiev, on Sofiyvska Square, site of the famous St Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

 

The Bohdan Khmelnytsky Monument (Ukrainian: Пам'ятник Богданові Хмельницькому) is a monument in Kyiv, built in 1888, dedicated to the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host Bohdan Khmelnytsky. It is located almost at the centre of Sophia Square, which was originally the city’s main square, and remains and important fulcrum of Kyiv City Centre. It sits on the axis that unites the belltowers of St Sophia’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery at the other end of Volodymyrs’kyi Passage.

 

This is where residents of Kiev met Khmelnytsky leading his Cossacks regiments through the Golden Gate into city on 23 December 1648 after his victory over Polish Army at the battle of Pyliavtsi. It was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin although it is both less elaborate than Mikeshin’s original plans, and is shorn of their overtly anti-Polish and anti-Semitic aspects. The statue was cast in 1879 in St Petersburg but not displayed in Kyiv until 1888.

 

Behind it is the Hyatt Regency Kiev. I think it was built in the first years of the 21st Century. It was certainly in place by 2008 because I can find photos from that date online.

 

This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.

Short-range tactical VTOL aircraft, with flexible wing profiles and swappable 'utility' modules.

 

——

 

I've loved working on this one. A couple-years back my daughter was gifted the Batwing set from The LEGO Batman Movie (70916). A few months ago she broke it down and it has sat in a tray ever since. The Boy spotted this at the end of the holidays and wanted to build something Batmanish with it together. After about an hour of play I had an MVP version of this, though almost nothing of that original MOC now survives.

 

There's a few things in there I'm really proud of. The overall profile still blows my mind. Blunt and brutal in places, sleek and knife-like in others… I'm particularly proud as my comfort-zone is far more geometric in style, and this is not that.

 

I love the cockpit. Took a while to work that through, but it all just feels right now. The ejector seat lever is a particular high-point.

 

It has a pair of 'utility bays' forward of the cockpit. I've generated 10 swappable 'utilities' on the theme. Only 4 are overtly lethal. The rest are non-lethal options, including a grapnel launcher, and EMP lance, and a high-frequency sound cannon.

 

The wings are all fixed via ball-joints. An earlier iteration had 8 wings which were all more flexible than the current 6, but as I integrated then all more tightly into the body, they've become restricted in their range of movement. But as you'll see from the photos, there's still quite a range of wing profiles you can achieve.

 

——

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. What could I do to improve it?

Flicker x 100 2017 challenge. 24/100 Theme- Bob Dylan songs Evangelical Phase.

 

From the years 1979 to1981, Dylan, born a Jew, became a born-again Christian, releasing three albums reflecting his new found evangelicalism (Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love). While Dylan has often used religious and biblical imagery in his lyrics, he had never before dedicated entire songs and albums in such an overtly religious way. It seemed out of character for such a counter-culture icon. Of course this alienated fans although it was also a period where he was most engaging with the audience and he managed to utter more than two words during a concert, often preacher style. However, during this phase, he still produced some beautiful songs with evocative imagery. Listen to Every Grain of Sand vimeo.com/61822795.

 

Some info sourced from www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/b...

 

Of Dylan's conversion he says that late in 1978 he sensed “a presence in the room that couldn’t have been anybody but Jesus”, and even felt a hand placed upon him. “

  

I have sat on this image for awhile due to the circumstances around the time I took it. It was during the January school holidays when I took my daughter into the city for some shopping and photography. It was just after lunch and we were sitting on a bench in the sunshine of the Bourke St Mall, enjoying the street performers and buskers. I saw the bike and as I was on the lookout for images for my Dylan Challenge, I thought this would work as a representation for his religious phase. The next day, just after lunch, a young man with a history of mental illness, drug use and family violence drove down the Mall, including where we had been sitting, deliberately running into pedestrians. Six people died and over 30 were injured, and many, many more left traumatised by what they saw. I was haunted by how the author of this sign may have interpreted the incident and the fact that it could have been my daughter and I. One is tempted to use the words "but for the grace of God" and relate it to the image but I find that offensive as what does that leave for the people who did die and who lost loved ones in a most random and horrific way?

 

By 1982 Dylan returned to Judaism. He has just released a Bootleg called Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol 13/1979-1981 which covers this period.

 

Apologies for length of post

   

There are lots of times when we bus photographers can feel everything goes against us when out with the camera. It's just what happens when trying to capture moving images on a public highway - sunlight, cloud cover, overtly white sky, other vehicles, cyclists and people walking in our pathway, screen difficulties, wrong camera settings and vehicles not doing what we expect when we're in position for that perfect shot.

 

There are other times when it seems to go exactly as we want and how thrilling it is to go home with a grand fish for supper!

 

Here's one where it worked alright with Volvo B8L / Enviro 400XLB number 1080 (SJ19 OWV) at Ocean Terminal under a clear blue sky.

 

If you'd like to follow the developing story of Lothian's new fleet of Enviro 400XLB buses then please visit my album here with each one in numerical order, as I get them. Keep up with the stories and pictures all along routes 7, 11 and 16 in the coming weeks.

www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_montgomery/albums/7215769053...

A 1960s advertisement I did for Black Skies City. I was trying to capture the overt sexism of the era. hahaha...

 

Shot at Black Skies City:

 

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Black%20Skies/152/119/3520

The house

Sir John Heathcoat-Amory, 1st Baronet, having purchased the house and estate of Knighshayes in 1867, in the same year commissioned a new replacement house, to the design of William Burges, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1869. The building was complete by 1874, although not to Burges' original designs, and work had begun on the interior. Unlike Burges' partnership with John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, the relationship between architect and client was not successful, Sir John objecting to Burges' designs both on grounds of cost and style. As Crook (1981) commented, "Heathcoat-Amory built a house he could not afford to decorate, by an architect whose speciality was interior design".[5] The disagreement led to the dismissal of Burges in 1874 and his replacement by John Dibblee Crace. Nevertheless, Knightshayes Court remains the only example built of a medium-sized Burges country house, to the "standard" Victorian arrangement. Its virtues were recognised in its own time; "Knightshayes is eminently picturesque, executed with great vigour and thorough knowledge of detail.."[6] The plan with hall, drawing, morning and smoking rooms, library and billiard room is conventional and the exterior is, by Burges' usual standards, restrained. A massive tower, to have been constructed over the West end, would have given the house "a more overtly romantic silhouette"[7] but only the base was built. wikipedia

Its pretty obvious that my gender identity is more than overtly feminine I just don't the modern woman around town look that often I much prefer the soft gentle female image.

 

This is something I fear youngsters with gender identity issues be they MTF or FTM are going to lose in the future .

 

The fad at moment in the UK or some retailers is to make kids clothes gender neutral in as much as they are not being advertised as either girls or boys.

 

The idea being little Johnny can wear a pink top with dinosaurs on just as girl can wear a blue top with dinosaurs on. skirts and dress will still be made but not sold for girls only, All very commendable but is this a step in the wrong direction for someone like myself?

 

Clarks shoes are now planning on making gender neutral school shoes. once again on the face of it not a bad idea,

 

But this is my viewpoint,

 

In the name of equality these companies who are trying to do what's best are really compounding the problem gender dysphoric children have and that is, Not being able to be outwardly the gender they identify with. even some schools are now doing away with skirts and dresses opting for trousers shirt and tie across the board basically forcing real girls to dress as boys causing even more issues.

 

I don't identify as androgynous, I don't want to wear the same stuff men wear shapeless garments that fit either gender I want to embrace femininity I want to wear dresses, nice underwear, impractical shoes, wear perfume paint my nails have long hair and do my makeup. those are the things I identify with just like most MTF trans folk do.

 

Just as FTM people want all things masculine they don't want boobs, they want bulge down below they want to wear baggy jeans faded out t shirts, the want scruffy hair and stubble. they spend as much time as possible working out to get a mr universe body,

 

They don't want to be seen as girl wearing gender neutral clothes .

 

Basically what I am saying to these companies is. Leave things as they because you are causing more damage by trying to help. we want to know that males and females are different because we identify as one or the other.

 

Not sure that came across how I wanted it to.

I'm not sure if I'll keep the name, as it's overtly feminine, but I couldn't really think of anything else that suits the character.

  

Alias: Allure

Real Name: Nicholai Cherkassky

Gender: Male

Allegiance: Neutral

Backstory: He's the son of a samodiva/samovila (the specific name of her species depends on the region), and a man imbued with special powers as he was able to stay alive even with her stealing his life energy. Like his mother, his power comes from his hair. He's quite promiscuous, as he's able to charm whomever he wants. Woman that see him fall in love with him, and men that see him get quite jealous, and some even take their own lives because they are envious of his good looks. His mother taught him of magical herbs that can cure any ailment. His voice is quite seductive, and can control those he's talking to, if he so chooses. He also inherited his mothers dance, one of which people get drawn in quite easily, which leads to them eventually dying from exhaustion. He didn't inherit his mother's affinity for fire. His motives remain unclear, but he's someone no one should make angry.

 

Here's a link for those interested about what a Samodiva is.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samodiva_(mythology)

 

Status: Unknown

The engineer on Amtrak E8 330 “grabs another notch” on the throttle as the approaching eastbound San Francisco Zephyr climbs Southern Pacific’s west slope of Donner Pass between Dutch Flat and Gold Run, California on February 24, 1974. The Magnetic Flagman still performs its duty, despite its age, protecting the seldom used roadway known to railroaders as “Raggedy Ass Crossing.”

 

Judges’ Comments:

This image really stood out for the judges because of all the wonderful railroading details: the wig-wag, the signals, the code line. It’s the type of image you can sit and look at and find something new in every corner. While not as overt as others, the smoke reveals a central story of anticipation to the viewer. It’s likely the first visual cue of the approaching train after minutes of building anticipation. The rising smoke drives an incredible sense of anticipation as the train climbs toward the photographer. Beautifully framed and steeped in the character of classic railroading.

 

The judges marveled at this image’s emotive power, of being able to almost hear it, smell it, and feel the approaching train vibrate the surrounding ties.

A sigh is just a sigh

The fundamental things apply

As time goes by

And when two lovers woo

They still say, I love you

On that you can rely

No matter what the future brings

As time goes by...

____________________

 

Brianna Malcolm offered up a tight smile, feeling a twinge of guilt for bringing up such a subject when they were supposed to be having fun. "I know. I /know/. I am always thinking of the future. I can't help it as I want it to be perfect with you. I just..." she lets out a sigh. "I worry I'll become a burden on you." Bree confessed, letting her eyes close when their foreheads connected, calming, not realizing her heart had begun to thud in her chest when she posed her question. "Husband...you have come a long way from when we first began dating. We both have." the comment came with a tender squeeze of his bicep as they turned toward the refreshments. "Why does it matter if he's here or not? Pennington probably snagged him en route and they're off in a corner snogging or something." a small laugh left the girl and she nodded. "A drink and a bit of nosh sound ace. Hopefully there are no cubs that need some reassurance this year and we can be relieved of duties for a little bit."

 

Orion Wyatt stopped them dancing; his big hands rubbing against her biceps as he speaks. "Stop." He sighs, "You will never, ever be a burden to me. Ever." He states, firmly. "I want to spend the rest of my life. With you. And I will /anything/ I need too...to be your husband. To care for you. To love you.../Anything/. It is not a burden when it what I wish." He says softly, as those big hands come to cup her face. He held her gaze for a long moment. Food was long forgotten. As was his roommate. Instead, he shook his head. Not caring if anyone was looking, not caring if the world or their friends or professors saw. "Stop thinking and just let me love you, Moon." He sighs with a grin, and without a moment to let her rebut? He closed the space and with both hands on either side of her face, crushed his mouth to hers in probably the most public display of affection he'd /ever/ done...other than scream his affections across the dance floor.

 

Brianna Malcolm looked up, wide eyes even wider than normal as her boyfriend spoke. "O-okay. Okay." she stammered out, his hands burning the sides of her face. Her mouth opened to reply, but his lips were on hers before she could react and it felt like time had ceased to continue during Orion's rather overt display of his love. "I...but...you..." Bree made and attempt to form a sentence before giving up and returning the kiss, the smile returning to her lips. "Is this going to become a trend as well? Public declarations of your affection at events?" she couldn't help but tease after last year's antics. "C'mon Starboy. Let's grab a few drinks and snacks and find somewhere quiet to talk. I'm starting to feel a bit closed in in here."

 

She would surely have to get used to it. For if she still tried to pull away, and to break the kiss he would have growled softly and laughed, pulling her back in for another. And another. Each kiss soft, and sort-of PG-13, a little dramatic and flourished with "mmwha' sounds between each. But there was love there. Deep. Powerful. "Yes. I intend, until we part ways on this earth, to drown you in affection and dote on you until you beg for me to stop. For I adore you, Brianna Malcolm and I will never, ever..../ever/ stop." He commits, to grabbing her as she mentions feeling closed in, and whispers against her ear. "Ignore them. I am. It is just you. And me. It always will be." And once more, in true romantic fashion, he aims to sweep her down in a Hollywood kiss; to capture her lower back with a big hand and his other to support her head, pressing her mouth with his. Because Orion Wyatt meant it; he would /always/ let the world know that she was his and he was /never/ letting her get away again.

____________________

Song can be heard here

Ketchikan Creek was the cradle of the little town that grew to become today's fourth largest Alaskan city. The creek provided pure, cold drinking water, it supplied power for electric lights and industry, and most of notably - it teemed with spawning salmon. Every summer for centuries before the first pioneer stylers arrived, Tlingit natives beached their canoes on the tide flats and set up fish camps to net, trap and dry salmon for winter's food.

 

City Council planted the Creek's red light roots with a 1903 formal edict ordering all bawdy houses moved to a single location in the Creek Street area. Ramshackle sporting houses built upon piling sprang up on both side of the creek. Fourteen operated in 1914; in 1920, 31 "female borders" occupied 21 houses, and after World War II some 33 houses were listed. Starting upstream, numbers ran No. 1 to no. 24 with the exceptions like unlucky no. 13, dubbed simple - "The End." Houses burned or collapsed over the years and some were replaced. Several abatement efforts closed the Creek for brief periods in the 'teens and 20's. With great irony, final closure came in 1954 after a lengthy federal grand jury investigation exposed police graft and city tolerance. There are still people angry to this day overt the closure that put 22 girls in 18 houses out of business.

 

Ketchikan, Alaska, USA

This is Angela...she a gorgeous, sexy, geeky girl that just happened to be a little tied up at the convention... She is also a friend of mine and I will NOT tolerate ANY derogatory or overtly sexual comments here. So keep it clean folks!

One more thing: If you leave comments in a language other than English and I am unable to translate the comment, it will be deleted. Thank you for your understanding.

 

06/09/08: Wow...15,000 views! (and 6 comments! Anyone else think there's something wrong with that??)

10/11/10: Wow...26,652 views! (and 9 comments! Anyone else think there's still something wrong with that??)

4/14/12: Wow...35,097 views! (and 16 comments! Anyone else think there's still something wrong with that??)

I am continuing my browse through my photo archives and I have noticed a theme that regularly emerges at some stage in my cross-dressing sessions. Part of me is thrilled by that and part of me is embarrassed and part of me questions the motivation behind it. If my narratives irritate then I suggest stop reading now as I have another scenario I am musing over and intrigued by.

 

In this photo I am clearly trying to be sexy and alluring and attractive to men. I am an heterosexual male so why am I doing this?

 

Since my early cross-dressing days, I started to cross-dress at the age of 41 nearly fifteen years ago, I have seen a very definite theme in that I have dressed in certain clothing and posed in a way that can only be described as sexual. In my early days there was a period when I was dressing in a way that looking back now resembles ones expectations of how a prostitute may appear. I also recall I was highly aroused by my cross-dressing back then and had some very intense pleasurable moments. I see no point in denying any of this as the reality is I did it, it happened.

 

I have noticed on browsing through transvestite pictures that I am far from alone in having at some point dressed in the provocative sexual style of a prostitute. I fact I cannot help but note that such pictures are very popular receiving high viewing numbers on transvestite photo pages. It seems a lot of cross-dressers are captivated by others cross-dressing in such a way.

 

I won’t deny that I find it rather exciting to dress in a sexy style and enjoyed the erotic nature of doing so and posing for a photo. I can acknowledge now I did want men to be attracted to me and excited by my female appearance. I loved the idea I may be able to do this.

 

This brings me back to one of my recurring themes in my narratives regarding sexuality. On the face of it dressing up like a prostitute and posing in a picture and hopefully stirring excitement in men is surely the act of an homosexual man? I say no, it is I believe the act of an heterosexual man.

 

My view is that what lies behind transvestites going for this look and provocative posing is our own male sexual fantasies. Most transvestites deny any kind of sexual arousal is involved in their cross-dressing. At some stage in one’s years of cross-dressing I feel fairly certain there was a definite sexual element and masturbation involved. This can cause dismay and guilt and self loathing after it has occurred, I definitely experienced such feelings. However, as one evolves with their transvestism and grows older it is easier to be more accepting of oneself and start to enjoy the experience with the sexual aspect and some of the earlier style choices diminishing.

 

I do feel that our male fantasies about the ideal woman affects our approach to how we cross-dress. We may be men dressing up as women but for the majority of us we are most definitely heterosexual men; as is fairly accepted now most transvestites are not homosexual. That is not a definitive statement as there can be other factors behind ones desire to dress and look female. In my case I am an heterosexual male but I do have a definite transsexual aspect to me but not strong enough to dominate. I will admit I enjoy the dressing up and the illusion and the knowledge I am really a man. The transsexual side I feel puts in me in the ball park so to speak of why I desire to spend time as a woman now and again.

 

I think cross-dressing has a lot of the male fantasy about women involved in it. We often wear outfits and make style choices real women would not choose themselves, We frequently dress to suit our inner fantasies rather than real world female appearances. Let me be clear I am not condemning this, I will admit I like to indulge in my fantasies now and again despite knowing I am being unrealistic, it’s fun and yes, can be pleasurable.

 

I conducted an experiment with some female friends and showed them a few pictures that were hugely popular with transvestites, often with comments such as ‘totally convincing’, you get the idea. Interestingly they found them anything but convincing. The pictures they preferred were ones that indeed looked more realistic and real world but it was noted were not being viewed much. It seems that utterly convincing, passing one hundred percent in the outside world as a woman in a totally realistic way is not what most of us aspire to even if we think we do. Only a minority pursue this and do well . The majority go in for overtly feminine, more towards glamorous looks and often with a high degree of sexual fantasy such as mini skirts, very high heels, heavy make-up, long hair styles, long painted nails, posing in lingerie, adopting provocative expressions and poses. I see this all the time and I have even done this myself quite a lot over the years. Still don’t believe it’s motivated by sexual fantasy? I rather think it is, I rather do.

 

I fully expect this post to be unpopular and draw a high degree of negative responses but I like to talk openly about my transvestism when I can so please bear in mind this is my own view I do not expect agreement. I do feel though we can be less than honest with ourselves about why we engage in cross-dressing and I think the whole taboo around the sexual aspects, which many deny vehemently, does exist for a lot of cross-dressers and it would be a lot easier for many to accept if they admitted this and enjoyed it instead of the angst that can be felt.

 

What I’m saying is dressing up in sexy way and looking like a prostitute does seem to be a stage many of us go through and may well retain. Don’t feel bad about it just get on with it and enjoy it. It may be a stage that passes or always be something one goes in for. Whatever, don’t feel too bad about it, don’t question your sexuality, it is I believe an heterosexual act and one can derive a lot of pleasure from it. Have fun, have a lot of fun!

Ashok-Leyland PD3 (with 4 headlights!)

 

I would have liked to have taken many more pictures at the Nagpur Bus Station where there was a number of unusual vehicles that I did not see anywhere else, including a bus pulling a passenger trailer. But the sight of a group of camera-wielding europeans was too interesting for the local population and a large crowd rapidly formed which, while not overtly hostile, made photography too difficult so we retreated back to the hotel.

 

Being Brits we took refuge in the bar where a rock 'n' roll band was repeatedly pounding out "Jingle Bells." As we sat along the bar we couldn't help noticing a large rat squirming between the liquor bottles on the shelf at the back. We mentioned this to the barman who gazed at it for a few seconds then turned back and said, "Oh yes, it's a rat!" and went back to washing glasses. India takes some getting used to.

bruder klaus kapelle, germany, completed 2007.

architect: peter zumthor, b.1943

 

by nature architecture is a spiritual discipline, reflecting our values, ideas, aspirations. to the trained or sensitive eye, buildings give their makers away, expressing even their greed, opportunism, their base materialism if nothing better is on offer.

 

we perceive this instinctively for the most part, but with religious buildings everybody looks for meaning. in answer, zumthor offers a refined little riddle of a building, at all stages offering us clues, at no time displaying overt symbolism.

 

the interior concrete surface of the chapel makes the old brutalists look a little timid by comparison. as they would have appreciated, it reflects the process of construction, an aspect of architecture neglected by most architects today.

 

in life, we are judged by our actions, and architecture, as ruskin taught us long ago when he established the moral superiority of gothic based on the working conditions of its artisan builders, is no different.

 

for the chapel, zumthor developed a primitive building technique which could be - as I have understood it - executed by the people expected to use it afterwards.

 

trees felled in the vicinity were tied together in a tee-pee shape which became the inner formwork, triangular in section. the outer formwork was a much simpler vertical slipform. a dry concrete mortar was stamped into the cavity between the two forms. finally, a slow-burning fire was lit on the floor, drying out and shrinking the tree trunks, disengaging them but at the same time blackening the walls.

 

the process is explained much better here.

 

the building you meet is less primitive than its construction. I was immediately struck by the concrete. the technology of using dry mortar is roman in origin and that seemed a perfect starting point for what is essentially a roman catholic shrine. when the door was opened, the dark triangular space seemed to tell a very different story. "gothic", was my first thought but then, as my eyes grew accustomed to the dark, the imprint of the tree trunks took on an overpowering presence, reminding me of roman descriptions of meetings with their germanic neighbours and how the kings would hold court in simple log houses.

 

I don't believe there is a linear narrative waiting to be uncovered in the succession of apparent contradictions but there is a sense of being connected with the entire history of architecture, of witnessing a dialogue through time, in the way some of louis kahn's or utzon's buildings do.

 

if anything, the almost violent texture of the torched concrete brings us closer to certain conditions in modern art - zumthor has mentioned the arte povera movement as an inspiration.

 

again, thanks to chris for making us go out there.

 

more zumthor.

more words, yada, yada, yada.

 

this photo was uploaded with a CC license and may be used free of charge and in any way you see fit.

if possible, please name photographer "SEIER+SEIER".

if not, don't.

Graffiti (plural; singular graffiti or graffito, the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire (see also mural).

 

Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban "problem" for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions

 

"Graffiti" (usually both singular and plural) and the rare singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). The term "graffiti" is used in art history for works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito", which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it. This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch a design into them. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek γράφειν—graphein—meaning "to write".

 

The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Historically, these writings were not considered vanadlism, which today is considered part of the definition of graffiti.

 

The only known source of the Safaitic language, an ancient form of Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.

 

Some of the oldest cave paintings in the world are 40,000 year old ones found in Australia. The oldest written graffiti was found in ancient Rome around 2500 years ago. Most graffiti from the time was boasts about sexual experiences Graffiti in Ancient Rome was a form of communication, and was not considered vandalism.

 

Ancient tourists visiting the 5th-century citadel at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka write their names and commentary over the "mirror wall", adding up to over 1800 individual graffiti produced there between the 6th and 18th centuries. Most of the graffiti refer to the frescoes of semi-nude females found there. One reads:

 

Wet with cool dew drops

fragrant with perfume from the flowers

came the gentle breeze

jasmine and water lily

dance in the spring sunshine

side-long glances

of the golden-hued ladies

stab into my thoughts

heaven itself cannot take my mind

as it has been captivated by one lass

among the five hundred I have seen here.

 

Among the ancient political graffiti examples were Arab satirist poems. Yazid al-Himyari, an Umayyad Arab and Persian poet, was most known for writing his political poetry on the walls between Sajistan and Basra, manifesting a strong hatred towards the Umayyad regime and its walis, and people used to read and circulate them very widely.

 

Graffiti, known as Tacherons, were frequently scratched on Romanesque Scandinavian church walls. When Renaissance artists such as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio, or Filippino Lippi descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, they carved or painted their names and returned to initiate the grottesche style of decoration.

 

There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as Independence Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail.

 

Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s. Lord Byron's survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.

 

The oldest known example of graffiti "monikers" found on traincars created by hobos and railworkers since the late 1800s. The Bozo Texino monikers were documented by filmmaker Bill Daniel in his 2005 film, Who is Bozo Texino?.

 

In World War II, an inscription on a wall at the fortress of Verdun was seen as an illustration of the US response twice in a generation to the wrongs of the Old World:

 

During World War II and for decades after, the phrase "Kilroy was here" with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately filtering into American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives".

 

Modern graffiti art has its origins with young people in 1960s and 70s in New York City and Philadelphia. Tags were the first form of stylised contemporary graffiti. Eventually, throw-ups and pieces evolved with the desire to create larger art. Writers used spray paint and other kind of materials to leave tags or to create images on the sides subway trains. and eventually moved into the city after the NYC metro began to buy new trains and paint over graffiti.

 

While the art had many advocates and appreciators—including the cultural critic Norman Mailer—others, including New York City mayor Ed Koch, considered it to be defacement of public property, and saw it as a form of public blight. The ‘taggers’ called what they did ‘writing’—though an important 1974 essay by Mailer referred to it using the term ‘graffiti.’

 

Contemporary graffiti style has been heavily influenced by hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from Philadelphia and New York City Subway graffiti; however, there are many other traditions of notable graffiti in the twentieth century. Graffiti have long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges.

 

An early graffito outside of New York or Philadelphia was the inscription in London reading "Clapton is God" in reference to the guitarist Eric Clapton. Creating the cult of the guitar hero, the phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington, north London in the autumn of 1967. The graffito was captured in a photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall.

 

Films like Style Wars in the 80s depicting famous writers such as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne, and ZEPHYR reinforced graffiti's role within New York's emerging hip-hop culture. Although many officers of the New York City Police Department found this film to be controversial, Style Wars is still recognized as the most prolific film representation of what was going on within the young hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 took hip hop graffiti to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour in 1983

 

Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop culture

Main article: Commercial graffiti

With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco which involved people spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linux mascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for punitive damages and clean-up costs.

 

In 2005, a similar ad campaign was launched by Sony and executed by its advertising agency in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami, to market its handheld PSP gaming system. In this campaign, taking notice of the legal problems of the IBM campaign, Sony paid building owners for the rights to paint on their buildings "a collection of dizzy-eyed urban kids playing with the PSP as if it were a skateboard, a paddle, or a rocking horse".

 

Tristan Manco wrote that Brazil "boasts a unique and particularly rich, graffiti scene ... [earning] it an international reputation as the place to go for artistic inspiration". Graffiti "flourishes in every conceivable space in Brazil's cities". Artistic parallels "are often drawn between the energy of São Paulo today and 1970s New York". The "sprawling metropolis", of São Paulo has "become the new shrine to graffiti"; Manco alludes to "poverty and unemployment ... [and] the epic struggles and conditions of the country's marginalised peoples", and to "Brazil's chronic poverty", as the main engines that "have fuelled a vibrant graffiti culture". In world terms, Brazil has "one of the most uneven distributions of income. Laws and taxes change frequently". Such factors, Manco argues, contribute to a very fluid society, riven with those economic divisions and social tensions that underpin and feed the "folkloric vandalism and an urban sport for the disenfranchised", that is South American graffiti art.

 

Prominent Brazilian writers include Os Gêmeos, Boleta, Nunca, Nina, Speto, Tikka, and T.Freak. Their artistic success and involvement in commercial design ventures has highlighted divisions within the Brazilian graffiti community between adherents of the cruder transgressive form of pichação and the more conventionally artistic values of the practitioners of grafite.

 

Graffiti in the Middle East has emerged slowly, with taggers operating in Egypt, Lebanon, the Gulf countries like Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and in Iran. The major Iranian newspaper Hamshahri has published two articles on illegal writers in the city with photographic coverage of Iranian artist A1one's works on Tehran walls. Tokyo-based design magazine, PingMag, has interviewed A1one and featured photographs of his work. The Israeli West Bank barrier has become a site for graffiti, reminiscent in this sense of the Berlin Wall. Many writers in Israel come from other places around the globe, such as JUIF from Los Angeles and DEVIONE from London. The religious reference "נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן" ("Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman") is commonly seen in graffiti around Israel.

 

Graffiti has played an important role within the street art scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially following the events of the Arab Spring of 2011 or the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/19. Graffiti is a tool of expression in the context of conflict in the region, allowing people to raise their voices politically and socially. Famous street artist Banksy has had an important effect in the street art scene in the MENA area, especially in Palestine where some of his works are located in the West Bank barrier and Bethlehem.

 

There are also a large number of graffiti influences in Southeast Asian countries that mostly come from modern Western culture, such as Malaysia, where graffiti have long been a common sight in Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Since 2010, the country has begun hosting a street festival to encourage all generations and people from all walks of life to enjoy and encourage Malaysian street culture.

 

The modern-day graffitists can be found with an arsenal of various materials that allow for a successful production of a piece. This includes such techniques as scribing. However, spray paint in aerosol cans is the number one medium for graffiti. From this commodity comes different styles, technique, and abilities to form master works of graffiti. Spray paint can be found at hardware and art stores and comes in virtually every color.

 

Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as cardboard or subject folders) to form an overall design or image. The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface.

 

Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists Blek le Rat in Paris, in 1982 by Jef Aerosol in Tours (France); by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis

 

Tagging is the practice of someone spray-painting "their name, initial or logo onto a public surface" in a handstyle unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.

 

Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, Graffiti Research Lab has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic light-emitting diodes (throwies) as new media for graffitists. yarnbombing is another recent form of graffiti. Yarnbombers occasionally target previous graffiti for modification, which had been avoided among the majority of graffitists.

 

Theories on the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Asger Jorn, who in 1962 painting declared in a graffiti-like gesture "the avant-garde won't give up"

 

Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or, in the achievement of a political goal

 

In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically, or racially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effective tools in establishing dialog and thus, of addressing cleavages in the long run. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR.

 

Many artists involved with graffiti are also concerned with the similar activity of stenciling. Essentially, this entails stenciling a print of one or more colors using spray-paint. Recognized while exhibiting and publishing several of her coloured stencils and paintings portraying the Sri Lankan Civil War and urban Britain in the early 2000s, graffitists Mathangi Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has also become known for integrating her imagery of political violence into her music videos for singles "Galang" and "Bucky Done Gun", and her cover art. Stickers of her artwork also often appear around places such as London in Brick Lane, stuck to lamp posts and street signs, she having become a muse for other graffitists and painters worldwide in cities including Seville.

 

Graffitist believes that art should be on display for everyone in the public eye or in plain sight, not hidden away in a museum or a gallery. Art should color the streets, not the inside of some building. Graffiti is a form of art that cannot be owned or bought. It does not last forever, it is temporary, yet one of a kind. It is a form of self promotion for the artist that can be displayed anywhere form sidewalks, roofs, subways, building wall, etc. Art to them is for everyone and should be showed to everyone for free.

 

Graffiti is a way of communicating and a way of expressing what one feels in the moment. It is both art and a functional thing that can warn people of something or inform people of something. However, graffiti is to some people a form of art, but to some a form of vandalism. And many graffitists choose to protect their identities and remain anonymous or to hinder prosecution.

 

With the commercialization of graffiti (and hip hop in general), in most cases, even with legally painted "graffiti" art, graffitists tend to choose anonymity. This may be attributed to various reasons or a combination of reasons. Graffiti still remains the one of four hip hop elements that is not considered "performance art" despite the image of the "singing and dancing star" that sells hip hop culture to the mainstream. Being a graphic form of art, it might also be said that many graffitists still fall in the category of the introverted archetypal artist.

 

Banksy is one of the world's most notorious and popular street artists who continues to remain faceless in today's society. He is known for his political, anti-war stencil art mainly in Bristol, England, but his work may be seen anywhere from Los Angeles to Palestine. In the UK, Banksy is the most recognizable icon for this cultural artistic movement and keeps his identity a secret to avoid arrest. Much of Banksy's artwork may be seen around the streets of London and surrounding suburbs, although he has painted pictures throughout the world, including the Middle East, where he has painted on Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side. One depicted a hole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows a mountain landscape on the other side. A number of exhibitions also have taken place since 2000, and recent works of art have fetched vast sums of money. Banksy's art is a prime example of the classic controversy: vandalism vs. art. Art supporters endorse his work distributed in urban areas as pieces of art and some councils, such as Bristol and Islington, have officially protected them, while officials of other areas have deemed his work to be vandalism and have removed it.

 

Pixnit is another artist who chooses to keep her identity from the general public. Her work focuses on beauty and design aspects of graffiti as opposed to Banksy's anti-government shock value. Her paintings are often of flower designs above shops and stores in her local urban area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some store owners endorse her work and encourage others to do similar work as well. "One of the pieces was left up above Steve's Kitchen, because it looks pretty awesome"- Erin Scott, the manager of New England Comics in Allston, Massachusetts.

 

Graffiti artists may become offended if photographs of their art are published in a commercial context without their permission. In March 2020, the Finnish graffiti artist Psyke expressed his displeasure at the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat publishing a photograph of a Peugeot 208 in an article about new cars, with his graffiti prominently shown on the background. The artist claims he does not want his art being used in commercial context, not even if he were to receive compensation.

 

Territorial graffiti marks urban neighborhoods with tags and logos to differentiate certain groups from others. These images are meant to show outsiders a stern look at whose turf is whose. The subject matter of gang-related graffiti consists of cryptic symbols and initials strictly fashioned with unique calligraphies. Gang members use graffiti to designate membership throughout the gang, to differentiate rivals and associates and, most commonly, to mark borders which are both territorial and ideological.

 

Graffiti has been used as a means of advertising both legally and illegally. Bronx-based TATS CRU has made a name for themselves doing legal advertising campaigns for companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Toyota, and MTV. In the UK, Covent Garden's Boxfresh used stencil images of a Zapatista revolutionary in the hopes that cross referencing would promote their store.

 

Smirnoff hired artists to use reverse graffiti (the use of high pressure hoses to clean dirty surfaces to leave a clean image in the surrounding dirt) to increase awareness of their product.

 

Graffiti often has a reputation as part of a subculture that rebels against authority, although the considerations of the practitioners often diverge and can relate to a wide range of attitudes. It can express a political practice and can form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. One early example includes the anarcho-punk band Crass, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist, and anti-consumerist messages throughout the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Amsterdam graffiti was a major part of the punk scene. The city was covered with names such as "De Zoot", "Vendex", and "Dr Rat". To document the graffiti a punk magazine was started that was called Gallery Anus. So when hip hop came to Europe in the early 1980s there was already a vibrant graffiti culture.

 

The student protests and general strike of May 1968 saw Paris bedecked in revolutionary, anarchistic, and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counterrevolutionary") and Lisez moins, vivez plus ("Read less, live more"). While not exhaustive, the graffiti gave a sense of the 'millenarian' and rebellious spirit, tempered with a good deal of verbal wit, of the strikers.

 

I think graffiti writing is a way of defining what our generation is like. Excuse the French, we're not a bunch of p---- artists. Traditionally artists have been considered soft and mellow people, a little bit kooky. Maybe we're a little bit more like pirates that way. We defend our territory, whatever space we steal to paint on, we defend it fiercely.

 

The developments of graffiti art which took place in art galleries and colleges as well as "on the street" or "underground", contributed to the resurfacing in the 1990s of a far more overtly politicized art form in the subvertising, culture jamming, or tactical media movements. These movements or styles tend to classify the artists by their relationship to their social and economic contexts, since, in most countries, graffiti art remains illegal in many forms except when using non-permanent paint. Since the 1990s with the rise of Street Art, a growing number of artists are switching to non-permanent paints and non-traditional forms of painting.

 

Contemporary practitioners, accordingly, have varied and often conflicting practices. Some individuals, such as Alexander Brener, have used the medium to politicize other art forms, and have used the prison sentences enforced on them as a means of further protest. The practices of anonymous groups and individuals also vary widely, and practitioners by no means always agree with each other's practices. For example, the anti-capitalist art group the Space Hijackers did a piece in 2004 about the contradiction between the capitalistic elements of Banksy and his use of political imagery.

 

Berlin human rights activist Irmela Mensah-Schramm has received global media attention and numerous awards for her 35-year campaign of effacing neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist graffiti throughout Germany, often by altering hate speech in humorous ways.

 

In Serbian capital, Belgrade, the graffiti depicting a uniformed former general of Serb army and war criminal, convicted at ICTY for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnian War, Ratko Mladić, appeared in a military salute alongside the words "General, thank to your mother". Aleks Eror, Berlin-based journalist, explains how "veneration of historical and wartime figures" through street art is not a new phenomenon in the region of former Yugoslavia, and that "in most cases is firmly focused on the future, rather than retelling the past". Eror is not only analyst pointing to danger of such an expressions for the region's future. In a long expose on the subject of Bosnian genocide denial, at Balkan Diskurs magazine and multimedia platform website, Kristina Gadže and Taylor Whitsell referred to these experiences as a young generations' "cultural heritage", in which young are being exposed to celebration and affirmation of war-criminals as part of their "formal education" and "inheritance".

 

There are numerous examples of genocide denial through celebration and affirmation of war criminals throughout the region of Western Balkans inhabited by Serbs using this form of artistic expression. Several more of these graffiti are found in Serbian capital, and many more across Serbia and Bosnian and Herzegovinian administrative entity, Republika Srpska, which is the ethnic Serbian majority enclave. Critics point that Serbia as a state, is willing to defend the mural of convicted war criminal, and have no intention to react on cases of genocide denial, noting that Interior Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin decision to ban any gathering with an intent to remove the mural, with the deployment of riot police, sends the message of "tacit endorsement". Consequently, on 9 November 2021, Serbian heavy police in riot gear, with graffiti creators and their supporters, blocked the access to the mural to prevent human rights groups and other activists to paint over it and mark the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism in that way, and even arrested two civic activist for throwing eggs at the graffiti.

 

Graffiti may also be used as an offensive expression. This form of graffiti may be difficult to identify, as it is mostly removed by the local authority (as councils which have adopted strategies of criminalization also strive to remove graffiti quickly). Therefore, existing racist graffiti is mostly more subtle and at first sight, not easily recognized as "racist". It can then be understood only if one knows the relevant "local code" (social, historical, political, temporal, and spatial), which is seen as heteroglot and thus a 'unique set of conditions' in a cultural context.

 

A spatial code for example, could be that there is a certain youth group in an area that is engaging heavily in racist activities. So, for residents (knowing the local code), a graffiti containing only the name or abbreviation of this gang already is a racist expression, reminding the offended people of their gang activities. Also a graffiti is in most cases, the herald of more serious criminal activity to come. A person who does not know these gang activities would not be able to recognize the meaning of this graffiti. Also if a tag of this youth group or gang is placed on a building occupied by asylum seekers, for example, its racist character is even stronger.

By making the graffiti less explicit (as adapted to social and legal constraints), these drawings are less likely to be removed, but do not lose their threatening and offensive character.

 

Elsewhere, activists in Russia have used painted caricatures of local officials with their mouths as potholes, to show their anger about the poor state of the roads. In Manchester, England, a graffitists painted obscene images around potholes, which often resulted in them being repaired within 48 hours.

 

In the early 1980s, the first art galleries to show graffitists to the public were Fashion Moda in the Bronx, Now Gallery and Fun Gallery, both in the East Village, Manhattan.

 

A 2006 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum displayed graffiti as an art form that began in New York's outer boroughs and reached great heights in the early 1980s with the work of Crash, Lee, Daze, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It displayed 22 works by New York graffitists, including Crash, Daze, and Lady Pink. In an article about the exhibition in the magazine Time Out, curator Charlotta Kotik said that she hoped the exhibition would cause viewers to rethink their assumptions about graffiti.

 

From the 1970s onwards, Burhan Doğançay photographed urban walls all over the world; these he then archived for use as sources of inspiration for his painterly works. The project today known as "Walls of the World" grew beyond even his own expectations and comprises about 30,000 individual images. It spans a period of 40 years across five continents and 114 countries. In 1982, photographs from this project comprised a one-man exhibition titled "Les murs murmurent, ils crient, ils chantent ..." (The walls whisper, shout and sing ...) at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

 

In Australia, art historians have judged some local graffiti of sufficient creative merit to rank them firmly within the arts. Oxford University Press's art history text Australian Painting 1788–2000 concludes with a long discussion of graffiti's key place within contemporary visual culture, including the work of several Australian practitioners.

 

Between March and April 2009, 150 artists exhibited 300 pieces of graffiti at the Grand Palais in Paris.

 

Spray paint has many negative environmental effects. The paint contains toxic chemicals, and the can uses volatile hydrocarbon gases to spray the paint onto a surface.

 

Volatile organic compound (VOC) leads to ground level ozone formation and most of graffiti related emissions are VOCs. A 2010 paper estimates 4,862 tons of VOCs were released in the United States in activities related to graffiti.

  

In China, Mao Zedong in the 1920s used revolutionary slogans and paintings in public places to galvanize the country's communist movement.

 

Based on different national conditions, many people believe that China's attitude towards Graffiti is fierce, but in fact, according to Lance Crayon in his film Spray Paint Beijing: Graffiti in the Capital of China, Graffiti is generally accepted in Beijing, with artists not seeing much police interference. Political and religiously sensitive graffiti, however, is not allowed.

 

In Hong Kong, Tsang Tsou Choi was known as the King of Kowloon for his calligraphy graffiti over many years, in which he claimed ownership of the area. Now some of his work is preserved officially.

 

In Taiwan, the government has made some concessions to graffitists. Since 2005 they have been allowed to freely display their work along some sections of riverside retaining walls in designated "Graffiti Zones". From 2007, Taipei's department of cultural affairs also began permitting graffiti on fences around major public construction sites. Department head Yong-ping Lee (李永萍) stated, "We will promote graffiti starting with the public sector, and then later in the private sector too. It's our goal to beautify the city with graffiti". The government later helped organize a graffiti contest in Ximending, a popular shopping district. graffitists caught working outside of these designated areas still face fines up to NT$6,000 under a department of environmental protection regulation. However, Taiwanese authorities can be relatively lenient, one veteran police officer stating anonymously, "Unless someone complains about vandalism, we won't get involved. We don't go after it proactively."

 

In 1993, after several expensive cars in Singapore were spray-painted, the police arrested a student from the Singapore American School, Michael P. Fay, questioned him, and subsequently charged him with vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing a car in addition to stealing road signs. Under the 1966 Vandalism Act of Singapore, originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore, the court sentenced him to four months in jail, a fine of S$3,500 (US$2,233), and a caning. The New York Times ran several editorials and op-eds that condemned the punishment and called on the American public to flood the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singapore government received many calls for clemency, Fay's caning took place in Singapore on 5 May 1994. Fay had originally received a sentence of six strokes of the cane, but the presiding president of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong, agreed to reduce his caning sentence to four lashes.

 

In South Korea, Park Jung-soo was fined two million South Korean won by the Seoul Central District Court for spray-painting a rat on posters of the G-20 Summit a few days before the event in November 2011. Park alleged that the initial in "G-20" sounds like the Korean word for "rat", but Korean government prosecutors alleged that Park was making a derogatory statement about the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, the host of the summit. This case led to public outcry and debate on the lack of government tolerance and in support of freedom of expression. The court ruled that the painting, "an ominous creature like a rat" amounts to "an organized criminal activity" and upheld the fine while denying the prosecution's request for imprisonment for Park.

 

In Europe, community cleaning squads have responded to graffiti, in some cases with reckless abandon, as when in 1992 in France a local Scout group, attempting to remove modern graffiti, damaged two prehistoric paintings of bison in the Cave of Mayrière supérieure near the French village of Bruniquel in Tarn-et-Garonne, earning them the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in archeology.

 

In September 2006, the European Parliament directed the European Commission to create urban environment policies to prevent and eliminate dirt, litter, graffiti, animal excrement, and excessive noise from domestic and vehicular music systems in European cities, along with other concerns over urban life.

 

In Budapest, Hungary, both a city-backed movement called I Love Budapest and a special police division tackle the problem, including the provision of approved areas.

 

The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 became Britain's latest anti-graffiti legislation. In August 2004, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign issued a press release calling for zero tolerance of graffiti and supporting proposals such as issuing "on the spot" fines to graffiti offenders and banning the sale of aerosol paint to anyone under the age of 16. The press release also condemned the use of graffiti images in advertising and in music videos, arguing that real-world experience of graffiti stood far removed from its often-portrayed "cool" or "edgy'" image.

 

To back the campaign, 123 Members of Parliament (MPs) (including then Prime Minister Tony Blair), signed a charter which stated: "Graffiti is not art, it's crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do all I can to rid our community of this problem."

 

In the UK, city councils have the power to take action against the owner of any property that has been defaced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) or, in certain cases, the Highways Act. This is often used against owners of property that are complacent in allowing protective boards to be defaced so long as the property is not damaged.

 

In July 2008, a conspiracy charge was used to convict graffitists for the first time. After a three-month police surveillance operation, nine members of the DPM crew were convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage costing at least £1 million. Five of them received prison sentences, ranging from eighteen months to two years. The unprecedented scale of the investigation and the severity of the sentences rekindled public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or crime.

 

Some councils, like those of Stroud and Loerrach, provide approved areas in the town where graffitists can showcase their talents, including underpasses, car parks, and walls that might otherwise prove a target for the "spray and run".

 

Graffiti Tunnel, University of Sydney at Camperdown (2009)

In an effort to reduce vandalism, many cities in Australia have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffitists. One early example is the "Graffiti Tunnel" located at the Camperdown Campus of the University of Sydney, which is available for use by any student at the university to tag, advertise, poster, and paint. Advocates of this idea suggest that this discourages petty vandalism yet encourages artists to take their time and produce great art, without worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing.[108][109] Others disagree with this approach, arguing that the presence of legal graffiti walls does not demonstrably reduce illegal graffiti elsewhere. Some local government areas throughout Australia have introduced "anti-graffiti squads", who clean graffiti in the area, and such crews as BCW (Buffers Can't Win) have taken steps to keep one step ahead of local graffiti cleaners.

 

Many state governments have banned the sale or possession of spray paint to those under the age of 18 (age of majority). However, a number of local governments in Victoria have taken steps to recognize the cultural heritage value of some examples of graffiti, such as prominent political graffiti. Tough new graffiti laws have been introduced in Australia with fines of up to A$26,000 and two years in prison.

 

Melbourne is a prominent graffiti city of Australia with many of its lanes being tourist attractions, such as Hosier Lane in particular, a popular destination for photographers, wedding photography, and backdrops for corporate print advertising. The Lonely Planet travel guide cites Melbourne's street as a major attraction. All forms of graffiti, including sticker art, poster, stencil art, and wheatpasting, can be found in many places throughout the city. Prominent street art precincts include; Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, Brunswick, St. Kilda, and the CBD, where stencil and sticker art is prominent. As one moves farther away from the city, mostly along suburban train lines, graffiti tags become more prominent. Many international artists such as Banksy have left their work in Melbourne and in early 2008 a perspex screen was installed to prevent a Banksy stencil art piece from being destroyed, it has survived since 2003 through the respect of local street artists avoiding posting over it, although it has recently had paint tipped over it.

 

In February 2008 Helen Clark, the New Zealand prime minister at that time, announced a government crackdown on tagging and other forms of graffiti vandalism, describing it as a destructive crime representing an invasion of public and private property. New legislation subsequently adopted included a ban on the sale of paint spray cans to persons under 18 and increases in maximum fines for the offence from NZ$200 to NZ$2,000 or extended community service. The issue of tagging become a widely debated one following an incident in Auckland during January 2008 in which a middle-aged property owner stabbed one of two teenage taggers to death and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.

 

Graffiti databases have increased in the past decade because they allow vandalism incidents to be fully documented against an offender and help the police and prosecution charge and prosecute offenders for multiple counts of vandalism. They also provide law enforcement the ability to rapidly search for an offender's moniker or tag in a simple, effective, and comprehensive way. These systems can also help track costs of damage to a city to help allocate an anti-graffiti budget. The theory is that when an offender is caught putting up graffiti, they are not just charged with one count of vandalism; they can be held accountable for all the other damage for which they are responsible. This has two main benefits for law enforcement. One, it sends a signal to the offenders that their vandalism is being tracked. Two, a city can seek restitution from offenders for all the damage that they have committed, not merely a single incident. These systems give law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them not only to focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.

 

Many restrictions of civil gang injunctions are designed to help address and protect the physical environment and limit graffiti. Provisions of gang injunctions include things such as restricting the possession of marker pens, spray paint cans, or other sharp objects capable of defacing private or public property; spray painting, or marking with marker pens, scratching, applying stickers, or otherwise applying graffiti on any public or private property, including, but not limited to the street, alley, residences, block walls, and fences, vehicles or any other real or personal property. Some injunctions contain wording that restricts damaging or vandalizing both public and private property, including but not limited to any vehicle, light fixture, door, fence, wall, gate, window, building, street sign, utility box, telephone box, tree, or power pole.

 

To help address many of these issues, many local jurisdictions have set up graffiti abatement hotlines, where citizens can call in and report vandalism and have it removed. San Diego's hotline receives more than 5,000 calls per year, in addition to reporting the graffiti, callers can learn more about prevention. One of the complaints about these hotlines is the response time; there is often a lag time between a property owner calling about the graffiti and its removal. The length of delay should be a consideration for any jurisdiction planning on operating a hotline. Local jurisdictions must convince the callers that their complaint of vandalism will be a priority and cleaned off right away. If the jurisdiction does not have the resources to respond to complaints in a timely manner, the value of the hotline diminishes. Crews must be able to respond to individual service calls made to the graffiti hotline as well as focus on cleanup near schools, parks, and major intersections and transit routes to have the biggest impact. Some cities offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of suspects for tagging or graffiti related vandalism. The amount of the reward is based on the information provided, and the action taken.

 

When police obtain search warrants in connection with a vandalism investigation, they are often seeking judicial approval to look for items such as cans of spray paint and nozzles from other kinds of aerosol sprays; etching tools, or other sharp or pointed objects, which could be used to etch or scratch glass and other hard surfaces; permanent marking pens, markers, or paint sticks; evidence of membership or affiliation with any gang or tagging crew; paraphernalia including any reference to "(tagger's name)"; any drawings, writing, objects, or graffiti depicting taggers' names, initials, logos, monikers, slogans, or any mention of tagging crew membership; and any newspaper clippings relating to graffiti crime.

Our route back to Zurich took us near German border, so it seemed fitting that we should cross to Füssen and see the most famous castle in Europe. Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the most overt tourist traps I've ever been to. Thankfully, it wasn't entirely a waste—the view of the castle during the ascent made for a unique angle that framed the castle in its greener surroundings, harkening back to days preceding its current tourist epidemic.

 

Füssen, Bavaria, Germany.

I choose to share some photographs because they are particularly aesthetically pleasing. Others such as this example are less overt in their visual power, and can be considered mediocre and less eye-catching.

 

Nevertheless, I retain a certain fondness for pictures such as this when I find reasons to not only enjoy it, but also to still share it.

 

This example is oddly pleasing to me, in terms of facets such as the balance of elements. The duo next to the train seem to complete it, and of course there is the one overriding 'Get out of jail free' card for all photographs: regardless of aesthetic power and merit, it still ostensibly captures a moment in history.

Whenever I use a watermark I do try to do so unobtrusively. If people look at your image and comment on your watermark, it means either your watermark is too overt, or your photo is not that good, and does not need the watermark because it is not worth stealing.

Well. that was a bit of fun, and if you really want to "steal" this image, feel free to do so.

 

ALL IMAGES ARE BEST seen On Black, yours too!

 

Persian buttercups (Ranunculus asiaticus) is a perennial plant that can grow to be a foot and a half tall. They have blooms that resemble roses.

Some species are popular ornamental flowers in horticulture, with many cultivars selected for large and brightly coloured flowers.

Here mixed with some dwarf Daffodils, yellow with orange trumpets.

What got me 'in' to 'flower-photography', was that I wanted to know more about lighting... That was 25 years ago, flowers seemed the perfect subject matter, because of their different colours, shapes, textures, great variety and 'characters', I'd had many a garden, grown my own, so, I started out with an advantage, I knew about flowers...

I found a niche in the market, for overt 10 years now people have been 'raving' about them, asking me how I 'do' it?

There is NO magic formula, each flower is unique and treated as such! I do NOT consider myself a 'flower-photographer' but a photographer who knows how to use lighting well...

 

Glad you enjoy them.

  

Thank you for your visit, so very much appreciated, Magda, (*_*)

 

For more of my work visit here: www.indigo2photography.com

IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

 

The top half of a portrait of St. Rayon de Soleil.

I think many can understand what I mean when I say that we each have different faces we put on for different people, different occasions. Portraiture for me often involves locating some of those stray faces, the ones we are not super familiar with, and inviting them to come out from the margins.

Similarly, artists create different works for different audiences. The work I made for sites before Instagram is markedly different than the work the instagram audience sees. Instragram seems to ignore my more arty work, and craves bold colors, saturated tones and overtly sexy bodies with a lot of exposed skin. Images that fit this formula generate massively more likes and comments on instgram than anything else I post. And increasingly, people who are looking for that kind of work seek me out to book portrait sessions.

Over the last several months I've set up a subscription site where I have been posting things that are not appropriate for social media, and as this grows more and more popular, I feel my own work shifting to accomodate it. At the moment I feel like I am producing two distinct bodies of work, but paradoxically I've observed that the more free I am in creating nude content, the more clearly I can see the value and shape of my larger portrait project. I find myself longing for images like this one - the uncensored version of which is on my subscription page - which seamlessly bridges the gap between my peculiar take on portraiture and whatevever it is that is happening on my Patreon. I encourage you to come and see for yourself! I'm very proud of the work that is developing there and so happy to have an audience for it.

A voice rings out from the page:

 

"Perhaps if you could count to three first, as those small, awkwardly clad creatures did - oh, or now. Now it is then.

 

Greetings, honored patron. The Floating Mountain Teahouse cordially invites you to the first tea brewing of the year, also known as hatsugama. We are pleased to present for your delicate palate Bai Hao Yin Zhen, a delicate white tea from the Fujian province of China; a fitting tea for new beginnings as it is cultivated from the first delicate buds of the tea plants. We shall also be pleased to serve you complimentary Hanabira Mochi, a traditional New Year's confection, and Ozoni お雑煮, a special miso-based soup enjoyed in the morning on New Year’s Day in Japan.

 

Of course, at Floating Mountain we would be remiss if we were not to mark the occasion with some small token of appreciation to our most honored and loyal patrons. *small chimes* Well, no, not /those/ patrons. I'm certain we can pick those out by the scars on their toe-- ahem. That is.

 

Once we have enjoyed a refreshing cup of tea with which to begin this most auspicious Year of the Ox, I have arranged with the spirit of the Aether District Shine to allow for omikuji fortune readings - although I have been informed by the spirit in No Uncertain Terms that this is but a once a year proceeding. They have threatened the most Dire of Consequences if they are pestered outside of this occasion. *a few more chimes* Yes, well, that would be amusing, certainly but I did say I would at least warn. Whether they choose to listen or not is up to them, so perhaps--

 

Should your fortune be ill, a pine structure to tie your fortune will be provided. This tradition ties (ha) to a pun with the word for “pine” (松, matsu) and the word for “wait” (待つ, matsu); encouraging one's ill luck to wait by the pine rather than accompanying you on your travels - unless that is what you wish, of course. I make no judgment on the matter. Well... not overtly, shall we say.

 

Until we meet, honored patron! May your New Year be favorable.

 

Now - no wait, not that one, the next-! *there is a sound of breaking glasses before the voice cuts off*

 

((OOC tl;dr First Year's Tea and Fortunes on Jan 8 at 5pm SLT at the Floating Mountain Teahouse))

 

This is a fun study in the anatomy of a snowflake, because it’s the SAME snowflake photographed on both sides. It’s fun to see the differences and compare!

 

The top left branch of the left image matches to the top branch of the right image. When I was done photographing the snowflake on one side, I used a small artist’s paintbrush to gently flip the snowflake over to shoot the other side of it. Because of the lack of accuracy in that process I couldn’t get it from exactly the same angle / alignment, but you can still easily compare features.

 

For the previous snowflake in the series, I commented that surface details are only on one side of a snowflake – the other side is often completely smooth with the exception of curved lines caused by inward crystal growth. While you might have been able to image this previously, here it is clear to see! We even have a large central hexagon sitting on top, the result of a capped column growing plates out of either side. One plate stayed smaller because the larger plate must have been facing the wind and grew slightly larger. Once this happens, its larger footprint prevents the smaller plate from keeping up and its growth slows, staying gem-like in the center.

 

The two images were edited separately for all of the focus stacking efforts and then composited together. There were a few flaws in each, like small debris on the surface or fibers from the mitten interacting and these were cloned away. Using the opposite image, it was helpful in recreating the same visual structures for added accuracy to the edit. If the average snowflake image takes me four hours to put together, this one was closer to eight hours across three days.

 

Shot on the Lumix GH5S – very powerful video camera and extremely high quality stills camera, albeit only 12 megapixels based on its design focus for 4K video. I get to double that up for an image like this, so the final “pair” will make a nice print. Thinking of putting this one up in my studio. For those that don’t know, all of my snowflake images are available as prints as well. I do all of the printing here in-house on a large format printer, typically favouring a metallic satin paper. It’s not overtly shiny, just a subtle almost subliminal shimmer that adds depth to these snowflake images. Each one comes with a signed and numbered certificate as well. :)

 

For all the extra effort, this image is meaningful for what it presents: extra insight into how a snowflake forms in plain sight. I’m still not sure exactly WHY a snowflake forms features on only one side, but here we have very good evidence that supports just that! If you want to dive into all sorts of approachable snowflake science or just want to learn how to make images like this for yourself, grab a copy of Sky Crystals here: skycrystals.ca/product/sky-crystals-unraveling-the-myster... - 304 pages. If you like this post, you’ll love the book.

Another image in my sunflower series in support of Ukraine, this is from a “chocolate” cultivar with completely brown petals. The pollen still glows brightly like most sunflowers, but interestingly there is no visible “bullseye” pattern in the ultraviolet spectrum that pollinators can see. I suppose that shouldn’t be a surprise with human-influenced cultivars; we didn’t selectively breed these sunflowers for the insects, we created them for their beauty in the visible spectrum.

 

Unlike a straight-on view, the sharp difference between the petals and the pollen in the center deserved to be framed in a different way. At this angle, the petals interact more with the center, almost like they are staying warm around a fiery heat of a campfire. I can imagine many soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine doing just that in the weeks and months ahead as winter approaches.

 

There has been a lot of news since my last post, including the announcement today that Putin has begin a “partial” mobilization of its citizens – in other words, forced conscription. But before we get to that, I was worried that when investigations began in newly-liberated territory in Ukraine, the world would discover atrocities like those discovered in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. Sadly, this is true. I hate to write about the details, but I feel the world needs to know some of these stories.

 

I’ll try not to be too graphic, but at least one mass grave of 450 individuals has been discovered in Izyum. The bodies are being exhumed, inspected for war crimes and cause of death, and hopefully identified. Some had nooses around their necks. One man was found with his hands tied behind his back, obvious signs of torture (crushed testicles, among other things), and many others with overt signs of distress or torture before their murder. There are also occurrences of sexual assault of children. You can imagine that these are not isolated incidents, and the monsters that committed these crimes are likely still at large, in the reconstituted front lines.

 

The retreat from places like Izyum were so chaotic that the Russian forces dropped whatever they were doing and fled. They left a lot behind, including a number of tanks, armoured personnel vehicles and support equipment effectively amount to a complete battalion. In full working order. This includes some of their latest equipment such as a T-90M tank which only entered into service in 2019. Russia inadvertently is becoming one of the biggest weapons suppliers to Ukraine, when other nations (Germany is a great example) have been setting up roadblocks for the delivery of modern tanks. In sure that more “gifts” from Russia will be discovered and put to use in the >6000 square kilometers that the Ukrainian forces have liberated since the beginning of the month.

 

The Ukrainian forces are better equipped, better trained, and far more motivated than Russia. And still, they persist. The next goal for Russia appears to be sham referendums in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (provinces) to claim that those areas are now a part of Russia. This would allow Putin to falsely claim that the Ukrainian forces have invaded “Russian soil” which could trigger a more wide-spread mobilization effort. However, there is no infrastructure to support this. Things are a lot different than during the Soviet era.

 

(side note: Soviets / Russians are no stranger to forcing referendums at gun-point. Bulgaria is a great example. Hitler assassinated the King of Bulgaria, Boris III, via slow-acting poison after he refused to transport Jews to Poland and refused to declare war on closer enemies. His son, then six years old, assumed the thrown as Simeon II. Three years later in 1946, the Soviets [who had occupied Bulgaria back in September 1944] held a referendum to abolish the monarchy. The population voted roughly 96% in favour of it. Soviet troops were withdrawn in 1947. Interesting related fact: the city of Varna [which we live just outside of] was renamed to “Stalin” from December 20, 1949 to October 20, 1956.)

 

See, mass mobilization efforts require a support network: equipment, food, training personnel, higher-ranking officers to oversee the new recruits, barracks, communication, etc. During the height of the Soviet era, there were entire battalions with almost no soldiers. They maintained a skeleton crew to support the influx of conscripts in the event of general mobilization, and such preparedness efforts were extremely costly. The kleptocratic ethos of modern-day Russia has not allowed for any of that.

 

And winter is coming. Countries aligned with Ukraine have been supplying winter equipment to the Ukrainian forces. I still remember at the beginning of this conflict when the Ukrainian forces discovered a dead Russian soldier with an RPG launcher in his hands. He was chained to a post so that he would not desert his position, and died from exposure. And that was from an era when Russia still had the illusion of intelligence. This poses a problem regarding Russia’s disregard for civilian lives. What would stop the Russians from occupying the homes of Ukrainians during the upcoming months? No need to stockpile anything, just shoot the inhabitants and live in their homes.

 

New Russian conscripts are going to receive TWO WEEKS of basic training before being sent to the front lines. Train columns of T62-M tanks have been spotted heading towards the Donbas region. Russia is throwing everything they have at this senseless conflict, bit doing so in the ineptest way possible. Barges and pontoon bridges continuously get destroyed by the Ukrainian forces, so much so that Russia is using helicopters to resupply troops. Nazi Germany tried this as a last resort in the Battle of Stalingrad. It did not go well.

 

And all the while, the world supports Ukraine. I do as well. To that end, this is another image I dedicate to the Public Domain. There’s not much that I can do as a photographer to help the war effort, but I can create artwork. I can write about these events to raise awareness, and I can send aid. If you’d like to “buy me a coffee” to support more Public Domain images, or you just enjoy my creative efforts, here’s the link: www.buymeacoffee.com/donkomphoto . Any bit is helpful, it will be put to good use.

A red/yellow bicolour tulip growing amidst blue and white bluebells at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, New Zealand.

 

I wasn't sure if I was going to share this one as the image is a bit messier than I strive for. This is due to the subject being some metres into a patch of bluebells, so no way to simplify the image (in camera) through use of clever framing and angles.

 

But then it got me thinking, so I decided to just go with it, and pair it with a big long and suitably messy exposition.

 

I think this illustrates something closer to my heart than mere simplicity - the way in which I protray the environment in the portrait. This involves excluding both man-made objects (labels, plaques, architecture, whatever), and overt human influence (formal borders, bare dirt, bark chip, gravel, or an obviously mass planted flower bed). Given the actual locations I work with are primarily city gardens, this is an ever-present challenge, which likely appeals to skill I've honed over the years. Then I'll use those parts of the environment that do look natural (foliage, light filtering through trees, etc) which to me are far more pleasing and soul stirring, to get a result that appeals to my taste, and the result gives me joy.

 

I'm not sure I can explain it, as it is more of a visceral thing, but I know it is something that makes an appeal to me. And not just my own, it affects my appreciation of the work of others too. I'm not sure if this is simply because I spend so much time making it the focus in my own work it is ingrained, or perhaps it was already my own idea of beauty which caused me to focus on it.

 

Maybe a flower revealing its surroundings in a formal bed is a bit like a photo of an animal in a cage/zoo which feels out of place (I'm talking aesthetics here, not ethics), whereas when it seems to be just basking in a more natural environment, it is more like something wild and free.

 

This may also be why I don't tend to enjoy (and hence don't make use of) black and white, flowers processed with textures to cover up /tame the background, or the subject against a plain black/white background which is a popular form of minimalism. These approaches can be beautiful, and I think I can see why artistic types favour them in that abstracting a thing from reality/environment to focus purely on the subject and its form, and is probably "more arty". But to me the result (usually) feels like insect specimens in a display case with a pin rammed through them, or a plate in a technical book rather than something living that really delights the soul.

 

I find nature delights me, I love to be out enjoying it - so any attempt to preserve pleasant memories for my own purposes, or to share with others needs to reflect how it makes me feel or it wouldn't be authentic or be pleasing to me.

 

I presume this may be what is meant by my "artistic voice", and others see things differently, feel differently, and "speak" differently - and that's why everyone has their own style. I expect most feel differently, and I'm not trying to say anyone else should sound like me (diversity is a good thing!), but I wanted to see if I could articulate why I do what I do the way I do. I would be interested to know if this resonates with anyone else - whether it is just my peculiarity, or I am unwittingly a member of some particular artistic movement (I'm an engineer, art is a foreign language to me - I'm just mouthing strange syllables that seem pleasing to me and somehow nobody has pulled me up for the imposter I am yet!).

 

Cropped to 5x4 (the top of the image was a bit dark and didn't add much, so I decided I preferred it without), but otherwise untouched camera jpeg.

The above photo - ' Haggs Farm in Summer ' . The small farm on the Barber Estate was a place that D.H.Lawrence always remembered .

The picture was taken on a summer day in 1959.

__________________________________________

 

Below

 

Text - ` You Haggites see the Best of Me ! ' - is lecture material text used by Prof.John Worthen of Nottingham University to aid understanding and appreciation of Lawrence's 1928 letter to David Chambers . The text was used as the basis of his lecture to the Haggs Farm Preservation Society's annual David Chambers Memorial Gathering in Eastwood , Nottinghamshire in October of 2003 . )

 

Note : D.H.Lawrence would refer to the Chambers family as Haggites .

 

___________________________________

 

Lecture notes commencing : " What the Haggites did not see - was something Lawrence was very, very aware of all his life - his capacity to be cold, objective and judgemental . "

A picture of D.H.Lawrence when a pupil-teacher and a welcome visitor to the Haggs is on-line in this Flickr photostream .

 

LECTURE .

 

" I am very honoured to have been asked to be your J. D. Chambers lecturer this year; I've known the name of Jonathan David Chambers ever since I started looking into Lawrence's life, about forty years ago, and I always depended heavily on his writing about his family and about Jessie as a kind of counterweight to what Jessie herself wrote. To be asked to give this lecture is, to me, to be given an opportunity to speak gratefully and sympathetically in memory of a man whose life's work and life's writing it is natural to honour: and whom oddly I think of personally (though I never knew him) with great respect and affection: I have learned so much from him.

 

I'm very conscious of the possibilities lurking in my title, `Ah, you Haggites see the best of me!' Lawrence said it (according to Jessie) more than once: he said it `whimsically': and it leaves me not only with the question `why was that? why did they see the best of him?' but with the more worrying question `so what was Lawrence like when you didn't see the best of him?'

 

I am going to start by looking again at one of the famous documents of Lawrence's relationship with the Chambers family: the letter he wrote on 15 November 1928 about the Haggs - wrote it, of course, to J. D. Chambers himself. This is what Lawrence wrote, from the island of Port Cros in the Mediterranean:

 

Quote : " Dear David

 

I hardly recognized you as J. D. - and you must be a man now, instead of a thin little lad with very fair hair. Ugh, what a gap in time! it makes me feel scared.

 

Whatever I forget, I shall never forget the Haggs - I loved it so. I loved to come to you all, it really was a new life began in me there. The water-pippin by the door - those maiden-blush roses that Flower [the horse] would lean over and eat - and Trip [the bull-terrier] floundering round - And stewed figs for tea in winter, and in August green stewed apples. Do you still have them? Tell your mother I never forget, no matter where life carries us. - And does she still blush if somebody comes and finds her in a dirty white apron? or doesn't she wear work-aprons any more? Oh I'd love to be nineteen again, and coming up through the Warren and catching the first glimpse of the buildings. Then I'd sit on the sofa under the window, and we'd crowd round the little table to tea, in that tiny little kitchen I was so at home in.

 

Son' tempi passati, cari miei! quanto cari, non saprete mai! [`There are times past, my dears! how dear, you will never know!'] - I could never tell you in English how much it all meant to me, how I still feel about it.

 

If there is anything I can ever do for you, do tell me. - Because whatever else I am, I am somewhere still the same Bert who rushed with such joy to the Haggs.

 

Ever , D. H. Lawrence " : End Qote .

 

Postscript : Lawrence gives a postscript with his London agent's address.

 

However lovely the letter, whenever I read it I am struck all over again by the kind of powerful, overpowering, even devouring, nostalgia in it, of a kind in which Lawrence very, very rarely engaged (I can only actually think of one other example: it doesn't even occur in his writing about the ranch, which he regretted long and deeply. ). The letter is also fascinating for what it leaves out: for example, any mention of Jessie Chambers: or even actually saying how dearly Lawrence still remembered the Chambers family. He says in Italian - and not many of the family, if any, would have understood that - that there are times past: how dear, you will never know. Which he couldn't say in English. I do find that odd.

 

The lack of reference to Jessie is very striking. It was perhaps tactful; he couldn't have helped realising that how he had treated her, even so long ago, might still be a sore subject in the Chambers family, who must have seen him - for a while at least - as someone who had in effect been engaged to Jessie, and who had then abandoned her for another woman. (I'm not saying that that was what had happened: but that was how they might well have seen it.) The family understood the letter well enough, of course: enough not to dare to tell Jessie what he had written. They only told her about that letter the week after his death in 1930. They were right. She confessed on 10 March 1930 that if she had known about it, `I could not have kept from writing [to him]. But they never told me until now.'

 

But why did Lawrence swear such undying love for the place and the moment, and the memories, in that letter, not having (so far as I know) written anything enthusiastic about the Haggs for 15 years?

I want to do two things. The first is, to sketch in quickly an account of Lawrence's relationship with the Haggs and the Chambers family: and then to examine that letter in the context of what Lawrence was feeling and writing in 1928.

 

In the early 1890s, the Chambers family were living along Greenhills Lane near the Breach (while the Lawrences were living there). The father, Edmund Chambers, a native of Eastwood (his father, `Pawny Chambers', and mother had run a pawnbroker's shop), had a smallholding and a milk round in Eastwood. Edmund's wife Ann was, like Lydia Lawrence, a stranger in Eastwood, and a woman who never seems to have been especially happy there; she struck up acquaintance with Lydia Lawrence at the Chapel in Albert Street. Both of them disliked the mining communities to which their husbands had brought them, and J. D. Chambers would later suggest that they `found in the Chapel . . . the only place in which they felt really at home in an otherwise alien world'.

 

The Chambers family went out to the Haggs in 1898, and Lydia Lawrence had a standing invitation to visit them, but it was not until the early summer of 1901 that she and Lawrence first followed the field paths out there, on a half holiday in his last the early summer term at the High School: he a `tall, fair boy' with a `swiftly changing expression', she a `bright, vivacious little woman'. Those are the words of May Chambers, always an acid commentator, who recognised how the Lawrences came `from the bricks and mortar of streets of houses where bay windows and front room furniture and new clothes were so very important'. That was the world which some at least of the Chambers family prided themselves on having left, but which the Lawrences had risen into: the bay-window in Walker Street, the suite of mahogany and horse-hair chairs, the Brussels carpet rather than the usual rag rugs of the miner's house, the mahogany chiffonier and the oval table. But whereas Lydia Lawrence had always fought the dominating male figures of her world, whether her father or her husband, or her sons, Ann Chambers felt dominated by her men-folk; she had had her last child at the age of thirty-nine and would `shudder when the subject of sex was mentioned'. Mrs Morel, on an equivalent visit to the farm in Sons and Lovers, pities her friend: `I'm sorry for her, and I'm sorry for him too.'

Lawrence's joy in going to the Haggs was not only, however, a reaction against the ugliness, narrowness or conventionality of his home in Eastwood. Lawrence first made friends with the two younger boys, Hubert and Bernard, and then with Alan; years later he would tell a friend that the nearest he had ever come to `perfect love' had been at the age of `about sixteen', with another boy, which would be before September 1902. He was certainly thinking of one of the Chambers' boys: I am almost sure he meant Alan. May was in the middle of a prolonged adolescent extraction of herself from her family, and rejected the High School boy's offer of help with her homework; but the younger daughter, Jessie, seems to have been drawn to Lawrence from the start. Although his relationship with her would develop into one of the most important of his young life, when he first started going to the Haggs regularly in 1902 she was no more than a rather immature fifteen. He was both better read and better educated, as well as eighteen months older, and did not spend much time with her. Her reaction to being surrounded by brothers who were physically active, and rather contemptuous of her, had been to shut herself away in a world of her own in which she was the heroine of poetry and romance; her younger brothers despised this and `took delight' - again, J. D. says this - `in bursting in on her rhapsodical moods and shattering her poetical day-dreams in a wild scrimmage of slaps and bangs'. J. D. remembered her, though, as `equal to anybody'; nearly as tall as her elder brother Alan, as photographs show, she was equally broad-shouldered; solidly built, disciplined, dedicated, yearning. J. D. also recalled how she would stand up to her younger brothers: she would `wind a scarf round each fist and challenge them both to a fight'. Her `lighter moods', however, were rare. More often, she was simply angry with boys and men for bossing her about or ignoring her. By contrast with her brothers, Lawrence was someone serious; the realisation seems to have come around 1903, when he and she found themselves talking increasingly, and Lawrence entered her life as the person she believed would save her from her family. Eventually he offered to teach her; and together they worked on the very subjects, `algebra and French', which distinguished ordinary education from advanced. (You will remember Paul Morel being ribbed by a miner on pay day for doing nowt at school except `algìbbra an' French', and thoroughly resenting it. ) This was the period of Lawrence's intense attachment to the Haggs. He's coming up to nineteen years old.

  

III

 

But it is hard to overestimate how important the Haggs family was for Lawrence, both before and after he became close to Jessie. The coincidence of his return to life in the spring and summer of 1902, after the illness of the winter of 1901 in which he had nearly died, with this discovery of another family to which he eagerly turned, and individuals whom he loved, strongly suggests the extent to which he was reacting against the intimacy of home and mother which made such demands on him in Eastwood. Not for the last time in his life, a passionate emotional involvement (in this case with his mother) had grown up in Lawrence simultaneously with a powerful desire to break away from the very object of his love. What many, even most people feel to some extent, in love and relationship, about attachment and a need for some distance, Lawrence lived through with an intensity that was surprising and often shocking. The way he turned to the Chambers family around 1902-03 is perhaps its first clear instance.

 

For the laughter, anger, outbursts and loud quarrels of the Chambers family would have felt very different from the moralising, critical and emotionally stifling atmosphere of Walker Street. In Eastwood Lawrence was up against a household dominated by women: his mother and Ada (and until her marriage Emily), with his father largely absent or silenced. The Haggs Farm offered a simpler, old-fashioned world, in which men took precedence if they could, and women argued back: were not simply morally superior. The Chambers boys looked down on their sisters and tried to order them about; the girls fiercely resisted. But, for adolescents in particular, other people's families are nearly always easier to deal with than their own. The Chambers family probably felt more emotionally secure to Lawrence because of their constant quarrels, their overt affections, their singing and boisterous intimacy, their jokes and laughter: `He used to say that our laughter was Homeric.' He `made us even happy with one another while he was there, - no small achievement in a family like ours!'

From 1902 to 1906, he discovered how much and how happily he could be `at home' there. Ann Chambers loved him `like one of her own', and he loved her; he was clearly devoted to Alan; and with the Chambers family he could be the lively and cheerful son he found it so much more difficult to be at home. It is never too late to have a happy childhood; and Lawrence found his at the Haggs. He could be an exhilarating companion, and probably first discovered this, too, at the uninhibited Haggs. Nearly fifty years later May recalled `Bert with his mischievous grin': his vivacity, his sense of adventure, his capacity for games and mimicry and fun were what he brought to them.

 

It all feels to me rather like Arthur Lawrence escaping Lydia Lawrence, and leaving behind the strictness of home and its moral absolutes for the country, and the mine, and the `wholesome happiness' of uncritical companionship. May Chambers's fiancé Will Holbrook recalled how Lawrence `loved to come where he could do and say just what he pleased, even to using strong language to win his point'. That's Arthur, unrepressed. And it was at the Haggs that Lawrence seemed most like his father. He sang with the family (his father had been in the choir of St James's Church at Brinsley as a boy), and he also demonstrated how he could dance `in our little kitchen, and once while we paused for breath he said: “Father says one ought to be able to dance on a threepenny bit”.' Jessie, knowing Lawrence's hatred of his father, was surprised at that little revelation; but Lawrence also demonstrated to the Chambers' family his talent (his father's too) for mimicry. One set piece was a long-drawn-out row between his father and his mother, about a ham which Arthur had brought home and then stopping payment for it each week out of the housekeeping money; in the end the story took Arthur's side (`Woman, how'd tha feaace') and reduced its listeners to uproarious helplessness. J. D. Chambers, again, remembered: `I think everyone loved him at this time; he combined with his vivacity a sweetness of disposition that was quite irresistible.'

 

It was hardly surprising that his mother and his sisters grew jealous of his constant visits. Very soon after he started going, he confessed to May Chambers that, though he wanted to come one Saturday, `They won't let me'; while Jessie recalled: `He told us rather shamefacedly that his mother said he might as well pack his things and come and live with us.' Mothers always say things like that. The Lawrences naturally resented his concentration on a family so unlike themselves; and they would in the end come to be deeply suspicious of the amount of time he and Jessie spent together (it was a way of focussing their disapproval of the Haggs). Lawrence was acutely aware of their disapproval but commented, sadly, `If it wasn't this, it would be something else.' They'd always be morally critical of something. Emily once even insisted on coming out to the Haggs with him, to see what was so special about it, but all she found memorable was `that awful walk'.

 

These visits to the Haggs remained a problem for years; the fact that Lawrence kept going shows how necessary they were for him. In Eastwood, he felt valued and centred at home. But home for him never simply meant being cherished and sustained by a mother's love: it was also a terrible strain, growing up the beloved son of Lydia Lawrence, and carrying for her the burden of her unhappiness and her anger with her husband and what she felt was the waste of her own life.

 

Between 1902 and 1906, then, Lawrence lived a kind of double life: hard at work in Eastwood during the week, as a model son, pupil, teacher and family member, but going out to the Haggs every weekend. It was the period in his life when, perhaps above all else, the Haggs offered both devotion and companionship in equal measure: something for which he went on looking for the rest of his life. We can hear it in that letter of November 1928: `Then I'd sit on the sofa under the window, and we'd crowd round the little table to tea, in that tiny little kitchen I was so at home in.'

  

Let me come back to the letter. The context in which it was written helps us understand quite a lot about it. Lawrence and Frieda had left the Villa Mirenda near Florence in June 1928 and spent July and August at altitude in Switzerland - where they were visited by Peggy and her mother Emily. Lawrence had actually had a wretched summer, with small bronchial haemorrhages continuing: the place they'd chosen to go to, Gsteig bei Gstaad, at 4,000 feet, was incredibly steep in all directions. Once up there, in the chalet Kesselmatte, Lawrence was in effect marooned: and they were there for more than two months, over July and August down to September. Finally, they came down; they went to see Frieda's mother in Baden-Baden; and while there the Lawrences finally decided to give up the Villa Mirenda, their current home near Florence. Although they had at first enjoyed living there, the Mirenda was now irresistibly linked in Lawrence's mind with his bronchial haemorrhages of July 1927. Places he associated with illness (like Oaxaca and Mexico City, and now Florence) he never wanted to go back to, so he was now convinced that the Mirenda `didn't suit my health'. Frieda returned to the Mirenda to see to the packing up of their belongings; Lawrence waited for her in the Mediterranean port of Le Lavandou. They had been invited for the winter to the island of Port Cros, where old friends - Richard Aldington, his partner `Arabella' (Dorothy) Yorke and Brigit Patmore - had acquired a house. This must have particularly appealed to Lawrence, after the failure of altitude to do him any good: sea air, the Mediterranean, would surely be better.

 

Aldington was, however, both malicious and discreet when he commented that Frieda's task of giving up the Mirenda was `a complicated process, since it involved a journey to Trieste'. Frieda had seen rather little of Angelo Ravagli (now stationed at Gradisca, near Trieste) since April, and it is my understanding that - by now - she had started her affair with him: perhaps around April 1928. In Le Lavandou, therefore, Lawrence could do nothing except sit and wait for her.

 

La Vigie was the house at the top of the island of Port Cros: another place with the most marvellous view, of the kind that Lawrence chose to live in, time after time. But his health was, by the autumn of 1928, a real problem. The steepness of the road from the harbour up to La Vigie meant that he was `perched, as at Kesselmatte', and could not go with the others when they went down to go swimming each afternoon. Aldington would listen to Lawrence's `dreadful hollow cough at night, and wonder what on earth I should do if he got worse'; they agreed that one of them should always stay with him when the rest of the party went off for the day or the afternoon. Frieda had come back from Italy (and Ravagli) with a cold, which of course poor Lawrence instantly caught. He also had `two days hemorrhage' and felt `rather rotten': `this is worse than the Mirenda', he found himself thinking.

 

It was while they were on the island, too, that Lawrence got a letter from his agent, which included the responses to Lady Chatterley which had appeared in the English press during the autumn. There were at least two: a piece in the Sunday Chronicle, and John Bull's notorious review. These had both appeared in mid-October. This is Brigit Patmore's account:

 

`My God!' one of us gave a shout. `Here, in this one, Lorenzo, one of them calls you a cesspool!'

 

He made a grimace which might have been a smile or slight nausea.

 

`Really? One's fellow creatures are too generous. It's quite worth while giving of one's best, isn't it?' Then, as if speaking to himself, `Nobody likes being called a cesspool.'

  

But various things were going wrong at La Vigie, apart from Lawrence's illness and those reviews, and the fact that Lawrence would now have known for certain that Frieda was having an affair with Ravagli. It was at La Vigie that Aldington - partnered to Arabella Yorke for ten years - would start an affair with Brigit Patmore, and both the Lawrences sided with Arabella, of whom they were very fond. Lawrence ended up violently angry with Aldington: and the party broke up months earlier than originally planned. But worst of all, Lawrence was thoroughly depressed and miserable on Port Cros. One afternoon when the three others were off swimming - they all bathed, Aldington recalled with relish more than thirty years later, `naked daily together on one of the plages of Port-Cros, and then lay in the sun' - Lawrence told Brigit Patmore (staying with him that afternoon) a little about his desolation: `When you think you have something in your life which makes up for everything, and then find you haven't got it.' She tried to tell him that his writing had mattered immensely to her in re-establishing her own sense of herself after she had been ill; but found she was only making matters worse. He replied: `Yes. Once I could do that. But I can't any more.' In the past, he could convey his experience of the body and its desires directly in his writing. He felt that that no longer happened; such writing was now inevitably either nostalgic or reminiscent.

 

And it was at just this point that the letter from J. D. Chambers came, and Lawrence wrote the famous response. Its nostalgia - for a time when he was well, active, young, hopeful - is palpable, and inevitably added to by many of the things that were happening round him. Its desperately nostalgic reminiscence of the old days - `whatever else I am, I am somewhere still the same Bert who rushed with such joy to the Haggs' - is that of a man who had left all that terribly far behind him, and who must have wondered whether he really was the same Bert any more. It's an odd formulation: `Whatever else I am' - as if he feared that he had indeed changed, into something he didn't like much. He actually uses the technique twice in the letter: `whatever else I am' and `Whatever I forget': suggesting that there was also a lot that he would forget, if he could.

 

What is most remarkable, however, is how the letter keeps stressing how much at home he was at the Haggs. The whole subject of `home' is central in Lawrence's life and writing. On the one hand, he would, so to speak, come home repeatedly in his writing, as he recreated the people and the landscapes of the Eastwood region, even when living and writing hundreds of miles away: acknowledging how intimately he belonged to his family and its loving mother, even as he wrote his way out of it (declaring that he rejected any idea of home, or love, and hated Eastwood and the past). But belonging to `home' was always intensely problematic for him. Frieda `craved for a home and solidity': Lawrence insisted he never did. Back in August 1923, about to sail to England with Frieda from New York, he told Murry that, now it came to it, he could not bear the thought of `England and home and my people': and he did not go. When he eventually did, in December, one of the first things he did was write the caustic essay `On Coming Home' for Murry's Adelphi. In 1925, he insisted that coming back to England was not `coming home': `I won't say home, it isn't home.' And when he was finally back in 1925, and had seen the Midlands again, he had written, despairingly, `Nothing depresses me more than to come home to the place where I was born.'

 

So, in 1928, where was Lawrence now at home? He and Frieda had, literally, just given up their home at the Mirenda; they had no home. And though he was with a group of friends at Port Cros, he still felt horribly isolated and cut off. The Haggs farm had been one of the very few places in Lawrence's life where he had felt at home, and he never forgot it: now it felt as if it were the home he wanted to be in, as opposed to the Eastwood family home to which he belonged and continued to fight with himself about (and which he was still resenting in 1928). He had actually reacted badly to that visit from Emily and Peggy to Gsteig a couple of months earlier: Emily had, for example, called him `our Bert', thus claiming him for the family: but he insisted that `I am not really “our Bert”. Come to that, I never was.' He had once been, for sure; but (I agree) he was so no longer. On the other hand, he was sadly struck by the gulf between him and his sister, `always yawning, horribly obvious to me': `somehow it depresses me terribly'.

 

For in another mood from the one in which he wrote to J. D. Chambers, he would have rejected the whole idea of home, or feeling nostalgic about the past. On his last visit to England, a couple of years earlier, in September 1926, he had been for a walk with Willie Hopkin, and they had come in sight of the Haggs. We can reconstruct what happened then from what Hopkin remembered, and from what Lawrence used of that walk in the second version of Lady Chatterley's Lover, where Connie and Parkin also come in view of the Haggs, on the last page of the novel. They stop `above the grey-green country. Across was Haggs Farm. Beyond, Underwood, the mining village and the mines.' And the narrator comments: `Dead as Ninevah . . . the mill-ponds at Felley lying so still, abandoned, abandoned like everything that is not coal or iron, away below. The dead country-side!' Hopkin and Lawrence, however, went even closer; and Hopkin watched Lawrence when they got to Felley:

 

he stood still and looked across to the Haggs. I went and sat by the pond. After a few minutes I turned and looked at him. He stood stiffly as a statue, and there was an expression of dreadful pain on his face. After a while he told me to come along. For ten minutes he never spoke a word, and then he broke out into a lot of brilliant nonsense. As we neared his old house [the Lynn Croft house, perhaps, but possibly the Walker Street house] he never gave it a glance. I asked when he was coming over again. His reply was “Never! I hate the damned place.”

 

In another version of his account of their time at Felley, as Lawrence stood looking across to the Haggs, Hopkin wrote how `I have seen sadness on many a face, but nothing like Lawrence's at that moment.'

 

This is especially interesting in the light of that letter to J. D. Chambers. The warmth of the Haggs family and the time there glowed all the more vividly in November 1928 not only because of the weakened physical state in which Lawrence now existed, but because it was tantalising as an idea of what belonging to a group of people, at home happily together, might after all be like: and because it also made him despair (`whatever else I might be . . . whatever I forget'). He had spent his life fighting away from love, especially familial warmth and love: he had always insisted he did not want it. But now, on Port Cros, at all times living the life of an invalid, cut off from the lively everyday concerns of the people he was with, with those reviews of Lady Chatterley reminding him how much hatred was waiting for him in England, he must have felt more torn between home and a lonely present than ever. The reaction between belonging and independence was very actual to him. He didn't go swimming naked every day on Port Cros: he wasn't one of the crowd. And he was more cut off from Frieda than he had been, since 1912: in one way, he really was on his own again. Well, he had always wanted to be independent. But oh to be nineteen again . . . Thinking about the Haggs thus took on an intense nostalgia not just for the Haggs but for something missing in his life: call it home, or family, or warmth, or love.

 

His response to J. D. Chambers tells us, in fact, a great deal more about Lawrence in 1928 than about the Lawrence of 1904 (when he was nineteen). Both the nostalgic joy and the despair underlying the letter belong to that very difficult complex of feelings around home, and belonging, and being independent, cold and detached, which had gone on in him since he was a teenager.

 

So what had he meant, so many years earlier, when he had said to the Chambers family, `Ah, you Haggites see the best of me'? What was it that he was all too aware of, but which they didn't see? What would it have been like to see the worst of him? What was the worst of him?

  

We all get involved in the myths of our own lives; we start to enact the feelings which we ought to have had; the feelings we tell ourselves we should have had, because this WAS a time of sheer, unalloyed joy, this time at the Haggs. But there was a side of Lawrence, as he very well knew, which was utterly different from his loveable, loving, nostalgic side. It's horribly easy to show this. Almost exactly eleven months before writing the letter to J. D. Chambers, Lawrence had written - for the early experience of Mellors in Lady Chatterley's Lover - an account of a relationship which in its details is taken exactly from Lawrence's experience of Jessie, as he had known her at the Haggs between 1902 and 1910. How could the person who could write with such nostalgia and love about the Haggs, and his feelings about it, also have written this?

 

I'll tell you . . . The first girl I had, I began with when I was sixteen . . . I was a supposed-to-be clever sort of young fellow from Sheffield Grammar School [for which read Nottingham High School], with a bit of French and German, very much up aloft. She was the romantic sort that hated commonness. She egged me on to poetry and reading: in a way, she made a man of me. I read and thought like a house on fire for her. And I was a clerk in Butterley Offices, then, white-faced fellow fuming with all the things I read. And about everything talked to her: but everything. We talked ourselves into Persepolis and Timbuctoo. We were the most literary-cultured couple in ten counties. I held forth with rapture to her, positively with rapture. I simply went up in smoke. And she adored me. - The serpent in the grass was sex. She somehow didn't have any - at least, not where it's supposed to be. I got thinner and crazier. Then I said we'd got to be lovers. I talked her into it, as usual. So she let me. I was excited, and she never wanted it. She just didn't want it. She adored me, she loved me to talk to her and kiss her: in that way, she had a passion for me. But the other, she just didn't want . . . And it was just the other that I did want. So there we split. I was cruel, and left her.

 

Yes, this is a novel. But the novel is taking a piece of autobiography and re-creating it, to make it something both absurd and cruel. In one way it's a monstrous lie: all the warmth and tenderness and love and inexperience of these years, what Jessie called `those years of devotion', being summed up and dismissed so crudely. If Jessie ever read that - and I fear that she probably did - then I think she would have been as hurt by it as she was by Sons and Lovers.

  

What the Haggites did not see was what Lawrence was very, very aware of all his life: his capacity to be cold, objective, judgemental: the very opposite of that warmly, richly emotional person he was in the letter to J. D. Chambers. I am not saying that the letter to J. D. Chambers was somehow hypocritical: no, it reproduces something very important in Lawrence, a desperate need for home and warmth and belonging and love. But that meets its match, if you like, in the cold paragraph of scorn from Mellors: which says `what a fool I was' and `what a waste of time that period was'. That is another of Lawrence's voices: I must say that I hear a maternal voice in it. It's not what the Haggites saw: the best of him: which was young, and so hopeful and loving. It was certainly hard for the young Lawrence to show the best of himself: but with them he managed to.

 

The Chambers family never forgot him: when he died in 1930, `We all, as a family, mourn him, for the memories of old days were unspeakably dear to us all.' Lawrence himself never forgot, perhaps never got over, his experience of the Haggs. It was the model for the occasions, time after time, when he tried to create a life, often in the country with a group of other people: at San Gaudenzio in 1913, in Zennor in 1916, at the ranch in 1922, at the Mirenda in 1926. In a life so full of radical changes, it was vitally important to him that, somehow, neither he nor the Haggs should change: meaning that he, too, could somehow remain that sociable and loving person, although he obviously had changed, and was now capable of such detachment, such control, such cold difference. The remark `I am somewhere still the same Bert who rushed with such joy to the Haggs' was nostalgic about himself too: he needed to go on being that person: needed to be the person the Haggites would go on seeing the best of, even in 1928. "

 

Lecture by John Worthen , Eastwood : 18th October , 2003

 

[Note - Lenton Sands and the Haggs Farm Preservation Society is grateful to Prof.Worthen for permitting the use of his material . The text was originally placed on-line as part of the now defunct "dhltohaggs" Geocities website of the Haggs farm Preservation Society . ]

( Flickr slot - plus 9 )

___________________________________________________________________________

 

THE TENANTS OF THE HAGGS .

Both the original dwellings were in the range of buildings now known as Old Haggs farmhouse. The first residents were the Anthony and Leivers families, the tenancy of the various generations being documented (from Melbourne estate records & other sources) as follows:- Leivers 1805 to 1821Alice (widow of John) : 1821 to 1836 Joseph (son of John) : 1837 to 1865 (son of Joseph) : 1866 to 1874 Anthony James :1805 Samuel (son of James) : 1817 to 1864 .

After Samuel's death, the tenancy was granted to George Turner who had married the widowed Mary Ann Moss, daughter of Samuel 1866 to 1879.In 1879 Turner was replaced as tenant by John Whittaker and due to the dilapidated state of this part of the property, it was decided to build a new cottage and convert the old dwelling to outbuildings for stock. The new cottage is what is known as New Haggs and from this time the tenancies of the 2 farms can most clearly be shown separately. Old Haggs John Leivers 1878 to 1898\par Edmund Chambers 1898 to 1912 George Ward 1912 to 1936 W Fry 1936 to1941 Albert Rigley 1941 to 1947 Frank Wilson 1949 to 1963 New Haggs John Whitaker 1879 to 1892 William Pearson 1892 to 1916 Albert Granger\b0\par 1916 to 1937\par \par \b H Whitehead\b0\par 1938 to 1941 Henry Clay 1945\par \par \b Alfred Maggs 1946 Albert Rigley,1947 to 1979

   

Furious with the outcome of a particularly competitive game of online Yahtzee, Creamy stormed off to make overtly sexually cosplay Tiktoks.

 

Outfit Credits

 

Hair: Suzumi – Ikira Frimon - Ayashi

Top: Pierce and prod – maeglutz - Glutz

Shrug: Goddess Shrug – spoiledstore - Spoiled

Shorts: Goddess Shorts – spoiledstore - Spoiled

Bottom straps: Booty Bondage – maeglutz - Glutz

Boots: Rogue Stompers – kenadeecole - Reign

   

There are all sorts of fall. The falls that come in a flash and go equally fast. That leave you blinking and wondering just where the season went. There are falls that come wreathed in mist and rain showers. Those are falls spent drinking hot chocolate and reading good books (with the occasional trip out to make sure the boots are still waterproof). There are falls that float in serenely like a cloud and hang out in the corner of the room, hardly drawing much attention at all. There are falls that only happen once, unique in their presence and passing, like that fall you watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" for the first time with your son. Or that one Halloween he had the awesome robot costume. Then there are falls like this one. That slip in with grace but not overtly pompous, wearing their mantle of fall colors proudly. And thanks to a lucky streak of dry and sunny weather, the fall sticks around, builds up a presence. Streets are full of dry leaves, perfect for shuffling one's feet through on the way to work. Or they get raked into piles that the kids can leap into. The forest trails begin to look like the golden brick road of Oz leading your family along an amazing walk one foggy morning.

 

Yes, there are indeed all sorts of fall. And while I won't say I have a particularly favorite one, I will say that I am very much enjoying our current version.

Kesklinn

 

Architectural photography

#patternsofthecity #texturesoflive

 

This architecture, with its networks of tubes and the lookit has of being an expo or world's fair building, with its (calculated?) fragility deterringany traditional mentality or monumentality, overtly proclaims that our time will neveragain be that of duration, that our only temporality is that of the accelerated cycle and ofrecycling, that of the circuit and of the transit of fluids. Our only culture in the end is thatof hydrocarbons, that of refining, cracking, breaking cultural molecules and of theirrecombination into synthesized products.

 

Jean Baudrillard /

"Simulacra et simulation"

As we continue the celebration of The Phantom Menace’s 20th Anniversary, we reach October’s Not-a-Frog Frogracer, the crab piloted Seaspray-02. This has been in the works for probably about a year and by that I mean, I built the pods, had the idea for the chassis, and then just abandoned it until about a week ago. I really liked the idea of the trident being the back end of a pod, and just needed to build something around the axle. Eventually that slowly morphed into a design that is loosely based off a fish with a big head as the intake, pectoral fins and a dorsal fin as directory flaps, and then that trident coming in as the tailfin. It’s very successful in my eye, and with that sea theme came the idea of the crab as the pilot, but what do you do with the chassis? I knew a scallop would be a good idea, but I didn’t know how to make it work with the crab. I did know I wanted this to come out in October and finally I just had to go for it and I think the end result is successful. It’s reminiscent of a scallop, but not overtly obvious, which is what Star Wars design is actually about when you listen to Doug Chiang speak about his time working on The Phantom Menace. You need to make something recognizable, but also unique and bold. Finally, in the past, I’ve gone into a bunch of detail about names and how I extract them from other existing things, but Seaspray just kind of came with no effort. Then I realized that I was just one windscreen color change away to making this the pseudo final piece to a LEGO Space trifecta. One trans-light blue panel being swapped with trans-neon orange makes this Ice Planet 2002 themed and now we’ve got those numbers you find in Podracer names. As a bonus, the 80s, 90s, and 00s of LEGO Space have been represented in Frogracer form, even if this has nothing to do with Ice Planet from a visual standpoint. It’s my MOC, I’ll make up whatever rules I want to follow. See you next month!

 

More images can be found on Imgur: LINK

 

And of course I have a silly review on YouTube: LINK

Since opening in June 1999

the Millennium Stadium has welcomed

on average

over 1.3 million visitors per year. Sporting the first fully-retractable roof in the UK

the venue is at the leading edge as a multi-purpose

multi-faceted event venue. The Millennium Stadium boasts a UEFA 5-Star rating and has hosted matches from two Rugby World Cups including the Final in 1999

witnessed two Wales Grand Slam successes in the RBS Six Nations

staged six showpiece FA Cup Finals plus hosted the major artists of the music business with a plethora of major concerts and motorsports events on its CV. The installation of a partition drape system in July 2005 now means that the bowl of the Millennium

must visit venue and has played home to five major sporting bodies over the last eight years. Background to the Millennium Stadium Project As early as 1994 a group redevelopment committee was set up to look at redeveloping the Wales National Stadium and

the Welsh Rugby Union won the right to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup against severe competition from rival bids from the Southern Hemisphere. A review of the National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park (designed in 1962) showed that it had long since been overt

000 and 67

000 respectively and France about to build the Stade de France with a capacity of over 80

000. Capacity in the old National Stadium was 53

000 (including 11

000 standing in the East Terrace). New safety regulations would mean that the capacity would be further reduced by 'all-seater' arrangements. There were no spectator facilities in the old Stadium other than toilets. It was decided that the new Stadium sho

000); the home of Ajax Football Club.

Short-range tactical VTOL aircraft, with flexible wing profiles and swappable 'utility' modules.

 

——

 

I've loved working on this one. A couple-years back my daughter was gifted the Batwing set from The LEGO Batman Movie (70916). A few months ago she broke it down and it has sat in a tray ever since. The Boy spotted this at the end of the holidays and wanted to build something Batmanish with it together. After about an hour of play I had an MVP version of this, though almost nothing of that original MOC now survives.

 

There's a few things in there I'm really proud of. The overall profile still blows my mind. Blunt and brutal in places, sleek and knife-like in others… I'm particularly proud as my comfort-zone is far more geometric in style, and this is not that.

 

I love the cockpit. Took a while to work that through, but it all just feels right now. The ejector seat lever is a particular high-point.

 

It has a pair of 'utility bays' forward of the cockpit. I've generated 10 swappable 'utilities' on the theme. Only 4 are overtly lethal. The rest are non-lethal options, including a grapnel launcher, and EMP lance, and a high-frequency sound cannon.

 

The wings are all fixed via ball-joints. An earlier iteration had 8 wings which were all more flexible than the current 6, but as I integrated then all more tightly into the body, they've become restricted in their range of movement. But as you'll see from the photos, there's still quite a range of wing profiles you can achieve.

 

——

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. What could I do to improve it?

As you can see, I had Daisy take today off from work. And though regrettably non-consecutive, I believe this is Daisy's fifth straight vacation day spent in a dress and heels. Hmmm...I'd say a definite trend is beginning to develop, wouldn't you? And best of all, not a whiff of coercion on my part was involved. (Well, nothing overt at any rate...I do have a sneaky streak, you know.)

Progress continues on all fronts! 😘💖💖

I'll post more pictures tomorrow. In the meantime, I thought I'd start today by appeasing the people who keep telling me I don't post enough rear views. 💋

In support of my amazing wife and our many close friends that are members of the LGBTQAI+ community. I voted early this year while wearing my "Proud Ally" shirt... We live in a very "red state" so I could visually tell I was getting under the skin of the many MAGA voters standing in line for hours with me. It was my way of making my preference known without overtly supporting any particular candidate while voting which would be in violation of voting regulations 😉

Short-range tactical VTOL aircraft, with flexible wing profiles and swappable 'utility' modules.

 

——

 

I've loved working on this one. A couple-years back my daughter was gifted the Batwing set from The LEGO Batman Movie (70916). A few months ago she broke it down and it has sat in a tray ever since. The Boy spotted this at the end of the holidays and wanted to build something Batmanish with it together. After about an hour of play I had an MVP version of this, though almost nothing of that original MOC now survives.

 

There's a few things in there I'm really proud of. The overall profile still blows my mind. Blunt and brutal in places, sleek and knife-like in others… I'm particularly proud as my comfort-zone is far more geometric in style, and this is not that.

 

I love the cockpit. Took a while to work that through, but it all just feels right now. The ejector seat lever is a particular high-point.

 

It has a pair of 'utility bays' forward of the cockpit. I've generated 10 swappable 'utilities' on the theme. Only 4 are overtly lethal. The rest are non-lethal options, including a grapnel launcher, and EMP lance, and a high-frequency sound cannon.

 

The wings are all fixed via ball-joints. An earlier iteration had 8 wings which were all more flexible than the current 6, but as I integrated then all more tightly into the body, they've become restricted in their range of movement. But as you'll see from the photos, there's still quite a range of wing profiles you can achieve.

 

——

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. What could I do to improve it?

The Birth of Venus is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably executed in the mid 1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea fully-grown (called Venus Anadyomene and often depicted in art). The painting is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

Although the two are not a pair, the painting is inevitably discussed with Botticelli's other very large mythological painting, the Primavera, also in the Uffizi. They are among the most famous paintings in the world, and icons of the Italian Renaissance; of the two, the Birth is better known than the Primavera. As depictions of subjects from classical mythology on a very large scale they were virtually unprecedented in Western art since classical antiquity, as was the size and prominence of a nude female figure in the Birth. It used to be thought that they were both commissioned by the same member of the Medici family, but this is now uncertain.

They have been endlessly analysed by art historians, with the main themes being: the emulation of ancient painters and the context of wedding celebrations (generally agreed), the influence of Renaissance Neo-Platonism (somewhat controversial), and the identity of the commissioners (not agreed). Most art historians agree, however, that the Birth does not require complex analysis to decode its meaning, in the way that the Primavera probably does. While there are subtleties in the painting, its main meaning is a straightforward, if individual, treatment of a traditional scene from Greek mythology, and its appeal is sensory and very accessible, hence its enormous popularity.

In the centre the newly born goddess Venus stands nude in a giant scallop shell. The size of the shell is purely imaginary, and is also found in classical depictions of the subject. At the left the wind god Zephyr blows at her, with the wind shown by lines radiating from his mouth. He is in the air, and carries a young female, who is also blowing, but less forcefully. Both have wings. Vasari was probably correct in identifying her as "Aura", personification of a lighter breeze. Their joint efforts are blowing Venus towards the shore, and blowing the hair and clothes of the other figures to the right.

At the right a female figure who may be floating slightly above the ground holds out a rich cloak or dress to cover Venus when she reaches the shore, as she is about to do. She is one of the three Horae or Hours, Greek minor goddesses of the seasons and of other divisions of time, and attendants of Venus. The floral decoration of her dress suggests she is the Hora of Spring.

Alternative identifications for the two secondary female figures involve those also found in the Primavera; the nymph held by Zephyr may be Chloris, a flower nymph he married in some versions of her story, and the figure on land may be Flora. Flora is generally the Roman equivalent of the Greek Chloris; in the Primavera Chloris is transformed into the figure of Flora next to her, following Ovid's Fasti, but it is hard to see that such a transformation is envisaged here. However, the roses blown along with the two flying figures would be appropriate for Chloris.

The subject is not strictly the "Birth of Venus", a title given to the painting only in the nineteenth century (though given as the subject by Vasari), but the next scene in her story, where she arrives on land, blown by the wind. The land probably represents either Cythera or Cyprus, both Mediterranean islands regarded by the Greeks as territories of Venus.

The painting is large, but slightly smaller than the Primavera, and where that is a panel painting, this is on the cheaper support of canvas. Canvas was increasing in popularity, perhaps especially for secular paintings for country villas, which were decorated more simply, cheaply and cheerfully than those for city palazzi, being designed for pleasure more than ostentatious entertainment.

The painting is on two pieces of canvas, sewn together before starting, with a gesso ground tinted blue. There are differences to Botticelli's usual technique, working on panel supports, such as the lack of a green first layer under the flesh areas. There are a number of pentimenti revealed by modern scientific testing. The Hora originally had "low classical sandals", and the collar on the mantle she holds out is an afterthought. The hair of Venus and the flying couple was changed. There is heavy use of gold as a pigment for highlights, on hair, wings, textiles, the shell and the landscape. This was all apparently applied after the painting was framed. It was finished with a "cool gray varnish", probably using egg yolk.

As in the Primavera, the green pigment – used for the wings of Zephyr, Zephyr's companion, and the leaves of the orange trees on the land – has darkened considerably with exposure to light over time, somewhat distorting the intended balance of colours. Parts of some leaves at the top right corner, normally covered by the frame, have been less affected. The blues of the sea and sky have also lost their brightness

Although the pose of Venus is classical in some respects, and borrows the position of the hands from the Venus Pudica type in Greco-Roman sculptures (see section below), the overall treatment of the figure, standing off-centre with a curved body of long flowing lines, is in many respects from Gothic art. Kenneth Clark wrote: "Her differences from antique form are not physiological, but rhythmic and structural. Her whole body follows the curve of a Gothic ivory. It is entirely without that quality so much prized in classical art, known as aplomb; that is to say, the weight of the body is not distributed evenly either side of a central plumb line. .... She is not standing but floating. ... Her shoulders, for example, instead of forming a sort of architrave to her torso, as in the antique nude, run down into her arms in the same unbroken stream of movement as her floating hair."

Venus' body is anatomically improbable, with elongated neck and torso. Her pose is impossible: although she stands in a classical contrapposto stance, her weight is shifted too far over the left leg for the pose to be held. The proportions and poses of the winds to the left do not quite make sense, and none of the figures cast shadows. The painting depicts the world of the imagination rather than being very concerned with realistic depiction.

Ignoring the size and positioning of the wings and limbs of the flying pair on the left, which bother some other critics, Kenneth Clark calls them:

 

...perhaps the most beautiful example of ecstatic movement in the whole of painting. ... the suspension of our reason is achieved by the intricate rhythms of the drapery which sweep and flow irresistibly around the nude figures. Their bodies, by an endless intricacy of embrace, sustain the current of movement, which finally flickers down their legs and is dispersed like an electric charge.

Botticelli's art was never fully committed to naturalism; in comparison to his contemporary Domenico Ghirlandaio, Botticelli seldom gave weight and volume to his figures and rarely used a deep perspectival space. Botticelli never painted landscape backgrounds with great detail or realism, but this is especially the case here. The laurel trees and the grass below them are green with gold highlights, most of the waves regular patterns, and the landscape seems out of scale with the figures. The clumps of bulrushes in the left foreground are out of place here, as they come from a freshwater species

It has long been suggested that Botticelli was commissioned to paint the work by the Medici family of Florence, perhaps by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici (1463–1503) a major patron of Botticelli, under the influence of his cousin Lorenzo de' Medici, "il Magnifico". This was first suggested by Herbert Horne in his monograph of 1908, the first major modern work on Botticelli, and long followed by most writers, but more recently has been widely doubted, though it is still accepted by some. Various interpretations of the painting rely on this origin for its meaning. Although relations were perhaps always rather tense between the Magnifico and his young cousins and wards, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco and his brother Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, it may have been politic to commission a work that glorified the older Lorenzo, as some interpretations have it. There may be a deliberate ambiguity as to which Lorenzo was intended to be evoked. In later years hostility between the two branches of the family became overt.

Horne believed that the painting was commissioned soon after the purchase in 1477 of the Villa di Castello, a country house outside Florence, by Lorenzo and Giovanni, to decorate their new house, which they were rebuilding. This was the year after their father died at the age of 46, leaving the young boys wards of their cousin Lorenzo il Magnifico, of the senior branch of the Medici family and de facto ruler of Florence. There is no record of the original commission, and the painting is first mentioned by Vasari, who saw it, together with the Primavera, at Castello, some time before the first edition of his Lives in 1550, probably by 1530–40. In 1550 Vasari was himself painting in the villa, but he very possibly visited it before that. But in 1975 it emerged that, unlike the Primavera, the Birth is not in the inventory, apparently complete, made in 1499 of the works of art belonging to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco's branch of the family. Ronald Lightbown concludes that it only came to be owned by the Medici after that. The inventory was only published in 1975, and made many previous assumptions invalid.

Horne dated the work at some point after the purchase of the villa in 1477 and before Botticelli's departure for Rome to join the painting of the Sistine Chapel in 1481. Recent scholars prefer a date of around 1484–86 on grounds of the work's place in the development of Botticelli's style. The Primavera is now usually dated earlier, after Botticelli's return from Rome in 1482 and perhaps around the time of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco's wedding in July 1482, but by some still before Botticelli's departure.

Whenever the two paintings were united at Castello, they have remained together ever since. They stayed in Castello until 1815, when they were transferred to the Uffizi. For some years until 1919 they were kept in the Galleria dell'Accademia, another government museum in Florence.

Although there are ancient and modern texts that are relevant, no single text provides the precise imagery of the painting, which has led scholars to propose many sources and interpretations. Many art historians who specialize in the Italian Renaissance have found Neoplatonic interpretations, of which two different versions have been articulated by Edgar Wind and Ernst Gombrich, to be the key to understanding the painting. Botticelli represented the Neoplatonic idea of divine love in the form of a nude Venus.

For Plato – and so for the members of the Florentine Platonic Academy – Venus had two aspects: she was an earthly goddess who aroused humans to physical love or she was a heavenly goddess who inspired intellectual love in them. Plato further argued that contemplation of physical beauty allowed the mind to better understand spiritual beauty. So, looking at Venus, the most beautiful of goddesses, might at first raise a physical response in viewers which then lifted their minds towards the godly. A Neoplatonic reading of Botticelli's Birth of Venus suggests that 15th-century viewers would have looked at the painting and felt their minds lifted to the realm of divine love.

The composition, with a central nude figure, and one to the side with an arm raised above the head of the first, and winged beings in attendance, would have reminded its Renaissance viewers of the traditional iconography of the Baptism of Christ, marking the start of his ministry on earth. In a similar way, the scene shows here marks the start of Venus's ministry of love, whether in a simple sense, or the expanded meaning of Renaissance Neoplatonism.

More recently, questions have arisen about Neoplatonism as the dominant intellectual system of late 15th-century Florence, and scholars have indicated that there might be other ways to interpret Botticelli's mythological paintings. In particular, both Primavera and Birth of Venus have been seen as wedding paintings that suggest appropriate behaviors for brides and grooms.

The laurel trees at right and laurel wreath worn by the Hora are punning references to the name "Lorenzo", though it is uncertain whether Lorenzo il Magnifico, the effective ruler of Florence, or his young cousin Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco is meant. In the same way the flowers in the air around Zephyr and on the textiles worn and carried by the Hora evoke the name of Florence