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~ Painted wall mural outside the Centro Cultural de La Raza ~ Balboa Park ~
~ Textures by Skeletalmess and Dominique Eclectique ~
I took this photo at the War Memorial in Washington DC.
Facts about July 4th
* July 4, 1776 is the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress. The document was officially signed on August 2, 1776.
* The names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were withheld for 6 months. If the effort at independence had failed, the act of signing would have been treason and punishable by death.
* In July, 1776, an estimated 2.5 million citizens lived in the United States. According to the population clock, www.census.gov/-main/www/popcl ock.html on the US Census Website, on July 4, 2010, the population is estimated to be 309,278,805.
* On July 8, 1776, the first Independence Day was celebrated in Philadelphia. The liberty bell was rung from the tower of Independence Hall to gather the citizens to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
The bell was ordered from a London foundry in 1751. The first two castings were rung to celebrate Independence Day, but deemed defective by the Continental Congress. The third casting, made in Philadelphia, rang on July 4th from 1778 until 1835, when it cracked. To this day, it is tapped lightly on Independence Day, but no longer rung.There was a third bell sent from England that hangs in the cupola of Independence Hall. It is attached to a clock and sounds the hours.
* July 4, 1804, was the occasion of the first public Fourth of July celebration at the White House.
* In 1805, Lewis and Clark paused in their explorations to celebrate the first Independence Day festivities west of the Mississippi.
* On June 24, 1826, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter declining an invitation to the White House to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This was his last written correspondence; Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826.
* In 1941, July 4, was declared a federal holiday by Congress.
* Legend says that Betsy Ross sewed the first flag, but historical research has not confirmed this. She is a recognized heroine in the fight for independence, but even the curators of Betsy Ross House have not been able to confirm she actually sewed the first flag.
* As designated by the Continental Congress, the official name of the flag is "The Flag of the United States."
* The proper name of the statue of Liberty is "Liberty Enlightening the World."
* Congress has designated that America’s National Independence Day Parade by held annually on July 4, at 11:45 a.m. in Washington, D.C on Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th Streets.
* The purpose of the parade is to remind Americans of the true meaning of Independence Day. It is a patriotic, truly our-home-town, celebration of America’s birthday.
Source: www.wwww.helium.com/
Large on black canvas | My favorite shots
Real HDR 101
After the pseudo HDR restoration treatment on my previous post , I thought it's about time to get my hands dirty on some real HDR, for a change. With a tripod in the back of my ride I drove to a place nearby and started fiddling around with the automatic exposure bracketing settings of my camera. With a 4-stop range across three exposures (-2 Ev, +/-0 Ev and +2 Ev) I finally hit the shutter in aperture priority mode.
The HDR approuch
With the help of Photomatrix I was able to combine my differently exposed RAW files into one HDR image. With the Tone Mapping tool applied throughout the image I was able to visually reveal its higher dynamic range.
Final touchups
In PS the copper hues throughout the scene was created by different Hue/Saturation layers on top of the 32-bit HDR representation. Locally I painted in or out from the accompanying masks to enhance the color-contrast of different parts in the sky. As a final touch up I used a contrast adjustment layer with a value of 10 for a tiny bit of extra eye popping awe, which I very like in here. Selective sharpening was done with a high-pass layer in overlay mode with a value of just below 0.8 pixels in the High Pass filter settings dialog. Irrelevant sharpened parts - such as noise - were painted out from its layer mask afterwards, to enhance the edges of the trees throughout. Personally I am quite satisfied with the results right now and I hope you folks will like it too.
Was it fun?
Yes. I must admit that visually less treatment - thus time - was needed to achieve better result compared to conventional techniques I am using for over a decade. Within approximately one hour - without noticeable loss of detail - I am quite content with the end results.
Location: At the borders of Holland and Germany nearby the North-Eastern region of the province of Groningen.
www.flickriver.com/photos/mauro855/
IL MIO VIDEO SU SIENA: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFSjbSviaaw&feature=mfu_in_or...
IL MIO SITO: www.mauronizzi.it
The rain got heavier as the sun went down in Portland one night and the glow of the light on the water turned the streets to molten gold. I shot from the hip with my camera tucked under my jacket to get a couple of photos.
Olympus E-P2
14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 M Zuiko Lens
Supporters of the PPP at a popular rally in Nasirabad, in the suburbs of Rawalpindi on Jan.4, 2008. At some point, people (incl. children) were praying for Benazir Bhutto, a scene that I've seen repeatedly at every gathering. As in many other aspects of life in Pakistan, it seems that politics and religion are closely intricated.
Merci de lire les explications en début d'album / Please read the explanations at the beginning of the set
Part of Pakistani Elections (Recommended as a slideshow)
Garden State is one of my favorite movies. It is one of those movies where you can sit back, watch, and let it sink in. :) It was also Zach Braff's feature film debut as a director. Commendable job there.
Zach's and Natalie Portman's charaters are quite endearing. And Peter Sarsgaard's character has its own element of endearment. :)
And of course, one of the soundtracks in the movie is "Let Go" by Frou Frou. A beautiful song.
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EXPLORE: 01.12.2009 #413
Baguio City is home to many tourist spots and is a weekend getaway of those living in Metro Manila. Baguio City remains a prime tourist destination area in North Luzon because of its cool climate, fresh, green and peaceful environment unlike other tourist destinations in the Philippines. This makes it a favorite destination especially for those who would like to relax and stay away from the excessive heat of the lowlands and also a favorite venue of seminars and conferences.
Baguio is the midway to the wonders of Northern Luzon. The calm beaches of La Union; the fabled Hundred Islands of Pangasinan; the ancient churches, Spanish influenced houses, historical and cultural relics of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte and is also the gateway to the Cordilleras where you could find the world famous Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao; the Kabayan mummy caves of Benguet; and the distinct culture and colorful traditions of the tribes of Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao and Abra.
The name Baguio conjures, for both the international and domestic traveler, a highland retreat in the Grand Cordillera in Northern Luzon, with pine trees, crisp cold breezes and low luxuriant knolls and hillocks. Through the numerous decades Baguio has morphed from what was once a grassy marshland into one of the cleanest and greenest, most highly developed cities in the country. It has made its mark as an opening tourist destination in the Northern part of the Philippines with its cool climate, foggy hills, panoramic views and lovely flowers. Being the ideal union zone of neighboring highland places, Baguio is the melting pot of different peoples and cultures and has enhanced its ability to provide a center for education for its neighbors. Its rich culture and countless resources have attracted numerous investments and business opportunities to the city.
Baguio City, the Summer Capital of the Philippines promises a harbor to anyone who seeks its comfort where you could leave all your cares behind. With its numerous tourist attractions and panoramic scenes and refreshing pine scented fresh air it seeks to provide a relief to any traveler, a hideaway to the romantics and breather to the weariest soul. Encapsulate this one of a kind feeling as you look around through the stunning and exciting scenes of the Summer Capital of the Philippines.
View On Black or even Large
feel free to comment criticize and ask anything
Malacca Strait
Transportation service:
交通服務:
Servicio de transporte:
Service de transport:
خدمة النقل:
Транспортные услуги：
Explore # 61
HDRI from 3 exposurs (see below), Cross Processing in Alien Skin Exposure 2 (Plug-In for PS CS 3), Tonemapping in LucisArt, Diffusion in Red Paw Media Beautifier (free Plug-In), Unsharp Mask, adding a border.
Info:
Exposures: 15 Sec.; 4 Sec.; 30 Sec.;
Aperture: f/16
ISO-Speed: 100
Focal Length: 30mm
View On White with Music, please :)
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Portfolio l Françoise Rachez Photographie l Le Blog Secret l
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Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
Following, a text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or "Fountain of the Four Rivers" is a fountain in Rome, Italy, located in the Piazza Navona. Designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini, it is emblematic of the dynamic and dramatic effects sought by High Baroque artists. It was erected in 1651 in front of the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, and yards from the Pamphilj Palace belonging to this fountain's patron, Innocent X (1644-1655).
The four gods on the corners of the fountain represent the four major rivers of the world known at the time: the Nile, Danube, Ganges, and Plate. The design of each god figure has symbolic importance.
Design
Bernini's design was selected in competition. The circumstances of his victory are described as follows:
So strong was the sinister influence of the rivals of Bernini on the mind of Innocent that when he planned to set up in Piazza Navona the great obelisk brought to Rome by the Emperor Caracalla, which had been buried for a long time at Capo di Bove for the adornment of a magnificent fountain, the Pope had designs made by the leading architects of Rome without an order for one to Bernini. Prince Niccolò Ludovisi, whose wife was niece to the pope, persuaded Bernini to prepare a model, and arrange for it to be secretly installed in a room in the Palazzo Pamphili that the Pope had to pass. When the meal was finished, seeing such a noble creation, he stopped almost in ecstasy. Being prince of the keenest judgment and the loftiest ideas, after admiring it, said: “This is a trick … It will be necessary to employ Bernini in spite of those who do not wish it, for he who desires not to use Bernini’s designs, must take care not to see them.”
Paraphrase from Filippo Baldinucci, The life of Cavaliere Bernini (1682)
Public fountains in Rome served multiple purposes: first, they were highly needed sources of water for neighbors in the centuries prior to home plumbing. Second, they were monuments to the papal patrons. Earlier Bernini fountains had been the Fountain of the Triton in Piazza Barberini, the fountain of the Moor in the southern end of Piazza Navona erected during the Barberini papacy, and the Neptune and Triton for Villa Montalto, whose statuary now resides at Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Each has animals and plants that further carry forth the identification, and each carries a certain number of allegories and metaphors with it. The Ganges carries a long oar, representing the river's navigability. The Nile's head is draped with a loose piece of cloth, meaning that no one at that time knew exactly where the Nile's source was. The Danube touches the Papal coat of arms, since it is the large river closest to Rome. And the Río de la Plata is sitting on a pile of coins, a symbol of the riches America could offer to Europe (the word plata means silver in Spanish). Also, the Río de la Plata looks scared by a snake, showing rich men's fear that their money could be stolen. Each is a river god, semi-prostrate, in awe of the central tower, epitomized by the slender Egyptian obelisk (built for the Roman Serapeum in AD 81), symbolizing by Papal power surmounted by the Pamphili symbol (dove). In addition, the fountain is a theater in the round, a spectacle of action, that can be strolled around. Water flows and splashes from a jagged and pierced mountainous disorder of travertine marble. A legend, common with tour-guides, is that Bernini positioned the cowering Rio de la Plata River as if the sculpture was fearing the facade of the church of Sant'Agnese by his rival Borromini could crumble against him; in fact, the fountain was completed several years before Borromini began work on the church.
The dynamic fusion of architecture and sculpture made this fountain revolutionary when compared to prior Roman projects, such as the stilted designs Acqua Felice and Paola by Fontana in Piazza San Bernardo (1585-87) or the customary embellished geometric floral-shaped basin below a jet of water such as the Fontanina in Piazza Campitelli (1589) by Giacomo della Porta.
Unveiling
he Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was unveiled to the populace of Rome on 12 June 1651. According to a report from the time, an event was organised to draw people to the Piazza Navona. Beforehand, wooden scaffolding, overlaid with curtains, had hidden the fountain, though probably not the obelisk, which would have given people an idea that something was being built, but the precise details were unknown. Once unveiled, the full majesty of the fountain would be apparent, which the celebrations were designed to advertise. The festival was paid for by the Pamphili family, to be specific, Innocent X, who had sponsored the erection of the fountain. The most conspicuous item on the Pamphili crest, an olive branch, was brandished by the performers who took part in the event.
The author of the report, Antonio Bernal, takes his readers through the hours leading up to the unveiling. The celebrations were announced by a woman, dressed as the allegorical character of Fame, being paraded around the streets of Rome on a carriage or float. She was sumptuously dressed, with wings attached to her back and a long trumpet in her hand. Bernal notes that "she went gracefully through all the streets and all the districts that are found among the seven hills of Rome, often blowing the round bronze [the trumpet], and urging everyone to make their way to that famous Piazza." A second carriage followed her; this time another woman was dressed as the allegorical figure of Curiosity. According to the report, she continued exhorting the people to go towards the piazza. Bernal describes the clamour and noise of the people as they discussed the upcoming event.
The report is actually less detailed about the process of publicly unveiling the fountain. However, it does give ample descriptions of the responses of the spectators who had gathered in the Piazza. Once there, Bernal notes, the citizens of the city were overwhelmed by the massive fountain, with its huge life-like figures. The report mentions the "enraptured souls" of the population, the fountain, which "gushes out a wealth of silvery treasures" causing "no little wonder" in the onlookers. Bernal then continues to describe the fountain, making continuous reference to the seeming naturalism of the figures and its astonishing effect on those in the piazza.
The making of the fountain was met by opposition by the people of Rome for several reasons. First, Innocent X had the fountain built at public expense during the intense famine of 1646-48. Throughout the construction of the fountain, the city murmurred and talk of riot was in the air. Pasquinade writers protested the construction of the fountain in September 1648 by attaching hand-written invectives on the stone blocks used to make the obelisk. These pasquinades read, "We do not want Obelisks and Fountains, It is bread that we want. Bread, Bread, Bread!" Innocent quickly had the authors arrested, and disguised spies patrol the Pasquino statue and Piazza Navona
The streetvendors of the market also opposed the construction of the fountain, as Innocent X expelled them from the piazza. The Pamphilij pope believed they detracted from the magnificence of the square. The vendors refused to move, and the papal police had to chase them from the piazza. Roman Jews, in particular, lamented the closing of the Navona, since they were allowed to sell used articles of clothing there at the Wednesday market.
Navona Square (Piazza Navona).
Following, a text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in first century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium.[1] The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones ("games"), and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis' (competition arena). It is believed that over time the name changed to 'in agone' to 'navone' and eventually to 'navona'.
Defined as a public space in the last years of 15th century, when the city market was transferred to it from the Campidoglio, the Piazza Navona is a significant example of Baroque Roman architecture and art. It features sculptural and architectural creations: in the center stands the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini; the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone by Francesco Borromini and Girolamo Rainaldi; and the Pamphilj palace also by Rainaldi and which features the gallery frescoed by Pietro da Cortona.
The Piazza Navona has two additional fountains: at the southern end is the Fontana del Moro with a basin and four Tritons sculpted by Giacomo della Porta (1575) to which, in 1673, Bernini added a statue of a Moor, or African, wrestling with a dolphin, and at the northern end is the Fountain of Neptune (1574) created by Giacomo della Porta. The statue of Neptune in the northern fountain, the work of Antonio Della Bitta, was added in 1878 to make that fountain more symmetrical with La Fontana del Moro in the south.
At the southwest end of the piazza is the ancient 'speaking' statue of Pasquino. Erected in 1501, Romans could leave lampoons or derogatory social commentary attached to the statue.
During its history, the piazza has hosted theatrical events and other ephemeral activities. From 1652 until 1866, when the festival was suppressed, it was flooded on every Saturday and Sunday in August in elaborate celebrations of the Pamphilj family. The pavement level was raised in the 19th century and the market was moved again in 1869 to the nearby Campo de' Fiori. A Christmas market is held in the piazza.
Other monuments on the Piazza Navona are:
Stabilimenti Spagnoli
Palazzo de Cupis
Palazzo Torres Massimo Lancellotti
Church of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore
Palazzo Braschi (Museo di Roma)
Sant'Agnese in Agone
Literature and films
The piazza is featured in Dan Brown's 2000 thriller Angels and Demons, in which the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi "The Fountain of the four rivers"(the Danube, the Gange, the Nile and the River Plate) is listed as one of the Altars of Science. During June 2008, Ron Howard directed several scenes of the film adaptation of Angels and Demons on the southern section of the Piazza Navona, featuring Tom Hanks.
The piazza is featured in several scenes of director Mike Nichols' 1970 adaptation of Joseph Heller's novel, Catch-22.
The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was used in the 1990 film Coins in the Fountain. The characters threw coins into the fountain as they made wishes. The Trevi Fountain was used in the 1954 version of the film.
A Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi, é maior das três fontes, localizada no centro da praça. Na fonte dos rios, Bernini projetou quatro estátuas representando os rios dos quatro continentes: o Nilo, o Danúbio, o rio da Prata e o Ganges. As estátuas estão montadas sobre um obelisco egípcio, sendo circundadas por leões e outros animais fantásticos, tendo no cume uma pomba em bronze, símbolo da paz no mundo e da família Pamphili. Para realçar a rivalidade entre Bernini e Borromini, que fez a igreja de Santa Agnese, os romanos criaram uma lenda em torno da fonte dos rios, que fica em frente a esta igreja. Segundo os romanos, as estátuas duvidam da solidez do projeto de Borromini. A que retrata o rio da Prata, tem a mão erguida, a proteger o corpo do desabamento da igreja; a que retrata o Nilo, traz a cabeça coberta por um véu, a recusar a ver a obra de Borromini.
A seguir um texto, em português, da Wikipédia a Enciclopédia Livre:
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fonte dos Quatro Rios), foi esculpida por Gian Lorenzo Bernini entre 1648 e 1651, artista do barroco italiano, foi concebida por uma ordem do Papa Inocencio X o Papa da familia Pamphili, cujo tinha sua casa nesta praça.
Esta localizada na Praça de Navona, em Roma. Ela representa os quatro principais continentes do mundo cortados por seus principais rios: Rio Nilo, na África; Rio Ganges, na Ásia, Rio da Prata, na América e o Rio Danúbio, na Europa.
A seguir, texto em português do site Wiki lingue:
A escultura da Fonte dos Quatro Rios, encontra-se na Piazza Navona de Roma (Itália) e foi criada e talhada pelo escultor e pintor Gian Lorenzo Bernini em 1651 baixo o papado de Inocencio X, em plena época barroca, durante o período mais prolífico do genial artista e cerca da que em outro tempo fué a Chiesa dei San Giacomo de gli Spagnoli
A fonte compõe-se de uma base formada de uma grande piscina elíptica, coroada em seu centro de uma grande mole de mármol, sobre a qual se eleva um obelisco egípcio de época romana, o obelisco de Domiciano .
As estátuas que compõem a fonte, têm umas dimensões maiores que na realidade e são alegorias dos quatro rios principais da Terra (Nilo, Ganges, Danubio, Rio da Prata), a cada um deles em um dos continentes conhecidos na época. Na fonte a cada um destes rios está representado por um gigante de mármol .
As árvores e as plantas que emergem da água e que se encontram entre as rochas, também estão em uma escala maior que na realidade. Os animais e vegetales, gerados de uma natureza boa e útil, pertencem a espécies grandes e potentes (como o leão, cavalo, cocodrilo, serpente, dragão, etc.). O espectador, girando em torno da fonte, descobre novas formas que dantes estavam escondidas ou cobertas pela massa rocosa. Com esta obra, Bernini quer suscitar admiração em quem olha-a, criando um pequeno universo em movimento a imitação do espaço da realidade natural.
A fonte foi submetida a restauração, um trabalho que se deu por concluído em dezembro de 2008. Constitui um dos palcos finque da novela e o filme Anjos e Demónios, à qual é arrojado um dos cardeais sequestrados, e Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) se lança à água para lhe salvar.
Os animais da fonte
A fonte apresenta figuras de sete animais, além de uma pequena pomba e o emblema dos Pamphili. Para poder observá-las basta com dar uma volta ao redor da fonte. As figuras são: um cavalo, uma serpente de terra (na parte mais alta, cerca do obelisco), uma serpente de mar, um delfín (que funciona também como desagüe), um cocodrilo, um leão e um dragão. Notar também a vegetación esculpida que parece real.
Praça Navona.
A seguir, um texto em português, da Wikipédia a Enciclopédia livre:
A Praça Navona (em italiano: Piazza Navona) é uma das mais célebres praças de Roma. A sua forma assemelha-se à dos antigos estádios da Roma Antiga, seguindo a planificação do Estádio de Domiciano (também denominado entre os italianos de Campomarzio, em virtude da natureza rude e esforçada dos exercícios - manejo de armas - e desportos atléticos que aí se realizavam). Albergaria até 20 mil espectadores sentados nas bancadas. A origem do nome deve-se ao nome pomposo que lhe foi dado ao tempo do Imperador Domiciano (imperador entre 81-96 d.c.): "Circo Agonístico" (do étimo grego Agonia, que significa precisamente - exercício, luta, combate). Actualmente o nome corresponde à corruptela da forma posterior in agone, depois nagone e finalmente navone, que por mero acaso significa também "grande navio" na língua italiana.
As casas que entretanto e com o passar dos anos foram sendo construídas sobre as bancadas, delimitariam e circunscreveriam até à actualidade o tão afamado Circo Agonístico.
A Navona passou de fato a caracterizar-se como praça nos últimos anos do século XV, quando o mercado da cidade foi transferido do Capitólio para aí. Foi remodelada para um estilo monumental por vontade do Papa Inocêncio X, da família Pamphili e é motivo de orgulho da cidade de Roma durante o período barroco. Sofreu intervenções de Gian Lorenzo Bernini (a famosa Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fonte dos Quatro Rios, 1651) ao centro); de Francesco Borromini e Girolamo Gainaldi (a igreja de Sant'Agnese in Agone); e de Pietro de Cortona, que pintou a galeria no Palácio Pamphilj, sede da embaixada do Brasil na Itália desde 1920.
O mercado tradicional voltou a ser transferido em 1869 para o Campo de' Fiori, embora a praça mantenha também um papel fundamental em servir de palco para espectáculos de teatro e corridas de cavalos. A partir de 1652, em todos os Sábados e Domingos de Agosto, a praça tornava-se num lago para celebrar a própria família Pamphili.
A praça dispõe ainda duas outras fontes esculpidas por Giacomo della Porta - a Fontana di Nettuno (1574), na área norte da praça, e a Fontana del Moro (1576), na área sul.
Na extremidade norte da praça, por debaixo dos edifícios, foram postas a descoberto ruínas antiquíssimas, a uma cota muito abaixo da actual, comprovando a primeva utilização daquele imenso terreiro. Outros monumentos com entrada para a praça:
Stabilimenti Spagnoli
Palazzo de Cupis
Palazzo Torres Massimo Lancellotti
Church of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore
Curiosidades
Na Piazza Navona, está localizado o Palazzo Pamphilj, propriedade da República Federativa do Brasil, sede da Embaixada Brasileira e da Missão Diplomática do Brasil para a Itália.
Alzando la testa al cospetto di Dio, un senso di vertigine ti colpisce...
Non perchè lo voglia di proposito, o forse si, ma questo non importa...
Bensì perchè è tanta la distanza che si contrappone tra noi e il re dei cieli
Dulcis in fundo pensi quanto in realtà siamo distanti da lui...
-----------------------------------------
Lifting the head to the presence of God, a sense of dizziness it strikes you...
Not because wants him of intention, or perhaps yes, but this doesn't care...
On the contrary because it is as much the distance that is contrasted between the king of the skies and us
You think how much in reality we are distant from him...
Tick-tock!
I used to keep myself
precise and current.
But even I
have succumbed
to what I was made
to watch and keep.
Tick-tock.
No more.
I rest my case.
I
Rest in peace.
[This is the "gut" of a Swiss-made Philippine pocket watch. The Barong Tagalog design. Circa early 1900s. Playing with my Nikkor VR 105 f2.8.]
View On Black (Recommended)
Estoy pensando en ti (Eros Ramazotti & Tina Turner)
Ay los domingos...¡que mal se llevan :(! Todo se ve negro o gris oscuro...
MELANCOLÍAS
Como es sabido la melancolía
no es sinónimo de soledad
aunque una y otra lleguen
con un llanto sequísimo
una ternura en trozos
una tristeza que no tiene nombre
con la melancolía no se juega
sobre todo si sube desde los huesos
y se abre temblorosa y delirante
hay una melancolía que se engancha a la vida
y otra melancolía que se asoma a la muerte
pero los melancólicos no son candorosos
conocen por lo general de qué se trata
la asumen como una fiebre recurrente
como una propensión a la dulzura
o un modo inédito de respirar
normalmente
la soledad y la melancolía
tienen vergüenza de mostrarse
sólo el amor les infunde coraje
y las convierte en pájaros de fuego.
Mario Benedetti
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission - All Rights Reserved ©.
The Monastery of Sant Benet de Bages is a former Benedictine monastery, in the Catalan comarca of Bages. The Romanesque monastery was thoroughly restored at the beginning of the twentieth century by the Catalan architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch. The monastery was founded about 950 by the noble Salla and his consort Ricarda, of the house of the viscounts of Osona . According to the founding legend, Salla traveled to Rome to have his institution authorized, and to have it depend directly on the Holy See, the usual method for preserving the community from interference from the bishop— in this case of Vic— in whose diocese it lay. The abbey church was consecrated 3 December 972, witnessed by a gathering of notables: Borrell II, Count of Barcelona, the bishops Frugifer of Vic, Guisad of Urgell and Pere of Barcelona, the viscount Guadald of Osona, and three of the four offspring of the recently deceased founder, his son Isarn and the sisters Quíxol and Ego, at the head of witnesses both laymen and priests, in a grand ceremonial recorded in the surviving act of consecration. The community was dedicated to the Holy Trinity and to Benedict of Nursia (Sant Benét in Catalan) founder of the order, and Peter and Andrew, all guarantors of its future orthodoxy. The founder secured dispensations that the future abbots would be chosen from among their descendents, making the abbey a form of proprietary church, an agreement that would soon lead to disputes among the various branches of their lineage as to choice of abbots.
From 965, the abbey church held the supposed relics of Saint Valentine, enclosed in a wooden reliquary with plates of silver depicting miracles of Saint Valentine, which was rediscovered in 1863 in the church of Navarcles. At the beginning of the eleventh century the monastery passed under the direction of the Abbey of Saint Peter of Tomeras at Narbonne, from which the community freed itself in 1108. In 1125 Sant Benet de Bages suffered from an attack by Moors that required a rebuilding, financed by local nobles who required in return the right to be buried in its consecrated ground. The most splendid age of Sant Benet de Bages was in the fourteenth century, until the Black Death left the community with only two survivors, in a period that witnessed the beginning of its decline. On 9 November 1593, by order of Pope Clement VIII the community passed under the direction of the Abbey of Montserrat, and remained so until it was suppressed in 1820, serving as a place of retirement for Montserrat's community of monks. By the "law of desamortización" of 1835, all religious orders in Spain were required to render upo their possessions. The crumbling ancient structure attracted the interest of intellectuals who organised visits to it in the late nineteenth century. The architect Puig i Cadafalch and the painter Ramon Casas encouraged the mother of Casas to buy the property in 1907; in 1910 it passed into the hands of Casas, who commissioned Puig i Cadafalch to restore it. Since 2000, when it was purchased from Casas' heirs it has belonged to the Caixa de Manresa, a financial institution that has undertaken its maintenance.
Sounds like a signal from you
Bring me to meet your sound
And I will bring you to my heart
Love like a signal you call
Touching my body my soul
Bring to me, you to meet me here
Home be the temple of your heart
Home be the body of your love
Just like Holy water to my lips
Yes I do know how I survive
Yes I do know why I'm alive
To love and be with you
Day by day by day by day
Time, time again, it is said
We will hear, we will see
See it all-in his wisdom-hear
His truth will abound the land
This truth will abound the land
This State of independence shall be
by Moodswings "spiritual High"
Visited the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge yesterday. While on the auto tour we came across this group of Cinnamon Teal. They are one of my favorite ducks for color and markings. If you wish, each image can be viewed large below.
Panoramic view of a now derelict reservoir on the grounds of the Norristown Farm Park. Formerly this reservoir supplied the Norristown State Hospital. Constructed in 1893 the reservoir held nearly three and a half million gallons of water.
This spiral staircase is located inside Scotty's Castle, a popular destination inside Death Valley National Park. I used my Nikon 10.5 mm fisheye while lying on the floor to get the shot. Good thing this was the end of the tour.
Three exposure HDR, Photomatix and Photoshop CS4.
Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though its breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, youll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
Youll see the sun come shining through for you
Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
Thats the time you must keep on trying
Smile, whats the use of crying?
Youll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile
Thats the time you must keep on trying
Smile, whats the use of crying?
Youll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile
* * *
For The Rogue Players (Smile Campaign) and Theme of the Week (Many Faces of Me).
Explored! 05/28/09
please View On White
una de sus primeras fotos al llegar a casa, el 15 de agosto de 2008
one of the first shots when she arrived home, august 15th, 2008
rel="nofollow">www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPOJKZZf_Jo
Catch the South Piha spray When Viewed large On Black
Well this is pretty much my last upload for a few months (April). Really need to catch up on a few things photography wise and home stuff so I will be taking some time out. Guess this shot is quite apt as one thing I really want to do more of is surf.
Thanks to the 30 or so core contacts that have been a huge support and inspiration to me and those that have commented on my pics, I will be dropping in to take a peek from time to time so please don't delete me! :-). For those that go on the West Coast missions with me I'm still around shooting so feel free to drop me a line if you need a partner in photo crime.
Take care guys and I will be doing some catching up over the next day or so then that will be it for a little while
Shot: 1/640 sec f5 ISO400 200mm
This surfer was miles away so have cropped in major way (down to about 30% of original)
I'd say there are two photographers who were primarily responsible for inspiring me to take up photography. One of them is famous. His name is Galen Rowell. The other one is not. His name is Charles Uibel, and I don't remember how I came across his photos but he was one of my first flickr contacts. I followed his work for years before I became seriously interested in photography and decided to buy my first "real" camera. I was mesmerized by the relationship he had with the Great Salt Lake. It seemed like every day he could go out and find something completely new and fascinating, yet familiar. Featured in many of those photos is Antelope Island -- sometimes dominant, sometimes looming in the distance. It's often an anchor and a thread that weaves his images together. Always the same place, always seen in a new way.
Anyway, despite what my title suggests, I don't have hundreds of photos from this place. But Mickey Butte did remind me of Antelope Island. And the Mickey and Alvord basins are places worthy of the same sort of attention Uibel gives the Great Salt Lake. This was the third time I had been out here, and I plan to return as often as I can. I'm much more interested in seeing a place captured in a hundred different ways than I am in seeing a single trophy shot.
Firefighters' demonstration in Paris.
Right before the Pont d'Austerlitz, some of the firefighters clashed with the riot police, which defended themselves with tear gases. No zoom for this, and no crop (just B&W conversion) ;-)
Part of "Au feu, les pompiers !" (please watch in the order of the set, to better understand the chronology of events)
a tiny portable chess set bought at beijing's touristy yashow market -- one of the souvenirs i look at from time to time to remind me that i was there.
i suffer great disconnect between the places i've lived... at times i suspect i've imagined them. i know it sounds funny, but sometimes i look down on my old neighborhoods on google earth to reassure myself that they really, truly exist.
if i go back to visit, even after decade's absence, it feels as if nothing's changed and it's as if i never left.
on the blog: toomanytribbles.blogspot.com/2009/07/across-board.html
During the Independence Day parade on Aug. 6th, an old man celebrates the memories of his ancesters who fought the Chaco war against Paraguay.
Merci de lire les explications en début d'album / Please read the explanations at the beginning of the set
Quinta de los Molinos en Madrid.
OTRA FORMA DE VER MI GALERIA. Mira todas mis fotos y amplia la que quieras
MIS FOTOS MÁS POPULARES SEGÚN VUESTRO CRITERIO.
Puedes seguirme en 500px.com/pabloarias
Y ahora también en FACEBOOK
Mis blogs:
Tina is the partner of Mowgli. She's usually seen lounging around the place but on this day she was staring out in quite a predatory manner. Jostling for position to get a clear shot of her as she passed back and forth was tricky and took some patience but I nailed it in the end. Just in time too; straight after this she got bored and wandered off.
Una parte delle mura del Castello di Riva di Ponte dell'Olio (PC).
Questa è una parziale visione del fossato che circonda il Castello.
da Wikipedia:
"I castello di Riva è un complesso fortificato che si trova a Ponte dell'Olio, in provincia di Piacenza. Posto sulla riva destra del torrente Nure tra il corso d'acqua e la strada provinciale che collega Piacenza a Ferriere, controllava il passaggio nella val Nure. La sua collocazione, nel punto in cui la pianura finisce e la vallata si strige addentrandosi tra le colline, era strategica poiché permetteva il controllo del passaggio verso il mare, in Liguria, attraverso la val d'Aveto, (Ponte dell'Olio deve il suo nome ai magazzini di olio d'oliva) e in Lunigiana attraverso la val di Taro.
Costruito con le pietre del fiume, è parzialmente circondato dal fossato. Ha pianta a forma di triangolo isoscele, con una torre semicircolare, e due quadrate, poste ai vertici e lungo il lato più lungo. Le mura con merlature ghibelline, sono sovrastate dal cammino di ronda. Un elegante loggiato, costruito nel 1703 dai Maggi, con archi a tutto sesto, collega la torre maggiore con una torre intermedia. L'ingresso si trova sul lato sud-est, è protetto da una torre con porta a saracinesca e ponte levatoio.Una quarta torre si trova all'interno, e serviva per controllare il ponte levatoio. La torre maggiore si trova a nord-ovest, nel punto d'incontro dei lati maggiori del perimetro, è un'imponente mastio quadrato cinquecentesco, ornato di beccatelli collegati da archetti sui quali sono appoggiati i merli a coda di rondine. Ospitava nel sotterraneo la prigione e il pozzo del taglio, a piano terra la sala delle armi con quattro stanze sovrastanti. La base del torrione è lambita dalle acque del fiume che da quel punto si incanalano nella bocca del canale, chiamato Rio San Giorgio, che, costruito nel medioevo a scopo irriguo, dagli Anguissola di Vigolzone, attraversa la pianura oltrepassando San Giorgio Piacentino.
Due sono le leggende che aleggiano intorno al maniero. Secondo la prima, esiste un cunicolo sotterraneo che, partendo dalla torre rompitratta posta sul lato nord, passava sotto il fossato e si collegava ad un edificio adiacente al maglio di ferro*, dove probabilmente venivano conservate armi da fuoco. Un'altra versione narra di un condotto che metteva in comunicazione il castello di Riva con quello di Bicchignano, correndo addirittura al di sotto del greto del torrente.Di questa galleria si sostiene che se ne siano perse le tracce attorno al 1310, poiché gli abitanti del castello, visti a mal partito, vi si sono rifugiati all'interno, i nemici però preferirono farne franare le parti terminali, murandovi all'interno vivi gli avversari. Più probabile è che fosse presente un tunnel, di cui non vi sono comunque tracce, per garantire la fuga in caso di assedio.
La seconda leggenda ricorda la storia della figlia del fiorentino Niccolò Soderini, che era ospite della moglie del signore di Riva Gian Giacomo Anguissola, Beatrice Tedeschi, che divenne ladra per amore. Ella era innamorata di un uomo rozzo, sempre bramoso di denaro, difatti la figlia di Soderini rubò il tesoro al castellano e lo sotterrò sotto il mastio quadrato, in attesa che fosse arrivata l'occasione propizia perché il suo fidanzato lo andasse a dissotterrare, la quale, però, non si presentò mai ed il tesoro rimase sepolto dove l'aveva deposto la bella fiorentina.Lei fu la prima ad essere sospettata e venne gettata nel pozzo del taglio*. Per questo si dice che nelle notti di luna piena l'acqua del Nure (che passa direttamente sotto al mastio) emani bagliori di color verde smeraldo come la figlia di Niccolò Soderini, fatta ladra per amore.
hope you are enjoying the various sunsets, and are going to my friend Judy, Trinimusic www.flickr.com/photos/29482098@N04/
Who is also doing a sunset each day, and beautiful ones,
I have had to pull some from my archives as the weather here has been not so good and either have I, but I hope yo like them any way,
This is one of my fav's. hope you like it.
Have a marvelous day.
Thanks all for your love and comments. As I said, still a bit under the weather so, a slow at commenting, but will catch up as fast as I can,
so said the turtle.
hugs billie.
Cokin P filter: GND4
HDR 3xp
Reflection Set on Black | Beauty of Poland Set on Black | My Photostream on Black
............................................................................................View On Black
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Como esas nubes que ahora ves,
que van regando de vida los campos,
así lloraba de vez en vez,
Haberse visto en la soledad,
esa que aman los sabios,
hoy se ha nublado para llorar,
todo el cielo que te he confiado.
Como un ciego,
que apunta al ruido de mi cabeza,
como todo, como siempre, como es sin ver.
Hacia el abismo de sed,
que no calma el agua, ni las lágrimas,
como todo, como siempre, como es sin ver.
Como esas nubes que ahora ves,
que van regando de vida los campos,
así lloraba de vez en vez,
todo el cielo del desengaño
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{El cielo del desengaño - La Renga}
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♥
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No usar esta imagen en páginas web, blogs u otros soportes sin mi autorización, © Todos los derechos reservados.
Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
“Y estos derechos... a respetarlos, ¿eh? ¡No vaya a pasar como con los diez mandamientos!” (Mafalda)
I look out for this Rosehip bush on my walk as I have noticed groups of Northern Cardinals quite often feasting on the berries. I find it hard to get a clear shot through all the branches..However, I was happy with this one ;) I hope you enjoy him too.....especially in this light. (Who needs textures? lol This is nature's texture!!)
"The brilliant red of a male Northern Cardinal calls attention to itself when males are around. You can also find cardinals by getting a sense of the warm, red-tinged brown of females – a pattern you can learn to identify in flight. Away from backyards, cardinals are still common but inconspicuous owing to their affinity for dense tangles. Listen for their piercing chip notes to find where they are hiding."
Enjoy your weekend everyone :)
Best viewed LARGE.
The following description came from National Geographic.
www.nationalgeographic.com/destinations/Taos/Taos_Drive.html
The highway between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla is one of New Mexico’s most scenic, threading the Brazos Mountains, where grassland basins and forests of evergreen and aspen at 10,000 feet [3,048 meters] are so cleanly delineated they look like landscaping. The Brazos Cliffs, composed of 1.7- to 1.8-billion-year-old Precambrian quartzite (the cliffs contain the oldest known rock in New Mexico), plunge 2,000 feet [609.6 meters] to the Rio Chama Valley.
View in all its grainy glory on black
Lyrics from Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls.
This is the hardest thing. I find it so hard to be honest with myself, let alone other people. I constantly find myself becoming somebody I'm not. Somebody I don't want to be.
I feel like I'm going in the completely wrong direction.
Love:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
I will never get tired of this.
(edit: I just realized this looks a lot like some of Meagan's photos. That was completely unintentional, although she is amazing.)
"Inspiration" is what our little rescue Annie brought to our senior dog, Boo. Her effervescence brought out the puppy in our old girl and she learned how to really play with a doggie friend for the first time in her life. Boo is 14 and can still run like the wind, and although she might pull a few tricks out of her natural herding bag like cutting corners, she can keep up with her little youngster friend (who's a fast little bullet herself for being so low to the ground!). Thanks, Annie!! You've changed all our lives for the better.
Inspiration texture by temari09
phoebe texture by kim klassen
all that glitters by thebline.amy bethune
glitter II brushes by obsidiandawn
en Pemisera a Salou, gaudint dels darrers instants d'estiu ... tot s'acaba, les tempestes de tardor ja amenacen per l'horitzó, i el segon llibre del Larsson també arriba a la seva fi, ... una vegada el va acabar, es va aixecar i va fer aquesta fotografia www.flickr.com/photos/pemisera/3916336463/ .... minuts després tots corriem per les primeres gotellades, que es van acabar en això, en quatre gotes ...
The Monastery of Sant Benet de Bages is a former Benedictine monastery, in the Catalan comarca of Bages. The Romanesque monastery was thoroughly restored at the beginning of the twentieth century by the Catalan architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch. The monastery was founded about 950 by the noble Salla and his consort Ricarda, of the house of the viscounts of Osona . According to the founding legend, Salla traveled to Rome to have his institution authorized, and to have it depend directly on the Holy See, the usual method for preserving the community from interference from the bishop— in this case of Vic— in whose diocese it lay. The abbey church was consecrated 3 December 972, witnessed by a gathering of notables: Borrell II, Count of Barcelona, the bishops Frugifer of Vic, Guisad of Urgell and Pere of Barcelona, the viscount Guadald of Osona, and three of the four offspring of the recently deceased founder, his son Isarn and the sisters Quíxol and Ego, at the head of witnesses both laymen and priests, in a grand ceremonial recorded in the surviving act of consecration. The community was dedicated to the Holy Trinity and to Benedict of Nursia (Sant Benét in Catalan) founder of the order, and Peter and Andrew, all guarantors of its future orthodoxy. The founder secured dispensations that the future abbots would be chosen from among their descendents, making the abbey a form of proprietary church, an agreement that would soon lead to disputes among the various branches of their lineage as to choice of abbots.
From 965, the abbey church held the supposed relics of Saint Valentine, enclosed in a wooden reliquary with plates of silver depicting miracles of Saint Valentine, which was rediscovered in 1863 in the church of Navarcles. At the beginning of the eleventh century the monastery passed under the direction of the Abbey of Saint Peter of Tomeras at Narbonne, from which the community freed itself in 1108. In 1125 Sant Benet de Bages suffered from an attack by Moors that required a rebuilding, financed by local nobles who required in return the right to be buried in its consecrated ground. The most splendid age of Sant Benet de Bages was in the fourteenth century, until the Black Death left the community with only two survivors, in a period that witnessed the beginning of its decline. On 9 November 1593, by order of Pope Clement VIII the community passed under the direction of the Abbey of Montserrat, and remained so until it was suppressed in 1820, serving as a place of retirement for Montserrat's community of monks. By the "law of desamortización" of 1835, all religious orders in Spain were required to render upo their possessions. The crumbling ancient structure attracted the interest of intellectuals who organised visits to it in the late nineteenth century. The architect Puig i Cadafalch and the painter Ramon Casas encouraged the mother of Casas to buy the property in 1907; in 1910 it passed into the hands of Casas, who commissioned Puig i Cadafalch to restore it. Since 2000, when it was purchased from Casas' heirs it has belonged to the Caixa de Manresa, a financial institution that has undertaken its maintenance.
www.lokomotivy.net/adm/zobraz2.php?rada=git_c1&loko=4...
Noční vlaky jsou nedílnou součástí železniční dopravy v Itálii, přičemž relace, směřující z vnitrozemí na Sicílii, patří k nejvytíženějším. Jen ze samotného Říma jezdí hned dva páry spojů, doplněné o vlak z Milána, který cílů na ostrově ve Středozemním moři dosahuje až odpoledne, a i ve směru do Milána vlak odjíždí z obou sicilských destinací nedlouho po poledni. Cestujícím zejména posledně jmenovaného páru se tak naskýtají překrásné výhledy na Tyrhénské moře, neboť železniční trať je vedena v těsné blízkosti pobřeží od Sicílie až téměř po Neapol. Vzhledem ke zmíněné vytíženosti jsou všechny tři páry vlaků složeny pouze ze spacích vozů a poté, co se přepraví ze vnitrozemské italské železniční sítě přes Messinskou úžinu na tu sicilskou pomocí trajektu, se ve stanici Messina Centrale rozdělují Zatímco jedna část vlaků je vedena po severním břehu ostrova do stanice Palermo Centrale, druhá část vlaků směřuje na jih přes Katánii do Syrakus.
Na snímku vlaku ICN 1963 "Intercity Notte" [Milano Centrale – Siracusa], pořízeném dne 23. března 2024 u letoviska Praia a Mare, lze spatřit všechny tři typy spacích vozů, kterými lze v těchto vlacích cestovat. Nejpočetnější lehátkové vozy, nabízející pouze čtyřmístná a o poznání komfortnější kupé, než bývá v Evropě zvykem, představují zástupce dvou sérií, které vznikly v letech 1996–2001 přestavbou starších vozů konstrukce UIC-X ze 60. a 70. let v celkovém počtu 230 vozů. Lůžkový vůz je zde zastoupen v západní Evropě nejrozšířenějším typem MU rovněž po modernizaci. Na vzniku celkem 283 vozů během let 1963 a 1990 se podílely hned tři společnosti a vozy tohoto typu jezdily i ve Francii či v zemích Beneluxu. Zatímco zcela původní francouzské vozy dnes dožívají v Černé Hoře, všechny dnes provozované italské vozy prošly modernizací a jsou dodnes v provozu, jak se lze na tomto snímku přesvědčit. S celkovou kapacitou až 36 osob nabízí jedno-, dvou- či třílůžková kupé standardních parametrů.
Nejzajímavější je ale třetí vůz na snímku – jedná se o lůžkový vůz typu T3S, který vznikl v počtu 11 vozů v letech 2007–2008 ve firmě RSI Costa Masnaga přestavbou starších lůžkových vozů typu T2S z roku 1982. Jedna polovina vozu je tvořena standardními třílůžkovými oddíly, druhá polovina pak představuje netradičně provedená čtyřlůžková kupé s vlastním WC a sprchou. Vozy tohoto typu byly mj. nasazeny v letech 2017–2020 na páru nočních vlaků Benátky–Paříž, avšak po ukončení provozu tohoto spoje v důsledku pandemie viru Covid-19 v roce 2020 byly staženy do vnitrostátního provozu a dnes jsou vozy nasazovány na všechny tři páry nočních vlaků na Sicílii, avšak pouze do skupiny vozů Miláno/Řím – Syrakusy a zpět.
Praia a Mare je obec v regionu Kalábrie, která je známá jako plážové letovisko u Tyrhénského moře. Celkem dva kilometry dlouhá pláž je částečně pokryta atraktivním černým lávovým pískem. Na jižním konci se nachází skalní ostrov Dino, kde se nachází několik velkých mořských jeskyní, přístupných malými plavidly. Na nejjižnějším výběžku pláže se na výběžku sopečné skály tyčí středověká věž Fiuzzi, postavená byzantskými silami k ochraně pobřeží.
Best Viewed Large Size On Black
I always feel weird when I go shooting in the middle of the night alone. The little kid in me seems to have some fear and respect for the dark of night. Last night, the little kid's voice in my head was going overtime trying to talk me out of going to the coast to shoot this image. I finally at length decided this voice is useless (mostly). I feel much better now.
I mean, after all, next month I'll be trotting all over the place all by myself in dangerous conditions across the central plains, both day and night, and so I better grow a pair now if I'm going to ever respect myself. Seriously, I'm now glad I listened the my inner sense of reason.
Once I was at the lighthouse, it was about Midnight and the wind was howling and cold. I got my jacket on, and went to my camera bag and discovered I left my remote at home once again. The moonlight was plenty strong, so I knew I'd get a shot, but I wanted to try some real long exposures, and now it wasn't going to happen. The atmosphere was quiet, other than the crashing waves against the cliffs and the high winds, and I would actually call it peaceful and calming, at least that's how I felt at the time.
I wound up taking all the usual shots, and was feeling sort of frustrated until I came up to the fence line here. Immediately, I knew what I wanted to get. This feels like an Edward Hopper Painting to me. I like the shadows, and the fence-line a lot. Clouds were flying by, and I got some cool shots with blurred clouds, but this shot seemed to sum up the feeling of the night best.
I'm sure glad I didn't chicken out this late evening.
"I've never been so pleased to see a ceiling," he said.
Virtually the first words out of his mouth when my step-mum and I went in to see him after his operation late on Thursday evening.
After the relative high of leaving hospital and getting home for his birthday last week, this week was all about the build up to his carotid endarterectomy. And as the week drifted by, dad drifted a little further within himself; the risks and understandable fears of what was quickly galloping towards him looming large.
The morning of the operation began early, the hospital taxi duly arrived. My step-mum apparently offered to carry his bag. He politely declined, picked it up himself, strode off down the path, into the waiting car and away. My step-mum, slightly shocked, waved at the back of his head. He didn't say goodbye. He didn't look back. It's astonishing to think that could've been their last moment together.
Later he shrugged the moment off, "I don't like goodbyes. Besides, I was being positive. I had every intention of coming back." He's an unusual character all right, my dad.
The scar and associated bruising, as you can see, make him look the victim of a particularly brutal werewolf attack. However, given the relative invasiveness and delicacy of the operation, his recovery, again, is quietly remarkable; also a wonderful testament to the skills of the surgeon, Mr Neary. [Who, the day before, was so calm before the operation, he sat on the edge of the desk talking to my parents swinging his legs back and forth like a small boy.] You've got a special place in the hearts of this family, Mr Neary. Now, pull your socks up, tuck your shirt in and go tidy your room!
Twitter: Anatomy Of A Stroke