The Matryoshka Doll in Russian Culture. To non-Russians, the matryoshka, or nesting doll, is one of the most quintessential representations of traditional Russian peasant life. It appears to foreign eyes as a relic of quaint serf culture.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7o8mEbgBCc

1. The Glass Prison

[music by Myung, Petrucci, Portnoy, Rudess]

[lyrics by Mike Portnoy]

[I. REFLECTION]

Cunning, Baffling, Powerful

Been beaten to a pulp

Vigorous, Irresistable

Sick and tired and laid low

Dominating, Invincible

Black-out, loss of control

Overwhelming, Unquenchable

I'm powerless, have to let go

I can't escape it

It leaves me frail and worn

Can no longer take it

Senses tattered and torn

Hopeless surrender

Obsession's got me beat

Losing the will to live

Admitting complete defeat

Fatal Descent

Spinning around

I've gone too far

To turn back round

Desperate attempt

Stop the progression

At any length

Lift this obsession

Crawling to my glass prison

A place where no one knows

My secret lonely world begins

So much safer here

A place where I can go

To forget about my daily sins

Life here in my glass prison

A place I once called home

Fall in nocturnal bliss again

Chasing a long lost friend

I no longer can control

Just waiting for this hopelessness to end

[II. RESTORATION]

Run - fast from the wreckage of the past

A shattered glass prison wall behind me

Fight - past walking through the ashes

A distant oasis before me

Cry - desperate crawling on my knees

Begging God to please stop the insanity

Help me - I'm trying to believe

Stop wallowing in my own self pity

"We've been waiting for you my friend

The writing's been on the wall

All it takes is a little faith

You know you're the same as us all"

Help me - I can't break out this prison all alone

Save me - I'm drowning and I'm hopeless on my own

Heal me - I can't restore my sanity alone

Enter the door

Desperate

Fighting no more

Help me restore

To my sanity

At this temple of hope

I need to learn

Teach me how

Sorrow to burn

Help me return

To humanity

I'll be fearless and thorough

To enter this temple of hope

Believe

Transcend the pain

Living the life

Humility

Opened my eyes

This new odyssey

Of rigorous honesty

Serenity

I never knew

Soundness of mind

Helped me to find

Courage to change

All the things that I can

"We'll help you perform this miracle

But you must set your past free

You dug the hole, but you can't bury your sole

Open your mind and you'll see"

Help me - I can't break out this prison all alone

Save me - I'm drowning and I'm hopeless on my own

Heal me - I can't restore my sanity alone

[III. REVELATION]

Way off in the distance I saw a door

I tried to open

I tried forcing with all of my will and still

The door wouldn't open

[replaced with "but" in this line]

Unable to trust in my faith

I turned and walked away

I looked around, felt a chill in the air

Took my will and turned it over

The glass prison which once held me is now gone

["now" is not heard in this line]

A long lost fortress

Armed only with liberty

And the key of my willingness

Fell down on my knees and prayed

"Thy will be done"

I turned around, saw a light shining through

The door was wide open

I must admit a certain fascination with antlers. In many ways they seem to be one of nature’s most wasteful luxuries. Many animals that have them spend untold amounts of energy growing them, only to have them fall to the ground at year’s end and have the process start anew. It isn’t simply the beauty of the form but also the progression of their growth that I find intriguing. Although these two are fine now, they may not be as friendly once autumn arrives.

Progression

A series of images from the total lunar eclipse of August 28, 2007 that I have combined into one image. I didn't really plan to do this ahead of time, so the shots aren't spaced chronologically terribly well (gap in time is different between some of the shots). But this was a fun and fairly easy to do. We had a wonderfully clear night and I could see the moon straight from the window...didn't even have to go outside!

Photos taken in Los Angeles, CA (USA).

Portfolio & Tumblr blog

The street view of a City office building stairway.

Street sculpture and tile wall. The original work of art is called "Progression". I shot it down the length of the sculpture with the sun to the left. The tiles at the far left are from the wall of the building and the yellow-green and yellow-red colors contrast with the blue of the sculpture.

Macro Mondays theme: Monday, September 18th theme - then and now, before and after, yesterday and today...

Tried a few things for this theme after rumaging through my little box of memorabilia - ie "STUFF" - my biggest problem was to get into the "3-inch rule" limit. Had to use a ruler to make sure I cropped to the 3" limit.

This image has a my old iPhone, an older flash and something you may not recognize - a disposable Flash Cube. These compact little pieces were developed in the 1960's by Kodak for their Instamatic series of cameras and with an adapter you could actually use them on SLR's. I tried to include the adapter, but couldn't get it in because of the 3" rule.

Happy Macro Monday to all ...

Punning Progressions.

Противоречива мода невъзможна визия, принуждаваща договори, молили писма за покачване на суровите наказания, разклащащи кралските правила,

наблюдая за утонченными шагами, шагами, авантюрными свободами, преждевременными подмигиваниями, крутящимися лентами, наглыми замечаниями, революционизировавшими искусство,

భూతద్దం ఆకస్మిక కళ్ళకు ఇష్టమైన విషయాలు ముఖస్తుతి ప్రదేశాలు ఆర్కెస్ట్రేటెడ్ స్ప్రింగ్స్ సార్వభౌమ ఆవిష్కరణ యొక్క ప్రముఖ చర్యలు,

ûnsichtberens redenen coaxing oertsjûgingen brûkend konklúzjes yntellektuele tefredenheid befêstige twifels kontrolearje oarders,

patroniem snuiten charmante status domineert functies mooie berichten onweerstaanbare libertine accumuleren koorts onophoudelijke liedjes,

آهنگسازان بی نظیر بازیگر سیریور لذت های قلب پرشور را بیش از خطوط حکیمانه حکاکی شده,

無知な扱いが運命を前進させる危険を軽視する報告を蘇生させる優秀な感情は出発を始めます敏感な提案を開始します埃っぽい哲学活動は活気に満ちています.

Steve.D.Hammond.

Abstract photo of glass tower in Nashville.

None of my work is Ai assisted and is copyright Rg Sanders aka Ronald George Sanders.

Summer tone abstract

The Republic of Korea Air Force’s Kai T-50 Golden Eagle, aircraft No.5 of the Black Eagles aerobatic display team, returns to the runway following their amazing routine at RIAT 2022.

SOFLES progression shots from a wall painted over the weekend.

Implicit feature

Essential entity

Surface disturbance

Deck awning at the NC Arboretum in Asheville.

Rivière souterraine du gouffre du saut de la Pucelle dans le Lot. Sortie spéléo du GCPM.

Supersampler, Müller 400.

Epson Perfection V850 with Vuescan, SmartConvert and Lightroom.

---

This sequence feels like a fleeting moment captured not just once, but four times over—a snapshot of time unraveling. The Supersampler format emphasizes motion in such a unique way, turning an ordinary street scene into something almost cinematic. The man walking through the frame becomes the focal point, his casual stride contrasted against the rigid, weathered facade of the building behind him. There’s a beautiful tension here: the human movement feels fluid and alive, while the architecture, with its cracked plaster and faded pink-and-green tones, tells a story of wear and permanence.

The interplay of light and shadow across the bottom of the frame creates a subtle layer of drama. The light slicing through the foreground feels almost like a fifth frame—an unspoken element in this visual rhythm. The slight vignetting at the edges, along with the soft grain, gives the image a distinctly analog texture, reminding us of the tactile imperfections that make film photography so evocative.

Technically, the Supersampler shines here in its ability to distill motion into stillness, while maintaining a sense of progression. Each frame offers just enough overlap to feel connected, yet distinct enough to appreciate the subtleties of his shifting posture. It’s the kind of photograph that invites you to linger, to trace the details of each frame as though you’re following a quiet narrative unfolding in real time. An excellent example of how analog cameras like this can transform the mundane into the extraordinary.

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Blooming stages

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– Album – FRA – 2019JUN08-10 – Pentecost Sunday:

Short but sweet layover.

My friend Dori and her sister-in-law Edda picked me up at 4 in the afternoon instead of 1:00, as our flight was 3 hours late & our crew arrived at the hotel about 11 in the morning. After my arrival nap, Dori drove Edda and me across the Rhine River into the state of Hesse for dinner at Domäne Mechtildshausen ...this place is a farm, B&B, café, restaurant, butcher shop, bakery, dairy shop, and produce, craft, & wine market, all the shops closed this Sunday – today – Pentecost. We ate outside at the restaurant, beside the beautiful brick buildings enclosing a large courtyard garden surrounded by sprawling farmland.

And that was our visit; 2½ hours after Dori picked me up, she had brought me back, and gave me a little bag of the locally famous Frauenstein cherries she had bought me, delicious!

Hope you enjoy the 14% of 255 photos I took here this day!

Shot @ Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, CA

Minha progressão do eclipse lunar total para a lua de sangue.

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My progression of total lunar eclipse the moon to blood

New York City

The year progresses, a reminder of the cycle of life.

A display near Tyler Texas of Lighted Christmas Trees.

For 365, FGR and the I Didn't Know I Was Being Photographed By Myself! group.

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Liquid Drop Art /// Facebook Page///Water Drop Ebook

MKJZZ Water Drop Kit

For Solli

As per a request.

Snowdrop / Schneeglöckchen (Galanthus) - Large On Black

in our garden - Frankfurt-Nordend

Explored: 06.02.2011

Just as in life the magic happens ever so often, all we need to do is be ready to capture that moment and ride the wave.

"Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."

- Albert Einstein

Purposely kept this composition 'busy' to reflect the complexity of modern life, as seen by the young (overwhelming for adults, imagine what the world seems like to them).

And no, I'm not a Luddite.

My own design, yarn from my stash, tentacles in honor of Cecinatrix. They can be stuffed inside and shaken out at a surprise attack. :)

Pattern "Ammonit" is available on Ravelry.

A shot taken from Sentosa Island showing gradual stages of development.

Something a bit different that I've not really shown before! This mimics my workflow in a sense, progressing through from a colour image (from my D7100) to a unprocessed IR, the B&W IR conversion and finally a more abstract conversion (from my IR converted D90)