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NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft completed its 1.2 billion-mile (2 billion-kilometer) journey to arrive at the asteroid Bennu Monday. The spacecraft executed a maneuver that transitioned it from flying toward Bennu to operating around the asteroid.
Now, at about 11.8 miles (19 kilometers) from Bennu’s Sun-facing surface, OSIRIS-REx will begin a preliminary survey of the asteroid. The spacecraft will commence flyovers of Bennu’s north pole, equatorial region, and south pole, getting as close as nearly 4 miles (7 kilometers) above Bennu during each flyover.
The primary science goals of this survey are to refine estimates of Bennu’s mass and spin rate, and to generate a more precise model of its shape. The data will help determine potential sites for later sample collection.
This image of Bennu was taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a distance of around 50 miles (80 km).
Image credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
A prototype atom interferometer chip in a vacuum chamber, harnessing the quantum behaviour of atoms to perform ultra-precise measurements of gravity.
“Quantum physics and space travel are two of the greatest scientific achievements of the last century,” comments ESA’s Bruno Leone, who this month organised the latest Agency workshop on quantum technologies.
“We now see huge great promise in bringing them together: many quantum experiments can be performed much more precisely in space, away from terrestrial perturbations. In addition, the new generation of quantum devices offer huge improvements to space-related technology.
“Potential is there for the use of quantum technologies in areas such as Earth observation, planetary exploration, secure communications, fundamental physics, microgravity research and navigation.”
This Earth gravity meter is being developed by RAL Space in the UK and IQO Hannover in Germany, with ESA support.
Microwave and light interferometers provide extremely precise measurements by combining different waves. Just like sets of ripples meeting in water, the combination of slightly different signals creates interference patterns.
This interferometer takes advantage of the fact that – as stated by quantum theory – atoms also behave like waves as well as particles, and can be combined to deliver extraordinary atomic-scale precision. It could be used in principle to map variations in Earth’s gravity with orders of magnitude greater than our current best.
Credit: RAL Space/IQO Hannover
Don't have a more precise date than February 1968 for this one and the location is Welwyn Garden City thanks to the Gents below.
The class 15's hauling the train of coal wagons are D8233 in green and the one with the double arrows was given as D8231 but I can not make out the number. They were both allocated to Finsbury Park at this time.
D8233 was new to Stratford in August 1960 and withdrawn in February 1969, it then moved into departmental service which happily lead to it now being preserved. D8231 was not so lucky, being withdrawn in March 1971 and cut up at Crewe within a year.
Image from a slide in my collection by an unknown photographer.
The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a UFO — well, the UFO Galaxy, to be precise. NGC 2683 is a spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on, giving it the shape of a classic science fiction spaceship. This is why the astronomers at the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium and Observatory gave it this attention-grabbing nickname. While a bird’s eye view lets us see the detailed structure of a galaxy (such as this Hubble image of a barred spiral), a side-on view has its own perks. In particular, it gives astronomers a great opportunity to see the delicate dusty lanes of the spiral arms silhouetted against the golden haze of the galaxy’s core. In addition, brilliant clusters of young blue stars shine scattered throughout the disc, mapping the galaxy’s star-forming regions. Perhaps surprisingly, side-on views of galaxies like this one do not prevent astronomers from deducing their structures. Studies of the properties of the light coming from NGC 2683 suggest that this is a barred spiral galaxy, even though the angle we see it at does not let us see this directly. NGC 2683, discovered on 5 February 1788 by the famous astronomer William Herschel, lies in the Northern constellation of Lynx. A constellation named not because of its resemblance to the feline animal, but because it is fairly faint, requiring the “sensitive eyes of a cat” to discern it. And when you manage to get a look at it, you’ll find treasures like this, making it well worth the effort. This image is produced from two adjacent fields observed in visible and infrared light by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. A narrow strip which appears slightly blurred and crosses most the image horizontally is a result of a gap between Hubble’s detectors. This strip has been patched using images from observations of the galaxy made by ground-based telescopes, which show significantly less detail. The field of view is approximately 6.5 by 3.3 arcminutes.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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The Importance of Being Ernesto
“While it takes many valuable people to run any company, there is none more important than the cat that runs the forklift.” - Ward McCready.
Meet Ernesto T. Rodarte of Station 19, Outpost 31 located on Rospaw, the last of Ubiquidyne Industries’ port hubs before the thirty-seven hour jump to Helvetius. Don’t call him Ernie, or Ern, or any shortened facsimile of what his name is. He is Ernesto. And out here in the Dark, that carries more weight than any overly familiar and juvenile misrepresentation can carry. He has no time for any level of stupid keeping this station running smoothly. He doesn’t talk much; but when he does, it’s fast and precise and always with the best interests of the facility in mind. He is an asshole and an asset, and he is proud of both. And above all, he wants everything to run smooth.
However…
He may be inclined to “adjust” shipping manifests and other documentations and orders if the priorities deem it necessary or the price is right. Treat him fair and he’ll treat you fair; treat him otherwise and there may be an issue. Or five. Or simply something missing from your cargo’s smooth passage through this bustling port. Shrink happens, more so in a vast, impossible to account for everything corporation such as Ubiquidyne Industries. Remember that you can trust that Ernesto will make sure everything runs smooth.
And Ernesto keeps this hub running smoothly with Ol’ Number 7, a Caterpillar 808F skid loader. It dutifully runs the bays with the only hiccup being a leaky shock in the left rear that he’s been threatening to fix for well over a Sol year if he ever gets a chance. Along with Ernesto, she’ll make sure any cargo is given the best care money can buy and that your time on Rospaw is a smooth one.
Fourth wall: Well, as soon as I said I was going to focus more on trophy fig scale and there about, I go and get an itch to build this. It comes about as I actually sat down and started working on Hecate again. Yes, she’s still here taking up a good chunk of real estate and screaming at me every day to work on her. So I did. A little bit anyways, minor stuffs as proofs of concept more than anything. But I started getting back into the swing of mental disparity that is building something on this massively stupid scale, which is to eat it as you would an elephant: Small bites. And the small bite I needed next was a forklift. I found exactly what I was envisioning as a suitably futuristic loader HERE and made some slight alterations for more weight, balance, and strength. I wanted it to look like Ripley’s loader without being a walking facsimile (while I adore it, there ain’t nothin’ wrong with wheels and treads.) So here ya’ll go with no promise that Hecate will be done soon or that I will concentrate on her or anything for that matter. I’m just building so long as my back and hands hold out.
Cheers!
Ahi weaves precise slashes and pyroclastic strikes to form his unique eruptive fighting style, leaving only ash and obsidian in his wake.
Made some changes to Ahi. The shins have been replaced to be more sleek, and some of the torso colors have been changed to be less messy. Also, the sword blade is the correct color. The leg articulation is a lot better in this version, so he can actually pull off some neat poses.
“We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over.” [Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451]
It was momentous to leave North Saanich this time, knowing what we do. The beauty of friendship is often tinged with sadness. And that in itself is a far more beautiful thing than indifference.
looking at the back of Evelyn and Andrew's house
San Lorenzo Maggiore is a church in Naples, Italy. It is located at the precise geographic center of the historic center of the ancient Greek-Roman city, at the intersection of via San Gregorio Armeno and via dei Tribunali. The name "San Lorenzo" may also refer to the new museum now opened on the premises, as well as to the ancient Roman market beneath the church itself, the Macellum of Naples.
The church's origins derive from the presence of the Franciscan order in Naples during the lifetime of St Francis of Assisi, himself. The site of the present church was to compensate the order for the loss of their earlier church on the grounds where Charles I of Anjou decided to build his new fortress, the Maschio Angioino in the late 13th century.
San Lorenzo actually is a church plus monastery. The new museum takes up the three floors above the courtyard and is given over to the entire history of the area that centers on San Lorenzo, beginning with classical archaeology and progressing to a chart display of historical shipping routes from Naples throughout Magna Grecia and the Roman Empire. The museum provides a detailed account of the local "city hall" that was demolished in order to put up the church in the 13th century and continues up past the Angevin period and into more recent history.
Beneath San Lorenzo, about half of an original Roman market has been excavated.The site has been open since 1992, the result of 25 years of painstaking excavation. The market place is the only large-scale Greek-Roman site excavated in the downtown area.
In this church Boccaccio met his beloved Fiammetta (1338) (Wikipedia)
Scan of a slide taken in November 1990; before precising the history of this vehicle, one of the odd traditions of the K&ESR's C&W Department was that Dave Dine cooked a Christmas Dinner for his fellow volunteers. I say odd, because this always seemed a slightly un-Dave thing to do but he made a fair stab at roast turkey with all the trimmings and I recall sometimes some of his work colleagues were invited too. Virtually all of us had to drive so it was a fairly abstemiousness affair (Gordon Young and Pete Carey never returned to 'work' if they had even as much as a half at lunchtime) and although memory plays tricks on me, I think the 1990 venue was this carriage. Also, if memory serves me right the interior was a bit odd, I recall Gordon describing it as a 'Formica Palace'. All would have seemed well in the world of C&W at that point; several Mark Ones were available for general services, the 'Wealden Pullman' wine and dine set had been maintained for yet another profitable season and progress was being made with the Maunsells and the vintage carriages..
This vehicle was built in 1931 at Eastleigh as a restriction '0' Corridor Composite for the restricted gauge Hasting line. It passed into Departmental Stock in 1962 as TDS70155 and arrived at Tenterden in 1990 becoming No. 91 in the K&ESR stock book. Presumably whilst we were scoffing our turkey we assumed this carriage would one day see service on the K&ESR (why else would Paul Ramsden have green lighted the purchase). However, it had move to Robertsbridge by 1995 and suffered fire damage at one end. It has since been reunited with Paul at Rampart Engineering and is most likely currently at Barrow Hill.
...Have you ever tried to force a flower of magnolia to open its petals?
It is wonderful in early morning, when its sweetness is stronger.
Do not cut the flower, it is strong on the plant, but if you cut it away, it will die in a little time.
By the way: try to open its heart: a strong fragrance of lemon will be everywhere; close your eyes and touch those petals with a soft caress and the lemon sweetness will remain on your fingers as the most sensual sensation of freshness and beauty.
Now, open your eyes: look at the flower... its magic shape, its magic pure and simple shape: only few petals giving us all Love of Nature....
From a travelling English woman's vacations diary
IT WAS CAPTURED AS IT WAS ON THE PLANT
NO PHOTOSHOP; NO DIGITALLY CORRECTED: OBLIQUE NATURAL LIGHTED.
SEE ON BLACK, PLEASE, IT WOULD BE EVEN BETTER
Ambrogio da Fossano, known as Bergognone (1453 circa - 1523) - The nursing Madonna (1485) - tempera on wood 43 x 37.5 cm. - Poldi Pezzoli Museum, Milan
L’iconografia della Vergine che allatta il Bambino, nota dalla fine del IV secolo, conosce notevole fortuna durante il Gotico e il Rinascimento, in coincidenza con il nuovo fiorire del culto della Madonna che si diffonde dal nord Europa. L’atmosfera del dipinto è di grande intimità. Gesù tiene tra le manine un seno della madre, mentre si gira a guardare l’osservatore. L’artista si sofferma a descrivere il cappuccio blu che scivola dalla testa della Vergine, i capelli che si allargano, scoprendo l’orecchio e il lenzuolino stropicciato che avvolge Gesù, il cui lembo ricade sul polso della madre. Il disegno è estremamente preciso, un sottile contorno racchiude mani e corpi, con un chiaroscuro di grande delicatezza, dove le ombre paiono accarezzare le diverse superfici. Preziose lumeggiature dorate rischiarano i capelli della Vergine, il risvolto verde del cappuccio, il polsino rosso dell’abito. Proprio l’altissima qualità esecutiva e la tecnica raffinata (quasi da miniatura, nella cura estrema dei dettagli) hanno lungamente disorientato gli studiosi. Dopo numerose oscillazioni attributive tra Vincenzo Foppa e Ambrogio Bergognone, l’opera era stata assegnata all’inizio degli anni ottanta al pavese Donato de’ Bardi, uno dei protagonisti del primo Rinascimento padano, lungamente attivo in Liguria, dove era morto nel 1451. La restituzione del dipinto a Bergognone è stata confermata dal ritrovamento di una tavoletta con Tre angeli cantori che avrebbe fatto parte, con questa tavola, di un prezioso altare portatile. Era probabilmente un’opera realizzata per la devozione privata di un raffinato proprietario intorno al 1485, ispirata da esempi fiamminghi.
The iconography of the Virgin nursing the Child, known since the end of the fourth century, was very popular during the Gothic and Renaissance periods, coinciding with the new flowering of the cult of the Madonna that was spreading from northern Europe. The atmosphere of the painting is one of great intimacy. Jesus holds one of his mother's breasts in his little hands as he turns to look at the viewer. The artist pauses to describe the blue hood that slips from the Virgin's head, the hair that spreads out, uncovering the ear, and the crumpled sheet that envelops Jesus, the flap of which falls on his mother's wrist. The drawing is extremely precise, a thin outline encloses hands and bodies, with a chiaroscuro of great delicacy, where the shadows seem to caress the different surfaces. Precious golden highlights illuminate the Virgin's hair, the green lapel of the hood, the red cuff of the dress. Just the high executive quality and the refined technique (almost like a miniature, in the extreme care of the details) have long confused the scholars. After numerous attribution fluctuations between Vincenzo Foppa and Ambrogio Bergognone, at the beginning of the 1980s the work was assigned to Donato de' Bardi from Pavia, one of the protagonists of the early Renaissance in the Po Valley, who worked for a long time in Liguria, where he died in 1451. The restitution of the painting to Bergognone was confirmed by the discovery of a panel with Three Singing Angels that would have been part, with this panel, of a precious portable altar. It was probably a work made for the private devotion of a refined owner around 1485, inspired by Flemish examples.
I did a precise measurement and approximately 59 seconds out of every minute was spent visualizing myself slipping and falling into the water, then washed over the waterfall forever. The other 1 second was spent partially slipping and feeling intense panic that everything visualized in the previous 59 seconds was about to come true.
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
The Church of Our Lady is a historical building in Kalundborg, northwestern Zealand, Denmark. The precise date of construction is not known with any certainty, though its architecture indicates the early part of the 13th century. With its five distinctive towers, it stands on a hill above the harbour, making it the town's most imposing landmark.
The church is built of red brick, indicating that it was constructed no earlier than 1170 when brick was first used in Denmark.
At the time when the church was built, a small medieval town stood on the hill. It was originally fortified by Snare's castle but this was replaced in the 14th century by Kalundborg Castle, now in ruins, with its ring walls and ditches. Much of this has now disappeared but the old churchyard walls are still intact. Two brick houses from 1500 form part of the boundary walls and a few brick houses near the church are evidence of the prosperity the town enjoyed in the 15th century.
The central tower of the church collapsed in 1827 due to structural flaws and incautious repairs inside the church. Collapse did not cause any injuries but many medieval furnishings were destroyed .
As the church had fallen into a state of disrepair by the beginning of the 19th century, restoration work was carried out first from 1867 to 1871 under the leadership of Vilhelm Tvedes when the central tower was rebuilt, and later from 1917 to 1921 when the three entrances and the windows were reconstructed under architects Andreas and Mogens Clemmensen. From the square nave, four arms of equal length stretch out to a polygon terminal. These proportions have been compared to the description of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation. While the original barrel vaults of the transepts are still in place, the columns in the nave and the vaults have been reconstructed.
The medieval sacristy (1400) along the north wall of the chancel is well preserved. In about 1500 it was given an upper storey.
The plan is in the form of a Greek cross with four arms of equal length. The window arches as well as the pilasters and sunken columns inside the church suggest the involvement of Lombard builders from northern Italy. It is said to be Denmark's most important contribution to architecture during the Middle Ages.
The church's central tower, known as Mary's tower (after the Virgin Mary), is 44 m tall and square-shaped while the four lateral towers, each 34 m tall, are octagonal. The other towers are also named after saints: St. Anne's to the east, St. Gertrude's to the west, St. Mary Magdalene's to the south and St. Catherine's to the north. The four columns supporting the central tower are made of granite, providing additional strength. With five towers in all, the church is unique.
The architecture reveals similarities with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as well as with grouped towers in the great churches of France and the Rhineland. In particular, both the church's age and its architectural style have much in common with Tournai Cathedral in the south of Belgium. The masonry, on the other hand, is comparable to that of other early brick buildings in the area such as St. Bendt's Church in Ringsted.
Last Tuesday to be precise. They say wearing black is meant to be slimming but looking at this I'm not so sure. My eyes are unfortunately still quite bad so this was the last time I dressed, hopefully they'll have cleared up (or at least improved) so I can go out on Thursday. I spent most of Monday playing golf and am now most definitely paying the price from an eczema perspective, as grass and I don't really don't get along. Oh well back to work 💋
Bluff Rock sits beside the New England Highway ten kilometres south of Tenterfield. The precise details of what happened here on October 17, 1844 remain somewhat clouded but the general contours of the story are well known and stand as an example of what took place across Australia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as white settlement expanded into Aboriginal homelands. By 1840 pastoralists, including one Edward Irby, had begun to take up runs on the northern tablelands of New South Wales. Local Aborigines fiercely resisted this incursion into their country. With justification the settlers were regarded as foreign invaders, and in the course of the Aboriginal resistance shepherds were attacked and sheep were speared.
As a hedge against possible prosecution, contemporary reports of reprisals by white settlers were often guarded and there are conflicting stories of what transpired at Bluff Rock. A second hand account from a later date relates how, in response to Aboriginal attacks on shepherds and sheep, men from Irby’s station set out in pursuit. It was said that when they caught up with the “culprits” at Pyes Creek, the Aborigines retreated across country to Bluff Rock where they were thrown from the top onto the rocks below. According to this report, most were killed and many were injured.
Somewhat more circumspectly, Irby himself describes how one of his shepherds, Robinson by name, was killed and how he and three others set out to find those responsible. In his journal he records the dark deeds of that day:
The blacks saw us coming and hid themselves among the rocks, One, in his haste, dropped poor Robinson’s coat so we knew we were onto the right tribe. If they had taken to their heels they might have got away, instead of doing so, they got their fighting men to attack us. So we punished them severely and proved our superiority to them.
Like many of his time, Irby seems not to have questioned his natural right to mete out punishment to those he saw as murders and thieves. Among pioneering pastoralists there was little recognition of the fact that they, the white settlers, were the intruders and that the Aborigines were legitimately defending their land and their way of life. The incident at Bluff Rock is but one small event in what historians such as Henry Reynolds refer to as the Aboriginal Wars. In this series of frontier skirmishes that followed the expansion of white settlement, it is estimated that some 2,500 whites lost their lives and at least 30,000 Aborigines were killed.
© Irwin Reynolds, all rights reserved. If you are interested in using one of my images or would like a high quality fine art print, please send me an email (irwinreynolds@me.com)
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
At this precise moment in time, a family member is laying on a hospital bed knowing there is not long left..
During times like these people get sad, people cry, people ask questions, people get angry..with me...it sort of stays inside..I dont bottle it up.. I just deal with quietly.
Its times like these that make you take a step back and think..
This family memeber... said words that I will never forget.. Ever. As she lay there on the bed she asked my mother..."why is this happening to me ?, I have never done nobody any harm. I have been nothing but kind."
Hearing my mum tell me those words.. really hit me.. I never get emotional at sad times.. I show it in the bucket loads during fun times..but sad times I hide it.. But at that moment,, It hit me.. and I cried.
How do you deal with knowing you are going to die..in days ?
It makes me wonder.. sometimes....what is the whole point of it all..
We all know that every single one of us has the same destiny.. we can not change that..
Whoever decided that this is the way is was to be....needs to re-think.. because this way is shit.
I wish I was I was in charge of all this.. I wouldn't know what to do, or the right way to make it all better.. but I know it should not have to be this way.
"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment. Or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
All to often, when we go through these tough times..we are given advice or get told things to help make good of what we have.
Here are a few litte quotes that spring to mind..
Laugh when you can,
Apologise when you should,
Let go of what you can not change,
Kiss slowly,
Forgive quickly,
Play hard,
Take chances,
Give everything and have no regrets,
Life is too short to be anything else but happy..
Edit: Explored !! Thank You !!
Highest position: #220 on Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Oh my little précises baby …..So you had to find out the hard way…..Love hurts ….So very much…..And now look at you with your heart all broken……But now sweetheart, Mother is by your side ….Now Come ….. Let me wipe away you’re heartbroken tears …. And ease your mind Billie Jean…… I too have had my heart broken, and like you….I thought it would never heal …..But soon …pretty soon…You will start to feel better…..As I did……. And yes there will be other favourite toys that you will have……that heads don’t fall off when you are playing with them…..Now…. will look and see what Di has done ….Why she has darned teddy head right back on..<3 <3 <3 …..So let’s see the BJ smile again …..xxxx
A CROSS marks the precise boundary between the town Kalampaka and the village Kastraki, Greece. The prominent lamdmark is located beneath the rock formation Bádovas in Meteora—one of UNESCO world heritage sites.
The Holy Symbol also defines a clear-cut boundary between Truth (pictorially represented by Clarity) and Propaganda (represented by Distortion):
In the fine art shot, the only clear part is the Cross and the Cross alone, because it represents truth, faith and heavens; the farther away from the Cross the surroundings are, the more distorted they get by a hell-like VORTEX of lies, deceit and sin.
Deceit, propaganda and lies lead to a Breakdown in communication. The latter is HELL (defined as the state of lack of communication or the state of being distanced); so, hell should be thought as a “state of being” rather than as a place. The Cross symbolizes sacrifice—the Almighty God’s power to “deliver us from evil.”
+ ✞
Well, to be more precise, the same four day-old Moon, on the left first in 16bit mode and then on the right in 8bit mode a few minutes later with the same camera and all other settings identical. I wanted to see if there was any obvious difference in the quality of the two images. There is - just - it is very subtle and difficult to pick up though.
Both images were taken in evening twilight before it got dark.
Peter
One of my favorite female Northern Harriers making a very precise approach to her postal perch in the coastal wetland.
Ulak Tartysh is team riding horse game. It consist in a wrestle for possession of the headless carcass of a goat. The two teams of riders attempt to deliver it across the opposition s goal line, or into the opposition s goal, made with a big tub or a circle marked on the ground.
The goat is 35 kilogs, and the men on the horses carry it with 1 hand!
© Eric Lafforgue
First off, I'm glad this was accepted. And second off, I'm throwing this in as a scene from the future.
-----------------------------
Earth: Home of Peter Quill
Quill landed the ship.
"Ok Groot, Rocket. Time to get off."
"What the hell are we even doing here Quill?" asked Rocket.
"I am Groot?"
"We're here to deliver a message."
Quill took out a photo.
"To be precise, this message."
He handed the photo to Rocket.
"Is that you?"
"Yep. Before I started this whole thing. 5 years ago."
"Shit Quill. Why do you still have this?"
Quill looked at the house.
"That's a good question."
Quill hopped out of the Milano. He walked over to the door, and opened it.
"I am Groot."
"Yes we lock doors on Earth Groot. This one.. doesn't. He doesn't need to."
"And why's that Quill?" asked Rocket in a sarcastic voice.
"He's not a normal man...."
Quill dropped the photo on the ground.
"I am Groot?"
"I'm dropping it on the ground because it will remind him."
"I am Groot?"
"Of us. The Guardians. Remember a few years back when we stopped here? We pretended I was his friend Harry?"
"I am Groot."
"Yeah, great you remember."
"Ya know what else I remember?"
Quill looked at Rocket.
"I thought rodents couldn't remember. It's a disability they have... called, Not Human?"
"Why you......"
Rocket lunged at Quill, but Groot caught him mid air.
"I am Groot."
"Lemme at him! Come on one punch!"
"I... AM....GROOT."
"Yeah. Like the big guy said, no fighting."
"Ya know what I remember Quill?"
Groot put Rocket down.
"I remember you abandoning your crew. People died that day Quill. Don't forget that. The only reason I'm here... is to do good for NOVA Core."
Quill put his hand to his mouth, and then replied, "I know. I know what happened. I knew what was going to happen."
Rocket and Groot looked at each other.
"Then... why the hell did you leave? If you knew you could have helped...."
"Rocket. You don't understand. I can't tell you. If I did... many more would die."
"I am Groot."
"Yeah. We have the right to know." said Rocket.
Quill sat down.
"Alright... don't say I didn't warn you."
Nowhere: 5 years ago
Quill got into the ship. He walked to the front where he saw Cosmo waiting.
"Yo Quill. You ready?"
"Yeah. I'll go get the team."
He looked at a red, slimy object.
"Just... make sure that doesn't go anywhere."
Cosmo nodded, and went back to playing Tetris on the computer screen.
Quill hopped off the Milano. He was proud of his ride. It had gotten them through 204 missions together. Even stopping Thanos at one point. He walked to a door, and put a key card up to it.
"Quill, Peter. Enter."
Quill entered, and went to the training room. There he saw Drax, Vell, and Victory in there. They all were beating each other up.
He opened the door.
"Drax! Stop fighting with you're sister!"
"I'm sorry?" Drax said confused. "She is not related to me."
Vell just laughed.
"It was a joke."
"Ah... I see."
Major Victory got up and walked with Quill.
"They are learning. And well." Victory said.
"And how about yourself?"
"Fine. We're becoming a team.... just like you said we would."
"Alright. Well, we better go and head to the ship. We just got intell on..."
"Quill." Eric was calling his name.
Quill looked at Victory.
"Head to the ship. I'll be there soon."
Victory nodded, and told Drax and Vell to head to the ship. Quill walked towards Eric. Eric was smiling. For some unknown reason he was smiling. A major threat was coming to destroy Zandar, and he was smiling.
"Quill. I need to talk to you."
"Alright, but make it quick. We gotta go."
"I intend to make it quick."
They walked into the office that was once Eric's fathers. He had retired when Quill became the leader of the Guardians. He had said that he was never more proud.
Eric sat down at the desk.
"Quill, I'm going to make this quick."
"Good."
"But... you won't like it."
"Well I usually never do... if you're involved."
Eric straightened himself up.
"Have you ever heard of... blackmail?"
Quill laughed.
"Yeah. It's called credit card companies."
Eric did not laugh. He only smiled.
"Good. So you'll know what I'm about to do."
Quill ceased to laugh. He looked behind him to notice the door was locked, and the camera was off.
"Eric..."
"Listen Quill."
When Quill turned around he could see Eric holding a gun under his desk.
"I know you and I have had it rough. You're past... my future. It's all going to come into play here."
Quill knew he could take the gun from Eric two weeks ago. But now, since he had the full power of Nova... he could do nothing.
"The Guardians are a fantastic team... really they are. I like what you've done to the program. But... there's a bump in the road."
"What bump?"
"See.... you're the problem Quill. I don't like you. I never will. But you can do me a favor. I mean, you are the leader of the Guardians, and practically the Core."
Quill felt his palms getting sweaty.
"What you're going to do is... well, how to I say this." Eric said laughing.
"Just... just say it."
"You're going to kill your team."
Quill just took in those words. Kill you're team. Eric must have been crazy. Why would he want to do that?
"I'm sure you'll succeed. You were an excellent officer."
Quill wondered why. Why did he want him to do this?
"If I don't?"
"I'll make the officers of Nova Core kill every living thing on Zandar."
Eric could do that. With some convincing, he could command and army. He was the leader of the Core.
"Why do you want to me to kill them?"
"See, I don't like you Quill. And if you assembled you're team, they have to go. Good people, but I can't work with them."
"Why would you work with them?"
"Well, I would be the new leader of the Guardians obviously."
"Why?"
"Well, I would have everything. Power, fame, glory. Everything my father gave to you."
Quill was horrified with Eric. Why would he want this?
"I would assemble my team of Guardians. And then you would go to prison, and tortured to death. As you will kill them."
"No... I won't."
"Well then. Let me just announce that..."
"NO! Wait. I'll do it. I'll... do what you want."
"Excellent. Now when you go out to do your mission, just... kill them there."
Quill nodded. There was nothing he could do. He even thought of letting Eric kill him, but there was no point. Eric would have killed the team anyways. Quill could save them though. He was Star Lord after all.
He went back to the Milano. Everyone was on board. Quill climbed to the cockpit. There, Cosmo was waiting for him.
"Ready?"
"Yeah. I need you to help me with something though."
Quill told Cosmo everything. Cosmo demanded they storm into Eric's office and kill him themselves.
"No, that won't do. He would just get the Core Officers on us. I have an idea though. So just here me out."
Quill explained that he would get everyone off the ship before they reached their destinations. They would not be able to got to Zandar or Nowhere anymore. Quill would fly the Milano into the threat, hence destroying the ship, and killing him in the process. Cosmo tried to talk him out of it, but Quill was certain it was the only way. Eric had put a chip in Quill's suit and the Milano, which could view them doing the crime. Good thing it didn't have sound.
Cosmo finally agreed. He put the ship in drive, and started off. Quill was ready to die. He had to be.
When they got to the point of where Quill was going to tell everyone to get off, Cosmo stopped him.
"Lets take them out in groups.. so they won't be alone."
Quill nodded, as Cosmo set them into groups. Vell, Drax, and Victory all went together. Groot, Rocket, Venom and Cosmo were the other group. Cosmo didn't tell them what Eric had said. It was best left alone. Before anyone could do anything a mist started to appear. Adam Warlock had created it. He went up to Quill. The others in the back were almost asleep.
Adam Warlock approached Quill.
"I can read thoughts Peter."
"Well then. Great to know."
"I know you have no choice Peter."
"Yeah. So get in the back with the others and jump off."
"I have a better idea. You're a good man Quill. They'll understand. You need to stay alive."
"Look, Adam, someone has to die."
"Yes. The team."
Quill was shocked. Adam was with Eric. He was going to kill the team. Adam was the sense of right and wrong! And he thought this was right?
"Adam! What are you talking about! They don't have to die.."
"Quill. Please. Trust me."
With that Adam went to Victory. With one thrust, he drove a whole through his heart.
Quill ran to stop him, but it was no use. Adam pushed him out of the way. Quill still kept trying, and eventually got to the release button. He pressed it, and with that, all the members went flying into space. Adam shouted, and grabbed Vell, and Drax. Quill floated towards Adam, and managed to free Vell. He turned on his jetpack and tried to fly away, but Adam used his powers to return Vell to him. Quill stared in horror as Adam drove his fist through her also. He saw the blood come out of her mouth as he did so. Quill started to tear up. The one love of his life. Gone. Then Adam did the same to Drax. Quill dove at Adam, and pushed him back to the ship. He held off Adam, until he knew the other members could not have been harmed. Then, he kicked Adam through the front of the Milano. Quill flew off thinking of what would happen to Zandar.
Earth: Present Day
After Quill had finished explaining, Groot and Rocket were fired up. They were angry, sad, and horrified at the same time.
"I AM GROOT!"
"Yeah what he said!"
"Look, guys... Eric might still plan to do this. So just do what he says. Or the fate of Zandar might be altered."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Very loooooooonng issue to start with. But I wanted to tell the story of what happened to the other members. So there you have it.
Karel Appel (Amsterdam, April 25, 1921 - Zurich, May 4, 2006) - Tête de soleil (1961) - oil on canvas 120,5X 140,5 cm - GAM Gallery of Modern Art of Turin
Il sentimento dominante nell'opera di Appel è quello della tragicità dell'esistenza, che egli ha riversato nella pittura fin dal tempo della partecipazione alle attività dei gruppo Cobra (1948-1951). Le presenze antropomorfe, che in altri artisti del gruppo assumono la sembianza ieratica di totem, nei suoi dipinti appaiono invece scosse da un movimento deformante, coinvolte in un processo di metamorfosi di ascendenza espressionistica. Il colore, caricato della medesima violenza, costruisce le figure senza passare attraverso schemi formali precisi, spesso avvicinandosi, come nel caso di quest'opera, ad una densità materica vicina a quella degli Informali.
The dominant feeling in Appel's work is that of the tragedy of existence, which he poured into painting from the time of his participation in the activities of the Cobra group (1948-1951). The anthropomorphic presences, which in other artists of the group assume the hieratic semblance of totems, in his paintings appear instead shaken by a deforming movement, involved in a process of metamorphosis of expressionistic ancestry. The color, charged with the same violence, builds the figures without passing through precise formal patterns, often approaching, as in the case of this work, a material density close to that of the Informals.
San Lorenzo Maggiore is a church in Naples, Italy. It is located at the precise geographic center of the historic center of the ancient Greek-Roman city, at the intersection of via San Gregorio Armeno and via dei Tribunali. The name "San Lorenzo" may also refer to the new museum now opened on the premises, as well as to the ancient Roman market beneath the church itself, the Macellum of Naples.
The church's origins derive from the presence of the Franciscan order in Naples during the lifetime of St Francis of Assisi, himself. The site of the present church was to compensate the order for the loss of their earlier church on the grounds where Charles I of Anjou decided to build his new fortress, the Maschio Angioino in the late 13th century.
San Lorenzo actually is a church plus monastery. The new museum takes up the three floors above the courtyard and is given over to the entire history of the area that centers on San Lorenzo, beginning with classical archaeology and progressing to a chart display of historical shipping routes from Naples throughout Magna Grecia and the Roman Empire. The museum provides a detailed account of the local "city hall" that was demolished in order to put up the church in the 13th century and continues up past the Angevin period and into more recent history.
Beneath San Lorenzo, about half of an original Roman market has been excavated.The site has been open since 1992, the result of 25 years of painstaking excavation. The market place is the only large-scale Greek-Roman site excavated in the downtown area.
In this church Boccaccio met his beloved Fiammetta (1338) (Wikipedia)
ESA’s ultra-precise deep-space navigation technique – Delta-DOR – tells us where spacecraft are, accurate to within a few hundred metres, even at a distance of 100 000 000 km.
In order to navigate a spacecraft around our Solar System we have to know how far away it is, how fast it is travelling and in what direction. Each of these steps are explained in this new infographic, "How not to lose a spacecraft".
Credits: ESA
The words nerd, geek, and dork are often used interchangeably, but if a more precise definition is applied, a dork is the one who is socially awkward. That might describe most of us now and then, so today’s host says, “You know you are one, so you might as well embrace it.”
We’re Here: I’m A Big Dork
Get a clue! Join We’re Here!
And since Granny, in her dorkiness, does not have any party scenes in the archive, credit must be given to Wulfson, [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARUNET-2006_COCKTAIL_PAR...
Oskar Schlemmer, (born September 4, 1888, Stuttgart, Germany—died April 13, 1943, Baden-Baden, Germany), German painter, sculptor, choreographer, and designer known for his abstract yet precise paintings of the human form as well as for his avant-garde ballet productions.
Schlemmer was exposed to design theory at a young age as an apprentice in a marquetry workshop. He took classes at the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Applied Arts) in Stuttgart, and a scholarship allowed him to further his studies at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Art (1906–10). He spent a year in Berlin painting and familiarizing himself with new trends in art by artists associated with the Der Sturm Gallery. He then returned to Stuttgart in 1912 and became a master student of abstract artist Adolf Hölzel.
Schlemmer was wounded in action while serving in World War I and returned to Stuttgart in 1916. In 1919 he helped spearhead a movement to modernize the curriculum at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Art—which also involved a staunch effort to have Paul Klee appointed to the faculty there—and, more generally, to bring modern art exhibitions to Stuttgart. He was integral to organizing early exhibitions, which featured his own work as well as that of Klee, Willi Baumeister, and others.
In 1920 Schlemmer married Helena (“Tut”) Tutein, and that same year Walter Gropius invited him to the Bauhaus school in Weimar to teach. There he made significant contributions to numerous departments (sculpture, mural painting, metal work, and life drawing) but truly left his mark in the stage workshop. For that workshop he created his best-known work, Das triadisches Ballett (1922; “The Triadic Ballet”)—a ballet that he choreographed and for which he designed costumes. He named it “Triadic” to reflect the three acts, three dancers, and three colours (one for each act). The costumes he designed—based on cylinder, sphere, cone, and spiral shapes—were revolutionary. That ballet premiered in Stuttgart in 1922 and was then presented throughout the 1920s in cities such as Weimar, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, and Paris. Schlemmer served as head of the stage workshop at the Bauhaus from 1923 to 1929. His experience with dance influenced his paintings, which began to incorporate more depth and volume, as seen in The Dancer (1923). Schlemmer developed the Bauhaus theatre in Dessau—where the school had relocated in 1925—and was involved in the design process of many theatrical productions.
Throughout the 1920s Schlemmer was commissioned to paint several murals in both private residences, such as the home of architect Adolf Meyer (1924), and public spaces, such as the former Bauhaus in Weimar (1923), which the Nazis destroyed in 1930, and the Folkwang Museum in Essen (1928–30), which the Nazis vandalized, dismantled, and removed in 1933. Schlemmer left the Bauhaus in 1929.
From the Bauhaus, Schlemmer moved to Breslau, where he continued to work in theatre and teach (State Art Academy). He also continued to paint, and in 1932 he created his well-known work Bauhaus Stairway. Without warning the Nazi regime dismissed him from his teaching position in 1933. Schlemmer moved to Switzerland for a brief time with his wife and children and painted portraits and landscapes.
The last decade of Schlemmer’s life was marred by the Nazi dictatorship and defamation of his life’s work. In 1937 five of his works were included in the Nazi-organized “Degenerate Art” exhibition in Munich. He continued to exhibit his work when possible and participated in major exhibitions in London and New York City in 1938. Schlemmer was reunited with Baumeister and other artists in 1940 when he moved to Wuppertal, Germany, where he earned a living by working at a lacquer factory. He died of a heart attack three years later. Schlemmer’s Triadic Ballet was revived on a number of occasions in the late 20th century and was performed with the original, restored costumes. Those costumes, however, were the only original elements remaining. The music and choreography associated with Schlemmer’s production were lost. A volume of his diaries and letters edited by his wife was published in 1972; an English translation by Krishna Winston was issued in 1990.
Friendship
We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over.
—Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
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Let’s take a step back. To be more precise, let’s step back exactly two frames. See, the last two photographs I posted were takeoff flight shots #1 and #2, in sequential order. But this here photograph is rightfully #0, the moment right before flight.
This photograph also represents my reaction time. I had been standing with my lens pointed at the harrier for, oh, about 4 minutes. I knew she wouldn’t stay there long, particularly with a Red-tailed Hawk active in the marsh not far away. So if you are like me, you dial in a shutter speed of 1/3200 and stand at the ready, eye pressed to the viewfinder, right thumb pressing the back button focus button, right index finger gently resting on the shutter button. Waiting, waiting, waiting, and watching the bird just sit there, looking around, preening, looking around. Sometimes a bird will give you a signal that it is about to fly, usually by dropping ballast (also known as taking a shit). But not this time. She went from nonchalantly looking around to taking off without any warning. And this photograph represents how long it took me to recognize the motion and press the shutter button.
We're not going to explain in full what a 'County Palatine' is, or was; suffice it to say that firstly, you can search the term online; and secondly, Lancashire and Cheshire are rightly proud to decsribe themselves as Counties Palatine.
This photo was taken in the seat of Cheshire, in Chester - to be precise, at the City's Borough Transport depot. And the orange and brown visitor was a Scania with coachwork made by the Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company Limited, often just termed 'Northern Counties'.
The occasion appears to be an open day, with a brand-new Greater Manchester Transport bus visiting from Leigh garage. There were just two Scanias of this type, and they were liked by crews for being very fast. They eventually ended up after deregulation with Stagecoach Manchester, and at the time of writing 1461 survives in private preservation.
Chester City Transport wasn't so lucky; like many small municipal operators, it was a minnow in a post-deregulation pool, and it finally succumbed to intense competition in 2007. The depot here has now been demolished and flats built in its place.
If you'd like to know more about the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester and its collection of vintage buses, go to www.motgm.uk.
© Greater Manchester Transport Society. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction is strictly prohibited and may result in action being taken to protect the intellectual property interests of the Society.
We are staying north of the border today, in Portstewart to be precise. Having had a good look at the photo I am struck by the three hard working (is that the correct word?) men on the middle pier, they seem to be very relaxed and laid back. I am expecting a very precise date range for this photo.
Among the commetary, insights and dating suggestions for this image is confirmation (from the StreetView provided by B-59) that the buildings in the middle of this image have been replaced or otherwise unrecognisable. Thankfully the buildings on the left of Harbour Place and the right of the Promenade remain. One of the other main takeaways from today is how excited we all are for tomorrow's launch of the Photo Detectives exhibition One more sleep indeed :)
Photographer: Robert French
Collection: Lawrence Photograph Collection
Date: Catalogue range c.1880-1900
NLI Ref: L_ROY_05579
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
San Lorenzo Maggiore is a church in Naples, Italy. It is located at the precise geographic center of the historic center of the ancient Greek-Roman city, at the intersection of via San Gregorio Armeno and via dei Tribunali. The name "San Lorenzo" may also refer to the new museum now opened on the premises, as well as to the ancient Roman market beneath the church itself, the Macellum of Naples.
The church's origins derive from the presence of the Franciscan order in Naples during the lifetime of St Francis of Assisi, himself. The site of the present church was to compensate the order for the loss of their earlier church on the grounds where Charles I of Anjou decided to build his new fortress, the Maschio Angioino in the late 13th century.
San Lorenzo actually is a church plus monastery. The new museum takes up the three floors above the courtyard and is given over to the entire history of the area that centers on San Lorenzo, beginning with classical archaeology and progressing to a chart display of historical shipping routes from Naples throughout Magna Grecia and the Roman Empire. The museum provides a detailed account of the local "city hall" that was demolished in order to put up the church in the 13th century and continues up past the Angevin period and into more recent history.
Beneath San Lorenzo, about half of an original Roman market has been excavated.The site has been open since 1992, the result of 25 years of painstaking excavation. The market place is the only large-scale Greek-Roman site excavated in the downtown area.
In this church Boccaccio met his beloved Fiammetta (1338) (Wikipedia)
Sam Harris has always been a man of precise words and razor-sharp thoughts, his voice carrying the clipped cadence of someone who has spent a lifetime considering each syllable before speaking it aloud. When I photographed him in March of 2016 at Dove Mountain, Arizona, I was struck by his stillness. He has the presence of someone who is not merely thinking, but thinking about thinking, plumbing the depths of consciousness with the same intensity a mountaineer might study a precipice before making the ascent.
Born in 1967, Harris is best known as a neuroscientist, philosopher, and writer who has spent decades interrogating the human condition. He first gained widespread attention with his book The End of Faith (2004), a fierce and unflinching examination of religious belief that won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction. In it, Harris argued against the dangers of dogma with the kind of cool, analytical detachment usually reserved for lab reports, making the case that faith—unchecked and unquestioned—was one of civilization’s great existential threats. The book, written in the wake of September 11th, made him both a hero and a heretic, a role he seemed to accept with the quiet assurance of a man who expected no less.
His intellectual journey has been one of relentless inquiry, unafraid to step into the fray of controversy. Whether tackling free will, artificial intelligence, or the moral implications of neuroscience, Harris approaches each subject with the rigor of a scientist and the tenacity of a trial attorney. His book Free Will (2012) presents a case against the very idea of human volition, arguing that our actions and thoughts are dictated by prior causes beyond our control—a notion as unsettling as it is liberating. He moves easily between philosophy and empirical science, grounding his arguments in the latest research on the brain while never losing sight of their broader implications.
Yet, for all his cerebral intensity, Harris is not without a deep fascination with the subjective, with the inner world of experience. His book Waking Up (2014) is a testament to this—an attempt to reconcile the apparent contradiction between rigorous rationality and the profound states of consciousness explored in meditation. Having spent time in silent retreats, studying under Buddhist teachers, and experimenting with psychedelics, Harris has sought to strip spirituality of its supernatural trappings and ground it in something more defensible: the raw, unfiltered reality of direct experience.
This tension—between the rational and the experiential, the cold precision of science and the warmth of personal insight—is what makes Harris such a compelling figure. His Making Sense podcast, launched in 2013, serves as an intellectual salon of sorts, a place where he engages with scientists, philosophers, writers, and thinkers across disciplines, from artificial intelligence experts to moral philosophers. He is never afraid to challenge his guests, nor does he shy away from re-examining his own positions. In conversation, as in his writing, Harris wields clarity like a scalpel—his arguments honed to their sharpest edge, his questions cutting straight to the heart of a matter.
The man I met at Dove Mountain was much as I expected: deliberate, measured, and strikingly present. He had a way of looking at you that made it clear he was not just waiting for his turn to speak but genuinely absorbing what you said, weighing it against the vast architecture of ideas he carried within him. There was an intensity in his silence, the sense that his mind was constantly at work, peeling back layers of assumption to examine the bare scaffolding underneath.
Harris is, above all, a seeker—a man who has spent his life charting the contours of belief, knowledge, and consciousness with the precision of a cartographer mapping an undiscovered world. He does not offer easy answers, nor does he indulge in comforting illusions. Instead, he asks us to look unflinchingly at the reality before us, to question, to examine, to think. And in doing so, he invites us into the great, unfinished conversation that is the pursuit of truth.
San Lorenzo Maggiore is a church in Naples, Italy. It is located at the precise geographic center of the historic center of the ancient Greek-Roman city, at the intersection of via San Gregorio Armeno and via dei Tribunali. The name "San Lorenzo" may also refer to the new museum now opened on the premises, as well as to the ancient Roman market beneath the church itself, the Macellum of Naples.
The church's origins derive from the presence of the Franciscan order in Naples during the lifetime of St Francis of Assisi, himself. The site of the present church was to compensate the order for the loss of their earlier church on the grounds where Charles I of Anjou decided to build his new fortress, the Maschio Angioino in the late 13th century.
San Lorenzo actually is a church plus monastery. The new museum takes up the three floors above the courtyard and is given over to the entire history of the area that centers on San Lorenzo, beginning with classical archaeology and progressing to a chart display of historical shipping routes from Naples throughout Magna Grecia and the Roman Empire. The museum provides a detailed account of the local "city hall" that was demolished in order to put up the church in the 13th century and continues up past the Angevin period and into more recent history.
Beneath San Lorenzo, about half of an original Roman market has been excavated.The site has been open since 1992, the result of 25 years of painstaking excavation. The market place is the only large-scale Greek-Roman site excavated in the downtown area.
In this church Boccaccio met his beloved Fiammetta (1338) (Wikipedia)
Rain. Lots of it. 24 inches to be precise. Only 4 days after taking this picture of the Chavón River in La Romana (Dominican Republic), a new tropical storm paced its way over the island of Hispaniola, continuing on to the East coast of the US...
Lo que falta es aún peor.
Lluvia. Y mucha. 24 pulgadas para ser precisos. Sólo 4 días después de tomar esta foto del río Chavón en La Romana (República Dominicana), una nueva tormenta tropical atravesó lentamente la isla de la Hispaniola, siguiendo su curso hacia la costa Este de los EE UU...
Olympus E-3
ZD 7-14mm f/4 ED
Aperture Priority Mode
f/1
ISO 100
7mm
1/200
Metering: Spot
White Balance: Cloudy
No Photoshop
No HDR
Replica of a Canadian 1 cent coin, sold by the Canadian Mint.
Macro Monday - June 2 theme: Watch
Much loved and well worn. A conversation piece.
The Royal Canadian Mint ceased production in 2012 and
distribution, of the 1 cent coin (penny) in February 2013. The coin, however, is still legal tender. Vendors no longer return pennies in change, cash purchases are rounded up/down to the nearest 5 cents. Non-cash purchases are still processed to the precise amount.