Okay, so here's a question (as I'm not working until tonight, and so have some time to sit here in front of the computer, commanding the internet to entertain me):

Is it better for new photographers to use digital or film? Does it make a difference?

Been giving digital & film a lot of thought lately, obviously, and the other day I was talking it over with a friend who's not a photographer, explaining to him the differences, the different challenges and limitations of both.

I'm of the opinion, and this is of course colored by my own experience, that film is better for new folk, that it's the specific limitations of film that help a budding photographer prioritize, and through that, begin to carve out a style.

Having to decide what shots you just HAVE to take, because there's only 36 frames, which shots do you really want, which shots are the most important.

But i'm open to other points of view, as long as they agree with me 100%.

Meet James. He is my third face in 2016. James is a special little guy with two terrific people with hearts of gold as his mama and papa. His dad is one of my oldest friends and his mom has become dear to our family since she has come into our lives. I believe I will continue to be amazed at all the things James will do with his life as he grows. He is off to an impressive start already but, for now, he is just a tyke discovering the world in his own special way.

I also want to apologize for my sporadic interactions on Flickr of late. I am receiving far more notifications than I can possibly keep up with these days. I do not intend to be aloof. It is simply a matter of trying to balance life. I truly appreciate all the interest and kind comments people have expressed in my photos. Truthfully, I have prioritized my time with 52 weeks of 2016, my personal 100 faces project, and lending a hand with the Colours of group once a week. I may pick up other projects from time to time as creativity and motivation strike but personal and professional obligations will not allow for much more than those stated projects for 2016.

Those dark clouds are not to play with! I recall being sick on this day, but it didn't deter me from doing photography. Life is, indeed, about making the correct prioritizations.

" Within the confines of boundaries, the essence of beauty and self-worth unfolds. Embrace the limits, for within them, you discover your true radiance."

___ Scarlett Saphira

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. . . Femdom Tale . . .

Chapter - The Consequences of Unclear Boundaries

The life of Mistess who fails to maintain her own boundaries.

Boundary:

☑ Not clear

☑ Not strong

☑ Not strict

If these three things happen, men will realize that there are 'no boundaries' because men's brains tend to prefer processing information by grouping and evaluating things based on their overall composition rather than thinking separately in details.

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Perception:

☑ Insult / Looking down

☑ Disrespect

☑ Crossing your lines

When women don't set clear boundaries, it means they 'lack' a standpoint. No boundaries suggest a 'lack' of value, wisdom, and a compelling reason for a man to surrender, sacrifice, and show respect.

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Boundless = Worthless:

He will lose interest in chasing your game and instead make you play his game.

This is the root of these issues

☑ a sub who has power and control the game from below

☑ a sub domming from the bottom

She has to follow his game to gain acceptance, to be worthy of his love, to merit his flattery, to deserve his sweet words, to earn the title 'my Mistress,' 'my Queen,' 'my Princess', ' My dear Miss.' To be a perfect Miss for him, meeting all HIS standards.

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Become your submissive's beloved pet:

☑ Be loyal only to him, Be faithful, Wait him at home.

☑ Must not create problems, must have reasons, must listen to him, must always be available for him.

☑ Must be gorgeous and beautiful in the way they define Miss's beauty.

☑ Must control your emotions for him, must respect all his boundaries, and must support his sensitivity and insecurity as he instructs. Follow his guidance because he knows himself the best; you don't have that understanding, so it's essential to listen and act in a way that promotes his emotional well-being to maintain a healthy relationship with him.

☑ Never cross his lines to show that you are mature, can reason well, and have enough maturity to be his proper Miss (while all your boundaries are disrespectfully crossed daily by him).

He will make you believe that your boundaries are selfish. Starting from the fact that your boundaries were unclear, not strong, not strict, to the point where there were hardly any.

Now, he has brought it to the point where you feel 'guilty' if you dare to establish them in your relationship. You will no longer dare to set boundaries because you want to be a good, decent Miss for him.

" Making his Miss feel guilty and preventing her from daring to do what makes him irritated or unhappy without considering fairness is 'abuse.' In a Femdom relationship, you should not be the one receiving abuse, it should be you who gives it to him.

A man who fails to respect your boundaries attempts to overstep them, convincing you that this is an adjustment you, as a woman, should make in your life. However, you should firmly deny and clearly define your boundaries without caring whether you will have him in your life or not."

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Prioritizing Boundaries:

" The important thing is not to manage or judge whether he intends to or not, or whether he can be taught or changed. Whether disrespect is intentional or unintentional, it doesn't change the fact that it occurred. Mostly, the main core is because of his personality.

It's more important to know your boundaries, be brave enough to communicate and stand up for your boundaries, and courageously accept the reality if he can't respect them. Remove yourself from men like that with the belief that there is someone out there ready to respect you. You just have to find that person."

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Handling a Man Who Ignores Your Boundaries:

Queen: How Queens Handle Disrespectful Subs?

☑ Punishment (don't care, don't ask for his consent)

☑ Banishment

☑ Beheading

" A queen's response to disrespect is to promptly remove or banish those kinds of men from her life."

Miss Boss: How Miss Bosss Handle Disrespectful Subs?

☑ Punishment (explaining his faults, making him understand his wrongdoing)

☑ Strict with her boundaries and in control

☑ Teaches him to respect

" The real power lies in 'not caring' about others more than your own self and needs. "

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Miss Boss or a Real Queen

www.flickr.com/photos/161478161@N05/53492836091

♦ Instructions available at Rebrickable ♦

"This is where the fun begins!"

My latest ship from the Prequel Trilogy has arrived, and it surely was a lot of fun to make: here's Obi Wan's Eta-2 Actis Interceptor from Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and The Clone Wars.

This small unit consists of 281 pieces (stand included), and has one major feature: true Minifig scale!

There's a handful of beautiful MOCs of this ship out there already, but most of them are based on the huge cockpit piece from the playsets, so they're drastically oversized. So here I am with a, dare I say, more accurately scaled version.

It does come with a drawback, you guessed it: you can't put a fig inside. A bit ironic I know, but I chose to go for a brick-built cockpit in order to get as close to the original design as I could, prioritizing accuracy over playability, as usual.

The wings were pretty challenging given the ridiculously small scale, and my goal was to have them as thin as possible without compromising the SNOT look.

I'm quite happy with the result and I think this makes a nice little display piece. It's also very swooshable despite the intricate wing design.

I'm usually not a fan of stickers, but I thought this one deserved some sweet markings. I used the sticker sheet from the playset - it is included in the parts list. The color scheme can be changed to red with only a few part swaps (see last page in the instructions).

► Instructions for the Eta-2 Actis Interceptor are available at Rebrickable!

🇬🇧Let’s not turn away in search of fairy-tale solutions or extravagant dreams, like a gleaming Ferrari or a magic pumpkin. Sometimes, we don’t need luxury; we just need reliability—like a car that gets us where we’re going, fuel-efficient and dependable. Instead of fixating on what we don’t have, let’s prioritize what truly matters.

🇮🇹Non voltiamoci dall'altra parte in cerca di soluzioni da favola o sogni stravaganti, come una Ferrari scintillante o una zucca magica. A volte non abbiamo bisogno del lusso; abbiamo solo bisogno di affidabilità, come un'auto che ci porta dove vogliamo andare, efficiente nei consumi e affidabile. Invece di fissarci su ciò che non abbiamo, diamo la priorità a ciò che conta davvero.

America’s global leadership and national security require a foundation of fiscal sustainability and economic growth. The Coalition for Fiscal and National Security — a highly distinguished, bipartisan group of former senior government officials, chaired by Admiral Mike Mullen — has just released a second statement to draw our country’s attention to how our fiscal health is fundamentally linked to our national security, and to the urgent need to update and re-prioritize our defense and foreign policy strategies to reflect a changing security environment. New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger (left) led a discussion among Admiral Mullen (right), Coalition chairman, and two of the Coalition’s members, former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and former Senator Sam Nunn.

Watch the video: youtu.be/DwoZpR_hjZ8

CSX Q409-26 charges through Flintmine Road in Coxsackie, New York. Q409 is a manifest originating in Selkirk (SK) and terminates in Waycross, GA. This train is no straight-shot job from point-to-point, but is one of the least prioritized trains on the system, as it usually works multiple locations from start to end. This train can end up working South Kearny, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Baltimore, MD, Richmond, VA, Collier, VA, and Charleston, SC. These are all not worked by Q409, but more so as needed depending on location as this train runs every day.

A rebuilt SD70MACe and ex-SBD and now rebuilt SD40-3 are seen in tow together, originally coming from Q634-24, a manifest from Parson's Yard in Columbus, OH, with the SD70 leading coming from the Mohawk, and onto the Selkirk Subdivisions into Q634's termination point of SK. The power was then dropped and put into the yard, which got slated for this Q409 which got capped by this ES44AC GEVO, a common site now with PSR in effect. With the reassembled power and the train put together, Q409-26's first of many crews takes the train south, seen here on it's first leg crawling on the River Subdivision.

. . . True Power of Speedy Cars . . .

In Long-Term Domination, the Search for a Submissive is Like Finding a Reliable Car, Not a Joyride.

" Extreme Femdoms prioritize deep, powerful fetish experiences over superficial ones, which includes their extreme fetishes that are like powerful, rare engines in the relationship.

A good life is one that can be lived to the extreme and fullest every day, an engine that doesn't falter at any desired speed. If you want to overtake, you must do so. If you want to stop, you can do so any second you wish. How much do you want to change the speed? And for how long? Everything must be as desired. The best submissive is like a powerful engine that serves her at any speed... 💕"

🎧 Mood 🎶

www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0ciQf4HDxg

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Chapter: The Search for a Committed Submissive

She doesn't settle for showroom shine. Her heart seeks horsepower unseen.

Forget the polished exteriors, the chrome facade. She's not buying a car for the curb appeal. Her gaze cuts deeper, seeking the engine within. Is it a whisper-quiet sham, or a beast purring with potential?

Time and connection are precious investments, and she's no impulsive buyer. She demands a test drive, a journey into the core. Does it have the strength of character, the unwavering support? Or is it built on fumes, choked by empty promises?

Forget the manufactured charm, the carefully crafted persona. Let the hood come up, reveal the bare metal truth. Is it forged in integrity, driven by passion? Or does it sputter on self-interest, fueled by deceit?

She's not looking for a joyride, but a long haul companion. This machine carries her dreams, her vulnerabilities. It needs to be sturdy, reliable, capable of navigating life's winding roads.

So she chooses wisely, meticulously. Because under the hood, lies the truth of who you are. And that, my friend, is the most powerful engine of all... 💕

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Outfit: pOOnsh - Tiffany Jumpsuit (Fatpack)

✦ Legacy, Perky, Reborn, Waifus, LaraX

✦ IT INCLUDES Jumpsuit, Romper, HUD (14 colors + TintPicker for fatpack)

TRES CHIC (17 February - 10 March)

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tres%20Chic/176/118/21

POONSH store

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serena%20Cantari/48/61/24

A legacy of its military origins, the load-lifter's cockpit is cramped due a design that prioritized pilot survivability above all else.

The Arulan Reaver units originated with a faulty 'cqc' script which led to the drone prioritizing close quarters combat over long range combat.

Though it was possible to fix the issue, several Arulan units opted to keep it. These units would lay the foundation for the infamous Arulan 'terror' squads, whose units would later be instrumental in the subsequent Arulan insurrection.

Close quarters expert Harper Barron has manifested symptoms of belligerent behavior, perhaps due to an error in her programming or a faulty Hero Core. Reports from her teammates state that her enjoyment of fighting has lead to failures in completing missions, as she prioritizes violence over successfully capturing villains and protecting citizens.

Her current location is unknown, but anonymous witnesses have reported seeing her in the Gladiator Arena of planet Bolawoo III.

Further psychological examinations are necessary in order to accurately estimate how dangerous she is. She is equipped with a lightweight body armor and a Quaza-Powered Ram Gauntlet, engaging at a distance is strongly advised.

Great Mask of Intangibility by @galva_nize_

Gauntlet weapon inspired by @ems_mocs ' Tony Stone and Arcane's Atlas Gauntlets

In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. Small stretches of Brooklyn in early 2021 display the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.

In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. A small stretch of Brooklyn in February 2021 showed the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.

Lake Tekapo, Tekapo, South Island, New Zealand

One of my shooting protocols after the trip is to scan through every shot that I have and picked the potential one to do post-processing by giving the tagging in my entire album.

This particular shot has already been tagged but for some reason, I've missed out terribly, nearly 3 years buried in my storage. Luckily was doing some scanning photos in my album and suddenly saw this, quickly dig out and straight into editing mode.

I still remember this was the first place in our itinerary; the legendary The Church of The Good Shepherd. While we have our vehicle parked few kilometers away from the actual location, so we gotta walk and right before the church, we have to cross the bridge first.

Spotted a couple (I suppose) standing there right at the center of the bridge. Find it a fascinating angle with the natural lights on them and overall blended in perfectly. Without hesitation pressed the shuttle where my cameras were already on my shoulders.

Wanted to do our wefie photography, because we were too excited to rush towards the church and also too many crowds upcoming over the bridge so end up ditch the idea and move on to what we have been prioritizing first.

#d80

#nikon

#nztravel

#laketekapo

#nikoncontest

#nikkor10_20mm

#nikonphotography

With all my ❤️ I thank you for your ⭐ or 💬 or just for 👀 it.

A 📷 taken by me

THIS PHOTO IT'S NOT AI 📀

You can look at the Exif data on your right.➡️

In 299 seconds, which is equivalent to 4 minutes and 59 seconds, you can accomplish many things.

These are just a few ideas. Time can be used in many ways according to your interests and needs. I used them to create this beautiful image.

Here are some ideas:

Looking: a beautiful picture in flickr.

Take your camera: and take a photo.

Reply to emails: You can reply to a few quick emails or organize your inbox.

Make a to-do list: Take a moment to plan and prioritize your activities for the day.

Quick call: Make a brief phone call to confirm an appointment or discuss a simple matter.

Stretching exercise: Do a series of stretches to relieve muscle tension.

Meditation or breathing: Spend a few minutes meditating or doing deep breathing exercises.

Drink a glass of water and a healthy snack: Stay hydrated and energized.

Listen to a song: Enjoy a short song or part of a playlist.

Read an article: Read a brief article or part of a book.

Play a short game: Play a quick game on your phone.

Watch an educational video: Watch a short video on YouTube or a learning platform.

Review vocabulary: Learn or review some words in a foreign language.

Read the news: Catch up on the latest news headlines.

Write: Write a paragraph for an article, a story, or a journal entry.

Draw or color: Create a small sketch or color a page.

Play an instrument: Practice a song or scale on your musical instrument.

Send a message: Send a text or voice message to a friend or family member.

Check social media: Spend a few minutes checking and responding on your social media accounts.

Greet a colleague: Grettings from Peñíscola, Spain

In Life There Is Time For Everything,,,The Worst Thing That Happens Is Many Do Not Know How To Allot It... Prioritize It,,,And Spend Time On Creativity & Selfless Service To Less Privileged.

So Dear Friends , NOW Is The THE TIME To Enjoy And Share Your JOY Especially With People Who

Need Your Attention And Assistance.

Striking mural on the side wall of Gallagher’s pub, Chester Street, Birkenhead. The "Birkenhead Drill" refers to the historical event where soldiers aboard the sinking HMS Birkenhead in 1852 displayed remarkable discipline by staying in formation while prioritizing the evacuation of women and children into lifeboats.

"Women and children first", known to a lesser extent as the Birkenhead drill, is an unofficial code of conduct and gender role whereby the lives of women and children were to be saved first in a life-threatening situation, typically abandoning ship, when survival resources such as lifeboats were limited. However, it has no basis in maritime law.

In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. Small stretches of Brooklyn in early 2021 display the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.

Perspective gives us the ability to accurately contrast the large with the small, and the important with the less important. Without it we are lost in a world where all ideas, news and information look the same. We cannot differentiate, we cannot prioritize as we cannot make good choices without perspective.

The Augusta Clothing Company is a luxury women's fashion boutique located at 601 5th Ave S, Naples, FL 34102. Opened in March 2026, this flagship storefront marks the brand's primary expansion from its historic roots in Missouri's wine country to Florida's Gulf Coast.

Brand Concept and Curated Style

The Founder: The boutique features collections personally curated by Jerri Hoffmann, matriarch of the family-run private equity firm, Hoffmann Family of Companies.

Target Audience: The wardrobe selection focuses primarily on styling women spanning from their late 20s through their 70s.

Style Profile: Offerings prioritize a professional, polished mission blended with fun, on-trend seasonal items built for long-term wardrobe assembly.

Inventory: Hand-picked items focus heavily on high-quality ready-to-wear dresses, sportswear, premium footwear, jewelry, and distinct accessories.

Store Leadership: The Naples flagship is led by Store Director Andrea Pereira, who brought extensive high-end luxury retail experience from previous management roles at Gucci and Hermès.

Strategic Background

Origin: The brand initially debuted in April 2022 inside a 150-year-old Wine Hall building located in Historic Augusta, Missouri.

Scale: The 5th Avenue South storefront is three times larger than the original Missouri location. The building was purchased by the Hoffmanns for $6.5 million as part of a broader corporate footprint in downtown Naples.

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

theaugustaclothingcompany.com/

www.google.com/search?q=the+augusta+clothing+company+napl...

www.google.com/search?q=who+is+the+architect+of+601+fifth...

www.google.com/search?q=what+year+was+the+building+at+601...

www.google.com/search?q=what+is+the+architectural+style+o...

www.google.com/search?q=who+was+the+architect+of+601+fift...

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

Entry 1 of 2 today, one of my beloved, overcomposed, secondary composition element riddled shortline wedges.

Although a trip to the G&U had been on my to-do list for years it never got prioritized due to a glut of great paint schemes to shoot elsewhere. Shortly before the spring trip began I saw a nice clean Blazejewski wedge of G&U using a rock wall as a leading element and I was sold!

I just so happened to be visiting Blaze this trip so on a mostly beautiful morning following a night of drinking we went up to North Grafton. The scanner was crackling as we got to town (Dave's, not mine. I run deaf) and after a couple hours of switch the train went south. We decided to forego the iconic church shot at Grafton to leave enough time to set up in this field a couple miles south. Satisfied after combing through the field for angles (there are many to choose from) I settled in to wait, and wait we did! What in the fuck! It's hot, there are gnats and we're pretty clearly standing somewhere that we're obviously not supposed to be. Now there's clouds moving in from the northeast and I'm holding it together but I'm starting to freak out a little because this is the only real nice wedge LOCATION on the railroad and we're gonna lose it because they stop and switch for an hour everywh....HORN! Fucking finally a fucking horn and everything is beautiful and it's sunny and I have puffy little clouds in the sky and Erie is happy and I'm standing in a beautiful New England hay field strewn with rock walls and everything is fuckin perfect!

I'm definitely coming back here again.

Thanks Blaze!

note: rl is kicking my butt.. if you are part of my inner circle, you already know what is happening... if you do not, don't take offense. i will still be able to blog but, it will only be between certain hours, when i have access to the wifi. and, i am going to prioritize rl for this week. if you need me, find me on discord. thank.

sohawtsl.wordpress.com/2025/07/17/stop-the-tape-and-rewind/

Calgary, CANADÀ 2024

The Reconciliation Bridge is a historic crossing in Calgary, famous for its renaming and its role as a symbol of the city's reconciliation efforts with Canada's First Nations.

Early History: The original steel truss bridge was constructed in 1910 and was known for over a century as the Langevin Bridge. It was named after Sir Hector-Louis Langevin, a Father of Confederation who was also a key figure in establishing Canada's residential school system for Indigenous children.

Renaming: In 2017, Calgary City Council voted to rename the bridge to the Reconciliation Bridge as a symbolic gesture to acknowledge and address the harm caused by the residential school system and to underscore the city's commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.

Distinguishing Feature: Today, the bridge is a prominent feature of the skyline due to its installation of 5,600 programmable LED lights. Its lighting program often prioritizes Indigenous stories and significant dates.

An aerial photo shows a small section of the atoll that has slipped beneath the water line only showing a small pile of rocks at low tide on Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands on Nov. 8, 2015. For decades, the tiny Marshall Islands has been a stalwart American ally. Its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has made it a key strategic outpost for the U.S. military. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File)

___________

AP NEWS

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — For decades, the tiny Marshall Islands has been a stalwart American ally. Its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has made it a key strategic outpost for the U.S. military.

But that loyalty is being tested amid a dispute with Washington over the terms of its “Compact of Free Association” agreement, which expires soon. The U.S. is refusing to engage the Marshallese on claims for environmental and health damage caused by dozens of nuclear tests it carried out in the 1940s and ’50s, including a huge thermonuclear blast on Bikini Atoll.

The dispute has some U.S. lawmakers worried that China might be willing to step into the breach, adding to a bruising competition for geopolitical dominance between the two superpowers.

Since World War II, the U.S. has treated the Marshall Islands, along with Micronesia and Palau, much like territories. On the Marshall Islands, the U.S. has developed military, intelligence and aerospace facilities in a region where China is particularly active.

In turn, U.S. money and jobs have benefited the Marshall Islands’ economy. And many Marshallese have taken advantage of their ability to live and work in the U.S., moving in the thousands to Arkansas, Hawaii and Oklahoma.

But this month, 10 Democratic and Republican members of the House of Representatives wrote to President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, about the U.S. compact talks with the Marshalls, Micronesia and Palau.

“It is distressing that these negotiations do not appear to be a priority — there have been no formal meetings since this Administration began — even as our international focus continues shifting to the Indo-Pacific,” they wrote.

The lawmakers said the delays were putting the U.S. in a weaker position, and “China is all too ready to step in and provide the desperately needed infrastructure and climate resiliency investment that is sought by these long-time partners.”

China’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. should face up to its responsibility to restore the environmental damage it caused with its nuclear tests. It said China was willing to engage with the Marshall Islands and other Pacific island nations on the basis of mutual respect and cooperation under the “One China Principle,” in which Taiwan is viewed as part of China.

“We welcome efforts to boost economic relations and improve the quality of life between the sides,” the ministry said in a statement.

China has steadily poached allies from Taiwan in the Pacific, including Kiribati and the Solomon Islands in 2019. Just this week, angry protesters in the Solomons set fire to buildings and looted stores in unrest that some have linked to the China switch.

James Matayoshi, the mayor of Rongelap Atoll on the Marshall Islands, said he and hundreds of others have remained displaced from their atoll since the nuclear tests and want to see it revitalized. He said officials have been talking with potential investors from Asia, after a previous proposal by a Chinese-Marshallese businessman fell through.

“It would be a business transaction. We don’t advocate for war or any superpower influence,” Matayoshi said. “But we want to be able to live in our backyard, and enjoy life here.”

Like many others on the Marshall Islands, Matayoshi believes a U.S. settlement of $150 million agreed to in the 1980s fell well short of addressing the nuclear legacy. He said his late mother was pregnant at the time of one massive nuclear blast and got exposed to radiation that was the equivalent of 25,000 X-rays before giving birth to a stillborn baby.

But the U.S. position has remained static for more than 20 years, the last time the compact came up for renegotiation. The U.S. maintains that nuclear compensation was dealt with in a “full and final settlement” and cannot be reopened.

Marshallese Senator David Paul — who is on the islands’ negotiating committee and also represents Kwajalein Atoll, which is home to a major U.S. military base — said continuing high cancer rates and the displacement of people remain huge issues.

“Everyone knows the negotiations at that time were not fair or equitable,” Paul said. “When you look at the total cost of property damage and the ongoing health issues to date, it’s a drop in the bucket. It’s an insult.”

Various estimates put the true cost of the damage at about $3 billion, including for repairs to a massive nuclear waste facility known as the Cactus Dome which environmentalists say is leaking toxic waste into the ocean.

A report to Congress last year from the U.S. Department of Energy said the dome contains over 100,000 cubic yards (76,000 cubic meters) of radioactively contaminated soil and debris but the structure wasn’t in any immediate danger of failing. The report concluded that any contaminated groundwater flowing beneath the structure was not measurably impacting the environment.

As it did in earlier compact negotiations, the U.S. has stonewalled discussions on the nuclear legacy, something that American officials acknowledge.

“We know that’s important, but there is a full and final settlement, and both sides agreed to it,” said a senior U.S. official who wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity. “So, that issue is just not subject to being reopened. But, we’re still quite willing to work with the (Marshallese) on the broader issues that are important to us and that’s what we hope to do.”

The U.S. State Department said the Indo-Pacific is central to U.S. foreign policy.

“We are prioritizing achieving success in the negotiations related to the Compacts with the Freely Associated States as a regional foreign policy objective,” the department said.

The frustrations of the Marshallese were apparent in a letter sent last month by Foreign Minister Casten Nemra to Rep. Katie Porter, a California Democrat who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee’s oversight and investigations panel.

“The State and Interior Department officials involved have been unwilling to discuss an agenda for the talks and tried to confine the discussion to their own limited proposals,” Nemra wrote. “The nuclear issue clearly was one reason. All issues raised by the Marshall Islands were met with assertions that they did not have authority to discuss the matters without any indication that they would seek it.”

Sen. Paul said the American approach needs to change.

“I believe the U.S. has the legal and moral obligation to make sure they clean up this debris,” Paul said. “We want to make sure we get a better deal this time around. As they say, the third time is a charm.”

NEW BLOG!

HONEYBAE~LAYLA DRESS FP

Out @ The Grand!!

HoneyB Social Links

Inworld Store: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Loveless%20Graceful/195/84/21

Instagram: www.instagram.com/honeyb.sl.2022/

FaceBook: www.facebook.com/honeyb.sl.2022

Flickr:https://www.flickr.com/groups/14787384@N25/

HB~TINA THIGH BOOTS FP

Out @ Mainstore!!

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He has this sinking feeling…………

This is rather long and somber, I would skip reading it :)

His performance review at his place of employment is coming up within the next month. He is an architect and he loves his job. The job has a built in renewal and variety because each project is different and each typically has a relatively short time frame. He is able to explore emotional, physical and spiritual connections in conceptual design. He engages in technical and administrative problem solving during documentation. He wings it during the free-for-all that is construction. A project goes through all of the phases and then the next project starts anew.

He learns something new every single day. Although he still has much to learn, he has his moments where he is good at his job. He has been working on construction administration for the past two years on a single project, which is much longer than usual but the project is much larger. He has an acute understanding of the need for efficiency in his work, proper prioritization and the importance of highlighting potential construction and/or liability issues to his firm. This protects the firm financially and legally – which provides him with a salary and job security. It also protects his personal time which provides him with a well-rounded life – time to spend with her and the boys, time to play with pictures and time to do laundry.

His review one year ago was excellent. This is about to change this year – and he was forewarned in his mid-year review. The focus is shifting from his performance. His firm is instituting ‘performance management’. This is more of a cultural phenomenon than an architectural one. She is a speech language pathologist, also is facing some aspects of this at her place of employment and he has heard of other industries incorporating this as well.

‘Performance Management’ first establishes your job description. Part of your review is based on your ability to achieve your job requirements. Then you must then establish personal / professional goals that fall outside of the scope of your job description. Goals that increase the marketability of the firm and directly benefit the firm are greatly encouraged. Reviews to track goal achievement status are held bi-monthly.

Essentially what this means is that you have to do work for and on behalf of your firm on your personal time.

The emotionally intelligent response is to find goals that are mutually beneficial to you and the firm. At this particular stage in his life, however, he does not have any available free time to devote to extra work projects. Either she, the boys or personal hygiene would need to be sacrificed. Maybe he should stop showering until his new ‘personal’ goals have been attained.

One of the reasons that he loves working at his firm is that they are very smart and have excellent processes. Intelligence is something that he values greatly, but they have totally dropped the ball on this issue. They present this nonsense to him as if they are doing this for his benefit and that it is in his best interest – although he does not need help deciding how to use his free time.

Unemployment in the United States is an issue, particularly in architecture. Now he is in a difficult position. He can choose to sacrifice his personal life to maintain his standing in his firm and keep his job. Or he can play the survival game of trying to get through bi-monthly reviews that highlight his lack of achievement for as long as he can until his job is lost. There are many qualified candidates out there – and many of those would gladly devote their free time to the firm in exchange for being employed.

Choosing between having a life and working to survive isn’t much of a choice. It is simple, crass exploitation. It’s disappointing. He thought we were better than that – he guesses we are not.

And he has this sinking feeling…………..

The population of the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel is undeniably dwindling across the Northern Aegean region of Türkiye. Conversations with local olive growers reveal their observations of increased numbers of field mice and snakes this year, signaling potential ecological imbalances. While reports on the impacts of the climate crisis inundate newspapers and TV news, the actions taken by humanity to address these issues remain uncertain.

Amidst the global preoccupation with wars, viruses, and economic turmoil, humanity's role in preserving nature often takes a backseat. The sight of a female Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel perched atop a centuries-old olive tree holds profound significance for me. As I contemplate the precariousness of their existence in this natural habitat, I can't help but wonder how many more years these remarkable creatures will have to perpetuate their lineage.

The answer to this question may seem inconsequential to many, but for scientists and conservationists, it embodies the urgency of safeguarding biodiversity and mitigating the anthropogenic threats faced by vulnerable species like the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel. As stewards of the Earth, it is our collective responsibility to prioritize environmental preservation and enact measures that ensure the continued coexistence of humans and wildlife.

The Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel, scientifically known as Sciurus anomalus, is a captivating species endemic to the lush woodlands of the Caucasus region and certain parts of Anatolia in Türkiye. Renowned for its striking appearance, this arboreal mammal boasts a distinct black and white fur pattern, making it easily recognizable amidst the verdant foliage of its habitat.

These agile creatures navigate their arboreal homes with remarkable dexterity, effortlessly traversing the canopy and executing gravity-defying leaps between branches. Their acrobatic prowess is not only a spectacle to behold but also serves as a testament to their evolutionary adaptations for life among the treetops.

Inhabiting predominantly forested areas, the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel sustains itself through a varied diet consisting of nuts, seeds, fruits, and occasional insects. Their foraging activities play a crucial role in the dispersal of seeds, contributing to the regeneration and diversity of their forest ecosystems.

Despite their resilience, these enchanting squirrels face challenges stemming from habitat loss and fragmentation, primarily driven by human activities such as deforestation and urbanization. Conservation efforts aimed at preserving and restoring their natural habitats are imperative for safeguarding their populations and ensuring their continued existence in the wild.

Observing the antics of the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel in its native habitat is not only a delightful experience for nature enthusiasts but also serves as a poignant reminder of the intricate ecological relationships that sustain life on our planet.

The Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel, belonging to the Sciuridae family, is a medium-sized rodent with a body length ranging from 20 to 25 centimeters and a distinctive bushy tail measuring approximately 15 to 20 centimeters in length. Its fur exhibits a striking contrast between jet black and pristine white, with the black coloration extending from the head down to the tail, while the underbelly and parts of the face and limbs showcase a pristine white hue.

These arboreal creatures possess sharp claws and robust hind limbs, facilitating their adept climbing and leaping abilities. Their keen senses, including sharp eyesight and acute hearing, aid in detecting predators and locating food sources amidst the dense foliage of their forested habitats.

Caucasian-Anatolian squirrels are primarily diurnal, meaning they are most active during the day, engaging in foraging expeditions and social interactions with other members of their species. However, they may exhibit some nocturnal activity, particularly during periods of abundant food availability or in response to environmental factors such as temperature fluctuations.

During the breeding season, which typically occurs in the spring months, male squirrels engage in spirited displays of courtship to attract potential mates. Following a gestation period of approximately 38 to 42 days, females give birth to litters of two to six offspring, known as kits. The young squirrels are nurtured in intricately constructed nests, known as dreys, meticulously woven from twigs, leaves, and moss high in the tree canopy.

The survival of the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel is intricately intertwined with the preservation of its forest habitat, which provides not only essential food resources but also refuge from predators and adverse environmental conditions. Conservation efforts aimed at mitigating habitat destruction, implementing sustainable forestry practices, and raising awareness about the ecological importance of this species are vital for ensuring its long-term survival.

By celebrating the unique beauty and ecological significance of the Caucasian-Anatolian squirrel, we deepen our appreciation for the rich biodiversity of our planet and reaffirm our commitment to coexisting harmoniously with nature.

I've captured some memorable moments with my camera, and I genuinely hope you'll experience the same joy in viewing these images as I did in capturing them.

Thank you immensely for visiting my gallery, whether you leave comments, add favorites, or simply take a moment to look around. Your support means a lot to me, and I wish you the best of luck and beautiful light in all your endeavors.

Lens - With Nikon TC 14E II - hand held or Monopod and definitely SPORT VR on. Aperture is f8 and full length. All my images have been converted from RAW to JPEG.

I started using Nikon Cross-Body Strap or Monopod on long walks. Here is my Carbon Monopod details : Gitzo GM2542 Series 2 4S Carbon Monopod - Really Right Stuff MH-01 Monopod Head with Standard Lever - Really Right Stuff LCF-11 Replacement Foot for Nikon AF-S 500mm /5.6E PF Lense -

© All rights reserved by R.Ertug. Please refrain from using this image without my explicit written permission. If you're interested in purchasing or using it, feel free to contact me via Flickr mail.

Your comments and critiques are highly valued.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and explore :)

Located in Leiden, the Naturalis Biodiversity Center is far more than just a graveyard for ancient bones; it is a world-class powerhouse for biological research and one of the largest natural history museums on the planet. Its mission is as grand as its collection: to document and preserve the vast richness of nature while investigating how we can protect it for the future. Following a massive renovation in 2019, the center has evolved into a seamless hybrid where public education and cutting-edge science coexist. Whether you are there to see a fossil or to witness researchers sequencing DNA in the "LiveScience" lab, the center pulses with the energy of a global institution dedicated to the story of life on Earth.

The architecture of the building is a masterclass in metaphor, designed by Neutelings Riedijk Architects to mirror the complexity of the natural world. The heart of the center is a 36-meter-high atrium characterized by a soaring, white concrete structure that resembles interlocking molecules or a honeycomb. This space connects the historic collection tower with the modern exhibition halls via a "mountain path" staircase that narrows as you ascend. Adding a touch of haute couture to the geology, fashion designer Iris van Herpen contributed 263 white concrete friezes that wrap around the building like silk ribbons, their textures inspired by the fossils and specimens housed within.

Inside, the museum journey is divided into nine immersive exhibition halls that prioritize storytelling over dusty display cases. The undisputed celebrity is Trix, a remarkably well-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex that headlines the "Dinosaur Era" gallery. Beyond the dinosaurs, visitors can trek through the "Life" hall - which mimics a journey from the deep sea to the mountain peaks - or explore the "Ice Age" gallery to see what the Netherlands looked like when mammoths roamed the local tundra. The exhibits are designed to be barrier-free and interactive, encouraging a sense of tactile curiosity rather than passive observation.

As of 2026, Naturalis has solidified its status as a scientific titan, housing a staggering collection of over 42 million specimens. This archive isn't just for show; it serves as a vital database for the ARISE project and other automated biodiversity monitoring initiatives that use AI to track species health across the Netherlands. With a record-breaking influx of visitors and a new "Primitive Garden" opening this year, the center continues to prove that understanding our past - from the tiniest insect to the largest apex predator - is the only way to navigate a sustainable future.

In June 2020, after experiencing a devastating spring due to COVID, New York State announced that certain businesses could begin partially opening again. New York City’s response included a program called Open Restaurants, which allowed restaurants to use sidewalks and parking spaces for outdoor, socially distant dining. Owners quickly built temporary enclosures in the streets in front of their businesses to try and recover from months of shutdown. Small stretches of Brooklyn in early 2021 display the variety and feel of these enclosures. Hopefully, the Open Restaurants initiative will help these businesses to survive and may even lead to a more permanent reorienting of streets to prioritize people over cars.

The Royal Navy was fairly late to the heavy cruiser, mostly due to limited funding until the Naval Act of 1936. The plus side of this is that they were never a signatory of the Eiswald Naval Treaty (a fact which they would exploit brutally), the downside being that they had a lot of catching up to do. After months of consulting naval analysts and taking notes on foreign designs, with many more devoted to a uniquely painstaking design process, the Odyssey class was cleared for construction in 1937, with the first, Achilles, (pictured here) being launched in early 1940. Following the Royal Navy's principles of gunnery and ruggedness before anything else, the Odysseys (like most succeeding Royal Navy cruisers) lacked the torpedoes that made many foreign equivalents powerful strike vessels. This was due in part to a design prioritizing fleet defense before offensive capabilities, but mostly because Nenya's torpedoes of this time were notoriously short ranged, and it simply wasn't worth installing them on a ship the size of an Odyssey. And boy were they big. At 219 meters long and 24 meters wide, they were among the largest cruisers in the world. Although initially designed with twelve eight inch guns in four triple turrets (to counter the plethora of heavily armed cruisers present in other nations), this design was scrapped in favour of a stern seaplane facility, complete with a heavy-lift crane with space and stores to operate four scout aircraft. The tonnage saved by the nerfing of the artillery allowed for a little more speed, while the spare weight was awarded to the massive anti-aircraft complex. Built around a series of the Navy's new Tachynometric Fire Computers, the AA suite consisted of twelve 5in guns, nineteen 40mm guns on raised pedestals (of which 16 were aided by the Tacky Computers) and twenty 20mm guns spread around the deck. In fact, preliminary designs utilizing the Papillon method of quad turrets could have allowed for a staggering forty to sixty 40mm cannons, but this was brought down to be kinder on weight and ammunition storage, as such an extreme measure was not deemed necessary, even for a ship intended to be a floating AA battery (The current year is also 1940, not 1945). Despite being so heavily armed and armoured, with the additional weight of a lot of fancy mechanisms, the Odysseys actually met their weight quotas just as planned, thus avoiding the seakeeping issues that seem to plague many other large cruiser designs, and are surprisingly maneuverable despite their size (the secret is to set out with a plan for a 14,000 ton cruiser from the start, and not change your mind along the way). Although they lack the punching power and night-fighting capabilities of torpedo-armed ships, their combination of firepower, armour and survivability mean that they should be able to hold their own in a gunfight against anything short of a capital ship. Combined with perhaps the most powerful AA setup of any cruiser class, they are indispensable defensive assets to any fleet. Of course, it's not exactly clear how many of them will see service, as they aren't cheap ships, and the nation which they serve isn't exactly rich.

-

At 219 studs, or five foot seven, this is the largest and grandest LDD model I have built to date. It started life as a Cleveland-style light cruiser, which was to be followed up by a Baltimore modification, but I decided to go heavy cruiser first due to the nice big 8in turrets I made, and how well they fit the deck. Also the whole thing about twelve main guns was just text flavour, I wouldn't have been able to fit that many turrets on. Although said deck and hull were complicated, and took a while to finish, the hardest part for me was the superstructure. There was just so much space to fill! And aiming for quality, I couldn't just fill all that space with junk. I was aiming for a Baltimore or Cleveland sort of look, but decided to go with the Des Moines (although I didn't realize the schematic I was copying was Des Moines until it was practically finished) with extra gun directors, smaller structure, one less midships AA mount a side and a single funnel. Although even more afield of the groups' date than the original Baltimore plan, it was the only structure I could make fit. Furthermore, finding an AA setup that both looked good and kept to Divide and Conquer VII's time frame was a challenge, but I'm fairly happy with the dual 40mm mounts.

Credit to Backward Matt for the hull and deck technique, to Awesome O'Saurus for inspiration on the variety of weapons designs and to Ian, because I definitely I used some of his techniques (the anchor, spotlights and single 40mm guns to name a few). I have tagged all three.

Also, thanks to Lego Pilot for the render! I swear I'll have my own POVray working soon.

I'm probably gonna take a short brake from ships this size, after which I'll (probably) make the light cruiser and light carrier modifications off this hull. Then I'll move onto an even larger ship, projected to be 250-270 studs (6.5-7 feet, god help me with this scale).

I am not sure how I’ll proceed with my Flickr account. Not being able to add photos for friends/family anymore is an enormous limitation, and super annoying. I understand the limit on uploads for free accounts, but not this.

I was a Pro user for *many* years, but this makes me salty as to become one again. Most of my friends moved on from Flickr, so unless I’m part of a community again, I’m not sure if I should prioritize Flickr for my photos. I miss the sense of community and interaction I had here (so many comments and discussions lost when we had to delete older photos!).

Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas created 18 paintings, 4 drawings and 5 letters while here in New Orleans in 1872 and 1873. Also, Portraits in an Office, The New Orleans Cotton Exchange painting, the only painting to sell to a museum in Degas' lifetime, was painted here! However, the most important of his New Orleans accomplishments was his change in artistic style, creating (in his words), "Better Art", and re-prioritizing the goal of his youth, to begin a new art movement. This came to pass one year after leaving New Orleans and on his return to Paris, at the birth of the Impressionist Movement of 1874 and beyond!

Maisons des Ilustres! The Houses of the Illustrious!

Degas House is the only home or studio of the French Impressionist Master Edgar Degas, in the world, and is now included in the French Ministry of Culture's network of the Maisons des Illustres or Houses of the Illustrious. Degas House is now in the company of 236 houses in the global network, including the houses of Napoleon, Joan of Arc, Monet, Matisse, Renoir, Ravel (the composer), Louis Braille, Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur, The Chateau of Monte Cristo, French President Mitterrand, President de Gaulle's, Jules Verne; Albert Schweitzer; Victor Hugo; Cezanne and Nostradamus.

Degas House is only the second house in the U.S to be included in the network and is one of only four included that are not in France or one of the French territories!

In a ceremony at the Degas House on July 15th, 2019, French Ambassador Philippe Etienne presented the official marker of the Maisons des Illustres and remarked that the Degas House is now a monument or an institute. The marker was unveiled by the French Consul General, the French Heritage Society, the Lt. Governors Office, the City of New Orleans Mayor's Office, as well as the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce representatives, in a ceremony on October 23rd, 2019. The marker is positioned on the front porch of the house, where it will remain in-perpetuity.

www.degashouse.com/the-inn/about-degas-house.html

Esplanade Avenue

New Orleans, LA

2024

I spent two weeks in East Africa in December and January -- for this nature nerd, the absolute trip of a lifetime. I took 10,000 photos in two weeks and a ton of video. I have way too much to share, but I'll share a few highlights, starting with this elephant family in Amboseli National Park, at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro in southern Kenya. Seeing wild herds of elephants - so obviously intelligent, social, and loving - brought tears to my eyes. I just hope that we humans can pull it together to prioritize their conservation. Without a dedicated effort to stop poaching entirely, elephants will be gone in just 20 years.

I truly believe that long lasting happiness depends on your capability to prioritize. also, I truly believe that everyone needs a hot sauce in their fridge.

California has been hit hard the past few weeks with storms. Storms bring lightning and lightning strikes cause wildfires. Currently there are at least five fire complexes in the area including River, Fork, South, Route and Mad River.

The Mad River complex is a series of seven lightning fires that started on July 30th, 2015 after a lightning storm moved through Northern California. After initial firefighters responded, 25 fires were reported and most of the fires were contained. Some additional fires might be detected from the original lightning storms in the upcoming days and will be attacked once they are found. Damage assessment is ongoing and crews will determine the extent of structures and equipment damaged or destroyed.

The River Complex is managing a total of 5 fires due to fires merging together on the Shasta-Trinity and the Six Rivers National Forests. Winds from the west are expected to lift the inversion today resulting in active fire behavior.

The Fork Complex consists of over 40 fires, all of which were ignited by lightning between July 29 and 31, 2015. These fires are still being identified, assessed, and prioritized. Updated acreage and information about specific fires will be published as it is known. Fire activity moderated throughout last night (8/4) with the smoke inversion layer remaining in place today. Hopefully this will create favorable conditions for fire crews to take direct fire attack on the fires edge, construct dozer line and scout for best firefighting locations on all fires in the complex.

The South Complex consists of approximately nine known fires, five of which are currently over 100 acres. The fires are active and defense of structures and point protection are in progress. The weather is trapping smoke in the valley causing very poor air quality. As the smoke lifts the fire activity increases.

Firefighters will continue to provide point protection on structures and to look for opportunities to build direct and indirect containment lines.

The Route Complex currently stands at 12,164 acres from seven separate fires and is at 2% containment. The overall acreage has been reduced because the South Fire on the nearby South Complex is merging with the Johnson Fire in the Route Complex resulting in decreased and revised fire perimeter acreage.

This natural-color satellite image collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite shows smoke rising and drifting northwest from the various fire complexes. It was captured on August 04, 2015. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team.

NASA image use policy.

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It feels a bit odd, in my view at least – I can't identify with this trend of prioritizing a device, even if there are people on the other side of it, over real, "live" faces in front of me... and if turned around, from the other side, I feel even more out of place.

I'm a bit old-fashioned in this regard, maybe... but it feels the way it feels.

On the other hand, Anny is really pretty here, very subtly lit by her phone ;)

---

UPDATE: it was pointed out to me that the text above can be read in more than one way; thanks and sorry for that; to remove any ambiguity, I'll try to clarify: this caption is about my reaction to a trend of the last several years, a set of actions and things people do (not excluding me, by the way; though I try to avoid it, as much as I can), and that some aspects of this trend confuse me while others I like.

P.S. ...and did I mention that I really, really love that light? ;)

We will never forget him or the thousands of others murdered in Egypt for their passion for freedom and Justice.

On 2 February 2018, about fifty people gathered outside the Egyptian Embassy in London for a vigil to mark the second anniversary of the discovery of the horrificly mutilated corpse of Cambridge university student, Giulio Regeni, at the edge of the Cairo-Alexandria desert road in Egypt.

Within hours of the discovery of his body, his family knew that he must have been the victim of the most appalling sustained violence. His corpse was so terribly disfigured that his mother explained he was virtually unrecognisable. She could only identiy him from the tip of his nose.

But what was equally striking was the location where the body had been dumped, on one of Egypt's busiest highways close to the watchtowers of a security services base.

On 25th January 2016, the fifth anniversary of Egypt's 2011 uprising, a thirty year old Italian national Giulio Regeni disappeared from the streets of Cairo.

He was a student of one of Britain's most prestigious universities - Cambridge and was researching the crucial role of trade unions in relation to Egyptian political power and workers' rights.

During his research he managed to cultivate contacts with numerous key individuals within several Independent trade unions which the Egyptian government planned to make illegal. He often expressed fear to his friends that he might be detained by Egyptian authorities.

It was not until 3 February 2016, nine days after his disappearance, that Regeni's half-naked and battered corpse was found dumped by the roadside. His mother remarked that Giulio's disfigured face carried "all the evils of the world."

A senior Egyptian police official, who it was later discovered had a prior criminal record for both torture and murder, announced that Regeni had been the victim of a road traffic accident.

However an Italian autopsy indicated that he had been tortured to death over a period of approximately one week and had suffered over 24 bone fractures, multiple stab wounds, numerous cigarette burns and sharp razor cuts and that all his finger and toe nails had been yanked out.

On 21 April a Reuters correspondent reported that he had received confirmation of Regeni's arrest and detention by Egyptian security services in January from no fewer than six sources in Egypt's police and intelligence services but Egypt's Interior Minister angrily denied the report as having "no basis in truth."

The Regeni case is not an isolated incident - every month dozens of Egyptians, from among those who either dare to criticize the government or dare in anyway not to conform, are forcibly disappeared from their homes or from the streets and many of them either die in detention or eventually appear months later in court charged with offences, such as protesting without a license or spreading false information against the state.

Recent estimates put the number of political detainees in Egypt's prisons at approximately 60,000.

The Italian government have been infuriated by the lack of any honest attempt by the Egyptian authorities to discover and punish those responsible for Regeni's murder. Although some Italians have been disappointed by the very limited scale of Italian diplomatic and economic reprisals - they have at least gone further than the British government - withdrawing their ambassador in April 2016 for consultations and on 30 June the Italian senate voted to halt aviation supplies for Egyptian military aircraft including F-16s.

Meanwhile the British government has done virtually nothing - except issue a brief statement after it was embarrassed into action by an online parliamentary petition - prior to which I'm unaware of any statement on the issue by British diplomats who appear to wish to prioritize profit and trade over human rights.

More information about the Regeni case and the human rights crisis in Egypt can be found from

The Egypt Solidarity Initiative at

egyptsolidarityinitiative.org/

and also on Facebook or from Amnesty International at

www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/press-release-me-let-me-go/truth...

Update April 2020 -. If anyone is interested in the forgotten history of British imperialism and how it impacted the lives of millions of people around the world including Egypt from the 1700s until today - I've posted over 600 short articles on the following website. roguenation.org/ including the following page where you can select from over 600 pages according to country - roguenation.org/choose-by-country

“One of Webb’s most complex instrument modes is with the MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS). The MRS is an integral-field spectrograph, which provides spectral and spatial information simultaneously for the entire field of view. The spectrograph provides three-dimensional ‘data cubes’ in which every pixel in an image contains a unique spectrum. Such spectrographs are extremely powerful tools to study the composition and kinematics of astronomical objects, as they combine the benefits of both traditional imaging and spectroscopy.

“The MRS is designed to have a spectral resolving power (observed wavelength divided by the smallest detectable wavelength difference) of about 3,000. That is high enough to resolve key atomic and molecular features in a variety of environments. At the highest redshifts, the MRS will be able to study hydrogen emission from the first galaxies. At lower redshifts, it will probe molecular hydrocarbon features in dusty nearby galaxies and detect the bright spectral fingerprints of elements such as oxygen, argon, and neon that can tell us about the properties of ionized gas in the interstellar medium. Closer to home, the MRS will produce maps of spectral features due to water ice and simple organic molecules in giant planets in our own solar system and in planet-forming disks around other stars.

“In order to cover the wide 5 to 28 micron wavelength range as efficiently as possible, the MRS integral field units are broken up into twelve individual wavelength bands, each of which must be calibrated individually. Over the past few weeks, the MIRI team (a large international group of astronomers from the USA and Europe) has been focusing primarily on calibrating the imaging components of the MRS. They want to ensure that all twelve bands are spatially well aligned with each other and with the MIRI Imager, so that it can be used to place targets accurately into the smaller MRS field of view. We show some early test results from this alignment process, illustrating the image quality achieved in each of the twelve bands using observations of the bright K giant star HD 37122 (located in the southern sky near the Large Magellanic Cloud).

“Once the spatial alignment and image quality of the several bands are well characterized, the MIRI team will prioritize calibrating the spectroscopic response of the instrument. This step will include determining the wavelength solution and spectral resolution throughout each of the twelve fields of view using observations of compact emission-line objects and diffuse planetary nebulae ejected by dying stars. We show the exceptional spectral resolving power of the MRS with a small segment of a spectrum obtained from recent engineering observations of the active galactic nucleus at the core of Seyfert galaxy NGC 6552. Once these basic instrument characteristics are established, it will be possible to calibrate MRS so that it is ready to support the wealth of Cycle 1 science programs due to start in a few short weeks.”

Read more:

blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/06/16/webbs-mid-infrared-spectro...

This image: These are the first engineering data cubes for each of the twelve MRS spectral bands, illustrating the astrometric registration and image quality for observations of HD 37122. In each panel the dashed cyan circle shows a 1 arcsecond radius region around the expected location of the star in celestial coordinates. While the star is bright at short wavelengths it fades toward longer wavelengths, where the MRS also detects thermal emission from Webb’s primary mirror. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the MIRI Consortium.

Martina is about the nicest wife anyone can imagine. I am told by friends and family all of the time what a sweetie she is and how lucky I am. We all have our surface personalities and for my wife Martina hers is sweet and nice. She is that way 99% of the time. That 1% of the time, typically happens when she has a paddle or cane in her hand. I am the only one to gets to “experience” the 1% Martina.

We are a typically kinky couple playing with bondage and spanking and dominating each other. We play games to see who will be “The Slave” the next weekend and half the time, we are both trying to lose. For the last six months or so, things have been shifting to Martina being more the dominant. I’d say the transition happened about a year ago when we started playing with Chastity.

I had been following some Chastity Blogs and had sort of been addicted to a few that pumped out daily Chastity Memes. One day I showed her some of them on my laptop. While we went through them, she shivered with excitement on some of them. It was like a whole new world with new ideas and concepts had opened up. She asked me to save the “good ones”. Every week or two, she would snuggle up next to me on the couch if I had my laptop and say, “Lets look at what is new in the chastity world”. We would go through the new meme’s I had collected and some of her favorite older ones. This activity almost always ended the same way. She would talk about keeping me locked up. She would say she was going to lock me up for a month and then decide to add another month. Or she would tell me that Chastity was going to be my new normal and she would be the queen of my world. Then things would boil over and a few minutes later we would be undressed and making love.

We did actually get a chastity belt (or 5 while we experimented with fit, longevity and security) a year ago. It is definitely a part of our lives; I am belted 2-3 times each month. Typically for 1-3 days while she teases me or we have something to do and she wants me focused. Of course I’m belted the 4 days a month that her body tells her, “Belt Him, he is useless”.

While Martina talks a great chastity game and loves the ideas behind the meme’s she is a disappointing keyholder for long term. And I am fine with that. She always asks if I am ok or if it hurts. I can tell after she asks she realizes she made a mistake, she really wants to be a harsh keyholder. We have had a few good runs but the longest I was ever in chastity was after a required 4 days because of her monthly cycle, she was going away for the weekend. She really wanted me belted but had to make sure about 5 times that it was ok with me to wait for her return. I was belted for 6 days and nights and after a year of chastity games that is the longest I have ever been belted.

Our fetish area’s extend beyond bondage. I have a MAJOR wool and sweater fetish. I beg her to wear thick and fuzzy sweaters and buy them for her all the time. Last Spring it was too warm for a big sweater and we were going to a BBQ on Sunday. It was overcast and I begged her to wear a sweater. She finally agreed when I offered to put the chastity belt on for a week if she would do it. I was only locked for 5 days, but that opened the door for similar deals.

One time I wanted to buy myself a very expensive thickly knitted turtleneck sweater and I had to ask because it was so expensive. She told me that when the package arrived, I had to go in the chastity belt and stay a day for every 10 dollars the sweater cost. Then I told her the sweater was $270 dollars so that would be 27 days. She asked if I still wanted the sweater. I hesitated for a whole day. Then I told her that I want the sweater and we ordered it. She was so excited when it arrived. I have to admit getting a new sweater is a very sexual experience for me and having it in a chastity belt was very frustrating. It was fun, and it was probably very fun for me because after 6 days she got the keys and said “Get that big sweater on and get the belt off and come to mama”. The following days she was very disappointed in herself for not going the 27 days. That was sort of typical for the first year of Chastity. She was a fun key holder but not like the women on the meme’s that got her so excited.

Lately we have been doing the memes even more and she has shown interest in the anal training memes. She asked if it was true that a man can cum from anal. We looked it up and it’s true. She wanted to know if a man could cum from anal while in chastity and we looked it up and it looks true too. She thought that was very hot. She asked me about my experience had I ever….. I had to disappoint her that I had never tried anal and only a few times worn a butt plug for a short time. Based on this interest, once she had me locked up for a day and used a dildo on my behind and while it felt weird and maybe a little bit good, I didn’t cum nor did I feel like I ever would. Still it became a fantasy for meme time.

She had several meme fantasies that always got her going probably number 1 was “I’m adding an extra month because you tried to get me to unlock you” At some point I realized that this was exciting to her because I never really asked her to let me out. I certainly never begged. She almost always ran to get the keys the instant I suggested we make love. Her number 2 favorite was the “Hey welcome to vacation, by the way, I left your keys at home” She loved that one. The 3rd one was probably a tie between “This is your new lifestyle get used to it” and “I am going to train you to cum from anal so I never have to unlock you”.

It was last Spring and I have some time off in June, So I booked a 4 day weekend in late May at a resort. I selected the resort for two reasons. 1) They have a killer golf course and I could play golf all day while Martina hangs at the pool or spa 2) The room had two bedrooms both with big cast iron beds. We can sleep in one room and set the other one up as a bondage room. Maybe she will even leave me tied up all night like she did once at another resort.

I emailed her the reservation and expected to get MEGA points for being a great husband. Instead I got “Golf really? What if I keep you in chastity all weekend. Can you still play golf? Do you still want to go there?” I had to reply that I have played golf in chastity at least a dozen times and while I don’t love it, I still enjoy the game and if she wants me to play golf in chastity, I am happy to oblige. And of course, I took the chance in my reply to tell her the evenings in May are cool enough for sweaters and I offered to pack some for her. (knowing I would pack much thicker fuzzier sweaters than she likes)

We made the booking and for the next six weeks before the trip she would look at me and say “Gee I hope I don’t forget to pack the chastity keys for our trip” and then she would shudder with excitement. I would counter with you won’t be able to reach the keys because I’m keeping you chained to the extra bedroom the entire weekend, gagged and diapers so you know you won’t be getting unchained. She would shudder at that too.

Saturday Night the week before the trip I was teasing her about keeping her in bondage for 4 days. She sat up straight and said, “I’ve got a serious issue with this trip. I’m worried that the first night we are going to have a furious night in bed and just drain all of our energy for sex and then I’m going to be in the condo and at the pool for 3 days board out of my mind while YOU are on a golf vacation.” I assured her that would not happen. She thought “Monday Morning put on your chastity belt and give me the keys, I want you good and horny by Thursday Night when we check in and I want to decide when it comes off.” I replied that keyholders always decide when it comes off (Even though we both knew this wasn’t really true) and I thought the idea was really effing hot. Finished by saying “So you are ordering me into chastity, I like it”

Thursday was stressful while we packed for 4 days of fun. We had two large bags I packed that were very heavy and all they had in them was chains, locks handcuffs, collars, dildoes, gags, paddles a whip, a cane six thick fuzzy sweaters of both male and female variety. We had a little fight but that was normal and the car ride was enjoyable. We talked about sex once, but I changed the subject because my “interest” was causing pain due to the chastity belt confinement. She figured it out and we had normal conversation.

We arrived at 8pm just before sunset. We decide to quickly get everything from the car to the top floor condo and make drinks to watch the sunset on the deck. We didn’t unpack but tossed bags into rooms and the golf clubs in the hallway. She was on the deck as I walked up with the drinks. She looked so happy. We watched the sunset and decided to make more drinks. This time she said “I’ll make the drinks and a snack. You go unpack the playroom, the deck will cool off so you better come back with some sweaters. I want you in that thick black cable turtleneck and I’d like you to pick for me the sweater that you would most like to make love to me in while I wear it. Ya know, old fashioned sweater sex.

She went to make the drinks and I went to unpack, I knew I had time because she was cooking a snack. So, I unpacked and set up the corners of the bed with chains and laid out wrist and ankle cuffs along with locks and keys neatly organized on the bed. I had brought a thick fuzzy pink turtleneck for her and I selected that for her to wear. When I came out she was just finishing the drinks and I was walking slightly bent over with short steps. All the excitement and my chastity belt where really starting to hurt me. I was too excited.

She was just finishing the drinks and saw the pink sweater. “oh you really want to fuck me tonight don’t you” I handed her the sweater with a wince. She noticed, “Trouble down under?” I shrugged and said, “Someone locked me in a chastity belt and I can’t even get a hard on when I see my beautiful wife”. She giggled and we went outside.

I sat down, it really wasn’t cold enough for these sweaters, I thought. She didn’t sit down instead something inside her snapped. She was jumping up and down, she was giggling and started to say out loud, “I did it, I did it!” and it got louder until she leaned over the balcony and yelled to the world “I DID IT” and someone on a deck below yelled back “Congratulations”. That embarrassed her and she shut up and sat down. Red faced and looking so “sweater sexy” she looked at me and said “I did it, I am so proud of myself, this is a wonderful feeling, I didn’t think I could do it, But this feels great, I am so happy” I asked if she quit her job or something. She looked deep at me and said “I forgot your chastity keys at home” then she made quotes with her fingers and said “Forgot” and laughed and laughed. “I really did it. Now we are going to experience that Chastity vacation together and I did it!”

She saw me wince again. All dressed up for sweater sex and no place to go…. I knew I was now going to be belted until at least Tuesday Night when we got home and that would be a new record of 8 days. For reasons that are not logical, this caused my member to be uncontrolled in it’s desire to achieve full status, I was getting 100% excited and I could not stop it. Some part of me loved this.

The next day playing Golf in Chastity was tough. Partly because I didn’t remember how tough chastity golf was and partly because Marina had waited till our 3rd drink then chained me spread eagle to the play bed, with just my sweater and chastity belt on. She then pulled out a stack of adult diapers we only used for extreme long bondage sessions and put on one me. She kissed me and said she wanted to sleep in the king bed alone tonight and assured me I would be unchained in time for my tee time. When you sleep chained spread eagle, you wake up sore. My golf game suffered.

Friday was warm and when I returned, I begged her to wear a sweater to dinner. She declined but said that maybe she would wear one for breakfast because cooler air was moving in. I started to beg, with my stuff locked up, sweater play was my only play. She stopped me and said: “I’ve already experienced the absolute joy of “forgetting” your keys” do you really want me to experience the joy of adding weeks to your chastity sentence on only our first full day of vacation? .... Do Ya?” I put my head down submissively, lowered my eyes and shook my head no. She put her hand on my head and said, “Oh I like how this works”

Saturday my tee time was not till 10am, we planned to eat breakfast together at 8am. I woke up sore. I was once again chained and diapered all night. It was 7:50 and she was ready for breakfast and unchaining my locks on the play bed. She said, “sorry I didn’t get you up earlier but you looked so peaceful sleeping all tied up, we both have to hurry to get ready.” I got up and went into the bathroom to change. I came out at 8AM and I started to get my golf stuff in the room together. I heard her from the hallway. “I’m going down to get a table and a mimosa. Don’t be too long.”

I was probably taking too long, it had probably been 10 minutes. That is when my phone buzzed and it was her. She used her selfie stick to send me a pic from the restaurant lobby. It was the photo from this post with a note, “We are being seated now, every minute you are late is equal to one day.” OMG I never saw her in that sweater!! She bought a new sweater! I dropped my golf stuff and flew out the door, ran down the stairs and got to her just as she was being seated.

She asked me where my sweater was? She indicated that when it’s summer and she is all sweatered up for me, she expects me to be sweatered too. She would explain this later tonight in case I don’t understand. I knew then I was in for a paddling tonight as she “explained” it to me.

I just kept gushing at the table about how sexy she looked in that sweater and the sweater and shorts were incredible. It took a long time to get us seated because she had asked for the table in the corner of the room away from everyone.

At a break in the conversation, I was thinking I should be wonderful and get her mind off of tonight’s spanking. I looked at her and I told her how horny I was being locked up and knowing I was going to be locked up all vacation, Then I told her how proud I was that she had taken the step to leave the keys at home and how fun it was to watch her revel in the achievement. I had no idea how difficult it had been for her.

She replied by telling me how she really struggles with being the Key holder. Part of her wants to be a ruthless keyholder and keep me in a sexual state all the time, but the bigger part of her does not want to be mean to me or make me uncomfortable so she lets me out. She said every time she locks me up she tells herself it will be a week to a month and almost every time she feels bad and lets me out in 2-3 days. She frowned and said, “It makes me feel like a failure”. She frowned a little then said “And I know you take advantage of me in this regard.” She paused and nodded, I knew she was right. “No more”

“What changed or inspired you” I asked.

“Mona” she said and I tried not to cringe. Mona is her friend who doesn’t really like me and is aggressive and kind of mean. But they are best friends and have been since before Martina and I met. “Did you know that Mona and Dave have done chastity for 5 years?” I had no idea that my wife even talks about this sort of stuff with other people. “Mona and I went through the chastity meme’s and she told me that most of them are simply male fantasy and very few women would ever say that. She told me her chastity system and says she would never have life any other way. She keeps a journal. When she gets a hankering to lock up Dave, or Dave is a dumbass, she writes down five things: 1) Why she feels that way 2) How long she wants him locked up 3) What she wants sexually for herself out of the locking up 4) What she wants Dave to experience sexually (if anything) during the lock up and 5) What she wants done and accomplished non-sexually before he gets unlocked.

She writes those five things down and she says that if a woman is going to be true to themselves and enjoy the power of having the key , while prioritizing to ignore male suffering, then she MUST make sure the list is complete before the belting is ended AND she NEVER tells Dave how long she is planning on having him belted. She will share things with him about the goals, especially things like… one time……ha (she laughed) Do you remember when Dave got it in his head that he was going to paint the whole house in a week all by himself? So do you remember that? Yeah. We thought Dave was crazy and he was, but it was not actually his idea. After being belted for 2 weeks, Mona told him he gets out AFTER the whole house is painted and not a minute before. She said he never worked so hard on anything ever. He never complained he just worked for his goal.

Last week I wrote down my five things. I read them three times each day to cement them in my head and make sure that is what I wanted. Now I am your Key Holder and I am confident with my plan and feel great about it. How do you like it so far? I replied that I really wanted to have sex with her but being belted on vacation with the keys at home was a really hot surprise.

She smiled big. You are so wonderful I have another surprise for you. I’m going to tell you some of the things I wrote down. (I thought, AWESOME) I wrote down that as my gift for you sexually I am going to spend the entire day and night with you and I’m going to wear this new thick fuzzy sweater all day long. I will be your smok’n hot, drink buying, golf partner, but I won’t play because golf is stupid. (she always said that), I will wear it after golf for whatever you want to do and I will wear it out to dinner when you take me to a nice restaurant tonight to celebrate. I will wear it when I serve you a nightcap back at the room.

Wow.

“And in return for this wonderful gift, you will be giving me, one month in chastity that starts today.”

“Holy Cow, I like the sweater part a lot”, I said. I was in a big panic. My world chastity record was 6 days and this was going to be 36 days, at least.

I got myself together and said, “How about I stay in Chastity till next weekend and every day next week we turn down the A/C and I pick a sweater for you to wear every night?”

She laughed and said, “It’s so cute you are trying to negotiate, remind me again who has the keys?”

“OK, OK, Chastity for 10 days from now, no sweaters and I’ll clean the kitchen every night, that will be 16 days in chastity and more than double my world record” and with that I gave her my most manipulative, please please, I love you so much face I could muster.

“You are staying belted until one month from now, I don’t see how that could possibly change, unless I decide to add time beyond a month. I do like the clean the kitchen every night. I’m sure you will do that anyway, because you might fear that I will add days for not doing so. Now, I expect you to clean the kitchen every night you are belted or that day does not count. I’m tired of this conversation. I am going to let you give me one more lame attempt to put conditions or propose changes to MY plan. Just one more time you can ever mention it. You have until the end of breakfast. Then any further requests for release or suggestions about my keyholding and your one month will automatically become TWO MONTHS. I suggest you at least be entertaining with your suggestion.”

The waiter arrived with breakfast, perfectly timed, so I would shut my mouth.

We didn’t say much during breakfast. At some point, she reached over and touched my hand. “You are pretty sexy when you are thinking so hard”

I knew I had to go back to the meme’s and the things that she seemed to really like. Suddenly I couldn’t remember any of it. As breakfast was almost done, I had it. “I’m ready, for my last lame attempt to get out of this chastity belt before one month”

“Good, I can’t wait, then we have a tee time”. She said it like it was just a formality and this was a pointless exercise in my using my mouth to say nothing important.

“I will submit to you for any action whatsoever for the next 10 days. I challenge you to train me to cum in my chastity belt from anal.” Her mouth dropped open, her butt wiggled a little bit and I knew that the juices had started to flow. I continued: “You have ten days to train me to cum from anal, not just drip a little, but to make me an anal whore. If you fail, on day #11 I am release from the chastity belt. But IF you are successful, and I hope you are, Then I want to be an anal whore and you have to make me cum from anal at least two times every week, further, if I am horny and want to be fucked, you cannot refuse me, unless I have already cum twice in the last 7 days.

She leaned back in the chair and one hand went under the table then suddenly rocketed back to the top of the table. I knew I did something good, because she was going to rub herself and had forgotten we are in a restaurant. After a minute if thoughtful gazing at me.

“I will accept your challenge, if you still want to do it, because I will not agree unless, after I have trained you to be an excellent anal whore, the rule will be, before you can cum, you must first be tied up, gagged and spanked heartily. Most times probably on the spanking bench but I want to also be creative. After your spanking I might just make you cum on the bench still tied up or untie you for some other adventure in cummies.

I didn’t like that additional terms, I don’t enjoy being spanked However, the chance to get out in 10 days or at least get some relief if she is successful, sounded pretty good. We agreed. I typed it all out onto an email and sent it to her. She replied confirmation that was the agreement. Apparently, putting an agreement in writing was also a Mona thing, so that there was no confusion later about agreements.

The check arrived and it was time to go get my golf clubs. Now my only concern was looking at her in the sweater as much as possible and remembering this day for the rest of my life. She is so sexy. And she will probably be very hot in the sweater too.

It was late morning and still cool, but her sweater was defiantly too much sweater for a normal person. The sweater got her noticed and two women approached her separately to tell her what a wonderful sweater she had on and ask if she made it herself. I caught the golf cart attendant checking her out seriously, he wasn’t looking at her rear or legs, he was definitely a sweater person too.

I started with a six pack of beer and a six pack of water and lots of ice from the snack shack. I figured it’s a great day to drink beer and stay hydrated. My golf game was ok. I had a birdie and I had some trouble. We were on the back nine where there were no houses or roads. I had just blasted my ball way down the fairway with a driver but at the last moment, my ball hit a little hill and bounced forcefully into the woods. I drove the cart up to the woods parked in the shade for Martina who was now a little red faced with heat, but being a super sexy woman and also drinking most of the beer.

The group behind us was four guys that started with a crapload of beer and we had not seen them for 5 holes, I bet we were 30 minutes ahead of them. And the group in front of us was fast so it was like we had the course to ourselves.

I decided that I could find my ball and probably play it. I grabbed a few clubs and walked into the woods to find my ball. After a minute or two I found it and hit a killer shot between the trees right up the fairway and almost to the green. I was happy to still have a chance for par.

As I came out of the woods Martina looked like she was passed out. She was leaning all the way back in the seat with her head back and her eyes closed. As I approached, I said, “What are you doing?” and at that moment I could hear her breathing. She was breathing hard. Her hand was down in her crotch. As I got to the cart, I just stopped. She was rubbing the outside of her shorts and masterbating. She looked like she had been doing this a while. I just stood there looking at her. My Chastity belt signaled that it was still in place and my heart sunk when I remembered the keys where at home and then sunk again when I remembered the belt might be my closest friend for the next month.

Sheepishly I said “Whatcha do’in?”

She gasped and didn’t move her head or open her eyes. Breathlessly she said, “I started thinking……..What if after a month……. You really like this ……….. (a longer pause for a few hard strokes) What if I really like this ….. or maybe we both really like this” With those words she gasped hard as if saying those words out loud was the trigger to her orgasm. Then her eyes shot wide open. She raised her head and looked at me …… “This could be a lifestylllllllllllllll Ahhhhh God please!!” Then as if speaking those words was a trigger to heaven, she came like a freight train for over a minute. I just stood there dumbfounded while I watched her cum more than one time.

As she settled down, I was still standing there looking at her. She opened her eyes again and turned her head toward me. She bit her lip in the most sexy way and took her hand off of her now noticeably wet crotch. She sat up a little and said, “I have 10-Days to make you the man of my dreams”

Sorry to be posting this pretty late in the month I was going to do it earlier but I've been pretty prioritized with school. Anyways let's get to the figs...

From L-R:

Solomon Grundy (Updated): Cyrus Gold (Solomon Grundy), is a Zombie supervillain who has clashed with many heroes over the years, including Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, the Justice Society of America, and the Justice League of America. Solomon Grundy frequently dies and resurrects in new incarnations, each of varying levels of strength and intelligence. Although primarily evil, some of his incarnations have shown the capacity for heroism.

Fig Formula: Hair (70162: Solomon Blaze), Head (71031: Zombie Captain America), Torso (71028: Griphook), Arms (70903: Batman), Hands (41255: Guy Diamond), Hip & Legs (71031: Monica Rambeau)

John Constantine (Updated): John Constantine is an occult detective from Liverpool, England. His violent and anti-social attitude makes him a formidable anti-hero, and he's known for doing whatever it takes to get the job done.

Fig Formula: Hair (76143: Captain America), Head (71018: Roman Gladiator), Torso & Arms (71031: Loki), Hands (71018: Yuppie), Hip & Legs (71031: Loki)

Design Inspirations Below:

Solomon Grundy - (static.wikia.nocookie.net/swampthing/images/5/5d/Solomon_...)

John Constantine - (static.wikia.nocookie.net/hellblazer/images/0/0d/013013_c...)

John Constantine is inspired by Steel Brick Customs design. Comment & fave below to let me know what you all think.

♦ Instructions available at Rebrickable ♦

"This is where the fun begins!"

My latest ship from the Prequel Trilogy has arrived, and it surely was a lot of fun to make: here's Obi Wan's Eta-2 Actis Interceptor from Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and The Clone Wars.

This small unit consists of 281 pieces (stand included), and has one major feature: true Minifig scale!

There's a handful of beautiful MOCs of this ship out there already, but most of them are based on the huge cockpit piece from the playsets, so they're drastically oversized. So here I am with a, dare I say, more accurately scaled version.

It does come with a drawback, you guessed it: you can't put a fig inside. A bit ironic I know, but I chose to go for a brick-built cockpit in order to get as close to the original design as I could, prioritizing accuracy over playability, as usual.

The wings were pretty challenging given the ridiculously small scale, and my goal was to have them as thin as possible without compromising the SNOT look.

I'm quite happy with the result and I think this makes a nice little display piece. It's also very swooshable despite the intricate wing design.

I'm usually not a fan of stickers, but I thought this one deserved some sweet markings. I used the sticker sheet from the playset - it is included in the parts list. The color scheme can be changed to red with only a few part swaps (see last page in the instructions).

► Instructions for the Eta-2 Actis Interceptor are available at Rebrickable!

"Treasury Plan for Puerto Rico Prioritizes Pensions Over Bondholders" by MARY WILLIAMS WALSH via NYT t.co/X5343JM9NN (via Twitter twitter.com/felipemassone/status/702671864641032192)

The Days We Wear Masks 20210226

People age 60 and older and health care workers among some 2.4 million people currently prioritized to receive the vaccines can make their appointments online to get the jab at one of the eight community vaccination centers or 18 outpatient clinics across Hong Kong.

(20210226 The Standard)

Sandeman winery, in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto. We did a workshop on Porto Wine reportage and this is one of the things I drew. Now I did do a lot of writing and other sketches around it but I've cut those out of the sketch; I need to finish those off (part of the reportage, which was a bit rushed) but I liked the sketch by itself. The cable-car flew high above. I never took that, I would have liked to, but it cut into sketching time. I did look around Sandeman, but I didn't do the tour of the cellars, it cut into sketching time. Sketching time, sketching time, I prioritized that over everything... Maybe I'll do those things when I come back some day. I've drawn most of Porto by now...

Three Known Frames:

bubblegum tongue, your hand (my hand?), cherry blossoms

* * *

Yesterday I made a (half) joke that I only shoot multiple exposures in order to save money on film costs. But I like how shooting atop my own already-shot film deflates the preciousness of each shot. When you choose not to preserve an image the way it was initially framed, you prioritize the final photograph not by how the self has made choices but how chaos has chosen to represent the self.

Biennalist :

Biennalist is an Art Format commenting on active biennials and managed cultural events through artworks.Biennalist takes the thematics of the biennales and similar events like festivals and conferences seriously, questioning the established structures of the staged art events in order to contribute to the debate, which they wish to generate.

-------------------------------------------

links about Biennalist :

Thierry Geoffroy/Colonel:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Geoffroy

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Room_(art)

www.emergencyrooms.org/formats.html

www.colonel.dk/

—--Biennale from wikipedia —--

The Venice International Film Festival is part of the Venice Biennale. The famous Golden Lion is awarded to the best film screening at the competition.

Biennale (Italian: [bi.enˈnaːle]), Italian for "biennial" or "every other year", is any event that happens every two years. It is most commonly used within the art world to describe large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions. As such the term was popularised by Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895. Since the 1990s, the terms "biennale" and "biennial" have been interchangeably used in a more generic way - to signify a large-scale international survey show of contemporary art that recurs at regular intervals but not necessarily biannual (such as triennials, Documenta, Skulptur Projekte Münster).[1] The phrase has also been used for other artistic events, such as the "Biennale de Paris", "Kochi-Muziris Biennale", Berlinale (for the Berlin International Film Festival) and Viennale (for Vienna's international film festival).

Characteristics[edit]

According to author Federica Martini, what is at stake in contemporary biennales is the diplomatic/international relations potential as well as urban regeneration plans. Besides being mainly focused on the present (the “here and now” where the cultural event takes place and their effect of "spectacularisation of the everyday"), because of their site-specificity cultural events may refer back to,[who?] produce or frame the history of the site and communities' collective memory.[2]

The Great Exhibition in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in 1851, the first attempt to condense the representation of the world within a unitary exhibition space.

A strong and influent symbol of biennales and of large-scale international exhibitions in general is the Crystal Palace, the gigantic and futuristic London architecture that hosted the Great Exhibition in 1851. According to philosopher Peter Sloterdijk,[3][page needed] the Crystal Palace is the first attempt to condense the representation of the world in a unitary exhibition space, where the main exhibit is society itself in an a-historical, spectacular condition. The Crystal Palace main motives were the affirmation of British economic and national leadership and the creation of moments of spectacle. In this respect, 19th century World fairs provided a visual crystallization of colonial culture and were, at the same time, forerunners of contemporary theme parks.

The Venice Biennale as an archetype[edit]

The structure of the Venice Biennale in 2005 with an international exhibition and the national pavilions.

The Venice Biennale, a periodical large-scale cultural event founded in 1895, served as an archetype of the biennales. Meant to become a World Fair focused on contemporary art, the Venice Biennale used as a pretext the wedding anniversary of the Italian king and followed up to several national exhibitions organised after Italy unification in 1861. The Biennale immediately put forth issues of city marketing, cultural tourism and urban regeneration, as it was meant to reposition Venice on the international cultural map after the crisis due to the end of the Grand Tour model and the weakening of the Venetian school of painting. Furthermore, the Gardens where the Biennale takes place were an abandoned city area that needed to be re-functionalised. In cultural terms, the Biennale was meant to provide on a biennial basis a platform for discussing contemporary art practices that were not represented in fine arts museums at the time. The early Biennale model already included some key points that are still constitutive of large-scale international art exhibitions today: a mix of city marketing, internationalism, gentrification issues and destination culture, and the spectacular, large scale of the event.

Biennials after the 1990s[edit]

The situation of biennials has changed in the contemporary context: while at its origin in 1895 Venice was a unique cultural event, but since the 1990s hundreds of biennials have been organized across the globe. Given the ephemeral and irregular nature of some biennials, there is little consensus on the exact number of biennials in existence at any given time.[citation needed] Furthermore, while Venice was a unique agent in the presentation of contemporary art, since the 1960s several museums devoted to contemporary art are exhibiting the contemporary scene on a regular basis. Another point of difference concerns 19th century internationalism in the arts, that was brought into question by post-colonial debates and criticism of the contemporary art “ethnic marketing”, and also challenged the Venetian and World Fair’s national representation system. As a consequence of this, Eurocentric tendency to implode the whole word in an exhibition space, which characterises both the Crystal Palace and the Venice Biennale, is affected by the expansion of the artistic geographical map to scenes traditionally considered as marginal. The birth of the Havana Biennial in 1984 is widely considered an important counterpoint to the Venetian model for its prioritization of artists working in the Global South and curatorial rejection of the national pavilion model.

International biennales[edit]

In the term's most commonly used context of major recurrent art exhibitions:

Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, South Australia

Asian Art Biennale, in Taichung, Taiwan (National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts)

Athens Biennale, in Athens, Greece

Bienal de Arte Paiz, in Guatemala City, Guatemala[4]

Arts in Marrakech (AiM) International Biennale (Arts in Marrakech Festival)

Bamako Encounters, a biennale of photography in Mali

Bat-Yam International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism

Beijing Biennale

Berlin Biennale (contemporary art biennale, to be distinguished from Berlinale, which is a film festival)

Bergen Assembly (triennial for contemporary art in Bergen, Norway)www.bergenassembly.no

Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture, in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China

Bienal de Arte de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Biënnale van België, Biennial of Belgium, Belgium

BiennaleOnline Online biennial exhibition of contemporary art from the most promising emerging artists.

Biennial of Hawaii Artists

Biennale de la Biche, the smallest biennale in the world held at deserted island near Guadeloupe, French overseas region[5][6]

Biwako Biennale [ja], in Shiga, Japan

La Biennale de Montreal

Biennale of Luanda : Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace,[7] Angola

Boom Festival, international music and culture festival in Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal

Bucharest Biennale in Bucharest, Romania

Bushwick Biennial, in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York

Canakkale Biennial, in Canakkale, Turkey

Cerveira International Art Biennial, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal [8]

Changwon Sculpture Biennale in Changwon, South Korea

Dakar Biennale, also called Dak'Art, biennale in Dakar, Senegal

Documenta, contemporary art exhibition held every five years in Kassel, Germany

Estuaire (biennale), biennale in Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, France

EVA International, biennial in Limerick, Republic of Ireland

Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art, in Gothenburg, Sweden[9]

Greater Taipei Contemporary Art Biennial, in Taipei, Taiwan

Gwangju Biennale, Asia's first and most prestigious contemporary art biennale

Havana biennial, in Havana, Cuba

Helsinki Biennial, in Helsinki, Finland

Herzliya Biennial For Contemporary Art, in Herzliya, Israel

Incheon Women Artists' Biennale, in Incheon, South Korea

Iowa Biennial, in Iowa, USA

Istanbul Biennial, in Istanbul, Turkey

International Roaming Biennial of Tehran, in Tehran and Istanbul

Jakarta Biennale, in Jakarta, Indonesia

Jerusalem Biennale, in Jerusalem, Israel

Jogja Biennale, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Karachi Biennale, in Karachi, Pakistan

Keelung Harbor Biennale, in Keelung, Taiwan

Kochi-Muziris Biennale, largest art exhibition in India, in Kochi, Kerala, India

Kortrijk Design Biennale Interieur, in Kortrijk, Belgium

Kobe Biennale, in Japan

Kuandu Biennale, in Taipei, Taiwan

Lagos Biennial, in Lagos, Nigeria[10]

Light Art Biennale Austria, in Austria

Liverpool Biennial, in Liverpool, UK

Lofoten International Art Festival [no] (LIAF), on the Lofoten archipelago, Norway[11]

Manifesta, European Biennale of contemporary art in different European cities

Mediations Biennale, in Poznań, Poland

Melbourne International Biennial 1999

Mediterranean Biennale in Sakhnin 2013

MOMENTA Biennale de l'image [fr] (formerly known as Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal), in Montreal, Canada

MOMENTUM [no], in Moss, Norway[12]

Moscow Biennale, in Moscow, Russia

Munich Biennale, new opera and music-theatre in even-numbered years

Mykonos Biennale

Nakanojo Biennale[13]

NGV Triennial, contemporary art exhibition held every three years at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

October Salon – Belgrade Biennale [sr], organised by the Cultural Center of Belgrade [sr], in Belgrade, Serbia[14]

OSTEN Biennial of Drawing Skopje, North Macedonia[15]

Biennale de Paris

Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA), in Riga, Latvia[16]

São Paulo Art Biennial, in São Paulo, Brazil

SCAPE Public Art Christchurch Biennial in Christchurch, New Zealand[17]

Prospect New Orleans

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism

Sequences, in Reykjavík, Iceland[18]

Shanghai Biennale

Sharjah Biennale, in Sharjah, UAE

Singapore Biennale, held in various locations across the city-state island of Singapore

Screen City Biennial, in Stavanger, Norway

Biennale of Sydney

Taipei Biennale, in Taipei, Taiwan

Taiwan Arts Biennale, in Taichung, Taiwan (National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts)

Taiwan Film Biennale, in Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, U.S.A.

Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art [el], in Thessaloniki, Greece[19]

Dream city, produced by ART Rue Association in Tunisia

Vancouver Biennale

Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon) in the Philippines [20]

Venice Biennale, in Venice, Italy, which includes:

Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art

Venice Biennale of Architecture

Venice Film Festival

Vladivostok biennale of Visual Arts, in Vladivostok, Russia

Whitney Biennial, hosted by the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York City, NY, USA

Web Biennial, produced with teams from Athens, Berlin and Istanbul.

West Africa Architecture Biennale,[21] Virtual in Lagos, Nigeria.

WRO Biennale, in Wrocław, Poland[22]

Music Biennale Zagreb

[SHIFT:ibpcpa] The International Biennale of Performance, Collaborative and Participatory Arts, Nomadic, International, Scotland, UK.

—---Venice Biennale from wikipedia —

The Venice Biennale (/ˌbiːɛˈnɑːleɪ, -li/; Italian: La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation.[2][3][4] The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of its kind. The main exhibition held in Castello, in the halls of the Arsenale and Biennale Gardens, alternates between art and architecture (hence the name biennale; biennial).[5][6][7] The other events hosted by the Foundation—spanning theatre, music, and dance—are held annually in various parts of Venice, whereas the Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido.[8]

Organization[edit]

Art Biennale

Art Biennale

International Art Exhibition

1895

Even-numbered years (since 2022)

Venice Biennale of Architecture

International Architecture Exhibition

1980

Odd-numbered years (since 2021)

Biennale Musica

International Festival of Contemporary Music

1930

Annually (Sep/Oct)

Biennale Teatro

International Theatre Festival

1934

Annually (Jul/Aug)

Venice Film Festival

Venice International Film Festival

1932

Annually (Aug/Sep)

Venice Dance Biennale

International Festival of Contemporary Dance

1999

Annually (June; biennially 2010–16)

International Kids' Carnival

2009

Annually (during Carnevale)

History

1895–1947

On April 19, 1893, the Venetian City Council passed a resolution to set up an biennial exhibition of Italian Art ("Esposizione biennale artistica nazionale") to celebrate the silver anniversary of King Umberto I and Margherita of Savoy.[11]

A year later, the council decreed "to adopt a 'by invitation' system; to reserve a section of the Exhibition for foreign artists too; to admit works by uninvited Italian artists, as selected by a jury."[12]

The first Biennale, "I Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte della Città di Venezia (1st International Art Exhibition of the City of Venice)" (although originally scheduled for April 22, 1894) was opened on April 30, 1895, by the Italian King and Queen, Umberto I and Margherita di Savoia. The first exhibition was seen by 224,000 visitors.

The event became increasingly international in the first decades of the 20th century: from 1907 on, several countries installed national pavilions at the exhibition, with the first being from Belgium. In 1910 the first internationally well-known artists were displayed: a room dedicated to Gustav Klimt, a one-man show for Renoir, a retrospective of Courbet. A work by Picasso "Family of Saltimbanques" was removed from the Spanish salon in the central Palazzo because it was feared that its novelty might shock the public. By 1914 seven pavilions had been established: Belgium (1907), Hungary (1909), Germany (1909), Great Britain (1909), France (1912), and Russia (1914).

During World War I, the 1916 and 1918 events were cancelled.[13] In 1920 the post of mayor of Venice and president of the Biennale was split. The new secretary general, Vittorio Pica brought about the first presence of avant-garde art, notably Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.

1922 saw an exhibition of sculpture by African artists. Between the two World Wars, many important modern artists had their work exhibited there. In 1928 the Istituto Storico d'Arte Contemporanea (Historical Institute of Contemporary Art) opened, which was the first nucleus of archival collections of the Biennale. In 1930 its name was changed into Historical Archive of Contemporary Art.

In 1930, the Biennale was transformed into an Ente Autonomo (Autonomous Board) by Royal Decree with law no. 33 of 13-1-1930. Subsequently, the control of the Biennale passed from the Venice city council to the national Fascist government under Benito Mussolini. This brought on a restructuring, an associated financial boost, as well as a new president, Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata. Three entirely new events were established, including the Biennale Musica in 1930, also referred to as International Festival of Contemporary Music; the Venice Film Festival in 1932, which they claim as the first film festival in history,[14] also referred to as Venice International Film Festival; and the Biennale Theatro in 1934, also referred to as International Theatre Festival.

In 1933 the Biennale organized an exhibition of Italian art abroad. From 1938, Grand Prizes were awarded in the art exhibition section.

During World War II, the activities of the Biennale were interrupted: 1942 saw the last edition of the events. The Film Festival restarted in 1946, the Music and Theatre festivals were resumed in 1947, and the Art Exhibition in 1948.[15]

1948–1973[edit]

The Art Biennale was resumed in 1948 with a major exhibition of a recapitulatory nature. The Secretary General, art historian Rodolfo Pallucchini, started with the Impressionists and many protagonists of contemporary art including Chagall, Klee, Braque, Delvaux, Ensor, and Magritte, as well as a retrospective of Picasso's work. Peggy Guggenheim was invited to exhibit her collection, later to be permanently housed at Ca' Venier dei Leoni.

1949 saw the beginning of renewed attention to avant-garde movements in European—and later worldwide—movements in contemporary art. Abstract expressionism was introduced in the 1950s, and the Biennale is credited with importing Pop Art into the canon of art history by awarding the top prize to Robert Rauschenberg in 1964.[16] From 1948 to 1972, Italian architect Carlo Scarpa did a series of remarkable interventions in the Biennale's exhibition spaces.

In 1954 the island San Giorgio Maggiore provided the venue for the first Japanese Noh theatre shows in Europe. 1956 saw the selection of films following an artistic selection and no longer based upon the designation of the participating country. The 1957 Golden Lion went to Satyajit Ray's Aparajito which introduced Indian cinema to the West.

1962 included Arte Informale at the Art Exhibition with Jean Fautrier, Hans Hartung, Emilio Vedova, and Pietro Consagra. The 1964 Art Exhibition introduced continental Europe to Pop Art (The Independent Group had been founded in Britain in 1952). The American Robert Rauschenberg was the first American artist to win the Gran Premio, and the youngest to date.

The student protests of 1968 also marked a crisis for the Biennale. Student protests hindered the opening of the Biennale. A resulting period of institutional changes opened and ending with a new Statute in 1973. In 1969, following the protests, the Grand Prizes were abandoned. These resumed in 1980 for the Mostra del Cinema and in 1986 for the Art Exhibition.[17]

In 1972, for the first time, a theme was adopted by the Biennale, called "Opera o comportamento" ("Work or Behaviour").

Starting from 1973 the Music Festival was no longer held annually. During the year in which the Mostra del Cinema was not held, there was a series of "Giornate del cinema italiano" (Days of Italian Cinema) promoted by sectorial bodies in campo Santa Margherita, in Venice.[18]

1974–1998[edit]

1974 saw the start of the four-year presidency of Carlo Ripa di Meana. The International Art Exhibition was not held (until it was resumed in 1976). Theatre and cinema events were held in October 1974 and 1975 under the title Libertà per il Cile (Freedom for Chile)—a major cultural protest against the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

On 15 November 1977, the so-called Dissident Biennale (in reference to the dissident movement in the USSR) opened. Because of the ensuing controversies within the Italian left wing parties, president Ripa di Meana resigned at the end of the year.[19]

In 1979 the new presidency of Giuseppe Galasso (1979-1982) began. The principle was laid down whereby each of the artistic sectors was to have a permanent director to organise its activity.

In 1980, the Architecture section of the Biennale was set up. The director, Paolo Portoghesi, opened the Corderie dell'Arsenale to the public for the first time. At the Mostra del Cinema, the awards were brought back into being (between 1969 and 1979, the editions were non-competitive). In 1980, Achille Bonito Oliva and Harald Szeemann introduced "Aperto", a section of the exhibition designed to explore emerging art. Italian art historian Giovanni Carandente directed the 1988 and 1990 editions. A three-year gap was left afterwards to make sure that the 1995 edition would coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Biennale.[13]

The 1993 edition was directed by Achille Bonito Oliva. In 1995, Jean Clair was appointed to be the Biennale's first non-Italian director of visual arts[20] while Germano Celant served as director in 1997.

For the Centenary in 1995, the Biennale promoted events in every sector of its activity: the 34th Festival del Teatro, the 46th art exhibition, the 46th Festival di Musica, the 52nd Mostra del Cinema.[21]

1999–present[edit]

In 1999 and 2001, Harald Szeemann directed two editions in a row (48th & 49th) bringing in a larger representation of artists from Asia and Eastern Europe and more young artists than usual and expanded the show into several newly restored spaces of the Arsenale.

In 1999 a new sector was created for live shows: DMT (Dance Music Theatre).

The 50th edition, 2003, directed by Francesco Bonami, had a record number of seven co-curators involved, including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Catherine David, Igor Zabel, Hou Hanru and Massimiliano Gioni.

The 51st edition of the Biennale opened in June 2005, curated, for the first time by two women, Maria de Corral and Rosa Martinez. De Corral organized "The Experience of Art" which included 41 artists, from past masters to younger figures. Rosa Martinez took over the Arsenale with "Always a Little Further." Drawing on "the myth of the romantic traveler" her exhibition involved 49 artists, ranging from the elegant to the profane.

In 2007, Robert Storr became the first director from the United States to curate the Biennale (the 52nd), with a show entitled Think with the Senses – Feel with the Mind. Art in the Present Tense.

Swedish curator Daniel Birnbaum was artistic director of the 2009 edition entitled "Fare Mondi // Making Worlds".

The 2011 edition was curated by Swiss curator Bice Curiger entitled "ILLUMInazioni – ILLUMInations".

The Biennale in 2013 was curated by the Italian Massimiliano Gioni. His title and theme, Il Palazzo Enciclopedico / The Encyclopedic Palace, was adopted from an architectural model by the self-taught Italian-American artist Marino Auriti. Auriti's work, The Encyclopedic Palace of the World was lent by the American Folk Art Museum and exhibited in the first room of the Arsenale for the duration of the biennale. For Gioni, Auriti's work, "meant to house all worldly knowledge, bringing together the greatest discoveries of the human race, from the wheel to the satellite," provided an analogous figure for the "biennale model itself...based on the impossible desire to concentrate the infinite worlds of contemporary art in a single place: a task that now seems as dizzyingly absurd as Auriti's dream."[22]

Curator Okwui Enwezor was responsible for the 2015 edition.[23] He was the first African-born curator of the biennial. As a catalyst for imagining different ways of imagining multiple desires and futures Enwezor commissioned special projects and programs throughout the Biennale in the Giardini. This included a Creative Time Summit, e-flux journal's SUPERCOMMUNITY, Gulf Labor Coalition, The Invisible Borders Trans-African Project and Abounaddara.[24][25]

The 2017 Biennale, titled Viva Arte Viva, was directed by French curator Christine Macel who called it an "exhibition inspired by humanism".[26] German artist Franz Erhard Walter won the Golden Lion for best artist, while Carolee Schneemann was awarded a posthumous Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.[27]

The 2019 Biennale, titled May You Live In Interesting Times, was directed by American-born curator Ralph Rugoff.[28]

The 2022 edition was curated by Italian curator Cecilia Alemani entitled "The Milk of Dreams" after a book by British-born Mexican surrealist painter Leonora Carrington.[29]

The Biennale has an attendance today of over 500,000 visitors.[30][31][32]

Role in the art market[edit]

When the Venice Biennale was founded in 1895, one of its main goals was to establish a new market for contemporary art. Between 1942 and 1968 a sales office assisted artists in finding clients and selling their work,[33] a service for which it charged 10% commission. Sales remained an intrinsic part of the biennale until 1968, when a sales ban was enacted. An important practical reason why the focus on non-commodities has failed to decouple Venice from the market is that the biennale itself lacks the funds to produce, ship and install these large-scale works. Therefore, the financial involvement of dealers is widely regarded as indispensable;[16] as they regularly front the funding for production of ambitious projects.[34] Furthermore, every other year the Venice Biennale coincides with nearby Art Basel, the world's prime commercial fair for modern and contemporary art. Numerous galleries with artists on show in Venice usually bring work by the same artists to Basel.[35]

Central Pavilion and Arsenale[edit]

The formal Biennale is based at a park, the Giardini. The Giardini includes a large exhibition hall that houses a themed exhibition curated by the Biennale's director.

Initiated in 1980, the Aperto began as a fringe event for younger artists and artists of a national origin not represented by the permanent national pavilions. This is usually staged in the Arsenale and has become part of the formal biennale programme. In 1995 there was no Aperto so a number of participating countries hired venues to show exhibitions of emerging artists. From 1999, both the international exhibition and the Aperto were held as one exhibition, held both at the Central Pavilion and the Arsenale. Also in 1999, a $1 million renovation transformed the Arsenale area into a cluster of renovated shipyards, sheds and warehouses, more than doubling the Arsenale's exhibition space of previous years.[36]

A special edition of the 54th Biennale was held at Padiglione Italia of Torino Esposizioni – Sala Nervi (December 2011 – February 2012) for the 150th Anniversary of Italian Unification. The event was directed by Vittorio Sgarbi.[37]

National pavilions[edit]

Main article: National pavilions at the Venice Biennale

The Giardini houses 30 permanent national pavilions.[13] Alongside the Central Pavilion, built in 1894 and later restructured and extended several times, the Giardini are occupied by a further 29 pavilions built at different periods by the various countries participating in the Biennale. The first nation to build a pavilion was Belgium in 1907, followed by Germany, Britain and Hungary in 1909.[13] The pavilions are the property of the individual countries and are managed by their ministries of culture.[38]

Countries not owning a pavilion in the Giardini are exhibited in other venues across Venice. The number of countries represented is still growing. In 2005, China was showing for the first time, followed by the African Pavilion and Mexico (2007), the United Arab Emirates (2009), and India (2011).[39]

The assignment of the permanent pavilions was largely dictated by the international politics of the 1930s and the Cold War. There is no single format to how each country manages their pavilion, established and emerging countries represented at the biennial maintain and fund their pavilions in different ways.[38] While pavilions are usually government-funded, private money plays an increasingly large role; in 2015, the pavilions of Iraq, Ukraine and Syria were completely privately funded.[40] The pavilion for Great Britain is always managed by the British Council[41] while the United States assigns the responsibility to a public gallery chosen by the Department of State which, since 1985, has been the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.[42] The countries at the Arsenale that request a temporary exhibition space pay a hire fee per square meter.[38]

In 2011, the countries were Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia and Slovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Wales and Zimbabwe. In addition to this there are two collective pavilions: Central Asia Pavilion and Istituto Italo-Latino Americano. In 2013, eleven new participant countries developed national pavilions for the Biennale: Angola, Bosnia and Herzegowina, the Bahamas, Bahrain, the Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Kuwait, the Maldives, Paraguay, Tuvalu, and the Holy See. In 2015, five new participant countries developed pavilions for the Biennale: Grenada,[43] Republic of Mozambique, Republic of Seychelles, Mauritius and Mongolia. In 2017, three countries participated in the Art Biennale for the first time: Antigua & Barbuda, Kiribati, and Nigeria.[44] In 2019, four countries participated in the Art Biennale for the first time: Ghana, Madagascar, Malaysia, and Pakistan.[45]

As well as the national pavilions there are countless "unofficial pavilions"[46] that spring up every year. In 2009 there were pavilions such as the Gabon Pavilion and a Peckham pavilion. In 2017 The Diaspora Pavilion bought together 19 artists from complex, multinational backgrounds to challenge the prevalence of the nation state at the Biennale.[47]

The Internet Pavilion (Italian: Padiglione Internet) was founded in 2009 as a platform for activists and artists working in new media.[48][49][50] Subsequent editions were held since,[51] 2013,[51] in conjunction with the biennale.[52]

-----

وینسVenetsiya

art umjetnost umění kunst taideτέχνη művészetList ealaínarte māksla menasartiKunst sztuka artăumenie umetnost konstcelfקונסטարվեստincəsənətশিল্প艺术(yìshù)藝術 (yìshù)ხელოვნებაकलाkos duabアートಕಲೆសិល្បៈ미(misul)ສິນລະປະകലकलाအတတ်ပညာकलाකලාවகலைఆర్ట్ศิลปะ آرٹsan'atnghệ thuậtفن (fan)אומנותهنرsanat artist

venice biennale Venezia Venedig biennalen Bienal_de_Venecia Venise Venecia Bienalo Bienal Biënnale Venetië Veneza Μπιενάλε της Βενετίας ヴェネツィ ア・ビエンナーレ 威尼斯双年展 Venedik Bienali Venetsian biennaali Wenecji biennial #venicebiennale #venicebiennial biennalism

Veneziako Venecija Venècia Venetië Veneetsia Venetsia VenedigΒ ενετία Velence Feneyjar Venice Venēcija Venezja Venezia Wenecja VenezaVeneția Venetsiya Benátky Benetke Fenisוועניס Վենետիկ ভেনি স威尼斯 威尼斯 ვენეციისવે નિસवेनिसヴ ェネツィアವೆನಿಸ್베니스வெனிஸ்వెనిస్เวนิซوینس Venetsiya Italy italia

--------key words

headband protest fashion protestfashion artistic intervention performance artformat action installation critical critic critique institutional critic choregraphy scenography

#venicebiennale #biennalist #artformat #biennale #artbiennale #biennial

#BiennaleArte2024 #artformat

Mural by ROSHI aka @dirtyoldroshi and Mister Toledo aka @mister_toledo, seen at 2268 Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.

ROSHI states: "The foundation of self reflection always comes back to duality- the contrast of light/dark, good/evil, yes/no- the binary nature of mind in its attempt to understand, construct, and solve problems through a structure of coupling relativisms. We build perceptions on meaning and challenges to prioritize with this operating system. A crux of human experience: to be caught between the omnipotent state of being part of the collective godhead of creativity and the isolated fragment of being an individual satellite viewing their collective home from afar. Fun stuff to ponder on."

Drone photo by James aka Urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.

Edit by Teee.

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