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Multiply the number of circles by the number of ovals minus the number of diamonds divided by how insane this question makes you.
Boquillas Canyon, Big Bend National Park, Texas. View large on black
Horses are such amazing creatures. Here's the story. At Boquillas Canyon in Big Bend National Park, Mexican Nationals try and earn a living by selling souvenirs at three times less than they sell for in the BBNP shops. They sit across the Rio Grande while their souvenirs sit unattended at the overlook.
When a "customer" comes, this guy mounts his horse, crosses the Rio Grande and risks arrest by Border Patrol. The horse, knowing what is to come, stops to take a drink in mid-river and the "cowboy" grabs a branch off of one of the shrubs to use as a switch. Then the horse races up a near-vertical cliff side to reach the selling ground. Without question, this steed takes his rider to the top, not missing a beat.
Devils Parchment texture thanks to SkeletalMess.
Because of the obvious marking on its wing.
Because of a band that I liked in my younger days I always want to call this 'Question Mark and the Mysterians'
I have received a lot of questions about the show, so I will try to answer them all now in hope that it will help other unsure about something and did not message / ask me about it.
- The show is OPEN CALL, anyone can send in stickers
-Everyone's artwork will be displayed
-The address to send you packs in is:
TATTOOED MOM
P.O. BOX 63833
PHILADELPHIA, PA, 19147
USA
- the cut off date for submissions is SEPTEMBER 13th,
-If you live in the area you can drop off your sticker packs at the door of Tattooed Mom on South st.
-The show is called CHARACTER WELCOME because because of the high volume of character based graffiti sticker art here in Philadelphia
BUT!!! - any sticker artwork is acceptable. It DOES NOT have to be a character!!!
-Hand drawn, stencils, prints, screen prints- they are all acceptable
-The plan now is to cover the walls of the bar, and also combo wooden panels that after the show will be put up throughout the city.
-2 professional photographers will be at the show, so it will be well documented and you will be able to find photos with your work in them. We are putting a lot of emphasis on the documentation as to not disappoint anyone. Nobody wants to send stickers to a show and not see pictures of their artwork in the combos and stuff.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS PLEASE ASK BELOW!!!
THANK YOU
and please spread the word to your partners in crime!!!
The age old question when it starts to rain at the race...in this case a steam roller used for paving vs a steam tractor used for plowing. Always fun to see the equipment at the Southeastern Old Threshers' Reunion.
The Egg or the Biscuit? Great thinkers across time remain baffled and, if we're honest, a little intimidated.
We're Here consider the biscuit today, in all its crumbly magnificence.
Tripod-mounted & filter-free & remote-triggered & mostly lit by a Speedlite on a stick.
So I have a question for my friends here that work for CSXT and run across the Berkshire and Boston Subs? Does the Castleton Bridge have a special instruction restriction limiting it to only one train at a time despite being double tracked?
The last few times I've personally observed meets here they've happened like this in the photo. CSXT train I019 (Worcester to Bedford Park, IL intermodal) is crossing the Hudson River on Main 4 of CSXT's Castleton Sub while at the far west end of the bridge holding at the signal at MP QG9.1 on Main 3 is train M426 (Selkirk to Rigby manifest).
So why didn't or couldn't they have pulled east to CP SM at MP QG9.5 to wait for I019 to clear the single track at the end of the Berkshire Sub instead of holding back off the structure until they'd cleared?
The massive double tracked Alfred H. Smith Bridge is in total 5255 ft long and 139 feet above the Hudson River below. In 1921 a contract for the main grading and drainage work and for all the actual bridge construction except its steel superstructure was awarded to Walsh Construction Company, a well-established Iowa-based railroad builder that would later go on (in 22 joint venture with others) to build the Grand Coulee Dam and, still later, to achieve national prominence as a builder of urban skyscrapers. The 23,000 tons of structural steel required for the bridge would be fabricated in Pittsburgh and erected by Bethlehem Steel's McClintic Marshall subsid- iary under a direct contract with the railroad. Physical work began in early 1922 and two years later on November 20, 1924 the first train crossed the bridge. It was named in honor of Alfred Holland Smith, the president of the New York Central Railroad who authorized the construction of this bridge as part of an extensive project known as the Castleton Cut-Off. He died in a horse-riding accident in Central Park in 1924, only a few months before completion of the bridge. He is sometimes confused with Alfred E. Smith, New York's governor at the time who was aboard that first train and christened the structure in honor of the other fallen Mr. Smith.
This bridge is now the southernmost place a freight train can cross the Hudson River (excepting NYNJ's barge service) and is used by all CSXT traffic heading into New England via the old B&A as well as any traffic direct to New York City via the historic NYC Main, now Amtrak and Metro North's Hudson Line and on a typical day 18 to 20 trains will cross. The parallel structure beyond is Castleton-on-Hudson bridge opened in 1959 to carry the New York State Thruway's Berkshire extension connection to the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Schodack, New York
Saturday October 26, 2024
Shonargaon, Narayanganj, Bangladesh.
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All rights reserved worldwide. DO NOT use this image in any commercial, non-commercial or blogging purpose without my explicit permission. Otherwise, you'll face legal action for violating national or international copyright law.
For permission, mail me at:
monir.micro@gmail.com
monirmbdu@yahoo.com
Would, could, should: Three questions that sometimes should not be asked. Instead better for life to provide its own surprise.
This little leaf appeared on my lounge floor yesterday. I love it. Don't know from where it came. But now it resides on my not-so-complete Christmas card pile.
Busted out a handful of stickers last night, getting in the groove!
I have to make alot since people been picking up packs like hotcakes from my store: joshandjosh.bigcartel.com/
Our Daily Challenge ... the big question.
Why do the days, weeks and years seem to be getting shorter as I get older? I used to be able to get so much more done in a day than I can now. It must be that time is passing more quickly ... I'm sure I'm not getting slower ... not that much anyway!
Thanks to Garth for giving me the info on how to use GIMP for producing this sort of thing.
When this installation was first on view, many have questioned what it was intended to mean. The words “Same but not equal” was painted in all caps on top of a collage of Thai newspaper “khaosod” on linen canvas. The panel was placed on top of two piles of Thai rice. Although the pile of rice appears the same, one pile of rice is ordinary rice and the other, apparently, is premium export-grade Thai jasmine rice.
To one art blog Blouin Art Info [1], it is a commentary about ABHK, where Art Basel Hong Kong, though featuring many of the same galleries seen Art Basel Switzerland and Art Basel Miami, is in many ways different than their counterparts given the type of art works being shown in comparison.
To me, it is a commentary on a larger issue where news media speak of the same kind of political news though their analysis and content is highly different.
Art is up to all kinds of interpretation. I have no idea if the artist created this piece specifically for ABHK, if so then perhaps that does have some validity. It is interesting nevertheless, though I would most certainly not pay 100-150k USD for it which is apparently the asking price for this work [2].
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Untitled (same but not equal), 2013
Newspaper on Linen, Rice
286 x 220 cm
# Rirkrit Tiravanija
b. 1961 Buenos Aires, Argentina
1980 Carleton University
1980-1984 Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Canada
1984 Banff Center School of Fine Arts
1984–86 School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1985-86 Whitney Independent Studies Program
1982 Moved to New York, NY
Rirkrit Tiravanija (Thai: ฤกษ์ฤทธิ์ ตีระวนิช, pronunciation: [rɯk-rit tira-wanit] or Tea-rah-vah-nit) is a contemporary artist residing in New York, Berlin, and Chiang Mai. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1961. His installations often take the form of stages or rooms for sharing meals, cooking, reading or playing music; architecture or structures for living and socializing are a core element in his work.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rirkrit_Tiravanija
# Shanghai Gallery of Art 沪申画廊
3F, No. 3, Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road
200002 Shanghai
China
# Notes
1. enjp.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/905969/same-but-not-equ...
2. artsy.net/artwork/rirkrit-tiravanija-untitled-same-but-no...
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-23T17:45:10+0800
+ Dimensions: 5412 x 3619
+ Exposure: 1/40 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 29 mm
+ ISO: 640
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°16'59" N 114°10'22" E
+ Location: 香港會議展覽中心 Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC)
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130523.6D.14129
+ Series: 新聞攝影 Photojournalism, SML Fine Art, Art Basel Hong Kong 2013
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
Mixed media installation by Rirkrit Tiravanija (b. 1961): Untitled (same but not equal), 2013 (Newspaper on Linen, Rice) / 沪申画廊 Shanghai Gallery of Art / Art Basel Hong Kong 2013 / SML.20130523.6D.14129
/ #ABHK #Photojournalism #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLFineArt #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #Art #FineArt #ArtBasel #RirkritTiravanija #沪申画廊 #ShanghaiGalleryOfArt #installation #mixedmedia #rice #same #equal
This photo caught me in a genuinely reflective moment in early June during a rather wonderful day of cross-dressing. I find I am still dealing with my cross-dressing and as the shutter closed I was suddenly in a moment of pure contentment because I was wearing full make-up, a wig, my entire body had been waxed and was smooth and hair free, I had plucked my eyebrows, I had false breasts, I was a wearing a bra and knickers, I was wearing a dress and high heel shoes, my nails were painted and I had attached clip on ear rings and dabbed on perfume. I suddenly found myself wondering about the whole thing, was I doing something wrong? Was I right to give into my desire to dress up as a woman? Why was I doing this? Many thoughts cascaded through my mind at this brief moment in time.
I describe myself as a transvestite and I like calling myself that. I find it gives me a thrill to realise I am a man that loves dressing up as a woman. In fact I think its an amazing thing to experience as a male. I enjoy all the effort and commitment required to try and look female. One of the big appeals is how far dare I push things to attempt to be feminine. As I'm not feminine it is a challenge for me and I'm drawn into it every time I cross-dress.
I'll be honest and admit I wish I was physically feminine and had smooth soft skin and a feminine face and physically smaller and slimmer, I would dearly love to be more feminine than masculine but I'm stuck with what I've got as I'm a man.
I enjoy living as a man the majority of the time but without warning the desire to be female can suddenly crash in and consume me and I could weep with the frustration of not being a woman. It's interesting as I feel I am definitely a transvestite, I like being an occasional cross-dressing male yet, I cannot deny at times the urge to be female is dominant and I desperately wish I was one. This overwhelming emotional desire can have me in its grip me for periods and I now know that eventually it diminishes and I get on with life as a man again. I feel there is an element of transsexualism within me as I do love being a woman when I dress up as one.
I am always aware though I am just dressing up and acting know matter how much effort I put into it, I'm still a man under the wig, make-up and dress. Funnily though, that very knowledge thrills and excites me, I genuinely like the idea I'm posing as a woman and it is all an illusion. Of course for me personally I have no real belief I succeed in my female illusion but I adore the experiences and gain a lot of reward from spending time in my female alter-ego. It works rather nicely on several levels for me, emotionally I love it, I enjoy the delight of having a shaved hair free body, I absolutely love wearing make-up...mascara, lipstick, eye-liner...ooh, such heaven! Having tucked genitals, false breasts and wearing lingerie and dresses and skirts is again such a delight and utterly wonderful and as for high heels, I just feel fabulous when I slip them on.
I know I look like a parody of a woman and not like a real woman but I do find an emotional comfort once I'm transformed to the best of my ability and I don't feel unsettled by my swapping gender in my head and acting more female. I've said it before but I would like to experience some time in the role of a woman. It may sound homosexual but I would like to be a female companion out for dinner or a wee drink with a man and I would play the part one hundred percent as a female. I'm not attracted to men at all but the desire to pass a woman and spend time as a female makes me feel such an experience would make my female illusion feel like it's working. It sounds harsh but the man would merely be a prop for my performance. I do see my Helene persona as more of a character acting performance as I ultimately know I live as a man. I've said many times I'm also frustrated actor at heart and the idea of playing a woman convincingly really holds great appeal and also the transsexual element within me feels at home with the scenario I outlined.
What I am attempting to to do, or more accurately become is an heterosexual woman. I know it's an act but I would love to play the role and see if I could carry it off convincingly. I would love to be referred to as 'she', 'her' and perceived as a lady...I would love it!
My biggest ambition is to one day master the ability of completely swapping gender and acting naturally as a woman. I can already do the man thing but I am intrigued to see if I can also be a woman when I become Helene. I lack the self belief just now and I am not that confident in my skills and abilities so much work is needed. I have been accused of being homosexual for expressing similar ambitions for my female persona in the past but I compare myself more to a straight male actor playing a gay man. In my case I'm a straight male playing a female character and I want to play the role realistically. I need to become the woman I am portraying to make the experience feel real to me.
There is of course a flip side to all of this as part of me says 'Really? Maybe you do have homosexual tendencies'. But really I don't quite feel that is correct for me. I just feel what I seek is when I'm a man then I'm a man but as I have an emotional need to feel I can be female now and again then it is natural that when I become a woman then I am a woman. Is it possible to be heterosexual in both genders when one of them, the female, is just an illusion because I'm really a man? I am excited by this as I believe one can be and the sheer daring and adventure of that is both thrilling and a personal challenge I'm attracted to exploring.
I do get frustrated by many in the transgender world being too simplistic and forcing things into black and white explanations, I think as transgender people things are very complex for us in many areas and this is not just about ones sexuality. For example the age old complaint of women can wear male clothing and nobody questions their choices but men cant wear women's clothes without being seen as odd does not quite hold water. When women wear male clothing they usually still look unmistakably like women, its rare they are perceived as being male. Also, they are not trying to look like men. However, when men dress in women's clothing we do take it a lot further as we wear make-up, wigs with female hair styles, add breasts and some of us shave our legs, chest and arms and tuck away our male genitals and wear female underwear...in short we are not just wearing female clothes in our case we are actually trying to look like women, it's quite a different approach to women wearing male clothing. There is a lot more going on in for cross-dressers than just clothes and make-up, we definitely take it emotionally and physically into different area, when we cross-dress many of us desire to look feminine and to look like women.
A friend recently asked me outright why I dressed up as a woman, it was curiosity not a hostile question. I found it was impossible to give him a simple answer as my own desire to seems to have several different motivations driving it. If I were simplistic about it I could say it's because I really enjoy it and I admit I really do! Yet within me are the things I described earlier in this musing and at its core I do have part of me that wishes I was indeed female yet the majority of my being likes my life as a man. I think it comes down to each of us who engage in transvestism has personal urges and desires and some are common but many are individual. I like dressing up and acting the part yet I know I would also like to be that women for real. Part of me believes I can be an heterosexual woman and when I am dressed as Helene I can talk reasonably comfortably about men and enjoy their attention. As I admitted I would be thrilled to actually play the role one hundred percent and be seen with a man and this leads onto what else would I do? Would I allow myself to be kissed? Would I have sex with a man? The reality I feel confident about it is I would not get intimate with a man as I'm married and loyal to my wife so it is unlikely anything I've outlined would ever happen. However, I like to question myself as I can delude myself and I ask if I were not in a relationship how far would I go? I do have a deep curiosity to see how much of a woman I can be and act as so maybe I would allow those kisses and enjoy flirting with a man. I will admit when I am dressed as a woman I am thrilled if a man desires me or finds me attractive as a woman. I cannot quite see that I really look female enough but it has happened and I was definitely thrilled by it.
I remember once, back in 2002, I hired a make-up artist to help me learn about applying make-up as I was keen to look good in make-up...ha! Some hope, I told you I was delusional. He told me once I was transformed into Helene that I was behaving like a man and very self conscious. I said something unconvincing in reply and he said look you've gone to all this effort so best become the female you are presenting as. He was right, I realised my own inhibitions and concerns were holding my female persona back, I needed to shake them off and move forward and embrace my female self. That meant I had to swap genders in my head and become a woman. That thought terrified me for my nearly a decade. It is only in the last few years I managed to attempt this and really this is thanks to a few years ago the tireless encouragement of Michele Bennet and in recent years the most wonderful support and encouragement ever from the lovely Pamela Lennon in Ireland that has revolutionised my mental attitude to cross-dressing and trying to fulfil my dreams. I owe those wonderful ladies a lot and I am still amazed they persisted with me. I confess I adore Pamela as she has enlightened me and been incredibly influential and has empowered me to true liberation as Helene. When others attacked me last year it was Pamela that supported me and never lost heart in encouraging my dream and rekindled my belief in Helene as I nearly gave up on my female self at one point.
Being a transvestite is an emotive experience and full of uncertainty and one can be a bit sensitive about things relating to it. It is a complex thing to live with and though it comes with incredible experiences, delights and joy it is for me always tinged with concerns, doubts and a high degree of guilt, fear and uncertainty, it's all part of the heady mix that goes with the knowledge and activity of being a transvestite.
Challenge for Digitalmania-create an interesting collaged background with a vintage image as the centre-piece. After Brandie Butcher-Isley style.
Ephemera from itKuPilli. Other elements from MZimm Land Far Away.
So the builds done I just don't have the story or very good lighting atm :P
Build is inspired by Color www.flickr.com/photos/ironbricks/6370626235/in/set-721576...
(NOTE The entire build is not shown in the picture above)
Anyway Have anybody else here that has successfully cut and applied Lego stickers to clone troopers and had problems with them staying on? They always slide around and come off is there a special way of putting them on that prevents this from happening?
Flickr Lounge ~ Game
Thank you to everyone who pauses long enough to look at my photo. Any comments or Faves are very much appreciated.
A drawing I did for Underground Art School Magazine.
undergroundartschool.blogspot.com/
Explore: Sep 29, 2008 #395
Sucking up some minerals out of the wet river gravel. Not the best of backgrounds but this is my first shot of one of these so it will do for now. Taken just below the dam on the Cape Fear River just downstream from Corinth, in Chatham County, NC
Few months back, I saw a picture of fort like architecture. It was so splendorous view that I was totally spell bound. The only question revolving in my mind was that why I never know anything before about this marvelous architecture? I wished to visit this place but was unable to find the exact location of it at that time.
That view is of shrine of Bhumman Shah. The shrine is built in the style of a big fort and inside this fort-like structure the Gurdwara of Baba Sri Chand, residence of Baba Bhuman Shah , the Samadh of various Mahants are located alongwith hundreds of rooms for visitors, langarkhana and the tank.
This village called Bhuman Shah is in the Jurisdiction of P.S. and Tehsil Dipalpur of district Okara. It is located at a distance of 24 kilometers from Dipalpur on Dipalpur-Haveli Lakha road. According to Bhai Kahan Singh Ji, Dashmesh Ji had given blessing to Bhai Bhuman, Shah that his langar would continue serving.
There are four big gates to enter this shrine and the walls are decorated with colourful pictures the sayings of Gurus. More than 1000 Ghumaon of agricultural land is endowed to shrine. This building is now in charge of the Evacuee Waqf Board. The present condition of the building is miserable, the walls have developed cracks and the roofs have collapsed. In case this building collapses in the time to come an invaluable treasure of art will also be destroyed with it.
Baba Bhumman Shah, (also known as Baba Bhuman Shah, born Bhumia Hassa) is counted among the top Udasi saints of India. He was born on April 14, 1687 CE at Behlolpur village, Deepalpur Tehsil, Okara District, Punjab (Pakistan), in a family reportedly coming of Kamboj lineage. His father Chaudhury Hassa Ram was a Numbardar and a well-known landlord of Behlolpur. Hassa Ram and his wife Mata Rajo Bai were known to be deeply religious and devotees of Guru Nanak as well as of Baba Sri Chand, the founder of the Udasi Panth.
There are several legends and myths connected with Bhumia's early childhood. The story goes that once as a kid, when he was sleeping in his cradle, a cobra came and sat over his chest with his hood spread wide-apart. Mother Rajo was stunned at the scene but as she dared to approach the cradle, the cobra disappeared slowly with no harm to the sleeping kid. Another myth relates to the revival of the dead sparrows; and yet another one deals with restoring to health the lost crops of a poor farmer......so forth and so on. These were taken to be miracles and the peoples from far and wide started to crowd at Bhumia house to have his darshan.[1]
Bhumia went for his schooling at the age of seven. He was very sharp and intelligent student and imbibed the essentials of Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam at a very young age. Besides attending to his religious lessons, Bhumia also performed the worldly chores like grazing cows in the company of other boys of his village. He would take his cows to the forest where he would also carry plenty of food and Jal (water) to run a free-kitchen (Langar) for the passers-by including the ascetics, saints, the poor and the orphans.
Little later, the family would move from Behlolpur to Deepalpur.jai jai baba bhuman shah ji
By the age of fifteen, Bhumia had developed a strong aspiration to become a monk. With the permission of his parents he approached Baba Pritam Das of Pakpattan, the prominent Saint of Udasin Panth who initiated him into a Guru-mantra. On being formally initiated and baptized by Baba Pritam Dass, Bhumia himself became Baba Bhumman Shah. Soon afterwards, he started to preach the religious messages which were always accompanied by Kirtan and free-kitchen (Langar).
It is stated that Chaudhury Lakha Wattu, a Muslim Rajput landlord of village Kutub Kot had been arrested for some reasons and was put behind the bars at Lahore by the orders of the Governor of Punjab. Bibi Bakhtawar, Lakha's mother, was a staunch devotee of the Baba. She solicited Baba's blessings for the release of her son and it so happened that Chaudhury Lakha was released from the jail within couple of days. As a result, Lakha and his numerous Muslim relatives from the Wattu tribe also became devoted followers of the Baba. In addition, the tribe also surrendered a village named Kutub-Kot to the Baba which the latter made the centre of his religious activities.[3] dhan baba bhuman shah ji
Baba Bhumman Shah travelled from village to village to preach his message of love, peaceful coexistence, universal brotherhood, religious-tolerance and equality. He had followers from many denominations including Hindus, Sikhs and Muslems.
Baba also visited the Dargah of Sufi Saint Baba Farid, Golden Temple at Amritsar, and numerous other Sikh and Hindu shrines during his religious itineraries. At village Kutub-Kot, which later became renowned as Dera Baba Bhumman Shah, Baba permanently established the maryada of Kirtan and free kitchen (Langar).
Baba was also a very dedicated Sikh of Guru Gobind Singh. It is told that once, Dashmesh Guru and his Sikh followers were going to Nili Bar when they visited Baba Bhumman Shah and took Langar at the Dera; pleased with Shah's noble mission, Gobind Singh blessed him that his Langar would continue to grow with no shortage of any kind
After carrying out his religious mission for well over 50 years, Baba died in 1762 CE. He was succeeded by Mahant Nirmal Chand who continued his work.
During the times of sixth Mahant Baba Darshan Dass, a British Divisional Commissioner visited the Dera. Impressed by Mahant's personality as well as the Dera-complex and the free-kitchen service (Langar), the Commissioner attached 3000 acres (12 km²) of agricultural land as fief to the shrine (Baba Bhuman Shah by Sant Chandra Swami).
Total landed property in the name of Shrine grew well over 18,000 acres (73 km²) of agricultural land (cf: 18700 acres (76 km²) in the name of Gurudwara Sri Nankana Sahib in Sheikhupura). Besides landed property, there was other moveable/immoveable property in the name of the Dera.
After partition, due to compulsions of politics, Mahant Girdhari Dass, the Mukh Sewadar of the Dera, shifted his religious headquarters from Pakistan to India. A new Shrine and Dera was established in Sangar Sadan in Sirsa District in Haryana. The total land transferred to the Dera from Pakistan was a meagre 1600 acres (6.5 km²) compared to over 18000 acres (73 km²) in Montgomery. After Mahant Girdhari Dass's death, Baba Mahant Amar Nath Bawa was the mahant of the shrine in Sangar Sadan. At present Baba Braham Dass is the mahant (Gaddinasheen). Mahant Baba Braham Dass Ji is the 12th Mahant of Dera Baba Bhuman Shah Ji Sangar Sarista (Sirsa).
Besides Sangar Sadan, the Hindu devotees of the Baba have also built several temples in his memory in a number of states of northern India as well, where daily worship unto Babaji is offered with faith and love (Baba Bhuman Shah by Sant Chandra Swami).
In Pakistan, this Dera was considered the richest with huge property attached to it in pre-partition times.
The spiritual and pragmatic teachings of Baba Bhuman Shah have been presented in the form of aphorisms in a booklet by his ardent devotee, Sage Chandra Swami, with a focus on true goal of life as well as the right means for its achievement. These teachings are in complete concordance with Baba's own divine life.
Question Block from Super Mario Bros. Lots of jumper plates and a bit of SNOT (studs not on top).
Update 1: At the Jet City Comic Show 2012 SEALUG Display
Marche du 1er juin pour la fondation SEVE Canada, dans le parc nature de la Pointe-aux-Prairies, Montréal, Québec
Gentlemen — A Question — What is your very lovely lady back home doing right now? Why Ask? Because an hour ago she went on Facebook and Flickr and Twitter to comment on your latest photo & video postings. So you know exactly what your woman is doing this morning — she’s monitoring your social media posts. 😏
Here’s another thought — Is it possible that your very lovely lady has spent the last 28 years ‘Living Las Vegas’ and ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ far better than you? She knows pretty much everything you know because she’s known you for 28 years and because she’s spent the last 15+ months of the Coronavirus Global Pandemic monitoring your last three Las Vegas trips. And so from the safety and comfort of her suburban back yard lounger, she has monitored on her handy 🍎 iPad your desperate attempts at ‘Living Las Vegas’ Coronavirus Style. 🤔
Gents — How many times over the course of 28 years of ‘Loving/Living/Leaving Las Vegas’ did your very lovely lady spent her entire departure day laying out at the hotel cabana swimming pool sun bathing while you, on the other hand, spent your entire day out in the hot desert sun on Flickr camera safari?!?! The last time you and your woman ventured to the Vegas Strip together, y’all didn’t see each other on departure day until you brought down her luggage to the hotel’s shuttle station for the 5pm shuttle to the airport. 😎
So now that your wonderful seven day Vegas Vacation has come down to its last bittersweet four hours — what is your plan to slow down time and makes those last four hours last forever? 🤔 Perhaps you should stroll on over to the ABSINTHE box office at Caesars Palace to purchase a pair of close up theatre seats for your August visit — Hopefully next time in the cozy company of your very lovely lady! 😃
Mentre un raggio di sole illumina le case riscaldandole con i suoi deboli raggi (al plutonio) il temporale si appresta a dire la sua.
Gandhara is the name given to an ancient region or province invaded in 326 B.C. by Alexander the Great, who took Charsadda (ancient Puskalavati) near present-day Peshawar (ancient Purusapura) and then marched eastward across the Indus into the Punjab as far as the Beas river (ancient Vipasa). Gandhara constituted the undulating plains, irrigated by the Kabul River from the Khyber Pass area, the contemporary boundary between Pakistan and Afganistan, down to the Indus River and southward towards the Murree hills and Taxila (ancient Taksasila), near Pakistan"s present capital, Islamabad. Its art, however, during the first centuries of the Christian era, had adopted a substantially larger area, together with the upper stretches of the Kabul River, the valley of Kabul itself, and ancient Kapisa, as well as Swat and Buner towards the north.
A great deal of Gandhara sculptures has survived dating from the first to probably as late as the sixth or even the seventh century but in a remarkably homogeneous style. Most of the arts were almost always in a blue-gray mica schist, though sometimes in a green phyllite or in stucco, or very rarely in terracotta. Because of the appeal of its Western classical aesthetic for the British rulers of India, schooled to admire all things Greek and Roman, a great deal found its way into private hands or the shelter of museums.
Gandhara sculpture primarily comprised Buddhist monastic establishments. These monasteries provided a never-ending gallery for sculptured reliefs of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. The Gandhara stupas were comparatively magnified and more intricate, but the most remarkable feature, which distinguished the Gandhara stupas from the pervious styles were hugely tiered umbrellas at its peak, almost soaring over the total structure. The abundance of Gandharan sculpture was an art, which originated with foreign artisans.
In the excavation among the varied miscellany of small bronze figures, though not often like Alexandrian imports, four or five Buddhist bronzes are very late in date. These further illustrate the aura of the Gandhara art. Relics of mural paintings though have been discovered, yet the only substantial body of painting, in Bamiyan, is moderately late, and much of it belongs to an Iranian or central Asian rather than an Indian context. Non-narrative themes and architectural ornament were omnipresent at that time. Mythical figures and animals such as atlantes, tritons, dragons, and sea serpents derive from the same source, although there is the occasional high-backed, stylized creature associated with the Central Asian animal style. Moldings and cornices are decorated mostly with acanthus, laurel, and vine, though sometimes with motifs of Indian, and occasionally ultimately western Asian, origin: stepped merlons, lion heads, vedikas, and lotus petals. It is worth noting that architectural elements such as pillars, gable ends, and domes as represented in the reliefs tend to follow the Indian forms
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Gandhara became roughly a Holy Land of Buddhism and excluding a handful of Hindu images, sculpture took the form either of Buddhist sect objects, Buddha and Bodhisattvas, or of architectural embellishment for Buddhist monasteries. The more metaphorical kinds are demonstrated by small votive stupas, and bases teeming with stucco images and figurines that have lasted at Jaulian and Mora Moradu, outpost monasteries in the hills around Taxila. Hadda, near the present town of Jalalabad, has created some groups in stucco of an almost rococo while more latest works of art in baked clay, with strong Hellenistic influence, have been revealed there, in what sums up as tiny chapels. It is not known exactly why stucco, an imported Alexandrian modus operandi, was used. It is true that grey schist is not found near Taxila, however other stones are available, and in opposition to the ease of operating with stucco, predominantly the artistic effects which can be achieved, must be set with its impermanence- fresh deposits frequently had to be applied. Excluding possibly at Taxila, its use emerges to have been a late expansion.
Architectural fundamentals of the Gandhara art, like pillars, gable ends and domes as showcased in the reliefs, were inclined to follow Indian outlines, but the pilaster with capital of Corinthian type, abounds and in one-palace scene Persepolitan columns go along with Roman coffered ceilings. The so-called Shrine of the Double-Headed Eagle at Sirkap, in actuality a stupa pedestal, well demonstrates this enlightening eclecticism- the double-headed bird on top of the chaitya arch is an insignia of Scythian origin, which appears as a Byzantine motif and materialises much later in South India as the ga1J.qa-bheru1J.qa in addition to atop European armorial bearings.
In Gandhara art the descriptive friezes were all but invariably Buddhist, and hence Indian in substance- one depicted a horse on wheels nearing a doorway, which might have represented the Trojan horse affair, but this is under scan. The Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, familiar from the previous Greek-based coinage of the region, appeared once or twice as standing figurines, presumably because as a pair, they tallied an Indian mithuna couple. There were also female statuettes, corresponding to city goddesses. Though figures from Butkara, near Saidan Sharif in Swat, were noticeably more Indian in physical type, and Indian motifs were in abundance there. Sculpture was, in the main, Hellenistic or Roman, and the art of Gandhara was indeed "the easternmost appearance of the art of the Roman Empire, especially in its late and provincial manifestations". Furthermore, naturalistic portrait heads, one of the high-points of Roman sculpture, were all but missing in Gandhara, in spite of the episodic separated head, probably that of a donor, with a discernible feeling of uniqueness. Some constitutions and poses matched those from western Asia and the Roman world; like the manner in which a figure in a recurrently instanced scene from the Dipankara jataka had prostrated himself before the future Buddha, is reverberated in the pose of the defeated before the defeater on a Trojanic frieze on the Arch of Constantine and in later illustrations of the admiration of the divinised emperor. One singular recurrently occurring muscular male figure, hand on sword, witnessed in three-quarters view from the backside, has been adopted from western classical sculpture. On occasions standing figures, even the Buddha, deceived the elusive stylistic actions of the Roman sculptor, seeking to express majestas. The drapery was fundamentally Western- the folds and volume of dangling garments were carved with realness and gusto- but it was mainly the persistent endeavours at illusionism, though frequently obscured by unrefined carving, which earmarked the Gandhara sculpture as based on a western classical visual impact.
The distinguishing Gandhara sculpture, of which hundreds if not thousands of instances have outlived, is the standing or seated Buddha. This flawlessly reproduces the necessary nature of Gandhara art, in which a religious and an artistic constituent, drawn from widely varied cultures have been bonded. The iconography is purely Indian. The seated Buddha is mostly cross-legged in the established Indian manner. However, forthcoming generations, habituated to think of the Buddha as a monk, and unable to picture him ever possessing long hair or donning a turban, came to deduce the chigon as a "cranial protuberance", singular to Buddha. But Buddha is never depicted with a shaved head, as are the Sangha, the monks; his short hair is clothed either in waves or in taut curls over his whole head. The extended ears are merely due to the downward thrust of the heavy ear-rings worn by a prince or magnate; the distortion of the ear-lobes is especially visible in Buddha, who, in Gandhara, never wore ear-rings or ornaments of any kind. As Foucher puts it, the Gandhara Buddha is at a time a monk without shaving and a prince stripped off jewellery.
The western classical factor rests in the style, in the handling of the robe, and in the physiognomy of Buddha. The cloak, which covers all but the appendages (though the right shoulder is often bared), is dealt like in Greek and Roman sculptures; the heavy folds are given a plastic flair of their own, and only in poorer or later works do they deteriorate into indented lines, fairly a return to standard Indian practice. The "western" treatment has caused Buddha"s garment to be misidentified for a toga; but a toga is semicircular, while, Buddha wore a basic, rectangular piece of cloth, i.e., the samghiifi, a monk"s upper garment. The head gradually swerves towards a hieratic stylisation, but at its best, it is naturalistic and almost positively based on the Greek Apollo, undoubtedly in Hellenistic or Roman copies.
Gandhara art also had developed at least two species of image, i.e. not part of the frieze, in which Buddha is the fundamental figure of an event in his life, distinguished by accompanying figures and a detailed mise-en-scene. Perhaps the most remarkable amongst these is the Visit to the Indrasala Cave, of which the supreme example is dated in the year 89, almost unquestionably of the Kanishka period. Indra and his harpist are depicted on their visit in it. The small statuettes of the visitors emerge below, an elephant describing Indra. The more general among these detailed images, of which approximately 30 instances are known, is presumably related with the Great Miracle of Sravasti. In one such example, one of the adjoining Bodhisattvas is distinguished as Avalokiteshwara by the tiny seated Buddha in his headgear. Other features of these images include the unreal species of tree above Buddha, the spiky lotus upon which he sits, and the effortlessly identifiable figurines of Indra and Brahma on both sides.
Another important aspect of the Gandhara art was the coins of the Graeco-Bactrians. The coins of the Graeco-Bactrians - on the Greek metrological standard, equals the finest Attic examples and of the Indo-Greek kings, which have until lately served as the only instances of Greek art found in the subcontinent. The legendary silver double decadrachmas of Amyntas, possibly a remembrance issue, are the biggest "Greek" coins ever minted, the largest cast in gold, is the exceptional decadrachma of the same king in the Bibliotheque Nationale, with the Dioscuri on the inverse. Otherwise, there was scanty evidence until recently of Greek or Hellenistic influences in Gandhara. A manifestation of Greek metropolitan planning is furnished by the rectilinear layouts of two cities of the 1st centuries B.C./A.D.--Sirkap at Taxila and Shaikhan Pheri at Charsadda. Remains of the temple at Jandial, also at Taxila and presumably dating back to 1st century B.C., also includes Greek characteristics- remarkably the huge base mouldings and the Ionic capitals of the colossal portico and antechamber columns. In contrast, the columns or pilasters on the immeasurable Gandhara friezes (when they are not in a Indian style), are consistently coronated by Indo-Corinthian capitals, the local version of the Corinthian capital- a certain sign of a comparatively later date.
The notable Begram hoard confirms articulately to the number and multiplicity of origin of the foreign artefacts imported into Gandhara. This further illustrates the foreign influence in the Gandhara art. Parallel hoards have been found in peninsular India, especially in Kolhapur in Maharashtra, but the imported wares are sternly from the Roman world. At Begram the ancient Kapisa, near Kabul, there are bronzes, possibly of Alexandrian manufacture, in close proximity with emblemata (plaster discs, certainly meant as moulds for local silversmiths), bearing reliefs in the purest classical vein, Chinese lacquers and Roman glass. The hoard was possibly sealed in mid-3rd century, when some of the subjects may have been approximately 200 years old "antiques", frequently themselves replicates of classical Greek objects. The plentiful ivories, consisting in the central of chest and throne facings, engraved in a number of varied relief techniques, were credibly developed somewhere between Mathura and coastal Andhra. Some are of unrivalled beauty. Even though a few secluded instances of early Indian ivory carving have outlived, including the legendary mirror handle from Pompeii, the Begram ivories are the only substantial collection known until moderately in present times of what must always have been a widespread craft. Other sites, particularly Taxila, have generated great many instances of such imports, some from India, some, like the appealing tiny bronze figure of Harpocrates, undoubtedly from Alexandria. Further cultural influences are authenticated by the Scytho Sarmatian jewellery, with its characteristic high-backed carnivores, and by a statue of St. Peter. But all this should not cloud the all-important truth that the immediately identifiable Gandhara style was the prevailing form of artistic manifestation throughout the expanse for several centuries, and the magnitude of its influence on the art of central Asia and China and as far as Japan, allows no doubt about its integrity and vitality.
In the Gandhara art early Buddhist iconography drew heavily on traditional sources, incorporating Hindu gods and goddesses into a Buddhist pantheon and adapting old folk tales to Buddhist religious purposes. Kubera and Harm are probably the best-known examples of this process.
Five dated idols from Gandhara art though exist, however the hitch remains that the era is never distinguished. The dates are in figures under 100 or else in 300s. Moreover one of the higher numbers are debatable, besides, the image upon which it is engraved is not in the conventional Andhra style. The two low-number-dated idols are the most sophisticated and the least injured. Their pattern is classical Gandhara. The most undemanding rendition of their dates relates them to Kanishka and 78 A.D. is assumed as the commencement of his era. They both fall in the second half of the 2nd century A.D. and equally later, if a later date is necessitated for the beginning of Kanishka`s time. This calculation nearly parallels numismatics and archaeological evidences. The application of other eras, like the Vikrama (base date- 58 B.C.) and the Saka (base date- 78 A.D.), would place them much later. The badly battered figurines portray standing Buddhas, without a head of its own, but both on original figured plinths. They come to view as depicting the classical Gandhara style; decision regarding where to place these two dated Buddhas, both standing, must remain knotty till more evidence comes out as to how late the classical Gandhara panache had continued.
Methodical study of the Gandhara art, and specifically about its origins and expansion, is befuddled with numerous problems, not at least of which is the inordinately complex history and culture of the province. It is one of the great ethnical crossroads of the world simultaneously being in the path of all the intrusions of India for over three millennia. Bussagli has rightly remarked, `More than any other Indian region, Gandhara was a participant in the political and cultural events that concerned the rest of the Asian continent`.
However, Systematic study of the art of Gandhara, and particularly of its origins and development, is bedeviled by many problems, not the least of which is the extraordinarily complex history and culture of the region.
In spite of the labours of many scholars over the past hundred and fifty years, the answers to some of the most important questions, such as the number of centuries spanned by the art of Gandhara, still await, fresh archaeological, inscriptional, or numismatic evidence.