View allAll Photos Tagged Reasoning
There's a sad knowledge in my heart of where this tendency of content overpolicing is going on a larger scale. This overreach of control and micromanagement that's getting normalized fast on or way to 1984.
If I'd posted this pic to a small local URBEX Facebook group, my post would be deleted without any explanation and prior communication on rules regarding location disclosure elsewhere, although I never disclose locations explicitly - not on Facebook, not on Flickr, not anywhere. And have been rude in the past to make clear that I won’t disclose the info, so that the received message is as laconic and clear as possible. So that the potential explorer in contact could go fuck him/herself ASAP and hard.
Today – after being around abandoned places for 30+ years and pondering this for a quite some time, especially in 20/21, I’m thinking a tad differently. Do I care about Fecesbook drama? No, I’m on my way out of there for good and only my business interests hold me to that decrepit shithole, plus I can find another ways to reach local customers, so the ban affects me only in principle (first post sanitization without prior communication) that’s laid bare below.
So, my first post in that group was deleted yesterday. Basis? As it turned out when I PM’d the admin of the group for some reasoning: “You have disclosed locations on your Flickr”, which just amazes me. I upload to Flickr using external tool exclusively, and have set a Publish rule to never post GPS locations. So I went through my Flickr titles, and found out whopping 5 unique places named.
This will be the 6th.
Some might argue that even this amount of information disclosure is too much, to which I wholeheartedly agree to a degree: only if the place is not in public domain, AND if there’s anything but walls and smashed windows left in there. Yesteryear I’d told you to fuck off. Today I’d do some work before doing so. I’d check your profile for signs of thorough and non-damaging interest, and will disclose the place only if some evidence is found. This is the healthier approach, in my opinion, and here’s why.
If you do some critical thinking on this idea of info non-disclosure between URBEX people, at least a couple of problems present themselves gloriously clearly, and they tend to contradict the assumption that information non-disclosure will somehow magically stop the entropy, and will keep the place up and in good health. 1) Places getting ruined or demolished anyways (entropy); 2) Places getting renovated and made boring to explorers.
I’m highly doubtful that scrappers, vandals, teens and addicts use local URBEX internet groups as their primary source of information. These places attract all these kinds of people. They use brains too, and scrappers can smell abandonment miles away, for their living depends on it, not just a silly drive to trespass and explore the living past. Teens and vandals are usually local pricks that enjoy the feeling of smashed windows and falling walls, and I can’t really blame them, it’s a ton of fun, if you look at it honestly.
I’ve been exploring long enough to see non-disclosed places destroyed by scrappers and vandals time and time again. To see how bulldozers level a premium undisclosed Soviet fallout shelter / Communications center – twice at least.
Been here long enough to experience a building getting renovated and opened to the public once again – this very picture is from that place!
And the net result of this is what exactly? What’s the message to take home?
Well, those bulldozed places are leveled, no more living history to experience and less quality pictures, because inevitably some talented photographers missed the place because of the lack of exchange of info between URBEXers. So - fewer enthusiasts got to experience those places and… that’s about it.
And this particular piece I’m posting – it’s Spilves lidosta in Latvia, an Airport that’s an example of premium Stalin's neoclassical architecture in an awesome shape. Only some boarded windows and that’s about it. Why it was in such a pristine condition when we visited it in 2010 and managed to get in? Well, because it was a tad harder to access (some activity on runways and around, and a very naked/open place, no hiding to be had) and guarded the whole time: security personnel, cameras and all that sweet Jazz for us to bypass non-destructively. Today this airport is available to the public and the net result is? Well, less explorers got to experience the place and take pics on their own terms, and access now inaccessiblep areas.
You tell me if this approach isn’t damaging to URBEX movement as a whole? I see a whole lot of Ego masturbation in this too, and it’s ugly. Because scrappers will find their scrap, vandals will find their stuff to smash, and owners or the city will one day demolish or renovate our URBEX sites, and we will move on, trying to protect this information from ourselves.
Thanks for the read! : )
Jessops Pan 100S scanned with Plustek 7600i Ai.
Best enjoyed with Dark Ambient / URBEX
國立台灣文學館 - 推理文學在臺灣特展 / 古典電話機 - 戲劇性演出
National Museum of Taiwanese Literature - Reasoning literature in Taiwan special exhibition / Classical telephone - Dramatic performance
Museo Nacional de la literatura taiwanesa - Razonamiento de la literatura en Taiwan exposición especial / Teléfono clásico - Rendimiento espectacular
国立の台湾の文学館 - 推理の文学は台湾特に展にあります / 古典の電話機 - 演劇性の公演
Nationalmuseum der taiwanesischen Literatur - Begründung Literatur in Taiwan Sonderausstellung / Klassisches Telefon - Dramatische Leistung
Musée national de la littérature taiwanaise - Raisonnement de la littérature à Taiwan exposition spéciale / Téléphone classique - Performance dramatique
Tainan Taiwan / Tainan Taiwán / 台灣台南
管樂小集 2017/10/07 台南孔子廟 Confucian temple Tainan performances 1080P
{ 旅笠道中 Wearing hats travel in road }
{View large size on fluidr/觀看大圖}
PENTAX SMC TAKUMAR 50mm 1:1.4
{My Blog / 管樂小集精彩演出-觸動你的心}
{My Blog / Great Music The splendid performance touches your heart}
{My Blog / 管楽小集すばらしい公演-はあなたの心を心を打ちます}
{Mi blog / La gran música el funcionamiento espléndido toca su corazón}
{Mein Blog / Große Musik die herrliche Leistung berührt Ihr Herz}
{Mon blog / La grande musique l'exécution splendide touche votre coeur}
Melody 曲:JAPAN / Words 詞:Sheesen / Singing : Sheesen
{ 夢旅人 1990 Dream Traveler 1990 }
家住安南鹽溪邊
The family lives in nearby the Annan salt river
隔壁就是聽雨軒
The next door listens to the rain porch
一旦落日照大員
The sunset Shineing to the Taiwan at once
左岸青龍飛九天
The left bank white dragon flying in the sky
bagsværd kirke - bagsvaerd church, copenhagen, denmark 1967-1976.
architect: jørn utzon, 1918-2008.
in so many churches there is this battle royale taking place between a giant sunburst of an organ and the space it inhabits. not so at bagsværd. utzon fits the organ into neat little wooden boxes, makes furniture of it, and a clear hierarchy is established. it is even charming and in a difficult and demanding modern building acts like something of an invitation to the layman.
observations like this abound in utzon's architecture. the reasoning may be easy to follow, but as an architect I find his ability to work out solutions entirely within the logic of the problem he has set for himself humbling.
as has been noticed elsewhere, utzon's original plan for the furnishing had members of the congregation facing each other across the aisle and thus facing the organ wall and its opposing interior elevation, both of which offer a perfect delineation of the great concrete shell vault. what a loss, it seems, to have conventional pews instead.
as for any longer text on bagsværd, I have decided against it for now. not that I don't have anything to say, I find the architect misrepresented by much of the writing out there, the strangeness of it all appears lost on his Danish commentators to whom art can be rationalized to the point of banality, while the international reception is typified by convoluted essays establishing how every part of his buildings fit into semperian categories. they don't, of course, unless you are really writing about semper and then the whole world fits, not just utzon.
I would much rather meet with those of you who are interested and discuss the church and its architect on site. I wonder if we could have as fruitful and thought-provoking discussions as we sometimes have here on flickr. imagine spending the morning in lewerentz' church in klippan and the afternoon in bagsværd watching the space darken and turn slightly blue as the sun sets. two buildings on identical programs, contemporary and separated only by a short drive, yet as different as day and night - and as intimately connected. what a day.
for now, I hope you all have a wonderful summer - and thank you for your responsiveness and patience during my somewhat long introduction of hans christian hansen's work. I have even stranger scandinavian modernists on the HDD, but they will have to wait.
more utzon here
more words, yada, yada, yada.
I would say that this is probably been the hardest bus to get my camera to despite still having about 300 buses yet to capture this one has had one of the weirdest histories in recent Lothian history with 3 significant layoffs already and that is on top of it having only been with Lothian since the summer of 2019.
So, back to the summer of 2019, Lothian bought themselves 14 more Ex Londoners 1 standard bus and 13 this time with exit door still in tact to go alongside the 50 they had purchased the previous summer. Originally basing them at Marine depot for usage mostly for the service 4. Fast forward just shy 9 months and the pandemic of Coronavirus hits. So, here comes 1153s first layoff (like the at some point the whole fleet) for approximately 3 months as buses were on a critical timetable with about only 20% of services running.
Then for about 2 years there isn't too much to report for 1153 as it runs standardly until summer of 2022, when their is a timetable change and leaves only 1143 in service and puts the others into reserve, the likely reasoning behind this is that due to the exit door downstairs there is a significant reduction in seating downstairs which means that capacity is significantly less and they struggle to deal with a full load of passengers.
Yet again it returns in September 2022 this time based out of Longstone primarily on service 33 duties as it requires slightly less capacity however, this change shall we say was short lived as 2 months later poor old 1153 found itself yet again in the reserve team at the back of Marine looking rather miserable with the talk being that 1153 would never return to service and would be sold off which would have made it one of Lothians' shortest lived buses in the fleet as through service changes it still did not return and I genuinely thought I wouldn't even manage a ride on it (I like to get a ride on each bus).
However, in yet another change in the tale of 1153 on the 1st of July it decided it would return to service and made its appearance back for the start of the summer season due to an increase of one bus being needed so the call up finally came.
And i finally got a ride on 1153 taking absolutely no chances in this life of it, and just as I got off I thought I could get a pretty decent capture and with a touch up to brighten it, I think it looks pretty epic. So, here we see at last Lothian Buses 1153 terminating at Ocean Terminal on a service 35 as it waits to go back to Heriot Watt university as it embarks on a the student route on a rather miserable Thursday afternoon in September.
國立台灣文學館 - 推理文學在臺灣特展 / 小說引人入勝 - 因為全是秘密
National Museum of Taiwanese Literature - Reasoning literature in Taiwan special exhibition / The novel is fascinating - Because it is all secret
Museo Nacional de la literatura taiwanesa - Razonamiento de la literatura en Taiwan exposición especial / La novela es fascinante - Porque es todo secreto
国立の台湾の文学館 - 推理の文学は台湾特に展にあります / 小説は人をうっとりさせます - すべて秘密ためです
Nationalmuseum der taiwanesischen Literatur - Begründung Literatur in Taiwan Sonderausstellung / Der Roman ist faszinierend - Weil es alles Geheimnis ist
Musée national de la littérature taiwanaise - Raisonnement de la littérature à Taiwan exposition spéciale / Le roman est fascinant - Parce que tout est secret
Tainan Taiwan / Tainan Taiwán / 台灣台南
管樂小集 2017/10/07 台南孔子廟 Confucian temple Tainan performances 1080P
{ 旅笠道中 Wearing hats travel in road }
{View large size on fluidr/觀看大圖}
PENTAX SMC TAKUMAR 50mm 1:1.4
{My Blog / 管樂小集精彩演出-觸動你的心}
{My Blog / Great Music The splendid performance touches your heart}
{My Blog / 管楽小集すばらしい公演-はあなたの心を心を打ちます}
{Mi blog / La gran música el funcionamiento espléndido toca su corazón}
{Mein Blog / Große Musik die herrliche Leistung berührt Ihr Herz}
{Mon blog / La grande musique l'exécution splendide touche votre coeur}
Melody 曲:JAPAN / Words 詞:Sheesen / Singing : Sheesen
{ 夢旅人 1990 Dream Traveler 1990 }
家住安南鹽溪邊
The family lives in nearby the Annan salt river
隔壁就是聽雨軒
The next door listens to the rain porch
一旦落日照大員
The sunset Shineing to the Taiwan at once
左岸青龍飛九天
The left bank white dragon flying in the sky
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Things were all a-buzz in the garden as Honeybee came to 'kiss' the flowers.
On this, "Don't Step on a Bee" Day, you can also 'kiss a bee' rather than step on one by planting flowers that will attract them and allow them a place for shade and rest. Read more below..
July 10 Is Don’t Step on a Bee Day
Bees are the world's largest pollinators and there are 20,000 species of them. Bumblebees and honeybees have bodies specifically made for collecting pollen, as the pollen gets stuck to the fine hairs on their bodies. The pollen then goes to pollen baskets on the back of the bees’ legs, where it stays while being transported. Pollination makes food that we eat grow, and this is just one of many benefits that bees bring humans, along with the making of products such as honey and beeswax.
Don't Step on a Bee Day was created to remind people that going barefoot can mean getting stung by a bee. According to the creators of the day, Thomas and Ruth Roy, if you get stung, you are supposed to "tell Mom." Although the original reasoning behind the day says that bees shouldn't be stepped on because you may get stung, many have interpreted the day as meaning that people shouldn't willingly step on bees to harm them and that there is a need to protect and care for bees. The holiday is particularly celebrated this way in the United Kingdom.
Why do bees need protection? Besides getting killed by people stepping on them or hitting them with fly swatters, they face many other obstacles. They are killed by insecticides, particularly by those containing neonicotinoids. They commonly die from pollution, chemical exposure, and temperature change. Honey bees are threatened by mites that carry diseases, and bumblebees often have a hard time finding flowers and places to nest.
On Don't Step on a Bee Day, people share online about the best ways to protect bees. Special events have also been organized, where people have learned about the benefits of bees and how to take care of them. Ultimately, today is for being aware of bees. Yes, it’s important to be aware that if you are walking barefoot you may be stung, but it is also important to remember the many benefits that bees bring.
How to Observe
One way to celebrate the day is to keep an eye out for bees when you are walking around barefoot, so you don't get stung. Perhaps you could count how many bees you see during the day while doing this. As the day is more so celebrated as a day to help bees, while you are watching not to step on them, you could keep an eye out for ones having trouble in the heat. If you see that some are struggling, you could give them a few drops of sugar water.
There are many things you can do to help protect and care for bees. Some general things you could do are make sure bees in your yard have water, and limit your pesticide use or go organic. You could plant pollen-rich plants and flowers in your garden that are attractive to bees. You could also put up a bee hotel. After learning about beekeeping, you could make an apiary. You will need to purchase or build beehives to make this a reality.
You could also read more about bees to gain a deeper knowledge about them and learn more ways to enjoy their benefits. Picking up a copy of The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses may be a good place to start. If nothing else, you could eat some honey on the day. There is such a buzz around the subject of bees, that you should be able to find some enjoyable way to celebrate the holiday!
20200710 192/366
31.12.17: Ipswich, Suffolk
See, this is why I don't smile in photographs. I end up looking like a self-satisfied newsreader who's just announced a royal engagement.
Anyway, so that was 2017. Not a bad year, though curiously unfinished. Lots of things started yet not completed. On the plus side, work got easier, no one close to me died (there were three last year), I still appear to be reasonably fit and healthy, I got about and saw places and did things. And life was interesting, and not just for me. One of my children spent the first half of the year as a wandervogel in eastern Europe and then promptly moved to Leeds with his girlfriend. The other continues to set the world to rights in Brighton.
On the churches front, I set about north Northamptonshire and Rutland, which proved surprisingly easy to do by train and bike from Ipswich, and I managed about a hundred churches in the two counties during the course of the year, as well as occasional forays into Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex. A freight train derailment in the Fens prevented me from completing Rutland before the summer was over, so that will have to wait until next spring now.
I got back into going regularly to see Cambridge United play after an absence of some ten years or more, and was occasionally rewarded with good times which, while not yet anything to match the splendid days of the late 1970s and early 1990s, showed promise - 2-1 v Coventry and 3-1 v Crewe Alex spring to mind, but at other times they were just another ninety minutes of my life that I'd never get back. I have yet to erase 1-3 v Wycombe from my mind, and I'm only glad I didn't go to Luton.
Opera highlights included Verdi's Aida at the Coliseum and John Adams's Dr Atomic at the Barbican. There was a grand Opera exhibition to open the new extension at the V&A, but secretly I enjoyed the Pink Floyd retrospective at the same museum more. I started reading Karl Ove Knausgaard's extraordinary six novel sequence of his life, My Struggle, devouring the first volume A Death in the Family. It was a bit of a plod through the second volume, A Man in Love, but the rewards were the remarkable Boyhood Island and Dancing in the Dark, which I've nearly finished. I'm going to have to slow down, because the sixth volume hasn't been translated yet.
I'd partly read the Knausgaard books because of the obvious parallels with Henry Williamson's fifteen volume Chronicle sequence. Williamson is probably the 20th Century English author I most admire, although I'd never read Tarka the Otter, the book which brought him fame in 1926. Reasoning that I won't live forever, and I can't save it for after I'm dead, I attempted to read it this year. Well, I tried, honestly. In the end, I gave up and read the book which won the Hawthornden Prize the following year, Siegfried Sassoon's Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man, which I found unputdownable. If it is any consolation, Henry Williamson thought it was a better book than Tarka too.
Best gig of the year was undoubtedly the quickly sold-out Jesus and Mary Chain at Cambridge Junction in March. They were always one of the best live bands ever, and didn't disappoint, so don't miss them if they come your way. It had been 32 years since I'd last seen them. Blimey.
I'm not sure what I think of myself for taking out a subscription to Amazon Unlimited, which gives me complete access to playing every Amazon download. I haven't put a CD on since the end of October. Combined with the Amazon Echo I got for Christmas with its voice activation, there is no reason why I shouldn't retire in a couple of years and be reduced to a persistent vegetative state as I sit there surrounded by books and ordering up the latest slab of Wagner without ever leaving my seat. A dangerous prospect. Happy New Year.
國立台灣文學館 - 推理文學在臺灣特展 / 相機紀錄真實 - 才有正確的歷史
National Museum of Taiwanese Literature - Reasoning literature in Taiwan special exhibition / The camera records the real - Will be the correct history
Museo Nacional de la literatura taiwanesa - Razonamiento de la literatura en Taiwan exposición especial / La cámara registra el real - Será la historia correcta
国立の台湾の文学館 - 推理の文学は台湾特に展にあります / カメラが記録するのが真実です - 正しい歴史があります
Nationalmuseum der taiwanesischen Literatur - Begründung Literatur in Taiwan Sonderausstellung / Die Kamera zeichnet das Reale auf - Wird die richtige Geschichte sein
Musée national de la littérature taiwanaise - Raisonnement de la littérature à Taiwan exposition spéciale / La caméra enregistre le réel - Sera l'histoire correcte
Tainan Taiwan / Tainan Taiwán / 台灣台南
管樂小集 2017/10/07 台南孔子廟 Confucian temple Tainan performances 1080P
{ 旅笠道中 Wearing hats travel in road }
{View large size on fluidr/觀看大圖}
PENTAX SMC TAKUMAR 50mm 1:1.4
{My Blog / 管樂小集精彩演出-觸動你的心}
{My Blog / Great Music The splendid performance touches your heart}
{My Blog / 管楽小集すばらしい公演-はあなたの心を心を打ちます}
{Mi blog / La gran música el funcionamiento espléndido toca su corazón}
{Mein Blog / Große Musik die herrliche Leistung berührt Ihr Herz}
{Mon blog / La grande musique l'exécution splendide touche votre coeur}
Melody 曲:JAPAN / Words 詞:Sheesen / Singing : Sheesen
{ 夢旅人 1990 Dream Traveler 1990 }
家住安南鹽溪邊
The family lives in nearby the Annan salt river
隔壁就是聽雨軒
The next door listens to the rain porch
一旦落日照大員
The sunset Shineing to the Taiwan at once
左岸青龍飛九天
The left bank white dragon flying in the sky
"Tell me what's your Flava?" Every time I look at these dolls, that old commercial immediately starts playing in my head. It is by far one of the most memorable doll ads from my childhood (right alongside the Generation Girl, Kitty Fun Barbie, and Kelly Amusement Park ones). Funnily enough, it wasn't the distinctive commercial that prompted me to buy a Flavas doll as a child. It was a simple chance encounter at Toys 'R' Us one evening in 2003 or 2004. Usually Dad took my sister and me out to KB Toys, since it was cheaper and had out of date toys (which we often preferred to new releases...we are shelf warmer girls). Every so often, he'd take us to Toys 'R' Us as a special treat. Of course, I loved these outings too...as long as a store carried my plastic people I was satisfied. I recall to the left of the entrance there was a large section for new arrivals. It was an assortment of goods, ranging from outdoor water guns to Barbies. It was in this area the graffiti styled Flavas boxes caught my eye. Immediately I was intrigued and I just HAD to get my hands on one of these dolls. After some debate, I chose "Sporty" Kiyoni Brown, who I later renamed Ginger. I don't recall my reasoning, since there was a variety of other Kiyoni dolls. Maybe I liked her athletic attire or her crimped hair? All the dolls had extra clothing items and accessories, which was a large part of their appeal. But mainly, I enjoyed their racial diversity, edgy wardrobe, and special face sculpts. When I take inventory of my favorite dolls from childhood, I've noticed a trend....I tend to lean towards the ones with unique head molds, skin tones, or hair styles. Plain blondes were never my favorite thing (not to say I didn't have my fair share of standard Barbies, because heaven knows I did). That's most likely why I was so easily swayed into getting Kiyoni Brown on the spot. Of course, I was quite the impulsive shopper as a kid anyways, so it wouldn't have take much more than my dad gesturing towards the dolls for me to want one.
I could tell that the Flavas were some sort of Bratz competition, what with their city styling and diverse representation. I definitely thought the Flavas had more moxie than My Scene dolls, who also competed with Bratz. I recall playing with Kiyoni Brown from time to time, and especially fixating on her petite wardrobe. I dubbed her Ginger, perhaps because I wasn't sure how to pronounce her name. I'm sure the thought crossed my mind more than once to purchase more Flavas to play with. But I had trouble focusing on doll brands when I was young. I was too easily lured in by the nearest temptation. It wouldn't be until I was an adult collector when another Flavas doll would cross the threshold of my home. Kiyoni herself disappeared circa 2010 or 2011. I believe I was still technically on a doll hiatus, but was starting to feel the strong draw to them again. I know that sometime in 2010, I sifted through my rather vast childhood collection and weeded out some decaying clone dolls and a few other random oddities. I feel horrible knowing that Kiyoni probably got thrown out, along with my weird looking American Idol Simone and Movie Star Teresa. But I'm fairly sure that was her fate...I don't think she ever made it to our spring 2011 yard sale. My regret over Kiyoni's demise is part of why I held off on purchasing any more Flavas when I did start collecting again. To have more in the house would have been a painful reminder of what I'd done to the poor thing.
It was a summer day in 2018 when Flavas once again became part of my dolly world. I stopped in at the Salvation Army on my way home from AAA to renew my license. In one of the bins by the toy section I found Jammin' in Jamaica Madison and a Flavas Tika doll. I rarely saw Flavas in the wild as an adult collector. The only others I recall encountering had been years before. They were standing upright in a container with my Palm Beach Teresa. That was when we first started dabbling in dolls again, so my sister and I were far pickier. Although I always did second guess my decision to leave the awesome Flavas guy behind. I decided not to make the same mistake again, so we adopted Tika. After that, I specifically kept my eyes pealed for more Flavas. Luck would have it that some would come our way. A regular seller at the flea market had Happy D and "Street" Liam. I didn't get them together, but they appeared a few weekends apart. I know I had encountered Liam before purchasing my first Tika, so I had started searching for him at that flea market booth afterwards. The sellers had so many dollies, that he must have been fully concealed or simply not put out on the table each Sunday. Fortunately, I did have another opportunity to snag him. The ultimate Flavas find, and my most recent to date, occurred a year later in September of 2019. Once again at the local flea market, we struck gold. But this time around, it was the ULTIMATE treasure. One of the vendors had a selection of boxed Flavas. All were guys, and all were just $5 each!!! How could I resist such a bargain? The Flavas dudes were the most interesting thing about the franchise, in my opinion anyways. Typically, male dolls are more basic looking than their female counterparts. They are often treated just as "accessories" rather than stand alone, detailed individuals. Such was not the case with the Flavas guys. Each doll, even those that represent the same character, stand on their own. They also came with spare clothing pieces and accessories, just like the girls. I scored "Sporty" Liam, "Diamonds & Denim" Liam, and "Party" Tre that autumn Sunday. If you take just one look at my three Liam dolls, you can tell that they are all unique. I couldn't be happier and more grateful that I found boxed boy Flavas.
My collection hasn't grown in the three years since my last flea market discovery. But that's to be expected, given the age of the dolls and the short time they were available in stores. I still keep a lookout for them when thrifting. I hope that one day I can be reunited with my childhood Kiyoni Brown. I still have pieces to my childhood doll's ensemble, which could come in handy someday. I honestly would buy her again on eBay or Mercari if it came down to that. It's a shame that these dolls didn't sell better, because it would have been awesome to see them evolve for a few more years. I believe if they had come out in modern times, the Flavas line would have done better. I think they were a bit ahead of the curve, what with the special head molds, serious expressions, and realistic attire. I feel they are more compatible with dolls today, who share many of the same attributes. Although I remember getting my first and only childhood Flavas doll, I can't deny that my true passion for these dolls blossomed as an adult. I can better appreciate all their wonderfully unique and diverse features now more, especially since they are so photogenic! It was great fun collaborating with my sister to design this album cover photo for them. The graffiti scrapbook paper backgrounds compliment their original artwork. My L.O.L. Clubhouse makes a perfect backdrop as the outside of a factory or storage units. We used recycled aluminum cans and toilet paper rolls to add more dimension to the scene (as well as nuts, bolts, and washers for extra debris). Even my Barbie Volkswagen that is missing a door came in handy--it looks like an abandoned vehicle hanging out in the empty lot! Throw in some Generation Girl, Flavas, and other assorted accessories and you have a picture that is brought to life by these dolls' personalities!
A blast of electricity soared through the sky, webbing out into multiple projectiles. The red and black figure known as Spider-Man noticed, choosing to dive towards the attack. Pulling in his arms and legs, conforming his body into that of a bullet, soared through the gaps of electricity, startling the attacker, Electro.
Spider-Man, the costumed hero known by many, but secretly the forgettable Peter Parker, senior in college. Today was Graduation day, Peter's ceremony starting in mere minutes, though an attack from the villainous Sinister Six caused a delay.
Doctor Otto Octavius, the brilliant scientist and bioengineer, now known as Doctor Octopus. Corrupted by his need for research and knowledge.
Quinten Beck, the former number one special effects artist in Hollywood and praised stuntman. Using the moniker of Mysterio for fame and glory.
Adrian Toomes, a once amazing engineer who fell victim to Norman Osborn's greed. Now adorning his winged-suit, Toomes became what Norman berated him as, the Vulture.
William Baker, a discharged marine exposed to highly radioactive sand, altering his body at the atomic level. Now broken by his own decisions, the Sandman lives.
Sergei Kravinoff, a renowned Big Game Hunter who has made it his life's goal to take down Spider-Man. With his equipment and enhanced strength, he became Kraven the Hunter.
Max Dillon, an ex-Oscorp electrical engineer who was given metahuman abilities when a capacitor malfunctioned and exploded. Motivated by his lust for power, Electro was born.
Peter's curled back arm shot forward as he reached Dillon, the connecting punch sending him flying towards the ground. Flipping mid-air and launching a line of webbing, the hero pulled himself to a nearby rooftop.
"Gotta work on your aim, Zappy," he shouted down to the man, who was recovering from the hit. "Those A.O.E shots aren't doing you any good."
"Then allow me," boomed a voice, an echo effect trailing the words.
Peter turned his head to a large figure rising from the ground, smoke encapsulating him only revealing a clear crystal dome.
Peter quickly leapt off the building, diving headfirst into the large body of mass. Once he breached the figure, his body hit an object inside. Tumbling out of the smoky object were Peter and Mysterio. The two rolled along the street before Peter leapt up onto his feet.
"C'mon," quipped Peter, rolling his shoulder, "don't you think I know all the tricks in that fishbowl by now?"
Peter moved his hand out, reaching for the magenta cape that the helmeted villain wore. As his hand made contact, volts of electricity ran up his arm, causing him to leap back. Peter looked down to the now fried web shooter on his right wrist, then looked back to Beck.
"Electrified cape," announced Beck, taking a bow as he stood. "Pair it with a simple carbon monoxide to dull your senses and it becomes a rather deadly combination."
"Yeeep," groaned Peter, still in pain from the defense. "Edna would be proud."
Beck chuckled, "I'll actually miss some of the banter we have. Too bad it's your end."
As Beck lifted his arm, a small canon raised from his gauntlet. Peter quickly moved his hand forward, using his broken web shooter. The moment the device was activated webs blasted out of the nozzle in a large triangle, Beck being launched backwards with webs covering him head to toe.
"Huh, didn't think that would work," mumbled Peter, discarding the broken shooter.
The sound of wind rushing behind him caused Peter to turn, barely dodging the dive-bomb attack from Vulture. Peter recovered from the roll, watched as the winged man soared around in the air.
"Hey, Adrian?" he called out, not hoping for a response. "Little bit of a warning next time? You could've taken my head off."
"That's the idea!" shouted Toomes, diving back in for another strike.
Peter once again rolled out of the way, this time recovering quicker and launching a webline onto the man. With a harsh pull, Toomes came crashing down into the concrete of the road.
"That's a clay pigeon if I've ever seen one," noted Peter before feeling something on his feet. Looking down, his eyes widened at the sight of sand swirling around him. "Oh shit."
A hand made of sand burst from the pile, grabbing onto Peter by the ankles. As it began to drag him, the voice of Sandman rang through the street, "Tough luck, Spider."
The hand eventually dragged Peter to a mound of sand, replacing Baker's legs. The hand pulled Peter to be face to face with Baker, the hero hung upside down.
"Alright, Marko…" before Peter could finish his sentence, the hand began to fling him around, crashing into buildings and objects on the street.
Peter felt pain shoot through his body with each moment of impact. He tried to look around, only having seconds before his body was slammed against something else, hoping to find something to use against the enemy. His eyes lit up upon seeing the red cylindrical object protruding from the sidewalk.
"Hey Marko!" he shouted, the man stopping for a moment to hear his words. "Drink up!"
Baker tilted his head in confusion, until Peter pulled his extended arm towards him. His eyes widened as his head turned to the right, only for a jetstream of water to blast him away.
Peter was dropped to the floor as the wet sand began to crawl back to its originator. He was able to stretch his back, but as he did footsteps were heard behind him.
Peter openly sighed, "Queue the jungle music."
As he turned, Kraven the Hunter stood, spear in hand and slight smirk on his face. "I'm glad you know of my presence," noted Kravinoff, readying his spear. "It makes you that much more of the ultimate prey."
"Your presence?" Peter asked, slowly matching Kravinoff's movements of circling each other. "It's just deductive reasoning, not like Otto is gonna be second to last to show himself."
"Doctor Octavius will not get the chance to show himself," announced the man, rushing forward in the blink of an eye. "You'll already be mounted on my wall!"
Peter sidestepped from the spear attack, narrowly ducking the follow-up swing. His arm shot forward, Kravinoff backpedaling from the swing. Twirling the spear, the hunter jutted his weapon forward, attempting to stab Peter directly in the stomach. Peter intercepted the spear, slamming his elbow down onto the wood and breaking it in half. Kraven quickly adapted, breaking the metal tip of the spear off, creating two batons. Peter raised his forearms, using them as shields from the various fast strikes coming his way.
"So… um…" stumbled Peter, trying to throw off his opponent. "How's the brother?"
"Dimitri," Kravinoff started, ducking under Peter's attack, "will be broken out of prison as soon as you are dealt with."
Kravinoff then swung both of the batons inwards, striking Peter on each side of his abdomen. With an upwards strike, the batons performed an uppercut-like attack, hitting Peter under his chin. As Peter stumbled back, Kravinoff removed a carving knife from his back. As he took a step forward, Peter stopped his dramatic recovery. Shooting a web to the dropped batons and pulling on them.
As Kraven was tripped and hit the ground, Peter shot a large web onto him. "Nice attempt," he noted, much to the dismay of the webbed villain. "Might've worked too if your boss wasn't incompetent."
As he spoke, he felt his Spider-Sense return to him at full force. Before he could react, a claw gripped around his back, lifting him into the air. As the claw rotated, Peter could see Doctor Octopus staring him down.
"Oh," Peter wheezed, the claw gripping him straining his breathing, "hai, Otto. How've you been?"
"An incompetent boss," spoke Octavius, his expression non-altering, "as you would say."
Peter nervously chuckled, "Well, you did send them at me one at a time."
"You may be agile," noted Octavius, shifting his arms to move him towards Kravinoff, "but your stamina will eventually run out."
"Should've discussed that one with your mom, Otto," spoke Peter, hoping to antagonize the man. "She could've told you… I last as long as I need to."
Octavius grit his teeth, "Well then, let us see how you do in round six."
Peter was dropped from the grasp, gasping for a few seconds. His eyes watched Octavius cut the webbing, freeing Kravinoff as well as Beck. Baker returned, a few still wet clumps of sand, but fully reformed, while Toomes and Dillon levitated in the sky.
"Oookaaay," laughed Peter, slightly rubbing the back of his head. "So… anyone up for ones?"
1 And again he entered into Capernaum, after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
Mark 2, 1-12
Another soaker again today and as I am so tried of going out and getting absolutely drowned I decided to go to the pool for a bit of exercise instead. I guess my reasoning was a deliberate soaking is fine, as opposed to getting caught out in a down pour. There is no explaining some people's thought process.
This is not a new MOC. I mean, just take a look at the dust on it.
This ship started out as one of two identical ships. I forget the exact reasoning now, but at some point I decided to make this one all rusty and decrepit. I had planned on using it for my FEZ webcomic, but that has kinda stalled.....
This building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan has sealed doors and bricked-over windows. The structure is preserved, but I fail to see the reasoning for that. Its fire escapes are more decorative than functional, and no one inside will ever witness the tree planted out front billow in the breeze. I often stare at this photo. I don’t know why it captures me so, but I feel I must add it to my stream so I can keep an eye on it, and figure it out.
(And to those on LCD monitors forgive this ‘fade-to-white’ processing, lately. I cannot explain it other than to say that it looks right to me only this way. Hopefully you’ll bear with me.)
Why Do Christians Eat Fish on Friday and During Lent?
In the secular world, ‘fasting’ means abstaining from all food and drink, but in religious circles, ‘fasting’ means going on a disciplined diet. The purpose of a fast is to find out who is in control, you or your belly, and to win that control if necessary. It's also a way of using your appetite as a spiritual snooze alarm that moves you to pray.
So now that we understand that fasting means a diet and not total deprivation, I can answer the question.
In the first century, Jews fasted on Mondays and Thursdays. The original Christians were all Jewish and were used to the fasting as a spiritual discipline. They moved the fast days to Wednesdays and Fridays, because Judas engineered Jesus' arrest on a Wednesday and Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Most often that fast took the form of avoiding meat in the diet. In those days, meat was a luxury food. You either had to buy it in a market or you had to own enough land to keep cattle. On the other hand, anyone could grow vegetables or forage for them, and anyone could catch a fish in a lake or a stream. You could buy better fish and vegetables, but the point is that you could eat without money if you were poor. So meat was rich people's food and fish was poor people's food. That is why the most common form of fasting was to omit meat and eat fish.
The Wednesday and Friday fasts were a universal Christian custom in ancient times. The Eastern Orthodox still observe these fasts. The Roman Catholic Church downplayed the Wednesday fast, but kept the Friday fast until quite recently. Anglicans and Protestants also observed these fasts. In the 18th century, a man could not be ordained a Methodist minister if he did not fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, with the reasoning that a person who could not rule his own belly could certainly not rule the church.
I have been able to trace back the Season of Lent to at least the third century. During Lent, people fasted on every day except Sunday in the West and every day but Saturday and Sunday in the East. Older cookbooks have special recipes for Lent, and you can still buy Lenten cookbooks from Eastern Orthodox publishers, such as Light and Life.
The fasts have died out in the west for several reasons. First, we are becoming very narcissistic. We don't care if our bodily appetites have the upper hand, and many people count recreation and luxury as necessities. In the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, the bishops relaxed the fasts because they were not being observed and also because they realized that Lobster Thermidor or even a modest dinner at a seafood restaurant hardly lives up to the spirit of a fast. I say the bishops relaxed the fasts, because in the Roman Catholic Church, the regulations for fasting are set by the national conferences of bishops and can vary from place to place.
McGill's Eastern Scottish 2850 (YN53 EFR), a ZF Ecomat Volvo B7TL Wright Eclipse Gemini, operating the service X24 to Edinburgh, despite displaying X25.
2850 was new to First South Yorkshire in 2003 as 31797. 31797 along with numerous other YN53 plates made their way to First Glasgow some time between in 2009.
September 2022 saw numerous Volvo B7TLs transfer to First Scotland East, more specifically First Midland Bluebird. This was in exchange for 68 plate Enviro400 MMC's. The MMC's returned to First Glasgow after only being at First Scotland East for a few months. The reasoning for this transfer was due to McGill's taking over the First Scotland East operation the next again week.
A few days later, 5 of the B7TL's made their was from Midland Bluebird to West Lothian. These being:
31794 (YN53 EFM)
31796 (YN53 EFP)
31797 (YN53 EFR)
31799 (YN53 EFU)
31800 (YN53 EFV).
Now First Scotland East is McGill's Scotland East with First Midland Bluebird being renamed to McGill's Midland Bluebird and First West Lothian being renamed to McGill's Eastern Scottish.
This also resulted in a fleet renumbering;
Old - New
31794 - 2848
31796 - 2849
31797 - 2850
31799 - 2851
31800 - 2852
2848, 2851 and 2852 have since moved back to Midland making 2849 and 2850 the only 2 B7TL's in the Eastern Scottish fleet.
This was taken at Pumpherston Turning Circle on Wednesday, 8th February 2023.
Simplified layout below:
Registration: YN53 EFR
Company (Current): McGill's Eastern Scottish
Fleet no. (Current): 2850
Companies (Previous): First South Yorkshire, First Glasgow, First Midland Bluebird, First West Lothian
Fleet no. (Previous): 31797
Type: Wright Eclipse Gemini
Chassis: Volvo B7TL
Engine: D7C
Transmission: ZF Ecomat
New: November 2003
Historically, even before IQ tests were invented, there were attempts to classify people into intelligence categories by observing their behavior in daily life. Those other forms of behavioral observation are still important for validating classifications based primarily on IQ test scores. Both intelligence classification by observation of behavior outside the testing room and classification by IQ testing depend on the definition of "intelligence" used in a particular case and on the reliability and error of estimation in the classification procedure.[citation needed]The English statistician Francis Galton made the first attempt at creating a standardized test for rating a person's intelligence. A pioneer of psychometrics and the application of statistical methods to the study of human diversity and the study of inheritance of human traits, he believed that intelligence was largely a product of heredity (by which he did not mean genes, although he did develop several pre-Mendelian theories of particulate inheritance). He hypothesized that there should exist a correlation between intelligence and other observable traits such as reflexes, muscle grip, and head size.He set up the first mental testing centre in the world in 1882 and he published "Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development" in 1883, in which he set out his theories. After gathering data on a variety of physical variables, he was unable to show any such correlation, and he eventually abandoned this research.French psychologist Alfred Binet was one of the key developers of what later became known as the Stanford–Binet test.French psychologist Alfred Binet, together with Victor Henri and Théodore Simon had more success in 1905, when they published the Binet-Simon test, which focused on verbal abilities. It was intended to identify mental retardation in school children,but in specific contradistinction to claims made by psychiatrists that these children were "sick" (not "slow") and should therefore be removed from school and cared for in asylums.The score on the Binet-Simon scale would reveal the child's mental age. For example, a six-year-old child who passed all the tasks usually passed by six-year-olds—but nothing beyond—would have a mental age that matched his chronological age, 6.0. (Fancher, 1985). Binet thought that intelligence was multifaceted, but came under the control of practical judgment.In Binet's view, there were limitations with the scale and he stressed what he saw as the remarkable diversity of intelligence and the subsequent need to study it using qualitative, as opposed to quantitative, measures (White, 2000). American psychologist Henry H. Goddard published a translation of it in 1910. American psychologist Lewis Terman at Stanford University revised the Binet-Simon scale, which resulted in the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (1916). It became the most popular test in the United States for decades.The many different kinds of IQ tests include a wide variety of item content. Some test items are visual, while many are verbal. Test items vary from being based on abstract-reasoning problems to concentrating on arithmetic, vocabulary, or general knowledge.The British psychologist Charles Spearman in 1904 made the first formal factor analysis of correlations between the tests. He observed that children's school grades across seemingly unrelated school subjects were positively correlated, and reasoned that these correlations reflected the influence of an underlying general mental ability that entered into performance on all kinds of mental tests. He suggested that all mental performance could be conceptualized in terms of a single general ability factor and a large number of narrow task-specific ability factors. Spearman named it g for "general factor" and labeled the specific factors or abilities for specific tasks s. In any collection of test items that make up an IQ test, the score that best measures g is the composite score that has the highest correlations with all the item scores. Typically, the "g-loaded" composite score of an IQ test battery appears to involve a common strength in abstract reasoning across the test's item content. Therefore, Spearman and others have regarded g as closely related to the essence of human intelligence.Spearman's argument proposing a general factor of human intelligence is still accepted in principle by many psychometricians. Today's factor models of intelligence typically represent cognitive abilities as a three-level hierarchy, where there are a large number of narrow factors at the bottom of the hierarchy, a handful of broad, more general factors at the intermediate level, and at the apex a single factor, referred to as the g factor, which represents the variance common to all cognitive tasks. However, this view is not universally accepted; other factor analyses of the data, with different results, are possible. Some psychometricians regard g as a statistical artifact.
Astounding Stories / Magazin-Reihe
- Thomas Calvert McClary / Rebirth (Part 1 of 2)
- Thomas Calvert McClary [as by Calvin Peregoy] / Short-Wave Castle [Dr. Conklin • 1]
- Raymond Z. Gallun / Space Flotsam
- Harl Vincent / Lost City of Mars
- Amelia Reynolds Long / Scandal in the 4th Dimension
- Arthur Leo Zagat / The Living Flame
- Roi Auckland / Blind Reasoning
Cover: Howard V. Brown
(illustration for "Lost City of Mars")
Editor: F. Orlin Tremaine
Street & Smith Publications, Inc. / USA (February 1934)
Reprint / Comic-Club NK 2010
ex libris MTP
So declares the Barnacle Goose, an accidental visitor and rare bird for this part of the world. The debate is still on-going about whether it is an escapee or a wild vagrant who ended up here due to recent inclement weather in the east coast. The December issue of Ontario Birds, a journal of Ontario Field Ornithologists has an article by Mike Burrell where he gave very good reasoning of accepting these kind of vagrants as legitimate wild bird. For now I'll add it to my life list. Canada Goose on the left is there for comparison. Schomberg Sewage Lagoons, Ontario.
A late posting on my project as I am still away. This was taken in Chicago.
Olympus OM1n, Zuiko 50mm, Portra 400
I have had a run on 35mm with 4 rolls processed and 3 more when I get home. I have also bought a Nikon F5 35mm camera. I just lusted after one, that's my reasoning. I figure I just love shooting film and shooting 35mm will be a good economical way of doing it. Also shot with my 1st roll of Ektar 100, will see how it compares to Portra, Although I have taken my D200 with me, it has not left the bag!
Happy shooting guys and gals. x
Acrylic painting on canvas. 36 x 36 inch. 2015.
"Beta (14-40Hz) – The Waking Consciousness And Reasoning Wave
Beta brain waves are associated with normal waking consciousness and a heightened state of alertness, logic and critical reasoning.
While Beta brain waves are important for effective functioning throughout the day, they also can translate into stress, anxiety and restlessness.
The voice of Beta can be described as being that nagging little inner critic that gets louder the higher you go into range. Therefore, with a majority of adults operate at Beta; it’s little surprise that stress is today’s most common health problem.
Alpha (7.5-14Hz) – The Deep Relaxation Wave
Alpha brain waves are present in deep relaxation and usually when the eyes are closed, when you’re slipping into a lovely daydream or during light meditation. It is an optimal time to program the mind for success and it also heightens your imagination, visualization, memory, learning and concentration.
It is the gateway to your subconscious mind and lies at the base of your conscious awareness. The voice of Alpha is your intuition, which becomes clearer and more profound the closer you get to 7.5Hz."
Cover photo for my post that was recently published on the Digital Orientalist: digitalorientalist.com/2023/05/09/can-i-automate-the-bori...
»[...] In our project, we want to gain some insights into discussions taking place on the Beijing-based Q&A internet platform Zhihu 知乎. In particular, we’re interested in questions and answers related to the global semiconductor shortage, and the answerers’ argumentation. To somewhat quantify what is going on, we identified several typical ways of reasoning in the answers: historical, technological, nationalistic, China-critical, geopolitical and off-topic. [...]«
Each screw-top jar represents one of the labels.
This is not a new MOC. I mean, just take a look at the dust on it.
This ship started out as one of two identical ships. I forget the exact reasoning now, but at some point I decided to make this one all rusty and decrepit. I had planned on using it for my FEZ webcomic, but that has kinda stalled.....
Happy Lunar New Year!
If you were born in a Year of the Rabbit:
>>To outsiders, the Rabbit’s kindness may make them seem soft and weak. In truth, the Rabbit’s quiet personality hides their confidence and strength. They are steadily moving towards their goal, no matter what negativity the others give them.
With their good reasoning skills and attention to detail, they make great scholars. They are socializers with an attractive aura. However, they find it hard to open up to others and often turn to escapism.
A plain and routine life is not their style. Though conservative and careful in their actions, they need surprises every so often to spice things up.<<
This, and much more, here: chinesenewyear.net/zodiac/rabbit/
22/365
Title.
E Weekend.
( LUMIX G3 shot )
Manhattan. New York. USA. 2017. … 4 / 6
Images:
Drake - Laugh Now Cry Later ft. Lil Durk
youtu.be/JFm7YDVlqnI?si=a9_Ovo-jmTB8Wnef
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My new novel
B♭ (B Flat)
Volume 13 😄
The following is still in its draft stage and will be revised further.
Key parts are not disclosed.
The order of the content shown here is mixed.
(Of course, this is not the final version.)
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My new novel
B♭ (B Flat)
The Republican Party had chosen Justin Bradford as its presidential candidate.
In response, the Democrats put forward Ryan Bennett.
Ryan sat in a room of his white-walled mansion on South Beverly Drive, gazing out at the manicured garden and tree-lined street. His mind drifted back to his childhood. He had always lived within a carefully calculated order. His days followed a strict timetable; his homework was flawless. Teachers praised him, while classmates kept their distance. To Ryan, being a model student was both a source of pride and a burden of solitude.
In the hush of the library, he first brushed against the realm of politics. During student council debates, his logic seldom drew applause, and often invited cold stares. People were moved by instinct and emotion. Reason alone could not stir the crowd—this he came to understand.
It was in that abyss of loneliness that Sophia appeared. A gentle voice, steady eyes, and a generosity that never rejected his logic but embraced it instead. They exchanged words, they shared silences, and in each other’s presence they found solace. Sophia was not only the one who steadied his reason, but also the light that warmed his solitude.
After graduating from UCLA, Ryan stepped onto the path of politics. First as a state legislator, then as a member of Congress, he rose without falter. Yet the public gaze remained cold. His patrician face, his meticulous speeches, his flawless reasoning—all these bred distance and resentment. People whispered, “Another elite come to lecture us.”
In that harsh world, his running mate, Alex Murphy, stood by him. Eight years his senior, Murphy possessed a seasoned intuition and decisiveness. He bridged the gap between Ryan’s logic and the people’s emotions, reading the shifting tides of resentment and expectation.
Then came the day when former Democratic president Owen Reed was struck by a sniper’s bullet during a speech. The shot did not take his life, but Ryan felt, with a shudder, the cruelty of the political stage. That night, alone in his study, he stared at the shadow cast by the streetlamp beyond his window. The long silhouette mirrored the solitude and the weight of order he had carried all his life.
Doubt flickered in his eyes, reflecting the city’s lights. Should he follow reason and order, or turn toward the people’s emotions? Having walked the path of the elite, he now saw that logic alone could not redeem reality. Without Sophia’s warmth and Murphy’s intuition, he might not have been able to take another step forward.
Sophia quietly took his hand. “You are not alone. We are here.”
Ryan gave the faintest nod, feeling the chains of solitude loosen, little by little, in the depths of his heart.
During his university years, Ryan had often felt estranged from the public. The scarce applause at debates, the cool reception of his political essays, the smirks at his street speeches. His arguments were correct, but people yearned for emotion. Logic alone could not move them.
Sophia understood her role as the wife of a politician. She stayed by Ryan’s side when public duties drained him, offering the warmth of home. On quiet nights, they would simply sit together, thinking wordlessly of the future.
Murphy, by contrast, acted on instinct. In moments of crisis, he guided Ryan—the tightening of security after the shooting, the handling of the media, the appeal to the public. Where reason could not reach, experience took over. Ryan came to rely on him, and to trust him deeply.
His solitude was also the weight of politics itself. Cool analysis, flawless planning, correct judgment. Yet often, the people could not understand. A reason stripped of feeling drew criticism, and deepened his isolation.
And yet, Sophia made him human. She gave warmth to cold logic, and the power to reach hearts. Murphy, with his decisiveness and experience, built a bridge between reason and emotion.
When the news of the shooting reached him, Ryan felt fear as something tangible for the first time. Politics could not be defended by theory from a study alone. Confusion, the crack of gunfire, the press of terror—faced with them, he knew his own helplessness.
Streetlamps reflected in his eyes; bloodstains on rubble, neighbors clasping hands, mothers crying out. Reality pressed itself upon him. Reason alone could not save, nor logic alone preserve order. Compassion, empathy—these were what people needed.
Sophia spoke softly. “Logic matters. But now is the time to show your heart. People are seeking empathy.”
Ryan smiled faintly and set down his pen. The alignment of order was paused; he resolved to entrust himself to the waves of feeling.
Murphy looked out the window and nodded gently. “Do not fear, Ryan. Your reason, my intuition, Sophia’s warmth—together, they will keep us true.”
Buoyed by those words, Ryan slowly cast aside the shadow of solitude.
The attempt on Owen Reed’s life was both terror and warning. Yet it was also a teacher, revealing the reality of the political stage. Ryan grasped its weight, and steeled himself to go forward.
On the street corner, trembling citizens; beneath the rubble, neighbors holding hands; a mother’s anguished cry. As he listened, Ryan was tested—not only as a politician, but as a human being. Torn between reason and emotion, he found in Sophia and Murphy an unshakable support.
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My new novel:
B♭ (B-flat)
There’s still more to come. 😃
(This is not the final draft.)
Set in New York City.
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54758538180/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54743658539/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54737038151/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54720346098/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54713957969/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54703714420/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54696914108/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54686544606/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54653035442/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54639396885/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54628511025/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54599616429/in/dateposted...
Soundtrack.
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b-my-novel-soundtrack/pl.u-47...
Note: I gave a brief explanation of this novel in the following video:
youtu.be/3w65lqUF-YI?si=yG7qy6TPeCL9xRJV
iTunes Playlist Link::
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b/pl.u-47DJGhopxMD
My new novel:
B♭ (B-flat)
Notes
1. "Bombay Blood Type (hh type)"
•Characteristics: A rare blood type that lacks the usual ABO antigens — cannot be classified as A, B, or O.
•Discovery: First identified in 1952 in Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay).
•Prevalence: Roughly 1 in 10,000 people in India; globally, about 1 in 2.5 million.
•Transfusion Compatibility: Only compatible with blood from other Bombay type donors.
2. 2024 Harvard University Valedictorian Speech – The Power of Not Knowing
youtu.be/SOUH8iVqSOI?si=Ju-Y728irtcWR71K
3. Shots Fired at Trump Rally
youtu.be/1ejfAkzjEhk?si=ASqJwEmkY-2rW_hT
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Title.
E Weekend.
( LUMIX G3 shot )
マンハッタン。ニューヨーク。アメリカ。2017. … 4 / 6
Images:
Drake - Laugh Now Cry Later ft. Lil Durk
youtu.be/JFm7YDVlqnI?si=a9_Ovo-jmTB8Wnef
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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
僕の新しい小説。
B♭ （ビーフラット）
第13弾。 😄
以下は、まだ初稿の段階です。まだ推敲します。
重要な部分は公開していません。
公開している内容の順番はバラバラです。
(もちろん最終稿ではありません。)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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僕の新しい小説。
B♭ （ビーフラット）
共和党大統領候補のジャスティン・ブラッドフォードに対し、民主党は、ライアン・ベネットを選出していた。
ライアン・ベネットは、サウス・ベヴァリー・ドライブ沿いの白壁の豪邸の一室に座り、窓の外に広がる手入れの行き届いた庭園と並木道を見つめながら、子供の頃の自分を思い出していた。幼い日の彼は、常に計算された秩序の中にいた。時間割通りに生活し、宿題も常に完璧に仕上げた。教師は彼を褒め、同級生は距離を置いた。彼にとって、優等生であることは誇りであると同時に孤独でもあった。
図書館の静寂の中で、彼は初めて政治の片鱗に触れた。学生自治会の討論で、彼の論理は拍手を浴びることはなく、しばしば冷たい視線に晒された。人々は直感や感情で動く。理屈だけでは、群衆の心を動かせないのだと、彼は知った。
その孤独の淵に、ソフィアが現れた。柔らかい声、落ち着いた眼差し、そして彼の論理を拒むことなく受け止める包容力。二人は言葉を交わし、沈黙を共有し、互いの存在に慰めを見いだした。ソフィアは、ライアンの理性を支えるだけでなく、彼の孤独を温める光でもあった。
カリフォルニア大学ロサンゼルス校卒業後、ライアンは政治の道を歩み始めた。州議会議員として、そして連邦議会議員として、彼は順調に昇りつめた。だが、国民の視線は常に冷たかった。エリートの顔つき、整然とした演説、完璧すぎる論理は、多くの人々に距離感と反感を与えた。人々はつぶやく。「また、エリートが我々に説教するのか」と。
副大統領候補のアレックス・マーフィーは、その冷徹な世界にあって、ライアンを支える存在であった。八歳年上の彼は、経験に裏打ちされた直感と決断力を持つ。ライアンの論理と感情の間に立ち、国民の反感や期待の波を読み解く力があった。
民主党前大統領オーウェン・リードが演説中に狙撃された。弾丸は命を奪わなかったが、政治の舞台の残酷さをライアンは身をもって知った。その夜、ライアンは自室の書斎で、窓の外の街灯に映る自らの影を見つめた。長い影は、これまでの人生で背負ってきた孤独と秩序の重さを映していた。
街の灯りに反射する瞳の中には迷いがあった。理性と秩序に従うのか、それとも国民の感情に寄り添うのか。エリートの道を歩んできた彼の目には、論理だけでは救えない現実が見えていた。ソフィアの温もりとマーフィーの直感がなければ、彼は前に進むことさえできなかったかもしれない。
ソフィアはそっと彼の手を握った。「あなたは一人じゃない。私たちがいる」と。
ライアンは微かに肯いた。心の奥で、孤独の鎖が少しずつほどけていくのを感じた。
大学時代、ライアンは何度も国民との乖離を体感した。討論会での拍手の少なさ、政治論文の冷たい評価、街頭演説での冷笑。論理は正しくとも、人々は感情を求める。理屈だけでは、人は動かない。
ソフィアは、政治家の妻としての役割を理解していた。公務で疲弊したライアンに寄り添い、家庭の温もりを提供した。静かな夜、二人はただ座り、言葉少なに未来を思った。
マーフィーは直感で動き、危機的な場面ではライアンを導いた。銃撃事件後の警備調整、メディア対応、国民への呼びかけ。理性だけでは追いつかない現場を、彼は経験で補った。ライアンはその存在を頼りにし、信頼した。
ライアンの孤独は政治の重さでもあった。冷静な分析、完璧な計画、正しい判断。それらが国民に理解されないこともあった。感情に欠ける理性は、時として非難を招き、孤独を深める。
だが、ソフィアの存在が、ライアンを人間らしくした。冷たい論理に温度を与え、心に寄り添う力を持たせた。マーフィーは行動力と経験で、論理と感情の橋渡しを行った。
狙撃事件のニュースを聞いたとき、ライアンは初めて恐怖を身近に感じた。政治は書斎の理論だけでは守れない。瞬間の混乱、銃声、恐怖。それらを前にして、彼は自らの無力を知った。
街角の光、瓦礫の中の血痕、避難する人々。全てが現実として彼の前にあった。理性だけでは救えない、理屈だけでは秩序を維持できない。感情に寄り添い、共感を示すことが必要だった。
ソフィアは静かに語る。「論理は重要。でも今は心を示すとき。人々は共感を求めている」
ライアンは微かに笑い、ペンを置いた。秩序の整列は一旦休止し、感情の波に身を任せる覚悟を決めた。
マーフィーは窓の外を見つめ、微かに肯いた。「恐れるな、ライアン。君の理性、私の直感、ソフィアの温もり。全てがあれば、我々は道を誤らない」
ライアンはその言葉に支えられ、孤独の影を少しずつ振り払った。
オーウェン・リードの狙撃事件は、恐怖であり警告でもあった。だがそれは同時に、政治の舞台の現実を教える教師でもあった。ライアンはその重さを理解し、前に進む決意を固めた。
街角で震える人々、瓦礫の下で手を取り合う隣人、泣き叫ぶ母親。その声に耳を傾け、ライアンは政治家として、そして人間としての判断を試されていた。理性と感情の間で揺れる彼の心に、ソフィアとマーフィーは揺るがぬ支えとして存在していた。
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
僕の新しい小説。
B♭ （ビーフラット）
舞台はニューヨークです。
12
www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54758538180/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54743658539/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54737038151/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54720346098/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54713957969/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54703714420/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54696914108/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54686544606/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54653035442/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54639396885/in/dateposted...
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www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54628511025/in/dateposted...
1
www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/54599616429/in/dateposted...
Soundtrack.
music.apple.com/jp/playlist/b-my-novel-soundtrack/pl.u-47...
追記 この小説を多少説明しました。
youtu.be/3w65lqUF-YI?si=yG7qy6TPeCL9xRJV
メモ
1
「Bombay型（ボンベイ型、hh型）」
•特徴：通常のABO血液型を持たない（A、B、Oに分類されない）特殊な型。
•発見地：1952年、インド・ムンバイ（旧ボンベイ）で初めて確認。
•発生頻度：インドでは1万人に1人程度だが、世界的には約250万人に1人とも。
•輸血制限：同じBombay型しか輸血できない。
2
2024年ハーバード大学首席の卒業式スピーチ『知らないことの力』
youtu.be/SOUH8iVqSOI?si=Ju-Y728irtcWR71K
3
Shots fired at Trump rally
youtu.be/1ejfAkzjEhk?si=ASqJwEmkY-2rW_hT
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Now online to watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn02cDtwKxw
Starling City's hero, Green Arrow, must put himself to the task of overcoming multiple obstacles along the way to reach club Verdant before it's too late. Will our hero succeed or will he fall to the clutches of Count Vertigo, Brother Blood, or Deathstroke? Watch to find out the reasoning behind his epic journey!
Directed, Animated, and Written by Tristan Kilmer
Completed in 3 weeks. 2nd video to run at 59 fps. I'm also expanding further effort into 3D modeling starting with this video.
Available to watch in HD and 3D. Subscribe for new videos!
Like the Facebook page for new updates! www.facebook.com/pages/FinalFeature/475422389206404
國立台灣文學館 - 推理文學在臺灣特展 / 自主思考 - 找出真實
National Museum of Taiwanese Literature - Reasoning literature in Taiwan special exhibition / Think independently - Find out the truth
Museo Nacional de la literatura taiwanesa - Razonamiento de la literatura en Taiwan exposición especial / Piensa independientemente - Descubre la verdad
国立の台湾の文学館 - 推理の文学は台湾特に展にあります / 自主的に考えます - 探し出すのが真実です
Nationalmuseum der taiwanesischen Literatur - Begründung Literatur in Taiwan Sonderausstellung / Denken Sie unabhängig - Finden Sie die Wahrheit heraus
Musée national de la littérature taiwanaise - Raisonnement de la littérature à Taiwan exposition spéciale / Pensez indépendamment - Découvrez la vérité
Tainan Taiwan / Tainan Taiwán / 台灣台南
管樂小集 2017/09/08 台南文化中心 Tainan Cultural Center Star Plaza performances 1080P
{View large size on fluidr/觀看大圖}
{My Blog / 管樂小集精彩演出-觸動你的心}
{My Blog / Great Music The splendid performance touches your heart}
{My Blog / 管楽小集すばらしい公演-はあなたの心を心を打ちます}
{Mi blog / La gran música el funcionamiento espléndido toca su corazón}
{Mein Blog / Große Musik die herrliche Leistung berührt Ihr Herz}
{Mon blog / La grande musique l'exécution splendide touche votre coeur}
Melody 曲:JAPAN / Words 詞:Sheesen / Singing : Sheesen
{ 夢旅人 1990 Dream Traveler 1990 }
家住安南鹽溪邊
The family lives in nearby the Annan salt river
隔壁就是聽雨軒
The next door listens to the rain porch
一旦落日照大員
The sunset Shineing to the Taiwan at once
左岸青龍飛九天
The left bank white dragon flying in the sky
Last but not least for this evening… I was walking down the aisle at my local Kroger this past weekend, when this unexpected display grabbed my attention! I had heard that the TRU intellectual property owners had signed a deal with a “prominent midwest retailer” to feature these “Geoffrey’s Toy Box” displays in their stores this holiday season, but I wasn’t expecting that retailer to be Kroger. (Not least because I don’t really consider Kroger to be a midwestern retailer, but hey.) The full list of Kroger stores featuring these displays can be found at this link; in the Delta Division, it appears that it can be found in the stores in Hernando (pictured), Southaven (Goodman/Getwell), and Jackson (I-55) in Mississippi; Collierville (New Byhalia), Jackson (University), Bartlett (Stage), Cordova (Trinity Commons), Germantown (Farmington), and Lakeland in Tennessee; and a handful of stores in Arkansas as well, none of which are in the Memphis metropolitan area however (mostly the Little Rock area, it appears).
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Now… while we’re on the topic of “finding new homes” (as my photo title notes)… am I supposed to talk about the impending flickr changes? I feel like surely, if you use the site, you’ve heard about them by now (and if you’re a nonmember, you can read about them at this link). I guess some of you are probably interested to hear about my future plans, so I might as well discuss the whole thing. Personally, I am planning on staying here on flickr.
But many of you aren’t.
Thinking about this the past several days, I’ve been trying to figure out what I feel is the worst part of this deal. There are certainly few, if any, upsides to it; much of the effects are negative. Ultimately, I’m having trouble focusing on just one part that is worse than the rest, so I might as well just bring up each element in turn.
First: the photo limit. Let me start off by addressing the counterargument here: I actually agree with the site’s new owners that the previously-offered 1TB of free storage was insane, and not economically feasible to continue providing. I get that, and I have no problem with limiting the amount that free users may contribute to the site as a result. Where I take issue is with the fact that the limit is 1,000 photos.
Let me be clear: I think 1,000 photos, in and of itself, is not a bad limit. Could it be higher? Sure. But Don MacAskill seems to have done his research, talked to flickr users, and decided that 1,000 is justifiable, so I’m not going to question that. (Let me also be clear on this: Don MacAskill is not my enemy. Some others I’ve seen appear to be adopting that stance, but I don’t blame him. Broadly speaking, my feeling is more of an “I’m not angry, just disappointed” stance. But more on that later.)
Another factor I don’t mind – in fact, which I very much like – is stating the limit in terms of number of photos, and not storage capacity. As MacAskill noted, it is much easier for us to understand the meaning of 1,000 photos than it is 50GB. No, my issue with the photo limit arises from the fact that this limit will be applying to everyone. I’m completely okay with limiting new users, who sign up after the changes take effect, to 1,000 photos. But forcing that limit on ALL free users – including those of us who are above that limit, such as myself – is unfair, in my opinion.
This bleeds right into my next issue: for those free users who have over 1,000 existing photos on their accounts, the site will soon automatically delete photos from said users’ photostreams until they meet the 1,000 photo limit. The new management team obviously recognizes the importance of photographs, so it seems at odds with that recognition for them to, in the same breath, devise a plan to erase thousands of photos from the site forever. In my simplemindedness, I’ve been concerned about this forced deletion causing lost comments and broken links. The broader-minded internet backlash has brought about additional concerns I hadn’t considered, such as the effect of the deletion on accounts that haven’t been updated in years (that is to say, you can “save” your own photos from deletion by downloading them back to your computer, but who is there to complete that task for an account that is inactive?).
An effective compromise, to my mind, would be to “freeze” existing accounts where they are on the date of the change. For example: I have 4,678 photos in my stream as of tonight. So, my account would be “frozen” at 4,678 photos. This is above the 1,000 photo limit, but it involves no deletion of existing photos, the action which I think everyone can agree with is the most heinous thing to come out of these changes.
I began considering the counterargument to this, however, and it became obvious that that’s probably not a good idea after all. The reason: an account with the 1,000 photo limit will likely have the ability, once it reaches that limit, to delete one of those 1,000 images and “replace” it with a new image, thereby allowing the account to remain active. An account frozen with 4,678 photos, however, might attempt to “game the system” by deleting one of those 4,678 and replacing it – much in the same way as the 1,000-limited account, except this account could cheat and remain at 4,678. The only way this would be able to work fairly is if the account frozen at 4,678 would not be allowed to post anything new until his or her account were to arrive at or below the 1,000 photo limit imposed on all other free accounts.
From that viewpoint, I can see why freezing accounts was not the first option chosen: sure, it would be easy to freeze the accounts, but then those users would effectively be forced to become inactive. At least by deleting images, everyone will be on a level playing field. There are still many different arguments that could be taken in favor of either direction here, but I don’t feel like exploring them further. I believe I made my main point clear: there’s not really a “good” option, either way.
Of course, the way to circumvent these issues is to join flickr pro – which is very obviously what the new site owners want us to consider. The issue here lies in the fact that flickr pro is pricey. $50 a year isn’t a low figure. There are many other ways and venues to store your photos. But flickr is more than a photo storage site. It’s a place for interaction regarding photos. So in effect, what flickr is asking us is whether or not that interaction – the additional benefit, above just plain photo storage – is worth paying for.
To me, it is. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve made a lot of great friends here, and thoroughly enjoy using this site. This is my hobby, and I don’t want to give it up. I may only have 4,000-something photos posted to the site right now, but you’d be amazed at the amount I have waiting in my archives. I’m not going to let those go to waste. I’m also not interested in uploading them at some different platform. (I’ll get into those reasons a little later on.) flickr is the place for me. I like commenting with y’all, I like viewing and faving y’all’s photos, and – quite frankly – I like the organization aspect of the site. (I tag and geotag my photos. I place my photos into albums. I upload photos in themed “weeks” every Saturday of the year. And, very obviously, I write long descriptions to accompany each image. This is the only site that gives me all of those capabilities, as well as the aforementioned interaction benefits, in one place. If I have to pay for it, so be it. I like it too much to leave.)
What I take issue with is the amount we’re being asked to pay. I’ve seen some others suggest a tiered payment platform, with each tier having a higher photo limit until you get to the $50 tier, which features unlimited photos. That seems like it would be a nice compromise. Compared to the logistics and theoretical issues plaguing the photo limit and deletion problems, too, this seems like one that could easily be implemented. And who knows, perhaps the new site leaders are considering this. In my opinion, it would definitely be worth them looking into. Perhaps a cheaper price, coupled with a photo limit higher than 1,000 but less than unlimited/1TB, would entice many of you into staying around rather than jumping ship.
While I’m on the topic of the pricing of flickr pro: I did want to point out that the price has not, in fact, doubled. I’ve seen that posted a lot, but was never able to confirm it. I finally found a post commenting on the root of this rumor in the help forum: an old rate of $25 had been grandfathered in until this year, when the rate for all pro users became standard at $50 a year. It’s easy to attribute this to all the other major changes announced last week, but in fact, it took effect several months ago.
And speaking of the help forum: there’s a lot of great clarification there, from the flickr and SmugMug teams. You’ve likely heard that only 3% of free accounts have over 1,000 photos, and thus are the ones affected by the deletion program on its way to being implemented. One such clarification makes the important distinction that a majority of that 3% “are largely storing vast quantities of *private* photos, not public ones, [and thus] aren’t contributing to the community but *are* making Flickr more costly to run and harder for us to build great things for you. It’s not fair that loyal Flickr Pro customers are supporting those types of accounts.” This better justifies the reasoning behind the deletion program. Had the original press release made sure to note that a majority of this 3% was using flickr only for its photo storage capabilities, while ignoring its social aspects, I think a lot more users might have been on board with the need to impose the limit. As I noted earlier, there are plenty of places to simply store photos. flickr is a place for doing more than that. So yes, I agree, if there are users out there who are effectively abusing the purpose of the site, I have no problem with asking them to delete their photos or move them elsewhere. (To be clear: this is not saying that I have suddenly reversed course and become okay with deleting everyone else’s photos, be it those who upload only publicly or those who have a mix of public and private photos in their stream. I am only okay with deleting the images of those who are using the site exclusively for private storage and have zero public photos or comments.)
Another, more pertinent staff comment reads, “The problem is that everyone agrees Flickr is staggeringly expensive to operate and that someone needs to pay for it, but nobody wants to be the one to pay. Of course, I understand that, but our job is to strike the right balance to make sure the costs are covered by asking those who get the most value out of Flickr to be a paying member. The best way we have to identify who those people are is based on the number of photos stored with us. Is it perfect? No. But after 5 years of hunting for a better way, I’ve never heard one proposed.
“So, yes, the 3% of members whose usage patterns look for all intents and purposes the most like those who have opted to buy Pro memberships” – that is, the portion of the 3% not abusing the site for private photo storage purposes, I’m assuming – “but who are currently getting it for free, are the ones who are asked to make a choice. We sincerely hope that you’ll agree that you get a tremendous value for your money and that you’ll join the ranks of the Pros. But it’s 100% your choice and if you choose otherwise, it’s your call.”
I can’t confirm yet that I’ll be getting a “tremendous” value for my money, particularly since I imagine I’ll be getting most of the same experience I’ve been getting for free thus far. But I’m willing to give it a shot.
I hope I’m correct in saying that those of you who are leaving are not entirely unwilling to give flickr a shot, but rather are simply unable. Well, “unwilling” might not be the best word for that. I understand that $50 is a lot to pay, and even if you can afford it, you may not want to. But I still do firmly believe that flickr is the only place that provides all of the options I mentioned before in one all-encompassing website. I’ve seen many of you mention moving to Blogger or Facebook as free substitutes for flickr. I’ll support whatever route you choose, but here are my personal cons for each of those sites and why I’m not choosing them:
Blogger: to see images clearly, you must enlarge them and view them separately from main post; Blogger’s platform, I’ve found, is not very user-friendly, especially if you’ve got a lot of photos to upload; there are no comment alerts to let you know when you’ve received a reply; I personally prefer to use my blog to host more long-form, formal posts, as opposed to informal descriptions here on flickr (yes, I consider this volume “informal” XD ) – theoretically, if I wanted to, I could start another blog, but that still doesn’t solve those other issues. (Pros of Blogger include some semblance of organization [not albums, but tags]; the “reading list” feature so you can track new posts of the blogs you follow; and the lack of a need for your viewers to be a member of the site in order to interact with your content.)
Facebook: you must be a member to interact with anyone’s content or receive comment alerts (and I have no desire to become a Facebook member); you also cannot view any comments at all on the mobile version of the site.
Instagram: I haven’t seen many of you say you’re considering this as an option, but in my opinion, insofar as your flickr content is based on photos, descriptions, comments, and faves, this seems like the most similar layout. However, for this site you also must be a member in order to interact, and there are also no organization abilities (to my knowledge).
I follow 100 people, and over this past week I’ve made a list of 35 of you who upload content the most regularly. Of these 35, only 5 have pro already. 14 of the remaining 30 of you have stated your plans for the future. 13 of those 14 are planning on leaving the site. I’ll let that sink in.
If this trend continues – which, unfortunately, it likely will – then there will be a much smaller community here on flickr, once the dust settles. With you all scattering to the four winds, not only will it be impossible to keep up with all of your content in one place as we’ve all been able to do on flickr up to this point, it will also consequently become very difficult to keep up with your content – I barely manage viewing all of your photos as it is currently; I can only imagine how behind I’ll get when I’ve got 30 new blogs to follow! I also hate to think I’ll be losing the ability to easily interact with some of you, for those who choose to go to sites that require memberships. Similarly, I hate to think that some of you might be leaving the community altogether (for example, MJBarnes – who only recently returned after a prolonged absence – has already deleted his page a second time).
So I guess that’s my main overall issue with these changes: that our growing retail community on flickr is effectively being destroyed. In Matt Smith’s farewell speech on “Doctor Who,”* he said, “We all change, when you think about it. We’re all different people, all through our lives; and that’s okay, that’s good, you’ve got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be.” It may be a bit of a stretch, but that’s what I’m imagining with this flickr situation – the site is changing, and, as I discussed earlier, it frankly needed some of these changes in order to remain economically viable. But from the social/interaction aspect, flickr was something, and thanks to the photo cap and (particularly) the paywall, now it’s becoming something else, with the platform we like/want/need ceasing to exist. Really, it’s just a shame.
So, to summarize: I’ll still be here. And I’ll miss all of you, as well.
Uploads continue Saturday.
--------------------
* – On an unrelated, but related, note: not only am I losing a bunch of you guys, I’ve also lost “Doctor Who”… my mom and I, who have been watching together since the Matt Smith era, have taken the show off of our TiVo to-do list this season. I like Jodie Whittaker’s new Doctor, but I really don’t care for the writing of the show at all. It seems like Chris Chibnall (the new showrunner) is trying to morph the show into a more dramatic character piece, which I don’t like at all. Similarly, there’s a new composer this season as well, and the music – which sets the mood – is no longer as fun as it used to be. “Rosa,” the last episode we watched, actually made me uncomfortable as we watched it. Don’t get me wrong – the episode was beautifully handled, and the fact that its portrayal of the 1960s in southern America was so realistic makes it a powerful teaching tool (one reviewer whose article I read noted that he wouldn’t be surprised if it began being showed in classrooms soon). But that’s just the thing – I watch “Doctor Who” because it’s science fiction, not reality-based. It’s just not the same anymore. Which, again, is a shame.
(c) 2018 Retail Retell
These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)
I decided to take a trip to London on one of my days off work, as I hadn't been for a year or so. It was a rather successful trip, with a surprising amount of plates from all over the world, including the usual cars from the Middle East, as well as a stuff from eastern Asia too. This trip also included 3 different Russian cars, of which two I could successfully capture (I missed a BMW i8 on Russian plates unfortunately).
The two Russians I could spot, however, had 'non-standard' plates, such as this Toyota Camry XV50. The plates on this car were normal in style, with the omission of the embossed 'RUS' identifier, and the flag of Russia, which is usually seen on Russian plates. The reasoning behind using these plates in the UK probably have something to do with the 'Salisbury' poisoning incidents, hence why Russians doing business in the UK probably would prefer to do things more 'anonymously', which is reflected on their choice of using re-made plates.
The Camry XV50 was never offered in Europe, only being sold in developing markets, Asia and the US. Of course, the latest XV70 is now on sale across Europe, particularly in the UK, where it replaces the Avensis model, though in the UK it's only offered with a 2.5 Hybrid engine.
Knightsbridge, London, United Kingdom
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional private detective created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard. wiki
Little is known about Holmes' life before the stories. Given his age in the story His Last Bow can be concluded that he must be born somewhere in the year 1854.
P1170458 (2)
There were a multitude of liveries across the Fox fleet, but the reasoning behind some of them was not always apparent, 3491 being an example. It was quite reminiscent of the Foxhound coach livery (or one of them !), but it certainly wasn't a coach. I could just classify it as 'unspecified low-cost unit', and probably be near the mark.
3491 also joined the Greenway project in 1994, but was initially allocated to Arriva's Surrey operation, returning to Leicestershire in 1998 as SJI 5570, before being sold in 2001.
St. Margaret's bus station, Leicester, 7/9/88
No matter what, we must never forget the truth of this situation. This is what Bruce has been preparing us for since the day we joined his crusade. He’s never denied it, nor tried to avoid it. Hell, I still remember the first words he told me when he finally relented and agreed to train, mainly thanks to Alfred twisting his arm.
Batman: Fine, but understand this. This is not fun. This is not a hobby. This is a war. War on the streets, war on the system and perhaps most of all. A war against those would use terror.
Dick: A war on terror? Terror from where?
Batman: From beyond. There’s an order hidden deep within the Middle East, slowly plotting the downfall of human civilisation. No-one knows of them, but they’ve existed for hundreds of years, waiting.
Dick: Waiting for what?
Batman: The right moment. When society is at its lowest and our faith in one another is all but broken. Only then can they strike.
Dick: Why then?
Batman: Their warriors are mighty, but few. Disorganisation and distrust is that is needed for their success. That’s why we must be ready.
Dick: We? Does that mean?
Before I could complete my question, Bruce threw a Batarang at me. Not exactly the most welcoming way to say ‘congrats you’ve got the job’ but the reasoning behind it was clear. When he joined the League of Assassins, Ra’s subjected him to a trial immediately to see if he was worthy enough to join his organisation. Bruce decided to give me a similar treatment only with a batarang instead of a knife. I can’t say that I was particularly pleased with having a batarang thrown at me though.
Fortunately, I managed to dodge it. Just.
Batman: We start tomorrow.
Even then, I could pick up on the reluctance in his voice. Bruce never wanted to train me, in fact were it not for Alfred he probably wouldn’t have. But I like to think that time proved it to be a good decision. He’s taken on two more Robin’s since me so that’s probably as clear a sign as I’m going to get. He’ll never admit taking me on was a good idea to my face. That’s just how he is.
I like to think that I’m different to Bruce on that front. I’ve made no secret of how good a choice I believe it was to introduce Bruce to Tim and the past few years appear to have proven me right given how Tim is now the longest serving Robin. Not to mention probably the wisest of us. That probably explains why Bruce gives him more free reign than he did Jason or I. Or he’s simply hesitant to repeat the mistakes of the past.
I’ll give Third Bird the benefit of the doubt and say that Bruce gives him more free reign because he’s the wisest Robin. Though now that I think about it, it’d be a miracle if it wasn’t simply Bruce trying to avoid the mistakes of the past.
Probably best to not mention that to him.
Dick: So aside from the impending catastrophe, how are things?
Tim: Busy, all things considered. We’ve had to contend with Damian for about a month or so, and even though we took him down two weeks ago, he’s gained followers.
Dick: Followers? That really should surprise me.
Tim: But this is Gotham?
Dick: This is Gotham.
This really can be used to explain far too much of what happens in this city. I wonder if people say the same about the likes of Metropolis, Central City or Coast City. Who am I kidding, being the homes of a Justice League member in each case, it’s all but inevitable.
Tim: Certainly didn’t help that he took my dad in the middle of all this.
Dick: Your dad’s back in Gotham?
Tim: He was. After the so called ‘Crimson Knight’ abducted him and held him hostage at City Hall, I was able to talk him into moving just outside the city. One less thing to worry about.
Dick: Does he know the truth?
Tim: My dad? No idea. Or at least, I can’t be sure.
Dick: So he does and he doesn’t?
Tim: More a, I don’t think he does, but he said something that makes me think otherwise.
Dick: You never thought of simply asking him?
Tim: I don’t want to saddle him with that knowledge. He was already made a target because of me, the last thing I want is my secret to make him any more of a target.
Dick: I know what you mean.
Tim: Do you?
Dick: I know what’s like to have the weight of the world on your shoulders, and to be afraid of the damage that be caused by that responsibility. But trust me, if you care for him, you should tell him. Not just for him, but for yourself. I can promise you, it feels great once you lift that burden.
Tim: Who was it that you trusted with your secret?
Dick: Well that’s a tricky one. She wouldn’t really like me saying. But some people know her as Batgirl.
Tim: Barbra was the one you entrusted in?
Well, technically Alfred was the first person that was trusted with that secret outside of Bruce and myself, but it’s dubious as to whether or not he counts given how he fits into everything.
Dick: Yeah. Why do you think Bruce reacted so kindly to me dating her?
Tim: Because he doesn’t like anything that takes priority over the mission.
That’s far too clear and direct an answer to have not dealt with the same response. Oh, Third Bird, have you got yourself a special little someone?
Dick: You’ve had to deal with that as well? Who’s the lucky lady?
Tim: I don’t think I should…
He attempts to change the topic, evidently wanting to avoid having to talk about his special someone. Unfortunately for him, I’m Dick Grayson and I'm incredibly persistent.
Dick: Come on, I promise I won’t tell anyone. Robin’s honour.
Tim: Her name is Stephanie Blake.
Dick: The Cluemaster’s daughter?
Tim: You know her?
Dick: I know of her, and especially her father.
He’s not been causing trouble has he?
He was a poor substitute for Nygma personally, but who am I to complain? I’ve not had to deal with him since leaving Gotham.
Tim: I’d love to be able to say no. But sadly not, his wife created an alias specifically to fight him.
Dick: That’s one way to try and get a divorce.
Tim: But long story short, both of Steph’s parents fought. She found out I was Robin and ended up taking up her mother’s vigilante identity to fight crime.
Dick: Well. This is Gotham. So, where is she? How come she’s not here?
Tim: She’s in hospital, undergoing emergency surgery.
Yikes. I may have just stepped in it.
Dick: What!? Why?
Tim: She was injured when the League sent an agent to deal with me. She saved my life, but potentially at the cost of her own.
Dick: Stop it. You stop that right now. Her current situation is not your fault.
Tim: But she’s only in this state because of me! The agent came after me not her! If I’d just ignored what Bruce said and stayed on patrol, none of this would have happened. Steph would fine and…
Dick: You potentially wouldn’t be.
Tim: Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Dick: I’m not saying you can’t handle yourself, hell I think you’re probably the best trained out of the three of us. You must be to have lasted longer than either Jason or me. But the fact is, facing one of the League’s agents is like fighting Bruce. There’s no guarantee as to who would come out best in different circumstances. I probably wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for Barbra having my back.
Tim: And I wouldn’t be here without Steph. We were just lucky I packed some equipment just in case.
Dick: Wait, you were attacked out of costume?
Tim: Yeah, the assailant attacked us at the county fair.
He fought off one of the League’s agents out of his costume? Now that’s impressive. What the hell have you been teaching this kid Bruce, and why didn’t you teach it to me?
Dick: Well then there’s no way you can blame yourself for what happened. You were caught unprepared and unarmoured.
Tim: But we wouldn’t have needed armour were it not for me! She’s in the state she is now because of me!
Dick: No. Stephanie is in the condition she is now because of the assailant. It was him that gave her the wounds, not you. You saved her.
Tim: But I put in that danger in the first place!
Dick: No you didn’t! There’s only one person who put her in danger and that was the coward that is Ra’s Al-Ghul. Sending his minions to do his bidding because he doesn’t the courage or strength to do it himself. None of this is your fault. It’s his. Now grow up. You’re better than this.
Barbra: Are you of all people, seriously telling someone to grow up?
Roy: Isn’t that something a grown up tells people to do?
Dick: Shut up, Speedy.
It’s times like these that I miss Bruce’s hatred for unnecessary dialogue.
Roy: The name’s Arsenal, boy blunder.
Dick: Actually boy blunder is his name now. That title left me once I went solo.
Tim: Are you sure about, Wing Ding?
Dick: STOP CALLING ME THAT NAME!
Barbra: Congratulations. You just guaranteed that we’re never going to stop.
Dick: I hate you all.
Worryingly, I’m not sure if I’m joking right now or not.
Irregularity of line also suggests movement and life. “Everything that is ruled and symmetrical is alien to free nature.” Or, as it has been said: “The awareness of change, the interaction symbolized by the yin-yang theory, has caused Chinese gardeners to seek irregular and unexpected features which appeal more to the imagination than to the reasoning faculty of the beholder. There were certain rules and principles for gardening, but these did not lead to any conformity. The basic elements were the same for landscape painting, shan shui or ‘mountain and water’” which might be imposing scenery or simply a pond and rocks. The smallest space could be converted into an effect of depth, infinite extension, and mysterious distance; groves, rockeries, bushes, winding paths, all helped to lure on beyond the immediate scene.
آزاد دائرۃ المعارف، ویکیپیڈیا سے
’’ جنت‘‘ لفظی معنی ہر اس باغ کے ہیں جس کے درخت زمین کو چھپا لیں۔ کل بستان ذی شجر یستر باشجارہ الارض (راغب اصفہانی) ’’ الجنۃ‘‘ سے اصطلاح شرعی میں مراد وہ عظیم الشان باغ ہے جو بے شمار نعمتیں لیے ہوئے عالم آخرت میں نیک کاروں کے لیے مخصوص ہے اور آج نظروں سے مستور ہے، اس کا نام جنت یا تو اس لیے پڑا کہ وہ دنیا کے باغوں سے مشابہ ہے۔ گومشابہت بہت دور کی سہی۔ اور یا اس لیے کہ اس کی نعمتیں ابھی مستور ہیں۔ سمیت الجنۃ اما تشبیھا بالجنۃ فی الارض وان کان بینھما بون واما السترہ نعمھا عنا (راغب)[1] وہ باغ جس کے متعلق انبیا کی تعلیمات پرایمان لا کر نیک اور اچھے کام کرنے والوں کو خوشخبری دی گئی ہے۔ یہ ایسا حسین اور خوبصورت باغ ہے جس کی مثال کوئي نہیں یہ مقام مرنے کے بعد قیامت کے دن ان لوگوں کو ملے گا جنہوں نے دنیا میں ایمان لا کر نیک اور اچھے کام کیے ہیں۔ قرآن مجید نے جنت کی یہ تعریف کی ہے کہ اس میں نہریں بہتی ہوں گی۔ عالیشان عمارتیں ہوں گی،۔ خدمت کے لیے حور و غلمان ملیں گے۔ انسان کی تمام جائز خواہشیں پوری ہوں گی۔ اور لوگ امن اور چین سے ابدی زندگی بسر کریں گے۔
جنت کی نہروں میں زیادہ مشہور کوثر و سلسبیل ہیں۔ کہا جاتا ہے کہ ان میں جو پانی بہے گا وہ شہد اور دودھ ایسا ہوگا۔ اس کو شراب طہور ’’پینے کی پاکیزہ شے‘‘ کہا گیا ہے۔ قرآن میں نہروں کی تعداد کا کوئی ذکر نہیں۔ کوثر کے متعلق بعض علما کا خیال ہے کہ وہ نہر نہیں، حوض ہے۔ قیامت کے دن نیک لوگ رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ و آلہ وسلم کے ہاتھوں کوثر کا پانی پئیں گے۔ اسی لیے حضور کو ساقی کوثر بھی کہتے ہیں۔ قرآن پاک میں ایک سورۃ کوثر بھی ہے۔ جنت کی اعلی ترین نعمت خدا کا دیدار بھی ہوگا۔ یہی وہ مقام ہے جہاں سے آدم و حوا کو آزمائش کے لیے نکالا گیا تھا۔
بہشت کے آٹھ درجے
1. دارلخلد، یہ عام لوگوں کے واسطے ہے،
2. دارالسلام، جو فقیروں اور صابروں کا مقام ہے،
3. دارالمقام، جو مالدار شکر گزاروں کا مقام ہے،
4. عدن، یہ عابدوں، زاہدوں، غازیوں، سخیوں اور اماموں کے واسطے ہے،
5. دار القرار، اس میں حافظ و عالم رہیں گے،
6. جنت النعیم، یہ شہدوں اور مؤذنوں کے لیے ہے،
7. جنت الماویٰ، جو شہدائے اکبر محسنین اور اولیاءکرام کا مقام ہے،
8. جنت الفردوس، جو نبیوں اور رسولوں اور علما عاملین کی جگہ ہے
التأويل من المصطلحات المختلف عليها في علوم الدين والقرآن عند المسلمين فمنهم من قال:يطلق في القرآن والسنة ويراد به التفسير، كما يراد به الحقيقة التي يؤول إليها الأمر أو الخبر.[1] تأويل الكلام هو الرجوع به إلى مراد المتكلم، وهو على قسمين: الأول: بيان مراد المتكلم، وهذا هو التفسير. الثاني: الموجود الذي يؤول إليه الكلام، أي ظهور المتكلم به إلى الواقع المحسوس.[2] وهناك من قال بأن التفسير غير التأويل مثل قول (الثعلبي):التفسير بيان وضع اللفظ إما حقيقة أو مجازاً، والتأويل تفسير باطن اللفظ
التأويل في اللغة هو الارجاع. أوّلَ الشئ أي أرجعه، وآل إليه الشئ أي رجع إليه [4]. إذن فكلمة (آل) (إيالاً) و(أيلولةً) و(مآلاً) تعني رجع وصار و(آل) عنه تعني ارتد. و(آل) على القوم تعني ولي عليهم فهم رعاياه ويرجعون اليه وهو مسئول عنهم. و(أوّل) الشئ إليه أرجعه، و(أوّل) الكلام يعني فسره... فكأن التأويل هو إرجاع للكلمة المرادة إلى أصل أبعد من المعنى الحرفي لها. أي أن التأويل إرجاع أبعد من إرجاع المفردة العادية، أو، قل، هو إرجاع ثنائي، أولا يتم إرجاع الكلمة إلى الذهن لمعرفة معناها، ثم يتم إرجاع المعنى إلى ما وراء المعنى المصطلح عليه للتوصل إلى (معنى المعنى)[5].
ولعله لا توجد كلمة في العربية أثارت جدلا بين الباحثين مثل كلمة تأويل. فهي الكلمة التي امتازت بفتح الأفق واكتشاف المثير والجديد، كما أنها هي نفسها التي أظهرت الطوائف الإسلامية باختلافها الموضوعي وغير الموضوعي الذي وصل حد الاقتتال، كما هي بذاتها التي أخرجت المدارس النقدية والفكرية والفنية المتميزة ودارت حولها أفكارها ومفاهيمها، وهي (هي) التي تثير جدلا واسعا الآن بين مفكري العصر الحديث، وهي (هي) التي عن طريقها يبلغ الأديب والفقيه ذروة غاياته.
ولمعرفة التأويل أكثر لا بد من التطرق لعدد من المصطلحات اللغوية التي تتبع لكلمة تأويل مثل (الدلالة) و(التفسير) و(اللغة).
يقول الإمام أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير الطبري في مقدمة تفسيره جامع البيان في تأويل آي القرآن:
تأويلقد قلنا فيما مضى من كتابنا هذا في وجوه تأويل القرآن، وأن تأويل جميع القرآن على أوجه ثلاثة:
أحدها لا سبيل إلى الوصول إليه، وهو الذي استأثر الله بعلمه، وحجب علمه عن جميع خلقه، وهو أوقات ما كان من آجال الأمور الحادثة، التي أخبر الله في كتابه أنها كائنة، مثل: وقت قيام الساعة، ووقت نزول عيسى ابن مريم، ووقت طلوع الشمس من مغربها، والنفخ في الصور، وما أشبه ذلك.
والوجه الثاني: ما خص الله بعلم تأويله نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم دون سائر أمته، وهو ما فيه مما بعباده إلى علم تأويله الحاجة، فلا سبيل لهم إلى علم ذلك إلا ببيان الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم لهم تأويله.
والثالث منها: ما كان علمه عند أهل اللسان الذي نزل به القرآن، وذلك علم تأويل عربيته وإعرابه، لا يوصل إلى علم ذلك إلا من قبلهم.
فإذ كان ذلك كذلك، فأحق المفسرين بإصابة الحق - في تأويل القرآن الذي إلى علم تأويله للعباد السبيل - أوضحهم حجة فيما تأول وفسر، مما كان تأويله إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم دون سائر أمته من أخبار رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الثابتة عنه: إما من جهة النقل المستفيض، فيما وجد فيه من ذلك عنه النقل المستفيض، وإما من جهة نقل العدول الأثبات، فيما لم يكن فيه عنه النقل المستفيض، أو من جهة الدلالة المنصوبة على صحته; وأصحهم برهانا - فيما ترجم وبين من ذلك - مما كان مدركا علمه من جهة اللسان: إما بالشواهد من أشعارهم السائرة، وإما من منطقهم ولغاتهم المستفيضة المعروفة، كائنا من كان ذلك المتأول والمفسر، بعد أن لا يكون خارجا تأويله وتفسيره ما تأول وفسر من ذلك، عن أقوال السلف من الصحابة والأئمة، والخلف من التابعين وعلماء الأمة
وتفسير الطبري من أكبر كتب التفسير، يقع في ثلاثين جزءاً، وهو مطبوع عدة طبعات. وهو تفسير شامل فسّر فيه الطبري القرآن الكريم آية آية، وكلمة كلمة. وهو يقسِّم السورة إلى مجموعات، تضم كل مجموعة آية أو أكثر، ويبدأ تفسير كل مجموعة بقوله: (القول في تأويل قوله تعالى...)، ثم يُبَيِّن المعنى في إيجاز بأسلوبه وعبارته، ثم يقول: (وبمثل الذي قلنا في تأويل الآية قال جماعة من أهل التأويل)، ويعقب ذلك مباشرة بقوله: (ذِكْر مَنْ قال ذلك) فيذكر الروايات المنقولة في الآية أو الكلمة التي يفسرها عن النبي Mohamed peace be upon him.svg أو مفسري الصحابة والتابعين وتابعيهم. وإذا كان هناك اختلاف في تفسير شيء من القرآن بين أهل التفسير فإنه يقول: (وقد اختلف أهل التأويل في تأويل قوله... فقال بعضهم... وقال آخرون)
إن التأويل (حركة) متصاعدة لا تتوقف فإذا توقفت تحتم وجود تجاوز زمكاني للنص لهذا فإن النص لا يعيش الا في ظل التأويل.. ومن هنا ظهرت في العصر الحديث حركات إسلامية (فردية)عديدة تبنت مفهوما جديدا للنص القرآني كما ظهر مفكرون أصحاب وجهات نظر مغايرة لمألوف التراث الإسلامي ولعل تاريخ هذه الحركة الفكرية الجديدة قد استهلت بالإمام محمد عبده الذي قاد هجمة شرسة على مؤسسة الدين الرسمية في البلاد (الأزهر) ومما قاله عن الأزهر (مكثت عشرة أعوام أنظف رأسي عن قاذوراته ولم أستطع).. ولعل هذه القطيعة العجيبة بين شيخ أزهري وبجدته[9] كان سببها الرئيس هي تأويلاته الحداثوية التي لاقت اعتراضا شرسا من اصحاب العمامات. يقاسم الشيخ محمد عبده ريادته الدكتور طه حسين الذي أحدث ثورة في عالم الفكر الديني ومن أشهر مظاهر ثورته كتابه (في الشعر الجاهلي) الذي رفض فيه ما نحل للشعراء الجاهليين من أشعار من قبل المفسرين وكتاب السيرة. وهناك أيضا محمد عمارة الذي تأثر بأفكار المعتزلة وحقق لهم الكثير من الكتب المهمة ومن أهم كتبه (التراث في ضوء العقل). وهناك الكاتب (علي حرب) الذي تناول أزمة الحداثة والفكر الإسلامي، وهناك أيضا الكاتبة فاطمة المرنيسي. وهناك أيضا الدكتور نصر حامد أبو زيد الذي كاد أن يكلفه تأويله حياته الزوجية ففر وزوجته إلى المهجر..
ولكن يمكننا أن نقول بأن أشهر دعاة التأويل في العصر الحديث وأهمهم هو الأستاذ محمود محمد طه وتأتي أهمية طه من أنه الوحيد من كل دعاة التجديد والتنوير الذي أصبغ على أفكاره صفة التنظيمية فانشأ جماعة الاخوان الجمهوريين التي انتشرت في السودان منذ منتصف القرن الماضي. كما أن طه قد امتاز بتأويله المترابط للنص الديني وربطه لذلك التأويل بالحياة العامة فهو رجل دين ينظر للحياة الحديثة من داخل الدين. ويتحدث عن رؤيته الحديثة في شأن الدولة وسياستها واقتصادها وحكمها من منظور تأويلي تجديدي لاقى استحسان العديدين في الاوساط التنويرية ولكنه أيضا قوبل باستهجان وغضب الكثيرين في الدوائر الدينية الرسمية مثل الأزهر ورابطة العالم الإسلامي
ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84
The term jannāt ʿadni ("Gardens of Eden" or "Gardens of Perpetual Residence" is used in the Qur'an for the destination of the righteous. There are several mentions of "the Garden" in the Qur'an (2:35, 7:19, 20:117), while the Garden of Eden, without the word ʿadn, is commonly the fourth layer of the Islamic heaven and not necessarily thought as the dwelling place of Adam. The Quran refers frequently over various Surah about the first abode of Adam and his wife, including surat Sad, which features 18 verses on the subject (38:71–88), surat al-Baqara, surat al-A'raf, and surat al-Hijr although sometimes without mentioning the location. The narrative mainly surrounds the resulting expulsion of Adam and Eve after they were tempted by Shaitan. Despite the Biblical account, the Quran mentions only one tree in Eden, the tree of immortality, which God specifically claimed it was forbidden to Adam and Eve. Some exegesis added an account, about Satan, disguised as a serpent to enter the Garden, repeatedly told Adam to eat from the tree, and eventually both Adam and Eve did so, resulting in disobeying God. These stories are also featured in the hadith collections, including al-Tabari.
An artists representation of "Muhammed's Paradise". A Persian miniature from The History of Mohammed, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.
The Paradise is described as surrounded by eight principal gates, each level generally being divided into a hundred degrees guarded by angels (in some traditions Ridwan). The highest level is known as firdaws (sometimes called Eden) or Illiyin. Entrants will be greeted by angels with salutations of peace or As-Salamu Alaykum. Furthermore, paradise is considered to be "as vast as the heavens and the earth".
In the Quran, "the Garden" is described with material delights, such as beautiful maidens, precious stones, delicious foods, and constantly flowing water—the latter especially appealing to the desert dwelling Arabs, who spend most of their life in arid lands. The Islamic texts describes life for its immortal inhabitants as: one that is happy—without hurt, sorrow, fear or shame—where every wish is fulfilled. Traditions relate that inhabitants will be of the same age (33 years), and of the same standing. Their life is one of bliss including wearing sumptuous robes, bracelets and perfumes as they partake in exquisite banquets served in priceless vessels by immortal youths (Houri), as they recline on couches inlaid with gold or precious stones.
According to Muslim belief, everything one longs for in this world will be there in Paradise.
They will eat delicious food and drink, and every bowl will have a new taste. They will take eructation which will digest the food and there will be perfumed sweating for the digestion of water. Inhabitants will rejoice in the company of their parents, spouses, and children (provided they were admitted to paradise)—conversing and recalling the past.
The food in Jannah never rotting and so delicious it will make any person on earth live without feeling hunger forever. The dwellings for inhabitants will be pleasant, with lofty gardens, shady valleys, fountains scented with camphor or ginger; rivers of water, milk, honey and Sharab-un-Tahoora (pure drink); delicious fruits of all seasons without thorns;
One day in paradise is considered equal to a thousand years on earth. Palaces are made from bricks of gold, silver, pearls, among other things. Traditions also note the presence of horses and camels of "dazzling whiteness", along with other creatures. Large trees whose shades are ever deepening, mountains made of musk, between which rivers flow in valleys of pearl and ruby.
The names of four rivers are Saihan (Syr Darya), Jaihan (Amu Darya), Furat (Euphrates) and Nil (Nile). Salsabil is the name of a spring that is the source of the rivers of Rahma (mercy) and Al-Kawthar (abundance). Sidrat al-Muntaha is a Lote tree that marks the end of the seventh heaven, the boundary where no creation can pass.[citation needed]
In spite of the goodly dwellings given to the inhabitants of paradise, the approval of God and nearness to him is considered greater. According to the Quran, God will bring the elect near to his throne (‘arsh), a day on which "some faces shall be shining in contemplating their Lord." The vision of God is regarded as the greatest of all rewards, surpassing all other joys. The true beauty of paradise is also understood as the joy of beholding God, the creator.
Besides the material notion of the paradise, those descriptions are also interpreted as allegories, explaining the state of joy people will get. For some theologicans, seeing God is not a question of sight, but of awareness of Gods presence. The Persian theologian Al-Ghazali said:
This life belongs to the world of earth and the world of visibility; the hereafter belongs to the world of transcendental and the world of beings. By this life I understand your state before death, by hereafter I understand your state after death ... However, it is impossible to explain the world of beings in this life by any other means than allegories.
Inhabitants of Jannah
According to the Quran, the basic criterion for salvation in the afterlife is the belief in the oneness of God (tawḥīd), Angels of God, revealed books of God, all messengers of God, as well as repentance to God, and doing good deeds. Though one must do good deeds and believe in God, salvation can only be attained through God's judgment.
Regarding salvation from hell, according to hadith literature, Muhammad said, “Surely a time will come over hell when its gates shall be blown by wind, there shall be none in it, and this shall be after they have remained therein for many years.” Still in the Hadith literature, Muhammad is reported to have said, "Allah will bring out people from the Fire and admit them into Paradise."Otherwise some hadiths indicate, that the majority of mankind will not access heaven.[21] According to Sunni Islam, a Muslim, even if condemned to hell, will eventually enter Heaven.
As in life there are many trials which one must face. This is also a condition individuals must encounter in order to enter Jannah.
Or do ye think that ye shall enter the Garden (of bliss) without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: "When (will come) the help of Allah?" Ah! Verily, the help of Allah is (always) near!
— Qur'an, sura 2 (al-Baqarah), ayah 214
Did ye think that ye would enter Heaven without Allah testing those of you who fought hard (In His Cause) and remained steadfast?
— Qur'an, sura 3 (Al-i-Imran), ayah 142
Non-Muslims in Jannah
There are different opinions among scholars in regard whether Non-Muslims could enter Jannah. Some Muslims and Islamic scholars argued Surah 2:62 indicates Jannah is not exclusively for Muslims.
Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans—those who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness—will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.2:62
On the other hand, other scholars hold this verse is abrogated by Surah 3:85 and just applied until the arrival of Muhammad. For example, before Jesus was born, Jewish will enter Jannah alike Christians, who lived before Muhammad enter Jannah, but every religious group needs to accept the newest prophet.
And whoever desires other than Islam as religion—never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.3:85
Scholars like Ibn Arabi did not hold the first to be abrogated by the latter, since "Islam" in this context, does not apply to Islam as a religious tradition, but to "submission".Ghazali distinguished between the "saved" and "those who will attain success". Therefore, righteous Non-Muslims will neither enter hell nor Jannah, but will stay in Araf.
Further those, who regard Jannah as exclusively for Muslims argue, that Islam is the "completed" and "perfected" religion and it is necessary to believe in the whole teaching of God, the prophets and the angels that just can be done by a Muslim.
According to the Islamic theologican Süleyman Ateş, argues Muslims had made a mistake Jewish and Christians made before by claiming paradise being exclusive for Muslims. Further he states, that those who believes in God without associating any partners with Him, believes in the hereafter without any doubt and do good and useful deeds can enter paradise, conditions several religions offer. He also refers to the Quran 5:66 that there are good and bad people among any religion, and even not all Muslims may enter paradise.
Finally, most scholars agree that Non-Muslims who did not hear the message of Islam and Non-Muslims who died in childhood are eligible for Jannah as well:
… And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning).17:15
Number of people who will enter Jannah
Several precise numbers are mentioned in the hadith literature regarding the extremely high standards required to qualify for Jannah. Initially, a select elite group of 70,000 people from the followers of Muhammad will enter Jannah without any accountability of their sins.
After the above group, only 1 out of 100 people from the rest of humanity (Muslim and Non-Muslim) would qualify for Jannah. It is understood that despite this small percentage, the actual number of people who would make it to Jannah would be higher, as Allah would forgive the sins of many people, allowing them to enter Jannah as well.
Esoteric interpretation of the Quran, taʾwīl (تأويل), is the allegorical interpretation of the Quran or the quest for its hidden, inner meanings. It was a synonym of conventional interpretation in its earliest use, but it came to mean a process of discerning its most fundamental understandings. Esoteric interpretations do not usually contradict the conventional (in this context called exoteric) interpretations; instead, they discuss the inner levels of meaning of the Quran.The words Ta'wil and Tafsir have been translated to mean explanation, elucidation, interpretation, and commentary; but from the end of the 8th century onwards, 'ta'wil' was commonly regarded as the esoteric or mystical interpretation of the Quran, while the conventional exegesis of the Quran was called "tafsir". The term batin refers to the inner or esoteric meaning of a sacred text, and zahir to the apparent or exoteric meaning.[3] Esoteric interpretations are found in Shia and Sunni interpretations of the Quran. A hadith which states that the Quran has an inner meaning, and that this inner meaning conceals a yet deeper inner meaning, and so on (up to seven successive levels of deeper meaning), has sometimes been used in support of this view.Scholars agree that some passages of the Quran leave certain ideas implied rather than stated and that, from the outset, the Quran cautions that some verses are literal in meaning, while others, named "mutashabihat", are metaphorical in meaning:"It is God who has sent down to you the book: In it are verses clear (muhkamat), they are the foundation of the book, others are unspecific (mutashabihat)."[6] (Quran 3:7)
Esoteric exegesis attempts to unveil the inner meaning of the Quran by moving beyond the apparent point of the verses and relating Quranic verses to the inner and the metaphysical dimensions of consciousness and existence. The exoteric aspect is the literal word, the law, and the material text of the Quran, and the esoteric aspect is the hidden meaning. Esoteric interpretations are more suggestive than declarative and are 'allusions' rather than 'explanations' and indicate possibilities as much as they demonstrate the insights of each writer. However the Qur'an says this about doing so (Sahih Int. Translation): "As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allah. But those firm in knowledge say, "We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord." And no one will be reminded except those of understanding." (from verse 3:7) Only a few examples are given here. In 7:172, the Quran states:"And when Your Lord summoned the descendants of Adam, and made them testify about themselves. "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we testify." Thus you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection we were unaware of this." According to the above verse, before the Creation, God called the future humanity out of the loins of the not-yet-created Adam and addressed them with the words: "Am I not your Lord?", and they answered: "Yes, we witness it". In Islam, this "primordial covenant" is the metahistorical foundation between God and humankind. The Quran first mentions an 'inner meaning' (ta'wil) in 18:65–82 in the story of Moses and Khidr, a mystical figure of the ancient Middle East who reluctantly accepts Moses as his traveling student. When Khidr performs strange acts, Moses questions him about them. Khidr gives him the 'inner explanation' (ta'wil) of his actions. Along the way, the esoteric being damages a boat belonging to poor people. Moses is so disturbed that he keeps protesting despite his agreement to keep silent. At the end of the journey, Khidr tells Moses the reasons for his inexplicable actions: "As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working at sea, so I intended to cause defect in it as there was after them a king who seized every ship by force."In 56:79, the Quran describes itself: "This is an honorable Quran, in a book hidden, which none can touch except the purified." In the exoteric sense, the Quran requires Muslims to perform ritual cleansing of their hands before touching it. Esoteric interpreters were of the opinion that the Quran implies that individuals with spiritual purity are able to grasp its meaning. Attar of Nishapur, a 12th-century mystical poet, gives a mystical interpretation of the Quranic story of the descent of Adam and Eve from Paradise to Earth. According to Attar, "the man whose mind and vision are ensnared by heaven's grace must forfeit that same grace, for only then can he direct his face To his true Lord." Occasionally, a verse may be interpreted in a sense very different from its conventional meaning. For example, Hamadani, in his book Tamheedat ('Preludes'), interprets 104:6–7 ("It is a fierce fire created by God, to penetrate into the hearts."), which conventionally refers to the punishment in hell, to be the passion of divine love. Hamadani interprets 14:48 ("On the Day when the earth is changed into another earth, and the heavens, and they will emerge before God"), which conventionally describes the Day of Judgment as a description of the moment of spiritual awakening or enlightenment. Sufis believe that Quran's initial letters (Muqatta'at) conceal mysteries that can not be fully expressed in words and should be understood as mystic experiences. In Sufi commentaries of the Quran, Sufism concepts are commonly related such as the hierarchical levels of realities in human experience (human, supra-sensible, and divine levels), the various states of consciousness such as passing away in God (fana) and subsisting through God (baqa), and the ideas concerning the six subtleties (lataif-e-sitta). A hadith attributed to Muhammad is essential in understanding the inward aspects of the Quran, and it is fundamental to Quranic exegesis:"The Quran possesses an external appearance and a hidden depth, an exoteric meaning and an esoteric meaning. This esoteric meaning in turn conceals an esoteric meaning so it goes on for seven esoteric meanings (seven depths of hidden depth)."There is a statement made by the Imam, Jafar Sadiq (d. 765 CE): "The book of God comprises four things: the statement set down, the allusions, the hidden meanings relating to the supra-sensible world, and the exalted spiritual doctrines. The literal statement is for the ordinary believers. The allusions are the concern of the elite. The hidden meanings pertain to the friends of God. The exalted spiritual doctrines are the province of the prophets."
Esoteric interpretations
The most important author of esoteric interpretation prior to the 11th century was Sulami (d. 1021 CE); without his work, most of the very early Sufi commentaries would not have been preserved. Sulami's major commentary was a book named haqaiq al-tafsir ("Truths of Exegesis"), a compilation of commentaries of earlier Sufis.
Sahl Tustari (d. 896) was among the most important mystics in the early formative period of Islamic mysticism. His commentary (tafsir al-Quran al-azim) was compiled later by his disciples and preserved, as a commentary on the Quran. Tustari's commentary does not comprise interpretations of every single verse, but there are comments on a selection of verses.
A spiritual commentary of the Quran is attributed to Jafar al-Sadiq (Tafsir Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq), but its authenticity remains suspect. It conveys a spurious textual tradition and has little reliable material, but the items cited on Jafar Sadiq's authority in Sulami's book appear to be based on identifiable chains of transmitters.
From the 11th century, several other works appear such as commentaries by Qushayri (d. 1074), Daylami (d. 1193), Shirazi (d. 1209), and Suhrawardi (d. 1234). These works include material from Sulami's books as well as the author's own contributions. Many works are written in Persian, such as the works of Maybudi (d. 1135) kashaf al-asrar ("the unveiling of the secrets").
Rumi (d. 1273) wrote a vast amount of mystical poetry in his book Mathnawi. Rumi makes heavy use of the Quran in his poetry, a feature that is sometimes omitted in translations of his work. Rumi's manner of incorporating Quranic verses into his poetry is notable in that he does not use them as prooftexts but intertwines Quranic verses with his poetry.
Simnani (d. 1336) wrote two influential works of esoteric exegesis on the Quran. He reconciled notions of God's manifestation through and in the physical world with the sentiments of Sunni Islam. Simnani was a prolific author, 154 titles are ascribed to him, of which at least 79 exist today.
Comprehensive Sufi commentaries appear in the 18th century such as the work of Ismail Hakki Bursevi (d. 1725). His work ruh al-Bayan ("The Spirit of Elucidation") is a voluminous exegesis. Written in Arabic, it combines the author's own ideas with those of his predecessors (notably, Ibn Arabi and Ghazali).
Shia Islam is a branch of Islam in which one finds some of the most esoteric interpretations on the nature of the Quran. Shia interpretations of the Quran concern mainly issues of authority where the concept of Imamat is paramount. In Twelver Shia Islam, there are mainly two theological schools: the Akhbari and the Ususli. The former school interprets the Quran mainly through reliance upon traditions (hadith) ascribed to the Imams. The latter school gives more power to independent reasoning and judgment (ijtihad). Ismaili interpretation shares common ground with Sufism. The method is called kashf, an "unveiling" to the heart of the interpreter, and it is dependent upon the master, the grace of God, and the spiritual capacity of the interpreter.
Validity of esoteric interpretations
There is almost no dispute among Muslims that the Quran has concealed meanings. However, not every esoteric interpretation of the Quran is necessarily valid. Some interpreters are known to have overplayed the allegorical aspects of the Quran by claiming privileged understanding of its contents and distorting its meaning.The authority of the person who extracts such meanings is also a matter of debate. Mainstream theologians were willing to accept the interpretations if certain conditions were met.
One of the most important criteria is that the interpretation should not conflict with the literal meaning of the Quran. Suyuti (d. 1505CE) believed that exegesis should be rigorous to avoid misunderstanding. Taftazani (d. 1390) believed that pure gnosis and perfection of faith can be achieved when the subtle allusions of the Quran are harmonized with the literal sense.
Kristin Zahra Sands, in the beginning of her introduction, asks questions:
How can one begin to say what God "meant" by His revelation?
How does one balance the desire to understand the meaning of the Quran with the realistic fear of reducing it to the merely human and individualistic?
How, most basically, is one best to approach the Quran to discover its richness and transforming possibilities?
According to Sands, Quranic interpretation is an endless task and is different for each individual. Also, the language and the type of discourse that are chosen in interpretation varies in each commentator.
Strutting the City in Berry Hues
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The Look:
Description Section:
Radiating celestial elegance, this aqua satin draped dress is the perfect fusion of glamour and sophistication. The soft, fluid draping of the dress flows seamlessly with the body, creating a timeless silhouette. Paired with matching opera gloves, a structured mini bag, and metallic heels, this look feels like it’s straight out of a futuristic fairytale. The silver statement jewelry further elevates the ensemble, while the soft waves in the hair provide a romantic touch, tying everything together into one striking vision of modern elegance.
Whether it’s for an upscale event, a formal evening out, or even a photoshoot, this aqua look is guaranteed to leave an unforgettable impression. It’s all about effortless luxury, blending vintage-inspired details like satin and gloves with futuristic accessories, creating a truly unique and captivating style.
Behind the Look:
The inspiration behind this look comes from the idea of merging aquatic and celestial elements, creating an ethereal, otherworldly vibe. Aqua is often associated with tranquility and calm which i my reasoning in picking this colour, but here it’s paired with bold metallic accents, giving the outfit a powerful yet graceful feel. The draped satin design was crafted by Offline, known for their ability to blend classic elegance with modern silhouettes. This set is available in Gen-X (classic & curvy), Khara, Kupra, Lara-X, Legacy, Maitreya and Reborn.
The metallic heels from November, features an artistic sculpted design, and an unexpected and futuristic twist. These sexy heels are only available in Kupra, Peach and Reborn.
The structured mini bag brings a pop of texture to the soft, flowing dress, while the silver jewelry creates a cohesive, polished finish. This look was designed for someone who isn’t afraid to command attention and exude confidence through bold choices.
Styling Tip:
To fully embrace the ethereal and futuristic vibe of this look, keep accessories minimal but striking. Opt for metallic or jewel-toned accents to complement the aqua color. If you want to add more drama, swap the soft waves for a sleek, high ponytail, and go for bold, silver eyeliner or metallic shadow to enhance the otherworldly theme. Keep shoes metallic or white to maintain the clean, polished aesthetic.
At Tator's Garage in South Salem, New York.
This place usually has Vipers but this was here for some reason. Plate now comes back to a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06. Not sure what the reasoning behind that is.
Location: Prague
One of the many plates where you don't quite know what's the reasoning behind it. In the past I've also come across some plates which were made to look like non-vanity plates, but having some sort of code etc. in it. Maybe this is the same idea, here.
After only seeing it on the weekend...
After 6L17 was terminated at Whitemoor yesterday for no obvious reasoning, it then proceeded to run as 6Z17 to Harlow Mill today.
With the work completed, GB Railfreight Class 66 diesel locomotive 66722 'Sir Edward Watkin' passes by Elsenham working 6M14 10:17 Harlow Mill Ai Gbrf to Bardon Hill Gbrf 31/07/19
So people say today is Tuesday and mirror reflection date. Take a piece of paper they say and write down your wishes. I have a stack of blank cards from Strand; why not write them down. If you could make a wish today and knew it would come true tomorrow, what would it be . . .
J&L Tunnel sees Daylight: On the CSX Pittsburgh Sub - a former P&LE line, J&L tunnel was built underneath the bustling industry of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Mill that once covered the land where I stand today, which is where the tunnel recieved its name from.
The tunnel was originally doubled tracked in the P&LE days, but for whatever reasoning it may be, CSX decided that the tunnel being double tracked was not going to work.
In the middle of 2010 work began on the tunnel to allow doublestacks to be ran through the tunnel and on the Pittsburgh Sub in general as part of the National Gateway Project. The first year was spent working on undercutting the railroad as much as they possibly could, then going and removing all the earth from atop on the tunnel and removing the concrete slabs on top.
There was once a little field here all nice and neatly decorated with various assortments of stuff. (for a god before and after comparison with how this scene in front of me looks, and with how it used to look; type in this address on google maps: Hofbräuhaus 2705 South Water Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203) (Best viewed with side by side tabs)
Once they removed the old concrete slabs work began on adding onto the former containing walls that made up the tunnel by pouring concrete a few feet high and then re-adding, newer and bigger concrete slabs on top to re-close the tunnel.
AFAIK - This very well could have been a once in a lifetime event to behold and see with this tunnel. But until that time comes, who knows when I'll see another train running through the J&L tunnel from above ground, and not at a portal exit.
The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2013.
It definitely is some crazy stuff to see and behold, let alone document before the opportunity is gone.
But anywho - getting back to the perspective of trains, here's eastbound Auto Train CSX Q226 rolling eastbound through the J&L Tunnel as the 2nd of 4 eastbounds we would tag and bag coming through here.
December 16th, 2012
Accepted to railpictures.net:
From the back cover:
"One of the few American writers acknowledged as an indisputable genius by the rest of the world, Poe is seen here at his best in both short story and poem. He was the inventor of the modern detective and mystery story which is based on deductive reasoning, the perfect narrative web woven by a master spider, and the influence of this on writers since his day has been incalculable. His other tales, constructed detail upon detail to produce special 'effects' of horror, melancholy, and strangeness, sustain his reputation for great originality. In his poetry he used language to work miracles in rhyme and in rhythm, transforming dreams, tempests, and ghosts into haunting melody."
So today we had a thing called S...U...N. That meant Brian took 223 photos in 4 hours. Why I posted this first II'll never know. What it really means is that there is many more to come!
Enjoy!!!
Babbs Mill is very unique in the fact that is was the only mill in the entire state to use a Pelton Wheel. The reasoning for this is that in order to use the Pelton Wheel the mill had to be very close to a rather tall waterfall in order to use the energy of the falling water. The Pelton Wheel was a tiny 24 inches in diameter wheel with 5 nozzles surrounding it. The wheel could easily generate more than 40 horsepower which was very remarkable for the time period.
Wooo I am lagging!! More pics from my Nov 2013 Jamaica trip.. It was a HOT, hot day. I was in Trenchtown all morning and it was time for me to head out into another direction. I was waiting for my "On Time" ride and instead of waiting in the scorching heat, I decided to go into the Culture Yard say hello to some familiar faces, sit under the tree shades and eavesdrop to what a group of rastas were "reasoning" about. I get distracted with one however who was painting on something. "My name is Stoneman" he says. He's an artist at the culture yard and produces brilliant colourful art on large pieces of cloth. That day he was working on a special request from a Belgian couple whom he had met a few days prior. His work space was covered with paint tubes, brushes, ackees and some stones which held hidden symbols and stories about Africa and Rastafari principles- to which "Stoneman" walked me through all of them. A few minutes I hear a car honk- we said goodbye as he reached his hand out to form the Rasta "trinity" gesture. I think by now I have become well familiar with most of the common "hand shakes" one may come across in Jamaica (and there are many!!)
P930YSB was a Mercedes 709D / Plaxton Beaver B29F purchased new in 1997 by Ashton Coaches of Port Glasgow, a member of the Argyll Group. It is seen at Paisley Cross with a Clydeside bus behind. Argyll was probably the biggest challenge to Clydeside 2000 / Arriva as they ran a well organised fleet of very modern buses. Many of the staff were former Clydeside employees, many driven out of the company by British Bus. Eventually Arriva had no choice but to buy the firm out. Owner Alex Kean was "employed" as a "consultant" by Arriva for a period of three years. The reasoning behind this was that monthly payments were spread over the term, so in effect you were paying them out of the extra money you were generating because they were no longer competing against you. It also made it very unlikely that they could start any other business in competition until they received all their money. This bus would become number 297 with Arriva.
one day seven years ago I was walking across the intersection of Granville and Broadway near where my parents lived. There was a walk signal and others were crossing with me, but I was slightly ahead. Suddenly ... whoosh, a car appeared in front of me, zoomed past, I could have touched it, so very, very close, deadly and dangerously close, I was frozen, I heard gasps from the others who were crossing behind me. Someone grasped my arm, and asked anxiously "are you all right?', another shouted "Asshole!" as the car disappeared down the street, I think I was in shock, found myself on the sidewalk on the other side, somebody said as they passed me, "your guardian angel was in top form today", and laughed, as if this was an everyday occurrence. So I kept on walking, like I was in a trance, not noticing anything much and eventually found myself in front of a lovely shop called Zonda Nellis which always had the most glorious window displays filled with sumptious creations made from jewel-toned silk velvet, my mother and I had oohed and awed many times in front of it, never went in, but on this day I entered and I admired and petted and suddenly found myself the owner of this gorgeous bag. It was VERY expensive, but I guess my reasoning was that life is short and it could be snuffed out in an instant so every once in a while we must just go for it, and it doesn't have to be something that costs money, just be kind to yourself, your life is precious.
I have never used this gorgeous bag, it hangs in my dressing room, and reminds me of the sanctity of my life, of all our lives.
Carpe Diem my friends, love ya.
Meet Mr. John Prosper, former National Footballer, Craftsman, Joke-star and just downright humble Rasta brethren... i walked up to him and bought a carved Calabash and wooden Ankh pendant for my wife then spent the next 45 minutes Reasoning about life !
Due to a ban on OmniDekkas being used on the 1 (unsure of the reasoning), you can expect to find other vehicles stepping in to keep the service on the road.
Today there were two oddities on there, this and 304, which had unfortunately been taken off after I'd made my way out beyond Gotham to try and get a snap of it in the countryside.... D'oh!! Never mind though, one out of two is better than none.
388 unusually waits time at Crusader Island in Clifton with a 1 to Loughborough via Gotham, East Leake and Stanford-on-Soar.
“Science Has Disproved God”
The following essay from Vince Vitale is an excerpt from his newly released Jesus Among Secular Gods, coauthored with Ravi Zacharias.
The first time I met people who encouraged me to consider God, I was in college. I began by reading the gospels, and I found myself attracted to the Christian message. I found myself especially attracted to the person of Jesus and the beautiful life that he lived. But, to be honest, I assumed that belief in God was for people who didn’t think hard enough. I assumed that smart people somewhere had already disproved belief in God. More specifically, I assumed that there was some purely scientific way of understanding the world, and that miracles had no part in it.
I can remember picking up a book in a university bookshop around that time and reading the back cover, which summarized the book as an attempt to hold on to a form of Christianity while explaining away all the supposed miracles of Jesus in scientific terms. And I remember hoping it could be done, because I was longing for the person of Jesus, but I thought the traditional account of Christianity was just too extraordinary to believe.
I had this assumption that the burden of proof for belief in God must be higher, because God is such an extraordinary option. Richard Dawkins puts it this way:
“If you want to believe in…unicorns, or tooth fairies, Thor or Yahweh—the onus is on you to say why you believe in it. The onus is not on the rest of us to say why we do not.”(1)
I bought into that way of thinking—that God is the crazy option, whereas a fully naturalistic and fully scientifically explainable universe is the sober, sensible, rational option. Without ever really reasoning it through, I accepted the cultural myth that we used to need God to miraculously explain thunder and lightning, rainbows and shooting stars. But now that we have scientific explanations for these things, we should stop believing in God.
That’s actually not a very good argument. A good engineer doesn’t need to keep stepping in to override systems and fix malfunctions. If God is a good engineer, isn’t the ability to explain his design in terms of consistently functioning processes exactly what we should expect?
Moreover, we no longer think we need the moon to explain lunacy. (Lunacy comes from the word lunar, because people used to think the position of the moon explained madness.) Does that mean we should no longer believe in the moon? Should we become not only a-theists but a-moonists?(2) Of course not. Even if the moon doesn’t explain madness, there are many other things, such as the tides of the oceans, that it does explain. Likewise, the reasons for believing in God extend far beyond just scientific reasons and include historical, philosophical, moral, aesthetic, experiential, and relational reasons.
Without thinking it through, I jumped from science to scientism—from the fact that science can explain a lot to the assumption that it can explain everything. However, just because the advancement of science has taught us new things about how the universe works, that doesn’t tell us whether there is a who behind the how.
I can give you a full scientific explanation of how Microsoft Office works (well, I can’t, but a computer expert could; he could sit you down with the design instructions for Microsoft Office and give you a full scientific explanation of how it works). But that would not show that Bill Gates doesn’t exist; it wouldn’t show that there is no who behind the how. To the contrary, it would show that Bill Gates is really smart!
The how question (a question of mechanism) does not answer the who question (a question of agency), and it also doesn’t answer the why question (a question of purpose): Why was Microsoft Office created? We can only get an answer to that question if Bill Gates chooses to share it with us, if the creator of the system chooses to reveal it.
Some of the standard arguments against God based on science are actually not very good. But I think there are a lot of people out there like I was. People who might be open to Christian faith, but who have just assumed that science has made that impossible. They’ve bought into a cultural myth about the battle between science and religion without actually thinking it through.
In my own life, I’m so thankful to have met some friends, seventeen years ago, who were able to communicate to me in an accessible way their reasons for God, including their reasons for thinking that science and God are in no way incompatible. I found myself persuaded. In fact, today I would agree with Peter van Inwagen, one of the world’s foremost philosophers, when he says that “No discovery of science (so far, at any rate) has the least tendency to show that there is no God.”(3)
I would actually go further. Not only do I think science is in no way incompatible with belief in God, but I actually think that science points strongly to the existence of God, and there are four reasons why I believe this:
The universe has a beginning.
The universe is knowable.
The universe is regular.
The universe is finely tuned for life.
I believe all four of these facts about our universe are best explained by the existence of God.
Vince Vitale is director of the Zacharias Institute at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.