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).

 

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

 

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.

 

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* – 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 :)

 

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.)

 

pastebin.com/raw.php?i=g8RkUy8B

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."

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.

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.

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.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jannah

 

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.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esoteric_interpretation_of_the_Quran

Elders just need a little understanding and lots of love from loved ones.

This pic is just a small way to spread awareness on this dreaded and probably lesser

known ailment called "Dementia".

Dementia is a neurological illness in which the patient suffers progressive loss of

memory, judgment, and awareness. It may be accompanied by problems with

speech, social behaviors, toileting, waking up in night and walking.

Many a time they feel and imagine visuals of people in and around their room and

house. They develop their own imaginary characters, develop stories around their characters and keep seeing them during days and nights.

The patient is frequently unaware of changes that family members notice as declines in daily living skills and memory, or alterations in personality and reasoning ability.

Since there are many different kinds of dementia, accurate diagnosis is important.

Some forms of dementia are treatable, while others are not.

Alzheimer's Disease is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly.

The dementia patient requires progressively intensified care and management by the family or other caregivers. As patients lose the ability to remember important events and people, manage finances, navigate and drive, prepare meals, and maintain safety, family members must provide assistance.

Often, patients are unable to comprehend their own inability to function, and may exhibit emotional and behavioral symptoms, which are difficult for loved ones to understand.

Strong support and education of the caregivers enables the patient to remain in the home as long as possible, with enhanced quality of life for everyone in the family.

       

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

{ 鳳凰于飛 Phoenix in the fly }

 

{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

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:

www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=418829&nseq=7

Another walking the 35th Street bridge finds too many units stored, capped and dispo uncertain on 8-31-1982. One has got my attention, the 312 with its unusual "braces" across the cab roof. Far unlike the old Athearn Blue box GP9 in which the cab came off by pulling it upward, what was the the reasoning for this if anyone knows. I had yet to see any other units with this securing.

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)

The story behind this almost top-of-a-rooster like art is that I had tag-itch something fierce in a top I like. I kept hesitating to cut it out because of the line of reasoning that I might want to buy one like it some day; and I would want to know what brand it was. I think this is the infancy of some types of hoarding.

 

I decided I could remember the brand name, well, probably pretty good anyway. So I got my scissors and I cut, trying to be very careful not to cut right into the top itself but just to get rid of the tag. When I pulled the cut tag away from the actual top (blouse) the threads separated out, sort of fan like or rooster like. I decided I would try to take some artistic pictures of the tag before I threw it way. I did, and I had fun.

 

That's it! That the *soul of this one.

  

(DSCN8929ArtFromThinkingatLooseEndsWacolShrpTuBOITflickr030121)

  

At Messiah Foundation International, we have a profound understanding of the factors that draw vulnerable youth towards radicalisation.

We strongly believe that radicalisation is principally based on wrong interpretation of the text of the Quran. People are being told fascinating, lustful stories to lure them towards Islamist organisations. In order to help prevent radicalisation, we are offering free classes for the public, in which attendees will be presented with academic reasoning to counter what radical Islamists teach.

 

Classes begin every day at 8:00 PM in our London office. To reserve your seat, please call us on WhatsApp: +447456280590

 

Address: 22 Park Street, Park House Suite 414 Croydon, CRO 1YE

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.

“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.

             

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.

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 . . .

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 !

Haven't really played with much gear recently due to a mad schedule. However, an opportunity prevailed and there wasn't any good buddies with me to rescue me from the momentary lapse of reasoning, so now I have yet another Leica Summicron which I don't need and will probably never use.

 

Nevertheless, it looks so nice on my Leica IIIg. Indulgence does not need any logical justification.

 

Oh.. and check out the repeating serial number!

 

Shot on the little obsolete Canon IXY 30s

 

IMG_0453E

A westbound BNSF mixed manifest cuts the strangely tall ex-ATSF Searchlights at Atwood, Ca on the San Bernardino Subdivision. As with all old things, these searchlights are surely bound to be replaced soon as almost all other non-bridge mounted searchlights in the area have been replaced. These particular searchlights are unique due to their height and I have not seen signals this tall anywhere else other than yards. If anyone knows the reasoning/story behind them please share!

Watching Donald Trump’s pandemic briefings is insufferable. The President is often argumentative and dispenses information that is superfluous and often dangerous. During his March 19 briefing, he first promoted the antimalarial drug hydroxychlorquine as a potential cure for COVID-19. By the next week, over 101,000 posts about the drug had appeared on Facebook, and by late March, there were hundreds of thousands of tweets about it per hour. Donald Trump is effective when using his bully pulpit.

 

There is no scientific evidence that hydroxychlorquine, a medication used by those with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, is effective against the coronavirus. In fact, scientists in Brazil cut short a trial when it showed this drug and its close relative, chloroquine, could adversely affect the heart. Hospitals in Sweden and American cardiology groups cautioned doctors these drugs could be harmful to those with existing heart problems.

 

Despite those warnings, in his April 4 briefing, the President was cavalier when he said, “What do you have to lose? I’ll say it again: What do you have to lose? Take it. I really think they should take it.” An Arizona man, heeding Trump’s advice, died when he ingested chloroquine phosphate, a drug that sounds like chloroquine, but is used to clean fish tanks. Lives are lost when people take the advice of someone with no medical background, including the President of the United States.

 

At his April 23 briefing, the President came up with another cure: injecting ourselves with disinfectants. These are effective in destroying COVID-19 on surfaces and countertops. But taken internally, they are toxic. His suggestion stunned the scientific community. Given the weight of his office, doctors and the makers of Lysol and Clorox warned the public against consuming bleach and other cleaning agents. The Maryland Emergency Management Agency received over 100 calls about this in the hours and days after Trump’s statement. Even more alarming, the New York Daily News reported the city’s Poison Control Center fielded over 30 calls the day after Trump’s comments from people who had taken Lysol, bleach, or other household cleaners.

 

The outcry was so great, Trump walked back his recommendations the next day: “I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen.” For the record, he offered his remedy with no prompting by reporters. But, what can one expect from a man who believes he has an innate understanding of medical science. The President has become the 21st century version of our 19th century snake oil salesman.

 

Mistrust of science and rational thought have always been part of the American zeitgeist. Scientific facts are often suspect, even when friends and relatives are sick and dying. Anti-intellectualism places education below the self-made man or woman. Donald Trump’s election is only the latest example of its resilience. Unquestioning followers reject any serious analysis of Trump’s temperament and beliefs, including their effects on social and scientific questions such as income inequality and climate change. Bias and emotion take precedence over inquisitive and unbiased reasoning. We often associate these positions with the under-educated and with religious groups, the historical base of the Republican Party. But they can also come from the left as with anti-vaxxers who claim vaccines cause autism.

 

Their interpretation of our Constitutional rights reinforce their belief that individual choice is more important than the greater good: “I don’t have to self-quarantine if I don’t want to. If you chose to, that’s up to you.” They see no connection between their actions as silent virus carriers and spreading disease to others. And they fail to see the hypocrisy between demanding their right to choose how to act during this pandemic and their objections to others’ right to choose, whether it’s to have an abortion or to marry your same-sex partner. There is no critical thinking.

 

Like the fervor of partisan politics, the coronavirus pandemic has once again revealed these fissures in American society. Self-interest is at odds with a communal one. To fix this, it’s important to remember Americans share a collective purpose and future. From this shared purpose, questioning our own needs with those of others can lead to discourse. But we must be curious enough to begin this process. Doing so engenders tolerance and respect for others’ beliefs. These are the seeds of the greater good.

 

I hate Donald Trump’s indifference and arrogance. But, he is not entirely to blame for the present state of our union. Both the Democrat and Republican Parties have ignored the poor and the working class for years. Yes, the GOP has been the most egregious of late. But if we are to survive this, all of this, together, our leaders must put their personal agendas aside for our greater good. I’d like to think this pandemic, affecting all of us whether we are rich or poor, men or women, gay or straight, young or old, or white or brown, will make us see not just our shared experiences as Americans, but as humans. But it won’t be easy to erase the differences that divide us. Our history is proof of that.

 

Peddling unproven cures for the coronavirus is reckless. Thinking critically might mean the difference between life and death. After three and a half years of the Trump presidency, Donald Trump’s principal motivation is clear: his self-interest. I have no hope he will change. While I’m often shocked by his behavior, I’m never surprised. I’m fighting for the greater good now. But I’m also preparing for the worst until Trump’s circus is cancelled.

  

See the rest of the posters from the Chamomile Tea Party! Digital high res downloads are free here (click the down arrow on the lower right side of the image). Other options are available. And join our Facebook group.

 

Follow the history of our country's political intransigence from 2010-2018 through a six-part exhibit of these posters on Google Arts & Culture.

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.

 

tnlandforms.us/landforms/

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!!)

Name: Callum Hunt

Age: 14

Hair: Black

Eye Colour: Blueish Grey

Attributes/abilities: Martial arts expert, Flexibility, Peak endurance and physical stature

 

Callum Hunt was a child who grew up without any parents in a foster house looked after by the corrupt men that ran the place. They were child labourers that made the children within the house work for their meals and if they were unable to meet the standards of the days work and seldom did any of them they were punished and given no meal or food at all. Callum instead of sleeping trained himself to stay in peak physical condition while he was in the house so one day he could escape. Callum tried several times to escape but each ended in failure. He was punished severely for this by being whipped and locked in a small room were the rats lived. These punishments were inflected by the man who ran his wing of the operation; Callum had not known his real name but referred to him as Brute. He was about to give up hope on escape when in his eyes a dark angel saved him when he had turned seven. The Batman had stormed the labourers’ house and took down the head. In the assuming chaos Callum escaped but promised he would return to stop the rest of the organisation and Brute who had seemed to escape the Batman’s wrath.

 

Callum decided to seek refuge elsewhere from Gotham and hone his skills in the category of martial arts to give balance to his reckless fighting style. He boarded a ship to Japan with the help of some smugglers and went to go find a teacher that could help him in his quest. This is where he met Shen who found him hungry and covered in filth, roaming the streets without hope after being rejected time and time again by each person he looked up to train him. Shen took the child in and trained him in the arts of all the weapons, weapons that could be an extension of his self. As well as all types of fighting styles that would bring honour to the boy. When he had turned thirteen Shen told him that he had learnt all that he could teach and said it was time for his final test. The final test turned out to be a battle between him and his master. Callum lost the battle in the end and thought he had failed. Shen said that he had succeeded in the test despite the outcome, explaining that he may of lost the battle but he had shown all the true value of the ninja and showed he was worthy of the title Shen was about to bestow upon him. Shen sat him down and told him the tale of the ninja of ancient times and revealing that he was among the last of who remained through his line of blood and he had no sons or daughters to carry on his legacy. He then told Callum that he was trusted to continue the line despite his birth and race. Shen then bought him a ticket back to Gotham and said that he would bring the values he had taught him back to Gotham. But he had warned, that Callum was still inexperienced in the people in the corrupt city and still had much to learn despite what had transpired while he was in Japan and would need another teacher to help him become the person he new he could be.

 

When he returned to Gotham he found out as much as he could about the watcher of the city trough the internet in the public library and discovered that Batman had previously worked with people his own age and that he was without a partner at present time. He then fashioned himself a suit similar to that of the previous robins and went to find the Dark Knight to show him his skill. He followed a police report to an attempt a Gotham second national bank where a couple of thugs were attempting to rob it. The self proclaimed Robin attempted to stop the robbery before the Bat arrived and went to attack the men he found with his new fighting skills to take them down. He was on the winning side until one guy got up behind him gun loaded and ready to kill him amused by the child’s fight, but still told him that he was going to kill him anyway. This is where Batman showed up and took down the man in the ski mask before he could unload the weapon into the teenager. After Batman had stopped the villain he turned to see Callum. He asked who he was and Callum explained and said he needed to be his Robin to help bring balance to the city. Batman refused and left.

 

Callum tried several times after to help the vigilante and become his partner, each time was met with a refusal. This continued until Batman showed up at the small flat Callum had been able to afford with the money Shen had left him. Though he would soon have to leave because he was running out of cash. Batman allowed him to follow him on a patrol through the city to see if Callum was well equipped and good enough to match up to the previous Robins before him. Callum matched up to his expectations and when Dawn began to approach Batman looked at the teenager and told him to get in the car. Callum went in with extreme joy and asked if this meant he was going to be Robin. Batman didn’t reply and kept driving. It looked as if the crime fighter was about to drive straight into the cliff wall that lay before him and looked at the man with worried eyes. Batman then pressed a button on the wheel of the Batmobile and the cliff opened up enveloping them into darkness and depositing them into a cave full of high-tech gadgets and machinery. Batman then told him he was going to need a new suit and would need to get cleaned up, pulling of his mask and walking up to the huge computer at the top of the cave. Callum was shocked to see Bruce Wayne behind the cowl and asked again if this meant he was Robin. An old man came up behind him and asked if he really needed an answer after this and went to Batman’s side. “Are you sure this is a good idea to bring a street urchin into the batcave, what if he has a rather large mouth on him?” the butler asked. “Jason lived on the streets, he kept the secret well” Bruce replied. “And remember what happened to him?” the man said in a British accent to Bruce. Bruce remained quiet for a few moments before replying. “Jason was different, more reckless and angry, Callum showed more clarity and control while fighting” he responded. “How do you know my name and am I going to be Robin or not?” Callum blurted out, and then shrinking back wishing he had kept silent. Again the man waited before speaking, as if he was having doubts on bringing him into the batcave. “I know your name because I’ve been watching you for a few weeks now and have seen how you act, you should stop talking to yourself, it’s a bad habit. And yes you’re going to be Robin despite Alfred’s protests.” Bruce said keeping his eyes glued to the computer screen. “Very well sir, please Master Callum let me show you to your room. I suggest you get yourself cleaned up, fresh clothes will be laid out on your bed, some old ones of Master Timothy’s should fit. Breakfast is in one hour, though I’m afraid Master Bruce may not show up due to his other duties, now come along” Alfred said somehow without taking a breath rushing the boy out of the cave and up a stairway. From then on a new Robin emerged ready to take on those who worshipped crime and with a personal vendetta against the child labourers and the man he had dubbed Brute.

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Callum has a very serious personality and usually uses dark humour and taunts when fighting crime. When he tries to smile, if he does at all, it comes across pained and seems fake and the look in his eyes shows that he has been hurt in a strange way. He tries to stray away from his darker side and let go of his traumatic past to become a better person, but he knows he won't be able to do so alone, that is part of the reason Bruce decided to take him in.

My costume for Robin is a mix of all three previous Robins with my own touches here and there.

Callum is a master of many forms of Japanese style martial arts, bojitsu, jujitsu, judo, karate, nijitsu as well as a mastery in nun chucks and is given a cape which weight is adjusted to use to hide in the shadows and move freely through the rooftops of Gotham as well as allowing him to glide through the use of an electric current that charges the density of the fabric to allow him to do so, many gadgets and equipment e.g. smoke pellets, birdarangs, infra-red vision built into the domino mask, a con-link located in his ear directed to Bruce's cowl and police reports, grappling hook and launcher, computer hacking gauntlets that can connect to machinery and the internet via a wireless signal, a code cracker and a line connected through the gauntlet that launches a tazer line

My Robin varies from the other three with a different origin as he is grown up as a slave and went to train himself for revenge, where Dicks parents were murdered in front of him, Jason grew up on the streets with his 'father' and Tim had his farther around who changed his ways to be a better father to him and discovered Batman and Robins identities. While Dick was the more agile and carefree Robin, Jason was an arrogant self absorbed one and Tim was more intelligent, Callum is the more tactical and reasoning.

I hope you like it anyway. Dawing is made with the help of Phil-Cho from Devianart C & C welcome.

Luna-chan with her beloved Miyu-nee-sama. Yep, she's a little siscon girl.....though she does have her own reasoning for it.

Poppy: *clears throat* On behalf of the idiot boys and myself, we would like to register a complaint with the Flickr Authorities for the cruel and inhumane, err, inCATane, punishment that our mother has been inflicting on us! She has willfully kept us away from our Flickr friends and all attempts at reasoning with her have been met by mumbles that sound suspiciously like “drowning …go away…drowning”. We have Googled “drowning” and found out that it is something that only Fish do…we looked up pictures of Fish and found out that our mother is decidedly NOT a fish, and therefore cannot drown! We demand that the Flickr Authorities issue a suitable fine and force her to return us to our beloved community of friends!

 

Mishka: *whispering* Poppy, what if Flickr Aufotiries take her to jail…if she goes away, who’s going to feed us?

 

Bino: Idiot! Dad knows where the food is! Plus he’ll give us extra treats too!

 

Poppy: *excited* Or maybe the Authorities will take us to Grandma’s house! She’ll give us extra treats too!

 

Mishka: *sigh* I love my Daddy!

 

Bino: *sigh* I love Grandma!

 

Poppy: *sigh* I love extra treats!

 

Me: *muttering* Ungrateful BRATS!

 

{5:45 P.M.}

 

The thief got away before the police could stop her. Perhaps it’s my fault for not recognizing the woman, or the “Top” as she called herself, as the threat. Her clothing didn’t strike me as that of a “typical thief” garb. Though knowing now that she’s a meta makes me realized that was probably the point. The Rogues aren’t normally known for wearing generic clothes. I think that’s mainly due to the fact that we superheroes often wear bright colored outfits. No matter the reasoning I must take that knowledge forward and do what Barry said he learned from Bruce, survey an area before going into battle. No matter how harmless a situation may be, no matter how easy the bad guys look to take down you must always be prepared for them to hiding something. You need to always be one or even two steps ahead of the people you are taking on.

 

Now normally a meta would hit one bank and be done for the day. Wait for the heat to cool down but this Top doesn’t seem to have that same mindset. A woman with her exact description was seen entering a bank not too far from the bank she had originally stolen from. I quickly arrive outside the bank and take a quick peek at the surroundings. Again the people outside the bank all seemed to be in a drunken, stumbling state and those inside had completely fallen to the floor. I spot the Top joyfully spinning into the back room. Knowing she would be distracted by the large amounts of boxes, I decided to make my move. I quickly run into the bank and make my way to the back room. Within an instance I am at the door. Knowing the room locks from the outside, I swiftly grab the door handle and slam the door shut. That ought to stop her from causing anymore mischief until the cops get her.

 

{5:51 P.M.}

 

“Thank you, Flash. Without your help I don’t think we could have ever safely put this woman under custody.” Commissioner Bellows says as the Top gets seated into a squad car. “Those anti-meta cuffs work wonders. I can see why Iron Heights has trusted them for years.”

 

”Thanks, but it was my mentors invention.” I respond as I shake his hand.

 

“Well, next time you see him tell him I said thanks.” Bellows smiles as he says this. I quietly sigh at the statement though.

 

”I-I will be sure to.”

 

{5:52 P.M.}

 

After Bellows says goodbye I quickly make my way back home. I’ve got a date with Linda at six and I don’t want to be late. As I get home I quickly take off my Flash suit and quickly change into an outfit more suitable for my date. The clock on my wall reads five fifty-three. I’ve got just enough time to just normally walk to Infantino’s. Perfect. Sometimes being the Flash I forget to slow down. That was something Barry always made sure to tell me. Something his mother always told him was that “life is locomotion. If you’re not moving, you’re not living, but there comes a time when you’ve got to stop running from the things and you’ve got to start running towards something.” Barry added that “You’ve got to forge ahead. Keep moving. Even if your path isn’t lit, Trust that you’ll find your way.”

 

That’s has stuck with me ever since he told me about that. It’s important as a Speedster to always have a lightning rod. Something to keep you grounded. Without a lightning rod we’d have nothing to cling to. We’d constantly speed off into the Speed Force. Jay used to know a man named Max Mercury. He was the Flash even before Jay. Now Max had nothing to cling to. Sure he had Jay, but that bond wasn’t strong enough. Jay said that he used to hear Max screaming in his sleep for a Laura. Jay never really thought anything of it until one night Max’s screaming stopped. By then, Jay realized that this Laura was Max’s lightning rod and he was subconsciously trying to find her. Jay never figured out where Max went. He even searched for him for more than a year but to no avail.

 

I don’t want that to happen to me. I was fortunate enough to have Joan while I was in high school and college. Unfortunately we had a falling out, but fortunately I found Linda shortly thereafter. Linda, since then, has been my lightning rod. When Barry died I almost ran myself into the speed force but I remembered one name. Linda. She kept me from losing myself. Speaking of.

 

“You’re late.” Linda points to her watch that reads six-o-one.

 

”I’m sorry, I must’ve got lost in my thoughts on the way h…” Linda cuts me off by swiftly kissing me.

 

“It’s fine, Wally, I don’t mind. You’re here now and that’s all that matters.” She says with a smile on her face. That smile is what keeps me here…

Ex London Transport Q1 class Trolleybus 1877 modified into a diesel engine bus and converted to left hand drive. In the mid 1970's Spain was still under the control of Dictator Franco and it was decreed that all electric transport must be removed from Spanish Roads. I assume that was the reasoning behind this one-off.

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

www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?57450

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_Science_Fiction_and_Fact

Unaltered Version

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Wooh boy, this has been a crazy building process. What started as a moc for BS01's contest turned into a passion project, that has really challenged what I'm used to building. It likely would have been done sooner, but the legs really stumped me for sometime. I tried so hard to keep it in the style of G1 titans, but I decided to eventually scrap that idea and went with what you see now, likely for the better. Nearly depleted my stock of ball pieces.

 

But regardless this is perhaps the favorite Moc I've built to date, given just how fun/challenging it was to build.

 

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Now I posted multiple preview pictures of this moc, some during the building process, and one of the comments I saw often was folks noticing I was removing lime green from Nocturn's color scheme. And of course I always told them I had a canon/lore reason that I would explain when the moc was completed. So about time I explain that.

 

In the story, we know Nocturn is able to regrow limbs, and that strangely Nocturn's tentacle was silver... Would this not imply that the more organic parts of Nocturn are silver naturally? Perhaps the green was merely armor added to signify his place in Ehlek's army? I don't know for sure, but I decided to take the organic=silver theory and run with it.

 

As such in my headcanon for this version of Nocturn, the blue sections of Nocturn are suppose to be parts of his body that have aged, with the carapace growing over segments of his body, with the silver sections being more fleshy and less armored.

 

This also explains why his upper right arm is all silver, as in canon he lost it in a fight with Pridak, which still works for my version, and given his species is able to regrow limbs it makes sense that it grew back silver, as it's not had the time to regrow the carapace. Hence why it also wields a small dagger, as it's weaker currently in it's current stage of growth.

 

Totally didn't come up with that excuse last minute when I ran out of Takadox armor.

 

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You might ask what the heck is going on with Nocturn's head, and that is a valid question that doesn't have a valid answer. I never liked Nocturn's set head, so instead I sought to give him a better head that still kept the "bestial" appearance. I like to think I succeeded in that goal. Also you might notice a bit of red "inside" the mouth in some pics, and that is there just to give some realism. Maybe it's a tongue, or maybe it's the inside? I don't know.

 

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The theme of BS01's contest originally was to take a character that is normally good or bad and flip it. So that is what I tried to do with Nocturn. While this version of Nocturn was still banished to the pit for destroying his homeland, his imprisonment saw self-reflection, and a desire to change, to do good. To protect.

 

Fast forward to mahri-nui sinking, and after the Barraki started harassing the Matoran, you saw Nocturn become an ally, a protector of Mahri-nui, seeing it as a way to redeem himself.

 

He's still not the brightest of light bulbs, but he's more of a gentle giant at this point. If canonically he's smart enough to realize he isn't wanted in the Matoran Universe, he's smart enough to redeem himself.

 

Also you might ask why dual axes? Well personally I find an axe to be a noble weapon, a weapon meant to protect versus attack. What I mean by this, is let's take knights for example. Those knights wielding swords and spears would go off to fight the evil, thus seeking it down, whereas the Knights wielding the axes would remain home, ready to defend against the evil when it comes to them.

 

It's weird mental imaging of such, but eh I like my reasoning. Plus axes are typically slower weapons than say swords, making them better for reactionary fighting, aka protecting.

 

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Also credit to Logan for the lower arm design, which is based off the design he used on his Hydraxon moc.

Smoke Photo Art.

 

"No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear."

Edmund Burke

  

The Ankh represents the first key to the Mysteries “The Creation of Everything”. The Ankh means more than Life – it is the most ancient symbol of a code of sounds and primordial deities. The Ankh is actually the Names of the so called “chaos” Deities of the Khemnu or Ogdoad: Amen/Amenet, Nun/Nunet,Ku/Kukhet,Heh/Hehet. – This resolves itself to ANKH. The Ankh itself has four distinct sides and one of them is the Loop Nun/Nunet. These four pairs in were thought to be the Children of Tehuti and Maat. Both Tehuti (Vibration), Maat (Order) and the four pairs themselves have their own forces. Amen/Amenet is the hidden spark of life and its opposite , Nun/Nunet – is the primordial unformed mass and its opposite, Ku/Kukhet is the qualities of Light and its opposite, and Heh/Het is the qualities of infinity and its opposite. At some point the Eight fuse themselves together bounded by Maat and Tehuti and a Deity Ptah is formed out of this chaos – (the God Particle), he steps on a mound, Aton is formed and lands on his shoulder then The Ennead is created or the 9 deities. This is called the “First Time” or Sp Tepii, Zep Tepi, Sep Tepii, Sep Tepi. Ancient Kemet is both Scientific and Spiritual. The Mysteries System of Egypt is also both Scientific and Spiritual. To begin self mastery one must understand how everything began. A child in Ancient Egypt would be told the creation stories, I described and grow up understanding Science and Spirituality. An African Child in the Diaspora would be taught one of the Major Western Religions and grow up with religion and later learn science and have to juggle between the two. Here is the beginning key to re-orientating African Thought, Practice, Spirituality, Redemption and Self Mastery.Here we see the most common usage of the Ankh – Here is the Symbol, the N – water ripple and the KH – Placenta?. The N can be pronounced, and the KH is pronounced. The sound of its symbol begins with the A similar the extend arm glyph. This I have to check. At any rate, the ripple water identifies it with possibly water, or wave. The Placenta has obvious meanings of birth. I am currently attempting to find out why the KH symbol is the placenta. It does not look like a Placenta at all. I have found that the KH sound is used in the Mdu Ntr of the placenta so that is why the symbol is referred to as a placenta. Obviously, the Ancient Egyptians knew about the placenta and knew how to draw it – it is found in the Narmer Pallete and the Wepwawet Standard in the Step pyramid. The symbol that is known as the sieve or placenta obviously has a meaning that contributes to the placenta, but may not necessarily be the placenta.

 

Sekou Fortune who helped me discover the Secret of the Ankh and our new researcher Alfred “Djehuti” Thompson II – Bro. Al, made an amazing contribution while we were at the ASCAC conference in Washington in August. They discarded Gardiner’s and Budge naming of the KH sound as Placenta. They said that it could not be a Placenta for the following reasons: 1) the symbol is in equal parts 2) The people of Kemet knew how to draw a placenta 3) Cosmologically the placenta would have no place in the creation of everything – women and man were not created. 4) They challenged that symbols in relationship to the Ankh have cosmological references and the KH symbol may very well be Matter itself.

 

www.secretoftheankh.com/

  

The ankh (/æŋk, ɑːŋk/; Egyptian ˁnḫ), also known as "crux ansata" (the Latin for "cross with a handle") is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic ideograph symbolizing "life".The ankh is an oval or point-down teardrop set atop a T shape. The origin of this image is highly debated. Some have suggested that it represents a sandal strap, although the reasoning behind such a use is not obvious. Others point out the similarity with another shape known as a knot of Isis (or a tyet), the meaning of which is also obscure.The Secret of the Ankh is a pathway into the Mystery Systems. The Secret of the Ankh leads to the what is called called the God Particle or what is alled the Higgs Particle but told in mythos by the Ancient People of the Nile. The Secret of the Ankh also is in line with the Infinity Puzzle of Frank Close this where infinity (Heh) and its opposite nothingness (hehet) and Nwn (Dark Radition) and its opposite Nwnt (anti-matter) or and the resultant matter is analyzed in creation . I believe that I have decoded the Symbol of the Ankh. My findings are that the Ankh can no longer be viewed as just meaning life, but the creation of Life itself. The Cosmological Origin was first discovered by myself and my friend Sekou Fortune. I later expanded the base findings into a Blog that can be shared and read.

To summarize the concept in Part I

(1)The Ogdoad Primordial Eight are the elements that created the Divine Creator according to the Egyptians. This is taken from one of the oldest cosmologies -of Hermopolis or Khmnu.

(2) Aspects of this story are used in the creation of Ptah, Ra, Amen, Aten in the other creations stories. These all deal with just the creation of the Creator not with what existed before creation.

(3) The symbol for the Ankh is the symbol with the Circle on top of the cross hairs – followed by the Mdu Ntr sounds of N and KH.

(4) From the breakthroughs of translations we know the symbol was pronounced NKH or ANKH. The A is disputed and may have been added for convenience of pronunciation. Even if the Ankh is a triliteral – at this point there is no definitive way to show how it was pronounced.

(5) If we return to the Ogdoad, the eight pairs are Amen Amenet, Nun, Nunuet, Kek, Kekhet, and Heh, Hehet. My theory is that the symbol took the names of the Ogdoad into consideration for its pronunciation. One must remember first that the Mdu Ntr is in fact the Sacred Words of the Ntrs. So there must be some root words are sounds that were used in the beginning and will continue to be used for words describing creation.

(6) The Ankh not only is a symbol of Life but the elements that create life. These elements are the Ogdoad and the Odgoad is essential for Life. The symbol Ankh is connected to the Ogdoad and I believe it gets its name from the Odoad. This is the secret of the Ankh.

(7) I understand that there is controversy of me creating the mnemonic ANKH to represent the Khemennu (The Primordial Eight). However, in Nile Valley Cosmology it is in fact the Eight that created life. So the mnemonics do not take away from this concept even though their is no prove that the Nile Valley Africans thought this way but we can be sure the Ankh symbol is written with the water sign (N) and the (KH) – whether this meant waves and particles is another thing. This is my Theory.

 

Let us continue.

 

I want to pause here so that I can correct three important points that may come up as a criticism. First, in order to help the reader find relevant source material, I use the work Ogdoad. However, the Nile Valley Mdu Ntr term with the most primary information is Khemenu and that a scholar looking for primary resources should always look for primary material first and secondary material second. The information on the Khemenu is should ultimately be referenced from what it means in the Original Language. Here is an example, Egypt is referred to the Land of the Ancient People in which we are talking about. However, the name of the land referred in text by the people is Kemet, Ta Seti, Ta Mery. We could call the people Egyptians but they call themselves the Rmt or Kmtw.

 

Two – I will say that the Ankh must be re-translated to the Khemenu (The Eight, 4 pairs). and I may get criticism from those unfamiliar with primary text and say that Amun is never first because Nun was. One should always stand from a position of being well researched. At anytime, that I have to defend the order of the Khemenu, I can do so with primary sources. I will say at this time that Amun/Amunet was the primordial Wave by themselves and they created NUN. Amun/Amunet exist in at least two dimensions and their later reality becomes Eight as they now split tow Amun/Amunet, Nun/Nunet, Kek,Keket and then HeH.HeHet.

 

Third, I will say the symbol the Ankh is actually the Eight, the Khemenu or the European name Ogdoad and will have again criticism. I have included a letter from Dr. Mario Beatty which I use as constructive criticism. However, Amun is always hidden and we do not know if the Symbol was actually pronounced as Ankh or Nkh – So Since Amun is hidden let us make that sound invisible and pronounce the symbol NKH for these purposes. NKH is a formula that includes the Khemenu for several reasons. The reaction of the Eight creates the Light that Created Life. In addition, the Khemenu are seen holding the Symbol sometimes all Eight or sometimes just 4 or the Eight. In Addition as I will show that the Mdu Ntr of the Symbol contains the N (Wave) and the KH (particle/seive) and these are quantum physic properties of the duality of Waves and Particles. Lastly, the Khemenu appears in Precreation, Creation, Life, and Afterlife scenes in Text and in Plates.

 

At this time – I will not touch my original theses until I publish my work – I hope that these satisfies initial criticism and those that want to criticize I find have not read enough primary sources to rule out anything that I am saying for the Nile Valley African often renews or make better their thoughts in later text to cure what was hidden in earlier text. So the Khemenu Cosmology was made better later.

 

Wherever the Ankh is translated in Ancient Egypt Literature it must be re-translated with the following insight: The Ankh is the Life Code; The Egyptian’s so-called “Infinities or Chaos” Gods: Amen/Amenet, Nun/Nunet,Kuk,Kukhet, Heh/Hehet – the Ogdoad.; The Meaning of Life is no longer just a flat definition but a multi-dimensional definition of the scientific and possibly spiritual definition of how life was created itself.

 

First though it may appear my work is not about phonetics, not about linguistics but linguistics have some bearing. The Secret of the Ankh can be approached two ways that lead to the same result.

 

First I will look at the Ogdoad – the Primordial Eight and how these elements resolve themselves into Life.

 

Second, I will look the Mdu Ntru symbol for the sound N which is a Wave and the Mdu Ntr symbol for the sound KH which Gardiner says incorrectly is a placenta but probably matter – are key elements of the symbol ANKH or NKH – Wave plus Matter produces the elements of Life or the God Particle. This is essentially a well proven theory of Dr. Oyiboe, as part of his GAGUT -Grand Unifying Theorem. I will use Dr. Oyiboe’s expression but expand on it.

The Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, arms crossed over their chest. The ankh appears in hand or in proximity of almost every deity in the Egyptian pantheon (including Pharaohs).There are also images of gods pouring water over the head of the pharaoh as part of a purification ritual, with the water being represented by chains of ankhs and was (representing power and dominion) symbols. It reinforces the close connection the pharaohs had with the gods in whose name he ruled and to whom he returned after death.

 

The ankh symbol was so prevalent that it has been found in digs as far as Mesopotamia and Persia, and even on the seal of the biblical king Hezekiah.

 

The symbol became popular in New Age mysticism in the 1960s.

 

Unicode has two characters encoding the symbol: U+2625 ☥ in the widely-supported Miscellaneous Symbols block and U+132F9 in the more recent Egyptian Hieroglyphs block.

  

There have been many suggestions and theories as to the origin of the ankh symbol.Pharaoh Akhenaten embraced a monotheistic religion centered on the worship of the sun disk, known as the Aten. Artwork from the time of his rule, known as the Amarna period, always includes the Aten in images of the pharaoh. This image is a circular disk with rays terminating in hands reaching down toward the royal family. Sometimes, although not always, the hands clutch ankhs.

 

Again, the meaning is clear: eternal life is a gift of the gods meant most specifically for the pharaoh and perhaps his family. (Akhenaten emphasized the role of his family much more than other pharaohs. More often, pharaohs are depicted alone or with the gods.

 

Alan Gardiner (1957) explains the hieroglyph as a depiction of a sandal-strap (ˁnḫ) which came to be read phonetically and could be used (as "rebus writing") for the similar word ˁnḫ "live", a triliteral root probably pronounced /ʕánax/ in Old and Middle Egyptian.This verb and its derivatives are likely ancestral to the Coptic words ⲱⲛϩ ōnh "to live, life" and ⲉⲛⲉϩ eneh "eternity".

 

One of the earliest proposals was that of Thomas Inman, first published in 1869, according to which the symbol combines "the male triad and the female unit".[6] E. A. Wallis Budge (1904) postulated that the symbol originated as the belt buckle of the mother goddess Isis.

 

Andrew Hunt Gordon and Calvin Schwabe, in their 2004 book The Quick and the Dead, speculated that the ankh, djed, and was symbols have a basis in "cattle culture" and with semen (thought to originate in the spine) being equated with “life”, with the ankh representing the thoracic vertebra of a bull (seen in cross section), the djed representing the sacrum of a bull's spine, and the was representing a staff made from a bull’s penis.

  

Crux ansata in Codex Glazier

The ankh appears frequently in Egyptian tomb paintings and other art, often at the fingertips of a god or goddess in images that represent the deities of the afterlife conferring the gift of life on the dead person's mummy; this is thought to symbolize the act of conception.[citation needed] Additionally, an ankh was often carried by Egyptians as an amulet, either alone, or in connection with two other hieroglyphs that mean "strength" and "health" (see explication of djed and was, above).[citation needed] Mirrors of beaten metal were also often made in the shape of an ankh, either for decorative reasons or to symbolize a perceived view into another world.[citation needed]

 

A symbol similar to the ankh appears frequently in Minoan and Mycenaean sites.[where?] This is a combination of the sacral knot (symbol of holiness) with the double-edged axe (symbol of matriarchy) but it can be better compared with the Egyptian tyet which is similar. This symbol can be recognized on the two famous figurines of the chthonian Snake Goddess discovered in the palace of Knossos. Both snake goddesses have a knot with a projecting loop cord between their breasts. In the Linear B (Mycenean Greek) script, ankh is the phonetic sign za.

 

The ankh also appeared frequently in coins from ancient Cyprus and Asia Minor (particularly the city of Mallus in Cilicia).[12] In some cases, especially with the early coinage of King Euelthon of Salamis, the letter ku, from the Cypriot syllabary, appeared within the circle ankh, representing Ku(prion) (Cypriots). To this day, the ankh is also used to represent the planet Venus (the namesake of which, the goddess Venus or Aphrodite, was chiefly worshipped on the island) and the metal copper (the heavy mining of which gave Cyprus its name).

 

Coptic Christians preserved the shape of the ankh by sometimes representing the Christian cross with a circle in place of the upper bar. This is known as the Coptic ankh or crux ansata.

 

The most commonly repeated explanation is that it is a union of a female symbol (the oval, representing the vagina or uterus) with a male symbol (the phallic upright line), but there's no actual evidence supporting that interpretation.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankh

 

Sex, and specifically the orgasm, is more that just something that feels good and allows procreation. There are many other functions, such as the release of dysfunctional energy within the body, which can help to keep one from becoming diseased. There is the function that opens the higher chakras, and under the right conditions allows a person to begin the process of enlightenment. And further, if two people, lovers, practice sacred sex, the entire experience can lead them together into higher consciousness and into worlds beyond this plane.

 

In relationships, a simple sexual principle, as taught by the ancient Egyptians, can change the energy level within your body and help to bring strength and vitality into your bodies and your relationship.

 

The full subject in detail of Egyptian Tantra is incredibly complex, and cannot be completed in an article of this scope. But we can speak of the heart of the matter — the human ankhing experience as practiced by the ancient Egyptians.

 

And so, adapted for our readers from The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life, Volume II, I offer this insight to assist two lovers — or even yourself, alone — to begin to find the higher path. This practice will not directly show you the true path. But it will increase your life-force energy, making you stronger, more alive, and more conscious. And perhaps — if you believe the Ancient Egyptians — it may lead you into eternal life.

 

—Drunvalo

 

Egyptian Sexual Energy and the Orgasm

 

It was believed in ancient Egypt that the orgasm was the key to eternal life, and that it was intimately connected with the chakra system. A chakra is an energy vortex connected to the entire human energy field, and the Universal Heart Chakra is the fifth of thirteen chakras. (There is also a system of eight chakras; in that system, the heart chakra is number four.) The Egyptian system held that the orgasm was intimately connected to this fifth, or Universal Heart Chakra.

 

First, we will explain the connection to eternal life.

 

Most people in the world are ignorant about what happens to their sexual energy after they have an orgasm. Usually, the energy moves up the spine and out the top of the head directly into the eighth or thirteenth chakra (same chakra, different system). In a few rare cases, the sexual energy is released down the spine into the hidden center below the feet, the point opposite the one above the head. In either case, the sexual energy — the concentrated life-force energy called prana in Hinduism — is dissipated and lost. It is similar to discharging a battery into a ground wire. It is no longer in the battery and so it is gone forever. This is what all the world's Tantric systems that I am aware of believe, that orgasm brings one a little closer to death because a person loses his or her life-force energy in the orgasm and is made weaker. But the Egyptians found long ago that it does not have to be this way.

 

It is for this reason that the Hindu and Tibetan Tantra systems ask the male to avoid ejaculating. Instead, they speak of these tiny invisible tubes where, when a student learns to control the orgasm and the flow of their sexual energy, the sperm migrates up to the higher centers.

 

Both of these systems, and also the Chinese Taoist Tantra system, are all primarily concerned with the sexual energy flow, sometimes referred to as ''sexual currents.'' They are primarily concerned with what happens as the sexual energy is moved before the orgasm, but they all have entirely different views of this energy compared to the Egyptians.

 

The Egyptians believed that orgasm is healthy and necessary, including the release of sperm in males, but that the sexual energy currents must be controlled in a deeply esoteric procedure that is unlike any other system. They believed that if this energy is controlled, the human orgasm becomes a source of infinite pranic energy that is not lost. They believe that the entire Mer-Ka-Ba or lightbody (the field of energy surrounding and interpenetrating the body) benefits from this sexual release. They even believe that under the right conditions the orgasm will directly lead to eternal life, and that the ankh is the key.

 

Egyptian ankhWhat is the ankh, and what has the ankh to do with sexual energy? It is complicated to explain, but we will simplify. First the ankh itself is a shape that looks like the figure at right.

 

In order to see and understand what took thousands of years for the Egyptians to grasp, we will begin with the fifth, Universal Heart Chakra. This lower heart chakra, the chakra of Unconditional Universal Love, is the first place where the energy completes itself. Each chakra has a ''direction'' associated with it, as the life-force energy rotates its way up the body in a pattern similar to the DNA molecule. In the lower heart chakra, the fifth place of a thirteen chakra system, the energy is facing the same direction as it began, and thus the circle is complete.

 

Energy Flow Diagrams

 

In the three views above, you can see how the rotation of energy either around the body, as in (a), around a circle, as in (b), or in a sine wave, as in (c), all complete themselves in five steps.

 

Ankh ViewsThe fifth or heart chakra is the first chakra that completes itself and has the energies of both front-to-back and left-to-right. If you could see these energies — and the Egyptians could — from above the head, as in (a), at left, they would appear as this symbol. It needs to be understood that these are actual energy lines around the body coming from the fifth chakra.

 

If you were to see these energies from the front view of a human, they would appear as in (b) at left. In the center of the cross there is a hidden energy line coming straight off the page and also moving in the opposite direction away from the reader.

 

Notice that both of the above examples are Christian symbols that come from the heart chakra. However, if you could see the same energies from the side of a human being, they would appear different than you would expect. There is another energy-flow ''tube'' there (in Chinese medicine it's called a ''meridian'') that the Egyptians discovered long ago. It looks like (c).

 

I find it very interesting that the Christians must have understood what we are talking about here, for on the robes of many Christian priests, at certain times of the year that are usually associated with resurrection, you will see the following symbol.

 

This symbol (d) shows all three views — the top, front, and side simultaneously. I believe the Christians omitted the complete loop of the ankh so that they would not directly show a connection with the old Egyptian religion, since they were breaking away from that tradition. But it is obvious that they knew.

 

Now that you know that this ankh energy conduit is located in the human energy field and where, you will be able to understand the reason for the Egyptians' sexual conduct, which we are about to explain.

 

First let me explain something about the ankh before I speak about its relationship to sexual energy. When I toured the museums in Egypt, I personally observed over 200 Egyptian rods.

 

Egyptian rodThese rods (pictured at right) were mostly made of wood, although other materials were sometimes used. They had a tuning fork on the bottom end, and the top end had four different types of devices that could be attached. One of these devices was in the shape of the ankh. What we found is that if you put the ankh on the top of the rod, which is like the human spine, the vibration from the tuning fork lasts a great deal longer. The energy seems to wrap around back into the rod along the curve of the ankh, moving downward as it returns, thereby sustaining the energy.

 

I was in Holland a couple of years ago, and there some people had made some rods out of copper with a high-quality tuning fork at the bottom and a threaded end at the top, so that different end pieces could be screwed on. I experimented with this rod. Using it without a top piece, I struck the tuning fork and timed how long it would vibrate. Then I screwed on the ankh and struck the tuning fork again. With the ankh on top, the rod vibrated almost three times longer. If you apply this idea to the human spine, you can see why the energy of the orgasm enhances the entire human system and the energy wraps itself back around and back into the human meridians.

 

This is the key to why the Egyptians performed the particular sexual practices we are about to explain. They found that if they had an orgasm and let it go out the top or bottom of the spine, the sexual energy was lost. But if the sexual energy was guided by consciousness to move into the ankh conduit, it would come back into the spine and continue to resonate and vibrate. The life-force energy was not lost. In actual experience, it seems to increase the energy. One does not feel depleted after sex, but rather recharged.

 

You can talk about it all day, but if you try it one time, you will understand. However, it is not easy to do in one test. For the first few times, the sexual energy will often shoot past the point of the fifth chakra and continue on up and out of the body. So it takes practice. Once it is learned, I doubt seriously if you would ever have an orgasm any other way. It's too powerful and feels too good. Once your body remembers this experience, it is not likely to revert back to the old way.

 

Instructions for the Egyptian Orgasm

 

Here is exactly how to achiever the ankhing associated with the human orgasm. Whatever you do sexually before the orgasm is completely up to you. I am not here to judge you — and definitely the Egyptians would not, since they believe in knowing all sixty-four sexual modes before you enter the King's Chamber to ascend to the next level of consciousness. This is their idea, but it is important to know that it is not necessary. You can reach the next level of consciousness without knowing this information. However, from their point of view, the idea of ankhing is of paramount importance in achieving eternal life. You will have to decide for yourself if it is something you wish to practice.

 

The moment you feel the sexual energy about to rise up your spine, take a very deep breath, filling your lungs about 9/10th full, then hold your breath.

Allow the sexual energy of the orgasm to come up your spine. But at the moment it reaches the fifth chakra (located just a couple of finger-widths above the sternum), with your willpower you must turn the flow of sexual energy 90 degrees out the back of the body. It will then automatically continue inside the ankh tube. It will slowly turn until it passes exactly through the eighth (or thirteenth) chakra, one hand-length above the head at 90 degrees to the vertical. It will then continue to curve around until it returns to the fifth chakra, where it began, only this time in the front of the body.

 

Even if you don't understand what was just said, it will happen automatically if you get it started out the back of the body at the fifth chakra, and it will automatically come back around to the front of the body and reconnect at the fifth chakra. You just have to make it turn 90 degrees so that it begins.

It will often slow down as it approaches its point of origin, the fifth chakra. If you can see the energy, it comes to a sharp point. When it approaches the fifth chakra from the front of the body, there is sometimes a tremendous jolt as it reconnects with this chakra again. All this takes place while you are holding your first breath.

The instant the sexual energy reconnects with its source, the fifth chakra, take in the full breath. You had filled your lungs only 9/10th full, so now you fill your lungs as completely as you can.

Now exhale very, very slowly. The sexual energy will continue on around the ankh channel as long as you are exhaling. When you reach the bottom of this breath, you will continue to breathe very deeply, but a change happens here.

It is here that, if you know the Lightbody work of the Mer-Ka-Ba, you would begin to breathe from the two poles using Mer-Ka-Ba breathing. But if you are like most people and don't know this work, then continue to breathe deeply until you feel the relaxation begin to spread throughout your body. Then relax your breath to your normal rate. Feel every cell becoming rejuvenated by this life-force energy. Let this energy reach down into the deepest physical levels of your body structure even past the cellular level. Feel how this beautiful energy surrounds your very being and brings health to your body, mind and heart.

Once the relaxation begins, slow your breath down to a normal shallow breathing.

If possible, allow yourself to completely relax or even sleep for a while afterward.

If you practice this for even one week, I believe you will more than understand. If you practice it continually, it will begin to give health and strength to your mental, emotional, and physical bodies. It will give great strength and power to your Lightbody, as well.

 

If for any reason this practice does not feel right, stop and return to normal. It just is not time.

 

It was this discovery of the secret tube that fostered the Ancient Egyptians' belief that eternal life was intimately connected to this particular energy-flow. It is this ankhing of their sexual energy through this tube, in an extremely deliberate procedure, that I have been taught to emulate.

 

www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/apr1/ankhing.htm

There's nothing quite like the cloud formations one can see from an airplane window.

 

Note: Has the EXPLORE algorithm been changed? I had a total of 517 pics that had been in Explore, and 50 were currently in. I had been at the number 50 since Oct 2010. Since then I've had many popular shots, but never got off of 50 permanent in Explore. With this photo getting in, now I have 51... Have the limits for how many permanent photos you can have in Explore changed? Could just be a coincidence, maybe Explore competition has gotten even tighter, but as a statistician I take note of these things...

 

UPDATE: Thanks for all the comments and faves... believe me, I gasped when I saw this, I knew it was an epic photo opp. Odd thing is I had literally just jolted out of a nap, and there it was.

 

I can tell from the comments that my bit about Explore may need more explanation. No gang, I don't care about getting in Explore except so much as it can get you a lot more exposure... no my interest is a statistician. To me, Explore is based on a mathematical algorithm, and all I can do is observe and guess what's in the black box. As I've mentioned earlier, one can start with Flickr's patents, which link to its "interestingness" calculation is made. I talk about the Explore algorithm here.

 

In sum, interestingness = f(views, comments, faves, notes, galleries, and groups), and

Explore ranking = f(interestingness, other stuff)

 

The question has been, what's that "other stuff"? One variable I think is the number of photos you currently (or "permanently") you have in Explore. My hypothesis is that there has been a limit of 50 photos you can have in Explore. And with this observation, I now hypothesize that limit has been raised.

 

Oh Explore gnomes, show me a sign, throw me a bone, am I right?

 

UPDATE:

As it turns out I am probably wrong in my reasoning above. A close contact who is in Explore all the time told me he thought Explore went to "sampling" users--that you can only get into Explore for a certain amount of time during each year. This makes sense, explains the evidence, and is actually a more elegant and fair solution.

An inbound RE83 from Luebeck arrives in the big hall of the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof. Up to the 1970's there were no wires here and the hall was full of steam and diesel departures but today diesel is a somewhat rare sight. I still don't understand the reasoning for these diesel moves as a electric was always directly behind but not running. A big thanks to Andreas Herold for letting me know about these diesel workings.

"Sometimes I wonder why we were put on this earth. What

is our goal? Our reasoning?

To make the world a better place?

What if the world actually is a decent place?

Everyone is always complaining how the world is going downhill.

Crashing.

There's stealing, cheating, drugs and alcohol.

But what is your definition of a decent place?

There will always be negative aspects to life.

That's what makes life..life.

Without them, what

would be the positives?"

How unoriginal, right? I have my reasoning but I don't feel like explaining. I hate the existance of fmylife.com. I hate that people complain so much about stupid petty shit. How about "I live in Africa in the middle of a war zone and we have no clean water and I'm dying of AIDS, fml." Otherwise, shutthefuckup, you're life isn't horrible just becuase the barista at Starbucks only gave you two shots instead of three in your grande half calf carmelmochavanillawhateverthefuck.

“Don't be amazed if you see my eyes always wandering. In fact, this is my way of reading, and it is only in this way that reading proves fruitful to me. If a book truly interests me, I cannot follow it for more than a few lines before my mind, having seized on a thought that the text suggests to it, or a feeling, or a question, or an image, goes off on a tangent and springs from thought to thought, from image to image, in an itinerary of reasonings and fantasies that I feel the need to pursue to the end, moving away from the book until I have lost sight of it. The stimulus of reading is indispensable to me, and of meaty reading, even if, of every book, I manage to read no more than a few pages. But those few pages already enclose for me whole universes, which I can never exhaust.”

― Italo Calvino, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

Believe it or not in RL spiders are my biggest fear so no idea what was going on in my head in the reasoning beyond this pic lol

 

Now I'm growing legs

I am the spider

I am the spider

I'm growing legs

I am the spider

I am the spider

Crawl inside her

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9PSTrQGMo4

I'm not really sure why, but I took two different color shots from the same angle at Strong City. I wish I could remember my reasoning. Both turned out okay, considering. So it's not like I blew a shot and decided to try again.

  

.

.

.

'Shades in Fear'

 

Camera: Intrepid Mk3 4×5 (2018)

Lens: Schneider-Kreuznach Super-Angulon 8/90mm

Film: Kodak Vericolor 4111; x-06/2004; 3iso

Exposure: f/22; 1sec

Process: DIY ECN-2

 

Strong City, Kansas

  

Like everything else in this country, the structural integrity is being supported by strings of specious reasoning. What could go wrong with that?

 

Voigtlander 50mm f/2.0 Lanthar VM

Handheld, cropped

dodge and burn

Here goes my head-canon reasoning for having them Loony fellows around my Wild West Railroad: (As if these two needed any introductions!)

 

- On the left we have train engineer Roadrunner. He and his silver ore train are always ahead of schedule, and he is constantly on the lookout to do things to help out other railroad personnel. He is a model loyal employee, never complaining or talking back, is VERY efficient in his duties, and the best part is he works for birdseed!

 

- On the right is the hobo Wiley Coyote. This "Super Genius" bum is always trying to hop / derail / wreck / obliterate Roadrunner's train. (in which he hasn't succeeded once!) He is possibly formerly employed by ACME Corporation, as he always dynamite or other devious devices of their branding ready at a moment's notice. Wiley being without any money, one wonders whether he stole this TNT from the silver mine the payroll train comes from. (Disgruntled ex-mine worker maybe?)

 

These two will be on - or around - my Western silver mine train, (loco Number 7, slightly based off set 7597 and shown in WIP form in background) which will be finished in early November of this year.

And then if you are to understand me, you have to step into my realm and leave all of those things behind.

quote by C. JoyBell C.

C. JoyBell C. has authored books of poetry and literature that delve mainly into the mysterious, the philosophical and the esoteric. Many of her writings are considered nearly grimoires, being a source of inspiration to many. She's also an amateur astronomer and a student of astrobiology.

~

nightcafe/gimp/pixlr mixed apps AI manipulated

 

nightcafe/gimp

Art Week Gallery Theme: Intense Colors

www.flickr.com/groups/temporaryexhibitionsartgallery/

architects' own house, sydhavnen, copenhagen

katrine west kristensen & ulrik fenger mathiasson, architects

 

two former colleagues from vandkunsten built this house for themselves in one of copenhagen's less known christiania-like areas in the south harbour.

 

the facade cladding is made from recycled ventilation pipes salvaged from a nearby demolition and was, along with the timber frame, chosen for its minimal carbon footprint.

 

even the most well-meaning green ideas matter little when it comes to architectural quality, in fact they often appear to offer architects a kind of false respite from the difficulties of design.

 

katrine and ulrik, however, have drawn poetry from their recycled materials, and their house is done with such wit and warmth and talent that you never need technical reasoning to appreciate it.

 

seen through the lens of carbon footprint or energy use over time, sustainability still begins with buildings people want to live in and take care of, like this one.

 

/iphone

Steam Tug Cervia was built in 1946 as a seagoing tug for use as a fleet auxiliary by Alexandra Hall & Company Ltd of Aberdeen, Scotland. Today she is a floating Museum still undergoing restoration in Ramsgate, Kent.

The Cervia design closely followed an early designed steam tug class called Foremost which had been conceived in 1923. The reasoning behind the recycling of this old design was due to Britain’s need to quickly replace losses, and because of the government’s rapid rebuilding programme. Using the best of pre-war tried and tested tug designs would avoid the need for new designs, and get round any delays to the Admiralties rebuild plans. Empire Raymond, as the Cervia was originally named, was part of the revised building programme ordered for operation dynamo the invasion of Europe on D-Day. In the event she was not completed until after the end of the Second World War. The tug was finished with many of the design features intended for the invasion. She had an armoured wheelhouse and gun emplacements installed. She weighed over 350 tons and was powered by a 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) triple-expansion steam engine. Her boiler had been installed with oil burners but the design allowed for rapidly reverted to coal firing. All the ships that were ordered by the British government during the War period were given the prefix Empire which was the equivalent of the "Liberty Ship" building programme in the United States of America. The Cervia is thought to be last Empire Ship surviving in the United Kingdom.

 

History

The Cervia was launched from the yard of Alexander Hall and Co. Ltd in Aberdeen, Scotland, on the 21 January 1946 and was handed to the Ministry of War Transport. In December 1946 she was sold on to the maritime towing business of William Watkins Ltd for the sum of £36,000. The business had purchased the tug using compensation it received for the vessels it lost on War service such as the tugs "Napia" and "Muria", which were sunk after collisions with mines near Ramsgate in 1939 and 1940.

In 1947 the Empire Raymond name was changed to Cervia after the Italian Adriatic resort where the Watkins family owned a holiday villa. The name had previously been used on an earlier tug owned by William Watkins which taken part in the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 returning from there with 230 troops.

 

Working life

Whilst still known as the Empire Raymond the tug was employed with other tugs in the refurbishment of the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth from her role as troop ship back to a passenger liner. During the working life of Cervia the main role that she was deployed in was as a towing and salvage tug between ports in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. When based in Ramsgate "Cervia" helped free several vessels that had run aground on the Goodwin Sand Banks off of the East-Kent coast in the vicinity of Ramsgate and Deal. Her association with the port would continue for 60 years right up to the present time.

 

Ramsgate

The Cervia, along with other ships owned by Watkins, were regularly maintained and repaired at the workshops and slipways of Claxton’s Ltd in Ramsgate. Claxton’s was subsidiary of William Watkins. In 1950 William Watkins Ltd was merged with other companies to form Ship Towage Ltd of London. As part of this company’s fleet the Cervia was involved in a serious incident. On the 25 October 1954 the Cervia was employed at Tilbury docks in London. Cervia was involved in the undocking of the P&O liner Arcadia, towing the liner stern first away from her landing stage. During this manoeuvre, the Arcadia had gone full ahead to avoid collision with liner P&O liner Orcades. The resulting wash caused Cervia to be dragged over and capsize and sink. Despite their valiant efforts to release the towing hawser the Cervia Captain Russell, MBE and five of her crew died. Another Watkins owned tug, Challenge, managed to rescue three of the crew. The subsequent court of enquiry into the case, recorded that the deaths were accidental, and the sinking was caused by the failure of a quick release pin on her towing hook. On the 28 October the Cervia herself became subject of a salvage operation. The tug was raised from the Thames riverbed and she was taken to Claxton’s Ltd in Ramsgate for a refit and then returning to service. On the 27 January 1969 Cervia was at work on the Thames when her owners merged with W.H.J. Alexander & Company Ltd to form the London Tug Company. The London Tug Company was to have a policy to phase out steam tugs in favour of more modern diesel vessels. The modernization of the fleet went ahead at speed and by 1971 the Cervia was laid up at Sheerness. It was hoped a buyer could be found or the tug would go to the breakers. The Cervia was offered to a Michael List-Brain a potential buyer who wished to preserve her. The Board of London Tugs agreed to her sale "as is, where lies", for the sum of £3,500. Mr List-Brain purchased the ‘‘Cervia’’ in April 1973 and took possession at Poplar Docks, London where she had been laid up. The tug then was given a refit and was back in steam by the summer.

  

She was used on the River Medway for both for pleasure trips and for her new owner to familiarize himself with her. It was envisaged that Cervia would become a part of a new organisation to be called "The Medway Maritime Museum" This was the idea of the United Kingdoms foremost ship preservationists, Martin Stevens. Unfortunately by 1974, the plans faltered when the Medway Council proved to be unable to provide sufficient funding for the project and with having neither premises nor any money the original museum project looked very precarious. With the fledgling museum’s lack of income, List-Brain and Stevens decided that one solution was to put the Cervia back to work in the towing business. At this time exploration in the North sea for gas and oil was begging to pick up in pace. This provided an ideal opportunity for the Cervia to earn her keep again. The Cervia was contracted to a construction firm based on the Medway. The construction firm of Howard Doris needed all manner of craft to assist with oil rig construction projects. In November 1974 Cervia to towed a crane barge to the Humber. She completed the contract with no problems, but with the cost of a very rapid re-equipping and complete lack of understanding as to the economics of marine towage meant the nett profit from this first towing contract was only £7.00. Following the contract with Howard Doris and the small profit, List-Brain and Stevens decided to put the fledgling business on a more professional business footing. A professional crew was employed and throughout 1975 several more successful towing contracts were undertaken by the Cervia all around the coast of the United Kingdom. During this time Cervia continued to prove her reliability working solidly for this twelve-month period except for a small period of time spent on essential boiler cleaning and maintenance. So successful was the business and the increasing demands placed on it, a proper company was set up which was called International Towing Ltd. ITL, as the company was abbreviated to, added three more steam tugs to her books to keep up with demand. These’s tugs were ST Hercules, ST Hero and ST Goliath.

Like Watkins before them, International Towing Ltd. decided to choose Ramsgate as their home port. The knock on effect of these decisions gave a welcome boost to the local economy of Ramsgate which saw a resurgence of commercial ship repairing in the harbour. Cervia and the three other tugs were kept very busy with a variety of jobs both in the North Sea and with coastal towage contracts. In early 1977two of the tugs of ITL, ST Hercules and ST Hero were taken out of service and returned to the Medway Maritime Trust, under the guidance of Martin Stevens. Nonetheless, ITL saw its business rapidly expand becoming an international operation all thanks to the reliability and hard work of Cervia and her sister tugs. To meet customer demands, Cervia and Goliath were joined further modern deep sea diesel powered tugs in 1978 by the 1980s, ITL’s fleet had grown to include the two most powerful tugs in the northern hemisphere and the business was sold off to the Far East. Cervia carried on working for ITL until 1983. Her last contract was to act as port tug for the new cross-channel ferry service at Ramsgate. The contract was terminated when the ferry service failed to operate a regular service due to the difficult economic climate of the early 1980s. Cervia was mothballed alongside the East Pier at Ramsgate Royal Harbour.

 

It was after this time that Cervia fulfilled a different role as a film location in an episode of the BBC comedy series Ripping Yarns called The Curse of the Claw with Michael Palin. Cervia had also been used in BBC production of Rogue Male starring Peter O'Toole in the mid-seventies. She was also the subject of a 1986 children's book, Cervia the Steam Tug, written and illustrated by Roger Ian Sacks in support of the East Kent Maritime Trust's Ramsgate Maritime Museum. After negotiations between Cervia’s owners and Thanet District Council's Harbour Master and his deputy, the tug was loaned and placed in the care of Ramsgate Maritime Museum, run by the East Kent Maritime Trust in July 1985. Later in July she was taken to moorings in John Smeaton's Historic Dry Dock. Funding was then secured for restoration work to be carried out on the Cervia. She was repainted to her original working livery of William Watkins days. A new mast was also fitted and her crew accommodation was refurbished to provide areas for museum displays. In 1986 Cervia was visited by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. To mark Cervia's 50th birthday a specialist engineer John Veneer oversaw restoration of the tugs 1,000 horsepower engine to full working order. Cervia became the centre point of the 'Historic Harbour' initiative and was joined by other vessels from the maritime museum's collection and privately owned classic boats. The ST Cervia now is moored in Ramsgate harbour, a rare survivor of steam ship development. She is the last seagoing steam tug to survive in UK waters, and she was also the last to work commercially.

 

Sorry about the long explanation but thought it worth the tale!

 

MY THANKS FOR ALL YOUR VISITS

   

ENG: I'll tell you that I'm happy at times, but also the misery is in my life. I would lose my cordiality and my little reasoning without them.

ES: Te diré que a veces soy feliz, pero también la miseria está en mi vida. Perdería mi cordialidad y mi pequeño razonamiento sin ellos.

First things first, HBW!

 

This is a roll of Kodak Verichrome Pan 120, a black and white 120 roll film for medium format cameras. It had been sat in the Yashica D that I recently acquired from eBay. Both the film and the camera were introduced in the 1950's so it is anyone's guess as to how long it's been in there. Going by the old style Kodak logo, I am going to guess the 70's but feel free to add your guess/informed reasoning in the comments :)

 

It was unexposed and loaded into the camera without being wound to the first frame. I wound it to the first frame testing the workings of the camera and then opened the camera exposing the first frame. I shut it back up reasonably quickly and am hoping I only borked the first three or so frames. At this point, I didn't know what the film was or its rated speed. I gambled and exposed it as a 100 ISO film. Turns out it is rated at 125. Hoping to drop it off to a developer tomorrow and see what happens, should be interesting.

 

Update: The results were only a couple of usable frames towards the end of the roll, here and here