2010 - Day 187. July 6, 2010.

 

Daily Shoot - Today's theme is the color blue. Blue sky. Blue plate. Blue M&Ms. Make a photo of something blue and post it today.

 

I love these wildflowers, (chicory). They grow anywhere and last all summer. I took my macro lens and tripod on my trail walk this morning to capture this gorgeous blue. I set up, focusing on the stamens, when this little insect just popped into the frame. There wasn't time to change my aperture setting so I quickly tried to refocus on the insect and then just pressed the shutter. The insect definitely enriches the 'story of blue'.

Created with Nokia Refocus

;//w//; My babies <3

 

TwT Ah this is kind of random but I spent my Christmas working and playing with dollies and decided to take some pictures of Faustus and Euclid together since its been a while. xD Oh, also to show off Faustus' new wig and eyes a bit more I guess haha.

Euclid in rare form not wearing a long dress for once haha. Need to build up the more androgynous/"masculine" side of their wardrobe since I've tended to favor dressing them more femininely since I don't have any super femme dolls (aside from Rift but can't have her out at the same time as Euclid so xD)

 

;//w//; Anyways, love these two. They are special not just to each other but also to me as Euclid is my favorite doll and Faustus is my most special/significant doll. xD Canonically in their story just before Euclid gets their hair mended is when Faustus is finally cured of his affliction of burning (basically) everything he touches so whenever Eui wears this wig its totally a-ok in my mind to have them touching. Even though they are just dolls and it doesn't actually matter, I almost never had them touch prior as it would have seemed canonically inaccurate and I CAN'T COMPROMISE MY INTEGRITY ...I mean because i'm a huge nerd xDDD

So yeah, ever since I made this wig for Eui these two have been inseparable ;w;

 

~

//RANT UPDATE FEELS BLAH

 

But anyways, these two kind of tie into my current state of thoughts/feelings in the hobby so I might as well give some updates on that while i'm here. To be honest, I thought that I was done with reflections and changes for myself in the hobby for a while as I feel like that's all that's been going on with me lately but I still have the deep yearning to change things, set goals and refocus so I suppose i'm not done yet as annoying is that is for me and probably for you guys to bare witness to as well. To start, a lot of my feelings/goals in the hobby are changing still but the one that hasn't budged is that my ultimate main goal in the doll hobby is to get my little conflicted quartet of Faustus, Euclid, Hyacinth and Petra "complete" and as perfect as possible. Thankfully they are pretty close to getting there as I'm so happy and content with all of their head sculpts and Faustus is the only one who I feel needs a body upgrade. Its been WAY too long for them to still be so unfinished and there are so many fun projects I want to do for them so they are definitely priority number one.

I also decided a while back that I wouldn't be starting my reshelling process of Shu/Calliope/Etzel until these four are at an acceptable level of "completeness" to where it feels warranted to begin a new big project. The prospect of not having Shu as a doll for some time definitely pains me as he's so special to me, but I think it'll ultimately frustrate and confuse me a lot less if I focus on a smaller amount of dolls at a time. They will 100% be coming back in the future of course but i'm not putting any set dates to start on that anytime soon.

 

But really, my Unicorn character's story and these characters have been my greatest love in the hobby since the beginning and continue to be to this day and the longer i'm in the hobby the more I feel like i'd be happiest if this was the only one of my really complex pre-existing stories that I focused on as dolls. I can imagine just focusing on them exclusively and building up their world and the most important characters in it, constantly improving them and making them more clothes, dioramas, etc. and being completely content. Putting forth all my effort and passion into really fleshing them out, you know? The more time goes by the more that notion comes to the forefront of my thoughts and I think all of my confusion and indecisiveness in the hobby has been culminating to this seemingly inevitable conclusion. I've even been annoying myself with how fickle i've become with my dolls lately and I know that isn't the type of person I am and don't want to continue being. I think back on myself when I first joined the hobby when in the beginning I only focused on my Unicorn characters and I think that was when I felt the most happy and when everything made the most sense to me, you know? And ever since I decided to pursue lots of different characters of mine from lots of different stories it made everything so much more difficult, frustrating and I overall just less fun. That isn't to say I have been devoid of enjoyment in the hobby ever since then because that's absolutely not the case, but I just feel that i'd get even more enjoyment out of it while feeling more productive and fulfilled if I focused more heavily on the one thing i've been inspired by the most from the beginning up to now.

That also being said, because i'd so adamantly chosen the path of shelling characters from so many of my very detailed pre-existing stories I kind of cut myself off from having the ability to just get dolls that inspire me and letting my creativity run wild. My Minifee FLAM, Rift, (and to a lesser extend Rumor before her) really opened my eyes to just how much I love the process of creating something new with a doll and just going where the creativity takes me and prior to her I never allowed myself to do that. I adore Rift so much because she gave me something that I had been hungry for ever since I joined the hobby but was to wrapped up in my own ideas to realize; freedom. I've come to understand that there are two main paths one can go down in the hobby; very methodically shelling your own pre-existing characters as dolls or making completely new characters/concepts for dolls that you want and inspire you. I've always known that sticking exclusively to the later path could lead to having too many dolls you don't know what to do with but I don't think I realized that sticking so exclusively to the first path could become limiting and take away the feeling of freedom. I guess what i'm trying to say is that i've been leaning too heavily to one side for too long and I think what I really want is balance and allow myself to walk down both paths rather than restricting myself to just one. I've noticed lots of people tend to do the same thing, like for example some shell important well-developed characters from their story all in SD but then have a bunch of YoSDs or MSDs as their random "fun" dolls, you know? I think a similar approach is what would work best for me in the long run as well. Shelling my most beloved characters from my most beloved story and having the feeling of accomplishment that comes with bring them to life as accurately as possible, but also having a series of dolls that is nothing but pure art and creativity that has no restrictions. Hopefully that makes sense.

 

T__T Anyway, as much as I think this is ultimately the best course of action for me and what all of the frustration/confusion i've been having these days have been working toward, but this whole thing feels so much more difficult to overcome considering the dolls I currently have on order. Two of them were originally intended to be a part of my Egyptian character's story which if I do commit to pursuing only my Unicorn character's story it just makes it all the more difficult to say goodbye to. (I am thinking that the two who haven't arrived yet I could transition into characters that would fit in with my Unicorn character's story/other plans but we'll see.) I think the biggest thing that has prevented me from really just fully committing to this plan is because I love my Egyptian characters and their story so much as well and I legitimately hate the idea of parting with them as I love both the dolls and characters that they represent. River in particular is a very special doll to me and has always been a huge favorite of mine so the idea of parting with him especially kind of kills me. Like, I consider him my very first real "grail" doll, one that i'd never thought that i'd actually own, so considering parting with him in particular is honestly the hardest decision i've yet had to make and I really don't know yet if I can do it. I desperately want to somehow work him into my Unicorn character's story just so I can justify keeping him. I absolutely refuse to force random new characters into my Unitrios story as I care to much about its integrity for that, but perhaps there may be an existing character in the story that he could suit with minor alterations. I've never successfully been able to give a new character to a doll that previously had one but i'm willing to try again for him~

But as much as I do love River and his story I still feel so much more passionately about my Unicorn characters and could still so easily imagine myself giving my Egyptian characters up in favor of them and not regretting it. No sacrifice i've made for the sake of improving my Unicorn characters i've ever regretted so far since they really do mean that much to me, but still, even knowing that doesn't make committing to this any easier. Again, i'm going to do everything in my power to justify keeping River only as a different character but Raum and the other two dolls I have on order I originally planned for their story I very well may not end up keeping.

 

Then there is the matter of the other doll I have on order, my F60 Cygne. I think she is really what pushed me over the edge to really understanding just how much I wanted freedom in the hobby and my desire to finally just commit to getting a doll because I love and am inspired by it. It kind of goes against my new course of action if I end up making her my character IbbI as she is also from one of my really complex and pre-existing stories and I really do not want to branch out beyond the one, but really, I find this particular doll to be so inspiring that I could imagine her as a dozen different things and be just as in love with all of them. That kind of leads me into what i'm possibly thinking of for my "fun" group of dolls in the future. I mentioned before that the vast majority of dolls i've been intensely captivated by and consider "grails" in some form or another are SDs. I think logically it just makes the most sense that a size that i've always found so intriguing and inspiring is the size I should devote to my purely creative endeavors. Even before Cygne was a thing I had been thinking for a long time about making a series of dolls that tie together but don't have a super specific story or have really developed characters but are at their core each meant to be a beautiful work of art centered around a theme. They'd all be really intricate and unique projects most involving mods and dyeing and would be the perfect way to own dolls i've always loved but otherwise couldn't justify owning, realize ideas I couldn't do with my specific characters dolls because it wouldn't be canonically accurate, and really challenge my skills and creativity in a way that only having no limits could be possible. Of course, whether or not I actually enjoy SDs in real life is still up in the air as I haven't got to hold a complete one in my hands yet so whether or not I actually pursue this is dependent on how I feel about them when my Cygne arrives, but I am really hoping I end up liking the size as i'm ridiculously inspired by this project. I'll of course share more about it if/when it ends up working out, but yeah, just know that they would be the most unique and captivating dolls ever and i'm sure you guys would absolutely adore them ;w;

If it does end up working it kind of creates another problem with Rift and her little "fun" side project if I wanted to remain size-specific, but I suppose i'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

And as far who Cygne will end up being i'm not entirely sure at this point but i'm alright with waiting until she arrives to figure it out exactly. I'll probably make more mockups and such for some other ideas I have for her but idk if you guys would want to see even more of those at this point haha xD

 

Ack, anyways rambling as usual, sorry, but hopefully that kind of explains where i'm coming from and how i'm feeling. I swear this is going to be the last reflective/somber update i'm going to have in a LONG time because at this point I know what has been plaguing me and now feel confident in building things up even stronger once things have been sorted out for good. Not certain as to what will happen with River, Raum, my DIM Annabeth or Sio2 Ragdoll yet but hopefully I can work River and Annabeth into my Unicorn character's story and Ragdoll perhaps can be some sort of companion to my Cygne, we'll see.

Despite the idea of possibly having to say goodbye to more dolls/stories i'm actually not sad at all, instead relieved. It feels like a weight has been lifted and I feel more inspired than ever to make the dolls I have something truly special and press forward with both clear goals but also the freedom to go where the creativity lies. This year has been difficult for me both with dolls and with life but I've learned a lot about myself and what I truly want out of my dolls. 2016 was a year of darkness and sad goodbyes for both me and in the perspective of most people in general, but i'm keeping positive that 2017 will be full of creativity, progress and and wonderful new things.

I really appreciate everyone who has stuck with me through this whole process and encouraged me to follow my heart no matter how difficult that can be at times.

*hugs*

 

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Faustus (right, boy) is a Soom R. Shale in Cream White skin. Faceup, horn and wig by me.

Euclid (left, gender fluid) is a modded Fairyland Minifee Luka in Beautiful White skin. Faceup, mods, horn, wig and harness by me.

  

An on location editorial portrait of a ShalerJump at the Arizona State fair on a Refocus Phoenix outing.

 

Brian Shaler is a "jumper" and was seen at the state fair a few weeks ago in Phoenix AZ.

 

After this photo was created I showed the image (on the camera LCD) to a worker at a food booth. She said, "What is he jumping off of" I said, "The ground".... She was shocked. I guess this is why they call him a "Jumper"

 

Rumor on the Internet is that Brian Shaler may have a "Jump-off" (or Jump-a-thon) with Kent Nichols of "Ask a Ninja" at PodcampAZ this weekend.

Think --> Parkour + Verical Only + Spectators = JumpaThon Charity event

 

**Update**

--->There wasn't enough notice to fully plan out the Charity jump, maybe next year?!

 

We'll see if it happens! I think any wagers would go to a charity. This could be fun!

 

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*Strobist Info*

Sunpak 622 Sunpak (full power) into a white lightning small brolly box.

Handheld by James Archer to camera left.

Fired by a Pocket wizard.

1/8th sec @ f6.3 / 400iso - Yes handheld

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© Adam Nollmeyer - AcmePhotography.net

On Location Photography - Phoenix

 

Created with Nokia Refocus

Created with Nokia Refocus

To me alligators are nothing out of the ordinary, but my sister liked this picture, a lot, so maybe it's a little better than I think.

 

The weird thing for me is that when I actually stare at this picture for too long (zone out and then refocus on it), I get the slightest bit uneasy...it's the vertical pupil. But that NEVER happens to me. I looked into this little guy's eye for hours Saturday, and I saw nothing but beauty. Alligators almost never scare me. But this picture just freaks me out the teeniest bit, and the most disturbing thing is that I can't fathom why.

 

Maybe I'll get bitten soon. Hey, it's bound to happen eventually.

 

I sharpened it a little bit, and rounded the edges. Oh, and I whitened the background a little bit.

Refocus link nokia.ly/1q6MDfE

Created with Nokia Refocus

I was shooting the mushroom when this long legs strolled into the frame. I tried to refocus for the spider instead.

COMMON SECURITY FOR OUR COMMON HUMANITY

 

"At moments of great peril in the last century, American leaders such as Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and John F. Kennedy managed both to protect the American people and to expand opportunity for the next generation. What is more, they ensured that America, by deed and example, led and lifted the world -- that we stood for and fought for the freedoms sought by billions of people beyond our borders.

 

As Roosevelt built the most formidable military the world had ever seen, his Four Freedoms gave purpose to our struggle against fascism. Truman championed a bold new architecture to respond to the Soviet threat -- one that paired military strength with the Marshall Plan and helped secure the peace and well-being of nations around the world. As colonialism crumbled and the Soviet Union achieved effective nuclear parity, Kennedy modernized our military doctrine, strengthened our conventional forces, and created the Peace Corps and the Alliance for Progress. They used our strengths to show people everywhere America at its best.

 

Today, we are again called to provide visionary leadership. This century's threats are at least as dangerous as and in some ways more complex than those we have confronted in the past. They come from weapons that can kill on a mass scale and from global terrorists who respond to alienation or perceived injustice with murderous nihilism. They come from rogue states allied to terrorists and from rising powers that could challenge both America and the international foundation of liberal democracy. They come from weak states that cannot control their territory or provide for their people. And they come from a warming planet that will spur new diseases, spawn more devastating natural disasters, and catalyze deadly conflicts.

 

To recognize the number and complexity of these threats is not to give way to pessimism. Rather, it is a call to action. These threats demand a new vision of leadership in the twenty-first century -- a vision that draws from the past but is not bound by outdated thinking. The Bush administration responded to the unconventional attacks of 9/11 with conventional thinking of the past, largely viewing problems as state-based and principally amenable to military solutions. It was this tragically misguided view that led us into a war in Iraq that never should have been authorized and never should have been waged. In the wake of Iraq and Abu Ghraib, the world has lost trust in our purposes and our principles.

 

After thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars spent, many Americans may be tempted to turn inward and cede our leadership in world affairs. But this is a mistake we must not make. America cannot meet the threats of this century alone, and the world cannot meet them without America. We can neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission. We must lead the world, by deed and by example.

 

Such leadership demands that we retrieve a fundamental insight of Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy -- one that is truer now than ever before: the security and well-being of each and every American depend on the security and well-being of those who live beyond our borders. The mission of the United States is to provide global leadership grounded in the understanding that the world shares a common security and a common humanity.

 

The American moment is not over, but it must be seized anew. To see American power in terminal decline is to ignore America's great promise and historic purpose in the world. If elected president, I will start renewing that promise and purpose the day I take office.

 

MOVING BEYOND IRAQ

 

To renew American leadership in the world, we must first bring the Iraq war to a responsible end and refocus our attention on the broader Middle East. Iraq was a diversion from the fight against the terrorists who struck us on 9/11, and incompetent prosecution of the war by America's civilian leaders compounded the strategic blunder of choosing to wage it in the first place. We have now lost over 3,300 American lives, and thousands more suffer wounds both seen and unseen.

 

Our servicemen and servicewomen have performed admirably while sacrificing immeasurably. But it is time for our civilian leaders to acknowledge a painful truth: we cannot impose a military solution on a civil war between Sunni and Shiite factions. The best chance we have to leave Iraq a better place is to pressure these warring parties to find a lasting political solution. And the only effective way to apply this pressure is to begin a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces, with the goal of removing all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008 -- a date consistent with the goal set by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. This redeployment could be temporarily suspended if the Iraqi government meets the security, political, and economic benchmarks to which it has committed. But we must recognize that, in the end, only Iraqi leaders can bring real peace and stability to their country.

 

At the same time, we must launch a comprehensive regional and international diplomatic initiative to help broker an end to the civil war in Iraq, prevent its spread, and limit the suffering of the Iraqi people. To gain credibility in this effort, we must make clear that we seek no permanent bases in Iraq. We should leave behind only a minimal over-the-horizon military force in the region to protect American personnel and facilities, continue training Iraqi security forces, and root out al Qaeda.

 

The morass in Iraq has made it immeasurably harder to confront and work through the many other problems in the region -- and it has made many of those problems considerably more dangerous. Changing the dynamic in Iraq will allow us to focus our attention and influence on resolving the festering conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians -- a task that the Bush administration neglected for years.

 

For more than three decades, Israelis, Palestinians, Arab leaders, and the rest of the world have looked to America to lead the effort to build the road to a lasting peace. In recent years, they have all too often looked in vain. Our starting point must always be a clear and strong commitment to the security of Israel, our strongest ally in the region and its only established democracy. That commitment is all the more important as we contend with growing threats in the region -- a strengthened Iran, a chaotic Iraq, the resurgence of al Qaeda, the reinvigoration of Hamas and Hezbollah. Now more than ever, we must strive to secure a lasting settlement of the conflict with two states living side by side in peace and security. To do so, we must help the Israelis identify and strengthen those partners who are truly committed to peace, while isolating those who seek conflict and instability. Sustained American leadership for peace and security will require patient effort and the personal commitment of the president of the United States. That is a commitment I will make.

 

Throughout the Middle East, we must harness American power to reinvigorate American diplomacy. Tough-minded diplomacy, backed by the whole range of instruments of American power -- political, economic, and military -- could bring success even when dealing with long-standing adversaries such as Iran and Syria. Our policy of issuing threats and relying on intermediaries to curb Iran's nuclear program, sponsorship of terrorism, and regional aggression is failing. Although we must not rule out using military force, we should not hesitate to talk directly to Iran. Our diplomacy should aim to raise the cost for Iran of continuing its nuclear program by applying tougher sanctions and increasing pressure from its key trading partners. The world must work to stop Iran's uranium-enrichment program and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. It is far too dangerous to have nuclear weapons in the hands of a radical theocracy. At the same time, we must show Iran -- and especially the Iranian people -- what could be gained from fundamental change: economic engagement, security assurances, and diplomatic relations. Diplomacy combined with pressure could also reorient Syria away from its radical agenda to a more moderate stance -- which could, in turn, help stabilize Iraq, isolate Iran, free Lebanon from Damascus' grip, and better secure Israel.

 

REVITALIZING THE MILITARY

 

To renew American leadership in the world, we must immediately begin working to revitalize our military. A strong military is, more than anything, necessary to sustain peace. Unfortunately, the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps, according to our military leaders, are facing a crisis. The Pentagon cannot certify a single army unit within the United States as fully ready to respond in the event of a new crisis or emergency beyond Iraq; 88 percent of the National Guard is not ready to deploy overseas.

 

We must use this moment both to rebuild our military and to prepare it for the missions of the future. We must retain the capacity to swiftly defeat any conventional threat to our country and our vital interests. But we must also become better prepared to put boots on the ground in order to take on foes that fight asymmetrical and highly adaptive campaigns on a global scale.

 

We should expand our ground forces by adding 65,000 soldiers to the army and 27,000 marines. Bolstering these forces is about more than meeting quotas. We must recruit the very best and invest in their capacity to succeed. That means providing our servicemen and servicewomen with first-rate equipment, armor, incentives, and training -- including in foreign languages and other critical skills. Each major defense program should be reevaluated in light of current needs, gaps in the field, and likely future threat scenarios. Our military will have to rebuild some capabilities and transform others. At the same time, we need to commit sufficient funding to enable the National Guard to regain a state of readiness.

 

Enhancing our military will not be enough. As commander in chief, I would also use our armed forces wisely. When we send our men and women into harm's way, I will clearly define the mission, seek out the advice of our military commanders, objectively evaluate intelligence, and ensure that our troops have the resources and the support they need. I will not hesitate to use force, unilaterally if necessary, to protect the American people or our vital interests whenever we are attacked or imminently threatened.

 

We must also consider using military force in circumstances beyond self-defense in order to provide for the common security that underpins global stability -- to support friends, participate in stability and reconstruction operations, or confront mass atrocities. But when we do use force in situations other than self-defense, we should make every effort to garner the clear support and participation of others -- as President George H. W. Bush did when we led the effort to oust Saddam Hussein from Kuwait in 1991. The consequences of forgetting that lesson in the context of the current conflict in Iraq have been grave.

  

HALTING THE SPREAD OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

 

To renew American leadership in the world, we must confront the most urgent threat to the security of America and the world -- the spread of nuclear weapons, material, and technology and the risk that a nuclear device will fall into the hands of terrorists. The explosion of one such device would bring catastrophe, dwarfing the devastation of 9/11 and shaking every corner of the globe.

 

As George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger, and Sam Nunn have warned, our current measures are not sufficient to meet the nuclear threat. The nonproliferation regime is being challenged, and new civilian nuclear programs could spread the means to make nuclear weapons. Al Qaeda has made it a goal to bring a "Hiroshima" to the United States. Terrorists need not build a nuclear weapon from scratch; they need only steal or buy a weapon or the material to assemble one. There is now highly enriched uranium -- some of it poorly secured -- sitting in civilian nuclear facilities in over 40 countries around the world. In the former Soviet Union, there are approximately 15,000-16,000 nuclear weapons and stockpiles of uranium and plutonium capable of making another 40,000 weapons -- all scattered across 11 time zones. People have already been caught trying to smuggle nuclear material to sell on the black market.

 

As president, I will work with other nations to secure, destroy, and stop the spread of these weapons in order to dramatically reduce the nuclear dangers for our nation and the world. America must lead a global effort to secure all nuclear weapons and material at vulnerable sites within four years -- the most effective way to prevent terrorists from acquiring a bomb.

 

This will require the active cooperation of Russia. Although we must not shy away from pushing for more democracy and accountability in Russia, we must work with the country in areas of common interest -- above all, in making sure that nuclear weapons and material are secure. We must also work with Russia to update and scale back our dangerously outdated Cold War nuclear postures and de-emphasize the role of nuclear weapons. America must not rush to produce a new generation of nuclear warheads. And we should take advantage of recent technological advances to build bipartisan consensus behind ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. All of this can be done while maintaining a strong nuclear deterrent. These steps will ultimately strengthen, not weaken, our security.

 

As we lock down existing nuclear stockpiles, I will work to negotiate a verifiable global ban on the production of new nuclear weapons material. We must also stop the spread of nuclear weapons technology and ensure that countries cannot build -- or come to the brink of building -- a weapons program under the auspices of developing peaceful nuclear power. That is why my administration will immediately provide $50 million to jump-start the creation of an International Atomic Energy Agency-controlled nuclear fuel bank and work to update the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. We must also fully implement the law Senator Richard Lugar and I passed to help the United States and our allies detect and stop the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction throughout the world.

 

Finally, we must develop a strong international coalition to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and eliminate North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Iran and North Korea could trigger regional arms races, creating dangerous nuclear flashpoints in the Middle East and East Asia. In confronting these threats, I will not take the military option off the table. But our first measure must be sustained, direct, and aggressive diplomacy -- the kind that the Bush administration has been unable and unwilling to use.

 

COMBATING GLOBAL TERRORISM

 

To renew American leadership in the world, we must forge a more effective global response to the terrorism that came to our shores on an unprecedented scale on 9/11. From Bali to London, Baghdad to Algiers, Mumbai to Mombasa to Madrid, terrorists who reject modernity, oppose America, and distort Islam have killed and mutilated tens of thousands of people just this decade. Because this enemy operates globally, it must be confronted globally.

 

We must refocus our efforts on Afghanistan and Pakistan -- the central front in our war against al Qaeda -- so that we are confronting terrorists where their roots run deepest. Success in Afghanistan is still possible, but only if we act quickly, judiciously, and decisively. We should pursue an integrated strategy that reinforces our troops in Afghanistan and works to remove the limitations placed by some NATO allies on their forces. Our strategy must also include sustained diplomacy to isolate the Taliban and more effective development programs that target aid to areas where the Taliban are making inroads.

 

I will join with our allies in insisting -- not simply requesting -- that Pakistan crack down on the Taliban, pursue Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants, and end its relationship with all terrorist groups. At the same time, I will encourage dialogue between Pakistan and India to work toward resolving their dispute over Kashmir and between Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their historic differences and develop the Pashtun border region. If Pakistan can look toward the east with greater confidence, it will be less likely to believe that its interests are best advanced through cooperation with the Taliban.

 

Although vigorous action in South Asia and Central Asia should be a starting point, our efforts must be broader. There must be no safe haven for those who plot to kill Americans. To defeat al Qaeda, I will build a twenty-first-century military and twenty-first-century partnerships as strong as the anticommunist alliance that won the Cold War to stay on the offense everywhere from Djibouti to Kandahar.

 

Here at home, we must strengthen our homeland security and protect the critical infrastructure on which the entire world depends. We can start by spending homeland security dollars on the basis of risk. This means investing more resources to defend mass transit, closing the gaps in our aviation security by screening all cargo on passenger airliners and checking all passengers against a comprehensive watch list, and upgrading port security by ensuring that cargo is screened for radiation.

 

To succeed, our homeland security and counterterrorism actions must be linked to an intelligence community that deals effectively with the threats we face. Today, we rely largely on the same institutions and practices that were in place before 9/11. We need to revisit intelligence reform, going beyond rearranging boxes on an organizational chart. To keep pace with highly adaptable enemies, we need technologies and practices that enable us to efficiently collect and share information within and across our intelligence agencies. We must invest still more in human intelligence and deploy additional trained operatives and diplomats with specialized knowledge of local cultures and languages. And we should institutionalize the practice of developing competitive assessments of critical threats and strengthen our methodologies of analysis.

 

Finally, we need a comprehensive strategy to defeat global terrorists -- one that draws on the full range of American power, not just our military might. As a senior U.S. military commander put it, when people have dignity and opportunity, "the chance of extremism being welcomed greatly, if not completely, diminishes." It is for this reason that we need to invest with our allies in strengthening weak states and helping to rebuild failed ones.

 

In the Islamic world and beyond, combating the terrorists' prophets of fear will require more than lectures on democracy. We need to deepen our knowledge of the circumstances and beliefs that underpin extremism. A crucial debate is occurring within Islam. Some believe in a future of peace, tolerance, development, and democratization. Others embrace a rigid and violent intolerance of personal liberty and the world at large. To empower forces of moderation, America must make every effort to export opportunity -- access to education and health care, trade and investment -- and provide the kind of steady support for political reformers and civil society that enabled our victory in the Cold War. Our beliefs rest on hope; the extremists' rest on fear. That is why we can -- and will -- win this struggle.

 

REBUILDING OUR PARTNERSHIPS

 

To renew American leadership in the world, I intend to rebuild the alliances, partnerships, and institutions necessary to confront common threats and enhance common security. Needed reform of these alliances and institutions will not come by bullying other countries to ratify changes we hatch in isolation. It will come when we convince other governments and peoples that they, too, have a stake in effective partnerships.

 

Too often we have sent the opposite signal to our international partners. In the case of Europe, we dismissed European reservations about the wisdom and necessity of the Iraq war. In Asia, we belittled South Korean efforts to improve relations with the North. In Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina, we failed to adequately address concerns about immigration and equity and economic growth. In Africa, we have allowed genocide to persist for over four years in Darfur and have not done nearly enough to answer the African Union's call for more support to stop the killing. I will rebuild our ties to our allies in Europe and Asia and strengthen our partnerships throughout the Americas and Africa.

 

Our alliances require constant cooperation and revision if they are to remain effective and relevant. NATO has made tremendous strides over the last 15 years, transforming itself from a Cold War security structure into a partnership for peace. But today, NATO's challenge in Afghanistan has exposed, as Senator Lugar has put it, "the growing discrepancy between NATO's expanding missions and its lagging capabilities." To close this gap, I will rally our NATO allies to contribute more troops to collective security operations and to invest more in reconstruction and stabilization capabilities.

 

And as we strengthen NATO, we must build new alliances and partnerships in other vital regions. As China rises and Japan and South Korea assert themselves, I will work to forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea. We need an inclusive infrastructure with the countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity and help confront transnational threats, from terrorist cells in the Philippines to avian flu in Indonesia. I will also encourage China to play a responsible role as a growing power -- to help lead in addressing the common problems of the twenty-first century. We will compete with China in some areas and cooperate in others. Our essential challenge is to build a relationship that broadens cooperation while strengthening our ability to compete.

 

In addition, we need effective collaboration on pressing global issues among all the major powers -- including such newly emerging ones as Brazil, India, Nigeria, and South Africa. We need to give all of them a stake in upholding the international order. To that end, the United Nations requires far-reaching reform. The UN Secretariat's management practices remain weak. Peacekeeping operations are overextended. The new UN Human Rights Council has passed eight resolutions condemning Israel -- but not a single resolution condemning the genocide in Darfur or human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Yet none of these problems will be solved unless America rededicates itself to the organization and its mission.

 

Strengthened institutions and invigorated alliances and partnerships are especially crucial if we are to defeat the epochal, man-made threat to the planet: climate change. Without dramatic changes, rising sea levels will flood coastal regions around the world, including much of the eastern seaboard. Warmer temperatures and declining rainfall will reduce crop yields, increasing conflict, famine, disease, and poverty. By 2050, famine could displace more than 250 million people worldwide. That means increased instability in some of the most volatile parts of the world.

 

As the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases, America has the responsibility to lead. While many of our industrial partners are working hard to reduce their emissions, we are increasing ours at a steady clip -- by more than ten percent per decade. As president, I intend to enact a cap-and-trade system that will dramatically reduce our carbon emissions. And I will work to finally free America of its dependence on foreign oil -- by using energy more efficiently in our cars, factories, and homes, relying more on renewable sources of electricity, and harnessing the potential of biofuels.

 

Getting our own house in order is only a first step. China will soon replace America as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Clean energy development must be a central focus in our relationships with major countries in Europe and Asia. I will invest in efficient and clean technologies at home while using our assistance policies and export promotions to help developing countries leapfrog the carbon-energy-intensive stage of development. We need a global response to climate change that includes binding and enforceable commitments to reducing emissions, especially for those that pollute the most: the United States, China, India, the European Union, and Russia. This challenge is massive, but rising to it will also bring new benefits to America. By 2050, global demand for low-carbon energy could create an annual market worth $500 billion. Meeting that demand would open new frontiers for American entrepreneurs and workers.

  

BUILDING JUST, SECURE, DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES

 

Finally, to renew American leadership in the world, I will strengthen our common security by investing in our common humanity. Our global engagement cannot be defined by what we are against; it must be guided by a clear sense of what we stand for. We have a significant stake in ensuring that those who live in fear and want today can live with dignity and opportunity tomorrow.

 

People around the world have heard a great deal of late about freedom on the march. Tragically, many have come to associate this with war, torture, and forcibly imposed regime change. To build a better, freer world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people. This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law.

 

Citizens everywhere should be able to choose their leaders in climates free of fear. America must commit to strengthening the pillars of a just society. We can help build accountable institutions that deliver services and opportunity: strong legislatures, independent judiciaries, honest police forces, free presses, vibrant civil societies. In countries wracked by poverty and conflict, citizens long to enjoy freedom from want. And since extremely poor societies and weak states provide optimal breeding grounds for disease, terrorism, and conflict, the United States has a direct national security interest in dramatically reducing global poverty and joining with our allies in sharing more of our riches to help those most in need. We need to invest in building capable, democratic states that can establish healthy and educated communities, develop markets, and generate wealth. Such states would also have greater institutional capacities to fight terrorism, halt the spread of deadly weapons, and build health-care infrastructures to prevent, detect, and treat deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and avian flu.

 

As president, I will double our annual investment in meeting these challenges to $50 billion by 2012 and ensure that those new resources are directed toward worthwhile goals. For the last 20 years, U.S. foreign assistance funding has done little more than keep pace with inflation. It is in our national security interest to do better. But if America is going to help others build more just and secure societies, our trade deals, debt relief, and foreign aid must not come as blank checks. I will couple our support with an insistent call for reform, to combat the corruption that rots societies and governments from within. I will do so not in the spirit of a patron but in the spirit of a partner -- a partner mindful of his own imperfections.

 

Our rapidly growing international AIDS programs have demonstrated that increased foreign assistance can make a real difference. As part of this new funding, I will capitalize a $2 billion Global Education Fund that will bring the world together in eliminating the global education deficit, much as the 9/11 Commission proposed. We cannot hope to shape a world where opportunity outweighs danger unless we ensure that every child everywhere is taught to build and not to destroy.

 

There are compelling moral reasons and compelling security reasons for renewed American leadership that recognizes the inherent equality and worth of all people. As President Kennedy said in his 1961 inaugural address, "To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required -- not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." I will show the world that America remains true to its founding values. We lead not only for ourselves but also for the common good.

 

RESTORING AMERICA'S TRUST

 

Confronted by Hitler, Roosevelt said that our power would be "directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. We Americans are not destroyers; we are builders." It is time for a president who can build consensus here at home for an equally ambitious course.

 

Ultimately, no foreign policy can succeed unless the American people understand it and feel they have a stake in its success -- unless they trust that their government hears their concerns as well. We will not be able to increase foreign aid if we fail to invest in security and opportunity for our own people. We cannot negotiate trade agreements to help spur development in poor countries so long as we provide no meaningful help to working Americans burdened by the dislocations of a global economy. We cannot reduce our dependence on foreign oil or defeat global warming unless Americans are willing to innovate and conserve. We cannot expect Americans to support placing our men and women in harm's way if we cannot show that we will use force wisely and judiciously. But if the next president can restore the American people's trust -- if they know that he or she is acting with their best interests at heart, with prudence and wisdom and some measure of humility -- then I believe the American people will be eager to see America lead again.

 

I believe they will also agree that it is time for a new generation to tell the next great American story. If we act with boldness and foresight, we will be able to tell our grandchildren that this was the time when we helped forge peace in the Middle East. This was the time we confronted climate change and secured the weapons that could destroy the human race. This was the time we defeated global terrorists and brought opportunity to forgotten corners of the world. And this was the time when we renewed the America that has led generations of weary travelers from all over the world to find opportunity and liberty and hope on our doorstep.

 

It was not all that long ago that farmers in Venezuela and Indonesia welcomed American doctors to their villages and hung pictures of JFK on their living room walls, when millions, like my father, waited every day for a letter in the mail that would grant them the privilege to come to America to study, work, live, or just be free.

 

We can be this America again. This is our moment to renew the trust and faith of our people -- and all people -- in an America that battles immediate evils, promotes an ultimate good, and leads the world once more."

  

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Refocus shot of fireworks. 5 Second exposure while focusing from out of focus to infinity.

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More indoor faffin with figurines, heavily inspired by Led Eddie for this.

Pcb, refocus then laser, a chuff of vape, a splash of flash, a zoom pull, then change gels and another chuff of vape and a final splash of the flashes ....bosh.

Jpeg Vapeg straight from the camera.

 

This was the first time I've tried something like this. I really enjoyed the challenge and doing something new. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. These are tiny primitive hand carved dogs. I like how the photo became an optical illusion - if you look at one dog you see him clearer, but if you refocus on the second dog you see him clearer.

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We were both a bit urbex dizzy because there was so many old things to look at and take photographs of. We both had to stop a few times and refocus our minds

Beyond Van Gogh Austin: "Beyond Van Gogh uses cutting-edge projection technology to create an engaging journey into the world of Van Gogh. Using his dreams, his thoughts, and his words to drive the experience as a narrative, we move along projection swathed walls wrapped in light, colour, and shapes that swirl, dance and refocus into flowers, cafes and landscapes." (from the website vangoghaustin.com)

2022 wishes to cross the new year.Deerpower....How 2022 Works are horsepower ?“Your life is what your thoughts make it,Your New Year is what, what you make it,Happy New Year 2022!"

I would just like to say to all of you people who have answered this question stating that St Nicholas is the original Santa, well he came after, like most things which the Christians claim as their own, has in fact a Pagan root...Santa Claus and Xmas are both Pagan originally.. Saint Nicholas' Day .When the old Gods ruled the world, Odinn the All-father rode the skies of Germania and Scandinavia in winter with a crowd of elves and spirits; those mortals who offered him reverence were rewarded with gifts.. In later years, Odinn's horse, elves and gifts became the accouterments of a Christian saint named Nicholas.Nicholas lived in Asia Minor..Because he calmed the storms at sea during his life, he became the patron of sailors; and because he restored to life three murdered youths, he became the patron for boys..But the most famous tale concerning him was that of three maidens whose imppoverished father planned to sell them into slavery.. Nicholas redeemed them with three bags of dowry gold, which he flung through their windows one night and which landed on their shoes, set to warm before the fire..For this deed, he became the patron of maidens, and Frenchwomen prayed to him for husbands.. He also became the patron of pawnbrokers, and his bags of gold are remembered in the three golden balls that are the sign of the trade.. But gift-giving was his most important act..In Germany and Holland, children set out their shoes on the eve of his feast day, filling them with hay and carrots for his white horse, just as provender had been left for Odinn's horse by their ancestors.. Nicholas, they knew, would ride over the rooftops in the night with his elvish companion Knecht Ruprecht.. Ruprecht carried a switch for use on naughty young ones.. But Nicholas carried baskets of toys and sweets, to be left in the shoes of all good children... That is the origin of Santa, and the red suit he wears has only been around since about the 1930's when he was part of a huge Coke campaign.. First there was St Nicholas--a real Saint who was wealthy and gave a lot of it away, but his feast day was December 6th (when it is still celebrated in some European countries--not at Christmas). For many involved reasons, he was suppressed and finally abolished by the Protestant Reformation. However, he was not to be so easily done away with. His festival was assimilated with Christmas, because often custom and amusement prevail even in the face of disapproving religion.

The Dutch brought him to the New World, and the English colonists borrowed him. In some parts of Germany, St.Nicholas was deposed of power and disappeared. Still, the custom remained and gifts appeared, but they were attributed to the Christ Child, or in popular German, Kriss Kringle. Hmm.

In parts of southern Germany, he is called "Santiklos". The Dutch form is San Nicolaas. Then along came Clement Moore, and that famous poem, which gave us our popular American form of St Nicholas. The author of "Twas the Night before Christmas" was a distinguished Biblical scholar and professor in the General Theological Seminary in New York. He created a fairy tale, borrowing from the Russian St Nicholas: the reindeer (there are none in America but lots of them in Lapland, close to Russia), and the furs--(but no red suit--that was the vision of the artist who illustrated the verse), made him an "elf" and incorporated the idea of Santa Claus of his time. The poem was such a success that it spread all over the country, giving America its own version of Santa Claus, which, ironically, spread back across the Atlantic to Europe.The TRUTH is YOUR ARE RIGHT. Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus come of EVIL. This all started during the times of the Germanic people there was in winter a winter festival in honor of the idol Wodan. Wodan was the main Germanic god, known as the god of war and death! They symbolized Wodan as a saint with a long beard and a long cloak, and in his hand he held a spear with a snake-head, which was also seen as a magic lance. Along with his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, Satan made sure to christianize the Germanic pagan idolatry, and to have himself declared a saint in that way. this St. Nicholas and Santa Claus ritual, in which they both are being exalted and worshipped, comes of EVIL! Many children worship St. Nicholas, the Wodan! Furthermore, Roman Catholicism is a mixture of worship of idols and canonizations, and brought it to Front. And the church allowed itself to be used for satan's plan. The miter of the Roman Catholics is also called 'Dagon-hat', a fish's mouth, which represents worship of Dagon, also known as Baal-Moloch, devil!The modern depiction of Santa Claus as a fat, jolly man (or elf) wearing a red coat and trousers with white cuffs and collar, and black leather belt and boots, became popular in the United States in the 19th century due to the significant influence of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast.[3] This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, and films. In the United Kingdom and Europe, his depiction is often identical to the American Santa, but he is commonly called Father Christmas.One legend associated with Santa says that he lives in the far north, in a land of perpetual snow. The American version of Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, while Father Christmas is said to reside in Finland. Other mythological details include: he is married and lives with Mrs. Claus; that he makes a list of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior; that he delivers presents, including toys, candy, and other presents to all of the good boys and girls in the world, and sometimes coal or sticks to the naughty children, in one night; and that he accomplishes this feat with the aid of magical elves who make the toys, and flying reindeer who pull his sleigh.There has long been opposition to teaching children to believe in Santa Claus. Some Christians say the Santa tradition detracts from the religious origins and purpose of Christmas. Other critics feel that Santa Claus is an elaborate lie, and that it is unethical for parents to teach their children to believe in his existence.[6] Still others oppose Santa Claus as a symbol of the commercialization of the Christmas holiday, or as an intrusion upon their own national traditions.

answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071222075857AAHGEu2

Germany's black forest, before Christianity came to the place, they had a legend about creatures called tomtin. These were wholly evil little dwarf-like creatures, who wore red (the color of blood). They would band together, pull a traveler to the ground and beat him. The tomtin had a leader, though. He was known as Nacht Rupert. Nacht Rupert would sometimes come into villages taking a small army of tomtin with him, and could sometimes be seen peering into windows. He would often kill those he was watching, unless the people inside were keeping to the old faiths, in which case he would give gifts. When the Catholic faith made it to the area, they were appalled at such a thing, and decided to replace the notion with a saint, who happened to be St. Nicholas. At first, though, this did not erase his sinister reputation. For some time, he was known as 'Buller Claus' (translates to 'Belled 'Nicholas') because of the chains and bells that he carried. When he approached a house, the tomtin went ahead to rouse sleeping children, drag them from their beds, and ask them questions on the Christian catechism. If they could not answer or answered incorrectly, the tomtin beat them with sharp sticks and chains while St. Nicholas pelted them with hard coal until they bled and the tomtin licked the blood from their wounds. If they were able to answer correctly, they were (grudgingly) rewarded with an apple or sweetmeat. Luckily, St. Nicholas would only come once a year, on a certain day in winter. Later, the image of the tomtin softened, and they became 'Santa's little helpers' or 'Christmas Elves'. Also, things changed around a bit, and now it is Santa who wears the red (color of blood) suit. Just think of that next time you see Santa at the shopping mall!

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The Santa Claus we all know and love — that big, jolly man in the red suit with a white beard — didn’t always look that way. In fact, many people are surprised to learn that prior to 1931, Santa was depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf. He has donned a bishop's robe and a Norse huntsman's animal skin. In fact, when Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862, Santa was a small elflike figure who supported the Union. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red he’s known for today.Here, a few other things you may not have realized about the cheerful guy in the red suit.The Coca-Cola Company began its Christmas advertising in the 1920s with shopping-related ads in magazines like The Saturday Evening Post. The first Santa ads used a strict-looking Claus, in the vein of Thomas Nast.In 1930, artist Fred Mizen painted a department-store Santa in a crowd drinking a bottle of Coke. The ad featured the world's largest soda fountain, which was located in the department store Famous Barr Co. in St. Louis, Mo. Mizen's painting was used in print ads that Christmas season, appearing in The Saturday Evening Post in December 1930.In 1931 the company began placing Coca-Cola ads in popular magazines. Archie Lee, the D'Arcy Advertising Agency executive working with The Coca-Cola Company, wanted the campaign to show a wholesome Santa who was both realistic and symbolic. So Coca-Cola commissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus — showing Santa himself, not a man dressed as Santa.For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (commonly called "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"). Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of a warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human Santa. (And even though it's often said that Santa wears a red coat because red is the color of Coca-Cola, Santa appeared in a red coat before Sundblom painted him.)Sundblom’s Santa debuted in 1931 in Coke ads in The Saturday Evening Post and appeared regularly in that magazine, as well as in Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic, The New Yorker and others.From 1931 to 1964, Coca-Cola advertising showed Santa delivering toys (and playing with them!), pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, visiting with the children who stayed up to greet him, and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes. The original oil paintings Sundblom created were adapted for Coca-Cola advertising in magazines and on store displays, billboards, posters, calendars and plush dolls. Many of those items today are popular collectibles.Sundblom created his final version of Santa Claus in 1964, but for several decades to follow, Coca-Cola advertising featured images of Santa based on Sundblom’s original works. These paintings are some of the most prized pieces in the art collection in the company’s archives department and have been on exhibit around the world, in famous locales including the Louvre in Paris, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the Isetan Department Store in Tokyo, and the NK Department Store in Stockholm. Many of the original paintings can be seen on display at World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Ga.In the beginning, Sundblom painted the image of Santa using a live model — his friend Lou Prentiss, a retired salesman. When Prentiss passed away, Sundblom used himself as a model, painting while looking into a mirror. Finally, he began relying on photographs to create the image of St. Nick.People loved the Coca-Cola Santa images and paid such close attention to them that when anything changed, they sent letters to The Coca-Cola Company. One year, Santa's large belt was backwards (perhaps because Sundblom was painting via a mirror). Another year, Santa Claus appeared without a wedding ring, causing fans to write asking what happened to Mrs. Claus.The children who appear with Santa in Sundblom’s paintings were based on Sundblom's neighbors — two little girls. So he changed one to a boy in his paintings.In 1942, Coca-Cola introduced "Sprite Boy," a character who appeared with Santa Claus in Coca-Cola advertising throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Sprite Boy, who was also created by Sundblom, got his name due to the fact that he was a sprite, or an elf. (It wasn’t until the 1960s that Coca-Cola introduced the popular beverage Sprite.)In 2001, the artwork from Sundblom's 1963 painting was the basis for an animated TV commercial starring the Coca-Cola Santa. The ad was created by Academy Award-winning animator Alexandre Petrov.

www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/coke-lore-santa-claus/

Santa Claus and Christmas go hand-in-hand - in the other hand, Father Christmas is holding an ice cold bottle of Coca-Cola.The gigantic brand has more to do with the big man in red than the supposedly traditional mince pie and glass of sherry.But while it is often said his trademark red suit is solely down to the soft drink's long-running advertising campaign, many historians believe the colours were inspired by the Bishop of Myra in the 4th Century.He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and so he became the model for Santa Claus.But the association with Coca-Cola has done little to harm any link with a red suit - and the brand denies it is solely responsible for Saint Nick's garb."Before the Coca‑Cola Santa was even created, St Nick had appeared in numerous illustrations and written descriptions wearing a scarlet coat," its site reads."However, it is true that Coca‑Cola advertising played a big role in shaping the jolly, rotund character we know and love today."In 1931, Swedish-American artist Haddon Sundblom was commissioned to paint Santa Claus for the company's Christmas adverts.Prior to this, he had been portrayed in a variety of ways throughout history: tall and gaunt; short and elfin; distinguished and intellectual; even downright frightening.Coca-Cola adds: "Sundblom’s paintings for Coca‑Cola established Santa as a warm, happy character with human features such as rosy cheeks, a white beard, twinkling eyes and laughter lines."This grandfather-style Coca‑Cola Santa captivated the public and, as our adverts spread globally, the perception of the North Pole’s most-famous resident changed forever."These historic Coca-Cola Christmas adverts show how little has changed in 80 years of festive marketing.Proving that they know when holidays are coming, the mega-brand have consistently put Santa Claus at the heart of their posters.Starting in 1931, a rotund St Nick holds up a glass of the iconic pop up with the tag line "my hat's off to the pause that refreshes".Even 83 years later, a smiling Santa with slightly less rosy cheeks, dominates the poster.

 

www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/coca-cola-really-invent-...

America and the Creation of Santa Claus.

America and the Creation of Santa Claus: A Guide

The American Santa Claus is generally considered to have been the invention of Washington Irving and other early nineteenth-century New Yorkers, who wished to create a benign figure that might help calm down riotous Christmas celebrations and refocus them on the family. This new Santa Claus seems to have been largely inspired by the Dutch tradition of a gift-giving Sinterklaas, but it always was divergent from this tradition and was increasingly so over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. So, the American Santa is a largely secular visitor who arrives at Christmas, not the 6 December; who dresses in furs rather than a version of bishop's robes; who is rotund rather than thin; and who has a team of flying reindeer rather than a flying horse. At first his image was somewhat variable, but Thomas Nast's illustrations for Harper's Illustrated Weekly (1863-6) helped establish a figure who looks fairly close to the modern Santa. This figure was taken up by various advertisers, including Coca-Cola, with the result that he is now the 'standard' version of the Christmas visitor and has largely replaced the traditional Father Christmas in England.The Origin of American Christmas Myth and Custom - By B.K. Swartz, Jr., Emeritus Professor at Ball State University (this page is now hosted on arthuriana.co.uk by kind permission of B. K. Swartz, Jr.). A very nicely illustrated schematic version of the evolution of Santa Claus from St Nicholas, with extremely good coverage of the development of Santa Claus (including dates for the first appearance of various features).Christmas Reborn: The Creation of a Consumer Christmas - An interview with Professor Stephen Nissenbaum, author of an important book on the nineteenth-century American 're-invention' of Christmas and the creation of Santa Claus, The Battle for Christmas. This interview includes discussion of both of these topics. Santa Claus Does More Than Deliver Toys: Advertising's Commercialization of the Collective Memory of Americans - An interesting journal article from 2000 that has been made freely available (pp. 207-40 of the PDF). This provides a good summary of the early development of St Nicholas before going into considerable detail on the American tradition of Santa and its evolution and spread.Santa Claus: Building a Better Father Christmas - A good article which is largely based on Nissenbaum's work, making the case for the American tradition of Santa Claus being the creation of an early nineteenth-century New York elite, who transplanted the Dutch Sinterklaas into New York in a successful attempt to civilise Christmas.Did Coca-Cola Invent Santa Claus? - A detailed discussion of the common belief that the modern image of Santa Claus was the sole creation of 1930s Coca-Cola advertising, which rightly rejects this as a myth. Another good demolition of this myth and brief discussion of the nineteenth-century 'creation' of the American Santa Claus is available here: Did the Popular Image of Santa Claus Originate in a Coca-Cola Ad?

www.arthuriana.co.uk/xmas/pages/santa.htm

Life is so full of unexpected twists. They often distract you from pursuing and achieving your goal. The key, of course, is to refocus.

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"One caramel macchiato and one black coffee."

  

Barry watched Iris from a table located in the back of the coffee shop. Jitters had been a meetup spot the two frequented ever since highschool. While the coffee wasn't five-star quality, the atmosphere of the shop & it's owners made up for it.

  

Barry's mind, however, was elsewhere.

  

"Don't ever stop… being a hero. You might have to fight a few knuckleheads like me… but it'll be worth it."

  

The event replayed in Barry's head over and over again. The man smiled as his final moments occurred… smiled as Barry failed him.

  

"You sure you don't want any pastries?" Iris asked, causing Barry to refocus. "You usually always get one when we come."

  

"Ah- y-yeah…" he mumbled, accepting the drink. He took a quick sip before placing the cup down, turning his head to stare out the frosted window. "Not hungry."

  

Iris looked at him with a cocked eyebrow as she sat down. "Barry," she started, placing her own cup down, "are you feeling okay?"

  

"Yeah… why?" he asked, turning back to her.

  

"Because that's a plain black coffee you just drank…" she said, motioning to his cup. "You don't touch the stuff unless it's got at least three scoops of sugar and drowned in milk."

  

"Oh… guess it's not that bad," he replied, forcing a small smile. "Really, I'm fine."

  

"Barry, I don't know if I should be more insulted that you think your girlfriend would buy that, or that a reporter would," she said with a frown. Reaching across the table, she took hold of his hand. "You've been… off all day today, Barry, yesterday too. I won't force you to tell me… but you don't need to fake a smile." After a moment of silence, Iris squeezed Barry's hand before pulling away.

  

Barry bit the inside of his cheek to stop his mouth from opening. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted someone on the outside to talk to, to confide in. Someone that wasn't a veteran superhero or in the line of duty, just a normal person.

  

The woman's phone pinged, causing Barry to raise his head, an inward sigh of both relief and disappointment. The woman across from him checked the device, sighing as she stood.

  

"I'm sorry Barry, my boss needs me downtown," she mumbled, picking up her drink and purse. "Apparently the Trickster is back in town?"

  

Barry's ears perked up at the name, remembering him as one of Jay's old foes. "It's alright, Iris," he said, standing up after her. "I'm sure I'll be called in shortly anyways."

  

Iris frowned once more. "Just remember I'm here, okay Barry?" Iris said, turning towards the door.

  

Barry didn't speak, watching the woman leave. He wanted to tell her, but he knew he couldn't. It wasn't her burden to shoulder.

  

-^-

  

A gust of wind sounded off through the street as Barry arrived. It was quiet for a Monday morning, the police were thorough with their evacuation.

  

Jay had told him a bit about some of his old foes. Weather Warlock, Heatmonger, The Thinker, and one of the deadliest… Trickster.

  

He was different from any of the villains Barry had fought during his year of crime fighting. Some wanted money, power, even simple validation. Not James Jesse though.

  

There was no method to the madness. There was no weather wand or flamethrower. No mirror gun or saw blade-lined suits. He was the definition of a wildcard, and that made him dangerous.

  

The sound of a firework caught Barry's attention, bringing his gaze to the sky. The smoke trail following the colors came from a nearby rooftop. Running up the wall, Barry came face to face with the villain, sat atop the Young Theater. The villain looked… sad, his feet dangling off the building's edge.

  

"Jesse," Flash called, staring at the man. "You know this ends one of two ways."

  

"The rumors are true," Jesse mumbled, elbows on his knees as he held up his head. "You really aren't the real Flash."

  

Barry frowned, walking closer to the man. "I don't have time for games, turn yourself in." he said, now mere feet away from the man.

  

"Yeah…" Jesse said, raising his wrists towards Barry. "Not gonna happen!"

  

From Jesse's wrists shot splatters of acid. Barry narrowly dodged the lethal liquid, stepping to the side, out of Jesse's range. The man leapt up from his spot on the roof, using spring-shoes to launch himself to a neighboring building.

  

"One thing didn't change, whoever you are," Jesse laughed, landing on one foot, striking a pose, "you're still as gullible as ever, streaky."

  

Barry frowned, watching as the green-haired man pulled out a metallic fish from his belt. "I don't have time for this!" Barry yelled out, making a beeline towards Jesse. Leaping across the gap of the buildings, Barry was caught off guard by a boxing glove, launching out from the alley below. The red object caught Barry by his chin, stopping his momentum and sending him crashing to the street below.

  

Barry groaned, using his elbow to prop himself up. The buildings weren't too tall, thankfully. He could feel his speed healing begin to kick in, but it would still be a moment before he could stand.

  

"Flash!?"

  

Barry's eyes widened at the voice, his head swivelling to see Iris approaching him. A cameraman followed behind her, but kept some distance, likely to keep a good shot.

  

"Ms. West… stay back…" he called out, turning his head back to the villain, still atop the building. "He's dangerous… you need to leave."

  

Springs sounded off as Jesse leapt from the roof, landing gracefully on the road. He had a smile on his face as he twirled the silver fish. "Well well well," he giggled, pressing a button on the side of the item, "we seem to have an audience."

  

Like out of a sci-fi movie, a blue laser shot from the fish, turning it into a sword. The cameraman took an additional step back, but Iris stepped forward.

  

"Iris…" Barry mumbled, reaching his hand forward.

  

"Do you think people are scared of you?" she asked, taking another step forward, eyes peering over his shoulder. "You're nothing but a joke-"

  

"No, he's from Gotham…"

  

"-to me, him, and everyone in this city." she continued, ignoring his interruption. "You're washed. No one cares about the Trickster anymore. Take it from me, I'd rather be covering Captain Cold right now."

  

"What did you say?" he asked, the playfulness in his voice dropping. "Washed? Me!? You must be mistaken, Ms. West… but I'm the star of any show!"

  

"Your gimmick was perfected," she said, taking yet another step forward. "Do you know how many 'Tricksters' there are? How many are scarier… more threatening than you ever were?"

  

"Another word… and I'll end you!"

  

"I doubt you could."

  

"THAT'S I-"

  

Crack

  

Jesse tumbled to the ground, dropping the laser sword in the process. Stood in his place was Joe, rubbing his fist.

  

"Detective West…" Barry mumbled, the feeling in his leg returning.

  

"Good job, Joe," Iris said, waving the cameraman over.

  

"Iris, what the hell were you thinking!?" he shouted, causing Iris to frown.

  

"I saw your lights," she explained, pointing to the police cruiser. "I thought I'd make a distraction so you could take him down."

  

"That's not your job!" he fired back, pointing to Barry. "He moves faster than a bullet and was nearly killed. He could've killed you, Iris!"

  

"But he didn't."

  

"That isn't… damn it, Iris."

  

Barry, finally healed, raised himself to a stand, shaking the snow off his back. "Ms. West, Detective West is right," he said, looking down at Jesse. "This man is insane. Trying to aggravate him could've gotten you and your cameraman hurt… or worse."

  

"I…" Iris opened her mouth, ready to argue, but stopped. "I need to finish the report. Sorry for the inconvenience."

  

Red and blue lights flashed down the street as an armored car arrived. Officers stepped out, disarming Jesse and began loading him into the back.

  

Barry turned, ready to leave, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Looking back, Joe stood with a firm expression.

  

"Something wrong, Detective?" he asked, tilting his head.

  

"Come with me a minute?" he asked, nodding his head away from the officers.

  

Barry paused for a moment, contemplating on just speeding off. Then he looked at Joe, and saw worry in the man's eyes. With a nod, the two walked away from the crowd.

  

"What's on your mind, Detective?" Barry asked, after breaking away from the scene.

  

"What's on yours?" Joe responded, causing Barry to frown.

  

"I'm not sure what you mean by that, sir," Barry said, knowing his acting wasn't very up to par. "Just a tumble, that's all."

  

"On New Year's eve… you vanished," Joe said, crossing his arms. "After every case of super criminal you deal with, you've made it a priority to relay everything you could to us… but that night?

  

"What happened with Bivolo?"

  

Barry down at his hands.

  

"Don't ever stop… being a hero. You might have to fight a few knuckleheads like me… but it'll be worth it."

  

A teardrop fell from his eye down onto his hand, causing him to clench his fists. Looking back up to Joe, he shook his head solemnly. "I couldn't save him."

  

In an instant, Barry took off, leaving Joe alone in the street.

  

"I failed to be a hero."

  

-^-

  

"Hey, mom… Malcolm," Barry said, kneeling down to place a small bundle of pansies onto the snowy grave stones. "I… I haven't come by as much recently, sorry about that, I've been… busy."

  

Barry inhaled the crisp January air, feeling wetness buildup in his eyes. "I- uh… I'm not in a good place right now," he mumbled, droplets falling from his cheeks onto the snow. "I… the other night, I really just… didn't know what to do. In my head I played every scenario I could think of… I tried… tried to calm him down, but… but I…"

  

"Why did it hit me?" Barry asked, staring at the headstone, hoping it would give him an answer "Out of anyone that could've been struck by that bolt of lightning, why was it me?

  

"Why did it choose someone who always fails… someone who couldn't get home fast enough for his family… someone who wasn't able to do anything to save Francine… or Jorge… or-"

  

Barry stopped himself, looking down into the snow. He sat in silence, letting the light snow fall on his hair. Pulling himself back to both feet, he let out a held breath.

  

"I thought I'd find you here."

  

Barry looked up, seeing August walking through the snow towards him.

  

"A-August? W-were you-"

  

"I wasn't listening," August said, pointing to the headstones "It'd be disrespectful to intrude, to all three of you."

  

"R-right," Barry mumbled, looking at the graves before turning back to August. "Why are you here?"

  

"You're not good at hiding things, Barry," he said, Barry freezing at the words. "Yesterday when you were doing your analysis for Bivolo's case, you… you looked so broken."

  

"August, believe me-"

  

"Shut up, Barry," he said, silencing the blond. "I don't… know what's going on… or why you're crying at the cemetery alone. You've got people who care about you, Barry," he said, looking up and turning his head to Barry.

  

"I know that August," Barry said. "Believe me, I know that, I just… there's some things that you have to deal with alone."

  

"Yeah… yeah I get that," August said,m with a sad smile, placing his hand on Barry's shoulder, "but I want you to know… even if we may not understand what you're going through, we understand you. You can talk to us, any of us. You don't have to be Superman."

  

Patting Barry's shoulder, August walked away, leaving Barry alone. The blond turned his head back to the graves. "I know what you'd be saying right now, mom," Barry mumbled with a chuckle, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I… I think I made good friends too."

  

After a few more minutes, Barry turned, making his way out of the cemetery. As he took his first steps, someone collided with him.

  

"My bad, sir," Barry said, taking note of the long, black hooded-coat the man wore, completely concealing his face.

  

"S'fine… didn't see you."

  

Barry watched the man step past him, walking deeper into the cemetery.

  

"Weird…"

  

-^-

  

A large explosion sounded off in the d-block of Iron Heights. Sam Scudder stepped out of his cell, coughing up dust.

  

"What the hell?" he asked as he looked around the block.

  

Marco Mardon, exited his cell, holding a broken bar as if it were a weapon. "Was this you?" he asked Scudder, earning a head shake in response.

  

"Wasn't me neither," Roscoe Dillon, mumbled, fanning away dust. "Looks like it blew up along the entire wing…"

  

"If it wasn't either of you, then…"

  

"Explosive chewing gum!" shouted the manic voice of James Jesse, as he stepped out of his cell. "It usually just blows up in people's mouths, glad it worked this time though!"

  

Scudder looked to Mardon with a concerned expression, who simply shrugged his shoulders.

  

"Are you curious?" Jesse asked, tearing off his left pinky. "I hid the gum in here, my fake finger." The three stared in astonishment as he wiggled the prosthetic. "Don't let the guards know though," he said, concealing his mouth behind his hand, "it's my trick for gettin' out of here."

  

The sound of another string of explosions caused everyone in the wing to stumble.

  

"Oops, looks like the rest of the gum blew up…" Jesse mumbled, before shrugging. "Oh well, I'll be off. I know you youngsters got your own gimmicks, there should be a hole in the armory. Toodles."

  

Scudder, Mardon, and Dillon watched as the green haired man pranced out of the large blown open wall.

  

"What the fuck?"

  

NEXT TIME: Wally West, Missing!?

The photo for seva's september newsletter

 

strobist: sb-80dx through umbrella left as key, sb-80dx through umbrella right for slight rim and fill

I am trying to refocus my life again after the year of grieving. The grief has not quite finished. Maybe it never will finish. But it no longer defines my life. I need to find a spiritual centre once more, and start writing again. Maybe this picture will help in that process. I dreamed about my family of origin the other day. My father was unwell but my brother was young and slim again. I am re-reading Robert Graves, "The White Goddess", about the origins of poetry in the ogam alphabet which is based upon the experience of trees. I am photographing trees again a lot this autumn. But then, when was I ever not photographing trees.

 

An astonishingly beautiful

Poem by Ken Lewis

 

does the wind whisper

its name

as it passes

between your silent branches

or does it only know

the sound of the leaves

applauding

or the hiss of its touch

upon cliff edge of grief

and the crushing sound

of the endless fall to earth

inspiration cannot be found

as if it was wandering the woods

in search of a partner

and though it may be heard

in the music of the forest

it lives in the mind

that listens for the

soul of the wind

in the branches of their spirit

 

Ranked #7 on Google of 237000 for ances tree

 

Broads Fork Meadow. Most of the flowers were past their prime at the end of July, but these little ones were still hanging on. This is a strenuous 2 mile hike (4 mile both ways.) Several stitched images, I would refocus the lens as I panned downward to the closer foreground. The flowers at the bottom are right up to the lens and actually quite small.

 

_IGP3687-88-89-92-stitch-2

The view from Tempe Town Lake, looking towards the Light Rail bridge. Taken the night of the May 2009 refocusphoenix.com meet-up (I didn't get home until 1am).

 

Time lapse video on the way!

Created with Nokia Refocus

What is art?

What is photography?

What is it to tell a lie?

Does it matter?

Long Exposure Fireworks - refocus during exposure. Taken during Philippines' performance at the Grands Feux du Lac Leamy, Gatineau. August 17, 2013.

Long exposure fireworks (refocus during exposure)

Created with Nokia Refocus

Blood moon over the Space Coast - Total Lunar Eclipse - April 15 2014, 4:00 AM EST

 

This time I decided to go with F11

(one stop in from wide open with a 2xTC on the 600), and a higher ISO to keep the exposure under one second.

Manual focus with an LCD magnifying eye-piece was used on the LCD screen to obtain critical focus at 10x. I had considered leaving the focus set from some previous captures of the sunlit moon, but concerns about mechanical drift over long periods of time caused me to refocus on the eclipsed moon. Needless to say there was not enough light for AF so the LCD eye-piece was invaluable to obtain proper focus. However perfect focus was lost in the noise that you get at high ISO, and hole craters visible through the viewfinder disappeared into the noise. :{(

  

Tech Info

Body: Canon 5D Mark II

Lens: Canon 600 mm with 2xTC

Aperture: F11

Shutter Speed: 0.4 second

ISO: 6400

Focus: Manual on camera back @ 10X

using LCD ViewFinder V1

Tripod: Giottos MT 9371

Head: Manfrotto 393 Gimbal Head

Release: Yongnuo RF-603C

Flash : Just kidding!

Tiny. Found by Peter Šima in the village of Imeľ in Slovakia. Here now, you can go there: 47°54'35.36"N , 18°8'19.57"E and catch Nomioides minutissmus yourself (as an aside, when reading "minutissmus" I had a flash, a brief vision, of some sort of arcane musical notion: re: "play this section very smallily", perhaps this notation does exist, wouldn't that be jazzy?). Refocus....This bee is a scant few millimetres and would appear (from my Western Hemisphere perspective) to be the Perdita analog of the Old World. (Different families though, Nomioides is Halictidae). Here is a question. World- wide do all non-colonial tiny tiny dust sized bees tend to be brightly colored? I think so, but haven't made a study of it. Photo by Cole Cheng.

 

~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~

 

All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

  

Photography Information:

Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200

 

We Are Made One with What We Touch and See

 

We are resolved into the supreme air,

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,

With our young lives each spring impassioned tree

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range

The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

- Oscar Wilde

  

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML

 

Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

 

Best over all technical resource for photo stacking:

www.extreme-macro.co.uk/

 

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland:

bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

 

Basic USGSBIML set up:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY

 

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4

 

Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus

www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/collections

 

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

 

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo

or

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU

 

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

www.photomacrography.net/

 

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

  

301 497 5840

SD1 - Colorado Trip Refocus on the focal point of the picture, the contrast between leaves up close and the grandeur of the mountain in the distance

Created with Nokia Refocus

Created with Nokia Refocus

Long exposure fireworks (refocus during exposure)

•Raise, lower, and rotate the working crane

•Open and close the sea-gate by turning the knob

•Drop rocks on ships entering through the sea-gate

•Collapse the tower floor and to drop characters down a storey

•Aim and refocus the searchlight, which features two movable lenses for different light dispersions

•Fire Rothut’s magic into the sky with the spring-loaded Spell Launcher hidden on the searchlight, and store extra bolts behind the lighthouse tower

•Press the button on Fythold’s back to make his wings flap

•Launch firebolts with the spring-loaded Spell Launcher on Fythold’s back, and store the flaming ammunition under his wings

Refocus during exposure with the Samyang 14mm. The butterflies on the foreground are from a video I made playing on my mobile.