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Macro Mondays 22/04/19 theme.Bottle Cap
I found this bottle and stopper years ago on a rifle range and assumed the war grade on the cap referred to the substance inside but I have now found out it relates to the stopper itself.The screw stopper is made from vulcanite which is rubber that through the process of heating (vulcanisation) at 115 degrees Celsius and with sulphur and linseed oil added produced a durable hard rubber material.During the 2nd World War rubber was in short supply due to the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Dutch East Indies. Due to the need for rubber for gas masks, gaskets, tires and thousands of other military uses the humble stopper was made of poorer quality materials with less rubber than pre-war examples and marked War Grade.In other examples there is also a dip in the top which saved even more rubber.
hatchfive.wordpress.com/2015/06/08/war-grade-beer-bottle-...
Relating to a blog I posted today about how I'm fine taking my clothes off in abandoned buildings yet totally afraid to pose clothed in public view, I went outside to take a photo. Granted, it was just on the corner of my street, but someone even walked by while I was setting up the camera and nothing bad happened! Baby steps. That's what it's all about.
This image directly relates to a much earlier one of mine, symbolic of the English Peasant’s Revolt of 1381. This is one of a set of cherry wood sculptures at the Wat Tyler Country Park, Essex UK. This particular figure stands 11 feet high and is among a group of 7 figures in total, bound and captive standing behind his leader. ⬇️
www.flickr.com/photos/bigharv/50664703651/in/album-721577...
Artist: Robert Koenig, 2006
The BBC radio has been devoting practically all the time since the announcement of the death of HRH, the Duke of Edinburgh, to talking about his long life. This radio is also very old though not quite so old as Prince Philip was. But like Prince Philip it has done long years of good service for us. I think I bought it in 1977 and we still use it as the sound is much better than on our more modern lighter radios. Maybe it is slightly related to his interest in engineering and how things are made. The flowers grown in our organic garden perhaps relates a little to his interest in the environment.
Thank you so much for sharing your quality photos which is a great way to see and keep some sort of touch with the world from home. Also for your kind comments and favours which are much valued.
I am not able to take on any more members to follow or to post to groups.
My goal for the year was to have at least one image for every week and write some sort of background story relating it to what was going on in my life. A journal of sorts.
I did manage to pick up a camera every week but one - the worst week of the fires in September, when the air was extremely hazardous and seeping into the house, work was crazy etc etc. I suppose I could have shot a self portrait in front of my taped up front door, holding Conor ready to attack since he couldn’t go outside...but, I didn’t :)
I was more motivated with the project in the beginning. At the start of the pandemic it was somewhat inspiring to think of ways to express what was going on while stuck at home. I had a lot of ideas and played around with them a little, but my attention span was short and eventually, they didn’t seem so exciting to me.
My focus went more internal, and my camera became more of a side project. I started studying the enneagram, which I had heard about but always assumed was some stupid online personality test. People would ask me what my number was and I immediately rejected the whole thing. I’m not a “Number”. Haha. Having gone to astrology school for many years, it made me think of how people try to characterize someone by their sun sign, when really it’s so much more than that. People are complicated and this number thing seemed way too simple. But it turned out, there’s more to that too... And it led me to think a lot about my childhood and certain behavior patterns that had always been present. And That led me to think about things that were very important to me when I was younger and that had slipped away. And That led me to remember how passionate I once was about animal rights and the environment.
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 15, and vegan for a number of years now. But in terms of lifestyle, I was not living a vegan life. So I decided to change this. I started looking at the ingredients of every single product I use. I started looking at the companies who made every single thing I own or buy. I started to switch things out and make a conscious choice as to who I was supporting and what I was using. It’s been incredibly life changing and the main focus of my year.
I also let my natural hair (now gray) grow out for the first time since I was a teenager. It really feels like the pandemic allowed my true self to emerge, in ways that definitely would not have happened if life had continued to be ‘normal’.
2020 was not an easy year, for anyone, but it wasn’t all bad. I am most definitely changed for the better. :)
Can anybodyout there relate to this adult burrowing owl (dad)? I feel that I can ... seems to me that it's just looking for a little bit of shade from the heat and a bit of solitude from its routine busy day duties.
See, this dad had numerous burrowing owlets to provide for and a mate that also requires a bit of attention. The owlets can be quite demanding at times ... not to mention noisy. Where better can there be than to fly off to a nearby tree that the young can't quite navigate yet. LOL
It's an absolutely gorgeous day here on the western slope of Colorado, though I honestly wish it would be a bit cooler. Hopefully it won't be that long, though the cold weather from a few weeks ago got me anxious for more.
Happy Weekend everyone. Hope that you're out there enjoying it.
© 2017 Debbie Tubridy / TNWA Photography
I can relate, LOL! This made me laugh, as did the yellow squash in the previous post. I mean, usually you see them in a more passive pose at the grocery store. This was at the roadside market on Hwy 60 in east Brandon, FL. Hugs and thanks for viewing! I hope this makes you smile as it did me! =o)
***All rights to my images are STRICTLY reserved. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing my images or if you are an educator or non-profit interested in use. copyright KathleenJacksonPhotography 2009***
I came across the quote used in the title somewhere - I rather relate to it - although I'm not sure I quite fit the 'antique' model (others will disagree I'm sure!)
This is me and my youngest grandaughter Melody playing together. she had spied my Lego men and wanted to play with those - so, knowing who would have the job of putting those fiddly arms and legs back on after she'd pulled them apart, I steered her in the direction of some of my boyhood toys - no stereotyping in this house!
Quite nice really because when I grew out of them my little bro used them, then my son played them to near death, and now my grandaughter loves them
The photo was taken by my 30 year old son (Uncle Ben to Melody) and edited by moi.Oh, and your'e looking at the room where I do all my editing - my study/music room.
Have a fab day - it's nearly weekend!
Transformation masks such as this Thunderbird belong to the sky world, which consists of Ancestral Beings that are transported to the heavens from where they can return as material beings in recognizable form such as human. The Kwakwaka’ wakw people say when this bird ruffles its feathers they cause thunder and when they blink their eyes lightning flashes. Each thunderbird is associated with a specific village group or lineage, a specific place of origin unique to each and its details are carefully guarded. Masks can be owned individually or by a family but rights are always inherent, flowing from one generation to the next. The Namgis people relate that this thunderbird flew out of the heavens to assist a man who had transformed into a large halibut. When finished assisting he removed his headdress and winged cape and sent them back to the sky world becoming human. The mask may be worn on the forehead with the dancer’s face showing or it may cover the face to indicate the duality of man and bird. The performer wears a full costume of representing the bird. The mask would be danced during a Winter Ceremony, called a Potlatch, where songs, dances and rituals are performed and gifts may be given. When not used such masks are wrapped carefully and hidden away. When worn and danced and closed the mask portrays a bird head with a large yellow beak. When open, the head and large beak divide, expand, and become a full-bodied bird with outstretched wings. Each wing contains a linear image of a sisiutl or lightning snake. At the center of the full-bodied bird is a human head. Above the head is a small seated figure and below it is still another bird. Opening and closing the mask would add a spectacular effect during the dances. When the mask was first collected it had cord riggings to open its parts. It was collected from the Gigilgam lineage of the Nimpkish. The mask is fragile but stable. There are scattered pigment losses. Red cedar ruff originally surrounded the mask when it was worn for performances.
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Lily Wild lives among a collection of origami flowers which she has come to appreciate in a way that we can't. However, in her own language of love, she sends her thanks to her new friend, Dorothy, who seems to understand the power of plants.
The meaning of the four-petal flower in feng shui often relates to luck, happiness, and prosperity. The four petals are seen as a symbol of perfection and balance, with each petal representing an essential aspect of life: love, health, wealth, and career.
All of us in the Bigg family thank you Nancy, and your lovely Dorothy and Zyanya, for hosting a fantastic month.
🌹🌷💮🌷🌹
Heard alot of Scandinavian folklore stories when i was a child so i find it interesting to relate to the stories and the folklore creatures when im out exploring and photographing
I can relate to this surfer's race to beat the setting sun. The big kid in me is always on the lookout for one last adventure before the end of the day. With this kind of daydream/sunset who can resist not getting one last ride before the days end?
Pacific Ocean Sunset
Southern California, USA
Mike D
Behind the Camera:
I'm off today and have loads of chores to do around the house. It's cold and rainy outside. All I care to do is sit around and surf the web or go out on a photo walk. Yes its the winter of my discontent.
Frankreich / Provence - Gorges du Verdon
South Rim
Südrand
The Verdon Gorge (French: Gorges du Verdon Occitan: Gòrja de Verdon) is a river canyon located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is about 25 km (15.5 mi) long and up to 700 metres (0.4 mi) deep. It was formed by the Verdon River, which is named for its turquoise-green colour, one of the location's distinguishing characteristics. In between the towns of Castellane and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, the river has cut a ravine to a depth of 700 meters through the limestone mass. At the end of the canyon, the Verdon flows into the artificial Lake of Sainte-Croix.
The gorge is very popular with tourists, who can drive around its rim, rent kayaks to travel on the river, or hike. The limestone walls, which are several hundreds of metres high, attract many rock climbers. It is considered an outstanding destination for multi-pitch climbing, with 1,500 routes available ranging from 20 metres (65 feet) to over 400 metres (1,300 feet).
History
During the Triassic period, the Provence subsided and was covered by the sea, leaving thick layers of various limestone deposits. Several million years later, with the arrival of the Jurassic period, the area was covered by a warm shallow sea, which allowed the growth of various corals. The Cretaceous period saw what is now Basse Provence being raised and the sea reaching the current location of the Alps, which were themselves erected during the tertiary era. As a result of the large-scale geological activity, many of the Jurassic limestone deposits fractured, forming relief with valleys and other such features. The origins of the Verdon Gorge can be traced to this era.
The dawn of the Quaternary period had large-scale glaciation, transforming water pockets and lakes into rivers of ice, which remodeled the topography, scouring and striating the landscape. At the end of this activity, erosion by rivers continued, forming the Gorge as it is today. The Verdon's riverbed was scoured for a second time of the accumulated coral and limestone sediments, by a water delivery rate nearing 2000 to 3000 cubic metres per second.
Discovery
The gorge was described in printed form from 1782 and 1804. By the second half of the 19th century, it was featured in French tourist guides. According to Graham Robb's book The Discovery of France, the gorge did not become known outside France until 1906.
Recent developments
On 10 July 2006, the Council of State annulled the declaration of public use of a project by EDF relating to a proposed high-voltage line which would have had to pass through the Verdon Gorge. This decision ended 23 years of struggle by public groups and associations of environmental defence to preserve a site of exceptional natural interest, of which a part contains protected animal and plant species.
During the 2022 European drought, the water levels in the river were very low and dried up completely in some parts.
Geography
The source of the Verdon is close to the col d'Allos hill in the Trois Eveches mountain range, whence it continues, flowing into the Durance river near Vinon-sur-Verdon after traveling 175 kilometres. Between Castellane and the Galetas bridge, the river passes through the lake of Sainte-Croix, created by the construction of a dam of the same name. Before the dam was constructed, the village of Les Salles-sur-Verdon occupied the river plain. To create the reservoir, the village was destroyed in 1973. Les Salles-sur-Verdon was reconstructed as a more modern settlement higher up the valley. Today, it is the youngest village in France.
For some distance the Verdon Gorge forms the border between the départements of Var to the south and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to the north in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région.
This region between Castellane and the Lac de Sainte-Croix is called the Gorges du Verdon, or Verdon Gorge. It is split into three distinct parts:
"Prégorges" ('pre-gorge'), from Castellane to Pont de Soleils,
the deepest part of the Gorge, from Pont de Soleils to l'Imbut, and
the Canyon from l’Imbut to the Pont du Galetas.
The Verdon Gorge is narrow and deep, with depths of 250 to 700 metres and widths of 6 to 100 metres at the level of the Verdon river. It is 200 to 1500 metres wide from one side of the Gorge to the other at the summits. The Gorge has been compared to the Grand Canyon in the United States.
Hydro-electric dams
Between 1929 and 1975, five dams were erected on the course of the Verdon, between Castellane and Gréoux-les-Bains. These dams hold back water in the following reservoirs:
Lac de Castillon, which was created by flooding the village of the same name
Lac de Sainte-Croix, flooded the village of des Salles-sur-Verdon.
Lac d'Esparron-Gréoux, known locally as "lac d’Esparron".
Reservoir at Chaudanne
Reservoir at Quinson, sometimes improperly called the "lac de Montpezat", the name of the village over which it dominates.
Notable features
The Styx du Verdon, associated with the river Styx of Greek mythology, is an area of sub-canyon within the gorge.
The Imbut, also known as Embut or Embucq, is an area where the Verdon disappears underground, beneath enormous rock structures, before re-emerging above ground.
Tourism
The Verdon Gorge attracts numerous tourists, especially during the summer period. The river's turquoise colour is associated with glacial sources and the minerals of rock flour suspended in the water.
It is easily accessible on its right bank from the north (via route D952 from Castellane to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie), and on its left bank from the south (via routes D71, D90 and D955 from Aiguines to Castellane).
Sport
The Verdon Gorge attracts many rock climbers for its more than 1,500 climbing routes on good limestone rock.
The Verdon and its Gorge are also a favoured destination for fishermen, particularly for fly fishing.
Hiking, canoeing, paragliding, rafting, climbing and canyoning are some of the sports practised in the region.
Hiking and scenic walks
The most common hikes in the gorge include:
Le sentier (pathway) de Martel
Le sentier de l'Imbut
Le sentier du Bastidon
Le belvédère de Rancoumas par le pont de Tusset (the Rancoumas panoramic viewpoint near the Tusset Bridge)
The Sentier Martel, was laid out in 1928 by the Touring Club de France.[citation needed] It was named in 1930 to honor the explorer Édouard-Alfred Martel (1859–1938). Martel had visited the Verdon in 1905 as an employee of the Southeast Electricity Company, carrying out precise geological surveys of the river. On 11 August, he and his team (explorer Armand Janet, schoolmaster Isidore Blanc, geographer Cuvelier, plaus Baptistin Flory, Fernand Honorat, Prosper Marcel, and Tessier Zurcher) began an expedition of the region. Their successful arrival at the Pas de Galetas marked the completion of the first expedition of the Verdon Canyon.
Other expeditions to the Verdon included Martel's team the following year; followed by Robert de Joly, who in 1928 was the first to completely cross the Verdon Gorge.
(Wikipedia)
Die Verdonschlucht, französisch Gorges du Verdon, umgangssprachlich auch Grand Canyon du Verdon, ist eine Schlucht in der französischen Provence, Département Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Sie beginnt flussabwärts nach der Stadt Castellane und endet nahe Moustiers-Sainte-Marie im Stausee Lac de Sainte-Croix. Durch den etwa 21 km langen und bis zu 700 Meter tiefen Canyon fließt der türkisfarbene Fluss Verdon. Die Gorges du Verdon sind neben der Tara-Schlucht einer der größten Canyons Europas und Hauptbestandteil des nach ihm benannten Regionalen Naturparks Verdon.
Geographische Lage
Der Verdon entspringt in der Nähe des Col d’Allos im Bergland Trois Évêchés und mündet nach etwa 175 km in der Nähe von Vinon-sur-Verdon in die Durance. Das interessanteste Stück seines Laufes befindet sich zwischen Castellane und der Galetas-Brücke kurz vor dem Lac de Sainte-Croix. Die Schlucht von Verdon definiert über weite Strecken die Grenze zwischen den Départements Var im Süden und Alpes-de-Haute-Provence im Norden. Das Gebiet ist in drei Teilabschnitte gegliedert:
Die „Prégorges“ zwischen Castellane und der Brücke bei Soleils
Die Schlucht zwischen der Brücke und l’Imbut
Der Canyon zwischen l’Imbut und der Brücke von Galetas
Die Schlucht ist am Grund zwischen 6 und 100 m breit, die gegenüberliegenden Flanken sind zwischen 200 und 1500 m voneinander entfernt und die Tiefe variiert zwischen 250 und 700 m.
Entstehung
In der Trias-Zeit senkte sich die Provence ab und wurde vom Meer bedeckt. In der Folge lagerten sich am Grund verschiedene Schichten von Kalk (abgestorbene Muscheln u. ä.) ab. Im Jura wurde die Provence erneut von einem warmen, wenig tiefen Meer überflutet, was die Entstehung mächtiger Korallenbänke begünstigte.
In der Kreidezeit hob sich die Provence, und das Meer zog sich in den Bereich der heutigen Alpen zurück. Erst im Tertiär wurden die Alpen aufgefaltet. Die in der Folge zerbrechenden Kalkmassive aus der Jurazeit bestimmten das Relief und die Täler. In dieser Zeit suchte sich auch der Verdon sein Bett.
Im Quartär überformten die eiszeitlichen Gletscher die Landschaft. Am Ende der Vereisung nehmen die Flüsse ihre Erosionstätigkeit wieder auf. Bedingt durch die Eisschmelze waren die Wassermengen gewaltig: bis zu 3000 m³/s. Diese Mengen ermöglichten die tiefen Einschnitte im weichen Gestein.
Jüngere Geschichte
Auf dem Gebiet des heutigen Stausees, der durch den Bau des Sainte-Croix-Staudamms entstand, befand sich vor 1973 die Ortschaft Les Salles-sur-Verdon, die kurz vor der Flutung des Tals vollständig zerstört und an anderer Stelle neu aufgebaut wurde. Heute ist sie eine der jüngsten Gemeinden Frankreichs.
Seit dem 7. Mai 1990 ist die Schlucht offizielles Naturschutzgebiet.
Am 10. Juli 2006 beschloss der Conseil d’État, dass die geplante 400.000-Volt-Hochspannungsleitung der Électricité de France durch den Canyon nicht gebaut werden dürfe. Damit endete ein über 23 Jahre andauernder Kampf verschiedener Umwelt- und Naturschutzorganisation, die sich für den Erhalt der ursprünglichen Schlucht einsetzen.
1905: Erste vollständige Durchquerung der Schlucht durch den Speläologen Martel
1929: Grundsteinlegung des Castillon-Staudamms
1932: Unterbrechung der Bauarbeiten
1936: Ein Brand beschädigt den Staudamm
1948: Fertigstellung des Castillon-Staudamms
1951: Fertigstellung des Chaudanne-Staudamms
1960: Fertigstellung des Esparron-Gréoux-Staudamms
1973: Flutung des Sainte-Croix-Stausees
1973: Wiederaufbau der gefluteten Ortschaft Les Salles-sur-Verdon etwa 400 m entfernt
1974: Beginn der Stromproduktion des Wasserkraftwerks in Sainte-Croix
1975: Flutung des Quinson-Stausees
Aktivitäten
Auf dem Wasser
Teilweise lässt sich die Verdonschlucht mit Wildwasser-Kajaks befahren, im Unterlauf am Lac de Sainte-Croix auch mit größeren Booten. Der Wasserabfluss der oberen Stauseen ist zumindest während der Hauptreisezeit Juli und August einheitlich festgelegt. Um den Wassersport wie Wildwasserschwimmen, Rafting etc. zu unterstützen, wird an zwei Tagen der Woche (meist dienstags und freitags) mehr Wasser abgelassen. Der Abfluss beträgt dann 10–16 Kubikmeter Wasser pro Sekunde, an den anderen Tagen ca. 0,5 Kubikmeter Wasser pro Sekunde. Es existiert eine Hotline zur Information über aktuelle Wasserstände. In der Vor- und Nachsaison hingegen wird deutlich unregelmäßiger Wasser abgelassen, in manchen Jahren wochenlang bis zu 40 Kubikmeter pro Sekunde, in anderen wochenlang nur 0,5 Kubikmeter pro Sekunde. Bei Wassermengen über 2 bis 3 Kubikmeter wird im Wildwasserschwimmen Ungeübten vom Baden in der Strömung abgeraten. Durch unberechenbare Hindernisse wie Siphone, Unterspülungen und Holzverblockungen besteht dann Lebensgefahr.
Wandern
Das Wandern in den unzugänglicheren Regionen der Schlucht ist beliebt und gilt als ungefährlich. Die bekannteste Wander-Route durch den Verdon-Canyon beginnt und endet in der Mitte des Canyons an einem Aussichtspunkt, von dem es relativ steil über Serpentinen bergab geht. Sie führt entlang des Sentier Martel (benannt nach dem Erstdurchquerer Martel). Der Abstieg beginnt von der Route de Crête, am Vereinshaus La Maline. Unten am Fluss angelangt sollte man sich an der dortigen Weggabelung nach Norden halten und dort zügig dem Wegverlauf stromaufwärts folgen. Im Verlauf der fast sechsstündigen Wanderung – ohne Möglichkeit eines Zwischenausstieges – führt der Wanderweg beständig bergauf-bergab und über einige künstlich angelegte Leitern und Treppen abwärts. Eine davon (Brèche Imbert) ist recht steil und führt über 252 Stufen von einem Aussichtspunkt hinunter. Kurz vor Ende der Route führt der Weg durch zwei hintereinander liegende Tunnel, die als einzige Möglichkeit weiterführen. Hier sollte ursprünglich der Fluss komplett umgeleitet werden, doch das Projekt wurde nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg aufgegeben. Die Länge des ersten Tunnels beträgt 110 m, die des zweiten 657 m.
Insgesamt ist für diese Bergwanderung mit etwa fünf bis sechs Stunden reiner Gehzeit zu rechnen. Am End- bzw. Ausgangspunkt Point Sublime im Norden befindet sich ein weiterer Parkplatz. Für die Rückfahrt zum Ausgangspunkt besteht die Möglichkeit, ein Schluchtentaxi oder einen allerdings selten verkehrenden Linienbus zu benutzen.
Klettern
Die Verdonschlucht war in den 1970er und 1980er Jahren eines der bedeutendsten Klettergebiete. In den 1970er Jahren wurden zahlreiche ausgesetzte technische Linien erstbegangen, in den 1980er Jahren gelang dann Kletterern wie Patrick Berhault und Patrick Edlinger die freie Begehung vieler dieser Routen. Auch heute wird in dem Gebiet noch intensiv geklettert.
Weitere Aktivitäten
Auf der Ringstraße um den Verdon-Canyon sind immer wieder Aussichtspunkte zur Schlucht hin, aber auch auf die Lavendel-Felder, für die die Region berühmt ist, angelegt. Über der Schlucht kreisen häufig Paraglider, Drachen und Segelflieger, wenn das Wetter dies zulässt. Die Pont de l’Artuby wird sehr stark von Bungee-Jumpern frequentiert. Ebenso ist die Schlucht mit ihren Pässen Ziel vieler Motorradfahrer.
(Wikipedia)
Our last stop in Cappadocia was the old town of Mustafapasha. Once a Christian town, it was converted to Islam, and residents were given the option to either convert or leave. Today it is a modern town with nice shops and restaurants, and the old relics serve as tourist attractions.
These are old Greek buildings that are still intact. Perhaps these old buildings are maintained so European tourists can relate to them – I don’t know! But looking at the people in the area, they seem pretty cosmopolitan, so these are not just for tourists, I think.
Being a misfit
I can relate
Never quite fitting into
your skin
curled up
waiting
for the transformation
to become something
beautiful
and excepting...
I was up really late last night trying to think of the perfect words to write for this photograph, I have a lot of words in my head. I thought a lot of when I was a teenager and how I never fit into any "group" or really understood the "game" very well. I never felt completely comfortable around humans, I had an issue with trusting them. They always seemed to lie to themselves and to others just to appease their peers. The game never stops you know, it's embedded into society so tightly people don't even realize they are playing it. I felt like I was always transparent and awkward...I never even had a real boyfriend until 11th grade and I was sooooo freaked out half the time around him like I was going to screw it up at any moment! So I bonded with nature and got what I needed through long walks in the woods. I look at India and see how social she is and I want to warn her about these things I see but I know she needs to find her own way and figure it out for herself with maybe a few pointers from me...
A revolutionary technique of expression because it relates to time in an absolutely special way; the image, with its multiple meanings, can only be found if it exists in the photographer before it is fixed on film and must then be reconquered when it becomes an image to look at. A search within a search, a continuous collection of moments for the moment which in the photographic moment will be fixed forever.
～ Kamir
P.S. Non-HDR-processed / Non-GND-filtered ● Black Card Technique 黑卡作品
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Stop Copy & paste !!!!!! ,, 3 comments deleted
Some people just have Friendly written on their face. Leif was one of those.
I met him on Princess Street in downtown Kingston where he was working on a renovation of a store.
When I explained my Human Family project he smiled and said "As long as it won't get me in any trouble." When I said "You mean with your employer?" he replied "Oh no. I don't think so. I'm safety compliant" pointing at his hat and boots. He kindly gave me a few minutes of his time to do a project portrait. When I asked if he was Norwegian because of his name he laughed and said "Oh there's got to be some Viking in there somewhere."
I met Leif on the sidewalk and there were no pedestrians at the moment so I just positioned him in the middle of the sidewalk so the construction scaffolding would frame him.
When I asked about the building he was working on he said "I'm probably not the best person to ask. This is my first day on the job." We agreed it is one of Kingston's many historic buildings that has probably had many lives and Lief is helping renovate it for it's next commercial life.
He is originally from another part of Ontario but now he and all his family are together in Kingston. I said I could relate because all my family is together in Kingston now that we moved here nearly a year ago. Leif asked how we like it and I said we like it a lot but with settling in and with the pandemic, I feel we are still getting to know it.
"What do you like most about your job?"
"Oh, let me think. I guess it's the tangible sense of accomplishment. Every day I can see what I have done and that's rewarding."
"What message would you like to share with the world?"
"Hmmm. I'm not sure how to put it. I guess it's to put a higher value on your own happiness."
Thank you Leif for being a part of my project. You are my 879th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
More street portraits and stories can be seen at:
April 3, 2016. ©Copyright 2016 Karlton Huber Photography - all rights reserved.
"No Photography Allowed"
OMG! Today was a rather frustrating, challenging and entertaining day as it relates to my photography adventures.
To read more of this story visit my Blog at:
This weeks Mosaic Montage Monday theme is “Experiential” - relating to or providing an experience. One of the ideas given was “reflecting back on this year, did you have some memorable experiences that stood out and were special?”
For me, the stand out experience, involving me and my camera this year was again having the privilege to watch the growing up of two young Wedge-tailed Eagles, Australia’s largest and most magnificent bird in the park near where I live.
This montage is of 6 photos taken at various times of the chick’s progress. The photo at lower right was the first sighting, taken on the 30th September, the flight shot at top left is the latest photo of one of the young eagles, taken on the 5th December.
Given the absolute tragedy we had in Northern Victoria this year of a farm manager being convicted of killing hundreds of these magnificent creatures, watching our local pair successfully fledge two gorgeous young eagles was a really special experience.
The title can relate to the car or this man's low riding pants. Decide for yourself. I have no idea what these two are talking about. For all we know, he may have a lesion on his stomach or maybe he painted a smiley face on his chest, or maybe he's just proud of his abs. In any event, it was an unusual moment in an interesting setting. The old 1958 Chevy Bel Air completes the scene. And yes, the horizon is off purposely. Havana, Cuba, March 2019
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I can relate, Teddy.
I took this shot last fall and made it a B&W for a challenge. I really like the original, though, and I feel a sense of anguish from seeing this little bear up there.
15 years ago yesterday my sweet Momma went on to the next place. As I told my friends yesterday, that's 5,475 days of me missing her. Make that 5,476 now.
This entry relates to the north-eastern most part of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, that receives the first light as the sun rises in the east. This is the landscape during April and the start of the harvst season following the wet, when the earth receives sudden showers during what is meant to be the dry. This artwork was painted on a huge piece of bark and tells the story about a group of spirit women who appear as stars in the night sky.
Records relating to the repair of this bridge go back many hundreds of years, indicating how vital it was for access from the lands of Howgill, Sedbergh etc in the old county of North Yorkshire with the parishes of Firbank and Grayrigg on this side of the river.
The lane, bottom left, leads to the old Water-powered Mill & Poole House, then up to Dillicar, Lowgill, Davy Bank and Firbank.
It is a very beautiful old bridge, and very narrow. Only narrow vehicles can get across!!
The river Lune is still in its infancy here, and this scene is to the south of the Lune Gorge and Tebay Gap.
"After I started shooting self portraits, I got over my insecurities about showing my face in my photos. Whenever I'm in front of the camera, the sense of the character I'm portraying in my photographs starts to take ahold of me. I've stopped thinking I'm shooting a photo of myself - I more so go along with the thought process of saying I'm acting as a character for a story I want to tell."
Blog Post - www.zukephotography.com/blog/2015/2/13/creating-a-fine-ar...
Facebook - www.facebook.com/zukephoto
Did you know that cats have favorite authors and genres? Jarvis Cocker prefers non fiction and so his favorite authors are Claudia Rankine, Sasha Geffen, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Broadcast prefers experimental Asian fiction and so her favorite authors are Haruki Murakami, Ryu Murakami, Bae Suah, Can Xue, Banana Yoshimoto, Kazuo Umezz, Shin Kyung-Sook, Karen Tei Yamashita,Keiichirō Hirano, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Krys Lee and Banana Yoshimoto. PJ Harvey prefers poetry so her favorite authors are Rumi, Hanif Abdurraqib, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ocean Vuong, Nikki Giovanni and Eve L. Ewing. When I asked her what she thought of Nick Cave’s lyrics, you should have seen her reaction! What all my cats can agree on is that Karen Tei Yamashita’s Through the Arc of the Rainforest is a masterpiece and so, I always have to read that one out loud to them during cat story hour. Though I didn’t read Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor this year either, it’s still a solid second choice for our story hour together.
I have to always preface these lists by making the disclaimer that while no human being can read all of the books in existence put out in one year, I read even less this year having only finished a little under 150 books (I read 365 last year). Not all of these books were released this year and some of these books may be released in the future depending on which alternative timeline of reality you exist in. The pandemic really put a dent into my reading because I typically read while on the elliptical at the gym for a couple of hours every day but, with the gyms closed, I had to turn to memorizing K pop dance moves off of Youtube for my exercise for several months (I am not good at this), which caused me to almost get murdered by my downstairs neighbor until I straight up invested in an elliptical a couple of months ago and saved myself from the sudden doom that would have rivaled any gruesome ending of a Chan-wook Park film.
These books represent a few different genres-nonfiction, fiction, graphic novels, poetry-and are in a general order but I decided not to number them as I kept changing the order depending on my mood and that didn’t seem very efficient (I am not a journalist) Feel free to share your favorite books that you read this year. You may be stuck in a black hole reading books that we don’t even have in our reality. I want to hear about those too!
And, without further ado, my feline fanatic friends and literature lovers, gather around for this is my Favorite Books of 2020:
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
Sometimes it’s actually hard to take science fiction seriously….why? Maybe because it’s so fun and engaging….either way, it’s actually quite hard to write something that is very inventive and also relevant in our modern times. In a way, it speaks to the high ability of the author to also be able to make it grounded in reality enough to be just believable but imaginative enough to get truly lost in a unique story. Such is the case for The City We Became, which has all of the NYC buroughs represented by different humans with vivid personalities fitting their areas who have to work together to stop an evil takeover and, of course, have a really tough time with that pesky and racist ignorant Ms. Staten Island. N.K. Jemisin creates a world of actual monsters and proud boy like art dealer/real estate mogul monsters (the kind we don’t actually have to work hard to imagine because they exist in real life). This looks like what will be the first in hopefully a long series of riveting books!
Tropic of Orange: Karen Tei Yamashita
I read Through the Arc of the Rainforest last year and this year Tropic of Orange was my exceptional read by this Japanese American author who is so imaginative in the way she writes both memorable characters and interwoven plots. I can’t predict any endings for any of their lives and that is quite something indeed. If you don’t like magical realism or complex storylines, you may miss out on the brilliance that is Yamashita and the bulk of her work. But, if you find yourself wanting to explore what creative literature is capable of, please look no further!
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi-
Just released this year and highly recommended by me! This book was philosophically engaging from start to finish. Set in the fictional town of Lucille, the residents have conquered all of the “monsters” (who are basically Trump voters and the like) until an angel (who looks like a monster) emerges from a painting to find a “family monster” who is abusing a child. The protagonist is a trans adolescent whose mom reads the great Nnedi Okorafor to her and speaks through sign language. I loved the layers of moral complexity here. Pet gets into what truly makes a monster and how insidious monsters (again, basically republicans) can hide in plain sight and if a monster is redeemable too. I liked Freshwater (Emezi’s 1st novel) but this was 100x better imo
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi
This novel is both imaginative and also heart breaking…its main plot involves a country overtaken by American forces who also can’t trust their own government and a corpse that reanimates from other corpses to seek revenge. Though it delves into a little bit of black comedy and takes on a creature who may seem more familiar to those who enjoy the horror genre, it’s the horror of reality with the violence of the American invasion of Iraq that the novel is actually about. What Saadawi does is to create a vivid metaphor that evolves throughout the book and forces us to think deeply about morality. We must remember that Saadawi may also be coming to terms with his own grief, mortality, and the modern reality of living in Iraq. He has had friends lost through suicide bombs that he narrowly missed being killed in himself, for instance.
Catherine Lacey: Pew
I am always a little hesitant to promote the work of someone who is white when there are many women of color who are under-recognized and struggling to earn both critical acclaim and also just a living. So, I will just say that I found Catherine Lacey’s very recent novel Pew incredibly moving and relevant for our times. She writes about race and gender identity in a way that feels fully realized. This book is about identity that words cannot define and the frustrations that result in a white community (who considers themselves super religious) because they cannot take ownership over human identity. There’s a real sense of the frustration of language and lack of it and of not being in control and the way these humans handle that feeling. It is a postmodern masterpiece and I would highly recommend it. On a side note, it doesn’t really matter or seem worth mentioning the personal romantic life of a female author but, in this case, I must mention that she is currently the partner of one of my favorite authors who also resides in Chicago, Jesse Ball, and has a funny statement about him at the end in the thank-you section that is worth taking a look at.
Elif Shafak’s 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World
This novel is fiercely feminist following so many female friends from all walks of life in Turkey and the way the body lives on after death. This book starts with death but is really filled with life! As our heroine protagonist, murdered yet still filled with extreme senses, dies a little more on each page, we find out a little more about her and what in her life brought her to this point. And therein lies the largest devastation of this novel because we fall in love with dear Leila but it’s too late to save her. Her life was doomed from the beginning because she happened to be born female and poor and did not have any rights to make her own happiness despite having all the ambitions to do so.
Imani Perry: Breathe, A Letter to My Sons:
This book was a little reminiscent of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “Between the World and Me” but I actually was even more moved by this mothers take on raising her two boys in America with it’s racist past and present. Really wise and incredible. This was such a gift to be added to the canon of American literature and as a resource to help nurture the modern African American family and was both honest and insightful.
Yaa Gyasi: Transendent Kingdom
Yaa Gyasi’s second novel is quite a bit different than her first, Homegoing. This one is about a family from Ghana but one that lives in Alabama and struggles to make their way in the American South. It is a portrait of a family in turmoil as the family unit as a whole is severed in a couple of major ways…and, I am hesitant to say more on that end as I don’t want to spoil the novel. Gyasi writes us a very strong female protagonist in Gifty who is a neuroscientist studying mice and both reward seeking and inhibition in her quest to understand and make sense of addiction. It is one of those soul searching types of books that is well worth reading and without artifice or cliché, which is sometimes quite a challenge to find in literature.
The Liar by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
In some ways, this was not as profound as an earlier fiction work by this Israeli author, Waking Lions, but is still however very meaningful and relevant about lies that take on a life and storyline of their own between Israel and Poland and between both a young and a much older female protagonist. To me, this book was incredibly relevant especially in these times about how a little bit of dishonesty ends up leading to incredibly different results in the lives of humans. It’s a short read but very worthwhile in the way it makes you think of the role of truth in one’s life.
Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Dr. Monique W. Morris
This was a really difficult read by the Founder and President of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute (NBWJI). Yet, it was also an important read for me not just as an educator but as someone who also wants to do right by all students I support. Morris gets into some of the facts behind racial profiling in schools and does well to expose how it is often overlooked what impact early racism in schools has on young women (although, it is often acknowledged and still very damaging for young Black men). The treatment of young women in a place of learning is very important and could be instrumental in nurturing and encouraging these girls to succeed and to set ambitious yet achievable goals but they have to not only be taught skills but believe in their own worth. We also need to recognize signs of trauma and ensure that we are addressing the whole child. We cannot ignore these facts and we cannot assume that every educator before us was kind and acted within the best interest of every student. So, when we consider what a child’s perception of education may be, for a student of color especially a young human who may be Black, there may be a lot of work to do in changing a negative sense of school. What we see in our schools is not “safe spaces” but punishment that sets the stage for a cruel future. Do we really want this as a society? We must accept that we have failed and that we must change.
We must actively change schools across America! It is a gift to be able to teach and nurture and abuses of power are the most heinous kind. On a personal note, I spent much of my time this summer protesting against police brutality and cops in schools. Our mayor and Board of Ed. in Chicago has kept a few incidents of racially motivated violence against students in schools from the public and, instead of hiring nurses and ending our contract with the cops, tax payers are still footing the bill. They’ll make us take a mandatory online training about stopping the school to prison pipeline but, in terms of policy and where our tax dollars are going, Chicago is far from walking the same walk they are preaching.
Brit Bennett-The Vanishing Half
This reminded me of a modern day Passing by Nella Larsen and a great follow up novel to The Mothers. Bennett shows a portrait of two sisters, one who decides to pass and leads a much different life than the other who ends up having a child with a man who has a much darker skin tone than herself and returns to their small town in Louisiana where there is an obsession about shades of skin. This novel is as much an examination about race as it is about the human desperation driven by racism and what humans are capable of denying about themselves and others they love to continue to live safely within a certain space and level of comfort. There is also a second layer that is about transitioning genders that adds to the storyline and characters overall.
The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi S. Laskar
The story of racism that a Bengali immigrant family experiences in the American south (in a suburb of Atlanta) is important but what elevates this work is the unique writing style. I literally felt like I was slipping to and fro through time and seeing these glimpses of a vivid life in all its joys and sorrows. Laskar is incredibly poetic in her exploration of police violence and trauma and was also herself a victim of racial profiling. She’s another author who I hope continues to gain readers and write more books. For a debut, this is exceptional and really reads like it come from an author who has written her whole life.
Disability / Visibility edited and FW by Alice Wong
This is nonfiction at its finest because it has the power to open your mind to the struggles of a group of humans you may not have had a clue about before you opened the first page. Wong did an excellent job of finding an incredibly diverse group of perspectives not just in terms of race, class and religion but also in terms of ability level and opinions on ableism and world perspectives. Keah Brown and Haben Girma are probably the most well known authors in this collection but each of these essays is enlightening in a different way-some focus more on technological aspects, others on fashion, others on abortion, and still others on deficits in terms of public transport. All of these perspectives are valid and insightful and should give able bodied humans a clue as to what obstacles need to be examined and removed in our society to make a better world exist.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho.
In an alternative reality where white American born humans also need to pass a citizenship test, this would be required reading. Acho comes from Nigerian parents and grew up in Texas. I didn’t realize he wasn’t just a political science philosopher type of author (He’s also an NFL player) when I started reading as I don’t really follow the actual sports game but he does a fantastic job with these questions, which are actual questions submitted by white people in America. Some of these questions show a huge lack of understanding of history and privilege. Other questions are more related to wanting to help and be anti-racist but not knowing where to start. Acho calmly rewinds and takes us through some background and gives suggestions on how to live differently and be better as well as some valuable resources. And, in order to keep in mind white privilege, I will say that it is definitely not the responsibility of Black or African American humans to educate us but when they do make an effort (and hopefully like Acho are compensated for it), it’s definitely our duty to listen. As ignorant as some of these questions seem, we must all be humble and willing to ask questions and all the more willing to listen to the answers. It’s also worth noting that this nonfiction was written after the murder of George Floyd so it is incredibly current and Acho also writes very calmly and in a way that most people probably won’t find having a huge adverse reaction to when confronting white privilege and entitlement.
A Man by Keiichirō Hirano
What an engaging read! I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel that so effectively skirted the line of experimental fiction in its exploration of identity and story lines before. First, there is the identity based on an exchanged one and a lie for a human being who lives a quiet life as someone else. But, then there is the exploration of identify of what it means to be S. Korean and living in Japan and the xenophobia experienced by humans in this predicament. In some ways, A Man reads like a thriller and mystery novel but in many other ways, it is a deeply philosophical work that cannot be contained by genre but makes you wonder about and question the human stories were are assigned, we tell ourselves, and that we make up altogether. I can’t wait for At the End of the Matinee to be released April 15th, 2021!
Hidden Colors by Nillu Nasser
The book explores the struggles of Syrian refugees in Berlin putting on a magical circus but after a couple of years. the anti-immigrant sentiment rises and politicians and journalists have to choose which side to take. This book feels fantastical in the sense of the circus production but realistic in its depiction of the hardship of existence as a mere pawn in politics and left vulnerable to political whims and opinions of the public. There’s a great deal here about the ethics of journalism as well and the responsibilities in terms of telling of the human story. Though this book is technically a work of fiction, it is highly relevant to our current world.
A Fortune For Your Disaster by Hanif Andurraqib
I didn’t do as much poetry reading this year as I did last year but this one definitely stood out. I read it for book club. Full disclosure-I love everything by Hanif and would recommend Go Ahead in the Rain, his nonfiction regarding A Tribe Called Quest if you are fan of the band. I follow Hanif on Twitter and am a fan of him both in terms of his politically conscious side and his human side where he bakes and talks about his love of music and Columbus, Ohio. He’s also great to see speak. He’s an incredibly lovable human. Anyway, this poetry is so rich with imagery and soul and, though it definitely explores topics of racism, I would also say that it explores the full range of what it means to be human and does so artfully. So many of the lines should be read more than once and contemplated. Read a poem and put it down for a while and think about the full complexity of what Hanif was exploring and picture the photograph he created with his masterful words that appears in your head.
Just Us by Claudia Rankine:
Rankine is an extraordinary poet who is also insightful when it comes to race in America and her observations based on both casual encounters and a whole lot of systemic racism. At the end of the day, Rankine is aware of the damning impact of white supremacy and she wants humans to heal and for the world to become a better and safer place for all human to exist in. And, that isn’t going to happen without some conversations taking place that are sometimes challenging to initiate and to explore. We find ourselves sometimes in situations that might at first seem perplexing but have a history based in reality. If you haven’t read Citizen, the collection of poetry by Rankine, you might be blown away but this work of nonfiction. If, like me, you have read Citizen, you might at this point be more impressed by the fact that with all of the facts and insights Rankine has, she still is willing to have conversations about race and that speaks to the kind of beautiful human being she is.
The Drifting Classroom Volume 1-3 by Kazuo Umezz
This is a riveting 700+ page graphic novel about a school that disappears from the present and travels to a desolate future with a lot of human psychological issues of those trapped in this new reality. I will say one key thing in this epic journey through the minds and choices of these young children is that both the surreal storyline and the art work are captivating and I was soon hooked and couldn’t wait for the third volume to be released a couple of months ago. I devoured it like a piece of decadent chocolate cake while soaking in my bathtub for night after night. I became very invested in these creatures who first had to fight for their lives when there was a struggle for power and then when their dreams came alive and then when there was a plague and then when there was still extreme scarcity of food and water….and somehow our hero and protagonist is able to community at some points with his mom living in the time and reality they came from even though they are far from it. Just a fantastic imaginative series for Japanese graphic novel fans especially.
Myla Goldberg’s Feast Your Eyes-
Tis is a very well done and complex portrait of a photographer living in NYC in the 60s-70s who didn’t actually exist but you’ll be convinced did exist by the way this book is laid out describing her photographs with fictional journal entries and fictional accounts of friends and family. This is a lot about artistic rights and the line between art and child protection. Interesting philosophically and based on several other female photographers who actually did exist like Vivian Maier and Diane Arbus. It really reads like a very engaging nonfiction work instead of fiction, which is an interesting experience for the reader.
Sharks in the Time of Saviors: by Kawai Strong Washburn
I had two books by native authors, this one and Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun become available around the same time from my Chicago Public Library holds list and they couldn’t be more different. But while I did love the imagination of Black Sun overall, I didn’t feel as connected to the characters and just saw it as a starting point for hopefully a long series whereas Sharks in the Time of Saviors feels like a truly stand alone work. This book is, in many ways, a portrait of a native Hawaiian family struggling to get by and having a son with healing powers. There is a bit of a leap in terms of what you can believe here but it is written with enough reality that the surreality is very effective. Our hero Noa is trying to find himself and come to terms with a crucial error he makes. In the meantime, his brother and sister are also floundering between not being the most brilliant basketball star (former) and with same sex preferences (latter) and no one has any money to fly home to Hawaii from college because, of course, it’s just far too expensive even for the natives to get home. What is the most interesting to me is how the relationships between family members is explored and the idea that you shouldn’t ever encourage someone to define their identity with just one main thing or being good at one thing because it destines them to an unhappy sort of life and failure. I found the writing here very engaging and it dealt with some of the real issues Natives face in our country, especially in areas where cost of living has become insurmountable.
A Burning: by Megha Majumbar
This was a very difficult book to read, primarily because Majumbar writes us a story where you easily feel connected to and devastated by the chain of events that bring our heroine, Jivan, a poor Muslim girl in the Indian slums to a prison cell wrongfully accused of being a terrorist. In some ways, it made me think of a modern day Kafka-esque tale where it just seems all odds are stacked against our protagonist and it just keeps getting worse. Majumbar explores the corruption in modern day India but also interestingly enough explores the life and rise of a transgender fried of the protagonist at the very same time. This book is filled with politicians and political opportunists and liars who don’t seem to mind making Jivan a fall girl for their own political agenda and it made me wonder how possible all of this might actually be, especially as Majumdar was born and raised in Kolkata herself though is now living in NYC. This is Majumdar’s first novel and shows a promising career.
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
One of the reasons why this nonfiction is so powerful is because these voices are so often not heard or misheard. Johnson takes us through his life and what it was like to grow up with two identities, sometimes at odds with himself and what it meant to be both an African American and one who questioned his gender and preferred humans of the same sex to his biologically given gender. Johnson takes us through his very harrowing struggle to fit in and the relief of finding members in his family who at least partially understood what he was going through. He takes through what it’s like to be sexually abused and have assumptions made about him. It is harrowing and honest and makes you grateful that he has created something that shows us the whole range of humanity and helps some of us find comfort in who we are and others of us understand how to be better and more compassionate humans.
Glitter up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary by Sasha Geffen
Sasha Geffen is a human who has devoted countless hours to exploring how we came to this exact moment in music history and all of the steps that led us here in an all inclusive non fiction epic journey examining how, in just about every genre of music I can think of, gender identity and transforming gender norms was a part of both image and sound of musicians. I am a huge fan of music and many of these musicians and bands I was already familiar with and own albums by. However, Geffen caused me to view many songs, concerts, and even album covers a different way and I also learned about many artists I was not familiar with. This is a must read for those who love music and for those who seek to accept and appreciate all genders (male, female, and non-binary) and their artistic contributions within this very flawed yet sometimes quite beautiful world.
A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer duBois
This book fascinated me….Irina knows she is going to die and it is going to possibly be horrible and painful when she does the genetic testing and finds out she inherited Huntington’s Disease. She knows what the future holds because she saw her father progressively lose abilities and she starts to lose control in ways that signal to her what her future could hold. And so, she decides she’s going to go on adventure to Russia in order to find a chess master who is an active political opponent of Putin because, after all, what exactly does she have to lose? This book is about the idea of taking your life into your own hands and controlling your destiny instead of letting genetics define you. It is also about trying to make the most out of a life that many others would consider doomed. It also has a really great joke about Adam and Eve actually being soviets and it takes a lot to make me laugh in the middle of a pandemic.
Vivian by Christina Hesselholdt
This work explores all ll different points of view including Vivian Maier’s own on life and photography with interesting narrator interjections and musings based on what is known of this photographer. I have to admit that I have a personal bias of loving many of Maier’s photographic works so this was a very engaging read for me based on my familiarity with and admiration of the photographer that was the focus of this technically “biographical fiction” work. I think it might be a key point to get acquainted with some of Maier’s photographs and read this book if you are enamored. But, you might also enjoy this book if you in general love photography and think often about what might a photographer be like as a human and what makes for a good photographer as well.
Empire of Wild: Cherie Dimaline
This is the first novel I have read by a Métis (Native French Canadian) author and I really loved it. It was definitely wild and centered around the traditional Native myth of the Rogarou as it kills and steals souls. This was as much about human deception and religion and racism as it was about this creature and it was impossible for me to not visualize the horror while, at the same time, see Rogarou as a metaphor for white opportunists who will do whatever it takes to steal Native land. I had my heart in my throat for a lot of this journey and I think the power of the writing really showed its effectiveness.
Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves edited by Glory Edim.
Fantastic autobiographical accounts of prominent African American female authors of today and how they were inspired by literature that uniquely spoke to them. This book does well to emphasize the importance of representation and I would advocate that those who define curricula across the country on every level should start considering whether we are really celebrating our current list of authors because they were talented and had something relevant to say then and now or whether it goes within our nation’s history of white supremacy to promote primarily white male authors as the definitive standard even though they had every advantage over their women of color possible colleagues. What is hopeful is that now more than ever talented women of color are being published and truly heard but, in my opinion, there is still a lot of history around celebrating only or primarily only white male authors that should be challenged in this country. In any case, this collection features a great deal of talented contemporary female authors such as Jesmyn Ward, Jacqueline Woodson, Zinzi Clemmons, N. K. Jemisin, Tayari Jones and more and speaks to the power of literature and it’s transformative qualities!
The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep by Guy Leschziner.
I thought this was nonfiction about dreams but it was mainly about different sleep disorders…still very interesting and informative though! Did you know you can have something called Restless Chest Syndrome? Yikes! I tend to love neuroscience and yet besides this book and The Telomere Effect by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, I didn’t read nearly as many science oriented books in 2020. I read far more nonfiction books about race, gender, and immigrant memoirs. Still, I love to learn about all facets of the human brain and I believe in life long learning. The case studies in this book were especially fascinating and made me feel like my reoccurring insomnia is really not so bad at all compared to what it could be!
Wow, No Thank You: Samantha Irby
This nonfiction collection of essays made me laugh so hard (especially the chapter on cat vs. dog ownership) that I instantly fell in love with Irby as both an author and as a human being and, though she no longer lives in Chicago, it was cool to see what living in Chicago twenty or so years ago was like through her eyes. Irby is happily married and has encountered both homophobia and racism in her life and these essays showed both an intellectual and a quick witted approach to dealing with it. Irby is so candid and does not hold anything back when it comes to her own biology, either, which is almost shocking (and also appreciated) at times in its brutal honesty and well worth reading. Irby is also my age so I could relate to some of these chapters quite a bit because of that. Hello 911, filled with imagined 911 calls as well as Love and Marriage where she answers ridiculous questions are also not to be missed chapters if you want to laugh hysterically.
The Monk of Mokha (Story of Mokhtar Alkhanshali) told by Dave Eggers
I actually led a two hour remote book club on this book last month and, though I love discussing books, what is odd is that I liked the book better before the discussion. This is an incredible story of a Yemeni American man who risks literally his life more than once to bring back viable coffee beans and establish a coffee trade between his homeland of Yemen and the United States. Dave Eggers insists emphatically that this is 100% nonfiction and it is unfathomable the lengths that Mokhtar goes to. There’s an undying sense of the human spirit that can be both courageous and also lucky in this book. There’s also a component of the struggle itself against both the violent conflict situation in Yemen and the racism encountered in America. In any case, if you are interested, here’s an article about the book.
www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/dave-eggers-te...
I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me: Juan Pablo Villalobos
Good, because they probably won’t! This is an adventure in surrealist experimental fiction walking the line between humor and existential dread. In the end, you honestly don’t know exactly what really happened and if the protagonist is even still alive. There are doubling of characters, journal entries, a talking dog, and lots of unsavory types I wouldn’t trust with my favorite pencil (or even my least favorite pencil). Our extremely flawed hero is a Mexican intellectual who wants to study humor in literature in Catalonia, Spain but is side tracked before he can even get there by a group of mafia like henchmen in an impossible scheme his cousin roped him into involving seducing a woman identifying as a lesbian amongst other crazy shenanigans. This is a wild ride! If you’re an intellectual who dislikes thrillers, try this one out to see if maybe it was just the writing style in those other books wasn’t enough for you in the first place.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
I expected a lot from Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens because of the human (a coworker and friend) who recommended it to me and I did think it was worth reading. I like the sense of looking into isolationism and classism as well as the justice system in the American South plus there’s a courtroom cat! (Sunday Justice) but probably best of all was the fierce individualism of the female protagonist, Kya, the “Marsh Girl” who learns to make her own way in life. Kya’s unusual personality and talents drew me into the story line as a whole but it was the ending that made it truly worthwhile and landed it on my best of 2020 list.
Junji Ito’s Yon & Mu:
This is a super adorable autobiographical #catlife graphic nonfiction about his wife’s 2 cats that he learns to 💕 and who turn him into a cat person. I loved the drawings in this book and the little stories about getting his cat neutered, going on a business trip and missing his cats, cats around his chair where the heater was, cats on his lap, cats in his bed….you know the drill. A lot of these are relatable and silly but sweet and the book also includes photos! I’ve read Ito’s harrowing fiction, graphic horror novels and this was quite a departure but it gave me a glimpse into his lovable human side. Though this was maybe not the best book I read critically, it was still definitely one of my favorites as someone who is a fan of Ito’s graphic novels and cats!
Cats of the Louvre: Taiyo Matsumoto
Full disclosure here that I didn’t really think anyone would take me seriously if I started with these last two books/graphic novels because, honestly, I love cats and so I cannot be objective about extreme cat topics and/or cat protagonists. This one is perfection-a wildly imaginative storyline centered around the cats that live in Le Louvre. What more do you need to know? Ok, there’s a human trapped in a painting and also all the cats take on human traits at night when no on is looking. Is this not a good enough reason to read this book right now?!?! Oh wait, you’re a dog lover??? Well, forget you anyway! 😹
Honorable mentions:
Ok, so again this list only represents about 30% of the books I read this year. I can’t write about 100+ more books but here are the books I would still recommend:
Little Gods by Meng Jin
I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
Eatheater by Dolores Reyes
Dear Girls by Ali Wong (so funny!)
Telephone by Percival Everett
The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire by David Mura
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Telomere Effect by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn
1919 by Eve L. Ewing
**All photos are copyrighted**
I pray that something picks me up and sets me down in your warm arms.
We all die young in some sense. We are born perfect, innocent and untouched by the world. We live for awhile in a beautiful world filled with breathtaking places and great adventures and an always happy ending. We grow, though, and eventually, the breathtaking places aren't so breathtaking, and the adventures aren't so great, and the endings aren't happy at all. We lose that beautiful world of imagination and perfection and happiness, and we are left to die in reality.
This photo is inspired and therefore dedicated to a few pictures. First, to Regan, who made me the happiest I've been in awhile yesterday with her comment. It means so much to be compared to Erin (who this is also dedicated to) because she is so amazing and such a big inspiration as a whole in my photography. Finally, to everyone else who commented on my photo yesterday, or for just looking at this one today. You are the reason I love what I do.
Also, for anyone who is a Hunger Games fan, I have written a new story that relates to this picture. Here is a link to it. The prompt is insanity. Hope you enjoy.
Risin og Kellingin are two sea stacks just off the northern coast of the island of Eysturoy in the Faroe Islands close to the town of Eiði. The name Risin og Kellingin means The Giant and the Witch and relates to an old legend about their origins. The Giant (Risin) is the 71m stack further from the coast, and the witch (Kellingin) is the 68m pointed stack nearer land, standing with her legs apart.
A legend tells how, once upon a time, the giants in Iceland were envious and decided that they wanted the Faroes. So the giant and the witch were sent down to the Faroe Islands to bring them back.
They reached the north-westernmost mountain Eiðiskollur, and the giant stayed in the sea while the witch climbed up the mountain with a heavy rope to tie the islands together so that she could push them onto the giant's back. However, when she attached the rope to the mountain and pulled, the northern part of the mountain split. Further attempts were also unsuccessful, and they struggled through the night, but the base of the mountain was firm and they could not move it.
If the sun shines on a giant or witch, it turns to stone. So it was that as they continued to struggle they didn't notice time passing, and as dawn broke a shaft of sunlight put a stop to their efforts by turning them to stone on the spot. They have stood there ever since, staring longingly across the ocean towards Iceland.
On my last outing I found this Yellow-crowned Night Heron just wanting to sleep in the early morning. I can relate to him/her today and will be a bit slow getting to everyone’s posts. Just as his eyes were drifting shut here, my eyes will need to do the same in order for me to recover from an extremely busy day yesterday. Photo taken on Armand Bayou.
DSC02099uls
I can relate to that. One of the topics of discussion last night was how my beard is going gray.
If you're old, then act like it. I am going to lay on the couch, nap and watch football all day.
Have a youthful Sunday everyone! :)
[polska wersja niżej]
This photo relates to the flood in Gdańsk, about which I have written here, but I think I will rewrite the story again and provide a better view on the story background.
It's one of trains diverted from electrified mainline into secondary diesel route: originally nigh train no. 38209 from Kraków Płaszów to Koszalin. SU46-039 on the train head yet in original paint scheme from Żagań depot. After the diesel - here "cold" originally employed to this train EP07-338. The train is passing Gdańsk Osowa station entering two-track section towards Gdynia. July 11, 2001.
Photo by Jarek / Chester
9 lipca 2001 roku w Gdańsku to był całkiem ładny dzień, przynajmniej taki się zaczął i trwał do południa. Koło niego nadciągnęły ciemne chmury, zapowiadając kolejną letnią gwałtowną burzę. Jak spadały pierwsze krople deszczu, nikt nie przeczuwał, że w ciągu popołudnia na miasto lunie dwa razy więcej wody, niż w całym typowym lipcu. Każdy metr kwadratowy przyjął prawie 130 litrów, a tylko między 15 i 17 spadło, a w zasadzie dosłownie polało się strumieniem z nieba 90 litrów na metr kwadratowy. Ulice leżące na zboczach moreny dennej falistej, bo miasto to nie tylko wybrzeże, ale i morenowe pagórki, zamieniły się w dna potoków spływających w dół. No a w dole, głównie na południu, u brzegu płaskiego terenu ujścia Wisły zaczęło tworzyć się jezioro.
Wpływająca od południa z Kaszub niewielka Radunia przerwała w paru miejscach kanał, w którym biegła i zalała południowa część miasta, dzielnice od Oruni (dolnej), przez Lipce do Świętego Wojciecha. Powódź dotknęła też nasypy linii kolejowej, uszkadzając torowisko w paru miejscach. Pod wodą były też tory samego Gdańska Głównego. Ruch kolejowy między Pruszczem Gdańskim (a w zasadzie Tczewem) i Gdańskiem na kilka dni zamarł.
Ponieważ jednak mówimy o czasach, gdy kolej była jedna, wielka i niepodzielna (choć podzielona na sektory), naprędce wypracowano rozwiązanie, które w dzisiejszych czasach byłoby nie do pomyślenia - skierowano objazdem wszystkie dalekobieżne pociągi pasażerskie na trasy objazdowe. I tak pociągi z Gdyni w kierunku Bydgoszczy jechały starą Magistralą Węglową przez Kościerzynę i Wierzchucin i dalej na Łódź, czy Katowice. Pociągi w kierunku Malborka i dalej Olsztyna czy Warszawy jechały zaś przez Kościerzynę, Bąk, Czersk i dalej "Ostbahnem" do Tczewa, gdzie powracały na normalne trasy. Oczywiście na trasach objazdowych zastosowanie miała trakcja spalinowa, a elektrowozy ciągnące pociągi nie zostawały odczepiane (oprócz paru wyjątków) i odbywały podróż "na zimno" na objazdach.
Z punktu widzenia podróżnego te objazdy to rozwiązanie tylko po części rozsądne - dzisiaj zapewne wprowadzono by komunikację autobusową od Tczewa do Gdyni, przez co nastąpiłoby wydłużenie jazdy może sumarycznie o godzinę. Wtedy, przez wprowadzone objazdy, pociągi doznawały kilkugodzinnych opóźnień, a całkiem niedawna likwidacja niektórych stacji na "węglówce" drastycznie pogorszyła przepustowość dwutorowej linii. Z drugiej strony, pasażer w kuszetce, czy sypialnym z głębi kraju na Hel, dotarł do celu podróży w tym samym łóżku, tyle, że 3-6 godzin później.
Sytuacja awaryjna trwała parę dni, po czym przywrócono ruch po głównej linii, z pewnymi ograniczeniami (ograniczenie prędkości w miejscach podmycia nasypu). Jeszcze parę dni po przywróceniu ruchu część pociągów towarowych kursowała niezelektryfikowanym objazdem z uwagi na problemy z przepustowością.
Na zdjęciu SU46-039, jeszcze w oryginalnych żagańskich szatach, z nocnym pociągiem 38209 z Krakowa Płaszowa do Koszalina, opuszcza stację w Gdańsku Osowie. Za dieslem - elektrowóz oryginalnie ciągnący nocnego "kuriera" - EP07-338. 11 lipca 2001 roku.
Fot. Jarek / Chester
Please use red/cyan anaglyph goggles, for anaglyph glasses ask your local optician.
Wat Phnom ("Mountain Pagoda") is a Buddhist temple (wat) located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was built in 1372, and stands 27 metres (88.5 ft) above the ground. It is the tallest religious structure in the city. The pagoda was given the name of Wat Preah Chedey Borapaut. Wat Phnom is the central point of Phnom Penh.
Legend relates that a wealthy widow called Penh (commonly referred to as Daun Penh – Grandmother Penh – in Khmer) found a large koki tree in the river. Inside the tree she found four bronze statues of the Buddha. Penh constructed a small shrine on an artificial hill made by the people living in the village to protect the sacred statues. Eventually this became a sacred site and sanctuary where people would make blessings and pray.
Then it came to the year of the snake 1437 suggests King Ponhea Yat ordered His Excellency Decho Srei to raise the mount even higher when he finished building the new Royal Palace in the new city he then named Krong Chaktomok Mongkol or simply known as Phnom Penh. The prominent stupa immediately west of the sanctuary contains the ashes of the king and his royal family.
Wat Phnom is the center of celebration during Khmer New Year, and Pchum Ben.
Wat Phnom appeared on the Travel Channel documentary, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. It also served as the Pit Stop for the 4th Leg of The Amazing Race 15.
Not certain how this relates to Cool Hand Luke, but I have to say that this Great Brown Heron did have a bit of shaking going on while resting in the shallow waters along Horsepen Bayou. Yes, it is a juvenile Great Blue Heron that hasn’t transitioned to the adult blue colors and my Great Brown reference is just another lame attempt at humor. My daughter will tell you that you don’t have to laugh at my jokes. I did like the feather detail.
A7R00536ula
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Museum (so renamed in 1995), with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world cultures. The two connected buildings stand beside each other on Chambers Street, by the intersection with the George IV Bridge, in central Edinburgh. The museum is part of National Museums Scotland. Admission is free.
The two buildings retain distinctive characters: the Museum of Scotland is housed in a modern building opened in 1998, while the former Royal Museum building was begun in 1861, and partially opened in 1866, with a Victorian Venetian Renaissance facade and a grand central hall of cast iron construction that rises the full height of the building. This building underwent a major refurbishment and reopened on 29 July 2011 after a three-year, £47 million project to restore and extend the building led by Gareth Hoskins Architects along with the concurrent redesign of the exhibitions by Ralph Appelbaum Associates
The National Museum incorporates the collections of the former National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland. As well as the national collections of Scottish archaeological finds and medieval objects, the museum contains artefacts from around the world, encompassing geology, archaeology, natural history, science, technology, art, and world cultures. The 16 new galleries reopened in 2011 include 8,000 objects, 80 per cent of which were not formerly on display. One of the more notable exhibits is the stuffed body of Dolly the sheep, the first successful clone of a mammal from an adult cell. Other highlights include Ancient Egyptian exhibitions, one of Elton John's extravagant suits and a large kinetic sculpture named the Millennium Clock. A Scottish invention that is a perennial favourite with school parties is The Maiden, an early form of guillotine.
In 2016, the museum had 1.81 million visitors over the year, making it Scotland's most popular visitor attraction during that period.
“Urban art is a style of art that relates to cities and city life. In that way urban art combines street art and graffiti and is often used to summarize all visual art forms arising in urban areas, being inspired by urban architecture or thematizing urban live style.
The notion of 'Urban Art' developed from street art that is primarily concerned with graffiti culture. Urban art represents a broader cross section of artists that as well as covering traditional street artists also covers artists using more traditional media but with a subject matter that deals with contemporary urban culture and political issues.”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_art
“Wild Flowers are not weeds"
Street Art is the modern, urban wildflowers
What's the difference between Graffiti Tagging and Street Art?
1. Street Art is constructive, Graffiti Tagging is destructive.
2. Street Art adorns the urban landscape, Graffiti Tagging scars it and accelerates urban decay.
3. Street Art stretches your mind, Graffiti Tagging is a slap in your face.
4. Street Art is about the audience, Graffiti Tagging is about the tagger.
5. Street Art says "Have you thought about this?", Graffiti Tagging says "I tag, therefore I exist".
6. Street Art was done with a smile, Graffiti Tagging was done with a scowl.
7. Street Art takes skill, Graffiti Tagging takes balls.
8. We mourn losing Street Art and celebrate losing Graffiti Tagging.
Good Street Art is great, good Graffiti Tagging is gone!
”http://www.graffitiactionhero.org/graffiti-tag-vs-street-art.html
Additional interesting sites
www.osnatfineart.com/urban-art.jsp
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_art
Graffiti_27 LR
The Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva) is a medium-sized plover. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from pluvia, "rain". It was believed that golden plovers flocked when rain was imminent. The species name fulva is Latin and refers to a tawny colour.[2]
The 23–26 cm long breeding adult is spotted gold and black on the crown, and back on the wings. Its face and neck are black with a white border, and it has a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black. In winter, the black is lost and the plover then has a yellowish face and breast, and white underparts.
It is similar to two other golden plovers: the Eurasian and American plovers. The Pacific golden plover is smaller, slimmer and relatively longer-legged than the European golden plover, Pluvialis apricaria, which also has white axillary (armpit) feathers. Overall, the Pacific golden plover is found to be more similar to the American golden plover, Pluvialis dominica, with which it was once considered conspecific as "lesser golden plover".[3] The Pacific golden plover is slimmer than the American species, has a shorter primary projection, longer legs, and is usually found to have more yellow on the back.
This wader forages for food on tundra, fields, beaches and tidal flats, usually by sight. It eats insects and crustaceans and some berries.
The breeding habitat of Pacific golden plover is the Arctic tundra from northernmost Eurosiberia into western Alaska. It nests on the ground in a dry open area.
It is migratory and winters in south Asia and Australasia. A few winter in California and Hawaii, USA. In Hawaii, the bird is known as the kōlea, and in New Zealand it is known to Māori as kuriri. It is very rare vagrant to western Europe. They return to the same wintering territory each year, which allowed scientists in Hawaii to attach tiny light level geolocator devices to the birds and then retrieve them the following year in the same location. This research revealed that these birds make the 4800 km non-stop flight between Alaska and Hawaii in 3–4 days