The title relates to the UK TV series, Plebs. The guy seemed a dead ringer for the slave Grumio 😆 anyway, this was shot during the Cristianos y Moros fiestas in Santa Pola, just few klicks from Alicante.

Château de Versailles, Versailles, France.

El Château de Versailles es un edificio que desempeñó las funciones de una residencia real en siglos pasados. El palacio está ubicado en el municipio de Versalles, cerca de París, en la región Isla de Francia. Su construcción fue ordenada por el rey Luis XIV, y constituye uno de los complejos arquitectónicos monárquicos más importantes de Europa. Con 7,3 millones de visitantes en 2012, es también uno de los sitios turísticos más importantes de Francia.

Con sus tres palacios, sus jardines y su parque, Versalles es un dominio inmenso. Si bien Luis XIII hizo edificar allí un pabellón de caza con un jardín, Luis XIV es su verdadero creador, ya que le dio su amplitud y determinó su destino.

Luis XIV dejó París y decidió construir Versalles como una pequeña ciudad alejada de los problemas. Tendría varias etapas constructivas, marcadas por las amantes de Luis XIV.

Primera etapa (1661-1668): Sería un palacete de caza al que se añadieron dos alas laterales que, al cerrarse, conformaron la plaza de armas. Son fachadas de ladrillo y unifica la cubierta usando también la pizarra y las mansardas.

Segunda etapa (1668-1678): Luis XIV pretende trasladar definitivamente la corte a Versalles. Se añaden las dos alas laterales para dar prioridad visual al jardín, realizado por André Le Nôtre. La fachada que da al jardín está construida siguiendo el modelo italiano. Un primer piso de sillares almohadillados. Un piso noble de doble altura con crujías retranqueadas, jugando con entrantes y salientes y alternando columnas y pilastras. Por último, un tercer piso que sería el ático, rematado por una serie de figuras escultóricas (trofeos y jarrones) que casi no dejan ver la caída de la cubierta, la cual no es muy inclinada. Llegaron a vivir en él hasta 20.000 personas.

Tercera y última etapa (1678-1692): En esta ampliación, realizada por Mansart, se construyó la capilla real en el Ala Norte del Palacio, a doble altura y con acceso directo a cota cero desde el exterior, estando la Tribuna Real situada en el piso principal, desde donde el rey y su familia asistían a la misa.

El jardín de Versalles es clasicista, ordenado, racionalizado. Con el paisajismo se obliga a la circulación. Crea una organización que relaciona todas las esculturas y fuentes y ensalza la monarquía. Las esculturas se señalan unas a otras. Progresiva civilización del jardín: muy ordenado, podado y cuidado en la zona próxima al palacio, y después se va asilvestrando, es decir que se hace más silvestre a medida que nos alejamos del palacio.

Tres siglos después de su creación, el dominio sigue siendo considerable pues cuenta con 800 hectáreas (originalmente eran unas 8 000 hectáreas), 20 km de caminos, 200 000 árboles, 35 km de canalizaciones, 11 hectáreas de techumbre, 2 153 ventanas y 67 escaleras.

El conjunto del palacio y parque de Versalles, incluyendo el Gran Trianón y el Pequeño Trianón, fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco en 1979.

The Château de Versailles is a building that served as a royal residence in past centuries. The palace is located in the municipality of Versailles, near Paris, in the Isle of France. Its construction was ordered by King Louis XIV, and is one of the most important monarchical architectural complexes in Europe. With 7.3 million visitors in 2012, it is also one of the most important tourist sites in France.

With its three palaces, its gardens and its park, Versailles is an immense domain. Although Louis XIII built a hunting pavilion with a garden there, Louis XIV is its true creator, since it gave him his amplitude and determined his destiny.

Louis XIV left Paris and decided to build Versailles as a small city away from problems. It would have several constructive stages, marked by the lovers of Louis XIV.

First stage (1661-1668): It would be a hunting palace to which two side wings were added that, when closed, formed the parade ground. They are brick facades and unifies the roof using also the slate and the mansards.

Second stage (1668-1678): Louis XIV intends to definitively transfer the court to Versailles. The two lateral wings are added to give visual priority to the garden, made by André Le Nôtre. The facade that overlooks the garden is built following the Italian model. A first floor of ashlar pillows. A double height noble floor with recessed bays, playing with entrances and projections and alternating columns and pilasters. Finally, a third floor that would be the attic, topped by a series of sculptural figures (trophies and vases) that almost do not let see the fall of the roof, which is not very inclined. Up to 20,000 people lived there.

Third and last stage (1678-1692): In this extension, made by Mansart, the royal chapel was built in the North wing of the Palace, at double height and with direct access to level zero from the outside, with the Royal Tribune located in the main floor, from where the king and his family attended the mass.

The garden of Versailles is classicist, orderly, rationalized. With landscaping, circulation is forced. Create an organization that relates all the sculptures and sources and extols the monarchy. The sculptures point to each other. Progressive civilization of the garden: very orderly, pruned and cared for in the area near the palace, and then it goes wild, that is to say it becomes wilder as we move away from the palace.

Three centuries after its creation, the domain is still considerable because it has 800 hectares (originally were about 8,000 hectares), 20 km of roads, 200,000 trees, 35 km of pipelines, 11 hectares of roof, 2 153 windows and 67 stairs.

The palace and park complex of Versailles, including the Grand Trianon and the Little Trianon, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.

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

AWS Recycling Ltd is a leading waste management company registered under the ISO 14001 accreditation.

With contracts throughout the West Midlands. Their team are here to help with the ever-growing recycling requirements of all their customers.

AWS Ltd offers all aspects of waste management in the work place, with total business recycling that ensures the efficient and environmentally friendly way to dispose of all waste materials.

AWS is an independently owned company enabling them to offer their customers the best prices and contracts in such a competitive market. With over 25 years experience of working within the waste industry we have expert knowledge and advice on waste management solutions.

A.W.S Recycling Ltd (the ‘Organisation’) recognises the importance of environmental protection and is committed to operating its business responsibly and in compliance with all environmental regulations, legislation and approved codes of practice relating to civil and construction engineering and the Organisation’s overall business activities.

They work in partnership with organisations to offer the most efficient waste management solution. They ensure they have a full understanding of requirements, and deliver on their promises. Their responsibility to their customers is more than just a waste collection service; they endeavour to meet all needs, from providing the solutions, collecting and disposing/recycling of waste, to also providing reports of waste and recycling figures.

The Church of Mary Magdalene (on the Whitgift side of the border between Whitgift and Reedness) dates from 1304 (replacing an earlier building, 11th-12th century or earlier). It has a famous clock with an unusual feature: instead of 12 (XII in Roman numerals) it has a 13 (XIII). Reasons vary, but local rumour relates that it may be due to the church being adjacent to a pub (now closed) at which the painter imbibed before completing the job. The church was designated a Grade I listed building in 1967 and is now recorded in the National Heritage List for England, maintained by Historic England.

117 pictures in 2017 - 49 A Civic/Government/Public Building

“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

I can't say how often I've driven Messenger Road, a potholed passage which never really goes where I'm going. It's a bridge between things, like so much of my life seems to be. It's a metaphor in my mind for a kind of prophecy, the sort you say and then go about trying to make come true. Things to share and the drive to share them, I've got more of that than most. I was once accused of being a "wannabe profit", and though the typo is accurate in the sense that I could use the money, the term "prophet" doesn't really fit me. There is no targeted truth in what I'm writing, no big vision or dream to relate. I'm not planning on predicting the future, only trying to do that old tribal thing. Campfire tales and cave paintings, so we can look back on our lives and back at our faces, and see something that keeping our thoughts to ourselves couldn't show.

November 20, 2022

Paradise, Nova Scotia

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Brimketill is a small, naturally carved pool, by marine erosion, at the lava shore edge west of the town of Grindavík. The folklore relates that the pond was regularly occupied by a giantess named Oddný.

The title of this relates to an article I read some time ago by Ken Rockwell, www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm, in which he explains what is "Good Bokeh", I found it interesting because I happen to be one of those people that think the word good when describing a medium such as photography is subjective and even sometimes what is generally "bad" can be "good" every now and again, if you know what I mean. He even has a chart showing what "poor", "neutral" and "good" bokeh looks like, and I am proud to say I have achieved what I think he describes as "neutral" or "poor" bokeh. Yeah for me!!! :-)))

In truth, I don't disagree with him in looking at this image there is something a little too harsh in the blobs of light here. It certainly is not the "smooth and silky" kind of bokeh. But you know after drinking a few of those glasses of what is in the foreground, nothing was in focus, and that is clearly seen in this image (as nothing in the shot is clearly in focus), so I call the shot a success!! :-))))

Here is a link to the entire story (which is a great read, seriously), www.kenrockwell.com/tech/bokeh.htm, and an excerpt is below.

"Bokeh describes the appearance, or "feel," of out-of-focus areas. Bokeh is not how far something is out-of-focus, bokeh is the character of whatever blur is there.

Unfortunately good bokeh doesn't happen automatically in lens design. Perfect lenses render out-of-focus points of light as circles with sharp edges. Ideal bokeh would render each of these points as blurs, not hard-edged circles."

So I guess I have a good lens and a "neutral" or perhaps "poor" bokeh shot to show for it! All of this is posted in good spirits, hope it reads that way! Cheers!!! :-))

HBW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Indeed grand from this viewpoint, the North Rim. I'm sure others can relate, but for me, majestic landscapes like this have two lives: the one at the moment the picture was imagined and snapped, and the one(s) later when there's time to zoom in on the amazing details of nature's creation.

Even when not grieving, it's easy to feel this way.

Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids (in Australia, South Africa, and the United States),[1] or bush crickets.[2] They have previously been known as long-horned grasshoppers.[3] More than 6,400 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, the Tettigoniidae are the only extant (living) family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea.

They are primarily nocturnal in habit with strident mating calls. Many katydids exhibit mimicry and camouflage, commonly with shapes and colors similar to leaves.

Tettigoniids range in size from as small as 5 mm (0.20 in) to as large as 130 mm (5.1 in).[9] The smaller species typically live in drier or more stressful habitats which may lead to their small size. The small size is associated with greater agility, faster development, and lower nutritional needs. Tettigoniids are tree-living insects that are most commonly heard at night during summer and early fall.[10] Tettigoniids may be distinguished from the grasshopper by the length of their filamentous antennae, which may exceed their own body length, while grasshoppers' antennae are always relatively short and thickened.

The lifespan of a katydid is about a year, with full adulthood usually developing very late. Females most typically lay their eggs at the end of summer beneath the soil or in plant stem holes. The eggs are typically oval and laid in rows on the host plant. The way their ovipositor is formed relates to its function where it lays eggs. The ovipositor is an organ used by insects for laying eggs. It consists of up to three pairs of appendages formed to transmit the egg, to make a place for it, and place it properly. Tettigoniids have either sickle-shaped ovipositors which typically lay eggs in dead or living plant matter, or uniform long ovipositors which lay eggs in grass stems. When tettigoniids hatch, the nymphs often look like smaller versions of the adults, but in some species, the nymphs look nothing at all like the adult and rather mimic other species such as spiders and assassin bugs, or flowers, to prevent predation. The nymphs remain in a mimic state only until they are large enough to escape predation. Once they complete their last molt, they are then prepared to mate.

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Adjective

1. Characterised by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible.

2. Highly refined; delicate.

3. Heavenly or spiritual [Greek aithēr ether]

... a Of the celestial spheres; heavenly.

... b Not of this world; spiritual.

4. Chemistry. Of or relating to ether.

Dedicated to Kounelli for being the first person to comment on this shot, and to the volcanic sharrockmary for being a close second.

Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.

Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.

To see more of our CC by 2.0 finance images click here... see profile for attribution.

Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.

Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.

To see more of our CC by 2.0 finance images click here... see profile for attribution.

2 Baldwin road switchers wait out the weekend with a single car and caboose at the railroad's HQ and operations center, apex NC in August 1965. Might be as hard for some of you to relate as it is for me, but I really am old enough to have shot this.

Various trees of life are recounted in folklore, culture and fiction, often relating to immortality or fertility. They had their origin in religious symbolism.

Ancient Iran

In pre-Islamic Persian mythology, the Gaokerena world tree is a large, sacred Haoma tree which bears all seeds. Ahriman (Ahreman, Angremainyu) created a frog to invade the tree and destroy it, aiming to prevent all trees from growing on the earth. As a reaction, God (Ahura Mazda) created two kar fish staring at the frog to guard the tree. The two fishes are always staring at the frog and stay ready to react to it. Because Ahriman is responsible for all evil including death, while Ahura Mazda is responsible for all good (including life) the concept of world tree in Persian Mythology is very closely related to the concept of Tree of Life.The sacred plant haoma and the drink made from it. The preparation of the drink from the plant by pounding and the drinking of it are central features of Zoroastrian ritual. Haoma is also personified as a divinity. It bestows essential vital qualities—health, fertility, husbands for maidens, even immortality. The source of the earthly haoma plant is a shining white tree that grows on a paradisiacal mountain. Sprigs of this white haoma were brought to earth by divine birds.Haoma is the Avestan form of the Sanskrit soma. The near identity of the two in ritual significance is considered by scholars to point to a salient feature of an Indo-Iranian religion antedating Zoroastrianism.

Another related issue in ancient mythology of Iran is the myth of Mashyа and Mashyane, two trees who were the ancestors of all living beings. This myth can be considered as a prototype for the creation myth where living beings are created by Gods (who have a human form).

Ancient Egypt

Worshipping Osiris, Isis, and Horus

To the Ancient Egyptians, the Tree of Life represented the hierarchical chain of events that brought every thing into existence. The spheres of the Tree of Life demonstrate the order, process, and method of creation.In Egyptian mythology, in the Ennead system of Heliopolis, the first couple, apart from Shu and Tefnut (moisture and dryness) are Geb and Nuit (earth and sky), are Isis and Osiris. They were said to have emerged from the acacia tree of Iusaaset, which the Egyptians considered the tree of life, referring to it as the "tree in which life and death are enclosed." Some acacia trees contain DMT, a psychedelic drug associated with spiritual experiences. The drug is not orally bio-available, however and there is no evidence the Egyptians had techniques for extracting or otherwise harnessing the drug. A much later myth relates how Set and 72 conspirators killed Osiris, putting him in a coffin, and throwing it into the Nile, the coffin becoming embedded in the base of a tamarisk tree.The Egyptians' Holy Sycamore also stood on the threshold of life and death, connecting the two worlds.

Assyria

Assyrian tree of life, from Nimrud panels.The Assyrian Tree of Life was represented by a series of nodes and criss-crossing lines. It was apparently an important religious symbol, often attended to in Assyrian palace reliefs by human or eagle-headed winged genies, or the King, and blessed or fertilized with bucket and cone. Assyriologists have not reached consensus as to the meaning of this symbol. The name "Tree of Life" has been attributed to it by modern scholarship; it is not used in the Assyrian sources. In fact, no textual evidence pertaining to the symbol is known to exist.

Baha'i Faith

The concept of the tree of life appears in the writings of the Baha'i Faith, where it can refer to the Manifestation of God, a great teacher who appears to humanity from age to age. An example of this can be found in the Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh:["Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life, which is planted in the all-glorious paradise? Awestruck ye listened as I gave utterance to these three most holy words: O friends! Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for you, and approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings. Would ye but sanctify your souls, ye would at this present hour recall that place and those surroundings, and the truth of My utterance should be made evident unto all of you."Also, in the Tablet of Ahmad [1], of Bahá'u'lláh:"Verily He is the Tree of Life, that bringeth forth the fruits of God, the Exalted, the Powerful, the Great".Bahá'u'lláh refers to his male descendents as branches (Aghsán) and calls women leaves.

A distinction has been made between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The latter represents the physical world with its opposites, such as good and evil and light and dark. In a different context from the one above, the tree of life represents the spiritual realm, where this duality does not exist.

Buddhism

The Bo tree, also called Bodhi tree, according to Buddhist tradition, is the pipal (Ficus religiosa) under which the Buddha sat when he attained Enlightenment (Bodhi) at Bodh Gaya (near Gaya, west-central Bihar state, India). A living pipal at Anuradhapura, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), is said to have grown from a cutting from the Bo tree sent to that city by King Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE.According to Tibetan tradition when Buddha went to the holy Lake Manasorovar along with 500 monks, he took with him the energy of Prayaga Raj. Upon his arrival, he installed the energy of Prayaga Raj near Lake Manasorovar, at a place now known as Prayang. Then he planted the seed of this eternal banyan tree next to Mt. Kailash on a mountain known as the "Palace of Medicine Buddha".

China

In Chinese mythology, a carving of a Tree of Life depicts a phoenix and a dragon; the dragon often represents immortality. A Taoist story tells of a tree that produces a peach every three thousand years. The one who eats the fruit receives immortality.An archaeological discovery in the 1990s was of a sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui in Sichuan, China. Dating from about 1200 BCE, it contained three bronze trees, one of them 4 meters high. At the base was a dragon, and fruit hanging from the lower branches. At the top is a strange bird-like (phoenix) creature with claws. Also found in Sichuan, from the late Han dynasty (c 25 – 220 CE), is another tree of life. The ceramic base is guarded by a horned beast with wings. The leaves of the tree are coins and people. At the apex is a bird with coins and the Sun.

Christianity

In Catholic Christianity, the Tree of Life represents the immaculate state of humanity free from corruption and Original Sin before the Fall. Pope Benedict XVI has said that "the Cross is the true tree of life." Saint Bonaventure taught that the medicinal fruit of the Tree of Life is Christ himself. Saint Albert the Great taught that the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, is the Fruit of the Tree of Life.[18] Augustine of Hippo said that the tree of life is Christ: "All these things stood for something other than what they were, but all the same they were themselves bodily realities. And when the narrator mentioned them he was not employing figurative language, but giving an explicit account of things which had a forward reference that was figurative. So then the tree of life also was Christ... and indeed God did not wish the man to live in Paradise without the mysteries of spiritual things being presented to him in bodily form. So then in the other trees he was provided with nourishment, in this one with a sacrament... He is rightly called whatever came before him in order to signify him."[19]

The tree first appeared in Genesis 2:9 and 3:22-24 as the source of eternal life in the Garden of Eden, from which access is revoked when man is driven from the garden. It then reappears in the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, and most predominantly in the last chapter of that book (Chapter 22) as a part of the new garden of paradise. Access is then no longer forbidden, for those who "wash their robes" (or as the textual variant in the King James Version has it, "they that do his commandments") "have right to the tree of life" (v.14). A similar statement appears in Rev 2:7, where the tree of life is promised as a reward to those who overcome. Revelation 22 begins with a reference to the "pure river of water of life" which proceeds "out of the throne of God". The river seems to feed two trees of life, one "on either side of the river" which "bear twelve manner of fruits" "and the leaves of the tree were for healing of the nations" (v.1-2).[20] Or this may indicate that the tree of life is a vine that grows on both sides of the river, as John 15:1 would hint at.

In Eastern Christianity the tree of life is the love of God.The tree of life appears in the Book of Mormon in a revelation to Lehi (see 1 Nephi 8:10). It is symbolic of the love of God (see 1 Nephi 11:21-23). Its fruit is described as "most precious and most desirable above all other fruits," which "is the greatest of all the gifts of God" (see 1 Nephi 15:36). In another scriptural book, salvation is called "the greatest of all the gifts of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 6:13). In the same book eternal life is also called the "greatest of all the gifts of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 14:7). Because of these references, the tree of life and its fruit is sometimes understood to be symbolic of salvation and post-mortal existence in the presence of God and his love.

Europe

11th century Tree of Life sculpture at an ancient Swedish church

In Dictionnaire Mytho-Hermetique (Paris, 1737), Antoine-Joseph Pernety, a famous alchemist, identified the Tree of Life with the Elixir of Life and the Philosopher's Stone.

In Eden in the East (1998), Stephen Oppenheimer suggests that a tree-worshipping culture arose in Indonesia and was diffused by the so-called "Younger Dryas" event of c. 8000 BCE, when the sea level rose. This culture reached China (Szechuan), then India and the Middle East. Finally the Finno-Ugaritic strand of this diffusion spread through Russia to Finland where the Norse myth of Yggdrasil took root.

Georgia

The Borjgali (Georgian: ბორჯღალი) is an ancient Georgian Tree of Life symbol.

Germanic paganism and Norse mythology[

In Germanic paganism, trees played (and, in the form of reconstructive Heathenry and Germanic Neopaganism, continue to play) a prominent role, appearing in various aspects of surviving texts and possibly in the name of gods.

The tree of life appears in Norse religion as Yggdrasil, the world tree, a massive tree (sometimes considered a yew or ash tree) with extensive lore surrounding it. Perhaps related to Yggdrasil, accounts have survived of Germanic Tribes' honouring sacred trees within their societies. Examples include Thor's Oak, sacred groves, the Sacred tree at Uppsala, and the wooden Irminsul pillar. In Norse Mythology, the apples from Iðunn's ash box provide immortality for the gods.

Hinduism

The Eternal Banyan Tree (Akshaya Vata) is located on the bank of the Yamuna inside the courtyard of Allahabad Fort near the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganga Rivers in Allahabad. The eternal and divine nature of this tree has been documented at length in the scriptures.[citation needed]

During the cyclic destruction of creation when the whole earth was enveloped by waters, akshaya vata remained unaffected. It is on the leaves of this tree that Lord Krishna rested in the form of a baby when land was no longer visible. And it is here that the immortal sage, Markandeya, received the cosmic vision of the Lord. It is under this tree that Buddha meditates eternally. Legend also has it that the Bodi tree at Gaya is a manifestation of this tree.

Islam

Carpet Tree of Life

Main article: Quranic tree of life

See also: Sidrat al-Muntaha

The "Tree of Immortality" (Arabic: شجرة الخلود) is the tree of life motif as it appears in the Quran. It is also alluded to in hadiths and tafsir. Unlike the biblical account, the Quran mentions only one tree in Eden, also called the tree of immortality, which Allah specifically forbade to Adam and Eve. Satan, disguised as a serpent, repeatedly told Adam to eat from the tree, and eventually both Adam and Eve did so, thus disobeying Allah.] The hadiths also speak about other trees in heaven.

According to the Ahmadiyya movement, Quranic reference to the tree is symbolic; eating of the forbidden tree signifies that Adam disobeyed God.[

Jewish sources

Main articles: Etz Chaim and Biblical tree of life

Etz Chaim, Hebrew for "tree of life," is a common term used in Judaism. The expression, found in the Book of Proverbs, is figuratively applied to the Torah itself. Etz Chaim is also a common name for yeshivas and synagogues as well as for works of Rabbinic literature. It is also used to describe each of the wooden poles to which the parchment of a Sefer Torah is attached.The tree of life is mentioned in the Book of Genesis; it is distinct from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden. Remaining in the garden, however, was the tree of life. To prevent their access to this tree in the future, Cherubim with a flaming sword were placed at the east of the garden. (Genesis 3:22-24)

In the Book of Proverbs, the tree of life is associated with wisdom: "[Wisdom] is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy [is every one] that retaineth her." (Proverbs 3:13-18) In 15:4 the tree of life is associated with calmness: "A soothing tongue is a tree of life; but perverseness therein is a wound to the spirit."

The Book of Enoch, generally considered non-canonical, states that in the time of the great judgment God will give all those whose names are in the Book of Life fruit to eat from the Tree of Life.

Kathara grid

The esoteric bio-spiritual healing system of kathara which is presented on Earth by the official Speaker of the Guardian Alliance – E’Asha Ashayana,explains in detail the function of the code of the kathara grid] as the natural tree of life. Kathara reveals the anatomy of Creation, core structure, the blueprints & interconnectedness of all matter forms and in the center is the replication of the kathara grid everywhere.The kathara grid consists of 12 kathara centers and the relationships between them represent the true meaning of the phrase "As above, so below" and the correspondence between microcosmos and macrocosmos.

Kabbalah. Judaic Kabbalah Tree of Life 10 Sephirot, through which the Ein Sof unknowable Divine manifests Creation. The configuration relates to manJewish mysticism depicts the Tree of Life in the form of ten interconnected nodes, as the central symbol of the Kabbalah. It comprises the ten Sephirot powers in the Divine realm. The panentheistic and anthropomorphic emphasis of this emanationist theology interpreted the Torah, Jewish observance, and the purpose of Creation as the symbolic esoteric drama of unification in the Sephirot, restoring harmony to Creation. From the time of the Renaissance onwards, Jewish Kabbalah became incorporated as an important tradition in non-Jewish Western culture, first through its adoption by Christian Cabala, and continuing in Western esotericism occult Hermetic Qabalah. These adapted the Judaic Kabbalah Tree of Life syncretically by associating it with other religious traditions, esoteric theologies, and magical practices.

Mesoamerican

The concept of world trees is a prevalent motif in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cosmologies and iconography. World trees embodied the four cardinal directions, which represented also the fourfold nature of a central world tree, a symbolic axis mundi connecting the planes of the Underworld and the sky with that of the terrestrial world.Depictions of world trees, both in their directional and central aspects, are found in the art and mythological traditions of cultures such as the Maya, Aztec, Izapan, Mixtec, Olmec, and others, dating to at least the Mid/Late Formative periods of Mesoamerican chronology. Among the Maya, the central world tree was conceived as or represented by a ceiba tree, and is known variously as a wacah chan or yax imix che, depending on the Mayan language.[32] The trunk of the tree could also be represented by an upright caiman, whose skin evokes the tree's spiny trunk.Directional world trees are also associated with the four Yearbearers in Mesoamerican calendars, and the directional colors and deities. Mesoamerican codices which have this association outlined include the Dresden, Borgia and Fejérváry-Mayer codices.[31] It is supposed that Mesoamerican sites and ceremonial centers frequently had actual trees planted at each of the four cardinal directions, representing the quadripartite concept.World trees are frequently depicted with birds in their branches, and their roots extending into earth or water (sometimes atop a "water-monster," symbolic of the underworld). The central world tree has also been interpreted as a representation of the band of the Milky Way.

Middle East

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a similar quest for immortality. In Mesopotamian mythology, Etana searches for a 'plant of birth' to provide him with a son. This has a solid provenance of antiquity, being found in cylinder seals from Akkad (2390–2249 BCE).The Book of One Thousand and One Nights has a story, 'The Tale of Buluqiya', in which the hero searches for immortality and finds a paradise with jewel-encrusted trees. Nearby is a Fountain of Youth guarded by Al-Khidr. Unable to defeat the guard, Buluqiya has to return empty-handed.

North American

In a myth passed down among the Iroquois, The World on the Turtle's Back, explains the origin of the land in which a tree of life is described. According to the myth, it is found in the heavens, where the first humans lived, until a pregnant woman fell and landed in an endless sea. Saved by a giant turtle from drowning, she formed the world on its back by planting bark taken from the tree.The tree of life motif is present in the traditional Ojibway cosmology and traditions. It is sometimes described as Grandmother Cedar, or Nookomis Giizhig in Anishinaabemowin.In the book Black Elk Speaks, Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota (Sioux) wičháša wakȟáŋ (medicine man and holy man), describes his vision in which after dancing around a dying tree that has never bloomed he is transported to the other world (spirit world) where he meets wise elders, 12 men and 12 women. The elders tell Black Elk that they will bring him to meet "Our Father, the two-legged chief" and bring him to the center of a hoop where he sees the tree in full leaf and bloom and the "chief" standing against the tree. Coming out of his trance he hopes to see that the earthly tree has bloomed, but it is dead

Serer religion

In Serer religion, the tree of life as a religious concept forms the basis of Serer cosmogony. Trees were the first things created on Earth by the supreme being Roog (or Koox among the Cangin). In the competing versions of the Serer creation myth, the Somb (Prosopis africana) and the Saas tree (acacia albida) are both viewed as trees of life. However, the prevailing view is that, the Somb was the first tree on Earth and the progenitor of plant life. The Somb was also used in the Serer tumuli and burial chambers, many of which had survived for more than a thousand years.Thus, Somb is not only the Tree of Life in Serer society, but the symbol of immortality

Urartian Tree of Life

In ancient Urartu, the Tree of Life was a religious symbol and was drawn on walls of fortresses and carved on the armor of warriors. The branches of the tree were equally divided on the right and left sides of the stem, with each branch having one leaf, and one leaf on the apex of the tree. Servants stood on each side of the tree with one of their hands up as if they are taking care of the tree.

Turkic .The Tree of Life, as seen as in flag of Chuvashia, a Turkic state in the Russian FederationThe Tree of Life design on 0,05 Turkish lira (5 kuruş).

The World Tree or Tree of Life is a central symbol in Turkic mythology.[citation needed] It is a common motif in carpets.

It is also used as the main design of a common Turkish lira sub-unit 5 kuruş since 2009.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_life

"Any Colour You Like' is interesting, in that sense, because it denotes offering a choice where there is none. And it's also interesting that in the phrase, 'Any colour you like, they're all blue', I don't know why, but in my mind it's always 'they're all blue', which, if you think about it, relates very much to the light and dark, sun and moon, good and evil. You make your choice but it's always blue."

Roger Waters 1973

Biscayne Park, FL

www.susanfordcollins.com

Raw shot.

Taken at St. Pete's City.

---Isaiaus Alphard Arens---

The origins of the Arens family's wealth has changed over the centuries. Some parts of the family are still heavily involved in the potioneering world, continuing with family businesses in that sector, where others in the last few centuries have become heavily immersed in trading in the muggle world. Nyle Arens' great-grandfather, Isaiaus Alphard Arens, took this further than their investments in oil and and non-renewable resources most recently prior and he began investing in muggle businesses directly.

Unlike with the Arens' tradition, Isaiaus was abysmal at potions but a great arithmancer and was renown for his exceptional business acumen. Where pure-blood superiority, deeply entrenched in the mindset of some members of the family, kept them from expanding the family's successful ventures, Isaiaus cared not as long as it would increase their already vast wealth. For often, Isaiaus could be heard relating his predictions on how sustainable he thinks their wealth is.

Following the ministry reviews of their conduct with muggles and sanctions imposed as a result of suspicions lingering around the family after the Second Wizarding War, Isaiaus become more vocal. Isaiaus' father recognised his talent and eventually gave him full control of their investments.

Distaste grew amidst their pure-blood circles despite Isaiaus' endeavours proving very successful. Thus when he died a slow painful death, his sons became convinced he was killed. The oldest of the two, Lyonel (Nyle's grandfather), would go on to take the reins - although with a much more conservative approach. It wouldn't be until his own son Wymer, Nyle's father, that the effect of Isaiaus' legacy manifests itself in the changing views the Arens hold on muggles.

Bucolic - relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life.

DMC-G80M - ISO200 - 1/500sec - Olympus m.zuiko 25mmF1.8 @ f/5.6

“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

DSC_0247 final.jpg

This statement could relate to the lovely old Mercedes lorry and also the chap sat down contemplating his next movements.

I believe that this photo was taken in Narok, central Kenya.

A set of photos dedicated to a very special person in my family and also for his wife...missing you guys.

>>>>>E & family/friends>>>> 😃💕✨The value of family life lies in the fact we can all relate to each other; no need for competition or jealousy; we\'re a team with one common goal: To make it to the end!😃💕✨👍😎😊✌😁😜👌

good ol\' home boy in action!😃💕✨

Four Little Words👍

Four little words have stuck in my mind

From the time I was just a small child

“There’s a good feller” is what he would say

When he talked of the men he admired😎😊

I remember those men he talked about

Sure ‘nuff cowboys, tough, but kind

They said what they meant and meant what they said

These men are gettin’ harder to find😜👌

“There’s a good feller,” meant he was true to his word

That’s all you expect of a man

You knew for sure he was proud to meet you

By the genuine shake of his hand😃💕

“There’s a good feller,” meant you could depend

On this man no matter the task

Never got too tough, too cold, or too late

For his help, all you need do is ask

“There’s a good feller,” meant he had a light hand

Be it with horses or cattle or crew

He spent most of his life learning this cowboy trade

And he’d be honored to teach it to you

“There’ a good feller” meant don’t ask him to do

What ain’t on a true and honest track

He knows it’s easier to keep a good reputation

Than it is to try to build one back

“There’s a good feller,” meant he’s a fair-minded man

He helped write cowboyin’s unwritten laws

He won’t ask you to do what he wouldn’t do

Yet knows, at times, the short end you’ll draw

“There’s a good feller,” meant, when he’s down on his luck

He can still hold his head way up high

‘Cause he did his best and gave it his all

He knows with faith and God’s help he’ll get by

“There’s a good feller,” just four little words

And their meaning won’t run all that deep

But when Dad would use ‘em to describe certain men

You knew they were at the top of the heap

“There’s a good feller,” just four little words

But they’ve always been favorites of mine

If after my trails end, my name’s brought up

“There’s a good feller” would suit me just fine

😃💕😃💕😃💕😃💕😃💕😃💕😃💕

THA_END!!

Wishing you a fine day!

[polska wersja niżej]

This photo relates to the story told some time ago at this picture. Here ST43-395 with sugarbeet train is closing up to Raciąż station. Surprisingly SM30-277 appeared after the loco. This small shunter of the first Polish diesel locomotive class with appliance of diesel-electric transmission was detached from the consist in Raciąż and taken by sugar factory's shunting locomotive TEM2 to the factory. I don't know whether it was a loco's renting or wnything else.. October 9, 2005.

Photo by Jarek / Chester

ST43-395 wraz z niespodziewaną w takich okolicznościach SM30-277 oraz składem pełnym buraków cukrowych wjeżdżają do Raciąża rankiem 9 października 2005 roku. Tutaj SM30 została wypięta i wzięta na zakład do cukrowni - nie wiem, czy była to forma wypożyczenia lokomotywy manewrowej, czy coś innego.

Fot. Jarek / Chester

Commentary.

Larch and Spruce in Autumn.

Greeny yellow to Bottle Green.

Tall, 30 metre, mature trees

and patches of new plantation

up to the climactic tree-line.

The curve of the main A.835 road

from Garve to Ullapool wheels

south-east to north-west,

at the bottom of this image.

Just left of the col between

Beinn Enaiglair 889m.(2,917 feet)

and Meall Doire Fàid 730m. (2,395 feet)

lies Home Loch.

This may relate to the visible buildings,

and these, too, may be in the business of

timber production, here, and further afield.

A long exposure, with a mag-mini flashlight (top taken off).

I dig the acidity (Urban Acid) and grit in this, relates a little better to rock n roll...

The fourth stage relates to the history, the 'story' we are witnessing, and it's social, spiritual and political implications. - Jay Ramsay - The Sacred Way

Paul Simon- The Rhythm of the Saints

REQUEST - a thought, a prayer please for my dear Georgian friend Laliko, who's daughter Nino has been missing for some 10 days ..........

Place: Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Chinese name: 荣威RX5 (róngwēi RX5)

Year of launch: 2016

The Roewe brand emerged after SAIC failed to acquire the Rover marque from BMW in 2005, instead it was sold to Ford in 2006. The carmakers probably feared SAIC would make SUVs competing with Land Rover... SAIC purchased technology relating to the Rover 75, but most assets were bought by Nanjing Automobile (NAC). NAC had the rights on the MG brand. In 2007 Nanjing Automobile merged with the much larger SAIC Group, which means SAIC is now controlling both Roewe and MG. Roewe's first product was the 750 launched in 2006, a revised and extended sedan based on the Rover 75. It was followed by the 550 based on the same underpinnings in 2008 and the new compact sedan 350 in 2010.

The Roewe RX5 SUV was launched in 2016, succeeding the SsangYong Kyron-based W5. Unlike its predecessor, the RX5 is selling like mad, with almost 20,000 units a month. Last week Roewe launched a more compact SUV (4,40 m), the RX3.

Sales figures: carsalesbase.com/china-car-sales-data/roewe/roewe-rx5/

This relates to the previous photo I posted. The following night I dressed up in a velvet body shirt and black leather mini skirt and went out to a large Disco! I did have fun even though I was nervous with the big crowd.

I had to change Declan as his outfit was needed for another guy... so I just dressed him in some random clothes and suddenly he became another character! Dorian Gray, the beautiful young man who stays beautiful no matter how wicked and dissolute he becomes... but the same cannot be said for his portrait. The portrait painted of him when he was young and beautiful gradually starts to change and deform and eventually becomes hideous. I made the portrait of Declan/Dorian using PicsArt and adding various effects. Then I printed it on photo paper and used a craquelure glaze on it to give it an antique oil painting effect. Most of the other objects in the picture are thift store finds...... I tried to include memento mori elements and others relating to beauty and vanity.. some can be seen others not.

Norge; Norway;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-2qcawdYCw&feature=relate

OH MY GOD WHERE DO I BEGIN ASDFGHJKL-

*breathes*

Okay, excuse me, this is going to be a ramble as per usual as I have a ton of things I want to talk about both relating and not relating to this lovely little lady right here but i'll space it out over my next few posts so as to not melt your brain staring at one monumental textwall.

OKAY SO. PETRA. OMG. HNNNG. I CAN'T-

So for those of you who keep up with the recent roller-coaster that is my doll journey you'll know that i've talked about shelling my character Petra as a doll for literally years and finally I found the perfect opportunity to go for it and get her with the release of Fairyland Momo. It was kind of up in the air in the beginning whether or not i'd be able to grab Momo while I could but thankfully everything worked out and I was able to get her. Of course, the main reason why I wanted to do so was because I thought the bunny body would be the absolute perfect way of portraying her character in doll form that I previously didn't think would have been possible. For a long time I had resigned myself to just getting her on a regular human body because I didn't think something like this would be possible but OF COURSE, just like with Euclid's perfectly amazing seahorse tail Fairyland is able to read my mind and just know exactly what types of fantasy parts I've wanted for my characters and exactly how to execute them. I'll get into why that is in a bit where I copy/pasta a novel about some of Petra's character but for now let me just say that I LOVE IT SO MUCH and my gosh I am so glad that I was able to get it for her. I know that you can't see her bunny legs in this picture but they actually aren't what I wanted to focus on the most for now. I'll show them off and ramble on about her character/backstory in the future once she is more put together but for now I mainly just want to focus on one thing in particular; THAT SHE IS A MINIFEE ANTE.

Yeah so if you've been keeping up with me for a while you may remember that I had stated numerous times that my plan for Petra was for her to be a Minifee Mio but, well, this happened. Its funny, the moment I first saw Minifee Mio I immediately said "that is Petra" with so much certainty that for the longest time I honestly couldn't imagine her as anything else. Minifee Ante on the other hand was always a sculpt that I was deeply enamored with since I first laid eyes on it but for whatever reason I couldn't see it as anything other than a boy but I didn't have any male characters from my main stories that would suit it and over time it became this ultimate grail for me that I thought i'd never own because I just didn't have the character for it. Well as I mentioned i've been wanting to shell Petra as a doll for years now and at some point I got to looking more and more at Ante as a possible alternative to Mio for Petra. There are things that are more canonically accurate about Mio for Petra, namely the size/shape of her eyes, but the more time went by the more I started to go back and forth between which one was really "right" for her. Eventually I decided upon Mio almost entirely because I knew from her promo photos that she looks great with little angry eyebrows as silly as that sounds, but I think her faceup really was what completely sold me on Mio for her despite being very different than what I would want for Petra. But Ante just kept creeping back into my thoughts especially once I had actually committed to ordering Momo for her bunny body, I just couldn't shake the idea that Ante really has just the perfect little bunny face and captures the cute juvenile look of Petra while still having this air of seriousness. Admittedly Mio gives the same feeling to me but I don't think the sculpt screams "bunny" in the same way that Ante does.

Anyway, I was still debating what I should choose until the very end but eventually my final decision to go with Ante for her came about from being completely unable to find a tan Mio head. xD I'm a believer in fate and that things present themselves the way they do for a reason and being completely unable to get a hold of a Mio head I interpreted as the universe's way of telling me that it just wasn't meant to be. Just when I started to get kind of depressed over it just so happened to come across a pair of tan OE and SP Ante heads and again my mind was flooded with the idea that Ante was in fact the right choice for her.

In thinking about it more heavily I came to realize that while Mio's giant eyes are more canonically accurate, I have to remember that what works in my silly animu drawings don't always translate or work as well as dolls. Faustus and Euclid are incredibly important to Petra and of course i'm insanely picky when it comes to how my really specific character dolls look together so I realized that Mio's giant eyes would probably look way too different and not mesh well with Faustus and Euclid's smaller, more sultry eyes. I learned early on that when translating my characters as dolls its impossible to get them to look EXACTLY like them because of basic stylistic differences and instead to mainly focusing on choosing a sculpt that best captures the "essence" of that character. Like, for example, Euclid's canonical nose looks absolutely nothing like Minifee Luka's nose, but everything else about that sculpt so perfectly evokes Euclid for me that I hardly even notice or think about it, you know? The same is true for me with Petra and Minifee Ante. There are a few characteristics of this sculpt that aren't exactly true of Petra canonically but it still so perfectly captures the FEEL of her character and in a way that also compliments the other important characters in her story. Also the idea of her having a sleeping head really piqued my interest as I've never owned one and they've always interested me but never really had a great excuse to justify getting one, but in thinking about it more, Petra is a character who typically appears outwardly very cold, emotionless and unyielding but a very important part of her character is her journey through very deep emotional and artistic turmoil and I LOVE the idea of using her sleeping head to show a deeply agonized, mournful and ultimately vulnerable side of her that while rarely seen by others is the perfect way of articulating the vital contrasting dynamic of her character.

So yes, in thinking about her in relation to my other dolls and the way that I wanted to portray her character as a doll it became so clear to me that Ante was the right way to go so I took the plunge and went for it and...

;O; I love it.

It was a really strange surreal feeling to own an Ante after having it in my head for so long that i'd never justify being able to own one but it also thoroughly baffled me in a way that I honestly haven't had happen before. Like, my first impression of the sculpt was that this is somehow simultaneously the most bizarre and unrealistic looking sculpt but also gave me the greatest "feeling" of realness and like the sculpt had an air of "life" to it more than any other sculpt i've come across. Idk its hard to explain and probably makes no sense but yeah, it was a strange mix of "wtf am I looking at" and "omg you feel like a real person to me". I've never had that experience before so I was really taken aback by it. It was honestly so confusing that even though I was super busy and shouldn't have been doing so I immediately had to do a suuuuuper quick faceup on her to attempt and sort out my feelings about this sculpt. Seriously, this faceup is legit terrible as it was just an experiment done in a few hours and I feel kind of embarrassed even posting it but ...somehow I still really like it? Like i'll DEFINITELY be making changes when I get the chance to do it properly but I really wanted to test out a few ideas with her eyes specifically since they are extremely important to portraying her character and it actually kind of works. Still needs a lot of fiddling but like I said, this sculpt just captures the "essence" of Petra even with a rushed and imperfect faceup. This sculpt may thoroughly confuse me, but nevertheless it captures Petra bizarrely even better than I could have anticipated. I even really love the way she looks with Faustus and Euclid so far too! She is sooooo far off from being "complete" right now, but still I am loving everything about her~

xD Ack, yeah sorry I figured i'd ramble about this for ages sorry but its crazy how this ended up becoming a thing but i'm really glad that it did and am so ridiculously excited to FINALLY have Petra as a doll and work on her in the future as she going to be a fun, unique and challenging project that i'm positive you guys are going to really love~

I've had so many things on my plate and have kind of been in the midst of both a creative and life-based chaos for a while now but i'm doing my best to sort things out as I can and when things get too crazy take a bit of time for myself and focus a little on my dolls. Over the last month or so I was making a few things for Petra here here and there like the outfit she is wearing and her bunny ears (which you can't really see either but asdfghjkl they aren't finished/painted yet so-) and when she arrived I took a little time to make her wig and do this really quick faceup just to get a feel for her as this sculpt as it baffled me so much initially. Its not much and I still have to mod her ears, finish her bunny ears and tail, do a new faceup, mod her body, make her unicorn horn, make her hammer, get proper eyes asdfghjkl SO MANY THINGS but i'm just really glad to have her home and share what little progress I've made on her~

I'll share with and talk more about some of the individual things i've made for her here later on as well as more about her character but here is just a little hello to her for now. Ah, seriously SO excited to share her with everyone more once she really starts coming together ;w;

Anyway, I'm going to talk more about my Feeple60 Cygne, IbbI, here soonish and probably some more overall updates for me in the hobby soon as well.

xD Thanks so much for putting up with my nonsensical tornado of a doll journey as always *hugs*

.....

ALSO OMG MY SIO2 RAGDOLL FINALLY SHIPPED ASDFGHJKL

....

but his tracking says he's been stuck back in China for an entire week and i'm starting to get worried. Like, he was shipped EMS so he should have been here by now but he apparently hasn't even left China yet... like I get the whole holiday rush and everything but.... ;______;

---

Petra (girl) is a Fairyland Minifee Ante on a Fairyline bunny body in Tan skin. Faceup, wig, ears, dress, apron and most props by me.

When I cry, I secretly hope that you will run all the way to mah doorstep in the rain, wipe mah tear, kiss me on the forehead and stay w/ me through the night...

P.s: It's Romantic rite ;)) keke

I often relate odd shots I take to memories of my younger days. One of the first trips my wife and I did overseas was to the USA where we visited Disneyland and LA before heading north to San Francisco where some of my Mum's family lived and still live.

I remember being on one of those iconic Disney rides that always seemed to be more well known than they are today, perhaps Small World or the Pirates of the Caribbean. These rides were and still are world class and for innocents like us, they were just fantastic. Anyway, we had this family in the car behind us on whatever ride we were on, staring in awe while one of the young sons in that family just kept on with his mantra "It's fake Daddy!". Grrr, I mean! I wonder what he would say today in the brave new electronic and digital world. Forty years on, he would have his own kids by now, perhaps adults themselves.

Every time I look at this, now damaged concrete sculpture in Humpybong Creek at Redcliffe in SE Queensland, I can't help recalling that kid's words. I just wonder if the two Cormorants drying their feathers were thinking that also in the warm sun?

Adapting a popular song from the 1970s I often find myself singing 'sometimes I want to be a woman' I do also sing the actual line 'sometimes it's hard to be a woman' too as I can relate to both sentiments. I frequently segue into the chorus line of 'stand by your man' unconsciously then a sudden awareness of what I just sang brings me to a halt! Realisation I'm not a woman crashes in and I feel a mix of regret, sadness and fear yet at the same time I feel contentment, delight and real joy.

My relationship with my transvestism is something that fascinates me greatly and is something I really enjoy analysing and on rare occasions get to discuss, I am completely fascinated by my transgender feelings. I do often question my motives as being a transvestite brings with it a lot of emotions and satisfaction, indeed a sense of fulfilment yet it also carries for me doubt and guilt and confusion.

One of the things that causes me fear is the sheer joy I experience when I dress up as a woman, I absolutely love it and find part of me willing to assume the persona of a female with great eagerness. I really want it and to completely cross the gender line and no longer be a man. That part of me is something I feel I fight and suppress as I have fears of what it may set free. The big fear is it may well destroy my actual life with my wife, family, colleagues and work.

For me to appear, or more accurately attempt to appear as a woman is a heady powerful emotional desire that I will openly admit I am drawn to. I simply adore dressing up as a woman and trying to pass myself off as a female. Surely this is not what a man should be doing? Well, that's what society may tell us yet I live as a man and love to be a woman.

There are for me undoubted thrills that accompany the initial cross-dressing such as I may on occasion become sexually aroused by the act of transforming myself into the opposite gender. There is of course the thrill of performance and creating an illusion, in fact the act of attempting female impersonation (albeit not on stage or for theatrical entertainment) gives me a real buzz despite the fact it I only ever cross-dress in private.

I am keen to pass as a woman and to act the role convincingly. As I love female impersonation and acting I constantly challenge myself to try and become the woman I am appearing as and not let any of the man be evident. As a consequence I try to think myself into believing I am female. To try and feel and act more realistically female I create back stories for my female alter-ego and really try to become her as I find the challenge something that is incredibly adventurous.

Sometimes I almost pass out with fear when I act like I find men attractive or talk about my (imaginary) ex husband and boyfriends. The man in me is repelled by this yet the woman I am attempting to portray feels at home. I do try to get over my male fears as I do dream of one day passing convincingly in every way as a woman. I kind of believe if I want to appear realistically to be female then I need to become female in my thinking and interaction.

I have found, despite my male fears, I do feel more like a female by thinking of the camera as my boyfriend and trying to act a bit flirty. Somehow it adds an extra element of femininity to the vibe and hopefully to the photos.

I rationalise this by telling myself I am supposed to be a woman when I have gone to all of the effort to become Helene so I need to switch over into being her. My body is shaved, my genitals are tucked, I have false breasts, my face is painted in make-up, I'm wearing a wig with a female hair style and I'm wearing knickers and bra and a dress and high heels with painted nails...I am trying to look like a woman so I really should try and make the whole ensemble come together and try and fulfil those efforts in a way that makes the illusion feel convincing and real to those who see her. I want my alter-ego to pass as a woman in every way, it's an ambition I harbour as a transvestite.

My vanity, indeed I'm sure more my ego, would love to one day experience being taken out for dinner as Helene by a man. As a transvestite trying to pass as a woman that surely has to be rewarding? To be wined and dined and treated as a lady and spend the evening as a woman being admired by men is the ultimate in passing. It has nothing to do with sex, it is all to do with an inner dream of being able to pass convincingly as a female.

I feel more at ease talking abut such scenarios now as I know my own sexuality and I know I would have enjoyed working as a female impersonator and acting as a convincing looking transvestite in films when I was younger. I enjoy those films when a woman is revealed to be a man and every body is surprised as they never saw it coming. The same with female impersonation, I am in awe of men who look, sound and can behave like women yet the audience know that she is in fact a man performing as a woman. I have been ridiculed, indeed at times humiliated in the past for expressing these personal views and ambitions but as I get older I now think why not be honest about my own motivations and issues related to why I engage in transvestism.

In this photo from early June I was totally getting into being a woman and would happily have posed with a man on my arm to sell the illusion I was female. I enjoyed wearing this outfit and if I am honest felt very much at home appearing like this. The intensity of the moment was quite something to cope with, I wanted nothing more than to remain female forever. However, about four hours after this photo was taken I returned to being a man and was quite happy to do so. I think the knowledge I desire to dress up and look female and act as if I am female is something I get a buzz from. The fact I rarely get to cross-dress is probably what I find attractive about being a transvestite. If I was a woman full time I would not likely get the rewards I have emotionally and physically that I get from the occasional cross-dressing experiences. Yet, I feel there is a part of me that wishes I was female.

To be a cross-dresser is quite a mixed bag of emotions and motivations, nothing is that clear cut and I confess I rather like this often confusing exciting and worrying mix that goes on within me. I am addicted to it, I really am.

Tradition relates that a castle was first constructed on this site by Rhodri the Great, but there are no remains from this period. Dinefwr later became the chief seat of Rhodri's grandson Hywel Dda, first ruler of Deheubarth and later king of most of Wales. Rhys ap Gruffydd, ruler of Deheubarth from 1155 to 1197, is thought to have rebuilt the castle. Giraldus Cambrensis tells a story about a plan by King Henry II of England to assault the castle during a campaign against Rhys. One of Henry's most trusted followers was sent on reconnaissance, guided by a local Welsh cleric, who was asked to lead him to the castle by the easiest route, but instead took the most difficult route he could find, ending the performance by stopping to eat grass with the explanation that this was the diet of the local people in times of hardship. The planned attack was duly abandoned.

Rhys ap Gruffydd also built the spectacular castle at Carreg Cennen, about four miles away to the south. It is not visible from Dynefwr, but Dryslwyn Castle can just be seen on a hill blocking the Tywi valley to the south-west. Rhys also founded two religious houses during this period. Talley Abbey was the first Premonstratensian abbey in Wales, while Llanllyr was a Cistercian nunnery, only the second nunnery to be founded in Wales and the first to prosper.

On Rhys ap Gruffydd's death the castle passed to his son Rhys Gryg, and the earliest parts of the present castle are thought to derive from this period. Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd was now extending his influence to this area, and Rhys, finding himself unable to resist, dismantled the castle. Llywelyn however had it restored and held it until his death in 1240. In 1255 Llywelyn the Last gave Dinefwr to Rhys Fychan, then later gave it to Maredudd ap Rhys before later returning it to Rhys Fychan. Maredydd now allied himself to King Edward I of England, and helped Edward capture Dinefwr in 1277. Maredudd had apparently been promised Dinefwr in return for his help, but Edward did not keep his promise and had Maredudd executed in 1291.

Primavera, is a large panel painting in tempera paint by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli made in the late 1470s or early 1480s (datings vary). It has been described as "one of the most written about, and most controversial paintings in the world", and also "one of the most popular paintings in Western art".

The painting depicts a group of figures from classical mythology in a garden, but no story has been found that brings this particular group together. Most critics agree that the painting is an allegory based on the lush growth of Spring, but accounts of any precise meaning vary, though many involve the Renaissance Neoplatonism which then fascinated intellectual circles in Florence. The subject was first described as Primavera by the art historian Giorgio Vasari who saw it at Villa Castello, just outside Florence, by 1550.

Although the two are now known not to be a pair, the painting is inevitably discussed with Botticelli's other very large mythological painting, The Birth of Venus, also in the Uffizi. They are among the most famous paintings in the world, and icons of the Italian Renaissance; of the two, the Birth is even better known than the Primavera. As depictions of subjects from classical mythology on a very large scale, they were virtually unprecedented in Western art since classical antiquity.

The history of the painting is not certainly known; it may have been commissioned by one of the Medici family, but the certainty of its commission is unknown. It draws from a number of classical and Renaissance literary sources, including the works of the Ancient Roman poet Ovid and, less certainly, Lucretius, and may also allude to a poem by Poliziano, the Medici house poet who may have helped Botticelli devise the composition. Since 1919 the painting has been part of the collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

The painting features six female figures and two male, along with a cupid, in an orange grove. The movement of the composition is from right to left, so following that direction the standard identification of the figures is: at far right "Zephyrus, the biting wind of March, kidnaps and possesses the nymph Chloris, whom he later marries and transforms into a deity; she becomes the goddess of Spring, eternal bearer of life, and is scattering roses on the ground." Chloris the nymph overlaps Flora, the goddess she transforms into.

In the centre (but not exactly so) and somewhat set back from the other figures stands Venus, a red-draped woman in blue. Like the flower-gatherer, she returns the viewer's gaze. The trees behind her form a broken arch to draw the eye. In the air above her a blindfolded Cupid aims his bow to the left. On the left of the painting the Three Graces, a group of three females also in diaphanous white, join hands in a dance. At the extreme left Mercury, clothed in red with a sword and a helmet, raises his caduceus or wooden rod towards some wispy gray clouds.

The interactions between the figures are enigmatic. Zephyrus and Chloris are looking at each other. Flora and Venus look out at the viewer, the Cupid is blindfolded, and Mercury has turned his back on the others, and looks up at the clouds. The central Grace looks towards him, while the other two seem to look at each other. Flora's smile was very unusual in painting at this date.

The pastoral scenery is elaborate. There are 500 identified plant species depicted in the painting, with about 190 different flowers, of which at least 130 can be specifically identified. The overall appearance, and size, of the painting is similar to that of the millefleur ("thousand flower") Flemish tapestries that were popular decorations for palaces at the time.

These tapestries had not caught up by the 1480s with the artistic developments of the Italian Renaissance, and the composition of the painting has aspects that belong to this still Gothic style. The figures are spread in a rough line across the front of the picture space, "set side by side like pearls on a string". It is now known that in the setting for which the painting was designed the bottom was about at eye level, or slightly above it, partly explaining "the gently rising plane" on which the figures stand.

The feet of Venus are considerably higher than those of the others, showing she is behind them, but she is at the same scale, if not larger, than the other figures. Overlapping of other figures by Mercury's sword and Chloris' hands shows that they stand slightly in front of the left Grace and Flora respectively, which might not be obvious otherwise, for example from their feet. It has been argued that the flowers do not grow smaller to the rear of the picture space, certainly a feature of the millefleur tapestries.

The costumes of the figures are versions of the dress of contemporary Florence, though the sort of "quasi-theatrical costumes designed for masquerades of the sort that Vasari wrote were invented by Lorenzo de' Medici for civic festivals and tournaments." The lack of an obvious narrative may relate to the world of pageants and tableaux vivants as well as typically static Gothic allegories.

Various interpretations of the figures have been set forth, but it is generally agreed that at least at one level the painting is "an elaborate mythological allegory of the burgeoning fertility of the world." It is thought that Botticelli had help devising the composition of the painting and whatever meanings it was intended to contain, as it appears that the painting reflects a deep knowledge of classical literature and philosophy that Botticelli is unlikely to have possessed. Poliziano is usually thought to have been involved in this, though Marsilio Ficino, another member of Lorenzo de' Medici's circle and a key figure in Renaissance Neoplatonism, has also often been mentioned.

One aspect of the painting is a depiction of the progress of the season of spring, reading from right to left. The wind of early Spring blows on the land and brings forth growth and flowers, presided over by Venus, goddess of April, with at the left Mercury, the god of the month of May in an early Roman calendar, chasing away the last clouds before summer. As well as being part of a sequence over the season, Mercury in dispelling the clouds is acting as the guard of the garden, partly explaining his military dress and his facing out of the picture space. A passage in Virgil's Aeneid describes him clearing the skies with his caduceus. A more positive, Neoplatonist view of the clouds is that they are "the benificent veils through which the splendour of transcendent truth may reach the beholder without destroying him."

Venus presides over the garden – an orange grove (a Medici symbol). It is also the Garden of the Hesperides of classical myth, from which the golden apples used in the Judgement of Paris came; the Hellenistic Greeks had decided that these were citrus fruits, exotic to them. According to Claudian, no clouds were allowed there. Venus stands in front of the dark leaves of a myrtle bush. According to Hesiod, Venus had been born of the sea after the semen of Uranus had fallen upon the waters. Coming ashore in a shell she had clothed her nakedness in myrtle, and so the plant became sacred to her. Venus appears here in her character as a goddess of marriage, clothed and with her hair modestly covered, as married women were expected to appear in public.

The Three Graces are sisters, and traditionally accompany Venus. In classical art (but not literature) they are normally nude, and typically stand still as they hold hands, but the depiction here is very close to one adapting Seneca by Leon Battista Alberti in his De pictura (1435), which Botticelli certainly knew. From the left they are identified by Edgar Wind as Voluptas, Castitas, and Pulchritudo (Pleasure, Chastity and Beauty), though other names are found in mythology, and it is noticeable that many writers, including Lightbown and the Ettlingers, refrain from naming Botticelli's Graces at all.

Botticelli's Pallas and the Centaur (1482) has been proposed as the companion piece to Primavera.

Cupid's arrow is aimed at the middle Grace — Chastity, according to Wind — and the impact of love on chastity, leading to a marriage, features in many interpretations. Chastity looks towards Mercury, and some interpretations, especially those identifying the figures as modelled on actual individuals, see this couple as one to match Chloris and Zephyrus on the other side of the painting.

In a different interpretation the Earthy carnal love represented by Zephyrus to the right is renounced by the central figure of the Graces, who has turned her back to the scene, unconcerned by the threat represented to her by Cupid. Her focus is on Mercury, who himself gazes beyond the canvas at what many believe hung as the companion piece to Primavera: Pallas and the Centaur, in which "love oriented towards knowledge" (embodied by Pallas Athena) proves triumphant over lust (symbolized by the centaur).

The basic identification of the figures is now widely agreed,but in the past other names have sometimes been used for the females on the right, who are two stages of the same person in the usual interpretation. The woman in the flowered dress may be called Primavera (a personification of Spring), with Flora the figure pursued by Zephyrus. One scholar suggested in 2011 that the central figure is not Venus at all, but Persephone.

In addition to its overt meaning, the painting has been interpreted as an illustration of the ideal of Neoplatonic love popularized among the Medicis and their followers by Marsilio Ficino. The Neoplatonic philosophers saw Venus as ruling over both Earthly and divine love and argued that she was the classical equivalent of the Virgin Mary; this is alluded to by the way she is framed in an altar-like setting that is similar to contemporary images of the Virgin Mary. Venus' hand gesture of welcome, probably directed to the viewer, is the same as that used by Mary to the Archangel Gabriel in contemporary paintings of the Annunciation.

Punning allusions to Medici names probably include the golden balls of the oranges, recalling those on the Medici coat of arms, the laurel trees at right, for either Lorenzo, and the flames on the costume of both Mercury (for whom they are a regular attribute) and Venus, which are also an attribute of Saint Laurence (Lorenzo in Italian). Mercury was the god of medicine and "doctors", medici in Italian. Such puns for the Medici, and in Venus and Mars the Vespucci, run through all Botticelli's mythological paintings.

The origin of the painting is unclear. Botticelli was away in Rome for many months in 1481/82, painting in the Sistine Chapel, and suggested dates are in recent years mostly later than this, but still sometimes before. Thinking has been somewhat changed by the publication in 1975 of an inventory from 1499 of the collection of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici.

The 1499 inventory records it hanging in the city palace of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici and his brother Giovanni "Il Popolano". They were the cousins of Lorenzo de' Medici ("Lorenzo il Magnifico"), who was effectively the ruler of Florence, and after their father's early death had been his wards. It hung over a large lettuccio, an elaborate piece of furniture including a raised base, a seat and a backboard, probably topped with a cornice. The bottom of the painting was probably at about the viewer's eye-level, so rather higher than it is hung today.

In the same room was Botticelli's Pallas and the Centaur, and also a large tondo with the Virgin and Child. The tondo is now unidentified, but is a type of painting especially associated with Botticelli. This was given the highest value of the three paintings, at 180 lire. A further inventory of 1503 records that the Primavera had a large white frame.

In the first edition of his Life of Botticelli, published in 1550, Giorgio Vasari said that he had seen this painting, and the Birth of Venus, hanging in the Medici country Villa di Castello. Before the inventory was known it was usually believed that both paintings were made for the villa, probably soon after it was acquired in 1477, either commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco or perhaps given to him by his older cousin and guardian Lorenzo de' Medici. Rather oddly, Vasari says both paintings contained female nudes, which is not strictly the case here.

Most scholars now connect the painting to the marriage of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. Paintings and furniture were often given as presents celebrating weddings. The marriage was on 19 July 1482, but had been postponed after the death of the elder Lorenzo's mother on 25 March. It was originally planned for May. Recent datings tend to prefer the early 1480s, after Botticelli's return from Rome, suggesting it was directly commissioned in connection with this wedding, a view supported by many.

Another older theory, assuming an early date, suggests the older Lorenzo commissioned the portrait to celebrate the birth of his nephew Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici (who later became Pope), but changed his mind after the assassination of Giulo's father, his brother Giuliano in 1478, having it instead completed as a wedding gift for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco.

It is frequently suggested that Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco is the model for Mercury in the portrait, and his bride Semiramide represented as Flora (or Venus). In older theories, placing the painting in the 1470s, it was proposed that the model for Venus was Simonetta Vespucci, wife of Marco Vespucci and according to popular legend the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici (who is also sometimes said to have been the model for Mercury); these identifications largely depend on an early date, in the 1470s, as both were dead by 1478. Simonetta was the aunt of Lorenzo's bride Semiramide. Summarizing the many interpretations of the painting, Leopold Ettlinger includes "descending to the ludricous – a Wagnerian pantomime enacted in memory of the murdered Giuliano de' Medici and his beloved Simonetta Vespucci with the Germanic Norns disguised as the Mediterranean Graces."

Whenever this painting and the Birth of Venus were united at Castello, they have remained together ever since. They stayed in Castello until 1815, when they were transferred to the Uffizi. For some years until 1919 they were kept in the Galleria dell'Accademia, another government museum in Florence. Since 1919, it has hung in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. During the Italian campaign of World War Two, the picture was moved to Montegufoni Castle about ten miles south west of Florence to protect it from wartime bombing.

It was returned to the Uffizi Gallery where it remains to the present day. In 1978, the painting was restored.[66] The work has darkened considerably over the course of time

I have a 90 year old neighbor who has hiked the 890 km length of the Bruce Trail three or four times. In the heyday of his 70's and even 80's, walking 30 or even 50 km was just a walk in the park for him. In the last year, his hips started giving out it's been one of the most difficult things he's had to leave behind. He still goes out for a walk around the block every day, just one step at a time, with a crutch under one arm and a cane in the other. Seeing him hobble down the street, I can completely relate to his determination as our own time feels the most grounded somewhere on a hiking trail. I'm also very blessed having someone to share that passion with and we're both looking forward to the day when the trails reopen after the current pandemic.

Only Greats Relate, MISFIT MOB & SAVKREW

archives

"You can never correct your work well until you have forgotten it."

-Voltaire

There are approximately 350 images in my stream marked 'private', for the purpose of allowing me to forget and rediscover them at a later date; usually coinciding with periods where I'm thoroughly uninspired and unhappy with my recent work. I have several monumental irons in the fire that I will eventually share relating to photography, so I'm not complaining. But the inevitable ebb and flow of creative energy definitely takes a toll. A break from shooting is probably in order, but it's hard to put down the camera. Vicious cycle. :)

Honestly the most relatable thing I have ever photographed

This shot was not intended to relate to the disaster on the East Coast, but I cannot look at this image without thinking about it. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy.

I took this from the parking deck at the University of Illinois-Chicago. I recommend that you find this parking deck and make a morning out of shooting here. I spent an hour or two here last weekend. I gave a bit of a description of how to get here in this post.

As for the processing on this shot, I ran four different exposures through Nik HDR Efex Pro 2 and used the "Sinister" preset. I combined that image with an original exposure for the sky and tweaked in CS5.

Thanks to everyone that visited, commented, and "favorited" my Halloween moon shot from this summer on Flickr. It ended up going to #1 on Explore for October 31st. That is definitely a first for me. If you haven't seen it, check out Full Moon Over the Waves on Flickr.

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TAKEN& Edite .. By me :)

stOP COmmEnts With PIc

Sorry, comments that doesn't relate to the photo & copy paste will be deleted.

For a Better Flickr :)

Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.

Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.

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