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I don't know the names of all of the estate's roses. Some, like the unnamed floribunda that fronts the cottage have been here for a long while. It flowers recurrently and abundantly — it may be a variety brought in from America post-WWII. Whoever put it there knew what they were doing.
There's the little seedling one of uncertain parentage I cheekily call Belinda's Rose from time to time, after the scullery maid. I think that's her name. She's never about when I am, and I have my suspicions she and the rose have a lot in common.
The witch's roses are an anonymous delight, so I keep them. She left them behind when she flew off, never telling me their name, and never returning.
Cook will venture out to the garden every now and then to consult with the gardener about this and that: what's good now, what's coming on, and so on. This day, as she walked by she mentioned that there were some lovely little buds on the climber by the gate. But you'd need a ladder to get to them.
From my time on the boards of the shearing shed I learnt to never upset the Cook. She's done her time in the kitchen at the shearers' quarters, and if you can believe her, as a classer in the shed. I know better than to be dismissive. What she really meant was if you want your dinner on time, you'd better get me those roses.
They're the little red buds arranged here on Cook's bench with Jude the Obscure. These Autumn buds aren't as big as some of Summer's beauties. But they do alright. Each of those roses is magnificently scented — like roses of old — yet they don't fight; the sum better than the parts.
I commented about her arrangement and she said she was sorry that the Stuart Crystal vase was already taken up with more of Jude's magnificence. After all that, I can't remember what was for dinner on that night!
I am open for requests....just be specific..
Name the celebrity / celebrities,
Size you want,
Kind: manip, wallpaper, background, banner, header etc...
or anything else you want...
and gimme a few days to work on it!!
AND THIS IS A MANIP!
📝 This image is available under Creative Commons 2.0 (Attribution required). Please link to the original photo and the license. License for use outside of the Creative Commons is available by request.
Please don't let me drop break crack drown this rented lens. Shot in the chapel in Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina, just after sunrise.
To all my fans! By popular request! The exalted goddess is a famous model with a major agency! She was tall, thin, fit, defined, and toned! Pretty, piercing blue eyes set against wavy brown hair! And she was a lot of fun--lots of stories and laughs during and after the shoot! Wish you'd been there!
Here're a couple of videos I shot while shooting stills, with the awesome NEX-6 and a 50 mm Prime f/1.8 lens for the rich/creamy video bokeh!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzbV8ArnBnY
Watch the gorgeous model in the Full 1080P HD she deserves! I shot the video at 60p and slowed it down to 24p in post in adobe premiere 6.0. :)
Also had a B&H CP (Circular Polarizer) on both the 70-200 mm Nikon D800 lens and the 50mm e-mount lens on the Sony NEX6.
Awesome "magic hour" light and feel in the January AM due to the strange cloudy/sunny weather! That's the glorious fun of shooting at the Malibu beach! Forecasts mean nothing (they predicted sun, sun, sun), and you have to have fun adpating to the world's greatest studio with the world's greatest lights (the sun in all its manifestations), props, and backdrops!
Combine the 50mm lens's optical steady shot (OSS) and the shallow-depth-of-field of the F/1.8 with Sony NEX-6 latest face-tracking auto focus, and you can see how the moving video keeps the model's pretty blue eyes in focus, while blurring the background!
She was tall, thin, fit, toned, defined, and beautiful!
Modeling the Gold 45 Revolver(TM) Gold'N'Virtue(TM) Bikini!
Nikon D800 Photographs of a Beautiful Wavy-HAired Brunette Swimsuit Bikini Model shot with the new Nikon D800 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens.
Shot in both RAW & JPEG, but all these photos are RAWs finished in Lightroom 4 ! :)
May the HJM Goddesses guide, inspire, and exalt ye along yer heroic artistic journey! Best wishes from Johnny Ranger McCoy!
I brought a rug out onto the balcony and we lounged in the pleasant afternoon weather. Karma did not have to wait long for her chin rub. I followed that up with a belly rub, then Blue requested his turn.
Very curious to see a camera in the village, this small kid on the street wanted to be photographed as I walked passed him. With a smile like that, who would deny his request!
Chondonaish,Chittagong
North American P-51C Mustang "Tuskegee Airmen"
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Friend of a client asked if i would train their new maid. She is a feminist and convinced a submissive sissy to become her cleaning maid.
I personally tnought the sissy maid dress was too much. But the homeower found it hiilarious to make him clean in it.
Interestingly, she did have the other more normal maid dress she loaned me!
All i cared about was that he learned to get that house spotless and work until he was exhausted - like i do
Hope you like your new job, Stephanie!
I spotted this pair of Deer Fawns in my back yard, but unfortunately when I arrived with my camera my request for a few photos was denied.
(had posted earlier version of this in "Montañas de los Andes" before, quite a long time ago)
had said - guessing left group is Huantsan barely showing behind Carhuascancha and Huamashraju - now thinking Jatunllacsa (see notes on image)
or could that be Huantsan on the right?
first sight of the Cordillera Blanca from the Cordillera Negra
scanned KR
generally I avoid placing the horizon halfway between the top and bottom, but that worked best for this image
my lichen photos by genus - www.flickr.com/photos/29750062@N06/collections/7215762439...
my photos arranged by subject, e.g. mountains - www.flickr.com/photos/29750062@N06/collections
An ENB I'm doing under request just because I can.
Still heavily work in progress, the objective is to make the game look like the Nevada Desert does in real life, blue, white, washed out yellow...
If anyone has been there, you'll know what I'm talking about, otherwise just google some images and you get the idea.
ENB description/features:
Nevada ENB WIP 0.259
w/SweetFX (Kputt merger) using SMAA, Dither, S Curves, DPX, Vibrance and sharpening
w/Custom bloom config using color grading, contrast and gamma adjustments (in-game brightess set to minimum)
w/Custom DoF preset with strong Bokeh effect, low impact on performance and a wide offset to make the dof only appear when close up to objects
w/Custom lenz file and settings, simulating a dust and moist dirt on a camera lens
Slight use of blueshift to achieve the horizont blue effect.
Custom palette edited from one of Dynamo's color palettes (grey light).
SMAAu
Anisotropy x16
Nevada Skies URWL and RWL compatible
Photos for editorial use ONLY. To purchase high resolution photos, please email
press@worldtabletennis.com with your photo requests.
A couple of shots back in the photostream, Flickr member Mohammad-Omar Diab El-Arab asked me if I had any shots on of preserved Kelvin Scottish 1929 (EDS 288A ex WLT 910), as he may well have been hanging off the back of it.
Well, I don't know if that's you hanging off the back of it, but here's a shot anyway.
GVVT Open Weekend Event.
Bridgeton, Fordneuk Street, 13/10/2024.
Portrait of Jessie Tarbox Beals standing on a city sidewalk with her camera, ca. 1901-1903.
Questions? Ask a Schlesinger Librarian
I have posted over 65535 Hindu blogs ,,shot Hindu culture , rituals Kumbh Maha Kumbh, Naga Sadhus Tantriks ..including the Marriammen feast .. and all this thanks to my two Gurus Late BW Jatkar and Shreekant Malushte Sir ,,including some great photographer friends at PSI Mumbai my camera club..
Most of the Hindu feasts in Bandra I hardly shoot and most of them are now being shot by my 3 year old granddaughter @nerjisasifshakir
She has shot Advocate Ashish Shelars Ganpati for last two years.
I live in Mumbai my parents were not bigots , they gave us the best upbringing even the Marathi bai that worked with us when we were kids our mother insisted we call her Aiee ,, Mother ,,and all this has culminated in shooting my cultural inheritance ,,and so for those who do not wish to see this part of my documentation you can unfriend and block me ,, I shall not hold it against you as most of you I added recently was because you were also friends with my Peersabs son Syed Farid Chishty Sabri I did not see your profile just added you blindly when you sent me a friends request .
And if you comment adversely on my Hindu or Shia blogs I will block you instantly,, I am a photo journalist documentarist I dont promote any religion caste or creed I promote India and my Indianess ..
Thanks .
Kali, also known as Kalika (Bengali: কালী, Kālī / কালিকা Kālīkā ; Sanskrit: काली), is a Hindu goddess associated with death and destruction. The name Kali means "black", but has by folk etymology come to mean "force of time (kala)". Despite her negative connotations, she is today considered the goddess of time and change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation still has some influence. More complex Tantric beliefs sometimes extend her role so far as to be the "ultimate reality" or Brahman. She is also revered as Bhavatarini (literally "redeemer of the universe"). Comparatively recent devotional movements largely conceive Kali as a benevolent mother goddess.
Kali is represented as the consort of god Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. She is associated with many other Hindu goddesses like Durga, Bhadrakali, Sati, Rudrani, Parvati and Chamunda. She is the foremost among the Dasa-Mahavidyas, ten fierce Tantric goddesses.[1]
Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Origin
3 In Tantra
4 In Bengali tradition
5 Mythology
5.1 Slayer of Raktabija
5.2 Daksinakali
5.3 Maternal Kali
5.4 Mahakali
6 Iconography
6.1 Popular form
6.2 Mahakali form
6.3 Shiva in Kali iconography
7 Development
8 In New Age and Neopaganism
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Etymology
Kālī is the feminine of kāla "black, dark coloured" (per Panini 4.1.42). It appears as the name of a form of Durga in Mahabharata 4.195, and as the name of an evil female spirit in Harivamsa 11552.
The homonymous kāla "appointed time", which depending on context can mean "death", is distinct from kāla "black", but became associated through folk etymology. The association is seen in a passage from the Mahābhārata, depicting a female figure who carries away the spirits of slain warriors and animals. She is called kālarātri (which Thomas Coburn, a historian of Sanskrit Goddess literature, translates as "night of death") and also kālī (which, as Coburn notes, can be read here either as a proper name or as a description "the black one").[2]
Kali's association with blackness stands in contrast to her consort, Shiva, whose body is covered by the white ashes of the cremation ground (Sanskrit: śmaśāna) in which he meditates, and with which Kali is also associated, as śmaśāna-kālī.
Origin
Kali appears in the Mundaka Upanishad (section 1, chapter 2, verse 4) not explicitly as a goddess, but as the black tongue of the seven flickering tongues of Agni, the Hindu god of fire.[3] However, the prototype of the figure now known as Kali appears in the Rig Veda, in the form of a goddess named Raatri. Raatri is considered to be the prototype of both Durga and Kali.
In the Sangam era, circa 200BCE–200CE, of Tamilakam, a Kali-like bloodthirsty goddess named Kottravai appears in the literature of the period.[citation needed] Like Kali she has dishevelled hair, inspires fear in those who approach her and feasts on battlegrounds littered with the dead.
It was the composition of the Puranas in late antiquity that firmly gave Kali a place in the Hindu pantheon. Kali or Kalika is described in the Devi Mahatmya (also known as the Chandi or the Durgasaptasati) from the Markandeya Purana, circa 300–600CE, where she is said to have emanated from the brow of the goddess Durga, a slayer of demons or avidya, during one of the battles between the divine and anti-divine forces. In this context, Kali is considered the 'forceful' form of the great goddess Durga. Another account of the origins of Kali is found in the Matsya Purana, circa 1500CE, which states that she originated as a mountain tribal goddess in the north-central part of India, in the region of Mount Kalanjara (now known as Kalinjar). However this account is disputed because the legend was of later origin.
The Kalika Purana a work of late ninth or early tenth century, is one of the Upapuranas. The Kalika Purana mainly describes different manifestations of the Goddess, gives their iconographic details, mounts, and weapons. It also provides ritual procedures of worshipping Kalika.
In Tantra
Mahakali YantraGoddesses play an important role in the study and practice of Tantra Yoga, and are affirmed to be as central to discerning the nature of reality as the male deities are. Although Parvati is often said to be the recipient and student of Shiva's wisdom in the form of Tantras, it is Kali who seems to dominate much of the Tantric iconography, texts, and rituals.[4] In many sources Kali is praised as the highest reality or greatest of all deities. The Nirvana-tantra says the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva all arise from her like bubbles in the sea, ceaselessly arising and passing away, leaving their original source unchanged. The Niruttara-tantra and the Picchila-tantra declare all of Kali's mantras to be the greatest and the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra all proclaim Kali vidyas (manifestations of Mahadevi, or "divinity itself"). They declare her to be an essence of her own form (svarupa) of the Mahadevi.[5]
In the Mahanirvana-tantra, Kali is one of the epithets for the primordial sakti, and in one passage Shiva praises her:
At the dissolution of things, it is Kala [Time] Who will devour all, and by reason of this He is called Mahakala [an epithet of Lord Shiva], and since Thou devourest Mahakala Himself, it is Thou who art the Supreme Primordial Kalika. Because Thou devourest Kala, Thou art Kali, the original form of all things, and because Thou art the Origin of and devourest all things Thou art called the Adya [primordial Kali. Resuming after Dissolution Thine own form, dark and formless, Thou alone remainest as One ineffable and inconceivable. Though having a form, yet art Thou formless; though Thyself without beginning, multiform by the power of Maya, Thou art the Beginning of all, Creatrix, Protectress, and Destructress that Thou art.[6]
The figure of Kali conveys death, destruction, fear, and the consuming aspects of reality. As such, she is also a "forbidden thing", or even death itself. In the Pancatattva ritual, the sadhaka boldly seeks to confront Kali, and thereby assimilates and transforms her into a vehicle of salvation.[7] This is clear in the work of the Karpuradi-stotra, a short praise to Kali describing the Pancatattva ritual unto her, performed on cremation grounds. (Samahana-sadhana)
He, O Mahakali who in the cremation-ground, naked, and with dishevelled hair, intently meditates upon Thee and recites Thy mantra, and with each recitation makes offering to Thee of a thousand Akanda flowers with seed, becomes without any effort a Lord of the earth. 0 Kali, whoever on Tuesday at midnight, having uttered Thy mantra, makes offering even but once with devotion to Thee of a hair of his Sakti [his female companion] in the cremation-ground, becomes a great poet, a Lord of the earth, and ever goes mounted upon an elephant.[8]
The Karpuradi-stotra clearly indicates that Kali is more than a terrible, vicious, slayer of demons who serves Durga or Shiva. Here, she is identified as the supreme mistress of the universe, associated with the five elements. In union with Lord Shiva, who is said to be her spouse, she creates and destroys worlds. Her appearance also takes a different turn, befitting her role as ruler of the world and object of meditation.[9] In contrast to her terrible aspects, she takes on hints of a more benign dimension. She is described as young and beautiful, has a gentle smile, and makes gestures with her two right hands to dispel any fear and offer boons. The more positive features exposed offer the distillation of divine wrath into a goddess of salvation, who rids the sadhaka of fear. Here, Kali appears as a symbol of triumph over death.[10]
In Bengali tradition
Kali is also central figure in late medieval Bengali devotional literature, with such devotees as Ramprasad Sen (1718–75). With the exception of being associated with Parvati as Shiva's consort, Kali is rarely pictured in Hindu mythology and iconography as a motherly figure until Bengali devotion beginning in the early eighteenth century. Even in Bengali tradition her appearance and habits change little, if at all.[11]
The Tantric approach to Kali is to display courage by confronting her on cremation grounds in the dead of night, despite her terrible appearance. In contrast, the Bengali devotee appropriates Kali's teachings, adopting the attitude of a child. In both cases, the goal of the devotee is to become reconciled with death and to learn acceptance of the way things are. These themes are well addressed in Ramprasad's work.[12]
Ramprasad comments in many of his other songs that Kali is indifferent to his wellbeing, causes him to suffer, brings his worldly desires to nothing and his worldly goods to ruin. He also states that she does not behave like a mother should and that she ignores his pleas:
Can mercy be found in the heart of her who was born of the stone? [a reference to Kali as the daughter of Himalaya]
Were she not merciless, would she kick the breast of her lord?
Men call you merciful, but there is no trace of mercy in you. Mother.
You have cut off the headset the children of others, and these you wear as a garland around your neck.
It matters not how much I call you "Mother, Mother." You hear me, but you will not listen.[13]
To be a child of Kali, Ramprasad asserts, is to be denied of earthly delights and pleasures. Kali is said to not give what is expected. To the devotee, it is perhaps her very refusal to do so that enables her devotees to reflect on dimensions of themselves and of reality that go beyond the material world.[14][15]
A significant portion of Bengali devotional music features Kali as its central theme and is known as Shyama Sangeet. Mostly sung by male vocalists, today even women have taken to this form of music. One of the finest singers of Shyama Sangeet is Pannalal Bhattacharya.
Mythology
Slayer of Raktabija
"Kali Triumphant on The Battle Field," Punjab, circa 1800–20CE)In Kali's most famous myth, Durga and her assistants, Matrikas, wound the demon Raktabija, in various ways and with a variety of weapons, in an attempt to destroy him. They soon find that they have worsened the situation, as for every drop of blood that is spilt from Raktabija the demon reproduces a clone of himself. The battlefield becomes increasingly filled with his duplicates.[16] Durga, in dire need of help, summons Kali to combat the demons. It is also said that Goddess Durga takes the form of Goddess Kali at this time.
The Devi Mahatmyam describes:
Out of the surface of her (Durga's) forehead, fierce with frown, issued suddenly Kali of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and noose. Bearing the strange khatvanga (skull-topped staff ), decorated with a garland of skulls, clad in a tiger’s skin, very appalling owing to her emaciated flesh, with gaping mouth, fearful with her tongue lolling out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great asuras in that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas.[17]
Kali destroys Raktabija by sucking the blood from his body and putting the many Raktabija duplicates in her gaping mouth. Pleased with her victory, Kali then dances on the field of battle, stepping on the corpses of the slain. Her consort Shiva lies among the dead beneath her feet, a representation of Kali commonly seen in her iconography as Daksinakali'.[18]
In Devi Mahatmya version of this story, Kali is also described as an Matrika and as a Shakti or power of Devi. She is given the epithet Cāṃuṇḍā (Chamunda) i.e the slayer of demons Chanda and Munda.[19] Chamunda is very often identified with Kali and is very much like her in appearance and habit.[20]
Daksinakali
Bhadrakali (A gentle form of Kali), circa 1675.
Painting; made in India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli,
now placed in LACMA Museum.In her most famous pose as Daksinakali, it is said that Kali, becoming drunk on the blood of her victims on the battlefield, dances with destructive frenzy. In her fury she fails to see the body of her husband Shiva who lies among the corpses on the battlefield.[21] Ultimately the cries of Shiva attract Kali's attention, calming her fury. As a sign of her shame at having disrespected her husband in such a fashion, Kali sticks out her tongue. However, some sources state that this interpretation is a later version of the symbolism of the tongue: in tantric contexts, the tongue is seen to denote the element (guna) of rajas (energy and action) controlled by sattva, spiritual and godly qualities.[22]
One South Indian tradition tells of a dance contest between Shiva and Kali. After defeating the two demons Sumbha and Nisumbha, Kali takes residence in a forest. With fierce companions she terrorizes the surrounding area. One of Shiva's devotees becomes distracted while doing austerities and asks Shiva to rid the forest of the destructive goddess. When Shiva arrives, Kali threatens him, claiming the territory as her own. Shiva challenges her to a dance contest, and defeats her when she is unable to perform the energetic Tandava dance. Although here Kali is defeated, and is forced to control her disruptive habits, we find very few images or other myths depicting her in such manner.[23]
Maternal Kali
Another myth depicts the infant Shiva calming Kali, instead. In this similar story, Kali again defeated her enemies on the battlefield and began to dance out of control, drunk on the blood of the slain. To calm her down and to protect the stability of the world, Shiva is sent to the battlefield, as an infant, crying aloud. Seeing the child's distress, Kali ceases dancing to take care of the helpless infant. She picks him up, kisses his head, and proceeds to breast feed the infant Shiva.[24] This myth depicts Kali in her benevolent, maternal aspect; something that is revered in Hinduism, but not often recognized in the West.
Ekamukhi or "One-Faced" Murti of Mahakali displaying ten hands holding the signifiers of various Devas
Mahakali
Main article: Mahakali
Mahakali (Sanskrit: Mahākālī, Devanagari: महाकाली), literally translated as Great Kali, is sometimes considered as greater form of Kali, identified with the Ultimate reality Brahman. It can also simply be used as an honorific of the Goddess Kali,[25] signifying her greatness by the prefix "Mahā-". Mahakali, in Sanskrit, is etymologically the feminized variant of Mahakala or Great Time (which is interpreted also as Death), an epithet of the God Shiva in Hinduism. Mahakali is the presiding Goddess of the first episode of Devi Mahatmya. Here she is depicted as Devi in her universal form as Shakti. Here Devi serves as the agent who allows the cosmic order to be restored.
Iconography
Statue from Dakshineswar Kali Temple, West Bengal, India; along with her Yantra.Kali is portrayed mostly in two forms: the popular four-armed form and the ten-armed Mahakali form. In both of her forms, she is described as being black in color but is most often depicted as blue in popular Indian art. Her eyes are described as red with intoxication and in absolute rage, her hair is shown disheveled, small fangs sometimes protrude out of her mouth and her tongue is lolling. She is often shown naked or just wearing a skirt made of human arms and a garland of human heads. She is also accompanied by serpents and a jackal while standing on a seemingly dead Shiva, usually right foot forward to symbolize the more popular Dakshinamarga or right-handed path, as opposed to the more infamous and transgressive Vamamarga or left-handed path.[26]
In the ten armed form of Mahakali she is depicted as shining like a blue stone. She has ten faces and ten feet and three eyes. She has ornaments decked on all her limbs. There is no association with Siva.[27]
The Kalika Purana describes Kali as possessing a soothing dark complexion, as perfectly beautiful, riding a lion, four armed, holding a sword and blue lotuses, her hair unrestrained, body firm and youthful.[28]
In spite of her seemingly terrible form, Kali is often considered the kindest and most loving of all the Hindu goddesses, as she is regarded by her devotees as the Mother of the whole Universe. And, because of her terrible form she is also often seen as a great protector. When the Bengali saint Ramakrishna once asked a devotee why one would prefer to worship Mother over him, this devotee rhetorically replied, “Maharaj, when they are in trouble your devotees come running to you. But, where do you run when you are in trouble?”[29]
According to Ramakrishna darkness is Ultimate Mother or Kali:
My Mother is the principle of consciousness. She is Akhanda Satchidananda; indivisible Reality, Awareness, and Bliss. The night sky between the stars is perfectly black. The waters of the ocean depths are the same; The infinite is always mysteriously dark. This inebriating darkness is my beloved Kali.
-Sri Ramakrishna
Throughout her history artists the world over have portrayed Kali in myriad poses and settings, some of which stray far from the popular description, and are sometimes even graphically sexual in nature. Given the popularity of this Goddess, artists everywhere will continue to explore the magnificence of Kali’s iconography. This is clear in the work of such contemporary artists as Charles Wish, and Tyeb Mehta, who sometimes take great liberties with the traditional, accepted symbolism, but still demonstrate a true reverence for the Shakta sect.
Popular form
Classic depictions of Kali share several features, as follows:
Kali's most common four armed iconographic image shows each hand carrying variously a sword, a trishul (trident), a severed head and a bowl or skull-cup (kapala) catching the blood of the severed head.
Two of these hands (usually the left) are holding a sword and a severed head. The Sword signifies Divine Knowledge and the Human Head signifies human Ego which must be slain by Divine Knowledge in order to attain Moksha. The other two hands (usually the right) are in the abhaya and varada mudras or blessings, which means her initiated devotees (or anyone worshiping her with a true heart) will be saved as she will guide them here and in the hereafter.[30]
She has a garland consisting of human heads, variously enumerated at 108 (an auspicious number in Hinduism and the number of countable beads on a Japa Mala or rosary for repetition of Mantras) or 51, which represents Varnamala or the Garland of letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, Devanagari. Hindus believe Sanskrit is a language of dynamism, and each of these letters represents a form of energy, or a form of Kali. Therefore she is generally seen as the mother of language, and all mantras.[31]
She is often depicted naked which symbolizes her being beyond the covering of Maya since she is pure (nirguna) being-consciousness-bliss and far above prakriti. She is shown as very dark as she is brahman in its supreme unmanifest state. She has no permanent qualities — she will continue to exist even when the universe ends. It is therefore believed that the concepts of color, light, good, bad do not apply to her — she is the pure, un-manifested energy, the Adi-shakti.[32]
Mahakali form
The Dasamukhi MahakaliKali is depicted in the Mahakali form as having ten heads, ten arms, and ten legs. Each of her ten hands is carrying a various implement which vary in different accounts, but each of these represent the power of one of the Devas or Hindu Gods and are often the identifying weapon or ritual item of a given Deva. The implication is that Mahakali subsumes and is responsible for the powers that these deities possess and this is in line with the interpretation that Mahakali is identical with Brahman. While not displaying ten heads, an "ekamukhi" or one headed image may be displayed with ten arms, signifying the same concept: the powers of the various Gods come only through Her grace.
Shiva in Kali iconography
In both these images she is shown standing on the prone, inert or dead body of Shiva. There is a mythological story for the reason behind her standing on what appears to be Shiva’s corpse, which translates as follows:
Once Kali had destroyed all the demons in battle, she began a terrific dance out of the sheer joy of victory. All the worlds or lokas began to tremble and sway under the impact of her dance. So, at the request of all the Gods, Shiva himself asked her to desist from this behavior. However, she was too intoxicated to listen. Hence, Shiva lay like a corpse among the slain demons in order to absorb the shock of the dance into himself. When Kali eventually stepped upon her husband she realized her mistake and bit her tongue in shame.[33]
The Tantric interpretation of Kali standing on top of her husband is as follows:
The Shiv tattava (Divine Consciousness as Shiva) is inactive, while the Shakti tattava (Divine Energy as Kali) is active. Shiva, or Mahadeva represents Brahman, the Absolute pure consciousness which is beyond all names, forms and activities. Kali, on the other hand, represents the potential (and manifested) energy responsible for all names, forms and activities. She is his Shakti, or creative power, and is seen as the substance behind the entire content of all consciousness. She can never exist apart from Shiva or act independently of him, i.e., Shakti, all the matter/energy of the universe, is not distinct from Shiva, or Brahman, but is rather the dynamic power of Brahman.[34]
Kali in Traditional Form, standing on Shiva's chest.While this is an advanced concept in monistic Shaktism, it also agrees with the Nondual Trika philosophy of Kashmir, popularly known as Kashmir Shaivism and associated most famously with Abhinavagupta. There is a colloquial saying that "Shiva without Shakti is Shava" which means that without the power of action (Shakti) that is Mahakali (represented as the short "i" in Devanagari) Shiva (or consciousness itself) is inactive; Shava means corpse in Sanskrit and the play on words is that all Sanskrit consonants are assumed to be followed by a short letter "a" unless otherwise noted. The short letter "i" represents the female power or Shakti that activates Creation. This is often the explanation for why She is standing on Shiva, who is either Her husband and complement in Shaktism or the Supreme Godhead in Shaivism.
To properly understand this complex Tantric symbolism it is important to remember that the meaning behind Shiva and Kali does not stray from the non-dualistic parlance of Shankara or the Upanisads. According to both the Mahanirvana and Kularnava Tantras, there are two distinct ways of perceiving the same absolute reality. The first is a transcendental plane which is often described as static, yet infinite. It is here that there is no matter, there is no universe and only consciousness exists. This form of reality is known as Shiva, the absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda — existence, knowledge and bliss. The second is an active plane, an immanent plane, the plane of matter, of Maya, i.e., where the illusion of space-time and the appearance of an actual universe does exist. This form of reality is known as Kali or Shakti, and (in its entirety) is still specified as the same Absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda. It is here in this second plane that the universe (as we commonly know it) is experienced and is described by the Tantric seer as the play of Shakti, or God as Mother Kali.[35]
Kali and Bhairava (the terrible form of Shiva) in Union, 18th century, NepalFrom a Tantric perspective, when one meditates on reality at rest, as absolute pure consciousness (without the activities of creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to this as Shiva or Brahman. When one meditates on reality as dynamic and creative, as the Absolute content of pure consciousness (with all the activities of creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to it as Kali or Shakti. However, in either case the yogini or yogi is interested in one and the same reality — the only difference being in name and fluctuating aspects of appearance. It is this which is generally accepted as the meaning of Kali standing on the chest of Shiva.[36]
Although there is often controversy surrounding the images of divine copulation, the general consensus is benign and free from any carnal impurities in its substance. In Tantra the human body is a symbol for the microcosm of the universe; therefore sexual process is responsible for the creation of the world. Although theoretically Shiva and Kali (or Shakti) are inseparable, like fire and its power to burn, in the case of creation they are often seen as having separate roles. With Shiva as male and Kali as female it is only by their union that creation may transpire. This reminds us of the prakrti and purusa doctrine of Samkhya wherein prakāśa- vimarśa has no practical value, just as without prakrti, purusa is quite inactive. This (once again) stresses the interdependencies of Shiva and Shakti and the vitality of their union.[37]
Gopi Krishna proposed that Kali standing on the dead Shiva or Shava (Sanskrit for dead body) symbolised the helplessness of a person undergoing the changing process ( psychologically and physiologically) in the body conducted by the Kundalini Shakti.[38]
Development
In the later traditions, Kali has become inextricably linked with Shiva. The unleashed form of Kali often becomes wild and uncontrollable, and only Shiva is able to tame her. This is both because she is often a transformed version of one of his consorts and because he is able to match her wildness.
Bharatanatyam dancer portraying Kali with a tridentThe ancient text of Kali Kautuvam describes her competition with Shiva in dance, from which the sacred 108 Karanas appeared. Shiva won the competition by acting the urdva tandava, one of the Karanas, by raising his feet to his head. Other texts describe Shiva appearing as a crying infant and appealing to her maternal instincts. While Shiva is said to be able to tame her, the iconography often presents her dancing on his fallen body, and there are accounts of the two of them dancing together, and driving each other to such wildness that the world comes close to unravelling.
Shiva's involvement with Tantra and Kali's dark nature have led to her becoming an important Tantric figure. To the Tantric worshippers, it was essential to face her Curse, the terror of death, as willingly as they accepted Blessings from her beautiful, nurturing, maternal aspect. For them, wisdom meant learning that no coin has only one side: as death cannot exist without life, so life cannot exist without death. Kali's role sometimes grew beyond that of a chaos — which could be confronted — to that of one who could bring wisdom, and she is given great metaphysical significance by some Tantric texts. The Nirvāna-tantra clearly presents her uncontrolled nature as the Ultimate Reality, claiming that the trimurti of Brahma, Visnu and Rudra arise and disappear from her like bubbles from the sea. Although this is an extreme case, the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra declare her the svarupa (own-being) of the Mahadevi (the great Goddess, who is in this case seen as the combination of all devis).
The final stage of development is the worshipping of Kali as the Great Mother, devoid of her usual violence. This practice is a break from the more traditional depictions. The pioneers of this tradition are the 18th century Shakta poets such as Ramprasad Sen, who show an awareness of Kali's ambivalent nature. Ramakrishna, the 19th century Bengali saint, was also a great devotee of Kali; the western popularity of whom may have contributed to the more modern, equivocal interpretations of this Goddess. Rachel McDermott's work, however, suggests that for the common, modern worshipper, Kali is not seen as fearful, and only those educated in old traditions see her as having a wrathful component. Some credit to the development of Devi must also be given to Samkhya. Commonly referred to as the Devi of delusion, Mahamaya, acting in the confines of (but not being bound by) the nature of the three gunas, takes three forms: Maha-Kali, Maha-Lakshmi and Maha-Saraswati, being her tamas-ika, rajas-ika and sattva-ika forms. In this sense, Kali is simply part of a larger whole.
1947 TIME Magazine cover by Boris Artzybasheff depicting a self-hurting Kālī as a symbol of the partition of IndiaLike Sir John Woodroffe and Georg Feuerstein, many Tantric scholars (as well as sincere practitioners) agree that, no matter how propitious or appalling you describe them, Shiva and Devi are simply recognizable symbols for everyday, abstract (yet tangible) concepts such as perception, knowledge, space-time, causation and the process of liberating oneself from the confines of such things. Shiva, symbolizing pure, absolute consciousness, and Devi, symbolizing the entire content of that consciousness, are ultimately one and the same — totality incarnate, a micro-macro-cosmic amalgamation of all subjects, all objects and all phenomenal relations between the "two." Like man and woman who both share many common, human traits yet at the same time they are still different and, therefore, may also be seen as complementary.[39]
Worshippers prescribe various benign and horrific qualities to Devi simply out of practicality. They do this so they may have a variety of symbols to choose from, symbols which they can identify and relate with from the perspective of their own, ever-changing time, place and personal level of unfolding. Just like modern chemists or physicists use a variety of molecular and atomic models to describe what is unperceivable through rudimentary, sensory input, the scientists of ontology and epistemology must do the same. One of the underlying distinctions of Tantra, in comparison to other religions, is that it allows the devotee the liberty to choose from a vast array of complementary symbols and rhetoric that which suits one’s evolving needs and tastes. From an aesthetic standpoint, nothing is interdict and nothing is orthodox. In this sense, the projection of some of Devi’s more gentle qualities onto Kali is not sacrilege and the development of Kali really lies in the practitioner, not the murthi.
A TIME Magazine article of October 27, 1947 used Kālī as a symbol and metaphor for the human suffering in British India during its partition that year.[40]
In New Age and Neopaganism
A Western Shacan representation of KaliAn academic study of Western Kali enthusiasts noted that, "as shown in the histories of all cross-cultural religious transplants, Kali devotionalism in the West must take on its own indigenous forms if it is to adapt to its new environment."[41] The adoption of Kali by the West has raised accusations of cultural misappropriation:
"A variety of writers and thinkers [...] have found Kali an exciting figure for reflection and exploration, notably feminists and participants in New Age spirituality who are attracted to goddess worship. [For them], Kali is a symbol of wholeness and healing, associated especially with repressed female power and sexuality. [However, such interpretations often exhibit] confusion and misrepresentation, stemming from a lack of knowledge of Hindu history among these authors, [who only rarely] draw upon materials written by scholars of the Hindu religious tradition. The majority instead rely chiefly on other popular feminist sources, almost none of which base their interpretations on a close reading of Kali's Indian background. [...] The most important issue arising from this discussion – even more important than the question of 'correct' interpretation – concerns the adoption of other people's religious symbols. [...] It is hard to import the worship of a goddess from another culture: religious associations and connotations have to be learned, imagined or intuited when the deep symbolic meanings embedded in the native culture are not available."[42]
The man who popularised the religion of Wicca, Gerald Gardner, was reportedly particularly interested in Kali whilst he was in the far east, before returning to England to write his seminal works on Wicca[citation needed
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(CC) Phillip Jeffrey. www.fadetoplay.com. Feel free to use this photo. I request that you link back to the original picture on Flickr and credit as shown above.
Week 31 chemo complete: Cancer levels dropped again
I had my monthly big blood test about a week and a half ago, and I’m pleased to report that my cancer levels (igG) are lower again.
My Cancer levels (normal range is 6.7 - 15.2 igG).
Sept 12.9
Aug 14.8
July 15.7
My Beta 2 Globulin (protein where my cancer resides) also dropped. Normal range is 1.8 - 4.8 g/L.
Sept 9.2
Aug 10.7
July 11.4
This photo taken at Wreck Beach represents my attitude right now. Although there was a steady rain falling, it didn’t matter. I’m in a happy mood, enjoying life, and focused on positivity each day.
To recap: On Sunday September 14th, I completed Cycle 8 Week 3. I have multiple myeloma and anemia, a rare cancer of the blood plasma. It is treatable, but incurable. On Sept 21th I begin my ninth 28 day treatment cycle, 21 days on (Pomalyst chemo pill), then 7 days off. I take dexamethasone, an oral steroid, every Monday.
I’m feeling great and my chemo treatment will continue indefinitely as long as my cancer levels remain low and stable. Thank you for your continual encouragement.
as requested we've delivered! these camel toe leggings show off the perfect cameltoe. weather at the gum or in your latex leggings ready to have sexy times these are perfect for you. we wanted to give you as many options as posible and made 29 textures!
this is our XXX Exclusive to get it heres the taxi ;http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Possession/37/212/25
got a request you want in sl? join our inworld group and ask for it!!! inworld group slur;secondlife:///app/group/a89ac41e-3285-2527-ad42-d7d148e9e46d/about
Squiggy likes to play Guitar Hero sometimes. As you can see, her specialty is the four-string guitar. She's a big Led Zep fan (she especially loves Jimmy Page) and her favorite songs are Babe I'm Gonna Leave You and Kashmir.
Have a great day! ;-)
These are numbers 161 through 175 on my special requests. Still have at least this many to go.
If anyone would like to be added to the list go to my profile and follow the link to my etsy store.
I was not going to post this but I got a request from Jane for a stand up version of the dress I adorned this morning. It was taken with my selfie stick but I suppose it looks Ok.
So yesterday i started making my CCH Verse minifigs, i thought it would be great to let you guy give me requests for what to make in CCH Verse
Comment below tell me who would you want to see in CCH Verse
Its so great that people are requesting me to take some light painting photos and i was excited when Ailish asked me if we could do a few of these for her and Stepens engagement , and im always up for that. So this was there request LP light show photo. I almost lit them on fire but they were facing the other way so they didnt notice but now i guess the cats out of the bag :) its always crazy spinning fire at warp speed about 1 foot from someone and trying to keep it all under control but it did work out for the best and we got there shot.
Its always great when you get to meet new people and Ailish and Stephen really had such an awesome chemistry together, we spent half the time laughing and just having fun, we also had a few warm up brakes to get in from the cold then some fresh brewed coffee and banana bread.
What a great shoot, it felt like i had knew them for years. I just wanted to say thanks to both ailish's parents as well for the amazing hospitality. I really appreciate that.
So this was day 70 Ailish and Stephens engagement photos. Thanks again to both of them and
I look forward to the wedding at the end of this year which is of course in the winter.
See you Dec 1st.
Specs and Strobist
Sb-800 1/4th power (bare) behind couple (zoomed 24) and fired via nikons cls at start of the exposure with self timer and i was already spinning the the fire as that self timer went of and stared the photo. After the panic almost light them on fire spin i ran around front and lit the couple with my Garrision 140 lumes flashlight for a couple seconds then for the last part i made the colored trail from Ailish and Stephen with my light saber.
Sooc of course
Due to a request , here are 8 shots taken at Croydon & Chelsham (completely outside my 'comfort zone')in 1973 just before I moved away to Scotland. Apologies are necessary for the lack of quality - it was a very dull February day!
Here is RT3629 leaving Croydon Bus Stn. on the 154 route showing its block capital LT fleetname - I wonder if this was rare as I dont remember seeing many like this but - as I mentioned I moved away from the LT area shortly after. Note the hand signal from the driver. 10/2/73.
I've been taking requests for dolls to photograph on Tumblr, and Pandorkful requested all of my pink haired dolls, including the SD-size gals in pink wigs.
This is our 2 year old Grandson, Jaden. Saturday his father was putting up shelves in their garage. A neighbor gave him an old bookcase and he was using the shelves from it. Somehow Jaden managed to tip it over, and it fell on top of him bruising his back.
Our daughter Chrissy rushed him to the Emergency Room at the All Children's Hospital because he was screaming and could not stand up.
The Dr's took
X-Rays and could find no broken bones, they gave him a pain killer and sent him home. Monday Chrissy was beside herself because he still could not stand. She took him to his own Pediatrician who had all the information from the Hospital and gave him a complete neurological exam and told Chris that there was no nerve damage..
Now 3 days later we see no improvement. Now we are all concerned that the Dr's have missed something.
He is very special and the light of our lives. Please say a prayer for Jaden
The final word on this is that after he had an MRI, the Dr's figured out that he had a fractured pelvic bone....he is on the mend now and needed no surgery. The prayers worked.................we are so grateful
Zombie butter fucking jesus. Yes, this is on a shirt, and I do wear it frequently enough for people to point and laugh >:D
After so many requests, I'll make instructions for this Turbo tank creation. It will be available for sale... Coming soon...
For those wondering, this Turbo Tank may be for sale later on my upcoming website, www.artifexcreation.com, after it's up & running. Don't know how much yet but more updates soon!
Visit my MOCpage for a continuous stream of all the Turbo Tank's comic. It's more easy go through without having to click picture after picture.
Checkout the stop motion animation video of this custom Turbo Tank! You can see it here
Come visit my ebay store for more custom creations and Lego Gadgets!
- Add lights in your Lego set with Brick Lights and
- Clean your Lego fast & easy with Brick Duster.
Someone requested a copy of my original version of this, but I only had a small size available. It was in the dark days before I had any real kind of workflow for my images. So I've tried my best to reproduce the image again in the same format.
Let me know if you want any tweaks Sophie.
uploaded for Sue as requested :) This was part of Wet Webs 2 slide show below. I was walking in a web wonderland.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, vice president of engineering and research at Lockheed's Skunk Works, visited USAF air bases across South Korea in November 1951 to speak with fighter pilots about what they wanted and needed in a fighter aircraft. At the time, the American pilots were confronting the MiG-15 with North American F-86 Sabres, and many felt that the MiGs were superior to the larger and more complex American design. The pilots requested a small and simple aircraft with excellent performance, especially high speed and altitude capabilities. Armed with this information, Johnson immediately started the design of such an aircraft on his return to the United States.
Work started in March 1952. In order to achieve the desired performance, Lockheed chose a small and simple aircraft, weighing in at 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) with a single powerful engine. The engine chosen was the new General Electric J79 turbojet, an engine of dramatically improved performance in comparison with contemporary designs. The small L-246 design remained essentially identical to the Model 083 Starfighter as eventually delivered.
Johnson presented the design to the Air Force on 5 November 1952, and work progressed quickly, with a mock-up ready for inspection at the end of April, and work starting on two prototypes that summer. The first prototype was completed by early 1954 and first flew on 4 March at Edwards AFB. The total time from contract to first flight was less than one year.
The first YF-104A flew on 17 February 1956 and, with the other 16 trial aircraft, were soon carrying out equipment evaluation and flight tests. Lockheed made several improvements to the aircraft throughout the testing period, including strengthening the airframe, adding a ventral fin to improve directional stability at supersonic speed, and installing a boundary layer control system (BLCS) to reduce landing speed. Problems were encountered with the J79 afterburner; further delays were caused by the need to add AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. On 28 January 1958, the first production F-104A to enter service was delivered.
Even though the F-104 saw only limited use by the USAF, later versions, tailored to a fighter bomber role and intended for overseas sales, were more prolific. This was in particular the F-104G, which became the Starfighter's main version, a total of 1,127 F-104Gs were produced under license by Canadair and a consortium of European companies that included Messerschmitt/MBB, Fiat, Fokker, and SABCA.
The F-104G differed considerably from earlier versions. It featured strengthened fuselage, wing, and empennage structures; a larger vertical fin with fully powered rudder as used on the earlier two-seat versions; fully powered brakes, new anti-skid system, and larger tires; revised flaps for improved combat maneuvering; a larger braking chute. Upgraded avionics included an Autonetics NASARR F15A-41B multi-mode radar with air-to-air, ground-mapping, contour-mapping, and terrain-avoidance modes, as well as the Litton LN-3 Inertial Navigation System, the first on a production fighter.
Germany was among the first foreign operators of the F-104G variant. As a side note, a widespread misconception was and still is that the "G" explicitly stood for "Germany". But that was not the case and pure incidence, it was just the next free letter, even though Germany had a major influence on the aircraft's concept and equipment. The German Air Force and Navy used a large number of F-104G aircraft for interception, reconnaissance and fighter bomber roles. In total, Germany operated 916 Starfighters, becoming the type's biggest operator in the world. Beyond the single seat fighter bombers, Germany also bought and initially 30 F-104F two-seat aircraft and then 137 TF-104G trainers. Most went to the Luftwaffe and a total of 151 Starfighters was allocated to the Marineflieger units.
The introduction of this highly technical aircraft type to a newly reformed German air force was fraught with problems. Many were of technical nature, but there were other sources of problems, too. For instance, after WWII, many pilots and ground crews had settled into civilian jobs and had not kept pace with military and technological developments. Newly recruited/re-activated pilots were just being sent on short "refresher" courses in slow and benign-handling first-generation jet aircraft or trained on piston-driven types. Ground crews were similarly employed with minimal training and experience, which was one consequence of a conscripted military with high turnover of service personnel. Operating in poor northwest European weather conditions (vastly unlike the fair-weather training conditions at Luke AFB in Arizona) and flying low at high speed over hilly terrain, a great many Starfighter accidents were attributed to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). German Air Force and Navy losses with the type totaled 110 pilots, around half of them naval officers.
One general contributing factor to the high attrition rate was the operational assignment of the F-104 in German service: it was mainly used as a (nuclear strike) fighter-bomber, flying at low altitude underneath enemy radar and using landscape clutter as passive radar defense, as opposed to the original design of a high-speed, high-altitude fighter/interceptor. In addition to the different and demanding mission profiles, the installation of additional avionic equipment in the F-104G version, such as the inertial navigation system, added distraction to the pilot and additional weight that further hampered the flying abilities of the plane. In contemporary German magazine articles highlighting the Starfighter safety problems, the aircraft was portrayed as "overburdened" with technology, which was considered a latent overstrain on the aircrews. Furthermore, many losses in naval service were attributed to the Starfighter’s lack of safety margin through a twin-engine design like the contemporary Blackburn Buccaneer, which had been the German navy air arm’s favored type. But due to political reasons (primarily the outlook to produce the Starfighter in Southern Germany in license), the Marine had to accept and make do with the Starfighter, even if it was totally unsuited for the air arm's mission profile.
Erich Hartmann, the world's top-scoring fighter ace from WWII, commanded one of Germany's first (post-war) jet fighter-equipped squadrons and deemed the F-104 to be an unsafe aircraft with poor handling characteristics for aerial combat. To the dismay of his superiors, Hartmann judged the fighter unfit for Luftwaffe use even before its introduction.
In 1966 Johannes Steinhoff took over command of the Luftwaffe and grounded the entire Luftwaffe and Bundesmarine F-104 fleet until he was satisfied that the persistent problems had been resolved or at least reduced to an acceptable level. One measure to improve the situation was that some Starfighters were modified to carry a flight data recorder or "black box" which could give an indication of the probable cause of an accident. In later years, the German Starfighters’ safety record improved, although a new problem of structural failure of the wings emerged: original fatigue calculations had not taken into account the high number of g-force loading cycles that the German F-104 fleet was experiencing through their mission profiles, and many airframes were returned to the depot for wing replacement or outright retirement.
The German F-104Gs served primarily in the strike role as part of the Western nuclear deterrent strategy, some of these dedicated nuclear strike Starfighters even had their M61 gun replaced by an additional fuel tank for deeper penetration missions. However, some units close to the German borders, e.g. Jagdgeschwader (JG) 71 in Wittmundhafen (East Frisia) as well as JG 74 in Neuburg (Bavaria), operated the Starfighter as a true interceptor on QRA duty. From 1980 onwards, these dedicated F-104Gs received a new air superiority camouflage, consisting of three shades of grey in an integral wraparound scheme, together with smaller, subdued national markings. This livery was officially called “Norm 82” and unofficially “Alberich”, after the secretive guardian of the Nibelung's treasure. A similar wraparound paint scheme, tailored to low-level operations and consisting of two greens and black (called Norm 83), was soon applied to the fighter bombers and the RF-104 fleet, too, as well as to the Luftwaffe’s young Tornado IDS fleet.
However, the Luftwaffe’s F-104Gs were at that time already about to be gradually replaced, esp. in the interceptor role, by the more capable and reliable F-4F Phantom II, a process that lasted well into the mid-Eighties due to a lagging modernization program for the Phantoms. The Luftwaffe’s fighter bombers and recce Starfighters were replaced by the MRCA Tornado and RF-4E Phantoms. In naval service the Starfighters soldiered on for a little longer until they were also replaced by the MRCA Tornado – eventually, the Marineflieger units received a two engine aircraft type that was suitable for their kind of missions.
In the course of the ongoing withdrawal, a lot of German aircraft with sufficiently enough flying hours left were transferred to other NATO partners like Norway, Greece, Turkey and Italy, and two were sold to the NASA. One specific Starfighter was furthermore modified into a CCV (Control-Configured Vehicle) experimental aircraft under control of the German Industry, paving the way to aerodynamically unstable aircraft like the Eurofighter/Typhoon. The last operational German F-104 made its farewell flight on 22. Mai 1991, and the type’s final flight worldwide was in Italy in October 2004.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 54 ft 8 in (16.66 m)
Wingspan: 21 ft 9 in (6.63 m)
Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Wing area: 196.1 ft² (18.22 m²)
Airfoil: Biconvex 3.36 % root and tip
Empty weight: 14,000 lb (6,350 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 29,027 lb (13,166 kg)
Powerplant:
1× General Electric J79 afterburning turbojet,
10,000 lbf (44 kN) thrust dry, 15,600 lbf (69 kN) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,528 mph (2,459 km/h, 1,328 kn)
Maximum speed: Mach 2
Combat range: 420 mi (680 km, 360 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,630 mi (2,620 km, 1,420 nmi)
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
Rate of climb: 48,000 ft/min (240 m/s) initially
Lift-to-drag: 9.2
Wing loading: 105 lb/ft² (510 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.54 with max. takeoff weight (0.76 loaded)
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan six-barreled Gatling cannon, 725 rounds
7× hardpoints with a capacity of 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), including up to four AIM-9 Sidewinder, (nuclear)
bombs, guided and unguided missiles, or other stores like drop tanks or recce pods
The kit and its assembly:
A relatively simple what-if project – based on the question how a German F-104 interceptor might have looked like, had it been operated for a longer time to see the Luftwaffe’s low-viz era from 1981 onwards. In service, the Luftwaffe F-104Gs started in NMF and then carried the Norm 64 scheme, the well-known splinter scheme in grey and olive drab. Towards the end of their career the fighter bombers and recce planes received the Norm 83 wraparound scheme in green and black, but by that time no dedicated interceptors were operational anymore, so I stretched the background story a little.
The model is the very nice Italeri F-104G/S model, which is based on the ESCI molds from the Eighties, but it comes with recessed engravings and an extra sprue that contains additional drop tanks and an Orpheus camera pod. The kit also includes a pair of Sidewinders with launch rails for the wing tips as well as the ventral “catamaran” twin rail, which was frequently used by German Starfighters because the wing tips were almost constantly occupied with tanks.
Fit and detail is good – the kit is IMHO very good value for the money. There are just some light sinkholes on the fuselage behind the locator pins, the fit of the separate tail section is mediocre and calls for PSR, and the thin and very clear canopy is just a single piece – for open display, you have to cut it by yourself.
Since the model would become a standard Luftwaffe F-104G, just with a fictional livery, the kit was built OOB. The only change I made are drooped flaps, and the air brakes were mounted in open position.
The ordnance (wing tip tanks plus the ventral missiles) was taken from the kit, reflecting the typical German interceptor configuration: the wing tips were frequently occupied with tanks, sometimes even together with another pair of drop tanks under the wings, so that any missile had to go under the fuselage. The instructions for the ventral catamaran launch rails are BTW wrong – they tell the builder to mount the launch rails onto the twin carrier upside down! Correctly, the carrier’s curvature should lie flush on the fuselage, with no distance at all. When mounted as proposed, the Sidewinders come very close to the ground and the whole installation looks pretty goofy! I slightly modified the catamaran launch rail with some thin styrene profile strips as spacers, and the missiles themselves, AIM-9Bs, were replaced with more modern and delicate AIM-9Js from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapons set. Around the hull, some small blade antennae, a dorsal rotating warning light and an angle-of-attack sensor were added.
Painting and markings:
The exotic livery is what defined this what-if build, and the paint scheme was actually inspired by a real world benchmark: some Dornier Do-28D Skyservants of the German Marineflieger received, late in their career, a wraparound scheme in three shades of grey, namely RAL 7030 (Steingrau), 7000 (Fehgrau) and 7012 (Basaltgrau). I thought that this would work pretty well for an F-104G interceptor that operates at medium to high altitudes, certainly better than the relatively dark Norm 64 splinter scheme or the Norm 83 low-altitude pattern.
The camouflage pattern was simply adopted from the Starfighter’s Norm 83 scheme, just the colors were exchanged. The kit was painted with acrylic paints from Revell, since the authentic tones were readily available, namely 75, 57 and 77. As a disrupting detail I gave the wing tip tanks the old Norm 64 colors: uniform Gelboliv from above (RAL 6014, Revell 42), Silbergrau underneath (RAL 7001, Humbrol’s 127 comes pretty close), and bright RAL 2005 dayglo orange markings, the latter created with TL Modellbau decal sheet material for clean edges and an even finish.
The cockpit interior was painted in standard medium grey (Humbrol 140, Dark Gull Grey), the landing gear including the wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), the interior of the air intakes was painted with bright matt aluminum metallizer (Humbrol 27001) with black anti-icing devices in the edges and the shock cones. The radome was painted with very light grey (Humbrol 196, RAL 7035), the dark green anti-glare panel is a decal from the OOB sheet.
The model received a standard black ink washing and some panel post-shading (with Testors 2133 Russian Fulcrum Grey, Humbrol 128 FS 36320 and Humbrol 156 FS 36173) in an attempt to even out the very different shades of grey. The result does not look bad, pretty worn and weathered (like many German Starfighters), even though the paint scheme reminds a lot of the Hellenic "Ghost" scheme from the late F-4Es and the current F-16s?
The decals for the subdued Luftwaffe markings were puzzled together from various sources. The stencils were mostly taken from the kit’s exhaustive and sharply printed sheet. Tactical codes (“26+40” is in the real Starfighter range, but this specific code was AFAIK never allocated), iron crosses and the small JG 71 emblems come from TL Modellbau aftermarket sheets. Finally, after some light soot stains around the gun port, the afterburner and some air outlets along the fuselage with graphite, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
A simple affair, since the (nice) kit was built OOB and the only really fictional aspect of this model is its livery. But the resulting aircraft looks good, the all-grey wraparound scheme suits the slender F-104 well and makes an interceptor role quite believable. Would probably also look good on a German Eurofighter? Certainly more interesting than the real world all-blue-grey scheme.
In the beauty pics the scheme also appears to be quite effective over open water, too, so that the application to the Marineflieger Do-28Ds made sense. However, for the real-world Starfighter, this idea came a couple of years too late.
Hidalgo County, Texas, USA.
Photography has been a bit slow for me lately, but I've discovered a file of Odonate images that I have never shared on Flickr. I am not an expert on ID of Odonata, so input is encouraged if you think my ID is incorrect.
The use of any of my photos, of any file size, for any purpose, is subject to approval by me. Contact me for permission. Image files are available upon request. My email address can be found at my Flickr profile page. Or send me a FlickrMail.