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Repairs to the famous diving lady of the Starlite Motel continue. Your support in the expensive effort to save a piece of history would be greatly appreciated. You can find out more about the diving lady from the Mesa Preservation Foundation.
Progress on the work was on display at the 2012 Mesa Arts Center season kickoff event.
You must read to be able to understand:
for awhile I thought this would be better
I could play happy and twist my smile,
paint my face, look generally okay.
But I am rotten, as the dead root of a tree,
that will soon cause the whole thing to collapse.
And for some reason I thought you'd fix me.
But the truth is, it is better to remove the root,
then to attempt to fix it.
Which is what you did,
you used me to grow your tree,
your tree of lies, of lust,
it grew and grew and I struggled,
I wanted to help you grow.
And when I did,
when you were grown,
you tore me out, discarded me.
Threw me away, the rotten root.
Guess the joke was always
on me.
edit// I'm putting an outtake in the comments just because I couldn't choose.
• 1/52 •
• me at the beginning •
I wanted a simple portrait, for this first week. Something that screamed ‘Lu’, that would allow me to portray myself as I go into this new year and this new project. I started self-portraiture ten years ago, and I wanted to show that. To create a document, of sorts.
So this is what it is. It’s me. It’s my anxiety in the lines of my face and it’s the slight weight loss from the weeks of stress over a flight I couldn’t even get onto. It’s my love for vintage cameras and my most iconic prop, that orange butterfly. It’s me, at home. It’s me at 31, with my hair shorter than usual and my white strands showing slightly. It’s me, the photographer who speaks her mind at the worst times and who gets in shitloads of trouble for it — but somehow never learns. It’s me, the girl, the woman without a filter between brain and mouth. It’s me, the girlfriend and partner and daughter and niece and sister and grandchild and friend. And it’s me, the life-sister to all these wonderful women, with whom I am embarking on this adventure.
Thank you for being on that side. And on this side as well. I’ll see you next week!
[ somos seis, amigas e fotógrafas, a fazer um '52 semanas' em conjunto. publicaremos semanalmente nas nossas redes sociais, e podem seguir-nos através da hashtag #52sisterhood. contamos convosco desse lado, nesta aventura! vamos lá!
-
there’s six of us, friends and photographers, doing a '52 weeks’ project together. we’ll publish every week, and you can keep up with us through the hashtag #52 sisterhood. we’re counting on you to join us on this journey! come along! ]
Missing Hong Kong...
(Better click the image to view large)
A recent business trip to Shenzhen ... (iii/iii)
Luohu, Shenzhen, China
Day 4 EXERCISE
Seen in the month of
September in
The Idea Room Photo Group Month of September
This is my exercise on how to create a Multi Exposure image.........
52-weeks-Week-36-2015-Multi-Exposure
Ending place
FLICKR FRIDAY
Spirit dance The Dead Can Dance
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Disneyland, CA
I was trying to go for a bit of energy in this shot, with the feel of people rushing to the castle to go enjoy Fantasyland. I'm not sure I quite pulled it off as the people walking around me and my camera never showed up in the "perfect" configuration of going towards the castle on both sides while still having nobody coming towards the camera. I felt like a jerk blocking the path for too long so I settled for half the shot I was going for. I think it still works okay but I'll probably try it again at some point.
This was the first time we took the train to and from the airport. It sure beats driving through traffic and paying the exorbitant parking fee! I will never drive to the airport again.
As seen on the train at Terminal E & F, Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, PA.
LUMIX 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 on a G2
[ 0.3 sec. | f/5.6 | FLength 42 mm | ISO 100 ]
Instagram in B&W Only | wheremyrunningshoestakeme | Instagram in Color | Lens Wide-Open
“Doors to beautiful things do not remain open forever.
Be fast to enter inside!”
(Mehmet Murat Ildan - Turkish playwright and novelist, b.1965)
The door of this house was opened.
It was early in the morning in a gali leading to the Ganges.
Benaras was still sleeping, the door was probably opened for the milkman...it is also possible that it was a passage to wonders and marvels for the one who would dare entering inside...
Join the photographer at www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography
© All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.
Tai tries to cool down by wading through the River Shan...the high was probably about 74 degrees today.
made Explore
Someone found these pictures on MHD so I just had to share them with you!
Bryden is flawless. Loving that they changed her hair up a little and her outfit is to die for! Her experiment is awesome too.
McKeyla is flawless. Loving the top! I like that McKeyla has a dryer and more subtle sense of humour compared to the other girls. Gorgeous outfit too.
Adrienne is super cute as well. I prefer her earlier dolls, but she is still really cute.
Now I'm worried about Camryn though - where's her new doll? We've seen pics of these and the two newbies, but nothing of Camryn. Hope she makes it online soon...
This FD to FX adapter from Fotodiox Pro lets you mount a Canon FD lens on your Fujifilm X camera - Photo by Jeff Holland
The ability to dream is a divine and mysterious ability; because it is through dreams that man communicates with the shadowy world which surrounds him. But this power needs solitude to develop freely; the more one concentrates, the more one is likely to dream fully, deeply.
Words by Charles Baudelaire
for Flickriver - Sophie Shapiro
.
Music : Please Right Click and select "Open link in new tab"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S40DdlD9JxI
Way to Blue - Nik Drake
Can you now recall all that you have known?
Will you never fall
When the light has flown?
Tell me all that you may know
Show me what you have to show
Won't you come and say
If you know the way to blue?
Kaleidos - Creativity Top Selection
Day from 21/09 to 04/10 2015
Many congratulations!
Selected by Eleonora Bruscolini
Coldstream, Berwickshire.
Coldstream lies at an important crossing point on the River Tweed, being the lowest point it can be forded. As a result of this, the village was often in the way when both Scottish and English armies crossed the border during the centuries of conflict between the two countries.
Coldstream gave its name to the regiment who marched from here to London in 1660, an action that resulted in the restoration of Charles II.
This metal sculpture located in AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park is named the Cloud Gate but is known to the locals as The Bean. It's one of the centerpieces of the park and is always packed with tourists.
HDR from 5 incremental exposures.
Returning to their train that was at Otto Yard. IC 1038 and 1000 delivered cars to the north Kankakee Yard then went back to Otto Yard to retrieve their NB train. About 2 hours later i caught them going north through Peotone while me and my daughter played at the park
Another flight from the great white north coming into Fort Lauderdale.
This airframe was converted to a freighter in 2023.
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our souls
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.
I wanted to thank all who attended the show last night. I really appreciate all of your support. I apologize if I couldn't spend a lot of time with each of you, but I wanted to let you know that I sincerely appreciate you being there. It certaintly meant a lot to me.
I have posted a set from the show, which includes all of the crops/edits that I had done for the show. I hope you all had a good time and enjoyed the show. Any feedback on what you thought of the images would be appreciated.
Here is the set.
Many thanks must also go out to Joey. His assistance in getting the show and putting it together was invaluable.
Many thanks to Dean for shooting at the show. His show is next. Keep a look out. Here is a Link to Dean's Set from the 10/28 Exposure Show
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
The Grand Canyon became well known to Americans in the 1880s after railroads were built and pioneers developed infrastructure and early tourism. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited the site and said,
The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison—beyond description; absolutely unparalleled through-out the wide world ... Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But you can keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see.
Despite Roosevelt's enthusiasm and strong interest in preserving land for public use, the Grand Canyon was not immediately designated as a national park. The first bill to establish Grand Canyon National Park was introduced in 1882 by then-Senator Benjamin Harrison, which would have established Grand Canyon as the third national park in the United States, after Yellowstone and Mackinac. Harrison unsuccessfully reintroduced his bill in 1883 and 1886; after his election to the presidency, he established the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve in 1893. Theodore Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon Game Preserve by proclamation on November 28, 1906, and the Grand Canyon National Monument on January 11, 1908. Further Senate bills to establish the site as a national park were introduced and defeated in 1910 and 1911, before the Grand Canyon National Park Act (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 65–277) was finally signed by President Woodrow Wilson on February 26, 1919. The National Park Service, established in 1916, assumed administration of the park.
The creation of the park was an early success of the conservation movement. Its national park status may have helped thwart proposals to dam the Colorado River within its boundaries. (Later, the Glen Canyon Dam would be built upriver.) A second Grand Canyon National Monument to the west was proclaimed in 1932. In 1975, that monument and Marble Canyon National Monument, which was established in 1969 and followed the Colorado River northeast from the Grand Canyon to Lees Ferry, were made part of Grand Canyon National Park. In 1979, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site. The 1987 the National Parks Overflights Act found that "Noise associated with aircraft overflights at the Grand Canyon National Park is causing a significant adverse effect on the natural quiet and experience of the park and current aircraft operations at the Grand Canyon National Park have raised serious concerns regarding public safety, including concerns regarding the safety of park users."
In 2010, Grand Canyon National Park was honored with its own coin under the America the Beautiful Quarters program. On February 26, 2019, the Grand Canyon National Park commemorated 100 years since its designation as a national park.
The Grand Canyon had been part of the National Park Service's Intermountain Region until 2018. Today, the Grand Canyon is a part of Region 8, also known as the Lower Colorado Basin.
The Grand Canyon, including its extensive system of tributary canyons, is valued for its combination of size, depth, and exposed layers of colorful rocks dating back to Precambrian times. The canyon itself was created by the incision of the Colorado River and its tributaries after the Colorado Plateau was uplifted, causing the Colorado River system to develop along its present path.
The primary public areas of the park are the South and North Rims, and adjacent areas of the canyon itself. The rest of the park is extremely rugged and remote, although many places are accessible by pack trail and backcountry roads. The South Rim is more accessible than the North Rim and accounts for 90% of park visitation.
The park headquarters are at Grand Canyon Village, not far from the South Entrance to the park, near one of the most popular viewpoints.
Most visitors to the park come to the South Rim, arriving on Arizona State Route 64. The highway enters the park through the South Entrance, near Tusayan, Arizona, and heads eastward, leaving the park through the East Entrance. Interstate 40 provides access to the area from the south. From the north, U.S. Route 89 connects Utah, Colorado, and the North Rim to the South Rim. Overall, some 30 miles of the South Rim are accessible by road.
Grand Canyon Village is the primary visitor services area in the park. It is a full-service community, including lodging, fuel, food, souvenirs, a hospital, churches, and access to trails and guided walks and talks.
Several lodging facilities are available along the South Rim. Hotels and other lodging include El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Kachina Lodge, Thunderbird Lodge, and Maswik Lodge, all of which are located in Grand Canyon Village, and Phantom Ranch, located on the canyon floor. There is also an RV Park named Trailer Village. All of these facilities are managed by Xanterra Parks & Resorts, while the Yavapai Lodge (also in the village area) is managed by Delaware North.
The North Rim area of the park is located on the Kaibab Plateau and Walhalla Plateau, directly across the Grand Canyon from the principal visitor areas on the South Rim. The North Rim's principal visitor areas are centered around Bright Angel Point. The North Rim is higher in elevation than the South Rim, at over 8,000 feet (2,400 m) of elevation. Because it is so much higher than the South Rim, it is closed from December 1 through May 15 each year, due to the enhanced snowfall at elevation. Visitor services are closed or limited in scope after October 15. Driving time from the South Rim to the North Rim is about 4.5 hours, over 220 miles (350 km).
On the North Rim is the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, managed by Forever Resorts, and a campground near the lodge managed by the national park staff.
To the eye of the Heron...... yummy fresh food
to the eye of the fish...... YOU IDIOT!!! xyz...@#$&... F--K...U
@jap gardens, SG
That give me an idea....if I own a team of these folks, I can bring them to catch fishes
for me. They don't need salaries, don't take leave from work, no time off, no maternity leave, won't argue with you, no mc
no lunch time, no tea break, won't hide in toilet when needed for work, won't tell the boss bad things about you, no irritating ringtone, don't mess up your desk, don't steal your screwdriver, don't complaint, even they do, I won't understand, don't engage in any dangerous activities such skydiving, base jumping, swordfighting, birdwatching, shopping etc...
I would have a team of ideal workers ! I will be CEO and my company name will be called Solidheron Pte Ltd.
258.365.2013/989.1096
so busy at the moment with other projects very little time (or energy) to put into my 365 project...after seeing my sisters last week of watercolours I want to paint...I'll must try and do some soon :)
President Donald J. Trump, accompanied by Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump, prepares to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2021, en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md. to begin his trip to Georgia. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
Explored oct 21
To Autumn
Poem by William Blake.
O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain'd
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my shady roof; there thou may'st rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.
"The narrow bud opens her beauties to
The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;
Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and
Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,
Till clust'ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
And feather'd clouds strew flowers round her head.
"The spirits of the air live in the smells
Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees."
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,
Then rose, girded himself, and o'er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.
In bright October sunshine, Sanders former Holmeswood Coaches Optare Solo type number 200 - YJ58 CBX is captured about to pass onto The Street on the outskirts of Swanton Novers village as it works the above return journey on Thursday only Fakenham Market Day service 98. Due to Coronavirus, this weekly service was temporarily suspended, only returning to operation on Thursday 18th June 2020 after a break of exactly thirteen weeks. Unfortunately my camera has not picked up the electronic destination display, which often happens with this bus.
In the field behind the tree to the extreme left as we look there is a type FW3/22 WWII Pill Box which has become a War Memorial to those Swanton Novers men who fell in the two World Wars. Note the fingerpost to the right of shot and immediately behind 200, Gallowhill Lane runs through to join the B1110 just short of the junction with the B1354 at Pigg’s Grave whilst Hempit Lane to the right joins Holt Road which ultimately reaches the B1110 opposite the main entrance to Melton Park, once the home of the Astley family.
As mentioned before, the 98 and the other Holt depot operated once/twice a week shopping/market day services are normally worked by the same regular bus and driver. Currently in term time it appears their duties are as follows M - 24 Fakenham - Norwich via Reepham/T - 25 Fakenham - Dereham via Litcham/W - 23 Horningtoft - Norwich via Litcham/Th - 98 Foulsham - Fakenham via Reepham/F - 25 Fakenham - Dereham via Litcham. Plus am/pm Fakenham Academy school day only service 308.
Králický Sněžník (Czech: [ˈkraːlɪtskiː ˈsɲɛʒɲiːk]) or Śnieżnik (Polish: [ˈɕɲeʐɲik]) is a mountain in the Eastern Sudetes, located on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The name Sněžník or Śnieżnik derives from the word for "snow"; the mountain has snow cover for up to eight months a year. In Czech the adjective Králický (from the nearby town of Králíky) is added to distinguish it from the mountain called Děčínský Sněžník (near the town of Děčín). An alternative Polish name is Śnieżnik Kłodzki, from the town of Kłodzko. In German the mountain is known as Glatzer Schneeberg (from Glatz, the German name for Kłodzko), Grulicher Schneeberg (from Gruhlich, the German name for Králíky), or Spieglitzer Schneeberg (from Spieglitz, which is now part of Staré Město).
The mountain is the highest peak of the Śnieżnik massif (called Králický Sněžník in Czech, Masyw Śnieżnika in Polish, Glatzer Schneegebirge in German), itself part of the Jeseníky Mountains. It lies between the town Králíky and the Kłodzko Gap that separates it from the Rychleby Mountains.
The massive was formed during the Tertiary. Sněžník is a water divide for three seas: Black Sea (river Morava), Baltic Sea (river Nysa Kłodzka) and North Sea (Liptovský stream).
Between 1899 and 1973 a stone view-tower stood on the Silesian side of the mountain top. A statue of a young elephant was put in place of a former chalet.
On the Czech side a state protected natural reservation (Národní přírodní rezervace Králický Sněžník ) was established in 1990. On the Polish side is the protected area of Śnieżnik Landscape Park.
(Wikipedia)
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Spent an interesting early October weekend in the area of Králický Sněžník mountain massive - autumn colours, solitude, unexpected first snow in the mountains, biking adventure, ... had a good time in this not-that-well-known region of Czech republic.
a question! would you say this dress is too short for someone of my age? would a GG wear this dress? Is this a case of mutton dressed as lamb?
just wondered as I had a comment about it being to short and if I was a woman I would wear it!
Your honest thoughts please.
Unexpected to the operators, it was decided to cease rail operations on the US Air Force's Shaw Base.
After 66 years, this would be the final train to run to the interchange. Black flags were placed on the locomotives, and the departure occurred around 1:30 p.m. Several from the Air Force joined in on the run, or took photographs at grade crossings. By 2:00 p.m., both 80Tonners had shoved the train to the CSX interchange, and returned to Shaw AFB in Sumter, SC.
Beginning to run-around, Cane Savannah, SC.
Found in Oak woodland, mainly in Southern England. Difficult to locate due to its habit of flying in the tree canopy where it feeds on honeydew.
We are arrived to Makarska, so now it's time for a little walk :) Here is the begining of the seaside promenade :)
Makarska is a small city on the Adriatic coastline of Croatia. It's a tourist centre, located on a horseshoe shaped bay between the Biokovo mountains and the Adriatic Sea. The city is noted for its palm-fringed promenade, where cafes, bars and boutiques overlook the harbour. Adjacent to the beach are several large capacity hotels as well as a camping ground. The center of Makarska is an old town with narrow stone-paved streets, a main church square where there is a flower and fruit market, and a Franciscan monastery that houses a sea shell collection featuring a giant clam shell. In the Roman era the city appears in the Tabula Peutingeriana as the port of Inaronia, but is mentioned as Muccurum, a larger settlement that grew up in the most inaccessible part of Biokovo mountain, probably at the very edge of the Roman civilisation. In the 7th century the region between the Cetina and Neretva was occupied by the Narentines, with Mokro, located in today's Makarska, as its administrative centre. The principality was annexed to the Kingdom of Croatia in the 12th century, and was conquered by the Republic of Venice a century later. In 1499 the Makarska coastal area fell to the Turks. During the Candian War between Venice and the Turks (1645–1669) the desire among the people of the area to be free of the Turks intensified, and in 1646 Venice recaptured the coastline. After the fall of the Venetian Republic, it was given to the Austrians by the Treaty of Campo Formio (1797). With the fall of Venice, the Austrian army entered Makarska and remained there until Napoleon took the upper hand. The Congress of Vienna assigned Makarska to Austria-Hungary, under which it remained until 1918. During World War II, Makarska was part of the Independent State of Croatia. After the war, Makarska experienced a period of growth, and the population tripled. All the natural advantages of the region were used to create in Makarska one of the best known tourist areas on the Croatian Adriatic.
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No i dojechaliśmy do Makarskiej, więc teraz czas na spacer po nadmorskiej promenadzie :)
Makarska – miasto w południowo-wschodniej Chorwacji (Dalmacja), w żupani splicko-dalmatyńskiej, u podnóża masywu górskiego Biokovo (Góry Dynarskie), nad Morzem Adriatyckim. W przeszłości znajdowała się tutaj rzymska osada, prawdopodobnie nazywana Muccurum. W VI w. została ona podbita przez Gotów, a następnie przez nich zniszczona. W późniejszych wiekach tutejsze tereny zdobyli Słowianie - traktowali miasto jako punkt strategiczny, z którego mogli atakować przepływające do Wenecji statki. W kolejnych wiekach w Makarskiej rządzili królowie chorwacko-węgierscy, a w XV w. na tutejszych terenach pojawili się Turcy, którzy zostali stąd wypędzeni dopiero w 1646 r. za sprawą Wenecjan. Makarska była we władaniu Wenecjan, aż do 1797 r., kiedy nastąpił upadek Republiki Weneckiej. Wówczas te tereny zdobyli Habsburgowie. Miasto zostało poważnie zniszczone w trakcie II wojny światowej. Część zabudowy, która ocalała podczas wojny, ucierpiała podczas trzęsienia ziemi w 1962 r. W kolejnych latach Makarska była sukcesywnie odbudowywana i rozbudowywana, a obecnie jest to jeden z najważniejszych ośrodków turystycznych w kraju. Miasto posiada dwa nadmorskie bulwary, wysadzane palmami i otoczone punktami gastronomiczno-handlowymi, a także półtorakilometrową, kamienistą plażę w zatoce Donja Luka.
It's late and I have a busy day coming up.
Now I need to spend half an hour scraping all the make-up off and drabbing myself down.
But I do have tomorrow night at Ted's to look forward to.
Thank you Becky ( LoonMagic2020) for your testimonial. My apologies for not reading it sooner. Due to sheer ignorance (I think), I didn't know how these testimonials worked until it was pointed out to me. You have been a constant presence since my early days here in flickr. For your generous spirit and friendship, thank you.
My thoughts for today:
~Michele Starkey
"There is something so wonderful, so resilient about the human spirit. It raises above the ashes of the tragedy of 911, above the sinking ships in Pearl Harbor, the earthquakes on the West Coast and it is by no means limited to the American spirit. One needs only to take a look at the Tsunami victims as they rebuild their cities to understand the fact that all life is worth living and the efforts to survive. It is the ability for humans to look up and lift up, the awesome power of hope. Hope for a better day. Hope that the sun will shine again - and it always has. Hope that the good inside of every human being will always outweigh the evil in a few men.
Hope will rebuild New Orleans and Biloxi. Hope will rekindle the fire inside of a devastated people and a destroyed city. There will be hope that help will arrive and it is coming. In the form of an Engine company from NYC that has experienced search and rescue teams and the will to drive eighteen hours to a ravaged part of our country. Help in the form of thousands of donations pouring in through the Red Cross, Samaritan's Purse and other not-for-profit organizations. Help will arrive, time will heal, and hope will allow the people to persevere.
A friend of mine sent an email that stated the following: A bumblebee will die inside of an open jar. It will never try to escape because it will not look up. It will bump into the sides of the glass repeatedly and consistently. It will die inside of an open jar. Thank God we have been given the ability to look up. We have hope. "
"If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream."
- Martin Luther King
Entangled in a love made before birth
Knowledge of a feeling, too strong to explain
A deep thought of a dream coming true
A special moment ready to be lived
A look of fulfillment in a second glance
A connection of two hearts now one
A completion, the missing half now found
The sensation as a touch is shared
The warmth of a kiss given and taken
The words I love you meant from the soul
As to you I give myself
* re-post inspired by a beautiful stroy of a friend of mine
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 archieve..I ♥ U..*
Little kids aged between 8-10 have to attend class from 1200 to 1700 hours, along with private coachings. I don't know how they manage to take such stress.
After all day long brain storming, when they return home, a smile really come from the hearts...
Welcome to Nerdvember, our new favorite month! Yes, Halloween is over and the holidays are weeks away, it's too early to think about Thanksgiving so it's time to get your nerd on!
for more info visit bricknerd.com/home/welcome-to-nerdvember-1-2014
One final look at Ghent's Gravensteen Castle.
Gravensteen Castle is built on a small piece of land that juts into Leie Canal giving the castle the appearance that it is floating on water. The outer walls are the castle’s most unique feature. Unlike most castles, whose walls tend to be of the flat curtain type with round or square towers placed at intervals, Gravensteen’s walls have exterior supports, with turrets not rising from the water but jutting out over it.
Also known as “Castle of the Counts” in Dutch, the was built in 1180. Today it houses the Arms Museum and the Museum of Judicial Objects displaying various weapons used in warfare and other contraptions used for punishment and torture during medieval times.
Castle History:
After the death of Charlemagne, Belgium and the other Low Countries were incorporated into the short-lived Central Kingdom. Soon afterwards the kingdom collapsed and most of the local area broke apart into a succession of tiny feudal states nominally under the influence of the Holy Roman Empire and France.
Ghent, the region’s largest city and capital of the province of Flanders soon became a local power and eventually chief city of the region. Located in the geographic heart of Northern Europe, neutral Ghent became a major trading centre for the Germans, French and English. By the 11th century it was one of the largest cities on the continent.
Ghent was the seat of the County of Flanders, but it lacked an aristocratic residence that reflected the region’s political importance and wealth. When Count Philip returned to Ghent from the Second Crusade, he immediately set about rectifying the situation. Adapting the architectural style of the castles he had become familiar with in the deserts of the Holy Land to the watery landscape of Belgium, he designed and built Gravensteen Castle towards the end of the 12th century.
Gravensteen remained the residence of the Counts of Flanders for the next two centuries. When they moved out in the 14th century, the practical citizens of Ghent put the castle to good use. For years it housed governmental offices as well as the city’s court and prison.
Ghent and Gravensteen were ravaged during the Thirty Year’s War, at which time the castle was abandoned and frequently used as a stone quarry. Later, during the earliest stages of the Industrial Revolution, Ghent became one of Europe’s chief manufacturing centers. Desparate for space, Gravensteen Castle got a reprieve when it was pressed into service as a textile factory.
By the 1800s, Gravensteen had been substantially reduced due to years of war and neglect. However, the good citizens of Ghent again came to their castle’s rescue. Shortly before it was to be demolished, what was left of the castle was publicly acquired and subsequently fully restored. Even sections that were long gone, including substantial portions of the keep, were replaced. It is now only threatened by the hordes of tourists who visit every year.
Inside Brussels' iconic monument.
From wiki:
"The Atomium is a monument built for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by André Waterkeyn, it is 102-metres (335 ft) tall, with nine steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.
Tubes which connect the spheres along the 12 edges of the cube and all eight vertices to the centre enclose escalators connecting the spheres which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of Brussels. Each sphere is 18 metres in diameter... The vertical vertex contains a lift which was considered very fast and advanced at the time of building (the speed is 5 m/s)."
According to flickr I took this picture nearly a year ago when my D90 was still alive.
I stumbled across it while I was organising my files today, and it just seemed to jump out at me. Why it had been over looked and filed away before I can't remember, but I'm kinda feeling it today.
Happy Friday Kiddlywinks!
Hope y'all have a great weekend ♥
I know you've heard the word "Saviour" before, but it seems you've forgotten what it means to be saved. You can lick the salt from your fingers and the blood from the wounds on your wrists, and you can beg for a bite to eat from the hand of the merciful, and you can cry out from your dark, dank dungeon with that feeble, bleating voice of yours. But you must know that the tremoring knees of our spirits will not support our frames without a Grace that will be sufficient in all of our weakness. This madness has gripped us with cold, hard fingers and convinced us that the earth is made of us, when maybe we are made of the earth. And maybe it is to this earth that we will return.
Our skin is paper thin; our bones are brittle and bound to shatter within minutes of existence. Our eyes are bright but oh, so blind. Has it occurred to us that maybe perfection in humankind is something to be grasped? Will we ever understand the meaning of the word "save"? It is more than a bite to eat from the hand of the merciful. It's more than Superman appearing from out of the looming blue to lift your leaking vessel from the sea.
There was a cry in the night. The clouds rolled over, playing their gloomy games with the mournful man on the moon. The wolves howled in response to the chilling sound of mankind giving birth to something infinitely beyond itself. The grey curtain of repetition and time began to fold back around; the dust-covered veil was being lifted, and we could see the sun behind the eyes of the deep, dark ocean. There was perfection under the skin of men. There was a fragrance in that hot, dry, polluted air. A hope for renewal, something like the smell of spring, or the feeling of a hot tear on one's cheek; the smell of a second chance. A drop in the ocean to change the tide.
This is an outtake from this, but I think I might like this one more?
I'm uploading old photos since I don't have much time to take new ones. Starting today, theater is going to eat my life. However, I have had time to do a couple covers of various songs, so hopefully I'll be able to get those up on Youtube and link you to them if you want. (:
Have a blessed day.
If my eyes are open, there’s a chance they’re going to fall on something that will make me think. I don’t mind either way, to be honest. Even the odd randomness of the direction is somewhat enjoyable. Today it was romantic. Passionate. Dreamy. And there I was, like in a big aquarium, standing on the other side of the glass with all my sensory memory but no sensation. I remember that life. I remember those thoughts and feelings and wants and needs. The sweetness of that ache. All the thrill and bright optimism of that focus. It is purely a belief in possibility. A longing for elusive connection. I never asked myself why. I doubt I’d have had any answers, which I think in large part explains why I never found what I was looking for. I never asked myself why I did anything. Is that why my little aquarium is so full now? Why there are so many tanks I stand outside of? I just lived. I went where it took me. I lived a life of “seemed like a good idea at the time.” Choose your own adventure. I can read words that came from my mind 20 years ago, and they are words of a stranger. I wouldn’t say that now. I wouldn’t think that now. She was treading the waters I vaguely remember the sensation of now. It’s a miracle she never drowned, as she sure never learned how to swim. I have not lived one life as one person. I’ve lived dozens as whoever I needed to be to survive them and make them as lovely as I could. Dove in without looking and made adjustments in response to what I found. I don’t really think that’s the best way of going about it, and words can’t express the relief I feel that the two people I brought into the world along the way are more grounded, more aware, more solid in who they are and what they want and why. The humor of the fact that I am their comfort and their home base is not lost on me. I can ask the questions now, though. Now, when the answers and the optimism have been honed down to basics. Treading water yet again that I won’t feel until some future me looks back and tries to remember. We live how we’re able. In the end, I can only think I was very very lucky.