View allAll Photos Tagged Thus
Although He is everywhere, He is — if one may put it thus — always just out of reach, hidden from me. In this concealment, darkness, and void, my faith must seek out His countenance and His heart so that I may direct my prayer to Him. I must establish the inner point of contact and hold on to it, when — as constantly happens — it tries to elude me.
-The Art of Praying The Principles and Methods of Christian Prayer Formerly entitled
Prayer in Practice, Romano Guardini
hoy lo vi la verdad qieres creer qe no te importa pero mentir no hace falta solo el dolor sanara el alma, olvidamos qe amarce es un acto de fe olvidamos qe amarmo es un pacto con diios!
L’agence d’architecture AZEMA a imaginé un design s’insérant harmonieusement sur le site, tenant à la fois compte de la proximité du centre-ville et des reconnaissances Unesco. Ainsi, la façade sera revêtue de panneaux aluminium entrecroisés, rappelant les tuiles vernissées de Bourgogne. De conception aussi innovante que dynamique, sa perception change en fonction du mouvement de l’observateur.
The AZEMA architectural agency has imagined a design that fits harmoniously into the site, taking into account both the proximity of the city center and the UNESCO recognitions. Thus, the facade will be covered with intertwined aluminum panels, reminiscent of the glazed tiles of Burgundy. With a design that is as innovative as it is dynamic, its perception changes depending on the movement of the observer.
Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world: As star at dawn, a bubble in a stream A flash of lightning in a summer cloud A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
Blue Lake Bintan
SonyA7iv, 12-24@12, f2.8, ISO500, 20s, Edited in Camera RAW & Photoshop
Thus I am not a hero,
A hero would sacrifice you for the world,
I however would sacrifice the world for you,
If that makes me a villain,
Then I shall embody that,
As my heart burns for you,
Hotter than hell ever could.
Syrphidae
I photographed this guy on a small floret of a parsley flower. It is very hard to get anywhere near these things, and thus I was very pleased to get a detailed macro.
Oregon Trip 2009 #06
Another Amtrak train passing by thus creating this pretty cool reflection in the window of my train.
Hope you all had a fun and safe new year celebration!
I'm going to try to upload my trip shots in rough sequence although the train shots will be a mix of coming and going.
CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM/SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME
All my public photos are FREE for PERSONAL use
Soester Eng is an elongated sand hill in Soest, Netherlands whose long east side adjacent to the low, swampy peat soil of the Eempolder.
Eng was formed in the last ice age, about 180,000 years ago. At that time, large glaciers moved from the north of the area arising pushed the ground.
Thus arose moraines as the Utrecht Ridge. The highest point of the Soester Eng is about ± 18 meters above sea level.
This is what we saw during our Bicycle tours in the Netherlands, where we have cycled through the beautiful landscape.
.
Snow in our corner of Alabama, on the Elk River! Every time they predict snow, it turns out wrong, but this time- we got the white stuff! Fun to see because it will be gone quickly. The temps dropped about 30 degrees from this morning to nightfall when the snow started here!
And yes, it seems I DID take these shots after 3 AM- because that's when it was not blowing quite as badly. :) What else does a photographer do at 3 AM when it's snowing?! Stand in the door and take photos! LOL!
The Tawo-tawo Festival in Bayawan is annually celebrated on the month of February. It marks another season of bountiful harvest in the city of Bayawan. This festival is a thanksgiving celebration as well to the patron saint of the city, who is Santo Tomas Villanueva.
Back in the days when farming was the means of livelihood in any province here in Negros Oriental, crows were the most hated creatures ever in the rice fields. Of course, farmers didn’t want to kill any of these lovely crows or maya birds so they so they decided to invent something to drive them away. Thus, the Tawo-tawo Festival was born. The term “tawo-tawo” literally means person-person (or person like). The tawo-tawo, better known today as scarecrows, drove the crows or maya birds away making the town happy again with the harvest.
After the yearly celebration of this tradition, Bayawan City was being recognized for their intellectual ways of solving farming issues. This brought news all over Negros Oriental and made people even more interested in watching the unique historical Tawo-tawo Festival.
Bayawan City, like every other municipality here in Negros Oriental, is a well-known religious town. The town decided to have a celebration in accordance with the Tawo-tawo festival and have a thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest to their patron saint who is Santo Tomas Villanueva.
Bayawan, Negros Oriental, Philippines
Power To Be (PTB) is the place to be — without a doubt.
After reading about it in Wednesday's Saanich News I just had to ride out on my mighty steed and take a look.
PTB is located at the foot of Prospect Lake.
N.B. In Vancouver Island logging jargon, The Foot of a lake is where it drains out.
Thus, the quickest route was to cross over from the Inland Interurban Trail via Viaduct Ave.
My cycling loop covered 40km and with all the photo-ops and sightseeing it took three-hours of my Earthly time.
Thus began another day of chasing one of Amtrak's special locomotives. P42DC #203, with the eastbound Capitol Limited in tow, peeks around the corner as it approaches our photo location in Fairhope, PA.
San Giorgio Maggiore is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group.
The isle is surrounded by Canale della Grazia, Canale della Giudecca, Saint Mark Basin, Canale di San Marco and the southern lagoon. It forms part of the San Marco sestiere.
San Giorgio Maggiore was probably occupied in the Roman period; after the foundation of Venice it was called Insula Memmia after the Memmo family who owned it. By 829 it had a church consecrated to St George; thus it was designated as San Giorgio Maggiore to be distinguished from San Giorgio in Alga.
The San Giorgio Monastery was established in 982, when the Benedictine monk, Giovanni Morosini, asked the doge Tribuno Memmo to donate the whole island for a monastery. Morosini drained the island's marshes next to the church to get the ground for building, and founded the Monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore, and became its first abbot.
San Giorgio is now best known for the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, designed by Palladio and begun in 1566. The belltower has a ring of 9 bells in C#.
In the early 19th century, after the Republic fell, the monastery was almost suppressed and the island became a free port with a new harbour built in 1812. It became the home of Venice's artillery.
Met up with my Flickr pals Adrian and Paul at Bosham Quay for sunset.
Unfortunately my prized 16-35mm Zeiss lens has developed a fault where only the central area of the image is in focus, thus forcing me to heavily crop my images. Or as Paul has commented below, maybe its a special Sony autocrop function which blurs out the unnecessary details!
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
The Aiguille du Midi is a 3,842-metre-tall (12,605 ft) mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc.
The idea for a cable car to the summit, the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, was originally proposed around 1909, but did not come into operation until 1955 when it held the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades. It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, from 1,035 to 3,842 m (3,396 to 12,605 ft). There are two sections: from Chamonix to Plan de l'Aiguille at 2,317 m (7,602 ft) and then directly, without any support pillar, to the upper station at 3,777 m (the building contains an elevator to the summit).
The span of the second section is 2,867 m (1.781 mi) measured directly, but only 2,500 m (1.6 mi) measured horizontally. Thus it remains the second longest span width, measured directly. The cable car travels from Chamonix to the top of the Aiguille du Midi – an altitude gain of over 2,800 m (9,200 ft) – in 20 minutes, costing around €60 for an adult-ticket from Chamonix and back.
The Olympian Hermes by Praxiteles (plaster cast of the head) reflecting the January sun light and thus transforming a Hertfordshire garden.
The River Kent, May 2019. The trees plus another 500 or so others are due to be chopped down to allow for the building of a 'flood protection wall' thus ripping the green heart and soul out of Kendal. A similar wall was built in Keswick and Cockermouth. During storm Desmond in 2015 they flooded over. So a wall is NO guarantee of preventing the flooding of the town. There must be a better way other than desecrating the place its supposed to protect.
More images to be posted soon.
If you want to voice your disagreement then please sign here: http//chng.it/dFHBn7W8t9
If the link doesn't work then please sign the petition on change.org. Its listed as 'stop, review and revise Kendal flood management scheme'
Annecy is located between Geneva and Chambéry. Thus its history was strongly influenced by these two towns between the 10th and the 19th century. Starting as the capital of the county of Geneva, after the demise of the counts of Geneva, it became integrated into the House of Savoie in 1401. In 1444, it was set up by the Princes of Savoie as the capital of a region covering the possessions of the Genevois, Faucigny and Beaufortain. With the advance of Calvinism in 1535, it became a center for the Counter-Reformation and the bishop's see of Geneva was transferred here. (It suppressed in 1801, though restored in 1822.) During the French Revolution, the Savoy region was conquered by France and Annecy became attached to the département of Mont Blanc, of which capital was Chambéry. After the Bourbon Restoration in 1815, it was returned to the House of Savoy. When Savoy was annexed by France in 1860, it became the capital of the new département of Haute-Savoie.
Francis of Sales was born at the castle of Sales, close by, in 1567. He was bishop of Annecy from 1602 to 1622.
Annecy was the site of the second round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks in 1949.
...and thus speak many of us
society breeds ill of human need
sows the worst of it's own failings
from political spears
hopes of youth grow weary
yet, and yet...
bereft of interior resignation
within is truly without...
we the people on the outside,
breath reality with every inhalation
the honesty of our feet upon the ground
an eidetic view of life's doorway.
A beautiful Peacock Butterfly sipping nectar from a stonecrop sedum.
Peacock butterflies (Vanessa io or Occhio di Pavone, in Italian) are certainly one of the most eye-catching creatures in Britain. Flitting between nectar-rich flowers of gardens and parks all summer long, they hibernate over winter. They are probably the longest-lived butterflies in Britain, with adults surviving from late July, well into the following spring, perhaps into June. Thus, contrary to popular belief that butterflies only live for a few days, some Peacocks may live to see their 11th month (albeit having spent five or six months of their adult lives asleep in hibernation). Adults emerge from hibernation from March onwards with numbers peaking in late April. They quickly mate and females lay eggs in batches of up to 400 at a time.
The four stunning eye-spots on the wings, resembling the tail feather pattern of the peacock, are there to frighten away or divert predators.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Copyright © Kia & Zeno. All rights reserved.
No usage allowed in any form without our written explicit permission.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jogyesa:
Jogyesa (Jogye Temple) is the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. The building dates back to the late 14th century and became the order's chief temple in 1936. It thus plays a leading role in the current state of Seon Buddhism in South Korea. The temple was first established in 1395, at the dawn of the Joseon Dynasty; the modern temple was founded in 1910 and initially called "Gakhwangsa". The name was changed to "Taegosa" during the period of Japanese rule, and then to the present name in 1954.
Jogyesa is located in Gyeonji-dong, Jongno-gu, in downtown Seoul. Natural monument No. 9, an ancient white pine tree, is located within the temple grounds. Jogyesa Temple is located in one of the most popular cultural streets in Seoul, Insa-dong, near the Gyeongbokgung Palace.
The Jogyesa Temple used to be known as Gakhwangsa Temple which was founded in 1395. During the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945), the temple become one of the strongest fortresses of Korean Buddhism. Gakhawangsa Temple emerged as the temple of the resistance to Japanese efforts to suppress Korean Buddhism. In 1937, a movement for the establishment of a Central Headquarters began which was successful with the building of the Main Buddha Hall of Jogyesa Temple in Seoul in 1938.
The temple became known as Taegosa Temple in 1938 and by its current name of Jogyesa Temple in 1954. The name Jogyesa Temple was chosen to denote the structure's status as the main temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (Buddhist sect which combines and integrates the Korean Zen and Textual Schools of Buddhism). The Jogye Order has 1700 years of history and is the most representative of Korean Buddhism Orders. The Jogye Order is based on the Seokgamoni doctrine and teachings of the Buddha, and it focuses on the mind and nature of this.
The Daeungjeon (Main Buddha Hall) was constructed in 1938 of pine wood from Baekdu Mountain, and it's always filled with the sounds of chanting. In the main temple courtyard there are two trees which are 500 years old, a White Pine and a Chinese Scholar tree.
The White Pine tree is about 10 meters high and gave the nearby area “Susong-dong” its name (Song means 'pine tree'). This tree was brought by Chinese missionaries during the Joseon Dynasty. This pine tree sits besides the Main Hall, and its branch towards the Main Hall is only partially alive. One side of this tree is adjacent to the passage, while the other side sits next to the building. Therefore, because the area is inadequate for the tree to grow, the Lacebark pine is not preserved well and since the Lacebark pine is a rare tree species and is valuable in biology, it is designated and protected as a Natural Monument.
The Chinese Scholar tree, which is 26 meters tall and four meters in circumference, silently stands watch over the temple grounds.
Jogyesa Temple's features is a mix of traditional temple and palace architecture. The lattice designs found on the doors and windows of the Daeungjeon are unique in their own right. The temple also features the Geuknakjeon (Hall of Supreme Bliss) in which the Amitabha Buddha is enshrined, the Beomjongnu, a structure where a bell which enlightens the public with its sound is housed, and an information center for foreign nationals.
The Temple also has colorful matsya (Sanskrit for "fish") which is sacred to Hindu-Buddhists as it is one of the avatar (incarnation) of Hindu deity Vishnu which has been described in detail in Matsya Purana and 6th BCE Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya.
To enter the temple, visitors must pass through the Iljumun or "one pillar gate". The Iljumun is an entry that represents is the division that separates the mortal world from the world of Buddha.
A Cave Swallow on the lighthouse roof at Prince Edward Point, Prince Edward County, Ontario this morning. Very rare in Canada (they breed in southern Texas and northern Mexico), I’ve been searching for them here every November. Finally found one yesterday in the wind and rain. This morning it was still present in the sun.
For some reason starting a couple decades ago a few began to show up in Ontario in the late fall, early winter - a poor strategy for an insect-eating bird. One would think the tendency would be selected out of the population, but thus far it hasn’t. Still, a great birding moment, my first record for Canada.
The bird looked a bit out of it at first but after the sun’s rays warmed it up for about 30 minutes it took flight strongly and was able to catch some late season flies - and dodge a Merlin attack. Not sure if these birds manage to reorient themselves and head south, but I'm hoping for the best.
featured on Platfform Magazine
pls keep the comments clean.
no banners & awards pls!
© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal.If you do so you will be sued!!!
(I've included what everyone said - well, highlights from them- including Niobe's, who had to leave before she could post what she would say, and notes from the letter Fallon wrote Laz. I also added Artika and Cata's internals, because they pay tribute to Laz - and I'll miss that guy. This RP impacted me harder than any other, and this funeral was one of the most beautiful things of all time. What a fantastic story.)
EAMON CALE:
"I hope... we will do more than mourn this man tonight. I ask that we pay tribute to a lad who was, indeed, larger than life, and far better than this city deserved. For all his... bluster and blow..." He smiles then, melancholy but gentle. "He was a rarity in this day and age, a man who still believed in compassion, in the protection of those who could not protect themselves, in fairness, equality." Eamon Cale's dark eyes linger on each face in turn. "Laz believed in making the world a better place than which he'd found it. Ye can look to his civil efforts to improve Midian's standard of living, his tireless work toward a common cause--that no one, regardless of race, creed, faith or genetics deserves to be locked away by the world, and forgotten here on this island with no chance nor opportunity to improve their lot. He showed others how to find their fecking bootstraps and draw themselves up again."
Eamon Cale's voice quiets again. "But 'tis as Captain of the Watch, guardian of this church, that -I- will remember Laz best. He came to this church, -drawn- here, he said, by a feeling that defied all logic... drawn to a Church and a faith that was not his own. And over the course of our friendship--over many a whiskey where he'd tell me I was mad for half the things I did... or punch me for the same--" He smiles briefly and resists the urge to run his palm over his jaw. "He came to share his belief with me, that God had spared him thus far, because his work was not yet done." Eamon Cale searches their faces. "Redemption," he says softly. "And a chance to be the good man that had been inside him all along. 'Twas this man who became my friend..." His voice catches, quiet now and hoarse. "A far better friend than I will ever deserve. He saved my life, in more ways than one. He defied the Legion for this parish, and for his family, the Pride. He gave me an incredible gift..." He pauses, jaw working. "And stood beside me as brother on the best day of my life." …
Eamon Cale looks to the door at the front of the church. If he tries, he can still see Laz standing there, back to the door, watching over the Mass. That damned cigar poking from the corner of his cocky grin. "'I have fought the good fight,' the Bible says." His gaze comes to rest on those gathered to say goodbye. "And so he did. 'I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.' He did all this and more. And so I say goodnight, ye mad bastard, with no doubt of God's words when ye stand before him." His vision blurs. He doesn't care. "'Well done, good and faithful servant. Lay down your burden. And welcome home.'"
ALRIC BRAVIN:
“…But Lazarus Lowenstark was my friend. Midian, it is said, is a den of evil, a gathering place of the wicked, and a neverending hole of darkness - or those were the first words I ever heard uttered of this place before I arrived. Laz was a light in that darkness. Someone who saw the evil, understood it, and yet, managed to stay good. Even managed to find good in those of us who might think that we were swallowed whole by the cesspool."
"He saw that good in me. When I arrived to this place, I will not lie, the darkness drew me. The promise of anonymity and a cessation to the boredom that I suffered from. I was not a good man. Still do not believe that I am, but Laz was one of a small number of people who told me differently, and perhaps performed the impossible. He made me believe it. It was something he was capable of doing - to show people that they were not their circumstances." He paused, taking another deep breath. "He taught me that sometimes you can't fight destiny. You can't fight fate putting you where you're supposed to be, but how you get there, and what you do when you get there, that's up to you… Laz was - is, one of the greatest men I've ever known, and I will never forget him. He protected my family, stood by my side when I needed someone to slap some sense into me, and became the godfather of my children. I couldn't ask for a better friend. And I know that there are people here who feel the same way. Laz will not be forgotten - the deeds that he has done and the lives that he has touched will ensure that he will live on forever. And though he and I may not end up in the same place, I consider it my greatest pleasure to have known this man for the short time - a blink of an eye, really - that I did." He returned his attention down to the casket, and bowed his head. He was fighting hard not to let the tears that wanted so desperately to form fall. "Rest well, Laz, you've earned it. Eternity awaits you. Enjoy it."
SISTER D:
"There is not much I can say about Laz that has not been said already... True also that I did not know him as well as most, and that will remain one of the biggest regrets of my life." She closed her eyes against their faces, "However, but for the Grace of God and the man we honor tonight, I would not be standing in front of you. The thing that I'll always remember about Laz is his ability to make anything better: a sad or...akward... moment fixed with a word, even up till his final breath, he was trying to console us; many of the city's problems fixed, with the help of his friends, with one of his inovations;" the teen took a deep breath, "a fight won through his skill, wit, and many strengths." Slowly, she opened her eyes... this wasn't right... not quite, she turned to the casket, that was who she needed to talk to, "Laz... I'm so sorry, sorry we didn't get to know eachother as well as we'd have liked, that we didn't get Pop Tarts, Lucky Charms, and cartoons, mostly... sorry that-- that I was up on the roof last week, and sorry these are so smushed." She choked on the last word and set a small, blue box down near the foot of the casket as she turned away. Those close could recognize the framilar Pop Tart brand logo. With that she hurried back to her seat, the napkin back at her dirty eyes.
GUIN FOUROUX:
"Laz and I," she finally says, softly. "We had our moments. The first word I think of when I think of him is 'opinionated.' But the second... well, the third. The second would be 'stubborn.' " She laughs, quick and soft, and glances at the casket. "But the third would probably be 'hero.' "She pauses for a moment, all hint of a tease leaving her voice and posture. "I grew to know Laz during the worst time of my life. And I remember standing, just about right here, when he managed to get a laugh out of me when no one else could. I don't think he knew how much that meant to me. How much it had felt, until that moment, that I wouldn't be able to laugh again, and what a weight he'd lifted…” She smooths a hand along her skirt, then lifts her hand to brush her rosay as she exhales. "Laz also never approved much of anything I did. The people I counted as friends. And he took every opportunity to tell me so. He -also- took every opportunity to defend me, whether through a barb or cutting comment, a laugh or a threat. I always knew he would be at my side if I needed him. And despite all his disapproval... he never missed an opportunity to tell me how much he trusted and respected me, either."
ELISE CAPALINI:
Elise Capalini looks at the coffin before her and then those assembled. "I tried to write something three different times before coming here tonight, and every time I failed," she says. "I think it was only after spending time with Bianca, in the cloister and the house she shared with Laz that I understood what had really been lost here." She looks to the hat retrieved from that house, and gently touches its brim.. "For me, Laz returned part of my family. I met him in this very church--asked him to do a job for me. I thought that would be the end of it--but... He became a brother to me, a protector of the Pride." She draws in a breath, throat gone tight and vision blurry again. "Laz held my hand through the darkest hours I have known in this city. He never flinched, not even in the end." Her hand flattens against the top of the casket. "We'll watch over your girl for you, Laz, until you two can hook back up. I told you--I told you..." There was too much else, she thought; too much to say and no proper words. She moves back to her place near Bianca.
RAVI KARU:
"Lazarus Lowenstark restored my faith in humanity." she paused, for a moment, and brushed the back of a hand over her cheek. "I want to impress how exact, and literal that statement is. Before coming to Midian, the only side of humans I had known was at best a dirty glance, a harsh word, and at worse, outright hatred and murder. When I came here, I met humans that seemed to care for hybrids, that seemed to be able to tolerate us, such as Father Eamon, but I still did not trust them, would not turn my back on them.. it was Lazarus who changed that, who taught me that humans were not all like those I had encountered before, that some, perhaps even most, would live and let live, and even do more. Lazarus Lowenstark helped me learn to trust humans, for the first time in my life.
LINDSAY NOONAN:
"We've all said good things about Laz, but my friend deserves to know I miss him. I genuinely respected him, even loved him. I can't say that about many humans, if you knew my past...She shrugged "...this isn't about me. Lazarus was truly Midian's hero, more than most will even know. Not just in the fight, but in trying to keep us all alive day to day as well. In time we'll see what we've lost here, but all I know is my sister has lost a beloved mate, and I've lost a dear friend. He and I often disagreed, but we were truly friends. I have laid my life on the line for him, and him for me. We worked side by side but I give him the credit for the brains to make it all work." Looks to the casket and smiles "I love you Laz, and I'm gonna miss you a lot. I won't let you or BB down though. Rest easy, you've earned it.
DAMIAN RIGAUD:
Damian Rigaud points with his gloved hand at the casket “The man I knew enjoyed what he did.. and it showed in his work and in his life. He lived and worked passionately and he shared his opinions and his mind the same way…” he smiles wider “Whether you agreed with him or even wanted to hear his thoughts on a particular subject or not.. “ says with a slight chuckle. Damian Rigaud straightens… his gaze settling on the crowd “You here that know me… know that I am not given to displays of emotion… or tortured ramblings about the pain of life and its unfairness… “ he points without looking at the casket “Neither did this man… Lazarus lived as he wished… worked in the field he wished.. took the pleasures that he wished… and *I* believe he even died in the manner he wished.” He says with determined tone at the end.“He died in the defense of the people of this church, a task he volunteered for and preformed in the manner he did everything he put his mind to… with excellence.” He says his voice confident and even. “This man that I call friend did not consider this a chore… or a vain effort.. I will not hear his wisdom debated in my presence.. “ he says with a hard edge to his voice. He looks again at the casket “Grieve as you will for the passing of a man, that stood straight and did not waver, that made no excuse for his way of life or the way he lived it….I send him on his way with my deepest respect…” he says his voice quieter.
BIANCA BENDER:
Bianca Bender she'd speak her voice quiet but strong now echoing against the old stone walls reaching all ears, "I lost the one thing that had meaning to me a week ago. I would have gone with him, if he'd but asked me to. But he wouldn't have done that...he asked me to go on...to be strong for him. I've been trying. It's difficult, he was my lover, my best-friend and my all. I've got to let him go, but for now I'm going to remember him. My..." takes a breath and swallows hard. Finally - finally after this long week she'd speak his name, "...Laz. With his impish grin that could melt me at a glance, that loved me unconditionally for all my faults he saw me as more...always more...he challenged me...every day we were together."
Bianca Bender takes another deep breath eyes sliding close briefly before opening still remaining dry, "You all shared parts of his life, work, friendship, family...." would glance in turn towards each of those that fell into each category the last landing on Alric, Fallon and the girls after passing over Elise. "He loved you all, so much. You all brought joy, pain, and challenge into his life every day." smiles softly, "I know because I had to help deal with some of the knots left behind." smiles softly and she'd turn then resting both hands against the coffin.
Bianca Bender now speaking just for him she'd break lightly the tears falling peacefully from her eyes as she continues, "I love you Laz, given time, I'd hope I would have eventually carried your name proudly as my own. We won't have those moments now, but the moments we did share, I'll cherish. Even your jokes, that I didn't always understand. I've got to go back to our home...soon...I tried earlier this week...I got you your tux you always looked so good in...you still do I'm sure..." smooths a hand over the coffin as if to smooth his tie again, "I will love you always...forever, and if I do find comfort again...the love won't be half of what I feel for you at this moment and always. Go in peace...I don't understand right now...but one day."
ARTIKA:
Artika Muliaina sits quietly now, her eyes forward and face appropriately somber... perhaps thinking of the waste of losing a useful and reliable tool, albeit one whose mind required the utmost care on her part, for such he was, at least in her mind. If she were to rise and speak, she would tell them that the man was not a fool. High praise coming from Artika. But she does not, instead glancing at Cata once more, her expression thoughtful.
CATABOLIS PLUTONIAN:
Catabolis Plutonian watches the cat quietly, for a second, but otherwise his gaze is locked on the coffin. The idea of life ending seemed almost merciful. He had done terrible things, ugly deeds that would not easily be forgiven. To be at the funeral of a man who had stood for something other than himself consumed him, made him wonder what he'd been wasting this cursed existence on. Not altruism - that alone was certain.
FALLON:
Thank you, for what you meant to Alric. You were more than a friend to him, and I'd hoped so much that you'd have become the same for me. I'd hoped you'd be the father of my next child.I know, it's a terrible time to make jokes, but at moments like these, it's either laugh or cry, and I do so hate crying in public. I will make sure Rose knows your face. Your name. What you did for her. That you held her, and kept her safe when I couldn't, and when I thought the world was crashing around us. You earned a place in my heart that night. A mother never forgets moments like those…Knowing you, I know the old saying, Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names, is true.
PORTIA:
Portia Kass exhaled and began her silent thoughts, hoping somehow or other that Laz could hear them "Laz... I wasn't kidding... wasn't just quoting when I said I'd miss you most of all. I don't think I realized exactly how important you were until it was... too late. I can promise you... that I will never take something like that for granted ever again. Thank you for believing in me, thank you for giving me a chance to loosen up and grow up, I'm only sorry I didn't do it sooner. From the very first moment we met, you had my respect and you always will. I love you dearly, I will always consider you my friend, and I will do my best to try and be as good and strong as you were, as much as I know I can be. You'll always be with me, the voice in the back of my head. I'm glad it's yours. Thank you... for everything."
NIOBE:
"It went like that the rest of the time I knew him. Laz was a man with a lot of ideas, and he loved working with other people who also had a lot of ideas. He had a passion to make Midian City a better place to live, not by changing the people who live here, not by enforcing his will on the place, but by the ignoble, simple things that Science - and he was a man to capitalize it - could fix. Clean water. Reliable power. Better technology for the Medical Center. Sustainable food supplies. And getting the subway opened between here and the mainland. Some of those we got done while Laz was with us. Most of them we're still working on. He poured heart and soul into the League, and I'm happy to say that just yesterday, Mayor Rigaud deeded us space for our new lab, which will be named the Lazarus Lawrence Lowenstark Labs. He was one for alliteration. So were his parents, apparently…Laz was good at looking at a situation and saying, ‘What can I do to help?’ and then doing it. More than that, though, he had the ability to look at someone, see something good in them, and nurture it until that good thing grew into something life changing for the person. He did it to me. I'm sure I'm not the only one."
CRAZY STRIPPER GRIEFER:
PrimalChaos Frostbite: Everybody fucky fucky...
Sunset on Rodeo Beach, located in the Fort Cronkhite area of the Marin Headlands, one of the most special places in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area with access to multiple trails, fantastic views, a dog-friendly beach, fascinating geology, and an interesting history. As a pocket beach, Rodeo Beach sands do not migrate up or down the coast. Instead, they are carried a short distance offshore in winter, tumble about in the surf, and then return to replenish the beach in the spring and summer. Thus, the sands of Rodeo Beach are native to the Marin Headlands and reflect the Franciscan geology of the closest hills and cliffs. This earthcache focuses on the abundant radiolarian chert and rare carnelian pebbles.
A great way to enter the Gardens by the Bay is over Dragonfly Bridge, apparently called thus because of the fabulous Giant Dragonfly sculptures (by Elsie Chen Chee Yu) in the dividing pond (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/16133930011/in/photoli...).
The bridge has lots of plants and flowers among which Coral Vine twirls the prettiest, I think. And it's highly attractive to insects of all kinds. Here's a Sun-Sparkling Asian Honeybee, Apis cerana. The Sun was very bright, even for Yours Truly so he hurried away, not lingering for other Insects, just as she was leaving, too.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jogyesa:
Jogyesa (Jogye Temple) is the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. The building dates back to the late 14th century and became the order's chief temple in 1936. It thus plays a leading role in the current state of Seon Buddhism in South Korea. The temple was first established in 1395, at the dawn of the Joseon Dynasty; the modern temple was founded in 1910 and initially called "Gakhwangsa". The name was changed to "Taegosa" during the period of Japanese rule, and then to the present name in 1954.
Jogyesa is located in Gyeonji-dong, Jongno-gu, in downtown Seoul. Natural monument No. 9, an ancient white pine tree, is located within the temple grounds. Jogyesa Temple is located in one of the most popular cultural streets in Seoul, Insa-dong, near the Gyeongbokgung Palace.
The Jogyesa Temple used to be known as Gakhwangsa Temple which was founded in 1395. During the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945), the temple become one of the strongest fortresses of Korean Buddhism. Gakhawangsa Temple emerged as the temple of the resistance to Japanese efforts to suppress Korean Buddhism. In 1937, a movement for the establishment of a Central Headquarters began which was successful with the building of the Main Buddha Hall of Jogyesa Temple in Seoul in 1938.
The temple became known as Taegosa Temple in 1938 and by its current name of Jogyesa Temple in 1954. The name Jogyesa Temple was chosen to denote the structure's status as the main temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (Buddhist sect which combines and integrates the Korean Zen and Textual Schools of Buddhism). The Jogye Order has 1700 years of history and is the most representative of Korean Buddhism Orders. The Jogye Order is based on the Seokgamoni doctrine and teachings of the Buddha, and it focuses on the mind and nature of this.
The Daeungjeon (Main Buddha Hall) was constructed in 1938 of pine wood from Baekdu Mountain, and it's always filled with the sounds of chanting. In the main temple courtyard there are two trees which are 500 years old, a White Pine and a Chinese Scholar tree.
The White Pine tree is about 10 meters high and gave the nearby area “Susong-dong” its name (Song means 'pine tree'). This tree was brought by Chinese missionaries during the Joseon Dynasty. This pine tree sits besides the Main Hall, and its branch towards the Main Hall is only partially alive. One side of this tree is adjacent to the passage, while the other side sits next to the building. Therefore, because the area is inadequate for the tree to grow, the Lacebark pine is not preserved well and since the Lacebark pine is a rare tree species and is valuable in biology, it is designated and protected as a Natural Monument.
The Chinese Scholar tree, which is 26 meters tall and four meters in circumference, silently stands watch over the temple grounds.
Jogyesa Temple's features is a mix of traditional temple and palace architecture. The lattice designs found on the doors and windows of the Daeungjeon are unique in their own right. The temple also features the Geuknakjeon (Hall of Supreme Bliss) in which the Amitabha Buddha is enshrined, the Beomjongnu, a structure where a bell which enlightens the public with its sound is housed, and an information center for foreign nationals.
The Temple also has colorful matsya (Sanskrit for "fish") which is sacred to Hindu-Buddhists as it is one of the avatar (incarnation) of Hindu deity Vishnu which has been described in detail in Matsya Purana and 6th BCE Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya.
To enter the temple, visitors must pass through the Iljumun or "one pillar gate". The Iljumun is an entry that represents is the division that separates the mortal world from the world of Buddha.
I think this is the most dressed I have been in Daz thus far.
Playing with some self created lights and plate textures.
I am no expert, hence there might be errors in the description.---In the back and generally right of the middle is the flowing ice in colors of gray to white with the glacier cave on the left side (above the middle of the photo), out of which the meltwater flows. In the top left corner, solid rock can be seen. Most of the rest that is not water are moraines, ie, debris falling on the ice or scraped from the bottom. The meltwater broke a meandring path through the terminal moraine. The meltwater is laden with silt and thus grayish.
Ich bin kein Experte; deshalb können Fehler in dieser Beschreibung sein.---In der oberen Bildhäfte eher auf der rechten Seite ist das fließende Eis, in Farben von grau bis weiß, mit der Höhle aus der das Schmelzwasser fließt (knapp über der Mitte des Bildes). Außer dem Wasser ist der Rest Moräne, dh, Steine die aufs Eis fallen oder vom Boden abgeschliffen werden. Das Schmelzwasser brach sich einen meandrierenden Pfad durch die Endmoräne. Das Schmelzwasser ist voll mit Silt und daher grau.
With the EVs introduced, these SN67 MMCs will thus leave the route; 37504 is seen at Orpington Station
The Scarlet Sails is a celebration in St. Petersburg, Russia, the most massive and famous public event during the White Nights Festival every summer. The tradition is highly popular for its spectacular fireworks, numerous music concerts and a massive water show.
This tradition began in 1968, when several Leningrad schools united to celebrate the end of the school year in connection with the symbolism of the popular 1922 children's book Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin. During the first celebration, a brigantine with scarlet sails sailed along the English Embankment and the Admiralty Embankment towards the Winter Palace. The 1961 release of the film Scarlet Sails boosted the popularity both of the book and of the tradition.
Although there existed an early draft version of the Scarlet Sails poem, which action was staged at post-revolutionary Petrograd (St. Petersburg's russificated name before renaming to Leningrad in 1924), the author eventually put its action to a fictional country, thus making his work just a symbolic story of an all-conquering, lofty dream with no rusty revolutionary propaganda.
As a symbol of fulfilling child's dream to be adult and free from "schools and rules" the brigantine with scarlet sails turned to be an emblem of transition to a new wishfully beautiful adult life upon school-graduation. The tradition interrupted in later Soviet period, but was again reborn since 2005, when St. Petersburg authorities realized the tourist-attracting potential of the event.
It was hard to resist taking several pictures of this young woman: she seemed so clean-cut, attractive, and well dressed as she stood in the square while chatting on her cell phone.
She then marched back and forth several paces, then went into the entrance to the 72nd Street subway station, came back out again, marched around, continued chattering on her cell phone, and occasionally glanced at me with a puzzled look as I snapped several pictures. A good ten minutes went by until she finally disappeared for good into the subway station, still chattering away on her cell phone...
Note: this photo was published in a Jul 9, 2009 photo titled "How to Ease Your Transition to Google Voice." It was also published in an Aug 1, 2009 XYHDTV blog titled "How Do I Know if She Likes Me?" It was also published in a Jun 11, 2010 Online Dating Finder blog, with the same title as the caption that I used on this Flickr page. And it was published in a Jul 21, 2010 blog titled "En busca del look perfecto para ir de rebajas." It was also published in an undated (mid-Oct 2010) "Second Store on the Web" blog titled "A Grеаt Option – Digital TV οח Yουr PC." And it was published in a Nov 1, 2010 blog titled "Get it for free! Put away your credit card – Tips on free online dating." It was also published in a Dec 3, 2010 First Date Conversation blog , with the same title and detailed notes as what I had written here on this Flickr page. And it was published in a Dec 18, 2010 blog titled "Single? Try Online Dating, It Works!"
Moving into 2011, the photo was published in a Jan 3, 2011 PC and Parts blog titled "Q&A: Is there a store online where I can get a powerbutton switch for a gateway essential 500 (pentium 3 500mhz)?" And it was published in a Jan 25, 2010 blog titled "The Best Things in Life are Usually Free – Online Dating and Singles Tips." It was also published in a Jan 27, 2011 blog titled "Help me please where can i work online from my laptop?" And it was published in a Jul 21, 2011 blog titled "Judging Female Sexual Attractiveness Based On The Clothes They Wear."
Moving into 2012, the photo was published in an Apr 9, 2012 www.my-essential.de/2012/04/09/dude-theres-some-guy-takin..., with the same caption and detailed notes I had written on this Flickr page. It was also published in a Jun 21, 2012 blog titled "6 Little-Known Facts that Could Affect Your Air Miles." And it was published in an undated (early Dec 2012) blog titled "4 Good Reasons to Dress Up Well All The Time."
Moving into 2013, the photo was published in a Mar 20, 2013 blog titled "WHAT DO YOU SAY TO SOMEONE WHO SAID NO TO BEING A BRIDESMAID."
**********************
This is part of an evolving photo-project, which will probably continue throughout the summer of 2008, and perhaps beyond: a random collection of "interesting" people in a broad stretch of the Upper West Side of Manhattan -- between 72nd Street and 104th Street, especially along Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.
I don't like to intrude on people's privacy, so I normally use a telephoto lens in order to photograph them while they're still 50-100 feet away from me; but that means I have to continue focusing my attention on the people and activities half a block away, rather than on what's right in front of me.
I've also learned that, in many cases, the opportunities for an interesting picture are very fleeting -- literally a matter of a couple of seconds, before the person(s) in question move on, turn away, or stop doing whatever was interesting. So I've learned to keep the camera switched on (which contradicts my traditional urge to conserve battery power), and not worry so much about zooming in for a perfectly-framed picture ... after all, once the digital image is uploaded to my computer, it's pretty trivial to crop out the parts unrelated to the main subject.
For the most part, I've deliberately avoided photographing bums, drunks, drunks, and crazy people. There are a few of them around, and they would certainly create some dramatic pictures; but they generally don't want to be photographed, and I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of them. I'm still looking for opportunities to take some "sympathetic" pictures of such people, which might inspire others to reach out and help them. We'll see how it goes ...
The only other thing I've noticed, thus far, is that while there are lots of interesting people to photograph, there are far, far, far more people who are not so interesting. They're probably fine people, and they might even be more interesting than the ones I've photographed ... but there was just nothing memorable about them.
If you start photographing birds, start with Long-ailed tits. Cute ;-), easy and curious and thus easily accesable... Meinerswijk, Arnhem
thus hast thou showered on me, my Heaven,
such glorious bliss without alloy;
my heart, it bends 'neath bounty given,
and overbrims in tears of joy...
Mathilde Blind
Photo taken through Glass!
Lion
Of all the great cats, the lion has always held a supreme place in man's esteem and imagination. The lion has always been honored by man, crediting the regal beast with attributes he prizes most; nobility, courage, loyalty, combative skills and sexual prowess. This attribution applies to both sexes, for a lioness is a creature of sinuous beauty ,but the full-grown male, whose magnificent mane ranging in color from a rich golden brown to a deep blackish-brown, mark him as the veritable monarch of the plains. The legacy of the lion, King of Beasts, as the model throughout history is demonstrated by its appearance among the earliest drawings made by humans over 15,000 years ago.
Zoological name: Panthera leo
Species: Of the known sub-species of lion there seems to be an agreement on 2 as far as genetics go - Pantherinae Panthera leo leo - the African lion, and Pantherinae Panthera leo persica - the Asian lion. Regardless of the area of Africa a lion is found in today, their DNA analysis has shown them to be the same, whereas there is a difference between African and Asian. As of the time of this writing, the Barbary lion has never been tested and compared to these results, and may in fact be a third and distinct lion sub-specie.
Presence on the planet: The lion was once found from northern Africa through southwest Asia (extinct in most countries within past 150 years), west into Europe (extinct 2000 years ago) and east into India (relict population in Gir Forest only). Today, the majority of Africa’s lions can be found in east and southern Africa, with a small number in west Africa. Most of the lions today exist inside protected areas. No accurate number of how many lions exist in the wild has been reported, but guesstimates are between 30,000-100,000.
Habitat: Lion prides are often found in the open plains, but are known from nearly all habitats except deep desert and rainforest. Lions climb trees to rest and cool off, or sometimes to escape stampedes. During the day, lions rest by water holes or salt licks, but at night these places are usually reserved for hunting.
Physical appearance: Males range from 172 to 250 cm in body length, females from 158 to 192 cm. Tail length varies between 60 and 100 cm in length. Females are 45 to 68 kilograms lighter than the average-size male, but have an equal muscle mass. Males weigh between 150 and 260 kg while females weigh between 122 and 182 kg.Lions have a broad face, rounded ears, and a relatively short neck. Male lions have a mane, which varies in color. It usually is a silverish-grey or a yellowish-red. The darker the mane the older the lion. Captive lions are known to have longer and fuller manes than wild lions. The underside of males is a buff color, while the females' underside is whitish in color. Both sexes have sharp retractable claws on each paw and powerful shoulders, which they use to bring down their prey. Hinge-like jaws containing 5 centimeter canines also aid the lion in hunting and catching their prey.
Diet: Lions are very opportunistic eaters, and will take almost any prey ranging from small rodents to young rhinos, hippos and elephants. The majority of its prey, however, is medium to large ungulates, most notably zebra, wildebeest, impala, warthog, hartebeest and waterbuck. They will stay away from adult rhinos, hippos, elephants and even giraffes. The females do most of the hunting, and the male will come and join the females after the kill is made. The females will make way for the males and allow him to eat his fill first. Males will participate on a hunt when it is a particularly large prey item - like a water buffalo - where his size and strength is required to bring down such a large animal (although enough females can do it successfully on their own). Males must also hunt during their bachelor stages, when there are no females to take care of them.
Reproduction & Offspring: Lions will reproduce any time of the year, and all females of reproductive maturity will breed at the same time. This allows them to give birth in synchrony with each other, thereby sharing the suckling responsibilities. Any lactating female in a pride will suckle any cub that belongs to the pride. Lions give birth to 1-6 cubs after a gestation of 110 days. The cubs are born blind and helpless, and weigh approximately 2-4 pounds. Cub mortality is very high in lions, and less than half will survive their first year. Young males will leave their pride between 2-4 years if they can get away with staying that long, but sometimes they are forced out as early as 13-20 months. Females remain with their natal pride most of the time, although some will disperse and form new prides. While male lions are physically capable of reproducing at 30 months and females at 24 months, they do not generally successfully reproduce until pride membership has been firmly established.
Conservation status: Lions are generally considered problem animals whose existence is at odds with human settlements and cattle culture. Their scavenging behavior makes them highly susceptible to poisoned carcasses put out to eliminate predators. Where the wild prey is migratory, lions will predate on captive stock during the lean season, thus making the nuisance animals and easy targets for humans to eliminate.
From my blog (oldlenses.blogspot.ca/2015/10/signs-that-you-are-addicted...):
G.A.S = Gear Acquisition Syndrome. A disease that affects mostly men. It infects the central reasoning area of the brain and makes men vulnerable into thinking more gear make them better photographers, and thus buying gear that they don't need. There is no known cure, but there is a silver lining; some men are able to recover as the photographs they make shift from pictures of cameras, lenses, brick walls, and resolution charts to other form of pictures.
You buy printed photo magazines just to look at the ads
You have a copy of A Lens Collector's Vade Meccum
You know exactly what a "normal" lens is
You have all 5 versions of the same lens
Words like Noctilux and Otus motivate you to make more money so that you can buy them
You name your daughter Tessar, and your son's name Nokton is not misspelled, and your dog's name is Skopar
You think Hologon is the most beautiful word in the world
You scare your partner at night uttering words like "Fisheye", "Bigma", in your sleep
You justify all your gear purchases as investment
You buy similar looking cameras so that your significant other can't tell the one that you use is not the same as the 4 others in the locked closet that only you have the key to
You tell your wife it's worth the expense of the 85mm f1.2L because it would make her look more beautiful in the picture
You convince yourself that the purchase of a Leica Summilux will one day make you as good as Henri Cartier-Bresson
Every time you see a red band, or gold band, it reminds you of your favourite lens
You are a Pentaxian, and you know the word "Limited" is not a disadvantage
You have been buying K-Mount lenses for the last ten years, because you believe one day, there will be a full frame Pentax camera, like you believe in Santa Claus
You get excited when you hear words like Holly Trinity, Magic Drainpipe, The Dust Pump, Sigmarit, and you know exactly what they refer to
You use Ikea shelves to store your cameras/lenses because you can't afford better shelves since you spent all your money on cameras/lenses
Decimal numbers like 0.95, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4 bring tears to your eyes
You just realized that the lens you bought yesterday is exactly the same as 2 others that you didn't know you had
You take pictures with enlarging, projection, and printing cell lenses on your mirrorless camera
You have many lenses without apertures
You have many lenses without focus mechanism
You have drawers full of lens adapters
You have a large bin of lens hoods, and most of them don't fit your lenses, but you tell yourself one day, you will get the lenses that will fit the hoods
You can't understand why anyone needs to use the aperture on the lens, since you always shoot wide open
You feel no shame when others look at your ugly self-made lens contraption in disgust
100% of your pictures contains 99% bokeh, and 1% subject that's in focus.
Your favourite pastime is to browse antique/flea market for vintage cameras/lenses
You never miss a single camera show
You created an app with a SQL database to catalogue and keep track of your cameras/lenses because a spreadsheet has reached its capacity
You remember the minute details of a lens, but forget your kids birthdays
Your wife is annoyed that you
spend more time with your gear than with the kids, or with her
You blog about your favourite lens in length, and the only picture that accompanies the blog entry is the picture of the lens
You have 9 camera bags, and all of them are full of gear
You have 8 different tripod heads, and each one has a specific purpose, and each one is used exactly once
You fondle your cameras/lenses and talk to them like they are your lover
You spend more time on Flickr and online forums than taking pictures
You carry your camera with you everywhere you go, but you hardly take any pictures
You can't understand why anyone would read whatever Ken Rockwell has to say, and you visit Michael Johnston's theonlinephotographer blog religiously
You tell your wife you paid $20 for the very beat-up Speed Panchro that you actually paid $2000 for and she believed you
80% of the photo in your Flickr stream is picture of cameras and lenses
Your wife thinks your planar is something to organize your daily tasks
Your wife can not understand why all your lenses do not zoom or focus themselves
You made your kids call you Prime Master
You have a RAID 10 storage setup to protect the terabytes of pictures you took of your cameras and lenses
You have another RAID 10 storage setup to protect the setup above
You drove 4 hours to photograph a sunrise, only to find out you shot everything wide open out of habit, and all the pictures are overexposed
You made penholders out of broken lenses
You have a box you call treasure that's full of parts from dismantled cameras and lenses.
You hope that you can use them to repair lenses/cameras, but deep down you know that will never happen because that's why they became parts in the first place.
You use a stack of filter rings in place of a hood
You have a dozen rolls of exposed film in the drawer from 1998, but never developed
You get bored of the auto focus lenses you spent tens of thousands of dollar buying, and are having a blast with a $20 enlarging lens taking pictures of your AF lenses
You know by heart the first two digits of a Vivitar lens serial number corresponds to which manufacturer who made the lens.
You love pictures in RAW, and hate those cooked in jpeg
You have thousands of tiny screws harvested from dead cameras/lenses
The crested goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus) is a bird of prey from tropical Asia. It is related to other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards (or buteos) and harriers, and thus placed in the family Accipitridae
This raptor has short broad wings and a long tail, both adaptations to manoeuvring through trees. It is 30–46 cm in length, with the female much larger than the male. The larger size and a short crest, clearly visible in profile, are the best distinctions from its relative, the besra (A. virgatus).[2]
The male has a dark brown crown, grey head sides and black moustachial and throat stripes. The pale underparts are patterned with rufous streaks on the breast and bars on the belly. The larger female has a browner head and brown underpart streaks and bars. The juvenile has pale fringes to its head feathers, and the underpart background colour is buff rather than white.[2]
The flight is a characteristic "slow flap, slow flap, straight glide", similar to other Accipiter species such as the northern goshawk
The crested goshawk breeds in southern Asia, from India and Sri Lanka to southern China, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is primarily a lowland bird, and an all-year resident. Even in upland habitat it is resident in winter, for example in the Himalayas foothills of Bhutan or in Sal (Shorea robusta) forest in India's Dehradun district. In these lands at the northern end of its range, it is generally very rare however. Essentially it is limited to tropical and warm subtropical areas.[3] In Malaysia and Singapore there is increasing evidence of this species adapting to life in urban centres. [4]
Like its relatives, this secretive forest bird hunts birds, mammals and reptiles in woodland, relying on surprise as it flies from a perch to catch its prey unaware. It builds a stick nest in a tree and lays two or three eggs.[2]
The ischnoceran louse Degeeriella storeri is a parasite of this bird; it is not yet known from any other host species. On the other hand, Kurodaia fulvofasciata, an amblyceran louse parasitizing the crested goshawk, is widely found on birds of prey throughout the Holarctic.[5]
In Hong Kong, A. trivirgatus is a protected species under Wild Animals Protection Ordinance Cap 170. It can be found in Kam Shan Country Park.
I took this photograph on the South Island of New Zealand of two penquins posed in a tender, affectionate manner. Thus, the title, "Penquins in Love."
Thus ends my photographic 2023.
Eno River State Park.
Pentax K-1
SMC Pentax 1:1.8 85mm
Iridient Developer
Last summer, I needed to have some time alone. I needed to drive through the mountains to find myself back. Thus, I decided to drive to the maximum passes above 2000 meters (6000 feets) and shoot what remains the most relaxing place(s) to me: Mountains, Alps...
Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis / Col du Mont Cenis
Savoie (73)
2080 meters.
(Merge of 19 pictures)
On Being Present
3rd December 2007 by Don Iannone
Don’t look back, you’ll only see
A faint, disappearing reality
Your past may beckon, set it free
Things behind you, let them be
Ahead of you, the future lies
Much to come, a surprise
Look ahead, if you will
But careful not, the present kill
Always in the now you are
Dangling even, from afar
Soon enough, the future comes
Now again, it becomes
Time escapes all of us
In between, we are thus
No matter where you are sent
Try your best, be present
Note: Don Iannone is the author of two published poetry books. Stilling the Waters was published in 2005 by Medicine Wheel Publishing, and Walks in Life’s Sacred Garden, which was released in May 2007 by BookSurge (an Amazon.com company).
Gears: Nikon D50 and Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM APO lens
Location: Merang River mouth, Setiu, Terengganu
Processing: Contrasting using Adobe PSCS2, cropped for 6:7 aspect
The sunflower is native to Central America. The evidence thus far is that it was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, present day Mexico, by at least 2600 BC. It may have been domesticated a second time in the middle Mississippi Valley, or been introduced there from Mexico at an early date, as maize was. The earliest known examples of a fully domesticated sunflower north of Mexico have been found in Tennessee, and date to around 2300 BC[citation needed]. Many indigenous American peoples used the sunflower as the symbol of their solar deity, including the Aztecs and the Otomi of Mexico and the Incas in South America. Francisco Pizarro was the first European to encounter the sunflower in Tahuantinsuyo, Peru. Gold images of the flower, as well as seeds, were taken back to Spain early in the 16th century. Some researchers argue that the Spaniards tried to suppress cultivation of the sunflower because of its association with solar religion and warfare.
During the 18th century, the use of sunflower oil became very popular in Europe, particularly with members of the Russian Orthodox Church, because sunflower oil was one of the few oils that was not prohibited during Lent, according to some fasting traditions.