"Outstanding Universal "Value

"Brief synthesis

"Located in the Occitanie region, the Pont du Gard is the major element of a 50.02 km aqueduct built in the middle of the 1st century to supply the city of Nîmes, the ancient Roman colony of Nemausus, from the Eure source located near Uzès. A three-storey aqueduct bridge rising to nearly 48.77 m, it enabled the water conduit to cross the Gardon River.

"This triple bridge, whose longest floor, at the very top of the edifice, measured 360 m, is a feat and a masterpiece of Roman architectural technique, but also a work of art whose presence transfigures the landscape. Set in a natural site that enhances its imposing appearance and its lines of force, the Pont du Gard rests on a rocky base, notched by the river spanned by its major arch. The gentle and symmetrical tapering of the arches, the span of the lower arches and the regularity of the upper gallery give it an extraordinarily airy appearance for a work of such magnitude.

"The Pont du Gard is an outstanding example of bridges built in ancient times. It achieves a triple performance with its three levels of arches of unequal dimensions and is characterized by the use, for the construction of the arches of the lower levels, of juxtaposed rollers composed of voussoirs bearing engraved positioning marks. In the series of Roman aqueducts, this exceptional edifice is the result of an extensive adaptation to the river regime of the Gardon whose floods are sudden and devastating. The lips installed in front of the piers are designed to resist high water, and the opening of the principal lower arch (24.52 m instead of 21.87 m for the arches of the extremes) facilitates the flow of water.

"Built, on the first two levels, of large stone blocks and, at the upper level, of small stone rubble which hold the abutting flagstones of the canal, the Pont du Gard is one of the most revealing monuments as to the construction processes of the early Imperial era. On the dressing of the stone can still be seen the marks of the quarrymen’s and stonecutters’ tools, and sometimes the coding of the stones, with figures and letters, showing their position in the assembly schema. The precision in execution meets to perfection a challenging design, and the Pont du Gard has, ever since the 16th century, been considered as one of the major accomplishments of the Roman civilization.

"Criterion (i): The Pont du Gard is a masterpiece of Roman technique and an outstanding artistic achievement which, by its presence, transfigures the landscape.

"Criterion (iii): An exceptional building in the series of Roman aqueduct works, the Pont du Gard bears unique witness to the technique of Roman engineers and builders in the service of urban and territorial development, which is one of the characteristics of this civilization.

"Criterion (iv): The Pont du Gard is one of the most representative works of the construction processes of the Roman imperial era.

"Integrity

"During the Middle Ages, the ancient structure lost a great number of stones; upstream of the upper arcade, twelve arches have disappeared. It was also during the Middle Ages that the bridge was adapted to the passage of men and beasts: a path was built and the piles of the second level were cut away over half of their thickness, threatening the stability of the edifice. Despite these spoliations, the remarkable state of conservation of the Pont du Gard must be emphasized. In the years 1699-1702, the piers were repaired, and corbels were built at the level of the piers to allow for the passage of the road.

"Finally, in 1746, the construction of a road bridge attached to the first level of the Roman bridge was entrusted to the engineer Henri Pitot, who had the concern to adjust his work as exactly as possible to the ancient bridge.

"Authenticity

"The exceptional ingenuity of the design of the Pont du Gard remains apparent in its slightly curvilinear layout, and the lips installed in front of the piers attest to the efforts made to adapt its construction to the river regime of the Gardon. The property is one with the richest information on the construction processes of the early Roman imperial period as shown by its refined stonework, the assembly of the blocks which still bear the marks of the quarrymen’s and stonecutters’ tools, as well as the coding for assembly. The quarry from which the stones were extracted is preserved some 600 metres from the site.

"The aqueduct of Nîmes ceased to function around the beginning of the 6th century and the Pont du Gard never regained its original use.

"Since the end of the 17th century and up to the present day, the Pont du Gard has been the subject of numerous restoration campaigns which have consecrated it in its splendid isolation as an insignia monument, witness of the Roman civilization. It is located at a distance from the villages that today are home to a population of 4500 inhabitants, and only two buildings were erected in its immediate vicinity in 1865 and 1901: a flour mill turned restaurant on the left bank, and a hotel on the right bank." UNESCO World Heritage Convention Website whc.unesco.org/en/list/344/ on 6 Dec 2023

'There's not a woman turns her face

Upon a broken tree,

And yet the beauties that I loved

Are in my memory;

I spit in the face of time

That has transfigured me.'

W.B. YEATS

Created with Apophysis

michellerobinson.photography

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Procamera, Snapseed, Tadaa SLR, Blur fx, Photofx Ultra, Tangent App, Union App, Image Blender, Stackables App, Mextures, Handy Photo App

Night Photography on the Alps

"I give you the light of Eärendil, our most beloved star. May it be a light for you in dark places, when all other lights go out".

LOTR / Tolkien.

Long exposure taken at Lac Blanchet supérieur (2.810 m), Queyras, France, during a very foggy and cloudy night.

I sat on a rock for over an hour and only a few openings allowed me to see and capture a glimpse of the Milky Way and the constellation Sagittarius, also with its Lagoon Nebula (M8 - NGC 6523), aligned with the pointed north face of the Tête des Toillies (3.177 m). This mountain is located right on the border between Italy and France so it is also known as Roc della Niera.

Thanks to bad weather the entire landscape was transfigured by magic and mystery.

These brief openings in the sky were providing the only light during this time of the night otherwise of pure pitch darkness.

In a muffled atmosphere every single element looked as impalpable, immaterial, as transfigured into a dream... a quality that I've deeply appreciated, which allowed me to get a night shot a bit different from the many I already have :-)

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©Roberto Bertero, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.

When in the moment of inspiration the poet’s creative intelligence is married with the inborn wisdom of human language (the Word of God and Human Nature—Divinity and Sophia) then in the very flow of new and individual intuitions, the poet utters the voice of that wonderful and mysterious world of God-manhood—it is the transfigured, spiritualized and divinized cosmos that speaks through him, and through him utters its praise of the Creator.

-Thomas Merton, Ibid., 20–21; cf. CGB, 11, on wisdom as the attunement of “the divine and cosmic music” within us.

Josephine had already reached for her wand with intentions of transfiguring the cage of the lift in such a way to gain the upper hand against her ‘assailant’ when one his hand released one of her arms. Her plans were however cut short when his now free hand wrapped around her chest and took hold of her face. A low growl of a hum escaped the man as he slowly tugged her further back into the lift.

“Fine… yer a professional.” The Auror smirked as she moved back to his side and relaxed against the wall of the lift. “And now we get the fuck outta here before they notice this is gone-” Like clock work, panicked murmers and yelling began to crescendo from beneath them. The pair exchanged looks and pulled their wands. “Meet ye at home?” A nod from the wolf and the pair was gone in a flash of smoke, apparating to safety.

Special thanks to my the always encouraging and immensely talented Dom for posing with me for this one! Thanks so much bubby! You the best!!

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Before and After

Josephine is a character on Fledge Rock, a Wizarding World themed sim that I own! It’s filled with lots of fun wizardy things and places, as well as many beautifully decorated areas suited for Muggles and is now open for blogging and photography but was originally designed to be a roleplay sim! You can write stories just like this of your own and we’d love to have you! If you’re interested in using our location, whether for blogging, photography or roleplay, feel free to check out our Flickr Group and head to our landing to get information about our Photography Program and Sim!

This choir chapel was changed in 1853. They built a spiral staircase that leads to the upper floor. You can't see it on this photo. They added a door to a bigger choir chapel too and you can't see it here. But there's a small green exit-sign and under it is a door that leads to an outer building called Chapelle des catéchismes, which is or was used in winter and is also called Chapelle d'Hiver (winter chapel). It's a small building and doesn't need much heating. The windows of this choir chapel contain rests of the 13th century windows, that show the life of Mary, mother of Jesus and Saint Leonard of Noblac (died 559 AD). The painting to the left was created in the 18th century and shows the Transfiguration of Jesus (an event where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain).

« Dans le Grand Nord, l’espace absorbe le temps et la matérialise en étendues sublimes. La vastitude transfigure l’être humain en fragment, en tout petit morceau installé dans un temps limité, mais évoluant dans l’éternité d’une perspective à perte de vue. » (M.O.)

new website : this, random, RSS | random Flickr | © David Farreny.

Excerpt from the plaque:

Biorhythms by Katherine Kennedy is a video from Kennedy’s ongoing series Invasive Species (2019-ongoing). This body of work interrogates the ideas of escapism often used by tourists and the nostalgia sometimes projected by diasporic communities onto the Caribbean landscape. By transfiguring these shells with synthetic materials, Kennedy creates a gaudy, fantasy world full of both beauty and farce to ask what an escape looks like for someone entrenched in the realities of this region. Can the Caribbean’s beauty be enjoyed or celebrated, while also problematizing its exploitation of the Caribbean and pushing back against a one-dimensional reading of this space? Biorhythms also addresses expectations of life cycles and natural beauty, with the decorated shells becoming animated only when covered in synthetic material. It offers a somewhat ironic depiction of how decay works in this fictional environment, as the shells become still and lifeless after reverting to their natural states.

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Years ago I started to wonder: "why reaching the top of many peaks if, in the end, I can not live fully the mountain in all it has to offer?".

From that moment my priority has been to experience the mountain for what else it can offer than the "normality"... far away from the quest for the classic "sunny days".

In fact the mountain shows its true soul when the sun is low on the horizon, when the mists rise, when the weather gets worse, when unthinkable light situations occur... behold, in those moments I began to discover what I would have never imagined and what really matters was before my eyes :-)

Here you can see the Vajolet Towers, located in the heart of the Rosengarten, Dolomites, transfigured by the fog during the blue hour.

A vision that, certainly, might not reflect the everyone's desire of "take a hike in the mountains", but that fully represents my research of places and situations objectively particular, out of the norm.

_____________________

©Roberto Bertero, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.

Closer view of a previous location.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=J56VVtlZCGE

OMNIA - Fee Ra Huri

Planificando mis periplos

Las etapas de ocio vacacional, de findes de buen tiempo, son períodos que me rentan júbilo, diversión y me "infringen" un ascenso de adrenalina tal, provocado por las emociones de preparar una expedición a veces transfigurada o mutada en odisea, que genera la alegría ineludible de reunir confraternizando a las personas que me acompañan en mis periplos, y nos permiten trazar un recorrido planificado lleno de sorpresas, mientras compartimos unas cerves, risas y buena música.

Planning my journeys

The stages of holiday leisure, weekend good weather, are periods that I rejoice, amusement and I "infringe" a rise of adrenaline such, caused by the emotions of preparing an expedition sometimes transfigured or mutated in odyssey, which it generates the inescapable joy of gathering fraternizing the people that accompany me in my journeys, and they allow us to trace a planned route full of surprises, while we share a few beers, laughs and good music.

Planifier mes voyages

Les étapes de loisirs de vacances, de beau temps week-end, sont des périodes de joie, d’amusement et «d’infraction» contre une montée d’adrénaline telle, provoquée par les émotions de préparer une expédition parfois transfigurée ou mutée en odyssée, qui cela engendre la joie inéluctable de rassembler les gens qui m'accompagnent dans mes voyages et nous permet de tracer un itinéraire planifié plein de surprises, tout en partageant quelques bières, des rires et de la bonne musique.

Pianificazione dei miei viaggi

Le fasi del tempo libero di vacanza, il bel tempo del fine settimana, sono periodi che mi rallegro, divertono e "infrango" un aumento di adrenalina tale, causato dalle emozioni di preparare una spedizione a volte trasfigurata o mutata in odissea, che genera l'ineluttabile gioia di riunire fraternizzando le persone che mi accompagnano nei miei viaggi, e ci permettono di tracciare un percorso pianificato pieno di sorprese, mentre condividiamo qualche birra, risate e buona musica.

María

Upward vertical movement.

Eden - Hooverphonic

Explore 23

DIGITAL CAMERA Da Light of merriment n Joy will Fade due to BETA BONNER V1.01

Get up..

Light is fading..

Get up...

Was the world this soundless..?

Please just get up....

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Clemmm - Run Down Bloody Hands.

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(Skirt edited)

-6. duckie . the naiad (Gacha)

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-(Fundati) Fireweed Grass.

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-{anc} flower wind.

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CURELESS[+] Lepidoptera Mesh Butterflies.

Avent : parcours et fin.

Nativité de Notre Seigneur.

Temps de Noël...suit....

A minuit a eu lieu la grande messe, avec tous ses chants, ses beaux textes, la lumière des cierges.

Le jour commence à MINUIT cette nuit-là.

Jésus l'a institué.

Après le long travail d'accouchement de Marie, sa fatigue, c'est "la délivrance".

Le mot que l'on retrouve dans toutes les cliniques de maternité vient sans doute de là.

Voici le calme et l'apaisement revenus.

Jésus est langé couché sur un lit de paille fraîche, tout le monde se repose,

Marie veille calmement et avec un si grand amour sur son divin Fils, qu'elle expose déjà, aux premiers visiteurs.

Ils sont bergers, ils ont reconnu l'étoile annonçant la Grande Nouvelle.

"Un enfant nous est né, couché dans une crèche, son nom est Emmanuel "Dieu avec nous".

C'est le Dieu qui sauve.

Il est bon de méditer, l'intériorité de Marie, son silence et comme elle garde tout dans son coeur.

C'est l'attitude intérieure.

Toute mère est en adoration devant son enfant à peine né.

Marie plus encore ressent, voit en même temps :

son fils, son enfant, le don divin que Dieu lui a fait, pour Elle.

Et cette promesse du même Dieu qui se réalise vraiment, là, dans la grotte, en cette aurore extraordinaire.

Marie la représente par sa personne :

"Aurore nouvelle" retrouvée dans ses litanies.

Il est dit dans l'Evangile

"Marie retenait tout dans son coeur".

Imitons Là.

Demandons à l'Esprit Saint, Esprit de Noël par excellence à garder en toutes circonstances,

de prendre ,chacun, un temps spécial, Dieu nous y aidera, aux fins d'intérioriser et réaliser consciemment quels sont les évènements dans nos vie, où un petit Dieu naît et nous fait renaître en cela.

Faisons-nous cette promesse pour ce Noël.

Et tenons-la.

Notre coeur retenant tout, nous ne l'oublierons jamais.

Et toute notre existence en sera transfigurée.

Bon et Saint Noël à tous les amis Flickr, visiteurs, suivants.

Que Jésus les bénisse, les illumine, les conduise et qu'Il change leur coeur, en faisant une demeure pour LUI.

Merci pour les fidèles, ceux qui lisent les textes, ceux qui suivent point par point, ceux qui m'ont pris dans leurs contacts.

Bien amicalement à eux.

There are a number of picnic tables scattered around this end of the lake. There's a put in and an incredibly large parking lot. Mostly the area is used for fishing, but I will often take lunch here.

I've also taken photos here for years. One of my first rolls shot in eastern Washington used this location.

Over the last decade, they've replaced the tabletop which was rotting out and a bench where they had been none.

The park is well maintained, but very short staffed. There's not much work to be done, really. Not that it's an easy task, of course. The work to do there is hard work.

But it's one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I know it's not the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. The beauty is subtle. It's a lived in sort of beauty.

It's the kind of beauty that requires solitude. The beauty might not exists if it were heavily trafficked. The roads would need to be paved and widened to accommodate buses and RVs. And the beauty of spring mornings walking the faint trace of coyote paths might dissipate if they were transfigured into well-maintained hiking trails and a line of cars waiting at the trailhead.

I realize this is a selfish love - even more selfish that love often is. But here is my church, my religion, my faith, and I have never been an evangelist.

.

.

.

'Placement'

Camera: Ansco Color Clipper

Film: Vericolor III; x-04/1996

Process: DIY ECN-2

Washington

April 2024

where it lay spread beneath their loving gaze

transfigured, glowing to an amber blaze

poured forth from out the incandescent west...

Mathilde Blind

Created with jWildfire

It's not so much that morning started late,

later than usual

yes, faith will I, Friday's and Saturday's and all

and this quote, though unusual,

fits the movement of mood as it shifts to recall

a spellbound night, over hills of dreams in flight

dark it must be said, hears best of all

through it's pitched colour one is pierced

no sooner bought than ready to forestall

all of life's fluidity sluiced

now sullen lowland mists offer-up

this foretaste of autumnally-wished reticence

for the operatic needle marking a question

it's blood answering...to no less than advertence

under the cloak of anaesthetised profession

where hope is coldest and despair most fits

it was said for comedy's stage

yet tragedy feels closer and covers my skin

with that slice of fear turning the sharpened page

I no longer know which drama I am in

another chapter is almost out...of candlelight

the one that foretells the dead of night

flickering my mind's shadow 'pon the ceiling

that transfiguring thunderstorm conducting an inner fight

for all it awakens is the vigour it is stealing

now wax gives way to moonlight

a teacup in the atmosphere of the dream that sips

the translucent illumination of what's the matter

disablement now throes a daily eclipse

so you see, greyed is my view from hopes spinal shatter

it can no longer stand, no, no longer stand at all

routine? if it exists, acts the reaping thresher

beating-out my very will, thrashing my last bet

gee-gee power let down badly by diastolic pressure

this hell sure is making me sweat

now a genderless air thins till my breathing can marry it no more

gasping rings too expensive to inhale

every exhalation is pricelessly free yet bankrupt

all at the expense of a heart beating to no obvious avail

where does it end? when the penny drops, it's truth is so abrupt.

by anglia24

11h30: 05/09/2008

©2008anglia24

DOCK

A dock leaf in downland

Transfigured by sun

Becomes an ascension window,

A collage of lights,

Chloroplast-coloured,

Leaded and held

By a tracery of veins.

Some will turn crimson

As any Chagall, livid

Pointillisms of stain.

Insect-masons chip

At the tracery, mandibles

Champing, invading the green

With pinholes of sky.

Were I a window-maker, I

Would glaze my muse in green,

A nettle clutched unflinching

In her left hand; a dock leaf

In her other, her lips a pout

Preparing to spit on my livid

Skin: the rash she has inflicted.

Source material: The use of a dock-leaf as a means of bringing relief from a nettle sting is perhaps the most widespread and well known of all herbal remedies. The more traditional remedy involved spitting on the sting first: a practice which is indeed efficacious, as the enzymes in saliva stimulate the anti-inflammatory properties of the plant. See Gabriel Hatfield, Hatfield’s Herbal: The Curious Stories of Britain’s Wild Plants, 2007. Poem by Giles Watson, 2009.

The moon above the eastern wood

Shone at its full; the hill-range stood

Transfigured in the silver flood,

Its blown snows flashing cold and keen,

Dead white, save where some sharp ravine

Took shadow, or the sombre green

Of hemlocks turned to pitchy black

Against the whiteness at their back.

For such a world and such a night

Most fitting that unwarming light,

Which only seemed where’er it fell

To make the coldness visible.

-- John Greenleaf Whittier

"Secrets,

I bring them in a little golden trunk

Well kept

Lest they be proclaimed

Lest my adulterers be adulterers.

In pronouncing them

Do not let my eyes rush

To publish them

Secrets,

I know them whole

As obsolete as the bell

What do I see in prison?

It is in the brilliant ink that flows from the pen

What a haul on the white leaf

In an uncertain dose

Remains of my secrets

I move and shake the golden chest

In the salivating expectation that they awaken

And with a desire to fly intensified

Acquire wings and, flying, disintegrate

Or, go out through the half-open door

Follow life (or what is left of it)

Maybe, transfigured into colorful butterflies, That fly without strings.."

“Houses, gardens, and people were transfigured into musical sounds, all that was solid seemed to be transfigured into soul and into gentleness. Sweet veils of silver and soul-haze swam through all things and lay over all things. The soul of the world had opened, and all grief, all human disappointment, all evil, all pain seemed to vanish, from now on never to appear again."

- Robert Walser

When someone sneakily transfigures your umbrella.

A poem by Richard Dehmel 1863-1920 and a soundscape of the same name by Arnold Schoenberg 1874-1951.

Banbury and Cheltenham Railway bridge at Little Herbert's Lane, Charlton Kings.

Today country life is a trend. The media put country life into a wonderful scene and transfigure it often into something very romantic. Happy animals, pretty villages and stylish decorations characterize the image. Happy, who grew up in such places or at least was able to spend his holidays here. I also enjoyed my holidays in villages when I was a child. We children enjoyed great freedom, could lightheartedly walk through meadows and fields, and the huge adventure playground nature was right outside the front door. Therefore parents did not have to worry because life in the village was well protected. However, the close proximity to the neighbors not only had advantages. The well-functioning bush telegraph transported the most embarrassing stories like a wildfire through the village. Often the parents already knew what trick we had played to the neighbor or all the other things we had done secretly hidden behind hedges. The first cigarette, the first kiss - hardly anything was a secret in the village.

It was a beautiful life … this is what we thought! But in reality, country life still means hard work, even if machinery and technical equipment in many areas replace manual labor. Not a long time ago three out of four people were living in villages and worked hard in family farms. Today, only about three percent of the population is engaged in agriculture. Industrialization and technological progress have changed the work environments and lifestyles. Machines replace humans, subsistence farmers become consumers and traditional occupations are disappearing. But despite all this progress, we should never forget where our roots come from!

I want to thank all very much for your "views", "Comments" and "Favourites" :-) The only thing that matters is that you have joy in this photo. Again, thank you :-)

Fundenhall, Norfolk.

Time has transfigured them into

Untruth. The stone fidelity

They hardly meant has come to be

Their final blazon, and to prove

Our almost-instinct almost true:

What will survive of us is love.

Philip Larkin, An Arundel Tomb

You can also find out more about Fundenhall.

"One spring morning I went out early. The fields were greening, the birds were singing, the dew glistening…. There fell on everything a transfiguring light; it was only a tiny fraction of the earth, only a tiny moment of its existence and yet as I comprised more and more in the range of my vision, it seemed to me not only so beautiful but so true and so evident that it is an angel, so rich and fresh and blooming, and at the same time so stable and unified, moving in the heavens, turning wholly towards heaven its animated face and bearing me with it to that same heaven—so beautiful and so true that I wondered how men’s notions could be so perverted as to see in the earth only a dry clod, and to seek for angels apart from earth and stars or above them in the vacant heaven, and never find them." ~ Gustav Fechner (pioneering psychologist)

Shot taken from the frozen highlands of the Mont-Cenis (France) during a particularly cold and windy day.

Not much to see here... anyhow it's a totally minimalist landscape, completely transfigured in the grip of the cold... certainly something different, alternative, if compared to the urban structures to which we humans are accustomed :-)

_____________________

©Roberto Bertero, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.

berteroroberto.pixu.com/

Marching Insults.

Смущения удивительные доски неравные меры конечная судьба поэт тропы изгнание палаты паразиты болезни забытые шипы колючая проволока полки,

étapes créatives associations uniques transfigurer l'audace étudier les lois coins vagues visages pompeux discours non parlementaires lutte contre les institutions profondeurs silencieuses termes de navigation visions inquiétantes faits techniques problèmes absolus intellectuels exigeants discussions individuelles,

διαφορετικές απόψεις εικονομαχία εκφράσεις αντιθέσεις περιφρονώντας την επιτυχία εκδοτική κατάσταση βασικές τέχνες περιοδικά μέρες έξυπνες λεπτές στροφές,

habiti psychosis sensuum dispersorum privati obtrectatorum fragmentaria referuntur significantia loca conclusiones inimicorum inducens instar paginarum independentium,

素早い言葉おしゃべり世界狂気の這う刺激的な詩の過剰ダンス無制限の想像力コミック自然のフルミネーション熱狂的な欲望が無尽蔵に行進している.

Steve.D.Hammond.

LINCOLN CATHEDRAL UNVEILED A SIGNIFICANT NEW SCULPTURE AS PART OF A MAJOR RE-ORDERING PROCESS DESIGNED TO DEEPEN THE EXPERIENCE OF PILGRIMS AND VISITORS.

The 7ft tall stone sculpture of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in whose name the historic Cathedral is dedicated, is one of the largest works commissioned by the Dean and Chapter since The Reformation. It was dedicated by the Bishop of Lincoln, the Rt Revd Christopher Lowson, during Solemn Evensong on Saturday May 31, the Feast of the Visitation.

This work is part of the re-ordering process that has been undertaken by the Cathedral to draw both pilgrim and visitor into a deeper awareness of the life and work of the Cathedral and the ministry it exercises. The commission was undertaken by the renowned liturgical artist Aidan Hart who has works in more than 20 countries of the world, including within many cathedrals and monasteries. Mr Hart, from Shrewsbury Shropshire, has been a professional icon painter and carver for over 25 years. He is an ordained Reader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Britain. His aim, in accordance with the Byzantine icon tradition, is to make liturgical art that manifests the world transfigured in Christ.

It has taken him over three years to complete from original concept. He has continued to work on it inside the Cathedral over the past week, adding colour to the stone in a process called polychroming, using traditional egg tempera with natural earth and stone pigments

The Sculpture of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln

Weighing 1.5 tonnes, the sculpture has been carved, largely by hand, from an original three-tonne block of limestone donated by Great Ponton Quarry in Lincolnshire. Measuring 1.97 metres high (6ft 4ins) and set upon a 20cm high plinth, bringing it to a height of around 7ft, the sculpture depicts the Virgin seated with Christ surrounded by a vesica, representing his divinity. The drapery is strongly influenced by Romanesque carving found elsewhere in the Cathedral.

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-[CX] Crucifix Corridor(Edited)

We must come in or go out. All the way in-where the fire is and the sacrificial lovers are all aglow with the Spirit. Remember Dom Marmion, a renowned Benedictine abbot and spiritual writer? He said the difference between the Saints and the rest of us is that they plunge boldly and daringly into the fire of God’s love and come out burned but incandescently and utterly transfigured. We put our little finger in, get slightly burned, and spend the rest of our days circling the fire at a niminy-piminy gait, far enough away never to be burned again but close enough to be warmed by it. Such lukewarmness and mediocrity even Jesus could not stomach.

-William McNamara OCD, The Human Adventure: Contemplation for Everyman

Homily080423_18thOT

Today, if you feel like I do, that we are surrounded, except when when we are together, by individuals that have no use or interest in Jesus Christ. Recently, I was asked by a very close relative, why I believed in such stuff? We were interrupted before I had a chance to respond. But the question, has caused me to deeply reflect on possible answers. Today, in our Gospel reading, we had the opportunity to hear about the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Our gospel acclamation states the purpose of the transfiguration quite clearly: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” So, we listen to Him. Listening, implies a deep and mature relationship with Jesus…and a love between us that motivates us to be like HIM. My answer to my loved one, would obviously include Jesus Christ, my guide, my companion, and friend. Who are they listening too?

This seems like a very difficult task for many of our peers. Recently, I was listening to a popular podcast, where an educated young woman had become disillusioned with her faith. She proudly stated that she was deconstructing her faith. Eventually, she chose a career as a spiritual director, where she gladly supports others in the process of deconstructing. She strongly avoids the name of Jesus Christ in her own spiritual journey and practice in helping others. She stated quite simply that too many people have been harmed by others under the banner of HIS name. It made me wonder who she is listening too now?

This reminds me of a similar situation in scripture: found in John chapter 6. Where Jesus is preaching about the Bread from Heaven-the Eucharist. He is equating that the bread is his body. “So Jesus said to them Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (53) ) “After this saying many of his disciples drew back and no longer walked with him.” Who were they going to listening too now? I thought!

Jesus then responds with a heart wrenching question to his twelve disciples: will you also go away? Peters' response is beautiful stated “Lord to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Because we are sitting and kneeling in our beloved church...we have a similar response…like Peter, James and John at the transfiguration event…we have the attitude that…it is very good to be here. This is where we listen to Him.

What are the benefits of listening to Jesus? Anastasius of Sinai, in his homily on the feast of the transfiguration in the 7th century states what we receive, beautifully:

“Therefore, since each of us possesses God in his heart and is being transformed into his divine image, we also should cry out with joy: It is good for us to be here—here where all things shine with divine radiance, where there is joy and gladness and exultation; where there is nothing in our hearts but peace, serenity and stillness, where God is seen. For here, in our hearts, Christ takes up his abode together with the Father, saying as he enters: Today salvation has come to this house. With Christ, our hearts receive all the wealth of his eternal blessings, and there where they are stored up for us in him, we see reflected as in a mirror both the first fruits and the whole of the world to come.” (End quote)

Peter, James and John had the awe-inspiring encounter with the transfigured Jesus, and it strengthened their faith for the purpose of sharing “the light” with the world. They had to come down from the mountain and face the complexity of a messy world. They did!

To change is painful. To be a Christian, a follower of Christ means that we have a deep bond with HIM. All relationships that are worthwhile, require us to adjust our lives accordingly. The purpose of our church…is to help form us into being a light for the world. Our transformation takes a lifetime, and this transformation requires us to listen to our conscience… for this is how we are guided in every moment and decision we make. When we receive the light of the world in the Eucharist, we are challenged to take this light, as it is reflected in our acts of kindness, into a dark and divided world.

Now let us prepare to meet Him in the Eucharist! Are we listening for HIS quiet voice within our hearts?

Man cannot do without beauty, and this is what our era pretends to want to disregard. It steels itself to attain the absolute and authority; it wants to transfigure the world before having exhausted it, to set it to rights before having understood it. Whatever it may say, our era is deserting this world ~ Albert Camus.

La cupola è opera del padre teatino Guarino Guarini, architetto, insigne matematico e uno dei massimi esponenti del Barocco europeo. Egli partendo dal progetto dell'architetto Bernardino Quadri sviluppò una struttura a torre che trasfigurava l'interno della cappella. Modificato il piano di imposta, innalzò un tamburo alleggerito da sei alti finestroni con sostegni attraversati da una galleria che consentiva di incanalare pesi e spinte della cupola sulle murature esterne. La cupola è una spettacolare impalcatura di sei giri di archi sovrapposti. Questa struttura voltata, completata nel 1683, prende la forma di un canestro rovesciato illusoriamente verso l'alto, dove sospesa a mezz'aria una grande stella lapidea a 12 punte, avente al centro la colomba dello Spirito Santo, filtra la luce proveniente dalla lanterna.

The dome is the work of the Theatine father Guarino Guarini, architect, illustrious mathematician and one of the greatest exponents of European Baroque. Starting from the project of the architect Bernardino Quadri, he developed a tower structure that transfigured the interior of the chapel. Having modified the tax plan, he erected a drum lightened by six tall windows with supports crossed by a gallery which allowed the weights and thrusts of the dome to be channeled onto the external walls. The dome is a spectacular scaffolding of six overlapping arches. This vaulted structure completed in 1683, takes the shape of a basket illusorily overturned upwards, where suspended in mid-air, a large 12-pointed stone star filters the light coming from the lantern, where the dove of the Holy Spirit stands out.

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Certains artistes de cette galerie doivent peut-être se demander pourquoi j’utilise plus souvent des focales variables (Zooms) plutôt que des optiques fixes sensées apporter une qualité supérieure aux clichés(!) ?

D’abord, parlons un peu de ce que pensent « les puristes » !

Avec une optique fixe, le photographe doit se déplacer et ainsi peut chercher le meilleur angle pour son cliché !

A cela je répondrai qu’effectivement cela peut être efficace mais question de rapidité, on risque de passer à côté du « bon moment » qui en général ne se représentera plus !

L’objectif fixe est plus léger, a souvent une plus grande ouverture et surtout est moins cher à l’achat qu’un Zoom !

Beaucoup de photographes pensent que les longues focales des zooms sont réservées au sport ou à la photo animalière, pèsent des « tonnes » et coutent un « rein » !

Les zooms ont une remarquable polyvalence et s’avèrent intéressants aussi bien en portrait pour des cadrages serrés, en paysage pour compresser les perspectives, pour avoir un très joli flou d’arrière-plan et si la distance minimale

le permet, de capturer fleurs et insectes …

Quant au poids, il a beaucoup été réduit avec l’évolution du zoom et des téléobjectifs !

Il en est de même pour son encombrement !

Le budget est plus élevé !

Il y a maintenant sur le marché des zooms et téléobjectifs qualitatifs et qui ne sont plus « hors de prix » !!!

Ce qui n’est absolument pas négligeable non plus, c’est le fait de partir faire son shooting avec un seul objectif et ne pas devoir s’affubler d’un sac à dos pour y mettre deux ou trois objectifs !

Bref, ceci n’est pas une déclaration d’amour pour les zooms (grand angle ou téléobjectifs) mais si vous n’avez jamais testé ce matos, procurez-vous en un et vous verrez que votre pratique photo en sera « transfigurée » !

Pour moi, ils s’avèrent, très souvent, être de précieux alliés en photo de rue où l’on peut mettre l’emphase sur un élément bien précis du cadre !!!

Ceci dit, à chacun ses manies et sa façon de photographier !

Bon dimanche les artistes et évidemment ... A+

PdF

Another long, boring week gave Stormtrooper Bruce the motivation he needed to really spruce things up for Movie Night. Although not everything went exactly as planned, STB hopes the guys will at least try to work with his improvisions.

TK-432: Dude! After last weekend's horrorfest, you could not have chosen a better theme to make amends. I'm still having nightmares.

STB: Well, guys, allow me to explain a few things. As you have already guessed this weekend's theme, I wanted to immerse us a little deeper into the wizarding world.

TK-NuB: Wow! I'm so glad my shift ended in time to make it here. This is awesome!

TK-1110: Just wait for it. Dude here, likes to go overboard whenever possible! He's probably about to blow your mind!

STB: Well, thank you for that! I hope I won't disappoint. As there are four of us, obviously we needed to be sorted into our own house. So, as the banner on the wall says, we are in Hippogriff, and this is our Common Room!

TK-432: Well done!

STB: And then, I went to the P's Petting Zoo Gift Shop and got us our own Hedwig, Scabbers, Crookshanks and Trevor! And no worries, they won't bite. I already took out their batteries!

TK-432: Um, that cat is not Crookshanks, but I think I like this one better.

STB: Then he's yours. And as there were no Crookshanks lookalikes in the gift shop, let's just pretend I did the Transfiguration spell on him, and leave it at that!

TK-NuB: Well, I love Trevor!

TK-1110: Guess that leaves Scabbers for me. Um, not too thrilled, but never mind. Let's get this weekend started! I'm starved! Restart the movie and then turn down the lights. Oh, but before you do, can you move that keg of Butterbeer a little closer?

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Viewing Large is always fun. Just click on the image.

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Camera: Olympus E P1

Lens: Body Cap Olympus 9 mm lens.

Cryo Unit: The Threat of Failure is Terrifying

The 'stop and revive' protocol had been a calculated risk, a desperate measure against the debilitating toll of the journey. We had acquired the cryo unit with the understanding that only one could fit at a time, a solitary refuge against the ravages of deep space. Now, the automated systems inside my metallic glass cocoon diligently delivered the de-radiation, de-adenosine, and prolactin/melatonin boost, a biochemical symphony designed to reset and restore. Yet, a disquieting sense of unease, a low thrum against the rising tide of artificial serenity, persisted.

Outside the reinforced unit, the light swirled, no longer a mere chaotic symphony but an unfolding narrative. Golden filaments, alive with an almost organic glow, intertwined and stretched, promising an impossible beauty. Fading crimson hues bled into this nascent tapestry, hints of an encroaching darkness. It was as if a Pre-Raphaelite dream, all ethereal beauty and romantic ideal, was transfiguring before my eyes into a dystopian reality, a horrifyingly beautiful landscape of cosmic decay. The revival, it seemed, was not to be a gentle awakening into a familiar world, but a re-entry into a realm that defied all logical expectation. My gut, that irrational oracle, tightened. The stop had offered no true reprieve; the revive, no true restoration. Only this terrifying, exquisite transformation.

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One heck of a day.

I thought it'd be easy going once we settled here at the landing pad.

But boy, was I wrong.

The comms bustled with screams and yells of anguish and agony.

"AHHHHH!!!! We-w-we can't-- It's coming to fast---- it's hopele-- AAAAAHHH-"

AAAAAAAARRRRRGGHHggghhhhh."

It was too much.

All the joy had been sucked out of us.

Somewhere was an evil foe too cruel to imagine.

Why--

[EXPLOSION]

Silence.

Void.

Emptiness.

And, then like turtles, team emerged out from their shells.

[CT-2471]|Tango|:"Well, I can still dance." (Chuckles)

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"Dance-boy?"

[CS-1742]|Sabre|:"Well I'm fine, thanks for asking."

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"Sabre?."

[CS-1742]|Sabre|:"The one and only." (laughs)

[CT-1274]|Fuse|:"Man, it seems like for every boom I give, the Seps just gotta keep competing with meh."

[CL-4712]|Havoc:" (chokingly) But,Y-y-ya, ya just can't let 'em win, now can ya?".[CT-1274]|Fuse|:"You got that right Sir."

Wait.

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"Where's Ratchet"?

.[CT-1274]|Fuse|:Geez sir, I'm afraid I don't know.

I heard something.

What was that?

There, yes right there...

A moan.

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"Ratchet!"

There he was, leaning against the towers base like a shattered doll.

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"Are you alright"?

[CT-2471]|Tango|:"Vital signs are stable, Sir."

[CT- 7215]|Hatchet|:"I.... I-I think I've just gone and broken me leg."

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"Definitely."

[CT- 7215]|Hatchet|:"Nah, Tis but a scratch. Let me-- get.... up.." ( tumbles)

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"Easy thar Private, Easy now."

[CT- 7215]|Hatchet|:"HA! I got all of y'all!"

[CS-1742]|Sabre|:"When we get back to HQ, I will personally beat you up."

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"If there were a lower rank I'd demote you right now for scaring the living daylights out of me."

[CT- 7215]|Hatchet|:"(Chuckles) Sorry sir, I just had to."

[CS-1742]|Sabre|:"Well, we're alive."

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"And that's what matters."

That was too close for comfort.

And here he was.

"(Weakly) Well if it isn't Hotshot Havoc Havoc." (Chuckles)

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"We meet again, Corny Cod."

"Argh.... what happened?"

[CL-4712]|Havoc:"Hell broke loose."

"You can say that again."

[CL-4712]|Havoc:You gone solo?"

Oh, firefek. My squad... they're here. Somewhere. I gotta, I just gotta- get up.... (falls)

[CL-4712]|Havoc:Cod, it's alright. Believe me, I know. We'll find them.

I helped him up as we began searching for his team.

Victorious.

//////END LOG\\\\\\