The best way to end a day of shooting is to go on yet another calf-burning hike. This was exactly what Aaron and I decided to do for our last shoot of the day. After a grueling morning to Eagle Creek, Mossy Grotto, and Oneonta Gorge, we took a much needed lunch break consisting of famous giant ice cream cones of Cascade Locks. Once recharged, we headed across the border over to Washington for Spirit Falls.

Still feeling the aftermath burning sensation from all the uphill climbing in the morning, dropping down and climbing up a steep 500ft was the perfect medicine. Terence informed us about the “butt-sliding” portion at the beginning of the hike. To avoid sliding down uncontrollably Aaron unleased his secret weapon: a professional climbing rope consisting of thin rope tied in the middle. Despite using this sketchy rope we managed to make it down the slide portion with no troubles. A short while later we made it down to the viewing platform.

Aaron and I began staring at each other wondering where the ideal shooting spot was located. Going back and forth we couldn’t seem to get any lower before we finally figured out where we needed to climb down. From up above it looked difficult but in actuality it was rather benign. Of all the waterfalls we visited this weekend, Spirit was clearly the most impressive in terms of sheer power and water flow. The rare Pacific Northwest blue skies also helped enhance the naturally blue colored water.

Sony A7r

EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II

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Love

Has a way of wilting

Or blossoming

At the strangest,

Most unpredictable hour.

This is how love is,

An uncontrollable beast

In the form of a flower.

The sun does not always shine on it.

Nor does the rain always pour on it

Nor should it always get beaten by a storm.

Love does not always emit the sweetest scents,

And sometimes it can sting with its thorns.

Water it.

Give it plenty of sunlight.

Nurture it,

And the flower of love will

Outlive you.

Neglect it or keep dissecting it,

And its petals will quickly curl up and die.

This is how love is,

Perfection is a delusional vision.

So love the person who loves you

Unconditionally,

And abandon the one

Who only loves you

Under favorable

Conditions.

________Suzy Kassem_________

Fire is a persistent, almost uncontrollable element. Humans believe we have mastered the danger, but massive forest fires say otherwise. Do we try to prevent and worsen natural fires or let them burn without stopping them?

Size: 20 x 24 inches

paintings for sale: www.shawnshawn.co

Newsletter: www.shawnshawn.co/contact.html

Code: MM06188

Art of the Real

Forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that makes you smile.

15/54.

Inspired by uncontrollable things and losing yourself.

It feels good to create something really meaningful again. I feel like for awhile I wasn't creating with much emotional input as I did in the past, so it feels great to feel familiar and connected with my work again. I hope I can really start improving on this as an artist, and that it will start to translate through my work more clearly.

Honestly, this is best viewed large :)

Please "like" my photography page if you enjoy my work! Jake Hegel Photography

Deviantart

Tumblr

Formspring

It could be a room full of people, you still on my side

Look at how the whole world is searching, but I got mine

It's emotional, uncontrollable, all I think about is you

So if the tears wanna flood in my gates

Let the water flow

Just let it fall out, out from my face

I never thought I'd ever hear me say

I just can't breathe without my baby

View On Black

Erik is 6. Can I get a boo and a hoo now? He's got attitude that's for sure. Well, of course, because of his disorder, diagnosed as lisaDNA, he's got AN attitude. Symptoms of this disorder is uncontrollable talking, stubborness, incredible intelligence (hahaha) and ultimately being right 99% of the time. If you find a cure for this let me know. I'll use it on him..for me, it's a hopeless case. LOL

Oh..and I've missed all of you these past few weeks!

If you find yourself standing atop the Fire Wave in Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park during an explosive sunset like this one, you might just be filled with the uncontrollable urge to yell out "Hallelujah!"

Only an hour away from Las Vegas, this park is terribly underrated by many but after a recent visit, I think it has an incredible amount of potential...kind of like Antelope Canyon was 20 years ago.

This is a 7 stop HDR processed in NIK. There was no way to control the dynamic range with a single image...and seven stops barely did it!

Enjoy it before it gets really famous and the place is packed with busloads of tourists!

Jeff

My Website ¦ My Blog ¦ Google+¦ Facebook

Detail of a theater poster for Death in Venice, a coproduction of the International Theater Amsterdam, directed by Ivo ten Hove, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, directed by David Robertson, in spring last year.

"Thomas Mann is thirty-six when he meets a young man during a holiday in Venice. The event inspires him to write one of his most famous works, Death in Venice. In it, writer Gustav von Aschenbach falls in love with young Tadzio, who is spending his holiday at the Lido together with his mother. His fascination is so severe, he underestimates the danger of the cholera epidemic in the city. His intense and uncontrollable infatuation leads to his mental and physical downfall."

More on tga.nl/en/productions/dood-in-venetie

A beautiful short clip: youtu.be/RW6nEGYqRzs

A strange feeling floods over me when he looks into my eyes.

An uncontrollable smile invades my lips.

I look away because I’m afraid he’s looking into my soul,

reading my mind and judging my mistakes.

He holds my chin and gently makes me look into his eyes.

His face becomes concentrated.

I stare into his eyes and wait.

…

He smiles and kisses me lightly with his soft lips.

I smiles and continue to stare into his beautiful eyes.

He lays back and I snuggle up next to him as he puts his arms around me.

He pulls me close and whispers

“I Love You…”

©

In Iceland, if there's something you should know about road conditions, it's that if the road is open, you should be able to drive through it, no matter what car you're driving, unless noticed otherwise.

Personnaly, I was driving a Nissan Micra, the smallest, cheapest car I could find, and the first time I was driving a manual car since getting my license back in 2000.

I took the Micra anywhere I could. Most roads were open except for the mountain roads going to the middle of the island, so I could go anywhere a 4x4 would also be allowed too.

So I wasn't tense getting onto road 917. That changed.

From the distance, at some point, I could see it was going uphill. That wasn't my first time.

This time, though, the road was so steep that even in 1st gear, I had a hard time climbing.

On top on that, there was tons of gravels on the gravel road so my wheels would sometimes spin uncontrollably.

On top of that, the road was so narrow and so without barriers that eveytime the spinning happened, there was a chance I would practice car diving.

On top of that, if I stopped, I was never going to start again.

So it was a true relief when I could find an area somehow flat to take a break, a shot, and a cigarette, so I could focus, astounded, on all the sorts of terrain I had in front of my eyes.

"A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor." Unknown.

Coast photography is fraught with difficulties. The sand that sneaks through each slit of the gear and can scratch our precious lenses, the wind that threatens to fall the tripod, the waves that uncontrollably break against the rocks where we stand, water in suspension that dirties filters and lenses, and so on. But it still offers such magical possibilities that it is difficult to resist.

In the province of Cádiz we have the wonderful "Costa de la Luz". When I returned here a few months ago to dedicate myself to photography, I did it with the idea of ​​immortalizing the most incredible places of our mountains as well as our coast. Normally I go alone to photograph, but this day I was fortunate to be accompanied by the nature photographer Reklu Fernández. I could not imagine that in the best moment of the sunset we would be surrounded by a group of about ten "guys" who looked us defiantly. At first we thought we were going to suffer an assault, but after deciding to leave the place with relative ease and check that they were not following us, we came to the conclusion that their intentions were different. It is really sad to know that our coast is dangerous during the winter because the drug traffic is not controlled enough. I would like my photos to attract visitors to our province, but I am obliged to warn that at twilight it is better to avoid parts of the coast where you can find yourself alone. We left quickly and nothing happened. We will return in summer when the coast will be full of tourists and there will be more security. We will not give up taking more photos on the coast.

-------------------------------

"Ningún mar en calma hizo experto a un marinero." Anónimo.

La fotografía de costa está plagada de dificultades. La arena que se cuela por cada rendija del equipo y puede rayar nuestros preciados objetivos, el viento que amenaza con caer el trípode, las olas que rompen incontrolablemente contra las rocas donde nos situamos, el agua en suspensión que ensucia filtros y lentes, etc. Pero aún así ofrece posibilidades tan mágicas que es difícil resistirse.

En la provincia de Cádiz contamos con la maravillosa Costa de la Luz. Cuando volví hace unos meses aquí para dedicarme a la fotografía, lo hice con la idea de inmortalizar los lugares más increíbles tanto de nuestra sierra como de nuestra costa. Normalmente voy solo a fotografiar, pero este día tuve la suerte de ir acompañado del fotógrafo de naturaleza Reklu Fernández. No me podía imaginar que en el mejor momento del atardecer íbamos a ser rodeados por un grupo de unos diez individuos que nos miraban desafiantes. Al principio pensamos que íbamos a sufrir un robo, pero después de decidir abandonar el lugar con relativa tranquilidad y comprobar que no nos seguían, llegamos a la conclusión de que sus intenciones eran otras. Es muy triste saber que nuestra costa es peligrosa durante el invierno porque no se vigila lo suficiente el tráfico de drogas. Me gustaría que mis fotos atrajeran visitantes a nuestra provincia, pero me veo en la obligación de avisar que a la hora del crepúsculo mejor evitar partes de la costa donde os podáis encontrar solos. Nosotros nos fuimos rápido y no pasó nada. Volveremos en verano cuando la costa esté llena de turistas y haya más seguridad. No vamos a renunciar a hacer más fotos de nuestra costa.

It looked so close. Helmut really had an urge for chocolate. He could walk or he could swim. Helmut opted for swimming. Well, guess what? Looks are deceiving. By the time Helmut reached the shore, the store was closed and he had uncontrollable shivers. There were a few people out who witnessed Helmut thrashing around on the ground and thought he was giving a street performance. Some kind of shiver dancing. He collected enough money to get a hot shower at the YMCA and spend the night.

San Francisco, California 2013

1/4

Some odd photos again!

The job any camera has to do is to leak light in a controlled and filtered way. When the light leaks in uncontrollably, some surprises are likely to occur. It was no different in case of my FED-5C, that supposedly was letting some light through the counter-resetting feeler (thanks, Ian!).

These are the four images I decided to rescue.

One would expect something different maybe, like visible streaks, marks and such, but it's not the case here. Added some issues with scanning, and, well, tonally the result is really odd, but I think it's still likeable.

Horse-shoe bend, Colorado River, Page, AZ

This was my second time to this breathtaking, yet easily accessible spot. The first time I went, I was still shooting with cropped sensor, and the wide-angle lens I had then produced uncontrollable flare, and the season being early winter the sun was setting further to the south (left extreme in the picture) . So I was hoping to do a better job this time, and also was hoping the conditions would be better. Although the latter didn't happen with mostly bland sky, I was able to control the flare better this time. Hope you like it, and thanks a lot for looking.

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3/4

Some odd photos again!

The job any camera has to do is to leak light in a controlled and filtered way. When the light leaks in uncontrollably, some surprises are likely to occur. It was no different in case of my FED-5C, that supposedly was letting some light through the counter-resetting feeler (thanks, Ian!).

These are the four images I decided to rescue.

One would expect something different maybe, like visible streaks, marks and such, but it's not the case here. Added some issues with scanning, and, well, tonally the result is really odd, but I think it's still likeable.

I've been obsessed with drawing this character with these uncontrollable snakes for hands.

So now it's time to say goodbye to Alaska for a while, but not to the memories of an enormous land of cinematic proportion. It was an adventure of a life time colored by uncontrollable events with unforeseen consequences. It was a perfect and magical experience.

Many thanks to all of my Flickr contacts for joining me on my journey through this magnificent land of enchantment.

Fairbanks, Alaska

A tale of two skies.

One as nature intended the other as the bush fire dictated.

The street light is on Liz Kernohan Drive, Spring Farm.

Uncontrollable bush fires near Nattai have spread destroying thousands of hectares of bush land and destroying property.

Spring Farm 3.20pm 6 December, 2019.

Spring Farm, near Camden, New South Wales, Australia.

we learn how to make a daisy chain and dance uncontrollably on the sand.

Venezia

the state park near us does periodic controlled burns of hundreds of acres of pine barrens. This is done during dry periods to prevent uncontrollable wildfires which can occur with a lightning strike. I guess I understand the need for this destruction in an effort to prevent larger destruction. Still, many animals lose their homes when the burns take place and the sky gets filled with smog for a few days.

Occasionally these fires have gotten out of control with unexpected shifts in the winds and spread to threaten nearby neighborhoods. Though it might look like the grasses are on fire, the bright part is the sun setting through the smoggy area. The actual fires are about 15 miles away.

for ODC - pollution

Nikon D7000 ~ Nikkor 50mm 1.8G ~ Exposure 1/1000 ~ Aperture f/2.5 ~ ISO Speed 100

© Image by Laurarama - All rights reserved. My Images may not be used on websites, blogs or other media. Do not copy or alter in any way without my written permission.

Pictured are the nameplates of villages that were evacuated due to radiation poisoning. Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in early 1985 was the greatest technological catastrophe in the USSR. An uncontrollable fire at the powerplant caused a collapse of the protective roof and escape of an enormous amount of radioactive material. Chernobyl was located next to Kyiv, and by a sheer luck the wind blew it in the direction opposite of the city. This catastrophe affected thousands of lives, left many children orphans or sick for life, demonstrated heroism of common soldiers and firefighters who stopped the spread without the benefit of protective equipment. The Chernobyl museum is located in the building that in 1985 housed the regional fire department and served as the headquarters of the operation to contain the fallout.

На фото - таблички с названиями деревень, эвакуированных из-за радиационного заражения. Авария на Чернобыльской АЭС в начале 1985 г. был самой страшной техногенной катастрофой в истории СССР. Вышедший из под контроля пожар разрушил крышу и привёл к выбросу громадного количества радиоактивного материала в воздух. По счастливой случайности ветер дул в сторону от многомиллионнового Киева. Катастрофа затронула напрямую тысячи жизней, оставила много детей сиротами или больными на всю жизнь, продемонстрировала героизм простых солдат и пожарных работавших без какого-либо защитного оборудования. Музей находится в здании, где в 1985 году располагалось киевское областное управление пожарной охраны и ставшим штабом ликвидации последствий аварии.

If you've ever seen Robin Williams live, you would instantly recognize a Tasmanian Devil unleashed on stage. He brought uncontrollable laughter to tears. I had the great privilege of seeing him unexpectedly at SketchFest a few years ago. See prior post: flic.kr/p/bjesr6 He decided to show up as the anchor comedian after five other comedians had done their set. I've never had more fun watching sketch comedy.

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Life is short, break rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably & never regret anything that makes u smile!

♥ ♥ ♥

Seeing as yesterday was St Leonards Day, which isn't noted in any Gregorian calendar that you'll find, I thought I'd do my bit to honour this most illusory of Saints through the medium of Railway Photography.

My initial thoughts this morning were trading towards disappointment, as in my eagerness to see this train run, the fifteen minutes extra it spent at Derby, pre-departure getting later, might as well have been an hour, cursor again and again hitting the 'refresh' widget, thoughts uncontrollably flapping, teeth grinding in an impatient manner, and with much pursing of lips in a side to side type motion. Then, one quarter of an hour later, I see progress through wizened eyes. It was time to unbox my car, and hit the road, Leonard.

I arrived early at Nether Whitacre, something I was fairly proud of, which gave me chance to consider my shot.

37175, happens on the rear at Whitacre Junction, a hill away from Coleshill Parkway, and roughly one third through it's run to Landore T.M.D.

Happy St Blenarps Day.

Many thanks as always for the 'explore', sir :-)

Tucked far, far away from society, is a class of skilled musicians known only through folklore and legend. A people with a penchant for controlling the uncontrollable... taming the untamable... and mastery of a device thought not to be masterable. Armed with the most unexpected and simple of bathroom paraphernalia, they unleash a hypnotic flurry of tones capable of enticing unthinkable yards of TP from what most of us would consider to be certain demise. They are, The Toilet Bowl Charmers of Sri Lanka...

(Setup shot.)

Lighting/Setup Info

- SB600 at 24mm zoom and 1/4 power level in a 15-inch Lastolite Ezybox. Positioned slightly camera-left about 5.5-feet high and about 4-feet from subject. (Key Light)

- SB80DX at 14mm zoom and 1/16 +0.7 power level, with diffusion dome and bounced. Positioned on-axis directly below camera, about 2.5-feet from bounce surface, bounce surface is about 7-feet from subject. (Fill Light)

- Cybersyncs.

True happiness is an acceptance of life as it is given to us, with it's diminishments,

mystery, uncontrollability and all.

Michael Gellert

All of a sudden it started snowing. Not the gentle whirling down of magical fairytale snowflakes, but rather a tempest of harsh, razor sharp ice flakes…

As the few people were withdrawing from the silent Veluwe I just had to stay for some more moments.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, this horseman emerged, confronting the storm with an outspoken frenzy, as heading back into another dimension, like one of the musketeers or so …

Anyway the entire scenery ignited an uncontrollable process of reminiscence within me.

And ever since that day, I have been thinking a lot about fate, destiny and dreams.

(Not in the fairytale, romantic sense though).

Are some events inevitable indeed? Is it just the sum of events leading up to a specific outcome?

And what about the result of collision of wills, personal ambitions and expectations we have of ourselves.

Aren’t we wrong to over-rationalize all we do or don’t, always on the outlook of meanings and explanations? Perhaps tying ourselves up in knots with our “cleverness” …?

Why do we let second thoughts in? Too often, killing silently big bold dreams even before the true obstacles arise.

And as I stood there, with frozen hands as of the winter shutter-play, I had to think about a slice of dialogue out of a favorite old (1945) film noir”‘Detour”:

“That's life. Whichever way you turn, Fate sticks out a foot to trip you."

The film features Tom Neal who is best remembered for his off-screen exploits which involved scandal, mayhem and a charge of murder.

If you fancy old films noirs, NYC and jazzy moods try this movie, as it starts out in NYC, with Tom Neal as the piano player in a lounge combo with a beautiful blond singer (Claudia Drake)… You won't be deceived...

more ice flakes

Impressie van de Flickr-meet in Kinderdijk:

-verlichte molens in Kinderdijk

-lekkere temperatuur

-shirt en korte broek

-hmpf…. onweer

-paar drupjes regen

-heftig onweer

-hoosbui

-schuilen onder een boom

-vuilniszakken over het hoofd getrokken als regenjas

-onbedaarlijke lachbui

-15 minuten lopen door de stromende regen

-nat tot op….., ja zelfs tot daar

Het was geweldig, we hebben vreselijk gelachen! Dave www.flickr.com/photos/nldazuu/ en Wim www.flickr.com/photos/16209124@N00/ bedankt voor de onvergetelijke avond!

Impression of the Flickr meet in Kinderdijk:

-lighted windmills at Kinderdijk

-nice temperature

-shirt and shorts

-hmpf .... storm

-little rain

-heavy thunderstorm

-raining cats and dogs

-shelter under a tree

-bags pulled over our heads as a raincoat

-uncontrollable laughter

-15 inutes walk through the pouring rain

-wet, very wet ... yes even there

It was great, we had so much fun! Dave www.flickr.com/photos/nldazuu/ and Wim www.flickr.com/photos/16209124@N00/ thanks for the unforgettable evening!

Week 6, Wednesday

Most of my days are spent with Aura as I'm babysitting her home while Sari goes to work. This might sound like I have loads of time to use on photography, but it's actually other way around. I need to take care of routines like eating, playing, going outdoors etc. When Aura is taking her afternoon naps, I get two hours of free time, which I usually use for my freelance work if there is any to be done at the moment. When Sari comes from work, I get couple hours of free time which I usually put working on my thesis. Finally when Aura goes to sleep, usually at nine o'clock at evening, it's time for photography. So because of these daily routines I don't get much free time for photography and it makes me very satisfied if I can squeeze some pictures while doing every day routines, like taking care of dishes.

Every day routines might sound like a boring subject for photography, but it doesn't have to be. One of my early meeting with a anthropologic knowledge was a little book called 'Purity and Danger – An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo' (1966) written by influential anthropologist Mary Douglas. It addresses different ways how we give cultural ways meanings to dirt. In (very) short, dirt isn't just dirt, but any matter that is considered to be out of its place, a categorical mix-up which endangers our cultural order. Food on a plate is in its right place, but when we have eaten it, it suddenly becomes dirt. Meal which once was delicious becomes something so disgusting that we don't even want to touch it anymore. My example is of course simple and perhaps not even a very good one regarding what Mary Douglas is actually trying to say. To put it in other words, she claims that by maintaining boundaries between purity and impurity societies also try to maintain their symbolic and cultural order. Therefore cultural concepts of impurity, pollution and dirt are not just health regulations or medical knowledge (as often interpreted), but something that endanger cultural order deep within us. Normative cultural and social order is then maintained and restored by different kind of rituals which we learn by socialization – the act of cleaning in its simplicity, but also other things like rules regarding roles, behavior and appearance, just to name few. Following Douglas one might say that taking care of dishes is actually important work because it, in its own way, restores a cultural order.

As this might sound an idea that only has a function in so-called 'primitive' societies, and while many things are rationalized pretty far in modern societies, purity and danger lives in modern world too. It's just disguised and being part of normal cultural order, we don't acknowledge it so easily. I'm just going to give one example which tells something about how broad subject Douglas is speaking about. While in contemporary world there are detailed laws and regulations regarding refugees and asylum seekers, they are still often presented something dangerous in nation-states politics. And while there are many different political views about this subject, the anthropologic explanation is simple: being out of their place refugees and asylum seekers endanger the national order of things which organizes our perception of world. They are anomalies in our categories and because of that it's difficult to categorize them same way as we tend to categorize foreigners ('good' and 'bad' based on their national origin and stereotypes). Because of that they often transform to 'dirt' or something uncontrollable in political speech, with a very sad outcome. Like Mary Douglas said, purity and danger.

Year of the Alpha – 52 Weeks of Sony Alpha Photography: www.yearofthealpha.com

If you take the time to read this, I promise this photo will mean more.

How did it even get this way? I ask myself that day in and day out. What we had was an experience to say the least. We built a kingdom of memories. And no matter how many times things got tough, we still managed to add another brick and keep on building. For three years we did this until our kingdom crumbled before us.

You know that you will always love me just like I will always love you. There’s no other way around that. But for my sake and my hearts sake, I have to turn my back now. And if it were meant to be, you’ll come to turn me in the right direction.

I can't remember the last time I really truly opened my heart up on Flickr. But I knew I wanted to. I had to. It's been eating at me for some time now. This is the last picture I'm going to upload for awhile because tomorrow I'm leaving for vacation. Don't worry, I will upload lots of photos when I return.

Be sure to check out my Facebook page for constant updates and pictures from my trip via celliephonzie :)

Happy hearts and happy faces,

Happy play in grassy places—

The 2 little brothers had tumbled in glee on the gently rolling lawns, flown around the flower beds, giggling uncontrollably until exhausted, (but only for minutes!) they caught up with each other on the steps. And the adults' day glowed more brightly because of them.

Ce weekend, dans les environs de Tournon-sur-Rhône et Tain l'Hermitage, la guerre était déclarée !!

Une bataille sans merci semblait être à l'oeuvre entre les pétarades des canons à grêles tentant une percée misérable dans le territoire des dieux, face à un orage qui scintillait d'éclairs de toute part. La nature démontre sa toute puissance dans un coup de grâce contre les petits êtres qui pensent contrôler l'incontrôlable... Gulliver ça restera dans les livres ! :)

--------

This weekend, around Tournon-sur-Rhône and Tain l'Hermitage, the war was declared !!

A merciless battle seemed to be at work between the shots of hail cannons attempting a miserable breakthrough in the territory of the gods, facing a storm that glittered lightning from all sides. Nature shows its all-power in a fatal shot against little beings who think they control the uncontrollable ... Gulliver it will stay in the books! :)

A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT. ATTENTION MALES OF ANY AND ALL AGES

From the earliest days of mankind boys and indeed men of all ages have been perplexed in social situations where they are presented to young members of the opposite gender and are met with giggling*. The first reaction for men is to wonder “What about my appearance or bearing causes these young ladies to laugh? Are my clothes so out of fashion? Has my cowlick sprung loose and stands like a radio antenna? Is some article of my clothing untucked, mismatched, mis-buttoned or worse unzipped?” Female giggling has deflated many a teenage boy’s self image, made him feel inadequate and has exacerbated his sense of social and physical awkwardness. This among the riot of hormones permeating the bodies of both genders.

But now the truth can be told. Be at ease, young man. Girls and young women giggle not because they find anything ungainly about a given young man, but because they feel silly and awkward in the situation. And since most young women tend to move in pairs or small groups when one starts giggling the reaction is contagious.

How might young men then counter this giggling? Saying, “You must share the joke which causes you so much amusement,” will only trigger more cascades of giggling. A better response might be to join in their mirth by saying, “This all really does seem ridiculous, doesn’t it?” Or if you wish to misdirect their minds into a different frame pose a question that requires math since it stimulates a different part of the brain. You might ask, “How long did it take for you to get here?” Or my favorite, “How many shopping days until Christmas?”

*I should point out that young men also giggle uncontrollably but under different circumstances.

For more AI-generated images with micro stories by me and other members of the Neural Narrative Collective: neural-narrative.blogspot.com/

Photo | Stable Diffusion | Photoshop

About 75% (or possibly more) shapes.

Random idea popped in my head and surprisingly I managed to execute it.

I'm pretty proud of the result too.

Kinda from laziness and not feeling its worth the bother putting it up, code is available on request.

Oh, and please PLEASE click all sizes if you have any heart.

Ammunition capacity of six rounds.

It is non-revolving, but instead has six barrels lined up with each round. Can fire as fast as the trigger is pulled semi-auto, or all barrels can be faired at once for a powerful and highly uncontrollable blast. Pull up on the tab in front of the mag, then pull the mag up and out.

Welcome to the somnambulic realm of hipsto-chick pygmALIEN... By every one of these densely dispersed pillars which pose as trees, while supporting nothing and symbolizing poignant indifference, you can see „le gentilhomme en attente“, both eagerly and politely waiting for his chosen hipsto-chick. At best, she will be late soothing his nerves by uncontrollable giggle, but principally she won't appear at all because hipsto-chicks love to leave most of the giggling to irony.

Anyway, if it happens that „le gentilhomme en attente“ loses his patience (which is quite seldom occurrence), he leaves his post by the pillar and gets infuriated with political fervor feeling insatiable urge to speak out on radical pygmALIENs' party meetings...

No one really seems to understand how I feel about you and to be honest, most of the time I don’t even understand it either. How could I be so caught up in something that I’m not even sure actually exists? But I am. I uncontrollably am.

I find that I post more regularly on my Facebook page. So stay up to date with me on there!

Instagram: justttmakayla / Facebook / Ask me stuff! / Tumblr / Youtube

Many thanks for your visits, faves and comments. Cheers.

Eastern Brown Snake

Pseudonaja textilis

Alternative name/s: Common Brown Snake

Similar species: Other members of the genus Pseudonaja

Size Range: Average around 1.5m (total length). The largest specimen reliably measured and recorded had a total length of 6 feet, 7 1/4 inches (= 2013 mm). There is some suggestion that snakes in the northern part of the range are larger than those in the southern part. Broad-scale clearing of land for agriculture, while disastrous for many native creatures, has proved a boon for the Eastern Brown Snake, and their numbers have proliferated thanks to the ready supply of rodents that followed. Despite the free pest control they offer to farmers and landholders, brown snakes are still widely seen as dangerous pests themselves.

Identification: A medium sized snake, with a slender to moderate build and a smallish head barely distinct from the neck. Body colour may be almost any shade of brown, ranging from near black to light tan, chestnut or burnt-orange. The head colour of dark individuals may be slightly paler than the rest of the body, but otherwise the dorsal colour is fairly uniform (a very few scattered dark scales may be present). Hatchlings have a prominent dark patch on the top of the head and across the nape, and some hatchlings also have dark bands down the entire length of the body. These markings fade as they mature, however in some populations the bands are retained into adulthood. Ventral surface is cream, yellow or orange, and blotched with pinkish-orange, brown or grey. Body scales are smooth and slightly glossy. Eyes are medium size and shadowed by an obvious brow-ridge. The iris is usually orange thickly rimmed with black, and the pupil is round. Midbody scales in 17 rows, ventrals 185-235, anal scale divided, subcaudals divided (rarely a few single anterior scales). The Eastern Brown Snake is easily confused with other members of the Pseudonajagenus that overlap its distribution, and close inspection is generally required to distinguish them. Pseudonaja textilis is separable from the Speckled Brown Snake (P. guttata), Western Brown Snake (P. mengdeni) and Northern Brown Snake (P. nuchalis) by its flesh pink (as opposed to predominately black) mouth colouration, and from the Peninsula Brown Snake (P. inframacula) by its blotched ventral surface (versus an entirely dark brown or grey venter). P. textilis may also be distinguished from the Strap-snouted Brown Snake (P. aspidorhyncha) by its smaller, more rounded rostral scale (as opposed to an elongate, squared-off rostral). Unrelated species similar to the Eastern Brown include the Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis) and Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus).

Habitat: Eastern Brown Snakes can be found across a wide range of habitats (excluding rainforest and alpine regions), however they seem to prefer open landscapes such as woodlands, scrublands, and savannah grasslands. In arid inland areas they inhabit watercourses and swampy areas that receive at least some seasonal flooding. The species can be particularly abundant in rural areas that have been heavily modified for agricultural purposes, and is also frequently encountered on the suburban periphery of many large towns and cities. When inactive they shelter beneath fallen logs and large rocks, within deep soil cracks, and in animal burrows, and will readily utilize man-made cover, e.g. sheets of iron, building material, etc.. In the southern part of its range at least, Eastern Browns are known to share the same shelter site over winter, but whether the snakes are mutually attracted to each other at this time, or simply find the same shelter site independently of each other is unknown.

Distribution: The species is widespread throughout eastern Australia, from northern Queensland to South Australia, with isolated population occurring in central and western Northern Territory. Pseudonaja cf. textilis also occurs in southern and eastern New Guinea. The New Guinean populations were once thought to have been introduced by human activity, however genetic evidence suggests the species reached New Guinea from northern Queensland (far eastern populations) and Arnhem Land (southern populations) during the Pleistocene.

Seasonality: Along a standard transect in central southern New South Wales, Eastern Brown Snakes were encountered at the highest rate in spring, followed by autumn and summer/winter. They can be found active on mild winter days and have been observed basking in air temperatures as low as 14º C. Males usually become active earlier in the season than do females (in spring, most road-killed snakes are males).

Feeding and diet: In the wild, Eastern Brown Snakes eat a variety of vertebrates, including frogs, reptiles and reptile eggs, birds and mammals, particularly introduced rats and mice. Smaller snakes, up to a snout-vent length of about 70 mm, eat proportionally more ectothermic prey, such as lizards, while larger snakes tend to consume more warm-blooded prey. In captivity, they are known to be cannibalistic, especially so in over-crowded conditions, and may prey on snakes of almost similar size, e.g. a 165cm specimen once consumed a 150cm cagemate. Occasionally these snakes may attack prey that is too large for them to swallow, e.g. a wild Eastern Brown was observed to grab and then attempt to ingest (unsuccessfully) a large Eastern Bearded Dragon (Pogona barbata) (the dragon survived the attack, which raises the question of whether this potential prey species may be resistant to the snakeâs venom). Brown snakes hunt by actively looking for prey and searching in likely hiding places. They have good eyesight and once prey is detected they will give chase and subdue the prey using both venom and constriction. Eastern Browns are mainly diurnal hunters however during very hot weather they may delay foraging until late in the afternoon / early evening.

Breeding behaviours: Breeding activity for Eastern Brown Snakes begins in mid to late spring. In the wild, males have been observed engaging in ritual combat for access to receptive females. The combating snakes intertwine tightly and wrestle for up to half an hour or more, with each snake trying to push down and overpower the other. Females start to develop yolking follicles between early and late spring (mid-September to end of November), and have oviducal eggs from mid-spring to early summer (late October to late January). In captivity, mating has been observed in mid-spring (early October), with copulation lasting for at least 4 hours. Females may have the ability to store sperm for several weeks after mating, with one female caught on 12th November that did not lay her eggs until the following 9th January, a period of 58 days or over eight weeks. Females can lay up to 25 eggs (15 on average) in a clutch, and in captivity females have been recorded coiling around their eggs for several hours after laying, which may be seen as a low level of maternal care, or possibly just the snake recovering from the exertions of labour. Depending on the incubation temperature the eggs may take from 36 days (30ºC) to 95 days (25ºC) to hatch. Under favourable conditions females may be able to lay several clutches in one season. Eastern Browns are known to use communal nests, with one containing a large numbers of eggs found in an abandoned rabbit warren. Hatchlings may stay in the eggs for four to eight hours after slitting before poking their heads out, withdrawing back into the egg if frightened. Once fully emerged they may begin to show the characteristic threat display of the species with 15 minutes of emerging. The hatchlings vary greatly in size both within and among clutches. For example, the hatchlings of one clutch varied from 243-275 mm in snout-vent length (n = 21) and from 8.2 to 10.4 g (mean = 8.9 g) in weight (n = 15) while the hatchlings of another clutch varied from 189 to 202 mm in snout-vent length and 3.5 to 3.9g (mean = 3.8g) (n = 6) in weight. All hatchlings have bands on the head and neck but they differ strikingly with regard to the body pattern. Some are plain and some are banded, and both colour patterns are produced in the same clutch. There appears to be no correlation between colour morph and sex, and the pattern type is independent of incubation temperature. Growth rates for elapids are relatively high (compared to pythons at least), and sexual maturity may be reached in a few years, e.g. one female captive-bred Eastern Brown that hatched in early autumn mated in the mid-spring of her third activity season at 31 months of age. The life span of wild Eastern Browns is unknown, however they have been recorded to live as long as 7 years in captivity, and like other large species of elapids can probably live for at least a decade.

Predators: The speciesâ known predators include birds of prey and feral cats. They appear to have immunity to the venom of a would-be predator, the Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis), as well as their own species (one snake that had been swallowed by another Eastern Brown was regurgitated an hour later, apparently not too much worse for wear). However they are not so fortunate with the effects of cane toad venom and rapidly die from ingesting them. Countless brown snakes fall victim to road vehicles every year (both accidentally and on purpose), while many others are killed on sight by landowners. Known endoparasites of Eastern Brown Snakes include cestodes (tape worms), nematodes (round worms) and pentastomids (tongue worms).

Danger to humans: Because the Eastern Brown Snake can cope and even thrive in areas of human disturbance, and its natural range happens to include some of the most populated parts of the country, this species is probably encountered more than any other type of snake. Being an alert, nervous species they often react defensively if surprised or cornered, putting on a fierce display and striking with little hesitation. However, if approached over a distance, they will usually choose to flee or else remain stationary, hoping to avoid detection. The approach distance tolerated before the snake flees is temperature dependent - snakes with a body temperature of < 24º C allow significantly closer approach than do snakes with a body temperature > 24º C. When confronted by an intruder, the Eastern Brown displays one of two forms of threat. In the mild threat, the snake raises the head and anterior part of the body slightly off and parallel to the ground, with the neck spread laterally and slightly hooked but the mouth closed. In this posture, the snake faces the threat side on. If issuing a strong threat, the snake raises the anterior part of the body well off the ground in an s-shaped coil and with the mouth slightly open, ready to strike - in this posture, the snake faces the threat more squarely. Strikes delivered from this posture are slower but more accurate that strikes delivered from other postures. The common feature of both displays is the spreading of the neck, and this behaviour precedes most bites. Observations in captivity have shown that for strikes in general, no matter what the posture, there was no correlation between strike speed and ambient temperature (18º-36 C), body mass or sex. Strike speeds ranged 0.25-1.80 m/sec (mean = 1.11 m/sec; n = 48). The lack of correlation between strike speed and temperature is unexpected in an ectotherm, and suggests that hot snakes are no quicker in their strike than a cool snake, contrary to the common perception. Relative to other similar-sized elapids the fangs of the Eastern Brown are quite small (around 3mm), as is the average venom yield (around 4mg, although the record venom yield was 67mg). However what the snake lacks in venom delivery it makes up for in potency. The venom contains powerful presynaptic neurotoxins, procoagulants, cardiotoxins and nephrotoxins, and successful envenomation can result in progressive paralysis and uncontrollable bleeding. Occasional fatalities have occurred as a result of bleeding into the brain due to coagulation disturbances (consumptive coagulopathy). As the initial bite is generally painless and often difficult to detect, anyone suspected of receiving a bite from an Eastern Brown Snake should call for medical attention without delay. This species has the unfortunate distinction of causing more deaths from snake bite than any other species of snake in Australia. Many bites have been a direct result of people trying to kill these snakes and could obviously have been avoided. Simple precautions, such as wearing long pants, thick socks and solid footware when working or exploring outdoors greatly reduces the risk of being envenomated should there be a close encounter with a startled snake.

(Source: australian.museum/learn/animals/reptiles/eastern-brown-sn...)

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© Chris Burns 2025

All rights reserved.

This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.

I know, I need to plan my travel well in order to get good photos as many other professionals suggested. However, this is just a theory. Other than what I should do, I also limited by the financial luxury and the logistic of my travel plan. One of the uncontrollable factor is the weather. The day we arrived Hokkaido was sunny, then it rained almost 3-4 days. In this condition, I have to take photos with whatever the available lighting condition. Here is another photos under shady ambient light.

"There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it I have now surpassed. My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone, in fact I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape, but even after admitting this there is no catharsis, my punishment continues to elude me and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself; no new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing."

Ink & Crayon

Flying to Mars

Each of us will be eager to leave at some point. Get out of here, and go there. Even if it is not suitable for human existence, such as Mars. But it is so attractive to us. Some people's desires are stronger and last longer, even turning into an uncontrollable passion. And this kind of passion sometimes also exists here. Therefore, we are always here and also there, attracting and confronting each other. Even if we close the door, lie down on the bed, and decide not to go anywhere, we cannot change the nature of the wandering, self-exile, and self-confrontation of life. Therefore, we will be lonely, eager for love, and resist it internally. Here, there.

At 0940 local on July 13, five of us aboard C-GFBR lifted off from runway 16 at Greenbank Airport (CNP8) near Uxbridge, Ontario.

The Antonov An-2PD-5 biplane's 1,000 horsepower radial engine quickly got us up to 3,000 feet, then the cabin began filling with smoke.

From my seat at the rear of the cabin, I saw that the cockpit windows were coated with engine oil. The aircraft's owner and pilot told us that we had to return to Greenbank. Using the sliding windows on each side of the cockpit, he skillfully navigated us back to the airport.

This photo was taken as we descended through 1,800 feet at 0950.

Upon touching down on 16 at 0953, the aircraft slid uncontrollably (thanks to oil coated tires) off the 2,700 grass strip into a culvert before slamming into the embankment that borders the airfield.

We all sustained minor cuts and bruises, but exited the aircraft before numerous fire trucks, ambulances and police cars arrived.

Details about the accident are available here:

asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/408705

Forgotten

I forgot how to be prepared

And ignored the uncontrollable me

Read More: www.jjfbbennett.com/2019/12/melbourne-to-darwin-november-...

One-off sponsorship: www.paypal.me/bennettJJFB

“Sometimes a scent is more evocative than a photo or an image. It is a primer for the deflagration of sensation, emotions, desires, uncontrollable atmospheres, dejavus that flood and wrap us like honey, until they make us drown in an unrepeatable moment of wellbeing... olfactory hallucinations that lead us anywhere: to the North of any South, to the East of any West...”

― -PROFUMUM ROMA

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Thanks a lot for visits and comments, everyone.. Have a great week...!

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without

my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

“Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow

Don’t walk behind me… I may not lead

Walk beside me… just be my friend”

― Anonymous

You know if you walk behind me, you are in trouble, because chances are, I won’t know where I am going,

and the end result most likely won’t be good (although sometimes it isn’t much better when I am behind you, because I don’t pay much

attention there either). Although, lessons learned for today... I am not totally hopeless,

I can step up when I absolutely need to. I’m not going to end up totally lost and alone and give up and go home.

There is a ray of hope.

But I’ve also decided that I am not going to follow. I am not going to run to keep up. I am not going to continue to

walk 20 paces behind. Walk with me. Or keep right on going.

And Universe, don’t allow me to be the person that gets too old to ...

Shoot rubber bands at people I work with,

Build race cars out of cardboard boxes in the stock room at work

Ignore “No Trespassing” signs and climb in and out of windows of abandoned buildings

Laugh uncontrollably at ridiculous things

Drive two hours just to sit on the beach and watch the sun rise.... or set

Fill my car with “props” to set in a window and photograph

Wear Captain America leggings

Don’t let the bad stuff beat me down to the point where ...

I forget to look up at the moon and the stars

I think it’s too cold to go out and play in the snow

And I worry about eating ice cream in the car on a 90 degree day and it drips

all over my good pants. (It was Mom’s Oatmeal Cookie ice cream.... and it was worth it!)

Please let me always have friends to walk or sit beside me...

(There are always lessons in bad days. Actually, I guess there are lessons in good days too... but in the bad days, the lessons are about all you get!)

Name: Shawn Mansfield (Human)

Z'chazak (Spirit)

Powers: Shawn: Above average agility, stamina, and knowledge of mystical artifacts

Z'chazak: Near-immortality, magic, extreme cunning, intellect, willpower and influence.

Weaknesses: Shawn: You name it. He is human, after all XD

Z'chazak: Overconfidence, powerless without a human form, bound to the mask bearing his name. Destroying it will destroy his spirit.

Origin: Shawn Mansfield was a well-respected archeologist. One day, while exploring an ancient South American temple, he stumbled upon a room containing strange paintings on the walls and an ornate mask resting on a pedestal. As he picked the mask up, he was filled with an uncontrollable desire to put it on. Doing so, Shawn was overwhelmed with power and blacked out. Upon waking, Mansfield discovered he was no longer in control of his actions. The mask had granted him immense magical power, but it also took away his free will. From what Shawn could gather, he had inadvertently freed the jungle spirit Z'chazak, an ancient evil imprisoned for the last 500 years. Now that Z'chazak is free, it is only a matter of time before he takes revenge on the human race for imprisoning him.

Well, that's all! I hope you guys and gals enjoyed it! And remember to "suit up, sign up": www.flickr.com./groups/llh