NEW CHALLENGE: MIXMASTER CHALLENGE #78 - Chef: cowiepaul59

“Classics with a Twist”!

➤ Choose a photo of or create any contemporary scene in a city or town.

➤ Insert a person or people from classical painting**.

➤ Add at least one person in modern attire.

➤ Create a story around their inclusion in the photo.

www.flickr.com/groups/artisticmanipulation/

~

pixlr/photo manipulation/gimp

~

two womens eyes meet, despite the 200 odd year time gap, both subject to the self same chat up line...

*contempary town created with pixlr AI

*org couple painting by

Édouard Manet

French painter

The conservatory, 1879

* modern girl

A Story in Paris (2025) Acrylic painting

by Behshad Arjomandi

Experiment: Five Days with No Shoes

Pre-Intro: Taking part in this experiment to go shoeless for five days should be beneficial in opening up some more understanding towards these emotions, and offer some more insight into ways to combat, strengthen and resolve various issues that need attention. ‘Travel’, (or simply ‘substantial change in environment’) does have psychologically therapeutic effects, and this being an important area of my work. I aim at doing more research into this by taking part in this experiment. This was an attempt to closely observe emotions in situations that I perceived myself as being ‘unusual’ from the crowd. It was an intentional encounter with the emotions similar to ‘fear’ and ‘shame’, and the ensuing study of how to restructure them into something better. It is to study and observe the mind while it was at work, from a self-imposed, hence more neutral, logical perspective. In this essay, I am going to look at how I did the experiment, what happened during it, and what the results of it were.

Goal: The difficulties involved in the concept of ‘setting yourself apart from the crowd’ tend to be amongst the biggest obstacles that many people face in their lives. These emotions and can be immensely complicated when people are trying to find their way in the world, resulting in situations that are hard for people to understand and manage. All people experience emotions such as ‘fear’ and ‘shame’ to differing extents and we will look at the two emotions in a bit more depth. For different individuals, the intensity of the emotions felt range on a broad spectrum from serving only as a minor barrier to personal-growth for some, but for others it can have more adverse effects that lead to various psychological and health issues. Emotions such as fear and shame can be combatted through confidence and courage building, but also depend on other factors. As emotions can be transferrable between individuals and between groups of people (i.e. cultures, societies etc.), the research needs to be environment-based too (i.e. this time being Thailand). Many individuals tend to feel strongly disempowered and imprisoned by these emotions and I aim to get a deeper and clearer understanding of these emotions and mental functions in relation to larger environmental/cultural influences. This is to continue to research and improve on our travel-based educational platform as a useful tool for our students and society.

The Beginning; The Story

I Am Getting My Socks Dirty!

For the past few days here in Bangkok, Thailand, I have been continuously going about daily life with no shoes on – mostly in white socks, and sometimes barefoot. During the first couple of days, I kept it slightly more low-key; like a timid cat checking out an unfamiliar environment, with just short ‘excursions’ to get food, or drinks, or to buy something at 7Eleven - all close to where I was staying. The area is known as Khaosan Road, a backpacker’s haven, where there are a couple of streets loaded with everything the weary or tempted tourist might want. There are bars, cafés, parks, temples, and plenty of people and street-side action to get distracted with at almost any time of the day and night. This infamous travelers’ hub tends to attract and retain a number of ‘unique’ travelers that easily intermingle amongst the more common-looking tourists, and it is commonplace to see rather endearing styles of fashion on display; tattoos, piercings, ‘rare’ hairstyles, and the occasional bare-footer. Although the ones sporting bare feet often tend to be hippies, drunk people, or locals that, by the looks of them, seem to be poorer or less of the sane type. I am in none of those categories, I hope. I’m just one of the normal people on the street, but I just ‘happened’ to be in my white socks. The area itself is a very familiar place to me, but the lack of shoes created a new headspace inside of me – such a change caused me to have to relearn the environment. It was an extremely uneasy thing to do and an extremely unusual feeling.

Why Do Such A Thing?

I’m doing this experiment for a number of reasons. A colleague and I are putting together a roughly twenty-minute video of the experiment with a short and simple discussion related to our work in the fields of travel-related education, psychology and therapy. This talk is mainly focused towards Chinese people (it is in Chinese) on the topic of pushing your psychological boundaries and acceptance of being different from the crowd. Understanding psychology cannot be done solely by observation or on paper, so getting to the core of many of the psychological and habitual issues needs to experienced first-hand. Many of our students (both teenage and particularly adults, including students’ parents) tend to often struggle with the acceptance of being different from the crowd and suffer from excuses that avoid the root of their difficulties. To us, as teachers, this psychological state needs to be pushed and prodded at for the sake of expanding our understanding of their experience. It is not that we are fearless or shameless as such – far from it - but we lead a traveling lifestyle in diverse environments where social and cultural constraints have less of an impact on our day-to-day choices and social encounters. So, I jumped right into this experiment and the ideas, observations and thoughts from the process will be shared in this essay. Who would guess that doing such things could open up a new world to me?

1.Why Does Our Sense of Self Have to Be So Strong?

Fear, nervousness and excitement tend to be confused by the brain as they all stimulate the same biological reactions, such as speeding up the heart rate. It is possible for the brain to confuse what it is actually experiencing. When an emotion of, perhaps, nervousness (activated by the brain telling you that you are different from the others) fear kicks in and the brain looks for things it perceives as ‘threats’. In my case, while being in socks in public, these ‘threats’ tended more likely to be people who might easily notice me; like people walking towards me or people sitting idly by that could possibly make some noticeable sort of remark. It would be these types of perceived ‘threats’ that I would find myself naturally trying to avoid eye contact with or maybe even subconsciously try to change my walking path to avoid ‘confrontation’. People that tended to be busy with their own affairs gave me no concerns at all. There also tended to be differences in perception between people you tend to associate more closely with; whether you know them or not, or would you ever see them again (i.e., the guesthouse staff that see you coming in and out each day without shoes on) - this tended to give me a stronger reaction. Similarly, stronger reactions were evoked from people I either genetically or culturally identified more with – i.e., different genders, ethnicities and age groups. These psychological reactions tended to be based on solely what people could possibly think of me and the strength of the reaction depended on these factors. It is not that I really minded, because walking in socks is far from the height of difficulty in this world, but I was observing my brain tending to be more active when it was trying to figure out my best ‘survival’ strategies in unfamiliar situations. Questions such as who would I most likely get approval from, who would mostly would stare or give me a negative reaction, who would I bring embarrassment to… these questions fill the brain as it is terrified of being ostracized by the group. Walking the streets in white socks could possibly be enough to make you a laughing stock. That is a terrifying feeling for a person. So, this is something that needed to be understood, looked at and conquered. I mean, it is my brain’s job to keep me safe and alive (and being part of the group is vital for survival), but it is my job to keep my brain in check!

During the next couple of days, I started venturing a bit further away from Khaosan Road as I began to feel less and less self-conscious. I then found myself at a Thammasat University having lunch by the river side. My socks tended to still be bright white on the tops, but had black footprints on the bottoms. Sometimes I started thinking that the dirtier they were the more natural it looked. I don’t know what to make of that – maybe it was more acceptance of the state of them. I enjoyed my time there. I walked back with an ice-coffee I bought from a street stall and sat in the park for a couple of hours pondering over the situation. My colleague and I had filmed a part of it to put into the video. The real importance comes down to not just the action of walking shoeless, but the following mental reflection over the what happened during the experience to make sure the brain understands what it is actually seeing and doing as it experiences and reacts to all this new stuff. This is all the brain’s doings, none of it is orchestrated by me. This goes for any situation in life really, but this process is often overlooked, as we move on to the next task ahead. Instead, I walked along the hot sticky street to a park further along the riverside where I laid down in a shady patch of grass under a massive twisted tropical tree and let everything sink in. The brain is automatically doing a lot of stuff I am not even aware of nor wanting to permit it to do, but it is more up to me to to understand that and learn to control what is going on instead. Skills like that should get me higher places than a good pair of sturdy hiking boots could ever. It seems going barefoot just may hold some magic.

2.Happily Hiding Behind Excuses

Oh, we humans know how to hide. While walking around the streets, into stores, happily soaking up the Bangkok atmosphere, I found myself hiding behind excuses for being shoeless. Despite my body (and bright white socks) being physically exposed for the world to see, but in my mind, I was aiming at quelling the inner dragon of self-consciousness. I thought I had more of a reason, for anyone who may look at me, to be shoeless in the late afternoon than the morning – maybe I had walked a long way and I had blisters, maybe my shoes broke, maybe I was hot? In the morning, by contrast, it just more looked like the guy couldn’t be bothered putting on his shoes. So, I went out in the morning too, not just using the heat as an excuse, or hiding behind the darkness of night. Having a small backpack with me was a good way to hide too. Could this guy be suffering from any of the above situations, and obviously his shoes are in his bag, the random passer-by would think. So, when I could, I would try go out empty-handed where possible. The only pity is I quite like to carry a small backpack with my camera for a bit of photography, and a bottle of water in it. I found taking off my glasses was another good way to not be able to see if people were staring or not, making me feel like I was more in my own world – listening to music could have the same effect. So, I kept the glasses on, and music off. I’d go with my coworker who was in bare feet, that felt more easier as there was the distraction of chatter and dialog about the experiment to hide behind. Going out alone would up the ante, put on a bit more stress, so I made sure to do this too. These are the tactics the brain employs to reason with myself as why to be shoeless. I mean what if someone asks where my shoes are, I could stumble and think of lies, but that won’t get anyone to paradise. All this led me to have to accept and address the root of the issue: “I am just the guy who is out in his socks”. No hiding. No denying. Dress the way you feel good, stand up straight, put yourself into a confident and open physical position, tell yourself ‘you are just the guy who wears his socks’. Be ready to give sincere eye-contact and engage in conversation with anyone you encounter and just walk on forward. What you tell yourself and how you behave decides the outcome and supporting the fundamental truth of the matter gets you where you need to be faster.

By the third day, after having had more and more physical practice of being out and about with no shoes on, plus having had plenty of mental exploration and conversation regarding the many aspects of the experience, things started to feel more natural. My mind was changing towards self-acceptance and encouragement towards such a lifestyle of endeavor, discovery and self-growth. By this time, I found myself hopping into a taxi one evening to go to MBK center shopping mall. I was originally planning to leave for India the day after, so I wanted to buy a couple of bits and pieces. I spent about two hours in the mall; the bottoms of my socks were rather dirty, but the whole time I was possibly even more relaxed than I would have been if I were in shoes. I am not really a fan of malls, but I found that I was more in a peaceful world of my own more so than a noisy mall of shoppers. I came back in a tuk-tuk and wandered back to my guesthouse through the busy bar district of Khaosan. It was if it were any normal day. To my surprise, I was relatively unaware of my lack of shoes.

3.Tackling the Bull in the Cage

It is the only way to address the issue and gain something true from your endeavors. If you carry yourself confidently, who can belittle you? If you accept the truth, who can deny it? The thing is, the world is like a mirror, if you don’t care, the world doesn’t care either. The world reflects back what is in your mind and in your heart. When I was subconsciously unaware of the fact I was in a busy shopping mall in my socks, to me, it seemed that the whole world was unaware of it. When I was stressed or uncomfortable, then it felt like the world was glaring at me. The subconscious mind brought out all sorts of perceived threats. The mind needs to be trained in order to live out the life you want to live. I have to admit, sometimes it felt weird having my coworker take photos of me while in socks in some public space somewhere with people all around, but you just have to tell yourself: “I accept everything that comes with this.” Maybe no one even saw, or maybe someone did see and probably forgot about it within three seconds. If they do remember it would be because they thought it was cool. Others are welcome to do whatever they want with their observations. But, remember, the noise is inside you.

By the fourth day, I had decided that I was too much invested into this project and to run off to India prematurely wouldn’t be the best choice. I wanted to continue a bit, and I wanted to put the video together (although it was my coworker who mainly took control of that part), and I wanted to write this down. Environment is utmost, and while I am still in this environment, I am more likely to order my ideas in a clearer way. I imagine the smell of curries and sounds of horns in the streets of Bangalore will take my mind away to other places. When you’re focused and enjoying something productive you should stride to stay in that state. Change (or disruption) to an environment is unsettling for a person, and I know this well as that is where my general main work’s focus lies – travel-related education, psychology and therapy. I happened to go to MBK once again, of course in my socks, and wandered the streets nearby and came back by public bus. Over the last day or two before leaving for India, I didn’t plan on any such sock-walks, didn’t aim for any such mental or physical stimulation, but instead, just a quiet calm mood to weather away the hot afternoons and get this writing done. But I realized by habit, I still went out in my socks for a morning coffee and 7eleven for bottles of water, and even out for dinner. It had become a new sort of comfort zone. No one likes the feeling of retraction, so maybe just now putting on shoes, feels a little like that. I actually really like who I am when I am out in my socks. I love the mental stimulation and feeling of freedom. Having seen the videos of myself out and about, I tend to think, under the circumstances, I looked rather confident and natural. I liked the way I looked and even more so, how I felt. The self-affirmation of something is almost more crucial than the actual activity itself.

4.Setting Things Straight

The truth is, walking around a city in a pair of white socks is not the epitome of difficulty in this world; to some it would be easy, and to others, mortifying. What is considered ‘difficult’ depends on you, and your previous experiences and interests. The thing is, when confronting your fear, or looking to expand you comfort zone, you need to not only delve directly into it, but you may also need to negotiate with yourself that much more difficult things exist. If you compare your difficulties to other things that are more difficult, then you reduce the size of your perceived burden. You may even need to actively seek out such things to confirm to yourself that they do indeed exist. Things are only small when compared with something bigger, just as the Earth is big if you travel by horse, but very tiny when observed from the moon. So, sometimes to aim at something you perceive as ‘big’ or ‘difficult’, then you may need to not only grind slowly and steadily in its direction, but also hack backwards at it to reduce the perceived size of it. There, that is something a bit more complicated to contemplate. Ha!

You may notice a theme here in that nowhere mentioned was any negative situations being mentioned. That is because during the five-day experiment, there were never any such occurrences. There are many nationalities around Khaosan, and never received a difficulty from anyone. I noticed people occasionally looked. I would also emphasize the word ‘looked’, and not ‘stared’. But on the contrary, I need to mention that no matter what you’re wearing or doing people do look. Yes, I noticed people occasionally still looked while I was wearing flip-flops. People have eyes after all, and they need to set their vision on something, so that’s forgivable. Maybe I just have nice (although hairy) legs? Ha-ha. But, maybe it is something more than that. Maybe it is something about the Thai people and the atmosphere they have created to be inclusive, tolerant and open-minded. To expand on this topic, I will need to keep up my white sock-walking activities across other parts of the world in order to work towards the core of such assumptions.

What Can Thai Attitude Offer The World?

However, the Thai people’s attitude towards life is rather healthy. It seems to be that if something does not harm anyone, then it is not really worth worrying about. That is a fair take on life. I noticed on the rare occasion when someone did not know what to make of me being in my socks, then substitute was a smile or laughter. That takes you back to the ‘world being a mirror’ philosophy; if you are self-conscious or flustered under a circumstance a laugh can be perceived as a snigger or an intrusion. When your soul and mind are calm, a laugh could be perceived as a friendly sign of acceptance or interest. It seems the Thais are slower in their reactions and judgements, allowing themselves sufficient time for a reasonable and proper response to ensue. I like the fact they are natural and thoughtful in their responses, something obviously passed down through their Buddhist faith. I would say, as a whole, I got a more neutral to positive reception anywhere I went in my socks. The interesting thing is, that is the same Thai reception I have received anywhere under almost any circumstance - with shoes on or off. But of course, there would be places you wouldn’t want to go in your socks, just as you wouldn’t swim in the sea or go to bed while wearing your shoes. Well, you can do that and why not if that is what you want - who are we to judge? But, it seems here in Thailand, if you are reasonable in your attitude and polite in your behavior, the Thais will treat you with the same respect. Hats off (or shoes off) to the Thais for that. We can all learn a lot from them.

Your Growth Is Your Gift To The World

It is also your own responsibility to work at expanding your comfort zone. There is not a single soul that does not want to become a bigger and better version of themselves. Explore and grow; that what souls do. It is your job to dig out what it needs and how to go about it. Sock-walking is just my own personal way, among others. But I also find it necessary that people take on such things. It is quite funny to know that all along during the beginning of the experiment, my brain was constantly doing all it could to help me avoid being ostracized by other humans. It was working to keep me surviving in optimal fashion. However, on the flipside, being the same as everyone does not necessarily get you anywhere at all. The ‘herd mentality’ is not lauded; it is not held in high regard. In fact, it is the opposite. I would believe that my getting out in my white socks is a rather positive thing in many people’s perceptions. I could see it and feel that at times. Maybe someone else just happened to think a little thought such as, ‘yeah, why not.’ Being a bit different reaffirms in others’ minds that possibilities exist. It is like the idea of recycling or reducing plastic use; you only really get the idea of when you are reminded of it, or see others taking part in it. My experiment probably does far better for the world that one would imagine.

My Unexpected Gains

I actually feel I have been through a type of therapy myself. I feel energetic. I had to make a quick phone call to an elderly neighbor in China, and she mentioned the change in my tone of voice. I was quite astonished when she said I sounded younger. My eyes feel bright. The flame in my soul feels steady. Making the video and seeing myself in it looking confident and actually liking the look of it, made me feel rather positive about myself. I feel mentally light. Maybe it’s because of Thailand itself and the abundance of sunshine. Maybe it is just because of finishing a two-week work project to Nepal with a group of my students. Maybe I am feeling a natural and positive shift towards a new segment of growth in my field. Or maybe I am feeling physically light, because having walked without shoes on, you begin to tread more lightly and carefully, and are more focused and intentional in your footsteps. Buddhist monks tend to go barefoot, as it seems to have a meditative effect, or maybe bare-footedness offers a boost of energy from the beneath the Earth; something like the opposite of soaking up vitamin D from the sun above. Maybe it was the psychological pushing and prodding of my internal world that met the instinctual need for physical stimulation of the body. Maybe it was sensual stimulation of the mind and feet; something we get too little of in the modern world. I think it was all of the above together that reenergized my body, and reinvigorated the mind and soul and I feel that I have given myself some psychological and perceptual reorganizing, something like a software upgrade. It feels something like coming out after a good Thai Massage.

An Experiment Resulting In The Restructuring the Subconscious View the World

However way, when you throw yourself into the deep end for an experiment in self-growth, it is not always easy and does take some courage and effort. And, so it should. Everything worthwhile always involves an element of difficulty. Why should one be rewarded without having put in any work anyway? Personally, I am very satisfied with this experiment and it has been an interesting, fun and valuable experience and I am sure I will enjoy the benefits of it for a long time to come. I will probably try to keep up with the occasional sock-walk when and where possible, and will aim at attempting the experiment again in other parts of the world. So, if next time you see a guy out in his white socks, it just might be me. Cheers! 

Note:

Yes, I got several pairs of socks dirty. They washed up well when hand washed in the shower. I got zero holes in them. I received zero cuts or injuries from being out shoeless during these five days.

When a beloved pet dies, bears understand the sadness.

OK, this was accidental, not set up . I was playing with low light shots. When I saw this one it meant something to me :o)

This is one beautiful boy-Blue.

and one more for the flower series too :)

better on black

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.

David Viscott, MD

About Equanimity

May you all be filled with loving-kindness...

Havana Vieja / Cuba

Album of Cuba: www.flickr.com/photos/tabliniumcarlson/albums/72157696700...

That's my motto, or slogan, or what ever it is that I put on my advertising, website and stuff. I think it explains what I feel about dog photography and what I can bring to it. It also means I'm on my belly a lot.

A series of AI-generated pictures of a red-haired girl in different art styles.

To be continued.

Pictures made with Midjourney.

I'm always happy to accept invites to groups as long as I can see their content. Should I see "this group is not available to you", my pictures won't be made available to that group. Thanks for your understanding.

"Once I knew only darkness and stillness... my life was without past or future... but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living." - Helen Keller

Understanding HDR part III - The Histograms

The histograms are very important for all photographers, including HDR photographers. In this article goo.gl/2fD0J3 I explain histograms and why they are important to HDR photographers and how to use them to increase your image quality significantly.

This photo is the Piccadilly Circus.

Piccadilly is always crowded - well almost always. And shooting photos there is difficult because of all of the people. But when you patiently are waiting, with your camera on tripod, people also get curious and come talking to you. This particular image is assembled from 9 various photos, with different people and light settings. Photo by: Jacob Surland, www.caughtinpixels.com

Understanding Napoli, in Italy.

@ 2013

According to the UNESCO Website:

Located on the west coast of Greenland, 250 km north of the Arctic Circle, Greenland’s Ilulissat Icefjord is the sea mouth of Sermeq Kujalleq, one of the few glaciers through which the Greenland ice cap reaches the sea. Sermeq Kujalleq is one of the fastest and most active glaciers in the world. It annually calves over 35 km3 of ice, i.e. 10% of the production of all Greenland calf ice and more than any other glacier outside Antarctica. Studied for over 250 years, it has helped to develop our understanding of climate change and icecap glaciology. The combination of a huge ice-sheet and the dramatic sounds of a fast-moving glacial ice-stream calving into a fjord covered by icebergs makes for a dramatic and awe-inspiring natural phenomenon.

All land in the reserve is state-owned and no permanent settlements are allowed. Nearby construction is also strictly controlled. Visitor access to the area is limited by the wilderness character of the landscape, with no roads or human-made structures. Management issues such as crowding (from cruise tourism) and erosion are limited to a small area close to the town of Ilulissat. The protection of the property will be further enhanced when a planned buffer zone is adopted.

This is the view from above the trail on shore.

This 360° High Dynamic Range panorama was stitched from 78 bracketed photographs with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, processed with Color Efex, and touched up in Affinity Photo and Aperture.

Original size: 25000 × 12500 (312.5 MP; 1.36 GB).

Location: Ilulissat, Greenland

------------ street still life --------------

....una casamatta nazista in Sicilia, trasformata in altare votivo.....

...a blockhouse Nazi in Sicily, transformed into votive altar .....

....27 January: Memorial Day....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEg5JyAVxpY

www.flickr.com/photos/33714681@N06/3516998316/

www.icao.it/navigando/uploads/memoria1_1.jpg

pdcimilena.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/11.jpg

www.partecipiamo.it/giornata_della/giornata_memoria_3.jpg

1.bp.blogspot.com/_QV42V_Y3Ydo/SX7o0qGKQAI/AAAAAAAAAPY/Mb...

3.bp.blogspot.com/_CPV56x3R-vQ/SXuDz7g2aDI/AAAAAAAAAQE/nh...

img246.imageshack.us/img246/3031/auschwitz3b6012hz4.jpg

www.flickr.com/photos/33714681@N06/4215768335/

j9marshall.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/levi-portrait.jpg

img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c2/c11687.jpg

Best viewed on black ' L '

Whilst watching a fabulous Sax player on the street in Shibuya late on a thursday night I saw this guy with his wonderful grey hair . He noticed me looking at him and I had already grabbed a couple of quick shots from a distance. I went over an said how much that I llked the music the Sax player was performing and he clearly did to , Sometimes we forget what an instant way music can be to unite people and break down barriers .

Leica M8

Summilux 35mm

Good morning. Because of the interest and dialogue centered around coffee from the last coffee bean photo posted I thought I would create a short, but informative series centered on what is many people's favorite beverage. The series will be more about the information and commentary than the photos, but I hope you enjoy the images also.

This first installment will center on the bean itself as understanding the complex world of coffee is a little like trying to understand wine...very intimidating to some. But you don't have to be an aficionado to brew great coffee at home. You just need to pay attention to a few details...starting with the beans.

There are only two kinds of coffee beans: "robusta and "arabica". Robusta is less expensive to produce and is used primarily in canned and instant coffee. It contains twice as much caffeine as arabica and is generally harsh in flavor. The majority of the world's coffee is arabica. It's definitely superior to robusta, but the quality of the beans can vary greatly so you need to find a trusted brand or source.

The flavor of the coffee is locked inside the green, unroasted beans. Roasting unlocks and helps develop the flavor. Longer roasting and higher temperatures make the beans darker and oilier, but sometimes border on being charred and bitter tasting from over roasting.

One last thing on beans and that is choosing coffee based solely on it's name is confusing. That's because beans can be named for their growing region (e.g. Kenya, Columbia, Brazil, Jamaica, etc.) and/or how dark they were roasted. A good thing to remember is there are only two kinds of coffee beans and that anyone can name/label coffee beans whatever it wants. So it's best to choose your coffee beans based on the degree of roast, which I'll elaborate more on further in the series.

Next installment will focus on freshness of the coffee/bean and maintaining it.

Take care...and I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Lacey

ISO100, aperture f/4.5, exposure 2.0 seconds (2) focal length 70mm

Quotation art.

when we see eye to eye and thoughts are shared and respected...

"..,So where are the strong

And who are the trusted?

And where is the harmony?

Sweet harmony

'Cause each time I feel it slippin' away, just makes me wanna cry

What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?

What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?"

by Elvis Costello

I needed a break from work so I took Friday off and walked around my favorite nature preserve. It was a day of calm with gentle rain and rich spring colors to die for. As I wandered for some seven hours, I saw deer (okay, only their white tails running away from me), a crane, a mama goose on her eggs, a group of wood ducks, and a variety of midwestern birds like this guy. We made eye contact and came to the simple understanding that I would sit still and make no sudden moves and he would pose like a model and give me every look in the book :-)

Dedication of the 1964 NY World's Fair's Unisphere

Flushing Meadow, Queens.

036_20131229_flushing_queens_pn_3_

RX100

ONLY PERSONAL COMMENTS. NO LOGOS. THANK YO FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.© RESPECT the copyright.

Leica-M6 TTL 0.72 Serial Number (2466527) Elmarit 1:2.8/21mm ASPH.

Delta 100asa Developer HC 110 1+31 20º 6 1/2 min.

Nikon Coolscan 5000ED.

Photoshop CS 4

Het Kröller-Müller Museum is een museum voor moderne kunst, gelegen in het Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe te Otterlo in de Nederlandse provincie Gelderland. Het museum en het aangrenzende beeldenpark, samen ca. 25 ha, genieten internationale bekendheid. Jaarlijks komen er ruim 250.000 bezoekers uit binnen- en buitenland.

The Kröller-Müller Museum is a museum for modern art, located in the National Park De Hoge Veluwe in Otterlo in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The museum and the adjacent sculpture park, together around 25 ha, are internationally renowned. Every year more than 250,000 visitors come from home and abroad.

🔴Leica my point of view.

Wetzlar, Deutschland.

Leica-CL 1974 Rangefinder

Leica-M 6 TTL 0.72 1998 Rangefinder

Leica-M6 TTL 0.85 2001 Rangefinde

Lacul Morii-Bucharest city-Prakticar 28mm F2,8

*Not the brand or technique is important in photographic art, but the understanding of the things behind the photographed subjects, the emotion, the composition, the joy or the sadness, the life itself that is mysteriously coming unrepeatable as a gift.

(Horia Stanicel)

* I have seen a large part of the most popular or devoted photographers' photographs over time and of course I can say that most of them have speculated on different situations, angles of photography, shadows, different brightness, feelings, human tragedies, all kinds of paradoxical situations that of course make them noticed. I do not want to bring any name into question for the simple reason that each photographic artist has a unique value. However, I regard the photographic art as a simple spectator that is difficult to be convince most of the times. I contemplate the creation of God and every time I photograph I do not forget how grateful we should be for all the beauty that our Creator gave it to us! People who forget this do nothing but hate themselves and the world they live in and photography is nothing but a mirror of this beautiful or crooked world.(Horia Stanicel)

*Nu aparatul foto sau tehnica este importantă în arta fotografică, ci înțelegerea lucrurilor care stau în spatele subiectelor fotografiate,emoția, compoziția, bucuria sau tristețea, viața însăși care vine tainic irepetabil ca un dar.

(Horia Stanicel)

*Am văzut o mare parte a fotografiilor celor mai populari sau consacrați artiști fotografi de-a lungul timpului și desigur pot spune că majoritatea dintre ei au speculat diversele situații,unghiuri de fotografiere, umbre, luminozitati diferite,sentimente,tragedii umane chiar,tot felul de situații paradoxale care desigur să-i facă remarcați.Nu vreau să aduc vreun nume în discuție pentru simplul motiv că fiecare artist fotograf are o valoare unică. Totuși eu privesc arta fotografică ca un simplu spectator greu de convins de cele mai multe ori.Eu contemplu creația lui Dumnezeu și de fiecare dată când fotografiez nu uit cât de recunoscători ar trebui să fim pentru toată frumusețea pe care Creatorul nostru ne-a daruit-o! Oamenii care uită aceasta nu fac decât să se urâțească pe ei înșiși dar și lumea în care trăiesc iar fotografia nu este decât o oglindă a acestei lumi frumoase sau urâțite.

(Horia Stanicel)

I wish to thank everyone who has viewed my photos. I appreciate viewing yours also. Photos really do make the world come together and assist understanding between cultures. Thanks and Cheers.

Understanding Napoli, in Italy

"Understanding Society" is the main theme of Tilburg University in the southern province of Noord Brabant of The Netherlands. But there's only so much 'understanding' a visiting committee can take in at one sitting. So we went on a couple of pleasant walks through the spaciously laid out campus. There's a wonderful, rectangular pond with modern sculpture, and walking in the low, bright sun rays this view delighted our eyes: truly Blazing Autumnal Waters. My precise little Sony T900 recorded what we saw as faithfully as I remember it...

A bit facetiously it might be added that the ciitzens of Tilburg are proud to ply their once offensive nickname of "Kruikezeikers" (Pot-pissers). Tilburg grew from various impoverished hamlets where sheep grazing was the main occupation. The wool was then shipped out to other places. But in early-modern times, households began their own wool industry, taking textile making into their own hands, as it were. Hardly a home could be found without a loom. Industry-size millhouses were established in the nineteenth century, and Tilburg became the wool and textile capital of the Netherlands. In former times, urine was necessary for wool-processing, and it was collected in earthenware jars. Hence that Tilburg epitheton (now fashionably) ornans!

Incidentally, it was this kind of industry that Karl Marx decried in the nineteenth century and led him to write "Das Kapital". Students of the then still Catholic University in 1969 for a short time effected a change of name for their institution, calling it Karl Marx Universiteit.

Whatever the case, after our little stretching of the legs we again turned to "Understanding Society".

Helios 44-2

instagram.com/forrrest777/

Layered sedimentary rocks are key to understanding the geologic history of a planet, recording the sequence of deposition and the changes over time in the materials that were deposited.

These layered sediments are on the floor of eastern Coprates Chasma in Valles Marineris, the grandest canyon on Mars. They are erosional remnants of a formerly much more extensive sedimentary deposit that once filled the floor of the canyon but is nowadays reduced to isolated mesas.

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

www.uahirise.org/ESP_061085_1740

via Instagram bit.ly/1ZGZqnI

.

"Understanding the symptoms of diabetes is a valuable Christmas gift."

~ Unknown

...................

1. Diabetes Awareness,

2. Cure Diabetes,

3. Diabetes Awareness

...................

Thanks for stopping by

and God Bless,

hugs, Chris

Not sure I think he was writing "send me 3 and 4pence as were going to a dance" but I thought I heard his Captain asking "Send us reinforcements were going to advance" :))

FROM OUR TOUR GUIDE...

Maybe as I am a Miao and because I have lived in a small village for 18 years absorbing and understanding the great richness of the Miao culture, I deeply love this ancient and gorgeous tradition. This knowledge comes from my own experience of being a Miao and living in the community and not from books. I would like to share this knowledge with various enthusiasts who also seek to understand different cultures.

　　The Miao are one of the 55 minorities in China and are mainly concentrated in Southwest China. About 4.19 million of the Miao make their home in Guizhou province where there is a hidden, mysterious civilization and magical ceremonies. The Miao in the region where I have lived are sometimes known as the Long Skirt Miao by the length of a woman's skirt or as Black Miao due to the colour of a woman's costume. However, I prefer to call them Xijiang style Miao because of their location. Xijiang is the symbolic village of this small group and I think it is more appropriate and technically correct to name my group in this way.

　 　Generally speaking in my community, there are two, three, or maybe more shamans in a big Miao village which usually has over 100 families. Small villages sometimes do not have a shaman. The Miao here are animist and shamanist, so the shaman is respected by every one and is engaged in hosting or participating in any important ceremonies in the community. When a member of a family gets sick or does not feel well, the family think that this must be caused by some bad spirits. They then have to find a shaman to hold a ceremony.

　　In order to enable the following explanation to be easily understood I will use myself as an example. If I become ill or do not feel well, my parents will find a shaman to come to my house and carry out a ceremony so as to save my life. They believe that I must have lost my soul which is on its way to the deep jungle on Leigongshan Mountain with the evil spirits. A Miao village named Jioushijiou - ninety nine in English - on Mount Leigongshan, is believed to be the place where spirits come from. That is to say, if my lost soul was confused by evil spirits and followed them to Jioushijiou and did not return to my body,I would die.

　　When the shaman carries out the ceremony with the supernatural he always needs a male assistant to help him. At the start the shaman wears a piece of kerchief covering his face. I soak my feet in a basin of water and step onto the ground to make a footprint. Then the assistant (usually my uncle) uses a ri straw to measure it and cuts it to same length as the footprint for later use. After this the shaman creates a circle between himself and the onlookers by taking water into his mouth and spraying it around him. This is to protect them from his sword for when he is in a trance he only sees the spirits and his assistant. The shaman uses a sword as a ladder to climb up to heaven. Some shamans use an iron hoop decorated with a bunch of bells as a magical instrument. After the death of one old shaman, the young shaman in my village used an iron hoop for the ceremony. After swallowing grains of raw, unhusked rice, the shaman starts to belch and shake his legs from side to side followed by singing many folk songs. The songs are to call for the good spirits to come back into the shaman's body and give him supernatural powers. It is said that a very skilled shaman owns some 100 spirits and an ordinary one only has about 20 to 30 spirits or ghosts. These ghosts are dead heroes or ordinary people of the village or a nearby village. Yang Dalou is a popular ghost hero who was one of the leaders of the Miao uprising against the Qing government between AD 1854-1872. The ghosts come to help the shaman so that he can see all the good spirits, bad ghosts and my lost soul and even communicate with them. After singing for about 10 to 20 minutes by which time all the good spirits will have returned, the shaman's body becomes heavier and heavier and he falls down from his desk or chair. The assistant has to try his best to help him to regain his seat. Then the shaman beats his bare palms with the iron hoop like a horse getting shod for a long and tiresome trip.

The assistant is called " Balang'' in my language. The shaman says to the assistant: 'Balang, Balang…, Go, go, let's go the lower way by riding a horse.' No, no, we can't go the lower way by riding a horse. We must go the upper way by flying' replies the assistant. Then the shaman imitates flying like an eagle. Sometimes he whistles. At times he waves his hands and feet looking like an eagle flying in the sky. Usually the shaman from my village starts the journey from the paper making plant in Guading, Sankeshu town, along the Bala river and up to its upper reaches. Of course there are many crossroads where the shaman encounters lots of footprints and the prints of the lost soul are mixed with footprints of other ghosts or people. He does not know which way my lost soul had taken.Thus the assistant gives him a rice straw to measure the footprint to see if it is from my lost soul. The shaman cuts the straw and hands it to the assistant to check if the cut one is the same length as the prepared one. If it is the assistant says 'Yes' the shaman will know which way he should go to find the lost soul. If it is not, the shaman may have to do this numerous times until the two rice straws are the same length. He will do this at every crossroads. Finally the shaman finds my lost soul. At that moment, the lost soul is happily walking along with the evil spirits to the jungle. The shaman has to sing a soft and sad little song many times to persuade the lost soul to come back into my body. He sings: "gi gi lao, ji da gi da zii, gi gi lao, ji da gi da zii, ang kang ou, ang kang ou, an kang, an kang, ou" in the Miao language which means "My dear, come here, come here, come here slowly."' If the shaman cannot persuade the soul to come back into my body, I will die; so the shaman works very hard to persuade the lost soul to return.

　　When the lost soul comes back into my body, this is still not enough. The shaman has to travel to heaven to visit the heavenly king and to ask him to indicate what will happen. The trip to the heaven is extremely long, perilous and full of danger. On the way to heaven, the shaman will encounter many festivals. On the festival ground, people are playing Lusheng (bamboo flutes) and buffalo fights can also be seen. However, these hallucinations are made and created by the evil spirits as they want to make the shaman spend more time at the festivals in order to stop him healing the patient. When he sees such wonderful festivals, the shaman cries out to the assistant: "Balang, Balang! Let's go there to watch the festivals. You see, people are playing Lusheng, beating bronze drums." The assistant immediately replies: "No, no! We can't go there wasting our time. It's a trap! Our family have some other important things to do. We must continue our journey."

At the entrance to the house of the heavenly king, there are four doors. While passing through each door, the shaman will sing songs again. When he has passed through the last door, he finds the heavenly king sleeping lazily in bed. He then sings many songs and kneels down to offer cups of rice wine to the heavenly king. The shaman himself drinks half of the rice wine. This action is repeated three times until the heavenly king agrees to give him a book to look at. In the book are listed all the names of the human beings on earth.

Some names are ticked; others are marked with a 'x'. If someone's name is ticked it indicates that he will die.If the name is marked with a 'x' it mean that he will survive. If my name is ticked, the assistant will plead with the shaman and force him to persuade the heavenly king to let me live because the heavenly king can decide who will die and who will survive.After he has been persuaded, the heavenly king will give to the shaman indications of what sacrifices should be made. The shaman will then tell the assistant and the family what animals should be killed to appease the evil spirits in order to heal the patient. If the evil spirits are particularly harmful it will be necessary to sacrifice a fat pig, or a dog. Occasionally a buffalo will have to be used. Usually a hen, or a cock, or a duck is enough for the common bad spirits. After the activities in heaven, the shaman still has a long trip to undertake to return to the earth.

The total time for the shaman to carry out the whole ceremony is about one and a half hours. At the end of the ceremony, the assistant will give a hen or a duck to the shaman. The shaman takes the bird in one hand and plucks out its liver with his other hand and passes it to the assistant. The assistant at once uses a piece of cloth or the patient's jacket to wrap it in. Later, after the ceremony is finished, he bakes it on hot charcoal. The patient then eats the cooked liver and will recover over the next few days. The killed sacrifice will be plucked and boiled with rice gruel. The family members eat the meat and rice gruel. There is a taboo that the family must finish eating all of the food otherwise the patient will not be cured.Please remember that there are two different types of people who are engaged in hosting supernatural ceremonies. One is the shaman who is always a man and the other is what we call a witch. Women take this role but in Miao villages there are mainly shamans and only a few witches. The assistant is always a man who is a close relative of the patient's family. One more thing is that the shaman cannot heal himself or his own family members. He can only heal other families. Thus when the shaman's family or he himself become ill, a shaman from another family will have to be invited.

I studied at university for several years and am now working in Guiyang. I would say that I believe in science and technology. Some city friends question me sometimes. Do I think it is a superstitious activity? Do I believe it or not? It is hard for me to give a definitive answer because sometimes it makes sense and it is still popular in the (Miao) community. I like to regard it as a religious belief or a spiritual pursuit. It is something that my people have been following for generations. Without it, they would lose their sense of identity as a real nation.

　　As the wisps of smoke in the distant village rise in the sky, I hope that our civilization will continue to keep its mysteries and shining glory. I hope that my poor English and explanation will not become an impediment to our communication and prevent us from exchanging views of different cultures.

I rarely spent time with my Dad while I was growing up. I lived with my Grandparents for most of my life. I met my Mom a handful of times. It has been more than 20 years since I've seen her last. I still talk to my Dad and we try to forge a relationship. When I was younger, when I did see him, he would take me to interesting places like this one. I understand, Dad. I'm just thankful for the time we did spend together.

"understanding how light works"...you think that's simple?!? try it and you'll change your answer to a simple NO.

when you're able to see it, and use it to take amazing pictures, you are a good photographer...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQk2iXj1u28

My understanding is that CFE leases the ol' PRR trackage from CSX, even though I believe it is dispatched by NS. The landlord (CSX) rarely makes an appearance on this railroad; in fact, NS is now making a move to utilize the old Pennsy MUCH more.

One of these trains is shown here meeting a CFE rail train at Wanatah, IN. 16E is a BRC-Clearing to Conway junker, and to relieve some pressure off the ex-NYC main through Elkhart, NS has decided to send it via Ft. Wayne-Lima-Crestline on the CFE.

The ultimate goal is to send unit oil trains this way, but I guess anything not a priority can take this route. Even the track between Tolleston and Clakre Junction-ish is set to be restored with the diamond already put back in at Tolleston from what I have heard.

Good to see some actual signs of life along the PRR.

Leipziger Buchmesse 2019 / Leipzig Book Fair 2019

2019-03-23 (Saturday)

2019_044

2019#374

kitsukami04 [insta] (_____) ______ as ______ from ______

I would appreciate any help with the identification of the character and the cosplayer, thank you.

Thank you for any group invites which I'd be glad to accept. However, if I can't check the content of such groups ("This group is not available to you") I'd rather not add any of my photos. Thank you for your understanding.

You wake up every morning with back and neck pain. Finally, you decide it’s time to replace your mattress. What size should you get, though? Here’s a breakdown of which size will work best for your specific situation.

To continue reading this article, please click on the following link!

www.nectarsleep.com/posts/understanding-mattress-dimensions/