View allAll Photos Tagged Understanding
In March 2025, I photographed Dr. Catie Cuan, a rare kind of technologist—one who does not merely study movement but inhabits it, shaping our understanding of both human and robotic motion in ways that feel at once inevitable and revolutionary. To witness her at work is to see someone in deep conversation with machines, coaxing out a language of movement that is not just efficient but expressive, not just technical but emotional.
A trained dancer and mechanical engineer, Cuan is a pioneer in ‘choreorobotics,’ a field that merges artificial intelligence, human-robot interaction, and art. Her career has been a dance in itself, moving fluidly between performance, research, and entrepreneurship, all in pursuit of a singular question: how can robots move in a way that feels alive?
Cuan holds a PhD and a Master’s of Science in robotics and AI from Stanford, where she is also a postdoctoral researcher leading the art and robotics efforts at the new Stanford Robotics Center. Her dissertation, “Compelling Robot Behaviors through Supervised Learning and Choreorobotics,” explores how machine learning can teach robots to move in ways that evoke presence—where motion itself carries meaning. During her doctoral research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, Google, and Stanford University, she led the first multi-robot machine learning project at Everyday Robots (Google X) and Robotics at Google, now part of Google DeepMind.
But Cuan is not content to leave her work in the realm of academia. She has spent years choreographing robots, treating them not as rigid automatons but as performers capable of communicating through motion. She has held residencies at the Smithsonian, the Exploratorium, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, TED, Everyday Robots (Google X), the RAD Lab, and ThoughtWorks Arts, working with nearly a dozen different robotic platforms—from the industrial ABB IRB 6700 to small, interactive tabletop machines. Her performances reimagine robots not as servants or tools, but as collaborators, capable of moving with grace, intention, and even artistry.
Cuan’s vision is as much about rethinking robotics as it is about rethinking humanity’s relationship to machines. Her work suggests that the way a robot moves can influence the way we feel about it—that movement is not just a function of engineering but of psychology, of storytelling, of something deeply embedded in how we perceive life itself. In healthcare, she envisions robots that move with a bedside manner, adjusting their motion to put patients at ease. In entertainment, she imagines robots that can dance, that can anticipate and respond to human motion as a partner rather than an operator. Her work, at its core, is about breaking down the binary between the organic and the artificial.
Photographing Cuan, I saw someone who carries these ideas not just in her mind but in her body. Her own movements are precise yet fluid, deliberate yet spontaneous, as though she is always attuned to the forces of motion around her. In that moment, it was clear: she is not just designing how robots move—she is teaching them how to be seen, how to be understood, how to exist in a world that has, until now, only made space for the living.
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"Understanding the symptoms of diabetes is a valuable Christmas gift."
~ Unknown
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2. Cure Diabetes,
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Thanks for stopping by
and God Bless,
hugs, Chris
Zellforschung im All - um den Stoff besser zu verstehen, aus denen wir alle gemacht sind.
BIOLAB cell research in space - to understand the very cells that all of us are made of.
Credits: ESA/NASA
122A4190
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 to grow algae in space might be the key to a successful closed life support system in future spacecraft. And it helps us to better understand Earth's eco system, too.
Zu verstehen, wie man Algen im Weltraum züchten kann, könnte der Schlüssel zu einem funktionierenden geschlossenen Lebenserhaltungssystem in zukünftigen Raumschiffen sein. Und noch dazu hilft es uns, das Ökosystem unserer Erde besser zu verstehen.
ID: 362D5786
Credit: ESA/A.Gerst, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
[more pics inside]
“There can be no understanding between the hand and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.”
(Maria in Metropolis, Fritz Lang)
Part of PN Cotton Mill project
Nikon Fa, Sigma 24mm. f/2, Fomapan 200 Creative pushed to 400.
"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...
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/
Martin Creed
Work No. 2630 UNDERSTANDING, 2016
Red Neon, Steel
Approx dims: 21 3/5 x 50 x 2 1/8 ft / 658.6 x 1524 x 66 cm. Base 25 x 25 feet at top / 33 x 33 feet at bottom
Presented by Public Art Fund, May 4 – October 23, 2016 at Pier 6, Brooklyn Bridge Park
Courtesy the artist, Gavin Brown’s enterprise New York/Rome, and Hauser & Wirth
Photo: Jason Wyche, Courtesy Public Art Fund, NY
© Martin Creed 2016
my understanding is that these puppets show were very popular at one time, but now...computers, tv and smartphones....who wants puppets?
the colors on the puppet structure were not saturated...all natural and bright!
taken at the corner of shuangshi road and furong road in taichung, taiwan
A walk into town to see the East Kent Morris dancers on Easter Saturday the 19th April 2025. and to get a haircut. Yellow filter on camera today.M1010693
The Day Is Near
And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
[Romans 13:11-14]
5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
1. Like it or not, we are ALL sinners: As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” (Romans 3:10-12 NLT)
2. The punishment for sin is death: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)
3. Jesus is our only hope: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NLT)
4. SALVATION is by GRACE through FAITH in JESUS: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)
5. Accept Jesus and receive eternal life: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NLT) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NLT) And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12 NLT)
Read the Bible for yourself. Allow the Lord to speak to you through his Word. YOUR ETERNITY IS AT STAKE!
Parámetros :: Parameters :: Paramètres: Fuji FinePix SL1000; ISO 400; -2 ev; f 2.9; 1/12 s; Fuji lens, 4 mm.
Título :: Title :: Titre ::: Fecha (Date): Plato con 40 años :: Plate 40 years old :: Plateau avec 40 ans ::: 2015/04/04 18:19
(Es). Historia: León. España. Hay dos cosas importantes en esta imagen: el bollo sueco de cardamomo (receta de Ibán Yarza) y el plato. La receta es excelente, el resultado sorprendente, sabor, textura y delicadeza.
El plato es importante por su historia personal. 40 años atrás en Alemania mis padres trabajaban en una Base Militar de la OTAN. Les oía decir que la vajilla que se usaba en los comedores militares era de una calidad que nunca antes habían visto en España. En aquellos años 60 no era normal tener acceso a estos productos en España, antes de irse a trabajar como emigrantes a Alemania, y les sorprendían. Se podían calentar a elevadas temperaturas introduciéndolos en el horno y no rompían, con gran consistencia y espesor, acompañados de unos grabados que no se quitaban después de muchos lavados en aquellos enormes lavavajillas. Mi hermano y Yo, con aquellos años, no comprendíamos su sorpresa..¡Era sólo un plato! ¿No?. Pues ya está, un plato.
Pero alguno de aquellos platos llegaron a España con nuestra vuelta a casa. Hoy, después de esos 40 años, más los que la vajilla tuviera antes, siguen estando casi como estaban; han perdido un poco del grabado y eso es todo lo que han dejado en el camino. Si se caen al suelo se desprenden muchas esquirlas extremadamente pequeñas, finas, agudas, difíciles de localizar y con un poder cortante muy alto, lo que las convierte en bastante peligrosas. Algunas de ellas aparecen meses después en alguna rendija allí donde los armarios se unen con el suelo. Algunos años después, cuando por los estudios que cursaba tenía mucho contacto con elementos de vidrio en el Laboratorio de Microbiología, conocí técnicamente el origen de su calidad. Por detrás estaba indicado el origen de las sorpresas: "Pyrex® Tableware by Corning. Made in USA". Hace esos casi 50 años aquello no era habitual en España.
El bollo de cardamomo es lo otro importante. Recomiendo el libro de Ibán Yarza: Pan Casero. Hace meses que ya no compro pan por culpa de ese libro. A poco que comiences a hacer tu pan en casa, quitándote ese miedo infundado a amasar, a tener masa madre, a poner cosas sorprendente dentro del pan… entonces verás que el pan es una de esas cosas importantes y divertidas que te has perdido si no lo haces tu mismo. No lleva tanto tiempo como se piensa, si tienes panificadora gran parte del proceso lo puede hacer ella sola cuando Tú no tienes ese tiempo, te permite panes con diversidad de combinaciones, especias, introduciendo verduras… Cuando llegó la panificadora a casa lo primero que me dijeron es: "¿A dónde iba con ese trasto? Lo vas a usar dos veces y luego acabará en un rincón". Hoy ha desplazado el espacio de la Thermomix que sólo se saca en el momento en que se va a usar, porque el sitio ahora está reservado para "el aparato que ayuda a hacer el pan y la masa de la repostería"… ¡Ah!, también puede hacer mermelada.
La masa de esos bollos se puede hacer a mano, pero ese día tenía un heridas en varios dedos debido al frío de las noches que salgo con Fray y la hice con la panificadora, luego el cocido fue en el horno donde la bollería sueca es diferente a la tradicional española: en este caso el horno suele cocer a 250 grados durante 6 o 7 minutos. Hay que estar vigilando el proceso casi sentado delante del horno o se quemarán. Llevan harina, levadura, azúcar blanco, azúcar moreno (a ser posible mascabado), sal, leche con mantequilla, semilla de cardamomo molidos, huevo para pintar y opcionalmente comino y almendra laminada. En 2 o 3 intentos le coges el punto y… puedes llegar a coger mucho peso, o hacer que lo cojan los demás.
Toma: Estaba con el ordenador y el hambre comenzaba a rondarme. Fui a la cocina y me acordé de que los había hecho el día antes. Tomé uno, el plato y volví al ordenador. Lo puse a la derecha, debajo de la lámpara y mientras lo miraba para comenzar a dar cuenta de él me vino a la mente la historia del plato. Aparté un poco el teclado, coloqué mejor la lámpara, preparé un poco la escena con algunas sombras dejando el reflejo y brillo de la bombilla y me fui a por la Fuji FinePix SL1000. Después, lentamente, fue acabándose el bollo. No hubo migas.
Tratamiento: Con Aperture. Original en JPG. El formato lo adapto para colocar el objeto ligeramente a la derecha, cortando el brillo de la bombilla. Oscurezco toda la escena para dar relevancia al plato. Modifico los histogramas por colores para marcar mejor el verde del grabado. Elevo ligeramente la vibración de color.
¡Eso es todo amigos!
(En). The History: León. Spain. There are two important things in this image: the Swedish bun of cardamomo (Ibán Yarza's recipe) and the plate. The recipe is excellent, the surprising result, flavor, texture and sensitivity.
The plate is important for his personal history. 40 years behind in Germany my parents were employed at a Military Base of the NATO. It heard them saying that the china that was used in the military dining rooms was of a quality that before they had never seen in Spain. In those years 60 it was not normal to have access to these products in Spain, before to being going to work as emigrants to Germany, and they were surprising them. They could warm up to high temperatures introducing them in the oven and they were not breaking, with great consistency and thickness, accompanied of a few engravings that were not eliminated after many washes in those enormous dishwashers. My brother and I, with those years, we were not understanding his surprise .. it was only a plate! Not?. Since already it is, a plate.
But someone of those plates they came to Spain with our come back home. Today, after these 40 years, more that the china had before, they continue being almost like they were; they have lost a bit of the engraving and it is everything what they have left in the way. If they fall to the soil there become detached many extremely small, thin, sharp splinters, difficult to locate and with a cutting very high power, which turns them in dangerous enough. Some of them appear some months later in some split there where the cupboards join with the soil. Some years later, when for the studies that it was dealing it had very much I contact glass elements in the Laboratory of Microbiology, I knew technically the origin of his quality. Behind the origin of the surprises was indicated: "Pyrex Tableware by Corning. Made in USA". It does these almost 50 years that one it was not habitual in Spain.
The bun of cardamomo is the important different thing. I recommend Ibán Yarza's book: Domestic Bread. For months already I do not buy bread through the fault of this book. To so that you begin to do your bread in house, taking from you this groundless fear of kneading, of having mass mother, of making things surprising inside the bread … at the time you will see that the bread is one of these important and enterteining things that you have got lost if you do not do it your same. It does not go so much time like thinks, if you have baker machine great part of the process can do it she alone when You do not have this time, allows you breads with diversity of combinations, spices, introducing vegetables … When the woman baker came to house the first thing that they said to me is: "Where You go with this utensil? You it are going to use two times and then it will finish in a corner". Today it has displaced the space of the Thermomix that only is extracted in the moment in which it is going to be used, because the site now is reserved for "the device that helps to do the bread and the pastry dough" … Ah!, also it can do jam.
The mass of these rolls can be done by hand, but that day had wounds on several fingers due to cold nights I go out with Fray and I did with the bread, then the stew was in the oven where the Swedish pastries is different the Spanish traditional: in this case usually bake oven at 250 degrees for 6 to 7 minutes. It is necessary to be monitoring the process almost sat in front of the oven or they will burn. They take flour, yeast, white sugar, brown sugar (to being possible mascabado), go out, milk with butter, seed of cardamomo ground, egg to do and optionally cumin and laminated almond. In 2 or 3 attempts you take the point and … you can manage to take very much weight, or to do that they it take the others.
Taking up: It was with the computer and the hunger began to court me. I went to the kitchen and remembered that had done them the day before. I took one, the plate and returned to the computer. I put it to the right, under the lamp and while it was looking at it to begin to liquidate it, the history of the plate came to my mind. I separated a bit the keyboard, placed better the lamp, prepared a bit the scene with some shades leaving the reflection and sheen of the bulb and I went away for the Fuji FinePix SL1000. Later, slowly, the bun was ended. There were no crumbs.
Treatment: With Aperture. Original JPG. The format I adapt it to place the object lightly to the right, cutting the sheen of the bulb. I get dark the whole scene to give relevancy to the plate. I modify the histograms for colors to mark better the green one of the engraving. I raise lightly the vibration of color.
That's all folks !!
(Fr). Histoire: León. L'Espagne. Il y a deux choses importantes dans cette image : le petit pain au lait suédois de cardamome (recette d'Ibán Yarza) et le plateau. La recette est excellente, le résultat surprenant, le goût, la texture et délicatesse.
Le plateau est important par son histoire personnelle. 40 ans derrière en Allemagne mes parents travaillaient dans une Base Militaire de l'OTAN. Il les entendait dire que la vaisselle qui s'employait dans les salles à manger militaires était d'une qualité dont d'avance ils n'avaient jamais vu en Espagne. Dans ces années 60 ce n'était pas normal avoir l'accès à ces produits en Espagne, avant de partir pour travailler comme émigrants en Allemagne, et ils les surprenaient. Ils pouvaient se chauffer aux températures élevées en les introduisant dans le four et ils ne cassaient pas, avec une grande consistance et une épaisseur, accompagnés de quelques gravures qui n'étaient pas éliminées après beaucoup de lavages dans ces énormes machines à laver. Mon frère et Je, avec ces années, nous ne comprenions pas sa surprise.. Un plateau était seul! Non ?. Puisqu'il est déjà, un plateau.
Mais un de ces plateaux ils sont arrivés à l'Espagne avec notre tour à une maison. Aujourd'hui, après ces 40 années, plus que la vaisselle avait d'avance, ils continuent d'être presque comme ils étaient; ils ont perdu un peu de la gravure et cela est tout celui qu'ils ont laissé dans le chemin. S'ils tombent au sol beaucoup d'esquilles se détachent extrêmement petites, fines, minces, difficiles de trouver et avec un pouvoir coupant très haut ce qui les change en assez dangereuses. Certains d'entre elles apparaissent des mois après dans une fente là où les armoires se joignent avec le sol. Quelques années après, quand aux études dont il suivait un cours j'avais beaucoup de contact avec éléments en verre dans le Laboratoire de Microbiologie, j'ai techniquement connu l'origine de sa qualité. Par derrière l'origine des surprises était indiquée : "Pyrex Tableware by Corning. Made in des USA". Il fait ceux-ci presque 50 ans cela n'était pas habituel en Espagne.
Le petit pain au lait de cardamome est l'autre important. Je recommande le livre d'Ibán Yarza : le Pain Domestique. Des cela fait déjà mois que je n'achète pas déjà de pain par faute de ce livre. À peu que tu commences à faire ton pain dans une maison, en te retirant cette peur sans fondement à amasser, à une mère avoir une masse, à mettre des choses surprenant à l'intérieur du pain …, alors tu verras que le pain est l'une de ces choses importantes et amusantes que tu t'es perdu si tu ne le fais pas même. Il ne porte pas tant de temps comme on le le te permet des pains avec diversité de combinaisons, d'épices pense, si tu as une machine à pain une dépêche elle peut le faire seule quand Tu n'as pas ce temps, en introduisant des légumes … Quand la machine à pain est arrivée à une maison le premier qu'ils m'ont dit est : "Où allait-il avec cette vieillerie ? Tu il vas utiliser deux fois et tout de suite il finira dans un coin". Aujourd'hui il a déplacé l'espace de la Thermomix qui enlève seulement dans le moment dans lequel il part pour user, parce que l'endroit est réservé maintenant pour "l'appareil qui aide à faire le pain et la masse de la pâtisserie" … : Ah!, il peut aussi faire une confiture.
La masse de ces rouleaux peut être fait à la main, mais ce jour-là avait des blessures sur plusieurs doigts en raison de nuits froides je vais à Fray et je ai fait avec le pain, puis le ragoût était dans le four où les pâtisseries suédois est différent l'espagnol traditionnel: four dans ce cas généralement cuire au four à 250 degrés pendant 6-7 minutes. Vous devez être en train de regarder la presque assis en face du processus de four ou brûler. Ils farine, la levure, le sucre blanc, cassonade (de préférence mascabado), le sel, le lait, le beurre, les graines de cardamome moulue, peinture à l'oeuf et le cumin éventuellement laminé et d'amande. Dans deux ou trois tentatives prendrez-vous le point et ... vous pouvez obtenir pour attraper beaucoup de poids, ou ont-ils attrapent autres.
Prendre: Il était avec l'ordinateur et la faim commençait à faire une ronde de moi. Je suis allé à la cuisine et me suis souvenu de ce qu'il les eût faits le jour d'avance. J'ai pris l'un, le plateau et suis revenu à l'ordinateur. Je l'ai mis à la droite, au-dessous de la lampe et tandis qu'il le regardait pour commencer à le liquider, l'histoire du plateau j'est venue à l'esprit. J'ai écarté un peu le clavier, ai placé mieux la lampe, ai préparé un peu la scène avec quelques ombres en laissant le reflet et l'éclat de l'ampoule et suis parti par le Fuji FinePix SL1000. Après, lentement, le petit pain au lait s'est terminé. Il n'y a pas eu de miettes.
Traitement: Avec Aperture. Origine JPG. Le format l'a adapté pour placer l'objet légèrement à la droite, en coupant l'éclat de l'ampoule. J'obscurcis toute la scène pour donner une importance au plateau. Je modifie les histogrammes par des couleurs pour marquer mieux le vert de la gravure. J'élève légèrement la vibration de couleur.
Voilà, c'est tout!
Buttercup bokeh..... all gone now as the grass just had to be cut before it became an impossible job :( I need to create a meadow somewhere......
Leica-M6 TTL 0.72
Elmarit-M 1:2.8/21 mm ASPH"
Ilford Delta 100 asa.
Developer Kodak HC 110 1+31 (B) 6 min 20º
Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED.
Thank you everyone for your visit, favorites and comments.
🔴Leica my point of view.
Wetzlar, Deutschland.
Leica-CL 1974 Rangefinder,Serial Number 1395533
Leica-M 6 TTL 0.72 1998 Rangefinder Serial Number 2466527
Leica-M6 TTL 0.85 2001 Rangefinder Serial Number 2755204.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explains food allergy and offers tips on how to manage the condition.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKVjKC3u9hk&feature=youtu.be
Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
My understanding is that when Trim Castle Hotel was constructed it was necessary to replace a wall partly owned by the church so as compensation the builders undertook to provide the ’stations of the cross’ shown in my photographs.
Because of uneven ground and the location of some trees it can be difficult to properly photograph all of the stations without introducing some distortion. This is, in fact, my third attempt.
If you are not Christian and even then the ’Stations Of The Cross’ may be a bit of a mystery to you.
I should mention that when I was young there were fourteen stations … 7 on each side of the church. When I first photographed the stations in Trim I was more than confused to discover that there were fifteen with the additional one being the Resurrection of Jesus. Further investigation resulted in the following explanation - “Some modern liturgists say the traditional Stations of the Cross are incomplete without a final scene depicting the empty tomb and/or the resurrection of Jesus, because Jesus' rising from the dead was an integral part of his salvific work on Earth. Advocates of the traditional form of the Stations ending with the body of Jesus being placed in the tomb say the Stations are intended as a meditation on the atoning death of Jesus, and not as a complete picture of his life, death, and resurrection”.
Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as Way of Sorrows or Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem which is believed to be the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary. The object of the stations is to help the Christian faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions and the stations can be found in the churches of many Western Christian denominations, including Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist and Western Orthodox parishes.
Commonly, a series of 14 images will be arranged in numbered order along a path and the faithful travel from image to image, in order, stopping at each "station to say the selected prayers and reflections. This will be done individually or in a procession most commonly during Lent, especially on Good Friday, in a spirit of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during his passion.
The style, form, and placement of the stations vary widely. The typical stations are small plaques with reliefs or paintings placed around a church nave. Modern minimalist stations can be simple crosses with a numeral in the centre. Occasionally the faithful might say the stations of the cross without there being any image, such as when the pope leads the stations of the cross around the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday. The older stations can be an outdoor series of chapels in a landscape, known as a Calvary, and are sites of pilgrimage in their own right. Examples include Sacro Monte Calvario in Italy, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska in Poland, Žemaičių Kalvarija in Lithuania.
My understanding is that in Parque Patagonia Guanacos are born in December and January, making this one about eleven months old. That, I believe, still makes it young enough to qualify as a Chulengo (baby Guanaco).
If December and January are birthing season for this animal, then November seems to be fightin' time. While it was nice to get some Guanaco portraits, what I missed was capturing the drama of two males locked in combat.
The way to do this would be to approach a herd, be ready with a zoom lens (maybe a 100-400mm) and wait for trouble to start. From a distance we saw lots of chasing and fighting, but were never at the right place and time to secure excellent images of the action.
"All beings with two, three, four, or five senses.... in fact all creation, know individually pleasure and displeasure, pain, terror, and sorrow.
All are full of fears which come from all directions. And yet there exist people who would cause greater pain to them...
Some kill animals for sacrifice, some for their skin, flesh, blood, ... feathers, teeth, or tusks; ... some kill them intentionally and some unintentionally; some kill because they have been previously injured by them, ... and some because they expect to be injured.
He who harms animals has not understood or renounced deeds of sin...
He who understands the nature of sin against animals is called a true sage who understands karma... "
(Acaranga Sutra, Jainism - Prayer n°3943)
A few hours ago I went back to take a few pictures of those huge Jain thirthankaras (saints) rockcut statues on the way to Gwalior Fort.
This is a close-up of the hand of one of the 24 statues which are standing there since the seventh century a.d..
It belongs to the tallest (about 20 meters) and it is overlooking the city of Gwalior which is located the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Goethe's approach to understanding nature: quotes from his writings
“After what I have seen of plants and fish in Naples and Sicily, I would be tempted — were I ten years younger — to undertake a journey to India, not to discover something new, but to view in my way what has been discovered.”Goethe (CH; Letter to Knebel, summer 1787)
“If we want to behold nature in a living way, we must follow her example and becomes as mobile and malleable as nature herself.”Goethe (CH; in Miller, p. 64)“There is a delicate empiricism that makes itself utterly identical with the object, thereby becoming true theory. But this enhancement of our mental powers belongs to a highly evolved age.”Goethe (in Miller, p. 307)“... Dr. Heinroth speaks favorably of my work; in fact, he calls my approach unique, for he says that my thinking works objectively. Here he means that my thinking is not separate from objects; that the elements of the object, the perceptions of the object, flow into my thinking and are fully permeated by it; that my perception itself is a thinking, and my thinking a perception.”Goethe (in Miller, p. 39)“If I look at the created object, inquire into its creation, and follow this process back as far as I can, I will find a series of steps. Since these are not actually seen together before me, I must visualize them in my memory so that they form a certain ideal whole.”At first I will tend to think in terms of steps, but nature leaves no gaps, and thus, in the end, I will have to see this progression of uninterrupted activity as a whole. I can do so by dissolving the particular without destroying the impression ...“If we imagine the outcome of these attempts, we will see that empirical observation finally ceases, inner beholding of what develops begins, and the idea can be brought to expression.”Goethe (in Miller p. 75)“[Morphology's] intention is to portray rather than explain.”Goethe (in Miller p. 57)“We conceive of the individual animal as a small world, existing for its own sake, by its own means. Every creature is its own reason to be. All its parts have a direct effect on one another, a relationship to one another, thereby constantly renewing the circle of life; thus we are justified in considering every animal physiologically perfect. Viewed from within, no part of the animal — as so often thought — is a useless or arbitrary product of the formative impulse.”Goethe (in Miller, p. 121) Goethe on Experimentation and Making Judgments (From “The Experiment as Mediator Between Object and Subject,” written in 1772; in Miller pp. 11-17.) “We can never be too careful in our efforts to avoid drawing hasty conclusions from experiments or using them directly as proof to bear out some theory. For here at this pass, this transition from empirical evidence to judgment, cognition to application, all the inner enemies of man lie in wait: imagination, which sweeps him away on his wings before he knows his feet have left the ground; impatience; haste; self-satisfaction; rigidity; formalistic thought; prejudice; ease; frivolity; fickleness — this whole throng and its retinue. Here they lie in ambush and surprise not only the active observer but also the contemplative one who appears safe from all passion.”
“I would venture to say we cannot prove anything by one experiment or even several experiments together, that nothing is more dangerous than the desire to prove some thesis directly through experiments. ... Every piece of empirical evidence we find, every experiment in which this evidence is repeated, really represents just one part of what we know. ... Every piece of empirical evidence, every experiment, must be viewed as isolated, yet the human faculty of thought forcibly strives to unite all external objects known to it. ...”
“We often find that the more limited the data, the more artful a gifted thinker will become. As though to assert his sovereignty he chooses a few agreeable favorites from the limited number of facts and skillfully marshals the rest so they never contradict him directly. Finally he is able to confuse, entangle, or push aside the opposing facts and reduce the whole to something more like the court of a despot than a freely constituted republic.”
Where is that fine line,
Where a pixl becomes a focus,
And the image looses the honor of the photograph, but moves out of illustration because no artist held a brush?
For me it's about trying to find meaning in the visual world, about detecting what Rupert Sheldrake called 'morphic resonance' the evolving sha ping of time space.
Why trying to understand the motives behind human behavior is well nigh impossible
In my more than 25 years of writing an advice column I regularly get asked several different versions of “When a woman does Y, what does that mean?” or “My husband did X. What did he mean by ...
howdoidate.com/relationships/communication/need-mind-read...
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.
Never going to give in even with the strength.
Last night I got such a heartwarming phone call from this sweet old lady from a Women's Club around here. She called to let me know that the district photography contest I entered in, my photo won first place. (:
I'm in love with this song lately.
(+4 in comments)
My understanding is that is now known as Broadstone Plaza or the Broadstone Gate and the original plan is described below:
"The Broadstone Gate will provide a key access to the Grangegorman site once complete and is being developed as part of the Luas Cross City works. It will be finished as a public plaza and the access will provide a major linkage between Grangegorman and Dublin city."
"The plaza is situated off Constitution Hill on the site of the old royal canal at the former Great Weatern Railway Station commonly known as Broadstone, and will mark a prominent entrance to the Grangegorman urban quarter."
"Under the Grangegorman Masterplan, the primary urban path through Grangegorman – St Brendan’s Way will link with the Broadstone Gate which when completed will reach as far as Prussia Street. The link with Broadstone can also be seen as an extension to the 18th century historic spine of Dublin City which covered Dublin Castle across Grattan Bridge, along Capel Street/Bolton Street, Henrietta Street and King’s Inn."
The new pedestrian/cyclist link between Grangegorman and Constitution Hill was officially opened in November. This link in its current format is temporary until site development in that area is completed. The initial opening hours for the link are Monday – Friday, from 7am – 4pm and on Saturdays, from 7.30am – 2pm. I have been advised by the Grangegorman Development Agency that it intends to expand these opening hours soon.
As you can see from my photographs the Plaza Area is currently a building site but I am hoping that it will be complete within a few months.
Among their varied gifts, cats have a grand sense of style and an intuitive understanding of the very best places to nap. It was no surprise, then, on a winter day when the sun shone through the window and warmed the snow disk, to find the cat curled up contentedly on its scarlet surface.
Cats are also notoriously contrary creatures. So it was also no surprise to find the cat no longer photogenically napping by the time I returned with a camera. She padded around on the snow disk, unwilling to abandon it but absolutely unwilling to return to napping while I was there.
She did pause in her pacing long enough for me to take one photograph. Three white paws and the Holy Snow Disk.
The Bombings of 1940 forced a reappraisal of deep-shelter policy and at the end of October the Government decided to construct a system of deep shelters linked to existing tube stations. London Transport was consulted about the sites and required to build the tunnels at the public expense with the understanding that they were to have the option of taking them over for railway use after the war. With the latter point in mind, positions were chosen on routes of possible north-south and east-west express tube railways. It was decided that each shelter would comprise two parallel tubes 16 foot 6 inches internal diameter and 1,600 feet long and would be placed below existing station tunnels at Clapham South, Clapham Common, Clapham North, Stockwell, Oval, Goodge Street, Camden Town, Belsize Park, Chancery Lane and St. Pauls...Each tube would have two decks, fully equipped with bunks, medical posts, kitchens and sanitation and each installation would accommodate 9,600 people...All the deep level shelters were sub-divided into sleeping areas. Each tunnel was divided into 4 sections with connecting doors between them. Each section was given a name. At Clapham South they were all naval commanders. The northern entrance sections (i.e. those accessed directly from the northern lift without crossing to the other side) were named: Freemantle, Beatty, Evans, Anson, Nelson, Jellicoe, Madden and Inglefield while those accessed from the southern entrance were: Grenville, Hardy, Drake, Oldham, Keppel, Parry and Ley. Each section had bunks fitted longitudinally along the outer wall, a single at the top, a double in the middle and a single at the bottom. Along the inner wall bunks were fitted across the passage forming bays. There were 7.952 bunks in total and each bunk was allocated to a named person. If they didn't turn up one night the bunk remained unused...Although work on them began in November 1940 there were difficulties in obtaining sufficient labour and materials so the first one was only ready in March 1942 and the other seven were finished later that year. Access to them was by ticket in order to help control numbers and prevent disruption to the underground network. There was considerable pressure to open the shelters to relieve the strain on London’s tube stations from people sheltering from the bombing, but the authorities were concerned about the cost of maintaining the shelters once opened and preferred to keep them in reserve in case the bombing intensified. Clapham South was used as weekend troop accommodation from 1943. The start of the attacks on London by V1 flying bombs (commonly known as ‘doodlebugs’) in June 1944, followed by the V2 rocket campaign in September that year, caused many of the deep shelters to be made fully available to the public; Clapham South opened on 19 July 1944. The south entrance, next door to what was the Odeon cinema, was in a small compound that housed administrative offices and ticket printing presses for all eight deep shelters. The shelters were used for their original purpose for less than a year. The north section closed on 21 October 1944 and the shelter was transferred from the Ministry of Home Security to the Ministry of Works on 1 October 1945. Clapham South closed completely on 7 May 1945 and from June 1945 it found a new use as a military leave hostel and for one month in June 1946 it acted as an armed-forces troop billet. At the end of the war, London had a severe labour shortage and the Colonial Office sought to recruit a labour force from Britain’s colonies. At that time there were no immigration restrictions for citizens from one part of the British Empire moving to another part. An advertisement appeared in Jamaica's Daily Gleaner on 13 April 1948 offering transport to the UK for a fare of £28.10s (£28.50) for anyone who wanted to work in the UK. As a result the ship MV Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury later in 1948 carrying 492 worker migrants from Jamaica. However, as there was no accommodation for the new arrivals the Colonial Office decided to house them in the deep-level shelter at Clapham South.
The nearest labour exchange to Clapham South was on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton so the men sought jobs there. As a result Brixton became a focus for West Indian settlers from that point onwards with successive arrivals making their way to the developing
community. The actual time the deep-level shelter was occupied by new arrivals was relatively short as the men all quickly found jobs and accommodation, and successfully integrated into many parts of south London.
[Subterranea Britannica]
View in Black @ my Photoblog
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Sunday,. Sebtember 01. 2013 - Ju-Jitsu course of instruction for the test of the 2. Kyu ( Referent: Ralf Thiele 5. Dan Ju-Jitsu ) - in the sports hall of the sports club `TuS Bloherfelde´, in Oldenburg, in the State Lower Saxony, Germany.
Sonntag, den 01. Sept. 2013 - Ju-Jutsu Lehrgang: "Techniken für die Prüfung zum 2. Kyu" ( Referent: Ralf Thiele 5. Dan Ju-Jutsu ) - beim `TuS Bloherfelde´, in Oldenburg (Niedersachsen).