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"A good time for your request, Medusa is relaxed this morning..."
A series of AI-generated pictures of an ancient sculpture 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
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-:- ( 1 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 3 ) - ( 2X5 ) - ( 6 ) - ( 7 ) - ( 8 ) - ( 9 ) - (2X10) -:-
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With some Haiku Notes:
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Other dimensions
providing information,
just don't look; but see.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take aim and you'll see
truth behind reality
in both yin and yang
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's all in your mind
concentrate and be mindful
sense reality
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The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. Great emphasis is put on the practical aspect, because it is only through practice that one can attain a higher level of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the path are not to be understood as a sequence of single steps, instead they are highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other.
1. Right View
Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to see and to understand things as they really are and to realise the Four Noble Truth. As such, right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right thoughts and right actions.
2. Right Intention
While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right intention refers to the volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental energy that controls our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions: 1. the intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire, 2. the intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion, and 3. the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion.
3. Right Speech
Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not self-sufficient, however, essential, because mental purification can only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.
4. Right Action
The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is explained in terms of abstinence: right action means 1. to abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently, 2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and 3. to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others. Further details regarding the concrete meaning of right action can be found in the Precepts.
5. Right Livelihood
Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason: 1. dealing in weapons, 2. dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution), 3. working in meat production and butchery, and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided.
6. Right Effort
Right effort can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. Mental energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of endeavours that rank in ascending order of perfection: 1. to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome states, 2. to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen, 3. to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen, and 4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen.
7. Right Mindfulness
Right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an impression induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualise sense impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret them and set them in relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond the facticity of the original impression. The mind then posits concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into complex interpretative schemes. All this happens only half consciously, and as a result we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualisation in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation of the body, 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral), 3. contemplation of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation of the phenomena.
8. Right Concentration
The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration. Concentration in this context is described as one-pointedness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations.
An Additional Haiku Note:
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Take time be aware
we are no-thing but our thoughts
so said the Buddha
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Personal Thoughts from August 07, 1976
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Energy is one.
Individuals are parts of that one.
Individuals through a source such as Love
(or other emotion or virtue) are one.
Thoughts are a source of energy.
Energy is neither created or destroyed.
Thoughts are neither created or destroyed.
Individuals are tuned-in to thoughts.
We do not think; we experience thought.
Our level of development is how we use
these thoughts to experience other
thoughts.
We are actually experiencing energies.
Our level of development is how we can
tune-in to these energies.
Our true purpose is to think and develop;
think and develop; become the source of energy.
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Perpetual Moonlight - www.flickr.com/groups/moochiesl/, Moochie (220, 60, 22) - Moderate
Who has the heart to shoot this magnificent and beautiful animal. I love Canada and especially British Columbia, however I'm very disappointed and embarrassed of the Government that "represents" us. The vast majority of British Columbians oppose the trophy hunting of Grizzlies, yet our Government finds all kind of false excuses to justify the slaughter and destruction of what is ours. We all know that the only thing that motivates this slaughter of our bears is $$$$$
If I have a hard time understanding our #@*% Government, I have even a harder time trying to understand the twisted sick minds of people that find pleasure in killing an animal for fun. Trophy Hunters are nothing else than terrorists of the Natural World.
On May 9th, I know very well who I'm NOT voting for.
Being wanting to try a star trail photo for a while, finally got a clear night so grabbed the opportunity. This is my first attempt and due to a mis-understanding on how my interval timer worked, I ended up with a gap in the middle of the trails, the moon also encroached into the frame near the end. Things to remember for next time. The hardest part was standing in the cold for so long, I think I will take a flask with me next time.
The two very bright stars on the bottom right of the sky are actually planets, Venus on the bottom and Saturn on the top. This is taken from the island of Vigra in Norway, with the small island of Erkna visible.
This is 76 photos taken over 38 minutes merged together.
Equipment
Nikon D7000 @ 30 sec
Sigma 18-200 @ 18mm f/3.5
ISO: 1000
Shot with a tripod
Thirty-eight images merged using ImageStacker.
The Mayor of Bury, Cllr Mike Connolly, opens the event.
Today, Wednesday 27 July 2016, saw faith and community groups from across Bury join with the Bury Council, Greater Manchester Police, other emergency services and a wide range of others to take part in Collabor8.
The aim of the event was to bring communities together and develop cultural awareness and understanding in fun manner.
To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit www.gmp.police.uk
You should call 101, the national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.
Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.
The Luxury of being yourself
We have selected pictures on our website, but can always add more depending on the requests we do get and the current trend in the world of luxury fine art:
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We tend to celebrate light in our pictures. Understanding how light interacts with the camera is paramount to the work we do. The temperature, intensity and source of light can wield different photography effect on the same subject or scene; add ISO, aperture and speed, the camera, the lens type, focal length and filters…the combination is varied ad multi-layered and if you know how to use them all, you will come to appreciate that all lights are useful, even those surrounded by a lot of darkness.
We are guided by three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, our longing to capture in print, that which is beautiful, the constant search for the one picture, and constant barrage of new equipment and style of photography. These passions, like great winds, have blown us across the globe in search of the one and we do understand the one we do look for might be this picture right here for someone else out there.
“A concise poem about our work as stated elow
A place without being
a thought without thinking
creatively, two dimensions
suspended animation
possibly a perfect imitation
of what was then to see.
A frozen memory in synthetic colour
or black and white instead,
fantasy dreams in magazines
become imbedded inside my head.
Artistic views
surrealistic hues,
a photographer’s instinctive eye:
for he does as he pleases
up to that point he releases,
then develops a visual high.
- M R Abrahams
Some of the gear we use at William Stone Fine Art are listed here:
Some of our latest work & more!
Embedded galleries within a gallery on various aspects of Photography:
There are other aspects closely related to photography that we do embark on:
All prints though us is put through a rigorous set of quality control standards long before we ever ship it to your front door. We only create gallery-quality images, and you'll receive your print in perfect condition with a lifetime guarantee.
All images on Flickr have been specifically published in a lower grade quality to amber our copyright being infringed. We have 4096x pixel full sized quality on all our photos and any of them could be ordered in high grade museum quality grade and a discount applied if the voucher WS-100 is used. Please contact us:
We do plan future trips and do catalogue our past ones, if you believe there is a beautiful place we have missed, and we are sure there must be many, please do let us know and we will investigate.
In our galleries you will find some amazing fine art photography for sale as limited edition and open edition, gallery quality prints. Only the finest materials and archival methods are used to produce these stunning photographic works of art.
We want to thank you for your interest in our work and thanks for visiting our work on Flickr, we do appreciate you and the contributions you make in furthering our interest in photography and on social media in general, we are mostly out in the field or at an event making people feel luxurious about themselves.
WS-178-291589006-10616862-0107221-2762022102903
“Life Underground” is a permanent public artwork created in 2001 by American sculptor Tom Otterness for the 14th Street - Eighth Avenue station of the NYC Subway. The installation is a series of whimsical miniature bronze sculptures depicting cartoon like characters showing people and animals in various situations, and additional abstract sculptures, which are dispersed throughout the station platforms and passageways. The sculptor said the subject of the work is "the impossibility of understanding life in New York” and describes the arrangement of the individual pieces as being “scattered in little surprises”
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.
Colonial Williamsburg is the historic district of the independent city of Williamsburg, Virginia. It consists of many of the buildings that, from 1699 to 1780, formed colonial Virginia's capital. The capital straddled the boundary of two of the original shires of Virginia, James City Shire (now James City County), and Charles River Shire (now York County). For most of the 18th century, Williamsburg was the center of government, education and culture in the Colony of Virginia.
Colonial Williamsburg is meant to be an interpretation of a Colonial American city, with exhibits including dozens of authentic or accurately-recreated colonial houses and relating to American Revolutionary War history. Prominent buildings in Colonial Williamsburg include the Raleigh Tavern, the Capitol, The Governor's Palace, and Bruton Parish Church. However, rather than simply an effort to preserve antiquity, the combination of extensive restoration and thoughtful recreation of the entire colonial town facilitates envisioning the atmosphere and understanding the ideals of 18th century American revolutionary leaders. It was here that Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, James Monroe, James Madison, George Wythe, Peyton Randolph, and dozens more helped mold democracy in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States.
The Historic Area is located just east of the College of William and Mary, founded at Middle Plantation in 1693, just prior to the establishment of the town as capital of Virginia and its renaming. The university's historic Wren Building stands at the west end of Duke of Gloucester Street.
Colonial Williamsburg is a major source of tourism to Williamsburg, as well as a touchstone for many world leaders and heads of state, including U.S. Presidents. The United States hosted the first World Economic Conference at Colonial Williamsburg in 1983. It is the centerpiece of the surrounding Historic Triangle of Virginia area, which has become a popular tourist destination for visitors domestic and foreign. The other two points of the Historic Triangle are Jamestown and Yorktown.
Contents
Early in the 20th century, the restoration and recreation of Colonial Williamsburg, one of the largest historic restorations ever undertaken, was championed by the Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin and the patriarch of the Rockefeller family, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., along with the active participation of his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who wanted to celebrate the patriots and the early history of the United States.
Many of the missing Colonial structures were reconstructed on their original sites during the 1930s. Other structures were restored to the best estimates of how they would have looked during the eighteenth century, with all traces of later buildings and improvements removed. Dependency structures and animals help complete the ambiance. Most buildings are open for tourists to look through, with the exception of several buildings that serve as residences for Colonial Williamsburg employees.
Notable structures include the large Capitol and the Governor's Palace, each carefully recreated and landscaped as closely as possible to original 18th century specifications, as well as Bruton Parish Church and the Raleigh Tavern.
The major goal of the Restoration was not to merely preserve or recreate the physical environment of the colonial period, but to facilitate education about the origins of the idea of America, which was conceived during many decades before the American Revolution.
In this environment, Colonial Williamsburg strives to tell the story of how diverse peoples, having different and sometimes conflicting ambitions, evolved into a society that valued liberty and equality.
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.
Art Week Gallery Theme: Women in art
www.flickr.com/groups/temporaryexhibitionsartgallery/
org image night cafe manipulated and re created in gimp
Such wonderful face, this old greek man has!
Met many interesting character like him, in and around Athens. So much is on their faces and wrinkles and such happy humanity I felt, wether I spoke or only looked from afar.
I loved how he looked at me, with understanding : he had "seen" me too. Neither of us spoke the other's language but we did understand each other.
The Gay Games is the world's largest sporting and cultural event organized by and specifically for LGBT athletes, artists, musicians, and others. It welcomes participants of every sexual orientation and every skill level. Originally called the Gay Olympics, it was started in San Francisco in 1982, as the brainchild of Tom Waddell, whose goals were to promote the spirit of inclusion and participation, as well as the pursuit of personal growth in a sporting event. It retains many similarities with the Olympics, including the Gay Games flame which is lit at the opening ceremony.
The Gay Games is open to all who wish to participate, without regard to sexual orientation. There are no qualifying standards to compete in the Gay Games. It brings together people from all over the world, many from countries where homosexuality remains illegal and hidden.
The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) is the sanctioning body of the Gay Games. From its statement of concept and purpose:
The purpose of the Federation of Gay Games is to foster and augment the self-respect of lesbians and gay men throughout the world and to engender respect and understanding from the nongay world, primarily through an organized international participatory athletic and cultural event held every four years, and commonly known as the Gay Games.
Gay Games VIII were held in Cologne, Germany from July 31 to August 6, 2010.
Romania’s first experiment on the International Space Station is sending drops to collide head-on at controlled speeds inside a cube. Their behaviour intrigues scientists in an environment where gravity, buoyancy, convection, and sedimentation are negligible. The Dropcoal research, short for Drop Coalescence, explores droplet formation in space and on Earth.
There is a journey of fascinating physics behind every raindrop falling to the ground on Earth. Rain is the result of the complex interaction between water and Earth’s gravity, causing drops to change their shape and merge on their way down. Scientists call it coalescence – the process of two or more droplets, bubbles or particles blending to form a single, larger entity.
Dropcoal investigates the interactions between two drops of different liquids, such as water, ethanol and methylene blue, while varying their diameters and speeds, ranging from as slow as white blood cell displacement (0.01 mm/s) to an ant’s velocity (10 mm/s). In this image, the drop on the left is coloured with methylene blue and is merging with the pure water drop coming from the right.
Monitoring how drops interact and merge in weightlessness could shed light on raindrop formation, fuel combustion and material interactions. Astronauts on long space missions could benefit from better understanding how to handle droplets when treating eye, nose and skin issues, as well as preparing injections.
Following the launch on 5 November with SpaceX’s 31st resupply mission to the Space Station, NASA astronaut Don Pettit installed the experiment in the ICE Cubes facility on ESA’s Columbus laboratory module. “This experiment looks at whether droplets merge or bounce off each other, and how fluids mix after these collisions,” explained the astronaut and chemical engineer. Watch Don Pettit talking about the experiment in this video from the International Space Station.
The experiment is already generating the first droplets in microgravity. While a high-speed camera captures images at up to 8000 frames per second, pumps and precision motors control the droplets’ movements. The software uses image recognition to command droplet generation at the right moment.
During the commissioning phase of the experiment, Romanian teams on Earth ran a series of tests to ensure all systems functioned correctly. There are at least 560 planned collisions involving two to five millimetre-sized droplets.
Dropcoal marks an important milestone for Romania, a country that became an ESA Member State in 2011. This is the first experiment developed and built by RISE, the Romanian InSpace Engineering company.
The results of the experiment will be analysed by an international science team led by experts at the National Institute for the Physics of Lasers, Plasma and Radiation in Romania, in collaboration with the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, and Carnegie Mellon University in the USA.
Credits: ESA/NASA
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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
The Newtown Monuments consist of a large medieval cathedral, two monasteries and small church which date from 1206.
The descriptions that I have seen are a bit confusing in that most of them are different to a lesser or greater degree.
My current understanding is that the main building is the Church of St Peter and St Paul (sometimes called a cathedral). The smaller church in the east of the monastery is the parish church of Newtown Clonbun. This is the burial site of Lucas Dillon (c. 1530 – 1592), Attorney General for Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and his first wife Jane Bathe. There is also a ’Tower House’ and a ‘Refectory’
The medieval cathedral [Cathedral and Priory Of Saints Peter and Paul] is situated in Newtown Cemetery. It was founded close to the temporal power of Trim Castle by the Norman Bishop Simon de Rochfort in c.1206 after his cathedral at Clonard was burned down. Only part of the original nave and chancel of this largest Gothic Church in Ireland survive. Part of the ruined Priory of Augustinian Canons, which were established to maintain the Cathedral, also survive.
Buried under the high alter of the cathedral are the remains of the founder Simon de Rochford (died 1224) and one of his successors, Bishop William Sherwood, who died in 1428.
The figure of the bishop now affixed to the wall of the cathedral was long trodden underfoot and was badly worn in places. The figure is commonly known as ‘king john's daughter' but is probably the figure of Simon de Rochford the founder of the cathedral.
In the parish church in Newtown-Clonbun stands the remains of the tomb of Sir Lucas Dillon and his wife Lade Jane Bathe, daughter of James Bathe of Athcarne and Drunmconrath. The recumbent figures of Sir Lucas in Renaissance armour and his wife in Elizabethian gown surmount the tomb. This tomb is known locally as the tomb of the jealous man and woman because the two figures do not touch each other at all. And also the sword of state separates the figures.
N8720R 1958 Beech C-45H Expeditor C/N 52-10681 doing some pattern work 34L Paine Field Airport KPAE during the Historic Flight Foundation 2016 Vintage Aircraft Weekend on 09.03.2016. My understanding is that the owners 16yoa daughter was the pilot of this beautiful which I think is pretty darn awesome.
It is You who returns to me today and swims anxiously around my awareness again. Opalescent beams and the feeling of wet pour over my starving perception and I hear a faint whisper telling me that I have run too far into the dry and suffocating thoughts of a bleak and mundane world. Laughter, like perfect bubbles of fresh insight, dances in the space between us. Excitedly, You urge me to play once more in the world of limitless songs and inspired stories.
Oh yes, sweet redeemer, You drench and revitalize my understanding with radiant blue.
Blue like the unlimited and expanding sky. Blue like the awe-inspiring and swirling waves of an imagination that cannot and will not ever end. Blue like the true blue power of a dream that crystallizes out of the purest desire to love and magnify for its own sake. Blue like the Great Blue Heron that stands staunch and ready peering toward the horizons of its kingdom. Blue like the skin of the all attractive Krishna energy that calls the Universe to rise and dance in ecstasy. Blue like those eyes that drowned my entire existence with one first glance. Oh yes. Let Us redefine the "Blue" of Eternal Opulence and remember ourselves flashing across an overflowing night sky which by its very nature abases any weak and deflating thought into complete oblivion.
Oh the immortal words of the Master Poet Kabir resonate in the core of my Being tonight:
"I laugh when I hear that the the fish in the water is thirsty."
Just 5.5 miles from the Demilitarized Zone, US and South Korea Soldiers fired Artillery rounds, with the Korean Army leading the exercise May 10. After, the joint exercise US Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division held their Top Gun competition, while the South Korean 228 Field Artillery Battalion, 26th Mechanized Division Artillery recovered from the exercise and moved to their Korean instillations. The purpose of the joint exercise was to develop precision and understanding between U.S. Army and ROKA artillery teams.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
This is Felix Wilkins , a street musician in Philadelphia.Life has dealt him many twists and turns but he always remains true to his passion for music.You can hear him play here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qvIenwgjnA and read his fascinating life story written by Michelle Alton here...
Beat
By Michelle Alton
Felix Wilkins was playing “Anchors Aweigh” on the City Hall Concourse in Suburban Station when I first saw him during my commute.
I had just begun a new job in Philadelphia after a period of unemployment. Raised in Edison, New Jersey, I‘d built my career in central New Jersey pharmaceutical companies as a clinical researcher. Then suddenly, like so many others across the country, one morning I drove to work only to find myself without a job on the drive home. Now I was making a new start, with a whole new understanding of how it felt to be down and out. Perhaps that’s what drew me to the street musician as I still struggled to overcome the confidence loss I’d suffered after the layoff.
In the past, large cities had always been sources of fear and intimidation to me. So coming to Philly each day was opening my eyes to so many sources of its wonderment — and also to its darker, gloomier sides.
A street flutist in Center City, Felix (I did not even know his name at the time) was a tall, lean, older, striking-looking black man. He was usually dressed in a stylish suit, starched shirt, perfectly-knotted tie and matching handkerchief, and had Old Glory draped over his rolling suitcase’s extended handle. He played the notes flawlessly, and every so often a passer-by smiled and placed a dollar bill in his flute case.
I noted that Wednesday was his usual day, and found myself happily anticipating those mid-week mornings. In addition to his patriotic fare, he also played show tunes, other popular music and a collection of national anthems.
An avid amateur photographer, during lunch breaks, I trek about the city with my camera chronicling the “HYPERLINK "http://maltonphotos.zenfolio.com/philadelphia/slideshow"Philadelphia Experience,” for my website. As I became more familiar with the city, my feelings about it changed as well. My photographer’s eye noticed more details and my other senses became more attuned to its sights, smells, textures, and sounds.
On one noon-time jaunt, I was short-cutting through the east entrance of City Hall, camera conspicuous around my neck, headed toward Market Street, when I caught wind of the flutist in the concourse near the souvenir shop.
Noticing my camera as I passed through, he barreled up to me and asked if I would photograph him. “It’s my birthday!” he announced, thrusting his drivers’ license into my hand to prove it. He turned 68 that day. “Will you put my picture on the Internet?”
Happy to accommodate, though a bit wary at first, I made camera adjustments to compensate for the difficult lighting conditions: half dark with midday light streaming in through the low archways. While I snapped shot after shot, the flutist played, on bended knee, by his American flag. Moments later, a heavy-set, mustached man of about 45, sporting a red headband and yellow printed bandana, and leaning heavily on his cane, hobbled into the hallway.
The flutist approached him, and began speaking in Spanish. Suddenly, the man was singing his country’s national anthem, accompanied by the flute player. Though absorbed by the rapport that had sprung up spontaneously between the two men, I just kept shooting until the man finally limped off.
Later that week, as my birthday gift to the flutist, I posted the photos to my website. On the following Wednesday morning, I presented him with two full-color prints, mounted in gift folders. “You’re a good photographer, “he exclaimed, to my great pleasure.
I waved to him as I hustled off to work. But during the next week, my thoughts repeatedly returned to him. One day, on a coffee break, I typed, “Philadelphia + flutist + Suburban Station” into a Google search box to see what I could learn. On the first hit, I read about Felix’s arrest near Rittenhouse Square about three years before. There was no law on the books forbidding the playing of music on street corners, but he had been handcuffed and spent 45 minutes in jail. The next item was a headline announcing that he was being awarded compensation to settle his suit against the city for unlawful arrest. The article went on to say that Felix was a Panamanian musician and a retired professor of music at Brooklyn College. His life was beginning to fascinate me.
I also found rave reviews of his music and several outstanding decades-old recordings. Renowned jazz flutist, Andrea Brachfeld, in an internet interview, explained that Felix had been an early mentor to her in New York, and she credited Felix with having “shown her the ropes” back in 1972. He was so accomplished, —and judging from the mp3s I downloaded, an amazingly talented musician. Now I was determined to understand how such a man had wound up busking on the streets of Philadelphia, playing patriotic tunes for small change and occasional smiles. Convinced Felix had a story to tell, I made it a point to strike up conversations with him on several subsequent Wednesdays, and our chats became warm and friendly. “I’m an ethnomusicologist,” he told me one day, when we were talking outside City Hall. "Whatever is that?" I wondered.
Suddenly energized, Felix, not trying to disguise his passion, explained that you don’t just learn the music -- you learn the geography, culture, cuisine, customs, literature, architecture, and ethnicity of a country. Then, when you play the music, you impart the feel of the region from which it arose. To provide a more visual explanation, he went on “Take music from the Baroque period. It’s a very rough sort of music.” To illustrate, he sang a few sort of choppy sounding segments from a Bach fugue.
“Now look at that baroque carving near that window,” he went on, pointing at a portion of the City Hall façade and growing more animated. “It is also rough, just like the music from that period.” Though I didn’t really understand the analogy, the teacher in Felix was surfacing before my eyes and ears. And I thought, “He is not down and out, or a loser. He actually loves what he does!” Felix speaks fluent Spanish and English, and “gets by” in Greek and Portuguese and can also utter several phrases in a Chinese dialect. I was awed at the knowledge and passion of this man who played for coins in the train station. And although flute is Felix’s major love, he also plays saxophone, clarinet, piano, violin, cello, and other instruments. And he sings! He describes himself as a classical flutist, jazz and dance band performer. As we spoke, he artfully played and sang excerpts from Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Pachelbel, and Chopin.
Then he stood, suddenly switching to Charanga, a spirited Cuban/African dance genre, played on the flute in impossibly high registers. His crocodile leather-clad feet stepped and danced rhythmically in place on the pavement. I looked around in disbelief, astounded that no one on the plaza seemed to be paying any mind to the music. I would have expected other lunchtime shade seekers to be lined up, ears cocked, to hear what was going to happen next. But as I was becoming more and more mesmerized by his performance, they went about the business of enjoying their sandwiches, oblivious to Felix’s performance.
When he finished, we talked some more, and I learned that this man who takes such joy in his music does so in spite of a hard-lived life. That was when I realized the common ground we shared: My passion and gift for photography had carried me through one of the most difficult periods of my life –the sudden loss of livelihood. Could it carry me farther? I think it was at that moment that I began to plan a new chapter in my life.
Born to Jamaican parents in Panama City, Felix’s family lived in a rough neighborhood where his father worked by day as a laborer and played saxophone in local clubs at night. The elder Wilkins didn’t want his children following in his footsteps because of the drug-infused lifestyle typical of nightclub musicians there. But when his father came home one night to find his reed protector wedged into the belly of the horn, he realized that young Felix must have been playing while he was at work. So his father began to teach him Saxophone, but also made him agree to attend vocational school to learn a marketable skill. Felix promised. He became certified as an automotive mechanic and then studied at Panama’s National Conservatory of Music, where his romance with the flute began.
Active in Latin dance bands, most notably in Conjunto Impacto, (Joint Impact), he also played first flute in the Panamanian police band, and dabbled in composition. Some of his work was recorded by other artists.
Ambitious and married with two small children -- a boy and a girl -- his dream was to immigrate to America to play in the big jazz and Salsa bands. Felix brought his family to New York City, where a relative had offered to sponsor him. Supporting himself as a mechanic, and later, working at a bank, he played flute in various bands around the city. He played and recorded with Latin legends like Willie Bobo, Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Machito, Patato and Johnny Pacheco. During this time, his flute was also featured in the album Tico Alegre Allstars Live at Carnegie Hall with Joe Cuba. At the same time he began to study music at Brooklyn College, struggling to work full time, attend classes, be a family man, and hone his performance skills by playing in clubs.
So Felix left his day-job and joined the welfare rolls. A divorce from his wife soon followed. When he speaks about the woman he still carries a torch for to this day – 40 years later – his facial muscles flatten and his voice becomes muted as he allows the memory of those painful years to settle on his mind.
“But why,” I asked, “would she not have given you another chance, knowing that you cared so much for her?”
"Well," he offered, “In those days, I was a machismo man.” Felix, like most of us, also had a dark side. I did not question him further on this as I watched the sadness spread across his eyes. I didn’t want to prolong the grief he seemed to be reliving. But he told me that what transpired caused his wife to forbid contact with his children until many years later, when they were grown and had families of their own.
But that grief, I learned, nourished his music. He says he still loved her with all his heart and soul, and to keep his sorrow from overwhelming him, he threw himself into his education. One of his dreams had been to teach music to young people. He returned to Brooklyn College, where he completed a four-year degree in less than three years, earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1977 and eventually accepted a teaching position. He returned to Panama in the mid-1980s where he taught at the U.S.-supported Panama Canal College, the National Conservatory of Music, and the University of Panama. While there, he also played with a consortium called "Jazz Unlimited," and arranged and performed his own salsa version of "Baroque and Blue," a classical and blues fusion composition by the acclaimed pianist, Claude Bolling. In 1994 he returned to the United States, settling in Philadelphia.
He supported himself meagerly, playing gigs with a Cuban dance band called "Foto y su Charanga" and giving private music lessons to both adults and children. He says he loves to work with children because their lives are uncomplicated and they don’t skip as many lessons as adults.
Now, one or two days a week, Felix keeps his performance skills honed by playing on the streets of Center City, Philadelphia. He plays the morning commute in Suburban Station, outside a wig shop near the City Hall exit. In the afternoon, he migrates to the Historic District, where his flute fills the air with patriotic American tunes mixed with World Music. He is retired now, collects a very modest Social Security check, and lives in subsidized senior housing. He still loves to play his flute, saying, “Music is my soul. “If I don’t play, I will lose it,” he explains with a sort of distant look in his dark, expressive eyes. He truly enjoys the smiles and good will of the “regulars” at the train station, and of all who appreciate his warmth, his enthusiasm, and most of all, his spirited playing.
The next week, as I hurry through the train station, I hear in the distance a most heavenly flute rendition of Beethoven's "Fur Elise." As I round the next bend, I spot Felix, perched on a high stack of newspapers outside the wig shop, eyes closed, playing as though to an audience of angels. I stand and listen quietly as he finishes the piece, completely unaware of my presence. It is a brilliant and thrilling performance.
###
Groene kathedraal Almere Nederland Provincie Flevoland. The Netherlands Green cathedral. Artist Marinus Boezem.
De Groene Kathedraal is een project van kunstenaar Marinus Boezem.
Leica-M6 TTL 0.72 Elmarit-M 1:2.8/21 mm ASPH.
Ilford Delta 100 asa.
Developer Ilford ID 11 1+1 20º 11 min.
Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED.Film Scanner.
🔴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 Rangefinder
Thank you everyone for your visit, favorites and comments.
"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/
Leipziger Buchmesse 2015
2015-03-13 (Friday)
2015_005
2015#132
SakuK (___) 537673 as Anarchy Stocking from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
Ann_in_the_Dark (Sophie) 778037 as Panty Anarchy from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
Thank you for any group invites which I will gladly 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. Thanks for your understanding.
On a sunny morning stroll, I found that crystal clear blue sky punctuated by those lovely soft cotton white clouds, right before me...
A good way to start the day with a positive mood :)
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Understanding Guilt
Scriptures: John 8:1-11
Guilt over doing something that violates the conscience is a normal emotion. However, living under a cloud of remorse for no discernible reason is not. The Lord designed feelings of culpability and regret to serve as a reminder that a person has done wrong and needs to repent. But Satan twists those emotions to imprison men and women: those living in shame are uncertain of God's love and often lack self-confidence. Good guilt--the Lord's effective tool for prompting repentance--is a gift that helps us find the right path. However, the Devil encourages false guilt, which involves taking responsibility for things outside our control and then suffering self-condemnation for not changing the outcome. This unhealthy type of guilt is also a widespread problem for those in legalistic churches or lifestyles--certain behaviors or thoughts are labeled as wrong, and then people feel ashamed for doing or thinking those things. Self-condemnation stunts a relationship with Jesus. Instead of enjoying the peace of God, people who are trapped by shame fear His rejection and feel driven to prove their worth. Trust is nearly impossible because they are waiting for God's judgment to rain down. Their guilt even colors how they see themselves: rather than saying, "My action is wrong," they say, "I am bad." Jesus did not come to accuse or condemn us. Christ restored our souls and made us righteous before God so that our guilt is removed. If our Savior forgave the woman caught in an adulterous relationship, just imagine how ready He is to take your shame away too (John 8:11).
_____
Dr. Charles Stanley
there is no understanding the magnitude of the disaster that still unfolds in Japan;
we do however, understand the warnings it sounds are we to hear them.
this week a close friend received a letter from a teacher living in a village thirty miles from Fukushima.
I asked permission to share with you the relevant and poignant passages.
First I want to thank you so very much for your concern
for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic
message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get
my message to you. Things here have been rather surreal. But I am
very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot.
Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying
at a friend's home. We share supplies like water, food and a
kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight,
share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.
During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our
homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their
navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source
is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out
sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.
Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no
pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is
safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is
how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another."
Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15
minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.
We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is
for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet
come on. But all of this is by area. Some people have these things,
others do not.
No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there
are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love
this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of
instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival,
not just of me, but of the entire group.
There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a
mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out
drying in the sun. People lining up for water and food, and yet a
few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.
Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence
at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at
night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but
now the whole sky is filled. The mountains are solid and
with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky
magnificently.
And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back
to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since
the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my
entrance way. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in
green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK.
People talk to complete strangers asking if they need
help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or
panic, no.
They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other
major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting
constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I
live in a part of the village that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid
than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others.
Last night my friend's husband came in from the
country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.
Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that
there is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is
occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I
experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart
opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because
of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as part of
something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of
birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.
Thank you again for your care and love of me,
With Love in return, to you all ...