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Seen along SR 42 in the Chiricahua Moutains, AZ
Even though we were able to view this guy for about three hours he moved so fast and never stayed in the same spot for more than two seconds we were lucky to get a photo, even one as low quality as this.
I have still not been able to get out for new photos, so I am adding another five photos from my archives, yet again. If I wrote a description under a previously posted photo taken on the same outing, I will add it to tonight's uploads.
"This particular bird resides at the Alberta Bird of Prey Centre in Coaldale, southern Alberta, a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures,and Golden Eagle. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, educating the public.
It had been a few years since my last visit there - I've been maybe three or four times - and I had been longing to go back. Much too far and all new driving territory for me to even think about driving there myself. However, three days ago, on 9 September 2016, that is exactly what I did. A friend had said she would come along, too, but she emailed me at 1:00 am to say that she assumed the trip had been cancelled, as she hadn't heard back about the time to meet. In fact, I had sent two emails giving the time, so I don't know what happened there. Very unfortunate, as it would have been great to have had company on such a long drive.
I knew it would be a long day and further than I would normally drive - and in a brand new car that I have yet to learn to drive! It doesn't look or feel quite as new now, after travelling 481 km! Only got lost twice, one minor and the other major. Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere down south and I ended up in the city of Lethbridge, that I had very carefully planned to avoid. After three and three-quarter hours, I finally arrived, to my huge relief.
Despite getting there later than I had hoped, I still had more than enough time to wander round the grounds and photograph the various raptors. Some were tethered out in a grassy area and others were in large outdoor cages. Wonderful to get such a close look at the various majestic birds.
I took a slightly different way home via #845 (?) making absolutely sure that I didn't accidentally find myself in Lethbridge again and it wasn't too long before I found myself in the area that I had driven a few weeks ago, when I went SW of Vulcan to look for Common NIghthawks (without any luck). Just so happy that I finally made myself do this drive. When I Googled the Centre's website a few days ago, I discovered that they were closing two days later for the winter. So, it was either a case of going the next day or not at all till next May onwards.
The very next day, 10 September 2016, I took my daughter on a long drive in Kananaskis. This was yet another place that I had longed to be able to drive for many years - and finally I did it! I had been lots of times with various friends, but this was the very first time I had ever driven myself."
Located at the South end of Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta, the SkyView Ferris wheel is set up to thrill families from all over the Atlanta Metro area. The wheel is almost 20 stories high with 42 gondolas that will be able to hold up to 6 people. With a view like this, everyone will be wanting a ride. And if you want to ride in style, check out our VIP gondola that gives you all the perks including the wonderful view. Surrounded by many other local favorite attractions of this downtown Centennial Park area, you'll never find yourself looking for something to do. SkyView. You can see Atlanta from here.
I was able to grab this shot whilst walking the dogs this evening. Tree rings still showing after the tree has been cut for a fence post. For Macromonday's theme "Ring" - HMM!
Another look at the pink skirt and lacey top combo. I love elegent white tops... but the camera always has probems with them. If this is balanced right you should be able to see the pattern
I was finally able to take a photo today after long weeks of not doing any photography-related thing. It felt so good.
I have a story to tell. =)
My internship this summer will be at a rehabilitation center near some ocean water. I couldn't be more excited about the fact that I'll be staying somewhere near the ocean and possibly taking a lot of photos. Hehe. (I'll be taking advantage of the place.) I can't believe I'm actually excited for my internship. Hoping for a meaningful and wonderful summer! =))
I was able to take a few pics with my friend Victoria Palmer before the Belles meeting started.
The Belles are in Buffalo NY in the United States and she comes down from Canada to meet with us.
She has to go through all that border crossing "stuff", I have a different word for it and it also starts with an S.
I remember back in the late 1970s when I took my girlfriend to Crystal Beach, We got to the border, they asked me where we were going?
Asked us if we were both citizens of the U.S.?
Asked when we were returning? And that was it.
Then coming back, it was no harder.
[Plus we had a few beers while over there. But, you didn't here that here.]
These days, I can't even enter Canada as I don't have an "enhanced" drivers license.
Oh, how the times change........
It's all for our safety though,[at least that's what they say.]
After deploying the HabLab colony to the planet below, Able Traveler spends a year in orbit above the newly colonized world. During that time, the crew assists in setting up and calibrating all of the system networks between the HabLabs and a series of recently deployed satellites that will be used to maintain contact with home and further map the planet surface. After loading up on samples, the Colonial Transport will return to Earth to be part of the Second Colonial Expeditionary Fleet.
I was able to make pictures for AutoJunior. Read out the test drive on autojunior.be. Please like AutoJunior on facebook.
If you’re convinced you’ll never be able to learn bird calls, start with the Gray Catbird. Once you’ve heard its catty mew you won’t forget it. Follow the sound into thickets and vine tangles and you’ll be rewarded by a somber gray bird with a black cap and bright rusty feathers under the tail. Gray Catbirds are relatives of mockingbirds and thrashers, and they share that group’s vocal abilities, copying the sounds of other species and stringing them together to make their own song.
You will always be able to see what someone is truly feeling by simply peering into their eyes.
I've had this photo idea in mind for quite some time. Take the extra minute to see if those who you know are truly okay, and if they aren't help them out. To much pain saturates the world, and it is from our own blindness that it continues to rise.
Check my facebook page to see a before and after :)
Interested in a print? Click here to view my Society6 gallery!
More fun here:
I have not been able to photograph ANYTHING this December, but fortunately, since Kessie reappeared in her old haunts in TMarsh early this winter, my great friend James F has captured her and posted three excellent images showing she has indeed returned for the winter of 2025-6. Other local paparazzi have also documented her in TMarsh....
James' latest photos of Kessie are HERE: www.flickr.com/photos/201644209@N02/54972937839/in/datepo...
American Kestrel female (Falco sparverius) Thomson Marsh, Kelowna, BC.
She's still around, and getting friendlier, if anything....
soty15
NOTE: Nov. 2018, three years later, she's still around, and, as Kessie , is an avian acquaintance par excellence !
My earliest photo of Kessie is dated January 27, 2015: www.flickr.com/photos/8666250@N02/16384053301/in/photostream
UPDATE: September 2021: I had sooo much to learn about this species and this particular bird. SIX YEARS AND EIGHT MONTHS and counting since my first image of her here in Kelowna. We hadn't even moved into our condo at that time!
I have been sooo privileged!The life expectancy of an American Kestrel in the wild, according to Cornell's All About Birds is only about 11 years!
Wikipedia has this data to share:The American kestrel is not long-lived, with a lifespan of <5 years for wild birds. The oldest banded wild bird was 11 years and 7 months , while captive kestrels can live up to 14–17 years. Maybe Kessie will go on to set a record!
ADDITIONAL NOTE: AS OF AUGUST 25, 2021, Kessie and her mate Amke are still with us, regularly seen from autumn through early summer. She takes a break from human contact at the peak of breeding season — the hottest time of the year.
She has become my favourite avian acquaintance simply because our connection is the longest I've had with any particular species! See this update from August 2021:
www.flickr.com/photos/8666250@N02/51431333399/in/datepost...
and Amke, her mate: www.flickr.com/photos/8666250@N02/51429831352/in/datepost...
My last sighting of Kessie occurred in January 13, 2025 when we 'spent and afternoon together.'
"Usual Blurb" © 2014 by Wil Wardle. Please do not use this or any of my images without my permission.
Please also find me Me on facebook, 500px , Ipernity and flickr:
www.facebook.com/pages/Wil-Wardle-Photography/13877641613...
This was the only 'Day-glo' L&B machine I was able to photograph. I'm told it was nicknamed 'The Pink Panther'.
This is my list of my favorite 2018 songs.
This year I was able to listen to a much broader range of songs than in the past thanks to a great new website (Popnable) that lists the top YouTube listens for an astonishing range of countries (from Kyrgyzstan to Cameroon).
Unfortunately, much of the local music throughout the world is the same factory-produced, autotuned, syndrum-drenched crap that dominates American radio, just in more obscure languages. Ultimately, I weeded through 4000-plus songs to come up with this list of just under 100 songs.
If anyone wants to actually hear any of the songs on this list, go to Spotify and search on “2018 Snopes Favorites.” That should turn up the entire playlist. Or just go to YouTube and start searching song by song.
89 – The Carters – “Apeshit” – It is a sign of the times that President Obama’s year-end best songs list (which was pretty good) includes this song by husband and wife Jay-Z and Beyonce, which includes the line “get off my d**k.” This was an absolutely sex-drenched year in music, and the number of songs about female private parts was astonishing.
88 - MC MM, DJ RD – “So Quer Vrau” – This seemingly German oompah band song is actually by Brazilian hardcore rappers.
87 - Nickie Minaj “Barbie Dreams” – This song disses a whole bunch of rappers in the filthiest ways imaginable. It’s hilarious.
86 - EAZ, Xen, Ledri Vula – “Nasty Girl” – Most of the lyrics to this gentle rap song are in Albanian, but the English chorus seems to be about a female derriere.
85 – Poppy – “Girls In Bikinis” – Poppy is a former Rockette from Boston. From Wikipedia, she seems to live a cosplay life. She has recently started the Poppy.Church.
84 - Tayna, Don Phenom – “Columbiana” – Another song mostly in Albanian. It seems to be about marijuana. It’s an obvious ripoff of Camila Cabelo’s “Havana,” but it sure sounds good.
83 - Yemi Alade – “Bum Bum” – This hooky song by a Nigerian rapper is another about the female derriere, this time about “shaking your bum bum bum.”
82 - Pistol Annies - “Got My Name Changed Back” – Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, and Angaleena Presley are the Pistol Annies. Aggressively feminist country music. “Well I've got me an ex that I adored/But he got along good with a couple road whores/Got my name changed back (yeah yeah)/I got my name changed back (yeah yeah)/I don't wanna be a Missus on paper no more/I got my name changed back (yeah yeah) … I broke his heart and took his money….”
81 - Ashley McBryde – “Girl Goin' Nowhere” – McBryde is a heavily tattooed Nashville singer-songwriter who’s gotten a lot of critical buzz for her first album. This is a good song, but I’m a little skeptical about her long term potential.
80 - Meghan Trainor – “Let You Be Right” – Catchy mainstream pop with cute lyrics:” I don't wanna fight tonight/ I'ma let you be right (let you be right)/We can make up if you just kiss me at the next traffic light”
79 - MC Stojan - “La Miami” – This is classical sounding Arabic pop, with a circular rhythm and sinuous guitar lines – but it’s in Serbian. Even using Google Translate, I can’t figure out what this song is about, although I assume Miami has something to do with it.
78 - Pasha, RebMoe – “I Don't Speak French” – Goofy and catchy song by a Norwegian rapper.
77 – Shenseea – “Body Good” – Shenseea is a Jamaican dancehall performer. This song is a tribute to (in keeping with 2018’s dominant theme) the goodness of female genitalia.
76 - Haifa Wehbe – “Touta” – In 2006, Wehbe was on People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People list. Wehbe won the title of Miss South Lebanon at the age of sixteen and was a runner-up at the Miss Lebanon competition, which was revoked after it was discovered that she was ineligible because she had been married and had a child. (I love Wikipedia.)
75 – Badshah – “She Move It Like” – Badshah is India’s most popular rapper. Google Translate couldn’t handle the lyrics to this song, but I’m betting it’s about the female derriere.
74 - Becky Warren – “Carmen” – Bouncy, upbeat country/Americana love song to Carmen.
73 - Richard Thompson – “The Rattle Within” – Wonderful to hear a good new Richard Thompson song. One of the greatest guitarists ever.
72 - M3NSA – “God Is Good God Is Good God Is Good” – Ghanaian singer and producer M3NSA savagely mocks the minister of the International Central Gospel Church, who was implicated in a financial scandal.
71 – Litany – “Call On Me” – female singer from Harrogate, UK. Smooth and polished request for a one-night stand.
70 - 24hrs, Lil Pump – “Lie Detector” – 24 Hours is an Atlanta rapper (is everyone who lives in Atlanta a famous rapper?). The song incorporates a brief tribute to female genitalia.
69 - Clay Parker and Jodi James - "Easy, Breeze" – Gillian Welch lives.
68 - Lost Frequencies, James Blunt – “Melody” – The sweetest song of the year is from a Belgian DJ.
67 - Alice Merton – “Why So Serious” – An old-fashioned anthemic female belter by a German/English singer.
66 - Emmanuel Jal, Nyaruach – “Ti Chuong” – Christian Sudanese gospel rapper, formerly a conscript child soldier in the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army.
65 - Colin Self - “Story” - Mr. Self’s self-description: “Colin Self was born in 1987 in Portland, Oregon. He lives and works in Berlin and Brooklyn. Self graduated in 2010 with a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A composer, choreographer, and performance artist, Self often works in and with interdisciplinary collectives, using the voice, the body, and digital technologies to explore gender, communication, our relationships to the biological and the technological, the potential for social transformation, and the spaces between and across binaries and boundaries.”
64 - Sebongile Kgaila – “Gladys” – From the great compilation album, “I’m Not Here to Hunt Rabbits.” Apparently, Botswanans play guitar differently than everyone else in the world.
63 - Rodney Crowell, Mary Karr – “Christmas In Vidor” – I wonder what the Beaumont, Texas suburb of Vidor ever did to piss Rodney Crowell off so bad to warrant this piece of pure venom.
62 - Orquesta Akokan – “Mambo Rapidito” – 14-piece mambo band from Havana.
61 - Future, Juice WRLD – “Fine China” – Classic trap artist from Atlanta rhymes “fine china, “I remind her,” “I’m a divah,” and “vagina.” Really pretty song.
60 - King Princess – “Pu**y Is God” – Brooklynite King Princess is very fond of what the Victorians called pudenda. I hesitate to put a gender label on “King Princess,” but she presents as female.
59 – cupcakke – “Duck Duck Goose” – “Easy Bake Oven and this pu**y so similar….” If cupcakke got her mind out of the gutter, she wouldn’t have no mind at all.
58 - Courtney Barnett – “Need A Little Time” – Sydney, Australia singer with an irresistible deadpan singing voice. Classic rock and roll. Barnett has three songs on the 2018 list.
57 - Janelle Monae – “Make Me Feel” – Monae is probably the best of the big-voiced women who dominate the pop radio charts.
56 – Rosalia – “Que No Salga La Luna - Cap.2: Boda” – I’ve long wondered why the distinctive rhythms of Spanish flamenco have not crossed over to the mainstream. It looks like Rosalia might be the first flamenco artist to reach a wider audience. She deserves it, this is gorgeous music.
55 - Car Seat Headrest – “My Boy (Twin Fantasy)” – Leesburg, Virginia’s greatest (now in Seattle).
54 - Courtney Barnett – “City Looks Pretty” – Buzzy guitars wrap around Pavementesque lyrics like this – “Friends treat you like a stranger and strangers treat you like their best friend, oh well.” Addictive.
53 - Thee Oh Sees – “Enrique El Cobrador” – Black Sabbath lives! (and can play their instruments way better than they used to)
52 – XXXTENTACION – “Sad!” – Stereotypically, rapper XXXTENTACION’s career got a huge boost (this song has 878 million Spotify streams) when he was gunned down in Deerfield Beach, Florida in June at age 20. Unstereotypically, his music was innovative and interesting (and not exclusively about female genitalia). It’s really too bad.
51 – Spiritualized – “The Morning After” – Still spacy after all these years.
50 - David Byrne – “ I Dance Like This” – The B-side to “Burning Down the House.”
49 - Soccer Mommy – “Your Dog” – A bracing lyric from the rare Nashville native – “I don’t want to be your f**king dog that you drag around, a collar on my neck tied to a pole, leave me in the freezing cold.” Ringing guitars to boot.
48 - The Chainsmokers – “Sick Boy” – It is an enduring mystery why the Chainsmokers, who are 100% American, sing in a British accent. But, boy do they sound great.
47 - Laura Marling, LUMP, Mike Lindsay – “Curse of the Contemporary” – Eric Burdon meets Heart, with Fleetwood Mac avant-garde garnishes. Maybe the most purely pretty song of 2018.
46 - Cardi B – “Get Up 10” – “Look, they gave a bitch two options: strippin' or lose/ Used to dance in a club right across from my school/ I said "dance" not "f**k", don't get it confused/Had to set the record straight 'cause bitches love to assume.”
45 - Mary Gauthier - “The War After the War” – Political correctness can be both beautiful and, well, correct.
44 - Car Seat Headrest - “Stop Smoking (We Love You)” – The title is the sum total of the lyrics.
43 - Mercedes Peon – “Deixaas” – I’m predicting this is by far the best Galician music you’ve ever heard. Driving beat over lovely intertwined female voices … how could you go wrong?
42 – Odette – “Lotus Eaters” – Piano and voice from a 20-year old woman from Sydney with a plummy fake accent. It ought to be awful, but it really is not. Not at all.
41 - Priscilla Renea – “Gentle Hands” – “I want a strong man with gentle hands.”
40 - Rodney Crowell, Brennen Leigh – “Merry Christmas From An Empty Bed” – Rodney Crowell’s “Christmas Everywhere” is the best Christmas album since the 1981 classic “A Christmas Record” on Ze records. This heartbreaker is the best traditional heartbreaker on the album, though not the best song on the album (which has 4 songs on this list).
39 - Courtney Barnett – “I'm Not Your Mother I'm Not Your Bitch” – Message delivered with a deluge of feedback.
38 - Sofi Tukker – “Batshit” – This duo, who met at Brown University, have a lock in case the Guinness Book of World Records ever decides to add a category of “most times the word ‘batshit’ has been used in a single song.” Autotuned, syndrummed, very polished … and yet really really good.
37 - Alec Benjamin – “If We Have Each Other” – A song to tide us over since Ed Sheeran did nothing new this year. And it’s not bad at all. Maybe Ed should be looking over his shoulder.
36 - Too $hort – Balance – Another female derriere tribute song, but it rises above the genre. “It must be a challenge, trying to keep your balance, with a ass like that, yeah it’s fat, okay…”
35 - Valee, Jeremih – “Womp Womp” – A portion of her physique “tastes like peach cobbler.” Valee is flying a little under the radar because he’s trying to do trap out of Chicago (where it gets way colder than Atlanta, which makes it hard to pull off trap levels of chill). Another very pretty song with extremely sexually explicit lyrics.
34 - Otoboke Beaver “anata watashi daita ato yome no meshi” – These Tokyo women don’t just pay tribute to HarDCore, they run straight over HarDCore.
33 - Rodney Crowell – “Let's Skip Christmas This Year” – Toni loves to put on Christmas music starting pretty much the day after Thanksgiving, but she doesn’t understand how Spotify works so I’m in charge of the playlist. This Rodney Crowell anti-classic will be added to the short list from now on.
32 - Y La Bamba – “Mujeres”– As someone who firmly believes that didacticism and politics are the surest combination for producing terrible music, if you’d have told me that this “Mujeres” is a “battle cry against machismo” by Portland-based Latinx Luz Elena Mendoza I would have confidently predicted a constricted dry monstrosity. ‘Wrong, Moose Breath!,” as Carnak the Magnificent often chastised the magnificently predictable Ed McMahon.
31 - Kapil Seshasayee – “The Ballad of Bant Singh” – If you explore the body of work of Glasgow jazzbo Kapil Seshasayee you’ll find way too much unlistenable experimentation, usually at great length. But this three-minute piece about Bant Singh, an Untouchable who was beaten nearly to death for protesting his daughter’s gang rape, is tightly focused and moving.
30 - Mountain Man - “Stella” – An acapella piece by an unknown three-woman group from Raleigh, North Carolina should have been easy to delete when assembling this list from a starting conglomeration of 4000-plus songs. It wasn’t.
29 - Tal National – “Entente” – For music critics, 2018 was the year of the Tuareg guitarists. The Tuaregs are a Berber tribal group who inhabit the Sahara on the southern fringes of North Africa and northern fringes of sub-Saharan Afria (including portions of Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria). Apparently, Jimi Hendrix’s music was extremely popular among the Tuareg and there are a bunch of Tuareg guitarists who have built on Hendrix to produce a guitar-drenched wall of sound. Toni and I and our friends Carol and Jack saw a great show by Tuaregan guitarist Mdou Mocstar at Drom in the East Village in January. But Mocstar released no new music in 2018 and I couldn’t find any music released in 2018 by Tuareg guitarists that measured up to that show. The closest I found was this song by Tal National, a pan-North African group that includes at least one Tuareg. They’re very different from the Tuareg guitarists, but are worthwhile i their own right (if a touch “World Music-ish”).
28 – XXXTENTACION - “Moonlight” – One of the last songs from this 20-year-old is both inspiring and depressing in its intertwining of the beauty of femininity in the moonlight and a “Smith and Wesson” and a “knife in the intestine.”
27 - Sebongile Kgaila – “Tika Molamu (Knobkerrie Throw)” – You guitarists out there should try to put aside your preconceptions and really listen to this new way of playing the guitar from Botswana. Fascinating and energetic.
26 - A$AP Rocky – “Sundress” – A$AP Rocky moved from Harlem to New Jersey where he has been inspired by his fellow intellectual New Jersey-ites Yo La Tengo and the Feelies.
25– Fontaines D.C. – “Chequeless Reckless - Darklands Version” – An idiot is someone who lets their education do all their thinking.
24 - Lucy Dacus – “Night Shift” – A song about recovery from breaking up with your first love. “The first time I ever tasted somebody else’s spit, I had a coughing fit. I mistakenly called them by your name.”
23 – Wussy – “One Per Customer” – Wussy, a Cincinnati band, is the greatest American band that basically no one has ever heard of (Robert Christgau, the venerable rock critic, is a huge fan, but as he’s almost 80 no one listens to him any more). “Don’t you wish you could have been an astronaut, back when astronauts had more appeal?”
22 - 88rising, Joji, Rich Brian, Higher Brothers, AUGUST 08 – “Midsummer Madness” – “Can’t look me in the eyes when you’re sober … last night I lost all my patience … you were f**ked up I was wasted… midsummer madness … I can’t take it … no more.” Beautiful tenor lead and lovely harmonies.
21 - Rodney Crowell, Daddy Cool & The Yule – “All For Little Girls & Boys” – Rodney Crowell actually doesn’t sing on the best song on his brilliant Christmas album “Christmas Everywhere.” This piece is almost 1920’s Appalachian in its sensibilities.
20 - Ammar 808, Sofiane Saidi – “Kahl el inin” – Tunisian-led bass-heavy trance music band.
19 - XXXTENTACION, Rio Santana, Judah, Carlos Andrez – “I don't even speak spanish lol” – A lovely song by the doomed 20-year-old celebrating lust on the dance floor with (for once) no trace of foreboding about his imminent murder. “Dance with me through the night.”
18 - Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Charli XCX, Cardi B – “Girls” – Gorgeous autotuned anthem, “Sometimes I just want to kiss girls, girls, girls….”
17 – Rosalia – “MALAMENTE - Cap.1: Augurio” – This fairly traditional flamenca song (admittedly heavily syndrummed) has 67 million streams on Spotify. That is definitely progress for this radically underappreciated Spanish music.
16 - Saba Andemariam – “Halengaye” – I have probably wildly overrated this song since I’m not really very familiar with Ethiopian and Eritrean music. I might be a note-for-note copy for some other Tigrayan classic, for all I know. But to my ignorant ears, it’s a densely structured, edgy gem.
15 - Cole Swindell – “Break up in the End” – Country to the core. “I'll introduce you to my mom and dad/Say ‘I think I love her’ when you leave that room/I'd still not take their advice when I say you're moving in/Even though we break up in the end”
14 - Amen Dunes – “Miki Dora” – NYC solo musician backed by a rotating group of musicians, but they make some shamelessly gorgeous music.
13 - Pistol Annies – “Milkman” – Second best country music song of the year. “If mama would've loved the milkman/Maybe she wouldn't judge me/If she'd've had a ride in his white van/Up and down Baker Street/On a Monday with her hair down and hand about to slide between his knees/But mama never did love nothin' but daddy and me”
12 - 03 Greedo – “Bacc to Jail” – I usually have a visceral reaction against songs that heavily use the n-word (or the n***ah word). But this song is an exception. The word fits the singer’s helpless acceptance that he is being sentenced to many years in prison for the victimless crimes of drug dealing and gun possession.
11 - Moon Hooch – “Light It Up” – As far as I can tell, Moon Hooch is by far the best jazz band playing today. Not a trace of ossification here.
10 - Kane Brown – “Short Skirt Weather” – Kane Brown is about to take popular country music by storm and it’s tempting to label him the “new Charley Pride” since he’s black. But “Short Skirt Weather” is way better than anything Pride ever did. “Oh my baby's made for short skirt weather/Yeah she makes me wish summer would just go on forever/From them yellow polka dots/From blue jeans to leather/Oh my baby's made for short skirt weather.” Brown is going to transcend color (no pun intended).
9 - Janelle Monae, Pharrell Williams – “I Got The Juice” – The title says it all.
8 – The Low Anthem – “Give My Body Back” - After a terrible auto accident after a Washington, DC show, the Low Anthem became very introspective … and very interior, without any real concern about what might be commercial. They did a DC show this spring that was one of the most intellectually challenging shows I’ve ever seen. “Give My Body Back,” a song about a cube-shaped salt doll who walks into the ocean to determine who she really is, has to be their most commercially palatable song of their recent work. This is definitely the most pretentious song on this list, but it was also a serious contender for the best song of the year.
7 - Ashley Monroe – “Hands On You” – Mainstream country yet the most genuinely erotic song of a year filled with sex-drenched songs. “I wish I would've laid my hands on you/ Shown you a thing or two/I wish I would've pushed you against the wall/Lock the door and bathroom stall, windows and the screen/I wish you would've laid your hands on me/That kind gon' bring me to my knees/I wish I would've let you lay me down/'Cause I wouldn't be here wishing now/ I wish I would've laid my hands on you”
6 – Wussy – “Gloria” – “Now he checks the page again/To find the thing he might have missed/Is she a phantom or a memory/Or the girl that you once kissed/So he is typing in her name to prove/That she does not exist/Her name is Gloria”
5 - Fuse ODG, KiDi, Kuami Eugene – “New African Girl” – The most hopeful song of the year came from this British-Ghanaian group: “African girl show them…. Aaah show them/ Ghanaian girl show them…/ Aaaahh show them Cameroonian girl, show them… / Aaahh show them Jamaican girl show them… / aaahh show them our skin so smooth/ Like lotion baby girl come wine that thing/ She got a big bum bum/ Bigger than the ocean/ Are you gonna gimme that thing yeah/ I want to be with you for life/ Oh let me take you on a ride/ yeah I give you what you want ooh cia bella/Let your body talk talk/Make your body talk talk/You African girl talk talk (Oh lord of mercy )/ bad gal talk”
4 - Priscilla Renea – “Jonjo” – The most genuinely poetic song of the year, about a girl and her brother and a treehouse. Purportedly country music, though I’m skeptical that any of Ms. Renea’s songs will ever crack those unsubtle charts.
3 - Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – If videos counted, this would be number 1. But why should Atlanta win everything?
2 - girl in red – “i wanna be your girlfriend”- “Oh hannah/I wanna feel you close/Oh hannah/Come lie with my bones”
1 - Bastian Baker – “Blame It on Me” – “Driving, the gun’s in the seat between us/It might be loaded, it might be loaded/And someday I won’t have to ask that question/It’s always loaded, it’s always loaded/And it all breaks down when you fire that gun” ---– “I’d have walked away, but the blood is on both of our hands.”
St Andrew and St Patrick, Elveden, Suffolk
As you approach Elveden, there is Suffolk’s biggest war memorial, to those killed from the three parishes that meet at this point. It is over 30 metres high, and you used to be able to climb up the inside. Someone in the village told me that more people have been killed on the road in Elveden since the end of the War than there are names on the war memorial. I could well believe it. Until about five years ago, the busy traffic of the A11 Norwich to London road hurtled through the village past the church, slowed only to a ridiculously high 50 MPH. If something hits you at that speed, then no way on God's Earth are you going to survive. Now there's a bypass, thank goodness.
Many people will know St Andrew and St Patrick as another familiar landmark on the road, but as you are swept along in the stream of traffic you are unlikely to appreciate quite how extraordinary a building it is. For a start, it has two towers. And a cloister. And two naves, effectively. It has undergone three major building programmes in the space of thirty years, any one of which would have sufficed to transform it utterly.
If you had seen this church before the 1860s, you would have thought it nothing remarkable. A simple aisle-less, clerestory-less building, typical of, and indistinguishable from, hundreds of other East Anglian flint churches. A journey to nearby Barnham will show you what I mean.
The story of the transformation of Elveden church begins in the early 19th century, on the other side of the world. The leader of the Sikhs, Ranjit Singh, controlled a united Punjab that stretched from the Khyber Pass to the borders of Tibet. His capital was at Lahore, but more importantly it included the Sikh holy city of Amritsar. The wealth of this vast Kingdom made him a major power-player in early 19th century politics, and he was a particular thorn in the flesh of the British Imperial war machine. At this time, the Punjab had a great artistic and cultural flowering that was hardly matched anywhere in the world.
It was not to last. The British forced Ranjit Singh to the negotiating table over the disputed border with Afghanistan, and a year later, in 1839, he was dead. A power vacuum ensued, and his six year old son Duleep Singh became a pawn between rival factions. It was exactly the opportunity that the British had been waiting for, and in February 1846 they poured across the borders in their thousands. Within a month, almost half the child-Prince's Kingdom was in foreign hands. The British installed a governor, and started to harvest the fruits of their new territory's wealth.
Over the next three years, the British gradually extended their rule, putting down uprisings and turning local warlords. Given that the Sikh political structures were in disarray, this was achieved at considerable loss to the invaders - thousands of British soldiers were killed. They are hardly remembered today. British losses at the Crimea ten years later were much slighter, but perhaps the invention of photography in the meantime had given people at home a clearer picture of what was happening, and so the Crimea still remains in the British folk memory.
For much of the period of the war, Prince Duleep Singh had remained in the seclusion of his fabulous palace in Lahore. However, once the Punjab was secure, he was sent into remote internal exile.
The missionaries poured in. Bearing in mind the value that Sikh culture places upon education, perhaps it is no surprise that their influence came to bear on the young Prince, and he became a Christian. The extent to which this was forced upon him is lost to us today.
A year later, the Prince sailed for England with his mother. He was admitted to the royal court by Queen Victoria, spending time both at Windsor and, particularly, in Scotland, where he grew up. In the 1860s, the Prince and his mother were significant members of London society, but she died suddenly in 1863. He returned with her ashes to the Punjab, and there he married. His wife, Bamba Muller, was part German, part Ethiopian. As part of the British pacification of India programme, the young couple were granted the lease on a vast, derelict stately home in the depths of the Suffolk countryside. This was Elveden Hall. He would never see India again.
With some considerable energy, Duleep Singh set about transforming the fortunes of the moribund estate. Being particularly fond of hunting (as a six year old, he'd had two tutors - one for learning the court language, Persian, and the other for hunting to hawk) he developed the estate for game. The house was rebuilt in 1870.
The year before, the Prince had begun to glorify the church so that it was more in keeping with the splendour of his court. This church, dedicated to St Andrew, was what now forms the north aisle of the present church. There are many little details, but the restoration includes two major features; firstly, the remarkable roof, with its extraordinary sprung sprung wallposts set on arches suspended in the window embrasures, and, secondly, the font, which Mortlock tells us is in the Sicilian-Norman style. Supported by eight elegant columns, it is very beautiful, and the angel in particular is one of Suffolk's loveliest. You can see him in an image on the left.
Duleep Singh seems to have settled comfortably into the role of an English country gentleman. And then, something extraordinary happened. The Prince, steeped in the proud tradition of his homeland, decided to return to the Punjab to fulfill his destiny as the leader of the Sikh people. He got as far as Aden before the British arrested him, and sent him home. He then set about trying to recruit Russian support for a Sikh uprising, travelling secretly across Europe in the guise of an Irishman, Patrick Casey. In between these times of cloak and dagger espionage, he would return to Elveden to shoot grouse with the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. It is a remarkable story.
Ultimately, his attempts to save his people from colonial oppression were doomed to failure. He died in Paris in 1893, the British seemingly unshakeable in their control of India. He was buried at Elveden churchyard in a simple grave.
The chancel of the 1869 church is now screened off as a chapel, accessible from the chancel of the new church, but set in it is the 1894 memorial window to Maharaja Prince Duleep Singh, the Adoration of the Magi by Kempe & Co.
And so, the Lion of the North had come to a humble end. His five children, several named after British royal princes, had left Elveden behind; they all died childless, one of them as recently as 1957. The estate reverted to the Crown, being bought by the brewing family, the Guinnesses.
Edward Cecil Guinness, first Earl Iveagh, commemorated bountifully in James Joyce's 1916 Ulysses, took the estate firmly in hand. The English agricultural depression had begun in the 1880s, and it would not be ended until the Second World War drew the greater part of English agriculture back under cultivation. It had hit the Estate hard. But Elveden was transformed, and so was the church.
Iveagh appointed William Caroe to build an entirely new church beside the old. It would be of such a scale that the old church of St Andrew would form the south aisle of the new church. The size may have reflected Iveagh's visions of grandeur, but it was also a practical arrangement, to accommodate the greatly enlarged staff of the estate. Attendance at church was compulsory; non-conformists were also expected to go, and the Guinnesses did not employ Catholics.
Between 1904 and 1906, the new structure went up. Mortlock recalls that Pevsner thought it 'Art Nouveau Gothic', which sums it up well. Lancet windows in the north side of the old church were moved across to the south side, and a wide open nave built beside it. Curiously, although this is much higher than the old and incorporates a Suffolk-style roof, Caroe resisted the temptation of a clerestory. The new church was rebenched throughout, and the woodwork is of a very high quality. The dates of the restoration can be found on bench ends up in the new chancel, and exploring all the symbolism will detain you for hours. Emblems of the nations of the British Isles also feature in the floor tiles.
The new church was dedicated to St Patrick, patron Saint of the Guinnesses' homeland. At this time, of course, Ireland was still a part of the United Kingdom, and despite the tensions and troubles of the previous century the Union was probably stronger at the opening of the 20th century than it had ever been. This was to change very rapidly. From the first shots fired at the General Post Office in April 1916, to complete independence in 1922, was just six years. Dublin, a firmly protestant city, in which the Iveaghs commemorated their dead at the Anglican cathedral of St Patrick, became the capital city of a staunchly Catholic nation. The Anglicans, the so-called Protestant Ascendancy, left in their thousands during the 1920s, depopulating the great houses, and leaving hundreds of Anglican parish churches completely bereft of congregations. Apart from a concentration in the wealthy suburbs of south Dublin, there are hardly any Anglicans left in the Republic today. But St Patrick's cathedral maintains its lonely witness to long years of British rule; the Iveagh transept includes the vast war memorial to WWI dead, and all the colours of the Irish regiments - it is said that 99% of the Union flags in the Republic are in the Guinness chapel of St Patrick's cathedral. Dublin, of course, is famous as the biggest city in Europe without a Catholic cathedral. It still has two Anglican ones.
Against this background then, we arrived at Elveden. The church is uncomfortably close to the busy road, but the sparkle of flint in the recent rain made it a thing of great beauty. The main entrance is now at the west end of the new church. The surviving 14th century tower now forms the west end of the south aisle, and we will come back to the other tower beyond it in a moment.
You step into a wide open space under a high, heavy roof laden with angels. There is a wide aisle off to the south; this is the former nave, and still has something of that quality. The whole space is suffused with gorgeously coloured light from excellent 19th and 20th century windows. These include one by Frank Brangwyn, at the west end of the new nave. Andrew and Patrick look down from a heavenly host on a mother and father entertaining their children and a host of woodland animals by reading them stories. It is quite the loveliest thing in the building.
Other windows, mostly in the south aisle, are also lovely. Hugh Easton's commemorative window for the former USAAF base at Elveden is magnificent. Either side are windows to Iveaghs - a gorgeous George killing a dragon, also by Hugh Easton, and a curious 1971 assemblage depicting images from the lives of Edward Guinness's heir and his wife, which also works rather well. The effect of all three windows together is particularly fine when seen from the new nave.
Turning ahead of you to the new chancel, there is the mighty alabaster reredos. It cost £1,200 in 1906, about a quarter of a million in today’s money. It reflects the woodwork, in depicting patron Saints and East Anglian monarchs, around a surprisingly simple Supper at Emmaus. This reredos, and the Brangwyn window, reminded me of the work at the Guinness’s other spiritual home, St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, which also includes a window by Frank Brangwyn commisioned by them. Everything is of the highest quality. Rarely has the cliché ‘no expense spared’ been as accurate as it is here.
Up at the front, a little brass plate reminds us that Edward VII slept through a sermon here in 1908. How different it must have seemed to him from the carefree days with his old friend the Maharajah! Still, it must have been a great occasion, full of Edwardian pomp, and the glitz that only the fabulously rich can provide. Today, the church is still splendid, but the Guinesses are no longer fabulously rich, and attendance at church is no longer compulsory for estate workers; there are far fewer of them anyway. The Church of England is in decline everywhere; and, let us be honest, particularly so in this part of Suffolk, where it seems to have retreated to a state of siege. Today, the congregation of this mighty citadel is as low as half a dozen. The revolutionary disappearance of Anglican congregations in the Iveagh's homeland is now being repeated in a slow, inexorable English way.
You wander outside, and there are more curiosities. Set in the wall are two linked hands, presumably a relic from a broken 18th century memorial. They must have been set here when the wall was moved back in the 1950s. In the south chancel wall, the bottom of an egg-cup protrudes from among the flints. This is the trademark of the architect WD Caroe. To the east of the new chancel, Duleep Singh’s gravestone is a very simple one. It is quite different in character to the church behind it. A plaque on the east end of the church remembers the centenary of his death.
Continuing around the church, you come to the surprise of a long cloister, connecting the remodelled chancel door of the old church to the new bell tower. It was built in 1922 as a memorial to the wife of the first Earl Iveagh. Caroe was the architect again, and he installed eight bells, dedicated to Mary, Gabriel, Edmund, Andrew, Patrick, Christ, God the Father, and the King. The excellent guidebook recalls that his intention was for the bells to be cast to maintain the hum and tap tones of the renowned ancient Suffolk bells of Lavenham... thus the true bell music of the old type is maintained.
This church is magnificent, obviously enough. It has everything going for it, and is a national treasure. And yet, it has hardly any congregation. So, what is to be done?
If we continue to think of rural historic churches as nothing more than outstations of the Church of England, it is hard to see how some of them will survive. This church in particular has no future in its present form as a village parish church. New roles must be found, new ways to involve local people and encourage their use. One would have thought that this would be easier here than elsewhere.
The other provoking thought was that this building summed up almost two centuries of British imperial adventure, and that we lived in a world that still suffered from the consequences. It is worth remembering where the wealth that rebuilt St Andrew and St Patrick came from.
As so often in British imperial history, interference in other peoples’ problems and the imposition of short-term solutions has left massive scars and long-cast shadows. For the Punjab, as in Ireland, there are no simple solutions. Sheer proximity has, after several centuries of cruel and exploitative involvement, finally encouraged the British government to pursue a solution in Ireland that is not entirely based on self-interest. I fear that the Punjab is too far away for the British to care very much now about what they did there then.
On a flight into New Orleans, Louisiana, I was able to capture this shot of Downtown as we passed over on approach. Seeing sites such as the Mercedes Superdome and Lake Pontchartrain was pretty cool since I've never been to or flew into New Orleans. Also seen in the photo are the Crescent City Connection (formerly known as the Greater New Orleans Bridge) and the Mississippi River.
Technical Information:
Camera - Nikon D5200
Lens – Nikkor 18-300mm Zoom
ISO – 160
Aperture – f/5.6
Exposure – 1/500 second
Focal Length – 165mm
The original RAW file was processed with Adobe Camera Raw and final adjustments were made with Photoshop CS5.
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11
“How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last moment turn into princesses; perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us.
So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloudshadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any miseries, or any depressions? For after all, you do not know what work these conditions are doing inside you.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke~
Letters to a Young Poet
Yesterday, 22 September 2024, Calgary has finally been able to lift the water main damage restrictions that have been in place for so many weeks over the last few months. Let's hope that no further damage will be discovered.
These four photos are all from a day's drive with my daughter, on 17 August 2024. My daughter had a free day and was able to join me for a full day of driving and visiting three different farms. That weekend, it was Alberta Open Farms Day, which means that owners can register to take part in the event, opening their farms to the public. Two of the images were taken along various roads in between two of the farms, and the flower photos were both taken at Tierra Flores Florals & Botanicals.
One of the farms, the first one we had decided to visit, was east of Calgary. One of the others was south (just SE) and the last one was SW of the city. This meant lots of fast, highway driving to save on time, stopping only several times to take a few quick photos.
I had seen Mangalitsa pigs before, each year that I took part in the Christmas Bird Count covering the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve. They were being raised by Steven Tannas. Both my daughter and I love pigs, so Eh Farms sounded a great place to visit yesterday.
"Eh Farms is a local, family-owned Alberta pig farm specializing in Red Mangalitsa Pigs. Our Mangalitsas are sustainably raised for 2 years in their natural environment eating an all plant-based ration, grass-pastured, and a fodder enhanced diet through the winter months.
Manga’s are known for their free-range, foraging, and natural diet – one of the reasons why the pork and lard produced from these pigs is so healthy to add to our own diets! These local pigs forage around our Alberta farm, eating a natural diet filled with vegetables, fruits, and grains, in addition to the nutrients they find on the ground. Because the pigs spend most of their time in the pasture snacking, they get nice and plump, a key part in what makes their meat so tasty!
The other pig breeds produced and sold to traditional grocery stores and markets are often grown quickly and contain very little fat, resulting in a less juicy cut. Not our Manga’s! Our hairy pigs are known for their mouthwatering flavour and unbelievable taste!
Mangalitsa meat has pure white fat! But not the bad type of fat you think of when you hear the word ‘bacon’, the good kind – monosaturated fat!
Monosaturated fats are a healthy fat that is necessary to have in our diets. Mangalitsa pork contains a pure and beneficial fat that is rich." From the EH Farms website.
This farm has a nice red barn and another attractive structure (shed, storage?). A large, white dog that was resting, caught our attention, too.
A beautiful Red-tailed Hawk was perched on the fence where the pigs were foraging. Because of the wildfire smoke and haze, I almost missed seeing it. Such gorgeous feathers.
From this farm, it was a long drive south, eventually arriving at the second farm on our list. This was Tierra Flores Florals & Botanicals, near High River. This is a flower and herb farm and in the beautiful, well-kept garden we saw "amaranth, celosia, echinacea, feverfew, globe thistle, gomphrena, nigella, rudbeckia, scabiosa, sea holly, snapdragon, statice, stock, strawflowers, sunflowers, sweet peas, yarrow, and zinnias." Such a beautiful sight.
After enjoying our time there, we drove W to our final stopping place, Hartell Homestead, where they raise amazing Highland Cattle. We were lucky because several of the animals were close to the fence. Oh, those young ones - so adorable! Another day, I will have to post a video of them.
We had made three great choices for the day and would be happy to visit all three maybe next year. A most enjoyable day, and so happy to have shared it all with my daughter.
Preaching is God’s great institution for the planting and maturing of spiritual life. When properly executed, its benefits are untold; when wrongly executed, no evil can exceed its damaging results. It is an easy matter to destroy the flock if the shepherd be unwary or the pasture be destroyed, easy to capture the citadel if the watchmen be asleep or the food and water be poisoned. Invested with such gracious prerogatives, exposed to so great evils, involving so many grave responsibilities, it would be a parody on the shrewdness of the devil and a libel on his character and reputation if he did not bring his master influences to adulterate the preacher and the preaching. In face of all this, the exclamatory interrogatory of Paul, “Who is sufficient for these things?” is never out of order.
Paul says: “Our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” The true ministry is God-touched, God-enabled, and God-made. The Spirit of God is on the preacher in anointing power, the fruit of the Spirit is in his heart, the Spirit of God has vitalized the man and the word; his preaching gives life, gives life as the spring gives life; gives life as the resurrection gives life; gives ardent life as the summer gives ardent life; gives fruitful life as the autumn gives fruitful life. The life-giving preacher is a man of God, whose heart is ever athirst for God, whose soul is ever following hard after God, whose eye is single to God, and in whom by the power of God’s Spirit the flesh and the world have been crucified and his ministry is like the generous flood of a life-giving river.
The preaching that kills is non-spiritual preaching
Edward M. Bounds, Power through Prayer (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1999).
En las patas delanteras, los camaleones tienen dos garras en la parte exterior y tres en la parte interior, mientras que en las patas traseras tienen tres garras en la parte exterior y dos en la parte interior.
On the front legs, chameleons have two claws on the outside and three on the inside, while on the hind legs they have three claws on the outside and two on the inside.
Les caméléons ont deux griffes à l'extérieur et trois à l'intérieur des pattes avant, tandis que les pattes arrière ont trois griffes à l'extérieur et deux à l'intérieur.
Los camaleones (Chamaeleonidae) son una familia, de pequeños saurópsidos (reptiles) escamosos. Existen cerca de 161 especies de camaleones, la mayor parte de ellas en África al sur del Sáhara. En América se llama a menudo camaleones a lagartos de las familias Polychrotidae y Dactyloidae, que aunque pueden cambiar de color, no guardan ningún parentesco con los verdaderos camaleones.
Son famosos por su habilidad de cambiar de color según las circunstancias, por su lengua rápida y alargada, y por sus ojos, que pueden ser movidos independientemente el uno del otro.
En 2015, Glaw reelaboró la división familiar en dos subfamilias:
Familia Chamaeleonidae: Subfamilia Chamaeleoninae (camaleones típicos, de los Géneros Bradypodion, Calumma, Chamaeleo, Furcifer, Kinyongia, Nadzikambia, Archaius, Trioceros)
y Subfamilia Brookesiinae (camaleones enanos, de los Géneros Brookesia, Rhampholeon y Rieppeleon)
Los camaleones varían grandemente en tamaño, desde los pequeños camaleones de la familia Brookesia que miden menos de 3 cm de largo hasta los grandes de 80 cm como el Calumna parsonii. La especie más pequeña vive en la isla de Nosy-bé en Madagascar es Brookesia minima y en su fase adulta difícilmente supera el centímetro y medio. Muchos de ellos tienen adornos en la cabeza o en la cara como protuberancias nasales e incluso cuernos como en el caso de Trioceros jacksonii o largas crestas en la parte superior de la cabeza como Chamaeleo calyptratus. Muchas especies presentan dimorfismo sexual y los machos suelen estar más adornados.
Las características principales que son compartidas por toda la familia son la estructura de sus patas, los ojos, la falta de oído y la lengua. Aunque no tengan oído externo son capaces de detectar vibraciones y sonidos de baja frecuencia, de unos 200Hz.
La familia tiene cada pata dividida en dos "dedos" principales con un suave recubrimiento al centro. Estos dedos están equipados con fuertes garras que le permiten trepar por troncos y ramas. Algo interesante es que tienen dos garras en la parte exterior y tres en la parte interior en las patas delanteras. Y en cambio, tres garras en la parte exterior y dos en la parte interior en las patas traseras.
Se mueven con extrema lentitud. Para atrapar a su presa utilizan la lengua, la cual puede ser extremadamente larga y muchas veces supera en longitud a su propio cuerpo. Consiguen lanzar su larguísima lengua protráctil como un proyectil, con una velocidad y distancia sorprendentes, hasta casi un metro en algunas especies. Con su punta pegajosa atrapan los pequeños animales, principalmente insectos, de los que se alimentan, ingiriéndolos inmediatamente enteros, como es común en los reptiles. Sólo con la ayuda de la fotografías de alta velocidad es posible observar ese proceso en detalle.
Su piel es rica en queratina, lo que presenta una serie de ventajas (en especial, la resistencia), pero igual que en otros reptiles, exige mudas periódicas como única forma de restaurarla.
Los ojos es lo que más los distingue entre los reptiles. Los camaleones poseen un rango oculomotor muy grande de unos 180° horizontalmente y 90° verticalmente. Los párpados están unidos entre sí por una estructura circular única de ápice redondeado, que rodea por completo el ojo, adoptando así una forma cónica. Cada ojo está recubierto por un párpado que se fusiona con el globo ocular siguiendo de cerca sus movimientos y deja libre solo una pequeña área circular en el centro, la correspondiente al iris y la pupila. Sus ojos se encuentran colocados en los laterales de la cabeza lo que les permite tener una vista panorámica. Pueden mover sus ojos, grandes y globosos, de manera independiente, lo que les brinda una visión de casi 360°, con un pequeño punto ciego tras la cabeza. Cuando la presa es localizada ambos ojos convergen en la misma dirección dándoles una visión estereoscópica y una percepción de profundidad.
En su retina solo poseen conos y no bastones, lo que les permite una buena visión diurna y excelente percepción de los colores, pero una deficiencia en la vista nocturna. Por esta razón los camaleones solo cazan durante el día.
La mayoría de camaleones son ovíparos, pero existen también especies ovovivíparas (normalmente del género Trioceros) . Una vez que la hembra está lista para poner los huevos (3-6 semanas después de la fecundación), desciende hacia el suelo y comienza a excavar un hueco de 5 a 30 centímetros dependiendo la especie. Luego, entierra los huevos y deja el lugar. La cantidad de huevos depositados varía de especie en especie desde el Brookesia con 2 a 4 huevos hasta el Chamaeleo calyptratus que pone de 30 a 60 huevos. Los huevos tardan en incubar de 6 a 8 meses, a excepción de Calumma parsonii, en cuya especie la incubación dura 18 meses. Los camaleones alcanzan la madurez sexual entre 4/5 meses y 8/10 meses (aunque el Calumma Parsonii llegan a su madurez sexual entre los dos y tres años). Pueden vivir entre 4 o 5 años, si bien algunas especies de gran tamaño como los Trioceros melleri y los Calumma parsonii pueden llegar a vivir hasta los 15 años.
La mayor parte de los camaleones habitan en África y en Madagascar, aunque algunas especies también se encuentran en partes del sur de Europa, Sri Lanka, India y Asia Menor. Diferentes especies habitan diferentes ambientes, como montañas, junglas, sabanas y a veces desiertos y estepas. Se cree que los individuos que viven en los sectores mediterráneos europeos derivan de ejemplares introducidos por el hombre en épocas remotas.
Los camaleones viven, en su mayor parte, en ambientes forestales, pero también se hallan algunos en matorrales, y algunas especies viven en el suelo, debajo de las hojas. Pueden pasar de un árbol a otro gracias a la habilidad prensil de su cola y de sus patas.
En la península ibérica sólo vive el camaleón común (Chamaeleo chamaeleon), que se encuentra en puntos muy concretos de la geografía española, como en Andalucía (en la costa desde Huelva hasta Almería existen poblaciones fragmentadas en varios puntos) o la Región de Murcia y en Portugal, concretamente en el Algarve; también hay poblaciones en Italia y Creta. Otra especie que se puede encontrar en Europa es el camaleón africano (Chamaeleo africanus) con algunas pequeñas poblaciones al suroeste del Peloponeso en el sur de Grecia, donde se cree que es una introducción desde la antigüedad, posiblemente desde Egipto.
Todos los camaleones son animales diurnos. Su periodo de mayor actividad es la mañana y el crepúsculo. Los camaleones no son cazadores activos. En vez de eso, prefieren quedarse horas inmóviles, esperando que una presa pase por allí. Se alimentan básicamente de artrópodos y de pequeños vertebrados. En cautividad, también comen frutas como papayas, plátanos, y hasta crías de roedores. Pero esa dieta solo es válida para animales adultos: las crías son casi exclusivamente insectívoras.
Los camaleones viven la mayor parte de sus vidas en solitario, y son bastante agresivos contra otros miembros de su misma especie. El hábito solitario solo es abandonado en la época de apareamiento, cuando el macho desciende de los árboles en busca de hembras.
Los camaleones pueden morder cuando se les provoca, pero el mordisco no es muy doloroso y en caso de que se produzca no reviste ningún riesgo, basta con desinfectar la zona como cualquier otra herida o rasguño.
Algunas especies de camaleón son capaces de cambiar de color, lo que es su característica más famosa.
Al contrario de lo que algunos creen, no son incoloros, ni mudan de color solo de acuerdo con el del ambiente; en realidad, el cambio de su color básico expresa más a menudo una condición fisiológica (relacionada con la temperatura o la hora del día) o una condición psicológica (provocada por la proximidad de un eventual adversario o pareja).
El cambio de color también tiene un papel importante en la comunicación durante las luchas entre camaleones: los colores indican si el oponente está asustado o furioso. Pueden variar los colores, desde rojizo hasta verdoso.
Accidentalmente, el cambio de color puede ayudar a la ocultación del animal, aunque esta no es una ocurrencia frecuente, y sí ocasional.
Los camaleones tienen células pigmentarias especializadas en varias capas de la dermis, bajo su epidermis externa y transparente. Las células de la capa superior, llamadas cromatóforos, contienen pigmentos amarillos y rojos. Bajo la de los cromatóforos hay otra capa cuyas células pigmentarias, los guanóforos, contienen una sustancia cristalina e incolora, la guanina. Los guanóforos reflejan, entre otras cosas, el color azul de la luz incidente. Cuando la capa superior con sus cromatóforos determina un color amarillo, la luz azul reflejada por los guanóforos se tiñe de verde (azul + amarillo). Aún más abajo se encuentra una capa rica en melanóforos, cargados del pigmento oscuro llamado eumelanina que también tiñe la piel humana. Estos melanóforos regulan el brillo, es decir la cantidad de luz reflejada. Todas estas células pigmentarias pueden regular la distribución de los pigmentos que contienen, ampliándola o contrayéndola, lo que da lugar su vez a las diferencias de brillo, tonalidad y dibujo que distinguen a los camaleones.
En la simbología de algunas tribus africanas, el camaleón es un animal sagrado, visto como el creador de la raza humana. Nunca muere, y cuando se encuentran alguno en el camino, lo apartan con precaución, con miedo a las maldiciones.
En el mercado de mascotas, Trioceros jacksonii y Chamaeleo calyptratus son de lejos los más comunes y se los encuentra frecuentemente criados en cautiverio. También podemos encontrar Furcifer pardalis, Furcifer lateralis, Calumma parsonii, Trioceros quadricornis y Trioceros melleri.
La mayoría de las especies está listada en el CITES, lo cual indica que su exportación está prohibida o sujeta a estrictas cuotas de exportación en sus países nativos. Sin embargo, la falta de órganos de control en los países nativos hace que esta lista pierda efectividad.
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamaeleonidae
Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, being capable of shifting to different hues and degrees of brightness. The large number of species in the family exhibit considerable variability in their capacity to change color. For some, it is more of a shift of brightness (shades of brown); for others, a plethora of color-combinations (reds, yellows, greens, blues) can be seen.
Chameleons are distinguished by their zygodactylous feet, their prehensile tail, their laterally compressed bodies, their head casques, their projectile tongues, their swaying gait, and crests or horns on their brow and snout. Chameleons' eyes are independently mobile, and because of this the chameleon’s brain is constantly analyzing two separate, individual images of its environment. When hunting prey, the eyes focus forward in coordination, affording the animal stereoscopic vision.
Chameleons are adapted for climbing and visual hunting. The use of their prehensile tail offers stability when they are moving or resting while on a branch in the canopy; because of this, their tail is often referred to as a "fifth limb". Another character that is advantageous for being arboreal is how laterally compressed their bodies are; it is important for them to distribute their weight as evenly as possible as it confers stability on twigs and branches in the trees. They live in warm habitats that range from rainforest to desert conditions, with various species occurring in Africa, Madagascar, southern Europe, and across southern Asia as far as Sri Lanka. They have been introduced to Hawaii, California, and Florida.
In 1986, the family Chamaeleonidae was divided into two subfamilies, Brookesiinae and Chamaeleoninae.
Under this classification, Brookesiinae included the genera Brookesia and Rhampholeon, as well as the genera later split off from them (Palleon and Rieppeleon), while Chamaeleoninae included the genera Bradypodion, Calumma, Chamaeleo, Furcifer and Trioceros, as well as the genera later split off from them (Archaius, Nadzikambia and Kinyongia). Since that time, however, the validity of this subfamily designation has been the subject of much debate, although most phylogenetic studies support the notion that the pygmy chameleons of the subfamily Brookesiinae are not a monophyletic group.
While some authorities have previously preferred to use this subfamilial classification on the basis of the absence of evidence principle, these authorities later abandoned this subfamilial division, no longer recognizing any subfamilies with the family Chamaeleonidae.
In 2015, however, Glaw reworked the subfamilial division by placing only the genera Brookesia and Palleon within the Brookesiinae subfamily, with all other genera being placed in Chamaeleoninae.
Some chameleon species are able to change their skin coloration. Different chameleon species are able to vary their coloration and pattern through combinations of pink, blue, red, orange, green, black, brown, light blue, yellow, turquoise, and purple. Chameleon skin has a superficial layer which contains pigments, and under the layer are cells with very small (nanoscale) guanine crystals. Chameleons change color by "actively tuning the photonic response of a lattice of small guanine nanocrystals in the s-iridophores". This tuning, by an unknown molecular mechanism, changes the wavelength of light reflected off the crystals which changes the color of the skin. The color change was duplicated ex vivo by modifying the osmolarity of pieces of white skin.
Color change in chameleons has functions in camouflage, but most commonly in social signaling and in reactions to temperature and other conditions. The relative importance of these functions varies with the circumstances, as well as the species. Color change signals a chameleon's physiological condition and intentions to other chameleons. Because chameleons are ectothermic, another reason why they change color is to regulate their body temperatures, either to a darker color to absorb light and heat to raise their temperature, or to a lighter color to reflect light and heat, thereby either stabilizing or lowering their body temperature.
Chameleons tend to show brighter colors when displaying aggression to other chameleons, and darker colors when they submit or "give up". Some species, particularly those of Madagascar and some African genera in rainforest habitats, have blue fluorescence in their skull tubercles, deriving from bones and possibly serving a signaling role.
Some species, such as Smith's dwarf chameleon, adjust their colors for camouflage by the vision of the specific predator species (bird or snake) by which they are being threatened.
Chameleons have two superimposed layers within their skin that control their color and thermoregulation. The top layer contains a lattice of guanine nanocrystals, and by exciting this lattice the spacing between the nanocrystals can be manipulated, which in turn affects which wavelengths of light are reflected and which are absorbed. Exciting the lattice increases the distance between the nanocrystals, and the skin reflects longer wavelengths of light. Thus, in a relaxed state the crystals reflect blue and green, but in an excited state the longer wavelengths such as yellow, orange, green, and red are reflected.
The skin of a chameleon also contains some yellow pigments, which combined with the blue reflected by a relaxed crystal lattice results in the characteristic green color which is common of many chameleons in their relaxed state. Chameleon color palettes have evolved through evolution and the environment. Chameleons living in the forest have a more defined and colorful palette compared to those living in the desert or savanna, which have more of a basic, brown, and charred palette.
Chameleons primarily live in the mainland of sub-Saharan Africa and on the island of Madagascar, although a few species live in northern Africa, southern Europe (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece), the Middle East, southern India, Sri Lanka, and several smaller islands in the western Indian Ocean.
Chameleons inhabit all kinds of tropical and mountain rain forests, savannas, and sometimes deserts and
steppes.
The typical chameleons from the subfamily Chamaeleoninae are arboreal, usually living in trees or bushes, although a few (notably the Namaqua chameleon) are partially or largely terrestrial. Most species from the subfamily Brookesiinae, which includes the genera Brookesia, Rieppeleon, and Rhampholeon, live low in vegetation or on the ground among leaf litter. Many species of chameleons are threatened by extinction. Declining chameleon numbers are due to habitat loss.
Chameleons are preyed upon by a variety of other animals. Birds and snakes are the most important predators of adult chameleons. Invertebrates, especially ants, put a high predation pressure on chameleon eggs and juveniles. Chameleons are unlikely to be able to flee from predators and rely on crypsis as their primary defense. Chameleons can change both their colors and their patterns (to varying extents) to resemble their surroundings or disrupt the body outline and remain hidden from a potential enemy's sight. Only if detected, chameleons actively defend themselves. They adopt a defensive body posture, present an attacker with a laterally flattened body to appear larger, warn with an open mouth, and, if needed, utilize feet and jaws to fight back. Vocalization is sometimes incorporated into threat displays.
Chameleons are popular reptile pets, mostly imported from African countries like Madagascar, Tanzania, and Togo. The most common in the trade are the Senegal chameleon (Chamaeleo senegalensis), the Yemen or veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus), the panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis), and Jackson's chameleon (Trioceros jacksonii). Other chameleons seen in captivity (albeit on an irregular basis) include such species as the carpet chameleon (Furcifer lateralis), Meller’s chameleon (Trioceros melleri), Parson’s chameleon (Calumma parsonii), and several species of pygmy and leaf-tailed chameleons, mostly of the genuses Brookesia, Rhampholeon, or Rieppeleon. These are among the most sensitive reptiles one can own, requiring specialized attention and care.
The U.S. has been the main importer of chameleons since the early 1980s accounting for 69% of African reptile exports. However, there have been large declines due to tougher regulations to protect species from being taken from the wild and due to many becoming invasive in places like Florida. They have remained popular though which may be due to the captive-breeding in the U.S. which has increased to the point that the U.S. can fulfill its demand, and has now even become a major exporter as well. In the U.S. they are so popular, that despite Florida having six invasive chameleon species due to the pet trade, reptile hobbyists in these areas search for chameleons to keep as pets or to breed and sell them, with some selling for up to a thousand dollars.
Image is in visual colors, if human eye could be able to see colors in extremely low light, most emission nebulae appears in deep red color due to dominance of ionized hydrogen, H-alpha. Blue color is coming from the emission of ionized oxygen, O-III.
More info and images about Sh2-132 in my blog, please have a look: www.astroanarchy.blogspot.fi/2014/11/sharpless-132-sh2-13...
"A furious cosmic horse gets blinded by a divine blue light"
Sharpless 132 (Sh2-132) in Cepheus
Sharpless 132 is a very faint emission nebula, it locates at the border of Cepheus and Lacerta. Distance is about 10.000 lightyears. My photo covers about one square degree of the sky (63x63"). The blue color in the image is from the emission of an ionized Oxygen (O-III). "The divine blue light" at horses face seems to be an Oxygen jet of some kind, or it's just a tens of light years long oddly shaped area of glowing gas. The shape can be seen in H-alpha channel too. (Ionized Hydrogen)
Technical details
Processing work flow
Image acquisition, MaxiDL v5.07.
Stacked and calibrated in CCDStack2.
Deconvolution with a CCDStack2 Positive Constraint, 33 iterations, added at 50% weight
Color combine in PS CS3
Levels and curves in PS CS3.
Imaging optics
Celestron Edge HD 1100 @ f7 with 0,7 focal reducer for Edge HD 1100 telescope
Cameras and filters
Imaging camera Apogee Alta U16 and Apogee seven slot filter wheel
Guider camera, Lodestar x2
Astrodon filter, 5nm H-alpha
Astrodon filter, 3nm O-III
Exposure times
H-alpha, 9 x 1200s = 3h
O-III, 3 x 1200s = 1h
S-II, 3x1200s = 1h
Greendale: Day 11 of the Misfits' Undercover Operation
With the rest of the Misfits still enrolled in the college, Drury had left Rigger, Reardon and Gar to browse the nearby mall. With them distracted, and in good enough spirits, he was able to enter the Ballroom, a small bar in Greendale's town center without arousing their suspicions. As he opened the door, he was met with a large, suited guard, standing between him and his contact.
"You're late," the guard noted.
"Couldn't find a parking space I liked," Drury lied, placing his cocoon gun and the accompanying cartridge of white pellets onto the cork crate beside him: holding his arms out so that the guard could pat him down, pausing as their hands reached the large stuffed rabbit Drury had forced halfway down his back jacket pocket.
"It's for my son," Drury blushed. "He'll be 20 this month."
The guard raised a judgemental eyebrow, but gave way nonetheless, allowing Drury access into the private booth. The seated occupant rose to his feet and offered his hand out to greet him.
"Mr Walker. We haven't been formally introduced yet. My name is David Li, but you can call me-" he began, only for Drury to cut him off.
"-Bookworm, yeah, yeah, Roman's right hand, I know. Chuck's mentioned you. Said you were an honourable sort. Or at least as honourable as a mob accountant gets, I suppose... He's also said that he wished you'd find more... eh, 'ethically sound' employment."
"Oh, I'm quite satisfied in Mr Sionis' employ, thank you," Li smiled politely. "Although we have been... challenged, as of late. Perhaps it's better to show you: Here."
Li reached into his briefcase and handed Drury the first of many photos, as Walker tried his very best not to throw up.
"Lucio Moxxom. October 31st. Halloween. Head decapitated and mailed to the Sionis penthouse," Li explained, before moving onto the next victim:
"Marco Viti. November 5th. Bonfire Night. Thrown into a Steel Mill furnace. Headfirst."
And the next:
"Angelo Mirti. November 16th. Thanksgiving. Drugged and strung up outside the East End Warehouses. A pound of C4 placed... Well, in a place best left unsaid. And since then, there have been three other murders just like them. Remind you of someone?"
"Julian..." Drury realised, as his heart sank.
"Yes. There was a note attached to the first victim's... ah, head, which matches the handwriting we have on record... Here's the copy I made," Li handed Drury a small sheet of paper, and he read it aloud:
"'Roman Sionis... should've stayed in Italy... blah blah... day of reckoning...' bit pretentious... 'Before this year is through, we will see you burn.'" Drury read. "How come I didn't hear about this sooner? Why didn't you go to the cops?"
"Because the last thing Mr Sionis wants is the GCPD intruding on his businesses. He gets enough bother from the Bats: Something we have in common, I hear. We can help you with that," Li lowered his glasses. "Mr Sionis, believes there's a connection between Day, and this man: The White Mask. And, on Halloween, a recent blood test confirmed his suspicions that White Mask, real name: David Franco, is the son of Richard Sionis. His father. This revelation has Mr Sionis reeling, as he's now certain that Franco, has joined forces with Day to remove him from power."
Though he had only been half listening, Drury suddenly perked up. "Sorry, Dave Franco-?"
"Yes, believe me, we all know what it sounds like... Might we skip the jokes and focus, please?" Li sighed.
"Oh, no, we can not just gloss over that. I've got so much material to work with!" Drury joked.
"If you could concentrate please-" Li restated, as he motioned to his bodyguard, the burly man who had patted Drury down earlier with firm enthusiasm.
"Right, yes, sorry," Drury gulped. "Continue."
"In the weeks since he first received those blood tests, Mr Sionis has turned to Henry Ferris: Iron-Hat, a vile man really. Ferris, believes that to catch Day, we must first lure him out into the open. And what better way is there, than with a holiday party? I believe you're familiar with the annual Janus Cosmetics Christmas ball."
"I am, yeah," Drury reminisced. "But you could wrap Roman in tissue paper and a big red bow, and Jules would probably still show up. Doubt it matters to him, but it would limit casualties."
"You're being sarcastic, I take it," Li noticed. "Believe me, you have every reason to distrust my employer, hate him even, but if you do nothing, if The Calendar Man kills Roman Sionis... Well, you have no idea the kinds of monsters he's kept at bay. Or the evils that will rise up in his place..." Li stopped himself from elaborating further and instead, took a pen from his breast pocket, and scrawled a few digits onto the napkin beneath his soda. "The offer stands. We can grant you safe passage into Gotham, however many guns you require, and in exchange, we request your expertise in dealing with Calendar Man. I'll be staying in the hotel on Rhodes Street; visit me there when you have an answer."
==Greendale: Day 17==
"You didn't tell me you were working with Sionis," Kuttler frowned.
"No, I didn't..." Chuck murmured, just as confused as he was.
Drury approached the False Facers and shook hands with Li. "You remembered my terms, yeah?" he asked.
"Yes," Li spoke. "We already have people bringing Mr Sharpe to the rendezvous point," he confirmed. "We are, however, still struggling to locate Mr Fiasco. We've not heard from him since he was released from GCPD custody."
"Forget it, Len knows how to disappear: he'll be deep underground by now," Drury reasoned. "He's never really liked the spotlight."
"Quite," Li agreed. "We have a small smelting plant in one of the neighbouring towns. I've arranged to have your truck moved there, where it can be quietly decommissioned."
"But not before you 'quietly' scavenge whatever Bat-Tech you can get a hold of, right?" Drury questioned him, hesitantly reaching into his back pocket, and placing the keys into Li's expectant palm.
"Perhaps," Li said coolly.
"Oh, mind you, I quite like the hood ornament," White remarked, as he ran his fingers along the grill of the truck. "Might have to keep that for myself."
"Uh, Drury?" Chuck interrupted, speaking on the group's behalf. "Could we maybe talk about this for a minute?"
Drury, looked back over to Li. "Five minutes," the Bookworm relented. Walker nodded gratefully, and rejoined the rest of the Misfits.
"How exactly did you arrange an escort from the Great White Shark of all people? Did you subscribe to the Iceberg Lounge's loyalty scheme?" Kuttler inquired, a note of sarcasm in his voice.
"They do that?" an oblivious Mayo asked. "What a gip!"
"Dru?" Rigger asked expectantly, electing to ignore Mayo.
"Well, you remember those couple of days we spent in the city center? Blake had his teaching gig, you got your sword, Gar got that nifty new lighter and we all had a brief pint in that place on L-Street?"
"Sure, that was the happiest I've ever been," he replied.
'Really?' Gar thought.
"Well, while you were browsing through shops, I actually had a meeting with Li there: The guy with the hat. We'd been texting for a couple of days prior; think Sharpe maybe gave him my mobile... Doesn't matter. Well, matters a little... But, what's important is, Li told me that Sionis' people are being taken out one by one. On holidays," he stated, pausing for dramatic effect.
'Julian...' Chuck gasped.
"Jules?" Blake wondered. "But that'd mean..."
"Exactly. I think we've found our mastermind," Drury concluded.
Ten placed his head in his hands. "God, Drury, I thought we moved past this," he sighed wearily.
"We did, I know, I'm sorry, but look at the facts: We know Carson isn't smart enough to play the long game. Julian is. If he's part of- or the leader of the Outcasts, we have to take him down. We could end this all, right here."
"Just like in Nanda Parbat, right?" Reardon asked, standing his ground.
"That was different. Please," Drury pleaded.
"Ok, Drury, let's say that he is behind all this, that he paid Krill and promised Carson revenge: that still doesn't explain that Zolomon ghoul," Chuck addressed it. "What does he get out of this?"
"Guess we'll just have to ask him ourselves," Gar stated, as he stood by Drury's side.
The other Misfits, looked more hesitant to join him.
"There'll be a party," Drury tried to entice them. "Booze. Food. Women," directing each of these at Flannegan, Mayo and Blake in that order.
"I'm in," Blake replied confidently, as Rigger also cheered enthusiastically.
"You know me, boss, I'm just here for the paycheck," Otis agreed.
"And if there's a free buffet-" Mayo licked his lips. "Well, that'd just be swell."
'Swell...' Gar mouthed, looking at Drury and nodding affirmatively.
The next to speak, Chuck sighed. "God, peer pressure is a bitch... Hell yeah, let's do it," he smiled. That just left Ten.
"Hey. You said you trusted me," Drury smirked.
"Eh-" Reardon protested.
"You said, 'Drury, I trust you,' you did," he teased.
"Hey, if you said that, it's on you," Blake shrugged.
"Well, that's- That's not a direct quotation," Reardon responded. "It's not!" he repeated to the skeptical ensemble. "Fine," he said reluctantly. "Fine."
"Does it even matter what I think?" Kuttler asked bitterly.
"I mean, I thought I'd at least give you the illusion of choice," Drury smiled boyishly.
"Good job," he scoffed.
==Gotham City==
The Apartment of the Deceased Jumbo Carson. Now home to his brother Ted, his daughter Bridget and their lackey Roger Hayden
The door creaked open, as Julian Day entered the room, his hands smelling strongly of hand sanitizer: A habit he had taken up since his meeting with The King of Cats. Hayden, was currently sat atop the kitchen stool, watching cartoons with intense delight, while his hands caressed his beloved Medusa mask.
At the side of the room, Bridget was putting up a Christmas tree; with many of the decorations recovered from her childhood home to celebrate the first Christmas she was spending with her father since his return- a gesture gone unnoticed by Carson himself.
"Allow me," Day said softly, as he reached into the cardboard box of mementos and placed the star at the top of the tree. 'No tinsel?' he noted. 'Pity.'
Leaning against the kitchen counter, Carson perked up. "Who'd you kill this time, huh?" he demanded, as he poured himself a cup of black coffee.
Day didn't reply.
"And where the hell's Krill anyway?" Carson continued to press. "Would never have agreed to this arrangement if I'd known you'd be poaching my people for god knows what."
Bridget, was actually quite grateful for Krill's absence. Though responsible for bringing her father home, Krill himself had been both crass and disrespectful to her family, with his constant jokes aggravating Carson's already foul temper. Day, at least, buried his insults in flowery language that often went over her father's head.
"My partners have Krill working on a separate assignment right now," Day spoke. "You, should stay focused on yours."
"Separate assignment- Stay focused? But I'm not doing anything!" Carson disagreed.
"Precisely," Day said coldly. "I can't have you bumbling around Gotham like a drunk Darth Vader."
"I-," Carson stammered. "We should be out there, searching for the putz who killed Jacob!"
Day took the coffee pot out of Carson's hands, and poured the steaming liquid into his festive mug. "No. You really shouldn't," he disagreed. "The matter has already been dealt with. Pass the milk, please, Roger."
Carson intercepted Hayden's hand. "No, 'Roger,' don't pass him the goddamn milk! Dealt with? Dealt with?! You have no right to-"
"Oh, and you do?" Day scoffed. "It was your failure at the hospital that got Ant-Man captured. And your inaction that got him killed."
Bridget arrived at her dad's side and placed her hand on his shoulder, in an attempt to calm him down. "It's not worth it," she urged.
Carson took a deep breath. "That's my point," he told Day. "Listen, if you'd just let me talk to your partners, we could coordinate on this. Let me set the gas mains alight, hit the power station. Something big to draw Walker out of hiding!"
Day paused to process the magnitude of Carson's suggestion, and brow furrowed, turned to Bridget sympathetically.
Dejected, Carson changed direction. "At least I'm trying! While you were out... washing your hands? I, had a talk with the White Mask. Turns out, he's seeing somebody,"
Day rolled his eyes. "Barson, I'm really not interested in tabloid news and idle gossip," he said disinterestedly.
"But you'll like this: His new girlfriend, is none other than Jenna Duffy. Lynns' girl. You know what that means, don't you? They broke up," Carson said gleefully.
Day raised an eyebrow, suddenly invested. "Really?" he wondered.
"Really?" Carson quoted. "Yes, really, why would I lie? It was a big teary eyed thing, Franco said. Apparently, Lynns had to choose between her and his best friend, and he chose Walker. Crazy, right?"
"Crazy," Day repeated. "Hn. Congratulations, Barson, perhaps you're not all that useless after all," he concluded.
=The Iceberg Lounge's Private Bar=
Sionis was sat in the backroom, in a makeshift surgery room. Doting over him, was Lazlo Valentin: Professor Pyg. Sionis, had refused anaesthetic, of course: He'd heard all kinds of horror stories about Valentin transforming simple surgical procedures into nightmarish experiments. Presently, Valentin had been put to work adjusting Sionis' face in anticipation of the holiday party: Sandpapering his scalp, varnishing the surface and tracing over his skull-like features with a small scalpel, all to accentuate Sionis' fearsome visage
"Pretty as a picture," he snorted, as he kissed Sionis' bald scalp tenderly.
"Thanks, Porky. Feel better already," Sionis remarked disingenuously, as he unhooked the white bib from his person, and admired himself in the overhead mirror.
"Sir, the Misfits are outside," Li's voice announced through the door.
"Alright, give me a minute," Sionis replied as he swatted Valentin away.
"Look lively, the strippers are here!" White yelled crassly, as he and Li led the Misfits into the parlour. The convoy, had arrived later than scheduled, having first stopped off at Kuttler's home, to allow him to recover various devices and gadgets he believed would be useful against Day and his apparent henchmen.
"Just remember," Drury was warning them, "Roman's not exactly our biggest fan. Because we keep trying to kill each other. So tread carefully." He paused, as he sniffed the air. "Did you just varnish this floor?" he addressed Sionis' bodyguards. "Smells great."
"Lynns!" Sionis greeted them, as he entered through the backdoor, adjusting his red tie as he made his way towards them.
"Mr Sionis, sir," Gar replied a little awkwardly, as the two shook hands firmly.
"Roman, son. Call me Roman. Here, sit down," he offered, pulling a chair out for his former employee, and handing him a crystal glass of whiskey. "You too, Flannegan."
Chuck looked like he was going to throw up. "Otis, he threw me off a building," he muttered in his ear.
"That's business, Brown, you gotta look past things like that," Flannegan responded, as he too accepted a glass from Sionis.
"Aha, Kite-Man," Sionis sneered, finally addressing the rest of the group. "How was your trip?"
"Eventful," Chuck responded.
"Oho, I'll bet," Sionis replied, recalling their last encounter with sadistic pleasure. "Please, as a sign of good faith; your comrade in arms." With the snap of his fingers, the door opened behind them, as Montgomery Sharpe was escorted in by Iron-Hat Ferris, and a rather familiar hooded figure. As Ferris made his way to Sionis' side, his attention was drawn to Gar and Rigger. "Aw, look, they come in different colours now, that's neat," he said mockingly.
As Gar's fist clenched, Joey instead pulled his arm back as if to say 'It's not worth it.'
"Hello everyone, happy holidays to you all," The Dragon King cheered. "Montgomery has told me all about you, of course," he elaborated, placing a hand atop Sharpe's shoulder.
"Love that guy," Sionis said. "Caught him raking through my dumpster for body parts a while back."
"Quite so," Ito said nostalgically. "When Mr Sionis first asked me to tend over Montgomery, I was hesitant, but during our weeks together, I have been most impressed by his growth and maturity."
"That Montgomery?" Reardon asked, noting Sharpe's uncharacteristically quiet composition.
Ito paused, as his reptilian eyes locked onto Drury, and his gaze softened. "Ah, of course, you must be Cliff Walker's boy. You look so very much like your father."
Ito's remark, was intended as a compliment, sure, but Drury had never felt sicker. He put on a fake smile, and thanked him.
"Alas, I'm afraid I cannot stay for the festivities," Ito admitted. "My daughter, Cynthia, is having a sleepover this weekend with her fellow classmates, and it is paramount I remain there to supervise her, to limit any potential ruckus. She gets awfully rebellious when she has too much sugar. But, you should know that I have cookie dough proofing in your fridge downstairs. Once it has been baked, it shall be splendid."
"Thank god," Sharpe whispered under his breath, as he finally exhaled. "He's a nice guy and all, but he eats pizza with a fork and he hides all the alcohol," he confessed to an appalled Blake. "Lost $200 to his fucking swear jar already."
"Montgomery?" Ito inquired in a paternalistic tone.
"I said ducking."
FINALLY, I was able to take my daughter out for the day on 17 June 2021, after a year and a half of keeping separate because of COVID-19. Only once during that time, have we met up for an afternoon of being out in the country. Both of us have done all we could to avoid the risk of catching COVID and, worst of all, passing it on to others. My daughter has been fully vaccinated for a few months (Health Care worker) and I had my second shot two months ago. My opinion is simply that if one really cares about people, one doesn't take risks.
Anyway, we had such an amazing day! Heading south of the city and eventually turning eastwards, we covered quite a large area, some of which I had driven before, but other places were new to both of us. Twelve hours of driving and 490 km were hot and tiring, made more challenging by the fairly strong wind. Two or three minutes before I arrived home after dropping my daughter back home, the orange Low Gas light came on, on the dashboard of my car. I hadn't expected the drive to consume almost the whole of a full tank of gas, but I am just so thankful that I didn't run out when we were in the middle of nowhere.
My daughter deserves credit for most of the bird finds! She has 'eagle eyes' and I appreciate that so much. One of the highlights for us was a pair of Long-billed Curlews that were mainly hidden in tall grass. They were wandering about, keeping an eye on a tiny, adventurous chick.
Another totally unexpected thing happened when we were looking at a cluster of small trees. My daughter had noticed that there were two deer walking around the base of the trees, so we pulled over. Everything suddenly 'exploded', and a pair of Great Horned Owls and one owlet burst out of the leaves and perched on different branches. We took a few quick shots and then left them, not wanting to cause them any extra stress. I can't remember what the birds were that were harassing the owls, too.
We had quite a few sightings of Hawks throughout the day. Some stayed, others flew. Both species of Kingbird were seen, Eastern and Western. A Mourning Dove standing on a picnic table was good to see, plus an American Robin, a Great Blue Heron, and various 'usual' species were seen along the back roads. Two Swainson's Hawks were nesting, with one nest having three little ones that we could see from a huge distance.
Another special sighting was a Shrike that was originally perched high up in a distant tree. My daughter pointed out the small bird, but didn't know what it was. When I zoomed in, I was happy to see that it was a Shrike, sometimes known as the Butcher bird. A bit later, when I pulled over to wait for my daughter, the Shrike suddenly flew down and was eating some prey that it had skewered on the barbed-wire fence. Such a treat to see for the first time, and I was able to take a bit of video.
"The Loggerhead Shrike is a songbird with a raptor’s habits. A denizen of grasslands and other open habitats throughout much of North America, this masked black, white, and gray predator hunts from utility poles, fence posts and other conspicuous perches, preying on insects, birds, lizards, and small mammals. Lacking a raptor’s talons, Loggerhead Shrikes skewer their kills on thorns or barbed wire or wedge them into tight places for easy eating. Their numbers have dropped sharply in the last half-century.
A Loggerhead Shrike can kill and carry an animal as massive as itself. It transports large prey in its feet and smaller victims in its beak." From AllAboutBirds.
The final treat of the day was when my daughter found a Common Nighthawk. We had checked a spot where I had seen them before, but we were out of luck. So happy to see one lone bird, after thinking that we were not going to see any.
A ghost town and various old barns that I had seen before, but wanted to show my daughter, added to a great day. Even yellow and pink Cacti flowers, that came as a surprise. So lucky to have such a great day.
One of the reasons that I was able to shoot so many different film stocks this year is that I was able to purchase a lot of (sometimes long) expired film off of a couple retired photographers. This has mostly been a great boon for me; I got the film cheaply, much of it is no longer available on the market and I got to meet and learn from some lovely elderly gentlemen.
The film itself has been almost as good as new in most cases as it had been stored in the freezer, but this time my luck had at least partly run out. To be fair, I knew long before I loaded the film into the camera that it hadn't been stored as well as the other rolls I'd shot. I still had hope, however, due to the good experience I had made thus far and I couldn't resist trying out 400 speed slide film in the dark forest. So I shot it as normal and didn't think much more about it.
When I finally got the slides back from the lab they looked fine over the light box, but after scanning some issues became clear. There was a heavy fog over the images compared to my other slide film shots and the colours were tinted towards blue. I've done my best to recover some of the images in the digital darkroom, of which my favourites are shown below. Knowing the character of the expired film now, I have been thinking of ways to use it to its strengths in a project of sorts. No plans yet, but I'll keep working on it...
Film: Kodak Ektachrome 400
Camera: Konica Autoreflex T3 with 57 mm f1.4 lens.
Developed by Fujifilm Switzerland.
Digitised with an Epson V850 using Silverfast.
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke
Was able to catch up with Ally again to do this shoot which we had been planning since the last time we met.
I love working with this girl she makes my job so easy :)
On one of my walks I almost stepped on this as it was making its way across a grassy pathway. I was very lucky to spot it and fortunately managed to avoid any disastrous outcome. I was able to obtain a few images as it safely made its way into an adjoining field.
So now it's a fact: in my family I'm the only one able to take a decent picture:nobody is able to take a good shot not even if you pay them!!!!
This afternoon my sister took with this camera at least 7 pictures of me and the baby, all blurred.
At the end I took this self shot, and the baby was smiling too...THANK GOD!!!! :D
Isn't it just?
As you might be able to tell from my smile, I really love getting into my hot little ensembles and modeling them for you! …And for me!
I created this ensemble around a new Baltogs wet look white lycra spandex leotard from nydancewear.com and matching wet look white lycra spandex miniskirt from coquetryclothing.com and embellished it with my white satin under bust corset from canalboat.com, sheer white lycra mesh elbow length gloves and white fully fashioned Premier French Heel stockings, both from secretsinlace.com and finished off with my white stiletto pumps with 5" heels from electriqueboutique.com
To see more pix of me in other tight, sexy and revealing outfits click this link:www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157623668202157/
To see more pix of me in my body hugging leotards & bodysuits click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157622755507602/
To see more pix of me in my Baltogs lycra spandex dancewear click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157617535517907/
To see more pix of me in clothes from Coquetry Clothing click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157626739774869/
DSC_1543-10
First you get out one of those long dresses you haven't been able to wear for five years, but can't yet let go of because you keep telling yourself that maybe all the weight you've packed on is just a bad dream and surely any day now you are going to wake up and be that skinny size 6 you used to be again. Bring the dress into the kitchen and lay it out on your counter, and look around for something tall that you can drape part of it up over. As an example, one of those big coffee cans work pretty well. Be carefull of the excess fabric that is piled over onto your stove. Try not to cuss to loud when you knock over some of the other stuff (on the one and only tiny little counter) that you didn't move out of the way because in your tiny little kitchen, there really isn't anywhere else you can put it. Remember, it is late at night and your doors are still open. Where applicable, take a moment to shoot a dirty look at the stationary excercise bike that is now parked in your already crowded living room, and to date has served no purpose other than something to stub your toe on. Breathe... you are on a mission, don't lose track. Go back to the closet / pantry room and get out your handy-dandy flexible gooseneck desk lamp. Stop thinking about those damned Cheetos, also in the closet / pantry area. Bring the lamp in the kitchen and set it up on the TV tray that you've placed over half of your double sink. Pat yourself on the back for having come up with that bright idea for additional counter space.
Rewind to the little yellow flower that you picked earlier in your landlord's yard, a reward to yourself for having once again made it back and forth through his dangerously cluttered back yard and driveway without falling down and killing yourself, and try not to be too ticked that that is the only possible route to your mailbox, which doesn't seem to bother him in the least... just be grateful that you don't get much mail, and depending on whether or not your last TV Guide was a double issue, you only have to go to your mailbox once every week or two... and that besides your mailbox and all his piles of junk, he also has flowers in his yard. Having already placed said stolen flower in a pretty, but impractical, salt shaker that doubles as a vase, move the arrangement from atop your microwave to the fabric draped countertop, positioning it just so in front of the also draped coffee can. Turn the lamp on and squiggle it around till the light is directed right. Be careful of the cord, which is dangling atop the sinks faucet, a stretch to the nearest electrical outlet. Whisper a quick prayer that nothing slips and makes a big mess while you quick grab your camera from your purse, which hangs conveniently from a nail in the doorway, just a couple of feet away. Don't you dare go back into that little room with the Cheetos in it. Go instead to the macro setting of your camera, take aim, and... CLICK!!!
Well, that's how I did it. From there on out, you are on your own. After just a little tweaking with my ACDSee photo edit program, I went to Picnik for mirrored frames, three of them... I love the look of depth that they give. Oh, and I returned the lamp and dress to the closet / pantry, while still avoiding those Cheetos. I'm sure I'll have use for the lamp again. And the dress... well, you just never know.
Note: Author / Photographer does not advise picking flowers out of other people's yards, without their prior knowledge and permission. Usually. LOL
Life's a hoot if you let it be :))
~kplf
I was finally able to find a guy that would fit my Jane from the Twilight Series. In my doll universe the real ruler of the vampire world (Count Dracula) stepped in and took these two from the Volturi. Of course the Count claims he set them free. Jane & Alec didn’t resist and join their true master.
i've not been able to keep up with the end of Polaroid Week due to my travels, but here are some bits of the wonderfulness...
1. LesCulottesBlanches, 2. Untitled, 3. clematis in the field against the gate that opens to no where, 4. Java islands mystical waters, 5. We are dust and nothing., 6. libre, 7. Heartland, 8. Freedom, 9. Untitled, 10. Spring dream, 11. in bloom, 12. a legacy of film and flowers, 13. dragonflies (tulips #9) - triptych, 14. 1968 (yes, that's me ...), 15. Plum blossoms, 16. tulips #11 - triptych, 17. allium in the field, 18. Morning Lady's Mantle, 19. vanishing, 20. Küste, 21. Untitled, 22. Seaplane Lagoon, Alameda, 23. Untitled, 24. Untitled, 25. Untitled, 26. Sky Over Crab Cove, Alameda, 27. 04-21_I208_neg, 28. Untitled, 29. Untitled, 30. Loneliness 03, 31. praia do castelejo, 32. The House of Prophesy and Restoration, 33. Stella, maintenant., 34. Untitled, 35. Ghetto/Venice, 36. Untitled
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
Another five photos from my archives. I am adding the description that I wrote on a previously posted photo taken on the same outing. I had really hoped that I would be able to finally go for a drive out of the city today. However, the maintenance light came on for an oil change yesterday, after I had been for physio, and I have to wait a week for the earliest appointment. So, no new photos.
"From a Facebook posting by John Barry Graham on 8 August 2023:
"A tornado in 2015 took the roof off. The community that saved and restored the two old churches has $16,000 saved up thus far to put a new roof on and save the elevator. It is the most photographed elevator in Western Canada."
Drone footage of Dorothy elevator and old bridge East Coulee, by DanOCan
"Wow, what a day I had on 5 August 2019! For a few decades, I had longed to get out east of the city again, to the Badlands of Alberta. I had been a few times in more recent years, either on botany trips to Horseshoe Canyon, or a couple of times for the Christmas Bird Count. However, we always carpooled and we never went to the places I really, really wanted to go to. Finally, in 2014, I took my daughter out there, taking the main highway into Drumheller. She has an amazing sense of direction and is great at navigating, so I knew I wouldn't get lost.
This time, though, I wanted to avoid Drumheller itself, so I took a back way to the few places and things I wanted to see and photograph. Each year, I try and make a new, long drive that I have never done before. Trust me, a real challenge to someone with a driving phobia!! Now, there are a handful of places that I make myself get back to each summer, to make sure I don't lose the courage to make the drive by myself.
Maps had been made, a few 'drives' taken along a few bits of road on Google Earth, so I was well-prepared. Still, I felt sick to the stomach at the thought of doing the last half of the drive. If I happened to take one wrong road, would I ever get out of the Badlands?
When I checked the weather forecast, I noticed that rain was expected on some upcoming days, but not for that day, so I knew I needed to go. It was still quite hazy all day, getting up to 30C. When I was almost ready to leave home, I suddenly realized that it was a public holiday! Never a good time to visit anywhere, with so many people everywhere. Normally, I would have stayed home. Left home at 8:45 am and got back home at 7:15 pm, after driving 402 km, using roughly three-quarters of a tank of gas. In this time, I was able to see my favourite hoodoos (with so many cars parked along the road and endless people climbing all over the hoodoos), a little almost-ghost town, and one of my absolute favourite old grain elevators. My route also took me past the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Dalum - I had seen photos of this church before and I had always wanted to photograph a church like this. One other stop had been on my mental list, but, even though I would have had time to get there, my big concern was running out of gas on the way home.
There was only one unpleasant thing that happened and it still keeps coming to mind. Along one of the paved roads on the way to the Badlands, I had noticed a very scruffy looking hawk standing on the road. I turned around and drove back to see if I could check if it was OK. Just when I was going to pull over so that I could slowly walk back, I looked in the rear view mirror and there was a car coming behind me. Not sure if the driver tried to position his wheels so that they were either side of the hawk, or not. Anyway, the bird tried to fly and got caught up by the car, which ripped and mangled it. I could see it being tossed and caught back. I walked back to see if I could tell if it was still alive. I couldn't tell, but it was a real mess. Much as I would have liked to move it to the ditch, I couldn't. Trying to convince myself that, because it had looked so scruffy to start with, and stayed on the road, maybe it had been sick. I have seen plenty of dead wildlife of all kinds, but never before have I had to witness something actually being killed. Still haunts me.
Yesterday, 6 August 2019, my daughter and I had planned to spend the day together but decided to cancel, as the forecast was for rain and it's no fun taking photos in the rain. Such a shame, as I had been looking forward to being out with her. Her free days are so few and far between. Sure enough, 4:30 pm and we had torrential rain, wind and thunder - SO glad we weren't out in this! Today, it is very overcast - happy I decided to do my long drive two days ago."
Hi all, nice to see so many beautiful pictures again for roid week! Scroll down for the image description!
I’m finally able to share some of the Polaroids that I took on Pitcairn Island in 2015 – so long ago now, but as most of you know, I was busy writing Polaroid: The Missing Manual - www.amazon.com/Polaroid-Complete-Experimental-Instant-Pho...
I hadn't wanted to share these images until I had exhibited them, etc, but now, since my exhibition Big Fence / Pitcairn Island opened, I’m finally able to post. Incidentally, the show is open now, so if you find yourself in London, or passing through Essex, take a look. The weather has been amazing this week and it’s a hop, skip, and a jump from London. Lots of Polaroids on show, plus some medium format work. Take a look ! www.francescamaffeogallery.com
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Christian’s Cave sits like an all-seeing eye surveying Adamstown. It is so named, as this was the spot where Fletcher himself would sit as his own madness closed in - watching over the tiny community that he had founded and scanning the horizon for passing ships.
I wondered whether Fletcher was looking for ships not to raise the alarm, but as a way out, and I ruminated on whether he was purposefully distancing himself from the goldfish bowl below.
Fletcher’s end is highly questioned, but whatever happened, his legacy lives on today - some of the Christian clan still live on Pitcairn island.
I too took solace in the cave. Most islanders are unable to clamber up the steep slopes to its entrance, and those who can are disinterested. Loose rock and spiky “grab-a-leg” seedlings make the walk hair raising and uncomfortable. There are no barriers to be found, just a cliff edge vanishing into the blue.
I was happy to take the risk, as I knew that I would not be bothered up there. Though if I made the pilgrimage for privacy, that I did not find. There is nowhere quite as conspicuous Christian’s Cave.
It is visible in almost every outdoor photograph that I took, a reminder of the Mutiny past. If Pitcairn has an iconic location, this is it.
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And in case you're wondering...
"Big Fence", the name to my project, is the name of Steve and Olive Christian’s home. It is often said to be the place where decisions are made over dinner, rather than in the council meetings. Steve’s approval is paramount. I stayed there for much of my time on island, the Christian family’s fence being one I figuratively had to climb.... without their acceptance my time on island would have been even more difficult.
I also chose the name Big Fence for another reason - the sea views visible from every room in the Christian’s sprawling home are a constant reminder of the fence between Pitcairn and the world. An uninterrupted strip of blue rarely penetrated by so much as a passing ship. On island, HMP Pitcairn sits hidden amongst the green just off the one paved road, fenced off. It is the only fenced building on the island. The Big Fence “gang” - as the friends, family, and associates within Steve Christian’s became known - were the most prolific group in the sexual abuse trials. Olive Christian’s two sons, husband, father and brother were all convicted. Her father had home detention, her brother community service - the three others were locked in jail. Their sentences were short and Pitcairn specific, unreflective of their crimes, but when surrounded by the biggest fence of all, the Pacific, and already removed from the world, was HMP Pitcairn only symbolic? A nod to British justice? Had the trials changed anything or was the abuse woven into the island’s fabric so deeply that it was impossible to escape
it's way beyond what our eyes lead us to see.
May our sight be clear, directed and able to go beyond how we saw in 2018
In The Spirit Of Screwtape--20 Ways To Poison The Little Monsters
By Jared Moore on Apr 22, 2014
Sacred Cows ebook
Scripture: Genesis 45:14-21
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV).
(This is an excerpt from Monstra by Chemosh. This book is used to train mid-ranked demons in the Prince’s army.)
In order to poison the monsters He loves, the ones He calls men and even “children,” here are 20 things you must lead our slaves—and His—to do ...
1. Christianize popular ideas. In the United States, for example, tolerance equals love. Train them to quote 1 Corinthians 13 while ignoring other verses that are intolerant. Leaders must tell their hearers that love equals tolerance and equality, so that in the name of love leaders may encourage their hearers to love them by tolerating their heresy. No one wants to be labeled “intolerant” today because if one is labeled “intolerant” it’s the same as being labeled “unloving.” Use this reality to our advantage. Have the monsters care more about what other monsters think than what He thinks.
2. Put heresy in a Christian song with Christian lingo and a good beat. It will be sung in churches all over the world. Turn the music ministers to our side and rule the church. They are the new priests and popes in Evangelicalism.
3. Appeal to adolescence. Due to our influence and their depraved little hearts, every teenager and adult wants to break away from the ideas of their parents and grandparents. Train our slaves to cater to this adolescent mentality. Tell them to suggest that they’re teaching something relevant (new), as opposed to what their parents and grandparents previously taught. In other words, have them appeal to the pride of their hearers. Get them to train their hearers to believe that their spirituality is greater than the spirituality of those who came before.
4. Put heresy in a song with some sentimentality. Monsters easily forget who gave them their families and friends—Him. Many monsters like to sing about how mommies, babies, daddies, etc. are the glory of Heaven. We don’t care who they think the glory of Heaven is, so long as it’s not Him. Train our servants to capitalize on this weakness.
5. Create an atmosphere that makes people feel good. Heresy should anger His children, but if you make them feel good with the music, singing, prayers, videos, entertainment and sermons, then our servants can sneak heresy in. Monsters find it hard to recognize heresy when all of their senses are piqued. When the bottom-feeder likes what he sees, hears, feels, etc., thinking and discernment are cast aside. Train our monsters to lull their hearers into a euphoric sleep, so they then can deliver their poison.
6. Appeal to the sinful nature. Monsters love to hear how good they are, for their hearts hate their guilty consciences. Hide the light with darkness by appealing to the darkness that is already within them. In other words, do not expose their evil deeds as defined by Him; rather redefine “evil.” Remember, you cannot call light darkness. They will rebel against you if you do. But you can call darkness light when speaking of their hearts. They want to believe us because their hearts are like ours. Give them what they want.
7. Tell amazing stories. His monsters and ours alike love to hear amazing stories where He recently moved in a “mighty” way. They’re constantly looking for a new sign that He is not dead. They’ve heard the stories in the Bible enough. They long for something fresh and new. Give it to them. But use some Scripture to hide the heresy, so that your stories are treated as authoritative. Remember, there is no need to prove their authority; one only needs to preach them as authoritative.
8. Appeal to the idolatry of your hearers. We do not care whom they worship, so long as they do not worship Him. If your monsters live in an entertainment-centered society, make sure you train them to entertain while presenting their heresy. If they live in a postmodern society, make sure they say nothing absolute while appealing to the only truth they know: “I’m not sure.” Monsters love false-humility.
9. Speak in non-absolutes. Train our slaves to preface every sermon and lesson with “I think, I believe,” while never saying,“I know.” Eventually their hearers will see their beliefs as their beliefs, and not necessarily the beliefs of the prophets, apostles or Christ. The underlying assumption for such language is that there is no absolute truth. If there’s no absolute truth, then there’s no such thing as heresy. Their hearers will eventually redefine “orthodoxy” as “heterodoxy” while believing that neither exist. We’ve got them!
10. Dress it up in new clothes. Do not train our monsters to present heresy as previous heretics presented it. Instead, train them to dress up in new clothes. They must present the heresy like a scheming politician does. They should use catch-phrases that sound biblical. Most people will walk away thinking, saying, and believing their catch-phrases.
11. Major on specific Bible verses while intentionally ignoring those that contradict your interpretation. Biblical ignorance is our ally. Train our bottom-feeders to connect verses with other verses. Even if these verses have no contextual connection, if they use Scripture arbitrarily, they can teach heresyfrom the Bible. The goal is to give their hearers half-truths, but not the complete truth. Half-truths are the makeup of heresy, and some Scripture is your ally in this endeavor.
12. Change definitions. If you train our slaves to change the definitions of words, they can sign any confession or document, or agree with any orthodox doctrine. They know what they mean; just make sure no one else does. Have them please everyone a little bit. After all, when it comes to doctrine in evangelicalism, monsters don’t have tobe orthodox, they just need to sound orthodox. Even our Prince sounds orthodox.
13. Accustom your hearers to statements you tout as facts that cannot be proven. Train our slaves to make vague statements that hang in midair, such as “God is going to do something amazing,” “I feel like revival is coming,” “God told me someone is going to give a large sum of money,” etc. These statements all lack sufficient proof. There’s no timetable for validation. As their hearers grow more accustomed to unfounded, indemonstrable prophecies, they’ll seek no validation from their prophets for unfounded, indemonstrable heretical statements either.
14. Appear cool, sweet, hip or simply different from other pastors. Train our monsters to look like celebrities. They should say curse words from the pulpit occasionally. They should be “edgy,” a type of “shock-jock.” Train each generation to rebel against or redefine the light of the previous generation.
15. Pray like you’re a priest in the pulpit. Train our monsters to act like they’re receiving some special anointing that exalts them above their hearers as they preach. They should make statements like “God gave me a word for you today,” or “God told me that you needed to hear this sermon today.” This way, their hearers will come expecting to hear from Him through them, thinking that they have a word from Him, instead of believing that the Scriptures have a word from Him. See, our monsters can become His mouthpiece. Heresy is easy to indoctrinate when bottom-feeders think you speak for Him. The goal is for our hearers to view our monsters as types of priests, prophets, apostles, etc. who have divine authority. They must attack the priesthood of His children by exalting themselves in the pulpit, if their heresy is to be accepted by Bible-readers.
16. Get everyone to like your personality. If everyone likes our slaves, then they can say almost anything. Train them to always be positive and encouraging. Monsters need to feel secure, regardless of reality. If our slaves can make them feel secure, they will be ours forever.
17. Create a CANON within the Canon. Train our slaves to exalt the words of His Son above the words of the apostles. Act as if Christ’s words are greater than the words of the Holy Spirit spoken through the Scripture writers. Then they may reject the progressive revelation that further clarifies the words of Christ in the rest of the New Testament and replace it with their own heretical interpretations. Train them to teach their hearers that they know Christ better than the eyewitnesses who walked and talked with Him and recorded His works. Teach them that their interpretation of Christ’s words in the Gospels is better than the interpretation of Christ’s words by Luke, Peter, Paul, John, Jude and James in the rest of the New Testament. If you can encourage monsters to trust themselves more than they trust those who wrote Scripture, heresy will be the natural outcome.
18. Grow the crowd numerically. If our slaves’ methods produce visible numbers, then they can say almost anything. Monsters love numbers, for numbers—not biblical obedience—equal success. We do not care what they trade their souls for, so long as they trade.
19. Speak of previous heretics as martyrs. Train our monsters to act like previous heretics were sweet little lambs who fell victim to evil oppressive idolaters. Their hearers probably won’t check the history of His monsters, but if they do, it’s necessary for our slaves to reinterpret church history prior to their research. You must give them an interpretive grid that helps them view church history through our eyes. If they view heresy in church history through the lens of tolerance, they’ll tolerate the heresy of our slaves as well. After all, all His children have a right to believe whatever they want, even if it goes against Scripture.
20. Increase giving and baptisms. If our slaves are bringing in money and numbers, they can do or say almost anything. Make sure the world thinks they’re a big deal. If the world likes them, His monsters will like them as well.
What are your thoughts about these 20 ways to poison the monsters?
Jared Moore (website: Sacred Cows ebook)
Wotancraft's Traveler's Notebook and City Explorer Camera Bag Review - Part 1
Our job to find great stuffs from all over the world doesn't stop at product level, I believe understanding the concept and stories behind is far more important than product features. Only through digging deeper will I be able to bring true benefits to end users, in the process of doing this I learned a lot and makes my job an adventurous one. It is exactly this practice which sets us apart from a typical retail chain store.
This review is separated into two parts. Part 1 is a story in this post, Part 2 is a product review in the next post.
I first found Wotancraft from random searching on the net a year or so before, then I popped into a great store in Hong Kong called Annie Barton and found their products there. Admiring the quality and aesthetics I grew interest in the brand, I was scared away by the price though. So despite having the feeling that those bags suit my needs and in styles I adore, I found myself staring at them repeatedly on the net and never got myself one. What stopped me from getting one? The price tag and lack of knowledge about Wotancraft's true attention to details. Annie Barton told me each one of the bags were made by hand by those artisans in Taiwan, I couldn't believe it, no way, the bags are so well made I thought they were produced by professional mass producing bag maker. Judging from the details, each model requires literally hundreds of manufacturing processes and it was not possible to be made by just a few persons by hands. The story turned out entirely true when I got a chance to visit Taipei 20 days ago.
On the day I arrived Taipei, before other business engagements I shot right away to the Wotancraft showroom/shop. It was a huge disparity between what's inside the place and everything else surrounding it! Inside a dim florescent lit office building full of local trading businesses with zero taste and style decorations, I was still assuming Wotancraft a corporation you know, but once I entered the showroom, everything changed.
Surrounded by cozy fixtures made from aged wood and pig iron, products made from leather and canvas, I immediately felt homey. One side of the store was an open shelf displaying full product range and prototypes, while the other side is a service counter full of custom made leather straps for Panerai watches. I picked up the City Explorer series of bags and started examining each one of them until a friendly staff came out of the backyard and explained to me product details.
Soon I was unpacking my camera bag and started trying out almost every model possible. I guess camera bag to a guy is like fashion to a girl, you can spend hours enjoying the selection process in a setting like that. The staff noticed my Traveler's Notebook and some of my leather craft stuffs like camera case and straps. "James have the same notebook! He made crazy customization of it." That's when real conversation began.
By then I realized that each one of their bags were literally made by their own hands. Four artisans made up the entire Wotancraft company, the two I met in store were among them. It was not a corporation I presumed before, just a small bunch of people doing everything by themselves. Time to leave for a business engagement, hungered for more stories, I used Paypal to pay for the City Explorer 002 Ranger bag, left the showroom and determined to contact James about his Traveler's Notebook and come back a few days later. During my initial stay at the showroom, there were constant influx of Panerai fans looking for unique leather straps, but I'm not gonna cover that part of the story here.
3 days later, after a few email exchanges I finally met James, the soul behind Wotancraft. The company was created out of his pure passion in photography and watches, despite working as a bio-chemist after his graduation, he started to make his first prototype camera bag 5 years ago. Not satisfied with camera bags with trivial features and ugly looks, he explored different forms and materials and came up with a bag he would use. He was kind enough to show me all the thoughts he put into this City Explorer 002 Ranger bag, comparing it to his first prototype. I will cover the details in Part 2 in the next post.
Let's talk about James' Traveler's Notebook. In a typical Traveler's Notebook show me yours and I'll show you mine fashion, we exchanged our usage patterns. His cover is not the original but one made by himself, a very thoughtful implementation. There are two layers of leathers, a thicker one forms the shape while the outer thinner one gives its distinct Wotancraft look.
The thin leather on the cover is the same material James uses in his City Explorer series of camera bags. Stitched together on 3 sides, the notebook cover has an opening on one side doubling the cover as a pocket by itself. To increase the pocket size, James relocated the elastic string attachment point from the middle of the back to the edge, creating an inner space large enough for his stationery stuffs.
As a master of customization, he of course couldn't settle with a bookmark without his very own Wotancraft branded charm and leather tag. On typical day, James would use two types of notebooks inside - Traveler's Notebook lightweight paper for note taking, sketch paper for sketching. Inspecting his TN, I found inspirations common to creative people, not only would he take notes in meticulous details, he sketches out architectural structures purely out of his head, perhaps this keen practice is his way of precipitating his creativity into reality.
James' TN is so far the best Traveler's Notebook mod I've ever seen, functional and pleasing. I've got to make one myself someday :) Stay tuned for Part 2.
More on Scription blog: scription.typepad.com/blog/2012/03/wotancrafts-travelers-...
Using a light strip and a little creativity, we were able to bring some life to the dark and quiet Stumphouse Tunnel in Walhalla, SC.
Sandy City Balloon Festival: Still not able to walk much especially after being locked down during covid. So, I parked myself on a blanket on a hill and just used my old 28-300 Nikon lens. This area is kind of a bowl and is used for soccer and baseball clubs and is also a rainwater runoff catch basin. I took about 200 images, so I will have images to post for quite a while. Started at about 6:30 am.
1694-dark starts at this image and uses the left arrow and they will be in the order of time taken.
- on the morning of February 4th, during the external tour (or plebeian tour), near the arches of the marina, here the float with Saint Agatha changes route heading towards the historic centre of Catania, a very small devotee is held in the arms of a priest, to be able to receive the blessing from His Excellency the Archbishop;
- la mattina del 4 febbraio durante il giro esterno (o giro plebeo), vicino gli archi della marina, qui la vara con Sant'Agata cambia percorso dirigendosi verso il centro storico di Catania, un piccolissimo devoto viene tenuto in braccio da un sacerdote, per poter ricevere la benedizione da parte di S. E. Mons. Arcivescovo;
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Poster (Locandina):
www.warnerbros.it/scheda-film/genere-romantico/me-you/
m.media-amazon.com/images/S/pv-target-images/b3eb47bb2236...
i0.wp.com/www.cinematik.it/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2...
i0.wp.com/www.cinematik.it/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2...
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click to activate the small icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream (it means the monitor);
or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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Religious devotion, at times, in Sicily seems to take on the face of women, like that of the two Sicilian saints Agata and Lucia along the Ionian coast of Sicily, or the face of Rosalia, on the opposite side, in Palermo. The lives of Agata and Lucia are closely linked, even though they never met. Agata was martyred in 251, Lucia was not yet born, she was born 32 years later. On February 5, 301, she went to Catania to pray at Agata's tomb to invoke her intercession, hoping to obtain the healing of her mother, who was seriously ill. Agata appeared to her in a dream, confirmed her mother's healing (her mother was healed), but also confided in her that she would be martyred because of her faith in Christ: Lucia was martyred on December 13, 304, during the persecutions of Diocletian. What has been said as an incipit of the photographic story that I present here, created on the occasion of the celebration that Catania dedicates to its Patron Saint Agatha, described as the most important religious celebration in Catania, also considered the third Catholic religious celebration in the world (first are the “Semana Santa” in Seville, and the “Corpus Domini” in Cuzco in Peru), a ranking that takes into account the huge number of people who participate every year. The celebration of Saint Agatha takes place on several dates, from 3 to 6 February, on 12 February and on 17 August: the February celebration is linked to her martyrdom, the August celebration commemorates the return to Catania of her mortal remains, initially taken to Constantinople as spoils of war by the Byzantine general Maniaces, and remained there for 86 years. The young Agata lived in the 3rd century, she belonged to a rich patrician family of Catania, since she was young she had embraced the cult of the Christian religion, the governor Quinziano (or Quintiliano) fell in love with her, Agata to escape him hid in his house in Palermo, Quinziano managed to find out where she was hiding, so he had her taken to Catania, here his attempts to bend Agata's will and make her give in to his flattery were in vain, after her umpteenth refusal he changed his intentions, accused her of being of the Christian religion, condemned her to death, not without first having led her to martyrdom, he amputated her by tearing off both her breasts, in this way in addition to the torment of physical pain, the psychological one was added, humiliating the girl in her femininity, then he gave her death by dragging her on burning coals, Agata was 20 years old. After her death, the cult of her began to spread, even the pagans began to venerate her figure, there is news about her origins starting from 252, the year after her death: the inhabitants of Catania were proud of this young woman who rebelled against the will of the dictator. The feast of Saint Agatha begins on February 3, there is the procession "for the offering of wax", the two eighteenth-century carriages of the senate pulled by horses come out along the streets of the city, "the candelore" make their appearance; on February 4th the celebration begins with the “Mass of Dawn” which is celebrated in the cathedral, after the reliquary bust of the Saint and the silver casket, they are placed on the “vara” (or “fercolo”), to be carried in procession in its “external tour”, the procession begins by crossing the “Porta Uzeda” and thus reaching the arches of the marina, the procession then circumscribes the historic center of the city, going to the places where Agatha’s martyrdom took place; : On February 5th the “Pontifical Mass” is celebrated, on this occasion by lining up in the cathedral, you can go and see the reliquary bust of the Saint, as evening comes, the bust and the casket are placed back on the heavy float for the last procession, which goes along the “internal tour” (or “noble tour”), which crosses the historic center of Catania, a procession preceded by the passage of lit candles carried on the shoulders of devotees (of various weights and sizes, some reach exceptional dimensions and weight, historically these candles illuminated, when electricity did not exist, the passage of the Saint), then the “candelore” pass, they are gigantic and heavy wooden “candelabra”, in baroque style, painted in gold, each one represents an ancient corporation (butchers, fishmongers, bakers, pork butchers, greengrocers, etc.), finally the float with Saint Agatha passes, the long-awaited moment, with the reliquary bust that it contains inside some parts of her body, the other parts of her body are inside the casket, so, with both on the float, Agata's entire body can travel the streets of the city of Catania. The float is pulled by hand, by the many devotees who wish to participate spontaneously in this very particular rite, using two large cords more than 200 meters long, to the end of which are connected four handles. The photographs were taken on February 4 and 5, 2024 and 2025, they are not organized in series taking into account either the year or the days; I obtained a "bilocation effect" by using different shooting points in the two years, visible especially when the float passes through the Porta Uzeda; I made portraits of the devotees, posed and not, in particular the portrait of a devotee who seemed almost enraptured in ecstasy at the passage of Sant'Agata (and perhaps she really was), it represented for me the absolute, profound and concrete synthesis of the attachment of the "citizens" (synonym of "devotees") of Catania towards this young martyr, who has become a symbol of those who oppose violence against women, and protector of women suffering from breast cancer. I photographed two beautiful and sweet models who embodied the "two ages of Agata", with the aim of raising awareness among women in the prevention of breast cancer (the ceramic decorations corresponding to the breasts are the work of "Nenè sculptures of art by Nancy Coco); I captured in some images, the custom of some devotees, to carry with them images of loved ones who passed away too soon (photos placed on candles or printed on the characteristic white habit, called "sacco", which is part of the characteristic way of dressing of the devotees); finally I thank the owner of the Beniamin Art Gallery, in via Umberto, an artist himself, for giving me the opportunity to photograph the Pop icon exhibited in his gallery entitled "Aga Pop".
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La devozione religiosa, a volte, in Sicilia sembra assumere il volto delle donne, come quello delle due sante siciliane Agata e Lucia lungo la fascia Ionica della costa sicula, od il volto di Rosalia, sul versante opposto, in quel di Palermo. Le vite di Agata e Lucia sono tra loro legate in maniera strettamente indissolubile, pur non essendosi mai conosciute, Agata morì martirizzata nel 251, Lucia non era ancora nata, nascerà 32 anni dopo, il 5 febbraio del 301 si recherà a Catania a pregare sul sepolcro di Agata per invocare la sua intercessione sperando così di ottenere la guarigione di sua madre, gravemente malata, Agata le appare in sogno, le conferma la guarigione di sua madre (sua madre ebbe la guarigione), ma anche, le confida, che per lei ci sarà il martirio a causa della sua fede in Cristo: Lucia fu martirizzata il 13 dicembre del 304, durante le persecuzioni di Diocleziano. Quanto detto come incipit del racconto fotografico che qui presento, realizzato in occasione della festa che Catania dedica alla sua Santa Patrona Agata, descritta come la più importante festa religiosa di Catania, considerata anche la terza festa religiosa cattolica al mondo (prime la “Semana Santa” di Siviglia, ed il “Corpus Domini” di Cuzco in Perù), graduatoria che tiene conto del grandissimo numero di persone ogni anno vi partecipano. La festa di Santa’Agata si svolge in più date, dal 3 al 6 febbraio, il 12 febbraio ed il 17 agosto: la ricorrenza di febbraio è legata al suo martirio, quella di Agosto rievoca il ritorno a Catania delle sue spoglie mortali, portate inizialmente a Costantinopoli come bottino di guerra dal generale bizantino Maniace, e li rimaste per 86 anni. La giovane Agata visse nel 3° secolo, apparteneva ad una ricca famiglia patrizia di Catania, sin dalla giovane età aveva abbracciato il culto per la religione cristiana, di lei si invaghì il governatore Quinziano (o Quintiliano), Agata per sfuggirgli si nascose in una sua casa a Palermo, Quinziano riuscì a sapere dove si nascondeva, quindi la fece condurre a Catania, qui i suoi tentativi di piegare la volontà di Agata e farla cedere alle sue lusinghe furono vani, all’ennesimo suo rifiuto egli mutò i suoi propositi, la accusò di essere di religione cristiana, la condannò a morte, non senza averla prima condotta al martirio, le amputò strappandole entrambi i seni, in tal modo oltre allo strazio del dolore fisico, si aggiungeva quello psicologico, umiliando la ragazza nella sua femminilità, poi le diede la morte trascinandola sui carboni ardenti, Agata aveva 20 anni. Dopo la sua morte si iniziò a diffondere il culto verso di lei, anche i pagani iniziarono a venerare la sua figura, si hanno notizie sulle sue origini già a partire dal 252, anno successivo alla sua morte: gli abitanti di Catania erano orgogliosi di questa giovane donna che si ribellò al volere del dittatore. La festa per Sant’Agata inizia il 3 febbraio, si ha la processione “per l’offerta della cera”, escono lungo le vie della città le due settecentesche carrozze del senato trainate da cavalli, fanno la loro comparsa “le candelore”; il 4 febbraio la festa inizia con la “Messa dell’Aurora” che si celebra nella cattedrale, dopo il busto reliquiario della Santa e lo scrigno d’argento, vengono messi sulla “vara” (o “fercolo”), per essere portati in processione nel suo “giro esterno”, la processione inizia attraversando la "Porta Uzeda" e giungendo così agli archi della marina, la processione quindi circoscrive il centro storico della città, recandosi nei luoghi ove avvenne il martirio di Agata; il 5 febbraio si celebra la “Messa Pontificale”, in questa occasione mettendosi in fila nella cattedrale, si può andare a vedere il busto reliquiario della Santa, col sopraggiungere della sera, busto e scrigno, vengono nuovamente messi sulla pesante vara per l’ultima processione, che percorre il “giro interno” (o “giro nobile”), che attraversa il centro storico di Catania, processione preceduta dal passaggio dei ceri accesi portati in spalla dai devoti (di vario peso e dimensioni, alcuni raggiungono dimensioni e peso eccezionali, storicamente questi ceri illuminavano, quando non esisteva l’energia elettrica, il passaggio della Santa), poi passano le “candelore”, sono dei giganteschi e pesanti "candelabri" in legno, in stile barocco, dipinti in oro, ognuna rappresenta una antica corporazione (macellai, pescivendoli, panettieri, pizzicagnoli, fruttivendoli, ecc.), infine passa la vara con Sant’Agata, il momento tanto atteso, col busto reliquiario che racchiude al suo interno alcune parti del suo corpo, le altre parti del corpo si trovano all’interno dello scrigno, in tal modo, con entrambi sulla vara, tutto il corpo di Agata può percorrere le strade della città di Catania. La vara è trainata a mano, dai tantissimi devoti che desiderano partecipare spontaneamente a questo rito così particolare, tramite due grossi cordoni lunghi più di 200 metri, al cui capo sono collegate quattro maniglie. Le fotografie sono state realizzate il 4 ed il 5 febbraio del 2024 e del 2025, esse non sono organizzate in serie tenendo conto né dell’anno, nè delle giornate; ho ottenuto un “effetto di bilocazione” sfruttando differenti punti di ripresa nei due anni, visibile soprattutto quando la vara passa attraverso la Porta Uzeda; ho realizzato ritratti dei devoti, posati e non, in particolare il ritratto di una devota che sembrava quasi rapita in estasi al passaggio di Sant’Agata (e forse lo era veramente), ha rappresentato per me la sintesi assoluta, profonda e concreta dell’attaccamento dei “cittadini” (sinonimo di “devoti”) catanesi nei confronti di questa giovane martire, diventata simbolo di chi si oppone alla violenza sulle donne, e protettrice delle donne ammalate di cancro al seno. Ho fotografato due belle e dolci modelle che impersonavano le “due età di Agata”, con lo scopo di sensibilizzare le donne nella prevenzione delle neoplasie alla mammella (i decori in ceramica in corrispondenza dei seni, sono opera di “Nenè sculture d’arte di Nancy Coco); ho colto in alcune immagini, l’usanza di alcuni devoti, di recare con se immagini di persone care scomparse troppo presto (foto messe sui ceri o stampate sul caratteristico saio bianco, chiamato “sacco”, che fa parte del modo caratteristico di vestire dei devoti); infine ringrazio il proprietario della Beniamin Art Gallery, in via Umberto, artista egli stesso, per avermi dato la possibilità di fotografare l’icona Pop esposta nella sua galleria dal titolo “Aga Pop”.
Yey! At last able to test my newest IR converted camera. It took way too long to get this back and when it finally arrived the weather been awful, but today we saw some blue sky so I ran outside to test it.
This conversion is different from my other IR camera, this one keeps the blue but the rest of colours are IR.
My main reason for getting a second camera is that the Panasonic GH2, is a bit large at times, but this Nikon (P6000) is much smaller in size + it has GPS
Yes, I agree this photo isn't anything special, as it is just a test :-)
Hopefully will create some good stuff in the future :-)