average photos on Flickr

Takara Tomy – Metal Collection (Metacolle) Star Wars Mixed Bag – And Who's This Mad Man!!?? by D J

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Average 3 inches tall diecast figures from Star Wars ROTJ Luke, ANH R5-D4, Rogue One K-2SO and two ANH Jawa figures. Great size and hefty weight for fast growing collection taking up only small space!

Takara Tomy – Metal Collection (Metacolle) Marvel Mixed Bag – Mk I by D J

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Average 3 inches tall diecast figures from Marvel Universe Iron Man Mark I figure. Great size and hefty weight for fast growing collection taking up only small space! It looks like this Metacolle series is getting better and better in every aspects! Just can't stop collecting them!

Average Cigarettes Smoked Per Day by Steven Davis

First of all, you have to desire to quit smoking to ensure that long haul is worked by it. If-not, you will discover grounds to start again.Additionally observe what-you're doing at the time and how terrible the craving would be to view if unique times of the day or pursuits improve your

www.usahealthnews.org/average-cigarettes-smoked-per-day/

2021 352-365 Satsumas by kayakingjanet

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These satsumas were going to be my Tradition subjects for Macro Mondays, but I didn't get around to that in the end.

An in-camera double exposure still life, with one sharp and one blurred, blended with the Average setting.

Average Joe by Nick Barber

Photo/Video shoot for his upcoming release.

coming on by rob campbell

1

Eric said "See ya" as he jumped out of the jeep. He stood there for a

moment, among the dazzling lights from various tiny shops (the average

convenience store in Udaipur is about the size of a non walk-in

closet), tiny temples, and passing motorcycles. He stood there like a

static part of a photograph, just one of the millions of people out in

India at 8pm, and then blended away as we continued on.

He was one of the volunteers at the Animal Aid Society, a pretty

amiable fellow from Australia. He had done previous work at a

chimpanzee sanctuary in Uganda, and had been at the shelter in Udaipur

before. He mostly worked with cattle and donkeys, and introduced me

to these larger livestock. He was one of the members of our group who

took a trip out to a gorgeous temple to participate in Manas singing.

We usually left the hospital around noon to get lunch, take showers,

and have a day to explore the city. This day, though, Erika (director

of the society) invited us to the temple. She said it would be fun,

singing and clapping, we'd sip some bhang and relax. She said the

bhang (weak marijuana beverage) was mild and her daughter (Clair, 17)

really loved it. We went along.

The temple was one of the most beautiful places we have been. We sat

on a marble patio-like structure, although it had a roof. It was all

men except for Erika, Claire, and Xep. The men looked like they came

from all over; some in western clothing, some in turbans, some had

cowls covering their heads. Some were teens, some were very elderly.

Almost all of them had the glazed eyes of stoners and most of them

were playing finger cymbals, drums, rattles, or just clapping along

with the chants. There was next to this area a tiny ghat, or steps

leading into a small lake for ritual bathing. Across the lake were

brilliant green hills spotted with stone shelters, similar to

dome-topped pagodas. It looked right out of the Hindu paintings you

see of Shiva with neon landscapes in the background.

Before arriving, we stopped in the nearest town and had some water and

then were offered the bhang. The temple also provides it, but as half

of our group was vegan, we wanted a milk-free version. It was made in

a delicious solution of lemon, mint, and spices. Claire quickly drank

a cup and a half while Erika, Eric, and I had a cup each. Xep

abstained this time.

The effects did seem pretty mild although it made the music more

hypnotic and fun. It was hard to follow the chanting in another

language, but the drumbeat and cymbals were very intuitive. It was

essentially an elaborate (and much more polished) version of drum

circles you'd find on college campuses. Anyone free to come and go as

they please, pick up or put down instruments. Follow the group but no

real regulations on how to play. There was a core "band" of tabla,

harmonium, and one main cymbalist. Every once in a while someone

would get up and dance in the middle of the circle, and sometimes

someone would sing solo. It was quite beautiful.

After a while we left, and on the way back had to stop as Erika was

feeling very carsick. Indian driving is indeed CRAZY and this was on

one of the worst roads we had been on: A winding mountain "highway"

through very steep passes. To make it worse, it was in marble

country, so the road was speckled with enormous dumptrucks going about

5mph, full of marble. The Indian style of passing cannot even be

explained. Basically, there are no lanes and it is extremely

suicidal. Horns are blared to indicate intent, and then drivers just

go where they want. They don't use headlights until well after dark.

Its truly terrifying and I feel like I have an above-average tolerance

for this kind of thing. I had to alternate between paying strict

attention to the current odds of death through the front windshield

(generally ranging between 60 and 99%) and looking at the floor to get

a brief break from the adrenaline.

And so we stopped for a few minutes as Erika had to lay down. The

driver and her guru-escort friend debated what to do. I talked to

Eric and Claire about parents acting weirdly. Eric's dad was known to

get so drunk that he swang from rafters, once knocking himself out.

Claire's mom was laying in a Jeep in India, stoned on bhang and

groaning. I didn't really have anything to add other than "wow" to

Eric's stories. I was pretty high myself.

It got darker and the driving became more and more sketchy as we got

closer to town. Xep tried to talk to me, asking me what was on my

mind, and I was really feeling the bhang. Unable to speak. Just

holding on (literally, holding onto the steel frame of the Jeep to

keep from falling out the open back with each bump). I was imagining

the beeline I would make to our bed over and over so that when the

time came I could navigate it without incident.

But first we had to get Erika home. She lives in the village right

near the animal hospital, way up a road that most in America would

call a path. We had never been there at night. It was much more

jungle-like bouncing through the mud (crank-deep on our morning

bikerides). Frogs and insects hissing all around. Waves of green

tentacles on either side. I always hate knowing a new segment of a

trip is coming up when I just want to be home. The familiarity of the

road, knowing how much farther there was to go, was worse than unknown

routes. But finally, we made it. Erica wasn't able to say much of a

goodbye, and thats ok, but we didn't realize that was the last time we

would see her.

And so as we went back to Udaipur, with a little more room in the

back, I watched the streets flow by. A linear reality like a

filmstrip passing by. A shop, a puddle, a camel in the middle of the

road, another store, a group of men sitting around a fire, some tires,

street dogs, another shop. These things flowed by scene after scene.

Sometimes there would be an alley or side road, and it overwhelmed my

mind to realize there was a whole universe of these

filmstrips-of-life down that road too. I concentrated on not freaking

out.

We were finally in familiar territory, and that returns to the scene

above where Eric jumped out. Again, I didn't know it was the last

time I would see him. As we finished up at the hopsital in the last

few days, he became pretty ill so was not there. I wanted to get his

email address, maybe I will somehow someday.

A little while later we were in our own neighborhood and in the midst

of a pretty serious traffic jam. Our streets were difficult for even

an autorickshaw to handle, let alone our ridiculous jeep. We jumped

out, and I had to just focus on following Xep. Stopping to get water

was an epic test for me. The guy did not want our money (24 rupees,

about 50 cents) because it was wrinkled. We were confused, we had

been warned about this but usually people would accept. I told him it

was all I had and he just waved us away. Free water, I guess, but it

felt like we were somehow in the wrong and not really like a bargain.

Amped up from the walk, instead of going to bed as I had dreamed, I

did go to the rooftop of our hotel and we had some dinner. We'd been

taking a break from Indian food and its assaults on the stomach so had

plain rice and pasta. I was feeling much better, but when I went back

to bed it was right back to fractal unfolding universes of vision and

ludicrous dreaming. In short, the street bhang is rough stuff; not as

gentle as the "special lassis" served to tourists which had previously

been pretty kind to me.

And so we finished up in Udaipur a couple days later. They bought us

samosas and handmade potato chips. We sat in a little temple by a

river and people gave speeches thanking us for our time there. They

took little Spaghetti, the dog we hoped to bring back (he followed us

to the temple uninvited) and dipped his paw in iodine to sign a card

for us. It was all pretty touching. We tipped our six-fingered (and

toed!) waiter 500 rupees ($12, a fortune here) for putting up with all

our special ("pizza with no cheese", "8 chapatis, fruit salad, and a

beer" etc) requests. He smiled for the 2nd time we ever saw, the

first being when earlier in the day we gave him our sadly unneeded

supply of dogfood and chew toys for his great dane pup Roxy.

Now we are in Pushkar, supposedly one of the holiest cities in India,

but its kindof weird and full of very aggressive people. We are

taking refuge in a beautiful haveli (very old mansion, so so nice) and

deciding if we can really put up with this city for a week. Then onto

Tamil Nadu in the south.

Porch artwork / Room 2209, our rate was $760 for golf package for two before taxes and service charges / Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo by Richard Johnson

Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo

* * Costa Rica

For decades the remote Pacific Coast of northern Costa Rica — the Guanacaste province — was the domain of die-hard surfers and backpackers, with other visitors deterred by the grueling five-hour drive from the country's main airport in San José.

In 1982 the Costa Rican government passed law 6370 allowing for the development of the State owned area of land known as Polo Turistico Golfo de Papagayo located in the province of Guanacaste. The area includes tropical dry forests, 15 miles of Pacific coastline and 31 separate beaches Guanacaste was mostly the domain of cowboys called sabaneros, whose legacy lingers at local rodeos.

In Costa Rica (which means "rich coast") all beaches are public. The local municipality owns coastal land 200 meters (656 feet) inland from the average high tide, often referred to as the maritime zone. The 50 meters (164 feet) closest to the ocean are reserved for public use while the next 150 meters (492 feet) called the “concessionable” area, may be leased to private parties. Maritime zone concession agreements are used by municipalities throughout the country to promote tourism development. Between 1991 and 1999, 23 concessions were granted.

Costa Rica’s Pacific coast tourism has promoted different models of tourism -- beach, golf, tennis resorts, all-inclusive resorts, residential vacation home rentals, cruise tourism, and camping (ecotourism/sustainable tourism). And in the case of Papagayo Peninsula - Costa Rica desired to turn it into a showcase for environmental and social best practices. The government concessioned 2,075 acres from the Polo Turistico Golfo de Papagayo to the Papagayo Peninsula Development (Ecodevelopment Papagayo S.A.). Peninsula Papagayo’s concession expires in approximately 75 years, on January 15, 2091.

* * Papagayo Peninsula development (Ecodevelopment Papagayo S.A.).

Wayne Bishop, co-founder of Minneapolis architecture firm Walsh Bishop Inc., visited Costa Rica in 1994, he was wowed by the country's natural beauty. So Bishop spent the next several years looking for land on which he could build a Western-style resort. Bishop identified and successfully pursued Peninsula Papagayo, a 2,000+ acre world class property located in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. He was the original founder/developer of the Peninsula Papagayo resort area. Grupo Situr was the parent company of Ecodesarrollo Papagayo but was bought out by the Florida Ice and Farm.

Today, Ecodesarrollo (Eco-development) Payagayo S.A., has the Costa Rican government's mandate to further develop Peninsula Papagayo. Peninsula Papagayo is currently owned 30% by Florida Ice and Farm, a public Costa Rican company that produces and distributes beverages and foods throughouth Central American and 70% by Marvin Schwan Charitable Foundation, an evangeloco Lutheran foundation based in St. Louis, MO. The Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation's endowment comes from the fortune made by its namesake in the frozen ice cream and pizza business located in Marshall, Minnesota. Wayne Bishop sold his interest to the Schwan Foundation.

Ecodesarrollo Payagayo's CEO is Alan Kelso, who has extensive real estate development experience in Costa Rica dating from 1995. Jim Preskitt is the SVP of Ecodesarrollo Peninsula Papagayo.

* * The Four seasons Resort and Golf Club

In the last few years, Guanacaste has been transformed by a collection of hotels and real estate developments aimed at America and European affluent baby boomers.

The Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo opened in January 2004. The resort was built on the Pacific coast of Guanacaste province in northwest Costa Rica, in the least populated, sunniest and driest part of the country. It is a 40-minute drive from the nearest airport in Liberia, where Delta, Continental and American Airlines have added nonstop service from several cities in the United States. Most of the hotel's 153 rooms are in three four-story buildings, with views of either the Virador Bay to the north or the Blanca Bay to the south.

Designed by the Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher, the resort's earth-toned stucco buildings seem to grow out of a hillside that slopes down to an isthmus, surrounded by tropical dry forest and sandy beaches on both sides. In an Architectureal Digest interview Ronald Zurcher says that his challenge was to build something respectful. "I didn't want to compete with nature," he explains, pointing to some white constructions several miles away, on the other side of the Golfo de Papagayo, that do just that. "See how those buildings stand out? But if you're over there, looking this way, you don't see our hotel at all—it's camouflaged." He send Papagayo dirt to a paint laboratory so that his buildings would blend in with the ground on which they sit. Zurcher took characteristics from two of Costa Rica's common creatures - the turtle and the armadillo - to the resorts design. Zrcher gave several of the resort's low-lying buildings the round shape of a turtle's shell and mimicked the armadillo's arched, humped back for the roofs of many of the buildings on higher ground. "I noticed that armadillos walk in families, one after the other," he says. "So instead of having large, single roofs, I've done the roofs in pieces, each one in the shape of an armadillo. From a distance the buildings look like families of armadillos."

Some advice also came from Isadore Sharp, the chairman of the Four Seasons chain. Originally, Zurcher wanted a waterfall to connect one swimming pool to its lower neighbor. Sharp vetoed the idea, saying that the sound of the waterfall would drown out the sound of the waves and when people come to an ocean resort, they want to hear the sound of the waves. "He was right, of course," says Zurcher.

Atop one of Peninsula Papagayo’s highest plateaus, overlooking the waters of Bahía de Culebra sits Four Seasons Golf Club Costa Rica, designed by Arnold Palmer. Sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean are on 14 of the 18 holes. The signature hole, the par 4 number 6, El Bajo, features a dramatic 200 foot downhill tee shot to a green perched out on a cliff with the ocean behind it. Indigenous monkeys (the howler monkey and the squirrel monkey) will monitor the golfers playing Arnold Palmer's Signature 18-hole, Par-72 championship course.golf course. Serving the golf course is the 28,000 square-foot Robert Zurcher designed clubhouse. Zurcher found inspiration for the building from a conch shell. Some say the result is likened to the Sydney Opera House.

** Key players involved with the Four Seasons Resort

*Charles M. Schwan Charitable Foundation

Marvin Maynard Schwan (1929 -1993), was the founder and first president of Marshall, Minnesota based Schwan’s Sales Enterprises, Inc., one America’s largest privately held companies and one of the biggest producers and distributors of frozen and prepared food. At the time of his death at age 63, Schwan’s personal worth was $1.3 billion and the company controlled a quarter of the frozen pizza business (Tony’s Pizza and Red Baron) in the U.S. During his lifetime, Schwan created the Marvin M. Schwan Foundation, which is a major supporter of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.. Two thirds of Marvin Schwan's estate was left to the Marvin M. Schwan Foundation under the trusteeship of his brother Alfred Schwan and life-long friend Larry Burgdorf.

The mission of the Charles M Schwan Charitable Foundation is: "To provide financial support to specific religious organizations as specified by the foundations governing documents." However, the principal amount of tne trust can provide for corpus investments in real estate. In round numbers the charitable foundation invested $140 million in the Costa Rica Four Seasons Hotel and $280 million in the Grand Cayman Island's Ritz Carlton.

The 2010 IRS form 990 for the Marvin M Schwan Charitable Foundation list the following:

The Kings Foundation Investment Papagayo LLC - $12.2 million and Investment Wings of Papagayo LLC - $124.7 million for a total investment value of $136.9 million in the Four Seasons Hotel Costa Rica

The Kings Foundation Investment Cayman LTD - $276.9 million total investment value in The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, a luxury resort in the Cayman Islands

In the fiscal year ending 2012 The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman and its developer Michael Ryan, in whom the Charlest M Schwan Charitable Foundation invested, defaulted on a series of loans and the resort was auctioned off by creditors. During the course of these events, the Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation realized a loss of over $249 million on the investment it held in The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman. However, to ensure the investment was not totally lost the foundation purchased $13.8 million of outstanding notes belonging to the developer Michael Ryan for an 11% ownership stake in the refinanced resort. The total assets of the foundation dropped from about $750 million to $500 million following the Ritz Carlton Grand Caymen debacle.

* Alan Kelso - Ecodesarrollo Payagayo CEO

The developer of Peninsula Papagayo is Ecodesarrollo Papagayo, S.A. – a Costa Rica company controlled by The Charles M. Schwan Charitable Foundation. The CEO, Alan Kelso, has extensive real estate development experience in Costa Rica dating from 1995. Unlike most developers in Costa Rica, he is a native. Kelso grew up in San Jose, Costa Rica and would waterski on the Peninsula Papagayo's calm bays as a kid. Kelso claims it is the most beautiful piece of land he's ever seen. Kelso had made his name putting together the Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort 140 miles south of Peninsula Papagayo. Kelso was brought in to the Peninsula Papagayo project by the minority partner, Florida Ice and Farm, the Costa Rican beer company, in 1991. Kelso brought in the Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher who had designed the Los Suenos Marriott.

* Ronald Zürcher, Architect

Ronald Zürcher graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City,and began his independent architectural practice in Costa Rica in 1978. Over the years, his practice has grown to include major hospitality design projects. Recent projects include Andaz Peninsula Papagayo - the 153 resort is on Culebra Bay and the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa at Hacienda Pinilla, Costa Rica.

Jim Preskitt - Ecodesarrollo Payagayo SVP

Preskitt's professional life included marketing positions at the Hawaii's Big Island resorts of Mauna Kea and Four Seasons. He formerly was vice president of marketing for Hualalai Development Co., developer or the 700-acre residential-resort-golf community property on the coast just north of the Keahole Airport. Also, Preskitt, was in charge of marketing homes and lots for the Kaunaoa Development at Mauna Kea Resort. Preskitt's reputation in Hawaii was marketing to the “decamillionaire” (those with a net worth of $10 million or more).

Luis Argote, Four Season's Hotel Opening General Manager.

Luis received his Bachelor’s degree from the National Education Cooperation Institute (INCE) of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Caracas, Venezuela. A native of Venezuela, Argote is fluent in Spanish, French and English. He came from the Four Seasons Mexico City to the Four Seasons Costa Rica. He served as GM from 2004 to 2011. He currently serves as General Manager at the Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogota.

Pascal Forotti, Four Seasons Costa Rica General Manager

Pascal was appointed General Manager in 2011. He was the second in command at the Ty Warner owned Four Seasons New York for 3 years prior to moving to Costa Rica. He enjoys hearing the waves crash everday - so different from the fire trucks and taxi cabs of NYC. Pascal's hometown is Esch, Luxembourg. His Hotel Management degree is from Lycee Technique Hotelier Alexis Heck. The hotel school is named after Alexis Heck (1830-1908), hotel owner in Diekirch and a pioneer of tourism in Luxembourg.

Compliled by Dick Johnson

October 2015.

The club house from a distance at the Four Seasons Costa Rica Golf Club at Peninsula Papagayo by Richard Johnson