Having shut himself off from access to Heaven and having several times repeated—within ever narrower limits—his initial fall, man has ended by losing his intuition of everything that transcends himself, and he has thereby sunk below his own nature, for one cannot be fully man except through God, and the earth is beautiful only through its link with Heaven. Even when a man still believes, he forgets more and more what religion really demands: he is astonished at the calamities of this world, without its occurring to him that they may be acts of grace since—like death—they rend the veil of earthly illusion and thus allow man “to die before dying”, hence to conquer death.

Many people imagine that purgatory or hell are for those who

have killed, stolen, lied, committed fornication, and so on and that it suffices to have abstained from these actions to merit Heaven; in reality the soul is consigned to the flames for not having loved God or for not having loved Him enough; this can be understood if we recall the supreme Law of the Bible: to love God with all our faculties and all our being. The absence of this love does not necessarily involve murder or lying or some other transgression, but it does necessarily involve indifference; and indifference, which is the most generally widespread of faults, is the very hallmark of the fall.

It is possible for the indifferent not to be criminals, but it is

impossible for them to be saints; it is they who go in by the “wide gate” and follow the “broad way”, and it is of them that Revelation says, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth” (3:16).

Indifference toward truth and toward God borders on pride and is not free from hypocrisy; its seeming harmlessness is full of complacency and arrogance; in this state of soul the individual is content with himself even if he accuses himself of minor faults and appears modest, which in fact commits him to nothing but on the contrary reinforces his illusion of being virtuous. It is this criterion of indifference that makes it possible for the “average man” to be so to speak “caught in the act”, for the most surreptitious and insidious of vices to be as it were taken by the throat, and for every man to have his poverty and distress proven to him; in short it is indifference that is “original sin” or its most general manifestation.

Indifference is diametrically opposed to spiritual impassibility

or contempt of vanities as well as to humility. True humility is to know that we can add nothing to God and that, even if we possessed all possible perfections and had accomplished

the most extraordinary works, our disappearance would take nothing away from the Eternal.

Even believers themselves are for the most part too indifferent to feel concretely that God is not only “above” us “in Heaven”, but also “ahead” of us, at the end of the world or even simply at the end of our life; that we are drawn through life by an inexorable force and that at the end of the course God awaits us; that the world will be submerged and swallowed up one day by an unimaginable irruption of the purely miraculous—unimaginable because surpassing all human experiences and standards of measurement. Man cannot possibly draw on his experience to bear witness to anything of the kind any more than a mayfly can expatiate on the alternation of the seasons; for a creature that is born at midnight and whose life will last but a day, the rising of the sun can in no way enter into the series of its habitual sensations; the sudden appearance of the solar disk, unforeseeable by reference to any analogous phenomenon that had occurred during the long hours of darkness, would seem like an unheard of and apocalyptic prodigy. Now it is thus that God will come. There will be nothing but this one advent, this one presence, and by it the world of experiences will be shattered.

---

Frithjof Schuon: Light on The Ancient Worlds

The tv is on the 6 o clock news and the channels are full color lies. The people of Watts are rioting over the injustices committed against them at the hands of the LAPD. The Governor of California has compared the riots to an anti-insurgency campaign against the Viet Cong. The streets look like a combat zone in a foreign country. National Guard and cops in riot gear patrol the streets and the rooftops. 3,438 people will be arrested, and 34 will die. The events in Watts will be mirrored across major cities across the country as African Americans are tired of being beaten down by a system meant to harm them. A system meant to treat them as less than human. A system still problematic today.

Tokyo Japan

Commuters committing themselves to the future in Shibuya, Tokyo

Committed to Ilford HP5+ using a Leica M3 and 50 mm Summilux ASPH lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

Committed to Rollei RPX 25 using a Mamiya 645 1000S and 80 mm f1.9 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

Committed to Lomography Fantome using a Leica M6 and 35 mm Summicron v3 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago R9 (rodinal) 1:50 as per the suggested times and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro. Dust removal and further contrast adjustment in Photoshop.

At this point, the bird in the image is committed to landing on the large branch in the forground. It had flown in from a launch point 100m or so off to my left front, during a photoshoot day at The Hawk Conservancy just outside Andover. You can see another member of the day's group already checking his shots in the upper left of the picture. I will admit it was a mistake on my part to have him in the image, but it gives great context and some sense of size.

The White-headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis) is the least well-known vulture species in Africa. There has been no comprehensive study done of this species and, compared with other vultures, relatively little is known about its basic biology. Key features such as feeding ecology and factors affecting breeding performance remain poorly understood.

In 2007, the category of risk assigned to it by The World Conservation Union (IUCN) increased to ‘Vulnerable.’ This assessment incorporates recently reported severe declines in West Africa. These have exceeded 60% in protected areas, whilst the species has completely disappeared from rural areas.

In southern Africa the population was estimated to number 500 pairs in 1997 and has been revised more recently to 430 pairs in 2004. Zimbabwe holds a significant proportion of the regional breeding population, whilst in South Africa, the Kruger National Park and neighbouring conservation areas contain the largest population of White-Headed Vultures in South Africa. In southern Africa, the species is largely confined to conservation areas. - Hawkconservancy.org

It has a pink beak and a white crest, and the featherless areas on its head are pale. Its has dark brown upper parts and black tail feathers. The feathers on its lower parts and legs are white. It has a wingspan of 2m and spends a lot of time soaring looking for food. It roosts in tall trees near to water at night. - Wikipedia.

The Hawk Conservancy is helping to better understand these birds. Field sites are in South Africa (Kruger National Park) and Mozambique. Research efforts are focused on: habitat requirements; feeding ecology; specific relationships; and biology. Fundraising efforts raise money for supporting fieldworkers and research costs.

Committed to Ferrania P30 using a Leica M3 and 50 mm Summicron dual-range lens. Developed using Ars-Imago R9 (rodinal) 1:99 in a semi-stand process for 80 minutes and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

A green heron goes all in after some prey while fishing on Horsepen Bayou. I am always amazed that they will make this type of commitment.

Just as I was leaving the park, I see this lady coming out with the crutches. I had to have this pic. What sells it for me is the way the son is looking at his mom!

the wine was excellent - very refreshing - while I couldn't put down his first book, The Sympathizer, this one is dragging.... not sure if I'm committed to finishing.

Kids being kids in summer. Acrobatics in the River Dart estuary at Dartmouth.

Havana, Cuba. 2017

We're Just In A Committed Relationship

Every day at Flickr we are committed to inspiring photography by building world-class tools and beautiful photo displays across devices. Ten years ago we defined online photo sharing as the first major online community to store, organize, tag, and share digital photos. Today, we are excited to provide a stunning new experience for sharing and accessing billions of photos on one of the most dynamic platforms in the market, Apple TV.

Our new service for Apple TV brings all your photos to life on the big screen, where you can engage with the Flickr community, explore the world’s most interesting photos, and use our powerful search capabilities to browse billions of photos within the most extraordinary online photo collection.

Committed to expired Fujifilm Provia 100 using a Konica Autoreflex T3 and 50 mm f1.4 lens. Developed using an E6 kit from Ars-Imago and scanned using an Epson V850 using Silverfast.

Committed to Kodak Ektar 100 using a Hasselblad 503 CX, with Zeiss 100 mm f3.5 lens and 55 mm extension ring. Developed with a C-41 kit from Ars-Imago and scanned using an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and levels done with Negative Lab Pro.

“Be the best version of you there is—be determined to grow, brave enough to begin, and committed enough to rise.” Stay the course [Inspire, Be Inspired, Encouraged, Motivated 5.11.26]

# Greek islands

Turkey's Hybrid War against Greece and Cyprus and the

turkish paranoia of the so called blue homeland (mavi vatan) claiming several big & small Greek islands of internationally recognized Greek sovereignty while also inhabited by native for millennia Greek people ....

Military Invasion, along with proxy Jihadists, of Syria 2019

...... typical barbarism & islamization processes of the ottoman and neo-ottoman Turkey alike .... with the usual apathy, if not collaboration, of the big powers & world organizations, i.e. the USA, Russia, the UK, Germany, as well as the UN, NATO & the EU .....

Related tweets

2022 JUN 13 :: Realities M.Cavusoglu "forgets"

2022 JUN 11 :: Turkey's Nazist background exposed

2022 MAY 1 :: Turkish neofascism officially self-exposed

2020 DEC 18 :: on M. Cavusoglu's revisionist narrative

Committed to Lomography Fantome using a Leica M6 and 35 mm Summicron v3 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago R9 (rodinal) 1:50 as per the suggested times and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro. Dust removal and further contrast adjustment in Photoshop.

[Once again I’m writing this for the committed photographer.]

Review: David Ulrich, “Zen Camera: Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography” (Watson-Guptill, 2018) 217 pages. creativeguide.com/zen-camera/

I do hope that Jim Williams from Canada www.flickr.com/photos/55920888@N08/ doesn’t mind my quoting a recent message from him:

“The way I shoot is very deliberate - almost a Zen exercise.”

I responded that this is exactly the way I like to work too and that indeed photography is my therapy. So I said that I would write a brief review of a book I still find a source of much inspiration.

“Zen Camera employs the camera for its most noble purpose: to learn to see what is.” (p.3)

David Ulrich teaches photography at the Pacific New Media Foundation in Honolulu, Hawai’i. This book is both an inspiration and a practical workbook. Ulrich believes that discipline is required in mastering the craft of photography. The principal discipline in this workbook is to photograph every day. Real progress is only possible he believes by taking 100 to 200 photographs a week following this advice:

“Give yourself the space and luxury of the pure enjoyment of taking pictures for their own sake. Refinement and completion come in their own time. Do not edit. Do not judge. Merely watch with interest what images arise.” (p.17)

Ulrich provides the reader with plenty of his own examples, but the work of many other historic and contemporary photographers is featured as well. He is a Zen Buddhist practitioner by conviction, but everyone can learn from his method. Ulrich has a lovely shot of the Tibetan Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard taken in Hong Kong. Ricard (a former leading French scientist and son of the famous French philosopher Jean-François Revel) also practices photography as a meditative discipline. www.matthieuricard.org/en/photographies

LESSON ONE: OBSERVATION

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” – Dorothea Lange (1895-1965).

I love that quote. Lange of course gave us some of the most powerful images of The Great Depression. She learned to see things that most other people couldn’t, and that is the essence of great photography. So we must begin by looking.

LESSON TWO: AWARENESS

Mindfulness and heightened awareness of the world around us are the two key elements of this lesson. Training our minds to be like a camera sensor soaking in the light (both real and metaphorical). Once again Ulrich quotes one of my favourite photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004):

“I believe that, through the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us which can mold us, but which can also be affected by us. A balance must be established between these two worlds – the one inside us and the one outside us. As the result of a constant reciprocal process, both these worlds come to form a single one. And it is this world that we must communicate.” - From “The Decisive Moment” – one of the most important books ever published on photography.

LESSON THREE: IDENTITY

“Know thyself.” – Socrates.

Here Ulrich deals with two important elements: Personal style and Authenticity. In order to communicate effectively we must find our own voice. But, it’s one voice within a community of voices (so history and context matters).

LESSON FOUR: PRACTICE

This is the central chapter of the book. All forms of success in art flow from its practice. Ulrich cites Malcolm Gladwell’s research that it takes about 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to gain mastery in a field. Nothing comes easily and one must pay their dues. This is not a popular message in a world of instant gratification. But then, that’s why our photographs are so quickly forgotten.

LESSON FIVE: MASTERY

“Freedom flourishes in a climate of discipline.” – David Ulrich.

It may seem counterintuitive, but true freedom always works within boundaries. The true “master of a discipline” can only push the boundaries once the fundamentals have been established. Two of my examples here: (1) Before ever Picasso became the master of Cubism, he had already mastered classical portraiture, and (2) Jazz musicians can only ever succeed in improvisation when they understand the rudiments of musical form.

LESSON SIX: PRESENCE

This is by far the most challenging chapter philosophically. I won’t go into detail here, but a few summary thoughts. Ulrich contrasts “spectacle” with “presence”. What do we mean by photographs with presence? We see plenty of spectacle in social media; in earlier days these sorts of pictures were referred to as “chocolate box”, but today they are probably over-processed spectacular sunsets with more than a little post-production fakery. They are made photographs to attract attention (something essential for social media success).

But “real presence”, that’s something much more difficult to achieve. It is central for instance to the Christian concept of a sacrament. Here the photograph is a representation of something ineffable behind it. You can’t quite define a photograph with presence, but you know when you see it. Try any number of Ansel Adams’ photographs. A mere landscape is somehow transformed into a meditation on the glories of nature with a minimum of darkroom fuss. The scene is spectacular, but only because the photograph reveals the TRUTH about the scene. We are brought face to face with the essence of Nature. The same with a great portrait: It reveals a truth about the character and personality of the sitter, in a way that a selfie doesn’t.

Annie Leibovitz www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQtXoseZMuo

For David Ulrich one of the keys to achieving “presence” in photography is to learn to pay attention. And this takes us back to mindfulness practice. Being awake, alive, attentive, observant, present!

It’s a great book with plenty of practical suggestions for exercises in moving beyond the snapshot to mastering the discipline of photography.

* Cover photos taken with the Leica D-Lux 7.

Committed to Ferrania P30 using a Leica M6 and 50 mm Summicron V3 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

Committed to Film Ferrania P30 using a Leica M6 and 50 mm Summicron V3 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

Committed to Ilford HP5+ using a Leica M3 and 50 mm Summilux ASPH lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

“Everything will be okay in the end.. if it isn't okay, it isn't the end.”

It’s frustrating for me because I hear and witness all these accounts of teenagers who have committed suicide. High school can be the best years of your life but they an also be the worse and it really is sad to watch people being stuck in such a painful place that will end. Four years. Three years. Two years. Three months. No matter where you are or how much you hurt, the moment will go away and something new will come. Yeah, I’ll be honest with you, that new situation may make it a lot worse but sooner or later it will get better.

Why give up fifty or so more years of life for only four that you have to suffer through? For the pain you feel when the only person you depended on breaks your heart or the closest person to you dies.

But this isn’t for those people who are suffering. This is for every single person around them.

I know I talk about this a lot but I don’t think people get it. If you have someone who is so upset and lost and numb and they are ready to take their own life…all they could possibly need is someone to reach out and do one nice thing for them. So why not do it? It doesn’t take much effort.

How much is what you might lose compared to what they can lose?

Because, I get upset easily but I always have incredible friends and people around me to open my eyes to the other side. Those hurting people get so absorbed in their pain that they just want out and they don’t even recognize the world around them. That’s just it though, when they have someone else to help stand them back up it’s that much easier to grasp reality again.

God is there, of course. But I’m going to be honest with you, it isn’t always easy to feel him. Sometimes we need something we feel we can touch. Sometimes we need something we feel we can hear and see and know. So God gives you these amazing people who save you and help you over and over.

So many people have testimonies of that so how can you stand back and not notice peoples’ pleas for help? Easily. You’re already focused on yourself. You’re busy. You’re oblivious. I’ve done it so many times. My best friend needed me and I couldn’t take holding her burdens and pain and then watching her just go back to the same old ways. It was too much. It was too much for me but it’s never too much for God. I have a responsibility as her friend to be there and be true to my word. I wasn’t. People seem to think that because we say ‘everyone makes mistakes’ that it’s okay to keep making them. That’s no excuse because you can’t say ‘everyone makes mistakes’ when your best friend goes and commits suicide when you were waay too blind to even see the hurt in those all too familiar eyes.

I know it’s easier said than done but can’t you just stand up for once and be kind to one person every day? Is that really too much to ask for? Because honestly, if you were the one standing on the edge…wouldn’t you want someone to reach out for you?

Because like one of my best friends quoted “life gives you a hundred reasons to cry. Go show life a 1000 reasons to smile.” Take a minute out of your hectic schedule and go show that hurting person one way to smile. Just one. That’s all you have to do. And I promise you, watching them smile will make you smile.

“The LORD will judge his people and have compassion on his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free”

God shows compassion and love for those who have no strength and are broken. Just slaves and servants to many things. So tell me, why can’t you?

Committed to expired Fujifilm Superia 100 using a Leica M6 and 28 mm Summicron ASPH lens. Developed using a C-41 kit from Ars-Imago and scanned using an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion, colour and levels done with Negative Lab Pro.

Political Demonstration, Buenos Aires 2019

"Lord Jesus, may we your disciples be ever ready to lay down our lives in conformity to your will, to willingly suffer and die for you, that we may also share in your victory and glory."

Closer and Larger View On Black

Copyright© 2010 Kamoteus/RonMiguel RN

This image is protected under the United States and International Copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without written permission.

I finally did a black and white!!!! I committed.....

I just had to have one this week for TOTW: Monochromatic Maniacs!!! Well I am not that much of a manic, but I am trying.

Well everyone seems to be doing these real contrasty black and whites, so I just had to give it a try. What can I say, I am struggling and a follower now :)...I was going to do the shhhhhh like everyone, but I didnt want to get lipstick all over my finger. So I went with the blank stare. ahha. Okay I was not going for that but that is what you get.........

The kid just went to get Chinese.... I am starving like a hostage in a non-negotiable situation.

Nikon D3300 - Nikkor AF-S DX 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 G ED

Committed to long expired Kodak Ektar 25 using a Konica Autoreflex T3 and 50 mm f1.4 lens. Developed using a C-41 kit from Ars-Imago and scanned using an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion, colour and levels done with Negative Lab Pro.

Committed to Ferrania P30 using a Leica M6 and 50 mm Summicron V3 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

Committed to Ilford HP5+ using a Leica M3 and 50 mm Summilux ASPH lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. It’s the end you’re after.” – Anthony Robbins

Committed the photographers cardinal sin today, I forgot to check that I had a memory card in my camera! It was quiet in the city centre this morning and I quite liked the reflection from the O2 mobile phone shop window onto the wet pavement and so the next best camera at hand was my iPhone. I played with the perspective setting in snapseed a bit and adjusted glamour glow and pop colour adjustment settings. I like the coolness in the blues and the warmth of the yellow.

Committed to Rollei RPX 25 using a Mamiya 645 1000S and 80 mm f1.9 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

Committed to creating something everyday this month - this was just for fun.

The Abandoned Pennhurst Asylum

May 25th, 2014

Some info on this historic location:

“Pennhurst is the scariest place I have ever seen. Period. I have traveled all over the country visiting haunted places and attractions and nothing compares to this incredible, dilapidated campus. Last October, I was approached by the owners of Pennhurst Associates, and asked if I would like to be a partner in their haunted attraction. At first I was skeptical because everyone thinks this industry is easy, with a “get rich quick” attitude, and we all know how much work is involved and how hard it is to be successful. I was really skeptical…until I visited Pennhurst. The day I drove into this huge complex of brick structures, I was hooked. I knew this place had the potential to be the greatest haunted attraction ever. With a ton of money, corporate sponsors, the right build crew, and a great plan, Pennhurst Asylum could come to life and entertain the hard core haunters. Not only does this place have an incredible ambiance, a built in cult following, and a treasure trove of unique props, it has a history; a history riddled with accusations of torture, abuse and neglect. A history of mental patients chained to the walls in dark tunnels, children left for years in cribs, sexual abuse by the staff and even murder. All this happened behind the walls of Pennhurst State School, Spring City, Pennsylvania.

Pennhurst was constructed and opened in 1908 as a state school for the mentally and physically disabled. Pennhurst's property was vast, covering 120 acres. Created to house over 10,000 patients at a point in time, Pennhurst was one of the largest institutions of its kind in Pennsylvania. Half of Pennhurst's residents were committed by court order and the other half were brought by a parent or other guardian. It was devoted strictly to the care, treatment and education of the disabled. Originally named Pennhurst Home for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic, it finally was just called Pennhurst State School. Pennhurst employed a large number of staff to help assist in maintaining the facility. This staff included a board of trustees, medical staff, dental staff, and specialists in psychology, social services, accounting, and various fields of education. The grounds of Pennhurst included a 300-bed hospital, which had a full nursing staff and two surgeons on call at all times. Others at Pennhurst included members of the clergy and farming experts who grew most of Pennhurst's food . Pennhurst was an essentially self-sufficient community, its 1,400-acre site containing a firehouse, general store, barber shop, movie theatre, auditorium and even a greenhouse. The buildings of Pennhurst were named after towns in Pennsylvania such as Chester and Devon. The original buildings were designed by architect Phillip H. Johnson. All of Pennhurst's electricity was generated by an on-site power plant. A cemetery lay on the property, as well as baseball and recreational fields for the residents. Many of Pennhurst's buildings were strictly for storage; however, the majority were dormitory and hospital-style living quarters for the residents. Many of the buildings had security screens that were accessed on the inside, to prevent patients from escaping, or jumping to their deaths. Most of the stairwells had security fences to keep patients from jumping over the railings. Many of the buildings are linked by an underground tunnel system designed for transportation of handicapped patients to and from the dormitory, recreational buildings and dietary.

Pennhurst was often accused of dehuminazitation and was said to have provided no help to the mentally challenged. The institution had a long history of staff difficulties and negative public image, for example, a 1968 report by NBC called "Suffer the Little Children". Pennhurst State School was closed in 1986 following several allegations of abuse. These allegations led to the first lawsuit of its kind in the United States, Pennhurst State School and Hospital vs. Halderman, which asserted that the mentally retarded have a constitutional right to living quarters and an education. Terry Lee Halderman had been a resident of the school, and upon release she filed suit in the district court on behalf of herself and all other residents of Pennhurst. The complaint alleged that conditions at Pennhurst were unsanitary, inhumane and dangerous, that these living conditions violated the fourteenth amendment, and that Pennhurst used cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the eighth and fourteenth amendments. After a 32-day trial and an immense investigation, prosecutors concluded that the conditions at Pennhurst were not only dangerous, with physical and mental abuse of its patients, but also inadequate for the care and habilitation for the mentally retarded. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also concluded that the physical, mental, and intellectual skills of most patients had deteriorated while in Pennhurst.

In 1986, Pennhurst was ordered closed, and began a program of de-institutionalism that lasted several years. Once the buildings were closed, they began to rapidly deteriorate from lack of heating, moisture invasion and vandalism. Thousands of people began to illegally tour the property spray painting everything in sight and breaking all the glass in the place. Theft was rampant and the destruction of the property was in full swing. Patients were thrown out and a large homeless contingent developed in the area.

Pennhurst fell into complete ruin as the complex was shut down. Buildings were abandoned as they were, with patient’s clothes and belonging strewn about. Furniture, cabinets and medical equipment were left to decay as if someone had just got up and walked out the front door. This is the place that will eventually resurrect into one of the most studied properties in the ghost hunter media, and will become an amazing haunted attraction.

As I research the history of this place, I begin to realize the potential of Pennhurst as an intriguing location for a haunted attraction. This place is really haunted. Several reputable Ghost Hunter groups have documented audible recordings, temperature changes, and unexplained movement of objects in the buildings of Pennhurst. This is the kind of environment I want to build the next generation of haunted house; a proven haunted location.

My team, headed by John Brady, Shawn Sieger, Jim Souflous, Todd Beringer, Rob Sieger and others search the complex for valuable props. We wander deep into the tunnels that stitch the complex. We move into the basements of maintenance buildings, storage areas, dormitories and dietary in search of unique items that will set this haunt apart from all other. We find a huge electro-mechanical device that has to be the control for the electrotherapy department. It is so old that it used electrical tube circuits developed in the 30’s. Insulators and other unrecognizable devices are strewn about the room. This is a huge find. As we cruise through the old abandoned hospital, we harvest giant 48” surgical lights that are suspended from the rotting ceilings. They are mounted on tracks that allow the lights to be moved to focus on the unsuspecting patients. These will be perfect in the rooms for our haunt. We find medical cabinets, drawers, storage lockers, operating tables are everywhere. This is a veritable treasure trove of props for our attraction. As we move through the dark corridors, with flashlights moving side to side, I can’t keep the feelings of growing anticipation from my mind. I know there is something out there but can’t put my finger on it. I come around the corner and enter a small room to the right, and there it is; the morgue. I recognize it because it has two drawer slides and a refrigeration unit on top. This is what we came here to find. This will be one of the most unique features of our attraction; a real morgue scene. Stainless steel tables with large drains, stainless steel cabinets, lab equipment and a real, 1930’s autopsy table! I am blown away by this scene. I can picture the thousands of customers coming through our attraction knowing that everything in here is REAL. My arms have gooseflesh!

Back at the Administration building, construction is moving forward. All the asbestos has been abated, the floors have been repaired, roof repaired, windows replaced, and structural inspections have been completed. The building is safe for use as an amusement building. Now the hard work of turning this into one of the most complex haunted houses is under way. A full electrical upgrade needs to be completed. Smart lighting, imbedded audio systems and fiber optical controls will be installed. Pneumatic infrastructure will be run throughout the building so props can be installed in any room. A lot of work must be completed in a few short months in preparation for the 2010 season.

We want this attraction to be a full experience of Pennhurst, but we need to work the audience up slowly so they won’t chicken out right away. This place is so creepy, that we need to get the ticket sales completed before they see the complex. A state of the art POS system will be installed by Interactive Ticketing, and can handle the thousands of expected customers. This system will track every ticket sold, and with the aid of digital scanners that are integrated with the internet, and keep track of each customer. Once the customer has bought their ticket, they will be guided to the walkway that surrounds the complex. This walkway will act as a huge queue line to the main entrance of the haunt, but will take them on a tour around several other buildings before entering the Administration building. As the customers walk the 800’ long walkway, they will experience the vastness of Pennhurst. With over 10 buildings in view, most in bad condition, they will be able to witness the downfall of this once beautiful campus. The once beautiful courtyards are now overgrown and the children’s playground equipment lay rotting all around. As the people approach the Admin building, they will be diverted to the side and then around to the front and into the main entrance. A large stone portico greets the crowd as they are ushered into the attraction. A unique feature of Pennhurst will be the museum. Many local residents have a strong feeling that the memories of the atrocities that occurred here should be preserved in some way so that they will not re-occur in the future. With this in mind, we felt that the construction of a Pennhurst Museum was in order. We have reconstructed four rooms on the first floor that will act as an indoor queue line and, at the same time, teach the public about the history of this magnificent place. With high tech videos, historical photos and artifacts from the past, the customers will be able to go back in time and witness the rise and fall of Pennhurst, as it happened. As they move slowly through the museum, they will notice that the rooms are beginning to decay. By the time they enter the great corridor the building has fallen into disrepair. This is when they will enter the scariest haunted house imaginable.

With an asylum theme in mind, and real, antique hospital equipment on hand, we began to build our attraction. We painted the entire interior with a special barrier sealant that encapsulates any lead paint and is also 100% flameproof. Rotted flooring has been replaced, and roof leaks have been plugged. We install MDF board as a wainscote and paint it to look like the marble that was part of the original building, but stolen long ago. We want an old time feeling to envelope the customers; a feeling of going back in time. The first room you enter is the intake office, complete with a psychiatrist giving you the Rorschach test, otherwise known as the ink blot test. As the Dr. engages the crowd, slides flip by on a large screen. After the intake, you enter the de-lousing showers, where shower heads spew out a combination of fog, air and CO2, giving it a cold feel. Other rooms include the dietary unit with copious use of existing cafeteria items like tray holders, rolling carts, plastic ware, cups, plates, tables and ovens. Pneumatic and actor scares abound in this haunt as there are a large number of great setups and hiding spots throughout the building. Moving upstairs, we have a large room with the ceiling removed. It shows the expansive architecture of the building, and the roofline looms over 35’ above your head. The focus in this room is the old, female actor in the corner, who is sitting in a vintage wheelchair. She is spot lighted with down lighting that also shows beds, furniture and other belongings. As she distracts the crowd, a switch is flipped and flood lights reveal the height of the ceiling, filled with another animatronic surprise.

Another part of the building is an area that has suffered a moderate fire. Door frames and headers are charred, and the smell of burnt wood is still perceptible. The area that was burned housed two sound proof cells; small rooms where patients could be locked away and their screams could be totally muffled. The floors, walls and ceilings are 6” thick with heavy insulation stuffed between the studs. The interiors are lined with sound proof tiles, and the exterior is sheathed in another layer of sound proofing. Even the doors are 8” thick and insulated. As you walk into these rooms, you can feel the air get heavy, the sounds deaden and you can imagine how the patients felt being locked up in the pitch dark with no one hearing your screams.

As you can imagine, the really cool rooms are left for last. With tons of great, original props, we build out sets that appear to be real operating rooms. One room is set up to be themed as a lobotomy operating room. Steel tables, medical cabinets and surgical equipment are everywhere. Actors bring off the scare and make this scene believable. The next room is our autopsy chamber. This room is decorated with the original equipment we found in the old hospital. The cabinets mounted to the walls are stainless steel, and look brand new, even after 50 or more years. The large sink structure, with an industrial size in-sinkerator, and long overflow drain, is up against the far wall. On the right is the original two drawer morgue unit, moved here from the hospital basement, and restored to its original form. The drawers roll out as easily as they did when first installed, and the refrigeration unit above the drawers adds to the realism of the scene. To top it off, an antique autopsy table stands in the center of the room. I bought the table at a funeral home auction 15 years ago and it has now found a new home. Overhead is a huge surgical style lamp, measuring over 40” across, and fitted with a friction gear that allows one to direct the light in any direction.

Another great room design we are using is the shock therapy room. This room has tile walls and floor, large overhead lights (harvested from the depths of building c) and the original electroconvulsive shock therapy machine retrieved from the hospital. Most modern ECT machines deliver a brief-pulse current, which is thought to cause fewer cognitive effects than the sine-wave currents which were originally used in ECT. Our machine is of the sine wave type, and caused unconsciousness and convulsions for 15 to 30 seconds. It is a large stainless steel console with dials and meters, and long electrode leads still attached. Our shock table is hinged in the center, and can tilt down for easy loading and unloading of the patient. The table has a latch where the actor can drop the foot of the table and attack the audience. This coupled with bang sticks, strobe lights, fog machines and a blistering 400 watt soundtrack make this one of the premier rooms at Pennhurst. In all, Pennhurst Asylum will have 18 complete rooms, not including the 4 room used in the museum. All of these rooms are highly detailed to be realistic in every way.

We have really strived to mix fact with fiction, folklore with fear, to come up with some of our unique room designs. There have been accounts of an old dentist chair that was located in the deep recesses of Mayflower, one of the more notorious dorms at Pennhurst. This chair is a little different than the ones you and I are used too; it has restraining straps attached to the arms, legs and headrest. This chair was reportedly used to remove the teeth of patients that were prone to biting the staff here. Imagine yourself being strapped into this device and having all your teeth ripped out without any kind of medication. This is just one more example of how unique this location is.

The most intriguing part of Pennhurst is their tunnel complex. All of the buildings on the campus are connected by above ground walkways with tunnels under them. These tunnels are 10 feet high, 8 feet wide and thousands of feet long. Concrete floors, tile walls and concrete ceilings create an incredible echo effect at certain intersections. In fact, I have looked behind myself several times to see if there is someone following me a few feet back. The echoes are so distinct you can hear whispers from hundreds of feet away.

As the guests are scared out of the last room in the Asylum, they find themselves in a large foyer with paintings and photographs on the walls. This is the queue line for the tunnels. Once through the lines, the guests are ushered down a long set of stairs and into the basement. Once there, with a temperature drop of at least 20 degrees, they are let through the double doors that lead to the exit…900 feet away. Scenes and actors appear at intersections along the way. Glass jars with cages around them contain the only lighting down here, and they are all connected to commercial lighting controls that are programmed to flicker, dim and occasionally go completely dark. We also added several subsonic bass tubes that cannot be heard, only felt. This will induce an uneasy feeling in all who enter the tunnels. Special chicken exits have been designed into the tunnel system and I’m sure will be used many times. This will be the scariest part of this attraction. The best part of the tunnel system is that it will contain our guests on their way back to the main entrance. People coming into the show along the walkways above will hear the screams emanating from the tunnels below them. They will hear the reactions to our show before they even enter the walkways leading to our haunt. What better way to elevate the anticipation and fear level than to hear, first hand, how scary this place is. If this place is scary to seasoned haunters, imagine how the general public will feel.

Another unique feature of Pennhurst is that it is really haunted. Featured on the Travel Channel, the Ghost Adventures crew have recorded many strange voices, noises and unexplained movement and documented this in their shows. The Pennhurst Ghost Tours, open to professional and amateur ghost hunters, has been a huge success, with recordings, photos and accounts of physical contact throughout the Pennhurst complex. So, if you want to get scared, come to Pennhurst Asylum. You may even witness the supernatural… whether you want to or not.”

SOURCE: www.pennhurstasylum.com/index2.html#/history

Mosby winery is committed to producing award-winning Cal-Italian wines. Bill and Jeri Mosby purchased the old de la Vega land in the early 1970s, and the first thing Bill did was plant vines. The Mosby’s first commercial wines were bottled under the Vega label, named after the old Spanish California land grant. Bill’s wine began to gain industry attention, and a following of Mosby wine enthusiasts continued to develop. In 1986, at his family’s insistence, Bill changed the Vega label to reflect the Mosby name and winemaking philosophy.

Located in the Santa Barbara County AVA, the vines are planted in various microclimates found on the estate with care taken to match the grape type with the most suitable conditions. This results in wines with the distinctive varietal character Bill Mosby demands. Bill’s experienced palate and careful, ongoing search for interesting new varietals have resulted in vintage after vintage of award-winning Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Teroldego, and more. His latest addition is the first domestically-produced Sagrantino released in this country.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to all for 12,000.000+ views and kind comments ... !

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

Committed to Ferrania P30 using a Leica M3 and 50 mm Summicron dual-range lens. Developed using Ars-Imago R9 (rodinal) 1:99 in a semi-stand process for 80 minutes and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

;-) Texto en castellano mas abajo ;-)

Excuse me the many mistakes that sure I have committed in the translation, I hope that it is understood regardless!

Development of the trilogy blog – pride – persons.

The second part of this trilogy that I dedicate to explain, and to explain myself, because I use the captions (feet) of my photos as if they were my personal blog. This time I will comment because I feel proud, basing on my concept of person that I exposed in the first photo of the trilogy.

I am a heterosexual crossdresser girl. It is a fact … but, what does it means? If I you tell the truth, I don´t know it with certainty. It seems as if every crossdresser girl had her own definition … probably because there are many branches inside the crossdress … but this it is another theme. I suppose that to the others happen like to me, I am ashamed instinctively of this facet of my life, it is something cultural, the image of the "transvestite" is at least ridiculous, laughable, even I fall down in it without thinking it. It is like if it was so unnatural, so out of place, so incomprehensibly … why a sane man, that considers himself as man, would try to pass off as a woman?... And this it is the nice image, also there is the vicious image, in which you are a disgusting pervert which who know how many more barbarities will do. It is not to feel very proud … not. But the reason wins to the instinct, I am a person, and as such I have reasoning and feelings, and they say to me that this it is not the reality, it is not my reality. Maybe it is a parafilia, as some people say, or maybe it is the aptitude to overcome the assigned role and experiencing positive sensations that are denied to us without reason. I do not have answers, disease or quality, I don´t know, but I know that I do not have motives for which to be ashamed. I am a person, with multiple characteristics, but none of them defines me lonely and to be a crossdresser girl is not the exception, only it is a small part of me. Globally I am not discontented with me, do not understand me badly, I should improve very much as person, but if tomorrow I would die and I would have to give account for my life and for what I am, I believe that I would go out in peace, and it is a motive of pride. The global pride like person, to feel yourself well with total honesty is what really matters. And the pride for the different characteristics that I have? It is a different pride, with different purposes, bad some as arrogance, and other more positive as the reaffirmation. The pride that I feel for be a crossdress girl is of this type. If the things were as they should be, surely I would not feel proud for it, would be another characteristic more as to have small foot or the dark eyes. But unfortunately the things are not like that, and some groups have had to use pride as method of defense, as reaffirmation against discriminations and injustices.The example most clear is the homosexuality. I am hetero and it allows me to see the situation from out, impartially, and I believe that they do very well in feeling proud, because understandable better or worse, what harm do it?, why to make to feel badly to a person for a quality that goes implicit in that person?... My crossdress does not harm anybody either and though I can give up practising it, it is not anything that could make disappear of me, as I cannot change my liking or my way of being, it is a part of my intimate self. So, if I see it good for the others, why not for me?

I look around and see so many motives for what the people should be ashamed, so many attitudes, so many actions that cause so much harm … And later I look at me, being ashamed instinctively for wearing a dress or for feeling feminine … Not … I refuse to accept it, it is possible that in the moment I could not avoid the instinct, but I refuse to accept consciously a shame that does not correspond to me, because of it I am proud! This one is not an allegation in order that we all go out to the light and feel us superproud (though it would be very well also I understand that it is very difficult and dangerous), it is for feeling us well with ourselves and we do not torture psychologically ourselves without motive. The crossdress makes me feel good, and when I dress and look at the mirror, there goes out for me a smile of satisfaction and pride. I am proud!!

Desarrollo de la trilogía blog-orgullo-personas.

Segunda parte de esta trilogía que dedico a explicar, y a explicarme a mi misma de paso, el porque utilizo los pies de fotos como si fueran mi blog personal. Esta vez os comentaré porqué me siento orgullosa, basándome en mi concepto de persona que expuse en la primera foto de la trilogía.

Miro alrededor y veo tantos motivos por lo que la gente debería avergonzarse, tantas actitudes, tantas acciones que hacen tanto mal… Y después me miro a mí, avergonzándome instintivamente por ponerme un vestido o por sentirme femenina… No… no lo acepto, puede que en el momento no pueda evitar el instinto, pero me niego a aceptar conscientemente una vergüenza que no me corresponde, ¡por eso estoy orgullosa! Este no es un alegato para que salgamos todas a la luz y nos sintamos superorgullosas (aunque eso estaría muy bien también entiendo que es muy difícil y peligroso), sino para que nos sintamos bien con nosotras mismas y no nos martiricemos psicológicamente sin motivo. El crossdress me hace sentir bien, y cuando me visto y me miro al espejo, me sale una sonrisa de satisfacción y orgullo. ¡¡Estoy orgullosa!!

PS: Si quieres ver un video con este look (If you want see a video with this look):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GHQJ03rBJg

Si quieres ver una versión reducida en Flickrs (If you want see a small version in Flickrs):

www.flickr.com/photos/61410455@N08/6319457850/in/photostream

I knew there was a reason I took loads... every wingbeat a shape or movement committed to memory...

Happy Rezz Day to Me!

__________________________________________________________

- Happy Rezz Day to Me! The longest committed relationship I’ve ever been in is the one I have with my @secondlife avatar. 15 years ago I saw people fighting over land on an episode of Judge Judy and I had to try it out. Over the years we’ve been on again and off again. I’ve been through countless heartbreaks, scandals and name changes 😂 I went from embarrassed to tell people I played to a successful content creator. Along the way I’ve forged so many life changing relationships and friendships and I’m so grateful for those people. Without Second Life, my real life would be so boring LOL so here’s to 15 and 15 more! As long as SL’s around, I will be too!

__________________________________________________________

georgia hair by punklist - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/PUNKLIST/161/132/2506

hermosa hairbase and bangs by studio exposure - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Stone%20Diamond/123/128/20

ziva earrings by yorke - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Valhalla%20Estates%20Manag...

tahir latex dress by rowne - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rowne/89/107/2006

party balloons (round balloons, tinted by me) by bijou - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/BIJOU%20BLUE/91/113/24

gigi balloons (number balloons, tinted by me) by legna - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dream%20Lake/91/113/24

The central criminal courts, Old Bailey, London. Seen after heavy Spring rain.

The court originated as the sessions house of the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of the City of London and of Middlesex. The original medieval court was first mentioned in 1585; it was next to the older Newgate gaol, and seems to have grown out of the endowment to improve the gaol and rooms for the Sheriffs, made possible by a gift from Richard Whittington. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt in 1674, with the court open to the weather to prevent the spread of disease.

Plaque commemorating Bushel's Case of 1670

In 1734 it was refronted, enclosing the court and reducing the influence of spectators: this led to outbreaks of typhus, notably in 1750 when 60 people died, including the Lord Mayor and two judges. It was rebuilt again in 1774 and a second courtroom was added in 1824. Over 100,000 criminal trials were carried out at the Old Bailey between 1674 and 1834

In 1834, it was renamed as the Central Criminal Court and its jurisdiction extended beyond that of London and Middlesex to the whole of the English jurisdiction for trials of major cases. Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service manages the courts and administers the trials but the building itself is owned by the City of London Corporation, which finances the building, the running of it, the staff and the maintenance out of their own resources.

The court was originally intended as the site where only criminals accused of crimes committed in the City and Middlesex were tried. However, in 1856, there was public revulsion at the accusations against the doctor William Palmer that he was a poisoner and murderer. This led to fears that he could not receive a fair trial in his native Staffordshire. The Central Criminal Court Act 1856 was passed to enable his trial to be held at the Old Bailey.

In the 19th century, the Old Bailey was a small court adjacent to Newgate gaol. Hangings were a public spectacle in the street outside until May 1868. The condemned would be led along Dead Man's Walk between the prison and the court, and many were buried in the walk itself. Large, riotous crowds would gather and pelt the condemned with rotten fruit and vegetables and stones. In 1807, 28 people were crushed to death after a pie-seller's stall overturned. A secret tunnel was subsequently created between the prison and St Sepulchre's church opposite, to allow the chaplain to minister to the condemned man without having to force his way through the crowds.

The present Old Bailey building dates from 1902 but it was officially opened on 27 February 1907. It was designed by E. W. Mountford and built on the site of the infamous Newgate gaol, which was demolished to allow the court buildings to be constructed. Above the main entrance is inscribed the admonition: "Defend the Children of the Poor & Punish the Wrongdoer". King Edward VII opened the courthouse.

Lady Justice statue on the top of the court building

On the dome above the court stands a bronze statue of Lady Justice, executed by the British sculptor F. W. Pomeroy. She holds a sword in her right hand and the scales of justice in her left. The statue is popularly supposed to show blind Justice, however, the figure is not blindfolded: the courthouse brochures explain that this is because Lady Justice was originally not blindfolded, and because her “maidenly form” is supposed to guarantee her impartiality which renders the blindfold redundant.

During the Blitz of World War II, the Old Bailey was bombed and severely damaged, but subsequent reconstruction work restored most of it in the early 1950s. In 1952, the restored interior of the Grand Hall of the Central Criminal Court was once again open. The interior of the Great Hall (underneath the dome) is decorated with paintings commemorating the Blitz, as well as quasi-historical scenes of St Paul's Cathedral with nobles outside. Running around the entire hall are a series of axioms, some of biblical reference. They read:

"The law of the wise is a fountain of life"

"The welfare of the people is supreme"

"Right lives by law and law subsists by power"

"Poise the cause in justice's equal scales"

"Moses gave unto the people the laws of God"

"London shall have all its ancient rights"

The Great Hall (and the floor beneath it) is also decorated with many busts and statues, chiefly of British monarchs, but also of legal figures, and those who achieved renown by campaigning for improvement in prison conditions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This part of the building also houses the shorthand-writers' offices.

The lower level also hosts a minor exhibition on the history of the Old Bailey and Newgate featuring historical prison artefacts.

In 1973, the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional IRA exploded a car bomb in the street outside the courts, killing one and injuring 200 people. A shard of glass is preserved as a reminder, embedded in the wall at the top of the main stairs.

South Block extension

Between 1968 and 1972, a new South Block, designed by the architects Donald McMorran and George Whitby, was built to accommodate more modern courts. There are presently 18 courts in use. Court 19 is now used variously as a press overflow facility, as a registration room for first-day jurors or as a holding area for serving jurors.

The original ceremonial gates to the 1907 part of the building are only used by the Lord Mayor and visiting royalty. The general entrance to the building is a few yards down the road in the South Block and is often featured as a backdrop in television news reports. There is also a separate rear entrance, not open to the public, which permits more discreet access. In Warwick Square, on the western side of the complex, is the "Lord Mayor's Entrance".

A remnant of the city wall is preserved in the basement beneath the cells.