connotation photos on Flickr

Quinta da Regaleira - Sintra - Portugal by Vitor Oliveira

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Situada em pleno Centro Histórico de Sintra, classificado Património Mundial pela UNESCO, a Quinta da Regaleira é um lugar com espírito próprio. Edificado nos primórdios do Século XX, ao sabor do ideário romântico, este fascinante conjunto de construções, nascendo abruptamente no meio da floresta luxuriante, é o resultado da concretização dos sonhos mito-mágicos do seu proprietário, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro (1848-1920), aliados ao talento do arquitecto-cenógrafo italiano Luigi Manini (1848-1936).

A imaginação destas duas personalidades invulgares concebeu, por um lado, o somatório revivalista das mais variadas correntes artísticas - com particular destaque para o gótico, o manuelino e a renascença - e, por outro, a glorificação da história nacional influenciada pelas tradições míticas e esotéricas.

A Quinta da Regaleira é um lugar para se sentir. Não basta contar-lhe a memória, a paisagem, os mistérios. Torna-se necessário conhecê-la, contemplar a cenografia dos jardins e das edificações, admirar o Palácio dos Milhões, verdadeira mansão filosofal de inspiração alquímica, percorrer o parque exótico, sentir a espiritualidade cristã na Capela da Santíssima Trindade, que nos permite descermos à cripta onde se recorda com emoção o simbolismo e a presença do além. Há ainda um fabuloso conjunto de torreões que nos oferecem paisagens deslumbrantes, recantos estranhos feitos de lenda e saudade, vivendas apalaçadas de gosto requintado, terraços dispostos para apreciação do mundo celeste.

A culminar a visita à Quinta da Regaleira, há que invocar a aventura dos cavaleiros Templários, ou os ideais dos mestres da maçonaria, para descer ao monumental poço iniciático por uma imensa escadaria em espiral. E, lá no fundo com os pés assentes numa estrela de oito pontas, é como se estivéssemos imerses no ventre da Terra-Mãe. Depois, só nos resta atravessar as trevas das grutas labirínticas, até ganharmos a luz, reflectida em lagos surpreendentes. www.cm-sintra.pt/Artigo.aspx?ID=2907

This is a fabulous assemblage of styles and constructions ( gardens, wells, towers, statues, mysterious grottoes, etc.), which Manini succeeded in imbuing with exceptional characteristics. Albeit having a semblance of a scene from opera, the Quinta da Regaleira has alchemical and sacred connotations.

The origins of this Quinta (palace and estate) which is currently known as the Quinta da Regaleira date back to 1697 when José Leite purchased a huge tract of land at one end of the Old Quarter of Sintra.

The property was bought at a public auction in 1715 by Francisco Alberto Guimarães de Castro who diverted water from the mountain to supply a fountain on the property. In the possession of João António Lopes Fernandes in 1800 it appears some thirty years later in the possession of Manuel Bernardo from whence it derived its current name, having formerly been known as the Quinta da Torre or the Quinta do Castro. It was then purchased by the daughter of Allen in 1840 (a wealthy trader from Oporto) who was later given the title of the Baroness of Regaleira.

At the beginning of this century, however, the Quinta da Regaleira was purchased by the capitalist António Augusto de Carvalho Monteiro, a man of enormous culture with a degree in Law from the University of Coimbra who had amassed a fortune in Brazil. Carvalho Monteiro, who was profoundly inspired by the glorious national epic poem, whose expression at the time was found in the "revivalist" taste of neo manueline architecture, took inspiration for the construction of the manor house and its respective chapel both from the structural and decorative eclecticism of the Pena Palace and the neo-manueline style of the Hotel Palácio do Buçaco, designed by Luigi Manini. It was Carvalho Monteiro who invited Manini to design and build the house at Regaleira . The project was completed in 1910.

This is a fabulous assemblage of styles and constructions (gardens, wells, towers, statues, mysterious grottoes, etc.), which Manini succeeded in imbuing with exceptional characteristics. Albeit having a semblance of a scene from opera, the Quinta da Regaleira has alchemical and sacred connotations.

The Quinta da Regaleira, which was purchased in March 1997 by the Sintra Town Council is currently used as the head office of the CulturSintra Foundation which is undertaking a vast conservation and rehabilitation programme for promoting the palace in tourist terms. It is also organising a series of cultural events. www.cm-sintra.pt/Artigo.aspx?ID=3168

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Detail of the Proscenium Arch of Her Majesty’s Theatre – Lydiard Street, Ballarat by raaen99

Her Majesty’s Theatre in Ballarat’s Lydiard Street is one of the most intact, commercial nineteenth century theatres in Australia. Originally opened as the Ballarat Academy of Music in order to avoid the negative moral connotations associated with theatres at the time, Her Majesty’s was completed in 1875 to a design by architect George Browne. The Academy had a flat floored auditorium suitable for respectable dances and dinners, and a fully equipped stage. It was built to supersede Ballarat's Theatre Royal (built in 1858), which stood in Sturt Street. While very grand, the Royal had become outdated and no longer met the technical requirements of the touring companies.

The Academy was built by the wealthy Clarke family at the initiative of a group of local people who felt that Ballarat, as the premier city of the Victorian goldfields, should have a theatre worthy of its status. They guaranteed to rent it from the Clarkes at 10% of the construction cost, which was £13,000.

Built over a disused mineshaft, the original timber theatre initially comprised a theatre with rectangular auditorium, a steep lyre-shaped gallery, three entries leading to separate parts of the auditorium and two shops facing Lydiard Street.

Ballarat's handsome new theatre was ready ahead of schedule, and was opened on 7th June 1875. The first production was a comic opera by the French composer Lecocq, "La Fille de Madame Angot," presented by the Royal Opera Bouffe Company run by W. S. Lyster, Australia's first opera impresario.

Soon after the Academy opened, the large Supper Room above Lydiard Street was leased to William Bridges, a former miner, who ran it as an art gallery, displaying an excellent collection of European and Australian artworks, including his own tapestries. After Bridges moved his operations to Melbourne in 1883, the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery was formed. The Gallery Society ran the Gallery from the Academy from 1884 until 1890, when the present Art Gallery in Lydiard Street North was opened.

For the next twenty five years, the Academy of Music was unchallenged as Ballarat's main theatrical venue. It was never as popular as the old Theatre Royal, however, as the rather cavernous hall lacked the intimacy of the older playhouse. In 1898, when Sir William Clarke died, the building was bought by a local consortium and transformed into the delightful theatrical space we know today.

The new owners commissioned Australia's leading theatre architect, William Pitt (1855 – 1918), to remodel the interior and improve the stage facilities. William, who had been apprenticed to George Browne, also designed Melbourne's Princess Theatre amongst many other buildings. The present layout of the auditorium with sloping floor and double balconies, is Pitt's creation. The colour scheme is a recreation of the interior decoration undertaken at that time by Hugh Paterson, one of Melbourne's leading designers.

Paterson also decorated the dome and proscenium arch with murals. The mural in the dome depicted a carnival scene, with dancers in fanciful costumes; Comedy and Tragedy were featured on either side of the proscenium arch, with Shakespeare over the top. Unfortunately all the murals were destroyed in 1907 when Government regulations required the proscenium wall to be replaced with a solid firewall. The dome was removed at the same time for structural reasons, and was restored in 1990. The Dress Circle Lobby also dates from 1907.

The 1898 theatre was constructed in brick with timber roof construction sheeted with iron. The main body is brick with piers both inside and out. The hipped trussed roof covers both the three-level auditorium and the stage with dressing rooms below. The ground floor and foyer have been considerably altered at various times but the auditorium and stage structure are original as is much of the auditorium ceiling and pilastered walls. The roof over the stage also dates from 1875 and the later inclusion of a fly tower stage in 1898 is fitted around the original trusses. The flying system is the only manual (non counterweight) system in existence in Australia. In the auditorium roof there appears to have been two domes, a small one dating from before 1898 for which the horizontal shutters and tube structure to a former sliding ventilated roof are still in existence. When 1898 dome was removed a false octagonal ceiling was fitted in its place. Internally the circle and gallery levels are horseshoe shaped in plan and are carried on cast iron columns. The balcony balustrading is swag bellied and decorated. It is believed that the wall pilasters, panelled ceilings and proscenium are original decorations and some traces of art nouveau decorative motifs are to be seen where later alterations have been made. The two balconies were constructed in 1898, but one balcony front is the reused 1874 front while the second was made to match. The balconies and cast-iron supporting posts are typical for auditoria design in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. The double balcony, supported on columns, is now the last of this form of theatre in Victoria. The facade of this building is two storeyed in height with stucco ornamentation in a somewhat florid Classical style. The upper storey windows are round headed with archivolts supported by slender columns as are the two ground floor subsidiary entrances. The highly decorated curved entrance has now been lost. The ground floor facade has been much altered and a street awning has been added. The first floor facade is intact but the parapet balustrading and ornamentation has been destroyed.

From the First World War on, the Theatre was increasingly used for cinema presentations. A Bio Box (projection room) was built above the Dress Circle Lobby in 1916, and the Theatre was wired for sound in 1930. In 1928, the Hoyts cinema chain took over control over the building through its local subsidiary, Ballarat Theatres Limited, which ran Her Majesty's in tandem with the Regent Theatre (purposely built as a cinema).

In 1936, Her Majesty's was leased and operated by Ballarat Amusements, part of the Woodrow Distributing Company, presenting MGM and Paramount movies. Ballarat Amusements ran it until the early 1960s.

During the silent movie era, a theatre orchestra provided the film accompaniment. The Ballarat Theatre Organ Society installed the Theatre's Compton Theatre Organ in 1982.

Even when Her Majesty's was primarily a cinema, it was always available, to a lesser or greater degree, for live performances. It was used regularly by J. C. Williamson's and other touring companies as well as local groups. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s huge crowds came to see the annual pantomimes staged by the Wavie Williams Pantomime Company. For the last forty years, the Theatre has been used to stage locally produced musical comedies.

Television came to Ballarat in 1962, and had an immediate impact on attendances at the local cinemas. Ballarat Amusements decided to cease screenings and Hoyts put the building on the market.

In 1965, the Theatre was bought by the Royal South Street Society as the home for its Annual Competitions.The Bolte State Government gave the Society £20,000 towards the purchase price and a further grant towards the adaptation of the building for the Competitions. Further assistance towards both purposes came from local businessman, Alf Reid. It was clearly understood at the time that the Society would be managing the Theatre as a community facility.

The Society renamed Her Majesty's the Memorial Theatre, a move which made donations to its renovation appeal tax deductable.

The Society was unable to adequately maintain the upkeep of the building, however, and gifted it to the then City of Ballaarat in 1987, reserving the right to hold competitions in the Theatre every year between August and November.

The City of Ballarat undertook a major renovation, seeking funding from a wide range of businesses, individuals and organisations. The Theatre reopened as Her Majesty's on the 1st of November, 1990.

Wien, 1. Bezirk, Art of Facades of Vienna, Hofburg (Corps de Logis/Heldenplatz) - Heldenplatz (the place of the heros - la paza de los Héroes) by alfred lex

(further pictures and information about Vienna are available at the end of page by copying the corresponding link!)

Annexation 1938

Propaganda for the by Schuschnigg planned plebiscite - © Christian Brandstätter Verlag Gesellschaft mbH

Propaganda for the by Schuschnigg planned plebiscite.

Campaign advertising of Fatherland Front. Departure from Josef place.

10/11 March 1938. Photo: Leo Ernst - Albert Hilscher

from "Hans Petschar; Anschluss - A Chronology of pictures"

The "Anschluss" represents itself as a triple assumption of power:

... as massive military threat by the invasion of the Wehrmacht, accompanied by an yet earlier onset of police action by Himmler's Gestapo; as a takeover by local Nazis and sympathizers who were already in lower as well as higher positions of the "corporate state (Ständestaat)"; and as demonstrative takeover "from below" by threatening street demonstrations, open deployment of previously banned party formations and symbolic actions.

Spontaneous victory celebrations of the National Socialists in Vienna - © Christian Brandstätter Verlag Gesellschaft mbH

Spontaneous victory celebrations of the National Socialists in Vienna.

NS-squad on a truck. 11/12 March 1938. Photo: Dietrich

from "Hans Petschar; Anschluss - A Chronology of pictures"

The propaganda on this occasion took on a key role. Its effectiveness resulted from the confluence of staging and fascination. Propaganda replaced real power where it not yet could be exercised, intimidated political opponents and raised hopes among supporters. The structure of the necessary propaganda apparatus created simultaneously the foundations for the future party apparatus of the NSDAP as an organization penetrating the society as a whole.

Hitler Youth marched in Vienna. 11/12 March 1938. Photo: Albert Hirscher - © Christian Brandstätter Verlag Gesellschaft mbH

Hitler Youth marched in Vienna. 11/12 March 1938. Photo: Albert Hirscher

from "Hans Petschar; Connection - A Chronology of pictures"

Even children were mobilized to support the "Anschluss" propagandistically, they were as bearers of hopes of the new era addressees of Nazi propaganda. National Socialism in Austria also meant a significant change in the school system, which itself unresistingly and quite readily adapted to the new conditions.

Marching in of troops of the German Wehrmacht in Vienna - © Christian Brandstätter Verlag Gesellschaft mbH

Marching in of troops of the German Wehrmacht in Vienna.

An armored car is visited by Wiener youth.

13 March 1938. Photo: Albert Hilscher

from "Hans Petschar; Anschluss - A Chronology of pictures"

Orientated toward the capturing of the "whole" person, the individual as less as possible should be given individual leeway. Personal decisions about connotations of one's life and insight into overall socio-political correlations were not even allowed to arise. Despite the apparent devotion to the children, was this state-imposed education determined by an inhuman ideology of humiliation (Erniedrigungsideologie), which found its expression in racial anti-Semitism, the doctrine of life unworthy of being lived and the devaluation of everything foreign. Companionable acting in the sense of solidarity with the weak, in this system of education had no place. In its place came the mutual monitoring and disciplining for unscrupulous execution of commands given from "above.

Demonstration of the HJ with Baldur von Schirach at Heldenplatz in Vienna.

13 March 1938. Photo: Dietrich

from "Hans Petschar; Annexation - A Chronology of pictures"

Central guideline of the National Socialist policy in the cultural sector was the exclusion of Jewish artists, which was marked out in Germany since 1933 through a series of bureaucratic measures: compulsory membership in the corresponding professional chambers of the Reich Chamber of Culture as an absolute professional requirement, while rejection of "non-Aryans"; total political supervision of the theater of the spoken word and music theater, but also of the literature and publishing industry as well as the film production by the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda headed by Joseph Goebbels.

Hitler in Vienna - © Christian Brandstätter Verlag Gesellschaft mbH

Hitler in Vienna. Driving on the ring road.

14 March 1938. Photo: Albert Hilscher

from "Hans Petschar; Anschluss - A Chronology of pictures"

Politically "unreliable and unsuitable" as communists, socialists, conservatives with an anti-Nazi attitude, religious activists and homosexuals were also "as parasites of culture" eliminated. Simultaneously, the advanced civilization operation should be exploited for the stabilization of leadership (Herrschaftsstablisierung), ultimately no new "essentially German" ("blood and soil") cultural movement being created, but the bourgeois approaches to the classics forced (under exclusion of the heritage of dead and living Jewish artists). The high representatives of the regime were satisfied to document toward the inside and abroad that the apparently revolutionary Nazi regime stood in the succession of civil and monarchical rulers. More intense became the Nazi commitment in the entertainment industry, especially in the film, in which the "Wien-Film" productions full of platitudinous operetta bliss further succeeded. Entertainment was a psychologically skilfully orchestrated attempt to divert attention from political repression and massive racist persecution. Artists (females and males), for the time being - with a few exceptions of resistance - rapidly in the new polictical system fell into line, partly too because the working and production conditions at the moment due to increased government spending were much better than in the times of high unemployment.

Parade in Vienna - © Christian Brandstätter Publishing company mbH

Parade in Vienna. German armored vehicles in University Street;

in the background right, the Votive Church. 03/15/1938

from "Hans Petschar; Connection - A Chronology of pictures"

Political instrumentalization mostly only in the private sector and occasionally assistance for persecuted colleagues was opposed. The National Socialist state sought immediately after the "Anschluss" also to win over the women. The propaganda especially the mothers put in the center. This pretended respect of motherhood should serve to encourage women for giving birth as much as possible of "racially valuable" children to counteract the purportedly looming descent of the German people by falling fertility rates.

A symbolic poster.

The men are at the front;

the women produce weapons.

Title page of exhibition catalog to exhibition "Degenerate Music".

Women, preferably, should be restricted to the household or social care professions. However, during the war there was an acute shortage of manpower, so that also mothers as workers were forced in the defense industry. The education of girls was clearly targeted at household and motherhood. In the "mandatory year" young girls had to work unpaid in agriculture, in large families or in homes of high-ranking Nazis. In this way, they should practice their future work as a housewife and mother.

Göring at the Heldenplatz - © Christian Brandstätter Verlag Gesellschaft mbH

Göring at the Heldenplatz. 27 March 1938

from "Hans Petschar; Anschluss - A Chronology of pictures"

In political terms, however, women were excluded from any participation, the National Socialist Women's Organization at all levels was subordinated male functionaries. Many women nevertheless found it exciting now being courted propagandistically, and complied with the Nazi standards. Women also participated in acts of persecution and thus became co-participants in the National Socialist crimes. The appreciation but went only to aligned women and corresponding to racist standards. Those who opposed the regime were as ruthlessly persecuted as women who built relationships with Jews, prisoners of war or foreign workers. Despite the threat of persecution, many women offered resistance against Nazism. They were detained in prisons or concentration camps; even young mothers were executed. From Eastern Europe as forced laborers in the German Empire brought women were deprived of all their rights; them it was even forbidden to have children, and with them forced abortions were carried out, if they became pregnant just the same.

In the Nazi propaganda the "national" motives of the "Anschluss" stood in the foreground.

March of the Austrian Legion by the gate Heldentor - © Christian Brandstätter Verlag Gesellschaft mbH

March of the Austrian Legion by the Heldentor.

01 April 1938. Photo: Albert Hilscher

from "Hans Petschar; Connection - A Chronology of pictures"

But the real reason for the invasion of Austria was another one, 1938 the German armaments industry reached the limit of its capacity. The continuation of the rearmament seemed questioned. Because there was a lack of raw materials, labor force, free industrial capacities and - not least - of foreign exchange for imports of goods essential for armament. Not the highway construction or other job-creation measures had since 1933 reduced unemployment in the German Reich, but the preparation of a new war.

Glue action of HJ - © Christian Brandstätter Verlag Gesellschaft mbH

Glue action of the HJ. March 1938

from "Hans Petschar; Anschluss - A Chronology of pictures"

The "blitzkrieg" concept Germany should enable to incorporate one country after another into its sphere of influence and with the so obtained increase in economic power to eliminate the each next opponent. In the framework of the second four-year plan, which in 1936 was elaborated under the leadership of Hermann Göring, in addition to the development of substitutes (eg for rubber and oil), the securing of the access to non-substitutable goods (such as the iron ore from the Styrian Erzberg) had top priority.

It is therefore no coincidence that Austria and the so-called Sudeten German areas of Czechoslovakia with their rich economic resources yet before 1938 were in the field of view of National Socialism and that those countries then were "annexed" the first. Of interest in Austria next to the Erzberg were the unused water forces, the oil deposits in the March field, heavy industry, mechanical engineering and the gold and currency reserves of the Austrian National Bank, which exceeded those of the German Reichsbank in 1938 by a multiple.

www.wien-vienna.at/index.php?ID=102

OM PARVAT 2017 by SUMERU PARVAT

OM PARVAT

Om Parvat (also Adi Kailash, Little Kailash, Jonglingkong Peak,Baba Kailash, chhota Kailash)[3] is a mountain in the Himalayanmountain range, lying in the Darchula district of western Nepal and inPithoragarh District, Uttarakhand, India. It is considered sacred by Hindusand its snow deposition pattern resembles the sacred 'OM' (ॐ). Its appearance is distinctly similar to Mount Kailash in Tibet.[4] Near Om Parvat lie Parvati Lake and Jonglingkong Lake. Jonglingkong Lake is sacred, as Mansarovar, to the Hindus. Opposite to this peak is a mountain called Parwati Muhar. The Om Parvat is the fruit of discord between India and Nepal who do not reach agreement about the border line between the two countries. The Om Parvat is currently on the Indo-Nepalese border face "Om/ॐ" in India and the back of the mountain inNepal.

This peak was attempted for the first time by an Indo-British team including Martin Moran, T. Rankin, M. Singh, S. Ward, A. Williams and R. Ausden. The climbers promised not to ascend the final 10 metres (30 ft) out of respect for the peak's holy status. However, they were stopped around 200 m (660 ft) short of the summit by very loose snow and rock conditions.[4]

The first ascent of Adi Kailash came on October 8, 2004. The team comprised Tim Woodward, Jack Pearse, Andy Perkins (UK); Jason Hubert, Martin Welch, Diarmid Hearns, Amanda George (Scotland); and Paul Zuchowski (USA). They did not ascend the final few metres, again out of respect for the sacred nature of the summit.

Om Parvat can be viewed en route to the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra from the last camp below Lipu Lekh pass at Nabhidhang. Many trekkers to Adi Kailash often make a diversion to view Om Parvat. Om Parvat and Adi Kailash or Baba Kailash are not one and the same. Om Parvat is located near Nabhi Dhang (Nepal),The Chhota Kailash is located near Sinla pass, Near Brahma Parvat.

The best view of Om Parvat which "Om" drawn by the snow is the view from the district of Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand, India), which faces the mountain and hence to the "Om". By Kailash Mansarovar Foundation Swami Bikash Giri www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com

OM

Auṃ or Oṃ, Sanskrit: ॐ) is a sacred sound and a spiritual icon in Indian religions. It is also a mantra in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

Om is part of the iconography found in ancient and medieval era manuscripts, temples, monasteries and spiritual retreats in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The symbol has a spiritual meaning in all Indian dharmas, but the meaning and connotations of Om vary between the diverse schools within and across the various traditions.

In Hinduism, Om is one of the most important spiritual symbols (pratima). It refers to Atman (soul, self within) andBrahman (ultimate reality, entirety of the universe, truth, divine, supreme spirit, cosmic principles, knowledge). The syllable is often found at the beginning and the end of chapters in the Vedas, the Upanishads, and other Hindu texts. It is a sacred spiritual incantation made before and during the recitation of spiritual texts, during puja and private prayers, in ceremonies of rites of passages (sanskara) such as weddings, and sometimes during meditative and spiritual activities such as Yoga.

Vedic literature

The syllable "Om" is described with various meanings in the Vedas and different early Upanishads.[19] The meanings include "the sacred sound, the Yes!, the Vedas, the Udgitha (song of the universe), the infinite, the all encompassing, the whole world, the truth, the ultimate reality, the finest essence, the cause of the Universe, the essence of life, theBrahman, the Atman, the vehicle of deepest knowledge, and Self-knowledge".

Vedas

The chapters in Vedas, and numerous hymns, chants and benedictions therein use the syllable Om. The Gayatri mantra from the Rig Veda, for example, begins with Om. The mantra is extracted from the 10th verse of Hymn 62 in Book III of the Rig Veda.These recitations continue to be in use, and major incantations and ceremonial functions begin and end with Om.

ॐ भूर्भुवस्व: |

तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम् |

भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि |

धियो यो न: प्रचोदयात् ||

Om. Earth, atmosphere, heaven.

Let us think on that desirable splendour

of Savitr, the Inspirer. May he stimulate

us to insightful thoughts.

Om is a common symbol found in the ancient texts of Hinduism, such as in the first line of Rig veda (top), as well as a icon in temples and spiritual retreats.

The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the oldest Upanishads of Hinduism. It opens with the recommendation that "let a man meditate on Om". It calls the syllable Om as udgitha (उद्गीथ, song, chant), and asserts that the significance of the syllable is thus: the essence of all beings is earth, the essence of earth is water, the essence of water are the plants, the essence of plants is man, the essence of man is speech, the essence of speech is the Rig Veda, the essence of the Rig Veda is the Sama Veda, and the essence of Sama Veda is the udgitha (song, Om).

Rik (ऋच्, Ṛc) is speech, states the text, and Sāman (सामन्) is breath; they are pairs, and because they have love and desire for each other, speech and breath find themselves together and mate to produce song. The highest song is Om, asserts section 1.1 of Chandogya Upanishad. It is the symbol of awe, of reverence, of threefold knowledge because Adhvaryu invokes it, the Hotr recites it, and Udgatr sings it.

The second volume of the first chapter continues its discussion of syllable Om, explaining its use as a struggle between Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons). Max Muller states that this struggle between gods and demons is considered allegorical by ancient Indian scholars, as good and evil inclinations within man, respectively. The legend in section 1.2 of Chandogya Upanishad states that gods took the Udgitha (song of Om) unto themselves, thinking, "with this [song] we shall overcome the demons". The syllable Om is thus implied as that which inspires the good inclinations within each person.

Chandogya Upanishad's exposition of syllable Om in its opening chapter combines etymological speculations, symbolism, metric structure and philosophical themes. In the second chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad, the meaning and significance of Om evolves into a philosophical discourse, such as in section 2.10 where Om is linked to the Highest Self, and section 2.23 where the text asserts Om is the essence of three forms of knowledge, Om is Brahman and "Om is all this [observed world]".

Katha Upanishad

The Katha Upanishad is the legendary story of a little boy, Nachiketa – the son of sage Vajasravasa, who meetsYama – the Indian deity of death. Their conversation evolves to a discussion of the nature of man, knowledge,Atman (Soul, Self) and moksha (liberation). In section 1.2, Katha Upanishad characterizes Knowledge/Wisdom as the pursuit of good, and Ignorance/Delusion as the pursuit of pleasant, that the essence of Veda is make man liberated and free, look past what has happened and what has not happened, free from the past and the future, beyond good and evil, and one word for this essence is the word Om.

The word which all the Vedas proclaim,

That which is expressed in every Tapas (penance, austerity, meditation),

That for which they live the life of a Brahmacharin,

Understand that word in its essence: Om! that is the word.

Yes, this syllable is Brahman,

This syllable is the highest.

He who knows that syllable,

Whatever he desires, is his.

— Katha Upanishad,

Maitri Upanishad

The Maitrayaniya Upanishad in sixth Prapathakas (lesson) discusses the meaning and significance of Om. The text asserts that Om represents Brahman-Atman. The three roots of the syllable, states the Maitri Upanishad, are A + U + M. The sound is the body of Soul, and it repeatedly manifests in three: as gender-endowed body - feminine, masculine, neuter; as light-endowed body - Agni, Vayu and Aditya; as deity-endowed body - Brahma, Rudra and Vishnu; as mouth-endowed body - Garhapatya, Dakshinagni and Ahavaniya; as knowledge-endowed body - Rig, Saman and Yajur; as world-endowed body - Bhūr, Bhuvaḥ and Svaḥ; as time-endowed body - Past, Present and Future; as heat-endowed body - Breath, Fire and Sun; as growth-endowed body - Food, Water and Moon; as thought-endowed body - intellect, mind and pysche. Brahman exists in two forms - the material form, and the immaterial formless. The material form is changing, unreal. The immaterial formless isn't changing, real. The immortal formless is truth, the truth is the Brahman, the Brahman is the light, the light is the Sun which is the syllable Om as the Self.

The world is Om, its light is Sun, and the Sun is also the light of the syllable Om, asserts the Upanishad. Meditating on Om, is acknowledging and meditating on the Brahman-Atman (Soul, Self).

Mundaka Upanishad

The Mundaka Upanishad in the second Mundakam (part), suggests the means to knowing the Self and the Brahman to be meditation, self-reflection and introspection, that can be aided by the symbol Om.

That which is flaming, which is subtler than the subtle,

on which the worlds are set, and their inhabitants –

That is the indestructible Brahman. It is life, it is speech, it is mind. That is the real. It is immortal.

It is a mark to be penetrated. Penetrate It, my friend.

Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanishad,

one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation,

Stretching it with a thought directed to the essence of That,

Penetrate that Imperishable as the mark, my friend.

Om is the bow, the arrow is the Soul, Brahman the mark,

By the undistracted man is It to be penetrated,

One should come to be in It,

as the arrow becomes one with the mark.

— Mundaka Upanishad, 2.2.2 - 2.2.4

Adi Shankara, in his review of the Mundaka Upanishad, states Om as a symbolism for Atman (soul, self).

Mandukya Upanishad

The Mandukya Upanishad opens by declaring, "Om!, this syllable is this whole world". Thereafter it presents various explanations and theories on what it means and signifies. This discussion is built on a structure of "four fourths" or "fourfold", derived from A + U + M + "silence" (or without an element).

Aum as all states of time

In verse 1, the Upanishad states that time is threefold: the past, the present and the future, that these three are "Aum". The four fourth of time is that which transcends time, that too is "Aum" expressed.

Aum as all states of Atman

In verse 2, states the Upanishad, everything is Brahman, but Brahman is Atman (the Soul, Self), and that the Atman is fourfold. Johnston summarizes these four states of Self, respectively, as seeking the physical, seeking inner thought, seeking the causes and spiritual consciousness, and the fourth state is realizing oneness with the Self, the Eternal.

Aum as all states of consciousness

In verses 3 to 6, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates four states of consciousness: wakeful, dream, deep sleep and the state of ekatma (being one with Self, the oneness of Self). These four are A + U + M + "without an element" respectively.

Aum as all of knowledge

In verses 9 to 12, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates fourfold etymological roots of the syllable "Aum". It states that the first element of "Aum" is A, which is from Apti (obtaining, reaching) or from Adimatva (being first). The second element is U, which is from Utkarsa (exaltation) or from Ubhayatva(intermediateness). The third element is M, from Miti (erecting, constructing) or from Mi Minati, or apīti (annihilation). The fourth is without an element, without development, beyond the expanse of universe. In this way, states the Upanishad, the syllable Om is indeed the Atman (the self).

Shvetashvatara Upanishad

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, in verses 1.14 to 1.16, suggests meditating with the help of syllable Om, where one's perishable body is like one fuel-stick and the syllable Om is the second fuel-stick, which with discipline and diligent rubbing of the sticks unleashes the concealed fire of thought and awareness within. Such knowledge, asserts the Upanishad, is the goal of Upanishads. The text asserts that Om is a tool of meditation empowering one to know the God within oneself, to realize one's Atman (Soul, Self).

Epics

The Bhagavad Gita, in the Epic Mahabharata, mentions the meaning and significance of Om in several verses. For example, Fowler notes that verse 9.17 of the Bhagavad Gita synthesizes the competing dualistic and monist streams of thought in Hinduism, by using "Om which is the symbol for the indescribable, impersonal Brahman".

I am the Father of this world, Mother, Ordainer, Grandfather, the Thing to be known, the Purifier, the syllable Om, Rik, Saman and also Yajus.

— Krishna to Arjuna, Bhagavad Gita 9.17,

The significance of the sacred syllable in the Hindu traditions, is similarly highlighted in various of its verses, such as verse 17.24 where the importance of Omduring prayers, charity and meditative practices is explained as follows,

Therefore, uttering Om, the acts of yajna (fire ritual), dāna (charity) and tapas (austerity) as enjoined in the scriptures, are always begun by those who study the Brahman.

— Bhagavad Gita

Yoga Sutra

The aphoristic verse 1.27 of Pantanjali's Yogasutra links Om to Yoga practice, as follows,

तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः ॥२७॥

His word is Om.

— Yogasutra 1.27,

Johnston states this verse highlights the importance of Om in the meditative practice of Yoga, where it symbolizes three worlds in the Soul; the three times – past, present and future eternity, the three divine powers – creation, preservation and transformation in one Being; and three essences in one Spirit – immortality, omniscience and joy. It is, asserts Johnston, a symbol for the perfected Spiritual Man (his emphasis). BY KAILASH MANSAROVAR FOUNDATION SWAMI BIKASH GIRI www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com

Florentijn Hofman’s Rubber Duck by Manny Esguerra

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Darling Harbor, Sydney. The bright yellow inflatable is five storeys high and five storeys wide and has been shown cities including Osaka, Auckland and Sao Paulo since 2007. Talking about the piece Hofman said: 'it doesn't discriminate and has no political connotation. It relieves everyday tensions, as well as defining them. its purpose is to do no more than amaze.'

Cliffs End Farm - female burial by Wessex Archaeology

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Sometime around 1000 BC this woman was deposited face down (prone) into her grave with her wrists tied. The connotations of having her wrists tied does not necessarily infer that she suffered a violent death. It may have simply been to make the corpse easier to manoeuvre.

To find out more about the excavation site at Cliffs End Farm, Ramsgate, visit www.wessexarch.co.uk/projects/kent/ramsgate/cliffs_end/

Mursi daily wear for the tourists by Ingetje Tadros

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View large on black

To wear a lip plate, someone must pierce his or her lip, and slowly stretch the hole. Classically, the piercing has been accomplished by cutting into the lip and inserting a small peg, and allowing the piercing to fully heal before installing a slightly larger peg. Stretching a lip to accommodate a lip plate can take time, as the goal is to take advantage of natural tissue elasticity to create a very large hole in the lip which can be filled with a plate made from clay, wood, or metal. Some lip plates take the form of hollow rings, depending on the culture.

The size of a lip plate can vary considerably. Some are relatively small, while others can approach the size of a dinner plate. Although a number of theories about the different sizes worn have been posited, the most likely explanation has to do with the individual elasticity of the wearer. Some people are capable of stretching their lips much more than others, and all people are forced to stop stretching at a certain point.

Lip plates can be worn in the upper, lower, or both lips. Both men and women have historically worn lip plates, with many people crafting their own. African women in the Mursi tribe, a tribe famous for its lip plates, decorate their lip plates, turning them into complex works of art which are meant to reflect the personality of the owner. The Mursi are in fact so famous for their lip stretching that some people in the West refer to a lip plate as a Mursi.

Among tribal peoples, the lip plate is designed as a personal ornamentation, and sometimes the lip plate also has religious or social connotations. For example, Suri women historically started stretching for a lip plate at the time of marriage. In the Northern Hemisphere, people usually wear lip plates because they find them aesthetically appealing, or because they want to identify with tribal peoples. Some people find this practice distasteful, either because of personal aesthetics or because they dislike cultural appropriation.

FONAR QED 80 MRI Scanner (1980) - LEGO Model by voxel123

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In 1980, the first MRI scanner became commercially available: the QED 80 by FONAR.

This is a LEGO model of that scanner (minifig scale).

The company FONAR was founded in 1978 by Raymond Damadian, the inventor of an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine.

FONAR is an alternating acronym for "field focused nuclear magnetic resonance". This expression described the fact that spatial resolution was not yet available and the patient had to be moved through the sweet spot to acquire each image incrementally.

Initially the method was called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, but the nuclear part was soon to be dropped because of its negative connotation.

The QED 80 was a permanent magnet with a field strength of 0.05 Tesla (500 Gauss). It was around 18 ft wide and 6 ft in height.

It looked quite like a caravan rather than a medical modality!

1980, the first system was installed in Cleveland, Ohio, in a private practice (Ronald J. Ross, MD); clinical trials started at the beginning of 1981.

- Cover of a brochure of the system

- Actual photograph of the system on display at a trade show

The minifigs shown are Raymond Damadian (at the console), Larry Minkoff and Michael Goldsmith (the latter one is the bearded fellow). Goldsmith and Minkoff worked alongside Damadian in developing the MRI system. In fact the first human body MRI image shows a cross section of Larry Minkoff's thorax.

Sir Henry George Ward by Simon Baddeley

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpjSUhHgBOI

democracystreet.blogspot.com/2010/02/rain.ht

Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands 1849 - 1855

The Cephalonian Rebellion of 1849 and Ward’s reaction described on page 136 of

'The "Rizospastai" (Radical-Unionists): Politics and nationalism in the British Protectorate of the lonian Islands, 1815-1864' by Eleni Calligas, May 1994 submitted for the degree of Ph.D. London School of Economics and Political Science

With considerably greater violence than in the previous year, armed peasants from the southern part of the island had attacked a police detachment on 27 August, killing one constable and the next day moved against some of the Scala signori, setting fire to a house and killing its owner and four of his servants…

The anarchic progress of the rebellion was chartered with exceptional ferocity against the signori as the peasants set out to finish what they had begun but not accomplished the previous year…

Leading the band were Teodoro Viacco, Anastaslo Bomboti, a thirty year old from Faraclata who kept a butcher's stall in Argostoli, and, carrying a cross and the Greek flag, Nodaro the Papa-Listis [Brigand Priest]. The strong emotive connotations of a Cephalonian Father Tuck were lost on the British who translated the popular nick-name as ‘Assassin Priest’.

Given his contextual concepts, it is hardly surprising that Ward misinterpreted many aspects of the 1849 rebellion but the ferocity of his reaction was censured by liberal public opinion abroad and eventually by his own government.

The Cephalonian uprising effectively ended on 5 September, when a number of insurgents were caught and the rest split up and tried to escape. But Ward, although well aware of the enormous consequences of the naval blockade (he had ordered around Cephalonia) and the accumulating expense of martial law, was determined that those identified as the leaders of the uprising would be caught and punished before Cephalonia was returned to its civil authorities. So it was not until the end of October that martial law and the blockade were lifted. In the interim British troops had caused havoc in the countryside while supposedly looking for the culprits and British officers had administered justice, and punishment, ‘summarily’ at courts martial set up all over the island. The death penalty, although exceedingly rare in the Ionian Islands, had been meted out to forty-four people and administered to twenty-one, for offences that would not have claimed life in a civil court despite the Septinsula's severe penal code

(Calligas, p.137)

Later Gladstone, when he turned his attention to the Ionian Protectorate in 1859 observed that Ward’s reaction was disproportionately severe, that the military judges were totally unfamiliar with the language and customs of the population that flogging, which was extensivel y enforced, was unknown as a punishment in the Septinsula and abhorred as ‘brutal and degrading to the last degree’ and had moreover been administered without "even a passable approximation of justice", and that military rule had been prolonged without adequate justification. (Calligas, p.187)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpjSUhHgBOI

The image is by William Henry Mote, after James Holmes stipple engraving, published 1842. Sir Henry George Ward GCMG (1797–1860) was an English diplomat and politician. The son of writer Robert Plumer Ward and Catherine Julia Maling he entered the diplomatic service in 1816. He was charge d'affaires in Mexico from 1825 to 1827 and published two books about his travels there (illustrated by his wife Emily Elizabeth Swinburne). In 1832, he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans, sitting for that seat until 1837, and then for Sheffield from 1837 to 1849.[1] He was First Secretary of the Admiralty from 1846 to 1849, Lord High Commissioner to the Ionian Islands from 1849 to 1855, and on 11 May 1855 he became governor of Ceylon. He succeeded Sir Charles Trevelyan as Governor of Madras in June, 1860 but served in that capacity only for a few weeks until his death from cholera on 30 June 1860. He is buried in St. Mary's Church, Madras.

India - Karnataka - Hampi - Nandi - 186 by Manfred Sommer

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Nandi is the name for the bull which serves as the mount (Sanskrit: Vahana) of the god Shiva and as the gatekeeper of Shiva and Parvati. In Hindu Religion, he is the chief guru of eighteen masters (18 Siddhar ) including Patanjali and Thirumular. Temples venerating Shiva display stone images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. There are also a number of temples dedicated solely to Nandi.

The application of the name Nandi to the bull (Sanskrit: vṛṣabha) is in fact a development of recent centuries, as Gouriswar Bhattacharya has documented in an illustrated article entitled "Nandin and Vṛṣabha". The name Nandi was earlier widely used instead for an anthropomorphic deity who was one of Shiva’s two door-keepers, the other being Mahākāla. The doorways of pre-tenth-century North Indian temples are frequently flanked by images of Mahākāla and Nandi, and it is in this role of Shiva’s watchman that Nandi figures in Kālidāsa’s poem the Kumārasambhava.

ETYMOLOGY

The word “Nandi” is derived from the ancient Indian Language of Sanskrit. The Sanskrit word 'Nandi' in English translates as Happy, Joyous or Happy Person.

BIRTH OF NANDI

There was a sage named Shilada who underwent severe penance to have a boon — a child with immortality. Lord Indra pleased of the austerities of Shilada appeared in front of him to offer a boon. After hearing the request of Shilada and his desire to have an immortal child, Lord Indra suggested he pray to Lord Shiva: nobody else could provide such a boon. Sage Shilada continued his penance for 1,000 years. He was totally immovable for many years, so the termites settled on his body and slowly started to build up their nest. Finally, his whole body was covered up by them. The insects started to eat his flesh and imbibed his blood. At last, only bones remained.

Lord Shiva appeared in front of him and provided the boon for the child. Moreover, Lord Shiva provided Sage Shilada his old form with a single touch. Sage Shilada performed Yagna and a child appeared from the sacrificial fire. His body was clad in armour made out of diamonds. The celestial dancers and singers performed on this auspicious occasion and the deities showered flowers on the child. The boy was named ’Nandi’ — who brings joy. Shilada brought the child home. Immediately the boy lost his divine appearance to an ordinary child. The child completely forgot all about his birth. Sage Shilada was worried about the sudden change. He devoted his time for Nandi's upbringing his education etc. By the age of seven, the boy was well versed in Veda and all sacred texts.

One day the deities Mitra and Varuna visited Sage Shilada. At the first sight of the boy, they commented: Though the boy had all auspicious signs, he would have a very short life. He would not live after the age of eight. Sage Shilada was mortified at this remark. Nandi could not bear his father's sorrow; he began to pray to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva appeared before him and blessed him. Lord Shiva adorned the boy with a necklace and made him immortal. Lord Shiva blessed the child and declared that he would be worshiped along with Him and become his vahana (vehicle). Immediately the boy got all the divine powers and transformed into half bull-half human. He and Shilada went to Lord Shiva's abode to live.

IN HINDUISM

Bulls appear on the Indus Valley seals, including the 'Pasupati Seal', which depicts a seated figure and, according to some scholars, is similar to Shiva. However, most scholars agree that the horned bull on the Indus Valley seals is not identical to Nandi.

DESCRIPTIONS ON NANDI IN HINDU RELIGIOUS TEXTS INCLUDE:

- Some Puranas describe Nandi or Nandikeshvara as bull face with a human body that resembles that of Shiva in proportion and aspect, although with four hands — two hands holding the Parasu (the axe) and Mruga (the antelope) and the other two hands joined together in the Anjali (obeisance). Brahma Vaivarta Purana mentions Krishna himself to have taken the form of a bull as no one else in the Universe can bear Shiva.

- Vehicle of Shiva: The bull Nandi is Shiva's primary vehicle and is the principal gana (follower) of Shiva.

- Gate keeper of Shiva's abode: The close association of Shiva and Nandi explains the presence of a statue of Nandi at the gate of many temples dedicated to Shiva. It also explains why the word "nandi" in the Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages is used as a metaphor for a person blocking the way.[citation needed] In Sanskrit, a bull is called vrisha, which has another connotation — that of righteousness or Dharma. It is important to seek the blessings of Nandi before proceeding to worship Lord Shiva.

- Chief in Shiva's army: Some Puranas mention that Nandi lead the Shiva Ganas, Shiva's attendants.

- A Guru of Saivism: In addition to being his mount, Nandi is Shiva's foremost disciple. In the Natha/Siddhar tradition, Nandi is one of the primal gurus. He was the guru to Siddhar Thirumulanathar, Patanjalinathar and others.

- From the yogic perspective, Nandi/Nandhi/Nandikeshvara is the mind dedicated to Lord Siva, the Absolute. In other words, to understand and absorb Light, the 'experience and the wisdom' is Nandi which is the Guru within.

- Spiritually, Nandi represents an individual jiva (soul) and the message that the jiva should always be focused on the Atman (Paramatman).

LEGENDS

According to some puranas, Nandi was born to sage Shilada who got him by the grace of Shiva.

It was Nandi who cursed Ravana (the demon King of Lanka) that his kingdom would be burnt by a monkey (Vanara). And later Hanuman burnt Lanka when he went in search of Sita, who was kept prisoner by Ravana in Ashok Vatika.

In one puranic story, it is stated that once Siva and Parvathi were playing a game of dice. For any game there has to be an umpire, who has to declare who is the winner. Siva and Parvathi agreed to have Nandi (the divine bull) as the umpire. Nandi is a favorite of Siva, as he is Siva's vehicle. Although Siva lost the game, Nandi declared him the winner. It is stated that Parvathi was indignant over Nandi's partiality for Siva and cursed him that he should die from an incurable disease. Thereupon Nandi fell at the feet of Parvathi and pleaded for forgiveness. "Mother forgive me. Should I not show at least this amount of gratitude to one who is my master? Is it not humiliating for me to declare that my master has lost the game? To uphold his honor I no doubt uttered a lie. But am I to be punished with such severity for so small an offence?" Nandi prayed for forgiveness in this manner. Parvathi forgave Nandi and taught him the means to atone for his lapse. She told him. "The Chaturdasi day in the month of Bhadrapada is the day when my son's birthday is celebrated. On that day you have to offer to my son what pleases you most (green grass)". This means that one atones for one's sins when one offers to the Lord what is most pleasing and enjoyable to him. For Nandi the most enjoyable and relishing food is green grass. As directed by Parvathi Nandi worshipped Ganapathi by offering green grass. Nandi was then relieved of his dreaded disease. His health improved and by the grace of Parvathi he was redeemed.

When the positive forces, the devas, and the negative forces, the asuras, joined together on a rare occasion to churn the ocean with a mountain to obtain the nectar of immortality they utilized Vasuki, the serpent, as the rope. The devas pulled from one end and the asuras from the other. Lots of precious herbs and gems were produced during the Churning and one of them was a poison (halāhala) which became human karma. This "poison" was so dangerous that none of the devas or asuras wanted to go near it. It was extremely sticky and coming into contact with this poison, i.e., human karma, would drag the divinity down to the realms of human suffering and ego. As everyone else ran away, Lord Siva, followed by Nandi, came forward to help as he was the only one who could counteract this deadly poison. Siva took the poison into his hand and drank it, the descent of the poison was in turn stopped at His throat, by His divine consort. Siva is therefore also known as Nīlakaṇṭha (the blue-throated one) and Viṣakaṇṭha (the poison-throated one). Nandi saw some of the poison spill out of Siva's mouth and immediately drank if off the ground. The devas and asuras watching were shocked and wondered aloud what would happen to Nandi. Lord Siva calmed their fears saying, "Nandi has surrendered into me so completely that he has all my powers and my protection".

LARGEST NANDIS IN INDIA

1. Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh

2. Brahadishwara Temple, Tamil Nadu

4. Bull Temple, Bangalore, Karnataka

5. Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu

6. Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu, Karnataka

7. Shanthaleswara Temple, Halebidu, Karnataka

8. Vadakkunnathan Temple, Thrissur, Kerala

9. Virupaksha Temple, Hampi, Karnataka

10. Nandi Temple, Western Group of Temples, Khajuraho,

Madhya Pradesh

11. Kedareshvara Temple at Balligavi (Karnataka)

12. Doddabasaveshvara temple, Kurugodu Bellary dist

MISCELLANEOUS

The white color of the bull symbolizes purity and justice.

Women visit images of Nandi, bringing floral offerings, and touch the stone. Their prayers are for fertility. Additionally, it is also considered a custom among some to whisper the fact of their visit, to that shrine, while requesting the faithful attendant to inform his master of the same.

WIKIPEDIA

ANTONOV AN2T D-FKMA AERO TROIKA by Malcolm Nason

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Great looking AN2 parked at the Coventry airshow June 2003. "Troika" has bad connotations in Ireland !

lords and ladies (arum maculatum ) by percy beddoe

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Samsung digital camera..in the middle ages, this unusally shaped flower was connected with the act of making love. its various local names-such as `sweethearts`, `silly lovers` and `adam and eve` - often had sexual connotation. in the 16th century it was also known as cuckoo pintle, which was later abbreviated to cuckoo pint.

`cuckoo` probably referred to the supposedly lustful male cuckoo, although some authorities think it came from `cuckold`- a man whose wife had been unfaithful to him.

Children Playing Soccer (Football) in the Shade of a Saharan Sunset, Tinghir, Morocco by Michael Zaccaria

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Tinghir is south of the High Atlas and north of the Little Atlas mountains. The city, with a population is 42,000, is at the center of one of the most attractive oases in southern Morocco. Lush palm trees cover about 30 miles on 1/3 to 1 mile wide tracts along the Wadi Todgha.

Above the doorway, "Municipality of Tinghir" is written in the two official languages of Morocco, Arabic and Berber, along with French, the second language of many Moroccans.

Berbers, also called by their self-name Amazigh or plural Imazighen, are an ethnic group indigenous to Morocco and much of the Maghreb region of North Africa. Forty percent of Moroccans identify as Imazighen. They are descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants. The Berbers live in scattered communities across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mali, Niger, and Mauritania.

Imazighen, means “free people”. Among non-Amazigh, Berber is the more common name for Imazighen. Berber is largely rejected by Imazighen for its negative connotations. It is related to the word “barbarian".

See more: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_Berber_people

sexy beads colette laurel + i am tiny tucks by cathy w

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African waist beads are nicknamed “sexy beads” by Peace Corps volunteers because they are worn by women on the hips underneath clothing as a way to seduce/arouse their husbands. Seeing a person’s beads in Benin is equivalent to seeing someone’s thong in America. Different culture, different ways of being sexy. (There are other meanings and histories to these beads if you are interested here: africaisdonesuffering.com/2013/02/waist-beads/ ) On the other hand, infants (boys and girls) up to a year old wear them with their diapers so you can always see those, but those have no sexual connotation (of course!)

The fabric I used were secondhand sheets from a Beninese “thrift shop” AKA mounds of old clothing thrown away from developed countries piled on the side of a street.

Because I noticed the Laurel fits loosely on me, I omitted the zipper and added a bit of smocked beading from dress #11 of “I am Cute Dresses” by Sato Watanabe.

I love this version, however I am unhappy with how the hem “turns inward” where there is beading. I wrote more in my sewing journal here: cathywu.com/journal/treadling/2013/04/25/sexy-beads-colet...

Freddie Parkinson 07850466606 freddieparkinson@btinternet.com.www.freddieparkinson.photography by Ballyclare Comrades FC

Mandatory Credit - Picture by Freddie Parkinson ©

Chairman of Ballyclare Comrades Trevor McCann presents copies of their book to local school to use in their libraries.

Ballyclare Comrades Football Club recently celebrated their Centenary with a book on the history of the Club which was written by former Ballyclare High School history teacher Robson Davison.

Following the end of the 1914-18 War, Comrades of the Great War Associations sprung up throughout Britain as meeting places for returning veterans, who faced unemployment in the civilian world. The Ballyclare Branch proved to be the birthplace of the present football club, giving it its unusual name.

It was an afternoon in late February 1919, 3 months after the signing of the Armistice, that 2 veterans, Sammy Murray and Arthur McGuigan sat talking in the Comrades Association headquarters, a small room overlooking Ballyclare's main street. "We should have a football team here in Ballyclare" one of them remarked casually. A few hours later Bob Grange, the secretary of the branch, joined them. He liked the idea, and the three of them decided to arrange a full meeting of members to discuss the project.

It wasn't hard to convince them that a football team was a good idea : They were bored and depressed, anxious to support something new. It was, after all, the object of the Association to cater for soldiers back home after the war, to help them to adapt themselves again to the lives they had left.

A week later, Ballyclare's veteran soldiers, most of them from "C" Company of the 12th Royal Irish Rifles - a battalion made up entirely of East Antrim men, who fought at the Somme and in many other famous First World War battles - played their first game as a football team, and Ballyclare Comrades were born.

Dixon Park too has military connotations being named after Major Daniel Dixon, who had fought in France with the founder members. The Comrades have come a long way since their lowly beginnings. Having started at the bottom of the pile in the minor grade, they have worked their way through junior and intermediate levels, to eventually achieve senior status in 1990.

On the way they have collected a host of titles and trophies, winning the most coveted trophies below Irish League level; the Steel & Sons Cup and the Intermediate Cup, several times. On achieving senior status, Comrades were something of a small fish in a bigger pool, and success was limited, with the club operating on a shoestring budget, finding it difficult to compete with the likes of Linfield and Glentoran. Nevertheless, at the start of the 1997/98 season, Comrades won their first senior trophy. This was the Ulster Cup, a competition for First Division sides.

Unfortunately, with the restructuring of the League at the end of the 2002/2003 season, senior status was lost. However everyone at the club is determined that Ballyclare Comrades will be in the top flight again in the near future.

Honours

Ulster Cup Winners:1997/98

Irish League 'B' Division Winners: 1960/61, 1962/63, 1973/74, 1977/78, 1979/80, 1988/89

IFA Intermediate Cup Winners: 1925/26, 1949/50, 1950/51, 1953/54, 1959/60, 1960/61, 1962/63, 1989/90

Steel & Sons Cup Winners: 1943/44, 1960/61, 1974/75, 1981/82, 1984/85, 1986/87

George Wilson Cup Winners: 1956/57, 1961/62, 1963/64, 1993/94

'B' Division Knockout Cup Winners: 1983/84, 1988/89

IFA Intermediate League Division Two Winners: 2006/07

Poço Iniciático da Quinta da Regaleira - Sintra - Portugal by Vitor Oliveira

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Trata-se de uma galeria subterrânea em espiral, de 27 metros, por onde se descem nove patamares até às profundezas da terra. Este é o caminho por onde se desce à terra, ou num percurso contrário, se sobe ao céu, consoante a natureza do percurso iniciático escolhido. Os nove patamares lembram os nove círculos do Inferno, as nove secções do Purgatório e os nove céus do Paraíso, segundo a Divina Comédia de Dante. A principal ideia por detrás deste poço é a de morrer e voltar a nascer num rito de iniciação ligado à terra, uma vez que esta é o útero materno de onde provem a vida, mas também a sepultura para onde voltará.

No fundo está gravada uma cruz templária sobreposta a uma estrela de oito pontas, o símbolo heráldico de Carvalho Monteiro e símbolo da harmonia e também da Cavalaria Espiritual na Maçonaria escocesa. atracoessintra.no.sapo.pt/partesquinta.htm