Space Engineers (dev)

A pintura “Primeira Missa no Brasil”, considerada uma “obra-prima” da história da arte nacional, foi produzida em Paris, durante a longa viagem de estudos do artista (1853–1861) como bolsista da Imperial Academia de Belas Artes do Rio de Janeiro. Humanista ligado ao Romantismo, grande pesquisador, observador atento, estudioso, dedicado, disciplinado e indiscutivelmente comprometido com seu tempo, foi o primeiro brasileiro a expor no Salão Oficial em Paris, em 1861, onde representou seu país com a pintura “Primeira Missa no Brasil”.

A Primeira Missa no Brasil foi aceita com referências pelo júri do Salão de Paris, fato inédito para um artista brasileiro até então. A riqueza de detalhes da pintura de grandes dimensões, representando múltiplas expressões e situações, eternizaram a versão histórica oficial da descoberta do Brasil como um ato heróico e pacífico, celebrado em ecumenismo por colonizadores e indígenas. Se, por um lado, a pintura lhe rendeu homenagens como a Ordem da Rosa, também originou as primeiras críticas, justamente pelo que seria "um excesso de imaginação". Em 1876 esta obra foi uma das representações do Brasil na Exposição Internacional da Filadélfia, nos Estados Unidos, e nos anos 60 ilustrou muitos livros de estudos de história do ensino fundamental.

* As fotos da ultima sequencia estão abertas, pois ja foram publicadas anteriormente e só foram possiveis graça a direção do museu que foi super prestativa, atenciosa e de uma gentileza incomparavel, permitindo a entrada do meu tripe, sem a qual seria impossivel fazer essas fotos

Fonte: Wikipedia - 19&20

Foto: Quadro da Primeira Missa do Brasil - Museu Nacional de Belas Artes - Rio de Janeiro

According to Law 9.610/98, it is prohibited the partial or total commercial reproduction without the previous written authorization of the author (article 29). ® All rights are reserved.

Conforme a Lei 9.610/98, é proibida a reprodução total e parcial ou divulgação comercial ou não sem a autorização prévia e expressa do autor (artigo 29). ® Todos os direitos reservados.

C'est la principale église réformée de la ville de Mulhouse. Avec sa hauteur de 97 mètres, il est le plus haut monument protestant de France et son architecture lui vaut d'être souvent considéré comme la « cathédrale » de Mulhouse. Il occupe le site d'une église catholique ancienne consacrée en 1186. En 1523, le culte catholique laisse la place au culte réformé. Au milieu du 19e siècle, le conseil municipal décide de construire un nouvel édifice de style néo-gothique. La flèche est inspirée de celle de la collégiale de Thann et, plus généralement, des flèches des édifices de style gothique rhénan. La première pierre est posée en 1859. L'inauguration officielle de l'édifice a lieu en 1866. La haute tour abrite la plus grande sonnerie de cloches protestante en France, coulée en 1867 à Zurich.

La place de la Réunion est la place centrale de Mulhouse. Elle est bordée par le temple Saint-Étienne, l’hôtel de Ville, la maison Mieg, l'ancienne corporation des tailleurs et la place Lambert. On y trouve une fontaine surmontée de la statue du hallebardier. Le terme Réunion fait référence au rattachement de la République de Mulhouse à la République française le 15 mars 1798.

Le nom Mulhouse est l'adaptation française du nom Mülhausen en allemand (Mühl : moulin et Hausen : maisons). Selon une légende, la ville est née après une bataille, soit celle où en 58 av. J.-C., Jules César arriva en Alsace par la Trouée de Belfort afin de bouter les Germains au-delà du Rhin, soit celle en 451 ap. J.-C., lorsque l'armée d'Attila, ravagea la région. Quelles que soient la version et la date, la deuxième partie de la fondation légendaire de Mulhouse est la même. Un jeune guerrier qui fuyait les combats et tentait de regagner le Rhin, aurait alors été retrouvé blessé près d'un moulin à eau, à l'emplacement actuel de Mulhouse. La fille du meunier l'aurait recueilli et se serait mariée avec lui entre-temps d'autres soldats en errance vinrent les y rejoindre et se marièrent eux aussi avec des femmes de la région. Ils s'établirent autour de la maison du moulin. Leurs descendants seraient donc les Mulhousiens. Ce qui explique également que le blason de la ville représente une roue de moulin à eau.

Mulhouse fut longtemps une cité-État qui devint en 1347 la République de Mulhouse. À coups d'alliances, elle affirma son indépendance à l'égard du Saint-Empire à la fin du 15e siècle, puis adopta les idées de la Réforme protestante par l'instauration du calvinisme comme religion d'État. Terre de la Réforme, Mulhouse accueille en son cœur le temple Saint-Étienne qui est l'édifice protestant le plus haut de France. Propulsée dans l'aventure industrielle en 1746 et réunie à la France en 1798, elle devint un des premiers pôles industriels d'Europe et l’est toujours.

I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to shoot the last great Alco show in the west. Back in May of 2012 I went on an epic week long tour of the west with three friends centered around chasing the 3751's journey to and from the Grand Canyon. But, of course, we railfanned much of the BNSF transcon and the Phoenix Sub as well. While in Holbrook we were extremely lucky to run into the once weekly "Blue Looper" coal train heading to the Cataylst Mill. The last of these trains would run four months later and the mill would be demolished and the coal hoppers scrapped. The railroad would be cast into bankruptcy and almost me the torch as well...but tenacity and a bit of a miracle has kept it alive albeit leaner serving one big farm that gets inbound feed and making money storing cars and operating a contract shop. Trains big enough to require six running Alcos, though are a thing of the past

But on this day all was right with the world as a brace of six 4-motor MLWs lug the heavy coal train around a sharp curve and out of the BNSF interchange yard.

Holbrook, Arizona

Thursday May 17, 2012

Consider this Torchyah Puern! Fuck you Decool! Also, yes, I did burn that MM! >:)

Consider this my more idealized version of 75893. Now hey, I love the original set. The 1970 Charger is a great build and the SRT Demon, while less interesting, is a great looking final model. But if I had things my way? I think the best pairing for the 1970 Charger is... a 1970 Challenger! I know LEGO won't (yet) commit to doing exclusively older cars in a Speed Champions multi-car set, but I can dream. Also, no more useless starting line side builds burning up the piece count.

Featuring my slightly modified 1970 Dodge Charger R/T (new rear window and brick-built stripe) and my 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T (instructions)

I, uh, didn't notice the 1x6 tiles coming loose on the Charger until it was too late. That's the worst! You know, you set up your backdrop and your lighting, you stage your model, frame it, take the photo, edit it, upload... and notice a piece out of place.

Considéré comme le plus beau temple du Nord de la Thailande.

A droite le chedi (pagode) de 45 m de haut qui contient une relique de Bouddha et date du XV ème siècle.

A gauche le Wihan Phra Phut.

Humildes consideramos al ajo y la cebolla, pero son una buena imagen para una reflexion, me refiero a su forma física, tras múltiples capas esconden sus maravillosas propiedades, así las personas escondemos las nuestras también bajo muchas capas, algunos tras de tantas que les resulta imposible sacarlas (hoy estoy optimista y pienso aquello de que todo el mundo es bueno en el fondo, otros días creo que algunos no tienen fondo).

Tratemos de deshacernos de todas o al menos de muchas de nuestras capas y saquemos aquello de lo mejor que tengamos para compartirlo y así ser un poco mejores cada día…y que no sea solo para estas fechas.

Mis mejores deseos para tod@s.

Masdevallia tricolor (endemic species from Venezuela, similar to caudata but distinct from it although some authors erronously consider it conspecific with caudata), in situ in the Andean region, Venezuela

Consider the birds of the air, they neither toil or spin, yet your Father looks after them.......how much more will he look after you.

Lo considero como mío porque le he sacado más fotos que a toda mi familia junta.

En realidad eso quiere decir que a mi familia la fotografío poco :-)

Piazza di Puerta del Sol si può considerare il salotto di città di Madrid: luogo d’incontro, commercio, cultura e ovviamente punto di riferimento della vita notturna della capitale spagnola. Nella piazza di Puerta del Sol si trova anche il chilometro 0 della rete stradale di Spagna ed è tra i luoghi più antichi di Madrid: risale infatti al Quattrocento, quando in questo luogo vennero eretti edifici governativi, attorno alla vecchia Puerta del Sol, oltre la quale si estendeva la campagna. Nel Settecento la piazza si arricchì di eleganti palazzi, come l’imponente Palazzo delle Poste, oggi sede del governo provinciale di Madrid.

Sulla bellissima Puerta del Sol, è installato il famoso orologio (Reloj de Puerta del Sol) che batte i 12 rintocchi della mezzanotte di San Silvestro: ad ogni rintocco i presenti devono mangiare un chicco d’uva come buon auspicio per l’anno che sta arrivando, in un rito che prende il nome di “rito delle Campanadas”. Dal 1962 questo evento viene trasmesso in diretta tv.

Piazza di Puerta del Sol è famosa anche per la grande insegna luminosa di Tio Pepe (che fa pubblicità ad una marca di sherry), montata sul terrazzo di uno dei palazzi, e per la statua di Carlo III di Spagna.

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

- Bible, Matthew (ch. VII, v. 28-29)

Game created by Jade n_n: Integrity Toys fans all know what a grail doll is. When we think of it, we can almost see the image of Poesie Sans Couleur Vanessa or Optic Verve Agnes come alive before our own eyes. But what is a grail? Is it more something precious or something unreachable? For this game we will focus on the first definition of a grail, so post a picture of a doll you consider your own unique personal grail. It can be a girl or a guy, a not-so-famous or a very elusive doll, a custom creation or, of course, a very well known doll 'celebrity' like the rarest Elyses or Poppys.

My doll: Nigt Scape Giselle.

I dreamed about this doll 5 !!!!! years!

I did'nt believe that she would ever be in my collection. But dreams come true, and she's mine! The most beautiful doll in my opinion.

"Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise .

Proverbs 6:6

"How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?"

Proverbs 6:9

"The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied."

Proverbs 13:4

Note: I'm not mocking this guy I found sleeping under the tree near church premises. I don't know what he does for a living. I just saw it as a great photo opportunity. This post isn't personally denegrating this fellow, but only as an example in general.

The Bible doesn't condone lazybones ( I'm not talking about this guy, but to many across the board as there are people who are lazy, although they can work ,they like the easy way by being dependent on others.We all have to work with all honesty at heart. Paul the apostle work at the same time during his ministry of the gospel of Christ and wasn't dependent of what other people can give to him or from the church people for his food.

" For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat." 2 Thessalonian 3:10

I do noticed some Christians do make their own ministries online particular in YouTube and asking for donations . I am not saying about the Christian researchers as they invested time to bring about facts, they are NOT what I am talking about.

There's one I've come across who made a particular video , declaring her plea for more donations since her ministry has saved souls and blessed people. What ? This person is a stay at home mom. You can claim you saved people . In the first place it's the Holy Spirit that convicts people's hearts, not a ministry or taking back God's glory to ones own. A ministry to save souls is only a tool spreading the word.

This persona has already had 45 people making donations worldwide and she's encouraging many to donate out thousand plus subscribers.

Personally, I can't see the reason to donate .God help me if I am wrong. Thisis my take: If she didn't evangelize outside, or have hired workers for Jesus to spread the gospel or rent a building, miscellaneous expenses to cover external work etc. example as in a registered church ,then why does she ask for donations .Why should she ask money from people if everything was done at leisure of her home ... all I could see was she just reads news headlines associated to end times prophecies ? God supplies our needs but we are not expected to just sit around and wait for manna falling from heaven or beg people. In my understanding, it's like saying :

" I just feel so lazy to go out find a job, I just like doing Jesus' end time videos, it's God's work , please give me your money who are blessed and saved from my videos."

I do feel that's wrong , especially declaring it clearly, it feels like begging food in the name of Jesus. Can't Jesus supply this particular Christian's needs? It's making money out of the name of Jesus, which to me is not right. My spirit grieves with people calling themselves Christians making money out of God's name. You think that's credible service to God ?

I am not making judgements but discernments. Since I am not a member of any church, neither I do attend church service every Sunday, I fall into no church membership. I am not promoting my status, a church ( not a building but fellowship of Christians helped us grow spiritually), I just didn't find a suitable church for me. But being a christian, I give money offering to God through other means, directly to the poor or helping the vulnerable group of people. I don't give to registered charities, as I knew big slice of those donations will go to administration services down the line and I do believe only smaller fraction reaches directly to those people in need . I am not convicted to donate through them. I am not saying either it's wrong to donate on registered Charities. Personally, I follow my heart's convictions. I have seen many destitute citizens back in my own village / town, that's where my heart goes.

Services given to the Lord should be free ( not through making Jesus videos in YouTube channels and asking for donations). God will reward services given to Him whole heartedly. No one should make business and profit using the name of God !

I pray these type of Christians would realize and be convicted to the truth of what they doing through the power of the name of Jesus !

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Interesing YT vids I came across weeks ago :

*Chrislam One World Religion Emerging

*Paranormal Police Encounters ~ This has brillant testimonies.To the unbelieving, there must be God !

* Vampires and Werewolves Real or Fake - The Prophecy Club

* Steve Quayle "Zombies, Demons and Fallen Angels" 1 of 3

Bryan Melvin died and went to hell, and have seen lost human spirits in hell stored in cubes and tortured.

Nowadays, there are many testimonies coming out from people confessing their strange experiences of NDE's /OBE's telling about the afterlife.

Here's what the Bible says :

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions"

Joel 2: 28

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams."

Acts 2:17

"... and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. "

Revelation 20:10

*Bryan Melvin: To Hell and Back Pt. 1 of 3

* Bryan Melvin: To Hell and Back Part 2 of 3

* Bryan Melvin: To Hell and Back Pt. 3 of 3

* The Bible and Self Defense

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Thank you for your last views and comments my friends .

Hope you all have a nice day :)

Sorry, this is post and run, a bit busy today. But I'll be back for my flickr time seeing your photos tomorrow Friday :)

God bless you all in Christ and you take care.

Once again I was tagged. By muϟicaldoodle, from the seed, Time to Live, luciewatson, Evelynexpressions. and stormyweather(: Who all have superb photo streams! I am just now getting around to the tags. By the way, my sister helped me out with this photo by snapping it for me. (Editing and idea are mine.) So the shot is credited to her! (I didn't feel like bring the tripod out.) Oh, also I helped her with setting up a Flickr, Kystalline is her username if you want to check her stream out.

Anyway, with out further ado.

Tagged, If I were...

kind of weather: Sunny spring day with a cool breeze.

colour: Sky blue.

emotion: Happiness (perhaps)

fruit: Plum

sound: Wind against the trees.

place: A field with an abundance of wild flowers.

scent: Not sure, I use cucumber & aloe, cherry blossom, and sweet pea lotion though. So one of those maybe.

Song: Such Great Heights by The Section Quartet

shoes: Flats~cute and convenient.

movie: Couldn't decide so I took a quiz, apparently Pocahontas.

1. Person You hung out with: My grandma actually.

2. Rode in a car with: My sister.

3. Went to the movies with: Miranda

4. Went to the mall with: Gosh, it's been awhile since I've been to the mall. Can't remember.

5. You talked on the phone to: Miranda as well :)

6. Made you laugh: April :D

7. Last person you told and/or they told you they Loved you: One of my good friends :D

W O U L D . Y O U . R A T H E R

1. Pierce your nose or tounge: Neither.

2. Be serious or be funny: Not sure.

3. Drink whole or skim milk: Skim milk.

4. Die in a fire or get strangled? Strangled... Though I'd prefer to freeze to death. Morbid question.

5. Spend time with your parents or enemies: Parents.

A N S W E R . T R U T H F U L L Y

1. Do you like anyone: I like everyone and no one person extremely.

2. Sun or moon: Moon, for sure.

3. Winter or Summer: Winter, most definitely.

4. Left or right: Left.

5. 10 acquaintances or two best friends: Two best friends.

6. Sunny or rainy: Mixed.

A B O U T . Y O U

1. What time is it: 7:23 pm

2. First Name: Valerie

3. Where do you wanna live: Not sure, depends on where life takes me.

4. How many kids do you want: Two or three.

5. Do you want to get married: Yes.

6. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it: Twirl and cut.

7. Have you ever eaten spam: Nope.

8. Favorite ice cream: Green tea or raspberry cheesecake. Yummy :D

9. How many kinds of cereal are in your cabinet: About seven.

10. Do you cook: Yep, I love cooking. (Though less than half turns out eatable.Sadly.)

11. Current mood: Excitement.

I N . T H E . L A S T . 48 H O U R S . H A V E . Y O U.

1. Kissed some one: No

2. Sang: Yep

3. Been hugged: Yes.

4. Felt stupid: Not really.

5. Missed someone: Kind of.

6. Danced Crazy: Haha, yes actually.

7. Gotten your hair cut: Yeah.. I kind of give myself a hair cut. I was getting tired of side sweep bangs..

8. Cried: Nope.

. S T U F F .

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops: No

2. Do you have a Dog: No, sadly.

3. When's the last time you've been sledding: Months ago.

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else or alone? Someone else,.

5. Do you believe in ghosts: No, I don't.

6. Do you consider yourself creative: Ugh, not really.

Mamiya 7 II

Mamiya 65mm f/4 L

Kodak Portra 160

Bellini Foto C41

Scan from negative film

by jchrevelli

from Jubilate Agno

BY CHRISTOPHER SMART

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.

For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.

For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.

For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.

For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.

For he rolls upon prank to work it in.

For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.

For this he performs in ten degrees.

For first he looks upon his forepaws to see if they are clean.

For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there.

For thirdly he works it upon stretch with the forepaws extended.

For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.

For fifthly he washes himself.

For sixthly he rolls upon wash.

For seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat.

For eighthly he rubs himself against a post.

For ninthly he looks up for his instructions.

For tenthly he goes in quest of food.

For having consider'd God and himself he will consider his neighbour.

For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.

For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it a chance.

For one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying.

For when his day's work is done his business more properly begins.

For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary.

For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.

For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.

For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.

For he is of the tribe of Tiger.

For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.

For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.

For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.

For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he's a good Cat.

For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.

For every house is incomplete without him and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.

For the Lord commanded Moses concerning the cats at the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt.

For every family had one cat at least in the bag.

For the English Cats are the best in Europe.

For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped.

For the dexterity of his defence is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly.

For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.

For he is tenacious of his point.

For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.

For he knows that God is his Saviour.

For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.

For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.

For he is of the Lord's poor and so indeed is he called by benevolence perpetually—Poor Jeoffry! poor Jeoffry! the rat has bit thy throat.

For I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that Jeoffry is better.

For the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in complete cat.

For his tongue is exceeding pure so that it has in purity what it wants in music.

For he is docile and can learn certain things.

For he can set up with gravity which is patience upon approbation.

For he can fetch and carry, which is patience in employment.

For he can jump over a stick which is patience upon proof positive.

For he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command.

For he can jump from an eminence into his master's bosom.

For he can catch the cork and toss it again.

For he is hated by the hypocrite and miser.

For the former is afraid of detection.

For the latter refuses the charge.

For he camels his back to bear the first notion of business.

For he is good to think on, if a man would express himself neatly.

For he made a great figure in Egypt for his signal services.

For he killed the Ichneumon-rat very pernicious by land.

For his ears are so acute that they sting again.

For from this proceeds the passing quickness of his attention.

For by stroking of him I have found out electricity.

For I perceived God's light about him both wax and fire.

For the Electrical fire is the spiritual substance, which God sends from heaven to sustain the bodies both of man and beast.

For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements.

For, tho he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.

For his motions upon the face of the earth are more than any other quadruped.

For he can tread to all the measures upon the music.

For he can swim for life.

For he can creep.

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle."

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Back to the puffy white clouds and rolling green hills of South Wales... even greener now after all the recent rain! ツ ツ ツ

*Pentax K100D DSLR and a Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm Lens - 3 shot HDR

My work is for sale via Getty Images and at Redbubble and 500px

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©2012- Tom Raven - Toute reproduction, même partielle INTERDITE

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La Catedral de Chihuahua es el templo sede de la Arquidiócesis de Chihuahua y es considerada como el más importante monumento religioso de estilo barroco en el norte de México. Dedicada a la La Santa Cruz desde su elevación a catedral en 1891; fue construida a partir de 1725 como templo parroquial dedicado a San Francisco de Asís y Nuestra Señora de la Regla.

La primera piedra de la catedral se colocó en el año de 1725, por Benito Crespo y Monroy, Obispo de Durango; éste al ver que las obras de la catedral avanzaban lentamente, decidió informar a las autoridades de comercio y minería para que, en consecuencia, se aplicara una contribución voluntaria a comerciantes y mercaderes.

Las obras fueron dirigidas originalmente y hasta el año de 1734 por el alarife José de la Cruz, quién fue también el encargado del diseño de los planos. Al fallecimiento de éste las obras fueron continuadas por varios más, y debido a varios contratiempos, no fue terminada hasta el año de 1826, 54 años después, por Ignacio Morín y Juan Pagaza y Nicolás. Las torres fueron levantadas por Bernardo del Carpio y sus campanas izadas y colocadas en su lugar por Melchor Guaspe.

La portada principal de la catedral, tallada en la misma cantera ocre de todo el edificio fue realizada por el escultor Antonio de Nava, quien para ello modificó el proyecto original. Dicho proyecto proponía una amplia portada de siete calles —calle es el espacio existente entre columna y columna—, reduciéndolo a cinco, logrando con ello la esbeltez que caracteriza a toda la catedral. Aun con la reducción en el número de calles, la amplitud de la portada no tenía parangón en la Nueva España al momento de ser construida.

La portada consta de tres cuerpos superpuestos y claramente diferenciados por cornisas y sobre todo por el diseño de sus columnas, todas ellas estípites que se engrosan en el centro en relación a su basa y capitel. Los primeros dos cuerpos cuentan con seis columnas, tres a cada lado de la calle central; mientras que el tercer cuerpo solo tiene una a cada lado ya que la portada reduce su ancho a manera de remate. Entre cada columna en las dos calles laterales se encuentran nichos que albergan las estatuas de los doce apóstoles, pero excluyendo a San Matías e incluyendo a San Pablo.

Las columnas del primer cuerpo se levantan sobre recios pedestales decorados con motivos vegetales, su basa y su capitel son de orden corintio, sin embargo su fuste presenta en sus extremos superior a inferior brazaletes de follaje, mientras que al resto lo decoran canales y contra canales y un anillo hundido en su centro. Las columnas del segundo cuerpo, también sobre pedestales con follaje, presentan en el centro de su fuste guirnaldas onduladas acompañadas en los extremos superior e inferior por estrías zigzagueantes, que en conjunto y desde la posición de los observadores a nivel del suelo dan una impresión salomónica. Finalmente las columnas del tercer cuerpo presentan un pedestal estriado y el fuste salomónico, como en todas el capitel es corintio, y rematan ambas columnas medallones donde se indica la fecha de conclusión de la portada —AÑO Đ 1741— y pilastras toscanas con remates piramidales.

La calle central contiene en su primer cuerpo a la puerta principal, formada por un arco semioctagonal incrito en otro de medio punto y en cuya clave se encuentran sostenidos por dos querubines que flotan entre el follaje, la tiara papal y las llaves de San Pedro; las enjutas del arco están decoradas por los motivos vegetales que encontramos en toda la catedral y entre los cuales vuelan dos ángeles. El segundo cuerpo contiene la ventana del coro, de forma octagonal y rodeada por molduras de cantera con motivos vegetales y en la parte superior la imagen de San José con el niño Jesús en sus brazos, todo ello nuevamente rodeado por la decoración vegetal.

Considerado Bien de Interés Cultural, el Hospital de los Venerables Sacerdotes de Sevilla (conocido popularmente como el Hospital de los Venerables) es un edificio barroco del siglo XVII que sirvió como residencia de sacerdotes. Está situado en la plaza que lleva su nombre, Plaza de los Venerables, en el centro del barrio de Santa Cruz . La Hermandad de El Silencio decidió a partir del año 1627 amparar a los sacerdotes ancianos, pobres e impedidos. Para tal fin alquiló una casa donde les daban cobijo, asistencia y los mantenían. Esta tarea continuó hasta que en el año 1673 la misma hermandad fundó otra, cuyo fin sería el de cubrir exclusivamente la tarea que venían desempeñando desde el año 1627, y se decide construir el Hospital que fue fundado por el canónigo Justino de Neve en 1675 con la finalidad de ser la residencia de los venerables sacerdotes.

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Feria de Monterroso-Lugo

Considerada popularmente como la feria de las ferias, no en vano su origen se remonta al medievo, el municipio de Monterroso, en Lugo, celebra de manera festiva el Día de Difuntos, con un mercado de animales y una suerte de bazar en el que es posible desde probar pulpo hasta adquirir variada bisutería.

Su nacimiento data del 1450, fue declarada feria de interés turístico gallego en el 2011 y, por su lugar de celebración, puede asociarse a la canción popular: "Se ti viras o que eu vin, alá arriba en Monterroso; vintecinco xastres xuntos, a cabalo dun raposo"

(¡Si tu vieras lo que yo vi allí arriba en Monterroso, veinticinco sastres juntos, a caballo de un zorro,- solo allí podía verse lo imposible-!)

Here are some of the shots I consider highlights from the event, the whole gallery, with several images per each fight can be found here : riccardomantero.smugmug.com/Milano-in-the-Cage-2014

Sport and fast action photography aren't exactly my kind of photography really far away from my comfort zone, but I like challenges, a lot. Then, not without concerns, I have accepted the assignment to be one of the official photographers of the international event "Milano In The Cage 2014", one of those with unlimited access to the ring and to the backstage. The sport, based on fighting with mixed martial arts is really hard and spectacular, and offers to a photographer fascinated by any anthropologic manifestation, some interesting opportunities. In the whole human history, fighting has always been considered as a fundamental and dominating part of being human, and, like in this case if well regulated and really fair played, has been a really interesting and stimulating experience. Thanks to the BTF (www.borntofight.biz) organization for the trust and for giving me this opportunity. It was the first time I was shooting such kind of subjects and activity but I think that overall the result isn't bad.

The Birmingham Main Line Canal in Westside, Birmingham, West Midlands.

On 24 January 1767 a number of prominent Birmingham businessmen, including Matthew Boulton and others from the Lunar Society, held a public meeting in the White Swan, High Street, Birmingham to consider the possibility of building a canal from Birmingham to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal near Wolverhampton, taking in the coalfields of the Black Country. They commissioned the canal engineer James Brindley to propose a route. Brindley came back with a largely level route via Smethwick, Oldbury, Tipton, Bilston and Wolverhampton to Aldersley.

On 24 February 1768 an Act of Parliament was passed to allow the building of the canal, with branches at Ocker Hill and Wednesbury where there were coal mines. The first phase of building was to Wednesbury whereupon the price of coal sold to domestic households in Birmingham halved overnight. Vested interests of the sponsors caused the creation of two terminal wharves in Birmingham. The 1772 Newhall Branch and wharf (now built upon) originally extended north of, and parallel to Great Charles Street. The 1773 Paradise Street Branch split off at Old Turn Junction and headed through Broad Street Tunnel, turned left at what is now Gas Street Basin and under Bridge Street to wharves on a tuning fork-shaped pair of long basins: Paradise Wharf, also called Old Wharf. The Bir-mingham Canal Company head office was finally built there, opposite the western end of Paradise Street.

By 6 November 1769, 10 miles (16 km) had been completed to Hill Top collieries in West Bromwich, with a one mile summit pound at Smethwick. Brindley had tried to dig a cutting through the hill at Smethwick but had encountered ground too soft to cope with. The canal rose through six narrow (7 ft) locks to the summit level and descended through another six at Spon Lane.

In 1770 work started towards Wolverhampton. On 21 September 1772 the canal was joined with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Aldersley Junction via another 20 locks (increased to 21 in 1784 to save water). Brindley died a few days later. The canal measured 22 miles and 5 fur-longs (22⅝ miles), mostly following the contour of the land but with deviations to factories and mines in the Black Country and Birmingham.

Over the next thirty years, as more canals and branches were built or connected it became necessary to review the long, winding, narrow Old Main Line. With a single towpath boats passing in opposite directions had to negotiate their horses and ropes. In 1824 Thomas Telford was commissioned to examine alternatives.

Telford proposed major changes to the section between Birmingham and Smethwick, widening and straightening the canal, providing towpaths on each side, and cutting through Smethwick Summit to bypass the locks, allowing lock-free passage from Birmingham to Tipton.

By 1827 the New Main Line passed straight through, and linked to, the loops of the Old Main Line, creating Oozells Loop, Icknield Port Loop, Soho Loop, Cape Loop and Soho Foundry Loop, allowing continued access to the existing factories and wharves.

A year earlier he had built an improved Rotton Park Reservoir (Edgbaston Reservoir) on the site of an existing fish pool, bringing its capacity to 300 million imperial gallons (1,400,000 m3). A canal feeder took water to, and along, a raised embankment on the south side of the New Main Line to his new Engine Arm branch canal and across an elegant cast iron aqueduct to top up the higher Wolverhampton Level at Smethwick Summit. The reservoir also fed water to the Birmingham Level at the adjacent Icknield Port Loop.

The Smethwick Summit was bypassed by 71 ft cutting through Lunar Society member, Samuel Galton's land, creating the Galton Valley, 70 feet deep and 150 feet wide, running parallel to the Old Main Line. Telford's changes here were completed in 1829.

By 1838 the New Main Line was complete: 22⅝ miles of slow canal reduced to 15⅝; between Birmingham and Tipton, a lock-free dual carriageway. It was also called the Island Line as it was cut straight through the hill at Smethwick known as the Island.

This picture considers a number of issues affecting Scotland at the moment. The dominant industry in North East Scotland is the Oil and gas industry and growing with no shortage of controversy is the renewable industry . Many feel that Aberdeenshire has far too many wind farms . However if I had a choice I think I would feel safer with the wind turbines especially near to the fragile ecosystems that exist in this stunning part of the country. The geese in the foreground are amongst the many wintering geese that make for this part of the world. (many farmers want them culled) As we approach the referendum this picture contains a number of key questions about the kind of country we want and how we balance our energy needs with the desire to keep a beautiful and sustainable country

best view: press - "L" then "F11"

Please consider to support the restart of this film manufacturer [www.filmferrania.it/]

They sell the first batch of their new film as fund-raise pledges. There are still some left.

I thought about making this quickly with a digital, but that would have been a bummer, right?!

So, this is done with my Kiev/Hartblei 60, a Biometar 120/2.8, Fuji Acros and Caffenol. As usual.

Now I consider myself as a pretty good chef and I'm vicious with the kitchen knives. I was just setting up my homestudio minding my own business when these mean looking carrots attacked me from nowhere! Little did they know that I had my kitchen knife ready and I chopped those bastards to pieces. Or chunks. Pieces? No, chunks... Later I cooked them for a delicious dinner with mock pig-head. Yum...

On a more serious side note... Today is the worldwide Wear a Red Shirt Day for showing support for the democracy movement in Myanmar. I hope everybody joins this cause and takes what ever action possible to show support to the people of Myanmar and prevent another massacre.

If you enjoy the content, please consider supporting my work by using the link below so I can book more photoshoots.

www.buymeacoffee.com/debaserphoto

El monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña es una abadía trapense situada en el término municipal de Castrillo del Val, a 10 km del centro de Burgos (España). Actualmente, está considerado como BIC (Bien de Interés Cultural). Fue declarado Monumento histórico-artístico perteneciente al Tesoro Artístico Nacional mediante decreto de 3 de junio de 1931. En 2015, en la aprobación por la Unesco de la ampliación del Camino de Santiago en España a «Caminos de Santiago de Compostela: Camino francés y Caminos del Norte de España», España envió como documentación un «Inventario Retrospectivo - Elementos Asociados» (Retrospective Inventory - Associated Components) en el que en el n.º 979 figura el monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña.

El monasterio se habrá fundado antes de 902 cuando el conde de Lantarón y de Cerezo, Gonzalo Téllez y su esposa Flámula realizaron la primera donación documentada al cenobio el 24 de septiembre de ese año de una serna en Pedernales y unas eras de sal.

En los siglos IX o X sus monjes fueron martirizados por los musulmanes, canonizados en 1603 y conocidos como los «Mártires de Cardeña». El monasterio gozaba de gran popularidad con gran afluencia de devotos, entre los que se encontraban el rey Felipe III de España y su esposa la reina Doña Margarita de Austria. Una de sus preciadas reliquias, la cabeza de su abad San Esteban, fue trasladada al Monasterio de Celanova; también se encuentran dos urnas en el Monasterio de la Huelgas y otra en la Catedral de Burgos.

Cada año, el 6 de agosto, aniversario del martirio, la tierra del claustro donde fueron sepultados los mártires, se teñía de un color rojizo que parecía sangre. El milagroso prodigio, ampliamente testificado, se repite hasta finales del siglo XIV. El año 1674 ya una vez levantado el nuevo claustro de estilo herreriano se reprodujo el hecho, personándose el arzobispo Enrique de Peralta, que vivamente impresionado encargó un estudio, interviniendo médicos y teólogos. Recogió el líquido, coaguló al ser puesto en agua hirviendo.

El 1 de febrero de 1967 un violento incendio destruyó las tres cuartas partes del monasterio, habitado desde 1942 por la abadía trapense de Nuestra Señora de los Mártires.

La prosperidad del monasterio en la época altomedieval se refleja en la calidad de su scriptorium, en el que el monje Endura realizó obras extraordinarias.

El Beato de San Pedro de Cardeña fue realizado entre los años 1175 y 1180, cuenta con 290 páginas y 51 miniaturas. 127 folios se encuentran en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional de Madrid, dos en la Biblioteca Francisco de Zabálburu, también en Madrid (donde también se halla el Cartulario de San Pedro de Cardeña), uno en el Museo Diocesano de Gerona y otros quince en el Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York.

Desde la sala capitular, que data del siglo XIII, se divisa a través de grandes cristaleras el claustro románico, que data del siglo XII. Compuesto por arquería de medio punto sobre columnas únicas que descansan sobre fustes robustos y coronadas de capiteles que imitan el estilo corintio. Los arcos recuerdan en su decoración a los de la mezquita de Córdoba por su policromía, alternando los colores blanco y rojo. En la pared izquierda se encuentran unas antiquísimas piedras cuya inscripción recuerda el trágico suceso.

Para construir esta iglesia de tres naves se destruyó la románica, aunque afortunadamente se salvó la torre, legítimo recuerdo cidiano. Reedificada en el siglo XVI, consta de tres naves, con una capilla aneja, denominada capilla de El Cid, ya que allí fue enterrado, y permaneció antes de su traslado a la catedral de Burgos. La fachada de la iglesia es de estilo barroco.

En el lateral derecho de la iglesia gótica, se abre una capilla barroca que data de 1753 a la que fueron trasladados los restos del Cid Campeador y su esposa Jimena. En las paredes de esta estancia llamada «Capilla de los Héroes», hay 29 nichos con inscripciones de nombres de reyes y familiares del Cid.

Según el Cantar de mio Cid y las tradiciones posteriores, antes de marchar al destierro, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar dejó en San Pedro de Cardeña, al amparo del abad Sancho (que la crítica ha identificado con Sisebuto de Cardeña atribuyendo una confusión al autor del Cantar), a su esposa Doña Jimena y a sus hijas, aunque este hecho no está atestiguado por pruebas históricas. En el primer destierro de 1081, las propiedades de Rodrigo Díaz no le fueron enajenadas, y la familia del Cid pudo seguir residiendo en sus casas. En el segundo, de 1089, la familia fue presa por mandato de Alfonso VI en un castillo, quizá Gormaz, para reunirse con el Campeador poco después.

El enterramiento del Cid en San Pedro de Cardeña no fue debido a la voluntad personal de Rodrigo Díaz. A su muerte en 1099 fue inhumado en la catedral de Valencia, por lo que solo en 1102, tras tener que abandonar Jimena Díaz la plaza levantina, fueron trasladados sus restos al cenobio cardeniense. Allí permaneció durante algunos años su cuerpo embalsamado y sentado en un escaño del presbiterio. Desde ese momento se generaron allí una serie de narraciones de carácter hagiográfico que hacia 1280 constituyeron un corpus conocido como Leyenda de Cardeña cuyo propósito fue vincular al Cid con el monasterio de Cardeña, con el que en vida había tenido escasa relación. Estos materiales legendarios se incorporaron a la Versión sanchina de la Estoria de España o Crónica de veinte reyes, que puede datarse entre 1282 y 1284. En el siglo XIV el monasterio caradignense estimuló el culto a las reliquias cidianas, en cuyo contexto se redactó el Epitafio épico del Cid y, posiblemente, se encargara o elaborara, a partir de un ejemplar tomado en préstamo, el códice con la copia de 1325–1330 en el que se conserva el Cantar de mio Cid. En el claustro nuevo una lápida recuerda el lugar que ocupaba su sepulcro.

En la explanada situada frente a la fachada principal, en la que aparece una imagen ecuestre del Cid Campeador, hay una estatua del Sagrado Corazón, y a la izquierda un monolito con leyenda alusiva al caballo Babieca. Coincide con el lugar donde una creencia tradicional considera que fue sepultado el animal.

En el monasterio se conserva la bodega románica más antigua de España en uso comercial, donde se elabora el tinto Valdevegón con uva de La Rioja. Y también un licor llamado Tizona del Cid, hecho con unas 30 hierbas que maceran en barricas de roble. En 2016 se convierte en el primer monasterio español en producir cerveza trapense, la cerveza Cardeña.

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monasterio_de_San_Pedro_de_Cardeña

monasteriosanpedrodecardena.blogspot.com

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyenda_de_Cardeña

en.caminodelcid.org/places/monastery-of-san-pedro-de-card...

Cerveza Cardeña - Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña (valdevegon.com)

The monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña is a Trappist abbey located in the municipality of Castrillo del Val, 10 km from the center of Burgos (Spain). Currently, it is considered as BIC (Asset of Cultural Interest). It was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument belonging to the National Artistic Treasure by decree of June 3, 1931. In 2015, in the approval by Unesco of the extension of the Camino de Santiago in Spain to «Roads of Santiago de Compostela: French Way and Roads Northern Spain ", Spain sent as documentation a" Retrospective Inventory - Associated Components "in which the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña is listed in No. 979.

The monastery will have been founded before 902 when the count of Lantarón and Cerezo, Gonzalo Téllez and his wife, Flámula, made the first documented donation to the monastery on September 24 of that year of a serna in Pedernales and some salt eras.

In the 9th or 10th centuries its monks were martyred by the Muslims, canonized in 1603 and known as the "Martyrs of Cardeña." The monastery enjoyed great popularity with a large influx of devotees, among whom were King Felipe III of Spain and his wife, Queen Doña Margarita of Austria. One of his precious relics, the head of his abbot San Esteban, was transferred to the Monastery of Celanova; There are also two urns in the Monastery of La Huelgas and another in the Cathedral of Burgos.

Every year, on August 6, the anniversary of the martyrdom, the ground of the cloister where the martyrs were buried was stained a reddish color that looked like blood. The miraculous prodigy, widely witnessed, is repeated until the end of the fourteenth century. In 1674, once the new Herrerian-style cloister was erected, the event was reproduced, with the appearance of Archbishop Enrique de Peralta, who, greatly impressed, commissioned a study, involving doctors and theologians. He collected the liquid, it coagulated when put in boiling water.

On February 1, 1967, a violent fire destroyed three-quarters of the monastery, inhabited since 1942 by the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of the Martyrs.

The prosperity of the monastery in the high medieval era is reflected in the quality of its scriptorium, in which the monk Endura carried out extraordinary works.

The Beatus of San Pedro de Cardeña was made between the years 1175 and 1180, it has 290 pages and 51 miniatures. 127 pages are in the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid, two in the Francisco de Zabálburu Library, also in Madrid (where the Cartulary of San Pedro de Cardeña is also found), one in the Diocesan Museum of Gerona and another fifteen in the Museum Metropolitan of Art of New York.

From the chapter house, which dates from the 13th century, you can see through large windows the Romanesque cloister, which dates from the 12th century. Composed of semicircular arches on unique columns that rest on robust shafts and crowned with capitals that imitate the Corinthian style. The arches in their decoration are reminiscent of those of the Cordoba mosque due to their polychrome, alternating white and red colors. On the left wall are some ancient stones whose inscription recalls the tragic event.

To build this church with three naves, the Romanesque was destroyed, although fortunately the tower, a legitimate Cidian memory, was saved. Rebuilt in the 16th century, it consists of three naves, with an attached chapel, called the El Cid Chapel, since he was buried there, and remained before his transfer to the Burgos Cathedral. The facade of the church is in the Baroque style.

On the right side of the Gothic church, there is a baroque chapel dating from 1753 to which the remains of the Cid Campeador and his wife Jimena were transferred. On the walls of this room called "Capilla de los Héroes", there are 29 niches with inscriptions of the names of kings and relatives of the Cid.

According to the Cantar de mio Cid and later traditions, before going into exile, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar left in San Pedro de Cardeña, under the protection of Abbot Sancho (who the critic has identified with Sisebuto de Cardeña attributing a confusion to the author of the Cantar ), his wife Doña Jimena and their daughters, although this fact is not attested by historical evidence. In the first exile in 1081, Rodrigo Díaz's properties were not alienated from him, and the Cid family was able to continue residing in his houses. In the second, in 1089, the family was imprisoned by order of Alfonso VI in a castle, perhaps Gormaz, to meet with the Campeador shortly after.

The burial of the Cid in San Pedro de Cardeña was not due to the personal will of Rodrigo Díaz. Upon his death in 1099 he was buried in the cathedral of Valencia, so that only in 1102, after Jimena Díaz had to leave the Levantine square, were his remains transferred to the Cardenian monastery. His body remained there for some years, embalmed and seated on a bench in the presbytery. From that moment on, a series of hagiographic narratives were generated there, which around 1280 constituted a corpus known as the Leyenda de Cardeña whose purpose was to link the Cid with the Cardeña monastery, with which in life he had had little relationship. These legendary materials were incorporated into the Sanchina Version of the Estoria de España or Chronicle of Twenty Kings, which can be dated between 1282 and 1284. In the 14th century, the Caradignense monastery stimulated the cult of Cidian relics, in which context the Epitaph was written. epic of the Cid and, possibly, the codex with the copy of 1325–1330 in which the Cantar de mio Cid is preserved, was commissioned or elaborated from a borrowed copy. In the new cloister a tombstone recalls the place occupied by his tomb.

On the esplanade in front of the main façade, in which an equestrian image of the Cid Campeador appears, there is a statue of the Sacred Heart, and on the left a monolith with a legend alluding to the Babieca horse. It coincides with the place where a traditional belief considers that the animal was buried.

The monastery houses the oldest Romanesque winery in Spain in commercial use, where the red Valdevegón is made with grapes from La Rioja. And also a liqueur called Tizona del Cid, made with about 30 herbs that are macerated in oak barrels. In 2016 it became the first Spanish monastery to produce Trappist beer, Cardeña beer.

I am going to talk about a topic most would consider to be very sensitive and that is pornography. So if you don’t feel comfortable reading about it please stop whenever you like to. Of course I will talk about it from my personal experience. I will try not to focus on porn or talk about it in details, as my goal is not to assist others to indulge in sin but to glorify God for the freedom He has given me. I will start by talking about the photo first.

First of all I want to say that talking about being addicted to porn is not easy. I had considered talking about for some time but didn’t really want to do so. So I decided, like I do often, is to lie down and talk to God and think about why I didn’t want to write about it. The reason was simple: I didn’t want people to have a bad idea about me. The final point was: I wanted to keep my image “clean” like so many of us Christians like to do. However, after some thought I came to this conclusion:

1) I was born a sinner and I am as sinful in my nature as anybody else ever lived on earth, so there is no point in acting like I am better than anybody else.

2) I am who I am because of who I am in Christ, and that’s because of His perfect and finished work on the Cross: His death for my sins. Not because of anything good in me or about me.

3) When I accepted Jesus I basically gave Him ownership over me. In other words, there is no more “my reputation”, “my name”, “my this” and “my that”. Everything belongs to Him now. Of course I thought that I could simply avoid talking about this topic and “act” as if there is something special about me. But the truth is that He is special and I am special only because the Holy Spirit, who is special, lives in me.

4) For Christ to be lifted through me I must be lowered. For Him to be glorified I must tell the world about who I was before Christ.

5) I didn’t want to be a hypocrite! Of course, as we all know, being a hypocrite is much easier than a lot of things in life. (And believe me it is much easier to be a hypocrite than to live the Christian life, but only through living the Christian life we can find true fulfillment in Jesus.) But if I claim that I belong to Christ and that my identity is wrapped up in who I am in Him, a prince and a child of the living and holy One, then I have to act upon this claim. Otherwise I am simply being a hypocrite. I cannot say that my value and worth are in Him, when I value myself in how others see me.

So I will start my story now…

When I was in my teens back home, and I would be taking the bus in the evening sometimes I would look at my hand and be completely amazed by the orange sun light reflecting off of it, especially the amount of details God has put in the skin! And because I like to draw, shadows have always amazed me. Until now I try to emphasize shadows and contrast in my photos. So a couple of days ago I was studying when it was sunset and I looked at my hand and again I loved the amount of details in the skin. So I took few photos and after some editing, I realized this photo can be very fitting to talk about Jesus Christ’s favour in setting us free from sin. So here is my final product. I hope you like it. (Special thanks to Gimp!)

I didn’t soak the hand with orange colour and dark shadows because I want to talk about a light that’s brighter than the sun’s: the light of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That’s why I kept the light white.

I was not familiar with pornography until I came to Canada, and especially after I bought my first computer. Like so many others I started watching porn because of curiosity. I accepted Jesus in my life before I came to Canada though. Being still an immature Christian, spiritually like a few days old infant, I was an easy prey to Satan’s lies.

Then porn turned to more than just curiosity—it became a habit. Then from a habit it became an addiction. It pretty much consumed hours of my daily life, and all my energy. It cost me a lot in school as my marks dropped dramatically. My relationship with God was reduced to “hi” and “bye”!

I tried to quit many times but I couldn’t. I knew it was wrong but by then it was too strong of an addiction to break free from. I hated it and loved it at the same time. I hated it because it ruined every aspect of my life. I loved it because I was emotionally dependent on it: it was my idol. (For more on Idols you might be interested in reading: www.flickr.com/photos/001fj/2334638980/

Pornography was a very strange affair. I mean, when I went out I tried not to lust after women but when I came home I entertained the worst thoughts for hours! One of the worst things about porn is that it gets worse overtime. You never start at a low level and stay there; you stoop to lower levels because after a while those materials are not satisfying anymore. Can you imagine the helplessness people who are addicted to porn feel? Can you imagine the feeling of entrapment? Can you imagine not only seeing yourself in a very bad situation but also seeing yourself heading toward a worse situation and you are going by your own will simply because you couldn’t resist doing the thing that is hurting you and eventually will destroy you!

It is like standing in a hole and digging it to make it deeper and deeper and deeper.

One summer break I spent it pretty much editing photos using Photoshop and listening to Dr. Charles Stanley. In one sermon he was talking about how God sets us free and the bottom line was that we have to:

1) Realize and admit our situation and helplessness

2) Trust that God can free us

3) Surrender ourselves, lives and hearts to Him

So I tried it. I went to pray and told God all those three points and I meant them—I truly believed and knew that I couldn’t free myself from this sin, and I knew that God was a good God who loved me and cared about me….but, I didn’t know how to surrender! I mean if I was in a war then I could take a piece of white cloth and put it on a stick, raise it up and walk toward the enemy. They would see the white piece of cloth and would know that I am surrendering, but how do you do that spiritually? I mean, it is more than words just as in the scenario of the battlefield above: I have to raise (action word) the stick, and walk (another action word) toward the enemy. But how do you surrender spiritually?

Needless to say after that prayer I went back to pornography as if I had not even prayed it! I knew Dr. Stanley is a godly man so I knew he wouldn’t teach something false, but I simply didn’t know how to apply it. So I kept trying to break free from pornography using all methods I knew from self-control (emphasis on the word “self”; I am not talking about the self-control we have by focusing on Christ and putting Him first in our lives), to using filters to always keeping the windows and door open, etc…nothing worked.

God wasn’t completely silent in those couple of years when I was addicted to porn. I can recall some other time when God completely cut all communication with me until I obeyed Him in a certain matter (thank God He did that!), but that was not the case in those two years. I think God knew that I was helpless against breaking free from porn. He knew I was too young spiritually to abandon me completely to my weakness and leave me completely at Satan’s mercy (as if he has any!)

A particular scary moment was when one night after indulging in sin for hours I stood and planned to go carry out a sinful act. After a couple steps it was as if God slapped me so hard that He woke me up from a nightmare; the only thing is that I was not dreaming--it was real life! I had so foolishly bought Satan’s lies to the degree that I was going to carry them out! I froze and couldn’t move for few seconds because it was as if God had blocked my way. Then I realized that I was basically a slave of Satan if I kept believing what he told me. I was like a zombie having all sense sucked out of me and so dead in my sins.

Nothing can explain God's intervention in that moment better than this song:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_SjhKJgqGg

I also realized that I was not so different from Ted Bundy or any other serial killer and rapist. I was a step away from going that road if it wasn’t for God mercy, grace, love and compassion. I can never be thankful enough for Him for intervening in that moment. We were all born sinners, and according to God holiness that demands divine justice we all deserve the death penalty. That’s why our Lord had to die for our sins to be forgiven. So please, next time you hear about a criminal so “evil” ask yourself those two questions: 1) Can Jesus’ blood forgive all his sin? Yes, or no? 2) Can God change him? Yes, or no? The answer is yes to both questions. (Check this man’s testimony if you like to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIfQ-aBham4

One time I managed to stay away from pornography for 18 days! I was so happy but when I fell to sin again I was more miserable than ever before! I knew that I couldn’t do better than that. That was about half a year after listening to Dr. Stanley’s message.

So sometime in March of 2003 I went to pray at night. And I basically told God that I had enough and that I wasn’t going to pray anymore. I was ending my relationship with Him! I didn’t know better at the time that He paid a high price to adopt me into His family and He wasn’t just going to let me go! I was so tired of pretending that my religion works when it didn’t! I became a Christian not looking for a religion, but because the God of the Bible was so real I wanted to know Him…I wanted to experience what He did and said He would do. But it was not working! It was also so repulsive to me to come pray to God when I had so disgustingly disobeyed Him! It was like lusting after women all day long then going home and kissing my wife and pretending that everything is “fine”, (by the way, it is NOT “fine” with God and His opinion is the only opinion that matters if not now then later!). I simply couldn’t carry a relationship with a Holy God when I was so steeped into sin. I was crying when I told Him “good-by” because I had really wanted Christianity to work since it was the only faith that held its own claims and its God was so real that it would require more faith for me not to believe in Him than to believe in Him! (How much faith does it take to believe in gravity? None, because we know it exists! That’s the same case with our God.) So I told Him that I don’t care anymore. I give up. I can’t break free from pornography’s hold on me, and He isn’t helping me. So I give up and won’t try to resist porn anymore. I was too tired to try to please a God who wasn’t willing to help me with my burdens.

I don’t remember exactly what day it was that I prayed that prayer but I know it was in the last 10 days of March, 2003. So I stood up and thought that was the end…that all those prayers I had prayed and He answered, the peace He has given me, the joy, and the awesome awareness of His presence I had experienced before…were all things I had imagined.

Next day I didn’t watch porn, and I thought because I was busy with school work. The day after I didn’t watch porn either and I thought because the whole week was a busy week with school work! After a week I realized that I didn’t watch porn for the last week nor did I think about it or desired to watch it! That’s when it hit me: I was free! Hallelujah, Jesus set me free! Christianity works! My wonderful God is real! Everything He did before was real! So I went to pray again, and asked Him what I should do now! He put on my heart to go to www.settingcaptivesfree.com/home/our_courses.php and register! So I did, and went through the online program for 2 months. And I have been free from pornography since that March night until today. I had a friend in high school was struggling with pornography too. He was from Pakistan and when I told him that I was free he didn’t understand how. I couldn’t explain it more to my friend than the blind man, whom our Lord Jesus healed, answered in John 9:25:

He replied, "…One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

It took me a while to realize that the Biblical principle in Dr. Stanley’s sermon works! What I did in that prayer is simply I gave up: surrendered. I stopped trying to do it in my own strength. I stopped trying to fight God’s war for Him. I stopped trying to earn His favour. I stopped trying to win my way according to my timing. I ceased striving.

If you read Gideon’s story, the story Dr. Stanley based his sermon outlines on, you will realize God did the same thing with Gideon and His army. I truly encourage you to read it. You can find it in the book of Judges.

Why did God free me this way? Well there are many reasons, here are some:

1) He wants to bring Himself the glory. If we do it on our own and succeed what does that tell the world about Him? Nothing. Then I could’ve written this whole story without a mention of Him. But the fact is I couldn’t break free from pornography on my own in a million years. It was all His work.

2) He desires to grow our faith. My faith wouldn’t have grown in a God that stands idle while I did everything myself. But now I know He is more than able to do everything He said will do.

3) God wants us to trust Him and know that He can handle His own affairs and wars. It is good to defend God and fight for Him, but we must let Him fight His own battles so the world to know that He is a mighty and powerful God, and that He is real.

Let me ask you some questions: if you are always fighting for your god, protecting it, speaking on its behave, defending it, what makes you think it is a real god? If your god can’t speak, what makes you so convinced it could create your mouth? If your god can’t fight its own battles against evil, what makes you think it can give you victory? If your god can’t defend itself, what makes you think it can protect you?

4) For others to see, hear, believe and come to know Him. If I was able to free myself from porn by myself, how would that draw people to Him?

You can say whatever you want about God. You can say that you don’t like Him. That you don’t believe in Him. You can say that you would rather live your life without Him, and spend eternity in Hell than in Heaven with Him. But you can’t tell me that I was not addicted beyond human hope to pornography and He freed me from it. You can’t tell me that my God isn’t real or that He is dead. You can’t tell me that my God is not powerful, or that He doesn’t love me and cares about me.

I remember a couple of years ago I was waiting for the bus (isn’t it strange how I realize a lot of things while waiting for the bus!), and thought to myself, “What is so horrible about pornography anyway?” (That was a couple of years after God freed me from it!) Then suddenly I had this very empty feeling in my chest when I remembered how spiritually thirsty I was when I was addicted to porn. I remember how horrible it felt to chase after something that does not satisfy and that it leads to more chasing…but it still does not satisfy! Ever since then until now, I would like to think that I have a healthy fear of pornography, and sin in general. (Remember, God created fear to protect us, just like pain. But how we view fear and respond to is what makes the difference between a protective fear and an enslaving fear.) Of course, porn’s destruction is much more than the chasing after something that does not satisfy. But I won’t go into how much it has actually ruined countless lives, because many websites and statistics are available for those who are truly seeking to know the truth about porn’s destructive power.

1 John 4:4 says:

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

It is sad how many Christians have opinions about sin that are not based on God Word. I read things such as, “It is my motives that count…so even though I do this and that, I do them without lusting…” Really? Where does the Bible teaches that? When our Lord talked about motives he was talking about fasting, praying, and giving to the poor not about sin! You can’t sin with pure motives! It doesn’t make sense! You can fool me, and you can fool your church congregation! But how can you live with yourself knowing that you are lying to yourself! And how are you going to fool God? Rather, how are you going to face Him?

And some Christians even say “it is natural to do so and so”. Yes, you are correct, but since when does the Bible talk about our nature as if it is holy! Our nature is corrupt and sinful, so why do we say “natural” as if it is a good thing! It is natural to get angry and want to get revenge; it is natural to lie when accused of something; it is natural to cheat when we want to get our way…but what does the Bible teach about all those examples of “natural behaviour”? They are all sin and do not fit us as sons and daughters of the living God!

No, I am not talking about people who are addicted to drugs, porn, alcohol, and so on. I am not even talking to the unbelieving world here. I am talking to us, Christians. I truly believe that there is a huge difference between someone who is sinning—because he or she are addicted to a certain sin, regardless of how they got themselves into this mess—but they absolutely hate that sin and want to be free from it, and between someone who knows he is sinning but has no problem with it--welcomes sin in his life.

I am going to say something here that I think will make a lot of people dislike me, but I am going to say it anyway and hope that you take it with an attitude knowing that I am not judging anybody here:

If you are a woman who has Christ in her life, please re-consider the way you dress. Not according to my standards, or the church you attend. Certainly not according to the standards of the latest fashion or to “that is the only thing available in stores nowadays”. Don’t go to someone else asking their opinion or read an article about it. Go directly to God’s Word and ask God directly, and if you are honestly seeking to follow Him He will show you His way. But I must warn you: once He makes His will clear you won’t have peace until you obey Him.

You might be wondering why I am talking about women’s dressing in a topic about porn! Well, men are very visual so they sin by lusting (even women do that, but I am not sure they do so as much as men do) and so porn is a naturally attractive sin to them. Women desire to feel beautiful, desired, wanted and so she tries to meet those need by dressing in a way that attracts men’s attention. And that’s how she gets her momentarily (short-lived: like all the promises Satan makes in regard to sin) emotional high by noticing a man looking at her. But what I want to ask you is this: if you go home and you are all by yourself and have nothing to do, how do you feel: empty, far from your heavenly Father; or peaceful and your heart is flowing with love and adoration for Him?

Causing to Sin, Mark 9:42-50:

"And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where

" 'their worm does not die,

and the fire is not quenched.' Everyone will be salted with fire.

"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."

If you are a man who has Christ in his life, please take some time, be quiet with God, and think about where you were yesterday spiritually, where you are today, and where you are heading tomorrow! Evaluate your life. Evaluate your ways. Seek to know God better. Make decisions, daily decisions, to live for Him. Live a pure life starting with your heart and mind. Think about your future wife (or present wife), think about your kids. You are going to be the leader of the house who represents Christ to the whole household! Will they see Him through you? Or will your daughters grow up thinking that they have to look beautiful, sexy, and act in certain ways to get a man’s attention and love? Think about God’s awesome and wonderful purpose that He desires to accomplish through you. Think about God’s reputation among the people who know you. Please don’t settle for less. We are not going to be given another chance after this life!

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27)

If you realize you are sinning against God while you are on your way home then repent right away and seek to follow Him! It is never too late to make a decision to live for Him, even if you just realized that at the end of the day. Daily surrender yourself to Him if that’s what it takes for you to live a pure and blameless life.

I will stop here. All I ask is that if you claim to believe something about God put it into practice. Whether in regard to your identity in Him, your personal agendas vs. His plans and purposes, or if you claim to believe that Christ died for someone else’s sin then why not forgive them? Remember, John 13:17:

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

What things? The things that are written in God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit reveals to you.

And don't ever lose focus of this fact: all things are done through His goodness, grace and mercy—it, life here on earth and eternal life, is all about Him. However, for Him: it is all about you. It is the "Lord's favour" and not our own works whether in being saved or the power to live for Him: it is all about His grace.

Nothing But the Blood

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wej1jHtiH-M

(Toronot, ON; winter 2008.)

O Aqueduto da Carioca, popularmente conhecido como os Arcos da Lapa, localiza-se no bairro da Lapa, na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, no Brasil.

Considerada como a obra arquitetônica de maior porte empreendida no Brasil durante o período colonial, é hoje um dos cartões postais da cidade, símbolo mais representativo do Rio Antigo preservado no bairro boêmio da Lapa.

Os primeiros estudos para trazer as águas do rio Carioca para a cidade remontam a 1602, por determinação do então governador da Capitania do Rio de Janeiro, Martim Correia de Sá (1602-1608). Em 1624, um contrato para a construção do primitivo conduto foi firmado com Domingos da Rocha, que não chegou a iniciar os trabalhos. Em 1660 apenas 600 braças de canos estavam assentadas, tendo as obras recebido impulso em 1706, sob o governo de D. Fernando Martins Mascarenhas Lancastro (1705-1709).

Em 1718, sob o governo de Antônio de Brito Freire de Menezes (1717-1719), iniciaram-se as obras de instalação dos canos de água através da antiga Rua dos Barbonos (atual Rua Evaristo da Veiga). Sob o governo de Aires de Saldanha de Albuquerque Coutinho Matos e Noronha (1719-1725), em 1720 o encanamento alcançava o Campo da Ajuda (atual Cinelândia), ainda nos arrabaldes da cidade à época. Foi este governador quem, alterando o projeto original, defendeu a vantagem de se prolongar a obra até ao Campo de Santo Antônio (atual Largo da Carioca), optando pelos chamados Arcos Velhos – um aqueduto ligando o morro do Desterro (atual morro de Santa Teresa) ao morro de Santo Antônio, inspirado no Aqueduto das Águas Livres, que então começava a se erguer em Lisboa. A obra estava concluída em 1723, levando as águas à Fonte da Carioca, chafariz erguido também nesse ano, que as distribuía à população no referido Campo de Santo Antônio.

A solução foi paliativa, uma vez que já em 1727 se registram reclamações de falta de água, atribuindo-se à ação de quilombolas (escravos fugitivos, que viviam ocultos nas matas) a responsabilidade pela quebra dos canos. Mais tarde, o governo pediu contas ao encarregado pela conservação da obra o qual, furtando-se ao seu dever, evadiu-se. Foram estabelecidas, ainda, penas para os atos de vandalismo contra a obra.

O governador Gomes Freire de Andrade (1733-1763) determinou, em 1744, a reconstrução do Aqueduto da Carioca, com pedra do país, diante do elevado custo da cantaria vinda do reino. Com risco atribuído ao brigadeiro José Fernandes Pinto Alpoim, recebeu a atual conformação, em arcaria de pedra e cal. A Carta Régia de 2 de maio de 1747 determinou que as águas fossem cobertas por abóbada de tijolos, para evitar o seu desvio mal-intencionado.

Inaugurado em 1750, as águas brotaram aos pés do Convento de Santo Antônio, em um chafariz de mármore, através de 16 bicas de bronze. Mais tarde essa água foi estendida, através da Rua do Cano (atual Rua Sete de Setembro), até ao Largo do Paço (atual Praça XV), onde os navios vinham abastecer-se.

Na segunda metade do século XIX, durante o Império e, posteriormente, diante do advento da República, novas alternativas para o abastecimento de água aos moradores da cidade do Rio de Janeiro foram sendo utilizadas. O aqueduto, a partir de 1896 passou a ser utilizado como viaduto para os novos bondes de ferro da Companhia de Carris Urbanos, principal meio de acesso do centro aos altos do bairro de Santa Teresa, até os dias de hoje.

Conservados pelo poder público, em nossos dias, os antigos arcos coloniais servem de pano de fundo para diversos eventos, como as festividades da Semana Santa e o tradicional Auto de Natal da cidade.

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

[ ♪ ] Música do Dia - Chico Buarque - Homenagem ao Malandro

Bondinho do ARcos da Lapa

Cláudio Lara © All rights reserved

Todas as fotos estão sob a Lei do Direito Autoral Nº 9.610, de 19 de Fevereiro De 1998.

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Boxing Day saw another visit to the Star. It was quite a quiet night with not many out but we had a good night all the same!

Conhecida como Cidade dos Barões, Vassouras tambem é considerada cidade Imperial juntamente com Petropolis, pois parte da Familia Imperial tambem se instalou nesta cidade.

Ela ja foi no seu apogeu historico a maior produra de cafe do mundo, tinha o apelido de "Princesinha do Café", por isto estão em Vassouras 90% de todas as Fazendas utilizadas em produçao de epoca ou não de Novelas, Filmes e Mini Series da Globo , Record e outras produtoras.

O nome Vassouras foi dado em razão de um arbusto que era abundante na região e utilizado para confecção de vassouras. Esta vegetação pertence à família das escrofularíneas e são popularmente conhecidos como “tupeiçaba”, “guaxima” ou "vassourinha de varrer

Basicamente todos os meus primos casaram ou nesta igreja de Vassouras ou na Igreja do Colegio Marista em Mendes que tem um dos interiores de igrejas mais lindos que ja vi...

* Apenas as fotos da segunda sequencia estão ABERTAS, pois já foram publicadas ANTERIORMENTE

Foto: Eu - Me - Alto da Colina da Praça Barão do Campo Belo - Vassouras - Rio de Janeiro

According to Law 9.610/98, it is prohibited the partial or total commercial reproduction without the previous written authorization of the author (article 29). ® All rights are reserved.

Conforme a Lei 9.610/98, é proibida a reprodução total e parcial ou divulgação comercial ou não sem a autorização prévia e expressa do autor (artigo 29). ® Todos os direitos reservados.

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“...they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you people of little faith!”

-‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:27-28‬ ‭NET‬‬

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Quite a sedate Saturday in Leeds, in preparation for the main event on the Sunday.

Hotel room ready to go out.

While I consider myself outdoorsy and would love to go backpacking, sleeping in tents under the stars, that’s just not in the cards for my outdoor time.

I have a chronic illness, and roughing it can unfortunately cause flare ups for me. As hard as it was, I’ve learned to respect my limits and having a van will help me to travel comfortably while giving me peace of mind.

If I do have a flare up while traveling, I now have a comfortable place to rest no matter where we are. I’ve learned to manage my illness quite well and those incidences have become fewer, but no matter how well you travel, it’s always a bit stressful and stress is one of my biggest triggers.

I’m extremely grateful (and, I recognize, privileged), to have this van. While it’s just a thing, it’s something that gives me freedom to satisfy my wanderlust, have new adventures, and create memories with Mike.

Unrelated note- our old van had an outdoor shower, but it was stored inside the back door & was a pain to get out. We never used it because of that. This van has it on the driver’s side (the panel next to the door) and it’ll come in handy when we need to clean off dirty things. It’s much better quality and a breeze to get out. Quite nice!

consider yourself lucky that this wasn't a shot from Red Bow Tie Tuesday...

Also, just so you all know, I am wearing underwear in this shot...no frontal noodz in my photo stream

El monasterio de San Jerónimo de Granada es un conjunto arquitectónico del Renacimiento formada por iglesia y monasterio situada en la ciudad española de Granada, comunidad autónoma de Andalucía.

Actualmente, está considerado como BIC (Bien de Interés Cultural) (la «iglesia basílica de San Gerónimo» (sic.) fue declarada monumento histórico artístisco digno de ser conservado por la Nación por R.O. de 24 de mayo de 1874 y posteriormente el monasterio fue declarado monumento histórico-artístico perteneciente al Tesoro Artístico Nacional mediante decreto de 3 de junio de 1931

Su fundación, anterior a la toma de la ciudad, se debe a los Reyes Católicos. En seguida se desplazó desde Santa Fe a Granada, y fue en 1504 cuando se empezó a construir el conjunto actual. La obra se debe en su mayoría a Diego de Siloé, aunque participaron en su construcción otros arquitectos y artistas, como Jacobo Florentino, Juan de Aragón, Juan Bautista Vázquez el Mozo, Pedro de Orea y Pablo de Rojas, los tres últimos de la escuela granadina.

La iglesia, de planta de cruz latina, responde a los condicionantes de las iglesias de la orden jerónima, con coro elevado en los pies y altar tras una amplia escalinata. Es destacable el retablo manierista de la capilla mayor, que supone el punto de partida de la escultura andaluza con entidad propia, y en donde es capital la intervención del maestro Pablo de Rojas. La rica decoración renacentista que presenta, con casetones, veneras y grupos escultóricos, es un canto de cisne del humanismo en España. El programa iconográfico fue pensado con el fin de resaltar las grandezas militares y la heroicidad del Gran Capitán, que se halla enterrado en el crucero junto a su esposa, María de Manrique.

El monasterio cuenta con dos claustros ajardinados, siendo el primero de ellos el que concentra la más genuina decoración del Renacimiento. Siete arcosolios a modo de capillas, de trazas clásicas, decoradas con todo el repertorio formal de este estilo, configuran un espacio fúnebre para cuando los restos de don Gonzalo llegaron al monasterio. En el segundo claustro, hoy clausura de la comunidad de monjas jerónimas que lo habitan, residió la emperatriz Isabel de Portugal en su viaje de bodas, tras la celebración de su matrimonio con el emperador Carlos I.

En la iglesia se trabajaba ya en 1513 bajo las órdenes de Jacobo Florentino. Muerto éste, las siguió Diego de Siloé. Cuando en 1522 se acabó la capilla mayor fueron trasladados los cuerpos del Gran Capitán y su esposa desde la Casa Grande del Convento de San Francisco.

Tras pasar por diversas vicisitudes adversas, como la invasión francesa y la exclaustración por expulsión de la Orden Jerónima, que casi llevaron a la ruina, el Estado decidió su restauración, que se llevó a cabo entre 1916 y 1920 por el arquitecto Fernando Wilhelmi.

En los años anteriores a 1989 fue vuelta a erigir la esbelta torre de la iglesia tras haber sido derruida por los franceses durante la invasión napoleónica para construir con sus piedras el Puente Verde que une el Paseo de la Bomba con la Avenida de Cervantes, sobre el río Genil.

La portada que separa el compás del Monasterio de la Calle Rector López Argueta, aunque originariamente pertenecía al monasterio, se repuso en la década de 1960, después de que en el siglo XIX desapareciera y se encontrara posteriormente abandonada en un cortijo de la Vega.

En la actualidad preside dicha portada una bella imagen de la Virgen de las Angustias que no es la que originariamente estaba en dicha portada.

A principios del año 2004 comenzaron unas obras de restauración del retablo mayor por el Ministerio de Cultura, que duraron hasta el año siguiente.

El templo fue el primero en todo el mundo en consagrarse a la Inmaculada Concepción de María.

Basílica da Sagrada Família

Texto, em português, da Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre:

Templo Expiatório da Sagrada Família

Templo Expiatório da Sagrada Família, e também conhecido simplesmente como Sagrada Família, é um grande templo católico da cidade catalã de Barcelona (Espanha), desenhado pelo arquiteto catalão Antoni Gaudí, e considerado por muitos críticos como a sua obra-prima e expoente da arquitetura modernista catalã. Financiado unicamente por contribuições privadas , o projeto foi iniciado em 1882 e assumido por Gaudí em 1883, quando tinha 31 anos de idade, dedicando-lhe os seus últimos 40 anos de vida, os últimos quinze de forma exclusiva. A construção foi suspensa em 1936 devido à Guerra Civil Espanhola e não se estima a conclusão para antes de 2026, centenário da morte de Gaudí.

A construção começou em estilo neogótico, mas o projeto foi reformulado completamente por Gaudí ao assumi-lo. O templo foi projetado para ter três grandes fachadas: a Fachada da Natividade, quase terminada com Gaudí ainda em vida, a Fachada da Paixão, iniciada em 1952, e a Fachada da Glória, ainda por completar. Segundo o seu proceder habitual, a partir de esboços gerais do edifício Gaudí improvisou a construção à medida que esta avançava. O templo, quando estiver terminado, disporá de 18 torres : quatro em cada uma das três entradas-portais, a jeito de cúpulas; irá ter um sistema de seis torres, com a torre do zimbório central dedicada a Jesus Cristo, de 170 metros de altura, outras quatro ao redor desta, dedicadas aos evangelistas, e um segundo zimbório dedicado à Virgem. O interior estará formado por inovadoras colunas arborescentes inclinadas e abóbadas baseadas em hiperboloides e paraboloides buscando a forma ótima da catenária. Estima-se que poderá levar no seu coro 1500 cantores, 700 crianças e cinco órgãos. Em 1926, ano em que faleceu Gaudí, apenas estava construída uma torre. Do projeto do edifício só ficaram planos e um modelo em gesso que resultou muito danificado durante a Guerra Civil Espanhola. Desde então prosseguiram as obras: atualmente (2015) estão terminados os portais da Natividade e da Paixão, e foi iniciado o da Glória, estando em construção as abóbadas interiores.

A obra que realizou Gaudí - a fachada da Natividade e a cripta - foi incluída pela UNESCO em 2005 no Sítio do Patrimônio Mundial com o título «Obras de Antoni Gaudí».

História

O propósito de construir um templo expiatório dedicado à Sagrada Família em uns novos terrenos do Eixample barcelonês foi do livreiro Josep Maria Bocabella, para o que fundou a Associação de Devotos de São José. Para isso foi adquirido um quarteirão inteiro do Eixample num lugar conhecido como El Poblet, perto do Camp de l'Arpa, em Sant Martí de Provençals, entre as ruas Provença, Maiorca, Marina e Sardenya.

O projeto foi entregue em primeiro lugar a Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, que propôs um conjunto neogótico, recusando a sugestão de Bocabella de fazer uma réplica do Santuário da Santa Casa de Loreto . O projeto de Villar consistia numa igreja de três naves, com os elementos típicos do gótico, como os vitrais alveolados, os contrafortes exteriores e um alto campanário em forma de agulha. A primeira pedra foi colocada a 19 de Março de 1882, dia de São José, com a presença do então bispo de Barcelona José María Urquinaona. Gaudí assistiu à cerimônia, já que tinha trabalhado como ajudante de Villar em vários projetos. As obras não se iniciaram até 25 de Agosto de 1883, sendo adjudicadas ao empreiteiro Macari Planella i Roura.

Em 1883, Villar renunciou por desavenças com Joan Martorell, arquiteto assessor de Bocabella. O projeto foi oferecido ao próprio Martorell, mas, ao recusar, este foi oferecido a um jovem Gaudí de 31 anos; Gaudí fora ajudante de Martorell em várias construções, fato que motivara a recomendação de Gaudí, que ainda não executara grandes obras. Ao encarregar-se Gaudí do projeto, modificou-o por inteiro - salvo a parte já construída da cripta -, imprimindo-lhe o seu estilo peculiar. Durante os remanescentes 43 anos da sua vida trabalhou intensamente na obra, os últimos 15 anos de forma exclusiva. Esta dedicação tão intensa tem a sua explicação, para além da magnitude da obra, pela circunstância de Gaudí definir muitos aspetos à medida que a construção avançava, em lugar de os ter concretizado previamente nos seus planos e instruções. Por isso a sua presença pessoal na obra era de grande importância.

Durante a vida de Gaudí somente foi feita a fachada da Natividade , com escultura de Carles Mani, Llorenç Matamala e Joan Matamala, contando com os desenhos de Ricard Opisso; Gaudí apenas chegou a ver coroada a torre de São Barnabé antes do seu falecimento. À morte de Gaudí encarregou-se das obras o seu ajudante Domènec Sugrañes, durante os anos 1926-1936, acabando as três torres que ficavam na fachada da Natividade.

Durante a Guerra Civil Espanhola ficou destruída na sua maior parte a oficina na qual Gaudí trabalhara, e onde se encontravam os seus croquis, maquetes e modelos . Por esta causa e pela particular maneira de trabalhar Gaudí, não ficaram planos nem diretrizes a respeito de como devia terminar-se o templo. Portanto, quando em 1944 prosseguiu a construção da Sagrada Família, teve de definir-se em primeiro lugar como devia proceder-se, para edificar o templo da forma mais fiel aos princípios de Gaudí.

À frente desta gigantesca tarefa estiveram os arquitetos Francesc Quintana, Isidre Puig i Boada e Lluís Bonet i Garí, enquanto da obra escultórica se encarregou Jaume Busquets. Posteriormente, quando se construiu a fachada da Paixão, o conjunto principal das figuras escultóricas foi encarregado a Josep Maria Subirachs . As obras deste último originaram certa polêmica, devido a ter criado esculturas totalmente contemporâneas afastadas do estilo realista que Gaudí incluiu na fachada da Natividade. O escultor japonês Etsuro Sotoo colaborou em algumas esculturas da fachada da Natividade . Desde 1987 que as obras estão sob a direção do arquiteto Jordi Bonet i Armengol.

Projeto de praça estrelada para a Sagrada Família (1916).

Um dos pontos que suscitou maior controvérsia em relação ao templo é a sua situação no tecido urbanístico de Barcelona: quando começaram as obras encontrava-se num descampado, mas rapidamente ficou integrado no rápido desenvolvimento da cidade em princípios do século XX. Em 1905 Gaudí realizou um projeto para englobar a Sagrada Família dentro do Plano Jaussely, o novo projeto de alargamento barcelonês: concebeu situar o templo dentro de uma zona ajardinada em forma de estrela octogonal, que teria proporcionado uma excelente visão do templo a partir de todas as zonas circundantes. Finalmente, devido ao custo dos terrenos, reduziu o projeto a uma estrela de quatro pontas, que permitia uma ampla visão de todos os vértices. Contudo, o plano de Gaudí não se levou a cabo: em 1975 o Município de Barcelona realizou um estudo urbanístico que previa reabilitar uma zona em forma de cruz em torno da Sagrada Família, com quatro praças ajardinadas em cada extremo do templo ; mesmo assim, atualmente existem apenas duas destas praças, e a criação das novos espaços implicaria demolir vários edifícios, pelo qual ainda se estuda a solução ideal para enquadrar a Sagrada Família numa envolvente apropriada.

O Templo da Sagrada Família teve vários eventos destacados: em 1920 celebrou-se o Ano Jubilar de São José com procissões, peregrinações e missas, e cantou-se o Aleluia de O Messias de Händel por mil cantores de orfeões vindos de toda a Catalunha, dirigidos por Lluís Millet. Em 1953, por ocasião do 35º Congresso Eucarístico Internacional celebrado em Barcelona, foi inaugurada a iluminação artística da fachada da Natividade. Em 1981 abriu-se a praça Gaudí frente à Sagrada Família, com um projeto de jardins de Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí, onde se destaca o tanque, em cujas águas fica refletido o templo. Ao ano seguinte, por ocasião do centenário da colocação da primeira pedra, o templo recebeu a visita do Papa João Paulo II. Igualmente, a 18 de Março de 2007 foi comemorado o 125.º aniversário da colocação da primeira pedra do templo com uma festa, concertos e bailando uma sardana em redor de todo o templo. O templo é palco habitual de numerosos atos culturais e encontros religiosos.

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A text, in english, from barcelona.de/en/barcelona-sagrada-familia.html

The basilica Sagrada Familia

Antoni Gaudí's life work is an UNESCO world heritage

The Sagrada Familia is one of the most famous landmarks in Barcelona. Since 1882 it was built at the church in the district Eixample built. From 1883 the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí took over the leadership of the works until his death in 1926. The building is significantly influenced by him. The church is such a huge size, so they often referred it as "cathedral", but without having a bishop's seat. Pope Benedict XVI. inaugurates the Sagrada Familia on November 7, 2010. The church building is raised to a basilica.

Much time should allow for the visit of the details of the facades, where many embassies and biblical stories are hidden.

With the completion in 2026 expected, the construction is financed solely from donations and ticket money. Currently, 8 out of 12 about 100 meters tall bell towers are completed. The higher towers of the facade of the glory will be built and the central dome with a height of over 170 meters. Currently, part of the cloister is the building of the apse dome.

The start of construction of the Sagrada Familia.

Mid-19th Century the booksellers José María Boca Bella , Chairman of the Holy Brotherhood, planned a church in Barcelona to build and to devote the Holy Family ( "Sagrada Familia"). The land he choose was a parcel within the "Poblet (village). He preferred a fundamental step closer to the city centre out. Because of the already high land prices this was not possible.

The planning of the church began with the architect of the Diocese Francisco del Villar. He designed a church in Gothic style and began in 1882 with the construction of the crypt. Because of fundamental disagreements with Boca Bella he had to resign from his job. A few months later in 1883, the young architect Antoni Gaudí took over his work.

Gaudí took place in the Sagrada Familia his life's work. He worked until his death on 10th June 1926.

Under Gaudí the church won because of their extensive dimension and its lush design with such importance that they soon called it "the Cathedral". Also Gaudí even called it, although they do not house a bishop. He was convinced that one day the city would be known as "his" church.

Gaudí shaped espacially the Sagrada Familia . Many new parts are built according to plans, which are hardly ever received and often depend on assumptions as the great architect had originally planned. Of course everyone is sure of one thing: the Church Sagrada family in case of completion in respect to all previously built churches of Christendom will surpass all in greatness.

As a church, the Sagrada Familia should not only be seen in the artistic point of view. It must be the consideration of building facades with its towers and even religion.

Tips for visiting the Sagrada Familia.

The Sagrada Familia is the most visited monument in Spain. At peak times therefore sometimes one can queue in front of the house and cash in on the elevators of the towers which go up, on the other. The largest are the queues in the late morning. So if you dont want to stay in the queue, use the time to the cathedral from a distance, the two places right and left of the Sagrada Familia from them.

On the rear lifts, in the towers of the facade of the birth of Christ which goes up, the queue is much shorter. Do not return to down the lifts, use the stairs. Only then do you see the absolutely stunning spiral staircase.

On considère les mini Ananas en pot comme de la décoration au lieu de les manger comme des fruits. Il propose néanmoins de toutes petites fleurs bleutées. Attention quand même à ne pas se blesser avec les feuilles qui entourent le fruit fleur car celles-ci présentent de nombreuses épines. #Macro #MacroMondays #UnusualPatterns