Continuing the project to photograph 100 strangers with thier dogs.

Portrait in red

I'm not sure what the plan is for this area in the future. This part of the town has been long empty of retail use with even newly built shops standing empty.

A large green park would be much better, but I suspect a Car park will be the answer.

this is the rear of the old ABC / Cannon cinema

We stepped outside this week to continue our adventure in flash. Taking inspiration from Michael Mowbray's wedding photography work in his book "Shoot To Thrill", the lighting was simple - 2 SB900's attached to the Holy Cross of McNally on a stick - off to camera right, zoomed to 50mm to avoid lighting the pillars too much and on TTL at 0.0, Overall exposure in aperture priority at -1 EV. I have my D810 set up so that exposure comp does not affect flash exposure on iTTL flash. Normally, with Nikon, if you dial in -1 on the whole shot, you need to put +1 on the flash to bring it back up (or thereabouts - it's not always a 1:1 relationship). I find it easier to just have exposure comp affect ambient only - if I want to change flash value, I'll dial that down explicitly. We got the background exposure sorted first, and then added flash. Paul once again stepped in front of my camera complete with a workable drover's costume, to raise this up from a mere technical exercise to a usable picture.

Continuing the beautiful and unusual creamy white squirrel series

Continuing the Animus Theme

Continuing in my "One dark ride shot a day" mentality, here's a favorite of mine from Snow White's Scary Adventures. I got very lucky here, but the shot really turned out nice. The 1.4 aperture of my 50mm lens really caught a narrow DoF here, causing pretty much only the Duck shaped head of the Cello(which is awesome) and the dwarf playing it, with the others becoming less and less in focus. Thanks for lookin', and have a great day!

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb).

The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals, it is popular with whale watchers off the coasts of Australasia and the Americas.

Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a role in mating. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) each year.

Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a moratorium was introduced in 1966. While stocks have since partially recovered, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution continue to impact the 80,000 humpbacks worldwide.

A humpback whale can easily be identified by its stocky body with an obvious hump and black dorsal coloring. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are hair follicles, and are characteristic of the species. The fluked tail, which it lifts above the surface in some dive sequences, has wavy trailing edges.

The four global populations, all under study, are: North Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean humpbacks, which have distinct populations which complete a migratory round-trip each year, and the Indian Ocean population, which does not migrate, prevented by that ocean's northern coastline.

The long black and white tail fin, which can be up to a third of body length, and the pectoral fins have unique patterns, which make individual whales identifiable. Several hypotheses attempt to explain the humpback's pectoral fins, which are proportionally the longest fins of any cetacean.

The two most enduring mention the higher maneuverability afforded by long fins, and the usefulness of the increased surface area for temperature control when migrating between warm and cold climates. Humpbacks have 270 to 400 darkly colored baleen plates on each side of their mouths.

The plates measure from a mere 18 inches (46 cm) in the front to approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) long in the back, behind the hinge. Ventral grooves run from the lower jaw to the umbilicus about halfway along the underside of the whale. These grooves are less numerous (usually 14–22) than in other rorquals but are fairly wide.

The stubby dorsal fin is visible soon after the blow when the whale surfaces, but disappears by the time the flukes emerge. Humpbacks have a 3 metres (9.8 ft), heart-shaped to bushy blow, or exhalation of water through the blowholes.

Because humpback whales breathe voluntarily, the whales possibly shut off only half of their brains when sleeping. Early whalers also noted blows from humpback adults to be 10–20 feet (3.0–6.1 m) high.

This image was taken on the North Sailing "Nattfari" Whale Watching Boat from Husavik in Iceland

Repeat, over and over again.

Continuing the study. After doing a little research on it, found that these Akro Agate Octagon/Little American Maid sets come from the depression era and are worth a bit more than we paid.

Continuing a series of shots that look at Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower in a different way. Like any famous landmark, there are a truck load of images that all look roughly like each other (I'm guilty of that myself). So here I wanted to try something different. I think the towers architecture (and cloudless sky) assist in the creation of such abstract images too.

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda urged the EU to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight for freedom and to keep its doors open to Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.

Addressing MEPs in Strasbourg as part of the “This is Europe” debate series, Mr Nausėda shared his country’s experience towards independence and the long path to Europe, which in a way resembles Ukraine’s current fight for freedom. He highlighted Lithuania’s massive public support for Ukraine and that his country donates almost 1.5% of its GDP to Ukraine.

President Nausėda also thanked the European Parliament for its continued stand against Soviet occupation and its current active leadership in helping Ukraine. “I believe that today many European citizens understand that Ukraine's fight is also their fight”, he said. Russia’s crimes must be met with an appropriate response by setting up an international tribunal and frozen Russian assets must be used to rebuild Ukraine, he added.

“History shows that the most effective way to expand the area of peace, stability and prosperity in Europe has been and will be the enlargement of the EU”, said President Nausėda. He called on the EU to keep its doors open to Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, and supported Parliament’s wish to start Ukraine’s accession negotiations already this year.

President Nausėda also commended the EU on managing to overcome Russia’s energy blackmail. “The winter came and finished without anyone freezing in Europe”, he said, stressing that there are still some lessons to be learned from high energy prices. He advocated for more investment in green energy and alternative sources and presented Lithuania as an example, which managed to gain independent from Russia’s gas, oil and electricity.

Reactions from MEPs

MEPs praised Lithuania for its leadership and exemplary support to Ukraine. For far too long politicians ignored alerts from their Baltic colleagues about Russia’s aggressive policy and now we have to pay the price, some MEPs said. They called for a strategy of sustainable peace that would see Putin’s Russia being defeated, European values expanded further east and Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia becoming part of EU by the end of this decade.

Some MEPs stressed the need to fight attacks on the rule of law and media freedom not only outside the EU, but also inside it. Commenting on EU energy independence, some MEPs asked for more use of renewable resources and to avoid jumping from one energy supply dictatorship to another one.

____

This photo is free to use under Creative Commons license CC-BY-4.0 and must be credited: "CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2023– Source: EP". (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) No model release form if applicable. For bigger HR files please contact: webcom-flickr(AT)europarl.europa.eu

He continued to look, past the point of futility, constantly searching for her. When everyone told him to stop he shrugged them off and continued to come out to the field where she had last been spotted. Days and days he searched to no avail until days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months and finally he sat down and wept for all hope had left him. What winter taught him was to go on and when he failed, he failed her. So one last time he pushed himself up and with nothing else to lose he searched on.

Part one of the What Winter Taught Me series

View on black please!

Trying out a square crop...not sure if I like this better.

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But explain to school kids what’s different, because they have to wonder. While establishments of all types are open at full capacity, the classroom routine is little changed: Students must continue to wear masks—a requirement that baffles the frak out of me. Is it possible reason that most of them have not been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19? For adults, the mask-mandate is only lifted for those people who have had the shot(s). Children are extremely unlikely to be infected, manifest the disease, become seriously sick, or die. So why muzzle them?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children ages 0-4 account for 2.1 percent of U.S. COVID cases; 10.4 percent for 5-17 year-olds. Deaths: Zero percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. Citizens ages 18-49 account for 4.7 percent of total deaths, so teachers are probably pretty safe—especially if vaccinated. So, again, I ask: Why muzzle the kids? This morning, my wife and I passed by Birney Elementary as kids arrived; they all wore masks, and parents, too!

I really felt sorry for the youngsters—and angry for their being punished so severely. Already, they suffered enough from forced isolation and remote-learning during most of 2020 and the first few months of this year. Meanwhile, vaccinated adults emerge to freedom. They can uncover their faces, no longer social distance, and even (gasp) touch one another (someone should sell a line of “Free Hugs—I’m vaccinated T-Shirts”).

How does any of this discussion relate to the photo? I’m glad you asked. The Wells Fargo branch in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood closed when Governor Gavin Newsom shut down California in mid-March 2020. Annie and I passed by the arriving school kids on our way to the plaza where is the bank. Today, the financial institution finally reopened—doors flung wide like open arms ready to hug customers. We had no business there, I only stopped for the photo.

Someone explain to me: We were all supposed to stop everything for 15 days to “flatten the curve“. So why were we imprisoned for 15 months? Because based on CDC data, people over 65 were highest risk—accounting for 80.1 percent of U.S. COVID-19 deaths but making up only 16.5 percent of the population. By comparison, 64.5 percent are age 49 and younger and considerably lower risk of dying.

But that’s a pointless topic for now; future forensic analysis of the pandemic will (hopefully) reveal what were and weren’t effective combative tactics and offer meaningful recommendations for responding to the next outbreak. For the moment, California is open and citizens can feel safe(r).

Continuing my preparations to CFCF - Beads Samples

Continuing from Devastator comes one of the first Autobot combiners, Superion! This also is some of the first flight capable Autobots from the war outside of bots like Cosmos and Powerglide, granting the Austobots some air superiority.

This set is extremely nice and I chose these versions because I really love the color scheme, though the US release I feel is equally as good. I just really like the cartoon accurate colors personally.

www.matttaylor.co.uk

www.brightonfreakshow.com

St Peter and St Paul, Salle, Norfolk

During their awesome reign over the other great teams of Europe in the 1970s and 1980s, Liverpool football club placed a huge sign in the changing room corridor, so that it was the last thing visiting teams saw before they walked out on to the pitch: This is ANFIELD, it warned. The name alone was enough. Similarly, the cover of the guidebook here proclaims, in a single word, SALLE. Again, it suffices; the word, pronounced to rhyme with call, stands for the building. Perhaps only the name Blythburgh has the same power in all East Anglia.

The greatest East Anglian churches were built in the 15th century. It is often observed that there can never have been enough people to fill them, but this is to miss the point. They were never intended for the forms of worship to which they now play host.

The shape of a late medieval church is not an accident. East Anglian parish churches of the 15th century had many common features; wide aisles to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a large nave for social activities, large windows to fill the building with light, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a pulpit for the preaching of orthodox doctrine, benches to enable the people to hear the preaching, and carvings, stained glass and wall paintings of the sacraments, Gospels and rosary mysteries, of the catechism and teaching of the Catholic Church.

As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a late medieval East Anglian church was a machine for making Catholicism happen.

No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new Church inherited buildings that were often unsuitable for congregational protestant liturgy - a problem that the Church of England has never satisfactorily solved.

Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways; celebrating Communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocking off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further: a pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.

With the rise of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This Victorian conception of the medieval suited itself to congregational worship, and responded in a satisfactory way to the structure of the building. But still, of course, they weren't full.

This 19th century re-imagining is the condition in which we find most of them today, and Anglican theologians everywhere are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?

It requires a shift in the mind to recall that these were not originally Anglican buildings, but it is a shift we need to make. The idea of a previously unchanging Church now confronting the demands of the modern age is wholly incorrect. These buildings have faced a variety of challenges over the centuries; they have only ever been truly suitable for the use for which they were originally built six hundred years ago.

Two of the largest late medieval churches in East Anglia are just three miles apart, at Cawston and Salle in the middle of Norfolk. These clusters are not uncommon; think of Blythburgh, Southwold and Walberswick in Suffolk, for example, or Lavenham and Long Melford in the same county. But Cawston and Salle are really close - you can see the tower of one from the other. St Peter and St Paul is a complete example of a 15th century rebuilding; St Agnes at Cawston retains its elegant earlier chancel.

If not merely for congregational worship, why were these churches built so big? Impressive as they seem now, they must have been awesome at the time they were built, since they were the only substantial buildings outside of the towns, and would have dwarfed the houses of the parish. Some were in villages; but many were not. Salle church has always been out in the fields. Why are earlier East Anglian churches not so massive? Certainly, East Anglia has its cathedrals; Norwich and Ely pre-date the great churches by several centuries, and Bury Abbey was bigger than either before its destruction. The great majority of East Anglia's churches are piecemeal affairs; typically, a 13th century chancel, which must have been the most substantial part of the building when it was first erected, an early 14th century nave and tower, and perhaps later elaborations of the piece with aisles and a clerestory. Salle and Cawston churches are both rebuildings of earlier structures, but a surprising number of East Anglian churches were not rebuilt, until perhaps the Victorians saw the need for a new chancel, or new aisles. Often, these smaller churches are exquisitely beautiful, as if beauty rather than grandeur was the imperative.

And then, towards the end of the 1340s, a great pestilence swept across Europe; in East Anglia, outside of Norwich which got off lightly, it killed perhaps a half of the population. In emptying the countryside, it completely altered the economic balance; a shortage of labour gave new power to the survivors, perhaps setting in place the preconditions for the capitalism that we can recognise by the 16th century. And, in extinguishing the flower of Decorated architecture, it also gave birth to the great love affair between the late medieval mind and death.

In Catholic theology there is no great divide between the dead and the living. For the medieval Christian, communion was something that existed between all members of the parish, whether alive or dead. Thus, prayers were said for the souls of the dead (who, it was presumed, were saying prayers for the souls of the living).

To ensure that prayers were said for them after their death, the very richest people endowed chantries. These were foundations, by which priests could be employed to say masses for their souls in perpetuity. A priest in such a capacity was called a chantry priest. The masses would be said at a chantry altar, probably in the nave; if the person was rich enough, this might be enclosed in a specially constructed chantry chapel. Many churches had them. After the Reformation, many were pressed into service as family mausoleums or pews.

For the poorest people, there was the opportunity to join a guild, where, for a penny or so a week, they could ensure that the guild chantry priest would say masses for their soul after their death (along with those of the other dead members of the guild). Many of these guilds were organised around particular occupations or devotions, and became a focus of social activity. The investment that produced the income to pay the chantry priests was most commonly in land. The church or guild oversaw the management of the land, which is one of the reasons we have an image of a wealthy pre-Reformation church. Land bought to produce income in this way was known as chantry land, a name surviving in many places today. Those who invested in chantries (and few and far between must have been those who didn't) presumed that they were ensuring prayers and masses in perpetuity; but, of course, this was not to be.

Bequests and chantries seem to have reached their peak in the 15th century. Perhaps the Black Death reinforced the urgency of the task. People did not merely want to be remembered; they wanted to be prayed for. And so, those who could afford it ensured that this was not forgotten by leaving their wealth in the very place that was at the centre of communion: the parish church. The richest paid for the additions of aisles and chapels, or for a new font or rood screen. This was not just a naked desire for the recognition of their family status. There was an underlying insecurity to the new landed classes. They wanted to control their destiny beyond their deaths. And so, their gift would be recorded in the form of a dedicatory inscription. One of these survives on the screen at Cawston, and another on the base of the font at Salle. Orate pro anima, they begin, "Pray for the soul of...", an injunction urgently emphasised by the pre-Reformation liturgy, only to be cursed and defaced by the later Anglicans and puritans. Stained glass was another common gift, as well as images, candlesticks, furnishings. Thus were many churches developed piecemeal.

But sometimes, where a parish could rely on a steady supply of substantial bequests, they might be channelled into a complete rebuilding, as at Salle, a summa cum laude apothesosis, where the new church of the late 15th century survives in pretty much its original form. Sometimes, a single wealthy family would shape and direct the rebuilding of a church. One of the richest families in East Anglia in the 14th and 15th centuries was the de la Poles, the Earls of Suffolk. Their mark can be found throughout East Anglia, but most famously and substantially at Wingfield in Suffolk, and at Cawston in Norfolk. Theirs was a long term project; at Cawston, the tower predates the furnishings of the nave and chancel by almost a century.

So why so vast? Certainly, it was ad maiorem deo gloria, to the Greater Glory of God; but it was also to the greater glory of the de la Poles and their contemporaries. The great landed families of England came into the late middle ages full of confidence, and they were determined to demonstrate it. They had survived the Black Death. They had grown richer on its consequences. They had assumed a political power unthinkable a few centuries before. They controlled not just the wealth but the imagination of their parishes. They asserted orthodox Catholic dogma in the face of rural superstitions and abuses. They imposed a homogenised Catholicism on late medieval England. And, as they increased their secular power and influence, a time would come when they would embrace the Great Idea already beginning to take shape on the continent - protestantism. But that was still in the future.

And so, to Salle. St Peter and St Paul is big. This is accentuated by the way in which it stands almost alone in the barley fields, with only a couple of Victorian buildings and a cricket pitch for company. What an idyllic spot! And yet there is an urban quality to the building, as if this was some great city church in the middle of Norwich or Bristol. It went up in the course of the 15th century, a replacement for an earlier building on the same site, broadly contemporary with neighbouring Cawston. While Cawston was largely the work of a single family, here the building benefited from an accident of history; several very wealthy families owned manors and halls in the parish at the same time, and it so happened that the time was the greatest era of rural church building.

Among them were the Boleyns, the Brewes, the Mautebys, the Briggs, the Morleys, the Luces and the Kerdistons, and some of their shields appear above the great west door, along with two mighty censing angels, characteristic of late medieval piety. A steady stream of hefty bequests meant that no expense needed to be spared, and the mighty tower with its vast bell openings was topped with battlements and pinnacles on the very eve of the Reformation.

As at Blythburgh, St Peter and St Paul benefited from the restraint of a late restoration, and the building as we see it now has no external Victorian additions. It is all of a piece. The porches either side are huge affairs, matching the transepts, and give the effect of a vast animal, a dragon perhaps, sprawling with erect head in the Norfolk countryside. Its tail is the chancel, in itself longer and higher than many Norfolk churches. The aisles are tall, austere, parapeted, the Perpendicular windows arcades of glass. In the porches, the vaulted ceilings are studded with bosses; the central one in the north porch depicts Christ in Majesty, sitting on a rainbow in judgement.

You enter the building from the west, an unusual experience in East Anglia, and your first sight is of the seven sacraments font with its tall 15th century canopy, similar to the cover at Cawston. This one is so big it is supported by a crane attached to the ringing gallery under the tower. The font below is interesting because each panel is supported by an angel holding a symbol of the sacrament above - a pot of chrism oil beneath Baptism, for example. The panels themselves are simply done, and are not particularly characterful, apart from the way that Mary turns away and is comforted at the Crucifixion. This panel faces west, and then anticlockwise are the Mass (viewed sideways, as at nearby Great Witchingham), Ordination (the candidate kneeling), Baptism (a server holds the book up for the Priest to read), Confirmation (the candidate obviously a child), Penance (perhaps the most interesting panel - the penitent kneels in a shriving pew), Matrimony (the couples' hands joined by a stole, she in late 15th century dress) and finally Last Rites (the dying man on the floor under blankets also as at Great Witchingham). The font step has a dedicatory inscription to John and Agnes Luce, asking for prayers for their souls. We know that John died in 1489. Perhaps the fabric of the building was complete by this date.

Beyond the font stretches the vastness of the building, the arcades gathering the eyes and leading them forward to the great east window. The chancel arch is barely there at all, just a simple high opening; but as MR James pointed out, it was never intended to be seen.The sheer bulk of the rood screen dado tells us quite how vast the rood apparatus must have been here, and the arch would have been pretty well hidden. Everything is built to scale; although everything has been cut off above the panels, probably in the late 1540s, the panels themselves are enormous, almost six feet high. As at Cawston, St Gregory, St Jerome, St Ambrose and St Augustine, the four Doctors of the Church, are on the doors. Either side are just two surviving paintings; to the north are Thomas and James, to the south are Philip and Bartholomew. The empty panels are a mystery; the screen stood here for a century before its destruction, so it must have been finished; and the dado seems too high to have been hidden by nave altars. And yet, it has all the appearance of never having been painted.

Because the building is so vast, the surviving medieval glass seems scattered, but there is actually a lot of it and some of it is very significant. Some was moved during the restoration of the early 20th century, when the modern glass in the north transept was installed, and the yellow galley lozenges were thankfully replaced with clear glass in the 1970s. The images in the east window are mainly figures; old kings kneel before young princes, there are armoured men and angels, the remains of a scaly dragon. In the centre at the bottom is a perfect Trinity shield, displayed by an angel looking askance.

Some of the panels are now in the south transept. These include fragments of a set of the orders of angels. A kneeling figure is Thomas Brigg, donor of the transept; the scroll behind him begins Benedicat Virgo, 'Blessed Virgin'. The mother of God sits surrounded by red glory, and two women holding croziers, one of them crowned, may be St Etheldreda and St Hilda. Certainly, the crowned figure holding a cross is St Helena.

Despite the wonders of the font, the screen and the glass, the crowning glory of the building is the set of bosses that line the roof of the chancel. They are easily missed, being very high. There are nine altogether, the first and last set against the walls at the ends of the roof ridge, and they form a kind of rosary sequence of joyful and glorious mysteries. They start with the Annunciation in the west (see left) and then continue with the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation in the Temple, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension into Heaven.

There is a fine set of return stalls in the chancel. Although Salle probably never had a college of Priests, all those Masses for the dead must have provided plenty of employment, because we know that there were seven Priests here at a time when the population of the parish was barely 200. Bench ends include heads, a dragon tied up in a knot, a cock, a restored pelican in her piety, and a monkey. The misericord seats feature faces, including one that is quite extraordinary.

Although the roof isn't up to the glory of neighbouring Cawston, it includes lots of original angels and paintwork, including sacred monograms, and around the wallplate part of the Te Deum Laudamus and Psalm 150. These particular texts seem to have provided the inspiration for many late 15th century interiors; the angels in the roof, the animals on the bench ends, the Saints on the rood screen all in harmony: Let everything that has breath Praise ye the Lord!

The nave benches are mostly renewed now, but the pulpit is an elegant example of the 15th century, from the time when a priority began to be placed on preaching. Curiously, it has been rather awkwardly converted into a three-decker arrangement, probably in the 18th century, with the addition of a platform and desk from a set of box pews. A large sounding board has been placed overhead. The box pews suggest that the medieval furnishings were replaced at an early date, although the replacements too have gone now.

Salle is one of those churches full of intriguing little details that might easily pass you by, so great is the wonder of everything around. Those two little corbel heads above the south door, for instance - what were they for? Perhaps they supported an image that could be seen from the north doorway as people entered, although not a St Christopher as the guidebook suggests, I think. There is a pretty piscina in the unfortunate north transept that has been outlined in wood, a memorial and helm above, a tall image bracket in the corner of the wall of the south transept, a floreated piscina nearby.

There are many brasses and brass inlays in the nave floor; one of the most interesting is a chalice brass (although the chalice is now gone) to Simon Boleyn, a Priest, who died in 1489, and to the east of it a pair of brasses to Geoffrey and Alice Boleyn, great-grandparents to Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. Another pair of brasses are to Thomas and Katherine Rose and their eight children. Unlike many churches, Salle actually retains some of the 'missing' brasses, now locked away for safety. It would be nice to think they could eventually be reset in the floor.

One part of the building that many visitors must miss is the chapel above the north porch. There is no sign indicating it; but the doorway, at the west end of the north aisle, is always open. Inside, the vaulted roof is punctuated by spectacularly pretty bosses which you can view at close quarters. The colour is a bit fanciful, but they are fascinating, particularly the central boss of the Coronation of the Queen of Heaven - how on earth did that survive the Reformation?

This is a tremendous building, a box of fascinating delights. What purpose does it serve now? As I said in the introduction, its size was not in response to the needs of a congregation, and as far as worship is concerned it will never be full. It remains constantly in use, however; for regular services in the chancel, sometimes for concerts and recordings, but also of course for the poshest sort of wedding, the kind only the Church of England can provide, and no doubt other elements of the core business of CofE PLC. It is easy to be cynical, but if they ensure the survival of the building, then so be it.

The story continues...

The last item is now attached

thegoldensieve.com

A good thing continues

Some six months ago, I posted almost 100 images and a few thoughts I felt were missing from the many existing RX1 reviews. The outpouring of support and interest in that article was very gratifying. When I published, I had used the camera for six full months, enough time to come to a view of its strengths and weaknesses and to produce a small portfolio of good images, but not enough time to see the full picture (pun intended). In the following six months, I have used the camera at least as frequently as in the first six and have produced another small set of good images. It should be noted that my usage of the RX1 in the last six (and especially in the last 3) months has involved less travel and more time with the family and around the house; I will share relatively few of these images but will spend some time sharing my impressions of its functionality for family snapshots as I am sure there is some interest. And let it be said here: one of the primary motivations to purchase the camera was to take more photos with the family, and after one full year I can confidently say: money well spent.

The A7/r game-changer?

In the past six months, Sony have announced and released two full-frame, interchangeable lens cameras that clearly take design cues from the RX1: the A7 and the A7r. These cameras are innovative and highly capable and, as such, are in the midst of taking the photography world by storm. I think they are compelling enough cameras that I wonder whether Sony is wasting its energy continuing to develop further A-mount cameras. Sony deserve credit for a bold strategy—many companies would have been content to allow the success of the the RX1 (and RX1R) generate further sales before pushing further into the white space left unexplored by camera makers with less ambition.This is not the place to detail the relative advantages and disadvantages of the RX1 versus the A7/r except to make the following point. I currently use a Nikon D800 and an RX1: were I to sell both and purchase the A7r + 35mm f/2.8 I would in many ways lose nothing by way of imaging capability or lens compatibility but would pocket the surplus $1250-1750. Indeed this loyal Nikon owner thought long and hard about doing so, which speaks to the strategic importance of these cameras for a company trying to make inroads into a highly concentrated market.Ultimately, I opted to hang onto the two cameras I have (although this decision is one that I revisit time and time again) and continue to use them as I have for the past year. Let me give you a quick flavor of why.

The RX1 is smaller and more discrete

This is a small a point, but my gut reaction to the A7/r was: much smaller than the D800, not as small as the RX1. The EVF atop the A7/r and the larger profile of interchangeable mount lenses means that I would not be able to slip the A7/r into a pocket the way I can the RX1. Further, by virtue of using the EVF and its loud mechanical shutter, the A7/r just isn’t as stealthy as the RX1. Finally, f/2 beats the pants off of f/2.8 at the same or smaller size.At this point, some of you may be saying, “Future Sony releases will allow you to get a body without an EVF and get an f/2 lens that has a slimmer profile, etc, etc.” And that’s just the point: to oversimplify things, the reason I am keeping my RX1 is that Sony currently offers something close to an A7 body without a built-in EVF and with a slimmer profile 35mm f/2.

The D800 has important functional advantages

On the other side of the spectrum, the AF speed of the A7/r just isn’t going to match the D800, especially when the former is equipped with a Nikon lens and F-mount adapter. EVFs cannot yet match the experience of looking through the prism and the lens (I expect they will match soon, but aren’t there yet). What’s more, I have made such an investment in Nikon glass that I can’t yet justify purchasing an adapter for a Sony mount or selling them all for Sony’s offerings (many of which aren’t to market yet).Now, all of these are minor points and I think all of them disappear with an A8r, but they add up to something major: I have two cameras very well suited to two different types of shooting, and I ask myself if I gain or lose by getting something in between—something that wasn’t quite a pocket shooter and something that was quite a DSLR? You can imagine, however, that if I were coming to the market without a D800 and an RX1, that my decision would be far different: dollar for dollar, the A7/r would be a no-brainer.During the moments when I consider selling to grab an A7r, I keep coming back to a thought I had a month or so before the RX1 was announced. At that time I was considering something like the NEX cameras with a ZM 21mm f/2.8 and I said in my head, “I wish someone would make a carry-around camera with a full frame sensor and a fixed 35mm f/2.8 or f/2.” Now you understand how attractive the RX1 is to me and what a ridiculously high bar exists for another camera system to reach.

Okay, so what is different from the last review?

For one, I had an issue with the camera’s AF motor failing to engage and giving me an E61:00 error. I had to send it out to Sony for repairs (via extended warranty and service plan). I detailed my experience with Sony Service here [insert link] and I write to you as a very satisfied customer. That is to say, I have 3 years left on a 4 year + accidental damage warranty and I feel confident enough in that coverage to say that I will have this beauty in working order for at least another 3 years.For two, I’ve spent significantly less time thinking of this camera as a DSLR replacement and have instead started to develop a very different way of shooting with it. The activation barrier to taking a shot with my D800 is quite high. Beyond having to bring a large camera wherever you go and have it in hand, a proper camera takes two hands and full attention to produce an image. I shoot slowly and methodically and often from a tripod with the D800. In contrast, I can pull the RX1 out, pop off the lens cap, line up and take a shot with one hand (often with a toddler in the other). This fosters a totally different type of photography.

My “be-there” camera

The have-everywhere camera that gives DSLR type controls to one-handed shooting lets me pursue images that happen very quickly or images that might not normally meet the standards of “drag-the-DSLR-out-of-the-bag.” Many of those images you’ll see on this post. A full year of shooting and I can say this with great confidence: the RX1 is a terrific mash-up of point-and-shoot and DSLR not just in image quality and features, but primarily in the product it helps me create. To take this thinking a bit further: I find myself even processing images from the RX1 differently than I would from my DSLR. So much so that I have strongly considered starting a tumblr and posting JPEGs directly from the RX1 via my phone or an iPad rather than running the bulk of them through Lightroom, onto Flickr and then on the blog (really this is just a matter of time, stay tuned, and those readers who have experience with tumblr, cloud image storage and editing, etc, etc, please contact me, I want to pick your brain).Put simply, I capture more spontaneous and beautiful “moments” than I might have otherwise. Photography is very much an exercise in “f/8 and be there,” and the RX1 is my go-to “be there” camera.

The family camera

I mentioned earlier that I justified the purchase of the RX1 partly as a camera to be used to document the family moments into which a DSLR doesn’t neatly fit. Over the past year I’ve collected thousands and thousands of family images with the RX1. The cold hard truth is that many of those photos could be better if I’d taken a full DSLR kit with me to the park or the beach or the grocery store each time. The RX1 is a difficult camera to use on a toddler (or any moving subject for that matter); autofocus isn’t as fast as a professional DSLR, it’s difficult to perfectly compose via an LCD (especially in bright sunlight), but despite these shortcomings, it’s been an incredibly useful family camera. There are simply so many beautiful moments where I had the RX1 over my shoulder, ready to go that whatever difficulties exist relative to a DSLR, those pale in comparison to the power of it’s convenience. The best camera is the one in your hand.

Where to go from here.

So what is the value of these RX1 going forward, especially in a world of the A7/r and it’s yet-to-be-born siblings without an EVF and a pancake lens? Frankly, at its current price (which is quite fair when you consider the value of the the body and the lens) I see precious little room for an independent offering versus a mirrorless, interchangeable lens system with the same image quality in a package just as small. That doesn’t mean Sony won’t make an RX2 or an RX1 Mark II (have a look at it’s other product lines to see how many SKUs are maintained despite low demand). Instead, I see the RX1 as a bridge that needed to exist for engineers, managers, and the market to make it to the A7/r and it’s descendants.A Facebook friend recently paid me a great compliment; he said something like, “Justin, via your blog, you’ve sold a ton of RX1 cameras.” Indeed, despite my efforts not to be a salesman, I think he’s right: I have and would continue to recommend this camera.The true value of the RX1 going forward is for those of us who have the thing on our shoulders; and yes, if you have an investment in and a love for a DSLR system, there’s still tremendous value in getting one, slinging it over your shoulder, and heading out into the wide, bright world; A7/r or no, this is just an unbelievably capable camera.

In 2013 Thierry Geoffroy / Colonel is represented at the Malives pavilion at the Venice Biennale and then went further and received hospitality at the Zimbabwe pavilion with the Emergency Room Mobile

www.emergencyrooms.org/biennalist.html

Meanwhile Thierry Geoffroy is in Copenhagen the work about todays emergencies continue at the gallery Marianne Friis on the WARM UP Wall established for this occasion since 6sept 2013

thierrygeoffroy.blogspot.dk/2013/09/colonel-s-warm-up-wal...

www.emergencyrooms.org

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other pavilions at Venice Biennale

Andorra Artists: Javier Balmaseda, Samantha Bosque, Fiona Morrison

Commissioner: Henry Périer Deputy Commissioners: Francesc Rodríguez, Ermengol Puig, Ruth Casabella

Curators: Josep M. Ubach, Paolo De GrandisAngola Artist: Edson Chagas Commissioner: Ministry of Culture

Curators: Beyond Entropy (Paula Nascimento, Stefano Rabolli Pansera), Jorge Gumbe, Feliciano dos Santos

Argentina Artist: Nicola Costantino Commissioner: Magdalena Faillace Curator: Fernando Farina

Armenia Artist: Ararat SarkissianCurator: Arman Grogoryan /AustraliaArtist: Simryn Gill Commissioner: Simon Mordant Deputy Commissioner: Penelope Seidler Curator: Catherine de Zegher /AustriaArtist: Mathias Poledna ,Curator: Jasper Sharp /AzerbaijanArtists: Rashad Alakbarov, Sanan Aleskerov, Chingiz Babayev, Butunay Hagverdiyev, Fakhriyya Mammadova, Farid Rasulov /Commissioner: Heydar Aliyev FoundationCurator: Hervé Mikaeloff

Bahamas Artist: Tavares Strachan Commissioner: Nalini Bethel, Ministry of Tourism Curators: Jean Crutchfield, Robert HobbsDeputy Curator: Stamatina Gregory/BangladeshChhakka Artists’ Group: Mokhlesur Rahman, Mahbub Zamal, A. K. M. Zahidul Mustafa, Ashok Karmaker, Lala Rukh Selim, Uttam Kumar Karmaker. Dhali Al Mamoon, Yasmin Jahan Nupur, Gavin Rain, Gianfranco Meggiato, Charupit School/Commissioner/Curator: Francesco Elisei. , Curator: Fabio Anselmi./BahrainArtists: Mariam Haji, Waheeda Malullah, Camille Zakharia /Commissioner: Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Culture /Curator: Melissa Enders-Bhatiaa/BelgiumArtist: Berlinde De Bruyckere

Commissioner: Joke Schauvliege, Flemish Minister for Environment, Nature and Culture .Curator: J. M. Coetzee ,Deputy Curator: Philippe Van Cauteren /Bosnia and Herzegovina

Artist: Mladen Miljanovic .Commissioners: Sarita Vujković, Irfan Hošić

Brazil Artists: Hélio Fervenza, Odires Mlászho, Lygia Clark, Max Bill, Bruno Munari

Commissioner: Luis Terepins, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo,Curator: Luis Pérez-Oramas ,Deputy Curator: André Severo

CanadaArtist: Shary Boyle /Commissioner: National Gallery of Canada / Musée des beaux-arts du Canada ,Curator: Josée Drouin-Brisebois/Central AsiaArtists: Vyacheslav Akhunov, Sergey Chutkov, Saodat Ismailova, Kamilla Kurmanbekova, Ikuru Kuwajima, Anton Rodin, Aza Shade, Erlan Tuyakov

Commissioner: HIVOS (Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation)

Deputy Commissioner: Dean Vanessa Ohlraun (Oslo National Academy of the Arts/The Academy of Fine Art)

Curators: Ayatgali Tuleubek, Tiago Bom

Scientific Committee: Susanne M. Winterling

ChileArtist: Alfredo JaarCommissioner: CNCA, National Council of Culture and the Arts Curator: Madeleine Grynsztejn

ChinaArtists: He Yunchang, Hu Yaolin, Miao Xiaochun, Shu Yong, Tong Hongsheng, Wang Qingsong, Zhang Xiaotao

Commissioner: China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG) ,Curator: Wang Chunchen

Costa Rica Artists: Priscilla Monge, Esteban Piedra, Rafael Ottón Solís, Cinthya Soto

Commissioner: Francesco EliseiCurator: Francisco Córdoba, Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo (Fiorella Resenterra)

Croatia Artist: Kata Mijatovic ,Commissioner/Curator: Branko Franceschi.

CubaArtists: Liudmila and Nelson, Maria Magdalena Campos & Neil Leonard, Sandra Ramos, Glenda León, Lázaro Saavedra, Tonel, Hermann Nitsch, Gilberto Zorio, Wang Du, H.H.Lim, Pedro Costa, Rui Chafes, Francesca Leone ,Commissioner: Miria ViciniCurators: Jorge Fernández Torres, Giacomo Zaza

CyprusArtists: Lia Haraki, Maria Hassabi, Phanos Kyriacou, Constantinos Taliotis, Natalie Yiaxi, Morten Norbye Halvorsen, Jason Dodge, Gabriel Lester, Dexter Sinister /Louli Michaelidou

Deputy Commissioners: Angela Skordi, Marika Ioannou/Curator: Raimundas Malašauskas

Czech Republic & Slovak RepublicArtists: Petra Feriancova, Zbynek Baladran ,Commissioner: Monika Palcova, Curator: Marek Pokorny /DenmarkArtist: Jesper Just in collaboration with Project ProjectsEgypt

Artists: Mohamed Banawy, Khaled Zaki

EstoniaArtist: Dénes Farkas ,Commissioner: Maria Arusoo ,Curator: Adam Budak

FinlandArtist: Antti Laitinen , Commissioner: Raija Koli , Curators: Marko Karo, Mika Elo, Harri Laakso

FranceArtist: Anri Sala ,Curator: Christine Macel

GeorgiaArtists: Bouillon Group,Thea Djordjadze, Nikoloz Lutidze, Gela Patashuri with Ei Arakawa and Sergei Tcherepnin, Gio Sumbadze/Commissioner: Marine Mizandari, First Deputy Minister of Culture Curator: Joanna Warsza

GermanyArtists: Ai Weiwei, Romuald Karmakar, Santu Mofokeng, Dayanita Singh Commissioner/Curator: Susanne Gaensheimer /Great BritainArtist: Jeremy Deller ,Commissioner: Andrea Rose , Curator: Emma Gifford-Mead

Holy SeeArtists: Lawrence Carroll, Josef Koudelka, Studio Azzurro ,Curator: Antonio Paolucci

Hungary , Artist: Zsolt Asztalos , Curator: Gabriella Uhl

Iceland , Artist: Katrín Sigurðardóttir ,Commissioner: Dorotheé Kirch

Curators: Mary Ceruti , Ilaria Bonacossa/IndonesiaArtists: Albert Yonathan Setyawan, Eko Nugroho, Entang Wiharso, Rahayu Supanggah, Sri Astari, Titarubi

Deputy Commissioner: Achille Bonito Oliva , Assistant Commissioner: Mirah M. Sjarif

Curators: Carla Bianpoen, Rifky Effendy

IraqArtists: Abdul Raheem Yassir, Akeel Khreef, Ali Samiaa, Bassim Al-Shaker, Cheeman Ismaeel, Furat al Jamil, Hareth Alhomaam, Jamal Penjweny, Kadhim Nwir, WAMI (Yaseen Wami, Hashim Taeeh)

Commissioner: Tamara Chalabi (Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture)Curator: Jonathan Watkins.

IrelandArtist: Richard MosseCommissioner, Curator: Anna O’Sullivan

Israel , Artist: Gilad Ratman , Commissioners: Arad Turgeman, Michael GovCurator: Sergio Edelstein

ItalyArtists: Francesco Arena, Massimo Bartolini, Gianfranco Baruchello, Elisabetta Benassi, Flavio Favelli, Luigi Ghirri, Piero Golia, Francesca Grilli, Marcello Maloberti, Fabio Mauri, Giulio Paolini, Marco Tirelli, Luca Vitone, Sislej Xhafa ,Commissioner: Maddalena Ragni

Curator: Bartolomeo Pietromarchi /Ivory Coast Artists: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Tamsir Dia, Jems Koko Bi, Franck Fanny

Commissioner: Paolo De Grandis , Curator: Yacouba Konaté

Japan ,Artist: Koki Tanaka ,Curator: Mika Kuraya

KenyaArtists: Kivuthi Mbuno, Armando Tanzini, Chrispus Wangombe Wachira, Fan Bo, Luo Ling & Liu Ke, Lu Peng, Li Wei, He Weiming, Chen Wenling, Feng Zhengjie, César MeneghettiCommissioner: Paola Poponi ,Curators: Sandro Orlandi, Paola Poponi /Korea (Republic of)Artist: Kimsooja

KosovoArtist: Petrit Halilaj ,Commissioner: Erzen Shkololli ,Curator: Kathrin Rhomberg

KuwaitArtists: Sami Mohammad, Tarek Al-Ghoussein

Commissioner: Mohammed Al-Asoussi ,Curator: Ala Younis /Latin AmericaIstituto Italo-Latino Americano

Artists:Marcos Agudelo, Miguel Alvear & Patricio Andrade, Susana Arwas, François Bucher, Fredi Casco, Colectivo Quintapata (Pascal Meccariello, Raquel Paiewonsky, Jorge Pineda, Belkis Ramírez), Humberto Díaz, Sonia Falcone, León & Cociña, Lucía Madriz, Jhafis Quintero, Martín Sastre, Guillermo Srodek-Hart, Juliana Stein, Simón Vega, Luca Vitone, David Zink Yi. /Harun Farocki & Antje Ehmann. In collaboration with: Cristián Silva-Avária, Anna Azevedo, Paola Barreto, Fred Benevides, Anna Bentes, Hermano Callou, Renata Catharino, Patrick Sonni Cavalier, Lucas Ferraço Nassif, Luiz Garcia, André Herique, Bruna Mastrogiovanni, Cezar Migliorin, Felipe Ribeiro, Roberto Robalinho, Bruno Vianna, Beny Wagner, Christian Jankowski ,Commissioner: Sylvia Irrazábal ,Curator: Alfons Hug

Deputy Curator: Paz Guevara /Latvia Artists: Kaspars Podnieks, Krišs Salmanis ,Commissioners: Zane Culkstena, Zane Onckule ,Curators: Anne Barlow, Courtenay Finn, Alise Tifentale

LithuaniaArtist: Gintaras Didžiapetris, Elena Narbutaite, Liudvikas Buklys, Kazys Varnelis, Vytaute Žilinskaite, Morten Norbye Halvorsen, Jason Dodge, Gabriel Lester, Dexter SinisterCommissioners: Jonas Žokaitis, Aurime Aleksandraviciute Curator: Raimundas Malašauskas /LuxembourgArtist: Catherine LorentCommissioner: Clément Minighetti Curator: Anna Loporcaro /MexicoArtist: Ariel Guzik ,Commissioner: Gastón Ramírez Feltrín ,Curator: Itala Schmelz

Montenegro ,Artist: Irena Lagator Pejovic .Commissioner/Curator: Nataša Nikcevic

The Netherlands ,Artist: Mark Manders

Commissioner: Mondriaan Fund ,Curator: Lorenzo Benedetti

New Zealand Artist: Bill Culbert ,Commissioner: Jenny Harper ,Deputy Commissioner: Heather Galbraith ,Curator: Justin Paton /Finland: ,Artist: Terike Haapoja ,Commissioner: Raija Koli ,Curators: Marko Karo, Mika Elo, Harri Laakso

Norway:Artists: Edvard Munch, Lene Berg

Curators: Marta Kuzma, Pablo Lafuente, Angela Vettese

Paraguay Artists: Pedro Barrail, Felix Toranzos, Diana Rossi, Daniel Milessi ,Commissioner: Elisa Victoria Aquino Laterza

Deputy Commissioner: Nori Vaccari Starck , Curator: Osvaldo González Real

Poland Artist: Konrad Smolenski Commissioner: Hanna Wróblewska Curators: Agnieszka Pindera, Daniel Muzyczuk

Portugal Artist: Joana Vasconcelos Curator: Miguel Amado

RomaniaArtists: Maria Alexandra Pirici, Manuel Pelmus Commissioner: Monica Morariu Deputy Commissioner: Alexandru Damia Curator: Raluca VoineaArtists: Anca Mihulet, Apparatus 22 (Dragos Olea, Maria Farcas,Erika Olea), Irina Botea, Nicu Ilfoveanu, Karolina Bregula, Adi Matei, Olivia Mihaltianu, Sebastian MoldovanCommissioner: Monica Morariu ,Deputy Commissioner: Alexandru Damian ,Curator: Anca Mihulet

Russia Artist: Vadim Zakharov ,Commissioner: Stella Kasaeva ,Curator: Udo Kittelmann

Serbia Artists: Vladimir Peric, Miloš Tomic .Commissioner: Maja Ciric

SloveniaArtist: Jasmina CibicCommissioner: Blaž Peršin ,Curator: Tevž Logar

South Africa Commissioner: Saul Molobi ,Curator: Brenton Maart

Spain Artist: Lara Almarcegui , Commissioner/Curator: Octavio Zaya

Switzerland Artist: Valentin Carron Commissioners: Pro Helvetia - Sandi Paucic and Marianne Burki

Curator: Giovanni CarmineVenue: Pavilion at Giardini

Syrian Arab RepublicArtists: Giorgio De Chirico, Miro George, Makhowl Moffak, Al Samman Nabil, Echtai Shaffik, Giulio Durini, Dario Arcidiacono, Massimiliano Alioto, Felipe Cardena, Roberto Paolini, Concetto Pozzati, Sergio Lombardo, Camilla Ancilotto, Lucio Micheletti, Lidia Bachis, Cracking Art Group, Hannu Palosuo

Commissioner: Christian Maretti Curator: Duccio Trombadori

Taiwan Artists: Bernd Behr, Chia-Wei Hsu, Kateřina Šedá + BATEŽO MIKILU Curator: Esther Lu

Thailand Artists: Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch, Arin Rungjang

Curators: Penwadee Nophaket Manont, Worathep Akkabootara

Turkey Artist: Ali Kazma Commissioner: Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts Curator: Emre Baykal

Ukraine Artists: Ridnyi Mykola, Zinkovskyi Hamlet, Kadyrova Zhanna Commissioner: Victor Sydorenko

Curators: Soloviov Oleksandr, Burlaka Victoria

United Arab Emirates Artist: Mohammed Kazem /Commissioner: Dr. Lamees Hamdan Curator: Reem Fadda

Uruguay Artist: Wifredo Díaz Valdéz

Commissioner: Ricardo Pascale Curators: Carlos Capelán, Verónica Cordeiro

USA Artist: Sarah Sze Commissioners/Curators: Carey Lovelace, Holly Block

Venezuela Colectivo de Artistas Urbanos Venezolanos , Commissioner: Edgar Ernesto González Curator: Juan Calzadilla

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Encyclopedic Palace is curated by Massimiliano Gioni

I decided the revisit the pod shape that emerged from the previous doodle. It was a conscious choice to draw three pods. The rest developed as I went along.

New design for driven.

Continuing with an exploration of Sony in-camera jpg generator "Creative Styles" using "Light" as the basis for B&W images. The idea is to under-expose a scene by 1/3 of a stop and convert to BW after downloading images onto a tablet or small computer.

The goal is to have something "presentable" for when I'm on the road and don't want to wait until I get home to work on RAW files.

On a tablette I'm able to tint BW images on the tablet using Snapseed as well, which sort of mimics what I can do on the Big Computer.

I'll see soon enough if any of this is worth pursuing as we have several adventures planned for the Fall. Having said that, the places we'll be visiting will probably be best expressed in color. And for that I've found I really like Sony "Creative Style - Deep." Of course I'll be shooting RAW+jpg.

Continuing my adventures in film, this is my latest acquisition. A Micro-Press 4" x 5" on loan from a good friend. The whole idea with this is to use it as a pinhole!

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

NAe São Paulo is a Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier currently in service with the Brazilian Navy. São Paulo was first commissioned in 1963 by the French Navy as Foch and was transferred in 2000 to Brazil, where she became the new flagship of the Brazilian Navy. In December 2014 it was announced that São Paulo will be expected to continue active service until 2039, at which time the vessel will be nearly 80 years old.

The two prototypes completed a thorough test program until summer 2015 and subsequently went on a sales tour in South America and Asia. In the meantime, serial production started at EMBRAER's Gavião Peixoto in November 2015. The first serial machines, now officially designated AF-2A, arrived at the Brazilian Navy's São Pedro da Aldeia air base where a new Intercept and Attack Plane Squadron, VF-2 'Arquieros' (Archers) was founded. The squadron became operational in April 2016 and Grifos embarked on NAe São Paulo for the first time in September 2016, serving alongside the venerable AF-1.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Payload: 5,300 kg (11,700 lb)

Length: 13,54 m (44 ft 4 in)

Wingspan (incl. wing tip launch rails): 8.32 m (27 ft 2 in)

Height: 4.25 m (13 ft 11 in)

Wing area: 30.0 m² (323 ft²)

Empty weight: 6,800 kg[330] (14,990 lb)

Loaded weight: 8,500 kg (18,700 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (31,000 lb)

Wheel track: 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)

Powerplant:

1 × General Electric F414-EPE afterburning turbofan with

a dry thrust of 54 kN (12,100 lbf) and 85 kN (19,100 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 2 (2,204 km/h (1,190 kn; 1,370 mph) at high altitude

Combat radius: 800 km (497 mi, 432 nmi)

Ferry range: 3,200 km (1,983 mi) with drop tanks

Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)

Wing loading: 283 kg/m² (58 lb/ft²)

Thrust/weight: 0.97

Maximum g-load: +9 g

Armament:

1× 27 mm Mauser BK-27 Revolver cannon with 120 rounds

Eight hardpoints (three on each wing and two under fuselage)

for a wide range of guide and unguided ordnance of up to 14,330 lb (6.5 t)

The kit and its assembly:

The fictional Grifo is the result of a generic idea of converting a canard layout aircraft like the Saab Viggen into a conventional design. The Viggen was actually a serious candidate, but then I found an Italeri Gripen in the stash without a real purpose (it had been cheap, though), and with Brazil's real world procurement as background, the more conservative Grifo was born.

I wanted to use as many OOB Gripen parts as possible, and there are actually only a few external donations involved – with the outlook of converting further Gripens this way. You never know… ;)

Work started with the wings, which were cut off of the fuselage shell. Having the landing gear retract into the fuselage (much like the X-29) is a convenient detail of the Gripen, making the wing transplantation easier than on a Viggen where the wells have to be moved, too.

The original canard attachment points were faired over/hidden. The pointed Gripen nose with its pitot was cut off and replaced by a shorter, more stocky nose tip - from an F-4 Phantom II IIRC. Once the fuselage was completed, the wings were mounted, closer to the air intakes. This went smoothly, only some gaps on the undersides had to be filled.

Once the wings were in place I had to make a decision concerning the stabilizers. Despite the plan to use as many OOB parts as possible I found the OOB canards to be too sharply swept and considered several donation options.

I eventually settled for the most unique option: the stabilizers are actually main wings from a (rather malformed) Italeri/Dragon 1:200 F-117 that comes as a set with the B-2 bomber. A part of the F-117’s fuselage flank was cut off and taken over to the Grifo, too, so that these create ‘muscular’ bulges.

The stabilizers were mounted on scratched consoles/trailing wing root extensions that were somewhat inspired by the F-16’s tail design – putting the stabilizers directly onto the fuselage would have looked awkward, and with this solution I was able to extend the Gripen’s BWB-design all along the fuselage. As a side effect these consoles also offered a plausible place for rearward chaff dispensers.

The rear fuselage was shortened by 3mm, too – through the shorter nose and the wings further forward, the rest of the aircraft looked rather tail-heavy. While 3mm does not sound much, it helped with overall proportions.

The cannon fairing and the OOB pylons were taken over, as well as the cockpit interior. For carrier operations, several details were added, though: folding wing mechanism seams were engraved on the wings and an arrester hook with a fairing added under the tail section, flanked by new stabilizer fins.

The landing gear was basically taken OOB, too, but lengthened with styrene inserts for a higher stance: the main struts are now 2mm longer, while the front strut is 3mm taller. The latter was reversed, so that a catapult hook could be added to the front side, and slightly bigger wheels were mounted, too, so that the Grifo now has a rather stalky stance with a nose-up attitude. Simple, but effective!

The Sidewinders were taken OOB while the pair of AGM-84 Harpoon comes from Italeri’s 1:72 NATO weapons set.

Painting and markings:

I used the contemporary AF-1 paint scheme in three shades of grey as benchmark. These are FS 36187 (RAF Ocean Grey), FS 36307 (Flint Grey) and FS 36515 (Canadian Voodoo Grey) - sourced from a painting guide from Brazilian decal manufacturer FCM and backed by other knowledgeable sources from the region, too. And while the Ocean Grey appears a bit dark, I think that overall the colors are authentic. All paints are Modelmaster enamels.

After basic painting a light black ink wash was applied and panels highlighted through dry-brushing with lighter tones.

The cockpit interior was painted in Neutral Grey (FS 36173), while the landing gear became all-white.

The Brazilian Navy markings had to be improvised - there are 1:72 AF-1 decals available, but either not obtainable or prohibitively expensive - or both. Therefore I rather improvised, with basic Brazilian Navy markings from a vintage FCM Decal sheet for various Brazilian aircraft.

The respective roundels and codes actually belong to helicopters, and I had to wing it somehow. Unfortunately, the old FCM decals turned out to be ...old. Brittle and very delicate, application was already messy and they did not adhere well to the model. To make matters worse the acrylic varnish turned cloudy, so that a lot of paintwork repair had to be done - not helping much with a satisfactory kit finish. :(

Another interesting conversion – I am amazed how purposeful the Grifo looks. It reminds me with its high stance of a modern A-4 Skyhawk (what it somehow is), and there’s also some Super Étendard in it, esp. in the profile? At some point before painting it also had a somewhat Chinese look - maybe because the top view and the wing planform reminds of the classic MiG-21…? The wings might have been placed 3-4mm further backwards, since it is always difficult to judge proportions while work is still, but the Grifo looks convincingly like a real aircraft (model).

Aeronaves bonita! :D

Modèle : Fran

Make up : Quoi Fair by Sonia

Photographes : Hervé Villieu & JP Cloux

Studio : Shooting Zone

Marc Venon Photographie

Marc Venon Photographie ©Tous Droits Réservés Février 2020 reproduction interdite sans accord

Continued

Pismo Beach History, Visitor Center Information

The history of people at Pismo Beach starts at least 9,000 years ago with the Chumash Indians, who referred to the area as a place to find pismu, or tar. The Pismo Beach region has an interesting history going back in time to 1769, when Don Gaspar de Portola and parties camped in the area. According to the diary of Costanso, a member of the Portola party, “The party continued over the sand dunes and then descended to the beach, along which they walked for several miles before camping for the night. Near their camping place was an Indian village of some forty people.” Undoubtedly, the beach walked upon by the Portola party was that known today as Pismo Beach. We invite you to take a look at our rich history.

The First Pismo Beach

The City is part of the original 8,838-acre Rancho Pismo. Rancho Pismo was granted to Jose Ortega by Manuel Rinemo Goriod on November 18, 1840. Ortega is thought to have built a small adobe that later became part of the Price Adobe. The rancho was later acquired by Issac Sparks. Some folktales relate that Sparks won the land from Ortega in a game of monte, but it appears from records kept by John M. Price that the ranch was purchased for 477 head of cattle. Sparks, in 1850, appears to have given John Price El Pizmo Rancho instead of paying him wages in gold, as the deed shows a cost of $1 for the property. Upon Spark’s death, John Michael Price and Captain David Mallagh received a share of the land. Price lived and worked on the rancho until his death in 1902. Price built up sizeable horse and cattle herds, which he moved onto the rancho. Mallagh owned a section of Rancho Pismo around the cave landing area (now Pirate’s Cove), where he established a wharf business. Price purchased some of the property in 1854. A portion of the southern part, which is now Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande, was sold to Francisco Branch. This left him with Shell Beach, Pismo Beach area and a large section running back into Price Canyon. In 1875, Price took the first step toward funding the community of Pismo Beach when he built a hotel on the road from Arroyo Grande to the People’s Wharf in Avila Beach. The hotel was not a success and Price had the hotel moved to the beach in 1884. In 1881, Price leased oceanfront land to the Meherin brothers to build a wharf and a warehouse. This wharf at the end of Main Street was successful and the hotel’s new location was next to this operation. The school district was founded in 1888, and the Post Office was also established then.

Parceling Pismo Beach

In February 1886, Price hired R.R. Harris to survey and design a map of the subdivisions of part of the Ranchos El Pismo and San Miguelito, and to also map out and draw a plan for a town to be called “El Pismo.” This was initiated in April 1886. A year later, the Pismo Beach Company again subdivided part of the community and recorded a map of the “Town El Pizmo.” It is interesting to note that the Pismo Beach Company is given credit by some for the founding of the present City of Pismo Beach.

Pismo’s Pier

Back in 1881, Pismo’s original wharf opened for business. Taking off from a point below the present Main Street, remnants of the pilings may still be seen at very low tides.

It was not planned for recreation as such — it was a commercial venture designed in part to save freight fees for South County products. Lumber was received as well as other commodities. Stock was issued to farmers and landowners for $20 a share and the wharf was built for $14,613. The Meherin brothers, Arroyo Grande merchants, started the venture. Most credit is given to D.J. Meherin for its inception, construction and maintenance. In 1882, a year after its completion, Meherin figured the wharf had saved the people of the county $35,000 in decreased freight rates compared with those of the steamer line they would have patronized. Thirty-eight vessels were loaded at the wharf in 1882. Two warehouses were built near the entrance where teams could move cargo in and out. A small hand car track led out to the end of the pier. The wharf was still active in 1890, but a few years later it gave way during a heavy storm. Probably contributing to the disaster was a load of heavy “bituminous rock” that had been dug in Edna and was waiting in sacks for shipment to San Francisco to be used as paving material. The new pier that replaced the original was built in 1924 and was much longer than it is today. Some can remember driving cars along its length, then backing out, or using the tight turn around at the end. It is said that it extended out far enough that Navy ships could tie up and the men could come ashore. The pier has sustained damage several times, but a major storm tore up the south side of the sea wall and about 500 feet off the end of the pier early in its existence. It was never put back. After a 1983 storm washed out most of the wharf, it was rebuilt in its present configuration in 1985-86. The state, county and city all have an interest in the pier. The pier at Pismo Beach continues to be one of the community’s major attractions.

Tourism

John Price realized the potential Pismo had for tourism when he built the Pismo Beach Hotel. The Pismo Beach Hotel was sold to A.E. Pomeroy and Charles Stimson in 1887. They enlarged the hotel and renamed it the El Pizmo Inn. The hotel was sold and resold many times. In early times, the area was thought of as a place to spend several months, relaxing and enjoying the surroundings. Early advertisements for the El Pizmo Inn encouraged visitors to come and enjoy the “fine duck hunting and the pleasant surroundings.” The 1900s were wild times in Pismo Beach. Pismo was noted for having many saloons, along with several notorious brothels. Other amusement type businesses at the time, besides the hotels, offered a variety of entertainment, including a skating rink, a bowling alley, and a dance hall. The property directly south of Shell Beach now known as Dinosaur Caves, was the site of an amusement park, with a giant cement dinosaur to gather attention. H. Douglas Brown started building the dinosaur in 1948 and was stopped by local opposition. The headless dinosaur remained a local landmark until it was torn down in the late 1950s. Pismo Beach was also known to be a place to find booze during the Prohibition Era. The second El Pizmo Inn was built about the turn of the century and became so popular that a “Tent City” was erected for the overflow of tourists. They were clean, well-organized 18′ x 14′ tents that could be rented for $8 a week. Resting on wooden planks, the tents were located where the Clam Digger stands today. Eventually, the Tent City was expanded to where the theater now stands. “Tent City” lasted into the late 1920s. The Southern Pacific Railroad also helped tourism in Pismo Beach. It brought people from the San Francisco Bay area to Pismo Beach in one of the first “timeshare” operations. The people paid $30 for a ride down to Pismo Beach and then stayed in the Tent City. If the tourists liked the tents, the railroad would use their fare as a down payment on a tent for the people. If the people didn’t like the tent, their money was refunded and they returned to San Francisco free of charge. It was rumored that more people stayed than asked for refunds. In 1912, Highway 2, today’s Highway 101, was routed through Pismo Beach, giving automobile travelers an easy route to the beach. Highway 101 was not expanded to four lanes until the late 1950s.

Shell Beach And Sunset Palisades

Shell Beach was quite different years ago, when it was nothing but pea fields. The area was the site of a Chumsh village. Floyd Calvert bought and developed much of the land in 1926. He paid $45,OOO for 41 acres between the ocean and the highways. When Calvert first visited Shell Beach, there were approximately 50 residents in the area. Calvert sold lots in the area for as little as $195. A resident of Hollywood, Calvert was told about the area by a friend in 1925. When he first visited Shell Beach, there was only one street, Boeker Avenue, with a few cottages on it. Calvert was struck by the beauty of Shell Beach and bought a portion of it. In January 1926, he opened offices in the area, hired seven salesmen and began selling land to people seeking summer retreats from the hot valley. When the summer selling season was over that first year, Calvert had to close his offices. The depression, which was to hit hard in 1929, was beginning to be felt. Then Calvert had to devise a new way to sell his land. He offered it for $5 a month. Even then it was hard to sell. During the Depression, Calvert, who had been a builder in Hollywood, lost all his property except for Shell Beach. He had such faith in this area he thought if he could hold on to this land, someday people would realize its worth. It took Calvert 20 years to sell the first 456 lots on the Shell Beach land he owned. But shortly before and after World War II, Calvert began to have more success selling lots. During World War II, many soldiers had trained in California. They liked the climate and wanted to live in the area. It was then that Shell Beach changed from a resort area for residents of the San Joaquin Valley to a residential community. When Calvert began to break ground for building houses, he found skeletons of Indians who had died and were buried in the area. He also found copper bracelets, arrowheads, spearheads, and stone bowls, which had been used for grinding meal. Most of the Indian artifacts were found near the ocean between Placentia and Palomar Streets. Major archaeological sites have been noted in this area and that of Sunset Palisades. It was known as Oilport and was opened in August of 1907, quite different from today’s residential Sunset Palisades area. Built with investor funds, it operated for only one month. The plant, built by California Petroleum Refineries Ltd., was to be the most modern on the West Coast. Nearly 2.25 million bricks went into the construction of the facilities. Financed primarily by investors, it cost over $2 million to build. It was to be the most complete refinery on the coast. It was set up to produce kerosene, gasoline, lubricating oil, and oil byproducts. The refinery existed until just after World War II, when it was finally torn down. The land was sold, subdivided and replaced with housing.

Incorporation

1926 saw the first incorporation attempt in Pismo Beach. Though it failed, attempts to incorporate the city were finally successful in 1939, when Pismo Beach became a sixth-class city by a majority of seven votes. In 1940, worries over increased taxes led the citizens to vote to disincorporate the city. The majority was eight votes in the election. The present city government dates from 1946. Pismo Beach is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2021

Crews prepare to pave KOHO's first roads.

Kartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan and Subramaniyan, is the Hindu god of war. He is the commander-in-chief of the army of the devas (gods) and the son of Shiva and Parvati.

Murugan is often referred to as "Tamil Kadavul" (meaning "God of Tamils") and is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and Katirkāmam Temple situated deep south.[1] Hindus in Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves and various temples where Thaipusam is celebrated with grandeur.

In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kartikeya is known as Subrahmanya with a temple at Kukke Subramanya known for Sarpa shanti rites dedicated to Him and another famous temple at Ghati Subramanya also in Karnataka. In Bengal and Odisha, he is popularly known as Kartikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika').[2]

Other names[edit]

Like most Hindu deities, Subrahmanya is known by many other names, including Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Kumāran (meaning 'prince or child or young one'), Swaminatha (meaning 'smart' or 'clever'), Saravaṇa, Arumugam or Shanmuga (meaning 'one with six faces'), Dhandapani (meaning God with a Club), Guhan or Guruguha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Subrahmanya, Kartikeya and Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed).[3][4] He was also known as Mahasena and the Kadamba Dynasty kings worshiped him by this name.[5]

Vedas[edit]

The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' because he is form of 'Agni' (Fire God) & Agni hold in his hand when kumaran born. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the six faces of Rudra. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the legend of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana is devoted to the narrative of Kartikeya.[6] The Upanishads also constantly make a reference to a Supreme Being called Guha, the indweller.

The first elaborate account of Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Mahabharata. In a complicated story, he is said to have been born from Agni and Svaha, after the latter impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Kartikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Asura Mahisha.[7] (In later mythology, Mahisha became the adversary of Durga.) Indra attacks Kartikeya as he sees the latter as a threat, until Shiva intervenes and makes Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. The origin of this marriage lies probably in the punning of 'Deva-sena-pati'. It can mean either lord of Devasena or Lord of the army (sena) of Devas. But according to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, in his master work on Shiva[8] and other works, Kartikeya was married to Devasenā and that is on the ground of his name as Devasena's husband, Devasenāpati, misinterpreted as Deva-senāpati (Deva's general) that he was granted the title general and made the Deva's army general.[9]

The Ramayana version is closer to the stories told in the Puranas discussed below.

Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[10] The Sangam poetry divided space and Tamil land into five allegorical areas (tinai) and according to the Tirumurugarruppatai ( c. 400–450 AD) attributed to the great Sangam poet Nakkiirar, Murugan was the presiding deity the Kurinci region (hilly area). (Tirumurugaruppatai is a deeply devotional poem included in the ten idylls (Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam). The other Sangam era works in Tamil that refer to Murugan in detail include the Paripaatal, the Akananuru and the Purananuru. One poem in the Paripaatal describes the veneration of Murugan thus:

"We implore thee not for boons of enjoyment or wealth,

But for thy grace beatific, love and virtuous deeds."

According to the Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress". In another work, Thirumurukkarrupatai, he is described as a god of eternal youth;

His face shines a myriad rays light and removes the darkness from this world.[11]

The references to Murugan can be traced back to the first millennium BCE. There are references to Murugan in Kautilya's Arthashastra, in the works of Patanjali, in Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumarasambhavam. The Kushanas, who governed from what is today Peshawar, and the Yaudheyas, a republican clan in the Punjab, struck coins bearing the image of Skanda. The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Guptas.[6] The worship of Kumāra was one of the six principal sects of Hinduism at the time of Adi Shankara. The Shanmata system propagated by him included this sect. In many Shiva and Devi temples of Tamil Nadu, Murugan is installed on the left of the main deity. The story of His birth goes as follows:

Sati immolated herself in a pyre as her father King Daksha had insulted Shiva, her Lord. She was reborn as Parvathi or Uma, daughter of the King of Himalayas, Himavan. She then married her Lord Shiva. The Devas were under onslaught from the Asuras whose leader was Soorapadman. He had been granted boons that only Lord Shiva or his seed could kill him. Fearless he vanquished the Devas and made them his slaves. The Devas ran to Vishnu for help who told them that it was merely their fault for attending Daksha's yagna, without the presence of Lord Shiva. After this, they ran to Shiva for help. Shiva decided to take action against Soorapadman's increasing conceit. He frowned and his third eye- the eye of knowledge- started releasing sparks. These were six sparks in total. Agni had the responsibility to take them to Saravana Lake. As he was carrying them, the sparks were growing hotter and hotter that even the Lord of Fire could not withstand the heat. Soon after Murugan was born on a lotus in the Saravana Lake with six faces, giving him the name Arumukhan. Lord Shiva and Parvati visited and tears of joy started flowing as they witnessed the most handsome child. Shiva and Parvathi gave the responsibility of taking care of Muruga to the six Krittika sisters. Muruga grew up to be a handsome, intelligent, powerful, clever youth. All the Devas applauded at their saviour, who had finally come to release them from their woes. Murugan became the supreme general of the demi-gods, then escorted the devas and led the army of the devas to victory against the asuras.

Legends[edit]

Given that legends related to Murugan are recounted separately in several Hindu epics, some differences between the various versions are observed. Some Sanskrit epics and puranas indicate that he was the elder son of Shiva. This is suggested by the legend connected to his birth; the wedding of Shiva and Parvati being necessary for the birth of a child who would vanquish the asura named Taraka. Also, Kartikeya is seen helping Shiva fight the newborn Ganesha, Shiva's other son, in the Shiva Purana. In the Ganapati Khandam of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is seen as the elder son of Shiva and Ganesha as the younger. In South India, it is believed that he is the younger of the two. A Puranic story has Ganesha obtain a divine fruit of knowledge from Narada winning a contest with Murugan. While Murugan speeds around the world thrice to win the contest for the fruit, Ganesha circumambulates Shiva and Parvati thrice as an equivalent and is given the fruit. After winning it, he offers to give the fruit to his upset brother. After this event, Ganesha was considered the elder brother owing as a tribute to his wisdom. Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. This lead to a very interesting name : Devasenapati viz. Pati (husband) of Devsena and/or Senapati (commander in chief) of Dev (gods)

Kartikeya symbols are based on the weapons – Vel, the Divine Spear or Lance that he carries and his mount the peacock. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding a sakti or spear. This symbolizes his purification of human ills. His javelin is used to symbolize his far reaching protection, his discus symbolizes his knowledge of the truth, his mace represents his strength and his bow shows his ability to defeat all ills. His peacock mount symbolizes his destruction of the ego.

His six heads represent the six siddhis bestowed upon yogis over the course of their spiritual development. This corresponds to his role as the bestower of siddhis.

In Tamil Nadu, Murugan has continued to be popular with all classes of society right since the Sangam age. This has led to more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam, written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. (He was a scholar in Tamil literature, and a votary of the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy.)

He is married to two deities, Valli, a daughter of a tribal chief and Deivayanai (also called Devasena), the daughter of Indhra. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[12]

As Muruga is worshipped predominantly in Tamil Nadu, many of his names are of Tamil origin. These include Senthil, the red or formidable one; Arumugam, the six-faced one; Guhan and Maal-Marugan, the son-in-law of Vishnu. Murugan is venerated throughout the Tamil year. There is a six-day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. He is worshipped at Thaipusam, celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel or lance by his mother in order to vanquish the asuras. Thirukarthigai or the full moon of the Tamil month of Karthigai signifies his birth. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Murugan. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangala, the god of planet Mars and war.

Other parts of India[edit]

Historically, God Kartikeya was immensely popular in the Indian subcontinent. One of the major Puranas, the Skanda Purana is dedicated to him. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 24), Krishna, while explaining his omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, he says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war."

Kartikeya's presence in the religious and cultural sphere can be seen at least from the Gupta age. Two of the Gupta kings, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta, were named after him. He is seen in the Gupta sculptures and in the temples of Ellora and Elephanta. As the commander of the divine armies, he became the patron of the ruling classes. His youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam. In ancient India, Kartikeya was also regarded as the patron deity of thieves, as may be inferred from the Mrichchakatikam, a Sanskrit play by Shudraka, and in the Vetala-panchvimshati, a medieval collection of tales. This association is linked to the fact that Kartikeya had dug through the Krauncha mountain to kill Taraka and his brothers (in the Mrichchakatikam, Sarivilaka prays to him before tunnelling into the hero's house).

However, Kartikeya's popularity in North India receded from the Middle Ages onwards, and his worship is today virtually unknown except in parts of Haryana. There is a very famous temple dedicated to Him in the town of Pehowa in Haryana and this temple is very well known in the adjoining areas, especially because women are not allowed anywhere close to it. Women stay away from this temple in Pehowa town of Haryana because this shrine celebrates the Brahmachari form of Kartikeya. Reminders of former devotions to him include a temple at Achaleshwar, near Batala in Punjab, and another temple of Skanda atop the Parvati hill in Pune, Maharashtra. Another vestige of his former popularity can be seen in Bengal and Odisha, where he is worshipped during the Durga Puja festivities alongside Durga. Lord Subramanya is the major deity among the Hindus of northern Kerala. Lord Subramanya is worshipped with utmost devotion in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the state of Karnataka. Rituals like nagaradhane are unique to this region.

Kartikeya also known as Kartik or Kartika is also worshipped in West Bengal, and Bangladesh on the last day of the Hindu month of 'Kartik'. However, the popularity of Kartik Puja (worshipping Kartik) is decreasing now, and Lord Kartik is primarily worshipped among those who intend to have a son. In Bengal, traditionally, many people drop images of Kartik inside the boundaries of different households, who all are either newly married, or else, intend to get a son to carry on with their ancestry. Lord Kartik is also associated to the Babu Culture prevailed in historic Kolkata, and hence, many traditional old Bengali paintings still show Kartik dressed in traditional Bengali style. Also, in some parts of West Bengal, Kartik is traditionally worshipped by the ancestors of the past royal families too, as in the district of Malda. Kartik Puja is also popular among the prostitutes. This can probably be linked to the fact that, the prostitutes mostly got clients from the upper class babu-s in old Kolkata, who all, in turn, had been associated to the image of Kartik (as discussed above). In Bansberia (Hooghly district) Kartik Puja festival is celebrated like Durga puja of Kolkata, Jagadhatri puja in Chandannagar for consecutive four days. The festival starts on 17 November every year and on 16 November in case of Leap year.[13] Some of the must see Puja committees are Bansberia Kundugoli Nataraj, Khamarapara Milan Samity RadhaKrishna, Kishor Bahini, Mitali Sangha, Yuva Sangha, Bansberia Pratap Sangha and many more.

In Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is considered to be a son of Parvati or Durga and Shiva along with his brother Ganesha and sisters Lakshmi and Saraswati.[14]

Kartikeya is worshiped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik. Kartik purnima is celebrated with much joy and in a grand fashion in Cuttack and other parts in the state.

Murugan is adored by both Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favorite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, Murugan is worshipped at the temple in Katirkāmam, where he is known as Kathiravel or Katragama Deviyo (Lord of Katragama) . This temple is next to an old Buddhist place of worship. Local legend holds that Lord Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local aboriginal lasses. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Lord Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo(Murugan)reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism,

Based on archeological evidence found, it is believed that the Kiri Vehera was either renovated to build during the 1st century BCE. There are number of others inscriptions and ruins.[15]

By the 16th century the Kathiravel shrine at Katirkāmam had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[16] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15 the century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[16] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[17]

Lord Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by Tamil people in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thai Poosam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Lord Murugan.

The main temples of Murugan are located in Tamil Nadu and other parts of south India. They include the Aru Padaiveedu (six abodes) — Thiruchendur, Swamimalai, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparangunram, Palani (Pazhani), Thiruthani and other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Pachaimalai and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.

There are many temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad and one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Lord Murugan is worshiped as the Lord of the serpents. Aaslesha Bali, Sarpa Samskara with nagapathista samarpa are major prayers here. There is a temple called Malai Mandir in South Delhi. Malai means hill in Tamil. Mandir means temple in Hindi.

The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Lord Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Lord Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.

In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Lord Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Lord Murugan. In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[18] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan. The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[19]

Day 245-- Part three in the continuing saga of the sick baby. Did I clone out a huge amount of personal information? Yes, I did.

Day three of Annika's fever dawned, and while the fever was better, the rash was worse. It was getting pretty gross, and Annika still didn't have one single symptom of a cold as diagnosed by the ER doctor, so we decided it was time to go back to the doctor. We were on vacation, a good three hours from our doctor's office, so our choices were the emergency room at the hospital (again) or the urgent care clinic. We opted for the urgent care clinic, because it sure didn't look like an emergency and we thought it would be a simple follow up visit.

My mom took Emily to Vacation Bible School at my in-laws' church while my husband and I took Annika to the doctor. After a grueling two hours, the doctor finally checked her out and reported back to us.

Annika had two ear infections and a throat infection that looked like strep throat. The initial strep test came back negative, but he would send it off to the lab to grow cultures and double check. She also had a diaper rash/ yeast infection and eczema, both of which opened up her skin to another infection, which was either strep or staph. If it was a staph infection, it was most likely MRSA, because that's what has been going around lately. MRSA is drug-resistant and won't respond to traditional antibiotics, so it is treated with sulfa drugs. This might not be a problem, except a baby whose daddy is allergic to sulfa (like my husband) has a good chance of sharing that allergy. Her hands and feet were also covered in blisters from coxsackie virus (hand foot mouth disease) which is highly contagious but not serious and is generally not treated.

The poor doctor was in over his head, and pointed out that he really works at a big first aid station and isn't equipped to deal with situations like this.

He decided to start antibiotics for the ear infections and hope that it would also wipe out the strep throat (if that's what it was) and the strep rash (if that's what it was) and then see what happened.

As we were sitting around waiting for the prescription and feeling overwhelmed, we got a call saying we needed to take Emily home because she was sick.

That's right! We're not done with this saga yet!

We got Annika's medicine (long and unpleasant trip to the pharmacy) while my mom got Emily. We met up at my parents' house, gave Emily a popsicle to help with the sore throat and fever that had appeared out of nowhere, and regrouped. My mom and husband stayed with the sick baby, and I took her sick sister back to the clinic. I assumed that since the doctor had just seen her sister, this would be a pretty straight-forward visit to get another bottle of antibiotics.

HA! After an hour and fifteen minutes of waiting with a miserable child, I finally convinced the receptionist/nurse to give Emily some Motrin for her fever. A few minutes later, she threw up all over the floor, the chair, her shoes, and our legs. The receptionist was really nice about helping to get us cleaned up and getting a bag to catch the rest of the barf, but then she told us that the doctor wanted us to go to the emergency room at the hospital instead of continuing to wait there. Yes, an hour and a half of waiting, and all we had to show for it was a paper bag containing vomit-soaked sandals. Sigh.

So I heaved my daughter, who is much heavier than her baby sister but too sick and barefoot to walk, out to the car and then into the hospital. Fortunately, the ER wasn't nearly as busy as it was two days ago, so we only had to wait about half an hour.

Emily's strep test also came back negative, but the doctor said she smelled like strep and agreed that she probably had what her sister had. Her legs, hands, and feet were also starting to get bumpy. Emily was given anti-nausea medicine. We waited 20 minutes for that to kick in. Then she was given Motrin again for the fever. Then we waited for her prescription and check out.

At this point, I had spent five or six hours at various medical facilities and knew I had another pharmacy trip before me, and that it would be difficult because I neglected to bring the proper insurance information on vacation with me. I hadn't eaten anything, so we stopped for a 4:00 lunch on the way to the pharmacy. By the time we got home, it was time for dinner, medicine all around, and bedtime.

Shoot me now.

The saga continues into chapter nine, but all is not right! Now, read on!

Shanghai

Continuing the Nanven series.....

This image was taken at sunset from the rocks above the honeypot location. I was looking to see how velvia would accentuate blueish tones in the shadows and I quite like the end result.

Pentax 67, 200mm lens, V50.

Barcelona, Spain.

Day three. Continuing our wandering up to the Montjuic area, now in the Old Botanical Gardens.

Diospyros is a genus of about 450-500 species of deciduous and evergreen trees. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. They are commonly known as ebony or persimmon trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words διός (dios), meaning "of Zeus" and πυρός (pyros), meaning "grain" and was originally applied to the Caucasian Persimmon (Diospyros lotus).

Diospyros species are important and conspicuous trees in many of their native ecosystems, such as lowland dry forests of the former Maui Nui in Hawaii, Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests, Kathiarbar-Gir dry deciduous forests, Louisiade Archipelago rain forests, Madagascar lowland forests, Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests, New Guinea mangroves or South Western Ghats montane rain forests. The fruit are rich in tannins and thus avoided by most herbivores when unripe; when ripe they are eagerly eaten by many animals however, such as the rare Aders' Duiker (Cephalophus adersi).

The foliage is used as food by the larvae of numerous Lepidoptera species.

The genus includes several plants of commercial importance, either for their edible fruit (persimmons) or for their timber (ebony). The latter are divided into two groups in trade: the pure black ebony (notably from D. ebenum, but also several other species), and the striped ebony or Calamander wood (from D. celebica, D. mun and others). Most species in the genus produce little to none of this black ebony-type wood; their hard timber (e.g. of American Persimmon, D. virginiana) may still be used on a more limited basis.

Leaves of the Coromandel Ebony (D. melanoxylon) are used to roll South Asian beedi cigarettes. Several species are used in herbalism, and D. leucomelas yields the versatile medical compound betulinic acid. Though bees do not play a key role as pollinators, in plantations Diospyros may be of some use as honey plant. D. mollis, locally known as mặc nưa, is used in Vietnam to dye the famous black lãnh Mỹ A silk of Tân Châu district.

These trees are well-known in their native range, and consequently much used as floral emblems. In Indonesia, D. celebica (Makassar Ebony, known locally as eboni) is the provincial tree of Central Sulawesi, while ajan kelicung (D. macrophylla) is that of West Nusa Tenggara. The emblem of the Japanese island of Ishigaki is the Yaeyama kokutan (D. ferrea). In Thailand, the Gold Apple (D. decandra) is the provincial tree of Chanthaburi and Nakhon Pathom Provinces, while Black-and-white Ebony (D. malabarica) is that of Ang Thong Province. The name of the Thai district Amphoe Tha Tako literally means "District of the Diospyros pier" after a famous local gathering spot.

Made a frame from used pallet. Finished product will be a table that lays over the fire pit for times when it is not in use.