The P-47 Thunderbolt was a durable and powerful fighter plane used by the United States during World War II. It had a distinctive design, strong armament, and could operate in different combat roles. Its resilience and firepower made it a valuable asset in the war.

Durable glass food storage containers!

The concrete, while durable, will erode away long before the rock seawall. Happy Saturday for Stairs!

Yes I know, not two words you might often hear together, but this little machine has proved its worth, again in the Stanway's fleet.

I took this photo in the Surrey village of Ockley when I originally collected the little bus on behalf of the company, and after an initial hiccup with a water leak, discovered when turning round after taking this photo, it made the 180 mile journey back to base in a sedate and unexciting manner. Following a re-paint and some degree of indecision regarding the layout of the colours (very little by way of beading to use) it entered service. I'm pleased to report that as I type this in 2020 it still performs a regular job each weekday.

Northern Counties bodied L108 HHV (now MIG 9497) was new to London Northern as their DNL108 after which it passed to Hedingham Omnibuses from where it was eventually bought by dealer Mike Nash ... which is where we came in.

Durable, Reliable, Affordable.

 

[Captured with Sony A7iv]

Amitermes meridionalis, commonly known as the magnetic termite or compass termite, is a species of eusocial insect in the family Termitidae. It is endemic to northern Australia and the common names derive from the fact that the wedge-shaped mound is aligned with its main axis running north and south.

A large mound may house up to a million individual termites. Each is the nest of a colony of Amitermes meridionalis and houses the queen, king, reproductives, soldiers and workers. The outer surface of the mound is hard and durable whereas the material separating the chambers and galleries inside is more papery. The soldiers are 4 to 6 mm (0.16 to 0.24 in) long and their curved mandibles bear a single in-turned tooth.[1] Many termites never leave the mound and as a result of this protected environment they have thin cuticles, colourless bodies, little sight and little ability to protect themselves.

Amitermes meridionalis is native to the northern part of Northern Territory of Australia, around Darwin. The slab-like mounds are found in low-lying grassland areas that flood during the rainy season. The mounds are often widely scattered, but may be grouped together in a graveyard-like manner.

The mounds built by this termite can be up to 4 m (13 ft) tall, 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) deep. The nests are laterally flattened and are oriented so that they receive the warmth of the sun on their eastern and western sides in the morning and evening while exposing less surface to the sun at midday when the nest might overheat. The interior of the mound is kept at a relatively stable temperature and a high humidity. In the summer, when the land floods, the termites remain safely inside feeding on their stored food supplies. In the dry season, when the water drains away, the surrounding grass senesces and the termites gather the drying grass and other plant material to store as hay in chambers in the mound. Feeding as it does on grass and other vegetation, Amitermes meridionalis is of little economic importance.

 

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This week is all about focusing on the details. The pretty red raspberry martini was a detail of our dinner with friends I wanted to remember. 🍸

You can't help but admire the durability of things like this. They take decades of heat and cold, rain and snow, road salt, dirt and everything else. And then we get to see it in its rusty glory. The light really helped bring out the texture and details when I stopped to look down at it.

"U.S. Durable Goods Orders Rise 4.9% for January" by REUTERS via NYT t.co/vpsw5R5u8a (via Twitter twitter.com/felipemassone/status/702942558117298176)

Remnants of these durable tracks that were laid in many of our woodland areas in in this part of Kent.

Local folk have recorded Brit and Canadian army blokes that were billeted with local families and vacant houses.

The Canadian engineering regiments were responsible for the defence of Britain while the Brits were away at war. I don't think it is appreciated just how much they did for us during those dark years.

Many, many miles of this sort of track were made, probably to allow vehicular access to hidden installations that were the front lines for air defence. including, ... barrage balloons, Anti-aircraft guns and searchlights, .... and perhaps the odd NAAFI van, for sustenance while on duty.

 

The paths have been exposed like never before, due to recent weathering. All the rubble used to make the tracks, came from the thousands of bombed houses, ... large or small.

It is interesting to examine closely to see the type of debris that was used. Some bricks and tiles were obviously from up-market houses or mansions, and fragments of china and glass can be seen or found, that were once someone's cherished possessions until a bomb or V weapon brought all to a sudden and fragmented end.

 

th.bing.com/th/id/R.3029bbf6324f7881dc760ee592f9e76c?rik=...

N421SV, a Bombardier Learjet 35A, on approach to runway 24L at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario.

 

Serial number 35A-660 began its career as C-GLJQ with Bombardier Inc. at Dorval, Quebec on January 8, 1991.

The Nikon F3, Nikon's first pro-level camera with an electronic shutter, was in production from 1980 through 2001. The pictured camera is fitted with the HP High-Eyepoint prism.

 

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

 

The Nikon F3 was the first professional level Nikon SLR to incorporate an electronic shutter and automatic exposure capability. Of course, the F3 provides the same high-quality materials, refined fit and finish, and durability for professional use as all F-Series cameras. Like its predecessors, the F3 was part of a remarkably broad and advanced professional camera system.

 

When used in the new aperture priority mode, shutter speed range is a stepless 8 sec. to 1/2000 sec. An F3HP is an F3 body with a so-called "High-Eyepoint" DE-3 prism. Compared with the original F3 standard DE-2 eyelevel finder, the F3HP has a larger viewfinder eyepiece. Actually, most of the F3s that I have seen incorporate the HP viewfinder. Of course, the F3HP viewfinder provides a 100% frame coverage, like all F-series cameras, and a large, bright image with 0.8x magnification. Nikon offered 21 interchangeable focusing screens for the F3, but for general photography, the standard K screen (with split image, microprism collar, and matte field) is satisfactory.

 

Back in the day, I waited years to upgrade to the F3HP because I liked my F2AS so much. However, since I, like many, had been using a Nikon FE as my second body together with the F2AS, I eventually succumbed to the desire to have aperture priority auto exposure metering on my main camera body, as well.

 

The F3HP, particularly without the optional MD-4 motor drive attachment, has a perfect shape, body size, and weight for comfortable and stable holding as well as all-day carrying. The F3's built-in handgrip allows a firm grasp.

 

One advantage of the F3 over the F and F2 is that the exposure meter is incorporated into the camera body instead of the prism. As a result, you can now change viewfinders and still keep the exposure meter. The F3HP's easy-to-view High Eyepoint DE-3 prism is perfect for most purposes, but for various specialized professional applications, Nikon offered other types, such as the DW-3 Waist-Level Finder, the DA-2 Action Finder, and the DW-4 6x Magnification Finder. Nikon even produced the DX-1 AF Finder, with an electronic focus-aid indication!

 

The exposure meter on/off switch is a plastic lever that is incorporated around the shutter release button. This is something of a precursor to a similar switch on the future F4 and other newer Nikon camera bodies. However, I find the switch on the F3 quite tight and hard to turn. In fact, my original switch got damaged from long use and became stuck in the off position. I had get the switch replaced at my local repair shop. Fortunately, there is no reason why the switch could not just be left in the on position during periods when the camera is in frequent use. Even with the switch in the on position, the meter circuit does not actually activate unless the film wind crank is pulled slightly away from the body and the shutter release button pushed part way down. The shutter and meter are locked off when the film advance lever is pressed into the lock position. The F3 is the first F-level camera to utilize a standard ISO shutter release thread in the center of the shutter release button, instead of the older AR-2 style connector. The shutter release button is positioned just right, in the middle of the body, and has a silky-smooth feel.

 

As indicated above, the F3 is the first F-series camera body to support aperture priority automatic exposure instead of just manual exposure adjustment. Simply turn the shutter speed dial to "A" to enter this mode, then adjust the aperture ring appropriately. A really cool feature of the F3 is the 80% center-weighted exposure meter, concentrated within the viewfinder's 12 mm outer reference circle area. The 80% central weighting is a great compromise between Nikon's standard 60/40 weighting and a spot meter. The 80% weight allows you to easily meter on the most important section of the image, while still incorporating some exposure information from the remainder of the frame. You can center the 80% central spot on the metering target, then hold down the exposure memory lock button on the front of the body and re-frame. However, since I personally find it uncomfortable to use the exposure lock button in this position, I usually use manual exposure mode in these cases unless I am in a rush to shoot.

 

The F3 viewfinder includes at the top of the frame an ADR readout of the aperture setting on all Nikon F-mount lenses that have an aperture ring (basically any pre-G lens will work on the F3). To the left is an LCD display of the automatically or manually selected shutter speed, in full stop increments. One thing that I don't like about the F3's manual exposure mode is the compact-style manual exposure indicator display in the viewfinder. When in manual exposure mode, correct exposure is shown by small +- indicators to the left of the shutter speed display. You adjust the exposure until both the + and - indicators are visible at the same time. This system, while extremely accurate, is not as clear or quick as the match needle setup in the Nikkormat EL/FE/FE2/FM3A or the three diode (-o+) setup in the F2AS/FM/FM2n system. The F3's viewfinder display is illuminated by ambient light. However, you can push a small button on the prism to electronically illuminate the display in the dark.

 

The F3 is the last F-series body to have manual film wind, unless you attach the optional MD-4 Motor Drive (with up to 6 frames per second performance). Starting from the F4, the F-Series evolved to built-in automatic film advance. This is great if you need to often shoot rapidly. However, if you just want a high-end film camera for slower, more deliberative shooting, manual film advance provides quieter film operation, much better battery life, and a smaller and lighter package compared with the auto-advance F4, F5 and F6. Unlike the semi-pro bodies like the FE and FM, the film advance lever on the F3 may be operated in one complete stroke or a series of shorter strokes. The F3 can be used without a battery in an emergency. Just push the mechanical shutter release lever on the front of the camera, although the mechanical shutter speed is limited to only 1/60 second. That is certainly a far cry from a full range of shutter speeds, but at least flexible enough for many situations, if needed. Nevertheless, lack of power is almost never going to become an issue. My F3HP battery and shutter have never died throughout decades of use, and a single battery seems to last forever with the camera's low power usage.

 

The meter coupling lever on the F3 can be locked up to allow mounting of prehistoric non-AI lenses, although most users probably converted their non-AI lenses to AI decades ago. As a pro-level camera, the F3 has a proper mirror lock-up feature for certain specialized lenses and for slow exposure times. Of course, multiple exposures on a single frame are also supported.

 

Since the camera has an electronic shutter, it also has an electronic self-timer, complete with a flashing red light, just like modern SLRs.

 

The eyepiece has the usual shutter lever, but still no adjustable diopter. This is no problem, however, since Nikon still makes screw-in diopter lenses for the F3. Actually, the F3HP works fine with diopter lenses for the F90X, F100, etc. These diopter lenses have screw-in rings that are slightly thinner than harder to find ones that are actually designed for the F3. The large F3HP viewfinder eyepiece is relatively easy to use with glasses. On the F3 without the HP prism, use diopters that are designed for the FM/FE series of cameras.

 

In order to use an electronic flash unit, just like the earlier generation F and F2 bodies, the F3 still requires that an accessory shoe be mounted over the rewind knob, or that a special Nikon F3 flash unit be mounted directly onto the camera in the same position. (Of course, you could also use a side-bracket flash with a synch terminal cable.) Interestingly, the maximum flash synchronization speed is 1/80 sec., slightly slower than the 1/90 sec. maximum synch speed on the Nikon F2. The new advance is that the F3 offers TTL automatic flash exposure, although the F3 can't simultaneously meter ambient light. The powerful F3-era Nikon SB-16a Speedlight is a perfect match for the camera. Newer Nikon flash units can also provide TTL flash functionality with the F3, when used with the special adapter AS-17, which also allows convenient flash exposure compensation.

 

If you don't have the AS-17, you can do balanced fill flash the old way, as follows. First, set the background exposure manually, with a shutter speed at or below the maximum electronic flash synchronization speed. Then set the appropriate camera distance based on the film ISO, selected aperture and guide number. Finally, fill flash is achieved by further shutting down the aperture by 1-2 stops, and correspondingly adjusting the shutter speed. You can also set the SB-16a to TTL and adjust the flash exposure down by 1-2 stops using the exposure compensation dial. The compensation dial does not adjust the background exposure in this case because both shutter speed and aperture are set manually. All that being said, for fill flash, it would frankly be easier and faster to use a more modern body such as the F90X, F100, F5 or F6, which all provide various forms of 3D matrix automatic balanced fill-flash, Nikon's most advanced flash system. The F4 also has a pretty good flash capability, but it is still one generation older pre-3D technology (i.e., no communication of subject distance from D-type lenses.)

 

The basic Nikon F3 and F3HP were available in black. The Nikon F3 was also available in a few special variants, all of which had the High-Eyepoint viewfinder, such as the Nikon F3/T with a titanium exterior, the Nikon F3 Press, and various limited edition models. The F3/T was produced in both champagne and black colors.

 

As a pro-level camera, the F3 offers the benefits of aperture priority auto exposure, basic TTL flash, and a more compact and elegant design than the prior-generation F and F2 bodies. Compared with its later descendants, the F3 does not provide such benefits as matrix (multi-segment) metering, automatic balanced fill flash, multiple exposure modes, and built-in automatic film advance. On the other hand, the core F3 is significantly smaller and lighter than those later pro-level bodies. And, when used properly, the F3's exposure metering system can be just as effective, or even more so, compared with the early-generation matrix metering systems in some later Nikon cameras. For deliberative photographers who still like to shoot film, the F3 and F3HP provide a highly-refined and relatively compact manual focus platform for the extensive universe of "Pre-G"-type Nikon F-Mount lenses.

 

Copyright © 2015 Timothy A. Rogers. All rights reserved.

 

(DSC_5875fin2)

37401 skirts along the sea wall near Parton. The harbour wall of Whitehaven can be seen in the background.

37401 is hauling the 0918 Barrow to Carlisle on a grey and windy October morning.

This is the second time i have attempted this shot, on both occasions the weather was less than perfect. On this occasion i stitched two telephoto shots together which i hope has given the shot more impact.

I have switched around his colours and design a fair bit. Instead of the classic pumpkin throwing crazed Goblin this one is more stable, using his Pumpkin Launcher to blast his foes into ashes rather than throwing them in his comical manner.

 

Tell me what y'all think! My version of his Backstory is below!

 

LC Verse Spider-Man

 

Goblin - Charlie Weiderman

 

- After being terrorised by a group of bully football players at Midtown High and being hospitalised Charlie Weiderman attempted suicide, that is until Norman Osborn approached the injured Charlie about an "enhancing serum" which was guaranteed to give Olympic athlete strength, agility and durability. Once healed Charlie arrived at OSCORP to test the serum, once Charlie Ingested the serum his skin began to change colour and his features became disfigured resembling a Goblin. Charlie didn't care about his appearance as long as he got revenge on the bullies which tormented him all those years. Norman was shocked by Charlie's positive outlook to this but didn't question him. Nicknaming himself "Goblin" Charlie engineered a home made pumpkin bomb to blow up the high school only to be stopped by Spider-Man who clogged up the pumpkin with his webbing, causing the pumpkin explode in his hand therefore blowing off his arm. He was then retrieved by Norman Osborn before police officials arrived and given a replacement robotic arm using his state of the art tech.

Alter Ego: Gladiatron

Name: Todd Connors

Allegiance: Villain

Powers:

* Super strength, durability and enhanced speed

* Can fly by projecting himself with red energy

Weapons:

* His Helmet which when worn develops into a full body suit giving him these abilities through nano technology.

* Unique staff which can blast red energy

Key Weakness: His helmet can run out of energy and needs to rest by not being worn.

 

Origin:

Todd was a child of the former hero 'Gladiator' who helped create A.N.G.E.L. with his crime fighting partner "Red Star" who wanted to sign the "Identity Policy" which forced all heroes and future heroes to reveal their identities to the company in private for safety concerns, which Gladiator disagreed to. This then led to him taking Red Stars wife hostage and being killed amongst a battle between the two. The two were never seen again when flying into the air together battling, believing to of killed each other.

 

Todd was stricken with grief and went to the scene where it all happened, amongst some rubble he discovered his fathers Helmet which granted him his powers. Todd took it and updated it with modern technology, he now exacts to avenge his father by killing the children of Red Star, The Kingston's. Going by the name "Gladiatron" who believes his father was not in the wrong to of attacked Red Star.

Last dance of this tulip, do have a look at the amazing colours coming through in the last phase of its bloom. For my series on transience and durability.

 

I thought this quote was rather apt for it: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

04. THE TUNNEY

North Pier, South Bay, Scarborough. YO11 1SN

What3words - slime.stands.firm

 

The Tunny is a large outdoor sculpture by Ray Lonsdale sited on the East Pier, South Bay, Scarborough. It forms part of the town’s growing collection of accessible public artworks and is positioned where pier visitors and promenaders can view it against the sea and sky.

 

The work is fabricated from weathering steel (corten), a material Lonsdale commonly uses for its warm, rust‑red patina and durability in coastal settings. The sculpture represents a tunny (bluefin tuna) rendered at an emphatic scale: a large fish paired visually with a small boat and a single angler, a composition that evokes the old relationship between Scarborough’s fishing past and the sea. A plaque attached to the piece carries a short, evocative inscription: “Big fish, little boat, just a rod, a line, a man. The days when the Tunny were here in the sea not just in a ringpull can.”

 

Lonsdale’s practice often blends industrial materials with intimate human or maritime narratives; The Tunny follows this pattern by pairing robust fabrication with a quietly nostalgic subject. The sculpture gestures to Scarborough’s coastal heritage—its fishing traditions, changing marine life and the small‑scale labour that once sustained local communities—while also functioning as a contemporary photo‑op and meeting point for visitors.

 

Since its installation the piece has been widely photographed and shared in local guides and walking routes that highlight Ray Lonsdale’s works across the region. Local walking routes and visitor features often group The Tunny with other nearby Lonsdale sculptures—such as Freddie Gilroy and The Smuggler’s Apprentice—creating an informal trail of steel figures that link Scarborough’s piers, promenades and historic streets. The sculpture’s accessible subject matter and prominent siting have helped it become a familiar landmark for both residents and tourists.

 

The Tunny is publicly accessible on the East Pier and is best seen on foot as part of a seafront walk that takes in South Bay views. Its corten surface and seaside location mean the work changes subtly with weather and light, rewarding repeat visits and close inspection.

solide, liquide, aérien

Une cathédrale de bois moderne

Les poutres massives s’entrecroisent dans un jeu géométrique impressionnant, créant un véritable labyrinthe de structures qui évoque à la fois les charpentes traditionnelles japonaises et l’audace de l’ingénierie contemporaine. Le regard est naturellement attiré vers la profondeur, comme happé par la répétition infinie de ces lignes horizontales et verticales.

 

ߌ᠕n symbole de durabilité

Le choix du bois, matériau ancestral et renouvelable, n’est pas seulement esthétique. Il traduit l’engagement de l’Expo pour un futur durable, en s’inspirant des savoir-faire anciens de menuiserie (miyadaiku). Ici, la chaleur naturelle du matériau s’oppose volontairement à l’image froide de l’acier et du béton, rappelant que la modernité peut aussi être écologique.

 

✨ Une expérience sensorielle

Se promener dans ce corridor, c’est ressentir à la fois la solidité et la douceur du bois. Les ombres projetées par les poutres varient selon l’heure de la journée, offrant un spectacle vivant de lumière et de matière. De nuit, des projecteurs viennent souligner cette trame architecturale, transformant l’endroit en une œuvre d’art immersive.

 

ߑ項n somme, cette photo illustre l’un des aspects les plus marquants de l’Expo d’Osaka : transformer l’architecture elle-même en expérience touristique, où chaque pas est une rencontre entre tradition, innovation et respect de la nature.

Excerpt from www.livewithculture.ca: Artist Luis Jacob is on a bit of a high this week (May 2012) as installation progresses on his biggest work to date, a major public art piece in the Dufferin underpass (at Queen West). Three years in the making, Jacob’s Spirits of the Grotto consists of 34 large metal panels, each bearing a pair of mosaic tile discs representing eyes. Arranged within the underpass like heroes in a Hall of Fame, Spirits of the Grotto turns an otherwise dull transport corridor into a vibrant passageway.

 

Installation is expected to be completed by Tuesday, May 8, with a formal dedication taking place at the Dufferin Amphitheatre (1266 Queen Street West) on May 18 at 5 pm with City Councillors Ana Bailão (Ward 18) and Gord Perks (Ward 14).

 

Spirits of the Grotto was financed through a city policy that dedicates one per cent of capital project budgets – in this case the building of the Dufferin Street railway underpass – to a public art component. Jacob won the commission following a 2009 juried competition.

 

Although Jacob has created highly successful public artworks in the past – his 2005 outdoor work titled “Flashlight” was voted “Best Public Art 2005” by NOW and “Viewers’ Choice Winner 2006” by the Toronto Sculpture Garden – but Spirits of the Grotto is the artist’s first permanent installation.

 

That permanency created a range of challenges the artist had never confronted before. “It’s part of the city infrastructure,” notes Jacob, “and at some point the City will have to do maintenance to the bridge itself or to the tunnel. So we’ve created the work so that while being durable it’s still removable and all of that is extremely complicated to figure out.”

 

The scale of the work was also daunting, adds Jacob: “It’s a huge project. Each panel is 8′ x 8′ so that’s more than 60 square feet of work times 34 panels, outdoors. As soon as you place anything outdoors things become exponentially more complicated, there’s insurance, permits to block the road while installing, engineering questions. It’s important for the work to be very durable, beautiful certainly, but also durable so people can enjoy it for a long time to come.”

 

For Jacob, the site holds special significance; he’s lived in the neighbourhood for years and most of his professional and social life revolves around the art milieu of West Queen West.

 

“I ride past here on my bike almost every day,” he notes. “The disco balls are almost an homage to Stone’s Place and the Wrong Bar, the Beaver Café, all here on Queen West, and I DJ sometimes with friends so it’s a reference to those activities. For me, each panel has a different relationship to the neighbourhood and things I’ve seen happen here.”

 

The mosaic designs read quite differently up close and from a distance on the opposite side of the tunnel. Jacob says the work is meant to be viewed while moving and he observes that it has an almost animated or cinematic quality when seen through the support pillars that run down the median separating northbound traffic from southbound.

 

” For me that’s part of the pleasure of the piece,” says the artist, “that as you’re walking you see them right next you but you also see them across the underpass through these ‘windows’ created by the pillars. It’s almost like a film where they appear and disappear. Some of the panels are obviously eyes, but others are not, even though they read as such, particularly from a distance.”

 

“I didn’t want them all to read explicitly as eyes,” he adds. “It’s important to create an artwork that people can engage with at different levels. People can project their own experience and interpretation onto the work.”

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What you are looking at, is the largest mud-brick building, in the world. Protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, it is one of the most famous landmarks in Mali. Although, to be fair, there's not a lot of famous landmarks in Mali.

 

The Great Mosque dominates the city of Djenné, and a lot of care and effort goes into maintaining it. Considering it's made out of mud, it's not the most durable situation for when it rains. Like the other mud-brick buildings in Mali, every year the building needs to be repaired to maintain its condition.

 

The first mosque at this location was built around the 13th century. Its current incarnation dates back to 1907. The mosque is only open to Muslims though, so I didn't get a chance to go inside it.

 

Blogged: www.aisleseatplease.com/blog/2016/4/20/great-mosque-...

The exclusive new Defender V8 Carpathian Edition is the ultimate expression of performance, durability and design, and represents the very pinnacle of the Defender range. Finished exclusively in Carpathian Grey, it is distinguished by a Narvik Black contrast roof, bonnet and, for the first time on New Defender, taildoor. Additional visual highlights include bespoke V8 Carpathian Edition badging finishes, Satin Black towing eyes and distinctive Xenon Blue brake calipers.

525 bhp!

The Rottie-poo is a mix breed of the Rottweiler and the Poodle. Not much is known about the Rottie Poos history. It was likely first intentionally bred sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s but no one breeder is recognized as being the first to bring the Rottie Poo into existence. The Rottweiler Poodle mix was first bred to combine the intelligence of these two breeds in a durable, large-figured body with less tendency for shedding or provoking allergies.

Twisted and gnarly, this tree epitomizes the word “resilient”. Every year I return to capture its celebration of life, an explosion of color before it sleeps for the winter - with its promise to break bud in the spring with vibrant shades of green. Inspirational, it reminds us to never give up hope, no matter how grey and lifeless the winter of our life seems to be.

 

Indian Trails Park in Ashtabula Ohio. October 25, 2019.

 

Boomtown Saloon

Jacksonville, Ore.

 

Copyright 2013 Nick Kanta

All Rights Reserved.

Schweiz / Tessin - Verzascatal

 

The Valle Verzasca is a valley in the Locarno district of the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It comprises the municipalities of Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione, Gerra, Frasco, and Sonogno. As of 2004, the total population is 3,200. It is the most central valley of Ticino, and none of the passes out of the valley cross cantonal or national borders. The valley is formed by the river Verzasca and is situated between the Leventina and the Maggia and culminates at Pizzo Barone.

 

Geography

 

Located between the Leventina and the Valle Maggia valleys, Valle Verzasca extends over a length of 25 kilometres (16 mi) in north–south direction and is situated in the north of the Lago Maggiore. The valley floor is at about 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 900 metres (2,953 ft) above sea level. The surrounding mountain passes respectively have an average altitude of 2,400 metres (7,874 ft). The valley is crossed by the Verzasca which is dammed at the southernly outlet of the valley, forming the Lago di Vogorno, before it flows in the Magadino plain in the vicinity of the Ticino in the Lago Maggiore.

 

The Valle Verzasca includes the geographical centre of Ticino, which is located at Mergoscia, near the lower end of the valley.

 

Climate

 

Due to the different altitudes, all climate zones are combined in the Valle Verzasca. Tenero-contra and Gordola include the insubric climate region thanks to the deep-sea level, close to the Lago Maggiore and protected by the mountains from the north winds. Vineyards and Mediterranean vegetation benefit from the mildest climate area of Switzerland, nebulae are rare and rainfall of short duration. With increasing altitude, the hills and mountain climate goes over to regions dominated by the Alpine climate (over 2,000 metres (6,562 ft)).

 

Flora and fauna

 

The diversity benefits among other things, the cultivation of vines, and it flourish chestnut forests and palm trees thrive. Due to differences in soil type and amounts, almost all flora occurring in the Ticino and fauna of the various environmental zones are found in the Verzasca Valley.

 

The Romans introduced and comparable to the tropical wood species, Castanea sativa is in the southern part of the valley, below 1,000 metres (3,281 ft), the dominant species. It is no longer actively cultivated, but favors the further diffusion, and studies suggest taking advantage of the valuable wood of chestnut as a valuable wood.

 

In the Valle Verzasca the endemic Nera Verzasca goat has been preserved, which looks very much like the ancient Roman goat. This medieval durable goat has short hair, because it's not stuck in the snow.

 

Culture

 

Due to its isolated location, the Verzasca Valley is claimed as one of the valleys that could best keep its originality. The secluded geographical location made it unattractive for conquerors since the Roman period, and even before. The first traces of settlement in the area are from the early 2nd millennium BC, in its southern part. In Berzona, a locality (frazione) of Vogorno, a carved rock known as a Sass di Striöi (literally: witches stone) is situated on a hiking trail. The shell rock most likely dates from around 600–700 BC; there are about 90 such carved rocks in the Verzasca Valley. Although initially free farmers, the valley was alternately ruled by the Swiss Confederacy, Savoy, Leventia and the Rusca family from about 1410 onwards. In the European Middle Ages, the population were mainly farmers, and since the early 17th century, many residents had to leave for seasonal labour outside their home valley. Often unemployed young men were recruited as mercenaries for foreign armies. In two quarries granite is mined by local workers.

 

The so-called Rustici (Italian for farm house) in grey stone, with white borders on the windows and heavy stone roofs, are typical houses in the valley. Wood rafters are used to support the heavy stone roof, Castanea sativa wood. Many chapels along the way bear witness to the deep faith of the inhabitants of the valley. Valle Vercasza was the origin of many of the region's so-called Spazzacamini (literally: chimney sweep children).

 

Tourism

 

With the connection to the public transport, tourism developed from the end of the 19th century, but the majority of young people from the Valley still look for income opportunities in wealthier regions of Switzerland or northern Italy. Currently the majority of locals are active in the tourism trade. The conversion of the old Rustici houses into holiday houses created jobs, increased tourism revenues and ensured that the old houses and the characteristic image of the Verzasca Valley are preserved.

 

The mountaintop with views of the Valais, Bernese, Glarus and Grisons Alps, as well as the many transitions in the side and neighbouring valleys are popular to mountain hikers, and around a dozen mountain huts provide accommodation and meals. The Verzasca is popular to canoeists and divers, but considered to be dangerous and difficult. The Verzasca Dam is also well known for its 220 m height jump, which is one of the highest jumps in the world and also the most famous bungy jump, as it was used in the James Bond film GoldenEye.

 

Transportation

 

The only valley access for road traffic and the Postauto buses are bounded from Tenero or Gordola. The starting on the left side of the valley road (built from 1866 to 1871) crosses Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco and ends in Sonogno; a short road leads to Corippo. On the right side of the valley, the road and post road trips from Locarno ends in Mergoscia.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Das Verzascatal (italienisch Valle Verzasca) ist ein Tal im Schweizer Kanton Tessin, das zum Bezirk Locarno gehört. Im Verzascatal liegen die Ortschaften Mergoscia, Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco und Sonogno. Ausser Mergoscia, das als eigene Gemeinde zum Kreis Navegna gehört, sind heute alle zur Gemeinde Verzasca zusammengeschlossen, die identisch mit dem Kreis Verzasca ist.

 

Lage

 

Das Verzascatal ist ein wildes Tal mit steilen Hängen und unzähligen Wasserfällen. Die Verzascahäuser (Rustici) aus grauem Stein mit weissen Umrandungen an den Fenstern und schweren Steinplattendächern sind typisch für das Tal. Die Kapellen entlang der Wege zeugen vom religiösen Glauben der Talbewohner.

 

Das Verzascatal ist mit Mergoscia das geometrische Zentrum des Tessins. Es ist das einzige Tal, das nur an Tessiner Täler grenzt. Es liegt zwischen der Leventina und dem Maggiatal und erstreckt sich über eine Länge von 25 km in Süd-Nord-Richtung nördlich des Lago Maggiore. Der Talboden liegt auf 500 bis 900 m ü. M. Die Berge, die das ganze Tal umrahmen, haben eine durchschnittliche Höhe von 2400 m ü. M. Das Tal wird vom Fluss Verzasca durchflossen, der am Talausgang gestaut wird und den Lago di Vogorno bildet, bevor er in der Magadinoebene in der Nähe des Ticino in den Lago Maggiore fliesst.

 

Die Seitentäler des Valle Verzasca sind von folgenden Dörfern aus erreichbar: Auf der rechten Talseite: das Val Resa und Valle di Mergoscia von Mergoscia; das Val di Corippo von Corippo; das Val d’Orgnana und Valle del Cansgell von Lavertezzo; das Val d’Osura von Brione; das Val Redòrta und Val Vegornèss von Sonogno. Auf der linken Talseite: das Val della Porta von Vogorno; das Val Carecchio, Val Pincascia und Val d’Agro von Lavertezzo; das Val Mött von Gerra; das Val d’Efra von Frasco.

 

Klima, Flora und Fauna

 

Aufgrund der unterschiedlichen Höhenlagen sind in der Valle Verzasca viele Klimazonen vereint. Tenero-Contra und Gordola gehören dank tiefer Meereshöhe, Seenähe und dem Schutz der Berge des Verzascatales vor den Nordwinden zur insubrischen Klimaregion. Weinberge und mediterrane Vegetation profitieren hier vom mildesten Klima der Schweiz, Nebel sind selten und Regenfälle von kurzer Dauer. Dieses Klima zieht sich weit in das Tal hinein, in dem Reben, Kastanienwälder und Palmen gedeihen. Es geht dann mit zunehmender Höhe über das Hügel- und Bergklima bis in die Regionen mit alpinem Klima (über 2000 m ü. M.). Wegen der Unterschiede in der Bodenbeschaffenheit und der Höhe können im Verzascatal fast alle im Tessin vorkommenden Pflanzen- und Tierarten der verschiedenen Umweltzonen angetroffen werden.

 

Die von den Römern eingeführte Edelkastanie (Castanea sativa) ist im südlichen Teil des Tales, unterhalb 1000 m, die dominierende Baumart. Ihr Holz hat ähnliche Eigenschaften wie die Tropenhölzer. Die Kastanienwälder werden seit den 1950er-Jahren nicht mehr bewirtschaftet, da es sich meist um Niederwälder handelt. Im Verzasca können in der Nähe von Dörfern und Maiensässen (monti) «auf den Stock gesetzte» Kastanienbäume, etwa auf Mannshöhe abgesägte Baumstümpfe, gefunden werden. Da die Kastanie die Fähigkeit hat, aus dem abgesägten Baumstumpf wieder auszutreiben (Stockausschlag), musste solange gewartet werden (etwa zehn Jahre), bis die Triebe den gewünschten Umfang erreichten, um zum Beispiel als Balken für die tonnenschweren Steindächer eingesetzt werden zu können. Im Jahre 2005 publizierte Studien über Versuchsanlagen schlagen vor, das wertvolle Kastanienholz wieder als Wertholz – zum Beispiel für Parkettböden – zu nutzen.

 

Im Verzascatal hat sich die alte Ziegenrasse Nera-Verzasca-Ziege erhalten, die der römischen Ziege sehr ähnlich sieht, wie aufgrund von Hornfunden in Augusta Raurica nachgewiesen werden konnte. Diese mittelalterliche Robustziege hat kurzes Haar, an dem Schnee nicht haftet.

 

Wirtschaft

 

Früher betrieb die Bevölkerung hauptsächlich Landwirtschaft, das heisst vor allem Weidewirtschaft. Ab dem 14. Jahrhundert überwinterten Einwohner mit ihrem Vieh in der Magadinoebene. Seit dem 17. Jahrhundert fand eine saisonale Auswanderung zur Erwerbstätigkeit statt. Arbeitslose und abenteuerlustige Männer liessen sich als Söldner für fremde Kriegsdienste anwerben. Piccoli spazzacamini (italienisch für kleine Schornsteinfeger) nannte man im 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert in Italien und im Tessin die Buben, die vor allem in den Städten Norditaliens als Kaminfegerkinder arbeiten mussten.

 

Seit 1873 wird in zwei Steinbrüchen von einheimischen Arbeitern Granit abgebaut. Mit dem Anschluss an den öffentlichen Verkehr entwickelte sich ab Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts der Tourismus. Im späteren 19. Jahrhundert, nach dem kalifornischen Goldrausch, begann auch im Verzascatal die Tradition der Kalifornienwanderung, die teilweise als Ersatz für die abgebrochene ältere europäische Auswanderungstradition angesehen werden kann.

 

Während der Krise der 1930er-Jahre breitete sich die Arbeitslosigkeit auch im Verzasca aus, und da auch Amerika die Grenzen geschlossen hatte, war auch die Auswanderung nicht mehr möglich.

 

Um der arbeitslosen Bevölkerung zu helfen, wurde das «Komitee für die Tätigkeiten in Heimarbeit» («Comitato per i lavori casalinghi a domicilio») gegründet. Die Talbewohner wurden mit typischen handwerklichen Tätigkeiten beschäftigt: Wollfärbung mit natürlichen Farben (Blättern, Wurzeln und Früchten, die vor Ort vorhanden sind), Handspinnerei, Strickerei und Holzarbeiten, um ihre finanzielle Not zu lindern. Daraus entwickelte sich 1933 die «Pro Verzasca», eine örtliche Vereinigung zur Wahrung der moralischen und materiellen Interessen der Region und ihrer besten Eigenschaften.

 

Der Umbau der alten Verzascahäuser (Rustici) in Ferienhäuser schafft Arbeitsplätze, erhöht die Tourismuseinnahmen und sorgt dafür, dass die alten Häuser und das charakteristische Ortsbild erhalten bleiben.

 

Im Jahre 1990 waren nur noch 20 Prozent der Beschäftigten im Landwirtschaftssektor tätig.

 

Verkehr

 

Der einzige Talzugang für den Autoverkehr und das Postauto ist im Süden ab Tenero oder Gordola. Die auf der linken Talseite beginnende Kantonsstrasse führt über Vogorno, Corippo, Lavertezzo, Brione (Verzasca), Gerra (Verzasca), Frasco und endet in Sonogno. Sie wurde erst in den Jahren 1866 bis 1871 gebaut. Eine kurze Stichstrasse führt nach Corippo.

 

Auf der rechten Talseite endet die Strasse und Postautostrecke ab Locarno bereits in Mergoscia.

 

Tourismus

 

Die vielen Gipfel mit Sicht auf die Walliser-, Berner und Glarner- und Bündneralpen sowie die zahlreichen Übergänge in die Seiten- und Nachbartäler machen das Valle Verzasca zu einem Anziehungspunkt für Bergwanderer. Die Berghütten Cornavosa, Barone, Cognora, Efra, Osola, Fümegna und Borgna bieten Unterkunft.

 

Der Sentierone Valle Verzasca ist ein rot-weiss markierter Wanderweg (Bergweg), der von Tenero aus oberhalb des Lago di Vogorno oder via Mergoscia und später entlang der Verzasca in mehreren Etappen bis nach Sonogno führt.

 

Die Via Alta della Verzasca (VAV) gilt als eine der wildesten Bergwanderungen der Schweiz (SAC-Wanderskala = T6). Sie führt über verlassene Alpen, schroffe Gräben und schwer zugängliche Seitentäler und verbindet fünf Hütten miteinander. Die Route ist blau-weiss markiert und die schwierigsten Stellen sind mit Sicherungen (Drahtseile, Metallbügel) versehen. Die VAV führt oft durch sehr ausgesetztes Gelände mit Kletterstellen, so dass sie nur für erfahrene Berggänger zu empfehlen ist.

 

Die Bergwanderung Trekking 700 von Mesocco (GR) nach Formazza (I) führt durch das Valle Verzasca: die 4. Etappe: Biasca – Capanna Efra, die 5. Etappe: Capanna Efra – Sonogno und die 6. Etappe: Sonogno – Prato-Sornico.

 

Der Verzasca-Fluss ist unter Kanuten und Tauchern beliebt, gilt aber als schwierig bis gefährlich.

 

Über Geschichte und Gegenwart des Tales informiert das Museo di Val Verzasca in Sonogno.

 

Geschichte

 

Wegen seiner schweren Erreichbarkeit gilt das Verzascatal als eines der Täler, das am besten seine Ursprünglichkeit bewahren konnte. Die abgelegene geographische Lage machte es für die Eroberer uninteressant.

 

Zeugen einer sehr frühen Besiedlung der Verzasca-Region fanden sich an der Mündung der Verzasca. Dort wurden Steinarten aus der jüngeren Steinzeit (1800 v. Chr.) gefunden. In Berzona, einem Ortsteil (frazione) von Vogorno, liegt am Wanderweg ein grosser Schalenstein, der Sass di Striöi (Hexenstein), der vermutlich um 600 bis 700 v. Chr. bearbeitet wurde. Insgesamt gibt es im Verzascatal rund neunzig derartig eingemeisselte Felsen. In Tenero wurde 1880 eine bedeutende römische Nekropole aus dem 1. und 2. Jahr. n. Chr. entdeckt. Die Funde (Bronzen, Amphoren, Münzen) befinden sich im archäologischen Museum des Castello dei Visconti in Locarno.

 

Vermutlich um 1000 n. Chr. gründeten die Talbewohner eine Gemeinschaft (comunità) bestehend aus den vier Dorfgenossenschaften (vicinie): Vogorno (mit Corippo), Lavertezzo, Brione (mit Gerra) und Frasco (mit Sonogno). Die Gemeinschaft gehörte zum Pieve von Locarno, gegen den sie sich 1398 auflehnte. Zwischen 1410 und 1500 geriet das Tal abwechselnd unter die Herrschaft der Eidgenossen, Savoyer, Leventiner und der Rusca. Nach 1686 konnte sich die Gemeinschaft von den Marcacci Vögten befreien. 1803 wurde das Verzascatal ein Kreis (circolo) mit dem Hauptort Lavertezzo. In religiöser Hinsicht gehörte das Verzascatal bis zum 13. Jahrhundert zur Pfarrei San Vittore di Locarno.

 

Geologie

 

Einzigartig für die Region ist der spektakulär gefärbte Gneis. Es handelt sich um einen Oligoklasgneis, der unter dem Handelsnamen Serizzo bekannt ist. Die Farben verlaufen zwischen Braun, Schwarz, Grau und Weiss. Die Gesteine des benachbarten Valle Maggia sind dagegen meist rein grau.

 

(Wikipedia)

Detroit, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 2024

 

Shinola is an American luxury goods company primarily known for hand-assembling watches, leather goods, bicycles, and jewellery. It was founded in 2011 with its deep roots and focus in the city of Detroit, Michigan.

 

Detroit Manufacturing: Shinola's core mission is to bring manufacturing back to Downtown Detroit. They established their watch assembly line and leather goods factory in the Midtown neighbourhood of Detroit.

 

Significance: The brand has become a symbol of Detroit's economic recovery, representing a new era of high-quality craftsmanship and production in the city, building on the area's industrial legacy.

 

Headquarters and Store: Their headquarters and flagship store are located in Downtown Detroit, often serving as a showcase for their clean, classically American design aesthetic.

 

Products: They are known for their minimalist, classic, and durable styling, and for slogans that emphasize hard work and American manufacturing.

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Our durable Dorable Dora is still doing well. Even being a bit of a devilish Dora. :)

Thank you all for your love and support for her.

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Squirrels are the feeder comedians. It is especially humorous when the little red squirrels (they call them "boomers" here in the mountains) and the bigger grey squirrels get together. I hope you enjoy some laughs watching this.

 

I wanted to get better acquainted with my video editing software. This short piece took several days of filming, a couple of weeks of cutting usable video, and several weeks of off and on editing. And it still needs more work! It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience, but my hat is off to those who do this regularly.

 

Music is Comedian's Gallop by Dimitri Kabalevsky

 

Hope y'all have a fun weekend!

Hugs, love, and laughter from me and the menagerie

Le sentier des Douaniers, également connu sous le nom de GR 34 était autrefois utilisé par les douaniers pour lutter contre la contrebande. Ce chemin relie le port de Ploumanac'h à la plage de Trestraou et est l'une des balades les plus prisées des Côtes d'Armor.

The 'crown jewel' of my little collection! The model is super detailed for its size. However it does not seem to be quite durable though, as some badges are starting to detach, as well as some imperfections in the bodywork, despite being in complete confinement.

Durable and long-lasting compared to glass slippers due to the inherent characteristic of plastic which takes hundreds of years to decompose.

A significant cost-effective option and would make a great family heirloom.

 

Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives.

While we have already discussed the planetary archetypes, it is worth reminding ourselves at this point exactly how the alchemists looked on the relationship between the planet and its metal. They believed that the metals had the same “virtue” as the corresponding planet, that a single spirit infuses both the planet and the metal. In other words, the planet was a celestial manifestation and the metal a terrestrial manifestation of the same universal force. Therefore, the metals are the purest expression of the planetary energies in the mineral kingdom, which is the basis for material reality on earth. The next stage of evolution on our planet is the plant kingdom, and the alchemists assigned a metal and its corresponding planet to describe the characteristics of every known herb, flower, and plant. Similarly, on the next level in the evolution of matter in the animal kingdom, all creatures carry their own metallic or planetary signatures, which are expressed in their behavior. In human beings, the alchemists referred to the sum total of the cosmic signatures of the metals as a person’s “temperament.” Originally, that word referred to the metallurgical process of “tempering” or mixing different metals to produce certain characteristics in an alloy. Although the alchemists considered lead the lowest of the base metals, they treated it with a great deal of respect, as they did its corresponding planet Saturn. Lead was said to carry all the energy of its own transformation, and it was that hidden energy that the alchemists sought to free. To the alchemists, the ancient metal was a powerful “sleeping giant” with a dark and secret nature that encompassed both the beginning and end of the Great Work.

Lead is the heaviest of the seven metals; it is very tied to gravity, form, and manifested reality. It is also a very stubborn metal known for its durability and resistance to change. Lead products dating from 7000 BC are still intact, and lead water pipes installed by the Romans 1,500 years ago are still in use today. Alchemists depicted lead in their drawings as the god Saturn (a crippled old man with a sickle), Father Time, or a skeleton representing death itself. Any of these symbols in their manuscripts meant the alchemist was working with the metal lead in the laboratory or a leaden attitude in his accompanying meditation.Lead is a boundary of heaviness for matter. Metals of greater atomic weight are too heavy and disintegrate over time (by radioactive decay) to turn back into lead. So radioactive decay is really a Saturnic process that introduces a new characteristic in the metals – that of time. All the hyper-energetic metals beyond lead are trapped in time to inexorably return to lead. There is no natural process more unalterably exact than radioactive decay. Atomic clocks, the most precise timekeeping devices we have, are based on this leaden process. Geologists measure the age of radioactive rocks by how much lead they contain, and the age of the earth is estimated by taking lead isotope measurements. In many ways, lead carries the signature of Father Time.Native lead, which is lead metal found in a chemically uncombined state, is actually extremely rare. It is found in the earth's crust in a concentration of only about 13 parts per billion. Lead does not form crystals easily, and thus the pure mineral form is very rare and extremely valuable as rock specimens. Such elemental lead can also be found in very unusual “metamorphosed” limestone and marble formations that are equally rare.Surprisingly, lead is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and when it occurs in nature, it is always found with gold and silver. In fact, the chemical symbol for lead (Pb) is from the Latin word plumbum, which means “liquid silver.” We derive our words “plumbing” and “plumb bob” from the use of lead in those applications. In the smelting of silver, lead plays an important role by forming a layer over the emerging molten silver and protecting it from combining with the air and splattering out. The volatile molten lead covering is gradually burnt away, until only the pure silver metal “peeks out” (in the smelter’s terminology) in a stabilized form. Thus, lead protects and even sacrifices itself for the nobler metals.The planet Saturn and its metal and the planet have the same symbol (L) in alchemy. The Hermetic interpretation is that the symbol is basically the cross of the elements that depicts the division between the Above and Below or spirit and matter. The lunar crescent of the soul is below the cross, representing the manifestation (or entrapment) of soul below in matter. Despite these associations with the noble metals, lead itself never makes it to such heights among the metals. The silvery luster of fresh cut lead quickly fades, as if it were “dying” before your eyes. Furthermore, alchemists considered lead to be “hydrophobic” or against the life nourishing archetype of water. Lead ores lack the slightest water content and tend to form machine-like structures.The most common ore of lead is galena, which also contains the noble metals silver and gold. Galena is lead sulfide, a favorite of rock collectors because of its distinctive cubic shapes, characteristic cleavage, and high density. In fact, the structure of galena is identical to that of natural table salt. The two minerals have exactly the same crystal shapes, symmetry and cleavage, although galena crystals are thousands of times larger. Some galena may contain up to 1% silver and often contains trace amounts of gold. The large volume of galena that is processed for lead produces enough silver as a by product to make galena the leading ore of silver as well Galena definitely has the signature of lead. Its color is silver gray with a bluish tint. The luster ranges from metallic to dull in the weathered faces, and the isometric crystals are opaque to light. The massive crystals of galena almost always take the form of a cube or octahedron, and the cleavage is perfect in four direction always forming cubes. Because of the perfect cleavage, fractures are rarely seen and the dark crystalline structure is nearly perfect.Lead is also found in other sulfuric minerals like calcite and dolomite, as well as lead oxidation minerals such as and anglesite and cerussite, which is found in the oxidation zone of lead deposits usually associated with galena. Some formations show cerussite crusts around a galena core as if the act of oxidation was frozen in time. Cerrussite is lead carbonate and also a favorite of rock hounds. Its very high luster is due mostly to the metallic lead content, and just as leaded crystal glass sparkles more brilliantly because of its lead content, so too does cerussite. Cerussite has one of the highest densities for a transparent mineral. It is over six and a half times as dense as water. Most rocks and minerals average only around three times the density of water. Cerussite is famous for its great sparkle and density, and its amazing twinned (or double) crystals. The mineral forms geometrically intricate structures and star shapes that simply amazing to behold – sometimes the twinned crystals form star shapes with six "rays" extending out from the star.When freed from its ores, lead metal has a bluish-white color and is very soft – capable of being scratched by a fingernail. With its dull metallic luster and high density, lead cannot easily be confused with any other metal. It is also malleable, ductile, and sectile – meaning it can be pounded into other shapes, stretched into a wire, and cut into slices. However, lead is a dark, sluggish, base metal. Of the seven metals, it is the slowest conductor of electricity and heat, the least lustrous or resonant. Its Saturnic signature of heaviness is expressed not only in its being the heaviest metal but also in its tendency to form inert and insoluble compounds. No other metal forms as many. Although it tarnishes upon exposure to air like silver, lead is extremely resistant to corrosion over time and seems to last forever. Lead pipes bearing the insignia of Roman emperors, used as drains from the baths, are still in service. The surface of lead is protected by a thin layer of lead oxide, and it does not react with water. The same process protects lead from the traditional “liquid fire” of the alchemists – sulfuric acid. In fact, lead bottles are still used to store the highly corrosive acid. Lead is so inalterable, that half of all the lead in the world today is simply recovered from scrap and formed directly into bullion for reuse.Lead is truly a destroyer of light. It is added to high-quality glassware (lead crystal) to absorb light reflections and make the glass clearer. Lead salts in glass are not changed by light but change light itself by absorbing it. Incoming light in lead crystal meets with high resistance, but once it is within the glass, light is immediately absorbed or dispersed without any reflected light escaping. Sheets of lead are also impermeable to all forms of light, even high energy X-rays and gamma rays, which makes lead the perfect shield against any form of radiation and is why it is used to transport and store radioactive materials.Lead is an extremely poor conductor of electricity and blocks all kinds of energy transmission. Indeed, one of the signatures of lead is its ability to “dampen” or absorb energy. Unlike other metals, when lead is struck, the vibrations are immediately absorbed and any tone is smothered in dullness. Lead is an effective sound proofing medium and tetraethyl lead is still used in some grades of gasoline as an antiknock compound to “quiet” the combustion of gasoline.Thin lead sheets are used extensively in the walls of high-rise buildings to block the transmission of sound, and thick pads of lead are used in the foundations to absorb the vibrations of street traffic and even minor earthquakes. Lead sheets are widely used in roofing to block solar rays, and lead foil is used to form lightproof enclosures in laboratory work. Ultimately, lead corresponds to the galactic Black Hole that absorbs all forms of radiation and light.Lead reacts with more chemicals than any other metal, however, instead of producing something new and useful, lead “kills” the combining substance by making it inert, insoluble and unable to enter into further chemical reactions. Its salts precipitate out of solutions heavily and copiously. Lead has the same effect in the plant kingdom. It accumulates in the roots and slows down the “breathing” process in plants. Young plants are adversely affected by even the smallest amount of lead in the soil.Lead is poisonous and accumulates over time in the bones of the human body, where it cannot be flushed out. It has also been found in high concentrations in gallstones and kidney stones. The old alchemical graphic for lead – a skeleton – was grotesquely appropriate. The symptoms of lead poisoning (known as “Saturnism”) are lack of energy, depression, blindness, dizziness, severe headaches at the back of the head, brain damage, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities and mental retardation, antisocial behavior and anger, atrophy of muscular tissue and cramping, excess growth of connective tissue resulting in a rigid appearance, rapid aging, coma, and early death. Rats fed only 5 parts per million of lead had a lifespan 25% shorter than normal rats. Children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, and it is believed to be an important factor in stillborn fetuses. Children with more than just 0.3 parts per million of lead in their blood suffer a significant slowing of brain function and corresponding drop in IQ. Lead in paint has caused mental retardation and premature aging in hundreds of children who ingested old flaking paint from the walls of their homes. Lead paint was used extensively until the poisonous effects were documented in the 1960s. Because of its lasting durability, lead paint is still used outdoors in advertising and the yellow lines on highways and curbs. The subtly controlling aspect of those applications is another signature of lead and of “leaden” persons in general.Not surprisingly, lead has found use as an insecticide and was even once considered for use as a military weapon. Lead metal reacts violently with fluorine and chlorine to form the highly poisonous gases, lead fluoride and lead chloride. Lead is also used in all kinds of ammunition – another appropriate application of lead’s esoteric signature as Father Time and the Grim Reaper. There are many research studies linking lead exposure to anger and violence, especially in adolescents. One recent study of all counties in the United States conducted by Colorado State University revealed that the murder rate in counties with the highest lead levels were four times higher than in counties with the lowest levels of lead.More benevolent uses of lead are in storage batteries, covering for underground and transoceanic cables, waste plumbing, shielding around X-ray equipment and nuclear reactors, solder, pewter, fine lead crystal glass, and flint glass with a high refractive index for achromatic lenses.Even the elemental metal carries the seed of its own redemption. The alchemists knew that Fire is lord over lead, for the metal has a low melting point and is easily separated from its ore by roasting in an open flame, and the metal itself melts in a candle flame. Lead expands on heating and contracts on cooling more than any other solid heavy metal. (Silver is the opposite and is considered an antidote to lead.)Perhaps owing to its dual nature, lead carries deeply hidden within its structure the fire of its own transformation. Many lead salts reveal a whole rainbow of brilliant colors, with the solar colors of yellow, orange, and red predominating. This is why lead has been used in paints for so many centuries. Finely divided lead powder is pyrophoric (“fire containing”) and easily catches fire or erupts spontaneously in flames. When made into a fine powder, lead metal must be kept in a vacuum to keep from catching fire. Otherwise, it ignites and burns down to a bright yellow ash, revealing its deeply hidden solar signature. So, the wonder of lead is that hidden deep inside the gray, dead metal is a tiny, eternal spark that is the seed of its own resurrection. In the eyes of alchemists, this makes lead the most important metal despite its unattractive darkness. For dull lead and gleaming gold are really the same things, only at different stages of growth or maturity.The Secret Fire inside lead is really the alchemical basis for transforming lead into gold, and correspondingly, gives mankind hope for its own spiritual transformation. That tiny spark of light in the darkest part of matter makes resurrection part of the structure of the universe. So, deep down inside, the metal lead also yearns to be transformed. It wants to rise in the air and fly, leave matter and form behind, and be free as Fire. Lead unites two contrasting forces: rigid heaviness and revivifying inner fire. Archetypically, the lead process is concerned with death and resurrection. Greek myth says that after death our soul is put on a scale, and the weights of the scale are made from lead, the metal that carries Saturn's signature.Lead is used in magical rituals, spells, and amulets to promote contact with deep unconscious levels (the underworld), deep meditation, controlling negativity, breaking bad habits and addictions, protection, stability, grounding, solidity, perseverance, decisiveness, concentration, conservation, and material constructions (buildings). Pick up a hunk of lead and the first thing you notice is its weight – its connection to gravity. It is that connection to something beyond matter and light, the very form of the universe that is the physical basis for this experiment. During the winter months, preferably on some clear night in late January or early February, go outside and find the planet Saturn in the northern sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Saturn and place a piece of lead metal in your hand. You should be able to feel a strange resonance building. That eerie, cold vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of lead.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.The strange connection between lead and Saturn has been documented by modern scientists, who have shown that lead compounds react differently depending on Saturn’s position in the sky. For instance, solutions of lead nitrate produce the greatest weight of crystallization (or manifestation) during February, when Saturn rules the sky, and the least during June, when Saturn is barely visible. Lead compounds also exhibit different properties when Saturn aligns with other planets. For example, lead sulfate solution rises 60% higher on strips of filter paper during conjunctions of Saturn with Mars than at other times. It is also known that the ease of making lead solutions (the “solubility coefficient” of lead) varies with the position of Saturn relative to the other planets. NASA is even considering a series of astrochemical experiments to see if the Saturn-lead effects become more pronounced in outer space.Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Because the lusterless metal is so “dead” and resists interaction with other substances, it is used as containers for acids, like automobile batteries, and is used as a lining in pipes that carry corrosive substances. Similarly, the lead tempered person is like an acid-proof container that stores up caustic feelings and anger. Phrases like “acid tongued” and “vitriolic” have their origins in this alchemical process of storing negative emotional energy.On the psychological level, lead is symbolic of a person’s inertness and unwillingness to change. There is a denial of all higher or spiritual energies, and the alchemists often portrayed the leaden person as lying in an open grave or hopelessly chained to matter in some way. A feeling of being trapped in material reality is symptomatic of a leaden attitude. Leaden people are stubborn, unyielding, and often control other people by making them wait. They must always be right, rarely accept blame or admit to being in error, and have no real regard for the truth of a situation. They may be religious but not spiritual. They tend to be suspicious of genius and inspiration, which they will often attribute to fantasy, They feel threatened by freedom of thought and expression, and sometimes use ridicule or try to “push people’s buttons” to control it. They tend to be very uncreative, judgmental, and smug.On the other hand, leaden people are grounded, earthy, and practical. They are good friends during times of bereavement – a rock of support at funerals and deathbeds. Such people secretly crave stimulation, excitement, and new ideas. They gravitate to people who supply energy and entertainment in their lives. This craving for stimulation often makes them focus on nervous energy instead of higher inspiration. Therefore, Saturn’s children can be very reactive and excitable instead of lethargic, as they try to escape from their prison of matter.As soon as bright, fresh lead metal is exposed to air, it forms a dull-gray oxide layer called the “litharge” that resists any further chemical interaction. In alchemy, air is associated with spiritual energy, and lead reacts to it by instantly forming a barrier or blocking it. Likewise, one of the distinguishing characteristics of someone with a lead temperament is their lack of interest in spiritual ideas. There is also a general lack of interest in life in general, and leaden people often seem lazy, lethargic, or unresponsive.In the individual, lead absorbs the inner light or insight necessary for personal growth and blocks all outside “radiations,” such as attempts at spiritual instruction by others. Because psychological lead absorbs both the deeper vibrations of intuition and higher spiritual energies and aspirations, the person with a lead temperament is uninspired, unimaginative, and lacks that creative spark so necessary for positive change. Before long the lead person starts to feel trapped in his or her dull environment and seeks out excitement, death-defying feats, lively people, and challenging conversation. Their favorite color is often red, and unconsciously, they are seeking the alchemical element of Fire. Fire is one of the Four Elements that represents activity, energy, creative thinking, and transformation. Fire is the tool alchemists use to begin the transmutation of lead into gold as well as transform leaden consciousness into a golden awareness of higher reality. In the laboratory, the changes in the metal and in the alchemist take place simultaneously. Otherwise, there can be no real transformation. The alchemists transmuted the Lead temperament using the Fire operation of Calcination. Physically, lead and Saturn rule the bones, teeth, spleen, and slow chronic processes such as aging. The therapeutic effects are contracting, coagulating, drying, and mineralizing. Saturn-ruled plants enhance the structures of life. They give a sobriety of disposition, en-abling one to see limitations. These plants give steadiness, solidity of pur-pose, subtlety, diplomacy, patience, and an ability to work on the physical plane better.Saturnic or leaden energies are needed for those who have a hard time finishing pro-jects or for those with plenty of ideas but never realize them. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Generally speaking, any other elixir mixed with a Saturn elixir will be earthed, which makes them of great value when working on physical plane phenomenon. Their physical therapeutic properties become refrigerant, anti-pyretic, sedative, styptic, and astringent.For instance, if one mixes a saturnine elixir with a mercurial one, the alchemists believed it would release knowledge contained in secret magical manuscripts or in ancient hermetic traditions, because the Saturn-Mercury vibration contains all hidden knowledge of an esoteric nature within it. Alchemical oils were mixed in the same way. For example, to treat leukemia, alchemists would prescribe an equal mixture of lead oil and gold oil. The alchemists made an Oil of Lead that was good for “growth of bones after breaking, strengthening the skeleton, osteoporosis and atrophy of the bones, stimulation of the spleen, drying tissue, reducing secretions and discharges, stopping bleeding, reducing fever, increasing patience, and stopping visions and an overactive imagination.” They also suggested it for hallucinations due to neurological disorders that have delirious after-effects such as encephalitis and post-traumatic stress syndrome. In the “like cures like” philosophy of homeopathy, lead is used to treat sclerosis, the hardening of bones and arteries, which is the hallmark of old age and signature of lead. The homeopathic name of lead is Plumbum metallicum. Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.

Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.

Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.

 

Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.

Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.

Flowers last longer in tin vases, and food has been preserved in the tin cans (actually a thin layer of tin on iron) for over a century. Beer (ruled by the jovial Jupiter) is said to taste best from a tin mug. Jupiter rules growth, the metabolic system, the liver, and the enrichment of the blood from food. Jupiter therapeutic effects are anti-spasmodic and hepatic. Jupiter-ruled plants preserve the body and promote healthy growth and are the natural healing herbs of the planetary system. They af-fect the mind in such a way as to promote an understanding of ritual form from the highest point of view, and religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, etc. will find great benefit from jovian herb remedies. They also attune one to the wealth vibration and open up channels for growth and expansion, materi-ally as well as spiritually.Jupiter controls the circulation of blood in the human body. If mixed with a solar herbal eider, it will give the alchemist access to the highest plane. Jupiter-Mercury combinations produce insight into the philosophical principles of any system and their part in the cosmic scheme and provide an intuitive understanding of the great spiritual masters. This particular herbal mixture also produces a lightheartedness and gaiety, which can be very useful to those with a predisposition to depression or gloominess. The physical properties of such a mixture are anabolic and antispasmodic.The alchemists made an Oil of Tin that was used to treat the liver (jaundice, hepatitis, cirrhosis), certain types of eczema, liquid ovarian cysts, inflammatory effusions, pleurisies, acne, water retention, and certain types of obesity. This oil was said to be excellent for someone "loosing shape." The oil was also used as a sweat inducer, wormer, antispasmodic, cathartic, and laxative.The polar (opposite) metal to tin is mercury, and Oil of Tin was said to be an excellent antidote for mercury poisoning, and likewise mercury was said to balance the bad effects of tin. Tin and mercury oil combined are said to provide deep insight and cure lightheadedness and certain phases of manic-depressive syndrome.The homeopathic form of tin is called Stannum, a remedy which is said to strengthen and regenerate muscle and brain tissue. It is also a remedy for the joints and connective tissue of ligaments and cartilage. Stannum is allegedly beneficial in liver disease and is used for congestion, hardening, encephalitis, and other illnesses where the fluid balance is upset.During the early Spring, preferably sometime in March, go outside and find the red planet Mars in the night sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the tiny red sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Mars and place a piece of iron in your hand or a small cast iron pot or other object but not something of made of steel or chromed. You should be able to feel a resonance building. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of iron.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin. See how your feelings compare to how the alchemists felt about this powerful metal.When mixed with solar herbs, iron herbs increase energy and activate the energetic potentials of other herbs. Martian elixirs release the action poten-tial of the soul of something. When mixed with other herbs, martian herbs acti-vate the potentialities of the other herbs to a great degree making them more forceful in applica-tion and generally more active. Mars herbs are wonderful tonics when mixed with Sun herbs. The combination gives great physical energy, tones the muscles, and increases sexual potency. They also provoke self-reliance, spontaneity, and indepen-dence of attitude. If the alchemist is involved in magical evocation, a mixture of a mars, moon, and mercurial elixirs will help produce the physical plane vehicle of manifestation.Copper is a reddish-brown metal with a bright metallic luster. It is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and like gold, it is remarkably ductile. It is also very malleable and sectile (it can be pounded into other shapes and cut into slices) and is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Molten copper is a sea green color, and copper tarnishes with a green color and burns with a blue-green flame with flashes of red, and the alchemists sometimes described Venus, the metal’s archetypal planetary source, as dressed in a blue cloak over a red gown.Pick up a piece of copper and the first thing you notice is its surprising feeling of warmth and moisture. It is that connection to something archetypal and nourishing that makes up the signature of this metal. It is easy to connect with copper, just as its planet (Venus) is easy to see in the sky. It is so brilliant it is often mistaken for a bright star or even a UFO. The best time to see it is in the early evening or morning when it is close to the horizon. In fact, Venus has been called both the “Morning Star” and the “Evening Star” and is associated with magical energies. It is the “first star I see tonight” upon you make you wish that will come true with the sympathetic venusian energies. On some clear night or morning, go outside and find the planet Venus. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the brilliant white sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon the planet and grab a piece of copper, a fistful of pennies, or even a copper cooking utensil. You should be able to feel a warm resonance building. That deep and soothing vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of copper.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.The venusian signature gives refinement of senses and the ability to appreciate beauty. Artists, actors, and others in the public eye will find these elixirs a great aid to performing their work. Venus herbs also enhance the taste perceptions, promote affection, give an amiable disposition, and make one more psychically sensitive to astral influences. For those who feel a lack of charm, or some of the softer human qualities, a venusian elixir will stimulate the right vibration in your aura. Venusian elixirs also promote harmony and balance within our being and in our dealings with others. Venusian elixirs are said to give access to that realm of the astral that is intimately connected with the working and forces of the most intimate magic of nature. They are a great aid to alchemists who wish to make herbal alchemy their life work, as they open up the human consciousness to the secrets of the plant kingdom. Naturalists will find these elixirs most illuminating, as they will give conscious con-tact with the various “deities” of long past nature religions.Mercury is truly unique. It is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature and the heaviest natural liquid on the planet. According to alchemical theory, all the metals began in the liquid state on deep in the earth, but only mercury was able to retain it original innocence and life force and resist taking on a final form, and for that reason, the ancients called it Mercurius vivens (the “living mercury”). This silvery liquid metal (also known as “Quicksilver”) was known to ancient Chinese and Hindus before 2000 BC and has been found in sacred tubes in Egyptian tombs dated from 1500 BC. It was first used to form alloys with other metals around 500 BC. The Greeks applied germ-killing ability of mercury in healing ointments (to the benefit of those afflicted with wounds and skin infections), and in the Middle Ages, Paracelsus used it successfully to treat syphilis. However, the ancient Romans applied mercury compounds for long-term use in cosmetics, and many beautiful women eventually died of its cumulative poisonous effects. Today, many popular brands of eye makeup still contain low levels of mercury.In the East, metallic mercury was the main ingredient in most Tantric medicinal preparations. In his travels through India, Marco Polo observed that many people drank a concoction of mercury and sulfur twice monthly from early childhood with no observable ill effects. They believed the drink gave them longevity. Tantric alchemists in India still take metallic mercury in place of food as an elixir of life, although they caution that the body must be perfectly attuned and strengthened to tolerate the intense cosmic infusion of life force. In Indian alchemy, mercury is called rasa, which refers to the subtle essence that is the origin of all forms of matter. The cosmic chaos from which the universe sprang is called the Rasasara or “Sea of Mercury.” The craft of alchemy is referred to as Rasayana or “Knowledge of Mercury.” Go outside on the night of the full moon and gaze up at the silver orb. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the surface of the moon. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let our closest planetary body influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection. Now, pick up piece of silver jewelry or dinnerware, and hold it in your left hand until it gets warm. You should be able to feel a liquid-like sensation of cool metallic energy. This is what alchemists refer to as the “call of silver.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with the moon itself. Try to remember how this feels in your body. Has the taste in your mouth changed? Has your eyesight altered? How does your skin feel.The alchemists prepared an Oil of Silver they used to treat disorders of the brain and cerebellum, reduce stress, balance emotions, improve memory, treat nervous disorders and epilepsy, improve both melancholia and mania. It was also used as a physical purgative and mental purifier. It was said to affect the subconscious mind, see into the past clearly, remove fears and blockages, allow one to unwind, produce “homey” feelings, give a feeling of grace and sensitivity, and enhanced imagination.Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.Gold is a stubbornly pure metal when it comes to reacting or even associating with “lesser” elements. That signature explains a lot of the chemical characteristics of gold. Unlike nearly every other metal, there are no plants that contain even trace amounts of metallic gold. There are very few gold ores, because the noblest metal never alloys with the baser metals, but does alloy with the noble metal silver and makes an amalgam with mercury.Gold is extremely ductile, malleable, and sectile, and so soft it can be cut with a knife, which makes gold impractical to use for tools. It is also very heavy. A gold bar is twice as heavy as an equal-sized bar of lead. Furthermore, gold embodies an inner equilibrium of forces that make it pretty much indestructible. Gold never tarnishes like copper or silver or rust like iron and, whether found buried in the ground, at the bottom of the ocean, in an ancient tomb, or in the ring on your finger, it always looks the same. It cannot be damaged by heat and was considered completely inalterable until around 1100 AD, when alchemists concocted a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids known as Agua Regia (“Royal Water”) that could dissolve gold. The immortal metal is endlessly recycled, and all the gold known today is very nearly equal to all the gold that has ever been mined. One ounce of gold can be stretched into a single wire 35 miles long, or it can be beaten to just a few atoms thick. It is the most flexible, enduring, and beautiful of all metals.

Gold shows a distinct affinity for sulfur and forms an ore with a rare element called tellurium. It is one of the few elements gold easily bonds with. In fact, telluride is rarely found without gold. Gold also appears in minerals that are part of a group of tellurium sulfides called the tellurides. However, the amount of gold in these minerals is really miniscule next to the amount of gold found in its native metallic state. Native gold seems to like the company of the purest white quartz and is also found mixed with deposits of pyrite and a few other sulfide minerals. Gold is six times rarer than silver, and it takes about three tons of gold ore to extract an ounce of gold metal.Around the world, nearly every culture associated their supreme god or goddess with gold. For many centuries only the images of gods graced gold coins, until Alexander the Great began the trend of rulers’ images appearing on gold coins around 30 BC. Even the most primitive societies recognize the sacred properties of gold. For example, the Makuna tribes of modern Brazil believe that gold contains “the light of the sun and stars." The chemical symbol for gold (Au) comes from the Latin word aurum meaning "gold.” The alchemical cipher for gold is a rendition of the sun (A), and gold was considered a kind of congealed light. Sol is the King of alchemy, and his royal purple-red color is revealed in gold colloidal solutions, and red is his symbolic color. Sol Philosophorum was the name the alchemists gave to this living spirit of gold, which they saw as the refined essence of heat and fire. Gold was known and considered sacred from earliest times. Gold became popular because it reminded people of the sun with its warm, life-giving properties. Because of its imperishability, the ancient Chinese thought that gold conveyed immortality to its owners. Egyptian inscriptions dating back to 2600 BC describe these same associations with gold. Gold replaced bartering around 3500 BC when the people of Mesopotamia started using it as a kind of money because of it eternal value. By 2800 BC, gold was being fashioned into standardized weights in the form of rings. People started carried black stones called “touchstones” onto which they scraped a piece of gold to leave a streak. Depending on the brightness of the streak, one could estimate how much gold was in the sample. Around 1500 BC, Mesopotamian alchemists discovered a process for purifying gold known as "cuppellation," which involved heating impure gold in a porcelain cup called a “cuppel.” Impurities were absorbed by the porcelain, leaving a button of pure gold behind. Later alchemists used cuppels to test the quality of their transmutations.Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.According to the medieval alchemists, Nature sought continually to create the perfection achieved in gold, and they looked at every metal as gold in the making. Alchemists also thought that the objective of every metal was to become gold, and every metal was tested for corrosion and strength and ranked as to how far it was from gold. Many alchemists felt that mercury was the closest metal to gold and that it could be transmuted directly into gold. Their intuition was correct, for mercury can indeed be turned into gold. Gold and mercury are next to each other on the Periodic Table. Mercury is element 80 (has 80 protons) and gold is element 79 (has 79 protons). In the 1960s, physicists were able to knock out a proton in mercury atoms using neutron particle accelerators, and thereby create minute quantities of gold.Gold is at the head of the metals, paired with what in the medieval mind was the strongest planet, the Sun. The alchemists were obsessed with gold’s signature of perfection. Medieval Italian alchemist Bernard Trevisan speculated, "Is not gold merely the Sun’s beams condensed into a solid yellow?" Seventeenth-century alchemist John French asked fervently: “Is there no sperm in gold? Is it not possible to exalt it for multiplication? Is there no universal spirit in the world? Is it not possible to find that collected in One Thing which is dispersed in all things? What is that which makes gold incorruptible? What induced the philosophers to examine gold for the matter of their medicine? Was not all gold once living? Is there none of this living gold, the matter of philosophers, to be had anymore?”Gold is highly valued in the everyday world too. It is used as coinage and is a standard for monetary systems in many countries. It is used to make jewelry and artwork, and also in dentistry, electronics, and plating. Since it is an excellent reflector of infrared energy (such as emerges from the sun), the metal is used to coat space satellites and interstellar probes. Chlorauric acid is used in photography for toning the silver image. It is also used in medicine to treat degenerative diseases such as arthritis and cancer.Chemist Lilly Kolisko performed experiments with gold chloride and showed its chemical behavior coincided with events that altered the strength of the sun, such as the weakening in solar forces during solar eclipses or their increase during the summer solstice. Moreover, she found that both silver and gold salts seemed to be equally influenced by the sun. In the case of silver, it was the forms or patterns that changed, whereas in the gold, it was the colors that changed. Silver shapes moved from jagged spikes to smooth rolling forms but the colors remained hues of grey, while the basic shape of gold patterns remained the same but the colors changed from brilliant yellows through violet to reddish-purple hues. This work presents an amazing confirmation of how the King and Queen, Sol and Luna, work together in creation, with the female principle representing soul and form and the male principle representing spirit and energy. Kolisko’s innovative work with the metals is presented in the Appendix. Her work has been duplicated by dozens of other chemists and has been confirmed many times.The signatures of gold are invoked in rituals, magical spells, and talismans concerning solar deities, the male force, authority, self-confidence, creativity, financial riches, investments, fortune, hope, health, and worldly and magical power. Gold talismans can be very expensive, but you can make one of gold colored cardboard or write the symbols on it with gold paint or plate an object with gold. Gold jewelry is said to improve self-confidence and inner strength. To charge water with the signature of gold, put a gold object in a glass of water and let sit in the sunlight for 6-10 hours.During sunrise or sunset, face the sun and try to feel it archetypal presence. If not too bright, gaze into the rising or setting sun and try to see the metallic solar disk of which the Egyptian alchemists spoke. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the presence at the center of our solar system influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant sun. Continue facing the sun as you pick up a piece of gold jewelry or a vial of pure gold flakes (such as sold in some novelty shops) into your right palm. You should be able to feel a electric warmth building. That eerie, warm vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of gold” – the resonation of the metal with its “planet.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence, and for gold, this is the most perfect expression of all materials. If you can connect with this archetype, you will realize that it a very personal as well as divine presence. As Above, so Below. This is perfection on all levels of your mind, body, and soul resonating with the perfection inherent in the Whole Universe.For those with weaker wills or loss of contact with the divine presence, gold represents a psychological cure. The solar essences gives great ambition, courage, self-re-liance, dignity, authority, and the ability to manage oneself and others. The creative principle, no matter how small and insignificant it is within us can be enhanced to a great degree by tapping into the solar archetype. Just as the Sun represents the di-vine creative force in our immediate solar system, gold represents the same thing in our inner temperament. For lasting manifestation, the golden temperament needs to be firmly grounded in the world, and the danger at this phase of transformation is that the individual become too focused on the workings Above and forget his or her connection to the real world. Gold and the blazing Sun correspond to personal ambition, courage, and creative energy and vitality, but without a constant effort to remain pure and alive in the real world, the golden temperament can quickly transmute into the leaden qualities of despair, poor self esteem, lack of confidence, and impurity. Most important for the golden temperament, however, is to realize that once having reached this plateau, one has certain personal and karmic obligations. The golden attitude of this temperament is what brings the rewards of health, wealth, and happiness through synchonistic responses from the universe. Go against these archetypal powers at this level of achievement and even the slightest deviation from the golden path of righteousness and personal integrity can have disastrous and immediate consequences. The alchemists transmuted the Gold temperament using the operation of Coagulation.Chrysotherapy is the name given to healing with gold. The mystical metal has been used for both spiritual and medical purposes as far back as ancient Egypt. Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians used gold in dentistry and ingested it for mental, bodily, and spiritual purification. The ancients believed that gold in the body worked by stimulating the life force and raising the level of vibration on all levels. In Alexandria, alchemists developed a powerful elixir known as “liquid gold,” which reportedly had the ability to restore youth and perfect health. In ancient Rome, gold salves were used for the treatment of skin ulcers, and today, gold leaf plays an important role in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers. The great alchemist and founder of modern medicine, Paracelsus, developed many highly successful medicines from metallic minerals including gold. In medieval Europe, gold-coated pills and “gold waters” were extremely popular. Alchemists mixed powdered gold into drinks to "comfort sore limbs," and today, it is widely used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In the 1900s, surgeons implanted a $5.00 gold piece under the skin near an inflamed joint, such as a knee or elbow. In China, peasants still cook their rice with a gold coin in order to help replenish gold in their bodies, and fancy Chinese restaurants put 24-karat gold-leaf in their food preparations.The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.Sun-ruled plants affect the soul in its positive phase of manifestation, which manifests on the personal level as our idea of ourselves as a progressive unified entity. Solar herbs help us realize our evolutionary epoch as an individual among many other individuals, helping to synthesize and synchronize our goals with those of the macrocosm. In this sense they are ego fortifiers, but with a divine purpose.Solar herbs heal inferiority complexes, bolstering people and giving them a sense of purpose beyond the norm. The Sun represents the Christ and Osiris consciousness in man, as well as Hercules in his monumental strength. For those with weaker wills, Sun ruled herbs will provide the springboard for more posi-tive action; they also bestow the quality of generosity to our souls. Solar plants, when alchemically charged, will reveal the divine purpose of our solar system, and will let you be-come aware of the will of God in manifestation. Solar essences give great ambition.

 

www.azothalchemy.org/metals.htm

  

in durable resin by www.3dhubs.com/service/166092

 

Starting to think to accept larger requests (>20 pieces ~ 2.5 EUR / piece incl. shipping) and handle that directly with the producer.

I changed the classic beetle looking outfit from the comics and changed his backstory a heap, their is different variations of the characters who play the role as Beetle but I went with a lesser known one. Just to be difficult lol, I also gave him a personal vendetta against Spidey.

 

Tell me what y'all think! My version of his backstory is below!

 

LC Verse Spider-Man

 

Abner Jenkins - Beetle

 

- Abner was once a married man with kids and a wonderful life, after engineering weaponry and equipment to the army he was wealthy and had it all. That was until one unfaithful night his wife and two children were killed by a tsunami created by "Hydro Whirlwind" a super villain when he was battling Spider-Man. Abners life crumbled around him stricken with grief and hatred towards the villain he put his engineering skills to work along with the help of the military equipment he had invented. After some tinkering he created "Beetle" a durable battle suit equipped with a winged jet pack allowing him flight. When the villain struck again Abner flew out in his beetle armour and began trading blows with the villain soon defeating him with an electric gadget which fused his foes suit, Abner was just about to finish him off in a moment of rage to avenge his family until he was stopped by Spider-Man. In a failed attempt to make his actions justified to the hero the two ended up battling and the villain fled in the process. Beetle managed to escape too, due to Spider-Man underestimating his durability and strength which were enhanced because of the beetle suit. Going by the name "Beetle" Abner plots his revenge on the hero for foiling his plans to get kill the villain responsible for his families death.

Looking for durable, lightweight Sunglasses in Brampton? IVM Optical offers a great selection of sunglasses that allow you to see the world in a truly vibrant, glare-free color.

 

We Serve at 2 locations. Visit your nearest.

 

IVM Optical

Bramrose Square,

295 Queen St E #4B,

Brampton, ON L6W 3R1, Canada

Ph: 905-453-7434

Reach us via Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/D5GiHMsVFbGXEB3s5

 

IVM Optical

3938 Cottrelle Blvd.,

Brampton, ON L6P 2R1, Canada

Ph: 905-915-3445

Reach us via Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/63swHiybeyARNPrt6

 

In rural Pitt Meadows, a vintage Fargo and Vintage International Harvester trucks feels right at home. It’s a reminder of the valley’s agricultural roots, of the families who worked the land long before subdivisions and highways arrived. Every dent and streak of rust is a chapter of local history.

 

Fargo Truck

 

• A Canadian brand created by Chrysler in the 1920s.

• Sold mainly in Canada and overseas, making them rarer than Dodge trucks of the same era.

• Known for rugged farm and utility use — survivors are prized by collectors.

 

• International Harvester Truck

 

• Built for farms and industry from the 1930s–1950s.

• International pickups were less common than Ford or Chevy, but valued for their durability.

• Rusty examples often show off distinctive rounded grilles and heavy frames

  

Thank you kindly for visiting—faves and comments are always deeply appreciated. ~Sonja

Commentary.

  

The “Slaughters” of Cotswold Gloucestershire.

What is it about Cotswold Limestone

that makes it so appealing?

Its warmth, durability, permanence,

history, ambience......?

Hard to explain.

Impossible to ignore.

The beautiful River Eye flows through Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter, in a tree-laden valley, contrasting splendidly

with that irresistible limestone.

Upper Slaughter is little more than ten metres

higher up the valley, and only half a mile away.

Both villages seem to grow out of the landscape,

rather than be a scar upon it.

Cosy, unpretentious, dignified, on a human scale, uniquely, they seem to enhance their landscape, as opposed to dominating it.

Whatever, “beautiful” means, they tick that box for me.

We didn't cook at the fire circle, which concentrates food smells in a safe location. Instead, we chose a different safe location, where smells would quickly disperse. Any food residue would be washed away in the next rainfall.

 

By the way, dinner was a coconut salmon curry with jasmine rice. I had cooled the margarita in the Snake River, but it did not get as cold as I had hoped.

New extra glossy black "oil" tights with Celesmask SF-N16 mask, blue circle lenses, DD cups, and foam hip and butt pads for some curves. These are around 40 denier thick and very tight and a bit small, but incredibly elastic and durable... I hope!!!