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My poor dreams/
of love blessed /
in the best of joy you perished /
you arose proud but unfortunate /
like birds /
in the woods you perished.
Poveri sogni miei/
d'amor beati /
nel meglio del gioir siete periti /
sorgeste fieri ma sfortunati /
come gli uccelli /
nei boschi siete periti.
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Gesualdo Bufalino, an expert connoisseur of Sicily, wrote that the Sicilies are many, it is impossible to count them all, in Sicily "everything is mixed, changing, contradictory, as in the most composite of continents" ... and again " There is a "babba" Sicily, that is mild…a “crafty” Sicily, that is smart…there is a lazy Sicily and a frenetic one…”; but why so many Sicilies? Bufalino explained “because Sicily has had the good fortune to act as a link over the centuries between the great Western culture and the temptations of the desert and the sun, between reason and magic, the temperatures of feeling and the heat of passion. Sicily suffers from an excess of identity, and I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing." Even Leonard Sciascia, an immense Sicilian thinker, said "I continue to be convinced that Sicily offers the representation of many problems, of many contradictions, not only Italian but also European, to the point of being able to constitute the metaphor of today's world". This start to introduce the character whose life (and violent death) I wish to recall with some of my photographs (except for two images, belonging to the weekly "Epoca"), with information taken both from the WEB and from direct testimonies that I have collected in years, in summary a character who seems to embody the many faces of Sicily, his name is Salvatore Giuliano, known as the Bandit Giuliano; there are many Salvatore Giulianos, it changes according to who knew him, according to the many facts told by others or by himself (in his memoirs), he is described now as a "Robin Hood" with a noble heart, now as a ferocious brigand unscrupulous, but in any case, in this story, the use of all the "adverbs of doubt" that we know is always mandatory, because speaking of him, knowing the real truth is an illusion ... this is a story in which the pain of the many dead is the background. In speaking of him I will try to use almost telegraphic language. Salvatore Giuliano was born in Sicily in Montelepre (November 16, 1922), the son of a farmer who emigrated to America, and then returned to Sicily for the birth of his son; Salvatore soon left school to work in the fields, privately continuing to cultivate his studies. These are the years of the Second World War, the fascist regime has introduced bread rationing (the real problem is the grinding of wheat, with the mills controlled by the army, the Giulianos have a small clandestine mill), the clandestine trade in necessity becomes common, even Salvatore becomes a small smuggler, he is inexperienced when he is stopped with two sacks of wheat by two carabinieri and two country guards, they take everything from him including his documents, a distraction by the guards and quickly Salvatore tries to escape, the a few shots are fired at him, two hit him at his side, a carabiniere approaches him (Salvatore describes what happened in one of his memoirs) who is shot to death by him: from this moment on he will always be the Bandit Salvatore Giuliano ( or Turiddu, which in Sicilian means Salvatore). According to some Turiddu is a hero of the people, he hopes for a civil redemption of the Sicilian people, establishes relations with the political world, with the deviated secret services, with the Sicilian separatist movement whose initials are MIS (Sicilian Independent Movement) of which, also pushed by a colonel of the American army who deluded him that Sicily could be annexed as a state of the U.S.A. , joins his armed wing, the E.V.I.S. (Volunteer Army for Sicilian Independence), fighting with the rank of colonel against the Italian army in the two-year period 1945/46: the EVIS was commanded by the lawyer Antonio Canepa, who was killed on 17 June 1945 in a clash with the carabineer in the town of Randazzo. During this period the legend of the Bandit Giuliano was born, the peasants, the poor people in general, see in him a hope of redemption from a life of hardship and sacrifices, he is seen as a fiery lover with many fleeting stories, with women who join him in his lair by passing "the filter" of his men (he hosted a young Swedish journalist, Maria Cyjliakus, she was interested in interviewing him, with whom he also had a relationship), but he himself could reach to love the women while running many risks: in the collective imagination the idea of a brigand with a kind and good heart was developing, he often gave to the poor what he stole from the rich; but there was the dark and brutal side of his personality, he tended ambushes and assaults on the forces of order, he killed whoever he considered to be an informer of the carabinieri; the bandit was elusive, there were numerous ambushes and roundups from which he and his men managed to escape, indeed, every action carried out by the military was always followed by a retaliatory reaction, with the consequence that the killed soldiers always increased by more. The descending phase of Giuliano begins to appear on the horizon, the M.I.S. enters legality being recognized as belonging to the Sicilian Special Statute, Giuliano does not accept the agreement by continuing with his men to wage war against the state, in 1946 the new Italian government grants a pardon to the EVIS guerrillas, in this way Giuliano loses his army and his role as colonel (thus the female component of EVIS was dissolved too, with about 20 women, his sister Mariannina was also part of it); with the first institutional referendum the monarchy falls, the Republic is born, the peasant movement hopes for change and agrarian reform, the struggle in defense of their rights leads to the killing of trade unionists (Miraglia, Rizzotto, Carnevale) whose instigators will never be discovered ; Giuliano establishes relations with the mafia, meets men of the institutions, leading to suspect that behind many (villainous) actions of Giuliano and behind his death, many responsibilities and mysteries are hidden, on which no light has yet been shed. We arrive on May 1, 1947, in the countryside of Portella della Ginestra near Piana degli Albanesi (PA), there is a large crowd of peasants gathered to celebrate Workers' Day, there are also many women and children, suddenly the The festive atmosphere is dramatically interrupted by the shots of a machine gun and other weapons of various kinds, including the launch of grenades, 11 people remain lifeless on the field (including two children), and many injured on whose number there is no concordance; the massacre began the "crisis of May 1947" with attacks on the headquarters of left-wing parties and labor chambers in the area, the reasons for which would be linked, it has been said ... to Giuliano's aversion to the Communists ... but also to the will of the mafia powers to maintain the old balance in the new institutional framework (editor's note: it seems that Giuliano a Portella only wanted to teach a lesson to Girolamo Li Causi, leader of the communists, who was warned of the ambush, and did not show up in Portella, in my opinion Giuliano's aforementioned aversion to the Communists does not stand up, he who always found warmth, protection and complicity precisely on the part of those peasants who were slaughtered; whoever organized the massacre was a criminal and refined mind, he frightened peasant movements, and at the same time decreed the unpopularity of the bandit Giuliano who saw scorched earth around him: mafia men extraneous to Giuliano's gang equipped with 9-gauge rifles fired, while the men of the the band had 6.5 caliber weapons, just as Giuliano's men did not possess grenade launchers; Giuliano tried to exculpate himself by writing his "Memorial on the events of Portella della Ginestra" in the newspapers, claiming that he was in possession of documents that would have demonstrated who were the real culprits of the massacre). The circle was tightening around Giuliano, the forces of order made use of the mafia to convince his trusted lieutenant Gaspare Pisciotta to collaborate with them, they made use of informants, such as Salvatore Ferreri, known as frà Diavolo, head of the anti-banditry forces was the colonel of the carabinieri Ugo Luca; on July 5, 1950 Salvatore Giuliano was killed, it seems there was a firefight with the carabinieri in the courtyard of the house of the lawyer. De Maria in Castelvetrano (TP), however it is a staging, the journalists who immediately rushed to the place where the body lies notice it, the blood impregnates the undershirt on the back, no blood comes out of several holes, on the side of the arm there is a " laceration of the skin" (as if the limb had been in contact with ice), one of the journalists who notices these and other details, Tommaso Besozzi, writes his journalistic article by titling it "certainly there is only that he died ” (l'Europeo n. 29, year 1950), actually to kill him while he was sleeping with a pistol shot, perhaps stunned by a drug put in the wine, it would have been his most trusted man, Gaspare Pisciotta, who was subsequently arrested, and during the Viterbo trial he would scream from the cage "we were one body, bandits, police and mafia, like the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" , he is ready to name names, revelations, but he won't have time, inside the Ucciardone prison in Palermo, to deliver a lethal dose of strychnine put in a medicine prescribed for his tuberculosis (not in coffee) he will kill him sooner trying to vomit. The story does not seem to have to end when, following a report from Professor Giuseppe Casarrubea, an important historian, who had Giuliano's body exhumed in 2010 with his complaint to the Public Prosecutor's Office, assuming that the tomb held the corpse of a double, the However, DNA tests would have shown a genetic profile compatible with that of a nephew of Giuliano. On Salvatore's tomb, a month later, the verses sent by letter to his mother by a woman who signed herself “Santuzza” were carved, verses which declared that she had received them personally from her son Salvatore: “My poor dreams/of love blessed /in the best of joy you perished /you arose proud butunfortunate/like birds /in the woods you perished”. Santuzza was the pseudonym of Maddalena Lo Giudice, when she was young she is described as a beautiful, shy, reserved girl, she was the daughter of the Podestà of her town (during the fascist regime, the Podestà was the head of the municipal administration), it seems they met in a hospital in Catania, each visiting an acquaintance of their own, Maddalena would have had from Giuliano: a son (she was subjected to a gynecological examination to ascertain its veracity against her will), a box with valuables, and a memorial, in which Giuliano would have wrote very important things about his relationships with "men of the state and not"; Maddalena later said that she had handed everything over to a trusted person, who would have bricked everything up, later perhaps frightened by the great clamor that had arisen around her, in a journalistic interview she declared that she had dreamed and invented everything… (note of the editor: I have always tried much emotion for this poor woman, it would be interesting to be able to trace a psychological profile, her father was the Podestà of the town, always benefiting from the doubt, as in all this story, people told me that His father as Podestà took away from the poor people even what little they had, who knows if the poor Maddalena fell in love with Giuliano also because he represented her antithesis, giving to the poor what she took away from the rich people...), Maddalena went to give birth in secret from the well-meaning eyes of the town (not being a married woman it would have created a scandal) in Calabria, that son to protect him was immediately placed in an orphanage (all the forces of order in Sicily were looking for the bandit Giuliano, who knows what would have happened if he had come to know of a son of him ..! they would have used it as one does with a lamb tied to a post, waiting for the arrival of the fair…); upon Giuliano's death, this woman was joined by Salvatore's mother (Maria Giuliano Lombardo) and sister (Mariannina Giuliano), to have all that Salvatore had left to Maddalena, who certainly had sworn not to give anyone what she had received from him, certainly until when Maddalena would have kept "the treasure" hidden with her (certainly not the jewels, the true value was her memorial!), no one would have hurt her; however, Maddalena took this secret of hers with her to her grave. In her old age Maddalena lived secluded, she was a solitary type, she had to resort to dialysis for a serious kidney infection, for which she had to be accompanied several times a week by a driver to the hospital, she had severe pain for which she had to resort to powerful analgesics, the only ones who gave her any affection were her many dogs, the only ones who managed to reassure her, she never had the affection of that only son she had from Salvatore, of whom nothing was ever known (there were a couple of characters who declared themselves the children of the bandit, but nothing has ever been ascertained). In conclusion, I learned of a Sicilian film operator, who worked for Incom Week (it was an Italian newsreel, distributed weekly in cinemas), who at the news of the killing of the bandit Giuliano (like many journalists) immediately went to Castelvetrano to the house of the lawyer De Maria, where he allegedly found Salvatore's body, he said that when Salvatore's mother arrived, she kissed him in a heartbreaking, terribly moving way, including the parts covered in blood, that Incom operator said, that the emotion was so great for him to seeing that Mother …he did not have the courage to continue filming: I would like to end by saying that the tremendous pain of that Mother was the tremendous pain of All those Mothers who saw their son (or their husbands) to perish in that so dark not so far period of history of Sicily.
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Scriveva Gesualdo Bufalino, esperto conoscitore della Sicilia, che le Sicilie sono tante, impossibile contarle tutte, in Sicilia “tutto è mischiato, cangiante, contraddittorio, come nel più composito dei continenti”…ed ancora ” Vi è una Sicilia “babba”, cioè mite…una Sicilia “sperta”, cioè furba…vi è una Sicilia pigra ed una frenetica…”; ma come mai così tante Sicilie? Bufalino spiegava “perché la Sicilia ha avuto la sorte di ritrovarsi a far da cerniera nei secoli fra la grande cultura occidentale e le tentazioni del deserto e del sole, tra la ragione e la magia, le temperie del sentimento e le canicole della passione. Soffre, la Sicilia, di un eccesso d'identità, né so se sia un bene o sia un male.” Anche Sciascia, immenso pensatore siciliano, diceva “Continuo ad essere convinto che la Sicilia offre la rappresentazione di tanti problemi, di tante contraddizioni, non solo italiani ma anche europei, al punto da poter costituire la metafora del mondo odierno”. Questo incipit per introdurre il personaggio del quale desidero rievocarne la vita (e la morte violenta) con alcune mie fotografie (tranne due immagini, appartenenti al settimanale “Epoca”), con notizie prese sia dal WEB, sia da testimonianze dirette che ho raccolto negli anni, in sintesi un personaggio che sembra incarnare i tanti volti della Sicilia, lui si chiama Salvatore Giuliano, noto come il Bandito Giuliano; sono tanti i Salvatore Giuliano, cambia in base a chi lo conobbe, in base ai tantissimi fatti raccontati da altri o da lui stesso (nei suoi memoriali), viene descritto ora come un “Robin Hood” dal cuore nobile, ora come un feroce brigante privo di scrupoli, però in ogni caso, in questa storia, è sempre obbligatorio l’uso di tutti gli “avverbi di dubbio o dubitativi” che conosciamo, perché parlando di lui conoscere la vera verità è una utopia…una vicenda questa, nella quale il dolore dei tanti morti, fa da sfondo. Nel parlarne cercherò di adoperare un linguaggio quasi telegrafico. Salvatore Giuliano nasce in Sicilia a Montelepre (il 16 novembre 1922), figlio di un contadino emigrato in America, e poi rientrato in Sicilia per la nascita del figlio; Salvatore abbandonò presto la scuola per lavorare nei campi, continuando privatamente a coltivare i suoi studi. Sono gli anni della seconda guerra mondiale, il regime fascista ha introdotto il razionamento del pane (il vero problema è la macinazione del grano, coi mulini controllati dall’esercito, i Giuliano hanno un piccolo mulino clandestino), il commercio clandestino degli alimenti di prima necessità diviene comune, anche Salvatore diviene un piccolo contrabbandiere, è inesperto quando viene fermato con due sacchi di grano da due carabinieri e da due guardie campestri, gli prendono tutto incluso i suoi documenti, una distrazione delle guardie e lestamente Salvatore tenta la fuga, gli vengono sparati contro alcuni colpi, due lo raggiungono ad un fianco, gli si avvicina un carabiniere (Salvatore descrive l’accaduto in un suo memoriale) che viene da lui colpito a morte: da questo momento in poi sarà per sempre il Bandito Salvatore Giuliano (o Turiddu, che in siciliano significa Salvatore). Secondo alcuni Turiddu è un eroe del popolo, egli spera in un riscatto civile del popolo siciliano, allaccia rapporti col mondo politico, coi servizi segreti deviati, col movimento separatista siciliano la cui sigla è MIS (Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano) del quale, spinto anche da un colonnello dell’esercito americano che lo illuse che la Sicilia poteva essere annessa come stato degli U.S.A. , entra a far parte del suo braccio armato, l’E.V.I.S. (Esercito Volontario per l’Indipendenza Siciliana), combattendo col grado di colonnello contro l’esercito italiano nel biennio 1945/46: l’EVIS era comandato dall’avv. Antonio Canepa, che viene ucciso il 17 giugno del 1945 in uno scontro coi carabinieri nel paese di Randazzo. Durante questo periodo nasce la leggenda del Bandito Giuliano, i contadini, la povera gente in generale, vede in lui una speranza di riscatto di una vita di stenti e di sacrifici, viene visto come un focoso amante dalle tante fugaci storie, con donne che lo raggiungono nel suo covo oltrepassando “il filtro” dei suoi uomini (ospitò una giovane giornalista svedese, Maria Cyjliakus, interessata ad intervistarlo, con la quale ebbe anche una relazione), ma poteva egli stesso raggiungere le amate pur correndo molti rischi: nell’immaginario collettivo si andava maturando l’idea di un brigante dal cuore gentile e buono, egli spesso donava ai poveri quello che sottraeva ai ricchi; però c’era il lato oscuro e brutale della sua personalità, egli tendeva agguati ed assalti alle forze dell’ordine, uccideva chi considerava essere un informatore dei carabinieri; il bandito era imprendibile, numerosi erano gli agguati ed i rastrellamenti ai quali lui ed i suoi uomini riuscivano a sottrarsi, anzi, ad ogni azione condotta dai militari, faceva sempre seguito una reazione di rappresaglia, con la conseguenza che i militari uccisi aumentavano sempre di più. La fase discendente di Giuliano incomincia ad apparire all’orizzonte, il M.I.S. entra nella legalità venendo riconosciuta come appartenente allo Statuto Speciale Siciliano, Giuliano non accetta l’accordo continuando coi suoi uomini a fare guerra allo stato, nel 1946 il nuovo governo italiano concede l’indulto ai guerriglieri dell’EVIS, in tal modo Giuliano perde il suo esercito ed il suo ruolo di colonnello (viene così sciolta la componente femminile dell’EVIS, con circa 20 donne, vi faceva anche parte sua sorella Mariannina); col primo referendum istituzionale cade la monarchia, nasce la Repubblica, il movimento contadino spera nel cambiamento e nella riforma agraria, la lotta in difesa dei loro diritti porta alla uccisione di sindacalisti (Miraglia, Rizzotto, Carnevale) dei quali non si scopriranno mai i mandanti; Giuliano stringe rapporti con la mafia, incontra uomini delle istituzioni, inducendo a sospettare che dietro molte azioni (scellerate) di Giuliano e dietro la sua morte, si celino tante responsabilità e misteri, sulle quali non si è fatto ancora luce. Arriviamo al 1° Maggio del 1947, nelle campagne di Portella della Ginestra nei pressi di Piana degli Albanesi (PA), c’è una gran folla di contadini riuniti per celebrare la festa dei lavoratorI, ci sono anche tante donne e bambini, improvvisamente l’atmosfera festosa viene interrotta drammaticamente dai colpi di una mitragliatrice e di altre armi di vario genere, tra queste anche lancio di granate, sul campo restano senza vita 11 persone (tra queste due bambini), e molti feriti sul cui numero non c’è concordanza; la strage dette inizio alla “crisi del maggio 1947” con assalti alle sedi dei partiti di sinistra e delle camere del lavoro della zona, le cui motivazioni sarebbero legate, si è detto… all’avversione di Giuliano per i comunisti…ma anche alla volontà dei poteri mafiosi di mantenere i vecchi equilibri nel nuovo quadro istituzionale (n.d.r. sembra che Giuliano a Portella volesse solo dare una lezione a Girolamo Li Causi, leader dei comunisti, il quale fu avvisato dell’agguato,e non si presentò a Portella, secondo me non regge la citata avversione di Giuliano per i comunisti, lui che trovava sempre calore, protezione e complicità proprio da parte di quei contadini che furono trucidati; chi organizzò la strage era una mente criminale e raffinata, spaventò i movimenti contadini, e nel contempo decretò la subentrata impopolarità del bandito Giuliano che vide farsi attorno terra bruciata: spararono uomini mafiosi estranei alla banda di Giuliano dotati di fucili calibro 9, mentre gli uomini della banda avevano armi calibro 6,5, così come gli uomini di Giuliano non possedevano lanciagranate; Giuliano tentò di discolparsi scrivendo sui giornali un suo “Memoriale sui fatti di Portella della Ginestra”, sostenendo di essere in possesso di documenti che avrebbero dimostrato chi erano i veri colpevoli della strage). Il cerchio si andava stringendo attorno a Giuliano, le forze dell’ordine si avvalsero della mafia per convincere a collaborare con loro il suo fidatissimo luogotenente Gaspare Pisciotta, si avvalsero di informatori, come Salvatore Ferreri, detto frà Diavolo, a capo delle forze antibanditismo c’era il colonnello dei carabinieri Ugo Luca; il 5 luglio del 1950 viene ucciso Salvatore Giuliano, sembra ci sia stato un conflitto a fuoco coi carabinieri nel cortile della casa dell’avv. De Maria a Castelvetrano (TP), però è una messinscena, se ne accorgono i giornalisti accorsi immediatamente sul luogo dove giace il corpo, il sangue impregna la canottiera sul dorso, da diversi fori non fuoriesce sangue, sul lato del braccio è presente una “lacerazione della cute” (come se l’arto fosse stato a contatto con del ghiaccio), uno dei giornalisti che si accorge di questi ed altri dettagli, Tommaso Besozzi, scrive il suo articolo giornalistico intitolandolo “di sicuro c’è solo che è morto” (l'Europeo n. 29, anno 1950), in realtà ad ucciderlo mentre dormiva con un colpo di pistola, forse stordito da una droga messa nel vino, sarebbe stato il suo uomo più fidato, Gaspare Pisciotta, il quale successivamente viene arrestato, e durante il processo di Viterbo dalla gabbia urlerà “noi eravamo un corpo solo, banditi, polizia e mafia, come il Padre, il Figlio e lo Spirito Santo”, Pisciotta è pronto a fare nomi, rivelazioni, ma non farà in tempo, all’interno del carcere dell’Ucciardone di Palermo, una dose letale di stricnina messa dentro un medicinale prescrittogli per la sua tubercolosi (non dentro il caffè) lo stroncherà prima che possa tentare di vomitare. La storia sembra non dover finire, quando, in seguito ad una segnalazione del professore Giuseppe Casarrubea, importante storiografo, che fece riesumare con un suo esposto in Procura la salma di Giuliano nel 2010, ipotizzando che la tomba custodiva il cadavere di un sosia, il test del DNA avrebbe però dimostrato un profilo genetico compatibile con quello di un nipote di Giuliano. Sulla tomba di Salvatore, un mese dopo, vennero scolpiti i versi inviati per lettera a sua madre (Maria Giuliano Lombardo) di una donna che si firmava “Santuzza”, versi che dichiarava di averli avuti personalmente da suo figlio Salvatore: “Poveri sogni miei d’amor beati, nel meglio del gioir siete periti, sorgeste fieri ma sfortunati, e come uccello nei boschi siete spariti”. “Santuzza” in realtà si chiamava Maddalena Lo Giudice, quando era giovane viene descritta come una bellissima ragazza, timida, riservata, era la figlia del Podestà del suo paese (durante il regime fascista, il Podestà era il capo dell'amministrazione comunale), sembra si conobbero in un nosocomio di Catania, visitando ognuno un proprio conoscente, Maddalena avrebbe avuto da Salvatore un figlio (fu sottoposta suo malgrado a visita ginecologica per appurarne la veridicità), un cofanetto con dei valori, ed un memoriale, nel quale Giuliano avrebbe scritto cose importantissime circa i suoi rapporti con “uomini dello stato e non”; Maddalena successivamente disse di aver consegnato tutto ad una persona fidata, la quale avrebbe murato tutto, successivamente forse impaurita dal grande clamore che si era alzato attorno a lei, in una intervista giornalistica dichiarò che si era sognato ed inventato tutto…(n.d.r. ho sempre provato molta commozione per questa povera donna, sarebbe interessante poterne tracciare un profilo psicologico, suo padre era il Podestà del paese, beneficiando sempre del dubbio, come in tutta questa storia, mi dissero che toglieva ai poveri anche quel poco che avevano, chissà se la povera Maddalena si innamorò di Giuliano anche perché lui ne rappresentava l’antitesi, dando ai poveri quel che toglieva ai possidenti…), Maddalena andò a partorire di nascosto dagli occhi benpensanti del paese (non essendo una donna sposata avrebbe creato scandalo) in Calabria, quel figlio per proteggerlo fu messo subito in un orfanotrofio (tutte le forze dell’ordine della Sicilia cercavano il bandito Giuliano, chissà cosa sarebbe accaduto se si fosse venuto a sapere di un figlio suo..! lo avrebbero usato come si fa con un agnello legato al palo, aspettando l’arrivo della fiera…); questa donna alla morte di Giuliano fu raggiunta dalla sua mamma (Maria Giuliano Lombardo) e da sua sorella Mariannina (Mariannina Giuliano), per avere tutto quello che Salvatore aveva lasciato a Maddalena, la quale sicuramente gli aveva fatto un giuramento, di non dare a nessuno quanto da lui aveva ricevuto, certamente fino a quando Maddalena avrebbe tenuto nascosto con se “il tesoro” (non certo i gioielli, il vero valore era il suo memoriale !), nessuno le avrebbe fatto del male; comunque, Maddalena si è portata con se nella tomba questo suo segreto. In vecchiaia Maddalena viveva appartata, era un tipo solitario, doveva fare ricorso alla dialisi per una grave infezione renale, per la qual cosa doveva farsi accompagnare varie volte la settimana da un autista in ospedale, aveva forti dolori per i quali doveva fare ricorso a potenti analgesici, gli unici a darle un po’ di affetto, erano i suoi molti cani, gli unici che riuscivano a rasserenarla, non ebbe mai l’affetto di quell’unico figlio avuto da Salvatore, del quale non si è mai saputo nulla (ci furono un paio di personaggi che si autodichiararono i figli del bandito, ma non si è mai appurato nulla). Concludo, seppi di un operatore cinematografico siciliano, che lavorava per La Settimana Incom (essa era un cinegiornale italiano, distribuito settimanalmente nei cinema), il quale alla notizia dell’uccisione del bandito Giuliano (come tanti giornalisti) si recò immediatamente a Castelvetrano in casa dell’avv. De Maria, dove avrebbe trovato il corpo di Salvatore, egli raccontò che quando arrivò la madre di Salvatore, lo baciò in maniera struggente, terribilmente commovente, incluse le parti coperte di sangue, quell’operatore Incom disse, che fu talmente grande la commozione che provò nel vedere quella Madre, che non ebbe il coraggio di continuare le riprese: vorrei terminare dicendo, che il dolore tremendo di quella Madre, è stato il dolore tremendo di Tutte quelle Madri che hanno visto perire i loro figli (od i loro mariti) in quel periodo così buio della storia di Sicilia.
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'A Mighty Blow for Freedom' by Michael Sandle in Temple Gardens, the location of the Usher Art Gallery, Lincoln, Lincolnshire.
It depicts a powerful helmeted, androgynous figure, full of movement, using a cudgel to smash a television screen. Sandle explained, 'it is the power to manipulate opinion and distort the truth that I hate so much about the media and in particular television advertising.'
In his early work, Sandle focused on craftsmanship and the search for symbols, rejecting the formalism increasingly common in sculpture of the period. After being appointed as professor of sculpture at Pforzheim, Germany in 1973 and at Karlsruhe, Germany in 1980, Sandle’s work became more monumental, addressing capitalism and in particular its association with global conflict. Themes of war, death, destruction, inhumanity and media manipulation are constant in his work, which Sandle describes as “the heroic decadence” of capitalism, in particular its appetite for global conflict. He also frequently condemn the media for packaging and sanitising the destructiveness of war.
Information gained from www.artfund.org/supporting-museums/art-weve-helped-buy/ar... & www.sculpture.org.uk/artwork/a-mighty-blow-for-freedom-fu...
Rothstein, Arthur,, 1915-1985,, photographer.
Instructor explaining the operation of a parachute to student pilots, Meacham Field, Fort Worth, Tex.
1942 Jan.
1 slide : color.
Notes:
Title from FSA or OWI agency caption.
Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944.
Subjects:
Flight training
Parachuting
United States--Texas--Fort Worth
Format: Slides--Color
Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Part Of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection 11671-20 (DLC) 93845501
General information about the FSA/OWI Color Photographs is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsac
Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsac.1a34248
Call Number: LC-USF35-285
File: E0049
Somewhere around Gloucestershire or South Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom. Date unknown, possibly around c2008. Will be explained below.
About the photograph.
Tiffany is a model (either amateur, part-time, or professional) whom did a lot of modelling for various British top-shelf adult softcore magazines. Many of the British titles includes the likes of Escort, Razzle, and Fiesta, to name a few.
I saw her in one of those Reader’s Wives pages at the back of those magazines. Usually where a lot of male readers would send pictures of their girlfriends or wives to the softcore magazine for a little bit of cash.
There was a small article, a quick bio that talks about her, and it also included a mention that if anyone wants to get in touch with her, they may write via the magazine.
So I wrote to her, asking if I could book her for a photo-shoot, and we ended up in communications done by writing letters back and forth, even though email would be easier and quicker. Finally arrangements were made, date and time for a photo-shoot set up, booked for a couple of hours, at her partner’s home.
That was sometime around autumn of 2008, I have no idea when exactly as I’ve lost my notes, and the metafile for the photos gets changed, I’ll explain this later.
I can’t remember the exact location either as I’ve not made notes of it. I didn’t start writing a journal until many years later. However it was somewhere around the south part of Gloucestershire, and somewhere closer to the M5 motorway. It was done at her partner’s home.
Even thought I am a deaf person with speech impaired, when I went there, they greeted me warmly and openly.
I had done a few photo-shoots of women before, but they weren’t models, as they were mostly female friends or people I know, posing for me as a favour. Tiffany is my first serious and my first booked model.
Communications with her, directing her to the kind of poses, was not a problem. She is an experienced model and had done a lot of modelling before, all I had to do was to mime the pose I want her to do, and she simply use her experience to do the posing in the ways I wanted.
At the beginning of the two hours session, I started shooting the photos with my Nikon D1, but sadly, my camera started to develop a technical problem, even though I checked the equipment beforehand. In case you’re wondering, it was not a flat battery. The photo-shoot was in danger of being cancelled, but thankfully her partner let me borrow his Nikon DSLR to continue the session.
It was a Nikon, but I don’t remember which model. Could have been one of the mid-range series like the D100, D200, or D300 models. As it was a Nikon brand, it was easy for me to quickly make the translation from my camera to their camera in a short time, as most of the controls are familiar.
In this photograph, she is posing on the first floor landing. Tiffany is wearing a white faux fur jacket manufactured by Astrake, and wearing her own white gloves. Those were the first set of outfits she worn during the photo-shoot.
After the photo-shoot was done, they transferred all the photos from the memory card to a CD-R, and posted the disc to me. There was a problem with the file format, and I could not open them in my computer, so I informed them of incompatibility issues.
Therefore they had to save the files in standard JPEG format, which is why the files are missing the EXIF information about the camera, and the metafile may have the date the files were created on the disc, instead of actual creation date from the camera.
After my first serious photo-shoot with Tiffany, I feel I’ve picked up experience of how to book models, how to communicate with them, and how to work with them. Then in 2016, I booked my next model, and to date (July 2024), I have worked with 7 different models.
Despite myself being deaf, Tiffany and all the other models I worked with afterwards, had got on well.
The Comment Box is NOT an adverting billboard for the groups you are member of. You are welcome to comment on my photos, about the subject, or about your similar experience
If you want to promote the groups you are member of, then do it IN YOUR own Photostream.
©Jane Brown2015 All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without explicit written permission.
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Elsie is explaining to me why it is I am not a good pupil in her school (never mind that I'm the only one who is not either an animal or doll). This was taken not long before my camera was confiscated!
This reenactor explains to the small crowd in words close to what the city website says about the skirmish. This is what the website says:
"On September 27, 1862, Colonel Basil Duke led seven companies of Confederate soldiers to Cemetery Hill, above the small town of Augusta. With two pieces of artillery and 350 of [Confederate general John Hunt Morgan] Morgan's finest Raiders, Duke hoped to disperse the Union militia of 125 men stationed there (led by Colonel Joshua T. Bradford and known as the "Home Guard") before crossing the Ohio River and moving on Cincinnati.
…Duke's horsemen rode into town, expecting a quick surrender. Instead, the residents of Augusta met the Rebs with a hail of gunfire, mounting a stiff defense that ultimately resulted in hand-to-hand fighting. Duke later reported, 'The hand-to-hand fighting in the houses...was the fiercest and hottest I ever saw. I witnessed in some of them the floors piled with corpses and blood trickling down the stairways.'
About fifteen Union soldiers were killed or wounded in the battle. Duke's losses were considerably more severe, with seventy-five to one hundred of his soldiers wounded or killed. Although the Confederates eventually forced the militia to surrender, the battle caused Duke to abandon his plans of taking the war onto Northern soil."
It's July 20th, 1987. I had dropped off a Navy buddy in Chicago earlier in the day and with the amount of railfanning I was getting in, I had turned into a fair weather foamer.
So why I stopped at Rondout and climbed up on the North Shore embankment with my camera in the pouring rain is a mystery - I don't have a shot of the head end and didn't know these were on the rear of this southbound freight.
Not sure where these units were going - there were 6 to 8 GATX SD40's, all ex MP, renumbered into 5000 series numbers & spaced with IC 50' boxes.
Capturing history in the making made it all worth while, not to mention I got a bath & did my laundry in one shot (old fashioned multi-tasking?).
This album's name is dedicated to my favourite game of all time Elder Scrolls Online and race of all time, The Argonians (reptile humanoids). There's a story for you to read below about some of them towards the bottom.
What does Ku Vastei mean? Read below
By Lights-the-Way, Mystic of the Mages Guild
It is hard to describe the culture of my people. Often my tongue stumbles as I try to explain, but it is my hope that ink and quill will give me time enough to gather my thoughts. And perhaps, though such writing, I will finally connect the parts of me that now feel so divided; my homeland of Murkmire and my new life within the Mages Guild.
These journals are to become my ku-vastei. And, as I write that, I can think of no better topic to begin with.
Ku-vastei roughly translates to "the catalyst of needed change," though such a direct translation in no way does justice to the original meaning. Another translation could be "that which creates the needed pathway for change to occur" or even "the spark which ignites the flame which must come into being."
Perhaps a more direct analysis should be first presented. Ku-vastei is a noun, a thing or person. Vastei directly translates to change, an important part of my culture. Ku is harder to speak of. It is that which leads to change, though not that which creates change. An important role, as stagnation is a fate worse than death.
Take a boulder which sits atop a cliff, teetering in place. It must fall eventually. The ku-vastei does not push the boulder off the cliff; rather, it picks the pebble which holds the rock in place. And so it falls, not by a push, but by a pathway cleared.
Ku-vastei is revered, just as change itself is revered, for to look back at what was means to stumble as you move forward. Sometimes, a little push in the right direction is all someone needs to remember such wisdom. Other times, they may need to be shoved.
-------------------------------------
The Gee-Rusleel Tribe
by Emmanubeth Hurrent, the Wayfarers' Society of Wayrest
I've had the privilege to speak to two different Miredancer elders now, and I've learned a great deal from both of these conversations. The "Gee-Rusleel," as they call themselves, are among the most introspective Argonians I've met in my travels. They also tend to be the most pleasant. For all their reclusiveness and wariness, I've never met a people more willing to share a meal or a game of Shells and Stones. They are skilled crafters, with a particular knack for working with Hist amber and egg shells. They are also peerless navigators, guiding their flat-bottom boats effortlessly through the swamp, master weavers, and skilled cartographers.
The most defining characteristic of the Miredancer tribe, however, is piety. This deep reverence for the Hist has earned them the right to name a "Sap-Speaker" for countless generations.
According to the elders I spoke with, the Sap-Speaker is the Hist's direct intermediary. (This is, of course, subject to debate. Many tribes boast unique methods of communion with the Hist. But as far as I have seen, the Miredancers make the most compelling case for the methods they use.) Sap-Speakers often go into seclusion for days or even weeks on end, venturing either down into the roots or high into the canopy of leaves in the uppermost branches. Here, they commune with the Hist. Indeed, the word that one of the elders used was "journey."
These journeys into the Hist tax the Sap-Speakers, but are thoroughly private affairs. After days by themselves, the Sap-Speakers emerge to hide away with old books, scrolls, and tablets. I asked after the purpose of these periods of seclusion, and this is what the elders told me. "The Sap-Speaker enters the embrace of the Hist to learn from the great tree," one elder said. "While in close contact with the roots and branches, the Sap-Speaker receives visions and other forms of communication that neither you nor I would understand."
The other elder continued. "Even the Sap-Speaker finds some of what is shown to be mystifying and confusing. I have heard that a Sap-Speaker is treated to ancient metaphors, arcane secrets, and visions that make little sense to creatures so far removed from sap and pulp." Apparently, the second period of seclusion allows the Sap-Speaker time to reflect on what he or she was shown, as well as time to consult with the ancient writings of Sap-Speakers who came before. After a suitable period of study and reflection, the Sap-Speaker emerges to reveal the Hist's will to the tribe.
I attempted to get more information about what happens while the Sap-Speaker meditates among the roots or branches, but I'm not sure the elders knew much more. They did tell me that the only nourishment the Sap-Speaker receives during these periods of seclusion is provided by the Hist itself in the form of sap, leaves, and the otherwise forbidden fruit of the tree.
There is a price to pay for the gift of Hist communion, however. Ingesting large quantities of Hist sap is a dangerous affair, even for Argonians. Sap-Speakers routinely suffer the effects of sap-poisoning, including "gold tongue" (permanent change of mouth pigmentation to a golden hue), unbidden hallucinations, "bark-scale" (thickening and darkening of surface scales), and other maladies they were reticent to talk about. The current Sap-Speaker, Thumarz, was in seclusion during my visit to the tribal village. I hope to meet him someday. If he's half as wise as the elders I interacted with, I'd no doubt learn a great deal from him.
Despite their deeply religious nature, the Miredancers also seem to have an obsession with games of all types. They are particularly fond of the games Nine-Shells and Shells and Stones, as well as sports such as the popular "teeba-hatsei" (also known as "hip and tail ball.") In addition to lovingly explaining their own games, they wanted to know everything I could tell them about the games we play back in Wayrest. I must admit, their enthusiasm was quite infectious! And I found it highly amusing to watch them try to re-create Deceiver's Bones from the vague description I provided.
The Miredancers are also inveterate gamblers, but they often forget to collect their winnings. Unlike the games of men and mer, Miredancer competitions appear to be completely devoid of malice or injured pride. Victory and defeat seem more like afterthoughts than objectives, due in no small part to their phlegmatic disposition. As in most things, their focus is strictly on the moment—the now. It pains me to leave their village, but I still have many more tribes to study. I doubt any of them will be as fascinating or as friendly as the Miredancers.
["the tribe is not currently in the game but in the world of the game"]
"I missed the last bus
I'll take the next train
I'll try but you'll see
It's hard to explain
I say the right thing
But act the wrong way
I like it right here
But I cannot stay ..."
Julian Casablancas
“It was rigged, I tell you,” said Fletcher of Lenfald. He had stopped at an inn in the market city of Ainesford, during his return north from the C.R.A.S.H. games, in which he had been a participant and bronze medalist in Archery. He was giving a colorful account of the Games to the common room.
“We were told to eat at a local restaurant by a fellow competitor, an Outlaw, I think.”
“Why those scoundrels were allowed to participate is beyond me,” said Adam, an Ainesford native.
“Anyway, nearly the entire Lenfel team got awful food poisoning from the vile place. It was a struggle to stand up, let alone shoot straight. Of course, I knew something was up, so I didn’t have the house special like everyone else. Thus I escaped the worst of it, though camel burger I had was bad enough. Did you know ground meat could be tough?”
“Well, that does explain a lot,” said Adam. “We were hearing wild rumors that Garhims were actually better than Lenfels at archery.”
“Well they have been practicing,” said Fletcher, “I’ll give them that. What I’m really wondering is who put that Outlaw up to it. Of course, the Games overseers never investigated it. I suspect the Loreesi, but they didn’t win either. Maybe they just couldn’t shoot well enough even with the competition out of the way.”
“Well, I reckon we’ll be happy to get even camel burgers in Lenfald soon. Those new tariffs are driving the price of food higher and higher,” said Adam.
“Bah,” said Fletcher, “I say forget them and their grain. We can eat venison out of the woods.”
“That’s fine for you,” said Adam, “but this city lives on Loreesi grain. Cityfolk can’t get to the woods to hunt, and meat doesn’t keep. Poor merchant families are already starting to starve.”
“Well if we need to import,” said Fletcher, “it should be done privately, without letting the puppet-king’s highway robbers levy the tariffs.”
“There are outlaw smugglers out East, but they charge nearly as much as the taxmen. Besides, the Loreesi have patrols hunting smugglers, with orders to kill on sight, or so I’ve heard.”
“We don’t need the Outlaws,” said Fletcher, seeing a chance to make a quick Draken and thwart Chartres at the same time. “We’re not bound by the puppet-king’s laws. And you said that the cities need grain the most. There has to be a way to bring it in right here, under their noses.”
“Excuse me,” said a man sitting at the table nearby. He was dressed in Southern style clothes and a white turban. “I couldn’t help but overhear what you were saying. My name is Hassan. I’m from South Ainesford, across the river, and I think I might be able to help you.”
“A Loreesi?” Fletcher said suspiciously. “Why would you want to help us?”
“Son,” Hassan said, “you aren’t the only ones whom that young fool Chartres has hurt. I’m a baker, and every day I bring bread across the bridge to sell in Ainesford. Now though, with the King’s Tariff on grain products, I can’t make a profit. It’s destroying my livelihood, and I’m not the only one either. Our farmers are forced to give away their grain for nearly nothing, while the Lenfels, happy to pay the old prices, starve.”
“It’s outrageous,” said Fletcher. “Now what do you propose?”
“Just this. I can buy grain in Loreos without suspicion, and more to the point, without taxes. My bakery is right on the riverfront, backed by an old dock frequented by fishermen.”
“Hmm, I see,” said Fletcher. “Do you have a place we could hide a riverboat for loading?”
“I have a celler which could be made to open the river, under the wharf,” said Hassan.
“Excellent,” said Fletcher. “Then we would just need a boat, and a place to land it on this side.”
“That wouldn’t be a problem,” said Adam. “Duke Meyrick, err, supports such entrepreneurship. If we landed a shipment of grain at the city docks, no questions would be asked.”
* * *
The conspiracy was assembled quickly. Adam recruited willing Lenfels, Fletcher obtained a small river boat, and Hassan stockpiled grain, purchasing in small amounts so as not to attract attention.
On a foggy night when the moon was new, the first boatload was brought across. Adam, Fletcher, and three other Lenfels brought the boat quietly across the river and slipped it under the docks. The conspirators had opened Hassan’s celler to the river, and Hassan’s son, a fisherman, had moored his boat and hung his nets to dry in front of the opening to hide it. The smugglers entered this hidden chamber, and docked. Fletcher kept his dirk and bow close to hand, but Hassan was trustworthy. They quickly loaded the boat with barrels of grain, then pushed off. With muffled paddles, they delivered their cargo directly to the Ainesford dock, where it was sold the next morning to be grateful citizens.
* * *
For the next several weeks this operation proceeded smoothly. Then one night, as Fletcher and his men were loading the boat, he saw Hassan enter, looking worried.
“My informant in the city guard has sent a message. They’re sending a squad of troops and they’re under orders to kill every smuggler they find. Someone’s tipped them off. ”
“Son of a used camel dealer!” Fletcher said. “We might be able to escape with the boat, but if they find our dock and all the grain in the bakery, you’ll be arrested for sure.”
“I doubt we could make it across. They’ve probably got a boat out there, watching.”
“Then we’ll have to fall back on the contingency plan. How much time do we have?”
“I give us ten minutes.”
* * *
Fletcher assembled their forces. He and another Lenfel had brought bows and arrows. Hassan had acquired an antiquated crossbow. One smuggler had a spear. Adam was in the Ainesford militia, and had a pike. Hassan had also contracted the services of a local thug, who, after a bag of silver and a free meal, had been found to be a secret Lenfel sympathizer. The smugglers donned disguises, so they would look like Outlaws. Most wore masks, Fletcher had a tattered black cloak, and Adam carried a Queen’s Dragon shield.
Everyone with weapons was soon in position, and the last smuggler was sent to finish loading the boat.
Soon the squad of Loreesi guards marched into sight, their way lit by flickering torchlight. They stopped at Hassan’s door and pounded on it.
“Open in the name of the King!” their captain commanded.
Hassan’s son appeared from the alleyway to the left of the shop.
“Are you looking for smugglers?” he said, gesturing towards him. “Back here.”
“Go with him,” the captain said, indicating two of his men.
They followed Hassan’s son through the alley, which was made even narrower by creates stacked along the wall. When they reached the dock behind the building, Fletcher and the other archer, crouching on the flat roof, stood and let fly arrows. Fletcher’s aim was deadly, even in the darkness, and one man dropped without a sound. The other soldier was hit, but cried out. Fletcher shot again. Hassan’s son began disposing of the evidence.
Hearing the cry, the three soldiers rushed the alleyway, and were as suddenly surrounded when two more smugglers leapt from hiding behind the building, and the scimitar-wielding thug charged across the street. Fletcher, Hassan, and the other archer each aimed their arrows at a soldier. While the Loreesi guards’ superior training might have prevailed against the men on the ground, they stood no chance against arrows from the rooftop, and had nowhere to run.
“Hold!” cried the guard captain. “Don’t shoot, and we will lay down our arms.”
“And then go for reinforcements?” Fletcher said. “I don’t take prisoners.”
“If you allow us to go free, I will not harm you. I will return and tell my commanding officer that we saw no signs of smuggling activity, and that we were attacked by men dressed as outlaws.”
“And why should we trust you?” Fletcher said.
“I am a man of honor,” the captain declared. “I will not break my word.” He laid down his weapon and his men did likewise. “You would shoot us in cold blood?”
Fletcher thought of his father. His arrow pointed at the lion on the man’s chest, and his bowstring quivered.
“No.” Fletcher slowly released the arrow and released tension on the bow. “If the Loreesi are men of honor, then I am too.” He signaled the smugglers to let the soldiers go.
-------------------------------------------
This is my entry for Lenfald's 24th Local Challenge.
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A build for Lands of Rowia, a LEGO castle group in which members create a character and then use Lego builds to tell their story in a shared LEGO castle world. LoR also features motivational contests and challenges. We are currently looking for new members, so come on over, pick a faction and join the fun!
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Comments and critique welcome.
Exception to my reluctancy to explain : I shot these in woods planted in the thirties last century as provision of work during the crisis, for future citizens to enjoy. The background is a map of the land that had to be expropriated before the tree planting.
.
Abandoned Abused Street Dogs.
Nikon D300 DX Camera.
Nikkor 17-55 2.8 Lens.
.
Mama taking a moment to explain
the rules to a young monkey boy.
Rule No# 1 -
Don't mess with me &
don't mess with the photo
guy.........................................;-)~
Rule No# 2 -
Same Same.
Jon&Crew.
Please help with your temple dog donations here.
www.gofundme.com/f/help-for-abandoned-thai-temple-dogs
Please,
No Political Statements, Awards,
Invites Large Logos or Copy/Pastes.
© All rights reserved.
.
The Wevershuis was built between 1722 and 1730 at Dorpsstraat 861-863 in Assendelft and served as a home weaving mill until the beginning of the twentieth century. In collaboration with the Zaanse Schans Foundation, Stadsherstel saved the house from demolition in 2011. Reconstruction started in 2015. The Zaans Museum will demonstrate home weaving from March 24, 2016. There is plenty to discover about the Old Dutch craft of sail and mill cloth weaving.
TAG! GACHA THE HAUNTED MORTUARY
Visit this location at TAG! Gacha - The Haunted Mortuary (starting point) in Second Life
Explained in my blog post for the day. dennissylvesterhurd.blogspot.com/2022/05/fine-weather-for...
It's fate: dennissylvesterhurd.blogspot.com/2026/08/give-up-ghost-li...
Hannah, an english-speaking tourist and a DSLR owner, spent a couple of minutes trying to explain her friend how to take a picture with her own camera in front of the Columbus (Colom) Monument, at the end of La Rambla. After some shots (not sure whether those were successful or not) and without meaning any disrespect, I offered myself to help the girls with the portrait, though they politely declined.
Not discouraged, and impressesed by both her hair and the contrast with her blueish eyes, I asked If I could take one myself and Hannah accepted, so here's the shot. I believe I correctly used the lesson learned from Stranger #4 to my advantage by placing the subject against the light, thus obtaining a glowing fiery orange aura all around her face.
The DOF was a bit tricky to measure too, but I believe the result was satisfying and the focus is OK. Maybe a reflector bouncing some light to her face would have helped?
This picture is #17 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.
An open wing shot of this species is much easier to get in the late fall of the year, While I can't explain why, I like the result.
Explains for the layman - with or without the BPD - what it's like to live with the borderline personality disorder, and how to recover. Includes explanations of biology, medications, therapy, and other diagnoses. An extensive bibliography and glossary are included. Life at the Border was placed on the recommended reading list by the National Institute of Mental Health and is a reference book at NIMH.In my last post, I discussed how children act out certain roles in their family of origin in order to try to emotionally stabilize parents who are emotional unstable. Doing so also has the effect of maintaining dysfunctional relationship patterns so that the family operates in predictable ways (family homeostasis).
In today's post, I will look at the role that is played by the patient with borderline personality disorder (BPD), which I call the Spoiler. I will look at the dysfunctional family dynamics that I believe help to create the disorder.
For readers who are not familiar with the disorder, BPD is sort of the "jack of all trades" of personality dysfunction. People who have the diagnosis show gross disturbances in their ability to control their emotions, in their extremely chaotic interpersonal relationships, in their impulse control, and in their attempts to understand who or what they want to be in life (identity confusion).
These are the people who are not psychotic but who seem to show very poor judgment in interpersonal relationships, and who often seem to misinterpret in a negative way the most innocent-sounding comments made to them by others. They often cut, burn, or in other ways injure themselves. They make suicide threats and attempts and have anger control problems. They do not trust others easily, and they often "space out" or dissociate when under stress.
They engage in behavior referred to by therapists as splitting: Everyone else is treated either like a god or a complete pile of manure, with nothing in between. Interestingly, patients with BPD are often described by therapists as being superb manipulators. One must wonder how anyone who cannot simultaneously evaluate another person's strengths and weaknesses could possibly be a good manipulator. Simple answer: They could not. While the tendency of thes individuals to "split" others into all good or all bad does derive from the bewildering contradictory behavior of the patient's parents or primary caretakers, usually it is just an act.
Their behavior is often so extreme that is natural to start to think that they must have some sort of brain disease. While genetics may predispose some individuals to be more prone to develop these characteristics than others, I am not among the psychiatrists who think BPD is a disease rather than dysfunctional personality traits that tend to co-occur in some children from some disturbed families.
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/matter-personality/201109/th...
Life at the Border - Understanding and Recovering from the Borderline Personality Disorder
www.amazon.com/Life-Border-Understanding-Recovering-Perso...
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Captured with a manual Nikkor 50 mm ƒ1:1.2 on my Nikon Df, post processed in Lightroom using the new VSCO Film Pack 05.
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-:- ( 1 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 3 ) - ( 2X5 ) - ( 6 ) - ( 7 ) - ( 8 ) - ( 9 ) - (2X10) -:-
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With some Haiku Notes:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other dimensions
providing information,
just don't look; but see.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take aim and you'll see
truth behind reality
in both yin and yang
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's all in your mind
concentrate and be mindful
sense reality
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. Great emphasis is put on the practical aspect, because it is only through practice that one can attain a higher level of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the path are not to be understood as a sequence of single steps, instead they are highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other.
1. Right View
Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to see and to understand things as they really are and to realise the Four Noble Truth. As such, right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right thoughts and right actions.
2. Right Intention
While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right intention refers to the volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental energy that controls our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions: 1. the intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire, 2. the intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion, and 3. the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion.
3. Right Speech
Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not self-sufficient, however, essential, because mental purification can only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.
4. Right Action
The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is explained in terms of abstinence: right action means 1. to abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently, 2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and 3. to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others. Further details regarding the concrete meaning of right action can be found in the Precepts.
5. Right Livelihood
Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason: 1. dealing in weapons, 2. dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution), 3. working in meat production and butchery, and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided.
6. Right Effort
Right effort can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. Mental energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of endeavours that rank in ascending order of perfection: 1. to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome states, 2. to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen, 3. to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen, and 4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen.
7. Right Mindfulness
Right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an impression induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualise sense impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret them and set them in relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond the facticity of the original impression. The mind then posits concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into complex interpretative schemes. All this happens only half consciously, and as a result we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualisation in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation of the body, 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral), 3. contemplation of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation of the phenomena.
8. Right Concentration
The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration. Concentration in this context is described as one-pointedness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations.
An Additional Haiku Note:
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Take time be aware
we are no-thing but our thoughts
so said the Buddha
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Personal Thoughts from August 07, 1976
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Energy is one.
Individuals are parts of that one.
Individuals through a source such as Love
(or other emotion or virtue) are one.
Thoughts are a source of energy.
Energy is neither created or destroyed.
Thoughts are neither created or destroyed.
Individuals are tuned-in to thoughts.
We do not think; we experience thought.
Our level of development is how we use
these thoughts to experience other
thoughts.
We are actually experiencing energies.
Our level of development is how we can
tune-in to these energies.
Our true purpose is to think and develop;
think and develop; become the source of energy.
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I think I may have gone overboard with the processing. Do you feel that it's too much?
IMG_8967c.jpg
Zoos exist, in part, to educate the public about animal conservation. Here, Jess explains target training to a guest, while Bane stands by, hoping for more food!
You might notice that Jess also has a blue target. That's for Mutant, the female ostrich. Jess noted that ostriches can distinguish those two colors.
Ever wonder about the orange triangle on the subway walls? It's a marker for how far the rear guard should keep watching the platform with his head out the window as the train exits the station
Parvati (Devanagari: पार्वती, IAST: Pārvatī) is the Hindu goddess of love, fertility and devotion. She is the goddess of divine strength and power. She is the gentle and nurturing aspect of the Hindu goddess Shakti. She is the mother goddess in Hinduism and has many attributes and aspects. Each of her aspects is expressed with a different name, giving her over 100 names in regional Hindu mythologies of India. Along with Lakshmi (goddess of wealth and prosperity) and Saraswati (goddess of knowledge and learning), she forms the trinity of Hindu goddesses.
Parvati is the wife of the Hindu deity Shiva - the destroyer, recycler and regenerator of universe and all life. She is the daughter of the mountain king Himavan and mother Mena. Parvati is the mother of Hindu deities Ganesha and Karttikeya. She is also the mother of Ashokasundari, whose husband was Nahusha Her elder sister is the goddess Ganges. Some communities also believe her to be the adopted sister of Vishnu.
With Śiva, Pārvatī is a central deity in the Saivism sect of Hinduism. In Hindu belief, she is the recreative energy and power of Śiva, and she is the cause of a bond that connects all beings and a means of their spiritual release. In Hindu temples dedicated to her and Śiva, she is symbolically represented as argha or yoni. She is found extensively in ancient Indian literature, and her statues and iconography grace ancient and medieval era Hindu temples all over South Asia and Southeast Asia.
ETYMOLOGY AND NOMENCLATURE
Parvata is one of the Sanskrit words for "mountain"; "Parvati" derives her name from being the daughter of king Himavan (also called Himavat, Parvat) and mother Mena. King Parvat is considered lord of the mountains and the personification of the Himalayas; Parvati implies "she of the mountain".
Parvati is known by many names in Hindu literature. Other names which associate her with mountains are Shailaja (Daughter of the mountains), Adrija or Nagajaa or Shailaputri (Daughter of Mountains), 'Haimavathi' (Daughter of Himavan) and 'Girija' or 'Girirajaputri' (Daughter of king of the mountains).
The Lalita sahasranama contains a listing of 1,000 names of Parvati (as Lalita). Two of Parvati's most famous epithets are Uma and Aparna. The name Uma is used for Sati (Shiva's first wife, who is reborn as Parvati) in earlier texts,[which?] but in the Ramayana, it is used as a synonym for Parvati. In the Harivamsa, Parvati is referred to as Aparna ('One who took no sustenance') and then addressed as Uma, who was dissuaded by her mother from severe austerity by saying u mā ('oh, don't'). She is also Ambika ('dear mother'), Shakti (power), Mataji ('revered mother'), Maheshwari ('great goddess'), Durga (invincible), Bhairavi ('ferocious'), Bhavani ('fertility and birthing'), Shivaradni ('Queen of Shiva'), and many hundreds of others. Parvati is also the goddess of love and devotion, or Kamakshi; the goddess of fertility, abundance and food/nourishment, or Annapurna.
The apparent contradiction that Parvati is addressed as the fair one, Gauri, as well as the dark one, Kali or Shyama, has been explained by the following legend: Once, Shiva rebuked Parvati about her dark complexion. An angry Parvati left him and underwent severe austerities to become fair-complexioned as a boon from Brahma. Regional stories of Gauri suggest an alternate origin for Gauri's name and complexion. In parts of India, Gauri's skin color is golden or yellow in honor of her being the goddess of ripened corn/harvest and of fertility.
Parvati is sometimes spelled as Parvathy or Parvaty
HISTORY
Some scholars hold that Parvati does not explicitly appear in Vedic literature, though the Kena Upanishad (3.12) contains a goddess called Uma-Haimavati. Sayana's commentary in Anuvaka, however, identifies Parvati in Talavakara Upanishad, suggesting her to be the same as Uma and Ambika in the Upanishad, referring to Parvati is thus an embodiment of divine knowledge and the mother of the world.
She appears as the shakti, or essential power, of the Supreme Brahman. Her primary role is as a mediator who reveals the knowledge of Brahman to the Vedic trinity of Agni, Vayu, and Indra, who were boasting about their recent defeat of a group of demons. But Kinsley notes: "it is little more than conjecture to identify her with the later goddess Satī-Pārvatī, although [..] later texts that extol Śiva and Pārvatī retell the episode in such a way to leave no doubt that it was Śiva's spouse.." Sati-Parvati appears in the epic period (400 BC–400 AD), as both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata present Parvati as Shiva's wife. However, it is not until the plays of Kalidasa (5th-6th centuries) and the Puranas (4th through the 13th centuries) that the myths of Sati-Parvati and Shiva acquire more comprehensive details. Kinsley adds that Parvati may have emerged from legends of non-aryan goddesses that lived in mountains. While the word Umā appears in earlier Upanisads, Hopkins notes that the earliest known explicit use of the name Pārvatī occurs in late Haṃsa Upanishad (Yoga / Shukla Yajurveda).
Weber suggests that just like Shiva is a combination of various Vedic gods Rudra and Agni, Parvati in Puranas text is a combination of wives of Rudra and Agni. In other words, the symbolism, legends and characteristics of Parvati evolved over time fusing Uma, Haimavati, Ambika in one aspect and the more ferocious, destructive Kali, Gauri, Nirriti in another aspect. Tate suggests Parvati is a mixture of the Vedic goddesses Aditi and Nirriti, and being a mountain goddess herself, was associated with other mountain goddesses like Durga and Kali in later traditions.
LEGENDS
The Puranas tell the tale of Sati's marriage to Shiva against her father Daksha's wishes. Her father Daksha and her husband Shiva do not get along, and ignore the wishes of Sati. The conflict gets to a point where Daksha does not invite Shiva to a major fire ceremony, and Shiva does not come on his own, humiliating Sati. She self-immolates herself at Daksha's yajna ceremony. This shocks Shiva, who is so grief-stricken that he loses interest in worldly affairs, retires and isolates himself in the mountains, in meditation and austerity. Sati is then reborn as Parvati, the second daughter of Himavat and Minavati, and is named Parvati, or "she from the mountains", after her father Himavant who is also called king Parvat.
According to different versions of her myths, the maiden Parvati resolves to marry Shiva. Her parents learn of her desire, discourage her, but she pursues what she wants. She approaches the god Kama - the Hindu god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection, and asks him to help her. Kama reaches Shiva and shoots an arrow of desire. Shiva opens his third eye in his forehead and burns the cupid Kama to ashes. Parvati does not lose her hope or her resolve to win over Shiva. She begins to live in mountains like Shiva, engage in the same activities as Shiva, one of asceticism, yogin and tapas. This draws the attention of Shiva and awakens his interest. He meets her in disguised form, tries to discourage her, telling her Shiva's weaknesses and personality problems. Parvati refuses to listen and insists in her resolve. Shiva finally accepts her and they get married. Shiva dedicates the following hymn in Parvati's honor,
I am the sea and you the wave,
You are Prakṛti, and I Purusha.
– Translated by Stella Kramrisch
After the marriage, Parvati moves to Mount Kailash, the residence of Shiva. To them are born Kartikeya (also known as Skanda and Murugan) - the leader of celestial armies, and Ganesha - the god of wisdom that prevents problems and removes obstacles.
ALTERNATE STORIES
There are many alternate Hindu legends about the birth of Parvati and how she got married with Shiva. In the Harivamsa, for example, Parvati has two younger sisters called Ekaparna and Ekapatala. According to Devi Bhagawata Purana and Shiva Purana mount Himalaya and his wife Mena appease goddess Adi Shakti. Pleased, Adi Shakti herself is born as their daughter Parvati. Each major story about Parvati's birth and marriage to Shiva has regional variations, suggesting creative local adaptations. In another version of Shiva Purana, Chapters 17 through 52, cupid Kama is not involved, and instead Shiva appears as a badly behaved, snake wearing, dancing, disheveled beggar who Parvati gets attracted to, but who her parents disapprove of. The stories go through many ups and downs, until Parvati and Shiva are finally married.
Kalidasa's epic Kumarasambhavam ("Birth of Kumara") describes the story of the maiden Parvati who has made up her mind to marry Shiva and get him out of his recluse, intellectual, austere world of aloofness. Her devotions aimed at gaining the favor of Shiva, the subsequent annihilation of Kamadeva, the consequent fall of the universe into barren lifelessness, regeneration of life, the subsequent marriage of Parvati and Shiva, the birth of Kartikeya, and the eventual resurrection of Kamadeva after Parvati intercedes for him to Shiva.
ICONOGRAPHY AND SYMBOLISM
Parvati, the gentle aspect of Devi Shakti, is usually represented as fair, beautiful and benevolent. She typically wears a red dress (often a sari), and may have a head-band. When depicted alongside Shiva, she generally appears with two arms, but when alone, she may be depicted having four. These hands may hold a conch, crown, mirror, rosary, bell, dish, farming tool such as goad, sugarcane stalk, or flowers such as lotus. One of her arms in front may be in the Abhaya mudra (hand gesture for 'fear not'), one of her children, typically Ganesha, is on her knee, while her elder son Skanda may be playing near her in her watch. In ancient temples, Parvati's sculpture is often depicted near a calf or cow - a source of food. Bronze has been the chief metal for her sculpture, while stone is next most common material.
A common symbolism for her and her husband Siva is in the form of yoni and linga respectively. In ancient literature, yoni means womb and place of gestation, the yoni-linga metaphor represents "origin, source or regenerative power". The linga-yoni icon is widespread, found in Shaivite Hindu temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia. Often called Shivalinga, it almost always has both linga and the yoni. The icon represents the interdependence and union of feminine and masculine energies in recreation and regeneration of all life. In some temples and arts, the iconographic representation of sexuality, fertility and energies of Parvati and Shiva, is more explicit, where they are shown in various stages of their sexual form and union.
In some iconography Parvati's hands may symbolically express many mudras (symbolic hand gestures). For example, Kataka — representing fascination and enchantment, Hirana — representing the antelope, the symbolism for nature and the elusive, Tarjani by the left hand — representing gesture of menace, and Chandrakal — representing the moon, a symbol of intelligence. Kataka is expressed by hands closer to the devotee; Tarjani mudra with the left hand, but far from devotee.
If Parvati is depicted with two hands, Kataka mudra — also called Katyavalambita or Katisamsthita hasta — is common, as well as Abhaya (fearlessness, fear not) and Varada (beneficence) are representational in Parvati's iconography. Parvati's right hand in Abhaya mudra symbolizes "do not fear anyone or anything", while her Varada mudra symbolizes "wish fulfilling". In Indian dance, Parvatimudra is dedicated to her, symbolizing divine mother. It is a joint hand gesture, and is one of sixteen Deva Hastas, denoting most important deities described in Abhinaya Darpana. The hands mimic motherly gesture, and when included in a dance, the dancer symbolically expresses Parvati. Alternatively, if both hands of the dancer are in Ardhachandra mudra, it symbolizes an alternate aspect of Parvati.
Parvati is sometimes shown with golden or yellow colour skin, particularly as goddess Gauri, symbolizing her as the goddess of ripened harvests.
In some manifestations, particularly as angry, ferocious aspects of Shakti such as Durga or Kali, she has eight or ten arms, and is astride on a tiger or lion. In benevolent manifestation such as Kamakshi or Meenakshi, a parrot sits near her right shoulder symbolizing cheerful love talk, seeds and fertility. A parrot is found with Parvati's form as Kamakshi - the goddess of love, as well as Kama - the cupid god of desire who shoots arrows to trigger infatuation. A crescent moon is sometimes included near the head of Parvati particularly the Kamakshi icons, for her being half of Shiva. In South Indian legends, her association with the parrot began when she won a bet with her husband and asked for his loin cloth as victory payment; Shiva keeps his word but first transforms her into a parrot. She flies off and takes refuge in the mountain ranges of south India, appearing as Meenakshi (also spelled Minakshi).
SYMBOLISM OF MANY ASPECTS FOR THE SAME GODDESS
Parvati is expressed in many roles, moods, epithets and aspects. In Hindu mythology, she is an active agent of the universe, the power of Shiva. She is expressed in nurturing and benevolent aspects, as well as destructive and ferocious aspects. She is the voice of encouragement, reason, freedom and strength, as well as of resistance, power, action and retributive justice. This paradox symbolizes her willingness to realign to Pratima (reality) and adapt to needs of circumstances in her role as the universal mother. She identifies and destroys evil to protect (Durga), as well as creates food and abundance to nourish (Annapurna).
MANIFESTATIONS AND ASPECTS OF PARVATI
Several myths present alternate aspects of Parvati, such as the ferocious, violent aspect as Shakti and related forms. Shakti is pure energy, untamed, unchecked and chaotic. Her wrath crystallizes into a dark, blood-thirsty, tangled-hair Goddess with an open mouth and a drooping tongue. This goddess is usually identified as the terrible Mahakali or Kali (time). In Linga Purana, Parvati metamorphoses into Kali, on the request of Shiva, to destroy a female asura (demoness) Daruka. Even after destroying the demoness, Kali's wrath could not be controlled. To lower Kali's rage, Shiva appeared as a crying baby. The cries of the baby raised the maternal instinct of Kali who resorts back to her benign form as Parvati.
In Skanda Purana, Parvati assumes the form of a warrior-goddess and defeats a demon called Durg who assumes the form of a buffalo. In this aspect, she is known by the name Durga. Although Parvati is considered another aspect of Sakti, just like Kali, Durga, Kamakshi, Meenakshi, Gauri and many others in modern day Hinduism, many of these “forms” or aspects originated from regional legends and traditions, and the distinctions from Parvati are pertinent.
In Devi Bhagwata Purana, Parvati is the lineal progenitor of all other goddesses. She is the one who is the source of all forms of goddesses. She is worshiped as one with many forms and names. Her different moods bring different forms or incarnation. For example,
- Durga is a demon-fighting form of Parvati, and some texts suggest Parvati took the form of Durga to kill the demon Durgamasur.
- Kali is another ferocious form of Parvati, as goddess of time and change, with mythological origins in the deity Nirriti.
- Chandi is the epithet of Durga, considered to be the power of Parvati; she is black in color and rides on a lion, slayer of the demon Mahishasura.
- Ten Mahavidyas are the ten aspects of Shakti. In tantra, all have importance and all are different aspects of Parvati.
- 52 Shakti Peethas suggests all goddesses are expansions of the goddess Parvati.
- Navadurga nine forms of the goddess Parvati
- Meenakshi, goddess with eyes shaped like a fish.
- Kamakshi, goddess of love and devotion.
- Lalita, the playful Goddess of the Universe, she is a form of the Devi Parvati.
- Akhilandeshwari, found in coastal regions of India, is the goddess associated with water.
- Annapurna is the representation of all that is complete and of food.
STORY OF THE ATTAINMENT OF THE NAME DURG
A demon named Durgasur has undertook severe austerities to please Lord Brahma. Being pleased with his penances, as his blessing, he cannot be killed by any man, demon, God or male deity. He gathered his large demonic forces and declared war against the Gods. Durgasur and Indra's forces engage in a severe war. In the end, Durgasur defeats Indra and he, with the help of his fellow demons take over the three worlds, and the heavens. Durgasur, full of pride and arrogance started tormenting and torturing innocent common people like villagers, wrecking down the religious schools and students and teachers, molesting other sages' wives and wreaking atrocities on the sages also. All the Gods, sages, their wives, the common people, teachers and students, united all together went to Kailash to seek the refuge of Lord Shiva but he was not there. They turned to his wife, Goddess Parvati, the full form of the Adi Parashakti and requested her to kill Durgasur and put an end to his every bad deed and atrocity. Parvati, hearing the atrocities of Durgasur, felt compassionate for them and she promised to stop Durgasur. She invokes Kaalratri, in the form of a damsel and requested her to go to Durgasur and ordered him to stop his atrocities on vulnerable people and Gods. Kaalratri went to Durgasur's territory and she requested him to cease his every atrocity on the Gods and common people and to hand over their respective abodes by going back to where he came from or get slayed at the hands of Parvati. Hearing this, Durgasur becomes very annoyed and he refuses to stop his atrocities on the world and ordered his demons to catch hold of the female messenger. Kaalratri turns furious and so she grew massive in her original form. She tells him to make preparations for his death. Durgasur becomes angry and commands his army to attack Kailash. Kaalratri returns to Parvati and conveyed the complete message to her. Parvati, on hearing this, she tells Durgasur that his last wish is to fight and his wish would be fulfilled by her. Parvati infuses Kaalratri in her body. Then, she, along with the Gods and common people approach the battlefield, waiting for Durgasur. Parvati creates a luminous circle around them as their own safety shield. Durgasur and his corps reach the battleground. Seeing them, Parvati sprouted a thousand hands holding all types of weapons. Seeing this thousand-armed form of Parvati, the Gods and common people express their gratitude awhile Durgasur and his army corps are terrified. At her call, all her Shaktis, of female forms, having a number of arms, weapons, wearing different garments, ornaments and apparels, riding on all kinds of animal vehicles, some of them were fierce and some of them were beneficial, they were of different names and incarnations and/or forms of Adi Parashakti. The war began. The fierce forms of Parvati managed to destroy the entire demon army of Durgasur. A severe duel erupted between Parvati and Durgasur. In the end, Parvati kills Durgasur with her trident. Seeing this end or Durgasur, the Gods and common people's joy knew no bounds and started worshipping her. She was instantly pleased. The Gods gave Parvati the name Durga as she killed demon Durgasur. Parvati restored all the worlds and abodes of the Gods and common people and the worlds were at peace again.
LEGENDS
Parvati's legends are intrinsically related to Shiva. In the goddess-oriented Shakta texts, that she is said to transcend even Shiva, and is identified as the Supreme Being. Just as Shiva is at once the presiding deity of destruction and regeneration, the couple jointly symbolise at once both the power of renunciation and asceticism and the blessings of marital felicity.
Parvati thus symbolises many different virtues esteemed by Hindu tradition: fertility, marital felicity, devotion to the spouse, asceticism, and power. Parvati represents the householder ideal in the perennial tension in Hinduism in the household ideal and the ascetic ideal, the later represented by Shiva. Renunciation and asceticism is highly valued in Hinduism, as is householder's life - both feature as Ashramas of an ethical and proper life. Shiva is portrayed in Hindu legends as the ideal ascetic withdrawn in his personal pursuit in the mountains with no interest in social life, while Parvati is portrayed as the ideal householder keen about the nurturing worldly life and society. Numerous chapters, stories and legends revolve around their mutual devotion as well as disagreements, their debates on Hindu philosophy as well as the proper life.
Parvati tames Shiva, the "great unpredictable madman" with her presence. When Shiva does his violent, destructive Tandava dance, Parvati is described as calming him or complementing his violence by slow, creative steps of her own Lasya dance. In many myths, Parvati is not as much his complement as his rival, tricking, seducing, or luring him away from his ascetic practices.
Three images are central to the mythology, iconography and philosophy of Parvati: the image of Shiva-Shakti, the image of Shiva as Ardhanarishvara (the Lord who is half-woman), and the image of the linga and the yoni. These images that combine the masculine and feminine energies, Shiva and Parvati, yield a vision of reconciliation, interdependence and harmony between the way of the ascetic and that of a householder.
The couple is often depicted in the Puranas as engaged in "dalliance" or seated on Mount Kailash debating concepts in Hindu theology. They are also depicted as quarreling. In stories of the birth of Kartikeya, the couple is described as love-making; generating the seed of Shiva. Parvati's union with Shiva symbolises the union of a male and female in "ecstasy and sexual bliss". In art, Parvati is depicted seated on Shiva's knee or standing beside him (together the couple is referred to as Uma-Maheshvara or Hara-Gauri) or as Annapurna (the goddess of grain) giving alms to Shiva.
Shaiva approaches tend to look upon Parvati as the Shiva's submissive and obedient wife. However, Shaktas focus on Parvati's equality or even superiority to her consort. The story of the birth of the ten Mahavidyas (Wisdom Goddesses) of Shakta Tantrism. This event occurs while Shiva is living with Parvati in her father's house. Following an argument, he attempts to walk out on her. Her rage at Shiva's attempt to walk out, manifests in the form of ten terrifying goddesses who block Shiva's every exit.
David Kinsley states,
The fact that [Parvati] is able to physically restrain Shiva dramatically makes the point that she is superior in power. The theme of the superiority of the goddess over male deities is common in Shakta texts, [and] so the story is stressing a central Shakta theological principle. ... The fact that Shiva and Parvati are living in her father's house in itself makes this point, as it is traditional in many parts of India for the wife to leave her father's home upon marriage and become a part of her husband's lineage and live in his home among his relatives. That Shiva dwells in Parvati's house thus implies Her priority in their relationship. Her priority is also demonstrated in her ability, through the Mahavidyas, to thwart Shiva's will and assert her own.
ARDHANARISVARA
Parvati is portrayed as the ideal wife, mother and householder in Indian legends. In Indian art, this vision of ideal couple is derived from Shiva and Parvati as being half of the other, represented as Ardhanarisvara. This concept is represented as an androgynous image that is half man and half woman, Siva and Parvati respectively.
IDEAL WIFE, MOTHER AND MORE
In Hindu Epic the Mahabharata, she as Umā suggests that the duties of wife and mother are as follows - being of a good disposition, endued with sweet speech, sweet conduct, and sweet features. Her husband is her friend, refuge, and god. She finds happiness in physical, emotional nourishment and development of her husband and her children. Their happiness is her happiness. She is positive and cheerful even when her husband or her children are angry, she's with them in adversity or sickness. She takes interest in worldly affairs, beyond her husband and family. She is cheerful and humble before family, friends, and relatives; helps them if she can. She welcomes guests, feeds them and encourages righteous social life. Her family life and her home is her heaven, Parvati declares in Book 13 of the Mahabharata.
Rita Gross states, that the view of Parvati only as ideal wife and mother is incomplete symbolism of the power of the feminine in mythology of India. Parvati, along with other goddesses, are involved with the broad range of culturally valued goals and activities. Her connection with motherhood and female sexuality does not confine the feminine or exhaust their significance and activities in Hindu literature. She is balanced by Durga, who is strong and capable without compromising her femaleness. She manifests in every activity, from water to mountains, from arts to inspiring warriors, from agriculture to dance. Parvati's numerous aspects, states Gross, reflects the Hindu belief that the feminine has universal range of activities, and her gender is not a limiting condition.
GANESHA
Hindu literature, including the Matsya Purana, Shiva Purana, and Skanda Purana, dedicates many stories to Parvati and Shiva and their children. For example, one about Ganesha is:
Once, while Parvati wanted to take a bath, there were no attendants around to guard her and stop anyone from accidentally entering the house. Hence she created an image of a boy out of turmeric paste which she prepared to cleanse her body, and infused life into it, and thus Ganesha was born. Parvati ordered Ganesha not to allow anyone to enter the house, and Ganesha obediently followed his mother's orders. After a while Shiva returned and tried to enter the house, Ganesha stopped him. Shiva was infuriated, lost his temper and severed the boy's head with his trident. When Parvati came out and saw her son's lifeless body, she was very angry. She demanded that Shiva restore Ganesha's life at once. Shiva did so by attaching an elephant's head to Ganesha's body, thus giving rise to the elephant headed deity.
PARVATI IN CULTURE
FESTIVALS
Teej is a significant festival for Hindu women, particularly in northern and western states of India. Parvati is the primary deity of the festival, and it ritually celebrates married life and family ties.[68] It also celebrates the monsoon. The festival is marked with swings hung from trees, girls playing on these swings typically in green dress (seasonal color of crop planting season), while singing regional songs. Historically, unmarried maidens prayed to Parvati for a good mate, while married women prayed for the well-being of their husbands and visited their relatives. In Nepal, Teej is a three-day festival marked with visits to Shiva-Parvati temples and offerings to linga. Teej is celebrated as Teeyan in Punjab.
The Gowri Habba, or Gauri Festival, is celebrated on the seventh, eighth, and ninth of Bhadrapada (Shukla paksha). Parvati is worshipped as the goddess of harvest and protectress of women. Her festival, chiefly observed by women, is closely associated with the festival of her son Ganesha (Ganesh Chaturthi). The festival is popular in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
In Rajasthan the worship of Gauri happens during the Gangaur festival. The festival starts on the first day of Chaitra the day after Holi and continues for 18 days. Images of Issar and Gauri are made from Clay for the festival.
Another popular festival in reverence of Parvati is Navratri, in which all her manifestations are worshiped over nine days. Popular in eastern India, particularly in Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Assam, as well as several other parts of India such as Gujarat, this is associated with Durga, with her nine forms i.e. Shailputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandmata, Katyani, Kalratri, Mahagauri, Siddhidaatri.
Another festival Gauri tritiya is celebrated from Chaitra shukla third to Vaishakha shukla third. This festival is popular in Maharashtra and Karnataka, less observed in North India and unknown in Bengal. The unwidowed women of the household erect a series of platforms in a pyramidal shape with the image of the goddess at the top and a collection of ornaments, images of other Hindu deities, pictures, shells etc. below. Neighbours are invited and presented with turmeric, fruits, flowers etc. as gifts. At night, prayers are held by singing and dancing. In south Indian states such as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the Kethara Gauri Vritham festival is celebrated on the new moon day of Diwali and married women fast for the day, prepare sweets and worship Parvati for the well-being of the family.
ARTS
From sculpture to dance, many Indian arts explore and express the stories of Parvati and Shiva as themes. For example, Daksha Yagam of Kathakali, a form of dance-drama choreography, adapts the romantic episodes of Parvati and Shiva.
The Gauri-Shankar bead is a part of religious adornment rooted in the belief of Parvati and Shiva as the ideal equal complementing halves of the other. Gauri-Shankar is a particular rudraksha (bead) formed naturally from the seed of a tree found in India. Two seeds of this tree sometimes naturally grow as fused, and considered to symbolic of Parvati and Shiva. These seeds are strung into garlands and worn, or used in malas (rosaries) for meditation in Saivism.
NUMISMATICS
Ancient coins from Bactria (Central Asia) of Kushan Empire era, and those of king Harsha (North India) feature Uma. These were issued sometime between 3rd- and 7th-century AD. In Bactria, Uma is spelled Ommo, and she appears on coins holding a flower. On her coin is also shown Shiva, who is sometimes shown in ithyphallic state holding a trident and standing near Nandi (his vahana). On coins issued by king Harsha, Parvati and Shiva are seated on a bull, and the reverse of the coin has Brahmi script.
MAJOR TEMPLES
Parvati is often present with Shiva in Saivite Hindu temples all over South Asia and southeast Asia.
Some locations (Pithas or Shaktipeeths) are considered special because of their historical importance and legends about their origins in the ancient texts of Hinduism. Other locations celebrate major events in Parvati's life. For example, the World Heritage Site at Khajuraho is one such site where Parvati temple is found. It is one of the four major sites associated with Parvati, along with Kedarnath, Kashi and Gaya. The temple’s origin in Khajuraho has been traced to the Hindu mythology in which Khajuraho is the place where Parvati and Shiva got married.
One interpretation of the (Khajuraho) temples is that they were built to celebrate the mythic marriage of Shiva and his consort. At Maha-shivratri in Khajuraho, they celebrate the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. (...) The erotic sculptures are a metaphor of the union of Shiva and Parvati, the marriage of two cosmic forces, of light and darkness, sky and earth, spirit and matter.
Each major Parvati-Shiva temple is a pilgrimage site that has an ancient legend associated with it, which is typically a part of a larger story that links these Hindu temples across South Asia with each other.
Some temples where Parvati can be found include Annapurneshwari temple, Attukal Bhagavathy temple, Chengannur Mahadeva temple, Oorpazhachi Kavu, Valiya Kavu Sree Parvathi Devi temple, Sri Kiratha Parvathi Temple Paramelpadi, Korechal Kirathaparvathi temple, Sree Bhavaneeswara Temple Palluruthy, Irumkulangara Durga Devi Temple, Chakkulathukavu Temple, Nedukavu Parvathy Devi temple, Karthyayani Devi temple, Varanad Devi Temple, Veluthattu Vadakkan Chowa temple, Thiruvairanikulam Mahadeva temple, Ardhanariswara temple and Kadampuzha Devi Temple in Kerala, Meenakshi Amman Temple in Tamil Nadu, Kamakshi Amman Temple in Tamil Nadu, Sri Siva Durga Temple , Mandaikadu Bhagavathi Temple and Devi Kanya Kumari in Tamil Nadu, Mookambika Devi Temple and Banashankari Temple in Karnataka, Maanikyambika Bhimeswara temple in Andhra pradesh, Vishalakshi Temple, Vishalakshi Gauri temple and Annapurna devi temple in Uttar Pradesh, Parvati Temple in Madhya Pradesh, Tulja Bhavani Temple in Maharashtra, Nartiang Durga Temple in Meghalaya, Tripura Sundari Temple in Tripura.
OUTSIDE INDIA
Sculpture and iconography of Parvati, in one of her many manifestations, have been found in temples and literature of southeast Asia. For example, early Saivite inscriptions of the Khmer in Cambodia, dated as early as the fifth century AD, mention Parvati (Uma) and Siva. Many ancient and medieval era Cambodian temples, rock arts and river bed carvings such as the Kbal Spean are dedicated to Parvati and Shiva.
Boisselier has identified Uma in a Champa era temple in Vietnam.
Dozens of ancient temples dedicated to Parvati as Uma, with Siva, have been found in the islands of Indonesia and Malaysia. Her manifestation as Durga has also been found in southeast Asia.[86] Many of the temples in Java dedicated to Siva-Parvati are from second half of 1st millennium AD, and some from later centuries. Durga icons and worship have been dated to be from the 10th- to 13th-century.
In Nakhorn Si Thammarat province of Thailand, excavations at Dev Sathan has yielded a Hindu Temple dedicated to Vishnu (Na Pra Narai), a lingam in yoni, a Shiva temple (San Pra Isuan). The sculpture of Parvati found at this excavation site reflect the South Indian style.Bali, IndonesiaParvati, locally spelled as Parwati, is a principal goddess in modern day Hinduism of Bali. She is more often called Uma, and sometimes referred to as Giriputri (daughter of the mountains). She is the goddess of mountain Gunung Agung. Like Hinduism of India, Uma has many manifestations in Bali, Indonesia. She is the wife of deity Siwa. Uma or Parwati is considered as the mother goddess that nurtures, nourishes, grants fertility to crop and all life. As Dewi Danu, she presides over waters, lake Batur and Gunung Batur, a major volcano in Bali. Unlike India where Sri refers to Lakshmi, Sri is another name of Uma in Bali; her icons and pillar temples grace terraced rice fields (sawahs). Parwati's small pillar temples in rice fields is to seek her blessings of abundance and a good crop. Her ferocious form in Bali is Dewi Durga. As Rangda, she is wrathful and presides cemeteries. As Ibu Petri, Parwati of Balinese Hinduism is the goddess of earth. The legends about various manifestations of Parwati, and how she changes from one form to another, are in Balinese literature, such as the palm-leaf (lontar) manuscript Andabhuana.
RELATED GODDESS
BUDDHISM
Tara found in some sects of Buddhism, particularly Tibetan and Nepalese, is related to Parvati. Tara too appears in many manifestations. In tantric sects of Buddhism, as well as Hinduism, intricate symmetrical art forms of yantra or mandala are dedicated to different aspects of Tara and Parvati.
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
Parvati is closely related in symbolism and powers as Cybele of Greek and Roman mythology and as Vesta the guardian goddess of children. In her manifestation as Durga, Parvati parallels Mater Montana. She is the equivalent of Magna Mater (Universal Mother). As Kali and punisher of all evil, she corresponds to Proserpine and Diana Taurica.
As Bhawani and goddess of fertility and birthing, she is the symbolic equivalent of Ephesian Diana. In Crete, Rhea is the mythological figure, goddess of the mountains, paralleling Parvati; while in some mythologies from islands of Greece, the terrifying goddess mirroring Parvati is Diktynna (also called Britomartis). At Ephesus, Cybele is shown with lions, just like iconography of Parvati is sometimes shown with a lion.
Carl Jung, in Mysterium Coniunctionis, states that aspects of Parvati belong to the same category of black goddesses as Artemis, Isis and Mary. Edmund Leach equates Parvati in her relationship with Shiva, with that of Greek goddess Aphrodite - a symbol of sexual love.
108 NAMES OF PARVATI
Parvati is known by 108 different names. Following are the name along with it meaning.
Aadya: The meaning of this name is initial reality.
Aarya: It is the name of the Goddess
Abhavya: Signifies fear
Aeindri: The power of Lord Indra.
Agnijwala: Signifies fire
Ahankaara: Indicates pride.
Ameyaa: The name signifies beyond measure.
Ananta: Signifies one who is infinite.
Ananta: The Infinite
Anekashastrahasta: It means the possessor of many hand weapons
AnekastraDhaarini: It means the possessor of many weapons
Anekavarna: Person with multiple complexions.
Aparna: Signifies a person who does not eat anything during fasting
Apraudha: Signifies a person who does not age
Bahula: Various forms
Bahulaprema: Loved by everyone
Balaprada: Signifies the giver of strength
Bhaavini: The Beautiful Woman
Bhavya: Future
Bhadrakaali: One of the forms of Goddess Kali
Bhavani: The abode of the universe
Bhavamochani: The absolver of the universe
Bhavaprita: Loved by everyone in the universe
Bhavya: Indicates magnificence
Braahmi: God Brahma’s power
Brahmavaadini: Present everywhere
Buddhi: Intelligence
Buddhida: The bestower of wisdom
Chamunda: Name of Goddess who killed the demons Chanda and Munda
Chandaghanta: Mighty bells
ChandaMundaVinashini: Goddess who killed asuras Chanda and Munda
Chinta: Tension
Chita: Death-bed
Chiti: The thinking mind
Chitra: The Picturesque
Chittarupa: Thinking or thoughtful state.
Dakshakanya: It is the name of daughter of Daksha
Dakshayajnavinaashini: Interrupter of the sacrifice of Daksha
Devamata: Mother Goddess
Durga: The Invincible
Ekakanya: The girl child
Ghorarupa: Fierce outlook
Gyaana: Knowledge
Jalodari: Abode of the ethereal universe
Jaya: The Victorious
Kaalaratri: Goddess who is black and is similar to the night.
Kaishori: The adolescent
Kalamanjiiraranjini: Musical anklet
Karaali: Violent
Katyayani: Sage Katyanan worships this name
Kaumaari: Adolescent
Komaari: Beautiful adolescent
Kriya: Action
Krrooraa: Brutal
Lakshmi: Goddess of Wealth
Maaheshvari: Power of Lord Shiva
Maatangi: Goddess of Matanga
MadhuKaitabhaHantri: Goddess that killed the demons Madhu and Kaitabha
Mahaabala: Strength
Mahatapa: Penance
Mahodari: Keeping the universe in a huge belly
Manah: Mind
Matangamunipujita: Worshipped by Sage Matanga
Muktakesha: Open tresses
Narayani: Lord Narayana destructive attributes
NishumbhaShumbhaHanani: Goddess who killed brothers Shumbha Nishumbha
Mahishasura Mardini: Goddess who killed demon Mahishasura
Nitya: Eternal one
Paatala: The color red
Paatalavati: Wearing the color red and white
Parameshvari: Ultimate Goddess
Pattaambaraparidhaana: Dress made of leather
Pinaakadharini: Trident of Shiva
Pratyaksha: Real
Praudha: Old
Purushaakriti: Taking the form of a man
Ratnapriya: Adorned
Raudramukhi: Fierce face like destroyer Rudra
Saadhvi: Sanguine
Sadagati: Bestowing Moksha
Sarvaastradhaarini: Possessor of missile weapons
Sarvadaanavaghaatini: Ability to kill all the demons
Sarvamantramayi: Instruments of thought
Sarvashaastramayi: Deft in all theories
Sarvavahanavahana: Rides all vehicles
Sarvavidya: Knowledgeable
Sati: Women who burned on the pyre of her husband
Satta: Above all
Satya: Truth
Satyanandasvarupini: Eternal bliss
Savitri: Daughter of the Sun God Savitr
Shaambhavi: Consort of Shambhu
Shivadooti: Ambassador of Lord Shiva
Shooldharini: Person who holds a monodent
Sundari: Gorgeous
Sursundari: Very Beautiful
Tapasvini: Engaged in penance
Trinetra: Person with three eyes.
Vaarahi: Person who rides on Varaah
Vaishnavi: Invincible
Vandurga: Goddess of forests
Vikrama: Violent
Vimalauttkarshini: Providing joy
Vishnumaya: The spells of Lord Vishnu
Vriddhamaata: Mother who is old
Yati: Person one who renounces the world
Yuvati: Woman
WIKIPEDIA
Kumi (archly): “You want to explain that half-naked homage to my man on your wall, Chlo?”
Chloe: *strokes her Simon West poster lovingly* “What’s to explain? Just look at him! He’s got—”
Suki & Chloe: *in unison* “Abs for daaays!”
Kumi: *rolls eyes* “If I’m not mistaken, both of your men are guilty of the same, and I don’t see them up there.”
Chloe: “Obviously you have been temporarily blinded by the splendor of Simon’s six-pack because, if you had shifted your attention to my photo collage on the left, you would’ve seen my man depicted in all his shirtless B-B-B glory!”
Kumi: “Yeah, but Simon’s picture’s way bigger.”
Chloe (blasé): “Big guns. Big poster. I don’t make the rules, Kums.”
Emma: “Whit’s bee-bee-bee?”
Chloe: “Buff, Bronze and…”
Suki & Chloe: *in unison, while fist bumping* “Bitchinnn’!”
Suki: “It’s how Chlo and I rate men. If you got all three, you’re a perfect ten. And in case you haven’t noticed, Jon’s got all three…plus an additional perk in his pants. A really huge perk, if youz catch my drift.” *cackles smugly*
Chloe: “The dumb and drooling caught your drift, Suk, as you are rarely subtle.”
Suki: “Subtle’s for—”
Girls (in unison): “Suckas.”
Suki: “Taught you well, I have. Go forth and subtle no more.”
Fashion Credits
**Any doll enhancements (i.e. freckles, piercings, eye color changes) were done by me unless otherwise stated.**
Yuri
Dress, Scarf, Shoes: Mattel – Barbie Collectibles – Lilly Pulitzer Gift Set
Bracelets: Me
Doll is a Nu.Fantasy Red Riding Hood Yuri transplanted to a NuFace body.
Kumi
Shorts: Moxie Boyz – Swim Magic Owen
Shirt: Clear lan
Belt: Randall Craig RTW – April in Paris
Hat: Sekiguchi Momoko – Berry Hunter
Shoes: Fashion Royalty – Capricious Natalia
Necklace: Me
Doll is a Nu.Fantasy Wild Wolf Kumi transplanted to a NuFace body.
Candy
Skirt: Best Friends Club Fashion
Top: Katalina
Belt: Cangaway (etsy.com)
Necklace & Bracelets: Me
Doll is a Making a Scene Erin transplanted to a Misaki body.
Emma
Dress: Nina
Belt: Randall Craig RTW – Lili Style Redux
Shoes: Mattel – Playline – Fashion Fever Mannequin
Barrette: Mattel – Barbie Collectibles – Juicy Couture Gift Set
Pride Bracelet Set – Knife’s Edge Designs (me)
Doll is a Style Mantra Eden.
Suki
Jeans: Mattel – Barbie Collectibles – Best Model South Beach – Removed front pockets.
Belt: me
Bikini Top: watbetty
Top: Mattel – Playline – Cali Girl Lea
Shoes: Mattel – Playline
Forest Floor Necklace: Knife’s Edge Designs (me)
Model is a London by Night Ayumi transplanted to a Misaki body.
Chloe
Playsuit: Jessica of Cozy Couture
Belt: Cangaway (etsy.com)
Boots: Snow’s Shopping Paradise (ebay.com)
Headband & Bracelets: Me
Model is a Costume Drama Giselle transplanted to a Poppy body and re-rooted by the amazing valmaxi!
the street arts festival in worcester on sunday (9/25/16) featured demonstrations of fencing and dancing and martial arts and acrobatic tumblers, among others. here a fencers lets a young man try out the heft of the sword.
My New Year project is now underway. Studio work...lots of it. I'm using this first-processed Christmas Collectibles image to explain what will be happening. This, for the four or five who will read this.
I anticipate a large number of Christmas items will be photographed. Have already done so with a couple of dozen. I'll process each one to my own individualized standard. Then I'll add them to my photostream so that I can get them into a special album.
Most won't want to look at Christmas images in February and March. I can't upload directly to album though, so must upload to stream. This means that anyone following me will see up to five uploads at a time. Because of that I'll wait until I have quite a number of the photos completed, and then upload all at once. I'll add them to the Christmas Collectibles album, and then batch alter the date taken so that they don't sit at the top of the stream.
There is no need to interact with any of these, and I'm not soliciting comments or faves. It's just the necessary procedure to get the photos into that album for various future uses.
After the Christmas items there will be several more additional categories and types of studio photos, large numbers of each. It is just me doing what I do.