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I thought that due to the Fall of Cadia it was just the right time to pay some attention to other AM regiments. Not all of them, of course. I left a couple for the next time.
These were made a few days before my laptop was fried, I'm just glad most of my files survived this. Unfortunately, renderers are not my priority ATM, as I have tons of other programs to reacquire.
film sooc,
Nikon F90x, Kodak 400
can you see that squirrel ?
try to press L;)
okay okay okay, i love this song!!!:
Well I came down with my Martin blazin'
My voice
It was cutting him up
Now he's aiming
His first shot grazed my eye
I lost half of my sight
And my firstborn's life
The second shot grazed off my guitar moon
And it made my guitar kinda play out of tune
But I just kept playing
Like I had nothing to lose
He turned the third on himself
'Cause the bastard knew
Salvation I'm calling
Salvation (Citizen Cope-Slavation)
this was taken in Schonbrunn Zoo<3
Praha - Prague_Pražský hrad_Prague Castle_Katedrála sv. Víta, Václava a Vojtěcha_Praha 1 - Pražský hrad_Czechia
Prague Castle (Czech: Pražský hrad; [ˈpraʃskiː ˈɦrat]) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic, dating from the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside it.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world, occupying an area of almost 70,000 square metres (750,000 square feet), at about 570 metres (1,870 feet) in length and an average of about 130 metres (430 feet) wide. The castle is among the most visited tourist attractions in Prague attracting over 1.8 million visitors annually.
Přemyslid fort
The history of the castle began in 870 when its first walled building, the Church of the Virgin Mary, was built. The Basilica of Saint George and the Basilica of St. Vitus were founded under the reign of Vratislaus I, Duke of Bohemia and his son St. Wenceslas in the first half of the 10th century.
The first convent in Bohemia was founded in the castle, next to the church of St. George. A Romanesque palace was erected here during the 12th century.
Medieval castle
King Ottokar II of Bohemia improved fortifications and rebuilt the royal palace for the purposes of representation and housing. In the 14th century, under the reign of Charles IV the royal palace was rebuilt in Gothic style and the castle fortifications were strengthened. In place of rotunda and basilica of St. Vitus began building of a vast Gothic church, that were completed almost six centuries later.
During the Hussite Wars and the following decades, the castle was not inhabited. In 1485, King Ladislaus II Jagello began to rebuild the castle. The massive Vladislav Hall (built by Benedikt Rejt) was added to the Royal Palace. New defence towers were also built on the north side of the castle.
A large fire in 1541 destroyed large parts of the castle. Under the Habsburgs, some new buildings in Renaissance style were added. Ferdinand I built the Belvedere as a summer palace for his wife Anne. Rudolph II used Prague Castle as his main residence. He founded the northern wing of the palace, with the Spanish Hall, where his precious art collections were exhibited.
The Second Defenestration of Prague in 1618 took place at the castle and began the Bohemian Revolt. During the subsequent wars, the Castle was damaged and dilapidated. Many works from the collection of Rudolph II were looted by Swedes in 1648, in the Battle of Prague (1648) which was the final act of the Thirty Years' War.
The last major rebuilding of the castle was carried out by Empress Maria Theresa in the second half of the 18th century. Following his abdication in 1848, and the succession of his nephew, Franz Joseph, to the throne, the former emperor, Ferdinand I, made Prague Castle his home.
Presidential residence
In 1918, the castle became the seat of the president of the new Czechoslovak Republic, T.G. Masaryk. The New Royal Palace and the gardens were renovated by Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik. In this period the St Vitus Cathedral was finished (on September 28, 1929). Renovations continued in 1936 under Plečnik's successor Pavel Janák.
On March 15, 1939, shortly after the Nazi Germany forced Czech President Emil Hacha (who suffered a heart attack during the negotiations) to hand his nation over to the Germans, Adolf Hitler spent a night in the Prague Castle, "proudly surveying his new possession."[4] During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II, Prague Castle became the headquarters of Reinhard Heydrich, the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. According to a popular rumor, he is said to have placed the Bohemian crown on his head; old legends say a usurper who places the crown on his head is doomed to die within a year.[5] Less than a year after assuming power, on May 27, 1942, Heydrich was ambushed during Operation Anthropoid, by British-trained Slovak and Czech resistance soldiers while on his way to the Castle, and died of his wounds - which became infected - a week later.[6] Klaus, his firstborn son, died the next year in a traffic accident, also in line with the legend.[7]
After the liberation of Czechoslovakia and the coup in 1948, the Castle housed the offices of the communist Czechoslovak government. After Czechoslovakia split in 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the castle became the seat of the Head of State of the new Czech Republic. Similar to what Masaryk did with Plečnik, president Václav Havel commissioned Bořek Šípek to be the architect of post-communism Prague Castle's necessary improvements, in particular of the facelift of the castle's gallery of paintings.
Architectural styles of Prague Castle
Saint Vitus Cathedral
Main nave of the cathedral
The castle buildings represent virtually every architectural style of the last millennium. Prague Castle includes Gothic St Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defense towers. Most of the castle areas are open to tourists. The castle houses several museums, including the National Gallery collection of Bohemian baroque and mannerism art, exhibition dedicated to Czech history, Toy Museum and the picture gallery of Prague Castle, based on the collection of Rudolph II. The Summer Shakespeare Festival regularly takes place in the courtyard of Burgrave Palace.
The neighborhood around Prague Castle is called Hradčany.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert (Czech: metropolitní katedrála svatého Víta, Václava a Vojtěcha) is a Roman Catholic metropolitan cathedral in Prague, the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. Until 1997, the cathedral was dedicated only to Saint Vitus, and is still commonly named only as St. Vitus Cathedral.
This cathedral is a prominent example of Gothic architecture and is the largest and most important church in the country. Located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, the cathedral is under the ownership of the Czech government as part of the Prague Castle complex.[1] Cathedral dimensions are 124 by 60 metres (407 ft × 197 ft), the main tower is 102.8 metres (337 ft) high, front towers 82 metres (269 ft), arch height 33.2 metres (109 ft).
Origins
The current cathedral is the third of a series of religious buildings at the site, all dedicated to St. Vitus. The first church was an early Romanesque rotunda founded by Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia in 930. This patron saint was chosen because Wenceslaus had acquired a holy relic – the arm of St. Vitus – from Emperor Henry I. It is also possible that Wenceslaus, wanting to convert his subjects to Christianity more easily, chose a saint whose name (Svatý Vít in Czech) sounds very much like the name of Slavic solar deity Svantevit.[citation needed] Two religious populations, the increasing Christian and decreasing pagan community, lived simultaneously in Prague castle at least until the 11th century.
In the year 1060, as the bishopric of Prague was founded, prince Spytihněv II embarked on building a more spacious church, as it became clear the existing rotunda was too small to accommodate the faithful. A much larger and more representative Romanesque basilica was built in its spot. Though still not completely reconstructed, most experts agree it was a triple-aisled basilica with two choirs and a pair of towers connected to the western transept. The design of the cathedral nods to Romanesque architecture of the Holy Roman Empire, most notably to the abbey church in Hildesheim and the Speyer Cathedral. The southern apse of the rotunda was incorporated into the eastern transept of the new church because it housed the tomb of St. Wenceslaus, who had by now become the patron saint of the Czech princes. A bishop's mansion was also built south of the new church, and was considerably enlarged and extended in the mid 12th-century.
The Gothic Cathedral
Cathedral nave and sanctuary
Construction of the present-day Gothic Cathedral began on 21 November 1344, when the see of Prague was elevated to an archbishopric. King John of Bohemia laid the foundation stone for the new building.[3] The patrons were the chapter of cathedral (led by a Dean), the Archbishop Arnost of Pardubice, and, above all, Charles IV, King of Bohemia and a soon-to-be Holy Roman Emperor, who intended the new cathedral to be a coronation church, family crypt, treasury for the most precious relics of the kingdom, and the last resting place cum pilgrimage site of patron saint Wenceslaus. The first master builder was a Frenchman Matthias of Arras, summoned from the Papal Palace in Avignon. Matthias designed the overall layout of the building as, basically, an import of French Gothic: a triple-naved basilica with flying buttresses, short transept, five-bayed choir and decagon apse with ambulatory and radiating chapels. However, he lived to build only the easternmost parts of the choir: the arcades and the ambulatory. The slender verticality of Late French Gothic and clear, almost rigid respect of proportions distinguish his work today.
After Matthias' death in 1352, 23-year-old Peter Parler assumed control of the cathedral workshop as master builder. He was son of the architect of the Heilig-Kreuz-Münster in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Initially, Parler only worked on plans left by his predecessor, building the sacristy on the north side of the choir and the chapel on the south. Once he finished all that Matthias left unfinished, he continued according to his own ideas. Parler's bold and innovative design brought in a unique new synthesis of Gothic elements in architecture. This is best exemplified in the vaults he designed for the choir. The so-called Parler's vaults or net-vaults have double (not single, as in classic High Gothic groin vaults) diagonal ribs that span the width of the choir-bay. The crossing pairs of ribs create a net-like construction (hence the name), which considerably strengthens the vault. They also give a lively ornamentation to the ceiling, as the interlocking vaulted bays create a dynamic zigzag pattern the length of the cathedral.
A view from south: the main tower and the Golden Gate. Nikolaus Pacassi finished the uncompleted gothic main tower in the Baroque style.
While Matthias of Arras was schooled as a geometer, thus putting an emphasis on rigid systems of proportions and clear, mathematical compositions in his design, Parler was trained as a sculptor and woodcarver. He treated architecture as a sculpture, almost as if playing with structural forms in stone. Aside from his bold vaults, the peculiarities of his work can also be seen in the design of pillars (with classic, bell-shaped columns which were almost forgotten by High Gothic), the ingenious dome vault of new St Wenceslaus chapel, the undulating clerestory walls, the original window tracery (no two of his windows are the same, the ornamentation is always different) and the blind tracery panels of the buttresses. Architectural sculpture was given a considerable role while Parler was in charge of construction, as can be seen in the corbels, the passageway lintels, and, particularly, in the busts on the triforium, which depict faces of the royal family, saints, Prague bishops, and the two master builders, including Parler himself.
Work on the cathedral, however, proceeded slowly, because the Emperor commissioned Parler with many other projects, such as the construction of the new Charles Bridge in Prague and many churches throughout the Czech realm. By 1397, when Peter Parler died, only the choir and parts of the transept were finished.
View of the Cathedral and Prague Castle, above the river Vltava.
After Peter Parler's death in 1399 his sons, Wenzel Parler and particularly Johannes Parler, continued his work; they in turn were succeeded by a certain Master Petrilk, who by all accounts was also a member of Parler's workshop. Under these three masters, the transept and the great tower on its south side were finished. So was the gable which connects the tower with the south transept. Nicknamed 'Golden Gate' (likely because of the golden mosaic of Last Judgment depicted on it), it is through this portal that the kings entered the cathedral for coronation ceremonies.
The entire building process came to a halt with the beginning of Hussite War in the first half of 15th century. The war brought an end to the workshop that operated steadily over for almost a century, and the furnishings of cathedral, dozens of pictures and sculptures, suffered heavily from the ravages of Hussite iconoclasm. As if this was not enough, a great fire in 1541 heavily damaged the cathedral.
St. Wenceslas Chapel
St. Wenceslas Chapel
Perhaps the most outstanding place in the cathedral is the Chapel of St. Wenceslas, which houses relics of the saint. Peter Parler constructed the room between 1344 and 1364 with a ribbed vault. The lower portions of the walls are decorated with over 1300 semi-precious stones and paintings depicting the Passion of Christ dating from the original decoration of the chapel in 1372–1373. The upper area of the walls have paintings depicting the life of St. Wenceslas, by the Master of the Litoměřice Altarpiece between 1506 and 1509. Above the altar, is a Gothic statue of St. Wenceslas created by Jindrich Parler (Peter's nephew) in 1373. The Chapel is not open to the public, but it can be viewed from the doorways.
A small door with seven locks, in the southwest corner of the chapel, leads to the Crown Chamber containing the Czech Crown Jewels, which are displayed to the public only once every (circa) eight years.
Renaissance and Baroque
Through most of the following centuries, the cathedral stood only half-finished. It was built to the great tower and a transept, which was closed by a provisional wall. In the place of a three-aisled nave-to-be-built, a timber-roofed construction stood, and services were held separately there from the interior of the choir. Several attempts to continue the work on cathedral were mostly unsuccessful. In the latter half of 15th century, king Vladislav Jagiellon commissioned the great Renaissance-Gothic architect Benedict Ried to continue the work on the cathedral, but almost as soon as the work began, it was cut short because of lack of funds. Later attempts to finish the cathedral only brought some Renaissance and Baroque elements into the Gothic building, most notably the obviously different Baroque spire of the south tower and the great organ in the northern wing of transept.
Completion in 19th and 20th century
Coronation of King Ferdinand V of Bohemia in 1836
In 1844, Václav Pešina, an energetic St. Vitus canon, together with Neo-Gothic architect Josef Kranner presented a program for renovation and completion of the great cathedral at the gathering of German architects in Prague. The same year a society under the full name "Union for Completion of the Cathedral of St. Vitus in Prague" was formed, whose aim was to repair, complete and rid the structure of everything mutilated and stylistically inimical. Josef Kranner headed the work from 1861 to 1866 which consisted mostly of repairs, removing Baroque decorations deemed unnecessary and restoring the interior. In 1870 workers finally laid the foundations of the new nave, and in 1873, after Kramer's death, architect Josef Mocker assumed control of the reconstruction. He designed the west façade in a typical classic Gothic manner with two towers, and the same design was adopted, after his death, by the third and final architect of restoration, Kamil Hilbert.
In the 1920s the sculptor Vojtěch Sucharda worked on the façade, and the famous Czech Art Nouveau painter Alfons Mucha decorated the new windows in the north part of nave. Frantisek Kysela designed the Rose Window 1925-7 which depicts scenes from the Biblical story of creation. By the time of St. Wenceslas jubilee in 1929, the St. Vitus cathedral was finally finished, nearly 600 years after it was begun. Despite the fact that entire western half of Cathedral is a Neo-Gothic addition, much of the design and elements developed by Peter Parler were used in the restoration, giving the Cathedral as a whole a harmonious, unified look.
Influence
The eastern façade
The Cathedral of St. Vitus had a tremendous influence on the development of Late Gothic style characteristic for Central Europe. Members of Parler workshop, and indeed, the Parler family (both of which were established at the building site of St. Vitus) designed numerous churches and buildings across Central Europe. More notable examples include Stephansdom cathedral in Vienna, Strasbourg Cathedral, Church of St. Marko in Zagreb and the Church of St. Barbara in Kutna Hora, also in Czech Republic. Regional Gothic styles of Slovenia, northern Croatia, Austria, Czech Republic, and southern Germany were all heavily influenced by Parler design.
Of particular interest are Parler's net vaults. The Late Gothic of Central Europe is characterised by ornate and extraordinary vaulting, a practice which was started by Parler's development of his own vaulting system for the choir of St. Vitus cathedral. Another regional Gothic style also displays amazing ingenuity and ornamentation in the design of vaults, the Perpendicular Style of English Gothic. A question remains of what was influenced by what. Some British art and architecture historians suspected that Peter Parler might have travelled to England at some point in his life, studying the great English Gothic cathedrals, which then inspired his work on St Vitus. However, taking into account that the Perpendicular style and the use of truly extravagant vaults in English Gothic began at the very end of 14th century, it is also quite possible that it was St Vitus Cathedral of Prague that influenced the development of English Gothic.[4]
Recent history
Overview of the cathedral, view from Petřín Hill
In 1997, on 1000th anniversary of the death of Saint Voitechus, the patrocinium (dedication) of the church was re-dedicated to Saint Wenceslaus and Saint Adalbert. The previous Romanesque basilica had this triple patrocinium to the main Bohemian patrons since 1038 when relics of Saint Adalbert were placed here.
In 1954, a government decree entrusted the whole Prague Castle into ownership of "all Czechoslovak people" and into administration of the President's Office. Beginning in 1992, after the Velvet Revolution the church filed several petitions requesting a determination on the true owner of the structure. After 14 years, in June 2006, the City Court in Prague decided that the 1954 decree did not change the ownership of the cathedral and the owner is the Metropolitan Chapter at Saint Vitus. In September 2006, the President's Office ceded the administration to the Metropolitan Chapter. However, in February 2007, the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic reversed the decision of the City Court and returned the case to the common court. In September 2007, the District Court of Praha 7 decided that the cathedral is owned by the Czech Republic, this decision was confirmed by the City Court in Prague and the Constitutional Court rejected the appeal of the Metropolitan Chapter, however noted that the chapter unquestionably owns the interior furnishings of the cathedral. The Metropolitan Chapter considered continuing the case in the European Court for Human Rights however in May 2010, the new Prague Archbishop Dominik Duka and the state president Václav Klaus together declared that they did not wish to continue with court conflicts. They constituted that the seven persons who are traditionally holders of the keys of the Saint Wenceslaus Chamber with the Bohemian Crown Jewels become also a board to coordinate and organize administration and use of the cathedral. However, controversy about ownership of some related canonry houses continues.
In July 2012, the Chamber of Deputies passed a bill to compensate the churches for property seized by the Communist government.[5] The Senate approved the bill in November 2012 and the government implemented it the following June after clearing legal challenges.[6]
CHRIST THE SAVIOR IS BORN.
"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn." KJV.
This keepsake sat on the mantle of the home farmhouse for as many years as I can remember. It is one of the few things I was able to salvage after my brother died and we had to sell the place to pay his debts.
Morrisite church in Powell County, Montana (dedicated August 9th 1879).
The Morrisites (a.k.a. the Church of the Firstborn) were a sect of the Latter Day Saints led by Joseph Morris, who believed, among other things, that he was the reincarnation of Moses, and that he was destined replace the false prophet Brigham Young as Mormon leader. The ensuing schism culminated in the Morrisite Wars of 1862, during which Morris and several of his followers were killed. The sect subsequently dispersed throughout the west. One of the largest settlements was in Deer Lodge Valley, which was believed to be the site of Christ's imminent second coming.
At its peak the there were about 80 Morrisites living on numerous homesteads in the valley. Many descendants still live in the area, but the church has been boarded up for the best part of a century. The last member of the congregation, George Johnson, died in 1954, aged 98.
I took this shot of my brother, Shawn, and his son, Frazier, at our Thanksgiving celebration in 2012. a lot has changed since then, but nothing will ever make the bond between father and son change.
Since that time, Frazier has graduated from the police academy and is looking for work as a police officer. He is also planning to join the National Guard, and there's some discussion about going to law school, as well! It's a tall order, but as this picture shows, Frazier was raised to fight through the challenges. Named after the legendary Joe Frazier, Shawn wanted his firstborn son to have that fighting spirit he would need in life.
Shawn was an amateur boxer when he was young. His coach was the light heavyweight champ of Central Florida, and Shawn put him to the ground when he was just a scrawny kid! That long reach advantage was a real plus, but he has the instincts of a fighter, which you don't perceive when you meet him, since he has been a pastor, and also has a tender heart towards people. (Think George Foreman!) When the bell rings, though, that switch goes off in his head, and the fight's on!
Shawn taught all three of his sons how to box from an early age. Our mother wouldn't let HIM fight when he was a little kid, because he was a lot bigger than the other kids his age, but he was picked on mercilessly because of a speech impediment. Finally, Mom relented and told him that he could defend himself, and he put the neighborhood bully down and wasn't picked on again after that! When he took up boxing, he was probably at least 6 feet tall, and very thin, but he took to it like a duck to water!
Now, Shawn is a department manager, and still does a little preaching on the side. Since this picture was taken, he had a near miss with a heart attack, and has been under a cardiologist's care. I think he should get back into his boxing workout, as this seemed to keep him healthier.
The look you see on his face may look like he's retreating, but I know my brother well enough to know that he's just sizing things up! It's really almost a dare! Frazier knows it, too, and also knows that if his dad really landed a good one, he'd be out like a light, lol! He is a big guy- 6'3 1/2", and still taller than any of his sons. Nonetheless, they all have that "warrior gene" thing going on, and thank goodness they are God fearing young men!
I am very proud of all my nephews, and right now, especially Frazier. I'm also proud of my "little" brother, who has always fought back at the tough stuff life threw his way.
Thisbe Ariane Weaver arrived in the early hours of Saturday morning. She is so wonderful. My Flickr time is likely to be somewhat inhibited by dirty nappies for a little while but I couldn't resist uploading a picture!
My 10 yo firstborn daughter photographed sitting in front of a window in Riga. She is the light of my world and the kindest person I know. I will always remember the day she was born, as it was also somewhat traumatic. There were several complications during the birth and in the end she was in danger of not getting enough oxygen. I remember finally hearing her cry and thinking that it must be the sweetest sound in the world. It was one of the few occasions in my adult life that I have really cried. For years I always felt a strange feeling of comfort everytime she cried. Just a week ago, I saw her sitting behind the curtain and took a photo by instinct. I think it beautifully portrays her personality as she can be somewhat shy and mysterious at times.
A badly damaged family photo of my great grandmother and her family with my great grandfather's empty chair, taken in their home during WW1 and sent him to the front in Dalmatia.
Great grandmother (sitting on the right) with her five children: Mici, Grandma Boriska, Károly, Annus and Endre, the youngest one.
Mici's husband and their firstborn, Marica sitting on the left.
Photographer: Brunhuber Béla, Royal photographer
Budapest, VIII. Baross utca
RPPC
They lived not far from the photographer's studio, in Óriás utca/street 23.
(Ma/today Leonardo da Vinci utca/street.)
Five years.
It was five years ago, to the very day, that Roderick Burgess had changed his own life. Changed his own destiny. Using the occult and esoteric knowledge gained from half a life time of study, he had finally managed to perform a ritual.
The Ritual.
He had summoned one of The Endless, beings of unfathomable power. The ritual itself had taken many days, and drained Burgess almost to the point of death itself. Fitting, since the dark rite had been intended to summon Death itself.
The plan, conceived through loss, heartache, alcohol and creeping insanity, was to force Death to bring back his firstborn and favourite son. His Randall. Just the thought of his son made Burgess sigh and hang his head, wishing things all those years ago had of gone differently. Back when Randall was still alive.
The ritual had been a success, in spite of his doubts. The Being had appeared, within the confines and wards he had carefully constructed, and Burgess had felt his heart leap, joyful at the thought of soon seeing his son again.
And then it had all started to go wrong. The Being, this creature, this thing of almost divine power, would not help him. Would not even speak, although it clearly understood speech. It did not even acknowledge the grief Burgess felt, the noble cause of his sacrifice, all for the life of another.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, with the ritual wards ever harder to maintain, and Burgess was almost ready to give up, when a visitor arrived at his Manor. The Corinthian. Another learned man, Burgess thought, and a tarrying one. Like a nightmare made flesh. If only he knew how right he actually was.
The Corinthian had been kind, generous in his gifts of knowledge, imparting secrets of binding and holding, ways to trap this Being and keep him prisoner. These new earthly shackles worked perfectly, and Burgess knew the silent stranger would never get free. Not until the resurrection of Randall was complete.
And yet..
Five years had passed. Every day Burgess visited the chamber beneath his vast house, a house that grew, even as his own wealth and influence grew. Every day he would repeats his pleas, his reasons, his threats. And each day was met by that unblinking, black-eyed stare, and silence.
The past few weeks had seen Burgess experiment more with the relics that the Being had been summoned with. Relics the Corinthian had explained were powerful beyond imagining, capable of almost anything, but which could also warp and destroy any humans who tried to use them. Any humans. It was such an odd way of talking, on reflection.
At first Burgess was satisfied, keeping the relics locked away, content with the influence they were clearly having, with his fortunes waxing to ever increasing extents. But now he was tired of waiting. He had discovered that wearing the Helm, that dark, forbidding, skull like helm, somehow connected him with his own dreams. He could see them, crystal clear, all around him, even when he was awake. Wearing the jewel, the large Ruby that had been a round the being’s neck, made the dreams even more lifelike, he could hear the sounds of his dreams, hear people’s voices. And the Sand..ah, the sand. That small pouch of dark earth, that he had almost been ready to throw away..made the waking dreams so real. He could touch them, converse with them, influence them.
And of course, in these dreams, Randall was alive.
Today would be the day Randall came back. Burgess was tired of waiting, and deep down, knew that his prisoner would never cooperate, never help. He gathered up the relics, including the black, flowing robes that the Being had been wearing, and strode from the Manor and up the hill behind. At the top was a stone circle, ancient and weathered, old even when his ancestor had built the house all those years ago.
Burgess discarded his suit, pulling on the robes. Taking up the pouch of sand, he sprinkled a trail along each point of the star, watching it sparkle. He took up that sinister helm, settling it over his head with an involuntary shudder. Lastly, came the jewel, which he slipped around his neck and tied fast.
Burgess closed his eyes, took a deep breath, feeling the world around him shift and change. He opened his eyes, and stood looking directly into his dream.
The dream was always the same. He was on this very hill, the hill Randall had most liked to play on as a boy, and then most liked to study on, first as a young man, and later as a scholar. Randall was there now, sitting cross legged on the toppled stone, reading a book and eating an apple. Burgess smiled, unable to look away from his son, the best part of himself.
As the dream took hold, fuelled as it was by his own obsession, the relics of The Endless began to take hold. The form of Randall, at first a hazy shimmer, became solid, vital, casting a shadow in the afternoon sun, the smell aftershave fill the air. Burgess stepped closer, foot brushing through dry leaves, and Randall looked up, the sound audible even to a dream.
Randall smiled, breaking into that disarming smile Burgess remember, and jumped to his feet. The son he had mourned all these years was back, right in front of him, healthy and vital. Arms open, he moved to hug his son, feeling the warmth, the strength, and knew, just knew that his son was alive once more.
Burgess laughed in pleasure, smiling at his son. The fact his smile was concealed by a skull, he was clad in dark robes of unknown origin or wearing a pulsing red jewel seemed not to bother Randall at all. And so, Roderick ceased to let it bother him at all. In fact, nothing could bother him ever again, now his son was returned.
The dream son that was Randall smiled once more at his father. His father, the fanatic, the obsessed, the one who kept someone captive against their will for years, all in the belief it was for a good cause. Randall smiled, and beckoned, grabbing his father’s hand and starting to lead him around the top of the hill, just as they used to do years ago.
Burgess took the hand willingly, eyes on his son. Eyes that were clear, no longer dimmed by the Helm, for the helm was gone. As were the robes, and the jewel. All that was left was Roderick and Randall, talking and laughing as they used to, 30 years of suffering turned back in an instant. The hill was now just as they both remember and loved, the trees in full bloom, the grass sweet, the worn but sturdy fence around the south side, which fell away to a sheer drop. Burgess had always cautioned his son about playing there, lest he slip and fall into the ravine below. But with the fence there, newly installed when Randall turned 15, that would never happen.
Roderick Burgess again took his dead son’s hand for a moment, squeezing it and smiling as he looked up into the summer sky. Roderick leaned forward, totally happy in the moment, and placed both hands on the fence, leaning forward to bask in the joy of being alive, of Randall being alive.
His body was found 3 days later, crumpled and broken at the bottom of the hill, his limbs torn and gashed, but the black robe without a mark, the helm without a dent. The Ruby and pouch of sand were never seen again.
The visit was in March 2018. The iPhone's software gathered some photos from that visit into a memory album on December 10, 2022.
Jesus is the only way the truth and the life ,who reconciles us to God.
Colossians 1 :15-20
"15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."
Our good works is nothing and of no credit if we haven't fully accepted Christ in our hearts . In fact, those good works are filthy rags by itself without Jesus in us in the sight God . Jesus's perfectness covers our iniquities and imperfections.
150K approx. people die everyday around the world. We never know if the next day, that's our final day. It's a scary thought to die without knowing for sure where we are going.
Few days ago on Valentine's day there was an accident on the same road we drove off. All in the car lost their lives. I'm not surprised, most of them regard that day as just another day for them, never thinking that's their end. Sad and tragic loose. What came to mind, had those people lived a life reconciled in Christ ? If not, it's hard to ponder ....as after death is judgement... meaning seconds after death - that's it !
I do believe their are two destinations, either to eternal glory or to damnation.
Speaking of eternal glory, I do consider other people's extraordinary experiences . Sure there are hundreds of claims out there but I have to narrow it down to just a few which I have no doubt , with some discernment are genuine. Take that of Reverend Oden Hendricks' confession of heaven , of Richard Sigmund's and few others out there who have witnessed revelations of other realms as heaven. According to witnesses , it's a huge , huge place beyond our imaginations. The Bible simply put it, we have to have child like faith to believe the word of God.
The Bible said there is a place called heaven and hell for the damned . Jesus also talked about mansions , and he is making them for us, dwelling made for each of believers.
A skeptic mind is already unbelieving, as everything believable is always based on measurable facts and of the set reality of what eyes can see.
Nowadays, what matters to me is living by the word of God. I may slip here and there as my human nature is still fallen, but
I know I have a savior.
Going back to this heaven topic, hmmn I don't mind just living in a tent along the river of life as long as I'm there :D
Imagine you can have your fav food in a speed of thought, you'll never go fat, you'll always be young like in the 20's aha, that cool ! There's no need of having toilets, as the mechanics of of gloried bodies is different than the biological "flesh and blood design" of the past. Picture it, there's no uglies in heaven, so we all be gorgeous then :) , we can shrink or increase ours heights , to what suits better, isn't it amazing ? There's super technologies there too, according to brother Elvi Zapata. We just need to have child-like faith, believing the promises of the Lord.
I'm not a pro writer or to prove I can write. But if you can put into one picture all the scattered pieces together . I'm doing it for the Kingdom of God, not gaining anybody's score of approval but of the Lord :)
Here are few people who have revelations of heaven :
My friends , be blessed and be encouraged :)
This world has nothing in it to compare to what awaits for us.
Just make sure you have the right passport to heaven, and that's Jesus , otherwise you will be refused entry.
*Ian McCormack - NDE - former atheist - near death experience
*Testimony of Heaven - Oden Hetrick
*The Millennium Kingdom and Heaven - Elvi Zapata (The Lord's Hour) Rapture Ready!
*A Place Called Heaven" by Richard Sigmund
*My Vision of Heaven - Marvin Ford (Heaven Testimony)
*100% Proof of What Happens When You Die: The Afterlife Revealed Through Near Death Experiences!!
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In Kyrgyz culture the firstborn male grandchild is given to the grandparents to help look after them in old age. Azelbeck was the check toddler of the family we stayed with. Pictured here with his Grandad as we celebrated the end of Eid with cakes, sweets, pastries and "English tea"
Photograph taken in the West Karakol Valley in Kyrgyzstan as part of an expedition in July/August 2015
In Part 5 of this story, I wrote about my first flight - as an unaccompanied child ( www.facebook.com/MyIMRAN/posts/431285358999715 ) aged 7. The "Unaccompanied Child" PIA tag from the first flight was lost over the next half century of my journeys of life, but it is etched in my memory. To this day I must have a window seat because I hardly ever sleep on a plane. The only exceptions are if it is an extremely long, especially night time, flight and in particular over a dark sea and under a dark sky.
Otherwise, I I stay awake. I love watching the world go by beneath me since that first flight from Karachi to Lahore. I retain that child-like wonder and amazement at how such a massive thing as a heavy/metal airplane can so smoothly lift off into the air, travel thousands of miles, and gently touchdown again.
My beloved late father’s bold decisions, like having me put on a flight as an unaccompanied child on my first flight, and many other brave actions, especially as parents for their firstborn child, even in a developing country since the late 1960s, had a deep impact. They gave me the even more precious gift than that of flying in an aircraft before anyone in my family. They gave me the confidence, from early childhood, of taking flight in any direction in life, anywhere in the world, destination unknown or known, on my own. That gift from my beloved parents stays with me even today, in my life of journeys. I pray that it will until the end of my journey of life.
In the case of this photo, I am heading towards a destination that will not be a mystery for long. I love that a sunset over a different ocean and continent than my usual ones was visible in the photo behind me. You can clearly see that I have been awake 36 hours at the time of the start of this latest journey. And, for the record, I never smoked, drank alcohol, or tried drugs of any kind. In fact, I abhor all those things. That is a non-alcoholic beverage by my side, in case someone wonders! Rather than consume anything that dulls the senses, I am addicted.... to saying awake, as much as I can,... while I am stayin' alive, stayin' alive..... LOL.
Thank you beloved Abu & Ami for everything, and Almighty Allah for an incredible adventure, a life of journey. It has been a journey of life beyond what I can ever claim to deserve, and far beyond what my words of gratitude can acknowledge.
{To Be Continued}
© 2022 IMRAN™
#IMRAN #autobiography #Pakistan #USA #flying #aviation #aircraft #history #lifestory #inspiration #motivation #goals #realLife #LiveLife #travel #lifestyle #gratitude #livelifetothefullest
WE MOURN THE JEWISH FAMILIES FROM LICH WHO WERE EXPELLED AND MURDERED IN TIME OF THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST RULE
Today is my firstborn's birthday. She probably won't want me to say how old, but she is between 43 years and 45 years LOL. Happy Birthday Samantha.
Anyway, now is the time for my Twins to be updated to Animesh. Muryllo, the firstborn of the BeauBull Family, and Nadja; both born in May. My Charming Taureans !!
They were born in May- Muryllo on the 17th and Nadja an hour later already on the 18th ... lol
Rakel, para que vea los progresos de Lulu, mira que linda y grande esta tu hija adoptiva.
Lulu won an explorer too
Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily, Princess of Naples (1773)
Anton Raphael Mengs (1728 - 1779)
Maria Teresa (Naples 1772 - 1807 Vienna) was the daughter of King Ferdinand of Naples and Maria Carolina of Austria. Like all the firstborn daughters of Maria Theresa's children she was named after her grandmother. In 1790, she married her cousin, the future Emperor Francis II/I.
Anton Raphael Mengs (* 12 March 1728 in Aussig, Bohemia; † 29 June 1779 in Rome) was a German painter who became an important pioneer and representative of Neoclassicism.
"The portrait not only demonstrates Mengs' extraordinary ability to combine representation and personality, but possibly also reflects the dynastic interests of the subject's mother: Maria Carolina had the painting sent to the young lady's grandmother, Empress Maria Theresa, in Vienna. It is probably no coincidence that Mengs followed in the tradition of Velázquez's portraits of the Infanta, which were held in high esteem at the Habsburg court. Like the Infanta before her, Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily later became Empress of the Holy Roman Empire through the marriage to her cousin Francis II/I. (1790)." www.khm.at/en/visit/exhibitions/point-of-view-29/
Going back.. coming forwards ... in time and stories...
June, 2013.
On my way... sitting for a brief moment only for the photo. Second photo, my eldest - firstborn son, can be seen.
Over the bridge to Central Saint Martins
University of Arts London. King's Cross.
Thanks for visiting.
May we have a joyful day!
Copyrights (c) Nira Dabush.
Photo by Jimmie Maripotie Junior using my Nikon camera. This was scanned from a Nikon Kodachrome slide.
Revelation 1:3-8
3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. 4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed F1 us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings F2 and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," F3 says the Lord, F4 "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
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I finally joined the fight Dal!
In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Elf lords are among the wisest, most powerful beings in Middle-earth. They are the immortal "Firstborn" of the creator, characterized by their immense lifespan, beauty, and connection to nature. The most prominent Elf lords include:
If you see this, please consider yourself tagged.
These ‘portraits’ were shot during last Friday’s Zoom conversation with my firstborn son in Jerusalem. Two of his grandchildren we’re staying with him and his wife. I shot them with my iPhone 13 Pro Max. The resolution and clarity of Zoom sessions is not great, and I had to do a lot of cropping.
Still, I captured a memory that was very meaningful to me. She bears a strong resemblance to her mom who is my first granddaughter. And she has her vivacious charm😍
What does the LORD Require?
6 “With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Mic 6:6–8.
These ‘portraits’ were shot during last Friday’s Zoom conversation with my firstborn son in Jerusalem. Two of his grandchildren we’re staying with him and his wife. I shot them with my iPhone 13 Pro Max. The resolution and clarity of Zoom sessions is not great, and I had to do a lot of cropping.
Still, I captured a memory that was very meaningful to me. She bears a strong resemblance to her mom who is my first granddaughter. And she has her vivacious charm😍
Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie.
Crocifissione di Donato Montorfano (1460 ca.-1502 ca.).
Dopo che Montorfano aveva completato l’affresco, fu probabilmente Leonardo a dipingere nella parte inferiore i ritratti di Ludovico il Moro, con il primogenito Ercole Massimiliano in basso a sinistra, e della moglie Beatrice d’Este, con il figlio Francesco, sulla destra.
Nel 1568 il biografo Giorgio Vasari scrisse che gli astanti furono “ritratti divinamente” ma oggi, poichè il pittore ha dipinto a secco sulla parete ormai asciutta, il colore si è staccato e di quello che fu probabilmente un capolavoro, possiamo cogliere poco più che un’ombra, dai contorni incerti.
Nella foto, in basso a sinistra, Ludovico il Moro, con il primogenito Ercole Massimiliano.
Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
Crucifixion by Donato Montorfano (ca. 1460-ca. 1502).
After Montorfano had completed the fresco, Leonardo probably painted the portraits of Ludovico il Moro in the lower part, with his firstborn Ercole Massimiliano at the bottom left, and of his wife Beatrice d’Este, with their son Francesco, on the right.
In 1568 the biographer Giorgio Vasari wrote that the bystanders were “divinely portrayed” but today, since the painter painted dry on the now dry wall, the color has come off and of what was probably a masterpiece, we can make out little more than a shadow, with uncertain contours.
In the photo, at the bottom left, Ludovico il Moro, with his firstborn Ercole Massimiliano.
IMG20250218153258mm
Bientôt une heure que je suis assis sur une pierre, inconfortable, à l'abri sous un pin, enveloppé par la brume... Plus tôt le soleil a fait risette au paysage, mais bien vite a disparu dans le brouillard... Seule mon ouïe est à l'écoute, des pierres roulent dans le pierrier, invisibles les chamois descendent vers la prairie...
Je remonte un peu la combe, le soleil commence à vaincre la brume... Derrière moi, fantomatiquement, apparaissent quatre chamois. Je prends le pari de redescendre vers eux, le vent n'est pas encore levé... une chance! De bosquet en bosquet je m'approche au plus près, les animaux sont nerveux mais ne semblent pas encore me calculer...
D'un coup le soleil gagne, les voilà en pleine lumière... moi aussi... un mouvement de fuite Juste le temps de deux shoot... Je reconnais le premier né de début mai, il a fier allure... Déjà ils disparaissent dans la combe qui va les ramener en lieu sûr...
Almost one hour as I sit on a stone, uncomfortable, sheltered under a pine tree and surrounded by mist ... Earlier sun came out risette but soon disappeared in the fog ... Only my hearing is listening, stone rolls into the scree, invisible in front of me ... chamois down to the meadow ...
I go back a little valley, the sun begins to beat the fog ... Behind me fantomatiquement appear four chamois. I take the bet back down to them, the wind is not up yet ... a chance! Grove by grove I approach closer, the animals are nervous but do not yet seem calculate me ...
Of a blow the sun wins, here in broad daylight ... me too ... Just a movement of flight time to shoot two ... I recognize the firstborn of early May, he looks proud ... Already they disappear into the valley that will bring back in a secure place ...
This is a treasured moment with my first-born when he was very small. Becoming a mother was the most wonderful thing that I could ever imagine. This little boy was the first of my three children.
“Memory is the most elemental thread of which the tapestry of experience we call reality is woven.” ~ Maria Popova
Im back friends ,a whirlwind trip averaging 4 to five hours a night sleep ,much walking and hiking and an awesome adventure thanks to my firstborn for this incredible birthday gift!!!This is one of the views from the top of the plateau .Elevation from 6000 to 8,525 feet!! Mesa Verde National Park is a U.S. National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest archaeological preserve in the United States.Trying to jump right back into work so please give me a day or so to catch up on all of your wonderful comments and thank you to Explore and new friends for the visits while I was gone! See you soon...
Mesa Verde, Spanish for" green table", offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people "Anasazi" who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to 1300. Today the park protects nearly 5,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States. Explored 7-20-13 # 141 thank you one and all for your visits and taking the time to remark truly appreciated! !!
✰ This photo was featured on The Epic Global Showcase here: bit.ly/23Ta9So
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#nm#skies#thatview#😍#firstborn#sky#mountains#takeitallin#beautiful#
by @ittybittyrobin on Instagram.
Reign of Tuthmosis III
Dynasty XVIII
1490-1436 b.C.
Thutmose III was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 24 April 1479 BC to 11 March 1425 BC, from the age of two and until his death at age fifty-six; however, during the first 22 years of his reign, he was coregent with his stepmother and aunt, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh. While he was shown first on surviving monuments, both were assigned the usual royal names and insignia and neither is given any obvious seniority over the other. Thutmose served as the head of Hatshepsut's armies. During the final two years of his reign, he appointed his son and successor, Amenhotep II, as his junior co-regent. His firstborn son and heir to the throne, Amenemhat, predeceased Thutmose III.
Becoming the sole ruling pharaoh of the kingdom after the deaths of Thutmose II and Hatshepsut, he created the largest empire Egypt had ever seen; no fewer than 17 campaigns were conducted and he conquered lands from the Niya Kingdom in northern Syria to the Fourth Cataract of the Nile in Nubia.
When Thutmose III died, he was buried in the Valley of the Kings, as were the rest of the kings from this period in Egypt.