___--__--__--___

 

from the Time Viewer series by Paul Anglada. 2012.

Tel Aviv

Went butterfly hunting this morning, and finally caught one! :D

w00t!

... Tessa calms him right down.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For those who wonder who Mike is I met him at a flickr meet up several years ago. Following that day we found we each had a similar sense of humour and we started to go out on our own little photo-shoots. When my place was renovated, in January, he did the lion's share of work moving my things out. And, since I became incapacitated, also in January, he's helped even even more. He's one friend I don't know what I'd do without. Tessa feels the same way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  

More photos in comments.

From Museo Nazionale Romano (Rome, Italy)

I am very sad that he is dead and I miss him

in

the

sun.

-She and Him www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ3cTwI9bIw

 

Follow me.

Ask me anything.

I hit 4,000 views last night!!

sorry for this being blurry. I'm just happy summer is coming. :) and I made varsity cheer! :D whooo! oh and that's my truck in the background. aha it's stick shift...my sweet set of wheels bhahaha.

oh and hey, I bought my Minus the Bear ticket today. Gonna be amazing since I'm going to do black and whites on film!!! but I won't be able to print until like August...but still. super happy!

Found him wandering around the ruins of one of the hundreds of temples around Siem Reap, Cambodia.

He probably should be in school but one can't help thinking that it must, in some ways, be an amazing childhood playing around the ruins of temples which are hundreds of years old.

 

[Pentax K1000 + Pentax K 50mm f1.2 lens and Kodak Gold 200]

 

andbethere.blogspot.it/p/photography.html

 

homs

 

Hims (Arabic:حمص , transliteration: Ḥims, also spelled Homs and anciently called "Emesa"[1] (Greek: ἡ Ἔμεσα) is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Hims Governorate. It is 501 metres (1,640 ft) above sea level and is located 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Damascus.[2] Located on the Orontes River, Hims is also the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean Sea coast.

 

Hims did not emerge into the light of history until the 1st century BCE at the time of Seleucids. It later became the capital of a kingdom ruled by the Emesani dynasty who gave the city its name. Originally a pagan center of worship for the Sun god El-Gabal, it later gained importance in Christianity under the Byzantines. It was conquered by the Muslims in the 7th century and made capital of a district that bore its current name. Throughout the Islamic era, Muslim dynasties contending for control of Syria sought after Hims due to the city's strategic position in the area. It began to decline under the Ottomans and only in the 19th century did the city regain its economic importance when its cotton industry boomed.

 

Today, Hims is a major industrial center in Syria, and with a population of 823,000, it is the third largest city in the country. Its population reflects Syria's general religious diversity, composed mostly of Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims, with a Christian minority. The city boasts a number of historic mosques and churches and is near the Krak des Chevaliers, a world heritage site.

  

Etymology

"Emesa" is a compound of "Ham-Es", with the Es representing an assemblage of the locally-revered sun god in (El-Gabal) in ancient times.[3] The name "Emesa" or "Hemesa" is also attributed to "Emesenoi", the name of the Arab tribe that ruled the area before its incorporation into the Roman Empire.[4] When the name of the tribe became attached to the city is indiscernible, but is generally thought to have been used under the Romans.[5]

 

"Emesa" was called "Hems" or "Hims" by its Arab inhabitants, many of whom settled there prior to the Muslim conquest of Syria.[5][6] This name has been preserved throughout the period of Islamic rule continuing to the present day. It was known as "la Chamelle" by the Crusaders, although they never ruled the city.[7][8] A second possibility about the origin of the city's modern name is that it is an Arabic form of the city's Latin name "Emesus", derived from the Greek "Emesa" or "Emesos".[9]

  

History

For roughly 2,000 years, Hims has served as a key agricultural market, production site, and trade center for the villages of northern Syria. It has also provided security services to the hinterland of Syria, protecting it from invading forces.[5]

  

Emesani dynasty and Roman rule The Emesa temple to the sun god El-Gabal, with the holy stone, on the reverse of this bronze coin by Roman usurper Uranius Antoninus

Excavations at the Citadel of Hims indicate that the earliest settlement at the site dates back to around 2300 BCE. Biblical scholars have identified the city with Zobah mentioned in the Bible.[10][5] In 1274 BCE,[11] a battle took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River near Hims.[12] It was possibly the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving perhaps 5,000–6,000 chariots.[13][14]

 

Hims itself may have been founded by Seleucus I Nicator who established the Seleucid Empire upon the death of Alexander the Great, though the city did not emerge in the light of history until the 1st century BCE. At this time, Greek philosopher Strabo spoke of a tent-dwelling tribe called the "Emesani" living in the area around the Orontes and south of the Apamea region.[5] They were an Arab tribe in the area and settled in Emesa—which derived its name from them. Upon Pompey's incorporation of the Seleucid state of Syria into the Roman Empire in 64 BCE, the Emesani dynasty were made vassals to the Romans for aiding their troops in various wars. Their chief at the time, Samsigeramus I, gained the status as king of the Emesanis, but their capital was at Arethusa, a city north of Emesa, also along the Orontes River. At its greatest extent, the kingdom's boundaries extended from the Bekaa Valley in the west to the border with Palmyra in the east, and from Yabrud in the south to al-Rastan (Arethusa) in the north. Semsigeramus's kingdom was the first of Rome's Arab clients on the desert fringes.[4]

 

The city of Emesa grew to prominence after the new-found wealth of the Emesani dynasty, governed first by Samsigeramus's son Iamblichus who made it the kingdom's capital.[4] The Emesani proved their loyalty to Rome once more when they aided Caesar in his siege of Alexandria in 41 BCE, by sending him army detachments. Subsequently, they became embroiled in the Roman Civil War between the rebelling Mark Antony and the pro-Caesar Octavian. King Iamblichus took the side of Octavian, and so upon encouragement from Antony, the king's brother Alexas usurped the throne and put him to death in 31 BCE. Octavian's forces prevailed in the war, however, and as a result the kingdom's throne was reverted to Iamblichus II after Alexas was executed for treason. Under his stable rule emerged a new era of peace from 20 BCE and 14 CE, known as Emesa's "golden age". In 32 CE, Heliopolis and the Bekaa Valley came under the kingdom's control.[4]

 

Relations with the Roman government grew closer when King Sohaemus inherited the kingship. Under him, Emesa sent the Roman military a regular levy of archers and assisted them in their siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. His loyalty to Rome gained the Emesani dynasty little, however; in 75 CE the Kingdom of Emesa was completely incorporated into the Roman Empire, diminishing the dynasty's autonomy. It is unclear whether King Sohaemus abdicated his throne or had died with an incapable heir, prompting the Romans to annex the territory.[15]

 

Some frescoes inside the Church of Saint Elian date back to the 6th century

Under the Romans, Emesa began to show attributes of a Greek city-state and traces of Roman town planning still remain. Its transformation into a major city was completed under the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161) when Emesa began to mint coins.[5] By the 3rd century, it grew prosperous and well-integrated into the Roman Orient. This was partly due to the marriage of Septimus Severus to a woman from a family of notables based in Emesa. It attained the coveted status as a Roman colonia by Severus, and two other emperors of Severan Dynasty were raised in Emesa. One of them was Elagabalus who served as the high priest at the Temple of El-Gabal, the local sun god. He brought the image of this god, a conical black stone, to the Elagabalium in Rome.[16][17]

 

Emesa also grew wealthy because it formed a link in the eastern trade funneled through Palmyra, however, this dependence also caused the city's downfall when Palmyra sank to insignificance in the 4th century. Nonetheless, Emesa at this time had grown to rank with the important cities of Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and Damascus. It also continued retain local significance, because it was the market center for the surrounding villages. The city remained a strong center of paganism, because of the Temple of El-Gabal. After one of his victories over Zenobia, emperor Aurelian visited the city to pay thanks to the deity.[16]

 

Due to the strength of the pagan sun-cult in Emesa, Christians initially did not settle in the city. Eusibius writes that Silvanus, the city's first bishop, had no jurisdiction over the city, but the surrounding villages. He was executed aside Emperor Julian and succeeded by Bishop Antonius—the first bishop to settle Emesa.[18] By the 5th century, Christianity was well-established under the Byzantine Empire; however, few ancient Christian inscriptions exist in Hims today.[16] Under the Byzantines, it became an important center for Eastern Christianity.[19] Initially a diocese, Hims was given the status of ecclesiastical metropolis after the discovery John the Baptist's head in a nearby area in 452.[16]

  

Arab Caliphate The mausoleum of Khalid ibn al-Walid is in a mosque in Hims that bears his name

Prior to the Muslim conquest of Syria, Arab tribes, particularly the Banu Kalb settled around Emesa, ensuring its position as an important Yemeni center. The Byzantine emperor Heraclius abandoned the city—which served as his headquarters[20]—after the defeat of his army to that of the Rashidun Muslims under Umar ibn al-Khattab during the Battle of Yarmouk in southern Syria. In 637 CE, the Rashidun army led by Khalid ibn al-Walid captured Emesa peacefully as the city agreed to pay a substantial ransom of 71,000 to 170,000 dinars.[16][21][22] Afterward, they renamed the city "Hims". The caliph Umar established Hims as the capital of Jund Hims, a district within the province of Bilad ash-Sham, encompassing the towns of Latakia, Jableh, and Tartus along the coast, as well as the Palmyra in the Syrian Desert and the territory in between, including the town of Hama.[23] Hims was probably the first city in Syria to have a substantial Muslim population.[24]

 

The Muslims transformed half of St. John's Church into the city's Friday Mosque (Great Mosque of al-Nuri) and Hims soon became a center of Islamic piety since some 500 companions of Muhammad settled there after its conquest.[16] The tombs of Ibn al-Walid, his son Abd ar-Rahman, and Ubaid Allah, the son of Umar are located in the city.[25] During the conflict between the Umayyads and Ali, the inhabitants of Hims allied themselves with Ali and when the latter was defeated, the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiyah hived the northern half of Jund Hims to form a separate district, Jund Qinnasrin, apparently as punishment.[16] Ali's oratory (mash-had 'Ali) was located in the city, and Islamic tradition claims his fingerprints are engraved on it.[22] Despite repression by the Umayyads, Hims remained a center of Shia Islam for a while longer. As a stronghold of the Banu Kalb, the city became involved in its conflicts with the Qais tribal faction. The last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II, enjoyed the support of the latter tribe and subsequently razed the city walls. In 750 CE the Abbasids wrested control of Syria, including Hims, from the Umayyads, but the Arab tribes continued to revolt against the Caliphate.[16]

 

The interior of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri

During the reign of caliph Harun al-Rashid from 796 to 809 and after his reign, the Abbasid authorities sent numerous punitive expeditions against Hims and although the city was quite prosperous in this era, Abbasid rule was generally not welcomed.[16] Under the reign of al-Mutawakkil, in October 855, an uprising by the Christians of the city erupted in response to additional taxation. The caliph put down the revolt by expelling Christians from the city, burning down its churches, and executing members of its leadership.[26] With Abbasid rule over the Caliphate weakening in the mid-9th century, Hims became sought after by rebel dynasties contending for control of Syria due to the city's strategic position.[16]

 

Initially, the Egypt-based Tulunids came into control of it, but they were forced out by the Aleppo-based Hamdanids who were briefly succeeded by the Qarmatians,[16] after their Turkish rebel ally Aftakin invaded northern Syria and made Hims his base.[27] In 891 CE, geographer al-Yaqubi wrote that Hims was situated along a broad river from which the inhabitants drink.[28] It was one of the largest cities in Syria and had several smaller districts surrounding it. In 944, the Hamdanids took definitive control of the city dominated it until 1016.[16] Arab geographer al-Mas'udi noted in the early 10th century, that Hims was "noted for the personal beauty of its inhabitants".[28] In 985, al-Muqaddasi claimed that Hims was the largest city in all of Syria, but it had suffered "great misfortunes" and was "threatened with ruin". He stated that when the city was conquered by the Muslims they turned half of its church into a mosque.[29]

 

For roughly thirty years during the 10th century, Hims was raided by the Byzantines and its inhabitants were subject to slaughter and plunder and the city's mosque was briefly restored to become a church. Throughout most of the 11th century, the Byzantine raids receded greatly and the Mirdasids of the Banu Kalb tribe ruled over Hims, replacing the Hamdanids. Inclined towards Shia Islam, they did not oppose the Shia Fatimids of Egypt who were aiming to extend their rule into northern Syria and Iraq at the time. This precipitated a Sunni reaction led by the Seljuk Turks who occupied Hims under Aq Sunqur al-Hajib in 1090.[16]

  

Seljuk, Ayyubid, and Mamluk rule Romantic illustration of Hims by Louis-Francois Cassas. The artist in the foreground is shown sketching the Citadel of Hims, surrounded by his guards and the inquisitive locals

The First Crusade was launched in 1096, and in 1098, the Crusaders captured Antioch to the northeast, looted Ma'arat al-Numan, and finally besieged Hims itself. Although they managed to cut the city off from its main port Tartus, they failed in taking the city. Soon after, Hims came under the control of the Seljuk ruler of Damascus who turned it into a large, fortified camp and key fortress effectively preventing the Crusaders from penetrating deeper into Muslim territory. Immune from attack, the city became a point where the Muslims could marshal their forces and launch raids against Crusader holds along the Mediterranean coast.[16] In the early 12th century, the Seljuks affianced in internal fighting, during which Hims was often a prize. In 1149, the Mosul-based Zengids under Nur al-Din captured Hims in 1149.[30]

 

al-Idrisi reports in 1154, that the city was populous, had paved streets, possessed one of the largest mosques in Syria, contained open markets, and was frequented by travelers attracted to its "products and rarities of all kinds". He also noted that its residents were "pleasant; living with them is easy, and their manners are agreeable. The women are beautiful and are celebrated for their fine skin."[31] A series of earthquakes in 1157 inflicted heavy damage upon Hims and its fortress, then in 1170, a minor quake finished off the latter. Yet because of its strategic importance, being opposite of the Crusader County of Tripoli, the city and its fortifications were soon restored. In 1164, Nur al-Din handed Hims over to Asad ad-Din Shirkuh as a fief, but reclaimed it five years later after Shirkuh's death. The latter's nephew, Saladin, came into control of the city in 1175 and in 1179, after reorganizing northern Syria, he restored the fief to his Ayyubid dynasty who retained it for nearly a century until 1262. In 1225, geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi mentioned that Hims was large, "celebrated", and walled, having a strongly fortified castle on its southern hill.[22]

 

During the later Ayyubid period of rule, Hims remained a centerpiece of the wars between them and the Crusaders, as well as internecine conflicts with the Mongol Empire and the Mamluks.[30] The first battle between the Mongols and the Mamluks took place on December 10, 1260, ending in a decisive Mamluk victory. A second battle was fought on October 29, 1281, also ending in a Mamluk victory. The Mamluks were finally defeated in the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar, also known as the "Third Battle of Hims", in 1299.

 

Hims declined politically after falling to the Mamluks under Baibars because they effectively drove out the Crusaders and Mongols from the entirety of Syria. At the beginning of the 14th century, the city was merely the capital of the smallest province of Syria and was often included in the province of Damascus.[30] Ibn Batuta visited Hims in 1355, writing that it had fine trees, good markets, and a "fine Friday Mosque", noting that all of its inhabitants were Arabs.[32] Timur seized the city in 1400, and later in the 15th century as Mamluk weakness had brought insecurity to the countryside, Hims was ravaged by Bedouin raids; In 1510, the powerful tribe led by al-Fadl bin Nu'ayr were sent on an expedition by the governor of Damascus to loot the city markets as Hims had failed to pay for his "services".[30]

  

Ottoman rule Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque, an example of Ottoman architecture in Hims See also: Ottoman Syria

In 1516, Hims was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and consequently suffered a greater political eclipse, but it continued to thrive as an economic center, processing the agricultural and pastoral products that flowed to it from surrounding districts.[33] Hims was particularly well-known for silk and wool weaving, especially the alaja, which was mottled muslin run through with gold threads and used in feminine apparel. This silk was exported to as far as the Ottoman capital Istanbul. In addition to weaving industries, there were olive oil presses and water mills for wheat and sesame, while grapes and rice, grown in the surrounding marshlands from the 16th century, were found in abundance in the city's markets. Moreover, the markets of Hims were the center of a trade in animal, where flocks of sheep and goats coming from Aleppo met camels and cows moving north from Damascus.[30]

 

The coming of the Ottomans brought administrative change to Hims, now becoming the center of a sanjak ("district") attached to the wilaya ("province") of Tripoli—its old rival.[34] At this time, a French visitor noted that the city walls and citadel were in good repair, all within was in decay and only its covered markets "retained their beauty". French traveler, Volney wrote in 1785 of the city's one_time great importance and its current "miserable" condition. He described it as large, but ruined village administratively dependent on Damascus. The Ottomans did little to revitalize Hims or ensure it security against Bedouin raids. Tribal unrest throughout the 17th and 18th centuries resulted in the sacking of its markets on several occasions. Security was even more hampered, when in the 18th century, the Ottomans tore down the gates of the city's walls.[30]

 

The countryside of Hims saw an increase in Bedouin ravages in the first half of the 19th century, interrupted by it and Syria's occupation by Muhammad Ali's Egypt led by Ibrahim Pasha between 1832 and 1840.[35][33] The city revolted against Egyptian rule, and its citadel was destroyed when the Egyptians were suppressing the revolt. Ottoman rule was soon restored and up to the 1860s, Hims was large enough to form a discrete economic unit of trade and processing of agricultural products from its satellite villages and the neighboring Bedouin tribe.[30]

 

The local economy was stimulated when the Ottoman government extended security to the city and its surrounding area; new villages were established and old ones were resettled. Hims found itself faced with European economic competition since Ottoman rule was restored. Hims' economic importance was boosted again during the depression of the 1870s, as its cotton industry boomed due to a decline European textile production. The quality and design of cotton goods from Hims satisfied both the lower and upper classes of the local, Ottoman, and even the foreign market. There were around 5,000 looms in Hims and nearby Hama, and one British consul referred to Hims as the "Manchester of Syria".[30]

  

Modern era A street in downtown Hims

Throughout the 20th century Hims held high political importance in the country and was home to several heads of state and other high-ranking government officials.[30]

 

Under the French mandate Hims was part of the State of Damascus. In Autumn 1925, the city joined Damascus and the southern Druze chieftains in a full-blown revolt against French rule.[36] In 1932 the French moved their military academy from Damascus to Hims, which was the only military academy in Syria until 1967.[37] The Hims Military Academy played a major role in the years following the independence, as many of its graduates went on to become high ranked officers in the Syrian Army and many of them took part in the series of coup d'états that were to follow. Most important of them was Hafez Assad who was to become the president of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000.[38]

 

An oil pipeline between Tripoli and Kirkuk was built in Hims in the early 1930s and it followed ancient caravan route between Palmyra and the Mediterranean. 1n 1959, an oil refinery was built to process some of this oil for consumption by Syria.[30] Israel bombed the Hims oil refinery during the Yom Kippur war in 1973.[38] The city flourished under the newly formed Syrian state due to its central location and partial destruction of its rival city Hamah in 1982 when Hafez al-Assad ordered the Syrian army to quell the Muslim Brotherhood rebellion.

  

Geography

The Governorate of Hims is the largest in Syria. Hims, the governorate's capital, is located in central western Syria, situated along the east bank of the Orontes River in a particularly fertile area. The city is in between the southern outliers of Jabal Ansayriya located to its west and Mount Lebanon, overlooking the Hims Gap. Because of the gap, the area around Hims receives much more rainfall than interior regions to its north and south.[37] To the east of Hims, is the Syrian Desert. Lake Hims is to the southwest, lying some 125 kilometers (78 mi) south of Aleppo and 34 kilometers (21 mi) south of Hama, halfway on the road between the capital Damascus and Aleppo.[5] The Orontes River splits the city into two main sections: To the east, on a flat land lies the city center and the main neighborhoods; to the west, lies the more recent and modern suburb of al-Waer. The city spans an area of 4,800 hectares (19 sq mi).[39]

 

Hims is located 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Damascus, 193 kilometres (120 mi) south from Aleppo, 47 kilometres (29 mi) south Hama, and 186 kilometres (116 mi) southeast from Latakia.[2] Nearby towns and villages include al-Qusayr to the south, Fairouzeh to the southeast, Marmarita and Zweitina to the west, Qatna to the northeast and Ar-Rastan to the north.

  

Old City and subdivisions The Atassi quarter in the Old City of Hims A building in the neighborhood of al-Mahatta See also: Gates of Hims

The Old City is the most condensed area of Hims, and it includes the neighborhoods of Bab Tadmur, Bab al-Dreib, and Bab Hud and the area around the citadel, covering an area of 1.2 square kilometres (0.46 sq mi).[39] Little remains of the Old City; its walls and gates were demolished in the Ottoman era, but a short section of fortified wall with a circular corner tower still exists. Half a kilometer to the south, a large earth mound marks the site where the citadel once stood.[40] To the north of the citadel lies the Christian Quarter, known as "al-Hamidiyah".[41] This neighborhood is one of the few areas of Hims that retains its older look, with most of the black-and-white stone buildings dating from the Mamluk era. They are still used as shops and dwellings, and there has been recent renovation.[42]

 

At the time of the Abbasids, Hims was known for its seven gates. They were Bab al-Souq (Gate of the Market), Bab Tadmor (Gate of Palmyra), Bab al-Dreib (or Bab al-Deir), Bab al-Sebaa (Gate of the Lions), Bab al-Turkman (Gate of the Turkmen), Bab al-Masdoud (Closed Door), and Bab Hud (The Gate of Hud).[30] Only two gates—Bab Tadmor and Bab al-Dreib—remain today.[43] The oldest of Hims' mosques and churches are located in the Old City.[40]

 

Hims consists of several subdivisions outside the Old City. The large neighborhood of Khaldiyah spreads along its northern edge, while the more modern neighborhoods of al-Sabeel, al-Zahra, and Jub al-Jandali are situated to the east of the Old City. South of it are the neighborhoods of Bab al-Sebaa, al-Mreijeh, al-Nezha, Akrama and beyond them lay the Karm al-Zaytoun and Karm al-Loz neighborhoods.[41] The modern commercial center lies to the west in the neighborhood of Jouret al-Shayyah, and further west are the upscale neighborhoods of Qusoor, al-Mahatta and al-Ghouta. The suburb of al-Waer is located even further west, separated from the city by areas of farmland called al-Basateen and the Orontes river forming a green belt where it is forbidden to build anything.[41] The al-Baath University complex and dormitories are located on the western-southern edge of the city next to the neighborhood of Akrama.[41]

  

Climate

Hims' location ensures that it receives softening influences and breezes from the Mediterranean Sea . As a result, the city has a much milder climate than nearby Hama, with higher average rainfall of 18 inches (457.2 mm) instead of 14 inches (355.6 mm), but it also experiences greater winds.[5]

 

From the underground steel cage fight matches at Silent Sam's, Ben 10 prepares for combat!

 

Character Biography

 

Benjamin Kirby "Ben" Tennyson is the titular main protagonist of the Ben 10 franchise. He was an ordinary 10-year-old boy until he found the Omnitrix, a powerful watch-like device that allowed him to turn into 10 different aliens.

 

Though initially immature and clumsy, Ben grew to be a true hero. By the time he was 16, he had become famous in not only his hometown of Bellwood but on Earth and beyond. Ben has also been deputized by the Plumbers and has gained more aliens as time progressed.

 

Appearance

 

Ben's physical appearance has changed throughout the series from a 10-year-old to a 16-year-old. However, he retains some recurring characteristics. He has brown hair, green eyes, fair skin, and he is quite skinny for his age, though he shows a lot of muscle definition due to being athletic.

 

Regular Appearances

 

In the Omniverse flashbacks in which he was five years old, Ben wore green overalls with a white shirt underneath it. White numbers saying "5 1/2" were on a black square in front of his overalls.

 

In the Original Series and Omniverse flashbacks, Ben's usual clothes consisted of a black-striped, white shirt with short sleeves, military green cargo pants with side pockets with a black belt hidden under his shirt, and black and white sneakers with black stripes. Ben wore the original Omnitrix on his left wrist.

 

In Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, Ben wore a black short-sleeved T-shirt, blue jeans, and a green jacket with white stripes on his left sleeve and the number 10 on the right, white socks, and black and white Converse-style shoes. His hair is also shorter than it was when he was 10/11 years old. Ben wore the reconfigured original Omnitrix in Alien Force and the Ultimatrix in Ultimate Alien on his left wrist.

 

In Omniverse, Ben wears a black shirt that has a green stripe in the middle with a white 10 and green stripes on the sides of his shirt. He wears brown cargo pants with pockets at the knees with a brown belt hidden under the shirt and green and white shoes. He has also grown out his hair. He wears the Omnitrix on his left wrist.

 

During water-based activities in the Original Series, he wore a blue swimsuit in The Krakken and A Small Problem and a red and yellow swimsuit in Divided We Stand and Big Fat Alien Wedding.

 

In a daydream in The Galactic Enforcers, Ultra Ben looked like Ben with a stereotypical superhero costume in a grey, black and white color scheme.

 

In Back With a Vengeance, he wore a yellow raincoat while touring Niagara Falls on a ship.

 

In A Change of Face, he wore a pilgrim outfit.

 

In Merry Christmas, while cursed as an elf, he had pointy ears, and his eyes were fully green.

 

In Game Over, while inside Sumo Slammer Smackdown, he wore brownish-green armor and had longer hair, tied in a ponytail.

 

In The Unnaturals, he wore a blue baseball shirt with the letter "C" at the front and number 23 at the back, white shorts, blue and yellow socks, blue and white shoes, and a blue baseball helmet. Before the baseball game and after he battled the Squires and Coach Finn, he wore a blue and yellow baseball cap with the letter "C" in the middle.

 

In Secret of the Omnitrix, he wore light blue pajamas. Later in the movie, he wore a pale blue spacesuit with white stripes on the sleeves and thighs, along with a white helmet with pale blue stripes.

 

In a dream in Perfect Day, Ultra Ben wore frameless blue goggles with horn-like extensions, a cyan shirt and white pants. He also donned a white cape.

 

In Big Fat Alien Wedding, during the wedding ceremony, he wore a purple tuxedo with a red bow tie and white polo shirt.

 

In Ben 10 vs. Negative 10: Part 2, he temporarily wore a visor in the Mt. Rushmore Plumber base.

 

In Ben 10 Returns: Part 1 and War of the Worlds: Part 1, Ben's soccer clothes consisted of the T-shirt he wore as a 10/11-year-old but with the number 10 at the back, a long-sleeved green undershirt, green shorts, gray gloves with black stripes, and knee-high socks.

 

In a flashback in Ben 10 Returns: Part 2, Young Ben wore his T-shirt from the Original Series and shoes from Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, along with military green shorts, white socks, and a bluish grey bicycle helmet.

 

In What Are Little Girls Made Of? and In Charm's Way, he wore green trunks.

 

In Save the Last Dance, he wore a white bicycle helmet.

 

In Birds of a Feather, when on the Moon, he wore an orange spacesuit with four arms.

 

In Alien Swarm, he briefly wore a dark grey hoodie. While riding Max's motorcycle, he wore a black helmet.

 

In The Final Battle: Part 1, when held captive by Kraab, he wore an orange cuff.

 

In Duped, The Perfect Girlfriend and Of Predators and Prey: Part 1, Ben briefly wore 3D glasses. In Duped, along with the glasses, he also wore a black wig in the style of a bun.

 

In Ultimate Alien, Ben wore a standard Plumber suit during a few of his off-world excursions.

 

In Video Games, he wore a blue full-body motion capture suit with white balls on it.

 

In Fused, Revenge of the Swarm, and Night of the Living Nightmare, Ben's sleeping clothes consisted of his usual black T-shirt and white shorts.

 

In Basic Training, while at the barracks in the Plumbers' Academy, he wore an olive tank top and black shorts.

 

In Inspector #13, he wore a green T-shirt and black shorts.

 

In Catch a Falling Star, he wore a white cast around his right arm.

 

In The Ultimate Enemy: Part 2, he wore full-body armor while wielding Ascalon.

 

In Omniverse, Ben sometimes wears a white hooded jacket with green stripes on both arms and a green number 10 on the right side.

 

In Omniverse, while riding the Tenn-Speed, Ben wears a white helmet with the number 10 on it, a green visor, a short-sleeved black T-shirt, long white pants and a belt with the number 10 on it.

 

In Malefactor, 11-year-old Ben wore a Psycholeopterran-proof visor.

 

In Arrested Development, 11-year-old Ben's gym clothes consisted of a white T-shirt with a red outline, and red shorts with a vertical white line.

 

In Bros in Space, he wore a ceremonial female Revonnahgander outfit.

 

In Special Delivery, while working for Mr. Baumann, he wore a pink and white cap and a pink apron with a black 'B' on it.

 

In From Hedorium to Eternity, 11-year-old Ben's pajamas consisted of a green T-shirt with a white "10" on it, as well as white shorts.

 

In The Most Dangerous Game Show, Ben wore a crown bestowed upon him by Charles Zenith.

 

Personality

 

“You think I don't know? When it's hero time, if I mess up, somebody could die. From what you told me, if we mess up this time, everybody could die... Maybe that's too much to have in your head when you have to win. Maybe if I pretend everything is a big joke, when the time comes, I'll be able to do what I have to do.”

– 10-year-old Ben to 17-year-old Kevin asking him to be serious.

 

Initially cocky, childish, and selfish, Ben's immaturity and attention-seeking behavior often led him to joke around, regardless of the situation, which landed him in trouble with adults. When he was 10 years old, he often used the Omnitrix improperly in order to benefit himself instead of actually helping others, such as using Grey Matter to search cereal boxes for a gold Sumo Slammer card.

 

His allies often criticized his attitude, unaware of the fact that he used humor to mask his fears. It was also implied that, on some level, Ben helped people to get rewards and for the thrill of being a hero, rather than because it was the right thing to do.

 

Despite some childish attitude, Ben was heroic, caring and generally good-natured, always willing to save others at any time even at the risk of himself. In spite of this good nature, heroism, and his moments of maturity, Ben could occasionally get carried away when it came to fame and recognition.

 

This led him to act rather arrogantly and recklessly, and occasionally made dire mistakes and alienated his loved ones. However, he was quick to realize his mistakes and is quick to take responsibility and knew not to take things too far.

 

Over the years, Ben has displayed good leadership skills, as well as the ability to adapt his attitude to a situation, becoming serious when it's called for. He became more mature, responsible and sensible. He continues to be kind-hearted and willing to lay down his own life for others, such as when he attempted to sacrifice himself to set the sentient Ultimate Forms free from the Ultimatrix.

 

His idealistic views and unwillingness to compromise his values – aspects condemned by Azmuth, yet commended by others – sometimes drive him to act against reason, such as helping his enemies if they need it (most remarkably Vilgax).

 

Professor Paradox has praised Ben's good nature, going so far as to say he had the gift to make the right choices at the right moments, and even Azmuth himself states that Ben ultimately always does the right thing.

 

Also, Ben doesn't give up and wouldn't let anyone stop him from doing what's right for those in need, especially his family, friends and mentors, or to bring enemies down, even when he once got a broken arm.

 

However, even as a teen, Ben still displays some of his negative childish traits at times, which usually comes to light when Ben gets too caught up with fame.

 

Ben also has a violent, aggressive side: when Ben fails to save someone, is worried about the well-being his loved ones, or if people get hurt because of his failure, he becomes angry and lashes out, even at people he cares about.

 

Perhaps the most notable of these instances is when Kevin willingly mutated himself to stop Aggregor, Ben was determined to kill Kevin, even fighting Gwen when she refused to help him.

 

During the episode, Ben confessed to Max that he felt guilty for letting fame get into his head and claimed that he was trying to act more mature for once. He also threatened to hunt down and destroy the Forever Knights if Driscoll did not promise to cease hunting down aliens.

 

Ben has experienced trust issues, when it comes to automatically trusting everybody and teaming up with people whose true colours are later revealed and turns against the team.

 

Though often perceived as unintelligent because of his immaturity and constant joking, Ben is cunning and resourceful when needed, quickly adapting when the Omnitrix doesn't provide him with the alien he wanted. He has once admitted that people assume he's not paying attention, but he actually is.

 

In Omniverse, Ben started thinking of himself as more of a superhero than a Plumber, often remarking that he's not a cop, but a superhero.

 

Powers and Abilities - Street Fighting Proficiency

 

Ben is a fairly proficient fighter, even as a human, being able to hold his own against Pierce.

 

Although he mainly employs a loose street fighting style, he also knows martial arts, having been trained in savate and karate by Gwen, and Marquess of Queensbury boxing.

 

On top of that, he has gained practical experience from years of fighting aliens. He copied a lot of his fighting moves from Kangaroo Commando.

 

Ben has also received basic Plumber training, having succeeded in the Plumbers' Academy with a 95 out of a 100.

 

Ben has good reflexes, being able to easily dodge shots from Manny's blasters before disarming him while in human form, dodge Sunder's axe attacks, Zed's lunges, and a laser blast from Tummyhead.

 

Ben has an extraordinarily sharp memory, as he was perfectly capable of remembering and writing down the mystic rune-like symbols for entering the inter-dimensional realm of Legerdomain with just one glance from a distance. This is even more true for things that interest him.

 

Ben is surprisingly a natural at hoverboard-based combat, which generally requires intensive training and the use of holographic simulators. Relatedly, he is also good at snowboarding.

 

Ben has shown himself to be quite proficient in using weaponry, such as a DNA Repair Gun and Ascalon.

 

Ben is proficient at driving, having been taught by Max. For example, he was able to swerve out of the way at the last second to avoid coming into contact with Eunice's crashing pod.

 

Ben has impressive piloting skills, as shown when, at 10 years old, he could adequately control a gyropod (a small ship designed for alien pilots) within seconds of testing, and at 16 years old, could pilot the Rustbucket 3. He gets this skill from a combination of playing video games and tap lessons Sandra made him take, though he would never admit it. Despite this, Kevin is considered to be a better pilot than Ben.

 

Ben is proficient at baseball.

 

Ben is proficient at soccer, serving as a goalie for his high school team. In fact, he was the first freshman start as goalie on his school's team.

 

Ben is a decent musician, as he knew a variety of electric guitar techniques like shredding, hammer-ons, and pinch harmonics, and on drums, was able to keep up with a professional rock band.

 

It is evident that Ben is smart in some respects, possessing an above-average to high intelligence and maintaining a B+ average at school. Gwen even stated that he really is not working up to his potential at school.

 

Equipment - Omnitrix

 

“"You are...one of us?"

"I'm one of everybody."”

– A Necrofriggian Guard and Big Chill.

 

Ben is the wielder of the Omnitrix (formerly the Ultimatrix and first Omnitrix), which gives him the power to modify his own genetic code in order to turn into various alien creatures. Traditionally, he could only transform into ten aliens at the beginning of both the Original Series and Alien Force, but he later gained additional forms by either unlocking them or by scanning the DNA of aliens he met.

 

When transforming into an alien, Ben gets all the creature's features, including its appearance, voice, all of its unique and special abilities and powers, strengths and weaknesses. Though he mostly retains his personality, there are some cases where the transformation causes a change in it, like with Rath and Juryrigg.

 

Though he usually uses his alien forms to fight, he can impersonate aliens as he did with Waterhazard to convince P'Andor to go home, though he was only successful at getting P'Andor to believe he was Bivalvan.

 

In addition to transforming into aliens, the Ultimatrix included what is referred as an "evolutionary function", that allowed Ben to evolve his alien forms, referred to as Ultimate Forms.

 

In addition to the primary transformations and evolutionary function, the Omnitrices and Ultimatrix can both be used for various purposes. Both have a built-in Universal Translator that allows Ben to communicate with most aliens that do not speak English.

 

The original Omnitrix displayed the ability to manipulate and repair genetic damage, a function he used to cure DNAliens and save the Highbreed from extinction. Azmuth also mentioned that Ben could use the original Omnitrix to bring back to life any species stored on Primus.

 

The current Omnitrix also has a failsafe to help prevent Ben from dying.

 

Ben formerly owned an X321 hoverboard, given to him by Tetrax. It was destroyed when it fell into a vat of nuclear waste. Tetrax gave him a second hoverboard which was later destroyed by Khyber. The second hoverboard was later either rebuilt or replaced.

 

Plumber Badge

 

Ben has a Plumber suit, allowing him to survive in unsuitable environments. Kevin modified his suit by installing a propulsion unit and neuroshock pulsers.

 

As a Galactic Enforcer, Ben had a badge which allowed him to activate some features from the team's ship remotely.

 

Ben formerly had a hazmat suit, given to him by Max. The suit protected him from the effects of Corrodium and allowed him to survive in space.

 

Ben temporarily wore a spacesuit, given to him by Tetrax, which allowed him to survive in space.

 

Ben temporarily used an ID Mask to disguise himself as a DNAlien to navigate a Highbreed ship.

 

Ben temporarily drove Kevin's car when Kevin had been aged into an old man by the Time Monster.

 

Ben formerly wielded a DNA Repair Gun, which he used to revert the DNAliens back to human. Simian later sold it to the Incurseans.

 

Ben temporarily used Max's motorcycle during Alien Swarm.

 

Ben formerly owned the Mark 10, given to him as a birthday gift by Kevin. The car is now owned by Sandra.

 

Ben temporarily wielded Ascalon, which also covered him in armor.

 

Ben, as Juryrigg, created the Tenn-Speed from parts of the destroyed Proto-TRUK. It was later damaged by Ben off-screen prior to Let's Do the Time War Again, and its parts were used by Ben 10,000 as Uprigg to create the Time Cycles. Both Time Cycles were destroyed when Ben and Rook crash-landed onto the Contumelia Ship.

 

When in Sumo Slammer Smackdown, he had access to a sword.

 

Weaknesses - Coulrophobia

 

Ben appears to have a short attention span and very little patience at times. More often than not, it can get him into trouble, such as not reading the directions when trapped in Sumo Slammer Smackdown.

 

Though he has matured substantially since receiving the original Omnitrix, he is still a teenager with much to learn and is prone to irrational impulses and recklessness.

 

Ben has coulrophobia (i.e. a fear of clowns), which was indirectly caused by Max.

 

Ben is vulnerable to the cold virus.

 

Ben is vulnerable to hypnosis.

 

Ben is not immune to Corrodium and will be mutated when exposed to this mineral unless he either wears special protection or transforms into an alien.

 

Ben can be rendered unconscious by sedative quills, such as those generated by Argit's species.

 

Ben has an allergy to peanuts.

 

Ben can experience pain from electricity, such as that generated by a Nosedeenian, Phil as a Terroranchula, a Conductoid or a Cerebrocrustacean.

 

Ben's worst fear is that of peacocks.

 

Ben's worst subject is Physics.

 

Whenever the Omnitrix times out, Ben is left powerless until he either dodges or switches to a new alien form. In addition to gaining the selected alien's powers and strengths, he gains its weaknesses.

 

Whenever Ben unlocks a new alien form, he is at a disadvantage of not knowing its abilities and weaknesses until he gains experience with using that alien. However, this was not an issue when he wielded the recalibrated original Omnitrix, as the device granted him full understanding of the aliens' powers.

 

Despite his experience in using the Omnitrices and Ultimatrix, Ben still does not know every function of them. Due to his inquisitive nature and impatience, he has accidentally unlocked new functions such as the Master Control and the randomizer, which can at times do more harm than good.

 

Though the current Omnitrix is designed to work only for him, Ben still has not mastered it. According to Azmuth, Ben may get the Master Control on his 18th birthday.

 

The current Omnitrix does not actually mistransform, but rather it is due to Ben hitting the Omnitrix too hard, thereby causing the time-out function to select another alien at random.

 

At times, the natural biological behavior of certain aliens can override Ben's behavior, such as Big Chill's reproductive phase or Swampfire's blossoming process.

 

Any illness Ben is experiencing in his human form will affect his alien forms.

 

Family

 

Ben has stated that he loves and cares about his mom and dad, and that they're good parents and raised him well enough to become the person he is today.

 

Ken Tennyson

 

Ben looked up to Ken as a role model, and Ben practically "worshipped" Ken when he was 10. Ken took Ben to his first soccer practice.

 

Gwen Tennyson

 

In the Original Series, Ben's relationship with Max seemed to be that of a father and son, because the majority of the series took place in the summer and Max was the only guardian available. When he was seriously injured in The Alliance, Ben went full strength with Four Arms and brutally destroyed Vilgax's Mechadroids as they were the catalyst for his injury. His relationship with his grandfather has not changed much at all during Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, and Omniverse.

 

In Ben 10 Returns: Part 1, he yelled at Gwen when she jokingly wondered how Max's cooking hadn't killed him, as he was worried about where he was.

 

Lucy Mann

 

Ben and Lucy get along quite well in both the Original Series and Omniverse, though Ben was nervous about dancing with her in Big Fat Alien Wedding. During the Omniverse flashbacks, he was shown to enjoy her company, which she reciprocated.

 

Allies

 

Azmuth

 

Ben's initial thoughts of Azmuth before meeting him were never stated, but he did find it to be somewhat surprising that he was a Galvan. After meeting him, he thought of him as a jerk who cared about no one but himself. However, his perception of him changed when Azmuth fixed the Omnitrix.

 

Five years prior to Omniverse, Ben and Azmuth interacted more frequently after the latter's reintegration into Galvan society. Ben was disgusted towards Azmuth's refusal to correct Malware, but they still respected and assisted each other. In a flashback in Showdown: Part 1, Azmuth warned Ben to not overuse Feedback, but Ben did not heed his warning and Feedback was lost from the Omnitrix after a fight with Malware. and during a flashback in Showdown: Part 2, Azmuth offered Ben advice and comfort after he lost Feedback.

 

In Alien Force, Ben respected Azmuth as the creator of the Omnitrix, though he was willing to go against his orders when he deemed it necessary, such as when he refused to stay out of the final battle against the Highbreed. In Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 2, Ben lost Azmuth's trust after hacking the Omnitrix.

 

Professor Paradox

 

Ben first met Professor Paradox in Paradox to stop a Trans-Dimensional Creature. Professor Paradox claimed he would help Ben save the "whole entire universe".

 

Paradox puts great faith in Ben, even stating to Azmuth that he was destined for greatness.

 

Jimmy Jones

 

Jimmy revealed Ben's identity to the public on Earth by linking alien sightings along with the intergalactic peace symbol all on their chests matching that of a picture of Ben ready to activate the Omnitrix and leaking it to his own personal website.

 

In Ultimate Alien, Ben considered him a reliable source of information. However, in Omniverse, Ben is shown to be very skeptical and dismissive of Jimmy's claims and theories.

 

Skurd

 

Initially, Ben and Skurd had a strenuous relationship, with Ben finding Skurd's snark to be annoying and Skurd finding Ben to be nothing more than a "free lunch". During their tenure together, they would frequently bicker. However, over time, the two grew closer, with both saying they owed the other their life. Ben 10,000, upon seeing Skurd for the first time in years, recalled fond memories.

 

Romantic

 

Elena Valadis

 

Elena Valadis is one of the Plumbers' kids and a former member of Ben's soccer team. Ben met Elena when he was 13 and had to convince his soccer teammates to let her join. She appeared in the live-action film Ben 10: Alien Swarm.

 

Elena also appeared in Revenge of the Swarm, where she served as the Queen of the Hive. Victor Valadis attacked Ben at night, so the trio went to her to find whether she knew anything about the Microchips.

 

Later, when Ben mentioned Julie, it made her angry and jealous, and she kidnapped her in order to keep Ben all to herself. They almost kissed, but her plan was revealed to Ben, and he saved Julie. Elena, being possessed by the Hive Queen, encountered Armodrillo and choked him with the Microchips.

 

However, she was convinced by Julie to not to do so. She willingly sacrificed herself in order save Ben, proving how much she liked him and that there was still the Elena that cared for him. Ben became sorry for her, understanding how much she had liked him. At the end of the episode, the Microchips reformed, revealing she was still alive.

 

Elena appeared in The Perfect Girlfriend disguised as Julie. As Julie, she tried to do everything to make Ben happy. Once Ben found out Julie was Elena, he tried to reason with her, but when the real Julie turned up, he ended up fighting her as Ultimate Echo Echo, during which she choked him with the Microchips again. Julie told Elena that if she killed him, then no one could have him. At the end of the episode, Elena retreated into the sewer, "knowing what hate feels like" indicating that she now had a hatred for Ben and promised to return.

 

Eunice

 

The Unitrix's pod was discovered in the forest at the same time Ben's team was driving for a camping trip. After encountering her, she stayed with them for the day, bonding with Ben (who had recently broken up with Julie).

 

The two of them were soon attacked by Sunder, who shut Eunice down and attempted to get away before Gwen and Kevin stopped him as Kevin restarted the Unitrix again. While the four of them scuffled with Sunder that led to a muddy area, Azmuth arrived, broke up the fight, and cleared things up. Following a brief argument, Ben allowed Azmuth, under a compromise, to take on Eunice as one of his assistants on Primus.

 

Emily

 

Emily briefly dated Ben, but the reason they broke up was that Ben went "hero" and left Emily on a 200-foot-tall watchtower, causing Emily to get angry at Ben.

 

Ester

 

When Ester first met Ben in Hot Stretch, they fought for the fusion device. When she realized the other Kraaho were doing evil things, she joined Ben's team. She introduced him to her friends, and they played an alien version of hockey.

 

Ben turned into Waterhazard and splashed everyone with water to cool them down, even when Ester told him not to. He then brought her a towel, and she blushed as he gazed at her.

 

She turned the water floating around him into snowflakes and ran off laughing. Rook told Ben she liked him. When she became the chief, she hugged Ben and told him she and her kind would be good neighbors. Later Ester's friends called Ben her boyfriend, and Ben at first denied it, but then excitedly asked Rook if he had a chance with her.

 

In Rules of Engagement, Ben offered to help clean up the Hot Spot with her. She excitedly agreed, wrapping her arms around his arm. She also stated that she is fond of Mr. Smoothy.

 

Sometime before Return to Forever, they went on a movie date.

 

In Catfight, Ester was in a double date with Ben, Rook, and Rayona. Later in the episode, she hugged Ben, and the two ran off to watch Sumo Slammers 6 3D again.

 

In Fight at the Museum, Ester invited Ben to the Bellwood Museum for a date, but Ben, not knowing it was a date, brought Rook since Rook enjoys museums. Ester was shown to be horrified when she heard that Ben and Kai end up together in the future Spanner comes from, while Ben himself stated there was no way that was going to happen.

 

Later in The Most Dangerous Game Show, feeling that Ben really was destined to be with Kai, Ester decided to let go of him. While trying to talk to Ben, who she couldn't get in contact with, Ester ultimately fell in love with Antonio. Eventually, Ester made her feelings known to Ben, breaking up on good terms, even stating she still liked him while remaining friends.

 

Empress Attea

 

In The Frogs of War: Part 2, Bullfrag infiltrated Attea's team and from the moment she saw him, Attea had a crush on him. When they met in the cell block of Plumber Headquarters, Bullfrag came up to her and started flirting, taking note that his new form showed her in a whole new light. Attea was a bit flustered, but started flirting back, only to be knocked out by a mana blast by Gwen. Bullfrag blamed his crush on Attea on his Incursean DNA.

 

At the end of the episode, when leaving Earth, she gave Ben the offer to come with her and "Ditch that monkey face and turn into Bullfrag again". He promptly declined. Attea gave him a kiss to the back of his head with her long tongue, winked, and took off.

 

She later decided that Ben was her only option for a mate in Catfight. However, Ben later convinced her that she was capable of ruling on her own.

 

Drew Saturday

 

In T.G.I.S., Ben gained a crush on Drew Saturday the minute he saw her. She responded to Ben saying, "right back at ya". When Doc told Ben, Rook, Zak, and Fisk that Dr. Animo and his Chupacabra army were attacking Mr. Baumann's store, Drew offered to stay behind to look after the petrified Gilford Bromley.

 

Ben, though, suggested that Rook stay behind, and Drew come with him, telling them that they might need her medical expertise. Later, when Ben, Rook, Zak, and Fisk arrived at the airship to stop V.V. Argost and his army of cryptids, Doc and Drew revealed themselves and told them that they escaped moments before Argost showed up. Ben then instantly told Drew that he was happy that she was okay, causing Zak to remind him that Doc was okay too. At the end of the episode, Ben told Zak how it was a pleasure to work with him and his mom. He then took a photo with Zak, Doc, Drew, and Fisk as Four Arms.

 

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

 

A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

Ben 10

Sumo Slammers

Ben 10

2006, Bandai

  

1969; The real Cool Killers by Chester Himes. Cover photograph by Peter Akehurst.

Bought these five Chester Himes today after a short bicycle trip of ten minutes, 0,40 eurocent a piece, so for the total amount of 2 euro (about $2,50) :-)

Pauline.

 

From my photography tour in Scotland, this summer.

 

Nikon D800E + 85mm 1:1.8

Natural light.

Loch Ness, Scotland, UK.

 

www.eric-magnan.com

Instagram: e_magnan

Scrooge looked about him for the Ghost, and saw it not. As the last stroke ceased to vibrate, he remembered the prediction of old Jacob Marley, and lifting up his eyes, beheld a solemn Phantom, draped and hooded, coming, like a mist along the ground, towards him.

It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.

He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.

“I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come?” said Scrooge.

The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand.

“You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before us,” Scrooge pursued. “Is that so, Spirit?”

The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant in its folds, as if the Spirit had inclined its head. That was the only answer he received.

Although well used to ghostly company by this time, Scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him, and he found that he could hardly stand when he prepared to follow it. The Spirit paused a moment, as observing his condition, and giving him time to recover.

But Scrooge was all the worse for this. It thrilled him with a vague uncertain horror, to know that behind the dusky shroud, there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him, while he, though he stretched his own to the utmost, could see nothing but a spectral hand and one great heap of black.

“Ghost of the Future!” he exclaimed, “I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?”

It gave him no reply. The hand was pointed straight before them.

“Lead on!” said Scrooge. “Lead on! The night is waning fast, and it is precious time to me, I know. Lead on, Spirit!”

The Phantom moved away as it had come towards him. Scrooge followed in the shadow of its dress, which bore him up, he thought, and carried him along.

I met him when I was a Cub and he came to inspect my troop at the local Armouries. He and the current GG, who handed me my degree, are the only two GGs I've met.

 

www.gg.ca/en/governor-general/former-governors-general/ed...

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Schreyer

 

www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/edward-richard-...

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rideau_Hall

 

ottawa.ca/en/arts-heritage-and-events/doors-open-ottawa/2...

 

Rideau Hall has been the official residence of every governor general of Canada since 1867, and their workplace since 1940. It is a National Historic Site with nearly two centuries of history, and has become an important gathering place and site of official activities.

 

The villa, which forms the main part of Rideau Hall, was built in 1838, by Thomas MacKay, as a home for his family. In 1868, the year after Confederation, the Government of Canada purchased the house and grounds, and declared it the official residence of Canada’s governors general.

 

During the mandate of Canada’s 3rd governor general, Lord Dufferin (1872–1878), the Ballroom and the Tent Room were built as wings on either side of the front entrance. The Tent Room was originally designed as both an indoor tennis court and reception room. It is now used for official and ceremonial functions.

 

In 1913, during the tenure of the Duke of Connaught (1911–1916), work was completed on the interior entrance hall and the current front entrance. The front entrance features the massive Royal Arms, visible from the driveway and said to be among the largest in the world. Also in 1913, the Long Gallery was added and the Dining Room was enlarged. Over the years, the grounds, the building and its interiors have evolved to better reflect and reinforce Rideau Hall’s identity as a national symbol.

 

Doors Open Ottawa 2023 @ Rideau Hall; Ottawa, Ontario.

Him along with Fedor, are two of the only public viewable diving tigers. They dive down to get meat thrown by their trainers.

Odin is a white bengal tiger.

I <3 tiger paws.

Peugeot 403 - Wedding - Bourges

What you see here is a Howard County, Arkansas employee. I won’t refer him as a man. I have served with real men, and women. He, and another employee, were setting in a Howard County truck, #255. They were setting in, foot sticking out of the door, in the Parking Lot of Horseshoe Bend Rec Federal Area. This is in another county, not Howard County, where they were supposed to be working. Normally, this wouldn’t bother me to much. But, this person got out of their truck and was pictured in front of my truck, talking and laughing with the other employee. He’s walking around my truck, taking pictures. My dash cam is easily seen, just below my review mirror. This is a picture taken from a screenshot, from the dashcam video. I keep the dashcam running, because of constant tampering with my vehicles, and their content.

Koda, and I, go there often; to walk the trails, enjoy the beautiful scenery and get exercise. It gives Koda, a chance to be a dog, and not just my service dog. We often get harassed here; perps will set up in the parking lot, many times; waiting for us to arrive. These guys had a long flat-bed trailer, taking up 5-6 parking places. They covered the area I normally park in. This area has never been busy, but, there are those that park here, just to harass us. I parked my truck several spaces behind them and we headed out for our walk.

We were down by the river; about 100 yards from the truck. I see this guy, walking around my truck. I yell up to him and say “I’ve had my vehicles tampered with out here”. I take my cell phone out and start taking video. He starts hididng behind trees, walking back towards their truck. He comes out from behind a tree, yells down to me “Are you a pedifile”. I said “why would you say that, you don’t even know me”. I’ve never met this guy, he doesn’t know me at all; and he asked if I’m a pedifile. He continues to rant, saying pedifiles have these ticks, like taking pictures. You act like a pedifile. I said, you don’t know me, why would you say this. Does this make you feel better about yourself, does this make you feel like a man? He continued his rant. Koda, and I walked away, and continued our walk. This was on 12-13-24, 1:32pm.

We took an easy trail, get back to our truck, about an hour later. We left, driving by another public area, with a public boat ramp. This was about an hour and 20 minutes later. There, sat the same two guys, in that parking lot; waiting for us to drive by. Still, in same county; not theirs. We got home later that afternoon, so I waited until the following Monday. Then started making some calls. I called the Sheriff’s department, they referred me to the County Judges office. I spoke with a woman; explained in detail what had happened. Within minutes, I received a call from the guys supervisor. He was flabbergasted and apologetic. He said, he would take care of it and make sure no one in his department will be acting like this in the future.

Now, it’s a week later; exactly a week. This time we take the car. Koda, and I head out to the same place for our exercise. As we get close to the entrance; there’s a red pickup truck setting by the entrance. We pull up, and beside this truck. They dart off ahead of us; to the same parking area. There are many parking areas, in this rec area; but they pull into the same spot we normally park in. I park a few spots away. Koda, and I get out, go for our walk. We come back, about and hour and ½ after. There are literally; Kleenex tissues, covered in feces, placed around our car. The truck is gone. We hear another extremely loud vehicle revving it’s engine, as I take pictures of the tissues.

We head for home. As we get to our neighborhood; our neighbors release their children, dogs and anything else they can conjure up. They stand in the middle of, along the side of, our road. This is to harass Koda, and me. We even have an older couple living next door. They enjoy harassing Koda; as we come and go. They harass Koda as lays in our front yard, keeping a close eye on me, while I work outside, or in the garage. They even use their son, grandson, and are now teaching their toddler great grandson; to harass him. There’s even a local police officer; showing up at my door; because I’ve addressed this harassment. He tells me there have been some complaints. I’ll go into detail in an other post. He basically tries to spin their harassment back on me. He tells me; someone has told him that “Koda, is trained in Spanish, to attack and kill people”. I don’t even speak Spanish. My last name is Spanish, that’s all these idiots need, to spread rumors. He literally, starts yelling at me. Telling me there has been no neighborhood meeting (that was a new one to me)! No one is harassing you!!!! No one is harassing you!!!! This all captured on my doorbell camera. What bothers me more than his outright harassment and belittling is; we have millions of good, brave men and women in law enforcement. They put their lives on the line every day. His conduct, tarnishes the valor and sacrifices of these men and women in uniform.

My neighbors don’t know me. They’ve never taken the time to get to know me. It seems bullying has become an ideology in America. If you don’t like someone, their beliefs, or something they may have done; start rumors, innuendos, Bully them. Get your friends, neighbors, relatives; Bully them, harass them. Say their a pedifile, sexual predator; anything that sets someone off. There are many ways to become a Target in America: Whistleblowing, Exposing the Truth, Being Yourself.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, recently said “You can only push a person so far”. Relating to the recent United Health shooting. Something the mainstream media, law enforcement and our legislators wont tell you is; we have children, shooting children in our schools, because of Bullying. We have many mass-shooting because of Bullying. Look at what parents are teaching their kids. I don’t condone this, or any violence, in any way. But, someone has to step up and tell the truth.

People, Gangstalking is real. Neighborhood and Community Mobbing is real. Workplace Mobbing is real. These are vile, hateful, evil people. They spread hate throughout this nation. These people will lie, defame, discredit you. All to cover up this truth. Their hypocrisy is ludicrous.

In most cases; there is nothing you can say to change their mindset. The best we can do is expose them. If you are a Targeted Individual; violence towards these hateful people, or yourself, is not the answer.

Denzel Washington has recently released some very good self help videos, on YouTube. Yes, Denzel Washington. He has some great ones, about how to deal with a narcissist. That’s what most of these people are. They thrive on power, control, taunting. I know this can be overwhelming. Just know you’re not alone. There are tens of thousands of us out here. Someday, the right person willl step up and acknowledge this. It wont be our current legislators. I heard this from someone, on one of Shawn Ryan’s Podcast “Re-elect is not an Option”.

 

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W. T. Tutte :

Soon after the outbreak of World War II, Tutte's tutor, Patrick Duff, suggested him for war work at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park (BP). He was interviewed and sent on a training course in London before going to Bletchley Park, where he joined the Research Section. At first he worked on the Hagelin cipher that was being used by the Italian Navy. This was a rotor cipher machine that was available commercially, so the mechanics of enciphering was known, and decrypting messages only required working out how the machine was set up.

In the summer of 1941, Tutte was transferred to work on a teleprinter cipher system that had been dubbed "Tunny". Telegraphy used the 5-bit International Telegraphy Alphabet No. 2 (ITA2). Other than that messages were preceded by a 12-letter indicator, which implied a 12-wheel rotor cipher machine, nothing was known about the mechanism of enciphering. The first step, therefore, had to be to diagnose the machine by establishing the logical structure and hence the functioning of the machine. Tutte played a pivotal role in achieving this, and it was not until shortly before the allied victory in Europe in 1945, that Bletchley Park acquired a Tunny Lorenz cipher machine. Tutte's breakthroughs led eventually to bulk decrypting of Tunny-enciphered messages between German High Command (OKW) in Berlin and their army commands throughout occupied Europe, that played a crucial part in shortening the war.

 

Tommy Flowers:

Flowers's first contact with the wartime codebreaking effort came in February 1941 when his director, W Gordon Radley was asked for help by Alan Turing, who was then working at the government's Bletchley Park codebreaking establishment 50 miles north west of London in Buckinghamshire. Turing wanted Flowers to build a decoder for the relay-based Bombe machine, which Turing had developed to help decrypt the Germans' Enigma codes. Although the decoder project was abandoned, Turing was impressed with Flowers's work, and in February 1943 introduced him to Max Newman who was leading the effort to automate part of the cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher. This was a high-level German cipher generated by a teletypewriter in-line cipher machine, the SZ40/42, one of their "Geheimschreiber" (secret writer) systems, that was called "Tunny" by the British. It was a much more complex system than Enigma; the decoding procedure involved trying so many possibilities that it was impractical to do by hand. Flowers and Frank Morrell (also at Dollis Hill) designed the Heath Robinson, the first machine designed to decrypt the Lorenz or “Fish” machine cyphers.

Flowers proposed an electronic system, which he called Colossus, using perhaps 1,800 thermionic valves (vacuum tubes), and having only one paper tape instead of two (which required synchronisation) by generating the wheel patterns electronically. Because the most complicated previous electronic device had used about 150 valves, some were sceptical that the system would be reliable. Flowers countered that the British telephone system used thousands of valves and was reliable because the electronics were operated in a stable environment with the circuitry on all the time. The Bletchley Park management were not convinced, however, and merely encouraged Flowers to proceed on his own. He did so, providing much of the funds for the project himself. Flowers had first met (and got on with) Turing in 1939, but was treated with disdain by Gordon Welchman, because of his advocacy of valves rather than relays. Welchman preferred the views of Wynn-Williams and Keene of BTM, and wanted Radley and “Mr Flowers of Dollis Hill” removed from work on Colossus for “squandering good valves”.

On 2 June 1943, Flowers was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

  

In 1994, a team led by Tony Sale (right) began a reconstruction of a Colossus at Bletchley Park. Here, in 2006, Sale supervises the breaking of an enciphered message with the completed machine.

Flowers gained full backing for his project from the director of Dollis Hill, W. G. Radley. With the highest priority for acquisition of parts, Flowers's extremely dedicated team at Dollis Hill built the first machine in 11 months. It was immediately dubbed 'Colossus' by the Bletchley Park staff for its immense proportions. The Mark 1 Colossus operated five times faster and was more flexible than the previous system, named Heath Robinson, which used electro-mechanical switches. The first Mark 1, with 1500 valves, ran at Dollis Hill in November 1943, and then at Bletchley Park in January 1944.

A Mark 2 redesign utilizing 2,400 valves had begun before the first computer was finished, in anticipation of a need for additional computers. The first Mark 2 Colossus went into service at Bletchley Park on 1 June 1944, and immediately produced vital information for the imminent D-Day landings planned for Monday 5 June (postponed 24 hours by bad weather). Flowers later described a crucial meeting between Dwight D. Eisenhower and his staff on 5 June, during which a courier entered and handed Eisenhower a note summarizing a Colossus decrypt. This confirmed that Hitler wanted no additional troops moved to Normandy, as he was still convinced that the preparations for the Normandy Landings were a diversionary feint. Handing back the decrypt, Eisenhower announced to his staff, "We go tomorrow."[6] Earlier, a report from Field Marshall Rommel on the western defences was decoded by Colossus and revealed that one of the sites chosen as the drop site for an US parachute division was the base for a German tank division. The site was changed.[7]

Years later, Flowers described the design and construction of these computers.[8] Ten Colossi were completed and used during World War II in British decoding efforts, and an eleventh was ready for commissioning at the end of the war. All but two were dismantled at the end of the war. "The remaining two were moved to a British Intelligence department, GCHQ in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, where they may have played a significant part in the codebreaking operations of the Cold War".

Padmasambhava (lit. "Lotus-Born"), also known as Guru Rinpoche, was an 8th century Indian Buddhist master. Although there was a historical Padmasambhava, nothing is known of him apart from helping the construction of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at Samye, at the behest of Trisong Detsen, and shortly thereafter leaving Tibet due to court intrigues.

 

A number of legends have grown around Padmasambhava's life and deeds, and he is widely venerated as a 'second Buddha' across Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Himalayan states of India.

 

In Tibetan Buddhism, he is a character of a genera of literature called terma, an emanation of Amitābha that is said to appear to tertöns in visionary encounters and a focus of guru yoga practice, particularly in the Rimé schools. The Nyingma school considers Padmasambhava to be a founder of their tradition.

 

MYTHOS

SOURCES

Nyangrel Nyima Özer (1136-1204) was the principal architect of the Padmasambhava mythos according to Janet Gyatso. Guru Chöwang (1212–1270) was the next major contributor to the mythos. Padmasambhava's Namtar (biography) is Zanglingma (Jeweled Rosary) revealed by Nyang Ral Nyima Özer and is in the Rinchen Terdzö terma collection.

 

In the eleventh and twelfth centuries there were several competing terma traditions surrounding Padmasambhava, but also for example Vimalamitra, Songtsän Gampo, and Vairotsana. At the end of the 12th century, there was the "victory of the Padmasambhava cult," in which a much greater role is assigned to the role of Padmasambhava in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet.

 

EARLY YEARS

BIRTH

According to tradition, Padmasambhava was incarnated as an eight-year-old child appearing in a lotus blossom floating in Lake Dhanakosha, in the kingdom of Oḍḍiyāna in Ancient India and in modern times identified with the Swat Valley of South Asia present-day Pakistan. His special nature was recognized by the childless local king of Oḍḍiyāna and was chosen to take over the kingdom, but he left Oḍḍiyāna for northern parts of India.

 

TANTRA

In Rewalsar, known as Tso Pema in Tibetan, he secretly taught tantric teachings to princess Mandarava, the local king's daughter. The king found out and tried to burn him, but it is believed that when the smoke cleared he just sat there, still alive and in meditation. Greatly astonished by this miracle, the king offered Padmasambhava both his kingdom and Mandarava.

 

Padmasambhava left with Mandarava, and took to Maratika Cave in Nepal to practice secret tantric consort rituals. They had a vision of buddha Amitāyus and achieved what is called the "phowa rainbow body," a very rare type of spiritual realization. Both Padmasambhava and one of his consorts, Mandarava, are still believed to be alive and active in this rainbow body form by their followers. She and Padmasambhava's other main consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, who reputedly hid his numerous termas in Tibet for later discovery, reached Buddhahood. Many thangkas and paintings show Padmasambhava in between them.

 

TIBET

SUBJECTION OF LOCAL RELIGIONS

According to Sam van Schaik, from the 12th century on a greater role was assigned to Padmasambhava in the introduction of tantric Buddhism into Tibet:According to earlier histories, Padmasambhava had given some tantric teachings to Tibetans before being forced to leave due to the suspicions of the Tibetan court. But from the twelfth century an alternative story, itself a terma discovery, gave Padmasambhava a much greater role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, and in particular credited him with travelling all over the country to convert the local spirits to Buddhism.According to this enlarged story, King Trisong Detsen, the 38th king of the Yarlung dynasty and the first Emperor of Tibet (742–797), invited the Nalanda University abbot Śāntarakṣita (Tibetan Shiwatso) to Tibet. Śāntarakṣita started the building of Samye. Demonical forces hindered the introduction of the Buddhist dharma, and Padmasambhava was invited to Tibet to subdue the demonic forces. The demons were not annihilated, but were obliged to submit to the dharma. This was in accordance with the tantric principle of not eliminating negative forces but redirecting them to fuel the journey toward spiritual awakening. According to tradition, Padmasambhava received the Emperor's wife, identified with the dakini Yeshe Tsogyal, as a consort.

 

TRANSLATIONS

King Trisong Detsen ordered the translation of all Buddhist Dharma Texts into Tibetan. Padmasambhava, Shantarakṣita, 108 translators, and 25 of Padmasambhava's nearest disciples worked for many years in a gigantic translation-project. The translations from this period formed the base for the large scriptural transmission of Dharma teachings into Tibet. Padmasambhava supervised mainly the translation of Tantra; Shantarakshita concentrated on the Sutra-teachings.

 

NYINGMA

Padmasambhava introduced the people of Tibet to the practice of Tantric Buddhism.

 

He is regarded as the founder of the Nyingma tradition. The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma tradition actually comprises several distinct lineages that all trace their origins to Padmasambhava.

 

"Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as "Nga'gyur" " or the "early translation school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century.

 

Nyingma maintains the earliest tantric teachings. The Nyingmapa incorporates mysticism and local deities shared by the pre-Buddhist Bon religion, which has shamanic elements. The group particularly believes in hidden terma treasures. Traditionally, Nyingmapa practice was advanced orally among a loose network of lay practitioners. Monasteries with celibate monks and nuns, along with the practice of reincarnated spiritual leaders are later adaptations, though Padmasambhava is regarded as the founder of Samye Gompa, the first monastery in the country. In modern times the Nyingma lineage has been centered in Kham in eastern Tibet.

 

BHUTAN

In Bhutan he is associated with the famous Paro Taktsang or "Tiger's Nest" monastery built on a sheer cliff wall about 500m above the floor of Paro valley. It was built around the Taktsang Senge Samdup (stag tshang seng ge bsam grub) cave where he is said to have meditated in the 8th Century. He flew there from Tibet on the back of Yeshe Tsogyal, whom he transformed into a flying tigress for the purpose of the trip. Later he travelled to Bumthang district to subdue a powerful deity offended by a local king. Padmasambhava's body imprint can be found in the wall of a cave at nearby Kurje Lhakhang temple.

 

ICONOGRAPHY, MANIFESTATIONS AND ATTRIBUTES

 

ICONOGRAPHY

GENERAL

- He has one face and two hands.

- He is wrathful and smiling.

- He blazes magnificently with the splendour of the major and minor marks.

 

HEAD

- On his head he wears a five-petalled lotus hat, which has

- Three points symbolizing the three kayas,

- Five colours symbolizing the five kayas,

- A sun and moon symbolizing skilful means and wisdom,

- A vajra top to symbolize unshakable samadhi,

- A vulture's feather to represent the realization of the highest view.

- His two eyes are wide open in a piercing gaze.

- He has the youthful appearance of an eight-year old child.

 

SKIN

- His complexion is white with a tinge of red.

 

DRESS

- On his body he wears a white vajra undergarment. On top of this, in layers, a red robe, a dark blue mantrayana tunic, a red monastic shawl decorated with a golden flower pattern, and a maroon cloak of silk brocade.

- On his body he wears a silk cloak, Dharma robes and gown.

- He is wearing the dark blue gown of a mantra practitioner, the red and yellow shawl of a monk, the maroon cloak of a king, and the red robe and secret white garments of a bodhisattva.

 

HANDS

- In his right hand, he holds a five-pronged vajra at his heart.

- His left hand rests in the gesture of equanimity,

- In his left hand he holds a skull-cup brimming with nectar, containing the vase of longevity that is also filled with the nectar of deathless wisdom and ornamented on top by a wish-fulfilling tree.

 

KHATVANGA

The khaṭvāńga is a particular divine attribute of Padmasambhava and intrinsic to his iconographic representation. It is a danda with three severed heads denoting the three kayas (the three bodies of a Buddha, the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya), crowned by a trishula, and dressed with a sash of the Himalayan Rainbow or Five Pure Lights of the Mahabhuta. The iconography is utilized in various Tantric cycles by yogis as symbols to hidden meanings in transmitted practices.

 

- Cradled in his left arm he holds the three-pointed khatvanga (trident) symbolizing the Princess consort (Mandarava). who arouses the wisdom of bliss and emptiness, concealed as the three-pointed khatvanga trident.

- Its three points represent the essence, nature and compassionate energy (ngowo, rangshyin and tukjé).

- Below these three prongs are three severed heads, dry, fresh and rotten, symbolizing the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya.

- Nine iron rings adorning the prongs represent the nine yanas.

- Five-coloured strips of silk symbolize the five wisdoms

- The khatvanga is also adorned with locks of hair from dead and living mamos and dakinis, as a sign that the Master subjugated them all when he practised austerities in the Eight Great Charnel Grounds.

 

SEAT

- He is seated with his two feet in the royal posture.

 

SURROUNDING

- All around him, within a lattice of five-coloured light, appear the eight vidyadharas of India, the twenty-five disciples of Tibet, the deities of the three roots, and an ocean of oath-bound protectors

 

There are further iconographies and meanings in more advanced and secret stages.

 

EIGHT MANIFESTATIONS

Padmasambhava is said to have taken eight forms or manifestations (Tib. Guru Tsen Gye) representing different aspects of his being, such as wrath or pacification for example. According to Rigpa Shedra the eight principal forms were assumed by Guru Rinpoche at different points in his life. The Eight Manifestations of Padmasambhava belong to the tradition of the Revealed Treasures (Tib.: ter ma).

 

- Guru Orgyen Dorje Chang (Wylie: gu ru U-rgyan rDo-rje ‘chang, Sanskrit: Guru Uddiyana Vajradhara) The vajra-holder (Skt. Vajradhara), shown dark blue in color in the attire of the Sambhogakaya. Depicted in union with consort.

- Guru Shakya Senge (Wylie: shAkya seng-ge, Skrt: Guru Śākyasimha) of Bodh Gaya, Lion of the Sakyas, who learns the Tantric practices of the eight Vidyadharas. He is shown as a fully ordained Buddhist monk.

- Guru Pema Gyalpo (Wylie: gu ru pad ma rgyal-po, Skrt: Guru Padmarāja) of Uddiyana, the Lotus Prince, king of the Tripitaka (the Three Collections of Scripture). He is shown looking like a young crowned prince or king.

- Guru Pema Jungne (Wylie: pad ma ‘byung-gnas, Skrt: Guru Padmakara) Lotus-arisen, the Saviour who teaches the Dharma to the people. He is shown sitting on a lotus, dressed in the three robes of a monk, under which he wears a blue shirt, pants and heavy Tibetan boots, as protection against the cold. He holds the diamond-scepter of compassionate love in his right hand and the yogi's skull-bowl of clear wisdom in his left. He has a special trident called khatvanga of a wandering Yogi, and wears on his head a Nepalese cloth crown, stylistically designed to remind one of the shape of a lotus flower. Thus he is represented as he must have appeared in Tibet.

- Guru Loden Chokse (Wylie: gu ru blo ldan mchog sred; Skrt: Guru Mativat Vararuci) of Kashmir, the Intelligent Youth, the one who gathers the knowledge of all worlds. He is shown in princely clothes, beating a hand-drum and holding a skull-bowl.

- Guru Nyima Ozer (Wylie: gu ru nyi-ma ‘od-zer, Skrt: Guru Suryabhasa or Sūryaraśmi), the Sunray Yogi, who illuminates the darkness of the mind through the insight of Dzogchen. He is shown as a naked yogi dressed only in a loin-cloth and holding a Khatvanga which points towards the sun.

- Guru Dorje Drolo, (Wylie: gu ru rDo-rje gro-lod, Skrt: Guru Vajra ?) the fierce manifestation of Vajrakilaya (wrathful Vajrasattva) known as "Diamond Guts", the comforter of all, imprinting the elements with Wisdom-Treasure.

- Guru Senge Dradog (Wylie: gu ru seng-ge sgra-sgrogs, Skrt: Guru Simhanāda) of Nalanda University, the Lion of Debate, promulgator of the Dharma throughout the six realms of sentient beings. He is shown in a very fierce form, dark blue and imitative of the powerful Bodhisattva Vajrapani, holding a thunderbolt scepter in one hand and a scorpion in the other.

 

Padmasambhava's various Sanskrit names are preserved in mantras such as those found in the Yang gsang rig 'dzin youngs rdzogs kyi blama guru mtshan brgyad bye brag du sgrub pa ye shes bdud rtsi'i sbrang char zhe bya ba

 

ATTRIBUTES

PURE-LAND PARADISE

His Pureland Paradise is Zangdok Palri (the Copper-Coloured Mountain).

 

SAMANTABHADRA AND SAMANTABHADRI

Padmasambhava said:

My father is the intrinsic awareness, Samantabhadra (Sanskrit; Tib. ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ). My mother is the ultimate sphere of reality, Samantabhadri (Sanskrit; Tib. ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་མོ). I belong to the caste of non-duality of the sphere of awareness. My name is the Glorious Lotus-Born. I am from the unborn sphere of all phenomena. I act in the way of the Buddhas of the three times.

 

FIVE WISDOM DAKINS

Padmasambhava had five major female tantric companions, the so-called 'Five Wisdom Dakinis' (Wylie: Ye-shes mKha-'gro lnga) or 'Five Consorts.' In Padmasambhava's biography, they are described as the five women "who had access to the master's heart", and practiced tantric rites which are considered to have exorcised the previous demons of Tibet and converted them into protectors of the country.' They were:

 

- Mandarava of Zahor, the emanation of Vajravarahi's Body;

- Belwong Kalasiddhi of (north-west) India, the emanation of Vajravarahi's Quality, Belmo Sakya Devi of Nepal;

- the emanation of Vajravarahi's Mind, Yeshe Tsogyal of Tibet;

- the emanation of Vajravarahi's Speech

- and Mangala or Tashi Kyedren of "the Himalayas", the emanation of Vajravarahi's Activity.

 

PRINCESS SAKYA DEVI FROM NEPAL

On Padmasambhava's consort practice with Princess Sakya Devi from Nepal it is said:

- In a state of intense bliss, Padmasambhava and Sakyadevi realized the infinite reality of the Primordial Buddha Mind, the All-Beneficent Lord (Samantabhadra), whose absolute love is the unimpeded dynamo of existence. Experiencing the succession of the four stages of ecstasy, their mutual state of consciousness increased from height to height. And thus, meditating on Supreme Vajrasattva Heruka as the translucent image of compassionate wrathful (energized) activity, they together acquired the mahamudra of Divinity and attained complete Great Enlightenment.

 

TEACHINGS AND PRACTICES ASCRIBED TO PADMASAMBHAVA

 

THE VAJRA GURU MANTRA

The Vajra Guru (Padmasambhava) mantra Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum is favoured and held in esteem by sadhakas. Like most Sanskritic mantras in Tibet, the Tibetan pronunciation demonstrates dialectic variation and is generally Om Ah Hung Benza Guru Pema Siddhi Hung. In the Vajrayana traditions, particularly of the Nyingmapa, it is held to be a powerful mantra engendering communion with the Three Vajras of Padmasambhava's mindstream and by his grace, all enlightened beings. In response to Yeshe Tsogyal's request, the Great Master himself explained the meaning of the mantra although there are larger secret meanings too. The 14th century tertön Karma Lingpa has a famous commentary on the mantra.

 

THE SEVEN LINE PRAYER TO PADMASAMBHAVA

The Seven Line Prayer to Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) is a famous prayer that is recited by many Tibetans daily and is said to contain the most sacred and important teachings of Dzogchen.

 

Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso composed a famous commentary to the Seven Line Prayer called White Lotus. It explains the meanings, which are embedded in many levels and intended to catalyze a process of realization. These hidden teachings are described as ripening and deepening, in time, with study and with contemplation. Tulku Thondup says:

- Enshrining the most sacred prayer to Guru Padmasambhava, White Lotus elucidates its five layers of meaning as revealed by the eminent scholar Ju Mipham. This commentary now makes this treasure, which has been kept secret among the great masters of Tibet for generations, available as a source of blessings and learning for all.

 

There is also a shorter commentary, freely available, by Tulku Thondup himself. There are many other teachings and Termas and widely practiced tantric cycles incorporating the text as well as brief ones such as Terma Revelation of Guru Chöwang.

 

TERMAS

Padmasambhava also hid a number of religious treasures (termas) in lakes, caves, fields and forests of the Himalayan region to be found and interpreted by future tertöns or spiritual treasure-finders. According to Tibetan tradition, the Bardo Thodol (commonly referred to as the Tibetan Book of the Dead) was among these hidden treasures, subsequently discovered by a Tibetan terton, Karma Lingpa.

 

TANTRIC CYCLES

Tantric cycles related to Padmasambhava are not just practiced by the Nyingma, they even gave rise to a new offshoot of Bon which emerged in the 14th century called the New Bön. Prominent figures of the Sarma (new translation) schools such as the Karmapas and Sakya lineage heads have practiced these cycles and taught them. Some of the greatest tertons revealing teachings related to Padmasambhava have been from the Kagyu or Sakya lineages. The hidden lake temple of the Dalai Lamas behind the Potala called Lukhang is dedicated to Dzogchen teachings and has murals depicting the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava. Padmasambhava established Vajrayana Buddhism and the highest forms of Dzogchen (Mengagde) in Tibet and transformed the entire nation.

 

TWENTY-FIVE MAIN DISCIPLES

Twenty-five Main Disciples of Padmasambhava (Tibetan: རྗེ་འབངས་ཉེར་ལྔ, Wylie: rje 'bangs nyer lnga) -also called the disciples of Chimphu - in various lists these include:

 

- King Trisong Detsen (Tibetan: ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེའུ་བཏཟན, Wylie: khri srong lde'u btzan)

- Denma Tsémang (Tibetan: ལྡན་མ་རྩེ་མང, Wylie: ldan ma rtse mang)

- Dorje Dudjom of Nanam (Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་བདུད་འཇོམ, Wylie: rdo rje bdud 'joms)

- Khyechung Lotsawa (Tibetan: ཁྱེའུ་ཆུང་ལོ་ཙཱ་བ, Wylie: khye'u chung lo tsā ba)

- Gyalwa Changchub of Lasum (Tibetan: ལ་སུམ་རྒྱལ་བ་བྱང་ཆུབ, Wylie: la sum rgyal ba byang chub)

- Gyalwa Choyang (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་བ་མཆོག་དབྱངས, Wylie: rgyal ba mchog dbyangs)

- Gyalwe Lodro of Dré (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་བའི་བློ་གྲོས, Wylie: rgyal ba'i blo gros)

- Jnanakumara of Nyak (Tibetan: གཉགས་ཛཉའ་ན་ཀུ་མ་ར, Wylie: gnyags dzny' na ku ma ra)

- Kawa Paltsek (Tibetan: སྐ་བ་དཔལ་བརྩེགས, Wylie: ska ba dpal brtsegs)

- Khandro Yeshe Tsogyal, the princess of Karchen (Tibetan: མཁར་ཆེན་བཟའ་མཚོ་རྒྱལ, Wylie: mkhar chen bza' mtsho rgyal)

- Konchog Jungné of Langdro (Tibetan: ལང་གྲོ་དཀོན་མཆོག་འབྱུང་གནས, Wylie: lang gro dkon mchog 'byung gnas)

- Lhapal the Sokpo (Tibetan: སོག་པོ་ལྷ་དཔལ, Wylie: sog po lha dpal)

- Namkhai Nyingpo (Tibetan: ནམ་མཁའི་སྙིང་པོ, Wylie: nam mkha'i snying po)

- Zhang Yeshe De (Tibetan: ཞང་ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ, Wylie: zhang ye shes sde)

- Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje (Tibetan: ལྷ་ལུང་དཔལ་གྱི་རྡོ་རྗེ, Wylie: lha lung dpal gyi rdo rje)

- Palgyi Senge (Tibetan: དཔལ་གྱི་སེང་གེ, Wylie: dpal gyi seng ge)

- Palgyi Wangchuk (Tibetan: དཔལ་གྱི་དབང་ཕྱུག, Wylie: dpal gyi dbang phyug)

- Palgyi Wangchuk of Odren (Tibetan: འོ་དྲན་དཔལ་གྱི་དབང་ཕྱུག, Wylie: 'o dran dpal gyi dbang phyug)

- Palgyi Yeshe (Tibetan: དཔལ་གྱི་ཡེ་ཤེས, Wylie: dpal gyi ye shes)

- Rinchen Chok of Ma (Tibetan: རྨ་རིན་ཆེན་མཆོག, Wylie: rma rin chen mchog)

- Sangye Yeshe (Tibetan: སངས་རྒྱས་ཡེ་ཤེས, Wylie: sangs rgyas ye shes)

- Shubu Palgyi Senge (Tibetan: ཤུད་བུ་དཔལ་གྱི་སེང་གེ, Wylie: shud bu dpal gyi seng ge)

- Vairotsana, the great translator (Tibetan: བཻ་རོ་ཙ་ན, Wylie: bai ro tsa na)

- Yeshe Yang (Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་དབྱངས, Wylie: ye shes dbyangs)

- Yudra Nyingpo of Gyalmo (Tibetan: ག་ཡུ་སྒྲ་སྙིང་པོ, Wylie: g.yu sgra snying po)

 

Also:

- Vimalamitra (Tibetan: དྲུ་མེད་བཤེས་གཉེན, Wylie: dru med bshes gnyen)

- Tingdzin Zangpo (Tibetan: ཏིང་འཛིན་བཟང་པོ, Wylie: ting 'dzin bzang po)

  

WIKIPEDIA

The person in the image above is former Boston Bruins goaltender Blaine Lacher, wearing number 31. He played for the Bruins in the mid-1990s, notably during the 1994-95 season where he became the starting goaltender as a rookie. The image includes his autograph in the lower right corner. Lacher was undrafted and signed with the Bruins in 1994 after a successful collegiate career at Lake Superior State University. He had a promising rookie season but struggled in his second year and subsequently retired from professional hockey in 1997. He sadly passed away in January 2024 at the age of 53.

 

Blaine Lacher played his first NHL game on January 22, 1995, for the Boston Bruins against the Philadelphia Flyers. In his debut, a 4-1 victory, he stopped 18 shots. This was the opening game of the season - because of the 1995 lockout-shortened season, where he served as a rookie goaltender. Uniform Number: He was assigned (#31) upon joining the Boston Bruins as an undrafted free agent in 1994. Lacher crashed back down to earth the following year (1995/96), losing his starting gig to Craig Billington, who in turn lost his job to Bill Ranford, returning to Boston via trade with Edmonton to stabilize the Bruins’ net and carry them back to the playoffs. Lacher had played his last game in the NHL, and would be out of professional hockey a season later.

 

Historical Context: His immediate success while wearing (#31) earned him the nickname the "Lach-ness Monster". Fans frequently requested his name and (#31) to be heat-sealed onto jerseys during his peak period.

 

Career Overview:

 

Collegiate Standout: Before turning pro, Lacher played for Lake Superior State University, where he was a key player on their 1994 NCAA national championship team. During his college career, he set an NCAA Division I shutout streak record of 375 minutes and one second, a record that still stands today.

 

NHL Rookie Success: Lacher signed with the Bruins in 1994, and during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, he emerged as the starting goaltender. He had an impressive rookie season, posting a 19-11-2 record with a 2.41 goals-against average and four shutouts in 35 appearances. His performance earned him a top-5 finish in Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) voting.

 

Career Decline: His success was short-lived, however. The following season (1995-96), Lacher struggled immensely, going 3-5-2 with a poor 3.94 GAA. He was demoted to the minor leagues (AHL and IHL) and never returned to the NHL level, retiring from professional hockey after the 1996-97 season.

 

Career Totals: In his entire NHL career, all with Boston, Lacher played in 47 regular season games, tallying 22 wins, 16 losses, and 4 ties, with a 2.80 GAA.

 

Personal Life and Legacy: Those who knew Lacher remembered him for his caring personality, a "heart of gold," and quick, sarcastic wit. He was a proud father to his son, Quin, and an avid sports fan. His career is often remembered as a "one-season wonder" story, where a promising start was quickly derailed, leaving many to wonder about the potential he had.

 

LINK to article - Lacher, former Bruins goalie, dies at 53 - www.nhl.com/news/former-boston-bruins-goalie-blaine-lache...

 

LINK to video - 1994-95 vs. BOS Ferraro runs Lacher - www.youtube.com/watch?v=a45h9_W_-nM

Prompted by the upcoming release of IQ84 by Haruki Murakami, and the possibility of him winning the nobel prize for literature, I decided to talk a little bit about my favorite author (and other authors).

 

Here is a grainy impression of what my "real books" shelf has on it. This is the zone of the book shelf that I read from most often (if I'm not getting and/or reading something new, that is). This shelf is out in the living room which has crappity light for photos at night time, so I will try and replace this with a larger and more well lit photo tomorrow.

 

What you see here are basically some of my favorite books of all time, some of them have been for up to 15 years… for example "Lizard" and "Kitchen" have been favorites since my mid-teens, whereas "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" has been a favorite for about 12 years now (the Japanese version, as well… though I have to admit to only having read the missing chapters… there are chapters missing in the English adaptation, which is what prompted me to originally get the Japanese set back about 11 years ago).

 

There are also differences between the soft and hardcover versions of the Japanese, though I'll also admit I'm not skilled enough yet to be able to just SIT and ENJOY the books in Japanese yet (as one would with a book in their native language)… they are still mostly study aides, taken a few pages at a time when the mood strikes.

 

I have more books than this, obviously, but a lot of them are "guilty pleasure" books… no, not romance novels, I just mean books I read once but that didn't leave a very lasting impression on me. Also, all of my manga and most of my study books are in my office, and I have already done some talking about them on flickr a few times before. :) These here are gathered together because they are the most important to me, personally. I've read most of them more than once, and about half of them closer to 5 times. Wind-Up Bird I've read probably upwards of 7 full times over the last 12 years.

 

Starting with the books on top there, on the left first...

 

- "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" - Haruki Murakami

this is the only book in the picture that I haven't read yet. I started it but it is not like his usual, and I'm finding it a little hard to get rolling and interested. I kind of wish that "Underground" was in this picture instead (but it's currently next to my bed). "Underground" I first finished reading while on my honeymoon in Japan… which is quite possibly the best place to read it, as I was able to strongly visualize EXACTLY where many of the events (real events of the Sarin Gas Attack) took place on the Tokyo subway lines.

 

- "Idoru" - William Gibson

I actually wish "Robot Visions" by Isaac Asimov was here instead… but "Idoru" still an interesting book. It might bother people who really know their Japanese pop culture in depth, but as a quick bite to eat, I rather enjoy it from time to time.

 

- 異邦人 - アルベール・カミュ

"The Stranger" - Albert Camus… in Japanese, paperback.

 

- B級BANANA- 吉本ばなな

- パイナツプリン - 吉本ばなな

Two books (essays) by Banana Yoshimoto that I do not think have been translated to English. I used these for reading practice from time to time.

 

- ねじまき鳥クロニクル 〜泥棒かささぎ編

- ねじまき鳥クロニクル 〜予言する鳥編

- ねじまき鳥クロニクル 〜鳥刺し男編

- 村上春樹

 

The three books in the series "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami by favorite book(s) of all time), in Japanese, paperback. I also have the first two volumes in hardcover which I finally was able to find while in Japan. Additionally I picked up the French language paperback while I was in France a few years ago. I also have this book twice in English (one of which I bought for my husband before we lived together). I've also bought this book (in English) for several other people in my life as the years have gone by. It is the one book that I recommend to people that I am willing to put forward the money to assure they get a copy, lol.

 

Next to those is a stack of…

 

- Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand

 

- Lizard

- Kitchen

- NP

- Asleep

- Goodbye Tsugumi

all by Banana Yoshimoto

 

Now the bottom, starting from the left…

 

- After Dark

- Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

- The Elephant Vanishes

- Kafka on the Shore

- Sputnik Sweetheart

- Norwegian Wood

- South of the Border, West of the Sun

- Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

- A Wild Sheep Chase

- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

all by Haruki Murakami… hey, I told you he was my favorite. lol

 

- The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson

Excellent, excellent book… I highly recommend this to basically everyone. lol

 

- 象の消滅 （短篇選集 1980-1991）- 村上春樹

"The Elephant Vanishes" short story anthology, by Haruki Murakami in Japanese, paperback

Apart from Wind-Up Bird... I would highly recommend "The Elephant Vanishes" to those who want to get a quick taste of Murakami's style before delving into one of his novels. Wind-Up bird is upward of 600 pages long, which is daunting for some folks... so if that bothers you, start with this book first, and see how it goes. :)

 

- ねじまき鳥クロニクル ～泥棒かささぎ編

- ねじまき鳥クロニクル ～予言する鳥編

- 村上春樹

again… the first two volumes of the hardcover of "Wind-Up Bird" in Japanese by Haruki Murakami

 

- The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

This was my first introduction to the work of Ayn Rand. The person who told me to read this book intended for me to see how "evil" and "bad" she was. I am always a skeptic, so went into reading it without thinking about what the person had told me about her. After this, and some additional research about her, I ended up discovering someone (her) who understood and could verbalize things I always felt but was not articulate enough myself to put into words. Oh... and by the way, she is not bad nor evil... she is exactly the opposite.

 

- "The God Delusion" - Richard Dawkins

I have several books by him, one of them I have misplaced, and the other two are by my bedside waiting to be re-read in one case, and read for the first time in another case. I highly recommend this book, also, to almost everyone.

 

Finally, one that is slightly cut off here…

"Cats Are Not Peas - a Calico History of Genetics" - Laura Gould

This book is one of the things that first got me deeply interested in genetics, and which I would also recommend to anyone who is interested in discovering basic genetics and / or loves cats, hehehe.

 

There are also several books that I wish could also be in this photo. Two of those, for example, being "The Dragons of Eden" and "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan... I highly, highly recommend both... again, to everyone.

The Mardi Himal Trek is a scenic Himalayan journey in the Annapurna region. The trail passes through lush forests, traditional villages, and high mountain ridges. The highlight is Mardi Himal Base Camp at 4,500 meters, offering stunning views of Annapurna, Machapuchare, and Hiunchuli. With quiet trails and beautiful landscapes, this trek is perfect for nature lovers and adventure seekers.

amblehimalaya.com/package/mardi-himal-trek

 

Sigma 30/1.4 DC DN

Whitby Goth Weekend, April 2018

I received him this week and I was so excited I did a simple and natural make up for this one. Though he's full of flaws Harucasting did an amazing job. I put him on a SD17 body but strangely the head seems bigger than when I tried with the proto. I wanted the proportions to be realistic but not sure if it's ok. For now he's waiting for his wig and I have to find him some realistic eyes. I'll take better photos later when I'll finish his custom.

Find him on www.lookbook.nu

awesome guy.

  

www.taylormccutchan.com

M

All Rights Reserved: If you use any of my photos for any use at what so ever, like or comment on them and source them as well, please.

On his return the jackal busied himself with making preparations for the great ceremony. As the weaver was clad in tatters, he told him to go to the washermen of the village and borrow from [222]them a suit of clothes. As for himself, he went to the king of his race, and told him that on a certain day he would like one thousand jackals to accompany him to a certain place. He went to the king of crows, and begged that his corvine majesty would be pleased to allow one thousand of his black subjects to accompany him on a certain day to a certain place. He preferred a similar petition to the king of paddy-birds.

 

At last the great day arrived. The weaver arrayed himself in the clothes which he had borrowed from the village washermen. The jackal made his appearance, accompanied by a train of a thousand jackals, a thousand crows, and a thousand paddy-birds. The nuptial procession started on their journey, and towards sundown arrived within two miles of the king’s palace. There the jackal told his friends, the thousand jackals, to set up a loud howl; at his bidding the thousand crows cawed their loudest; while the hoarse screechings of the thousand paddy-birds furnished a suitable accompaniment. The effect may be imagined. They all together made a noise the like of which had never been heard since the world began. While this unearthly noise was going on, the jackal himself hastened to the palace, and asked the king whether he thought he would be able to accommodate the wedding-party, which was about two miles distant, and whose noise was at that moment sounding in his ears. The king said “Impossible, Sivalu; from the sound of the procession I infer there must be at least one hundred thousand souls. [223]How is it possible to accommodate so many guests? Please, so arrange that the bridegroom only will come to my house.” “Very well,” said the jackal; “I told you at the beginning that you would not be able to accommodate all the attendants of my august master. I’ll do as you wish. My master will alone come in undress. Send a horse for the purpose.”

"Rakkaani, nyt me olemme Jumalan lapsia, eikä ole vielä käynyt ilmi, mitä meistä tulee. Me tiedämme tulevamme hänen kaltaisikseen, kun hän ilmestyy, sillä me saamme nähdä hänet sellaisena, kuin hän on."

 

"Mina älskade, vi äro nu Guds barn, och vad vi skola bliva, det är ännu icke uppenbart. Men det veta vi, att när han en gång uppenbaras, skola vi bliva honom lika; ty då skola vi få se honom sådan han är."

 

"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is."

 

1. Joh. 3:2

 

"Katso, hän tulee pilvissä, ja kaikki silmät saavat nähdä hänet, niidenkin, jotka hänet lävistivät, ja kaikki maan sukukunnat vaikeroitsevat hänen tullessansa. Totisesti, amen."

 

"Se, han kommer med skyarna, och allas ögon skola se honom, ja ock deras som hava stungit honom; och alla släkter på jorden skola jämra sig vid hans åsyn. Ja, amen."

 

"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen."

 

Rev. 1:7

 

From Wikipedia:The fifteenth day is the first night to see a full moon in that lunar year. According to Chinese tradition, at the very beginning of a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. Many regions and countries use this festival as a sort of Valentine's day also. It is definitely the day for family reunions.

 

“Child-Story Readers - Magic Stories” by Frank Freeman, Grace Storm, Eleanor Johnson and W.C. French. Illustrated by Vera Stone Norman. Copyrighted by Lyons and Carnahan 1927-30.

Detroit, Mi