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This biker gang exploitation picture from director Roger Corman and co-writer and editor Peter Bogdanovich earned critical respect in Europe for its gritty documentary style. Peter Fonda stars as Heavenly Blues, the leader of a wild, roving band of leather-clad bikers. When his best friend Loser (Bruce Dern) is injured in the midst of an attempt to steal a police motorcycle, the boys kidnap their debilitated buddy from the hospital, raping a black nurse and trashing the place in the process. Blues and his friends believe they've set Loser free, but he dies not long after the escape. Staging a funeral and drunken orgy in a small town church, the gang flees is set upon by the enraged locals, leaving Blues alone to face the law. Nancy Sinatra and a then-pregnant Diane Ladd co-star; a number of real-life Hell's Angels were hired to appear in scenes, adding authenticity to the picture.
Roger Corman didn't invent the biker movie (The Wild One blazed the trail in 1954), but, with The Wild Angels, he gave it a new lease on life. Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra stand out like sore thumbs among the real-life Hell's Angels hired to give the film its grubby atmosphere, but Fonda's studied cool nicely contrasts with the aggressive surliness of the rest of the male cast -- and enough rock bands have sampled Fonda's "We wanna be free to ride our bikes and not get hassled by the man!" speech to turn it into a classic moment in sleaze-movie history. The film's beer-swilling, pot-smoking, and unfocused brawling may have become screen clichés in record time, but they were newer and more shocking in 1966, and the film's rough, unpolished visual style gives it a ring of truth missing from most of the films that followed in its wake. Add Davie Allen and the Arrows's classic theme song, which sent a generation of garage rockers scurrying for fuzz boxes, and you get perhaps the definitive 1960s biker flick. The film also offers the curiosity factor of knowing that Diane Ladd was pregnant with Laura Dern during filming.
Mominah and I had quite a debate on these lines. LOL. But I'm glad that we did. What do you think?
These lines are taken from "Your Sacred Self" by Dr. Wayne Dyer. I have been reading this book for a while now. This book was given to dad along with some other great books.
Have a great day!
Dundalk overwhelm Bangor in All Ireland Final
by Roger Corbett
Bangor’s amazing run in the All Ireland Junior Cup came to an abrupt end when they were comprehensively beaten by Dundalk, eventually losing by 55-5.
Where do you start when trying to relate and absorb the events of Saturday’s final at Chambers Park? Firstly, congratulations to worthy winners Dundalk who nullified the Bangor attack, then went on to produce some stunning plays which racked up no less than 8 tries, each by a different player. For Bangor’s part, they were unable to respond to the intensity of Dundalk’s game, and lacked the cutting edge which their opponents used to great effect.
The day started full of promise, as the strong support from North Down made their way to Chambers Park in Portadown, knowing Bangor would be fielding their best team. Once again, the pundits had Bangor as the underdogs – just as they had done so in the previous three rounds! In confounding the experts earlier, Bangor produced some awesome performances against top quality opposition to get to the final. Dundalk had produced some convincing wins in the early rounds of the competition, but had struggled to get past CIYMS in the semi-final, just managing to squeeze ahead at the second time of asking. However, with a number of key players returning to the side in time for this game, they were now back at full strength and would be a formidable force to contend with.
Having won the toss, captain Jamie Clegg elected to play into the stiff wind in the first half. For the first 5 minutes, Bangor doggedly retained possession and tried to play their way into Dundalk’s half through a series of determined forward moves. However, little ground was made and, when possession was finally lost, the Dundalk back line produced a burst that simply cut through the Bangor defence resulting in an easy touch down under Bangor’s posts for a 7-0 lead.
Bangor stuck to their plan and slowly, but patiently, got their attack moving forward, eventually winning a penalty to the left of Dundalk’s posts, but Mark Widdowson’s kick into the wind drifted just wide of the mark.
The contrast in play between the two teams was becoming clear, with Bangor trying to keep the ball close while Dundalk were throwing it wide. The latter strategy was proving to be the more effective as, with 20 minutes gone, a quick back line move with players looping around resulted in an overlap on the right wing which gave a clear run in to again, score under the posts. A further 9 minutes later, they did it again and, although the Bangor defence had sensed the danger and moved across to cover it, their tackling let them down allowing Dundalk to get over in the right hand corner, taking their lead to 19-0.
By now, Bangor were trying to hang on until half time when they could regroup and come out with the wind at their backs. Dundalk, on the other hand were anxious to press home their advantage and give them a more comfortable lead. To Bangor’s credit, although camped on their own line for lengthy spells, they dug in and managed to hold on until the referee’s half time whistle.
As the teams reappeared from the dressing rooms, it was obvious Bangor were ringing the changes, particularly in the backs. With the wind advantage having lessened considerably, Bangor got the second half underway. It was now Dundalk’s turn to adopt the slow, steady approach, just as Bangor had done earlier. However, their more confident off-loading and support play was, once again, taking play deep into Bangor’s territory. Frustration at not being able to gain possession and take play out of their danger area eventually resulted in a yellow card for Clegg after a succession of penalties. Dundalk kicked the penalty to touch, won their lineout and drove for the line. Although initially held up by the Bangor defence, Dundalk’s repeated drives were eventually rewarded with another converted score, extending their lead to 26-0.
From the touchline, the Bangor faithful had felt that if their players had managed to score first in the second half, they may have been able to mount a fight-back and close the gap to their opponents. As it was, this Dundalk score simply bolstered their confidence and pushed Bangor deeper into trouble. With Bangor still a man down, Dundalk added to the score with a penalty and then another score in the corner. Everything was now working for the Leinster men, as even the difficult touchline conversion into the biting wind successfully split the posts, bringing the score to 36-0.
As the game entered the final quarter, and with Dundalk all but holding the cup, Bangor were now on the ropes. By contrast, the Dundalk players were in almost total control, and were not going to slow down now. In a 10 minute spell, they ran in a further 3 tries, making the scoreline 55-0. By now, any sense of dejection the Bangor supporters may have been feeling was now moved to feelings of sympathy for their players. However, pride was at stake and once again Bangor rallied as the game entered its final minutes. At last, the forwards got within striking distance of the Dundalk line and, although their repeated attacks were repelled, they finally managed to do what their opponents had done so effectively, and quickly passed the ball wide to Davy Charles. Even though they were 55 points ahead, the Dundalk defence made Charles work hard to drive through the tackles and score Bangor’s consolation try, bringing the final score to 55-5.
From Bangor’s point of view, the final score doesn’t tell the whole story of this competition. While the final may have resulted in a sad anti-climax for Bangor, the remarkable journey to get there will be remembered for some time. On the day, Dundalk were by far the better side, and Bangor would have to concede that their game was not up to the usual standard. However, there is no doubt the experience of competing at this level is something to relish and the goal now will be to secure a top four place in the league and try again next year.
Everybody at the club has nothing but the highest respect and praise for what has been achieved this year by not just the 1sts, but all the senior teams, and one poor result isn’t going to change that – the welcome at Upritchard Park for the returning players is testament to that. With that in mind, the players now need to put this disappointment behind them and provide the best possible response against a struggling Portadown side at home in the league next Saturday.
Bangor side: J Leary, A Jackson, P Whyte, F Black, G Irvine, R Latimer, J Clegg, C Stewart, R Armstrong, K Rosson, D Charles, M Aspley, M Weir, M Widdowson, C Morgan
Subs: S Irvine, O McIlmurray, D Kelly, M Rodgers, C Harper, D Fusco, M Thompson
Bangor scores: D Charles (1T)
Dundalk Storm To Title Dundalk 55 v Bangor 5 from KnockOn.ie
Dundalk Scorers: Christopher Scully, Owen McNally, Jonathan Williams, John Smyth, Ultan Murphy, Tiernan Gonnelly, James McConnon and Stephen Murphy 1 try each. Ultan Murphy 6 cons, 1 pen.
Bangor Scorers: David Charles 1 try.
In front of a big crowd at Chambers Park on Saturday afternoon Dundalk delivered a stunning and ruthless display to see off the challenge of Bangor and capture the All Ireland Junior Cup title for the very first time.
Three first half tries had them firmly in control at 19-0 ahead having played with the elements at the Portadown venue during the first half and while the wind dropped somewhat after half time the Dundalk intensity most certainly didn’t as they cut loose scoring five more tries.
Dundalk returned to a heroes welcome at their Mill Road clubhouse on Saturday night after a display of pure brilliance throughout the afternoon.
Precision, pace and skill from the Louth men from start to finish left Bangor playing second fiddle for long periods.
2017 Acura NSX Type R – Knowing the actual fact that the 2016 Acura NSX definitely stayed in shadow of 2017 Ford GT in 2015 North American International Auto Show, Japanese manufacturer chose to change some things and improved this model. This is why Honda decided to made 2017 Acura NSX ...
Preface :)
Anything of goodness that came to me, came by way of the blessed Ahl e Beit - the family of the Prophet (salutations and greetings upon Sayyeduna Misbah, the Lantern, and his family) - Ghaus Pak (ra)
In the context of all my relationships as of late, I have discovered that the "misfortune" that comes my way in the form of disappointment or sadness of the heart, comes by way of a naqs, shortcoming or deficiency in my character and manners. What we call akhlaq in the Arabic.
in the Quran the verse that extols the highest praise upon the Beloved (salutations and greetings upon the one He calls Ajmal, the most beautiful and his most beautiful family) is
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍۢ
Indeed, surely, you are of an excellent moral character.
Surah Al Qalam, Verse 4
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa Innaka: And indeed, you, the one whose manner is the perfection of the Attributes of Allah Subhanahu, (man takhalluqe-ka bil akhlaq Allah) and your being in a state of conviction in the Station of Friendship and Vice-regency…
La’ala khuluq-in adeem: you are of an excellent moral character. No one’s excellence of manners is more superb than your manners because you hold and have gathered the characters of the ones before you and the ones after you as per the totality of your rank.
The Naqshbandi Spiritual Master, Sheikh Nurjan (ra), says notably that the verse is the proof that of all things being observed by Subhanahu in a human being, above all is their manner with another.
"What is Allah Azzo Jal then saying here; Not you have the perfect aqeeda, belief, imaan, faith, taqwa, piety, iqaan, certainty, shukr, gratitude, sabr, patience and on and on the list goes, even though he is without doubt gifted them all as the perfect manifestation of all of Subhanahu's Beautiful Names and Attributes.
It is that you possess the most excellent manners, how you behave with other human beings in every single sense."
Hence it doesn't matter what we do as much as how we do it. For all generosity and all consideration goes to naught if the manner of its execution is harsh and an attitude towards anyone is unforgiving.
After a lifetime of knowing the words, I finally hear the call of Maula e Kayinaat (as) who said, "Your disappointments are not from people. They come from your expectations of them." Which breed the silent bughz, grudges and unspoken gheebat, back-biting between me and my self, making me miserable that I feel those things about whom I claim affection.
For all it ever makes me is vehement. I learnt the word, مَلَكَةِ الْحَمِيَّةِ, from a prayer of Imam Zain ul Abedin's (as) where he asked for refuge from hateful things and it struck me how I was drowning my own self in that state. Overcome by a quality that came naturally, insane "strictness" with "misguided enthusiasm."
But now I hear a call that says: Ya Mariam! Be who you are. Not who you become because another regresses and you regress right along with them. Every single time!
I was telling my dearest cousin Rahim, We cannot change. We have to be changed. Two means of that, I conclude, are feeding the hungry and dua - invoking Subhanahu in the words of His Chosen Ones. It's that simple.
For everything in spirituality pivots on ehsaas, consideration for the state of another's heart. The needle of that pivot is akhlaq.
On that note, we await the night that will change us. Just like the moon changes effortlessly...because any ease that came my way, undeniably came by way of the blessed Ahl e Beit (salutations and greetings upon them and their gaze of love upon me).
Subhan Allah!
437. Whatever problems befall you come from your own hands
وَمَآ أَصَـٰبَكُم مِّن مُّصِيبَةٍۢ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُوا۟ عَن كَثِيرٍۢ ٣٠
And whatever befalls you of (the) misfortune, (is because) of what have earned your hands. But He pardons much.
Surah Shoora, Verse 30
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And know Ayyoha al adlaal al haalika, O ones who are shadows that are vanishing in themselves…
Ma asaabakum mim museebat-in: that which befalls you of misfortune, harmful, painful…
Fabima kasabat aydeekum: so it is because it is the outcome of your own hands i.e. because of your perpetrating disobedience and sinful deeds…
Wa: and while (He knows it)…
Ya’fu: He forgives, Subhanahu…
An katheer: most of it. He does not punish you because of those sins with misfortune, showing you kindness and giving you ease.
Subhan Allah!
438. Allah is our Lord and yours and for us are our deeds and you yours. There is no argument between us and we will all return to Him
ٱللَّهُ رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكُمْ ۖ
لَنَآ أَعْمَـٰلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَـٰلُكُمْ ۖ
لَا حُجَّةَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ ۖ
ٱللَّهُ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا ۖ
وَإِلَيْهِ ٱلْمَصِيرُ ١٥
Allah (is) our Lord and your Lord.
For us our deeds and for you your deeds.
(There is) no argument between us and between you.
Allah will assemble [between] us,
and to Him (is) the final return."
Surah Ash Shoora, Verse 15
Tafseer e Jilani
(Continuing from the first part of the same verse) so I am ordered to do the preaching of His Messages and clarifying them for you and (I am bidden to do) your training and your perfection because…
Allahu: Allah is Al Mudabbir, The Only One who governs the matters of all His Servants…
Rabbu-na: who is our Lord who raises us for instruction and perfection…
Wa Rabbu-kum: and your Lord who wills that He raises you with guidance and instruction and if it was not that we were commanded from Him, Subhanahu, for your guidance and your instruction, we would not be with you because…
Lana a’maaluna: for us are our deeds i.e. the reward for whether they are good or wicked…
Wa lakum: and (the reward) for you your deeds will be the same because all of us and all of you are recompensed by what we do.
La hujjatan: There is no argument i.e. no fight and enemity…
Baynana wa baynakum: between us and between you after we have conveyed to you what we were commanded to convey and we clearly explained to you the way of Allah Al Haqq and overall…
Allahu: Allah i.e. The Essence that is Al Mustajmi’u, who collects all of the (existing) Names and Attributes…
Yajam’u baynana: He gathers us and all of you if it is His Will to gather us…
Wa: and how can He not gather us, Subhanahu…
Ilayhi al maseer: (when) we will all return to Him i.e. the returning of all is towards Him as they appeared from Him.
On a night of keeping vigil, an understanding of some verses on supplication from Ghaus Pak (ra)
426. The Prayer series – Call upon Me and I will respond to you
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدۡعُونِیۤ أَسۡتَجِبۡ لَكُمۡۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِینَ یَسۡتَكۡبِرُونَ عَنۡ عِبَادَتِی سَیَدۡخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِینَ
And said your Lord, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you.
Indeed, those who (are) proud to worship Me will enter Hell (in) humiliation."
Surah Ghafir, Verse 60
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And after Subhanahu points towards the station of the two groups, the muwwahid, the believer in One-ness and the mushrik, the one who associate others with Allah, He pointed towards the one who focuses his attention upon Him affectionately and intends towards His One-ness, persevering and endeavouring, invoking Him humbly, that He answers him and makes him receive success in his ask, such that…
Qala Rabbukum: Your Lord said, who raises you upon the nature of Tauheed, One-ness and Irfaan, recognizing (Him)…
Ud’ooni: call Me O Mukallifoon, the ones who are ordered to obey Allah’s Commands, according to the aql, the power to reason, poured (upon you) as is appropriate for My Being invoked, and they remained focused towards Me in the state of being Mukhliseen, the sincere, without looking towards (other) means and ways in the Universe…
Astajib lakum: I will respond to your prayer and connect you to your purpose and your goal, which is Tauheed az Zaati, the One-ness of My Essence, so compulsory upon you is to not become too proud to worship Me and to be obedient to Me.
And overall:
Inna: Indeed, Al Musrifeena, the ones who are the transgressors of boundaries…
Alladina yastakbiroona: who are too arrogant and refuse…
An ibadati: My worship (i.e praying before Me) due to their false opinions and (following) their corrupt desires…
Sayadkhuloona: so soon they will enter on the Day of Recompense…
Jahannama: the Hell of deprivation and disappointment…
Dakhireen: belittled, humiliated, disgraced.
Astaghfirullah!
427. And when they ask about me, tell them O Beloved (salutations and greetings upon you and your family by Me, your Lord who raises you will only with love), I am near
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ
أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ
ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ ١٨٦
And when they ask you, My Servants, about Me then (tell them), indeed I am near. I respond (to the) invocation (of) the supplicant when he calls Me. So let them respond to Me and let them believe in Me, so that they may (be) led aright.
Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 186
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And for this reason (the Companions asked in their love for their Lord, Is Allah near us or far?), Subhanahu informs His Prophet (salutations and greetings upon Nabi Kareem who is His Gift to the Universe and his blessed family) for the instruction of His Servants, who are grateful for His Blessing, about His Closeness towards them by His Saying:
Ida sa’alaka: If they ask you, Ayyoha Ad’Daa’i, O Caller of Creation towards Allah Al Haqq (salutations and greetings upon you and your family from Me in continuance)…
Ibadi: My Servants, Ash Shakireen, the ones grateful for The Bestower of the Blessings…
Ann-ni: (they ask) about Me by their words: Is He near us, our Lord who raises us, so we should speak to him softly like we speak to ourselves or is He far from us so we should call out to Him as we call out to someone distant, tell them Ya Akmal Ar Rusul, O Messenger who completes Messenger-hood (salutations and greetings upon the Hadi-n, the guide, and his blessed family), in answer to them on behalf of Me …
Fa-inni qareebun: indeed I am nearer to them than their own selves such that…
Ajeebu da’wata ad-da’i da’ani: I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls Me, answering him swiftly with an answer to his prayer like He points towards Himself in the Hadith Qudsi narrated by Subhanahu (tell them…)…
Falyastajeebu li: so let them respond to Me also in all of their affairs and their needs…
Walyu-mino bi: and believe in Me as the ones Mu’taqideen, the ones with strong belief that I will make them reach towards the fulfillment of their wishes because there is no place of return for them apart from Me and no refuge for them in (their) being except Me and indeed, they were informed and commanded by what they were commanded…
La’allahum yarshudoon: hoping that they are guided towards the Rank of Tauheed, Allah’s One-ness, as Rashideen, the guided ones, Mutma’ineen, the contended ones.
Then Ghaus Pak (ra) prays:
اهدنا بلطفك إلى مقر عزك يا هادي المضلين
Guide us by Your Lutf, Kindness, towards Maqarra Izzika, the Abode of Your Honour, Ya Hadi il Mudaleen, O You who is the Only Guide for the ones astray!
Ameen!
428. Who responds to the one distressed when he call Him and removes his evil? Allah!
أَمَّن يُجِيبُ ٱلْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ ٱلسُّوٓءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَآءَ ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ
أَءِلَـٰهٌۭ مَّعَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ قَلِيلًۭا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ ٦٢
Or Who responds (to) the distressed one when he calls Him and He removes the evil and makes you inheritors (of) the earth? Is there any god with Allah? Little (is) what you remember.
Surah An Naml, Verse 62
Tafseer e Jilani
A’mmayyu yujeebul mudtarra: (Continuing from the verses 60-61 Subhanahu asks) Or does the one who answers the distressed, the one anxious, confused in his matter without instruction about deliverance from it and being saved from it forever…
Ida da’ahu: when he supplicates before Him, calling him, hopeful, beseeching Him, Subhanahu…
Wa: and who…
Yakshifu us soo’a: removes the hardship, causing aggravation for the people of grief and pain…
Wa: and who…
Yajalukum khulufa’ al ard: makes you the inheritors of the Earth from amongst your ancestors who passed upon it…
A’ ilahun ma’allah-i: are they a god with Allah, Al Wahid, The Only One, Al Ahad, The One and Only, As Samad, The One above everything, whom you call upon or worship, Ya Ayyoha Jahiloon, O Ignorant Ones, Al Musrifoona, who transgress boundaries, Al Makabiroona, the ones who think of themselves as proud and arrogant and from the extremes of your jahal, ignorance and ghaflat, forgetfulness, about the worship of Allah Al Haqq and the depths of your transgression and waywardness from His Tauheed, One-ness…
Qaleelam ma tadakkaroon: little is the advice you accept i.e. only a few from amongst you remember the Blessings of Allah and His Favours (pouring) continuously upon you, following each other in succession.
429. Allah Subhanahu is Ever-Living so call Him sincerely
هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَٱدْعُوهُ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ ۗ
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ٦٥
He (is) the Ever-Living; (there is) no god but He, so call Him, (being) sincere to Him (in) the religion. All praise (be) to Allah, (the) Lord (of) the worlds.
Surah Ghafir, Verse 65
Tafseer e Jilani
Instead…
Huwal Hayyu: He is the Ultimate Truth, forever, till the end, in permanence (without a beginning and an end), Al Mustaghni, Self-Sufficient from the counting of time and measurement of space totally…
La ilaha: there is no god in presence except Him and there is no one present who can be worshipped…
Illa huwa: except His Essence and after you heard this, O Mukallifoona, those obedient to Allah’s Commands, the characteristics of His Names and Attributes of Subhanahu…
Faduhu mukhliseen: then call Him, O sincere ones, and worship only and only Him…
Lahu ud deen: in the religion i.e. worshipping and following because there is no one else deserving of obedience and worship except Him. And after you return to Him as Mukhliseena, sincere, and after you worship only and only Him, say with the tongue wholeheartedly:
Alhamdo: all praise is for Al Mustaw’ib, The Only Collector of all of the admiration arising from the tongues of the ordinary in appearance, which is for sure (that praise)…
Lillahi Rabbil alimeen: for Him, the Lord of the Worlds because He is Alone in His being worshipped and permanent in His being Rabb, Lord, without doubt of association and sharing.
Subhan Allah!
430. So call Subhanahu by His Perfect Names
وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَٱدْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ
وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِىٓ أَسْمَـٰٓئِهِۦ ۚ
سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ١٨٠
And for Allah (are) the names - the most beautiful, so invoke Him by them.
And leave those who deviate concerning His names.
They will be recompensed for what they used to do.
Surah Al Ar’aaf, Verse 180
Tafseer e Jilani
Wa: And know Ayyoha al Fudula’, the special ones who use their intellect, al Urufa, the special ones who recognize Allah, Al Muwwahidoon, the special ones who believe in His One-ness…
Lillahi: for Allah Al Muttawahid, The Only Lord, Al Muttafarrid, The Uniquely Incomparable One in His Essence…
Al Asma’ ul Husna: are the Perfect Names, which are derived from the Exalted Attributes arising out of the signs of happenings in the realm of creation and destruction and the realm of appearing and the unseen and this world and the Hereafter…
Fad’uhu: so call Him, Subhanahu, Ayyoha al Muwwahidoona, the ones who believe in his One-ness…
Biha: by them and relate to the happenings which are happening from these Names first and by His Essence…
Wa daro: and leave those i.e. rebuff and leave the words…
Alladina yulhidoona: of those who refuse to believe, who turn away and who associate others with Him…
Fi Asma’i-hi: in His Names by associating happenings with means first and (also associating) with His Essence and stay away from their religions and isolate from them and their gatherings and be sure that every one…
Sa-yujzauna: will soon be rewarded upon the requisites…
Ma kanu ya’maloon: of what they do, if it is good then with goodness and if it is evil then with evil.
431-432. The one who purifies himself succeeds and remembers His Lord’s Names and prays
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّىٰ ١٤
وَذَكَرَ ٱسْمَ رَبِّهِۦ فَصَلَّىٰ ١٥
Certainly, has succeeded (one) who purifies (himself),
And remembers (the) name (of) his Lord and prays.
Surah Al’a, Verse 14-15
Tafseer e Jilani
Then said Subhanahu in the way of admonition…
Qad aflaha: certainly is successful and achieved triumph with the great rank and the station exalted…
Man tazakka: the one who purified and cleansed the pollution of (one’s) nature and the tarnish of their identity from the inclination towards the world and everything in it from the temporary attractions and the forbidden desires, which do not remain, and focus towards Al Maula, The Lord, with sincere determination.
Wa dakara: And he remembered in the beginning of his desire and the origin of his want (towards Him)…
Isma’ Rabbi-hi: the Names of His Lord i.e. the group of the Names of His Lord, keeping in mind their meaning, consciously, feeling happy, with a yearning…
Fa salla: so he prays and is inclined towards Him, Subhanahu, in all times of His Commands, establishing them, abstaining upon his nafs, self, the ordinary attractions of his world.
433-434. There are signs within the Earth and within yourselves, then do you not see?
وَفِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ءَايَـٰتٌۭ لِّلْمُوقِنِينَ ٢٠
وَفِىٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ
أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ ٢١
There are ˹countless˺ signs on earth for those who are certain,
And within yourselves, so do you not see?
Surah Ad-Dhariyat, Verse 20-21
Tafseer e Jilani
Then pointed Subhanahu towards the Expansiveness of the One-ness of His Essence, which comprises everything which is apparent and hidden in the horizons and in the selves with permanence and in all individuals and the specific Secrets of Allah’s One-ness in each speck of the Universe, warning the mureed, the one who intends to reach His Essence, al mustabsir, the one who wants to see Him and to arouse them from the sleep of ghaflat, ignorance and the yawn of nisyaan, forgetfulness, so He said…
Wa fil ardi: and in this Earth i.e. the realm of means and capabilities expressed in the horizons, prepared for the appearance of the Signs of the Perfect Control of Allah being Lord from the amazing and strange (things), sprouting from Perfect Knowledge and Abundant Wisdom which are certain arguments and clarifications and a witnessing of the clear proof which are manifesting the Power of As Sani’, The Only One who manufactures, Al Hakeem, The Only One whose Judgement is perfect, and manifesting the Essence of His One-ness and His Control in all of His Matters and His
Permanence in His Governing and His Authority…
Lil Mo’qineen: for the ones possessing certainty, Al Munkashifeena, the ones who unveil by knowledge and witnessing and (experiencing) the ultimate truth and also…
Wa fi anfusikum: and in your selves (the ordinary) also, Ayyoha al Mustabsiroona, those who want to see Him, Al Mustakshifoona, the ones who seek to unveil the Secrets of Allah’s being the only One worshipped and the Secrets of His Being Lord and considering Him as being The Only One in His Appearance and His Presence…
Afala tubsiroon: and still do you not see Ayyoha al Majbuloona, the ones set up upon the nature of kashf, unveiling and shuhood, witnessing.
Thus we begin the night with the prayers by way of the blessed Imam Zain ul Abedin (as).
www.duas.org/sajjadiya/sajjadiya.htm
*** Keeping in mind the important requisite that the etiquette of dua is to give a sadqa, a charitable giving, not obligatory, before it ***
And on that note...
442. If you people owned the treaures of the world, you would never spend them for Man is stingy
قُل لَّوْ أَنتُمْ تَمْلِكُونَ خَزَآئِنَ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّىٓ إِذًۭا لَّأَمْسَكْتُمْ خَشْيَةَ ٱلْإِنفَاقِ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ قَتُورًۭا ١٠٠
Say, "If you possess the treasures (of) the Mercy (of) my Lord, then surely you would withhold (out of) fear (of) spending." And is man stingy.
Surah Bani Israel, Verse 100
Tafseer e Jilani
Qul: Say to the Munkireen, the refusers, Al Muttawahhimeen, who are deluded in thinking of the perishing of Allah’s Qudra, Authority and His Hawla, Power and His Quwwat, Strength, that it will expire, (tell them) about His Intent: Don’t compare the unseen with the witnessed and don’t think of miserliness and stinginess and helplessness and obligation on behalf of Allah but instead (know) everything is from your attributes and your characters because:
Lau antum tamlikoona khaza’in rahma Rabbi: if you possessed the treasures of the Mercy of my Lord with their abundance and the absence of their finishing and certain endlessness…
Idan la amsaktum: so then surely you would withhold and be stingy…
Khashiyat infaaq: out of fear of spending i.e. the fear of it finishing with spending without replacing what is spent…
Wa kana al insaanu: and Man is indeed created in his original nature…
Qatoora: stingy, withholding (by hoarding) in abundance the necessities in this world, not spending of the treasures, because he is most needy of everything created and is most distant from the Essence of the One-ness of Allah because Man is the last point of the circle of Creation and he is the end-game and he can become the first dot of the circle of Allah’s Presence, if he removes himself from the garments of the world and detaches himself from it just once without the mixture of disfigurement and shortcomings.
Just once......Unbelievable!
The first key to reverse the worst of my nature: Dua No. 20
ْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
bis-mil-lahir-rahmamnir-rahim
In the Name of Allah, the All-merciful, the All-compassionate
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَبَلِّغْ بِإِيمَانِي أَكْمَلَ الإِيمَانِ
wa bal-ligh bi-imani ak-malal-iman
cause my faith to reach the most perfect faith,
وَاجْعَلْ يَقِينِي أَفْضَلَ الْيَقِينِ
waj-a'l yaqini af-zalal-yaqin
make my certainty the most excellent certainty,
وَانتَهِ بِنِيَّتِي إِلَى أَحْسَنِ النِّيَّاتِ، وَبِعَمَلِي إِلَى أَحْسَنِ الأَعْمَاِل
wantahi bi-ni-yati ila ah-san-ni-yati wa bi-a'mali ila ah-sanil-a'-mal
and take my intention to the best of intentions, and my works to the best of works!
اللَّهُمَّ
allahumma
O Allah,
وَفِّرْ بِلُطْفِكَ نِيَّتِي
waf-fir bilut-fika ni-yati
complete my intention through Your gentleness,
وَصَحِّحْ بِمَا عِندَكَ يَقِينِي
wa sah-hih bima i'ndaka yaqini
rectify my certainty through what is with You,
وَاسْتَصْلِحْ بِقُدْرَتِكَ مَا فَسَدَ مِنِّي
was-tas-lih biqud-ratika ma fasada min-ni
And set right what is corrupt in me through Your power!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَاكْفِنِي مَا يَشْغَلُنِي الإِهْتِمَامُ بِهِ
wak-fini ma yash-ghalunil-ih-timamu bih
spare me the concerns which distract me,
وَاسْتَعْمِلْنِي بِمَا تَسْألُنِي غَداً عَنْهُ
was-ta'-mil-ni bima tas-aluni ghadan a'n-h
employ me in that about which You will ask me tomorrow,
وَاسْتَفْرِغْ أَيَّامِي فِيمَا خَلَقْتَنِي لَهُ
was-taf-righ ay-yami fima khalaq-tani lah
And let me pass my days in that for which You hast created me!
وَاغْنِنِي وَأَوْسِعْ عَلَيَّ فِي رِزْقِكَ
wa agh-nini wa aw-sia' a'lay-ya fi rizqik
Free me from need, and expand Your provision toward me,
وَلا تَفْتِنِّي بِالنَّظَرِ
wa-la taf-tin-ni bin-nazar
And tempt me not with ingratitude!
وَأَعِزَّنِي وَلا تَبْتَلِيَنِّي بِالْكِبْرِ
wa ai'z-za ni wa-la tab-tali-yani-y bil-kib-r
Exalt me and afflict me not with pride!
وَعَبِّدْنِي لَكَ وَلا تُفْسِدْ عِبِادَتِي بِالعُجْبِ
wa a'b-bid-ni laka wa-la tuf-sid i'bidati bil-u'j-b
Make me worship You and corrupt not my worship with self-admiration!
وَأَجْرِ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى يَدَيَّ الْخَيْرَ وَلا تَمْحَقْهُ بِالْمَنِّ
wa aj-ri lin-nasi a'la yaday-yal-khayra wa-la tam-haq-hu bil-man-n
Let good flow out from my hands upon the people and efface it not by my making them feel obliged!
وَهَبْ لِي مَعَاِلي الأَخْلاَقِ
wa hab liya ma'ali-yal-akh-laq
Give me the highest moral traits
وَاعْصِمْنِي مِنَ الْفَخْرِ
wa a'-sim-ni minal-fakh-r
And preserve me from vainglory!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَلا تَرْفَعْنِي فِي النَّاسِ دَرَجَةً إِلا حَطَطْتَنِي عِندَ نَفْسِي مِثْلَهَا
wa la tar-fa'-ni fin-nasi darajatan il-la hatat-tani i'nda naf-si mith-laha
raise me not a single degree before the people without lowering me its like in myself
وَلا تُحْدِثْ لِي عِزّاً ظَاهِراً إِلاَّ أَحْدَثْتَ لِي ذِلَّةً بَاطِنَةً عِندَ نَفْسِي بِقَدَرِهَا
wa-la tuh-dith li i'z-zan zahiran il-la ah-dath-ta li dhil-latam batinatan i'nda naf-si biqadariha
And bring about no outward exaltation for me without an inward abasement in myself to the same measure!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-li muhammad
O Allah, bless Muhammad and Muhammad's Household,
وَمَتِّعْنِي بِهُدَىً صَاِلحٍ لا أَسْتَبْدِلُ بِهِ،
wa mat-tia'-ni bihudan salihil-la as-tabdilu bih
give me to enjoy a sound guidance which I seek not to replace,
وَطَرِيقَةِ حَقٍّ لا أَزِيغُ عَنْهَا،
wa tariqati haq-qil-la azighu a'n-ha
a path of truth from which I swerve not,
وَنِيَّةِ رَشْدٍ لا أَشُكُّ فِيهَا
wa ni-yati rush-dil-la ashuk-ku fiha
And an intention of right conduct in which I have no doubts!
وَعَمِّرْنِي مَا كَانَ عُمْرِي بِذْلَةً فِي طَاعَتِكَ، فَإِذَا كَانَ عُمْرِي مَرْتَعاً لِلشَّيْطَانِ فَاقْبِضْنِي إِلَيْكَ، قَبْلَ أَن يَّسْبِقَ مَقْتُكَ إِلَيَّ، أَوْ يَسْتَحْكِمَ غَضَبُكَ عَلَيَّ
wa a'mmir-ni ma kana u'm-ri bidhlatan fi ta'tika fa-idha kana u'm-ri mar-ta'al-lish-shaytani faq-bizni ilayka qab-la ayyasbiqa maq-tuka ilay-ya aw yas-tah-kima ghazabuka a'lay-ya
Let me live as long as my life is a free gift in obeying You, but if my life should become a pasture for Satan, seize me to Yourself before Your hatred overtakes me or Your wrath against be becomes firm!
اللَّهُمَّ
allahumma
O Allah,
لا تَدَعْ خِصْلَةً تُعَابُ مِنِّي إِلاَّ أَصْلَحْتَهَا
la tada' khas-latan tua'abu min-ni il-la as-lah-taha
deposit in me no quality for which I will be faulted, unless You settest it right,
وَلا عَائِبَةً أُؤَنَّبُ بِهَا إِلاَّ حَسَّنتَهَا،
wa-la a'a-ibatan uan-nabu biha il-la has-santaha
no flaw for which I will be blamed, unless You makest it beautiful,
وَلا أُكْرُومَةً فِيَّ نَاقِصَةً إِلاَّ أَتْمَمْتَهَا
wa-la uk-rumatan fi-ya naqisatan il-la at-mam-taha
And no deficient noble trait, unless You completest it!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-li muhammad
O Allah, bless Muhammad and Muhammad's Household,
وَأَبْدِلْنِي مِنْ بُغْضَةِ أَهْلِ الشَّنَانَ الْمَحَبَّةَ
wa abdil-ni mim bugh-zati ah-lish-shinanil-mahab-bah
and replace for me the animosity of the people of hatred with love,
وَمِنْ حَسَدِ أَهْلِ الْبَغْيِ الْمَوَدَّةَ،
wa min hasadi ah-lil-bagh-yil-mawad-dah
the envy of the people of insolence with affection,
وَمِن ظِنَّةِ أَهْلِ الصَّلاَحِ الثِّقَةَ،
wa min zin-nati ah-lis-salahith-thiqah
the suspicion of the people of righteousness with trust,
وَمِنْ عَدَاوَةِ الأَدْنَيْنَ الْوَلايَةَ،
wa min a'dawatil-ad-naynal-walayah
the enmity of those close with friendship,
وَمِنْ عُقُوقِ ذَوِي الأَرْحَامِ الْمَبَرَّةَ،
wa min u'quqi dhawil-ar-hamil-mabar-rah
the disrespect of womb relatives with devotion,
وَمِنْ خِذْلانِ الأَقْرَبِينَ النُّصْرَةَ،
wa min khidhlanil-aq-rabinan-nus-rah
the abandonment of relatives with help,
وَمِنْ حُبِّ الْمُدَارِينَ تَصْحِيحَ الْمِقَةِ،
wa min hub-bil-mudarina tas-hihal-miqah
the attachment of flatterers with love set right,
وَمِن رَّدِّ الْمُلاَبِسِينَ كَرَمَ الْعِشْرَةِ،
wa mir-rad-dil-mulabisina karamal-i'sh-rah
the rejection of fellows with generous friendliness,
وَمِن مَّرَارَةِ خَوْفِ الظَّالِمِينَ حَلاَوَةَ الأَمنَةَ
wa mim-mararati khaw-fiz-zalimina halawatal-amnah
And the bitterness of the fear of wrongdoers with the sweetness of security!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَاجْعَل لِّي يَداً عَلى مَن ظَلَمَنِي،
waj-a'l-li yadan a'la man zalamani
appoint for me a hand against him who wrongs me,
وَلِسَاناً عَلَى مَنْ خَاصَمَنِي،
wa lisanan a'la man khasamani
a tongue against him who disputes with me,
وَظَفَراً بِمَنْ عَانَدَنِي
wa zafaram biman a'anadani
And a victory over him who stubbornly resists me!
وَهَبْ لِي مَكْراً عَلَى مَن كَايَدَنِي،
wa hab li mak-ran a'la man kayadani
Give me guile against him who schemes against me,
وَقُدْرَةً عَلَى مَنِ اضْطَهَدَنِي،
wa qud-ratan a'la mani-ztahadani
power over him who oppresses me,
وَتَكْذِيباً لِمَن قَصَبَنِي،
wa tak-dhibal-liman qasabani
refutation of him who reviles me,
وَسَلاَمَةً مِّمَّن تَوَعَّدَنِي
wa salamatam-mimman tawa'-adani
And safety from him who threatens me!
وَوَفِّقْنِي لِطَاعَةِ مَن سَدَّدَنِي،
wa waf-fiq-ni lita'ti man sad-dadani
Grant me success to obey him who points me straight
وَمُتَابَعَةِ مَنْ أَرْشَدَنِي
wa mutaba'ti man ar-shadani
And follow him who guides me right!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household
وَسَدِّدْنِي لأَنْ
wa sad-did-ni li-an
and point me straight to
أُعَارِضَ مَنْ غَشَّنِي بِالنُّصْحِ،
ua'ariza man ghash-shani bin-nus-h
resist him who is dishonest toward me without counsel,
وَأَجْزِي مَنْ هَجَرَنِي بِالْبِرِّ،
wa aj-ziya man hajarani bil-bir-r
repay him who separates from me with gentle devotion,
وَأُثِيبَ مَنْ حَرَمَنِي بِالْبَذْلِ،
wa uthiba man haramani bil-badhli
reward him who deprives me with free giving,
وَأُكَافِئَ مَن قَطَعَنِي بِالصِّلَةِ،
wa ukafi-a man qata'ni bis-silah
recompense him who cuts me off with joining,
وَأُخَاِلفَ مَنْ اغْتَابَنِي إِلَى حُسْنِ الذِّكْرِ،
wa ukhalifa mangh-tabani ila hus-nidh-dhik-r
oppose him who slanders me with excellent mention,
وَأَنْ أَشْكُرَ الْحَسَنَةَ،
wa an ash-kural-hasanah
give thanks for good,
وَأُغْضِي عَنِ السَّيِّئَةِ
wa ugh-ziya a'nis-say-yiwah
And shut my eyes to evil!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَحَلِّنِي بِحِلْيَةِ الصَّاِلحِينَ
wa hal-lini bihil-yatis-salihin
adorn me with the adornment of the righteous,
وَأَلْبِسْنِي زِينَةَ المُتَّقِينَ فِي
wa al-bis-ni zinatal-mut-taqina fi
And clothe me in the ornaments of the god-fearing, through:
بَسْطِ الْعَدْلِ
bas-til-a'd-l
spreading justice,
وَكَظْمِ الْغَيْظِ
wa kazmil-ghayz
restraining rage,
وَإِطْفَاءِ النَّائِرَةِ
wa it-fa-in-na-irah
quenching the flame of hate,
وَضَمِّ أَهْلِ الْفُرْقَةِ
wa zammi ah-lil-fur-qah
bringing together the people of separation,
وَإِصْلاَحِ ذَاتِ الْبَيْنِ
wa is-lahi dhatil-bayn
correcting discord,
وَإِفْشِاءِ الْعَارِفَةِ
wa if-shia-il-a'arifah
spreading about good behavior,
وَسَتْرِ الْعَائِبَةِ
wa sat-ril-a'a-ibah
covering faults,
وَلِينِ الْعَرِيكَةِ
wa linil-a'rikah
mildness of temper,
وَخَفْضِ الْجَنَاحِ
wa khaf-zil-janah
lowering the wing,
وَحُسْنِ السِّيرَةِ
wa hus-nis-sirah
beauty of conduct,
وَسُكُونِ الرِّيحِ
wa sukunir-rih
gravity of bearing,
وَطِيبِ الْمُخَالَفَةِ
wa tibil-mukhalafah
agreeableness in comportment,
وَالسَّبْقِ إِلَى الْفَضِيلَةِ
was-sib-qi ilal-fazilah
precedence in reaching excellence,
وَإِيثَارِ التَّفَضُّلِ
wa itharit-tafaz-zul
preferring bounteousness,
وَتَرْكِ التَّعْيِيرِ
wa tar-kit-ta'-yir
refraining from condemnation,
وَالإِفْضَاِل عَلَى غَيْرِ الْمُسْتَحِقِّ
wal-if-zali a'la ghayril-mus-tahiq-q
bestowing bounty on the undeserving,
وَالْقَوْلِ بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنْ عَزَّ
wal-qaw-li bil-haq-qi wa in a'z-z
speaking the truth, though it be painful,
وَاسْتِقْلاَلِ الْخَيْرِ وَإِن كَثُرَ مِن قَوْلِي وَفِعْلِي
was-tiq-lalil-khayri wa in kathura min qaw-li wa fia'-li
making little of the good in my words and deeds, though it be much,
وَاسْتِكْثَارِ الْشَّرِ وَإِن قلَّ مِن قَوْلِي وَفِعْلِي
was-tik-tharish-shari wa in ql-la min qaw-li wa fia'-li
And making much of the evil in my words and deeds, though it be little!
وَأَكْمِلْ ذَلِكَ لِي
wa ak-mil dhalika li
Perfect this for me through
بِدَوَامِ الطَّاعَةِ،
bi-dawamit-ta'h
lasting obedience,
وَلُزُومِ الْجَمَاعَةِ،
wa luzumil-jama'h
holding fast to the community,
وَرَفْضِ أَهْلِ الْبِدَعِ، وَمُسْتَعْمِلِي الرَّأْيِ الْمُخْتَرَعِ
wa raf-zi ah-lil-bidai' wa mus-ta'-milir-ra-yil-mukh-tarai'
And rejecting the people of innovation and those who act in accordance with original opinions.
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَاجْعَلْ أَوْسَعَ رِزْقِكَ عَلَيَّ إِذَا كَبِرْتُ،
waj-a'l aw-sa' rizqika a'lay-ya idha kabir-tu
appoint for me Your widest provision in my old age
وَأَقْوَى قُوَّتِكَ فِيَّ إِذَا نَصِبْتُ
wa aq-wa qu-watika fi-ya idha nasib-tu
And Your strongest strength when I am exhausted,
وَلا تَبْتَلِيَنِي بِالْكَسَلِ عَنْ عِبَادَتِكَ،
wa-la tab-tali-yani bil-kasali a'n i'badatika
And try me not with laziness in worship of You,
وَلا الْعَمى عَن سَبِيلِكَ،
wa lal-a'ma a'n sabilik
blindness toward Your path,
وَلا بِالتَّعَرُّضِ لِخِلاَفِ مَحَبَّتِكَ،
wa-la bit-ta'r-ruzi li-khilafi mahab-batika
undertaking what opposes love for You,
وَلا مُجَامَعَةِ مَن تَفَرَّقَ عَنْكَ،
wa-la mujama't man tafar-raqa a'nk
joining with him who has separated himself from You,
وَلا مُفَارَقَةِ مَنِ اجْتَمَعَ إِلَيْكَ
wa-la mufaraqat manij-tama' ilayk
And separating from him who has joined himself to You!
اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِي أَصُولُ بِكَ عِندَ الضَّرُورَةِ،
allahummaj-a'l-ni asulu bika i'ndaz-zarurah
O Allah, make me leap to You in times of distress,
وَأَسْألُكَ عِندَ الْحَاجَةِ،
wa as-aluka i'ndal-hajah
ask from You in needs,
وَأَتَضَرَّعُ إِلَيْكَ عِندَ الْمَسْكَنَةِ
wa atazar-rau' ilayka i'ndal-mas-kanah
And plead to You in misery!
وَلا تَفْتِنِّي بِالإِسْتِعَانَةِ بِغَيْرِكَ إِذَا اضْطُرِرْتُ،
wa-la taf-tin-ni bil-is-tia'anati bighayrika idhazturir-tu
Tempt me not to seek help from other than You when I am distressed,
وَلا بِالْخُضُوعِ لِسُؤَاِل غَيْرِكَ إِذَا افْتَقَرْتُ،
wa-la bil-khuzui' li-suali ghayrika idhaf-taqar-tu
to humble myself in asking from someone else when I am poor,
وَلا بِالتَّضَرُّعِ إِلَى مَن دُونِكَ إِذَارَهِبْتُ
wa-la bit-tazar-rui' ila man dunaka idharahib-tu
or to plead with someone less than You when I fear,
فَأَسْتَحِقُّ بِذَلِكَ خِذْلانَكَ وَمَنْعَكَ وَإِعْرَاضَكَ
fas-tahiq-qu bidhlika khidhlanaka wa man-a'ka wa ia'-razak
for then I would deserve Your abandonment, Your withholding, and Your turning away,
يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحَمِينَ
ya ar-hamar-rahamin
O Most Merciful of the merciful!
اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ فِي رَوْعِي منِ التَّمَنِّي وَالتَّظَنِّي وَالْحَسَدِذِكْراً لِعَظَمَتِكَ، وَتَفَكُّراً فِي قُدْرَتِكَ، وَتَدْبِيراً عَلَى عَدُوِّكَ،
allahummaj-a'l ma yul-qish-shaytanu fi raw-e'e mint-taman-ni wat-tazan-ni wal-hasadidhik-ral-li-a'zamatika wa tafak-kuran fi qud-ratika wa tad-biran a'la a'du-wika
O Allah, make the wishing, the doubt, and the envy which Satan throws into my heart a remembrance of Your mightiness, a reflection upon Your power, and a devising against Your enemy!
وَمَا أَجْرَى عَلَى لِسَانِى مِن لَّفْظَةِ فُحْشٍ أَوْ هَجْرٍ أَوْ شَتْمِ عِرْضٍ أَوْ شَهَادَةِ بَاطِلٍ أَوِ اغْتِيَابِ مُؤْمِنٍ غَائِبٍ أَوْ سَبِّ حَاضِرٍ أَوْ مَا أَشْبَهَ ذَلِكَ،
wa ma aj-ra a'la li-sani mil-laf-zati fuh-shin aw haj-rin aw shat-mi i'r-zin aw shahadati batilin awigh-tiyabi mu-minin gha-ibin aw sab-bi hazirin aw ma ash-baha dhalika
Make everything he causes to pass over my tongue - the indecent or ugly words, the maligning of good repute, the false witness, the speaking ill of an absent man of faith, or the reviling of one present, and all things similar—
نُطْقاً بِالْحَمْدِ لَكَ،
nut-qam bial-ham-di lak
a speech in praise of You,
وَإِغْرَاقاً فِي الثَّنَاءِ عَلَيْكَ
wa igh-raqan fith-thana-i a'ilayk
a pursual of eulogizing You,
وَذَهَاباً فِي تَمْجِيدِكَ
wa dhahaban fi tam-jidik
an excursion in magnifying You,
وَشُكْراً لِّنِعْمَتِكَ
wa shuk-ral-linia'-matik
a thanksgiving for Your favour,
وَاعْتِرَافاً بِإِحْسَانِكَ
wa a'-tirafam biih-sanik
an acknowledgment of Your beneficence,
وَإِحْصَاءاً لِّمِنَنِكَ
wa ih-sa-al-li-minanik
And an enumeration of Your kindness!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَلا أُظْلَمَنَّ وَأَنتَ مُطِيقٌ لِّلدَّفْعِ عَنِّي
wa-la uzlaman-na wa anta mutiqul-lid-daf-i' a'n-ni
let me not be wronged, while You canst repel from me,
وَلا أَظْلِمَنَّ وَأَنتَ الْقَادِرُ عَلى الْقَبْضِ مِنِّي
wa-la azliman-na wa antal-qadiru a'lil-qab-zi min-ni
let me not do wrong, while You are powerful over holding me back,
وَلا أَضِلَّنَّ وَقَدْ أَمْكَنَتْكَ هِدَايَتِي
wa-la azil-lan-na wa qad am-kanat-ka hidayati
let me not be misguided, while You are able to guide me,
وَلا أَفْتَقِرَنَّ وَمِنْ عِندِكَ وُسْعِي
wa-la af-taqiran-na wa min i'ndika wus-e'e
let me not be poor, while with You is my plenty,
وَلا أَطْغَيَنَّ وَمِنْ عِندِكَ وُجْدِي
wa-la at-ghayan-na wa min i'ndika wuj-di
let me not be insolent, while from You comes my wealth!
اللَّهُمَّ
allahumma
O Allah,
إِلَى مَغْفِرَتِكَ وَفَدتُّ
ila magh-firatika wafad-tu
I come to Your forgiveness,
وَإِلَى عَفْوِكَ قَصَدتُّ
wa ila a'f-wika qasad-tu
I go straight to Your pardon,
وَإِلَى تَجَاوُزِكَ اشْتَقْتُ
wa ila taja-wuzikash-taq-tu
I yearn for Your forbearance,
وَبِفَضْلِكَ وَثِقْتُ
wa bi-fazlika wathiq-tu
And I trust in Your bounty,
وَلَيْسَ عِندِي مَا يُوجِبُ لِي مَغْفِرَتَكَ
wa laysa i'ndi ma yujibu li magh-firatak
but there is nothing with me to make me warrant but Your forgiveness,
وَلا فِي عَمَلِي مَا أَسْتَحِقُّ بِهِ عَفْوَكَ
wa-la fi a'mali ma as-tahiq-qu bihi a'f-wak
nothing in my works to make me merit but Your pardon,
وَمَا لِي بَعْدَ أَنْ حَكَمْتُ عَلَى نَفْسِي إلاَّ فَضْلُكَ
wa ma li ba'-da an hakam-tu a'la naf-si il-la fazluka
And nothing on my behalf after I judge my soul but Your bounty,
فَصَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
fa-sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lihi
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household
وَتَفَضَّلْ عَلَيَّ اللَّهُمَّ
wa tafaz-zal a'layil allahumma
O Allah, bestow Your bounty upon me!
وَأَنطِقْنِي بِالْهُدَى
wa antiq-ni bial-huda
make my speech be guidance,
وَأَلْهِمْنِي التِّقْوَى
wa al-him-nit-tiq-wa
inspire me with reverential fear,
وَوَفِّقْنِي للَّتِي هِي أَزْكَى
wa waf-fiq-ni lil-lati hiya azka
give me success in that which is most pure,
وَاسْتَعْمِلْنِي بِمَا هُوَ أَرْضَى
was-ta'-mil-ni bima huwa ar-za
And employ me in what is most pleasing to You!
اللَّهُمَّ اسْلُكْ بِي الطَّرِيقَةَ الْمُثْلَى
allahummas-luk bi-yat-tariqatal-muth-la
O Allah, let me tread the most exemplary path
وَاجْعَلْنِي عَلَى مِلَّتِكَ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَا
waj-a'l-ni a'la mil-latika amutu wa ah-ya
And make me live and die in Your creed!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَمَتِّعْنِي بِالإقْتِصَادِ
wa mat-tia'-ni bil-iq-tisad
give me to enjoy moderation,
وَاجْعَلْنِي مِنْ أَهْلِ السَّدَادِ،
waj-a'l-ni min ah-lis-sadad
make me into one of the people of right behavior,
وَمِنْ أَدِلَّةِ الرَّشَادِ،
wa min adil-latir-rashad
the proofs of right conduct,
وَمِن صَاِلحِي الْعِبَادِ
wa min salihil-i'bad
And the servants of righteousness,
وَارْزُقْنِي فَوْزَ الْمَعَادِ،
war-zuq-ni fawzal-ma'adi
And provide me with triumph at the place of Return
وَسَلاَمَةَ الْمِرْصَادِ
wa salamatal-mir-sad
And safety from the Ambush!
اللَّهُمَّ
allahumma
O Allah,
خُذْ لِنَفْسِكَ مِن نَّفْسِي مَا يُخَلِّصُهَا
khudh linaf-sika min-naf-si ma yukhal-lisuha
take to Yourself from my soul what will purify it
وَأَبْقِ لِنَفْسِي مِن نَّفْسِي مَا يُصْلِحُهَا،
wa ab-qi linaf-si min-naf-si ma yus-lihuha
And leave for my soul that of my soul that will set it right,
فَإِنَّ نَفْسِي هَاِلكَةً أَوْ تَعْصِمَهَا
fa-in-na naf-si halikatun aw ta'-simaha
for my soul will perish unless You preservest it!
اللَّهُمَّ
allahumma
O Allah,
أَنتَ عُدَّتِي إِنْ حَزِنتُ
anta u'd-dati in hazintu
You are my stores when I sorrow,
وَأَنتَ مُنتَجَعِي إِنْ حُرِمْتُ
wa anta muntajae'e in hurim-tu
You are my recourse when I am deprived,
وَبِكَ اسْتِغَاثَتِي إِن كُرِثْتُ
wa bikas-tigha-thati in kurith-tu
from You I seek aid when troubled
وَعِندَكَ مِمَّا فَاتَ خَلَفٌ،
wa i'ndaka mimma fata khalaf
and with You is a substitute for everything gone by,
وَلِمَا فَسَدَ صَلاَحٌ،
wa lima fasada salah
a correction for everything corrupted,
وَفِيمَا أَنكَرْتَ تَغْيِيرٌ
wa fima ankar-ta tagh-yir
a change from everything You is approvest.
فَامْنُنْ عَلَيَّ قَبْلَ الْبَلاءِ بِالْعَافِيَةِ،
fam-nun a'lay-ya qab-lal-bala-i bil-a'afi-yah
So show kindness to me with well-being before affliction,
وَقَبْلَ الطَّلَبِ بِالْجِدَةِ،
wa qab-lat-talabi bial-jidah
wealth before asking,
وَقَبْلَ الضَّلاَلِ بِالرَّشَادِ
wa qab-laz-zalali bilr-rashad
right conduct before misguidance;
وَاكْفِنِي مَؤُونَةَ مَعَرَّةِ الْعِبَادِ
wak-fini ma’unata ma'r-ratil-i'badi
suffice me against the burden of shame toward the servants,
وَهَبْ لِي أَمْنَ يَوْمِ الْمَعَادِ
wa hab liya am-na yaw-mil-ma'ad
give me security on the Day of Return,
وَامْنَحْنِي حُسْنَ الإِرْشَادِ
wam-nah-ni hus-nal-ir-shad
And grant me excellent right guidance!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَادْرَأْْ عَنِّي بِلُطْفِكَ
wad-ra a'n-ni bi-lut-fik
repel from me through Your gentleness,
وَاغْذُنِي بِنِعْمَتِكَ
wagh-dhuni binia'-matik
feed me through Your favour,
وَأَصْلِحْنِي بِكَرَمِكَ
wa as-lih-ni bikaramik
set me right through Your generosity,
وَدَاوِنِي بِصُنعِكَ
wa dawini bisuni'k
heal me through Your benefaction,
وَأَظِلَّنِي فِي ذَرَاكَ
wa azil-lani fi dharak
shade me in Your shelter,
وَجَلِّلْنِي رِضَاكَ
wa jal-lil-ni rizak
wrap me in Your good pleasure,
وَوَفِّقْنِي إِذَا اشْتَكَلَتْ عَلَيَّ الأُمُورُ لأَهْدَاهَا،
wa waf-fiq-ni idhash-takalat a'lay-yal-umuru li-ah-daha
And give me success to reach the most guided of affairs when affairs confuse me,
وَإِذَا تَشَابَهَتِ الأَعْمَالُ لأَزْكَاهَا
wa idha tasha-bahatil-a'-malu li-azkaha
the purest of works when works seem similar,
وَإِذَا تَنَاقَضَتِ المِلَلُ لأَرْضَاهَا
wa idha tanaqazatil-milalu li-ar-zaha
and the most pleasing to You of creeds when creeds conflict!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَتَوِّجْنِي بِالْكِفَايَةِ
wa taw-wij-ni bil-kifayah
crown me with sufficiency,
وَسُمْنِي حُسْنَ الْوِلاَيةِ
wa sum-ni hus-nal-wilayah
place in me excellent guardianship
وَهَبْ لِي صِدْقَ الْهِدَايَةِ
wa hab li sid-qal-hidayah
give me to guide correctly ,
وَلا تَفْتِنِّي بِالسَّعَةِ
wa-la taf-tin-ni bis-sa'ah
tempt me not with plenty,
وَامْنَحْنِي حُسْنَ الدَّعَةِ
wam-nah-ni hus-nad-da'ah
grant me excellent ease,
وَلا تَجْعَلْ عَيْشِي كَداًّ كَداًّ
wa-la taj-a'l a'yshi kad-dan kad-da
make not my life toil and trouble,
وَلا تَرُدَّ دُعَائِي عَلَيَّ رَدّاً
wa-la tarud-da dua'a-i a'lay-ya rad-da
And refuse not my supplication in rejection,
فَإِنِّي لا أَجْعَلُ لَكَ ضِدّاً
fa-in-ni la aj-a'lu laka zid-da
for I make none rival to You
وَلا أَدْعُو مَعَكَ نِدّاً
wa-la ad-o'o ma'ka nid-da
And I supplicate none with You as equal!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَامْنَعْنِي مِنَ السَّرَفِ
wam-na'-ni minas-saraf
hold me back from prodigality,
وَحَصِّن رِّزْقِي مِنَ التَّلَفِ
wa has-sir-rizqi minat-talaf
fortify my provision against ruin,
وَوَفِّرْ مَلَكَتِي بِالْبَرَكَةِ فِيهِ
wa waf-fir malakati bil-barakati fih
increase my possessions through blessing them,
وَأَصِبْ بِي سَبِيلَ الْهِدَايَةِ لِلْبِرِّ فِيمَا أُنفِقُ مِنْهُ
wa asib bi sabilal-hidayati lil-bir-ri fima unfiqu minh
And set me upon the path of guidance through piety in what I spend!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَاكْفِنِي مَؤُونَةَ الإكْتِسَابِ،
wak-fini ma’unatal-ik-tisab
And spare me the burden of earning,
وَارْزُقْنِي مِنْ غَيْرِ احْتِسَابٍ
warzuq-ni min ghayrih-tisab
provide for me without reckoning,
فَلا أَشْتَغِلَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِكَ بِالطَّلَبِ،
fa-la ash-taghila a'n i'badatika bit-talab
lest I be distracted from Your worship through seeking
وَلا أَحْتَمِلَ إِصْرَ تَبِعَاتِ الْمَكْسَبِ
wa-la ah-tamila is-ra tabia'atil-mak-sab
And carry the load of earning's ill results!
اللَّهُمَّ
allahumma
O Allah,
فَأَطْلِبْنِي بِقُدْرَتِكَ مَا أَطْلُبُ
fa-t-lib-ni bi-qud-ratika ma at-lubu
bestow upon me what I seek through Your power
وَأَجِرْنِي بِعِزَّتِكَ مِمَّا أَرْهَبُ
wa ajir-ni bi-i'z-zatika mim-ma ar-hab
And grant me sanctuary from what I fear through Your might!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَصُن وَّجْهِي بِالْيَسَارِ،
wa suw-waj-hiya bil-yasar
save my face through ease,
وَلا تَبْتَذِلْ جَاهِي بِالإِقْتَارِ
wa-la tab-tadhil jahi bi-liq-tar
And demean not my dignity through neediness,
فَأَسْتَرْزِقَ أَهْلَ رِزْقِكَ،
fa-as-tarziqa ah-la rizqik
lest I seek provision from those whom You hast provided
وَأَسْتَعْطِي شِرَارَ خَلْقِكَ
wa as-ta'-ti shirara khal-qik
And ask for bestowal from the worst of Your creatures!
فَأَفْتَتِنَ بِحَمْدِ مَنْ أَعْطَانِي،
fa-af-tatina biham-di man a'-tani
And Then I would be tried by praising him who gave to me
وَأُبْتَلي بِذَمِّ مَن مَّنَعَنِي
wa ub-tala bidhammi mam-mana'ni
afflicted with blaming him who held back from me,
وَأَنتَ مِن دُونِهِمْ وَلِيُّ الإِعْطَاءِ وَالْمَنْعِ
wa anta min dunihim wali-yul-ia'-ta-i wal-man-i'
While You— not they— art patron of giving and holding back
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household
وَارْزُقْنِي صِحَّةً فِي عِبَادَةٍ،
warzuq-ni sih-hatan fi i'badah
And provide me with soundness in worship,
وَفَرَاغاً فِي زَهَادَةٍ،
wa faraghan fi zahadah
detachment in renunciation,
وَعِلْماً فِي اسْتِعْمَالٍ،
wa i'l-man fis-tia'-mal
knowledge put into action,
وَوَرَعاً فِي إِجْمَالٍ
wa wara'an fi ij-mal
And abstinence in measure!
اللَّهُمَّ اخْتِم بِعَفْوِكَ أَجَلِي
allahummakh-tim bia'f-wika ajali
O Allah, seal my term with Your pardon,
وَحَقِّقْ فِي رَجَاءِ رَحْمَتِكَ أَمَلِي
wa haq-qiq fi raja-i rah-matika amali
verify my expectation in hoping for thy mercy,
وَسَهِّلْ إِلَى بُلُوغِ رِضَاكَ سُبُلِي
wa sah-hil ila bulughi rizaka subuli
smooth my paths to reach Your good pleasure,
وَحَسِّن فِي جَمِيعِ أَحْوَاِلي عَمَلِي
wa has-sin fi jamii' ah-wali a'mali
And make my works good in all my states!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lih
O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,
وَنَبِّهْنِي لِذِكْرِكَ فِي أَوْقَاتِ الْغَفْلَةِ
wa nab-bih-ni lidhik-rika fi aw-qatil-ghaf-lah
Incite me to remember You in times of heedlessness,
وَاسْتَعْمِلْنِي بِطَاعَتِكَ في أَيَّامِ الْمُهْلَةِ
was-ta'-mil-ni bita'tika fi ay-yamil-muh-lah
employ me in Your obedience in days of disregard,
وَانْهَجْ لِي إِلَى مَحَبَّتِكَ سَبِيلاً سَهْلَةً
wan-haj li ila mahab-batika sabilan sah-lah
open a smooth road for me to Your love,
أَكْمِلْ لِي بِهَا خَيْرَ الدُّنيَا وَالآخِرَةِ
ak-milu li biha khayrad-dunyawal-a-khirah
And complete for me thereby the good of this world and the next!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَّآلِهِ كَأَفْضَلِ مَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِّنْ خَلْقِكَ قَبْلَهُ وَأَنتَ مُصَلٍّ عَلى أَحَدٍ بَعْدَهُ
allahumma sal-li a'la muhammadiw-wa a-lihi ka-af-zali ma sal-layta a'la ahadim min khal-qika qab-lahu wa anta musal-lin a'la ahadim-ba'-dah
O Allah, and bless Muhammad and his Household the best You hast blessed any of Your creatures before him and wilt bless any of them after him,
وَآتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَّفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً
wa a-tina fid-dunya hasanataw-wa fil-a-khirati hasanah
And give to us in this world good, and in the next world good,
وَقِنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ عَذَابَ النَّارِ
wa qini birah-matika a'dhaban-nar
And protect me through Your mercy from the chastisement of the Fire!
إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيٍْء قَدِيرٌ، وَهُوَ عَلَيْكَ يَسِيرٌ
in-naka a'la kul-li shay-in qadiruw-wahua a'ilayka yasir
You are powerful over everything, and that is easy for You!
Ameen summa Ameen summa Ameen...
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Graffiti (plural; singular graffiti or graffito, the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire (see also mural).
Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban "problem" for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions
"Graffiti" (usually both singular and plural) and the rare singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). The term "graffiti" is used in art history for works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito", which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it. This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch a design into them. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek γράφειν—graphein—meaning "to write".
The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Historically, these writings were not considered vanadlism, which today is considered part of the definition of graffiti.
The only known source of the Safaitic language, an ancient form of Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.
Some of the oldest cave paintings in the world are 40,000 year old ones found in Australia. The oldest written graffiti was found in ancient Rome around 2500 years ago. Most graffiti from the time was boasts about sexual experiences Graffiti in Ancient Rome was a form of communication, and was not considered vandalism.
Ancient tourists visiting the 5th-century citadel at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka write their names and commentary over the "mirror wall", adding up to over 1800 individual graffiti produced there between the 6th and 18th centuries. Most of the graffiti refer to the frescoes of semi-nude females found there. One reads:
Wet with cool dew drops
fragrant with perfume from the flowers
came the gentle breeze
jasmine and water lily
dance in the spring sunshine
side-long glances
of the golden-hued ladies
stab into my thoughts
heaven itself cannot take my mind
as it has been captivated by one lass
among the five hundred I have seen here.
Among the ancient political graffiti examples were Arab satirist poems. Yazid al-Himyari, an Umayyad Arab and Persian poet, was most known for writing his political poetry on the walls between Sajistan and Basra, manifesting a strong hatred towards the Umayyad regime and its walis, and people used to read and circulate them very widely.
Graffiti, known as Tacherons, were frequently scratched on Romanesque Scandinavian church walls. When Renaissance artists such as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio, or Filippino Lippi descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, they carved or painted their names and returned to initiate the grottesche style of decoration.
There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as Independence Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail.
Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s. Lord Byron's survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.
The oldest known example of graffiti "monikers" found on traincars created by hobos and railworkers since the late 1800s. The Bozo Texino monikers were documented by filmmaker Bill Daniel in his 2005 film, Who is Bozo Texino?.
In World War II, an inscription on a wall at the fortress of Verdun was seen as an illustration of the US response twice in a generation to the wrongs of the Old World:
During World War II and for decades after, the phrase "Kilroy was here" with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately filtering into American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives".
Modern graffiti art has its origins with young people in 1960s and 70s in New York City and Philadelphia. Tags were the first form of stylised contemporary graffiti. Eventually, throw-ups and pieces evolved with the desire to create larger art. Writers used spray paint and other kind of materials to leave tags or to create images on the sides subway trains. and eventually moved into the city after the NYC metro began to buy new trains and paint over graffiti.
While the art had many advocates and appreciators—including the cultural critic Norman Mailer—others, including New York City mayor Ed Koch, considered it to be defacement of public property, and saw it as a form of public blight. The ‘taggers’ called what they did ‘writing’—though an important 1974 essay by Mailer referred to it using the term ‘graffiti.’
Contemporary graffiti style has been heavily influenced by hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from Philadelphia and New York City Subway graffiti; however, there are many other traditions of notable graffiti in the twentieth century. Graffiti have long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges.
An early graffito outside of New York or Philadelphia was the inscription in London reading "Clapton is God" in reference to the guitarist Eric Clapton. Creating the cult of the guitar hero, the phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington, north London in the autumn of 1967. The graffito was captured in a photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall.
Films like Style Wars in the 80s depicting famous writers such as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne, and ZEPHYR reinforced graffiti's role within New York's emerging hip-hop culture. Although many officers of the New York City Police Department found this film to be controversial, Style Wars is still recognized as the most prolific film representation of what was going on within the young hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 took hip hop graffiti to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour in 1983
Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop culture
Main article: Commercial graffiti
With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco which involved people spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linux mascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for punitive damages and clean-up costs.
In 2005, a similar ad campaign was launched by Sony and executed by its advertising agency in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami, to market its handheld PSP gaming system. In this campaign, taking notice of the legal problems of the IBM campaign, Sony paid building owners for the rights to paint on their buildings "a collection of dizzy-eyed urban kids playing with the PSP as if it were a skateboard, a paddle, or a rocking horse".
Tristan Manco wrote that Brazil "boasts a unique and particularly rich, graffiti scene ... [earning] it an international reputation as the place to go for artistic inspiration". Graffiti "flourishes in every conceivable space in Brazil's cities". Artistic parallels "are often drawn between the energy of São Paulo today and 1970s New York". The "sprawling metropolis", of São Paulo has "become the new shrine to graffiti"; Manco alludes to "poverty and unemployment ... [and] the epic struggles and conditions of the country's marginalised peoples", and to "Brazil's chronic poverty", as the main engines that "have fuelled a vibrant graffiti culture". In world terms, Brazil has "one of the most uneven distributions of income. Laws and taxes change frequently". Such factors, Manco argues, contribute to a very fluid society, riven with those economic divisions and social tensions that underpin and feed the "folkloric vandalism and an urban sport for the disenfranchised", that is South American graffiti art.
Prominent Brazilian writers include Os Gêmeos, Boleta, Nunca, Nina, Speto, Tikka, and T.Freak. Their artistic success and involvement in commercial design ventures has highlighted divisions within the Brazilian graffiti community between adherents of the cruder transgressive form of pichação and the more conventionally artistic values of the practitioners of grafite.
Graffiti in the Middle East has emerged slowly, with taggers operating in Egypt, Lebanon, the Gulf countries like Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and in Iran. The major Iranian newspaper Hamshahri has published two articles on illegal writers in the city with photographic coverage of Iranian artist A1one's works on Tehran walls. Tokyo-based design magazine, PingMag, has interviewed A1one and featured photographs of his work. The Israeli West Bank barrier has become a site for graffiti, reminiscent in this sense of the Berlin Wall. Many writers in Israel come from other places around the globe, such as JUIF from Los Angeles and DEVIONE from London. The religious reference "נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן" ("Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman") is commonly seen in graffiti around Israel.
Graffiti has played an important role within the street art scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially following the events of the Arab Spring of 2011 or the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/19. Graffiti is a tool of expression in the context of conflict in the region, allowing people to raise their voices politically and socially. Famous street artist Banksy has had an important effect in the street art scene in the MENA area, especially in Palestine where some of his works are located in the West Bank barrier and Bethlehem.
There are also a large number of graffiti influences in Southeast Asian countries that mostly come from modern Western culture, such as Malaysia, where graffiti have long been a common sight in Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Since 2010, the country has begun hosting a street festival to encourage all generations and people from all walks of life to enjoy and encourage Malaysian street culture.
The modern-day graffitists can be found with an arsenal of various materials that allow for a successful production of a piece. This includes such techniques as scribing. However, spray paint in aerosol cans is the number one medium for graffiti. From this commodity comes different styles, technique, and abilities to form master works of graffiti. Spray paint can be found at hardware and art stores and comes in virtually every color.
Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as cardboard or subject folders) to form an overall design or image. The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface.
Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists Blek le Rat in Paris, in 1982 by Jef Aerosol in Tours (France); by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis
Tagging is the practice of someone spray-painting "their name, initial or logo onto a public surface" in a handstyle unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.
Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, Graffiti Research Lab has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic light-emitting diodes (throwies) as new media for graffitists. yarnbombing is another recent form of graffiti. Yarnbombers occasionally target previous graffiti for modification, which had been avoided among the majority of graffitists.
Theories on the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Asger Jorn, who in 1962 painting declared in a graffiti-like gesture "the avant-garde won't give up"
Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or, in the achievement of a political goal
In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically, or racially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effective tools in establishing dialog and thus, of addressing cleavages in the long run. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR.
Many artists involved with graffiti are also concerned with the similar activity of stenciling. Essentially, this entails stenciling a print of one or more colors using spray-paint. Recognized while exhibiting and publishing several of her coloured stencils and paintings portraying the Sri Lankan Civil War and urban Britain in the early 2000s, graffitists Mathangi Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has also become known for integrating her imagery of political violence into her music videos for singles "Galang" and "Bucky Done Gun", and her cover art. Stickers of her artwork also often appear around places such as London in Brick Lane, stuck to lamp posts and street signs, she having become a muse for other graffitists and painters worldwide in cities including Seville.
Graffitist believes that art should be on display for everyone in the public eye or in plain sight, not hidden away in a museum or a gallery. Art should color the streets, not the inside of some building. Graffiti is a form of art that cannot be owned or bought. It does not last forever, it is temporary, yet one of a kind. It is a form of self promotion for the artist that can be displayed anywhere form sidewalks, roofs, subways, building wall, etc. Art to them is for everyone and should be showed to everyone for free.
Graffiti is a way of communicating and a way of expressing what one feels in the moment. It is both art and a functional thing that can warn people of something or inform people of something. However, graffiti is to some people a form of art, but to some a form of vandalism. And many graffitists choose to protect their identities and remain anonymous or to hinder prosecution.
With the commercialization of graffiti (and hip hop in general), in most cases, even with legally painted "graffiti" art, graffitists tend to choose anonymity. This may be attributed to various reasons or a combination of reasons. Graffiti still remains the one of four hip hop elements that is not considered "performance art" despite the image of the "singing and dancing star" that sells hip hop culture to the mainstream. Being a graphic form of art, it might also be said that many graffitists still fall in the category of the introverted archetypal artist.
Banksy is one of the world's most notorious and popular street artists who continues to remain faceless in today's society. He is known for his political, anti-war stencil art mainly in Bristol, England, but his work may be seen anywhere from Los Angeles to Palestine. In the UK, Banksy is the most recognizable icon for this cultural artistic movement and keeps his identity a secret to avoid arrest. Much of Banksy's artwork may be seen around the streets of London and surrounding suburbs, although he has painted pictures throughout the world, including the Middle East, where he has painted on Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side. One depicted a hole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows a mountain landscape on the other side. A number of exhibitions also have taken place since 2000, and recent works of art have fetched vast sums of money. Banksy's art is a prime example of the classic controversy: vandalism vs. art. Art supporters endorse his work distributed in urban areas as pieces of art and some councils, such as Bristol and Islington, have officially protected them, while officials of other areas have deemed his work to be vandalism and have removed it.
Pixnit is another artist who chooses to keep her identity from the general public. Her work focuses on beauty and design aspects of graffiti as opposed to Banksy's anti-government shock value. Her paintings are often of flower designs above shops and stores in her local urban area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some store owners endorse her work and encourage others to do similar work as well. "One of the pieces was left up above Steve's Kitchen, because it looks pretty awesome"- Erin Scott, the manager of New England Comics in Allston, Massachusetts.
Graffiti artists may become offended if photographs of their art are published in a commercial context without their permission. In March 2020, the Finnish graffiti artist Psyke expressed his displeasure at the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat publishing a photograph of a Peugeot 208 in an article about new cars, with his graffiti prominently shown on the background. The artist claims he does not want his art being used in commercial context, not even if he were to receive compensation.
Territorial graffiti marks urban neighborhoods with tags and logos to differentiate certain groups from others. These images are meant to show outsiders a stern look at whose turf is whose. The subject matter of gang-related graffiti consists of cryptic symbols and initials strictly fashioned with unique calligraphies. Gang members use graffiti to designate membership throughout the gang, to differentiate rivals and associates and, most commonly, to mark borders which are both territorial and ideological.
Graffiti has been used as a means of advertising both legally and illegally. Bronx-based TATS CRU has made a name for themselves doing legal advertising campaigns for companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Toyota, and MTV. In the UK, Covent Garden's Boxfresh used stencil images of a Zapatista revolutionary in the hopes that cross referencing would promote their store.
Smirnoff hired artists to use reverse graffiti (the use of high pressure hoses to clean dirty surfaces to leave a clean image in the surrounding dirt) to increase awareness of their product.
Graffiti often has a reputation as part of a subculture that rebels against authority, although the considerations of the practitioners often diverge and can relate to a wide range of attitudes. It can express a political practice and can form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. One early example includes the anarcho-punk band Crass, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist, and anti-consumerist messages throughout the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Amsterdam graffiti was a major part of the punk scene. The city was covered with names such as "De Zoot", "Vendex", and "Dr Rat". To document the graffiti a punk magazine was started that was called Gallery Anus. So when hip hop came to Europe in the early 1980s there was already a vibrant graffiti culture.
The student protests and general strike of May 1968 saw Paris bedecked in revolutionary, anarchistic, and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counterrevolutionary") and Lisez moins, vivez plus ("Read less, live more"). While not exhaustive, the graffiti gave a sense of the 'millenarian' and rebellious spirit, tempered with a good deal of verbal wit, of the strikers.
I think graffiti writing is a way of defining what our generation is like. Excuse the French, we're not a bunch of p---- artists. Traditionally artists have been considered soft and mellow people, a little bit kooky. Maybe we're a little bit more like pirates that way. We defend our territory, whatever space we steal to paint on, we defend it fiercely.
The developments of graffiti art which took place in art galleries and colleges as well as "on the street" or "underground", contributed to the resurfacing in the 1990s of a far more overtly politicized art form in the subvertising, culture jamming, or tactical media movements. These movements or styles tend to classify the artists by their relationship to their social and economic contexts, since, in most countries, graffiti art remains illegal in many forms except when using non-permanent paint. Since the 1990s with the rise of Street Art, a growing number of artists are switching to non-permanent paints and non-traditional forms of painting.
Contemporary practitioners, accordingly, have varied and often conflicting practices. Some individuals, such as Alexander Brener, have used the medium to politicize other art forms, and have used the prison sentences enforced on them as a means of further protest. The practices of anonymous groups and individuals also vary widely, and practitioners by no means always agree with each other's practices. For example, the anti-capitalist art group the Space Hijackers did a piece in 2004 about the contradiction between the capitalistic elements of Banksy and his use of political imagery.
Berlin human rights activist Irmela Mensah-Schramm has received global media attention and numerous awards for her 35-year campaign of effacing neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist graffiti throughout Germany, often by altering hate speech in humorous ways.
In Serbian capital, Belgrade, the graffiti depicting a uniformed former general of Serb army and war criminal, convicted at ICTY for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnian War, Ratko Mladić, appeared in a military salute alongside the words "General, thank to your mother". Aleks Eror, Berlin-based journalist, explains how "veneration of historical and wartime figures" through street art is not a new phenomenon in the region of former Yugoslavia, and that "in most cases is firmly focused on the future, rather than retelling the past". Eror is not only analyst pointing to danger of such an expressions for the region's future. In a long expose on the subject of Bosnian genocide denial, at Balkan Diskurs magazine and multimedia platform website, Kristina Gadže and Taylor Whitsell referred to these experiences as a young generations' "cultural heritage", in which young are being exposed to celebration and affirmation of war-criminals as part of their "formal education" and "inheritance".
There are numerous examples of genocide denial through celebration and affirmation of war criminals throughout the region of Western Balkans inhabited by Serbs using this form of artistic expression. Several more of these graffiti are found in Serbian capital, and many more across Serbia and Bosnian and Herzegovinian administrative entity, Republika Srpska, which is the ethnic Serbian majority enclave. Critics point that Serbia as a state, is willing to defend the mural of convicted war criminal, and have no intention to react on cases of genocide denial, noting that Interior Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin decision to ban any gathering with an intent to remove the mural, with the deployment of riot police, sends the message of "tacit endorsement". Consequently, on 9 November 2021, Serbian heavy police in riot gear, with graffiti creators and their supporters, blocked the access to the mural to prevent human rights groups and other activists to paint over it and mark the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism in that way, and even arrested two civic activist for throwing eggs at the graffiti.
Graffiti may also be used as an offensive expression. This form of graffiti may be difficult to identify, as it is mostly removed by the local authority (as councils which have adopted strategies of criminalization also strive to remove graffiti quickly). Therefore, existing racist graffiti is mostly more subtle and at first sight, not easily recognized as "racist". It can then be understood only if one knows the relevant "local code" (social, historical, political, temporal, and spatial), which is seen as heteroglot and thus a 'unique set of conditions' in a cultural context.
A spatial code for example, could be that there is a certain youth group in an area that is engaging heavily in racist activities. So, for residents (knowing the local code), a graffiti containing only the name or abbreviation of this gang already is a racist expression, reminding the offended people of their gang activities. Also a graffiti is in most cases, the herald of more serious criminal activity to come. A person who does not know these gang activities would not be able to recognize the meaning of this graffiti. Also if a tag of this youth group or gang is placed on a building occupied by asylum seekers, for example, its racist character is even stronger.
By making the graffiti less explicit (as adapted to social and legal constraints), these drawings are less likely to be removed, but do not lose their threatening and offensive character.
Elsewhere, activists in Russia have used painted caricatures of local officials with their mouths as potholes, to show their anger about the poor state of the roads. In Manchester, England, a graffitists painted obscene images around potholes, which often resulted in them being repaired within 48 hours.
In the early 1980s, the first art galleries to show graffitists to the public were Fashion Moda in the Bronx, Now Gallery and Fun Gallery, both in the East Village, Manhattan.
A 2006 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum displayed graffiti as an art form that began in New York's outer boroughs and reached great heights in the early 1980s with the work of Crash, Lee, Daze, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It displayed 22 works by New York graffitists, including Crash, Daze, and Lady Pink. In an article about the exhibition in the magazine Time Out, curator Charlotta Kotik said that she hoped the exhibition would cause viewers to rethink their assumptions about graffiti.
From the 1970s onwards, Burhan Doğançay photographed urban walls all over the world; these he then archived for use as sources of inspiration for his painterly works. The project today known as "Walls of the World" grew beyond even his own expectations and comprises about 30,000 individual images. It spans a period of 40 years across five continents and 114 countries. In 1982, photographs from this project comprised a one-man exhibition titled "Les murs murmurent, ils crient, ils chantent ..." (The walls whisper, shout and sing ...) at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
In Australia, art historians have judged some local graffiti of sufficient creative merit to rank them firmly within the arts. Oxford University Press's art history text Australian Painting 1788–2000 concludes with a long discussion of graffiti's key place within contemporary visual culture, including the work of several Australian practitioners.
Between March and April 2009, 150 artists exhibited 300 pieces of graffiti at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Spray paint has many negative environmental effects. The paint contains toxic chemicals, and the can uses volatile hydrocarbon gases to spray the paint onto a surface.
Volatile organic compound (VOC) leads to ground level ozone formation and most of graffiti related emissions are VOCs. A 2010 paper estimates 4,862 tons of VOCs were released in the United States in activities related to graffiti.
In China, Mao Zedong in the 1920s used revolutionary slogans and paintings in public places to galvanize the country's communist movement.
Based on different national conditions, many people believe that China's attitude towards Graffiti is fierce, but in fact, according to Lance Crayon in his film Spray Paint Beijing: Graffiti in the Capital of China, Graffiti is generally accepted in Beijing, with artists not seeing much police interference. Political and religiously sensitive graffiti, however, is not allowed.
In Hong Kong, Tsang Tsou Choi was known as the King of Kowloon for his calligraphy graffiti over many years, in which he claimed ownership of the area. Now some of his work is preserved officially.
In Taiwan, the government has made some concessions to graffitists. Since 2005 they have been allowed to freely display their work along some sections of riverside retaining walls in designated "Graffiti Zones". From 2007, Taipei's department of cultural affairs also began permitting graffiti on fences around major public construction sites. Department head Yong-ping Lee (李永萍) stated, "We will promote graffiti starting with the public sector, and then later in the private sector too. It's our goal to beautify the city with graffiti". The government later helped organize a graffiti contest in Ximending, a popular shopping district. graffitists caught working outside of these designated areas still face fines up to NT$6,000 under a department of environmental protection regulation. However, Taiwanese authorities can be relatively lenient, one veteran police officer stating anonymously, "Unless someone complains about vandalism, we won't get involved. We don't go after it proactively."
In 1993, after several expensive cars in Singapore were spray-painted, the police arrested a student from the Singapore American School, Michael P. Fay, questioned him, and subsequently charged him with vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing a car in addition to stealing road signs. Under the 1966 Vandalism Act of Singapore, originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore, the court sentenced him to four months in jail, a fine of S$3,500 (US$2,233), and a caning. The New York Times ran several editorials and op-eds that condemned the punishment and called on the American public to flood the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singapore government received many calls for clemency, Fay's caning took place in Singapore on 5 May 1994. Fay had originally received a sentence of six strokes of the cane, but the presiding president of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong, agreed to reduce his caning sentence to four lashes.
In South Korea, Park Jung-soo was fined two million South Korean won by the Seoul Central District Court for spray-painting a rat on posters of the G-20 Summit a few days before the event in November 2011. Park alleged that the initial in "G-20" sounds like the Korean word for "rat", but Korean government prosecutors alleged that Park was making a derogatory statement about the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, the host of the summit. This case led to public outcry and debate on the lack of government tolerance and in support of freedom of expression. The court ruled that the painting, "an ominous creature like a rat" amounts to "an organized criminal activity" and upheld the fine while denying the prosecution's request for imprisonment for Park.
In Europe, community cleaning squads have responded to graffiti, in some cases with reckless abandon, as when in 1992 in France a local Scout group, attempting to remove modern graffiti, damaged two prehistoric paintings of bison in the Cave of Mayrière supérieure near the French village of Bruniquel in Tarn-et-Garonne, earning them the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in archeology.
In September 2006, the European Parliament directed the European Commission to create urban environment policies to prevent and eliminate dirt, litter, graffiti, animal excrement, and excessive noise from domestic and vehicular music systems in European cities, along with other concerns over urban life.
In Budapest, Hungary, both a city-backed movement called I Love Budapest and a special police division tackle the problem, including the provision of approved areas.
The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 became Britain's latest anti-graffiti legislation. In August 2004, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign issued a press release calling for zero tolerance of graffiti and supporting proposals such as issuing "on the spot" fines to graffiti offenders and banning the sale of aerosol paint to anyone under the age of 16. The press release also condemned the use of graffiti images in advertising and in music videos, arguing that real-world experience of graffiti stood far removed from its often-portrayed "cool" or "edgy'" image.
To back the campaign, 123 Members of Parliament (MPs) (including then Prime Minister Tony Blair), signed a charter which stated: "Graffiti is not art, it's crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do all I can to rid our community of this problem."
In the UK, city councils have the power to take action against the owner of any property that has been defaced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) or, in certain cases, the Highways Act. This is often used against owners of property that are complacent in allowing protective boards to be defaced so long as the property is not damaged.
In July 2008, a conspiracy charge was used to convict graffitists for the first time. After a three-month police surveillance operation, nine members of the DPM crew were convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage costing at least £1 million. Five of them received prison sentences, ranging from eighteen months to two years. The unprecedented scale of the investigation and the severity of the sentences rekindled public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or crime.
Some councils, like those of Stroud and Loerrach, provide approved areas in the town where graffitists can showcase their talents, including underpasses, car parks, and walls that might otherwise prove a target for the "spray and run".
Graffiti Tunnel, University of Sydney at Camperdown (2009)
In an effort to reduce vandalism, many cities in Australia have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffitists. One early example is the "Graffiti Tunnel" located at the Camperdown Campus of the University of Sydney, which is available for use by any student at the university to tag, advertise, poster, and paint. Advocates of this idea suggest that this discourages petty vandalism yet encourages artists to take their time and produce great art, without worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing.[108][109] Others disagree with this approach, arguing that the presence of legal graffiti walls does not demonstrably reduce illegal graffiti elsewhere. Some local government areas throughout Australia have introduced "anti-graffiti squads", who clean graffiti in the area, and such crews as BCW (Buffers Can't Win) have taken steps to keep one step ahead of local graffiti cleaners.
Many state governments have banned the sale or possession of spray paint to those under the age of 18 (age of majority). However, a number of local governments in Victoria have taken steps to recognize the cultural heritage value of some examples of graffiti, such as prominent political graffiti. Tough new graffiti laws have been introduced in Australia with fines of up to A$26,000 and two years in prison.
Melbourne is a prominent graffiti city of Australia with many of its lanes being tourist attractions, such as Hosier Lane in particular, a popular destination for photographers, wedding photography, and backdrops for corporate print advertising. The Lonely Planet travel guide cites Melbourne's street as a major attraction. All forms of graffiti, including sticker art, poster, stencil art, and wheatpasting, can be found in many places throughout the city. Prominent street art precincts include; Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, Brunswick, St. Kilda, and the CBD, where stencil and sticker art is prominent. As one moves farther away from the city, mostly along suburban train lines, graffiti tags become more prominent. Many international artists such as Banksy have left their work in Melbourne and in early 2008 a perspex screen was installed to prevent a Banksy stencil art piece from being destroyed, it has survived since 2003 through the respect of local street artists avoiding posting over it, although it has recently had paint tipped over it.
In February 2008 Helen Clark, the New Zealand prime minister at that time, announced a government crackdown on tagging and other forms of graffiti vandalism, describing it as a destructive crime representing an invasion of public and private property. New legislation subsequently adopted included a ban on the sale of paint spray cans to persons under 18 and increases in maximum fines for the offence from NZ$200 to NZ$2,000 or extended community service. The issue of tagging become a widely debated one following an incident in Auckland during January 2008 in which a middle-aged property owner stabbed one of two teenage taggers to death and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.
Graffiti databases have increased in the past decade because they allow vandalism incidents to be fully documented against an offender and help the police and prosecution charge and prosecute offenders for multiple counts of vandalism. They also provide law enforcement the ability to rapidly search for an offender's moniker or tag in a simple, effective, and comprehensive way. These systems can also help track costs of damage to a city to help allocate an anti-graffiti budget. The theory is that when an offender is caught putting up graffiti, they are not just charged with one count of vandalism; they can be held accountable for all the other damage for which they are responsible. This has two main benefits for law enforcement. One, it sends a signal to the offenders that their vandalism is being tracked. Two, a city can seek restitution from offenders for all the damage that they have committed, not merely a single incident. These systems give law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them not only to focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.
Many restrictions of civil gang injunctions are designed to help address and protect the physical environment and limit graffiti. Provisions of gang injunctions include things such as restricting the possession of marker pens, spray paint cans, or other sharp objects capable of defacing private or public property; spray painting, or marking with marker pens, scratching, applying stickers, or otherwise applying graffiti on any public or private property, including, but not limited to the street, alley, residences, block walls, and fences, vehicles or any other real or personal property. Some injunctions contain wording that restricts damaging or vandalizing both public and private property, including but not limited to any vehicle, light fixture, door, fence, wall, gate, window, building, street sign, utility box, telephone box, tree, or power pole.
To help address many of these issues, many local jurisdictions have set up graffiti abatement hotlines, where citizens can call in and report vandalism and have it removed. San Diego's hotline receives more than 5,000 calls per year, in addition to reporting the graffiti, callers can learn more about prevention. One of the complaints about these hotlines is the response time; there is often a lag time between a property owner calling about the graffiti and its removal. The length of delay should be a consideration for any jurisdiction planning on operating a hotline. Local jurisdictions must convince the callers that their complaint of vandalism will be a priority and cleaned off right away. If the jurisdiction does not have the resources to respond to complaints in a timely manner, the value of the hotline diminishes. Crews must be able to respond to individual service calls made to the graffiti hotline as well as focus on cleanup near schools, parks, and major intersections and transit routes to have the biggest impact. Some cities offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of suspects for tagging or graffiti related vandalism. The amount of the reward is based on the information provided, and the action taken.
When police obtain search warrants in connection with a vandalism investigation, they are often seeking judicial approval to look for items such as cans of spray paint and nozzles from other kinds of aerosol sprays; etching tools, or other sharp or pointed objects, which could be used to etch or scratch glass and other hard surfaces; permanent marking pens, markers, or paint sticks; evidence of membership or affiliation with any gang or tagging crew; paraphernalia including any reference to "(tagger's name)"; any drawings, writing, objects, or graffiti depicting taggers' names, initials, logos, monikers, slogans, or any mention of tagging crew membership; and any newspaper clippings relating to graffiti crime.
I'm taking a little vacation. When I go on vacation, it's a real vacation.......no laptop, no smart phone, no access to the internet at all. It's fun, hopefully sun, and my camera. :-)
www.cadillacforums.com/threads/puttin-on-the-ritz-1984-el...
This installment begins back, way way back,back into time. In the days we could have large gatherings, touch our faces, eat inside restaurants, and lived perilously close to the edge of running out of toilet paper. Picture it, Thanksgiving weekend, 2019…Oh wait, back a bit further…August, 1983.
Some dunderhead salesman in southern California takes an order from a buyer with great taste, a beautifully optioned 1984 Eldorado Biarritz in the ultimate color combination of Black/Black/Red. Said dunderhead gets everything right on the order-except for one tiny detail. The desire for a CF5 Astroroof is lost in translation from the prospective buyer and never makes it into the POS.
Car arrives in September. No sunroof. What gives? Our apologies sir, we’ll get that taken care of right away. Car is driven to an ASC installer. Another dunderhead gets out a jigsaw and cuts a hole thru the roof. A 38” (the biggest you can fit in an Eldorado with roof-mounted seatbelts) ASC sunroof is installed. Car is returned to dealership, buyer eagerly accepts delivery, none the wiser about factory vs aftermarket sunroofs.
For those who don’t know, when you order a car with a sunroof, the car is born with a hole in the roof. Mounts are cast into the roof panel, and the sunroof assembly seats in them and the glass panel has a channel for a nice rubber gasket that seals everything up nice. Then a vacuum formed headliner backing board is cast to perfectly hide everything. When you get an aftermarket sunroof, someone gets a stencil and a jigsaw, and cuts your roof panel and headliner open, pops a trim ring in the hole, and hangs a sunroof pan on the trim ring. If you’re lucky they will drill additional reinforcements to marry the pan to the roof structure. Then they get a bunch of headliner material, pull it taught from the corners of the car to the opening in the roof, and send you on down the road.
Anyway, back to Thanksgiving 2019, and the jigsaw dunderhead’s work starts to come undone.
When I had purchased this car, it needed headliner help. The material was loose, but not sagging appreciably. Additionally, someone had tried to superglue the material all around the perimeter. The material was kind of floating in place, which I thought was weird. I ended up getting some super strong neodymium magnets to hold it taught-which worked ok until it was humid out, or driving on the highway with the windows down as the liner would look something like a sailboat in the wind.
My fix was simple-find a factory sunroof equipped car and get the headliner board out of it and pop it into my car. Found out that that was easier said than done, and after a lot of junkyard expedition, kept coming up empty handed. Finally after years, I came into someone parting a factory sunroof Eldo on ebay and after a lot of trouble was able to get it shipped to me
The board needed some help, and after getting all the old foam off of it and some repairs made to restore the structure (the sunroof headliner board is really thin and flimsy, even compared to the stock non-sunroof board) I tore the interior apart to facilitate getting it in and out as I knew I would have to make “some” tweaks to reconcile the aftermarket hole location to the factory one. The sunroof assembly would also need to come out to recover the sunshade; as well as reseal the panel.
We can see here how the trim ring supports the pan assembly from the center. I have to say though, this was about as clean an install as an aftermarket sunroof can come with lots of extra bracing and no factory roof reinforcements cut. We can also see a very chintzy felt seal stuck to the trim ring
Got the sunshade recovered quickly. I later removed the black plastic covered jute that was glued to the pan-factory did not have this and it would have made the board sit too low when installed in the car. The gray rubbery stuff at the front of the pan was also stripped off for the same reason. I also swapped to the factory grab handle that was included with the board.
Also recovered the sail panels. I chose to leave the foam backing on these as it is not the usual headliner stuff that turns to jelly, its more like a sponge material and seemed to be holding up just fine.
I also added PED connectors to the sail panel interior lights that the factory curiously left out. Not sure how they installed these as the harness is one giant piece, but it means that you can’t take the sail panels out without having the lights dangling in the back. This will become important later.
I then devised a new seal. I threw away all the felt and used some 3M Adhesive remover to get rid of the stuff they had glued it with. Nasty stuff but did a good job. The new seal was the first part of this that took a LONG time. Aftermarket roofs from this time use some kind of felt tape to cut down on wind noise and slow water ingress into the pan, and while still available, there is way better out there today. (In spite of how it looked on my car though, it never leaked?!?! Wind noise was an issue with the shade open though) I decided on a rubber seal, and after getting a whole bunch of samples, the stuff I had initially ended up trying was pretty thin, but rigid strip of rubber. After gluing it on with 3M yellow weatherstrip adhesive (which does NOT work as good as the adhesive remover), I put the pan back in the car to see how it would work.
No photos of the failure here, but no good. The material was too rigid and too grippy, and would cause the roof to bind midway thru its travel. Then it tore off in the corners. Ugh! Pan back out, strip off the remaining seal and glue and go back to the drawing board. I ended up buying this
www.austinhardware.com/rubber-seal-single-500-rolls.htm
Which is a hollow piece of rubber that lets the panel travel without binding, and still squishes into a really tight seal. Looks like its out of stock now, but something with close to those measurements in a D-shape is a possibility for someone looking to reseal their ASC aftermarket sunroof. It was another 3M product, that was just a peel and stick affair-way easier than the yellow goopy adhesive route. Seems like a really strong bond, and seals fantastically against wind and water. 0 wind noise now, and no leaks in a downpour when parked, or cruising at highway speeds. Roof moves without binding now
I also decided to put the new seal onto the glass panel itself as it seems like that’s the easier life for it-if I put it around the opening, the pop rivets from the panel would abrade it. Super happy with this.
Next task was of course the headliner. With the pan now back in the car, I could take measurements and properly scribe/cut/fill the board as needed. Again, easier said than done. This was a weeks long ordeal between cutting the board, fiberglassing new material in, more cutting, more filling, coronavirus insanity, etc. Long story short, my roof was installed a few inches more aft than a factory roof would have been, which meant a lot of tweaking to get the kick-up over the rear passengers head in the right spot. Additionally, I needed to build out the map light drop down to accommodate the motor.
Here is the mess I ended up with
I also affixed strips of 3M dual-lock (it is like a heavy duty version of the stuff that holds in an Ezpass) to the back of the board and the pan to hold it tightly-the factory had attempted this with a similar product in the non-sunroof car headliner board. I was super skeptical that my fudgery would cover well at all, but I have to say that foam backed headliner material must be some of the most forgiving stuff around. This took me months to complete, working off and on from November thru April. Ultimately though, I’m happy with it.
While the interior was out, there was another thing I wanted to do. About a year ago, I was following a buddy as he took his Eldorado to drop off at a shop-couldn’t help but notice how small the brake lights (and the rest of the car) seemed compared to all the bulbous modern cars surrounding it. Then I had a couple of SUV’s roll up way too close for comfort on the back of the car-one was close enough that I launched the Eldorado up and to the side to avoid getting hit. Knowing that getting rear ended by a careless driver would probably result in my untimely incarceration, I set out to do something about rear visibility.
The federal government mandated 3rd brake lights for passenger cars for model year 1986. Cadillac was slightly ahead of the curve with this with the 1985 Deville/Fleetwoods which got these in the fall of ’84. Apparently the science is behind them and they do result in fewer rear end collisions. So I decided to add one of them to the Eldo.
There were a few different versions of these things made, with short, medium and long necks to mate with the rear window-one for a Fleetwood Brougham has the tall one, and one for an 80s Buick Riviera like the one seen above is short. The short one is the best size for the Eldo, any taller and it would look pretty bad. Then the gasket that seals it to the window is different for each different model. Fortunately a potato peeler does a great job of cutting things down to size to match the Eldos vertical rear window, and the material can be easily sanded to get out any little imperfections to make it seal nicely and not leak light. An ideal donor for one would be one an 86-91 Eldo or Seville without a factory vinyl or carriage roof.
A quick mockup
All of these lights mount the same way, with this little bracket cutting into the package shelf and screwing in to the metal underneath. This is not possible on the Eldo as the package shelf reinforcement under the center won’t let this happen. So I had to modify the bracket to sit flush on the package shelf, and add two holes to the shelf to get the screws through. They screw right into the package shelf reinforcement.
The next step was wiring. It is not as simple as tapping a brake light wire and running across the package shelf to the light. Since the Eldos tail lights do everything- brake, signal and hazard, just tapping a wire would cause the center light to flash with the signals or hazard. GM rectified this by using a different brake switch to prevent backfeeding. See the original gray switch, with an in and out, and the new beige one, with a supply, and two isolated outputs. This puts the 3rd brake light (acronym: CHMSL “Center High Mount Stoplight) on its own branch-but also means that you have to home run a wire all the way to it. The wire chase made quick work of this however. I had a pretty long link of 3rd brake light harness, but not quite enough to make it to the front of the car. I put another PED connector of the same kind that I used on the sail panels to join this blue wire I ran from the switch underneath the drivers side rear seat arm rest, which is accessible by removing the ash tray if need be. The stock package shelf reinforcement actually ended up being drilled for the wiring, so I’m not sure if this was something that was in the works for the Eldo.
The version of the brake switch I used allowed me to keep the cruise control connector, and only change the brake light connector itself (part 12117354). I wanted to keep this as non-invasive as possible as I hate being upside down under the dash (though I see to find myself in that position a lot…) I will search around for the part number for the brake light switch itself.
The last trick I wanted to pull before I put the interior back together was to replace the horrible rearview mirror. I forgot how bad these things were (or more like, no one ever noticed before there were LED headlights on other people’s cars that are tall enough to be flush with your back window) but it seems like the mirror was good for one thing; blindness. They have two settings-blindingly bright where others headlights fry your retinas at night, or completely blind, where you can’t see a thing behind you.
My daily driver has a great auto dimming mirror that still lets you see everything without blinding you, made by Gentex. About the same size as the Eldo rearview. I was casually browsing their offerings to see what kind of money we were talking, when I noticed they offered an upgraded unit as compared to the one installed on my car-one with an LED compass feature that was *drumroll* amber colored! Just like the center stack on the Eldorado! So needless to say, the project was underway quickly.
Wired it in cleanly to an existing ignition power on the fuse box
I had to buy a new button to mount it, stock Eldo one was too small to hold it. Check out the dashboard illustration on the glue I bought to stick it on with!
And here it is mounted up!
I am super happy with the mirror. It works great and is a really close match to the amber on the center stack. They even have the same segment check timing when you turn the ignition on Unfortunately it does not dim with the rest of the dash panel, so that’s a letdown, but if desired you can turn the compass off if you wanted to dim everything all the way as I like to do when I’m out of the city on a dark road.
Now, you may notice that the visors are all kinds of messed up. Progress has a price I guess. My long-fought for 1988 Deville visors are NG with the new headliner board-they’re just too big and interfere with the bump out for the map light. I wish I would have known as I could have easily shrunk this bump out when I was doing surgery on the board but its too late now. I’m at a crossroads of reinstalling my old red Eldo visors with known good arms swapped into them (which are probably super faded next to the new material but are impossible to reupholster right) or finding another late 80s more robust GM visor and reupholstering/swapping them in.
I still have more stuff to add to this which may come tomorrow as my fingers are about to fall off!
At the Carnival of shape and light Saturday October 25, 2014 Christchurch New Zealand.
Student teamed up with Christchurch businesses or organisations, which act as the tenants or clients, and will occupy space around and under the frames. Think pop-up cafes and bars, performance spaces, a youth venue, a night market, dance hall, bike workshop, bike-light disco and street games. It's a big street party, in other words.
www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/10632495/Fest...
Knowing that the forecast was for the snow to melt quickly today I took advantage of it before it was gone.
"A good photograph is knowing where to stand" - Anselm Adams - and the photographer in the image chose his spot and waited patiently for the moment.
Knowing that H. axyridis larvae are known to predate Adalia sp larvae, I interfered in this case, and moved it on to another plant with plenty of aphids!!
Upton Magna - Shropshire
Not Knowing Working Group Clive Philpott, Lucy Gunning, Jo Melvin and others, . Raven Row, London.
As part of Artists Placement Group (APG) exhibition at Raven Row, London, a ThinkTank met at Chelsea College of Art and Design to convene a public discussion based on APG’s discursive format of The Sculpture.
Knowing my wife had demanded I got home on time for some lurv I made a quick diversion on the way home to try and catch the weather front over Jodrell Bank. I would have liked to take longer, but when my wife says I have to be home on time, well.......... This shot straight out of the camera.
Knowing that Washi A was a high-contrast film and Rodinal isn't known for taming contrast, I did something different. Going by a time on the MDC, I over-exposed the roll by a stop (ASA-6). The results were decent, in some cases a little soft at the edges, but overall I got a little better shadow detail but kept that nice high-contrast look.
You can read the full review online:
www.alexluyckx.com/blog/2023/08/14/film-review-blog-no-98...
Nikon F5 - AF Nikkor 24mm 1:2.8 - FilmWashi A @ ASA-6
Adox Rodinal (1+50) 8:00 @ 20C
Scanner: Epson V700 + Silverfast 9 SE
Editor: Adobe Photoshop CC
Knowing Jesus – Why did the Lord Jesus work on the Sabbath?
By Wang Hao
There are the following scriptures recorded in the Bible, “At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, Behold, your disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath day” (Mat 12:1-2). Yet the Lord Jesus said, “But I say to you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day” (Mat 12:6-8). Whenever I saw these scriptures, I couldn’t help but think: The Sabbath was the holy day made by Jehovah God for the Israelites. On that day, everyone would stop working and go to the temple to worship Jehovah God. However, when the Lord Jesus came, He did His work on the Sabbath. Why didn’t He lead His disciples to keep the Sabbath? What’s the intention of the Lord Jesus by doing so? These problems were always disturbing me.
Image Source: Daily Devotionals
Source from: Our Daily Devotionals
Terms of Use: www.cagnz.org/disclaimer
Knowing which path to take in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
A woman from Tshamaka village walks into the forest on a path marked by MECHEM Demining, a partner of UNMAS, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this area, near the Kisangani airfield, mines and explosive remnants of war contaminate many of the paths and forests. Thanks to surveys and markings, the people living in nearby villages can go about their daily tasks without fear. UNMAS/Gwenn Dubourthoumieu
Knowing my interest in buses, our girl Jemma took this shot from the window of her Uni accommodation overlooking Brayford Way of the Lincoln City Football team taking part in a tour of the city to celebrate their return to the EFL as Champions of the National League. The bus is former Western National and Eastern Counties ECW bodied Bristol LDL6G type VDV 752. It is of course well known to me, it having spent several summers allocated to ECOC Cromer depot for use on seasonal open top service 769 between Overstrand, Cromer, The Runtons and Sheringham. Anyone know the current owner(s)?
Lauren Weisberger
Everyone Worth Knowing
First published in: 2005
This edition: Downtown Press, 2006
ISBN: 978-0-7432-6233-0
Genre: chick lit
Pages: 367
Cover design by Evan Gaffney
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Before I got my wisdom teeth removed last month, I already figured I'd be useless, simply curled up on the sofa, with blankets and pillows, stuffing my chipmunk cheeked face with painkillers and custard, wishing I could simply go to sleep and wake up a week later, healed up and sans agony. Reading the day away was the next best thing. So that's what I did. My book of choice was EVERYONE WORTH KNOWING by Lauren Weisberger (followed by LAST CHANCE SALOON by Marian Keyes – to be reviewed later). A light and uplifting read, perfect for someone who had the attention span of a gnat due to discomfort, pain and hunger.
Bette Robinson's job is, well, it's just terrible. Working as a banker is hardly what she imagined herself to be doing when grown up. In an a-typical impulsive moment, Bette decides to quit, and discovers funemployment – the fun of which doesn't usually last long. One can only walk her dog so many times before realizing something needs to change. Luckily, thanks to her uncle, Bette scores a job working for Kelly, who owns one of Manhattan's top PR firms, and gets a taste of the life: parties, nightclubs, celebrities… and being the subject of nasty gossip columns.
The premise sounds pretty typical – young single girl in Manhattan working way up the career ladder while living the life of exclusivity, getting herself (manipulated) into crazy situations. I'm personally growing pretty weary of Manhattan as the back drop for so many of these kinds of books and having the importance of "being someone in New York (and only New York)" stressed all the time.
…there are many similarities to THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, another of Weisberger's books, but I somehow still feel EVERYONE WORTH KNOWING is a tad bit better (and I'm going to be in the minority here) because it seems more successfully satirical.
It's been three years since I've read THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, so I've been racking my brain trying to describe the reason why, but I can't remember feeling as enthusiastic about it as I do with EVERYONE WORTH KNOWING.
In DEVIL, which – as I understand it – is supposed to take a harder stand against "that world" (being based on Anna Wintour and Vogue all), too many names are dropped and brands are mentioned – e.g. product placement – which left me feeling upon finishing that DEVIL is, if anything, one big advertisement. EVERYONE WORTH KNOWING is a little less extreme in defaming the Manhattan elite, and also less extreme in namedropping. It doesn't try so hard either way.
Albeit less than in DEVIL, Lauren Weisberger still plays for both teams somewhat in EVERYONE WORTH KNOWING: what does she want (from us)? To love Manhattan's elite, or hate it? To have it be relevant, or not?
Are we, readers, meant to be in awe at all the celebrities and exclusivity… or have any disgust with the material world justified? Most likely both – Weisberger to me seems to want to please everybody without really taking a clear stand. (I ended my review of DEVIL: "Lauren Weisberger, Choo's your alliance." – I still feel this way.)
Bette for instance has never before heard of a Birkin Bag. I live in a hole in The Netherlands and while I like bags, I don't really give a crap about labels. Even I know what a Birkin Bag is. Then again, several pages later Bette flawlessly describes one man's entire outfit, including his "men's latest orange Pumas".
I would have perhaps been less hard on the author if Bette really knew zilch about Birkin Bags AND orange puma's AND Armani dresses. This was my main problem with DEVIL. The heroine is supposed to be sort of an antagonist against the material world, yet it is made too relevant – it's Prada this, Blahnik that.
It's inconsistent, but consistently so – not 1, but 2 of Weisberger's books have left me feeling this way.
Weisberger's none too kind about Kelly or her employees, having them drink too much, snort whatever can be snorted up their noses and making sure the (fictional) celeb is a complete tool. But they live the life, and Weisberger does glam it up. What's a banker compared to someone in PR, after all?
What makes EVERYONE WORTH KNOWING worth reading is Bette: she helps to make the book more likable. Bette is one of the most lovely characters I've ever "met" in the chick lit genre. She is like a breath of fresh air to me: very sympathetic and sensible enough, swept away in Manhattan's society but never losing herself in it. Bette doesn't sell out, much preferring her beloved Harlequin book club as opposed to hanging out with slimy celebrities.
Yes, Bette lacks initiative and a back bone, but I don't seek a perfect heroine and couldn't help but adore her, which is very important when reading chick lit – for me anyway. I only read the first part of the SHOPAHOLIC series and felt no need to continue it, mostly because Rebecca Bloomwood frustrated me too much.
Bette is in ways someone I can relate to, despite so many life differences. I think her personality just speaks to me.
The sub-story about her friendships with Penelope and Michael is poor though; Penelope's sub-story seems like predictable filler, and Michael fades away into the background.
One point of irritation regards the gay uncle, whose abundant use of "darling" bothers me to no end; it's like he is channeling the ladies of "Absolutely Fabulous", and doing it badly. Add to that his die-hard republican-ism and I can't help but to shout "SERIOUSLY?!" and shake my head.
But the most important sub-story is sweet and successful: there's a lot of chemistry between Bette and her love interest, their story nicely developed. Definitely swoon material, which is also very important for chick lit. Perhaps – together with a likable narrator – even more than an author taking a clear stand.
I just can't help but to think like a critic more and more. Three years of book reviewing has altered the way I read books: while I can enjoy a book for what it is, I do mentally note the best and worst about it. I think about every book and ask myself questions. So this review will probably come across as very critical.
But ask me the question, "did you enjoy reading it?" – I'll answer, yes. Because I really did. Despite the inconsistencies, despite my questioning Weisberger's satirical merits, EVERYONE WORTH KNOWING is a perfectly pleasant read. Dental work or not.
© 2010
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