Cabaret for the charity

 

Visit this location at Morphe Inc.! in Second Life

SL Destination: Home of Morphe Inc, Morphe Inc (96, 232,52) - PG

For Morphe II

HINDU GODDESS KALI

Kālī, also known as Kālikā (Sanskrit: कालिका), is the Hindu goddess associated with empowerment, shakti. She is the fierce aspect of the goddess Durga (Parvati). The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death: Shiva. Since Shiva is called Kāla— the eternal time — the name of Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" (as in "time has come"). Hence, Kāli is the Goddess of Time and Change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation of evil forces still has some influence. Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shākta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. Comparatively recent devotional movements largely conceive Kāli as a benevolent mother goddess. Kālī is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. Shiva lies in the path of Kali, whose foot on Shiva subdues her anger.

 

ETYMOLOGY

Kālī is the feminine form of kālam ("black, dark coloured"). Kāla primarily means "time" but also means "black" in honor of being the first creation before light itself. Kālī means "the black one" and refers to her being the entity of "time" or "beyond time." Kāli is strongly associated with Shiva, and Shaivas derive the masculine Kāla (an epithet of Shiva) to come from her feminine name. A nineteenth-century Sanskrit dictionary, the Shabdakalpadrum, states: कालः शिवः। तस्य पत्नीति - काली। kālaḥ śivaḥ। tasya patnīti kālī - "Shiva is Kāla, thus, his consort is Kāli" referring to Devi Parvathi being a manifestation of Devi MahaKali.

 

Other names include Kālarātri ("black night"), as described above, and Kālikā ("relating to time"). Coburn notes that the name Kālī can be used as a proper name, or as a description of color.

 

Kāli's association with darkness stands in contrast to her consort, Shiva, who manifested after her in creation, and who symbolises the rest of creation after Time is created. In his supreme awareness of Maya, his body is covered by the white ashes of the cremation ground (Sanskrit: śmaśāna) where he meditates, and with which Kāli is also associated, as śmaśāna-kālī.

 

ORIGINS

Hugh Urban notes that although the word Kālī appears as early as the Atharva Veda, the first use of it as a proper name is in the Kathaka Grhya Sutra (19.7). Kali is the name of one of the seven tongues of Agni, the [Rigvedic] God of Fire, in the Mundaka Upanishad (2:4), but it is unlikely that this refers to the goddess. The first appearance of Kāli in her present form is in the Sauptika Parvan of the Mahabharata (10.8.64). She is called Kālarātri (literally, "black night") and appears to the Pandava soldiers in dreams, until finally she appears amidst the fighting during an attack by Drona's son Ashwatthama. She most famously appears in the sixth century Devi Mahatmyam as one of the shaktis of Mahadevi, and defeats the demon Raktabija ("Bloodseed"). The tenth-century Kalika Purana venerates Kāli as the ultimate reality.

 

According to David Kinsley, Kāli is first mentioned in Hinduism as a distinct goddess around 600 CE, and these texts "usually place her on the periphery of Hindu society or on the battlefield." She is often regarded as the Shakti of Shiva, and is closely associated with him in various Puranas. The Kalika Purana depicts her as the "Adi Shakti" (Fundamental Power) and "Para Prakriti" or beyond nature.

 

WORSHIP & MANTRA

Kali could be considered a general concept, like Durga, and is mostly worshiped in the Kali Kula sect of worship. The closest way of direct worship is Maha Kali or Bhadra Kali (Bhadra in Sanskrit means 'gentle'). Kali is worshiped as one of the 10 Mahavidya forms of Adi Parashakti (Goddess Durga) or Bhagavathy according to the region. The mantra for worship is called Devi Argala Stotram.

Sanskrit: सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

 

ॐ जयंती मंगल काली भद्रकाली कपालिनी । दुर्गा क्षमा शिवा धात्री स्वाहा स्वधा नमोऽस्तु‍ते ॥

(Sarvamaṅgalamāṅgalyē śivē sarvārthasādhikē . śaraṇyē tryambakē gauri nārāyaṇi namō'stu tē.

Oṃ jayantī mangala kālī bhadrakālī kapālinī . durgā kṣamā śivā dhātrī svāhā svadhā namō'stu‍tē.)

 

TANTRA

Goddesses play an important role in the study and practice of Tantra Yoga, and are affirmed to be as central to discerning the nature of reality as are the male deities. Although Parvati is often said to be the recipient and student of Shiva's wisdom in the form of Tantras, it is Kāli who seems to dominate much of the Tantric iconography, texts, and rituals. In many sources Kāli is praised as the highest reality or greatest of all deities. The Nirvana-tantra says the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva all arise from her like bubbles in the sea, ceaselessly arising and passing away, leaving their original source unchanged. The Niruttara-tantra and the Picchila-tantra declare all of Kāli's mantras to be the greatest and the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra all proclaim Kāli vidyas (manifestations of Mahadevi, or "divinity itself"). They declare her to be an essence of her own form (svarupa) of the Mahadevi.

 

In the Mahanirvana-tantra, Kāli is one of the epithets for the primordial sakti, and in one passage Shiva praises her:

 

At the dissolution of things, it is Kāla [Time] Who will devour all, and by reason of this He is called Mahākāla [an epithet of Lord Shiva], and since Thou devourest Mahākāla Himself, it is Thou who art the Supreme Primordial Kālika. Because Thou devourest Kāla, Thou art Kāli, the original form of all things, and because Thou art the Origin of and devourest all things Thou art called the Adya [the Primordial One]. Re-assuming after Dissolution Thine own form, dark and formless, Thou alone remainest as One ineffable and inconceivable. Though having a form, yet art Thou formless; though Thyself without beginning, multiform by the power of Maya, Thou art the Beginning of all, Creatrix, Protectress, and Destructress that Thou art.

 

The figure of Kāli conveys death, destruction, and the consuming aspects of reality. As such, she is also a "forbidden thing", or even death itself. In the Pancatattva ritual, the sadhaka boldly seeks to confront Kali, and thereby assimilates and transforms her into a vehicle of salvation. This is clear in the work of the Karpuradi-stotra, a short praise of Kāli describing the Pancatattva ritual unto her, performed on cremation grounds. (Samahana-sadhana)

 

He, O Mahākāli who in the cremation-ground, naked, and with dishevelled hair, intently meditates upon Thee and recites Thy mantra, and with each recitation makes offering to Thee of a thousand Akanda flowers with seed, becomes without any effort a Lord of the earth. Oh Kāli, whoever on Tuesday at midnight, having uttered Thy mantra, makes offering even but once with devotion to Thee of a hair of his Shakti [his energy/female companion] in the cremation-ground, becomes a great poet, a Lord of the earth, and ever goes mounted upon an elephant.

 

The Karpuradi-stotra clearly indicates that Kāli is more than a terrible, vicious, slayer of demons who serves Durga or Shiva. Here, she is identified as the supreme mistress of the universe, associated with the five elements. In union with Lord Shiva, she creates and destroys worlds. Her appearance also takes a different turn, befitting her role as ruler of the world and object of meditation. In contrast to her terrible aspects, she takes on hints of a more benign dimension. She is described as young and beautiful, has a gentle smile, and makes gestures with her two right hands to dispel any fear and offer boons. The more positive features exposed offer the distillation of divine wrath into a goddess of salvation, who rids the sadhaka of fear. Here, Kali appears as a symbol of triumph over death.

 

BENGALI TRADITION

Kali is also a central figure in late medieval Bengali devotional literature, with such devotees as Ramprasad Sen (1718–75). With the exception of being associated with Parvati as Shiva's consort, Kāli is rarely pictured in Hindu legends and iconography as a motherly figure until Bengali devotions beginning in the early eighteenth century. Even in Bengāli tradition her appearance and habits change little, if at all.

 

The Tantric approach to Kāli is to display courage by confronting her on cremation grounds in the dead of night, despite her terrible appearance. In contrast, the Bengali devotee appropriates Kāli's teachings adopting the attitude of a child, coming to love her unreservedly. In both cases, the goal of the devotee is to become reconciled with death and to learn acceptance of the way that things are. These themes are well addressed in Rāmprasād's work. Rāmprasād comments in many of his other songs that Kāli is indifferent to his wellbeing, causes him to suffer, brings his worldly desires to nothing and his worldly goods to ruin.

 

To be a child of Kāli, Rāmprasād asserts, is to be denied of earthly delights and pleasures. Kāli is said to refrain from giving that which is expected. To the devotee, it is perhaps her very refusal to do so that enables her devotees to reflect on dimensions of themselves and of reality that go beyond the material world.

 

A significant portion of Bengali devotional music features Kāli as its central theme and is known as Shyama Sangeet ("Music of the Night"). Mostly sung by male vocalists, today even women have taken to this form of music. One of the finest singers of Shyāma Sāngeet is Pannalal Bhattacharya.

 

In Bengal, Kāli is venerated in the festival Kali Puja, the new moon day of Ashwin month which coincides with Diwali festival.

 

In a unique form of Kāli worship, Shantipur worships Kāli in the form of a hand painted image of the deity known as Poteshwari (meaning the deity drawn on a piece of cloth).

 

LEGENDS

SLAYER OF RAKTABIJA

In Kāli's most famous legend, Devi Durga (Adi Parashakti) and her assistants, the Matrikas, wound the demon Raktabija, in various ways and with a variety of weapons in an attempt to destroy him. They soon find that they have worsened the situation for with every drop of blood that is dripped from Raktabija he reproduces a clone of himself. The battlefield becomes increasingly filled with his duplicates. Durga, in need of help, summons Kāli to combat the demons. It is said, in some versions, that Goddess Durga actually assumes the form of Goddess Kāli at this time. The Devi Mahatmyam describes:

 

Out of the surface of her (Durga's) forehead, fierce with frown, issued suddenly Kali of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and noose. Bearing the strange khatvanga (skull-topped staff ), decorated with a garland of skulls, clad in a tiger's skin, very appalling owing to her emaciated flesh, with gaping mouth, fearful with her tongue lolling out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great asuras in that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas.

 

Kali destroys Raktabija by sucking the blood from his body and putting the many Raktabija duplicates in her gaping mouth. Pleased with her victory, Kali then dances on the field of battle, stepping on the corpses of the slain. In the Devi Mahatmya version of this story, Kali is also described as a Matrika and as a Shakti or power of Devi. She is given the epithet Cāṃuṇḍā (Chamunda), i.e. the slayer of the demons Chanda and Munda. Chamunda is very often identified with Kali and is very much like her in appearance and habit.

 

DAKSHINA KALI

In her most famous pose as Daksinakali, popular legends say that Kali, becoming drunk on the blood of her victims on the battlefield, dances with destructive frenzy. She is about to destroy the whole universe when, urged by all the gods, Shiva lies in her way to stop her. In her fury, she fails to see the body of Shiva lying amongst the corpses on the battlefield and steps upon his chest. Realizing Shiva lies beneath her feet, her anger is pacified and she calms her fury. Though not included in any of the puranas, popular legends state that Kali was ashamed at the prospect of keeping her husband beneath her feet and thus stuck her tongue out in shame. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana, which goes into great depths about the goddess Kali, reveals the tongue's actual symbolism.

 

The characteristic icons that depict Kali are the following; unbridled matted hair, open blood shot eyes, open mouth and a drooping tongue; in her hands, she holds a Khadga (bent sword or scimitar) and a human head; she has a girdle of human hands across her waist and an enchanted Shiva lies beneath her feet. Each of these icons represent a deep philosophical epithet. The drooping out-stuck tongue represents her blood-thirst. Lord Shiva beneath her feet represents matter, as Kali is undoubtedly the primeval energy. The depiction of Kali on Shiva shows that without energy, matter lies "dead". This concept has been simplified to a folk-tale depicting a wife placing her foot on her husband and sticking her tongue out in shame. In tantric contexts, the tongue is seen to denote the element (guna) of rajas (energy and action) controlled by sattva.

 

If Kali steps on Shiva with her right foot and holds the sword in her left hand, she is considered to be Dakshina Kali. The Dakshina Kali Temple has important religious associations with the Jagannath Temple and it is believed that Daksinakali is the guardian of the kitchen of the Lord Jagannath Temple. Puranic tradition says that in Puri, Lord Jagannath is regarded as Daksinakalika. Goddess Dakshinakali plays an important role in the 'Niti' of Saptapuri Amavasya.

 

One South Indian tradition tells of a dance contest between Shiva and Kali. After defeating the two demons Sumbha and Nisumbha, Kali takes up residence in the forest of Thiruvalankadu or Thiruvalangadu. She terrorizes the surrounding area with her fierce, disruptive nature. One of Shiva's devotees becomes distracted while performing austerities, and asks Shiva to rid the forest of the destructive goddess. When Shiva arrives, Kali threatens him, claiming the territory as her own. Shiva challenges Kali to a dance contest; both of them dance and Kali matches Shiva in every step that he takes until Shiva takes the "Urdhvatandava" step, by vertically raising his right leg. Kali refuses to perform this step, which would not befit her as a woman, and became pacified.

 

SMASHAN KALI

If the Kali steps out with the left foot and holds the sword in her right hand, she is the terrible form of Mother, the Smashan Kali of the cremation ground. She is worshiped by tantrics, the followers of Tantra, who believe that one's spiritual discipline practiced in a smashan (cremation ground) brings success quickly. Sarda Devi, the consort of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, worshipped Smashan Kali at Dakshineshwar.

 

MATERNAL KALI

Another legend depicts the infant Shiva calming Kali. In this similar story, Kali has defeated her enemies on the battlefield and begun to dance out of control, drunk on the blood of the slain. To calm her down and to protect the stability of the world, Shiva is sent to the battlefield, as an infant, crying aloud. Seeing the child's distress, Kali ceases dancing to care for the helpless infant. She picks him up, kisses his head, and proceeds to breast feed the infant Shiva. This legend is notable because it shows Kali in her benevolent, maternal aspect, with which she is not usually identified.

 

MAHAKALI

Mahakali (Sanskrit: Mahākālī, Devanagari: महाकाली), literally translated as Great Kali, is sometimes considered as a greater form of Kali, identified with the Ultimate reality of Brahman. It can also be used as an honorific of the Goddess Kali, signifying her greatness by the prefix "Mahā-". Mahakali, in Sanskrit, is etymologically the feminized variant of Mahakala or Great Time (which is interpreted also as Death), an epithet of the God Shiva in Hinduism. Mahakali is the presiding Goddess of the first episode of the Devi Mahatmya. Here she is depicted as Devi in her universal form as Shakti. Here Devi serves as the agent who allows the cosmic order to be restored.

 

Kali is depicted in the Mahakali form as having ten heads, ten arms, and ten legs. Each of her ten hands is carrying a various implement which vary in different accounts, but each of these represent the power of one of the Devas or Hindu Gods and are often the identifying weapon or ritual item of a given Deva. The implication is that Mahakali subsumes and is responsible for the powers that these deities possess and this is in line with the interpretation that Mahakali is identical with Brahman. While not displaying ten heads, an "ekamukhi" or one headed image may be displayed with ten arms, signifying the same concept: the powers of the various Gods come only through Her grace.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

Kali is portrayed mostly in two forms: the popular four-armed form and the ten-armed Mahakali form. In both of her forms, she is described as being black in color but is most often depicted as blue in popular Indian art. Her eyes are described as red with intoxication, and in absolute rage, her hair is shown disheveled, small fangs sometimes protrude out of her mouth, and her tongue is lolling. She is often shown naked or just wearing a skirt made of human arms and a garland of human heads. She is also accompanied by serpents and a jackal while standing on a seemingly dead Shiva, usually right foot forward to symbolize the more popular Dakshinamarga or right-handed path, as opposed to the more infamous and transgressive Vamamarga or left-handed path.

 

In the ten-armed form of Mahakali she is depicted as shining like a blue stone. She has ten faces and ten feet and three eyes. She has ornaments decked on all her limbs. There is no association with Shiva.

 

The Kalika Purana describes Kali as possessing a soothing dark complexion, as perfectly beautiful, riding a lion, four-armed, holding a sword and blue lotuses, her hair unrestrained, body firm and youthful.

 

In spite of her seemingly terrible form, Kali Ma is often considered the kindest and most loving of all the Hindu goddesses, as she is regarded by her devotees as the Mother of the whole Universe. And because of her terrible form, she is also often seen as a great protector. When the Bengali saint Ramakrishna once asked a devotee why one would prefer to worship Mother over him, this devotee rhetorically replied, "Maharaj, when they are in trouble your devotees come running to you. But, where do you run when you are in trouble?"

 

According to Ramakrishna, darkness is the Ultimate Mother, or Kali:

 

My Mother is the principle of consciousness. She is Akhanda Satchidananda; indivisible Reality, Awareness, and Bliss. The night sky between the stars is perfectly black. The waters of the ocean depths are the same; The infinite is always mysteriously dark. This inebriating darkness is my beloved Kali.

 

SRI RAMAKRISHNA

This is clear in the works of such contemporary artists as Charles Wish, and Tyeb Mehta, who sometimes take great liberties with the traditional, accepted symbolism, but still demonstrate a true reverence for the Shakta sect.

 

POPULAR FORM

Classic depictions of Kali share several features, as follows:

 

Kali's most common four armed iconographic image shows each hand carrying variously a sword, a trishul (trident), a severed head and a bowl or skull-cup (kapala) catching the blood of the severed head.

 

Two of these hands (usually the left) are holding a sword and a severed head. The Sword signifies Divine Knowledge and the Human Head signifies human Ego which must be slain by Divine Knowledge in order to attain Moksha. The other two hands (usually the right) are in the abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (blessing) mudras, which means her initiated devotees (or anyone worshipping her with a true heart) will be saved as she will guide them here and in the hereafter.

 

She has a garland consisting of human heads, variously enumerated at 108 (an auspicious number in Hinduism and the number of countable beads on a Japa Mala or rosary for repetition of Mantras) or 51, which represents Varnamala or the Garland of letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, Devanagari. Hindus believe Sanskrit is a language of dynamism, and each of these letters represents a form of energy, or a form of Kali. Therefore she is generally seen as the mother of language, and all mantras.

 

She is often depicted naked which symbolizes her being beyond the covering of Maya since she is pure (nirguna) being-consciousness-bliss and far above prakriti. She is shown as very dark as she is brahman in its supreme unmanifest state. She has no permanent qualities - she will continue to exist even when the universe ends. It is therefore believed that the concepts of color, light, good, bad do not apply to her - she is the pure, un-manifested energy, the Adi-shakti.

 

SHIVA IN KALI ICONOGRAPHY

In both these images she is shown standing on the prone, inert or dead body of Shiva. There is a legend for the reason behind her standing on what appears to be Shiva's corpse, which translates as follows:

 

Once Kali had destroyed all the demons in battle, she began a terrific dance out of the sheer joy of victory. All the worlds or lokas began to tremble and sway under the impact of her dance. So, at the request of all the Gods, Shiva himself asked her to desist from this behavior. However, she was too intoxicated to listen. Hence, Shiva lay like a corpse among the slain demons in order to absorb the shock of the dance into himself. When Kali eventually stepped upon Shiva, she realized she was trampling and hurting her husband and bit her tongue in shame.

 

The story described here is a popular folk tale and not described or hinted in any of the puranas. The puranic interpretation is as follows:

 

Once, Parvati asks Shiva to chose the one form among her 10 forms which he likes most. To her surprise, Shiva reveals that he is most comfortable with her Kali form, in which she is bereft of her jewellery, her human-form, her clothes, her emotions and where she is only raw, chaotic energy, where she is as terrible as time itself and even greater than time. As Parvati takes the form of Kali, Shiva lies at her feet and requests her to place her foot on his chest, upon his heart. Once in this form, Shiva requests her to have this place, below her feet in her iconic image which would be worshiped throughout.

 

This idea has been explored in the Devi-Bhagavata Purana and is most popular in the Shyama Sangeet, devotional songs to Kali from the 12th to 15th centuries.

 

The Tantric interpretation of Kali standing on top of her husband is as follows:

 

The Shiv tattava (Divine Consciousness as Shiva) is inactive, while the Shakti tattava (Divine Energy as Kali) is active. Shiva and Kali represent Brahman, the Absolute pure consciousness which is beyond all names, forms and activities. Kali, on the other hand, represents the potential (and manifested) energy responsible for all names, forms and activities. She is his Shakti, or creative power, and is seen as the substance behind the entire content of all consciousness. She can never exist apart from Shiva or act independently of him, just as Shiva remains a mere corpse without Kali i.e., Shakti, all the matter/energy of the universe, is not distinct from Shiva, or Brahman, but is rather the dynamic power of Brahman. Hence, Kali is Para Brahman in the feminine and dynamic aspect while Shiva is the male aspect and static. She stands as the absolute basis for all life, energy and beneath her feet lies, Shiva, a metaphor for mass, which cannot retain its form without energy.

 

While this is an advanced concept in monistic Shaktism, it also agrees with the Nondual Trika philosophy of Kashmir, popularly known as Kashmir Shaivism and associated most famously with Abhinavagupta. There is a colloquial saying that "Shiva without Shakti is Shava" which means that without the power of action (Shakti) that is Mahakali (represented as the short "i" in Devanagari) Shiva (or consciousness itself) is inactive; Shava means corpse in Sanskrit and the play on words is that all Sanskrit consonants are assumed to be followed by a short letter "a" unless otherwise noted. The short letter "i" represents the female power or Shakti that activates Creation. This is often the explanation for why She is standing on Shiva, who is either Her husband and complement in Shaktism or the Supreme Godhead in Shaivism.

 

To properly understand this complex Tantric symbolism it is important to remember that the meaning behind Shiva and Kali does not stray from the non-dualistic parlance of Shankara or the Upanisads. According to both the Mahanirvana and Kularnava Tantras, there are two distinct ways of perceiving the same absolute reality. The first is a transcendental plane which is often described as static, yet infinite. It is here that there is no matter, there is no universe and only consciousness exists. This form of reality is known as Shiva, the absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda - existence, knowledge and bliss. The second is an active plane, an immanent plane, the plane of matter, of Maya, i.e., where the illusion of space-time and the appearance of an actual universe does exist. This form of reality is known as Kali or Shakti, and (in its entirety) is still specified as the same Absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda. It is here in this second plane that the universe (as we commonly know it) is experienced and is described by the Tantric seer as the play of Shakti, or God as Mother Kali.

 

From a Tantric perspective, when one meditates on reality at rest, as absolute pure consciousness (without the activities of creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to this as Shiva or Brahman. When one meditates on reality as dynamic and creative, as the Absolute content of pure consciousness (with all the activities of creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to it as Kali or Shakti. However, in either case the yogini or yogi is interested in one and the same reality - the only difference being in name and fluctuating aspects of appearance. It is this which is generally accepted as the meaning of Kali standing on the chest of Shiva.

 

Although there is often controversy surrounding the images of divine copulation, the general consensus is benign and free from any carnal impurities in its substance. In Tantra the human body is a symbol for the microcosm of the universe; therefore sexual process is responsible for the creation of the world. Although theoretically Shiva and Kali (or Shakti) are inseparable, like fire and its power to burn, in the case of creation they are often seen as having separate roles. With Shiva as male and Kali as female it is only by their union that creation may transpire. This reminds us of the prakrti and purusa doctrine of Samkhya wherein prakāśa- vimarśa has no practical value, just as without prakrti, purusa is quite inactive. This (once again) stresses the interdependencies of Shiva and Shakti and the vitality of their union.

 

Gopi Krishna proposed that Kali standing on the dead Shiva or Shava (Sanskrit for dead body) symbolised the helplessness of a person undergoing the changing process (psychologically and physiologically) in the body conducted by the Kundalini Shakti.

 

DEVELOPMENT

In the later traditions, Kali has become inextricably linked with Shiva. The unleashed form of Kali often becomes wild and uncontrollable, and only Shiva is able to tame her just as only Kali can tame Shiva. This is both because she is often a transformed version of one of his consorts and because he is able to match her wildness.

 

The ancient text of Kali Kautuvam describes her competition with Shiva in dance, from which the sacred 108 Karanas appeared. Shiva won the competition by acting the urdva tandava, one of the Karanas, by raising his feet to his head. Other texts describe Shiva appearing as a crying infant and appealing to her maternal instincts. While Shiva is said to be able to tame her, the iconography often presents her dancing on his fallen body, and there are accounts of the two of them dancing together, and driving each other to such wildness that the world comes close to unravelling.

 

Shiva's involvement with Tantra and Kali's dark nature have led to her becoming an important Tantric figure. To the Tantric worshippers, it was essential to face her Curse, the terror of death, as willingly as they accepted Blessings from her beautiful, nurturing, maternal aspect. For them, wisdom meant learning that no coin has only one side: as death cannot exist without life, so life cannot exist without death. Kali's role sometimes grew beyond that of a chaos - which could be confronted - to that of one who could bring wisdom, and she is given great metaphysical significance by some Tantric texts. The Nirvāna-tantra clearly presents her uncontrolled nature as the Ultimate Reality, claiming that the trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra arise and disappear from her like bubbles from the sea. Although this is an extreme case, the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra declare her the svarupa (own-being) of the Mahadevi (the great Goddess, who is in this case seen as the combination of all devis).

 

The final stage of development is the worshipping of Kali as the Great Mother, devoid of her usual violence. This practice is a break from the more traditional depictions. The pioneers of this tradition are the 18th century Shakta poets such as Ramprasad Sen, who show an awareness of Kali's ambivalent nature. Ramakrishna, the 19th century Bengali saint, was also a great devotee of Kali; the western popularity of whom may have contributed to the more modern, equivocal interpretations of this Goddess. Rachel McDermott's work, however, suggests that for the common, modern worshipper, Kali is not seen as fearful, and only those educated in old traditions see her as having a wrathful component. Some credit to the development of Devi must also be given to Samkhya. Commonly referred to as the Devi of delusion, Mahamaya or Durga, acting in the confines of (but not being bound by) the nature of the three gunas, takes three forms: Maha-Kali, Maha-Lakshmi and Maha-Saraswati, being her tamas-ika, rajas-ika and sattva-ika forms. In this sense, Kali is simply part of a larger whole.

 

Like Sir John Woodroffe and Georg Feuerstein, many Tantric scholars (as well as sincere practitioners) agree that, no matter how propitious or appalling you describe them, Shiva and Devi are simply recognizable symbols for everyday, abstract (yet tangible) concepts such as perception, knowledge, space-time, causation and the process of liberating oneself from the confines of such things. Shiva, symbolizing pure, absolute consciousness, and Devi, symbolizing the entire content of that consciousness, are ultimately one and the same - totality incarnate, a micro-macro-cosmic amalgamation of all subjects, all objects and all phenomenal relations between the "two." Like man and woman who both share many common, human traits yet at the same time they are still different and, therefore, may also be seen as complementary.

 

Worshippers prescribe various benign and horrific qualities to Devi simply out of practicality. They do this so they may have a variety of symbols to choose from, symbols which they can identify and relate with from the perspective of their own, ever-changing time, place and personal level of unfolding. Just like modern chemists or physicists use a variety of molecular and atomic models to describe what is unperceivable through rudimentary, sensory input, the scientists of ontology and epistemology must do the same. One of the underlying distinctions of Tantra, in comparison to other religions, is that it allows the devotee the liberty to choose from a vast array of complementary symbols and rhetoric which suit one's evolving needs and tastes. From an aesthetic standpoint, nothing is interdict and nothing is orthodox. In this sense, the projection of some of Devi's more gentle qualities onto Kali is not sacrilege and the development of Kali really lies in the practitioner, not the murthi.

______________________

 

HINDU GODDESS DURGA

Durga, meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible", is the most popular incarnation of Devi and one of the main forms of the Goddess Shakti in the Hindu pantheon. Durga is the original manifested form of Mother Parvati or Adi-Parashakti. Durga is Adi-Parashakti herself. The Devi Gita, declares her to be the greatest Goddess. Thus, she is considered the supreme goddess and primary deity in Shaktism, occupying a place similar to Lord Krishna in Vaishnavism. According to Skanda Purana, the goddess Parvati accounted the name "Durga" after she killed the demon Durgamaasura. Goddess Parvati is considered to be the complete incarnation of Adi Parashakti or Goddess Durga, with all other goddesses being her incarnations or manifestations. Adi Parashakti or Mahadevi, the supreme power, is called Durga Shakti as per Devi-Mahatmya. Adi Parashakti or Devi Durga is a Hindu concept of the Ultimate Shakti or Mahashakti, the ultimate power inherent in all Creation. This is especially prevalent in the Shakta denomination within Hinduism, which worships the Goddess Devi in all her manifestations. She is Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati in her mild form; Goddess Kali and Goddess Chandi in her wrathful form. Durga is also called Padmanabha-Sahodari and Narayani, the sister of Lord Vishnu. According to Shaivism and Shaktism She is supreme, but to bring back lord Shiva in Sansar, she was reborn in human form (Sati and Parvati) to marry Shiva. Durga gave birth to his first child Kartikeya.

 

ORIGINS & DEVELOPMENT

Ramprasad Chanda writes the following about the development of Durga from primitive goddess to her current form:

 

"...it is possible to distinguish two different strata – one primitive and the other advanced. The primitive form of Durga is the result of syncretism of a mountain-goddess worshiped by the dwellers of the Himalaya and the Vindhyas, a goddess worshiped by the nomadic Abhira shepherd, the vegetation spirit conceived as a female, and a war-goddess. As her votaries advanced in civilization the primitive war-goddess was transformed into the personification of the all-destroying time (Kali), the vegetation spirit into the primordial energy (Adya Sakti) and the saviouress from “samsara” (cycle of rebirths) , and gradually brought into line with the Brahmanic mythology and philosophy."

 

It is not possible to date her The delusion of the supreme soul is otherwise called Shakti (power). From this power, generates all forms of knowledge of the world and it is accepted as vital cause of creation, existence and destruction. According to 'Shree Durga Shaptshati- Rahasyam', the original power is Mahalaxmi that created three pairs of Supreme Powers. They are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as male and Saraswati, Laxmi and Parvati as female, and they married respectively. Maha Saraswati is well known as Brahmani, Mahalaxmi as Vaishnavi and Mahakali as Maheswari. Durga Shakti is the original cause of all the present or past worldly occurrences. Durga Shakti is called as Adhyashakti, Paramatma Shakti or Ati Prakrutika Shakti. She is creating and controlling other two powers: Natural and General. Natural Power is called as Atma Shakti, Prakrutika Shakti, Pancha Mahabhuta Shakti etc. This Shakti creates and controls the General Energy. General Energies are called Jada Shakti or Tamashakti. By the blessings of Durga Shakti, the mother of the Universe, man is able to get his emancipation or salvation and indulge in enjoyments in performance of his daily activities. So Vyasadev, the eminent poet of "Devi Bhagwat", has aptly described "Rudrahinam Vishnuhinam na vadanti janastatha Shaktihinam Yathasarbe probodhanti Naradhamam". The powerless persons are despised as mean persons. So, by being devoted to the Supreme, we should be strong and powerful by her grace.

 

STORIES

Shiva Purana gives an account of the origin of Durga. At the beginning of time, Lord Shiva invoked Durga, the primordial energy from his left half to create. Together they created their eternal abode, Shivaloka, also known as Kashi. Thereafter, they created Vishnu and Brahma.

 

As per Shiva Purana and Devi Mahatmyah, Mahishasura, the son of demon Rambha, unleashed reign of terror on earth. When gods intervened, Mahishasura defeated gods and banished them from heaven. Vanquished gods went to Trideva- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. As they narrated their woeful tale, immense mass of light manifested from Lord Vishnu's mouth, which was joined by similar rays that emerged from the enraged faces of gods. This mass of light transformed into a woman. Then all the Gods gave their devine weapon to that supreme power. Adishakti re-manifested as Durga to slay Mahishasura. Armed with celestial weapons of all deities and decked with divine ornaments, Durga rode into the battle field and challenged demons for battle. Mahishasura's entire army, led by demons like Chikshur, Chamar, Asiloma, Vidalaksha, Durdhara, Durmukha, Mahahanu and many more attacked Durga at once. But Durga slew all of them with unparalleled cruelty. An enraged Mahishasura attacked Durga in guise of a buffalo. But Durga bound it with ropes. The buffalo morphed into a lion and lept on Durga, but she beheaded it with her sword. At this, Mahishasura began to fight in form of a swordsman. Durga pinned him down with a torrent of arrows. Mahishasura now assumed form of a giant elephant and tugged at Durga's lion. Durga lopped off its trunk with her sword and freed her lion. The elephent turned into a buffalo and charged at Durga. Sipping from her wine cup, Durga flung her trident and beheaded Mahishasura, finally killing him.

 

WIKIPEDIA

SPECIAL GUEST www.flickr.com/photos/morphe_us/

 

tableau imaginaire

Canal St Martin, Paris

By 1992, my tastes in railroad photography had morphed from quantity to quality. The Amador Central hit my radar, as it was dependent on the beleaguered timber industry, and its motive power was a pair of 40+ year old Baldwin S-12s. Just 55 miles to the south of AMC's base at Martell, California, the Sierra Railroad had a trio of Baldwin S-12s at its enginehouse in Oakdale. If you had an affinity for photogenic shortlines - especially those with elderly locomotives constructed by minority builders - the Sierra foothills in Central California were the place to be.

 

These photos were taken the first time I visited the Amador Central Railroad in July 1992. My wife and I had chased the Southern Pacific 4449 south from Portland the previous weekend, and we were visiting our friend Tom Messer in Fair Oaks. He took me to Martell so we could chase AMC. Unfortunately, the day we chose for a visit was a day that the railroad only switched out the Georgia Pacific mill, and did not run down the hill to the SP interchange at Ione. These are the images I recorded on Kodachrome that day.

 

Someone had done a nice job putting this lettering on the side of the enginehouse. By this date, the railroad was owned by Georgia Pacific, which also owned the mill that provided the line's traffic base. Note the GP blue paint on the Chevy pickup's bumper.

The long running Ralston Type-8 morphed into the 'Tigre' line in 1938, running late, as the promised V8 from Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Cord line failed with that company, and the inline-8 which had similarly been bought it from A-C-D (used in the Auburn), was also no longer in series production from the engine works.

 

No matter. There was a modest stockpile of inline-8 engines which was gradually depleted in the manufacture of the Rhino model. Meanwhile 1938 brought with it a V8 engine from Cadillac, fitted to a chassis frame of Ralston's own design. The shorter engine allowed a greater allocation of overall length to the passenger area - though truth be told, more of if went to providing greater luggage capacity, and a more cab-forward look to the cars.

 

The Tigre MkI, still know as the Type-8 Tigre was replaced after WWII, with a MkII design, losing this Type-8 appellation. The new model appeared at the end of 1953, the car based on the new post WWII Cadillac frame, engine and underbody of the 1948-53 Series 60 (in particular the slightly longer 60 Special). The tooling was transferred to Ralston upon completion of the 1953 model year. By this stage the preceding MkI was now 15 years old, though this included the period through the war years.

 

The adoption of Cadillac underpinnings provided the Ralston Tigre MkII with the calibre of running gear demanded by the marque's premium position, though with a much reduced outlay, particularly compared to their premium US-based builders such as Packard. Key differentiation with the originating Cadillac was the Ralston themed 'X' radiator grille, unique bumper treatment, and completely reprofiled rear fender tops, truncating in a rocket-pod tail lamp cluster, instead of the Cadillac 'fin'. Not elements sat completely at ease with the carryover Cadillac based structure.

 

An update to the Tigre MkII in 1956 led to the MkII-B. a few of the elements were cleared up in the styling, plus the addition of a number of 'flourishes' that had emerged during the 1952-55 model years. Chief among these were 'tailfins' no longer the preserve of Cadillac, but sprouting taller and wilder each year on all US domestic brands. Compared to the 1954 model, the MkII-B had slightly taller fins, but they were much more prominent in the styling, as they were accentuated by both chrome trim separating them from the fender bulge, and also incorporating one of the zones for the bi-colour and tri-colour themes.

 

In 1958 the car was upgraded further with the advent of the MkII-C. This model again received changes to the fender, front and rear. At the front, the fender height was increased, making the car look both more modern, and also tying the top ridge into the unmodified doors and sides. The rear fender was modified to include a tapering fin, which then led to a tail lamp treatment which was to evolve further into a 'rocket pod' on subsequent models. The 'X' theme was continued to include a 'X' rocket, mounted centrally in the trunk lid. This could alternatively be swapped out for a conventionally styled horizontal trim, if the Continental spare wheel option was included (though this had also phased out of popularity over a short time period). The new trunk lid also shared the tapering profile of the fins. Although this look less modern compared to the newly squared up trunk lids from GM and Ford's divisions, it suited the 'classic' lines of the Ralston Tigre model, leading many to state that the MkII-C was perhaps the most conservatively handsome of mid-century Ralston models, particularly on the SWB closed models.

 

Additional styling changes included a modest reinterpretation of the grille, including the addition of 'Dagmars' at its extremities, and a new front bumper including marker lights.

 

The 1954 car launched with the same tune 331 CID (5.4 litre) V8, producing 230 bhp (175 kW), for 1956 this was raised to 285 bhp (213 kW) with an increase in capacity to 365 CID (6.0 litres). The 1958 MkII-C retained the 365 CID V8, but power increased to 310 bhp (230 kW).

 

Shown here is the 1958 MkII-C Convertible in two-colour treatment Dark Red, and Rose Beige.

 

This Lego miniland scale Ralston Tigre MkII-C Hardtop Coupe (1958) has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 108th Build Challenge - The 9th Birthday, titled - 'LUGNuts Turns Nine' - where all previous build challenges are available to build to. This model is built to the LUGNuts 63rd build challenge, - "Designing the Ralston Tiger" featuring fictional vehicles styled with an 'X' form in the styling.

blue morpho macro

Kuckuck, seltene braune Morphe

Photo de Les Demeures de Morphee. This reflects the weight of oneself. Fittingly near to the Law courts

A Snowy Egret (right) and a White-morphed Reddish Egret (left) hungrily foraged along the dunes while the post-storm gale-like winds tried to send them flying.

 

Location: Fort De Soto Park, Tierra Verde, Florida, United States of America

She visited Montmartre, but got lost in a dream, and Rio's the one she's dreaming of. Oh, she's definitely in love! A game plan set in place to send Jem and the Holograms soaring to France on business soon morphed into one colossal nightmare! The drama began the night the band met Lin-Z Pierce and Anthony Julian at Countess Danielle du Voisin's boat party. Unfortunately, the celebration ended with a hostile takeover executed by the Misfits, whose lead singer destroyed the control unit to the yacht, almost killing everyone aboard! Deeply irritated by their rivals, Jem and Kimber both agreed that their band would get the last laugh when they win the Battle of the Bands contest, but Jem insisted that they would need something extra spectacular to defeat the vamps of Rock 'n' Roll. Anthony Julian was eager to sign on as the official director for their video. Danielle immediately expressed her desire to cover the band's expenses, no matter the cost! And Howard Sands, caught up in the spirit of generosity, didn't think twice about providing his private jet for transportation. Then Danielle came up with a brilliant idea for location—Paris! The reality of that moment was too much for Jem and the Holograms to take in all at once, for each member felt eternally grateful for the love and assistance from their newest friends! Jem suggested that the band finish their album, first, and then set off on their adventure. Two days passed and the moment had finally come for the girls to depart for Howard Sands' private jet with their designer luggage in hand and instruments in tow. The concept was simple: Spend a few lovely days in the capital of France to shoot the music video for their latest hit, “Twilight in Paris”, with a little sightseeing in between, and then return home. After a few hours of flying through the bright sky, Jem and the Holograms finally touched down in Paris and immediately began working while still whirling from the opportunity bestowed upon them. However, unbeknown to them, Eric Raymond had embezzled enough money to send Zipper on a mini vacation to clock their every move and sabotage their video by any means! Meanwhile, on the streets of Paree, Anthony enjoyed showing off his directorial expertise while rehearsing a long elaborate scene with Jem and Shana. Off to the side of the shoot, a rivalry began to develop as Kimber grew more and more annoyed at Jem and showed less interest in shooting the video. Aja noticed Kimber's apparent state of discomfort and made a point that they're all apart of the same group. Several feet away, leering from behind the corner stood Zipper, armed and ready to engage in risky business by leading Jem and the Holograms into a deadfall! Emotionally scorned and bored, Kimber made a break from the group and decided to take a long walk. Rio noticed her in the distance and ran over to make sure that everything was ok, but the two began to argue over the amount of attention given to Jem. Rio mentioned that Kimber was acting like a spoiled child and that Jem was not trying to steal the spotlight. All bets were off at that moment as Kimber became livid to the point where she almost exposed Jem's true identity! A malfunctioning meltdown was averted, thanks to some swift footwork from Shana and Aja who both rushed over to collect Kimber and insisted that Jem would explain her secret to Rio when she felt the time was right! Meanwhile, listening and watching high above on the ledge sat Zipper, psyched up and prepared to execute his diabolical plan to flip a large gargoyle over on top of Jem and the Holograms who were performing just below! After the second take, the entire crew looked up for one second to see the gargoyle careening to the ground, and Rio, reacting on his instincts, flew through the air and pushed Jem and her girls out of harm's way! Anthony held Shana in shock and wondered where the oversized boulder appeared from, while Rio pulled Jem into his arms and held her close. Unhinged from reality, the group looked around for answers. Then, with another swift glance upward to the ledge, they soon discovered their worst nightmare...Zipper who was hopping like Batman from one rooftop to the next in a frantic attempt to escape! A few days later, Jem and her girls arrived back in California and noticed the entire city covered with Misfits posters. Angry as hell, Kimber took it upon herself to visit Eric at his office to get answers. Once there, she warned him that the Misfits would not get away with trying to rig the competition in their favor. And right away, Eric began to soft soap the star keyboardist with a promise that if she signed a contract with Misfits Music, then he would make her an overnight success. Not quite sure what to make from his proposal, Kimber stood her ground, spoke her mind, and then walked out the door. Meanwhile, at Starlight Music, Jerrica received a call from Lin-Z Pierce to appear on her wildly popular music television show! Immediately, Jerrica accepted the invite and said that she would inform her bandmates about the news, but Lin-Z insisted that it would have to be only her without the Holograms. Overwhelmed with appreciation, Jerrica agreed. Unaware of the facts, Shana and Aja jumped for joy, but not nearly as quick as Kimber who immediately flipped when she heard the news! Jerrica didn't know what to say other than admit that Lin-Z only wanted Jem for the appearance. No longer able to keep it together, Kimber blew her stack and exclaimed that she was sick of being the invisible woman behind Jem, and announced that she was going solo (hmm, déjà vu). Sadden by the revelation of her sister's decision to leave, Jerrica was moved to tears and decided to call Lin-Z and insisted that the interview would have to include the entire band or no one at all. And the chipper reporter was happy to suit her needs and agreed to have them appear together. Meanwhile, while riding around the city, Kimber tried to forget the incident by blasting some popular beats from her favorite radio station, KMAX. Already well aware of her sister's passion for KMAX, Jerrica brilliantly constructed a plan to visit the radio station with the hope of reaching out to her over the airwaves, and sent an emotional plea for her to return to the band, adding that without her as their keyboardist, there's no Holograms, thus no JEM! While listening to the broadcast, a tearful Kimber made a sharp u-turn and burnt rubber all the way back to Starlight Mansion, and agreed with her sister that, without JEM, there's no band, period! Rio pulled up a second later to warn Jerrica that they all had 15 minutes to airtime, and also had a lot on his mind about their relationship. On the way to the studio, Rio explained that he often finds himself in a confusing battle with trying to relate to Jerrica, and that she's too involved with Jem. He then revealed that he could no longer be Jem's road manager. In a panic, Jerrica begged Rio to stay, citing that they simply could not move forward without him. At Lin-Z's studio, inside the dressing room, Jerrica gave her star earring one slight touch and it was SHOWTIME! After a stellar performance of “I Got My Eye on You”, the girls took a seat to begin their interview. On the opposite side of the stage sat the Misfits who were already angry at Jem for just being there and wanted equal airtime, so they decided to razz the set. At that point, Lin-Z was past the point of reasoning and asked all three hellions to leave! As the Misfits exited the show, Pizzazz made an attempt to sink her claws into Rio by offering the purple prince the position of her very own personal bodyguard, and whispered that if he ever got tired of working for Jem, then he could come work for her instead. Sickened to the core, Rio spurred her offer straightaway! But an irritated Pizzazz took his rejection to heart and rammed him with an elbow to the gut, throwing him backwards and into a heavy duty light stand which fell over while yanking the electrical cords from the ceiling and sending the scaffolds and other equipment crashing down at Jem! Now trapped in a corner of the studio, and almost seconds away from the shock of her life, Jem belted out a guttural scream for help! The entire studio watched in trepidation as Rio jumped on an operating crane and eased his way over to where she stood, swept her up in his arms and whisked her away to safety! There were several lessons to be learned on that fateful day, but Jem and Rio became closer than ever before and developed a secret passion that would carry them through the years ahead.

 

There was high-risk action at every turn during her time in Paris, but what I find exceptionally interesting is that, while trying to avoid death, Jem never broke a sweat nor disarranged not one strand of hair on her head lol. And speaking of her beautifully fluffed hair, the end results for this particular version of Jem display more of a distinctively rich pink hue, possibly brighter than any other version in the collection, and nearly identical to Raya's hair. The color actually appears more richer in shade with strands of light pink highlights. I had to double-check, but one close look in the light and I noticed the light pink tint immediately! Can't say I'm feeling her dark eyebrows, but the length of her bangs takes care of that. Her cosmetics are flawless! Jem sat at her magnificent vanity table and pulled out her huge compact of light pink “Ciao Paris” highlighter and brushed a bunch of it on her brow bones, then swiped a great amount under her lash lines where her eyes and cheeks meet. She reached out for her pink “Splendere Luminoso” eyeshadow and added a few strokes above her creases, then came in with blue “Shootin' Star” shadow to the center of her creases, and jazzed it all up with a heap of shimmering aqua blue “Out of This World” dust on her lids and down around the tear ducts of both eyes. Her eyeliner is very important to her, and she's taken her time with constructing her thick, extensively sharp wings with “Midnight Tryst” liquid liner, and then used her “Breakfast in Bed” mascara to intensify her top and bottom lashes! She then opened up her secret drawer to reveal an expensive tube of pink “Frosted Frenzy” lipgloss, poked on two coats of pink “Light Rosé” nail polish, and backed away to check the view—UH-HUH! Let's talk about her outfit for a minute. The style, the colors and fabrics are all too hot for words and resemble pieces that were on loan from the Madonna “Boy Toy” collection lol. Here we have an aqua blue bodysuit, a stretchy, white lace dress with a flared hem, matching white lace gloves, and white ‘80s ruffled ankled socks! And the contents are bountiful! She's stylin' with a double strand of white pearls, a pearl bracelet, her hot pink, shiny leather belt w/ silver buckle and, lastly, her hot pink lacquered heels. Talk about packing it in! Her hot pink wireless microphone concludes her on-stage look. I have confirmed from day one that I'm all about Jem, but it's really Jerrica who happens to be the true star of this duo set! In the seven years of Integrity's Jem collection, the Design Team has taken great care of the JB line, already producing two variations that pale in comparison to each other, on top of killer fashions that are customary to the series. The torch has now made its way to the hands of TIP Jerrica, and she's raised this fiery instrument high above her head to claim victory! My goodness, how her hair shines! The razor cut, platinum blond bob was not only a clever move on their part, but was official confirmation as to how much Integrity honors this franchise! The members of the Design Team are faithful to the authenticity of Jem, the characters and their fashions, and this is why I am a faithful customer! The first thing I noticed a few months ago was her makeup...IT'S IMMACULATE!

 

And now? Makeup! Ms. Benton is in multicolored heaven with her “Passion in Paris” pancake makeup palette! Clearly, she beat the living daylights out of her canvas because there's hints of modern day flare literally marked all over her face, and I just can't pause from examining her creative work! While sitting in front of her vanity mirror, she began with applying pale aqua blue highlighter, in “Tropical Seabreeze”, to her brow bones. Next, she included a shimmery aqua blue shadow, in “Expensive Des Bijoux”, to her eyelids, and combined a layer of aqua blue “Mi International Amour” in an oval-shaped wing just above her creases, and a second, more defined wing of blue “Sky's the Limit” eyeshadow directly along the middle sections of her creases! Her black “La Tragédie” eyeliner coasts onward from the beginning of her eyelids to the outer tips with a jagged, needle-pointed wing that was drawn with the utmost of precision! She's a perfectionist for crying out loud lol. Ms. Benton straightened everything out with violet purple “Grape Parfait” shadow and “Kir Royale” liner across her bottom lash lines, as well as a playful presentation of blue “Smurfette's Revenge” mascara on her lashes! A few swipes of “Hawt, Hawt Heat” blush to her cheeks, and a coat of her “Cool as Fire, Hot as Ice” pink lipgloss and she's ready to go! Jerrica's outfit differs from her counterpart in more ways than one. For example, she's sporting a hot pink nylon hat, a long single strand of pearls, and her long white lace dress has long sleeves and a high slit on the side—cute, cute, cute! The dress is lined with a stretchy aqua blue tulle, as opposed to the see-through fabric used for Jem. Jerrica also wears an aqua blue bodysuit, white ruffled ankle socks, a double-length, hot pink belt w/ silver buckle, and a pair of matching hot pink heels. Both dolls knock me over with joy and elation!

 

My deep-seated love for this set allows me to appreciate every nook and cranny, and I certainly do! In sum, the TIP gift set has a little something for Jem doll collectors everywhere. It's fun, colorful, and at the same time, stylish and contemporary. As you take a long look at this set, you too will notice an air of Paris percolating from every angle! Ooh la la! ✈️

Beatty Landing - Lake Metroparks - NE, Ohio

The lines were drawn/sewn free hand with a sewing machine. The bird was made with a thrifted white canvas and recycled upholstery fabric. I'm trying to phase out new fabrics from my stash. I would like to use only recycled clothes and fabrics, as well as vintage pieces to make my toys. I'm still looking for cotton and wool stuffing. There's something special and unique about making toys with recycled fabrics. It adds to their character, they have a history, it feels good to make them.

 

Drawing on Bird is part of the Morphe II Soft Toy Exhibit in Australia, October 2006.

 

Drawing on Bird

recycled fabrics

recycled polyfil

repurposed wire

original drawing by

five-year-old boy

 

'HARM' stands for High speed Anti Radiation Missile. It homes on radar emissions to destroy them.

Bonjour,

« Morphée danse » :

www.lesphotosdarchibald.fr/zenphoto/delirium-tremens/deli... .

Une photo prise à MERLIMONT (Côte d'Opale, 62), extraite de l’album « La vie est un manège » :

www.lesphotosdarchibald.fr/zenphoto/delirium-tremens/ .

Bien cordialement.

Daniel LEJEUNE

A little different this time, but fun to make, allthough it is not all perfect yet :p Think I will try this again another day :)

Morpheus at the Louvre

It seems Bear's eyes have morphed from blue into green recently. I think I like the green yellow of his eyes. I hope he keeps this color but the blue was pretty awesome too. Only time will tell.

 

Here he is collapsed on the waiting room floor of the vet clinic I work at. He had just gotten done tearing around after Charlie our clinic cat; they are buds. Sleepy puppy eyes were kicking in. A patch of sunlight was just touching him.

 

And Flickr over sharpened this one on me. Ugh.

 

10 weeks, 17.6 lbs today.

Il faut vivre avec son temps

Vidocq est rentré dans la végétation et Morphée s'apprête à le suivre. Avant ça, il me passe devant à une dizaine de mètres, puis soudain c'est l'attaque !

Les bois s'entrechoquent, je suis à moins de 10 mètres ! Ce n'est pas un affrontement titanesque plus de la chamaillerie entre frustrés d'être tombés sur plus fort et plus expérimenté !

Les cerfs poursuivent leur bataille plus loin, il est temps pour moi de m'éclipser...

Cerf élaphe en forêt de Mormal

Sam's photo session was over shortly after this look morphed into action.

""Legendary" is the only word for the JetStar. It was designed by the celebrated Lockheed Skunk Works in the late 1950s, which was at the time under the incredibly intuitive genius of Kelly Johnson. Johnson was the brains behind many aircraft, from the P-80 Shooting Star to the U-2 spy plane, as well as the awesome A-12, which in turn morphed into the incredible SR-71 Blackbird. These planes were all designed before computers and all work was done on a blackboard and with a slide ruler.

 

When Kelly got the 'go ahead' on the JetStar, the story goes, he wrote down that day the first flight would be 8 months away, to the day - and it did fly on that designated day, as promised. The plane was designed with every back-up system of a Boeing 707 and the initial pilot training took 6 months to teach them to think fast enough and far enough ahead in anticipation of the plane's needed inputs.

 

The aircraft's original purpose was to compete in a competition to provide a general Utility Transport Category plane for the Air Force. The two aircraft that made the final grade were the two-engine versions of the JetStar from Lockheed and the Saberliner from North American. The JetStar was the initial choice by the Air Force. Meanwhile, the Kennedy White House was looking for Presidential/VIP transport to augment the first 707s that were being used as Air Force One aircraft, and they contacted Lockheed asking if the JetStar could be re-configured as a four-engine aircraft. Lockheed turned to Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines about replacing the two French-built Orpheus engines on the original design with four Pratt engines and the plane was re-engineered to its current design, adding slipper tanks on the wings for extra fuel and range.

 

However, there is another side to the JetStar: its commercial history. Of the 206 JetStars built, only 15 or so were actually delivered to the Air Force inventory. The rest were purchased by individuals and corporations who needed trans-continental and trans-oceanic transportation. The earliest planes went to the likes of the Vanderbilts, the Shah of Iran and a myriad of Fortune 500 companies (Howard Hughes had four of them through his Summa Corporation).

 

The aircraft went through 3 engine up-grades in its history, each of which added to its range, reliability and legend. Going on 50 years later there are still over 80 of the planes in use by high net-worth individuals, corporations, and several governments around the world. Current users think nothing of gutting a used JetStar and investing millions (the original JetStar was the first non-military plane of its type to cost more than $1 million). They put new interiors in them now that are alone worth more than twice the plane itself cost - now or originally! In addition, to date, no JetStar has ever gone down due to component failure. Lockheed estimates that half of the planes today are used by people who still do not trust two-engine aircraft - even the likes of the ultra-modern and state-of-the-art Gulfstreams.

 

This C-140B-LM, S/N 62-4201, was manufactured by Lockheed Corporation in Marietta, Georgia, and delivered to the USAF on 3 July 1963. The aircraft was sent to the 1254th Air Transport Wing at Andrews AFB, Maryland, where it remained until January 1966, when it was transferred to the 89th Military Airlift (Special Air Mission) Wing at the same base. The 89th SAM Wing provides transportation for the President and other cabinet-level VIPs. This aircraft was assigned to President Lyndon Baines Johnson and First Lady Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson.

 

In June 1972 this aircraft was redesignated as a VC-140B and by the summer of 1977 was shipped to Ramstein AB, Germany, to serve with the 435th Tactical Airlift Wing. The aircraft was once again redesignated and reconfigured as a C-140B in February 1978, and later that same year moved to the 58th Military Airlift Squadron at Ramstein. The 89th Military Airlift Wing acquired the aircraft again in March 1982 and kept it until it was returned to the 58th in January 1987.

 

This JetStar returned to the United States in October 1987 when it was sent to serve with the 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing and the 1467th Facilities Checking Squadron stationed at Scott AFB, Illinois. The plane was used to check aircraft instrument landing systems, a truly tough job for any airplane, and after a left wing spar cracked she was sent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona for storage in January 1989. In January 1992 the Jetstar was acquired for static display at Hill Aerospace Museum.

 

The aircraft began restoration four years ago and has consumed approximately 2,000 manhours and $35,000 on its journey back to presentability. Work should be completed by the end of 2004.

 

Our restoration goal is a unique one: we want the plane to look as nearly as possible as it did when first delivered July 3, 1963, inside and out. When delivered to Hill Aerospace Museum from storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona there was only carpeting and side panels in the main cabin and one-half of the cockpit was missing.

 

The initial restoration of the cockpit was done by contacting current owners of JetStars and asking them where they went for mechanical parts, etc. Those companies in turn were contacted and over the course of a year, mostly all JetStar parts and instruments were located to fill in the gaps on the instrument panel. Then we located various flight navigation instruments that the pilots would have used in that era and put them in the cockpit along with charts, etc., so it would look like the pilot had just left the aircraft.

 

The cabin section was a much more difficult job, primarily since the existing seat frames are still in demand for current flight restorations. The old carpet was removed and used as a template for cutting and then installing new padding and carpeting throughout the aircraft. While doing this, over 300 emails and faxes went out trying to locate seats. Finally, we got a call from the prop master at Universal Studios, who said they had a set of JetStar seats that had been used in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "True Lies," which we could buy from them. Eventually they were delivered and their installation was completed. Finally, we contacted the company that made the first JetStar interior kits for the Air Force and they kindly duplicated the headrests and our seats were complete.

 

The rest of the cabin interior was then treated as "theater" and appropriate knick-knacks (including original 1965 air-sickness bags) were put in the cabin. We even acquired a deck of "Aboard The Presidential JetStar" playing cards that President Johnson had ordered and laid them out on a table, to appear as if the President had just departed the aircraft.

 

Then something VERY interesting happened: while closing the air stair door a chip of white paint flaked off and we found the one-of-a-kind Air Force blue paint that indicates Presidential usage. We then had some individuals who had worked on the plane at the 89th SAM Wing at Andrews AFB come by and they confirmed that both President Johnson and Lady Bird used the plane extensively. We will be re-painting the aircraft in Presidential livery and moving it inside a gallery so the cockpit and interior will be available to the public for viewing." - www.hill.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/3972...

Morphe II

*They started their primordial existence as microscopic lifeforms placed on separate parts of the Earth's Oceans by a dying race of ancients with the hopes of reviving a once great species. Over ions of existence the unpredictable conditions of this planet slowly morphed them into strange and unrecognizable versions of themselves."

 

MAKARA

"She grew to embrace the warmth of the sun, despite it's harsh conditions and unforgiving intensity. Through the millennia, her skin flooded with rich dark melanin and she eventually abandoned the ocean as her home. However, life on land has it's own dangers with many predators of all sizes. With that, her hunting techniques became much more aggressive and her food sources more abundant. Through the years, many forms of life on Earth came and gone. Eventually, the rise of bipedal creatures emerged with and strange concepts such as "societies" and "governments" and "currency" arose. Humans have, for one reason or another, evolved to to look and behave strikingly similar to her and she hides among them, despite the fact that she is not human at all. One of these cultures called her Makara and she took the name as her own. In the current age she does not hunt or fight for food or survival. Humans have built mega metropolis' which provide a luxury of easy living, away from the constant hunting and fear of outside predators. Makara has all but forgotten her ancient aquatic past, as she has evolved to live on land among humans and speak their many languages. She thrives within the crowded streets filled with light even in the dark of night. One night, she mind stirs with strange telepathic messages in an ancient tongue..."

 

Makara is a OOAK Nnaji in Coffee skintone and Busty chest option. Her body blushing is aubergine and deep green, and her body covered in gruesome scars. Her lips and nails are a deep burgundy and her alien gharial eyes vivid shades of green.

 

SOBEK

"Like her sister, was born in water. But unlike her sister she felt cradled by the dark. The depths of the ocean provided solitude. She feared the sun and it's violent rays. Unable to stand even the faint light that peaked through the surface she delved into the darkest depths she could find. A large section of this ocean is an endless expanse of pitch black water or an "abyss" which interconnects with countless maze-like rocky passageways that expand for thousands of miles. This entire area, completely void of sunlight and home to very few lifeforms, provided a shelter for the her. However, while these underwater caverns are mostly void of life, the few that do manage to exist are extremely aggressive and monstrous in appearance. In the abyss she evolved into a silent ambush predator to feed and hide from horrifying creatures that roam the deep dark. Millenniums pass and she can heard the voices of humans in the water. They tell legends of her and call her Sobek. After ions of lonely existence something in the void calls to her and she discovers an ancient life form of unknown origin even older than herself. A sentient orb covered in metallic scales that is able to telepathically communicate with her. The creature reveals ancient cosmic knowledge, telling her she has a sister, and proposes a trade. It will guide her to her brethren and protect her from the sunlight she fears, but only if she allows the scaled orb to bond with her flesh."

 

Sobek is a OOAK Nnaji in Milk skintone and Busty chest option. Her body blushing is lilac and burned turquoise. Her head is covered in hand sculpted scales to enhance her monstrous looks. Her lips and nails are a palest pearl pink and her fanged teeth share the same steel grey as her alien gharial eyes.

 

Strange invention. It has the Jeepney passenger section body, but with an automobile front. I don't get it!

SPECIAL GUEST www.flickr.com/photos/morphe_us/

 

Morphed view of the Gothic-style bank building, erected in 1808 after the designs of Benjamin Henry Latrobe at the southwest corner of Fourth and Chestnut streets. Shows the building projecting upward from the plane of the paper causing a cathedral like effect to the architecture. A gate, lawn, and trees surround the building. An outbuilding is visible on the property. Couples and a lady with a parasol stroll on the sidewalk. The Philadelphia Bank or Bank of Philadelphia (predecessor of the Philadelphia National Bank), formed in 1803, and was incorporated in 1804 as the unofficial bank of the commonwealth. The building was razed in 1836. Print is the only recognized American "Horizontorium" image and one of two known views of the bank.

You met her in a chat room as Kate 26

Laughed and confided, you even shared pics.

This message is posted to tell Kate is away,

She has morphed into someone quite different today !!!

 

You will find her in chat rooms as wildgentlebreeze

Her hormones are raging, quite hard to please

She's cutting, sarcastic and sometimes quite lewd,

Not at all like the Kate 26 that you knew !!!

 

The seasons change less than Kate 26 moods

Sometimes she's a cartoon, at others a nude.

With each different picture she changes her name,

Don't take it personal, it is part of her game.

 

Sometimes she is funny, flirtatious and fat,

At others real lonely and missing her cat.

She is friendly or furious, on Mondays she's meek,

At least five different people by the end of the week !!

 

On Tuesday she has kids, on Wednesday there's none,

Cause this is the night Kate 26 has her fun.

She is hetro and mono, bi and is gay,

This isn't confusing, it just depends on the day !!!!

 

On Fridays real sporty, off with the crowd,

On Saturdays dancing, with music played loud.

She climbed mountains and sailed, loved and she lost,

Went riding on horseback, took drugs and smoked pot !!

 

Lived in Perth and Kentucky, sometimes as a bot,

Lived in cold snowy places, others quite hot.

But the truth to be known; ask if you dare,

Kate 26 never moved from her chair !!!!!!!!

 

And I guess that's the magic of internet chat,

Some people are honest, some wear different hats.

So remember behind clever names on the screen,

There are people there typing, who are not what they seem !!

 

And as for your new friend, young Kate 26,

She looks nothing like that sexy young chic.

Though her mind is still sharp, her fingers move quick,

She probably thinks you're a bit of a Dick !!!

 

She has four grown children, she's old and is grey,

Re- living her youth in a 'virtual' way.

To find the real person, I'm sorry to say,

It's a pity but matey ____ You picked the WRONG DAY !!!!

~Ken Hodgkinson

 

Julie - 8Apr11

The long running Ralston Type-8 morphed into the 'Tigre' line in 1938, running late, as the promised V8 from Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Cord line failed with that company, and the inline-8 which had similarly been bought it from A-C-D (used in the Auburn), was also no longer in series production from the engine works.

 

No matter. There was a modest stockpile of inline-8 engines which was gradually depleted in the manufacture of the Rhino model. Meanwhile 1938 brought with it a V8 engine from Cadillac, fitted to a chassis frame of Ralston's own design. The shorter engine allowed a greater allocation of overall length to the passenger area - though truth be told, more of if went to providing greater luggage capacity, and a more cab-forward look to the cars.

 

The Tigre MkI, still know as the Type-8 Tigre was replaced after WWII, with a MkII design, losing this Type-8 appellation. The new model appeared at the end of 1953, the car based on the new post WWII Cadillac frame, engine and underbody of the 1948-53 Series 60 (in particular the slightly longer 60 Special). The tooling was transferred to Ralston upon completion of the 1953 model year. By this stage the preceding MkI was now 15 years old, though this included the period through the war years.

 

The adoption of Cadillac underpinnings provided the Ralston Tigre MkII with the calibre of running gear demanded by the marque's premium position, though with a much reduced outlay, particularly compared to their premium US-based builders such as Packard. Key differentiation with the originating Cadillac was the Ralston themed 'X' radiator grille, unique bumper treatment, and completely reprofiled rear fender tops, truncating in a rocket-pod tail lamp cluster, instead of the Cadillac 'fin'. Not elements sat completely at ease with the carryover Cadillac based structure.

 

An update to the Tigre MkII in 1956 led to the MkII-B. a few of the elements were cleared up in the styling, plus the addition of a number of 'flourishes' that had emerged during the 1952-55 model years. Chief among these were 'tailfins' no longer the preserve of Cadillac, but sprouting taller and wilder each year on all US domestic brands. Compared to the 1954 model, the MkII-B had slightly taller fins, but they were much more prominent in the styling, as they were accentuated by both chrome trim separating them from the fender bulge, and also incorporating one of the zones for the bi-colour and tri-colour themes.

 

In 1958 the car was upgraded further with the advent of the MkII-C. This model again received changes to the fender, front and rear. At the front, the fender height was increased, making the car look both more modern, and also tying the top ridge into the unmodified doors and sides. The rear fender was modified to include a tapering fin, which then led to a tail lamp treatment which was to evolve further into a 'rocket pod' on subsequent models. The 'X' theme was continued to include a 'X' rocket, mounted centrally in the trunk lid. This could alternatively be swapped out for a conventionally styled horizontal trim, if the Continental spare wheel option was included (though this had also phased out of popularity over a short time period). The new trunk lid also shared the tapering profile of the fins. Although this look less modern compared to the newly squared up trunk lids from GM and Ford's divisions, it suited the 'classic' lines of the Ralston Tigre model, leading many to state that the MkII-C was perhaps the most conservatively handsome of mid-century Ralston models, particularly on the SWB closed models.

 

Additional styling changes included a modest reinterpretation of the grille, including the addition of 'Dagmars' at its extremities, and a new front bumper including marker lights.

 

The 1954 car launched with the same tune 331 CID (5.4 litre) V8, producing 230 bhp (175 kW), for 1956 this was raised to 285 bhp (213 kW) with an increase in capacity to 365 CID (6.0 litres). The 1958 MkII-C retained the 365 CID V8, but power increased to 310 bhp (230 kW).

 

Shown here is the 1958 MkII-C 6-Window Limousine in single-colour midnight black. This was a commonly ordered model using the long wheelbase chassis (along with the 4-window Limousine and Phaetons). The LWB chassis featured the 147 in (3,729 mm) chassis from the 1950-53 Cadillac 75 Series.

 

This Ralston Tigre MkII-C 6-Window Limousine (1958) has be built on Lego miniland scale for Flickr LUGNuts 95th Build Challenge, - 'Designing the Ralston Legacy' - a challenge to design the fictitious Dragon 'Motorcycle' model for the fictitious Ralston company, though any of the previous Ralston challenge vehicles, the Tiger or the Rhino are also eligible to be submitted. The chief stipulation is that the model must feature a 'X' in the styling.

 

Visit this location at Home of Morphe Inc. in Second Life