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If you look closely you will see a flower in her mouth :)

I want to thank my flickr friends again who have continued visiting me here this summer. And apologize again for my slow internet ( sometimes nonexistent) connection. I will catch up with you this winter :)

Salt City 25.jpg by Office of Public Affairs

Operation “Salt City" resulted in the arrest of 248 individuals from May through September 2015. Of those arrested, 124 were active gang members. During the operation 22 firearms, more than $237,000 in U.S. currency, 70 grams of heroin, 266 grams of cocaine, and 723 grams of marijuana with a total estimated street value of almost $44,000 was taken off Syracuse streets by participating agencies.

Operation Salt City is part of the U.S. Marshals nation-wide “Triple Beam” gang reduction initiative. Triple Beam partners federal, state, and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and take dangerous offenders off the streets. The goal of the U.S. Marshals Gang Enforcement Program is to seek out and disrupt illegal gang activity in areas of the country with smaller or nonexistent gang enforcement units by providing manpower, funding and the Marshals’ renowned fugitive tracking abilities.

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

Wisdom Tooth Woes by Tom Blackwell

I haven't been out and about with my camera very much lately so I thought it would be interesting to explain my Flickr absence with an alternative sort of image. I've recently had two wisdom teeth removed in seperate operations on the bottom jaw. The last one got yanked today so now I'm free of them! This is an X-ray of my head which was taken shortly before the first tooth extraction. You don't need to be a dentist to see that the teeth at both ends of the lower jaw shouldn't be impacted at right-angles to the rest of the mouth, so I was eager to get the surgery out of the way.

Anthropologists believe wisdom teeth, the third set of molars, were the evolutionary answer to our ancestor’s early diet of coarse, rough food – like leaves, roots, nuts and meats – which required more chewing power and resulted in excessive wear of the teeth. The modern diet with its softer foods, along with marvels of modern technologies such as forks, spoons and knives, has made the need for wisdom teeth nonexistent. As a result, evolutionary biologists now classify wisdom teeth as vestigial organs, or body parts that have become functionless due to evolution. Indeed, many people are lucky enough to be born with the fortunate genetic mutation of having no wisdom teeth at all - apparently you have a 25% chance of being born with at least one or more of them missing.

FANTASY MAP by Renno Hokwerda

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Heinde and Verre. City in flatland landscape. 2010.

Laos - Vientiane - Wat Ong Teu - Sitting Buddha - 5d by Manfred Sommer

Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan (Temple of the Heavy Buddha) is one of many Buddhist Monasteries that are present in the city of Vientiane in Laos. This name is given to the temple due to the large, bronze Phra Ong Teu Buddha image that is present within the temple: the largest Buddha in Vientiane. This temple was initially constructed by King Settathirat I in the 16th century (known as the golden age of Buddhism in Laos) when Laos was being bombarded by the Burmese, but was later demolished during a foreign invasion. Thus, it may have gone through many reconstructions during the 19th or 20th century to attain the appearance it has today.

Though this temple is created in Vientiane, it has the basic shape for what is known as the ‘Luang Prabang I style’ with its scare use of brickwork and rectangular-like body.

Wat Ong Teu is said to have been placed along a cardinal point in accordance with three other temples, but that may just be coincidental.

ORIGIN

After commanding for the relocation of the capital of Laos from the city of Luang Prabang to Vientiane, King Setthathirat I produced many monasteries such as Wat That Luang and Wat Phra Kaew. The reason this particular wat (Lao for temple) was built was because Setthathirat I desired to create the Phra Ong Teu image that would be placed within it, and to have it as his person living quarters. There would be six other sculptures of this image present in other monasteries, but Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan contains the first of them. Since this time period is known as the golden age, the wat would evolve into a complex with a sim (ordination hall), a ho rackhang (bell tower), a ho kong (drum tower), a that (stupa), and a kuti (monks’ living quarters). Each of these parts of the complex all share the similar artistic motif of the architecture of the central wat, which is discussed later.

The original use of this wat was for ceremonies of allegiance to the king. However, in the 17th century, Souligna Vongsa as king transformed this temple into a Buddhist learning center in order to ‘teach, enlighten and inspire worshippers.’ In other words, it has become a school for monks coming from around Southeast Asia to study the dhamma. This becomes apparent because surrounding countries of Laos sent their monks to Vientiane to study this religion. Such a function is more understandable of Wat Ong Teu since there are many details that give the suggestion of a learning center.

RECONSTRUCTION

When Siam sacked Laos in 1827-28 as a punishment for almost all of the monasteries in Laos, including Wat Ong Teu, were destroyed. This was only made worse afterwards when the Ho bandits tried sack Vientiane again to take gold from Wat Ong Teu and others. In 1900, following the establishment of the Franco-Siamese treaty in 1843, the French chose Vientiane as their capital and started the reconstruction of its monasteries including Wat Ong Teu. As an addition, the French may have also created a school, in the same format and appearance as the rest of the complex to further exemplify the function of Wat Ong Teu as a place of study. The Lao Buddhist Institute was made in 1929 and still functions today as a school for the Theravada Buddhist religion.

ARCHITECTURE

In retrospect, the influence on the style of the original temple can be traced predominantly to India, though not directly. Indochina was part of the sphere of influence of India, known by George Coedès as the ‘Indianization of Southeast Asia.’ The religion and customs of Indian civilization came ‘thoroughly yet peacefully’ to the people of this region, especially due to marriage between Indian men and local women. Laos however, was a nonexistent country during this time. The kingdom of Lan Xang (‘Land of a million elephants’) wasn’t established until the mid-13th century of the common era just years after all direct contact with India was completely diminished. Instead, the original Wat Ong Teu took its traits from other mixed ideas of architecture from surrounding countries that were established earlier than the 13th century. In essence, the variant notions of these Southeastern Asian countries on the Theravada Buddhist architecture of India, such as Cambodia and Siam (present day Thailand), influenced the ideas of how Wat Ong Teu would be depicted. However, even though Laos borrowed traditions from these other cultures, the 16th century turned a new leaf for the Lao people in the form of a golden age. Thus, Wat Ong Teu has most of its own Lao Buddhist features and only minor details of surrounding influences.

After the temple’s destruction, some of the techniques used to create it were lost, but much of it wasn’t forgotten. Instead, modern techniques were blended in with the old during the temple’s reconstruction, especially in what was used to fortify the walls and roof. The result became a rich new style that is exclusive to Lao architecture. This primarily is because the modern reconstruction completed by the French kept sincere adherence to these Lao notions already established on temple aesthetics, with some artistic liberties since Laos at this time was only a protectorate of France.

ENTRY GATE

This multi-tiered archway serves as the entrance into the complex where the temple is located. It is miniature compared to that of Pha That Luang. The functionality of this seemingly simple archway is similar to that of the torana, or gateway, of Indian culture. The torana served as the passageway from secular ground to sacred ground. The only difference is that this archway does not have any images for which a person can meditate and it doesn’t involve circumambulating a stupa. This characteristic may be present in all the temples and stupas that exist in Laos, especially at King Setthathirat’s more famous architectural creation, Pha That Luang.

MAIN ENTRANCE

The entrance to Wat Ong Teu is known to have a good amount of eccentricities that are indigenous only to Laos and no other Buddhist temple in Asia. Just before going up the stairs at the front of the temple, one can find the frieze that is exceedingly baroque in detail, highlighting this Lao style. The green backdrop shimmers as many carved and gilded vine leaves curve in no apparent order or pattern. This motif is repeated throughout the whole front part of the temple, even surrounding the six small Buddhas that are just below the frieze. This foliage may be an allusion to the lotus flower which is an aniconic symbol of the Buddha. Another Lao characteristic of monasteries is the pointed double archway that flanks the six Buddhas. There are many variations of this characteristic, but the archway of Wat Ong Teu is the most simplistic aesthetically.

One of the most native features to Laos is the Naga, or mythical water serpent, that serves as the guardian of the entrance. The Naga was widely known in Southeast Asia before Buddhism arrived. They would symbolize the Hindu god Shiva in which they represented destruction and renewal. How they relate to the Buddha lies in the story of Siddhartha under the Bodhi tree.

This could also be the second area for which one would pass from less secular ground to completely sacred ground. Though Nagas are usually seen with multiple heads, Wat Ong Teu’s version of the Naga has a single head with a its bright green body stretched out. There are three sets of these Nagas that all give access to the same patio-type area in front the temple. This aspect is interesting because there is only one door that gives an entrance into the temple. It may be a reference to the original function of this wat as the king’s temple, with the front stairs only being walk on by the king while the others were reserved for normal patrons. The posts perpendicular to these Naga resemble the sort of pagoda or tower one would see in Laos.

The doors and windows are made of wood and are also decorated with many leaves and stems that spiral sporadically. These images are all carved, painted red and gilded to make the door and windows look as if they were made of metal. Each of the windows and the door have different images of the Buddha either directly or by aniconic representation. Some of them may evidently portray a Jataka, or story given of one of the Buddha’s past incarnations.

ROOF

Seemingly the most intricate part of the exterior of Wat Ong Teu is its roof. It illustrates a myriad of different styles from around Asia that blend in an extraordinarily harmonious way.

A commonly used feature in Asia for the roof is the utilization of a curved roof. This non-linear approach was originated by the Chinese. In China, architects thought that evil spirits despised curved lines, therefore giving an apotropaic effect to the temple. Lao ideas of the curved roof should have been similar to China’s as well. This aspect is especially important when the principal function of this temple is to teach the Buddhist religion. Students learning the Buddhist religion should especially be protected from the evils of the outside world.

What is particularly interesting is the feature of multiple roofs that descend past the boundaries of the wall at a slope. This aspect is exclusive to Laos. Specifically, there are three or four superimposed roofs, with the two bottom roofs being supported by columns from within the temple. It is unknown as to the reason for this intricate design, but it may be another aspect of protection because multiple roofs could cause confusion among evil spirits.

The stone spire decoration with stacked superimposed, decreasingly sized disks in the center of the keel is definitively a Buddhist element. It is known that before the Buddha went through enlightenment, he was always covered by parasols to indicate his royalty as a prince. Therefore, it is not unusual to see a parasol-like spire atop this temple. The other flame-like decorations, called chaw faa (sky clusters), lining the edges and vertices of the roof are frequently used in Laos. This may also be another quality that emphasizes the apotropaic effect of the roof.

The exterior may have a lot detail that is used for protection and attraction, but the interior does not mirror the same intricacy. Within the temple, the floors are glossed and the walls and ceiling are painted with the same colors as the exterior. There is a red mat that is lined perfectly from the middle to the back of the sim where the Phra Ong Teu image resides. The most intricate objects within the temple are the columns that hold up the roof. They may have been made to look like oversized lotus flowers that have grown from the ground to support the roof of the temple. This may illustrate the natural world for which the Buddha himself would have liked to teach his followers.

MODERN TECHNIQUES

Once Laos became a French protectorate and reconstruction began, there may have been many liberties made to some of the minute details of the temple, but most of the essential attributes of the temple remain similar to the original construction. A very important change is in the stone and well-kept wood that fortifies the structure of the temple. The brackets are included in this use of preserved timber. Not only are there brackets on the outside, but in the inside as well. However, the columns are the objects that provide the most support for the 3 or 4 tiered roofs, so they are treated with more care than the brackets. Therefore, in essence, the modern approach is more of a post and lintel technique rather than the use of brackets. The lack of non-perishable material before French rule over Laos is indicative of their weak government.

Some details that are usually seen in developed countries in Europe and North America include small, hanging chandeliers as well as fans placed on each column that lines the sim. These simple touches do seem to emit a sort of waning of sacredness for which the temple was originally created, but it may not be complete departure from belief.

Most of the modern techniques may have been meant for the surrounding complex rather than the monastery itself, but the central theme of all these buildings and towers remain faithful to that of Wat Ong Teu.

ART

´HEAVY BUDDHA`

ACCOMPANIED BY TWO STANDING BUDDHAS

These original sculptures reside within the sim of the temple towards the furthest wall from the entrance. The Phra Ong Teu is made of a mix of metals, predominately bronze, and is seated atop a golden pedestal that was cast separate from the Buddha. The head may have been cast separately as well from the body and put together by the ‘tonged and grooved joint techniques’ showing the skill of Lao craftsmanship. The two standing Buddhas are connected to their own respective platforms. These sculptures are raised on top of a platform with a color scheme similar to the rest of the temple. More recently, these sculptures are draped in linen or silk cloth, depicting the saffron clothing monks usually wear in Laos, with neon-colored halos place on the wall behind them. This may just add an artistic effect to the Buddhas so that a more prestigious role could be emphasized of them. However, Lao artists of this time never thought of these or other Buddha images as art, only as a means to ‘educate and enlighten.’ Therefore, later use of this temple as a place for further learning of the Hinayana Buddhist religion would be the exact purpose for which the artists intended.

It is usual to see the Enlightened One alone or accompanied by bodhisattvas in a triad, but here all three of these sculptures depict the Phra Ong Teu Buddha. A strong indication that these sculptures are Buddhas is the parasols that are suspended over them. Each of the smaller Buddhas have a parasol above them that is attached to a post protruding out from behind them, but the main Buddha has a distinctively rectangular parasol that is fastened to the ceiling. These parasols act in the same way as the parasol located on the keel of the wat, but the parasols that hang over the Buddhas are more decorative. What is interesting is that the rectangular parasol hanging over the Phra Ong Teu is more of a Japanese trait than anything Laos. The only record of any Japanese interaction with Laos would be during a five-year period in WWII. The only action caused by them was the nationalistic passion that the Lao people had in opposition to them. Not enough time was put into having any influence on their art of this Buddha or the temple that it is in.

There are many other features of Phra Ong Teu Buddha that are common in relation to the codified Buddha, but it still has its Lao differences. The earliest image of the Buddha in Laos was influenced by the ‘Pha Bang Khmer style,’ but started to become more distinctive in the 16th century along with the golden age. For example, the tightly curled hair that is displayed on the main Buddha is strongly reminiscent of the Gandhara Style of India during the Gupta period, which is mirrored by the Pha Bang. However, the pointed swelling coming out of the top of the image’s head, signifying ‘transcendent knowledge,’ expresses an exclusively Lao idea. This type of swell may even be a facet solely of the Phra Ong Teu image that King Setthathirat created. Some other modified aspects of the image are the sharp ear rims with long lobes, the equal, extended length of the fingers and toes, and the sharp wide nose.

There are a few different mudras, or hand gestures, that these Buddhas portray. These gestures illustrate the Indian influence that is present in Laos. Both of the smaller standing Buddhas have their hands up with palms facing outward, meaning fearlessness. Their mudra differs from the main Phra Ong Teu Buddha. He instead adopts two different mudras that allude to the moments just before Siddhartha’s Enlightenment. Specifically, the left hand is placed in the lap with the palm facing up towards the face which represents the idea of meditation. The greater gesture that captures the Enlightenment within this image comes from his right hand. His hand is rested over his knee with fingers extended toward the earth. This symbolizes the calling of the Earth to protect the Buddha from Mara, India’s interpretation of the devil. This can then be connected to the Naga that was conjured up to help Siddhartha in his path for Enlightenment. In creating this image, King Setthathirat I proved his adherence to the Theravada Buddhism that has always been present in Laos since Lan Xang.

CONCLUSION

Of the many temples that are present in Vientiane, Laos today, Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan is one of the more undervalued temples. Every detail that makes up this composition of this monastery has some sort of allusion to the teachings or image of the Buddha. From the Nagas guarding the entrance of the temple to the fastidiously heavy Buddha at the back of the sim within the temple, from the carved windows and doors to the lotus columns supporting the roof, Wat Ong Teu is a complete illustration of the story of Siddhartha meditating under the Bodhi tree. No area of the temple is left untouched which results in a sense of sacred ground.

Though it may not be an international symbol, Wat Ong Teu is more widely known as an educational institute that provides widespread teaching of the Theravada Buddhism that originated in India. That belief hasn’t meandered to this day. As a center for learning, Wat Ong Teu still continues to house the teachings of the beginning of Buddhism straight from the Buddha, though the two parties live centuries apart. With respect to Laos, education of this religion is what allowed France to be interesting in them even though France’s main focus was Vietnam. From to the French came Lao nationalism in opposition to the Japanese. All of this sparked from monasteries in Laos, Wat Ong Teu included.

WIKIPEDIA

秋葉原電気街 Akihabara, Tokyo by Scarlet Sappho

Paying a quick visit to Akihabara, well known since the end of World War II as the place to stock up on electric and electronic products - and more recently, on anime, manga, and other geek culture items.

The overpass carrying the Chuo Line (中央線) trains right through the center of Tokyo, run right over old-fashioned electronic stores.

On the street, there is a Nissan Cedric taxicab, as well as a Hyundai Universe motorcoach. The Hyundai ended up the only Korean automobile of any kind I spotted in Japan. Despite the strong economic interdependence between Japan and South Korea, and despite Japanese technology having taken a huge role in the development of the South Korean automobile industry, the historic enmity between the two countries means that demand for Korean cars in Japan, especially for noncommercial vehicles, is virtually nonexistent, and demand for Japanese cars in South Korea is pretty weak as well, aside from Lexus luxury models and a few select Hondas. In fact, the Universe motorcoach has been Hyundai's only model in Japan since 2009.

On the motorcoach, the number plate only has dots for the first two digits of the four-digit serial number; dots are used in place of leading zeros.

Epcot geodesic dome by Seoirse

The structure was designed with the help of science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, who also helped write the original storyline for the attraction

The term 'Spaceship Earth' was coined by Buckminster Fuller,who also developed the structural mathematics of the geodesic dome.

The structure

Close-up of Spaceship Earth's Alucobond tiles

The structure is similar in texture to the United States pavilion from Expo 67 in Montreal, but unlike that structure, Spaceship Earth is a complete sphere, supported on legs. The structure's exterior is comparable to that of a large golf ball.

Geometrically, Spaceship Earth is a derivative of a pentakis dodecahedron, with each of the 60 isosceles triangle faces divided into 16 smaller equilateral triangles (with a bit of fudging to make it rounder). Each of those 960 flat panels is sub-divided into four triangles, each of which is divided into three isosceles triangles to form each point. In theory, there are 11,520 total isosceles triangles forming 3840 points. In reality, some of those triangles are partially or fully nonexistent due to supports and doors; there are actually only 11,324 of them, with 954 partial or full flat panels.

The appearance of being a monolithic sphere is an architectural goal that was achieved through a structural trick. Spaceship Earth's is in fact two structural domes. Six legs are supported on pile groups that are driven up to 160 feet into Central Florida's soft earth. Those legs support a steel box-shaped ring at the sphere's perimeter, at about 30 degrees south latitude in earth-terms. The upper structural dome sits on this ring. A grid of trusses inside the ring supports the two helical structures of the ride and show system. Below the ring, a second dome is hung from the bottom, completing the spherical shape. The ring and trusses form a table-like structure which separates the upper dome from the lower. Supported by and about three feet off of the structural domes is a cladding sphere to which the shiny Alucobond panels and drainage system are mounted.

The cladding was designed so that when it rains, no water pours off the sides onto the ground. (All water is "absorbed" through one inch gaps in the facets and is collected in a gutter system - and finally channeled into the World Showcase Lagoon.)

NZ-666-EP Kshatriya Elpeo Ple Custom Guns by Dade Bell

1/100 Elyn Kshatriya

1/100 Elyn Gatling Guns x 4

Custom decals laid out by Dade W. Bell and printed by Samuel.

Custom mixed paint scheme with 12 layers of paint for both candy purple colors.

Paints are Gaia, Gunze, Vallejo, and Citadel.

This project took FOREVER and I frankly stopped keeping track of the hours once I hit 150. This is mainly due to all of the paint layers required to give the proper shading and depth I was after. Plus the fact that I'm a slow builder. lol Note that I also went with my concept of painting the frame in a lighter color than the armor. We often see MS frames painted in dark and/ or metallic colors, but I thought it would look much more interesting if the frame was a light color contrasted with the darker "candy purple" armor (kinda like my Ple Qubeley). Also note how I went farther with the idea of making the finish matte. I think this adds an interesting appearance to the candy surface and is actually more realistic and less toy-like than the usual gloss finish seen on candy colors (contrast with my Ple Qubeley...).

The pictures truly don't do the real thing justice and I'll try to take better photos (and a video) with my D5100 outside when it cools down in the fall... Until then, I think these pics will suffice.

With this project done, I'm done building Kshatriyas. Too much of my life has been taken up with these things and it's time to move on. Still, I'm the "Ple Guy" so I had to at least make this one. ;-) (Wink) As for how Ple could end up piloting the Kshatriya, below is the story file I created to go on the base when I have a custom label printed later...

An Alternate Timeline...

In the original events of ZZ Gundam, Elpeo Ple sacrificed herself to protect Judau Ashta from the Psycho Gundam Mk-II piloted by her clone, Ple Two. However, in this alternate timeline, Glemy Toto’s attempts to clone Ple failed... and as a result, Ple didn’t die at the hands of her now-nonexistent clone. Thus, the “butterfly effect” of the changed timeline allowed Ple to survive the First Neo-Zeon War.

With the First Neo Zeon War over, Ple headed to Jupiter with Judau and Roux, but eventually grew bored with her relatively peaceful life (not to mention her “third-wheel” status with her friends), and decided to return to the Earth Sphere. During the long voyage home, she was disappointed to find that she missed the events of the Second Neo-Zeon War (Char’s Counterattack), and vowed to never miss out on any further action.

So when Ple heard about Full Frontal’s group of Neo-Zeon remnants, The Sleeves, she joined them without hesitation (and received the customized purple Kshatriya for her personal MS). This was because of a longing for excitement more than any kind of belief in Neo-Zeon ideology, and the battlefield was once again filled with the giddy shout of, “Purupurupurupuru!”. However, she quickly switched sides when she discovered that Frontal was merely using her as a “test” against the Unicorn Gundam’s NT-D system (her ability to defeat her own NT-D-controlled funnels and fight the Unicorn to a standstill is a significant departure from the original timeline).

Being a natural Newtype and not subject to the side-effects of the Cyber-Newtype process (complicated by the horrible events of childhood), Ple was able to avoid most of the unfortunate, and ultimately fatal, events that befell her clone, Marida Cruz (Ple Twelve), in the original timeline. As a result, she and the Kshatriya were able to survive the Third Neo-Zeon war relatively unharmed... a feat for which she rewarded herself with a nice, long bubble bath.

061711_Tasting by Andrew

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Närke Stormaktsporter

Dark brown with a hint of red in color and a pale brown head that was practically nonexistent.

Had a slight burn with apparent campfire smoke and tobacco aromas.

Smoke and molasses prevail with a cherry flavor creeping in the back.

Mouth feel was somewhat thin.

Good beer overall. As I came to the end of my pour, each sip smelled more and more like a blunt wrap—huge tobacco, and I enjoyed that. But not worth the price and effort to obtain it in my opinion.

Närke Kaggen! Stormaktsporter

Dark Brown with a thin tan head coating the top.

Smells of tobacco, wood, bitter chocolate, campfire smoke, and alcohol.

It tasted similarly to the Närke Stormaktsporter (for obvious reasons), however everything was a bit subdued. A slight tobacco flavor with bitter chocolate, dark fruit, and alcohol.

Still a thin mouthfeel, a slight oily slickness.

Again, a good beer, but I preferred the non barrel aged version.

The Funky Buddha Floridian Hefeweizen

not pictured

Poured from a growler. No notes, but I remember the nose being a little off-putting, but tasted excellent. Very tart, slight citrus fruit flavors followed by big vanilla and a little bit of clove. I'd like to get more of this, or something similar.

The Lost Abbey Veritas 009

Dark reddish brown with tan bubbles. No head—this beer really isn't carbonated, but it was expected.

I could smell a bit of bourbon barrel, big dark fruit, slight funk, a bit of apple, tobacco, and chocolate.

Big cherry flavor followed by a sweet caramel/butterscotch maltiness, followed by tart cherry. Big sour, slight bourbon and chocolate also mix into the experience.

Oily in texture, thin to medium mouth feel.

AWESOME BEER. It was incredibly complex. I personally don't need carbonation with this beer. It drank more like a wine, and I'm fine with that. The mix of cherry, caramels, chocolates and bourbon in this sour beer put me in an extremely happy place. I would drink this often if enough actually existed. Sadly, I doubt I experience it ever again.

The Bruery Chocolate Rain

Dark brownish black in color with a dark tan head that receded rather quickly.

Smells of walnuts, big chocolate, a bit of caramel and vanilla take over. I could smell it as soon as Matt was pouring the first glass.

Again, huge chocolate immediately on my first sip. Pretty much tasted like a piece of moist chocolate cake with hints of caramel and vanilla. Dark fruits and barrel spice.

A medium to thick mouth feel, slightly oily, with what I felt was the perfect amount of carbonation.

Another winner here. At this point, I've just experienced some big hitters in both complexity and flavor. This is a true dessert beer. About 6 ounces of this was plenty. I could've drank more, but unneccesary.

The Lost Abbey Isabelle Proximus

Bright yellow in color with a little bit of head that receded soon after being poured.

Lemon zest on the nose. Accompanied with some funk and unripened strawberry's.

Sour lemon on the palette.

Dry, crisp mouth feel.

A delicious, refreshing, sour beer. Matt brought some cheeses as well. The funky cheeses were pairiing really well with this beer.

Mikkeller black (黑)

After the first half of this tasting, some 15 year old Pappy Van Winkle, and some veggies, I stopped writing notes.

I bought this beer in early 2009. I loved this beer. That is all.

Jolly Pumpkin Biere de Mars (2010 & 2011) & Biere de Mars Grand Reserve

What I remember from this specifically, the 2011 was my least favorite. Big difference between the 2010 and 2011. The Grand Reserve reigned supreme. All were sour and fruity. Dark red in color. A little funk. Overall, delicious beers.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

(bottled November 2008)

You can still smell the alcohol, but not really surprised. Tasted excellent. A great balance between the sweet maltiness and super hop profile.

Three Floyds Amon Amarth Ragnarok

At this point, my palette's pretty much wrecked. What I remember was how hoppy it was. Way hoppier than I expected. I had this at the brewpub earlier this year. It didn't taste like I'd remembered it. I enjoyed the bottled version more.

Playtime for Grown Ups by True Nature Productions

www.child-adolescent-adult-development.info/playtime-for-...

Playtime for Grown Ups

By Calvin A. Colarusso, M.D.

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry,

University of California at San Diego

(12/07/2011)

Parents always tell kids to go out and play. But did you ever think that an adult, an adult and child psychiatrist no less, would tell YOU, the adult, to go out and play?

Well, Dr. Colarusso is doing just that. In this book he explains both the nature of play and the dynamics which make play such an essential part of human experience throughout the life cycle.

The message is get off that coach, get out of that rocking chair, and go and play. Adults need to play, maybe not as much as children do, but for the same reasons. Play is a way of mastering stress and trauma. It serves the same purpose for children and adults. The stresses of adulthood are in their own way more daunting than those of childhood. And we all have a need to master the traumatic overstimulation that characterizes our busy lives, to say nothing of the internal pressures that continually force us to deal with issues, relationships and experiences from the past and present.

Go and hit that great golf shot, watch an action movie, or see a good romance film and relive a youthful love affair. Join the Monday night football crowd. Reread Portnoy's Complaint. Take in your son's, daughter's or grandchild's soccer game. Buy some new sexual toys. They're all examples of how adults can and should play. Whatever you do, remember that play should be fun. But it's also a marvelous way to master the stresses of life. Just do it!

Playtime for Adults gives a clear understanding of the various forms of play available to adults and the reasons why play is important to mental and physical health, throughout adulthood.

This book includes:

An understanding of what motivates play

The role of thought and action in play

The different levels of play in childhood and adulthood

The relationships between creativity and play

The organizers of play in adulthood.

Sexual play

Understanding the nature of play and doing more of it will lead to a happier life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Calvin A. Colarusso, M.D. is a board-certified Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego, where he served for two decades as Director of the Child Psychiatry Residency Training Program.

He is also a Training and Supervising Analyst in child and adult psychoanalysis at the San Diego Psychoanalytic Institute and an internationally known lecturer to students, professionals, and the general public on many aspects of normal and pathologic development.

His books have been published in English, Korean, and Spanish. See amzn.to/calcolarusso.

Amazon Review

5.0 out of 5 stars hepful and practical, great info!, December 11, 2011

By Angela Johnson - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Playtime for Grown Ups (Kindle Edition)

"As a mother a of three active children, this was a book that I desperately needed to read. My life has been about them and only them since my oldest was born and although I don't regret anything for even a second, I have neglected myself for quite some time. This has led to me and the hubby not really connecting and enjoying each other like we had in the past. Of course if you ask him he won't admit it, but "play-time" for us has been nonexistent in our lives."

"The advice in this book has been wonderful and just by reading it, I've already started to feel better and more care-free. The author has a very friendly and uplifting style of writing, and his insights and ideas on adding creativity and play-time into the adults life are both practical and realistic. His intelligent thoughts on sexual play were probably my favorite part of the book, great ideas for keeping Mom emotionally and physically balanced ; )"

"Great book, I can't begin to recommend it enough. My husband has already agreed to read it too, I got him very interested with some of the ideas I told him about."

Phottix Plato - 2 by Jake Khuon

Phottix recently came out with a new remote that uses 2.4GHz wireless. The Phottix Plato. It's a little pricier (~$45) but from first glance, I can see a couple of advantages over the Cleon.

[0] Digital encoding gives you a more discrete signal and helps to avoid misfires.

[1] Smart codes rolls the codes automatically to avoid contention with other remotes or RF signals.

[2] Two-way communications between receiver and transmitter confirms you are within range or not. It also seems to have a longer range.

[3] Interchangeable end-cords allows you to use the same remote on various cameras simply by replacing the connecting cord. For instance, use the N8 cord for the D300 and the N6 cord for the D80.

[4] Uses more common batteries rather than the expensive "exotic" ones the Cleon uses.

[5] Slicker looking construction.

So... I decided to get one. Tonight I came home from a business trip and found my Plato sitting in my mailbox. There were three items in the package... well five if you count the two double-packs of AAA batteries.

[0] Transmitter

[1[ Receiver

[3] Cable

Both the transmitter and receiver take common AAA batteries. This is a great improvement over some of the older Phottix and Cactus wireless remotes that took a combination of CR2 and type-N... both of which are rather expensive. There was also a single instruction sheet which was as expected written in Engrish although admittedly it's not as bad as some other products I've seen. There was however one glaring error which I will go into about later.

After installing the batteries, both the transmitter and receivers immediately power up. Shutting each of them down requires a push of their power/select button for about 3 seconds. Both have an auto-poweroff feature that shuts them off after an hour of inactivity.

Unlike previous Phottix RF remotes, this one uses rolling codes instead of choosing from amongst preset frequencies. So instead of flipping DIP switches on each device to match one another, the transmitter and receivers must be paired like bluetooth devices. The set comes pre-synced to one another from the factory but you can reset the code by resyncing them. This is accomplished by first turning on the receiver and transmitter. The transmitters picks a code. Then on the receiver, you set it to learning mode by tapping the power button five times. On the transmitter, you push the shutter release button and the two are now synced. You can sync as many as 16 million receivers to the same transmitter. The remote uses the 2.4GHz band which can get congested so in certain environments, it may take a while for the pair to negotiate with one another. But once paired the likelihood of misfires or inadvertent triggers is nearly nonexistent. There are two status LEDs on the transmitter. Half-pressing the shutter release button will confirm that you're in range by lighting them both green as well as passing a half-press action to the camera which should respond in kind (ie. activate AF and VR) depending on how the camera is configured.

The transmitter and receiver are make and model agnostic. The vendor specific interface is handled by the cable. In my case, I am using the N8 cable for the D200 and D300. One end of the cable plugs into the camera and the other end is a simple three-contact 3.5mm "headphone" style plug which can be plugged into the receiver or the transmitter. When plugged into the receiver, the transmitter is in wireless mode. If however you wish to trigger things via a wired remote, you can plug the cable into the transmitter directly. All functions are the same in either mode. Note that the instruction sheet says that it is the receiver that can be used for wired triggering operations but this is in fact incorrect.

The transmitter has two buttons. The big button is the shutter release. The smaller button is the mode select and power button. Holding down this button for about 3 seconds powers the transmitter on or off. There is a series of LEDs that indicate which type of triggering mode you've selected. The following modes are supported:

[] Single - Pressing the shutter release acts like a single press of your camera's shutter release.

[] 2s Delay - Pressing the shutter release button invokes a 2-second delay before a single release signal is sent.

[] Continuous - Pressing the shutter release button once will cause the remote to trigger five individual releases. Holding down the button will act like holding down the shutter release on your camera. The camera's behaviour will be governed by the drive-mode in such a case.

[] Bulb - Pressing the button once is the same as holding down the shutter release on the camera. Press it again to release. This is intended to be used with the bulb shutter-speed setting but if combined with any other shutter speed will act like a press once to activate and press again to release so for instance, if you are in AF-C and don't have bulb set for the shutter-speed, your camera will continue shooting until you tap the button again.

Again, half-press operation is supported and in wireless mode, the two status LEDs at the top will turn green to confirm transmitter-to-receiver signal reception. A full press will turn the two LEDs red. In wired mode only LED #1 will show status.

The receiver has a single button for on/off and learning mode selection. There are also two LEDs. In normal operation, the left most LED will repeatedly flash red to indicate that the unit is on and ready. The right LED will turn green when it receives a trigger signal from the transmitter. Putting the receiver into learning mode causes the right LED to flash rapidly. The receiver also has a hot-shoe mount so it can be conveniently secured to the flash shoe.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with this remote. It's certainly a nice improvement over the older Cleon and would highly recommend it over the Cleon line even though it's about $10 more expensive.

Quack Quack HONK! by Dave Blinder

4 12

View Large On Black

Bufflehead duck (female) with Canada Goose

Muriel Hepner Park

Denville, New Jersey

Thanks to Tom for the tipoff about activity on the pond. No Kingfisher or Mergansers today, just this little quacker mixed in with small #s of mute swans, mallards, and canada geese. There was a large raptor that passed over the back of the pond, only caught a glimpse... looked like a red-tailed hawk.

This photo desperately needs more depth of field, but lighting was nonexistent, and I didn't expect to catch the bufflehead mid-quack!

ISO 1600, 1/125s, wide open @ f/5.6

I had to run noise reduction twice on this photo because it was extremely grainy. I did a lower pass on the full photo, and a high strength pass on just the background. Still noisy!

Unauthorized use or reproduction for any reason is prohibited

Doubtful Sound (fiord) New Zealand by Steve Attwood

Sounds like an upmarket luxury retreat but is actually a now largely disused refuelling stop for the local lobster fishermen. They work their pots along the wild, exposed coast and come in for a welcome respite in the Jailhouse Cafe and plug into Sky TV to get news and weather updates. It used to be occupied by a family but now is largely disused except for use as storage.

Doubtful Sound is a very large and naturally imposing fjord (despite its name) in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound.

Doubtful Sound was named 'Doubtful Harbour' in 1770 by Captain Cook, who did not enter the inlet as he was uncertain whether it was navigable under sail. It was later renamed Doubtful Sound by whalers and sealers.

A Spanish scientific expedition commanded by Alessandro Malaspina visited Doubtful Sound in February 1793 to conduct experiments measuring the force of gravity using a pendulum, a part of the effort to establish a new metric system. The officers of the expedition, which included Felipe Bauzá y Cañas, a cartographer, also made the first chart of the entrance and lower parts of the Sound, naming features of it. Today these form a unique cluster of the only Spanish names on the map of New Zealand: Febrero Point, Bauza Island and the Nee Islets, Pendulo Reach and Malaspina Reach.

There are three distinct arms to the sound, which is the site of several large waterfalls, notably Helena Falls at Deep Cove, and the Browne Falls which have a fall of over 600 metres. The steep hills are known for their hundreds of waterfalls during the rainy season.

Access to the sound is either by sea, or by the Wilmot Pass road from the Manapouri Power Station. Most areas of the sound itself are only accessible by sea however, as the road network in this area of New Zealand is sparse or nonexistent, as is the human population.

Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, Governor-General of New Zealand (1957-1962) wrote about this part of Fiordland:

"There are just a few areas left in the world where no human has ever set foot. That one of them should be in a country so civilized and so advanced as New Zealand may seem incredible, unless one has visited the south-west corner of the South Island. Jagged razor backed mountains rear their heads into the sky. More than 200 days of rain a year ensure not a tree branch is left bare and brown, moss and epiphytes drape every nook. The forest is intensely green. This is big country... one day peaceful, a study in green and blue, the next melancholy and misty, with low cloud veiling the tops... an awesome place, with its granite precipices, its hanging valleys, its earthquake faults and its thundering cascades."

Doubtful Sound is unusual in that it contains two distinct layers of water that scarcely mix. The top few meters is fresh water, fed from the high inflows from the surrounding mountains, and stained brown with tannins from the forest. Below this is a layer of cold, heavy, saline water from the sea. The dark tannins in the fresh water layer makes it difficult for light to penetrate. Thus, many deep-sea species will grow in the comparatively shallow depths of the Sound.

This fiord is home to one of the southernmost population of bottlenose dolphins. The Doubtful Sound bottlenoses have formed a very insular sub-group of only about 70 individuals, with none having been observed to leave or enter the Sound during a multi-year monitoring regime. Their social grouping is thus extremely close, which is also partly attributed to the difficult and unusual features of their habitat, which is much colder than for other bottlenose groups and is also overlaid by the freshwater layer.

Other wildlife to be found in Doubtful Sound includes fur seals and penguins (Fiordland crested and blue), or even rare large whales (Southern Right Whale, Humpback Whale, Minke Whale, Sperm Whale and some Giant Beaked Whales. Orca, the Killer Whales and Long-Finned Pilot Whales can be found also. The waters of Doubtful Sound are also home to an abundance of sea creatures, including many species of fish, starfish, sea anemones and corals. It is perhaps best known for its black coral trees which occur in unusually shallow water for what is normally a deep water species.

The catchment basin of Doubtful Sound is generally steep terrain that is heavily forested except for locations where surface rock exposures are extensive. Nothofagus trees are dominant in many locations. In the understory there are a wide variety of shrubs and ferns.

Bluejacket trailer purchase by DAVE

1 1

Pictured trailer was built for me by a local Maryland trailer dealer. This DJR house brand aluminum trailer was priced comparable if not less than mass produced entry level trailers but features more durable disk brake calibers as well as alloy wheels and Vault hubs. These hubs are manufactured by UFP and are advertised as maintenance free for five years. New to the market two years ago, Internet searches have yet to reveal any significant bad press on these hubs. Time will tell.

The trailer weighs 1180 lbs and is rated to carry a 9,000 lb boat. I expect my Bluejacket to weigh about 2800 lbs ready to cruise. To get a trailer long enough for a Bluejacket, we end up with a trailer substantially over built in regards to load capacity. The trailer has torsion axles which can be unbolted and repositioned to obtain prescribed tonque weight. I will have to fiddle with the bunks in regards to location and perhaps width. I will need some creative thinking on guides to assist in boat recovery. I anticipate adding guide bunks in the bow area.

I enjoyed interacting with Rick the technician who built the trailer. For a couple of years I have followed boat trailer forums thus was armed with many ideas and conclusions. The sentiment at the trailer dealership was that I was significantly overthinking stuff ("What is the diameter of a link in the safety chain?"). Not the first time this observation has been made in regards to my thought processes. In spite of myself, Rick kept me grounded and encouraged me, based on a total towing package of only about 4,000 lbs, to keep things simple. Always a pleasure when up-sell pressure is nonexistent.

Per the trailer forums, brake caliber corrison is a frequent headache and few folks seem happy with tire longevity/reliability especially those of Chinese manufacture. My trailer has surge disk brakes with a solenoid running off the back up light circuit to dump master brake cylinder pressure when backing. It will be about 18 months before the trailer with boat takes to the Interstates thus I only specified brakes on one axle. When the day arrives for frequent and high speed trailering of my Bluejacket, I may add brakes on the second axle especially if travelling in a state(s) that requires brakes on all axles. No reason today to double the number of brake calipers corroding from age and infrequent use. I had Rick set up the hydraulic lines to facilitate adding brakes to the second axle.

I have been annoyed by the clunking sound that surge brake activators make in response to tow vehicle braking or accelerating. Turns out there is a shock absorber inside the sliding brake activator mechanism on my trailer. I trust that this device will reduce if not prevent the clunking noise (**Edit 11/2013- It didn't.).

I wonder if the immersible LED lights on my trailer will have a lifespan much better than trailer lights featuring incandescent bulbs.

Next week I will construct a temporary platform on the trailer to transport stationary power tools and some furniture for our return to Texas in a couple of weeks.

*Edit 11/28/2012: Without incident we towed this trailer 1562 miles to Austin, Tx. Ann did her share of driving duties and experienced no difficulties in trailer handling. I constructed a 3'x2'x8' storage container loaded with disasembled stationary power tools for my Austin workshop. We also carried furniture which we donated to a cat rescue center in Austin. I estimate the total weight of 2500 lbs for trailer and cargo thus well below my Honda Pilot's 4,000 tow capacity. Per an erratic scale I was using, I ended up with about 70 lbs excess tongue weight than the 7-10% tongue weight rule prescribed. After the scale stopped misbehaving and gave a true weight, I deemed it too much effort to repack the storage container to reduce tongue weight. The Honda was squatting with the tongue weight along with the items in the back of the vehicle. Tongue weight along with the tandem axles eliminated any swaying and the trailer tracked like it was on rails. The trailer was a beast manuvering in gas stations and constant vigillance was required to turn wide and monitor the mirrors. My failure to do so almost resulted in planting a trailer fender into the front of a parked car at a gas station. I have much to learn in regards to large trailer manuvering.

The Honda's normal 20 mpg (flat terrain and 65mph) on the highway went to 14 mpg during the tow. I understand that at interstate speeds on level pavement 1/2 the force the engine must overcome is wind resistance. The blunt front of my storage container was probably the primary culprit in poor gas mileage. With a 20 gallon tank, way too many stops for gas especially with the stress of trailer manuvering.

This experience helped educate me on selection criteria for a larger tow vehicle.

Phottix Plato - 3 by Jake Khuon

Phottix recently came out with a new remote that uses 2.4GHz wireless. The Phottix Plato. It's a little pricier (~$45) but from first glance, I can see a couple of advantages over the Cleon.

[0] Digital encoding gives you a more discrete signal and helps to avoid misfires.

[1] Smart codes rolls the codes automatically to avoid contention with other remotes or RF signals.

[2] Two-way communications between receiver and transmitter confirms you are within range or not. It also seems to have a longer range.

[3] Interchangeable end-cords allows you to use the same remote on various cameras simply by replacing the connecting cord. For instance, use the N8 cord for the D300 and the N6 cord for the D80.

[4] Uses more common batteries rather than the expensive "exotic" ones the Cleon uses.

[5] Slicker looking construction.

[0] Transmitter

[1[ Receiver

[3] Cable

[] Single - Pressing the shutter release acts like a single press of your camera's shutter release.

[] 2s Delay - Pressing the shutter release button invokes a 2-second delay before a single release signal is sent.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with this remote. It's certainly a nice improvement over the older Cleon and would highly recommend it over the Cleon line even though it's about $10 more expensive.

NONexistent by art2science

whether you're anti or for, it's two sides of the same thing. And I would like to be completely... nonexistent. -- Marcel Duchamp.... get rid of the "I" in "vierge" [virgin]... and you have "verge" [penis]..."before the Nude my paintings were visual. After that they were Ideatic"

Seshendra Sharma by Seshendra Sharma

Visionary Poet of the Millennium

An Indian poet Prophet

Seshendra Sharma

October 20th, 1927 - May 30th, 2007

seshendrasharma.weebly.com/

seshen.tributes.in/

www.facebook.com/GunturuSeshendraSharma/

eBooks :http://kinige.com/author/Gunturu+Seshendra+Sharma

Rivers and poets

Are veins and arteries

Of a country.

Rivers flow like poems

For animals, for birds

And for human beings-

The dreams that rivers dream

Bear fruit in the fields

The dreams that poets dream

Bear fruit in the people-

* * * * * *

The sunshine of my thought fell on the word

And its long shadow fell upon the century

Sun was playing with the early morning flowers

Time was frightened at the sight of the martyr-

-Seshendra Sharma

"We are children of a century which has seen revolutions, awakenment of large masses of people over the earth and their emancipation from slavery and colonialism wresting equality from the hands of brute forces and forging links of brotherhood across mankind.

This century has seen peaks of human knowledge; unprecedented intercourse of peoples and

perhaps for the first time saw the world stand on the brink of the dilemma of one world or destruction.

It is a very inspiring century, its achievements are unique.

A poet who is not conscious of this context fails in his existence as poet."

-Seshendra Sharma

(From his introduction to his “Poet’s notebook "THE ARC OF BLOOD" )

* * * * * *

B.A: Andhra Christian College: Guntur: A.P: India

B.L : Madras University: Madras

Deputy Municipal Commissioner (37 Years)

Dept of Municipal Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh

Parents: G.Subrahmanyam (Father) ,Ammayamma (Mother)

Siblings: Anasuya,Devasena (Sisters),Rajasekharam(Younger brother)

Wife: Mrs.Janaki Sharma

Children: Vasundhara , Revathi (Daughters),

Vanamaali ,Saatyaki (Sons)

Seshendra Sharma is one of the most outstanding minds of modern Asia. He is the foremost of the Telugu poets today who has turned poetry to the gigantic strides of human history and embellished literature with the thrills and triumphs of the 20th century. A revolutionary poet who spurned the pedestrian and pedantic poetry equally, a brilliant critic and a scholar of Sanskrit, this versatile poet has breathed a new vision of modernity to his vernacular.Such minds place Telugu on the world map of intellectualism. Readers conversant with names like Paul Valery, Gauguin, and Dag Hammarskjold will have to add the name of Seshendra Sharma the writer from India to that dynasty of intellectuals.

* * *

Seshendra Sharma better known as Seshendra isa colossus of Modern Indian poetry.

His literature is a unique blend of the best of poetry and poetics.

Diversity and depth of his literary interests and his works

are perhaps hitherto unknown in Indian literature.

From poetry to poetics, from Mantra Sastra to Marxist Politics his writings bear an unnerving pprint of his rare genius.

His scholarship and command over Sanskrit , English and Telugu Languages has facilitated his emergence as a towering personality of comparative literature in the 20th century world literature.

T.S.Eliot ,ArchbaldMacleish and Seshendra Sharma are trinity of world poetry and Poetics.

His sense of dedication to the genre of art he chooses to express himself and

the determination to reach the depths of subject he undertakes to explore

place him in the galaxy of world poets / world intellectuals.

Seshendra’seBooks :http://kinige.com/author/Gunturu+Seshendra+Sharma

Contact :saatyaki@gmail.com+919441070985+917702964402

------------------------

Seshendra Sharma : Scholar - Poet

Seshendra Sharma, a scholar - poet was born (October 20, 1927) into a Pujari ( Priests ) family in Nellore District in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India . Seshendra’s father and his grandfather were well versed in Sanskrit Literature, Vedas and scriptures. At home itself, thus from his childhood , Seshendra got the opportunity of learning and training in Sanskrit. This was further nurtured by the Village school of Thotapalligudur, where he spent best part of his childhood.

Seshendra’s father was a well-to-do person, a Munsif ( village officer ) of the village, possessing more than Ten Acres of agricultural Wet land and own house . Father’s desire to see his son flower into a top man turned a new leaf in Seshendra’s life. Seshendra’s father admitted him for B.A. Graduation course in Andhra Christian College in Guntur. Incidentally, Seshendra’s Family Sir Name and this town’s name are one and the same. This is a turning point in the budding poet’s journey. Seshendra got significant exposure to the Western World, particularly to the Western Literature. The makings of a Visionary Poet germinated in him in this Alma Mater. His journey of poetry started with Translation of Mathew Arnold’s “Sohrab and Rustum “ , a long poem , which Seshendra translated into Telugu in Metrical poetry with accomplished finesse . This trend eventually blossomed and Seshendra emerged as an Epic – Poet. His My Country – My People : Modern Indian Epic is observed by learned critics as a land mark in modern poetry ranking it on par with T.S. Eliot’s Waste Land . This long poem was nominated for Nobel Prize in 2004. His subsequent works Gorilla, Turned into water and fled away, Ocean is my name – long poems were reviewed in scholarly strain.

Seshendra’s desire to perform in films took him to Madras, today’s Chennai in Tamil Nadu. In Madras he formally joined B.L. Course with Madras Law College. And was developing contacts in the Telugu Cinema Circles and was working as a freelance journalist. He used to translate articles into Telugu for Janavani , a popular weekly of those times whose editor was Tapi Dharma Rao , a towering personality of Telugu Literature. This facet of journalism of his personality rose to its full heights in 90s. When Soviet Union collapsed he wrote a series of articles in Telugu as well as in English decrying the west’s sinister plot, villainous machinations to pull down Communist Regimes. He sang odes / Laurels to communism and expressed in aggressive tone and style that communism will never die. It remains in the genes of oppressed peoples of the world for ever. Perhaps Seshendra is the only poet from the Indian Subcontinent to pen Anti – Imperialist essays during those times. He completed his Law course but his desire to act in films remained unfulfilled. Seshendra’s Classmates at his Alma Mater, A.C.College, Guntur, N.T.Rama Rao and Kongara Jaggaiah became popular actors of Telugu Cinema. N.T.R became an all time super –hero. Seshendra’s father and maternal uncle forcibly brought him back from Madras, and with the good offices of native Member of Parliament put him in Government service as Deputy Panchayat Officer. In due course of time, on deputation, joined Municipal Administration Department and worked as Municipal Commissioner in all Major cities and towns of Andhra Pradesh. With the result he got wide exposure to conditions of social life of his times. He obtained personal acquaintance of Common Man’s life and his travails. This enriched his vision of life and literature a great deal.

With Seshendra Poetry and Poetics are Siamese Twins. He penned works of Literary Criticism both on classical and contemporary poetry. Sahitya Kaumudi (Telugu ) and his bi-lingual book “ the ARC of Blood : My Note Book “ illustrate this point. His Research work on Valmiki’s Ramayana , Shodasi : Secrets of The Ramayana , questions the very foundations of centuries old assumptions. Seshendra, based on scientific research citing from the original text of Valmiki and Vedas, reveals that The Ramayana is not just story of Rama told in enchanting poetry , But the Sage wrote the epic to spread Kundalini Yoga among the masses of his era. His observations that the concepts of Vishnu and Reincarnation were non –existent during Valmiki’s Epoch constitute a revolt against centuries old beliefs. Sita is the central character of The Ramayana and she is Kundalini Shakti / Adi Para Shakthi . During that era temples and prayers were nonexistent. This hits directly at the very foundation of Temple System.

His Kavisena Manifesto , is a noteworthy work on Modern Poetics. In this work, he compiles cogently definitions of poetry cutting across centuries and countries and writes scintillating commentary. This Manifesto of Modern Poetry is a sort of Wikipedia page of world poetry. Seshendra, finally concludes that poetry is emotions and feelings skilfully garbed in unusual diction, and poetry is a way of life.

Discerning scholars critics and academics are of intrinsic opinion that T.S.Eliot ,Archibald MacLeish and Seshendra Sharma are trinity of world poetry and Poetics.

But this Scholar – poet of 20th century is an unsung and unwept genius of his times.

Prime Minister of India honoured Seshendra with Gold Medal in Sahitya Akademi ( India ) Golden Jubilee celebrations and Chief Minister of AP honoured him with Hansa Literary Award on the eve of UGADI , Telugu New Year Day in 2005 .

In one of his poems he says fragrance of stars is calling me. Seshendra left this world and vanished into fragrance of galaxies on May 30, 2007.

* * * * * *

GunturuSeshendraSarma: an extraordinary poet-scholar

One of the ironies in literature is that

he came to be known more as a critic than a poet

HYDERABAD: An era of scholastic excellence and poetic grandeur has come to an end in the passing away of GunturuSeshendraSarma, one of the foremost poets and critics in Telugu literature. His mastery over western literature and Indian `AlankaraSastra' gave his works a stunning imagery, unparalleled in modern Indian works. One of the ironies in literature is that he came to be known more as a critic than a poet. The Central SahityaAkademi award was conferred on him for his work `KaalaRekha' and not for his poetic excellence. The genius in him made him explore `Kundalini Yoga' in his treatise on Ramayana in `Shodasi' convincingly. His intellectual quest further made him probe `NaishadhaKaavya' in the backdrop of `LalitaSahasraNaamavali', `SoundaryaLahari' and `Kama Kala Vilasam' in `SwarnaHamsa', Seshendra saw the entire universe as a storehouse of images and signs to which imagination was to make value-addition. Like Stephene Mallarme who was considered a prophet of symbolism in French literature, SeshendraSarma too believed that art alone would survive in the universe along with poetry. He believed that the main vocation of human beings was to be artists and poets. His `Kavisena Manifesto' gave a new direction to modern criticism making it a landmark work in poetics. Telugus would rue the intellectual impoverishment they suffered in maintaining a `distance' from him. Seshendra could have given us more, but we did not deserve it! The denial of the Jnanpeeth Award to him proves it

The Hindu

India's National Newspaper

Friday, Jun 01, 2007

* * * * * *

Pardon Me Father!

I could not rescue him from the clutches of that nymphomaniac and vampire. There may be an exception or two but an average Indian woman desires from the depths of her soul that her husband should live long and she should pass away before him. She performs prayers and fasts on auspicious days for this purpose. She in spite of being 3years elder to him did away with my father in a planned and premeditated manner and I was a silent and helpless witness to it. He suffered 1st Heart attack in November 1997. Cardiologists performed angiogram and advised open heart surgery. Because there were blocks in vessels and one valve was damaged. But she successfully thwarted it and without my knowledge or informing any one got angioplasty done in Mediciti (Hyderabad: AP; India) her plan was to do away with him and live long, and establish herself as his wife through his books. He was succumbing to her blackmail. My overwhelming hunch is that she was threatening him with social insult and humiliation if he parts ways with her.

Between 1997-2007, she played football with his body. He used to be hospitalized every now and then with swollen body and heart pain. Because of damaged valve pumping was impaired and water used to accumulate in the system. Every time I used to force her to hospitalize him. He used be in ICCU for a couple of days and recover marginally. After each visit to hospital he was getting debilitated gradually. He was put on wheel chair. He was virtually under house arrest. He was not allowed to speak to friends and family members. Visitors were kept away. He was taking Lasix (Tablet: is a diuretic that is used to treat fluid accumulation, caused by heart failure, cirrhosis, chronic kidney failure, and nephrotic syndrome.) to flush out water accumulated in his body. This creates a painful dilemma in me whether my interference in his health matters was just. As his son it was my moral duty to protect him. But I sometimes feel if I were not to interfere she would have put him to death long ago and thus he would have escaped from physical and mental torture quite early.

Towards perhaps end of the month of March she withdrew medication. He got swollen suddenly and that condition continued till the last day i.e. 30th may 2007. Each time I visited I used to tell that witch to take him to hospital. But after a couple of visits I got convinced that she made up her mind this time to do away with him. I requested a bastard who was feigning to be a friend of mine, who incidentally happens to be a legal luminary of this region to send a doctor friend to that place and ascertain the exact condition of his health. But of no avail.

I kept on telling him to come out of that place and lead a normal and healthy life. Her blackmail gained an upper hand and I lost in my efforts to restore health to him and bring him back to civilized society. O God pardon me for not being able to outmanoeuvre her machinations. Pardon me father.

* * *

Who Are The Legal Heirs of Seshendra Sharma ?

DISCLAIMER

The literary world is aware that my father Gunturu Seshendra Sharma, eminent poet, litterateur and scholar-critic, died on 30th may 2007. Ever since he expired, there has been no mention of his parents, family members and other personal details in the news and in the articles about him. Not only this, fictional lies are being spread and using money power one shady lady is being propagated as his wife and so on. This has been causing me, as his son, a great mental agony. That is why, through this article, I am revealing certain fundamental truths to the literary field of this country and the civilized society. I appeal to your conscience to uphold truth, justice and values of our composite culture.

Seshendra Sharma's family members are: Parents: Subrahmanyam Sharma, Ammaayamma- Wife: Janaki Daughters: Vasundhara, Revathi, Sons: Vanamali, Saatyaki. Only these two are legal heirs of Seshendra Sharma, socially and morally too.

Street Play and Circus: In 1972, away from the civilized society, without the knowledge of parents and near and dear, in a far flung village called Halebeed in Karnataka a circus, a street play was staged. Let me make it clear that even after this street play my father did not divorce my mother Mrs.G.Janaki legally. He never had even a faint intention of committing such an uncivilized act. On the contrary, in all crucial Government documents he nominated my mother as his legal heir from time to time. During his long career as Municipal Commissioner with The Government of Andhra Pradesh, he retired 3 times. His first retirement came in 1975 by way of compulsory retirement for his anti establishment writings during Mrs. Gandhi's' emergency. His second retirement came in 1983 when the then new chief minister N.T. Rama Rao's government reduced the age of service from 58 to 55 years. The third and final retirement in the year 1985 on attaining 58 years of age. On all these occasions, in all the government documents, my father Seshendra Sharma nominated my mother Mrs. Janaki as his legal heir. This is precisely why the self contradictory 'second marriage' is a circus enacted away from the society and Law does not recognize this type of street plays as marriage.

Lakshmi Parvathi in literature

N.T. Rama Rao, actor turned politician married Ms. Lakshimi Parvathi in 1994 and subsequently in January 1995 he came to power for the second time. She used to act as an extra constitutional power and run the matters of government and the party. She developed her own coterie of cohorts and started dominating the party. After NTR was toppled by his own son- in-law, most of them parted ways with her. And the remaining touts left her for good the day NTR breathed his last. Ms.Indira Dhanrajgir has been playing the same role in Telugu literature over a period of more than 3 decades. In the guise of literature she developed her own coterie of lumpens with extra literary and money mongering elements - Tangirala Subba Rao, Velichala Kondala RAo(Editor:Jayanthi) Cheekolu Sundarayya(A.G.'s Office, Hyderabad et al).

There are a couple[ of dissimilarities between these two instances. After the demise of NTR, L.P's coterie of cohorts disappeared once and for all. Whereas, in Indira Dhanrajgir's case new lumpens are entering the field with the passage of time. Squandering her late father's wealth, she is roping in new touts. Since NTR's wife Basava Tarakam passed away in 1984 and since he was old and sick NTR's marriage with LP has ethical basis and is legal completely. Whereas I.D's is neither ethical nor legal. Hence it is a street play. This is the reason why after my father's death she has been spending money on a larger scale and indulging in false publicity and propaganda. Bh. Krishna Murthy, Sadasiva Sharma (The then Editor of Andhra Prabha:Telugu Daily, presently with Hindi Milap) Chandrasekhara Rao(Telugu lecturer: Methodist Degree College) etc. are indulging in all sorts of heinous acts to prop up I.D as my father's wife.

My father passed away on 30 May 2007. When our family was in grief and I was performing the 11 day ritual as per my mother's wish, the above mentioned Sadasiva Sharma went to Municipal Office on 4th June, created ruckus, played havoc telling them that he is from the Prime Minister's Office , мейд some 'senior officials' make phone calls to the officials concerned and got my father's death certificate forcibly issued. When the entire family was mourning the death of the family head, a stranger and a lumpen S.S -Why did he collect my father's death certificate forcibly from the municipal authorities? Whom did he collect it for?

THREE NAMES OF THE SAME PERSON IN 3 DECADES

This is perhaps for the first time that the name of a lady appears in 3 forms at a time. Perhaps in 1970, in my father's collection of poems"PAKSHULU her name appeared As Rajkumari Indira Devi Dhanrajgir. In 2006 she published a fake version of Kamaostav(Rewritten by a muffian Called Chandrasekhara Rao) . In this book her name appears as R.I.D.D. Prior to 1970 in Maqdoom Mohiuddeen's(Renowned Urdu Poet) anthology of poetry 'Bisath -E-Raks', in Urdu as well as Hindi , at the end of two poems her name appears as Kumari Indira Dhanrajgir. On 15th June 2007 A.P state cultural affairs department and Telugu University jointly held my father's memorial meeting. I.D hijacked this meeting by issuing her own commercial advertisements in English and Telugu dailies. In these advertisements her name appeared as Smt. Indira Devi Seshendra Sharma and again in the commercial public notices мейд by her in the month of November 2007her name appeared as Rajkumari devi etc. Why does her name appear in different forms on different occasions? Will I.D explain? Will Sadasiva Sharma clarify, who forcibly took my father's death certificate after four days of his death? Or will Bh.Krishna Murthy clarify?

If I.D has even an iota of regard, respect for or faith in love, or relation, the institution of marriage, immediately after'Halebeed Circus', she would have used my father's family sir name and her name would have appeared as Gunturu Indira. Since she was conscious of her goal during all times and conditions she did not take such a hasty and mindless step of change of her name.

WHERE DOES THE REAL SECRET LIE? Her life is totally illegal, anti-social and immoral. I.D's father performed her marriage with SRikishenSeth, Nephew of the then Prime minister to Nizam, Maharaja Kishen pershad in 1945. On the day of marriage itself I.D beat SrikeshenSeth up and ran away from him. She did not stop at that. She propagated among his friends and relatives and near and dear that he was not enough of a man and unfit for conjugal/ marital life. She filed a divorce case against him and dragged it till 1969/70. Lion's share of her husband's life got evaporated and was sapped completely by then. His parents used to approach I.D's father and plead with him to prevail upon his daughter, put sense into her head and see that she either lives with their son or dissolves the marriage legally so that they can remarry off their son. But I.D did not heed. Raja Dhanrajgir after getting disgusted with her nasty activities stipulated a mandatory condition in his will. He stated that I.D would be entitled to get a share of his property only if she is married.

This is the reason why ID who has no respect for the institution of marriage or regard or desire for marital life , in the guise of love and love poetry inflicted indelible blemish on the institution of marriage which is unprecedented in the literary history of the world. After my father's death she has been indulging in more rigorous false publicity along with her coterie of touts.

KAMOSTAV:STORY OF ID'S SOUL:

With this novel Kamostav, father's literary life came to an end for good. He did not produce literary works worth mentioning in his later phase of life. During those days he asked for my opinion on that novel. I told him clearly that it lacks the form and content of a novel- it does not have a story line, plot, sequences, characters and eventually a message which every novel gives. Hence it is a trash. Several people went to court and got its publication in a weekly stopped. ID got this very trash rewritten completely by Chandrasekhara Rao and printed it. This kind of heinous development has never taken place in the recorded history of Telugu literature till date. A writing which brought disrepute to my father in the literary field and isolated him in the society, why did she get it rewritten by somebody and publish it claiming copyright to be hers? What is her motive? What is her aim? That is why Kamotsav is ID's biography, story of her inner soul.

SESHENDRA'S COPYRIGHTS:

My father gifted away copyrights of his entire works along with their translations to me by way of birth day gift to me on 2.12.1989. Since then I have published several of his works during his lifetime itself. Kamostav, the version that is secretly мейд available is the dirty work of cheapsters and lumpens under the leadership of ID. It is much worse than violation of copyrights. That is the reason why I have been reluctant to take action so far. If she and her debased henchmen try to violate copyrights of my father's works bequeathed to me, I shall take exemplary legal action against them.

ID мейд 2 public notices to the effect that my father cancelled all his earlier transfer of copyrights and retransferred all his rights to her. This is a palace intrigue in the modern era in our civilized society.

WHAT DOES LAW SAY ABOUT COPYRIGHTS?

An author can transfer copyrights of his works to any one as per her/his wish. But the Copyrights Act 1957 and the Supreme Court in its various judgments has clearly stipulated a procedure to revoke earlier assignment and transferring of copyrights to somebody else subsequently. The author has to issue a notice to the 1st assignee, giving 6 months time for reply. Depending on the reply the author can take his next step. Where as in my father's copyrights matter he did not even inform me orally of any such cancellation. ID claims that she has a typed document of transfer of copyrights signed by my father on 5.1.2006. Between 5.1.2006 and 30.5.2007, leave alone issuing a notice, he did not even inform me orally.

My father who assigned copyrights to me in his own handwriting, when he was relatively young and physically fit did not require to cancel the 1st assignment when he was totally dilapidated, almost bedridden and was counting his days. Another important aspect of the matter is that I have printed the Xerox of my father's document in his own works as early as 1995 and have been doing so from time to time during his life time. Where as ID claims to possess a document after my father's death and she has not мейд it public so far. ID tried to get my father's complete works published in different languages by Telugu University (Hyderabad: A.P: India) by paying them Rs. 6 Lakhs. I approached Telugu University and apprised them of facts. On the advice of legal experts, they stopped this project and returned ID's money to her. It is an incontrovertible fact that ID's document is a forged and fraudulent document which does not stand scrutiny before law. Court shall certainly award her exemplary punishment. In all societies and times literature has been social wealth/public property from time immemorial. It should not be used as a mask to grab share of parental property illegally and unethically. I am committed to this cause/ ideal and appeal to the civilized society to strengthen my hands in this endeavor. ID's younger brother Sri Mahendra Pratapgir is the lone legal heir apparent of that family and keeping him in dark, she is squandering her father's wealth in Telugu literature for her nasty propaganda.

FATHER PASSED AWAY:

In 1997 when he suffered the 1st heart attack he was half-dead. Dr.Sudhakar Reddy, cardiologist of Mediciti Hospitals (Native of Warangal.A.P) performed angiogram and diagnosed that he had blocks in arteries and one valve was damaged completely. He advised open heart surgery. But ID averted it and got angioplasty performed. His health declined rapidly since then and was leading the life of virtually an invalid till he breathed his last. He suffered inexplicable mental and physical torture for about a decade. During the last leg of his journey he was isolated from his family completely. He was deserted by one and all in the literary field. When his younger brother passed away, his younger sister passed away he did not visit his ancestral home in his village and call on those families. He became target of jealousy and animosity in the society. He became a victim of false impression with the society that he was an aristocrat and rolling in luxuries. Whereas, he was deprived of even his native vegetarian food for decades together. As a silent and helpless witness to these painful happenings, I was subject to untold mental agony.

In the later half of March 2007 on one of my visits to him, I was aghast at his condition. His entire body was swollen. His appearance was like that of a stuffed gunny bag. I told him to get hospitalized. I told ID to rush him to a hospital. But of no avail. On 30th may 2007 at about 11 pm I got a phone call from her" Come soon/Serious" she said. As I entered at 11.15 pm "Go inside/he is no more' she said.

* * One day when swarms of lamps vanish, in the light of a lonely lamp I ask the dumb pillars "Can't you liberate me from the disgust of this existence? I ask those stand still forest flame trees

which blossom flowers at that very place year after year

"can't you rescue me?

I ask those high roof tops and this Venetian furniture

which every one feels are greater than me, "can't you rescue me from the disgust of this existence?" All these answer in a melancholic voice "We have been languishing since more than 100 years watching the same unchanging scenes we are older prisoners than you are" (Janavamsham: Telugu: Seshendra: Page 80-81:1993: Translated by me)

My father's first biography (in Hindi) titled "Rashtrendu Seshendra: Ashesh Aayaam" by Dr.Vishranth Vasishth appeared in 1994. Touching upon these very sensitive aspects of my father's life he commented in that book"SONE KE PINJRE ME PANCHCHI" (A bird in a golden cage). Alarmed and agonized by his rapidly declining health, as early as June 2002, in order to bring pressure on ID, I gave a 2 cassettes long interview to Vijayaviharam of Janaharsha group. Later on when I enquired about that interview they said that in the raids conducted on their premises, they got destroyed.

I wanted to rescue my father and bring him back home when he was in good health. Alas! At last, I took him to the burial ground, laid him on the funeral pyre and consigned him to flames and returned home all alone.

G.Satyaki S/o Late.G.Seshendra Sharma

Hyderabad.T.S.INDIA

saatyaki@gmail.com

+91 94410 70985, 7702964402

I always get a kick out of seeing this nonexistent sign in Indp. Day before Houston gets nuked. by Bryan Peters

Posted by Ping.fm

india-4 by tellzoe

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should i process these pictures in any order? this is from like 4 cities after mumbai.... the evening we went to old delhi with THE WONDERFUL FABULOUS BRILLIANT MATHIEU!!!!! www.flickr.com/photos/mathieujv/ which seriously, everyone with a brain should go spend at least 365 days with mathieu and his wife in delhi and you will emerge completely refreshed and happy.

old delhi is nuthouse. the alleyways shouldn't fit more the two people but as usual, squeeze 10 people, 4 vendors and 2 cycle rickshaws. haha ok maybe it's not that bad. for the record, chandni chowk is the name of the market we were in when i took this picture. minutes before we took a stroll down that insane street, i had gotten into a little tiff with a boy with limited knowledge of english and common sense at a mosque who tried to get me to pay for my camera, the camera fee, which is acceptable in some places, even there, BUT i wasn't going to be taking any pictures in his mosque. he didnt even know i had a camera, as it was hidden in my bag. i think he just thought that all the white people (there were about 2 others there) just always take pictures of mosques where ever they go. (i got tired pretty quickly taking pictures of temples and mosques and forts and palaces in india, no offence to old delhi mosque boy, but i didn't want any pictures there.)

i refused to pay for something i wasn't going to use and mathieu ended up holding my bag and camera outside the mosque. then before entering the mosque, the boy wrapped me up in this hideous red and yellow floral plastic robe that zipped from my neck/ears down to the ground, it DRAGGED because i'm like 5 inches shorter than most of the world. apparently my pants and tunic were too immodest for the mosque. excuse me, but really?? the other white people were wearing shorts and tanks in the mosque!! obviously the boy, angry with me for not giving him the camera fee for the camera i didnt have, wanted me to look ridiculous and sweat my entire body weight off, as delhi is about 97 degrees and 95% humidity. and that i did.

eric and i (wearing the screaming vinyl tablecloth) walked around the mosque for a while before i began suffocating and decided it was just a mosque and lets just go eat. upon getting back our shoes at the entrance, the same delightful boy as before unzipped me. then i realized he didnt just want me to look like a kitchen table from 1972 and drown in salty wetness, he also wanted me to be forced to pay the "coat fee" for wearing the ugly abomination.

when i refused that, saying "well you didnt let me take my bag in so i don't even have any rupees" he said "laundry fee"

and i said "no."

and he said "yes. have to."

i said "no."

he said "required."

and i said "no."

and he said "5 rupees" (which is a pointless amount of money, but it had now become about the principle of winning)

so i said loudly and slowly, right into his eyes, "I DONT HAVE MY MONEY SINCE YOU DIDNT LET ME TAKE MY BAG IN, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?"

then i walked off. i woulda given him 5 ruppes for the laundry fee if he hadnt been so insane about my nonexistent camera. then 15 minutes later i took this picture and about 108 others. notice how the memory written here has nothing to do with this staring bald baby.

View On Black

Backyard Spider by Joey Galletta

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The common backyard spider has a unique physical design, which is rarely noticeable to the human eye simply because when full grown, it's about the size of your pinkie. However, to get extremely close up and personal with this insect revels an entirely different appearance like you might see in a scifi horror movie. Camera pixel size format was set at 8 megs using the RAW option for post editing resizing the spider 8 megs larger with full max macro exposure. The exposure was made using ele flash. DOF was nearly nonexistent since the aperture was auto set at f/5.6.

Edificio Coliseo España - Calle Adolfo Rodriguez Jurado, Seville by Elliott Brown

We got off our coach (after a mornings tour around Seville) and headed for the Alcazar! We didn't go on the boat trip, so we followed the tour guide towards the Cathedral, before we made our own way to the Alcazar.

Near Calle Santander.

On Calle Adolfo Rodriguez Jurado. Near Av de la Constitucion. Corner of Calle Joaquin Hazanas.

Edificio Coliseo España

The Colosseum Spain, has become an icon in the new Constitution Avenue. The building has gone through many experiences throughout its history, some speak of monumentality and glamor, others neglect and contempt.

The roaring twenties, led to the arrival of new services Sevilla hitherto nonexistent, and many public and private buildings, hotels, fire stations, train stations and of course, cinemas and theaters arise. This was done the Teatro Coliseo Cinema Spain, a building that would house something as modern as the film, but without forgetting the Sevillian touch. The film would not get a plot in the Seville and Andalusian architecture well into the thirties, where Deco architecture was chosen.

Currently used as offices of the Board of Andalucia

NYC - Brooklyn: Fort Greene Park - Prison Ship Martyrs Monument by Wally Gobetz

The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, sometimes referred to as the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, was erected in Fort Greene Park in 1908. Designed by Stanford White, the monument consists of a 100-foot-wide-granite staircase and a 149-foot high central Doric column. The monument, actually the third on the site, marks the site of the crypt for more than 11,500 men, women and children, known as the prison ship martyrs.

During the American Revolutionary War, the British imprisoned scores of soldiers, sailors, and private citizens--many simply because they would not swear allegiance to the Crown of England. When they ran out of jail space, they began using decommissioned ships anchored in Wallabout Bay as floating prisons. Life was unbearable on the prison ships. Disease was rampant, food and water were scarce or nonexistent, and the living conditions were overcrowded and wretched. Their bodies were thrown overboard or buried in shallow graves in the sandy marshes along the shore. In 1808 the remains of the prison ship martyrs were buried in a tomb on Jackson Street (now Hudson Avenue), near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

In 1776, the construction of Fort Putnam on the high ground that now makes up Fort Greene Park was supervised by American Major General Nathanael Greene. During the Battle of Long Island, the Continental Army surrendered the fort and retreated to Manhattan. The fort was renamed for General Greene and rebuilt for the War of 1812. In 1845, the City of Brooklyn designated the site as a public park behind the support of Walt Whitman, then editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. In 1867, landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux were engaged to redesign the park, and incorporate a new crypt for the remains of the prison ship martyrs.

The remains were moved to the park in 1873 into the newly created 25 by 11 foot brick vault. Twenty-two boxes, containing a mere fraction of total volume of remains, were interred. Towards the end of the 19th century, a diverse group of interests including the federal government, municipal and state governments, private societies, and donors, began a campaign for a permanent monument to the prison ship martyrs. In 1905 the renowned architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White was hired to design a new entrance to the crypt and a wide granite stairway leading to a plaza on top of the hill. From its center rose a freestanding Doric column crowned by a bronze lantern. President-elect William Howard Taft attended the monument’s dedication in 1908.

Sculptor Adolph Alexander Weinman (1870–1952) created the monument’s bronze pieces -- the large urn or decorative lantern (never functioning) as well as four eagles that were once mounted to the corner granite posts. The eagles were removed to storage after being repeatedly vandalized; two of them are on public display at the Arsenal, the Parks administrative headquarters on Fifth Avenue at 64th Street in Manhattan. A tablet over the entrance to tomb, also in storage now, was donated by the Tammany Society, and was originally the cornerstone of the Navy Yard vault. An elevator and stairs for the interior were installed in 1937; both were removed in 1948 after the monument was renovated by Parks. In 1970 the elevator pit was filled in.

Presently plans are being considered for the renovation of the monument, landscaping of the apex of the park and the re-installation of the conserved eagles and plaque.

The Fort Green Historic District was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1978.

Fort Greene Historic District National Register #83001691

Day 274: It does? Apparently? by Allan Crain

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So as a dyed-in-the-wool iPhone fanboy, I've been wanting to pick up an Android handset for a while now to see how the other half lives. It's taken a while for decent Android phones to start getting to the point where they're affordable as on-a-whim buys on the used market without a contract, but they're finally there now, so I picked up a Motorola Droid. Here, have some first impressions.

Pros:

* The screen is a lot nicer than I was expecting. I was assuming that a phone of this vintage would have a screen more like my old iPhone 3Gs, where it was visibly pixelly, but it's a lot closer to the iPhone 4's retina display. So, good job, Motorola.

* Being able to go to market.android.com/ and pick out apps and have them magically appear on my phone? Sweet. Sign me up for more of that.

* It's also a lot more responsive than I had feared it would be. The only other times I'd really played with Android had been in stores and everything just seemed super slow. This isn't as fast as my iPhone, but it's also a couple of generations behind it, and it's actually pretty zippy given that caveat.

* Notifications are less intrusive than iOS 4.x and below, although that's likely to change in 5.

Cons: Just about everything else

* Okay, yes, the Android notification center is nicer than iOS's popups, but it means they can't do the little tap-the-top-to-scroll-up trick that iOS does in scroll views which is something I really miss.

* It's bulky as shit and feels really fragile, especially with the sliding keyboard mechanism. This is more a Motorola Droid problem than an Android In General problem, though

* The whole interface just looks... amateurish. Everything's square and blocky in most of the apps, but the launcher's got shading and 3D effects and whatnot, which makes it feel like the interface design as a whole is very disjoint.

* Little things like the way it handles gestures and scrolling make it feel very much like you're interacting with a tiny computer using gestures rather than that you're interacting with actual objects like on the iPhone.

* I still hate the Android way of zooming in web pages where it resizes everything and rerenders. On the iPhone it just zooms. I find the Android way to be very disorienting. This might be something I could learn to prefer over time, though, since there are some definite advantages to it with page readability on ill-designed websites.

* There is a dearth of apps. Yeah, they both have huge app stores, and it's rare for there to be something you can do on an iPhone that you just flat out can't do on Android, but I've yet to find any Android apps that are better designed than the iPhone counterpart I use. My HP48 calculator emulator is a perfect example--on the iPhone, it's so nice that it made me want to take another math class; on Android, it made me glad again that I never have to take a math class again. I also still haven't found a Flickr client that doesn't make me want to throw the Droid across the room.

* Every time I've asked anyone for suggestions on interesting apps to download, they've recommend... launcher replacements. So I have a shitload of choices for the ways in which I want to launch the nonexistent or shabbily-written apps. Hurray for Android?

* Honestly, I'm faster typing on the iPhone's virtual keyboard than I am on the Droid's physical keyboard. Might change if I get more used to it.

* The screen is 3.7" vs. the iPhone's 3.5". Somehow it feels smaller. I don't really understand it. Maybe because it's taller? Maybe just because Android draws all of the onscreen widgets a bit smaller and nobody can really optimize for this specific screen size because there are so many different resolutions and sizes to support.

* The Unix underpinnings are really close to the surface. Don't get me wrong, I love my Unix, but I don't want to have to think about how most of my storage is in /mnt/sdcard and some things need to store apps in the internal memory and data on the SD card and such. I just want shit to work.

* The big list of alphabetical apps with home screen aliases. This is another one of those "I'm interacting with a computer that has a touchscreen interface" vs "I'm interacting with physical objects" visual metaphor breakdown things, and it's very much evidence of a design-by-programmer vs. design-by-human-computer-interaction-specialist philosophy. On the iPhone, the app icon *is* the app. If you want to organize it differently, you just move it somewhere else. That being said, I really wish the iPhone would let me position my icons arbitrarily in the grid on each page rather than forcing them to close up any gaps.

So. Anyone got any suggestions for apps I should try out? Apps that aren't home screen replacements, ideally?

(This picture was taken with my iPhone for maximum iRony)

My Opinion Changed With Time by Craig Sanders

When I made this image of a southbound on the CN Bessemer Subdivision in October 2012 I wasn't thrilled about the crossing gate arm being in the shot. So I never processed or posted it.

More than a decade later my opinion changed. Motive power consists of solid Bessemer & Lake Erie locomotives are rare to nonexistent now, particularly on the original B&LE. So now despite the crossing gate I've decided this photo is worthy after all.

The train is crossing KO Road north of Greenville, Pennsylvania.

Super Takumar/Nikkon Lens Comparison by Mightyhorse

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Yeah... I'm not even attempting to perform any kind of test with this. I don't think you can draw a single scientific conclusion here. I can say that the Super Takumar lenses are much more pleasant to manually focus. They also appear to have terrific contrast and metering was no problem. In fact, it seems I got better exposures with the Super Takumars than with my Nikkors - strange.

Settings were identical for all these shots and these are SOOTC JPEGS resized identically and assembled in CS3 with no other adjustments. All focussing errors are my own. Also, virtually nonexistent window lighting forced slow shutter speeds. My own laziness forced them to be hand-held. ;-)

Lufthansa A-380 landing at MIA by Frank Kovalchek

This was my first time actually plane watching at Miami International Airport (MIA). I checked some spotter websites to find some good locations. They recommended The Holes as being an "official" site so we checked it out. I was pretty disappointed; there was a lot of construction going on and parking was nonexistent. My wife dropped me off. The area is totally exposed. Even though it was December it was pretty hot - no shade, no place to sit, no other people around. The holes are actually pretty small so it's hard to get a lens through the hole. Arrivals were almost impossible to shoot but you could see planes taxiing by for takeoff. After an hour I was cooking so we bagged it. We then went to the area close to the El Dorado furniture store. Much better. There were a bunch of spotters from around the world there. It was a great atmosphere. Nicely shaded, safe, close to some stores and a lot of good traffic to watch. I saw a bunch of planes from airlines I had not seen before, including some airlines I had not heard of. Some of the planes didn't show up on Flight Radar 24 so they were very pleasant surprises. All in all a very good day and I'd love to go back there!

I took these photos in December 2019.

sky day 343 by maureen_sill

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"my name is sizwe and i am going to make your life a beautiful day"

you will go to sleep with dirty feet

you will wake up with very many bug bites, because hey princess, this is africa

hahahahahahahahaha does he think we just got here or something

does this playa think we've never been to the eastern cape wtf

you will not wear anything clean

you will talk to me about your mommy

you will navigate this river and

a hard bed is very good for you

you will wake up at six am with the sun

and arms sore from rowing for ten kilometers yesterday

you will carry two large plastic jugs a kilometer to the water pump

and carry them both back on the ends of a long stick

and watch a boy who looks thirteen or something run faster than you have ever seen anyone run even in the nba

and then you will have a lot less respect for trained athletes though that was always dwindling very rapidly and on the verge of being nonexistent

which is probably not for the best

when people i know say "athletes" they are almost never talking about the bike messengers they know, the motherfucking ruckus they bring to the pavement

they're not talking about their friends who love moving their bodies to the same intensity

they're talking about football necked catholics and blonde spiky haired mainstream hip-hop blasting lean and awkwardly muscular b-ballin' supahstahzzzzzzzz

mmmhmm

hahahahahaha i am thinking about whether or not there is an inherent difference between spencer gutierrez and a kid i knew in high school named "jordan white" which is a very athletic name

good times

well

i will wash my muddy clothes in the sink

and then i will laugh thinking about getting stuck in the quicksand today up to my waist

and actually employing something i learned on man vs. wild in real life

and willy stared at me and said, "holy crap"

and then i laughed very hard at the idea of

actually employing something you learned from a television show

and a british man whose name is bear

an athlete!

contemplate existentially thanking man vs wild

deciding against it

and then hang those clothes on the tree in front of the hut

the european tree in front of the hut

fuck

nothing is simple

is there anywhere in the world where things can be simple

kristin says, maureen, you could never have a "good trip" (no offense)

why is that

because you think way too much, you're just going to be sad

i could probably make a powerpoint slideshow to show examples about how much i like you

it would be very funny and i would use sarcastic clip art

i would also use a pie chart to show "times when i like you in loud ways and times when i like you in quiet ways"

my favorite thing you have ever said so far in front of me is something about you and something i think is very true that i want to keep for my own body

and something i sort of want to hold you for

yes

hang up your clothes and try to sleep

nope

take three excedrin tension headache and then go to sleep

have a dream that barack obama has hiv

wake up and be like wtf

this has been on my mind nonstop for four months

quicksand tv star dreams of being in belle and sebastian

want what you can't have (at the moment)

want what you can't be (perhaps never?)

forevah

Endangered American Crocodile (Wild) by Ken Goldman Photography

11 9

Everglades National Park, South Florida, U.S.

As we came around a bend in our small skiff (boat), we caught a glimpse of this 15+ foot crocodile, which immediately slid into the water creating a huge splash. It was an amazing sight. Then he hung around and I was able to get this image with a 600mm lens.

The American crocodile is considered an endangered species in nearly all parts of its North, Central, and South American range. Survey data, except in the United States, is poor or nonexistent, but conservationists agree that illegal hunting and habitat depletion has reduced populations of this wide-ranging reptile to critical levels.

A small, remnant population lives in southern Florida, but most are found in southern Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Their habitat of choice is the fresh or brackish water of river estuaries, coastal lagoons, and mangrove swamps.

A prehistoric-looking creature, it is distinguishable from its cousin, the American alligator, by its longer, thinner snout, its lighter color, and two long teeth on the lower jaw that are visible when its mouth is closed.

This species is among the largest of the world's crocodiles, with Central and South American males reaching lengths of up to 20 feet (6.1 meters). Males in the U.S. population rarely exceed 13 feet (4 meters), however.

Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, birds, fish, crabs, insects, snails, frogs, and occasionally carrion. They have been known to attack people, but are far more likely to flee at the sight of humans.

Most countries in the American crocodile's range have passed protection laws, but unfortunately, few governments provide adequate enforcement.

_DSC6491 - 2017-02-14 at 10-55-12

20220501 by Guy M Wong

finance.yahoo.com/news/damage-done-don-t-know-090000717.html

‘Was damage done? I don’t know’: Health experts are slow to criticize Fauci but quick to correct his claim that we are ‘out of the pandemic’

This week, COVID czar Dr. Anthony Fauci took the medical community aback when he announced that the U.S. is “out of the pandemic phase.” He said it as the U.S. neared its millionth COVID death, and cases are once again on the rise.

“We are certainly, right now, out of the pandemic phase,” Fauci told PBS News Hour’s Judy Woodruff on Tuesday. “We don’t have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now.

“So if you say, ‘Are we out of the pandemic phase in this country?’ We are.”

Fauci later repeated the sentiment, telling Woodruff “right now we are not in the pandemic phase in this country,” though he ended the interview by saying the world is still in a pandemic.

On Wednesday he clarified his statements, telling NPR, "What I'm referring to is that we are no longer in the acute fulminant accelerated phase of the outbreak. We're in a somewhat of a transitional phase where the cases' numbers have decelerated—and hopefully we're getting to a phase of somewhat better control, where we can begin to start to resuming more easily normal activities

The health experts Fortune spoke to were slow to criticize Fauci, saying it’s been a long and arduous two years, and that his initial statements, while incorrect, were perhaps well-intentioned slips of the tongue.

Dr. Georges Benjamin, head of the American Public Health Association, thinks Fauci was “just being inartful,” and that an attempt at cautious optimism backfired.

But he cautioned that COVID “has continued to fool us every single time we thought we knew where it was going,” he said. “The one thing predictable is that it’s unpredictable.”

Society has the tools to ensure COVID is no longer as disruptive as it initially was, said Dr. Panagis Galiasatos, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins’ Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine who treats long COVID patients.

“Masks work, stay at home [when you’re sick], quarantine as you see fit—these are weapons that [can] keep COVID from being life-threatening. I think that’s what he’s trying to get at. The pandemic is here, but we should take into account that many countries are in a different place.”

Still, public health officials need to be “careful with wording what we say,” he said.

“Was damage done? I don’t know. I do view it as a potential miscommunication. We’re all guilty of it. We’ve all probably said something we wish we could take back.”

Dr. Phoebe Lostroh, a Harvard-trained microbiology professor at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo., said she respects Fauci, who has been a “voice of reason in this outbreak.” But she questions even his revised statement.

“I think he made a faux pas even saying the acute phase is over,” Lostroh said. “It’s over for those of us who have been vaccinated and boosted, and those of us who have enough money to get anything delivered to our homes so we don’t have to go out in high density areas, who don’t have young children exposed over and over again, who can afford masks.”

She wishes Fauci would have been more clear on those at highest risk of death and severe illness from COVID, including those who aren’t vaccinated and boosted, those who are immunocompromised, and children 5 and under who aren’t yet eligible for the vaccine.

“It would be better to convey to the public that we still need to make progress on these goals, need to make progress on providing clean and healthy air in workplaces, places of business, schools,” she said.

Lostroh’s best guess is that “Fauci was trying to say that medicine has learned a lot—he was trying to put out a vote of confidence,” she said. “He could have been more nuanced about the level of investment we still need as a society to keep everyone safe.”

Arijit Chakravarty a COVID researcher and CEO of Fractal Therapeutics, a drug development firm, said he believes debate about what phase of the pandemic we’re in is a distraction.

“The situation is the virus is spreading uncontrolled, more or less,” he said, a reference to relaxed or nonexistent restrictions in most parts of the country. “We don’t have any tools at this point to really dampen down the spread.”

Vaccines, while offering protection from death and severe illness requiring hospitalization, are “remarkably degraded in their ability to prevent infection or transmission,” he said. The Washington Post reported last week that 42% of those who died of COVID in the U.S. in January and February had been vaccinated, citing U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

“If you look at the interventions we have today, the actual things in your control, probably the single most effective intervention, two years in, is an N95 mask,” he said. “I wish I didn’t live in a world where that was the state of the art, where we had to figure out our own strategy to avoid being infected.”

As for Fauci, he’s “done the best he could in a difficult situation,” Chakravarty said.

But wishing the pandemic is over “doesn’t make it so.”

“I remember him saying a long time ago, ‘You don’t make the timeline, the virus makes the timeline.’ Unfortunately, two years into this, we’re all human.”

---

Dr. Fauci made this comment on an interview with 60 Minutes on March 8, 2020, “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask. When you’re in the middle of an outbreak, wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better and it might even block a droplet, but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is. And, often, there are unintended consequences — people keep fiddling with the mask and they keep touching their face.”

--- He was wrong then and he's wrong now. Surgical masks and N95 masks work.

"Preventing coronavirus: Should you wear a face mask? - 60 Minutes - CBS News" www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/preventing-coronavirus-facemask-...

www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/05/02/medical-professionals-are-ske...

Medical professionals are skeptical on a fourth Covid vaccine dose

KEY POINTS

▫️Countries are beginning to offer a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to vulnerable groups, but medical professionals are undecided on whether it would benefit the wider population.

▫️Questions are being raised over the need for more booster shots as the emergence of more Covid variants may require more targeted vaccines.

▫️The World Health Organization hasn't given an official recommendation on a fourth dose, and "there isn't any good evidence at this point of time," said WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan.

Countries are beginning to offer a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to vulnerable groups, but medical professionals are undecided on whether it would benefit the wider population.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has so far authorized a fourth shot only for those aged 50 and above, as well as those who are immunocompromised. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was skeptical of the need for a fourth dose for healthy adults in the absence of a clearer public health strategy.

Those decisions came as a study from Israel found that although a fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offers protection against serious illness for at least six weeks after the shot, it provides only short-lived protection against infection, which wanes after just four weeks.

No 'good evidence' yet

The medical consensus so far is that there hasn't been enough research on how much protection a fourth dose can offer.

The World Health Organization hasn't given an official recommendation on a fourth dose, and "there isn't any good evidence at this point of time" that it will be beneficial, said WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan.

"What we know from immunology is that if you give another booster, you will see a temporary increase in the neutralizing antibodies. But what we've also seen is that these neutralizing antibodies will wane quite rapidly," Swaminathan told CNBC in an interview.

"This happened after the third dose. And it's happened again after the fourth dose," she added.

Paul Goepfert, professor of medicine at the University of Alabama, shared that view, saying that "a fourth dose doesn't really do much of anything ... I'm not sure we need to get out and just jump up and down screaming that everybody needs to get aboard."

Since the study from Israel shows the fourth dose can provide protection against serious disease, countries such as Israel, Denmark and Singapore have made a second booster shot available to high-risk groups.

"Rather than saying that the protection wanes, I would say that this boost effect is strongest shortly after the vaccine was administered, but that it remains protective overall," said Ashley St. John, an associate professor at Duke-NUS Medical School.

"Importantly there was no waning of protection against severe disease, which is the most key effect of vaccination we aim to achieve," she added.

Annual booster shots?

Questions are being raised over the need for more booster shots as the emergence of more Covid variants may require more targeted vaccines.

Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor, told NBC News in January that people may need to get booster shots every year or two.

However, blanket vaccine approaches may not continue to work.

It is possible that high-risk groups — such as the elderly — may need an annual vaccine, said Swaminathan. But "it's not clear whether a healthy adult is going to need a regular annual shot."

It's also important to note that the current vaccines being administered may not work for future variants of Covid-19, she said.

If the virus "changes so much that you need to change your vaccine composition, then you won't need another shot," Swaminathan added. "The challenge of changing the vaccine composition is that you're always playing catch-up."

Goepfert said "only time will tell" how long more the population has to take booster shots, but the safest approach would be to "plan on a booster every year, and maybe combine it with the flu vaccine."

Omicron subvariant

The WHO announced on Tuesday that weekly new Covid deaths had fallen to the lowest level since March 2020.

But the more contagious omicron BA.2 subvariant remains the dominant strain in the United States, making up 68.1% of all cases in the country during the week that ended on April 23, according to data from the CDC.

Although experts predict that the BA.2 subvariant is unlikely to be more severe than the original omicron strain, it should remain a concern.

"I do think infections are going to continue ... it's taken over most parts of the country, said Goepfert. "But in terms of severe infections, I think that's going to continue to be less and less."

Patients from locations with adequate vaccination coverage would experience only "mild or manageable disease" and this would reduce "burden on the healthcare system compared to waves of Covid pre-vaccines," St. John said.

"Just like studying for an exam, a vaccine booster can trigger immune system memories and increase performance during the real test," she added.

Cyclo rickshaw driver - Mrauk-U (Arakan) by Luca Belis

5 1

Travel the world means to pass by from a province to another, everyone of which is a solitary star. For the greater part of the persons who live in the real world ends on the home’s threshold, at the limit of the village, at the extreme - to the border of the valley.

The world that is beyond is nonexistent and quite useless, while the one around them and all what their eye succeeds to embrace, rises to the dimensions of the great cosmos that darken all the rest.

Often the inhabitants of a place and who come from outside have difficulty to find a common language, since everyone of them watches the place through different optical: who comes from outside uses to wideangle, that make smaller the images but increases the horizon, while the person of the place has always used the telephoto lens, if not quite the telescope, that enlarge the minimums details.

Rysard Kapuscinski (Ebony)

American Nuclear Weapons by Wayne Hsieh

By mid-1945, three nuclear bombs were developed by the Manhattan Project: two plutonium bombs, and an older uranium bomb. On July 16, 1945, one of the bombs was secretly tested at Los Alamos in New Mexico (Trinity). The residents of Oak Ridge learned about the nuclear bombs with the entire world on August 6, 1945, when the uranium bomb (Little Boy) exploded over Hiroshima Japan, obliterating the city and killing some 70,000 Japanese civilians instantly. As the country was preparing for the Invasion of Japan, the residents of Oak Ridge felt an enormous surge of pride in finally knowing about what they had been developing for three years, and its role in ending WWII. The final bomb (Fat Man) was dropped over Nagasaki on August 9. Officially nonexistent by the US government until the dropping of the nuclear bombs, Oak Ridge is still known as the "Secret City".

American Museum of Science and Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto by david gideon

1 1

The notes provide lengthy, effusive biographies of the performers, which are largely fiction. Yet both were real people: Warren Edward Vincent wrote arrangements for Design, and Jean Bargy was the daughter of bandleader Roy Bargy and a pianist of some note in the New York area. Still, neither of them had anything to do with this recording! This turns out to be the same Sondra Bianca performance as on a half-dozen other LPs in this gallery. Jean Bargy's nonexistent 'participation' was even hyped in the trades. Remember, this is the label that pilfered Paray's Mercury recording of Carmen, and printed a long technobabbly paean on the back cover to the highness of their records' fidelity, written by their audio consultant Dr George Poisse-Homme...a name that translates literally to Pitch-man!

April Fool's Day* by Gaëtan Bourque

6 29

*April Fool's Day

This custom is thought to have started in France during the 16th century but the British are credited with bringing it to the United States. The commonly accepted origin of April Fool's Day involves changes in the calendar. At one time, the New Year celebration began on March 25 and ended on April 1. However, in 1582, King Charles IX adopted the Gregorian calendar and accepted the beginning of the new year as January 1. Those who refused to acknowledge the new date or simply forgot received foolish gifts and invitations to nonexistent parties. The butt of such a prank was known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish."

Rare FlickrAquarium,. FlickrWorld.

PixQuote

"If nature do not provide the pix you need..... just reinvent it!"

Imapix Flickrius

PixNews

Who will be the 150 000th visitor? Now 149 984...149988...149996 and counting...

.....done 150 000 views

Thank you all!

Salt City 33.jpg by Office of Public Affairs

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

misconstrued intentions, clear lies by lavagrantbelle

30 Likes on Instagram

5 Comments on Instagram:

thighigh412: #me #boylondon #ootd

thighigh412: #converse #bobmarley #tea #pittsburgh #me #girl #blonde

brennaninstagrams: Boy is lame

thighigh412: @brennaninstagrams hmm ill take that into consideration when dressin myself yung messiah

thighigh412: @brennaninstagrams u use a ouija board to write ur comments for u oooh I'm so swayed by the thoughts of nonexistent spirits

Beer Bar by Neil Noland

Qingdao is China’s premier “beer” city, as the country’s most famous brew – Tsingtao – was founded and continues to be brewed here. (For those who do come to the city, Tsingtao makes a decent dark beer – Yuan Jiang – that is quite hard to get outside of the city.) I guess the easiest comparison I can make would be to say that Qingdao is the same to beer culture here as St. Louis and Milwaukee are in the United States; a town famous for a mass-produced beer.

The Tsingtao brewery and museum (slightly underwhelming, according to my Lonely Planet guidebook) is located on Dengzhou Lu a bit north of Zhongshan Park. Dengzhou Lu is also famously known as Pijiu Jie (Beer Street). During the day, it’s easy to see the nightlife potential. At night, almost every establishment along this stretch of Dengzhou Lu (probably about a half kilometer to a one kilometer long) is a restaurant that opens up with the focus on drinking beer – almost always Tsingtao. (Curiously, in coming by here at night, the taxi took me past Hongjiu Jie – Red Wine Street. It looked quite a bit less subdued as wine culture here is, well, nonexistent. I didn’t have a chance to get back and look around there. Having drunk Chinese wine before…I don’t think I’m missing too much.)

I’ve lived in China for almost three years now; about two years in Shanghai and one year in Tianjin. Shandong province is the province that’s on the sea between the two cities. (From Shanghai to Tianjin by train is around 5 hours; by plane, 2 hours.) Qingdao, probably the most well-known city in Shandong, is a charming city, to say the least. In my opinion, it’s exceptionally photogenic – with very nice beaches, great architecture, good geography/topography, and terrific food.

Qingdao also happens to be known for the most famous of Chinese beers (Tsingtao), which is actually a company started by the Germans. (For what it’s worth, Chinese beers are quite watery and Tsingtao is somewhat like the Budweiser of Chinese beers. That being said, I’m happy to drink an ice cold Tsingtao on a hot summer day whereas I wouldn’t say the same thing about a Budweiser.

So what to make of Qingdao then? Before colonial powers swept in and started chopping up China piecemeal, Qingdao was basically a sleepy fishing village. During the Ming dynasty, a battery was built here. In 1898, the Germans seized control of Qingdao when two missionaries were killed. (Personally, it seems alarming to me that a country could lose a city because two foreigners happened to be killed – and China sure lost a lot that way during the 19th century. I guess that’s the downside to outmoded military technology; the Europeans and Americans basically plundered China…) At any rate, Qingdao was ceded to the Germans for 99 years, but that didn’t last long, thanks to World War I.

During the 15-20 years that the Germans did have control of the town, they managed to build a handful of churches (still standing) and missionaries, in addition to the aforementioned Qingdao brewery. Because of that, a lot of the European architecture has a heavy German influence and there are still a few random signs of German heritage around town.

From the Germans, Qingdao didn’t land directly with the Chinese. It spent 8 years under Japanese control (1914-1922) before being returned to the Kuomintang (aka General Chiang Kai-Shek’s clan). The Japanese took control once again in 1938 (as they swept through northeast China and across half the country) before losing it for the last time in 1945 at the end of World War II. Since then, it’s been in Chinese hands. (Brief history courtesy of Lonely Planet.)

Contemporary Qingdao certainly makes its way as a tourist destination – and it’s a fine one at that. The population (per my LP from 2011) lists it at 1.73 million. The city has a few areas that are quite appealing to tourists: the Old Town (the heart of the city) off the beach and just east of the railway station downtown, Badaguan (which means “eight passes”) is a hilly area with a lot of nice residential architecture to the east of the Old Town. Other than that, there are a lot of parks, a beer street, churches, and a 40 km. scenic walk (which, obviously, most people do not cover from end to end) along the shore which goes by all of the beaches in the area.

All in all, Qingdao is the type of town that, if you get the chance to visit, I think you would find yourself thinking it would be great to return again and again.

Salt City 20.jpg by Office of Public Affairs

Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

Playtime for Grown Ups by True Nature Productions

www.child-adolescent-adult-development.info/playtime-for-...

Playtime for Grown Ups

By Calvin A. Colarusso, M.D.

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry,

University of California at San Diego

(12/07/2011)

Parents always tell kids to go out and play. But did you ever think that an adult, an adult and child psychiatrist no less, would tell YOU, the adult, to go out and play?

Well, Dr. Colarusso is doing just that. In this book he explains both the nature of play and the dynamics which make play such an essential part of human experience throughout the life cycle.

Playtime for Adults gives a clear understanding of the various forms of play available to adults and the reasons why play is important to mental and physical health, throughout adulthood.

This book includes:

An understanding of what motivates play

The role of thought and action in play

The different levels of play in childhood and adulthood

The relationships between creativity and play

The organizers of play in adulthood.

Sexual play

Understanding the nature of play and doing more of it will lead to a happier life.

His books have been published in English, Korean, and Spanish. See amzn.to/calcolarusso.

Amazon Review

5.0 out of 5 stars hepful and practical, great info!, December 11, 2011

By Angela Johnson - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Playtime for Grown Ups (Kindle Edition)

"Great book, I can't begin to recommend it enough. My husband has already agreed to read it too, I got him very interested with some of the ideas I told him about."

A Better Future for Girls and Women: Empowering the Next Generation - CGI U 2013 by Clinton Global Initiative

Credit: Barbara Kinney / Clinton Global Initiative

A Better Future for Girls and Women: Empowering the Next Generation - CGI U 2013

From women’s suffrage movements in the early 20th century to the Arab Spring, countless exceptional women have redefined their role in the world on their own terms. Yet the reality for many girls and women is still stark: over 60 million girls still do not have access to primary education, approximately 10 million women die each year due to nonexistent or low-quality healthcare, and three out of every four war fatalities are women or children. The education and empowerment of girls and women is not only a moral issue—it is also a critical economic issue. Ensuring access to education, financial capital, and political participation for women is among the most impactful strategies for advancing long-term sustainable development. From the creation of all-girls schools to women-run microcredit cooperatives, how can students and universities support the projects that are working to empower girls and women? This panel will bring together practitioners and pioneers who will explore the tangible ways in which young people can continue to build a better future for girls and women around the world.

I walk down the incongruously quiet and lonely Covent Garden street, I see this man plying his trade, using his cat as bait for the nonexistent punters. "Sing us a song old boy." But he just smiled and waited for his girlfriend to roll him a cigarette. Wi by Fozdog

OccupyAugusta event 10-15-11 Protest #3 by Terence Dicks

This young lady is holding a sign that states the issue perfectly !!!

Those who are the white-collar criminals in the economic crisis should be jailed - for the reason her sign states!

"Help they stole our future"

Yes they did.

They drank champagne and ate steak and lobster while stealing our children future both economically and environmentally.

These greedy jerks are the same as mass murders but don't have the blood stains on their hands.

occupyaugusta.org/occupy/wp-content/lg-gallery/October%20...

The kids were great - and I think they really understand the importance of the movement.

The children understand because it's their future that had been hocked by the greedy elite power structure between bankers, traders, agents, politicians and others who created the economic crisis then jumped out with millions of dollars in golden parachutes.

Check out this OccupyAugusta video by Jane Pietkivitch

She shot and edited video from the Occupy Augusta march on downtown on Saturday (10-15-11).

The OccupyAugusta movement is doing a fantastic job coordinating and the enthusiasm is no less that in New York

www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=302389719777944

OccupyAugusta did an impressive job on Sat., Oct. 15, 2011 as they marched on downtown Augusta protesting the evil greed that created the current economic crisis.

The bankers, Wall Street traders, insurance industry, politicians proved they cannot be trusted when left to their own devices when the Bush administration made oversight almost nonexistent.

And sure enough when the foxes were in charge of the hen-house it was a slaughter of American jobs, the evaporation of retirement funds, a flood of home foreclosures, sending the world economy into crisis.

See the photos at these links!

occupyaugusta.org/occupy/wp-content/lg-gallery/October%20...

occupyaugusta.org/occupy/gallery?file=October%2015%202011/

Occupy Augusta, GA: Occupy Wall Street Pages:

Occupy Augusta, GA on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/pages/OCCUPY-AUGUSTA/178325418914632

Occupy Augusta, GA on Twitter:

twitter.com/#!/OWSaugustaGA

Occupy Augusta, GA on WordPress.org:

occupyaugusta.org/occupy

Occupy Augusta, GA on discussion page of WordPress.org (#OccupyAugusta ) in Solidarity with #OWS and #OccupyTogether:

occupyaugusta.org/discuss/index.php

Occupy Augusta, GA on MeetUp:

www.meetup.com/occupytogether/Augusta-GA/382952

Occupy Augusta, GA on Tumblr:

occupyaugustaga.tumblr.com

Occupy Wall Street Movement in other Georgia cities:

www.facebook.com/northganow

Kmart in Richmond, IN - September 30 by RetailPhotos2014

I love bringing my Sphero along on my explorations! :D

The second stop on the way home from my college visit was in Richmond!

The Richmond Kmart appears to be a former Grants (and thus reminded me of the Erie Kmart that I visited last summer). It is very noticeably bigger than Anderson; it is also very nice; it has a Kmart Express gas station and it has a former Kmart Cafe (that still has the counter/displays, the full menu board and even the register! Looks like a more recent KCafe closure from what I've seen; if anybody else here has any more information I would like to know more about it!). This store appears to be doing fairly well for one of the last remaining stores in/near the Miami Valley.

Of course, I had to check out the Kmart Express after my main store rounds were complete, so I headed over there and looked around. This is the second Kmart Express I've seen, but the first one I have actually visited, as the other one (at the now nonexistent Brooklyn Super Kmart) had already closed. I didn't buy anything at this KExpress though, as I had spent my money in the main store. Hopefully next time I can buy some coffee or donuts from Kmart Express while going to/from Anderson (if I plan another college visit to Anderson U, which is likely)!

Hopefully the Richmond Kmart will still be able to remain "normal" for a good time longer...I like this store! :D

Kmart #7246 - 3150 National Road West - Richmond, Indiana

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. by PHOTOGRAPHY by DM & DBM.

Capitol Reef National Park is an American national park in south-central Utah. The park is approximately 60 miles (97 km) long on its north–south axis and just 6 miles (9.7 km) wide on average. The park was established in 1971 to preserve 241,904 acres (377.98 sq mi; 97,895.08 ha; 978.95 km2) of desert landscape and is open all year, with May through September being the highest visitation months.

Partially in Wayne County, Utah, the area was originally named "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s by local boosters Ephraim P. Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman. Capitol Reef National Park was designated a national monument on August 2, 1937, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to protect the area's colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths; however, it was not until 1950 that the area officially opened to the public. Road access was improved in 1962 with the construction of State Route 24 through the Fremont River Canyon.

The majority of the nearly 100 mi (160 km) long up-thrust formation called the Waterpocket Fold—a rocky spine extending from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell—is preserved within the park. Capitol Reef is an especially rugged and spectacular segment of the Waterpocket Fold by the Fremont River. The park was named for its whitish Navajo Sandstone cliffs with dome formations—similar to the white domes often placed on capitol buildings—that run from the Fremont River to Pleasant Creek on the Waterpocket Fold. Locally, reef refers to any rocky barrier to land travel, just as ocean reefs are barriers to sea travel.

Capitol Reef encompasses the Waterpocket Fold, a warp in the earth's crust that is 65 million years old. It is the largest exposed monocline in North America. In this fold, newer and older layers of earth folded over each other in an S-shape. This warp, probably caused by the same colliding continental plates that created the Rocky Mountains, has weathered and eroded over millennia to expose layers of rock and fossils. The park is filled with brilliantly colored sandstone cliffs, gleaming white domes, and contrasting layers of stone and earth.

The area was named for a line of white domes and cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, each of which looks somewhat like the United States Capitol building, that run from the Fremont River to Pleasant Creek on the Waterpocket Fold.

The fold forms a north-to-south barrier that has barely been breached by roads. Early settlers referred to parallel impassable ridges as "reefs", from which the park gets the second half of its name. The first paved road was constructed through the area in 1962. State Route 24 cuts through the park traveling east and west between Canyonlands National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park, but few other paved roads invade the rugged landscape.

The park is filled with canyons, cliffs, towers, domes, and arches. The Fremont River has cut canyons through parts of the Waterpocket Fold, but most of the park is arid desert. A scenic drive shows park visitors some highlights, but it runs only a few miles from the main highway. Hundreds of miles of trails and unpaved roads lead into the equally scenic backcountry.

Fremont-culture Native Americans lived near the perennial Fremont River in the northern part of the Capitol Reef Waterpocket Fold around the year 1000. They irrigated crops of maize and squash and stored their grain in stone granaries (in part made from the numerous black basalt boulders that litter the area). In the 13th century, all of the Native American cultures in this area underwent sudden change, likely due to a long drought. The Fremont settlements and fields were abandoned.

Many years after the Fremont left, Paiutes moved into the area. These Numic-speaking people named the Fremont granaries moki huts and thought they were the homes of a race of tiny people or moki.

In 1872 Almon H. Thompson, a geographer attached to United States Army Major John Wesley Powell's expedition, crossed the Waterpocket Fold while exploring the area. Geologist Clarence Dutton later spent several summers studying the area's geology. None of these expeditions explored the Waterpocket Fold to any great extent.

Following the American Civil War, officials of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City sought to establish missions in the remotest niches of the Intermountain West. In 1866, a quasi-military expedition of Mormons in pursuit of natives penetrated the high valleys to the west. In the 1870s, settlers moved into these valleys, eventually establishing Loa, Fremont, Lyman, Bicknell, and Torrey.

Mormons settled the Fremont River valley in the 1880s and established Junction (later renamed Fruita), Caineville, and Aldridge. Fruita prospered, Caineville barely survived, and Aldridge died. In addition to farming, lime was extracted from local limestone, and uranium was extracted early in the 20th century. In 1904 the first claim to a uranium mine in the area was staked. The resulting Oyler Mine in Grand Wash produced uranium ore.

By 1920 no more than ten families at one time were sustained by the fertile flood plain of the Fremont River and the land changed ownership over the years. The area remained isolated. The community was later abandoned and later still some buildings were restored by the National Park Service. Kilns once used to produce lime are still in Sulphur Creek and near the campgrounds on Scenic Drive.

Local Ephraim Portman Pectol organized a "booster club" in Torrey in 1921. Pectol pressed a promotional campaign, furnishing stories to be sent to periodicals and newspapers. In his efforts, he was increasingly aided by his brother-in-law, Joseph S. Hickman, who was the Wayne County High School principal. In 1924, Hickman extended community involvement in the promotional effort by organizing a Wayne County-wide Wayne Wonderland Club. That same year, Hickman was elected to the Utah State Legislature.

In 1933, Pectol was elected to the presidency of the Associated Civics Club of Southern Utah, successor to the Wayne Wonderland Club. The club raised U.S. $150 (equivalent to $3,391 in 2022) to interest a Salt Lake City photographer in taking a series of promotional photographs. For several years, the photographer, J. E. Broaddus, traveled and lectured on "Wayne Wonderland".

In 1933, Pectol was elected to the legislature and almost immediately contacted President Franklin D. Roosevelt and asked for the creation of "Wayne Wonderland National Monument" out of the federal lands comprising the bulk of the Capitol Reef area. Federal agencies began a feasibility study and boundary assessment. Meanwhile, Pectol guided the government investigators on numerous trips and escorted an increasing number of visitors. The lectures of Broaddus were having an effect.

Roosevelt signed a proclamation creating Capitol Reef National Monument on August 2, 1937. In Proclamation 2246, President Roosevelt set aside 37,711 acres (15,261 ha) of the Capitol Reef area. This comprised an area extending about two miles (3 km) north of present State Route 24 and about 10 mi (16 km) south, just past Capitol Gorge. The Great Depression years were lean ones for the National Park Service (NPS), the new administering agency. Funds for the administration of Capitol Reef were nonexistent; it would be a long time before the first rangers would arrive.

Administration of the new monument was placed under the control of Zion National Park. A stone ranger cabin and the Sulphur Creek bridge were built and some road work was performed by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration. Historian and printer Charles Kelly came to know NPS officials at Zion well and volunteered to watchdog the park for the NPS. Kelly was officially appointed custodian-without-pay in 1943. He worked as a volunteer until 1950, when the NPS offered him a civil-service appointment as the first superintendent.

During the 1950s Kelly was deeply troubled by NPS management acceding to demands of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission that Capitol Reef National Monument be opened to uranium prospecting. He felt that the decision had been a mistake and destructive of the long-term national interest. It turned out that there was not enough ore in the monument to be worth mining.

In 1958 Kelly got additional permanent help in protecting the monument and enforcing regulations; Park Ranger Grant Clark transferred from Zion. The year Clark arrived, fifty-six thousand visitors came to the park, and Charlie Kelly retired for the last time.

During the 1960s (under the program name Mission 66), NPS areas nationwide received new facilities to meet the demand of mushrooming park visitation. At Capitol Reef, a 53-site campground at Fruita, staff rental housing, and a new visitor center were built, the latter opening in 1966.

Visitation climbed dramatically after the paved, all-weather State Route 24 was built in 1962 through the Fremont River canyon near Fruita. State Route 24 replaced the narrow Capitol Gorge wagon road about 10 mi (16 km) to the south that frequently washed out. The old road has since been open only to foot traffic. In 1967, 146,598 persons visited the park. The staff was also growing.

During the 1960s, the NPS purchased private land parcels at Fruita and Pleasant Creek. Almost all private property passed into public ownership on a "willing buyer-willing seller" basis.

Preservationists convinced President Lyndon B. Johnson to set aside an enormous area of public lands in 1968, just before he left office. In Presidential Proclamation 3888 an additional 215,056 acres (87,030 ha) were placed under NPS control. By 1970, Capitol Reef National Monument comprised 254,251 acres (102,892 ha) and sprawled southeast from Thousand Lake Mountain almost to the Colorado River. The action was controversial locally, and NPS staffing at the monument was inadequate to properly manage the additional land.

The vast enlargement of the monument and diversification of the scenic resources soon raised another issue: whether Capitol Reef should be a national park, rather than a monument. Two bills were introduced into the United States Congress.

A House bill (H.R. 17152) introduced by Utah Congressman Laurence J. Burton called for a 180,000-acre (72,800 ha) national park and an adjunct 48,000-acre (19,400 ha) national recreation area where multiple use (including grazing) could continue indefinitely. In the United States Senate, meanwhile, Senate bill S. 531 had already passed on July 1, 1970, and provided for a 230,000-acre (93,100 ha) national park alone. The bill called for a 25-year phase-out of grazing.

In September 1970, United States Department of Interior officials told a house subcommittee session that they preferred about 254,000 acres (103,000 ha) be set aside as a national park. They also recommended that the grazing phase-out period be 10 years, rather than 25. They did not favor the adjunct recreation area.

It was not until late 1971 that Congressional action was completed. By then, the 92nd United States Congress was in session and S. 531 had languished. A new bill, S. 29, was introduced in the Senate by Senator Frank E. Moss of Utah and was essentially the same as the defunct S. 531 except that it called for an additional 10,834 acres (4,384 ha) of public lands for a Capitol Reef National Park. In the House, Utah Representative K. Gunn McKay (with Representative Lloyd) had introduced H.R. 9053 to replace the dead H.R. 17152. This time, the House bill dropped the concept of an adjunct Capitol Reef National Recreation Area and adopted the Senate concept of a 25-year limit on continued grazing. The Department of Interior was still recommending a national park of 254,368 acres (102,939 ha) and a 10-year limit for grazing phase-out.

S. 29 passed the Senate in June and was sent to the House, which dropped its own bill and passed the Senate version with an amendment. Because the Senate was not in agreement with the House amendment, differences were worked out in Conference Committee. The Conference Committee issued its report on November 30, 1971, and the bill passed both houses of Congress. The legislation—'An Act to Establish The Capitol Reef National Park in the State of Utah'—became Public Law 92-207 when it was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971.

The area including the park was once the edge of a shallow sea that invaded the land in the Permian, creating the Cutler Formation. Only the sandstone of the youngest member of the Cutler Formation, the White Rim, is exposed in the park. The deepening sea left carbonate deposits, forming the limestone of the Kaibab Limestone, the same formation that rims the Grand Canyon to the southwest.

During the Triassic, streams deposited reddish-brown silt that later became the siltstone of the Moenkopi Formation. Uplift and erosion followed. Conglomerate, followed by logs, sand, mud, and wind-transported volcanic ash, then formed the uranium-containing Chinle Formation.

The members of the Glen Canyon Group were all laid down in the middle- to late-Triassic during a time of increasing aridity. They include:

Wingate Sandstone: sand dunes on the shore of an ancient sea

Kayenta Formation: thin-bedded layers of sand deposited by slow-moving streams in channels and across low plains

Navajo Sandstone: huge fossilized sand dunes from a massive Sahara-like desert.

The Golden Throne. Though Capitol Reef is famous for white domes of Navajo Sandstone, this dome's color is a result of a lingering section of yellow Carmel Formation carbonate, which has stained the underlying rock.

The San Rafael Group consists of four Jurassic-period formations, from oldest to youngest:

Carmel Formation: gypsum, sand, and limey silt laid down in what may have been a graben that was periodically flooded by sea water

Entrada Sandstone: sandstone from barrier islands/sand bars in a near-shore environment

Curtis Formation: made from conglomerate, sandstone, and shale

Summerville Formation: reddish-brown mud and white sand deposited in tidal flats.

Streams once again laid down mud and sand in their channels, on lakebeds, and in swampy plains, creating the Morrison Formation. Early in the Cretaceous, similar nonmarine sediments were laid down and became the Dakota Sandstone. Eventually, the Cretaceous Seaway covered the Dakota, depositing the Mancos Shale.

Only small remnants of the Mesaverde Group are found, capping a few mesas in the park's eastern section.

Near the end of the Cretaceous period, a mountain-building event called the Laramide orogeny started to compact and uplift the region, forming the Rocky Mountains and creating monoclines such as the Waterpocket Fold in the park. Ten to fifteen million years ago, the entire region was uplifted much further by the creation of the Colorado Plateau. This uplift was very even. Igneous activity in the form of volcanism and dike and sill intrusion also occurred during this time.

The drainage system in the area was rearranged and steepened, causing streams to downcut faster and sometimes change course. Wetter times during the ice ages of the Pleistocene increased the rate of erosion.

There are more than 840 species of plants that are found in the park and over 40 of those species are classified as rare and endemic.

The closest town to Capitol Reef is Torrey, about 11 mi (18 km) west of the visitor center on Highway 24, slightly west of its intersection with Highway 12. Its 2020 population is less than 300. Torrey has a few motels and restaurants and functions as a gateway town to Capitol Reef National Park. Highway 12, as well as a partially unpaved scenic backway named the Burr Trail, provide access from the west through the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument and the town of Boulder.

A variety of activities are available to tourists, both ranger-led and self-guided, including auto touring, hiking, backpacking, camping, bicycling (on paved and unpaved roads only; no trails), horseback riding, canyoneering, and rock climbing. The orchards planted by Mormon pioneers are maintained by the National Park Service. From early March to mid-October, various fruit—cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, or apples—can be harvested by visitors for a fee.

A hiking trail guide is available at the visitor center for both day hikes and backcountry hiking. Backcountry access requires a free permit.

Numerous trails are available for hiking and backpacking in the park, with fifteen in the Fruita District alone. The following trails are some of the most popular in the park:

Cassidy Arch Trail: a very steep, strenuous 3.5 mi (5.6 km) round trip that leads into the Grand Wash to an overlook of the Cassidy Arch.

Hickman Bridge Trail: a 2 mi (3.2 km) round trip leading to the natural bridge.

Frying Pan Trail: an 8.8 mi (14.2 km) round trip that passes the Cassidy Arch, Grand Wash, and Cohab Canyon.

Brimhall Natural Bridge: a popular, though strenuous, 4.5 mi (7.2 km) round trip with views of Brimhall Canyon, the Waterpocket Fold, and Brimhall Natural Bridge.

Halls Creek Narrows: 22 mi (35 km) long and considered strenuous, with many side canyons and creeks; typically hiked as a 2-3 day camping trip.

Visitors may explore several of the main areas of the park by private vehicle:

Scenic Drive: winds through the middle of the park, passing the major points of interest; the road is accessible from the visitor center to approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) into the Capitol Gorge.

Notom-Bullfrog Road: traverses the eastern side of the Waterpocket Fold, along 10 mi (16 km) of paved road, with the remainder unpaved.

Cathedral Road: an unpaved road through the northern areas of the park, that traverses Cathedral Valley, passing the Temples of the Sun and Moon.

The primary camping location is the Fruita campground, with 71 campsites (no water, electrical, or sewer hookups), and restrooms without bathing facilities. The campground also has group sites with picnic areas and restrooms. Two primitive free camping areas are also available.

Canyoneering is growing in popularity in the park. It is a recreational sport that takes one through slot canyons. It involves rappelling and may require swimming and other technical rope work. Day-pass permits are required for canyoneering in the park, and can be obtained for free from the visitor's center or through email. It's key to know that each route requires its own permit. If one is planning on canyoneering for multiple days, passes are required for each day. Overnight camping as part of the canyoneering trip is permitted, but one must request a free backcountry pass from the visitor center.

It is imperative to plan canyoneering trips around the weather. The Colorado Plateau is susceptible to flash flooding during prime rainy months. Because canyoneering takes place through slot canyons, getting caught in a flash flood could be lethal. Take care to consult reliable weather sources. The Weather Atlas shows charts with the monthly average rainfall in inches.

Another risk to be aware of during the summer months is extreme heat. Visitors can find weather warnings on the National Weather Service website. The heat levels are detailed by a color and numerical scale (0-4).

One of the most popular canyoneering routes in Capitol Reef National Park is Cassidy Arch Canyon. A paper by George Huddart, details the park's commitment to working with citizens to maintain the route as well as the vegetation and rocks. The canyon route is approximately 2.3 miles long (0.4 miles of technical work), consisting of 8 different rappels, and takes between 2.5 and 4.5 hours to complete. The first rappel is 140 ft and descends below the famous Cassidy Arch.

Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders Colorado to its east, Wyoming to its northeast, Idaho to its north, Arizona to its south, and Nevada to its west. Utah also touches a corner of New Mexico in the southeast. Of the fifty U.S. states, Utah is the 13th-largest by area; with a population over three million, it is the 30th-most-populous and 11th-least-densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two areas: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which is home to roughly two-thirds of the population and includes the capital city, Salt Lake City; and Washington County in the southwest, with more than 180,000 residents. Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin.

Utah has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups such as the ancient Puebloans, Navajo, and Ute. The Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive in the mid-16th century, though the region's difficult geography and harsh climate made it a peripheral part of New Spain and later Mexico. Even while it was Mexican territory, many of Utah's earliest settlers were American, particularly Mormons fleeing marginalization and persecution from the United States via the Mormon Trail. Following the Mexican–American War in 1848, the region was annexed by the U.S., becoming part of the Utah Territory, which included what is now Colorado and Nevada. Disputes between the dominant Mormon community and the federal government delayed Utah's admission as a state; only after the outlawing of polygamy was it admitted in 1896 as the 45th.

People from Utah are known as Utahns. Slightly over half of all Utahns are Mormons, the vast majority of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which has its world headquarters in Salt Lake City; Utah is the only state where a majority of the population belongs to a single church. A 2023 paper challenged this perception (claiming only 42% of Utahns are Mormons) however most statistics still show a majority of Utah residents belong to the LDS church; estimates from the LDS church suggests 60.68% of Utah's population belongs to the church whilst some sources put the number as high as 68%. The paper replied that membership count done by the LDS Church is too high for several reasons. The LDS Church greatly influences Utahn culture, politics, and daily life, though since the 1990s the state has become more religiously diverse as well as secular.

Utah has a highly diversified economy, with major sectors including transportation, education, information technology and research, government services, mining, multi-level marketing, and tourism. Utah has been one of the fastest growing states since 2000, with the 2020 U.S. census confirming the fastest population growth in the nation since 2010. St. George was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States from 2000 to 2005. Utah ranks among the overall best states in metrics such as healthcare, governance, education, and infrastructure. It has the 12th-highest median average income and the least income inequality of any U.S. state. Over time and influenced by climate change, droughts in Utah have been increasing in frequency and severity, putting a further strain on Utah's water security and impacting the state's economy.

The History of Utah is an examination of the human history and social activity within the state of Utah located in the western United States.

Archaeological evidence dates the earliest habitation of humans in Utah to about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Paleolithic people lived near the Great Basin's swamps and marshes, which had an abundance of fish, birds, and small game animals. Big game, including bison, mammoths and ground sloths, also were attracted to these water sources. Over the centuries, the mega-fauna died, this population was replaced by the Desert Archaic people, who sheltered in caves near the Great Salt Lake. Relying more on gathering than the previous Utah residents, their diet was mainly composed of cattails and other salt tolerant plants such as pickleweed, burro weed and sedge. Red meat appears to have been more of a luxury, although these people used nets and the atlatl to hunt water fowl, ducks, small animals and antelope. Artifacts include nets woven with plant fibers and rabbit skin, woven sandals, gaming sticks, and animal figures made from split-twigs. About 3,500 years ago, lake levels rose and the population of Desert Archaic people appears to have dramatically decreased. The Great Basin may have been almost unoccupied for 1,000 years.

The Fremont culture, named from sites near the Fremont River in Utah, lived in what is now north and western Utah and parts of Nevada, Idaho and Colorado from approximately 600 to 1300 AD. These people lived in areas close to water sources that had been previously occupied by the Desert Archaic people, and may have had some relationship with them. However, their use of new technologies define them as a distinct people. Fremont technologies include:

use of the bow and arrow while hunting,

building pithouse shelters,

growing maize and probably beans and squash,

building above ground granaries of adobe or stone,

creating and decorating low-fired pottery ware,

producing art, including jewelry and rock art such as petroglyphs and pictographs.

The ancient Puebloan culture, also known as the Anasazi, occupied territory adjacent to the Fremont. The ancestral Puebloan culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the Southwest United States, including the San Juan River region of Utah. Archaeologists debate when this distinct culture emerged, but cultural development seems to date from about the common era, about 500 years before the Fremont appeared. It is generally accepted that the cultural peak of these people was around the 1200 CE. Ancient Puebloan culture is known for well constructed pithouses and more elaborate adobe and masonry dwellings. They were excellent craftsmen, producing turquoise jewelry and fine pottery. The Puebloan culture was based on agriculture, and the people created and cultivated fields of maize, beans, and squash and domesticated turkeys. They designed and produced elaborate field terracing and irrigation systems. They also built structures, some known as kivas, apparently designed solely for cultural and religious rituals.

These two later cultures were roughly contemporaneous, and appear to have established trading relationships. They also shared enough cultural traits that archaeologists believe the cultures may have common roots in the early American Southwest. However, each remained culturally distinct throughout most of their existence. These two well established cultures appear to have been severely impacted by climatic change and perhaps by the incursion of new people in about 1200 CE. Over the next two centuries, the Fremont and ancient Pueblo people may have moved into the American southwest, finding new homes and farmlands in the river drainages of Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico.

In about 1200, Shoshonean speaking peoples entered Utah territory from the west. They may have originated in southern California and moved into the desert environment due to population pressure along the coast. They were an upland people with a hunting and gathering lifestyle utilizing roots and seeds, including the pinyon nut. They were also skillful fishermen, created pottery and raised some crops. When they first arrived in Utah, they lived as small family groups with little tribal organization. Four main Shoshonean peoples inhabited Utah country. The Shoshone in the north and northeast, the Gosiutes in the northwest, the Utes in the central and eastern parts of the region and the Southern Paiutes in the southwest. Initially, there seems to have been very little conflict between these groups.

In the early 16th century, the San Juan River basin in Utah's southeast also saw a new people, the Díne or Navajo, part of a greater group of plains Athabaskan speakers moved into the Southwest from the Great Plains. In addition to the Navajo, this language group contained people that were later known as Apaches, including the Lipan, Jicarilla, and Mescalero Apaches.

Athabaskans were a hunting people who initially followed the bison, and were identified in 16th-century Spanish accounts as "dog nomads". The Athabaskans expanded their range throughout the 17th century, occupying areas the Pueblo peoples had abandoned during prior centuries. The Spanish first specifically mention the "Apachu de Nabajo" (Navaho) in the 1620s, referring to the people in the Chama valley region east of the San Juan River, and north west of Santa Fe. By the 1640s, the term Navaho was applied to these same people. Although the Navajo newcomers established a generally peaceful trading and cultural exchange with the some modern Pueblo peoples to the south, they experienced intermittent warfare with the Shoshonean peoples, particularly the Utes in eastern Utah and western Colorado.

At the time of European expansion, beginning with Spanish explorers traveling from Mexico, five distinct native peoples occupied territory within the Utah area: the Northern Shoshone, the Goshute, the Ute, the Paiute and the Navajo.

The Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado may have crossed into what is now southern Utah in 1540, when he was seeking the legendary Cíbola.

A group led by two Spanish Catholic priests—sometimes called the Domínguez–Escalante expedition—left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the California coast. The expedition traveled as far north as Utah Lake and encountered the native residents. All of what is now Utah was claimed by the Spanish Empire from the 1500s to 1821 as part of New Spain (later as the province Alta California); and subsequently claimed by Mexico from 1821 to 1848. However, Spain and Mexico had little permanent presence in, or control of, the region.

Fur trappers (also known as mountain men) including Jim Bridger, explored some regions of Utah in the early 19th century. The city of Provo was named for one such man, Étienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825. The city of Ogden, Utah is named for a brigade leader of the Hudson's Bay Company, Peter Skene Ogden who trapped in the Weber Valley. In 1846, a year before the arrival of members from the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, the ill-fated Donner Party crossed through the Salt Lake valley late in the season, deciding not to stay the winter there but to continue forward to California, and beyond.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormon pioneers, first came to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. At the time, the U.S. had already captured the Mexican territories of Alta California and New Mexico in the Mexican–American War and planned to keep them, but those territories, including the future state of Utah, officially became United States territory upon the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. The treaty was ratified by the United States Senate on March 10, 1848.

Upon arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormon pioneers found no permanent settlement of Indians. Other areas along the Wasatch Range were occupied at the time of settlement by the Northwestern Shoshone and adjacent areas by other bands of Shoshone such as the Gosiute. The Northwestern Shoshone lived in the valleys on the eastern shore of Great Salt Lake and in adjacent mountain valleys. Some years after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley Mormons, who went on to colonize many other areas of what is now Utah, were petitioned by Indians for recompense for land taken. The response of Heber C. Kimball, first counselor to Brigham Young, was that the land belonged to "our Father in Heaven and we expect to plow and plant it." A 1945 Supreme Court decision found that the land had been treated by the United States as public domain; no aboriginal title by the Northwestern Shoshone had been recognized by the United States or extinguished by treaty with the United States.

Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormons had to make a place to live. They created irrigation systems, laid out farms, built houses, churches, and schools. Access to water was crucially important. Almost immediately, Brigham Young set out to identify and claim additional community sites. While it was difficult to find large areas in the Great Basin where water sources were dependable and growing seasons long enough to raise vitally important subsistence crops, satellite communities began to be formed.

Shortly after the first company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, the community of Bountiful was settled to the north. In 1848, settlers moved into lands purchased from trapper Miles Goodyear in present-day Ogden. In 1849, Tooele and Provo were founded. Also that year, at the invitation of Ute chief Wakara, settlers moved into the Sanpete Valley in central Utah to establish the community of Manti. Fillmore, Utah, intended to be the capital of the new territory, was established in 1851. In 1855, missionary efforts aimed at western native cultures led to outposts in Fort Lemhi, Idaho, Las Vegas, Nevada and Elk Mountain in east-central Utah.

The experiences of returning members of the Mormon Battalion were also important in establishing new communities. On their journey west, the Mormon soldiers had identified dependable rivers and fertile river valleys in Colorado, Arizona and southern California. In addition, as the men traveled to rejoin their families in the Salt Lake Valley, they moved through southern Nevada and the eastern segments of southern Utah. Jefferson Hunt, a senior Mormon officer of the Battalion, actively searched for settlement sites, minerals, and other resources. His report encouraged 1851 settlement efforts in Iron County, near present-day Cedar City. These southern explorations eventually led to Mormon settlements in St. George, Utah, Las Vegas and San Bernardino, California, as well as communities in southern Arizona.

Prior to establishment of the Oregon and California trails and Mormon settlement, Indians native to the Salt Lake Valley and adjacent areas lived by hunting buffalo and other game, but also gathered grass seed from the bountiful grass of the area as well as roots such as those of the Indian Camas. By the time of settlement, indeed before 1840, the buffalo were gone from the valley, but hunting by settlers and grazing of cattle severely impacted the Indians in the area, and as settlement expanded into nearby river valleys and oases, indigenous tribes experienced increasing difficulty in gathering sufficient food. Brigham Young's counsel was to feed the hungry tribes, and that was done, but it was often not enough. These tensions formed the background to the Bear River massacre committed by California Militia stationed in Salt Lake City during the Civil War. The site of the massacre is just inside Preston, Idaho, but was generally thought to be within Utah at the time.

Statehood was petitioned for in 1849-50 using the name Deseret. The proposed State of Deseret would have been quite large, encompassing all of what is now Utah, and portions of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico and California. The name of Deseret was favored by the LDS leader Brigham Young as a symbol of industry and was derived from a reference in the Book of Mormon. The petition was rejected by Congress and Utah did not become a state until 1896, following the Utah Constitutional Convention of 1895.

In 1850, the Utah Territory was created with the Compromise of 1850, and Fillmore (named after President Fillmore) was designated the capital. In 1856, Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the territorial capital.

The first group of pioneers brought African slaves with them, making Utah the only place in the western United States to have African slavery. Three slaves, Green Flake, Hark Lay, and Oscar Crosby, came west with this first group in 1847. The settlers also began to purchase Indian slaves in the well-established Indian slave trade, as well as enslaving Indian prisoners of war. In 1850, 26 slaves were counted in Salt Lake County. Slavery didn't become officially recognized until 1852, when the Act in Relation to Service and the Act for the relief of Indian Slaves and Prisoners were passed. Slavery was repealed on June 19, 1862, when Congress prohibited slavery in all US territories.

Disputes between the Mormon inhabitants and the federal government intensified after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' practice of polygamy became known. The polygamous practices of the Mormons, which were made public in 1854, would be one of the major reasons Utah was denied statehood until almost 50 years after the Mormons had entered the area.

After news of their polygamous practices spread, the members of the LDS Church were quickly viewed by some as un-American and rebellious. In 1857, after news of a possible rebellion spread, President James Buchanan sent troops on the Utah expedition to quell the growing unrest and to replace Brigham Young as territorial governor with Alfred Cumming. The expedition was also known as the Utah War.

As fear of invasion grew, Mormon settlers had convinced some Paiute Indians to aid in a Mormon-led attack on 120 immigrants from Arkansas under the guise of Indian aggression. The murder of these settlers became known as the Mountain Meadows massacre. The Mormon leadership had adopted a defensive posture that led to a ban on the selling of grain to outsiders in preparation for an impending war. This chafed pioneers traveling through the region, who were unable to purchase badly needed supplies. A disagreement between some of the Arkansas pioneers and the Mormons in Cedar City led to the secret planning of the massacre by a few Mormon leaders in the area. Some scholars debate the involvement of Brigham Young. Only one man, John D. Lee, was ever convicted of the murders, and he was executed at the massacre site.

Express riders had brought the news 1,000 miles from the Missouri River settlements to Salt Lake City within about two weeks of the army's beginning to march west. Fearing the worst as 2,500 troops (roughly 1/3rd of the army then) led by General Albert Sidney Johnston started west, Brigham Young ordered all residents of Salt Lake City and neighboring communities to prepare their homes for burning and evacuate southward to Utah Valley and southern Utah. Young also sent out a few units of the Nauvoo Legion (numbering roughly 8,000–10,000), to delay the army's advance. The majority he sent into the mountains to prepare defenses or south to prepare for a scorched earth retreat. Although some army wagon supply trains were captured and burned and herds of army horses and cattle run off no serious fighting occurred. Starting late and short on supplies, the United States Army camped during the bitter winter of 1857–58 near a burned out Fort Bridger in Wyoming. Through the negotiations between emissary Thomas L. Kane, Young, Cumming and Johnston, control of Utah territory was peacefully transferred to Cumming, who entered an eerily vacant Salt Lake City in the spring of 1858. By agreement with Young, Johnston established the army at Fort Floyd 40 miles away from Salt Lake City, to the southwest.

Salt Lake City was the last link of the First Transcontinental Telegraph, between Carson City, Nevada and Omaha, Nebraska completed in October 1861. Brigham Young, who had helped expedite construction, was among the first to send a message, along with Abraham Lincoln and other officials. Soon after the telegraph line was completed, the Deseret Telegraph Company built the Deseret line connecting the settlements in the territory with Salt Lake City and, by extension, the rest of the United States.

Because of the American Civil War, federal troops were pulled out of Utah Territory (and their fort auctioned off), leaving the territorial government in federal hands without army backing until General Patrick E. Connor arrived with the 3rd Regiment of California Volunteers in 1862. While in Utah, Connor and his troops soon became discontent with this assignment wanting to head to Virginia where the "real" fighting and glory was occurring. Connor established Fort Douglas just three miles (5 km) east of Salt Lake City and encouraged his bored and often idle soldiers to go out and explore for mineral deposits to bring more non-Mormons into the state. Minerals were discovered in Tooele County, and some miners began to come to the territory. Conner also solved the Shoshone Indian problem in Cache Valley Utah by luring the Shoshone into a midwinter confrontation on January 29, 1863. The armed conflict quickly turned into a rout, discipline among the soldiers broke down, and the Battle of Bear River is today usually referred to by historians as the Bear River Massacre. Between 200 and 400 Shoshone men, women and children were killed, as were 27 soldiers, with over 50 more soldiers wounded or suffering from frostbite.

Beginning in 1865, Utah's Black Hawk War developed into the deadliest conflict in the territory's history. Chief Antonga Black Hawk died in 1870, but fights continued to break out until additional federal troops were sent in to suppress the Ghost Dance of 1872. The war is unique among Indian Wars because it was a three-way conflict, with mounted Timpanogos Utes led by Antonga Black Hawk fighting federal and Utah local militia.

On May 10, 1869, the First transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake. The railroad brought increasing numbers of people into the state, and several influential businessmen made fortunes in the territory.

Main article: Latter Day Saint polygamy in the late-19th century

During the 1870s and 1880s, federal laws were passed and federal marshals assigned to enforce the laws against polygamy. In the 1890 Manifesto, the LDS Church leadership dropped its approval of polygamy citing divine revelation. When Utah applied for statehood again in 1895, it was accepted. Statehood was officially granted on January 4, 1896.

The Mormon issue made the situation for women the topic of nationwide controversy. In 1870 the Utah Territory, controlled by Mormons, gave women the right to vote. However, in 1887, Congress disenfranchised Utah women with the Edmunds–Tucker Act. In 1867–96, eastern activists promoted women's suffrage in Utah as an experiment, and as a way to eliminate polygamy. They were Presbyterians and other Protestants convinced that Mormonism was a non-Christian cult that grossly mistreated women. The Mormons promoted woman suffrage to counter the negative image of downtrodden Mormon women. With the 1890 Manifesto clearing the way for statehood, in 1895 Utah adopted a constitution restoring the right of women's suffrage. Congress admitted Utah as a state with that constitution in 1896.

Though less numerous than other intermountain states at the time, several lynching murders for alleged misdeeds occurred in Utah territory at the hand of vigilantes. Those documented include the following, with their ethnicity or national origin noted in parentheses if it was provided in the source:

William Torrington in Carson City (then a part of Utah territory), 1859

Thomas Coleman (Black man) in Salt Lake City, 1866

3 unidentified men at Wahsatch, winter of 1868

A Black man in Uintah, 1869

Charles A. Benson in Logan, 1873

Ah Sing (Chinese man) in Corinne, 1874

Thomas Forrest in St. George, 1880

William Harvey (Black man) in Salt Lake City, 1883

John Murphy in Park City, 1883

George Segal (Japanese man) in Ogden, 1884

Joseph Fisher in Eureka, 1886

Robert Marshall (Black man) in Castle Gate, 1925

Other lynchings in Utah territory include multiple instances of mass murder of Native American children, women, and men by White settlers including the Battle Creek massacre (1849), Provo River Massacre (1850), Nephi massacre (1853), and Circleville Massacre (1866).

Beginning in the early 20th century, with the establishment of such national parks as Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park, Utah began to become known for its natural beauty. Southern Utah became a popular filming spot for arid, rugged scenes, and such natural landmarks as Delicate Arch and "the Mittens" of Monument Valley are instantly recognizable to most national residents. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with the construction of the Interstate highway system, accessibility to the southern scenic areas was made easier.

Beginning in 1939, with the establishment of Alta Ski Area, Utah has become world-renowned for its skiing. The dry, powdery snow of the Wasatch Range is considered some of the best skiing in the world. Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995, and this has served as a great boost to the economy. The ski resorts have increased in popularity, and many of the Olympic venues scattered across the Wasatch Front continue to be used for sporting events. This also spurred the development of the light-rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, known as TRAX, and the re-construction of the freeway system around the city.

During the late 20th century, the state grew quickly. In the 1970s, growth was phenomenal in the suburbs. Sandy was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country at that time, and West Valley City is the state's 2nd most populous city. Today, many areas of Utah are seeing phenomenal growth. Northern Davis, southern and western Salt Lake, Summit, eastern Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, and Washington counties are all growing very quickly. Transportation and urbanization are major issues in politics as development consumes agricultural land and wilderness areas.

In 2012, the State of Utah passed the Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act in an attempt to gain control over a substantial portion of federal land in the state from the federal government, based on language in the Utah Enabling Act of 1894. The State does not intend to use force or assert control by limiting access in an attempt to control the disputed lands, but does intend to use a multi-step process of education, negotiation, legislation, and if necessary, litigation as part of its multi-year effort to gain state or private control over the lands after 2014.

Utah families, like most Americans everywhere, did their utmost to assist in the war effort. Tires, meat, butter, sugar, fats, oils, coffee, shoes, boots, gasoline, canned fruits, vegetables, and soups were rationed on a national basis. The school day was shortened and bus routes were reduced to limit the number of resources used stateside and increase what could be sent to soldiers.

Geneva Steel was built to increase the steel production for America during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had proposed opening a steel mill in Utah in 1936, but the idea was shelved after a couple of months. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war and the steel plant was put into progress. In April 1944, Geneva shipped its first order, which consisted of over 600 tons of steel plate. Geneva Steel also brought thousands of job opportunities to Utah. The positions were hard to fill as many of Utah's men were overseas fighting. Women began working, filling 25 percent of the jobs.

As a result of Utah's and Geneva Steels contribution during the war, several Liberty Ships were named in honor of Utah including the USS Joseph Smith, USS Brigham Young, USS Provo, and the USS Peter Skene Ogden.

One of the sectors of the beachhead of Normandy Landings was codenamed Utah Beach, and the amphibious landings at the beach were undertaken by United States Army troops.

It is estimated that 1,450 soldiers from Utah were killed in the war.

dancin' by Jeff

Tried to capture most of my friends here. Miles kindly chaperoned my wife onto the dance floor, as his wife was unable to attend, and me on the dance floor is like a unicorn on steroids in a china shop - both nonexistent and potentially quite destructive.

Me, My Selfie & I -- 4.27.2019 by Joe the Photog

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I did something I do not normally do on Friday. I worked on my nonexistent tan some. I’m tired of being as white as typing paper. The weather was great for it other than the sky clouding up completely. Every time I thought about going in, the sun would come back out. But a strong breeze kept the temperature in the 70s. Not as much of a breeze today, but it sill felt fine. I cut the sunning down in about half today and did not flip over as my shoulders and back got the brunt of it yesterday. I need a lounge chair which would make it easier for me to get up and down with my fake leg.

Stretch Monster Weeble by secretfunspot

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This is a nonexistent Weeble that I designed

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