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General Magic (generalmagicthemovie.com) is a feature documentary directed by Sarah Kerruish scheduled to be release in September 2016. It is the story of General Magic - a company that was the darling of Silicon Valley in the early 1990s - the place where every coder and computer engineer wanted to work. It's DNA can be found in many of the modern tech devices that are omnipresent today such as the iPod (Tony Fadell), the iPhone, Android Phones (Andy Rubin), and the Apple Watch (Kevin Lynch).
Le Manoir de Ban a été construit en 1840 par l’architecte veveysan Philippe Franel pour le compte de Charles Emile Henri de Scherer, alors propriétaire
du domaine. Philippe Franel est l’un des architectes les plus importants de la région. On lui doit de prestigieuses constructions comme la Tour de l’Horloge, le Château de l’Aile ou le célèbre hôtel des Trois Couronnes à Vevey. Son empreinte est aujourd’hui encore omniprésente sur les bords du lac Léman.
Quelques jours après leur arrivée en Suisse, en décembre 1952, Charlie et Oona visitent la région.
Sur indication de leur chauffeur, le couple s’arrête sur les hauteurs du Léman, dans la commune de Corsier- sur-Vevey. Les Chaplin y croisent le propriétaire, visitent les lieux et ontun véritable coup de foudre pour la maison, les arbres et le jardin qui l’entourent, de même que pour le point de vue remarquable sur le lac et les montagnes. L’achat fut conclu en moins d’un mois.
太平境馬雅各紀念教會 - 神無所不在 / 雖然我不是教友 - 卻很喜歡教會的建築物
THAI-PENG-KENG MAXWELL MEMORIAL CHURCH - The god is omnipresent / Although I am not the church member - actually very much like the building of the church
IGLESIA DEL MONUMENTO DEL MAXWELL DE THAI-PENG-KENG - El dios es omnipresente / Aunque no sea el miembro de iglesia - realmente mucho como el edificio de la iglesia
太平の境の馬ヤコブは教会を記念します - 神はどこにでもあります / 私は信者仲間ではありませんが - とても教会の建築物が好きです
THAI-PENG-KENG MAXWELL DENKMAL-KIRCHE - Der Gott ist allgegenwärtig / Obgleich ich nicht das Kirchemitglied bin - wirklich sehr viel wie das Gebäude der Kirche
THAI-Peng-Keng MAXWELL église du Souvenir - Le dieu est omniprésent / Bien que je ne sois pas le membre d'église - réellement infiniment comme le bâtiment de l'église
Tainan Taiwan / Tainan Taiwán / 台灣台南
飛龍劍士(法國號前奏) / SEGA Panzer Dragon(French horn prelude)
{空を飛ぶ竜の剣士/The fencer with a dragon}
於1865年5月27日，英國母會首任宣教師馬雅各醫生（Dr. James L. Maxwell, M. D.）奉使來台，選定台灣府（台南）為英國長老教會台灣宣教中心。
In May 27, 1865, the British tthe nation's mother met first elected missionary Maya each doctor (Dr. James L. Maxwell, M.D.) is assigned a mission comes to Taiwan, to designate that Taiwan government office (Tainan) is the Britain presbyterian church Taiwan propaganda center.
En el 27 de mayo de 1865, los Británicos el nation' el maya primero elegido hecho frente madre del misionario de s que cada doctor (el Dr. James L. Maxwell, M.D.) se asigna a misión viene a Taiwán, a designado que la oficina gubernamental de Taiwán (Tainan) sea el centro de la propaganda de Taiwán de la iglesia presbiteriana de Gran Bretaña.
1865年5月27日に、英国は初代の宣教師の馬ヤコブ医者（のDrができます. James L. Maxwell， M. D.）命を受けて外国へ行ってくる台、イギリスの長老に台湾に宣伝と教育センターをわかるように教えるように台湾府（台南）を選定します。
{My BLOG/管樂雅集台南孔廟精彩演出-2010楊老大生日快樂}
{管楽の風雅に集う台南孔子廟のすばらしい公演-2010楊は非常に誕生日おめでとうございます}
{My Blog/台南府城的日本時代-Swing Girl}
{My Blog/The Japanese times of the Tainan city-Swing Girl}
{Mi blog/los tiempos japoneses de la ciudad de Tainan - haga pivotar a la muchacha}
{Mein Blog/die japanischen Zeiten der Tainan-Stadt - schwingen Sie Mädchen}
名稱：洋紅風鈴木
英名：Pink Trumpet Tree
學名：Tabebuia rosea
科名：紫葳科 (Bignoniaceae)風鈴木屬(Tabebuia)
別稱：巴拉圭風鈴木、玫瑰風鈴木、伊蓓樹
原產地：南美洲
Name: Magenta wind Suzuki illustrious
English name: Pink Trumpet Tree
systematic name: Tabebuia rosea
branch leaves: Bignoniaceae (Bignoniaceae) wind Suzuki is the (Tabebuia)
alias: Paraguay wind Suzuki, rose wind Suzuki, Iraqi bei tree
source area: South America
Nombre: Viento magenta Suzuki ilustre
Nombre inglés: Árbol de trompeta rosado
nombre sistemático: Rosea de Tabebuia
hojas de la rama: El viento Suzuki del Bignoniaceae (Bignoniaceae) es (Tabebuia)
alias: Viento Suzuki, viento color de rosa Suzuki, árbol iraquí de Paraguay del bei
área de fuente: Suramérica
名称：ローズピンクの風のスズキ
英文の名称：Pink Trumpet Tree
学名：Tabebuia rosea
科：ノウゼンカズラ科 (Bignoniaceae)風のスズキは属します(Tabebuia)
別称：パラグアイの風のスズキ、バラの風のスズキ、イラクbei樹
原産地：南米
Name: Magentaroter Wind Suzuki berühmt
Englischer Name: Rosafarbener Trompete-Baum
systematischer Name: Tabebuia rosea
Niederlassungsblätter: Wind Suzuki des Bignoniaceae (Bignoniaceae) ist (Tabebuia)
alias: Paraguay-Wind Suzuki, rosafarbener Wind Suzuki, irakischer bei Baum
Quellbereich: Südamerika
Nom : Vent magenta Suzuki illustre
Nom anglais : Arbre de trompette rose
nom systématique : Rosea de Tabebuia
feuilles de branche : Le vent Suzuki de Bignoniaceae (Bignoniaceae) est (Tabebuia)
dit : Vent Suzuki, vent rose Suzuki, arbre irakien du Paraguay de bei
secteur de source : L'Amérique du Sud
Le théâtre d'ombres chinois permet d'illustrer les contes et légendes classiques dans lesquels les dragons sont omniprésents, Chine 2015
muy a pesar de la omnipresencia de las principiantes 253, las 251 han sido, son y serán las reinas del puerto de Pajares.
Le quartier du Petit Champlain repose au pied du Cap Diamant à Québec. Son nom vient de la rue du Petit-Champlain, une rue étroite dont les maisons à l'ouest longent la falaise.
S'ajoutent les rues Sous-le-Fort, du Cul-de-Sac, du Marché-Champlain et une partie de la rue Notre-Dame et du boulevard Champlain.
Des artisans et des commerçants se sont regroupés en coopérative en 1985 et y tiennent des boutiques. Les décorations soulignant fêtes populaires ou grands rassemblements sont omniprésentes mais particulièrement féériques durant la période de Noël.
A l'estiu de 2011, durant la "Desconnexió" de Sants, es feia curiós veure 447 en servei comercial per Girona, encarregades dels Regionals. Ara, però, han desplaçat del tot a 440R/470, fent que siguin massa omnipresents.
A la foto, una doble d'aquestes unitats surt de l'estació gironina cap a la capital, seguint el servei REG 15814, sota la llum del crepúscle d'una tarda de gener.
En el verano de 2011, durante la "Desconexión" deSants, se hacía curioso ver 447 en servicio comercial por Girona, encargadas de los Regionales. Ahora, pero, han desplazado del todo a , 440R/470, haciendo que sean demasiado omnipresentes.
En la foto, una doble de estas unidades sale de la estación gerundense hacia la capital, siguiendo el servicio REG 15814 bajo la luz del crepúsculo de una tarde de enero.
In August 2011, when the tunnel between Barcelona-Sants and Barcelona-Clot Aragó was in works, s/447 was funny to see in regular service in Girona (as they have never been there before), but now, after they have displaced s/440R and s/470 from its services, they are over omnipresent.
In the picture, a double consist of them is leaving Girona towards Barcelona, below the evening light of an afternoon of January.
Wooden toys
Gnomes, fairies, dryads and other...
omnipresent tiny helpers, tenders and keepers of the fragible balance between Our world and The Other one :-)
My "Wooden-Tinies" are here for those of You, who are sure, that their house is the right place for some Tiny-Friend... They all can domesticate either on Your Nature-table, bookshelf or on the bedside-table of Your little baby or child.
My husband's wooden creations. You will be welcome in his ETSY shop (seller: Rjabinnik).
Waldorf inspired toy or decoration.
Made by Rjabinnik, designed by Rounien 2009
Omni Air International's McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 N522AX departing RAF Brize Norton back in August 2008.
Since then she has been converted to an Airborne Fire-Bomber as 'Tanker 10' equipped with a huge underbelly tank for carrying fire-retardant to fight forest fires.
DSCN2486
Gandhara is the name given to an ancient region or province invaded in 326 B.C. by Alexander the Great, who took Charsadda (ancient Puskalavati) near present-day Peshawar (ancient Purusapura) and then marched eastward across the Indus into the Punjab as far as the Beas river (ancient Vipasa). Gandhara constituted the undulating plains, irrigated by the Kabul River from the Khyber Pass area, the contemporary boundary between Pakistan and Afganistan, down to the Indus River and southward towards the Murree hills and Taxila (ancient Taksasila), near Pakistan"s present capital, Islamabad. Its art, however, during the first centuries of the Christian era, had adopted a substantially larger area, together with the upper stretches of the Kabul River, the valley of Kabul itself, and ancient Kapisa, as well as Swat and Buner towards the north.
A great deal of Gandhara sculptures has survived dating from the first to probably as late as the sixth or even the seventh century but in a remarkably homogeneous style. Most of the arts were almost always in a blue-gray mica schist, though sometimes in a green phyllite or in stucco, or very rarely in terracotta. Because of the appeal of its Western classical aesthetic for the British rulers of India, schooled to admire all things Greek and Roman, a great deal found its way into private hands or the shelter of museums.
Gandhara sculpture primarily comprised Buddhist monastic establishments. These monasteries provided a never-ending gallery for sculptured reliefs of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. The Gandhara stupas were comparatively magnified and more intricate, but the most remarkable feature, which distinguished the Gandhara stupas from the pervious styles were hugely tiered umbrellas at its peak, almost soaring over the total structure. The abundance of Gandharan sculpture was an art, which originated with foreign artisans.
In the excavation among the varied miscellany of small bronze figures, though not often like Alexandrian imports, four or five Buddhist bronzes are very late in date. These further illustrate the aura of the Gandhara art. Relics of mural paintings though have been discovered, yet the only substantial body of painting, in Bamiyan, is moderately late, and much of it belongs to an Iranian or central Asian rather than an Indian context. Non-narrative themes and architectural ornament were omnipresent at that time. Mythical figures and animals such as atlantes, tritons, dragons, and sea serpents derive from the same source, although there is the occasional high-backed, stylized creature associated with the Central Asian animal style. Moldings and cornices are decorated mostly with acanthus, laurel, and vine, though sometimes with motifs of Indian, and occasionally ultimately western Asian, origin: stepped merlons, lion heads, vedikas, and lotus petals. It is worth noting that architectural elements such as pillars, gable ends, and domes as represented in the reliefs tend to follow the Indian forms
.
Gandhara became roughly a Holy Land of Buddhism and excluding a handful of Hindu images, sculpture took the form either of Buddhist sect objects, Buddha and Bodhisattvas, or of architectural embellishment for Buddhist monasteries. The more metaphorical kinds are demonstrated by small votive stupas, and bases teeming with stucco images and figurines that have lasted at Jaulian and Mora Moradu, outpost monasteries in the hills around Taxila. Hadda, near the present town of Jalalabad, has created some groups in stucco of an almost rococo while more latest works of art in baked clay, with strong Hellenistic influence, have been revealed there, in what sums up as tiny chapels. It is not known exactly why stucco, an imported Alexandrian modus operandi, was used. It is true that grey schist is not found near Taxila, however other stones are available, and in opposition to the ease of operating with stucco, predominantly the artistic effects which can be achieved, must be set with its impermanence- fresh deposits frequently had to be applied. Excluding possibly at Taxila, its use emerges to have been a late expansion.
Architectural fundamentals of the Gandhara art, like pillars, gable ends and domes as showcased in the reliefs, were inclined to follow Indian outlines, but the pilaster with capital of Corinthian type, abounds and in one-palace scene Persepolitan columns go along with Roman coffered ceilings. The so-called Shrine of the Double-Headed Eagle at Sirkap, in actuality a stupa pedestal, well demonstrates this enlightening eclecticism- the double-headed bird on top of the chaitya arch is an insignia of Scythian origin, which appears as a Byzantine motif and materialises much later in South India as the ga1J.qa-bheru1J.qa in addition to atop European armorial bearings.
In Gandhara art the descriptive friezes were all but invariably Buddhist, and hence Indian in substance- one depicted a horse on wheels nearing a doorway, which might have represented the Trojan horse affair, but this is under scan. The Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, familiar from the previous Greek-based coinage of the region, appeared once or twice as standing figurines, presumably because as a pair, they tallied an Indian mithuna couple. There were also female statuettes, corresponding to city goddesses. Though figures from Butkara, near Saidan Sharif in Swat, were noticeably more Indian in physical type, and Indian motifs were in abundance there. Sculpture was, in the main, Hellenistic or Roman, and the art of Gandhara was indeed "the easternmost appearance of the art of the Roman Empire, especially in its late and provincial manifestations". Furthermore, naturalistic portrait heads, one of the high-points of Roman sculpture, were all but missing in Gandhara, in spite of the episodic separated head, probably that of a donor, with a discernible feeling of uniqueness. Some constitutions and poses matched those from western Asia and the Roman world; like the manner in which a figure in a recurrently instanced scene from the Dipankara jataka had prostrated himself before the future Buddha, is reverberated in the pose of the defeated before the defeater on a Trojanic frieze on the Arch of Constantine and in later illustrations of the admiration of the divinised emperor. One singular recurrently occurring muscular male figure, hand on sword, witnessed in three-quarters view from the backside, has been adopted from western classical sculpture. On occasions standing figures, even the Buddha, deceived the elusive stylistic actions of the Roman sculptor, seeking to express majestas. The drapery was fundamentally Western- the folds and volume of dangling garments were carved with realness and gusto- but it was mainly the persistent endeavours at illusionism, though frequently obscured by unrefined carving, which earmarked the Gandhara sculpture as based on a western classical visual impact.
The distinguishing Gandhara sculpture, of which hundreds if not thousands of instances have outlived, is the standing or seated Buddha. This flawlessly reproduces the necessary nature of Gandhara art, in which a religious and an artistic constituent, drawn from widely varied cultures have been bonded. The iconography is purely Indian. The seated Buddha is mostly cross-legged in the established Indian manner. However, forthcoming generations, habituated to think of the Buddha as a monk, and unable to picture him ever possessing long hair or donning a turban, came to deduce the chigon as a "cranial protuberance", singular to Buddha. But Buddha is never depicted with a shaved head, as are the Sangha, the monks; his short hair is clothed either in waves or in taut curls over his whole head. The extended ears are merely due to the downward thrust of the heavy ear-rings worn by a prince or magnate; the distortion of the ear-lobes is especially visible in Buddha, who, in Gandhara, never wore ear-rings or ornaments of any kind. As Foucher puts it, the Gandhara Buddha is at a time a monk without shaving and a prince stripped off jewellery.
The western classical factor rests in the style, in the handling of the robe, and in the physiognomy of Buddha. The cloak, which covers all but the appendages (though the right shoulder is often bared), is dealt like in Greek and Roman sculptures; the heavy folds are given a plastic flair of their own, and only in poorer or later works do they deteriorate into indented lines, fairly a return to standard Indian practice. The "western" treatment has caused Buddha"s garment to be misidentified for a toga; but a toga is semicircular, while, Buddha wore a basic, rectangular piece of cloth, i.e., the samghiifi, a monk"s upper garment. The head gradually swerves towards a hieratic stylisation, but at its best, it is naturalistic and almost positively based on the Greek Apollo, undoubtedly in Hellenistic or Roman copies.
Gandhara art also had developed at least two species of image, i.e. not part of the frieze, in which Buddha is the fundamental figure of an event in his life, distinguished by accompanying figures and a detailed mise-en-scene. Perhaps the most remarkable amongst these is the Visit to the Indrasala Cave, of which the supreme example is dated in the year 89, almost unquestionably of the Kanishka period. Indra and his harpist are depicted on their visit in it. The small statuettes of the visitors emerge below, an elephant describing Indra. The more general among these detailed images, of which approximately 30 instances are known, is presumably related with the Great Miracle of Sravasti. In one such example, one of the adjoining Bodhisattvas is distinguished as Avalokiteshwara by the tiny seated Buddha in his headgear. Other features of these images include the unreal species of tree above Buddha, the spiky lotus upon which he sits, and the effortlessly identifiable figurines of Indra and Brahma on both sides.
Another important aspect of the Gandhara art was the coins of the Graeco-Bactrians. The coins of the Graeco-Bactrians - on the Greek metrological standard, equals the finest Attic examples and of the Indo-Greek kings, which have until lately served as the only instances of Greek art found in the subcontinent. The legendary silver double decadrachmas of Amyntas, possibly a remembrance issue, are the biggest "Greek" coins ever minted, the largest cast in gold, is the exceptional decadrachma of the same king in the Bibliotheque Nationale, with the Dioscuri on the inverse. Otherwise, there was scanty evidence until recently of Greek or Hellenistic influences in Gandhara. A manifestation of Greek metropolitan planning is furnished by the rectilinear layouts of two cities of the 1st centuries B.C./A.D.--Sirkap at Taxila and Shaikhan Pheri at Charsadda. Remains of the temple at Jandial, also at Taxila and presumably dating back to 1st century B.C., also includes Greek characteristics- remarkably the huge base mouldings and the Ionic capitals of the colossal portico and antechamber columns. In contrast, the columns or pilasters on the immeasurable Gandhara friezes (when they are not in a Indian style), are consistently coronated by Indo-Corinthian capitals, the local version of the Corinthian capital- a certain sign of a comparatively later date.
The notable Begram hoard confirms articulately to the number and multiplicity of origin of the foreign artefacts imported into Gandhara. This further illustrates the foreign influence in the Gandhara art. Parallel hoards have been found in peninsular India, especially in Kolhapur in Maharashtra, but the imported wares are sternly from the Roman world. At Begram the ancient Kapisa, near Kabul, there are bronzes, possibly of Alexandrian manufacture, in close proximity with emblemata (plaster discs, certainly meant as moulds for local silversmiths), bearing reliefs in the purest classical vein, Chinese lacquers and Roman glass. The hoard was possibly sealed in mid-3rd century, when some of the subjects may have been approximately 200 years old "antiques", frequently themselves replicates of classical Greek objects. The plentiful ivories, consisting in the central of chest and throne facings, engraved in a number of varied relief techniques, were credibly developed somewhere between Mathura and coastal Andhra. Some are of unrivalled beauty. Even though a few secluded instances of early Indian ivory carving have outlived, including the legendary mirror handle from Pompeii, the Begram ivories are the only substantial collection known until moderately in present times of what must always have been a widespread craft. Other sites, particularly Taxila, have generated great many instances of such imports, some from India, some, like the appealing tiny bronze figure of Harpocrates, undoubtedly from Alexandria. Further cultural influences are authenticated by the Scytho Sarmatian jewellery, with its characteristic high-backed carnivores, and by a statue of St. Peter. But all this should not cloud the all-important truth that the immediately identifiable Gandhara style was the prevailing form of artistic manifestation throughout the expanse for several centuries, and the magnitude of its influence on the art of central Asia and China and as far as Japan, allows no doubt about its integrity and vitality.
In the Gandhara art early Buddhist iconography drew heavily on traditional sources, incorporating Hindu gods and goddesses into a Buddhist pantheon and adapting old folk tales to Buddhist religious purposes. Kubera and Harm are probably the best-known examples of this process.
Five dated idols from Gandhara art though exist, however the hitch remains that the era is never distinguished. The dates are in figures under 100 or else in 300s. Moreover one of the higher numbers are debatable, besides, the image upon which it is engraved is not in the conventional Andhra style. The two low-number-dated idols are the most sophisticated and the least injured. Their pattern is classical Gandhara. The most undemanding rendition of their dates relates them to Kanishka and 78 A.D. is assumed as the commencement of his era. They both fall in the second half of the 2nd century A.D. and equally later, if a later date is necessitated for the beginning of Kanishka`s time. This calculation nearly parallels numismatics and archaeological evidences. The application of other eras, like the Vikrama (base date- 58 B.C.) and the Saka (base date- 78 A.D.), would place them much later. The badly battered figurines portray standing Buddhas, without a head of its own, but both on original figured plinths. They come to view as depicting the classical Gandhara style; decision regarding where to place these two dated Buddhas, both standing, must remain knotty till more evidence comes out as to how late the classical Gandhara panache had continued.
Methodical study of the Gandhara art, and specifically about its origins and expansion, is befuddled with numerous problems, not at least of which is the inordinately complex history and culture of the province. It is one of the great ethnical crossroads of the world simultaneously being in the path of all the intrusions of India for over three millennia. Bussagli has rightly remarked, `More than any other Indian region, Gandhara was a participant in the political and cultural events that concerned the rest of the Asian continent`.
However, Systematic study of the art of Gandhara, and particularly of its origins and development, is bedeviled by many problems, not the least of which is the extraordinarily complex history and culture of the region.
In spite of the labours of many scholars over the past hundred and fifty years, the answers to some of the most important questions, such as the number of centuries spanned by the art of Gandhara, still await, fresh archaeological, inscriptional, or numismatic evidence.
What does 'living fully' mean? Welcome to the age of pseudo-profound nonsense
Rainesford Stauffer - The Guardian - 11th September 2019
You've seen them before, because they are all over Instagram: the captions urging you to embrace your expansion, whatever that means, slow down to savour the moment, and hustle like you’re Beyoncé – all at once.
“Start visualizing what you want, then say no to anything that isn’t it,” reads one. Another: “Buy the plane ticket, quit the job, plan the trip, wander into the unknown, open your heart, take the leap.”
These reminders to “live fully” are omnipresent on social media platforms. We are constantly told how to live well, happily, adventurously or spontaneously. An army of experts are instructing us to wash our faces, to be a badass, and to say yes.
This # inspiration strategy works because humans are wired to want significance and meaning. But what does “living fully” really mean in the age of Instagram, when anyone can wear matching yoga pants as they stand, arms outstretched and back to the camera, soaking in whatever scenic background they’ve found that day?
Madi Richardson, 23, explains that if she’d been asked what “living fully” meant a few years ago, she would have said traveling. Right after high school, Richardson was following a plethora of people her age on Instagram, including some with significant followings. “The photos I saw of them were on vacations,” she explains. “Living, I guess, what seemed like everything but worry or negative emotions.” With every scroll, Richardson saw glorious summers packed full with local music festivals and scenic hikes, usually with inspirational quotes peppered in between.
Soon, doubt started to creep in. Were her peers living a better, more exciting life than she was? Although she didn’t post those kinds of photos herself, she says: “There was jealousy and feelings of guilt because I didn’t go on a vacation every other weekend, or go scuba diving, jump out of a plane, or camp in the wilderness all summer.”
As a photographer herself, she also had to contend with professional pressure, wondering if the better cameras or bigger cities others showcased were missing pieces to even more success.
Richardson describes such curated lives as a “pecking order of excitement”, explaining that she had other responsibilities, including her own bills and pressure to attend college, that didn’t align with this narrow definition of living fully. “It took me a while to become at peace with who I am,” she says. “It wasn’t until I tried to mimic the trends that I realized: this isn’t who I am.”
Dr Erin Vogel, a social psychologist who explores the influence technology has on our lives and wellbeing, says: “Social media seems to define ‘living fully’ as being adventurous, spontaneous and extroverted. For people who are fulfilled by a quieter life, social media seems to tell them that they’re living life the wrong way.”
She explains what most social media users know to be true: when using social media, users often compare their lives with others’. In reality, even your most adventurous friend probably has some lackluster experiences or boring evenings spent watching Netflix.
Vogel points to the unfortunate trend of people taking selfies with wild animals and getting injured as an example of how “doing it for the ’gram” can backfire. It can be a positive, she says, if it leads you to push yourself and try new things. Often, it takes you away from the present moment instead. “You may book an excursion for your next trip thinking ‘this will be fun’,” Vogel says. “But in the back of your mind, you might also be thinking about how great the pictures will be.”
The same goes for quote photos, which are another element of the “highlight reel” Instagram has come to be regarded as.
Gordon Pennycook, an assistant professor of behavioural science at the University of Regina, has published research on “pseudo-profound bullshit”, which he defines as things constructed without regard for the truth. He notes that it is “quite possible that ostensibly inspirational quotes could fit into the broader category”. Pennycook says this type of content spreads online because we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it.
“This is why inspirational quotes often don’t make any sense,” he explains. “Typically, it gets spread because it has some sort of intuitive or emotional appeal.”
He points out that the most significant difference between the spread of inspirational quotes and the spread of fake news is that quotes generally make users feel good, while fake news provokes anger or fear. “In either case, emotionality overrides rationality,” he says.
But what happens when an individual does live fully and authentically, and is met with skepticism?
When Nicole Roberts, 31, came out the other side of a bad relationship, she opted to move from San Diego to Austin for a promotion without knowing anyone there. “I had many people respond one of two ways,” Roberts says. The first was “are you crazy? You don’t know anyone there!” and the second was “Yolo! Live your life!”
It bothered her, she says, to hear so many assume she had not thoroughly considered her new move. All she wanted was a change of scenery and the opportunity to grow after a stifling personal situation.
That nuance – that living fully can be quiet; that what looks like a grand adventure could really be a complicated personal reset; that even our most inspired choices may be steeped in anxiety – goes missing when all we have are visual examples.
Behind the projection of freedom, real life isn’t as neat when you’re actually living fully. It’s often messy or complicated and demands we ask ourselves questions that run deeper than advice to “create a life you don’t need a vacation from”.
What makes us happy, at its core, is an existential question, according to Sara Kuburic, a psychotherapist and counselor who works with millennials. She believes inspirational tropes are popular because they offer the promise of immediate fulfillment.
“I find that people increasingly conceptualize living fully as seizing opportunities, taking risks and exploring the unknown,” she says. “Living fully, in the Instagram age, is often then reduced to doing things that would be worth documenting.”
But, Kuburic argues, a full life – which she defines as one full of meaning, freedom, responsibility, and grounded in an authentic relationship with yourself – is the same as it was pre-Instagram.
“We are eager to live our lives fully,” she says. “Yet the pressure to prove this to our ‘friends’ is a major reason why we are not.
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Wat Rakhang Kositaram
วัดระฆังโฆสิตาราม
13th September 2019
Wooden toys
Gnomes, fairies, dryads and other...
omnipresent tiny helpers, tenders and keepers of the fragible balance between Our world and The Other one :-)
My "Wooden-Tinies" are here for those of You, who are sure, that their house is the right place for some Tiny-Friend... They all can domesticate either on Your Nature-table, bookshelf or on the bedside-table of Your little baby or child.
My husband's wooden creations. You will be welcome in his ETSY shop (seller: Rjabinnik).
Waldorf inspired toy or decoration.
Made by Rjabinnik, designed by Rounien 2010
During the Derg regime (until 1991), Ethiopia's main allied was the Soviet Union. Many things were imported from there, including the omnipresent blue Lada taxis.
We rumbled across Mongolia in the omnipresent Toyota Land Cruiser. Eggi, our first driver from Nomadic Journeys, could navigate any terrain and was a skilled mechanic. When the rear window jammed up he dissembled the door panel and got the glass moving again - a critical requirement on a bird watching expedition.
Baobao shows a high level of disinterest when I take photos of him. He does not even bother sniffing the camera or lens but is visibly shaken by the closure of Lehman Brothers!
[Explore #248. Thanks!]
His P H O T O B O O K for sale.
** My sincere apologies but comments with pics / links to other photostreams and "non-comments" will be deleted. Please also refrain from posting invites to groups especially those that needs compulsory commenting. Thank you for visiting! **
Vishnu (/ˈvɪʃnuː/; Sanskrit: Viṣṇu) is a popular Hindu deity, the Supreme God of Vaishnavism (one of the three principal denominations of Hinduism) and one of the three supreme deities (Trimurti) of Hinduism. He is also known as Lord Narayana and Lord Hari. As one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, He is conceived as "the Preserver or the Protector" within the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the divinity.
In Hindu sacred texts, Vishnu is usually described as having dark complexion of water-filled clouds and as having four arms. He is depicted as a blue being, holding a padma (lotus flower) in the lower left hand, the Kaumodaki gada (mace) in the lower right hand, the Panchajanya shankha (conch) in the upper left hand and the discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand.
Adherents of Hinduism believe Vishnu's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is called Vaikuntha, which is also known as Paramdhama, the realm of eternal bliss and happiness and the final or highest place for liberated souls who have attained Moksha. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic. Vishnu's other abode within the material universe is Ksheera Sagara (the ocean of milk), where he reclines and rests on Ananta Shesha, (the king of the serpent deities, commonly shown with a thousand heads). In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten avatars, the most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna.
The Puranabharati, an ancient text, describes these as the dashavatara, or the ten avatars of Vishnu. Among the ten described, nine have occurred in the past and one will take place in the future as Lord Kalki, at the end of Kali Yuga, (the fourth and final stage in the cycle of yugas that the world goes through). These incarnations take place in all Yugas in cosmic scales; the avatars and their stories show that gods are indeed unimaginable, unthinkable and inconceivable. The Bhagavad Gita mentions their purpose as being to rejuvenate Dharma, to vanquish those negative forces of evil that threaten dharma, and also to display His divine nature in front of all souls.
The Trimurti (three forms) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer, preserver or protector and Shiva the destroyer or transformer." These three deities have also been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity", all having the same meaning of three in One. They are the different forms or manifestation of One person the Supreme Being or Narayana/Svayam Bhagavan.
Vishnu is also venerated as Mukunda, which means God who is the giver of mukti or moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirths) to his devotees or the worthy ones who deserve salvation from the material world.
ETYMOLOGY
The traditional explanation of the name Vishnu involves the root viś, meaning "to settle" (cognate with Latin vicus, English -wich "village," Slavic: vas -ves), or also (in the Rigveda) "to enter into, to pervade," glossing the name as "the All-Pervading One". Yaska, an early commentator on the Vedas, in his Nirukta, (etymological interpretation), defines Vishnu as viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā, "one who enters everywhere". He also writes, atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati, "that which is free from fetters and bondages is Vishnu".
Adi Shankara in his commentary on the Sahasranama states derivation from viś, with a meaning "presence everywhere" ("As he pervades everything, vevesti, he is called Vishnu"). Adi Shankara states (regarding Vishnu Purana, 3.1.45): "The Power of the Supreme Being has entered within the universe. The root viś means 'enter into'." Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu Sahasranama further elaborates on that verse: "The root vis means to enter. The entire world of things and beings is pervaded by Him and the Upanishad emphatically insists in its mantra 'whatever that is there is the world of change.' Hence, it means that He is not limited by space, time or substance. Chinmayananda states that, that which pervades everything is Vishnu."
SACRET TEXTS - SHRUTI & SMRITI
Shruti is considered to be solely of divine origin. It is preserved as a whole, instead of verse by verse. It includes the four Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda) the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads with commentaries on them.
Smṛti refers to all the knowledge derived and inculcated after Shruti had been received. Smrti is not 'divine' in origin, but was 'remembered' by later Rishis (sages by insight, who were the scribes) by transcendental means and passed down through their followers. It includes the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana which are Sattva Puranas. These both declare Vishnu as Para Brahman Supreme Lord who creates unlimited universes and enters each one of them as Lord of Universe.
SHRUTI
VAISHNAVA CANON
The Vaishnava canon presents Vishnu as the supreme being, rather than another name for the Sun God, who also bore the name Suryanarayana and is considered only as a form of Vishnu.
VEDAS
In the Yajur Veda, Taittiriya Aranyaka (10-13-1), Narayana suktam, Lord Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being. The first verse of Narayana Suktam mentions the words "paramam padam", which literally mean "highest post" and may be understood as the "supreme abode for all souls". This is also known as Param Dhama, Paramapadam, or Vaikuntha. Rig Veda 1:22:20a also mentions the same "paramam padam". This special status is not given to any deity in the Vedas apart from Lord Vishnu/Narayana.[citation needed] Narayana is one of the thousand names of Vishnu as mentioned in the Vishnu Sahasranama. It describes Vishnu as the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master of - and beyond - the past, present and future, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within. This illustrates the omnipresent characteristic of Vishnu. Vishnu governs the aspect of preservation and sustenance of the universe, so he is called "Preserver of the universe".
Vishnu is the Supreme God who takes manifest forms or avatars across various ages or periods to save humanity from evil beings, demons or Asuras. According to the extant Hindu texts and traditions, Lord Vishnu is considered to be resident in the direction of the "Makara Rashi" (the "Shravana Nakshatra"), which is about coincident with the Capricorn constellation. In some of the extant Puranas, and Vaishnava traditions, Vishnu's eye is considered to be situated at the infinitely distant Southern Celestial Pole.
Following the defeat of Indra and his displacement as the Lord of Heaven or Swarga, Indra asks Lord Vishnu for help and thus Lord Vishnu takes his incarnations or avatars to Earth to save mankind, thus showing his position as Supreme God to all of creation.
In the Puranas, Indra frequently appears proud and haughty. These bad qualities are temporarily removed when Brahma and/or Shiva give boons to Asuras or Rakshasas such as Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu and Ravana, who are then able to defeat Indra in wars between Devas and Asuras. The received boons often made Asuras virtually indestructible.
Indra has no option but to seek help from Vishnu. Indra prays before Vishnu for protection and the Supreme Lord obliges him by taking avatars and generating himself on Earth in various forms, first as a water-dweller (Matsya, fish), then as an amphibious creature (Kurma avatar or Tortoise), then as a half-man-half-animal (Varaha the pig-faced, human-bodied Lord, and Narasimha the Lord with lion's face and claws and a human body). Later, Vishnu appears as human beings (Vamana the short-heighted person), Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and finally as Kalki for performing his task of protecting his devotees from demons and anti-religious entities.
Vishnu's supremacy is attested by his victories over those very powerful entities. It is further attested by the accepted iconography and sculptures of Vishnu in reclining position as producing Brahma emerging from his navel. Brahma the creator is thus created in turn by Vishnu out of his own person. Instead Vishnu takes various avatars to slay or defeat those demons. But it is to be noted that Vishnu also provided boons to Akupresura, a bear faced demon who was destroyed by Lord Shiva.
Vishnu's actions lowered Indra's ranking among Hindu deities and led to the ascendancy of Vishnu.
Few temples are dedicated to the Sun or Suryanarayana, nor indeed Indra, nor does Indra figure largely in the Hindu religion.
Indra is almost completely absent from the deities considered as the chief or most important deity.
RIGVEDA
In the Rigveda, Vishnu is mentioned 93 times. He is frequently invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra, whom he helps in killing Vritra and with whom he drinks Soma. His distinguishing characteristic in the Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 are dedicated to Vishnu. In 7.99, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra.
The Rig Veda describes Vishnu as younger brother to Indra as Vamana. In Vaishnava canon the 'Vishnu' who is younger brother to Indra is identified as Vamana, Avatar of Vishnu, hence referred to as Vishnu by Vaishnavites. Vishnu is the Supreme God who lives in the highest celestial region, contrasted against those who live in the atmospheric or terrestrial regions. Vishnu is content with mere prayer, unlike almost all of the other gods who receive sacrificial offerings such as Havis, which is given using clarified butter, or Soma. Later foreign translators have view that Vedas place Indra in a superior position to Vishnu's Avatar of Vamana but in fact Vamana helps Indra by restoring his Kingdom.
An alternate translation is provided by Wilson according to Sayana:
When Thy (younger brother) Viṣṇu (Vamana) by (his) strength stepped his three paces, then verily thy beloved horses bore thee. (Rigveda 8:12:27)
Wilson mentions Griffith's possible translation as a footnote. However the following verse from Rigveda renders the above translation by Wilson more probable.
Him whose three places that are filled with sweetness, imperishable, joy as it may list them, Who verily alone upholds the threefold, the earth, the heaven, and all living creatures. (Rig veda 1:154:4)
Wilson offers an alternate translation for Rigveda 10:113:2:
Viṣṇu offering the portion of Soma, glorifies by his own vigor that greatness of his. Indra, the lord of heaven, with the associated gods having slain Vritra, became deserving of honour. (Rigveda 10:113:2)
This verse sees Vishnu as one who is glorified by his own strength, while Indra became deserving of honor after having slain Vritra only in association with other gods.
However Vishnu's praise for other gods does not imply worship. Wilson translates:
Viṣṇu, the mighty giver of dwellings praises thee, and Mitra and Varuna; the company of Maruts imitates thee in exhilaration. (Rigveda 8:15:9) (page 280)
The following verses show categorically Vishnu as distinguished from other gods in Rigveda.
He who presents (offering) to Viṣṇu, the ancient, the creator, the recent, the self-born; he who celebrates the great birth of that mighty one; he verily possessed of abundance, attains (the station) that is to be sought (by all). (Rigveda 1:156:2) (page 98)
No being that is or that has been born, divine Viṣṇu, has attained the utmost limit of thy magnitude, by which thou hast upheld the vast and beautiful heaven, and sustained the eastern horizon of Earth.(Rigveda 7:99:2) (page 196)
The divine Viṣṇu, the best of the doers of good deeds, who came to the pious instituter of rite (Indra), to assist (at its celebration), knowing (the desires of the worshiper), and present at the three connected period (of worship), shows favor to the Arya, and admits the author of the ceremony to a share of the sacrifice. (Rigveda 1:156:5) (page 99)
Jan Gonda, the late Indologist, states that Vishnu, although remaining in the background of Indra's exploits, contributes by his presence, or is key to Indra's success. Vishnu is more than a mere companion, equal in rank or power to Indra, or sometime the one who made Indra's success possible.
Descriptions of Vishnu as younger to Indra are found in only the hymns to Indra, but in a kathenotheism religion like that of the Rigveda, each god, for a time, is supreme in the mind of the devotee.
In the Rig Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is the Sun God, who also bears the name 'Suryanarayana'. By contrast, the 'Vishnu' referred to in 'Vishnu Purana', 'Vishnu Sahasranamam' and 'Purusha Sooktham' is Lord Narayana, the Consort of Lakshmi. Vaishnavites make a further distinction by extolling the qualities of Vishnu by highlighting his differences from other deities such as Shiva,[citation needed] Brahma or Surya.
THREE STEPS
Hymn 7.100 refers to the celebrated 'three steps' of Vishnu (as Trivikrama) by which he strode over the universe and in three places planted his step. The 'Vishnu Suktam' (RV 1.154) says that the first and second of Vishnu's strides (those encompassing the earth and air) are visible to men and the third is in the heights of heaven (sky). This last place is described as Vishnu's supreme abode in RV 1.22.20:
The princes evermore behold / that loftiest place where Vishnu is / Laid as it were an eye in heaven.(trans. Griffith)
Griffith's "princes" are the sūri, either "inciters" or lords of a sacrifice, or priests charged with pressing the Soma. The verse is quoted as expressing Vishnu's supremacy by Vaishnavites.
Though such solar aspects have been associated with Vishnu by tradition as well as modern-scholarship, he was not just the representation of the sun, as he moves both vertically and horizontally.
In hymns 1.22.17, 1.154.3, 1.154.4 he strides across the earth with three steps, in 6.49.13, 7.100.3 strides across the earth three times and in 1.154.1, 1.155.5,7.29.7 he strides vertically, with the final step in the heavens. The same Veda also says he strode wide and created space in the cosmos for Indra to fight Vritra. By his stride he made dwelling for men possible, the three forming a symbolic representation of the dwelling's all-encompassing nature. This nature and benevolence to men were Vishnu's enduring attributes. As the triple-strider he is known as Trivikrama and as Urukrama, for the strides were wide.
BRAHMANAS
The Brahmanas are commentaries on the Vedas and form part of the Shruti literature. They are concerned with the detail of the proper performance of rituals. In the Rigveda, Shakala Shakha: Aitareya Brahmana Verse 1 declares: agnir vai devānām ava mo viṣṇuḥ paramus, tadantareṇa sarvā anyā devatā - Agni is the lowest or youngest god and Vishnu is the greatest and the highest God.
The Brahmanas assert the supremacy of Lord Vishnu, addressing him as "Gajapati", the one whom all sacrifices are meant to please. Lord Vishnu accepts all sacrifices to the demigods and allots the respective fruits to the performer In one incident, a demonic person performs a sacrifice by abducting the Rishis (sages), who meditate by constantly chanting God's name. The sacrifice is meant to destroy Indra. But the rishis, who worship Indra as a demigod, alter one pronunciation of the Veda Mantra, reversing the purpose of the sacrifice. When the fruit of the sacrifice is given and the demon is on the verge of dying, he calls to Vishnu, whom he addresses as Supreme Godhead and "the father of all living entities including himself".
Aitareya Brahmana 1:1:1 mentions Vishnu as the Supreme God. But in the Vaishnava canon, in different ages, with Vishnu in different avatars, his relationship with the asuras or demons, was always adversarial. The asuras always caused harm, while the sages and devas or celestial beings, did penance and called to Vishnu for protection. Vishnu always obliged by taking an avatar to vanquish the asuras. In the Vaishnava canon, Vishnu never gave or granted any boons to the asuras, distinguishing him from the gods Shiva and Brahma, who did. He is the only God called upon to save good beings by defeating or killing the asuras.
Sayana writes that in Aitareya Brahmana 1:1:1 the declaration agnir vai devānām ava mo viṣṇuḥ paramus,tadantareṇa sarvā anyā devatā does not indicate any hierarchy among gods. Even in Rigveda Samhita, avama and parama are not applied to denote rank and dignity, but only to mark place and locality.
In Rigveda 1:108:9,: yadindrāghnī avamasyāṃ pṛthivyāṃ madhyamasyāṃ paramasyāmuta sthaḥ | i.e., in the lowest place, the middle (place), and the highest (place). Agni, the fire, has, among the gods, the lowest place; for he resides with man on the earth; while the other gods are either in the air, or in the sky. Vishnu occupies the highest place. The words avama and parama are understood as 'First' and 'Last' respectively. To support this claim, Sayana adduces the mantra (1,4. As'val. Sr. S. 4, 2), agnir mukham prathamo devathanam samathanam uttamo vishnur asit, i.e., Agni was the first of the deities assembled, (and) Vishnu the last.
In the Kausitaki Brahmana (7.1) Agni is called Aaradhya (instead of avama), and Visnu parardha(instead of parama),i.e., belonging to the lower and higher halves (or forming the lower and higher halves). The Vishnu Purana gives tremendous importance to the worship of Vishnu and mentions that sacrifices are to begin only with both the lighting of fire or 'Agni', pouring of sacrificial offerings to Vishnu in 'Agni' so that those offerings reach and are accepted by Vishnu. Worship of Vishnu through Yajnas (or Homams) and other rituals, will not achieve the desired result if Agni's role is neglected.
Muller says "Although the gods are sometimes distinctly invoked as the great and the small, the young and the old (Rig veda 1:27:13), this is only an attempt to find the most comprehensive expression for the divine powers, and nowhere is any of the gods represented as the subordinate to others. It would be easy to find, in the numerous hymns of the Veda, passages in which almost every single god is represented as supreme and absolute."
However this notion is not completely correct as per the following verses, which shows Rigveda describe one or more gods as subject to other god(s).
Him whose high law not Varuna nor Indra, not Mitra, Aryaman, nor Rudra breaketh, Nor evil-hearted fiends, here for my welfare him I invoke, God Savitar, with worship. (Rigveda 2.038.09)
I invite to this place, with reverential salutations, for my good, that divine Savita, whose functions neither Indra, nor Varun.a, nor Mitra nor Aryaman nor Rudra nor the enemies (of the gods), impede. (Rigveda 2.038.09)
SMRITI
VISHNU SMRITI
The Vishnu Smṛti, is one of the later books of the Dharmashastra tradition of Hinduism and the only one that focuses on the bhakti tradition and the required daily puja to Vishnu, rather than the means of knowing dharma. It is also known for its handling of the controversial subject of the practice of sati (self-immolation of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre). The text was composed by an individual or group. The author(s) created a collection of the commonly known legal maxims that were attributed to Vishnu into one book, as Indian oral culture began to be recorded more formally.
BHAGAVATA PURANA
Vishnu is the only Bhagavan as declared in the Bhagavata 1:2:11 in the verse: vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate, translated as "Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance as Brahman, Paramātma and Bhagavan."
VISHNU PURANA
In the Vishnu Purana (6:5:79) the personality named Parashara Rishi defines six bhagas:
aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ
jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣannāḥ bhaga itīṇganā
Jiva Gosvami explains the verse in Gopala Champu (Pūrva 15:73) and Bhagavata Sandarbha 46:10:
jñāna-śakti-balaiśvarya-vīrya-tejām.sy aśeṣataḥ
bhagavac-chabda-vācyāni vinā heyair guṇādibhiḥ
"The substantives of the word bhagavat (bhagavat-śabda-vācyāni) are unlimited (aśeṣataḥ) knowledge (jñāna), energies (śakti), strength (bala), opulence (aiśvarya), heroism (vīrya), splendor (tejas), without (vinā) objectionable (heyair) qualities (guṇādibhiḥ)."
SANGAM LITERATURE
Tamil Sangam literature (300BCE to 500CE) mentions mAyOn, or the dark one, as the supreme deity who creates, sustains and destroys the universe. Paripadal 3 describes the glory of Thirumal in the most superlative terms.
Paripadal by kaduvan iLaveyinanAr:
"thIyinuL theRal nI poovinuL naaRRa nI kallinuL maNiyu nI sollinuL vaaymai aRaththinuL anbu nI maRaththinuL mainthu nI vEthaththu maRai nI boothaththu madhalu nI vencudar oLiyu nI thingaLuL aLiyu nI anaiththu nI anaiththinut poruLu nI"
The last line states that Lord Vishnu is the supreme deity who is the inner controller (Antaryamin) of the entire universe. This is one of the Lord's glories, which is first mentioned in Vedas and later propounded by Alwars in Prabhandams and Sri Vaishnavaite Acharyas in various commentaries
The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and Vishnu, Lakshmi is mentioned in Tamil works of literature of the Sangam era, including the epic Silapadikaram (book 11, lines 35–40):
āyiram viritteḻu talaiyuṭai aruntiṟaṟ
pāyaṟ paḷḷip palartoḻu tētta viritiraik kāviri viyaṉperu turuttit tiruvamar mārpaṉ kiṭanta vaṇṇamum
On a magnificent cot having a thousand heads spread out, worshipped and praised by many, in an islet surrounded by Kaveri with bellowing waves, is the lying posture of the one who has Lakshmi sitting in his chest.
THEOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES
The actual number of Vishnu's auspicious qualities is countless, although his six most-important "divine glories" are:
Jnana (Omniscience); defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously;
Aishvarya (Sovereignty), derived from the word Ishvara which means unchallenged rule over all;
Shakti (Power or Energy), the capacity to make the impossible possible;
Bala (Strength), the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue;
Virya (Vigour), the power to retain immateriality as the Supreme Spirit or Being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations;
Tejas (Splendor), which expresses self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by spiritual effulgence.
Other important qualities attributed to Vishnu are Gambhirya (inestimatable grandeur), Audarya (generosity), and Karunya (compassion). Natya Shastra lists Vishnu as the presiding deity of the Sṛngara rasa.
The Rigveda says: Vishnu can travel in three strides. The first stride is the Earth. The second stride is the visible sky. The third stride cannot be seen by men and is the heaven where the gods and the righteous dead live. (This feature of three strides also appears in the story of his avatar Vamana/Trivikrama.) The Sanskrit for "to stride" is the root kram; its reduplicated perfect is chakram (guņa grade) or chakra (zero-grade), and in the Rigveda he is called by epithets such as vi-chakra-māņas = "he who has made 3 strides". The Sanskrit word chakra also means "wheel". That may have suggested the idea of Vishnu carrying a chakra.
FIVE FORMS
In Shree Vaishnavism, another school dating from around the 10th century AD, Vishnu assumes five forms:
In the Para Form, Para is the highest form of Vishnu found only in Sri Vaikunta also called Moksha, along with his consort Lakshmi, (and Bhumi Devi and Nila devi, avatars of Lakshmi) and surrounded by liberated souls like Ananta, Garuda, and a host of Muktas (liberated souls).
In the Vyuha form, Vishnu assumes four forms, which exercise different cosmic functions and controls activities of living beings.
In the Vibhava form, Vishnu assumes various manifestations, called Vibhavas, more popularly known as Avataras from time to time, to protect the virtuous, punish evil-doers and re-establish righteousness.
In the Antaryami; "Dwelling within" or "Suksma Vasudeva" form, Vishnu exists within the souls of all living beings and in every substance.
In the Arcavatara or Image manifestation, Vishnu is visible and therefore easily approachable by devotees since Para, Vyuha, Vibhava and Antaryami forms can only be imagined or meditated upon because they are beyond our reach. Such images can be
Revealed by Vishnu, for example, a self-manifested (Swayambhu) icon (murti), e.g. The Mahavishnu Temple at Tirunelli, The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, The Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple, etc.; or
Installed by Devas or celestial beings such as such as Guruvayur Temple installed by Vayu; or
Installed by humans, and consecrated according to Vaishnava Agama shastras or scriptures such as Lord Jagannatha of Jagannath Temple (Puri) at Puri.
RELATIONS WITH OTHER DEITIES
SHIVA
The three gods of the Trimurti clan are inseparable and in harmony in view of their common vision and universal good. They are perfectly ideal in all respects.
Both Asuras and Devas played supportive roles in this story by keeping company with Vishnu in his incarnated forms. Hanuman is a vanara who is completely dedicated to Rama. He gives Vishnu company and obeys his command, while playing an important part in Rama's life. He is regarded in Vaishnava canon because it is through blessings that Hanuman is born. Thus, Hanuman, Vishnu's constant companion, with his idol appearing temples of Rama, Krishna and Narasimha, i.e. all of Vishnu's avatars, is considered by Vaishnavas.
Syncretic forces produced stories in which the two deities were shown in cooperative relationships and combined forms. Harihara is the name of a combined deity form of both Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara). This dual form, which is also called Harirudra, is mentioned in the Mahabharata.
LAKSHMI
Vishnu's consort is Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth (also known as Maya). The Samvit (the primary intelligence/dark matter) of the universe is Vishnu, while the other five attributes emerge from this samvit and hence Maya or dark energy of the universe is Lakshmee is his ahamata, activity, or Vishnu's Power. This power of God, Maya or Shakti, is personified and has multiple names: Shree, Lakshmi, Maya, Vishnumaya or Mahamaya. She is said to manifest as Kriyashakti, (Creative Activity) and Bhutishakti (Creation). This world requires Vishnu's creativity. He therefore needs Lakshmi to always be with Him. Her various avatars as Lord Vishnu's consorts are Varahavatar (Bhoodevi) or Bhoomi, Ramavatar Seeta, Krishnavatar Rukmini)
SARASWATI & GANGA
According to Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Lord Vishnu had three wives Lakshmi, Saraswati and Ganga. Due to their constant quarrelsome nature among them. Once Ganga tried to be close with Vishnu, this rebuked Saraswati but Lakshmi tried to pacify them but faced a curse rather. As per the curse, Lakshmi to appear as Tulasi. Sarawati cursed Ganga to run as a river in the world and Saraswati was cursed to run as a river in the netherworld. After this, Lord Vishnu transformed and became Brahma and Shiva to pacify Saraswati and Ganga.
GARUDA
Vishnu's mount (Vahana) is Garuda, the eagle. Vishnu is commonly depicted as riding on his shoulders.
ICONOGRAPHY
According to various Puranas, Vishnu is the ultimate omnipresent reality and is shapeless and omnipresent. However, a strict iconography governs his representation, whether in pictures, icons, or idols:
He has four arms and is male: The four arms indicate his all-powerful and all-pervasive nature. His physical existence is represented by the two arms in the front, while the two arms at the back represent his presence in the spiritual world. The Upanishad Gopal Uttartapani describes the four arms.
The Shreevatsa mark is on his chest, symbolizing his consort Lakshmi.
He wears the auspicious "Kaustubha" jewel around his neck and a garland of vaijayanti flowers (Vanamala). Lakshmi dwells in this jewel, on Vishnu's chest.
A crown adorns his head: The crown symbolizes his supreme authority. This crown sometimes includes a peacock feather, borrowing from his Krishna-avatar.
He wears two earrings: The earrings represent inherent opposites in creation — knowledge and ignorance; happiness and unhappiness; pleasure and pain.
He rests on Ananta, the immortal and infinite snake.
Vishnu is always to be depicted holding four attributes:
A conch shell or Shankha, named Panchajanya, is held by the upper left hand. It represents Vishnu's power to create and maintain the universe. Panchajanya represents the five elements or Panchabhoota – water, fire, air, earth and sky or space. It also represents the five airs or Pranas that are within the body and mind. The conch symbolizes that Vishnu is the primeval Divine sound of creation and continuity. It also represented as Om. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna avatara states that of sound vibrations, 'He is Om'.
The Chakra, a sharp, spinning, discus-like weapon, named "Sudarshana", is held by the upper right hand. It symbolizes the purified spiritualized mind. The name Sudarshana is derived from two words – Su, which means good, superior, and Darshana, which means vision or sight; together. The Chakra represents destruction of ego in the awakening and realization of the soul's original nature and god, burning away spiritual ignorance and illusion, and developing higher spiritual vision and insight to realize god.
A mace or Gada, named "Kaumodaki", is held by the lower right hand. It symbolizes that Vishnu's divine power is the source of all spiritual, mental and physical strength. It also signifies Vishnu's power to destroy materialistic or demonic tendencies (Anarthas) that prevent people from reaching god. Vishnu's mace is the power of the Divine within us to spiritually purify and uplift us from our materialistic bonds.
A lotus flower or Padma is held by the lower left hand. It represents spiritual liberation, Divine perfection, purity and the unfolding of Spiritual consciousness within the individual. The lotus opening its petals in the light of the Sun is indicative of the expansion and awakening of our long dormant, original spiritual consciousness in the light of god. The lotus symbolizes that god is the power and source from which the universe and the individual soul emerges. It also represents Divine Truth or Satya, the originator of the rules of conduct or Dharma, and Divine Vedic knowledge or Jnana. The lotus also symbolizes that Vishnu is the embodiment of spiritual perfection and purity and that He is the wellspring of these qualities and that the individual soul must seek to awaken these intrinsic Divine qualities from Vishnu by surrendering to and linking with Him.
To this may be added, conventionally, the vanamaala flower garland, Vishnu's bow (Shaarnga/Kodand) and his sword Nandaka. A verse of the Vishnu Sahasranama stotram states;vanamālī gadhī shārngī shanki chakri cha nandaki / shrīmān nārāyaņo vişņo vāsudevo abhirakşatu//; translation: Protect us Oh Lord Narayana who wears the forest garland,who has the mace, conch, sword and the wheel. And who is called Vishnu and the Vasudeva.
In general, Vishnu's body is depicted in one of the following three ways:
Standing on a lotus flower, often with Lakshmi, his consort, beside him on a similar pedestal.
Reclining on the coiled-up thousand-hooded Shesha Naga, with Lakshmi seated at his feet; the assemblage rests on the "Kshira Sagar" (ocean of milk). In this representation, Brahma is depicted as sitting on a lotus that grows out of Vishnu's navel.
Riding on the back of his eagle mount, known as Garuda. Another name for Garuda is "Veda atma"; Soul of the Vedas. The flapping of his wings symbolizes the power of the Divine Truth of Vedic wisdom. Also the eagle represents the soul. Garuda carrying Vishnu symbolizes the soul or jiva atma carrying the Super soul or Param atma within it.
AVATARS
Ten avatars (dashavatara) of Vishnu are the most prominent: Apart from the most prominent incarnations there are believed to more.
The most commonly believed incarnations of Vishnu are:
Matsya, the fish that kills Damanaka to save the vedas and also saves Manu from a great flood that submerges the entire Earth.
Kurma, the turtle that helps the Devas and Asuras churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality.
Varaha, the boar that rescues the Earth and kills Hiranyaksha.
Narasimha, the half-lion half human, who defeats the demon Hiranyakashipu.
Vamana, the dwarf that grows into a giant to save the world from King Bali.
Parashurama, "Rama of the battle axe", a sage who appeared in the Treta Yuga. He killed Kartavirya Arjuna's army and clan and then killed all the kshatriyas 21 times.
Rama, the prince and king of Ayodhya who killed the Demon King Raavan.
Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, who takes part in the Mahabharata epic. Krishna is worshipped as the Supreme Avatar of Vishnu (Supreme Personality of Godhead) in Gaudiya-Vaishnava philosophy.
Buddha, the ninth avatar of Vishnu.
Kalki, the tenth Avatar of Vishnu and said to be the harbinger of the end Kali Yuga. This avatar of Vishnu is yet to come.
Some versions of the above list include Hayagreeva among the Dashavataras while some include Buddha as ninth avatar of Vishnu. Another 22 avatars are given in Chapter 3, Canto 1 of the Bhagavata Purana, although it states that "the incarnations of the Lord are innumerable, like rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water".
BEYOND HINDUISM
SIKHISM
Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhism mentions Vishnu, one verse goes:
The true Vaishnaav, the devotee of Vishnu, is the one with whom God is thoroughly pleased. He dwells apart from Maya. Performing good deeds, he does not seek rewards. Spotlessly pure is the religion of such a Vaishnaav; he has no desire for the fruits of his labors. He is absorbed in devotional worship and the singing of Kirtan, the songs of the Lords Glory. Within his mind and body, he meditates in remembrance on the Lord of the Universe. He is kind to all creatures. He holds fast to the Naam, and inspires others to chant it. O Nanak, such a Vaishnaav obtains the supreme status.
BUDDHISM
While some Hindus consider Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu, Buddhists in Sri Lanka venerate Vishnu as the custodian deity of Sri Lanka and protector of Buddhism. Lord Vishnu is also known as upulvan, or uthpala varna, meaning "Blue Lotus coloured". Some postulates that Uthpala varna was a local deity who later merged with Vishnu while another belief is that Uthpala Varna was an early form of Vishnu before he became a supreme deity in Puranic Hinduism. According to Chronicles "Mahawamsa", "Chulawamsa" and folklore in Sri Lanka, Buddha himself handed over the custodianship to Vishnu. Others believe that Buddha entrusted this task to Sakra(Indra) and Sakra delegated this task of custodianship to god Vishnu. In contrary to vedic Hinduism, in assimilation of Hindu god Vishnu into Sinhalese Buddhism, Vishnu becomes a mortal being and a Bodhisattva aspiring Buddhahood. Additionally, Vishnu is considered as the god of home and hearth representing mercy, goodness, order and stability. Many Buddhist and Hindu shrines are dedicated to Vishnu in Sri Lanka. In addition to specific Vishnu "Kovils" or "devalayas", all Buddhist temples necessarily house shrine rooms (Devalayas) closer to the main Buddhist shrine dedicated to Vishnu. John Holt in his groundbreaking study examines the assimilation, transformation, and subordination of the Hindu deity Vishnu within the contexts of Sri Lankan history and Sinhala Buddhist religious culture. He then explores the role and rationale of medieval Sinhala kings in assimilating Visnu into Sinhala Buddhism. According to Holt the veneration of Vishnu in Sri Lanka is evidence of a remarkable ability, over many centuries, to reiterate and reinvent culture as other ethnicities have been absorbed into their own. Though the Vishnu cult in Ceylon was formally endorsed by Kandyan kings in early 1700s, Holt states that vishnu images and shrines are among conspicuous ruins in the medieval capital Polonnaruwa. In Buddhist mythology, when Vishnu failed to traverse the universe in three steps, he was given the title "Ardha Vishnu (Half-Vishnu)" and when Vishnu banished demons from the Vaishali (Vishala)in India, he became "Mulu Vishnu or Whole Vishnu". The extreme significance of god Vishnu in Sinhala society is reflected in recitals of the traditional "Offerings to dwarfs and crossing the door frame (bahirwayanta dola pideem saha uluwahu peneema)" that starts with Sri Vishnu invocation.In the recitals,mentioning of the aspiring Buddhahood of Vishnu which is of prime importance to Buddhists and wishes for him to live five thousand and more years highlight the central role of Vishnu in the psyche of Sri Lankan Buddhists.
OTHERS
James Freeman Clarke, Richard Leviton, James Cowles Prichard, and others have noted the similarities between Vishnu and Ancient Egyptian God Horus.
During an excavation in an abandoned village of Russia in the Volga region, archaeologist Alexander Kozhevin excavated an ancient idol of Vishnu. The idol dates from between the 7th and 10th centuries. In the interview Kozhevin, stated that, "We may consider it incredible, but we have ground to assert that Middle-Volga region was the original land of Ancient Rus. This is a hypothesis, but a hypothesis, which requires thorough research"
THOUSAND NAMES OF VISHNU
Vishnu's many names and followers are collected in the Vishnu Sahasranama, (Vishnu's thousand names) from within the larger work Mahabharata. The character Bheeshma recites the names before Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, praising him (Vishnu) as the supreme god. These Sahasranama are regarded as the essence of all Vedas by followers of Vaishnavism, who believe sincere chanting of Vishnu Sahasranama results in spiritual well-being and a greater awareness of God.
The names are generally derived from the Anantakalyanagunas (meaning: infinite auspicious attributes).
According to the Siddhartha-samhita there are twenty-four forms of Lord Vishnu. The twenty-four forms are
Vasudeva
Sankarshana
Pradyumna
Anirudha
Keshava
Narayana
Madhava
Govinda
Vishnu
Madhusudana
Trivikrama
Vamana
Sridhara
Hrishikesha
Padmanabha
Damodara
Purushottama
Achyuta
Narasimha
Janardana
Hari
Krishna
Adhokshaja
Upulvan, Uthpala Varna - In Sri Lanka, Vishnu is also referred to as Upulvan ( Blue Lotus Coloured)
WIKIPEDIA
The kit and its assembly:
The third build in my recent “Uruguayan What-if Trip”, and a rather spontaneous idea. When I searched for decals for my Uruguayan Sherman tank, I came across a decal sheet from an Airfix IA 58 Pucará (2008 re-boxing), which included, beyond Argentinian markings, a Uruguayan machine, too. This made me wonder about a jet-powered successor, and the omnipresent Skyhawk appeared like a natural choice for a light attack aircraft – even though I also considered an IAI Kfir but found its Mach 2 capability a bit overdone.
Checking history I found a suitable time frame during the Nineties for a potential introduction of the A-4 into Uruguayan service, and this was also the time when Indonesia indirectly bought 2nd hand A-4E/Hs from Israel. This was a good match and defined both the background story as well as the model and its details.
The model kit is an Italeri A-4E/F (Revell re-boxing), built mostly OOB with a short/early fin tip (the kit comes with an optional part for it, but it is too short and I used the alternative A-4M fin tip from the kit and re-shaped its leading edge) and the bent refueling probe because of the radar in the nose (the original straight boom interfered with it). I just implanted an extended resin tailpipe (from Aires, see below), used the OOB optional brake parachute fairing and scratched fairings for the A-4H’s former DEFA guns (which were placed, due to their size, in a lower position than the original 20 mm guns and had an odd shape) from styrene rods.
I also modified the ordnance: the OOB ventral drop tank was taken over but the kit’s original LAU-19 pods molded onto the inner wing pylons were cut off and moved to the outer stations. The inner pylons then received MERs with five Mk. 82 500 lb iron bombs each (left over from a Hasegawa Skyhawk kit) – typically for the Skyhawk, the inner front stations on the MERs (and on TERs, too) were left empty, because anything bigger than a 250 lb Mk. 81 bomb interfered with the landing gear covers.
Building posed no real problems; some PSR was necessary on many seams, though, but that’s standard for the Italeri Skyhawk kit. Just the extended tailpipe caused unexpected trouble: the very nice and detailed Aires resin insert turned out to be a whole 2mm(!) wider than the Skyhawk’s tail section, even though its height and shape was fine. I solved this pragmatically and, after several trials, glued the extended pipe between the fuselage halves, closed them with some force and filled the resulting wedge-shaped ventral gap that extended forward almost up to the wings’ trailing edge with putty. Under the paint this stunt is not obvious, and I suspect that the Italeri Skyhawk’s tail is simply too narrow?
Different/additional blade antennae were added under the front fuselage and behind the canopy as well as a tiny pitot in front of the windscreen (piece of thin wire) and fairings for the radar warning receivers were integrated into the fin’s leading edge and above the extended tail pipe, scratched from styrene sheet material. And, finally, a thin rod (made from heated styrene) was added for the Skyhawk’s steerable front wheel mechanism.
A good thing about the Italeri Skyhawk is that its clear part encompasses the whole canopy, including its frame. It comes as a single piece, though, but can be easily cut in two parts to allow an open cockpit display. The alternative Hasegawa A-4E/F has the flaw that the clear part is molded without the canopy frame, which has a rather complex shape, so that modding it into open position is a very complicated task.
RTW maxi dress and the omnipresent Simplicity 2603 cardigan. I wear this so much I should just make a proper one in silk or cashmere.
"Clocks are omnipresent in modern life. Make a photo of the clock, watch, or other device that you use most to tell time" - @dailyshoot #ds194.
The clock I use most of the time (I have to watch the time of several tasks) is the clock of my computer. I took a photo of it and then remembered the old clocks of my parents. This one is my mother's - it doesn't work anymore - I love it :-)
Aux Îles de la Madeleine le vent est omniprésent, c’est d’ailleurs pourquoi il s’agit d’une destination prisée pour les amateurs de kytesurf.
As the fear of an omnipresent judge and eternal punishment losses its grip on society, another observer of a more empirical nature takes his place.
Above the clouds or bellow barbed wire, there is a spot with your name on it.
Morality is dependent on an observer.
Source:
brooklynrail.org/2023/04/field-notes/Letter-From-Paris-1
Traduction automatique
1."Vêtus de noir, masqués, gantés et discrets, ils ont annoncé avec des yeux rieurs : 'Aujourd'hui, c'est l'Opération Free Gas'" - ainsi a commencé le reportage d'un journaliste suivant les deux travailleurs de la compagnie nationale de gaz alors qu'ils se mobilisaient directement pour protester contre le proposition de « réformer » le système public des retraites1. Organisés en petits commandos, ces ouvriers, se faisant appeler les « Robin des bois », se mobilisent pour fournir du gaz aux ménages populaires à bas prix voire gratuitement à Marseille, la grande ville ouvrière. -ville classée du sud de la France. A chaque arrêt, ils ont affiché un avis sur le branchement du gaz, informant les usagers que "l'électricité et le gaz sont plus chers, les gens ont moins de pouvoir d'achat, les financiers s'enrichissent et les ouvriers s'énervent". Ces Robin des bois savent qu'ils ne changent pas la condition de base des pauvres en jouant avec les pipelines mais, disent-ils, « c'est notre façon de faire quelque chose pour le bien commun. L'énergie est un bien commun, elle ne doit pas être contrôlée par la loi du marché. Alors ils remettent l'énergie en marche pour les pauvres qui ne peuvent pas payer, dont le gaz et l'électricité ont été coupés. Ils ont également organisé des tarifs plus bas pour les boulangers en difficulté économique. Dans deux grands quartiers marseillais, ces Robin des bois ont réduit de 50 % les dépenses de gaz et d'électricité. Ils ont également décidé de « rendre visite » aux représentants du gouvernement qui envisageaient de voter la « réforme » des retraites pour essayer de les « convaincre » du contraire, sinon ils couperaient tout simplement leur électricité2. , parce qu'ils ne comprennent que les relations de pouvoir. Ils ont commencé ces actions directes en 2004, lorsque la compagnie d'énergie est passée d'une entité publique à une entité mixte publique-privée. Au début, les travailleurs ont conservé leur salaire et leurs avantages sociaux antérieurs, mais les gouvernements successifs de droite et de gauche ont réduit les deux. Aujourd'hui, avec la « réforme », les quelques avantages de leur régime de retraite seront réduits. Comme toujours, le gouvernement égalise. C'est pourquoi les travailleurs de l'énergie sont extrêmement engagés dans le mouvement anti-réforme. Comme toutes les grandes entreprises, les entreprises énergétiques engrangent des profits gigantesques alors que les prix payés par les consommateurs ne font qu'augmenter. On vient de découvrir que la compagnie nationale de gaz vend toujours du gaz russe, alors même que la rhétorique officielle comporte une propagande belliciste anti-Poutine, introduisant l'hypocrisie guerrière dans le débat. Ces actions directes illustrent particulièrement bien la situation sociale et les changements en cours dans la pensée ouvrière en France, l'attitude des ouvriers face à la légalité, et la position ambiguë des syndicats sur cette question. Pour commencer, de telles actions révèlent une radicalisation de certains secteurs (minoritaires) de la classe ouvrière. Ils expriment une compréhension du fait que les travailleurs ont le pouvoir sur la reproduction sociale, et ils partent du principe que la classe politique au service de l'entreprise capitaliste ne comprend que la force. Les attitudes de la base ouvrière sont renforcées par l'arrogance du gouvernement qui, depuis le début, s'est contenté d'imposer son cadre de « réforme », laissant aux syndicats un espace limité de négociation. Ainsi, il a poussé les organisations les plus réformistes, qui pendant des décennies avaient - avec des réserves bien sûr - accompagné toutes les «réformes» néolibérales. La transformation de la classe ouvrière, la disparition de l'ancienne collectivité prolétarienne, la précarisation et l'atomisation des conditions de travail, autant de facteurs qui ont modifié le sentiment des gens à l'égard du travail et de la légalité. L'affirmation de l'idée d'un « bien commun » doit sans doute être vue comme liée à une prise de conscience de l'appauvrissement de larges secteurs de la société et des quartiers populaires, où le chômage et la précarité sont omniprésents, où la pauvreté gagne du terrain avec le chômage et la faible salaires. La haine des riches, des classes aisées, les dépenses ostentatoires restent fortes. Aujourd'hui en France, le mot « macroniste » est devenu synonyme de « défenseur des privilégiés ». Le mouvement des gilets jaunes, au-delà des ambiguïtés et des contradictions qui l'accompagnaient, a eu un impact profond comme une sorte de revendication de l'honneur et de la dignité des pauvres et des laissés-pour-compte. Il est significatif que le Yellow Vest scande : « Nous sommes ici, nous sommes ici, pour l'honneur de la classe ouvrière et d'un monde meilleur ! est devenu le chant le plus souvent entendu dans les manifestations et dans toutes les confrontations sociales. Il a remplacé L'International. En ce qui concerne les anciens syndicats, enfin, la situation s'est aussi nettement transformée. Ici, l'exemple des Robin des bois est éclairant : les syndicats du secteur de l'énergie étaient traditionnellement dominés par la CGT, syndicat sous le contrôle ferme d'une nomenklatura communiste datant des années staliniennes d'après-guerre. Jusqu'au début de ce siècle, cette bureaucratie a rejeté toute action illégale au niveau de la base, qu'elle considérait comme l'expression de tendances gauchistes, aventuristes et provocatrices. Aujourd'hui, ils sont contraints de soutenir ces actions directes qui échappent à leur contrôle. C'est le syndicalistes qui les exécutent, et si les dirigeants veulent garder un semblant de contrôle sur l'appareil, ils sont obligés de les accepter. C'était déjà le cas lors des grèves des transports des années précédentes. C'est dire que le contrôle du leadership est fragile et peut être contourné à tout moment. Quelques semaines seulement avant le début du mouvement actuel contre la « réforme », par exemple, une grève sauvage, organisée horizontalement sur Twitter et d'autres réseaux sociaux, a paralysé le système ferroviaire français. Les syndicats, dans ce secteur également dirigés par d'anciens bureaucrates communistes, se sont retrouvés devant le fait accompli et n'ont rien pu y faire, au grand affolement de la direction de la Société nationale des chemins de fer, contrainte de céder aux revendications . Le gouvernement s'est demandé : « Où sont les syndicats ? Pourtant, un mois plus tard, ils ont commencé la «réforme» des retraites.
2.Résumons brièvement l'essence de cette « réforme ». L'idée de base du gouvernement est que le système actuel de financement des retraites publiques doit être sauvé car il est menacé de s'effondrer. C'est finalement pour des raisons démographiques : le nombre de cotisants diminue tandis que celui des retraités augmente. Cette idée est contestée par nombre d'« experts » en bons termes avec le système, qui notent tout d'abord que le système est actuellement en équilibre et peut le rester tant que les cotisations patronales sont maintenues. L'un des problèmes est en effet que le système public de retraite repose en grande partie sur les cotisations des travailleurs, tandis que les cotisations des employeurs sont progressivement allégées. C'est vrai mais, disent les syndicats et ce qui reste de la gauche réformiste, on pourrait aussi financer le système sur le budget de l'État, avec un impôt sur la fortune, les profits et les revenus capitalistes, de la même manière que sont financées les autres politiques publiques. Sauf que cette idée n'est évidemment pas acceptable pour le gouvernement, car elle franchit la ligne rouge néolibérale : les profits capitalistes ne sont pas une variable sur laquelle les gouvernements peuvent agir. En conséquence, la précarité du travail et la baisse générale des salaires diminuent les cotisations des travailleurs et fragilisent le système de retraite tel qu'il existe. La seule « solution » découverte par les maîtres de notre époque est d'allonger le temps pendant lequel les travailleurs cotisent à la caisse. Selon le projet de loi, la durée de cotisation passerait de 40 à 43 ans et, hormis ceux qui commencent à travailler à seize ans, il faudrait attendre 64 ans pour pouvoir toucher une pension, au lieu de 62, comme aujourd'hui. Les groupes de travailleurs qui, dans le passé, ont bénéficié d'avantages particuliers en raison de la difficulté et du danger de leur travail devront les perdre. Cela inclurait les travailleurs de l'énergie parmi lesquels les Robin des bois ont fait leur apparition. Au-delà de ces changements fondamentaux, la « réforme » contient une série de clauses et d'exceptions qui rendent l'ensemble confus et incompréhensible. Comme quelqu'un l'a fait remarquer, "C'est compliqué, mais c'est fait exprès." Ce sont les deux années de travail supplémentaires qui ont cristallisé une opposition massive à la « réforme », car elles symbolisent l'esprit de la chose : faire travailler plus longtemps et réduire la plupart des retraites, notamment celles des travailleurs les plus vulnérables. Par expérience, chacun sait que, compte tenu de l'aggravation actuelle des conditions d'exploitation, beaucoup de travailleurs n'arriveront qu'à 64 ans. Aujourd'hui déjà, nombreux sont ceux qui arrêtent avant 62 ans, quittant le travail avec des pensions réduites. C'est, en somme, une tentative d'aggraver encore les conditions de vie des travailleurs en général. Pour ceux qui ont des salaires supérieurs à la moyenne, c'est aussi une incitation à souscrire aux régimes de retraite privés gérés par les grands groupes financiers. (Ce changement est déjà en cours dans les pays du nord de l'Europe, comme la Hollande et la Suède.) Toutes ces mesures touchent particulièrement les femmes, dont les carrières sont les plus fragmentées et les plus fragiles, et les jeunes confrontés à des conditions de travail toujours plus précaires et "flexibles". .” On sait aussi que les travailleurs de 60 ans et plus sont souvent exclus du marché du travail, survivant dans la misère en attendant d'atteindre l'âge (maintenant 62 ans, demain 64) où ils pourront enfin toucher leur maigre pension. En France, déjà aujourd'hui près de 50% des actifs ne travaillent plus alors qu'ils sont éligibles à leur retraite, vivent du chômage ou de l'aide sociale. Et un quart des travailleurs pauvres meurent avant d'avoir droit à la pension. Enfin, pour faire passer cette « réforme », le gouvernement a commencé à annoncer une série d'avantages qui se sont peu à peu révélés être de grossiers mensonges, comme la promesse démagogique d'une retraite minimum de 1200 euros pour un million de travailleurs pauvres. Le nombre a diminué au fil des jours jusqu'à ce qu'au bout d'un mois, il ne soit plus que 10 000 chanceux… Depuis que la "réforme" s'est heurtée à une forte opposition au parlement du nouveau bloc socialiste de gauche, le gouvernement Macron a fait le pari de la faire passer avec les voix de la droite traditionnelle et l'opposition molle de l'extrême droite. Pour les lecteurs transatlantiques, quelques lignes peuvent être utiles pour rappeler l'état actuel des forces politiques en France. Le Parti communiste est maintenant une affaire mineure. L'appareil du parti est toujours entre les mains de quelques apparatchiks staliniens, même si ce qui reste des rangs du parti a changé et est devenu une sorte de courant social-démocrate de gauche. Le Parti socialiste (PS), qui administre toujours la moitié du pays aux niveaux régional et municipal, est en lambeaux. Elle a explosé lorsque le groupe de Macron a manoeuvré pour reprendre la quasi-totalité du parti, en particulier les jeunes et les plus opportunistes. L'actuelle ministre du Travail, crétine impopulaire et ambitieuse, est une ancienne membre du Parti socialiste, tout comme le premier ministre, avec son image froide à la Thatcher. L'allégeance du PS au néolibéralisme économique (comme tous les socialistes européens) a accéléré la crise mortelle de la vieille social-démocratie. Le nouveau parti de la gauche socialiste anti-néolibérale, La France Insoumise, regroupe désormais autour de lui quelques échappés de l'ancien PS. Cette nouvelle force puise une grande partie de son énergie dans les nouveaux mouvements de ces dernières années, comme les occupations de terres, le logement et les luttes environnementales. Ils sont également ouverts à de nouvelles idées telles que l'anti-productivisme. La majorité de ses parlementaires sont assez jeunes et combatifs, peu enracinés dans la vie politique et bouleversent souvent la vie parlementaire ; ils sont présentés dans les médias comme des gosses « mal élevés » qui ne respectent pas les institutions. Dans cette nouvelle configuration politique, l'entourage de Macron s'est révélé pour ce qu'il a toujours été : une force conservatrice néolibérale, agressive et hautaine, totalement dévouée aux intérêts du capitalisme français. Lors des dernières élections présidentielles, compte tenu de l'énorme nombre d'abstentions, Macron a été élu par à peine 30 % des électeurs. De plus, bon nombre des votes qui l'ont élu ont été exprimés pour bloquer le candidat d'extrême droite. Les élections législatives suivantes ont rendu la tendance encore plus claire : chaque fois qu'il y avait un choix entre un candidat d'extrême droite et un de la gauche socialiste, le parti macroniste préférait aider à élire le candidat de la droite, une tactique qui a permis à Macron d'empêcher le parti socialiste gauche de gagner une majorité parlementaire. Macron a ainsi facilité l'entrée de plus de 80 militants d'extrême droite, au grand dam de ceux (chaque fois moins nombreux) qui continuaient à voir en Macron un rempart contre le « fascisme ». L'alliance actuelle entre les macronistes et l'extrême droite repose sur un programme économique néolibéral. Une étonnante image médiatique récente a illustré cette convergence : les députés d'extrême droite applaudissant l'actuel ministre du travail macroniste, un ancien socialiste, à l'issue du débat parlementaire sur la « réforme ». S'attarder sur la misère de la politique contemporaine n'a pour but que de revenir à ce qui nous importe ici : la « réforme » des retraites publiques va être votée par la droite néolibérale, unie malgré ses désaccords. Pour en arriver là, le gouvernement s'est lancé dans la politique à petite échelle des concessions sur des petits points, des mensonges, des variations sur l'essentiel, au point que, comme le dit le citoyen moyen, personne ne peut comprendre de quoi parle la loi, à moins que ce ne soit que nous devons travailler deux ans de plus pour finir plus pauvres et plus fatigués. C'est pourquoi le mot d'ordre fédérateur de la mobilisation contre la réforme est devenu « Encore deux ans, non !
3.Les mobilisations contre la « réforme » ont fait émerger en France une opposition énergique au système capitaliste. Après les années COVID et les mesures de confinement et de contrôle social, de nombreux discours annoncent l'arrivée d'une ère grise de résignation, d'individualisation, d'incapacité à construire quelque chose de collectif. Les mobilisations actuelles, tout d'abord, prouvent le contraire et illustrent combien il est erroné de tirer des conclusions définitives de situations momentanées de soumission. Dans le discours déterministe de l'intégration, ce qui est temporaire est pris pour quelque chose de permanent. On oublie que c'est le processus même de la reproduction capitaliste, avec ses contradictions de classe, qui met en action les mouvements sociaux. Les gigantesques manifestations qui se déroulent en France depuis plus d'un mois - l'énergie, le désir de collectivité et le plaisir d'être ensemble pour lutter contre la même chose - nous obligent à reconnaître que l'esprit de critique et le rejet de l'organisation sociale actuelle sont toujours là. On peut même presque penser que les deux dernières années de vie sous confinement et de soumission à la propagande de la peur n'ont fait que les renforcer. Outre leur ampleur et le nombre de participants, les manifestations en cours révèlent également certaines particularités de la situation actuelle. La forte participation des jeunes s'explique par le fait qu'ils sont les plus directement concernés. Cependant, la majorité des jeunes sont plutôt sceptiques quant aux retraites : ils sont désormais convaincus qu'ils ne les toucheront jamais. Alors s'ils sont impliqués c'est avant tout parce que cette « réforme » leur apparaît comme l'expression d'une logique sociale présente et future qu'ils rejettent totalement. Ils vivent déjà dans la précarité ou la pauvreté, sans perspectives, et face au désastre écologique. Les manifestants plus âgés, ayant survécu aux problèmes du marché du travail, manifestent parce qu'ils voient dans les principes de la « réforme » le modèle de société future que les nouvelles générations devront subir. C'est donc une sorte de solidarité sociale. Les manifestations rompent également avec les manifestations classiques mettant en scène des "gens de gauche", puisqu'elles incluent beaucoup de travailleurs précaires et de bas salaires, des travailleurs des services comme les employés de la santé, de la restauration, du nettoyage, du commerce de détail et de la distribution. Ces prolétaires traditionnellement plus passifs, qu'on n'avait pas l'habitude de voir dans les manifestations, forment la base des syndicats d'entreprise, ce qui explique leur apparition actuelle dans le front unique des syndicats contre la « réforme ». Enfin, les femmes viennent en grand nombre aux manifestations, avec des jeunes femmes particulièrement visibles, souvent en groupes d'amis, portant des pancartes et des affiches très imaginatives. Enfin et surtout, de nombreuses personnes manifestent pour la première fois de leur vie. Le mot d'ordre de Mai 68, repris ici et là - « Quand c'est insupportable, on n'en prend plus ! au niveau national, avec une présence particulière dans les petites villes de province. Dans de nombreuses villes moyennes et petites, il n'est pas rare de trouver 10 à 20 % de la population à la rue. Parfois, plus de la moitié des habitants se manifestent. Après un mois de mobilisation, les sondages (toujours approximatifs) montrent que seuls 10 % de la population sont favorables à la « réforme ». La position des syndicats mérite attention. Pour la première fois depuis des années, un front uni des syndicats s'oppose au gouvernement, des petits syndicats de droite, traditionnellement résignés, comme le syndicat chrétien et le syndicat des cols blancs, à la vieille CGT et au syndicat le plus combatif, SUD. La très réformiste CFDT, qui pendant des années a soutenu les politiques néolibérales des gouvernements successifs, a à cette occasion pris la tête de la mobilisation aux côtés de la CGT et de SUD. Comme nous l'avons noté précédemment, ce changement d'attitude s'explique à la fois par l'arrogance du gouvernement et, surtout, par le fait que les rangs de ce syndicat contiennent une majorité de travailleurs précaires et mal payés dans des secteurs désagréables comme les services, notamment concernés par les nouvelles mesures. Ce sont des travailleurs qui trouvent insupportable d'imaginer deux ans d'exploitation de plus. Il se peut que l'arrogance de la classe dirigeante exprime une confiance trop optimiste dans la faiblesse des syndicats. La crise du syndicalisme, ses organisations progressivement vidées de substance par la disparition des espaces de négociation et de réforme, est une chose. L'idée que cette crise signifie la soumission des travailleurs à leur paupérisation en est une autre. Cette fois, une ligne a été franchie, réveillant les travailleurs les plus exploités. Il est néanmoins certain que ce front syndical a renforcé l'énergie du refus. D'une part, parce que la division de l'appareil syndical est apparue à beaucoup de travailleurs comme un signe de faiblesse, ce qui explique une reprise de la syndicalisation, en baisse depuis des années3. On pourrait dire que de ce point de vue, le mouvement est déjà une victoire pour les syndicats. Cela pose néanmoins un problème pour l'avenir : ces nouveaux adhérents arrivent dans les syndicats avec un esprit de lutte, une volonté de s'opposer à l'état actuel des choses, de créer une force contre les patrons et le gouvernement. Une fois le moment présent passé, ils pourraient bien être choqués par le bourdonnement organisationnel des syndicats, et perdre leurs illusions.
4.En Grèce, après le terrible « accident » de train – en fait un crime d'État4 – début mars qui a tué des dizaines d'étudiants, des manifestants ont défilé aux cris de « La privatisation tue ! et "Nos morts, vos profits!" Ils exprimaient clairement l'idée qui se répand aujourd'hui dans tous les pays de la vieille Europe. C'est un rejet des conséquences sociales des politiques néolibérales du capitalisme d'aujourd'hui, une attitude qui ne cesse de se répandre dans le sillage du désastre des politiques anti-Covid qui ont mis à nu la destruction des services publics de santé partout en Europe. Cette vague de protestation apparaît dans un certain nombre de pays européens. En Grande-Bretagne d'abord, où les mouvements de grève qui ont éclaté, divers et opportuns, désorganisent depuis des mois la vie sociale. Mais on les retrouve aussi dans des pays où les conflits sociaux ont été rares ces dernières années. Par exemple, au Danemark, une mesure visant à allonger la période annuelle de travail pour financer l'augmentation du budget militaire, en supprimant un jour de vacances, provoqua une grande manifestation à Copenhague. Au Portugal, après plusieurs décennies de léthargie, les travailleurs se sont mobilisés contre la destruction des services publics - écoles, transports et hôpitaux. La création d'un nouveau syndicat non corporatiste de lutte dans les écoles et la descente dans les rues de Lisbonne de milliers de personnes souffrant de l'appauvrissement rapide des conditions de vie et de l'impossibilité de trouver un logement sont des développements inquiétants pour la caste politique socialiste en charge pendant des années, corrompu jusqu'à l'os dans la plus grande impunité. Enfin, en Espagne, la récente gigantesque manifestation d'un million de personnes à Madrid pour défendre les services publics de santé (en Espagne ceux-ci sont gérés par les différentes régions, comme le système scolaire) exprime une radicalisation de la colère sociale. En France, le sentiment de destruction progressive des services publics pousse une partie croissante de la société à se révolter. Ce qu'on appelle « l'État social », ce que les travailleurs considèrent comme le garant et le protecteur de leurs conditions générales de vie à l'intérieur du système social actuel, s'effondre. Du service postal aux soins de santé, des écoles aux transports, tout s'écroule, l'un après l'autre. Cette énième « réforme » du système de retraite est perçue comme un pas de plus vers la démolition des conditions de vie qui semble sans fin en vue. L'idée de gains irréversibles obtenus dans les luttes antérieures est derrière nous. Et la propagande néolibérale vendant les « privatisations » comme des améliorations de services publics défaillants est devenue risible, car le chaos qui s'installe dans tous ces secteurs, ainsi que l'augmentation rapide de l'inflation, rendent la vie quotidienne plus difficile. L'incapacité du système capitaliste à inverser la destruction de l'environnement avec ses conséquences désastreuses ajoute à cet état de fait. La logique du « productivisme » est vue comme génératrice d'inégalités ; s'y opposer prend un caractère anticapitaliste. A l'exception peut-être de quelques talibans qui osent encore défendre les bénéfices du « progrès » capitaliste, la lutte écologique en est venue à englober toutes les luttes sociales. Bref, les voies classiques pour situer un consensus interclasse apparaissent aujourd'hui dérisoires et insuffisantes. L'alternative - faire face et riposter - semble inévitable pour beaucoup. Une situation de conflit entre les forces sociales, contre la classe capitaliste, est en train de se créer, même parmi ceux qui ont longtemps préféré la voie plus facile de la réforme. Cette situation particulière a fait émerger une sensibilité autrefois souterraine, éclairant d'un jour nouveau l'absurdité de la condition du salariat, désormais vue dans la perspective de la condition ravagée du monde et des difficultés de la vie. Le travail est devenu pour beaucoup synonyme de précarité, de vie violente, d'appauvrissement, de destruction d'êtres. Alors travailler « deux ans de plus » pour garantir la fin de cette vie sans signification humaine – Non ! Il suffit de rapporter les innombrables pancartes et slogans individuels des manifestations françaises, riches en imagination, pour saisir le sentiment général de rejet de cet état de fait. Ce ne sont plus seulement des manifestations syndicales réclamant des négociations dans le cadre d'une réforme, ce sont aussi des manifestations contre le fonctionnement de l'économie et les intentions des maîtres du monde, contre une vision du monde. Après l'échec du « Glorious Future » du camarade Staline et Cie, ici le glorieux avenir du capitalisme privé est remis en question. Parmi les slogans de Mai 68 relancés dans les récentes manifestations, un revient souvent : « Ne perdez pas votre vie en gagnant votre vie ». S'il est vrai que dans ses actions concrètes le mouvement n'a pas, à de rares exceptions près jusqu'à présent5, dépassé le cadre prudent et intégrateur des grands appareils syndicaux et d'un affrontement strictement politique, la vérité est que le mouvement a déjà permis l'épanouissement d'un esprit d'opposition plus radical qui a besoin seulement pour s'étendre, pour devenir une force collective. Tout dépend de l'évolution des événements en cours. Même si le mouvement de grève apparaît timide par rapport au point en question, même si le rapport de forces reste favorable au pouvoir en place, la partie n'est pas jouée d'avance. Et une grave crise politique est déjà en cours, quelle qu'en soit l'issue. Il est significatif que l'ambiance des manifestations continues exprime l'idée que nous pouvons perdre cette bataille mais que nous avons créé une force et qu'il y aura un autre avenir. Pour compléter ce tableau d'une période peu attrayante de l'histoire, la présence d'une guerre aux portes mêmes de l'Europe, avec son cortège de violences, de destructions, de massacres sans fin et d'innombrables actes de barbarie, a encore affaibli la croyance en la possibilité d'un accord consensuel. la vie sous le capitalisme. Il faut aussi noter que les slogans contre la guerre, appelant à un affrontement intercapitaliste meurtrier payé de la vie des jeunes ukrainiens et russes, se sont multipliés dans les manifestations françaises, à tel point que la mobilisation s'enracine dans la société . Pour conclure, il semble évident à ceux qui vivent directement ces mobilisations d'opposition que l'élément dominant de la nouvelle énergie, au-delà de la question de la « réforme des retraites », est un rejet du monde tel qu'il est, dont cette mesure ne marque que un pas de plus dans l'assujettissement croissant des prolétaires à la logique du profit. C'est la grande différence avec les luttes des années précédentes, comme celle de 1995 contre la « réforme » précédente. La mobilisation en cours n'est pas seulement une mobilisation sur le terrain du quantitatif, un terrain sur lequel les vieilles institutions, partis, syndicats, gouvernements pourraient discuter, négocier, trouver un consensus. C'est une mobilisation dont le moteur principal est une volonté qualitative de changer l'ordre des choses, de remettre en cause la logique mortifère du capitalisme. "Le capitalisme doit se retirer", lit-on sur une pancarte portée le 7 février par un groupe de jeunes femmes à Paris. Cet élément qualitatif n'est pas négociable. Elle est là, elle restera au-delà de ce mouvement qui a permis son expression. Elle s'impose comme une nécessité qu'il faut reprendre, développer, imposer aux maîtres du temps présent, seule lumière qui puisse nous permettre de sortir de la nuit noire qu'ils nous préparent et dans laquelle nous sommes déjà entrés. Une semaine plus tard… Un mouvement commence, un roi a peur Le vote de la loi de « réforme » des retraites – d'abord, à peine, au Sénat, puis par décret Macron – a donné une nouvelle impulsion puissante au mouvement social. Comme le dit un observateur-participant perspicace, « le conflit est au premier plan : depuis le 16 mars, date à laquelle la réforme est entrée en vigueur, une spontanéité radicale s'est réactivée. Des marches de toutes sortes se forment spontanément chaque jour, presque partout, irrégulières, sans autorisation, reprenant les slogans des Gilets Jaunes dans leur forme originelle. C'est le signe d'un changement significatif, d'une mutation, d'un retour de l'indiscipliné, d'un affranchissement des conventions. Occupations, attentats soudains, refus de payer les péages, manifestations à l'offensive, mobilisation des collégiens, rassemblements massifs. Même les grèves se sont durcies dans certains secteurs clés : éboueurs, cheminots, électriciens, gaziers. D'où une prolifération d'actions de guérilla sociale, plus ou moins coordonnées, même de manière minimale, mais butant toutes, tôt ou tard, sur une sorte de limite, celle de la stratégie - affrontement, évitement du conflit direct, ou résistance ? - qu'il convient d'adopter en le visage des forces de répression dont dépend le royaume de Macron, dont il a légitimé et encouragé les méthodes les plus honteuses depuis les Gilets jaunes ? »6 En effet les manifestations spontanées se multiplient, surtout la nuit, débordant les forces de l'ordre, de plus en plus violentes. Lors de la gigantesque manifestation du 23 mars à Paris (avec plus d'un demi-million de participants), au lendemain du discours dans lequel Macron continuait de défendre la loi, un slogan a souvent été entendu : « Un mouvement ne fait que commencer ». Un fait très significatif est la participation de plus en plus massive des jeunes. Dans le même temps, les grévistes se tournent de plus en plus vers l'action directe. Les hôpitaux ont reçu l'électricité gratuite tandis que les agences bancaires et les bureaux des politiciens qui ont voté pour la loi ont vu leur courant coupé ; à la limite, les ouvriers chargés du protocole ont refusé de dérouler le tapis rouge pour le roi Charles III d'Angleterre, qui a annulé sa visite à Macron ! Les ordures s'amoncelaient notamment dans les quartiers chics de la capitale. De manière inattendue, un groupe de féministes lesbiennes radicales a défilé pour soutenir les ouvrières en grève de la raffinerie qui alimente en carburant les aéroports parisiens7. Toutes les luttes et tous les mouvements se rassemblent sur un même front. Les slogans sont devenus encore plus imaginatifs : "Peut-on télétravailler dans les maisons de retraite ?", "Les ordures ne sont pas dans la rue mais dans les ministères !" Nous concluons pour le moment avec cet appel remis dans la manifestation parisienne par des jeunes, non membres d'une organisation officielle : Un lieu, un métier, un bastion.
5.NOUS AVONS BESOIN D'UN ENDROIT ! Manifestations non autorisées tous les soirs, à partir de 19h. Bon pour nous! Nous devons croire en notre force ! Cette force brûle, brûle tout sur son passage. Comment pouvons-nous manquer de choses à brûler ? Comment continuer à se développer sans se consommer ? Accrochez-vous à ce qui se passe, voyez ce qui manque. Un, un endroit, un endroit, un endroit. Une place? Un theatre? Un musée? Un MacDonald ? Une mairie ? Le palais de l'Elysée ? Ne rentrez pas chez vous, continuez à bloquer les rues, commencez sauvage, partagez la sauvagerie, allez encore plus loin. Saisir une place pour la révolution. Apportez votre literie. Khedidja Zerouali, « Les Robin des bois » donnent le gaz contre la réforme des retraites, Mediapart, 12 février 2023. Début mars, plusieurs bureaux de députés et de ministres du gouvernement, dont le ministre du Travail, ont subi une coupure d'électricité. Les syndicats revendiquent des milliers de nouveaux adhérents depuis le début du mouvement en France. Le réseau ferroviaire où s'est produit la catastrophe avait été récemment privatisé ; les systèmes de signalisation n'avaient pas fonctionné depuis des mois; et les travailleurs nouvellement embauchés étaient insuffisamment formés.
Comme les actions des travailleurs du gaz décrites précédemment. Freddy Gomez, « Digression sur une étincelle », A contretemps, 23 mars 2023. www.huffingtonpost.fr/france/video/adele-haenel-et-medine...
Paris in the summer
is a dream.
The trees,
heavy with leaves,
shimmer in rare bouts
of sunlight
that pours
over the city streets
like white gold.
Even the rain
and omnipresent clouds
that blanket the bleached sky
shimmers against
Paris's candy-colored architecture,
as the days linger long,
like trailing words spilling slowly
off the phrases of lovers.
--
Interested in viewing all of my France posts so far? Here they are:
Looking for these (and more) Paris photos to view larger? Here you go (click or tap on each photo to view larger):
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Information about my New York City photography book which is releasing in stores and online in the autumn of 2014 (including where to order it):
NY Through The Lens: A New York Coffee Table Book
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View my New York City photography at my website NY Through The Lens.
View my Travel photography at my travel blog: Traveling Lens.
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Molitor présente les œuvres de 25 artistes de street art lors d’une exposition gratuite baptisée « Under The Wave ». Ces artistes ré-investissent Molitor : Autour des deux bassins, dans les cabines du Bassin d’hiver ou sur les murs bruts de l’établissement, peintres, street-artistes, light-painters, sculpteurs ou plasticiens ont eu carte blanche pour recréer leur univers dans ce lieu qui inspire les artistes depuis sa création en 1929 . Leurs oeuvres sont présentées au travers l’exposition Under The Wave conçue comme une déambulation artistique à travers Molitor et à la rencontre des oeuvres de Balder, Artiste Ouvrier, Fred Calmets, Cadija Costa, Le Consortium, Damien Paul Gal, Diadji Diop, FBZ, Indie 184, JBC, Kan, Kashink, Kouka, William Laboury, Mademoiselle Maurice, Carmen Mariscal, Thomas Mainardi, One Teas, Shuck One, Sly 2, Antoine Stevens, Thom Thom, Remy Uno et Wen-Jié Yang .
History of the Vienna State Opera
132 years house on the Ring
(you can see pictures by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
State Opera (K.K. Court Opera) 1901
About three and a half centuries, until the early Baroque period, the tradition of Viennese opera goes back. Emperor Franz Joseph I decreed in December 1857 to tear down the old city walls and fortifications around the city center of Vienna and to lay out a wide boulevard with new buildings for culture and politics, the ring road.
The two Court Theatres (a speech and a musical theater) should find a new place on the ring. For the Imperial and Royal Court Opera House was chosen a prominent place in the immediate area of the former Kärntnertortheatre. This by the public that much loved opera theater was demolished in 1709 due to its confinement .
State Opera (K.K. Court Opera) 1903
The new opera house was built by the Viennese architect August Sicardsburg, who designed the basic plan, and Eduard van der Null, who designed the interior decoration. But other eminent artists had been involved: just think of Moritz von Schwind, who painted the frescoes in the foyer and the famous "Magic Flute", cycle of frescoes in the loggia. The two architects did not experience the opening of "their" opera house any more. The sensitive van der Null committed suicide since the Wiener (Viennes people) denigrated the new house as lacking in style, his friend Sicardsburg succumbed a little later to a stroke.
1869 - 1955
On 25 May 1869 the House was with Mozart's DON JUAN in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph, the highest building owner, and Empress Elisabeth opened.
However, with the artistic charisma under the first directors Franz von Dingelstedt, Johann Herbeck, Franz Jauner and Wilhelm Jahn grew the popularity of the building. A first highlight experienced the Vienna Opera under the director Gustav Mahler, renewing the outdated performance system from scratch, strengthening precision and ensemble spirit and also using significant visual artists (including Alfred Roller) for the shaping of the new stage aesthetic.
In the ten-year-period of his Directorate (1897-1907) continued Gustav Mahler, this very day, in the concert halls of the world as the most important member of a Symphony Orchestra at the turn of the 20th century omnipresent, the intensive fostering of Wagner, Mozart's operas and Beethoven's Fidelio were redesigned, the with Richard Strauss initiated connection to Verdi was held upright. Austrian composers were promoted (Hugo Wolf), the Court Opera was opened to European modernism.
Image: Emperor Franz Joseph I and Emperor Wilhelm II during a gala performance at the Vienna Court Opera in 1900 resulting from the "Book of the Emperor", edited by Max Herzig.
Technique: Lithography
from www.aeiou.at
In addition to the classics of the Italian repertoire were and are especially Mozart, Wagner and Richard Strauss (himself 1919-1924 director of the House), the musical protection gods of the Vienna State Opera.
staatsoper_81.jpg (28138 bytes)
The modern also always had its place: the twenties and thirties witnessed the Vienna premieres of Krenek's Jonny spielt auf, Cardillac Hindemith, Korngold MIRACLE OF Héliane and Berg's Wozzeck (under President Clemens Krauss). This tradition was interrupted with the seizure of power by the National Socialists, yes, after the devastating bomb hits, on 12 March 1945 the house on the ring largely devastating, the care of the art form itself was doubtful.
The Viennese, who had preserved a lively cultural life during the war, were deeply shocked to see the symbol of the Austrian musical life in ruins.
But the spirit of the opera was not destroyed. On 1 May 1945 "State Opera Volksoper" was opened with a brilliant performance of Mozart's THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, on 6 October 1945 was followed by the re-opening of the hastily restored Theater an der Wien with Beethoven's Fidelio. Thus there were two venues for the next ten years, while the actual main building was rebuilt at great expense.
staatsoper_84.jpg (14707 bytes)
Visitors flock to the opera. Reopening on 5th November, 1955.
Image from © www.staatsvertrag.at / bildarchiv austria / ÖGZ / Hilscher
As early as 24 May 1945 the State Secretary of Public Works, Julius Raab, had announced the reconstruction of the Vienna State Opera, which should be placed in the hands of the Austrian architects Erich Boltenstern and Otto Prossinger. Only the main façade, the grand staircase and the Schwindfoyer (evanescence foyer) had been spared from the bombs - with a new auditorium and modernized technology, the Vienna State Opera was brilliant with Beethoven's Fidelio under Karl Böhm on 5 November 1955 reopened. The opening ceremonies were broadcasted from Austrian television and in the whole world at the same time as a sign of life of the resurrected 2nd Republic understood.
staatsoper_83.jpg (33866 bytes)
State ceremony to the reopening on 5 November 1955. On the far right under the box of the Federal President a television camera of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation is visible which broadcasted the event. Image from © www.staatsvertrag.at / ÖGZ / Cermak
1955 to 1992
The dictum that the Vienna State Opera survives every director, is attributed to Egon Seefehlner which himself for many years run the businessses of the house. And yet marked he and the thirty-one other directors of the Vienna State Opera since 1869, great musicians or musical administrators, in their own way the profile of this world-famous institution:
staatsoper_82.jpg (13379 bytes)
Performance for the reopening of the Vienna State Opera on 5 November, 1955.
Image from © www.staatsvertrag.at / bildarchiv austria / ÖGZ / Hilscher
After the Second World War there were first the conductors directors Karl Böhm and Herbert von Karajan - the latter insisted on the title "Artistic Director" and opened the Ensemble house to the international singer market, had the opera rehearsed in original language and oriented his plans to "co-productions" with foreign opera houses, however, which were only realized after his term.
It followed as directors Egon Hilbert, Heinrich Reif-Gintl, Rudolf Gamsjäger and the mentioned Egon Seefehlner, who was appointed for a second time at the top of the house after the departure of his successor in office Lorin Maazel. Claus Helmut Drese (State Opera director from 1986 to 1991) stood with Claudio Abbado an internationally renowned music director by his side. At the beginning of the 90s the forrmer star baritone Eberhard Waechter, at that time director of the Volksoper (People's Opera), charged with the direction. Only seven months have been granted to him as a director.
The era Ioan Holender (1992 to 2010)
After Waechter's tragic death in March 1992 took over general secretary Ioan Holender, a former singer (baritone) and owner of a singer Agency, the office to continue the tradition of perhaps the most important opera institution in the world over the millennium to 2010.
His play plan design relies besides an extremely wide repertoire with the columns Mozart, Wagner, Verdi and Strauss mainly on premieres. Mention may be made of Bellini's I Puritani (1993 /94), Massenet Hérodiade (1994 /95), Verdi's Jerusalem and Britten's PETER GRIMES (1995 /96), Verdi's Stiffelio and Enescu OEDIPE (1996 /97), Rossini's GUILLAUME TELL and Lehár's operetta THE MERRY WIDOW (1998/99) and Schoenberg's THE JAKOBSLEITER, Hiller's PETER PAN, Donizetti's ROBERTO DEVEREUX, Britten's Billy Budd, Verdi's Nabucco (2000/ 01), Bellini's LA SONNAMBULA, Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Janácek's Jenufa (2001/02), Verdi's SIMON BOCCANEGRA, Krenek's Jonny spielt auf, Donizetti's La Favorite, Hiller's PINOCCHIO, Wagner's TRISTAN UND ISOLDE (2002/ 03), Verdi's FALSTAFF, Wagner's FLYING DUTCHMAN and PARSIFAL, Strauss's Daphne (2003/ 04) and the world premiere of the original French version of Verdi's DON CARLOS (2003/ 04). A particular success of the recent past, the rediscovery of Fromental Halévy's La Juive Grand (1999 ) must be considered. Two premières concerned 1995 Adriana Hölszky's THE WALLS (co-production with the Vienna Festival at the Theater an der Wien ) and Alfred Schnittke's Gesualdo. On 15 June 2002 also THE GIANT OF STONE FIELD (Music: Peter Turrini: Friedrich Cerha libretto) premiered with great success, another commissioned work of the Vienna State Opera.
State Opera - © Oliver Thomann - FOTOLIA
Image : Vienna State Opera
In recent years it came up, in each case on 18 May, the anniversary of the death of Gustav Mahler, to concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic at the Vienna State Opera. These were under the direction of Seiji Ozawa (who since the 2002 /03 season the Vienna State Opera director Holender as music director of the house stands to the side) (1995), Carlo Maria Giulini (1996), Riccardo Muti (1997), Lorin Maazel (1998), Zubin Mehta (1999), Giuseppe Sinopoli (2000 ), Riccardo Muti (2001) and again Seiji Ozawa (2004).
Furthermore, was on 16 June, 2002 for the first time by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Seiji Ozawa) a CONCERT FOR AUSTRIA organized. More CONCERTS FOR AUSTRIA followed on 26 October 2003 (Zubin Mehta) and 26 October 2004 (under Valery Gergiev).
At the Theater an der Wien Mozart's Così fan tutte experienced a triumphant new production conducted by Riccardo Muti. This Mozart cycle under Muti continued with DON GIOVANNI and 2001 LE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, 1999.
more...
Directors since 1869
Franz von Dingelstedt 07/01/1867 - 18/12/1870
Opening 5/25/1869
Johann von Herbeck 12/19/1870 - 30/04/1875
Franz von Jauner 01/05/1875 - 18/06/1880
Director College:
Karl Mayerhofer, Gustav Walter and
Emil Scaria 19.06.1880 - 31.12.1880
Wilhelm Jahn 01.01.1881 - 10.14.1897
Gustav Mahler 10/15/1897 - 31/12/1907
Felix Weingartner 01.01.1908 - 28.02.1911
Hans Gregor 01.03.1911 - 14.11.1918
Franz Schalk 15.11.1918 - 08.15.1919
Richard Strauss/Franz Schalk 16/08/1919 - 31/10/1924
Franz Schalk 1/11/1924 - 8/31/1929
Clemens Krauss 01/09/1929 - 15/12/1934
Felix Weingartner, 01.01.1935 - 08.31.1936
Erwin Kerber 09/01/1936 - 08/31/1940
Henry K. Strohm 09.01.1940 - 19.04.1941
Walter Thomas 02.01.1941 - 19.04.1941
Ernst August Schneider 04/20/1941 - 02/28/1943
Karl Böhm 03.01.1943 - 30.04.1945
Alfred Jerger,
State Opera in the Volksoper 01.05.1945 - 14.06.1945
Franz Salmhofer,
State Opera in the Theater an der Wien, 18.06.1945 - 31.08.1955
Karl Böhm 01.09.1954 - 31.08.1956
Herbert von Karajan 01.09.1956 - 31.03.1962
Herbert von Karajan/Walter Erich Schäfer 01.04.1962 - 08.06.1963
Herbert von Karajan/Egon Hilbert 09.06.1963 - 31.08.1964
Egon Hilbert 01.09.1964 - 18.01.1968
Heinrich Reif- Gintl 19.01.1968 - 31.08.1972
Rudolf Gamsjager 01.09.1972 - 31.08.1976
Egon Seefehlner 01.09.1976 - 31.08.1982
Lorin Maazel 01.09.1982 - 31.08.1984
Egon Seefehlner 01.09.1984 - 31.08.1986
Dr. Claus Helmut Drese 01.09.1986 - 31.08.1991
Eberhard Waechter 01.09.1991 - 29.03.1992
Ioan Holender 01.04.1992 - 31.08.2010
Dominique Meyer since 01/09/2010
Opera world premieres
Abbreviations:
Od = the Odeon
Ron = Ronacher
TW = the Theater an der Wien
1875 10:03. Goldmark The Queen of Sheba
1877 04:10. Brüller Der Landfriede
1880 26.05. Riedel The Accolade
15.12. Brüller Bianca
1883 04.01. Leschetitzky The first fold
21.02. Bachrich Muzzedin
1884 26.03. Bachrich Heini of Styria
1886 30.03. Hellmesberger jun. Fata Morgana
4:10 . Hager Marffa
19.11. Goldmark Merlin
1887 03:04. Harold pepper
1889 27.03. Fox The Bride King
4:10. Smareglia The vassal of Szigeth
1891 19:02. Mader Refugees
1892 01.01. J. Strauss Ritter Pasman
16.02. Massenet Werther
19.11. Bulk Signor Formica
1894 20.01. Heuberger Miriam
1896 21.03. Goldmark The Cricket on the Hearth
1899 17:01. The Goldmark prisoners of war
1900 22:01. Zemlinsky It was once
1902 28.02. Forster The dot mon
1904 18:02. Wolf The Corregidor
1908 02.01. Goldmark The Winter's Tale
1910 12:04. The musician Bittner
18.05. Goldmark Götz von Berlichingen
1911 09:11. Bittner The mountain lake
1912 16.03. Oberleithner Aphrodite
1913 15.03. Schreker The game works and the Princess
1914 01.04. Schmidt Notre Dame
1916 04:10. R. Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos (Vienna version)
1917 23.11. Zaiszek-Blankenau Ferdinand and Luise
1919 10.10. R. Strauss Die Frau ohne Schatten
1920 13.05. Weingartner Champion Andrea/The Village School
1921 09.04. The Bittner Kohlhaymerin
1924 20.09. Beethoven/R. Strauss The Ruins of Athens
1925 24.02. Kienzl Sanctissimum
27.03. Frank The image of the Madonna
1931 20.06. Wellesz The Bacchae
1932 10:11. Heger The beggar Nameless
1934 20.01. Lehár Giuditta
08.12. Bittner The violet
1935 26.12. Salmhofer lady in dream
1937 06.02. Wenzl - Traun rock the atonement
17.04. Frank The strange woman
18.11. Weinberger Wallenstein
1938 09.03. Salmhofer Ivan Tarasenko
1939 02:02. Will King ballad
1941 04:04. Wagner Régeny Johanna Balk
1956 17.06. Martin The Storm
1971 23.05. The visit of an old lady
1976 17.12. A Love and Intrigue
1989 25.11. The blind Furrer (OD)
1990 06:12. Krenek last dance at St. Stephen's (Ron)
1995 20.05. Hölszky The walls (TW)
26.05. Schnittke Gesualdo
2002 15.06. Cerha Der Riese vom Steinfeld
2007 15:04 Naske The Omama in the apple tree
2010 28.02. Reimann Medea
2010 10:05. Eröd dots and Anton
The kit and its assembly:
A major kitbashing project which I had on my idea list for a long time and its main ingredients/body donors already stashed away – but, as with many rather intimidating builds, it takes some external motivation to finally tackle the idea and bring it into hardware form. This came in August 2020 with the “Prototypes” group build at whatifmodellers.com, even though is still took some time to find the courage and mojo to start.
The original inspiration was the idea of a stealthy successor for the A-10, or a kind of more modern A-7 as an alternative to the omnipresent (and rather boring, IMHO) F-35. An early “ingredient” became the fuselage of a Zvezda Ka-58 stealth helicopter kit – I liked the edgy shape, the crocodile-like silhouette and the spacious side-by-side cockpit. Adding wings, however, was more challenging, and I remembered a 1:200 B-2A which I had turned into a light Swedish 1:72 attack stealth aircraft. Why not use another B-2 for the wings and the engines, but this time a bigger 1:144 model that would better match the quite bulbous Ka-58 fuselage? This donor became an Italeri kit.
Work started with the fuselage: the Ka-58’s engine and gearbox hump had to go first and a generous, new dorsal section had to be scratched with 1mm styrene sheet and some PSR. The cockpit and its glazing could be retained and were taken OOB. Under the nose, the Ka-58’s gun turret was omitted and a scratched front landing gear well was implanted instead.
The wings consist of the B-2 model; the lower “fuselage half” had its front end cut away, then the upper fuselage half of the Ka-58 was used as benchmark to cut the B-2’s upper wing/body part in two outer wing panels. Once these elements had been glued together, the Ka-58’s lower nose and tail section were tailored to match the B-2 parts. The B-2 engine bays were taken OOB and mounted next, so that the A-14’s basic hull was complete and the first major PSR session could start. Blending the parts into each other turned out to be a tedious process, since some 2-3 mm wide gaps had to be filled.
Once the basic BWP pack had been finished, I added the fins. These were taken from an 1:72 F-117 kit (IIRC from Italeri), which I had bought in a lot many moons ago. The fins were just adapted at their base to match the tail sting slope, and they were mounted in a 45° angle. This looks very F-117ish but was IMHO the most plausible solution.
Now that the overall length of the aircraft was defined, I could work on the final major assembly part: the wing tips. The 1:144 B-2 came with separate wing tip sections, but they proved to be much too long for the Squatina. After some trials I reduced their length by more than half, so that the B-2’s jagged wing trailing edge was kept. The result looks quite natural, even though blending the cut wing tips to the BWB turned out to be a PSR nightmare because their thickness reduces gently towards the tip – since I took out a good part of the inner section, the resulting step had to be sanded away and hidden with more PSR.
Detail work started next, including the cockpit glazing, the bomb bay (the B-2 kit comes with one of its bays open, and I kept this detail and modified the interior) and the landing gear, the latter was taken from the F-117 donor bank and fitted surprisingly well.
Some sensors were added, too, including a flat glass panel on the nose tip and a triangular IRST fairing under the nose, next to the landing gear well.
Deze klassiekers uit de jaren '60 waren vroeger omnipresent in de reizigers- en goederendienst maar zijn nu gedegradeerd naar uitsluitend infrastructuurtreinen. Met hun 1400pk en mogelijkheid om in treinschakeling te rijden zijn ze evenwel nog niet afgeschreven. Zoals hier kan gezien worden, moet de machinist bij het veranderen van rijrichting rode schijven voor de koplampen plaatsen, een bij ons bijna volledig uitgestorven procedure. 05/11/2013
Etxebarri no es un asador cualquiera sino la mejor demostración de cómo, utilizando una parrilla como sistema casi exclusivo de cocción, se pueden ofrecer platos que se elevan a la categoría de alta cocina de autor (Víctor Arginzoniz es el artífice). Eso sí, precisando que el producto que aquí se maneja es de primerísima división.
Dos comensales optamos por el menú degustación y un tercero por elegir platos de la carta (fue un buen detalle que accedieran a no exigir el menú a mesa completa). En el apartado puramente gastronómico el resultado fue espectacular. Virtuosismo, precisión, texturas, sabor y un omnipresente tono ahumado (la brasa) convierten la comida de este lugar en algo exclusivo y verdaderamente exquisito. Hasta aquí la parte positiva del asunto.
En el lado negativo figuran el desorbitado precio del menú degustación (120€ + IVA), la precariedad en el trato al vino y un servicio voluntarioso pero algo tosco y poco comunicativo (muchos de los platos no se anunciaron y tuvimos que preguntar demasiado a menudo qué era lo que estábamos comiendo). Pero lo peor de todo fue un ritmo de servicio tan irregular y extremadamente lento (especialmente hacia el final) que acabó aburriendo, irritando y casi arruinando una comida que, de haber transcurrido por cauces normales, la habríamos podido calificar de apoteósica. La inapropiada respuesta al manifestar nuestro malestar por ese motivo fue algo así como: “ha de entender usted que aquí no hay nada preparado y que todos los platos se hacen al momento”. Pues no señores, no lo entiendo, y tampoco me parece oportuno echar pelotas fuera cuando es evidente que la responsabilidad en la organización del equipo de cocina y sala es exclusivamente suya. Decepción, por tanto, al fracasar Etxebarri en apartados importantes.
En la fotografía: Bombón de mantequilla (menú), servido como segundo aperitivo. Mantequilla de elaboración propia a base de leche reducida en la brasa que le aporta un interesante fondo ahumado. La base son ralladuras de pan seco. Un bocado excelente.
Lo mejor: el producto y el tratamiento de la brasa
Lo peor: el precio del menú, el ritmo de entrega de los platos, la precariedad del servicio
Recomendado: evitar el menú degustación que tiene un precio desproporcionado
Omniprésent, le Milan noir est à la Mongolie ce que la Corneille noire ou le Choucas des tours est à la France. On le rencontre partout et bien souvent au sein même des villages et autres sites habités. Faute d'arbres pour se percher, il n'est pas rare d'observer des groupes de plusieurs dizaines d'individus posés à même le sol.
Le baldaquin de pierre, au-dessus de l'entrée, tranche sur la brique omniprésente de l’édifice construit entre 1282 à 1480. Celui-ci surprend par le contraste entre son allure extérieure austère de forteresse militaire et la richesse picturale et sculpturale de son intérieur. Monument sans égal, elle affirme sa puissance à travers un style typique du Sud-Ouest de la France, le gothique méridional. La cathédrale fut édifiée par les catholiques pour lutter contre les cathares. En effet, Albi fut un haut-lieu historique dont le nom a été donné aux adeptes du catharisme, les Albigeois, qui subirent une répression violente au XIIIe siècle de la part de l'Église catholique romaine connue sous le nom de Croisade des Albigeois.
La cathédrale Sainte-Cécile, classée avec la cité épiscopale d'Albi depuis le 31 juillet 2010 sur la liste du patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco (WHL-1337).
Street Art.
Le jaguar est omniprésent dans la religion amérindienne. On le trouve ainsi dessiné dans beaucoup de villes mexicaines mais aussi sur les temples aztèques ou maya.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet-engine Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later by McDonnell Douglas. The Skyhawk was a relatively light aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds (11,100 kg) and had a top speed of 670 miles per hour (1,080 km/h). The aircraft's five hardpoints supported a variety of missiles, bombs, and other munitions, including nuclear bombs, with a bomb load equivalent to that of a World War II–era Boeing B-17 bomber.
Since its introduction, the Skyhawk had been adopted by countries beyond the United States and saw a very long career, with many baseline variants and local adaptations. Israel was, starting in 1966, the largest export customer for Skyhawks, and a total of 217 A-4s were eventually procured, plus another 46 that were transferred from U.S. units in Operation Nickel Grass to compensate for large losses during the Yom Kippur War.
The Skyhawk was the first U.S. warplane to be offered to the Israeli Air Force, marking the point where the U.S. took over from France as Israel's chief military supplier. A special version of the A-4 was developed for the IAF, the A-4H. This was an A-4E with improved avionics and an uprated J52-P-8A engine with more thrust from the A-4F that had replaced the Wright J65 in earlier Skyhawk variants. Armament consisted of twin DEFA 30 mm cannon in place of the rather unreliable Colt Mk.12 20 mm cannons. Later modifications included the avionics hump and an extended tailpipe, implemented in Israel by IAI to provide greater protection against heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles.
Deliveries began after the Six-Day War, and A-4s soon formed the backbone of the IAF's ground-attack force. In Heyl Ha'avir (Israels Air Force/IAF) service, the A-4 Skyhawk was named as the Ayit (Hebrew: עיט, for Eagle). A total of 90 A-4Hs were delivered and became the IAF’s primary attack plane in the War of Attrition between 1968 and 1970. They cost only a quarter of a Phantom II and carried half of its payload, making them highly efficient attack aircraft, even though losses were high and a number of A-4Es were imported to fill the gaps.
In early 1973, the improved A-4N Skyhawk for Israel entered service, based on the A-4M models used by the U.S. Marine Corps, and it gradually replaced the simpler and less capable A-4Hs, which were still operated in 2nd line duties. Many of the A-4Hs and A-4Es were subsequently stored in reserve in flying condition, for modernization or for sale, and two countries made purchases from this overstock: Indonesia and Uruguay.
Due to the declining relationship between Indonesia and the Soviet Union, there was a lack of spare parts for military hardware supplied by the Communist Bloc. Soon, most of them were scrapped. The Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) acquired ex-Israeli A-4Es to replace its Il-28 Beagles and Tu-16 Badgers in a covert operation with Israel, since both countries did not maintain diplomatic relationships. A total of thirty-two A-4s served the Indonesian Air Force from 1982 until 2003.
Uruguay was the other IDF customer, even though a smaller one. The Uruguayan Air Force was originally created as part of the National Army of Uruguay but was established as a separate branch on December 4, 1953, becoming the youngest, and also the smallest branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay.
Since the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, the Air Force was involved in the fight against the guerrilla activity that was present in the country, focusing against the MLN-T (Movimiento de Liberación Nacional – Tupamaros or Tupamaros – National Liberation Movement), that later triggered a participation in the country's politics.
On February 8, 1973, President Juan María Bordaberry tried to assert his authority over the Armed Forces by returning them to their normal duties and appointing a retired Army general, Antonio Francese, as the new Minister of National Defense. Initially, the Navy of Uruguay supported the appointment, but the National Army and Uruguayan Air Force commanders rejected it outright. On February 9 and 10, the Army and Air Force issued public proclamations and demanded his dismissal and changes in the country's political and economic system. Bordaberry then gave up to the pressure, and on February 12, at the Cap. Juan Manuel Boiso Lanza Air Base, Headquarters of the General Command of the Air Force, the National Security Council (Consejo de Seguridad Nacional) was created. The Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force was one of its permanent members, and the Armed Forces of Uruguay from now on were effectively in control of the country, with Bordaberry just participating in a self-coup.
During this period of time, the Air Force took control of the country's airdromes, some aircraft that were seized from the subversion, appointed some of its general officers to led the flag carrier PLUNA, reinforced the combat fleet with Cessna A-37B Dragonfly and FMA IA-58A Pucará attack aircraft in 1976 and 1981, modernized the transport aircraft with the purchase of five Embraer C-95 Bandeirante in 1975 and five CASA C-212 Aviocar and one Gates Learjet 35A in 1981, introduced to service two brand new Bell 212 helicopters, and achieved another milestone, with the first landing of a Uruguayan aircraft in Antarctica, on January 28, 1984, with a Fairchild-Hiller FH-227D.
Since the end of the military government, the Air Force returned to its normal tasks, and always acting under the command of the President and in agreement with the Minister of National Defense, without having entered the country's politics again, whose participation, in addition, has been forbidden in almost all activities for the Armed Forces. Towards the late Eighties, the Uruguayan Air Force underwent a fundamental modernization program: Between 1989 and 1999 a total number of 48 aircraft were acquired, including twelve Skyhawks (ten single seaters and two trainers), followed by three Lockheed C-130B Hercules in 1992, to carry out long-range strategic missions, six Pilatus PC-7U Turbo Trainers, also acquired in 1992 for advanced training (replacing the aging fleet of Beechcraft T-34 Mentors in Santa Bernardina, Durazno, that had been in service with the Air Force since 1977), two Beechcraft Baron 58 and ten Cessna U-206H Stationair in 1998 (with Uruguay becoming the first operator of this variant, used for transport, training and surveillance). Two Eurocopter AS365N2 Dauphin for search and rescue and transport followed, also in 1998, and 13 Aermacchi SF-260 in 1999, to fully replace the aging fleet of T-34 training aircraft and become the new basic trainer of the Uruguayan Air Force within the Military School of Aeronautics (Escuela Militar de Aeronáutica) in Pando, Canelones. Furthermore, on April 27, 1994, through Decree No. 177/994 of the Executive Power, a new Air Force Organization was approved, and the Tactical Regiments and Aviation Groups disappeared to become Air Squadrons, leading to the current structure of the Uruguayan Air Force.
The Skyhawks were procured as more capable complement and partial replacement for the FAU’s Cessna A-37B Dragonfly and FMA IA-58A Pucará attack aircraft fleet. Being fast jets, however, they would also be tasked with limited airspace defense duties and supposed to escort and provide aerial cover for the other attack types in the FAU’s inventory. The Skyhawks were all former IDF A-4H/TA-4Hs. They retained their characteristic tail pipe extensions against IR-guided missiles (primarily MANPADS) as well as the retrofitted avionics hump, but there were many less visible changes, too.
After several years in storage, a full refurbishment had taken place at Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). The single seaters’ original Stewart-Warner AN/APG-53A navigation and fire control radar was retained, but some critical avionics were removed before export, e. g. the ability to carry and deploy AGM-45 Shrike anti-radar-missiles or the rather unreliable AGM-12 Bullpup, as well as the Skyhawk’s LABS (toss-bombing capability) that made it a potential nuclear bomber. On the other side avionics and wirings to carry AIM-9B Sidewinder AAMs on the outer pair of underwing pylons were added, so that the FAU Skyhawks could engage into aerial combat with more than just their onboard guns.
The A-4Hs’ 30 mm DEFA cannons were removed before delivery, too, even though their characteristic gondola fairings were retained. In Uruguay they were replaced with 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.804 autocannons, to create communality with the FAU’s Pucará COIN/attack aircraft and simplify logistics. MER and TER units (Multiple/Triple Ejector Racks), leased from Argentina, boosted the Skyhawks’ ordnance delivery capabilities. A Marconi ARL18223 360° radar warning receiver and a Litton LTN-211 GPS navigation system were introduced, too. Despite these many modifications the FAU’s A-4Hs retained their designation and, unofficially, the former Israeli “Eagles” were aptly nicknamed “Águila” by their new crews and later by the public, too.
Upon introduction into service the machines received a disruptive NATO-style grey/green camouflage with off-white undersides, which they should retain for the rest of their lives – except for a single machine (648), which was painted in an experimental all-grey scheme. However, like the FAU Pucarás, which received grim looking but distinctive nose art during their career, the Skyhawks soon received similar decorations, representing the local ‘Jabalí’ (wild boars).
During the Nineties, the Uruguayan Skyhawks were frequently deployed together with Pucarás along the Brazilian border: Brazilian nationals were detected removing cattle from Uruguayan territory! Dissuasive missions were flown by the Pucarás departing from Rivera to Chuy in eastern Uruguay, covering a span of more than 200 nm (368 km) along the Uruguay/Brazil border, relaying the location of the offending persons to Uruguay’s Army armored units on the ground to take dissuading action. The Skyhawks flew high altitude escorts and prevented intrusion of the Uruguayan airspace from Brazil, and they were frequently called in to identify and repel intruders with low-level flypasts.
The Skyhawks furthermore frequently showed up around the Uruguayan city Masoller as a visible show of force in a longstanding border and territory dispute with Brazil, although this had not harmed close diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries. The disputed area is called Rincón de Artigas (Portuguese: Rincão de Artigas), and the dispute arose from the fact that the treaty that delimited the Brazil-Uruguay border in 1861 determined that the border in that area would be a creek called Arroyo de la Invernada (Portuguese: Arroio da Invernada), but the two countries disagree on which actual stream is the so-named one. Another disputed territory is a Brazilian island at the confluence of the Quaraí River and the Uruguay River. None of these involvements led to armed conflict, though.
The Uruguayan Skyhawk fired in anger only over their homeland during drugbusting raids and for interception of low performance, drug trafficking aircraft which were increasingly operating in the region. However, the slower IA 58 Pucará turned out to be the better-suited platform for this task, even though the Skyhawks more than once scared suspicious aircraft away or forced them to land, sometimes with the use of gunfire. At least one such drug transport aircraft was reputedly shot down over Uruguayan territory as its pilot did not reply or react and tried to escape over the border into safe airspace.
These duties lasted well into the Nineties, but Uruguay’s small Skyhawk fleet was relatively expensive to operate so that maintenance and their operations, too, were dramatically cut back after 2000. The airframes’ age also showed with dramatic effect: two A-4Hs were lost independently in 2001 and 2002 due to structural fatigue. Active duties were more and more cut back and relegated back to the A-37s and IA 58s. In October 2008, it was decided that the Uruguayan A-4 Skyhawk fleet would be withdrawn and replaced by more modern aircraft, able to perform equally well in the training role and, if required, close support and interdiction missions on the battlefield. The last flight of an FAU A-4 took place in September 2009.
This replacement program did not yield any fruits, though. In May 2013 eighteen refurbished Sukhoi Su-30 MKI multirole air superiority fighters were offered by the Russian Federation and Sukhoi in remarkably favorable condition that included credit facilities and an agreement branch for maintenance. These conditions were also offered for the Yak-130 Mitten. By December 2013 Uruguayan personnel had test flown this plane in Russia. In the meantime, a number of A-37B Dragonfly were purchased from the Ecuadorian Air Force in January 2014 to fill the FAU’s operational gaps. Also, the Uruguayan and Swiss governments discussed a possible agreement for the purchase of ten Swiss Air Force Northrop F-5Es plus engines, spare parts and training, but no actual progress was made. The Uruguayan Air Force also used to show interest on the IA-58D Pucará Delta modernization program offered by Fábrica Argentina de Aviones, but more recently, among some of the possible aircraft that the Air Force was considering, there were the Hongdu JL-10 or the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master. But despite of how necessary a new attack aircraft is for the FAU, no procurements have been achieved yet.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 40 ft 1.5 in (12.230 m)
Wingspan: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
Wing area: 260 sq ft (24 m²)
Airfoil: root: NACA 0008-1.1-25; tip: NACA 0005-.825-50
Empty weight: 9,853 lb (4,469 kg)
Gross weight: 16,216 lb (7,355 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 24,500 lb (11,113 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Pratt & Whitney J52-P-8A turbojet engine, 9,300 lbf (41 kN) thrust
Performance:
Maximum speed: 585 kn (673 mph, 1,083 km/h) at sea level
Range: 1,008 nmi (1,160 mi, 1,867 km)
Ferry range: 2,194 nmi (2,525 mi, 4,063 km)
g limits: +8/-3
Rate of climb: 5,750 ft/min (29.2 m/s)
Wing loading: 62.4 lb/sq ft (305 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.526
Armament:
2× 20 mm (0.79 in) Hispano-Suiza HS.804 autocannon with 100 RPG
5× hardpoints with a total capacity of 8,500 lb (3,900 kg)
The kit and its assembly:
The third build in my recent “Uruguayan What-if Trip”, and a rather spontaneous idea. When I searched for decals for my Uruguayan Sherman tank, I came across a decal sheet from an Airfix IA 58 Pucará (2008 re-boxing), which included, beyond Argentinian markings, a Uruguayan machine, too. This made me wonder about a jet-powered successor, and the omnipresent Skyhawk appeared like a natural choice for a light attack aircraft – even though I also considered an IAI Kfir but found its Mach 2 capability a bit overdone.
Checking history I found a suitable time frame during the Nineties for a potential introduction of the A-4 into Uruguayan service, and this was also the time when Indonesia indirectly bought 2nd hand A-4E/Hs from Israel. This was a good match and defined both the background story as well as the model and its details.
The model kit is an Italeri A-4E/F (Revell re-boxing), built mostly OOB with a short/early fin tip (the kit comes with an optional part for it, but it is too short and I used the alternative A-4M fin tip from the kit and re-shaped its leading edge) and the bent refueling probe because of the radar in the nose (the original straight boom interfered with it). I just implanted an extended resin tailpipe (from Aires, see below), used the OOB optional brake parachute fairing and scratched fairings for the A-4H’s former DEFA guns (which were placed, due to their size, in a lower position than the original 20 mm guns and had an odd shape) from styrene rods.
I also modified the ordnance: the OOB ventral drop tank was taken over but the kit’s original LAU-19 pods molded onto the inner wing pylons were cut off and moved to the outer stations. The inner pylons then received MERs with five Mk. 82 500 lb iron bombs each (left over from a Hasegawa Skyhawk kit) – typically for the Skyhawk, the inner front stations on the MERs (and on TERs, too) were left empty, because anything bigger than a 250 lb Mk. 81 bomb interfered with the landing gear covers.
Building posed no real problems; some PSR was necessary on many seams, though, but that’s standard for the Italeri Skyhawk kit. Just the extended tailpipe caused unexpected trouble: the very nice and detailed Aires resin insert turned out to be a whole 2mm(!) wider than the Skyhawk’s tail section, even though its height and shape was fine. I solved this pragmatically and, after several trials, glued the extended pipe between the fuselage halves, closed them with some force and filled the resulting wedge-shaped ventral gap that extended forward almost up to the wings’ trailing edge with putty. Under the paint this stunt is not obvious, and I suspect that the Italeri Skyhawk’s tail is simply too narrow?
Different/additional blade antennae were added under the front fuselage and behind the canopy as well as a tiny pitot in front of the windscreen (piece of thin wire) and fairings for the radar warning receivers were integrated into the fin’s leading edge and above the extended tail pipe, scratched from styrene sheet material. And, finally, a thin rod (made from heated styrene) was added for the Skyhawk’s steerable front wheel mechanism.
A good thing about the Italeri Skyhawk is that its clear part encompasses the whole canopy, including its frame. It comes as a single piece, though, but can be easily cut in two parts to allow an open cockpit display. The alternative Hasegawa A-4E/F has the flaw that the clear part is molded without the canopy frame, which has a rather complex shape, so that modding it into open position is a very complicated task.
Painting and markings:
Basically very simple: I relied upon FAU Pucarás as benchmark, which carry a rather unremarkable NATO-style livery in dark grey and dark green over very light grey, almost white undersides. This does not sound interesting, but it’s not a color combo typically seen on a Skyhawk, so that this already offers a subtle whiffy touch – and it suits the Skyhawk IMHO well.
To make the simple scheme more interesting, though, I decided to apply the camouflage in a more disruptive, higher resolution pattern, using the Kuwaiti A-4KU pattern as benchmark, just with replaced colors. On real-life pictures, the Uruguayan Pucarás as well as some early A-37s show a good contrast between the green and the grey, so that I chose Tamiya XF-62 (U.S. WWII Olive Drab) and Humbrol 156 (RAF Dark Camouflage Grey) as basic tones; the undersides were painted in Humbrol 147 (FS 36495), leaving a brightness margin for post-shading with an even lighter tone.
The landing gear as well as the air intakes’ interior were painted in white, the landing gear covers’ edges received a thin red edge. The cockpit interior became standard Dark Gull Grey.
For good contrast with the light undersides, the rocket launchers became light grey (Humbrol 127) drab. The MERs became classic white and the ten 250 lb bombs were painted in olive drab.
As usual, the kit received an overall light black ink washing and some post-panel shading, which also acts as a weathering measure. Esp. the Pucarás’ grey appears very bleached on many photos.
Roundels, fin flash and FAU taglines came from the aforementioned Airfix Pucará sheet, even though they turned out to be rather thick and not printed sharply. Most stencils were taken from an Airfix A-4Q Skyhawk, one of the new mold kits, which also came with Argentinian markings and stencils in Spanish. The respective sheet also provided a decal for the black anti-glare panel, even though it had to be cut in two halves to fit in front of the wider A-4E windshield, and the resulting gap was painted out with black. The tactical codes once belonged to a Kawasaki T-4 (Hasegawa). The soot-hiding squares above the gun muzzles are generic black decals. The only decal that was taken over from the Skyhawk’s OOB decal sheet were the rings around the arrester hook.
Overall, the FAU Skyhawk still looked rather dry. To add some excitement, I gave the aircraft a wild boar “face”, similar to the FAU Pucarás. The decoration originally belongs to an USAF A-10 and came from a HiDecal sheet. Unfortunately, this boar face was carried by a rather special A-10 with an experimental desert paint scheme consisting of Brown (FS 20140), Tan Special (FS 20400) and Sand (FS 20266) that was applied before deployment to Saudi Arabia in November 1990. This scheme did not catch on, though, and most A-10s retained their murky Europe One/Lizard scheme. Therefore, the artwork consists primarily of black and sand – white would have been better, stylistically. But I took what I could get and, as a kind of compensation, the sand color does not make the boar snout stand out too much. To my surprise, the four decals that create the wraparound hog face fitted quite well in size and around the Skyhawk’s rather pointed nose. I just left the nostrils away because they’d look odd together with the small black radome and a small ventral gap between the mouth halves had to be bridged with black paint and another piece of decal sheet that simulates a di-electric cover.
Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and ordnance as well as landing gear were mounted.
The third and for now the last build in my recent ‘Uruguayan whif’ model series. I like the grey-green Skyhawk a lot – it’s not spectacular and looks very down-to-earth (except for the nose art, maybe), but it’s very believable. The NATO style livery is rather unusual for the A-4, it was AFAIK not carried by any real in-service Skyhawk, but it suits the aircraft well.
Wooden toys
Gnomes, fairies, dryads and other...
omnipresent tiny helpers, tenders and keepers of the fragible balance between Our world and The Other one :-)
My "Wooden-Tinies" are here for those of You, who are sure, that their house is the right place for some Tiny-Friend... They all can domesticate either on Your Nature-table, bookshelf or on the bedside-table of Your little baby or child.
My husband's wooden creations. You will be welcome in his ETSY shop (seller: Rjabinnik).
Waldorf inspired toy or decoration.
Made by Rjabinnik, designed by Rounien 2010
La ultimamente omnipresente "metralleta" poniendole los cuernos a su pareja la 323.4 con la 326.7.
¡¡¡¡ DEDICADA A RAFA !!!! mi padrino ferroviario que hoy tuve la suerte de cazar trenes con el
Another one of many links from Harrow to Wembley, the 223 has recently been allocated brand new E200 MMCs. However, the current routing won’t last that long as from December, it will be withdrawn between Harrow and Northwick Park Hospital.
YX68UOH (DLE30274) is turning into its Harrow Bus Station stop ready to pick up passengers on its way to Wembley Central via Kenton and Preston Road. Based at Park Royal (RP) Garage.
The will to survive is omnipresent.
This tripod assisted photo was shot from a Kowa/SIX with a KOWA 1:3.5/55 lens using Kodak Portra 800 film, the negative scanned by an Epson Perfection V600 and digitalized with Photoshop.