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Lake Great Prespa, Florina, Macedonia, Greece.
Near this location, Lake Prespa joins Lake Little Prespa.
A protected area which is National Park, Natura 2000, Ramsar site, Transboundary Park.
I mentioned yesterday the philosophical importance of seeing the world as a subject in relation to us. The camera becomes an extension of our body. Here is an example. I was taking some farm photographs when this beautiful creature came right up to me.
[Make sure you enlarge its beautiful face.]
Japanese gardens are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden designers to suggest an ancient and faraway natural landscape, and to express the fragility of existence as well as time's unstoppable advance. Ancient Japanese art inspired past garden designers. By the Edo period, the Japanese garden had its own distinct appearance.
The Auburn Botanic Gardens are a botanical garden located in Auburn (a suburb of Sydney), New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1977 and covers an area of 9.7 hectares. There are two lakes, a waterfall and bridges. Duck River winds through the garden. The garden is maintained by Cumberland Council. It is open daily, and there is a small entry fee on weekends. The Japanese gardens, which have hosted couples from overseas, are one of the main attractions. 12554
The "ghost in the machine" is a term originally used to describe and critique the notion of the mind existing alongside and separate to the body. In more recent times, the term has several uses, including the concept that the intellectual part of the human mind is influenced by emotions; and within fiction, for an emergent consciousness residing in a computer.
The term originates with British philosopher Gilbert Ryle's description of René Descartes' mind-body dualism. Ryle introduced the phrase in The Concept of Mind (1949) to highlight the view of Descartes and others that mental and physical activity occur simultaneously but separately.
In his essay "Descartes' Myth", Ryle's philosophical arguments lay out his notion of the mistaken foundations of mind-body dualism. He suggests that, to speak of mind and body as substances, as a dualist does, is to commit a category mistake:
"Such in outline is the official theory. I shall often speak of it, with deliberate abusiveness, as "the dogma of the Ghost in the Machine". I hope to prove that it is entirely false, and false not in detail but in principle. It is not merely an assemblage of particular mistakes. It is one big mistake and a mistake of a special kind. It is, namely, a category mistake."
Ryle then attempts to show that the "official doctrine" of mind/body dualism is false by asserting that it confuses two logical-types, or categories, as being compatible: "it represents the facts of mental life as if they belonged to one logical type/category, when they actually belong to another. The dogma is therefore a philosopher's myth."
Arthur Koestler brought Ryle's concept to wider attention in his 1967 book The Ghost in the Machine. The book's main focus is the movement of mankind towards self-destruction, particularly in the nuclear arms arena. It is particularly critical of the behaviourist theory of B. F. Skinner.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_machine
French readers:
Why do we find it so important to measure the passage of time? Can we not just appreciate the time that we have? See the beauty and enjoy the goodness that lies in the moment as we live it and stop living by clocks and calenders and we may all have more time to enjoy.
Inspired by the poetic and philosophical novel The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, published in 1943. The book has been translated into over 505 different languages and dialects worldwide, being the second most translated work ever published, trailing only the Bible.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince
Photo taken from my neighbour's flower garden, Clarence-Rockland, Easter Ontario, Canada
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Inspiré du roman poétique et philosophique Le Petit Prince d'Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, publié en 1943. Le livre a été traduit dans plus de 505 langues et dialectes différents dans le monde, étant le deuxième ouvrage le plus traduit jamais publié, derrière la Bible.
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Petit_Prince
Photo prise du jardin fleuri de mon voisin, Clarence-Rockland, Easter Ontario, Canada
Philosophical reconstruction by Franco Raggi in 2006 for Attese Edizioni. As seen at the Ceramics Museum in Savona, Italy.
It's all here, the light and dark side of life, of us. The bud, stands for potential. The petals, protection or a cage? Tell me more little flower.
The Philosophical Hall at the Strahov Monastery, Prague, Czechia (the Czech Republic's official short name as of 2016)
(unless you made and paid for a reservation months beforehand, you are not allowed inside and can only admire the room from the doorway; photos can be taken only if you pay extra for a photo permit; best viewed enlarged for details)
Abbot Vaclav Mayer, during the last quarter of the 18th century, decided to build new library premises for the numerous acquisitions so he ordered the Philosophical Hall to be built by the naturalized Italian architect Johann Ignaz Palliardi. The hall is 32 meters long, 10 meters wide and 14 meters high, flanked on all sides by rich walnut wood bookcases. The highest shelves are only accessible from the gallery which is accessed by secret spiral staircases in both corners, masked by false book covers.
The ceiling was painted by Viennese artist Anton Maulbertsch over a period of 6 months, aided by only one assistant. The painting called The Spiritual Development of Mankind depicts the development of religion and science, guided by Divine Providence in the center of the painting, surrounded by virtues.
In the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte's wife Marie Louise visited the library and donated a four-volume work on Louvre museum paintings and Versailles gardens. The gift was stored in the tall bookcase that dominates the left side of the hall. On the top of the bookcase, there is a marble bust of Francis I, Emperor of Austria and Marie Louise's father.
The total number of volumes in the hall exceeds 50,000 works. In 2010, the Philosophical Hall was completely restored.
A philosophical and impressionnist photo safari concentrated mainly on a daily basis (or almost) on my small piece of planet of 55 000 square feet …!!!
A Thoreau "waldennienne" approach …!!!
__________________________
Un safari photo philosophique et impressioniste au quotidien concentré essentiellement (ou presque) sur un petit morceau de planète de 55 000 pieds carrés ...!!!
Une démarche "waldennienne" à la Thoreau …!!!
“If you can sit on it, they will come”
HBM Chat #11
Neighbor: “Hi Neighbor!”
Wife: “Hi Neighbor, how are you?”
Neighbor: “I’m good. I have a question though.”
Wife: “Sure, go ahead.”
Neighbor: “I know Steve is trying to be an internet influencer and bring more popularity to the world of benches. But I have to admit I didn’t understand Steve’s Happy Bench Monday post today.”
Wife: “What didn’t you understand?”
Neighbor: “I mean, it’s not even a real bench!”
Wife: “Oooof! Don’t say that to Steve!”
Neighbor: “Why not? It’s only a big flat rock next to a steep path that just happens to be the right height for sitting.”
Wife: “Yeh, that was in Arches National Monument in Utah, and he sat on it for a loooong time before we resumed the hike. In his mind that makes it a bench.”
Neighbor: “I admit it functions like a bench – but does that actually make it a bench?”
Wife: “You do NOT want to get him started on bench Zen!”
Neighbor: “What??”
Wife: “I’m just warning you. Do not question the reality of benches. He is prepared.”
Neighbor: “Sounds like he’s gone off the deep end and wants to be a some charismatic bench cult leader more than a bench influencer.”
Wife: “He’s more convincing than you might think.”
Neighbor:: “What did he say?”
Wife: “He quoted Adam Grant, who said ‘We don’t see things as they are – we see them as we expect them to be.’”
Neighbor: “Grant Schmant…”
Wife: “George Lucas said, ‘Always remember, your focus determines your reality.’”
Neighbor: “The ‘Star Wars’ guy?”
Wife: “Then he hit me with Plato who said, ‘The world is a shadow of the true reality that is the world of forms.’”
Neighbor: “Plato never said a rock is a bench!”
Wife: “He concluded with Einstein who said, ‘Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.’"
Neighbor: “I think it’s just a lot of mumbo-jumbo so Steve could justify sneaking a nice scenic panorama into a bench-only photo group.”
Wife: “That’s not beyond him, and I did question that.”
Neighbor: “So what did he answer?”
Wife: “He said, ‘I sit, therefore I am…on a bench.’ HBM!”
IILICIT GLIMPSE the April/May 2026 exhibition @ the Annex of Nitroglobus
Philosophical Spine of the exhibition
In Ilicit Glimpse, visibility isn’t passive or total; it is something I shape with intention. In a world that constantly floods us with images, I treat privacy as both power and practice, revealing only what I choose, when I choose it. What is unseen is not empty space; it carries meaning, where imagination, curiosity, and desire meet restraint. Mystery is not absence; it is allure, subtle and deliberate, resisting anything predictable or obvious.
This work questions how often sensuality is overplayed, expected, and consumed in art. Sensuality is still present, part of being human, part of being a woman, but it is not treated as spectacle. Instead, I let presence, gesture, and shadow carry intention, story, and quiet confidence. What I choose not to show matters just as much as what I do show. Even the viewer’s gaze shifts here; it becomes less about simple looking and more about a quiet negotiation with distance, discretion, and the work itself.
I hope it captivates you.
Opening party:
📅 Monday, 20 April 2026
🕛 12 PM SLT / 21:00 CET
🎵 Music by DJ NOIR
Taxi: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunshine%20Homestead/165/4...
My heartfelt thanks to Dido Haas for inviting me and welcoming me into her amazing gallery.
"Many of us seem to carry time, all its weight,
into the present, see it not, call it our fate…”
-- William J. Jr. Atfield
The two main halls of the Strahov Library in Prague house about 200,000 volumes. This is the Philosophical Hall, which is 32 m long, 22 m wide and 14 m high. The ceiling fresco by Viennese painter Anton Maulbertsch was painted over six months in 1794. It is called "Intellectual Progress of Mankind" and is a concise depiction of developments in science and religion, their mutual impact on each other, and quests for knowledge from the oldest times until the time the hall was built.
Half a bee, philosophically, must ipso facto half not be. But half the bee has got to be, vis-à-vis its entity – d'you see? But can a bee be said to be or not to be an entire bee when half the bee is not a bee, due to some ancient injury?"
Philosophical morning.
(A vida é unha cuestión de tons. Aproveitemos para tentar de desenvolvelos. Dende a nosa dotación xenética 🙈 e antes de que se produza a morte 😎)
Gallery of Novobirzhevoy Gostiny Dvor (1800-1815 years, architect Giacomo Antonio Domenico Quarenghi). Philosophy Faculty of St. Petersburg State University (in the building since 1934). Vasilevsky Island. St. Petersburg. December 3, 2016.
Галерея Новобиржевого Гостиного двора (1800 - 1815 годы, архитектор Джакомо Кваренги). Философский факультет Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета (в этом здании с 1934 года). Васильевский остров. Санкт-Петербург. 3 декабря 2016 года.
Canon EOS 600D,
Samyang 8mm f/3.5 AS IF UMC Fish-eye CS II.
A philosophical and impressionnist photo safari concentrated mainly on a daily basis (or almost) on my small piece of planet of 55 000 square feet …!!!
A Thoreau "waldennienne" approach …!!!
__________________________
Un safari photo philosophique et impressioniste au quotidien concentré essentiellement (ou presque) sur un petit morceau de planète de 55 000 pieds carrés ...!!!
Une démarche "waldennienne" à la Thoreau …!!!
The claim that Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are "warmongers" philosophically reflects the public perception of their aggressive and confrontational leadership styles. In fact, both leaders frequently use the narrative of military might as a primary instrument in their foreign policy. Here are some points relevant to this statement based on the latest developments through March 2026: In August 2025, Donald Trump explicitly referred to himself and Netanyahu as war heroes. Trump felt this title was appropriate after he ordered airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. Entering March 2026, Trump and Netanyahu demonstrated a shared ambition to overthrow the Iranian regime, raising fears of a protracted war in the region. Their combined attacks were considered by some to be beyond humanitarian limits. While Trump frequently promoted peace proposals for Gaza, his actions on the ground—such as authorizing the massive redeployment of Israeli troops—were often seen as contradictory and actually prolonging the conflict. Analysts criticized Netanyahu for frequently using war as a tool to maintain political power amidst his legal challenges. Meanwhile, Trump's aggressive military policies are often linked to his ambition to gain global recognition, including his obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize. The "hero" narrative they construct stands in stark contrast to the reality on the ground, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.