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Una parte delle mura del Castello di Riva di Ponte dell'Olio (PC).

Questa è una parziale visione del fossato che circonda il Castello.

da Wikipedia:

"I castello di Riva è un complesso fortificato che si trova a Ponte dell'Olio, in provincia di Piacenza. Posto sulla riva destra del torrente Nure tra il corso d'acqua e la strada provinciale che collega Piacenza a Ferriere, controllava il passaggio nella val Nure. La sua collocazione, nel punto in cui la pianura finisce e la vallata si strige addentrandosi tra le colline, era strategica poiché permetteva il controllo del passaggio verso il mare, in Liguria, attraverso la val d'Aveto, (Ponte dell'Olio deve il suo nome ai magazzini di olio d'oliva) e in Lunigiana attraverso la val di Taro.

Costruito con le pietre del fiume, è parzialmente circondato dal fossato. Ha pianta a forma di triangolo isoscele, con una torre semicircolare, e due quadrate, poste ai vertici e lungo il lato più lungo. Le mura con merlature ghibelline, sono sovrastate dal cammino di ronda. Un elegante loggiato, costruito nel 1703 dai Maggi, con archi a tutto sesto, collega la torre maggiore con una torre intermedia. L'ingresso si trova sul lato sud-est, è protetto da una torre con porta a saracinesca e ponte levatoio.Una quarta torre si trova all'interno, e serviva per controllare il ponte levatoio. La torre maggiore si trova a nord-ovest, nel punto d'incontro dei lati maggiori del perimetro, è un'imponente mastio quadrato cinquecentesco, ornato di beccatelli collegati da archetti sui quali sono appoggiati i merli a coda di rondine. Ospitava nel sotterraneo la prigione e il pozzo del taglio, a piano terra la sala delle armi con quattro stanze sovrastanti. La base del torrione è lambita dalle acque del fiume che da quel punto si incanalano nella bocca del canale, chiamato Rio San Giorgio, che, costruito nel medioevo a scopo irriguo, dagli Anguissola di Vigolzone, attraversa la pianura oltrepassando San Giorgio Piacentino.

Due sono le leggende che aleggiano intorno al maniero. Secondo la prima, esiste un cunicolo sotterraneo che, partendo dalla torre rompitratta posta sul lato nord, passava sotto il fossato e si collegava ad un edificio adiacente al maglio di ferro*, dove probabilmente venivano conservate armi da fuoco. Un'altra versione narra di un condotto che metteva in comunicazione il castello di Riva con quello di Bicchignano, correndo addirittura al di sotto del greto del torrente.Di questa galleria si sostiene che se ne siano perse le tracce attorno al 1310, poiché gli abitanti del castello, visti a mal partito, vi si sono rifugiati all'interno, i nemici però preferirono farne franare le parti terminali, murandovi all'interno vivi gli avversari. Più probabile è che fosse presente un tunnel, di cui non vi sono comunque tracce, per garantire la fuga in caso di assedio.

La seconda leggenda ricorda la storia della figlia del fiorentino Niccolò Soderini, che era ospite della moglie del signore di Riva Gian Giacomo Anguissola, Beatrice Tedeschi, che divenne ladra per amore. Ella era innamorata di un uomo rozzo, sempre bramoso di denaro, difatti la figlia di Soderini rubò il tesoro al castellano e lo sotterrò sotto il mastio quadrato, in attesa che fosse arrivata l'occasione propizia perché il suo fidanzato lo andasse a dissotterrare, la quale, però, non si presentò mai ed il tesoro rimase sepolto dove l'aveva deposto la bella fiorentina.Lei fu la prima ad essere sospettata e venne gettata nel pozzo del taglio*. Per questo si dice che nelle notti di luna piena l'acqua del Nure (che passa direttamente sotto al mastio) emani bagliori di color verde smeraldo come la figlia di Niccolò Soderini, fatta ladra per amore.

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hope you are enjoying the various sunsets, and are going to my friend Judy, Trinimusic www.flickr.com/photos/29482098@N04/

Who is also doing a sunset each day, and beautiful ones,

I have had to pull some from my archives as the weather here has been not so good and either have I, but I hope yo like them any way,

This is one of my fav's. hope you like it.

Have a marvelous day.

Thanks all for your love and comments. As I said, still a bit under the weather so, a slow at commenting, but will catch up as fast as I can,

so said the turtle.

hugs billie.

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Tina is the partner of Mowgli. She's usually seen lounging around the place but on this day she was staring out in quite a predatory manner. Jostling for position to get a clear shot of her as she passed back and forth was tricky and took some patience but I nailed it in the end. Just in time too; straight after this she got bored and wandered off.

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Created for GhostWorks Poetry Challenge #2

Challenge #30 - AUTUMN IS HERE

Texture:Shadowhouse Creations

Background: OmegaStock fav.me/d18ckh6

Model: PersephoneStock fav.me/d11ojna

Rock: Zememz fav.me/d36mgqi

Butterflies: Penigbuddy fav.me/d4c4sn6

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Каждый из нас знал, что у нас

Есть время опоздать и опоздать еще,

Но выйти к победе в срок.

И каждый знал, что пора занять место,

Но в кодексе чести считалось существенным

Не приходить на урок;

И только когда кто-то вышел вперед,

И за сотни лет никто не вспомнил о нем,

Я понял - небо

Становится ближе

С каждым днем...

Мы простились тогда, на углу всех улиц,

Свято забыв, что кто-то смотрит нам вслед;

Все пути начинались от наших дверей,

Но мы только вышли, чтобы стрельнуть сигарет.

И эта долгая ночь была впереди,

И я был уверен, что мы никогда не уснем;

Но знаешь, небо

Становится ближе

С каждым днем...

Сестра моя, куда ты смотрела, когда восход

Встал между нами стеной?

Знала ли ты, когда ты взяла мою руку,

Что это случится со мной?

И ты можешь идти и вперед, и назад,

Взойти, упасть и снова взойти звездой;

Но только пепел твоих сигарет - это пепел империй,

И это может случиться с тобой;

Но голоса тех богов, что верят в тебя,

Еще звучат, хотя ты тяжел на подъем;

Но знаешь, небо

Становится ближе;

Слышишь, небо

Становится ближе;

Смотри - небо

становится ближе

С каждым днем.

Aквариум Hебо cтановится ближе

Big thanks to Essence of a Dream and leschick fortextures!

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I look out for this Rosehip bush on my walk as I have noticed groups of Northern Cardinals quite often feasting on the berries. I find it hard to get a clear shot through all the branches..However, I was happy with this one ;) I hope you enjoy him too.....especially in this light. (Who needs textures? lol This is nature's texture!!)

"The brilliant red of a male Northern Cardinal calls attention to itself when males are around. You can also find cardinals by getting a sense of the warm, red-tinged brown of females – a pattern you can learn to identify in flight. Away from backyards, cardinals are still common but inconspicuous owing to their affinity for dense tangles. Listen for their piercing chip notes to find where they are hiding."

Enjoy your weekend everyone :)

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© Hervé DAPREMONT

Ne pas utiliser sans mon autorisation écrite. Ne le faites pas ! Merci

Don't use without my written permission. Do not ! Thanks

Your comments and favorites are greatly appreciated, but NO awards, banners & graphics please. Thanks a lot ! :-)

Technical info :

Camera : Nikon D700

Lens : Nikon Lens AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF

Exposure : 15s

Aperture : f/14

Focal Length : 17 mm

Sensibility : ISO 100

Filter : B&W 110 ND3.0 1000

Software :

Lightroom 3.0 | Photoshop CS5 | Silver Efex Pro

________________________________________________________________________

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Jesus is the "velcro friend" who sticks with you through it all. He wants to be that friend for you. People can fire you, abuse you, criticize you, divorce you, disappoint you, abandon you - but millions of us have found what those Latvian followers of Christ found - that Jesus is life's one and only "through it all" person. In fact, intimacy is born from difficulty. When the Apostle Paul said his passionate life goal was to "know Christ," he went on to say that involved knowing "the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings" (Philippians 3:10). You never really know Jesus until you really, really need Jesus. And when you really, really need Him, He's really, really there.

"What a friend we have in Jesus." It's more than a song. It's a life you can have. Then no matter what the future holds, that will be your personal anchor - "what a friend I have in Jesus."

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Dettifoss is a great waterfall in the North of Iceland, except the weather was absolutely terrible (cold and windy with heavy rain !). Couldn't make much of it, just playing with the shutter spped: this is the fast version, and there is the slow one ;-)

Part of Iceland

View in all its grainy glory on black

Lyrics from Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls.

This is the hardest thing. I find it so hard to be honest with myself, let alone other people. I constantly find myself becoming somebody I'm not. Somebody I don't want to be.

I feel like I'm going in the completely wrong direction.

Listen

Look

Love:

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

I will never get tired of this.

(edit: I just realized this looks a lot like some of Meagan's photos. That was completely unintentional, although she is amazing.)

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"Inspiration" is what our little rescue Annie brought to our senior dog, Boo. Her effervescence brought out the puppy in our old girl and she learned how to really play with a doggie friend for the first time in her life. Boo is 14 and can still run like the wind, and although she might pull a few tricks out of her natural herding bag like cutting corners, she can keep up with her little youngster friend (who's a fast little bullet herself for being so low to the ground!). Thanks, Annie!! You've changed all our lives for the better.

Inspiration texture by temari09

phoebe texture by kim klassen

all that glitters by thebline.amy bethune

glitter II brushes by obsidiandawn

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Alzando la testa al cospetto di Dio, un senso di vertigine ti colpisce...

Non perchè lo voglia di proposito, o forse si, ma questo non importa...

You think how much in reality we are distant from him...

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Luciti

In Onexposure

The Monastery of Sant Benet de Bages is a former Benedictine monastery, in the Catalan comarca of Bages. The Romanesque monastery was thoroughly restored at the beginning of the twentieth century by the Catalan architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch. The monastery was founded about 950 by the noble Salla and his consort Ricarda, of the house of the viscounts of Osona . According to the founding legend, Salla traveled to Rome to have his institution authorized, and to have it depend directly on the Holy See, the usual method for preserving the community from interference from the bishop— in this case of Vic— in whose diocese it lay. The abbey church was consecrated 3 December 972, witnessed by a gathering of notables: Borrell II, Count of Barcelona, the bishops Frugifer of Vic, Guisad of Urgell and Pere of Barcelona, the viscount Guadald of Osona, and three of the four offspring of the recently deceased founder, his son Isarn and the sisters Quíxol and Ego, at the head of witnesses both laymen and priests, in a grand ceremonial recorded in the surviving act of consecration. The community was dedicated to the Holy Trinity and to Benedict of Nursia (Sant Benét in Catalan) founder of the order, and Peter and Andrew, all guarantors of its future orthodoxy. The founder secured dispensations that the future abbots would be chosen from among their descendents, making the abbey a form of proprietary church, an agreement that would soon lead to disputes among the various branches of their lineage as to choice of abbots.

From 965, the abbey church held the supposed relics of Saint Valentine, enclosed in a wooden reliquary with plates of silver depicting miracles of Saint Valentine, which was rediscovered in 1863 in the church of Navarcles. At the beginning of the eleventh century the monastery passed under the direction of the Abbey of Saint Peter of Tomeras at Narbonne, from which the community freed itself in 1108. In 1125 Sant Benet de Bages suffered from an attack by Moors that required a rebuilding, financed by local nobles who required in return the right to be buried in its consecrated ground. The most splendid age of Sant Benet de Bages was in the fourteenth century, until the Black Death left the community with only two survivors, in a period that witnessed the beginning of its decline. On 9 November 1593, by order of Pope Clement VIII the community passed under the direction of the Abbey of Montserrat, and remained so until it was suppressed in 1820, serving as a place of retirement for Montserrat's community of monks. By the "law of desamortización" of 1835, all religious orders in Spain were required to render upo their possessions. The crumbling ancient structure attracted the interest of intellectuals who organised visits to it in the late nineteenth century. The architect Puig i Cadafalch and the painter Ramon Casas encouraged the mother of Casas to buy the property in 1907; in 1910 it passed into the hands of Casas, who commissioned Puig i Cadafalch to restore it. Since 2000, when it was purchased from Casas' heirs it has belonged to the Caixa de Manresa, a financial institution that has undertaken its maintenance.

fr: Soleil sur les maisons de Penne, Village de Penne d'Agenais, Lot et Garonne, France

HDR from 3 different exposures - EXIF from 0ev exposure

See it BIGGER On Black | More of the set Pittoresques Villages de France.

See my most interesting pictures here or take some time to view the slideshow .

Explore Highest position: 4

History: The religious history of this site goes back a long way: a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary is known to have existed in the XIc, being a destination for pilgrims, including those on the way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

The present building was begun in 1897, when the neo-Byzantine style was fashionable. As elsewhere, it took a long time to complete, being finally inaugurated after the Second World War.

Histoire: Penn" est un mot celte qui signifie crête ou éperon, ce qui laisse à penser que le plateau fut occupé par les Gaulois. De plus, de nombreuses fouilles réalisées dans le village et aux alentours ont mis au jour les vestiges d'une occupation romaine.

À Penne, la Révolution permet une évolution économique et sociale tout à la faveur du peuple et de la bourgeoisie. À l'aube du XIXe siècle, la commune de Penne compte environ 4 000 âmes...

Source Wikipedia

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This is the Americana at Brand, L.A.'s newest beacon of American consumerism that opened on May 2, 2008 in Glendale. On the surface, it may look like just another mall, but with more than 75 stores and restaurants—plus a state-of-the-art movie theater and a park with a water fountain, it's definitely bigger than anything Los Angelenos have ever seen before.

Two years in the making and cost $400 million, Americana is the new shopping center and residential center in Glendale made possible by Grove developer Rick Caruso.

Caruso, who spent millions fighting Glendale Galleria owner General Growth Properties while planning the project, has built an empire by creating stylized retail centers that encourage shoppers to kick back and hang out. You either love the idea of shopping in a fantasy land -- where shiny trolleys cruise mini-streets and uniformed elevator men ask "Which floor? "-- or you cringe over its Disney-esque surrealness.

But only the terminally cynical will be blind to the Americana's charms. Yes, architectural purists will bemoan the hodgepodge of design styles -- Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Mediterranean, Classical and many more. But walking down the paved pathways, you almost feel as if you're strolling Boston's Newbury Street or Georgetown in Washington D.C. Or the main drag in Vegas. A 2-acre grassy knoll features an 80-foot "dancing" fountain, the centerpiece of the project, with stores and a playground curving around all sides.

Unlike at the Grove, there are no department store anchors, only a multilevel Barnes & Noble and an 18-screen Pacific movie theater. And though the outdoor space is triple what it is at the Grove, there's actually less retail.

But the lineup is aimed straight at younger shoppers: Calvin Klein, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Lacoste, Martin + Osa, Free People, H&M, Juicy Couture, Custo Barcelona and XXI from Forever 21.

Abercrombie & Fitch opened its first store in California for its Australia-based line Gilly Hicks, which features hip lingerie and lounge wear for twentysomethings. Paperchase, a British stationery store, will debut its first West Coast shop.

Tiffany & Co. launched its lower-priced "concept store," geared toward the trendy jewelry shopper.

And you won't go hungry -- though you might leave with a touch of indigestion. Restaurants and eateries include Cheesecake Factory, Beard Papa (cream puffs), Caffe Primo (salads and paninis), Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, CrepeMaker (handmade crepes), Jamba Juice and Richie's Neighborhood Pizzeria. On the higher end, there's Katsuya, the Japanese restaurant from sushi chef Kaysuya Uechi and designer Phillippe Starck.

The Americana takes its customer service seriously. The concierge desk offers -- for fees -- valet service, on-site oil changes, rental car and taxi reservation assistance, wardrobe consultation and styling, dry cleaning, tailoring, a notary public and even a yoga instructor. That's just for shoppers.

There are even more perks for those planning to move into Caruso's Neverland. Stacked above the center's shops and restaurants are 100 condos and 238 apartments, with condos ranging from the low $700,000s to $2 million and rents from $2,000 to $5,500 a month. The list of services for residents reads like Mariah Carey's backstage rider: piano tuning, baby-sitting (kids, pets and plants), movie tickets, personal shopping, art appraisal and food delivery.

Day shoppers who won't be rolling out of bed and into Urban Outfitters -- and don't want to valet -- will be subjected to a fascimile of the Grove's creeping, merry-go-round of a parking garage. But then passage to strange lands has always been tricky.

Info from www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-ig-americana27apr27... (with minor changes and additions)

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During the Independence Day parade on Aug. 6th, an old man celebrates the memories of his ancesters who fought the Chaco war against Paraguay.

Merci de lire les explications en début d'album / Please read the explanations at the beginning of the set

Part of Bolivia (Recommended as a slideshow)

Is It Worth A Click ?

Trying to be as objective as I can, I think this is probably the best Monochrome photograph that, to date, I have up-loaded to flickr ! So I'm Pleased As Punch !

Subjectively I know that there is a small ' hot spot ' on her nose and ear, and the glass could've been cleaner, but hey, I'm not a professional !

I think the dark space behind her head pushes the eye to the subjects delightful profile and the out of focus neon lights take care of any ' negative space ' !

An early attempt at using a new external flash Canon Speedlite 430EX II !

All Comments, Subjective or Objective, More Particually Praising, Lol, Welcomed !

the water here usually drops of the weir and gently flows down the river , i was amazed at how wild the water was today , just shows how much rain we`ve had !!

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some randomly generated images mixed in photoshop

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This one's for Bill for the beautiful testimonial he wrote for me. You're pretty special, my friend. You'll always be in my heart. Thank you for your loving friendship! xxx

I took this shot the same night as the one below. It's a bit grainy but I love how the stars are already visible with the fading sunset. I just love how the light brightens the otherwise dark night.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3XdXEJEI4E

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujn4tocR4Qs

.

Sardanas - GIRONA M'ENAMORA

catala...

La sardana és una dansa popular catalana i és el ball nacional de Catalunya. Es balla en cercle i corresponent amb ritme i dinàmiques a la música d'una cobla. El nom pot fer referència tant al ball com a la música.

Un nombre indeterminat de balladors formen un cercle agafant-se de les mans i mirant al centre, ballant en rotllana cap a dreta i esquerra amb tempo canviant, encara que principalment lent i concentrat. Els components han de ser preferiblement parelles formades per home-dona però només cal un mínim de dues persones agafades per les mans per considerar que ja han creat una rotllana. La sardana és una dansa no excloent, de manera que qualsevol persona pot afegir-se individualment o en parella en qualsevol moment del ball (a no ser que es tracti d'un concurs o una exhibició).

El ball és més complicat del que sembla. Els balladors han de comptar el número de passos, així com identificar els canvis de ritme, de volum i d'altres motius musicals per a interpretar-ho correctament amb els passos, amb recursos com el salt, passos de moviment més ample, etc.

La música de la sardana és tocada per una cobla, consistent en 12 instruments tocats per 11 músics. Quatre d'aquest instruments (tenora, tible, flabiol i tamborí) són instruments típicament catalans; els altres són més convencionals (contrabaix, trompeta , trombó i fiscorn). La música de la sardana (que forma part del que genèricament es coneix per música de cobla) té generalment un compàs de 6/8 i pot ser escoltada en forma de concert. Algunes composicions afegeixen un acompanyament coral. Hi ha més de 25.000 partitures per sardana però només les versions instrumentals són usades per ballar.

La sardana fou prohibida durant la dictadura de Franco com a símbol nacional.

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castellano

La Sardana es una danza en grupo y en círculo, que se baila generalmente en Cataluña, Andorra y la llamada Cataluña francesa (Rosellón). Los participantes se cogen de las manos por parejas, entendiendo como pareja un hombre que coge con la mano derecha a una mujer, que resulta por lo tanto en un patrón alterno de hombre-mujer-hombre-mujer. Por lo que se refiere a la longitud de una sardana, hay sardanas de 7 y de 10 "tirades", que tienen unas estructuras definidas de pasos "curts" (cortos) y "llargs" (largos). Una variedad menos usual es la sardana revessa, una sardana donde es muy difícil encontrar el tiraje (número de compases que tiene la música) por lo que un miembro del grupo lo calcula a partir de peños motivos musicales y sus diferencias. Parte del éxito de la sardana como danza social radica en su carácter de danza abierta que admite un número altamente variable de parejas y que, al menos a nivel público, no requiere especiales condiciones físicas para su práctica, aunque no es así cuando se trata del "Bàsic d'Honor", la competición de sardanas nacional de Cataluña.

La sardana tiene su origen en la isla de Cerdeña donde se baila un baile típico hace siglos que se llama "Su passu torrao" entre otras modalidades. De allí se la trajeron los catalanes en sus viajes junto a Alfonso el Magnánimo en pleno renacimiento. Comenzó a resurgir tras varios siglos en las comarcas del norte de Cataluña, específicamente en la zona que va del Rosellón a La Selva, pasando por el Ampurdán, que era donde tenía más arraigo y fuerza. Su popularidad y extensión crecieron considerablemente en las últimas décadas del siglo XIX. Aunque el momento de su aparición permanece desconocido, existen testimonios de su popularidad desde el siglo XVI. La composición de la cobla y la coreografía actual de la danza fueron fijadas y unificadas en el siglo XIX, aunque persisten variantes y usos locales. Algunos expertos teorizan que la sardana tiene dos mil años de antigüedad, pero estas teorías tienen hoy en día pocos adeptos.

Aunque en su origen la música fue tocada por solistas o mínimas agrupaciones instrumentales de composición variable, la sardana es tocada actualmente por una cobla (una banda de viento con contrabajo), que consta de 12 instrumentos tocados por 11 músicos. Cuatro de estos instrumentos (tenora, tible, flabiol y tamboril) son instrumentos típicamente catalanes o versiones diferenciadas sólo usadas en Cataluña. Los otros (trompeta, trombón, fiscorno y contrabajo) son más convencionales.

Aunque su repertorio incluía diversas danzas sociales europeas de la época (vals, mazurka), corresponde principalmente a Pep Ventura la formación actual de la cobla y la estabilización del patrón rítmico fundamental en torno al compaseo en 6/8. Muchas sardanas tienen letra, pero sólo las versiones instrumentales suelen ser usadas para bailar.

En Cataluña y Rosellón, existen aproximadamente ciento treinta coblas activas, la mayor parte de las cuales no son profesionales. La única cobla existente fuera del territorio catalán es la Cobla La Principal, en Ámsterdam (Países Bajos).

Existen dos modos básicos de marcar los pasos la llamada empordanesa y la selvatana. Hasta la década de 1920, la variante empordanesa se caracterizaba también por mantener constantemente los brazos en posición alzada.

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English

The sardana (Catalan plural sardanes) is a type of circle dance typical of Catalonia.

There are two main types, the original sardana curta (short sardana) style and the more modern sardana llarga (long sardana), which is more popular. Other more unusual sardanas are the sardana de lluïment and the sardana revessa.

Nobody knows when the sardana originated, but it has been popular since the 16th century. Some believe the sardana is two thousand years old, but such theories have few adherents. Modern choreography was established as late as the end of the 19th century and features slight differences from the original North-Catalonian dance. Pep Ventura's band is credited for stabilizing different variants around a clear 6/8 rhythm and fixing the instrumental ensemble. Though some Iberian and Mediterranean circle dances follow similar patterns, instrumental music for the sardana has achieved a complexity of its own. As a non-performance dance, sardana does not require special fitness. Moreover, the circle can be opened to a highly variable number of dancers.

Music for the sardana is played by a cobla, a band consisting of 10 wind instruments, double bass and a so called "tamborí" (very small drum) played by 11 musicians. The cobla has five woodwind instruments: The flabiol is a kind of Block flute. The tenora and the tible (two of each) belong to the oboe family. These instruments plus the tamborí are typical of Catalonia. The brass instruments include: two trumpets, two fiscorn (a tipe of saxhorn created by Adolph Sax during the 19th century), and one keys-trombone. The double bass is normally a three-goat-stringed one.

In Spanish and French Catalonia about one hundred and thirty coblas are active, most of which are amateur orchestras. Outside Catalonia there is one more cobla: Cobla La Principal d'Amsterdam.

Many sardanas have lyric versions and were widely sung in the 20th century, but mostly instrumental versions are used for dancing.

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I'd say there are two photographers who were primarily responsible for inspiring me to take up photography. One of them is famous. His name is Galen Rowell. The other one is not. His name is Charles Uibel, and I don't remember how I came across his photos but he was one of my first flickr contacts. I followed his work for years before I became seriously interested in photography and decided to buy my first "real" camera. I was mesmerized by the relationship he had with the Great Salt Lake. It seemed like every day he could go out and find something completely new and fascinating, yet familiar. Featured in many of those photos is Antelope Island -- sometimes dominant, sometimes looming in the distance. It's often an anchor and a thread that weaves his images together. Always the same place, always seen in a new way.

Anyway, despite what my title suggests, I don't have hundreds of photos from this place. But Mickey Butte did remind me of Antelope Island. And the Mickey and Alvord basins are places worthy of the same sort of attention Uibel gives the Great Salt Lake. This was the third time I had been out here, and I plan to return as often as I can. I'm much more interested in seeing a place captured in a hundred different ways than I am in seeing a single trophy shot.

View Nyhavn Big On Black

Point of View for this Image "Nyhavn" [?]

Nyhavn

Nyhavn is at one and the same time the most vibrant meeting place of present-day Copenhagen and an attraction of historical significance. In the olden days ships from around the world came alongside the quay and sailors, pubs, prostitutes and party left their mark on harbour life. The new harbour became Nyhavn and the old and crooked houses, which once housed merchants and brothels, were beautifully restored and are today crammed with cozy restaurants, which offer indoor and outdoor seating.

On the sunny side

Nyhavn has a certain Danish charm to it. The harbour was digged out by Swedish prisoners in the 17th century as one of the first extensions of the Copenhagen borders. Ever since then the artificial canal has provided the setting for a pulsating yet folksy city life. On the quay in Nyhavn you will often run into lively folk music or jazz performances and as soon as the sun shines every day in Nyhavn becomes a party. What's more, you can investigate the old, wooden vessels and the medieval architecture alongside the quay. All through summer an international crowd makes the sunny side of the old harbour buzz with high spirited singing and cheering and there is nothing like having a chilled draft beer while watching the crowds pass by. Nyhavn is also the starting point for the popular canal tour boats.

www.rangierdiesel.de/index.php?nav=1401007&lang=1&amp...

20.01.1969 Auslieferung an DB - Deutsche Bundesbahn [D] "290 097-5"

26.01.1969 Abnahme

01.01.1994 => DB AG - Deutsche Bahn AG, GB Traktion [D] "290 097-5"

__.__.1997 Umbau

[Ausrüstung mit Funkfernsteuerung]

23.01.1997 Umzeichnung in "294 097-1"

01.01.1998 => DB AG - Deutsche Bahn AG, GB Ladungsverkehr [D] "294 097-1"

01.07.1999 => DB Cargo AG [D] "294 097-1"

01.09.2003 => Railion Deutschland AG [D] "294 097-1"

01.01.2007 Vergabe der NVR-Nummer

[NVR-Nummer: 98 80 3294 097-1 D-DB]

__.__.2008 Umbau durch DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung GmbH, Cottbus [D]

[Remotorisierung mit MTU-Motor 8V 4000 R41, Umlaufgeländer]

15.04.2008 Umzeichnung in "294 597-0"

[NVR-Nummer: 98 80 3294 597-0 D-DB]

16.02.2009 => DB Schenker Rail Deutschland AG [D] "294 597-0"

[NVR-Nummer: 98 80 3294 597-0 D-DB]

01.03.2016 => DB Cargo Deutschland AG [D] "294 597-0"

[NVR-Nummer: 98 80 3294 597-0 D-DB]

View LARGE On Black

Lighting Info:

SB800 in Shoot Thru Brolly Camera Left

Sun Behind Camera Right as Rim

Nikon D300

Nikkor 50mm 1.4

Pocket Wizard Plus II

This is probably my favorite portrait that I have taken, it is not a great photo or some kind of masterpiece, but it speaks volumes to me. I have a younger brother that is my best friend, I have always felt this need to really watch over him. You see, my parents did not speak English when they first came to this country. The culture and country was completely new to them, me and my brother felt lost sometimes. Me and Steve saw these young brothers walking home from school, they had just gotten off the bus. The youngest one, Dee, had his ice cream cone and it was melting and running down his hands. His older brother, Darrell, took the ice cream cone and fixed it up for him and then handed his brother a napkin to clean his hands off. He then put his arm around him and they began walking. I watched all this and was reminded of the many times I did the same for my younger brother. It was a very endearing and awesome scene to watch unfold.

Enjoy,

Hector

View On Black

wow, I can still see after all that work! (see last photo if you do not know what I mean...) but now I am off to another 12 hour shift... shudder... at least I love my job taking care of these 6 elders!!! They are like my moms and dads!

update... it is now 9am on Monday, and I am running away once more to the mountains, and no work today or "fingers crossed" Tomorrow! woo woo, more time to play... and next coming up in Bird Creek Meadows we are starting to see RED foliage on the low growth alpine huckleberry plants! oh dear... so pretty, but it means SNOW is right around the corner up there, and no more trips to my fave spot after another month!

so I am gonna run and enjoy it all... thank you all SOO MUCH for the wonderful comments, awards, faves, invites... sorry I am not taking time today to put it in all the groups, but the mountains are calling my name! You understand....

so see ya in a couple days! **beaming love to my Flickr Friends"

and thanks to all of you for this being in Explore Aug 26 #162!

Melasti beach, Bali - Indonesia

EXPLORE

Join our Bali Photography Tour to discover the beauty of Bali, try our photography secret tips also learn more of our post processing technique to improve your photography skills.

For more information regarding Bali photography tour please contact me at pandu.adnyana@yahoo.com | whatsapp: +6281338511929

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All images are copyrighted by PANDU ADNYANA. Do NOT use my images on personal or professional websites, blogs or any other digital or printing media without my explicit permission.

PLEASE Large On Black

Dear Friends,

This is an image I took last December while out with Joel Tjintjelaar and Kees Smans in Rotterdam.

I don't think my photographic life will ever be the same; Joel introducted me to architecture and I have been extremely impressed by how beautiful is shooting buldings.

After finishing the project I'm working on now, I will devote myself to architecture: many ideas about that!

By the way, this is my first ever attempt at architecture.

Details

- CANON 5d Mark II ir, TS-E 24, f/7.1, 183 s, ISO 100

- Mirror Lockup, Remote Shutter

- Lee Big Stopper (10 stops ND filter)

- Tripod

The shot

Rotterdam, Netherlands

The Processing

Photoshop:

- Added many soft light layers to adjust light;

- Added a few curves to improve contrasts;

- Applied Noise Reduction

- Resized for the Web (1200px);

- Applied an Unsharp Mask to slightly improve contrast;

- Smart Sharpen + More accurate (On luminosity 'blending mode', at low opacity, building only);

- Framing and Signature.

Take a look at it, LARGE on Black :

@ You all

Comments and faves are always welcome!

Hope your 2012 started great!!!

HDR image processed from 7 exposures with Photomatix Pro.

We visited Neuhausen on the weekend to attend the celebration of its 1100 years birthday. A wonderful place ... the Rheinfall, the castle ... and in the evening even the moon showed up :-)

Used the tripod for this one ... also to capture some fireworks later on in the night.

View in Large and on Black!

Please don't use this image on any media without asking for permission.

© All rights reserved.

Thank you for comments, adding to fav's - and your time :-)

© All Rights Reserved - no usage allowed in any form without my written permission.

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Best Viewed On Black | My Photostream on Black | Desktop Background

Traveling south along the Kings Highway also known as Highway One, you

encounter several large sandy beaches with rocks on either side. One such

beach is Pescadero State Beach about halfway between San Francisco and Santa

Cruz on the San Mateo coast. It may seem odd for most people to see a

lone photographer wading out in the surf taking pictures on a gloomy and

cloudy day but I find that stormy skies make for interesting beach

photography. Granted when I get back to the car I have to pull off my wet

New Balance sneakers and then peel the saltwater soaked socks off my feet

and try and get the sand from between my toes. It's a pain but it's all

worth it to me in the end.

Once home I will download the images to my system. My Nikon D300 has

several options and I find that on cloudy days setting it to Vibrant Mode

helps to improve the color saturation in the image. This setting effects

the JPEG files but not the NEF files. In some cases the JPEG file can be

posted directly but often I prefer to work on the raw data. So I take the

camera's raw NEF files in to Adobe Camera Raw to adjust the exposure,

vibrancy and saturation and most importantly correct the level of the shot.

Nothing bugs me more than to see a photo on Flickr of the ocean and the

horizon looks like it's out of the old Batman TV series. Typically this

isn't a big adjustment on my shot because I always use a tripod and try to

keep it as level as possible. I will go through all the images in the set

to find which image really looks the best. I will evaluate each image

considering the clouds, waves, foam and sand till I narrow it down to the

images I like best. Once one is picked I then open the image in Photoshop

and adjust the Levels setting, run a pass to reduce noise and adjust the

sharpness as needed. On average I don't spend more than about 10 to 15

minutes on any given image unless there is a problem such as an object in

the image I want to remove. When shooting state beaches I find I often

have to either pick up trash when possible or edit it out when I get home.

Fortunately I didn't have to do this on this image.

Once happy with the image I still have to prepare it for the web. I save

it off as a JPEG with highest quality. I then resize the image for Flickr.

Typically I want to offer all my images as desktop wallpaper sizes so people

can enjoy them for free on their system. I add my websites watermark and

save the image off to the Flickr folder on my system. If I have several

images in a set I try to upload them over time since many groups limit the

number of uploads. This also gives the first page of my PhotoStream a nice

variety instead of a bunch of shots from the same place. If you are

interested in using any of my images for your systems desktop wallpaper,

just click on the All Sizes > Original Size to view the approximately 1920 x

1200 size image. Once it loads, just right click on it and choose Set As

Desktop Background in your browser or save the image to your wallpaper

folder. Oh, and if you enjoy the image, take a sec and let me know. If

you need a different size, just drop me a note as to your screen resolution.

Regards,

Darv

© Darvin Atkeson

LiquidMoonlight Photography

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Taken at Panther / Hole in the Wall Beach, near Davenport and Santa Cruz.

Spent the afternoon as usual: peering out the window to check on conditions down out the coast. Since I had missed the fantastic sunset on Friday, I was especially antsy to get some shooting in, so when I saw some clouds building on the horizon, I hopped in the car and zoomed away down to the beach!

After some close calls at Four Mile and Laguna Creek where I almost stopped to shoot, I ended up at my old standby: Panther / Hole in the Wall Beach

Down at the shore I was immediately impressed by the massive waves, which were bigger than I'd ever seen them at this beach. (And if that doesn't foreshadow the events to come this evening, I don't know what would.)

For those who've never been there, to get to Hole in the Wall Beach, you have to go through a huge rock arch, which you can see here. All the storms here recently have eroded a ton of sand out of the floor of the arch, so the water comes up a lot higher than it did a few months ago. Just getting through the arch to Hole in the Wall was a little ridiculous. I had to wait for a wave to roll back into the ocean, then sprint through the arch and climb up some rocks before the next big wave came crashing and splashing through the opening. Then when that one would roll back, I jumped down from my perch and sprinted along the cliff edge up to dry sand. Easy peasy. Barely got my feet wet.

Kept on cruising down to the south end of the beach, past Jim P's pet rocks, and up onto the sweet-as shelves at the end of the beach.

Now, did I mention that the waves were huge? I originally intended to shoot the Devil's Bathtub (photo down below), but hell man, the waves were creaming that thing into oblivion, and more water was shooting out of the blowhole like a cannon (you can see where the blowhole is in the note on the photo above). So I was like, eff that! and skittered away to figure out something else to shoot.

But since this big old cleft was right there too and also pointed in the same direction as the Bathtub, it was an easy second choice. But frick. I have never seen water come up so high in this thing. It was fully exploding out of the cleft at times. But the light was golden, so I shielded my camera from the worst blasts and kept on snapping the shutter.

Now right around this time it started raining a little bit and the wind picked up. Oh, sweet. Humongous waves aren't enough, it's gotta start raining and blowing wind too? Then the rain came down harder and by golly, it even started to hail. That's right: Hail. At a beach in California.

Eff this ess! I shouted and ran around the corner to hide behind some cliffs. Shot some quick video and after a few minutes the rain slacked off, so I zipped back out the cleft where the passing thunderstorms were turning whole rainbows' worth of color.

I stood there thinking, "oh my, what a wonderful moment to take a photo," so I grabbed this shot, and the outtake down below, and about 50 more just like it.

Then it started to rain again. Well poop. My cleaning cloth was soaking wet, so I packed all my gear up and walked about 50 feet back towards the car. Then it stopped raining, the clouds opened up a little bit, and these killer waves came pounding in over Jim's pet rocks. The documentarian inside of me beat up the "let's go home" wimpy nerd inside of me, so I unpacked all my gear and snagged a shot of the mountainous waves. See that photo down below.

But then the light was going, going, gone, and I decided to do the same, so I hustled back up the beach to the arch. But wait a minute, what the eff? These waves are even huger than before! And they're going right through the arch! How the crap am I supposed to get through there???

I figured that with careful timing and careful scrambling it should be doable. So I got on some rocks and watched the first wave roll through. As it receded I ran to the next set of rocks. Ok, so far so good. After the next wave I ran to the next set of rocks and was just climbing up them when Boom. The end. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

A rogue wave mashed into me and lifted me off the rocks like I was a rag doll. Then I was down in the water, 100% percent submerged, getting bashed into rocks as the wave pushed me up the beach and slammed me against the cliff. Ouch. Some people might find this a little strange, but my first thought while I was floundering around in the whirling ocean was not "Oh holy hell I am screwed," but rather, "Oh holy hell, my camera gear is screwed." I'm sure you flickrites understand fully. :)

But a wave can only go so high, thank goodness, so eventually I emerged at the top of the beach, soaked and sputtering. But hell, I still had to get through the arch! Luckily my second attempt was much more fortuitous, though I still had a number of close calls where I was clinging onto the rocks with all my might so as not to get swept off. At one point I was standing on some rocks four feet above the floor of the arch, and a wave came swirling up around my knees. That meant the water was a good 5 and a half feet above the floor of the arch. And I had to go through that!

"F#ck you, ocean!" I think were my exact words at this point. I waited a few more minutes and luckily a smaller cycle of waves came through and I was able to leap down and sprint through the arch without getting mauled by another tiger of a wave.

Phew! Then I just squished back to my jeep to assess the damage.

Final score: Ocean - 1. ipod - 0. Phone - 0. Me - bloody knees, but at least a few keeper shots. Not sure who won that round . . . camera survived intact though, so I'm thinking I win by TKO?

~Josh

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

View more of my work at my website: www.joshuacripps.com

More stories, tips, tricks, and how-to's on my blog: www.joshuacripps.com/blog

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1. I am sure you would find out much more about me looking through my photos than below. May be even something which i do not know...

2. I initially found this game really awkward and slightly silly even - we've done something similar at school. But then we were 10:-) But I am doing it because i respect and admire very much Nejire and Caroline who tagged me. Also you might notice above that the selfies are really not mine cup of tea - i would like to be a little princess with the curly hair, but that was all i could master:-) Again i feel i owe this one to Jone who was provoked to shoot herself with an empty bottle in her hands:-)

3. Ok biography:-) - i was born in the country which does not exist anymore as my fellow few million of people. Not difficult to guess where isn't it? All of it was slightly surreal and absurd. For example in my case i ended up holding Russian nationality when my mum, brother and the rest are Ukrainians... So it was in those days.

4. I am happily (at least i think so;-)))) married to an Englishmen with an Italian name. All of it is confusing even to our 18 months son. Those two are the best thing in my life and i adore them wholeheartedly. Actually for me the world has changed completely with the birth of my son. Everyone is saying so but i believe it is difficult to convey the meaning of it until you there...

5.I am a Master of economics and qualified accountant - make your own conclusions:-). But i am not that good in numbers crunching and try to delegate it as soon as i can. Evidently i like to shoot picture instead:-)

6. My favorite cities are St, Petersburg, Barcelona and Istanbul. Each of them has got lots of personal meaning to me. St Petersburg - i was living there since 17 and until i moved to the UK. Huge part of my life and i am still completely in love with it. Two others - too long stories to tell, but they are magical and unforgettable. London is more than favorite - it is the place where i live now and do not want to leave. It is the air i breath.

7. I am absolutely mad about books. I love bookshops, reading and buying them as well. I was once shocked to find out that at average you can read around 52 books in a year- one a week. That means i will need to speed up with my library:-)

8. My favorite writer now is Leo Tolstoy. I used to prefer Dostoevski to him a few years ago. This year i reread Karenina and still amazed how different experience it was compared when i read it first when i was 17. In general i almost never read the book twice.

9. I love poetry very much. This is my favorite genre. Initially I started to learn foreign languages to be able to understand verses. I think together with the visual arts they would form the future as people have less and less time to read... Though jolly good novel is like a little life on its own...

10. I used to work for Warner Bros. and have been to the studio, junkets and different sets such as Friends and Harry Porter. The last is actually much more interesting than any of the movies. Though i ve seen only half of a single one.. I would never like to be an actor - very difficult job!

11. I traveled a lot with the job - different places - Japan, Chile, Korea or the Midlands - glamorous city of Birmingham! ;-) It is easier to say where i have not been... That is how i started to take photos.

11. I spent 6 weeks in Barcelona on a Spanish course. It was quite a few years ago. But i still have fantastic memories about this place and experience. I even do not want to revisit it sofar. And my Spanish is absolutely rudimentary, but i like this lingo very much. Actually my English is not far from rudimentary as well:-)

12. I like history, especially Byzantine Empire and Black Sea region. As you noticed i like Turkey and its people.

13. I left Flickr totally for a about a year. Then when i came back and changed completely my style. i was amazed that there were people who remembered me and gave me warm welcome. Especially Raluca, Christiane, Isabelle and Petra.

14. I like long walks. In London i prefer East to West. I spent the first 6 months of my UK life at Chelsea and it was enough. Though i love West End for the theaters and shopping. But East End is much more charismatic for shooting.

15. Recently i shoot only Canon 50 mm f1.4 prime lenses and i believe i can do without anything else for quite a long time. I was shooting before May this year only by P&S camera and still use it occasionally.

16. I always dream to shoot more in monochrome like big pros and end up with colour:-(

Uff - as a summary pls do not ask me to tell about myself because i am a bore:-))

If someone is still reading, thank you for being here with me and Happy forthcoming New Year!!

EXPLORE May 31, 2008 #291

Així es va quedar l'Alba quan va contemplar la seva primera posta de sol al Cantàbric.

That's how Alba remained when she admired her first Cantabric sunset.

Playa de Valdearenas, al Parque Natural de las Dunas de Liencres (Bóo de Piélagos).

See where this picture was taken. [?]

Textura: FREE texture from NinianLif

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Luciti

In Onexposure

It is in the municipal area of El Port de la Selva in the province of Girona, Catalonia. It has been constructed in the side of the Verdera mountain below the ruins of the castle of Sant de Verdera that had provided protection for the monastery. It offers an exceptional views over the bay of Llançà, to the north of Cap de Creus. Near the monastery Santa Creu de Rodes is the ruins of a medieval town, of which its preRomanesque style church is the only remains dedicated to Saint Helena.

The true origin of the monastery is not known, which has given rise to speculation and legend; such as its foundation by monks who disembarked in the area with the remains of Saint Peter and other saints, to save them from the Barbarian hordes that had fallen on Rome. Once the danger had passed the Pope Boniface IV commanded them to construct a monastery.The first documentation of the existence of the monastery dates 878, it being mentioned as a simple monastery cell consecrated to Saint Peter, but it is not until 945 when an independent Benedictine monastery was founded, prevailed over by an abbot. Bound to the County of Empúries it reached its maximum splendor between the XI and XII centuries until its final decay in 17th century. Its increasing importance is reflected in its status as a point of pilgrimage.

In the 17th Century XVII it was sacked in several occasions and in 1793 was deserted by the benedictine community which was transferred to Vila-sacred and finally settled in Figueres in 1809 until it was dissolved.The monastery was declared a national monument in 1930. In 1935 the Generalitat of Catalonia initiated the first restoration work. The buildings are constructed in terraces, given its location. Cloisters of XII century form the central part of the complex. Around them the rest of constructions are distributed. The Church, consecrated in the year 1022, is the best exponent of the Romanesque style and without comparison with others of its time. Detailing features plants with three bays and a vault. These are bordered by a double column with capitals influenced by the Carolingian Style. The double column support arches separating the bays. The columns and pillars have been taken from a former Roman building. The bay is splendid with large dimensions with an arch in the apse, this is continued in the two lateral bays. Under the apse is a crypt. The church synthesizes a number of original styles including Carolingian, Romanesque and Roman. The monastery is considered one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Catalonia. In the western facade of the monastery is a XII Century bell tower, a square shape it is influenced by the lombards from the previous century. To the side is a defensive tower, that was probably began in the X Century but finished later after several modifications.

View bigger on Black

For this picture I went up to a near hill with my backpack and umbrella while lightnings and rain were still near.

I hoped to take lightning pictures after the thunderstorm gone by. I was careful enough to wait for a free sky above it before I went up.

Because of too much evening daylight I was not able to make long exposures, so I tried some hundred pictures with exposure of only half a second.

When I hit a lightning, I made a row of different exposures for HDRI immediately after that for combining them.

It took over an hour to have the luck of hitting this, but I think it was worth the effort. The Thunderstorm is over Essen, neighbour of my town Gelsenkirchen.

Mésanges bleues

Best Viewed Large - 'Winter Straight Ahead' On Black

Goodbye to you, my trusted friend.

We've known each other since we're nine or ten.

Together we climbed hills or trees.

Learned of love and ABC's,

skinned our hearts and skinned our knees.

Goodbye my friend, it's hard to die,

when all the birds are singing in the sky,

Now that the spring is in the air.

Pretty girls are everywhere.

When you see them I'll be there.

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.

But the hills that we climbed

were just seasons out of time.

Goodbye, Papa, please pray for me,

I was the black sheep of the family.

You tried to teach me right from wrong.

Too much wine and too much song,

wonder how I get along.

Goodbye, Papa, it's hard to die

when all the birds are singing in the sky,

Now that the spring is in the air.

Little children everywhere.

When you see them I'll be there.

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.

But the wine and the song,

like the seasons, all have gone.

Goodbye, Michelle, my little one.

You gave me love and helped me find the sun.

And every time that I was down

you would always come around

and get my feet back on the ground.

Goodbye, Michelle, it's hard to die

when all the bird are singing in the sky,

Now that the spring is in the air.

With the flowers ev'rywhere.

I whish that we could both be there.

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.

But the stars we could reach

were just starfishs on the beach

Terry Jacks

View On Black

The Porta Nigra is a magnificent 2nd-century Roman city gate in Trier, Germany. It was given its name (which means "black gate") in the Middle Ages because of its weathered color.

History

The oldest defensive structure in Germany, the Porta Nigra was erected in about 180 AD when the Roman city was surrounded by walls. Trier was a Roman colony from the 1st century AD and then a great trading centre beginning in the second century. It became one of the imperial capitals under the Tetrarchy at the end of the 3rd century, and became known as the "second Rome."

The Porta Nigra is the only one of four Roman gates that still stands in Trier; the others were gradually pillaged for their stone and iron. The Porta Nigra survived because it was used as the humble residence of a hermit monk named Simeon for seven years (1028-35). After his death he was buried in the gate and the structure was transformed into the two-story Church of St. Simeon (lay church on the bottom, monastery church on top).

Napoleon destroyed the church in 1803, but the 12th-century Romanesque apse survived and the entire structure has been restored to its medieval appearance.

What to See

1,700 years after its construction, the Porta Nigra is still impressive at 118 feet long, 70.5 feet wide and 90 feet high. The entire structure is made without mortar - the sandstone blocks are connected only by iron rods. The stone blocks weigh as much as six metric tons each.

Two gateways lead into a small inner courtyard, where unfortunate intruders would be trapped and covered in tar. Above are two tiers of defense galleries with large open windows. It is flanked by two towers, a four-story western tower and the three-story unfinished eastern tower.

Inside, an empty apse at the east end and carvings of church fathers like Irenaeus, Ambrose and Jerome recall the Porta Nigra's use as a church.

www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/trier-porta-nigra.htm

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The following description came from National Geographic.

www.nationalgeographic.com/destinations/Taos/Taos_Drive.html

The highway between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla is one of New Mexico’s most scenic, threading the Brazos Mountains, where grassland basins and forests of evergreen and aspen at 10,000 feet [3,048 meters] are so cleanly delineated they look like landscaping. The Brazos Cliffs, composed of 1.7- to 1.8-billion-year-old Precambrian quartzite (the cliffs contain the oldest known rock in New Mexico), plunge 2,000 feet [609.6 meters] to the Rio Chama Valley.

Explored

First attempt for this weeks Twitter Photo Challenge #TwPhCh063

Theme : Splash / Full sprut

What's the first thing photo enthusiast (or maybe it's called a maniac:)) does when he comes to New York? I went directly to B&H Superstore and thought that I had come to heaven, but I managed to buy just the things that I had decided before I came there :)

I had to try the new equipment and this is from the first walk with my new Pentax K-7.

New York has been extremely hot for a while and it's still somewhere between 30-35 °C.

It's very warm and people have to find a way to cool down.

This photo is from a playground in Central Park where the kids had lots of fun and

the grown ups wanted to be kids again :)

View On Black

Don't resist!

MONTREALERS: DON'T FORGET TO DROP BY... AND SAY HI! ;D

Happy Friday Everyone!

No, I am not celebrating a week's end by having cupcakes for my breaky.

This is to call attention to Cupcake Camp Montreal being held this Sunday at the Bitoque Restaurant in Montreal.

For a $10 donation at the door, you get to indulge in 3 mouthwatering cupcakes and coffee. And, 100% of the proceeds go to "Kids Help Phone", a very worthy cause.

Kids Help Phone is Canada’s only toll-free, national, bilingual, phone and web counselling, referral and information service for children and youth. Whatever the problem, from abuse to the death of a parent, Kids Help Phone is there with professional phone and web-based counselling services, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Cupcake Camps have been held around the world to resounding success. With many talented pro bakers in Montreal, like my friend Clever Cupcakes donating their cupcakes for the event, I am sure Montreal's will be a not-to-be-missed event, too.

I volunteered to take photos at this charitable event... so expect more sweet pics! =D

If you're in Montreal this Sunday, why not drop by and join us, for the cause, the fun and the yummies. Bring the whole family to this kid-friendly event... make a date to meet your friends there, or make some new ones.

To find out more about Cupcake Camp Montreal, go to www.cupcakecampmtl.org

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In other news, I am racing to get things done, in order to hopefully attend a lighting seminar given by Gary Fong in Old Montreal today... will catch up with your streams, later! Have a great one and as always, thanks so much for stopping by my stream! xx

View On Black

...

Pasen los que quieran ver el circo alucinante de un amor que va

tentado por el precipio a punto de tirarse

patinando, confundiendome.

Dejaste tus palabras sobre la mermelada

de un un desayuno tibio que volvía a darse contra la pared

yo te ví caer... Yo te ví caer...

Sabrás comprender mi vicio tengo viejo el cuerpo ya de excesos

porque tanto duele... Tanto...

Tiene que haber un lugar distinto en donde el tiempo no quiera golpear

donde exista el fruto quitapenas que brote del sauce...

♫ Toxi - Juan Rosasco en Banda ♫

Web de Juan Rosasco en Banda

Buen Sábado!!!!

No usar esta imagen en páginas web, blogs u otros soportes sin mi autorización, © Todos los derechos reservados.

Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

'Down' On Black

This is the last one of a series- "We all fall down" and is taken from the nursery rhyme "Ring around the Rosies." Some believe the nursery rhyme is connected to the Bubonic Plague of England 1665. The "ring around the rosies" refers to the sores and the "pocket full of posies" refers to the flowers carried in the pockets of the dying to conceal the smell. The children skip in a circle holding hands and drop into a heap at "we all fall down."

Ring around the Rosie

Pocket full of Posies

Ashes, Ashes

We all fall down

regional versions vary......

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"Dances With Birds" www.flickr.com/photos/printmaker_1/

The Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the southern United States. The Red-winged Blackbird is sexually dimorphic; the male is all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the Red-winged Blackbird's diet.

The Red-winged Blackbird nests in loose colonies. The nest is built in cattails, rushes, grasses, sedge, or in alder or willow bushes. The nest is constructed entirely by the female over the course of three to six days. It is a basket of grasses, sedge, and mosses, lined with mud, and bound to surrounding grasses, or branches.[7] It is located 7.6 cm (3 in) to 4.3 m (14 ft) above water.[13]

A clutch consists of three or four, rarely five, eggs. Eggs are oval, smooth and slightly glossy, and measure 24.8 x 17.55 mm (1 x .7 in)[13]. They are pale bluish green, marked with brown, purple, and/or black, with most markings around the larger end of the egg. These are incubated by the female alone, and hatch in 11 to 12 days. Red-winged Blackbirds are hatched blind and naked, but are ready to leave the nest 11-14 days after hatching.[6]

Red-winged Blackbirds are polygynous, with territorial males defending up to 10 females. However, females frequently copulate with males other than their social mate and often lay clutches of mixed paternity. Pairs raise two or three clutches per season, in a new nest for each clutch.[6]

Predation of eggs and nestlings is quite common. Nest predators include snakes, mink, raccoons, and other birds, even as small as marsh wrens. The Red-winged Blackbird is occasionally a victim of brood parasites, particularly Brown-headed Cowbirds.[9] Since nest predation is common, several adaptations have evolved in this species. Group nesting is one such trait which reduces the risk of individual predation by increasing the number of alert parents. Nesting over water reduces the likelihood of predation, as do alarm calls. Nests, in particular, offer a strategic advantage over predators in that they are often well concealed in thick, waterside reeds and positioned at a height of one to two meters. Males often act as sentinels, employing a variety of calls to denote the kind and severity of danger. Mobbing, especially by males, is also used to scare off unwanted predators, although mobbing often targets large animals and man-made devices by mistake. The brownish coloration of the female may also serve as an anti-predator trait in that it may provide camouflage for her and her nest (while she is incubating).[14] Owls and diurnal raptors are both regular predators of adults.

Do you know?

Questions, questions, questions - as long as you feel you are the luckiest girl on Earth... For you, My Love

I don’t put a smile upon your face no more

I can’t make your heart shine like it did before

You don’t listen to my stories anymore

You can’t comfort me the way you did before

Was I too loud, was I too bad

Was I too open

Was I too high, was I too fast

Was I too close

I don’t feel your lips like the first kiss

I’d rather run away than sit to face the truth

Was I too proud, was I too hopeful

Was I too needing

Was I too crazy, was I too long

Was I too giving

No matter how far, no matter how long

I will be there

Telepopmusic Close

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"Siempre la ruta suspendida. La cordura loca. Siempre el lugar equivocado. El yo equivocado. El tú equivocado. El nosotros equivocado. Siempre la grandeza en el bolsillo. Siempre el hoy en el mañana. Siempre el ayer en el siempre. Siempre el paso a paso que termina en tropiezo. Siempre la sonrisa en llanto. Siempre el llanto en el mundo. Siempre el mundo en mí. Siempre el equilibrio malogrado y los cristales quebrantados. Siempre el apego en el dolor. Siempre el dolor en mí. Siempre la fragilidad en cada tropiezo. Siempre la fiesta en la casa de al lado. Siempre la derrota en el ceño. Siempre la noche en el nosotros equivocado. Siempre la vida en la tristeza. La tristeza en la esperanza. La vida en el nunca. Siempre la araña para las moscas. Siempre la ausencia en este aquí. Siempre mi cuerpo machacando dudas. Siempre este azul a contraluz. Siempre este caos al caer el telón. Siempre estas ganas de dejarme ir. Siempre este no saber qué hacer con tanto yo equivocado. Siempre la pregunta. Sólo la pregunta". ( My Blog)

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please view on black

i'm feeling a bit ill today and don't have the energy to process a whole lot of my more recent images -- the best i can offer today is this image of a tavern that's hidden away at the windmills area in chios (tolis has a beautiful gallery). i couldn't see it from the road -- i spotted it only when i was walking around the windmills themselves.

i don't know how, but my train of thought led me to imagine a huge party for flickr friends and contacts, with everyone holding a camera, shooting each other and looking for something interesting.

i'll try to get around to your streams today -- (it cheers me up!) -- but i hope you forgive me if i don't succeed.

on the blog: toomanytribbles.blogspot.com/2009/09/friends-of-gold.html

EDIT: hey, look where my moon candy landed! www.focus.it/natura/gallery/10092009-1252-113-astronomi-p...

She glides past you silently at night. Sleep carefully but not too deeply or you might never wake up!

Try this on Black or White