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costruito tra il 114 e il 117 d.C. è un arco trionfale dedicato all'imperatore Traiano in occasione dell'apertura della via Traiana, una variante della via Appia che accorciava il cammino tra Benevento e Brindisi.
Si tratta di un arco a un solo fornice, alto 15,60 m e largo 8,60 m. Su ogni facciata quattro semicolonne, disposte agli angoli dei piloni, sorreggono una trabeazione, che sporge al di sopra del fornice. Oltre le architravi si trova un attico, anch'esso più sporgente nella parte centrale, sopra il fornice, che presenta all'interno un vano coperto da una volta a botte.
È costruito in blocchi di pietra calcarea, rivestiti da opera quadrata in blocchi di marmo pario.
L'arco presenta una ricca decorazione scultorea sulle due facciate principali, con scene che si riferiscono alla pace e alle provvidenze verso i cittadini sul lato interno, rivolto verso la città, e alla guerra e alle provvidenze dell'imperatore verso le province sul lato esterno.
I lati interni del fornice presentano altri due ampi pannelli scolpiti, raffiguranti scene delle attività di Traiano nella città di Benevento.
Sono visibili rapporti abbastanza evidenti tra questi ultimi e il fregio traianeo dell'Arco di Costantino, per cui è stata avanzata l'ipotesi di un'attribuzione, almeno per questi due pannelli, all'officina romana del "Maestro delle Imprese di Traiano", autore della Colonna Traiana.
These are my friends Juliette and Sean, who are the band 8mm. I love their album 'Songs to Love and Die by'. You can download it from iTunes. It's fabulous. I often play it while processing photos - it's very inspirational.
** Sean has recorded, mixed and produced songs for 'Nine Inch Nails' ' Mariyln Manson' 'Guns and Roses' 'Depeche Mode' 'Slayer' 'Systm of a Down' ... you get the picture... a damn talented couple.
:::: BIGGER ....... is a MUST for your eyes and soul!
:::: Click here for a slideshow of my latest!
:::: Click here to view my Most Interesting according to Flickr!
:::: Have a coffee.... click here ....... and relax!
:::: Light Enlightment!!, Rosemère, Québec, Canada. Copyright © 2010 Gaëtan Bourque. All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal.
I shot it at the festival of CHHATH.
Chhath Puja is a very joyous and colorful festival. Chhath Puja is the holiest Hindu festival of people in northern India. Mostly the Chhath Puja is being observed in Bihar and Jharkhand(INDIA) and the festival comprises rituals for four days. The Chhath Puja begins a week after Diwali. The word Chat denotes the number six in Hindi. The Chhath Puja begins on the sixth day of the Kartik, a holy month as per Hindu calendar. Some people spell Chath Puja as Chat Puja, Chatt Puja, Chhath festival, etc
Chhath Puja is dedicated to worship the Sun God. The Chhath Puja is known as ‘SuryaShashti’. People observe Chhath Puja to thank the Sun for bestowing the bounties of life on earth, as also for fulfilling particular wishes. People believe that by observing the Chhath Puja they can fulfill their desires. The Chhath Puja has been observed since long time in India. On Chhath Puja day, all the people dress up in their best and new clothes are a must. Folk songs are sung both at home and on the riverbank. Millions of people take dip in the holy water of river Ganges, and other rivers.
For more photos like this one.click MY SITE subirbasak.orgfree.com.....
P.S."Copyright © – Subir Basak.
The reproduction, publication, modification, transmission or exploitation of any work contained herein for any use, personal or commercial, without my prior written permission is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved."
A sprig of dried lavender.
The Lavenders Lavandula are a genus of about 25-30 species of flowering plants in the mint family, native to the Mediterranean region south to tropical Africa and to the southeast regions of India. Lavender flowers yield abundant nectar which yields a high quality honey for beekeepers. Lavender flowers can be candied and are used as cake decoration; used as a herb, either alone or as an ingredient; used to flavour sugar, the product being called "lavender sugar"; and the flowers are sometimes sold in a blend with black tea, as "lavender tea".
For most cooking applications it is the dried buds (seen here) of lavender that are utilised, though some chefs experiment with the leaves as well. It is the buds however that contain the essential oil of lavender, which is where both the scent and flavour of lavender are best derived.
as I am often asked about, here is one of the few moments in my journey as a photographer, i treasure.
see the awarded image & description on flickr here
and CNP link here
the image ' rorschach's mindscape ' was awarded ' the most creative image of the year 2010 ', by the forum ' creative nature photography ', run by one of my most favourite nature photographer 'n visionary ganesh shankar and his team. see the link for awards here
see ganesh's outstanding work & essays on nature photography @ www.naturelyrics.com/
I don't do much HDR stuff, so I'm not too sure how well this turned out and would be interested in everyone's thoughts. It's a shot taken yesterday in the bitter cold off a bridge on Johnson Mill Road in Scott County, Kentucky. Three long exposures with +/-1.7 EV difference. (Other details in the EXIF data.) When tonemapping the shot, I tried to bring the saturation in the sunset down to a more realistic looking level but am not terribly satisfied with it. There are some artifacts where the sun is, which I couldn't figure out how to easily remove. Other than that and some question in my mind about the overall tone and crispness of the background, the image seems to be okay to me. Again, thoughts, comments, constructive criticisms, particularly from you HDR experts out there, would be great. Thanks!
View of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse located in Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area near Newport along the Oregon Coast, USA.
About this photo: This is one from a couple of years ago during our visit to the beautiful Oregon Coast. We stayed in a beach apartment for 1 week in Lincoln City in the month of July. On one of the days we drove to Newport and stopped for a visit at the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. This is a beautiful park to visit with different areas to stop at and hike/walk. First we stopped at the Quarry Cove Intertidal Area where we saw several seals resting on the rocks.
After that we continued to the area near the Yaquina Head Lighthouse where we parked and walked the "Salal-Hill Trail". From up here you really get a beautiful view of the lighthouse, this photo was taken at the bottom of the trail.
~Camera Settings:
*Camera Model: Sony DSLR A200
*Focal Length: 35mm
*F-Number: F/13
*Exposure Time: 1/40 sec.
*ISO Speed: ISO-100
*Exposure Program: Aperture (A)
*Exposure Compensation (E/V): -0.3 step
Thank you for looking and stopping by!
Ann :)
Some information on Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area: Yaquina Head is a narrow, coastal headland extending one mile into the Pacific Ocean. Formed of ancient lava flows, Yaquina Head’s hard basalt cliffs and coves have endured the pounding ocean surf for 14 million years. The lighthouse, tidepools, trails throughout the site, and the Interpretive Center offer many opportunities to explore and discover life at a coastal headland. (Info from the brochure you get when visiting).
The Oregon Coast is the coast of the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean, constituting the western border of the state. Stretching 583km/362mi from the city of Astoria to the California border, the Oregon Coast is unique in that the entire coast is public land. Oregon law prohibits private ownership of coastline property.
The Oregon Coast is often divided into three regions
•The North Coast—from the Washington border at Astoria to Lincoln City.
•The Central Coast—from Lincoln City to Reedsport.
•The South Coast—from Reedsport to the California border, just south of Brookings.
There are no large cities on the coast, mainly due to the lack of deep harbors with access to the inland agricultural areas. The largest metropolitan area consists of the bordering cities of Coos Bay and North Bend on the South Coast. This area has a population of approximately 25,000 people. There is only one continuous highway along the coastline, the U.S. Route 101. The relative isolation of the coast from nearby large population centers has given the coast a reputation for being somewhat rustic, being a mixture of old logging towns, fishing villages, seasonal resorts, and artists' colonies. Tourism, fishing and logging are the major industries on the coast. The coastal region's popularity, combined with the fact that there are only a few two-lane roads from the more populated areas in the Willamette Valley contributes to traffic to the north and central coasts being named the worst tourist traffic in the United States. (Info from Wikipedia)
Lumbier, Navarra (Spain).
ENGLISH
The Foz de Lumbier is carved out of the limestone rock by the river Irati at the western end of the Leyre range of mountains, at the foot of the Navarrese Pyrenees. It is one of the most spectacular gorges in Navarre, a landscape created over millions of years by the waters of the river Irati, which have left their mark on this sanctuary of nature day by day. The gorge was declared a Nature Reserve in 1987.
Lumbier is a narrow and small gorge, just 1,300 metres long, but of spectacular beauty. Its vertical walls reach a maximum height of 150 metres and large birds of prey live in the cracks and ledges, with species such as griffon vultures whose flights will accompany you in your visit to the gorge. It is also a refuge for foxes, boar, badgers and owls, and is strewn with gall and kermes oaks and bushes such as thyme, lavender and gorse that hang from the cracks, vegetation that is transformed into woods of poplars, willows and ash trees at the entry and exit of the gorge.
In contrast to many other canyons, you can walk through Lumbier along an easy track that runs along the bottom of the cliffs for 2.6 kilometres. The route was created for the old Irati train (the first electric train in Spain) that linked Pamplona with Sangüesa between 1911 and 1955.
The signposted path runs along the river and crosses the rock through two tunnels (206 and 160 metres long) that do not have artificial light. Towards the end of the path the route goes around the rock and reaches the remains of the Puente del Diablo (Devil's Bridge), which was built in the 16th century with a raised arch 15 metres above the river. It was destroyed by the French in 1812 during the War of Independence, and owes its name to a legend that says that its builder asked the devil for help to finish it.
More info: www.visitnavarra.es/eng/organice-viaje/recurso/relacionad...
---------------------------
CASTELLANO
La foz de Lumbier es un desfiladero excavado por el río Irati sobre la roca caliza en el extremo occidental de la sierra de Leire, al pie del Pirineo navarro. Es una de las gargantas más espectaculares de Navarra, un paisaje labrado a lo largo de millones de años por la acción del río Irati que, día a día, sigue marcando su huella en este santuario de la naturaleza, reserva natural desde 1987.
La de Lumbier es una hoz estrecha y pequeña, de 1.300 metros de longitud, y de una belleza espectacular. Sus paredes verticales alcanzan en su cota máxima 150 metros de altura, y en sus grietas, roturas y repisas viven grandes rapaces, entre los que abundan los buitres leonados, cuyo vuelo le acompañará en su visita al desfiladero. La foz, que también sirve de refugio para zorros, jabalíes, tejones y alimoches, está poblada de quejigos y coscojas, además de arbustos como tomillo, espliego y ollaga que se cuelan por las grietas, vegetación que se transforma en bosques de álamos, sauces y fresnos a la entrada y salida de la foz.
A diferencia de otras gargantas, la de Lumbier puede ser recorrida a través de un sencillo camino que discurre al pie de los acantilados, a lo largo de 2,6 kilómetros. El trazado fue realizado para el tren Irati, el primer tren eléctrico de España, que comunicó Pamplona con Sangüesa entre 1911 y 1955.
El camino está señalizado, discurre junto al río y atraviesa la roca a través de dos túneles, de 206 y 160 metros de longitud, que no poseen luz artificial. En la parte final del sendero, el camino bordea la roca y llega hasta los restos del Puente del Diablo, construido en el siglo XVI, con un arco elevado 15 metros sobre el río. Destruido por los franceses en 1812, durante la Guerra de la Independencia, debe su nombre a una leyenda según la cual su constructor pidió ayuda al diablo para levantar el puente.
Más info: www.visitnavarra.es/esp/organice-viaje/recurso.aspx?o=303...
I now have two books of my work available...
The Feeding of the Birds... The photography of Allan Ellerby Book Preview
Click Here
Also available is the more comprehensive...
www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/182444-f...
The darkness of the temple was all-encompassing. Their hololamps felt like comically weak attempts to fight back, as dim and small as they were. The huge, empty halls seemed to call out to them as they passed. More than once, Nathan thought he’d heard someone.
“What was that?” he’d asked Ozz, who stared at him with concern.
“Nothing, kid. Just like last time. Get a grip, would ya?”
Something glinted in Ozz’s light. He peered at it, trying to get a closer look.
Eefo, their guide, (and current victim of blackmail) led from the front.
“Come,” she said. “The deep archives are this way. If there are any records related to Balaam’s Heart, we will find them there.” Then she added, more bitterly, “We can only hope this excursion does not doom the known galaxy.”
Nathan frowned over at her. “Or maybe it’ll keep it safe. If we don’t find the Heart, Pyerce might. It’s worth the risk.”
“Woah, woah, woah!” Ozz exclaimed, and his excited cry echoed in the tunnel. He hurried over to what he’d found—a pile of artifacts, gleaming beneath the dust and sand. “These babies look valuable!”
Eefo and Nathan stood in the entrance of another hall, pausing to look back at him. Eefo couldn’t hide her disgust with his priorities.
“Artifacts for processing, not what you seek.”
“Yeah, not what we came here for,” Nathan said. “Come on, Ozz. Sooner we get out of here, the better.”
Of course, Nathan should never have said that, because that’s the exact kind of thing that leads to ironic catastrophe. And so it did.
The rumbling began quietly, but was deafening before they had a chance to react. The walls were trying to shake apart. The ground bucked underneath them. The tunnel was filled with the cacophony of shouting and the crashing of rock as they all dodged rubble dropping from overhead and dived for cover. What felt like forever was over in just a few seconds.
Nathan pushed himself off the ground and looked frantically for his friend.
“Ozz, Ozz!”
“Nerd?” came the weak reply, through a layer of fallen rock.
“Ozz!” Nathan shouted again, trying to pull away rubble. His efforts were in vain.
“I’m alright, kid! Just…in a different room. You got our bounty?”
Nathan felt a mixture of relief and annoyance surge through him, and he took several deep breaths. Eefo was getting to her feet nearby.
“You okay?” he asked. She replied with a thumbs up.
“Yeah, she’s okay,” he told Ozz. “Hey, we’re gonna make it out of this. Listen, try and go back the way we came, or find another path out. We’ll all join back up at the entrance, got it?”
“Sure, sure. Me, worried? About the dark? Nah. See ya in a bit, no problem.”
Nathan took a moment to rest after the stress of the cave-in. “He’ll be fine,” he told himself.
“Perhaps he will,” Eefo replied dryly. “Forgive me for my lack of concern.”
“Okay, Ozzie, okay. You’re gonna be okay,” Ozz whispered, casting his hololamp around the rubble to find a good path out. The way they’d come in was blocked, so he chose the next best doorway and started trudging along. “No worries, no worries. Think happy thoughts. You’ll get paid! Oh—“ he turned back and—at least something was going right—a few of the gleaming artifacts were strewn across the floor.
“Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!” Ozz hooted in glee, scooping up a few golden discs to stuff into his jacket. “Come to Ozzie! Now we just gotta find a way outta this pit, and Papa Ozzie can find a nice fence to hock to you to!”
He was glad Nathan wasn’t here to see him talk to treasure.
Now weighed down with future fortunes, Ozz trudged ahead into the dark tunnels and empty halls of the temple, all by his lonesome. He hummed to himself to ward off any fears. He really needed to start carrying a blaster. Nothing like a blaster to make you feel safe.
“Your pockets are heavy, thief.”
Ozz spun around, looking for the source of the voice. “Whosaidthat!” he cried, brandishing one of the discs.
“A denizen of this sacred place,” said the voice from nowhere.
“Oh…oh great, now I’m really going crazy. Amazing. Just ignore it, Ozzie, keep walkin’…”
“Ignoring a thing does not make it go away. Your name is Ozzie?”
“What? No, it’s…Ozzamandes. Hey, I’m not talkin’ to you. You’re just a voice in my head. Guy might look crazy talkin’ to himself like that.”
“I am not a manifestation of insanity, but of the force.”
“Ha, the force! Good one, brain.”
Suddenly, a creature appeared before him, a woman who seemed both there and not there at the same time, who shone with a ghostly blue glow. Ozz froze in place and stared at her, stunned.
She spoke with power and grace, and her face was severe. “A faith is a necessity for a creature, Ozzamandes. Woe to them who believes nothing. Woe to you, for I sense this void...within you.”
Shocked, Ozz’s grip went limp. A disc fell to the floor with a ‘clang’.
“Follow me,” Eefo said. “I will find us a way out of the tunnels.”
Nathan stopped in his tracks. “Wait a second. I want to get out too, but not before we find what we came for.”
Eefo’s face twitched. “Don’t you want to find your friend?”
“Yeah, but he’ll be fine, and ticked off at me if we leave this place with nothing to show for it. Can we still get to the archives after the cave-in?”
Eefo had been caught trying to wiggle out of showing him the archives, and she looked accordingly hateful.
“…Yes,” she spat. “Come, do not lose the way.”
As they walked, Nathan questioned her.
“The Scriptist’s madness, or whatever…he mentioned spirits. That’s just you, right? You’re gaslighting your mentor?”
“The spirits are real. The sabotage is mine, but the drain on his mind…the spirits are real. Dark things.”
This was not exactly the answer Nathan had wanted to hear while spelunking in a pitch-black tunnel.
“Oh, I see,” he said, shining his light behind him and hurrying to catch up.
“So what was your life like around here, huh? See any good holos?”
“As a Jedi scholar, I forbade myself from material pleasures, if that is what you ask.”
“Sheesh, aren’t you a bucket of fun.”
Ozz now continued his journey through the tunnels with the ghost woman at his side.
"You scoff. There is moral grandeur in this, no? The renunciation, the sacrifice this station requires? The self-exile, the remembrance of mortality, the committing of one's spirit to mystery and thought rather than toil?"
"Hah, I'd love to see you tell that to my pops. He loved toil."
"You use the past-tense. Your father is one with the force?"
"He's dead, if that's what you're askin'. We didn't see eye-to-eye, so wouldn't make much of a difference if he wersen't."
“But now you have another family? One of your own?”
“Hah! A family, nah. Just this kid mooching off my ship.”
“You have a child?”
Ozz shook his head, muttering to himself before replying. “No, no. Human’s name is Nathan, we’ve been working together for a few weeks. Can’t stand the guy, honestly. Always going on about safety and stuff. Takes himself too seriously. Got me fired once! For something I didn’t do, I’ll have you know.”
The woman smiled softly. “I sense care in your voice.”
“Pah! You’re hearin’ things too, then.”
“Love finds us in unlikely places. When it crosses our path, we are often slow to embrace it. We deny ourselves the comforts of familial care in order to protect our vulnerable, fragile egos.”
Ozz raised an eyebrow up at her and grimaced. “Geez, you get personal, lady. Bet you were a weirdo as a kid.”
They were stopped by sounds up ahead, strange howls and whispers that seemed to slither by in a tunnel before them. The woman flew in front of Ozz, her expression stern.
“What the keff was that!” Ozz cried, covering his head and looking around for danger.
“Dark spirits. My counterparts. The other side.”
“Well geez, terrible roommates! You just all hang out in the temple together? Just a big spirit party, good and bad?”
“I do not wish it to be this way. Their presence is a desecration.”
“Okay, okay…why don’t you evict ‘em then? You’re all glowly, I bet you could get rid of ‘em.”
“It’s not a question of my power, but of my purpose. I pledged myself in life to study and knowledge, it is not my place to raise hands against evil, but to equip those who do. I put them out of mind, and avoid their distraction.”
“Hm, couldn’t you make, like, an exception?”
She rounded on him, her expression fierce, her eyes wide.
“Does my life sound like one of exceptions, Ozzamandes?”
Ozz shrunk back from the frightful display. “Well, no. No, that’s a good point. But…”
The look on her pale face told him not to continue, but he was never good at listening to warnings.
“Well, you don’t really have a life, anymore. You’re—sorry if I’m the first one to tell you this—but you’re dead, lady.”
“I know this. Don’t insult my intellect.”
“Well then, you did good! You held to your pledges! They were pledges for life, right?”
She looked thoughtful, her brow knit. She said nothing.
“Besides, weren’t you the one that told me…ignoring something doesn’t make it go away?”
The deep archives were once locked behind doors that required power to open, powers neither Nathan nor Eefo had. But time and war wears away all things, this time to Nathan’s benefit. The doors were long since destroyed, and their access unblocked.
It was a narrow hall. Rows and rows of old books, many of them destroyed, lined the shelves.
Eefo gestured forward. “Feast away, you fool.”
Nathan shot her a look. “Kind of unnecessary, but…thank you for bringing me here. Where do I start?”
“Balaam’s Heart? I recommend ‘B’.”
“Oh, it works like that? Huh, I expected something weirder,” he said, and he stepped forward to scan the massive stacks.
Eefo looked on the shelves—the sheer amount of terrible, dangerous knowledge—and at the young man now searching amongst the tomes. Fear clutched at her heart. Her mind went to the blaster under her robes.
“You speak sense. Most unexpected,” the ghostly woman said.
“Oh, nice,” Ozz grunted. “I’ll try not to be offended about how you said that.”
“My apologies. Perhaps, as a spirit, my purpose is something different than what I was bound to in life. Perhaps I must evolve, as my being has evolved. Perhaps I must oppose the dark things here, and purify this temple. Thank you, Ozzamandes, for speaking with me. It has been most enlightening.”
“Sure, sure, any time. Now, I gotta get outta here, any chance…?”
“We have been following that path for some time. I have been leading you to your friends while we talked. They are just ahead.”
Ozz blinked in surprise. “No kidding? You’re alright, lady.”
“Ozzamandes,” she said, and her voice became serious and heartfelt. “Do not deny your care for your friend. You would rob yourself of greater riches than those you carry in your coat.”
Ozz avoided her gaze, nodding vaguely. “Oh, uh, sure, sure. Yeah, thanks for the advice.”
“And Ozzamandes,” she said again.
“What?”
“Please leave behind the things you’ve pilfered from my temple, if you please.”
“Oh,” Ozz blushed, and he casually removed the golden discs from his pockets and dumped them on the floor as gently as he could. “Sure thing, of course.”
She smiled. “Thank you. Farewell, I hope we meet again.”
“Me too, ‘cept I got no plans to come back to this joint. But uh, I’ll see ya when I see ya.”
A fondly amused expression was the last thing on her face before she faded away, and he was left in the dark. A door stood in front of him.
Ozz smiled proudly. “’Most enlightening’…Old Ozzie, who woulda thought!”
Ozz entered the deep archives. The first thing he saw was Eefo, hand on her blaster, and an unaware Nathan. Something in his chest swelled up, and his eyebrows furrowed. She was gonna blast his partner? Not on her life.
“Hey, what’s the big idea?” he shouted, and Eefo spun in alarm. She hastily drew her blaster. “Nate, look out!”
Ozz threw himself into the Rodian researcher, knocking both of them to the floor. The blaster went off harmlessly, a bright red bolt striking an ancient tome and completing its transition to nothing more than a pile of ashes.
Nathan ducked and swiveled. He stared at the prone Eefo. A few seconds and he would’ve been toast.
“Woah, woah! Thanks Ozz!” He suddenly grasped that Ozz was here, and grinned widely. “Ozz! You made it!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ozz said, dusting himself off. Eefo looked trapped. “Had some help. I’ll tell ya about it later. Geez, once a spy, always a spy, huh!”
Eefo glared at him defiantly. “You’ll bring ruin to the galaxy!” she said, her voice trembling.
She stood on shaking legs, and occasionally her eyes darted towards the shelves, wide with fear. She was like an animal, and Nathan felt, most of all, pity. He understood what was driving her.
Nathan grabbed Ozz's arm and pulled him aside. He whispered, "Hey, I'm trying to honor what you said on Yavin, I'm telling you before I do something crazy."
Ozz looked at him warily. "...Kid, whatever you're thinking, you better not risk our profit, here. We're in a golden spot with this!"
"No, I'm not okay with how we've done this. Catching spies is one thing, but blackmailing, threatening deserters to get what we want?" He shook his head firmly. "That's not how I want us to do things."
Ozz looked between his eyes, searching for a way to convince him otherwise. There was no chance. He had no choice but to back down.
"That's...another payout lost, kid. I hope you know what you're doing: we need credits! Finding your girl is gonna take credits, you understand?"
"I know, we'll figure it out! I'm sure we can pick up a side job or something, but...I want to let Eefo go free. She's not even a spy anymore."
Ozz threw up his hands. "Have it your way. But you're the least lucrative partner I've ever had."
"This pays off in other ways, Ozz.” He turned back to the Rodian, approaching her cautiously.
“Hey, I’m not mad that you wanted to shoot me, alright? It’s…well, it’s not okay, Eefo. But I get it.” He stepped forward, and she flinched. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he told her. “We’re going to let you go free. You don’t have to worry about us leaking anything, or telling anyone where you are, okay?”
Eefo raised a brow skeptically. She waited for him to continue.
“Now, I know you think what we’re doing is wrong. But…I wish you could trust me. My intentions are nothing but good, I swear. You’re right that this is dangerous stuff. The Empire is looking for it, and I can’t leave whether they find it or not up to chance. Please, you don’t have to agree, but…don’t shoot me?”
She met his gaze, and gradually seemed to calm. Her eyebrow still twinged in frustration, but she sighed, and the fight had left her.
“Yes. Alright.”
“Great,” Nathan nodded. “Ozz, help me find this book!”
Ozz was already by the stacks, and held up an old pile of slates bound together with rope. “Was it ‘Balaam’?”
“Yeah, why—“
“Here ya go.”
He passed the slates to Nathan. Sure enough, Balaam’s name was on them.
“No way,” Nathan said, staring. “Ozz, thank you!”
“No problem,” he shrugged, unaware of his partners efforts to do what he’d just done in one glance.
“We’ve got what we needed. Let’s go see sunlight again, huh?”
Eefo led them back through the tunnels until they found the staircase they’d originally descended. They were cheered to see the light flooding through the open archways of the temple doors. Cold wind filled their ears as they crossed the old atrium floor and ventured out into the open air.
They gasped in horror when they saw the sky.
An Imperial Light Cruiser lay in the upper atmosphere. A small, white shape was gliding down towards them; a shuttle.
“Aw, hell,” Ozz grunted, slumping hopelessly.
“No!” Eefo screamed. “No! They’re coming for the temple!”
Nathan blanched, and held Balaam’s slates tightly under his arm. “We’ve got to get out of here. We can’t fight that thing.”
“The temple is bad enough, but we must not lead them to the Searchers! The unencrypted archives, the research, they cannot be allowed to have it!”
His jaw firmly set, Nathan made a decision. “Ride back to the outpost, I’ll hold them here.”
“Kid,” Ozz said weakly. “What the keff are you gonna do?”
A plan was formulating in his mind. Nathan approached the small conductor Eefo had planted in the ground when they’d arrived.
“Eefo, show me how to work this thing. Then you both go, get to safety!”
“Hey, kid,” Ozz said, his tone full of worry in a way Nathan had never heard.
“Yeah?”
“We’re gonna come back for you. Just hold out, okay? Trust in the…the force, or whatever. You better be alive when I get here.”
“I’ll do my best,” Nathan shrugged. “Chances aren’t great.”
A grin broke on Ozz’s face. “Oy, bring back the optimism. You’re downright depressing, you know that?”
“I’ll bring back the optimism when we make some money, how about that.”
“Oh, so never.”
“Well, never say never!”
“Ha! There it is,” Ozz grinned. He patted Nathan on the side. “Take care, kid. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Geez, what’s gotten into you?”
“Oh, shut up. I dunno, had some time to think while I was in those tunnels. Anyway, enough dwaddling! Let’s get this show on the road!”
“Yeah, I’ll see you in a bit, Ozz.”
A few minutes later, Ozz and Eefo sped back towards camp, Balaam’s slates in hand.
Alone at the entrance to the temple, Nathan waited for the shuttle to touch down.
Ahhhh Canada. Being from Michigan and growing up less than an hour from the border, I've had the kind of access to Canada that many Americans don't. See, here when we turn 19, it's time to celebrate because we can drive across the border to Windsor and drink in the bars. Or, if you'd rather, sometimes we simply get lost on our way home from Red Wings games and accidentally find ourselves on the Ambassador Bridge on our way into Ontario where we then have to explain to the border guard that we are simply trying to get some dinner at Chicken Chalet. We also get constant access to the Candaian television station CBC, which, if you're a hockey fan (which we all are here in the Detroit area), means that you get Hockey Night in Canada and Coach's Corner with Don Cherry. I don't know any of my friends who voluntarily chooses to watch hockey on any channel other than CBC. Much better commentating.
So, Happy Canada Day to all of my Canuck friends (and there are many!). Thank you for the great beer (Labatt Blue), great sports (hockey and curling), great music (who didn't love Alanis Morissette in her prime?), and mostly for the great people. :)
365 Days (self portraits): Day 92
FGR & TRP: Happy Canada Day, Canucks!
TOTW: Accessorize: these cat eye glasses always make me think of Lisa Loeb.
Hilo de la Fotohistoria en Pullip .es: SHIN'S BASS SOLO (1 of 1) /
EL SOLO DE SHIN (1 de 1)
(Read in order, this is: SHOT/FOTO 02 of 48) PAG: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48.
LINKS:
- FOTOHISTORIAS en casa de Sheryl en el Foro de Pullips: Pullip .es
- Hilo de las Fotohistorias de Shin y Yashiro en el Foro de Pullips: Pullip .es
- Hilo de la Relación entre Shin y Yashiro en la sección de Penpals de Pullip .es
- Ayrin and Sheryl PHOTOSTORIES at Flickr
Come from my buddy Tom. I'm not a "Christmas" guy and his work always brightens up an otherwise annoying time for me.
Tom does not use photo shop. He has a great eye and stumbles upon "scenes" like this Hasidic statuette in front of a Lawrence Welk boxset at flea markets, thrift shops etc. He's been sending me gems like this every year for the last ten or so. What a guy!
Check out his website for his "serious" work:
Llancarvan monastery in Glamorganshire, three miles from Cowbridge, and not far from the British Channel, was founded in the latter part of the fifth century by St. Cadoc (Dranc, "Christian Schools and Scholars", I, 56). He was the son of Gundleus (Swynlliw), a prince of South Wales, who some years before his death renounced the world to lead an eremitical life near a country church which he had built. Cadoc, who was his oldest son, succeeded him in the government, but not long after followed his father's example and received the religious habit from St. Tathai, an Irish monk, superior of a small community at Swent near Chepstow, in Monmouthshire. Returning to his native county, Cadoc built a church and monastery, which was called Llancarvan, or the "Church of the Stags". Here he established a monastery and college, which became the seminary of many great and holy men. The spot at first seemed an impossible one, and almost inaccessible marsh, but he and his monks drained and cultivated it, transforming it into one of the most famous and attractive religious homes in South Wales. The plan of the building included a monastery, a college, and a hospital. The ancient Iolo manuscript (Welsh) gives an account of the numerical strength of this monastery: "The College of Cattwg [Cadoc] in Llancarvan with three cells [halls or subject houses] and a thousand saints [monks], together with two cells in the Vale of Neath"
wow, this looks awful small. okay, you must view large. seriously. it's plain embarrassing small.
also, i'm terribly sorry that i haven't had time to look through everyone's new uploads in a couple days :( i promise i will catch up on that this weekend, if not before.
this is old, super old, sorry you are probably tired of all these canal pictures.
anyway, i uploaded it since i had no new photos and i was tagged by audrey hutchinson (: so here goes, ten things about me...
1. i go through phases of music...i will pick two or three songs and literally ONLY listen to them for the next month. right now...it's two songs from the coraline soundtrack. don't make fun of me :'( haha.
2. i LOVE root beer dumdums (as in the lollipops)
3. i was obsessed with neopets for like 5 years...and i still go on every once in awhile. heh
4. i have a cat named ember, who is actually a vampire and i have ten million scars on my arms to prove it.
5. i haven't worn a pair of flaired jeans in practically a year, i live for skinny jeans. especially colored skinny jeans, i have a ridiculous amount of them.
6. i studied college-level ancient Greek for three weeks this summer (yessir, i'm a nerd. i went to CTY camp) and the best thing i learned from it was the ability to write secret notes to myself in transliterated greek (SO HELPFUL).
7. i loveeee snow and the sound it makes when it falls.
8. once i ate nothing but eggo waffles for two days straight.
9. i have three brothers, whom i frequently want to toss out the window.
10. i love band geeks.
Photo © 2009, 2010 Angela A. Stanton, All rights reserved. Contact: angela@stantonphotostudios.com for further information.
The other day, after an all-night rain, I found my flowering maple (not flowering now) with rain drops on the leaves underside. That is kind of unusual but then maple leaves turn in all directions... everything is possible. =) I found it pretty. This image is untouched--it is as it came out of the camera. I used Lightroom 3 to convert from raw to tiff, I added my logos and watermark in CS5. Otherwise not a thing done.
Photo details: custom white balance, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF 100mm f/28.8 IS macro, 1/100 sec at f.5.0 with ISO 100. I used a +1/3 EV to get more light and move the image more toward the right side--much green and in the RGB curve the colors come live if on the right of the histogram's middle.
Estábamos en una zona de Osona que conocíamos poco. Los pueblos de los alrededores del pantano de Sau son pequeños y coquetos. Algunos se componen unicamente de una masía grande, una iglesia, su estafeta y el ayuntamiento. Una calle Mayor con casas bajas donde se agrupan la panadería y un bar, pequeño y cuidado, en donde disfrutar de un buen bocadillo de productos del lugar es lo mas apropiado.
Estábamos saboreando del aroma de las piedras centenarias de la iglesia de Vilanova de Sau, y disfrutando del silencio de su cementerio, pequeño y muy cuidado, cuando un estruendo nos trajo de nuevo a este mundo. No supimos discernir si el maremágnum de pitos, bocinas y griterío vario era una manifa de agricultores, o una repentina y no deseada aglomeración de coches con intenciones de aparcar junto a la iglesia, situación que me hubiera sacado de mis casillas, pudiendo ser el inicio de un altercado entre domingueros jubilados y yo mismo, algo siempre muy embarazoso, ya que por la experiencia tenida, esas embestidas siempre dan en fracaso y bochorno, saliendo del lugar con mala leche y sin hacer agua clara.
No fue el caso... la algarabía que se oía en la Calle Mayor era, no una mani de gente en desacuerdo con alguna autoridad, o jubileo, si no una bonita quedada como hoy se dice, de moteros con sus respectivas monturas, todo salido así como de una película de los años 40, tales eran las trazas de las motocicletas y sidecares, así como los cascos y gafas de los dueños de ellas. Ibamos a por piedras añejas y terminamos fotografiando Sanglas y Ducatis de época, algo que no teníamos previsto, pero que nos lleno de gozo.
my power animal is the orca : )
The Orca is found in all seas from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The familiar black and white coloring of the Orca is significant. From a spiritual point of view it represents lessons of a soul nature regarding polarity. Orcas assist us in acquiring balance within a world of opposites.
From a physical point of view it is a strategy of camouflage. Seen from above their dark back blends in with the darker water below them, while from below, their whiter bellies blend in with the sunlit waters above. This symbolizes the ability to move through life seen or unseen depending on the situation. Learning the art of camouflage is advantageous for those with this medicine. Proper action and reaction, observation and expression are all linked to this art.
The orca swims in formation either in a line or in rows. This indicates good organizational skills and the ability to work cooperatively with others.
Each pod has its own distinctive dialect which allow members of the same pod to recognize one another even if they get separated. Those with this medicine are able to instantly identify members of their original soul group. Although personalities may differ a strong sense of family is known. Life lessons as well as spiritual aspirations are similar. Reuniting with members of the same soul group can trigger a sense of great joy or it can awaken heart felt grief as memories surface about a previous loss. Those with this totem should remember that once a reunion has been established, emotional support for one another will always be available.
Orca medicine people are very creative although they can have a tendency to keep their creativity hidden or allow their creativity to rule their lives. Those with this totem should pay attention to the way in which the orca appears to them. If it is seen breaching out of the water it is asking you to surface from the depths of your inner reflection and express yourself outwardly in a grounded and creative way.
If seen injured or beached it could indicate a need to take care of your health. Orcas often get parasites, bacterial and fungal infections. Hodgkin's disease has been recorded in killer whales. From an emotional perspective this disease is linked to low self esteem and the fear of being accepted. The orca holds the teachings of fearlessness, beauty, power and balance. It can awaken these same qualities within you. All you need to do is ask."
When I got home from school yesterday, there were sooo many butterflies in my Dad's garden. I set out to get one in flight and this is what I came away with.
I'm not too pleased with the black background.. but the heavily shadowed trees behind the fence were what made up the unfocused portion of the shot. So what can you do?
two more in the comments
www.dbnl.org/tekst/_rev002199301_01/_rev002199301_01_0130... #terbalkt #habakukIIdebalker #harryterbalkt #boekelo #twente #mastbos #literature #literatuur #wood #wald #bos
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xeno-canto.org/asia/species.php?species_nr2=9480.00
A male bird of paradise
The Raggiana Bird of Paradise, Paradisaea raggiana also known as Count Raggi's Bird of Paradise is a large bird in the bird of paradise family Paradisaeidae.
It is distributed widely in southern and north eastern New Guinea, where its name is kumul.
It is 34cm-long, maroon-brown with greyish-blue bill, yellow iris and greyish-brown feet. The male has a yellow crown, dark emerald-green throat and yellow collar between the throat and its blackish upper breast feathers. It is adorned with a pair of long black tail wires and large flank plumes. The female is a comparatively drab maroonish-brown-colored bird. The ornamental flank plumes vary from red to orange in color, depending on subspecies. The nominate subspecies, P. r. raggiana has the deepest red plumes, while subspecies P. r. augustavictoriae also known as the Empress of Germany's Bird of Paradise of northeast New Guinea has apricot-orange plumes.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raggiana_Bird_of_Paradise
De paradijsvogel heeft vele kunstenaars geïnspireerd. Het is een zeer bijzondere vogel door zijn opvallend kleurrijk verenkleed. Hier lees je veel interessante feiten over deze prachtige verschijning in het oerwoud van Nieuw Guinea.
De paradijsvogel behoort zonder meer tot de mooiste vogels ter wereld. Van de 43 soorten komen er 38 voor in Nieuw Guinea. De paradijsvogel is de nationale vogel van Papua Nieuw-Guinea(PNG). Paradijsvogels hebben een uitzonderlijk lange staart. Ook groeien er lange gekleurde draden uit hun verenkleed. Sommige paradijsvogels hebben een eigenaardige verenkroon op hun hoofd.
uit:
dier-en-natuur.infonu.nl/vogels/5776-paradijsvogel-de-moo...
174.129.90.252/groups/paradisaeidae/pool/interesting/
belasaves.3vd.com.br/index.php/component/content/article/...
Please View On Black and/or View On White
Size: 1.25" - 2.0"
The Snowberry Clearwing Moth is a small hummingbird moth which more closely resembles a large bumblebee rather than a hummingbird.
Like other hummingbird moths, this one flies during daylight. A similar, but larger, sphinx moth is the (Hemaris thysbe) Hummingbird Clearwing Moth.
Adults mimic bumblebees and are quite variable, both geographically and seasonally. The wings are basically clear, with dark brown to brownish-orange veins, bases and edges. The thorax is golden-brown to dark greenish-brown. The abdomen tends to be dark (black) with 1-2 yellow segments just before the terminal end. These yellow segments are in much sharper contrast to the rest of the abdomen than in somewhat similar species. Also note the relatively narrow dark outer margin of the hindwing. Most fresh specimens also have some blue "fur" tufts highlighting the first black band on the abdomen.
This moth hovers over flowers in full sunlight, producing a buzzing sound with its wings, similar to that of a hummingbird.
There are usually two broods annually from March-September depending upon latitude. The moth is seen along forest edges, in meadows, gardens and brushy fields. Adults like to nectar at lantana, dwarf bush honeysuckle, snowberry, orange hawkweed, thistles, lilac and Canada violet.
Caterpillars pass through five instars and are pale green on the back and darker green on the sides, with numerous white flecks in the final instar. The anal horn is bright yellow at base and blue-black at the tip. There are longitudinal brown stripes on the underside. The legs are almost white and barred with dark brown. There is a double row of yellow granules on the first segment which projects over head. The spiracles along side of body are very evident, being ringed in pale blue.
Larval host plants include Snowberry (Symphoricarpos), honeysuckle (Lonicera), Coralberry, viburnums, Blue Dogbane (Apocynum) and dwarf bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera).
Pupation is in a very flimsy cocoon at ground surface. The inch long pupa is brown.In the fall, when larvae are ready to pupate, they take on an orange to burgundy hue.
TAXONOMY:
Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802
Subfamily: Macroglossinae, Harris, 1839
Tribe: Dilophonotini, Burmeister, 1878
Genus: Hemaris (Dalman, 1816) ...........
Species: diffinis (Boisduval, 1836)
"L'invitation au voyage"
Charles Baudelaire
Mon enfant, ma soeur,
Songe à la douceur
D'aller là-bas vivre ensemble !
Aimer à loisir,
Aimer et mourir
Au pays qui te ressemble !
Les soleils mouillés
De ces ciels brouillés
Pour mon esprit ont les charmes
Si mystérieux
De tes traîtres yeux,
Brillant à travers leurs larmes.
Là, tout n'est qu'ordre et beauté,
Luxe, calme et volupté.
Des meubles luisants,
Polis par les ans,
Décoreraient notre chambre ;
Les plus rares fleurs
Mêlant leurs odeurs
Aux vagues senteurs de l'ambre,
Les riches plafonds,
Les miroirs profonds,
La splendeur orientale,
Tout y parlerait
À l'âme en secret
Sa douce langue natale.
Là, tout n'est qu'ordre et beauté,
Luxe, calme et volupté.
Vois sur ces canaux
Dormir ces vaisseaux
Dont l'humeur est vagabonde ;
C'est pour assouvir
Ton moindre désir
Qu'ils viennent du bout du monde.
- Les soleils couchants
Revêtent les champs,
Les canaux, la ville entière,
D'hyacinthe et d'or ;
Le monde s'endort
Dans une chaude lumière.
Là, tout n'est qu'ordre et beauté,
Luxe, calme et volupté.
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Sturnus unicolor
El estornino negro (Sturnus unicolor) es un ave paseriforme de la familia de los estorninos, Sturnidae. Está estrechamente relacionado con el estornino pinto, pero tiene una distribución mucho más limitada y no es migratorio. Este estornino es residente de la península ibérica, noroeste de África, Sicilia, Córcega y Cerdeña.
Su color negro y característica silueta con sus cortos cuello y cola hacen su identificación sencilla con la única posibilidad de confusión durante el invierno, cuando los estorninos pintos también están en la misma región. Los estorninos negros en invierno tienen un color negro grisáceo ligeramente moteado aunque no tan abundante y marcado como el pinto. Aunque al llegar la primavera pierden todas las pequeñas motas y adquieren un plumaje más negro y más brillante que el del estornino pinto, en especial los machos. Las patas son rosadas y sus estrechos y puntiagudos picos tienen tonalidad amarilla, más intensa en los machos durante la temporada de cría. Los estorninos negros andan en lugar de brincar y tienen un vuelo fuerte y directo. En vuelo se pueden apreciar sus alas en forma triángular y su cola corta. Sus polluelos son de color marrón apagado y los juveniles son de color gris oscuro motedado muy similares a los del pinto.
El estornino negro se puede encontrar en cualquier lugar abierto, incluso dentro de los núcleos urbanos. Al igual que el estornino pinto esta especie es omnívora y se alimenta de invertebrados, bayas, etc. También es gregaria y forma bandadas grandes durante el invierno, aunque no tan grandes que las del estornino pinto. Es un ave ruidosa y puede imitar sonidos muy bien. Su canto es semejante al del estornino pinto pero es más claro y tiene un tono más alto.
Esta especie suele anidar en cavidades, que pueden ser un hueco en un árbol o agujeros en los edificios. Normalmente ponen cuatro huevos.
8-28-10:
CollegeMonthlyOct.1974-JoeCardiello-Illo
www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=918258&id=1652840888&a...
Special thanks to Kenneth R Anderson
Joe Ciardiello
1990s
Directory tear sheet, 8.375" x 11"
I saw Joe's work for the first time Sept. 1974 when he did a caricature for Doug G. and Noë G's fledgling mag. Joe hadn't fully developed his own style yet, and his illustration struck me as a so-so Alan Cober or Jack Unruh knock-off. Boy, was I wrong, or boy, has he developed. This sample comes from about 20 years later, with a very NYC subject for Joe. His style is now instantly recognizable, and he does regular spots for The New York Times Sunday Book Review. He's terrific.
But within weeks, College Monthly folded, Joe's November issue art never ran, and he (and we) didn't get paid. Perhaps this belated appreciation will serve as minor recompense.
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Add a caption
Joe Ciardiello 1990s Directory tear sheet, 8.375" x 11" I saw Joe's work for the first time Sept. 1974 when he did a caricature for Doug G. and Noë G's fledgling mag. Joe hadn't fully developed his own style yet, and his illustration struck me as a so-so Alan Cober or Jack Unruh knock-off. Boy, was I wrong, or boy, has he developed. This sample comes from about 20 years later, with a very NYC subject for Joe. His style is now instantly recognizable, and he does regular spots for The New York Times Sunday Book Review. He's terrific. But within weeks, College Monthly folded, Joe's November issue art never ran, and he (and we) didn't get paid. Perhaps this belated appreciation will serve as minor recompense. === www.joeciardiello.com ===
In this photo: Doug Garr (photos), Noe Gold (photos | remove tag), Joe Ciardiello
Added July 25 · Comment · LikeUnlike
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Joe Ciardiello Thanks Kenneth. Better late than never.
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Patrick Jb Flynn Whom among us isn’t influenced by our predecessors? It’s a little thing called history, a subject that most Americans fail miserably. I always saw Joe’s art as an amalgam of the best illustrators of that time, Milton Glazer, fused with Cober, Unruh, and the inimitable James Spanfeller.
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Kenneth R Anderson @JC - I'm honored by your attention to my fb gallery.
@PJF - indeed. What I relate to now isn't even a style thing, per se. JC seems to draw naturally from his heart, a soulful quality I always admired in James McMullen's work.
3 hours ago · LikeUnlike · 1 personPatrick Jb Flynn likes this. ·
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Noe Gold
@PJF, Spanfeller also graced the pages of this magazine due no doubt to the involvement of his AC accolytes. Kudos to you Ken for enshrining this.
www.flickr.com/photos/doctor_noe/4360653626/in/set-721576...
This is a parody ...published by College Monthly October 1974.
© 2010 noemedia.
© 1974. All rights reserved under international conventions. No material may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher.
Cover photo by Basil Pao
With retouching by Rainbow Graphics, body by Doug, hand by Noë of New York. T-shirt by Harry Gross; photo by UPI, lighting by Chris Callis, and body English by Tom King.
And check out this blog entry at ...
doctornoemedia.blogspot.com/2010/02/catcher-in-bourbon-pa...
The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps project has been a neighborhood effort to create a beautiful mosaic running up the risers of the 163 steps located at 16th and Moraga in San Francisco.
Artists Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher led the creation of the 163 mosaic panels that were applied to the step risers, over 300 neighbors joined us in making them, and over 220 neighbors sponsored handmade animal, bird and fish name tiles imbedded within the mosaic. The City permitting process was completed on August 18, 2004. KZ Tile, a major San Francisco tile setting company, generously agreed to set the mosaic panels into the risers and tile the step treads with rough, nonslip tile.
Santa Fe de Montseny - Fogars de Montclús, Barcelona (Spain).
10ª salida del grupo SortidaZ, y primera a la que me apunto. Un día muy agradable, gozando de la naturaleza en muy buena compañía.
Ya sé que no es la única imagen así de la "sortida", pero era inevitable mirar hacia arriba entre estos hayas tan altos y rectos. En esta época del año ya han perdido casi todo su follaje. En primavera y verano puede resultar casi imposible ver el cielo desde este mismo punto.
ENGLISH
The European Beech or Common Beech (Fagus sylvatica) is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae.
It is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to 49 m (160 ft) tall [2] and 3m (10 ft) trunk diameter, though more typically 25-35 m (80-115 ft) tall and up to 1.5 m (5 ft) trunk diameter. A 10-year-old sapling will stand about 4 m (13 ft) tall. It has a typical lifespan of 150 to 200 years, though sometimes up to 300 years. The appearance varies according to its habitat; in forest conditions, it tends to have a long, slender light-gray trunk with a narrow crown and erect branches, in isolation with good side light the trunk is short with a large and widely spreading crown with very long branches.
More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Beech
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CASTELLANO
El haya (Fagus sylvatica L.) es un árbol caducifolio perteneciente a la familia de las fagáceas.
Esta especie tiene un porte robusto y de gran talla, alcanzando los 35 ó 40 m con un tronco recto, que lo hace muy valioso, y una copa ovalada en su tercio superior. Si el árbol crece aislado (no en espesura) cambia radicalmente, se abre muy pronto, siendo algo irregular, ramificándose desde abajo y variando mucho la copa.
Conserva la corteza prácticamente lisa durante toda su vida, de un gris ceniciento o blanquecino.Los ramillos tienen un crecimiento singular en zig-zag. Las hojas son simples, alternas en los tallos jóvenes, en los adultos salen en fascículos sobre pequeños braquiblastos, y caedizas. Son de peciolo corto y, el limbo es de forma ovalada, con el borde ondulado, en principio algo festoneado y prolongándose en un vello sedoso muy característico. Tienen los nervios laterales bien marcados y paralelos (penninervia), son de un color verde muy vivo por el haz volviéndose más oscuras en la madurez, y se disponen siempre en posición muy horizontal captando la mayor cantidad de luz posible. Ello hace que sus bosques tengan un aspecto un tanto sombrío, casi propio de cuento de hadas, no permitiendo crecer en el suelo a apenas ninguna otra planta.
Más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayedo
(Explore) #127
The old boat lift was opened in 1899. It was an important structure on the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal without which it would not have been possible to navigate to Dortmund Port. The lift was the biggest and most spectacular structure on the old Dortmund-Ems-Kanal. It was inaugurated by Kaiser Wilhelm II on 11 August 1899.
The lift was able to accommodate the then usual Boat on the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal, 67 Meters long, 8.2 Meters wide, with a draft of 2 Meters and lift it through a height of 14 Meters to the level of the Dortmund Port. A complete descent and lift cycle took about 25 Minutes. This was much faster than possible using normal locks. This method of raising boats also conserved water at the upper elevation which relied entirely on water pumped from the lower elevation for its supply.
This technically very interesting construction managed to lift approximately 1000 tonnes of ship and water filled trough using a relatively small amount of power. The trough was supported by 5 cylindrical floats each immersed in 40 meter deep water-filled wells. The lift from the floats was the same as the load of the water filled trough therefore, only a small electric motor sufficient to overcome friction and viscous resistance was needed to set the trough in motion in either direction. Four steel worm gears, 20 meters long and 280 mm in diameter were used to direct the trough in the appropriate course.
El elevador de barcos de Henrichenburg, en su día único en su género, fue inaugurado en 1899 por el emperador Guillermo II y permitía salvar un desnivel de 14 m sobre el canal Dortmund-Ems (1892-1899), que comunica el Ruhr con el Mar del Norte.
Aperture occupies virtually whole of interior face (left hand image).
1: recurved pointed umbo (rostrum) overhanging concave interior.
2: asymmetrical “ears” to either side of rostrum resemble scallop.
3: outer layer (periostracum) forms broad border beyond inner layer.
4: fractured calcareous inner-layer held in place by periostracum.
5: close-set concentric striae and a few indistinct radiating lines.
6: embayment on right side of shell.
Full SPECIES DESCRIPTION BELOW
PDF available at www.researchgate.net/publication/353918067_Aplysia_puncta...
Sets of OTHER SPECIES: www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
Aplysia punctata (Cuvier, 1803) Account revised August 2021
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138758
Synonyms: Aplysia rosea Rathke, 1799; Aplysia hybrida J. Sowerby, 1806.
Meaning of name: Aplysia = that which cannot be washed; punctata = spotted.
Vernacular of just this species: Spotted sea hare (English); Môrwlithen glustiog (Welsh); Aplysie ponctuée (French); gemeiner Seehase (German); Pikasti morski zajček (Slovenian); Liebre de mar manchada (Spanish);
Vernacular of any Aplysia species: Sea hare (English); Lièvre de mer (French); zeehaas (Dutch); søhare (Danish); sjöhare (Swedish); Lepre marina (Italian);
GLOSSARY below.
Shell description
A. punctata has a rudimentary vestigial shell. Its height (longest dimension) is up to 40 mm, occasionally more; about 30% of the animal’s length. It is saucer-shape with a recurved, pointed umbo (rostrum) overhanging the concave interior, and there is an embayment on the right. It somewhat resembles a pectinid with asymmetrical “ears” either side of the rostrum.
The adult shell retains no trace of the spiral coiling of the veliger stage. It consists of two layers of conchiolin. The outer layer is the periostracum. The inner layer is transparent, imperceptibly calcified and limp on young specimens (fig. 1 flic.kr/p/DJpXbt ), and on older specimens is a translucent, thin, fragile, semi-calcareous layer, often fractured into pieces held in place by the periostracum (fig. 2 flic.kr/p/DSES2X ). The periostracum layer extends to form a broad flexible border beyond the inner layer. The exterior is amber-coloured with a sculpture of growth lines, close-set concentric striae and a few indistinct radiating lines. The aperture occupies virtually the whole of the ventral/interior face. On a living animal, the shell is concealed by the mantle (fig. 23 flic.kr/p/2oJVAzt ), except within a round foramen (fig. 3 flic.kr/p/CVh5eX ). There is no operculum.
Body description
The full-grown body length is about 70 mm and the usual maximum is 120 mm, exceptionally 200 mm (fig. 14 flic.kr/p/DQm3GL & fig. 15 flic.kr/p/Dqyc3s ). It has a large head and neck (fig. 4 flic.kr/p/DjbKoD ). The snout has a centrally divided oral veil which is usually loosely rolled into forward-orientated oral tentacles and curled flaps in front of the mouth (fig. 5 flic.kr/p/CVh2bn ). The appearance varies with the degree of rolling; sometimes flaps hang down from the oral tentacles (fig. 6 flic.kr/p/DJpNXK ). The snout is separated ventrally from the foot by a gutter (ffig. 5 flic.kr/p/CVh2bn ). The cephalic tentacles are also enrolled, but the edges are fused on the basal half; they resemble a hare's ears (fig. 5 flic.kr/p/CVh2bn ). Anterolaterally of each cephalic tentacle base there is a blue-black eye on a slightly raised mound of translucent unpigmented epithelium resembling a whitish iris (fig. 5 flic.kr/p/CVh2bn ).
Two large parapodia arise from the approximate mid-point of the body and extend to about 25% body length from the posterior where they unite (fig. 7 flic.kr/p/DJpNgz ). An external seminal groove runs from a common genital aperture, close to the anterior of the right parapodium, along the neck to the opening to the penial sheath near the base of the right oral tentacle (fig. 8 flic.kr/p/DJpM2a ). Raised walls along the sides of the seminal groove meet firmly at their edges, but do not fuse, to form a tube lined with cilia that propel the contents. The penis is spatulate with curled up edges and has an external seminal groove. It is engorged and extended from the everted penial sheath during copulation (fig. 9 flic.kr/p/DSEGJ8 & fig. 10 flic.kr/p/CVacmN ).
The parapodia can be held erect (fig. 11 flic.kr/p/DJpGJc ), semi-prone revealing enclosed anatomical features (fig. 3 flic.kr/p/CVh5eX & fig. 21 flic.kr/p/2nBEfgq ), or folded down to conceal features (fig. 12 flic.kr/p/DSEC4X ).
Colours and patterns on the external surfaces of body vary greatly between individuals www.nudibranch.org/Scottish %20Nudibranchs/aplysia-punctata.html (J. Anderson) , but usually there is a general progression in ground colour during growth from rose-red when small and feeding on red algae such as Delesseria, through brown or blackish-brown when on Laminaria to olive-brown when large and on Fucus (Eales, 1921). Many have fine spots of a darker shade of the ground colour arranged in elongate blotches, varying in prominence, which often form a reticulated pattern. In addition, some have white blotches. The edge of the parapodium often has a thin white rim, sometimes accompanied by black and/or reddish bands (fig. 13 flic.kr/p/DjbzG4 ), and the tips of the tentacles and edges of foot may have similar colours. The dorsal face of the parapodium, usually held concealed against the body, is unpigmented greyish white, apart from its border.
The mantle, enclosed by the parapodia, covers the shell apart from a large round foramen, and, at the posterior-right, forms an erect funnel with the anus near its base (fig. 3 flic.kr/p/CVh5eX ). The shell covers the viscera and the anal funnel fits against the embayment on its right-posterior edge (fig. 1). The anal funnel often protrudes when the parapodia are closed, but it is able to withdraw. The gill (fig. 21 flic.kr/p/2nBEfgq & fig. 22 flic.kr/p/2nBGFnR ) is a thick set, plume-like structure of loose connective tissue and muscle fibre covered by a partly ciliated epithelium (Eales, 1921, plate I). It has thickened lobes in place of the thin filaments of typical ctenidia. It is located in the narrow mantle-cavity on the right of the parapodial enclosure (fig. 3 flic.kr/p/CVh5eX ). It is affixed at its anterior end close to a yellow osphradium. The gill is usually concealed under the shell but may be erected above it if the oxygen level is sensed by the osphradium to be low. An unpigmented opaline gland is in the floor of the mantle cavity near the anterior-right of the parapodial enclosure and just to the posterior of the common genital opening (fig. 4 flic.kr/p/DjbKoD & fig. 21 flic.kr/p/2nBEfgq ). The anterior of the foot is almost rectangular and sometimes expands into a circular outline (fig. 13 flic.kr/p/DjbzG4 ). The posterior of the foot is bluntly pointed. The pale, unpigmented, narrow sole (fig. 5 flic.kr/p/CVh2bn ) is sometimes hidden by the edges curling together (fig. 11 flic.kr/p/DJpGJc ) and it may form into a rounded sucker at the anterior (fig. 13 flic.kr/p/DjbzG4 ), but rarely at the posterior (Thompson, 1976). There is no discernible subdivision of sole into regions (Eales, 1921).
Key identification features
Aplysia punctata
1. Parapodia unite at their posterior, c. 25% body length from posterior of body; see fig.3 in Grigg (1949) (fig. 7 flic.kr/p/DJpNgz ). It swims rarely, if at all, and clumsily if it does.
2. Foramen (fig. 3 flic.kr/p/CVh5eX ), a round hole in the mantle that exposes the shell, is larger, relative to the animal's size, than the foramen on A. depilans or A. fasciata.
3. Full-grown length about 70 mm, usual maximum 120 mm.
4. Foot occasionally expands into rounded sucker (fig. 13 flic.kr/p/DjbzG4 ) at anterior but rarely, if ever, at posterior. The sole is whitish.
5. Occurs all round Britain except parts of southern North Sea and north east Irish Sea.
Similar species
Aplysia depilans Gmelin, 1791
1. Parapodia unite at their posterior close to the posterior of the animal (fig.3 in Grigg, 1949) (fig. 16 flic.kr/p/DSEwU8 ). It is unlikely that it ever swims.
2. Foramen is smaller, relative to animal's size, than foramen on A. punctata
3. Length frequently 120 mm or more, up to 300 mm.
4. Foot frequently expands at posterior into rounded sucker attached to substrate. Sole brown.
5. In Britain (2015), confined to south west England; breeds in Cornwall.
Aplysia fasciata Poiret, 1789
1. Parapodia do not unite at their posterior. See fig. 3, as A. limacina, in Grigg (1949); frequently swims gracefully, see flic.kr/p/da9ojG (R. Fernandez); www.youtube.com/watch?v=x051Lw6LMBw#t=26 (M. Pontes).
2. Tiny foramen, pore-like on raised papilla (Grigg, 1949), is far smaller, relative to animal's size, than foramen on A. punctata; often difficult to discern.
3. Length frequently about 200 mm, with weight nearly 2kg, but up to 400 mm (largest British gastropod).
4. Foot pointed at posterior.
5. Reliably recorded from Dorset, South Devon, Cornwall and Channel Islands; rare.
Aplysia parvula Mörch, 1863
This species was recorded for Britain (Bebbington & Brown, 1975) on the basis of morphological features of small A. punctata specimens. Eales (1921) reported that small red specimens grew and changed colour to typical A. punctata when fed on non-red algae in captivity, so she dismissed their identification as a distinct species. Recent DNA studies (Golestani et al. 2019) found that A. parvula is confined to the tropical western Atlantic, and no DNA evidence for it was found in specimens examined from the north eastern Atlantic or Mediterranean.
Habits and ecology
A. punctata lives in shallow unpolluted water and occasionally on shores at LWS where its algal food grows; including red algae, Ulva (fig. 4 flic.kr/p/DjbKoD ) and Fucus.
Respiration: There is no obvious inhalent siphon; Jeffreys (1869) suggested that inflow was via the foramen, but this seems unlikely. Water is probably taken in between the body and anterior of the parapodia to the narrow mantle cavity on the right containing the gill (fig. 3 flic.kr/p/CVh5eX ). The water passes over the osphradium near the anterior attached-end of the gill. The current is created by cilia on the gill and, probably, on other surfaces. The osphradium tests the water-quality; if it is oxygen deficient, the gill may erect itself clear of the overhanging shell for better access to oxygenated water (Eales, 1921). The exhalent current leaves the animal via the anal funnel, taking faeces with it (fig. 17 flic.kr/p/DJpAiX ).
Defence : A. punctata is usually well camouflaged because its colour is often similar to alga it is feeding on. When irritated, the opaline gland (fig. 4 flic.kr/p/DjbKoD ) can release via the anal funnel (fig. 17 flic.kr/p/DJpAiX ) an acrid, white, viscous secretion, mixed with purple dye from the ink gland, to repel and confuse attackers. There are a few uncertain reports of predation on adults, but crustacea eat the spawn.
Reproduction: Breeding is recorded in February-November in Britain, but is most usual in spring. A. punctata is a simultaneous hermaphrodite, but distant spacing and positioning of the male and female orifices (fig. 9 flic.kr/p/DSEGJ8 ) prevent mutual interchange of gametes between a side-to-side pair in the manner of nudibranchs. One, acting as male, climbs astride another from behind and with the anterior of its foot firmly grips the mantle and shell (through the foramen) of the lower acting female. The penis of the acting male, engorged by blood and extruded by eversion of the internal penis sheath, is inserted into the vaginal part of the other's common genital aperture (fig. 9 flic.kr/p/DSEGJ8 ). Semen from the acting-male passes from its common genital aperture, through the external seminal groove on its neck and head, edge of the penial sheath and penis into the acting-female (fig. 10 flic.kr/p/CVacmN ). Often a chain of mating individuals forms, enabling all, except those at each end of the chain, to act as male and female simultaneously (fig. 9 flic.kr/p/DSEGJ8 ).
A. punctata often extrude spawn during coupling, and it often passes from the common genital opening along the seminal groove, escaping through a wrinkle part-way along it or continuing to emerge (confusingly) at the penial aperture. The spawn is a long string of spherical egg-capsules (fig.18 flic.kr/p/DSEwrV & fig. 20 flic.kr/p/DGfnSL ). There are about 500 capsules in each cm of spawn-string (fig. 19 flic.kr/p/DjbsiX ), and each capsule contains 3 or 4 ova. Copulation/ovipositing lasts several hours or even days, and the string is extruded intermittently in sections, each of which curls and tangles with the others (Eales, 1921). Its colour changes with time, so sections of string issued at different times by a single individual may have different shades from each other with abrupt colour changes corresponding to pauses in laying (fig. 20 flic.kr/p/DGfnSL ). The final colour is brown before veliger larvae emerge into the plankton. A mating/ovipositing chain of individuals results in a tangled mass of spawn strings. A sample mass from the River Yealm, Devon, had an estimated 135 000 ova (Thompson, 1976). Veliger larvae metamorphose after 20-22 days in the plankton at 15ºC into rose-red crawlers, about 5 mm long, feeding on red algae in shallow water (Thompson, 1976).
Distribution and status
A. punctata occurs from northern Norway to the Mediterranean, but is scarce or absent from the continental coast of the southern North Sea and extends into the Baltic no further than the Kattegat, GBIF map www.gbif.org/species/5191252 . It is found in unpolluted water all round Britain and Ireland, except in the north-east Irish Sea. the North Sea from Flamborough Head to Kent and much of the east coast of Scotland where it is absent or scarce. U.K. map NBN species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000173903
Acknowledgements
This account would not have been possible without the assistance of Jim Anderson, Heather Buttivant, Charlotte Cumming, Jonathan Campbell, David Fenwick, Andy Horton, David Kipling, Paula Lightfoot, Penny Martin, Simon Taylor and the photographers whose images have been linked to the account; their names are given next to the links. I gratefully thank them all.
References and links
Bebbington, A. 1992. British Aplysia species. Porcupine Newsletter Vol.5 no 6: 131 – 133. pmnhs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/046-PNV5N6DEC92.pd...
Bebbington A, & Brown, GH. 1975. Aplysia parvula Guilding in Morch, an opisthobranch new to the British fauna. Journal of Conchology 28: 329–333.
Eales, N.B. 1921. Memoir 24 Aplysia. Proceedings and transactions of the Liverpool biological society. 35: 183 – 280.
archive.org/stream/proceedingstr35192021live#page/182/mod...
Forbes, E. & Hanley S. 1849-53. A history of the British mollusca and their shells. vol. 3 (1853), London, van Voorst. (As Aplysia hybrida); pp. 554-556. archive.org/stream/ahistorybritish05forbgoog#page/n568/mo...
Garstang, W. 1890. A complete list of the opisthobranchiate mollusca found at Plymouth; with further observations on their morphology, colours and natural history. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 1(4): 399-457. plymsea.ac.uk/50/ .
Golestani, H., Crocetta, F., Padula, V., Camacho-garcía, Y., Langeneck, J., Poursanidis, D., Pola, M., Baki yokeş, M., Cervera, J.L., Jung, D., Gosliner, T.M., Araya J.F., Hooker, Y, Schrödl, M. and Valdés, Á. 2019. The little Aplysia coming of age: from one species to a complex of species complexes in Aplysia parvula (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 20, 1–52
www.researchgate.net/publication/353918067_Aplysia_puncta...
Grigg, U.M. 1949. The occurence of British Aplysia. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 28(3): 795-805. plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1391/ [has A. fasciata as A. limacina]
Høisæter, T. 2009. Distribution of marine, benthic, shell bearing gastropods along the Norwegian coast. Fauna norvegica 28: 5-106. www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/fauna_norvegica/article/view/563
Jeffreys, J.G. 1862-69. British conchology. vol. 5 (1869). London, van Voorst. pp.1-8 archive.org/stream/britishconcholog05jeff#page/n9/mode/2up .
Mazzarelli, 1893. Monografia delle Aplysiidae del Golfo di Napoli (Sistematica, Biologia, Anatomia, Fisiologia ed Embriologia) Memorie della Società Italiana delle Scienze. 9(4): 1-222, pls 1-13. . [Reference used by Grigg. Scroll down for colour images] media.accademiaxl.it/memorie/S3-VIX-1893/Mazzarelli1-222.pdf
McKay, D. & Smith, S.M. 1979. Marine mollusca of East Scotland. Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.
Thompson, T.E. 1976. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs vol.1. London, Ray Society.
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138758
Glossary
aperture = mouth of gastropod shell; outlet for head and foot.
anterolateral = situated in front and to the side of.
cephalic = (adj.) of or on the head.
cilia = (sing. cilium) microscopic linear extensions of membrane that move in rhythmic waves to create locomotion, or that move particles and liquids e.g. inhalent water currents. (Scanning electron microscope image at flic.kr/p/qQB5zj )
ciliated = (adj.) coated with cilia.
conchiolin = horny flexible protein that forms the periostracum and a matrix for the deposition of calcium carbonate to create other shell-layers.
ctenidium = comb-like molluscan gill; usually an axis with a row of filaments or lamellae on one or two sides.
ELWS = extreme low water spring tide (usually near March and September equinoxes).
epithelium = tissue forming outer layer of body surface and lining the alimentary canal and other hollow structures
everted = turned inside out and, like a sock.
foramen = natural, non-accidental, opening.
lobate = having or resembling lobes.
LWS = low water spring tide.
mantle = sheet of tissue that secretes the shell and forms a cavity for the gill in most marine molluscs. Confined to the shell-interior of most British shelled-gastropods, but also covers exterior on Aplysia.
opaline = acrid, white, viscous secretion used with purple ink by Aplysia to repel attackers.
operculum = plate of horny conchiolin, rarely calcareous, used to close shell aperture. Absent from Aplysia.
osphradium = organ for testing water quality, usually near the gill.
parapodia = (sing, parapodium) flap-like, lateral outgrowths of foot, usually held up against the sides of some sea slugs.
pectinid = member of the family Pectinidae (scallops).
periostracum = thin horny layer of chitinous material often coating shells.
plankton = animals and plants that drift in pelagic zone (main body of water).
plicate = corrugated so ridges and grooves alternate with each other on either side of axis.
rostrum = beak-like process on shell.
semen = fluid containing sperm.
seminal = relating to or containing semen.
striae = (sing. stria) usually parallel, slight, fine or narrow furrows, ridges, stripes, or streaks.
umbo = (pl. umbones) earliest part of the shell of a bivalve and some bivalve-like gastropod shells, such as in Aplysia punctata. It terminates in a beak which is best seen on an interior view.
veliger = shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which swims by beating cilia of a velum (bilobed flap).
Wat is straô?
Straô is een jaarlijks terugkerend evenement op een aantal zaterdagen in het voorjaar, waarbij de voeten van de paarden in de zee worden 'gewassen'. De dorpen aan de westkant van Schouwen-Duiveland hebben allemaal hun eigen straô-viering.
Straô-rieen is een historisch feest en gaat ver terug in de tijd. In vroegere tijden stonden de werkpaarden de gehele winter op stal. Zodra de winter tegen het einde liep, ging men met de paarden de zee in om de voeten te wassen. Hoewel de werkpaarden van vandaag nog uitsluitend als hobby worden gehouden en zeker niet meer een hele winter op stal staan, wordt de gewoonte nog steeds in stand gehouden.
what is Straô
Straô is an annual event on a number of Saturdays in the spring, where the feet of the horses in the sea 'washed'. The villages on the west side of Schouwen-Duiveland have their own straô celebration.
Straô is a historic celebration and goes far back in time. In ancient times were the workhorses throughout the winter in the barn. Once the winter by the end went, they went with the horses to the sea in order to wash there feet. Although the workhorses of today be held solely as a hobby and certainly not a whole winter on stable, the habit still maintained.
Thanks for your visit and comments, I appreciate that very much!
Don't use this image without my explicit permission. © all rights reserved.
Regards, Bram (BraCom)
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Inside the old, abandoned High School in Toyah, Texas.
Story continued from this image...
Alright, so having discovered the existence of another opening on the other side of the building, I quickly folded up my tripod and made for the basement exit. I hustled around to the east end of the old school building, and whadya know...there's a big steel door standing wide open, it's 4 x 8 plywood having been removed and lying down on the concrete steps down to this basement entrance. I made my way down the step and shined my streamlight inside...nothing very impressive here either; just a hallway with a couple doorways off either side. I stepped in, and examined to room to my right.
This room was completely empty except for a non-professionally made wooden table, about 3x6 feet, of about the size and height someone might lay down on. The rest of the room was basically fairly clean of debris...it began to look as though this building had remained sealed for several decades, and had only been breached very recently. There was no tagging to be seen anywhere, which was quite refreshing compared to most places like this that I visit. Whoever forced their way in at least had respect for the place...perhaps an urban explorer type, rather than drunk teenagers looking for a place to party.
One other thing I forgot to mention about this side...the ceiling here is normal height, not 5 feet like on the other half. Not sure how they worked that, but it was a relief to not have to walk around all bent over.
The second door on the right side of this hallway was actually just a second exit door for the room with the table, which was the largest room I'd seen here yet. So I wandered across the hallway to the lone door on that side, which was right next to the outside door through which I entered.
This room turned out to be the bath & shower room you see in the photo above. The blue paint was both rich and in surprisingly good condition, other than a few minor peels here and there. I looked at that shower head arrangement and thought about how cramped together 3 young men would be trying to simultaneously shower there. I didn't like that mental image so I switched it to three young women...there, that's better...
Anyway, I decided to snap this photo of it, and as I stepped back into the hallway to fire off the red strobe, I managed to get my $500 Marchon Airlock glasses hooked on my stretch knit cap, and because they were so cold, the arms snapped right off. Flyin' blind now!
OK, so the other thing in this hallway, at the very end on the left, is the stairway up to...what? I didn't know yet, but it was time to find out. I was as giddy as a schoolgirl in a 3-head shower as I made my way up the creaky, unstable wooden steps, covered with dust and rubble from years of deterioration, all highlighted quite coldly in the flat, bluish light from my LED flashlight.
Hmm...what's that sound coming from above?
To be continued...
bighugelabs.com/scout.php?mode=history&id=3234012812
[...] Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love [...]
-- Quote by Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968), December 11, 1964
Nikon D70, Tokina 28-70 f/2.8, 44mm - f/8 - 1/3200s - Flash Metz CT-3 in manual
Rome, Italy (August, 2008)
Best to: View Large and On Black
These tiny soft pink beauties are dedicated to Taty's friend Flemming - fmc.nikon.d40 - www.flickr.com/photos/fmc550uz/
Most of you know about the good news, and if you haven't read it as yet, see yesterday's photo: www.flickr.com/photos/tatyveli/2619772149/
Other photos dedicated to friends of Taty will follow at random, and without knowing any of you, so please don't be upset about the order I am placing your photo online, and be patient until you'll see yours, Thank you - Wishing you all a very nice week ahead
And if you wish to see her on a few photos - see my stream. - Willem
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y también en Twiter
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Hoy una gota de agua se ha puesto el traje de fiesta transparente e invisible como el aire, y sobre su cuello ha dejado de señal su collarcito de Anabaena, allí, ingrávido, sus perlas verdes se mueven silenciosas y ondean lentamente unidas por el hilo de la vida al soplo de las corrientes del agua.
Anabaena es una cianobacteria, una alga verdeazulada. Ancestral, tan antigua como los primeros seres vivos que florecieron de la nada en las aguas de la Tierra cuando la vida era excepción, también futurista como los últimos que desaparecerán con ella. Ha acompañado a nuestra nave azul en épocas de calma y de también de convulsión y es capaz de soportar ambientes extremos, aguantando heladas intensas y soportando temperaturas superiores a los 70ºC.
Anabaena va añadiendo cuentas al collar que adorna esta gota de agua,como mago sin chistera y de cada una va haciendo poco a poco dos, como si nada, así se teje su vida entre las manos de la corriente que la lleva en volandas por el infinito del Lago de Sanabria.
Todas las cuentas de los collarcitos de Anabaena, dejan espacio, a intervalos regulares, para que otras gemas, los “heterocistes”, células perfectamente esféricas y algo mayores que las demás, se destaquen, y lo hagan tanto por su forma y tamaño, como por su función. Los heterocistes se encargan de fijar el nitrógeno, que procedente de la atmósfera, se ha disuelto en el agua y de esta forma constituyen uno de los primeros eslabones para la formación de proteínas.
Anabaena es verdeazulada, como una turquesa teñida de cielo, de su luz toma la energía para realizar la fotosíntesis y del aire y el agua el nitrógeno que recorrerá las vidas de otros seres. La vida en el Planeta se ha hecho posible gracias a cianobacterias como ellas que transformaron una atmósfera irrespirable en la que tenemos desde hace millones de años.
Anabaena es un mucho más que un collarcito que va creciendo cuenta a cuenta mientras se da un paseo por la vida y adorna el cuello de fiesta de las gotas de agua.
La especie de hoy Anabaena planctonica flota enfundada en su traje transparente de mucílago, casi invisible, pero eficaz y protector, evitará que sus cuentas se desgranen y se caigan despistadas hacia el fondo.
Al igual que otras cianobacterias Anabaena se defiende fabricando potentes sustancias neurotóxicas -anatoxina, saxitoxina y microcystina- que provocan graves daños en el sistema nervioso, lesiones hepáticas irreversibles o incluso la muerte a los animales que se alimentan de las plantas con las que puede llegar a establecer simbiosis. Anabaena ha establecido estos estrechos vínculos de amistad, una amistad con la que defiende su vida y la de sus amigos .
Anabaena planctonica vive en aguas estancadas en las que puede formar parte del plancton y crecer de forma explosiva si las condiciones para ella son favorables y se cita por vez primera para el Lago de Sanabria desde esta galería
La fotografía de hoy, realizada a 400 aumentos empleando la técnica de contraste de interferencia, se ha tomado sobre
una muestra recolectada a cinco metros de profundidad, el 30 de agosto de 2015, por Laura, Mª José y Tomás en las
inmediaciones de la Isla de Moras en el Lago de Sanabria (Zamora), desde el catamarán Helios Sanabria el primer
catamarán construido en el Planeta propulsado por energía eólica y solar.
presentación ponencia congreso internacional de Limnología
informes de contaminación en el Lago de Sanabria
la contaminación en el Lago de Sanabria
Best viewed LARGE on Black: bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=4992806926&size=large&...
I'm experimenting this morning with my first black and white image. I took this on Sunday morning after overnight showers had moved out and the sun was breaking through the mist. I liked the patterns made by the raindrops, sun rays, spiderwebs and the native grasses, artemisia and sumac around the pond near our house. However, I noticed that the color version shown in the comment below was somewhat spoiled by two lens flares. I was fooling around in Flickr's Picnik Editing Program and discovered that this is how the image looks with the Exposure and Saturation Sliders pulled most of the way to the left. I know it's not how Ansel Adams would have done it, but what do you think?
Arriba: Puente grúa sobre las columnas del pórtico lindero a la futura estación Echeverría correspondiente a la prolongación de la línea B, una de las tantas obras de subte desfinanciada por el macrismo. Al frente del mismo (a la der), el viejo teatro 25 de Mayo remodelado y reinaugurado.
LAS PROMESAS DE MACRI Y LAS OBRAS
Dos megaobras mantienen este año un ritmo sostenido: Arroyo Maldonado y Teatro Colón. Pero la ampliación del subte camina a paso de hombre y son varios los proyectos que quedaron en compás de espera. El Gobierno porteño asegura que no se paralizó ninguna obra, aunque reconoce la existencia de demoras y dificultades. Hasta qué punto Macri cumplió sus promesas. Opinan los candidatos.
Foto: Propia (cualquier copia o reproducción requiere del previo permiso y/o consulta al autor).
Si querés la foto, primero consultame por correo a nicofoxfiles@hotmail.com
Texto: Por Enrique Colombano y Laura Di Marco para Noticias Urbanas.
Mauricio Macri ganó las elecciones porteñas prometiendo una avalancha de inversiones públicas, eficiencia y velocidad a una ciudad harta de la ineficiencia, la lentitud y la desinversión crónica. Se vendió a sí mismo, más que como un político, como un empresario eficaz, un ingeniero carente de las viejas mañas de la corporación política. Se vendió como alguien que venía de "afuera". Lo nuevo frente a lo viejo; los hechos frente a las palabras, sobre todo frente a las palabras de los "progres", que lo habían precedido en la gestión.
En pleno frenesí de su campaña llegó a prometer que construiría 10 kilómetros de subte por año, en una ciudad tan colapsada por el tránsito que cualquier paro de subtes la convierte en un tsunami en cuestión de minutos. Sin embargo, a un año y medio de gestión PRO, ¿cuántas de todas aquellas promesas esperanzadoras pudo concretar? ¿Cuál es realmente la obra pública de Macri y la inversión en infraestructura que está llevando adelante? ¿Cuánta plata dijo que iba a destinar a su gesta urbana, y cuánta destinó realmente? En una palabra, ¿cuánto de aquella eficiencia prometida ante las cámaras pudo llevar verdaderamente a la práctica? Como es lógico en estos casos, las percepciones varían, y sólo los números suelen darnos pistas más certeras.
Mientras el oficialismo jura que los 3.300 millones de pesos previstos para la obra pública de 2009 es el mayor porcentaje invertido en el rubro de los últimos años, y que PRO ha hecho más en un año y medio de gestión que los "progres" en muchas administraciones, la oposición responde, lapidaria, que Macri no ha hecho, directamente, obra pública, si por ella se entiende una inversión destinada a infraestructura de alto impacto. Por ejemplo, más subtes. Los legisladores del arco opositor le achacan al macrismo concentrarse en hacer cosas visibles –tales como el bacheo o la refacción de veredas–, pero no las que son más necesarias a largo plazo. Sospechan de transferencias de fondos estatales a las constructoras privadas y de conexiones non sanctas entre el oficialismo y las empresas vinculadas al grupo Macri. Le facturan que sólo inauguraron una escuela, en la Villa 21, y que, encima, es un predio que había sido previamente recuperado por los vecinos de la zona. Lanzan que del hospital prometido en Villa Lugano sólo hay una salita de primeros auxilios. Le cuestionan que este año los chicos porteños volverán a pasar frío en las escuelas por una impericia de gestión. Desde el Acuerdo Cívico y Social, el segundo candidato a legislador de Lilita, Juan pablo Arenaza, lo explica: "La Legislatura votó el año pasado una norma que le permitía a Macri destinar dinero a la mejora de la infraestructura en las escuelas, y de ese porcentaje sólo ejecutó un 40 por ciento; no queremos subtes, pero al menos que ponga gas en los colegios".
Finalmente, lanzan, de los 10 kilómetros de subte prometidos no pudo hacer ni uno solo. Macri –es sabido– acusa al Gobierno nacional y, de paso, a la escasa colaboración de Daniel Scioli en el fracaso de llevar adelante políticas con mirada metropolitana. Más aún, Gabriela Michetti, que lidera las encuestas porteñas, justificó su renuncia a la vicejefatura para pasar a la "pelea nacional" con el único objetivo de cambiar esas "injustas" reglas del juego, según los macristas.
Cristian Ritondo (PRO), presidente de la Comisión de Obras Públicas de la Legislatura, explica la situación con números en mano: "Nosotros esperábamos contar con 2.500 millones de dólares de financiamiento: 1.500 millones los iba a aportar el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), 500 millones la Ciudad y 500 millones la Nación, porque se había hablado con el ex jefe de Gabinete, Alberto Fernández, sobre la posibilidad de trabajar juntos para el Bicentenario". La historia que sigue es conocida: el Gobierno nacional jamás consideró avalar el pedido de toma de deuda, la economía mundial entró en crisis y, por último, Fernández se fue mal del Gobierno. La realidad es que hoy las obras del subte "sobreviven" a paso de hormiga con el presupuesto asignado (116 millones de pesos), además de un 5 por ciento de lo que recauda Autopistas Urbanas S.A. (AUSA), que se destina a Subterráneos de Buenos Aires (Sbase) y que son apenas 12 millones de pesos más. Esto alcanza para mantener en funcionamiento las obras civiles, pero no para tender la red.
Este mes se debería haber inaugurado la estación de Corrientes y Pueyrredón de la línea H. No ocurrió. El Gobierno porteño sólo alcanzó a poner en funcionamiento las estaciones Puán y Carabobo de la línea A, que, encima, ya estaban terminadas desde fines de 2007.
Desde la oposición, el segundo candidato de Diálogo por la Ciudad, el ibarrista Mario Gygli, sale a cruzar a PRO: "Yo puedo demostrar, con números, que Macri miente cuando se victimiza. Él puede avanzar perfectamente con las obras de los subtes con presupuesto propio, sin pedirle plata a nadie, como lo hicimos nosotros en plena crisis de 2001, cuando construimos 11 kilómetros".
Desde el Frente para la Victoria, Francisco Tito Nenna va en la línea de Gygli cuando destaca que Buenos Aires tiene uno de los presupuestos más vigorosos del país. Y avanza: "Lo que hay es una transferencia de los recursos del Estado a empresas de construcción privadas, amigas del macrismo, que son las que se dedican a arreglar veredas y baches".
Para las obras de ampliación de la red de subtes, el macrismo había asignado inicialmente 447,5 millones de pesos, pero más adelante tuvo que recortar a 116 millones. Ya sea porque los demás fueron peores, porque lo actual no es tan malo como dice la oposición o porque la estrategia de la "acupuntura urbana" –y visible– da resultado, lo cierto es que, según las encuestas, los porteños, aunque no están del todo conformes, no le soltaron la mano a Macri. Más aún, los politólogos suelen decir que la estrategia de victimización "paga" en el caso de Macri: la gente, en general, le cree cuando culpa al Gobierno nacional. Una cosa es verdad: además del aval para el financiamiento de subtes, la Nación "cajoneó" el Fondo de Infraestructura Social (Foiso), una toma de deuda por 1.600 millones que Macri pensaba destinar a la obra social, como refacción de escuelas y hospitales.
REALIDADES Y PROMESAS
De todas las megaobras prometidas, lo cierto es que sólo dos marchan a ritmo este año: las refacciones del Teatro Colón, que terminarían en 2010 según promete el Gobierno porteño, y la del canal aliviador del Arroyo Maldonado, que permitirá evitar inundaciones en vastas zonas de la Ciudad.
Después, sí, se incluyeron obras de envergadura intermedia. Veamos: intervenciones en la Red Pluvial II –son 25 y el Gobierno porteño promete terminar la mitad este año– o las obras de la 9 de Julio Sur, a cargo de AUSA. Y finalmente, tenemos bacheo, lo más visible, la ampliación de calles, construcción de placitas, adoquinados, desadoquinados, peatonalización, muchos obreros vestidos de amarillo con la leyenda "Haciendo Buenos Aires", más bacheo, antenimiento. La famosa "acupuntura urbana". La megaobra del Teatro Colón es un tema aparte; le destinarán 106,5 millones, pero desde el Frente para la Victoria sugieren que en las demoras hay algo turbio. Nenna dirá concretamente: "Hay que estar atento porque pueden llevarnos a un proceso de privatización".
Cuando en noviembre del año pasado el ministro de Desarrollo Urbano, Daniel Chaín, fue a la Legislatura, a las reuniones previas a la aprobación del Presupuesto 2009, reconoció que este año el Gobierno porteño iba a tener que suspender obras previstas por 472 millones de pesos.
Desde el macrismo, el vocero del Ministerio de Desarrollo Urbano, Sergio Levit, es enfático cuando niega que se hayan parado obras y, en cambio, destaca los avances en la obra del Maldonado: "Es la obra más importante que se hace en Latinoamérica y la que tiene la más mayor tecnología". En verdad, lo que la administración PRO tiene para decir es que hacen lo que pueden con el dinero que tienen. Y hay muchas obras que se dejaron de lado, entre ellas la anunciada construcción de nuevos neuropsiquiátricos, el aliviador de la Cuenca Medrano-White y la megalicitación Oasis Urbanos, una construcción de espacios verdes en lugares estratégicos de la Ciudad, que fue reemplazada por un programa de licitaciones progresivas.
Desde la oposición dicen, en cambio, que Macri tiene serios problemas para encarar licitaciones de largo aliento. "No tiene cuadros capaces de llevar adelante y concluir un proceso licitatorio", dicen, palabras más o menos, desde Proyecto Sur, el FPV, el socialismo, el ibarrismo y el lilismo porteño. Precisamente, desde Proyecto Sur, el médico del hospital Argerich, Jorge Selzer, segundo candidato a legislador porteño detrás de Fabio Basteiro, lanza un último dardo al ingeniero PRO: "Debería planificarse el crecimiento
urbano y poner topes en la Ciudad, de lo contrario la polución y el consumo de energía van a ser insostenibles". El año pasado la Legislatura sancionó, luego de varios años de demora, el Plan Urbano Ambiental (PUA). La norma, ordenada
por la Constitución de la Ciudad, es la ley marco que garantiza los derechos urbanos de los porteños. De allí se desprende cómo se debe planear la Ciudad a partir de ejes como el transporte, los espacios públicos, la vivienda, la producción o el empleo. El PUA sugiere la discusión de una política interconectada y, también, la reformulación urgente del Código Urbanístico, que dice qué se puede construir y en dónde. Hoy el Código que se usa es del 77 y no responde al modelo de ciudad que propone el nuevo plan urbano. También redactar nuevos códigos de Habilitaciones y Espacio Púbico. Finalmente, ampliar la mirada a escala metropolitana, en lugar de centrarse sólo en la Ciudad, es otro de los desafíos.
A estas alturas, Macri ya debe haberse dado cuenta de que para achicar la distancia que media entre la campaña y el poder real deberá apelar sí o sí a la política. Porque con la ingeniería sola no le va alcanzar.
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View Llao Rock from Wizard Island on Black
View Llao Rock from Wizard Island Map/EXIF
Nikon D7100 + 24-70 mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm - 1/100 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100
Manual mode @ 0 EV E.C - Pattern metering - no flash
Subject Distance: unknown
This great mass of dacite (a sluggish lava) was produced from a vent on the upper slopes of Mazama and hardened after moving only a mile or two. The dacite filled in a former explosion crater. This rock rises nearly 2,000 feet above the water- -the highest vertical precipice on the rim- -and was formed by the most massive single flow apparent in the caldera wall, with a maximum thickness of 1,200 feet.
42°56'21" N 122°8'48" W, 6922.6 ft
Wizard Island, Crater Lake
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, United States
Taken on 09.04.2013, uploaded on 01.14.2014.
©2013 Adam James Steenwyk. Please contact me at ajamess [at] gmail [dot] com if you would like to use this photo. Blog: www.f128.info
If we live our life in fear,
I'll wait a thousand years
Just to see you smile again.
Kill the prayers for love and peace,
You'll wake the thought police.
We can't hide the truth inside.
_______________________________
To the left of this tree, out of frame obviously, is a bench where we were sitting looking around for some good spots to photograph when a dog came up and said hello. It then proceeded to turn around and pee on Harley's knee and my camera bag. My bag spent the rest of the day being scrubbed with Dettol Surface Cleaner... Highlight of the day.
54/365 - Carolina Drama - The Raconteurs
Today was another really tough day of hard work.
It started badly with the viewing of our work on the "Tea or Coffee" weekly theme with our studio teacher, and the work we did was not what he was thinking about.
We were too late at noon to grab the equipment we needed for the work of the afternoon so we had to eat something as quickly as possible and get back to the studio to finally take away a Mamiya RB67, a studio flash and a 120 Superia 400 ISO film.
We had less then 3 hours to go to town and shoot the film in order to make portraits on location of people working.
I was with Loic, Hugo and Florent with only 1 medium format camera for all of us... 4 different places to go to, including time to meet the guys, set up, find the good light, the good settings, to shoot, and to pack all things again... And be on time at school for the economic course, the "finish to kill" last course of the day until 7.15PM...
Luckily we met Simon who's already done his job and he lend to Loic and I his own RB67.
Loic had a appointment at Corezone shop but first we went to Hurley shop to shoot my film.
I've been there several times to take some testing portrait for shool, and the guys over there are really too nice and cool ! A huge thanks to them !
So this was a testing shot we did with the 7D to test the light before shooting with the Mamiya. Can't wait to see the analog results, this was a test for our studio course and my teacher will judge me on this work.
Also Loic did some cool shot with the Corezone shop's crew who are awesome !
Today I've chosen to quote lyrics from a Jack White's band The Raconteurs because it's a huge song and it's also on the original soundtrack of an awesome surf movie with Rob Machado.
I'm a huge fan of The Raconteurs and Jack White's music in fact.
Rob Machado is the guy on the picture behind Loic, it's an awesome surfer sponsored by Hurley that you should watch surfing !
Link to the trailer of the movie "The Drifter" with Carolina Drama - The Raconteurs music on the OST.
Light :
- 1 flash Elinchrom D-Lite4 with Portalite softbox at min power on the left of the sofa, fired with PC synch cable
Canon EOS 7D - Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG macro EX
Sébastien Huruguen
This was a shoot from my first air show put on by the Navy Blue Angels. A fantastic show. These planes (for the show) are flying at speeds ranging from 150-450 mph, so high shutter speed is important to get sharp images and is not really difficult to achieve on sunny days like this one. The Blue Angels have a predetermined spot at which they perform some of their maneuvers like this one in which they pass by one another at a very close distance (remarkable) so here, shutter speed, aperture, steady camera and knowing that sweet spot where they pass is important to get sharp images. Here, I didn't know where that center point was so I panned with the number six plane and shot at 5 frames a second hoping to get the image I got, but because of my panning the number five plane became blurred (traveling the opposite direction of the pan). The show was wonderful and I learned a lot.
This image was shot with a 70-200VR lens at 5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/2500 sec.
a quote by the lovely Eleanor Powell.
So, what WILL YOU become? (:
I have this journal that I bought at Barnes And Noble, and I love it.
Every single page has an inspiring quote along with a verse from the Bible
that matches the quote. Every time I write in it, I feel so inspired.
When I write about how bad I want to give up, I look up at the top of the page, and
i see a quote that tells me not to.
and at the bottom, there's a beautiful bible verse that tells me God has created plans for me.
I guard that journal with my life.
and I carry it everywhere I go.<333
I want to give God the greatest gift.
because he's blessed me, well, with my own life.
That is why i don't want to take my life for granted.
I want to make something out of it and please Him with it.
I want to be a photographer.
A photographer that through pictures, will show how lovely and merciful He is
to a world that lives and is lost in hopelessness, sadness, pain, death and fear.
and that He can change lives.
I want to be a person, that when people look at me, they can see clearly that Jesus lives
in my heart.
You are my reason for my joy. You are my reason for my happiness. Because of You I can rejoice. Because of you i treasure every breath, I owe this to You. For all that You do. To worship you in spirit and in truth. I live my life for You. I give you my heart. I give you my soul. Lord I give You my everything.
Note:
I might be a little silly, but the reason behind this picture was that
I was looking up, and when I saw the sky and the power lines
I was instantly reminded of a piece of paper (:
The sky, being the paper, and the power lines being the lines in which we write (:
It reminded me of my journal...<
light | dark | expired agfacolor 200-n
The 2010 Traveling Panoramic Camera Adventure
A panorama camera was shared among 16 photographers throughout the USA and the UK and the resulting images and experiences are being shared on the long square project flickr group.
Specs for the camera are:
28mm fixed two element lens
1/125 shutter f/11
13 x 36 mm panorama mask
My fellow adventurers are:
Andy Schmitt NJ
Brian Krummel PA
Peter Schafer WV
Meredith Shinko Ensell OH
Angie Harris OH
David Lindley OH
Bill Bressler MI
Karen Taylor TX
Warren Harold TX
Randy Ray Cathey TX
Robert Williams NM
Steve Welch NM
Ariel Boston NM
Phil Bebbington UK
Shari Baker UK
Ver grande sobre fondo negro I View large on black
Mas fotos en éste monográfico:
Hoy es para mí un día triste, muy triste, jodida e inmensamente triste.
Hace unas pocas horas he recibido como un mazazo la indeseable noticia del fallecimiento de mi buen y querido amigo, el Doctor Luis Alberto Melograno Lecuna.
Pocas horas antes de abandonarnos, nos dejaba éste mensaje en su página de facebook donde, tan sólo desde hace unos meses, una legión de seguidores vivía pendiente de su evolución y de sus vivencias a través de una especie de club de fans, un grupo de seguidores del Doctor Melograno Lecuna, creado especialmente con ese fin. Decía en ese último mensaje:
“(...) Nuestra vida es muy corta y el tiempo pasa volando...Si alguien sabe que el sentido de la vida es algo distinto y mejor que el de desarrollar nuestros talentos para hacer cosas trascendentes para nuestra especie, por favor que me pase el dato(...)”
Dr. Luis A. Melograno Lecuna.
He querido titular esta trilogía de fotos con una cita de su querido y admirado maestro Jorge Luís Borges, que estoy seguro que él aprobaría con orgullo, y que además es un claro reflejo de lo que ha sido su vida, su intensa y bien aprovechada vida, a pesar de su cortedad, pues ha sido un hombre renacentista, polifacético, inquieto por cualquier actividad humana que se moviese a su alrededor. Un hombre de una vasta cultura e innumerables vivencias, viajero impenitente y gran conversador. Todo un lujo de ser humano. Un hombre próximo, cariñoso, siempre dispuesto a embarcarse en cualquier proyecto, para con su esfuerzo personal, satisfacer las demandas de las personas de su entorno, a pesar de que su entorno era muy, muy grande.
Tuve oportunidad de conocerte, amigo, virtualmente como a tí te gustaba decir, a través de la página flickr, ese gran punto de encuentro para todos los fotógrafos del orbe, cuando uno de los primeros estadíos de tu enfermedad te tuvo postrado, y tú aprovechaste la ocasión para, utilizando este espacio como una válvula de escape, darnos a conocer una ingente cantidad de tú material fotográfico. Desde un primer momento supe que había tenido la enorme fortuna de haberme topado con un ser especial, con un ser excepcional, con una de esas personas con las que merece la pena compartir escenario en esta puñetera vida. Tu optimismo, tu alegría de vivir, tus conocimientos y tu generosidad y amplitud de miras no me dejó indiferente ,y supe desde ese mismo instante, que tendría un amigo para siempre al otro lado del Atlántico.
Recuerdo con enorme cariño y emoción, uno de los primeros mensajes que me enviaste:
Hola, Chema!
Cuando por primera vez aparecí en Firenze, mientras me acercaba en la Galería de la Academia de Bellas Artes a la espectacular escultura del David, escoltada a ambos lados de gran pasillo de paredes ocre pálido por los famosos "prisioneros" de Buonarroti, me surgió instintivamente un comentario sobre ese artista colosal que a los 28 años pudo gestar semejante obra.
Fue así que llegué hasta la base de la escultura, y extendí mi mano hasta tocarle el dedo gordo del pie izquierdo (sin que nadie me viera para que no me llamara a la atención), mientras murmuraba una frase que a mi enteder (desde la profunda admiración y el afecto), resumía lo que en mi despertaba el genial Michelangelo.
Simplemente dije: "Éste es un hijo de la gran puta"
Con el mismo respeto y admiración y hablando de fotografía, querido Chema, debo decir... que eres un hijo de la gran puta...
No elijo una sola foto tuya como favorita, porque todas lo son, y no tiene sentido derivar a mi listaddo de fotos todo tu photostream. Simplemente voy a él, y lo disfruto. Sólo puse, por una cuestión de agradecimiento, la primer HDR que publicaste y me dedicaste.
Por lo visto, no existen las casualidades, sino las causalidades...
Y en ese sentido, Flickr ha sido (lo sigue siendo) una fuente de energía y estética y amigos virtuales y ganas de vivir...
Un abrazo,
Betto
Aún me aborda una triste sonrisa cuando releo tus palabras escritas, que en aquellos momentos me sorprendieron con un inmerecido orgullo. Nunca podrás saber cuánto te las agradecí en aquel momento. O quizás sí. También me obsequiaste con un emotivo testimonial que aparece en mi perfil de flickr, y que desde entonces ha sido para mí un pequeño tesoro que conservo y conservaré con agradecimiento y cariño hacia tu persona.
A raiz de ello comencé a seguirte a través de tus múltiples blogs y páginas, a conocer tu obra, a leer tus escritos, con los cuales pude ligeramente aproximarme a atisbar la dimensión de tu obra y de tu persona. Betto, desde luego que en el momento de entregar la cuchara no lo has hecho con las manos vacías, ni mucho menos. Si hay que rendir cuentas ante alguien o algo del aprovechamiento de una vida, es un hecho bien cierto, que tu llevas el zurrón lleno de experiencias y vivencias intensamente aprovechadas y sentidas, intensamente trabajadas en beneficio siempre de la gente que hemos tenido la gran suerte de convivir y compartir contigo el camino a recorrer en algún momento de tu existencia.
Cuando tuve más confianza contigo, tuve la osadía y atrevimiento de solicitar de tí una presentación escrita para el catalogo de mi exposición fotográfica Una historia de 36.520 días. No sólo tuviste la amabilidad y generosidad de contagiarte de mi entusiasmo con el proyecto, escribiéndome una de las presentaciones más emotivas y más bellas que cualquier fotografo haya podido tener, sino que, en un alarde de imaginación, ingenio y creatividad, elaboraste una pequeña cita para cada una de las fotografías, para juntando todas ellas, componer un precioso poema exaltando el edificio de la casa consistorial vallisoletana, que era el tema sobre el que versaba la exposición. No escatimaste ni un minuto de tu tiempo para, desde el mismo momento en que te presenté la propuesta, aceptáses el reto, y desde el día siguiente ya te pusieses manos a la obra, solícito y entrañable, como te mostrabas siempre que alguien se acercaba a tí o requería de tí. Recuerdo entrañablemente a mi paisano y amigo Angel María de Pablos, recitando tu poesía el día de la inauguración de la exposición, mientras los presentes seguíamos con la vista todas y cada una de las fotos, acompasando nuestras miradas con la lectura del texto.
Quiso la fortuna que, casi coincidiendo con la inauguración de la exposición, tuviéses que acudir a un reclamo que te hicieron desde España para participar en unas jornadas sobre educación, en las que volviste a presentar tu proyecto de educación integracionista, y gracias a lo cual pudiese tener la ocasión y el inmenso honor de conocerte en persona, de compartir un tiempo contigo. Tuve la oportunidad de poder disfrutar de tres cortas pero intensas horas contigo en Madrid, robándoselas a tu apretada agenda y, compartiendo mesa y mantel, departir sobre lo divino y lo humano, en una intensa conversación donde no recibí de tí otra cosa si no buenos consejos, fruto de tus conocimientos, tu gran bagage cultural, tu arrolladora personalidad, y sobre todo tu gran experiencia vital y vitalista. De vuelta a Valladolid, regresaba ilusionado por el hecho de haberte podido conocer. Todo un lujo, que he querido plasmar y recordar con estas tres fotos que realicé con motivo de dicho encuentro.
A partir de ahí todos los acontecimientos se han desarrollado mucho más rápido de lo que todos hubiésemos deseado. He seguido tu enfermedad de una forma silenciosa, leyendo todas tus experiencias vitales frente a la enfermedad que te ha ido acorralando. Experiencias que tú generosamente nos has brindado y compartido a través del blog que, enmarcado por tu ironía y con cierto tono burlesco, fruto de tu fino sentido del humor, -recuerdo cómo nos reímos cuando me contáste como tuviste sospechas de la existencia de tu enfermedad,- titulaste socarronamente ¡A pelear se ha dicho!, hasta que hoy finalmente, hace escasas horas, has perdido tu última batalla, ahora ya tu guerra. Pero lo has hecho, no con una rendición -hubiera sido impensable en tí-, ha sido muy a pesar de tu inmensa voluntad, y de tu desbordado amor por la vida.
Betto, has vivido deprisa, pero también has muerto deprisa. Nos dejas una enorme sensación de frustración y vacio, un pequeño hueco en el alma, una cicatriz que será dificil de cerrar, pero también un recuerdo imborrable, y esa impronta que solo la buena gente deja en herencia a las personas que les han rodeado y compartido vivencias con ellas. Lloro tu muerte, pero me cabe la inmensa satisfacción y el bello recuerdo de haberme podido contar entre tus amigos. Mi abrazo emocionado, igual al que nos dimos cuando nos despedimos el día en que se hicieron estas fotografías, va para tu esposa Fátima, y para tus hijos y nietos, de los que tanto me hablaste, a los que profesabas un inmenso cariño, y de los que te sentías tan orgulloso.
Allá donde estés, donde coño quiera que vayamos, si es que vamos a algún lugar cuando la parca nos cursa visita, te llegará este recuerdo en forma de humilde homenaje y admiración hacia tu persona. A mí, al menos me habrá servido de desahogo, para deshacer ese nudo en la garganta que se ha apoderado de mí desde el momento que he recibido la dolorosa noticia.
¡Hasta siempre, Betto!, porque siempre estarás en mi corazón y en mis recuerdos.
Every achiever that I have ever met says, "My life turned around when I began to believe in me."
Dr. Robert Schuller
We spent Canada Day at Martinique Beach supposedly looking for Sandpipers and other sea birds. Not me seen these beauties growing in a wet marshy area so spent an hour crawling around getting some shots of them. I am unsure if they are wild Iris or som type of wild Orchid but they are definitely growing wild.