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I startled this guy when I opend the window to get his picture

 

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A friend of mine restores classic cars for a hobby/side-job and asked me to come over and shoot one of his cars. This is actually the '65 Mustang that he built for his mother. This classic started out as a coupe, but he changed it to a convertible. He also customized the front end and back end. The engine is also not original. He replaced it with a 302 from a late 80's Mustang. The car is really beautiful. He does nice work.

 

This was my first attempt at shooting a car and it definitely presented some challenges. I used my two speedlights to light it and ended up compositing several shots in Photoshop to get the right lighting and look I wanted. I was shooting the speedlights at full power and sometimes 1/2 power since I had the aperture tighted up to f10. Could have really used some Alien Bees or something here. Anyway, I think I did a pretty good job and the end result is pretty cool. I showed this final shot to my friend and he was really happy with it, which is what really matters here.

 

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Equipment: Canon 40D, EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM

Strobist: main image and base image for background: 580EX II, camera left, bounced in 45" umbrella, LP120, camera right, bare aimed at side of vehicle.

layer: LP120, camera right, bare, aimed at front fender and wheel.

layer: 580EX II, camera right, handheld over the back end of the car, through umbrella to light up the convertible top cover a bit more.

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I had this song stuck in my head during this shoot.

 

"Bruised" - Jack's Mannequin

"I've got my things, I'm good to go

You met me at the terminal

Just one more plane ride and it's done

 

"We stood like statues at the gate

Vacation's come and gone too late

There's so much sun where I'm from

I had to give it away, had to give you away

 

"And we spent four days on an

Island at your family's old hotel

Sometimes perfection can be

It can be perfect hell, perfect...

 

"Hours pass, and she still counts the minutes

That I am not there, I swear I didn't mean

For it to feel like this

Like every inch of me is bruised, bruised

And don't fly fast. Oh, pilot can you help me?

Can you make this last? This plane is all I got

So keep it steady, now

Cause every inch you see is bruised

 

"I lace my Chucks, I walk the aisle

I take my pills, the babies cry

All I hear is what's playing through

The in-flight radio

Now every word of every song

I ever heard that made me wanna stay

Is what's playing through

The in-flight radio, and I

And I am, finally waking up

 

"Hours pass, and she still counts the minutes

That I am not there, I swear I didn't mean

For it to feel like this

Like every inch of me is bruised, bruised

Don't fly fast. Oh, pilot can you help me?

Can you make this last? This plane is all I got

So keep it steady, now

Cause every inch you see is bruised, yeah

 

"So read your books, but stay out late

Some nights, some nights, and don't think

That you can't stop by the bar

You haven't shown your face here since the bad news

Well I'm here till close, with fingers crossed

Each night cause your place isn't far

 

"And hours pass, and hours pass, yeah, yeah...

 

"Yeah, yeah, she still counts the minutes

That I am not there, I swear I didn't mean

For it to feel like this

Like every inch of me is bruised, bruised

And don't fly fast. Oh, pilot can you help me?

Can you make this last? This plane is all I got

So keep it steady, now

Cause every inch you see is bruised, bruised, bruised"

-

Nikon D90

18-105mm VR

SB-900 w/ shoot through umbrella, camera left

 

www.CourtheadDoesPhotography.com

www.twitter.com/CourtThompson

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Invictus

  

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever Gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

   

In the fell clutch of circumstance,

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance,

My head is bloodied but unbowed.

   

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of the shade.

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

   

It matters not how straight the gate,

Nor how charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

  

-- William Ernest Henley

 

At the age of 12 Henley became a victim of tuberculosis of the bone. In spite of this, in 1867 he successfully passed the Oxford local examination as a senior student. His diseased foot had to be amputated directly below the knee; physicians announced the only way to save his life was to amputate the other. Henley persevered and survived with one foot intact. He was discharged in 1875, and was able to lead an active life for nearly 30 years despite his disability. With an artificial foot, he lived until the age of 54. "Invictus" was written from a hospital bed.

  

Anne

 

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An early morning mist rises off Beardy Waters just north of Glen Innes as the suns rays start to find their way through the trees and light up the countryside.

 

Taken during the 1200kms for Kids Charity Bike Ride... as the riders braved the icy air, I stopped to grab some of the pretty countryside in this part of the world.

 

The Beardy Waters is a river, which is about 70 kilometres (43 mi) in length, in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia.

 

The Beardy Waters rises near Ben Lomond Mountain south of Glen Innes in the New England region. It flows north to the east of Glen Innes, New South Wales and then north-west to where it joins the Severn River (New South Wales) below Rangers Road.

 

The name of the river derives from two bearded stockmen who were among the first European settlers of the district through which the river flows. The river was previously known as: Maybole Creek, The Beardy Water, Beardy River and The Beardy Waters.

 

A weir construction across the Beardy Waters was commenced in October 1930 after a grant of ₤5,500 was made available for the work. This money was granted to pay men working on unemployment relief. Completed in July 1932 at a cost of ₤10,847 it has a capacity of 100 million imperial gallons (450,000 m3) with the flood gates closed.

 

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Zuki really wants a duck. He still loves his seal, "Club", but he's not getting along with whale or pig that much. He hasn't even bothered to name them.

 

I wanted to put that in illustration tonight with duck boots, which were promised at my last Bench Monday, but he threw a hissy fit.

 

"NOT DUCKS, MUM! THESE ARE NOT DUCKS!"

 

So he's back in the closet. I'm hoping he comes out for tomorrow's shot which will be a face down tuesday, but includes a bed. Unfortunately, that will disqualify the shot as a "Face Down Tuesday", but I also said on Wednesday that I would explain why I couldn't sleep until 3AM.

 

So much catching up to do. I feel that I've neglected my contacts horribly. They started making me actually do work at work. It's 10:20 and I'm just uploading, and I swore I'd try to sleep like a semi-normal person this week.

More photographs of Walton-on-Thames, can be viewed by visiting my photography website - Beautiful England

 

Walton-on-Thames is a riverside town with over 20,000 residents, situated between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock, in the Borough of Elmbridge. It is only 15 miles from central London and has good communications by road, being close to the M25, M4 and M3 motorways. A fast train journey of only 25 minutes to Waterloo station makes it an ideal location for commuting to London. In fact, in 2008, a survey by the Halifax declared the Borough of Elmbridge to be the, "best place to live in Britain", with the highest quality of life in the United Kingdom. The media rapidly produced further commendations declaring Elmbridge to be the "Beverly Hills of Surrey" and claiming that even the weather here was better than the national average.

 

The town now has a new shopping centre, "The Heart", which is a covered mall with over 50 shops and restaurants and with outside restaurant seating. The development contains 279 apartments with views over Ashley Park. Walton-on-Thames has a modern leisure centre, the Xcel Leisure Complex, which opened in 2006, overlooking the River Thames. In addition to a 25 metre swimming pool, sports halls, climbing wall, health and fitness suite, it has an outside floodlit synthetic football pitch.

 

In the Domesday Book, Walton-on-Thames was recorded as, 'Waletona' and as having a church, two mills and a fishery.

 

The River Thames at Walton is an important crossing point. It was thought that Julius Caesar crossed here on his second invasion of Britain, but there is no evidence for this. Walton Bridge was the subject of a painting by Canaletto in 1754, but this wooden bridge was dismantled in 1783. J.M.W. Turner painted Walton Bridge in 1805, but this stone bridge collapsed in 1859. It is doubtful whether anyone would think the current structure is picturesque. It is the fifth bridge to cross the Thames at Walton and dates from 1999, when it was intended only to be temporary. Work on a new bridge is due to start in 2011 and completed in 2013.

 

Close to Walton Bridge is Desborough Island, which was created when the Desborough Channel was cut in 1935. It was constructed by the Thames Conservancy and named after Lord Desborough, the Chairman of the Board. The cut made a shorter journey possible by avoiding the meandering stretch of the Thames past Shepperton and Halliford.

 

At Walton Bridge is the garage of H.W. Motors, (Hersham and Walton Motors) who were the first Aston Martin dealership in the world. In the 1950s, they built their own racing cars and Sir Stirling Moss competed in his first Formula One Grand Prix in an H.W. Motors car.

 

Next to H.W. Motors is the Walton Playhouse. This is a theatre used for community productions and local amateur dramatic societies. It was built by Cecil Hepworth as a power house for Walton Film Studios. They closed in 1924 and its architect, George Carvill, bought the building. For many years, it was known as the, "Walton Hop", reputed to be the first disco in the United Kingdom. It closed in 1990.

 

St. Mary's Parish Church is of Saxon origin, with parts dating back to the 12th century. It is set at the highest point in the town and has a square flint tower. The churchyard contains the graves of many New Zealand soldiers who died in the First World War. Mount Felix House in Walton, which has now been demolished, was used as a hospital for New Zealand troops. The New Zealand connection is maintained in the street name, 'New Zealand Avenue' and the Wellington pub in the town centre.

 

As would be expected, the riverside pubs have been visited by notable characters. In 1909, Jerome Kern, the composer of the Broadway musical, "Showboat" and many popular songs, including Ol' Man River, met Eva Leale, the landlord's daughter at the Swan pub. They were married at St. Mary's Church, Walton the following year. The Anglers pub, with its seating on the riverbank, is very popular. A short walk along the towpath towards Hampton Court brings you to The Weir Hotel. Overlooking the Weir, this pub is extremely popular with walkers and cyclists, especially on Sundays, where people enjoy their roast dinners.

 

Walton-on-Thames has had many famous residents, but Julie Andrews is probably the most notable. She was born Julia Wells in 1935 in Rodney House Maternity Hospital, Rodney Road. She became, at fourteen, the youngest ever solo performer to appear at a Royal Variety Performance in 1948 at the London Palladium. She married her first husband, Tony Walton, in St. Mary's Church, Oatlands, Weybridge in 1959. Her most famous role was as Maria Von Trapp in the film, "The Sound of Music", which became 20th Century Fox's biggest ever film.

 

In Station Avenue, is a 1960s iconic office building. Formerly the head office of Birds Eye Frozen Foods, it is now a Grade II listed building. My sister worked there and remembers that there were live penguins in the grounds.

 

Next year will be an exciting time for Walton-on-Thames, when the 2012 Olympic Games commences. On the opening day of the 2012 Games, on Saturday 28th July, the Mens' Cycling Road Race (250km) starts from the Mall in London. The 145 riders will head towards Walton and race along Hurst Road from Hampton Court into Terrace Road, into Walton Town Centre, down Oatlands Drive to Weybridge and then onto the Surrey Hills. The womens' race takes place the following day over a shorter (140km) route, but still through Walton. The 2012 Olympic Games Cycling Time Trials will be held close by on 1st August at Hampton Court. The whole 13 mile section of the route which cuts through Elmbridge will be surfaced with electric blue non-slip Tarmac. This is the internationally recognised cycling blue used on time trials. The blue colour means overhead cameras can track competitors using matt black background enhancements.

 

On 14th August, 2011, an official test event for the 2012 Summer Olympics Road Race took place over the Olympic route, from The Mall in London, through Walton-on-Thames, to Box Hill, returning to the Mall, passing through Esher. This was the London – Surrey Cycle Classic Race. It was won by Mark Cavendish, MBE, aged 26. He is the top sprinter in the Tour de France, having won twenty stages and in September 2011, went on to win the Road World Championship in Denmark. On 22nd December 2011, Mark was voted the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He is probably Great Britain’s best prospect for a gold medal in 2012. It is hoped that he can repeat his success next year.

  

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Remember my previous post about stairs and little hill? This is to the left of it but still closed to the public with barricades on top and bottom of the stairs. I'll go back to find out what they had in mind for this. The view on Lower Manhattan, Statue of Liberty and Governor's Island is just beautiful!! Love the textures and tones here that almost matches the texture of the Majestic Brooklyn Bridge in the background!!

 

3 shots HDR

 

Of course when I was there for sunrise shot, Kenny and I didn't really care about the barricades on the top and just move them a little and parked our gears in front of those flimsy things, LOL!! The rangers making their tours saw us, and couple other photographers, didn't mind knowing well we'll be there for few minutes only!!

 

Have a great week, it is gloomy and raining here!! :((

 

Thanks for stopping by and commenting!!

 

Real nice here

  

Best viewed LARGE on Black: bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=4276443308&size=large&...

 

The ground has been frozen solid here for over two weeks now, so we're definitely looking ahead to Springtime. These are yellow trillium at Sosebee Cove, taken April 20, 2008. We will be going back in late April or early May - I'm guessing Spring will be later this year.

 

Sosebee Cove is a picturesque high elevation north facing cove forest covering 175 acres. The trail through the cove is dedicated to Arthur Woody, (the "Barefoot Ranger"), the first Forest Ranger in the State of Georgia, who served from 1911 to 1945. He negotiated the purchase of Sosebee Cove. Due to its north facing orientation Sosebee Cove has a rich diversity of shade tolerant trees, shrubs and wildflowers. The forest is a maturing second growth forest. The Mesic forest is characterized by very large yellow poplars (Lirodendron tulipifera), and Yellow Buckeyes (Aesculus flava). There are also a few more unusual specimens of trees usually found farther north, such as Sweet Birch (Betula lenta), American basswood (Tilia americana), mountain maple (Acer spicatum), striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum), and yellowwood (Cladastris kentukea). Smaller trees include flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), and several viburnums.

 

With its north facing aspect, the cove has a rich display of wildflowers encompassing the diversity of spring ephemerals to the autumn glory of goldenrods and asters. Species commonly encountered in the spring include Jack-in-the-pulpit, large flowered bellwort, Solomon's seal, showy orchid, blue cohosh, purple toadshade, and large flowered trillium.

Eve Strange - Model Mayhem #103520

Coogan Photo - Model Mayhem #518290

 

Model: Eve Strange - The Three Faces of Eve

Location: Shhhhhhh... it's a secret.

 

Lighting:

• Main light on model left: 4x6 Chimera with SB800 @ 1/4 -1/3 power.

• Back right side light: SB26 @ 1/2 power with 6.5" snoot

 

Photoshop: minimal

 

Many thanks to the seven photo assistants for helping me with the shoot.

John Groseclose - iaincaradoc, Geoff Reed, Lou Mangino, Steven Goldstein (keyholeprod), James Alan - Jim (Jimynd), Terry Hogan, Jeremy.

 

Learn how to light at Strobist.

 

Phoenix Arizona AZ Editorial Fashion Photographer

© Brian Callahan 2009 All rights reserved.

 

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The Trump International Hotel and Tower, also known as Trump Tower Chicago and locally as the Trump Tower, is a skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building, named after real estate developer Donald Trump, was designed by architect Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Bovis Lend Lease built the 96-story structure, which reached a height of 1,362 feet (415 m) including its spire, its roof topping out at 1,170 feet (360 m). It is adjacent to the main branch of the Chicago River, with a view of the entry to Lake Michigan beyond a series of bridges over the river. The building received publicity when the winner of the first season of The Apprentice television show, Bill Rancic, chose to manage the construction of the tower.

 

Trump announced in 2001 that the skyscraper would become the tallest building in the world, but after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the building plans were scaled back, and its design has undergone several revisions. When topped out in 2009 it became the second-tallest building in the United States after Chicago's Willis (Formerly known as "Sears") Tower It is expected to be surpassed by the Freedom Tower in New York City in the middle of 2013, and by the currently on-hold Chicago Spire if completed. Trump Tower surpassed Chicago's John Hancock Center as the building with the world's highest residence above ground-level and will hold this title until the Burj Dubai claims it.

 

The design of the building includes, from the ground up, retail space, a parking garage, a hotel, and condominiums. The 339-room hotel opened for business with limited accommodations and services on January 30, 2008. April 28, 2008 marked the grand opening with full accommodation and services. A restaurant on the 16th floor, called Sixteen, opened in early 2008 to favorable reviews for its cuisine, decor, location, architecture, and view.

 

The building topped out in late 2008 and construction was completed in 2009.

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6:38 pm CET ->

 

Focal length: 15 mm

Aperture: f/5.6

Exposure: 1/100 sec

ISO Speed: 100

 

FLUIDR I flickriver I Flickr Hive Mind I Getty Images I 500px

Cubelles, Barcelona (Spain).

 

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Effects of the East storms. / Efectos de los temporales de levante.

 

ENGLISH

The reclaimed wetlands of the river Foix estuary have made this area into one of the main attractions of the town. The River Foix, which is dry during most of the year due to construction of the Foix Resservoir is another of the most emblematic places in Cubelles. At the Foix estuary, you can spend the day enjoying nature and birthwatching, or at one of the picnic areas. This zone is also intended for school visits, as it is a place where children can study the ecosystem of a Mediterranean river such as the Foix.

 

The estuary is separated from the sea by a sand barrier which has accumulated over time, due to sea currents and rainwater sediments, forming freshwater laguens behind the barrier. The natural area of the Foix Delta has a branch of land that sticks out into the sea. This was formed during the floods of 1994 and joins onto another branch, leaving an island in the middle. Tourists can visit the island by crossing a wooden footbridge.

 

Source: www.cubelles.net/docs/20050211004068.htm

 

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

 

CASTELLANO

La recuperación de los espacios húmedos de la desembocadura del río Foix ha convertido la zona en una de las de mayor atractivo del municipio. El río Foix -que desde la construcción del pantano del Foix está la mayor parte del año seco- es otro de los elementos más emblemáticos de los cubellenses. En la desembocadura del Foix, además de poder pasar un día rodeado de la Naturaleza, se puede observar el comportamiento de las aves autóctonas de esta zona o disfrutar de las áreas de picnic. El espacio también está dirigido a las escuelas, que pueden visitar y estudiar el ecosistema de un río mediterráneo, como es el del Foix.

 

Su desembocadura está separada del mar por una barrera de arena acumulada por las corrientes marítimas y los depósitos pluviales, formando lagunas de agua dulce en su interior. El Espacio Natural del Delta del Foix, mantiene el brazo de salida al mar que se formó por las riadas de 1994, a la que se ha añadido un segundo brazo dejando una isla en el medio, conectada con la zona de entretenimiento a través de unas pasarelas de madera. Otra pasarela de madera sobre uno de los brazos del río, sirve de punto de observación del desarrollo natural de la desembocadura del Foix.

 

Fuente: www.cubelles.net/docs/20050211004073.htm

 

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For Christmas '08, my wife got me a nice shaving kit which included a Gillette Mach 3 razor. (featured here) I used it for a year, and was about to buy another pack of M3s when I realized how freaking expensive they were. I decided to give a Double Edge razor a shot. My per razor cost went from $2.25 to ¢10 (¢25 if I splurge and get the really nice ones.) The dirty little secret that Gillette doesn't want you to know: disposable cartridges with multiple blades do not necessarily give you a better shave. They're simply a matter of convenience, but that convenience comes at a price. If you'd rather not do the DE razor, go with something like a trac II, Atra, or Sensor... anything else is just more expensive, not better. Eventually, using the DE is just second nature.

 

I used that for a few months and decided to give a straight raozr a shot. Some say it's the closest shave you'll ever have, but I'm not quite there yet. I haven't got the nerve to go against the grain. One thing though... it feels kind of bad ass to shave with a straight. It takes me probably an extra 5-10 minutes to shave this way than it would with a regular razor, but it's worth it. No more wasting of plastic cartridges... and my use of DE razors is greatly reduced.

 

For this shot, I used a cross processing technique. Here's the tutorial I used. It's specific to GIMP. Mr. Sharp referred me to one for photoshop... I couldn't quite get it to work, which I think is the result of not having 'effect layers' in gimp. I probably could have adapted it to work in GIMP, but the other one seems to work on a similar premise, and required no translation on my part.

 

I also did the orton effect, in conjunction with the "smart sharpen" (see previous) The smart sharpen is quite a few steps, but worth it.

 

Question for those that might know: this cross processing technique is very similar to what I've seen for lomo effect. The end result is somewhat similar too. Makes sense because the distinctive use that lomos became famous for was because the film was developed with a cross process technique. So, my question is, what distinguishes digital lomo edits from other types of cross processing?

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Ford was launched in a converted factory in 1902 with $31,000 in cash (approximately US$704 thousand, adjusted for inflation) from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Dodge, who would later found the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company. Henry Ford was 40 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company, which would go on to become one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world, as well as being one of the few to survive the Great Depression. The largest family-controlled company in the world, the Ford Motor Company has been in continuous family control for over 100 years.

 

During its early years, the company produced a range of vehicles designated, chronologically, from the Ford Model A (1903) to the Model K and Model S (Ford's last right-hand steering model)[1] of 1907.[2] The K, Ford's first six-cylinder model, was knows as "the gentleman's roadster" and "the silent cyclone", and sold for US$2800 (approximately US$65.4 thousand, adjusted for inflation);[3] by contrast, around that time, the Enger 40 was priced at US$2000,[4] the Colt Runabout US$1500,[5] the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout[6] US$650, Western's Gale Model A US$500,[7] and the Success hit the amazingly low US$250 (approximately US$5.84 thousand, adjusted for inflation).[8]

 

The next year, Henry Ford introduced the Model T. Earlier models were produced at a rate of only a few a day at a rented factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, with groups of two or three men working on each car from components made to order by other companies (what would come to be called an "assembled car"). The first Model Ts were built at the Piquette Road Manufacturing Plant, the first company-owned factory. In its first full year of production, 1909, about 18,000 Model Ts were built. As demand for the car grew, the company moved production to the much larger Highland Park Plant, and in 1911, the first year of operation there, 69,762[9] Model Ts were produced, with 170,211 in 1912.[10] By 1913, the company had developed all of the basic techniques of the assembly line and mass production. Ford introduced the world's first moving assembly line that year, which reduced chassis assembly time from 12½ hours in October to 2 hours 40 minutes (and ultimately 1 hour, 33 minutes),[11] and boosted annual output to 202,667 units that year[12] After a Ford ad promised profit-sharing if sales hit 300,000 between August 1914 and August 1915,[13] sales in 1914 hit 308,162, and 501,462 in 1915;[14] by 1920, production would exceed one million a year.

 

These innovations were hard on employees, and turnover of workers was very high, while increased productivity actually reduced labor demand.[15] Turnover meant delays and extra costs of training, and use of slow workers. In January 1914, Ford solved the employee turnover problem by doubling pay to $5 a day, cutting shifts from nine hours to an eight hour day for a 5 day work week (which also increased sales; a line worker could buy a T with less than four months' pay),[16] and instituting hiring practices that identified the best workers, including disabled people considered unemployable by other firms.[17] Employee turnover plunged, productivity soared, and with it, the cost per vehicle plummeted. Ford cut prices again and again and invented the system of franchised dealers who were loyal to his brand name. Wall Street had criticized Ford's generous labor practices when he began paying workers enough to buy the products they made.[18]

Ford assembly line (1913)

 

While Ford attained international status in 1904 with the founding of Ford of Canada, it was in 1911 the company began to rapidly expand overseas, with the opening of assembly plants in England and France, followed by Denmark (1923), Germany (1925), Austria (1925),[19] and Argentina (1925),[20] and also in South Africa (1924)[21] and Australia (1925) as subsidiaries of Ford of Canada due to preferential tariff rules for Commonwealth countries. By the end of 1919, Ford was producing 50 percent of all cars in the United States, and 40% of all British ones;[22] by 1920, half of all cars in the U.S. were Model Ts. (The low price also killed the cyclecar in the U.S.)[23] The assembly line transformed the industry; soon, companies without it risked bankruptcy. Of 200 U.S. car makers in 1920, only 17 were left in 1940.[24]

 

It also transformed technology. Henry Ford is reported to have said, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." Before the assembly line, Ts had been available in a variety of colors, including red, blue, and green, but not black. Now, paint had become a production bottleneck; only Japan Black dried quickly enough, and not until Duco lacquer appeared in 1926 would other colors reappear on the T.[25]

 

In 1915, Henry Ford went on a peace mission to Europe aboard a ship, joining other pacifists in efforts to stop World War I. This led to an increase in his personal popularity. Ford would subsequently go on to support the war effort with the Model T becoming the underpinnings for Allied military vehicles.

 

[edit] History of the blue oval

 

The Ford oval trademark was first introduced in 1907. The 1928 Model A was the first vehicle to sport an early version of the Ford script in the oval badge. The dark blue background of the oval is known to designers as Pantone 294C. The Ford script is credited to Childe Harold Wills, Ford's first chief engineer and designer. He created a script in 1903 based on the one he used for his business cards. Today, the oval has evolved into a perfect oval with a width-to-height ratio of 8:3. The current Centennial Oval was introduced on June 17, 2003 as part of the 100th anniversary of Ford Motor Company.[26]

 

[edit] Post-World War I developments

 

In 1919, Edsel Ford succeeded his father as president of the company, although Henry still kept a hand in management. Although prices were kept low through highly efficient engineering, the company used an old-fashioned personalized management system, and neglected consumer demand for improved vehicles. So, while four wheel brakes were invented by Arrol-Johnson (and were used on the 1909 Argyll),[27] they did not appear on a Ford until 1927. (To be fair, Chevrolet waited until 1928.)[28] Ford steadily lost market share to GM and Chrysler, as these and other domestic and foreign competitors began offering fresher automobiles with more innovative features and luxury options. GM had a range of models from relatively cheap to luxury, tapping all price points in the spectrum, while less wealthy people purchased used Model Ts. The competitors also opened up new markets by extending credit for purchases, so consumers could buy these expensive automobiles with monthly payments. Ford initially resisted this approach, insisting such debts would ultimately hurt the consumer and the general economy. Ford eventually relented and started offering the same terms in December 1927, when Ford unveiled the redesigned Model A, and retired the Model T after producing 15 million units.

 

[edit] Lincoln Motor Company

 

On February 4, 1922 Ford expanded its reach into the luxury auto market through its acquisition of the Lincoln Motor Company, named for Abraham Lincoln whom Henry Ford admired, but Henry M. Leland had named the company in 1917. The Mercury division was established in 1938 to serve the mid-price auto market.[29] Ford Motor Company built the largest museum of American History in 1928, The Henry Ford.

 

Henry Ford would go on to acquire Abraham Lincoln's chair, which he was assassinated in, from the owners of the Ford Theatre. Abraham Lincoln's chair would be displayed along with John F. Kennedy's Lincoln limousine in the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, known today as The Henry Ford. Kennedy's limousine was leased to the White House by Ford.

 

[edit] Fordlândia

Main article: Fordlândia

 

In 1928, Henry Ford negotiated a deal with the government of Brazil for a plot of land in the Amazon Rainforest. There, Ford attempted to cultivate rubber for use in the company's automobiles. After considerable labor unrest, social experimentation, and a failure to produce rubber, and after the invention of synthetic rubber, the settlement was sold in 1945 and abandoned.

 

[edit] The Great Depression

 

During the great depression, Ford in common with other manufacturers, responded to the collapse in motor sales by reducing the scale of their operations and laying off workers. By 1932, the unemployment rate in Detroit had risen to 30%[30] with thousands of families facing real hardship. Although Ford did assist a small number of distressed families with loans and parcels of land to work, the majority of the thousands of unskilled workers who were laid off were left to cope on their own. However, Henry Ford angered many by making public statements that the unemployed should do more to find work for themselves.

 

This led to Detroit’s Unemployed Council organizing the Ford Hunger March. On March 7, 1932 some 3,000 - 5,000 unemployed workers assembled in West Detroit to march on Ford's River Rouge plant to deliver a petition demanding more support. As the march moved up Miller Road and approached Gate 3 the protest turned ugly. The police fired tear gas into the crowd and fire trucks were used to soak the protesters with icy water. When the protesters responded by throwing rocks, the violence escalated rapidly and culminated in the police and plant security guards firing live rounds through the gates of the plant at the unarmed protesters. Four men were killed outright and a fifth died later in hospital. Up to 60 more were seriously injured.[31]

 

[edit] Soviet Fords and the Gorki

 

In May 1929 the Soviet Union signed an agreement with the Ford Motor Company. Under its terms, the Soviets agreed to purchase $13 million worth of automobiles and parts, while Ford agreed to give technical assistance until 1938 to construct an integrated automobile-manufacturing plant at Nizhny Novgorod. Many American engineers and skilled auto workers moved to the Soviet Union to work on the plant and its production lines, which was named Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ), or Gorki Automotive Plant in 1932. A few American workers stayed on after the plant's completion, and eventually became victims of Stalin's Great Terror, either shot[32] or exiled to Soviet gulags.[33] In 1933, the Soviets completed construction on a production line for the Ford Model-A passenger car, called the GAZ-A, and a light truck, the GAZ-AA. Both these Ford models were immediately adopted for military use. By the late 1930s production at Gorki was 80,000-90,000 "Russian Ford" vehicles per year. With its original Ford-designed vehicles supplemented by imports and domestic copies of imported equipment, the Gorki operations eventually produced a range of automobiles, trucks, and military vehicles.

 

[edit] World War II

 

President Franklin Roosevelt referred to Detroit as the "Arsenal of Democracy." The Ford Motor Company played a pivotal role in the allied victory during World War I and World War II. As a pacifist, Henry Ford had said war was a waste of time, and did not want to profit from it. He was concerned the Nazis during the 1930s might nationalize his factories in Germany. During the Great Depression Ford's wages may have seemed great to his employees but many of the rules of the factories were very harsh and strict. Those were tense times for American companies doing business in Europe. In the spring of 1939, the Nazis assumed day to day control of Ford factories in Germany.

 

With Europe under siege, Henry Ford's genius would be turned to mass production for the war effort. After Bantam invented the Jeep, the War Department handed production over to Ford and Willys. When Consolidated Aircraft could at most build one B-24 Liberator a day, Ford would show the world how to produce one an hour, at a peak of 600 per month in 24 hour shifts. The specially-designed Willow Run plant broke ground in April 1941. At the time, it was the largest assembly line in the world, with over 3,500,000 square feet (330,000 m2) under one roof. Edsel Ford, under severe stress, died in the Spring of 1943 of stomach cancer, prompting his grieving father to resume day-to-day control of Ford. Mass production of the B-24 began by August 1943. Many pilots slept on cots waiting for takeoff as B-24s rolled off the line.[34]

 

In the United Kingdom, Ford built a new factory in Trafford Park, Manchester during WW2 where over 34,000 Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engines were completed by a workforce trained from scratch.

 

[edit] Post-World War II developments

 

At the behest of Edsel Ford's widow Eleanor and Henry's wife Clara, Henry Ford would make his oldest grandson, Henry Ford II, President of Ford Motor Company.

A Ford Taurus, one of Ford's best-selling models. In its 21 year lifespan, it sold 7,000,000 units. It is the 4th best selling car in Ford's history, behind only the F-150, the Model T, and the Mustang.

 

Henry Ford II served as President from 1945–1960, and as Chairman and CEO from 1960–1980. "Hank the Deuce" led Ford to become a publicly traded corporation in 1956. However, the Ford family maintains about 40 percent controlling interest in the company, through a series of Special Class B preferred stocks.

 

In 1947, Henry Ford died. According to A&E Biography, an estimated 7 million people mourned his death.

 

Ernest R. Breech was hired in 1946 and became the Executive Vice President. Then later became Board Chairman in 1955.

 

In 1946, Robert McNamara joined Ford Motor Company as manager of planning and financial analysis. He advanced rapidly through a series of top-level management positions to the presidency of Ford on 9 November 1960, one day after John F. Kennedy's election. The first company head selected outside the Ford family, McNamara had gained the favor of Henry Ford II, and had aided in Ford's expansion and success in the postwar period. Less than five weeks after becoming president at Ford, he accepted Kennedy's invitation to join his cabinet, as Secretary of Defense.

 

In the 1950s, Ford introduced the iconic Thunderbird in 1955 and the Edsel brand automobile line in 1958. Edsel was cancelled after less than 27 months in the marketplace in November 1960. The corporation bounced back from the failure of the Edsel by introducing its compact Ford Falcon in 1960 and the Mustang in 1964. By 1967, Ford of Europe was established.

 

Lee Iacocca was involved with the design of several successful Ford automobiles, most notably the Ford Mustang. He was also the "moving force," as one court put it, behind the notorious Ford Pinto. He promoted other ideas which did not reach the marketplace as Ford products. Eventually, he became the president of the Ford Motor Company, but he clashed with Henry Ford II and ultimately, on July 13, 1978, he was famously fired by Henry II, despite Ford posting a $2.2 billion dollar profit for the year. In 1979 Philip Caldwell became Chairman, succeeded in 1985 by Donald Petersen.

 

Harold Poling served as Chairman and CEO from 1990-1993. Alex Trotman was Chairman and CEO from 1993-1998, and Jacques Nasser served at the helm from 1999-2001. Henry Ford's great-grandson, William Clay Ford Jr., is the company's current Chairman of the Board and was CEO until September 5, 2006, when he named Alan Mulally from Boeing as his successor. As of 2006, the Ford family owns about 5 percent of Ford's shares and controls about 40 percent of the voting power through a separate class of stock.[35]

 

In December 2006, Ford announced that it would mortgage all assets, including factories and equipment, office property, intellectual property (patents and trademarks), and its stakes in subsidiaries, to raise $23.4 billion in cash. The secured credit line is expected to finance product development during the restructuring through 2009, as the company expects to burn through $17 billion in cash before turning a profit. The action was unprecedented in the company's 103 year history.

bighugelabs.com/flickr/scout.php?username=edson+costa&...

 

Senhor, fazei-me instrumento de vossa paz.

Onde houver ódio, que eu leve o amor,

Onde houver ofensa , que eu leve o perdão,

Onde houver discórdia, que eu leve a união,

Onde houver dúvida, que eu leve a fé,

Onde houver erro, que eu leve a verdade,

Onde houver desespero, que eu leve a esperança,

Onde houver tristeza, que eu leve a alegria,

Onde houver trevas, que eu leve a luz.

 

Ó Mestre, fazei que eu procure mais

consolar que ser consolado;

compreender que ser compreendido,

amar, que ser amado.

Pois é dando que se recebe

é perdoando que se é perdoado

e é morrendo que se vive para a vida eterna...

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Perhaps the most striking and spectacular impression of Stone Town for its first time visitor is the magnificent wooden doors serving as prosperous entrances to the grand buildings.

 

The doors have become more or less synonym with the Swahili culture where they mainly are found in East Africa, Lamu and Mombasa (Kenya) and in Zanzibar. The doors in Zanzibar outnumber the doors, both in number and in grandness, found elsewhere along the coast, and thus being named ‘Zanzibar doors’. An inventory done in the 1980ies reported around 800 doors. Unfortunately has the number decreased, not only due to the diminishing of several houses, but also due to theft following the increased attention from international collectors.

 

The doors are manifestations in excellent craftsmanship, both technically and artistically. The oldest doors are often made out of Burma (Indian) teak, shipped all the way from Asia across the Indian Ocean. The shutters are made in one impressive piece and not mended together as is the case on newer doors. The Burma teak does no longer exist and the alternative has been the East African teak. Even this wood has become rare and difficult to find, often demanding a very high price.

 

The wealthy traders and house owners appointed skilled carvers brought in from India for the delicate job of arranging the entrance ornament. Their creativity is continuously at display.

 

In principal there are two types of doors found in Stone Town. The Indian doors, or Gujarati doors, with square shutters and made into smaller sections so that the door can fold together. These doors are to be seen along the busy bazaar streets where the Indian businessmen lived. The second type is called ‘Arab doors’, these doors are often found with an inscription in Arabic – most likely a phrase from the Holy Quraan – on the top frieze, and richly decorated around the frame. The older doors were all square at top. The semi-circular frames were introduced later, but are still referred to as ‘Arab doors’.

 

The custom of putting brass knobs on the shutters comes from India, where the knobs were said to prevent elephants from crushing the doors. Since there have been no violent elephants in Zanzibar the brass knobs were simply but there as a decoration and to show the wealth of its owner.

 

By looking at the lower part of the side posts and rough estimate can be done of the age of the door. The oldest doors have a symbol resembling of a fish. The fish gradually transformed into a shape of a pineapple and thus if the carving shows a clear and distinct pineapple the doors is of a younger generation. Another symbol that became part of the decoration was the chain-like row at the very outside of the whole door. The chain was said to protect the entrance from evil spirits.

 

(source: Zanzibar Stone Town Heritage Society)

 

On black

O Cristo Redentor no Corcovado.

 

Part of my Brazil set.

View On Black

 

Convoy ♫

  

...

2.000.000 heavy Trucks are crossing Tyrol per Year - Trend straight upwards. Tyrol has the shortest and lowest Way through the Alps (Brennerpass). But the EU don't even allow us to collect the Road Charge, that we want and we must tolerate the Trucks without any Limit, because the EU commands us (and our wise Politicians made a glorious "Century-Contract" with them - that's how they called this Contract 15 Years ago...). So we don't have that clean, fresh Air which you may believe. The Inntal-Valley - which crosses Tyrol - is a whole Smog-Dome.

 

I hope this desastrous "Union" goes to Hell soon - the Chances are good.

Huge Painting framed with Christmas decorations at Duane's Prime Steak & Seafood Restaurant inside Mission Inn, Riverside, California.

 

The Mission Inn is a "whimsical, mysterious and slightly bizarre" historic landmark hotel in downtown Riverside, California.

 

The core of the property was a 2-story, 12-room adobe boarding house called the "Glenwood Cottage", begun by Christopher Columbus Miller in 1876. It predated the founding of Riverside. Miller's son Frank expanded the boarding house in 1902 and essentially continued obsessively building, in a wild variety of shapes, until he died in 1935.

 

The building now occupies an entire city block. It is often considered an oasis in the middle of a city.

 

Miller built in reinforced concrete and developed an accomplished, expressive vernacular style drawn from random historical styles. Accumulating one section over another, addition upon addition, the result is an enormously complicated and intricate built environment, comparable to the Winchester House, or to a self-contained medieval European city.

 

The Mission contains narrow passageways like a Tuscan village, exterior arcades, a prominent medieval-style clock overlooking the Spanish patio, a deep but sun-drenched five-story rotunda, innumerable patios and windows, towers, minarets, a Cloister Wing (with Catacombs), a high pedestrian bridge, and a five-story spiral staircase, among many other features. The 1914 Spanish Wing in itself contains a castle courtyard, open arcades, Mexican tiled roofs, flying buttresses and Mediterranean domes.

 

Miller also traveled and collected over these thirty years, bringing his treasures back to the hotel for display. The various collections and museum-quality artifacts on the property has an estimated value of $5 million. The St. Francis Chapel houses four large original stained-glass windows and two original mosaics by Tiffany, and the Mexican Baroque Rayas Altar, 25 feet tall, 16 feet across, carved from cedar and covered in gold leaf. For his Garden of Bells, Miller collected over 800 bells, including one dating from the year 1274 and described as the "oldest bell in Christendom".

 

In the context of other important cultural losses in Riverside, the hotel was closed in 1985, restored at a cost of $55 million, and re-opened in 1992. As of 2006 it is an operating hotel with 4 restaurants, a day spa and 239 guest rooms with 9 rooms designated as presidential suites, each of them with unique views and features. Reportedly the most spacious and comfortable are the Moorish rooms along "Author's Row". The hotel's 4 restaurants include a Mexican style restaurant named Las Campanas featuring fountains and fire pits under the Californian sky. The Mission Inn Restaurant with Californian and Italian cuisine, seating can be requested to view the exceptional Spanish Patio. Bella Trattoria, a small Italian Bistro located on the Main Street pedestrian walking mall. And Duane's Prime Steak & Seafood, famed as being the only four diamond restaurant in the Inland Valley.

 

For 125 years it has been the proverbial center of Riverside, host to a number of seasonal and holiday functions, as well as occasional political functions and other major social gatherings. Pat and Richard Nixon were married at one of the two wedding chapels here; the Reagans honeymooned here. The hotel has had nearly 10 presidents stay at the Inn, including President Taft whom Frank Miller had a custom large chair made for Taft to sit in, although it is known he took offense to the size of the chair. The Inn continues to be a getaway for presidents to this day with George W. Bush as the most recent. Arnold Schwarzenegger has also stayed there during his tenure as governor.

 

Of its seasonal functions, the Festival of Lights is well known for its nearly 3 million Christmas lights, and over 400 animated figures. Although the Festival lasts all throughout the holiday season, the day after Thanksgiving is the lighting ceremony. On this day city officials and the owner of the hotel, Duane Roberts, give speeches before fireworks light up the sky and nearly 25,000 people attend annually to view the unique hotel and its holiday decorations.

 

The hotel is a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark. (Wikipedia)

 

Official Website = www.missioninn.com/

Click here to view larger size photo with more details

 

They are images that remain in our memories and for some reasons human beings remain frozen in awe before a sunset over water. It is like the time is slowing down and we are waiting to see the end of this magic moment we try to keep in our memories for ever.

 

The silhouette of this mother and young son admiring the colors of the sun and its reflections on the lake reminds us, adults, of similar memories of a time that seemed remote and peaceful in comparison with the aggressions we feel in our current and modern city lives.

Hopefully this child will remember this magic moment spent with his mom.

 

Nikon D700 and lens Leica Telyt-R 350mm f/4.8. Taken with Monopod at ISO 1600, f/8 and 1/4000s.

Montblanc, Tarragona (Spain).

 

View Large On White

 

Spinning at 33 rpm in the show window of a store.

 

Dando vueltas a 33 rpm en el escaparate de un tienda.

 

ENGLISH

The phonograph, or gramophone, was the most common device for playing recorded sound from the 1870s through the 1980s.

 

The famous phonograph was the fourth device for recording and replaying sound. The term phonograph ("sound writer") is derived from the Greek words φωνή (meaning "sound" or "voice" and transliterated as phoné) and γραφή (meaning "writing" and transliterated as graphé). Similar related terms gramophone and graphophone have similar root meanings. The coinage, particularly the use of the -graph root, may have been influenced by the then-existing words phonographic and phonography, which referred to a system of phonetic shorthand; in 1852 The New York Times carried an advertisement for "Professor Webster's phonographic class", and in 1859 the New York State Teachers' Association tabled a motion to "employ a phonographic recorder" to record its meetings.

 

F. B. Fenby was the original author of the word. An inventor in Worcester, Massachusetts, he was granted a patent in 1863 for an unsuccessful device called the "Electro-Magnetic Phonograph". His concept detailed a system that would record a sequence of keyboard strokes onto paper tape. Although no model or workable device was ever made, it is often seen as a link to the concept of punched paper for player piano rolls (1880s), as well as Herman Hollerith's punch card tabulator (used in the 1890 United States census), a distant precursor of the modern computer.

 

Arguably, any device used to record sound or reproduce recorded sound could be called a type of "phonograph", but in common practice it has come to mean historic technologies of sound recording.

 

In the late 19th and early 20th century, the alternative term talking machine was sometimes used. This term was more in line with Thomas Edison's early view that his invention was better suited for spoken recordings such as dictation than for musical recordings.

 

More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph

 

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

 

CASTELLANO

Un tocadiscos es un sistema de reproducción del sonido hijo del fonógrafo ya que usa el mismo tipo de tecnologia, sustituyendo el cilindro por un Disco de vinilo. El tocadiscos también ha sido conocido como platina de discos, giradiscos, tornamesa, fonochasis o pickup. Ninguna de estas cuatro últimas nomenclaturas tiene demasiada aceptación.

 

El fonógrafo, fue el dispositivo más común para reproducir sonido grabado desde la década de 1870 hasta la década de 1980.

 

La primera invención conocida de un dispositivo capaz de grabar sonido fue el "autofonógrafo", inventado por el francés Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville y patentado el 25 de marzo de 1857. Podía transcribir sonido a un medio visible, pero no tenía un modo de ser reproducido después. El aparato consistía de un cuerno o un barril que recogía las ondas hacia una membrana a la que estaba atado una cerda. Cuando llegaba el sonido, ésta vibraba y se movía y el sonido podía grabarse en un medio visible. Inicialmente, el fonoautógrafo grababa en un cristal ahumado. Una versión posterior usaba un papel también ahumado en un tambor o cilindro. Otra versión dibujaba una línea representando el sonido en un rollo de papel. El fonoautógrafo era una curiosidad de laboratorio para el estudio de la acústica. Era usado para determinar la frecuencia de un tono musical y para estudiar el sonido y el habla. No se entendió hasta después del desarrollo del fonógrafo que la onda grabada por el fonoautógrafo era de hecho una grabación del sonido que sólo necesitaba un medio de reproducción adecuado para sonar.

 

El fonógrafo fue el que, hasta 1876, se creyó el primer aparato capaz de grabar sonido, aunque sí fue el primero que pudo reproducirlo después. Thomas Alva Edison anunció la invención de su primer fonógrafo, el 21 de noviembre de 1877, mostró el dispositivo por primera vez el 29 de noviembre de ese mismo año y lo patentó el 19 de febrero de 1878.

 

El fonógrafo utiliza un sistema de grabación mecánica analógica en el cual las ondas sonoras son transformadas en vibraciones mecánicas mediante un transductor acústico-mecánico. Estas vibraciones mueven un estilete que labra un surco helicoidal sobre un cilindro de fonógrafo. Para reproducir el sonido se invierte el proceso.

 

Al principio se utilizaron cilindros de cartón recubiertos de estaño, más tarde de cartón parafinado y, finalmente, de cera sólida. El cilindro de cera, de mayor calidad y durabilidad, se comercializó desde 1889, un año después de que apareciera el gramófono.

 

El 2 de diciembre de 1889 un representante de la casa Edison, Theo Wangeman, grabó una interpretación del celebérrimo compositor Johannes Brahms. Se trataba de un segmento de las Danzas Húngaras en una versión para piano solo. Esta grabación aún se conserva, pero su calidad es pésima.

 

Más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocadiscos, es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fon%c3%b3grafo

 

Burgos (Spain).

 

View On Black

 

ENGLISH

The Burgos Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de Burgos) is a Gothic-style cathedral in Burgos, Spain. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is famous for its vast size and unique architecture. Its construction began in 1221, following French Gothic parameters.

 

It had very important modifications in the 15th and 16th centuries (spires of the principal façade, Chapel of the Constable, cimborio of the transept: these elements of advanced Gothic give the cathedral its distinguished profile). The last works of importance (the sacristy or the Chapel of Saint Thecla) occurred during the 18th century, the century in which the Gothic statuary of the doors of the principal façade was also transformed.

 

At the beginning of the 20th century, some semidetached construction to the cathedral was eliminated, such as the Archepiscopal Palace and the upper floor of the cloister. The style of the cathedral is Gothic, although it has some Renaissance and Baroque works.

 

The cathedral was declared a "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO on October 31 of 1984. It is the only Spanish cathedral that has this distinction independiently, without being joined to the historic center of a city (as in Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Ávila, Córdoba, Toledo or Cuenca) or in union with others buildings, as in Seville.

 

More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgos_Cathedral

 

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

 

CASTELLANO

La Catedral de Santa María de Burgos (Castilla y León, España) es un templo católico dedicado a la Virgen María. Su construcción comenzó en 1221, siguiendo patrones góticos franceses. Tuvo importantísimas modificaciones en los siglos XV y XVI: las agujas de la fachada principal, la Capilla del Condestable y el cimborrio del crucero, elementos del gótico avanzado que dotan al templo de su perfil inconfundible. Las últimas obras de importancia (la Sacristía o la Capilla de Santa Tecla) pertenecen ya al siglo XVIII, siglo en el que también se retiraron las portadas góticas de la fachada principal. El estilo de la catedral es el gótico, aunque posee, en su interior, varios elementos renacentistas y barrocos. La construcción y las remodelaciones se realizaron con piedra caliza extraída de las canteras del cercano pueblo burgalés Hontoria de la Cantera.

 

La catedral burgalesa fue declarada Monumento Nacional el 8 de abril de 1885 y Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco el 31 de octubre de 1984. Es la única catedral española que tiene esta distinción de la Unesco de forma independiente, sin estar unida al centro histórico de una ciudad (como en Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Ávila, Córdoba, Toledo o Cuenca) o en compañía de otros edificios, como en Sevilla.

 

Más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catedral_de_Burgos

The fountain on the Place de la Concorde. Behind: the Hôtel de Crillon; to the left: the embassy of the United States of America.

 

Since childhood, my life has been about full filling my own dreams. Sometimes, it's difficult to accomplish and sometimes it's really simple.

 

I was in 9th grade back in 1999 in my school where I read about this short story "The Diamond Necklace" where they mentioned about Champs-Élysées.

 

I always wanted to see how it looked like! I came to France once in 2004 but I didn't have the opportunity to explore it in length and breadth. During my research visit this year, I got some time to spend in Paris and it was like full filling my child hood dreams! Taking photographs here was one my dream.

 

This one is an HDR from 5 exposures. I used my own script for tone-mapping. This one was shot with Shutter Priority. The EXIF from 100 ISO image is availble.

 

Enjoy seeing it Large On Black screen

 

If you have 2 minutes spare , do have a look at some other Night Shots that I made

 

When at ease, take out some time to take a Slide Tour of HDRs that I made. It will be worth your time and efforts.

  

© 2008 Ayush Bhandari

 

" Lady Bunny "

  

www.vipp.com/press/press_releases/index.php?nid=84

 

Vipp is celebrating its 70th anniversary by hosting a charity auction in New York City in collaboration with design retailer Design Within Reach (DWR). The auction will benefit DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. The auction will feature Vipp pedal bins re-imagined by 35 leading creative personalities.

 

Public viewing and bidding from October 15 - 28 at DWR: Tools for Living located at 142 Wooster Street, New York City, during regular store hours (11am-7pm). Gala auction to be held October 28.

   

www.diffa.org/canit.asp

  

Danish design company Vipp is celebrating its 70th anniversary this October by hosting Can It!!! - a charity auction in New York City in collaboration with design retailer Design Within Reach (DWR). The auction will benefit DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. Thirty-five leading figures in the worlds of architecture, art, design, fashion and entertainment have put their signature touch on the iconic Vipp bin for the occasion.

 

PUBLIC VIEWING AND BIDDING, OCTOBER 15 – 28

From October 15 – 28, the 35 customized Vipp bins will be on display for public viewing and bidding at DWR: Tools for Living located at 142 Wooster Street, New York City, during regular store hours (11am–7pm). Those who place bids on one or more of the customized Vipp bins, will be invited to a special gala auction on Wednesday, October 28, hosted by Veronica Webb, Vipp, DWR and DIFFA.

 

PARTICIPATING DESIGNERS

Ami James, Avi Adler, Calvin Klein, Camilla Stærk, Cole and Garrett, David Rockwell, David Stark, Evette Rios, Helena Christensen, Izhar Patkin, James Charles, Jes Gordon, John Baldessari, Jonas Hecksher/E-types, Lady Bunny, Lady Pink, Magnus Berger, Michael Aram, Mike Perry, Nigel Barker, Olaf Breuning, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Kiril Kirov/Razortooth, Richard Colman, Rikke Korff/The Furies, Robert Geller, Robert Verdi, Shelly Sabel, Sune Rose Wagner/The Raveonettes, Swathi Ghanta/Kidrobot, The Selby, Veronica Webb, Yoko Ono, Yves Béhar/Fuseproject.

 

For more information call DIFFA @ 212-727-3100

   

imaginepeace.com/archives/8557

 

VIPP 70TH ANNIVERSARY AUCTION

Vipp is celebrating its 70th anniversary by hosting a charity auction in New York City in collaboration with design retailer Design Within Reach (DWR).

 

The auction will benefit DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. Thirty-five leading figures in the worlds of architecture, art, design, fashion and entertainment have put their signature touch on the iconic Vipp bin for the occasion, including Yoko Ono, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren & David Stark.

 

From October 15 – 28, the 35 customized Vipp bins will be on display for public viewing and bidding at DWR: Tools for Living located at 142 Wooster Street, New York City, during regular store hours (11am–7pm). Those who place bids on one or more of the customized Vipp bins, will be invited to a special gala auction on Wednesday, October 28, hosted by Veronica Webb, Vipp, DWR and DIFFA.

 

Sign up to receive newsletter www.vipp.comletter

For further information, please write to tsp@vipp.com or call DIFFA @ 212-727-3100

  

Participating designers:

Ami James, Avi Adler, Calvin Klein, Camilla StÊrk, Cole and Garrett, David Rockwell, David Stark, Evette Rios, Helena Christensen, Izhar Patkin, James Charles, Jes Gordon, John Baldessari, Jonas Hecksher/E-types, Lady Bunny, Lady Pink, Magnus Berger, Michael Aram, Mike Perry, Nigel Barker, Olaf Breuning, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Kiril Kirov/Razortooth, Richard Colman, Rikke Korff/The Furies, Robert Geller, Robert Verdi, Shelly Sabel, Sune Rose Wagner/The Raveonettes, Swathi Ghanta/Kidrobot, The Selby, Veronica Webb, Yoko Ono, Yves BÈhar/Fuseproject.

    

DESIGN WITHIN REACH

110 Greene St

(between Spring St & Prince St)

New York, NY 10012

(212) 475-0001

 

Hours:

Monday-Saturday

11am-7pm

Sunday

12pm-6pm

  

www.dwr.com/category/find+a+studio/nycsoho.do

View On Black

  

Not been here for some years , Sunrise was the plan The Lake Llyn Cwm-lIwch , as we started our climb around 6.50 am We had clouds and Stars , Wind chill said it would feel like - 5 Brrrrrrrrr , 10 minutes into the walk we had 20 Meters visability as the clouds and mist came down , As we got to the point where you climb down 600 feet to the lake this is the site that greeted us :-) It was freezing the wind made your nostrils run down your face , Numb with cold i waited for the shot and the bank of cloud covering the peaks of Brecon Beacons to be burnt out as the sun came above the horizon !!! This was the first shot i took before the climb down to the lake !!

  

Victim of the Beacons

The story of little Tommy Jones

 

August 4th, 1900, was the Saturday before the Bank Holiday. A miner from Maerdy, at the head of the Rhondda Fach, decided to take his five-year-old son with him to visit the child's grandparents who still farmed near Brecon. They arrived in the town by train at about six o'clock in the evening. From there they had to walk four miles to reach Cwm-llwch, the little farmhouse deep in the valley to the north of the Beacons.

 

By about eight o'clock they had reached the Login (today in ruins) where soldiers were encamped for training at the rifle range up the valley. It had been a warm walk, and though they had only a quarter of a mile further to go, William Jones was glad to stop for refreshment and buy little Tommy a pennyworth of biscuits at the canteen. By chance, within a few minutes the grandfather also arrived, with 13-year-old Willie John, Tommy's cousin. Willie was sent back to Cwm-lIwch to warn the household of the arrival of visitors, and Tommy ran off with him up the valley.

 

They had to cross two rough plank bridges, one without a handrail. In the failing light, the streams and trees were perhaps frightening to a small boy brought up amongst closely-packed houses. He may have been afraid of meeting farm animals also. At any rate, when the two of them had got about half way , Tommy started to cry and wanted to go back to his father. So the two boys parted. Willie completed his errand and was back at the camp within about quarter of an hour of leaving it - but Tommy had not returned. Father and grandfather immediately started looking for him. Soon (perhaps about twenty minutes later) they were joined by soldiers from the camp: the hunt was truly on. At midnight the search was halted, but at 3 o'clock on the Sunday morning it started again. Police and the general public joined in and the net spread wider. But no sign of the boy was discovered that day.

 

So it continued through the following weeks. Every day search parties of police, troops, farmers and other volunteers combed the area systematically. The tall bracken was cut, the woodland ransacked, It was at one point suggested that Llyn Cwm-lIwch should be dragged, but it was thought unlikely that the boy could have gone as far up the mountain as that. It seemed more probable that he had fallen off one of the footbridges into the stream, or had simply wandered straight on down the valley, instead of turning right to cross the second bridge to the camp. Thus the search was concentrated in the close and wooded country around the Login and down the valley as far as Brecon waterworks.

 

Inevitably, with the continued failure to find trace of the boy, theories of kidnapping gained favour. These now held the only hope that the boy might still be found alive, Kidnapping, at that time, meant gypsies in the first instance, and though they are rarely mentioned in The Brecon County Times of the period, it appears that there were numerous camps of them in Breconshire and neighbouring counties. All were unceremoniously ransacked by the police during the search, without success.

 

The affair aroused national concern, and reports of the missing boy and suggestions for lines of enquiry came from all parts of the country. The Daily Mail took an interest in the matter and offered a reward of £20 to anyone who could solve the mystery. (The announcement of the reward was made, among other means, by the Brecon Town Crier). The Daily Mail also sent a special commissioner to Brecon, who during the time he was there won considerable admiration and respect for his indefatigable work on the problem. It was under his influence that the gypsy theory lost ground, and abduction by a childless woman or couple thought more likely. He also mentioned the possibility of murder, but dismissed it in the very same sentence.

 

Only after several weeks did Tommy's father yield to the pleas of friends to return home to Maerdy. But he was soon back again, and was one of several people who climbed to the top of the Beacons in their despairing searches. It was not he who made the discovery. however.

 

A Mrs. Hamer, a gardener's wife at Castle Madoc, some miles north of Brecon, having read accounts of the search, is said to have dreamed of the very spot where Tommy was to be found. She spent a couple of restless days before finally persuading her husband to borrow a pony and trap on Sunday, September 2nd, to take her and some relatives to the Beacons - which they had never climbed before. Mr. Hamer did not believe that they would succeed where so many had failed. But later that day he was to be able to lay claim to the reward. 'They had reached the top of the ridge immediately above Llyn Cwm.llwch ',the newspaper later reported, 'and were making their way towards the peaks across some open ground when suddenly Mr. Hamer, who was a few yards in front of the others, started back with an exclamation of horror, for there in his path lay the remains of a body. . .' It was identified and brought down the same day.

 

At the inquest on the Tuesday the jury had no difficulty in bringing in a verdict of death through exhaustion and exposure. But no one managed to explain how this little five-year-old, 'short and stout of his age', tired and hungry after a long day and the walk from Brecon, had managed to reach the spot where his body was found. It was 2,250 ft. above sea level, a climb of 1300 ft. from the Login: at least two miles over difficult ground, probably in the dark. Certainly it had not been considered worthwhile to make a systematic search of high ground. The father must have passed within a dozen yards of the body a few days before its discovery, but by this time it would have looked much like a boulder in the long grass.

 

Various people with detailed local knowledge had suggested that Tommy might have wandered uphill to the left of his path when he started to return to the camp, or that he crossed the first footbridge, but not the second (just below the junction of the two streams and lying at right-angles to the first; both have now disappeared, though the ford beside the first remains in use). In retrospect, the latter seems the more likely explanation. If he turned left here instead of right he would soon have started up the side of Pen Milan, following what was presumably the most direct route between the soldiers' camp and the rifle range. Alternatively he might have continued downstream a little further and then veered to the left on the path towards Llwyn-bedw. In either case, he probably joined the track which zig-zags up Pen Milan, climbing steeply to high ground. Perhaps by this time, confused and panic-stricken in the failing daylight, he hoped he was returning uphill to his grandfather's farm, not realising until later how hopelessly lost he was. We only know with certainty how far his stamina and courage took him.

 

For many years his family kept the sailor suit with collarette which he had been wearing, the new light boots with pathetically worn soles; and the whistle which he had carried on a string round his neck. (Could this have saved his life if he had thought to use it while he still had energy?) Today the spot where Tommy's body was found is marked by an obelisk. The jurors at the inquest gave their fees to start a fund for this memorial. They were joined by Mr.Hamer, who contributed a part of his £20 reward, and many other citizens. By July the following year the inscribed stone was ready, and was hauled on a horse-drawn sledge up to the ridge. Since then thousands of walkers must have paused beside it, and been reminded of the small boy who fell victim to the Beacons through exhaustion and exposure.

Nonagenarian Recalls The Tommy Jones' Tradegy

 

(Details from a newspaper article 1980/1981).

 

Ninety years old Mrs. R. M. Martin of Hitchen, Hertfodshire sends her recollections of the tradegy:-

 

"I must be one of the very few left to have vivid recollections of that time, August 1900. I was 9¾ years old, born in the Postern, Brecon, the youngest daughter of P.C. Frederick George Harwood.

 

"My father was in charge of a search party that went daily for a month tramping all over the area. He even got the local farmers to cut down the shoulder-high bracken in some parts to help the search. Also the South Wales Borderers had a search party daily.

 

"How well I recall that Sunday, 2nd September, 1900! It was Sunday School Anniversary Service at the Dr. Coke Memorial Wesleyan Chapel, Lion Street, and the service had just finished when a tremendous outcry went up. 'The little boy is found.' We rushed out, and several boys cycled up to the spot, including Sidney Martin, whom I married many years later.

 

"The photograph on the front of the now out-of-print Victim of the Beacons pamphlet was taken by Jack Clark who for many years had a souvenir and postcard business in the High Street. He was 16 years old at the time and interested in amateur photography.

 

"Many years later from this photograph, I was able to recognise those standing around as the little boy's remains were carried down the mountain-side on an improvised stretcher, my father leading the way with Sgt. Hands at the rear. My father was so concerned that the photograph showed him smoking a clay pipe, for smoking on duty was definitely against the rules. It was I who supplied the information that a farmer at the scene had given him this to counteract the odour which prevailed. I remember my father got the negative from Jack Clark and scratched the pipe out on the glass plate so that no further prints would show it, but this made the fact more noticeable and the negative was destroyed.

 

"The idea of an obelisk was my father's and it was he who obtained £20 of the £100 reward to start the subscriptions towards it and also suggested that the jurymen might contribute their fees. He also suggested that the obelisk should be erected a little distance from the actual spot where the body was found, to be in a more visible position.

 

"Many years later, my brother-in-law, Walter Martin, of 'Clovelly,' Llanfaes, who was Overseer for the parish of St. David's, finding the obelisk was in very poor condition, went up with a family party armed with buckets and brushes and cleaned the stonework and Walter re-lettered the inscription.

The Obelisk and Inscription

 

The obelisk can be found on the approach to Corn Du (SO 000217) upon which is written:

 

"This obelisk marks the spot where the body of Tommy Jones aged 5 was found. He lost his way between Cwmllwch Farm and the Login on the night of August 4th 1900. After an anxious search of 29 days his body was found on September 2nd."

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A Candid shot from Brugges.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijab

 

Hijab or ħijāb (حجاب, pronounced: [ħi.ˈdʒæːb]) is the Arabic term for "cover" (noun), based on the root حجب meaning "to veil, to cover (verb), to screen, to shelter".

In some Arabic-speaking countries and Western countries, the common meaning of hijab currently is of "modest dress for women," which most Islamic legal systems define as covering everything except the face and hands in public.[1] Since the 1970s, hijab has emerged as a symbol of Islamic consciousness "and an affirmation of Islamic identity and morality" in opposition to "Western materialism, commercialism, and values.

 

On EXPLORE : Sep 17 2008

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Sorry for the real poor low resolution upload i have my reasons

   

This image is copyrighted to David Smith; Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws. Please contact me at daismiff39@hotmail.com for express permission to use any of my photographs.

 

The deaths of 45 men killed 50 years ago in a colliery explosion have been remembered with a service at the site.

 

A gas explosion ripped through the Six Bells colliery near Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent at 10.45am on 28 June 1960.

 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, led a service of remembrance at the site.

 

He also unveiled a memorial to the tragedy, a 20m high sculpture of a miner by Sebastian Boyesen.

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La Mola Kuna es hecha por las mujeres Kuna (Tule o Dule), que habitan las Islas de San Blas en Panamá (también conocida como Kuna Yala). La palabra mola significa vestido o blusa en Tule Gaya, el idioma de los Kunas y es una pieza de arte intrincadamente diseñada y cosida que las mujeres Kuna utilizan para embellecer sus vestidos.

 

The artistry of a mola reflects a synthesis of traditional Kuna culture with the influences of the modern world. Mola art developed when Kuna women had access to store bought yard goods. Mola designs are often inspired by modern graphics such as political posters, labels, pictures from books and TV cartoons, as well as traditional themes from Kuna legends and culture.

Geometric molas are the most traditional, having developed from ancient body painting designs.

 

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My voice

 

In long lost worlds In my mind, can i see the difference from

what's real and what's not..................

I'm fighting , I'm fighting with my self

to keep insane , to stay alive , Im fighting

Im fighting with my self, do you see it? can you feel it?

can you see the hidden sorrow?

I'v got to over come it , but can i even take the first step

can anyone help? Im fighting, Im fighting with my self, to keep insane

to stay alive

should i listern to the voice, that's inside my mind

should i give in...................

give in to the voice, Im fighting, Im fighting with my self

to keep insane, to stay alive today.......

 

by bethany seed

www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=487

 

Beginning in the early 1830s, cholera epidemics killed thousands of United States citizens. People who contract cholera generally suffer from severe diarrhea, vomiting, and cramps. The disease is spread by drinking water or eating food that is contaminated with human feces. People with this illness can die from dehydration within a few hours after the symptoms first appear.

 

Asiatic Cholera appears to have started on the Indian subcontinent, ca. 1826. By 1831, it had spread to Russia. Cholera first appeared in the United States in 1832. European immigrants apparently brought the disease with them to America. With poor sanitation systems, cholera tended to be most virulent in cities. By the autumn of 1832, the illness had reached Cincinnati, probably brought by people traveling along the Ohio River. The Ohio and Mississippi Rivers allowed the disease to spread quickly across the United States in all directions.

 

One of the most common treatments for cholera in the United States up through the Civil War was the medicine calomel (Mercurous Chloride; Calogreen; Mercury Monochloride; Mercury Chloride). It was commonly used as a purgative (laxative) for the treatments of bowel illnesses ranging from diarrhea to cholera; unfortunately calomel’s effects were seriously harmful. It may have cleansed the bowels, but at the same time it caused teeth to loosen, hair to fall out and could destroy the patient’s gums and intestines. In other words, it could cause acute mercury poisoning.

 

The worst epidemic to affect Ohio occurred in 1849. Eight thousand people in Cincinnati died in this epidemic, including Harriet Beecher Stowe's infant son. www.iath.virginia.edu/utc/interpret/exhibits/hedrick/hedr...

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s writing of Uncle Tom's Cabin was precipitated by two events, one in her personal life: in 1849 her sixth child, Samuel Charles, died in the cholera epidemic. Cholera was a relatively new disease in the Western hemisphere and inspired dread partly for that reason and partly because it was so deadly. To people in the nineteenth century it was an act of God, a biblical plague. All Harriet could do was watch helplessly while her eighteen-month-old child was wracked by convulsions and lost all the fluids in his body. She later wrote that there were circumstances of such bitterness in the manner of Charley's death that she didn't think she could ever be reconciled for it unless his death allowed her to do some great good to others. She also wrote that losing Charley made her understand what a slave woman felt when her child was taken away at the auction block.

 

Many Cincinnati residents fled the city and ended up in Mt. Pleasant, a community that escaped the illness. The town residents soon changed its name to Mt. Healthy in honor of its good fortune.

 

It wasn't until 1854, when Cholera struck England once again, that Dr. John Snow was able to legitimate his argument that cholera was spread through contaminated food or water. Snow, in investigating the epidemic, began plotting the location of deaths related to Cholera. At the time, London was supplied its water by two water companies. One of these companies pulled its water out of the Thames River upstream of the main city while the second pulled its water from the river downstream from the city. A higher concentration of Cholera was found in the region of town supplied by the water company that drew its water from the downstream location. Water from this source could have been contaminated by the city's sewage. Furthermore, he found that in one particular location near the intersection of Cambridge and Broad Street, up to 500 deaths from Cholera occurred within 10 days.

 

Cholera epidemics continued in the United States until the early 1900s. As sanitation improved within the United States, including chlorination of water, the illness weakened. In modern nations, cholera cases are very rare. In under-developed countries, outbreaks remain common. In 1991, cholera struck both South America and Africa, killing thousands of people. The standard treatment for cholera today is to keep the ill person hydrated.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera

 

www.jstor.org/pss/3642236

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Snow_(physician)

 

www.online-literature.com/stowe/

 

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www.plantaria.de/

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loris_(Papageien)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lories_and_lorikeets

 

Dies sind die natürlichen Farben dieses Vogels.... nicht bearbeitet bzw. intensiviert...

These are the true natural colors of this bird... the foto has not been edited..

 

Die Loris (Loriinae), seltener auch Lories geschrieben oder Honigpapageien genannt,[1] sind eine Nektar trinkende Unterfamilie aus der Familie der Eigentlichen Papageien (Psittacidae). Stellenweise werden sie noch als eigenständige Familie (Loriidae) innerhalb der Ordnung der Papageienvögel (Psittaciformes) betrachtet.

 

Außerdem bezeichnet Loris auch die baumbewohnende Primaten der Familie Lorisidae oder Loridae. Um Verwechslungen zu vermeiden, wird für die Vögel (Loriinae) stellenweise die Schreibweise Lories verwendet. Im Singular und bei der Artbezeichnung mittels vollständigem Trivialnamen heißt es in allen Fällen Lori.

Loris sind kleine bis mittelgroße, farbenprächtige, baumbewohnende Papageien. Ihr Gefieder ist dicht und glänzend. Grün, Rot und Blautöne dominieren. Eine Besonderheit liegt in ihrer Ernährungsweise. Sie ernähren sich hauptsächlich von Pollen und Nektar, aber auch von weichen, saftigen Früchten. Zur besseren Nahrungsaufnahme ist ihre Zungenspitze mit bürsten- oder pinselartig aufrichtbaren Papillen besetzt.

 

Das Verbreitungsgebiet der Loris umfasst Australien und die benachbarte Inselwelt, von Sulawesi (Indonesien) und Mindanao (Philippinen) im Westen, über die Karolinen im Norden zu den Marquesas-Inseln und Pitcairn in Osten und Tasmanien im Süden. In Australien kommen allerdings mit Allfarb-, Moschus-, Schuppen-, Blauscheitel-, Zwergmoschus- und Buntlori nur sehr wenige Arten vor. Das größte Verbreitungsgebiet in Australien weist der Allfarblori auf, der auch urbane Lebensräume besiedelt. Am weitesten nördlich ist in Australien der Buntlori verbreitet. Besonders viele Arten sind auf Neuguinea zu finden. In Neuseeland fehlt die Familie.

 

Loris besitzen eine lange, schmale Zunge, deren Spitze dicht mit Papillen besetzt ist. Wenn ein Lori seine Zunge in eine Blüte steckt, richten sich diese Papillen auf. Wie ein Schwamm wird dadurch der Nektar aufgesogen. Zieht der Vogel die Zunge zurück in den Schnabel, wird der Nektar an Hautfalten im Gaumen ausgedrückt. Dieser Vorgang wird in schneller Folge wiederholt. Pollen und Nektar zusammen stellen den Hauptanteil der Nahrung. Daneben nehmen sie aber auch weiche Früchte auf.

 

Werden Loris als Ziervogel gehalten, werden sie mit einer speziellen Lori-Suppe ernährt, die im Handel erhältlich ist und nur mit Wasser angerührt werden muss. Das Futter wird je nach Art ergänzt mit Pollen, Obst, stärkehaltigen Samen, Keimfutter, Lebendfutter und Zweigen mit Knospen.

 

Lories and lorikeets are small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar and soft fruits. The species form a monophyletic group within the parrot family Psittacidae. Traditionally, they were considered one of the two subfamilies in that family (Loriinae), the other was the subfamily Psittacinae, but new insights show that it is placed in the middle of various other groups. To date, this issue has not been resolved scientifically. They are widely distributed throughout the Australasian region, including south-eastern Asia, Polynesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia, and the majority have very brightly colored plumage.

 

Lories and lorikeets have specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar and soft fruits. They can feed from the flowers of about 5,000 species of plants and use their specialised tongues to take the nectar. The tip of their tongues have tufts of papillae (extremely fine hairs), which collect nectar and pollen.

 

Lorikeets have tapered wings and pointed tails that allow them to fly easily and display great agility.[citation needed] They also have strong feet and legs. They tend to be hyperactive and clownish in personality both in captivity and the wild

Traditionally, lories and lorikeets are either classified as the subfamily, Loriinae, or as a family on their own, Loriidae.[1] Both traditional views are not confirmed using molecular studies. Those studies show that the lories and lorikeets form s single group, closely related to the fig parrot (Cyclopsitta and Psittaculirostris) and the budgerigar.[2][3][4][5][6]

 

Within the lories and lorikeets, two main groups are recognized. The first group consist of the genus Charmosyna[3][2] and the closely related Pacific Ocean genera Phigys and Vini.[2] All remaining genera, except Oreopsittacus are in the second group.[3][2] The position of Oreopsittacus is unknown, although one study suggests it could be a third group next to the other two.[6]

 

The multi-colored Rainbow Lorikeet was one of the species of parrots appearing in the first edition of The Parrots of the World and also in John Gould's lithographs of the Birds of Australia. Then and now, lories and lorikeets are described as some of the most beautiful species of parrot.

 

The usage of the terms "lory" and "lorikeet" is subjective, like the usage of "parrot" and "parakeet". Species with longer tapering tails are generally referred to as "lorikeets", while species with short blunt tails are generally referred to as "lories".

  

Montmeló, Barcelona (Spain).

 

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ENGLISH

The pits usually comprise of a pit lane which runs parallel to the start/finish straight and is connected at each end to the main track, and a row of garages (usually one per team) outside which the work is done. Pit stop work is carried out by anywhere from five to twenty mechanics (also called a pit crew), depending on the series, while the driver waits in the vehicle (except where a driver change is involved).

 

In Formula One, cars make pit stops with the primary purpose of refueling and changing tyres, although during the 2005 season tyre changing during the race was prohibited. Teams sometimes also make adjustments to the front and rear wings and perform minor repairs, most commonly replacing the nose and front wing assembly. Pit strategies generally call for between one and three scheduled stops, depending on the course.

 

When the car is approximately one lap away from making its stop, the team's pit crew will set up fresh tyres and all needed pit equipment. Because of the overhead fuel and pneumatic rig, the team may have all pit mechanics in position prior to the car's arrival, with the exception of the rear jack man.

 

A pit stop involves about twenty mechanics, with the aim of completing the stop as quickly as possible. It lasts for six to twelve seconds depending on how much fuel is put into the car. However, if there is a problem, such as a fuel pump failing or the engine stalling, or repairs having to be made, it can take much longer. Cars are fuelled at a rate of more than 12 litres per second. This is accomplished by a fairly complex closed system that pumps air out of the car's fuel tank as the fuel is being pumped in.

 

More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_stop

 

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

 

CASTELLANO

Los boxes comprenden el "pit lane", o carril de boxes, que corre paralelo a la recta de salida/meta y conectado a ella por los extremos, y una hilera de garajes (normalmente uno por equipo). El trabajo de la parada en boxes, que se lleva a cabo fuera de los garages, lo realiza un equipo de entre 5 y 20 mecánicos dependiendo del tipo de deporte, mientras el piloto espera en el vehículo (excepto cuando hay cambio de piloto).

 

En Fórmula 1, los coches hacen una parada en boxes con el prpósito principal de recargar combustible y cambiar ruedas, aunque en la temporada 2005 estuvo prohibido el cambio de ruedas. Los equipos a veces hacen ajustes en los alerones delanteros y traseros, así como reparaciones menores, como cambiar el morro. Las estrategias de boxes suelen comprender entre una y tres paradas, dependiendo de la carrera.

 

Cuando el coche está a una vuelta de la parada, el equipo de boxes prepara ruedas nuevas y todo el equipamiento necesario. Todos los mecánicos están en sus posiciones cuando llega el coche, excepto el encargado del elevador trasero.

 

Una parada en boxes implica veinte mecánicos, con el objetivo de completar la parada en el mínimo tiempo posible, que son entre seis y doce segundos dependiendo de la cantidad de combustible repostada. Sin embargo, su ocurre un problema como un fallo en la bomba de combustible o una parada de motor, o hay reparaciones adicionales, el tiempo se puede prolongar. Los coches repostan a razón de 12 litros por segundo. Este rápido repostaje se lleva a cabo por un complejo sistema cerrado que bombea aire fuera del depósito a medida que se llena de combustible.

A recent thread at Asterisk (this is APOD's discussion forum) got me looking at this beautiful object and the data in Hubble's archive. I noticed there was a very intimate look at the center of this starburst galaxy featuring many bright, young stars comprising super star clusters and decided to process it, making sure not to over brighten the star clusters so that as many details would remain preserved as possible.

 

In the center is Cluster A, which is actually two clusters which are called A1 and A2. At lower left, the next brightest cluster is called Cluster B. To the upper right is Cluster C, which is somewhat enshrouded in nebula.

 

Other star clusters are also visible as dimmer, soft yellow blobs which almost look like elliptical galaxies because it's very hard to make out any individual members. I'm not sure what kind of star clusters those are. To me they look a lot like small globular clusters. One may be tempted to conclude that we are seeing the life cycle of globular clusters in some kind of holy grail moment, but something tells me that if that were the case it would have made headlines somewhere. Our knowledge about the formation of globular clusters is murky at best. Does NGC 1569 offer any insights?

 

This image is possible thanks to the following HST proposal:

Starburst Galaxies and Their Population of Super Star Clusters

 

Red: HST_10885_06_ACS_WFC_F658N_sci

Green: HST_9300_02_ACS_HRC_F555W_sci

Blue: HST_9300_02_ACS_HRC_F330W_sci

 

North is NOT up. It is 18.4° clockwise from up.

O nas - dowiedz się więcej o naszym RP!

Jak dołączyć do naszych przygód?

 

Szlakiem Jedi to organizacja roleplayingowa prowadząca rozgrywkę w świecie Gwiezdnych Wojen w dawnym Expanded Universe (Legends), w epoce zmierzchu Nowej Republiki. Nasza działalność ma tylko jeden, prosty cel – budowę jak najbardziej szczegółowego, klimatycznego i porywającego świata, w którym gracze mogą zrobić wszystko. Bazujemy ściśle na historii uniwersum GW, ale rozgrywamy w niej własne wątki, które nie kolidują z kanonem, a rozwijają go i rozbudowują.

Please click here

 

By far if I have to choose the best one among my photographs, I will choose this one first. Actually while taking this shot, I was waiting for her to take off. The moment she lifted I started firing my camera and the result is what you see.

 

© Copyright Nandakumar Gowraraju.

 

All my images and contents are All Rights Reserved. They should not be reproduced in any way, and unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. If you wish to use any of my images for any reason/purpose please contact me.Failing to do so will result in severe legal consequences as per Indian Copyrights Act, 1957.

Parc Natural del Garraf - Jafra, Barcelona (Spain).

 

View Large On White

 

Panorama of 2 photos.

 

ENGLISH

Garraf is a place little documented, and for that reason it is surrounded by mystery and legend.

 

Jafra, a deserted and ruinous town, is named already in 1139, and in 1332 a castle is mentioned. Apparently in 14th century all the inhabitants died due to the Black Death epidemic, although shortly after it became to populate, and in 1432 it became to open the parish. In 17th century the barons of Jafra named a mayor (1683) and recovered the church, dedicated to Santa Maria (1688). In 1819 Jafra lost its last mayor and it joined to the town of Olivella (the parishes already were tie). The culture of the vine made increase the population during 17th century. In 1820 there were 83 inhabitants, and in 1850 the church was recovered again. The plague of phylloxera of end of 19th century caused the desertion of lands, and in 1960 they were left only 19 inhabitants, scattered by farms of the environs.

 

At the moment only it is left still on the church (in restoration), the walls of rectory and the house of the barons, and those of the house of the servants. About the cemetery only left some walls and two great cypresses, and by the environs it has scattered ruins of which they could be other small houses.

 

When I arrived at the entrance of the church I was a little rare, with a discomfort sensation, of not feeling very at ease in this place, so I did not entertain myself in making many photos. I do not know why, but I had desire to go away there. And it was later, already in house, when documenting about the place I found the explanation of those strange sensations.

 

Jafra is considered damn town, and it is object of investigation by different parapsychology studious groups. It comments that at night lights have been seen roam by the zone, and in the house of the servants, called “the enchanted house” have been poltergeist phenomena, like blows, sudden changes of temperature, voices and until some appearance. Here they have been possible to record psychophonies. Also it comments that years ago a boy fell into a well near the cemetery and died drowned, and since it have been heard moans and it has been believed to see a figure roam near the cypresses of the cemetery.

 

I do not believe in these things, but the strange sensations that I experimented there are well certain...

 

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

 

CASTELLANO

El Garraf es un lugar poco documentado, y por ello está rodeado de misterio y de leyenda.

 

Jafra, un poblado abandonado y ruinoso, ya es nombrado en el año 1139, y en 1332 se menciona un castillo. Por lo visto en el siglo XIV murieron todos los habitantes debido a la epidemia de peste, aunque poco después se volvió a poblar, y en 1432 se volvió a abrir la parroquia. En el siglo XVII los barones de Jafra nombraron un alcalde (1683) y restauraron la iglesia, dedicada a Santa María (1688). En 1819 Jafra perdió su último alcalde y se incorporó al pueblo de Olivella (las parroquias ya estaban vinculadas). El cultivo de la viña hizo aumentar la población durante el siglo XVII. En 1820 había 83 habitantes, y en 1850 se restauró nuevamente la iglesia. La plaga de filoxera de finales del siglo XIX provocó el abandono de las tierras, y en 1960 quedaban tan solo 19 habitantes, diseminados por las masías de los alrededores.

 

Actualmente sólo queda en pie la iglesia (en restauración), los muros de la rectoría y de la casa de los barones, y los de la casa de los criados. Del cementerio apenas quedan unos muros y dos grandes cipreses, y por los alrededores hay diseminadas ruinas de lo que podrían ser otras casas pequeñas.

 

Cuando llegué a la entrada de la iglesia me encontré un poco raro, con una sensación de incomodidad, de no sentirme muy a gusto en el lugar, así que no me entretuve en hacer muchas fotos. No sé por qué, pero tenía ganas de marchar de allí. Y fue después, ya en casa, cuando documentándome acerca del lugar encontré la explicación a esas extrañas sensaciones.

 

Por lo visto Jafra es considerado un pueblo maldito, y es objeto de investigación por parte de diferentes grupos estudiosos de parapsicología. Se comenta que de noche se han visto luces merodear por la zona, y en la casa de los criados, llamada "la casa encantada" ha habido fenómenos poltergeist, como golpes, cambios súbitos de temperatura, voces y hasta alguna aparición. En ella se han podido grabar psicofonías. También se comenta que hace años cayó un niño a un pozo cerca del cementerio y murió ahogado, y desde entonces se han oído lamentos y se ha creído ver una figura merodear cerca de los cipreses del cementerio.

 

Yo no creo en estas cosas, pero las extrañas sensaciones que experimenté allí son bien ciertas...

Hilo de la Fotohistoria en Pullip .es: DATING AT CINEMA (1 of 5): Minao Theatre /

CITA EN EL CINE (1 de 5): Cines Minao

 

(Read in this order) 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, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286.

 

FOTOSTORY: In English / En Español

Akari: Hahaha, thank you (^________^)

/

Akari: Jajaja, muchas gracias. (^________^)

 

COLLABORATION:

- Minao's Akari Collaboration

- Dom y Akari en el Foro de Pullips: Pullip .es

- Cinema's diorama by Minao. Sweets shop's diorama by Sheryl and Minao Collaboration.

- Little interpretation of Mad_Pullip's Emily as a MUSE fan.

 

SHERYL LINKS:

- Pullip .es: Las Fotohistorias de Sheryl

- Sheryl's Flickr: Photostories 2011 - Sketches 2011 / Photostories 2012 - Sketches 2012

Please : View On Black

 

Another "in house" photo . Maybe abstract , maybe it's suited for another texture , i don't know . What i have learned . Shoot RAW at minimum ISO ( 200 in my case ) , straighten , crop and tone the image then convert it in jpeg . Then edit it with GIMP . You still get noisy images because of the 8 bit j-peg processing . Damn , in this photo's case that's good .

Come on my dear developers with the new Gimp and 16 bit image processing . You have the power to free us from PS . Pretty please :) .

Point to the right stuff.

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