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At the N9 between Graaff-Reinet and Aberdeen.
An der N9 zwischen Graaff-Reinet und Aberdeen.
The Karoo (/kəˈruː/ kə-ROO; from a Khoikhoi word, possibly garo "desert") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. There is no exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo, and therefore its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology, and climate — above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils.
The Karoo formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the early adventurers, explorers, hunters and travelers on the way to the Highveld unanimously denounced it as a frightening place of great heat, great frosts, great floods and great droughts. Today it is still a place of great heat and frosts, and an annual rainfall of between 50–250 mm, though on some of the mountains it can be 250–500 mm higher than on the plains. However, underground water is found throughout the Karoo, which can be tapped by boreholes, making permanent settlements and sheep farming possible.
The xerophytic vegetation consists of aloes, mesembryanthemums, crassulas, euphorbias, stapelias, and desert ephemerals, spaced 50 cm or more apart, and becoming very sparse going northwards into Bushmanland and, from there, into the Kalahari Desert. The driest region of the Karoo, however, is its southwestern corner, between the Great Escarpment and the Cederberg-Skurweberg mountain ranges, called the Tankwa Karoo, which receives only 75 mm of rain annually. The eastern and north-eastern Karoo are often covered by large patches of grassland. The typical Karoo vegetation used to support large game, sometimes in vast herds.
Today sheep thrive on the xerophytes, though each sheep requires about 4 hectares of grazing to sustain itself.
The Great Karoo straddles the 30° S parallel on the west of the continent, in a similar position to other semi-desert areas on earth, north and south of the equator. It is furthermore in the rainfall shadow of the Cape Fold Mountains along the western coastline. The western "Lower Karoo" (the Tankwa Karoo and Moordenaarskaroo) contain remnants of the Cape Fold Mountains (e.g. the Witteberg and Anysberg Mountains) which give it a moderate hilly appearance; but further east the Lower Karoo becomes a monotonously flat plain. The "Upper Karoo" has been intruded by dolerite sills (see below), creating multiple flat topped hills, or "Karoo Koppies", which are iconic of the Great Karoo.
The vegetation of the Upper and Lower Karoo is similar, so that few people make a distinction between the two.
(Wikipedia)
Die Karoo (auch Karroo, früher Karru; Khoisan für Halbwüste) ist eine Halbwüstenlandschaft in den Hochebenen des Landes Südafrika, nördlich der Großen Randstufe und im südlichen Namibia. Unterschieden werden Kleine Karoo, Große Karoo und Obere Karoo sowie Sukkulenten-Karoo und Nama-Karoo. Mit einer Ausdehnung von 500.000 km² umfasst die Karoo fast ein Drittel des Territoriums Südafrikas. Die Sukkulenten-Karoo gehört zu den Biodiversitäts-Hotspots der Erde und wird u. a. im Rahmen von BIOTA AFRICA systematisch kartiert.
Der Name Karoo kommt von kurú (trocken) aus der Sprache der San, die einst hier lebten und jagten. In Hinsicht auf die geographische Ausdehnung des Karoo-Begriffs sind die folgenden Teilaspekte zu beachten und voneinander zu unterscheiden.
Die Karoo als Landschaft im traditionellen Verständnis ist eine südafrikanische Trockenregion innerhalb der Provinzen Westkap, Ostkap und Nordkap sowie im Süden Namibias. Ihre spezifische kapländische Strauchvegetation weist sie als Halbwüste aus. Ursprünglich wird in zwei Regionen unterschieden: Große Karoo und Kleine Karoo.
Die Große Karoo besitzt eine West-Ost-Ausdehnung von über 750 Kilometern und eine Nord-Süd-Ausdehnung von etwa 110 Kilometern. Sie wird im Westen vom Massiv der Zederberge und im Osten durch die Winterberge begrenzt. Im Norden bilden die Bergketten vom Roggeveld-, Koms-, Nuweveldberge und Sneeuberg und im Süden die Höhenzüge der Witteberge, Groot Swartberge und die Groot Winterhoek die natürliche Begrenzung.
Südlich dieser Region schließt sich die Kleine Karoo an. Diese wird wiederum an ihrer südlichen Flanke von den küstennahen Langebergen und Outeniqua-Bergen begrenzt.
Anders als in dieser traditionellen Gliederung, wird die Karoo heute nach ökologischen Gesichtspunkten in einen östlichen Teil, die Nama-Karoo, und einen westlichen Teil, die Sukkulenten-Karoo, gegliedert, wobei auch die Gesamtausdehnung der Karoo nach diesem Konzept von jener der traditionellen Betrachtungsweise abweicht.
(Wikipedia)
"It was precisely to Mary Magdalene that St. Thomas Aquinas reserved the special title, "Apostle of the Apostles" (apostolorum apostola), dedicating to her this beautiful comment: "Just as a woman had announced the words of death to the first man, so also a woman was the first to announce to the Apostles the words of life" (Super Ioannem, ed. Cai, § 2519)."
– Pope Benedict XVI.
22 July is the feast of St Mary Magdalene.
In this statue by Charles Marochetti, St Mary Magdalene is depicted as being lifted up by angels to God. It is in the church of La Madeleine in Paris.
At precisely 07:15 on a dark, dismal and damp morning at Coventry, these two are pictured just after arrival with "The Breakfast Bag".
In reality this was a bolt-on pre-tour from Reading to Coventry in order to get the stock in place for the day's main event: "The Marsh 'n Moor" railtour from Coventry to Hastings and back.
Both Cromptons survive today in preservation.
33116 is at The Great Central Railway, whilst 33208 resides pleasantly on The Battlefield Line
“Sometimes we need to stop analyzing the past, stop planning the future, stop figuring out precisely how we feel, stop deciding exactly what we want, and just see what happens.”
i wish it was just that easy.
my mind is full of ideas right now! but i can't realize them. i have spring break, almost whole week free and it's finally such a beautiful weather. but i still don't have my tripod, and i just found out that it probably doesn't come during this week. i still can't walk without crutches and my ankle even hurts again! tell me, how can something be painful after more than 7 months?! i know i keep saying this, but i just can't wait for the real spring. and i know it's not only because of the weather, but especially because i hope that i'll be ale to walk by this time. but hey, i hoped for this on christmas too and it's more than 2 months ago.
5 months precisely to 11 November 2017.
Euro 3(SCRT>Euro 5)
Voith DIWA864.3E 4-speed
Volvo D7C 250hp
Volvo B7TL 10.6m
Transbus (Alexander) ALX400 10.6m
Chassis number: Vo B7TL YV3S2G5184A003517
Body number: Tbs 4402/9
H49/22D + 18 standees
Weighs 12100kg
New June 2004 for route 337.
Diego: *chuckles, as he pulls something out of his pocket* “Well, it’s not wrapped, but I guess I don’t mind if you don’t.” *places it on Charley’s palm*
Charley: *looks down at the item in her hand, brow furrowed*
Yuri: *cranes neck* “What is that, precisely?”
Emma: “Erm, I canna quite…” *leans forward to get a better look*
Candy: “Is that a…dog collar?”
Kumi (triumphantly): “I knew he was into S&M. I just pegged him for an M and not an S. Put it on, Charley, and bark for us.”
Charley: “I don’t understand.”
Diego: *signs/says* “You said you wanted a dog. I got you a dog.”
Charley: *squeezes her hand around the collar, voice tight* “That’s not funny. You know I can’t have pets here.”
Diego: *signs/says* “Your landlord is willing to make an exception for you, as long as you play it low-key. You might have to tell your neighbors it’s some kind of service animal to help with your anxiety or whatever. I know you hate lying, but I also know you’ve wanted a dog your entire life. So, the choice is yours, Bug.”
Charley: “How’d you get him to agree? I’ve asked him more than once. I even offered to pay a little more in rent every month, and he’s always refused.”
Diego: *signs/says* “Let’s just say I helped him out of a tough spot.”
Charley (flatly): “You hacked him.”
Diego: *signs/says* “So quick with the accusations. I helped him. He had a virus that wiped out his hard drive. He was highly motivated to retrieve his info, and I was highly motivated to help him, assuming he’d grant me a favor in return. *pulls a piece of paper out of his other pocket, holds it up* Signed and notarized—his agreement to let you have one pet of your choosing.”
Charley: “You sent him the virus.”
Diego: *signs/says easily* “Viruses are everywhere. Click one shady link in an email and, poof, everything goes up in smoke.”
Charley: “Does he know?”
Diego: “Know what?”
Charley: “That you made everything go ‘poof’ before you ‘helped’ him get it all back.”
Diego: *insulted expression, signs/says* “Since when does this Dingo ever get caught?”
Yuri: *hand over heart* “I do not believe I have ever found a committed felony and blackmail quite so poignant.”’
Kumi: *purrs* “Mm, he’s so bad. I’ve never been more attracted to him than I am right now.”
Diego: *meets Charley’s gaze, lips curving into an uncharacteristically tender smile* “We couldn’t afford a dog back in Ohio, but we can now. Molls and I will look after it while you’re at school.”
Charley: *stares up at Diego, voice full of wonder* “You really got me a dog?”
Diego: “Well, I didn’t actually pick one out yet. I figured you’d want to do that yourself. Molly and I can go with you to the animal shelter, whenever you’re ready. Merry Christmas, Charley.”
Charley: *launches herself at Diego, wrapping her arms around him* “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Diego: *wraps his arms around her, hugs her tightly, and whispers in her ear* “I figured it was time to start making some good Christmas memories to compete with the bad.”
Charley: *presses her face into his chest, overcome with joy, muffled* “It’s a Christmas miracle!”
Diego: “Figured you were due.” *meets Molly’s eyes over Charley’s head*
Fashion Credits
**Any doll enhancements (i.e. freckles, piercings, eye color changes) were done by me unless otherwise stated.**
Charley
Jeans: Clear lan
Sweater: Christmas Ornament
Socks: sugarbabylovedoll (Etsy)
Belt: Cangaway (Etsy)
Boots: Snow’s Shopping Paradise (eBay)
Glasses: Sekiguchi – Momoko – separately sold accessory.
Doll is a Morning Dew Giselle transplanted to a Poppy body, re-rooted by the holly-jolly valmaxi(!!!)
Molly
Jeans: Squeaky Monkey
Shirt: ababietoy (Etsy)
Cardigan: hand-knit by a friend
Belt: IT – Dynamite Girls – Love Revolution – Free Spirit Jett
Boots: Jennifer Sue
Green Bracelet: IT – Poppy Parker – Popster!
Red Bracelet: IT – Dynamite Girls – Love Revolution – Own the Moment Aria
Barrett: Me
Doll is a She’s Not There Poppy Parker.
Diego
Pants: fakeskin (Etsy)
White Tee & Belt: Kimberlee of Hazel Street Dezigns
Plaid Shirt & Cardigan: Gwen of Gwendolyn’s Treasures
Shoes: IT – Poppy Parker – Baby, It’s You Chip
Hat: Mattel – Barbie Collectible – Frank Sinatra ‘The Recording Years’
Doll is a Rock Steady Romain, facial hair and shading by me.
With the completion of its latest series of milestone tests, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has now survived all of the harsh conditions associated with a rocket launch to space.
Webb’s recent tests have validated that the fully assembled observatory will endure the deafening noise, and the jarring shakes, rattles and vibrations that the observatory will endure during liftoff. Known as “acoustic” and “sine-sibration” testing, NASA has worked carefully with its international partners to match Webb’s testing environment precisely to what Webb will experience both on launch day, and when operating in orbit.
Though each component of the telescope has been rigorously tested during development, demonstrating that the assembled flight hardware is able to safely pass through a simulated launch environment is a significant achievement for the mission. Completed in two separate facilities within Northrop Grumman’s Space Park in Redondo Beach, California, these tests represent Webb’s final two, in a long series of environmental tests before Webb is shipped to French Guiana for launch.
The next environment Webb will experience is space.
Read the full feature on this milestone: go.nasa.gov/3d5Kuhh
Now that environmental testing has been successfully concluded, Webb will move forward into the last full extension of its iconic primary mirror and sunshield, followed by a full systems evaluation before being encapsulated in a specialized shipping container for transport to South America.
Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
The Kingdom of Judea, under the Hasmonean dynasty, was bookended by the Maccabean Revolt in 160 BCE and the Roman occupation beginning in 37 BCE. During that time, the Hasmoneans made several notable improvements to Jerusalem, including the construction of the First Wall and the Hasmonean Baris over the site which would eventually be rebuilt as the citadel of Fort Antonia under Herod. While the fortress had been reconstructed by the first century CE, the First Wall (pictured right-background) provided the necessary defenses for the expansion of Jerusalem’s Upper City onto Mount Zion.
The Hasmoneans were also responsible for constructing a palace in the Upper City, directly behind the Second Temple. In his first-century accounts, Josephus precisely describes its location “over the gallery, at the passage to the upper city, where the bridge joined the Temple to the gallery.” The prominence of such a position makes sense for the upstart dynasty seeking to project strength. The Palace is believed to have had two towers known as the Xystus from where officials could address people gathered in the square below. In addition, the complex had several large courtyards, and included living quarters, baths and servants’ quarters for its namesake residents.
A side-by-side comparison of the Sun from precisely two years ago (left, from SOHO) to the present (right, from Solar Dynamics Observatory) dramatically illustrates just how active the Sun has become (Mar. 27-28, 2011). Viewed in two similar wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light, the Sun now sports numerous active regions that appear as lighter areas that are capable of producing solar storms. Two years ago the Sun was in a very quiet period (solar minimum). The Sun's maximum period of activity is predicted to be around 2013, so we still have quite a ways to go.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/SOHO/SDO
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Some places I visit and think, precisely: that was nice but I wouldn't want to live there. Over the years, I've learned, little by little, which things matter to me the most, and like most of the big things - what I want to be when I grow up, for example - I can draw myself a very clear picture, but I feel free to change that picture on a regular basis. After all, even "home" is not a specific location, it's a state of mind. I've come to think that I need mountains and ocean, both, that if I am not suspended between them, I'll feel locked in. But maybe that's too specific, maybe it's just the water I need, that cold, fresh lake water is just as right. After all, I grew up swimming in lakes of mountain runoff. At least, at the shores of this lake, it seemed so. Or is that what truly travelling is - waking up and feeling like you are still at home, it just looks different when you step outside?
Out for a walk, I was struck by how precisely and symmetrically the snow had been blown into this pattern on a concrete block retaining wall. I took several views that I'm happy with, but I think I like this one best, with the bands disappearing into the corner of pure snow. The lines were on an angle from where I was standing, so I tilted the camera to match the lines. This is also one of those shots that you may think is b&w, but then may begin to realize you're actually looking at a color shot: note the small spot of brown bleeding through in the upper middle. I've also posted a monochrome, if you prefer — though I like this one better.
Result! My August 2022 visit to Skegness yielded precisely zero Brylaine Tridents - I'd been specifically hoping to see some - but I had much better luck this time with two examples in different livery variants. My first ever 'proper' spot of a Brylaine ALX400 came just before midday as LX04 FYG rolled in with a B7, seen here on Richmond Drive.
The livery is one of Brylaine's more minimalist jobs, with a smart blue, red and black lower front but rough looking London red everywhere else, including pasted-over TfL roundel on the side and a white stripe on the rear end where something had been peeled off or covered up. Also, while the morning was a bit wet, the amount of crud sprayed up the side of the bus suggests weather a lot worse than it actually was, so either it hadn't been washed in a while or things were substantially more unpleasant down in Boston!
Formerly Stagecoach 18240
19.5.23
Where's the food in the picture?! #precisely #hungry #seriouspie #smbs #sendmebacksunday
8 Likes on Instagram
In Switzerland we make watches... this one is funny to me!
And it was precisely 11:11AM... what else?
Norwegen / Buskerud - Hallingskarvet-Nationalpark
On the way to Prestholtskarvet.
Auf dem Weg zum Prestholtskarvet.
Hallingskarvet National Park (Norwegian: Hallingskarvet nasjonalpark) is a national park in central Norway that was established by the government on 22 December 2006. The park is located in the municipalities of Hol (Buskerud county), Ulvik and Aurland (both in Vestland county). More precisely, the park comprises the Hallingskarv plateau and the high mountain areas to the west of it. It includes the Vargebreen glacier as well as the valleys of Såtedalen, Lengjedalen, Ynglesdalen, and parts of Raggsteindalen.
The national park covers 450 square kilometres (170 sq mi) of the Hallingskarvet mountain range and hosts large stocks of wild reindeer, an important factor in the establishment of the park. The highest point in the national park is Folarskardnuten which reaches an elevation of 1,933 metres (6,342 ft) above sea level.
The landscape of Hallingskarvet was shaped by multiple ice ages. The park shows the geological history and the connection between this history and the variation in the species living there. It includes areas of special value and which are home to threatened or vulnerable species such as Draba cacuminum (whitlow-grass) and Botrychium lanceolatum (lance-leaf grapefern).
The Bergen Line runs along the southern boundary of the park. There is no road access to the southern side of the park, so Finse Station, a stop on the railway line, is one of the few ways that people can access this part of the park. The Norwegian County Road 50 runs near the northern boundary of the park.
Protection and use
The main objective of this national park is to preserve a large, unique, and largely untouched area in order to protect the landscape and the biome with its ecosystem, species and populations of, amongst others, the wild reindeer. The protection is designed to safeguard a characteristic element needed to understand the geological history of the Norwegian landscape. It is also designed to protect valuable elements of the cultural heritage.
The park is open to the traditional forms of outdoor activities which require little or no technical means.
Name
The first element is halling (inhabitant of the Hallingdal valley) and the last is the finite form of skarv (mountain or mountainous area without vegetation).
(Wikipedia)
Der Hallingskarvet-Nationalpark (norwegisch Hallingskarvet nasjonalpark) ist ein südnorwegischer Nationalpark. Er umfasst das Hallingskarvet-Hochplateau und erstreckt sich über das Gebiet der Gemeinden Hol (Provinz Buskerud), Ulvik und Aurland (Provinz Vestland) gehört.
Gegründet wurde der Park am 22. Dezember 2006, um die dortige große, unverwechselbare und nahezu unberührte Bergregion, die Artenvielfalt von Flora und Fauna und die dort heimischen Bergrentiere zu schützen. Der Park grenzt an das Naturschutzgebiet Skaupsjøen/Hardangerjøkulen und das Biotop Finse.
Im Süden des Parkes führen sowohl die Bergenbahn als auch die Reichsstraße 7 vorbei.
Geologie, Landschaft und Geografie
Der Nationalpark umfasst größtenteils das Hallingskarvethochplateau, welches aufgrund der Kaledonischen Orogenese entstand. Das vorherrschende Gesteinsmaterial der Bergkette ist präkambrisches Pluton.
Der höchste Berg ist der Folarskardnuten mit 1.933 m. Im Hallingskarvet befindet sich auch Norwegens höchster See, der Flakavatnet, welcher auf 1.453 m Höhe liegt.
Flora
Die Pflanzenwelt gestaltet sich mit über 300 verschiedenen Arten sehr vielfältig. Die am weitesten verbreiteten Pflanzen sind der Weiße Silberwurz, Knöllchen-Knöterich und Herbst-Löwenzahn. In den höheren Lagen kommen vor allem Dreiblatt-Binsen, Polarsimsen, Moosheide und Gletscher-Hahnenfuß vor.
Fauna
Im Park gibt es an größeren Säugetieren Bergrentiere, Elche, Rehe, Polarfüchse und Schneehasen. Nördlich des Parks leben zudem Vielfraße.
Die größten Greifvögel sind Steinadler, Gerfalke, Turmfalke und Raufußbussard. Der Kolkrabe ist im Hallingskarvet ebenfalls heimisch.
Kulturerbe
Im Nationalpark wurden verschiedene Jagdutensilien gefunden, die auf eine prähistorische/historische Nutzung der Berge als Jagd- und/oder Siedlungsgebiet schließen lassen.
Im 17. bis 19. Jahrhundert lag der Park entlang einer wichtigen Handelsroute. Einfache Übernachtungshütten, sog. lægre, zeugen noch heute davon. Im Jahre 1880 ließ der englische Graf Lord Garvagh eine steinerne Jagdhütte, die Lordehytta, errichten, um in der näheren Umgebung auf Rentierjagd zu gehen.
Verwaltung und Tourismus
Der Norwegische Wanderverein unterhält im Park die Hütten Finsehytta im Süden und Geiterygghytta im Norden. Private Unterkünfte gibt es im Raggsteindalen und bei Haugastøl. Zwischen den Hütten gibt es markierte Wanderwege.
Zwischen Finse und Ustaoset verläuft ein Stück des Skarverennet durch den Park. Im Süden des Parks verläuft zudem der Rallarvegen.
(Wikipedia)
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin
Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. It is on the east coast of Ireland, in the province of Leinster, at the mouth of the River Liffey, and is bordered on the south by the Wicklow Mountains. It has an urban area population of 1,173,179, while the population of the Dublin Region (formerly County Dublin), as of 2016, was 1,347,359, and the population of the Greater Dublin area was 1,904,806.
There is archaeological debate regarding precisely where Dublin was established by the Gaels in or before the 7th century AD. Later expanded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin, the city became Ireland's principal settlement following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800. Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland.
Dublin is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration and industry. As of 2018 the city was listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as a global city, with a ranking of "Alpha −", which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_College_Dublin
Trinity College (Irish: Coláiste na Tríonóide), officially the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, is the sole constituent college of the University of Dublin, a research university located in Dublin, Ireland. The college was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother" of a new university, modelled after the collegiate universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but unlike these other ancient universities, only one college was ever established; as such, the designations "Trinity College" and "University of Dublin" are usually synonymous for practical purposes. The college is legally incorporated by "the Provost, Fellows, Foundation Scholars and other members of the Board" as outlined by its founding charter. It is one of the seven ancient universities of Britain and Ireland, as well as Ireland's oldest surviving university. Trinity College is widely considered the most prestigious university in Ireland and amongst the most elite in Europe, principally due to its extensive history, reputation for social elitism and unique relationship with both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. In accordance with the formula of ad eundem gradum, a form of recognition that exists among the three universities, a graduate of Oxford, Cambridge, or Dublin can be conferred with the equivalent degree at either of the other two universities without further examination. Trinity College, Dublin is a sister college to St John's College, Cambridge and Oriel College, Oxford.
Originally Trinity was established outside the city walls of Dublin in the buildings of the outlawed Catholic Augustinian Priory of All Hallows. Trinity College was set up in part to consolidate the rule of the Tudor monarchy in Ireland, and as a result was the university of the Protestant Ascendancy for much of its history. While Catholics were admitted from 1793 certain restrictions on membership of the college remained as professorships, fellowships and scholarships were reserved for Protestants. These restrictions were lifted by Act of Parliament in 1873. However, from 1871 to 1970, the Catholic Church in Ireland in turn forbade its adherents from attending Trinity College without permission. Women were first admitted to the college as full members in January 1904.
Trinity College is now surrounded by central Dublin and is located on College Green, opposite the historic Irish Houses of Parliament. The college proper occupies 190,000 m2 (47 acres), with many of its buildings ranged around large quadrangles (known as 'squares') and two playing fields. Academically, it is divided into three faculties comprising 25 schools, offering degree and diploma courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
The Library of Trinity College is a legal deposit library for Ireland and Great Britain, containing over 6.2 million printed volumes and significant quantities of manuscripts, including the Book of Kells.
Rauðasandur (Red Sand) is precisely that: a beach with endless red sand. Well, not endless but 10 km is a lot. The magnificent hues of the sand differ with daylight and weather, and the beach is the biggest pearl in a string of coves with sand ranging in colours from white through yellow through red to black, and in coarseness from very fine to sole-hurting chips of seashells. (visitwestfjords.is)
The Westfjords or West Fjords is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast of Greenland. It is connected to the rest of Iceland by a 7-km-wide isthmus between Gilsfjörður and Bitrufjörður. The Westfjords are very mountainous; the coastline is heavily indented by dozens of fjords surrounded by steep hills. These indentations make roads very circuitous and communications by land difficult. In addition many of the roads are closed by ice and snow for several months of the year. (wiki)
Marienplatz is one of Munich's most visited squares precisely because of views such as this. The square contains both the new and old town halls (Neues Rathaus and Altes Rathaus) as well as Glockenspiel and a slew of great restaurants and shops. The square is actually named after St. Mary - who can be seen atop the Mariensäule (Marian Column) on the right side of the frame. The golden Virgin Mary was created in 1590 and originally found within the walls of Frauenkirche. The statue was placed on the Marian Column during its construction in 1638 to commemorate the end of the Thirty Years War and thus and end to Swedish occupation.
© LMGFotography 2014; please do not use without permission.
Still at Wellington Zoo...
The Kea is the only Alpine parrot in the world, and is closely related to the Kaka (which was featured on this Site a couple of weeks or so ago).
www.flickr.com/photos/lankee2009/20619864741/in/dateposte...
Happy Fence Friday everyone...! This 'portrait' was actually taken through two annoying fences; a strand of one of those fences can be seen in the upper left corner of the photo, whilst another runs from near the bottom left to near the upper right corner...
This bird spent probably 15 minutes working away at the punga log it's sitting on before it finally managed to extract the small piece of wood it's triumphantly holding in its beak...!
And that's precisely what Kea will do when perched on a vehicle. Chrome strips, windscreen wipers and other sundry items not firmly attached to the vehicle will simply disappear when Keas' are around. So... If you're ever visiting New Zealand's South Island High Country, be warned: don't ever leave your car unattended... (I kid you not!).
To learn more about this highly intelligent bird, have a look at:
nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kea
(Click on the photo to view Large; click again to return to normal).
or more precisely: Kitty (birdsaspoetry.com/2016/09/12/new-work-at-the-office/) flying to share a meal with Kalev the Brave, who's just brought a lizard close to their nest (I guess still under construction)
Alaa's sister, Mona Seif, with her message to the British government and all those who might have influence on Alaa's fate, an activist who was already over 200 days into his hunger strike in an Egyptian prison.
Alaa Abd El-Fattah has endured much of the last twelve years in some of the worst prison conditions anywhere for his brave work in promoting democracy in Egypt. He was last arrested in September 2019 while attending Cairo's Dokki Police Station and in December last year was sentenced to five years imprisonment for "spreading false news undermining state security." More precisely, he had shared social media posts explaining the hell-hole reality of Egyptian prison conditions.
PROTEST OUTSIDE THE FOREIGN OFFICE
When this photo was taken Alaa's two sisters, Mona and Sana'a Seif, were staging a protest in London's King Charles Street outside the British Foreign Office in the hope that the Egyptian government can be pressured to release him, as media attention began to focus on the upcoming COP27 conference at Sharm El Sheikh on Egypt's Red Sea coast.
UPDATE AS OF WEDNESDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2022
Starting from Sunday 6 November, Alaa escalated his hunger strike, and stopped taking water. His sister Sanaa Seif took a flight the same weekend to attend the COP27 conference at Sharm El Sheikh in a last-minute effort to save Alaa's life.
For the latest on Alaa's situation listen to his sister's Sanaa Seif's speech to journalists attending the conference on Tuesday 8 November - "They are very happy for him to die. The only thing they care about is that it doesn't happen while the world is watching."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqXibJ7PUTY
TORA PRISON - "A DAY HERE, IS LIKE A YEAR IN BELMARSH"
In April, Alaa began his hunger strike in a cell in one of the most secure sections of Cairo's sprawling and notorious Tora Prison - a maze of grim high concrete walls and watch towers, which strike fear into even the thousands of commuters who have to pass daily.
In 2012, one young Londoner confined to one of the least uncomfortable and most survivable wings of Tora prison, contrasted it with his own previous experience at Britain's high security Belmarsh. I can never forget his exact words. "A day here, is like a year at Belmarsh!" A little over 12 months later, he died of TB - the prison authorities had refused to listen to the pleas of his aunt, who fell on her knees during a rare visit, begging that he be admitted to the prison hospital.
ALAA'S HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES AT WADI EL NATRUN PRISON
More than 200 days have passed since Alaa started his hunger strike. He has now been moved to the Wadi El Natrun prison complex in the desert north of Cairo, dubbed by inmates as the "Valley of Hell."
He may not survive much longer. However, as he holds British-Egyptian nationality, one would hope that the British government would be doing everything they could to secure his immediate release and it would be reasonable to suppose that the Foreign Office could get an immediate pledge in this regard, especially given that the British companies, including the likes of British Petroleum and BP, are the biggest investors in Egypt.
NO CONSULAR ACCESS
However, the British government have failed even to get him any consular access - think about that. That's an outrage. Even a convicted mass murderer, if British, would be entitled to consular access while in prison. That meeting would obviously not take place in his cell - but in a designated room in the prison or the highly supervised prison visiting area.
British men and women convicted of drug smuggling and other crimes in Egypt have received consular visits, so why not Alaa? The answer is because Alaa's crime is that he dared to tell the truth about Egypt, and the injustice both inside and outside its many prison walls. Nobody knows exactly how many political prisoners Egypt now has, but the number is estimated to be at least 60,000.
ALAA WAS ONE OF THE LEADERS OF THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL DEMOCRATIC REVOLT THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN
Alaa Abd El-Fattah was one of the leaders of arguably the most inspirational democratic revolt the world has seen in the last hundred years. Although the first phase of the 2011 uprising in Egypt lasted just 18 days, and although it followed the toppling of the dictator Ben Ali in Tunisia - the streets and bridges around Tahrir Square became a deadly stage watched by the world, where protesters from every walk of life were pitted against Egypt's feared state security forces. Against all the odds, and at the cost of many lives, Egyptians refused to leave the square, sleeping in front of the tanks and fending off attacks from government militia.
The Egyptian people's initial success in toppling the dictator Mubarak led to further revolts not just across the Middle East (most notably in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria) - the highly organised Tahrir-Square sit-in provided the inspiration for strikes and workplace sit-ins against austerity across the United States and Europe and to the Occupy Movement of the same year. The people of Egypt showed that it does not matter how brutal, feared and authoritarian a government is, it can be toppled if people act collectively.
THE MILITARY BACKLASH
It's true that Egypt's flirtation with the path to greater freedom seemed to be only temporary - the Egyptian authorities deployed the usual divide and rule tactics - encouraging the less committed protesters to return home - and then rushed to elections without allowing time for genuinely democratic opposition parties to develop.
Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood won the presidential election in 2012 - the Brotherhood (contrary to the perception many people have here in the West) had genuinely progressive elements within it, but the chance for any transformative radical programme was prevented partly by the corruption and self-interest of some of the main political actors and partly by opposition to its democratic mandate from the deep state (the military, the Interior Ministry, State Security, the police etc.)
The army, seeing its chance, seized power in 2013, superficially in the name of the people, but in reality, to advance the interests of the generals. The new president, Abdel Fattah El-Sissi, moved quickly to crush all opposition, and ordering his security forces to attack Muslim Brotherhood supporters who had gathered in eastern Cairo at Rabaa al-Adaweya Square, killing at least 800 people - the bloodiest massacre of civilians in Egypt's modern history.
DON'T ALLOW EGYPT TO USE COP27 TO GREENWASH ITS REGIME - AND PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE ALAA
Now COP27 is scheduled to take place in Sharm El-Sheikh and Sisi has been given a golden opportunity to greenwash his murderous regime, which has also seen ever increasing levels inequality and corruption. While British representatives at COP27 will be given accommodation in the most luxurious five star hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh and fall asleep listening to the sound of the waves, another British citizen, Alaa Abdel El-Fatah is near death, on a painful hunger strike in the darkest of places - his dimly lit cell. The only thing he might hear at night is the desperate cry from some prisoner in another cell appealing for medical help which most likely never comes.
If we care for freedom, real democracy and justice, we can't allow the British Foreign Office to forget Alaa - especially if it's simply not to upset the highly profitable relationship British multinationals have with one of the world's most authoritarian and corrupt regimes - a relationship which only benefits the wealthiest of Egyptians.
If you live in London, please show your support at the protest at King Charles Street - and wherever you live please sign the petition -
www.change.org/p/help-free-my-brother-before-it-s-too-lat...
Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.
- H. Melville (Moby Dick)
Have not been able to precisely identify this type of Octocoral - which can be found at various places in Okinawa, including under Tengan pier, where this was photographed. They can be 6-8 feet long, about 40cm in width, and the color is fantastic - there is literally no adjustment to color in this picture save for (slight) increase in saturation. This was taken with a +10 external diopter on a 60mm macro lens - the former probably being not desirable for this particular picture (the 60mm iitself would have been sufficient and superior I think).
The Chrysomelidae family includes 35 000 species of leaf beetles that are prevalent worldwide on almost all plants. The name of the leaf beetle comes from the fact that most of the adults beetles feed on leaves. Precisely this makes these species of beetle be considered harmful. However a very small fraction of these species feed on pollen and some are used for biological control of weeds. Generally leaf beetles have an elongated body, cylindrical and sometimes slightly bent. It can reach a length of 1-3 cm, and their anthers are quite small, measuring less than half of the body length. After mating females lay their eggs in groups, in soil or on host plants. Most species have a brightly colored body, often with metallic reflections.
This image is Straight Out Of Camera (SOOC).
Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty metres, prior to the magic of the Golden Hour around sunrise (Sunrise was at precisely 04:42am), at 03:13am on Thursday 19th June 2014 off Lullingstone Lane and Eagle Heights overlooking a blanket of morning mist as it rolled across Eynsford Viaduct in the village of Eynsford, Kent, England.
This impressive nine-arched red-brick viaduct is a prominent feature on the line to the 'Bat & Ball' station. The structure was built by the independent ''Sevenoaks Railway'', incorporated in 1859 to link the ''Chatham'' main line with the market town of Sevenoaks. And first services began on 2nd June 1862. The viaduct has nine arches of 30-foot span, and rises to a height of 75-feet above the valley and the River Darent.
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Nikon D800 14mm 1/3s f/2.8 iso200 RAW (14 bit) Mirror up. AF-S auto mode. Manual exposure. Matrix metering.Auto white balance.
Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED IF. Nikon MB-D12 battery grip. Two Nikon EN-EL batteries. Nikon DK-17M Magnifying Eyepiece. Nikon DK-19 soft rubber eyecup. Manfrotto MT057C3 057 Carbon Fiber Tripod 3 Sections (Payload 18kgs). Manfrotto MH057M0-RC4 057 Magnesium Ball Head with RC4 Quick Release (Payload 15kgs). Manfrotto quick release plate 410PL-14.Jessops Tripod bag. Optech Tripod Strap.Digi-Chip 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC. Lowepro Transporter camera strap. Lowepro Vertex 200 AW camera bag. Nikon MC-DC2 remote shutter release. Nikon GP-1 GPS unit.
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LATITUDE: N 51d 22m 6.92s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 12m 11.35s
ALTITUDE: 50.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 103.00MB
PROCESSED FILE: 24.88MB
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Processing power:
HP Pavillion Desktop with AMD A10-5700 APU processor. HD graphics. 2TB with 8GB RAM. 64-bit Windows 8.1. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. Nikon VIEWNX2 Version 2.90 64bit. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit
The doxa thus constitutes a set (a "network", a system) of values, maxims around some (all, but some more than others) aspects and elements of the reality meant. It is situated beyond language, but below the discourse on which it tacitly bases intercomprehension.
"Each object of the world can pass from a closed, silent existence to an oral state, open to the appropriation of society. "(Barthes 1957:216)
We can therefore describe a doxic system as an evolving hierarchical field, where different models follow one another in the centre. These models bring together one or more "ideologems" or presuppositions, all of which are defined on one or more axes and in one or more fields, and which are expressed in the discourse by a mythical image or set of images. All these models, by their hierarchical and oppositionary character, contribute to the realization and actualization of the basic ideological meaning that is the perpetuated existence of a hierarchical society, where the terms can change but the structure must remain immutable.
The Idols of the Tribe have their foundation in human nature itself, and in the tribe or race of men. For it is a false assertion that the sense of man is the measure of things. On the contrary, all perceptions as well of the sense as of the mind are according to the measure of the individual and not according to the measure of the universe. And the human understanding is like a false mirror, which, receiving rays irregularly, distorts and discolors the nature of things by mingling its own nature with it.
— Novum Organum, Aphorism XLI
The "ideologems", the units that make up the doxic system, are structured in two (diversified) dimensions. First, there are the axes or axiologies: bipolar lines whose ends are absolutely opposed notions, such as Bien-Mal, Order-Disorder.. The axes can be presented as continua, with "ambivalent" terms (e. g. unhappy love), but the two extremities always remain dominant and determine the final value. Still, one of the two opposing terms is evaluated positively and the other negatively. One axis can flow from another or materialize it.
Doxa (ancient Greek δόξα; from verb δοκεῖν dokein, "to appear", "to seem", "to think" and "to accept" is a Greek word meaning common belief or popular opinion. Used by the Greek rhetoricians as a tool for the formation of argument by using common opinions, the doxa was often manipulated by sophists to persuade the people, leading to Plato's condemnation of Athenian democracy.
The word doxa picked up a new meaning between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC when the Septuagint translated the Hebrew word for "glory" (כבוד, kavod) as doxa. This translation of the Hebrew Scriptures was used by the early church and is quoted frequently by the New Testament authors. The effects of this new meaning of doxa as "glory" is made evident by the ubiquitous use of the word throughout the New Testament and in the worship services of the Greek Orthodox Church, where the glorification of God in true worship is also seen as true belief. In that context, doxa reflects behavior or practice in worship, and the belief of the whole church rather than personal opinion. It is the unification of these multiple meanings of doxa that is reflected in the modern terms of orthodoxy and heterodoxy.This semantic merging in the word doxa is also seen in Russian word слава (slava), which means glory, but is used with the meaning of belief, opinion in words like православие (pravoslavie, meaning orthodoxy, or, literally, true belief)..
In Plato's Gorgias (dialogue), Plato presents the Sophists, rhetors who taught people how to speak for the promise of commercial success, as wordsmiths that ensnare and use the malleable doxa of the "multitude" to their advantage without shame. In this and other writings, Plato relegated doxa as being a belief, unrelated to reason, that resided in the unreasoning, lower-parts of the soul. This viewpoint extended into the concept of doxasta in Plato's Theory of Forms, which states that physical objects are manifestations of doxa and are thus not in their true form. Plato's framing of doxa as the opponent of knowledge led to the classical opposition of error to truth, which has since become a major concern in Western philosophy. (However, in the Theaetetus and in the Meno, Plato has Socrates suggest that knowledge is orthos doxa for which one can provide a logos, thus initiating the traditional definition of knowledge as "justified true belief".) Thus, error is considered in Occident as pure negativity, which can take various forms, among them the form of illusion. As such, doxa may ironically be defined as the "philosopher's sin". In classical rhetoric, it is contrasted with episteme.
Plato's student Aristotle objected to Plato's theory of doxa. Aristotle perceived that doxa's value was in practicality and common usage, in contrast with Plato's philosophical purity relegating doxa to deception. Further, Aristotle held doxa as the first step in finding knowledge, as doxa had found applications in the physical world and those who held it had great amount of tests done to prove it and thus reason to believe it.[Aristotle clarifies this by categorizing the accepted truths of the physical world that are passed down from generation to generation as endoxa. Endoxa is a more stable belief than doxa, because it has been "tested" in argumentative struggles in the Polis by prior interlocutors. The use of endoxa in the Stagirite's Organon can be found in Aristotle's Topics and Rhetoric.Trying to make a list of universal doxas is therefore considered utopian, and it is a good game to present the fruits of these attempts (let us think of the Declaration of Human Rights) as necessarily illegitimate since, precisely, being the expression of a dated and localized culture. On the other hand, from a descriptive (and not normative moral) eristic perspective, a list of doxas such as one encounters in a course of rhetoric, therefore having no claim to found an ideology, can be tinged with universality, in so far as it purports to account for human argumentative activity, regardless of cultural and social groups. The "universal doxas" (in the course of the Manual of Polemics, Muras devotes 130 pages out of 340) as rhetorical (and not philosophical and even less moral) objects, revived in ever new contexts, make it possible, as preliminary agreements (Perelman), to argue.ideology "cannot be considered as a monolithic system:" the ideological activity of a society presents itself as an ever complete and never successful approximation of a system of thought. "(Grivel 1980: d4)
On the other hand, he points out that the "universality rate" of text universals fluctuates (Grivel 1978:39) - meaning that the doxic system has centre-periphery movements and vice versa.
In any case, just like the language system as a system of potentialities, ideology continues to exist. Doxic language changes, language remains - or even: language changes so that language can perpetuate its existence. "The rule includes the novelty of its manifestation, which is its rule. "(Grivel 1973:63)
It is clear that the conversion of history into nature serves to prolong the current order of things: The present state is proclaimed nature, i. e. realization of the essence of the human being, thus morally good. History becomes Nature which becomes Moral: thus any attack on societal structures becomes immorality itself. (Cf. Barthes 1957:151.) In the final analysis, doxa, for Barthes, is the image that the bourgeoisie has of the world and imposes on the world. The bourgeois strategy is to fill the whole world with its culture and morality, making it forget its own status as a historical class:"The status of the bourgeoisie is peculiar, historical: the man whom it represents will be universal, eternal; (...) Finally, the first idea of the perfectible, mobile world will produce the overturned image of an immutable humanity, defined by an infinitely renewed identity. "(Barthes 1957:250-251)
Pierre Bourdieu, in his Outline of a Theory of Practice, used the term doxa to denote what is taken for granted in any particular society. The doxa, in his view, is the experience by which "the natural and social world appears as self-evident". It encompasses what falls within the limits of the thinkable and the sayable ("the universe of possible discourse"), that which "goes without saying because it comes without saying". The humanist instances of Bourdieu's application of notion of doxa are to be traced in Distinction where doxa sets limits on social mobility within the social space through limits imposed on the characteristic consumption of each social individual: certain cultural artifacts are recognized by doxa as being inappropriate to actual social position, hence doxa helps to petrify social limits, the "sense of one's place", and one's sense of belonging, which is closely connected with the idea that "this is not for us" (ce n'est pas pour nous). Thus individuals become voluntary subjects of those incorporated mental structures that deprive them of more deliberate consumption.
Doxa and opinion denote, respectively, a society's taken-for-granted, unquestioned truths, and the sphere of that which may be openly contested and discussed.
Bourdieu explains the term "doxa" in his interview with theorist Terry Eagleton. To explain the term, he uses an example about the common beliefs in school. He asked students what qualifies as achievement in school. In response, the students on the lower end of the academic spectrum viewed themselves as being inferior or not as smart as the students who excelled. The responses are where doxa comes into play, because that was the common belief and attitude that the students had based on what society pushed them to believe. Bourdieu believes that doxa derived from socialization, because socialization also deals with beliefs deriving from society, and as we grow up in the environment, we tend to believe what society tells us is correct.
It is a socially accepted misconception, that if you do not score as high as someone else then you are obviously not as smart as they are. Scores do not prove that one is smarter, because there are many different factors that play into what you score on a test. People may excel within a certain topic and fail at another. However, even though it is a misconception, people tend to partake in common practices to make themselves feel better. For example, the students who feel inferior due to popular belief that they are not as smart as the students who score higher than them, may experiment with drugs to ease the insecurities they face. Bourdieu believes that doxa is more than common belief. He believes that it also has the potential to give rise to common action.
While doxa is used as a tool for the formation of argument, it should be noted that it is also formed by argument. The former can be understood as told by James A. Herrick in The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction: "The Sophists in Gorgias hold that rhetoric creates truth that is useful for the moment out of doxa, or the opinions of the people, through the process of argument and counterargument. Socrates will have no part of this sort of 'truth' which, nevertheless, is essential to a democracy." Importantly noted, democracy, which by definition is the manifestation of public opinion, is dependent upon, and therefore also constrained by, the same limits imposed upon the individuals responsible for its establishment. Due to compromised opinions within a society, as well as opinions not counted for due to inaccessibility and apathy, doxa is not homogeneous, nor is it created agreeably. Rather, it is pliable and imperfect—the outcome of an ongoing power struggle between clashing "truths".
To expand upon the quote from his Outline of a Theory of Practice in the above section, "Use in sociology and anthropology", Bourdieu writes, "When there is a quasi-perfect correspondence between the objective order and the subjective principles of organization (as in ancient societies) the natural and social world appears as self-evident. This experience we shall call doxa". Adam Smith of the University of Chicago observes in his article "The limitations of doxa: agency and subjectivity from an archaeological point of view": "Bourdieu consigns the practices of the denizens of ancient societies to the realm of doxa, their lives cast as routines predicated upon the mis-recognition of social orders as natural ways of life, rather than political products."This calls to attention that the notion of social order as naturally occurring is misperceived, disregarding its creation by political argumentation.
Doxa, then, can be understood as created by argument as well as used in the formation of argument, essential for the establishment of democratic policies.
Camera: Canon AV-1
Lens: one of the two, don't remember precisely now:
either Canon FDn 50mm f/1.8
or Canon FD 28mm f/2.8 S.C.
What I do remember is that aperture was wide open, hence the "actual" EI for the shot was somewhere around 300-400 (aimed at ISO 200 but had to stay somewhere within 1/15s ... 1/30s because shot from hands and underexposed because of this).
Film: ADOX Color Implosion ISO 100 format 135
Shot in 2014.
Developed in Lab (C-41) as nominal (ISO100).
Scan from negative with manual color correction (EPSON Perfection 4990) @4800dpi
Healing brush (dust removal), resize to 1600dpi.
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A crop of the raw scan @4800dpi is here:
Alaa Abd El-Fattah has endured much of the last twelve years in some of the worst prison conditions anywhere for his brave work in promoting democracy in Egypt. He was last arrested in September 2019 while attending Cairo's Dokki Police Station and in December last year was sentenced to five years imprisonment for "spreading false news undermining state security." More precisely, he had shared social media posts explaining the hell-hole reality of Egyptian prison conditions.
PROTEST OUTSIDE THE FOREIGN OFFICE
When this photo was taken Alaa's two sisters, Mona and Sana'a Seif, were staging a protest in London's King Charles Street outside the British Foreign Office in the hope that the Egyptian government can be pressured to release him, as media attention began to focus on the upcoming COP27 conference at Sharm El Sheikh on Egypt's Red Sea coast.
UPDATE AS OF WEDNESDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2022
Starting from Sunday 6 November, Alaa escalated his hunger strike, and stopped taking water. His sister Sanaa Seif took a flight the same weekend to attend the COP27 conference at Sharm El Sheikh in a last-minute effort to save Alaa's life.
For the latest on Alaa's situation listen to his sister's Sanaa Seif's speech to journalists attending the conference on Tuesday 8 November - "They are very happy for him to die. The only thing they care about is that it doesn't happen while the world is watching."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqXibJ7PUTY
TORA PRISON - "A DAY HERE, IS LIKE A YEAR IN BELMARSH"
In April, Alaa began his hunger strike in a cell in one of the most secure sections of Cairo's sprawling and notorious Tora Prison - a maze of grim high concrete walls and watch towers, which strike fear into even the thousands of commuters who have to pass daily.
In 2012, one young Londoner confined to one of the least uncomfortable and most survivable wings of Tora prison, contrasted it with his own previous experience at Britain's high security Belmarsh. I can never forget his exact words. "A day here, is like a year at Belmarsh!" A little over 12 months later, he died of TB - the prison authorities had refused to listen to the pleas of his aunt, who fell on her knees during a rare visit, begging that he be admitted to the prison hospital.
ALAA'S HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES AT WADI EL NATRUN PRISON
More than 200 days have passed since Alaa started his hunger strike. He has now been moved to the Wadi El Natrun prison complex in the desert north of Cairo, dubbed by inmates as the "Valley of Hell."
He may not survive much longer. However, as he holds British-Egyptian nationality, one would hope that the British government would be doing everything they could to secure his immediate release and it would be reasonable to suppose that the Foreign Office could get an immediate pledge in this regard, especially given that the British companies, including the likes of British Petroleum and BP, are the biggest investors in Egypt.
NO CONSULAR ACCESS
However, the British government have failed even to get him any consular access - think about that. That's an outrage. Even a convicted mass murderer, if British, would be entitled to consular access while in prison. That meeting would obviously not take place in his cell - but in a designated room in the prison or the highly supervised prison visiting area.
British men and women convicted of drug smuggling and other crimes in Egypt have received consular visits, so why not Alaa? The answer is because Alaa's crime is that he dared to tell the truth about Egypt, and the injustice both inside and outside its many prison walls. Nobody knows exactly how many political prisoners Egypt now has, but the number is estimated to be at least 60,000.
ALAA WAS ONE OF THE LEADERS OF THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL DEMOCRATIC REVOLT THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN
Alaa Abd El-Fattah was one of the leaders of arguably the most inspirational democratic revolt the world has seen in the last hundred years. Although the first phase of the 2011 uprising in Egypt lasted just 18 days, and although it followed the toppling of the dictator Ben Ali in Tunisia - the streets and bridges around Tahrir Square became a deadly stage watched by the world, where protesters from every walk of life were pitted against Egypt's feared state security forces. Against all the odds, and at the cost of many lives, Egyptians refused to leave the square, sleeping in front of the tanks and fending off attacks from government militia.
The Egyptian people's initial success in toppling the dictator Mubarak led to further revolts not just across the Middle East (most notably in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria) - the highly organised Tahrir-Square sit-in provided the inspiration for strikes and workplace sit-ins against austerity across the United States and Europe and to the Occupy Movement of the same year. The people of Egypt showed that it does not matter how brutal, feared and authoritarian a government is, it can be toppled if people act collectively.
THE MILITARY BACKLASH
It's true that Egypt's flirtation with the path to greater freedom seemed to be only temporary - the Egyptian authorities deployed the usual divide and rule tactics - encouraging the less committed protesters to return home - and then rushed to elections without allowing time for genuinely democratic opposition parties to develop.
Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood won the presidential election in 2012 - the Brotherhood (contrary to the perception many people have here in the West) had genuinely progressive elements within it, but the chance for any transformative radical programme was prevented partly by the corruption and self-interest of some of the main political actors and partly by opposition to its democratic mandate from the deep state (the military, the Interior Ministry, State Security, the police etc.)
The army, seeing its chance, seized power in 2013, superficially in the name of the people, but in reality, to advance the interests of the generals. The new president, Abdel Fattah El-Sissi, moved quickly to crush all opposition, and ordering his security forces to attack Muslim Brotherhood supporters who had gathered in eastern Cairo at Rabaa al-Adaweya Square, killing at least 800 people - the bloodiest massacre of civilians in Egypt's modern history.
DON'T ALLOW EGYPT TO USE COP27 TO GREENWASH ITS REGIME - AND PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE ALAA
Now COP27 is scheduled to take place in Sharm El-Sheikh and Sisi has been given a golden opportunity to greenwash his murderous regime, which has also seen ever increasing levels inequality and corruption. While British representatives at COP27 will be given accommodation in the most luxurious five star hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh and fall asleep listening to the sound of the waves, another British citizen, Alaa Abdel El-Fatah is near death, on a painful hunger strike in the darkest of places - his dimly lit cell. The only thing he might hear at night is the desperate cry from some prisoner in another cell appealing for medical help which most likely never comes.
If we care for freedom, real democracy and justice, we can't allow the British Foreign Office to forget Alaa - especially if it's simply not to upset the highly profitable relationship British multinationals have with one of the world's most authoritarian and corrupt regimes - a relationship which only benefits the wealthiest of Egyptians.
If you live in London, please show your support at the protest at King Charles Street - and wherever you live please sign the petition -
www.change.org/p/help-free-my-brother-before-it-s-too-lat...
The Minor Seminary of Pabré was founded in 2025, precisely 100 years ago. To the north of the current site, some of the original buildings' ruins remain. These have now almost completely disappeared due to erosion, as the buildings were constructed of earth.
Le Petit Séminaire de Pabré a été fondé en 2025, il y a tout juste 100 ans. Au nord du site actuel, il subsiste quelques ruines des premiers établissements. Celles-ci ont actuellement quasiment disparu sous l'effet de l'érosion, étant donné que les bâtiments avaient été construits en terre.
More precisely - an African White Daisy !! Seen at Lake Shrine ~ 100 yards from the Pacific Ocean on Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles.
Vaudeville Games
A villainous study in 2 actes.
Acte 1
When I first saw the two of them, I knew that they were up to something no good.
It had been a pleasant afternoon spent amusing myself by mixing in during a black-tied occasion haunted by a group of the ultra-rich.
The place was an elegantly large, leased Ballroom, where a wedding reception with what seemed like a thousand gaily attired attendees had been in progress most of the afternoon. I had been amazed, dazzled may be a better word, when I had first walked in as the guests had already begun to gather. I had never seen a such a beautifully sparkling display of lovely jewels being worn by the ladies and lassies in attendance to a mere wedding reception before. I thought I was at some sort of convention for a Tiffanies or DeBeers, with models in long flowing gowns of satin, silk, and taffeta, all loaded to the gills with enticing jewels.
Later I learned, to my benefit, that a good number of them would be attending a local catholic charities ball held at the Cathedral’s large main hall later that evenin. Which explains the total overkillin with the fancy dress, and baubles.
Now, with the females in attendance wearing ample jewels expensive enough that any piece would have been profitable, there would be a temptation even the most unskilled of thieves could not resist. This is precisely one of the reasons why I was there. And I was determined to make the most out of the situation in all ways possible!
I soon found meself shadowing an unsuspecting, rather dipsy, female partier, whose steady drinking habit had first piqued my interest. She was wearing too many jewels than was good for her ( in my opinion), totally taking away notice from the rather fetching long taffeta gown she was poshly wearing over her delightfully young figure. I caught up to her just as she was making yet another quick swirling turn , letting her brush up against me. Almost on que ( and with the help of a foot on her dress’s hem) she lost her balance and I held her gloved arm to help steady her up. In the process I snagged one of her vulgarly large diamond bracelets from her satin clad wrist, secreting it to my vest pocket in the commotion.
I walked away, realizing yet once again, that the thrill I used to receive when lifting a piece of jewelry from a lady had noticeably been diminishing over the course of the last couple of years. Like any profession that has been worked at for a while, it had almost become too routinely easy anymore; my almost ghostlike hovering over receptions, ballroom dances and the ilk. Admiring the rich gowns and dresses, and savoring their sparkling jewels were becoming almost mundane. Even the snagging of a flashy bauble or two along the way was losing its appeal. Even though it was my primary source for putting the bread on the table , I felt sometimes that I needed a break. Sure, I held a second, loosely related, profession to seem respectable to the outside world, but it did not pay nearly as much. I sighed deeply to myself, wallowing in my rather dubious self-pity as I made my way through the thickly congregated crowd of guests at the reception. I also was finding meself pining for my place of birth, Merry old England( or wales to be specific) and a sweet ginger haired lass who I had once known, and still kept in touch with for the 7 long years since I had left my homeland.
With those thoughts whirling about in me head, I made my way to the bar, deciding to now settled back to have a few free drinks and try to enjoy the show. Soon I found myself cheered up, even lazily toying with the idea of making a second score later that evening. And then, well now, given what valuables were being displayed, it was not surprising that soon I spotted a second source of amusement. For it was at that point that I saw the two of them making their way in.
There appeared to be only two of them, together; An older woman, grandmotherly in appearance, with long silver hair, and a foxy expression. Along with the “Grandmother” was what appeared to be her 16 year old granddaughter. “Granddaughter” was a slender sprite with a long sheet of freely hanging long silky blonde hair and deep enchantingly blue eyes, and a rather charming smile, with was noticeably pasted upon her impish face as she took it in all the splendor.
The grandmother wore a blue silk skirt and white silky top, ¾ sleeved. The granddaughter was wearing a tea length black satin skirt and a gold satin long sleeved blouse with ruffles and frills, which was uncharacteristic when compared to the dresses and long gowns of the other girls around her age in attendance. The “Grandmother” was adorned with silver chains, and earrings. The “Granddaughter” wore ruby earrings and matching necklace, like the kind of imitation jewelry one receives as a promotion when buying overpriced perfume. Both newcomers out of place with some of the fancier costumes and gems on display, worn by the older rich ladies as well as quite a number of their younger female issue’s as well.
The granddaughter also wore gold plated rings and bracelets, so pick pocketing was probably not her game; she was probably the “ferret” or the lure. But the grandmother on the other hand, had clean fingers, nimble and long and with nothing around her bare wrists, and decidedly was dressed for quick movements; she was probably the dip, or lift. They also did not appear to be known personally by any of the other guests in attendance, but in a gathering that large, with so many snobs ignoring everything that was going on outside their immediate area, this was not surprising. After all, I was there not really knowing anyone either, except for the ones who had hired me.
The pair split off on their own separate courses. The granddaughter soon began mingling with girls in her own age bracket, whom, as was typical of the very rich, were totally unsupervised by any adult. I noticed she was mingling with only those who displayed the most expensive clothing, then zeroing in upon those wearing the largest quantity of expensive jewelry. The Grandmother soon fell into step with a group of older ladies, whose blazing jewels had attracted her notice.
The playing field was getting too crowded I thought, and so I made myself content by watching the (pair) work the room. I wasn’t shocked: Hunting grounds this fertile were bound to attract multiple predators. The appetite of my curiosity was wetted and I drifted to a corner table with my refilled drink ( an old fashion) , where I could watch over them without notice.
The grandmother was ever watchful, as she chatted up her new, satin gowned, acquaintances, but did not appear to be posed to strike. Her eyes were relentlessly on the move, I figured she was on the look for something special, and was ready to pounce when the situation arose.
Meanwhile the granddaughter seemed to have hooked one. A shy fifteen-year-old clad in a eye-catching sky blue long satin sheath gown, with a matching cape that hung from her shoulders to her elbows. The cut of her gown, and her heavy makeup, made the 15 year old look far too much like an adult. Her dangling earrings were at least a full caret, a long thin gold chain dangling from her gowns neckline held diamond studded heart with a sapphire center that swished expensively against her soft gown. A matching ring and bracelet to the pendent rounded out her jewels. But her cape also had a sapphire pin that swayed, shooting out flames of fiery brilliance, whenever the lights caught it.
I looked for the grandmother, she was now chatting to a young be speckled twenty something, diamonds glittered from the thin necklace that hung shimmering down the front of her satin turtleneck like blouse, an ideal setup. A long, midnight black, tiered skirt fell flowing to her feet, with a diamond brooch centered on the satin sash that encircled her waist. Rings glittered from the fingers that nervously twirled a locket of long , hanging hair as she talked to the “Grandmother”, who had her hand (seemingly nonchalantly) upon the girl’s silken covered shoulder as she made conversation.
I turned my attention back to the “Granddaughter” locating her by the stage, whispering conspiratorially into her newly made friends ear, the girl’s dangling earring shining ever so richly. I watched as the pair left and started to wander towards the dance floor, where they started to watch the dancing couples assembling for the bands next piece. As they stood there the “grandmother” walked up to the pair, and the “granddaughter” introduced her to her new found friend in the shiny blue sheath gown.
As they did so, I looked around for the be speckled 20 something the “grandmother” had been chatting up, she couldn’t have gotten far. I soon spotted her on the dance floor, in the arms of a young man in a monkey suite. I quickly noticed that her necklace was noticeably no longer adorning the neckline of her pretty blouse. I had a good idea where it was, but how had it been accomplished, removed from around her neck without notice, ahh, that was the rub. I was sorry I had missed the performance of the disappearing necklace trick!
My analysis of the pairs game had been spot on, and it was obvious that they were not armatures by any means. It appeared that the “Grandmother was the expert, The younger looking “Granddaughter “ probably her protégé. I quickly looked back at the small group of three hovering on the edge of the dance floor not wanting to miss a trick.
The three were chatted on, the “grandmother” admiring the young ladies gown flowing liquidly down over her perky figure. As she then admired blue gowns glimmering necklace, the “granddaughter” had moved and positioned herself behind the unwary young lady. As the necklace was raised I saw her look about and reach up, pulling up and back the chain, efficiently unhooking it. The grandmother held onto the pendant with one hand as she lifted the unsuspecting girls satin gloved hand with her other , all the while chatting her up. Then ever so slowly the “Grandmother” pulled the necklace down freeing it from around the unsuspecting lass’s neck, letting it drop to the carpeted floor at her feet. The “granddaughter” scrunched down behind their cute victim, ( totally unaware that she was being robbed), and reaching around, scarfed the necklace up, stood and moved off. The “grandmother gave the unwilling girl a hug, and when they broke off I noticed the sapphire pin had been lifted, adding unwary insult to undiscovered injury. I saw the girl in the blue sheath look around for her new friend, but the “Granddaughter” had disappeared, moving off to greener pastures.
I soon spotted the “granddaughter” as she resurfaced, obviously she was on the move again, which was surprising, I would have not risked any further attempts so soon if I had been in her dainty heels. I watched, trying to spot her next victim. She headed over towards a table that she had passed earlier, on one of the chairs was a mink jacket, and another was a feathery boa that I had seen her admiring, fingering on the then deserted table.
But the chair that the mink was hanging from now had an occupant. A girl of about 15, wearing a soft velvet dress with long sleeves, had picked up the boa and was sitting on the chair wearing it. She was happily playing with the long feather boa, not a concern in the world. I looked her over, on one side of her dress was a diamond sunburst pin, and on her chubby fingers, were two diamond rings, small but real, and from her ears dangled a pair of long pear shaped diamonds suspended from diamond solitaries clasped to her earlobes.... I was amazed that she would have been trusted to wear such valuable trinkets, but I was not surprised that she was in all probability about to lose them!
The “granddaughter” came upon the girl and asked if she could try on the boa. The unsuspecting girl helped her happily on with it , then the “granddaughter picked up one end, tickling the richly clad lass with the fluffy feathers, then allowed the girl to do the same, eyeing her victims shimmering rings in the process.
The grandmother soon approached to join in the fun. She put on the boa next and tickled both girls with its ends, getting them to giggle uncontrollably. The two devious ladies’s routine had been well honed, as their chosen victim became caught up in the middle of the pair’s rapid fire bantering, and teasing. But it was not all play for two of the three! The 15 year olds diamond starburst pin was the first item to disappear! As the giggling girl, her eyes closed, was doubled over trying to catch a breath, the “Grandmother” took rude advantage of the situation by smoothly reaching under and unsnapping the shimmering pin from the bent over girl’s shiny dress as it had fallen loosely away from her chest for a few seconds. Soon the purloined pin was followed by her sparkling rings, slipped off her fingers when it was her turn to have her hands held behind her by the “Grandmother” and be tickled with the boa by the “Granddaughter” during the course of their horsing around. I thought the pair were finished at that point, but no, they were going for the full Tribeca!
The “Grandmother” held the young ladies attention by kneeling in front of the 15 year old, and helping her on with the boa, wrapping it around the girls neck. As this was being done, the “granddaughter busied herself with coolly slipping off each of the girls old fashioned dangling clasp earrings ! I watched in wonder as the laughing girls expensive earrings were each effortlessly plucked away. The giggling 15 year old clad in the velvet dress had been stripped (tickled) of all her jewels with surgical precision, as the boa was being wily used to its full feathery advantage, and she had never noticed a thing!
The “Grandmother” then stood and moved off to one side, as the girls continued to giggle and play. Unnoticed, she gingerly lifting the mink from the chair behind the now less shimmering 15-year-old, as said child was still being entertained by the “granddaughter”, who I saw had now her hand inside a purse laying on the table behind their cheerful victim. The “grandmother”, carrying the expensive mink over her arm, slipped around and out of sight down the hidden entrance to a side corridor that I knew led down to the building’s work area. The show was probably ending. The pair had acted swiftly, and I knew they would be fished out soon. But I waited; the “granddaughter” was still there, apparently in no hurry to follow the “Grandmother” and disappear down the corridor with her. So probably there may possibly be another act to their scoundrel like play I surmised, although it was risking it in my professional opinion.
End Acte 1
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And there we have it! Precisely the reason why I wanted to be in south or east London! Stagecoach proper! Somehow I managed to miss these in my past trips, whether it be by route contracts not covering the Westminster area or just pure bad spotting luck, but broadening my horizons further east has proven well-rewarding. A majority of Stagecoach's double-deck services are operated by 'smart hybrid' E400MMCs refreshingly built to standard Stagecoach specification with a couple of TfL-spec additions, reminding me somewhat of home. With the advent of the new livery, however, I was initially left wondering whether there would be any Stagecoach buses left with the old 'beachball' logo on them. Since here, of course, it looks like a simple restickering job.
One of a plentiful amount of Stagecoach buses I caught on this first day, although seemingly the only 19-plate of the lot that I caught, Stagecoach London's 11313, a 2019 ADL Enviro400 MMC based at Catford bus garage (TL), is seen up Tooley Street on a 47 to Shoreditch.
Tokyo has many beautiful cloudless days. But sometimes making an image of a cloudy sky can be a lot more interesting. I like how this image combines the city sprawl with broken clouds, blue sky and rain falling in the distance.
Bristol Temple Meads station at precisely 7.30pm on 23rd September 1980 and 'Peak' class 45 No.45021, with only a few days of its working life left, is ready to head off in charge of the 1E38 19:34 Bristol to Newcastle TPO, which it will take as far as Gloucester.
45021 emerged from BR Derby Works in April 1961 as D25. Withdrawn in December 1980 and cut up at BREL Swindon Works during April 1983, having been stored from October 1980.
© Copyright Gordon Edgar - No unauthorised use.(Ref:2626)
The urge doesn't come so much by the calendar as from somewhere deep inside.
A few weeks ago in early July I woke up one day with cherry pie in my head, and- sure enough- later that day I saw the first really good cherries in the market. Now usually I get the craving to make a cherry pie around the 4th of July, but this year the crop seems to have been late. Nothing in the fruit bins looked good around the holiday, so I passed on making that pie until the time was right. I only make it once a year, so the fruit has to be perfect.
Right now the cultivated blueberries are looking pretty tempting, so I'm thinking about blueberry pancakes this weekend. Or maybe I'll finally try that "blueberry bubble" recipe my friend Charlie mentioned last week when he suggested I make some sorta "Kansas State Fair" type of dessert for our last dinner party (I ended up making peach blueberry cobbler). But I won't make the annual batch of blueberry cinnamon jam until the wild blueberries start arriving later this summer from Maine. The flavor of those is much more intense, and precisely what you'll need on that anadama bread toast roundabout the fifth day of being snowbound next January.
In May it was tart rhubarb that was floating to the surface of my consciousness from its hiding place in my heart- - a big favorite of mine that I do NOT adulterate with strawberries like most folks. Come September when the air gets crisp, when you can smell the Macoun and Cortland, the Ida Red and Northern Spy in the air, it's time to pull the deep-dish pie pans out and start peeling. And as long as the peeler's out already, might as well set the apple-and-pear sauce slow-cooking in the big enamel pot. A lot of our cold-weather suppers are infused with a touch of "a few months ago" when a dollop of that's added to the plate. Generally once a winter, on some particularly dark day, I'll make one of my dad's favorite peasant suppers. He sauteed his onions in butter, but I tend to cook mine in olive oil. When they're soft and creamy, and just beginning to think about caramelizing, I put them in the bottom of a pottery baking dish, then cover that with a layer of the lumpy, chunky apple-pear sauce, and then cover that with a generous layer of shredded very very sharp cheddar cheese. There are few meals more pleasure-full than that sweet/savory dish when it's baked slowly until the cheese bubbles and browns.
Now don't be getting the impression that everything i cook and/or crave is rich and sweet. The first fiddleheads call me in the spring the way the odiferous ramps call my sweetheart. June brings the first teeny but intensely flavorful wild strawberries. And July and August are when I really begin to yearn for healthy- generally barely adulterated- vegetables... with a vengeance. It's been a few years since I've had a backyard garden of my own, but luckily I'm blessed with several generous friends with green thumbs who share their annual bounty, and I live in an area where there's a different farmer's market within walking distance five days a week. Today I bought amazingly sweet carrots, Japanese-style eggplants, and dark purple basil from Lunenburg's Parker Farm, and in an hour or so I'll saute them ever so slightly before I have them with couscous. Last Thursday night my friend Debbie picked ruby chard and tender broccoli from her garden for our supper. Sauteed with vidalia onions in garlicky olive oil, and then tossed with pasta and just a touch of mixed cheeses, the sweetness and freshness of those lovingly nurtured vegetables sang on our tongues. Of course I cook with copious vegetables all year long. But they never taste as primal... as essence-ial... as they do harvested locally and within hours of eating, at the peak of their natural season.
The thing I miss most of all from my gardening days is the experience of walking out to your plot and eating the season's first ripe red tomato the second you've picked in off the vine. There is just NOTHING in the world of flavors that matches that taste. Near as good, though, is walking it into the kitchen and sprinkling it with a touch of lemon pepper. Or serving it to friends in a bowl with some fresh basil, traditional feta cheese, scallions, lemon juice, and olive oil. I make that sorta salad all year, but it's only in this part of summer that the fresh tomatoes make it perrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect. I have to admit I eat tomatoes daily- sometimes at two or three meals- when they're in season. I try to memorize the taste, and the texture on my tongue, so that I can recall it when I eat all those wretched impostors the rest of the year.
My mom grew tomatoes in our backyard when I was a kid, and I helped with the weeding a bit, but the first time I grew my own was with my poet friend Stephen behind a beautiful old Victorian we were housemates in almost 25 years ago. We had planted an ambitious 15 plants in our tiny plot, and were beside ourselves with self-congratulatory joy when, after we'd defeated the cutworms and slugs, our first ruby fruits matured. Alas, we were too inexperienced to know enough to grow several varieties, so after the first few heady days of salads and tomato sandwiches, it seemed like all the tomatoes were ripe within a few days. The other housemates were happy to help out with the eating, but after all the work of growing 'em Steven and I were anxious to enjoy our harvest as long as possible. Aha! we thought. Why not take the- what seemed like bushels of - excess tomatoes and make them into tomato sauce for our winter pasta? So that's what we did. But gardeners reading this will understand our abject disappointment when we discovered that all those tomatoes, when cooked down, ended up being something like one pitiful gallon of sauce. A painful, but memorable, lesson.
Having grown up near the eastern ocean, the summer craving for fried clams is as intense as the one for tomatoes, though these days I only give in once or twice a year. Likewise, the soft-serve ice cream- chocolate dipped of course- that filled our summers as children is something I allow myself only once each summer. Less fattening are my seasonal summer need for the annual road trip with my friend Alice to visit Susan & Will in New Hampshire- coming up next weekend- and the newer annual trip north with Matt to visit his long-time buddy Josh. The desire for these seasonal visits with the people we love being every bit as visceral as my need for that first tomato each July.
Oh, and there's lots more indelibly in my dna. Occasions and holidays bring their own seasonal cravings. Where most in the United States associate roasted turkey with the Thanksgiving holiday, to me the most important tradition- aside from spending it with loved ones- is pumpkin pie for breakfast with strong coffee the next morning. I justify it by telling myself the milk and eggs in the recipe provide good protein, and conveniently ignore the sugar content. Don't ask me how this one got started, but every four years on the night of presidential elections I make donuts, to be eaten while we watch the results come in. I like to start out the first day of each new year with good friends in my house. Just to remind myself of what's really important. And even though I haven't had one in 42 years, when Labor Day rolls round, I think about how my grandmother would make us all "tasty-pies" as a treat on the first day of school each year. Two buttered slices of bread were placed on either side of this convex hinged contraption with long handles. Cheese or applesauce would be placed on one of the pieces of bread, and then the thing would be closed and heated over the gas flame of the stove. A few minutes later a truly "tasty" bubbling "pie" would be released onto your plate, and the next child's treat assembled. When my grandmother died, and her belongings were distributed, the "tasty-pie" maker came to live with me, and is one of my most cherished possessions.
I may be buddhist now, but that doesn't stop me from continuing all the seasonal rituals associated with Christmastide. And truth be told, even when I was Catholic as a child, that holiday was always- for me- one of family and friends and traditions more than it was about religion. Every culture has need of celebration to ward off the cold and loneliness of the shortest days, and in my house that meant baking. Strangely, the ubiquitous Toll House cookie was the major Christmas confection for my siblings and me, but there were others too. My mom's favorites to make were delicate and buttery spritz cookies (aka spritzbachen), made always from "Mamie Eisenhower's favorite recipe" she'd found in a magazine or cookbook. I have the recipe, and the old Mirro cookie press with its camel and scottie dog and star pattern discs, among others, but try as I might- and I've been trying for over 30 years- I've never managed to make them as well as she did. Friends who admire my baking assume I'm kidding about that, but it's true. I have much more success with my Aunt Fran's "Russian Teacakes"... which are pretty much the same as the cookies others call "Mexican Wedding Cakes", "butterballs", or about a dozen other names.
And over the years I've added my own traditional fare. Shortbread, made with rice flower so it has that wonderful crunch, but still melts on your tongue. The anise-infused springerle that my grandmother loved because they reminded her of HER German grandmother. Italian pizzelle- light and airy and looking like beautiful flat waffles for angels. A dozen kinds of biscotti... including several savory ones like white pepper pistachio. Each time I make them I pull out the same old copy of Gourmet Magazine from a decade or so ago where I first discovered that biscotti are not all almond flavored. The bourbon spiced pecans from a recipe I found a few years ago in The Boston Globe, and which people practically beg for. And the traditional wassail that I learned 32 years ago from Adelma Simmons- the late great doyenne of the American herbcraft movement, who taught me to make it on her old black cast iron stove. A potent heated concoction that involves port wine and brandy and all sorts of fruits, nuts, and spices- especially hand crushed cardamom seeds- it's the sort of thing you make when noone will be attempting to drive anywhere after enjoying it.
There are other annual "rites of sometime-or-other". Trips north and/or west to see the autumn leaves at their peak. The sojourn in search of the first spring blossoming of the weeping cherry on a street near where I used to live. Tea with Alice in her garden when the Japanese iris bloom. Gathering bittersweet when it's time. Starting to knit holiday presents for those I love out of soft, luxurious wool in jewel colors when the air turns toward cold. Too many to keep going here, but also cherished. Ritual occurrances tying your past to your future. Once a year. All the more special for that. Each in its own season.
Spiritual crises as the cause of paranormal phenomena, Paranormal phenomena seen in connection with clairvoyance, and Paranormal phenomena seen in connection with channeling).Symbols from the universal images are of a completely different character. They reproduce a much clearer, more precise and superior astral wholeness. It is from these symbols you can receive direct teachings about your spiritual development process.
When you have trained meditation and dream yoga in many years, a so-called divine being can visit you through a symbol from the universal images: Christ, Buddha, masters, teachers, angels. Note that these of course also can from the collective images – the difference is explained below:
Such a symbol is, as mentioned, a telescopying, a representing quintessence of the informationquantities, which the wholeness in a universal image contains. The divine being will in that way canalize information to you from the universal image, which, together with the whole of the universal vision, constitutes the dream-tracks and the songlines in the artwork of your life. The divine being (or other symbols from the universal images) will in that way help you to compose, to synthesize and interlock, what your inner thinker in the waking state has divided. But it is very important to understand that this nothing has to do with the channeling phenomenon, which belongs to the collective images. In order to receive help from a divine being you must be very close to enlightenment yourself. Our suffering, our painbody is, through the inner evaluating ego, which the painbody is constructed around, connected with the more dangerous dephts of the astral plane´s collective history, which also are a kind of dark, ancient inertia, which opposes any change of the ego (see my article The emotional painbody and why psychotherapy can´t heal it). That is also the reason why you, through therapy, can´t heal Man from the ground. In order to heal Man from the ground you need to go into a spiritual practice. It is only within the religions and their spiritual traditions they have knowledge and names for the more dark sides of the astral plane´s collective history. The West has very precisely called this factor the original sin. The East has called it negative karma. The concepts indicate, that the inertia projects beyond the personal history (growing up conditions, traumatic bindings, painful experiences etc.) and far down into the collective inherit-backgrounds of history (genes, environment, society-ideals, the archetypes and the primordial images of the dreams, fantasies, fairy-tales, myths, and finally: instincts inherited from the animals). It is a factor, which lies in the evolution itself, in the genes, in the collective subconcious, in the collectice history.
A mystical experience is happening when astral energies and content arrive to the consciousness, either from the collective images, or from the universal images. When energy and content arrive to the consciousness from the collective images, then this energy, and this content, will symbolize itself. This is due to, that the collective images are in a condition of vague, diffuse, astral oneness. What is coming from the collective images therefore contains a much greater width and depth than the limitary, relatively narrow and clear concepts and classes of the ordinary consciousness. The vague, wide contents and energies from the collective images are therefore growing narrower in the meeting with the consciousness. The symbol is this quintessence, this shortened, condensed form of expression of the vague, wide collective material. The other types of symbols are coming from the universal images, and therewith from reality and truth itself. All reality, which shall mirror itself in the superficial mind, will automatically symbolize itself. Again the symbol is a telescopying, a representing quintessence of the informationquantities, and the greater clarity, which are connected with reality. Symbols from the collective images reproduce a more vague, more imprecisely, but richer organic astral oneness. Symbols from the universal images reproduce a clearer, more precise and superior astral oneness. The more vague astral oneness, or the more precise astral oneness, shows itself in symbolic form in the dividing, separating structure of consciousness. This refers to the three forms of states the wholeness can be in: sleep, dream, awake. When the wholeness is sleeping, mountains are mountains and woods are woods. This is the reality of the ordinary consciousness (the Ego-consciousness). The ordinary consciousness can sleep in three ways: 1) the dark sleep, which is the Ego´s deep nightly sleep; 2) the grey sleep, which is the Ego´s nightly dreams and other dreams; 3) the light sleep, where the Ego is awake. The three forms of states the wholeness can be in, can also be described as the personal time, the collective time and the universal time. Furthermore it can be described as the personal history, the collective history and the universal history. Time and history constitute the structure under your thinking. This structure is also called the astral plane, or the astral world. It is a plane of existence postulated both by classical (particular neo-Platonic), medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions. It is the world of the planetary spheres, crossed by the soul in its astral body, either through the dream state, or on the way to being born and after death, and generally said to be populated by angels, demons, spirits or other immaterial beings. The astral plane is connected with the so-called Akashic records. The Akashic records are a compendium of mystical knowledge encoded in a non-physical plane of existence: the astral plane. These records are described as containing all knowledge of human experience and the history of the cosmos. They are holding a record of all events, actions, thoughts and feelings that have ever occurred or will ever occur. Since my teenage years, I have had relationships with Beings of Light such as Jeshua, Michael, Sanat Kumara, Lady Portia, Amira, Maitreya, Sananda, the Great Crystal Master, the Dragon and many others. They instructed me in their conceptions that allowed me to prune my beliefs, to experience new knowledge. Thanks to their attention, I was progressing in my inner study. Taking advantage of their advice and encouragement, I went through the adversity I had encountered. During all this time, I carefully integrated their teachings without disclosing them, I applied them consciously in my daily life. Several times they told me, through mediums, that it was time for me to work with my fellow human beings. I would say "I, who have so many obstacles" and I would continue my studies with them. More than twenty years ago, Awakeness told me that I had the opportunity to read Akashic annals, I didn't know what it was. It took me a long time to get acquainted with the library of Nature where everything is recorded in every detail, from Creation to infinity. Today, I confess that I used this database in ignorance. Facts arose without my knowledge, I met more and more people in great difficulty, I offered them, anonymously, what I had received. One day, I was offered a book on Akashic annals. I knew the time had come to expose myself. The opportunity to concretize this new experimentation presented itself to me, through one of my friends who was experiencing an important annoyance. I said to him:"If you want I ask Akasha for teachings to give you solutions to your context". The impact of the explanation and the akashic vibration collected by Martine was immediate and spread throughout her home. His entourage was surprised by this change and asked him what had happened. She received the necessary answers to her family situation and also all the understandings that allowed her to find joy in sincere and harmonious relationships, which are still in force and spread to her household. Everyone watched and looked at the sufferings he was carrying in order to transform them. An information was transmitted to her by her husband, who had crossed the bridge of earthly life for the afterlife, which confirmed her to act on the decisions.
The Sanskrit term akasha was introduced to the language of theosophy through H. P. Blavatsky (1831–1891), who characterized it as a sort of life force; she also referred to "indestructible tablets of the astral light" recording both the past and future of human thought and action, but she did not use the term "akashic". The notion of an akashic record is attributed to Alfred Percy Sinnett, who, in his book Esoteric Buddhism (1883), wrote of a Buddhist belief in "a permanency of records in the Akasa" and "the potential capacity of man to read the same."By C. W. Leadbeater's Clairvoyance (1899) the association of the term with the idea was complete, and he identified the akashic records by name as something a clairvoyant could read. In his 1913 Man: How, Whence, and Whither?, Leadbeater claims to record the history of Atlantis and other civilizations as well as the future society of Earth in the 28th century.The Akasha is an “astral light” containing occult records, which spiritual beings can perceive by their “astral senses” and “astral bodies”. Clairvoyance, spiritual insight, prophecy and many other metaphysical and religious notions are made possible by tapping into the Akashic reacords. They are metaphorically described as a library. They can be accessed through astral projection, meditation, near-death experience, lucid dreaming, or other means. The Akashic records are the wholeness, and as mentioned: the wholeness can be in three states of spiritual awakening - sleep, dream, awake – which again can be described as the personal, collective and universal time (or history).
The reactions to experience of the entire animal kingdom, the aggregation of the thought-forms of a karmic nature (based on desire) of every human unit throughout time. Herein lies the great deception of the records. Only a trained occultist can distinguish between actual experience and those astral pictures created by imagination and keen desire. Since Wilhelm Haidinger discovered the phenomenon of the ‘brush’ which is named after him in 1844, there can be no doubt that human vision comprises an additional sense for the orientation of a so called polarised luminance. In this paper the physical conditions under which Haidinger’s Brush is to be observed in transparent or reflective media are described in detail. Furthermore it will be shown how Goethe’s work on ‘entoptic colour’, Steiner’s concept of the U-Region and modern physiological and natural science touch on a mutual ground that is to be characterised by Haidinger’s Brush appearing.Seen from a spiritual perspective, this instinctive survival strategi (the Ego) appears as a resistance, an invincible inertia: original sin, negative karma. You can´t, by therapeutic strategies, free the consciousness for its attachment to this inertia. You can therefore not dissolve or dilute or convert the original sin through therapy. Only the intervention of the Source (God, Christ, the enlightened consciousness) can basically help Man with a trancendence of the negative karma of the original sin. But in order to, that a human being should be able to receive this help from the Source (gift of grace), then this requires an eminently precise and profound preparation. And as part of this preparation serve the true spiritual practice within the religions
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The whole extent of circumstances which have its observation in common, distinguish it as a higher phenomenon among others, that it is the primary phenomenon of polarisation.Haidinger-Büschel als Urphänomen der Polarisationserscheinungen Albert Pröbstl.f Goethe’s Urphänomen, the ferreting out of the simplest,
archetypal concept which exhibits the characteristics of the complex whole and proceeding from the simple to the more composite. At this point, the similarity of Hegel’s method to that of Goethe is evident, except of course that the relevant complex whole is not to be understoodas a natural phenomenon but rather manifestations of Spirit, specificallyformations of consciousness. , this stream of impressions has to be surmounted, and grasped as
a whole. This holistic view is not attained by contemplation of the name or the idea of Nature, but on the contrary by contemplation of Nature itself and determination of the archetypal phenomenon, the simplest unit of a complex natural process. This insight is only the outcome of patient, attentive and delicate observation. Likewise, if a citizen of any social formation, recognizes as Absolute the guiding principle of his own activity, Hegel does not suppose that they see in that form of practice a finite manifestation of Absolute Spirit. That is an insight which becomes available only to the philosopher who looks back from the end of the journey of Spirit. Goethe and Hegel shared a common concern, not just for Truth, but for the Spiritual Community. One of the driving forces of Goethe’s science was to work out a practice and concept of science which would be accessible to participation by the entire people,something of which Hegel despaired. But there are obvious differences in the conception of the Deity as well. For Goethe, God is Nature, and insofar as he is engaged with Nature, it is the principle of his relation to Nature. Man is part of Nature, but he cannot understand his literary and social activities Pantheistically. For Hegel on the other hand, Spirit produces Nature and the human world of finite spirit, and out of them produces itself, but it is above all to human affairs that Hegel looks for his glimpse of the Deity. In the human world, Hegel gains insight into the absolute Absolute which manifests in each shape of consciousness. For Goethe we have a reified God/Nature; for Hegel we have Spirit. The crucial innovation made by Hegel is his use of the Triune structure of the concept which transcends the various dichotomies inherited from Kant whilst investing the concept with internal resources for self-mediation
A central element of Hegel’s view of the relation of man
to the Absolute, he appropriated from Goethe’s Romantic
science. Goethe’s Pantheistic conception of Urphänomen
was the single archetypal phenomena exhibiting the
essential features of some natural phenomena.
Recognition of the Urphänomen constituted a glimpse of
the Deity. Although the Urphänomen is specific to some
given complex, Goethe came to see in it a general
principle. Hegel appropriated Goethe’s idea of
Urphänomen, not unlike Herder’s Schwerpunkt, in the
Phenomenology, and transformed the archetypal norm of
a Gestalt des Bewußtseins into the Begriff of the Logic, as
an archetype of the Absolute. Expressed more generally, Goethe’s problem was this: how can we understand a complex process as a whole, as a Gestalt? Goethe rejected a
number of approaches which are characteristic of what he called ‘Newtonian’ natural science. He rejected the method of hypothesising some force or vibration or principle which controlled the complex whole from beyond the horizon of phenomena. Blavatsky said the akasha forms the ANIMA MUNDI and constitutes the soul and astral spirit of man. It produces mesmeric, magnetic, and psychic phenomena and is a component in all magical operations of nature.
Hegel polemicised along the same lines in the Logic. To say that people come to the city because the
city exerts a force of attraction explains nothing. Newton’s idea of acceleration being caused by gravity simply shifts the problem from understanding a form of motion sensuously given to us, to understanding an invisible and baseless force, known only through its expression for which it is supposed to be the explanation.The Urphänomen was Goethe’s solution to the problem of how to conceive of the whole.“... the Divine, which reveals Itself in Urphänomene, physical and moral, behind which it dwells, and which proceed from It” (To Eckermann, February 13 1829, quoted in Heinemann 1934)“This spiritual breath – it is of this that I really wished to
speak and that alone is worth speaking of – is what has
necessarily given me such great delight in Your
Excellency’s exposition of the phenomena surrounding
entopic colours. What is simple and abstract, what you
strikingly call the Urphänomen, you place at the very
beginning. You then show how the intervention of further
spheres of influence and circumstances generates the
concrete phenomena, and you regulate the whole
progression so that the succession proceeds from simple
conditions to the more composite, and so that the
complex now appears in full clarity through this
decomposition. To ferret out the Urphänomen, to free it
from those further environs which are accidental to it, to
apprehend as we say abstractly – this I take to be a matter
of spiritual intelligence for nature, just as I take that
course generally to be the truly scientific knowledge in
this field” (Hegel 1984: 698).New York: akasha (akasa) Im Eastern mysticism and oeculism, the all-pervasive lile principle or all pervasive space of the cosmos. The term akasha is derived from the Sanskrit term for 'sky." The akasha is known by various other names in Western occultism and MAGIC. In Hinduism, the akasha is the substance ether, a fifth element and the subtlest of all elements. The akasha per meates everything in the universe and is the vehicle for all life and sound. In yoga, the akasha is one of three unit versal principles along with prana, the universal life force, and creative mind. These three principles are immanent in all things throughout the universe and are the sources of magical and psychic power. From the akasha comes will, an important component of magic, which enables all man ner of feats to be accomplished. In Buddhism, is not ether but space, ol which there are rwo kinds. One is space that is limited by the material, from which springs the manifestation of the elements of nature. The second is space that is unlimited, unbounded by the material and beyond description. The concept of the akasha was inaroduced to Weslern occultism in the early 20th century by hel ena p blavat sky, founder of the theosophical society. Blavatsky said the akasha forms the ANIMA MUNDI and constitutes the soul and astral spirit of man. It produces mesmerie, magnetic and psychic phenomena and is a component in all magi cal operations of nature. Blavatsky compared the akasha to lhe "sidereal lighi" ol rosic rucianism, he asi ral light of iphas levi, and the odyle or odic lorce of Baron Karl von uivalent of the llebrew ruah, the Reichenbach is th in motion, or moving spirit and is identi- wind, breath, air cal with the spirit of God moving on the tace ol the waters described the akasha as incomprehensible. non-created, and undefinable. Akasha creates everything and keeps everything in bal it is the all in all.
Five arts was Goethe's method of transmuting his observation of human nature into sharable form. Drawing from his novel, Elective Affinities (Wahlverwandschaften), Goethe discerned a geheime Verwandschaft (hidden relationship) of parts that explains how one form can transform into another form whilst being part of an underlying archetypal form (Ur-phänomen). It is this organizing idea or form that guides the consideration of the parts; it is a Bild or virtual image that "emerges and re-emerges from the interaction of experience and ideas"[3] This consideration is a special type of thinking (noetic ideation or denken) carried out with a different organ of cognizance to that of the brain (mentation or sinnen), one that involves an act of creative imagination, what Goethe terms "the living imaginal beholding of Nature" (das lebendige Anschauen der Natur). Goethe's nature (natura naturans, the activity of "nature naturing" – as distinguished from natura naturata, "nature natured", the domain of naturally formed objects) is one in constant flux and flow, but nonetheless governed by law, logic and intelligence above the mind. To approach vital nature requires a different cognitive capacity (denken) and cognitive organ (Gemüt) from that used to perceive inert nature (sinnen based on the Intellect or Sinn).
Hegel goes on to speak of his philosophical appropriation of the Urphänomen: “But may I now still speak to you of the special interest that an Urphänomen, thus cast in relief, has for us philosophers, namely that we can put such a preparation – with Your Excellency’s permission – directly to
philosophical use. But if we have at last worked our
initially oyster-like Absolute – whether it be grey or
entirely black, suit yourself – through towards air and
light to the point that the Absolute has itself come to
desire this air and light, we now need to throw open the
window so as to lead the Absolute fully out into the light
of day” (Hegel 1984: 699).Leaf operculum alone all others as a blessing creativity, vitality, hope and madness and more !!! Akasha is the aura of the Earth. physically. All trace continues to exist in the akasha of the Earth, which made the Egyptians say that we can survive through supports representing us (statuettes, photos, engravings, icons) and that gives the feeling to certain peoples that being photographed traps the soul ... it's partly true but not definitively. At each new galactic hour (every 25 600 years in human years), a reset of the akasha takes place. The next is scheduled for December 21, 2012. Getting back to work can be a good thing. Pilgrims of Heaven, we are! Good day. The Astral is another name to refer to the psyche (radiation of thoughts and human emotions) and the energetic aura (electromagnetic radiation) of the Earth for me. Etheric means spiritual energy of the higher consciousness planes tand qu 'energetic' refers to terrestrial and human radiation. The Paradise are the high parts of the astral, in these circles of purity are the teachings of the Ascended Masters. There are also portals to other dimensions of life here, on Earth in the 3rd dimension we are calibrated by a heart rate, a lunar rhythm, a terrestrial electro magnetic energy and the frequencies of human thoughts and emotions. All these frequencies reduce us condense us, lower us. We live at best on the frequency of our stomach (self-enhancement individualism and competition at worst on the frequency of our gut (withdrawal on the family, devaluation of self for the benefit of the local collective, war to defend its territory against invaders, aliens, energy racism) And when one is underdeveloped socially, one is based on the root chakra, connected to the spirit of survival, leads to mistrust vis-avis humans, with the need to live outside without social constraints like solitary wild animals (sdf and marginality chosen)
Every once in a while you have to stray from your standard method of operation and say "lets challenge myself to shoot a different style today". That is precisely what I did when I had the idea for today's shot.
Earlier today Rylan was playing with his cars and track. Every toy spread out from wall to wall! A variable land mine of sharp plastic toys just waiting to imbed in the bottom of your foot. I remember when I used to play like that. Wow, its been about a week or more. As I sat there watching him play I realized that imagination is such an important aspect of a childhood. My generation (as if I'm that old) were forced to have an imagination. Sticks were swords, rocks were cannon balls, a small patch of forest was a vast evil forest in an empire. we didn't need TV to entertain us, we just simply… entertained ourselves. you tend to forget just how powerful imagination can be until you watch a young child who has not yet been corrupted by TV and video games. unfortunately it's becoming more common place to sit your child in front of the TV, computer, iPhone or iPad. Car rides no longer echo with the sound of "are we there yet" or "ouch, he hit me" or even the classic line "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you" No, instead of all that you have in car entertainment systems that rivaled what houses had 10 years ago. You arrive at your destination and the kids say, "1 more minute, its almost over". I've yet to have any little ones of my own but I can tell you for sure that when it comes time to imagine the dragon and not control it with your thumbs, you better believe my kids will be the first ones out there.
So, today's shot came from watching Rylan play. Since my brothers and I have flat out refused to grow up, I figured what better theme then one of us playing with the very toys we not only grew up with but still play with! It was just a few weeks ago when Shawn and I setup this track on the counter and across a few chairs. The goal was to get the car to go down the whole track, through the loop and launch into a bucket 5 feet down. We managed to get it in the bucket a few times. It was great fun and I'm not ashamed to say so.
The style of this shot, although processing wise is in line with my style, the shooting style is left field. I did something I rarely do. I slapped the 75-300mm on my camera, backed up into the garage and shot down the hallway into the kitchen. The aperture wasn't wide open but 7.1 at 280mm, from 15 feet away doesn't leave you with much room for error in focusing. You can see that the extreme foreground and background are completely blurred out. Hell, even the car isn't sharp. The focus was Shawn's face and the look of awe as the car launches into the air. I must admit that due to the lens being nearly better at being a paper weight than a lens, the shot isn't tac sharp. I do blame this 98% on the lens, but I also have to take 2% of the blame as I'm a little rusty at the long lens and the shutter speed at 1/40 didn't help. Anyone who has hand held a telephoto lens will attest that it is not easy to hold steady.
For my bokeh buddies out there, I'm sure you know what is in the background. No, I don't have a Christmas tree up in June! There Christmas lights that I sweated balls to get. You see, since it's no where near Christmas despite my constant singing of Christmas songs, the lights are packed away in the attic. South Florida attics are damn near death sentences as temps can get upwards 150 degrees at midday. I ventured up there and successfully dodged the mine filed of rat traps all for a single strand of white lights. I really go to some lengths for this project!
With everything in place I laid on the ground and tried to have Jacky toss the car and have me time it just right to capture it in the air. That was less than successful on nearly a dozen shots. I decided to hang it with fishing line. Shawn's face is perfect as he wasn't so much excited for the shot but the fact that the car seemed to be floating in front of his face. Magic I told him! I sure do love to take stabs at Shawn! Its even better with his son as that boy really believes just about anything.
We may act like kids and fight like kids but one thing for sure isn't kid like; after about 10 minutes on the floor and both Shawn and I were in pain! No longer can our bodies endure the absolute beating that we put on it as kids. Oh the joys of getting older!
Well, that's it for tonight. I've ate about 10 dozen peanuts and drank a half gallon of sweet tea. Its obvious what happens next.
Lighting:
AB800 Med. Softbox. camera left, approx. 3 inches off ground. 1/16 power. Triggered via cyber syncs.
This is my female cat.
His gaze does not promise anything good:))
She is as you see it, wary and careful, especially when I turn around to take her photograph. Does not like to be photographed : ))
His name is Tricky and has 12 years. My son has given her name, calling her as a character in the animated film of Spieberg / Lucas "The Land Before Time"
Tricky precisely in this film is a triceratops with sullen and suspicious character, but also very affectionate when she wants I do not know if the name you gets a destiny, but our Tricky is the same:))
Thanks for your recent visit ,comment, fav and invite, always all much appreciated...
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A stone circle is an ancient monument. Such a monument is not always precisely circular and often forms an ellipse, or a setting of four stones laid on an arc of a circle. The number of stones can vary between four and 60 purposely erected standing stones, and often contain burial pits or chambers.
Prehistoric stone circles are found in many parts of the world.
A stone circle is different from a henge or isolated monolith, although each of these features is often encountered in a single location. Earlier features, such as the Goseck circle in Saxony-Anhalt, may have served similar religious/calendrical/astronomical purposes, though probably at a much earlier epoch. Stone circles usually date from the late Neolithic / early Stone Age, that is, c. 7000-3500 B.C.
Archaeological evidence, coupled with information from astronomy, geology and mathematics[citation needed], suggests that the purpose of stone circles was connected with prehistoric peoples' beliefs, and their construction can be used to infer about ancient engineering, social organisation, and religion. Their precise function will always be open to debate, but a practical purpose could exist in the form of use as a burial ground, a astronomical marker points for use in determining calendar-related event timings, and usable methodologies have been suggested. Since astronomical event timings are intrinsically dependent on location, it is also conceivable that observations taken could form the basis of some understanding concerning geography, and proceeding from that, derivation of standardised units of measurement for not only time, as in the calendar hypothesis, but also for distance.
Because of the timescale involved, many astronomical parameters have changed, further-complicating analysis of the hypothetical purposes of these monuments. Even with modern technology such as computerised star-map simulations, without a firm date in mind, large margins of doubt are unavoidable. Certainly until recently, accurate retrospective calculations of many heavenly events, tied to each given location, made a comprehensive survey of monuments unapproachable. Current technology improves our chance of gaining an insight into possible motives and uses, and perhaps patterns may emerge when large numbers of arrangements are compared systematically by automated means which are able to examine large numbers of sites as well as large ranges of dating.
St. Mary's Church, known in German as the Marienkirche, is a church in Berlin, Germany. It is located on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße (formerly Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße) in central Berlin, near Alexanderplatz. The exact age of the original church site and structure is not precisely known, but it was first mentioned in German chronicles in 1292. It is presumed to date from earlier in the 13th century. The architecture of the building is now largely composed of comparatively modern restoration work which took place in the late 19th century and in the post-war period. The church was originally a Roman Catholic church, but has been a Lutheran Protestant church since the Protestant Reformation.
The organ was created in 1720-1722 by Joachim Wagner, who had previously worked for two years with his teacher Gottfried Silbermann. In 1723 the inauguration took place. The case is by Johann Georg Glume and was completed in 1742 by Paul de Ritter.
Source: Wikipedia
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Die evangelische Marienkirche (Kirchenkreis Berlin Stadtmitte) befindet sich an der Karl-Liebknecht-Straße am Fuße des Fernsehturmes im Berliner Ortsteil Mitte, in der Nähe des Alexanderplatzes. Sie ist die älteste noch sakral genutzte städtische Pfarrkirche Berlins, eines von ursprünglich sechs mittelalterlichen Kirchengebäuden in der historischen Mitte Berlins, im ehemals dicht bebauten Marienviertel.
Die Orgel der Marienkirche wurde zwischen 1720 und 1722 von Joachim Wagner geschaffen, der zuvor zwei Jahre bei seinem Lehrer Gottfried Silbermann gearbeitet hatte. Im Jahr 1723 erfolgte die Einweihung. Das Gehäuse stammt von Johann Georg Glume und wurde 1742 von Paul de Ritter fertiggestellt. In der Folgezeit wurde das Instrument mehrfach verändert. So ließ beispielsweise im Jahr 1800 Friedrich Falckenhagen nach Plänen von Georg Joseph Vogler 1400 von insgesamt 2556 Orgelpfeifen entfernen, da sie aus seiner Sicht „überflüssig“ wären. Weitere Umbauten, auch um den Klangumfang wiederherzustellen, fanden 1829 durch Johann Simon Buchholz und 1893/94 durch Heinrich Schlag & Söhne statt. Wilhelm Sauer erhöhte die Stimmenzahl auf 57 und baute Kegelladen mit einer Röhrenpneumatik ein.
Als eine der wenigen Orgeln überstand die „schönste Orgel Berlins“ die Zerstörungen des Zweiten Weltkriegs weitgehend. In der Zeit nach 1945 wurde das Instrument wiederum mehrfach verändert. In den Jahren 1947–1949 ersetzte die Orgelbauwerkstatt Alexander Schuke die pneumatische Traktur durch eine elektro-pneumatische, und näherte die Disposition wieder dem barocken Klangprinzip an. Weitere Veränderungen fanden 1957, 1970 und 1985 mit dem gleichen Ziel der weiteren Annäherung an das ursprüngliche Klangbild statt.
Nach schweren Schäden an der Orgel im Winter 1996 entschied man sich statt einer Rekonstruktion des ursprünglichen Zustands für einen Neubau, der nach Maßgabe der Gesamtkonzeption und Disposition Wagners von 1721 im Jahr 2002 durch die Orgelbauwerkstatt Alfred Kern & Söhne (Straßburg) realisiert wurde.
Bei dem Neubau wurden alle 40 Register Wagners unter Verwendung der noch vorhandenen historischen Pfeifen originalgetreu rekonstruiert, ebenso der barocke Gehäuseprospekt der Berliner Bildhauer Johann Georg Glume und Paul de Ritter, unter Beibehaltung der denkmalwürdigen Veränderungen von 1908. Alle Kanäle, Windladen und die Balganlage sind genau nach Vorlage erhaltender Wagner-Orgeln gefertigt.
Verändert gegenüber Wagner wurde in Anpassung an die heutige musikalische Praxis die Anordnung der Manuale und die Erweiterung des Tastenumfangs in den Manualen bis f3. Es wurde eine historische Stimmung gelegt (Neidhardt III), allerdings mit moderner Tonhöhe 440 Hz. Schließlich erhielt die Orgel fünf zusätzliche Register, die jedoch getreu ihren Vorbildern in Wagner-Orgeln nachgebildet sind. Es wurde eine Pedalkoppel hinzugefügt.
Quelle: Wikipedia