The sparrow project is an attempt to improve my bird story telling along with honing eye hand/AF coordination skills using a common subject readily available. The subjects must be in motion as a prerequisite since shooting ducks in a barrel is just no sport at all.

I was spurred into the project due to my complete dissatisfaction of prior attempts while on a trip to Tanzania. Learning the delicate balance between shutter speed, proper long lens techniques, iso settings and AF modes is a challenge for something just slightly slower than a speeding bullet.

This will be ongoing to support my next African adventure later this year.

See me also at instagram.com/charlesgyoung/

The houses in Chipping Camden were adorable! And most of them are still in residential use. They also all had really spectacular gardens--I wonder if that is a prerequisite to live there? If so, I'd be disqualified immediately.

This particular cottage made me feel like a hobbit. I was so tempted to chuck my shoes and invite myself in to join in on some second breakfast.

Sorry for my long absence here.

Managed a quick trip to Kissimmee Prairie last week and so had to get the prerequisite meadowlark image. This one on Beautyberry. I will try to do some commenting soon, but very busy for another two weeks, so more advance apologies.

I wish you health, dear Ukrainians!

Good weather, which we now almost do not notice. Clear sky... There is no such thing over Kyiv today. Over Kyiv and other cities of our state. Due to missile strikes, traces of enemy aircraft. The streets are quiet, but I know, I believe it's not for long. Not forever. That's why we work. That is why we fight. That's why we don't give what’s ours.

Today we celebrate our purely Ukrainian holiday. Volunteer Day.

It is our ability to instantly unite during ordeals, find common ground and fight together that creates our character, Ukrainian character.

We may not notice each other in everyday life. Agree, this happens to us.

But when we see a threat to our way of life, to our spirit, when we see a threat to Ukraine, our state, we do not hesitate even for a moment. If we are Ukrainians.

We unite. We do everything to protect what’s ours.

Ukrainians do not need to be persuaded to become volunteers. Ukrainians do not need to be encouraged to start helping each other.

Strong support for the Armed Forces by all the people of Ukraine, sincere volunteer movement, mass joining the territorial defense, solidarity of all our people - these are the prerequisites for victory. Prerequisites for the liberation of our entire country... The only and the best.

For us, Ukraine is not just a territory, as for the invaders. They do not distinguish anything here. They do not understand anything. That is why for them everything is just a target.

For us, Ukraine is millions of happy moments, native symbols, memorable places.

We feel this land. For us, Ukraine is our life, and that is why millions of people have come to the defense of our state today. That is why today we are all volunteers. All those who defend Ukraine, our children, those who defend our future.

To all who feel this free call... A call to defend Ukraine... Who are volunteers in battles. Or in the information troops. Who protects roads and cities. All diplomats - official and informal. Everyone who helps with technology. Who keeps the business. Who supplies the necessary goods, products. Who saves and heals under any circumstances. Who works in transport. Who provides communication and repairs networks... I am grateful to everyone. And I sincerely congratulate you!

Each of the volunteers. Each of the millions working together to win.

The 19th day of our resistance.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are holding on bravely. And creatively. We inflict such losses on the enemy that he no longer knows where else to look for reserves. Where else to look for help.

Help for himself. Help for the invader.

This is pathetic.

But we have no right to relax.

The Russian state has been preparing for war for decades. They have accumulated significant military resources. For the evil. For the conquest of neighbors. And for the destruction of Ukraine, Europe, as we know it, as we value it.

That's why we have to hold on. We have to fight. To win. To come to the peace deserved by Ukrainians. Fair peace. With security guarantees for our state. For our people. And to put it on paper. In negotiations. Difficult negotiations.

The video meeting of the delegations has already started today. It continues. Everyone is waiting for the news. We will definitely report in the evening.

As long as the state is at war, as long as the people are defending themselves, the economy must be preserved and restored. As much as possible in the current difficult conditions.

Life must appear on the streets of the cities. Where security allows. Where people can provide it. Pharmacies, trade, any business that can work. For the country to live. For the restoration of Ukraine to already begin. And it depends on each of us, on each of us who is able to work.

Economic suppression of Ukraine is one of the tasks of the war against us. And we have to fight back from that as well. Save our economy. Save our people.

Therefore, the government has received a clear instruction - to return small and medium-sized businesses. Remove any obstacles. Reduce taxes as much as possible, remove all difficulties, absolutely all. So that the system does not press, so that people know that they can work the way they can. Where they can.

A new tax model is needed for the war and for the post-war development. The financial rules also need to be updated. To make people feel that they can be flexible. Feel that all the money and valuables will be saved. And that you shouldn’t be afraid of losing something, because the state guarantees the security of assets and savings.

The Cabinet of Ministers is already working on how to regulate this. A day or two - and there will be details.

Ukrainians!

Russian troops continue to destroy our infrastructure, continue to destroy our cities. Kyiv region, Chernihiv region, Sumy region, Kharkiv, south, Donbas.

But know - we will rebuild everything. We will restore everything. Every street of every city. Every house, every apartment of every Ukrainian. After the war, I'm sure we can do it quickly. We will direct all our efforts to this. All the help of the world. We are already creating funds for Ukraine to live.

But now that the invaders are still on our land, we must beat them as best as we can. Drive them away in any way we can. Defend the cities. Defend the villages. Defend every meter of our land. And every part of our heart. Ukrainian heart. Ukrainian soul.

Help each other! Support each other! Support the defense! And protect the state!

Together we will definitely win.

Glory to Ukraine!

Navigating the Necropolis Corridor: A Pilot's Imperative

Pilots embarking on a transit through the infamous Necropolis Corridor are hereby issued an unequivocal directive: extreme caution is not merely advised, but an absolute prerequisite for survival. This treacherous passage demands the utmost vigilance and adherence to stringent protocols to mitigate the myriad unseen dangers that lurk within its depths.

Firstly, a drastic reduction in speed is not negotiable. Standard cruising velocities must be significantly curtailed, bordering on a crawl, to allow for maximum reaction time. The chaotic gravitational fluctuations and unpredictable energy pockets that characterise the Corridor can incapacitate a vessel in mere seconds if approached with undue haste. This reduced velocity also facilitates a more precise and accurate interpretation of the critical data streams required for navigation.

Secondly, active sensor sweeps are mandatory and continuous. Passive scanning, while useful in open space, is woefully inadequate within the Necropolis. Pilots must engage their most sophisticated active sensor arrays, performing constant, wide-spectrum sweeps to detect the subtle, yet deadly, anomalies that proliferate within the Corridor. These sweeps are the eyes and ears of the ship, revealing nascent energy surges, phantom debris fields, and the faint traces of the elusive navigation markers.

Navigation itself is an exercise in meticulous precision. Pilots are instructed to follow a faint energy signature trail, a shimmering, almost imperceptible thread weaving through the chaotic expanse. This signature is not a beacon, but a subtle distortion in the ambient energy, requiring finely tuned sensors and an acute understanding of its elusive characteristics. Deviating from this trail, even marginally, can lead to immediate catastrophe.

Furthermore, successful passage hinges upon the diligent utilisation of pre-loaded 'survivor' charts. These invaluable cartographic compilations are not mere maps, but detailed analyses of past successful and failed transits, incorporating data gathered over centuries from those who have dared to venture into the Corridor. They contain annotated warning zones, predicted energy fluctuations, and established safe passages – knowledge bought with the lives of countless pioneers.

Finally, and perhaps the most demanding aspect, pilots must be prepared to make careful, manual course adjustments. Automated navigation systems, even the most advanced, are prone to error within the Necropolis's unique environment. The chaotic energy signatures and the dynamic nature of the Corridor necessitate constant human intervention. Every minor shift in the energy trail, every flicker on the sensor display, demands a calculated and precise manual correction to maintain the delicate balance required for survival. This is a journey that demands the pilot's full and unwavering attention, where a moment's lapse can spell the difference between safe passage and becoming another lost soul within the Necropolis Corridor.

Podcast:

www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXaHuXMcUMrhIzfjKlj9clJCOf...

Playlist:

www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXaHuXMcUMrgi9Vms3dSNvqYUC...

Blogger:

www.jjfbbennett.com/2025/07/necropolis-corridor-adventure...

#art #Spacestation #scifi #fictionalworld #story #arthouse #futuristic #spaceadventure #Sanctuary #Revitalisation #Retro #art #metaart

The Shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" soars above the NASA 747 carrier aircraft after separating during the first free flight of the Shuttle Apporach and Landing Tests (ALT) conducted on August 12, 1977 at Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center in Southern California. Astronauts Fred W. Haise Jr., and C. Gordon Fullerton were the crew of the "Enterprise." The ALT free flights are designed to verify Orbiter subsonic airworthiness, integrated systems operations and pilot-guided approach and landing capability and satisfying prerequisites to automatic flight control and navigation mode.

NASA Media Usage Guidelines

Credit: NASA

Image Number: S77-27945

Date: August 12, 1977

It was an autumn day, cool and rain showers were frequent. In my neighboring town I had to do a few completions. Since I always have my camera with me, I looked around the small town to find someone for my photo project. But there was very little activity. Hardly anyone on the street. I was about to give up when I saw a young woman strolling through town with her dog. Both (the young woman and the dog) made a relaxed, friendly impression on me. No rush, no hectic, but very sympathetic. All this aroused my interest. Good prerequisites for addressing someone. I spoke to the young lady in front of an old half-timbered house. I introduced myself and my concerns and met Larissa and her dog Yoshi here in Hachenburg.

Larissa was very interested. After I had explained the meaning and purpose of the project and was also able to show my "The Human Family"-photos on my smartphone, Larissa agreed without hesitation to become part of my/our photo project.

I took the first photos in front of the wall of the half-timbered house. unfortunately the rain started again. So we fled into a house entrancey. We used this rain break to talk to each other and I was able to start my little interview here at this point.

Larissa lives very close to me and works here in Hachenburg at a marketing agency that creates websites, flyers, new logos, etc. for companies. She really enjoys her work, but Larissa wanted to be a veterinarian when she was a little child. But since Larissa is very compassionate, she couldn't get used to the idea of putting animals to sleep.

Larissa describes herself (after some reflection) as spontaneous and honest (which doesn't always go well with her fellow human beings, because some people don't want to hear the truth).

Her friends would describe Larissa as animal loving and loyal. Larissa said, she always takes care of her friends.

Since we are still stuck in the pandemic, even if some people may not see it that way, I had to ask Larissa how she was coping with the Corona period. During Corona Larissa was still studying (media management). The first three semesters were still "normal" studies, e.g. with lectures in the lecture hall. But then Corona came and from that point on everything took place online at home. Asked about her feelings about Corona, Larissa replies that she was very careful at the beginning. In the end it was just annoying. The completion of the study could not be celebrated, the public presentation of certificates after graduation did not take place. The young people have been robbed of so many things that can simply never be made up for. There is no reset button for these important things in a person's life. The vaccinations that took place then persuaded Larissas to go out and meet friends, because after 18 months at home, everyone's blanket falls on their heads. Of course, when Larissa visited her grandparents, she had herself tested beforehand, which was of course good on the one hand. But overall Corona is very drastic and challenging.

What really upsets you about our society was my next question. Larissa: There are, for example, these extreme ways of thinking, these corona deniers who claim that Corona was invented by the state, these people who exclude everyone who is not heterosexual; who believe feminism means being against men; who polemicize against the Covid-19 vaccinations, but who do not really deal with the topics at all, ignore verified facts and science; who live in their tangled bubble and only take on the outlandish thoughts of the haters unthinkingly.

In contrast, Larissa makes happy to go out, of course with her dog Yoshi. Larissa likes to take photos, mostly of her dog, but also of others. (Later Larissa showed me her animal photos on her smartphone; have a look here: www.instagram.com/sekundenbruchteile_). Happiness is also: Get out, get in the car and drive away. The feeling of freedom makes Larissa happy.

When I asked what Larissa couldn't do without (e.g. on a lonely island), Larissa answered without a millisecond's hesitation: I can't live without my dog; because there (on the island) my mobile phone wouldn't work anyway, then I take a good book instead. (for example actually Larissa has two books written by Sebastian Fitzek on her list to read)

Of course, Larissa is also interested in music. Here she is not tied to one genre of music, she can get enthusiastic about almost any genre of music. It's a matter of personal momentary phase. At the moment Larissa has a weakness for German rock, together with her friend. Larissa may not have a favorite song, but there is one song that means a lot to her, and that's Rod Stewart's "Sailing." This was Larissa's mom's favorite song, and she was buried with it and that's why Larissa connects a lot with this song and has a high emotional meaning..

If you could choose anyone in the world, who would you invite to dinner at your home?. And why? Larissa's answer: First of all, of course, my mom. But if I leave that out, it's someone like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, who has done a lot in their life and has a lot of exciting stories to tell, but who has also made a lot of mistakes. In other words, people who polarize and therefore have a lot to tell.

Larissa's biggest challenges in her young life were certainly studying under Covid-19 conditions and then of course the death of her mother. Larissa had to take care of her brother, her mother's friends, especially her mother's best female friend and her grandmother. Larissa had a lot to do, taking care of everyone and being there for the others.

Where do you want to be in 10 years? (this does not necessarily mean a place, but a life goal, a life dream, a perspective), I asked Larissa. Answer: preferably a house with a nice big garden. The rest will come up, I'm not looking at the moment.

What is your favorite place? Larissa likes to be by the sea without wanting to commit to a specific sea. She likes to discover new places and tries to explore the world together with Yoshi.

Larissa's motto in life is to think always, no matter what happens, I don't know what it's good for. Even if it is a bad stroke of fate, maybe after 10 years the realization can come, that this has led to having achieved something specific, new, hopefully positive. Of course, you don't know if it would have been better the other way around. E.g. a separation from a partner; it's painful, but maybe in 10 years I'll think, fortunately there was a breakup, otherwise I wouldn't have what I have now.

Larissa's advice to the people of her generation: not so much criticizing other people and dealing with their mistakes, but focusing better on yourself, pursuing your own goals better than looking at what others are doing.

In the meantime it had stopped raining again. So we could continue taking pictures. Because Larissa had no time pressure and was totally relaxed and open-minded, we decided to continue shooting at another location in Hachenburg. It was really nice, Larissa obviously enjoyed being in front of the camera. We tried out several settings and backgrounds and everyone involved (including Yoshi) enjoyed our little spontaneous shoot.

Thank you, dear Larissa, for your trust, your patience and the time you invested in my photo project after you finished work. It was a lot of fun for me and I'm glad that we had the opportunity to talk and take pictures in such a relaxed and open-minded way. Thank youuuu so much.

This is my 84th post to my project "The Human Family". (Before that I already had 100 interesting encounters in the course of my photo project and the group "100 Strangers") You can find more photos of other photographers in the community "The Human Family" here:

www.flickr.com/groups/thehumanfamily/

Biography

Jørgen Gudmundsen-Holmgreen grew up in a home where the whole family was artistically gifted. His education as a sculptor was atypical, just after graduating in 1913 he became a trainee with Anders Bundgaard, with whom he remained until 1915. Two months late in 1913 he was sent down to Anne-Marie Carl Nielsen in Hanover to help her with the enlargement of the horse to Christian IX's equestrian statue, and the same year he saw an archaic male torso in Berlin, which made a deep impression. From this originated his study of Greek sculpture, which became an essential prerequisite for his interpretation of the young figure, the pervasive main motif in all his later art. Without directly imitating the Greco-Archaic accuracy and moderation with detail, its form of expression became characteristic of his own sculpture. His main work Josef from 1939 is a culmination of many years of immersion in the young figure. His many portrait busts testify to a pronounced sense of the physiognomic characteristic, such as in the noble portrait of Hadi, and as the years passed, there was also a growing interest in the psychological expression. In 1947 he was in Tunis, and a large number of experienced, small sketches of Arabs show a new, intuitive side of his art. He received several official assignments during those years and was a frequent exhibitor at the Free Exhibition, where he joined in 1940.

A trip to Knysna Heads is a prerequisite for first time visitors to Knysna. Two dramatic sea cliffs guard the entrance to the lagoon from the surging ocean. The Eastern Head has a lookout with spectacular views of the lagoon, Leisure Isle and Knysna. The Western Head is primarily a privately owned nature reserve reached only by ferry – Featherbed Nature Reserve. Four-hour excursions depart daily from the Knysna Waterfront.

© All rights reserved !!!!!

24.may.2010 - 597 / 75 / 370 / 2 galleries

just back from an outside walk on a sunny pentecost sunday !

hope you all had time to enjoy the fresh colors of this may day and the singing birds and frogs :-) every where !

– thank you for your always appreciated comments –

.........................................................................................................

- Creating the Future -Welcome to the Age of Interaction -

Future is something that is created. Every idea you have about the future influences your perception of what you will create and of what is possible to be created.

Let's focus on the changes on a global level based on the exiting and powerful experiences that we have as individuals, such as:

* Self-determination: it is so important to feel who you are, to appreciate yourself, to know what you want. That gives you the power to DO.

Acknowledging our differences and developing our individual talents, interests and skills is a prerequisite to making our input valuable for all around us and ourselves as well.

* Allowing your flow: With our opening to so many more avenues of information it is impossible to understand with our reasoning alone. We have to use our intuition. We stay in the now not to overwhelm ourselves. We allow our identity to change and to shift from analyzing to following impulses and doing.

* Interconnectedness: We are no longer anxiously holding to our energy not wanting to interact. We feel safe. It is so natural for us to take care of others. The future is female.

* Trust: Allowing things to unfold. Knowing that you will not harm yourself.

* YCYR: You create your reality. You do not create the reality of other individuals. You experience that you create your reality.

Join me in my exploration of how are we going to live in 2075.

Elias Quote Session 917: There is no aspect of your reality that is impossible to be manifest, regardless of how impossible it appears.

www.eliasweb.at/future/

.

On Explore! December 5, 2007! #403

Thank you very much to all of you my dear Flickr friends for your so kind comments!

Last News:

I'd an apparition near my Wild River... an interview by an angel...!!! :)))

angiereal.blogspot.com/2007/11/interview-with-my-flickr-f...

My wild river reflection!

What a beautiful third eye she had the little Queen of my wild river!!! :)))

Acceptance, openness, responsiveness, flexibility… prerequisite to be the host of the little Queen who lives in us… to peacefully observe the glory of her Kingdom! Building on the vision of others to address the narrowness of his own views… smallness becomes greatness… According to the Tao… the greatness through the humility!

Reflet de ma rivière sauvage!

Quel troisième œil elle a la petite Reine de ma rivière sauvage!!! :)))

Acceptation, ouverture, réceptivité, souplesse… condition indispensable pour être l’hôte de la petite Reine qui vit en chacun de nous … pour pouvoir observer paisiblement la gloire de son Royaume! S’appuyer sur la vision d’autrui pour remédier à l’étroitesse de ses propres vues… la petitesse devient grandeur… Selon le Tao … la grandeur par la voie de l’humilité!

Kleine Queen of Hearts… Juliane Werding!!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCj6Tkmxbw

Why wait for your awakening ? Do you value your reasons for staying small more than the light shinning through the open door? Forgive yourself, Now is the only time you have to be whole. Now is the sole moment that exists to live in the light of your true nature. Perfection is not a prerequisite for anything but pain. Please don't continue to believe in your stories of deficiency and failure. This is the day of your awakening #Poem by Danna Faulds

End of a year, and the prerequisite wrap up... and as I do these the more they fill me with Dread ...

It used to be exciting, a time to go back and look at all the incredible builds by everyone, and a retrospectively look at your own builds .... But as the time goes on and the quantity (and quality?) decline as with the time and ability to devote to building....

While I'm still super happy with some builds, others far less (cough SHIPtember cough) sometimes I why to keep going ? ... then it's posts like Mel, that remind me what it's all about - not the gifts - haha - but the people... they're the literal manifestation of the Hobby.

And it's NOT a solo hobby for me. It can be solo, but for me it's the people that makes all of this so fun.... it's the....

Building.

Sharing.

Learning,

Building with others.

Random road trips.

ESCAPE ROOMS

Even more random trips to other people's grandparents (twice!)

Beer.

Fried Chicken.

And as I look upon items given to me in 2017, and remember fondly the friends that would entrust me with their preciouses. and remember all the good times ...

You guys/gals are freaking AWESOME.

Thank you all so much for making my 2017 kick ass.

Light is fascinating stuff. Physical matter reflects different wavelengths of light which our eyes and brains perceive as shades and colors. Hence, we have sight. But our concept of sight is wholly dependent upon what we see, or how we see perhaps is more accurate. But to think that something doesn't necessarily have a color, that it's color is a product of the light reflected or transmitted by the object gets a bit mind-bending. The sky isn't blue, it just reflects lots of blue light... most of the time.

Photography has taught me to think a lot more about light. I had an instructor ask me once what I thought the latent image on an exposed but undeveloped piece of film looked like. You know, say you could somehow expose a frame of your film, causing the silver molecules in the emulsion to react as they do, but then somehow be able to see the effect of that reaction without exposing the film to the light necessary for us to be able to perceive the physical state of the negative. It's sort of a chicken-or-egg conversation, we're talking about a pre-negative negative. We cannot see that latent image of course. Introducing the necessary light to see it would change it immediately. And would it even look any different? Who knows. We see what we see, and only that I suppose.

Until you introduce cameras into the equation. See, cameras see too. They are like a new set of eyes... in a not-entirely-figurative sense of the word. Most of the time, cameras behave pretty much the same as our eyes do. But sometimes they operate a bit differently, take infrared and orthochromatic as two examples. I would count pinhole as a third on a list that could grow pretty long if you let it.

This image is an illustration of how the world didn't look to me. Oh, it looked close, but it was still a different world. My eyes bend and receive light differently than that little wooden box I carry around. My eyes certainly don't flare like this. I couldn't see those spectral ghosts dancing around in front of me, but they must have existed because my camera can see them. And that sometimes is one of the trickiest things about photography: photographing that which you cannot see. Because it does exist. Sight is not a prerequisite for existence after all. And the world is much deeper than the shallow depths to which our eyes allow us to explore.

Thankfully, we have cameras.

Norskprodusert kombi-bil som i 1986 ble lansert av drammenserne Lars Harald Heggen og Rune Bjørkevik, som etablerte firmaet Norsk Bilproduksjon A/S. Veidirektoratet og Finansdepartementet godkjente bilen som kombi-bil, noe som var en forutsetning for lønnsom produksjon. Planen var å produsere 1.000 biler årlig f.o.m. 1993. Prisen var tenkt satt til kr. 160.000, senere justert til kr. 199.000. Bilen var planlagt med Chrysler motor, styring og hjuloppheng m.m., mens aluminiumsramme og plastkarosseri skulle produseres ved Norsk Hydro. Det første eksemplar av bilen, bestilt av SINTEF i Trondheim, var ferdig bygget i 1993. Finansieringsproblemer medførte at Norsk Bilproduksjon A/S, som hadde flyttet til Fredrikstad, ble slått konkurs samme år. Det ble bygget to ferdige biler og en halvferdig. Bilene ble stående hjemme i hagen til Lars Harald Heggen.

I 2014 ble en av de ferdige, men svært medtatte bilene, fraktet til Norsk Motorhistorisk Senter på Burud i Øvre Eiker som drives av Motorhistorisk Klubb Drammen. Der ble den restaurert på dugnad, finansiert av lokalt næringsliv og bidrag fra private. I 2020 fikk klubben klarsignal fra Vegdirektoratet om at bilen kan registreres, av kulturhistoriske årsaker.

Norwegian-produced station wagon which in 1986 was launched by the people of Drammen Lars Harald Heggen and Rune Bjørkevik, who established the company Norsk Bilproduksjon A / S. The Norwegian Road Directorate and the Ministry of Finance approved the car as a station wagon, which was a prerequisite for profitable production. The plan was to produce 1,000 cars annually f.o.m. 1993. The price was intended to be set at NOK 160,000, later adjusted to NOK 199,000. The car was planned with a Chrysler engine, steering and wheel suspension, etc., while the aluminum frame and plastic body were to be produced at Norsk Hydro. The first copy of the car, ordered by SINTEF in Trondheim, was completed in 1993. Financing problems led to Norsk Bilproduksjon A / S, which had moved to Fredrikstad, being declared bankrupt the same year. Two finished cars and a half-finished one were built. The cars were left at home in Lars Harald Heggen's garden.

In 2014, one of the finished, but very included cars, was transported to the Norwegian Motor History Center at Burud in Øvre Eiker, which is run by the Motor History Club Drammen. There it was restored on a voluntary basis, financed by local businesses and contributions from private individuals. In 2020, the club received a clear signal from the Norwegian Road Directorate that the car can be registered, for cultural-historical reasons.

A prerequisite for attempting a sunset shoot over the last of the winter ice at the beach is boots - as my smarter half is clearly demonstrating here. Mine were at home, conveniently placed to grab on the way out.........and forgotten. So I was the one with the wet feet.

Last time i came in Awash area, i thought the people i saw on the road were Afars. Great mistake! They are Karayu (aka Karrayyu), and are not friends at all with Afars. The Karrayyu are a pastoralist tribe from Ethiopia living in the Awash Valley, around the volcano of Mount Fentale and the Metehara Plain. They belong to the larger ethnic group of the Oromos, who represent the majority (32%) of the ethiopian population. It is said the Karrayyu arrived in the area 200 hundreds years ago, during the so called « great expansion », of the Oromo, during which Oromo settled in different parts of Ethiopia,. This led to cultural diversification. In spite of local differences between those subgroups, they share the same Cushistic language (Afaan Oromo) religion (Waaqeffata) and governance system (Gada). The Karrayyu are one of the last Oromo ethnic subgroups to follow these rules and to preserve the original Oromo lifestyle and culture, and its pastoralist way of life.

There are only 10 000 to 55 000 Karrayyus (because of their nomadic lifestyle it is difficult to have precise figures) whereas they used to be 200 000 at the beginning of the 20th century. Karrayyu are on the verge of instinction. Such a drop was due to the persecutions the Oromos, including the Karrayyu people had to face during Menelik’s II reign (1889-1913). This emperor, from the Amhara ethnic group led the unification of Ethiopia, and imposed the Amhara rule to the Oromos. Later, during the 20th century, the Karrayyu were deprived of most of their lands because of the establishment of national parks and modern farms. In the last four decades, Karrayyu’s were dispossed from 70 per cent of their land, including their shrines, by the government to make sugar and cotton plantations.

Struggle for grazing lands and water resources is a constant and daily challenge for the Karrayyus. This results in conflicts with neighbouring tribes such as the Afar or the Argoba, but also with some other Oromos ethnic subgroups such as the Arsi Oromo. Clashes between herders from these tribes are pretty common, and sometimes people even get shot. Incidents occur about the possession or when some herders raid the cattle from another tribe. Last years these conflicts have intensified as the number of available grazing lands has cut down. Indeed, overgrazing (involved by the recent of growth of the area’s population) leads to soil erosion. The degradation of the rangelands intensifies the pratice of cattle raiding which is already deeply rooted in the culture of the tribes in this area. Some grazing lands have even been abandoned by the Karrayyus in fear of violent conflicts.

Unfortunately the Karrayyu are also famous for the female genital cutting the women have to face and suffer from. According to the 2005 Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey, more than 74 per cent of women between the age of 15 and 49 have undergone some form of genital mutilation and cutting.. Parents believe this practice guarantees their young daughter’s virginity, which is a prerequisite for an honourable marriage.

© Eric Lafforgue

www.ericlafforgue.com

The sparrow project is an attempt to improve my bird story telling along with honing eye hand/AF coordination skills using a common subject readily available. The subjects must be in motion as a prerequisite since shooting ducks in a barrel is just no sport at all.

I was spurred into the project due to my complete dissatisfaction of prior attempts while on a trip to Tanzania. Learning the delicate balance between shutter speed, proper long lens techniques, iso settings and AF modes is a challenge for something just slightly slower than a speeding bullet.

This will be ongoing to support my next African adventure later this year.

See me also at instagram.com/charlesgyoung/

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe is located about 3 miles north of Wick on the east coast of Caithness, Scotland. It is considered to be one of the earliest seats of Clan Sinclair. It comprises the ruins of two castles: the 15th-century Castle Girnigoe; and the early 17th-century Castle Sinclair. They are designated as a scheduled monument.

The earlier Castle Girnigoe was built by William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness, probably sometime between 1476 and 1496, but certainly before his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. There is some evidence to suggest that the castle was built on the foundations of an earlier fortalice.

In 1577, George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness, imprisoned his own son John Sinclair, Master of Caithness, in Castle Girnigoe, on suspicion of rebelling against his rule. He was held there for seven years, after which his father fed him a diet of salted beef, with nothing to drink, so that he eventually died insane from thirst. The rebel Earl of Bothwell was at Girnigoe in December 1594.

Expansion occurred in 1606 when Castle Sinclair was built, comprising a gatehouse and other buildings, along with a curtain wall. These were connected to the earlier castle by a drawbridge over a ravine. The same year George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness, requested the Scottish Parliament to change the name to Castle Sinclair, but because the names Castle Sinclair and Castle Girnigoe were both written down in 1700, both names have been in use since.

Robert Sinclair describes Girnigoe as "an adapted 5-storey L-plan crow-stepped gabled tower house, which sat upon a rocky promontory jutting out into Sinclair Bay. Of interest is the secret chamber in the vaulted ceiling of the kitchen."

In 1672, George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness, was in heavy debt to his fourth cousin, John Campbell of Glenorchy, and transferred the castle to Campbell as payment. When Sinclair died four years later with no heir, Campbell claimed the title Earl of Caithness and married Sinclair's widow. However, Sinclair's first cousin, George Sinclair of Keiss, challenged Campbell's title. This resulted in the Battle of Altimarlach in which Campbell defeated Sinclair in 1680. Glenorchy and some of his troops remained in Caithness for some time and levied rents and taxes on the people, subjecting them to the most grievous oppression. He sent the remainder home immediately after the battle. However, George Sinclair of Keiss continued his opposition and laid siege, with firearms and artillery, to Castle Sinclair Girnigoe which he took after feeble resistance from the garrison. As a result, he and his three friends who had assisted him, Sinclair of Broynach, Sinclair of Thura and Mackay of Strathnaver were declared rebels. The political current having turned in favor of Sinclair of Keiss however, this was quashed. Having failed to regain his inheritance by force, Sinclair of Keiss then turned to the law.[9] Through the influence of the Duke of York and afterwards James II, he took his place as 7th Earl of Caithness on 15 July 1681, and his lands were restored on 23 September. Campbell of Glenorchy was made Earl of Breadalbane by way of compensation.

The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.

The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. During the 18th and early 19th centuries the population of the Highlands rose to around 300,000, but from c. 1841 and for the next 160 years, the natural increase in population was exceeded by emigration (mostly to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and migration to the industrial cities of Scotland and England.) and passim  The area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. At 9.1/km2 (24/sq mi) in 2012, the population density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole.

The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness. However, the Highlands also includes parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.

The Scottish Highlands is the only area in the British Isles to have the taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest: see Caledonian Forest. It is the most mountainous part of the United Kingdom.

Between the 15th century and the mid-20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd, because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, although the language is now largely confined to The Hebrides. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English (in its Highland form) is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent. Historically, the "Highland line" distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north, cutting off the north-eastern areas, that is Eastern Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, from the more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides.

Historically, the major social unit of the Highlands was the clan. Scottish kings, particularly James VI, saw clans as a challenge to their authority; the Highlands was seen by many as a lawless region. The Scots of the Lowlands viewed the Highlanders as backward and more "Irish". The Highlands were seen as the overspill of Gaelic Ireland. They made this distinction by separating Germanic "Scots" English and the Gaelic by renaming it "Erse" a play on Eire. Following the Union of the Crowns, James VI had the military strength to back up any attempts to impose some control. The result was, in 1609, the Statutes of Iona which started the process of integrating clan leaders into Scottish society. The gradual changes continued into the 19th century, as clan chiefs thought of themselves less as patriarchal leaders of their people and more as commercial landlords. The first effect on the clansmen who were their tenants was the change to rents being payable in money rather than in kind. Later, rents were increased as Highland landowners sought to increase their income. This was followed, mostly in the period 1760–1850, by agricultural improvement that often (particularly in the Western Highlands) involved clearance of the population to make way for large scale sheep farms. Displaced tenants were set up in crofting communities in the process. The crofts were intended not to provide all the needs of their occupiers; they were expected to work in other industries such as kelping and fishing. Crofters came to rely substantially on seasonal migrant work, particularly in the Lowlands. This gave impetus to the learning of English, which was seen by many rural Gaelic speakers to be the essential "language of work".

Older historiography attributes the collapse of the clan system to the aftermath of the Jacobite risings. This is now thought less influential by historians. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government enacted a series of laws to try to suppress the clan system, including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan, and limitations on the activities of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Most of this legislation was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided. There was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815). Tartan had largely been abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, and further popularised by the works of Walter Scott. His "staging" of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and the king's wearing of tartan resulted in a massive upsurge in demand for kilts and tartans that could not be met by the Scottish woollen industry. Individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. This "Highlandism", by which all of Scotland was identified with the culture of the Highlands, was cemented by Queen Victoria's interest in the country, her adoption of Balmoral as a major royal retreat, and her interest in "tartenry".

Recurrent famine affected the Highlands for much of its history, with significant instances as late as 1817 in the Eastern Highlands and the early 1850s in the West.  Over the 18th century, the region had developed a trade of black cattle into Lowland markets, and this was balanced by imports of meal into the area. There was a critical reliance on this trade to provide sufficient food, and it is seen as an essential prerequisite for the population growth that started in the 18th century. Most of the Highlands, particularly in the North and West was short of the arable land that was essential for the mixed, run rig based, communal farming that existed before agricultural improvement was introduced into the region.[a] Between the 1760s and the 1830s there was a substantial trade in unlicensed whisky that had been distilled in the Highlands. Lowland distillers (who were not able to avoid the heavy taxation of this product) complained that Highland whisky made up more than half the market. The development of the cattle trade is taken as evidence that the pre-improvement Highlands was not an immutable system, but did exploit the economic opportunities that came its way.  The illicit whisky trade demonstrates the entrepreneurial ability of the peasant classes. 

Agricultural improvement reached the Highlands mostly over the period 1760 to 1850. Agricultural advisors, factors, land surveyors and others educated in the thinking of Adam Smith were keen to put into practice the new ideas taught in Scottish universities.  Highland landowners, many of whom were burdened with chronic debts, were generally receptive to the advice they offered and keen to increase the income from their land.  In the East and South the resulting change was similar to that in the Lowlands, with the creation of larger farms with single tenants, enclosure of the old run rig fields, introduction of new crops (such as turnips), land drainage and, as a consequence of all this, eviction, as part of the Highland clearances, of many tenants and cottars. Some of those cleared found employment on the new, larger farms, others moved to the accessible towns of the Lowlands.

In the West and North, evicted tenants were usually given tenancies in newly created crofting communities, while their former holdings were converted into large sheep farms. Sheep farmers could pay substantially higher rents than the run rig farmers and were much less prone to falling into arrears. Each croft was limited in size so that the tenants would have to find work elsewhere. The major alternatives were fishing and the kelp industry. Landlords took control of the kelp shores, deducting the wages earned by their tenants from the rent due and retaining the large profits that could be earned at the high prices paid for the processed product during the Napoleonic wars.

When the Napoleonic wars finished in 1815, the Highland industries were affected by the return to a peacetime economy. The price of black cattle fell, nearly halving between 1810 and the 1830s. Kelp prices had peaked in 1810, but reduced from £9 a ton in 1823 to £3 13s 4d a ton in 1828. Wool prices were also badly affected.  This worsened the financial problems of debt-encumbered landlords. Then, in 1846, potato blight arrived in the Highlands, wiping out the essential subsistence crop for the overcrowded crofting communities. As the famine struck, the government made clear to landlords that it was their responsibility to provide famine relief for their tenants. The result of the economic downturn had been that a large proportion of Highland estates were sold in the first half of the 19th century. T M Devine points out that in the region most affected by the potato famine, by 1846, 70 per cent of the landowners were new purchasers who had not owned Highland property before 1800. More landlords were obliged to sell due to the cost of famine relief. Those who were protected from the worst of the crisis were those with extensive rental income from sheep farms.  Government loans were made available for drainage works, road building and other improvements and many crofters became temporary migrants – taking work in the Lowlands. When the potato famine ceased in 1856, this established a pattern of more extensive working away from the Highlands.

The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional and controversial subject, of enormous importance to the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters were politically powerless, and many of them turned to religion. They embraced the popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to the landlords in the 1880s through the Highland Land League. Violence erupted, starting on the Isle of Skye, when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quietened when the government stepped in, passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. This contrasted with the Irish Land War underway at the same time, where the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders in the "crofting counties"; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and the creation of a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party gained their votes.

Today, the Highlands are the largest of Scotland's whisky producing regions; the relevant area runs from Orkney to the Isle of Arran in the south and includes the northern isles and much of Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll, Stirlingshire, Arran, as well as sections of Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. (Other sources treat The Islands, except Islay, as a separate whisky producing region.) This massive area has over 30 distilleries, or 47 when the Islands sub-region is included in the count. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Balvenie. While Speyside is geographically within the Highlands, that region is specified as distinct in terms of whisky productions. Speyside single malt whiskies are produced by about 50 distilleries.

According to Visit Scotland, Highlands whisky is "fruity, sweet, spicy, malty". Another review states that Northern Highlands single malt is "sweet and full-bodied", the Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands whiskies tend to be "lighter in texture" while the distilleries in the Western Highlands produce single malts with a "much peatier influence".

The Scottish Reformation achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and the efforts of Franciscan missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass. There remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart and Morar on the mainland and South Uist and Barra in the southern Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to the efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church.

For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, belonging to the Church of Scotland. In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have an exceptionally high proportion of their population belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Outer Hebrides have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and the surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland. The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other parts of Scotland. Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in the Hebrides.

In traditional Scottish geography, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are often excluded as they do not share the distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness, as well as Orkney and Shetland, are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides are usually included. The Highland area, as so defined, differed from the Lowlands in language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation of the latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire, the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road near the village of Dinnet on Royal Deeside which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to the east of this point.

A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch whisky industry. Highland single malts are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee and Greenock, thus including all of Aberdeenshire and Angus.

Inverness is regarded as the Capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and Stirlingshire which look more to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, and Stirling as their commercial centres.

The Highland Council area, created as one of the local government regions of Scotland, has been a unitary council area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness. Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in the former Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern is also used to refer to the area, as in the former Northern Constabulary. These former bodies both covered the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral region called Highlands and Islands is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern, as in Northern Constabulary, refers to the same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service.

There have been trackways from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth, a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven. The most well-known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth, Elsick Mounth, Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth.

Although most of the Highlands is geographically on the British mainland, it is somewhat less accessible than the rest of Britain; thus most UK couriers categorise it separately, alongside Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and other offshore islands. They thus charge additional fees for delivery to the Highlands, or exclude the area entirely. While the physical remoteness from the largest population centres inevitably leads to higher transit cost, there is confusion and consternation over the scale of the fees charged and the effectiveness of their communication, and the use of the word Mainland in their justification. Since the charges are often based on postcode areas, many far less remote areas, including some which are traditionally considered part of the lowlands, are also subject to these charges. Royal Mail is the only delivery network bound by a Universal Service Obligation to charge a uniform tariff across the UK. This, however, applies only to mail items and not larger packages which are dealt with by its Parcelforce division.

The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross.

These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil. The Great Glen is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.

The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.

Climate

The region is much warmer than other areas at similar latitudes (such as Kamchatka in Russia, or Labrador in Canada) because of the Gulf Stream making it cool, damp and temperate. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfb" at low altitudes, then becoming "Cfc", "Dfc" and "ET" at higher altitudes.

Places of interest

An Teallach

Aonach Mòr (Nevis Range ski centre)

Arrochar Alps

Balmoral Castle

Balquhidder

Battlefield of Culloden

Beinn Alligin

Beinn Eighe

Ben Cruachan hydro-electric power station

Ben Lomond

Ben Macdui (second highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Ben Nevis (highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorm Ski centre near Aviemore

Cairngorm Mountains

Caledonian Canal

Cape Wrath

Carrick Castle

Castle Stalker

Castle Tioram

Chanonry Point

Conic Hill

Culloden Moor

Dunadd

Duart Castle

Durness

Eilean Donan

Fingal's Cave (Staffa)

Fort George

Glen Coe

Glen Etive

Glen Kinglas

Glen Lyon

Glen Orchy

Glenshee Ski Centre

Glen Shiel

Glen Spean

Glenfinnan (and its railway station and viaduct)

Grampian Mountains

Hebrides

Highland Folk Museum – The first open-air museum in the UK.

Highland Wildlife Park

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Jail

Inverness Castle

Inverewe Garden

Iona Abbey

Isle of Staffa

Kilchurn Castle

Kilmartin Glen

Liathach

Lecht Ski Centre

Loch Alsh

Loch Ard

Loch Awe

Loch Assynt

Loch Earn

Loch Etive

Loch Fyne

Loch Goil

Loch Katrine

Loch Leven

Loch Linnhe

Loch Lochy

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

Loch Lubnaig

Loch Maree

Loch Morar

Loch Morlich

Loch Ness

Loch Nevis

Loch Rannoch

Loch Tay

Lochranza

Luss

Meall a' Bhuiridh (Glencoe Ski Centre)

Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Loch Creran

Rannoch Moor

Red Cuillin

Rest and Be Thankful stretch of A83

River Carron, Wester Ross

River Spey

River Tay

Ross and Cromarty

Smoo Cave

Stob Coire a' Chàirn

Stac Polly

Strathspey Railway

Sutherland

Tor Castle

Torridon Hills

Urquhart Castle

West Highland Line (scenic railway)

West Highland Way (Long-distance footpath)

Wester Ross

The penchant of questioning everything is a prerequisite for anyone nurtured in the scientific method, as I was. Even St. Paul said "test everything".

And yet, there are times when rational thought is not enough. Sometimes we just have to believe in something enough to allow us to enter through that portal into the unknown land beyond, as these children are about to do.

After all, we read "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”.

Rational? Not hardly. Crucial at times? You bet.

Press L please

The Mount Elliott Mining Complex is an aggregation of the remnants of copper mining and smelting operations from the early 20th century and the associated former mining township of Selwyn. The earliest copper mining at Mount Elliott was in 1906 with smelting operations commencing shortly after. Significant upgrades to the mining and smelting operations occurred under the management of W.R. Corbould during 1909 - 1910. Following these upgrades and increases in production, the Selwyn Township grew quickly and had 1500 residents by 1918. The Mount Elliott Company took over other companies on the Cloncurry field in the 1920s, including the Mount Cuthbert and Kuridala smelters. Mount Elliott operations were taken over by Mount Isa Mines in 1943 to ensure the supply of copper during World War Two. The Mount Elliott Company was eventually liquidated in 1953.

The Mount Elliott Smelter:

The existence of copper in the Leichhardt River area of north western Queensland had been known since Ernest Henry discovered the Great Australia Mine in 1867 at Cloncurry. In 1899 James Elliott discovered copper on the conical hill that became Mount Elliott, but having no capital to develop the mine, he sold an interest to James Morphett, a pastoralist of Fort Constantine station near Cloncurry. Morphett, being drought stricken, in turn sold out to John Moffat of Irvinebank, the most successful mining promoter in Queensland at the time.

Plentiful capital and cheap transport were prerequisites for developing the Cloncurry field, which had stagnated for forty years. Without capital it was impossible to explore and prove ore-bodies; without proof of large reserves of wealth it was futile to build a railway; and without a railway it was hazardous to invest capital in finding large reserves of ore. The mining investor or the railway builder had to break the impasse.

In 1906 - 1907 copper averaged £87 a ton on the London market, the highest price for thirty years, and the Cloncurry field grew. The railway was extended west of Richmond in 1905 - 1906 by the Government and mines were floated on the Melbourne Stock Exchange. At Mount Elliott a prospecting shaft had been sunk and on the 1st of August 1906 a Cornish boiler and winding plant were installed on the site.

Mount Elliott Limited was floated in Melbourne on the 13th of July 1906. In 1907 it was taken over by British and French interests and restructured. Combining with its competitor, Hampden Cloncurry Copper Mines Limited, Mount Elliott formed a special company to finance and construct the railway from Cloncurry to Malbon, Kuridala (then Friezeland) and Mount Elliott (later Selwyn). This new company then entered into an agreement with the Queensland Railways Department in July 1908.

The railway, which was known as the 'Syndicate Railway', aroused opposition in 1908 from the trade unions and Labor movement generally, who contended that railways should be State-owned. However, the Hampden-Mount Elliott Railway Bill was passed by the Queensland Parliament and assented to on the 21st of April 1908; construction finished in December 1910. The railway terminated at the Mount Elliott smelter.

By 1907 the main underlie shaft had been sunk and construction of the smelters was underway using a second-hand water-jacket blast furnace and converters. At this time, W.H. Corbould was appointed general manager of Mount Elliott Limited.

The second-hand blast furnace and converters were commissioned or 'blown in' in May 1909, but were problematic causing hold-ups. Corbould referred to the equipment in use as being the 'worst collection of worn-out junk he had ever come across'. Corbould soon convinced his directors to scrap the plant and let him design new works.

Corbould was a metallurgist and geologist as well as mine/smelter manager. He foresaw a need to obtain control and thereby ensure a reliable supply of ore from a cross-section of mines in the region. He also saw a need to implement an effective strategy to manage the economies of smelting low-grade ore. Smelting operations in the region were made difficult by the technical and economic problems posed by the deterioration in the grade of ore. Corbould resolved the issue by a process of blending ores with different chemical properties, increasing the throughput capacity of the smelter and by championing the unification of smelting operations in the region. In 1912, Corbould acquired Hampden Consols Mine at Kuridala for Mount Elliott Limited, followed with the purchases of other small mines in the district.

Walkers Limited of Maryborough was commissioned to manufacture a new 200 ton water jacket furnace for the smelters. An air compressor and blower for the smelters were constructed in the powerhouse and an electric motor and dynamo provided power for the crane and lighting for the smelter and mine.

The new smelter was blown in September 1910, a month after the first train arrived, and it ran well, producing 2040 tons of blister copper by the end of the year. The new smelting plant made it possible to cope with low-grade sulphide ores at Mount Elliott. The use of 1000 tons of low-grade sulphide ores bought from the Hampden Consols Mine in 1911 made it clear that if a supply of higher sulphur ore could be obtained and blended, performance, and economy would improve. Accordingly, the company bought a number of smaller mines in the district in 1912.

Corbould mined with cut and fill stoping but a young Mines Inspector condemned the system, ordered it dismantled and replaced with square set timbering. In 1911, after gradual movement in stopes on the No. 3 level, the smelter was closed for two months. Nevertheless, 5447 tons of blister copper was produced in 1911, rising to 6690 tons in 1912 - the company's best year. Many of the surviving structures at the site were built at this time.

Troubles for Mount Elliott started in 1913. In February, a fire at the Consols Mine closed it for months. In June, a thirteen week strike closed the whole operation, severely depleting the workforce. The year 1913 was also bad for industrial accidents in the area, possibly due to inexperienced people replacing the strikers. Nevertheless, the company paid generous dividends that year.

At the end of 1914 smelting ceased for more than a year due to shortage of ore. Although 3200 tons of blister copper was produced in 1913, production fell to 1840 tons in 1914 and the workforce dwindled to only 40 men. For the second half of 1915 and early 1916 the smelter treated ore railed south from Mount Cuthbert. At the end of July 1916 the smelting plant at Selwyn was dismantled except for the flue chambers and stacks. A new furnace with a capacity of 500 tons per day was built, a large amount of second-hand equipment was obtained and the converters were increased in size.

After the enlarged furnace was commissioned in June 1917, continuing industrial unrest retarded production which amounted to only 1000 tons of copper that year. The point of contention was the efficiency of the new smelter which processed twice as much ore while employing fewer men. The company decided to close down the smelter in October and reduce the size of the furnace, the largest in Australia, from 6.5m to 5.5m. In the meantime the price of copper had almost doubled from 1916 due to wartime consumption of munitions.

The new furnace commenced on the 16th of January 1918 and 77,482 tons of ore were smelted yielding 3580 tons of blister copper which were sent to the Bowen refinery before export to Britain. Local coal and coke supply was a problem and materials were being sourced from the distant Bowen Colliery. The smelter had a good run for almost a year except for a strike in July and another in December, which caused Corbould to close down the plant until New Year. In 1919, following relaxation of wartime controls by the British Metal Corporation, the copper price plunged from about £110 per ton at the start of the year to £75 per ton in April, dashing the company's optimism regarding treatment of low grade ores. The smelter finally closed after two months operation and most employees were laid off.

For much of the period 1919 to 1922, Corbould was in England trying to raise capital to reorganise the company's operations but he failed and resigned from the company in 1922. The Mount Elliott Company took over the assets of the other companies on the Cloncurry field in the 1920s - Mount Cuthbert in 1925 and Kuridala in 1926. Mount Isa Mines bought the Mount Elliott plant and machinery, including the three smelters, in 1943 for £2,300, enabling them to start copper production in the middle of the Second World War. The Mount Elliott Company was finally liquidated in 1953.

In 1950 A.E. Powell took up the Mount Elliott Reward Claim at Selwyn and worked close to the old smelter buildings. An open cut mine commenced at Starra, south of Mount Elliott and Selwyn, in 1988 and is Australia's third largest copper producer producing copper-gold concentrates from flotation and gold bullion from carbon-in-leach processing.

Profitable copper-gold ore bodies were recently proved at depth beneath the Mount Elliott smelter and old underground workings by Cyprus Gold Australia Pty Ltd. These deposits were subsequently acquired by Arimco Mining Pty Ltd for underground development which commenced in July 1993. A decline tunnel portal, ore and overburden dumps now occupy a large area of the Maggie Creek valley south-west of the smelter which was formerly the site of early miner's camps.

The Old Selwyn Township:

In 1907, the first hotel, run by H. Williams, was opened at the site. The township was surveyed later, around 1910, by the Mines Department. The town was to be situated north of the mine and smelter operations adjacent the railway, about 1.5km distant. It took its name from the nearby Selwyn Ranges which were named, during Burke's expedition, after the Victorian Government Geologist, A.R. Selwyn. The town has also been known by the name of Mount Elliott, after the nearby mines and smelter.

Many of the residents either worked at the Mount Elliott Mine and Smelter or worked in the service industries which grew around the mining and smelting operations. Little documentation exists about the everyday life of the town's residents. Surrounding sheep and cattle stations, however, meant that meat was available cheaply and vegetables grown in the area were delivered to the township by horse and cart. Imported commodities were, however, expensive.

By 1910 the town had four hotels. There was also an aerated water manufacturer, three stores, four fruiterers, a butcher, baker, saddler, garage, police, hospital, banks, post office (officially from 1906 to 1928, then unofficially until 1975) and a railway station. There was even an orchestra of ten players in 1912. The population of Selwyn rose from 1000 in 1911 to 1500 in 1918, before gradually declining.

Source: Queensland Heritage Register.

German postcard, 1991. Emmanuelle Béart and Michel Piccoli in La belle noiseuse (Jacques Rivette, 1991).

On 12 May 2020, Michel Piccoli, one of the most original and versatile French actors of the last half-century, has died aged 94. He appeared in many different roles, from seducer to cop to a gangster to Pope in more than 200 films and TV films. Among the directors he worked with are Jean Renoir, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Luis Buñuel, and Alfred Hitchcock.

Michel Piccoli was born Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli in Paris in 1925 to a musical family. His French mother Marcelle was a pianist and his Italian father Henri Piccoli was a violinist, who worked in the cinema. At boarding school, the introverted teenager Michel developed a profound love for the stage. He later studied drama under Andrée Bauer-Thérond and then trained as an actor at the René Simon drama school in Paris. In 1945, he began his stage career with the Renaud-Barrault theatre company at the Théâtre de Babylone in Paris. He made his film debut in Sortilèges (Christian-Jaque, 1945), but his first proper film role was in Le Point du jour/The Mark of the Day (Louis Daquin, 1949). He subsequently lent his talents to Jean Renoir in French Cancan (1954) starring Jean Gabin, and René Clair in Les Grandes Manoeuvres/The great manoeuvres (1955) with Gérard Philipe. It took six more years to become ‘box office’ as a film actor with the gangster film Le Doulos/The Finger Man (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1961), starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. He then had his international breakthrough with his leading role opposite Brigitte Bardot in Jean-Luc Godard's Le Mépris/Contempt (1963). Hal Erickson at AllMovie: “Like Hollywood's Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Gary Cooper, Piccoli was possessed of that rare gift of being able to adapt himself to virtually any kind of material without altering his essential screen persona. And like those aforementioned actors, Piccoli's talents suited the prerequisites of a wide variety of directors” He worked with some of the best international film auteurs: Agnès Varda at Les Créatures/The Creatures (1966) opposite Catherine Deneuve, Alain Resnais at La Guerre est finie/The War Is Over (1966), Jacques Demy at Les Demoiselles de Rochefort/The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), and Alfred Hitchcock (Topaz, 1969).

Michel Piccoli starred in four of the best-known films of French director Claude Sautet, Les starting with Choses de la vie/The Little Things in Life (1969) with Romy Schneider. Invariably he was cast as a symbol of bourgeois respectability whose quest for personal fulfilment appears destined to end in failure. James Travers at French Film Guide: “Sautet did more to humanise Piccoli than perhaps any other filmmaker, particularly when the actor was cast alongside Romy Schneider (in Les Choses de la vie and Max et les Ferrailleurs), the actress who became one of Piccoli's dearest friends.” A darker, more disturbing Piccoli can be seen in the films he made for Luis Buñuel, in particular Le Journal d'une femme de chamber/ The Diary of a Chambermaid (1964), Belle de jour/Beauty of the Day (1967) and Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie/The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972). Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Piccoli was one of the most visible faces in the European cinema, with films like Les Noces rouges/Wedding in Blood (Claude Chabrol, 1973), Themroc (Claude Faraldo, 1973), La Grande bouffe/The Big Feast (Marco Ferreri, 1973), Atlantic City (Louis Malle, 1980), and Salto nel vuoto/A Leap in the Dark (Marco Bellocchio, 1980), for which he won the Best Actor Award at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. In 1982, he won the Silver Bear at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival for his chilling role in Une étrange affaire/Strange Affair (Pierre Granmier-Deferre, 1981). Both as an actor and as a producer Piccoli supported such young filmmakers as Bertrand Tavernier (Des enfants gates/Spoiled Children, 1977), Jacques Doillon (La Fille prodigue/The Prodigal Daughter, 1981) and Leos Carax (Mauvais sang/Bad Blood, 1986). In 1976, Piccoli recorded his remarkable career on the page when he co-wrote a semi-autobiography, Dialogue Egoistes. He has been married three times, first to actress Éléonore Hirt (1954-?), then for eleven years to the singer Juliette Gréco (1966-1977) and finally, from 1980 on to writer and actress Ludivine Clerc. He has one daughter from his first marriage, Anne-Cordélia.

In the 1980s, Michel Piccoli resumed his stage career, starring in Peter Brook's acclaimed Paris productions of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1981, 1983) and Patrice Chéreau's staging of Marivaux's La Fausse Suivante (1985). He continued to star in films, such as in Milou en mai/Milou in May (Louis Malle, 1990) for which he was nominated for the César. In 1991, Piccoli again won international acclaim for his portrayal of an artist suffering from a creative block in La belle noiseuse (Jacques Rivette, 1991) with Emmanuelle Béart. Piccoli turned his hand to film directing, starting with a segment for the Amnesty International film Contre l'oubli (1991). His first feature was Alors viola/So There (1997), followed by La Plage noire/The Black Beach (2001) with Dominique Blanc, and C'est pas tout à fait la vie dont j'avais rêvé (2005). Not surprisingly, he was chosen to impersonate Mr. Cinema in Agnès Varda Les cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma/The One Hundred and One Nights of Simon Cinema (1995). He subsequently continued to do steady work in pictures of varying quality, with highlights being the psychological thriller Généalogies d'une Crime (Raul Ruiz, 1997) with Piccoli as a doctor caught up in a murder mystery, and Je rentre à la maison/ I'm Going Home (Manoel de Oliveira, 2001) with Catherine Deneuve. In 2001 he was the recipient of the Europe Theatre Prize. In 2002, he supported Lionel Jospin's presidential campaign. Piccoli is vocally opposed to the Front National. In 2012, he won the David di Donatello (the Italian Oscar) for his role as the pope in the comedy-drama Habemus Papam/ We Have a Pope (Nanni Moretti, 2012). Since then he made again several films. James Travers at French Film Guide: “There is something utterly seductive about Piccoli's screen portrayals, which comes from the actor's irresistible personal charm and his ability to project, very subtly, the inner neuroses, desires and venality of his characters. No wonder he is so well-loved by critics and audiences, and so eagerly sought after by filmmakers. Indefatigable, talented and generous, Piccoli deserves his reputation as one of the finest actors of his generation.” Michel Piccoli passed away on 12 May 2020 in Saint-Philbert-sur-Risle, France. He was 94.

Sources: James Travers (French Film Guide), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Wikipedia and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tune: Method Man - Straight Gutta feat. Redman, Hanz On, Streetlife

youtu.be/ezo2Vxf2foA

I'm from the killa killa hill, we keep it real consistent

For that dollar dollar bill, we will murder you in an instant

Fuck what your name is, you'll be non-existent

If you ever try to show any form of resistance

I'm strong in the hood. I'm in a good position

When I walk they salute, when I talk they all listen

You acting the part like you in an audition

Where shoot out's in the parks is a daily tradition

This is modern warfare, we play with live ammunition

Shot through your third eye, will change your whole disposition

The body never lie, call me the mortician

Every death got a story to tell, so pay attention

Premonitions on my life, slip the banana clip in

Never put your hat on the bed. I'm a little superstitious

Got my black suit on, they say I am acting suspicious

Big gun in my palm, look like my arm is missing

Ayo one MC, two MC

When my gun out, everybody goes down

Word on the street, these boys get butter

Fuck with me, nigga, 'cause this straight gutta

Ayo one MC, two MC

When my gun out, everybody goes down

Word on the street, these boys get butter

Fuck with me, nigga, 'cause this straight gutta

Got my black suit on, we get malicious

Hanz On checking in for the squad, he on his pivot

Got them big guns, make 'em disappear, call 'em wizards

Will oblige, till you meet your demise, this shit is physics

Mr. Barka newest G on the block, he is the shizit

Suffer Mossberg wounds to ya frame, you move a smidgen

Hanz rollin' with the man he the Meth, pay you a visit

Prerequisite have them all in the dirt, they all can get it

Used to percolate the crack in the pot, until it dried

Now I am occupying spots on your block, that shit is aye

And when we popping off the gun at your top, we make it pie

You better take another look at your seeds, and holla bye

Yo as far as ma'fuckas concerned, yo this is it

John Blaze press a button on dudes, they getting hit

As far as guns and that street shit go, my niggas fit

Hanz on with the cavalry yo, we in the mix

Ayo one MC, two MC

When my gun out, everybody goes down

Word on the street, these boys get butter

Fuck with me, nigga, 'cause this straight gutta

Ayo one MC, two MC

When my gun out, everybody goes down

Word on the street, these boys get butter

Fuck with me, nigga, 'cause this straight gutta

I got 28, 38's, 48 machine guns

Wu-Tang recon, check out the retard

I want that boat money carrying my green card

Caesar planet of the grapes in the weed jar

I'm straight gutta, mind on butta

Everything dirty, wear rubber for the come up

Block nigga shine like a 5D shutta

Red, Hanz and Street run this mother

We getting beaucoup scrilla

My brothers on they grind

Not another Columbine, call me new school killa

Scoop of French vanilla, brought a deuce deuce with her

I might pull a Lil Jon and let a Bruce Bruce hit her

I'll be gone till November, gon' cry me a river

You could die, but I figure I'ma try and be the bigger man

I and my gorillas, they gonna fry 'em up for dinner

Like them boys from Cypress Hill said (How I could just kill a man)

Ayo one MC, two MC

When my gun out, everybody goes down

Word on the street, these boys get butter

Fuck with me, nigga, 'cause this straight gutta

Ayo one MC, two MC

When my gun out, everybody goes down

Word on the street, these boys get butter

Fuck with me, nigga, 'cause this straight gutta

Former Belarus Air Force An-26LL 22 Yellow (serial number 1502) was originally an ordinary transport An-26, built in 1972 at the Kiev Aviation Plant. As an An-26LL it is the only one in Belarus and was given the "LL" designation after significant adaptions were made to the aircraft interior. Subsequently it participated in the investigation of the causes of 19 air crashes, 63 accidents, 469 prerequisites for flight accidents as well as 665 studies of the causes of failure of aircraft systems and assemblies . After decommissioning in 2002 the aircraft was installed nearby the cafe at the Borovaya Aerodrome and inside the cabin there was a VIP room for cafe visitors. Since 2009 it has been part of the main museum exhibition.

Nikon D3200 _18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 _ Hoya CPL Filter

A little bit more of fall colour.

gray catbirds migrate here to west central Florida in the winter...

gray catbirds migrate to the southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean in winter wikipedia

Wax Myrtles...

Myrica cerifera is a small evergreen tree or large shrub native to North and Central America and the Caribbean. Its common names include southern wax myrtle, southern bayberry, candleberry, bayberry tree, and tallow shrub. It sees uses both in the garden and for candlemaking, as well as a medicinal plant. The fruit is a source of food for many bird species, including the northern bobwhite quail and the wild turkey. In winter, the seeds are important foods for the Carolina wren and species of tree sparrow. To a point, M. cerifera will also provide habitat for the northern bobwhite quail. Birds' digestive systems remove the wax from the fruit, a prerequisite for germination.

This plant's roots possess root nodules, which harbor a symbiotic species of actinomycotal fungus, which fixes nitrogen at a faster rate than do the legumes. wikipedia

myplace

brooksville, florida

Scanned print.

Mamiya 645 ProTL w/ M-S 80 mm/f1.9. March 4, 2023.

Fomapan 100 in Rodinal 1+100, semistand 1 h.

Printed on Fotokemika Varycon (18x24 cm), developed in Moersch Eco 4812 1+14 and toned in Se 1+4.

4/5G mast, a prerequisite for modern living...

Carte de visite.

Studio of Maximilian William Greenfeld, Photographer, Artist in Oil - Water Colors, & Crayons, The Royal Studio, 328, George Street, Sydney.

Found in a junk shop in Darlinghurst, Sydney.

I can find no reference to the German-born Australian photographer M. W. Greenfeld (1843-1906) in my many books on Australian Photography, but a thorough search of old newspapers reveals him to have been a very prominent and respected photographer, and a multi-talented individual - not only a portrait photographer, but a painter and violinist too. A true Renaissance man.

We first encounter the name of Greenfeld in the programme of a fundraising concert to assist in the purchase of instruments for the Volunteer Artillery Brigade Band. 28 August 1872: "Solo Violin. Mr. M. W. GREENFELD (Amateur)" [Trove, 2nd column, top]. Alas, it turned out he was not able to take part in the performance. 31 August 1872: "Mr. Greenfeld having met with an accident to his left hand was unable to perform the violin solo allotted to him in the programme" [Trove, 3rd paragraph].

A year later he is advertising for an assistant, and is based at the address where this delightful photo of a bearded gentleman was taken. 11 August 1873: "PHOTOGRAPHY. - Wanted, young Man, as Assistant PRINTER. Mr. Greenfeld, 328, George-street" [Trove, 4th column, bottom]. The following year, in May 1874, he exhibited photographs and crayon paintings at the 6th annual exhibition of the Agricultural Society of NSW [Trove, 2nd column, halfway down]. A year later again he won an Intercolonial Exhibition award for his work, alongside our old friend B. C. Boake. 12 April 1875: "Portrait in oils, M. W. Greenfeld; ... cabinet portrait, Mr. B. C. Boake" [Trove, 1st column, 3rd paragraph].

In 1877 he opened a new studio, and during the hiatus between the move he was being missed by his clientele. 25 September 1877: "MR. GREENFELD, Photographer, - When will you open your New Studio? We want the Children's Portraits taken. J. THOMPSON." [Trove, 4th column, near top]. Greenfeld replied the following day. 26 September 1877: "J. THOMSON. - Mr. GREENFELD'S STUDIO of PHOTOGRAPHY will open on the 1st of October, at 434 George-street, over Fletcher's boot shop, three doors from Royal Hotel. The new Studio has been built on the latest American principles, giving extreme softness of light, and he will be most happy after the above date, to Photograph the Children by the new instantaneous process. No further connection with the old place after the 1st of October." [Trove, 2nd column, top]. Public notices announcing the opening of his new larger premises were made throughout October 1877, sometimes referring to his new studio as the "AMERICAN STUDIO OF PHOTOGRAPHY" [Trove, 4th column, halfway down], and at other times the "SAN FRANSISCO STUDIO" [Trove, 3rd column, upper half].

The following year, Greenfeld was seeking a boy to work in the studio. 14 May 1878: "PHOTOGRAPHY - Smart BOY wanted, about 14. Greenfeld, photographer, 434, George-street." [Trove, 2nd column, lower half]. Several months later he was looking for another boy, but this time the prerequisite of being "smart" was apparently no longer deemed necessary. 9 September 1878: "WANTED, BOY, about 13. Apply, 10 o'clock, Greenfeld, photographer, 434, George-street." [Trove, 3rd column, halfway down]. By December he was looking for ... you guessed it, another boy! 30 December 1878: "WANTED, a BOY, about 14. Greenfeld's, 434, George-street." [Trove, 3rd column, lower half].

But seeking boys wasn't Greenfeld's only activity in 1878. His work was exhibited alongside other prominent photographers in the New South Wales Court of the Exposition Universelle. 27 July 1878: "... photographs by Newman Brothers, Greenfeld, Boake and Lindt, that will bear comparison with the sun pictures of Disderi of Paris, of Sarony of New York, of Luckhart of Vienna, of Vergamasco of St. Petersburg, of Abdallah Freres of Constantinople, or of Gutekunst of Philadelphia." [Trove, 1st column, beneath illustration of the New South Wales Court at the Paris Exhibition].

In December 1878, Greenfeld was promoting an instrument he had imported from Paris as a boon for nervous sitters. He visited the offices of newspapers and demonstrated the device to journalists. 4 December 1878: "Mr. GREENFELD, photographer, of George-street, brought to our office yesterday a peculiar little instrument which he imported from Paris, and by which he is enabled to take photographs without the sitter being aware of the actual time when the picture is taken. Mons. Cadet, of Paris, is the inventor of this little instrument, which may be fixed on to any lens. It works on pneumatic principles. The operator merely presses an air-ball, and the instrument is set going." [Trove, 2nd column, 5th paragraph]. The Ladies' Column of the Australian Town and Country Journal on 28 December 1878 thought this would be "pleasurable information to nervous women" who would ordinarily "as soon have a tooth extracted as a portrait taken" [Trove].

We next encounter Greenfeld in Western Australia, at the Perth International Exhibition, where he established a studio for the duration. 30 November 1881: "Mr. Greenfeld, the artist, opposite the Town Hall, has in the Exhibition two frames of photographs of children and adults which are executed in his usual excellent style; he has also several oil paintings hung over the Swiss Court, which are painted by hand, among which may specially be seen the portrait of Mons. Joubert, marvellously true to life. We have heard that this gentleman, apart from being an artist is also a distinguished performer on the violin, and that it is his intention shortly to give an amateur concert in the city by invitation only to his patrons. We hear that several leading amateurs have signified their intention of taking part in this gratuitous and very liberal treat of Mr. Greenfeld's." [Trove, 1st column, lower part].

Excitement continued to build in early 1882 about the forthcoming concert at St. George's Hall, in which the visiting photographer would demonstrate his virtuosity of the violin. 27 Jan 1882: "At the concert on the 3rd proximo, instead of the showy music of the 'twiddle-dee' character to which we are two [sic] much accustomed, Mr. Greenfeld will play ... charming chamber music of Beethoven's, and other compositions really worth hearing." [Trove, 2nd paragraph]. 08 Feb 1882: "MR. GREENFELD'S CONCERT. About three months ago a stranger came in our midst, and, with the unpretending diffidence peculiar to his race - for he is a German - so far as his musical talents were concerned, be kept in the back ground. Almost by accident it became known that Mr. Greenfeld was a skilled musician, and master of the King of Instruments - the violin. ... It was evident after the first few bars had been played that the performer was a skilled musician and that success was certain. ... The last number on the programme was a violin solo by Mr. Greenfeld, consisting of a fantasia on Lucia di Lammermoor, arranged by Singelee. The piece was played throughout with finish, taste, and style, and Mr. Greenfeld was at once proclaimed a worthy priest of the temple of the lyric muse." [Trove].

In May 1882, Greenfeld visited Western Australia for a second time, this time establishing a temporary studio in Geraldton. 24 May 1882: "Our friends in Geraldton desirous of "Securing the shadow ere the substance fade" will shortly have unusual opportunities in this respect. Mr. Greenfeld, the eminent artist-photographer, and Messrs. Lovewell, Wing & Co., of Ferro-type renown, left by the Macedon for Geraldton on Monday. Messrs. Greenfeld and Lovewell established galleries in the city during the continuance of the late Exhibition, and evidently appreciate Western Australia by paying the colony a second visit, which we trust will prove as successful as their first one did." [Trove, 2nd column, 3rd paragraph]. In June, true to form, he treated the residents of the outback town to several violin performances which were "rapturously received" [Trove, near the bottom].

In November 1882, Greenfeld finally left Western Australia. 25 October 1882: "NOTICE. MR. GREENFELD'S PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO NOW OPEN FOR A FEW DAYS ONLY, PREVIOUS TO HIS DEPARTURE FROM THE COLONY, AT ADELAIDE TERRACE, NEAR DE. WAYLEN'S. LAST DAY FOR TAKING PORTRAITS. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1882." [Trove, 1st column, halfway down].

He next appears in India at the Calcutta International Exhibition of 1883-84, but this time in the South Australian Court, hung alongside fellow German-Australian photographer Paul Foelsche [Trove, 4th column, halfway down]. As yet, I can find no evidence of Greenfeld operating a studio in South Australia, but in 1884 he was performing as a member of the Adelaider Liedertafel [Trove]. And from May 1885 he became a member of the Adelaide String Quartet Club (sometimes performing as a quintet) [Trove]. His performances during this period were prolific.

On Saturday 10 April 1886 Greenfeld left the colony of South Australia for Melbourne on the steamer the Adelaide [Trove]. In May 1890 he was seeking ladies (hurrah!): "PHOTOGRAPHY. — Ladies wanted to work up enlargements: good salary to competent persons. Greenfeld, 126 Flinders-st." [Trove, 3rd column, under 'Professional Engagements']. The last professional sighting of Greenfeld is in December 1893, further down Flinders Street at no. 174 [Trove, 3rd column, under 'Professional Engagements'].

Greenfeld's death notice appeared in The Argus on 26 December 1906: "GREENFELD.—On the 23rd December, at his late residence, 315 Montagu-street, Albert Park, Max, the dearly beloved husband of Hannah Greenfeld, and father of Arthur, Rosa, Mrs. E. Mann, Mrs. W.H. Pierson, and Mrs. A. Daniel, aged 63. (Interred privately, Boroondara cemetery, December 24.) At rest." [Trove]. His wife outlived him by nearly 28 years. 26 July 1934: "GREENFELD.—On the 20th July, suddenly, at Newry (Gippsland), Hannah, widow of the late Max Greenfeld, and loving mother of Arthur (Richmond), Blanch (Mrs. E. Mann, Malvern), Florence (Mrs. J. Logan, W.A), Beatrice (Mrs. A. S. Daniel, Newry) and Rosa (Mrs. A. L. Parry, Albert Park). Aged 84 years. Privately interred, Boroondara cemetery, 23rd July." [Trove].

i've begun abandoning articulation in the legs recently because the prerequisite of knee joints really reduces the design space of aesthetic solutions available

also this totally isn't a gundam gusion at all, i promise

Built for the Final Duel category of the Colossal Battle Contest over in the Lego War Group.

As a prerequisite for manhood, young Vikings are sent out into the wilderness to find and slay a dragon. Should they succeed, they return to the village clothed in dragon-hide; if not, they die. This Viking youth, however, probably wasn't expecting this...

—Quote from a sheep to a border collie in the movie Babe as a prerequisite for her giving the dog the super password in their language in their way that all sheep listen to in order to help their beloved pig friend, Babe. Speaking the sheep code broke the impasse of a world in which the sheep saw the dogs as wolves and did not speak to them, and the dogs saw the sheep as — well, mindless and passive sheep.

This sheep dog is chewing on a hindleg of the biggest sheep to have the entire flock go exactly where he wants them to go. As a result, the flock is tightly bundled and moving forward.

...a 1995 Mercedes-Benz E220 Auto Estate.

Oh no, more cars! The designated winter runner as none of my current cars are quite ready. Prerequisites were cheap, good for clocking motorway miles, solid and a bit of character.

In steps the 'Benz. 188,000 miles, 1yr MoT (0 advisories), 3 key fobs, 4 new tyres, recent exhaust, mountain of paperwork. The owner, a classic Austin fan just wasn't using it after being given it from Dad. £650.

Yays: Wood trim, cushy self levelling suspension, soft close "neighbour friendly" tailgate, A/C, terrific engine.

Nays: Mashed wheel trims, brand new wings but badly painted, sunroof stiff, kinda scary to manoeuvre!

Patience is a prerequisite for this type of shot.

...a 1995 Mercedes-Benz E220 Auto Estate.

Oh no, more cars! The designated winter runner as none of my current cars are quite ready. Prerequisites were cheap, good for clocking motorway miles, solid and a bit of character.

In steps the 'Benz. 188,000 miles, 1yr MoT (0 advisories), 3 key fobs, 4 new tyres, recent exhaust, mountain of paperwork. The owner, a classic Austin fan just wasn't using it after being given it from Dad. £650.

Yays: Wood trim, cushy self levelling suspension, soft close "neighbour friendly" tailgate, A/C, terrific engine.

Nays: Mashed wheel trims, brand new wings but badly painted, sunroof stiff, kinda scary to manoeuvre!

Each ritual act must have its way lighted by the glow of inner devotion, else it “has no wings” and cannot ascend to God...

...In former times, the mystics had access to a complicated series of keys that could unlock the heart in prayer. We no longer have the keys; all we can do is to smash the lock. The only true prerequisite for such prayer, he said, is a broken heart.

-Your Word is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer,Barry W. Holtz and Dr. Arthur Green

/*************

What does a broken heart feel like? I know and so do you...

To walk through this crack is to walk through the Red Sea, the mystery...into the deepest darkness....

-rc

The Mount Elliott Mining Complex is an aggregation of the remnants of copper mining and smelting operations from the early 20th century and the associated former mining township of Selwyn. The earliest copper mining at Mount Elliott was in 1906 with smelting operations commencing shortly after. Significant upgrades to the mining and smelting operations occurred under the management of W.R. Corbould during 1909 - 1910. Following these upgrades and increases in production, the Selwyn Township grew quickly and had 1500 residents by 1918. The Mount Elliott Company took over other companies on the Cloncurry field in the 1920s, including the Mount Cuthbert and Kuridala smelters. Mount Elliott operations were taken over by Mount Isa Mines in 1943 to ensure the supply of copper during World War Two. The Mount Elliott Company was eventually liquidated in 1953.

The Mount Elliott Smelter:

The existence of copper in the Leichhardt River area of north western Queensland had been known since Ernest Henry discovered the Great Australia Mine in 1867 at Cloncurry. In 1899 James Elliott discovered copper on the conical hill that became Mount Elliott, but having no capital to develop the mine, he sold an interest to James Morphett, a pastoralist of Fort Constantine station near Cloncurry. Morphett, being drought stricken, in turn sold out to John Moffat of Irvinebank, the most successful mining promoter in Queensland at the time.

Plentiful capital and cheap transport were prerequisites for developing the Cloncurry field, which had stagnated for forty years. Without capital it was impossible to explore and prove ore-bodies; without proof of large reserves of wealth it was futile to build a railway; and without a railway it was hazardous to invest capital in finding large reserves of ore. The mining investor or the railway builder had to break the impasse.

In 1906 - 1907 copper averaged £87 a ton on the London market, the highest price for thirty years, and the Cloncurry field grew. The railway was extended west of Richmond in 1905 - 1906 by the Government and mines were floated on the Melbourne Stock Exchange. At Mount Elliott a prospecting shaft had been sunk and on the 1st of August 1906 a Cornish boiler and winding plant were installed on the site.

Mount Elliott Limited was floated in Melbourne on the 13th of July 1906. In 1907 it was taken over by British and French interests and restructured. Combining with its competitor, Hampden Cloncurry Copper Mines Limited, Mount Elliott formed a special company to finance and construct the railway from Cloncurry to Malbon, Kuridala (then Friezeland) and Mount Elliott (later Selwyn). This new company then entered into an agreement with the Queensland Railways Department in July 1908.

The railway, which was known as the 'Syndicate Railway', aroused opposition in 1908 from the trade unions and Labor movement generally, who contended that railways should be State-owned. However, the Hampden-Mount Elliott Railway Bill was passed by the Queensland Parliament and assented to on the 21st of April 1908; construction finished in December 1910. The railway terminated at the Mount Elliott smelter.

By 1907 the main underlie shaft had been sunk and construction of the smelters was underway using a second-hand water-jacket blast furnace and converters. At this time, W.H. Corbould was appointed general manager of Mount Elliott Limited.

The second-hand blast furnace and converters were commissioned or 'blown in' in May 1909, but were problematic causing hold-ups. Corbould referred to the equipment in use as being the 'worst collection of worn-out junk he had ever come across'. Corbould soon convinced his directors to scrap the plant and let him design new works.

Corbould was a metallurgist and geologist as well as mine/smelter manager. He foresaw a need to obtain control and thereby ensure a reliable supply of ore from a cross-section of mines in the region. He also saw a need to implement an effective strategy to manage the economies of smelting low-grade ore. Smelting operations in the region were made difficult by the technical and economic problems posed by the deterioration in the grade of ore. Corbould resolved the issue by a process of blending ores with different chemical properties, increasing the throughput capacity of the smelter and by championing the unification of smelting operations in the region. In 1912, Corbould acquired Hampden Consols Mine at Kuridala for Mount Elliott Limited, followed with the purchases of other small mines in the district.

Walkers Limited of Maryborough was commissioned to manufacture a new 200 ton water jacket furnace for the smelters. An air compressor and blower for the smelters were constructed in the powerhouse and an electric motor and dynamo provided power for the crane and lighting for the smelter and mine.

The new smelter was blown in September 1910, a month after the first train arrived, and it ran well, producing 2040 tons of blister copper by the end of the year. The new smelting plant made it possible to cope with low-grade sulphide ores at Mount Elliott. The use of 1000 tons of low-grade sulphide ores bought from the Hampden Consols Mine in 1911 made it clear that if a supply of higher sulphur ore could be obtained and blended, performance, and economy would improve. Accordingly, the company bought a number of smaller mines in the district in 1912.

Corbould mined with cut and fill stoping but a young Mines Inspector condemned the system, ordered it dismantled and replaced with square set timbering. In 1911, after gradual movement in stopes on the No. 3 level, the smelter was closed for two months. Nevertheless, 5447 tons of blister copper was produced in 1911, rising to 6690 tons in 1912 - the company's best year. Many of the surviving structures at the site were built at this time.

Troubles for Mount Elliott started in 1913. In February, a fire at the Consols Mine closed it for months. In June, a thirteen week strike closed the whole operation, severely depleting the workforce. The year 1913 was also bad for industrial accidents in the area, possibly due to inexperienced people replacing the strikers. Nevertheless, the company paid generous dividends that year.

At the end of 1914 smelting ceased for more than a year due to shortage of ore. Although 3200 tons of blister copper was produced in 1913, production fell to 1840 tons in 1914 and the workforce dwindled to only 40 men. For the second half of 1915 and early 1916 the smelter treated ore railed south from Mount Cuthbert. At the end of July 1916 the smelting plant at Selwyn was dismantled except for the flue chambers and stacks. A new furnace with a capacity of 500 tons per day was built, a large amount of second-hand equipment was obtained and the converters were increased in size.

After the enlarged furnace was commissioned in June 1917, continuing industrial unrest retarded production which amounted to only 1000 tons of copper that year. The point of contention was the efficiency of the new smelter which processed twice as much ore while employing fewer men. The company decided to close down the smelter in October and reduce the size of the furnace, the largest in Australia, from 6.5m to 5.5m. In the meantime the price of copper had almost doubled from 1916 due to wartime consumption of munitions.

The new furnace commenced on the 16th of January 1918 and 77,482 tons of ore were smelted yielding 3580 tons of blister copper which were sent to the Bowen refinery before export to Britain. Local coal and coke supply was a problem and materials were being sourced from the distant Bowen Colliery. The smelter had a good run for almost a year except for a strike in July and another in December, which caused Corbould to close down the plant until New Year. In 1919, following relaxation of wartime controls by the British Metal Corporation, the copper price plunged from about £110 per ton at the start of the year to £75 per ton in April, dashing the company's optimism regarding treatment of low grade ores. The smelter finally closed after two months operation and most employees were laid off.

For much of the period 1919 to 1922, Corbould was in England trying to raise capital to reorganise the company's operations but he failed and resigned from the company in 1922. The Mount Elliott Company took over the assets of the other companies on the Cloncurry field in the 1920s - Mount Cuthbert in 1925 and Kuridala in 1926. Mount Isa Mines bought the Mount Elliott plant and machinery, including the three smelters, in 1943 for £2,300, enabling them to start copper production in the middle of the Second World War. The Mount Elliott Company was finally liquidated in 1953.

In 1950 A.E. Powell took up the Mount Elliott Reward Claim at Selwyn and worked close to the old smelter buildings. An open cut mine commenced at Starra, south of Mount Elliott and Selwyn, in 1988 and is Australia's third largest copper producer producing copper-gold concentrates from flotation and gold bullion from carbon-in-leach processing.

Profitable copper-gold ore bodies were recently proved at depth beneath the Mount Elliott smelter and old underground workings by Cyprus Gold Australia Pty Ltd. These deposits were subsequently acquired by Arimco Mining Pty Ltd for underground development which commenced in July 1993. A decline tunnel portal, ore and overburden dumps now occupy a large area of the Maggie Creek valley south-west of the smelter which was formerly the site of early miner's camps.

The Old Selwyn Township:

In 1907, the first hotel, run by H. Williams, was opened at the site. The township was surveyed later, around 1910, by the Mines Department. The town was to be situated north of the mine and smelter operations adjacent the railway, about 1.5km distant. It took its name from the nearby Selwyn Ranges which were named, during Burke's expedition, after the Victorian Government Geologist, A.R. Selwyn. The town has also been known by the name of Mount Elliott, after the nearby mines and smelter.

Many of the residents either worked at the Mount Elliott Mine and Smelter or worked in the service industries which grew around the mining and smelting operations. Little documentation exists about the everyday life of the town's residents. Surrounding sheep and cattle stations, however, meant that meat was available cheaply and vegetables grown in the area were delivered to the township by horse and cart. Imported commodities were, however, expensive.

By 1910 the town had four hotels. There was also an aerated water manufacturer, three stores, four fruiterers, a butcher, baker, saddler, garage, police, hospital, banks, post office (officially from 1906 to 1928, then unofficially until 1975) and a railway station. There was even an orchestra of ten players in 1912. The population of Selwyn rose from 1000 in 1911 to 1500 in 1918, before gradually declining.

Source: Queensland Heritage Register.

Packing down with the prerequisite 30lbs of pressure.

I shot this lady and her husband at Haji Malang , they had come to fulfill their vow on completion of a wish..removal of hair and a few strands offered to the Holy Saint .. this is also known in Muslim parlance as completion of a Mannat.. the couple both Hindus from Andhra Pradesh .. devotees of the Holy Saint of Haji Malang a Shrine in the Malangad Mountains close to Kalyan..

Religious Tonsure

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsure

Tonsure is the practice of some Christian churches, mystics, Buddhist novices and monks, and some Hindu temples of cutting the hair from the scalp of clerics, devotees, or holy people as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem.

The origin of the tonsure remains unclear, but it certainly was not widely known in antiquity. There were three forms of tonsure known in the 7th and 8th centuries:

* The Oriental, which claimed the authority of Saint Paul the Apostle (Acts 18:18) and consisted of shaving the whole head. This was observed in the Eastern churches, including the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. Hence Theodore of Tarsus, who had acquired his learning in Byzantine Asia Minor and bore this tonsure, had to allow his hair to grow for four months before he could be tonsured after the Roman fashion, and then ordained Archbishop of Canterbury by Pope Vitalian in 668.

* The Celtic, the exact shape of which is unclear from the sources, but in some way involved shaving the head from ear to ear.[1] The shape may have been semicircular, arcing forward from a line between the ears, but another popular suggestion, less borne out in the sources, proposes that the entire forehead was shaved back to the ears.[2] More recently a triangular shape, with one point at the front of the head going back to a line between the ears, has been suggested.[1] The Celtic tonsure was worn in Ireland and Great Britain and was connected to the distinct set of practices known as Celtic Christianity.[3] It was greatly despised by those affiliated with the Roman custom, who considered it unorthodox and associated it with the heretic Simon Magus.[4]

* The Roman: this consisted of shaving only the top of the head, so as to allow the hair to grow in the form of a crown. This is claimed to have originated with Saint Peter, and was the practice of the Latin Rite Roman Catholic Church.

These claimed origins are possibly unhistorical; the earliest history of the tonsure is lost in obscurity. This practice is not improbably connected with the idea that long hair is the mark of a freeman, while the shaven head marks the slave (in the religious sense: a servant of God). Other theories are that the tonsure mimics male pattern baldness in an attempt to lend artificial respectability to men too young to display the real thing[citation needed], or that the tonsure is a ritual created by balding superiors in act of vanity and power over young non-bald subordinates.

Among the Germanic tribes, there appeared the custom that an unsuccessful pretender or a dethroned king would be tonsured. Then he had to retire to a monastery, but sometimes this lasted only until his hair grew back.[5]) The practice of tonsure, coupled with castration, was common for deposed emperors and his sons in Byzantium from around the 8th century, prior to which execution, usually by blinding, was the normal practice[6].

[edit] Tonsure today

[edit] Christianity

[edit] Western Christianity

In the Latin or Western Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, "first tonsure" was, in medieval times, the rite of inducting someone into the clergy and qualifying him for the civil benefits then enjoyed by clerics. Tonsure was a prerequisite for receiving the minor and major orders. Failing to maintain tonsure was the equivalent of attempting to abandon one's clerical state, and in the 1917 Code of Canon Law, any cleric in minor orders (or simply tonsured) who did not resume the tonsure within a month after being warned by his Ordinary, lost the clerical state. Over time, the appearance of tonsure varied, ending up for non-monastic clergy as generally consisting of a symbolic cutting of a few tufts of hair at first tonsure in the Sign of the Cross and in wearing a bare spot on the back of the head which varied according to the degree of orders. It was not supposed to be less than the size of a communicant's host, even for a tonsuratus, someone simply tonsured, and the approximate size for a priest's tonsure was the size of a priest's host. Countries that were not Catholic had exceptions to this rule, especially in the English-speaking world. In England and America, for example, the bare spot was dispensed with, likely because of the persecutions that could arise from being a part of the Catholic clergy, but the ceremonious cutting of the hair in the first clerical tonsure was always required. In accordance with Pope Paul VI's motu proprio Ministeria quaedam of 15 August 1972, "first tonsure is no longer conferred". Since that time, however, certain institutes have been authorized to use the first clerical tonsure, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (1988), the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (1990), and the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney, (2001).

Apart from this general clerical tonsure, some Western Rite monastic orders, for example Carthusians and Trappists, employed a very full version of tonsure, shaving the head entirely bald and keeping only a narrow ring of short hair, sometimes called "the monastic crown" (see "Roman tonsure", above), from the time of entrance into the monastic novitiate for all monks, whether destined for service as priests or brothers. Some monastic orders and individual monasteries still maintain the tradition of a monastic tonsure.

The fuller form of clerical tonsure led to the wearing of a skull cap in church to keep the head warm. This skull cap, called a zuchetto, is still worn by the Pope (in white), Cardinals (in red) and bishops (in purple) both during and outside of formal religious ceremonies. Priests may wear a simple black zuchetto, only outside of religious services, though this is almost never seen except as a practical garment used for warmth by some monks. Some priests who held special titles (certain ranks of monsignori and some canons, for instance) formerly wore black zuchettos with red or purple piping, but this too has fallen out of use except in a few, extremely rare cases.

[edit] Eastern Christianity

Today in Eastern Orthodoxy and in the Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine Rite, there are three types of tonsure: baptismal, monastic, and clerical. It always consists of the cutting of four locks of hair in a cruciform pattern: at the front of head as the celebrant says "In the Name of the Father", at the back of head at the words "and the Son", and on either side of the head at the words "and the Holy Spirit". In all cases, the hair is allowed to grow back; the tonsure as such is not adopted as a hairstyle.

Baptismal tonsure is performed during the rite of Holy Baptism as a first sacrificial offering by the newly baptized. This tonsure is always performed, whether the one being baptized is an infant or an adult.

Monastic tonsure (of which there are three grades: Rassophore, Stavrophore and the Great Schema), is the rite of initiation into the monastic state, symbolic of cutting off of self-will. Orthodox monks traditionally never cut their hair or beards after receiving the monastic tonsure as a sign of the consecration of their lives to God (reminiscent of the Vow of the Nazirite).

Clerical tonsure is the equivalent of the "first tonsure" in the Latin church. It is done immediately prior to ordination to the minor order of reader but is not repeated at subsequrent ordinations.[7] This led to a once common usage that one was, for instance, "tonsured a reader", although technically the tonsure occurs prior to the prayer of ordination within the ordination rite.

[edit] Buddhism

In Buddhism tonsure is a part of the rite of pabbajja and also a part of becoming a monk. This involves shaving head and face. This tonsure is renewed as often as required to keep the head cleanly shaven.

[edit] Hinduism

In Hinduism, the underlying concept is that hair is a symbolic offering to the gods, representing a real sacrifice of beauty, and in return, are given blessings in proportion to their sacrifice.

Hair cutting (Sanskrit cuda karma, cuda karana) is one of traditional saṃskāras performed for young children:

"According to the teaching of the revealed texts, the Kudakarman (tonsure) must be performed, for the sake of spiritual merit, by all twice-born men in the first or third year."[8]

In some traditions the head is shaven completely while in others a small tuft of hair called sikha is left.

In some South Indian temples like Tirumala, Palani and Tiruttani it is customary for pilgrims to shave their heads in or near the temple of the god they are visiting.

There has been an Indian custom to perform a tonsure on widows after their husbands' death. It is not uncommon to tonsure the head of a child after the death of a parent (usually father).

K. Jamanadas has argued that tonsure was originally a Buddhist costum and that Brahmanic practices always considered tonsure inauspicious.[9]

Tonsuring in the in the Hindu culture serves multiple purposes and is used as a symbol. One of Its most prominent purposes is to show ones love for the God by washing away their past and starting anew [10]. Moreover tonsuring can be used for punishment or to show that someone is an outcast in society because of the law they have broken . It is also used as a way to raise money for local synagogues which is where women across India become victims of the more powerful leaders .Firstly, the art of tonsuring originated before the Common Era . The original purpose for tonsuring was to show ones devotion to the Gods by shaving their heads clean, women included, and start their lives anew. By shaving their heads, it enabled these people to free themselves from their past sins and continue on with purer lives. However over the course of thousands of years, tonsuring has found new functions. Tonsuring can denote ones social class or personal standing. For example, someone with a closely shaven head is practicing celibacy . A social outcast will have a completely bald heads while men that are ardently religious will shave their heads only leaving a sihka 1.Seoncdly tonsuring can be used for punishing people for dastardly crimes. For example in mid June 2009, a Hindu woman was accused of killing her husband alongside her two sons. She was then beaten in public and shaven bald, which is also symbolic of social ostracizing [11]. There are many other cases of tonsuring being used for that purpose however when used for that, people are shaven clean leaving them completely bald. Punishment for women with tonsuring is more severe, sadly, than with men. This is due to the social injustices that women have to face within the Hindu culture. In the modern era, tonsuring has been used as a way of generating income for the Hindu community while unfortunately victimizing the female community. For example, the American hair industry uses the free trade process to make profit not only for them but the people of India . The free trade works as such: the American hair industry buys the hair materials directly from the Hindu populace to later use in their community; after generating an amount of income a percentage of it (usually more) is given back to the Hindu community[12]. This money is used by the Hindu people to fund the expansion of their synagogues and helping their community. Unfortunately, many Hindu women are forced to shave their heads against their will and face brutality from their community leaders. This has become a problem within this community and higher leaders are trying to find ways to solve the issue. Even so, it is a very gray area and it has proven to become hard to stop because it has moved to an “underground” state . Political leaders are not stopping and are still trying to find ways to prevent the persecution of their women by these community leaders.

[edit] Islam

It is a ritual for pilgrims on the event of Hajj to shave their heads before entering Mecca. Shaving off hair from the head was considered an ancient symbol of becoming a slave in Arabia and when a pilgrim shaves his head, he declares himself to be the slave of his Lord.[13]

Martin Luther held that the mark of the beast was the tonsured haircut worn by Roman Catholic clergy.[14]

The sparrow project is an attempt to improve my bird story telling along with honing eye hand/AF coordination skills using a common subject readily available. The subjects must be in motion as a prerequisite since shooting ducks in a barrel is just no sport at all.

I was spurred into the project due to my complete dissatisfaction of prior attempts while on a trip to Tanzania. Learning the delicate balance between shutter speed, proper long lens techniques, iso settings and AF modes is a challenge for something just slightly slower than a speeding bullet.

This will be ongoing to support my next African adventure later this year.

See me also at instagram.com/charlesgyoung/

Jaime Reyes was just a timid teenager in Metropolis when a Kord Industries car nearly ran him over. His life was saved by Metropolis's newest superhero Booster Gold, but it was changed forever by that car, as a strange blue scarab crawled from the car into Jaime's backpack. The scarab would take control of Jaime's body without warning, so Jaime took this problem to the most capable man he could think of - Booster, who brushed him off. That is, until the scarab took control again, covering him in a bulky, blue carapace that it used to attack Booster. He encouraged Jaime to take control of the suit, saving his own life, but also earning him a protege in Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle!

I'll admit, I had a hard time figuring out what to do with this figure. Technically, the Smallville design is pretty accurate to the books, albeit a hell of a lot clunkier. That's a hard thing to incorporate into a minifigure, especially with a prerequisite neck attachment limiting things. Ultimately I opted for the blue epaulettes and some blue arms. Those epaulettes, by the way, are the reason why there is no group shot of the Smallville Teen Titans, since he and Miss Martian both use them, and I only have one.

End of a year, and the prerequisite wrap up... and as I do these the more they fill me with Dread ...

It used to be exciting, a time to go back and look at all the incredible builds by everyone, and a retrospectively look at your own builds .... But as the time goes on and the quantity (and quality?) decline as with the time and ability to devote to building....

While I'm still super happy with some builds, others far less (cough SHIPtember cough) sometimes I why to keep going ? ... then it's posts like Mel, that remind me - not the gifts - haha - but the people... they're the literal manifestation of the Hobby.

And it's NOT a solo hobby for me. It can be solo, but for it's the people that makes all this so fun.... it's the....

Building.

Sharing.

Learning,

Building with others.

Random road trips.

ESCAPE ROOMS

Even more random trips to other people's grandparents (twice!)

Beer.

Fried Chicken.

And as I look upon items given to me in 2017, and remember fondly the friends that would entrust me with their preciouses. and remember all the good times ...

You guys/gals are freaking AWESOME.

Thank you all so much for making my 2017 kick ass.

Builds (clockwise):

Falcon Shield - Brick A.

Cruel World - SuperHero Team

Scala Baby Bot - Micah B.

Retro Bot thingy - Ryan H.

I'm Batman - Carson H.

Simon Draft - Casey M.

Baby Groot - Markus

Bastion - Corneely C

Classic Space Hat - Miguel

Baby Bender - Adrian D.

Honda Civic - Caleb W

Hair Cut Nightmare - Power P

Puppy Pounder - Blake F

Upgraded Watertower - Rocco B

GTR - Caleb W

YIPP YIPP APPA! - Micah B

Micro Xwing - Chris M

Drone dude - Timmy P

Frog Mech - Dom M

Spider Mech - Ben H

Butcher Paper Flyer - Teddy A

Greeble God - Alec D

Micro AT ST - Nathaniel S

Swords Fish - Ben

Space Samurai - Chris H

European Pew - Jonas K

Smartass Pistol - Nick J

(Sorry for for a few misses.... it's probably in a really special place .... or too big... *cough* RelationSHIP *cough*)

Herr Doktor, das ist schön von Euch. - Es gibt nichts Harmloses mehr. Die kleinen Freuden, die Äußerungen des Lebens, die von der Verantwortung des Gedankens ausgenommen scheinen, haben nicht nur ein Moment der trotzigen Albernheit, des hartherzigen sich blind Machens, sondern treten unmittelbar in den Dienst ihres äußersten Gegensatzes. Noch der Baum, der blüht, lügt in dem Augenblick, in welchem man sein Blühen ohne den Schatten des Entsetzens wahrnimmt; noch das unschuldige Wie schön wird zur Ausrede für die Schmach des Daseins, das anders ist, und es ist keine Schönheit und kein Trost mehr außer in dem Blick, der aufs Grauen geht, ihm standhält und im ungemilderten Bewußtsein der Negativität die Möglichkeit des Besseren festhält. Mißtrauen ist geraten gegenüber allem Unbefangenen, Legeren, gegenüber allem sich Gehenlassen, das Nachgiebigkeit gegen die Übermacht des Existierenden einschließt. Der böse Hintersinn des Behagens, der früher einmal auf das Prosit der Gemütlichkeit beschränkt war, hat längst freundlichere Regungen ergriffen. Das Zufallsgespräch mit dem Mann in der Eisenbahn, dem man, damit es nicht zu einem Streit kommt, auf ein paar Sätze zustimmt, von denen man weiß, daß sie schließlich auf den Mord hinauslaufen müssen, ist schon ein Stück Verrat; kein Gedanke ist immun gegen seine Kommunikation, und es genügt bereits, ihn an falscher Stelle und in falschem Einverständnis zu sagen, um seine Wahrheit zu unterhöhlen. Aus jedem Besuch des Kinos komme ich bei aller Wachsamkeit dümmer und schlechter wieder heraus. Umgänglichkeit selber ist Teilhabe am Unrecht, indem sie die erkaltete Welt als eine vorspiegelt, in der man noch miteinander reden kann, und das lose, gesellige Wort trägt bei, das Schweigen zu perpetuieren, indem durch die Konzessionen an den Angeredeten dieser im Redenden nochmals erniedrigt wird. Das böse Prinzip, das in der Leutseligkeit immer schon gesteckt hat, entfaltet sich im egalitären Geist zu seiner ganzen Bestialität. Herablassung und sich nicht besser Dünken sind das Gleiche. Durch die Anpassung an die Schwäche der Unterdrückten bestätigt man in solcher Schwäche die Voraussetzung der Herrschaft und entwickelt selber das Maß an Grobheit, Dumpfheit und Gewalttätigkeit, dessen man zur Ausübung der Herrschaft bedarf. Wenn dabei, in der jüngsten Phase, der Gestus der Herablassung entfällt und Angleichung allein sichtbar wird, so setzt gerade in

solcher vollkommenen Abblendung der Macht das verleugnete Klassenverhältnis um so unversöhnlicher sich durch. Für den Intellektuellen ist unverbrüchliche Einsamkeit die einzige Gestalt, in der er Solidarität etwa noch zu bewähren vermag. Alles Mitmachen, alle Menschlichkeit von Umgang und Teilhabe ist bloße Maske fürs stillschweigende Akzeptieren des Unmenschlichen. Einig sein soll man mit dem Leiden der Menschen: der kleinste Schritt zu ihren Freuden hin ist einer zur Verhärtung des Leidens.

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

Doctor, that is kind of you. – Nothing is harmless anymore. The small joys, the expressions of life, which seemed to be exempt from the responsibility of thought, not only have a moment of defiant silliness, of the cold-hearted turning of a blind eye, but immediately enter the service of their most extreme opposite. Even the tree which blooms, lies, the moment that one perceives its bloom without the shadow of horror; even the innocent “How beautiful” becomes an excuse for the ignominy of existence, which is otherwise, and there is no longer any beauty or any consolation, except in the gaze which goes straight to the horror, withstands it, and in the undiminished consciousness of negativity, holds

fast to the possibility of that which is better. Mistrust is advisable towards everything which is unselfconscious, casual, towards everything which involves letting go, implying indulgence towards the supremacy of the existent [Existierende]. The malign deeper meaning of comfort, which at one time was limited to the toasts of cozy sociability, has long since spread to friendlier impulses. When in the chance conversation with a man on the train, one acquiesces, in order to avoid a quarrel, to a couple of sentences which one knows ultimately certify murder, is already an act of treachery; no thought is immune against its communication, and uttering it at the wrong place and in the context of a false agreement is enough to undercut its truth. Every visit to the cinema, despite the utmost watchfulness, leaves me dumber and worse than before. Sociability itself is a participant in injustice, insofar as it pretends we can still talk with each other in a frozen world, and the flippant, chummy word contributes to the perpetuation of silence, insofar as the concessions to those being addressed debase the latter once more as speakers. The evil principle which has always lurked in affability develops, in the egalitarian Spirit [Geist], into its full bestiality. Condescension and making oneself out as no better are the same. By adapting to the weaknesses of the oppressed, one confirms in such weaknesses the prerequisite of domination, and develops in oneself the measure of barbarity, thickheadedness and capacity to inflict violence required to exercise domination. If, in the latest era, the gesture of condescension is dispensed with, and solely adaptation becomes visible, then it is precisely in such a perfect screening of power that the class-relationship, however denied, breaks through all the more irreconcilably. For intellectuals, unswerving isolation is the only form in which they can vouchsafe a measure of solidarity. All of the playing along, all of the humanity of interaction and participation is the mere mask of the tacit acceptance of inhumanity. One should be united with the suffering of human beings: the smallest step to their joys is one towards the hardening of suffering.

Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia – Reflexionen aus dem beschädigten Leben/ Reflections From Damaged Life

My only medium format camera until now was my recently serviced Yashica-Mat. It is a very nice camera, but the size has deterred me from using it a couple of times so I did a little research and my conclusion was that a folder camera is the obvious choice if portability is a prerequisite. Now, the world of folding MF cameras is a very convoluted one, as that particular type of camera spans at least 5-6 decades of evolution with endless manufacturers, models and variations depending on lens / shutter combinations. My initial candidate was a member of the Fujica 6 family which seemed to tick some of the boxes, particularly image quality, but prices on the big auction site seemed a bit steep. As the search continued, I eventually stumbled upon this little Voigtlander which, for all intents and purposes, looks and feels like a beefed up version of the popular Vito II 35mm folder. There are a few different versions depending on lens / shutter combination, mine came with the 4-element coated Skopar lens and the Synchro Compur shutter and what immediately struck me was how small it is, barely taller than a small 35mm rangefinder, but comparably long and thick (when folded). Build quality is excellent, but the chrome parts feel slightly inferior to the later Vito series. Everything works like new, super smooth and accurate. The lack of a rangefinder helps keep prices reasonable and can be easily overcome with the addition of a small accessory rangefinder in the cold shoe. My only gripe is the small viewfinder which seems to be the norm for foder cameras of that era, at least it's very clear. Overall, a really nice camera, one of the few that really made me want to go out and shoot with it.

Our #KombiSplity #99626 in a Creek crossing in the Snowy Mts. Water splashed through the pedal holes in the floor. See below!

This Kombi did the Gunbarrel Highway to Giles in 1968, on the way to Canberra.

B4R62-32 Kombi www.flickr.com/photos/spelio/5320113816/ more to scan!!!

Now I find out we had been the proud owners of a Splitty!!!

See #roundaustraliawithspelio on Instagram..

www.ssvc.org.uk/cms/

The Split Screen Van Club was founded at Stanford Hall in May 1983 by a small group of dedicated Splitty lovers. The main aim of the club is to preserve and celebrate these unique vintage Volkswagen Vans and also the expertise needed to maintain and restore them. We welcome all owners, families, and enthusiasts of pre - 1967 Vans. We are the only national Club exclusively dedicated to this vehicle and have approximately 1300 members, but ownership of a Split Screen Van is not a prerequisite for joining.

The majority of our members are based in Britain, but we have a growing overseas membership and are closely linked with our sister clubs in Germany, Holland and the USA as well as having links with VW Clubs overseas. Our member's vans range from the pristine and concours vehicle through to the daily use runabout. Many of the vans are Camper conversions but there are also commercial and customised vehicles.

The last roll of Kodachrome was processed on 30th Dec 2010 :-( see

www.dwaynesphoto.com/

Kodachrome Processing has Ended.

The last day to accept any new orders for Kodachrome processing was Thursday, December 30th, 2010. All types of Kodachrome film (including Kodachrome slide and movie film) that was not in our lab by 12:00 noon on December 30th, 2010 cannot be processed.

Follow the comments below, or in the case of the Beta NPE over here>>>

"How to check a river crossing"

Reverse up to the edge of the river, just off the track, then watch people come across to join you, check the the depth as they come, turn your vehicle around and then cross safely!

I would never attempt this...

youtu.be/loPHiH2m3Io

From the VW Australia Group..

Another link...

Our Vanlife is good, so far...

blog.thedyrt.com/lifestyle/vanlife-bloopers/

To elope, most literally, means to run away and to not come back to the point of origin. More colloquially, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married.

Today the term "elopement" is colloquially used for any marriage performed in haste, with a limited public engagement period or without a public engagement period. Some couples elope because they wish to avoid objections from parents, or religious obligations. In addition, the term elopement is used in psychiatric hospitals to refer to a patient leaving the psychiatric unit without authorisation.

In England, a legal prerequisite of marriage is the "reading of the banns"—for the three Sundays prior to the intended date of the ceremony, the names of every couple intending marriage has to be read aloud by the priest(s) of their parish(es) of residence, or the posting of a 'Notice of Intent to Marry' in the registry office for civil ceremonies. The intention of this is to prevent bigamy or other unlawful marriages by giving fair warning to anybody who might have a legal right to object.In practice, however, it also gives warning to the couples' parents, who sometimes objected on purely personal grounds.

To work around this law, it is necessary to get a special licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury — or to flee somewhere the law did not apply, across the border to Gretna Green, Scotland, for instance.

It was perfect weather in Laguna Beach on Friday. There weren't too many clouds out `but that's never a prerequisite for beautiful beach photos. My jeans were soaked up to my waist to get this shot. I keep meaning to wear my swim trunks to the beach when I shoot photos but always seem to forget. I guess that just means I'll have to go back for more photos.

"The value of biodiversity is that it makes our ecosystems more resilient, which is a prerequisite for stable societies; its wanton destruction is akin to setting fire to our lifeboat."

~ Johan Rockstrom

Shot by phone this morning while I walked "around my house".

Trying out the K-1 under clear skies and also which lenses work well for night skies on the camera. This was shot with a SMC PENTAX-M 50mm f/1.4 stopped down to f/5.6, not bad for an old manual lens from the early 80's. Ordinarily I would use fast lenses as wide open as they let me but based on my 1st night out with the K-1 and having looked at some of the files, a fast lens may no long be a prerequisite, greatly due the K-1's exposure latitude in RAW files. You can really push these files much more than anything I've ever tested. The real test will be a dark night with no Moon providing illumination, stay tuned for them tests.