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unfold me.
ten points for whoever can guess the song, which i absolutely adore by the way. :)
just got back from michigan! it was awesome. i took lots of pictures. i have so many for you guys haha be prepared :P this was taken in mackinaw city, early morning. gotta love the fog.
thank you questioning[lovely] for the testimonial, she is so fantastic, you gotta check her out :)
*explored, thank you! :)
A year ago I took this photo and I felt at the time 2018 had been full of Photographic highlights. This year I feel I have stagnated it’s not been a great year. My trips to the Lakes and one trip to Scotland produced no keepers, maybe by the end of 2020 I will look back to 2019 with more fondness if I haven’t deleted most of my library by then. This frustration has led to me questioning my gear. I’ve been juggling 3 systems, Canon, Fujifilm and Olympus. Of course it has nothing to do with the gear but it doesn’t help lumping in gear decisions when planning a photo trip. So Ill box up my Olympus and sell on, use my Canon gear for local coastal and the Fujifilm for backpacking trips. I get out more and take fewer photographs on those outings. AND RELAX IN MY PHOTOGRAPHY!!!
Selma, AL | March 04, 2007
"Here today, I must begin because at the Unity breakfast this morning I was saving for last and the list was so long I left him out after that introduction. So I'm going to start by saying how much I appreciate the friendship and the support and the outstanding work that he does each and every day, not just in Capitol Hill but also back here in the district. Please give a warm round of applause for your Congressman Artur Davis.
It is a great honor to be here. Reverend Jackson, thank you so much. To the family of Brown A.M.E, to the good Bishop Kirkland, thank you for your wonderful message and your leadership.
I want to acknowledge one of the great heroes of American history and American life, somebody who captures the essence of decency and courage, somebody who I have admired all my life and were it not for him, I'm not sure I'd be here today, Congressman John Lewis.
I'm thankful to him. To all the distinguished guests and clergy, I'm not sure I'm going to thank Reverend Lowery because he stole the show. I was mentioning earlier, I know we've got C.T. Vivian in the audience, and when you have to speak in front of somebody who Martin Luther King said was the greatest preacher he ever heard, then you've got some problems.
And I'm a little nervous about following so many great preachers. But I'm hoping that the spirit moves me and to all my colleagues who have given me such a warm welcome, thank you very much for allowing me to speak to you here today.
You know, several weeks ago, after I had announced that I was running for the Presidency of the United States, I stood in front of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois; where Abraham Lincoln delivered his speech declaring, drawing in scripture, that a house divided against itself could not stand.
And I stood and I announced that I was running for the presidency. And there were a lot of commentators, as they are prone to do, who questioned the audacity of a young man like myself, haven't been in Washington too long.
And I acknowledge that there is a certain presumptuousness about this.
But I got a letter from a friend of some of yours named Reverend Otis Moss Jr. in Cleveland, and his son, Otis Moss III is the Pastor at my church and I must send greetings from Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. but I got a letter giving me encouragement and saying how proud he was that I had announced and encouraging me to stay true to my ideals and my values and not to be fearful.
And he said, if there's some folks out there who are questioning whether or not you should run, just tell them to look at the story of Joshua because you're part of the Joshua generation.
So I just want to talk a little about Moses and Aaron and Joshua, because we are in the presence today of a lot of Moseses. We're in the presence today of giants whose shoulders we stand on, people who battled, not just on behalf of African Americans but on behalf of all of America; that battled for America's soul, that shed blood , that endured taunts and formant and in some cases gave -- torment and in some cases gave the full measure of their devotion.
Like Moses, they challenged Pharaoh, the princes, powers who said that some are atop and others are at the bottom, and that's how it's always going to be.
There were people like Anna Cooper and Marie Foster and Jimmy Lee Jackson and Maurice Olette, C.T. Vivian, Reverend Lowery, John Lewis, who said we can imagine something different and we know there is something out there for us, too.
Thank God, He's made us in His image and we reject the notion that we will for the rest of our lives be confined to a station of inferiority, that we can't aspire to the highest of heights, that our talents can't be expressed to their fullest. And so because of what they endured, because of what they marched; they led a people out of bondage.
They took them across the sea that folks thought could not be parted. They wandered through a desert but always knowing that God was with them and that, if they maintained that trust in God, that they would be all right. And it's because they marched that the next generation hasn't been bloodied so much.
It's because they marched that we elected councilmen, congressmen. It is because they marched that we have Artur Davis and Keith Ellison. It is because they marched that I got the kind of education I got, a law degree, a seat in the Illinois senate and ultimately in the United States senate.
It is because they marched that I stand before you here today. I was mentioning at the Unity Breakfast this morning, my -- at the Unity Breakfast this morning that my debt is even greater than that because not only is my career the result of the work of the men and women who we honor here today. My very existence might not have been possible had it not been for some of the folks here today. I mentioned at the Unity Breakfast that a lot of people been asking, well, you know, your father was from Africa, your mother, she's a white woman from Kansas. I'm not sure that you have the same experience.
And I tried to explain, you don't understand. You see, my Grandfather was a cook to the British in Kenya. Grew up in a small village and all his life, that's all he was -- a cook and a house boy. And that's what they called him, even when he was 60 years old. They called him a house boy. They wouldn't call him by his last name.
Sound familiar?
He had to carry a passbook around because Africans in their own land, in their own country, at that time, because it was a British colony, could not move about freely. They could only go where they were told to go. They could only work where they were told to work.
Yet something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened in Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, 'Ripples of hope all around the world.' Something happened when a bunch of women decided they were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry, looking after somebody else's children. When men who had PhD's decided that's enough and we're going to stand up for our dignity.
That sent a shout across oceans so that my grandfather began to imagine something different for his son. His son, who grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could suddenly set his sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world had a chance.
What happened in Selma, Alabama and Birmingham also stirred the conscience of the nation. It worried folks in the White House who said, “You know, we're battling Communism. How are we going to win hearts and minds all across the world? If right here in our own country, John, we're not observing the ideals set fort in our Constitution, we might be accused of being hypocrites. So the Kennedy's decided we're going to do an air lift. We're going to go to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country America is.
This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came over to this country. He met this woman whose great great-great-great-grandfather had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some craziness going on because they looked at each other and they decided that we know that the world as it has been it might not be possible for us to get together and have a child. There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born. So don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma, Alabama. Don't tell me I'm not coming home to Selma, Alabama.
I'm here because somebody marched. I'm here because you all sacrificed for me. I stand on the shoulders of giants. I thank the Moses generation; but we've got to remember, now, that Joshua still had a job to do. As great as Moses was, despite all that he did, leading a people out of bondage, he didn't cross over the river to see the Promised Land. God told him your job is done. You'll see it. You'll be at the mountain top and you can see what I've promised. What I've promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. You will see that I've fulfilled that promise but you won't go there.
We're going to leave it to the Joshua generation to make sure it happens. There are still battles that need to be fought; some rivers that need to be crossed. Like Moses, the task was passed on to those who might not have been as deserving, might not have been as courageous, find themselves in front of the risks that their parents and grandparents and great grandparents had taken. That doesn't mean that they don't still have a burden to shoulder, that they don't have some responsibilities. The previous generation, the Moses generation, pointed the way. They took us 90% of the way there. We still got that 10% in order to cross over to the other side. So the question, I guess, that I have today is what's called of us in this Joshua generation? What do we do in order to fulfill that legacy; to fulfill the obligations and the debt that we owe to those who allowed us to be here today?
Now, I don't think we could ever fully repay that debt. I think that we're always going to be looking back; but, there are at least a few suggestions that I would have in terms of how we might fulfill that enormous legacy. The first is to recognize our history. John Lewis talked about why we're here today. But I worry sometimes -- we've got black history month, we come down and march every year, once a year, we occasionally celebrate the various events of the civil rights movement, we celebrate Dr. Kings birthday but it strikes me that understanding our history and knowing what it means is an everyday activity.
Now, I don't think we could ever fully repay that debt. I think that we're always going to be looking back, but there are at least a few suggestions that I would have in terms of how we might fulfill that enormous legacy. The first is to recognize our history. John Lewis talked about why we're here today. But I worry sometimes -- we've got black history month, we come down and march every year, once a year. We occasionally celebrate the various events of the Civil Rights Movement, we celebrate Dr. King's birthday, but it strikes me that understanding our history and knowing what it means, is an everyday activity.
Moses told the Joshua generation; don't forget where you came from. I worry sometimes, that the Joshua generation in its success forgets where it came from. Thinks it doesn't have to make as many sacrifices. Thinks that the very height of ambition is to make as much money as you can, to drive the biggest car and have the biggest house and wear a Rolex watch and get your own private jet, get some of that Oprah money. And I think that's a good thing. There's nothing wrong with making money, but if you know your history, then you know that there is a certain poverty of ambition involved in simply striving just for money. Materialism alone will not fulfill the possibilities of your existence. You have to fill that with something else. You have to fill it with the golden rule. You've got to fill it with thinking about others. And if we know our history, then we will understand that that is the highest mark of service.
Second thing that the Joshua generation needs to understand is that the principles of equality that were set fort and were battled for have to be fought each and every day. It is not a one-time thing. I was remarking at the unity breakfast on the fact that the single most significant concern that this justice department under this administration has had with respect to discrimination has to do with affirmative action. That they have basically spent all their time worrying about colleges and universities around the country that are given a little break to young African Americans and Hispanics to make sure that they can go to college, too.
I had a school in southern Illinois that set up a program for PhD's in math and science for African Americans. And the reason they had set it up is because we only had less than 1% of the PhD's in science and math go to African Americans. At a time when we are competing in a global economy, when we're not competing just against folks in North Carolina or Florida or California, we're competing against folks in China and India and we need math and science majors, this university thought this might be a nice thing to do. And the justice department wrote them a letter saying we are going to threaten to sue you for reverse discrimination unless you cease this program.
And it reminds us that we still got a lot of work to do, and that the basic enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, the injustice that still exists within our criminal justice system, the disparity in terms of how people are treated in this country continues. It has gotten better. And we should never deny that it's gotten better. But we shouldn't forget that better is not good enough. That until we have absolute equality in this country in terms of people being treated on the basis of their color or their gender, that that is something that we've got to continue to work on and the Joshua generation has a significant task in making that happen.
Third thing -- we've got to recognize that we fought for civil rights, but we've still got a lot of economic rights that have to be dealt with. We've got 46 million people uninsured in this country despite spending more money on health care than any nation on earth. It makes no sense. As a consequence, we've got what's known as a health care disparity in this nation because many of the uninsured are African American or Latino. Life expectancy is lower. Almost every disease is higher within minority communities. The health care gap.
Blacks are less likely in their schools to have adequate funding. We have less-qualified teachers in those schools. We have fewer textbooks in those schools. We got in some schools rats outnumbering computers. That's called the achievement gap. You've got a health care gap and you've got an achievement gap. You've got Katrina still undone. I went down to New Orleans three weeks ago. It still looks bombed out. Still not rebuilt. When 9/11 happened, the federal government had a special program of grants to help rebuild. They waived any requirement that Manhattan would have to pay 10% of the cost of rebuilding. When Hurricane Andrew happened in Florida, 10% requirement, they waived it because they understood that some disasters are so devastating that we can't expect a community to rebuild. New Orleans -- the largest national catastrophe in our history, the federal government says where's your 10%?
There is an empathy gap. There is a gap in terms of sympathizing for the folks in New Orleans. It's not a gap that the American people felt because we saw how they responded. But somehow our government didn't respond with that same sense of compassion, with that same sense of kindness. And here is the worst part, the tragedy in New Orleans happened well before the hurricane struck because many of those communities, there were so many young men in prison, so many kids dropping out, so little hope.
A hope gap. A hope gap that still pervades too many communities all across the country and right here in Alabama. So the question is, then, what are we, the Joshua generation, doing to close those gaps? Are we doing every single thing that we can do in Congress in order to make sure that early education is adequately funded and making sure that we are raising the minimum wage so people can have dignity and respect?
Are we ensuring that, if somebody loses a job, that they're getting retrained? And that, if they've lost their health care and pension, somebody is there to help them get back on their feet? Are we making sure we're giving a second chance to those who have strayed and gone to prison but want to start a new life? Government alone can't solve all those problems, but government can help. It's the responsibility of the Joshua generation to make sure that we have a government that is as responsive as the need that exists all across America. That brings me to one other point, about the Joshua generation, and that is this -- that it's not enough just to ask what the government can do for us-- it's important for us to ask what we can do for ourselves.
One of the signature aspects of the civil rights movement was the degree of discipline and fortitude that was instilled in all the people who participated. Imagine young people, 16, 17, 20, 21, backs straight, eyes clear, suit and tie, sitting down at a lunch counter knowing somebody is going to spill milk on you but you have the discipline to understand that you are not going to retaliate because in showing the world how disciplined we were as a people, we were able to win over the conscience of the nation. I can't say for certain that we have instilled that same sense of moral clarity and purpose in this generation. Bishop, sometimes I feel like we've lost it a little bit.
I'm fighting to make sure that our schools are adequately funded all across the country. With the inequities of relying on property taxes and people who are born in wealthy districts getting better schools than folks born in poor districts and that's now how it's supposed to be. That's not the American way. but I'll tell you what -- even as I fight on behalf of more education funding, more equity, I have to also say that , if parents don't turn off the television set when the child comes home from school and make sure they sit down and do their homework and go talk to the teachers and find out how they're doing, and if we don't start instilling a sense in our young children that there is nothing to be ashamed about in educational achievement, I don't know who taught them that reading and writing and conjugating your verbs was something white.
We've got to get over that mentality. That is part of what the Moses generation teaches us, not saying to ourselves we can't do something, but telling ourselves that we can achieve. We can do that. We got power in our hands. Folks are complaining about the quality of our government, I understand there's something to be complaining about. I'm in Washington. I see what's going on. I see those powers and principalities have snuck back in there, that they're writing the energy bills and the drug laws.
We understand that, but I'll tell you what. I also know that, if cousin Pookie would vote, get off the couch and register some folks and go to the polls, we might have a different kind of politics. That's what the Moses generation teaches us. Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes. Go do some politics. Change this country! That's what we need. We have too many children in poverty in this country and everybody should be ashamed, but don't tell me it doesn't have a little to do with the fact that we got too many daddies not acting like daddies. Don't think that fatherhood ends at conception. I know something about that because my father wasn't around when I was young and I struggled.
Those of you who read my book know. I went through some difficult times. I know what it means when you don't have a strong male figure in the house, which is why the hardest thing about me being in politics sometimes is not being home as much as I'd like and I'm just blessed that I've got such a wonderful wife at home to hold things together. Don't tell me that we can't do better by our children, that we can't take more responsibility for making sure we're instilling in them the values and the ideals that the Moses generation taught us about sacrifice and dignity and honesty and hard work and discipline and self-sacrifice. That comes from us. We've got to transmit that to the next generation and I guess the point that I'm making is that the civil rights movement wasn't just a fight against the oppressor; it was also a fight against the oppressor in each of us.
Sometimes it's easy to just point at somebody else and say it's their fault, but oppression has a way of creeping into it. Reverend, it has a way of stunting yourself. You start telling yourself, Bishop, I can't do something. I can't read. I can't go to college. I can't start a business. I can't run for Congress. I can't run for the presidency. People start telling you-- you can't do something, after a while, you start believing it and part of what the civil rights movement was about was recognizing that we have to transform ourselves in order to transform the world. Mahatma Gandhi, great hero of Dr. King and the person who helped create the nonviolent movement around the world; he once said that you can't change the world if you haven't changed.
If you want to change the world, the change has to happen with you first and that is something that the greatest and most honorable of generations has taught us, but the final thing that I think the Moses generation teaches us is to remind ourselves that we do what we do because God is with us. You know, when Moses was first called to lead people out of the Promised Land, he said I don't think I can do it, Lord. I don't speak like Reverend Lowery. I don't feel brave and courageous and the Lord said I will be with you. Throw down that rod. Pick it back up. I'll show you what to do. The same thing happened with the Joshua generation.
Joshua said, you know, I'm scared. I'm not sure that I am up to the challenge, the Lord said to him, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you. Be strong and have courage, for I am with you wherever you go. Be strong and have courage. It's a prayer for a journey. A prayer that kept a woman in her seat when the bus driver told her to get up, a prayer that led nine children through the doors of the little rock school, a prayer that carried our brothers and sisters over a bridge right here in Selma, Alabama. Be strong and have courage.
When you see row and row of state trooper facing you, the horses and the tear gas, how else can you walk? Towards them, unarmed, unafraid. When they come start beating your friends and neighbors, how else can you simply kneel down, bow your head and ask the Lord for salvation? When you see heads gashed open and eyes burning and children lying hurt on the side of the road, when you are John Lewis and you've been beaten within an inch of your life on Sunday, how do you wake up Monday and keep on marching?
Be strong and have courage, for I am with you wherever you go. We've come a long way in this journey, but we still have a long way to travel. We traveled because God was with us. It's not how far we've come. That bridge outside was crossed by blacks and whites, northerners and southerners, teenagers and children, the beloved community of God's children, they wanted to take those steps together, but it was left to the Joshua's to finish the journey Moses had begun and today we're called to be the Joshua's of our time, to be the generation that finds our way across this river.
There will be days when the water seems wide and the journey too far, but in those moments, we must remember that throughout our history, there has been a running thread of ideals that have guided our travels and pushed us forward, even when they're just beyond our reach, liberty in the face of tyranny, opportunity where there was none and hope over the most crushing despair. Those ideals and values beckon us still and when we have our doubts and our fears, just like Joshua did, when the road looks too long and it seems like we may lose our way, remember what these people did on that bridge.
Keep in your heart the prayer of that journey, the prayer that God gave to Joshua. Be strong and have courage in the face of injustice. Be strong and have courage in the face of prejudice and hatred, in the face of joblessness and helplessness and hopelessness. Be strong and have courage, brothers and sisters, those who are gathered here today, in the face of our doubts and fears, in the face of skepticism, in the face of cynicism, in the face of a mighty river.
Be strong and have courage and let us cross over that Promised Land together. Thank you so much everybody.
God bless you."
Prenant la pose... Mantis me regarde du coin de son oeil interrogateur... je suis bien comme ça ?...
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Striking a pose... Mantis looks at me out of the corner of his questioning eye... I'm fine like that?...
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Haciendo una pose... Mantis me mira por el rabillo del ojo inquisitivo... Estoy bien así?...
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Eine Pose einnehmen... Mantis schaut mich fragend an... Mir geht es gut so?...
Philip
But what sort of Grebe? I lean strongly towards Eared Grebe, however I have some questions when it comes to eye color and tail feather array. Beak and general patterns say Eared to me...?? welcome comments.
Seen along the causeway out to Morro Rock.
Morro Bay, ca.
No, don't adjust your monitor, I decided to work with the absolute harshest color combination that I could. Apparently I wanted to sear your eyes today and make myself crazy trying to get the tones right. I can't keep looking at it today and am questioning the color wheel that suggests these colors should work together. Keeping my mind occupied and distracted. This color series has really been a great lesson for me and if you avoid working in color, I highly suggest it, it is challenging, frustrating, and fascinating. It's Friday, yay and a three day weekend to boot. Enjoy your weekend if you can still see, hahaha.
Tie your heart at night to mine, love,
and both will defeat the darkness
like twin drums beating in the forest
against the heavy wall of wet leaves.
Night crossing: black coal of dream
that cuts the thread of earthly orbs
with the punctuality of a headlong train
that pulls cold stone and shadow endlessly.
Love, because of it, tie me to a purer movement,
to the grip on life that beats in your breast,
with the wings of a submerged swan,
So that our dream might reply
to the sky’s questioning stars
with one key, one door closed to shadow.
Pablo Neruda
[www.flickr.com/groups/wonderous_love/ Clef des Champs], Clef des champs (164, 13, 21) - Adulto
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clef%20des%20champs/165/13/22
"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why," - Mark Twain
Honestly, I have never thought about why I was born and I still really don't think about it. I have had someone ask me what I want to accomplish in life. My answer was that I just want to experience as much of life as I can. But I had tea with a 90 year old neighbour in my backyard today. He was walking by very slowly in his walker after a hip replacement 5 weeks ago. His wife has been in a nursing home for several years due to Alzheimers. She doesn't even know him anymore. He got pretty teary eyed a few times in our conversation. He feels lost not being able to do the things he loved to do most. I can hear him questioning his quality of life. I wonder if he ever thinks "Why was I born?" After listening to him tell his stories (some of which I have heard many times already), he thanked me for the tea. "It was nice to have someone listen to me" he said. Maybe that's why I was born....to listen to other people's stories and to tell my own someday.
With a high of 40 degrees F tomorrow and the potential of snow, these birds must be questioning their decision to migrate. Lake St. Clair.
When I originally planned to photograph the Callanish Standing Stones I had visualised the resultant images in monochrome with strong contrast, heavy skies and deep textures. Today’s post is pretty much the embodiment of that original plan and at the time I was feeling pretty happy with the result. However, I posted the colour images first, even though they were only intended as a means to an end, and having been given so much positive feedback and kind comments on the colour editions I’m now questioning the wisdom in using the mono images.
Well it is the start of the competition season and I’m looking for images to submit into the monochrome category so today I am testing the water, so to speak, to see if these go down ok. As always, any comments or feedback would be very much appreciated.
Happy Caturday 25.4.2020 "Make us smile"
I have already reported on the first part of our morning ceremony - Timmy and Grandma's shower chair:
www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgang-kynast/49400279263
Until now, the sound of the toilet flushing was enough to make him run away. But since a few days he stays sitting and waits until I get up and close the toilet lid. Then he climbs on it and looks at me very questioningly.
My explanation: he wants to find out what is so great about this toilet, because sometimes I sit on it ;-)
for years I placed value into someone that didn’t give two shits about me or my wellbeing, that lied and cheated repeatedly, that had me questioning myself outta wanting, needing and feeling the lies i was being told, I had to believe outta loving him deeply, even on SL feelings are and can be very damn real.... for years I loved someone that didn’t value my worth, didn’t appreciate the fact that no matter what I’d always choose him over anything and anyone else..... even on sl being cheated on hurts! deeply. However, him doing so, him continuing to lie about his infidelity which I would of even been willing to work through, out of being a woman of loyalty, honesty, and morals, the truth would of had me stay, for truth shows vulnerability and shows regret when you’ve wronged. However, the lie, allowed me to get my me back allowed me to learn shit about myself on a rl platform. Nobody in this world is perfect, but baby, if you find someone willing to accept your flaws, even on this game, and at your core, don’t dare turn on them! Nothing in this world is perfect, and nothing perfect or easy, holds any value. Anyone that can know your deepest truth(s) and they still want to love you, They are rare.... I am rare..... I am real.... I am human.... I am a true Queen with morals...... I deserve better then what I was subjecting myself to on this platform... simply outta wanting a COMPANION..... this time alone is/has taught me being single can be better then being with someone that does not value you or your worth! Learning to re-love me at my core, after hurt, lies and betrayal is the best shit I’ve done!!! AND BAYYY BEEE THE GLOW UP IS REAL!!! when we release what we dont need and what don't serve us, we not only grow, but we mother fucking GLOW! #Single&Happy!
You can see the similarities—the outward and the inward. This brutal thunderstorm so severe that left you parked along the road, questioning whether you would be able to continue traveling to your appointment where you receive the vital elements that provide support, healing and recovery. Bright bolts of lightning and roaring thunder that send startling vibrations throughout the car, thick, blasting, visually impairing sheets of rain sent sideways by the violent gusts of wind. These major, uncontrollable obstacles make what is necessary for growth, recovery, healing, repair and reworking seem to be impossible. The intense difficulties all seem to be symbolic of how hard you have to fight for your own life, growth, healing, recovery and to accept and receive help and support due to the effects of the brutal harm you’ve endured. It is amazing that as you experience many challenges that cause this healing journey to feel nearly impossible, you courageously work to keep fighting for life.
#NotetoSelf
[image created on 6-29-2023]
It had been a long night with questioning persons of interest, the victim’s ex-husband, his girlfriend and the victim’s current boyfriend. And they had been searching for clues and arguing about them.
If you want to read the full chapter or more crime stories, click here: SecondCrime Stories
Although inspired by the British Olympic diver Tom Snailey, Brian soon found himself questioning his interest in taking diving lessons at his local swimming pool...
The term 'thrown in at the deep end' refers to being put into a completely new situation without help or preparation, which clearly suits Brian in this context.
No snails were harmed in the making of this photograph. At no time was Brian in any danger of falling into the pool. He was much smaller than the diameter of the 'diving board'.
seen at Ueno.
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Albert Einstein
Have a great weekend to all my flickr friends..
Thank you for all the visit comments and faves.. Arlenk.
For the Challenge
Della was trying her hardest to understand what perspective was this week. She couldn't figure out why I kept having her sit at the end of the fence in the backyard while I moved down to try and create a vanishing point. This was as far away as I could get...not because Della lost her stay but because I couldn't get further down the fence line because it is on a retaining wall. After numerous attempts and lots of treats we decided to go with this one. Hard to resist a questioning look.
WFM-22-10-2025-003
If anything can go wrong, it will. I had packed a film holder without questioning what film was in it. Instead of Fomapan 100 it was very old Rollei Infrared. As it is rated 400 without the Infrared filter, the film was overexposed by two stops. But since I did not know what I had, I developed it together with the Fomapan sheets. - totally wrong. However, I got a rather dense negative which prints without difficulty. I was lucky in the end because a series of mistakes cancelled each other out.
Shen Hao PTB 45, Schneider-Kreuznach Suoer Angulon 5.6/90, yellow filter, developed in Rodinal 1+50 using the SP 445 development tank, scanned on my Epson V800 and adjusted in Lightroom.
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality." - Einstein
So you don't wanna hear about my good song?
You don't wanna hear about how I am getting on
With all the things that I can get done
The sun is in the sky and I am by my lonesome
So you don't wanna hear about my good day?
You have better things to do than to hear me say
God, it's been a lovely day, everything's been going my way
I took out the trash today and I'm on fire
So you don't wanna hear about my good friends
You don't have the guts to take the truth or consequence
Success is in the eye of the beholder
And it's looking even better over your cold shoulder
I'm not suggesting you get to line me up for questioning
But Jesus think about the bridges you are burning and I'm betting
That even though you knew it from the start
You'd rather be a bitch than be an ordinary broken heart
That terrible feeling of doubt is with me today, questioning everything I am and I just want to ignore it but how? How do you tune out your inner critic, I feel like it's a bad idea. My critic keeps me protected and safe and stops me from making bad decisions, so I listen more often than not. Ok, moving on and hoping for the best. How do you deal with your voices?
Sunglasses: The first sunglasses were invented sometime in 12th century China. They were a crude slab of smoked quartz that was made to block out the light from the sun. The primitive frames were roughly shaped frame to hold them against the user's face. These darkened lenses, made only for the very rich, were not vision-corrected, nor they protect against harmful UV rays, but they provided some relief from having the bright sun constantly shining into user's eyes and were also used to hide emotions from others when speaking with them. This was particularly handy for Chinese judges of that time who had routinely worn smoke-colored quartz lenses allowing them to see emotionally detached from the topic being discussed and to conceal their feelings while questioning the accused.
Abstractt from a wooden spoon ! After being Banned from Macro Monday's due to my questioning the deleteing of my image, I have spun my spoon into a Loving Spoonful. Let the music youtu.be/BIM579H-f7Y
I don’t know what the transgression - if any - was here, but it certainly involved some prolonged searching and questioning. At a Climate change protest in London last year.
This shot was taken tucked down behind the bank of the River Coupall in Glencoe, questioning my sanity, as the storm passed overhead!!
#NPS109 - Happy Founders Day! The Organic Act became law #onthisday in 1916 formally creating the National Park Service.
What to say about our favorite government agency on this, its 109th anniversary? The only thing to say, I suppose; that the National Park Service is perhaps our most noble endeavor. What we choose to save on our planet reveals what kind of species we are. Shall we save our tallest mountains? Our deepest canyons? Our oldest trees? Our waters and our skies and our lands and our history? Even our mistakes? Even the most ugly instances of where our culture has stumbled so that we may learn from them and improve? Yes. All that and more. In these uncertain times, when many are actively questioning the purpose and functionality of the National Park Service, may we always remember that what we choose to save about the land and our past is what we choose to save about ourselves. The National Parks are our best idea because they are OUR democratic spaces and they reflect OUR inclusivity and diversity.
May the NPS have its best days before it.
Happy 109th anniversary!
In the National Park Service, you are on Native American land that explores and preserves the intricate tapestry that is American culture. It is our best idea. Protect it with all your might. #FindYourPark
-Artificial intelligence “image generators” give everyone the opportunity to be creative, and thanks to their abilities, millions of people have this experience. But there is confusion and new questions. As the artistic prowess of artificial intelligence emerges, it raises questions we haven't encountered before about what it means to be human. Some consider AI products to be works of art, while others object. I evaluated the facts analytically in terms of art philosophy and wrote my ideas in this article.
Below is the article I wrote about art, artist concepts, can artificial intelligence make art, analysis of human art and artificial intelligence products.
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AN ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE "ART" ADVENTURE OF HUMANS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The concept of "art" is the field of creativity, the only feature of being human. As the artistic prowess of Artificial intelligence emerges in a fast-moving world, it raises questions we've never encountered before about what it means to be "human". What kind of a period will "art", which is the result of human concepts such as existence, society, communication, subconscious, emotions, imagination, intuition, love, sensitivity, impulse, instinct, dream, originality and of course, creativity, enter into a period with Artificial intelligence (AI)? With its revolutionary technology that will change production, thinking, lifestyles and the future, will artificial intelligence, which is designed to replace people in other fields of activity, be more creative than humans in the field of art and reach the competence to challenge the artist?
According to Hegel, art carries the spirit of the artist, who is transferred to matter and likens matter to himself. Well, since the products created by machines without a soul today are not generated by an artist, can they carry spirit and meaning?
For years, computer technology has already made an impact and contribution to visual arts with image technologies such as vector, bitmap, 3D, CGI as a tool that creates, processes and changes the image. Today, many smart image generators such as Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, Craiyon, Midjourney, Nightcafe Ai, etc. are software systems that can statistically evaluate themselves over large datasets containing millions of images, train themselves, and produce new images that are not included in the original dataset. Not just images, AI is already being used in other branches of the arts to create music, poetry, sculpture, stories, articles and films.
There are many new questions and concepts such as whether the products created by a system that has human skills but is not human are real works of art, whether programmers and machines will be accepted as artists, whether AI products can be included in the broad and general definition of art. Although there are objections, acceptances, doubts, different opinions, it has been met with great interest by the majority.
First of all, it is necessary to talk about the concepts of “Art” and “Artist”. In its most general definition, art is a reflection of the human mind and cultural evolution, an expression of creativity, way of thinking and imagination. The artist, on the other hand, is the one who makes art with the awareness of "being human", humanizes and shapes life, and realizes the phenomenon of art with action. The artist combines facts with aesthetic elements from a different point of view and records them in social memory. Behind his creative works lie deep stories of man, his age and society. He uses his imagination, patience, enthusiasm and self-sacrificing efforts to embed his passions, memories, dreams, imaginary and abstract ideas, symbols, philosophy and his inner world, the dynamics of the era and society he lives in, with aesthetic expressions. The process of creating the artist's art is complex and difficult, while filtering everything he is affected by and incorporating it into his works. He feels both sadness and happiness most deeply, and experiences his anxiety and pleasure at the highest level.
Art originates from life and human beings and belongs to humans. “Art is an object made by man for man. “ (E.H.Gombrich, The Story of Art) This is a very accurate definition and “Art” is based on a human-made phenomenon that takes its source from the human artist and seeks meaning with its historical, social accumulation and imagination; existence occurs in the unity of human, artist, meaning, aesthetic object and aesthetic taste. In this respect, there is a deep bond of existence between man, art and work of art that complements each other.
The artist searches for the meanings behind artistic intentions and desires and vital phenomena. Since AI is not a living, emotional being, it lacks imagination, the reality of its external world, and the qualities of being human. Unfortunately, those who claim in advance that the products of AI are art, underestimate the artist who realizes the thousands-year-old deep source of art and the artistic production process, and find it unnecessary to question the artist's effort and necessity. Decisions made by those who do not know the depth of the creative process, without entering the enthusiastic world of an artist, are in favor of accepting and affirming AI products without questioning them. We see that the capitalist world, which wants to benefit from the stimulating effect of the trade created by AI products, has great expectations to use this situation in its favor and turn it into money.
The production process of AI is formed by the combination of computer, programmer, data, algorithm, output, aesthetic taste of the receptive subject. Since AI does not perform its actions by focusing on aesthetic values, aesthetic harmony and meaning, the output it produces is only a sensory, aesthetic value uncertain, non-essential, formal object. Because it lacks the subjective point of view and the values of the special creation process in the mind of an artist. The software, which does not take its source from the human mind, does not have emotions, and produces from ready-made data, has the potential to produce likeable outputs. It can even produce outputs, albeit rare, that, by chance, can give aesthetic pleasure and cause emotional and artistic excitement in people. Again, it is the receptive subject himself who adds artistic value to such an output with his artistic disposition, education and dreams. Because, while the output is devoid of a communication basis, an expression to be conveyed and has no artistic value, the perception style, psychological orientation and point of view of the receptive subject who establishes the communication raise the output to the value of an object that gives aesthetic pleasure. The receptive subject participates in the process with its level of perception of the object, aesthetic judgment and creativity, and needs the qualities of its own self and visual capacity. With a subjectivist attitude, he takes the artistic value not from the object but from his own psychology, customizes the object with his own emotions and attributes a meaning to the output. What makes the output of AI valuable is not the qualities of the aesthetic object formed by the activity of an artist, but the way of seeing of the receptive subject.
The work of art is a human creation, the creative subject is the artist. The artist produces by adding meaning to his work, and the visible form has a meaning integrity, a unity of form and content. In his work, the artist formally expresses a reality about life in his work. That is, the meaning is not added after making the work, and the meaning exists as a substance in the mind of the artist before the work takes shape. In the work, the expression to be conveyed without communicating with the receptive subject is already present and ready; all this is hidden in the work as a reality and waits to be seen by a competent receptive subject. This is the process of discovery of the work of a spirit that repeats the aesthetic creation formed in the artist's soul. The receptive subject, who judges the output of artificial intelligence, lacks the pleasure and effort of creating, perceiving and recreating the expression level of the artist, that is, the human being. Because understanding and making sense of a work of art requires an effort like the creativity of the artist.
E.H. “We cannot hope to understand a work of art if we do not have the ability to share that sense of liberation and triumph that the artist has over his finished work,” says Gombrich.
We see that while art is realized with the connection of the artist, the work (aesthetics) and the receptive subject (aesthetic interest), the process in the AI product takes place with the connection of data, algorithm, object (sensory) and receptive subject (aesthetic interest).
Human art is the aesthetic relationship between man and objective reality and includes artistic reality. Its source is life, human, society, created by the artist, it focuses on the whole process and is holistic. It is based on the reproduction of the aesthetic values that the artist brings to the object by the receptive subject, the connections and interaction with the aesthetic judgment. It is directly and tightly connected to human practice, society and social life. The work of art is personal, original, and the artist has a compositional knowledge and skill that will require much more than repetitions, different blending and attachment techniques in AI output. In a way that takes its origins from life and focuses on the soul and meaning, art considers beauty as a unity of values. Like artificial intelligence, it focuses not only on the result, but also on the whole process, and this is what we need to distinguish.
Although AI is capable of creativity, this does not mean that it is an artist. Likewise, neither a programmer nor an algorithm is an artist. Because their production is outside of the vital, emotional, spiritual and meaning integrity we have explained above, they produce automatically and with commands. The algorithm does not create the object by considering artistic values, qualities and concerns, that is, the algorithm is not aware that it is dealing with art, so it is not conscious of reality. It scans the database and generates predictive compositions with the ability to fuse, add, subtract, associate and learn.
Artificial intelligence products can only be at the limit of the general definition of art. The creation process is automatic and is not identical with human art with the layers of existence it has; the source, formation and result are realized by a completely different method. Therefore, it is a phenomenon of experimental production that, although it is ostentatious and surprising, is not competent, imitates art as a form, its essence is incomplete, although it gives the impression of art.
Based on the context of reality, the search for meaning, the layers of existence and the social source of life, it would be appropriate to call it "Human Art" because it represents human beings, and "Artificial Intelligence Art" because it is created by codes. Because we cannot see artificial intelligence, which enters art as a separate actor, as if it is making productions of the same value as human beings and art. What makes human art valuable is that it tells its own story and the struggle for existence with the accumulation of thousands of years of creation process.
As AI enters more and more scientific, everyday and artistic and human fields, we have to make the rules, boundaries and definitions of human domain, arrangements, positioning and criticisms that include what human being is, to remain "human". The important thing is to create and place concepts that will preserve the depth, value, originality, creativity and freedom of the human domain. While doing this, we should determine the roles by defining the field that artificial intelligence, that is, the machine can have. For this reason, the categorical distinction was made as "Human Art" and "AI Art" because it was based on codes. To make both the same, to say that both achieve similar goals in different ways, is a disrespectful, unfair approach to art and the artist and should be objected to.
Of course, AI will enable artists to create new and original products through collaborative work as a resource to benefit from. With artificial intelligence in artistic creation, the artist can expand his creativity, get inspired, try new things, and also think of artificial intelligence as a collaboration tool. Even if the artist is involved in the creation process of the products created by this collaboration, even if he has the initiative, the use of AI based on the source codes will bring about discussions.
The approach to artificial intelligence products will also mean the sincerity exam of people. The artist and no one should not escape easily, and try to show stolen ideas or directly as his own work. It should not make an effort to reflect worthless products as if they are valuable.
Deciding whether the output has value and the quality of its connection with the art means reaching the big problem area in art. A wide variety of factors should be taken into account while making an aesthetic interpretation. Knowing who the work belongs to is also a factor that will affect our decision. Interpreting a work that is not clear by whom it was generated may cause exaggeration or vice versa, underestimation and incompleteness. Evaluating an object as artistic and beautiful is relative (apart from reconciliation with assumptions that make aesthetic judgment general and based on common feeling) and is difficult, but this is a mysterious and normal state of art.
Artificial intelligence will be an encouraging and supportive force with its ease not only for artists, but for everyone. In addition, the copyright problem of the entries that make up the database should be solved, and the rights of the artist and everyone else who does not want to be in the database should be respected.
It should never be forgotten that; The importance of painters and painting did not decrease with the invention of photography, the transformation of smart phones into talented cameras did not turn everyone into a photographer, AI cannot turn anyone into miraculous and fantastic artists, nor transfer talents.
While the subject is being discussed, painting is generally focused on because of its popularity. But how do we react when AI produces an image with details and visual quality indistinguishable from a real photograph? Especially when we compare it with documentary photography, the situation will become more complicated. At this stage, the values shaped in our aesthetic, emotional and imaginary world, which we judge the paintings, will not be enough. We will need to ask whether the photograph is based on objective reality, and we will build our judgmental values after the definition of reality. Because, as a document, that photograph is real, it reflects the state of the world while connecting the lived past to the future, it has a place and a story, it is direct, it is a human and social memory and transfers it to other generations. The photograph created by AI has no story, it only depicts unreal scenes with automatic editing, and the composition is created only with the ability to imitate. Such a photograph will not go beyond an image that only arouses technical admiration before the viewer. For this reason, I think that unmanipulated and documentary photography will become more valuable in the future. Because it will never lose its value as a tool that reflects reality and directly reflects events.
Can you consider William Turner's painting "The Slave Ship" separately from the historical, social, reality of the outside world and the dynamics of the artist's inner world? This painting is not just a painting, it is a work that has meanings far beyond the painting. Now let's imagine that a similar picture is generated by artificial intelligence. Even if pictorial values, light and composition are used appropriately, what historical, artistic, cultural, emotional value can it have? In other words, in the background of art, there are stories of life and a context, while artificial art has nothing to tell, it is a storyless phenomenon that is disconnected from the context of reality, as a product of a system under the control of virtual codes, and has no history.
In today's society, communication habits have changed, the world of possibilities has grown, and even magicalized. AI "image generators" give everyone the opportunity to be creative, and thanks to their amazing ability, they make this experience available to millions of people. Even a child who has learned to read and write can accidentally create remarkable products in front of his computer. It does not make anyone who can write keywords to the computer and who does not have artistic personality and creativity an artist and does not include them in art. Millions of people are attracted to this attractive game without age limit and are entertained by its amazing and strange results, as if they have achieved a magical power. It is more accurate to call them "experimental participants". It is a fact that outliers, complex, uncertain, surreal, mystical, imagination-stimulating images attract a lot of attention. Friedrich Schiller and his theory that art is a game come to mind. But in his theory, Schiller meant real art. Besides, art is a much more complex phenomenon than play.
Although the outputs are strange, unencountered, interesting and attractive, as they multiply uncontrollably in the internet environment, they have a high potential to turn into habitual, valueless, artificial, ordinary objects.
It is human beings who will stand against the destructiveness of technology and protect humanity. Being human, despite your shortcomings, is unique. Do we have the human intelligence, virtue, honesty, will, courage and plan to use the future to be a better human being “together” and to create a world based on beauty and equality? While AI becomes human, we never want a role change where people become automatic, ineffective and robotic.
Man interprets and makes sense of life with his art, resists against time, and transfers his relationship with life to the art environment in freedom with his searches and discoveries. Art is formed in reality through "labor" by the artist. All innovations and technological changes should never be allowed to trivialize art and artists. Because Artificial Intelligence lacks the human touch, love, impulses and, in short, a life.
Einstein said, "The criterion of being intelligent is not knowledge but imagination," and reconciling human imagination with intelligence.
Akil Alparslan / 01 2023
713 & 416 head north through St Augustine whilst hauling train 204 from Fort Pierce to Jacksonville Bowden Yard, 28 Feb 2028.
Well worth the 0330 alarm, 200 mile drive and my wife questioning my sanity!
Recurring memories, of dreams, of day to day conversations intertwined, a blurring of boundaries, of heartfelt questioning, am I safe? Love says Yes, of course, that's all ....
Quote by Albert Einstein
So much beauty in a flower that lasts only one day! I have more than 25 varieties of daylilies, many different colors, but this deep red one is my favorite!
Sometimes you have to take the time to think about yourself. Today I'm in a bad mood and questioning everything! Okay, that might take a while haha
This beautiful blush pink rose was hiding in the shadows. "Nobody puts Rosie in a corner." I was running late this morning and have cropped it three times and now questioning the light!!
"Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift." - Albert Einstein.
This is the look Sophie gives me sometimes, while waiting for a tiny bite of my food that she Almost always gets.
Sophie went to heaven on 11-5-23 ... and I'll never forget her.
Please check out my blog at: mirrorlessmadness.wordpress.com
OK not a real tiger but I couldn't help thinking he was like a miniature of the fearsome beast in Blake's famous questioning poem.
Love me without fear
Trust me without questioning
Need me without demanding
Want me without restrictions
Accept me without change
Desire me without inhibitions
For a love so free....
Will never fly away.
Pd. No tengo mejores fotos que subir asi que por ahora tiro de estas...
También he de decir que voy a estar un poco ausente por los estudios
y tal pero que vendé de vez en cuando y os firmaré en cuanto pueda!
Gracias a todos los que pasais diariamente ;)
"What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning." Werner Heisenberg
A questioning look in my direction. I assured him I wasn't interested in his girls or his sugar water.
When you replace the photographer with AI, you take away the photographer’s experience interacting in the real world and feeling real emotions. That interaction in the real world is a risk that can just as easily expose one to great sadness as it an to great happiness. Without it, you forget the art of letting the humans tell their own stories. Here, in Florence is the possibility to just walk by a glimpse at a human story, drown out the world with the music pounding in your ears through your headphones. And, on the right, is a moment of great suffering or confusion or loss. We know there is a light that hits the woman on the right’s eyes and the gesture of an open hand up to the sky. Is she asking a question or is she hoping for an offering, a gift of some sort to fall into that outstretched palm? In between, is a woman who has lived many years yet still retains glimpses of her former self. Just take a look at the tinges of purple in her hair. Maybe she still listens to punk rock. Maybe she has a wild boyfriend and she rides on the back of his motorcycle through the streets of Italy drinking a bottle of wine and telling the Grim Reaper she won’t be ready to go on their date for quite a long time.
I didn’t tell you this story by myself. I had the humans to help guide me. They made me see what a single moment of time might help me discover. Let’s keep searching for these moments.
**All photos are copyrighted**