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"Your own self-realization is the greatest service you can render to the world." -Ramana Maharshi
I was amazed when I got back to edit this photograph to find that of the several variations I took every single one has a duplicate moon! I Googled to research about it and apparently it is a rare phenomena where elements in the atmosphere like temperature, moisture and dust need to be just right for it to occur. It's called a Ghost Moon. Truly divine.
The Triton Fountain is located in Rome in Piazza Barberini. The realization of the "public ornamentation of the city" was entrusted to Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the favorite artist of the pontifical court of Urban VIII; the Tritone fountain, on the whole, conveys an explicit message of dynastic exaltation of the Barberini family, to whom the Pope belonged: the Bernini designed in 1642-43 for Piazza Barberini one of its most successful fountains, the Triton fountain. The latter contributed to restore the decoration to the area, previously used for the cultivation of the vineyard, being located at the edge of the Strada Felice route; in this way, the area began to be animated by a very lively cultural life, so much so that since then Piazza Barberini (with its "fountain of the Triton sounding", as it began to become known due to the hissing emitted by the gush) became the favorite meeting place for many artists visiting Rome.
The columns and the railings that surround the fountain, creating a narrow area of respect, date back to the nineteenth century, when the square began to be subject to intense vehicular traffic. Between the nineteenth and early twentieth century, in fact, the urban structure of the area was distorted, leading to the construction of several multi-storey building complexes that abruptly broke the balance established between the seventeenth-century buildings, the Tritone and Palazzo Barberini.
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La fontana del Tritone si trova a Roma in piazza Barberini. La realizzazione del «pubblico ornamento della città» venne affidata a Gian Lorenzo Bernini, l'artista preferito dalla corte pontificia di Urbano VIII; la fontana del Tritone, nel complesso, trasmette un esplicito messaggio di esaltazione dinastica della famiglia Barberini, alla quale apparteneva il papa: il Bernini così disegnò nel 1642-43 per piazza Barberini una delle sue fontane di maggior successo, la fontana del Tritone. Quest'ultima contribuì a restituire decoro alla zona, precedentemente adibita alla coltivazione della vigna, essendo collocata ai margini della direttrice della Strada Felice; in questo modo, l'area iniziò a essere animata da una vita culturale assai vivace, tanto che sin da allora piazza Barberini (con la sua «fontana del Tritone sonante», come iniziò a divenire nota per via del sibilo emesso dallo zampillo) divenne il ritrovo preferito di molti artisti in visita a Roma.
Le colonnine e le inferriate che circondano la fontana, creando una stretta zona di rispetto, risalgono al XIX secolo, quando la piazza iniziava ad essere soggetta ad un intenso traffico veicolare. Tra l'Ottocento e i primi decenni del Novecento, infatti, venne stravolto l'assetto urbanistico della zona, portando alla costruzione di diversi complessi edilizi a più piani che spezzarono bruscamente l'equilibrio instauratosi tra gli edifici seicenteschi, il Tritone e palazzo Barberini.
Art house Leidse Rijn Utrecht Netherlands - 2004-2010
Stanley Brouwn - artist - idea
Bertus Mulder - architect - realization
"Books bombarded his shoulders, his arms, his up-turned face. A book lit, almost obediently, like a white pigeon, in his hands, wings fluttering. In the dim, wavering light, a page hung open and it was like a snowy feather, the words delicately painted thereon. In all the rush and fervor, Montag had only an instant to read a line, but it blazed in his mind for the next minute as if stamped there with a fiery steel. “Time has fallen asleep in the afternoon sunshine.” He dropped the book. "
- Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
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Thank you Angela, Evie, Tony and Shania for the wonderful testimonials!
Samurai Vader is back to action.
The Daimyo from a Feudal System far, far away has been informed of a threat to his dominion.
An vicious creature is on the lose intended of consuming anything it runs into.
Usual business, after all.
It doesn’t take long for Vader to locate this Alien intruder and the two warriors clash in battle.
The Alien charges but Vader Force pushes the creature away. The creature strikes back, swinging his deadly tail at his opponent but Vader ignites his Lightsaber (or Lightkatana, if you prefer) and severs part of its tail.
The alien screams in pain but it shrugs off the damage and hurls at Vader.
He quickly unsheathe his Vibro-katana and strikes at the creature’s swinging arm. The impact breaks the bone and only its exoskeleton protects it from another amputation.
The counterattack throws the alien off balance and Vader seizes the opportunity. He lashes his Lightsaber inflicting a wide wound on the creature’s chest.
The alien collapses on the ground.
Vader plunges his Lightsaber in the creature’s neck and with a swift movement he chops off its head.
The threat has been neutralized. His scientists will undergo the necessary analysis and investigation on this creature’s appearance within his dominion. He suspects something, or someone, is indeed involved in this situation but now he has other pressing matters to deal with.
His presence is required elsewhere because without his iron grip the whole dominion will fall into chaos.
Vader is the amazing Samurai Vader action figure made by Bandai. The full “designation” is Tamashii Nations Movie Realization Samurai Taisho (General) Darth Vader, Death Star Armor version, just because the name was not long enough lol :)
The Alien is a Xenomorph Warrior action figure by Neca. It is actually a version based on the Dark Horse comics and it comes it the same pack with the Predator action figure I recently posted two photos of.
I hope you like this photo :)
May the Force be with You :)
The adventures of Samurai Boba Fett continue...
A planet is facing a terrible zombie infection and the local government hired the best Bounty Hunter to deal with "certain situations".
Accompanied by a unit of the local planetary defense forces he investigates a location of a major zombie infestation (his samurai Mandalorian armor protects him from any contagion, of course).
Suddenly they are attacked by a group of zombies. They quickly dispatch them until a sort of "augmented" zombie enters the scene slaughtering the local militia with ease.
It swings his deadly claws at the Bounty Hunter but before they can hit their target its face meets the barrel of Boba's blaster.
"Farewell, zombie" He says and he presses the trigger disintegrating the zombie's head.
The only survivor of the Planetary Defense Force unit looks at him in shock and awe.
Boba turns to him and calmly says: "I removed the 'un' form undead" and walks away...
Boba Fett is the amazing Bandai Tamashii Nations Movie Realization Ronin Boba Fett action figure. The zombie is Zombie Sabretooth from Marvel Zombies made by Diamond Select.
Samurai Boba Fett will be back soon :)
I hope you like this photo :)
May the Force be with You :)
Standing in the sun
and as bright as can be...
are the lies that leave a grainy film before our eyes.
Unwilling to assend and become truth realized,
in fear of the devastation that will most definitely arrise.
Lakeshrine self realization center. Leave your pirate persona and vocabulary in the car. BTW I think they add color to the water. Don't ask me how.
Always humored the running joke of Pan Am being a railroad that had low track speeds, but yesterday trip to the capital region proves it. Heres RJED with a pair of worn out ex CSX D8Ws doing the hot speed of 10 past the abandoned Johnsonville tower.
Photographed at the 2016 Antique Automobile Club of America Regional Fall Meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This grand event, held during the first full week of October, is so popular that it is usually simply identified as "Hershey".
What an amazing creation. A 1997 Ford Ranger pickup was the donor vehicle for this project. The owner actually made the drive from Scranton, a distance of more than 100 miles.
Murray General Pedal Car recreation
All of my classic car photos can be found here: Car Collections
Press "L" for a larger image on black.
Where the Land dance mat is a realization of Yves Gendreau. This imposing work of art is installed at the Quays of the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain.
River inspired mats
The work consists of nine rods tricolores more than thirteen feet high, whose top reminiscent of a boat mast. Decorated with vanes, radar reflectors and airspeed, the installation evokes the relationship with the river. Where the Land dance mat is a nod to the navigation and its importance for the destiny of Quebec .
"Rights and planted in the ridges and troughs of the waves of this vast land area which overlooks the river, stands a series of light poles. Same length, they lie in continuing the wave created by the terrain. The beauty of the landscape and traffic on the rise establish dynamic relationships with these objects. Holders of several levels of meaning and possible interpretation, the provision of masts and the arrangement of colors create a sensory experience varies according to different scales of approach. "
Yves Gendreau
"The agony of breaking through personal limitations is the agony of spiritual growth.
Art, literature, myth and cult, philosophy, and ascetic disciplines are instruments to help the individual past his limiting horizons into spheres of ever-expanding realization.
As he crosses threshold after threshold, conquering dragon after dragon, the stature of the divinity that he summons to his highest wish increases, until it subsumes the cosmos.
Finally, the mind breaks the bounding sphere of the cosmos to a realization transcending all experiences of form - all symbolizations, all divinities: a realization of the ineluctable void."
(From "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell)
A few days ago as I was coming to the Ganges at dawn I saw this sādhu on the top of Dasaswamedh Ghat.
He must have been transcending all experiences of form in order to become a follower of Lord Shiva...
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HELIAR Vintage Line 50mm F3.5
フォクトレンダーのレンズです、昔は営業写真のレンズとして重宝されました。
オールドレンズの中でもあまりボケることなく現行レンズのようにスッキリ撮影でき、小さなレンズで軽く持ち運び便利。F３.５なのでピントも素早く来て嬉しいレンズです。撮影したい時、気付いた時にさっと撮影できるいい奴みたい。なぜかこのレンズをつけていると色々な人がこのレンズは何かと必ず聞いてくる人気者のレンズです
I as I walked the grounds of The International Headquarters of Self-Realization Fellowship, I came across this lovely spot. I could have spent hours there just sitting and listening to the birds chirping. I had my family with me so of course that did not happen..............lol
View of the Stanley Park seawall from the Siwash Rock viewpoint on New Years Day 2014.
The original idea for the seawall is attributed to park board superintendent, W. S. Rawlings, who conveyed his vision in 1918
Rawlings said:
“It is not difficult to imagine what the realization of such an undertaking would mean to the attractions of the park and personally I doubt if there exists anywhere on this continent such possibilities of a combined park and marine walk as we have in Stanley Park”.
The proposal was made to the federal government that it should help finance seawall construction because it owned the park and only leased the land to the city. It was argued that the waves created by ships passing through the First Narrows were eroding the area between Prospect Point and Brockton Point. On this basis, the federal government helped pay for the wall only until 1967 because the portions of the park vulnerable to erosion were now protected.
Most of the Stanley Park portion of the wall was built between 1917 and 1971, although the park portion was not completed until 1980. Much of the original wall was constructed under the direction of James "Jimmy" Cunningham, a master stonemason who spent 32 years on the project until his death. Cunningham continued supervising construction into his last days despite being ill, and on at least one occasion, went to check the seawall's progress still wearing pajamas. He died on September 29, 1963, long before the wall was finished, but remains the one most associated with the project, and a commemorative plaque can be found near Siwash Rock, also where his ashes were scattered. In contrast to the continuity during Cunningham's oversight of the project, construction of the seawall was intermittent, owing to the short-term funding commitments of the civic and federal governments. The first 4,000 feet was completed between 1914 and 1916. A series of storms threatened the foreshore near Second Beach during the war, when water flooded the patch of land between the beach and Lost Lagoon. In 1920, the wall served as aworkfare project for 2,300 unemployed men (the largest number of workers at any one time), and by 1939, 8,000 more feet of the wall was finished.[4] Another 9,100 feet was built between 1950 and 1957, and the final 2,500 feet was not taken on until 1968. On September 26, 1971, the last block, completing the original vision of the seawall, was tapped into place by H. H. Stevens, who also helped initiate the project in 1914 as a Member of Parliament for Vancouver. Others that laboured on the wall included unemployed relief workers again during the Great Depression and seamen from HMCS Discovery on Deadman's Island facing punishment detail in the 1950s. Also in that decade, stone sets from the recently dismantled BC Electric Railway streetcar system were incorporated into the seawall.
In 2010 and 2011, two portions of the Seawall, Stanley Park (near Second Beach) and English Bay (near Sunset Beach), were renewed to address ongoing concerns with erosion.
With deep foundations and renewed surfacing, the new Seawall is built to withstand the tides for many years to come.
The seawall route has continued to expand, so that a continuous, mostly seaside, path for pedestrians, cyclists, and inline skaters now extends for a total of 22 kilometres. Starting from Coal Harbour, it winds around Stanley Park, along Sunset Beach, around False Creek, past the Burrard Street Bridge, through Vanier Park, and finishes off at Kitsilano Beach Park.
The Stanley Park section of the seawall is 8.8 kilometres (5 miles) in length. The seawall is used by more than 2,500,000 people every year. Park visitors walk, bike, roll, and fish on the seawall.
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Permission to Use photo.
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18 Sep 2014
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Vancouver-urgent stock request!
Hi Ted,
My name is Jessie Adler, I'm the photo editor at Hemispheres magazine, United's in-flight magazine. I found a photo of yours on Flickr and I would like to use it in the November issue of our magazine, in a story called Three Perfect Days: Vancouver. I am hoping that you will grant me permission to use it, and that you can send me the high res, unwatermarked image. We will credit you and can offer $50 for usage. Please let mek now if you can help! My work email is jessie.adler@ink-global.com and my number is 347.294.1206.
Thank you!
Jessie
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Permission to use photo.
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03 May 2016
Trans Canada Trail / Le sentier Transcanadien
Hi Ted,
I work with the Trans Canada Trail and we are putting together the May issue of our monthly e-newsletter, Trail Talk. This bulletin goes out to roughly 15,000 recipients made up of donors and TCT supporters.
I was wondering if you would give us permission to use the photo:
We would of course include your photo credit. It is for non-commercial use and we are a registered not-for-profit organization.
Thanks for your consideration!
Christina
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Permission to use photo
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07 Jun 2919
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On Jun 7, 2019, at 13:45, Jesse Firempong wrote:
Hi Ted,
Jesse from Greenpeace Canada here. I hope this email finds you well.
I was interested in licensing this photo I came across on Flickr for one of our campaigns highlighting the impacts of extreme weather and climate change in Vancouver. Is it available to license/use? We want to show the types of weather impacts climate change will make worse/more frequent.
We'd also be interested in other photos of floods or wildfire smoke in the city, if you happen to have them.
Thank so much and have a wonderful weekend!
Very best,
Jesse
41/365
Realizing something about yourself is easy, changing it is hard. But that is what I have intended to do. Change myself. I have finally realized what I am doing to myself now, it is not good. I don't want to say too much about it, but it is mostly about procrastinating waay to much. That will ruin most things, including photography.
The last week now that I have had vacation, most of my days have been like this; go to bed at 4 o'clock in the morning, wake up at 1 o'clock the day after, watch desperate housewives for the next 4 hours, eating dinner THEN go out shooting. And it just does not work this way anymore. I realized that today, because I wanted to shoot the sunset, so I hurried up just to find out the sun had already set. Then I found myself in great frustration thinking WHAT THE HELL DO I DO NOW?! I ended up trying to take some self portraits, then I went to the water and I bathed with a dress. Theeen, finally.. This. Done. Shooted at midnight. I do not want to do this with myself anymore. I am making the 365 way harder than it really is.
(sorry about this long boring description)
That moment when you realize that the woman reflecting in the mirror at Target is actually you!
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¡El momento en que te percatas de que la mujer que se refleja en los espejos en Target, eres tú!
The realization even though you got to school early, all your completed homework sits forgotten on your desk at home.
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Created for the All-Around Awesome Weekly Theme, FORGOTTEN. (Poor Mio!)
Manifest was irritated to find that his portrait with the girls of the 22nd Street Mission was not included as a family portrait.
*Seriously, if you like Lucha libre and portrait photography, then get this book!
Strobist: AB1600 with gridded 60X30 softbox camera right. AB800 with Softlighter II camera left. Reflector at 6:00. AB800 open behind backdrop of white faux suede. Triggered by Cybersync.
Then comes the frustrating realization that no matter how long life endures, no matter how many experiences are muddled through in this existence, you may never really be able to answer the question…..
Who am I?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdqY0sRvidc
Because the answer....
Like the seasons, constantly, subtly, inevitably changes.
And who it is you are today, is not the same person you will be tomorrow.
~ Richelle E. Goodrich , Eena, The Dawn and Rescue
© All rights reserved Anna Kwa. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
52 Weeks of 2020
Week No. 50: Local Tradition
Category: Creative
Flickr Lounge “Season's Greetings"
Every year the Self Realization Fellowship in Encinitas decorates for Christmas. It is a beautiful place and all decked out, it is a gorgeous sight to behold.
My images are posted here for your enjoyment only. All rights are reserved. Please contact me through flickr if you are interested in using one of my images for any reason.
This is the realization of the pattern I created for a hungarian bride using hungarian embroidery elements. The henna is Tunisian style where like in Yemen gall ink is used to high light the henna.
Khidab is a Gall ink which is employed in Yemen mainly in the mountainous regions around the capital Sanaa instead of henna. For an account how it is made you can download an article:
Yemeni Women’s Body Painting with Black Gall Ink Khidab, Production Methods,
from my colleage Dr. Hanne Schönig at www.henna-und-mehr.de/pdf/Khidabartikel_eu.pdf; (Englisch)
or www.henna-und-mehr.de/pdf/schoenig_deutsch.pdf (German)
If you like to see original Yeminite bodypaintings with this ink visit: www.henna-und-mehr.de/de/khidabslide.html (German) or
A stick cracked to my left, sounding like a deafening yell in the serene silence of the forest.
I stopped, holding absolutely still, and was rewarded with the heart-warming sight of a doe and her calf making their way through the woods.
Smiling, I continued on my way after they passed, heading more or less in the vague direction of Durrough.
I had ditched the wagon several miles and two nights back, after coming to the realization that if someone was hunting me, it probably wasn’t the best idea to travel out in the open, driving a conspicuous wagon. Now, I was on foot, going through some of the more difficult, less traveled paths through the eastern-most portion of the Wandering Woods. It would take longer to reach my destination, but it would also draw less attention to myself, thus making it worth the longer journey.
Squaring my shoulders, I forged onwards.
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The next morning,
I awoke to something sharp jabbing into my back from beneath my bedroll. Groaning, I rolled over, and extracted……a rock.
Muttering in disgust, I threw the rock aside, and groggily disentangled myself from my cloak, which had been serving as my blanket, climbing to my feet with an audible cracking of joints.
“Well,” I said to no-one in particular, “Time to start the day I guess.”
I had killed a small rabbit with my crossbow last night, and I cooked him up now, along with a few edible greens I found near my campsite.
After breakfast, I packed up my bedroll, checked to make sure I still had that sealed letter, gathered my things, and kicked out the fire.
Then, I headed off in the same direction as yesterday. I estimated I only had another day at most before I reached Durrough. Fortified by this, (as well as that rabbit), I set off for another day of hiking.
Little did I know today was not going to be like the days before it.
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A few hours later, I stopped for a rest, and possibly lunch, if I could find some game large enough to make a meal out of.
Making sure my crossbow was loaded, I began to stealthily advance through the woods, keeping a sharp eye out for prey. I spotted a couple of squirrels, but neither one was large enough to warrant taking a shot at.
Watching the second one run off, I detected movement out of the corner of my eye. Moving slowly, so as not to scare whatever it was, I turned towards the spot I saw movement from.
Expecting to find a deer, or even better, a wild hog, I was shocked to discover it was a BEAR!
I froze. The bear was staring right at me, not moving either.
As the seconds dragged on in our stand-off, I realized this wasn’t just any bear, it was a grizzly bear!
And to make matters worse, it was a very hungry-looking grizzly bear.
Keeping my eyes fixed on the bear, I began to slowly back away, taking micro-steps so as not to startle it into action. After a few steps, the bear began to move forward, as I moved back.
That was definitely not what I wanted the bear to do, and I realized this was not going to end peacefully.
Just as I was coming to this conclusion, the bear charged.
Given less then a second to react, I dropped and rolled to the side, feeling a rush of air as the bear breezed by. Rolling to my feet, I saw the bear stop and start to turn around, for another go at me. Pre-empting this, I turned and ran, as fast as my legs would carry me, hearing the bear charging up behind me.
Now, I know that everyone says the stupidest thing you can do when facing a bear is run, but A; not everyone is me, and B; I wasn’t trying to outrun the bear, I just needed a few seconds to get my shot, pardon the pun.
As I ran, I checked hastily that my crossbow was still loaded, and, finding it was, judged that the bear was too caught up in chasing me to slow down or avoid this, whipped around, bringing the crossbow to my shoulder, sighted, and pulled the trigger.
The bolt flew seemingly in slow motion, as the bear charged at me, straight into the grizzly’s right eye, killing him instantly.
The bear’s momentum kept his body moving forward, even as it started to hit the ground, forcing me to quickly step to the side, to avoid getting pinned as the corpse slid to a stop where I had been standing moments before.
I staggered against a nearby tree, sliding to the ground with my back against the trunk, staring at the bear’s corpse, feeling the adrenaline from my near-death experience pumping through my veins, and my breath coming in ragged bursts.
It was then, sitting on forest floor, waiting for my body to clam down, that the sound of rushing water penetrated my senses. I got up, and, turning around, surveyed my surroundings, which I hadn’t even registered yet.
My jaw dropped.
Hardly believing my eyes, I stepped out of the tree line.
I was on the bank of a river, that forked around the spit of land I was standing on. Both ends of the river wound away through the trees.
Directly across from me was the source of this river;
A magnificent (although not very large) waterfall, pouring majestically down the side of sheer rock face. The sound of it filled the air, which was the sound I had noticed minutes ago.
The rock face the waterfall poured over continued beyond to the right, slowly curving outward.
A huge old oak tree grew near this face, on the opposite bank. Over on my side, a large pile of boulders sat jumbled to my right, a tree growing up from their midst.
The whole area was overflowing with bright colors and abundant flora and fauna.
Looking around, I felt at peace for the first time in several days.
Putting down my crossbow, I flopped in the grass with a grateful sigh, content just to lay there in the soft grass for awhile.
As I lay there, I tried to come up with a suitable name for this hidden gem of the forest. Nothing I tried sounded right, and it wasn’t until I sat up and took another look at the place that the perfect name popped into my head.
“Heaven’s Lagoon,” I said out loud, trying it out. It fit perfectly.
It was then, as I was sitting there, enjoying the feeling of having this beautiful place all to myself, plus the fact I had just named it, when I noticed something I had missed before. Or maybe it hadn’t been there before, because I never missed anything.
Almost directly across from me was a cave.
As I stared at it, trying to figure out why I hadn’t seen it the first time I looked over there, I began to feel a strange sensation. It felt like the cave was calling to me, inviting and drawing me in.
That should have been more than enough warning to not go in the cave, but I had never been able to resist something like this.
So, curiosity getting the better of me, I got up, picking up my crossbow on the way, and moved to the edge of the bank, looking for a way across.
Finding it, I went over to the boulder pile, climbed up on the largest one, and, balancing carefully, hopped to a rock in the middle of the river, then over to the far bank, right in front of the cave.
Having reached my goal, I stopped to examine the cave opening. It was a little over six feet high, irregularly shaped. Other than that, there was nothing to suggest it was anything other then a normal cave. Anything besides that the tugging feeling in my gut had gotten stronger.
Fashioning a makeshift torch from a tree branch and some spare cloth I kept in a pocket, I took a deep breath, and stepped inside.
Instantly I was hit with a prickling sensation, a magic ward being tripped.
Damn, I thought, and then the cave walls disappeared.
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I am standing in the middle of a glade, surrounded by ages-old oak trees. A gentle breeze blows through, swirling leaves around, and tousling my hair. The afternoon sun shines down through the leaves, casting a golden light over everything. It would be the perfect day, if it weren’t for what I knew was about to happen.
Across the glade from me, shock mixed with horror etched on his face, stands my best friend, Trevor Mortlen. He has a hunting spear in one hand, as do I. Mine has the blood of a deer on the tip.
“S-Skye,” the other says, “What-how?”
At first, I am not quite sure what he is trying to say, then it dawns on me: He saw what I did, how I drew the spear back to me from the deer, twelve feet away, clear across the glade.
“Trevor,” I say calmly, forcing myself to look him in the eyes, “There’s something I’ve never told you about myself. I think it’s time I rectified that.”
I see the the hurt and fear in his eyes.
“I’m sorry Skye, but it’s too late for that. You’re not who I thought you were.” The other says, and begins to back away.
Panic starts to take told of me. I know how this ends. I know because I have relived this moment in my mind so many times, always trying to find an ending different than the one I know is about to happen, never being successful.
“Trevor,” I hear myself say, “Please, you must listen to me. It’s not what you think. I can explain everything, if you just let me.”
My plea falls on deaf ears.
“I’m sorry Skye,” he says again. “I don’t trust you anymore. You’re not someone who should be free to cause harm.”
Each word is like a dagger to my heart. I can barely believe what I’m hearing. This couldn’t be my Trev, the very best friend I had in this world. The person who meant so much to me.
“Please, “ I begged, tears beginning to blur my vision, “Trev, don’t do this.”
He looked at me with sadness in his eyes.
“I don’t want to. But I have to. I don’t know you anymore Skye.” And he turned away, heading out of the glade, bound for the sheriff’s office in our village.
I was torn apart in that moment, as Trevor turned his back on me. I knew if he reached the sheriff, my life, my parent’s life, maybe even my cousin’s lives, would be ruined, if not over completely.
There was only one way to stop this.
Only one way to ensure the safety of myself and my family.
Screaming my fury at the unfairness and helplessness of my situation, I throw the spear at my love’s back.
I could feel the scene beginning to change. Afraid of what I would be forced to relive next, I pushed against the memories, tearing myself free.
“NNNOOOOO!”
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And then I was back in the real world, still standing in the same spot. My legs collapsed beneath me, and I barely managed to catch myself before I hit the floor.
Lifting my torch, I was able to clearly see now that the cave was man-made, probably by some old wizard with elemental powers, which would also explain the ward guarding the entrance.
Finding my mind starting to drift back to the memory that had been triggered, I forced myself to redirect, settling on the the fact that the tugging in my gut hadn’t lessened any, despite the ordeal I had just gone through.
Getting to my feet, crossbow in one hand, torch in the other, I cleared away my jumbled thoughts, and focused solely on the feeling.
It was definitely coming from deeper inside the cave, so despite my growing reservations, I allowed myself to be led into the bowels of the earth, winding downward, past branch tunnels and rooms, drawn ever deeper by the steadily increasing tugging, til' finally, I arrived at the end of the tunnel. Before me was an absolutely ancient oaken door, fastened into the rock via some very rusty iron hinges. The source of the tugging sensation was on the other side of that door, I was sure of it.
Studying the four rusty hinges, I set down my crossbow and torch, stretched out my hands, palms outward, and concentrated.
A second later, the hinges tore free of the rock and zoomed into my hands.
Smiling, I dropped the hinges on the ground, and, retrieving my torch and crossbow, kicked down the old door.
Beyond, the room inside was circular, about twelve feet in each direction, walls, floor, and roof all made of carved stone. Carved into the floor, all around the edge of the room, were strange runes, in a foreign language I didn’t understand. But that wasn’t what drew my attention the second I stepped into the room, nor was it the faded mural-like pattern scrawled across the back wall.
It was the perfectly symmetrical pedestal, placed in the exact center of the room, with a second ring of runes around it’s base.
Atop the pedestal sat………..a gleaming, perfectly polished nautilus shell.
I could instantly tell the tugging sensation was originating from the mysterious shell.
Why, I didn’t yet know.
I slowly approached the pedestal, as if in a trance, and reaching out, picked up the shell.
Instantly the tugging sensation disappeared. I turned the shell over in my hands, studying it. Other then being extra shiny, it didn’t appear any different than any other nautilus shell.
“So what caused the tugging feeling?” I asked into the silence, not really expecting an answer.
But I got one.
A faint sound became discernible in the room, and it seemed to be coming from the shell in my hand.
Lifting it to my ear cautiously, I was surprised to hear the sound of waves, mixed with the chirping of birds, (though I couldn’t tell what species they were from), along with other sounds I didn’t recognize. This close to my face, I noticed for the first time there was something different about this shell.
The stripes on the nautilus were translucent, and in the one closest to me, I could faintly see a beach, made of white sand.
I blinked, and the image was gone.
Shaking my head to clear it, thinking maybe I had imagined it, I turned away from the pedestal, placing the shell in a pocket on my belt.
It was then I realized, without the tugging feeling leading me, I had no idea where I was.
I was lost down here, in this maze of tunnels.
As this set in, my shadow flickered, and disappeared, as the room went dark.
My torch had just gone out.
————————————
Previous Chronicle stories start here.
(TMS)Ushuaia Luxury JPS
The most beautiful and detailed (TMS)Ushuaia ever seen on Second Life.Interiors and exteriors completely redesigned.A lot of working hours were needed to make this boat and about 50 textures have been applied.
Reflections, luminosity and alpha totally revised, but you do not have to worry because to apply all this you will have to do only one simple operation:
drag a script from the inventory to over your Ushuaia. Just a simple mouse movement and your new boat will be ready to sail in the Linden seas. ⛵⛵⛵
To see this : maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Faracity/163/251/25
Marketplace : marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Texture-Ushuaia-Luxury-JPS/1...
A long time ago in a feudal system far, far away…
A group of strange beings appeared on the planet talking about the coming of the judgement day.
The news reached one of the most influent daimyo but at first Lord Vader thought they were just a couple of annoying preachers.
He knows that kind pretty well and he usually “dispatch” them quickly when they knock at his fortress’ door but they rarely are something more serious than a momentary annoyance (Force chocking them always takes few seconds, after all lol ) and he had more pressing matter than dealing with door-to-door sellers of ideologies.
However these beings proved to be different. They appear to be synthetic lifeforms of the most aggressive kind and they started to kill those who, well, don’t share their point of view. The feudal lord can’t tolerate it. This is his dominion, after all
They are too powerful for his warriors and he decided to take care of them in person.
He meets the first of them in the outskirts of a village’s ruins. The creature starts to talk about the incoming judgment day but before he has a chance to complete its speech, Vader Force pulls the invader toward him and impales the synthetic body with his Lightsaber (or Light-Katana, if you prefer :) )
“Your final judgment comes today” He laconically says, ending the machine killer’s life.
This is my first photo featuring the Samurai Darth Vader action figure from Bandai.
The action figure is amazing like the Samurai Boba Fett one.
This the most recent version of the Samurai Darth Vader Action Figure from Tamashii Nations Movie Realization series and it’s officially called Samurai Taisho (general) Darth Vader Death Star Armor.
I hope you like the “debut” of Samurai Vader in this photo :)
I made a little "continuity error" here, since I forgot to remove Vader's Lightsaber hilt from his belt. Since he is using it the lightsaber shouldn't be on his belt. When I realized it the figures where already in the position and I didn't want to risk to move them. The positive aspect is the photo now shows the details of Vader Lightsaber Japanese hilt :)
The enemy is a Terminator 2 Endoskeleton figure I found on clearance at a trusted local store :)
May the Force be with You :)
''A UFO has crashed on earth; strange pink creatures 'ALIENS' are appearing on the street.......Will you run and hide? Call the police? or will you come out to play?''
Does Oxygen work for them? How will they survive for breathing, if there is no Oxygen outside of our planet?!!
UFO= Unidentified Flying Object
LJUD group: The INVASION. This is a Slovenian performing group mainly focused on performing in public spaces.
Event: Stockholm Kultur Festival (16 -21 August), 2011 including Youth Festival (Ung 08)
See other pictures in Youtube: youtu.be/KBezfYTXbZY
Today (13-18 August), this year Stockholm Kultur Festival has just started. I am sharing some pictures from 2011 festival. I realize that I don't have that much pictures from street and event photography in my photostream!!! So trying to have some balances :)
My thanks to Arindam Raha for his primate pic via Pexels. A big banana to aka Tman for his selfie and silliness. All transformations via Juxtaposer and Snapseed apps
On a feudal world a calamity is spreading from one village to another. Jar Jar Binks is on the loose and his clumsiness is bringing destruction whenever he goes.
Everything the poor villagers tried to stop him was doomed to failure. Shielded by his unbelievable luck the Clumsy Creature was unstoppable.
In order to stop such plague the local lords hired a legendary Bounty Hunter; so skilled not even Jar Jar’s luck can match him.
In fact he quickly takes care of the annoying creature.
Jar Jar: “Yousa cannot kill mesa! Mesa have plot armor!”
Boba Fett: “Maybe yes or maybe not. But I can hurt you a lot and I’m sure the villagers will enjoy that so much!”
Jar Jar: “Ohi, Ohi!"
The action figure is the Bandai “Samurai Version” of Boba Fett. Actually the full name of that series of Samurai inspired figures (they also have Vader, Stormtroopers and Royal Guard) is Bandai Tamashii Nations Movie Realization and Boba is depicted in the Ronin role.
I’m mostly a Lego fan and so my expertise on actions figures may not be great but that Boba Fett action figure is amazing. A bit expensive for its size to be honest, but it’s epic. They managed to merge the original Star Wars concept with the ancient Japanese style and keep it close to iconic Boba’s look. Truly impressive :)
Like I always say, no real hate intended towards characters, creators of characters etc. This is just a parody scene :)
May the Force be with You :)
Realization hits her and she falls to the ground, her face in her hands, her heart torn to pieces, memories racing through her mind, the early morning snuggles, the breakfast in bed, late night movie dates, now all of that was gone, there was no fixing things , no winning her back now.