View allAll Photos Tagged relatable
Ottawa City Hall - Lunch time
I often walk through City Hall during my lunch time walks. The biggest reasons that I include it in my noon hour walks relate to the open airy architecture, the regular art exhibits, and the fact that it is a public gathering space - always filled with people. If I’m being completely honest, however, I should also add that I appreciate the cool air conditioning on a hot summer day as well. It’s interesting to read exactly how architect Raymond Moriyama envisioned city hall, and to appreciate how successful he was in creating this vision.
“One night, in the late 1980s, architect Raymond Moriyama came to a vacant lot in the heart of downtown Ottawa and traced footsteps in the freshly fallen snow. He was there to envision a new regional government headquarters, where citizens felt welcome and politicians from 11 different municipalities could somehow come together as one. He had been asked to design such a building on Laurier Avenue West. It would be bounded by the Cartier Drill Hall and Lisgar Collegiate to the east and by the provincial courthouse and a former teacher’s college to the west.
The tracks, made after the first snowfall of the season, revealed where people were coming from, where they were going. And, to Moriyama’s eyes, they offered a glimpse of the shape his new project would take. It was here that the idea of a main street — a thoroughfare, with side streets extending in all directions, to all the key buildings and places nearby — came to him.
“If you listen carefully enough, you find the answer,” Moriyama says. “I was amazed how clear it was.” He tells the story today from the atrium of his building, which is now known as Ottawa City Hall. His silver hair is slicked back and his Order of Canada pin adds a pop of colour to the lapel of the master architect’s navy suit. All around him, people hustle to and fro, paying him little mind as he explains his vision for the building that first opened 25 years ago this month [now just over 29 years ago] to house the former Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton.
Moriyama might be better known in Ottawa as the man behind the angular, emotional Canadian War Museum, but city hall should not be dismissed. Its modesty belies an airy openness. Thousands of people pass through its doors each week. Some are just passing through, or only stay long enough to play a tune on the polished baby grand in the atrium. But countless others come to participate in the political process that ultimately gives the place its purpose.”
Source: Matthew Pearson, (May 2015), Ottawa Citizen. ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-city-hall-turns-...
In a split second after I took this photo she walked away, and I couldn't help but wonder what her thoughts were as she had lingered at the artwork for quite a while before I took this photo. The white clothing she wore, plain and simple, made me think she could relate to the minimalistic and simple artwork she seemed to be admiring.
I can relate to this surfer's race to beat the setting sun. The big kid in me is always on the lookout for one last adventure before the end of the day. With this kind of daydream/sunset who can resist not getting one last ride before the days end?
Pacific Ocean Sunset
Southern California, USA
Mike D
Behind the Camera:
I'm off today and have loads of chores to do around the house. It's cold and rainy outside. All I care to do is sit around and surf the web or go out on a photo walk. Yes its the winter of my discontent.
This entry relates to the north-eastern most part of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, that receives the first light as the sun rises in the east. This is the landscape during April and the start of the harvst season following the wet, when the earth receives sudden showers during what is meant to be the dry. This artwork was painted on a huge piece of bark and tells the story about a group of spirit women who appear as stars in the night sky.
I do relate so well to this quote....art is my solace no matter the end result....the only time my brain isn't running at high speed... the only time I'm quiet...it's my meditation.
Thank you to borealnz for the texture.
Aardvark introduces Smells like... All Panic
We made a relatable gift version of our Smells Like....Candles.
Aardvark has a candle to shine a light on the funny things in life, maybe the odd smell and a shining support that sometimes, life is just meh.
This original mesh candle is left and right holdable and also comes in decor form
️ Copy / Mod
️ 100% Original Mesh
️ Decor : 1 land impact
️ Right/Left Holdable
️ Touch to light/extinguish flame
Available at the Mainstore
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St Bees is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Copeland district of Cumbria on the Irish Sea coast just south of St. Bees Head, the most westerly point of Northern England.
In the parish is St Bees Head which is the only Heritage Coast between Wales and Scotland which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is the spectacular location of the largest seabird colony in north-west England. St Bees Lighthouse stands on the North Head.
St Bees is a popular holiday destination due the coastline and proximity to the Lake District, and in the village there is St Bees Priory, and the St Bees School site (the school is temporarily closed). The Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk starts from the north end of St Bees Bay which is within easy walking distance of the main village centre.
Early history
Evidence of Mesolithic and Bronze Age habitation has been found in St Bees,[2] but nothing of the Roman occupation. The name St Bees is a corruption of the Norse name for the village, which is given in the earliest charter of the Priory as "Kyrkeby becok", which can be translated as the "Church town of Bega",[3] relating to the local Saint Bega.[4] She was said to be an Irish princess who fled across the Irish Sea to St Bees to avoid an enforced marriage. Carved stones at the priory show that Irish-Norse Vikings settled here in the 10th century.
The Normans did not reach Cumbria until 1092, and when they took over the local lordships, William Meschin, Lord of Egremont, used the existing religious site[5] to found a Benedictine priory for a prior and six monks sometime between 1120 and 1135. The priory was subordinate to the great Benedictine monastery of St Mary at York. The magnificent Norman doorway of the priory dates from just after this time; probably about 1150.
The priory had a great influence on the area. The monks worked the land, fished, and extended the priory buildings. The ecclesiastical parish of St Bees was large and stretched to Ennerdale, Loweswater, Wasdale and Eskdale. The coffin routes from these outlying areas to the mother church in St Bees can still be followed in places.
The priory was closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries on the orders of Henry VIII in 1539. The nave and transepts of the monastic church have continued in use as the parish church to the present day, but much of the extensive monastic buildings were plundered or fell into decay.
Remarkably, the small West Cumbrian village of St Bees produced two of the archbishops of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I: Edmund Grindal; Archbishop of Canterbury and Edwin Sandys; Archbishop of York.[6]
In about 1519 Edmund Grindal was born in Cross Hill House, St Bees, which still exists, and is marked with a plaque.[7] He was probably educated at the priory across the valley. A devout Protestant, he made his mark in the reign of Edward VI, but had to flee to Strasbourg when the Catholic Mary I ascended the throne. On Mary's death the country once again became Protestant, and Grindal became Bishop of London, Archbishop of York and then Archbishop of Canterbury. His undoing was opposing Queen Elizabeth I on liberal religious meetings and he was suspended. He died in 1583 still in disgrace, but, virtually on his death bed, he founded St Bees School which existed until July 2015, when it closed. The present primary school in the village was established in the 1870s.
Growth of the village
The site of the priory is on an area of firm ground higher than the peat beds that fill the valley, and it is logical that the original settlement would grow up there. However the area was constricted, and as the village expanded it grew on up the opposite side of the valley. The oldest existing house dates from the early 16th century and the present Main Street was created from a string of farms and farmworkers' dwellings.
The 19th century saw the start of great changes. In 1816 St Bees Theological College was founded, and was the first theological college for the training of Church of England clergy outside Oxford and Cambridge. To house the college, the monastic chancel of the Priory was re-roofed and served as the main lecture room, and additional lecture rooms were built in the 1860s. At one time the college had 100 students, and over 2,600 clergy were trained before it closed in 1895.[8]
St. Bees School started its era of expansion with the building of the quadrangle in 1846 using compensation from the rich mine-owning Lowther family, who had illegally obtained the lucrative mineral rights for Whitehaven from the school in 1742 at a derisory sum.[9] This was the first step in St. Bees School's rise from a local institution to becoming one of the new "public schools" on the fashionable model of Dr Arnold's Rugby School. By 1916 numbers had reached 350, many new buildings had been erected, and the school had become known nationally.
Perhaps some of the greatest changes were after 1849 when the Furness Railway reached the village. St Bees attracted the professional classes which commuted to Whitehaven or Workington. This led to the building of many of the larger houses and Lonsdale Terrace. The railway brought tourists, and as early as 1851 the Lord Mayor of London stayed at the Seacote Hotel. This long history of attracting tourists for "bucket and spade" holidays has continued to this day.
The railway made possible the export of St Bees sandstone. Huge amounts of stone were quarried, much of it for building the boom town of Barrow-in-Furness. This industry died out in the 1970s, but has since been revived, and there are now two working quarries in the parish.
Agriculture was originally the mainstay of the village economy. Gradually, during the 19th century, service employment for the school and lodgings for the college gave additional income, and with the advent of commuters, the village's social mix was becoming more middle class. Tourism and quarries also provided employment, and many village men found work in the iron ore mines at Cleator. Thus the 19th century saw the change from a rural backwater based on agriculture, to the more diversified role of a dormitory village for professional and industrial worker alike, and its growth into a minor academic centre.
The start of the 20th century saw yet another decline in agriculture, and this has continued to today, when there are only a few farms left. Industrial decline also hit West Cumbria as a whole, particularly after the boom years of both world wars. However, following the Second World War, two major industries were established which have had a profound effect on the community.[10] The former Marchon Chemical Company at Whitehaven, and UKAEA/BNFL at Sellafield both soaked up village labour released by the declining heavy iron and mining industries, and brought a large influx of the technical and scientific university-educated middle class into the village; rather like the first arrival of the professional classes a century earlier. There is now an extensive science park – Westlakes, on the northern fringe of the parish, at which the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has its national headquarters.
The last two decades have seen a significant revival in tourism, boosted by the Coast to Coast walk and increasing recognition of the unique landscape of the St Bees Heritage Coast.
In 2014, it was rated one of the most attractive postcode areas to live in England.[11]
St Bees Man
In 1981 an archaeological excavation at the priory revealed a vault with a lead coffin containing an astonishingly well preserved body – now known as the St Bees Man. He has been identified as Anthony de Lucy,[12] a knight, who died in 1368 in the Teutonic Crusades in Lithuania. Although the body was over six hundred years old, his nails, skin and stomach contents were found to be in near-perfect condition.[13] After his death the vault was enlarged to take the body of his sister, Maud de Lucy, who died in 1398. The effigies which are probably of both Maud and Anthony can be seen in the extensive history display which includes the shroud in which he was wrapped.
Transport links
The village has a railway station in the village centre which is served by St Bees railway station on the Cumbrian Coast Line, with trains from Barrow-in-Furness, Lancaster, Preston and Carlisle. There are currently (2015) 22 stopping passenger trains a day. There is no Sunday service.
The village is on the B5345 from Whitehaven to Iron Bridge junction near Beckermet.
Sport and recreation
The village has a football team which competes in the Cumbria County league. The most successful player to come through its ranks was Zac Starkie who joined Gretna FC as a youth player and went on to play for Zimbabwe Under 21's football team as he was eligible through his grandmother's origin.[citation needed]
There are facilities for rugby, football and cricket at the Adams recreation ground adjacent to the Seacote beach. This playing field was created in memory of Baron Adams of Ennerdale. The sports facilities of St Bees School are also available, which include a sports hall, squash, tennis and fives courts, and an indoor swimming pool.
Coast-based recreational activities at St Bees are: windsurfing, kite-surfing, rock climbing, bouldering, swimming, jet-skiing, water-skiing, canoeing and para-gliding. These are undertaken on St Bees Head and off the large sandy surf beach.
For downloadable walking guides, see [1] The circular walk to St Bees Head and Birkhams quarry featured in the May 2012 booklet of the best coastal walks in UK published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper; it being one of only two walks covered in the north west of England.
Wainwright Coast to Coast walk
St Bees is the start of the Wainwright Coast to Coast walk, which was devised by Alfred Wainwright in 1973. It is an 192-mile (309 km)[14] unofficial and mostly unsignposted long-distance footpath in Northern England. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting National Parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park.
Wainwright recommended that walkers dip their booted feet in the Irish Sea at St Bees and, at the end of the walk, in the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay. At St Bees the start is marked by the "Wainwright Wall" which explains the walk and its history. A new interpretation board and the steel banner were installed in summer 2013 by St Bees Parish Council and the Wainwright Society.
(adj.) *Alpine:
Relating to or characteristic of alps.
Alpine Decor, Lurs, Alpes de Haute Provence, France.
PixNote:
Lurs (you pronounce the "s") a very attractive and very picturesque village, perched on a narrow butte overlooking the Durance valley. Lurs is a tourist village, but not too well known and not too crowded. There's no real commerce in the village, but one good hotel-restaurant and one great restaurant.
PixQuote:
"I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it."
~Author Unknown
"And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!" -Edgar Allan Poe
This post was inspired from probably my favourite poem. It's hauntingly tones have stuck with me ever since I read it in high school. Little did I know that years later the raven would visit me and I think I could relate to the poem a little. Nevermore.
I pray that something picks me up and sets me down in your warm arms.
We all die young in some sense. We are born perfect, innocent and untouched by the world. We live for awhile in a beautiful world filled with breathtaking places and great adventures and an always happy ending. We grow, though, and eventually, the breathtaking places aren't so breathtaking, and the adventures aren't so great, and the endings aren't happy at all. We lose that beautiful world of imagination and perfection and happiness, and we are left to die in reality.
This photo is inspired and therefore dedicated to a few pictures. First, to Regan, who made me the happiest I've been in awhile yesterday with her comment. It means so much to be compared to Erin (who this is also dedicated to) because she is so amazing and such a big inspiration as a whole in my photography. Finally, to everyone else who commented on my photo yesterday, or for just looking at this one today. You are the reason I love what I do.
Also, for anyone who is a Hunger Games fan, I have written a new story that relates to this picture. Here is a link to it. The prompt is insanity. Hope you enjoy.
I can relate, Teddy.
I took this shot last fall and made it a B&W for a challenge. I really like the original, though, and I feel a sense of anguish from seeing this little bear up there.
15 years ago yesterday my sweet Momma went on to the next place. As I told my friends yesterday, that's 5,475 days of me missing her. Make that 5,476 now.
On the same driveway, though thankfully this one's still there. Off the road since 2019 though, when it too had a rather poor MOT failure relating to rust.
Pooper Scooper
Pet owners and parents will be able to relate to the terror, and perplexing mystery, of having to clean up poop that is disproportionate in size and quantity to the pooper.
RED relates to the BASE chakra situated at the base of the spine
The organs to which this chakra relates are the kidneys and bladder .(The kidneys are formed within the pelvis and here they link with the base chakra energy, although prior to birth they rise to the position in the loins with which we are more familiar). The vertebral column, hips and legs are also areas related to this chakra. The endocrine gland to which this colour relates is the adrenal gland.
On the psycho-spiritual level, this chakra relates to self awareness. That is to say our awareness of ourselves as human beings and our place on earth. It is the area of survival and relates to our basic human instincts of fight or flight. Red gives us courage and strength. The colour relates to stability and security.
© All rights reserved
[polska wersja niżej]
This photo relates to the flood in Gdańsk, about which I have written here, but I think I will rewrite the story again and provide a better view on the story background.
It's one of trains diverted from electrified mainline into secondary diesel route: originally nigh train no. 38209 from Kraków Płaszów to Koszalin. SU46-039 on the train head yet in original paint scheme from Żagań depot. After the diesel - here "cold" originally employed to this train EP07-338. The train is passing Gdańsk Osowa station entering two-track section towards Gdynia. July 11, 2001.
Photo by Jarek / Chester
9 lipca 2001 roku w Gdańsku to był całkiem ładny dzień, przynajmniej taki się zaczął i trwał do południa. Koło niego nadciągnęły ciemne chmury, zapowiadając kolejną letnią gwałtowną burzę. Jak spadały pierwsze krople deszczu, nikt nie przeczuwał, że w ciągu popołudnia na miasto lunie dwa razy więcej wody, niż w całym typowym lipcu. Każdy metr kwadratowy przyjął prawie 130 litrów, a tylko między 15 i 17 spadło, a w zasadzie dosłownie polało się strumieniem z nieba 90 litrów na metr kwadratowy. Ulice leżące na zboczach moreny dennej falistej, bo miasto to nie tylko wybrzeże, ale i morenowe pagórki, zamieniły się w dna potoków spływających w dół. No a w dole, głównie na południu, u brzegu płaskiego terenu ujścia Wisły zaczęło tworzyć się jezioro.
Wpływająca od południa z Kaszub niewielka Radunia przerwała w paru miejscach kanał, w którym biegła i zalała południowa część miasta, dzielnice od Oruni (dolnej), przez Lipce do Świętego Wojciecha. Powódź dotknęła też nasypy linii kolejowej, uszkadzając torowisko w paru miejscach. Pod wodą były też tory samego Gdańska Głównego. Ruch kolejowy między Pruszczem Gdańskim (a w zasadzie Tczewem) i Gdańskiem na kilka dni zamarł.
Ponieważ jednak mówimy o czasach, gdy kolej była jedna, wielka i niepodzielna (choć podzielona na sektory), naprędce wypracowano rozwiązanie, które w dzisiejszych czasach byłoby nie do pomyślenia - skierowano objazdem wszystkie dalekobieżne pociągi pasażerskie na trasy objazdowe. I tak pociągi z Gdyni w kierunku Bydgoszczy jechały starą Magistralą Węglową przez Kościerzynę i Wierzchucin i dalej na Łódź, czy Katowice. Pociągi w kierunku Malborka i dalej Olsztyna czy Warszawy jechały zaś przez Kościerzynę, Bąk, Czersk i dalej "Ostbahnem" do Tczewa, gdzie powracały na normalne trasy. Oczywiście na trasach objazdowych zastosowanie miała trakcja spalinowa, a elektrowozy ciągnące pociągi nie zostawały odczepiane (oprócz paru wyjątków) i odbywały podróż "na zimno" na objazdach.
Z punktu widzenia podróżnego te objazdy to rozwiązanie tylko po części rozsądne - dzisiaj zapewne wprowadzono by komunikację autobusową od Tczewa do Gdyni, przez co nastąpiłoby wydłużenie jazdy może sumarycznie o godzinę. Wtedy, przez wprowadzone objazdy, pociągi doznawały kilkugodzinnych opóźnień, a całkiem niedawna likwidacja niektórych stacji na "węglówce" drastycznie pogorszyła przepustowość dwutorowej linii. Z drugiej strony, pasażer w kuszetce, czy sypialnym z głębi kraju na Hel, dotarł do celu podróży w tym samym łóżku, tyle, że 3-6 godzin później.
Sytuacja awaryjna trwała parę dni, po czym przywrócono ruch po głównej linii, z pewnymi ograniczeniami (ograniczenie prędkości w miejscach podmycia nasypu). Jeszcze parę dni po przywróceniu ruchu część pociągów towarowych kursowała niezelektryfikowanym objazdem z uwagi na problemy z przepustowością.
Na zdjęciu SU46-039, jeszcze w oryginalnych żagańskich szatach, z nocnym pociągiem 38209 z Krakowa Płaszowa do Koszalina, opuszcza stację w Gdańsku Osowie. Za dieslem - elektrowóz oryginalnie ciągnący nocnego "kuriera" - EP07-338. 11 lipca 2001 roku.
Fot. Jarek / Chester
Cathedral (noun).
1. any large and important church
2. the principal Christian church building of a bishop's diocese
3. relating to or containing or issuing from a bishop's office or throne; "a cathedral church"
Last May as usually I’ve been in Europe. At this time my way began in West Germany: Essen, Dusseldorf, Cologne...
I was so delighted by Cologne Cathedral, the music imprinted in stone lace of this giant. So ...I took this image for defining of word CATHEDRAL.
Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria) is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, and is under the administration of the archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned as a monument of Christianity, of German Catholicism in particular, of Gothic architecture and of the continuing faith and perseverance of the people of the city in which it stands. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The cathedral is a World Heritage Site, one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany, and Cologne's most famous landmark, described by UNESCO as an "exceptional work of human creative genius".
Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete. It is 144.5 meters long, 86.5 m wide and its towers are approximately 157 m tall. The cathedral is one of the world's largest churches and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. For four years, 1880-84, it was the tallest structure in the world, until the completion of the Washington Monument. It has the second-tallest church spires, only surpassed by the single spire of Ulm Minster, completed 10 years later in 1890. Because of its enormous twin spires, it also presents the largest facade of any church in the world. One of the Treasures of the cathedral is the High Altar which was installed in 1322. It is constructed of black marble, with a solid slab 15 feet long forming the top. The front and sides are overlaid with white marble niches into which are set figures, with the Coronation of the Virgin. There is a lot of great wooden sculptures and other art treasures inside the interior of CATHEDRAL.
Much better viewed large View On Black
Explore #367, 08/27/2010
Alright, we still have to be careful as we walk through here, because it's very hard to see if there's anything in the plants, and-
Oh come on, this place is totally safe. We got ourselves that fence over there! We're fine, folks.
There is a fence, but we don't know if it's entirely secure-
Stop worrying them, will ya? Let's just walk.
sigh. Fine.
Yep.
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So. This is a sequel to my "Welcome to Paradise" scene, which coincidentally works perfectly as a setup to a scene for the Remnant contest. Now, this is not my entry, but it'll relate to this.
There are times in life when we can relate to certain things in nature. A lonesome flower may signify loss or maybe a day when it feels like everyone has abandoned you. In nature, a single flower standing can mean strength, independence or the ability to maintain balance to withstand a stormy day or shine in the midst of the brightest day.
Some impressive hummingbird facts relate to their flying skills. Unlike any other species of bird, hummingbirds can fly backwards. Even more incredibly, it has recently been discovered that this is actually an efficient means of moving, and requires roughly the same energy as flying forwards. Flying backwards allows hummingbirds to cheerfully reverse from flowers after they feed, saving energy and looking seriously impressive into the bargain.
I felt like I could understand this guy.
I'm having an Icelandic-Horse themed week with my photography, and this guy is a prime specimen of what it means to be an horse of Iceland, in my opinion. Long and luxurious mane, sturdy body, longer hair all around... and friendly! We were struck by how happy the horses were to come up to the fence and hang out with us whenever we came by to visit #horsesoficeland #icelandichorses
This moment before Houdini's daring feat is just one of the photographic slices of time featured in the “Not an Ostrich” exhibition currently on display in Los Angeles, California. Read more about the photos included in the exhibit in our recent Picture This blog post “Not an Ostrich”—Exhibition of Library of Congress Photos.”
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Thurston, John H. (John Henry), 1852-, photographer
[Houdini jumps from Harvard Bridge, Boston, Massachusetts] / John H. Thurston, stereopticons
[1908 April 30]
1 photograph : glass lantern slide ; 82 x 102 mm.
Summary: Photograph shows Houdini standing by the side of the Charles River wearing chains and handcuffs.
Notes:
• Title devised by Library staff.
• Master of the "Impossible Possible," Houdini performs one of his stunning manacled jumps from Harvard Bridge, followed by an under-water escape in the Charles River. As with his upside-down straitjacket escapes, Houdini's jumps drew huge crowds and publicized his stage appearances. In 1908, he appeared in Boston for two weeks at Keith's theater, a major venue on the Keith Vaudeville Circuit.
• Forms part of: McManus-Young collection of pictorial material relating to magic.
• Exhibited as a digital copy in: "Not an Ostrich: And Other Images from America's Library" at the Annenberg Space for Photography, 2018; Arts section.
Subjects:
• Houdini, Harry,--1874-1926--Performances.
• Magic--Massachusetts--Boston--1900-1910.
• Magicians--1900-1910.
• Bridges--Massachusetts--Boston--1900-1910.
• Jumping--Massachusetts--Boston--1900-1910.
• Handcuffs--1900-1910.
• Escapes--Massachusetts--Boston--1900-1910.
Format:
Lantern slides--1900-1910.
Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a27316
Call Number: LOT 7427 [item]
Whilst looking at things relating to Plaxton of Scarborough, its probably worth sharing this picture too. I think it was taken on the occasion of a coach operators association visit.
To the fore we have a very nice Supreme bodied Leyland Leopard for Martindales of Ferryhill, PPT 400P . . . which helps date the pictures to '75/6.
The next two Supremes in line are, I suspect, two Bedford YMTs for Harry Shaw of Coventry, NVC 3 & 10P. Further down is the only sevice bus in view which would probably be a Ford 'Derwent' for East Kent.
The Old Lake Worth City Hall, also known as the Lake Worth City Hall Annex, is a historic site in Lake Worth, Florida. It is located at 414 Lake Avenue.
The building originally served as Lake Worth's elementary school until June 1928. North Grade and South Grade Elementary Schools opened the following fall. The building was subsequently remodeled to provide for the Commission Chamber and administrative offices. On May 18, 1989, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Lake Worth Historical Museum is located on the second floor, and features antiques, tools, clothing, photographs, and other local and historic artifacts.
With a quickly growing population in the 1910s, the city of Lake Worth recognized the need for a school. After the Palm Beach Farms Company donated land to the Palm Beach County Board of Public Instruction, a small, wood-frame schoolhouse was built in 1912, with Lucerne Avenue located to the north, Lake Avenue to the south, and Federal Highway to the east. Upon opening on October 20, 1912, 24 students were enrolled, which nearly doubled by the end of the school year.
The expanding population soon necessitated the need for a larger schoolhouse, with the school board commissioning design plans and construction in 1914, to be funded by an approved $25,000 bond. The new, two story schoolhouse included 12 classrooms, each of which contained either 36 large desks or 45 small desks. After the construction of other schools, such as Lake Worth Community High School in 1922, the city government purchased the building in August 1926 due to its need for space for administrative functions.
The building was renovated after being sold to the city government, with classrooms being converted into offices and a telephone being installed. In July 1927, the former schoolhouse was rededicated as city hall. Lake Worth was devastated by the effects of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, including city hall. Along the northwest corner of the building, the exterior wall in its entirety collapsed, while the north tower was destroyed and the bay at the northeastern side of the building was removed. The roof suffered complete destruction. As a result, Lake Worth was without a functional center for city government. City hall operations were temporarily moved to the Lauriston Building, then located at the corner of Lake Avenue and Dixie Highway. In late 1928, architect Floyd King drew up plans for restoring city hall. Upon completion of restoration in 1929, the building featured a Mission–Spanish Revival design, a radical change from the previous architectural style.
Administrative functions for the city government resumed after the building reopened in 1929. The building continued to be used for city hall operations until April 1973, when nearly all local government departments – with the exception of the electrical and water utilities – moved to the civic center building along Dixie Highway between Lake Avenue and Lucerne Avenue. In 1980, the Lake Worth Historical Museum opened on the second floor; it features antiques, tools, clothing, photographs, and other local artifacts relating to the history of Lake Worth. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 18, 1989.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Lake_Worth_City_Hall
www.yelp.com/biz/city-of-lake-worth-city-hall-lake-worth
www.pbcgov.org/papa/Asps/PropertyDetail/PropertyDetail.as...
wesblackman.blogspot.com/2012/01/more-on-architect-g-sher...
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
“Urban art is a style of art that relates to cities and city life. In that way urban art combines street art and graffiti and is often used to summarize all visual art forms arising in urban areas, being inspired by urban architecture or thematizing urban live style.
The notion of 'Urban Art' developed from street art that is primarily concerned with graffiti culture. Urban art represents a broader cross section of artists that as well as covering traditional street artists also covers artists using more traditional media but with a subject matter that deals with contemporary urban culture and political issues.”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_art
“Wild Flowers are not weeds"
Street Art is the modern, urban wildflowers
What's the difference between Graffiti Tagging and Street Art?
1. Street Art is constructive, Graffiti Tagging is destructive.
2. Street Art adorns the urban landscape, Graffiti Tagging scars it and accelerates urban decay.
3. Street Art stretches your mind, Graffiti Tagging is a slap in your face.
4. Street Art is about the audience, Graffiti Tagging is about the tagger.
5. Street Art says "Have you thought about this?", Graffiti Tagging says "I tag, therefore I exist".
6. Street Art was done with a smile, Graffiti Tagging was done with a scowl.
7. Street Art takes skill, Graffiti Tagging takes balls.
8. We mourn losing Street Art and celebrate losing Graffiti Tagging.
Good Street Art is great, good Graffiti Tagging is gone!
”http://www.graffitiactionhero.org/graffiti-tag-vs-street-art.html
Additional interesting sites
www.osnatfineart.com/urban-art.jsp
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_art
Graffiti_27 LR
It was dark and wet as I made my way to a patch of Betony, Stachys officinalis, in the pretty Hortus Botanicus. Perhaps, I thought, it would help bewitch the weather into something more sunny... Traditionally Betony was thought to ward off evil spirits as even Desiderius Erasmus relates - who died yesterday in 1536 - a humanist not given to superstition.
Regardless the glum morning, Early Bumblebees (see inset) were out in full force foraging rather placidly on the pretty purple flowers. Then there was a spot of sunlight and it took all of three minutes for Anthidium manicatum, the European Wool Carder Bees, to disturb the peace, as it were, with their seemingly erratic collection. A bit of shadow and they were gone again; then back when the Sun came out. Back and forth, back and forth. A bit like Yours Truly who'd flee into the Greenhouse when another torrent of rain descended, and return to Betony when it lifted...
I truly relate to these trees personally, having managed a 4 acre organic pear farm for 7 years. The etched shapes of these trees take me back to the arches of Gothic
I can't say how often I've driven Messenger Road, a potholed passage which never really goes where I'm going. It's a bridge between things, like so much of my life seems to be. It's a metaphor in my mind for a kind of prophecy, the sort you say and then go about trying to make come true. Things to share and the drive to share them, I've got more of that than most. I was once accused of being a "wannabe profit", and though the typo is accurate in the sense that I could use the money, the term "prophet" doesn't really fit me. There is no targeted truth in what I'm writing, no big vision or dream to relate. I'm not planning on predicting the future, only trying to do that old tribal thing. Campfire tales and cave paintings, so we can look back on our lives and back at our faces, and see something that keeping our thoughts to ourselves couldn't show.
November 20, 2022
Paradise, Nova Scotia
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Hunts Mesa looking into Monument Valley, you've got to love pastels.
I decided to try the lowest ISO my camera would do (D810, ISO 31) to see if it would relate to greater detail as it did in the old film days and grain. I find it does equate to detail. I had tried this before but my old monitor was not up the the job as what this 4K monitor does. Lesson learned is you need to match the quality of the camera to the resolution of the monitor. If not you really don't see the capability of what the newer cameras are doing. Go ahead and view at largest size.
The Botanical Gardens at Asheville is located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, one of the most diverse temperate ecosystems in the world. Our mission is the preservation and Pickerleweed promotion of the native plant species and habitats of these mountains. We hope to increase public awareness of this region’s unique botanical diversity by maintaining gardens for the enjoyment of the public and by providing educational programs and research resources for the community. The Cole Library of The Botanical Gardens at Asheville contains more than 1000 books relating to botany, horticulture, ecology, and ornithology. The grounds of BGA are open year round from sunrise to sunset for the enjoyment of the community, and no admission is charged for entrance. The Botanical Gardens is an independent nonprofit corporation financially supported by memberships, donations, endowments, proceeds from the Garden Path Gift Shop, and fees from special events and programs that are offered to the public. With the exception of the occasional competitive grant, we receive no city, state, or federal tax dollars. Although the Gardens is located on land belonging to the adjacent University of North Carolina at Asheville, we operate independently and are overseen by a Board of Directors elected from and by the general membership of the Botanical Gardens.
The Botanical Gardens at Asheville
151 W.T. Weaver Blvd.
Asheville, NC 28804-3414
Website: www.ashevillebotanicalgardens.org
The title of this relates to an article I read some time ago by Ken Rockwell, www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm, in which he explains what is "Good Bokeh", I found it interesting because I happen to be one of those people that think the word good when describing a medium such as photography is subjective and even sometimes what is generally "bad" can be "good" every now and again, if you know what I mean. He even has a chart showing what "poor", "neutral" and "good" bokeh looks like, and I am proud to say I have achieved what I think he describes as "neutral" or "poor" bokeh. Yeah for me!!! :-)))
In truth, I don't disagree with him in looking at this image there is something a little too harsh in the blobs of light here. It certainly is not the "smooth and silky" kind of bokeh. But you know after drinking a few of those glasses of what is in the foreground, nothing was in focus, and that is clearly seen in this image (as nothing in the shot is clearly in focus), so I call the shot a success!! :-))))
Here is a link to the entire story (which is a great read, seriously), www.kenrockwell.com/tech/bokeh.htm, and an excerpt is below.
"Bokeh describes the appearance, or "feel," of out-of-focus areas. Bokeh is not how far something is out-of-focus, bokeh is the character of whatever blur is there.
Unfortunately good bokeh doesn't happen automatically in lens design. Perfect lenses render out-of-focus points of light as circles with sharp edges. Ideal bokeh would render each of these points as blurs, not hard-edged circles."
So I guess I have a good lens and a "neutral" or perhaps "poor" bokeh shot to show for it! All of this is posted in good spirits, hope it reads that way! Cheers!!! :-))
HBW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just by looking at the candles that were lit on fire in the name of asking, inspire me to wish, to love, and to live. It is the most wonderful time during winter holidays at Gortto Portland, OR. I wish our technology could advance to the level where photography could not only visualize, but transform feelings, emotions and sensations. When I stood by those candles assembling a shot on a night cold December day, its warmth warmed my heart.
What makes this photograph truly amazing is that it involves multiple techniques. Repetition of lines with broken element at the rule of thirds, a story starter of the person who broke that pattern and surely its great content of what we see. Photograph relates to the religious epistemology, therefore might arise questions of its audience. However, not only people with religious believes are welcomed at that place, those like me(neutral) can come and gaze the beauty of such.
St Albans Cathedral, in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Saint Alban is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr and saint. The most elaborate version of his story, Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, relates that he lived in Verulamium, sometime during the 3rd or 4th century, when Christians were suffering persecution. Alban met a Christian priest fleeing from his persecutors and sheltered him in his house, where he became so impressed with the priest's piety that he converted to Christianity.
When the authorities searched Alban's house, he put on the priest's cloak and presented himself in place of his guest. He was sentenced to endure the punishments that were to be inflicted upon the priest, unless he renounced Christianity. Alban refused and was taken for execution. In later legends, his head rolled downhill after execution and a well sprang up where it stopped.
Little is known of the early churches built over Alban’s grave. The Shrine of St Alban was the reason for the Abbey’s foundation and the town that grew up around it, and it is said that King Offa of Mercia founded a monastery here in 793.
After the Norman invasion of 1066, William the Conqueror appointed Paul of Caen as the first Norman abbot of St Albans and commissioned a new church. Paul started his great rebuilding of the Abbey with the Tower, which still stands today. This Norman church was built from bricks and tiles saved from the ruins of Roman Verulamium.
In 1213 St Albans Abbey was the meeting place for a group of churchmen and nobles. Their discussions led to Magna Carta which was reluctantly sealed by the king at Runnymede in 1215.
The medieval Abbey was famous as a place of learning. The monks who lived here produced high-quality manuscripts in a workshop called the scriptorium. These included bibles and books on science, music, and classics.
St Albans Abbey was closed in December 1539 and most of the buildings were destroyed. The shrines of St Alban and St Amphibalus were demolished, and Alban’s relics disappeared.
In 1553, the people of St Albans bought the church for their own use. However, the upkeep was expensive and by 1832, the Abbey was in a sorry state.
Wealthy Victorian benefactors paid for the building to be repaired. This included remodelling the West End, removing medieval features, and replacing the statues in the High Altar Screen.
In 1877 what had previously been a local parish church became a cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of St Albans.
Information Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Albans
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Alban
www.stalbanscathedral.org/the-history-of-st-albans-cathedral
2023 A New Year's Eve Soliloquy
I was asked recently by a friend if I would ever be likely to teach someone what
he/she felt were my skills at pickpocketing.
Extremely flattering as the question was, I had never thought of what we do as a skill. Rather than just role play, or taking advantage of a friend’s condition ( like Pissed drunk, or compellingly overwhelmed emotionally) that makes them vulnerable.
We had a discussion over this with my brother and our group of friends, concluding that since non of us would ever try to do a lift on a stranger for keeps, the topic of this being an actual skill is pretty much mute.
That all being said, if there are professional pickpockets that are adept enough to actively lift jewelry from a victim, then either they are incredibly skilled, or just know how to spot an advantage brewing that would cook up into a victim’s concocting condition as described above.
For a clearer example of a concocting condition, let me relate my own experience this past New Year’s Eve.
As is our habit, my friends and I celebrated New Year's Eve at our local “The Poet & Peasant Pub”.
I was on the decorations committee, so I was there to observe most of the guests coming in.
I was at the top of the stairs leading to the upper rooms, placing a party hat on Erik, the skull of the medieval poet who is the pub’s namesake. The macabrely grinning thing sits high on a ledge of the stairs overlooking the pub and its guests (peasants).
So I had a great vantage point to take an early drink and watch.
A friend(and he knows of whom I speak) had sorta challenged me to make a lift this evening. So it was with a thief’s eye that I tried to look innocent as I watched the partiers coming in.
The pub proper is not large, but it has two larger first-floor rooms, one for dance, the other for dart competitions. Since we usually can expect a crowd of two hundred, all three areas come into play.
The upstairs rooms are old bedrooms used for various pub-related antics.
Now, It’s not supposed to be a dressy affair at this party, but the guests, regulars, and visitors make it one.
The gents in suits, and tuxes, the lady’s getting a second chance to show off by wearing an old gown or dress they’ve only worn once.
Rhinestones and pearls are the majority of jewels worn with splashy brilliance.
This year was no exception.
Once it was in full swing one would have thought it was an after-party at a actors' awards show.
Use that thought to picture in your mind a quick visual without me going into boring paragraphs of detail.
But for a brief idea, I’ll describe what my clique was wearing…
Which, since it was one(or more)of us girls that became a victim that evening, it appears appropriate to do so.
So, In my role-play thief's mind I observed:
First off, myself.
I had on a smart ocean blue coloured satin dress with a below-knee length skirt and a slick solid top with a mock turtleneck collar. The sleeves flared out just below my elbows. I was wearing my gold necklace set with diamond Sapphire rhinestones with matching long earrings. Also being worn was my rhinestone cuff bracelet. The same one my brother once nicked from me at the very pub we were now partying at.
I also added two of my real cocktail rings to complete the glittery effect.
As far as the type of mark I’d be for a thief? Well if being a twit came in degrees, and I was in my monthly period, I would be certified as a solid brown belt. If I was wearing real jewels, thieves would be able to have a field day lifting the bloody things, as did actually happen to me in a very similar situation as this evening. But it was not done by a real thief, just by an opportunist who took advantage of a victim who had been having herself a pisser.
But then, this is not that story.
My friend Byrne was wearing an old-fashioned black tux, black vest, black shirt, and blue bow tie, topped off by a black bowler. He had to work late at the Dyfed station that day and said he was wearing the suit he had on. So it was a pleasant surprise to see him dressed up, and I let him know it in no uncertain terms.
My brother was dapper in his tawny-colored herringbone vest suit, brown silk shirt, and gold satin necktie. A gold satin handkerchief stuck jauntily out from a vest pocket.
Ginny had again poured her lithe figure into the sleek satin Japanese-style Qipao sheath dress she had bought to wear in a play she acted in last spring. It was midnight black with a brite lime green inner lining and tight lime green Lycra pants. The only decoration on the elegant dress was a glittery silver rhinestone Dragon, with green slanted eyes and a red fiery tongue. It was embroidered crawling up one side of the dress, reaching around up towards her bosom.
Ginny was wearing a bib-style necklace of rhinestone emeralds with matching earrings.
The necklace she usually wore was still in a police evidence locker at Dyfed ( see my tea party story).
Her hair was held up on one side by a glittery clip. She wore no gloves, so her diamond rhinestone cuff bracelet lay on bare skin, as were the 3 cocktail rings she was wearing.
Ginny would be a tougher nut for thieves to crack. For she is logical to a fault and witty. She is also a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu.
But one really after her jewels, would just have to follow her around to see she is on the wee bit clumsy side. I immediately thought how useful a satin handkerchief could be if employed along the high, partially exposed neckline of her gown to acquire her necklace. And I happened to now know where to obtain one ….
Two other two close friends (members of our role-playing troupe) also eventually showed up.
Merrick was dashing in a James Bond-styled black tux. The vest he wore had a gold and black calico silk pattern.
His Heather enticingly was wearing a very shiny black satin, slightly off shoulders gown with long white lace frills hanging down from the neckline and the gown’s puffy elbow-length sleeves.
Her jewellery was a ruby rhinestone necklace with matching earrings. Like Ginny, one side of her hair was pulled back and held by one of her real diamond chip hair clips. She wore black satin gloves, and around one wrist was the wide tennis bracelet Merrick had given her last Valentine’s Day. It was a beauty, two rows of diamonds and a centre row of round rock rubies. She also wore twin ruby cocktail rings.
Heather is a timid meek little thing who blushed easily and turn her head away whenever complimented(think of Actress Alison Pill ). Also, those black satin gloves of hers would hinder feelings of lifting from her skin.
Mum and Auntie were also in attendance.
Mum was wearing a shimmering dress of silvery metallic material. She was wearing a necklace of round diamond rhinestones, with matching earrings and bracelets. They were ones I first “borrowed “, sneaking them out of mum’s day jewel case and started wearing as my twin and I began first exploring our games of thievery.
Her personality and looks matched the actress Haley Mills. Her eyes getting delightfully large as she was surprised by something. It would be worth trying for her necklace just to witness that reaction.
Father was working the Dyfed station this evening, so my bodyguard-built uncle was the escort of both ladies.
Uncle(or the man from U.N.C.L.E . As I thought of him) was a rugby player in his youth and still had the physic for it. The tight tux he wore looked like it was bursting from the seams over his muscular build. But for all his looks he was a pussycat. Though a fierce darts competitor.
Auntie was very elegant in a long white silk dress with a red and green flowery print. She was wearing her gleaming set of pearls.
Our Aunt reminded me of the actress Janine Duvitski, in looks, and the way she was insecure, like Janine’s character in the Telly series” Waiting for God.” She was a foil to far too many things in her life and would offer no challenge to a proper thief, which may be her saving grace.
Then there was our cousin Michelle(Micke)
She has come there with a group of her coworkers but divided her time with us.
Micke was enticingly wearing a very sleek, slick brown satin fully off-shoulder number that nicely outlined her petite figure as it poured along it down to her silver high heels.
Her Jewels were a sparkling collection that consisted of a wide V-shaped necklace that looked like a falling river of rhinestones, amazingly sparkling chandelier earnings, her favorite diamond-appearing bracelet, and several enticing rings.
But the real showpiece was the eye-grabbing broach she had pinned to the gown just at her waistband. It had a sparrow egg-sized diamond at its centre.
Now blonde Micke just wears her heart upon her sleeve. Just as gullible as her mum, she has fallen victim to many of our pranks. Micke was easy prey to a compliment or falling into a tight, searching hug.
And by now most of the rest of the crowd had entered.
I tapped Erick’s boney jaw open so the poor sod of a poet was grinning, then came down from my perch to begin mugging, er, mingling.
^^^^^^^^
And so the party rambled on, properly behaving like most pub-held New Year’s Eve affairs.
I highly recommend going to one if you have never been.
Plenty to drink, and eat, games to play dancing to music( ours was live this year) camaraderie, storytelling and jokes, attempts to lite the cigar someone had stuck in Erik’s mouth, etc
Oh, And did I mention games?
Especially the one I was playing on my own, pretending to be a thief on the prowl.
I did miss one early opportunity on me mum’s necklace when I stood behind her in the snack line. She had literally backed into me and was reaching down to snag a small pork pie, exposing her throat and necklaces' clasp. But uncle was in front of her and turned to look as she asked him if he had one for himself.
Victims 1 Thief 0
But then as the night went by quickly and since I’m not a real thief, I found myself having so much fun I almost forgot I was looking for a further lifting opportunity.
Almost…
End Acte 1
^^^^^^^^^^^^*
Acte 2
Almost forgot I had been dared to do a lift, that is until I had l came out of the loo around 11:00 and realized I was on my own.
For the first time that evening.
Everyone I had been with was split up into small groups now doing their own thing
I could either join in, watch, or….
And now I thought licking my freshly touched-up lips, time to do something on my own.
So like my pretend thief, I decided to have a walk around and seek an opportunity amongst my chosen potential victims.
Byrne, Merrick, Uncle, and my brother Craig were we’re still playing darts with another group of men. I had been watching before slipping away to freshen up.
Micke and one of her co-workers ( in green taffeta) were amongst a group dancing. I thought of cutting in as a possibility to make a score, for that glittering broach of hers was an enticing calling card.
I watched for a minute or so when suddenly an opening appeared that paved my way in. A man had cut in and was dancing with Micke’s girlfriend. His back to Micke. I curled my fingers while licking my lips ready to plunge in and make a lift of a glittery broach.
I got no more than two steps in when the music stopped and the dancers headed off the floor in the opposite direction, including my Cousin.
I walked away, my heart pounding.
Victims 2 Thief 0
Our Mum and Auntie were sitting at a side table of the long mahogany bar, chatting away. Mum has an almost empty glass, so I surmised she may need to be making a trip to the ladies' room. I stored away that tidbit.
But there, in an opposite corner, underneath Erik’s perch, a makeshift stage was set up. With guests coming up to tell jokes and stories.
It was at one of the tables, chairs backed against the stairway, Ginny and Heather sat listening to an Irishman telling one of his drinking stories.
Both, in my thief’s eye, were a royal treat to be observed. Two enticingly dressed and deliciously jeweled prospects, very distracted, sitting in a rather vulnerable location.
It was all far too tempting, and I felt an overwhelming urge to acquire a piece of jewellery and strted to excitedly tingle from deep within.
Ginny’s necklace was beckoning with a flashy invitation. Heather's elegantly gloved hands with the inviting jewelry she wore, also called out to my inner thief with a fiery blazing hot lure.
^^^^^
The Irishman telling the joke was holding a long cigar as he started, his accent and mannerisms adding much embellishment to the story.
(Look up on Utube Mike Dunafon. An Irish drinking joke)
“Irishman Paddy O'Brien has moved to a small city in Wales. And as men are won’t to do, looks for a new local. He walks into the first pub he finds, and tells the bartender, "Give me three pints of Guinness."
The bartender obediently brings him three pints…..
As the story started I had circled over to the empty staircase and snuck up it till I was level with Heather and Ginny’s chairs. Then I sat down.
I earlier decided that my game would be to lift a piece and make it outside to the victim’s car and write gotcha on it, for my thief to win, if I was caught or stopped by anyone, then I lost.
The Irishman took a long puff of his cigar and carried on.
Paddy proceeds to alternately sip one, then the other, then the third until they're gone. Then he rose, threw coins on the table, winked at the bar mistress, and left.
Meanwhile, I was leaning against the rails, my hands reaching out to the back of Ginny’s throat, aiming for the clasp of her emerald-laden necklace. Figuring once the punchline was given, the laughing (if it was as funny as I hoped) would provide the perfect opportunity.
The Irishman continues…
The next Saturday evening Paddy walks in, hanging his cap, taking a seat, he walks again and orders three more pints.
The bartender brings them over, and says, "Sir, you don't have to order three pints at a time. I can keep an eye on one and when you get low, I'll bring you a fresh pint."
Paddy responds, "You don't understand. I just moved to wales and I have two brothers, one in Australia and one Canada. We made a vow to each other that every Saturday night we'd still drink together. So right now, me brothers are having three Guinness Stouts and we're drinking together.
The bartender thought that it was a wonderful tradition and said as much.
Both Ginny and Heather were now leaning back in their chairs. My fingers had been slowly working on pulling Ginny’s necklace down lower on her back so it would dangle. Just then Heather put her arms behind her chair. Her bracelet danced with rippling sparks that just cried out to the thief in me to be taken.
So, as the Irishman took a sip of his drink, I moved my hands from Ginny, and moving down a stair reached for Heather’s ruby bracelet. As the next part of the joke was told, I delicately worked at removing it.
Now, every week for several years Paddy came in and ordered three pints at a time.
Then one Saturday week he came in and ordered only two pints.
He solemnly drank them, rose. Put on his cap and went over to pay his tab.
The bartender, who had worriedly been watching, said to Paddy, "I know your tradition, and I'd just like to say that I'm sorry that one of your brothers died."
Paddy responded, “oh no, both my brothers are just fine Dontchay knows now.”
The Bartender, puzzled asked, “then why only two beers now? laddie?”
But I never heard the answer, for as Paddy was still drinking his two beers, I had fiendishly slipped off Heather’s glittering ruby bracelet from around her sleekly gloved wrist and had snuck off the staircase and was heading towards the back door.
Victims 3 Thief 1
I managed to slip past the table where my Aunt sat( mum was gone).
Behind me, I hear vigorous laughter and applause at the ending of the Irishman’s joke.
I would have to ask later what it was.
Then, by the entrance to the dart room, I waited until everyone was watching a dart being thrown before walking past the room.
The dance floor was again packed. But I couldn’t spy Micke, so I took a chance and scurried past.
I made it to the door, excitedly letting out my breath as I pulled it open and slipped through into the chilly night.
A couple was walking in the parking lot, so I ducked into a shadowy side alley and skirted around a fence. Kneeling, I peeked through the pickets.
I did not know the couple, but they obviously had been having a great time, though I wondered why they were leaving so soon. The lady was dressed in a blue taffeta gown with prickling rhinestone adornments. Her jewelry also prickled fire in the moonlit evening.
In my thief’s eyes, I saw them being approached and held up. The lady is forced to hand over her jewels to a masked female thief. Not me though, the thief I was picturing had bigger boobs.
Of course, that would be something only I would find to be that amusing, and let out a giggle.
They both heard it and looked around as I slinked back into the shadows.
They shrugged it off and got inside the car.
I took my eyes off them and soon spotted Merrill and Heather’s black sports car.
I rose.
Suddenly a male voice snarled sinisterly from behind me...
“Who let you out all dressed up looking like a mugger's dream?”
I let out a shriek as I jumped up and turned around.
Byrne stood there grinning.
I playfully pounded his shoulder, my heart thumping as I scolded him between breaths that gave off wisps of vapor into the cold night.
“Byrne you rotter. Scared the Jesus out of me you did, and almost peed my undies. And how would that have looked I ask you?!”
Byrne held onto my shoulders and laughed.
“Sorry, you looked so mischievous as I saw in the corner of my eye you sneaking out. I followed, then lost you until I heard the giggle. So tell me what you are up to now?”
I explained to him my game, that upon the thief’s success, I had come out to write “gotcha” on the car door.
“Then what were you gonna after that Ms. Cadence?”
“Follow Heather out when she left and give it back …?”
Byrne looked thoughtfully at Merrick’s car.
“I have got a better idea. She won’t know who did it.”
He led me over to his auto. Goes to the back and pulls a long slender bar from what I call his cop box, in the trunk.
We go over to Merrick’s black sports car and Byrne, looking around first, uses the tool to lift the latch on the passenger side.
“Now lay her bracelet out on the seat.
I did so letting it curl up on the black leather, where it lay sparkling. Then I locked and shut the door.
With a smirk, Byrne reminded me not to forget what else I was going to do
I nodded and in the dirty side of the door, I traced the word “Gotcha” as Byrne went over to put back his tool.
Arm in arm, with a co-conspirator's air, we walked onto the sidewalk, making our way to the front of the pub and went back inside. Innocent as a sparrow…
Another gent was getting up on the stage telling a story so we went and joined Ginny and Heather with an air of innocence as we began laughing along with them.
An old Irishman, Paddy, is about to go to his eternal reward. He looks at his grieving friend, Mike, and says, "Michael, I have one last request."
Ginny’s necklace was still lifted and the backside hanging down. She hadn’t noticed that fact. Nor had giggling Heather noticed her flashy bracelet was now missing.
"Anything, Paddy," Mike says. "What is it?"
"In me kitchen pantry lad, you'll find a bottle of whiskey from the year I was born. When they put me in the ground will you pour it over me grave as a final salute?"
"I will, Paddy," Mike says.
“Thank you Michael, you have been a true and thoughtful lad.”
I nudged Byrne and pointed to my wrist. He looked over and saw that Heather had her hand on the table, with her other gloves hand over it. I was tingling with excitement over how my game had played out.
Byrne nudged me back and I shook my head in agreement. He was loving the fact that we had pulled it off. So like a man to take the whole credit now that he had contributed a wee bit to my game.
We both turned back to listen to the stories finish.
"But Paddy?”
Mike asks earnestly ….
“Would you be minding if I be passing it through me kidneys first?"
The whole room erupted into laughter as the gent merrily raised his glass.
It was then announced that we were only ten minutes away from midnight and everyone should take their places.
I gasped inwardly. Blimey had not been keeping track of the time.
Byrne helped us out of our chairs, and we followed Ginny and Heather to where my brother was standing next to Merrick.
Lights soon dim as the countdown begins
10,9,8,
Everyone behind us is prancing around
7,6,5
We go around hugging. I lift my brother's satin handkerchief from his pocket as I hug him.
4,3,2
I hug Ginny
Wrapping the handkerchief around Ginny’s throat as we hug. Feeling the clasp of her necklace. Oh so tempting.
Victims 4 Thief 1
Then 1 was called out at the stroke of midnight.
“Happy new years everybody!!!”
Lights flicker horns are honked, crackers exploded, and drinks were toasted.
As Ginny turns to hug my brother, I grab and hug Heather, seeing Merrick and Byrne hugging.
I then pull Bryne from his man crush on Merrick and hug him.
Then we spilt up to wish others a Happy New Years.
^^^^^^^^^
We party for another hour before Merrick and Heather say they must leave.
We say our goodbyes and as Byrne and I watch Heather being helped on with her wrap we smirk at each other knowing what she will be finding on her car seat. Love to be a fly on the wall for that.
The music was still playing. A series of slow dances now that the party was winding down.
As we dance, Byrne, looking over at Ginny, commented:
“Damn if Ginny’s necklace isn’t a corker. If I’d been playing your game, I would have had a go for it, though I may have needed a bit of good luck to pull it off.”
I smirked and explained I had originally been attempting to lift it but had gone for the bracelet instead…and that in his case luck may have been needed, but it would not have been good.”
Then, as we both were watching Ginny, with that lovely necklace just sparking away around her throat, I purred into his ear…
“Say the word, and I’ll get for you, my love.”
He shook his head no…
“The scary part is if I said yes you would do it.”
I giggled:
“And wear it until she noticed.”
Byrne smiled:
“You will play nice here the rest of the party won’t you now?”
I nodded as a delighted thought crept into my head.
“So if Ginny had been skulking outside would you have snuck up on her luv, maybe had her hand it over?”
“And have my arse thrown over the fence. No, think I’ll stick to the easily distracted ones who meltdown in my arms.”
“Dream on mister.” I chide him happily.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Early the next morning as the last of us were kicked out long after the party was officially over, Byrne bundled me into his car, knowing I was too wasted to drive my own self home. I sat there in a mute stupor, hornily replaying the evening's fun.
Suddenly Byrne spoke into the windshield.
“Let’s go to the playground.”
I perked up, for ideas like that usually came from me.
“Your drunk.” I teases
“Well, So are you Lass.”
“But it’s too cold. Let’s go to your flat and play at burglars…”
Byrne, sensing my hot flashy feelings, nudged me…
“I knew you would like to role-play since you were playing your games this evening.”
I poked him
“You were the one to mention muggers. Steal my jewelry and strip me naked, is that what’s in your head me lad?”
“Something like that.”
“Do you have your cuffs?”
That perked him up royally.
“Do you want me to use them?”
I giggled with a burgeoned horny appetite.
“Yes, laddie. On yourself. So you can do the thieving and stripping of my easily distracted person without using your hands.”
I do so enjoy it when one can score by making my Byrne speechless.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
So I would like to think that in real life, once upon a time, there may have been an actual pickpocket attending an actors' award show after a party, with real jewellery being worn, that may have seen what I saw, made observations as I did. and lurked, and waited to take advantage of the situation once it developed.
As I did.
Food for thought
Fini
Mike Dunafon. An Irish drinking joke
Monolith.
Bronze Age (c2300-c700 BC)
Rollright Stones, Warwickshire
Some of the folklore relating to the Rollright Stones is linked here
Adjective
1. Characterised by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible.
2. Highly refined; delicate.
3. Heavenly or spiritual [Greek aithēr ether]
... a Of the celestial spheres; heavenly.
... b Not of this world; spiritual.
4. Chemistry. Of or relating to ether.
Dedicated to Kounelli for being the first person to comment on this shot, and to the volcanic sharrockmary for being a close second.
Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.
Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.
To see more of our CC by 2.0 finance images click here... see profile for attribution.
Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.
Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.
To see more of our CC by 2.0 finance images click here... see profile for attribution.
Various trees of life are recounted in folklore, culture and fiction, often relating to immortality or fertility. They had their origin in religious symbolism.
Ancient Iran
In pre-Islamic Persian mythology, the Gaokerena world tree is a large, sacred Haoma tree which bears all seeds. Ahriman (Ahreman, Angremainyu) created a frog to invade the tree and destroy it, aiming to prevent all trees from growing on the earth. As a reaction, God (Ahura Mazda) created two kar fish staring at the frog to guard the tree. The two fishes are always staring at the frog and stay ready to react to it. Because Ahriman is responsible for all evil including death, while Ahura Mazda is responsible for all good (including life) the concept of world tree in Persian Mythology is very closely related to the concept of Tree of Life.The sacred plant haoma and the drink made from it. The preparation of the drink from the plant by pounding and the drinking of it are central features of Zoroastrian ritual. Haoma is also personified as a divinity. It bestows essential vital qualities—health, fertility, husbands for maidens, even immortality. The source of the earthly haoma plant is a shining white tree that grows on a paradisiacal mountain. Sprigs of this white haoma were brought to earth by divine birds.Haoma is the Avestan form of the Sanskrit soma. The near identity of the two in ritual significance is considered by scholars to point to a salient feature of an Indo-Iranian religion antedating Zoroastrianism.
Another related issue in ancient mythology of Iran is the myth of Mashyа and Mashyane, two trees who were the ancestors of all living beings. This myth can be considered as a prototype for the creation myth where living beings are created by Gods (who have a human form).
Ancient Egypt
Worshipping Osiris, Isis, and Horus
To the Ancient Egyptians, the Tree of Life represented the hierarchical chain of events that brought every thing into existence. The spheres of the Tree of Life demonstrate the order, process, and method of creation.In Egyptian mythology, in the Ennead system of Heliopolis, the first couple, apart from Shu and Tefnut (moisture and dryness) are Geb and Nuit (earth and sky), are Isis and Osiris. They were said to have emerged from the acacia tree of Iusaaset, which the Egyptians considered the tree of life, referring to it as the "tree in which life and death are enclosed." Some acacia trees contain DMT, a psychedelic drug associated with spiritual experiences. The drug is not orally bio-available, however and there is no evidence the Egyptians had techniques for extracting or otherwise harnessing the drug. A much later myth relates how Set and 72 conspirators killed Osiris, putting him in a coffin, and throwing it into the Nile, the coffin becoming embedded in the base of a tamarisk tree.The Egyptians' Holy Sycamore also stood on the threshold of life and death, connecting the two worlds.
Assyria
Assyrian tree of life, from Nimrud panels.The Assyrian Tree of Life was represented by a series of nodes and criss-crossing lines. It was apparently an important religious symbol, often attended to in Assyrian palace reliefs by human or eagle-headed winged genies, or the King, and blessed or fertilized with bucket and cone. Assyriologists have not reached consensus as to the meaning of this symbol. The name "Tree of Life" has been attributed to it by modern scholarship; it is not used in the Assyrian sources. In fact, no textual evidence pertaining to the symbol is known to exist.
Baha'i Faith
The concept of the tree of life appears in the writings of the Baha'i Faith, where it can refer to the Manifestation of God, a great teacher who appears to humanity from age to age. An example of this can be found in the Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh:["Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life, which is planted in the all-glorious paradise? Awestruck ye listened as I gave utterance to these three most holy words: O friends! Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for you, and approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings. Would ye but sanctify your souls, ye would at this present hour recall that place and those surroundings, and the truth of My utterance should be made evident unto all of you."Also, in the Tablet of Ahmad [1], of Bahá'u'lláh:"Verily He is the Tree of Life, that bringeth forth the fruits of God, the Exalted, the Powerful, the Great".Bahá'u'lláh refers to his male descendents as branches (Aghsán) and calls women leaves.
A distinction has been made between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The latter represents the physical world with its opposites, such as good and evil and light and dark. In a different context from the one above, the tree of life represents the spiritual realm, where this duality does not exist.
Buddhism
The Bo tree, also called Bodhi tree, according to Buddhist tradition, is the pipal (Ficus religiosa) under which the Buddha sat when he attained Enlightenment (Bodhi) at Bodh Gaya (near Gaya, west-central Bihar state, India). A living pipal at Anuradhapura, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), is said to have grown from a cutting from the Bo tree sent to that city by King Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE.According to Tibetan tradition when Buddha went to the holy Lake Manasorovar along with 500 monks, he took with him the energy of Prayaga Raj. Upon his arrival, he installed the energy of Prayaga Raj near Lake Manasorovar, at a place now known as Prayang. Then he planted the seed of this eternal banyan tree next to Mt. Kailash on a mountain known as the "Palace of Medicine Buddha".
China
In Chinese mythology, a carving of a Tree of Life depicts a phoenix and a dragon; the dragon often represents immortality. A Taoist story tells of a tree that produces a peach every three thousand years. The one who eats the fruit receives immortality.An archaeological discovery in the 1990s was of a sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui in Sichuan, China. Dating from about 1200 BCE, it contained three bronze trees, one of them 4 meters high. At the base was a dragon, and fruit hanging from the lower branches. At the top is a strange bird-like (phoenix) creature with claws. Also found in Sichuan, from the late Han dynasty (c 25 – 220 CE), is another tree of life. The ceramic base is guarded by a horned beast with wings. The leaves of the tree are coins and people. At the apex is a bird with coins and the Sun.
Christianity
In Catholic Christianity, the Tree of Life represents the immaculate state of humanity free from corruption and Original Sin before the Fall. Pope Benedict XVI has said that "the Cross is the true tree of life." Saint Bonaventure taught that the medicinal fruit of the Tree of Life is Christ himself. Saint Albert the Great taught that the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, is the Fruit of the Tree of Life.[18] Augustine of Hippo said that the tree of life is Christ: "All these things stood for something other than what they were, but all the same they were themselves bodily realities. And when the narrator mentioned them he was not employing figurative language, but giving an explicit account of things which had a forward reference that was figurative. So then the tree of life also was Christ... and indeed God did not wish the man to live in Paradise without the mysteries of spiritual things being presented to him in bodily form. So then in the other trees he was provided with nourishment, in this one with a sacrament... He is rightly called whatever came before him in order to signify him."[19]
The tree first appeared in Genesis 2:9 and 3:22-24 as the source of eternal life in the Garden of Eden, from which access is revoked when man is driven from the garden. It then reappears in the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, and most predominantly in the last chapter of that book (Chapter 22) as a part of the new garden of paradise. Access is then no longer forbidden, for those who "wash their robes" (or as the textual variant in the King James Version has it, "they that do his commandments") "have right to the tree of life" (v.14). A similar statement appears in Rev 2:7, where the tree of life is promised as a reward to those who overcome. Revelation 22 begins with a reference to the "pure river of water of life" which proceeds "out of the throne of God". The river seems to feed two trees of life, one "on either side of the river" which "bear twelve manner of fruits" "and the leaves of the tree were for healing of the nations" (v.1-2).[20] Or this may indicate that the tree of life is a vine that grows on both sides of the river, as John 15:1 would hint at.
In Eastern Christianity the tree of life is the love of God.The tree of life appears in the Book of Mormon in a revelation to Lehi (see 1 Nephi 8:10). It is symbolic of the love of God (see 1 Nephi 11:21-23). Its fruit is described as "most precious and most desirable above all other fruits," which "is the greatest of all the gifts of God" (see 1 Nephi 15:36). In another scriptural book, salvation is called "the greatest of all the gifts of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 6:13). In the same book eternal life is also called the "greatest of all the gifts of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 14:7). Because of these references, the tree of life and its fruit is sometimes understood to be symbolic of salvation and post-mortal existence in the presence of God and his love.
Europe
11th century Tree of Life sculpture at an ancient Swedish church
In Dictionnaire Mytho-Hermetique (Paris, 1737), Antoine-Joseph Pernety, a famous alchemist, identified the Tree of Life with the Elixir of Life and the Philosopher's Stone.
In Eden in the East (1998), Stephen Oppenheimer suggests that a tree-worshipping culture arose in Indonesia and was diffused by the so-called "Younger Dryas" event of c. 8000 BCE, when the sea level rose. This culture reached China (Szechuan), then India and the Middle East. Finally the Finno-Ugaritic strand of this diffusion spread through Russia to Finland where the Norse myth of Yggdrasil took root.
Georgia
The Borjgali (Georgian: ბორჯღალი) is an ancient Georgian Tree of Life symbol.
Germanic paganism and Norse mythology[
In Germanic paganism, trees played (and, in the form of reconstructive Heathenry and Germanic Neopaganism, continue to play) a prominent role, appearing in various aspects of surviving texts and possibly in the name of gods.
The tree of life appears in Norse religion as Yggdrasil, the world tree, a massive tree (sometimes considered a yew or ash tree) with extensive lore surrounding it. Perhaps related to Yggdrasil, accounts have survived of Germanic Tribes' honouring sacred trees within their societies. Examples include Thor's Oak, sacred groves, the Sacred tree at Uppsala, and the wooden Irminsul pillar. In Norse Mythology, the apples from Iðunn's ash box provide immortality for the gods.
Hinduism
The Eternal Banyan Tree (Akshaya Vata) is located on the bank of the Yamuna inside the courtyard of Allahabad Fort near the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganga Rivers in Allahabad. The eternal and divine nature of this tree has been documented at length in the scriptures.[citation needed]
During the cyclic destruction of creation when the whole earth was enveloped by waters, akshaya vata remained unaffected. It is on the leaves of this tree that Lord Krishna rested in the form of a baby when land was no longer visible. And it is here that the immortal sage, Markandeya, received the cosmic vision of the Lord. It is under this tree that Buddha meditates eternally. Legend also has it that the Bodi tree at Gaya is a manifestation of this tree.
Islam
Carpet Tree of Life
Main article: Quranic tree of life
See also: Sidrat al-Muntaha
The "Tree of Immortality" (Arabic: شجرة الخلود) is the tree of life motif as it appears in the Quran. It is also alluded to in hadiths and tafsir. Unlike the biblical account, the Quran mentions only one tree in Eden, also called the tree of immortality, which Allah specifically forbade to Adam and Eve. Satan, disguised as a serpent, repeatedly told Adam to eat from the tree, and eventually both Adam and Eve did so, thus disobeying Allah.] The hadiths also speak about other trees in heaven.
According to the Ahmadiyya movement, Quranic reference to the tree is symbolic; eating of the forbidden tree signifies that Adam disobeyed God.[
Jewish sources
Main articles: Etz Chaim and Biblical tree of life
Etz Chaim, Hebrew for "tree of life," is a common term used in Judaism. The expression, found in the Book of Proverbs, is figuratively applied to the Torah itself. Etz Chaim is also a common name for yeshivas and synagogues as well as for works of Rabbinic literature. It is also used to describe each of the wooden poles to which the parchment of a Sefer Torah is attached.The tree of life is mentioned in the Book of Genesis; it is distinct from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden. Remaining in the garden, however, was the tree of life. To prevent their access to this tree in the future, Cherubim with a flaming sword were placed at the east of the garden. (Genesis 3:22-24)
In the Book of Proverbs, the tree of life is associated with wisdom: "[Wisdom] is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy [is every one] that retaineth her." (Proverbs 3:13-18) In 15:4 the tree of life is associated with calmness: "A soothing tongue is a tree of life; but perverseness therein is a wound to the spirit."
The Book of Enoch, generally considered non-canonical, states that in the time of the great judgment God will give all those whose names are in the Book of Life fruit to eat from the Tree of Life.
Kathara grid
The esoteric bio-spiritual healing system of kathara which is presented on Earth by the official Speaker of the Guardian Alliance – E’Asha Ashayana,explains in detail the function of the code of the kathara grid] as the natural tree of life. Kathara reveals the anatomy of Creation, core structure, the blueprints & interconnectedness of all matter forms and in the center is the replication of the kathara grid everywhere.The kathara grid consists of 12 kathara centers and the relationships between them represent the true meaning of the phrase "As above, so below" and the correspondence between microcosmos and macrocosmos.
Kabbalah. Judaic Kabbalah Tree of Life 10 Sephirot, through which the Ein Sof unknowable Divine manifests Creation. The configuration relates to manJewish mysticism depicts the Tree of Life in the form of ten interconnected nodes, as the central symbol of the Kabbalah. It comprises the ten Sephirot powers in the Divine realm. The panentheistic and anthropomorphic emphasis of this emanationist theology interpreted the Torah, Jewish observance, and the purpose of Creation as the symbolic esoteric drama of unification in the Sephirot, restoring harmony to Creation. From the time of the Renaissance onwards, Jewish Kabbalah became incorporated as an important tradition in non-Jewish Western culture, first through its adoption by Christian Cabala, and continuing in Western esotericism occult Hermetic Qabalah. These adapted the Judaic Kabbalah Tree of Life syncretically by associating it with other religious traditions, esoteric theologies, and magical practices.
Mesoamerican
The concept of world trees is a prevalent motif in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cosmologies and iconography. World trees embodied the four cardinal directions, which represented also the fourfold nature of a central world tree, a symbolic axis mundi connecting the planes of the Underworld and the sky with that of the terrestrial world.Depictions of world trees, both in their directional and central aspects, are found in the art and mythological traditions of cultures such as the Maya, Aztec, Izapan, Mixtec, Olmec, and others, dating to at least the Mid/Late Formative periods of Mesoamerican chronology. Among the Maya, the central world tree was conceived as or represented by a ceiba tree, and is known variously as a wacah chan or yax imix che, depending on the Mayan language.[32] The trunk of the tree could also be represented by an upright caiman, whose skin evokes the tree's spiny trunk.Directional world trees are also associated with the four Yearbearers in Mesoamerican calendars, and the directional colors and deities. Mesoamerican codices which have this association outlined include the Dresden, Borgia and Fejérváry-Mayer codices.[31] It is supposed that Mesoamerican sites and ceremonial centers frequently had actual trees planted at each of the four cardinal directions, representing the quadripartite concept.World trees are frequently depicted with birds in their branches, and their roots extending into earth or water (sometimes atop a "water-monster," symbolic of the underworld). The central world tree has also been interpreted as a representation of the band of the Milky Way.
Middle East
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a similar quest for immortality. In Mesopotamian mythology, Etana searches for a 'plant of birth' to provide him with a son. This has a solid provenance of antiquity, being found in cylinder seals from Akkad (2390–2249 BCE).The Book of One Thousand and One Nights has a story, 'The Tale of Buluqiya', in which the hero searches for immortality and finds a paradise with jewel-encrusted trees. Nearby is a Fountain of Youth guarded by Al-Khidr. Unable to defeat the guard, Buluqiya has to return empty-handed.
North American
In a myth passed down among the Iroquois, The World on the Turtle's Back, explains the origin of the land in which a tree of life is described. According to the myth, it is found in the heavens, where the first humans lived, until a pregnant woman fell and landed in an endless sea. Saved by a giant turtle from drowning, she formed the world on its back by planting bark taken from the tree.The tree of life motif is present in the traditional Ojibway cosmology and traditions. It is sometimes described as Grandmother Cedar, or Nookomis Giizhig in Anishinaabemowin.In the book Black Elk Speaks, Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota (Sioux) wičháša wakȟáŋ (medicine man and holy man), describes his vision in which after dancing around a dying tree that has never bloomed he is transported to the other world (spirit world) where he meets wise elders, 12 men and 12 women. The elders tell Black Elk that they will bring him to meet "Our Father, the two-legged chief" and bring him to the center of a hoop where he sees the tree in full leaf and bloom and the "chief" standing against the tree. Coming out of his trance he hopes to see that the earthly tree has bloomed, but it is dead
Serer religion
In Serer religion, the tree of life as a religious concept forms the basis of Serer cosmogony. Trees were the first things created on Earth by the supreme being Roog (or Koox among the Cangin). In the competing versions of the Serer creation myth, the Somb (Prosopis africana) and the Saas tree (acacia albida) are both viewed as trees of life. However, the prevailing view is that, the Somb was the first tree on Earth and the progenitor of plant life. The Somb was also used in the Serer tumuli and burial chambers, many of which had survived for more than a thousand years.Thus, Somb is not only the Tree of Life in Serer society, but the symbol of immortality
Urartian Tree of Life
In ancient Urartu, the Tree of Life was a religious symbol and was drawn on walls of fortresses and carved on the armor of warriors. The branches of the tree were equally divided on the right and left sides of the stem, with each branch having one leaf, and one leaf on the apex of the tree. Servants stood on each side of the tree with one of their hands up as if they are taking care of the tree.
Turkic .The Tree of Life, as seen as in flag of Chuvashia, a Turkic state in the Russian FederationThe Tree of Life design on 0,05 Turkish lira (5 kuruş).
The World Tree or Tree of Life is a central symbol in Turkic mythology.[citation needed] It is a common motif in carpets.
It is also used as the main design of a common Turkish lira sub-unit 5 kuruş since 2009.
This is finished and in 4-5 days i have an exhibition in the local place called Helligåndshuset ( House of the Holy Spirit)..an old house from around 1500 in the center of my town Randers......looking forward to exhibit, even though it is only 3 days...and we are 4 people showing our work and the theme of this exhibition is "Connections" and we do relate to the theme in 4 different ways….and I can´t wait to see what the other three have made.....only seen some of it...
“Urban art is a style of art that relates to cities and city life. In that way urban art combines street art and graffiti and is often used to summarize all visual art forms arising in urban areas, being inspired by urban architecture or thematizing urban live style.
The notion of 'Urban Art' developed from street art that is primarily concerned with graffiti culture. Urban art represents a broader cross section of artists that as well as covering traditional street artists also covers artists using more traditional media but with a subject matter that deals with contemporary urban culture and political issues.”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_art
“Wild Flowers are not weeds"
Street Art is the modern, urban wildflowers
What's the difference between Graffiti Tagging and Street Art?
1. Street Art is constructive, Graffiti Tagging is destructive.
2. Street Art adorns the urban landscape, Graffiti Tagging scars it and accelerates urban decay.
3. Street Art stretches your mind, Graffiti Tagging is a slap in your face.
4. Street Art is about the audience, Graffiti Tagging is about the tagger.
5. Street Art says "Have you thought about this?", Graffiti Tagging says "I tag, therefore I exist".
6. Street Art was done with a smile, Graffiti Tagging was done with a scowl.
7. Street Art takes skill, Graffiti Tagging takes balls.
8. We mourn losing Street Art and celebrate losing Graffiti Tagging.
Good Street Art is great, good Graffiti Tagging is gone!
”http://www.graffitiactionhero.org/graffiti-tag-vs-street-art.html
Additional interesting sites
www.osnatfineart.com/urban-art.jsp
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_art
DSC_0247 final.jpg
I can relate to Frankenstein's monster..there are times when I feel like I've been piecemealed together, my body is a mess. My feet are a size and half different from one another, My left arm is contorted from injury, my spine does not properly align... it goes on and on. But the villagers haven't gathered yet so I'm doing pretty good! LOL
[polska wersja niżej]
This photo relates to the story told some time ago at this picture. Here ST43-395 with sugarbeet train is closing up to Raciąż station. Surprisingly SM30-277 appeared after the loco. This small shunter of the first Polish diesel locomotive class with appliance of diesel-electric transmission was detached from the consist in Raciąż and taken by sugar factory's shunting locomotive TEM2 to the factory. I don't know whether it was a loco's renting or wnything else.. October 9, 2005.
Photo by Jarek / Chester
ST43-395 wraz z niespodziewaną w takich okolicznościach SM30-277 oraz składem pełnym buraków cukrowych wjeżdżają do Raciąża rankiem 9 października 2005 roku. Tutaj SM30 została wypięta i wzięta na zakład do cukrowni - nie wiem, czy była to forma wypożyczenia lokomotywy manewrowej, czy coś innego.
Fot. Jarek / Chester