These last two days, man. It really doesn't help when one person's anger can make you feel as angry as them without any provocation.

Yes, sir, yes, sir,

Three bags full;

One for the master,

And one for the dame,

And one for the little boy

Who lives down the lane.

 

"Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" is an English nursery rhyme, the earliest surviving version of which dates from 1731. The words have changed little in two and a half centuries. It is sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! vous dirai-je, maman. Uncorroborated theories have been advanced to explain the meaning of the rhyme. These include that it is a complaint against Medieval English taxes on wool and that it is about the slave trade. In the twentieth century it was a subject of controversies in debates about political correctness. It has been used in literature and popular culture as a metaphor and allusion. The Roud Folk Song Index classifies the lyrics and their variations as number 4439.

 

The rhyme is a single stanza in trochaic metre, which is common in nursery rhymes and relatively easy for younger children to master. The Roud Folk Song Index, which catalogues folk songs and their variations by number, classifies the song as 4439 and variations have been collected across Great Britain and North America.

 

The rhyme is usually sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! vous dirai-je, maman, which is also used for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the "Alphabet song". The words and melody were first published together by A. H. Rosewig in (Illustrated National) Nursery Songs and Games, published in Philadelphia in 1879.

 

As with many nursery rhymes, attempts have been made to find origins and meanings for the rhyme, most which have no corroborating evidence. Katherine Elwes Thomas in The Real Personages of Mother Goose (1930) suggested that the rhyme referred to resentment at the heavy taxation on wool. This has particularly been taken to refer to the medieval English "Great" or "Old Custom" wool tax of 1275, which survived until the fifteenth century. More recently the rhyme has been connected to the slave trade, particularly in the southern United States. This explanation was advanced during debates over political correctness and the use and reform of nursery rhymes in the 1980s, but has no supporting historical evidence. Rather than being negative, the wool of black sheep may have been prized as it could be made into dark cloth without dyeing.

 

For more information please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baa,_Baa,_Black_Sheep

 

You may think there's nothing unusual about seeing sheep grazing on the Isle of Wight but some are a little bit different. Let me introduce you to the black sheep in the National Trust family...

 

History

 

Hebridean sheep are an ancient breed of medium-sized black sheep, which came from the islands off the west coast of Scotland. They're often known as St Kilda sheep.

 

The first feral animals, small and hardy with hair coats, were domesticated by Iron-Age farmers. Their thick black fleece is a result of selective breeding, and it turns greyer with age.

 

Had it not been fashionable to keep them in the parkland of country estates, they may well have died out.

 

But in the 20th century they were brought back from the brink of extinction and now they're widely used by conservation organisations.

 

The National Trust first bought them in the early 1990s from an Isle of Wight rare breed farm.

 

What makes them special?

 

They chose Hebridean sheep because they're excellent at scrub control, preferring to browse coarse vegetation rather than flowers such as orchids and cowslips.

 

And they'll happily eat docks, thistle flowers and nettles.

 

They're a low-maintenance breed and are hardy – they don’t seem to mind bad weather conditions or a poor diet, unlike some other breeds.

 

So They use them to restore and maintain areas of chalk grassland where we want to encourage the return of delicate wildflowers. They're also effective in restoring lowland heath, where they reduce the scrub that shades the heather.

 

How do They use them?

 

They move the sheep around quite a bit, using small flocks in places that are too small or unsuitable for cattle.

 

So you may often see them grazing on St Helens Common, at Bembridge Windmill, on Culver Down and Ventnor Downs, and alongside the Tennyson Trail at Freshwater Bay.

 

They also help maintain sites owned by the Wildlife Trust such as Bouldnor Heath Forest. We've a small breeding flock at Newtown and Clamerkin, which provides replacements for the ‘satellite’ flocks.

 

Caring for Their sheep

 

Their rangers and volunteers are responsible for looking after the sheep and moving them around the Isle of Wight to wherever they're needed.

 

They shear them in early spring to reduce the risk of ticks and fly-strike, a particularly unpleasant condition that occurs in hot, wet conditions.

 

But, generally, they're quite self sufficient, enjoying the environment and playing an important part in our family.

 

For further information please visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wra-1356329191892/view-page/item...

 

There is a place waiting for me in the forest next to a certain mountain.

The trees there are very old, with no resentment of the past, and the mountain awaits the next millennia without fear of the future.

There's only contentment, birdsong and a warm breeze of freedom,

When I'm done here, I'll visit this place and be there forever...

  

© 2022 Lorrie Agapi – All rights reserved.

 

**My heart, my words. Please respect them.**

 

Dear reader,

 

These words you are reading right now, whether it's a poem, a short story, or a thought is a piece of my soul. I write with passion, each word flowing from my heart, deeply connected to me. My poems are not just words, they are alive, carrying my emotions and essence within them.

 

If you plan to take them without my permission, know this: you are also taking a piece of my soul. And with every stolen word, I will always be present within the lines you use.

 

So be mindful… You never know what lies hidden between the lines, for words hold a power that goes far beyond the visible.💫

 

I was pretty unsure about uploading this. but I just liked the mood, so I did.

A panoramic shot of Sousousvlei taken with my phone.

 

For those who are interested, an extract from this day's Journal.

 

"From Deadvlei we continue eight Kilometres over rough and sandy road to Sousousvlei. There was nothing much to see, Ruby pointed out some birds but it was impossible to get photos as they were too far away. We took a walk over cracked mud flats and stoney terrain to a water hole. Not many birds to see, I declined to walk around the waterhole as it was about 4 Km, I could see no point walking in the desert heat when there was no birds to see. Worse still, I wasn’t going to climb Big Mama, the 350 metre high sand dune. Again I sensed resentment from Ruby; the truth was, it was stiflingly hot and my back was killing me.

 

We returned to the vehicle and Ruby decided we should have morning tea under some trees which were alive with birds; I got some excellent photos of birds while Ruby commandeered one of my cameras and took her own shots.

  

After all that you put me through,

You think I'd despise you,

But in the end I wanna thank you,

'Cause you've made me that much stronger

 

Well I thought I knew you, thinkin' that you were true

Guess I, I couldn't trust, called your bluff, time is up

Cause I've had enough

You were there by my side, always down for the ride

But your joy ride just came down in flames cause your greed sold me out in shame

 

After all of the stealing, and cheating you probably think that I hold resentment for you

But uh uh, oh no, you're wrong

Cause if it wasn't for all that you tried to do, I wouldn't know

Just how capable I am to pull through

So I wanna say thank you

Cause it

 

[Chorus:]

Makes me that much stronger

Makes me work a little bit harder

It makes me that much wiser

So thanks for making me a fighter

Made me learn a little bit faster

Made my skin a little bit thicker

Makes me that much smarter

So thanks for making me a fighter

 

Never saw it coming, all of your backstabbing

Just so you could cash in on a good thing before I'd realize your game

I heard you're going round play, the victim now

But don't even begin feeling I'm the one to blame

Cause you dug your own grave

After all of the fights and the lies cause you're wanting to haunt me

But that wont work anymore, no more,

It's over

Cause if it wasn't for all of your torture

I wouldn't know how to be this way now and never back down

So I wanna say thank you

Cause it

 

[Chorus]

 

How could this man I thought I knew

Turn out to be unjust so cruel

Could only see the good in you

Pretend not to know the truth

You tried to hide your lies, disguise yourself

Through living in denial

But in the end you'll see

YOU-WONT-STOP-ME

 

I am a fighter and I

I ain't gonna stop

There is no turning back

I've had enough

 

[Chorus]

 

You thought i would forget

But I remembered

Cause i remembered

I remembered

You thought i would forget

I remembered

Cause i remembered

I remembered

 

FROM:

 

(C.A.- FIGHTER)

Early Years

For as long as Roger could remember he’d had a sword in his hand, training from near birth to be a capable swordsman and live up to their family heritage and words, fame through valor. Any time the young man wasn’t training he was down at Duskendale’s harbor learning how to sail, as the heir apparent to the Darklyn house his education wasn’t neglected but it was clear he favored combat and tactics to words and diplomacy. When he was old enough he would join his Uncle Steffon as his squire learning the workings of the King’s Guard and training among some of the best in the Kingdom. Being a squire for his uncle put him in close proximity to Visery’s I Targaryen as well as other members of the royal family if only in passing. He traveled much of the crownlands during this time, spending a significant amount of his teenage years in Dragonstone or King’s Landing. Roger would spend a lot of his free time outdoors in both locations being especially fond of gardens. He was charming and charismatic, training out of adoration for his Uncle more than a need to actually fight. He would often joke about joining the Kingsguard himself and letting his brother take his place as Lord of Duskendale but his father would never allow such a thing to happen.

 

Dance of Dragons

 

When the Dance of Dragons began Roger would flee King’s Landing with his Uncle, two stewards, four guardsman, and Viserys’ Crown bringing them to Dragonstone to join Rhaenyra and be present for her coronation. It was shortly after that he would be knighted by Lord Commander Steffon Darklyn. Not long after his father Gunthor was beheaded during the sacking of Duskendale and his Uncle would die at the maw of Seasmoke. These tragedy’s would shape the young Lord’s personality going forward. The young bright eyed boy who wanted nothing more than to join his uncle at the side of the Queen was gone. He became cold, his temper would run as hot as the fire that killed his idol. He grew callous and his tongue as sharp as his blade when it came to tearing down those he found to be inferior to him. He drowned himself in his training, mastering the blade as best he could. He pushed his body to the limit building his strength and brawn until he became as tall and unyielding as Dun Fort atop its hill. He joined the Black armies in battle fighting across the crownlands and learning at the side of older commanders how wars were waged. The war was short but harsh leaving him weathered and aged beyond his young years. His personality quickly twisted into one of arrogant ambition and fierce determination, the handsome young man considered himself beyond reproach and he hungered to make a name for himself. The Darklyn’s had fallen far in the Dance and he alone could lead them back to the fame and valor of their birthright.

 

Winter Begins

 

Roger had grown into a stoic young man, tall and wide as a galleon, the imposing figure had a face that was nearly always twisted into a scowl or smiling with an air of superiority. His dark raven hair swept over his head and his eyes sitting dark in their hollow sockets. Even before the winter Roger felt cold, always cold and uncomfortable, even though his skin was hot to the touch he would wear furs over his shoulders and keep his hair long to cover his ears. Following the Dance, Roger would return home to Dun Fort and consolidate what remained of his banners and people. The harsh cold years would do little to cool his disposition and the arrogant young lord would fight through the winter years leading his people to rebuild his burned harbor, his fleet, and his forces. As far as he was concerned Aenar was a consolation prize, it was his Mother that Roger, Steffan, and Gunthor had sword fealty to. He would honor those oaths for now but his bitterness at the green houses was far from faded and that growing resentment drove him to amass and consolidate his forces as fast as possible for what he hoped would be a reckoning of punishments levied onto the traitorous houses that had stood against Rhaenyra’s proper claim to the throne. Now the year was 135 and the King was throwing the Maiden’s day ball and one that Roger was keen to attend, he needed a wife and heirs as soon as possible and he was determined to levy for a position in the King’s new Court.

 

A funny candid street photo of two young girlfriends who go along the street. One of them has just told some (love?) story, the other one displays skepticism. The first one looks rather disappointed, offended and unhappy. The theater of life. May the happiness be with them.

[explored]

When the routine bites hard and ambitions are low,

& the resentment rides high, but emotions won't grow,

& we're changing our ways, taking different roads,

Then love, love will tear us apart again.

 

Joy Division <3

“They had no previous connection whatever with Connemara; but they saw connections where others who should have seen them simply looked the other way.” Joseph O'Connor.

 

Beyond the cities and the concrete,

Where green vibrates most, there is connection.

Beyond hatred and misunderstanding,

Where the air is purest, there is connection.

Beyond fear and resentment,

Where the sea kisses the mountain, there is connection.

Beyond language and religion,

Where there is respect, there is connection.

Beyond origin and color,

over there, not so far away, there is connection,

 

Over 5 years capturing and sharing the incredible beauty of Ireland with the world. From east to west, from north to south, enjoying every moment. For many more trips, experiences, photos and videos to come, let's keep going!

 

Our YouTube Travel Video with Behind the Scenes of this picture:

youtu.be/UUXz2UvMPqc?si=PdYFhoevdm6viuy5

 

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

 

“No tenían ninguna conexión previa con Connemara; pero vieron conexiones dónde otros que deberían haberlas visto simplemente miraron para otro lado”. Joseph O'Connor.

 

Más allá de las ciudades y del hormigón,

allá donde el verde más vibra, hay conexión.

Más allá del odio y de la incomprensión,

allá donde el aire es más puro, hay conexión.

Más allá del miedo y del rencor,

allá donde el mar besa la montaña, hay conexión.

Más allá de la lengua y de la religión,

allá donde hay respeto, hay conexión.

Más allá de la procedencia y del color,

por allá, no tan lejos, hay conexión.

 

Más de 5 años capturando y compartiendo la increíble belleza de Irlanda con el mundo. De este a oeste, de norte a sur, disfrutando cada instante. Por muchos viajes, experiencias, fotos y vídeos más, ¡sigamos!

When he woke up, he was no longer a diver, his soul and body were occupied, and he became a diving ghost.

Now, it drags the heavy anchor, and has gone ashore with resentment, eager to find the people who abandoned it at that time!

You might have a strong need for being useful to the society and you look for justification in the outside world. You may underestimate what you want from yourself and for yourself. Shyness may be accompanied by resentment of the fact that others ignore you. Do not seek approval from the outside, it will not help you get rid of your doubt and it is harmful to you. You have to trust your inner values.

Hailing from an ancient tribe of warriors in Kenya and raised further by Proctors, the young woman who would end up naming herself Laquisha was seen as a prodigy among soulcasters. It was seen as a suprise by none when in 1812, she was officially indicted as the new Proctor Pisces. Her title as the youngest Proctor meant she was hailed as the face of a new generation and as such she became hailed as the "Proctor Origin" that would become a pillar for that century.

 

This didn't become the truth and Proctor Pisces learned her many experiences often in the hardest ways possible. The tall, dark woman has become a true veteran and a cold, tactful leader capable of making the worst decisions soley because of these mistakes. In her current role, she is a mother-figure to Jabberwock and Shelly and commands their ragtag-team together with the demon known as Kupira Akisame.

 

Currently ranking as the lowest of all Proctors, she is still a massive force of war. Her armored form boasts enourmous strength and agility, she is a master of many combat techniques that she has enhanced further with her four arms and her two swords can enlargen and set themselves ablaze with green bursts of fire!

 

However, as great as her abilities may be, the Proctor is a hoast to many secrets and regrets and feelings of resentment. It is unkown what she'll do in the future but only time will tell.

The local Burger King moved and it didn’t take long for the crazies to move in. This former school bus is not a movable feast but it is a movable box of resentment, disappointment and envy. The confederate battle flag is just the cherry on the top of this pile of hate.

Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory. The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word.

The 48 laws of power

 

Book / Magic Art Photography / Facebook / Instagram

Naomi helps Aasiyah support Bianca since her son, Na'eem, is preoccupied with himself! Aasiyah is the daughter of Naomi's late friend who passed away from cancer. Naomi promised her dear friend she'd watch after her daughter. Aasiyah moved in with Naomi after her mom passed away. Oftentimes causing her and Na'eem to be home alone when Naomi worked late. Aasiyah and Na'eem were very young when she became pregnant with Bianca. Na'eem soon lost interest after he conquered Aasiyah and his feelings turned to resentment once the baby was born and disgust when she didn't shake all the baby weight. This devastated Naomi who vowed to take care of Aasiyah and is now dedicated to helping with Bianca.

finally peace with the deer, we now have a fence around the garden, and we can get along without resentments!

I have had a long history of seeing deer eat my flowers, shrubs, willows, and more, now i have a big circle around house and garden, they can eat all they want outside it, but i still have more fencing out there to preserve fireweed patches, and privacy hedge plantations, after a few years those plants have strong roots, grow tall and then they can resist a bit of browsing.

View of the exterior on the west side of the Colosseum; it is identified as the "Amphitheatrum Flavium" on the placard (in pic here).

 

The arena came to be referred to the Colosseo, or Colosseum, because of a huge great statue of the Emperor Nero that once stood nearby.

 

Two emperors from the Flavian dynasty were associated with its construction. The Emperor Vespasian had started building the Colosseum in 72 AD to appease public resentment of the excesses of the imperial system. The stadium stands over the site of the Emperor Nero's enormous palace, returning this piece of central Rome to public use.

 

The stadium was completed and inaugurated by Vespasian's son, Titus in 80 AD. This was the largest arena of ancient times and famous/infamous as the venue for mass viewing of gladiatorial combats as entertainment.

 

Rome; July 2019

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__________ 1929 Auburn 8-120 Boattail Speedster__________

 

The ornamentation, as noted is a cross between or an eclectic mix of what might be called; “neo- Art Nouveau Art Deco classic”………..or in other words, “Appleman’s concoction”.

 

Art Nouveau An artistic movement borne in Europe around 1890 lasting until around 1910. A artistic style highlighted by curvaceous lines, often inspired by plants and flowers, as well as geometric patterns. It took on many different characteristics in different places, and some of the most famous designers from the era have disparate styles, including Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, Josef Hoffmann in Vienna and Carlo Bugatti in Italy. And let us not forget internationally recognized artist, Alphonse Mucha, (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939) a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist (one of whose work has been used as the backdrop for this artwork).

  

____________ The evolution of artistic design _____________

  

Art Deco Coming of age in the 1920’s - The “Roaring Twenties” representative of a period of social, artistic, cultural, and economic dynamism. “The Lindy Hop” and “The Lost Generation”. The economy was good - times were good. Money and despite the 13th Amendment (Prohibition) booze and dance clubs flowed across America and Europe. An era of bootlegging, gambling and mobsters.

 

The 20’s also ushered in a fruitful period for the arts, music, and writing. Popular among designers and architects, Art Deco threaded its way into every aspect of design, from women’s fashions, furniture style, architectural elements and yes, even automotive design. Art Deco went in bold new directions, and jazz music became all the rage. In literature, two popular movements or groups of writers arose: The Lost Generation and the Harlem Renaissance.

 

American literary notables who lived in Paris at the time, including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein - expatriate authors who wrote novels and short stories expressing their resentment toward the materialism and individualism that was rampant during the era.

  

________________ The Bottom Falls Out ________________

  

October 24th, 1929 - “Black Tuesday,” Nervous investors began selling overpriced shares en masse, the stock market crash that some had feared eventually happened. A record 12.9 million shares were traded that day, known as “Black Tuesday.”

 

Five days later, on October 29th - “Black Thursday,” some 16 million shares were traded after another wave of panic swept Wall Street. Millions of shares ended up worthless, and those investors who had bought stocks “on margin” (with borrowed money) were wiped out completely.

 

Seemingly in the blink of an eye, millions of Americans were thrown into financial turmoil. Forced to buy on credit many Americans fell into debt, and the number of foreclosures and repossessions climbed steadily. The global adherence to the gold standard, which joined countries around the world in a fixed currency exchange, helped spread economic woes from the United States throughout the world, especially Europe.

 

No longer was the average citizen concerned with artistic style or design. They were much more concerned with; where is their next loaf of bread coming from. And more to the point - the automobile industry, many car manufacturers struggled to make ends meet. Many manufacturers had no choice. They were forced to “close their doors”, go out of business and file bankruptcy………or simply walk away and take their losses. Auburn Automobile Company struggled on until 1935 but due to its weakened financial condition finally succumbed to the pressures of E.L. Cord - Cord Automobile Company who took control of Auburn’s assets in what amounted to a “leveraged buyout”.

  

Afterword: Don’t be misled. The “crash” of 1929 did not wipe out everyone. Many enterprising wealthy businessmen made “millions” off the misfortunes of others. Millionaires became overnight billionaires.

 

Priced at under $2,000 the 1929 Auburn 8-120 Boattail Speedster was a bargain……… for some. A comparable Stutz cost nearly $5,000. The pictured car brought a healthy $341,000 USD at Hersey, Pennsylvania auction in 2019. RM Soheby’s

  

Hope ya’all enjoy ……………….

  

One of my favorite songs - Gypsie by Fleetwood Mac

I generally do NOT read blurbs because I find that they, like movie "trailers" give way too much information and ruin the story. In this case, it would have prepared me and perhaps not triggered me so with the repeated use of "God", "God" , "God" - so the blurb mentions that this is a contemporary bible - ugh I probably would have put it back on the shelf at that point, with burning fingers. BUT, in the end, I am glad I read this, it gave me some things to think about - how to view both life and death but really, I had a lot of resentment towards everything being "solved" by family - what about those of us (probably the majority) who come from dysfunctional homes? We DO need fixers to help us at times, just to see another perspective. Basically, humans are parasites on this planet and Earth will be just fine when we become extinct.

 

**I'm not a librarian but I sometimes pretend to be one online.

Mixed Media on Canvas,

17 inches x 16 inches, 2008.

Sold.

All of us have remembrances of things that have adversely affected us, but no matter what has happened to us in the past, it doesn't have to affect our future, we don't have to carry that load with us for the rest of our lives. It's been wisely said that, "Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is the power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness." We've got to be willing to absolutely release and forsake all of our past bitterness and grievances towards others, so we can overcome their negative influence and be free from their hindrance. Use the power of forgiveness.

cof

Eevah knows a ton of commands but generally feels it's optional whether she follows them or not. On this occasion, I insisted on a stay, and although she obeyed, she was totally P.O.'d.

 

#21/116 - Expression/expressive (116 pictures in 2016)

 

For six word story.

Facing southward, and taken from just about the northern end of the bridge proper.

 

The pedestrian figures at left are those of two of my fellow tin-can midshipmen aboard the USS Hollister.

 

In this last installment of my Golden Gate posts, I find myself waxing nostalgic again as I look at those period-piece automobiles crossing the bridge. In my previous description I called them gas-guzzlers, which they certainly were. At the time, however, we were made to think, through the ceaseless brainwashing of our corporate overlords, that they were the very latest thing in Space Age elegance. Now, though, their clunky and rust-prone forms take me back to my university-student days, the Early Seventies.

 

Still, if you let it off its leash, hindsight can be a nasty, snarling thing. For example, when I turn away from the traffic and look at that hillside marching down to the bridge at right, I bitterly wish I'd gone over there, examined its Jurassic or Cretaceous Franciscan Complex exposures, and maybe even collected a rock or two for me to place on my desk, fifty years later, and dote upon in my old age.

 

But then I reel my resentment in and realize that, when I took this photo with my trusty Instamatic, I wasn't even a geology major yet. On top of that, the amazing plate-tectonics story of the accretion of California, including this place now known as the Marin Headlands Terrane, had not been discovered in anything like its current depth and richness of detail.

 

So it turns out that the time to be studying what this picture contains is right now. My photos, of very little interest to anyone else, are overt magic to me. They aren't just depictions of scenes; they're golden gates indeed, and ones that open wide into the landscapes they portray.

 

This is a very important point. However many hours I actually spent on this bridge in the fullness of my actually being there—the cool sea breeze on my face, the low hum of the tires on the roadway—ultimately meant less to me than the many more hours of research and reflection spent in the greater plenitude of the bridge regarded later.

 

In other words, the act of being there is essential only because it later leads to the memory of being there. And to the joyful and sustained embellishment of that memory. This to me is the miracle of photography, of freezing fragile time into a robust and active timelessness.

 

The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Love of Bridges album.

 

As seen on Main St, South of Market, San Francisco, CA, United States

 

Jonny Brush is Somewhereville’s most bitterly expressive portrait artist—lover of cheap fortified wines, smoker of roll-your-owns, and dweller in a drafty upstairs flat above a dive bar. He considers his masterpiece a portrait of his ex-wife Darla, entitled "Portrait in Resentment," which was painted entirely from memory and spite.

 

When asked to describe her feelings about the painting, Darla said, “I find it moving, in the way one finds an unflushed toilet moving.”

 

Image imagined in MidJourney AI and finished with Topaz Studio and Lightroom Classic.

the first thing i have to say about leonard knight is that he is possibly the purest soul i have ever met. there isn't an ounce of negative energy or hate in this man's body. i have visited salvation mountain several times over the years and i'm constantly baffled by this man's hard work and heart of gold. my love for this place is surprising considering my strong resentment of christianity, and religion in general. my main bouts with tolerating christianity are the constant complications, contradictions, and pick-n-choose betrayals of scripture by modern-day followers, alongside the seemingly never-ending stream of hate it produces. leonard, on the other hand, seems to have a similar view, and may have the purest, most original take on christianity that i have come across - one of uncomplicated love and faith in the good works of his god and people. he has laboriously created a psychedelic wonderland and work of art that would be utterly amazing even for a young, healthy person, and all without a tint of pride or ego. for what its worth, i can only imagine what the world would be like if more people approached religion like this man, or had his unbeatable love.

In some senses, Me'ah-She'arim is a journey in time. When I was a child, children used to buy and collect (often in albums) cards of sportsmen or nature or other subject matters. It turns out that in Me'ah-She'arim this hobby still exists.

 

This boy bought a pack of cards and is extremely happy and proud for a rare card he won and holds.

 

You may note that on his right are his friends, that are amused by his reaction; while on his left are two accidental boys, that look with some resentment at him.

 

When routine bites hard

And ambitions are low

And resentment rides high

But emotions won't grow

And we're changing our ways

Taking different roads

I am Kinnikuman Mariposa. Or, properly, キン肉マン・マリポーサ.

 

Oh, he's very proper.

It sounded like he said the exact same name but in a way I couldn't understand it.

Why are you looking off stage?

 

I am one of the Five Fated Princes.

 

Wow, ANOTHER of them.

It seems a lot more than five by this point.

No, I think it's five.

Maybe we keep seeing the same ones.

Where are you looking??

 

I am also known as Thief George.

 

Thief... George...?

He's very quiet and well-spoken for a Chive Grated Princess.

 

I was born on the same day as Kinnikuman and the Five Fated Princes, and I later fought in the Survivor Match for the Kinniku Throne. I lived as a thief and stole the Analo Staff from the Robin Clan, before later coming up against Robin Mask in the tournament and losing to him.

 

He was probably miffed at you stealing his staff!

 

Though I was born on the same day and in the same hospital as Kinnikuman and four other young boys, because of a fire we children were mixed up and the true heir of our home planet may have been misplaced. I grew up in poverty with very little possessions, which left me with a bitter resentment to chojin with more prestigious backgrounds. I thus became a thief targeting only those rich families.

 

There's no excuse!

Crime does not pay!

What are you looking at??

 

My family moved to Planet Moctezuma or, properly, モクテスマ星, a planet with an atmosphere so thin its inhabitants were forced to wear oxygen masks. Because of this, I grew up with a tough heart and amazing jumping abilities.

 

That... doesn't sound like how that would work.

It's Kinniku-physics in a Kinniku-origin. What do you expect?

 

It was then, while living as a thief, I stole the Robin Family heirloom the Anoalo Sceptre or, properly, the アノアロの杖. I stole it directly from Robin Mask's hand as he played in the garden as a child, because I believed I would get more use from it than would be served by it remaining a decorative heirloom.

 

When all was done, Kinnikuman had proven himself worthy to become the next king of our home planet. In response, five evil beings sought out the rest of us, the other potential heirs, and gave us great chojin power to become the Five Fated Princes. We all claimed to be the true heir. A tournament was organized to determine who would be worthy of ascending the throne.

 

But Kinnikuman had already proven himself worthy!

Apparently they didn't like that outcome and forced a do-over.

 

Kinnikuman was granted a white cape which must be stained with the blood of his five opponents. Each of the six potential princes - including Kinnikuman - had to forge a team of five people to fight to prove their worth. I was assigned Kumamoto Castle in the first round, where my team was set to fight against Kinnikuman's team. I chose as my teammates: Hawkman, King the 100-Ton, Mixer Taitei, and Mister VTR.

 

Oh, we've met all of them except Hawkman! *

We've seen Hawkman! He was here with Hawkgirl.

No, that was the Justice League Hawkman! **

Oh!

 

Kinnikuman chose Alexandria Meat for his team.

 

That's only one person.

I thought the team had to be five.

 

Kinnikuman also added Robin Mask and Terry Man to his team but wrote their names in invisible ink.

 

That doesn't... sure, why not.

 

So, in the fighting I was defeated by Robin Mask. Kinnikuman dipped his cape in my blood and unmasked me. We lost.

 

It is so appropriate that you were defeated by Robin Mask.

I thought so too. Stealing his Analooly whatever right out of his hand when he was a child!

 

I later returned with the other Fated Princes and my first opponent would be Hailman. Hailman was fresh off a victory against Teapackman. Our match took place in Bram Castle. Even though the Anoalo Sceptre was off-limits, I figured out a way to set myself on fire through building up friction by spinning against the corner post.

 

Why would you do that??

And what does that have to do with the Analolo Specter?

Scepter.

What?

It's a scepter, not a specter.

Well why is it back again? I feel like we missed something.

Oh, we're missing something, alright.

 

Hailman figured this out what I was doing and froze the post to prevent this from happening again. After giving me a beating, Hailman decided to finish me off by freezing me to death. Somehow, Hailman's body turned into a magnifying lens, setting off a spark in the process. I took advantage of this and broke free. I then finished off Hailman with an improved version of the Phoney Muscle Revenger, the Aztec Cemetery.

 

What other moves do you have?

 

I have the Senton Gebradora where I flip over the ropes and slam my buttocks down on my opponent's chest.

 

Ooookay...

You had to ask!

 

I also have the Iron Post Binding where I use the four corner-posts to impale my opponent's limbs into the canvas. Then there is the Moctezuma Defense where I use the Analo Staff to set my body and the ropes on fire.

 

You still have the Annie staff??

I thought Robin Mask got that back.

 

Then there is my Aztec Drop, Aztec Headbutt, and Aztec Senton, which are used during the Moctezuma Defense.

 

My version of the Muscle Revenger is a reverse of the actual Muscle Revenger. In it, I jump high into the air with my jumping ability and I come down on my opponent with a headbutt (thus resembling a vertical Muscle Millennium).

 

My Aztec Cemetery is modified version of the Fake Muscle Revenger. Once I'm done headbutting his opponent into the canvas, Kinnikuman I pull them out with my legs before building up momentum mid-air. I then slam my opponent's head right into the canvas.

 

Yep, enough moves, thank you!

 

I enjoyed my debut with you all. Again, you can also call me Thief George or, properly, 盗人ジョージ, or Nusutto Jooji. I am 185cm tall and weigh 100kg. I am a Chojin Kyodo of 100,000,000 Power.

 

So... does anyone know why he's looking off like that?

 

💪M💪U💪S💪C💪L💪E💪

 

A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

M.U.S.C.L.E.

# 217

"Kinnikuman Mariposa B"

 

* Indeed they have!

Mixer Taitei in BP 2018 Day 170:

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/40931779440/

Mixer Taitei again in BP 2019 Day 274:

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/48826874787/

King the 100 Ton in BP 2019 Day 169:

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/48085479381/

King the 100 Ton again in BP 2020 Day 203:

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/49087849911/

 

** Yes, it was the Justice League Hawkman & Hawkgirl in BP 2020 Day 327!!

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/50638117916/

" He chose the sweetest words to get her heart, and the most poisonous actions to break it"

 

Healing sometimes is about finding a safe place to share your story. Healing sometimes is finding a safe place to get raw with yourself.

 

I never realized SL could be so toxic. But just like RL, SL is a mirror of our RL world whether we want to see it or not.

 

I didn't come into SL with any type of boundaries. I didn't understand what it was. if you are new, make sure you come with an understanding of what healthy boundaries means to you. Everyone has a different reason to be here and how they want to participate. As well as what they want to experience.

 

I have never understood how some people don't see SL as RL. There are people with hearts and souls. Are you telling me that just because someone is on the other side of the computer, they don't deserve respect? No matter what platform someone is on, EVERYONE DESERVES RESPECT.

 

Sometimes we can play out our dreams on a virtual space, but it can be as toxic as RL. If the person you decide to be friends with or partner with does not have a healthy relationship to love or relationships, don't magically think that will change with you.

 

Here are some things I have learned along the way♥

 

One or Two toxic people don't magically make healthy connections.

 

Yes, SL should be drama free. But if someone doesn't take adversity well, you cannot control their actions. That is the thing, some people will not see or take responsibility of their own misery. Some people will take all they can, only to get angry when you call them out. Blaming you for issues that they have a huge part in and refuse to see.

 

I have dated in RL a long time. And have only had a few nasty break ups and some that me and the person still had a lot of love and respect for each other and could remain friends with good boundaries. One thing I have learned, is that people will be happy with you as long as you don't challenge them, or change what they want or expect from you. But don't expect that relationship to work. Because that is not sustainable. It is not balanced and not supportive of you in that relationship balance.

 

If the person doesn't deal with adversity well or taking responsibility, don't expect hiccups in the road to go well or parting ways to go well either. Break ups can only go as well as the level of maturity of both parties.

 

Unless you understand how to have a poly-amorous relationship in a healthy way, I don't suggest being with a married person on Sl. Your needs will never come first and most of the time any promises given will be broken. And you will became the scape goat to their marital issues. You will be the one to bend over backwards to someone who will never be yours. And it will be easy for them to walk away without respect. Also, the rules they set for you and your relationship may be different then what them and their real life partner have agreed on. It can make communication sticky without you even knowing. And lastly, you are not responsible for miscommunication between them and their spouse. If they have not set boundaries or have proper communication of it, that is not yours to fix. Most people on SL if they are married won't tell you, but if they do, I don't suggest entering a relationship with them. Most people who have experienced on here have not had a good experience with it. Most of the time people end up broken hearted.

 

Also, feelings happen. Creating a bond in any world will create a connection. That is a given in any space. Do not let anyone shame you for that as that is a way to gaslight a person for an intent they had in the first place.

 

Good communication is vital. but it has to go both ways.

 

Being accountable for you is important. If if you the person or both cannot be accountable, listen to each other, be willing to be responsible, that is the path of unhealthy relationship and eventually will cause resentment as one person is always taking responsibility. Responsibility goes both ways. If you are always saying sorry or trying to make things easier for another partner who is constantly causing adversity, it won't change. They will always see you as the issue without realizing there're part in it.

 

If you are not willing to see your mistakes, learn and grow from them, you will always stay in the same place. This is important to relationships. If one person is always working on the themselves, eventually they will outgrow the relationship if the other cannot or won't grow with them.

 

If you are hoping to get on SL to fix your issues or avoid them, or dissociate from your issues in RL, well you might get hit with a major dose of reality. Sl shows you where your boundaries are weak, where your wounds are hidden and what you need to heal within you.

 

I share these parts of me because we all need to grow. We all have something to heal and work on. Not everyone will see it that way. And most of the time those who refuse to see the pain they cause others are the same people who refuse to heal or see anything wrong with their actions. That, we have no control over. And unfortunately, most of the time those people go on to continue to hurt others. Educate yourself on how to read the red flags, educate yourself on what it means to say no and have healthy boundaries. Educate yourself on what it means to stand up for yourself. How do you want to show up in your life and what do you want to experience?

 

This is from an email I was sent yesterday Inner Peace: This is so true... If you can start the day without caffeine, If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles, If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it, If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time, If you can take criticism and blame without resentment , If you can conquer tension without medical help, If you can relax without liquor, If you can sleep without the aid of drugs, ......Then You Are Probably .. The Family Dog!

Friends!

Congratulations to you all a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!

Let in the outgoing year stay all the unpleasants, all the resentments and disappointments.

Forget them and move on!

Let in the new year we will have only kind and sincere people near, pleasant and helpful meetings and moments!

I wish to all us health, happiness and good luck in everything!

I can't mark all, but everyone with the Holiday! :-)

In the months following George Bush's dramatic arrest at Amsterdam's Schiphol international airport three months ago the possility that a former US president maybe be tried and sentenced for war crimes has gripped the imagination of people from New York to New Delhi. Media representatives from every corner of the planet have turned the sleepy Dutch city of the Hague into a international news circus dwarfing the coverage given the O.J Simpson trial in the 90's. According to latests foreign ministry accounts 6,560 reporters have descended upon city to cover this week's preliminary hearings which are scheduled to conclude next week.

 

Bush's detention on route to the UN conference on North Atlantic Security and Safety in Zurich severely strained US – Dutch relations with some Republican members of Congress calling for the air strikes on military targets within the country if the former president was not released. In the days that followed hundreds of businesses and organisations with ties with the Netherlands were attacked throughout America with three Dutch citizens losing their lives in bomb attack on the country's Los Angeles consulate.

 

Not surprisingly, it has been the question of the sense and the legitimacy of the trials that is the center of attention for many eyewitnesses. Despite the lack of a legal precedent, most of them approve of the proceedings because, as U.S. writer Gore Vidal put it, "warmongers will no longer be able to live quietly in retirement." Some observers, however, have remained skeptical. Iraqi writer Salah Wali considered the indictment "bizarre" and American diplomats based in Europe have privately admitted that the Americans didn't "enter the war with clean hands. No nation could have done so."

 

The defendant, who await the world's judgment in varying postures of resentment, resignation, and revolt, is another focus for most members of the press. "While the counsel for the prosecution read US documents about the killing of Iraqis and Afghans," railed Polish reporter Pawel Osmanczyk, enraged by the prisoner's deliberate display of boredom, "Bush yawns, or just pretends to be asleep."

 

Fascination for and disappointment about the banality of the man who helped in the possible murder of thousands of people also appear in the accounts of the reporters witnessing the proceedings. "Involuntarily one desires to see a greater man," wrote Australian journalist John Pliger, "who have to stand trial for all the cruelties which are spread out before the court." Afghan opposition leader, Abdullah Abdullah remarked incredulously: "He is so insignificant that you ask yourself: Was it really this degenerate who laid my country to waste... ?"

 

Read more: www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,174037,00.html#ixz...

  

in the Group:

www.flickr.com/groups/elegentandstylishcrossdresser/

 

This is the 2022 selection.

 

Ok, ok, it's just my opinion... sorry if I forgot one of your pics!

;-)

 

Do not thank me; don't be proud or honored to be here.

Be proud to be you, beautiful and elegant women with a real respect for femininity.

 

And that's why you're here, among so many other fabulous women, showing the world that we're not crazy,

that we are not threats,

that we are neither vulgar nor hypersexual,

that we are not invisible

and that we can have our place,

without victimization,

without hate,

without violence,

without resentment.

Our strength, our courage, our finesse, our determination should be a model more than a concern for those who reject us.

 

This is the eleventh year that I have made this selection, and each year we are joined by new colleagues, proof that the image we show of transidentity has a bright future ahead of it.

 

Be proud, you are beautiful!

 

My apologize to:

 

Alexandra de Winter

Anna de Winter

Anna Thorne

Carolyn Stevenson

Charlotte James

Chiara Talley

Chloe Minx

Christina Napoli

Deanna H

Devi spark

Elizabeth Diethrich

Ellisa Moore

Fancy Fungurl

Gina Lee

Hanna Beth

Helene Barclay

Holly Jones

Holly Wood

Isabella de Carrington

Jackie Thomas

Jasmine Lee

Jeanette Justforfunn

Julie Gee

Julie Pa

Juliette Noir

Karen

Katherine Abbott

Katie Addington

Lætitia Canelia

Laura

Laurie-Ann Allen

Leanna Thomas

Lisa Toleno

Lynn Lynx

Madeline Bassett

Martina Tyler

Melanie Valentine

Miss Kellie

Missy Cassandra

Mónica Gálvez

Nadia Russo

Rebecca Waters

Rhianna Rowlands

Ruth Femm

Saki

Sandra Curry

Siân Victoria Morgan

Solweig

Sophia Abella

Stacie Heather Stevens

Stefania Visconti

SydneyStarlett

Vickie Dale

Vivian Chen

Zarah Lind

 

I like your elegance, but this selection could only have 100 images; or you didn't post this year, or didn't accept my invitation, or I missed your post ... or maybe didn't I was not attentive enough ... You know I love your pictures, your style and elegance ; you know that just because you are not here does not mean that you are not worthy of being there ... you are all amazing women!

 

Glawdys

 

If you don't want that your photo or your name appears in this collage, send me a message, I will erase it immediately.

Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.

 

Today however we have headed a short distance north-east across London, away from Cavendish Mews and Mayfair, over Paddington and past Lisson Grove to the comfortably affluent suburb of Little Venice with its cream painted Regency terraces and railing surrounded public parks. Here in Clifton Gardens Lettice’s maiden Aunt Eglantine, affectionately known as Aunt Egg by her nieces and nephews, lives in a beautiful four storey house that is part of a terrace of twelve. Eglantine Chetwynd is Viscount Wrexham’s younger sister, and as well as being unmarried, is an artist and ceramicist of some acclaim. Originally a member of the Pre-Raphaelites* in England, these days she flits through artistic and bohemian circles and when not at home in her spacious and light filled studio at the rear of her garden, can be found mixing with mostly younger artistic friends in Chelsea. Her unmarried status, outlandish choice of friends and rather reformist and unusual dress sense shocks Lettice’s mother, Lady Sadie, and attracts her derision. In addition, she draws Sadie’s ire, as Aunt Egg has always received far more affection and preferential treatment from her children. Viscount Wrexham on the other hand adores his artistic little sister, and has always made sure that she can live the lifestyle she chooses and create art.

 

As Lettice pulls the well worn brass hand that triggers the doorbell next to the brightly painted red front door, she stands beneath the columned portico of her aunt’s house and admires the terracotta pots of brightly coloured tulips that flank the front doorstep, which make her terrace stand out from all the others in the row. A faint female voice with a Germanic accent calls from within before the door is answered by Augusta, Eglantine’s Swiss head parlour maid, dressed in her formal black uniform with a white lace trimmed apron and with a large black bow in her hair.

 

“Good morning, Augusta,” Lettice greets her brightly. “Is my Aunt home?”

 

“Good morning, Fräulein Chetwynd.” Augusta answers politely. “Please do come in. Ya, your Tante is in ze studio.”

 

Lettice steps across the threshold of her aunt’s terrace and is immediately enveloped in the rich mixture of exotic scents that she has always associated with the artist: a blend of heavy floral perfumes, cigarette smoke and oil paint. She sighs as she inhales the welcome smell and shirks off her dark blue coat with a mink collar into Augusta’s waiting hands. “Don’t bother to introduce me, Augusta. I’ll just show myself through to the studio.” she says.

 

“Ya! Ya!” the parlour maid enthuses as she watches Lettice disappear down the hall, which like the rest of the house, is filled with ornate, yet artistic, furnishings, paintings and a general jumble of clutter which keep her and the three maids under her very busy cleaning and dusting all year round.

 

“Aunt Egg! Yoo-hoo, Aunt Egg!” Lettice calls as she approaches the ivy covered studio at the rear of the rambling cottage garden filled with a hotchpotch of brightly coloured spring blooms.

 

She pushes down on the latch and opens the door to the studio, the familiar earthy smell of potter’s clay, oil paint and linseed oil greeting her as she does. The studio is flooded with light thanks to a large, almost full length window of plate glass that fills the northern wall. The space is filled with benches and shelves cluttered with everything from pieces of ceramics in different stages of completion to canvases to books on art. A sink stands at the rear of the studio with a row of fine Royal Doulton Art Nouveau tiles of white irises above it. An easel leans, unused against a bench next to it. And sitting at the large wooden table covered in a panoply of paints, brushes and ceramics that dominates the middle of the studio, is her beloved Aunt Egg.

 

“Well,” the older woman beams as she looks up from the pottery jug she is painting. “If it isn’t my favourite niece.”

 

“I’m sure you say that to Lally and all our female cousins.” Lettice replies as she walks over to her aunt’s seated figure and kisses her first on one proffered cheek and then the other.

 

“Well, you’ll never know, will you my dear,” the older woman answers with a cheeky smile and alert green eyes. “I like to keep you all guessing who will inherit my jewels when I die.”

 

“Oh Aunt Egg!” Lettice scoffs. “You mustn’t talk like that.”

 

“We all of us are going to die one day, Lettice. Anyway, you are probably the most like me out of all of you girls, with your artistic attributes, so why shouldn’t you be my favourite?”

 

Lettice pulls up a small stool and sits opposite her aunt. When she was young, Eglantine had Titian red hair that fell in wavy tresses about her pale face, making her a popular muse amongst the Pre-Raphaelites she mixed with. With the passing years, her red hair has retreated almost entirely behind silver grey, save for the occasional streak of washed out reddish orange, yet she still wears it as she did when it was at its fiery best, sweeping softly about her almond shaped face, tied in a loose chignon at the back of her neck. Large emerald coloured glass droplets hang from her ears that match the green glass necklace about her neck that cascades over the top of her white paint splattered dust coat. Lettice doesn’t need to see beneath it to know that her aunt is wearing her usual uniform of a lose Delphos dress** that does not require her to wear a corset of any kind, and a silk fringed cardigan of some description, both in beautiful colours.

 

“I hope Augusta brings us some tea soon,” Eglantine remarks as she focuses her attention once again on the task at hand a she paints a long green frond onto the jug with her adept hands, heavily bejewelled with an array of sparkling stones and gold.

 

“Shall I go and ask her, Aunt Egg?”

 

“No, no.” Eglantine says with a settling wave, her paint brush held in place by her interwoven fingers. “She’s been serving me for nigh on thirty years now. She knows when to serve tea.”

 

“What are you doing, Aunt Egg?” Lettice asks as she stares at her aunt’s delicate hands as they move up and down the bulbous body of the jug.

 

“I’m painting the ceiling, my dear,” she replies sarcastically without so much as a blink in her lowered eyelids. “Must you ask such obvious questions?”

 

“I’m sorry, Aunt Egg,” Lettice apologises, remembering that however much her aunt loves her, she cannot abide dull conversation and obvious questions, owing to the amount of time she spends with interesting and witty people. “I meant, what is the purpose of the jug you are painting? Where is it going?”

 

“Then that is what you should ask, Lettice.” Eglantine chides mildly, still not lifting her eyes from her task. “You will never succeed in business if you whitter away like most women do. Be clear, polite, and direct. Ask what you want to know without fear.”

 

“Yes, Aunt Egg.” Lettice replies, suitably chastened.

 

“Its not for anyone, yet. I’ve been inspired by the painted pottery of Capula*** in Mexico, and I also saw some of Carrington’s**** pottery recently. When I was visiting the Slade*****. I’m exploring the naïve style of folk art. What do you think?”

 

“I think it looks very beautiful Aunt Egg.”

 

“And how go your artistic pursuits, Lettice my dear?” Eglantine adeptly mixes a little more white paint into a pool of the gleaming dark green she shas been using and applies a thin line up the leaf’s middle to highlight a stem.

 

“My artistic pursuits?”

 

“Yes! How is the interior design business going?”

 

“I’d hardly call my business an ‘artistic pursuit’ Aunt Egg.” Lettice laughs.

 

“Nonsense my dear! Your interiors are just as artistic as my ceramics. It’s just your canvas is much bigger than mine, and involves many different facets.”

 

“Well, if you ask Mater, she’d say dreadfully.”

 

“Ahh,” the older woman sighs as she paints faint spiderweb thin veins coming off the stem of her leaf. “But I’m not asking Sadie, thank goodness. I’m asking you, Lettice. However, if Sadie says it’s not going well, that must mean business is flourishing. Is it?”

 

“It’s going swimmingly, Aunt Egg!” Lettice gushes. “I don’t need Mater to introduce me to people like the Duchess of Whitby anymore. I’m finally starting to develop a name for myself.”

 

“Good! Good!” replies Eglantine. “I’m pleased to hear it.” She dips her brush in the lighter coloured green again. “I’m not surprised of course. You’re very talented. However, I’m glad to hear it from your own lips. Too many people with talent are neglected, whilst ones with no talent get the recognition they don’t deserve.”

 

“I’m sure they wouldn’t agree, Aunt Egg. After all, weren’t you the one to teach me that art appreciation is a subjective thing?”

 

“Very good Lettice.” She looks up from her work and smiles broadly at her niece, her eyes gleaming with pride. “I’m glad to see all those afternoons at the Slade and Omega Workshops****** weren’t wasted, or smothered by your mother’s lack of imagination.” She looks back down and begins to work again, the concentration etched in the furrows that line her forehead. “So, it’s going well then?”

 

“Oh yes! I’m actually in the process of designing a few rooms for Margot Channon.”

 

“Ahh yes!” Eglantine gasps. “Little Margot de Virre finally grew up and got married, to the Marquess of Taunton’s son.”

 

“Yes, Dickie Channon.”

 

“Poor dear. No doubt a match made by her own meddling mother.”

 

“You have a very poor opinion of marriage, Aunt Egg.” Lettice opines.

 

“Well, as you can see, my dear, I’ve never needed the institution of matrimony myself to feel fulfilled.”

 

“Oh, but Margot and Dickie are in love, Aunt Egg. They met, well through me really, at the Embassy Club. Mrs. de Virre had no hand in their matrimony.”

 

“Oh well. I suppose that’s alright then. I read about their wedding in The Times. St. Mark’s******* wasn’t it?” She waits for Lettice to affirm with a nod. “And I saw that Gerald Bruton designed her gown. I’m pleased to see that he developed some independence like you, and that he’s making something of himself too.” She pauses before continuing. “I don’t object to people marrying for love: another point, one of many, about which Sadie and I will never agree. Which is why I refused to come to the Hunt Ball this year, knowing it was intended as a marriage market for you, my dear.” She pauses and puts down her brush onto her palette, thickly coated in layers of dried oils and reaches out to her niece, clasping her smaller hand in her larger gnarled one, giving Lettice’s a friendly squeeze. “I don’t mind if you marry for love. However, the amalgamation of two great families through the marriage bed, simply for the sake of ‘good breeding’, whatever that is, I find quite repugnant.”

 

“Well, “ Lettice blushes as she casts her eyes down onto her aunt’s hands, where she gazes at her winking jewels in their gold and platinum settings. “I did meet someone, actually. I wouldn’t say that we’re in love, but we’ve agreed to see one another when his next visit to London coincides with me being available. I told Pater and Mater that I wanted to do this my own way, and not have any interference.”

 

“No doubt Sadie was furious about that, and probably blames me for putting such independent ideas into your head”

 

“Were you a fly on the wall of the morning room, Aunt Egg?” chuckles Lettice.

 

The older woman withdraws her hand, picks up her brush and sets to work highlighting the leaf again. “I don’t need to. I know what cloth your mother is cut from. So, who is it, then?”

 

“Selwyn Spencely.”

 

The older woman pauses again and stares off into the distance, out the window, lots in her own thoughts. “Selwyn Spencely. Selwyn Spencely. I vaguely know that name.”

 

“He is the son of the Duke of Walmsford. He used to come to Glynes******** when we were children. He’s only a few years older than me.”

 

“Well, whoever he is, just don’t let him come between you and your design business, will you? As you say, you’ve worked hard to build yourself a name, Lettice. Don’t throw it all away for a marriage not of your making, or a marriage for the wrong reasons.”

 

“I promise, I won’t Aunt Egg.” Lettice assures her aunt.

 

“You’re a lucky girl, Lettice. You have choices in life”

 

“Try telling Mater that.” Lettice replies disparagingly.

 

“Oh pooh Sadie and her blinkered ideas that she infects you and your father with!” Eglantine spits hotly. “You’re an independent woman now you’re of age Lettice. You have a sizable allowance, thanks to your forward-thinking grandfather, which no-one can take from you, and now you have your own money from your business. That’s more than a lot of women have. Don’t waste the advantages you have and whatever you do, be it in love, work or marriage, be true to yourself.”

 

A quiet tapping on the glass panes of the door interrupts the two women. Looking to the entrance, they see Clotilde, the second parlour maid looking hopefully through the glass.

 

“I’ll go.” Lettice says as she leaps up from the stool and hurries over to open the door.

 

“Danke schön, Fräulein Chetwynd.” Clotilde says gratefully as Lettice opens the door, to reveal the girl in her morning print dress and cotton apron carrying what looks like a heavy tray laden with tea things.

 

True to her independent form, when the Great War came and there was much resentment towards people of Germanic heritage in Britain, Eglantine refused to dismiss her three Swiss parlour maids, even though they all spoke German fluently and preferred to speak it in the household. She simply packed herself and her servants off to her brother’s estate of Glynes in Wiltshire, where they could live a sheltered life of safety with her in the disused Glynes Dower House, seeing very few people and not being subjected to bigotry. In spite of her immense dislike of her sister-in-law, whom she inevitably crossed paths with when she went up to the estate’s Big House, she had a pleasant enough war growing vegetables in the garden to help supplement their diet and assist with the war effort, without having to actually involve herself in the war, being a pacifist. It was also during this time that she had her greatest influence on Lettice, preparing her niece for the more independent life of a women after the war ended.

 

“Bitte schön,” Eglantine replies to Clotilde, standing herself and clearing a space on the crowded work space for the tea tray, a cloud of glowing dust motes filling the air around them as they tumbled through the spring sunbeams pouring through the window of the studio.

 

After Clotilde closes the door behind her and retreats to the house, Lettice and her aunt resume their conversation.

 

“So, you said you were decorating the new Mrs. Channon’s house then, Lettice?” Eglantine picks up the conversation.

 

“Well yes. Lord de Virre and I came up with a plan. Since Margot is used to new things, but their country house in Cornwall is quite old, and poor Dickie hasn’t enough money to pay for refurbishment, Lord de Virre is footing the bill for electrification, new plumbing and for a connection to the telephone exchange. He also suggested that I might redecorate a few of the principal rooms of the house.”

 

“Which rooms?” Eglantine asks, setting out the tea things.

 

“The drawing room, the dining room, their bedroom and what must have been a sunroom, which they want to use for cocktail parties and dancing. Which is why I’ve come to see you, Aunt Egg. I need your advice.”

 

“Advice on what, my dear?” Eglantine pours tea into their cups, to which they both add milk and sugar.

 

“Well, Margot wants all new furnishings, which as you know isn’t my style. I prefer a mixture of old and new. Gerald came up with the perfect solution, which is to paint some of the old pieces and present them in a new style.”

 

“Very clever, Gerald. So how can I be of assistance, Lettice?”

 

“I need to know what sort of paint I should use on wooden furniture. I thought that if anyone would know, you would.”

 

“Ahh, well.” Eglantine starts to stir her tea. “There I can indeed be of assistance. Tell me, do you have any house paint lying around at Cavendish Mews?”

 

Aunt and nice sit together over the tea at the bench and discuss priming wood, coats of paint and varnish, all the while bathed in beautiful sunlight as the disturbed dust motes continue to play around them, dancing and swirling in the sunbeams that pour through the window of the studio.

 

*The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, Frederic George Stephens and Thomas Woolner who formed a seven-member "Brotherhood" modelled in part on the Nazarene movement. The Brotherhood was only ever a loose association and their principles were shared by other artists of the time, including Ford Madox Brown, Arthur Hughes and Marie Spartali Stillman. Later followers of the principles of the Brotherhood included Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris and John William Waterhouse. The group sought a return to the abundant detail, intense colours and complex compositions of Quattrocento Italian art. They rejected what they regarded as the mechanistic approach first adopted by Mannerist artists who succeeded Raphael and Michelangelo. The Brotherhood believed the classical poses and elegant compositions of Raphael in particular had been a corrupting influence on the academic teaching of art, hence the name "Pre-Raphaelite".

  

**The Delphos gown is a finely pleated silk dress first created in about 1907 by French designer Henriette Negrin and her husband, Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo. They produced the gowns until about 1950. It was inspired by, and named after, a classical Greek statue, the Charioteer of Delphi. It was championed by more artistic women who did not wish to conform to society’s constraints and wear a tightly fitting corset.

 

***Capula is a small village in Mexico in Michoacan state with a pre-Hispanic pottery tradition. Clay tableware delicately decorated with flowers and fishes, kitchen plates painted with the town's unique dotting style.

 

****Dora de Houghton Carrington, known generally as Carrington, was an English painter and decorative artist, remembered in part for her association with members of the Bloomsbury Group, especially the writer Lytton Strachey. From her time as an art student, she was known simply by her surname as she considered Dora to be "vulgar and sentimental". She was not well known as a painter during her lifetime, as she rarely exhibited and did not sign her work. An accomplished painter of portraits and landscape, she also worked in applied and decorative arts, painting on any type of surface she had at hand including inn signs, tiles and furniture. Her naïve pottery, like all her art is now described as progressive, because it did not fit into the mainstream of art in England at the time.

 

*****Established by lawyers and philanthropist Felix Slade in 1868, Slade School of Fine Art is the art school of University College London and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the United Kingdom’s top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as a department of University College London's Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Two of its most important periods were immediately before, and immediately after, the turn of the twentieth century. It had such students as Dora Carrington, Mark Gertler, Paul Nash, C.R.W. Nevinson and Stanley Spencer.

 

******The Omega Workshops Ltd. was a design enterprise founded by members of the Bloomsbury Group and established in July 1913. It was located at 33 Fitzroy Square in London, and was founded with the intention of providing graphic expression to the essence of the Bloomsbury ethos. The Workshops were also closely associated with the Hogarth Press and the artist and critic Roger Fry, who was the principal figure behind the project, believed that artists could design, produce and sell their own works, and that writers could also be their own printers and publishers. The Directors of the firm were Roger Fry, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell.

 

*******St. Mark’s Church Mayfair, is a Grade I listed building, in the heart of London's Mayfair district, on North Audley Street. St Mark's was built between 1825 and 1828 as a response to the shortage of churches in the area. The population in Mayfair had grown with the demand for town houses by the aristocracy and the wealthy, as they moved in from the country. The building was constructed in the Greek revival style to the designs of John Peter Gandy. In 1878 the architect Arthur Blomfield made significant changes to the church, adding a timber roof, and introducing Gothic style features. The thirty-four feet (ten metre) façade, together with the elegant porch, is known as one of the finest in London. Being in Mayfair, it was a popular place for the weddings of aristocratic families. It was deconsecrated in 1974, and today it is used as a mixed use venue.

 

********Glynes is the grand Georgian family seat of the Chetwynds in Wiltshire, and the home of Lettice’s parents, the presiding Viscount and Countess of Wrexham and the heir, their eldest son Leslie.

 

This rather delightfully chaotic artist’s studio scene may look very real to you, yet it is in fact made up of pieces from my 1:12 miniatures collection, including some very special pieces that are very close to my heart.

 

Fun things to look for in this tableau include:

 

The painted and glazed jug in the centre of the image, the brown one in the foreground, the jug standing on the edge of the trough, and the green and the white jugs on the bench all come from Mick and Marie’s Miniatures in the United Kingdom. The white jug is Parianware and is mid Victorian. The brown glazed jugs and pots are individually made and are impressed with Art Nouveau images, which is very apt considering that they were made as children’s toys in the early 1900s.

 

The unglazed pots on the table and the bench in the background were made by a Polish miniature potter and were given to me some twenty five years ago by one of my closest girlfriends as a gift for helping arrange her kitchen for her when she moved house. They are such beautiful pieces, and hold great sentimental value for me.

 

The trough on brick legs with its silvered taps and the easel leaning against the bench in the background come from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop in the United Kingdom.

 

The paints, paint brushes and paint palette on the table were all acquired from Melody Jane Doll House Suppliers in the United Kingdom.

 

The ladderback chair to the left of the photo is a recent 1:12 miniature which has a hand-woven rattan seat. It was acquired from an estate of a miniature collector in Sydney and dates from around the 1970s.

 

The tile frieze that appears along the back wall above the sink is an Art Nouveau design from the Lambeth works of Royal Doulton and features white Irises.

The party aboard the ship called The Golden Dragon set sail in search for the illusive group known as The Order. While they sailed the seas Alton, the ships Captain, assigned rolls to the crew and everyone got to know each other a little better. Koruel and Alton even got a bit of sword fighting practice in. After a time they spotted a ship bearing The Orders symbol docked on a nearby island. Doing their best to stay out of its sights they too docked their ship and stealthily approached the ship in the hopes they’d get the jump on whoever was inside. The team drew closer and searched the ship, only to realised that the crew was nowhere to be found, the ship seemed abandoned. But the area around the ship showed signs that a fight had occurred. The team split up and searched deeper into the ship for more clues of what may have happened, or for Order members hiding inside.

 

Alton, Thia and Koruel entered the Captains quarters, where they found something they did not expect to see. It was Savarious, wounded, beaten, bloody, cut up and close to death. The party wanted revenge for what he had done to Sekarr, their fallen comrade, but they also wanted answers. He was in no state to speak as he struggled to breathe and struggled to stay alive. Savarious showed a lot of resentment and anger towards Thia and on top of that, he was too stubborn to respond to their questions as he refused to help the enemy. The group was not sure how best to end him, so Alton drew his sword and pierced the skin of Savarious, to put him out of his misery. The team left the room and headed back onto the beach heavy with emotion. Despite his help the team was still not sure how much they could trust their new teammate Alton. Additionally, Koruel was suspicious of Thia, Why was Savarious angry at her? Had she done this to them? Last they saw him he was fighting Thia. Thia refused to share what she knew. Koruel began to question Alton and Thia’s behaviour and the group began to bicker.

 

Meanwhile Lia was still inside the ship as she searched for more signs of The Order. While she did not find anything, she did find a small Kenku child beaten and bruised inside a cage. He took a little while to warm up to Lia, but he gratefully accepted the love she was so happy to offer him. She wrapped up the child in a blanket and brought him outside to join the party and be safe. The group was still bickering when Lia returned, and they continued to do so until Koruel’s eyes rolled over and turned black and he passed out. The party did what they could to assist him but were interrupted by a small group of Kou Toa appeared before them. They spoke in a language that the group did not understand. They considered fighting these creatures, or simply returning to their ship, but when hundreds, if not thousands of Kou Toa emerged from the forests and began to chant, they knew escape was not an option. The team reluctantly followed the Kou Toa as they lead them deeper into the forest.

 

To Be Continued...

SOMNIUM - TINEA MALITOSA Mask @ Midnight Order

Copy/MOD

Unrigged

PBR/Fall-Back Texture options

14 single-color options or together in a fatpack

 

Midnight Order is now open!

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Syndicate/133/144/20

  

ANOMALY: TINEA MALITOSA

CLASS: EARL

INCURSION DATE::04.23.1995

  

▒▒▒▒ WRITTEN TRANSCRIPT APPROVED BY SOMNICORP COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR ▒▒▒▒

Observation Notes from Dr. Liam Harkin of the Department of Oneiric Ontology:

 

04.28.1995

"Toby Williams seemed to have harbored a great deal of animosity and resentment towards his Department Manager, Harvey Sanderson, for alleged worker misconduct. HR files indicate numerous complaints about Mr. Sandersons apparent dereliction of duty and often taking credit for most of his subordinates' work.

 

The lower levels of The Bureau where Mr. Williams worked -coincidentally - was located under the ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ which seemed to have elevated any psychological and emotional energies. So much so, that the level of anger Mr. Williams seemed to have had towards his superior, manifested and influenced Subject 0's psyche. The EDA Tinea Malitosa were born from these immense energies and corrupted the mind of Mr. Williams.

 

After learning and being charged in the death of his Team Lead, Mr. Williams stated that although he disliked Mr. Sanderson he never meant him any physical harm, but he felt this unnatural compulsion to enact his frustrations. Although he said he'd always come to the realization that it was wrong and would stop himself. As of his arrest and detainment in our corrections facilities, he seems to have no recollection of how the murder took place, but forensic evidence implicating Mr. Williams is substantial.

 

Mr. Williams vividly recalls each time he'd find himself being annoyed with Mr. Sanderson's lazy behavior, like napping on the job, Mr. Williams would feel a sharp pain around his temples and behind his eyes. MRI scans showed something unsettling and remarkable.

His amygdala was encased in some sort of chrysalis or cocoon. We will have to proceed cautiously as this is the first instance of parasitoidism observed in EDAs. "

  

05.15.1995

 

"On the morning of 05.15.1995, Mr. Williams was rushed to Medical after experiencing excruciating head pains when the lights of the holding cells were turned on. Other inmate witnesses stated he began frantically clawing at his face; screaming that something was trying to come out of his head. In his panicked frenzy, he threw himself into one of the walls of his holding cell and began repeatedly bashing his face against it. By the time guards could intervene, he was found face down on the floor of his cell in a pool of his own blood. He'd severely broken his nose and fractured his forehead. When guards turned him over to attempt CPR, they noticed an abnormality beginning to escape the open wound on his forehead. They almost appeared to be wings that slowly unfurled themselves. The guards immediately called for Legemeton Support. After sealing protocols were concluded and Mr. Williams was stabilized in our medical facilities, it was determined that the EDA that was gestating around his amygdala had emerged into some sort of psionic moth who's wings burst through his face. MRIs showed the creature is too intertwined with his brain to attempt surgical removal. Mr. Williams is comatose but in stable condition. Against my protests for a dignified termination of life, Dr. Hywell has suggested we keep Mr. Williams for further study and continue to allow him to be the EDA's host. It is my belief that - for whatever reason - on that day, the light compelled the creature to awaken much like how parasites in mantids encourage their hosts to drown themselves to continue their life cycle in the water. Candidly, since we've decided to contain Mr.Williams and the Malitosa, moth infestations have been a lot worse... it's EXTREMELY frustrating..."

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

 

Under the auspices of Ford President Semon "Bunkie" Knudson, high output is the primary focus of the Mustang lineup. The Mach 1, Boss 302 and Boss 429 are the performance-ready stablemates Knudson has in mind. With a larger presence, the latest breed of Mustang presents a requisite dose of Shelby-influenced aggressive styling. Larger grille, swooping roofline and non-functional side scoops borrow from earlier Shelby Mustangs. Dual headlamps were introduced in 1969, with the extra pair set into the outer area of the grille. The corralled grille pony was replaced with the pony and tribars logo, set off-center to the drivers side. The wheelbase remained 108 inches, but the overall length increased by almost 4 inches, and the width increased by almost half an inch.

 

Semon E. ("Bunkie") Knudsen (1912-1998) was the son of William S. Knudsen, a former president at General Motors. In 1968, at the age of 55, after a successful 29-year career at GM in which he rose to become head of the Pontiac Division, Bunkie left GM to take the position of President at Ford Motor Company. He was a little miffed that he had been recently passed over for the same position at GM, which was of course the exact same position his father had once held. Henry Ford II personally recruited Bunkie in January 1968, just days after GM's board had met and decided to offer the presidency to Edward N. Cole. A secret visit to Knudsen's mansion in Bingham Farms, Michigan near Detroit sealed the deal.

 

But Ford Motor Company had passed over a few talented insiders when it hired from outside the company. One in particular, 44-year old Lee A. Iacocca, who was the Executive Vice President, had proven himself a strong marketing guy. Iacocca was responsible for the Ford Mustang, one of Ford Motor Company's biggest successes, and was about to have another hit with the new Maverick. Iacocca was very disappointed and somewhat shocked when he learned that Knudsen had been hired, but those feelings turned into resentment when it was discovered that Knudsen planned to manage things from the plant instead of his executive office.

 

Knudsen sometimes arrived for work as early as 7:15 a.m., and would often tour the Ford Design Center, asking for changes to be made that would clash with the desires of the designers and the demands of other Ford executives. One of those executives was Iacocca, who felt that Knudsen was forcing policy changes in parts of the company that fell under Iacocca's responsibility. Apparently Chairman Ford was not thrilled with Knudsen's methods either, so in September of 1969, Bunkie Knudsen was fired from Ford.

 

Insiders at the time said Knudsen shouldn't have been surprised to have been fired, as he'd been warned earlier about moving too fast in his new job. That advice came from Henry Ford II. One insider reported that if Knudsen "had walked in quietly and made his way slowly for a year or two, there would have been no problem. But some people thought he was trying to take over. He just didn't understand the people at Ford. He was told six months after he got the job to take it easy, but he didn't. He should have learned to live with those people."

 

After his termination, when asked for his view of why he was fired, Knudsen said that Henry (Ford) "wanted to resume control of the company." Iacocca, when asked if he was sorry to see Knudsen go, replied: "I've never said 'No comment' to the press in my life, but I'll say it to that one."

SE ESTA HACIENDO USO DE ESTA FOTOGRAFIA EN DIFERENTES WEB SITES, EN "PRO" DE LA INTOLERANCIA Y EN CONTRA DEL PUEBLO DE ISRAEL.

 

NO SE ME MALINTERPRETE. ES MI VISION SOBRE LOS HECHOS, Y PROBABLEMENTE NO ESTE BIEN INFORMADO, PERO NADA MAS LEJOS QUE PRETENDO CON ELLO APORTAR MI GRANO DE ARENA HACIA LA PAZ EN ORIENTE PROXIMO.

 

POR OTRO LADO, NO VOY A ELIMINARLA DE MI GALERIA, COMO MUCHOS HAN PEDIDO: ES COMO DIGO, MI VISION DE LOS HECHOS, DESDE LA LEJANIA; Y MIENTRAS LAS PERSONAS O LA PROPIA HISTORIA ME DEMUESTRE CON HECHOS LO CONTRARIO, ESTA SEGUIRA SIENDO MI POSTURA.

 

PIDO RESPETO.

  

Antes de leer, os voy a pedir un favor; que a larga, será mutuo. Y es que hagáis favorita esta foto, y todas las que encontréis denunciando el terrible suceso que está aconteciendo en Gaza, tierra Palestina.

 

Hace años, escribí un poema, que a larga; fue publicado en una Antología poética. Cuando tracé esas palabras, lo hice pensando en el conflicto bélico entre judios y palestinos, que empezaba a conocer a fondo desde aquel entones. Podéis verlo en el siguiente enlace, y si pincháis con el raton arriiba, donde pone el titulo; podréis escucharlo recitado:

 

www.canal-literatura.com/APOESIA/alasdecolores.html

 

Desgraciadamente, hoy; esas palabras, toman más fuerza que nunca. Y es que como habéis podido ver, y escuchar; la ofensiva sin escrupulos ni piedad del ejército israelí, es decir; ejército representativo del pueblo judío, hacia la ciudad de Gaza y el pueblo Palestino, es un hecho.

Teniendo en cuenta, que el gran dominador mundial es dicho pueblo, el judío; imaginad la masacre que está habiendo en la tierra Palestina, multiplicando por 10 las atroces imágenes que vemos en television.

 

Yo no entiendo si toso esto es por rencor al pasado, por lo que otros descerebrados les hicieron, si es por dar un golpe de autoridad y decir: “Esta tierra es mia”, o si es por simple codicia militar. El caso, es que me estoy empezando a dar cuenta, de que Israel, sus mandatarios, y su ejército, tienen muy mala memoria. Y han dejado en el olvido, o se hacen los tontos, sin recordar el holocausto vergonzoso que sufrieron, y quien estaba en esa “Tierra prometida” cuando ellos llegaron. Cuando ellos llegaron de la mano de los “inteligentes” cabezones de la comunidad internacional, haciendoles una especie de “Ghetto” rodeado de pueblos musulmanes, y arrebatandoles sus propias tierras.

 

Me crispa, ver que ahora, ni Spielberg; ni ninguno de sus amiguitos, saquen probablamente ninguna super-producción con todo lo que alli está sucediendo desde hace años. Y si nos sigan llenando la cabeza con lo terrible que fue el Holocausto Nazi; cosa que afortunadamente, todos ya sabemos, enetendemos y renegamos.

 

Me crispa ver, como marcas comerciales de nivel mundial seguiran vendiendo sus bufandas palestina, como complemento de moda para un puñado de crios, sin saber el significado real de ese pañuelo.

 

Me crispará, posiblemente, como muchas personas; que se hacen llamar independentistas; uniran la bandera Palestina a las de sus supuestos “paises”, para hacer apología de autodeterminación y lucha. (Veamos, estúpidos; ¿acaso queréis comparar la supuesta represión del estado español hacia una comunidad autonoma con lo que está sufriendo el pueblo palestino en su propia tierra?)

 

Todo esto me crispa… me crispa, y me da pena. Por lo que pasó, por lo que pasa y por lo que pasará.

 

Hoy, escuché un relato de un fotógrafo de la agencia EFE, jugandose la vida en Gaza para enseñarnos la realidad, que decía; que se le había acercado una madre Palestina con su hijo en brazos. El niño no tenia más de 3 años, llevaba el craneo abierto, probablemente por un trozo de metralla. El niño estaba muerto, y la mujer solo le decia al fotógrafo: “Haga una foto, enseñele al mundo lo que nos estan haciendo”

 

Imagino que es más fácil para la comunidad internacional, mediar en Afganistan, Irak y otros paises en donde los Judios no puedan meter el hocico … ¿Verdad?

 

¿Quién es ahora el gato? ¿Quién es el raton? ¿Quién el Nazi? ¿Quién el judío? ¿Quién el invasor? ¿Quién la víctima?

 

Como ser humano, siento vergüenza de estos supuestos semejantes. Y cada vez me queda más claro, de quien domina el Mundo. Y de que a su vez, no me protege, sino que me está vigilando.

  

Manuel Orero

 

www.marchamundial.org

 

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

IN ENGLISH

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

 

Before reading, I am going to you to request a favor; that to long, he will be mutual. And it is that you make favorite this photo, and all that you find denouncing the terrible event that is occurring in Gaza, Palestine earth. Years ago, I wrote a poem, that to long; it was published in a poetic Anthology. When I drew up those words, I did it thinking about the warlike conflict between Jews and Palestinian, that began to know thoroughly from that one you intone. You can see it in the following connection, and if you puncture with the mouse arriiba, where it puts the title; you will be able to listen to recited it: www.canal-literatura.com/APOESIA/alasdecolores.html Unfortunately, today; those words, take more force than ever. And it is that since you have been able to see, and to listen; the offensive without scruples nor mercy of the Israeli army, that is to say; representative army of the Jewish town, towards the city of Gaza and the Palestinian town, is a fact. Considering, that great dominating the world-wide one is this town, the Jew; you imagine the massacre that is having in the Earth Palestine, multiplying by 10 the atrocious images that we see in television. I do not understand if toso this is by resentment to the past, reason why suffered brain damage others did to them, if it is to give an authority blow and to say: “This earth is mine”, or if it is by simple military greed. The case, is that I am beginning to give account, of which Israel, its agent chief executives, and their army, has very bad memory. And they have left in the forgetfulness, or the idiots become, without remembering holocausto shameful who suffered, and who were in that “engaged Earth” when they arrived. When they arrived from the hand of “intelligent” the stubborn ones of the international community, doing a species to them of “Ghetto” surrounded by Muslim towns, and snatching their own earth to them. He irritates to me, to see now that, nor Spielberg; nor no of their amiguitos, removes no overproduction probablamente yet what there it is happening for years. And if they continue filling the head to us with the terrible thing that was the Nazi Holocausto; thing that luckyly, all already we know, enetendemos and we apostatized. It irritates to see to me, as trade names of world-wide level continue selling their Palestine scarfs, to complement fashion for a handful of children, without knowing the meaning real of that handkerchief. It will irritate to me, possibly, like many people; that they are made call independentistas; they uniran the Palestine flag to those of its supposed “countries”, to make vindication of self-determination and fights. (We see, stupid; perhaps you want to compare the supposed repression of the Spanish state towards an independent community and so it is undergoing the Palestinian town in its own earth) All this irritates to me… irritates to me, and it gives pain me. Reason why it happened, reason why it happens and reason why it will happen. Today, I listened to a story of a photographer of agency EFE, gambling the life in Gaza to teach the reality to us, that said; that a Palestine mother had approached him with her son in arms. The boy nontapeworm more than 3 years, took the abierto skull, probably by a shrapnel piece. The boy was dead, and the woman only him decia to the photographer: “He makes a photo, enseñele to the world which estan to us doing” I imagine that it is easier for the international community, to mediate in Palestine, Iraq and other countries where the Jews cannot put the snout… Truth? Who is now the cat? Who is the mouse? Who the Nazi? Who the Jew? Who the invader? Who the victim? Like being human, I feel shame of these similar assumptions. And every time I have left clear more, of that dominates the World. And of which as well, it does not protect to me, but it is watching me.

 

Manuel Orero

   

Haven't found any here, but there are plenty in town ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When first I arrived, I thought that perhaps a few cousins had married over the decades of this relatively isolated community…there were quite a few odd looking people walking down the main street.

 

They did all look like they came from the same gene pool..

 

Plus, I thought I'd landed slap bang in the Bible Belt, a strong church going community, who had plenty to say about new comers and made it quite clear that they eyed them with great suspicion.

 

"There's too many new faces in town!", one long term resident exclaimed to me with resentment after I'd been there for ten years..

Was that meant to include me, after fixing so many of their sore backs for so long?

Or was I regarded as okay at that stage, and safe to share this thought?

 

The first piece of gossip I ever heard was that all the churches had been 'praying' my new partner out of town, because he had helped to start a gymnasium (in the time before he met me of course) and they were so offended by the 1980's ugly-neon-lycra-body-clinging gym fashion that had suddenly appeared being worn in public..

 

Haha, now I think of it again, maybe rightly so !!!!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This place is about 2 miles out of town..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Jewish History Display

Jewish Community Center,

Tucson, Arizona, USA

 

Ten million Jews lived in Europe in the late 1930s

It was a continent overtaken by economic depression and racial/religious resentment.

Jews in Europe existed along a religious spectrum from strictly orthodox to highly secular; and along an economic spectrum from the crushing poverty of the vast majority to a small well to do elite of successful entrepreneurs.

 

- IMG_6979 - Version 2

Cotttonwood trees abound in the central United States. The usually grow near water. They release large numbers of seeds with float on a cotton-appearing web.

"Human nature itself is evermore an advocate for liberty. There is also in human nature a resentment of injury, and indignation against wrong. A love of truth and a veneration of virtue. These amiable passions, are the 'latent spark'... If the people are capable of understanding, seeing and feeling the differences between true and false, right and wrong, virtue and vice, to what better principle can the friends of mankind apply than to the sense of this difference?" --John Adams, the Novanglus, 1775

Damn, a lot of opinions, a lot of confusion, a lot of resentment

Some of us scared, some of us defensive

And most of us aren't even paying attention

It seems like we're more concerned with being called racist

Than we actually are with racism

I've heard that silences are action

and God knows that I've been passive

What if I actually read a article, actually had a dialogue

Actually looked at myself, actually got involved?

 

White supremacy protects the privilege I hold

White supremacy is the soil, the foundation, the cement

and the flag that flies outside of my home

White supremacy is our country's lineage,

designed for us to be indifferent

My success is the product of the same system

that let off Darren Wilson – guilty

We want to dress like, walk like, talk like, dance like,

yet we just stand by

We take all we want from black culture,

but will we show up for black lives?

 

- White Privilege II by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

________________________________________

 

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U Bein Bridge (Burmese: ဦးပိန် တံတား) is a crossing that spans the Taungthaman Lake near Amarapura in Myanmar. The 1.2-kilometre (0.75 mi) bridge was built around 1850 and is believed to be the oldest and (once) longest teakwood bridge in the world.[1][2][3] Construction began when the capital of Ava Kingdom moved to Amarapura,[4] and the bridge is named after the mayor who had it built.[5] It is used as an important passageway for the local people and has also become a tourist attraction and therefore a significant source of income for souvenir sellers.[1][5][6][7] It is particularly busy during July and August when the lake is at its highest.[8]

 

The bridge was built from wood reclaimed from the former royal palace in Inwa. It features 1,086 pillars that stretch out of the water, some of which have been replaced with concrete. Though the bridge largely remains intact, there are fears that an increasing number of the pillars are becoming dangerously decayed. Some have become entirely detached from their bases and only remain in place because of the lateral bars holding them together. Damage to these supports have been caused by flooding as well as a fish breeding program introduced into the lake which has caused the water to become stagnant. The Ministry of Culture’s Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library plans to carry out repairs when plans for the work are finalised.[1]

 

From 1 April 2009, eight police force personnel have been deployed to guard the bridge. Their presence is aimed at reducing anti-social behaviour and preventing criminal activities, with the first arrest coming in September 2013 when two men were reported for harassing tourists.[8]

Contents

 

1 Construction

2 Design and Structure

3 Gallery

4 References

 

Construction

 

The construction was started in 1849 and finished in 1851. Myanmar construction engineers used traditional methods of scaling and measuring to build the bridge. According to historic books about U Bein Bridge, Myanmar engineers made scale by counting the footsteps.

Design and Structure

 

The bridge was built in curved shape in the middle to resist the assault of wind and water. The main teak posts were hammered into the lake bed seven feet deep. The other ends of the posts were shaped conically to make sure that rain water would fall down easily. The joints of the bridge are intertwined.

 

Originally, there were 984 teak posts supporting the bridge and two approach brick bridges. Later the two approach brick bridges were replaced by wooden approach bridge. There are four wooden pavilions at the same interval along the bridge. By adding posts of two approach bridges and four pavilions, the number of posts amounts to 1089.

 

There are nine passageways in the bridge, where the floors can be lifted to let boats and barges pass. There 482 spans and the length of the bridge is 1,209 metres.

  

Myanmar (Burmese pronunciation: [mjəmà]),[nb 1][8] officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east and China to its north and northeast. To its south, about one third of Myanmar's total perimeter of 5,876 km (3,651 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km (1,200 mi) along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The country's 2014 census counted the population to be 51 million people.[9] As of 2017, the population is about 54 million.[10] Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometers (261,228 square miles) in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city and former capital is Yangon (Rangoon).[1] Myanmar has been a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997.

 

Early civilisations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Burma.[11] In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell due to the Mongol invasions and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty, the country was for a brief period the largest empire in the history of Mainland Southeast Asia.[12] The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The British took over the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century and the country became a British colony. Myanmar was granted independence in 1948, as a democratic nation. Following a coup d'état in 1962, it became a military dictatorship.

 

For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country.[13] In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. This, along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, has improved the country's human rights record and foreign relations, and has led to the easing of trade and other economic sanctions.[14] There is, however, continuing criticism of the government's treatment of ethnic minorities, its response to the ethnic insurgency, and religious clashes.[15] In the landmark 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a majority in both houses. However, the Burmese military remains a powerful force in politics.

 

Myanmar is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources. In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion.[6] The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the former military government.[16] As of 2016, Myanmar ranks 145 out of 188 countries in human development, according to the Human Development Index.[7]

Etymology

Main article: Names of Myanmar

 

In 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to Burma's colonial period or earlier, including that of the country itself: "Burma" became "Myanmar". The renaming remains a contested issue.[17] Many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use "Burma" because they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government or its authority to rename the country.[18]

 

In April 2016, soon after taking office, Aung San Suu Kyi clarified that foreigners are free to use either name, "because there is nothing in the constitution of our country that says that you must use any term in particular".[19]

 

The country's official full name is the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်, Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw, pronounced [pjìdàʊɴzṵ θàɴməda̰ mjəmà nàɪɴŋàɴdɔ̀]). Countries that do not officially recognise that name use the long form "Union of Burma" instead.[20]

 

In English, the country is popularly known as either "Burma" or "Myanmar" /ˈmjɑːnˌmɑːr/ (About this sound listen).[8] Both these names are derived from the name of the majority Burmese Bamar ethnic group. Myanmar is considered to be the literary form of the name of the group, while Burma is derived from "Bamar", the colloquial form of the group's name.[17] Depending on the register used, the pronunciation would be Bama (pronounced [bəmà]) or Myamah (pronounced [mjəmà]).[17] The name Burma has been in use in English since the 18th century.

 

Burma continues to be used in English by the governments of many countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom.[21][22] Official United States policy retains Burma as the country's name, although the State Department's website lists the country as "Burma (Myanmar)" and Barack Obama has referred to the country by both names.[23] The Czech Republic officially uses Myanmar, although its Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions both Myanmar and Burma on its website.[24] The United Nations uses Myanmar, as do the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia,[25] Russia, Germany,[26] China, India, Bangladesh, Norway,[27] Japan[21] and Switzerland.[28]

 

Most English-speaking international news media refer to the country by the name Myanmar, including the BBC,[29] CNN,[30] Al Jazeera,[31] Reuters,[32] RT (Russia Today) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)/Radio Australia.[33]

 

Myanmar is known with a name deriving from Burma as opposed to Myanmar in Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and Greek – Birmania being the local version of Burma in the Spanish language, for example. Myanmar used to be known as "Birmânia" in Portuguese, and as "Birmanie" in French.[34] As in the past, French-language media today consistently use Birmanie.,[35][36]

History

Main article: History of Myanmar

Prehistory

Main articles: Prehistory of Myanmar and Migration period of ancient Burma

Pyu city-states c. 8th century; Pagan is shown for comparison only and is not contemporary.

 

Archaeological evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in the region now known as Myanmar as early as 750,000 years ago, with no more erectus finds after 75,000 years ago.[37] The first evidence of Homo sapiens is dated to about 11,000 BC, in a Stone Age culture called the Anyathian with discoveries of stone tools in central Myanmar. Evidence of neolithic age domestication of plants and animals and the use of polished stone tools dating to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 BC has been discovered in the form of cave paintings in Padah-Lin Caves.[38]

 

The Bronze Age arrived circa 1500 BC when people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice and domesticating poultry and pigs; they were among the first people in the world to do so.[39] Human remains and artefacts from this era were discovered in Monywa District in the Sagaing Division.[40] The Iron Age began around 500 BC with the emergence of iron-working settlements in an area south of present-day Mandalay.[41] Evidence also shows the presence of rice-growing settlements of large villages and small towns that traded with their surroundings as far as China between 500 BC and 200 AD.[42] Iron Age Burmese cultures also had influences from outside sources such as India and Thailand, as seen in their funerary practices concerning child burials. This indicates some form of communication between groups in Myanmar and other places, possibly through trade.[43]

Early city-states

Main articles: Pyu city-states and Mon kingdoms

 

Around the second century BC the first-known city-states emerged in central Myanmar. The city-states were founded as part of the southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states, the earliest inhabitants of Myanmar of whom records are extant, from present-day Yunnan.[44] The Pyu culture was heavily influenced by trade with India, importing Buddhism as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts, which would have an enduring influence on later Burmese culture and political organisation.[45]

 

By the 9th century, several city-states had sprouted across the land: the Pyu in the central dry zone, Mon along the southern coastline and Arakanese along the western littoral. The balance was upset when the Pyu came under repeated attacks from Nanzhao between the 750s and the 830s. In the mid-to-late 9th century the Bamar people founded a small settlement at Bagan. It was one of several competing city-states until the late 10th century when it grew in authority and grandeur.[46]

Imperial Burma

Main articles: Pagan Kingdom, Taungoo Dynasty, and Konbaung Dynasty

See also: Ava Kingdom, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Kingdom of Mrauk U, and Shan States

Pagodas and kyaungs in present-day Bagan, the capital of the Pagan Kingdom.

 

Pagan gradually grew to absorb its surrounding states until the 1050s–1060s when Anawrahta founded the Pagan Kingdom, the first ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Pagan Empire and the Khmer Empire were two main powers in mainland Southeast Asia.[47] The Burmese language and culture gradually became dominant in the upper Irrawaddy valley, eclipsing the Pyu, Mon and Pali norms by the late 12th century.[48]

 

Theravada Buddhism slowly began to spread to the village level, although Tantric, Mahayana, Hinduism, and folk religion remained heavily entrenched. Pagan's rulers and wealthy built over 10,000 Buddhist temples in the Pagan capital zone alone. Repeated Mongol invasions (1277–1301) toppled the four-century-old kingdom in 1287.[48]

Temples at Mrauk U.

 

Pagan's collapse was followed by 250 years of political fragmentation that lasted well into the 16th century. Like the Burmans four centuries earlier, Shan migrants who arrived with the Mongol invasions stayed behind. Several competing Shan States came to dominate the entire northwestern to eastern arc surrounding the Irrawaddy valley. The valley too was beset with petty states until the late 14th century when two sizeable powers, Ava Kingdom and Hanthawaddy Kingdom, emerged. In the west, a politically fragmented Arakan was under competing influences of its stronger neighbours until the Kingdom of Mrauk U unified the Arakan coastline for the first time in 1437.

 

Early on, Ava fought wars of unification (1385–1424) but could never quite reassemble the lost empire. Having held off Ava, Hanthawaddy entered its golden age, and Arakan went on to become a power in its own right for the next 350 years. In contrast, constant warfare left Ava greatly weakened, and it slowly disintegrated from 1481 onward. In 1527, the Confederation of Shan States conquered Ava itself, and ruled Upper Myanmar until 1555.

 

Like the Pagan Empire, Ava, Hanthawaddy and the Shan states were all multi-ethnic polities. Despite the wars, cultural synchronisation continued. This period is considered a golden age for Burmese culture. Burmese literature "grew more confident, popular, and stylistically diverse", and the second generation of Burmese law codes as well as the earliest pan-Burma chronicles emerged.[49] Hanthawaddy monarchs introduced religious reforms that later spread to the rest of the country.[50] Many splendid temples of Mrauk U were built during this period.

Taungoo and colonialism

Bayinnaung's Empire in 1580.

 

Political unification returned in the mid-16th century, due to the efforts of Taungoo, a former vassal state of Ava. Taungoo's young, ambitious king Tabinshwehti defeated the more powerful Hanthawaddy in the Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–41). His successor Bayinnaung went on to conquer a vast swath of mainland Southeast Asia including the Shan states, Lan Na, Manipur, Mong Mao, the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Lan Xang and southern Arakan. However, the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia unravelled soon after Bayinnaung's death in 1581, completely collapsing by 1599. Ayutthaya seized Tenasserim and Lan Na, and Portuguese mercenaries established Portuguese rule at Thanlyin (Syriam).

 

The dynasty regrouped and defeated the Portuguese in 1613 and Siam in 1614. It restored a smaller, more manageable kingdom, encompassing Lower Myanmar, Upper Myanmar, Shan states, Lan Na and upper Tenasserim. The Restored Toungoo kings created a legal and political framework whose basic features would continue well into the 19th century. The crown completely replaced the hereditary chieftainships with appointed governorships in the entire Irrawaddy valley, and greatly reduced the hereditary rights of Shan chiefs. Its trade and secular administrative reforms built a prosperous economy for more than 80 years. From the 1720s onward, the kingdom was beset with repeated Meithei raids into Upper Myanmar and a nagging rebellion in Lan Na. In 1740, the Mon of Lower Myanmar founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom. Hanthawaddy forces sacked Ava in 1752, ending the 266-year-old Toungoo Dynasty.

A British 1825 lithograph of Shwedagon Pagoda shows British occupation during the First Anglo-Burmese War.

 

After the fall of Ava, the Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War involved one resistance group under Alaungpaya defeating the Restored Hanthawaddy, and by 1759, he had reunited all of Myanmar and Manipur, and driven out the French and the British, who had provided arms to Hanthawaddy. By 1770, Alaungpaya's heirs had subdued much of Laos (1765) and fought and won the Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67) against Ayutthaya and the Sino-Burmese War (1765–69) against Qing China (1765–1769).[51]

 

With Burma preoccupied by the Chinese threat, Ayutthaya recovered its territories by 1770, and went on to capture Lan Na by 1776. Burma and Siam went to war until 1855, but all resulted in a stalemate, exchanging Tenasserim (to Burma) and Lan Na (to Ayutthaya). Faced with a powerful China and a resurgent Ayutthaya in the east, King Bodawpaya turned west, acquiring Arakan (1785), Manipur (1814) and Assam (1817). It was the second-largest empire in Burmese history but also one with a long ill-defined border with British India.[52]

 

The breadth of this empire was short lived. Burma lost Arakan, Manipur, Assam and Tenasserim to the British in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). In 1852, the British easily seized Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. King Mindon Min tried to modernise the kingdom, and in 1875 narrowly avoided annexation by ceding the Karenni States. The British, alarmed by the consolidation of French Indochina, annexed the remainder of the country in the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885.

 

Konbaung kings extended Restored Toungoo's administrative reforms, and achieved unprecedented levels of internal control and external expansion. For the first time in history, the Burmese language and culture came to predominate the entire Irrawaddy valley. The evolution and growth of Burmese literature and theatre continued, aided by an extremely high adult male literacy rate for the era (half of all males and 5% of females).[53] Nonetheless, the extent and pace of reforms were uneven and ultimately proved insufficient to stem the advance of British colonialism.

British Burma (1824–1948)

Main articles: British rule in Burma and Burma Campaign

Burma in British India

The landing of British forces in Mandalay after the last of the Anglo-Burmese Wars, which resulted in the abdication of the last Burmese monarch, King Thibaw Min.

British troops firing a mortar on the Mawchi road, July 1944.

 

The eighteenth century saw Burmese rulers, whose country had not previously been of particular interest to European traders, seek to maintain their traditional influence in the western areas of Assam, Manipur and Arakan. Pressing them, however, was the British East India Company, which was expanding its interests eastwards over the same territory. Over the next sixty years, diplomacy, raids, treaties and compromises continued until, after three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885), Britain proclaimed control over most of Burma.[54] British rule brought social, economic, cultural and administrative changes.

 

With the fall of Mandalay, all of Burma came under British rule, being annexed on 1 January 1886. Throughout the colonial era, many Indians arrived as soldiers, civil servants, construction workers and traders and, along with the Anglo-Burmese community, dominated commercial and civil life in Burma. Rangoon became the capital of British Burma and an important port between Calcutta and Singapore.

 

Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Yangon (Rangoon) on occasion all the way until the 1930s.[55] Some of the discontent was caused by a disrespect for Burmese culture and traditions such as the British refusal to remove shoes when they entered pagodas. Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement. U Wisara, an activist monk, died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike to protest against a rule that forbade him to wear his Buddhist robes while imprisoned.[56]

Separation of British Burma from British India

 

On 1 April 1937, Burma became a separately administered colony of Great Britain and Ba Maw the first Prime Minister and Premier of Burma. Ba Maw was an outspoken advocate for Burmese self-rule and he opposed the participation of Great Britain, and by extension Burma, in World War II. He resigned from the Legislative Assembly and was arrested for sedition. In 1940, before Japan formally entered the Second World War, Aung San formed the Burma Independence Army in Japan.

 

A major battleground, Burma was devastated during World War II. By March 1942, within months after they entered the war, Japanese troops had advanced on Rangoon and the British administration had collapsed. A Burmese Executive Administration headed by Ba Maw was established by the Japanese in August 1942. Wingate's British Chindits were formed into long-range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines.[57] A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders, followed the Chindits into the Burmese jungle in 1943.[58] Beginning in late 1944, allied troops launched a series of offensives that led to the end of Japanese rule in July 1945. The battles were intense with much of Burma laid waste by the fighting. Overall, the Japanese lost some 150,000 men in Burma. Only 1,700 prisoners were taken.[59]

 

Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese as part of the Burma Independence Army, many Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, served in the British Burma Army.[60] The Burma National Army and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942 to 1944 but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945. Under Japanese occupation, 170,000 to 250,000 civilians died.[61]

 

Following World War II, Aung San negotiated the Panglong Agreement with ethnic leaders that guaranteed the independence of Myanmar as a unified state. Aung Zan Wai, Pe Khin, Bo Hmu Aung, Sir Maung Gyi, Dr. Sein Mya Maung, Myoma U Than Kywe were among the negotiators of the historical Panglong Conference negotiated with Bamar leader General Aung San and other ethnic leaders in 1947. In 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Myanmar, a transitional government. But in July 1947, political rivals[62] assassinated Aung San and several cabinet members.[63]

Independence (1948–1962)

Main article: Post-independence Burma, 1948–62

British governor Hubert Elvin Rance and Sao Shwe Thaik at the flag raising ceremony on 4 January 1948 (Independence Day of Burma).

 

On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister. Unlike most other former British colonies and overseas territories, Burma did not become a member of the Commonwealth. A bicameral parliament was formed, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Nationalities,[64] and multi-party elections were held in 1951–1952, 1956 and 1960.

 

The geographical area Burma encompasses today can be traced to the Panglong Agreement, which combined Burma Proper, which consisted of Lower Burma and Upper Burma, and the Frontier Areas, which had been administered separately by the British.[65]

 

In 1961, U Thant, then the Union of Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations, a position he held for ten years.[66] Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was a young Aung San Suu Kyi (daughter of Aung San), who went on to become winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

 

When the non-Burman ethnic groups pushed for autonomy or federalism, alongside having a weak civilian government at the centre, the military leadership staged a coup d’état in 1962. Though incorporated in the 1947 Constitution, successive military governments construed the use of the term ‘federalism’ as being anti-national, anti-unity and pro-disintegration.[67]

Military rule (1962–2011)

 

On 2 March 1962, the military led by General Ne Win took control of Burma through a coup d'état, and the government has been under direct or indirect control by the military since then. Between 1962 and 1974, Myanmar was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by the general. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalised or brought under government control under the Burmese Way to Socialism,[68] which combined Soviet-style nationalisation and central planning.

 

A new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974. Until 1988, the country was ruled as a one-party system, with the General and other military officers resigning and ruling through the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP).[69] During this period, Myanmar became one of the world's most impoverished countries.[70]

Protesters gathering in central Rangoon, 1988.

 

There were sporadic protests against military rule during the Ne Win years and these were almost always violently suppressed. On 7 July 1962, the government broke up demonstrations at Rangoon University, killing 15 students.[68] In 1974, the military violently suppressed anti-government protests at the funeral of U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976, and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force.[69]

 

In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the 8888 Uprising. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General Saw Maung staged a coup d'état and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalised plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989.[71] SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989.

 

In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years and the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 492 seats (i.e., 80% of the seats). However, the military junta refused to cede power[72] and continued to rule the nation as SLORC until 1997, and then as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) until its dissolution in March 2011.

Protesters in Yangon during the 2007 Saffron Revolution with a banner that reads non-violence: national movement in Burmese. In the background is Shwedagon Pagoda.

 

On 23 June 1997, Myanmar was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana in November 2005, officially named the new capital Naypyidaw, meaning "city of the kings".[73]

Cyclone Nargis in southern Myanmar, May 2008.

 

In August 2007, an increase in the price of diesel and petrol led to the Saffron Revolution led by Buddhist monks that were dealt with harshly by the government.[74] The government cracked down on them on 26 September 2007. The crackdown was harsh, with reports of barricades at the Shwedagon Pagoda and monks killed. There were also rumours of disagreement within the Burmese armed forces, but none was confirmed. The military crackdown against unarmed protesters was widely condemned as part of the international reactions to the Saffron Revolution and led to an increase in economic sanctions against the Burmese Government.

 

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused extensive damage in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division.[75] It was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history with reports of an estimated 200,000 people dead or missing, damage totalled to 10 billion US dollars, and as many as 1 million left homeless.[76] In the critical days following this disaster, Myanmar's isolationist government was accused of hindering United Nations recovery efforts.[77] Humanitarian aid was requested but concerns about foreign military or intelligence presence in the country delayed the entry of United States military planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies.[78]

 

In early August 2009, a conflict known as the Kokang incident broke out in Shan State in northern Myanmar. For several weeks, junta troops fought against ethnic minorities including the Han Chinese,[79] Wa, and Kachin.[80][81] During 8–12 August, the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians fled to Yunnan province in neighbouring China.[80][81][82]

Civil wars

Main articles: Internal conflict in Myanmar, Kachin Conflict, Karen conflict, and 2015 Kokang offensive

 

Civil wars have been a constant feature of Myanmar's socio-political landscape since the attainment of independence in 1948. These wars are predominantly struggles for ethnic and sub-national autonomy, with the areas surrounding the ethnically Bamar central districts of the country serving as the primary geographical setting of conflict. Foreign journalists and visitors require a special travel permit to visit the areas in which Myanmar's civil wars continue.[83]

 

In October 2012, the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar included the Kachin conflict,[84] between the Pro-Christian Kachin Independence Army and the government;[85] a civil war between the Rohingya Muslims, and the government and non-government groups in Rakhine State;[86] and a conflict between the Shan,[87] Lahu, and Karen[88][89] minority groups, and the government in the eastern half of the country. In addition, al-Qaeda signalled an intention to become involved in Myanmar. In a video released on 3 September 2014, mainly addressed to India, the militant group's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said al-Qaeda had not forgotten the Muslims of Myanmar and that the group was doing "what they can to rescue you".[90] In response, the military raised its level of alertness, while the Burmese Muslim Association issued a statement saying Muslims would not tolerate any threat to their motherland.[91]

 

Armed conflict between ethnic Chinese rebels and the Myanmar Armed Forces have resulted in the Kokang offensive in February 2015. The conflict had forced 40,000 to 50,000 civilians to flee their homes and seek shelter on the Chinese side of the border.[92] During the incident, the government of China was accused of giving military assistance to the ethnic Chinese rebels. Burmese officials have been historically "manipulated" and pressured by the Chinese government throughout Burmese modern history to create closer and binding ties with China, creating a Chinese satellite state in Southeast Asia.[93] However, uncertainties exist as clashes between Burmese troops and local insurgent groups continue.

Democratic reforms

Main article: 2011–12 Burmese political reforms

 

The goal of the Burmese constitutional referendum of 2008, held on 10 May 2008, is the creation of a "discipline-flourishing democracy". As part of the referendum process, the name of the country was changed from the "Union of Myanmar" to the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar", and general elections were held under the new constitution in 2010. Observer accounts of the 2010 election describe the event as mostly peaceful; however, allegations of polling station irregularities were raised, and the United Nations (UN) and a number of Western countries condemned the elections as fraudulent.[94]

U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Aung San Suu Kyi and her staff at her home in Yangon, 2012

 

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party declared victory in the 2010 elections, stating that it had been favoured by 80 percent of the votes; however, the claim was disputed by numerous pro-democracy opposition groups who asserted that the military regime had engaged in rampant fraud.[95][96] One report documented 77 percent as the official turnout rate of the election.[95] The military junta was dissolved on 30 March 2011.

 

Opinions differ whether the transition to liberal democracy is underway. According to some reports, the military's presence continues as the label "disciplined democracy" suggests. This label asserts that the Burmese military is allowing certain civil liberties while clandestinely institutionalising itself further into Burmese politics. Such an assertion assumes that reforms only occurred when the military was able to safeguard its own interests through the transition—here, "transition" does not refer to a transition to a liberal democracy, but transition to a quasi-military rule.[97]

 

Since the 2010 election, the government has embarked on a series of reforms to direct the country towards liberal democracy, a mixed economy, and reconciliation, although doubts persist about the motives that underpin such reforms. The series of reforms includes the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission, the granting of general amnesties for more than 200 political prisoners, new labour laws that permit labour unions and strikes, a relaxation of press censorship, and the regulation of currency practices.[98]

 

The impact of the post-election reforms has been observed in numerous areas, including ASEAN's approval of Myanmar's bid for the position of ASEAN chair in 2014;[99] the visit by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December 2011 for the encouragement of further progress, which was the first visit by a Secretary of State in more than fifty years,[100] during which Clinton met with the Burmese president and former military commander Thein Sein, as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi;[101] and the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the 2012 by-elections, facilitated by the government's abolition of the laws that previously barred the NLD.[102] As of July 2013, about 100[103][104] political prisoners remain imprisoned, while conflict between the Burmese Army and local insurgent groups continues.

Map of Myanmar and its divisions, including Shan State, Kachin State, Rakhine State and Karen State.

 

In 1 April 2012 by-elections, the NLD won 43 of the 45 available seats; previously an illegal organisation, the NLD had not won a single seat under new constitution. The 2012 by-elections were also the first time that international representatives were allowed to monitor the voting process in Myanmar.[105]

2015 general elections

Main article: Myanmar general election, 2015

 

General elections were held on 8 November 2015. These were the first openly contested elections held in Myanmar since 1990. The results gave the National League for Democracy an absolute majority of seats in both chambers of the national parliament, enough to ensure that its candidate would become president, while NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency.[106]

 

The new parliament convened on 1 February 2016[107] and, on 15 March 2016, Htin Kyaw was elected as the first non-military president since the military coup of 1962.[108] On 6 April 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the newly created role of State Counsellor, a role akin to a Prime Minister.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Myanmar

A map of Myanmar

Myanmar map of Köppen climate classification.

 

Myanmar has a total area of 678,500 square kilometres (262,000 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 9° and 29°N, and longitudes 92° and 102°E. As of February 2011, Myanmar consisted of 14 states and regions, 67 districts, 330 townships, 64 sub-townships, 377 towns, 2,914 Wards, 14,220 village tracts and 68,290 villages.

 

Myanmar is bordered in the northwest by the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh and the Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh states of India. Its north and northeast border is with the Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan province for a Sino-Myanmar border total of 2,185 km (1,358 mi). It is bounded by Laos and Thailand to the southeast. Myanmar has 1,930 km (1,200 mi) of contiguous coastline along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to the southwest and the south, which forms one quarter of its total perimeter.[20]

 

In the north, the Hengduan Mountains form the border with China. Hkakabo Razi, located in Kachin State, at an elevation of 5,881 metres (19,295 ft), is the highest point in Myanmar.[109] Many mountain ranges, such as the Rakhine Yoma, the Bago Yoma, the Shan Hills and the Tenasserim Hills exist within Myanmar, all of which run north-to-south from the Himalayas.[110]

 

The mountain chains divide Myanmar's three river systems, which are the Irrawaddy, Salween (Thanlwin), and the Sittaung rivers.[111] The Irrawaddy River, Myanmar's longest river, nearly 2,170 kilometres (1,348 mi) long, flows into the Gulf of Martaban. Fertile plains exist in the valleys between the mountain chains.[110] The majority of Myanmar's population lives in the Irrawaddy valley, which is situated between the Rakhine Yoma and the Shan Plateau.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Myanmar

A clickable map of Burma/Myanmar exhibiting its first-level administrative divisions.

About this image

 

Myanmar is divided into seven states (ပြည်နယ်) and seven regions (တိုင်းဒေသကြီး), formerly called divisions.[112] Regions are predominantly Bamar (that is, mainly inhabited by the dominant ethnic group). States, in essence, are regions that are home to particular ethnic minorities. The administrative divisions are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into townships, wards, and villages.

 

Climate

Main article: Climate of Myanmar

The limestone landscape of Mon State.

 

Much of the country lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. It lies in the monsoon region of Asia, with its coastal regions receiving over 5,000 mm (196.9 in) of rain annually. Annual rainfall in the delta region is approximately 2,500 mm (98.4 in), while average annual rainfall in the Dry Zone in central Myanmar is less than 1,000 mm (39.4 in). The Northern regions of Myanmar are the coolest, with average temperatures of 21 °C (70 °F). Coastal and delta regions have an average maximum temperature of 32 °C (89.6 °F).[111]

Environment

Further information: Deforestation in Myanmar

 

Myanmar continues to perform badly in the global Environmental Performance Index (EPI) with an overall ranking of 153 out of 180 countries in 2016; among the worst in the South Asian region, only ahead of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The EPI was established in 2001 by the World Economic Forum as a global gauge to measure how well individual countries perform in implementing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The environmental areas where Myanmar performs worst (ie. highest ranking) are air quality (174), health impacts of environmental issues (143) and biodiversity and habitat (142). Myanmar performs best (ie. lowest ranking) in environmental impacts of fisheries (21), but with declining fish stocks. Despite several issues, Myanmar also ranks 64 and scores very good (ie. a high percentage of 93.73%) in environmental effects of the agricultural industry because of an excellent management of the nitrogen cycle.[114][115]

Wildlife

 

Myanmar's slow economic growth has contributed to the preservation of much of its environment and ecosystems. Forests, including dense tropical growth and valuable teak in lower Myanmar, cover over 49% of the country, including areas of acacia, bamboo, ironwood and Magnolia champaca. Coconut and betel palm and rubber have been introduced. In the highlands of the north, oak, pine and various rhododendrons cover much of the land.[116]

 

Heavy logging since the new 1995 forestry law went into effect has seriously reduced forest acreage and wildlife habitat.[117] The lands along the coast support all varieties of tropical fruits and once had large areas of mangroves although much of the protective mangroves have disappeared. In much of central Myanmar (the Dry Zone), vegetation is sparse and stunted.

 

Typical jungle animals, particularly tigers, occur sparsely in Myanmar. In upper Myanmar, there are rhinoceros, wild water buffalo, clouded leopard, wild boars, deer, antelope, and elephants, which are also tamed or bred in captivity for use as work animals, particularly in the lumber industry. Smaller mammals are also numerous, ranging from gibbons and monkeys to flying foxes. The abundance of birds is notable with over 800 species, including parrots, myna, peafowl, red junglefowl, weaverbirds, crows, herons, and barn owl. Among reptile species there are crocodiles, geckos, cobras, Burmese pythons, and turtles. Hundreds of species of freshwater fish are wide-ranging, plentiful and are very important food sources.[118] For a list of protected areas, see List of protected areas of Myanmar.

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Myanmar

Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw)

 

The constitution of Myanmar, its third since independence, was drafted by its military rulers and published in September 2008. The country is governed as a parliamentary system with a bicameral legislature (with an executive President accountable to the legislature), with 25% of the legislators appointed by the military and the rest elected in general elections.

I was walking this ridgeline last week; hoping to get a nice sunset but there wasn’t a cloud to be found. This week the sky filled with them, gave every step a whole new perspective. Now through the 4th of July Holiday weekend I’ll be sharing them with you. This ridgeline is south of Olmstead Point, runs south and finishes with a beautiful vista; overlooking the north side of Half Dome. The west side of the ridge is easier to navigate; the east has better views, but also heavy brush, deep crevices and gaps. Trying to walk the center you will have to switch back and forth.

Hiking this trek I’m lost in its majestic beauty; my thoughts drifting to my past and its journey that brings me here. A Peregrine Falcon dives to my right and disappears among the ledges and rock. I think of my Grandfather; the gently giant that inspired my love for the great outdoors. As I reach for my lens brush in my cargo pocket, I think of my daughter; this wonderful being that taught me the meaning of unconditional love. The person that gifted me these cargo pants for Fathers’ Day. Each step binging me closer to them, wishing they were here to share these moments of awe. I pull out my cell phone, snap a quick picture and send to my daughter before I lose my signal. This composition comes to eye, I set up my tripod and here you have me Reaching for Clouds.

 

•The truth about Yosemite: www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Sexual-Harassment-Common-in...

 

After a beautiful day in the mountains, I pull into my housing parking lot to have some of my half-witted neighbors waiting for me. They’ll setup to expose me to their cigarette smoke or car exhaust as I unload my gear and head for my room. As I walk down the long hallway they will click their door locks, I smile because of their utter stupidity and immaturity. I unload my backpack and hang it on the wall, see my work uniforms and am reminded of my 20 some year old coworkers intentionally blocking me all day, yesterday; blocking me at almost every doorway, corner and hallway. I think of my immoral, incompetent managers whom watch, encourage and participate in this workplace harassment and mobbing. I think of Yosemite’s Superintendent and the Law Enforcement that allows this and in turn empowers them to have no boundaries. I gather things from my frig for a late dinner, smile and think of the wonderful day I’ve had and how pathetic some of my neighbors are for having nothing better to do with their lives; than to wait around to harass someone. Then another smile as I think to myself; we could see these same people fighting in a shampoo aisle at Walmart

 

youtu.be/0vNoR4Yb4Gc

 

With Independents Day approaching; there are many in America that have no independents. There are people harassed all day every day at work; this is called Workplace Mobbing. This could be because of resentment for their good work ethics, whistleblowing, or something as simple as their indifference. There are Americans that are harassed, stalked, watched, civil and constitutional rights violated, their personal property tampered with and destroyed, blacklisted, in their communities and neighborhoods every day; this is called Gang Stalking, Community Stalking. This could because of something as simple as pissing off the wrong person, whistleblowing, their indifference. This is total repression, this is how those that don’t go with the statuesque are kept in check.

People; Gang Stalking, Community Stalking and Workplace Mobbing are real. These immoral and illegal acts destroy the lives of people, their families and livelihood every day. I could care less of what people think of me, but I do care about the impact these immoral parasite have on our children, society and this country. As those that have the power and authority (Yosemite’s Superintendent, Law Enforcement) to stop this do nothing; I will continue to speak out and expose these atrocities.

 

Gang Staking, Community Stalking and Workplace Mobbing are thriving in Yosemite National Park. These immoral and illegal acts are carried out by my coworkers, neighbors, residents and contractors. They are allowed by Yosemite’s Law Enforcement and Superintendent.

 

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