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camden lock, london;
always something starts from here. after this shot i received a phone call for a job interview and grabbed a chance to come back to uk :-)
Valkenburg Castle, the only elevated castle in the Netherlands. The first fortifications on this site were probably built around 1115 by the then Lord of Valkenburg and consisted of a rectangular keep surrounded by wooden defenses. The castle was in later centuries enlarged and it once was a very imposing structure looking from the hilltop down onto the fortified town. But along the centuries, Valkenburg castle was continually besieged, attacked and destroyed and subsequently rebuilt, until the year 1672 when it suffered total destruction at the hands of King-Stadholder Willem III to prevent it from falling into French hands. Since then, the ruins of the castle have stood in this elevated part of the town as a symbol of the city.
EC Niu Oufit
♥ Skirt, top and shoes
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The Imposing House
Valkenburg aan de Geul is situated in the southeastern Dutch province of Limburg.
Nowadays Valkenburg is especially known for its touristic character. There are several attractions within walking distance of the city centre.
Valkenburg is situated in a beautiful part of the Netherlands which is perfectly suited for walks or (mountain) bike tours through the hilly terrain. Although the municipality Valkenburg aan de Geul only has about 18,000 inhabitants, it hosts about 1 million nights a year.
Valkenburg has the oldest still existing railway station building in the Netherlands.
The Halderpark in Valkenburg has undergone a metamorphosis. In the park, the former city canal was brought back before the fortification walls of Valkenburg. The canal is fed with rainwater that flows down from the Cauberg. To prevent street debris from entering the canal, the first water is discharged directly into the Geul via sewer pipes. The clean water of the canal itself passes behind castle Den Halder in the Geul. At the Den Halder castle, a low bridge connects both banks of the canal. Near the Geul the city canal can be crossed via stepping stones. On the side of the Halderstraat the park is accessed via a wide staircase. This staircase can also be used as a stand at events in the park or on the water of the canal. In the evening hours, sophisticated lighting provides a fairytale experience of the historic city wall of Valkenburg.
Rare is the virtuous response of man, whom enters the flames to save his fellow man. God bless and protect those who battle the flames, and all whom never returned from their duty.
The Lourdes Grotto is a religious monument located on the Cauberg in Valkenburg in the Dutch province of Limburg .
This cave was carved into the hillside in 1926 and is a copy of the original Massabielle Cave as it is in Lourdes , including the altar and pulpit, the latter being made by Sjef Eijmael . In 1929, a sacristy and a kiosk for religious articles were built in bluestone, designed by architect Dils. In 1934 an image of Bernadette Soubirous was placed, made by studio Linssen.
Despite being English, I've never particularly been a fan of the royals but the fact Meghan and Harry are now hanging out in Victoria, BC seems to have people quite excited. :-)
(Snapped on iPhone 6)
In the year 1115, fortifications were erected at the site by Gosewijn I, Lord of Valkenburg. This original wooden keep survived until 1122 when it was destroyed under siege by Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. The castle was rebuilt in the following centuries but was again destroyed in a siege, this time by John III, Duke of Brabant. The current ruins are those of the castle rebuilt in the 14th century.
The castle suffered heavily in the Dutch Spanish war as it wasn't built to withstand the new heavy duty cannons and mortars. The Spanish armies severely crippled the defensive walls of Valkenburg and left the castle in a far state of disrepair with its magnificent towers now collapsed and its roofs burned to ashes. The Dutch armies attempted to repair the castle but were unsuccessful due to the ongoing wars with the Spaniards and the French.
The Marriage Of the Soul
Descending to the earth,
that strange intoxicating beauty
of the unseen world
lurks in the elements of nature.
And the soul of man,
who has attained the rightful balance,
becoming aware of this hidden joy,
straightaway is enamored and bewitched.
And from this mystic marriage are born
the poets' songs, inner knowledge,
the language of the heart, virtuous living,
and the fair child Beauty.
And the Great Soul gives to man as dowry
the hidden glory of the world.
- Mahmud Shabistari
Stowe II reworked detail...... V&A
He comes! he comes! in every breeze the power
Of philosophic melancholy comes!
His near approach the sudden-starting tear,
The glowing cheek, the mild dejected air,
The softened feature, and the beating heart,
Pierced deep with many a virtuous pang, declare.
O'er all the soul his sacred influence breathes;
Inflames imagination; through the breast
Infuses every tenderness; and far
Beyond dim earth exalts the swelling thought.
Ten thousand thousand fleet ideas, such
As never mingled with the vulgar dream,
Crowd fast into the mind's creative eye.
As fast the correspondent passions rise,
As varied, and as high; devotion raised
To rapture, and divine astonishment;
The love of Nature unconfined, and, chief,
Of human race; the large ambitious wish,
To make them blest; the sigh for suffering worth,
Lost in obscurity; the noble scorn
Of tyrant pride; the fearless great resolve;
The wonder which the dying patriot draws,
Inspiring glory through remotest time;
The awakened throb for virtue, and for fame;
The sympathies of love, and friendship dear;
With all the social offspring of the heart.
In 1919, war correspondent Lowell Thomas convinced a skeptical Auda Abu Tayi, leader of the Howeitat, to inspire the most talented craftsmen of his tribe to continue the development of the virtuous 4mm BeduVision motion picture camera. Here, Colonel T. E. Lawrence used the updated camera with great skill to film scenes for the now-lost film The Battle of Aqaba (1922), which depicts the 1917 battle during the Great Arab Revolt, expertly restaged again by Mr. Thomas.
“Do not try to do too much with your own hands." — T. E. Lawrence
The Beauty of Lawrence of Arabia (1962): www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvdr-epa1hc
Stable Diffusion.
An Old Man and his Grandson is a ca. 1490 tempera painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. One of Ghirlandaio's best-known works, it is considered notable for its emotional poignancy. Its realism has been described as unique among the portraits of the Quattrocento.
The picture portrays an older man in a red robe, embracing a young child who is also wearing red. They sit in an interior, illuminated against a darkened wall. Behind them at right is a window through which can be seen a generalized landscape, its uneven terrain and winding roads typical of Ghirlandaio's backgrounds. Although the man's fur-lined robe and cappuccio and the boy's elegant doublet and cap indicate a noble heritage, and despite the traditional assumption that the subjects are grandfather and grandson, their identities are unknown. It is possible that the painting was commemorative in purpose, and that the child was a narrative invention intended to emphasize the man's beneficence. The poignancy of the image is dramatized by the contrast between the man's weathered and wise face, and the child's delicate profile. While the composition is thematically related to portraiture from the Netherlands, by the mid-15th century the motif of a portrait in an interior with a landscape seen in the distance was common in Italy.
An extraordinary feature of the painting is the deformity of the man's nose, evidence of rhinophyma. Ghirlandaio has presented the portrait in a naturalistic and sympathetic fashion, at variance with physiognomic theory of the era, which maintained a connection between external appearances and internal truths. Rather than implying a defect of character, An Old Man and his Grandson invites appreciation of the man's virtuousness. The painting depicts a moment of intimacy between an old man and a child, underscored by the placement of the child's hand on the man's chest, and the man's gentle expression. This show of affection endows the picture with emotional qualities beyond those expected from a traditional dynastic portrait. In the words of art historian Bernard Berenson, "There is no more human picture in the entire range of Quattrocento painting, whether in or out of Italy."
The painting's provenance is uncertain until 1880, when it entered the Louvre, and then only after it was rejected by the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin out of concern for its condition. Several commentators in the late nineteenth century reported that the picture had been abraded by overcleaning, and there were disfiguring scratches on the man's face. In 1996 the scratches and areas of discolored inpainting were removed, and the painting was cleaned and retouched.
A drawing by Ghirlandaio entitled Head of an Old Man, once owned by Giorgio Vasari, portrays the same man as in the painting. The drawing may have been made while the sitter was asleep, or after his death, in which case it would have served as a graphic death mask.
In 1329 fortress Valkenburg was besieged by duke Jan III of Brabant and defended by Walram II , son of Reinoud van Valkenburg . Walram was killed and after the capture the castle and the defenses were demolished. During the re-construction it was decided to change the pattern of the town in order to better defend it in the future. The river Geul was slightly shifted to the north and a city wall was built around the center complete with towers and three gates, and connected to the castle of Valkenburg . The city gate just northwest of the castle is called Grendelpoort.
The gate was built after 1329, probably around 1335. The gate was initially called Bergerpoort or Trichterpoort, but was changed to Grendelpoort to match the road that passed through the gate and also near the outside of the gate there was also a small gate, behind which there used to be a well called the the Grendelput. This well has disappeared a long time ago, but the name of the gate has remained.
Changes have been made to the Grendel gate over the centuries. In the vicinity of the Grendel Gate a tower stood, where in 1464 the gunpowder and the guns were stored for the gatekeepers and there was also a guardhouse In 1672, at the beginning of the Dutch War , the castle of Valkenburg was blown up by the Dutch troops and the defenses were largely destroyed. The Grendel gate and the Berkelpoort were spared, as well as the Den Halder castle and a small part of the city wall. Because the gate is almost seven centuries old, it requires a lot of maintenance. In 1967 the Grendel Gate became a national monument .
At the southern tower a man-sized bronze statue of a gatekeeper was placed and a plaque with the history of the inhabitants of Valkenburg Castle.
Valkenburg is a town in the south of Holland and is part of the province Limburg. It is known as the Christmas Town of the Netherlands, where you can see, smell, hear and taste Christmas in everything. The Christmas market in the Municipal Cave belongs to the 10 of the best Christmas market worldwide and is a visit worth for sure! It is situated at the bottom of the Cauberg and the doors are open yearly from around the 14th November 2014 to 23th December.
It is important to discover in myself the attributes that connect me to the world.
For me, being feminine includes understanding, gentleness, showing affection, and behaving with proper manners and etiquette. I also believe that this should include, sensitivity, kindness, warmth, flexibility, cooperation, expressiveness, modesty, humility, empathy, caring, tenderness, helping others, a dedication to people, and causes that are virtuous.
I express my femininity with my body, appearance, and behavior, as they are all linked. It is an essential part of the human experience, as it offers security, confidence and a positive attitude to society. Humility is an important aspect of femininity, like the ability to laugh at oneself, and not be too proud, and break out of useless patterns and habits. Being feminine also has a natural flow, influencing others with ones creativity, flexibility, and compassion, that can be expressed in attitude, behavior, clothing, words, appearance, gestures, and actions. Remember, it is important to love oneself in order to fully love others.
Our femininity can express our dreams and ideologies and attract others to reflect on these, like the moon attracts the tides. We too should set goals to behave the way we want the world to be. This all being said, at its root, femininity is not something that can be taught in a classroom, but rather an innate and part of what makes us feminine.
Happy Valentine's Day to all
Emma-Jane
-> eBODY REBORN - body REBORN 1.69.6
-> LeLUTKA Avalon Head 3.1
-> ~Nerido~ Moiraine Short Dress
-> RAWR! Virtuous Necklaces
-> .:District 28:. Blushed Hearts
-> RAWR! Paw Bracelets
-> REVIVER -Summertime Eyeshadows
Moving forward, while facing backwards, like rowing a boat down a stream. Unable to see the future, but capable of examining the past. All that one can hope for is the best. Ready to move forward, blindly; but, through an optimist's perspective.
"That was a beautiful moment that so many elders never thought they’d live to see. So there are things that we don’t yet know, that we don’t think we’re going to live to see, that are also going to give us power and beauty if we hold up our own.
We rightly think that the virtue of courage requires a certain psychological flexibility. A courageous person must know how to act well in all sorts of circumstances. We recognize that there can be times in life when the stock images of courage will be inappropriate, and the truly courageous person will recognize this extraordinary situation and act in an unusual yet courageous way.
If we think of the virtues, or human excellences, as they are actually taught by cultures across history, it is plausible to expect that the virtuous person will be ready to tackle the wide variety of challenges that life might throw his way. It is unclear that there is anything in such training that will prepare him for the breakdown of the form of life itself. We would like our ethics to be grounded in psychological reality. Thus whatever flexibility is required of a virtuous person, it ought to be something that can be inculcated in the education and training of a culture. But a culture does not tend to train the young to endure its own breakdown — and it is fairly easy to see why. A culture embodies a sense of life’s possibilities, and it tries to instill that sense in the young. An outstanding young member of the culture will learn to face these possibilities well.
The inability to conceive of its own devastation will tend to be the blind spot of any culture… A culture tends to propagate itself, and it will do that by instilling its own sense of possibility in the young.
For what may we hope? Kant put this question in the first-person singular along with two others — What can I know? and What ought I to do? — that he thought essentially marked the human condition. With two centuries of philosophical reflection, it seems that these questions are best transposed to the first-person plural. And with that same hindsight: rather than attempt an a priori inquiry, I would like to consider hope as it might arise at one of the limits of human existence… What makes this hope radical is that it is directed toward a future goodness that transcends the current ability to understand what it is. Radical hope anticipates a good for which those who have the hope as yet lack the appropriate concepts with which to understand it. What would it be for such hope to be justified?"
The Buckriders (Dutch: Bokkenrijders, French: Les Chevaliers du Bouc), are a part of Dutch folklore, ghosts or demons, who rode through the sky on the back of flying goats provided to them by Satan. During the 18th century, groups of thieves and other criminals co-opted the belief to frighten the inhabitants of southern Limburg, a province in the southern part of the Netherlands. Using the name "Bokkenrijders", these criminal bands launched raids across a region that includes southern Limburg, and parts of Germany and Belgium (parts of which were a part of the Netherlands at the time). Commonly, the "Bokkenrijders" raided peaceful communities and farms. Several confessed "Bokkenrijders" were convicted and sentenced to death. Because of the link to the occult, authorities accused a large number of potentially innocent men of being "Bokkenrijders" and a number were tortured and subsequently convicted of crimes they denied having committed.
Kanto Total Village Hakone Gongen has been popular for a long
Fulfillment, Luck Guardian, traffic (on the way)
God as a virtuous God in safety and matchmaking
A deep history of God in the lake Ashino lake Companies.
It is the beginning that I have visited here in earnest.
Green and Japan distinctive of avenue of cedars lined with trees
Color balance between colored shrines and the two companies
To the beauty of which I had no choice but to be fascinated.
location : Rakuhoku Renge-ji temple Kyoto city,Kyoto prefecture,Japan
京都 洛北 蓮華寺
Rakuhoku Renge-ji temple :
This temple belongs to the Tendai sect of Buddhism cowned with the mountain name of Kinyozan.
Shigenao imaeda( 今枝重直),a retainer of the Maeda Clan in Kaga,present Ishikawa pref.,entered the priesthood around period from 1661 to 1673. He built a residence here and spent his later years associating with such people as Jozan Ishikawa 石川丈山and Tanyu Kano狩野探幽.His groundson Chikayoshi今枝民部近義,who admire the virtuous Shigenao, transfered a temple from Hachijo-Shiokoji(元西八条塩小路附近)to this place in order to pray for the repose of his grandfather. He made it as a sub-temple of the Enryakuji Jitsuzobo Temple延暦寺実蔵坊.
The principal statue enshrined in main hall is of Shakamuni Tothagata.Unique Rengeji temple-style tone lanterns with hexagonal shades and a monument commemorating Shigenao inscribed Tehsho-style calligraphy written by Jozan Ishikawa on top and passage composed by Jun-an Kinoshita are found on the grounds beautifully covered with moss.
The garden woth crane stone and turtle islands in the lake,an excellent example from Edo period(1603-1867) -Kyoto city
Canon EOS M5 EF-M22mm f/2 STM （no image stabilization)手ブレ補正機能なし
ƒ/9.0 22.0 mm 1/10sec ISO200 manual exposure/focus
This temple has an explicit no-tripod policy, so tripods, including monopods, are usually prohibited.
My grandniece chill-en with her uncle.
Proverbs 31:10-31
King James Version
10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Meditate on whatsoever things are true, just, pure, lovely, kind, virtuous, and excellent. Fix your mind on these things, and life will flow from them. [Philippians 4:8, roughly paraphrased]
“Totalitarianism is not a historical coincidence. In the final analysis, it is the logical consequence of mechanistic thinking and the delusional belief in the omnipotence of human rationality. As such, totalitarianism is the defining feature of the Enlightenment tradition.” ‒ Mattias Desmet
Totalitarianism is a product of the Enlightenment tradition. It places faith in human rationality. It’s a belief system in which man’s intellect can save man, the world, and the universe. Man will solve man’s problems, thus bringing salvation to mankind. Its priests desire to form a new society built on rationality. They want a world without pain and suffering. They even want to conquer death. Science, man’s new religion, has its own creation story. In this story, man has been reduced to particles that interact according to the laws of mechanics. Life and mankind were randomly produced without any purpose or direction. Man is seen as a machine; he works (repetitively) as a machine; he will merge with machine. The universe is also a machine, and it too will eventually be manipulated. The spiritual elect of this religion look forward to an artificial heaven on earth, where man and nature have been replaced by perfect technological clones. Once this happens, man will have conquered both man and nature. He will then gain eternal life. He will synthetically live forever. “Amen and Hallelujah!” shout the transhumanists. As a result, the totalitarians will have realized their goal of a superman/super race like the New Soviet Man/Aryan Race. The idolatry of science, which aims to create a perfect world, will ultimately result in a dystopian nightmare. Their rationality will become irrational. Secular humanism will fail.
“Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams, that he has within himself the power for its achievement.” – Humanist Manifesto I
With science came technological advancement. These advances separated man from nature, tradition, and family. The industrial revolution changed the social fabric of society. Before industrialization, most families lived in rural areas and did agricultural work. The family worked together to support itself. Multiple generations lived together in the same area. Extended families were an important part of society. After industrialization, many families moved to urban areas and did manufacturing work. They became cogs in the machine, working meaningless jobs. This movement split up the extended family unit. Then there was one: the nuclear family. “The dynamics of industrialization contributed to the rise of single-parent families. Factors such as increased divorce rates, the normalization of out-of-wedlock childbirth, and the empowerment of women to raise children independently all played a role in this shift.” As you can see, the nuclear family has not fared too well. Technology produced the radio, television, and social media, which have created an antisocial society. Technology was supposed to make life easier; it was supposed to make us happier, yet it has made us lonely and unhappy. Society has lost its meaning. People come home from meaningless jobs, only to live meaningless social lives online. Wolves chase after those separated from the herd, because they are easy targets. When the isolated are rounded up and killed, no one will fight for them because they are isolated from the herd. Those who are alone and isolated will be seen as useless eaters by their enemies. “To keep you is no gain; to kill you is no loss.” Indeed, a lonely society is very prone to accepting totalitarianism.
The Enlightenment was supposed to empower us, yet we have become more powerless. The Enlightenment was supposed to make us more independent, yet we have become more dependent. Plus, technology is controlled by the few. With science, a perfect artificial world is being built. It’s creating a fake Garden of Eden that is full of genetically modified foods, lab-grown meat, sex dolls that look like Eve, and synthetic-fiber clothing to hide our naked bodies of sin. Don’t eat the genetically modified fruit, it will kill you! Automated machines, robots, and artificial intelligence will replace man’s toil. Artificial wombs will replace the pain of childbirth. The digital paradise being constructed dehumanizes us. It steals our humanity. It makes us insecure, unempathetic, narcissistic, apathetic, cowardly, lonely, and isolated. An insecure society is less resilient. An insecure society is easier to control. An unempathetic, narcissistic, apathetic, and cowardly society will look the other way when people are rounded up and killed. A lonely and isolated society is weak and submissive. They feel empty and meaningless, and they have little self-worth. Such a society yearns for direction and authority. They are weak and lazy and want someone (the state) to take care of them.
We have a dumbed-down society. The education system teaches us how to be cogs in the machine. Mass media is a giant propaganda machine, indoctrinating the masses. The ignorant zombies have been trained to listen to the experts. These experts lead the sheep with twisted data and statistics. Thus, the people are easily led. Safety: give up your freedom of privacy to fight terror. Misinformation: give up your freedom of speech to fight hate speech. 15-minute cities: give up your freedom of movement to fight climate change. Mass immigration: give up your culture for multiculturalism. Abortion is women’s health. Euthanasia is good. By the way, how many genders are there? Society has been molded and shaped. You have been taught what to think, not how to think.
“I don’t want a nation of thinkers, I want a nation of workers.” ‒ John D. Rockefeller
Students have been indoctrinated and radicalized by feminism, gender theory, critical race theory, and decolonialism. The goal: abolish women, gender, race, borders and nations. All hail the tranhumanist new world order! The youth are taught that capitalism is bad and socialism is good. They’ve been taught to hate their own country, traditions, values, and culture. They’ve been taught to hate their own race! Humiliation is a tool of control to shape and guide them. If a person loses their identity, they can be easily manipulated and brainwashed. Our youth have been taught that a communist revolution is necessary to overthrow capitalism. The end justifies the means! Therefore, radicals in the education system have raised up an army of woke activists. These woke evangelists have been poisoned by envy, hate, and bitterness. It doesn’t help that subversive billionaires are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into supposed ‘organic’ protests, which are being organized by professional protesters (communist agitators). Wokeism is the new puritan movement of today, with its moral values and commandments. These born-again socialists preach the dialectic gospel of social(ist) justice and equality. These radicalized saints promise a perfect world. A radicalized society is prone to accepting totalitarianism. In fact, it’s extremely prone to accepting totalitarianism. Especially when the youth are radicalized!
“Give me just one generation of youth, and I’ll transform the whole world.” ‒ Vladimir Lenin
Science, the religion of the day, has become corrupted. Fraud in scientific research is increasing. Falsified scientific papers are becoming more and more common. The perception of reality can be steered by crunching numbers in any desired fashion. (Climate change data is famous for distorting numbers.) Totalitarians mold the perception of reality with propaganda. The COVID-19 hysteria, with its “follow the science,” was proof of its degeneration. People blindly became disciples of the experts. Their apostles commanded: Mask up, even though it’s ineffective! Social distance, even though it’s useless! Take a PCR test, even though it’s unreliable! Take the vaccines, even though they haven’t been properly tested! Ivermectin is bad, even though it can help some patients! The population must be locked down, even though it’s physically and mentally bad for their health and weakens their immune system! Herd immunity, what’s that? Small businesses must be shutdown, even though big corporations like Walmart can stay open! Schools must be shut down, even though the average age of death is 70+ years old! Fire the unvaccinated healthcare workers, even though the emergency rooms are supposedly full and short-staffed! TicTok nurses! Dance, baby, dance! We’re in a pandemic, can’t you see!?! Falsely mark down unrelated deaths as COVID deaths—beef up those numbers! Big numbers, big money! Since this is science, we must suppress opposing ideas! Science that censors different opinions is not science. Much of society faithfully trusted the science, with its religious experts and scientific doctrines, numbers and graphs. In Nazi Germany, children were conditioned to accept any form of authority without question. Without question, many people blindly obeyed the COVID restrictions. To this day, some people mask up in public. They are religious zealots! They still haven’t woken up from their indoctrination. The science of today: take a big pharma flu shot, rather than rely on your own immune system; take a big pharma flu shot, rather than eat foods that are high in antioxidants like vitamin C. Could you not just find a natural vitamin C supplement? Nope! We love big pharma! We love big corporations! We love Big Brother! We love fascism! Since you’ve been trained to be a consumer, you’ll consume what has been marketed to you. Oh, the science of propaganda! Ah, the science of marketing!
“Scientism has remained to this day one of the strongest Gnostic movements in Western society.” – Eric Voegelin
During COVID-19, people were not only begging for totalitarian measures, but they were applauding them. They wanted strict rules to ease their uncertainty, fear, and insecurity. They coped with their insecurity by running others down. The big bad enemies were not the Jews, but the unvaccinated. Fear needs an enemy! People were calling for the unvaccinated to be rounded up. Some even wanted the unvaccinated killed. This made them feel more secure, like they had the upper hand. They had the camaraderie of the mob; they felt like they belonged! The extra rules helped ease their anxiety. They felt more in control of their fear. The fellowship of the mob helped to further ease their stress and insecurity. There is security in numbers! They rebuked, denounced, and excommunicated heretical friends and relatives who strayed from the holy narrative. They felt righteous, because they were supposedly fighting for a righteous cause. This made them feel virtuous. They were crusaders for the truth, and they felt heroic! They felt relief as they took out their frustrations on their enemies. They blew off steam! They felt good! They felt energized!
These people had an authoritarian mindset. Their true selves, their true natures, came to the surface. They had a mob mentality. They had a pack mentality. These people were so filled with fear, hysteria, and panic that they could not think straight. They lost their ability to calm down and think things through. They could not regulate their fears and emotions. As a result, they could not think critically. How can one think critically in a panic? In fact, since they were taught to be cogs in the machine, they weren’t really taught to be critical thinkers. Just as a child must learn how to walk, a child must be taught how to critically think. They were taught to solve problems related to the machine, but they were not taught to think outside the machine. That is why they say things like: I support free speech, ‘but’ not hate speech. They don’t even understand how speech operates under the framework of free speech. They literally can’t understand the concept of free speech! It’s over their heads. Will these people ever change? Nope, I’ve yet to see any of them apologize for their actions during COVID. Given the right crisis, our society will accept totalitarianism.
Big government, with its increased bureaucracy, administration, and management, loves to make ever-increasing rules and regulations. We are drawing closer and closer to totalitarianism. We will soon have a totalitarian system with digital biometric IDs, central bank digital currencies, and social credit scores. We are becoming a total surveillance society. Our data is being collected, tracked, analyzed, and sold. COVID caused a worldwide hypnosis, a mass hysteria, in which the masses were ready to trade their freedoms for safety. Nothing much has changed. The world’s population is slowly being boiled like a frog; it’s slowly being corralled into a worldwide authoritarian system. Like Nazi Germany, many today would pick totalitarianism if they were promised economic solutions in a time of financial hardship. If we had another great depression like the 1930s, many in our decadent society would pick a totalitarian system. They would choose digital IDs, CBDCs, and social credit scores if they could receive universal basic income to feed their families. Is it really a stretch to see why people would accept the Mark of the Beast?
In the fourth industrial revolution, man will physically merge with technology. Of course, this technology is supposed to make man smarter and healthier. It’s supposed to turn man into the perfect superman. How can the imperfect make the perfect? Man is an imperfect sinner. He has sinned against God. God is perfect, and sin is imperfect. Perfection and imperfection do not mix. Righteousness and sin do not mix. Light expels darkness, God expels sin. God’s punishment for sin is death. God will permit sinful man to utilize his strength and rationality to attempt to work out his own salvation. Ultimately, man will fail. Christ will return to stop man from destroying all life on earth at the battle of Armageddon (Matthew 24:22). Jesus will destroy those who, in their sin, are destroying the earth (Revelation 11:18). Jesus first came as a sacrificial Lamb for the atonement of sins. The second time, Jesus will come as a roaring lion to destroy His enemies. His enemies will choose His imposter, the antichrist. They will accept the transhuman Mark of the Beast. As a result, they will forfeit salvation. Only in Christ (the perfect sacrifice) is sin forgiven. Will you accept His salvation? Or will you try, in your sin, to work out your own salvation?
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him, and he with Me.”
Phillip Mould:
Elizabeth I understood the power of portraiture better than almost any other English monarch. Like all the Tudors, she knew well the value of making her subjects aware of her identity. Her grandfather, Henry VII, was the first monarch to put his own accurate portrait on the English coinage, while her father, Henry VIII, seized on Holbein’s ability to present himself as a strong and majestic ruler in numerous official portraits. So Elizabeth too mobilised her own image, emboldened and reinforced with expensive costumes and sumptuous jewels, as a symbol of royal authority. Above all, such portraits were a demonstration that, despite being a woman, Elizabeth was the natural and legitimate ruler of England.
The flamboyant image of Elizabeth seen here has become one of the most successful sovereign statements in English history. The contrast with Elizabeth’s earlier portraiture is striking. In the first portrait of her as Queen, the ‘Clopton’ portrait of 1558 [Private Collection, formerly Philip Mould Ltd], Elizabeth is shown with conspicuous piety. She wears a relatively simple black dress, and holds a religious book in her hand. This portrayal accords well with what we know to be Elizabeth’s virtuous, even frugal youthful character.
But as her reign progressed Elizabeth’s portraiture became increasingly outré. Each portrait outdid the last with ever more elaborate changes in costume, pose, composition and jewelry, a progression matched by Elizabeth’s increasing addiction to expensive jewels. The process culminates in the over-indulgent, oversized, almost absurd example of the ‘Ditchley’ portrait [National Portrait Gallery], in which Elizabeth is shown full length, bestriding the earth, as bolts of lighting strike dramatically through the sky behind her. Her face is small, aged, even ugly, and overwhelmed by the rest of the painting. Elizabeth the person is subsumed by Elizabeth the icon.
And this was precisely the intention. They key to understanding Elizabeth’s portraiture lies in a recognition of her political vulnerability. Female monarchs in the sixteenth century were rare enough. Unmarried female monarchs were unheard of. Her image, therefore, could not stress traditional female charms; beauty, grace, fertility. In fact, it had to stress the opposite. From the late 1570s onwards, when it became clear that she would not marry, Elizabeth was effectively de-sexed. She was portrayed as a virtuous emblem of state, the Virgin Queen forsaking marriage for the good of the kingdom. It was therefore not enough for Elizabeth to rely on likeness alone in her portraiture. She certainly could not be portrayed in the demur, usually seated, manner of her sister Mary, supported as she was by her marriage to Philip of Spain. And, of course, Elizabeth was unable to rely on sheer physical presence in her portraits, as her father done. Thus her portraits came to rely on bejewelled and bulky costumes – ‘Gloriana’ – for the projection of majesty.
This portrait is one of the best known images of the Queen. Commonly called the ‘Armada’ type, it is one of four versions, most likely painted in the late 1580s and early 1590s. The three related pictures are at; Woburn Abbey, the National Portrait Gallery, and in the possession of the descendants of Sir Francis Drake. They celebrate the apogaic defeat of the Spanish fleet in 1588 by the inclusion of a naval battle in the background.
What is considered the ‘prime’ Armada type, that at Woburn, has been attributed to George Gower. Gower produced a large number of portraits of Elizabeth in his capacity as the Queen’s Serjeant painter, and thus would have had an extensive workshop to help meet the high demand. This portrait was most probably painted by an artist familiar with his practices.
The production of Elizabeth’s portraits followed well established practices. A standardized face ‘mask’ was used, as has been the case in this example. Face masks not only saved time, but made up for the impossibility of painting the Queen from life for each new commission. Masks were also used to adhere to the fairly stringent, if unofficial, rules surrounding the production of the Queen’s image. She preferred, for example, to have no shadows across her face, and hence the stark, bright appearance of her features. The pose and costume would then have been painted with greater artistic freedom. Subtle changes would have been introduced in each portrait, usually in the accessories such as the fan in this example, so that the dependence on standard facial types did not give rise to identical portraits of the Queen. It appears to have been accepted that no two portraits of the Queen should be identical.
There has been some debate about the precise date of this portrait. When recently sold at Christies, London, it was dated to between1600 and1620, principally due to the use of canvas. However, it is possible that the portrait can be dated to within Elizabeth’s lifetime. An imposition of a terminus post quem of 1600 on the present portrait, simply because canvas was most commonly a seventeenth century medium, is unjustified.
Although canvas is thought to have been introduced mainly at the turn of the seventeenth century, there are many examples of canvas portraits in the sixteenth century, particularly for larger works where the use of oak might have been prohibitively expensive. In Europe canvas was used throughout the sixteenth century, while in England it can be found in early Tudor royal portraits, such as the group of Henry VIII and his family [Royal Collection] and a portrait of Edward VI [Lord Egremont]. There are also examples of contemporary portraits of Elizabeth on canvas, such as; Quentin Metsys the Younger’s ‘Sieve’ portrait of 1583, Marcus Gheeraerdts’ ‘Ditchley’ portrait of c.1592 [NPG]; John Bettes the Younger’s portrait of c.1590 [on loan to Pollok House, Glasgow]; and the anonymous ‘Elizabeth I with a Crescent-moon Jewel’ [Duke of Buccleuch and Queensbury]. Significantly, two portraits that use the same face-mask as the Armada present portrait are also on canvas, one dated c.1590 at Toledo Museum of Art, and another, a full-length, also c.1590, at Trinity College Cambridge [check]. The present work is painted on a particularly coarse weave, as seen in very early English canvas paintings.
If the present work was painted after Elizabeth’s death, then it must have been a copied from an earlier work, namely, one of the other three Armada versions. What is evident from even the cursory comparison of the facial features however, is that the sensitive modelling and cadaverous characterisation are both manifestly early in handling and of notable high quality, particularly when set aside other versions. It would seem untenable that this could have been completed by any artist who did not have experience of contemporaneous workshop practices. Paint analysis has confirmed a possible date from the late sixteenth century, and reveals the use of azurite, a pigment regularly used in the sixteenth century. And, finally, and indicatively there are numerous differences between the present painting and the other three Armada types.
The most obvious difference is the lack of an Armada scene. It would make little sense for a posthumous copy of an Armada portrait not to include any reference to the greatest event of her reign, particularly when such a copy must have been commissioned with a degree of retrospective gloire. For all its later acclaim, the Armada portrait type was in fact a relatively short lived phenomenon. It seems improbable that an artist charged with making a copy in James I’s reign would chose a work of relative rarity, and which cannot by then have been easily accessible.
There are also significant differences in the jewelry between the present painting and the three other versions. In the present work the Queen wears a double chain of pearls across her bodice. A similar arrangement can be seen in Gower type portraits of the 1580s, the ‘Darnley’ portrait c.1575, Marcus Gheerearts the Elder’s c.1585 full length, and most strikingly in Quentin Metys the Younger’s ‘Sieve’ portrait of 1583. However, in the other three Armada portraits the Queen is shown wearing a far larger arrangement of pearls. These were almost certainly those bequeathed by the Earl of Leicester to Elizabeth, his “most dear and gracious Sovereign whose creature under God I have been”, in 1588. Elizabeth, who locked herself in her room on hearing Leicester’s demise, is shown wearing this gift in most of her later portraits. It would be extremely unusual for an artist to copy an Armada portrait, and then, in addition to making numerous changes in the pose and costume, revert to a formula of jewelry used before 1588.
Similarly, in the present portrait Elizabeth is shown holding a distinctive jewel of a large diamond, flanked by two figures, with a large pendant pearl. This same jewel can be seen clearly in the Metsys’ sieve portrait. It makes further appearances, in a more generalized form, in only a handful of portraits dated to the 1580s, such as that attributed by Roy Strong to John Bettes the Younger [Private Collection, Gloriana p.118, and in the little-known portrait of Elizabeth seated on a throne [Lord Tollemache]. It does not appear in portraits of the Queen post 1590. Its presence in the present portrait could be explained by an artist conversant in Elizabethan iconography and fashion – and that means a contemporary workshop.
We must also consider the likely circumstances in which the portrait would have been commissioned. Royal portraits of this size and scale were usually commissioned as a means of displaying loyalty to the regime, perhaps by a leading courtier, nobleman, or gentry family. In this context a late copy of Elizabeth on the scale and quality seen here would have had no political value in the reign of the new Stuart king, James I. Posthumous copies of Elizabeth tend to be confined to smaller corridor portraits, or include obvious references to her age and death, such as the example at Corsham Court, in which a weary Queen is overshadowed by the figure of Death.
Man feeding a cow a banana on the streets of Varanasi, India
Cows hold sacred status in India, revered as symbols of motherhood, fertility, and divine grace in Hinduism. They are considered manifestations of the goddess Kamadhenu, embodying purity and abundance. This reverence extends to their presence in city streets, where they freely roam as a ubiquitous part of urban life. Despite rapid urbanization, cows are often seen wandering through bustling streets, temples, and markets, coexisting peacefully with city dwellers.
The practice of feeding cows on city streets is deeply rooted in cultural and religious traditions. Many Hindus consider it a virtuous act, believed to bring blessings and good fortune. Devotees and locals offer food such as grains, fruits, and vegetables to cows as a form of charity and reverence, symbolizing respect for all living beings. This act of kindness towards cows aligns with the principle of ahimsa (non-violence) in Hinduism, emphasizing compassion and harmony with all creatures.
While the sight of cows freely roaming urban streets may seem chaotic to outsiders, it reflects the deeply ingrained cultural values and spiritual beliefs that permeate Indian society, where the sacredness of life extends to even the humblest of creatures.
Tibete (Ásia)
བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་
( I want you to know that I am not anyone's side in this struggle for self-determination, nor have an opinion about the occupation of this territory by China.)
( 我想让你知道我不是任何人的一边，这自决的斗争，决心，也没有一个对这一中国领土的占领意见。)
THIS NOT A COUNTRY, ITS A HISTORICAL REGION, ITS LOCATED IN China .
THERE ARE O WANTS TO BE INDEPENDENTE. IF SOMEONE DONT LIKE OF THIS THEME IM SORRY, I DON’T WANT THIS USED BY ANYONE TO ILEGAL ACTS.
THANKS ABOUT THE CONCERNING
Flags
Oficial name:
བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་ (Tibetan)
Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs (Wylie)
西藏自治区 (Chinese)
Xīzàng Zìzhìqū (Pinyin)
Area:
1.221.600 km2
Inhabitants:
2.700.000
Languages:
བོད་སྐད་ bod skad- Tibeten and Chinese
Capital city:
Lhasa
Meaning tibet name:
Tibetans call their homeland Bod (བོད་), pronounced [pʰøʔ] in Lhasa dialect. It is first attested in the geography of Ptolemy as βαται (batai) (Beckwith, C. U. of Indiana Diss. 1977). Tibetans refer to Tibet as a "fatherland" (Tibetan: ཕ་ཡུལ་; Wylie: pha-yul), whereas "motherland" (Tibetan: མ་ཡུལ་; Wylie: ma-yul) is a neologism introduced in the 1960s to refer to China.[citation needed]
Tibetan plateauThe modern Chinese name for Tibet, 西藏 (Xīzàng), is a phonetic transliteration derived from the region called Tsang (western Ü-Tsang). The name originated during the Qing Dynasty of China, ca. 1700. It can be broken down into "xi" 西 (literally "west"), and "zang" 藏 (literally "Buddhist scripture" or "storage"). The pre-1700s historic Chinese term for Tibet was 吐蕃, pronounced as Tǔbō in mainland China and Tǔfān on Taiwan, its reconstructed Medieval Chinese pronunciation is /t'obwǝn/, which comes from the Turkish word for "heights" which is also the origin of the English term "Tibet."
The government of the People's Republic of China equates Tibet with the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). As such, the name "Xizang" is equated with the TAR. In order to refer non-TAR Tibetan areas, or to all of cultural Tibet, the term 藏区 Zàngqū (literally, "ethnic Tibetan areas") is used. However, Chinese-language versions of pro-Tibetan independence websites, such as the Free Tibet Campaign, the Voice of Tibet, and Tibet Net use 西藏 ("Xizang"), not 藏区 ("Zangqu"), to mean historic Tibet.
Some English-speakers reserve "Xizang", the Chinese word transliterated into English, for the TAR, to keep the concept distinct from that of historic Tibet. Some pro-independence advocates duplicate the situation into the Chinese language, and use 土番 (Tubo) or 图伯特 (Tubote), which are both phonetic transcriptions of the word "Tibet", to refer to historic Tibet.[citation needed]
The character 藏 (zàng) has been used in transcriptions referring to Tsang as early as the Yuan Dynasty, if not earlier, though the modern term "Xizang" (western Tsang) was devised in the 18th century. The Chinese character 藏 (Zàng) has also been generalized to refer to all of Tibet, including other concepts related to Tibet such as the Tibetan language (藏文, Zàngwén) and the Tibetan people (藏族, Zàngzú).
The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European languages, is derived from the Arabic word Tubbat. This word is derived via Persian from the Turkic word Töbäd (plural of Töbän), meaning "the heights". in Medieval Chinese, 吐蕃 (Pinyin Tǔfān, often given as Tubo), is derived from the same Turkic word. Tǔfān was pronounced /t'o-bwǝn/ in Medieval times.
The exact derivation of the name is, however, unclear. Some scholars believe that the named derived from that of a people who lived in the region of northeastern Tibet and were referred to as 'Tübüt'. This was the form adapted by the Muslim writers who rendered it Tübbett, Tibbat, etc., from as early as the 9th century, and it then entered European languages from the reports of the medieval European accounts of Piano-Carpini, Rubruck, Marco Polo and the Capuchin monk Francesco della Penna.
Description Flag:
During the reign of the seventh-century king, Songtsen Gampo, Tibet was one of the mightiest empires in Central Asia. Tibet, then, had an army of 2,860,000 men. Each regiment of the army had its own banner. The banner of Ya-ru To regiment had a pair of snow lions facing each other, that of Ya-ru Ma a snow lion standing upright, springing upwards towards the sky, and that of U-ru To a white flame against a red background.
This tradition continued until the Thirteenth Dalai Lama designed a new banner and issued a proclamation for its adoption by all the military establishments. This banner became the present Tibetan national flag.
SYMBOLISM
In the centre stands a magnificient snow-clad mountain, which represents the great nation of Tibet, widely known as the Land Surrounded by Snow Mountains.
The Six red bands spread across the dark blue sky represent the original ancestors of the Tibetan people: the six tribes called Se, Mu, Dong, Tong, Dru, and Ra which in turn gave rise to the (twelve) descendants. The combination of six red bands (for the tribes) and six dark blue bands (for the sky) represents the unceasing enactment of the virtuous deeds of protection of the spiritual teachings and secular life by the black and red guardian protector deities with which Tibet has been connected since times immemorial.
At the top of the snowy mountain, the sun with its rays shinning brilliantly in all directions represents the equal enjoyment of freedom, spiritual and material happiness and prosperity by all beings in the land of Tibet.
On the slopes of the mountain a pair of snow lions stand proudly, blazing with the manes of fearlessness, which represent the country's victorious accomplishment of a unified spiritual and secular life.
The beautiful and radiant three-coloured jewel held aloft represents the ever-present reverence respectfully held by the Tibetan people towards the three supreme gems, the objects of refuge: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
The two coloured swirling jewel held between the two lions represents the people's guarding and cherishing of the self discipline of correct ethical behavior, principally represented by the practices of the ten exalted virtues and the 16 humane modes of conduct.
Lastly, the adornment with a yellow border symbolises that the teachings of the Buddha, which are like pure, refined gold and unbounded in space and time, are flourishing and spreading.
National Anthem: Shine of Buddha's
TIBETAN LYRICS
Sishi pende dögu jungwi ter,
Tubten sampel norbu önang bar.
Tendro nordzin gyache kyongwi gön
Trinlê kyi rölsto gyê;
Dorje khamsu tenpê
Chokün chamtse kyong.
Namkö gawa gyaden u pang gungla beg.
Puntso deshi nga-thang gyê.
Pöjong chöl sumgyi khyönla deoden sarpè khyap,
Chösi kyi pelon tar.
Tubten chochu gyepê dzamling yanpi kyegu shidi pela jor.
Pöjong tendrö getzen nyi-ö kyi,
Trashic-nang humdu tromi zi,
Nacho münpi yule gye-gyur chi.
English
Let the radiant light shine of Buddha's wish-fulfilling gem teachings,
the treasure mine of all hopes for happiness and benefit
in both worldly life and liberation.
O Protectors who hold the jewel of the teachings and all beings,
nourishing them greatly,
may the sum of your virtuous deeds grow full.
Firmly enduring in a diamond-hard state, guard all directions with
Compassion and love.
Above our heads may divinely appointed rule abide
endowed with a hundred benefits and let the power increase
of four fold auspiciousness,
May a new golden age of happiness and bliss spread
throughout the three provinces of Tibet
and the glory expand of religious-secular rule.
By the spread of Buddha's teachings in the ten directions,
may everyone throughout the world
enjoy the glories of happiness and peace.
In the battle against dark negative forces
may the auspicious sunshine of the teachings and beings of
Tibet and the brilliance of a myriad radiant prosperitys
be ever triumphant.
Internet Page: www.tibet.net
dharma-haven.org/tibetan/language.htm
Tibet in diferent languages
eng | bre | cat | ces | dan | eus | fra | gla | glg | hrv | hun | ita | lld | nld | nor | roh | ron | scn | slk | slv | swe | tgl: Tibet
aze | bos | kaa | mol | slo | tuk | uzb: Tibet / Тибет
arg | ast | spa: Tíbet
deu | ltz | nds: Tibet / Tibet
est | fin: Tiibet
ind | msa: Tibet / تيبيت
pol | szl: Tybet
epo: Tibeto
gle: An Tibeit / An Tibeit
kmr: Tîbêt / Тибет / تیبێت
kur: Tîbet / تیبەت
lat: Thibetum; Tibetum; Tibetia
lav: Tibeta
lit: Tibetas
por: Tibete
sme: Tibehta
smg: Tėbets
vie: Tây Tạng
vor: Tiibeť
abq | alt | bul | che | chv | kbd | kir | kjh | kom | krc | kum | oss | rus: Тибет (Tibet)
bak | srp | tat: Тибет / Tibet
bel: Тыбет / Tybiet; Тыбэт / Tybet
bua: Түбэд (Tübäd); Түгэд (Tügäd)
kaz: Тибет / Tïbet / تيبەت
mon: Төвд (Tövd); Түвд (Tüvd)
tgk: Тибет / تیبت / Tibet
tyv: Төвүт (Tövüt); Тибет (Tibet)
ukr: Тибет (Tybet)
ara: التبت (at-Tubbat / at-Tibit)
fas: تبت (Tabbat)
prs: تبت (Tebat)
pus: تبت (Tibat)
uig: شىزاڭ / Shizang / Шизаң; تىبەت / Tibet / Тибәт
urd: تبت (Tibbat)
heb: טיבט (Ṭîbeṭ)
lad: טיביט / Tibet
yid: טיבעט (Tibet)
amh: ቲቤት (Tibet)
ell: Θιβέτ (Ṯivét)
hye: Տիբետ (Tibet)
kat: ტიბეტი (Tibeti)
hin: तिब्बत (Tibbat)
nep: भोट (Bʰoṭ); तिब्बत (Tibbat)
ben: তিব্বত (Tibbôt)
ori: ତିବ୍ବତ (Tibbôt)
pan: ਤਿੱਬਤ (Tibbat)
sin: ටිබැට් (Ṭibæṭ); ටිබැටය (Ṭibæṭaya)
kan: ಟಿಬೆಟ್ (Ṭibeṭ)
mal: ടിബട്ട് (Ṭibaṭṭ); തിബട്ട് (Tibaṭṭ)
tam: திபெத் (Tipet)
tel: టిబెట్ (Ṭibeṭ)
zho: 西藏 (Xīzàng); 吐博 (Tǔbó)
yue: 西藏 (Sàijohng)
jpn: チベット (Chibetto)
kor: 티베트 (Tibeteu)
bod: བོད་ (Bod.); བོད་ཡུལ་ (Bod.yul.); བོད་ལྗོངས་ (Bod.ljoṅs.)
dzo: བོད་ (Bod.)
mya: တိဗက္ (Tíbeʿ)
tha: ธิเบต (Tʰibēt)
lao: ຕິເບດ (Tibēt); ຕີເບດ (Tībēt)
letters are flying... from france to ohio, from nathanael.archer to conceptvessel, comes this graceful drala, a blessing...
nathanael includes this translation in his letter to me:
~
in order to join heaven and earth
may the ultimate, unchanging warrior
always protect you.
may you have a long life,
freedom from sickness
and glory.
may your primordial
confidence always flourish.
may the virtuous mark
of excellent wind horse
always be uplifted.
~
i embrace this beautiful correspondence. i embrace this auspicious wind horse.
love and best wishes, jeanne
nathanael.archer's image of the letter
letter's lives group on flickr
~
June 30
Saint Vincent ĐỖ YẾN
Dominican Priest
(1764-1838)
* An Elderly Wanderer
Saint Vincent Đỗ Yến was shown in portraits as an old man over 70 years old, full of gray hair, the result of 40 years plus devoting to Christians in many parishes in Hải Dương province. Like a conscientious doctor taking care of his patient, this lovable, spiritual, and gentle old priest had always been present among Christians in all their trials. Now, when the king ordered an all-out pursuit of priests with threats of ravaging any place that dared providing them safe haven., the old disciple, avoiding enmeshing others in his trouble, left the beloved Kẻ Sặt parish for undetermined destinations... like Christ said: “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” His farewell to his beloved sheep of this world had united Fr. Vincent Đỗ Yến with saints in Heaven. The old priest had received the crown of martyrdom as an everlasting reward from God.
* Priest of the Order of Preachers.
Vincent Đỗ Yến was born in 1764 (post-Le’s dynasty), in Trà Lũ, Phú Nhai parish, Nam Định province. This region was a fertile land having born many saints such as: Vincent Liêm, Thomas Dụ, Dominic Đạt... VIncent Yến answered God’s call for the religious life at an early age. After years of virtues formation, philosophy and theology training, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Delgado in 1798. People thought that his ministry would be cut short because he was arrested during Christian persecutions in King Cảnh Thịnh’s last years, and his freedom was bought with ransom money by Christians.
On 7/22/1807, Fr. Vincent Đỗ Yến received the Dominican habits and professed his solemn vow the following year. Religious life helped uniting him deeper with God. He lived simply, often made personal sacrifice and spent hours in meditation. His heart was always burned with love for God and man; he was devoted to evangelization, never worried about fatigue or personal safety. Under King Gia Long’s (1802-1820) and at the beginning of King Minh Mạng’s reigns, Fr. Vincent Yến carried his ministry in relative safety. He was initially responsible for Kẻ Mốt parish, then Kẻ Sặt parish, Hải Dương province. Everywhere he went, he poured out his heart to reinforce parishioners’ faith and to convert many nonbelievers into Christians. The faithful asserted that he was always happy, wise, calm, gentle, and saintly and that wherever he went he did his all to deepen the faith of Christians and to help many pagans believing in God.
* The Wandering Feet...
In 1838, King Minh Ming ordered the mandarins to strictly follow his edict of persecutions in the dioceses of Tonkin or North (Đàng Ngoài). Many bishops, priests, religious, and lay Christians had bravely sacrificed their lives for faith. Many churches, seminaries, religious community houses were destroyed. Fr. Vincent Đỗ Yến, pastor of Kẻ Sặt parish, was pained witnessing his flock being pressed into dismantling the spacious church which they had built with their own hands and money. Sympathizing with the flock’s misery, he stayed among them, moving from house to house, celebrating Mass at night, counseling and providing sacramental services during the day. Every thing was done in secrecy as it was done in the Church’s early days.
However, informed that Fr. Vincent Yến was still hiding out in Kẻ Sặt parish and determined to capture him, the authorities put the parish under surveillance and threatened to flatten the village. Wishing the parishioners to have peace, the shepherd quietly departed, taking with him the painful feelings of being separated from his beloved flock. He entrusted everything in God’ providence.
At first, he went to the community of Thừa, but sensing it unsafe, he went on to Lực Điền (Hưng Yên). Exhausted by the long trip, he stopped and rested under the shade of a bamboo bush. A passerby stopped and wondered: “Where are you going? Why are you sitting here?” To hide his identity, the priest feigned ignorance and asked for directions to Kẻ Sặt parish as well as to Lực Điền. The passerby gave directions then left. Continuing his trip, he met village chief Phan on June 8. Feigning sympathy, the village chief begged Fr. Vincent Yến to stay at his home. Then the chief made an about face and arrested the priest, put him in a cangue and prepared to have him brought to Hải Dương. Warned of the priests arrest, parishioners of Kẻ Sặt and Lực Điền brought buffaloes and money to buy his freedom, but the chief refused hoping for bigger reward from his superiors. Fr. Vincent Yến had to use all his persuasive power to prevent Christians of the two parishes against using force to free him.
In Hải Dương, the disciple was taken to the tribunal three days later. The town mandarin, already a humane man and with the advice of a physician named Hàn, the mandarin’s personal physician, did not want to spill the blood of a Christian. He advised the priest to admit to be a physician so that the mandarin could free him. The witness of faith responded: “No, I am not a physician. I am a priest who only preached and celebrated Mass to God. I am willing to die it, not lying to live.”
The mandarin tried to find other reasons to release Fr. Vincent Yến. He had a circle drawn around the priest and declared that he would considered the priest’s stepping out of the circle as walking over the cross and the priest could go free. Once more, the preacher of faith unwaveringly refused: “There is no difference between doing that and renouncing my faith.” Unable to shake the experienced priest’s faith plus not desiring to execute an innocent man, the mandarin sent a report to the royal city and petitioned the royal court to transfer the priest back to his home province of Nam Định.
* Hour of Reward...
King Minh Mạng did not approve the transfer request instead handed down the death sentence that was signed on 6/20/1838 and reached Hải Dương on June 30 with the following content:
“Đỗ Yến is a native and a Catholic priest, imprisoned but still faithful to his religion. He certainly is a stupid person who is determined to not conform to the right path, and therefore must be beheaded immediately; why send him back?”
In the three weeks of imprisonment, with the intervention of physician Hàn, Fr. Vincent Yến did not have to wear a cangue or shackles; he was allowed to have the food Christians brought in. Days and nights, he concentrated most of his time reciting prayers and in quite and lasting meditation.
On 6/30/1838, the prefecture mandarin carried out the newly received sentence. Fr. Vincent Yến proudly went to the execution site which was located at a crossroad not too far from the community of Bình Lao and about 1 kilometer from the western wall of Hải Dương. The gentle look of the respected and elderly priest with the dignified demeanor touched a lot of hearts. At the site, he kneeled down and prayed reverently. Then the executioner carried out his responsibility. With only one saber swing, the martyr’s head fell to the ground...
The mandarin gave a piece of cloth to shroud the body, had the head sown back into his neck, then allowed parishioners of the community of Bình Lao to carry it back the parish for burial. Eight months later, Christians exhumed his body to rebury it in the church of Thọ Ninh parish. During the exhumation, people discovered that his body looked the same as when he was just executed. Mr. Trưởng Dong, a pagan, who had witnessed the exhumation, said: “It’s true that a person who lived virtuously, died divinely. It had been 8 months, but there was no change, no bad odor; moreover, there was even an aromatic scent.”
The martyred hero Vincent Đỗ Yến, Dominican priest was elevated by Pope Leo XIII to the rank of blessed on 5/27/1900.
Homily29OT_102223
“Love Conquers All”
Today, I want to discuss our Gospel reading in the context of the two great commandments Jesus gives us; to love God with all our heart, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. With these clear and straightforward commandments, we navigate a perilous and divided world. Secular culture would have us believe that we must leave our beliefs out of the public discourse. Living the Gospel in such a chaotic environment is challenging and dangerous, as it has always been and will continue to be. We do not walk this journey alone. God has given us an example to live by…HIS Son and the Holy Spirit, our constant companion. We carry, our love for God, not just in our words, but more importantly in our kindness and actions.
Our Gospel reading from Matthew, gives us an example of how Jesus navigates unfriendly forces, which always includes the Pharisees and, in this case, the Herodians that were directly supported by the Romans. Their goal is stated clearly “how they could entrap Jesus in speech.” They flatter Jesus: “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.” They then launch the well thought out question: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
Jesus knows they have witnessed the light. The problem is that they want to extinguish the light. Sometimes we miss this important point. We get the secondary message which is winning the debate…and focusing on the famous “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
Some say that this is the seed of our secular culture…the separation of Church and State.
We all feel this tension of separation personally. We are taught in our jobs to never talk about religion or politics. Clergy are taught not to preach politics from the pulpit. These two topics have caused division in families and between friends. What are we to do?
Our gospel acclamation tells us where our focus should be:
“Shine like lights in the world
as you hold on to the word of life.”
Let me share a story…I recently read on a deacon blog…and I quote:
“Just before the pandemic, my son had purchased a dog. It quickly became a source of frustration and joy. This dog become the motivation for me to walk every day. Soon several neighbors where meeting in the park with their dogs. The dogs play and the adults talk. Soon we were a caring community…now going on for three years. Most of them where non church goers, but I never preached. I knew the rules and I respected the boundaries. However, I am who I am. They knew I was a Catholic….and a deacon. They knew that I preached at church, andI had other church duties. Most important they knew I saw them as the beautiful and caring people they are. I was nonjudgmental and listened to them.
Recently, one couple from this group met me at my house. They had just lost their only son and want me to talk at his funeral.” End quote!
In an indirect and influential way…this couple was looking for comfort. They found it with a friend. The boundaries of correctness were breached and healing and comfort where found-a loving light was shining in the darkness.
This week, I have been reading a book, by Richard Rohr, called “Everything Belongs. In it, he states:
“When we see that the world is enchanted, we see the revelation of God in each individual as individual. Then our job is not to be Mother Teresa, our job is not to be St. Francis — it’s to do what is ours to do. That, by the way, was Francis’s word as he lay dying. He said, “I have done what was mine to do; now you must do what is yours to do.” We must find out what part of the mystery it is ours to reflect.”
We are called to engage and work in the world. God works uniquely in and through each of us and also through those who appear not believe in Him. The way of love is the hardest path to follow. What better example do we have then Jesus himself?
In a few moments…we will receive Him in the Eucharist. We will carry this light into the world…this light will surely be shared with others, in a mysterious and beautiful way, as we love God and neighbor.
I close with a familiar verse from a Catholic hymn:
Faith of our fathers! we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife:
And preach thee, too, as love knows how,
By kindly deeds and virtuous life.
Six-year-old Girl holding a Cherry, by Dutch painter Jan Claesz, 1594. The cherry as a symbol for the fruit of heaven, a reward for a virtuous life.
But, you will never succeed holding the cherry as the girl does. Unless you are always honest enough.....
On display at Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede, Holland.
The painting as a whole at:
During my last day of shooting in Le Puy-en-Velay (March 9, 2023), I managed to complete all the subjects that required additional photography, and to extensively shoot the last item on my bucket list, i.e., the spectacular Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe chapel which I will show in a few days.
My first goal was to photograph the “inner” statuary in the canons’ cloister, i.e. the items that are only visible from the central space (préau in French), as opposed to the galleries. In monasteries, that space was often used as an herb garden, particularly when safe space was at a premium elsewhere. However, in the case of Le Puy and its secular canons, very often the offspring from the wealthiest families, there were other sources of supply, should herbs be needed, and aside from framing the central well, the purpose assigned to that space was most probably very similar to what it is now: a pleasure garden.
Bearing that in mind (and, no doubt, the designers of the cloister did), it is not surprising that we should find, on this inner side, one of the wildest collections of monsters, devils and sinners ever devised by the fertile imagination of Mediæval sculptors: while meditation in the galleries took place among virtuous and God-pleasing representations, the canons (or those who cared, at least) were reminded by that gallery of monsters and vices that basking leisurely in the sun in the garden wasn’t too good for their karma, if I dare say.
As I mentioned before, some of the keystones are decorated; maybe all of them were in the 1100s when the cloister was built. Here there is a unusual representation of a dead man having his soul sucked by a dæmon because he has sinned and not properly repented.
Ren is the Confucian virtue denoting the good feeling a virtuous human experiences when being altruistic. is exemplified by a normal adult's protective feelings for children. It is considered the outward expression of Confucian ideals.
As I walked out over London bridge
One misty morning early
I overheard a fair pretty maid
Was lamenting for her Geordie
"Ah, my Geordie will be hanged
In a golden chain 'Tis not the chain of many
He was born of king's royal breed
And lost to a virtuous lady"
"Go bridle me my milk white steed
Go bridle me my pony
I will ride to London court
To plead for the life of my Geordie"
"Ah, my Geordie never stole nor cow nor calf
He never hurted any
Stole sixteen of the king's royal deer
And he sold them in Bohenny"
"Two pretty babies have I born
The third lies in my body
I'd freely part with them every one
If you'd spare the life of Geordie"
The judge looked over his left shoulder
He said: "Fair maid I'm sorry"
He said: "Fair maid you must be gone
For I cannot pardon Geordie"
"Ah, my Geordie will be hanged
In a golden chain 'Tis not the chain of many
Stole sixteen of the king's royal deer
And he sold them in Bohenny"
Geordie (Anonymous)
__________________________________________________
Frankfurt am Main on a fair January morning. Sometimes you just have to pass one bus to work.
Thank you everyone for your visits, faves and comments, they are always appreciated :)
© ajpscs
On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.
Buddha
“her wistful pale face
is listless + laced
with a virtuous veil
transparent + frail”
words by - gaminefille.tumblr.com
california
During my last day of shooting in Le Puy-en-Velay (March 9, 2023), I managed to complete all the subjects that required additional photography, and to extensively shoot the last item on my bucket list, i.e., the spectacular Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe chapel which I will show in a few days.
My first goal was to photograph the “inner” statuary in the canons’ cloister, i.e. the items that are only visible from the central space (préau in French), as opposed to the galleries. In monasteries, that space was often used as an herb garden, particularly when safe space was at a premium elsewhere. However, in the case of Le Puy and its secular canons, very often the offspring from the wealthiest families, there were other sources of supply, should herbs be needed, and aside from framing the central well, the purpose assigned to that space was most probably very similar to what it is now: a pleasure garden.
Bearing that in mind (and, no doubt, the designers of the cloister did), it is not surprising that we should find, on this inner side, one of the wildest collections of monsters, devils and sinners ever devised by the fertile imagination of Mediæval sculptors: while meditation in the galleries took place among virtuous and God-pleasing representations, the canons (or those who cared, at least) were reminded by that gallery of monsters and vices that basking leisurely in the sun in the garden wasn’t too good for their karma, if I dare say.
This other very interesting part of the frieze shows a man with a distraught face surrounded by dæmonic monsters.
Taken at Eagleby Wetland Reserve.
The black swan is an Australian icon. The official emblem of Western Australia, depicted in the state flag and coat-of-arms, it decorates several public buildings. The bird is also the namesake for Perth’s Swan River, where the British established the Swan River Colony in 1829.
Native to Australia, the black swan or Cygnus atratus can be found across the mainland, and right now, the breeding season of the black swan is in full swing across southern Australia, having recently ended in the north.
The once mythical Black Swan has long been used to illustrate extreme contrast: e.g. In the first century CE, Roman satirist Juvenal referred to a good wife as a “rare bird in the earth, and very like a black swan”.
Casual misogyny aside, this shows it used as a figure of speech for something absurd or preposterous — like pigs flying, or getting blood from a stone.
The ballet Swan Lake was inspired by a long tradition of European fairy tales depicting Swan Maidens, but Tchaikovsky also played on the myth of identifying white with purity and black with corruption:
Prince Siegfried falls in love with Odette, the innocent and virtuous white swan. But he is tricked into promising himself to her double, the seductive and malevolent black swan Odile.
These days - the “black swan” metaphor, coined in the 2007 NYT bestseller ‘The Black Swan’ by Nassim Taleb - has become fashionable as a label for virtually all low probability/high impact events as ‘black swan events’!
(With help from articles in ‘The Conversation’.)
Gulfstream Park is a racetrack and county-approved casino in Hallandale Beach, Florida. During its annual meet, which spans December through October, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in the United States.
Gulfstream Park was opened on Wednesday February 1, 1939 conducting a four-day meeting. The initial meeting had a crowd of 18,000. In 1944, the track was reopened by James Donn, Sr. for a 20-day meeting in December. The Gulfstream Park Handicap was first run in 1946 and the Florida Derby began in 1952. In that year the clubhouse was built and the Grandstand seating was expanded.
In 1952 the clubhouse was erected and a new addition was put on the grandstand. It also marked the first running of the Florida Derby. The following year, the Florida Derby became the first stakes in Florida with a $100,000 purse.
The 1955 Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year Swaps set a then world-record of 1:39 3/5 for a mile and 70 yards while carrying 130 pounds in the Broward Handicap. The following year was just as exciting at Gulfstream when Gen. Duke equaled the world record of 1:46 4/5 in defeating Bold Ruler in the Florida Derby.
In 1959, a new era at Gulfstream began with the opening of its world-acclaimed turf course. In 1961, James Donn Jr. became president of Gulfstream. It also marked the construction of what was then the world's largest tote board.
Following the death of his father, James Donn Jr., Doug Donn was elected Gulfstream Park's president.
In 1961, James Donn Jr. succeeded his father as president of Gulfstream Park. In this year the Clubhouse was enlarged and the then-world's largest totalisator board was installed in the infield. A big break for Gulfstream Park came in 1972, when the track was awarded "middle dates" for a 40-day January through April meet.
In 1980, Hall of Fame rider Angel Cordero Jr. set a meeting record with 60 winners.
In 1982, the Grandstand was renovated with new architecture and in 1984 the renovation of the clubhouse was completed. In 1986, the renovation of the track was completed with the new Gulfdome, a domed dining terrace. In 1989 Gulfstream Park hosted the Breeders Cup for the first time (which it did again in 1992 and 1999).
Gulfstream played host its first Breeders' Cup World Championships in 1989, highlighted by the Classic match-up between Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Sunday Silence and Belmont Stakes winner Easy Goer. Gulfstream would host the Breeders' Cup again in 1992.
In 1990, the track was purchased by Bertram R. Firestone.
Jockey Julie Krone took the jockey's title in 1993 with 98 winners. In 1994, Holy Bull won the Florida Derby while, in 1995, Cigar won the Donn Handicap and Gulfstream Park Handicap on his way to a perfect season. Meanwhile, '95 Florida Derby winner Thunder Gulch would go on to win the Kentucky Derby. Monarchos would repeat Thunder Gulch's feat in 2001.
In 1994, a half interest in the track was sold to Nigashi Nihon.
The track was purchased by Magna Entertainment Corporation, in 1999 for $95 million. In 2010, the ownership of the track was taken over by Magna parent MI Developments Inc. (MID). The track is currently owned by The Stronach Group since July 3, 2011.
Hal's Hope, winner of the 2000 Florida Derby, would return in 2002 to win the Gulfstream Park Handicap. The 2002 season was also highlighted by the first running of the popular Sunshine Millions, pitting Florida-breds vs. California-breds for purses totaling $3.6 million. Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's state-of-the-art training facility in Palm Beach County, was opened on Nov. 29, 2002.
Trainer Todd Pletcher started his unprecedented run of nine consecutive training titles in 2004.
The track began a $130 million renovation of the grandstand and clubhouse in 2004 and slot machines were approved for the track in 2004. It now hosts all of the races in the series of races known as the Sunshine Millions. The series now consists of the:
Sunshine Millions Classic
Sunshine Millions Turf Stakes
Sunshine Millions Distaff
Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf
Sunshine Millions Sprint
In 2006, Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey rode his last race aboard Silver Tree in the Sunshine Millions and the great Barbaro would win the Florida Derby before making headlines with his victory in the Kentucky Derby.
The renovation, first effective for the 2006 spring meeting, was heavily criticized by racegoers and commentators, who felt that the new racino laid its emphasis entirely on the casino part, destroying the racetrack's atmosphere.
In June, 2011, Tim Ritvo was named President and General Manager of Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino. He was a prominent jockey and racing official at Suffolk Downs in the 1980s before establishing himself in the 1990s as a leading Florida trainer. Ritvo has also served as Vice President and Director of the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association.
In April, 2012, Javier Castellano, who collected his first Gulfstream title by riding a record 112 winners, scored his 3000th career success aboard Virtuously on Feb. 24 and Todd Pletcher, who claimed an unprecedented ninth consecutive training title at Gulfstream with 72 trips to the winner's circle, recorded his 3,000 career victory when he saddled Spring Hill Farm for a winning performance on Feb. 11.
In 2012, Stronach Group named Tim Ritvo, Chief Operating Officer of its Racing Division.
March 2, 2020 Tim Ritvo stepped down as COO of Stronach Group operated tracks, which include the troubled Santa Anita racetrack in California. He left to “pursue other opportunities.”
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulfstream_Park
www.gulfstreampark.com/shopping
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
This old bent gate (in County Antrim, Northern Ireland) sits on a lane that mustn't have been used for many years - it's completely overgrown. The main purpose now seems to be keeping the sheep in, rather than providing a means of access for the farmer.
Jesus once said:
Enter ye in at the strait [an old English word meaning "narrow"] gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
We live in a world where there appear to be no absolutes. Things which once were considered immoral, and even illegal, today are deemed not only tolerable, but virtuous. Literally "anything goes" - provided that the majority agrees that it is acceptable.
The same approach is often adopted when it comes to the matter of salvation - or where we will spend eternity. Many seem content to simply follow where the majority goes, instead of asking, "What has God said?".
Jesus warned that simply "going with the flow", whilst easy, will ultimately lead to disaster!
During my last day of shooting in Le Puy-en-Velay (March 9, 2023), I managed to complete all the subjects that required additional photography, and to extensively shoot the last item on my bucket list, i.e., the spectacular Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe chapel which I will show in a few days.
My first goal was to photograph the “inner” statuary in the canons’ cloister, i.e. the items that are only visible from the central space (préau in French), as opposed to the galleries. In monasteries, that space was often used as an herb garden, particularly when safe space was at a premium elsewhere. However, in the case of Le Puy and its secular canons, very often the offspring from the wealthiest families, there were other sources of supply, should herbs be needed, and aside from framing the central well, the purpose assigned to that space was most probably very similar to what it is now: a pleasure garden.
Bearing that in mind (and, no doubt, the designers of the cloister did), it is not surprising that we should find, on this inner side, one of the wildest collections of monsters, devils and sinners ever devised by the fertile imagination of Mediæval sculptors: while meditation in the galleries took place among virtuous and God-pleasing representations, the canons (or those who cared, at least) were reminded by that gallery of monsters and vices that basking leisurely in the sun in the garden wasn’t too good for their karma, if I dare say.
The inner “pleasure garden” with its well. The giant statue of the Virgin and Child on the Corneille Rock in the background is from the 19th century (I’m sure its unmistakable general ugliness helped you guess right), made of bronze from 200+ cannons captured from the Russians at the battle of Sebastopol.
Yūrei – The Japanese Ghost.
KABUKI theater plays an important role in the history of yūrei, and yūrei play an important role in the history of kabuki. Nearly every play has at least one ghost.
Kabuki began when a woman called Okuni performed a provocative dance on a dry river-bottom in Kyoto in 1603. Along the way kabuki changed: later, only men were allowed to perform it. Kabuki is theater for the common people, whereas nō existed for the elite. Kabuki draws it’s ideas from anything that excites the audience.
The first ghost appeared in kabuki already in 1698, but horror stories exploded into great success only in 1744, when Onoe Matsusuke I scared the audience in a play written by Tsuruya Nanboku IV. In the play a maiden passionately in love transforms into a serpent and kills a virtuous young priest. The special effects were unprecedented.
Today a yūrei’s makeup in kabuki is called aiguma, and it is a strongly exaggerated version of Ōkyo Maruyama ghost of Oyuki. The makeup appears also in modern horror movies, where special effects technology has given completely new possibilities, for example, for showing a yūrei’s wild hair.
futoiyatsu.wordpress.com/articles-in-english/there-is-a-y...
Most dangerous chocolate cake in the world.
Why dangerous I hear you ask? Because you make it in the same am of time it takes to make a cup of tea so you will never be more than 5 minutes away from chocolate cake again... You have been warned.
You will need:
4 tablespoons flour (I used self raising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil (I used vegetable)
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla essence
1 large coffee mug
Add dry ingredients to your largest mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using), vanilla essence , then mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high).
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).