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"GEN. GEORGE A. CUSTER, USA, The Hero of Little Big Horn" by Ken Horn

This excerpt from a book published in 1900 is a product of its times, lacking a balanced historical perspective.

From Then and Now; or, Thirty-Six Years in the Rockies by Robert Vaughn, 1900, pp. 305-328 [public domain] :

GEN. GEORGE A. CUSTER, U. S. A.

The Hero of Little Big Horn

It is plain that Custer laid his plans to win the fight, and at once. From the position in which the dead were found it is also clear that, having found themselves entirely outnumbered and beyond the reach of help, they took position as best they could in a sort of triangle on the rough, hot hill side, and there died in battle. Custer’s brother, Colonel Tom Custer, held one corner of the triangle, and down nearest the river his brother-in-law, Calhoun, another, while the general held the higher ground, so as to see and direct the battle to the end. The men fell almost in line. The officers, Calhoun and Crittenden, fell in their places, as if on parade.

Two years afterwards Robert E. Strahorne, a particular friend of mine, who was all through the campaign with General Crook, sent me the following statement in regard to this Indian war:

“I was, during the trying days of 1876–77, the representative of an Eastern journal and attached to the expeditions which Brigadier General George Crook led against the hostile Sioux and Cheyennes, then commanded by Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Dull Knife and Little Wolf.

“In this campaign we were obliged to go without clothing or bedding, save such as we carried on our backs, and without food, except the scantiest allowance possible of bacon and coffee. In this one point, Crook is without a rival in the regular army; he subjects himself to just the same discomfort and hardships as his men have to endure and cuts loose from his wagon train for weeks and months at a time. His wagons are never allowed to become receptacles of luxuries and toothsome delicacies for himself and officers; they carry only grain, ammunition and the necessary articles of daily food.

“At the engagement on the Rosebud, Montana, June 17, 1876, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull ‘bounced’ Crook with a force of painted and feathered red devils numbering well up307 in the thousands. Poor Custer met his fate at the hands of these same warriors only a week later. Crook’s forces were not much, if any, superior to Custer’s whole command, but he was fortunate in keeping them undivided. He withstood the attack with great skill and courage, although for a while things certainly looked very blue. On this day, a little company of Montana miners, who had been out in the Black Hills prospecting and had joined Crook while on their way back to Montana, did splendid work with their Sharp’s sporting rifles. Crook and Terry, those grand soldiers, after poor Custer’s command had been wiped out, united their forces on the Yellowstone. How Terry then took for his share the task of cleaning out any hostiles to be found north of the Yellowstone, while Crook, like a bull-dog, hung to the trail which led to the south; how he followed it without bedding, without shelter, without food other than horse meat and berries found in captured villages, and in spite of the pitiless rain which beat down upon us (for I was one of those who camped on the trail), day after day, during the entire march from the mouth of Powder river to the Black Hills.

“I could write a book about our trials and tribulations on those marches, and sometime in the future the half-formed fancy of the present moment may take shape. One thing I wish to impress upon the minds of present and future Montanians, and that is the fact that the campaigns of General Crook and brother officers and men in 1876 and 1877 had the positive result of opening to their permanent occupation and use those vast and beautiful regions drained by the Yellowstone, Big Horn, Rosebud, Tongue, Powder, Musselshell and Judith rivers—regions which up that time had swarmed with the most powerful, vindictive and treacherous tribes of savages America has produced. I went into those campaigns knowing little of the regular army, and indeed somewhat308 prejudiced against it; I came out satisfied that the mass of its officers and men, the ‘youngsters’ especially, were brave, intelligent, patriotic, ambitious and courteous—men of whom any country should be proud.

“Closing this reminiscence of an arduous season of toil and danger, I am glad to say that among the lieutenants with whom I faced the red foe, and for whom I formed a great attachment, was the witty, bright and brave Schwatka, whose successes as an Arctic explorer have since made him world famous; Bourke, who besides being an officer of exceptional gallantry and good judgment, has devoted himself, with great patience, to the collection of memoranda upon the manners and customs of the aborigines; Carpenter, noted as an entomologist, and dozens of other officers—Eagan, Charles King, Schuyler, Allison, Chase, Lemley, McKinney (since killed), Delaney, Randall, Sibley, Nickerson, Henry, as brave and intelligent as any men can be—in the army or out of it.

“As Sherman’s army had an important element following and surrounding it—‘the bummers’—so this hard-worked force that Crook commanded had attached to it a force of correspondents whom I compare, and in all kindness, to the ‘bummers’ whom Sherman led to the sea. They were an exceptionally fine lot of men. There was Jack Finerty of the Chicago Times. I have always had a notion that he stepped out from some place in Lever’s novels; he was brave to rashness, and devoted to the interests of his great journal. Joe Wason, of the Alta California and the New York Tribune, always on the skirmish line after ‘pints.’ His red head shone like the danger signal of a freight train, but in spite of his red head he was one of the best fellows I ever knew. T. C. MacMillan of the Chicago Inter Ocean, and J. J. Roche of the New York Herald, both physically weak, but intellectually strong, and so on through the list. Readers of the Boston309 Advertiser, New York Herald and Tribune, Alta California, Philadelphia Press, Washington Star, Denver News, Omaha Republican and Herald, Cheyenne Sun, and other papers represented at various times during that campaign of seventeen months’ duration, never imagined while they were reading our letters at their comfortable breakfast table, and growling at the dashed correspondents because they ‘didn’t make ’em more full,’ that the ‘dashed correspondent,’ dressed in rags, soaked through with rain, and almost crazed with want of food and rest, was writing his letters on a cottonwood chip or a piece of flat stone, and often at the risk of his life from a stray bullet.”

There is now in this state one witness of the Custer battles, who is perhaps the only one living. He is William Jackson, an intelligent and well educated half-breed, who now lives at the Blackfeet reservation sixty-five miles from here.

After a long life as government scout, he has turned his attention to farming and cattle raising, and in this pursuit he has been quite successful. He was in this city a few days ago on his way from Helena, where he had been as a witness in a trial which was held in the United States court. A correspondent of the Anaconda Standard, at this place, had an important interview with Mr. Jackson, which is as follows. He says: “Mitch Bouille, William Cross and myself were acting as guides and scouts for the Custer-Terry expedition against the Sioux and Cheyennes who were under the leadership of the wily old Sitting Bull. The battle, as you know, took place on June 25, 1876. On the morning of that day the troopers had made an early start and we, the scouts, had gone ahead on a reconnoitering expedition. When we returned to report we met the command crossing the divide between the Rosebud and Little Big Horn rivers, General Custer rode at the head of his command, the Seventh Cavalry, and Captains311 French and Benteen and Major Reno were in command of other divisions.

“We had discovered the hostiles camped near the Little Big Horn and about seven miles straight ahead of the soldiers. We so reported to General Custer, and he, calling a halt, summoned the officers under him for a council. The troops were shut out from view on the part of the hostiles by a ridge of land, and it was at the base of this that the council of war was held. It lasted but a few minutes, and Custer’s desire for an immediate engagement carried the day. The soldiers were divided into three battalions. Major Reno with three companies and all of the scouts was to advance rapidly and from a commanding ridge make a charge upon the upper end of the Sioux camp, first gaining a patch of timber about six hundred yards from the enemy. In the meantime General Custer, with five companies, would deploy around the edge of the ridge where they were now halted and attack the lower end of the village and cut off all retreat on the part of the Sioux. Captain Benteen, with four companies, would take up a position on the east bank of the Little Big Horn, overlooking the village and protecting the pack train and baggage.

“As the officers left the council they quickly gave orders to the men, and in an instant all were busy inspecting and loading their pistols and carbines, filling their ammunition belts, tightening saddles and looking to every detail preparatory to the fight. Soon the bugle sounded, ‘Prepare to mount; mount, forward!’ Custer and his men went to the right, Reno to the left, toward the ford of the Little Big Horn. The horses went forward at a sharp trot, and in the moment of waiting on the bank of the stream I looked back and saw Custer with his five companies charging upon the village, Custer fully fifty yards in the lead. That was the last time I ever looked upon that heroic soldier alive or his gallant men. We312 were soon busy in making the ford, which was somewhat difficult, and then we advanced up the ridge, taking the position assigned us at the council. Up to that time there had been no incident of interest. The troops were dismounted and the horses left in the care of every fourth soldier. Everything was ready for the fight to begin and the wait was not long.

“The hostiles had discovered us at once and took the initiative by making a vicious charge up the hill. Their main body gained a vantage ground behind an elevation sufficient to protect them and just in front of our position. As they charged they drove in our skirmish line, which took a position just inside the timber. The fight was furious for a time, the Indians outnumbering Reno’s command at least ten to one. A second charge from the hostiles drove us still higher up the ridge, at least one mile further from the village, and it was in our retreat that we first heard the sounds of firing in the lower end of the village where Custer was engaged. It could not have been very heavy, as he met but few hostiles at the first of the engagement, but it was sufficient to draw the attention of the Indians away from us and turn it upon the unfortunates who were attacking them in the rear. This was between 3 and 4 o’clock in the afternoon and from that time the fighting in the lower end of the Indian camp was hot and heavy. The sound of firing increased steadily until it became a roar, and then it died gradually away until there was only the scattered reports of single shots. All this took place in the space of two hours, and when the June sun set behind the Little Big Horn mountains the Custer command had been entirely wiped out.

“Of course we did not know this at the time, but wondered how the fight had gone. Soon we suspected that something was wrong, for the Indians again turned their attention to313 Reno, and from that time there was no opportunity to think of anything save what we saw going on about us, and in which we were vitally interested, for the onslaughts of the painted warriors became desperate. Inflamed by their success in killing the Custer command, they now determined to sweep away the rest of their enemies, and time and again they charged up the hill to capture Reno. Only the strength of our position prevented our meeting a fate like that of Custer, and it was after dark before the hostiles gave up their attempt to dislodge and slaughter us. My personal interest in the fray was strong. I had been in the skirmish line, and when we were driven back by the hostiles we retreated slowly, protecting the withdrawal of the main body of Reno’s command. In doing this fourteen of us were cut off from the command and had to take to the brush and hide. Before we could conceal ourselves ten of the fourteen had been killed, leaving only Lieutenant Deridio, F. F. Gerard, Tom O’Neal and myself.

“Fortunately we were not discovered, and at midnight, after all danger of the enemy was past, we slipped from our covert and made ready to join our command. We stripped the blankets from the bodies of dead Indians, which were plentifully strewn through the timber, and wrapping these about us we filed Indian fashion up the bank of the stream. We did not know just where Reno was camped and our first desire was to get outside of the ‘dead circle,’ or picket line, of the Sioux. We advanced cautiously and making as little noise as possible, but in spite of that we suddenly ran into a body of fifteen Sioux pickets. To hesitate was to be suspected, and suspicion on their part just then meant death to us. We advanced steadily and without exhibiting surprise. We had partly passed the party when one of them demanded who we were. I could speak Sioux as well as my own tongue, and without delay replied ‘Us.’

314 “‘Where are you going?’ was the next question, and my answer to this was, ‘for our horses.’ This satisfied the interrogators, and we had escaped the first danger.

“We had succeeded in crossing the stream and following the trail along the bank, faint in the dim moonlight, when we came to an opening in the dense cottonwoods, and there we ran into a camp of several hundred Indians. Gerard immediately took them to be our men and belonging to Reno’s command. He shouted: ‘Don’t shoot, boys; we are friends.’ The startled Indians cried out: ‘Lay non; wa-see-cha ah-he-pe ah-lo!’ (It is the enemy; the evil bad snows are upon us!) At this I dropped my blanket and ran, getting into the brush and away from the trail. Some one followed me closely, and I made up my mind that if he ever caught me there would be a fight to death between us. I could actually feel the knive thrust between my ribs in my highly excited imagination, and when I reached the river bank I turned to face my pursuer. Then I found that it was none other than Gerard, who had chosen the same path as myself. We waited a minute or two and listened. Then we heard four shots, and we were sure that our companions were lost.

“We waited no longer but plunged into the stream and gained the opposite bank, following it as far as we dared. Dawn was breaking and through the day we lay hidden in the willows, watching the battle which followed between the Indians and Reno’s command. As the sun arose we could see the Indians circling about the camp and occupying every adjacent hill. A scattering fire was maintained until 9 o’clock, when the Indians made a savage assault upon the east side of Reno’s position. The soldiers appeared to be very cool and poured in a murderous fire, which forced the hostiles to fall back with heavy loss. An hour later they made a second desperate charge, and so fierce was this that they actually315 fought with the soldiers over the breastworks, hand to hand. But again the discipline of the soldiers was more than a match for the fanatical frenzy of the Sioux, and they were driven back the second time. The soldiers had lost but few in this conflict, while their savage foes were strewn all over the side of the hill. From that time until noon there was only firing at long range. Then came a third charge, easily repulsed. From that time until 4 o’clock in the afternoon each side rested on its arms. About that hour, sheltered by a hill and not more than one thousand yards distant from the soldiers, the Indians held a council of war. In a few minutes there were evidences of departure in the Indian village, and it was then that the strength of the foe appeared. They could be seen by the thousand, scurrying about through the camp, taking down the lodges, loading the ponies with packs and with travois, and when the baggage train was finally completed, hurrying off to the north under a strong escort of warriors, making for the Big Horn mountains. At sunset all of them had disappeared and we dared venture out from our hiding place.

“Approaching Reno’s position cautiously, for fear of being shot by the sentinels in the darkness, we were fortunate in getting inside the lines in time to meet Major Reno himself with members of his staff. To them I related what we had seen and heard, including the story of the loss of our companions, but before I had finished a challenge was heard, and into the camp came an orderly with Deridio and O’Neal. We were overjoyed, but there was little time for congratulations. Mounted on the best horse remaining in the command—for the long range fighting had killed many of those in the troop—I was sent with dispatches to Generals Custer and Terry.

“Three miles down the Little Big Horn I came upon the battlefield and it was a most grievious sight. Scattered or heaped up on the plain were the bodies of 237 men, every316 one save that of Custer mutilated in the most horrible manner known to the Indian mind. Not one had a vestage of clothing upon it; all had been stripped off and carried away by the exulting fiends. In Custer’s body there were the marks of two bullet wounds, and undoubtedly I was the first man to look upon the terrible sight. It was too much for me and I turned and rode swiftly away down the river, shortly afterward meeting General Terry and his soldiers. To him I gave my dispatches and was immediately sent back to Major Reno with instructions to bury the dead. This was completed about 1 o’clock in the afternoon of the 27th. The wounded in Reno’s command were taken to the mouth of the Big Horn river, and thence conveyed down the Yellowstone on the steamer Far West to Bismarck. The next day we gathered up large quantities of pemmican and other provisions and camp utensils left by the Sioux in their hurried flight, and burned them. Although I was but a youth when this occurred, it made an impression upon my mind that I shall never forget, and the details of those horrible two or three days are as fresh now as they were at the time of occurrence. Five years ago I went over ‘The Custer Battlefield,’ where the soldiers are buried, with Mrs. Eustis, whose son Jack, then a recent graduate from West Point, had been one of the victims under Custer. She had cherished a hope of recovering his bones, but although we had with us a number of Sioux and Cheyennes who had taken part in the fight, and each tried his best to recall all of the fearful scene, we were unable to help her, and she was obliged to return to her Eastern home with frustrated hopes. The incident, however, called up in mind all of the gruesome details of the battlefield as I saw it on that memorable morning, and I shall never care to repeat the experience.”

General Terry, in his official report dated Camp on Little Big Horn, June 27, 1876, noticed the military movement in317 the direction where Custer and his men had fallen, and submitted for the information of the war department the following important explanation:

“At the mouth of the Rosebud I informed General Custer that I should take the supply steamer Far West up the Yellowstone to ferry General Gibbon’s column over the river; that I should personally accompany that column, and that it would in all probability reach the mouth of the Little Big Horn, on the 26th inst. The steamer reached General Gibbon’s troops, near the mouth of the Big Horn, early on the 24th, and at 4 o’clock in the afternoon all his men and animals were across the Yellowstone. At 5 o’clock the column, consisting of five companies of the Seventh Infantry, four companies of the Seventh Cavalry, and a battery of three gatling guns, marched out to and across Tullock’s creek, starting soon after 5 o’clock on the morning of the 25th. The infantry made a march of twenty-two miles over the most difficult country I have ever seen. In order that scouts might be sent into the valley of the Little Big Horn, the cavalry with the battery was then pushed on thirteen or fourteen miles further, reaching camp at midnight. The scouts were sent out at 4:30 on the morning of the 26th. The scouts discovered three Indians, who were at first supposed to be Sioux, but when overtaken they proved to be Crows, who had been with General Custer. They brought the first intelligence of the battle. Their story was not credited. It was supposed that some fighting, perhaps severe fighting, had taken place, but it was not believed that disaster could have overtaken so large a force as twelve companies of cavalry. The infantry, which had broken camp very early, soon came up and the whole column entered and moved up the valley of the Little Big Horn. During the afternoon efforts were made to send scouts to what was supposed to be General Custer’s position, and to318 obtain information of the condition of affairs, but those who were sent out were driven back by parties of Indians, who, in increasing numbers, were seen hovering on General Gibbon’s front. At twenty minutes before 9 o’clock in the evening the infantry had marched between twenty-five and thirty miles; the men were very weary and daylight was falling; the column was, therefore, halted for the night at a point about eleven miles in a straight line above the mouth of the stream. Next morning the movement was resumed, and after a march of nine miles Major Reno’s intrenched position was reached. The withdrawal of the Indians from around Reno’s command, and from the valley, was undoubtedly caused by the appearance of General Gibbon’s troops. Major Reno and Captain Benteen, both of whom are officers of great experience, accustomed to see large masses of mounted men, estimated the number of Indians engaged at not less than twenty-five hundred. Other officers think that the number was greater than this. The village in the valley was about three miles in length and about a mile in width. Besides the lodges proper, a great number of temporary brushwood shelters were found in it, indicating that many men, besides its proper inhabitants, had gathered together there.”

William Sellow, who now lives in Teton county, Montana, also one of the scouts who served under General Custer, contributes the following to the Dupuyer Acantha, July 15, 1899:

“Quite often, especially of recent years, I have seen articles in papers and magazines relating to the actions and motives of General Custer that led up to the massacre of his historic band. Most of these do grievious wrong to the bravest and best officer the United States government ever sent out to fight Indians on the frontier. Books, too, go so far as to call him a suicide and murderer for going at the head of his men into the battle of Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876.

319 “At that time I was in Custer’s employ as a civilian scout, and had known him for a long time. I knew his ways of attacking Indians, and knew his unbounded confidence in his men. I had known him to win Indian fights against greater odds than his last one. For instance, at Wichita, he routed them with a force that numbered ten to one. Had he, in his last fight been supported as he could and should have been, he would have won the day, and then the Sitting Bull war would have ended and not have lasted until it cost much money and many lives. Not until the buffalo were killed and other game became scarce were the Indians satisfied to accept government rations and spend their honeymoon at home. An Indian’s heart is never good until he is hungry and cold.

“Custer has been accused by would-be historians of going contrary to orders in his last campaign, and to refute these charges I write to follow him as far, or farther, than anyone else is truthfully capable of doing. That he did not go contrary to orders in his last movements the captain acting as General Terry’s adjutant at the time, if he is alive, will gladly, doubtless, testify. Unfortunately, I have forgotten his name. He will remember the greater part of the orders.

“After we, the scouts, delivered to Custer his last orders, I know he had no opportunity to receive any more, and as I recount the events as nearly as I can remember them at this length of time, it will be seen that I am correct.

“General Terry started myself and another scout to overtake and join Custer. After leaving the supply train and headquarters on about June 22, 1876, we reached the camp that night and delivered our message. The reader will see that in those stirring times when a scout was given a message it was in duplicate, one for the perusal of the scout and one for the receiver. These precautions were taken for fear one or both might be lost en route. In the first case the open one could be delivered, and in the second the scout might deliver320 the message from memory. I have yet in my possession the extra copy of this message, but unfortunately, it is so old and pocket-worn as to be only partially decipherable. From this, aided by memory, I give the message:

“‘To Lieutenant Colonel Custer, Seventh United States Cavalry:

“‘The brigadier general commanding desires that you proceed up the Rosebud in pursuit of the Indians, whose trail was discovered by Major Reno’s scouts a few days ago. Of course, it is impossible for me to give definite instructions with regard to this movement, and were it not impossible to do so, the department commander places too much confidence in your zeal, energy and ability to wish to impose upon you orders that would conflict with your own judgment and which might hamper your actions when nearly in contact with the enemy. I will, however, indicate to you his ideas of what your movements should be and he desires you to conform to them unless your own judgment should give you sufficient reasons for departing from them. He thinks you should proceed up the Rosebud until you ascertain definitely the direction in which the trail above spoken of leads. Should it be found that it turns toward the Little Big Horn he thinks you should still proceed southward as far as the headwaters of Tongue river and then toward the Rosebud and the Little Big Horn, keeping scouts out constantly to your left, so as to prevent the possibility of the escape of the Indians to the south or southeast by passing around your left flank. The column of Colonel Gibbons is now in motion for the mouth of the Big Horn. As soon as it reaches that point it will cross the Yellowstone and move up as far at least as the forks of the Big Horn and the Little Big Horn. Of course, its future will be controlled by circumstances as they exist. But it is hoped that the Indians, if upon the Little Big Horn, may be so nearly enclosed by the two columns that their escape will be impossible.

321 “‘The department commander desires that, on your way up the Rosebud, you should have your scouts thoroughly examine the upper part of Tullock’s fork, and that you should endeavor to send scouts through to Colonel Gibbon’s command with the result of your examination. The lower part of this will be examined by Colonel Gibbon’s scouts.

“‘The supply steamer will be pushed up the Big Horn as far as the forks of the Big and Little Big Horn, if the river is found navigable that far.

“‘The department commander, who will accompany the column of Colonel Gibbons, desires you to report to him there no later than the expiration of the time for which your troops are rationed, unless in the meantime you receive further orders.’

“After sleeping about two hours that same night we got fresh horses and Custer started us with instructions to go to the east of Tullock’s fork and to follow it down to its mouth at Tullock’s creek and to keep a sharp lookout for any signs of Indians, and to report to him again that night if possible. This we did, seeing nothing but the trail of a small war party going toward the Big Horn.

“We had been rolled up in our blankets but a few hours when Charlie Reynolds and a half-breed Sioux scout, Bill Cross, came in with a report which caused Custer to send for us again. After getting fresh horses we were given a dispatch to carry to Colonel Gibbon’s command. We reached the river, which we crossed by the aid of our horses’ tails with our clothes tied so as to keep them as dry as possible. We reached the command that day. The next morning I was sent back to the supply train, which was still at Powder river, and my companion was sent to join Benteen’s command. He was with the latter during his engagement with the Indians, and he gives Colonel322 Benteen great credit for bravery. The colonel, he says, when the men behind the breastworks ran short of ammunition, with his own hands carried it and threw it over to them, being all the time exposed to the deadly fire of the enemy.

“In twenty-four hours I reached the supply train and was afforded another opportunity to fill up and get some sleep. On the 26th we met a Sioux scout, Bloody Knife, coming in badly scared and he seemed to think that Custer had been killed, although he had not seen him. Another scout, George Mulligan, and myself had been sent out to find Custer.

“We had not gone far when we met Bill Cross and eight Ree Indian scouts. They had a few Sioux ponies which they said they had captured. They told us that Custer and his command were killed, but they did not seem to know much about it. They could not tell us just where the fight took place, hence we took little stock in their story. We learned afterward, however, that when Custer made the charge they gathered up the Sioux horses that had strayed out on the hills, and pulled out for a more healthy climate. Scout Reynolds had the same privilege, but chose to go into the battle, and was afterward found in the same deadly circle with General Custer with many empty shells around them as evidence of a desperate fight.

“Reynolds well knew of Custer’s ability to deal with the Indians against fearful odds, for he had previously fought with him. He also knew the odds he had to face that day, as we spoke of it when we last met and he proved by his actions that he could not have been aware of any wrong-doing on the part of the general when he, of his own free will, followed him that day.

“After leaving Cross and the Ree scouts we met Curley, the Crow Indian scout, who was with Custer at the beginning of the fight. That pock-marked villain and liar, Rain-in-the-Face,323 says Curley is a liar, that he was not there, but I know for a fact that Rain-in-the-Face had never met Curley, nor to the best of my knowledge has he ever seen him since. I have heard Rain talk and he will never get into the happy hunting grounds if veracity is to be his passport.

“When we met Curley he was so badly scared that I doubt if he would have known himself. He had a Sioux medicine or war pony in full paint and feathers, a Sioux blanket and part of a war bonnet that he wore in his escape, and which he got from a dead Sioux medicine man who was killed near him in the first attack. The blanket had some blood on it. His own horse was killed and he appropriated the medicine man’s property, and instead of trying to run the gauntlet he moved along with the enemy, trusting to his disguise to deceive them. When he saw an opportunity he dropped out of his bad company and escaped. When I last saw him with Custer he had his Crow clothes on and had his own pony, and he had no other chance to get the outfit. Had he been a white man he would not have had any chance of escape even with that rig. He does not claim to have tried to fight, but only to escape, and his first account of the affair is no doubt the correct one, as anyone acquainted with the Indians and their mode of fighting will admit its feasibility.

“I understand that there was an ex-soldier at the World’s Fair in Chicago, who posed as a soldier in the Seventh cavalry, who escaped from the fatal field. He was an impostor, for none but Curley left the ground alive. He may have dreamed it and believes in dreams.

“When the Seventh cavalry rode away from Fort Lincoln with the White Horse company, the band belonging to it played one of Custer’s favorites, ‘The Girl I Left Behind Me.’ Ever after that, when I heard the familiar tune on the plains, my mind was carried back to the parting scene at the fort,325 and in the foreground of memory’s picture stands, with tear-dimmed eyes, a sad, brave woman. Well might her heart nigh break, for she knew, as no one else did, that her brave husband was going on an expedition fraught with untold, hidden dangers, and not upon a summer outing.

“Crazy Horse and Goose, each with a band of Cheyennes, fought against Custer. In fact, the former was looked upon as the head war chief, Sitting Bull being more of a medicine man and prophet. The prevalent belief is that Sitting Bull was the worst Indian and head war chief. This is a mistake. There were several worse than he and more treacherous, but as most of them are dead and good Indians, I will not take the trouble to name them or to recount their good (?) deeds. Gall was the head man among those who fought Reno and Benteen, and would have got away with them only for the personal bravery of the latter.

“When General Terry left the field and General Miles took command all Terry’s and Custer’s scouts who were alive went to work for the new commander, except George Mulligan and Jimmy-from-Cork. But there were only five of us left—Bob and Bill Jackson, Vick Smith, Cody and myself. However, Miles re-enforced us with several others.

“Scout Billy Jackson was with Custer on the morning of the 25th, but left before the engagement to join Reno, and knew nothing of the terrible conflict until the next day. On the 27th they came to the battlefield, and Jackson, with four other scouts, identified the remains of General Custer and Scout Reynolds. His report of the battlefield may be vouched for, as he was ever known as a brave, cool, clear-headed and truthful scout, whom General Miles said he could always depend upon. He, too, maintains that Custer did not go contrary to orders.”

327 Custer had divided his force into three parts. Benteen had orders to sweep everything before him to the left, and Reno was to drive right at the enemy. But it seems that neither he nor any other officer who was in this campaign had an idea that the Indian forces were as strong as they proved to be. There were at least eight Indian warriors to one soldier; neither did he know that they were so well supplied with arms and ammunition. Here is where Custer was deceived, or likely he would have kept his men together and won the battle.

On the arrival of General Gibbon the dead were buried and the wounded men of Reno’s and Benteen’s commands were given attention. After Gibbon and his men returned to Fort Shaw, I had an interview with the general and with many of the soldiers who were on the battlefield and assisted in burying the dead. They said that all the men, except Custer, were horribly mutilated and divested of all their clothing.

Again we return to Sitting Bull. Soon after the death of Custer, Sheridan, who was at the head of the war department, called out troops and fought him the balance of the season almost continuously, but the great chief always avoided open battle. In October General Miles drove him across the Missouri river, killing some Indians, capturing two thousand men, women and children, and destroying many of their supplies. The warriors who remained were scattered and discouraged; skulked back into the mountains, while Sitting Bull, with his followers crossed the line into the British possessions. In the meantime Generals Crook and Terry fought and defeated Chief Crazy Horse on the Rosebud towards the close of the year.

To give an idea of the vastness of the country where the hostile Indians had established their camps, I will give the approximate area, which was 125 by 200 miles, or 25,000 square miles. The Yellowstone river is about 350 miles long,328 200 of which was included in this area. The length of Powder river is 150 miles; the Tongue river the same, the Rosebud 125, the Big Horn about of similar length. With all of the tributaries of these rivers, and with the hills and mountain passes, the Indians were familiar; in this respect they had the advantage over the military. To go into details of those campaigns, extending over this great territory—the fearful severity—the long marching for months at a time through an untrodden wilderness, and sometimes a scarcity of food, clothing and bedding—the many battles that were fought, to which I have made no reference; burying the dead and taking care of the wounded—to tell all this would make a book in itself. But one thing I will insert here: That monument in Custer county, which marks the graves of those who have given their lives for this mountain land, and are peacefully sleeping at the base of it, will be kept erect by the Montanians as long as those everlasting peaks which overlook this sacred spot from the mountain tops near by shall remain.

Robert Vaughn.

July 24, 1899.

without allah , i'm nothing ..... by мѕ.мємά © ≈

1 12

Without teeth by .scribe

6 6

Diana+ lens on a Nikon D90, double exposure at Brighton Marina,.

No smoke without... by Mike Lee

4 4

Out with a friend in the sunny Peak District this morning!!

Looks like some stubble burning going on here - interesting how the smoke has been trapped by the air above..!

HERMOSA BEACH CA - 1909 by Ron Felsing

without the name

Dear Jack @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago, Milano - 25 ottobre 2014 by Sergione Infuso

follow me on www.sergione.info

You may not modify, publish or use any files on

this page without written permission and consent.

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

Il grande successo dei Dear Jack, in radio con il nuovo singolo La pioggia è uno stato d'animo, è anche discografico con “Domani è un altro film – prima parte”, in pochissimo tempo certificato disco di platino, per ben cinque settimane in cima alla classifica degli album più venduti in Italia e album più venduto in Italia nel primo semestre del 2014 pur essendo uscito solo a maggio.

I Dear Jack sono reduci dal grande successo come opening act dei Modà nei trionfali show di “Stadi 2014”, allo Stadio Olimpico di Roma allo Stadio San Siro di Milano.

Maria De Filippi li inventa, Miguel Bosè li sprona, i Modà li pretendono nei loro tour, inutile, a questo punto, aggiungere che migliaia di fan li idolatrano. Sono i Dear Jack, Alessio Bernabei e compagni, gli artisti del gruppo musicale del momento, un po' Negramaro degli esordi e un po' Modà. E poi tatuaggi, pettinature alla moda, innumerevoli foto su Instagram e talento, sì, bisogna dirlo, c'è del talento. Perché i Dear Jack è vero, nascono ad Amici ed è facile allora paragonarli al fortunatissimo panorama pop figlio dello schermo televisivo e di Sua Maestà il televoto come se non ci fosse un domani. Quel domani che è un altro film, come cantano loro, di cui cambiano il finale, aggiungono.

Ed è così. Ammesso che non c'è nulla di male a nascere in un talent televisivo e vendere dischi, quello dei Dear Jack è però un discorso davvero a parte. Loro sembravano stare lì, in sordina, pronti a esplodere, finiti di passaggio dove sono passati i vari Emma, Amoroso, Moreno e compagnia per poi sostituire subito l'etichetta 'Amici di' con quella di un vero e credibilissimo 'Prodotto rock'. Staremo a vedere. Intanto a San Siro hanno fatto impazzire i fan - sia loro che dei Modà - e si preparano adesso per riempire il Mediolanum Forum. Così, appena nati. Niente posticini underground, feste di piazza, opening sparsi ovunque come di solito accade, loro vanno subito nei palazzetti. Mica male.

Alessio Bernabei – voce

Francesco Pierozzi – chitarra elettrica, chitarra acustica

Lorenzo Cantarini – chitarra elettrica, voce secondaria

Alessandro Presti – basso

Riccardo Ruiu – batteria

Why - The Uncle by theirhistory

Without the nephew, a far more adult conversation can be had

Ariel by ThatDisneyLover

Do not use without permission!

Disney Twitter: twitter.com/ThatDisneyLover

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Cincinnati Zoo ... Zuri continues to heal ... by Connie Lemperle

2 3

Link to Cincinnati Zoo's Web Site ..............

Cincinnati Zoo

"Link to the Cincinnati Zoo's Flickr photostream"

You can see more picture's of Zuri with her cast on at the zoo's Flickr site below. .

Cincinnati Zoo

Giraffe ... female named Zuri

*****************************************************************************************************************

CINCINNATI, OH (May 20, 2011) – The Cincinnati Zoo’s seven-week-old baby giraffe, “Zuri” injured her leg yesterday in her indoor stall at Giraffe Ridge. When the first keeper arrived early Thursday morning, he noted that Zuri was lying down as usual when he went in to feed. When Zuri went to stand he noticed she was limping and immediately contacted the Zoo’s veterinary staff.

“Obviously, everyone here at the Cincinnati Zoo is extremely concerned about Zuri,” said Thane Maynard, Executive Director at the Cincinnati Zoo. “She has quickly stolen the heart of our entire community and we are working hard to ensure she has a long, healthy life here.”

Zoo Director of Animal Health Dr. Mark Campbell contacted Dr. Thomas Beckman, an equine specialist, who has worked with the Cincinnati Zoo for the past 30 years, to help evaluate Zuri’s condition and assist with a medical procedure. During the two-hour procedure yesterday, Zuri was anesthetized and an X-ray was taken of her rear right leg. Both dad, “Kimba” and mom, “Tessa” were moved to the outdoor exhibit area during the procedure. After vets determined that Zuri’s leg was broken, her leg was placed in a cast.

“The procedure went well and we will continue to monitor the situation closely,” said Dr. Campbell. “Keepers are observing Zuri around the clock. “She is a young animal and we’re guardedly optimistic that her bones should heal quickly.”

Today, Zuri is standing, walking, and continues to nurse. Giraffe Ridge is open today and guests can see Zuri and her mom inside.

*****************************************************************************************************************************

I thought I would repeat the story on Zuri above and than give an update as of today. Zuri continues to mend and so far is doing really well. Eventually they will replace the cast with a new one since she is growing even bigger.

Have a Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone.

Without Your Dream (sooc) by Shannon Louise Peck

www.redbubble.com/people/shannonpeck

without coats by usf nursing

Mars-03-24-12 by Joseph Rome

2 5

Mars without the Jet Stream

EDGE-11 @ F/20

Flea3 (color) USB3 @ 104 FPS

Captured in FlyCap2

Processed in Images Plus

I still have some equipment issues but with a smile. the Mars canyon clearly visible through the lower center right of this shot. not bad for the size acope at F/20,To the left you see a small brown spot below

the large red aeria, that is Olymups Mon, below that and closer to Bottom are

three spots the lower is Arsia Mon and above that is Pauonis Mon then Asciaeus

Mon. Valles Marineris stems from Arsia Mon and runs through the collered

streak which breaks out to a second and just beyond the smaller darker spot is

the end of the Canyon.

Above Olymups Mon is a red areia called Alba Patera inbetween them is the

Acheron Fossae and around Olymups Mon is Olymups Rupes.

GOD ART,GOD DRAWING,GOD SKETCHES,GOD PAINTING,GOD ILLUSTRATIONS,INDIAN GOD, Anikartick,Chennai,TamilNadu,India by ANIKARTICK ( T.Subbulapuram VASU,Andipatti,Theni )

In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith.[3] The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), divine simplicity, and as having an eternal and necessary existence. Many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent (perfectly good), and all loving.

God is most often held to be non-corporeal,[3] and to be without any human biological sex,[4][5] yet the concept of God actively creating the universe (as opposed to passively)[6] has caused many religions to describe God using masculine terminology, using such terms as "Him" or "Father". Furthermore, some religions (such as Judaism) attribute only a purely grammatical "gender" to God.[7]

In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of the universe. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism. God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.[8]

There are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about God's identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten,[9] premised on being the one "true" Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe.[10] In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, "He Who Is", "I Am that I Am", and the tetragrammaton YHWH (Hebrew: יהוה‎‎, which means: "I am who I am"; "He Who Exists") are used as names of God, while Yahweh and Jehovah are sometimes used in Christianity as vocalizations of YHWH. In the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, the latter of which is believed by some scholars to descend from the Egyptian Aten.[11][12][13][14][15] In Islam, the name Allah, "Al-El", or "Al-Elah" ("the God") is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a monistic deity.[16] Other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Bahá'í Faith,[17] Waheguru in Sikhism,[18] and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.[19]

The many different conceptions of God, and competing claims as to God's characteristics, aims, and actions, have led to the development of ideas of omnitheism, pandeism,[20][21] or a perennial philosophy, which postulates that there is one underlying theological truth, of which all religions express a partial understanding, and as to which "the devout in the various great world religions are in fact worshipping that one God, but through different, overlapping concepts or mental images of Him."[22]

Contents [hide]

1Etymology and usage

2General conceptions

2.1Oneness

2.2Theism, deism and pantheism

2.3Other concepts

3Non-theistic views

3.1Agnosticism and atheism

3.2Anthropomorphism

4Existence

5Specific attributes

5.1Names

5.2Gender

5.3Relationship with creation

6Depiction

6.1Zoroastrianism

6.2Islam

6.3Judaism

6.4Christianity

7Theological approaches

8Distribution of belief

9See also

9.1In specific religions

10References

11Further reading

12External links

Etymology and usage

The Mesha Stele bears the earliest known reference (840 BCE) to the Israelite God Yahweh.

Main article: God (word)

The earliest written form of the Germanic word God (always, in this usage, capitalized[23]) comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".[24] The Germanic words for God were originally neuter—applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism, the words became a masculine syntactic form.[25]

The word 'Allah' in Arabic calligraphy

In the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism.[26][27] The English word God and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions, the term remains an English translation common to all. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, the tetragrammaton YHWH, in origin possibly the name of an Edomite or Midianite deity, Yahweh. In many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton.[28]

Allāh (Arabic: الله‎‎) is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning "The God" (with a capital G), while "ʾilāh" (Arabic: إله‎‎) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[29][30][31] God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of Hinduism which emphasize the personal nature of God, with early references to his name as Krishna-Vasudeva in Bhagavata or later Vishnu and Hari.[32]

Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. "Mazda", or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå, reflects Proto-Iranian *Mazdāh (female). It is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means "intelligence" or "wisdom". Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning "placing (dʰeh1) one's mind (*mn̩-s)", hence "wise".[33]

Waheguru (Punjabi: vāhigurū) is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God. It means "Wonderful Teacher" in the Punjabi language. Vāhi (a Middle Persian borrowing) means "wonderful" and guru (Sanskrit: guru) is a term denoting "teacher". Waheguru is also described by some as an experience of ecstasy which is beyond all descriptions. The most common usage of the word "Waheguru" is in the greeting Sikhs use with each other:

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Wonderful Lord's Khalsa, Victory is to the Wonderful Lord.

Baha, the "greatest" name for God in the Baha'i faith, is Arabic for "All-Glorious".

General conceptions

Main article: Conceptions of God

There is no clear consensus on the nature or even the existence of God.[34] The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the monotheistic definition of God in Judaism, the trinitarian view of Christians, and the Islamic concept of God. The dharmic religions differ in their view of the divine: views of God in Hinduism vary by region, sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to polytheistic. Divinity was recognized by the historical Buddha, particularly Śakra and Brahma. However, other sentient beings, including gods, can at best only play a supportive role in one's personal path to salvation. Conceptions of God in the latter developments of the Mahayana tradition give a more prominent place to notions of the divine.[citation needed]

Oneness

Main articles: Monotheism and Henotheism

The Trinity is the belief that God is composed of The Father, The Son (embodied metaphysically in the physical realm by Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.

Monotheists hold that there is only one god, and may claim that the one true god is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all theists actually worship the same god, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in Hinduism[35] and Sikhism.[36] In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity describes God as one God in three persons. The Trinity comprises The Father, The Son (embodied metaphysically by Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.[37] Islam's most fundamental concept is tawhid (meaning "oneness" or "uniqueness"). God is described in the Quran as: "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."[38][39] Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of his creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, and are not expected to visualize God.[40]

Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities.[41]

Theism, deism and pantheism

Main articles: Theism, Deism, and Pantheism

Theism generally holds that God exists realistically, objectively, and independently of human thought; that God created and sustains everything; that God is omnipotent and eternal; and that God is personal and interacting with the universe through, for example, religious experience and the prayers of humans.[42] Theism holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world.[43] Not all theists subscribe to all of these propositions, but each usually subscribes to some of them (see, by way of comparison, family resemblance).[42] Catholic theology holds that God is infinitely simple and is not involuntarily subject to time. Most theists hold that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent, although this belief raises questions about God's responsibility for evil and suffering in the world. Some theists ascribe to God a self-conscious or purposeful limiting of omnipotence, omniscience, or benevolence. Open Theism, by contrast, asserts that, due to the nature of time, God's omniscience does not mean the deity can predict the future. Theism is sometimes used to refer in general to any belief in a god or gods, i.e., monotheism or polytheism.[44][45]

"God blessing the seventh day", a watercolor painting depicting God, by William Blake (1757 – 1827)

Deism holds that God is wholly transcendent: God exists, but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it.[43] In this view, God is not anthropomorphic, and neither answers prayers nor produces miracles. Common in Deism is a belief that God has no interest in humanity and may not even be aware of humanity. Pandeism and Panendeism, respectively, combine Deism with the Pantheistic or Panentheistic beliefs.[21][46][47] Pandeism is proposed to explain as to Deism why God would create a universe and then abandon it,[48] and as to Pantheism, the origin and purpose of the universe.[48][49]

Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God, whereas Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe.[50] It is also the view of the Liberal Catholic Church; Theosophy; some views of Hinduism except Vaishnavism, which believes in panentheism; Sikhism; some divisions of Neopaganism and Taoism, along with many varying denominations and individuals within denominations. Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, paints a pantheistic/panentheistic view of God—which has wide acceptance in Hasidic Judaism, particularly from their founder The Baal Shem Tov—but only as an addition to the Jewish view of a personal god, not in the original pantheistic sense that denies or limits persona to God.[citation needed]

Other concepts

Dystheism, which is related to theodicy, is a form of theism which holds that God is either not wholly good or is fully malevolent as a consequence of the problem of evil. One such example comes from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, in which Ivan Karamazov rejects God on the grounds that he allows children to suffer.[51]

In modern times, some more abstract concepts have been developed, such as process theology and open theism. The contemporaneous French philosopher Michel Henry has however proposed a phenomenological approach and definition of God as phenomenological essence of Life.[52]

God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologian philosophers, including Maimonides,[53] Augustine of Hippo,[53] and Al-Ghazali,[8] respectively.

Non-theistic views

See also: Evolutionary origin of religions and Evolutionary psychology of religion

Non-theist views about God also vary. Some non-theists avoid the concept of God, whilst accepting that it is significant to many; other non-theists understand God as a symbol of human values and aspirations. The nineteenth-century English atheist Charles Bradlaugh declared that he refused to say "There is no God", because "the word 'God' is to me a sound conveying no clear or distinct affirmation";[54] he said more specifically that he disbelieved in the Christian god. Stephen Jay Gould proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy into what he called "non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA). In this view, questions of the supernatural, such as those relating to the existence and nature of God, are non-empirical and are the proper domain of theology. The methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world, and theology should be used to answer questions about ultimate meaning and moral value. In this view, the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world.[55]

Another view, advanced by Richard Dawkins, is that the existence of God is an empirical question, on the grounds that "a universe with a god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without, and it would be a scientific difference."[56] Carl Sagan argued that the doctrine of a Creator of the Universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could disprove the existence of a Creator (not necessarily a God) would be the discovery that the universe is infinitely old.[57]

Stephen Hawking and co-author Leonard Mlodinow state in their book, The Grand Design, that it is reasonable to ask who or what created the universe, but if the answer is God, then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created God. Both authors claim however, that it is possible to answer these questions purely within the realm of science, and without invoking any divine beings.[58] Neuroscientist Michael Nikoletseas has proposed that questions of the existence of God are no different from questions of natural sciences. Following a biological comparative approach, he concludes that it is highly probable that God exists, and, although not visible, it is possible that we know some of his attributes.[59]

Agnosticism and atheism

Agnosticism is the view that, the truth values of certain claims – especially metaphysical and religious claims such as whether God, the divine or the supernatural exist – are unknown and perhaps unknowable.[60][61][62]

Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities, or a God.[63][64] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[65]

Anthropomorphism

Main article: Anthropomorphism

Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of gods and spirits like persons is one of the best known traits of religion. He cites examples from Greek mythology, which is, in his opinion, more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems.[66] Bertrand du Castel and Timothy Jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that Boyer's explanatory model matches physics' epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries.[67] Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar. Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father.[68]

Likewise, Émile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However, it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. Rossano indicates that by including ever-watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.[69]

Existence

Main article: Existence of God

St. Thomas Aquinas summed up five main arguments as proofs for God's existence.

Isaac Newton saw the existence of a Creator necessary in the movement of astronomical objects.

Arguments about the existence of God typically include empirical, deductive, and inductive types. Different views include that: "God does not exist" (strong atheism); "God almost certainly does not exist" (de facto atheism); "no one knows whether God exists" (agnosticism[70]);"God exists, but this cannot be proven or disproven" (de facto theism); and that "God exists and this can be proven" (strong theism).[55]

Countless arguments have been proposed to prove the existence of God.[71] Some of the most notable arguments are the Five Ways of Aquinas, the Argument from Desire proposed by C.S. Lewis, and the Ontological Argument formulated both by St. Anselm and René Descartes.[72]

St. Anselm's approach was to define God as, "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". Famed pantheist philosopher Baruch Spinoza would later carry this idea to its extreme: "By God I understand a being absolutely infinite, i.e., a substance consisting of infinite attributes, of which each one expresses an eternal and infinite essence." For Spinoza, the whole of the natural universe is made of one substance, God, or its equivalent, Nature.[73] His proof for the existence of God was a variation of the Ontological argument.[74]

Scientist Isaac Newton saw God as the masterful creator whose existence could not be denied in the face of the grandeur of all creation.[75] Nevertheless, he rejected polymath Leibniz' thesis that God would necessarily make a perfect world which requires no intervention from the creator. In Query 31 of the Opticks, Newton simultaneously made an argument from design and for the necessity of intervention:

For while comets move in very eccentric orbs in all manner of positions, blind fate could never make all the planets move one and the same way in orbs concentric, some inconsiderable irregularities excepted which may have arisen from the mutual actions of comets and planets on one another, and which will be apt to increase, till this system wants a reformation.[76]

St. Thomas believed that the existence of God is self-evident in itself, but not to us. "Therefore I say that this proposition, "God exists", of itself is self-evident, for the predicate is the same as the subject.... Now because we do not know the essence of God, the proposition is not self-evident to us; but needs to be demonstrated by things that are more known to us, though less known in their nature—namely, by effects."[77] St. Thomas believed that the existence of God can be demonstrated. Briefly in the Summa theologiae and more extensively in the Summa contra Gentiles, he considered in great detail five arguments for the existence of God, widely known as the quinque viae (Five Ways).

For the original text of the five proofs, see quinque viae

Motion: Some things undoubtedly move, though cannot cause their own motion. Since there can be no infinite chain of causes of motion, there must be a First Mover not moved by anything else, and this is what everyone understands by God.

Causation: As in the case of motion, nothing can cause itself, and an infinite chain of causation is impossible, so there must be a First Cause, called God.

Existence of necessary and the unnecessary: Our experience includes things certainly existing but apparently unnecessary. Not everything can be unnecessary, for then once there was nothing and there would still be nothing. Therefore, we are compelled to suppose something that exists necessarily, having this necessity only from itself; in fact itself the cause for other things to exist.

Gradation: If we can notice a gradation in things in the sense that some things are more hot, good, etc., there must be a superlative that is the truest and noblest thing, and so most fully existing. This then, we call God (Note: Thomas does not ascribe actual qualities to God Himself).

Ordered tendencies of nature: A direction of actions to an end is noticed in all bodies following natural laws. Anything without awareness tends to a goal under the guidance of one who is aware. This we call God (Note that even when we guide objects, in Thomas's view, the source of all our knowledge comes from God as well).[78]

Alister McGrath, a formerly atheistic scientist and theologian who has been highly critical of Richard Dawkins' version of atheism

Some theologians, such as the scientist and theologian A.E. McGrath, argue that the existence of God is not a question that can be answered using the scientific method.[79][80] Agnostic Stephen Jay Gould argues that science and religion are not in conflict and do not overlap.[81]

Some findings in the fields of cosmology, evolutionary biology and neuroscience are interpreted by some atheists (including Lawrence M. Krauss and Sam Harris) as evidence that God is an imaginary entity only, with no basis in reality.[82][83][84] These atheists claim that a single, omniscient God who is imagined to have created the universe and is particularly attentive to the lives of humans has been imagined, embellished and promulgated in a trans-generational manner.[85] Richard Dawkins interprets such findings not only as a lack of evidence for the material existence of such a God, but as extensive evidence to the contrary.[55] However, his views are opposed by some theologians and scientists including Alister McGrath, who argues that existence of God is compatible with science.[86]

Neuroscientist Michael Nikoletseas has proposed that questions of the existence of God are no different from questions of natural sciences. Following a biological comparative approach, he concludes that it is highly probable that God exists, and, although not visible, it is possible that we know some of his attributes.[59]

Specific attributes

Different religious traditions assign differing (though often similar) attributes and characteristics to God, including expansive powers and abilities, psychological characteristics, gender characteristics, and preferred nomenclature. The assignment of these attributes often differs according to the conceptions of God in the culture from which they arise. For example, attributes of God in Christianity, attributes of God in Islam, and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy in Judaism share certain similarities arising from their common roots.

Names

Main article: Names of God

99 names of Allah, in Chinese Sini (script)

The word God is "one of the most complex and difficult in the English language." In the Judeo-Christian tradition, "the Bible has been the principal source of the conceptions of God". That the Bible "includes many different images, concepts, and ways of thinking about" God has resulted in perpetual "disagreements about how God is to be conceived and understood".[87]

Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bibles there are many names for God. One of them is Elohim. Another one is El Shaddai, meaning "God Almighty".[88] A third notable name is El Elyon, which means "The Most High God".[89]

God is described and referred in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the most common being Al-Rahman, meaning "Most Compassionate" and Al-Rahim, meaning "Most Merciful" (See Names of God in Islam).[90]

Supreme soul

The Brahma Kumaris use the term "Supreme Soul" to refer to God. They see God as incorporeal and eternal, and regard him as a point of living light like human souls, but without a physical body, as he does not enter the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. God is seen as the perfect and constant embodiment of all virtues, powers and values and that He is the unconditionally loving Father of all souls, irrespective of their religion, gender, or culture.[91]

Vaishnavism, a tradition in Hinduism, has list of titles and names of Krishna.

Gender

Main article: Gender of God

The gender of God may be viewed as either a literal or an allegorical aspect of a deity who, in classical western philosophy, transcends bodily form.[92][93] Polytheistic religions commonly attribute to each of the gods a gender, allowing each to interact with any of the others, and perhaps with humans, sexually. In most monotheistic religions, God has no counterpart with which to relate sexually. Thus, in classical western philosophy the gender of this one-and-only deity is most likely to be an analogical statement of how humans and God address, and relate to, each other. Namely, God is seen as begetter of the world and revelation which corresponds to the active (as opposed to the receptive) role in sexual intercourse.[6]

Biblical sources usually refer to God using male words, except Genesis 1:26-27,[94][95] Psalm 123:2-3, and Luke 15:8-10 (female); Hosea 11:3-4, Deuteronomy 32:18, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 42:14, Psalm 131:2 (a mother); Deuteronomy 32:11-12 (a mother eagle); and Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 (a mother hen).

Relationship with creation

See also: Creator deity, Prayer, and Worship

And Elohim Created Adam by William Blake, c.1795

Prayer plays a significant role among many believers. Muslims believe that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[96][97] He is viewed as a personal God and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God. Prayer often also includes supplication and asking forgiveness. God is often believed to be forgiving. For example, a hadith states God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance.[98] Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that there are good reasons to suggest that a "personal god" is integral to the Christian outlook, but that one has to understand it is an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."[99]

Adherents of different religions generally disagree as to how to best worship God and what is God's plan for mankind, if there is one. There are different approaches to reconciling the contradictory claims of monotheistic religions. One view is taken by exclusivists, who believe they are the chosen people or have exclusive access to absolute truth, generally through revelation or encounter with the Divine, which adherents of other religions do not. Another view is religious pluralism. A pluralist typically believes that his religion is the right one, but does not deny the partial truth of other religions. An example of a pluralist view in Christianity is supersessionism, i.e., the belief that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is relativistic inclusivism, where everybody is seen as equally right; an example being universalism: the doctrine that salvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach is syncretism, mixing different elements from different religions. An example of syncretism is the New Age movement.

Jews and Christians believe that humans are created in the likeness of God, and are the center, crown and key to God's creation, stewards for God, supreme over everything else God had made (Gen 1:26); for this reason, humans are in Christianity called the "Children of God".[100]

Depiction

God is defined as incorporeal,[3] and invisible from direct sight, and thus cannot be portrayed in a literal visual image.

The respective principles of religions may or may not permit them to use images (which are entirely symbolic) to represent God in art or in worship .

Zoroastrianism

Ahura Mazda (depiction is on the right, with high crown) presents Ardashir I (left) with the ring of kingship. (Relief at Naqsh-e Rustam, 3rd century CE)

During the early Parthian Empire, Ahura Mazda was visually represented for worship. This practice ended during the beginning of the Sassanid empire. Zoroastrian iconoclasm, which can be traced to the end of the Parthian period and the beginning of the Sassanid, eventually put an end to the use of all images of Ahura Mazda in worship. However, Ahura Mazda continued to be symbolized by a dignified male figure, standing or on horseback which is found in Sassanian investiture.[101]

Islam

Further information: God in Islam

Muslims believe that God (Allah) is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of His creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, are not expected to visualize God.[40]

Judaism

At least some Jews do not use any image for God, since God is the unimageable Being who cannot be represented in material forms.[102] In some samples of Jewish Art, however, sometimes God, or at least His Intervention, is indicated by a Hand Of God symbol, which represents the bath Kol (literally "daughter of a voice") or Voice of God;[103] this use of the Hand Of God is carried over to Christian Art.

Christianity

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Early Christians believed that the words of the Gospel of John 1:18: "No man has seen God at any time" and numerous other statements were meant to apply not only to God, but to all attempts at the depiction of God.[104]

Use of the symbolic Hand of God in the Ascension from the Drogo Sacramentary, c. 850

However, later on the Hand of God symbol is found several times in the only ancient synagogue with a large surviving decorative scheme, the Dura Europos Synagogue of the mid-3rd century, and was probably adopted into Early Christian art from Jewish art. It was common in Late Antique art in both East and West, and remained the main way of symbolizing the actions or approval of God the Father in the West until about the end of the Romanesque period. It also represents the bath Kol (literally "daughter of a voice") or voice of God,[103] just like in Jewish Art.

In situations, such as the Baptism of Christ, where a specific representation of God the Father was indicated, the Hand of God was used, with increasing freedom from the Carolingian period until the end of the Romanesque. This motif now, since the discovery of the 3rd century Dura Europos synagogue, seems to have been borrowed from Jewish art, and is found in Christian art almost from its beginnings.

The use of religious images in general continued to increase up to the end of the 7th century, to the point that in 695, upon assuming the throne, Byzantine emperor Justinian II put an image of Christ on the obverse side of his gold coins, resulting in a rift which ended the use of Byzantine coin types in the Islamic world.[105] However, the increase in religious imagery did not include depictions of God the Father. For instance, while the eighty second canon of the Council of Trullo in 692 did not specifically condemn images of The Father, it suggested that icons of Christ were preferred over Old Testament shadows and figures.[106]

The beginning of the 8th century witnessed the suppression and destruction of religious icons as the period of Byzantine iconoclasm (literally image-breaking) started. Emperor Leo III (717–741), suppressed the use of icons by imperial edict of the Byzantine Empire, presumably due to a military loss which he attributed to the undue veneration of icons.[107] The edict (which was issued without consulting the Church) forbade the veneration of religious images but did not apply to other forms of art, including the image of the emperor, or religious symbols such as the cross.[108] Theological arguments against icons then began to appear with iconoclasts arguing that icons could not represent both the divine and the human natures of Jesus at the same time. In this atmosphere, no public depictions of God the Father were even attempted and such depictions only began to appear two centuries later.

The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 effectively ended the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restored the honouring of icons and holy images in general.[109] However, this did not immediately translate into large scale depictions of God the Father. Even supporters of the use of icons in the 8th century, such as Saint John of Damascus, drew a distinction between images of God the Father and those of Christ.

In his treatise On the Divine Images John of Damascus wrote: "In former times, God who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see".[110] The implication here is that insofar as God the Father or the Spirit did not become man, visible and tangible, images and portrait icons can not be depicted. So what was true for the whole Trinity before Christ remains true for the Father and the Spirit but not for the Word. John of Damascus wrote:[111]

"If we attempt to make an image of the invisible God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who is without body:invisible, uncircumscribed and without form."

Around 790 Charlemagne ordered a set of four books that became known as the Libri Carolini (i.e. "Charles' books") to refute what his court mistakenly understood to be the iconoclast decrees of the Byzantine Second Council of Nicaea regarding sacred images. Although not well known during the Middle Ages, these books describe the key elements of the Catholic theological position on sacred images. To the Western Church, images were just objects made by craftsmen, to be utilized for stimulating the senses of the faithful, and to be respected for the sake of the subject represented, not in themselves. The Council of Constantinople (869) (considered ecumenical by the Western Church, but not the Eastern Church) reaffirmed the decisions of the Second Council of Nicaea and helped stamp out any remaining coals of iconoclasm. Specifically, its third canon required the image of Christ to have veneration equal with that of a Gospel book:[112]

We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of the words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them.

But images of God the Father were not directly addressed in Constantinople in 869. A list of permitted icons was enumerated at this Council, but symbols of God the Father were not among them.[113] However, the general acceptance of icons and holy images began to create an atmosphere in which God the Father could be symbolized.

Prior to the 10th century no attempt was made to use a human to symbolize God the Father in Western art.[104] Yet, Western art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the Father, so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the Father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century AD. A rationale for the use of a human is the belief that God created the soul of Man in the image of His own (thus allowing Human to transcend the other animals).

It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely a whole human. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted.[114]

By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in French illuminated manuscripts, which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography, and in stained glass church windows in England. Initially the head or bust was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space, where the Hand of God had formerly appeared; the Baptism of Christ on the famous baptismal font in Liège of Rainer of Huy is an example from 1118 (a Hand of God is used in another scene). Gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half-length figure, then a full-length, usually enthroned, as in Giotto's fresco of c. 1305 in Padua.[115] In the 14th century the Naples Bible carried a depiction of God the Father in the Burning bush. By the early 15th century, the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry has a considerable number of symbols, including an elderly but tall and elegant full-length figure walking in the Garden of Eden, which show a considerable diversity of apparent ages and dress. The "Gates of Paradise" of the Florence Baptistry by Lorenzo Ghiberti, begun in 1425 use a similar tall full-length symbol for the Father. The Rohan Book of Hours of about 1430 also included depictions of God the Father in half-length human form, which were now becoming standard, and the Hand of God becoming rarer. At the same period other works, like the large Genesis altarpiece by the Hamburg painter Meister Bertram, continued to use the old depiction of Christ as Logos in Genesis scenes. In the 15th century there was a brief fashion for depicting all three persons of the Trinity as similar or identical figures with the usual appearance of Christ.

In an early Venetian school Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini, (c. 1443) The Father is depicted using the symbol consistently used by other artists later, namely a patriarch, with benign, yet powerful countenance and with long white hair and a beard, a depiction largely derived from, and justified by, the near-physical, but still figurative, description of the Ancient of Days.[116]

. ...the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (Daniel 7:9)

Usage of two Hands of God"(relatively unusual) and the Holy Spirit as a dove in Baptism of Christ, by Verrocchio, 1472

In the Annunciation by Benvenuto di Giovanni in 1470, God the Father is portrayed in the red robe and a hat that resembles that of a Cardinal. However, even in the later part of the 15th century, the symbolic representation of the Father and the Holy Spirit as "hands and dove" continued, e.g. in Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ in 1472.[117]

God the Father with His Right Hand Raised in Blessing, with a triangular halo representing the Trinity, Girolamo dai Libri c. 1555

In Renaissance paintings of the adoration of the Trinity, God may be depicted in two ways, either with emphasis on The Father, or the three elements of the Trinity. The most usual depiction of the Trinity in Renaissance art depicts God the Father using an old man, usually with a long beard and patriarchal in appearance, sometimes with a triangular halo (as a reference to the Trinity), or with a papal crown, specially in Northern Renaissance painting. In these depictions The Father may hold a globe or book (to symbolize God's knowledge and as a reference to how knowledge is deemed divine). He is behind and above Christ on the Cross in the Throne of Mercy iconography. A dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit may hover above. Various people from different classes of society, e.g. kings, popes or martyrs may be present in the picture. In a Trinitarian Pietà, God the Father is often symbolized using a man wearing a papal dress and a papal crown, supporting the dead Christ in his arms. They are depicted as floating in heaven with angels who carry the instruments of the Passion.[118]

Representations of God the Father and the Trinity were attacked both by Protestants and within Catholicism, by the Jansenist and Baianist movements as well as more orthodox theologians. As with other attacks on Catholic imagery, this had the effect both of reducing Church support for the less central depictions, and strengthening it for the core ones. In the Western Church, the pressure to restrain religious imagery resulted in the highly influential decrees of the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563. The Council of Trent decrees confirmed the traditional Catholic doctrine that images only represented the person depicted, and that veneration to them was paid to the person, not the image.[119]

Artistic depictions of God the Father were uncontroversial in Catholic art thereafter, but less common depictions of the Trinity were condemned. In 1745 Pope Benedict XIV explicitly supported the Throne of Mercy depiction, referring to the "Ancient of Days", but in 1786 it was still necessary for Pope Pius VI to issue a papal bull condemning the decision of an Italian church council to remove all images of the Trinity from churches.[120]

The famous The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, c.1512

God the Father is symbolized in several Genesis scenes in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, most famously The Creation of Adam (whose image of near touching hands of God and Adam is iconic of humanity, being a reminder that Man is created in the Image and Likeness of God (Gen 1:26)).God the Father is depicted as a powerful figure, floating in the clouds in Titian's Assumption of the Virgin in the Frari of Venice, long admired as a masterpiece of High Renaissance art.[121] The Church of the Gesù in Rome includes a number of 16th century depictions of God the Father. In some of these paintings the Trinity is still alluded to in terms of three angels, but Giovanni Battista Fiammeri also depicted God the Father as a man riding on a cloud, above the scenes.[122]

In both the Last Judgment and the Coronation of the Virgin paintings by Rubens he depicted God the Father using the image that by then had become widely accepted, a bearded patriarchal figure above the fray. In the 17th century, the two Spanish artists Velázquez (whose father-in-law Francisco Pacheco was in charge of the approval of new images for the Inquisition) and Murillo both depicted God the Father using a patriarchal figure with a white beard in a purple robe.

The Ancient of Days (1794) Watercolor etching by William Blake

While representations of God the Father were growing in Italy, Spain, Germany and the Low Countries, there was resistance elsewhere in Europe, even during the 17th century. In 1632 most members of the Star Chamber court in England (except the Archbishop of York) condemned the use of the images of the Trinity in church windows, and some considered them illegal.[123] Later in the 17th century Sir Thomas Browne wrote that he considered the representation of God the Father using an old man "a dangerous act" that might lead to Egyptian symbolism.[124] In 1847, Charles Winston was still critical of such images as a "Romish trend" (a term used to refer to Roman Catholics) that he considered best avoided in England.[125]

In 1667 the 43rd chapter of the Great Moscow Council specifically included a ban on a number of symbolic depictions of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which then also resulted in a whole range of other icons being placed on the forbidden list,[126][127] mostly affecting Western-style depictions which had been gaining ground in Orthodox icons. The Council also declared that the person of the Trinity who was the "Ancient of Days" was Christ, as Logos, not God the Father. However some icons continued to be produced in Russia, as well as Greece, Romania, and other Orthodox countries.

Theological approaches

Theologians and philosophers have attributed to God such characteristics as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, perfect goodness, divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence. God has been described as incorporeal, a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable being existent.[3] These attributes were all claimed to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars, including Maimonides,[53] St Augustine,[53] and Al-Ghazali.[128]

Many philosophers developed arguments for the existence of God,[8] while attempting to comprehend the precise implications of God's attributes. Reconciling some of those attributes generated important philosophical problems and debates. For example, God's omniscience may seem to imply that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, their ostensible free will might be illusory, or foreknowledge does not imply predestination, and if God does not know it, God may not be omniscient.[129]

However, if by its essential nature, free will is not predetermined, then the effect of its will can never be perfectly predicted by anyone, regardless of intelligence and knowledge. Although knowledge of the options presented to that will, combined with perfectly infinite intelligence, could be said to provide God with omniscience if omniscience is defined as knowledge or understanding of all that is.

The last centuries of philosophy have seen vigorous questions regarding the arguments for God's existence raised by such philosophers as Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Antony Flew, although Kant held that the argument from morality was valid. The theist response has been either to contend, as does Alvin Plantinga, that faith is "properly basic", or to take, as does Richard Swinburne, the evidentialist position.[130] Some theists agree that only some of the arguments for God's existence are compelling, but argue that faith is not a product of reason, but requires risk. There would be no risk, they say, if the arguments for God's existence were as solid as the laws of logic, a position summed up by Pascal as "the heart has reasons of which reason does not know."[131] A recent theory using concepts from physics and neurophysiology proposes that God can be conceptualized within the theory of integrative level.[132]

Many religious believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings such as angels, saints, jinn, demons, and devas.[133][134][135][136][137]

Fake Chinese Poppy Parker by Iulia L

Without her hat and coat.

Without respect by Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda

Without water marks.. by Roshan Rocky

First Essex (Basildon) ADL Enviro400MMC 33984, SN65 OFZ on c2c rail replacement Pitsea-Shoeburyness by EastBeach68

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"Never Pass a Day Without Thanking Jesus..." by Sharon Tate Soberon

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"Never pass a day without thanking Jesus Christ for all He has done for you during your life." St. John Vianney

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Filename - PB244378 Lost Maples TX - Thanksgiving Nov '09 - boost hdrish enhanced

Following the Son...

Blessings,

Sharon 🌻

God's Beauty In Nature is calling us into a deeper relationship with Him...

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Bloggers are welcome to use my artwork with, “Image from Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon under Creative Commons license”, and a link back to the images you use, and please let me know in the comment section below, thank you...

Art4TheGlryOfGod Photography by Sharon

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Faith, Hope & Love in daily Art meditations...

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A Day Without A Bag 2012 - Olvera Street by Heal the Bay

Green Santa handed out reusable bags on Olvera Street in historic Los Angeles on A Day Without A Bag 2012. A few lucky bags contained “golden tickets” that were redeemed with the Eco Elves for $25 Vons gift cards! Photo by Heal the Bay

without parole by Jack Barnosky

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The Starlit Princess Waltz by ThatDisneyLover

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HipstaPrint by plattlandtmann

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Without color flowers are nice too!!

Canal de Panamá by Juan José Arango

nature without color by Rayzelle Licuanan

Paddy, Madrid by Urbanhearts

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Paddy from France, pasted in Madrid as part of street art without borders

my life would suck without you || kelly clarkson by pollitu08

weno...me dio x hacer este tipo d blendos XDDD

amooo esta cancion amooo el video XDD me encanta kelly yyy encontre estas caps ^^

de hecho son 2 blendos...estee y otro que haré x la noche XD

en este keria el lado comico de kelly...colorido...re pop jaja...el otro sera con las caps de ella cantanto...lenno de luces!

weno espero les guste ^^

A Day Without A Bag 2012 - Olvera Street by Heal the Bay

Without words by Werner Meyer

Locorotondo by Ruggero Poggianella

Please note that the fact that "This photo is public" doesn't mean it's public domain or a free stock image. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. If you wish to use any of my images for any reason/purpose please contact me for written permission. Tous droits reservés. Défense d'utilisation de cette image sans ma permission. Todos derechos reservados. No usar sin mi consentimiento.

Locorotondo (u Curdúnne in dialetto locorotondese) è un comune italiano della provincia di Bari, in Puglia, inserito nel circuito de I borghi più belli d'Italia. È uno dei maggiori centri turistici della Valle d'Itria e, tra le altre cose, è divenuto famoso per il Locorotondo D.O.C. La città era detto fino a metà ottocento "Luogorotondo" per la caratteristica forma rotonda dell'abitato. Sorge nella Valle d'Itria dove secoli fa la tradizione vuole scorresse l'omonimo fiume, ma il nome valle d'Itria deriva dalla Madonna dell'Odegitria. Locorotondo conta 146 contrade. Queste hanno nomi strani e caratteristici come Pozzomasiello, Francischiello, Macco Macco, Muso rosso e Uacella. Le principali frazioni del paese della Valle d'Itria sono San Marco, Trito, Mancini, Tagaro, Lamie di Olimpia, Crocifisso, Laureto, Figgazzano e Pellegrini.

Questo comune ha avuto molti nomi prima di quello attuale. Inizialmente si chiamava Casale San Giorgio, in onore del patrono, poi Casale Rotondo, e solo in seguito Locorotondo.

Street Art/Graffiti, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, England. by PHOTOGRAPHY by DM & DBM.

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Graffiti (plural; singular graffiti or graffito, the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire (see also mural).

Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban "problem" for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions

"Graffiti" (usually both singular and plural) and the rare singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). The term "graffiti" is used in art history for works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito", which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it. This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch a design into them. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek γράφειν—graphein—meaning "to write".

The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Historically, these writings were not considered vanadlism, which today is considered part of the definition of graffiti.

The only known source of the Safaitic language, an ancient form of Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.

Some of the oldest cave paintings in the world are 40,000 year old ones found in Australia. The oldest written graffiti was found in ancient Rome around 2500 years ago. Most graffiti from the time was boasts about sexual experiences Graffiti in Ancient Rome was a form of communication, and was not considered vandalism.

Ancient tourists visiting the 5th-century citadel at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka write their names and commentary over the "mirror wall", adding up to over 1800 individual graffiti produced there between the 6th and 18th centuries. Most of the graffiti refer to the frescoes of semi-nude females found there. One reads:

Wet with cool dew drops

fragrant with perfume from the flowers

came the gentle breeze

jasmine and water lily

dance in the spring sunshine

side-long glances

of the golden-hued ladies

stab into my thoughts

heaven itself cannot take my mind

as it has been captivated by one lass

among the five hundred I have seen here.

Among the ancient political graffiti examples were Arab satirist poems. Yazid al-Himyari, an Umayyad Arab and Persian poet, was most known for writing his political poetry on the walls between Sajistan and Basra, manifesting a strong hatred towards the Umayyad regime and its walis, and people used to read and circulate them very widely.

Graffiti, known as Tacherons, were frequently scratched on Romanesque Scandinavian church walls. When Renaissance artists such as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio, or Filippino Lippi descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, they carved or painted their names and returned to initiate the grottesche style of decoration.

There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as Independence Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail.

Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s. Lord Byron's survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.

The oldest known example of graffiti "monikers" found on traincars created by hobos and railworkers since the late 1800s. The Bozo Texino monikers were documented by filmmaker Bill Daniel in his 2005 film, Who is Bozo Texino?.

In World War II, an inscription on a wall at the fortress of Verdun was seen as an illustration of the US response twice in a generation to the wrongs of the Old World:

During World War II and for decades after, the phrase "Kilroy was here" with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately filtering into American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives".

Modern graffiti art has its origins with young people in 1960s and 70s in New York City and Philadelphia. Tags were the first form of stylised contemporary graffiti. Eventually, throw-ups and pieces evolved with the desire to create larger art. Writers used spray paint and other kind of materials to leave tags or to create images on the sides subway trains. and eventually moved into the city after the NYC metro began to buy new trains and paint over graffiti.

While the art had many advocates and appreciators—including the cultural critic Norman Mailer—others, including New York City mayor Ed Koch, considered it to be defacement of public property, and saw it as a form of public blight. The ‘taggers’ called what they did ‘writing’—though an important 1974 essay by Mailer referred to it using the term ‘graffiti.’

Contemporary graffiti style has been heavily influenced by hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from Philadelphia and New York City Subway graffiti; however, there are many other traditions of notable graffiti in the twentieth century. Graffiti have long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges.

An early graffito outside of New York or Philadelphia was the inscription in London reading "Clapton is God" in reference to the guitarist Eric Clapton. Creating the cult of the guitar hero, the phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington, north London in the autumn of 1967. The graffito was captured in a photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall.

Films like Style Wars in the 80s depicting famous writers such as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne, and ZEPHYR reinforced graffiti's role within New York's emerging hip-hop culture. Although many officers of the New York City Police Department found this film to be controversial, Style Wars is still recognized as the most prolific film representation of what was going on within the young hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 took hip hop graffiti to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour in 1983

Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop culture

Main article: Commercial graffiti

With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco which involved people spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linux mascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for punitive damages and clean-up costs.

In 2005, a similar ad campaign was launched by Sony and executed by its advertising agency in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami, to market its handheld PSP gaming system. In this campaign, taking notice of the legal problems of the IBM campaign, Sony paid building owners for the rights to paint on their buildings "a collection of dizzy-eyed urban kids playing with the PSP as if it were a skateboard, a paddle, or a rocking horse".

Tristan Manco wrote that Brazil "boasts a unique and particularly rich, graffiti scene ... [earning] it an international reputation as the place to go for artistic inspiration". Graffiti "flourishes in every conceivable space in Brazil's cities". Artistic parallels "are often drawn between the energy of São Paulo today and 1970s New York". The "sprawling metropolis", of São Paulo has "become the new shrine to graffiti"; Manco alludes to "poverty and unemployment ... [and] the epic struggles and conditions of the country's marginalised peoples", and to "Brazil's chronic poverty", as the main engines that "have fuelled a vibrant graffiti culture". In world terms, Brazil has "one of the most uneven distributions of income. Laws and taxes change frequently". Such factors, Manco argues, contribute to a very fluid society, riven with those economic divisions and social tensions that underpin and feed the "folkloric vandalism and an urban sport for the disenfranchised", that is South American graffiti art.

Prominent Brazilian writers include Os Gêmeos, Boleta, Nunca, Nina, Speto, Tikka, and T.Freak. Their artistic success and involvement in commercial design ventures has highlighted divisions within the Brazilian graffiti community between adherents of the cruder transgressive form of pichação and the more conventionally artistic values of the practitioners of grafite.

Graffiti in the Middle East has emerged slowly, with taggers operating in Egypt, Lebanon, the Gulf countries like Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and in Iran. The major Iranian newspaper Hamshahri has published two articles on illegal writers in the city with photographic coverage of Iranian artist A1one's works on Tehran walls. Tokyo-based design magazine, PingMag, has interviewed A1one and featured photographs of his work. The Israeli West Bank barrier has become a site for graffiti, reminiscent in this sense of the Berlin Wall. Many writers in Israel come from other places around the globe, such as JUIF from Los Angeles and DEVIONE from London. The religious reference "נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן" ("Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman") is commonly seen in graffiti around Israel.

Graffiti has played an important role within the street art scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially following the events of the Arab Spring of 2011 or the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/19. Graffiti is a tool of expression in the context of conflict in the region, allowing people to raise their voices politically and socially. Famous street artist Banksy has had an important effect in the street art scene in the MENA area, especially in Palestine where some of his works are located in the West Bank barrier and Bethlehem.

There are also a large number of graffiti influences in Southeast Asian countries that mostly come from modern Western culture, such as Malaysia, where graffiti have long been a common sight in Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Since 2010, the country has begun hosting a street festival to encourage all generations and people from all walks of life to enjoy and encourage Malaysian street culture.

The modern-day graffitists can be found with an arsenal of various materials that allow for a successful production of a piece. This includes such techniques as scribing. However, spray paint in aerosol cans is the number one medium for graffiti. From this commodity comes different styles, technique, and abilities to form master works of graffiti. Spray paint can be found at hardware and art stores and comes in virtually every color.

Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as cardboard or subject folders) to form an overall design or image. The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface.

Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists Blek le Rat in Paris, in 1982 by Jef Aerosol in Tours (France); by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis

Tagging is the practice of someone spray-painting "their name, initial or logo onto a public surface" in a handstyle unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.

Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, Graffiti Research Lab has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic light-emitting diodes (throwies) as new media for graffitists. yarnbombing is another recent form of graffiti. Yarnbombers occasionally target previous graffiti for modification, which had been avoided among the majority of graffitists.

Theories on the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Asger Jorn, who in 1962 painting declared in a graffiti-like gesture "the avant-garde won't give up"

Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or, in the achievement of a political goal

In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically, or racially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effective tools in establishing dialog and thus, of addressing cleavages in the long run. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR.

Many artists involved with graffiti are also concerned with the similar activity of stenciling. Essentially, this entails stenciling a print of one or more colors using spray-paint. Recognized while exhibiting and publishing several of her coloured stencils and paintings portraying the Sri Lankan Civil War and urban Britain in the early 2000s, graffitists Mathangi Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has also become known for integrating her imagery of political violence into her music videos for singles "Galang" and "Bucky Done Gun", and her cover art. Stickers of her artwork also often appear around places such as London in Brick Lane, stuck to lamp posts and street signs, she having become a muse for other graffitists and painters worldwide in cities including Seville.

Graffitist believes that art should be on display for everyone in the public eye or in plain sight, not hidden away in a museum or a gallery. Art should color the streets, not the inside of some building. Graffiti is a form of art that cannot be owned or bought. It does not last forever, it is temporary, yet one of a kind. It is a form of self promotion for the artist that can be displayed anywhere form sidewalks, roofs, subways, building wall, etc. Art to them is for everyone and should be showed to everyone for free.

Graffiti is a way of communicating and a way of expressing what one feels in the moment. It is both art and a functional thing that can warn people of something or inform people of something. However, graffiti is to some people a form of art, but to some a form of vandalism. And many graffitists choose to protect their identities and remain anonymous or to hinder prosecution.

With the commercialization of graffiti (and hip hop in general), in most cases, even with legally painted "graffiti" art, graffitists tend to choose anonymity. This may be attributed to various reasons or a combination of reasons. Graffiti still remains the one of four hip hop elements that is not considered "performance art" despite the image of the "singing and dancing star" that sells hip hop culture to the mainstream. Being a graphic form of art, it might also be said that many graffitists still fall in the category of the introverted archetypal artist.

Banksy is one of the world's most notorious and popular street artists who continues to remain faceless in today's society. He is known for his political, anti-war stencil art mainly in Bristol, England, but his work may be seen anywhere from Los Angeles to Palestine. In the UK, Banksy is the most recognizable icon for this cultural artistic movement and keeps his identity a secret to avoid arrest. Much of Banksy's artwork may be seen around the streets of London and surrounding suburbs, although he has painted pictures throughout the world, including the Middle East, where he has painted on Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side. One depicted a hole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows a mountain landscape on the other side. A number of exhibitions also have taken place since 2000, and recent works of art have fetched vast sums of money. Banksy's art is a prime example of the classic controversy: vandalism vs. art. Art supporters endorse his work distributed in urban areas as pieces of art and some councils, such as Bristol and Islington, have officially protected them, while officials of other areas have deemed his work to be vandalism and have removed it.

Pixnit is another artist who chooses to keep her identity from the general public. Her work focuses on beauty and design aspects of graffiti as opposed to Banksy's anti-government shock value. Her paintings are often of flower designs above shops and stores in her local urban area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some store owners endorse her work and encourage others to do similar work as well. "One of the pieces was left up above Steve's Kitchen, because it looks pretty awesome"- Erin Scott, the manager of New England Comics in Allston, Massachusetts.

Graffiti artists may become offended if photographs of their art are published in a commercial context without their permission. In March 2020, the Finnish graffiti artist Psyke expressed his displeasure at the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat publishing a photograph of a Peugeot 208 in an article about new cars, with his graffiti prominently shown on the background. The artist claims he does not want his art being used in commercial context, not even if he were to receive compensation.

Territorial graffiti marks urban neighborhoods with tags and logos to differentiate certain groups from others. These images are meant to show outsiders a stern look at whose turf is whose. The subject matter of gang-related graffiti consists of cryptic symbols and initials strictly fashioned with unique calligraphies. Gang members use graffiti to designate membership throughout the gang, to differentiate rivals and associates and, most commonly, to mark borders which are both territorial and ideological.

Graffiti has been used as a means of advertising both legally and illegally. Bronx-based TATS CRU has made a name for themselves doing legal advertising campaigns for companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Toyota, and MTV. In the UK, Covent Garden's Boxfresh used stencil images of a Zapatista revolutionary in the hopes that cross referencing would promote their store.

Smirnoff hired artists to use reverse graffiti (the use of high pressure hoses to clean dirty surfaces to leave a clean image in the surrounding dirt) to increase awareness of their product.

Graffiti often has a reputation as part of a subculture that rebels against authority, although the considerations of the practitioners often diverge and can relate to a wide range of attitudes. It can express a political practice and can form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. One early example includes the anarcho-punk band Crass, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist, and anti-consumerist messages throughout the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Amsterdam graffiti was a major part of the punk scene. The city was covered with names such as "De Zoot", "Vendex", and "Dr Rat". To document the graffiti a punk magazine was started that was called Gallery Anus. So when hip hop came to Europe in the early 1980s there was already a vibrant graffiti culture.

The student protests and general strike of May 1968 saw Paris bedecked in revolutionary, anarchistic, and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counterrevolutionary") and Lisez moins, vivez plus ("Read less, live more"). While not exhaustive, the graffiti gave a sense of the 'millenarian' and rebellious spirit, tempered with a good deal of verbal wit, of the strikers.

I think graffiti writing is a way of defining what our generation is like. Excuse the French, we're not a bunch of p---- artists. Traditionally artists have been considered soft and mellow people, a little bit kooky. Maybe we're a little bit more like pirates that way. We defend our territory, whatever space we steal to paint on, we defend it fiercely.

The developments of graffiti art which took place in art galleries and colleges as well as "on the street" or "underground", contributed to the resurfacing in the 1990s of a far more overtly politicized art form in the subvertising, culture jamming, or tactical media movements. These movements or styles tend to classify the artists by their relationship to their social and economic contexts, since, in most countries, graffiti art remains illegal in many forms except when using non-permanent paint. Since the 1990s with the rise of Street Art, a growing number of artists are switching to non-permanent paints and non-traditional forms of painting.

Contemporary practitioners, accordingly, have varied and often conflicting practices. Some individuals, such as Alexander Brener, have used the medium to politicize other art forms, and have used the prison sentences enforced on them as a means of further protest. The practices of anonymous groups and individuals also vary widely, and practitioners by no means always agree with each other's practices. For example, the anti-capitalist art group the Space Hijackers did a piece in 2004 about the contradiction between the capitalistic elements of Banksy and his use of political imagery.

Berlin human rights activist Irmela Mensah-Schramm has received global media attention and numerous awards for her 35-year campaign of effacing neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist graffiti throughout Germany, often by altering hate speech in humorous ways.

In Serbian capital, Belgrade, the graffiti depicting a uniformed former general of Serb army and war criminal, convicted at ICTY for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnian War, Ratko Mladić, appeared in a military salute alongside the words "General, thank to your mother". Aleks Eror, Berlin-based journalist, explains how "veneration of historical and wartime figures" through street art is not a new phenomenon in the region of former Yugoslavia, and that "in most cases is firmly focused on the future, rather than retelling the past". Eror is not only analyst pointing to danger of such an expressions for the region's future. In a long expose on the subject of Bosnian genocide denial, at Balkan Diskurs magazine and multimedia platform website, Kristina Gadže and Taylor Whitsell referred to these experiences as a young generations' "cultural heritage", in which young are being exposed to celebration and affirmation of war-criminals as part of their "formal education" and "inheritance".

There are numerous examples of genocide denial through celebration and affirmation of war criminals throughout the region of Western Balkans inhabited by Serbs using this form of artistic expression. Several more of these graffiti are found in Serbian capital, and many more across Serbia and Bosnian and Herzegovinian administrative entity, Republika Srpska, which is the ethnic Serbian majority enclave. Critics point that Serbia as a state, is willing to defend the mural of convicted war criminal, and have no intention to react on cases of genocide denial, noting that Interior Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin decision to ban any gathering with an intent to remove the mural, with the deployment of riot police, sends the message of "tacit endorsement". Consequently, on 9 November 2021, Serbian heavy police in riot gear, with graffiti creators and their supporters, blocked the access to the mural to prevent human rights groups and other activists to paint over it and mark the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism in that way, and even arrested two civic activist for throwing eggs at the graffiti.

Graffiti may also be used as an offensive expression. This form of graffiti may be difficult to identify, as it is mostly removed by the local authority (as councils which have adopted strategies of criminalization also strive to remove graffiti quickly). Therefore, existing racist graffiti is mostly more subtle and at first sight, not easily recognized as "racist". It can then be understood only if one knows the relevant "local code" (social, historical, political, temporal, and spatial), which is seen as heteroglot and thus a 'unique set of conditions' in a cultural context.

A spatial code for example, could be that there is a certain youth group in an area that is engaging heavily in racist activities. So, for residents (knowing the local code), a graffiti containing only the name or abbreviation of this gang already is a racist expression, reminding the offended people of their gang activities. Also a graffiti is in most cases, the herald of more serious criminal activity to come. A person who does not know these gang activities would not be able to recognize the meaning of this graffiti. Also if a tag of this youth group or gang is placed on a building occupied by asylum seekers, for example, its racist character is even stronger.

By making the graffiti less explicit (as adapted to social and legal constraints), these drawings are less likely to be removed, but do not lose their threatening and offensive character.

Elsewhere, activists in Russia have used painted caricatures of local officials with their mouths as potholes, to show their anger about the poor state of the roads. In Manchester, England, a graffitists painted obscene images around potholes, which often resulted in them being repaired within 48 hours.

In the early 1980s, the first art galleries to show graffitists to the public were Fashion Moda in the Bronx, Now Gallery and Fun Gallery, both in the East Village, Manhattan.

A 2006 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum displayed graffiti as an art form that began in New York's outer boroughs and reached great heights in the early 1980s with the work of Crash, Lee, Daze, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It displayed 22 works by New York graffitists, including Crash, Daze, and Lady Pink. In an article about the exhibition in the magazine Time Out, curator Charlotta Kotik said that she hoped the exhibition would cause viewers to rethink their assumptions about graffiti.

From the 1970s onwards, Burhan Doğançay photographed urban walls all over the world; these he then archived for use as sources of inspiration for his painterly works. The project today known as "Walls of the World" grew beyond even his own expectations and comprises about 30,000 individual images. It spans a period of 40 years across five continents and 114 countries. In 1982, photographs from this project comprised a one-man exhibition titled "Les murs murmurent, ils crient, ils chantent ..." (The walls whisper, shout and sing ...) at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

In Australia, art historians have judged some local graffiti of sufficient creative merit to rank them firmly within the arts. Oxford University Press's art history text Australian Painting 1788–2000 concludes with a long discussion of graffiti's key place within contemporary visual culture, including the work of several Australian practitioners.

Between March and April 2009, 150 artists exhibited 300 pieces of graffiti at the Grand Palais in Paris.

Spray paint has many negative environmental effects. The paint contains toxic chemicals, and the can uses volatile hydrocarbon gases to spray the paint onto a surface.

Volatile organic compound (VOC) leads to ground level ozone formation and most of graffiti related emissions are VOCs. A 2010 paper estimates 4,862 tons of VOCs were released in the United States in activities related to graffiti.

In China, Mao Zedong in the 1920s used revolutionary slogans and paintings in public places to galvanize the country's communist movement.

Based on different national conditions, many people believe that China's attitude towards Graffiti is fierce, but in fact, according to Lance Crayon in his film Spray Paint Beijing: Graffiti in the Capital of China, Graffiti is generally accepted in Beijing, with artists not seeing much police interference. Political and religiously sensitive graffiti, however, is not allowed.

In Hong Kong, Tsang Tsou Choi was known as the King of Kowloon for his calligraphy graffiti over many years, in which he claimed ownership of the area. Now some of his work is preserved officially.

In Taiwan, the government has made some concessions to graffitists. Since 2005 they have been allowed to freely display their work along some sections of riverside retaining walls in designated "Graffiti Zones". From 2007, Taipei's department of cultural affairs also began permitting graffiti on fences around major public construction sites. Department head Yong-ping Lee (李永萍) stated, "We will promote graffiti starting with the public sector, and then later in the private sector too. It's our goal to beautify the city with graffiti". The government later helped organize a graffiti contest in Ximending, a popular shopping district. graffitists caught working outside of these designated areas still face fines up to NT$6,000 under a department of environmental protection regulation. However, Taiwanese authorities can be relatively lenient, one veteran police officer stating anonymously, "Unless someone complains about vandalism, we won't get involved. We don't go after it proactively."

In 1993, after several expensive cars in Singapore were spray-painted, the police arrested a student from the Singapore American School, Michael P. Fay, questioned him, and subsequently charged him with vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing a car in addition to stealing road signs. Under the 1966 Vandalism Act of Singapore, originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore, the court sentenced him to four months in jail, a fine of S$3,500 (US$2,233), and a caning. The New York Times ran several editorials and op-eds that condemned the punishment and called on the American public to flood the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singapore government received many calls for clemency, Fay's caning took place in Singapore on 5 May 1994. Fay had originally received a sentence of six strokes of the cane, but the presiding president of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong, agreed to reduce his caning sentence to four lashes.

In South Korea, Park Jung-soo was fined two million South Korean won by the Seoul Central District Court for spray-painting a rat on posters of the G-20 Summit a few days before the event in November 2011. Park alleged that the initial in "G-20" sounds like the Korean word for "rat", but Korean government prosecutors alleged that Park was making a derogatory statement about the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, the host of the summit. This case led to public outcry and debate on the lack of government tolerance and in support of freedom of expression. The court ruled that the painting, "an ominous creature like a rat" amounts to "an organized criminal activity" and upheld the fine while denying the prosecution's request for imprisonment for Park.

In Europe, community cleaning squads have responded to graffiti, in some cases with reckless abandon, as when in 1992 in France a local Scout group, attempting to remove modern graffiti, damaged two prehistoric paintings of bison in the Cave of Mayrière supérieure near the French village of Bruniquel in Tarn-et-Garonne, earning them the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in archeology.

In September 2006, the European Parliament directed the European Commission to create urban environment policies to prevent and eliminate dirt, litter, graffiti, animal excrement, and excessive noise from domestic and vehicular music systems in European cities, along with other concerns over urban life.

In Budapest, Hungary, both a city-backed movement called I Love Budapest and a special police division tackle the problem, including the provision of approved areas.

The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 became Britain's latest anti-graffiti legislation. In August 2004, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign issued a press release calling for zero tolerance of graffiti and supporting proposals such as issuing "on the spot" fines to graffiti offenders and banning the sale of aerosol paint to anyone under the age of 16. The press release also condemned the use of graffiti images in advertising and in music videos, arguing that real-world experience of graffiti stood far removed from its often-portrayed "cool" or "edgy'" image.

To back the campaign, 123 Members of Parliament (MPs) (including then Prime Minister Tony Blair), signed a charter which stated: "Graffiti is not art, it's crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do all I can to rid our community of this problem."

In the UK, city councils have the power to take action against the owner of any property that has been defaced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) or, in certain cases, the Highways Act. This is often used against owners of property that are complacent in allowing protective boards to be defaced so long as the property is not damaged.

In July 2008, a conspiracy charge was used to convict graffitists for the first time. After a three-month police surveillance operation, nine members of the DPM crew were convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage costing at least £1 million. Five of them received prison sentences, ranging from eighteen months to two years. The unprecedented scale of the investigation and the severity of the sentences rekindled public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or crime.

Some councils, like those of Stroud and Loerrach, provide approved areas in the town where graffitists can showcase their talents, including underpasses, car parks, and walls that might otherwise prove a target for the "spray and run".

Graffiti Tunnel, University of Sydney at Camperdown (2009)

In an effort to reduce vandalism, many cities in Australia have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffitists. One early example is the "Graffiti Tunnel" located at the Camperdown Campus of the University of Sydney, which is available for use by any student at the university to tag, advertise, poster, and paint. Advocates of this idea suggest that this discourages petty vandalism yet encourages artists to take their time and produce great art, without worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing.[108][109] Others disagree with this approach, arguing that the presence of legal graffiti walls does not demonstrably reduce illegal graffiti elsewhere. Some local government areas throughout Australia have introduced "anti-graffiti squads", who clean graffiti in the area, and such crews as BCW (Buffers Can't Win) have taken steps to keep one step ahead of local graffiti cleaners.

Many state governments have banned the sale or possession of spray paint to those under the age of 18 (age of majority). However, a number of local governments in Victoria have taken steps to recognize the cultural heritage value of some examples of graffiti, such as prominent political graffiti. Tough new graffiti laws have been introduced in Australia with fines of up to A$26,000 and two years in prison.

Melbourne is a prominent graffiti city of Australia with many of its lanes being tourist attractions, such as Hosier Lane in particular, a popular destination for photographers, wedding photography, and backdrops for corporate print advertising. The Lonely Planet travel guide cites Melbourne's street as a major attraction. All forms of graffiti, including sticker art, poster, stencil art, and wheatpasting, can be found in many places throughout the city. Prominent street art precincts include; Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, Brunswick, St. Kilda, and the CBD, where stencil and sticker art is prominent. As one moves farther away from the city, mostly along suburban train lines, graffiti tags become more prominent. Many international artists such as Banksy have left their work in Melbourne and in early 2008 a perspex screen was installed to prevent a Banksy stencil art piece from being destroyed, it has survived since 2003 through the respect of local street artists avoiding posting over it, although it has recently had paint tipped over it.

In February 2008 Helen Clark, the New Zealand prime minister at that time, announced a government crackdown on tagging and other forms of graffiti vandalism, describing it as a destructive crime representing an invasion of public and private property. New legislation subsequently adopted included a ban on the sale of paint spray cans to persons under 18 and increases in maximum fines for the offence from NZ$200 to NZ$2,000 or extended community service. The issue of tagging become a widely debated one following an incident in Auckland during January 2008 in which a middle-aged property owner stabbed one of two teenage taggers to death and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.

Graffiti databases have increased in the past decade because they allow vandalism incidents to be fully documented against an offender and help the police and prosecution charge and prosecute offenders for multiple counts of vandalism. They also provide law enforcement the ability to rapidly search for an offender's moniker or tag in a simple, effective, and comprehensive way. These systems can also help track costs of damage to a city to help allocate an anti-graffiti budget. The theory is that when an offender is caught putting up graffiti, they are not just charged with one count of vandalism; they can be held accountable for all the other damage for which they are responsible. This has two main benefits for law enforcement. One, it sends a signal to the offenders that their vandalism is being tracked. Two, a city can seek restitution from offenders for all the damage that they have committed, not merely a single incident. These systems give law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them not only to focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.

Many restrictions of civil gang injunctions are designed to help address and protect the physical environment and limit graffiti. Provisions of gang injunctions include things such as restricting the possession of marker pens, spray paint cans, or other sharp objects capable of defacing private or public property; spray painting, or marking with marker pens, scratching, applying stickers, or otherwise applying graffiti on any public or private property, including, but not limited to the street, alley, residences, block walls, and fences, vehicles or any other real or personal property. Some injunctions contain wording that restricts damaging or vandalizing both public and private property, including but not limited to any vehicle, light fixture, door, fence, wall, gate, window, building, street sign, utility box, telephone box, tree, or power pole.

To help address many of these issues, many local jurisdictions have set up graffiti abatement hotlines, where citizens can call in and report vandalism and have it removed. San Diego's hotline receives more than 5,000 calls per year, in addition to reporting the graffiti, callers can learn more about prevention. One of the complaints about these hotlines is the response time; there is often a lag time between a property owner calling about the graffiti and its removal. The length of delay should be a consideration for any jurisdiction planning on operating a hotline. Local jurisdictions must convince the callers that their complaint of vandalism will be a priority and cleaned off right away. If the jurisdiction does not have the resources to respond to complaints in a timely manner, the value of the hotline diminishes. Crews must be able to respond to individual service calls made to the graffiti hotline as well as focus on cleanup near schools, parks, and major intersections and transit routes to have the biggest impact. Some cities offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of suspects for tagging or graffiti related vandalism. The amount of the reward is based on the information provided, and the action taken.

When police obtain search warrants in connection with a vandalism investigation, they are often seeking judicial approval to look for items such as cans of spray paint and nozzles from other kinds of aerosol sprays; etching tools, or other sharp or pointed objects, which could be used to etch or scratch glass and other hard surfaces; permanent marking pens, markers, or paint sticks; evidence of membership or affiliation with any gang or tagging crew; paraphernalia including any reference to "(tagger's name)"; any drawings, writing, objects, or graffiti depicting taggers' names, initials, logos, monikers, slogans, or any mention of tagging crew membership; and any newspaper clippings relating to graffiti crime.

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Hijaz @Muiekpublique Moliere 2014.03.07 by Andre

Hijaz is without a doubt one of the best kept secrets of the Belgian world music scene. The quartet weaves a tangible dialogue between oud (the Arab lute) and piano, bridging divides between Arab music and jazz. That duality is reflected in their name, Hijaz,. In their fourth and most recent album ’Nahadin’, Hijaz take a major step forward or, at least, into some other dimension. They have been experimenting, composing and recording new pieces, flouting all rules and formal standards to arrive at a real symbiosis of cultures. They are taking a high dive into the music: no verses, choruses or bridges, choosing to explore the organic quality of the music, at the point where it acquires the fluidity of water. For the release of their album, they have invited Tunisian singer Abir Nasraoui as their guest. She also sings on the new album.

- Niko Deman: piano

- Chryster Aerts: percussion

- Rui Salgado: double bass

- Moufadhel Adhoum: oud

+ guest Abir Nasraoui: vocals

Without/Within by Tyler Burke

The Starlit Princess Waltz by ThatDisneyLover

Do not use without permission!

Disney Twitter: twitter.com/ThatDisneyLover

Photography Twitter: twitter.com/LJK_Photography

Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/PixelPixie123

Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/thatdisneylover/

Photography Instagram: www.instagram.com/ljknightonphotography/

RICHARD ASHCROFT @ ALBERT HALL, MCR 14/05/16 by Mudkiss Photography

Use of these images in any form without permission is illegal. If you wish to use or license any images please contact mel@mudkissphotography.co.uk

www.mudkissphotography.co.uk

Protected with PIXSY

Wien, 1. Bezirk, Stephansdom, la chiesa di Santo Stefano, la Catedral de San Esteban de Viena, La Cathédrale Saint-Étienne, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, Katedra św. Szczepana w Wiedniu (Stephansplatz) by Alfred Lex

A cathedral without a bishop: St. Stephan in Vienna

In order to fully fulfill the function of a capital in its medieval understanding, Vienna lacked a decisive factor: Vienna was indeed a major city, but not the seat of a bishopric, but was subordinate to the Prince-Bishop of Passau in ecclesiastical matters. St. Stephen, the most important church in the city, had only the rank of a parish church.

Therefore, the first attempts to found a diocese in Vienna date back to the time of the Babenbergs. Also the under Ottokar II Přemysl after the fire of 1258 begun generous new building of the Saint Stephen's church in the late Romanesque style pursued this goal.

The Habsburgs' representational aspirations also focused on St. Stephen after they had taken control of Austria. Albrecht I began in 1304 with the construction of a new choir. The highlight, however, was reached under Duke Rudolf IV. This ambitious Habsburg wanted to turn Vienna into an important royal residence and St. Stephen as the "Capella regia Austriaca" into the court church of the Austrian sovereign princes, the sacral center of the country.

The background for this lay in the competition with the dynasty of Luxembourg: Emperor Charles IV was just about to expand his residence Prague to a metropolis of European importance. One of his measures was the elevation of Prague to the Archbishopric of 1344, which prompted the great expansion of St. Vitus' Cathedral on Prague's Hradcany.

Rudolf's plan to make St. Stephen the seat of a bishop failed because of the resistance of Passau, because the bishop rightly feared a reduction of his diocese. Nevertheless, Rudolf found a way to give St. Stephan a special rank. In 1359 he obtained the papal confirmation for the founding of a collegiate, an association of 24 dressed in cardinal red robes priests, which was headed by a provost in a bishop-like costume. By subordinating the collegiate directly to the Pope, it was beyond the Passau influence. Thanks to complicated ecclesiastical chess moves he finally succeeded in 1365 to transfer his foundation to St. Stephen, which increased the importance of the church.

This was also reflected in the structural design of the church. In 1359 Rudolf IV began with a large-scale expansion, which was to bear all the symbols of a ruling church: a princely gallery above the west portal was framed by two-storey Duke's chapels, in which the relic treasure was kept. A princely tomb was erected as the tomb of the rulers of the country and finally four towers were planned, which was actually a building prerogative of a bishop's church. By integrating parts of the late Romanesque predecessor building (the main portal and the westwork called "Giant Gate") into his concept, Rudolf gave his building program historical depth.

With the death of Rudolf, the interest of the Habsburgs in St. Stephen palpably came to an end, and the citizens of Vienna took the initiative for the further expansion of the church. Only with Frederick III., who saw his example in Rudolf IV, did a Habsburg take part in the expansion of the church. Friedrich ordered the beginning of the work on the north tower. However, his high tomb in the Apostle Choir of the Dome, which is another notable example of the dynastic program of the Habsburgs in the late Middle Ages, is particularly reminiscent of this Habsburg.

Frederick III. finally managed to bring the prestige matter of his ancestor Rudolf to a successful end: 1469 Frederick III succeeded in to bring about the Pope to elevate Vienna to a diocese. Although the Viennese diocese initially had only a minimal extension - it was smaller than the current urban area - but the Habsburgs had imposed their own will: The Cathedral of St. Stephen had finally a bishop.

Eine Kathedrale ohne Bischof: St. Stephan in Wien

Um im mittelalterlichen Verständnis die Funktion einer Hauptstadt vollends zu erfüllen, fehlte Wien eine entscheidende Sache: Wien war zwar eine bedeutende Großstadt, aber nicht Sitz eines Bistums, sondern unterstand in kirchlichen Belangen dem Fürstbischof von Passau. St. Stephan, die wichtigste Kirche der Stadt, hatte nur den Rang einer Pfarrkirche.

Daher datieren die ersten Versuche einer Bistumsgründung in Wien bereits in die Zeit der Babenberger. Auch der unter Ottokar II. Přemysl nach dem Brand von 1258 begonnene großzügige Neubau der Stephanskirche im spätromanischen Stil verfolgte dieses Ziel.

Auf St. Stephan konzentrierten sich auch die Repräsentationsbestrebungen der Habsburger, nachdem sie die Herrschaft in Österreich übernommen hatten. Albrecht I. begann bereits 1304 mit dem Bau eines neuen Chores. Der Höhepunkt wurde jedoch unter Herzog Rudolf IV. erreicht. Dieser ehrgeizige Habsburger wollte Wien zu einer bedeutenden Residenzstadt und St. Stephan als “Capella regia Austriaca”, als Hofkirche der österreichischen Landesfürsten, zum sakralen Zentrum des Landes machen.

Der Hintergrund dafür lag in der Konkurrenz mit der Dynastie der Luxemburger: Kaiser Karl IV. war gerade dabei, seine Residenz Prag zu einer Metropole europäischer Geltung auszubauen. Eine seiner Maßnahmen war die Erhebung Prags zum Erzbistum 1344, was den Anstoß gab für den großartigen Ausbau des Veitsdomes am Prager Hradschin.

Rudolfs Plan, St. Stephan zum Sitz eines Bischofs zu machen, scheiterte zwar am Widerstand Passaus, denn der Bischof fürchtete zu Recht eine Verkleinerung seiner Diözese. Dennoch fand Rudolf einen Weg, St. Stephan einen besonderen Rang zu verleihen. 1359 erwirkte er die päpstliche Bestätigung für die Gründung eines Kollegiatstiftes, einer Vereinigung von 24 in kardinalsrote Gewänder gekleideten Priestern, denen ein Probst in bischofsähnlicher Tracht vorstand. Indem er das Kollegiat direkt dem Papst unterstellte, war es dem Passauer Einfluss entzogen. Dank komplizierter kirchenrechtlicher Schachzüge gelang es ihm schließlich 1365 seine Stiftung auf St. Stephan zu übertragen, was die Bedeutung des Gotteshauses erhöhte.

Dies schlug sich auch in der baulichen Gestalt der Kirche nieder. 1359 begann Rudolf IV. mit einem groß angelegten Ausbau, der alle Symbole einer Herrscherkirche tragen sollte: Eine Fürstenempore über dem Westportal wurde von doppelstöckigen Herzogskapellen eingerahmt, in denen der Reliquienschatz verwahrt wurde. Eine Fürstengruft als Grablege der Herrscher des Landes wurde angelegt und schließlich waren vier Türme geplant, was eigentlich ein bauliches Vorrecht einer Bischofskirche war. Indem Rudolf Teile des spätromanischen Vorgängerbaues (das als “Riesentor” bezeichnete Hauptportal und das Westwerk) in sein Konzept integrieren ließ, gab er seinem Bauprogramm historische Tiefe.

Mit dem Tod Rudolfs erlosch das Interesse der Habsburger an St. Stephan spürbar, die Wiener Bürgerschaft übernahm die Initiative für den weiteren Ausbau der Kirche. Erst mit Friedrich III., der in Rudolf IV. sein Vorbild sah, beteiligte sich wieder ein Habsburger am Ausbau der Kirche. Friedrich veranlasste den Beginn der Arbeiten am Nordturm. An diesen Habsburger erinnert vor allem jedoch sein Hochgrab im Apostelchor des Domes, ein weiteres bemerkenswertes Beispiel für das dynastische Programm der Habsburger im Spätmittelalter.

Friedrich III. gelang es schließlich auch, die Prestigeangelegenheit seines Ahnen Rudolf zu einem erfolgreichen Ende zu bringen: 1469 erreichte Friedrich III. beim Papst die Erhebung Wiens zum Bistum. Die Wiener Diözese hatte zwar zunächst nur eine minimale Ausdehung – sie war kleiner als das heutige Stadtgebiet – aber die Habsburger hatten ihren Willen durchgesetzt: Der Dom zu St. Stephan hatte endlich einen Bischof.

Martin Mutschlechner

www.habsburger.net/de/kapitel/eine-kathedrale-ohne-bischo...

Are you ready? by ilya khomyakov

2 8

Being left without all my cams i've started to look through archives and found a lot of works good enough to be shared.

Model: Sveta

Man behind the camera: me

Production: both of us

Suzuki APV wagon by TuRbO_J

3 1

Without a doubt, these compact vans are one of the most popular cars in Indonesia. This is a picture of my hotels tour van, which I spent a lot of time in running around Bali just recently.

We also get these here in Australia, but not like this! Ours are very basic, 'stripped out' little vans that only sell to small business around the city and come with black front and rear bumpers, not even wheel covers and are only sold in white, black or silver!! Very basic!!

This version however, was very comfortable and had seating for 7!!

KOM League Flash Report for Week of June 19--26, 2016 by John Hall

The KOM League

Flash Report

For week of

June 19—25, 2016

Opening salvo:

Most weeks start with nothing to write about. This week was no exception. Then, someone will call or e-mail me with a question or obituary and the verbiage commences. Thus, without reader input I’d have nothing to share for everything I ever knew, for a fact or have fabricated, has already been shared in the 22- years of writing about the KOM league.

At this time I know some things that will appear in the next issue of this report for I didn’t have room to share them in this epistle. So, if you want to be mentioned in the next issue, get in touch.

Three historical photos of KOM leaguers are referenced in this report.. One had to be selected to place on the Flickr site and the one of the recently deceased Jim Allicotti was the winner: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/27654549751/

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Bad start to new week:

Early on the morning of June 12th I was copied on a Facebook message from the son of Richard and Molly McCoy. Not having access to that function I immediately went to the KOM database and pulled up the telephone number of the McCoy’s. No one answered the home phone but the call to the cellphone number had me in touch with Dick.

Immediately upon saying “Hello,” Dick knew my voice. I asked him if anything was wrong and there sure was. He said he had just gone through a traumatic experience. He had a biopsy of a large tumor under his left ear and learned that it was malignant. He will enter the hospital on June 13th for surgery. He told me on Sunday, 12th, that the procedure was first estimated to take two to three hours but due to further examination the surgery time was increased to an estimated eight hours.

A conversation ensued about life from youth to its advanced stages. Dick told me that he is nearing his 87th birthday and figured he had escaped some of the diseases that befall others. He said “I thought I was on the downhill side of that.” He mentioned that his mother lived to be 105 and figured he was on his way to equaling her longevity.

McCoy recalled that in his youth, as a Brooklyn Dodger farmhand and big league hopeful, that he thought the sun was wonderful when he could pitch a game in hot places like Ponca City and Ft. Worth. That turned out to be a major contributor to his current condition. As he spoke with his doctor he was asked if he ever chewed tobacco. McCoy said he had a little Beechnut while sitting in the dugout but was never a big user of it.

It’s pretty tough talking to someone like Dick who I’ve known for over 20 years and have been affiliated with him and Molly at wedding anniversaries as well as numerous KOM reunions. Many a morning, in the past couple of decades, I’d receive a call from Dick and it was usually a conversation that went “John, I played baseball with a guy in 1951, can you tell me if he’s still alive and if so, where?” Sometimes the guy had passed on and other times a connection was made for Dick to reunite with an old teammate. I recall the first time he ever asked about finding someone and it happened to be the widow of Pepper Martin. The Martins and McCoys were great friends and Dick has as many tales about Pepper as anyone I ever met.

“Every day is a new experience,” Dick declared. He had already been on the telephone with former teammate Gene Castiglione of the Ponca City Dodgers and a fellow mounds man in the Dodger organization by the name of Jim Melton. He opined that Melton was always on the verge of making it to the big leagues, posting large win totals in the minors.

Most generally I don’t share health conditions of former players in this forum. However, there are many readers who know Dick and Molly and I figured I’d share the news so that they can be in touch with the family.

I’ll keep everyone apprised of McCoy’s condition as it unfolds.

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Death of James Vincent Allicotti—baseball player, educator and screen actor

Last week I was going through my list of living, former KOM leaguers, from whom I hadn’t heard from for some time. One name I looked up was James Vincent Allicotti who played centerfield, in the month of June of 1950 for the Miami, Okla. Eagles. He joined the team on May 28. In 1949 he played for Wausau, in the Wisconsin State as well as Ada, Okla. in the Sooner State league. Aside from Miami, he also played for Ada in a dozen games prior to showing up in Miami. I didn’t find anything but less than a week later he passed away.

Most record books don’t indicate it but Allicotti hit from the right side of the plate. He was a big guy for his era going 6’ 2” and 190 pounds while at Miami. A photo of him in his time at Miami can be seen at this site: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/27654549751/

During the 1951 season Allicotti played for Spokane, WA in the Western International. He finished his baseball career in 1952 with Yuma, AZ in the Southwest International and Magic Valley (Twin Falls area) of the Pioneer leagues in 1952.

The following is his obituary that was brought to my attention by Jack Morris on June 15.

obits.ocregister.com/obituaries/orangecounty/obituary.asp...

James Vincent Allicotti, "Jim", 85, of Anaheim, CA passed away on Sunday, June 5, 2016. He was born September 22, 1930 in Denver, CO to the late Vincent and Josephine Allicotti. He was an avid golfer and also enjoyed fishing and hunting.

He played professional baseball in the minor leagues for the late Western International Baseball League's Spokane Indians. Between baseball seasons, he was a screen extra in several Hollywood films, and returned to work as an extra for television after retiring from his teaching career.

He earned his Master’s Degree in Health Science from CSU Los Angeles; and Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Credential from Pepperdine University. He taught Health and Driver's Education for Anaheim Union High School District for 30 years, during which time he also served part-time as a Parks & Recreation Coordinator for City of Anaheim Community Services Department.

Jim is survived by his wife, Diana Allicotti; daughters Gina Allicotti, Sharon Allicotti, Annette Addie, Lola Allicotti; and granddaughters Amanda and Haylie Addie. He is also survived by sisters, Marie Parr and Lorraine Giordano; and was preceded in death by his sister, Mamie Coleman. A Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, June 15, 11:00 AM at St. Anthony Claret Catholic Church, 1450 La Palma Ave. Anaheim, CA 92805. Donations in Jim's name may be made to Anaheim Public Library Foundation:

The remnants of the 1950 Miami Eagles

With the passing of James Allicotti, the 40-man Miami roster is now down to these known survivors: George Garrison, Charles Kohs, Gary Plant Hildebrand, Bob Paulausky, Richard Sassi, Charles V. Quartaro, Louis Salreno and Don Fitzgerald. There were two members of that club I never located—Orlando G. “Tex” Simpson and Charles Mann. Simpson was a pitcher from Corpus Christi, Tex. and Mann was a first baseman from Moffett, Okla. . Mann also played for the Iola Indians in 1950. Miami had three managers that year—James Dorn Oglesby, Oren Carroll “Jack” Hodge and Francis Arthur “Pug” Griffin. They are all deceased. Miami had the tragic oddity of having a manager from 1950 and 1951 who later committed suicide. Jim Oglesby took his own life in 1955 and Tommy Warren did so in 1968. Both of the suicides occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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A tough task in fate verification

Had I refrained from using a photo of the 1946 Chanute, Kansas pitching staff I would have saved myself a lot of effort. That photo carried with it an image of “Red” White. On the back of the photo “Red” was identified as Bob White. Well, there was a pitcher in the KOM league by the name of Robert White but he pitched for Miami, OK and not until 1949.

Had I used the 1946 Chanute team photo I would have identified Bob White as William D. White. After Frank Houston asked me about Mr. White and whether he ever lived in Oklahoma City I decided I had better go back to my early 1990’s records. This reference takes you to the 1946 team photo. William “Red” White is the second from the left in the back row: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/27729119415/

Chanute’s “Red” White had the full name of William Denzil White. He was born on September 2, 1923 in Arcola, MO which is in Dade County with the largest town in that county being Greenfield and the population there has been around 1,000 for decades.

By 1930, Red White’s father, William Barton White, had moved his family to Visalia, California but in 1935 the family was back in Dade County. Death records indicate Red’s mother died in Visalia in 1961 and his dad died in 1966 in Oak Grove, Mo.

William Denzil White graduated from high school (most likely, Greenfield) in 1941 and on 8/21/1942 he joined the U. S. Army. He served there until January 22, 1946 and then returned to Dade County. During the spring of 1946 he made his way to Carthage, MO where the Topeka and Chanute Owls were holding spring training. He made the team as a left-handed pitcher and “went northwest,” to Chanute, when the Carthage Cardinals returned from their spring training in Albany, Georgia. The following photo of Topeka/Chanute players was taken at the motor court just across the street (Route 66) from the Carthage ballpark. . That was one of two motels in Carthage at the time: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/27729119415/ Ballplayers stayed there while the big brass of those teams stayed at the Drake Hotel or Boots Motor Court. Boots was where Clark Gable stayed when he came to Carthage.

The 1946 season wasn’t the best for the recently discharged soldier as he went 8-15. That season Chanute was the only farm team of the Topeka Owls. In 1947 Miami took the Owl franchise and Chanute played as an independent club. White went back to Chanute for his second season in pro ball but it was not as successful or as long as his first.

Most likely, White played a lot of baseball with and against Floyd “Goat” Wooldridge., who was born at Jerico Springs, in 1928, and lived in Greenfield when he signed with the St Louis Cardinals in 1950. It wasn’t possible to track White to more than two places after his stint in the KOM. He lived in Bellflower, Calif. and died in the same place Floyd Wooldridge was born, Jerico Springs, passing away there on June 14, 1993 and is buried at the Anna-Edna Cemetery.

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A Special story—regarding a former Whiz Kid

The following only proves that by dropping every name of anyone I have ever known, in these reports, yields feedback. A reader in Kansas City sent a clipping with a post-it note attached that read “John, for some reason I seem to remember you referencing this Ben Craig information one time. Am I dreaming?” I informed the writer that he wasn’t dreaming and due to Casebolt keeping his eyes open and maintaining a sharp memory the following is being shared.

www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/steve-rose/a...

By clicking on the aforementioned URL you’ll get a photo.

For those without URL capability here is the entire article:

By Steve Rose

Those who don’t know Ben Craig may think his request to throw a portion of his ashes in the air along Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park is a bit odd.

But this 87-year-old civic leader, who has cancer and has been given three months to live, has rational reasons for this unusual request. Metcalf Avenue is the spine of Overland Park — and, by extension all of Johnson County — and that is the community that Ben Craig has poured his soul into. Aside from his family, Ben has dedicated himself to this community above all else. And he has left his indelible mark.

Ben came to Overland Park 52 years ago to become president of Metcalf Bank, a small start-up at 79th Street and Metcalf Avenue. It was also in 1964 that Ben joined the Overland Park Rotary Club, where he holds the distinction of perfect attendance over those 52 years.

Ben brings total commitment to everything, which has made him an icon. He has been involved in so many causes and achieved so many awards that a list of them is literally six pages long.

When Metcalf Avenue’s business development stretched only a few blocks south of 75th Street and the county was strictly a bedroom suburb, Ben saw a fertile community that he thought would someday be far more than simply nice homes, shops and outstanding schools. Johnson County has become a commercial hub, thanks in part to Ben.

Economic development is in Ben’s blood. He founded the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce and has led almost every business organization that exists in the county. He is the only Johnson County banker to serve as president of the Kansas Banker’s Association. You might expect that kind of business involvement from a banker. But although Ben built a thriving, sprawling bank empire, he never solicited business from those he served with or from any government. He kept banking and serving in two separate worlds.

Ben’s clear choice for his most significant life achievement is chairing the campaign committee that championed a $12.9 million bond issue to establish Johnson County Community College. The success of that campaign resulted in the community’s crown jewel, ranked as one of the finest in America. But that was just the beginning of Ben’s involvement there.

Ben was the first chairman of the JCCC Foundation, which has raised tens of millions of dollars over the years toward scholarships for those who couldn’t afford full tuition. He has stayed involved with the college. It should come as no surprise that Ben is leaving a large part of his estate to the college scholarship fund.

Ben has been behind the scenes in local politics. He was always on the lookout for good officeholders. Ben mentored hundreds of candidates over the years. Sometimes he raised funds for their campaigns.

Ben’s true joy, which lights up his face, is the Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park. Not only has Ben been a longtime leader of that organization, he generously built a large, all-brick replica of an old-time bank called “Ben’s Bank” for children to learn about banking.

Throughout most of his life, Ben didn’t take the time for hobbies. But in his ’60s, he took up golf, which became a passion. A natural athlete who once played minor league baseball (on the same team as Mickey Mantle), Ben has religiously played twice a week until recently. He finally shot a hole-in-one four years ago.

Ben is a privately spiritual man. As he tells his life story, Ben assigns much of what has happened to him to his creator. He views the last few months of life as a gift, so that he has the time to get things in order and say goodbye to his family and many friends.

So, one day, if you see ashes flying through the air over Metcalf Avenue, that’s Ben. It will be symbolic. The real Ben is in every nook and cranny of the community he has spent his lifetime serving.

Steve Rose, longtime Johnson County columnist: srose@kc.rr.com

The Epilogue:

After reading Mr. Rose’s great article I shared these comments with him. “A Kansas City reader sent me your excellent article on Ben Craig. As a historian of amateur and professional baseball in Southeast Kansas, Northwest Oklahoma and Southwest Missouri I got to know Ben Craig quite well over the past two decades.

When Ben Craig and Mickey Mantle were teammates they played for Barney Barnett of Baxter Springs, Kansas. Barnett would gather the best athletes from the area each summer. From 1944--1951 Barney managed the team he called ‘The Whiz Kids.’ I've always said that the Whiz Kids turned out to be great successes in their fields of endeavor. Craig was one of the more outstanding in my opinion.

I don't wish to bore you but I witnessed Craig's dealing with a very ill wife and how he fulfilled ‘Till Death Do Us Part’ to the extreme.

One of the stories that stands out in my mind, concerning Craig, was a Baxter Springs game in 1948 with their main rival, the Alba, Missouri Aces. The Aces were blessed by having all the Boyer brothers on the team at one time or another. In 1948 Kenny was on the team and he faced Craig. Craig could throw a ball through a brick wall. In a game Craig threw one so hard Kenny couldn't get out of the way. It hit him upside the temple and he fell like he had been shot. Kenny laid on the ground for quite some time. Craig once told me that he thought he had killed him.

Kenny got over the blow to the head and before the season was over Craig was pitching against Alba once more. When it was Kenny's time to bat he stood so far away from the plate he couldn't hit anything. He just wanted to get his times at bat behind him. Craig said he always felt bad about that incident since he hadn't hit his opponent on purpose. The next year Kenny Boyer signed with the St. Louis Cardinals

Ben Craig had played part one year of professional baseball in the Sooner State league, in 1947. He then returned home and played for the Whiz Kids when Mantle joined them. At that time Ben Craig was the big strapping member of the team and Mantle was one of the runts of the outfit.”

Mr. Rose answered my e-mail and said he would print my comments and take them to Ben Craig since he doesn’t have e-mail. On the other hand, the author of the Craig article does have an e-mail. I ask readers to communicate with an author when they write a story that is even tangentially associated with the KOM league. In this case the author can be contacted at srose@kc.rr.com

Ben Craig had a great deal of influence and contact with future big league stars such as Mickey Mantle and Kenny Boyer but he also had a lot to do with the KOM League Remembered newsletter being funded and going to better homes and gardens for sixteen years. Without people like Ben Craig the KOM communication lines would have faded long before the start of the 21st century.

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Newbill influence continues

My cousin's little grandson who is 12 is in Cooperstown playing in a tournament. His team is now out but Caden hit a home run in one game and played well so he is pretty happy with his performance. Plus, he is really a basketball player. He wanted me to send him some photos of his great uncle playing ball so I did. He wanted to show all his teammates. Then today they went to the museum and went to the records department and had them pull this up. Caden wants to play catch with him and wants to know if you can play catch in heaven. I assured him that you can.

Sometimes unexpected sweet moments sneak into your day! Cindy Newbill—Kansas

Ed comment:

Caden’s great uncle is the late, great Bobby Gene Newbill who played for the 1949 Independence Yankees among other places. It must have been a huge surprise for Caden’s friends to learn his great uncle played on the same team with Mickey Mantle.

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Nothing of insignificance appears in these reports

John: I read all of your interesting reports although I know of very few of the players mentioned, having spent only a few days with Iola in 1950. You mentioned Rich Eichhorst in your latest report who was the only Southeast Missouri State basketball player to have ever played in the NBA. He led the league in scoring his senior season, 1956 I believe. I was a Senior at SEMO State at the same time and knew who he was although I never met him. I was a few years older than him, having been in the Marine Corps and playing parts of 3 years of baseball and then going to SEMO State on the GI Bill.

He, Carl (Pete) Ritter, Ray Ripplemeyer and Elmer Balzer were outstanding players for SEMO State in the early to mid-1950s. I knew Balzer as he had played some pro baseball and I believe Ripplemeyer had done so also, although I never really met him. I know Pete Ritter very well, having gone to the same high school, Advance, although I was several years older than him. Pete was probably the best basketball player to ever come out of SE Missouri with the possible exception of Win Wilfong of the Puxico HS, his small town HS having won 2 straight state championships in the days before the so called “Final four”. Wilfong played a few years in the NBA, scoring about 2000 points. He played a little baseball when he was a high schooler and was a little on the profane side. I pitched a game against the Puxico town team; we were winning, and the Puxico manager asked Wilfong if he would pinch hit. He responded “hell no, if that son of a ----- hit you, he’d kill you”, (the SOB being me). I could throw quite hard at that time and was pretty wild.

Ritter is the all-time leading basketball scorer for SEMO State and to my knowledge the only SEMO player to have had his number retired. He, like Wilfong, was only 6 ft. 2 inches but this didn’t prevent them from being great college scorers. Ritter was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks but injured his knee severely and was never able to play in the NBA. He is now the Mayor of the town of Advance.

Bill Ashcraft

Overland Park, Ks.

Ed comment:

One of the great joys in researching and looking for former KOM league came when I first located Bill Ashcraft. It turned out that he worked with the Drug Enforcement Agency with his former Iola teammate from 1950, Bernard Leroy Coulter. What turned out to come as a greater surprise was that both Coulter and Ashcraft worked for my first cousin, Ernest Hall, who was head of that agency in Kansas City. Over the years Ashcraft shared photos taken at Drug Enforcement conferences and one included that of a very young Joe Arpaio who now is a well-known sheriff in Arizona.

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A trivia contestant:

The answer is three young men in the stands with the lone adult... and, I see the name Del Webb, possibly who these retirement communities are named after. I will check it out. Thanks, John.

Cindy Lange—Palatine, Ill.

Ed comment:

No one reported seeing more than three young boys in the grandstand behind the photo of the 1947 Bartlesville Oilers. There were four. I’ll explain. In the center of the Bartlesville dugout was a post supported by two beams that were in a “V” configuration. A little boy is in the photo just above that “V.” If you have deleted that photo here is the access to it. www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/27511893266/

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Comments about last report:

JOHN, WHAT A NICE FEELING E-MAIL. I REALLY ENJOYED READING IT. WALT Babcock—A resident of Cape Cod, Mass.

Another good one John –Jim Skog in Davenport, Iowa

Ed comment:

It was a bit ironic that those were the only two “atta-boys” received regarding the last report and they came within five minutes of the other. To top that Babcock is the person who introduced Skog to the existence of the Flash Reports. Skog is a former military pilot who spent his post military days flying the big birds for United Airlines. Babcock has also spent many days pretty high up himself. He doesn’t fly an airplane, drink or take drugs but he still gets pretty high once in a while over certain antics of our elected and non-elected leaders. I know that he does for I hear from him a “few” times a week.

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A Flash Report extra—a pigs ear

Things go on around my home other than writing Flash Reports. Early this past week I went big game hunting or better stated, the big game came to me. I awoke the morning after setting a trap the previous evening and came face-to-face with a very unhappy raccoon. That fellow is on my Flickr site but most of you wouldn’t go there to see it even if I provided the correct URL. However, my photo recipients had a lot of interest in it for they also have raccoon stories to tell. Here is where they viewed it. www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/26996981274/

I surmised that instead of a trap I should get me a coon dog and a former Tennessee resident who has migrated to Florida sent this tale. “Your neighbors will love a coon dog. I had one that tracked our hogs that swam across the Tennessee River when the water was low and dams had not been built. He would track them and hold them by the ear until I came after hearing the pig squeal.”

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Clips from a May 27, 1947 Iola Register sports page

It isn’t feasible to share entire pages of old newspapers but sometimes I find things that are unique or I learn something I didn’t know about members of the KOM league. I’m including four clips from a late May edition of the Iola Register. Of all the stories I don’t know which one surprised me the most. It comes down to the articles about Jim Hansen and Boyd Bartley. I suppose I spoke as much with Jim Hansen, until the time of his death, as anyone. I knew he played as a fullback for both Nebraska and Iowa during WW II but never did he tell me he played for the Chicago Bears. It would make sense for Ray “Fido” Murphy, Topeka Owls owner, was a scout of the Bears and even had Scooter McLean on his Topeka club in 1946. Murphy signed Hansen to a Topeka contract in 1946. My search of every Chicago Bear roster shows no trace of Hansen having played in a NFL game for them. McLean used to urge his baseball teammates to join the Bears for they could double in one NFL game what they could earn in a month playing Class D or C baseball. For those of you unfamiliar with salaries of the 1946 era the Class D players made between $90 and $125 a month. I have the contracts to prove it. So, playing for the Bears a guy might make as much as $250 a week.

Another surprise was that it took Boyd Bartley until late May of 1947 to get tossed from his first game as a collegiate or professional and when he did he talked his way back into the contest. Read it in this set of clips for these are all quotes from the newspaper. And, newspapers are always correct, right?

•

Time Hangs Heavy for Nick Najjar

Time—7:45.

Place—Cubs' dugout.

Nick Najjar —"Rabbit, what time is it?'

Lloyd Ayers — "Quarter of eight."

Najjar —"Tell me when it's eight, will you?"

Ayers—"Yeah."

Five minutes later: Najjar—"Rabbit, what time is it?"'

Ayers—"Ten minutes of."

Najjar—"Thanks."

Najjar to Buck Walz- “We’ll start warming up at eight.

Buck. Walz -"Okay."

At. 7:53: Najjar—"Is it eight' yet, Rabbit?"'

Ayers—"No; seven till."

Najjar—"Thanks."

At- 7:55: Najjar--"Come on Buck, let's warm up.

•

Chanute Owls of 1946 became Miami “Wise Birds” of 1947

Miami is scheduled to arrive in town today for its first invasion of the Cub den at Riverside Park. The Oklahoma ball team will appear with only one of its 1946 performers—Outfielder Loren Packard but carries a fair resemblance to the 1946 Chanute Owls, having appropriated Chanurc's sponsor, the Topeka Owls, the Chanute nickname, and two players, Jim Hansen, catcher, and Marty Debish, outfielder. And, incidentally, the Owls come to town from Chanute, where they have just accomplished a feat that may never have been performed in the KOM before—a clean sweep of Chanute at Chanute. They captured a doubleheader there Sunday and added a 12-7 victory last night. Jim "No Hit" Morris, is another individual lending distinction to the Owls.

Garnett, Kansas fans will be here tomorrow night to celebrate the no- hit game pitched by that city's contribution to KOM ball. Morris blanked Carthage 12-0 on opening day of the season. He is tentatively scheduled as the Miami pitcher tomorrow. Miami is the third place team in the KOM, 4 games back of the Cubs. Bill Davis, pitcher with the Topeka Owls last season is the Miami manager. Big Loren Packard, the Owls' clean-up hitter, was the KOM's second heaviest hitter when the latest averages were figured, having hit .379. (Ed note: The photo taken after Morris tossed the non-hitter is the only KOM league photo to ever appear in the Associated Press. Long story, I’ve shared it previously. If curious let me know and I’ll share it with you.)

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Former Iowa and Nebraska fullback had signed with the Chicago Bears

Jim Hansen, the Chicago Bears professional football player, is the catcher who was sidelined at Chanute last fall in favor of Dave Dennis, action that caused an explosion in the Chanute- lola Shaughnessy play-off. He is currently batting .359. John Barley, business manager of the Cubs; said at noon today that tonight's game is definitely "on," unless more rain falls. (Ed note: Barley replaced Lloyd “Rabbit” Ayers as business manager, in 1947, and died the next year.)

Players are coming and going fast In the KOM league now. Independence has received three new outfielders and two pitchers. All clubs, must trim down to 15 by Friday.

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Kicked out of game and talked his way back in

Boyd Bartley, the studious and gentlemanly young man managing the Ponca City Dodgers, has never been expelled from a ball game by an umpire, according to the Ponca City News. His career covers, the University oi Illinois, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Montreal Royals. He: was a near victim of Umpire (Seward) Rice of the KOM on a recent night, however, getting a pink slip but having it withdrawn when he convinced Rice there was nobody else to play his second base position. He must have studied law when a student at Illinois.

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I quit

There were a number of more stories to relate and comments to share regarding previous reports but they will have to wait for another time.

As is frequently stated, “If you receive these reports and wish you didn’t, let me know.” That is one of the few things in life over which I have complete control. I make the foregoing statement for I can’t determine who is or isn’t reading the reports from the feedback, or lack of it.

cycling_without_age9399craigdouce by Cycling Without Age

Craig Douce - Banff Canmore Photo Video

#FBI & San Francisco police on arrest of Ryan Chamberlain #sfpd #ryanchamberlain by Steve Rhodes

www.demotix.com/news/4919004/fbi-san-francisco-police-pre...

Photos of sealed apartment

www.demotix.com/news/4905464/ryan-chamberlains-san-franci...

From the FBI raid

www.demotix.com/news/4896710/fbi-executes-search-warrant-...

and Corbis including

www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-590375...

more at

www.corbisimages.com/photographer/steve-rhodes

Used ATM at Mad Dog in the fog

www.demotix.com/news/4920708/ryan-chamberlain-used-atm-ma...

Night of arrest

www.demotix.com/news/4915155/ryan-chamberlain-arrested-sa...

Stippled ripples by W. Michel Kiteley

1 9

This is a companion piece (in a similar location) to "Shoreline grasses" but without as many clouds and with better ripples - not the rotgut wine. This is probably my last gasp of my "Water Works Series, A Photo Set" for this autumn and frankly, December is almost upon us. The Photo Set is filling rapidly. On this day, I chose to wander around pond #1 backward to seek interesting water shots not yet discovered. This is another shot with another less-than-ordinary title that just popped into my head, If something pops, I am bound to use it. When I see water that looks like this, I enjoice but I suspect this round is the last of the burnt orange reflections.

The color here is past prime on the foliage, so on this day, I was looking for anything I could shoot. I found it by shooting the water and not the foliage. I am down at the Golden Ponds Park and Recreation Area in Frogmont once again probably because it is so easy but I find you MUST stop and chat with people as you follow the paths. This time I looped Pond #1 because I hadn't shot there before because of the unfortunate power lines over it but then I have covered it pretty well. This is far from the worst place to visit because you can exercise both sole and soul. I saw this reflection in the water and I couldn't resist. I tried to compose it without a lot of detritus in the frame and had to do little clean up.

I enjoyed the fact that there was a breeze today that I could use for an advantage. I like the natural saturations that can easily be found if I am willing to look for them. I guess that I have yet to use up the possible "Water Works" shots that I have taken. I'll move on again as I get hung up by the changing seasons.

I take my camera down there because it is a pretty, open area and I decided it was closer and less cluttered than McIntosh farm. I saw the sky and I figured to make my trip out there pay off and I took pictures in several spots. I decided this sky reflection was also engaging so I had to pause here and postpone my search for a moment.

Anything to avoid work and Photoshop lessons I give to photographers who are eager to learn the techniques with a burning desire.

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