“We all grow tired eventually; it happens to everyone.
Even the sun, at the close of the year, is no longer a morning person.”
―
Till Next Time, Take Care of Yourselves and Each Other
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The Lonely Soul – Anto Thermadam
…..As the days pass by
The lonely soul became
More lonely, with no other
souls as his companion
The lonely soul wanders
Alone in the walks of life
The lonely soul decides
Not to die, but to face
Life in all its hardships
The lonely soul wanders
*Tegucigalpa, Honduras
View of a butterfly on dry earth at Los Laureles reservoir during Earth Day. Los Laureles, which supplies over 50% of the million inhabitant Honduran capital of water, is suffering a drough
Photograph: Orlando Sierra
‘The Swallows Of Kabul’
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Κάννες 2019: «Τα Χελιδόνια της Καμπούλ» υπόσχονται ομορφιά και συγκίνηση
Το βιβλίο του Γιασμίνα Χάντρα μεταφέρθηκε στο σινεμά σε μια ταινία κινουμένων σχεδίων από τις Ελεά Γκομπέ Μέβελεκ και Ζαμπού Μπράιτμαν
“No man owes anything whatsoever to a woman.”
In Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, in the late 1990s, the reign of the Taliban has plunged local society into obscurantism, under the iron rule of the Sharia and its armed zealots.
The university is destroyed, music is forbidden, stonings are taking place in the middle of the street, and public executions in the national stadium open football matches: fear has seized the consciousness and everyday lives of the citizens. And for all the women forced to be escorted to walk the city streets and condemned to stay hidden under the traditional burqa with its grid at eye level, this life was synonymous with nothingness, male domination having taken crushing proportions in the name of religion (and in the name of mass control). Continue reading
40 years of European elections
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These posters are definitely not in Instagram-friendly format and some of them date back to the very first European elections. From 1979 to 2019, have a look at these election posters to get a feel of a different era.
With time, the way we communicate changes. From posters to social media, you can see how the EU communication has evolved over time.
Printed communication on European elections was the norm before the digital age that we are in today. Different European languages, visuals with flags of European countries, elephants, emojis and much more — featured on them. Today these graphics are a reflection of the moment that we were in back then.
Let us journey back and have a look at some of the vintage posters and the messages they promoted. How about starting from the very first 1979 elections?
Domenico’s speech – Nostalghia (1983) Andreï Tarkovski
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Στη «Νοσταλγία», ο Ντομένικο είναι ο τρελός του χωριού. Στο λόγο του απέναντι στην «καλοθρεμμένη, ικανοποιημένη, τυφλή πλειονότητα», που δεν είναι τίποτα λιγότερο από συγκλονιστικός, πριν αυτοπυρποληθεί, φωνάζει: Τι κόσμος είναι αυτός αν ένας τρελός σας λέει ότι πρέπει να ντρέπεστε;
Domenico’s speech:
“What ancestor speaks in me? I can’t live simultaneously in my head and in my body. That’s why I can’t be just one person. I can feel within myself countless things at once.
There are no great masters left. That’s the real evil of our time. The heart’s path is covered in shadow. We must listen to the voices that seem useless in brains full of long sewage pipes of school wall, tarmac and welfare papers.
The buzzing of insects must enter. We must fill the eyes and ears of all of us with things that are the beginning of a great dream. Someone must shout that we’ll build the pyramids. It doesn’t matter if we don’t.
The Sword of Damocles
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According to the story, Damocles was pandering to Dionysius, his king, and exclaimed to him that Dionysius was truly fortunate as a great man of power and authority, surrounded by magnificence.
In response, Dionysius offered to switch places with Damocles for one day so that Damocles could taste that very fortune firsthand. Damocles quickly and eagerly accepted the king’s proposal. Damocles sat down in the king’s throne surrounded by every luxury, but Dionysius, who had made many enemies during his reign, Continue reading
Hymn of the minimum – Dionysis Karatzas
For centuries I ask God to give me the right of light, so I can fearlessly go to the age of the flowers.
He has reasons to keep me uncertain, he says. And he insists that I still need to figure out the beauties of guilt, to get rid of the idea of immortality once and believe in the power of my temporality.
So I turn to the world and where I find tears, I crawl to pass the fragrance of passion within me.
I’m already convinced of the value of the minimum.
Besides, the minimum – seed, semen, drop, word – produces the maximum, life and death.
Who knows if the moon is a balloon – e.e. cummings
“Who knows if the moon is
a balloon,coming out of a keen city
in the sky filled with pretty people?
( and if you and I should
get into it, if they
should take me and take you into their balloon,
why then
we’d go up higher with all the pretty people
than houses and steeples and clouds:
go sailing
away and away sailing into a keen
city which nobody’s ever visited,where
always
it’s Spring) and everyone’s
in love and flowers pick themselves”
In the Blind Market – Rumi
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Don’t sell mirrors
in the marketplace of the blind .
Don’t recite any poems
in the marketplace of the deaf.
Μη πουλάς καθρέφτεs,
στην αγορά των τυφλών,
μην απαγγέλλεις ποιήματα,
στην αγορά των κουφών.
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Welsh Love Spoons – τα κουτάλια της αγάπης
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Roses are red
Violets are blue,
Presenting a spoon
Means I love you
Welsh love spoons are decoratively carved wooden spoons that are often presented as a gift of romantic intent. The love spoon is normally decorated with various symbols of love and were traditionally intended to showcase the skills of the carver.
The giving and receiving of lovespoons between lovers, friends and family is a Welsh custom that dates back to the 17th century. Young men over the centuries lovingly carved a love spoon from one piece of wood using symbols of love such as hearts, celtic knotwork, bells and horseshoes to create a beautiful and lasting gift. Continue reading
Signs Your Husband Is Cheating….
- The intimacy has waned
- He brings his phone everywhere with him
- He starts talking frequently about another woman
- He accuses you of cheating
- He showers you with gifts
- He’s suddenly taking care of himself
- He responds to your questions with one-word answers
- He’s constantly texting someone, but won’t specify who
- He picks fights
- His daily routine has changed
- is wardrobe has suddenly changed…….
If all these and more in the follow link ….. happen ..
you have to worry lol !!!!
https://bestlifeonline.com/signs-husband-is-cheating/
Circle and Square by Edwin Muir
….‘Half I’ll not take nor give,
For he who gives gives all.
By halves you cannot live;
Then let the barrier fall,
In one circle have all.’……
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Abandoned miners village in Lavrio
The revolution
will abolish ownership
the profit
every form of power
alienation of man
the verses writing lyrics
above all the latter
Desperately they will hit their wings
and, as a result, will be lost to the west
and then we’ll see how
the revolution has no beginning and no end
is born and dies every moment
the revolution is chasing the chimera
is a poem with a gun
a semen filled with sperm
a love for the harmony of becoming
and yet it is
bread for the children of the world
the revolution looks at infinity
Tolis Nikiforou
Gambling in Ancient Civilizations
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When you talk about gambling usually your mind goes to casinos, baccarat, roulette, lottery, dice etc. But have you ever thought about when or how gambling first originating? The fact is that some forms of gambling have existed in virtually the same form for thousands of years.
Gambling has been of interest to the Greeks since ancient times and it seems that we haven’t forgotten the bad habits of the past. Who would think that the origin of poker goes back to the Minoan civilization, more than 3,500 years ago? Nowadays, we consider that throwing a double six in a dice game is lucky and this too has its ancient origins. Thousands of years ago, rolling two sixes was called the ‘throw of Aphrodite’ and would indicate victory in a game. Continue reading
White heron (“crane”) dance
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Many old tales tell about white big birds which have been admired in Japan for their noble and graceful appearance. There is an old story about a lonely farmer who saved a crane’s life.
The bird turned into a beautiful woman and became his wife. One day she asked the husband to build her a weaving room and promise never to peek inside. The wife wove beautiful thousand-crane patterned fabric from which the farmer could make a lot of money.
They had been living happily but due to the wife’s diminishing health the farmer looked into the room and saw a crane weaving cloth by picking up beautiful feathers from her body. After becoming aware that the farmer had discovered her true identity the crane flew to heaven.
Πολλές παλιές ιστορίες λένε για λευκά μεγάλα πουλιά που θαυμάζoνται στην Ιαπωνία για την ευγενή και χαριτωμένη εμφάνισή τους.
Υπάρχει μια παλιά ιστορία για έναν μοναχικό αγρότη που έσωσε τη ζωή ενός γερανού. Το πουλί μετατράπηκε σε μια όμορφη γυναίκα και έγινε γυναίκα του.
Μια μέρα ζήτησε από τον σύζυγο να την κτίσει ένα δωμάτιο για να υφαίνει και να υποσχεθεί ότι δεν θα κοιτάξει ποτέ μέσα.
Η σύζυγος ύφανε ένα πανέμορφο ύφασμα φτιαγμένο από χιλιάδες φτερά γερανών, από το οποίο ο αγρότης μπορούσε να βγάλει πολλά χρήματα.
Ζούσαν ευτυχισμένα, αλλά ο αγρότης κοίταξε το δωμάτιο να δει αν η γυναίκα του είναι καλά στην υγεία της και είδε ένα γερανό να υφαίνει ύφασμα παίρνοντας όμορφα φτερά από το σώμα του. Μόλις κατάλαβε ότι ο αγρότης είχε ανακαλύψει την πραγματική του ταυτότητα, ο γερανός πέταξε στον ουρανό.
White heron (“crane”) dance: Shirasagi-no-mai and heron symbolism
Κράτα το
Ndebele house paintings
The Creators Project gets exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the cross-country U.S. tour of renowned South African artist Esther Mahlangu. As she travels through New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, D.C. and Atlanta, we get insight into the craft, skill, matrilineal tradition, innovation, and inspiration behind her larger body of work, as well as the original pieces she created for this (Belvedere)RED campaign, raising money for the Global Fund to fight and eliminate the transmission of HIV/AIDS.
In the 18th century the Ndzundza Ndebele people of South Africa created their own tradition and style of house painting. Until the late 1900s, the Ndebele people were very fierce warriors and large landowners. In the autumn of 1883, they went to war with the neighboring Boer workers. The loss of the war brought on a harsh life and horrible punishments for the Ndebele. Through those hard times expressive symbols were generated by the suffering people expressing their grief. These symbols were the beginning of the African art known as Ndebele house paintings.
KOKESHI Handcraft tradition of Tōhoku
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At the MUDEC – Museo delle Culture of Milan, an exhibition presents for the first time in Italy a large collection of kokeshi, small doll-like wood sculptures that are considered the cultural emblem of the Tōhoku region, in the north-east of Japan.
As for the most wooden artistic sculptures, even the production of kokeshi begins with the choice and the cutting of the tree. The manufacturing carried out on the lathe by the master craftsman is completed with a painted decoration that differs according to the schools, the era, and the production area.
As Professor Maria Teresa Orsi writes in the presentation of the exhibition, these dolls “simple, hand-colored in a codified but almost infinite variety of formal Continue reading
‘Always Be Curious’
Most people have heard of A.B.C or Always Be Closing – the iconic mantra made famous from David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross – which describes a sales strategy where the focus is always on looking for new prospects or on closing existing prospects, and infers that ‘closing the deal’ is the only thing that matters.
I’d like to suggest that a better approach – for life and work – is ‘Always Be Curious’.
Why curiosity?
Curiosity, or the strong desire to learn or know something, originates from the Latin word ‘curiosus’ – eager to know, inquisitive. Continue reading
The myth of Pandora’s box
Pandora, the first woman in Greek mythology. 1881 CE, Lawrence Alma-Tadema (Private collection).
The myth of Pandora’s box is considered one of the most descriptive myths of human behavior in Greek mythology. Ancient Greeks used this myth not only to instruct themselves about the weaknesses of humans, but also to explain several misfortunes of the human race.
Pandora, the first woman on Earth
Pandora was, according to the myth, the first woman on Earth. She was created by Gods; each one of them gave her a gift, thus, her name in Greek means “the one who bears all gifts”. Continue reading
AND DONʼT ASK WHY IʼM SAD – Orestes Alexakis
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Και μη ρωτάς γιατί θλιμμένος είμαι
….Είναι που σου χρωστώ πολύ ουρανό
Κι εγώ δεν έχω παρά λίγο χώμα…
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Itʼs because I owe you a lot of sky
and Iʼve nothing more than a bit of earth
Broadway’s butterflies
Image Credit
Johnny Mad Dog movie
Amadi was sitting on the floor with his classmates, it was an English class. Their teacher was a volunteer from UNHCR, she was perfectly nice and helpful. Amadi was reading his homework when she stopped him and asked: “When you grow up what do you want to be Amadi?”
He stood up on his feet and simply answered: “Before thinking of the future we have to first figure out how to deal with our present, and for the moment I want to be a butterfly; to wear my wings, to stand on the Broadway stage and to be a butterfly.
She smiled “And why a butterfly?” she asked.
“Butterflies are beautiful and they have wings; I mean the butterfly is a strong creature, she comes out of her cocoon after a great struggle and in order for her to metamorphosis she has to go through pain, butterflies struggle to be free. No matter how much painful the pupa was, at the end of the day the butterflies will be free and that is why I want to be a butterfly. ” Continue reading
Liu Bolin – Visible/invisible
Mudec museum in Milan hosts the second photographic exhibition since its opening and has entrusted Liu Bolin with the task of recounting his art in person, with a performance, one month before the opening of the exhibition, expressly created for the MUDEC which has, as a background, the iconic pieces of its permanent collection, and especially with a exhibition “Visible Invisible”.
Emblematic places, social issues, known and secret cultural identities: Liu Bolin endorses the poetics of hiding to become thing among things, to show that all the places, all the objects, even the smallest ones, have a soul that characterizes them and in which one can blend, vanish, identify himself into the Whole: a philosophy born in the East, but which has conquered the entire world, especially the Western one. Continue reading
Botanical Garden: Athens’ Overlooked Treasure
More than 500 species of plants and trees can be found in the Botanical Garden
Τι θα λέγατε για μια κοντινή, μα πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα εξόρμηση από το πολύβουο κέντρο της Αθήνας, που θα σας φέρει πιο κοντά στην ομορφιά της φύσης; Σας μιλάμε για το Βοτανικό Κήπο Ιουλίας και Αλεξάνδρου Ν. Διομήδους ή αλλιώς το Διομήδειο Βοτανικό Κήπο, τον μεγαλύτερο βοτανικό κήπο της Νοτιοανατολικής Μεσογείου, με απίστευτη οργάνωση και εντυπωσιακή βλάστηση από φυτά και δέντρα, που σπάνια συναντά κανείς στην Ελλάδα.
If you’re looking for peace and quiet the Athens Botanical Garden is the place to find it, even on Sundays, when children romp around its grounds.
The garden’s administrator, Athens University forestry professor Stelios Soulios, says that 30,000 students visit the Botanical Garden each year, with hundreds of neighbors making use of its grounds for a simple stroll on weekdays and weekends.
The world’ s first botanical garden was created in Athens in the 4th century BC by Aristotle’s student, Theophrastos, considered to be the founding father of botany.
Cannes Film Festival 2019 – The Story Behind Posters
Η ιστορία του Φεστιβάλ Καννών μέσα από τις αφίσες του
Since its origin in 1946, each festival has been memorialized by a new official poster. Visible everywhere throughout the city of Cannes during May, the posters have become synonymous with the festival itself with designs sometimes inspired by films, sometimes created by filmmakers and sometimes tributes to icons who’ve been part of the fest.
The poster for the 2019 Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) pays tribute to director Agnes Varda, who died aged 90 last month.
The poster shows Varda standing on the shoulders of a technician, shooting her first film La Pointe Courte in 1954 when she was 26 years old. The film would screen at the Cannes Film Festival the following year.
Το Φεστιβάλ των Καννών απέδειξε ότι διατηρεί εξαιρετικά αντανακλαστικά και (αποχαιρετά και) αφιερώνει στην Ανιές Βαρντά, αποτυπώνοντας στην επίσημη αφίσα του, μια φωτογραφία από την 26χρονη -τότε- δημιουργό από γυρίσματα της πρώτης της ταινίας, «La Pointe Courte».
Κόκκινο χαλί, λαμπερές παρουσίες, ακριβά φορέματα, πολυτελή αξεσουάρ, μυθικά πάρτι. Πέρα από το κινηματογραφικό ενδιαφέρον, το Φεστιβάλ Καννών συγκεντρώνει τα βλέμματα όχι μόνο για όσα συμβαίνουν στη μεγάλη οθόνη, αλλά και για όσα συμβαίνουν έξω από τις αίθουσες.
Αν κάτι όμως κεντρίζει το ενδιαφέρον κι όσων ασχολούνται με το καλλιτεχνικό κομμάτι του φεστιβάλ αλλά κι όσων ασχολούνται με τη lifestyle πλευρά του, αυτό είναι οι αφίσες της ιστορικής διοργάνωσης.
https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2013/04/this-may-brings-the-66th.html
The whole picture….
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Those who hate other religions, hate other traditions do not know that each tradition, each religion, each experience that people have with the Higher Worlds is just a part of the whole puzzle.
They must put them together so that eventually they see the whole picture.
—Torkom Saraydarian
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Imigongo … art from ….cow dung
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Imigongo (Kinyarwanda: [imiɡoːŋɡo]) is an art form popular in Rwanda traditionally made by women using cow dung. Often in the colors black, white and red, popular themes include spiral and geometric designs that are painted on walls, pottery, and canvas.
The images are produced using cow dung which is put onto wooden boards in spiral and geometric designs. The dung is left to harden and is then decorated using colours made from organic material. The traditional colours are black, white, red, grey and beige-yellow but increasingly other colours are used. Continue reading
Tribute to Frank Sinatra
The first step…..
Carl von Linné …”father of modern taxonomy”
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné, was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms. He is known as the “father of modern taxonomy”. Many of his writings were in Latin, and his name is rendered in Latin as Carolus Linnæus (after 1761 Carolus a Linné).
Linnaeus was born in the countryside of Småland in southern Sweden. He received most of his higher education at Uppsala University and began giving lectures in botany there in 1730. He lived abroad between 1735 and 1738, where he studied and Continue reading
Dorothy Circus Gallery – Mother and Child
Μέρα της μάνας λέει …
Ποιας μάνας;
Της γυναίκας που μια φορά το χρόνο την γιορτάζουν επειδή αγρυπνάει, πονά, φροντίζει, νοιάζεται, λαχταράει να γίνει η επόμενη ανάσα των σπλάχνων της… ή
εκείνης που απ’ τη στιγμή που ευλογήθηκε να φέρει στον κόσμο παιδιά, έβαλε πίσω τον εαυτό της, τα θέλω της κι έγινε για πάντα ίσκιος τρυφερός να αναπαυτούν οι αγαπημένοι της, χωρίς να ενδιαφέρεται για γιορτές και τυμπανοκρουσίες;
Της γυναίκας που έγινε μάνα του συντρόφου της, μάνα των φίλων, μάνα του περίγυρου, μάνα κάθε πλάσματος που έχει την ανάγκη της στη γη;
Της μάνας που έγινε μάνα της μάνας της και της έλεγε παραμύθια λίγο πριν το τελείωμα της..;
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Α, ρε μάνα…
Α, ρε μάνες…
Πόσους ήλιους κουρασμένους κοιμίσατε στη ματιά σας…
Πόσα φεγγάρια οδοιπόρα ξαποστάσατε στον κόρφο σας…
Πόσες βραδινές περιπολίες κάνατε με τη σκέψη, με πόσες του έρωτα λιτανείες θυμιατίσατε κρυφά τα ανέφικτα…
Πόσες έγνοιες φορέσατε κατάσαρκα, πανωφόρια αφόρετα ολονών…
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Μάνα, χέρι της καρδιάς πάντα απλωμένο.
Χούφτα ζεστή και ιδρωμένη απ’ τα συχώρια που συνωστίζει μέσα της.
Μάνα, μια ζυγαριά που γέρνει κατά εκεί που είναι το κέρδος των ανθρώπων …
..μια αγκαλιά που φωλιάζουν χαμογελαστά τα κυνηγητά των αγριμιών…
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Μάνα, σε γιορτάζουν σήμερα, μπορείς να αναπαυτείς.
Motherhood has been a popular artistic theme since the early ages, with some of the most famous paintings and sculptures being depictions of The Madonna and Child. Today, many artists continue to explore deeply personal maternal relationships, visualizing their unique, unconditional bond and fierce protection. Open now until June 9, 2019, in both its London and Rome locations, Dorothy Circus Gallery is hosting a group show, titled Mother and Child. Continue reading
The Galaxy Railways ….
For me the weekend with my grandson ΤΟΜ is a train trip to the galaxy…
Wish to all of you a nice weekend!!!
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Meet the Vietnamese Families Living on Hanoi’s Train Street
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When the trains come
The trains come rumbling through twice a day, at 3:30pm and 7:30pm. There’s no warning siren, and certainly no wild panic as residents flee the oncoming behemoth. Rather, the community seems to operate on an internal clock of routines. As the time approaches, everything crowding the tracks just disappears into the tall homes and businesses lining the way. By the time the train actually arrives, there’s usually just a few curious foreigners left outside to brush noses with the iron beast.
Life goes on
Even during the hours when there’s a risk a train could fly around the corner any second, life still happens. The people living along Train Street still have errands and jobs to do. The tracks stay cleared, but the sides are tiny lanes for motorbikes and bicycles. They’re also an overflow area for when the kitchen runs out of space. Continue reading
Cayman Islands – Christopher Columbus
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The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory located in the Caribbean that have been under various governments since their discovery by Europeans. Christopher Columbus sighted the Cayman Islands on May 10, 1503 and named them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles seen swimming in the surrounding waters. Columbus had found the two smaller sister islands (Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) and it was these two islands that he named “Las Tortugas”. Continue reading
Αndrew Οsokin…… rain drops!
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Σε αυτές τις εκπληκτικές φωτογραφίες του Ρώσου φωτογράφου Andrew Osokin, οι μικρές υδάτινες σφαίρες εντυπωσιάζουν με την απίθανη αρχιτεκτονική τους.
As Britain is lashed by rain and floods, a Russian photographer has captured another side of water in these stunning images of droplets.
They were created around Moscow by photographer Andrew Osokin.
The 50-year-old from Moscow uses macro photography to capture the delicate balance of the liquid forming globes thanks to surface tension.
Rainwater Collecting Installation Dazzles Like an Outdoor Chandelier
Situated in a clearing within an Italian forest, John Grade’s latest installation, Reservoir, appears like a chandelier glistening among the pine trees. Reservoir is featured in the Arte Sella Sculpture Park in Borgo Valsugana and is made up of five thousand clear droplets each of which is delicately attached to translucent nets, supported by tree trunks.
On designing Reservoir, Grade (previously) studied the Park’s ecosystem, carefully planning the installation in harmony with the surrounding landscape. “I became most interested in the way rain falls through this grove of trees, the canopy delaying the droplet’s journey to the ground as well as how quiet and sheltered the forest was during a heavy rain,” Grade tells Colossal. “I wanted to make a sculpture that responded to the rain directly as well as a sculpture that responded to people.”
Boto το δελφίνι των ποταμιών – Pink River Dolphin
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Scientists in Brazil have discovered the first new river dolphin species since the end of World War One.
Named after the Araguaia river where it was found, the species is only the fifth known of its kind in the world.
Writing in the journal Plos One, the researchers say it separated from other South American river species more than two million years ago.
There are believed to be about 1,000 of the creatures living in the Araguaia river basin.
River dolphins are among the world’s rarest creatures.
Σε μια ζούγκλα της Βραζιλίας όπου οι βροχές πέφτουν ασταμάτητα …. και τα δέντρα μέχρι τη μέση είναι βυθισμένα στο νερό……. ανακαλύφθηκε ένα νέο είδος δελφινιού ποταμίσιου που κολυμπά ανάμεσά τους….. Continue reading
The Adorable Custom of ‘Telling The Bees’
The bee friend, a painting by Hans Thoma (1839–1924)
There was a time when almost every rural British family who kept bees followed a strange tradition. Whenever there was a death in the family, someone had to go out to the hives and tell the bees of the terrible loss that had befallen the family.
Failing to do so often resulted in further loss such as the bees leaving the hive, or not producing enough honey or even dying. Traditionally, the bees were kept abreast of not only deaths but all important family matters including births, marriages, and long absence due to journeys. If the bees were not told, all sorts of calamities were thought to happen. This peculiar custom is known as “telling the bees”. Continue reading
Royal Windsor Horse Show History
Royal Windsor Horse Show first started in 1943 to help raise funds for the war effort. It has continued to run every year since and is now the only show in the UK to host international competitions in Showjumping, Dressage, Driving and Endurance.
In 1943 Count Robert Orssich and Mr Geoffrey Cross were inspired by the ‘Wings for Victory’ campaign and set about organising a Horse and Dog Show in Windsor to raise money for the war effort.
The first show was simply called the Windsor Horse and Dog Show. It took place on Wednesday 26th May 1943 and helped the Royal Borough raise £391,197 – enough Continue reading
A History of Town Criers _ Οι ντελάληδες
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As long as there has been news to share, there have been messengers to deliver it.
Town crier, Tony Appleton poses as he announces the birth of a son for Britain’s Prince Harry, and Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, outide of Windsor Castle in Windsor, west of London on May 6, 2019. PHOTO: AFP
Town Criers were the original ‘newsmen’ finding their origins in the early Greek Mytholgy, In fact Stentor, a Herald of the Greek Forces during the Trojan War, was said to have the voice of 50 men and some men with a loud voice may be known as having a voice of a Stentorian.
Town Criers in Britain are thought to have come to the fore in 1066 when news of Continue reading
The Old Shop with shells turned into an oil dynasty!
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To Παλαιοπωλείο µε τα κοχύλια που µετατράπηκε σε δυναστεία πετρελαίου!
The name of the global oil company “Shell” is, oddly enough, a reminder of the victorian love of conchology.
In 1833 one Marcus Samuel opened such a shop selling shells, curios, and other trinkets to natural history enthusiasts. By 1851 Marcus was described in the census as a ‘shell merchant’ and was listed as proprietor of ‘The Shell Shop’ in Houndsditch. He later formed the ‘Shell Transport and Trading Company.’ In 1882 his son (Marcus Junior) while travelling in the Caspian Sea, saw a potential for exporting oil from the region. He commissioned the world’s first purpose-built oil tanker and named the tanker the Murex, Latin for a type of snail shell, as a nod to the company’s beginnings. The first logo (1901) was a mussel shell, but by 1904 it was replaced with a scallop shell.
And so it has remained ever since.
Πάνω από 100 χρόνια το έµβληµα της Shell µε το κοχύλι αποτελεί ένα από τα πλέον αναγνωρίσιµα σήµατα στον κόσµο. Σύµφωνα µε έρευνες µάλιστα, µόνο ο Άγιος Βασίλης έχει καταφέρει να ξεπεράσει σε αναγνωρισιµότητα το έµβληµα της Αγγλο-Ολλανδικής επιχείρησης πετρελαίου και χηµικών. Continue reading
2019 International Horticultural Exhibition in Beijing
Actors perform at the opening ceremony of the 2019 International Horticultural Exhibition in Beijing’s Yanqing district on April 28. The horticultural expo officially welcomes visitors starting April 29. Its huge collection of plants and flowers, eye-catching pavilions and green development concepts will enthrall visitors for 162 days. [Photo/Xinhua]
Yanqing County to the north west of Beijing contains the 960 hectare site to be used for the expo. Already an important tourist destination within China the area has beautiful scenery, clean air and one of the best places to view the Great Wall of China (Badaling). Continue reading
‘Dance is my passport’: Syrian ballet dancer Ahmad Joudeh on dancing as home
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«Ο Χορός είναι το διαβατήριό μου»: ο Σύριος στην καταγωγή χορευτής μπαλέτου Αχμάντ Τζούντ έχει για σπίτι του…… το ΧΟΡΟ
Το να γίνεις ένας επιτυχημένος χορευτής μπαλέτου ενώ μεγαλώνεις σε ένα προσφυγικό στρατόπεδο δεν είναι εύκολο
I am those who are free and never fear
I am the secrets that will never die
I am the voice of those who would not give in
I am the meaning amid the chaos
I am the right of the oppressed ….
….I am the soul of those who are not forgotten
I am the voice of those who have not died
Let’s make clay out of steel
And build with it a new love
That becomes birds
hat becomes a country/home
That becomes wind and rain
I am all the free people of the world put together
I am like a bullet
I am all the free people of the world put together
I am like a bullet Continue reading
King Maha Vajiralongkorn during the coronation procession in Thailand
Μπανγκόκ οι μεγαλοπρεπείς τελετές για την στέψη του Μάχα Βατζιραλονγκόρν, του νέου βασιλιά της Ταϊλάνδης
Wearing a 200-year-old crown
In one of Saturday’s ceremonies, the king put on a crown weighing 7.3 kilograms (16 pounds) and measuring 66 centimeters (26 inches) in height. It symbolizes his royal powers, which include the right to intervene in government affairs. “I shall reign in righteousness for the benefits of the kingdom and the people forever,” he said in his traditional first royal command.
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn visited Buddhist temples and greeted his subjects for the first time since his crowning in a royal procession around the old quarter of Bangkok on Sunday, as part of intricate coronation ceremonies held over three days.
“Long live the king!” shouted well-wishers who lined roads for hours under the blazing sun and well into the night, hoping for a glimpse of the constitutional monarch who is revered in Thai culture as a living deity. Continue reading
Battle of the Nations 2019 Serbia
Historical Medieval Battle Association, or HMBIA, is the international sports organization created to develop, support and promote HMB sport – a unique combination of true sport and historical cultural heritage.
The World National HMB Championship Battle of the Nations is an international event that gathers hundreds of HMB fighters and thousands of HMB fans from all over the World in spectacular cultural locations for several days of intense sports action, exciting shows and an authentic medieval atmosphere.
Mardi Gras Indians 2019
Mardi Gras Indians (also known as Black Masking Indians) are black carnival revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana, who dress up for Mardi Gras in suits influenced by Native American ceremonial apparel.
Collectively, their organizations are called “tribes”. There are about 38 tribes. They range in size from half a dozen to several dozen members. The groups are largely independent, but a pair of umbrella organizations loosely coordinate the Uptown Indians and the Downtown Indians.
As a major southern trade port, New Orleans became a cultural melting pot. Continue reading
The Chinese Bamboo Tree teaches us…
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Wish you a nice weekend my friends!!!
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I know it sounds a little out there but hear me out on this one. This is such a great parable. I don’t know if you’ve heard this story about the Chinese Bamboo Tree before now but this is one of those lessons that really sticks with you. The Chinese Bamboo Tree teaches us success lessons on patience, faith, perseverance, growth & development and most surprising of all… human potential!
The Story of The Chinese Bamboo Tree
Like any plant, growth of the Chinese Bamboo Tree requires nurturing – water, fertile soil, sunshine. In its first year, we see no visible signs of activity. In the second year, again, no growth above the soil. The third, the fourth, still nothing. Our patience is tested and we begin to wonder if our efforts (caring, water, etc.) will ever be rewarded.
And finally in the fifth year – behold, a miracle! We experience growth. And what growth it is! The Chinese Bamboo Tree grows 80 feet in just six weeks!
Life is very much like the process of developing Chinese bamboo. Often we are discouraged. We do the right things and nothing seems to happen. But it happens, it just does not look! And those of us who continue to persevere and do not give up, we will see the results in all their grandeur and enjoy the rewards.
Time orders Old Age to destroy Beauty – Pompeo Batoni
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Πίνακας του Pompeo (Girolamo) Batoni (1708-1787): “Ο Χρόνος διατάζει τα Γηρατειά να καταστρέψουν την Ομορφιά” περ. 1746. The National Gallery of London.(Εθνική Πινακοθήκη Λονδίνου).
Time orders Old Age to destroy Beauty is a 1746 allegorical oil on canvas painting by the Italian artist Pompeo Batoni. It was commissioned from him by Bartolomeo Talenti, a collector from Lucca, as a pendant for La lascivia, now in the Hermitage Museum. It shows personifications of Time as an old man with a scythe, Old Age as an old woman and Beauty as a young woman. It came into the collection of the Russian count Nikolai Alexandrovich Kushelev-Bezborodko, before being acquired in 1961 by the National Gallery, London where it now hangs.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_orders_Old_Age_to_destroy_Beauty
Annual Cartoon Xira 2019 puts spotlight on Portuguese bullfighting
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As Portugal’s bullfighting tradition is stirring a tense debate about outlawing it in the country. Cartoon Xira presented an exhibition of the Argentinian cartoonist Marlene Pohle’s unpublished drawings
Created during the 2018 festivities of “Colete Encarnado” (“Red Vest” – the colour of the vest of campinos – the local herdsmen and cowboys) the annual festival of Vila Franca de Xira that honours local herdsmen, lezíria (Tagus prairies) and bulls.
“I interviewed three local bullfighters and they told me their point of view. They are really fascinating stories. So let’s say it is not that I agree absolutely, but I do understand this philosophy more. It was very interesting.”
Exploring Irish Harp Traditions
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And tears are heard within the harp I touch
~ Petrarch
* Irish harp made by John Egan, 1840
The harp has been intimately bound up with notions of Irish identity for centuries, but how did this develop? Siobhán Armstrong reviews a new book that fills in some of the gaps in Ireland’s harp history. …. http://journalofmusic.com/focus/exploring-irish-harp-traditions
Dubai Miracle Garden
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KAΛΟ ΜΗΝΑ!!!
Διανθισμένος με περισσότερα από 45 εκατομμύρια είδη λουλουδιών, ο “Miracle Garden” («Ο Θαυμαστός Κήπος») είναι ο εκτενέστερος ανθισμένος κήπος στον κόσμο.
The Dubai Miracle Garden is the largest flower garden in the world. The Dubai Miracle Garden itself is a miracle, as it is located within the hot deserts of Dubai, UAE. Desert and garden are the two opposite things in nature yet they are highly desirable by its inhabitants. The Dubai Miracle Garden realizes such dreams and desires into reality by introducing a sustainable concept of a huge garden and that too in the heart of a desert. Continue reading
ΕfiSoul63 